#he's the kind of guy who animals are drawn to FIGHT ME

[thankskenpenders]

Sonic Prime Season 3: Final episodes, final thoughts

Well, here we are. The final seven episodes of Sonic Prime are out on Netflix, concluding the story of Sonic's adventures in the Shatterverse. I've previously shared my thoughts on the first and second seasons, which I was pretty mixed on, but there were still glimmers of hope. The fluid animation, Shadow being fun in all his appearances, Nine being fairly interesting as a jaded alternate version of Tails, etc. There was enough to make me believe that after some highs and lows there was still the possibility that this show could end on a high note - or at least a decent note.

This did not happen.

Sonic Prime's final season sucks. The ending sucks, and the road to get there sucks. It's left me wondering what the point of all this even was. There are still moments I like that I'll try to highlight, and the animators and voice cast are still clearly giving it their all, but these efforts sadly don't outweigh the overwhelming mediocrity of the story. I would barely even recommend other Sonic fans who are on the fence go out of their way to finish it. I won't begrudge people who got more out of this show than I did, but I think overall I just really, really dislike Sonic Prime.

...The problem, of course, is that all other discussion of the show has been overshadowed by needlessly hostile arguments over its place in Sonic's canon. So we've gotta talk about that, too.

(This post will contain full spoilers for Sonic Prime.)

The show's out of ideas but they've gotta stretch that shit out to hit the 23 episode mark somehow

Season 2 ended with the big twist that Nine decided to betray Sonic and Shadow, taking the Paradox Prism for himself so that he could go turn the empty world of the Grim into his own little paradise, since he doesn't believe he'll fit anywhere else. Nine has made himself the true big bad of the show.

The main impact this has is that now, instead of fighting endless identical Eggforcer bots and members of the Chaos Council over and over, the good guys and the Chaos Council have to fight endless Chaos Sonic-style robots sent by Nine while he goes "grrrrr I need Sonic's energy to stabilize the Paradox Prism." This continues for six whole episodes until the series finale, when the show decides it's time for Sonic and Nine to quickly make amends, fix everything, and send Sonic and Shadow home.

That's pretty much the whole season.

I cannot emphasize enough just how much of this final season is just fight after fight after fight against Nine's bots, and how fucking boring that gets. The season feels like one long, drawn out final battle that did not need to be nearly this long, but Nine had his big heel turn 2/3 of the way through the show and we've gotta fill up the rest of the time somehow. The novelty of the bots being based off of Sonic's friends (including the Chocobo-sized Birdie from the jungle world) really wears off quickly when they're just used as generic, silent mooks that the good guys have to fight by the dozen like it's the climax of an MCU movie. The first episode of the season with Sonic and Shadow fighting the new bots is pretty good, especially because Sonic and Shadow's dynamic is one of the few redeeming aspects of this show's writing, but after that it just gets boring. Three full episodes in a row are spent showing all the characters fighting robots in an empty wasteland while Nine scowls next to a big beam of energy. I found myself missing the in-your-face attitude of Chaos Sonic so much. He truly was one of the best parts of this show.

While the cast is busy fighting all these robots for what feels like an eternity, various things of varying levels of interest happen. There's a halfhearted attempt to have some kind of rivalry between Shadow and the main Grim Sonic throughout the final battle, but it completely falls flat because Grim Sonic has no personality whatsoever. It's like Shadow beefing with an above-average Egg Pawn. (Actually, no, that would be funny.) There's also a death fakeout with the two other versions of Tails, where they make a makeshift bomb and throw it a little too close to themselves on the battlefield and seem to get vaporized. If they had actually died there they would have had the funniest, most pointless deaths in the entire franchise.

I also realized at one point that they were trying to do the Avengers girl power fight thing with the three versions of Amy fighting a bunch of Rouge bots. This was very funny to me. Actually, so much of this is just following the tired MCU formula to the letter. Fighting over a macguffin, two armies just kind of running at each other and clashing in a big empty field, constant one-liner quips instead of actual jokes, the need to take out key targets to make the whole enemy army disappear, a villain who has a point but has to randomly hurt people so that there's an excuse for the heroes to fight him. When combined with how shit the multiverse stuff is, this whole show really is just Man of Action tackling some of the most played out storytelling tropes in modern pop culture in the most bland way possible. What a bunch of hacks.

By far, the one truly fun thing that happens in this protracted final battle is when a giant robot based on Big appears. It doesn't have arms or legs, but it can swing itself around to use its tail like a giant mace, and it can also shoot Froggy-shaped missiles out of its mouth. I wish the rest of the show was even half as fun as this. Again, Sonic Prime has just enough good moments to make you mad that the rest of the show isn't better.

The thing is, all this repetitive (but well-animated) action and the thin excuse plot would be totally serviceable if I just gave a shit about the characters involved. But I don't. I don't care what happens to the pirate version of Amy who goes "arrr." I don't care about what happens to Hipster Eggman. And unfortunately, by the end, I didn't really care about Nine, either.

Nine as a villain

It's hard to criticize the story here without it coming off as a broad condemnation of the tropes at play. The thing is, I like many stories that try to do similar things. I love clashes between heroes and villains that are really just fantastical exaggerations of more personal conflicts. I love stories where a tragic, sympathetic villain lashes out at the world as an expression of the pain they feel, and a compassionate hero just has to get through to them. I eat that shit right up. Undertale is my favorite game ever made. Shit, I love other Sonic stories that do these exact things. And Sonic having to fight an alternate timeline version of Tails also has so much potential for drama!

So I can very easily imagine a version of the show where all this works for me. That just isn't the version we got.

Like I said last time, Nine's motivation is just too sympathetic and understandable for his sudden turn to supervillainy to make any sense. He just wanted to start over somewhere where he can be happy after a childhood filled with bullying and loneliness. Nine betraying Sonic and stealing the Paradox Prism to go make his own world? That tracks! Especially since we don't even know if Nine will still exist if Sonic goes through with his plan to restore his original world! But trying to kill everyone in New Yolk City by tilting the world 90 degrees, intentionally targeting the civilian population because it'll get to Sonic? Nope! Sorry, that's a bridge too far. I don't buy it. He's jaded and antisocial, but he doesn't strike me as cruel. Writing in an excuse about him needing Sonic's energy to fix the Prism does not make this make more sense.

This was really just one of those conflicts where it felt like everyone should stop and talk it out. Instead we got six episodes of fighting before one of Sonic's many, MANY attempts at reasoning with Nine throughout the season finally works. This isn't me pulling some Cinema Sins bullshit where I complain about characters in a work of fiction not always behaving rationally - the real problem is that it's just so damn repetitive waiting for this conflict to resolve. This could have been wrapped up in two or three episodes and instead it takes seven.

A brief aside about that weird Dorkly-ass Sonic Advance 3 flashback scene hacked together with mismatched sprites where Gemerl happens to be present, presumably just because he's a part of the sprite for the Sunset Hill boss, and seeing him briefly makes me remember the extended cast from the games and how much I wish they had just made a cartoon about them instead of a bunch of stock characters wearing the skin of Sonic's friends, but then Gemerl just explodes with the boss machine at the end while Eggman is shown to get away so I guess Gemerl just dies in this flashback

Yeah that sure happened huh

The ending

Despite having a final battle that felt like an eternity, Sonic Prime is a show that just kind of... ends. And that ending is weird and haphazard.

The understanding I had was that Sonic's normal world had "shattered" when the Paradox Prism was destroyed, and from those remnants these new worlds were created. This is why they use terms like "Shatterverse" and "Shatterspaces" and why there's shattered glass/crystal/whatever imagery everywhere. This is a broken, fragmented version of the real universe. Right? Right?? Isn't that the entire premise of the show? And therefore, if the universe has been shattered, then fixing it means putting all the shattered pieces back together. Which I would assume means that the Shatterspaces cease to exist.

So, in the ending... Sonic's world seems to just exist as another Shatterspace. Restoring the Paradox Prism doesn't seem to combine the worlds or anything, it just fixes the broken portal to Sonic's world that exists alongside all the others. So... what exactly was the point of all the shattered glass symbolism?

Things only get more confusing as the ending progresses. Shadow brings Sonic through the portal before the draining of Sonic's whatever energy makes him disappear, and they're transported back in time to right before Sonic broke the Paradox Prism. Only Sonic seems to remember what happened (Shadow might remember, but he doesn't say anything), and with the Paradox Prism never shattered, it's unclear if the Shatterspaces exist now.

I'm not particularly hung up on the time loop ending. It's very much in line with all sorts of classic morality tales like A Christmas Carol or It's a Wonderful Life, where the flawed protagonist goes through some kind of magical experience and then returns home with a new appreciation for the people in their life. It's always been pretty obvious that was the type of story they were telling. I'm more bothered by the fact that there's no time whatsoever spent on whether or not the other worlds and the characters in them continue to exist. Sonic seems to act like the worlds will go on without him before he leaves, but it's not like we get an ending scene that shows how the other worlds are doing, so they really truly might as well not exist anymore. Sonic just wraps up the adventure from the first episode when he gets home, and before he can explain what happened from his perspective he's interrupted by a mysterious energy wave from off-screen and it's off to the next adventure.

(Despite this odd cliffhanger ending, the show is extremely over and not coming back. I have to imagine this is just a "the adventures never end" type ending and not a hint that more shit is going on with the Paradox Prism.)

This ending is also a terrible resolution to Nine's whole arc, despite him being the driving force of so much of the show. The way I see it, there are are three possible fates for him:

The Shatterspaces continue existing, and things go as Sonic expects them to go. Nine is allowed to make the Grim into his own little utopia, and everyone else leaves him alone instead of punishing him for all the trouble he caused. Instead of finding love and acceptance so he can heal from a lifetime of bullying and loneliness, Nine is allowed to run away, isolating himself from every other living being in the multiverse, and live alone as the god of an empty world with only his own creations as company. Sonic was his only friend, and he's gone forever now.

The Shatterspaces continue existing, but because of the time travel ending, most of the events of the show never happened. Sonic never helped defeat the Chaos Council, so they still control New Yolk City. Nine is back to living in this dystopian city with no friends. He never met Sonic.

The Shatterspaces have been erased. After fighting so hard for his right to exist as his own person and not just a "wrong" version of Tails, when the timeline is altered, he just... stops existing. Along with almost every other character in the show.

Do I even need to explain why these are all unsatisfying?

Misc. thoughts

I skimmed over this, but a lot of the final season is just spent seeing Sonic's friends bicker with the Chaos Council and then Sonic has to beg them to get along to save the universe. It gets old.

We also never really got an explanation for why the Chaos Council exists. They can't have come from other Shatterspaces because there ARE no other Shatterspaces. If the original Eggman was just split into five guys or time travel was involved or whatever, it never comes up. I can live with this, but it seems like an odd omission for a children's show that's constantly bogged down in technobabble explaining the mechanics of its extremely small and finite multiverse.

I have no idea where Shadow was for the first part of the final battle. I figured Nine must have captured him off-screen after Sonic first left the Grim, but Shadow was just... hanging around until his cue in the script, I guess?

Sonic saying "help a brother up" to Shadow was funny

Hipster Eggman pointing to one of the few nameless extras who tagged along for the final battle and going "Who are you? Seriously, does anyone know who this is?" was the only funny thing he did in the entire show

Mangy Tails randomly pressing buttons on the Chaos Council's generator like a curious animal and managing to improve its output was cute

Rusty Rose randomly realizes that the Birdie in her chest actually isn't being used as a power source, and that the Chaos Council was just... using that to manipulate her, somehow? I don't really know how that works but whatever

The Sonic Advance 3 flashback uses the actual boss music from the game, but they can't use the real Sunset Hill theme because they didn't wanna pay Masato Nakamura for using the Green Hill motif, I guess

To my fellow fans of bad games: did you know that Man of Action wrote the story for the bizarre Square Enix game The Quiet Man? The one where the lengthy FMV cutscenes play out with muffled audio and no subtitles because the protagonist is deaf, so you can't tell what's going on? And you had to do a New Game+ playthrough to actually hear the audio and understand what's going on? The worst-reviewed game of 2018? That one? I only learned that recently and it blew me away

So yeah, that's the end of the show. I didn't like it, and I don't think I liked the show much as a whole. I am far from alone in this sentiment, but the reasons why people dislike the show... those vary a bit.

The canon conundrum

More than anything else, it seems like most other discourse surrounding this show has been consumed by one talking point:

How can this be canon? Why is it canon?

I want to state very clearly up front that I, too, am a person who's noticed and complained about the inconsistencies with the games in Sonic Prime. Some of the characters are a bit off - or, you know, completely unrecognizable when discussing the writing of some of the AU counterparts. I think it's lame to say Sonic and friends all live in Green Hill and act like that's the entirety of their world. That sort of thing. But if Sega says it's canon to everything else? Sure. Fine. There's weirder shit in the canon.

Really, most of this can be explained away pretty easily. The show was written at a time when Sega was still figuring shit out and there were looser restrictions. Why does Sonic act a little more immature? Probably just because Prime is aiming for a slightly younger audience than the games or the IDW comics. (And also it's, y'know, written by Man of Action, who people have accused of only knowing how to write one kind of protagonist for years.) Why do Sonic and friends live in Green Hill? Because that's the most recognizable location from the games, and the game world doesn't get enough screentime to justify modeling multiple different environments, so they just focus on Green Hill. Why is this considered canon to the games? Because this is the first Sonic cartoon that outright references events from the games as things that have happened to Sonic in the past.

But announcing early on that Prime would be canon certainly let fans' imaginations wander. It was one of the few things we knew about the show before it premiered. People wondered if characters from the games and comics who had never made any appearances in Sonic cartoons might get their time in the spotlight. We wondered if it would tie into the lore or any existing storylines in interesting ways, like the IDW comics do. But above all else, we hoped that its canon status would mean that Sonic Prime would finally be the Sonic cartoon that was faithful to the source material with no catches. We've literally never seen the actual world of the games brought to life in a TV show. Sonic X came the closest, but that still took its liberties. And so hype built for this Canon Sonic Cartoon.

And then it actually came out, and after a brief intro in Green Hill based loosely on the games, it spent most of its running time focusing on things like "what if there was a version of Eggman who was a bratty teen who just wanted to play video games?" The disappointment among fans is understandable. I am disappointed. Look at how much I've bitched about this aggressively mid cartoon.

Some fans, however, came up with an elaborate theory about the series. You see, when asked about the show's place in the game timeline during a live Q&A, Ian Flynn (who only served as a consultant on Sonic Prime and did not write any of it) said this:

"I cannot answer because I know the answer, and you haven't finished watching the show yet."

A couple days later, when answering another question about Prime's place in the timeline and also about a writing discrepancy, he said this:

"As to where it fits on the timeline, I can't speak to it because that would spoil the show to a degree. So you're just gonna have to wait 'til it's done. Towards the other point, I don't know how much I can say, so it's probably better that I not comment. That's a really dissatisfying answer, I know, I'm sorry, but my hands are kinda tied on that one."

I feel the need to quote Ian directly here, because these very basic statements about how he can't talk about behind the scenes shit or anything from unreleased episodes was GREATLY misinterpreted by the fandom. People clung onto Ian's claim that we had to keep watching like a life preserver. Some took it as Ian saying that the ending would explain everything. Finally, we'd have a definitive answer for every little discrepancy and the apparent differences in worldbuilding. An explanation for why Sega and the producers repeatedly insist this show HAS to be canon.

