#especially Zato

[the-space-junker]

Up and down: a Dandy's legacy

No matter how I look at it, I just can't be mad at Slayer for some of his past mistakes. I think his song fits perfectly into the rollercoaster ride that is this Dandy's life.

He may have his flaws and he was irresponsible, but in his mistakes, he also created and achieved so many good things. Life is wonderful, it will never be perfect, but even your mistakes can turn out good when you put some effort into correcting them and when you had good intentions.  

- Nago was on his verge of dying and even though Happy Chaos took control of him, he is still thankful that to even have a chance to see so much more than he would've been able to see, to experience and to learn in a human lifetime. There were some downs, but overall everything turned into something good in the end and Nagoriyuki - though he cherishes his own independence - is still a part of Slayers found family and looks up to him.

Also - Nago is a cool character and I can't wait to find out more about him.

- Zato was merely a little street rat who had to kill to survive and death was always his companion, be it the death of others, or the hard truth that he can die at any moment. There is something so heartbreaking about the way Zato saw his life. He was lonely, he was a monster for everyone around him- as he told Millia in Night of Knives -, and he was just another worthless kid like thousands of others that roamed the ruins of fallen cities and the abandoned battlegrounds of the crusades.

He had no one and the only reason why he was alive was, because he didn't want to die. His life was miserable and hopeless and I suspect that's what made him so dull in his emotions. Zato never learned what it was like to be loved and he certainly never experienced any kind of human closure. He also never learned what a healthy relationship, love or care looks like.

And suddenly someone saw a worth in him, took him in and showed him a way of life that was much more rewarding and safer than what he had before. You can say that Slayer was his Knight in Shining Armor who ultimately also saved his life. Zato looked up to him, hell he was clinging to him so hard, he must've followed him around like a lost puppy. He soaked up everything that Slayer taught him and it aligned with what he's learned in the streets - never hesitate to do what you have to.

But Slayer is a Nightless and his understanding of humans does have a limit. He saw beauty, elegance and keen intellect in Zato, but I have a feeling that he completely ignored the emotional impact he had on him, because Vampires are built differently and also feel different. He missed the part where a human being not only needs a task, manners, rules and approval, but also love, care and emotional support. Zato is a huge baby, because he craves to be loved and praised and cared for. Slayer missed the point - or was unable to provide him with human warmth.

If you can't see any parallel to Venom...I hope now you do!

Venom is like his younger self and it really breaks me to finally understand what Slayer wanted to tell him in his winning quote:

"If the prince never showed up for snow white, would you have just settled with that?"

Slayer was Zatos prince...and Zato was Venoms! Zato must've seen himself in Venom in EVERY way as he devoted his own life to Slayer and his teachings, to the guild that became his home and the people he once vowed to care for. And Zato could not deal with it.

Venom looked up to him, the same as he did to Slayer, because he was the one person that saw a worth in him. Zato never showed him love, or care, but at least mercy and kindness. And maybe...maybe because of that, Zato was always distant and emotionally unavailable to Venom.

Slayer left him in the end, even though Zato did everything he wanted him to, and maybe even loved him in his own twisted way, because he was his mentor and some kind of a father figure. Zato hated him for leaving his guild and his responsibilities without thinking twice (or so he thought). Slayer was a leader who abandoned his own subordinates and Zato wanted to prove that he was better than him.

But with all his flaws, his trauma and his fears, he must have known that he was just a mere human and if even a Vampire has his weaknesses and imperfections, how should he be able to surpass his own mentor? He wanted to keep Venom out of his heart to count in the possibility that - in his own weak moments - he might do the same to him, or even worse. Zato was never a good person to start with; he was absolutely willing to sacrifice everything and everyone to reach his own goals - even Venom and Millia.

And he knew it. He was aware of all his sins and still kept marching on, right to his own death.

And when he returned from the Underworld, he was stripped of his ego, his pride and the emotions tied to his overboarding temper. In the past Zato tried to contain his emotions and he often failed. He told Millia that assassins can't find happiness and that their fate is only death, but questioned his own life at the same time.

Zato just surrendered to his fate and automatically assumed that everyone who walks the path of an assassin, would do the same, sooner or later. He tried to be a leader and he tried to seal his emotions away, even with the price of his own life, his sanity and his happiness. Zato was so hell bent on being the number one and an ideal for his followers, that he even threw away his humanity to truly become a monster, to prove his point.

There are so many flaws in his thinking and when he came back, he was finally able to see them, because his stupid ego was no longer in the way.

