#spider-oni

HELLO EVERYBODY!! I promised you doodles I bring doodles!! That are a little bit old because I keep forgetting to post LOL but they're here!! It's the Spider-Oni au that I was rambling about a while ago!!

While I cannot draw babies, I certainly can and enjoy drawing mystical woman in beautiful clothing so drawing Jorogumo was super fun and I’m really happy with it!! I plan on sketching a full body of her with an older Peter in his Yōkai kit but for now, you get this!

I still have no information on this universe because i’m convinced its literally jsyt for the Marvel Rival’s costume so I'm taking the idea and running away with it into my own Spider-Man au which is very fun to imagine!!!

So a bit of lore:

Jorogumo is a quiet Yōkai, she never really interacted with the outside world much and as such stayed inside the winding caverns that were her home beneath Kirisaki Mountain. But she was known to the small villages that surrounded it, purely for the legends that had been spun about her trickery with drunken, rowdy men that strayed too far from their homes. There was an unspoken rule for the mortals that lived nearby, if you dared to step foot onto Kirisaki, then don't expect to come back without something lost. The mountain was infested with many different creatures, not all of them sentient enough to act with anything other than violence. But Jorogumo was not like that.

Although she refrained from harming innocent civilians without proper reason, that didn't stop her from toying with the fools who stepped upon her territory and dared to disturb the peace. A mischievous attitude she paced along to Peter later on in life. But to some, she wasn't just some unnerving spider yōkai, she was a guide. There is no Aunt May and Uncle Ben in this universe, they are Jorogumo combined. She is the kind, caring and wise support that shapes Peter into the hero he becomes. Even before Peter is brought into her life, she is known to some as a fair yōkai who would protect them from more savage creatures and then help lead them back home. For the humans who had fair intentions, she would leave them with a pleasant impression. For the rude and demanding humans who thought they could claim her head for fortune, she would leave them strung up on a tree on the outskirts of the mountain, humiliated and with a new fear of eight-legged arachnids.

But Peter’s parents were one of the fair ones.

Most Yōkai and humans knew of the border around Kirisaki mountain, but not all. On a dark, cold night, the Great Snake Orochi (Venom) stormed a nearby village in a quest to settle their hunger. Though his parents tried to defend themselves, they could not beat a demon as vicious as Orochi and subsequently, his father fell. In a last ditch effort to save her child, Peter’s mother fled to Kirisaki Mountain and begged for help. Of course, Jorogumo replied and appeared by the wounded woman as she cradled her newborn child. With her final breathes, the woman pleaded with the kind yōkai to please protect her son from the oni coming their way. Jorogumo agreed and quickly took the tiny human into her arms. When Orochi slithered into her territory, eyes for the prey he had lost, the spider yōkai spent no time in unleashing a fiery attack upon the snake.

Thankfully, she easily won the battle and the Great Snake was sent away, warned that if they ever appeared near the mountain again, she would not be so merciful the next time they fought. But even though she tried, Peter did not come out unscathed. Weak and injured, the baby was fading fast and the worried spider did what she thought was best, she wove Peter’s fractured spirit back together with the webs from her own being. Though the attempt to save his life was a success, Jorogumo had irreversibly changed Peter and imbued him with a soul like her own. Peter had become half-human half-spider yōkai.

From that moment, Jorogumo swore she would care and be responsible for the life she had failed to properly protect. Peter could not return to a home he did not have, nor could the spider guarantee that the other villages would be so kind to a half-human creature, so Jorogumo did everything she could to give Peter a normal life from within Kirksaki mountain. She taught him all the kind and heroic traits she held dear, she helped to hone the spider powers she had passed along to him and she upheld her promise to give Peter a happy and safe life for as long as he was under her care.

Until 15 years later, a strong yōkai hunter decided they wanted the Spider mistress on his list of creatures slain.

But I’m not gonna talk about that right now >:))

Takara (Peter Parker), the Spider-Oni of Kirisaki Mountain. A half-human half-spider yōkai that has sworn to protect the weak and defenceless - from both sides of the border, even if all he gets from the people he saves is rejection and fear. He’ll do what he can, because no one else will.

Based on the Marvel Rivals Spider-Oni skin, I was completely distraught to find that there were no comics or one shot stories of this character so I decided to make my own! I already posted a few sketches on my other account @onesaltybagel but now artfight is here and I decided to make a fully-fledged ref!! Tweaked it a lil bit so that it's not an exact replica and I'm happy with it! Its not complex but not plain either! He’s got a chunk of lore that you can read in my artfight profile (OneSmallBagel) and ill be posting it to Toyhouse soon enough!!

It’s this skin: (also has four spider arms that come out the back with the ult and emotes)

And here’s the story that comes with it!:

"One dark night, the Great Snake claimed a mother and father, the cries of a newborn piercing the silence of Kirisaki Mountain. Jorogumo rescued the abandoned infant and raised him in her hidden lair. Growing up among creatures of the night, he embraced the belief that all lives—human and Yokai—could coexist in harmony. He dedicated himself to patrolling the rugged terrain, protecting all in need. When his adoptive mother was slain by a 'Yokai hunter', instead of giving in to rage, he only found his resolve steeled—a testament to his unyielding creed."

The “Great Snake” is a Japanese legend called Yamata no Orochi or Orochi the Great Snake which in Marvel lore, is apparently Venom but I am only basing that off a conversation between Psylocke and Venom in the game so I could be wrong lmao. But from going to the wiki, they look like this!:

Oh wow I was right it is venom-

And “Jorogumo” upon doing some googling, is also another genuine Japanese legend, a yōkai that is presented as a woman-spider. She is known to take the form of a beautiful woman to manipulate men (from what I’ve skimmed) and can control fire breathing spiders (god damn) There are many different depictions of this queen but my favourites are the ones where it’s a kind-of half-spider-half-lady like this:

Credits to The Demonic Paradise Wiki!

So now that we’ve got all the lore properly down: HOW FUCKING COOL IS ALL THIS TO IMAGINE??? A fantasy-esque Japanese setting where Peter is raised by a yōkai, gaining the abilities of a spiritual fire-breathing spider and going around saving the day in hopes that the two worlds he traverses one day bridge the gap.

I am absolutely drawing him, her, Venom and doodling the story because oh my god this kinda of stuff is like my favourite thing and I can’t believe it came from Marvel Rivals and not an actual comic (I might be wrong but I searched and couldn’t find anything else)

Jorōgumo, a fire spider yōkai and the mischievous guide of Kirisaki mountain. After saving Takara’s life from the wretched snake Orochi, she swore to teach him the kindness and good morals that the work that the world seems to lack for their kind. Unfortunately, she only got so far before she was slain by a yōkai hunter.