Spike: Shadow Puppets #3
Here we go again... page by page squee. There might be some actual thoughts hidden inbetween the rest, we’ll see. And be warned that this issue hit a lot of my kinks. Not ‘kinky’ ones you understand, just stuff that makes me bounce with glee.
p1 - 2. Poor Lorne. The freak. And again we see to what an extent he hides behind a persona.
(Also see Underneath: “What do I think? I think I'm tired. I think I'm sick and tired of wearing bells on my toes and making like everything's gonna be OK. [...] A simple plan that failed utterly, which is why I'm gonna heave my tuchis off this stool, strap the bells on, and with a smile and a quip, go back into the belly of a very ugly beast and pretend like I can help. Hmm. 'Cause that's what the green guy does.” )
But the side that gets highlighted in S:SP ties more in with the original ‘Smile Time’:
Framkin: “So much accomplishment despite your unfortunate deformities.”
I think one reason he wears such very lurid suits is that it gives people an excuse to look at him anyway... He’s a demon living in an alien world, and it’s not easy. Of course Spike barges in, being hugely indelicate. (Although - Spike asking for advice is... quite something. Just consider it for a moment.)
Oh and Puppet!Betta George is too cute for words. I want to buy one for my toddler! Right now!
p3) “Lift where your knees should be.”
“Angel could lift his.”
Oh so many funny lines....
p4) Yay! Biting!
p5) “Goldilocks has puppet leprosy.” *snicker*
p6-8) I love Tok fighting. Poetry in motion. Also for some reason Fauna (bottom picture p7) really works for me. There’s something about the chubbiness and the ballerina costume and the evil bitch ‘tude that is utterly delightful. Oh and the ‘child killer’ stuff is hilarious! :)
p9) “Later Tok-”
“Bloody Hell. I sodding hate Japan.”
“Stay in school.”
*falls over laughing* My dear, dear Lorne!
p10) Betta George’s face!
p11) “Yeah Lorne. Don’t be such a gitting, bloody sod... git. Right?”
“Seriously. I don’t sound like that, right?”
This is the joke that just doesn’t get old! :) Oh and then we get one of my favourite, favourite things:
“Raw fish, blimey.”
Beck using her powers to fry the fish is... sorry, I have no words. This is one of those moments when I can only squee. (As I said - kink. That is - someone casually using their extraordinary powers in an everyday situation.) Oh and the drawing is awesome too.
p12) “They are hideous. Surely they had more attractive stuffed anim-”
*snicker* (Oh and I’m presuming that ‘ascot’ should have been ‘mascot’?)
p13) Giant band aids!!!! *profound love*
“Pretty please, with sugar on top, bring me the head of William the Bloody.”
Have I mentioned how great it is for Spike to have his own comics?
Anyway, I’m deeply, deeply curious as to what Marco has had done to his face. Oh and when I first read this, I presumed they were gonna make an Evil!Puppet!Spike. Nice misleading. And very pretty picture. :)
Snuff the Dragon putting on glasses is a nice touch btw.
p14) The all-knowing guy with the giant head is an interesting addition. As is his language... It’s such a random thing to throw in. Can’t say that is bad. :)
p15 - 16) Gratuitous!Naked!Puppet!Spike. Heee. And Spike cheering Lorne (/telling him to stop being a baby). Bless. Also I swear I can almost see tears brimming in Lorne’s eyes. Wonderful artwork. Oh and this is v. funny:
“I wanted lots and lots of books jam-packed with incantations scribbled in long-dead languages that when recited wrong would open portals to universes with crazy versions of us. That’s just how it was done. Ah, the good old days.”
p14-18) Need to backtrack a little, and deal with the fight. It’s v. nicely choreographed, but it also hits what might be my overriding kink of all time: Competence. They way Tok and Beck battle away while Spike and Lorne talk (utterly unconcerned ‘cause they know the girls can handle themselves), and the way in which Tok ‘takes time out’ to talk to Spike, as though she were merely doing the cooking or something - it thrills me in ways you can’t imagine. Or maybe you can? It’s one of the reasons I love the Buffy ‘verse so very much, and why I love the later seasons more. Ditto later Harry Potter. Young kids winning the day through luck and perseverance - fun, but... meh. (Young) adults, winning through knowledge and training etc - I’m there. And I’m staying.
Anyway, I love it. And Spike killing the monkey with the lamp is of course squee-worthy in the extreme. *fangirls cool Puppet!Spike liek whoa* Was Puppet!Angel hot? I mean he was cute, and he was badass, but was he hot? I think it’s to do with the allure/sexiness of smoking. See?
Sexy Puppet!Angel! :) (I love drawing him btw.)
p19) Hee! Crush back on! (Also I *love* Urru’s work w. Tok. The third image is such a perfect ‘meep’ expression, but it’s done with just a few tiny little lines. Trust me, drawing expressions ain’t easy.)