Zato tried to actively improve the lives of those he wronged, without regards to his own feelings or the effort he had to make. For the first time in his life, he acted out of selflessness to help other people and to make up for the things he did to them. Even if it is just words - like telling Faust what really happened on the day he lost his patient, or warning Ky and Gabriel about the cradle and the conclave, it is a huge step for someone like him.

He did horrible things to Millia and Venom, things he can never undo, words he can never take back and he can never give them back the time he stole them. Zato ruined the lives of many people and it must've hurt him to realize that he treated those he was supposed to love the most with such inhuman cruelty.

Venom deserved the life of a human being, where he could find his own way to happiness. And that also meant a life outside of the Organisation.

When you love someone, let him go, even if it hurts. If you didn't fuck up completely, you can still be friends.

Millia's home was always the guild, even if she hated what Zato made of it. But it was the only place she felt where she belonged and to her, freedom meant to shape the guild to a place where she can exist and find happiness. With Zato's and Daryl's deal, the guild was finally able to transform into what Zato wanted it to be, but also a place where Millia can take control of its fate. Ironically they both got what they wanted in the end.

The guild is their home and their family (I want to see how 2Cave ties into that, PLEASE Mr. Ishiwatari!!!) and neither of them wanted to leave it.

But at the same time Zato, as well as Millia, found new meanings for their freedom and their happiness. Millia was finally free to make it on her own, Zato was finally happy to carve a way for her to reach that goal (and he also carved a way for Venom to be free and happy).

He learned to let go - as seen in Millias arcade mode where Zato understands that only if he stops treating her like a baby (or his possession), he can see the real potential of her and how strong she is, if he just let her do her own thing. Millia was always a strong person, but under his control she wilted like a dying flower.

"...but given some clean water and sunlight, it will bloom into something beautiful."

I think in the end, Slayer can really be proud of his 'little princess'.

Zato finally understood what the Code of Dandyism was supposed to be and acted upon it. His life was an up and down and it will continue to be, but he will never be the same person again and even if it is hard to forgive him, you can't ignore the fact that he tries his hardest to prove that even a monster like him can do better.

[arashi-no-saxlphone]

every time I see posts like "You guys can't even handle evil women stop asking for them" I used to be like "come on don't make such a blanket statement" and then I remember the time I saw someone mention that people don't like I-No and it's like, you know what? You guys are right actually. What the fuck do you MEAN you don't like I-No? Cause she's mean? This woman barely half exists with memories she feel like she can't verify and spends her whole half existence trying to fix and save the world and watches it end in front of her over and over without ever really understanding why until she goes numb and insane. Sol Badguy kills people and everyone loves him. It's not fucking called Innocent Gear you dumb motherfuckers. I love you I-No I'm sorry people haven't got eyes in their head

[golden-stag]

I'm gonna hold myself back from making more posts after this one but GGHGHGHH

I just watched Slayers and Millias routes. I'm rattling the bars on my cage. I love learning about this web of relationships going on between the assassins guild it's so GOODD they all compliment and contrast each other in such interesting ways... I'm being so normal right now.

Alright! Venoms route is up next, so I will continue to be normal. Definitely.

[meelomb]

a lot of faust x zato doodles because theyr eneat

heyre married

eddie is their dog

[lesbiangiratina]

Oh yeah btw the testament anthology gave me a couple missing link testament crumbs. Jumps and clicks my heels

[moreeels]

the scheming left has tricked me into playing guilty gear. now i have brain worms .

[mocolococoffeesimp]

reader teaching nago and zato to dance, like a waltz or the tango?

Oof, I feel this. I can't dance for life of me.

-Nagoriyuki was interested in the idea. So, he was willing to go with it. Especially, since Slayer's teachings about being dandy came to his mind. As expected of man his size, he wasn't the smoothest as you tried to dance teach him.

-He didn't step on your toes, but he was close to it. He was a bit clumsy, as he tried to follow your steps. His gaze followed more of your feet, which caused the messups. He was more used to holding a sword and not doing a delicate balance with someone. But, he was doing his best.

-Overtime, he learned to dance quite graciously. He was quite pleased with himself, once he could lead the dance. He got quite into it, suggesting to you dancing occasionally. He was also glad, he was able to learn something dandy.

-Zato would be more smooth with dancing. He had some prior experience, so he was more than happy to keep up his old dancing habits. Similarly to, Nagoriyuki he also wanted to learn something dandy to impress Slayer. Zato was a lot faster in learning the dance moves, in a matter of weeks he was able to pull some of the more impressive moves.

-Zato was almost like the ideal dance partner. Smooth, charming, he was able to hold his own in the dance. He soon enough was leading the dance, as opposed to you leading and teaching him. You two were changing improvement notes, after each practice.