And to these fans, the only explanation that made any sense... would be if the ending of Sonic Prime pulled a Flashpoint.

As this theory explained, the Sonic we were following in Sonic Prime wasn't the Sonic we know from the games and the IDW comics, and likewise the world he comes from isn't really the game world. This is a different Sonic who fights a different Eggman in a world that's literally just Green Hill. It was a hint that something was off all along! But in the end of the series, this Sonic would sacrifice himself to merge all of the Shatter Spaces together and form a brand new world, and that would be the more visually diverse world of the games and comics. According to this theory, Sonic Prime was canon because it was a new origin story for the entire franchise.

I want you to really stop and think about how asinine of an origin story this would be. Really drink this in. The idea that there was another, slightly different version of Sonic who went on a kinda shitty multiverse adventure and then sacrificed himself to create the real Sonic that we've known since 1991. People convinced themselves this made more sense than the simple explanation that a different team of writers got some stuff wrong and Sega didn't make them change it. Interviews where producers talked about drawing on Sonic's "mythology" (ie: they reference the games in the show) were taken very literally - they must be saying that Prime's story is mythological in nature, and that this show would be integral to the games' mythology. Why bother making a show that's canon if it's not going to be crucial to that canon, after all?

The final episodes dropped, and none of this happened. Because of course it didn't. It was all Sherlock fandom-level copium. But fans were left confused by the lack of a grand reveal of where Sonic Prime fits in the timeline, believing they had been promised this, and they turned to Ian for an explanation. Ian's answer:

It doesn't matter, b/c Prime wipes itself out. It's sometime after Advance 3*, but otherwise, it's moot. I didn't want to sour anyone's expectations or investment by spoiling how Prime resolves, that's all. If you enjoyed it, awesome. Savor it. If you didn't, then you can safely ignore it. Simple as that.

* About a trillion people have um, actually'd Ian to point out Orbot and Cubot briefly appear in the show, but if we're really being pedantic here we don't actually know how long before Colors Eggman built Orbot and Cubot, so it wouldn't be fully accurate to say a story featuring Orbot and Cubot couldn't be set before Colors. Either way, a story set anywhere around Colors, or at any point later than that, could still be described as "sometime after Advance 3." Advance 3 is just the most recent game that has specific in-game events referenced in the show. Yes I can feel myself morphing into the nerd emoji before your very eyes

Anyway, this is the latest reason Ian is getting death threats on Twitter. This time it's over a show he barely even had any input on!

I'll cut to the chase. It is truly wild to me that people are getting this heated over canonical inconsistencies in a series as historically inconsistent as Sonic, to the point that they think threatening Ian is justified. The aesthetics of the entire world Sonic inhabits change every other game. Sonic Chronicles may no longer be canon due to the Penders lawsuits, but it was canon at one point, and it took huge liberties with Sonic's world, moving Green Hill off of South Island and reinterpreting Station Square as a tiny outpost in a snowy alpine forest region. Characters' personalities change from writer to writer and based on what Sega wants at the time, with some being WILDLY different across different games. One game Sonic will be stoic and cool, the next he thinks "Baldy McNosehair" is the funniest thing ever. Sega's STILL trying to figure out what Amy's personality is supposed to be. We still don't have the explanation for how the two seemingly contradictory backstories for Blaze can fit together. There have been multiple huge, sweeping retcons, and retcons to those retcons. Sonic Forces claims that Classic Sonic is from an entirely different universe than Modern Sonic, and the plot only makes any sense if that's true - otherwise, Modern Sonic would have already known Eggman was going to beat him and take over the world when he did, because his younger self had already lived through that war. All of that makes no sense in the newly reunified timeline, but Forces is very much still canon.

For fuck's sake, we're talking about the series where Eggman blew up half the moon and then it looked completely normal in every other game after, explained away as "the moon just rotated so we can't see the destroyed side from Earth." This has never, ever, ever been a franchise where everything lines up perfectly with no issues. It's not that serious.

The real core problem with Prime isn't that things don't line up 100% with our current understanding of canon, or that Sonic's characterization means this can't be the real Sonic, or anything like that. The problem, as I've been saying this whole time, is that the story is bad. None of these discrepancies would truly matter if the story was better. They'd just be nitpicks. The fact that Sonic and friends live in Green Hill would be the farthest thing from my mind if the drama was more engaging, if the villains were better, if the jokes were actually funny, if more of the alternate universe counterparts of Sonic's friends had more than one generic character trait each, if the multiverse was more creative and varied, if the final seven episodes of this show didn't devolve into the third act of an MCU movie and then just arbitrarily end, if Nine's character arc actually had a satisfying conclusion instead of ending with either isolation or nonexistence. Maybe we'd be seeing people talk about more than just whether or not it should be considered canon if the writing was any good.

"Canon" is not real, and it sure as hell isn't worth sending people death threats over. It's a storytelling tool. Real human beings decide what does and doesn't go into that canon, or how much they do or don't want to draw on past stories, when creating a new story. Serving that canon is secondary to creating a story where the emotional truth resonates with the audience. And Sonic Prime failed to do that. That is its true failing.

And finally, to close out...

Since people will ask, here are my current ranking of the Sonic TV shows, now that Prime is finished.

Sonic Boom

Sonic SatAM

Sonic X

The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic Prime

Sonic Underground

Yes, I'd say Boom is my favorite. It's far from my ideal Sonic cartoon, but it gets a lot of points for being as funny as it is. But the top four are all shows I'd say I like, more or less. They all have their pros and cons.

So now, uh... I guess let's hope the live action Knuckles show coming to Paramount+ is better than the underwhelming synopsis of "Knuckles helps deputy sheriff Wade train in the ways of the echidna warrior" would imply? Maybe we'll get lucky?

[tobiasdrake]

Also spoilers but I wanted to talk about the ending to Snow White (2025) bluntly.

One of the biggest differences between the 2025 film and the original is that it culminates in an actual confrontation between Snow White and the Evil Queen. In the original, the dwarves go kill the Evil Queen in retribution after Snow goes into her coma, and then some guy shows up like "Wow, hot corpse! Mind if I make out with it?"

Like. No shade to original Snow White. This was literally the first cel animated movie ever made. The writing took a backseat to the sheer sorcery of being able to put hand-drawn moving pictures on a screen like this.

The Prince was supposed to have a larger role in the film but wound up being mostly cut because he was too hard to animate. This is actually something the live-action film rectified, by bringing the sequences he was supposed to have back into the movie.

Snow White walked so that the entire history of traditional 2-D animation could run.

But something I really like in the 2025 film is that final confrontation with the Evil Queen. It's so perfectly crafted as a contest of ideologies in a film that seems tailor-made for this moment in history.

Like. Okay. Lemme walk you through this, play by play.

Standing in front of a mob of people Snow's gathered to resist her, the Evil Queen conjures a rose and waxes poetic about the ephemeral beauty of flowers, then magically disintegrates it into dust to reiterate how fragile it is. This is a metaphor for Snow White and her appeal to the people currently supporting her.

The Evil Queen, by contrast, claims to offer security and prosperity. She conjures a flawless glass dagger to represent herself. Perfectly crafted and honed. A beautiful and lethal weapon.

And then she presses the dagger into Snow's hand and dares Snow White to kill her with it. This is the classic villainous "Embrace the Dark Side and strike me down" card, played here as an ideological contest. The Queen represents a philosophy of Might Makes Right and Fuck You Got Mine.

The metaphor of going "This rose is you, this knife is me, now take this knife and stab me if you dare," is pretty on-the-nose. She is challenging Snow White to take back her kingdom... by embracing the Queen's belief system and becoming the kind of ruler that she is. To cast away the rose and take up the glass knife.

When Snow won't do it, the Queen orders her executed and that's when Snow plays her hand. She brought the "Talking the monster into submission by sheer strength of personality" card to the table.

But what makes it stand out for me is that she doesn't talk the Evil Queen down. The Queen is too cruel and full of herself to care what Snow thinks or has to say.

Instead, she appeals to the Queen's radicalized followers. She reminds them of what their country was like before this regime took power, and what it can be again... but only if they put down their weapons, let go of the Queen's militant belief systems, and come home to the people they've been alienated from by following after her.

Because Snow White is not a person of power. She is no Chosen Hero. She has no sorcerous powers or deadly fighting skills. Her only power is that she's beloved by a community who are willing to prop her up with their collective power.

And when the Queen's followers turn and become Snow's followers, then all the sorcery and Strongwoman Leadership in the world doesn't matter anymore. The collective are stronger.

Symbolized ultimately by the Queen taking her dagger, taking the thing she crafted to represent her, and trying to plunge it into Snow herself... only for one of Snow's followers to shoot it from her hand with a crossbow. And then for that last artistic touch, the dagger, the thing whose beauty and power was supposed to be eternal, wilts and disintegrates into dust just like the rose.

The Queen's ideology crushed into sand by Snow's faith in people to want better lives than what the Queen's regime could provide for them.

This. I cannot reiterate it enough. This is the movie for this moment in history.

[storgicbytes]

ahem. cracks knuckles.

you know what time it is boy

highlights of attacking the innocent (also balling): general analysis of influencer arc episode 1

(so. the green onceler arc might be actually real)

THIS EPISODE WAS SO SICK. the animation????the music??????? the 3D CYBERSPACE??????????? MWAH chefs kiss . and the most interesting new thing: new character to play dolls with (thank you everyone who put their 5 cents in and shared a braincell: calling him greenscreen)

and. god.

the 3d insides of the computer box and programs... GOD !!!!!! GOD !!!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS WHAT I LIVE FOR BABY!!!!!!!!

i NEED to find out the dimensions of it.

the way the ab team decided to expand on the 3d perspective just like this is. oh my lird

personally this means SO MUCH for me as the #1 lover of the "internet is walkable" trope. one of the main reasons why i adore avam so much

more points on that: the icons dont seem to.. "gain shape" until they're interacted with: in this case picked up by the cg. another point: sticks need to apply force to an icon to open an app . swag

additional note: the episode itself seems to begin in sticksfight?? or just a random table that was drawn

additional note electric boogaloo: green seemed to hit the CEILING when performing his ballin movement. is the gui of the computer really not that high?? and.

where are the doors. where are. where is the backstage that the sticks constantly come out of. hello

the way they interact with adobe premiere is SO SO interesting. the whole process of videomaking in the universe is something im gonna be thinking of for a GOOD while

(small note: i know sticks own hammerspace and can basically bring out anything but. is the red cape the red fabric green used in the matador short?

now, onto our new character

greenscreen seemed to appear out of the adobe video being overloaded? with effects n unnecessary sfx and clipping masks and such, causing it to glitch. in fact, adobe itself warned to proceed with caution the second the cg put too much stuff into it.

honestly, we can always put this monent into the "something glitchy-fucked happens and there are consequences" category, with the consequences just happening to be a new guy (thank you so much whoever did that). but worldbuilding wise, how exactly did it manifest? did the excessive amount of effects and glitches.. shape a creature into existence? with it taking the appearance of green as the main character that appeared in the video the most. sort of like a puzzle to create a being?

what's interesting, the screen focuses on the cg throwing the video away before the sequence with it gaining sentience by taking the form of green starts.

now, the main thing about the fight scene to me is how greenscreen took all of his movements/actions from the video itself,

and how many people have already pointed out, is that..

he doesn't seem to have wanted to attack in the first place.

screen, from the beginning of his existence only possessed powers/moves that green & cg themselves have shown in the video. and of course, the main point of the video itself was fighting a monster — obviously filling up the video, the whole essence of the character, with mostly that. his whole being was shaped up that way.

screen might've tried acting friendly, or neutral at least — but the whole way the video, a fighting video, was jumbled with glitches kind of.. forced him not to exhibit any other behaviour. perhaps, if not for these glitches, he could've controlled his own actions — he would still know the most of the world from the video, but at least, if he wanted to fight — he could control it. and do it himself, if he wanted.

(additional note: greenscreen seems to glitch everytime he's hit, also.)

the time he does attack, himself — is when he is cornered, and has been shown nothing but violence from others.

woah that pal has some seeerious issues to get under control ! anyways, onto other highlights of the video! (/silly)

the new video did a WONDERFUL job at showcasing the cg's fighting style in a new, clear manner. the gang regained the weapons they have wielded in the first part of "wanted", but in another form.

orange, equipped with the classic brush tool, seems to be mostly focused on defense. (regaining the previous defense styles based on the last parts of wanted & avm s3!)

red seems to focus on melee and hand-to-hand fighting,

blue, classic: fighting at a distance with the bow.

yellow seems to also fight at a certain distance, but it is only a hand's reach: enough to hit, enough to not get hit. (this also heavily reminds me of yellow's behavior with the staff, where in fight she has mostly hung out in the middle: aiming and attacking from a certain distance.)

i'm not particularly sure what category to put green in, also taking in his usage of the rod in avms3 and a .. gun. in the beginning of wanted. but his moves are the most agile and sharp (literally) out of the crew.

a bit of the video i am . Really interested in

finding out about his adobe-abilities, screen consumed other bits of the program to use it for attacking. including posterizing time, which is not only a quite strong ability in on itself, but!

..also seemed to affect other sticks, while he, himself — was unaffected by time.

the move seems to be incredibly powerful??? like. if it was that easy for a glitched video to consume parts of adobe, use it for his own powers, to a point of manipulating time???

damn. the cg basically created an adobe demigod????????

another supposition i have onto why it worked on sticks: the cg were drawn themselves, and drawn in adobe flash, therefore being interacted with as symbols whether they were affected because of just being drawn beings themselves, or because of some kind of influence all adobe programs might have on each other — their creation itself is probably the reason for this. (once again. they created a killer machine and provoked it itself!!!!!! damn pick a struggle!!!!!/j)

the episode finishes off amazingly in my opinion by the cg recreating and using the basketball movements they learned when filming their first video. they Slamdunked a stick. good lord

anyways. FEEL FREE TO ADD ON TO THIS POST WHATEVER YOU WANT !!! i appreciate all notes !!!! :D

[reikorun]

KlubOutside Q&A 201-300 [Translation]

Translated by @reikorun

Q201.

2021.09.20

I like Luppi. I was absolutely overjoyed when Luppi made an appearance as a playable character in Blade Battlers 2nd which was released on PS2. In this game, Luppi's arms transform into tentacles and he could extend them to attack. I was surprised because there was no such depiction in the original work. Did sensei also supervise the settings for attacks in this game?

A201. 

I can't recall so I probably didn't touch it. Luppi fighting with outstretched arms is so entertaining to me. I think that outlaw kind of feeling is one of the greatest qualities about games back then.

Q202.

2021.09.20

Of all the characters you have drawn, which one did sensei consider the most difficult to design?

A202. 

Shun Shun Rikka, or rather the image of Orihime's abilities is the one thing which changed the most without quite clicking together. Initially, the story was that Orihime herself would grow Horns and sprout a tail, becoming sort of like a dragon girl.

Q203.

2021.09.20

Sensei, is there any character that you have drawn who makes you think "this guy is insufferable"? 

A203.

There isn't. I draw while thinking “this is so scummy, that's the best thing about it.”

Q204.