“Technically, Christmas is a birthday-”
“Don’t talk for the rest of the day.”
*snicker*
p21) “And maybe he’s so stupid he thinks we’re simply ambushing Dicky in the park. But I don’t think Spike’s that dumb. I don’t think anyone can be that dumb.”
What are they up to??????
p22-23) Puppet!Angelus. I might have squealed with joy when I saw that panel. Yes the last line is probably too meta for its own good, but... Happy happy joy joy. And poor Fauna! Dude, Puppet!Angelus is nasty! *claps hands and bounces*
Now... before I start talking, I feel I ought to use this banner (made by sueworld2003, I believe):
The thing is - we’ve never (in canon) had Angelus and souled!Spike meet. And OK, this is hardly canon, but it’s still a wonderful premise. I’ve seen it in fic of course, but... never with puppets! Squee! It fills me with much glee - the cuteness, the slashiness, the snark to come, the epic battle(s?), the icons... I think I might need a Puppet!Spike/Puppet!Angel(us) layout (banner). Might even draw it myself, so as not to spoil anyone...
ETA: The thing I really like about the premise, actually, is that it in no way involves some elaborate and complicated reason for Angel to yet again lose his soul. This is a completely new route, and it's great! :)
Now Asylum was all dark and stuff. But SP is pretty much pure entertainment, and that’s not a bad thing. See ‘Smile Time’ was a fun episode with a dark underbelly (one of the darkest eps of S5), and I know there are those who feel that this is just a shallow rip-off. But then, that *is* what the ‘verse so often did - sent itself up in glorious silliness.
As for all the character stuff, then there’s not all that much to say. Yes, we get more openness due to the puppetness, but becoming a puppet does not impact upon Spike in any major way, otherwise. When it happened to Angel it was a complete surprise - and he was embarrassed and uncomfortable etc. But Spike was forewarned (it was one of his ‘cons’ when weighing his options), and he has fellow puppets to ‘bond’ with. There is also the fact that when it comes to being different, he’s been there, done that, got the T-shirt. There was the ghost thing of course, but I’m more thinking about the chip here - he’s been helpless and useless and had people he could previously kill with the flick of his wrist consider him a joke. And although his powers are obviously somewhat lessened as a puppet, he’s still got them. And heck - he’s even got his sex appeal still... As we saw in issue 2, his main fear is ridicule. ‘Freakishness’ - or ‘being different’ - is something he embraces (“I see you - am man surrounded by fools.”)
And that’s all for now. Have to help the children tidy their room...
p1 - 2. Poor Lorne. The freak. And again we see to what an extent he hides behind a persona.
(Also see Underneath: “What do I think? I think I'm tired. I think I'm sick and tired of wearing bells on my toes and making like everything's gonna be OK. [...] A simple plan that failed utterly, which is why I'm gonna heave my tuchis off this stool, strap the bells on, and with a smile and a quip, go back into the belly of a very ugly beast and pretend like I can help. Hmm. 'Cause that's what the green guy does.” )
But the side that gets highlighted in S:SP ties more in with the original ‘Smile Time’:
Framkin: “So much accomplishment despite your unfortunate deformities.”
I think one reason he wears such very lurid suits is that it gives people an excuse to look at him anyway... He’s a demon living in an alien world, and it’s not easy. Of course Spike barges in, being hugely indelicate. (Although - Spike asking for advice is... quite something. Just consider it for a moment.)
Oh and Puppet!Betta George is too cute for words. I want to buy one for my toddler! Right now!
p3) “Lift where your knees should be.”
“Angel could lift his.”
Oh so many funny lines....
p4) Yay! Biting!
p5) “Goldilocks has puppet leprosy.” *snicker*
p6-8) I love Tok fighting. Poetry in motion. Also for some reason Fauna (bottom picture p7) really works for me. There’s something about the chubbiness and the ballerina costume and the evil bitch ‘tude that is utterly delightful. Oh and the ‘child killer’ stuff is hilarious! :)
p9) “Later Tok-”
“Bloody Hell. I sodding hate Japan.”
“Stay in school.”
*falls over laughing* My dear, dear Lorne!
p10) Betta George’s face!
p11) “Yeah Lorne. Don’t be such a gitting, bloody sod... git. Right?”
“Seriously. I don’t sound like that, right?”
This is the joke that just doesn’t get old! :) Oh and then we get one of my favourite, favourite things:
“Raw fish, blimey.”
Beck using her powers to fry the fish is... sorry, I have no words. This is one of those moments when I can only squee. (As I said - kink. That is - someone casually using their extraordinary powers in an everyday situation.) Oh and the drawing is awesome too.
p12) “They are hideous. Surely they had more attractive stuffed anim-”
*snicker* (Oh and I’m presuming that ‘ascot’ should have been ‘mascot’?)
p13) Giant band aids!!!! *profound love*
“Pretty please, with sugar on top, bring me the head of William the Bloody.”
