Hey, you're right. Having bigger shoes would be more canon.
Obviously, we don't need to stick to cannon at all cost, but if I may point to it, the new orange colour is more cannon than the red one. Then, to decide which colour should be kept, well, that's a question of taste, really. I like the new orange one, more vivid.
Thank you for the explanation, despite basically knowing nothing when it comes to programing, I was able to understand the issue fully. Yes, it seems like this is too complex for you to implement, don't sweat it then.
And if I understand well, when it comes to the spider, it's the fact that the animation plays during the next life that makes it possible. Then what about playing the pregnancy animation right at the beginning of the next life in order to bypass the issue of the character freezing? Would that be possible?
Again, those are only suggestions, just ignore it if it's too complicated to do. It's interesting to discuss, though, especially with your explanations.