2021.09.20

Does Kubo-sensei have any fetish? When I look at sensei's drawings, I can't help but speculate that you like slender wrists and long fingers, regardless of gender. 

A204.

I don't have any particular fetish. I think it's because I draw illustrations using my own hands as reference.

Q205.

2021.09.20

Regarding Ichimaru Gin's eye color, I believe it was red around the early days of the anime, and then changed to blue in the latter half. What does Kubo-sensei think of his red eyes around this early stage? Also, as far as Kubo-sensei's canon is concerned, is it safe to assume Ichimaru Gin's eye color is blue? 

A205.

In the early days, the checks were not being handed down to me so they ended up being red. For the record, the anime related mistakes were errors made by my editor at the time who didn't bring the checks to me. Because of this, I drew Gin with his eyes open on the cover of volume 20.

Q206.

2021.09.20

Rukia's visuals in the live-action adaptation has become quite a hot topic of conversation, but was the matter reviewed by Kubo-sensei?

A206.

I had made it clear from the beginning that I would not be involved with the live-action project, so basically the whole thing was given the okay. Even regarding Rukia's hair, there was a conversation where they said "we'd like to go ahead with this" so I assumed there was a clear vision but it turns out there wasn't. I don't dislike the movie itself. Renji was extremely good.

Q207.

2021.09.27

Kubo-sensei, to what extent do you supervise merchandise and so on? I'm very happy that a lot of BLEACH merch has been released recently.

A207.

I feel like I'm supervising the things my editor can't make a judgment call on. Speaking of editors, they try their best to avoid handing over supervision duties to authors so that they can allow authors to concentrate on their creations, but after the series had ended, I had some free time so my editor has started bringing me more supervision duties than before.

Q208.

2021.09.27

If it were to come true, would you ever wish for a BLEACH anime adaptation, which faithfully follows the original work, to be broadcast by way of a remake?

A208.

I think I would.

Q209.

2021.09.27

It seems that the 2021 art exhibition will only be held at one location in Tokyo, but would it be possible for you to consider holding it at a variety of other locations? I'm really looking forward to it, but I'm sure there are many people across the country who live a considerable distance away and can't make it. It's a wonderful opportunity, so I think it will be easier to visit if it is hosted in various locations. I think it's a really difficult task, but I would be grateful if you could consider it just once.

A209.

I also want to show the exhibit to my parents, so I hope it will be held in Hiroshima.

Q210.

2021.09.27

Even though Byakuya and Ichika-chan never interact in the original work, I can easily imagine Byakuya being an uncle. I wonder why that is?

A210.

I can imagine it too. Byakuya's face whenever he tells her "kamawanu*"…. (*It's fine/I don't mind)

Q211.

2021.09.27

In volume 58, chapter 518, when Grimmjow was trying to interrupt Urahara and Ichigo's communication, Urahara instructed Orihime and Sado to "use the you-know-what to chase him back outside the tent", but what exactly was the "you-know-what"? What in the world is it, that it can throw Grimmjow off balance to such a degree…? I've been wondering about this for a long time.

A211.

It's a device which emits a sound that Grimmjow dislikes.

Q212.

2021.09.27

Is Ninny-chan easier to draw than Noel-chan?? I was curious because there are more illustrations drawn of Ninny-chan!

A212.

This is because the clothes I want to draw tend to suit Ninny better. If you have big breasts, it's probably difficult to find clothes that suit you.

Q213.

2021.10.04

Ginrei is Byakuya's grandfather, but Kyōraku did not mention his name as a Shinigami who has been Captain for 100 years or more, so perhaps his career as a Captain was rather short?

A213.

I forgot to mention him! Let's just pretend it was Shunsui's blunder.

Q214.

2021.10.04

Do you find that characters of a certain age group are easy to draw, and conversely,  characters of a different age group difficult to draw? 

A214. 

I'm not very good at drawing children or toddlers.

Q215.

2021.10.04

I have been curious about Tsubokura Rin-kun of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute. Rin-kun's hair wasn't filled in when he was in monochrome, I thought for certain he had pale blonde or white hair. However, in the anime his hair was dark brown … so as far as you are concerned sensei, what colors did you imagine when designing him? 

A215.

Was that the color it turned out to be? The image I had in mind is a pale sepia-like color.

Q216.

2021.10.04

Isn't it too bothersome to draw Grimmjow's hairstyle??

A216.

It's too bothersome isn't it? I wonder if you could give him a stiff pompadour instead?

Q217.

2021.10.04

Do you remember the first game you ever played?

A217.

It's "GeGeGe no Kitarō - Yōkai Daimakyō" which was purchased for me together with the Famicom unit itself.

Q218.

2021.10.04

Do you get asked to draw portraits by acquaintances?

A218.

I have always refused all portrait requests from both friends and celebrities.

Q219.

2021.10.11

What is Kensei's specialty dish? 

A219.

It's "Whole Pumpkin Gratin". The highlight for him is the part where he gets to use his bare hands.

Q220.

2021.10.11

When I saw the Playlist on KlubOutside, I was surprised at the wide scope of Sensei's music choices. How do you discover new music?

A220.

SoundHound is my recommendation.

Q221.

2021.10.11

Is the bellyband worn by the Shinigami Men's Association the same as the one worn by Kirinji Tenjirō?

A221.

It's different. The bellyband Tenjirō wears was made by Senjumaru.

Q222.

2021.10.11

Now that I think of it, what does "Whiskrs" mean? I looked into it, and although there are some existing terms, I couldn't find anything in particular with regard to its meaning. I don't know whether sensei came up with the name or not, but perhaps it envelopes some special meaning? 

A222.

It's a modified spelling of the word "whiskers". I came up with the name, or to be more specific, it's originally the name of a store that exists within the BTW universe. Though, this still has yet to make an appearance in the story.

Q223.

2021.10.11

When you go out, have you ever had a fan recognize you as Kubo-sensei and then attempt to speak with you?

A223.

A long time ago, another author wound up uploading a photo of a drinking party I was with to Twitter in the middle of the get-together, the restaurant was identified from the photograph and I was ambushed. It was late at night and I was on my way home alone, so it was really scary. That was probably the one and only time I was approached on the street.

Q224.

2021.10.11

Sensei, have you ever felt negatively about your own work in the past? I am currently creating works with the goal of becoming a designer, but unfortunately I feel embarrassed to display even the things I have created very recently in front of others. How do you overcome this from your perspective, sensei?

A224.

When I first became a manga artist, I felt embarrassed when my editor read my draft right in front of me. If you are creating something that personally satisfies you, you're just not accustomed to showing it to the average person, so you have no choice but to show it to a bunch of people and get used to it. 

Q225.

2021.10.11

Have you ever had a character Awakened in Brave Souls? If so, I would like to know which character it is.

A225.

It's Fierce Battle Aizen. Though, it's more like I just ended up Awakening him when I was targeting others.

Q226.

2021.10.18

In the work, it was never once stated from a  reliable source that Tōshirō's Bankai comes undone once his petals dissipate, but what actually happened when his petals fell away during the period he had an imperfect Bankai? 

A226.

Hitsugaya would injure himself after going through an imperfect growth.

Q227.

2021.10.18

When Rangiku had collapsed, Gin said "the fact that you passed out from hunger, it means that you have it too, right? Spiritual Power." and in Volume 11, there is a description from the exchange between Rukia and Renji that those with Spiritual Power feel hungry. But why didn't Hitsugaya realize he had powers until he dreamed of Hyōrinmaru?

A227.

Because his grandmother taught him that "only children get hungry.”

Q228.

2021.10.18

Why did Orihime's Rikka grow larger when Chad and Orihime returned from training in the final arc? I was curious because no one touched on the matter.

A228.

That's because Kisuke modified it to match her clothes (a cover was installed on the outside of the pins to make them difficult to break), but nobody said anything because they didn't think it was particularly worth mentioning.

Q229.

2021.10.18

When I was looking at "Hirako glasses" which was updated on the Gallery's Graffiti section, I became curious, what is that thing Hirako Shinji is holding in his mouth? Considering the hot drink in his left hand, maybe it's a cinnamon stick or something?

A229.

It's a cigarillo that he's holding in his mouth purely for fashion. I looked into it when I drew it but I couldn't find anything that matched the size I imagined.

Q230.

2021.10.25

Good evening! The work titled "maturity" in the gallery that was released on April 3, 2021, could that be Mayuri-sama?

A230.

It's Mayuri. When I tried to type the title "mayuri", I accidentally tapped on the wrong suggestion and entered that instead, I left it as it is because it's a pain to change it.

Q231.

2021.10.25

Did Ikkaku make the strap that Ichika has attached to her bag in JET?

A231.

That's right.

Q232.

2021.10.25

In BLEACH, how much influence did the ranking results of popularity polls have on a character's level of activity?

A232.

It's irrelevant. I'm the type who thinks "isn't that kind of thing discourteous to characters with few votes?"

Q233.

2021.10.25

Regarding the art exhibition, is it possible to increase the number of venues? I would absolutely love to participate, but due to the current situation, it is quite difficult to travel to Tokyo. Nevertheless, there are many fans of sensei and his work around the world. Although this is a very presumptuous request, I would be extremely grateful if you could consider it. Best regards.

A233.

I'll let my editor know! Murakoshi-saaan!!

Q234.

2021.10.25

Sensei, given that you play a lot of Dragon Quest, I was curious, is "Zaraki" - the district of Rukongai which Zaraki Kenpachi took as his name - based on the spell "Thwack" (*Zaraki in Japanese).

A234.

That's correct. Hold on, have I never mentioned this before?

Q235.

2021.11.01

Is there any reason why Kyōraku-san couldn't grace the cover of a tankōbon? I wanted him to have a cover.

A235.

It's just a coincidence. I wanted to draw it too.

Q236.

2021.11.01

Are Renji's tattoos only on the upper half of his body? Do they not continue down to his thighs?

A236.

They don't continue down. Wait? Have I never drawn his thighs before?

Q237.

2021.11.01

Is the double chant that Rukia recited during the fight against Aaroniero, simply the Sōren Sōkatsui chant split in two, with the Rikujōkōrō chant sandwiched in-between? Or does the substance of the chant change slightly depending on whether each is invoked independently or as a double chant?

A237.

It's a shortened version of Rikujōkōrō inserted between the full version of Sōren Sōkatsui. The effectiveness of the spells will increase if you perform both chants in full, but the time efficiency will decrease, so that would diminish the purpose of a two layered chant.

Q238.

2021.11.01

When a Zanpakutō is inherited from another person like in the case of Tōsen and Kenpachi, will the essence of its soul be overwritten? Or will it be made to mix with the essence of the previous owner?

A238.

Generally it is overwritten, but in some cases it may mix.

Q239.

2021.11.08

Were there any foreshadowing elements that made you go "ultimately, nobody noticed, huh?" up to the end of the BLEACH serialization? If so, is it likely there will be an opportunity to present it somewhere?

A239.

After I've finished playing a game or watching a movie, I like spending time alone thinking about what happened here and there or discussing with others about this and that. I want to create moments like that, so there are some parts where I try to depict things in a way that is not easily noticed, that's why unless someone correctly points it out, I try not to say much. 

Q240.

2021.11.08

Why didn't Ryūken give Uryū the "ken" (弦) character in his name? ×[1]

A240.

Because he was thinking that he didn't want to let Uryū become Quincy.

Q241.

2021.11.08

How far have you progressed in Monster Hunter? If there is a monster that you like among the monsters that appear in this title, please tell me about it!

A241.

I haven't played in a while. In this title I like Goss Harag.

Q242.

2021.11.08

Can I post the photos from the gallery on social media??!?!?

A242.

I guess it's not allowed, going by the FC rules. You can post my dog from Deskside at least.

Q243.

2021.11.15

Have you ever had to change a scene you originally wanted in order to make the depiction more in line with Jump guidelines? If so, which scene is it and how did you truly want to draw it? 

A243.

During the time Jump had a large circulation, extremely graphic depictions were not allowed, so I had to redraw some of the places where Mayuri appears. The first thing I fixed was the scene where his squad members die in an explosion.

Q244.

2021.11.15

There are characters for whom the theme music feels perfect, and on the other hand, others for whom the theme music is unexpected. By listening to each character's song, I feel like I am able to learn more about a character's inner being, it's so much fun! When deciding on a song, which does sensei place more importance on: the lyrics, or the melody?

A244.

It's only about the melody, sound and vocal quality. If it's the case that the lyrics also match, it's just a coincidence.

Q245.

2021.11.15

The market for e-books has grown larger, but when it comes to electronic and physical copy, people often say things like "you should buy the physical book!" What do you think? 

A245.

Either one is fine. Even I read most of my manga electronically now. I like making paper books but I think physical paper copies will become more of a collector's item in the near future.

Q246.

2021.11.15

Kubo-sensei draws many animals, but are there any that you particularly enjoy drawing?

A246.

Right now it's dogs. Since owning a dog, I've started to grow fond of animals, so I feel like I may reach a point where I'm able to draw animals a little better now. 

Q247.

2021.11.15

If there was an entrance song for Chad's boxing match, I wonder what kind of music it would be? If you have a song in mind that you can imagine for this scenario, please share the artist's name and song title with us.

A247.

It would be "Apache" by Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band.

Q248.

2021.11.22

An illustration of Tatsuki wearing a Shihakushō exists, did you originally plan to have her transform into a Shinigami? 

A248.

The one I drew for Jump Festa a long time ago, right? That's just an illustration I drew for Jump Festa that one time.

Q249.

2021.11.22

It seems like Rukia often wears dresses in the Human World, is there some reason why? If you have any particular preferences regarding the clothing choices of the BLEACH cast, please by all means, tell us about it!

A249.

I'll give you three example reasons for why they wear what they wear:

Orihime's body type makes it difficult for her to wear a dress.

I wanted to make a physically active Rukia stand out by making her wear clothes that are ill suited for physical activity.

Rukia was wearing hakama in Soul Society, so she's not familiar with fitted clothes.

Q250.

2021.11.22

You may not remember this … but during an autograph signing session, I was the one who announced "I'm getting married to my boyfriend who I initially became friends with through BLEACH!" We broke up at lightning speed after that! (Peace sign.) But sometimes we hang out and are on good terms as friends. Now my question is, what is sensei's favorite color?

A250.

My condolences. It's orange.

Q251.

2021.11.22

In the JET Q&A segment, you replied that the Vice-Captains of the 13th Division ten years later would be Sentarō and Kiyone, but I believe Kiyone was also the Vice-Captain of the 4th Division, so does that mean that they are concurrently serving as Vice-Captains?

A251.

That would be a mistake. Sentarō is the only Vice-Captain of the 13th.

Q252.

2021.11.29

Please tell us how Unagiya Ikumi-san and Ichigo met in the first place.

A252.

Their meeting came about when Ichigo delivered Kaoru, a lost child (and Ikumi's son) back to his mother. (Ikumi encountered them en route.)  

Q253.

2021.11.29

Ichigo remembers the time Orihime carried her older brother Sora to the Kurosaki Clinic, but does Orihime remember meeting Ichigo at this time? When Ichigo entered high school, he noticed that Orihime was the girl from back then, does Orihime realize that it was Ichigo who greeted her at that moment?

A253.