Have I mentioned how great it is for Spike to have his own comics?
Anyway, I’m deeply, deeply curious as to what Marco has had done to his face. Oh and when I first read this, I presumed they were gonna make an Evil!Puppet!Spike. Nice misleading. And very pretty picture. :)
Snuff the Dragon putting on glasses is a nice touch btw.
p14) The all-knowing guy with the giant head is an interesting addition. As is his language... It’s such a random thing to throw in. Can’t say that is bad. :)
p15 - 16) Gratuitous!Naked!Puppet!Spike. Heee. And Spike cheering Lorne (/telling him to stop being a baby). Bless. Also I swear I can almost see tears brimming in Lorne’s eyes. Wonderful artwork. Oh and this is v. funny:
“I wanted lots and lots of books jam-packed with incantations scribbled in long-dead languages that when recited wrong would open portals to universes with crazy versions of us. That’s just how it was done. Ah, the good old days.”
p14-18) Need to backtrack a little, and deal with the fight. It’s v. nicely choreographed, but it also hits what might be my overriding kink of all time: Competence. They way Tok and Beck battle away while Spike and Lorne talk (utterly unconcerned ‘cause they know the girls can handle themselves), and the way in which Tok ‘takes time out’ to talk to Spike, as though she were merely doing the cooking or something - it thrills me in ways you can’t imagine. Or maybe you can? It’s one of the reasons I love the Buffy ‘verse so very much, and why I love the later seasons more. Ditto later Harry Potter. Young kids winning the day through luck and perseverance - fun, but... meh. (Young) adults, winning through knowledge and training etc - I’m there. And I’m staying.
Anyway, I love it. And Spike killing the monkey with the lamp is of course squee-worthy in the extreme. *fangirls cool Puppet!Spike liek whoa* Was Puppet!Angel hot? I mean he was cute, and he was badass, but was he hot? I think it’s to do with the allure/sexiness of smoking. See?
Sexy Puppet!Angel! :) (I love drawing him btw.)
p19) Hee! Crush back on! (Also I *love* Urru’s work w. Tok. The third image is such a perfect ‘meep’ expression, but it’s done with just a few tiny little lines. Trust me, drawing expressions ain’t easy.)
“Technically, Christmas is a birthday-”
“Don’t talk for the rest of the day.”
*snicker*
p21) “And maybe he’s so stupid he thinks we’re simply ambushing Dicky in the park. But I don’t think Spike’s that dumb. I don’t think anyone can be that dumb.”
What are they up to??????
p22-23) Puppet!Angelus. I might have squealed with joy when I saw that panel. Yes the last line is probably too meta for its own good, but... Happy happy joy joy. And poor Fauna! Dude, Puppet!Angelus is nasty! *claps hands and bounces*
Now... before I start talking, I feel I ought to use this banner (made by sueworld2003, I believe):
The thing is - we’ve never (in canon) had Angelus and souled!Spike meet. And OK, this is hardly canon, but it’s still a wonderful premise. I’ve seen it in fic of course, but... never with puppets! Squee! It fills me with much glee - the cuteness, the slashiness, the snark to come, the epic battle(s?), the icons... I think I might need a Puppet!Spike/Puppet!Angel(us) layout (banner). Might even draw it myself, so as not to spoil anyone...
ETA: The thing I really like about the premise, actually, is that it in no way involves some elaborate and complicated reason for Angel to yet again lose his soul. This is a completely new route, and it's great! :)
Now Asylum was all dark and stuff. But SP is pretty much pure entertainment, and that’s not a bad thing. See ‘Smile Time’ was a fun episode with a dark underbelly (one of the darkest eps of S5), and I know there are those who feel that this is just a shallow rip-off. But then, that *is* what the ‘verse so often did - sent itself up in glorious silliness.
As for all the character stuff, then there’s not all that much to say. Yes, we get more openness due to the puppetness, but becoming a puppet does not impact upon Spike in any major way, otherwise. When it happened to Angel it was a complete surprise - and he was embarrassed and uncomfortable etc. But Spike was forewarned (it was one of his ‘cons’ when weighing his options), and he has fellow puppets to ‘bond’ with. There is also the fact that when it comes to being different, he’s been there, done that, got the T-shirt. There was the ghost thing of course, but I’m more thinking about the chip here - he’s been helpless and useless and had people he could previously kill with the flick of his wrist consider him a joke. And although his powers are obviously somewhat lessened as a puppet, he’s still got them. And heck - he’s even got his sex appeal still... As we saw in issue 2, his main fear is ridicule. ‘Freakishness’ - or ‘being different’ - is something he embraces (“I see you - am man surrounded by fools.”)
And that’s all for now. Have to help the children tidy their room...