-Eddie would mess up the practice at times, well tried at least. Zato could sense him trying to mess it up, so he lifted his/yours foot just enough, so neither of you tripped. Eddie was a bit disappointed. But, once he realized he couldn't do anything he would sulk away. Letting you and Zato carry on with the practice.

[xinsareforever]

I honestly love reading your headcannons. I would love to see Answer and Zato sfw and nsfw height difference headcannon where reader was shorter than them

Answer x Reader (R) / ZATO-1 x reader (R)

Topic: SFW and NSFW with a short reader

A/N: YOU SKIPPED THE LINE WITH THIS ONE !!

TAGS: SFW, fluff,NSFW, height difference, 18+, doub. penetration, Gen neutral

---

SFW

- Despite the height difference, he would respect the reader's capabilities, whether in combat or other talents. His reactions might lean more on the considerate side, possibly being protective but also making sure to never underestimate them because of their stature.

- He might casually tease the reader about their height in a lighthearted way but always in a respectful tone. "Guess I’ll have to duck a bit more around you, huh?"

-When fighting or training together, he might quickly offer tips or adjust strategies that best suit the reader’s size, never seeing it as a limitation. "Your speed is your strength—use that to your advantage."

-Answer is always business-focused, so he'd never make the reader feel inadequate because of their height. He would probably even praise them for using it to their advantage in ninja-like tactics.

NSFW

(NOW THE GUD PART)

-He will still love you the same way In the bedroom. He will try to actually consider the height difference while doing it and try not to hurt you in anyway possible.

-Its really all on you the way you want it; Answer is always respectful of what you want and is trying to make sure you are ok with what ever he is about to do.

-He may also tease you during it. Saying that "You don't want him to pull out since your really tight". You give him a flustered look, blushing at him but you're to into the pleasure to care much

-When he releases, not really a big load but will take it out most likely if he's not ready for kids. Don't worry his pull out game is good !

-Will always try to care for you after sex and makes sure to get you anything that you want. If you need anything he's most likely already gone before you say something.

SFW

-Zato, being more mysterious and reserved, might approach the situation differently. With his connection to the shadow, Eddie, his interaction with the reader could reflect his quiet and calculating nature. However, the height difference wouldn't be much of an issue for Zato. He would be more focused on their abilities and mindset.

-Zato likely wouldn’t comment on the reader’s height often. He’s not the type to point out something so trivial, unless it’s in a specific context. He values strength and strategic thinking over physical traits.

-Given Zato's darker, more intense personality, he might feel protective of the reader, especially when their height makes them seem more vulnerable. His shadow, Eddie, might reflect this by wrapping protectively around the reader during combat or tense moments.

-Zato might subtly guide the reader, teaching them ways to use their size to their advantage in combat or negotiations. He would appreciate a quick and nimble ally, using their smaller stature for precise, hard-to-read movements.

-Well if you already know how to use combat (which you should) Zato will let you fight on your own but will not let you get pummeled at all. SO he always there by your side.

---

NSFW

-Like Answer, Zato will consider your height and try to be gentle on you. He's also trying to instruct you kind of in his way of making sure nothing bad happens. You do not have to listen to him though and go your own pace.

-Zato is a gentle and savory gentlemen during sex and goes slowly on you trying to make you two comfortable while chasing your highs. He also adores seeing you small structure under his muscular body,

-Eddie will try to mess around during you and Zato's private time and try to sneak in a tentacle. When you call it out, it stops completely and Zato just tells you that its just Eddie

-Again, Zato does not mind what you want and will do it for you. If you want it rough your definitely in for a ride. Hoping Venom or Millia does not hear you two. Your moans are gonna be laced in Zato's name as he goes deeper into you.

-"Lower your voice Y/N it my alert others near" as he covers your mouth.

-Zato will care for you after intercourse as always. Trying to make sure your all set and ready for bed; Trying to be close to him and cuddling up together.

[toweringclam]

I've alluded to it before but my personal theory of what Millia sacrificed for Angra: Her self-image.

Whether or not it's truly a Forbidden Beast (I think it is, but w/e), it stands to reason that Angra might follow similar rules to Eddie. Granted, it's hard to extrapolate with only one data point, but there's such a strong association between shadow and eyesight that it'd be weird if there wasn't some connection there. He sacrificed a sense to control a being that obscures that sense.

Hair is very often associated with beauty, especially for women. It's one reason why ascetics shave their heads. In Buddhism, hair is associated with vanity. It's a barrier to true consciousness. Therefore, having hair that she could control could be considered the ultimate vanity. It obscures her internal sense of self.