Ichigo is the only one who remembers. Ichigo remembers that scene clearly because he felt a strong sense of one-way sympathy for Orihime, who was on the verge of losing her family.

Q254.

2021.11.29

Sensei, what's the one thing that makes you think "I'm second to none when it comes to this!"?

A254.

My Mickey Mouse impression.

Q255.

2021.11.29

I got the impression that Aizen-sama was often drinking black tea at Las Noches, but I wonder if likewise he drank Japanese tea during the time he was in Soul Society in the role of a Shinigami? Or is it that Western style food and drink like black tea also exist in Soul Society, and he has been a black tea enthusiast since long ago?

A255.

I drew that because I wanted a scene where Aizen eats the same thing as the Espada, but when it came to eating, there were some characters (like Ulquiorra) who I didn't want to depict in a dining scene (at that point), so I merely chose black tea as a compromise, therefore it's not that I was paying any particular attention to tea itself. 

Q256.

2021.12.06

Is it possible for a member of the Gotei 13 to transfer to another Squad at their own behest? Recruitment of Captains or Vice-Captains from other Squads has been portrayed, but what is the situation like for ordinary soldiers?

A256.

It is possible if they make an application and obtain permission through their superior officer all the way up to the Captain. However, If they don't have any accomplishments their superior will reject it so it's difficult for an ordinary soldier.

Q257.

2021.12.06

Do you have a favorite coffee shop?

A257.

The place I frequent the most is Hoshino Coffee. I want to go to Komeda but I haven't had the chance to go yet.

Q258.

2021.12.06

What kind of life did Ikkaku-san and Shino-chan lead in Rukongai? I'm not sure if they're related by blood or not, but are they still family?

A258.

They're ordinary relatives. The Madarame family are a distinguished family and Ikkaku is treated like an oddball.

Q259.

2021.12.06

What do you order when you use services like Uber Eats for delivery?

A259.

The thing I order the most is Starbucks' White Mocha. By the way, I don't use Uber because I had a scary experience in the past.

Q260.

2021.12.06

I would like a YouTube channel or something to be created for Uni-chan. 

A260.

If I could get someone to do the editing for me, then I would like to make one to document my dog's growth, but I don't think I would update it often….

Q261.

2021.12.13

If you were to spend a day with any character from "BLEACH" or "BURN THE WITCH", who would you like to be with?

A261.

I seriously thought about it, but maybe being with Balgo would be the easiest….

Q262.

2021.12.13

Speaking in terms of BLEACH characters, who would you compare the breast sizes of Noel-chan and Cquntnire-san to? 

A262.

It's more or less that I'm drawing Noel like Orihime and Cquntnire like Nel.

Q263.

2021.12.13

What is Kubo-sensei's favorite rock or metal band?

A263.

I haven't been listening to much metal lately…during my high school days, I liked ROYAL HUNT and IN FLAMES.

Q264.

2021.12.13

This is closer to a request than a question, but I would like for you to issue and sell, the currently trending, NFTs with BLEACH illustrations! If that were to happen, I would definitely buy them!

A264.

I'll let my editor know about this also. Murakoshi-saaan!

Q265.

2021.12.13

What is your favorite ice cream?

A265.

Lately, I've been liking HERSHEY'S Chocolate Ice Bars. It's also nice that each bar is small and just the right size.

Q266.

2021.12.20

I have a question regarding BTW Magic. In chapter 0.8 which is a one-shot, Noel-chan uses Absolute Dragon Shatter in Front London, but in chapter 1, numbered Pipers spells known as "Magic" made an appearance. As a premise, I believe that Magic and Absolute Dragon Shatter are alike (as they both use Witch Kits), I suspect that the reason why Noel-chan adopted this unnumbered attack method in Front London may be due to one of the following two points:

1. Magic is an attack method that utilizes the medium of Witch Kits to feed on a special energy similar to Reishi which exists only in Reverse London, on the other hand, Absolute Dragon Shatter is an attack method made for Front London, which does not require this special Reishi. 

2. Given that it was an attack against a Disguiser Dragon who had remained hidden for ten odd years, Absolute Dragon Shatter was used as an arcane means and is considered the highest order of Magic or even a method surpassing Magic itself.

I'm really interested about the relationship between Magic and Absolute Dragon Shatter, will it be revealed within the story in the future!?

A266.

How insightful, I'm not sure whether or not I'll get to write about it in the future so I'll explain. In Front London, you can basically only use spells through items that are "charged" with magical power. The gun-pipe is not a rechargeable item, but Noel habitually fills it with magical power of her own accord, the release of that power is Absolute Dragon Shatter. Only Noel is able to use it. 

Q267.

2021.12.20

The person Ichigo respects is Shakespeare. Given this fact, does it follow that this is a universe where eminent figures like Mozart and Napoleon existed?

A267.

Eminent figures certainly exist within the Soul Society too, but if I were to touch upon that, the manga would end up in a completely different place, so I didn't bring it up.

Q268.

2021.12.20

Do Szayelaporro's glasses have lenses? Since it's a mask, there should be no lenses so I assumed it was the frame alone. However in the anime, there were depictions of lenses reflecting the light and gleaming so I was confused! 

A268.

There is no lens.

Q269.

2021.12.20

Were all the designs of the Zanpakutō which materialized in the Zanpakutō: The Alternate Tale arc, created by you, sensei?

A269.

I came up with some ideas and had an image in mind, Kudō-san designed them, I checked them. They pass for various reasons like being "just as I imagined!" or being "interesting because I wouldn't have come up with this design myself!"

Q270.

2021.12.27

Do you have a favorite character from Dragon Quest numbered titles or spin-off works?

A270.

It's King Grossner (Dragon Quest 10).

Q271.

2021.12.27

I heard that you like figure skating, Kubo-sensei, but do you have a favorite athlete?

A271.

It's Candeloro.

Q272.

2021.12.27

It is mentioned in the novel "WE DO knot ALWAYS LOVE YOU", that when Shiba Kaien died in battle, Isshin was the Captain of Squad 10. Why didn't Rukia, who was already serving as a member of the Gotei 13 at the time, realize that Ichigo's father was Shiba Isshin when she was freeloading off of the Kurosaki family? 

A272.

There are two reasons for this: for one, his outward appearance was completely different. Secondly, he was a Captain from another Squad and she was a regular soldier, so they didn't have much point of contact in the first place. To go further, given that there is no way for a Shinigami to have children with a human (only Kisuke knows how), the idea that a "Shinigami may become human and produce children in the Human World" did not occur to Rukia.

Q273.

2022.01.03

I like the accessories (hats, sunglasses, etc.) and clothes that the characters are wearing in KlubOutside's Graffiti, they are exceedingly stylish. Is it possible to put them up for sale? 

A273.

I will let the FC manager know about this. Totani-saaan!

Q274.

2022.01.03

Sensei, do you have any plans to publish, for instance, the yonkoma you drew for the magazine into a single book someday?

A274. 

It might have been published in JET.

Q275.

2022.01.03

When you were writing BTW, who came to your mind first between Ninny and Noel?

A275.

Out of all the characters in BTW, Noel was the first.

Q276.

2022.01.03

When Rukia entered her name into the family register, it's assumed that she did not change her last name, but now that she has become a Captain, it means there will be two Captain Kuchiki, so how do the other troops distinguish between the two when addressing them? Is it possible that she will revert to the Abarai surname?

A276.

Many of the troops differentiate between them by calling them Captain Kuchiki and 13th Captain Kuchiki. 

Q277.

2022.01.10

Did Zangetsu eventually return to being a single blade? The "Ten Years Later" version of Ichigo was implemented in the social game - Brave Souls, and he wielded the "Zangetsu which emerged from a broken Tensa Zangetsu" as seen in the final stages of the Thousand-Year Blood War arc. Zangetsu which was reforged into two swords for Hollow and Quincy, became one as Tensa Zangetsu in Bankai, so I thought for sure it would return to two swords once the Bankai is disengaged.

However, does this mean that Zangetsu did not return to two swords due to the fact that after activating Bankai, Ichigo's Hollow and Quincy powers were absorbed by Yhwach, and that his Bankai was damaged among other factors? Or is it that it's possible for Ichigo to wield both the dual swords and the single sword if he so desires?

It may just be game original staging to begin with, but I was intrigued.

A277. 

Since I haven't described this in detail nor do I plan to portray the matter any further, I'll give you an answer. The two blades of Zangetsu are the "sword" and the "sheath". The correct form of a Zanpakutō is one that has a sheath, and there are only two swords without one: Sayafushi and Zangetsu. What fixed Zangetsu into its "correct form" is the dual swords state, and in Bankai Zangetsu is placed back in its sheath, what emerged after that sheath was shattered is the "True Zangetsu". The shattered sheath was absorbed by Ichigo, so I think he is also able to return to dual blades if he wants to, but I suppose that depends on Ichigo himself.

Q278.

2022.01.17

I've always wondered about this since reading volume 12, but was there a physical relationship between Aizen and Hinamori? I think it's more fitting for Aizen to not engage in this sort of thing, so I'm on the side that says it didn't happen.

A278.

I won't answer this because I think it'll be more fun to leave it unanswered.

Q279.

2022.01.17

Is Hōzukimaru a rare type of Zanpakutō which always requires the sheath for its Shikai.

A279.

That's right.

Q280.

2022.01.17

Kubo-sensei, when it comes to TVs, are you in favor of wall-mounted? Or do you prefer freestanding?

A280.

Mine is attached to a wall storage unit with an extendable arm.

Q281.

2022.01.24

Upon being granted a letter, does the Schrift allow abilities to manifest based on the nature of an individual? Or does His Majesty already know what they are before granting it at the epithet stage. 

A281.

Yhwach can see words almost as if they were engraved on the individual's body. Those who are bestowed Schrifts, which were previously lost through death in battle and so on, are discovered from the words engraved on them and then given power.

Q282.

2022.01.24

Do Yōkai and Yōsei exist in the world of BLEACH?

A282.

It would be more fun if they did.

Q283.

2022.01.24

A color version of the BLEACH e-books exist, but does Kubo-sensei decide on the color scheme and such?

A283.

There are parts that I check and parts that I don't (I only check what my editor asks me to check), but even the parts that I do were decided upon rapidly in the intervals between my work schedule during serialization, so when I look at them afterwards, I often come to think "was this the kind of color I chose??”

Q284.

2022.01.31

Sensei, if you had the opportunity to be involved in a project in the future, what sort of creative work would you like to be involved in? (Live-action film, animated movies, manga, dramas, YouTube, etc.)

A284.

If I could get involved with the story aspect, then it would probably be a game.

Q285.

2022.01.31

If you could actually sell any kind of merchandise at the fan club shop, what kind of items would you want to sell?

A285.

Bracelets with the text from the opening poems.

Q286.

2022.01.31

Is the reason why Uryū was not affected by Auswählen connected to Uryū's grandfather?

A286.

There's a bit of a complicated setup regarding this, but it might appear in the anime adaptation of the Thousand-Year Blood War arc. (Depending on the composition.)

Q287.

2022.02.07

It has already been decided that the Thousand-Year Blood War arc is getting an anime adaptation, but will there also be an anime adaptation of the side story novels? I'd especially like to see "WE DO knot ALWAYS LOVE YOU" in the anime which depicts Rukia and Renji's marriage and the progress of Ichigo and Orihime's relationship.

A287.

Ah, I see. If there is enough room, then it may be possible.

Q288.

2022.02.07

Is it not true that Gigi is a girl? It kind of seems like Yumichika only said otherwise to provoke her.

A288.

Giselle is a man.

Q289.

2022.02.07

Who was the one to slash Rukia from behind during the first invasion by the Sternritter?

A289.

The plan is to depict this in the anime version.

Q290.

2022.02.14

Is the giant spoon used by Hikifune Kirio of Squad Zero actually her Zanpakutō?

A290.

That's correct.

Q291.

2022.02.14

During the performance of the ROCK MUSICAL BLEACH, Kubo-sensei personally talked to Tsuchiya-san, who played the role of Gin, about Gin's true intentions and purpose, as he was having a difficult time interpreting the character, and Gin's true intentions had not yet been revealed within the story at the time. I remember there was an episode which went something like that, but in so doing, did you also discuss everything which occurred with regard to Rangiku and Aizen? Also, did you not have any reluctance to divulge information which has not yet been revealed in the story?

A291.

I feel that we talked about things like how Gin viewed each character rather than the story itself. If it is necessary for the performance, then there is a possibility that I may also convey undisclosed information to the voice actors so it's not limited to this particular occasion.

Q292.

2022.02.14

Is the "table with English language BLEACH quotes suspended inside its transparent legs" which you wrote about in the cover flap comment of Volume 44, still being used? I would love to see photos of sensei's favorite furniture and more!

A292.

I use it when I'm composing my drafts at home. The tabletop is in disarray, so I hope a photo of the legs will do.

Q293.

2022.02.21

With regard to the role of a Shinigami, it involves cleansing Hollows of their sins by way of a Zanpakutō and sending them to Soul Society in peace, but was this role simply to extinguish Hollows until Nimaiya Ōetsu showed up?

A293.

It was only after the creation of the Gotei 13 that the role of a Shinigami was properly defined.

Q294.

2022.02.21

At what age did Chad get his tattoo? Was it when he moved to Mexico? Or did he get it inked in his own hometown in Okinawa? I would be grateful if you could tell us.

A294.

He got his tattoo in Mexico when he was 9 years old.

Q295.

2022.02.21

I heard that the Lost Agent of the Shinigami arc concluded earlier than planned, is that true? If so, I'd like you to tell us about the story you were actually planning to write.

A295.

You mean the rumor that I was planning to compose an episode for all the classmates but I got bored and decided against it? If so, then it's true. I feel like I mentioned that in a character book or something.

Q296.

2022.02.21

Have you ever wanted to draw Oiroke manga? (*Manga with light erotic content.)

A296.

I'm not confident that I'd be able to draw it well.

Q297.

2022.02.28

In the BLEACH PS2 game "Bleach: Erabareshi Tamashii", techniques such as "Hadō #20: Shōtenkyū" and "Hadō #26: Gōensai" made an appearance, but were these Kidō Kubo-sensei's ideas or the creations of the game staff? If it's the former, I'd also like to know how to write it in kanji!

A297.

I had no involvement with that so they're the creations of the game staff.

Q298.

2022.02.28

I really love the relationship between Ichigo and the store manager, Unagiya Ikumi, and you can sense in the air how Ichigo suddenly turns back into a child. Please tell us if there was anything you paid extra attention to when creating Ikumi-san.

A298.

Ikumi is a character that was born because I wanted to create a place for Ichigo where he could be himself outside the Kurosaki home due to a plot development, that is, the sudden loss of a place where he belongs in the Lost Agent arc.

Q299.

2022.02.28

In "BURN THE WITCH", it seems that each division is armed with a different type of weapon, but in the event that they change affiliations, like how Bruno encouraged the witches to do in the story, do they undergo training with new weapons?

A299.

They train with new weapons. It is also among the Director's faculties to ascertain an individual's suitability for a weapon and then offer an invitation to them.

Q300.

2022.03.07

Is the thing under Hisagi's left eye, tape? A tattoo perhaps?

A300.

It's a tattoo.

Translation Footnotes:

×1. 弦 means bowstring and is in both the names of Sōken (宗弦) and Ryūken (竜弦).

[tickledpink31]

Octavinelle Arc: Merfolk Transformation

Let me just start off by saying, guys, I'm really sorry for not updating my fic in like a million years or posting anything of my drawings here in a long time. I got into other fandoms and went through a creative burnout. (I can't write sports or fighting scenes well enough to save my life.) Recently, I got into a new college for a career change, and it is currently kicking me in the ass.

I did dig up some of my old drawings. These are ideas I had for the Octavinelle arc, if I ever get around to writing that. Minako decided to mess around with the water-breathing potion to give her and her friends some extra defences just in case. So far I've made designs for Minako, Grim, and Deuce.

Let me just start off by saying that the tweels made me realize how much I love the idea of mermaids having less-than-human features aside from their tails. That means scales and fins on their arms, gills on their necks (although I forgot to add that on the first drawing)

Minako, as you can see, took on a koi mermaid form. Note that I headcanon that merfolk are euryhaline creatures regardless of what kind of species of fish they are, and that means that they can survive in a wide range of salinity. So even if Minako is a freshwater fish, she can still thrive swimming in seawater. Considering that Floyd can swim in a pool, where there's chlorine and a lack of salt content for saltwater fish to survive, in his eel form, my headcanon is likely not too far from canon.

I had so much fun doing Minako's mermaid form that I ended up making two different designs. Though ultimately, I decided that the showa shansoku koi looked the best for the bright reddish orange colours. They're among the top three koi that often win koi fish competitions and garner the most money.

Coincidentally enough, Minako's paternal grandparents used to be professional koi fish breeders who have garnered a ton of money from their winnings in koi fish competitions. (Yeah, the animal enthusiasm runs in the family.)

After this, Floyd stopped calling Minako shrimpy or sea mouse and started calling her koi fish.

Grim was hard to think of a concept for, but then I remembered that there are hydrothermal vents found on the seafloor that spew hot water.

So yes, Grim has become part seal and part volcanic fissure. His ears can now discharge heated water, and he can spit out hot water too. I even tried to recreate his three-pronged tail into a seal's tail.

Thank god that he was the easiest to think about. I mean Floyd calls him mackerel. I just realized that I misspelled mackerel on the drawing. Oh my god.

I don't have much to add other than I had the idea to make Deuce and Ace's spade/heart mark be made out scales.

Ace was another hard one. I haven't fully made a design for him yet. Forgive me, but I just didn't like the idea of drawing him as a full on crab merman. It looked ridiculous in my head. My idea is to make him a regular red merman with crab shell armour. The armour is lighter than it looks for easy swimming, but it's spiny and hard as a defence against the Leech twins.

I haven't drawn Jack yet, but he'll be a sea urchin merman. I like to think that he would be annoyed by his new form because it confirms Floyd's nickname for him.

[m1ckeyb3rry]

tell me (someone who doesn’t know who nagi is) why you like nagi. scholarly pursuit of knowledge i’m curious

so this did in fact prompt an entire essay from me let it NEVER be said i am not a nagi fan SDKJHF adding a cut for the sake of the lurkers and the dash

omg...okay so the first thing i have to say is like aesthetics alone he is pretty much exactly the kind of character i go for!! he's tall (190cm/6'3), has white hair, and generally a very sweet appearance (is this phainon or nagi do yfm) LMAO he also does have just very very pretty panels he's definitely one of the author's and illustrator's favs LMAOAO AND HE IS DEFINITELYYYY the animation studio's fav like genuinely bllk anime may suck quality wise but they never fumble a nagi scene 🙂‍↔️☝🏻

i think when i first started watching i liked the whole 'genius' aspect to his character as well!! since you don't know who he is his whole thing is being like effortlessly good at everything but also being super lazy and i mean. I Thought He Looked Good SKDFHJ he's simultaneously very cute and one tupperware container tall while also being very skilled and intimidating in his own right?? he's frequently shown/drawn with skull motifs and his 'aura' is quite literally death itself/stars and space/a black hole which is just really cool to me (and also why i always wish i could kidnap him and put him in a more interesting verse than fuckass soccerland)

also!! he seems like a very shallow and lame character on the surface and he lowkey has a lot of haters but genuinely he is very sad when you think about it and also quite misunderstood by the fandom at large. there are a lot of 'nice' characters in blue lock but very few of them are 'kind' whereas nagi is the opposite — he is blunt and awkward at times but he always is thinking of Other People and how he can help them!! until like a year before the events of blue lock his only friend ever was his pet cactus and his parents are said to be never at home (he lives by himself in his own apartment and he mentions that he has a friend-like relationship with them which. is fine but like those are your Parents ykwim) so he's doing as well as you'd expect. yes he is lazy and makes other people do his work but a) real asf b) pretty much all of the traits that people complain about in him are very very commonplace for parental neglect victims and i think when you reframe your thoughts with that lens it's so much easier to understand that just because he doesn't always come across in the right way he is easily EASILY the kindest/most empathetic character in the series

he also is just a generally peaceful guy like he doesn't get into fights much and even when he does (he has like MAD beef with one character) it's always funny HAHA like he's just super chill and sweet and gets along well with pretty much everyone but he's also lowkey the sassiest character...he's very like dreamy and soft-spoken so it doesn't have the same effect as someone like rin who is the stereotypical black haired emo sarcastic man (think levi aot or megumi jjk) but he has some CREATIVE insults probably because he is a gamer SKJDHF he's always trash talking someone i fear 😰 there's also a few additional times (post-credit funny scenes) of him just being stupid with his imagination...he and isagi the mc imagined the guy who he has beef with (they're also friends/teammates) as a maid so now there's been like multiple scenes of that guy just wearing a maid dress LMAOOO like doing the world a service just for that one istg 🙏🏻 he's very creative and we get to see him being sillier as the show/manga continues

i think in general he looks very cuddly too like SDLKFH big warm sleepy man save me...save me big warm sleepy man...he's like nonchalant but also very chalant?? it's weird but it does make sense LMAOO he just sucks at communciation 😓 but he is getting better!!

honestly there is probably more bro i LOVE this guy LSKDHSF but also even i don't quite know why He is the one who i became so attached to...like why did it have to be the guy from the fucking SOCCER SHOW 😭 but yeah this is definitely a starting point .. i am nothing but a nagi glazer down to my core i will literally always go off about him with little to no provocation 😭

[distinguished-slacker]

ONS CHAPTER 143 THOUGHTS

With the official release, I want to add some thoughts that I didn’t mention in my previous posts.

I actually did like the dialogue in this chapter. Shinoa’s words to Ky are similar to a quote that stuck with me from some animes which is “Don’t expect to go into a battlefield intending to kill enemies if you are not prepared to get hurt in return.” I honestly felt bad for Ky but in the end, as a person, he wasn’t innocent. As a character though, I wished he got a better written death, not one that happened immediately after revealing his past and dream.

However, as much as there is some nice dialogue (especially from Urdie) in this chapter, I find it a little bit funny that it took Urd a millenia to come to the realisation that human life is meaningful because it is not eternal. Well…that’s why humans try to achieve developmental milestones within set age ranges.

Kagami’s true talent is creating more questions rather than answering the current ones with flashbacks. I don’t know how to feel with Shinoa squad having met in past lives. Will this reveal turn to be meaningful in the long run (or whatever is left for OnS to be completed)? Who knows…but current Shinoa squad truly has some poor relationship development so maybe not. I finally got a panel of baby Mitsu though (although I wished she was drawn cuter). I wonder if it’s just the artstyle but Yuu and Shinoa’s past selves (the only ones we can fully see in these panels) don’t fully look exactly the same as the child versions of the present Yuu and Shinoa.

Damn…Urdie is being a poet in this chapter and I love him for it❤️ He is one of the characters that I like the most to hear what he has to say.

People thought Urd x Rigr was the ship when in fact THIS was true ship✨ Jokes aside, I feel so bad for them. I wanted Mitsu to get screentime but not at the expense of Ky becoming a demon and much less losing his relationship with Urd. My tiny meow meows…

Onto the topic of Mitsuba getting a Black Demon on a silver plate, I feel like Kagami is speedrunning it a bit. When Shinoa ambushed Ky, did she do it with the intention of giving him to Mitsuba from the beginning? I wished the manga put more emphasis on Mitsuba not being strong enough. Sure, she was kind of left out during the Demon Mika arc because she did not have a Black Demon, but considering how underused Yoichi and Kimizuki have been despite having Black Demons, the gap in strength between the guys and her wasn’t felt at all.

I am looking forward to the contract between Mitsu and Ky (wow, just writing it feels so weird because I didn’t expect this duo) because she is the only whose inner world/heart/inside/whatever you call it we didn’t get to see. Contracting with a Black Demon is hard so I want to see her fighting and struggling for it. Kagami wasn’t lying when he said he wanted to write her in the near future. If I am honest though, I don’t think she is strong enough to win but we will see…

I hope Ky’s demon outfit is done justice (Mika’s one is just…ugh), that we get at least a glimpse of Tenjiryū before Ky takes over and more importantly, for Mitsu’s axe to stay the same.

The artstyle is failing everyone but Shinoa. I love this panel. I’m not happy with Shinoa getting so strong. I know she has suffered for it but the boost in power is just too big and it feels weird how she knows how to use The First’s spells with no prior practice. The problem is not solely Shinoa’s though; Yuu suffers the same issue as well and I hate it. That’s why at least I like this moment of vulnerability. Is Shinoa crying because she is feeling bad for what she is doing to Ky or is she crying because she is having access to Ky’s memories? The duality in this and how it it is open to interpretation is nice.

I love how she is supporting Shinoa here. I’m not really on board with the mitsunoa ship but this is much better than wasting Shinoa’s screentime on having her simp for a guy who doesn’t want and can’t give her what she needs.

We’ve been getting crumbs of Mitsuba caring for Shinoa since her first time getting possessed by Shikama. But there is something missing and that is their friendship backstory. I pray we get to see how the girls met when Mitsuba makes her contract.

I also love to see how the entire squad is supporting each other even if it’s just one panel. When Yuu was still part of them most of their conversations were with Yuu. Being in a group and everyone talking to just one person? A bit unnatural.

If I may mourn the artstyle for a second, something that I miss from the previous artstyle that the current one lacks is the lack of different eye shapes. Yoichi and Mitsuba’s eyes aren’t supposed to be this upturned…

First, what are those ring shapes in the top left corner of the panel? Second, I like when characters with hair that cover their forehead occasionally have it parted to reveal some of the hair line (it happens with Shinya as well). Third, how did she figure out Yuu’s location?

[bestworstcase]

Grimm behavior reassessment thought: y'know that sister training session called on account of Rather Tanky Ursa? Could Ruby & Yang have avoided that fight if they'd known to treat the big lug like careful hikers would an 'ordinary' bear encounter? There were a few 'pause & rear/roar' moments on its part which I guess *could* be read as 'hey stop that' or 'my turf, leave'.

yang’s character short has always interested me bc the ursa was there the whole time they were sparring.

like. yang throws a punch, ruby panic-flies into the bushes and then passes out:

on this screenshot i’ve marked ruby’s approximate path in red and circled the clump of bushes the ursa emerges from (using the logs laid around the perimeter as markers):

note the very dense foliage around the grimm; he’s completely hidden. yang gets concerned when ruby doesn’t respond, startles when she hears a twig snap in the area circled in yellow, this is what she sees:

and then he stands up:

which. ok. he’s a really big guy. there is no way he crept up on them and got that close before making a noticeable sound, and most grimm behave like pursuit predators besides—they wander around in the open and give chase when they come across prey. (although there are exceptions: the pack of apathy at brunswick drag the lamp around a corner and go dark to lie in wait, for example.)

the point is, he’s there, but yang can’t see him until his eyes illuminate because he’s lying down in the bushes. his markings are also ‘off’ and only begin to glow as he stands up.

we’ve seen grimm Do That a couple times:

and we’ve also seen in v8 that just because there don’t seem to be any grimm nearby doesn’t mean they aren’t there:

<- same thing happens in the mine. dozens of centinels pop out of the ground when the geist signals for them to screen his retreat deeper into the mine. which suggests that grimm may spend a lot of time… not hunting. unseen, hidden just under the surface or in the densest thickets, crevices, whatever. and no one knows because when grimm aren’t on the hunt they don’t attack unless provoked.

the big guy was just There! taking a nap! and he didn’t aggro until yang got spooked by ruby’s silence.

he also doesn’t seem to be all that interested in attacking after his initial charge and swipe; he knocks yang across the clearing and then turns away, until yang shoots him again:

i do think it’s really interesting that WOR: grimm implies that grimm are most strongly drawn by violence, not negativity per se: “what is perhaps even more unsettling is the basis of their attraction,” and the accompanying image is

a person killing another person with a rock.

i think—much more so than real animals—grimm are kind of emotional mirrors, in that they reflect the energy they’re shown. one thing that stands out to me about both salem and cinder is that while there is obviously an element of magic or kinship or both behind their influence over the grimm, from both of them we see these occasional moments of tenderness toward the grimm; cinder’s very gentle and soothing “shh, this is your home now” when she calms the wyvern, and the way salem softens when she caresses the goliath’s face in the v6 stinger:

and i wonder if there isn’t a meaningful correlation there. the two characters in the story who demonstrably have the ability to communicate and work with grimm are also the two characters who, in private moments when no one else is around to see, choose to be gentle with these creatures. is salem able to command grimm the way she does by magical compulsion or is she their leader, as raven put it, whom they follow because she’s kind to them and protects them.

[badninken]

Look forward to ep. 1015! It's a movie quality episode, very very good 💝

I just watched it and came here right away to scream about it. My heart rate is still up and I want to go on watching so I'll pour my disorganized thoughts feels and screencaps right here

THEM! I don't even know what to say I'm so fucking excited to see them line up like this. I knew they would but like, the way they did it was soooo good. I won't be able to break this down in any meaningful way. Those who have watched it already know and those who haven't should see for themselves.

But I can't not make a big deal out of Zoro coming in from the sky like a screaming missile before Law materializes artfully into the scene just in time to save him from high speed crash without even looking at him, all while posing on a rock with his feather coat billowing in the wind.

and he's really cool and I love him, especially when he's well drawn and beautifully animated like this but honestly, for me, despite my intense Law-bias, Law gets outstaged by Luffy here, because when that little guy gets focused and serious I get shivers.

and walking right past two giants who are taunting him, without even giving them a glance, is such a big dick power move from a guy who normally charges into a fight on the slightest emotional flare-up.

and now I just gotta mention that I think Big Mom is the best female character of this series and I could definitely elaborate on that but I don't have time.

because I need to talk about TEAMWORK! My inner Kakashi was instantly filled with relief and joy and excitement at seeing Luffy and Law naturally and effortlessly work together, without a moment of hesitation. Luffy knowing Law enough to trust that he'll act when asked to move their injured allies to safety, and knowing his abilities well enough to shout the instruction in the first place. It kind of feels obvious that they'd know each other's abilities and trust each other to quickly collaborate in dire situations, but teamwork isn't always Luffy's go-to tactic and these guys usually argue instead of following each other's directives. I want to see combo attacks!!! Stop going solo guys, you could do so much cool shit if you synced up more <3

Anyway, Law does as he's asked pretty much before Luffy is finished asking, definitely already prepared to do exactly that, and the timing of these clips, the music, the explosions, the tension and emotional build-up along with how amazing everything looks just gets my heart going really fast.

and they haven't even started fighting yet

[homestuckreplay]

its time......................... to GET my pour on

(page 980-983 & SBAHJ 8)

^ I’ve been a lot more attuned to parallels between John and Jade since getting an ask about it a while back, and their identical victory dances are a very cute one. Check out these absolute goofballs. <3

First and most importantly, the eighth instalment of Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff (/sbahj/8 in the Collection) was posted on around November 29. I just read it today, and it features either Sweet Bro or Hella Jeff trying to pour a glass of milk and struggling to tilt the carton enough, while the other watches through the window and then laughs at a squirrel’s giant acorn. The milk carton features a jpeg of a guy in a helmet who I can’t place, but who looks like something out of GameBro or Grand Snack Fuckyeah.