We see this in the Night of Knives drama CD where she constantly denigrates herself, especially at the beginning. She compares herself to a doll, a body pillow, a slave. She can only define herself through the way other people see her, and Zato-1 sees her as a possession. Through the story, she gains the strength to defy him, but even post-timeskip, she still struggles. Her song "Love the Subhuman Self" is about how she still can't see herself as beautiful. It's even possible that the only thing she can see in the mirror is Angra.

I think it's worth noting that, while Zato's pact was made willingly, hers was not. The exact circumstances are unclear, but it's pretty clear she didn't know what the results would be, and that Zato-1 wanted her to do it. I think it was meant to be another means of control and abuse, which makes their current relationship ironic. The person who once robbed her of her humanity is now her most unwavering supporter, as he now defines himself through her.

[tillman]

The Autism Has Spoken.

[guiltygearconfessions]

I love Eddie guilty gear like nothing else. This little guy is the sole reason I'm even playing Strive, back in March my friend made me install it and sent me dustloop to look at while waiting and I saw the little shitstain and it was set in stone from there. I am way too stupid to be playing Zato especially since this is my first FG but I'm doing it anyway just so I can look at Eddie and nobody can stop me. He may have sadly been shelved as a speaking character in Strive, but I see him. Funny little shadow man is peak character design. He's so happy when he's summoning drills, he waves his hands around when he moves backwards and he drools all over the floor when he sits idle. Bro swings a blade on a chain from his mouth for j.HS and on wallslump his face slides down to his chest. One of the snakes in Oppose does nothing and just watches. The taunts and respects are so good I don’t even have the words. Eddie could just kill people with scarier looking things like he did in previous games but he does all of this wacky goober shit instead just because he wants to and I can't get enough of it. Not that other versions aren't great too, when I got XRD and saw the little worm Eddie in Zato's idle animation I nearly cried. I want to put him on a string and take him everywhere with me. I need Arcsys to make an Eddie plush so bad. Why hasn't it happened yet. Please.

-

[rex101111]

I keep thinking of Baiken taking Delilah to Illyria. Taking her to a certain bakery, letting her go in and up to the counter herself and then look up at Venom and ask him, “Are you the one who killed my brother?”

Because if she doesn’t know, which I doubt it, then Anji does. And if Anji knows something and Baiken asks him, directly, face to face, he’ll tell her. And if Baiken knows, no way in hell can she keep that knowledge away from the kid, no matter how much she doesn’t want to.

Because choosing to walk away from revenge means that you have to choose walking away every time, every time you find another connection, another person you can blame for you pain. You need to choose every time, no matter how much your gut burns. And if Baiken doesn’t tell her, than she ain’t choosing shit. She’s just being left in the dark, left to wonder...and Baiken cares about her too much to leave her like that.

And Venom looking down at this little girl, this very familiar��looking girl, and realizes straight away who she means. And he says, quietly but solidly, “yes.” Because for the majority of his life, he was an assassin. It doesn’t matter if he was a kid, or that he was manipulated, because at the end of the day his profession was the taking of lives. He has no right to hide away from a single death, especially not now. Zato intended for this to be a quiet place, a place to hide, to put away the bloody knifes and shallow graves. But you can’t run away from your past forever.

Delilah keeps staring at him, face blank, frozen, and then she asks him, voice cracking, “why?” Because that’s the question that keeps coming back to haunt her. why. Why did it have to happen to him? To her? What did they do to deserve this? Why couldn’t she help? Why didn’t she wake up?

“Because if we didn’t, he would have ended the damn world.” Robo-Ky speaks up, his voice unashamed. He didn’t enjoy doing that, not by a damn long shot. But he was built for war, and something deep in his circuits makes a very grim equation that results in that death being the only one that could have happened. If his life could have been saved at any point, and there had to be a point like that because the universe can’t be that cruel, then that point wasn’t when he met the two of them. By the time Venom and Robo faced her brother, someone needed to die.

 And although Delilah feels like she’d be justified in turning this bakery, bought with her brother’s blood and built on his ashes, into a smoking crater...she knows he’s right. Her brother was a stubborn bastard, and these two didn’t know him like she did. She feels her anger draining, feels something cold and heavy replace it...

There can’t be any closure here, there’s no place for justice. Baiken is waiting for her outside, waiting for her to choose.

She looks between the two of them, turns around, and chooses, one more time, to walk away.

[lesbiangiratina]

Looked over the gg card scans instead of going to bed i cant let the little imperfections drive me insane. But huuagahh… OKAY NO ITS FINE GOODNIGHT 👍

[dizzying-faust]

8, and if not than 2 for the ask game

I'll stick with 8, since I'm not much into top/bottom stuff.

common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

I've seen so many bad opinions regarding Faust, especially the aforementioned 'he's depressed in Strive" despite the contrary.