The squirrel has appeared before in SBAHJ #4, which was also the other strip to incorporate edited photographs, with a picture of Barack Obama. In many ways, #8 is a direct sequel to #4, as both feature the blue character looking through a window, and both feature the squirrel with some kind of treasure. It’s cool to see Dave growing as an artist by establishing these consistent character traits, but out of universe, #8 doesn’t appear to relate to anything happening in Homestuck at this time.

Back in Homestuck itself is the real Jade strife animation, set to the great track ‘An Unbreakable Union’. Bec, we learn, is a dog crackling with lightning and radioactive green energy, who constantly warps in and out of space (?). So the radioactive nutrients in the irradiated steak are probably good for him, and Jade is just caring for his needs the same way he cares for her - she seems very comfortable with his weirdness, which must be a daily occurrence for her.

Bec’s drawn in the same stark, eyeless outline style as John’s dad, Rose’s mom, and Dave’s bro. Due to his design, his being alive, his strife with Jade and his care for her afterwards, Bec seems to have filled the guardian role since Grandpa Harley’s death. This makes him the only guardian with an actual name. This could indicate that Jade has a genuine understanding of Bec, seeing him as he actually is, not as the idea of an authority figure.

The strife itself (p.980) is interactive, but linear. Each round has only one option, always beginning with AR (a nod to Jade’s rifle). We can click that option, and then gain access to Jade’s gun. Clicking on or close to Bec shoots a bullet, while clicking elsewhere does nothing. This happens four times, and on the fifth and final winning round, Jade controls the gun herself after we click the command. Unlike the sylladex escapade (p.808-812), this is a case of Jade and the player working in harmony.

But some pretty weird stuff happens to Bec during the fight.

ARRAIGN. Bec vaporizes this bullet and is unaffected.

ARSENALIZE. Bec turns into a green radioactive energy field. Both Jade and Bec become really small, jump onto the bullet, and ride it to the other side of the island.

ARTILLERATE. Bec becomes a galaxy; he and Jade apparently travel through deep space back into the Milky Way, onto Earth, and land on the frog statue.

ARMAMENTIFY. The screen turns black while a Bec-shaped silhouette of Jade’s island remains. Scenes from John, Rose, Dave and Jade’s stories flash by on the black space while Bec’s silhouette remains.

ARF. Jade shoots away from Bec, playing fetch, and grabs the blue package while he chases the bullet. Bec catches it in his mouth, runs back to Jade and drops it on the ground. She tosses him the irradiated steak. They both hug and celebrate.

Bec is a good boy but he also has far more extensive powers than Jade’s, which makes me wonder if he’s ‘from’ Skaia the same way WV and PM are from the ominous and luminous planets. A regular creature living on this island probably wouldn’t get this powerful. In fact, Bec might be the source of Jade’s powers – if his body can turn into a portal and can cause visions of other characters, Jade could be prognosticating by looking through Bec. Jade definitely doesn’t have control over Bec’s powers, and I’m not sure Bec does either. However he came to it, he feels like a passive yet deadly nuclear power source that acts instinctively, with no intent beyond the dog desires of ‘play’ and ‘protect’. If Bec was an advanced intelligence he’d never fall for a ‘go fetch’.

Jade then falls asleep near the frog statue, and Bec picks her up and carries her to bed, tucking her in so gently. Good dog. Best friend. It is probably the most wholesome dynamic between any two characters in Homestuck, and it’s sweet to see Jade interact with her living pet so soon after Rose’s bittersweet reunion with her dead one. Andrew Hussie recently did a Q&A with MSPA community members which has some cool stuff in it. Here’s one excerpt:

The wild and unusual commands are the ones that really make it feel like a gaggle of whimsical readers is in charge, imbuing the narrative with a sense of freedom, a feeling that the hero could do truly anything. The essence of freedom in this sense is the uncompromising subjugation of restraint. It is possible that this is also the exact opposite of what a good story requires! [full interview here; emphasis mine]

Homestuck does have that whimsical, anything could happen feeling to it, but it does also have this really earnest core of themes that are common to a lot of stories – family relationships being one of the biggest. It’s unexpected that Jade’s pet is a dimension warping dog but beneath the outracing bullets and radioactive steaks is a relationship that’s no different to one in Marley & Me. So it’s interesting to know that there is a conscious effort to keep this story recognizable in some ways, even while it’s very experimental in others.

So now we’ve seen all four guardian strifes, and can lay out some quick comparisons! John (p.90), Rose (p.388) and Dave (p.836), all fighting humans, were overcoming an obstacle and facing hostility, while Jade (p.980), fighting a dog, was playing a game. John and Jade were trying to collect a package, John and Dave were trying to collect Sburb Beta discs, and Rose was trying to leave the house and reconnect to Sburb. John and Rose’s strifes contain the same music they played on their instruments – ‘Showtime’ and ‘Aggrieve’ – while Dave and Jade’s have brand new music tracks.

John, Rose and Jade all have interactive strifes, where A-command words can be selected in any order (John, Rose) or linearly (Jade) by the reader, before a non-interactive ending. Dave’s strife is not interactive, as his bro destroys the command menu. This suggests to me that while Jade is the most aware of the fourth wall out of the kids, Bro is most aware out of the guardians. But more generally, the differences keep the story fresh. It’s playing with patterns instead of working to formulas, being actively written instead of churned out like a sitcom episode. I think that contributes to it feeling like something to be a part of, not just something to passively read.

> Jade: Wake up and open your birthday present!

[vanitythevantropist]

Mkay so it took me way too long but I have finally created new art :3 (I finished these a while ago and forgot to post them but SHHHHH)

Anyways, these characters are from my absolute favourite and most well developed story in the roster; Stones of Gold. The love I have for thus story and its characters cannot be put into words. They are my everything

Anyways, here they are :3

Characters featured (left-right): Zepsun and Casaraua

Cas is the main POV character of SoG and I love him to death, he’s one of my favourite characters in all of my stories😭 He was raised on a farm by his mom after his dad left her (he left because Cas is what is known as a Rune Shifter which I’ll explain later). He’s not the best with social interaction due to never having interacted much. He’s very shy and afraid of everything, even though he literally had super strength. He becomes the newest member of the main group behind the next guy

Zep, fun fact, is actually a minor antagonist in the beginning👀 He joins the main group last because of issues. Anyways, he was taken under some emperor’s wing after the guy saves him from slavery as a child which totally fucked with his psyche (as it should). Zep’s pretty closed off and tends to get defensive. He fears anyone who can beat him in a fight. He is also a rune shifter

They become very gay later on

Characters featured (left-right): Chryo and Cyruss

I fucking love Chryo to death, she’s just so fun. She is a TANK of a woman (and a Rune Shifter as well). I’d say she’s pretty motherly and sweet when interacting with people she likes but, when you threaten someone she loves, she’ll become your worst nightmare. She’s determined as fuck and very snarky, especially to her boyfriend. She was the first to join the group (AKA she created it LMAO)

Cyruss canonically has gigantism, making him very tall👀 He’s Chryo’s girlfriend and is definitely the more mellow of the two. He’s a musician (haven’t named or drawn the instrument yet but it’s kinda like a guitar/banjo hybrid Ig???) and enjoys his more gothic music n stuff like that (I imagine his music to sound like The Awakening or Miracle of Sound, or both) He’s a bit scary to many due to his quieter nature and darker colours, but he’s a very nice and chill guy with a lot of good advice to share. Like his girlfriend, he definitely knows how to fight :3 He joined the group second, though the last two basically joined with him so (The group as in the friend/rogue group, btw). Heis not a shifter

Characters featured (left-right): Drélan and Mitzen

Drélan is an ex knight who left due to disagreeing with his king. He had since become close friends with a viking, a gothic musician and an assassin (as well as a traumatised gay man and a farmer boy later on, obviously). He’s a very kind and selfless person who takes no bullshit from anyone every. This dude will literally stand between you and god. He sorta becomes a father figure to Cas in the story and they do strong man stuff together (like fix carts and talk about animals, obviously)

Mitzen is an ex assassin, leaving her guild for similar reasons to Drélan. They were once on opposing sides but became good and loyal friends once they both left their groups. She’s a ‘tough love’ kinda gal, shoving her friends into situations whether they like it or not. Like Zep, she’s pretty closed off but she’s definitely calmer and more composed than he is (due to being older and more mature)

They are the only characters in the group that aren’t in a romantic relationship with each other🤣 You can still ship them, tho :3

ANYWAYS, the ✨lore✨

Y’all are probably wondering what a Rune Shifter is, right? Yeah, I thought so👀 I’ll do my best to explain!

A Rune Shifter is a magical being with gem/rock/whatever material casings covering certain parts of their bodies (for reference, Zep, Cas and Chryo are Shifters). One-Runed Shifters are the most common, Two-Runed Shifters are rare, Three-Runes Shifters are VERY rare (90% of critters never see a single one in their lives) and Four-Runed Shifters are saved for myths n shit (no one knows if they’re even real) (Examples; Zep is a double shifter - meaning he had two magic types at once, making him a Two-Runed Shifter - Cas is a Three-Runed Shifter and Chryo is a One-Runed Shifter)

Shifters’ powers are element based (for example; Zep in an ice/water Shifter, Cas is a Sun Shifter and Chryo is a Moon Shifter (or Moon Rune and Cy likes to call her). There are quite a few of them and I haven’t written them all down yet, so🤣 Anyways, they all have different abilities (having more runes= more powers). More examples!! Ice Shifters can control ice, Water Shifters can control water, Sun Shifters are typically protective forces (with force field n super strength and all that), Moon Shifters can multiply and become invisible, etc. (It’s all still a wip so💀)

An ability all Shifters have is the ability to shift (duh) into Rune Beast forms. Rune Beast forms are like monster forms, they can take on any appearance but mostly take the appearance of different already existing animals (also a WIP). Many believe that the form you discover always means something

Now, for the ✨worldbuilding✨

Basically; Rune Shifters are powerful and scary so non-Rune Shifters hate them. Shifters are discriminated against and feared. Any mother to have a Shifter child and keep is also despised (basically Cas’ and his mother’s backstory lmao)

Omg this is a long ass post lmao-

But bro, I can’t help myself😭 I fucking live this story and the characters to DEATH and I hope y’all like em too💕

If you have any questions regarding the story, feel free to reblog or reply with said questions!

[maxwell-grant]

This feels like the kind of ask someone should've gotten around to a million years ago, but it seems it falls to me: The Shadow vs. The Penguin. Is there anything there?

Anonymous asked: How would pulp heroes like the Shadow or Green Hornet respond to The Penguin. Characters like Joker or Ra’s I can see them gunning down but that feels weird to do with Oswald “Pengy For President” Cobblepot

(Penguin by Mike Mignola. The Shadow by Lela Dowling)

It's amazing, really, what you've built here. You had a vision and made it real. Every Batman in existence respects you for it, Oswald. In fact, I'll tell you a secret…people assume that Batman's last enemy on most worlds out there is Joker. Maybe Riddler, or Ra's…but it's you.

See, you grow this crime empire until he has to deal with you. - The Batman Who Laughs #3

What there is here is a bit of an impasse, because yes obviously this is brutally, comically one-sided against The Penguin. Pitting most if not all Batman villains against The Shadow is going to be already one-sided in The Shadow's favor. Pick a Batman villain, even the big ones that make Batman the underdog like Ra's and Bane, and you can name a similar threat that The Shadow already defeated. Even if you don't count superpowered cheating with whatever abilities The Shadow has this moment, he's already dealt with most of everything they can do, he's beaten these strategies and puzzles and countless death traps at their own game, and yeah there's the fact that he's known for the fact his villains don't tend to come back for round two even when they don't die facing him. Villains that he faces tend to die specifically because they try to kill him and he returns their fire (it's important to establish here that, unless his enemies have guns drawn on innocent people, The Shadow rarely shoots first - they always have a chance to lay down their arms and walk away, a chance that most obviously never take), and Penguin's known for his unwillingness to go down without a fight and for his signature move being a concealed sneak attack, which means his odds of dying are near dead certain.

In fact, The Shadow already fought a Penguin-esque guy as one of his few reocurring villains, via The Wasp, Gibson's latter day attempt to make another Voodoo Master/Shiwan Khan. The Wasp is a "Napoleon of crime" whose body and strange buzz voice and antics and operations are themed after his namesake animal/insects, who uses a concealed weapon part of said theme (an electric "sting" on his hand powered by batteries on his belt), who connects Cranston to The Shadow and was also the only villain to figure out that Kent Allard is The Shadow. He was cleverer and more resourceful and harder to defeat than most of the typical Shadow villains, and to his credit he did achieve a thing nobody else really achieved in the run, and it didn't really do him that much (learning the secret identity tends to be a death sentence for vigilantes, but for The Shadow it's really not that big a deal, given how easily he can make new ones) and he still went out like a chump, and he's only really remembered as the less impressive of the reocurring supervillains, lacking the outright superpowers of the others. It seems like a fairly closed case.

Problem is, the more comically one-sided the odds are against Oswald, the more likely he is to actually win or at least survive because of that. Going up against people who should have his goose cooked, getting away with things he absolutely shouldn't, slipping away to survive and put one over Johnny Law, that's his thing, it's been his thing from day one. He is no stranger to dealing with vigilantes or people much bigger and stronger and scarier than him, it wasn't that long ago he was walking off getting shot at point blank and later faking his death. Penguin is no common criminal, and he isn't just a guy who's unusually smart and competent at it enough to waddle among supervillains either. In his narrative domain, The Shadow is unbeatable, but in his narrative home, The Penguin is unkillable, and not just because he's a comic book villain who survives by editorial demand. He has protagonist survival clause now.

In his ups and downs over the years, he survived in large part by becoming a fixture of Gotham, someone impossible to uproot from the setting, with his ignanimous transformation into stool-pigeon and banal crimelord in part a consequence of said survival. After more or less retiring from villainy, the next step was to very gradually join the likes of Catwoman, Azrael, Harley Quinn and Renee Montoya in their careers as independent Gotham-adjacent protagonists, which is why he now gets to have his own tv series (the second one at that, because Gotham exists and if it achieved anything, it was proving that there's an audience for The Penguin Show - and yes it still is very much shitty, but also not remotely surprising, that the instant they made a version of Oswald thin, that guy became a critical and fandom darling overnight). The Penguin wormed his way into becoming irreplaceable and they tried, they tried very hard over the years to replace this guy, and he's taken some brutal lumps and fell off very hard from the Bat-villain totem pole, but even that just enabled him to ascend to a different pole and one that makes it he can't really be just another gangster or supervillain to be knocked around, and one that's almost specifically built to ensure his narrative survival. Someone who serves the story better by being alive.

Has The Shadow ever dealt with a guy like this? Yes, yes he has. The Shadow is no stranger to criminal protagonists, or the concept of nuance, or redemption. He is certainly no stranger to the gentleman of crime who is more than what he seems.

The man who entered was tall and well built. He had the manner of a gentleman. He was attired in a perfectly fitting dress suit, which he wore with the easy air of a man of the world - Kings of Crime

The gentleman of crime arose, picked up his hat and coat and reached for his cane. There, his form obscured, The Shadow stood close enough to overhear what Graham Wellerton was saying. The gentleman of crime was talking to members of his mob.

What was Graham Wellerton's purpose? How and why had the gentleman of crime parted from his men? Why was he no longer engaged in robbery? - Road of Crime

To all appearance, George Ellerby was a gentleman; and he was actually qualified to prove such a claim. But tonight, he was to be a gentleman of crime - Battle of Greed

"I wonder," said Sandersham, slowly, "just how much The Shadow can do, or intends to do. Who is he, Krengle? How powerful is he?"

"No one knows who The Shadow is," replied the lawyer. "But he is death on crooks, they say, and he considers crime to be much broader than its legal implications." - Battle of Greed

There's about 5 Shadow novels that specifically touch on the topic of redemption. There are others where it comes up, plenty of others where The Shadow goes the extra mile in giving criminals a chance, and stories that highlight the lines that The Shadow draws in deciding how to deal with criminals (“To murderers, The Shadow dealt death: to such schemes (robbery, fraud, etc), he dealt ridicule.” - The Third Shadow), but those 5 make a focus of it. In all of those 5, we meet characters that can be called a "gentleman of crime". They are cunning, respectable-looking young men who use their smarts for crime, largely because of social circumstances that force them into using criminal tactics for dealing with life-consuming problems that the law has failed them in, and The Shadow assists them in addressing and rectifying said problems and turning their lives around.

In Kings of Crime, blackmailer and swindler Hubert Carpenter. In Road of Crime, the protagonist Graham Wellerton, "bank robber deluxe". In The Broken Napoleons, engineer Curt Sturley. Battle of Greed opens with George Ellerby, although he's not really the protagonist and is stopped before he commits his first robbery, and that story has two other redemptions that pull more focus. And in House of Shadows, Kid Pell, whose tragic demise opens the story. With the exception of Carpenter, all of these young men are given understandable and even sympathetic reasons for having become criminals, as all of them became criminals specifically because the law failed them profoundly and allowed them to suffer horrible injustice and ruin upon their lives and families, while shielding those that inflicted it upon them and provided no other recourse for them, and The Shadow goes out of his way to directly or indirectly steer them away from the paths they're walking.

Out of these, only Hubert Carpenter had a body count: he is not a murderer outright, but his past deeds had pushed victims to suicide, and The Shadow fully intended to let him serve his sentence in full. It is through the involvement of innocent parties (he took a dive to get the money to his family, he was betrayed, and his wife fell ill, making him break out of jail and desperately try to get the money for her treatment by robbing an old man who turned out to be The Shadow in disguise) and Carpenter’s own serious efforts to reform himself and assist in the downfall of his far crueler former partners that he’s able to redeem himself and face a new life (The Shadow delivers a government pardon so that he serves a month instead of 10 years).

“Somehow, he knew that The Shadow would not see the innocent suffer for the guilty.” - Kings of Crime

Kid Pell, who had already shot at least 6 people and killed 2 before the story began, wasn't quite so lucky. Dying of blood loss after trying to shoot The Shadow, his last words are a plead for him to get the guy who pushed him into this path, and keep an eye on his brother Denry to stop him from going down his path (which ends up happening, but The Shadow is able to save Denry in time).

"They called me a public enemy," declared Pell. "What else could I be, after my first kill? You know what it is to be quick on the trigger. That's the way I am" - he hesitated, his smile dwindling - "or was."

"I tried crime," said the Kid. "It didn't pay. But I was in it - deep. So I stayed. I've got no excuses. I'm not even blaming the fellow that started me in it. What I did was on my own. Understand?"

"Do me a favor," muttered the dying man. "Let me be forgotten - as Kid Pell. I rigged this hideout, so I could close accounts. Let me go through with it the way I want."

The Shadow's whispered tone gave agreement. Pell's face relaxed. In the glow of the lantern, his features lost their forced hardness. It was easy to see why he had been nicknamed the Kid. His age couldn't have been more than twenty-two.

Even his surroundings spoke a pathetic story. The shelves of the trailer were provisioned for a long stay; and among the canned goods were a few jars of homemade jam; probably the very sort that he had swiped from his mother's pantry only a few years ago.

There were books, too, that dated back to boyhood. Even when he had embarked on his career as a public enemy, Kid Pell had taken these along. He was looking at them, eyes open, the jam jars and the books, and he was smiling again, Kid Pell was. But the dampness from his dying eyes was forming into little beads, like raindrops. Suddenly, the Kid's lips stiffened.

A hand was resting on the Kid's shoulder. He could feel the power of its grip: the hand of The Shadow, merciless to men of crime. To this dying youth, murderer though he was, the pressure of that hand had the warmth of friendship.

"Maybe, Shadow" - The Kid was choking the words - "I ought to have met you before. Maybe… if I had-"

The grip tightened. It brought an end to regrets that could not be remedied. It steeled the Kid for what lay ahead - House of Shadows

-the words that The Shadow delivered held Sandersham rigid. Never in his life had the millionaire listened to such pointed accusations; such words that jogged his memory, nor such tokens of prophecy. "Rupert Sandersham," came the voice, "you are a man condemned by your own avarice! You are a master, not of finance, but of greed!"

"While your wealth grows greater," resumed The Shadow's voice, "your life grows shorter. As your schemes expand, your soul shrivels. You have physical comforts, yes"—the tone was mocking—"but who knows how long you shall retain them?"

"Your power, Sandersham, is not equal to the strength of the law. There have been loopholes in your schemes, that certain eyes may discover before your attorneys plug them". - Battle of Greed

Is The Penguin sympathetic? In some ways, yes. Is The Penguin redeemable? Not a question I'm remotely interested in handing a firm "Yes/No" to, because it's kinda both and neither, redemption tends to be conditional and fickle like that, and also irrelevant to the matter here: We've established that The Shadow (again, speaking for the pulp version here, it's what I tend to do) does not go out of his way to execute criminals, but doesn't hesitate to kill them when they try to gun him or others down. Would The Shadow extend The Penguin an olive branch and spare his life in the hopes that he'd come around and use his impressive intellect and resources and drive for the better? No. It would be useless. The Shadow doesn't deal with that kind of "hope", and The Penguin would not be interested in doing so either.

There have been occasions where The Shadow was caught in a bad enough situation that he had to momentarily pause the pursuit of a criminal, but The Shadow does not compromise, nor does he ever really need to, and he knows a true villain when he sees it. He is not keeping Oswald around as a informant, because he doesn't play by Gotham City rules where that seems like a reasonable thing to do. The true villain of most Shadow stories is always the person who stands to profit the most from said calamity, and most of the time they operate beneath suspicion. There is 0% chance of him underestimating Oswald the way Oswald prefers to be underestimated.

There are two ways Oswald Cobblepot would walk away from meeting a quick death at the hands of The Shadow. The first would be if he never killed anyone, or did anything that led to anyone's death ever again. He'd have to commit to undoing the ruin he brought onto people's lives and give back as much to the city and his victims as he possibly could. Such was what The Shadow did in Battle of Greed to Rupert Sandersham, a millionaire who got a kick out of ruining others financially. He is not the villain, nor is he a murderer, but The Shadow manipulated and terrorized him into making amends and repaying all the people he destroyed. These would be the best, most impossibly nice terms The Shadow could offer Oswald, along with him serving time and spend his whole life looking over his shoulder when, and if, he gets out.

"Look at yourself, Sandersham! You are wearing stripes! In front of you are bars! Beyond you, the outside world. Regard it as an omen, and make your choice. Amend the past; rectify the wrongs that you have done—or face the future consequences that your present methods will bring you!"

Rupert Sandersham was staring downward. His startled eyes saw the stripes that The Shadow had mentioned: those alternate ribbons of dark and light, that came from the setting sun. They had turned his gray suit into a convict's garb! Could it be that he, Rupert Sandersham, might find himself within a prison cell?- Battle of Greed

And that is not happening. There is not a single version of The Penguin who would accept these terms or accept this as a thing he's going to do. Short of the most kid-friendly media and even then, much as I argue that he should have rules of conduct, I don't think there is a single version of the Penguin who'd balk at murder or who hasn't committed it with little to no remorse. Oswald Cobblepot may carry much bitterness and heartbreak, but The Penguin loves what he is too much to accept being anything else. He isn't scared of any of these terms and would find them deeply absurd, because who is this, trying to tell The Penguin he isn't allowed to rob this thing, or kill that guy getting on his nerves, or ruin that rich asshole over there. The audacity of this laughing clown! As if he didn't have one too many to deal with!

The other way he lives, at least for a while, is if he turns out to be right about the way Gotham City works, and it turns out that he really cannot be removed from his position without far worse things growing as a result. I don't think The Shadow would have issues with the Batman villains individually, but neither do Batman or most superheroes. It's Gotham City that's the real problem here, and it's a problem that Batman hasn't solved in nearly a hundred years, and neither has Superman or any of the billion superheroes in that universe, a problem that will never be solved so long as there's a profit to be made on Batman. The Shadow can and has cleaned cities of organized crime before, usually by manipulating it's players into destroying each other, but even he has limits and Gotham City is no mere gangster-ridden town, much like how the man who claimed it is no mere crimelord either.

So the final matter at play here is whether The Penguin is right, and if so, whether The Shadow can afford to kill The Penguin, when there are other more pressing matters. Because the biggest reason Penguin's able to position himself where he is, as a necessary evil in-universe and a reocurring side character/even protagonist out of it, is by never being the nastiest or most urgently threatening villain in the room, and therefore always being the one that the heroes have to compromise with or have to defeat quickly to get moving. He has weaponized a Kingpin-esque idea that he is a necessary deterrent, because Gotham can always get worse, and everyone else who can take power in Gotham from him is much worse than him, and therefore you save the most innocent lives by allowing him to do his thing under a leash. Refer that line above, about how The Shadow will not suffer the innocent for the guilty.

There has been at least one Shadow story where he's dealt with this dillemma, in Face of Doom, as I elaborate here. The Shadow defeated the Face through taking the long way around, disarming his individual lieutenants, luring them into traps and disguising himself as The Face and all kinds of strategies necessary to checkmate the guy, but in the process also giving The Face enough time to regroup and strategize and target his agent(s). A similar thing happened when he had to take down Benedict Stark, and had to considerably slow down the operations to rescue Rutledge Mann from kidnapping. Issuing any kind of harm or death to The Shadow's agents guarantees him unleashing carnage on you personally, refer to Gangdom's Doom where he obliterates organized crime in Chicago in response to the death of Claude Fellows, but The Penguin can play smart. He can refrain from doing that, and buy himself more time, as The Shadow goes after those that think they have what it takes.

I think The Shadow vs The Penguin would probably pull elements from all of these stories I'd mentioned. If The Penguin is right, The Shadow would have to defeat, or at minimum stall, crime in Gotham City in a way that could then remove The Penguin from the picture, which means The Shadow would have to go through the rest of Batman's Rogues Gallery. Difference being, he's not going to fight those guys forever, he might not even fight them at all.

For The Shadow, he's up against a particularly smart, resourceful and powerful "gentleman of crime". One with personal tragedies and codes of conduct, one who might have even been like the ones he'd been able to reform if life hadn't twisted him, but who at present poses an active danger to the lives of people of the city, and stopping that is the bigger concern. He's taking down not just one crime king, but an empire that the crime king holds at bay, and god knows how many crime kings in the way, and possibly others who would see the innocent suffer for the guilty and keep this stalemate forever. The Shadow doesn't do stalemates, and Oswald Cobblepot is going to repent for all he's done or die, and nothing in between.

For The Penguin? He might very well be in heaven. He's dealing with death itself arriving from nowhere to give him the greatest challenge of all: surviving. Which just so happens to be the thing he does best and takes the most pride in doing. It might even be the kind of thing that makes him feel alive again. Facing down someone every bit the implacable wall of terror the Bat is, but who is less about the martial arts brute showdowns and more about god knows how many other subtler espionage chessplay and psychological mind tricks, and zero hesitation in putting a bullet in his head.

And possibly taking it's sweet time wiping out all of the competition, going through the long list of wiping out all of Oswald's hated rivals and competitors for him, and possibly a few unfortunate friends. Years, decades of playing the long game, gathering his assets, putting pieces in place, keeping his head low, letting the Bats and the others walk over him and forget he's there, and he's rewarded with the game of a lifetime! To be the arch-criminal who took on The Shadow and won! You'd almost think he'd have planned for The Shadow to come after him, and getting very angry if Batman shows up to get on the case to stop this because huur I'm a big selfish brute who wants to hog all the fun, duuuh Oswald you can do better, we don't kill around these parts Shadow huurgh, god, Batman, *waugh* can you BE any more of a self-important killjoy?

Sure, if no divine intervention comes, he's absolutely going to die, he is not walking out of this confrontation alive even if The Shadow has to go through Gotham ten times to get to him. But, you know, the real problem with Icarus was that idiot drowned when he fell, because he forgot to pack a bathing suit.

And you know what penguins do best, right?

*WAUGH WAUGH WAUGH*

[sadruru]

I have quite a bit of Pathfinder art from us! As it happens, we had to restart the story and start the board game over again due to unforeseen circumstances (I can feel my nervous laughter). I want to introduce you to our team, whose portraits were drawn by my dear friend:

Inigmar - Duskwalker, but he doesn't know this and doesn't remember his past life, he thinks he's a tiefling. Swashbuckler. Pharasma. The youngest on the team (he's actually 16). He is the character of my dear friend 💙 His main task will be to learn his past.

Mist - Oracle (she changed class from druid to nature oracle), ulfen. Erastil. Bjorn (the bear) I managed to keep! Game Master allowed me to make him into a riding animal afterwards (stupid game mechanics). She's a ganzi, originally looked like a half elf before the change. You already know her. Inigmar's older sister. A strange and mysterious desire ripped her from the Lands of Linnorm Kings (oh yes, she's from VERY far away) and her native clan and pulled her to Brevoy. It seems after many years, her patron is beginning to make himself known. Her main task is to find out what kind of patron has made himself known and what he wants, as she too has no memory of a certain period of her childhood and was once lost in the First World.