But one I briefly brought up is the whole he's dead thing, which he isn't. He overexerted himself due to his heavy use of magic.

Also, Faust is still silly, he's just doing it in a way where he doesn't want to mask himself.

(And I don't wanna get started on takes with saying he regressed to Baldhead in Strive or he wants to get revenge on Zato when those aren't true at all.)

Choose violence ask game

[solradguy]

People are always searching for reasons to dislike characters. It makes it feel like they want a moral reason to be against something, when the reality is that you don’t need a good reason. You don’t even need a reason. It’s okay to just not like something.

If someone asked me why I liked a character, and my reason was that I just enjoy them, then that wouldn’t be weird. It’s the same thing.

Me? I don’t like Johnny because of his hat and because I’m afraid he’s from Texas. He seems like he’s from Dallas-Fort Worth.

I’m not going to pretend it’s justifiable or objective. It’s just the reasons I have.

Yeah, I don't know why there's always gotta be some "deep" moral reason to dislike/hate a character either. Especially for something like Guilty Gear where every character has at least something cool going on with them. Zato is a good example. He's got a list the length of a highway of reasons why he's a pure irredeemable bastard, but even he still has Eddie (who I do genuinely like) and I like his design and playstyle.

What I think happens is that people get caught up in the memes and hate and never stop to really analyze why they dislike a character. Sometimes the end result of that analyzing is just "I plain don't like them," and that's as fine a reason as a more complex explanation would be.

The most important thing here is to not hate a character for aspects that straight up are not true/canon.

[gear-project]

Annon-Guy: Slayer

What do you think of his ganeplay in StrIVe compared to past entries?

How were his arcade story interactions with Nagoriyuki and Zato, his students of Dandyism?

Can you make out his quotes, normal and special, when he uses his Last Horizon Overdrive? P.S. Hope you're not on the receiving end of THAT Overdrive if you fight Slayer online due to the INSANE damage it deals! It makes Dimitri Maximoff's Midnight Bliss look tame!

I suppose I can chalk this up to another review of the DLC:

First: Gameplay-wise (if you haven't seen the video yet, please do), I think Slayer's Dash Teleports aren't nearly as strong as they used to be, which makes him less able to use the moves in ways that evade attacks.

They put a heavy emphasis on the vacuum hit of 2S, though I don't know how viable much of this is when an opponent is mashing buttons (i.e. they can easily poke Slayer out of a lot of things compared to older games where Slayer got far less reprisal for his attacks).

I'm sure future updates will tweak the balance somewhat, but I think they're still working on Slayer a bit as a character, so he's far from done yet.

Combo-wise, he's very easy to use, much easier than older games, though that's not necessarily an improvement.

Second: Regarding the story, I already wrote notes on the topic in a previous post, see the Slayer tag for details.

Third: a lot of Slayer's quotes are character-specific, so I would suggest turning down the music and environment volume when playing the game to hear them more clearly.

But the biggest one you might appreciate: he refers to Super Mappa Hunch as "Trend Setting"... though I don't know how much of a Trend it truly is at this point.

If you have trouble with making out certain lines (due to J.B. Blanc's accentuation of the character) or whatever, let me hear the lines you can't make out, and I'll script them for you.

Still, like I say, it's much easier to just Turn down the music and environmental volumes in Options.

It also wouldn't hurt to compare the Japanese with English as well, to get a clearer idea of the lines~

Finally, as for Last Horizon, the way his opponent bounces around the screen is reminiscent of his old Pile Bunker Counterhit properties, though I don't know if such were retained in full for the gameplay itself.

For the most part, in older games, Slayer's Pile Bunker would either:

Cause a Floor Skid/Slide

Or they would bounce off the boundaries of the screen (i.e. wall bounce).

The former comes from K Dandy Step, the latter from P Dandy Step.

I'm sure similar is true in Strive, but in P Dandy Step, Slayer now moves "towards his opponent" instead of away from them, so that may impact how hits land... especially UNIVERSE counters.

Overall, while I'm not the strongest Slayer player out there, I think the character will struggle a little against aggressive veterans who have been playing the game for a while, so plenty of practice with Slayer is recommended.

Once you have a firm grasp of his mixups and blocked attacks, and how to use them, not only will the matchup be better in your favor, but I think you'll enjoy the character a little more.

I don't anticipate everything to work out in Slayer's favor, even as he was very powerful in previous game entries, but he's always a welcome addition, both to the game itself and the Story.