And this sketch I made for the future, because GameMaster promised me an interesting line of quests, where Mist will have the choice to become either a priestess of Erastil (i mean a plot change of class), or to remain an oracle and serve her patron. I don't know who her patron is, so I decided to make a darker version of the oracle without the horns. After all, what's the point of worshipping a silent god when you've always had a patron by your side? Florian - an aristocrat, an aasimar, a priest (Divine paragon) of Shelyn. He himself is from Taldor (though you can't tell from his character). He served as a priest in Mendev in the fight against the Worldwound. Unexpectedly received a sign from Shelyn (this has yet to be proven) and went to Brevoy. (Game Master character)

Arant - a human magus. From Nidal. Zon-Kuton. We know little about him so far and is the most mysterious member of the group. Perhaps he was sent on some important mission. He's actually a cool guy, though he's kind of dark. He also has a horse. Bear won't be bored ;D Believe me, we have HUNDREDS of jokes now that there are followers of Shelyn and Zon-Kuton in the same group.

Elladan - half elf, two-handed warrior. Desna. A common traveler seeking adventure and glory. And in Brevoy, a chance to prove himself just in time. I was whispered to me in confidence that his homeland is Ustalav, but he has traveled many places. And that his name is not his real name, but he decided to change it to start a new life.

Also, a funny thing happened to the owner of this character. I don't know how it happened, but I accidentally made Elladan and Mist a couple. I screamed, the person screamed. We're happy. We realized we had to do it during the game because it looked too good. And of course, she's taller than him 🤣

And something cute from the backstory of Mist and little Inigmar 🤍

She gave him an earring with a bird skull on it. She wears the same one with feathers.

And she treats him after fights. The boy often got into trouble defending his sister to children and adults and was upset at how the other ulfen treated them.

[iemconfused]

did this for spider-verse, doing it for the other thing fighting for position of my largest hyper fixation- some, definitely not all, of my favorite arcane bits/details (once again most if not all of these have been pointed out to me by other people or i’ve seen someplace on the internet, in the interest of giving credit where credit is due. and second disclaimer bc of the nature of arcane- i know nothing about league and have no interest in changing that lmao):

- obligatory viktor keeping the gear, the first thing to be touched by hextech

- sevika staying true to “we don’t hand over our people”

- in the little arcade space some of the little flippy target things on the punching machine look like mylo, especially the dead flipped over version. pretty sure there’s even a transition that goes directly from the dead target face to mylo

- jinx’s tear stains/running mascara always looks like IV (some people say backwards vi, some people say roman numeral for 4 aka ekko’s time machine limit. love it either way)

- when viktor’s face does the splitty thing it lowkey looks like ambessa’s mask a bit?? this is just one of my personal observations and it has like no weight to it at all lol

- the scientist we see that ambessa gets to try to crack hextech can be seen in the crowd at the memorial

- i’m an interior architecture major so i have to mention the art nouveau and art deco influences in everything, the classicism motifs too

- jinx’s face having 2 different animation rigs

- the hand drawn sequences with lower fps (ekko vs jinx on the bridge, caitlyn’s mom’s funeral, isha’s memories with jinx)

- the series starting with powder humming a tune, that same tune being used in numerous places throughout, and the series ending with vi humming that same tune

- ekko wearing the same mask being the firelights leader as he used to spy through in benzo’s shop

- ekko & powder on the disc at the start of s2e7 instead of jinx & vi

- jericho’s food stall is a lot more polished and clean in s2e7, also you can see guy who handled the shipping manifest in s1e4 hanging out there

- powder’s reflection in the clock in s2e7 being jinx. absolutely vile, thank you

- tbh just all of s2e7. but ESPECIALLY powder having all of the hextech crystals and saving the entire timeline

just like with my spider-verse details list, there’s so many that i inevitably missed bc i need to go through season 1 again. but i love this show with my whole heart, and it’s clear that everyone involved in its creation does too. it just overflows with passion. i know it’s probably possible to get this kind of feeling from live action stuff, but something about being animated makes it all the clearer. i pity the people who immediately write off animation as childish and miss out on this stuff.

[ryuichirou]

Replies

A lot of replies related to our previous posts + some replies about Lilia, peens and miscellaneous stuff.

For now, I won’t post any replies on weekends anymore, and as for the weekdays, I’ll answer to usual asks once a week, and I’ll spend the rest of the time (the rest 4 days) writing a headcanon post. Sorry.

Starting with the replies about the Nun AU comic from yesterday:

Anonymous asked:

Damn nun Azul is really out to get nun Idia. Love the image of them praying only to zoom in on Azul smiling, he knows exactly what hes doing (can almost hear him saying no one will ever believe you). Poor idias about to see how well he can stay quiet, Azul in this au is such a shit.

You nailed it, Anon!! This is exactly the vibes I was going for, especially the “no one will ever believe you” thing. He’s almost taunting Idia at this point, even though this is just him being unable to contain his…excitement.

I am very happy you liked the comic, and that you feel for poor Idia lol Azul really is such a shit.

Anonymous asked:

He immediately know is Azul, which mean this is not the first time this happen. Right ?

Yes, he already knows Azul’s secret at this point, but it’s been like a day after that. This is the first time it happens during the prayer though, or at all in public…

Anonymous asked:

Dear god, that hot

What a fitting prayer! Hehe thank you so much~

hipsterteller asked:

So who’s the priest? Trein?

Nah, just some unimportant guy. I wouldn’t want poor Trein to go through this bullshit lol

Anonymous asked:

I keep looking for Idia underwear, did he wear any ? Don't judge me.

Maybe this is exactly why the tentacles are climbing up his skirt – Azul wants to know as well!

And judging by that smirk… he knows the answer.

Now the comments for the Link art

Anonymous asked:

Sometime, you don't need a reason to draw a character from any game that you may not play yet. OK

Exactly, I think so too! This entire fanart portraits series turned out to be either characters that we love but haven’t drawn in ages, or characters from things we haven’t played or watched but really liked the design lol

Link is a special boy though, I almost bought a nendoroid of him once… I am too weak for this boy.

Anonymous asked:

oh my god like its a fact your art is gorgeous is general but i never expected link to fit it so well!!

Thank you so much, this is so kind!!! I was worried if it’s going to fit well, I am very happy to hear that…

Now about Malleus and Sebek walking in a forest…

Anonymous asked:

When you Malleus with dragon features he always makes me think of an Orca, I think those are pretty close to dragons anyway

Hmm, in terms of anime characters with animal tails yeah I can see that; both are pretty massive and shaped somewhat similarly… This is the first time I’m hearing about an orca-dragon comparison though 🤔

Anonymous asked:

Where is Sebek nose?

Lost it in a fight.

F :(

(The face is small and not the focus of the drawing, so it wasn’t necessary to draw it – it’s just stylisation that, surprisingly, happens in anime-related artstyles)

Anonymous asked:

Mhmmm, look at those ***  if the tail have a hole, i wonder if i can tear the hole bigger for something under the tail

Maybe there is no need to tear it, maybe it’s already pretty easily accessible!

About the Rook portrait!

Anonymous asked:

Why only the FACE. I can't even see whole chest. I need the UNDER

Sorry, Anon… His face broke my photoshop and corrupted the file to the point that I had to redo the whole thing from scratch, I am trembling even thinking about what he would’ve done if there was anything other than his face on this drawing. He is too powerful! He needs to stay hidden!!

Anonymous asked:

Excuse my french, but this is total Baguette!

I don’t know, Anon, I think the Baguette isn’t visible there; this is what the previous Anon was complaining about after all :”( sacré bleu

Anonymous asked:

ngl rook.... imagining a power bottom, dressed as a dom Vil to command and take that leash OOF <3 Rook as his service top OOOFF <3

Those are some spicy images, Anon~ Good taste!

I personally prefer Rook to pretend to be a service top when Vil and he both know that this is a huge bluff though. Like, Vil would look at this dog of a man and instantly feel like there is no way he’s being this obedient, something is up lol I also really like it when Vil acts bossy, but ultimately enjoys getting “overthrown”…

That’s a personal preference though ehehehe

Anonymous asked:

Wild dog need trained.

Yeah, nothing suspicious about it at all!

Anonymous asked:

Rook definitely had to be held on a leash in his first year, both in Savanaclaw and Pomefiore 😭 someone free those poor students not me tho, he’s hot

Oh god, do you think he was polite enough to put a leash on himself and tie himself to a pole to make everyone around comfortable? I feel like it would make everyone even more uncomfortable though.

Anonymous asked:

Don't runaway make Vil more sus?

(related to this comic)

Yeah, some things don’t seem to make sense, right? Wink

And some replies related to the Che’nya/Riddle drawing!

Anonymous asked:

Awwww, kitty want to taste a strawberry

Yeah, he’s craving something sweet~ Nothing is sweeter than this particular strawberry!

Anonymous asked:

Don't cat tongue feel like sand paper?

Yep! A lot of confusing sensations for poor Riddle.

Anonymous asked:

I want to squezze those butt so much

Hehe thank you! I am very happy you find them squeezable~

Anonymous asked:

Everyday, your art just keep coming. Man, you the best erotic twst artist i know.

And the only one i know.

Anon… you are way too kind..!!

There are more artists, I’m not the only one..! But I am very happy you like my stuff this much hehe, I’m happy to provide~

Anonymous asked:

do you think we can see ruggiexleona art from you sometime in the future?? love your work !!!

Thank you, Anon!

If I feel super inspired to draw something with them, then yes, but unfortunately this isn’t the ship I get inspired by often, even though I like them together. It’s not completely impossible, but it definitely wouldn’t happen soon… :( Sorry.

irregardlessly-tish asked:

I came across this pic and I need to know, where on this scale would you put Lilia?

OH MY GOD TISH. This is the best thing ever!!!  I love all of them!

I think he is somewhere between Those Feratu and El Wiwi… at least based on his bat mask and his overall vibes lol Lilia has a cute little snout!

Anonymous asked:

Okay, important question time. We've seen spicy glimpses, we've seen the "thiiis big" doodle. But truly, how big do you envision Lilia's peepee ?? He's 158cm tall, surely it can't be *that* big, right? The people want to know! And they also want to see but perhaps it's a bit too much to ask for  : (

I actually talked about hc peen sizes at some point, although there are no numbers there because I am bad at those lol The way I draw them is very inconsistent, but yeah, Lilia has been the “thiiiis big” guy for a while in our posts and drawings now. It started as a joke, but then it kind of…stuck lol

But in an interesting twist of fate, it isn’t even that illogical – apparently bats have enormous peens: 22% of their entire body length…!! So if Lilia’s height is 158 cm, according to this little piece of trivia, his peen would be 34.7 cm. Holy shit. Is this… is this canon now? I’m afraid of what we’ve created….

That being said, while we kind of defaulted to the “Lilia has a huge penis and he hides it with magic somehow”, I did draw him with a cute small one at least once, and I’d love to do it again. I guess the answer to that would be that Lilia is an enigma, and no matter how big his peen is, he is scarily good at using it.

As for seeing, I really want to draw a chart of everyone’s peens one day... :”)

Anonymous asked:

Just ask @twstassets for Lilia bedroom toes, you should see it.

Seen it! Cute toes :3c

Anonymous asked:

Have you ever thought about Vil or some of the others being more buff? I always feel like Vil would actually be fairly in shape since he's as strong as Jack, but focus more on build to be more like something like the Statue of David or have like a male dancer/gymnast build.

Vil is fairly in shape! But he is also pretty lean; if I remember correctly, he stated that he pays attention to staying in shape but not getting bulky because he still wanted to have a certain silhouette. I also sometimes like to think that he loves big sleeves and extra layers on his shoulders and upper arms because he has some volume there and basically hides his biceps lol To keep everything visually balanced and his arms looking elegant, or something like that. I’m not sure how to describe it. He is more muscular than he wants to appear, but he also isn’t jacked, I guess.

Anyways, I talked about my hcs about boys’ bodies in this post if you’re interested.

Anonymous asked:

hello! what do you think of sebek x skully as a ship?

Hi! We haven’t finished the Skully event yet, so our opinion on Skully is still a bit vague and we can’t appreciate all the dynamics he has with others fully yet.

That being said, we’ll probably going to end up appreciating their dynamic, but not liking the ship; similarly to how we ended up with Malleus and Rollo :(

[mad-serotonin]

Who's your favourite black clover character and why?

My favorite Black Clover character

💚 Is absolutely Finral 💚

More than that he is actually my favorite anime character in general.

He’s been close to my heart ever since starting the series in 2019 and he’s not once been dethroned from his spot as my favorite. There’s a lot about him that makes him so special for me.

This is going to be a bit of an essay but I got a lot to say about him HAHA

First off he is my fav archetype done right, and done the best:

I have a personal preference for the characters that are hopelessly flirty guys with confidence issues and emotional baggage. it’s just a trend for me. Most of my favs are this character archetype but done in different ways. I absolutely love Tabata’s approach to how he wrote Finral. He has such a wonderful way of bringing him in as a very simplistic character and building upon his personality and how he became who he was at the start, and continuously finding ways to beautifully motivate his development in such a very real way. The arcs where you see him slowly build himself up while fighting alongside Asta and Vanessa specifically are SO good for creating a new depth and feeling behind his tropes that make him so fresh and unique.

Simping AND Kinning:

Straight up required to say I’m just simply in love with him?????? He’s literally perfection for me. I think he has the most genuine kindness and pure personality I’ve seen written. I love how his fear and weakness transform through the series into a strength and determination to prove himself and protect the people around him.

And he’s so relatable for me. I genuinely sympathize with a lot of his story. His issues with feeling like he belongs and becoming someone he himself can be proud of hits home. Watching him grow throughout the series was a experience that I hold very close to my heart and it makes me SO HAPPY to see how far he’s come and knowing there’s more to come just keeps me going.

Sweetest Angel ever (Angel symbolism AWOOGA):

He’s just so nice, literally cares so much about his team and his friends. And don’t get me STARTED on his unending love and support for Langris despite all that’s happened. He just sees the best in his brother and doesn’t despise him for things out of their control and truly puts in the time and effort to build a healthier relationship with him. He is a simple man who wants to love and be loved. And this applies to his squad, his family, and his pursuits for love and I think he deserves to find that love and be happy in all areas.

Designs and magic wise the angelic symbolism alone and in contrast to Langris was such a beautiful and amazing choice. Tabata was COOKING with that. He truly does see himself as a “fallen angel” his story literally having him fall from “grace” if you look at it as grace being nobility. I just think there is so much symbolism and potential in expanding his magic using this connection and I personally love thinking about it myself.

He Pretty:

Overall I think he just has a pleasing design. I adore his hair over everything else. I love how it changes through the series both in style and color. As someone who changes their hair a lot I completely vibe with his reasonings for changing it too. Like yeah please add that color to give yourself a reinvigorated spirit and confidence for success. His hair looks so fluffy and I wanna feel it. (Personally love myself most when I dye my hair with green tips I love matching him it’s so nice hehe)

Outfit design wise I LOVEEEEEE IT the full color scheming is nice but the overall very Elven vibe with leaf motifs and the pointed boots is just MWAH 💋👌🏻. He just has a solid iconic look and it suits his vibes perfectly.

As an artist I love the experience of drawing him too. He’s so fun to draw and he’s got so much potential for expanding on his design outside of canon. (Drawing scars from the Langris fight is my fav thing to do) and at this point I’m so sure I’ve drawn him more than any other character EVER and I will not be stopping any time soon.

All in all I LOVE HIM. and he means the world to me. That’s my man and I will always be in his corner as the series progresses. I hope he continues to get moments to shine and I hope others will continue to enjoy him like I do.

Thank you for sending in this ask! I’m happy to have gotten to rant about him a lil bit. : D

Bonus hehe: