#i think it's a good scheme for people that don't draw a lot and get a boost in 'productivity' by having a lot of 'owed' art

[silusvesuius]

also i know artf*ght is essentially art trades for people with no social skills where it's not even guranteed you'll get something in return but people need to ditch that Conglomerate and just ask people to art trade like real men.

[tangledinink]

Hi 👋

I just wanted to tell you that your art and au's make me smile 🩵✨ what's your favorite work of art that you've created this year?

thank you so much! ; w ; that makes me happy! and i think maybe my favorite thing was the swanatello finale? / just the au in general! i didn't make the entire thing in 2024, but i did finish it this year, and it felt absolutely insane (in a mostly good way...!) to actually finish the project... i miss it a lot sometimes, but i'm really happy with how it ended and would much rather give a story a satisfying conclusion than drag it around like a popular tv sitcom on it's 11th season, if that makes sense.

thank you!!!! ; w ; this makes me happy and i'm glad you like it!!!!! i need to make more clover crown content... soon... it's coming... i promise... @arelenforyadarlin

thank you! ; 0 ; i'm very glad that i did it justice! i am pretty forgetful due to my adhd, but i also tried to do a lot of research along the way about more pervasive memory issues more akin to what donnie was dealing with, so i'm very happy that it all came across well...!

you guys all have permission to stab gemini!big mama if you ever see her <3 also thank you!

i work at a 3D printing company! i do all the silly administration and paperwork stuff, and, despite failing math in high school, some of the accounting stuff, too.

i KNOWWW, they're stealing my fucking brand :/// feels legally actionable to me tbh. they'll be hearing from my lawyers... @thejade-forest

THE GEMINI TWINS CAN DO IT AND THEY BELIEVE IN YOU-- YOU CAN DO IT, TOO!!!! also shaking ur hand re: period-related medical issues and suffering. also training in MMA is incredibly badass?! :000 NICE.

Technically speaking, no. However, the Hidden City Police did find the twins just wandering around the city-- and since she's got, like, 80% of the police force on her payroll, she of course heard about it right away... @serendipitous-posts

GOOD JOB NAILING THE PRETEXT :D I'm glad my silly lil AU was helpful, hehe :3c

I'm originally from Massachusetts! My favorite color is pink and I've been making art for most of the my life. One of the main things driving me is that I just really love stories and characters and wanna force people to pay attention to all the silly lil situations happening to make-believe people in my head. Don't think I could pick a favorite fanart, since they are all so beloved... ; w ; Any version of Donnie is my favorite. I wanna go live in the Pokemon World, I think I try to find a healthy balance between 'doing my own thing' and 'is there an audience for this content?' Also! Great question! Uhhh... for TMWN, what truly started me on that road was that I Didn't Wanna Have To Draw Turtles. For the Gemini, I was very much inspired by the Even More of a Disaster AU! And for Swanatello, as I've stated in the past... I just wanted to make a silly donniesona with a pun for a name... and then things got out of hand... @sweetnsoursinger

nooo don't ooze my tortoiseeee i'm not ready to be a parentttttt i don't wanna live in the sewerssssss noooooooooooo-- @thebloodyheartgirl

emd two is way less insufferable than one--

(it's more like... two and donnie have a lot of common ground with science and mystical studies, so they are capable of getting along pretty well...! and leo automatically feels some sense of protection and affection for two just because... well... he's a version of donnie!

but. uhhh. one... not so much. it is... complicated...)

it was FINE... i mean. it SUCKED, he didn't LIKE it, it took the whole ass day and was painful and exhausting and scary. but there were no huge medical scares or complications or anything, so in the grand scheme, it went pretty smoothly? not that they had much to compare it to...

leo's went WAY smoother though, much quicker and easier than donnie's, (plus just one egg!) and donnie was so fucking annoyed at him for it. @jollycrowntragedy

It's based on their actual genetic/physical ages, for the most part! For Mikey and Venus, Draxum already knew exactly how old all of the turtles were when he got them, (he's a scientist, for goodness sake,) so he could roughly translate that into their 'post-mutation' ages, with Mikey being a bit older. For Raph, Leo, and Donnie, it was a lot more guesswork based for their respective caretakers... The fact that Donnie is the 'older twin,' for example, is completely arbitrary.

Jeni joined the Draxum family at a later date than the rest of the turtles and wasn't present during the original mutation process. She was mutated and 'adopted' as an infant about two years after the initial mutation event-- when Mikey was around three and Venus was about two. @kingofgemini

I do! Here's a post I made previously about the comic making procress for Gemini-- some things have changed a little since then, but most of it is pretty much the same...! If you're looking for the textures specifically, I'd check out the link I've got in the bottom for True Grit Texture Supply, which is where I got a bunch of my brushes. (If you sign up for their email list, then they'll send you a bunch of brushes for free, including a lot of the ones that I use in my comics!) @avisminutia

THANK YOU... ; _ ; THIS MAKES ME VERY VERY HAPPY... I AM GLAD...

[hiraethminds]

This is a tangent, I'm here to entertain with needless rambling

The deep rooted hatred for taco I see in the II community genuinely concerns me. Especially since those people tend to be Mephone "apologists"(For lack of a better word, I love Mephone don't get me wrong) despite how taco is the "active" side of the coin to his "passive". The connections between them are there trust me Im connecting the dots. Ive connected them.

I understand that she's done bad things, but blaming her for her shortcomings when she doesn't and never had the same support group to change as Mephone did makes me a little ehh.. Getting upset because Microphone showed her support in the new episodes simply because you don't like the ship(I understand why people wouldnt but thats not an excuse to deny her anything), and because Taco doesn't know how to change yet and you refuse to see her as anything redeemable. I'm not big on shipping, thats not the point of this tangent, but Taco finally having someone to support her and help her change is a GOOD thing. Microphone was being the bigger person there, she was being mature and thoughtful because Taco clearly needs the help. The fact that people continue to deny Taco any kind of growth even if she goes about it in the wrong way makes me deeply uncomfortable. Because the moment any character does anything bad that isn't HER they don't say anything about it. She was shunned by her peers because she was playing the game and continued to 'play the game' so to speak.

Theres a deep rooted hint of misogyny in the way they treat her, but I wont yap about that you dont need to read allat.

I understand people have reasons for not liking characters! That's ok. But I've seen them actively go out of their way to harass people that DO like Taco and actively criticize enjoying her character.

They tend to take it as defending her actions. Which is not what's happening. I don't think oscommunity could handle vriska is all I'm saying.

Feel free to not answer this I just need whatever little imp is telling me to scream about it to get out. go draw a taco dis is driving me crazy

Thank you for dumping this in my inbox bigbarf200, I feel like a wise confidant.

okay so I don't interact/observe with the wider ii community (Mainly cuz i like playing with my touys without being bothered) So this information is so Interesting to me!!!

As you mentioned, the hate might stem from misogyny (and by the way, I’d love to read your essay—talk all you want, my friend!). This is a societal issue that affects every part of life.

That said, I also think some people might dislike her simply because she’s a hustler and stubborn. When she has a goal, she’ll do whatever it takes to achieve it, even if it means crossing into morally gray areas.

holding Mepad hostage > hijacking the show

lying and deceiving objects with good intentions > winning s1

seriously hurting Fan > winning Mic immunity

as you said in the greater scheme of things, she's genuinely done horrible things. But if you just accept that at face value you are missing out on such an amazing character. You have to consider her perspective and the circumstances of her birth (especially in a story like ii!!) to fully understand and come to an option on her. But I digress this is baby level analysis so ill move on.

people who think Mic being friendly towards Taco post e14 is out of character are misunderstanding Microphone as both a character and thematic device I think

that's literally the only rational reason I could think of as to why people would be mad about taco and mic being on good terms???

so yeah, these haters just sound like crazy irrational people who have a lot of pent-up emotions. crazy

anyways ty!!! I feel like I didn't have alot to add since, as stated, these people are just incredibly irrational. but its nice getting an earful of whagh the fuck the community is like. here are soem taco drawings for the occasion

[tossawary]

I'm enjoying this "Yue Qingyuan sent Shang Qinghua to go spy on Luo Binghe after Shen Qingqiu's death" AU, because I love it when background characters have their own goals and business, are fighting with each other, and are doing wild shit on purpose. Even if you're doing an AU (as per canon to our knowledge) where Shang Qinghua is not a double agent - and is just fleeing to the Demon Realm because he was found out as a traitor and/or decided that it was time to dip because the protagonist and Cang Qiong Mountain Sect are now in semi-open conflict - the question remains for exploration:

Why did Yue Qingyuan not go to Huan Hua Palace and try to kick Luo Binghe's ass to get Shen Qingqiu's body back?

It's suggested at several points that Tianlang-Jun at the height of his power was stronger than Luo Binghe, and Yue Qingyuan was part of the team that helped to seal Tianlang-Jun. Shen Yuan suggests that the original Luo Binghe had to bait Yue Qingyuan into a death trap of ten thousand arrows because Bing-ge (even with the Xin Mo Sword at this point) didn't want to face Yue Qingyuan head-on. (I think Bing-ge sent SQQ's legs to YQY or something.) Yue Qingyuan is willing to draw Xuan Su for SQQ and Liu Qingge is willing to help (although LQG might be mad that YQY let SQQ go to the Water Prison at all). YQY versus LBH is not a totally unbalanced fight.

It's possible that Yue Qingyuan didn't go fight because he kind of shut down due to grief. Shen Qingqiu has changed in recent years and died in a very sudden, very shocking, very confusing way. YQY also has a sect to look after and maybe he can't fully justify going out and escalating the conflict over a dead body (as opposed to a live hostage), and possibly get himself killed, when he's maybe hoping that Cang Qiong and Huan Hua can settle this without further death. The other peak lords all must have opinions on this and are probably pulling him in all sorts of directions. By Liu Qingge's account, Yue Qingyuan probably knows that Shen Qingqiu intentionally died for Luo Binghe and he knows that SQQ loved his disciple, so maybe he wants to respect SQQ's sacrifice and affection by not trying to kill Luo Binghe. When Luo Binghe invades Cang Qiong for SQQ's body (and Shen Yuan), Yue Qingyuan has to dangerously abort cultivation in the Ling Xi Caves to come face him, so it's possible that YQY had decided 5 years in that peaceful resolution was impossible and was gearing up to fight Luo Binghe, only to be a victim of bad timing (Liu Qingge's unexpected success in body retrieval).

It could be a combination of these reasonings! People do things for lots of different reasons and this is an emotionally charged situation which puts Yue Qingyuan in a complicated political position.

So, yeah, it could also be that Mu Qingfang came back from his kidnapping saying, "Luo Binghe was repairing Shen Qingqiu's body, trying to summon his soul, and was researching resurrection techniques when I was there," and Yue Qingyuan decided to just... sit back and see where that went. If Liu Qingge (who is probably NOT happy that YQY isn't throwing down already) succeeds in retrieving the body, fine, that's good enough, but if Luo Binghe succeeds in bringing Shen Qingqiu back...? Well, that's also good, isn't it? Yue Qingyuan can outsource the "go mad with grief and engage in crimes against the natural order" to someone else here.

I mean, I really don't think that Yue Qingyuan was actively PLANNING for Luo Binghe to resurrect Shen Qingqiu. That seems a little too wicked and scheming to be his main motivation here. But I do think he might have been... vaguely aware of this potential consequence of his inaction, this possible side effect of his paralyzing grief causing him to be hands-off about the situation and/or his cautious approach to peace negotiations, and I really don't think that he minds that Tianlang-Jun and Zhuzhi-Lang succeeded in bringing Shen Qingqiu back. (I do think he kind of wishes that the Shen Jiu who remembers him had come back instead, though.)

[brazenautomaton]

so here's a conversation I had with a friend just now that sums up a lot of what I think so well I don't want to bother rephrasing it

them

Oh boy are we ready for 48 more months of hearing the Most Sanest Normalest People on the internet act like a right-of-center candidate getting elected when put up against another nagging scold of a progressive "It's Her Turn"-er was a surprise

me:

The Democrats and their wider supporters don't seem to realize people can remember the things they say. They said Biden was fine, it was a wild right wing conspiracy to think he was unfit for office. Then he is clearly, actively disintegrating on stage at the debate, so now it's Harris! Of course it's Harris, what are you talking about, we've always been about Harris! Harris who was, it's important to note, a diversity hire. She was not a popular candidate. She did dismally in the primary, and was chosen as VP because it was Time For A Strong Woman Of Color

them:

Y-E-P God imagine taking the VP of an unpopular incumbent and saying "Yep, she's the one" and being surprised when that goes poorly It is genuinely alarming, though, how absolutely temporally untethered a lot of the discourse coming from the left is. Like, genuinely just "don't believe your lying memories" level of attempt to disregard stuff that happened not just in living memory, not just in the last decade, but happened during the current presidency. The lack of humility is also not just distasteful, but actually alarming. If you make predictions that are wildly off the mark to try to get people behind your candidate, you cannot then treat your wildly off-the-mark predictions as if they did not matter.

the primary strategy of the "guys who spent five years using 'gaslight' to mean 'disagree with'" appears to be attempted gaslighting. you just aren't allowed to notice things they say and do. every time someone is like "I don't like this thing you're doing," the democrats as a whole are all "That didn't happen and you're a bad person."

this is an effective strategy for winning conversations with people and a very bad strategy for winning elections. when people are upset about things you did or allowed to happen, "nuh uh you bad person" is not a response. "that shouldn't count" is not an effective counter even if you genuinely believe it should not count. a million morlocks-holmes saying "this has nothing to do with the democrats because no democratic holder of office has introduced a bill with explicitly racist language" isn't going to convince anyone who wasn't already convinced. you are not entitled to votes, you have to actually do things to win the election.

focusing on how bad and threatening Trump is is a losing strategy when we had a term of Trump and none of the fascist future we were warned of came to pass. Trump had a fucking vision of the future to really behind that more than zero people believed in. Now, I'm not a "typical" ad-watcher because I only saw campaign ads on YouTube (but I feel like this is not super atypical any more), but I saw a lot of Kamala Harris ads, and zero of them were about any of her plans or ideals or vision and all of them were about "You need to give us money right now to win the election." Like if you're using the money to make ads like this, that's kind of like a one-person pyramid scheme.

the Trump presidency will be terrible in a predictable, expected way. there will be no fascism, just a slow crumbling of our already-dismal institutional competence. I don't think the Democrats would have been much better. They'd still be beholden to an activist core of psychopaths and doing everything they can to cover for those people, while also governing incompetently and completely unable to capitalize on or draw attention to any good things they actually manage to do. Leftists and progressives are already going through the whole "the Democrats move us all to the right they only want to move to the right!" but the Democrats don't move at all; they don't think they should change their behavior, because when they lose an election it is because the voters failed them and not the other way around.

[purplepixel]

What if the turtles were in the pokemon world? And what if they were never turtles, but in fact, mutated pokemon? What if they lived in the Castelia sewers of Unova instead of New York?

Meet my Rise/Pokemon AU!! Waaaah this has been on my mind for MONTHS now. Pokemon is that one fixation that'll never leave me. I'm THAT pokemon fan that knows WAAAAY too much about the games and lore. For those that don't know,

Raph is Drednaw

Leo is Wartortle

Mikey is Torkoal

Donnie is Lapras

Yes. They are all shiny. I started with raph, since him as drednaw is pretty much a no brainer. The shiny form fit too well with him and his color scheme. Than I realized if I made him shiny, I had to make the other bros shiny as well so THEY ALL SHINY. (draxum shiny hunter confirmed?) Also dual rock typing fits well with raph's character.

Wartortle for leo was also a pretty obvious choice. I MEAN LOOK AT HIM. Long flowy tail? Yes please. I had to keep his markings somehow. Wartortle has little dark cheek spots, so I just changed them to be leo's markings. Water typing leo. Go with the flow, think on the spot, it worked out too well.

Torkoal for Mikey was another easy one. Fire turtle? Passionate, warm, also DANGEROUS (he can be a menace ok) Say no more. His powers in rise are already pyro related. Also having him shiny helped a lot with the color scheme. Torkoal is normally orange so having mikey be the yellow shiny form meant I didn't have to mess with his mask colors

Donnie on the other hand....OHHH BOI I STRUGGLED WITH YOU. I went through 4 DIFFERENT POKEMON, before deciding on the least turtle like of them all. I am aware that we do have a softshell pokemon with enamorous, but it's a legendary so thats not happening. But it was really important for me to keep donnie's soft shell and battle shell. I wanted this to be a RISE au and donnie's battle shell is pretty tied into his character. (there's also tirtouga which I almost went with, but I didn't like that both he and raph shared the exact same dual typing) Soooo, Lapras. Its more of a loch ness monster but it also draws inspiration from a placochelys (prehistoric seaturtle esque species) so IM COUNTING IT. Very unconventional but I have my reasons. Ice typing is a good offensive type, but is pretty bad defensively. Which ties into rise donnie's fighting style. If I wasn't a coward, I wouldve made donnie the biggest of the bros. Since lapras is like 8 feet tall compared to the others being like 1-3 feet. But uhhh, I swear I have an in universe explanation for why he's so small ok.

And than there's April. She is not a pokemon trainer in this au. At least not in the traditional sense. I've been with pokemon for all of my 26 years of life, and I always wanted to know what the normal people of the pokemon world are up to. Not everyone is out here collecting gym badges, travelling, or catching them all. How do non-trainers interact with the pokemon world? So that's where I'm at with April. She will get a pokemon partner, but other than that, she's just an average high schooler who befriended the turtles from a young age and takes part in all their shenanigans. I took some design elements from rosa and hilbert with her outfit, but otherwise its pretty much the same.

We'll see how far I'll take this. I've been using this as a break from my many other projects, but like everything I do, it grew too many legs and is slowly becoming its own thing.

[again-and-then]

part one of several, my redesigns/outfit edits of the Hazbin Cast as they appear in my Fanfic: Pride, Envy, Wrath.

my design commentary under the break.

going from Left to Right.

Lute: Classic Angel Lute design as she appears at the start of the fic. fairly unchanged from her canon appearance (my style just has some more notable curves.) She's picked up a new silver arm as is a pretty common fandom prediction but in my tale, Lute takes up Adam's old guitar in place of her sword. Just felt right, even if i hate drawing that fucking thing.

Alternate Lute: spoilers I guess, but this will be the look Lute opts for much later into the Fic. You can guess at what went down to lose her wings and Halo... she will be working for the Hotel eventually, but it has no official uniform, so I think Lute would opt for something official looking but styled off Charlie's outfit and color scheme as its Charlie's Hotel. I will admit, Lute's new fit is heavily inspired by Helltaker outfits, particularly Justice and Malina. its just good fashion.

Vaggie: Vaggie's design is one that I think is honestly pretty good, she had a unique silhouette and a cute outfit. Mostly all I've gone is give the girl the curves she deserved, particularly in the hip department... and cute new boots :]

Charlie: I adore Charlie, her new design for the show was what sold me Hazbin Hotel as I thought her old pilot look was.. pretty not great. I really didn't want to make any drastic changes beyond some color changes (her old undershirt seemed to imply a white button up but red cuffs? the fuck girl.) a lot of people have really unique ideas when it comes to Charlie redesigns but they all lean towards making her more obviously inhuman... which she isn't human, but i feel that misses the mark. its personally been my opinion that Charlie's primary form is entirely by choice, she wants to look human to seem more appealing to the former humans around her.

Husk:... Husk, oh Husk. one of my favorite characters, one of my absolute least favorite designs. Fucking Hell. I will fight Vivziepop personally to get her to stop adding minature top hats and bowties to every other goddamn character. also, think about Husk without fur. man is going bare chested, wearing a child's top hat, a bowtie, baggy pants with suspenders and no goddamn shoes. I get pathetic drunk is the idea, but give the man an ounce of dignity. if we must keep the top hat, then make it big enough to be used as a magician's top hat and get his fucking hand in. Also, a shirt. was that so hard? I don't care if his fur has little dots that look like buttons.

[theladysherlock]

🎵So hand in hand I wonder where we'll go🎶

-

I immediately fell in love with @roshambeau 's Leviathan visual development work (here, if you haven't seen it yet, please go check it out) and was supernaturally compelled to draw their designs for these two.

I have lots of thoughts about this piece, but I put the full director's cut underneath the read more because I tend to get ramble-y.

Beau's story treatment ends with Behemoth, but I couldn't stop thinking about what the events of Goliath would look like. First, if the revolution in Istanbul fails, I really don't see Alek using Providence to guide his decisions anymore (that coping mechanism has FAILED him). And without Providence telling him that he's meant to stop the war, he doesn't put nearly as much weight behind Tesla and Goliath. So I really don't think that those plotlines would play out much at all.

Secondly, this version leans into the idea that Alek and Deryn have to decide for themselves what kind of life they want, regardless of what the adults in their lives have laid out for them. If a main theme of their character arcs is rejecting the schemes of people like Volger and Dr. Barlow, there is absolutely no way that these two join the Zoological Society. It has to be a separate, third option; one that doesn't involve any of the adults in their lives.

Another major theme of this story treatment is the idea of "not in-between, but both". The locations in Goliath are all cultures that have incorporated both Darwinist and Clanker technologies, but America is the only one both of them consider staying in long-term. This is also the only country in the novel that offers actual opportunities for either of them-- Deryn could be an aerialist for a stunt show, Alek could be an engineer.

Anyway, after considering all that, my conclusion is that the story ends with them running away together and getting an apartment in New York City. This scene in particular feels like a happy ending, at least to me. They've been there long enough for the apartment to have some of Deryn's sketches framed and hanging up on the wall. They have some proper furniture, even if it's not fancy. Bovril is comfortably snoozing in the corner. It's a home and it's theirs, no one else's.

I also really loved Beau's use of color theory in the entire visual development book! Darwinists are green, Clankers are blue, and you can see highlights of both of those colors on Deryn and Alek, respectively. Neutral, of course, is Red. Red is a safe color. The illustration of Alek and Lilit in the market uses red and other warm colors for a scene where Alek is happy, while Deryn in the background (who is trying to bring him back to the Leviathan) is colored with more greens and blues. So obviously I had to make the apartment red. I also wanted to play with it a little bit, though I don't think I did it nearly as elegantly. There's an intentional mis-match of the colors and their representations in the room-- Bovril is on a blue stool, the mechanical gramophone is green.

Good lord that was a lot. All that to say, I adored this visual development so so so so much and I wanted to play in this space as well. and I will draw Volger and his mechanical arm at some point this is a threat and a promise

[major-wren]

I love the "ARK siblings" concept and I love cute lighthearted fanart of them being siblings but I feel like a lot of people forget that they literally canonically share a soul and that her death is, in my opinion, I think supposed to represent a part of one's self dying and that they're supposed to be, symbolically, a lot more than siblings.

I always saw Shadow's story as a symbolic way to express the way your inner child and innocence is sacrificed in order to survive complex childhood trauma. Maria's color scheme and the way she's written is, I think, clear to all of us how she's meant to represent innocence and youth. I mean, she doesn't really function very well as a stand-alone character or realistic depiction of a child, shes always been more of an.. idea.

I'm not sure if it was purposeful, but the moon's "Maria" are craters that formed from the moon repeatedly taking the hits of asteroids at it's points of gravity. These points of gravity attract asteroids and draws then away from the Earth. The craters are mostly on the side of the moon we see, so the dark side of the moon, or "shadowed" side is better protected because of that. I feel like this is an extension of Shadow and Maria's symbolism. She took the bullet for him, protecting him, the same way Maria takes the comets, and the same way your brain will sacrifice your inner child (or freeze/rush your mental development) in order to survive intense childhood abuse. I know it all sounds extreme lmao but at the end of the day characters and storytelling are used to explore and express hard emotions and I don't think this randomly tragic character sprung out of nowhere for the Sonic games, which, before that point, always had very lighthearted positive characters (except for the echidna extinction in the game right before Shadow's). Having a character that was easy to approach, yet could represent scarier concepts as a child-friendly stand-in, felt like a very important tool to me growing up. I just hope that that writing can be appreciated in his character, with an understanding of how messy production can be and how a character can get pulled between many different people and ideas. I do think this symbolism was intentional to some degree, especially when it gets to the blatant soul-sharing and how characters insist that Shadow can't be a weapon because Maria's soul (his inner child and true morals despite the damage done to him) makes him "good hearted."

There's other things that uphold this symbolism of Maria dying as representing his inner child being killed, like the rushed/suspended mental development in the face of trauma being illustrated by the fact that Shadow was forced into a dormant cyro slumber right after Maria's death, symbolizing the way he had to basically skip childhood or hit pause on development until he could escape the people controlling him. Much like how victims will have to pause everything and go on autopilot with only a goal of survival until they can escape their situation; only after they feel safe can they begin growing as a person and find their identity. In the Japanese language, there are different types of pronouns people can refer to themselves with instead of just "I" or "myself." In the Japanese dub of SA2, Shadow's creator said in an interview that he had been very insistent on Shadow using the pronouns reserved for young boys, despite Shadow's menacing villain role in the game, because he felt it was important to show Shadow's purity and his lack of experience in life so far. That "live and learn" theme.

And then in his self titled game, Shadow is searching for a way to reconnect with his past and to find the truth about this Maria person he keeps seeing in flashbacks, but in the end he throws away her picture and accepts himself as he is now, forever changed and stained by his past, but more than just a product of his situation. He is "all of him," including the negative impact he never asked for, and including the parts of himself he lost, but also the parts of himself he chose to become. Your environment and childhood shapes you even if you didn't want it to, but that doesnt mean you cant have control in your identity and recover your inherent nature once you've escaped the negative influence (nature vs nurture theme). He will never be the person he used to be, or could have been, (represented by Maria as a pure and untouched youth), but he still has a say in what that grows into.

I just feel like a lot of Shadow's identity issues and inner conflict stem from this whole soul sharing situation with Maria and that his character ends up inevitably being misunderstood if you water them down to just siblings. Especially considering that it was never answered if Shadow actually even ever met Maria or if they're just memories planted by Gerald or caused by the shared soul. In Sonic Battle, it's also said in Gerald's diary that not only do Maria and Shadow share identical souls, but that Gerald literally modeled Shadow after Maria out of his love for her. I'm not sure to what degree or in what ways, but Shadow is supposed to share purposeful similarities with Maria, likely through the content of her character and her morals. That's what makes them so much deeper than just psuedo siblings, he's not only made for her, but designed after her too. It can't really be compared to, for example, Sonic and Tails.

I also think its what makes Shadow's character so substantial and meaningful. His self titled game's entire theme was purity, morals, what is good and bad. This question of purity and morality spreads into his appearances in other stories too- This question that, if you were badly hurt in your youth and shaped by evil- does that leave you impure? Stained? Destined to continue that cycle of harm and cruelty? I think these insecurities feel very real and relatable, and that it's even more realistic that despite these insecurities, that hurt and damage is actually what fuels him to protect others. Just as he said in Sonic Battle, "There's no need to repeat past tragedies! Nobody else ever needs to go through the things that I have!"

Statistically (despite media portrayal) abuse victims RARELY become abusers, because they understand the pain on a deeper level and can't bring themselves to force someone else into experiencing that same pain, knowing the permanent damage it causes. However, childhood abuse leaves people socially stunted and conditioned to harshness, which causes them to accidentally hurt others without meaning to. Or they end up hurting people out of desperation if they feel endangered (like Shadow's "means to an end" approach where he'll prioritize violence if it means reducing the end-impact). Also, they are more susceptible to being abused again after escaping the first abuser, because they are so susceptible to manipulation- Just like how whenever Shadow does switch sides, its usually because someone manipulated him into it or literally brainwashed him. I think Shadow conveys all of this so well, and that Maria's true role is an integral part of it all that can't be ignored or misunderstood, or else Shadow ends up reading as unnecessarily violent or overly obsessed with her when you interpret her as just a sister-figure that he knew for... who knows how few years.

I think this symbolism runs deep with his writing. Just like Maria's meant to be that inherent purity and inner child, I think the black arms DNA is that stain that abuse or trauma can leave on you, that causes you to act out or feel like you're always holding back and trying to keep control over some darker part of yourself that was left behind in the damage done. Especially since they literally have a mind link with Shadow. In the Sonic Universe comic, they succeed in brainwashing Shadow and turn him against his friends. These mind-links, soul-sharing, and brain-washing from both Gerald and the black arms... To disregard the fact that he's deeply connected to these people on a metaphysical, identity altering level is to water down his character and leave it feeling as though his motives are too weak to justify his harsh actions. I've seen people poke fun at his amnesia or insecurity in his identity, as though his confusion isn't justified, and I think it's because people don't realize he has these... literal fragments of other people inside of him, that that's pretty much what he's made of, kind of franken-steined together between a little girl's hopes and morals, an alien race's hivemind greed, a weapon-hungry government and a revenge maddened scientist's painful grief, and even the chaos emeralds which we all know are spiritually whacky and potentially connected to another alien race's memories and energies (the ancients from sonic frontiers). With all of that going on, plus some amnesia mixed in and his memories having been altered by Gerald- I mean.. you'd be searching for the "truth" of your identity too, who you really are. And of course, prone to frustration and aggression, or even a "wish-washy inconsistency." I think there's always a constant tug of war inside of him and that his whole development was a game of tug of war between Gerald, G.U.N and the black arms too. "Am I a cure, am I a death-bringer, am I earth's protector, am I it's destroyer," etc etc

Idk I just think a lot of problems people have with Shadow's writing stems from not realizing how deep things go and what they symbolize. Not to say that something like his boom characterization is of good quality or anything, but I think it's unfair to call him inconsistent when a confusion in his own identity and purpose/goals is kind of the point. And I think people not realizing Maria's deeper, physiological connection to him and influence might be part of the problem.

[itsjustlux]

Screw It, Tony Baddingham Analysis

Yes, I said I wasn't going to do a Rivals essay. Yes, I totally lied.

** TW for unhealthy power dynamics and discussions of ab*se/violence/violence towards women. Honestly, the man is just a walking warning, read accordingly **

Let's talk Tony. Because I can't help but be constantly intrigued by this simultaneously devastatingly sexy and utterly rizz-less (did I use that right? Kids these days...) sad wet cat creature.

He's relatable. Understandable. Someone who's been constantly put on the outs for being "new money". As someone who's spent her whole life trying to fit into academia and traditionally wealthy spaces and failing spectacularly, I understand that. And I understand the thought process that having enough money, and enough status will finally make it go away. They can't make fun of you if you're the one in control. If you're the one calling the shots.

I see Tony as a character fundamentally motivated by deep, deep insecurity. We don't know much about his childhood (season 2 I beg), but I would put a fair amount of money on him being the sort of traditionally bullied nerdy kid. The kind that starts out well-meaning, but eventually just fucking snaps. Tony is the kind of character determined to either make those around him fall in line or pay the price. When put through this lens, he just sort of looks like a child throwing a temper tantrum.

Because, while Tony's motivations come from a reasonable place, the actions he takes are so far out of the left field he blasts himself out of sympathetic morally grey dude territory straight into the land of big bad evil guys like a member of Team Rocket. See, it's Tony's continuous feeding of his bottled-up resentment and shame that fuel his ego and general shittiness. He is capable of being a decent human being. Everyone is capable of that, I think. But he's trapped himself in a cycle of rage and isolation. The more angry he gets, the more people will leave him. The more that happens, the more isolated and ashamed he becomes. The more that happens, the more angry he gets. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy.

It's why we get that sort of switching on and off of different personalities. That sad, wet cat creature I mentioned in the introduction? That's who Tony really is, underneath all his schemes. When you see that, you're seeing a genuine representation of what's going on inside his head. When he's angry and cruel, that's who he really is. Everything else is an act. Charming, confident Tony? A lie. Sweet, sympathetic Tony? A lie. Any time he needs something from someone, he puts on that charismatic personality. If he needs to draw them in, to pull them in closer so he can feel better about himself, he puts on an act. (Bonus points that DT is so good at what he does that it works on the audience, too)

The irony, of course, is that if any of that behavior was genuine, he'd probably have a hell of a lot of an easier time getting what he wants.

Oh and that last scene? Isn't that just the perfect epitome of all of this? Because it's a result of him trying and failing to pull in Cameron one final time, first with that false personality, and then with who he really is. And, of course, who he is is Not Great (TM), and she knows that. So, he's screwed from the outset. And she hits him with the goddamn trophy, the physical representation of what he's achieved. Proof that he can do more, that he is more than some misfit kid. Demonstrating once and for all that no, Tony. You will never be more than what you are. What you have always been. Even while your show plays in the background, even in your giant office, none of it matters. You have lost, and you will always lose. You will lose the girl, you will lose the company, you will lose the legacy. All of it.

So, now it's time for a little customary speculation. In the event he survives (and that's reliant on like...several factors so this all might be moot), I can see a few different directions for his character. Full disclosure, I haven't read the books. So, this is purely going off of the show and what they've put forward. There are a few places we know we're going to end up. Taggie/Rupert is endgame, Tony will 'lose' again in some fashion, and Cameron/Tony is pretty obviously done. The most likely scenario is that Tony will continue to lash out, and may become an even bigger threat now that he's heartbroken. Some grand final attempt to hurt his rivals, and then some final crushing defeat. I could also see them taking the route of a more obsessive Tony. Some Kilgrave vibes towards Cameron could be horrifying, but not unexpected. It would really push the question of how much he actually cares for her versus how much he thinks he cares for her. All of this keeping in mind he's probably going to have further conflicts with his wife, who's the only one who sees the real Tony and isn't scared off by it. Whatever happens, it'll be interesting.

I'll definitely be tuning in. ;)

[cilil]

Today I unearthed a folder in which I saved some good memories from school, mostly drawings and doodles I made together with friends or by myself, and it's making me emotional.

I... found that I made fanart for a game I loved at that time and... the art wasn't bad. Especially for a teenager and beginner artist (yes, I am a beginner artist to this day, it's embarrassing, I know). The art was cute, even has some attempts at shading and converting colors to black and white. I like it. A lot actually.

And now I just sit on my bed, holding these old sketches, and wonder why I never pursued art. I loved it so much. I had fun. My younger self wouldn't have kept these drawings if not, and my older self can see it on the paper, in every line, every stroke, every tiny grain of pencil dust.

What made me think that this wasn't worth pursuing, not worth trying again until many years later? What discouraged me? I don't remember an exact moment or anything; the only thing I know for sure is that I knew and believed - and know and believe to this day, to be honest - that there's a lack of innate ability on my part and that others my age are so far ahead and were back then as well. Hell, I've been behind since I failed to color within the lines in kindergarten.

It feels and felt like a fool's errand to deal with my clumsy hands and messed up back for hours just to end up with something that is... maybe charming in my eyes, but so, so subpar in the grand scheme of things.

I stuck to writing in the end because it was the only thing people said I was good at. And I'm glad I - just this once - had the courage to do so and to keep going and, eventually, push myself into sharing it on the internet too. Through sheer delusion and determination and lots, oh, lots of writing I clawed myself up to a place where I feel just confident enough in my skills to not constantly question myself and happily create.

And therein lies the answer for art as well, doesn't it? "Just keep trying, just put in all those hours and days and months and years of work for it as well, until your hands bleed and your back gives out, eventually you'll get there! Talent is not required either!"

But it's not that simple. I'm not sure I can do this again, muster enough courage and delusion to be terrible for years until I finally start making things that go from subpar to mediocre. And maybe never from mediocre to decent or even good.

When I learned to write, I had other people's claims that I was talented to fall back on and wasn't as hopelessly behind other people. Now motivation is lower and frustration is higher. Learning curves and empty canvases paralyze me; the last time I made art it took me 2 full hours until I could push past it. Not to mention that I'd picked out all references and tutorials and everything a week before.

Where does this leave us? What will I do, you ask? Well. Even if I never beat these demons I can assure you that, every once in a while, the urge will overcome me and I will attempt something. Maybe I'll learn and improve just a little by accident. Maybe I'll even get my ass up and actually learn sometime.

I am technically currently doing an art event somewhere else, so at the very least I will be forced to make a few pieces.

And I know myself a bit better these days. That also helps.

I know that, if anything will get me past the demons, it's obsession, the need to illustrate my own fics and, most importantly, porn.

[zyrxs-circus]

Studying Tips for Littles

I don't know if anyone else is in this situation, but where I live we're going through the exams season. This can be a stressing period for most people, mainly little ones, so here you have a few tips that will hopefully make it less icky ^^

Talk to your stuffies! I cannot stress this one enough, I've been using it since I was bodily little and it works extremely well. The stuffies actually told me, they love to hear you talk about what you're studying. You can act as if you were a teacher and they were the students, I'm sure they'll have lots of fun with that :D If words are hard, hugging your stuffies for comfort will also help. Let them see what you're doing tho! They really like learning new stuff<3

Do worksheets Not the boring worksheets for old people, but the cool fun ones! If you can't find any that you like, maybe you can get a friend to make some for you? If asked with time and given a topic, I can make them too! ^^

Ask for help If you don't understand a point, there's nothing wrong with asking a teacher or a classmate. If you have a caregiver (or, really, any close friend you're comfortable regressing around), you can ask them to ask you questions or act like a teacher for you. There's no shame in needing others, mainly if you're struggling<3

Take care of yourself Drink water, take breaks and eat healthy. To study better, you need energy, and you won't get it unless you remember to do these. Don't forget to sleep either, if you're well-rested you'll feel a lot better<3

Take pretty notes Use colorful markers and glittery pens, make drawings and schemes, fill your notes with little stickers, anything you can think of. Information will stick better if you have fun while studying it, plus who doesn't love a pretty notebook?

Reward yourself For example, you could have a piece of candy every time you learn a page. Or watch a chapter of your favorite show whenever you finish an unit. Or maybe, play videogames for a few minutes after each scheme you're over with. It doesn't matter what you do, as long as it works for you<3

See what works best for you Ultimately, no tip is universal. Do the things you like best, and try to have fun meanwhile! Studying isn't the best thing in the world, but I'm sure you can make it a fun (or not too boring) activity ^^

Good luck with your exams little one!! I'm sure you'll do an amazing job<33 I'm rooting for you!!!

[prof-peach]

Ever deal with Elgyem and Beheyem?

I have an Elgyem, Iggy, he's a sweet one, but I dont discuss him much due to his particular shyness, and the nature of his skills. My mother had a Beheyem, it was an unnerving pokemon to live around as a child, it was not kind nor fair in its treatment of others, and I think it's purpose in the house made me cautious around the species as a whole, but that waryness is not without reason.

Because of their abilities, Val has been trained to block their mind altering powers out. That feeling of something in your head gives you an instant pressure headache, can change memories and is sometimes enough to cause panic attacks, you can assume the worse if one hits you with its skills and you dont realise it. You do however, forget the second they stop using their powers on you normally, they wipe their presence from your memory most of the time so they dont get caught, sneaky pokemon. The few we've had handed in to us have been particulalry harsh, very difficult to handle, the more well adjusted pokemon don't often make it to us unless theyre grass types or native species who're handed in during times when the mainland centres can't handle the volume of patients.

Thanks to Val we can work with even violent individuals without our staff being thretened or erased in any way. Though they don't show up in this neck of the woods very often, not a pokemon you see in Johto much unless its migrated or been released. They tend to be loners, but can hang around in pairs, so keep your wits about you if see one, another may be hiding.

As a species goes, they’re in line with golette and bronzor ect, their power source is quite mysterious, they have organs that aren’t anything like other species, and as a whole tend to be shrouded in a great deal of mystery in the community, some scientists have tried to harness this bracket of pokemon as long term energy sources, but it was a practice deemed unethical very quickly. It however doesnt stop it happening sometimes in underground schemes and dens, much to our disgust within the pokemon care giving community.

They also seem to work similarly to claydol, in that they have a frequency network of psychic energy that they communicate on, along with their flashing lights used to stun and confuse targets, and their series of chirpy beeps. They aren’t nourished by solid foods, and from what researchers have gathered they draw power from the moon’s light, sitting out in it when possible. Theyre very efficient pokemon, metabolisms seem to run very slowly, and dont tend to rest much for days on end, which can be difficult in a more ordinary setting for trainers.

They have a curious nature, and can get into trouble a lot, but theyre very smart, and very quick to want to know what things are, so anynoe raising one should give them a whole heap of enrichment, puzzles, strategy games, show them new items, explain things to them. Theyre a great pokemon for people who have allergies as they dont trigger any, an innate being. They can be hard to socialise with other pokemon but not always.

This is certainly not a pokemon for the feint of heart, nor beginners. Theyre known to start altering their trainers memories when they want to get their own way, so play it safe, and be alert. Like any other pokemon however, they have a lot of charm and love to give if theyre a good match for you, I suppose keep an open mind on the species as a whole. Raised well and with love theyre excellent, intelligent companions.

[ckret2]

Absolutely love this chapter! Not boring at all! You don't need lots of action to keep things interesting when your such a good writer. That aside, I do have some questions!

1. Does the Axolotl come up with these rhyming prophecies/poems or do they just come to him? If so... how do they get to him?

2. Will we get to see pictures of what the other gods look like?

3. Not a question but I am LOVING to hate Vendor. THEY are such a cosmic ass.

🥸

1. He's the origin point of the prophecies. (If they came to him from somewhere else, then he'd be something else's Oracle. We'd be running some kind of oracle pyramid scheme. Which sounds hilarious, but isn't what's going on.)

I don't know if he deliberately thinks them up really fast, or if he just instinctively/subconsciously makes them, but it's probably closer to the latter. He's definitely Doing A Magical Thing rather than merely speaking in rhyme.

2. I'd like to properly draw this meme for a future chapter's art—ideally next week's—but since it would involve drawing six entire people/creatures/objects idk whether that's feasible if I want to also get a chapter out on time. Usually I have a lead time of like 15~20 already written chapters, but for this entire plot arc i'm running with a lead time of like... 1/2 already written chapter. So I can't get too extravagant with the art.

... Pay no mind to how extravagant the last two arts have been.

A few of the background gods that only showed up as extras with three lines I don't plan to draw tho. The furry serpent, sheep flock, and tentacled thing aren't on the to-draw list.

3. Good. I absolutely loved the vending-machine-full-of-planets suggestion somebody made when I asked for weird god ideas, and I knew there was no better way I could honor that great idea than by making THEM completely insufferable <3

[thedeafprophet]

Finished drawing my character designs/ line up of the Light Fingers Crew to formalize my drawing of them

Overview/ Design talk under the cut if anyone is interested in that sort of thing

For all the designs I used the art given for them in the game as a starting point and then went from there. For all but Hephaesta of course that means using a non character specific art. I also wanted all the colors to sort of fit together so where i would have done more vibrant stuff and i strayed away from that.

Clara and Her Sister

Putting the discussion for these two together, as their designs recieved similar thoughts because they are identical twins. ('She is wearing the Fading Music-Hall Singer's face, which seems rude.')

The basic art of the bohemian faction is used to depict the sisters.

So this was my basic starting point for the visual design. I ended up diving further into research into bohemian fashion, which of course lead to me reading up on the history of the term and the connection to the Romani people. According to wikipedia, the word comes from the french term 'bohémien', which was the word for the Romani people.

This of course put a complex spin when i looked into the clothing used in the time, as theres a question between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation, and one I don't have the full understanding for.

Nevertheless i did take some inspirtation for the clothing here, Clara with having her hair loose and down and looser clothing, the singer with the hair scarf and the necklace among some inspirations.

Inbetween the two I imagine the singers appearance to be more reserved then Clarabelle's. For one, my interpretation of the singer is as someone who uses her singing as a backdrop for sneaking and gathering information (per her role as a 'contact' of the player). The other being that we are told Clara's title is the 'eccentric opera singer' to me implies a grander sense of creatativity and wilder clothing. In less stressful times I imagine her wearing brighter clashing colours and skirts with patterns on them and jewlery (which i intend to draw at a later time when i get better at adding patterns to clothes lol).

We also know the two of them are 'not young' so i attempted to not make them appear so.

Hephaesta

Heph is of course the one character of the group with a personalized art, which i used as the base for my design.

Hephaesta is supposed to be a large figure, as she is a strongwoman, and is described as towering over even jasper and frank. So of course I had to make her tall compared to the others of the group.

And of course i can't go without bringing up Katie Sandwina (again), a real strongwomen of the time who serves as a great inspiration both in body type and height.

What a woman huh.

Dr Vaughan

The Campaigner template art was the one used to depict her when you first speak to her and was a starting point here.

To me i always pictured her as a fairly older women given her experience and amount of time she's been researching. Clearly someone with a lot of exprience. And also i just vibe with it.

I kept her outfit simple, as i dont figure her as someone to put too much into the latest fashion given her focus on her work. I took the green from the art to use as her skirt to tie in that colour. I also looked up some photos of female doctors of the time and that partially influenced my art direction here.

Obliging Silverer

I debated including him or not given that you only have him as part of the team if you use the light fingers exclusive option to access the parabolan basecamp. But given the fact that he literaly dies defending the camp, I think its only fair that he gets included.

i just had a bit of fun with the design as there wasnt too much to restrict off. I dont draw a lot of characters with mustaches depsite them being a thing of the time, so I figured this was a good excuse as any. I kept with some orange colours within his colour scheme for further callbacks to parabola and his work.

Also hey did you know that people of an ashkenazi background can also have red hair? Fun fact heh.

[recurring-polynya]

Bleach Returns 2024 - Day 5 - Black and Blue

Author's Note #1: I thought this was sort of a fun prompt that one could riff on in a number of different Bleach-appropriate ways. It made me think of the color schemes of the boys' Academy uniforms contrasted with the shihakushou, so I liked the idea of doing some sort of now-and-then type story.

Author's Note #2: In early Bleach, Renji makes several statements implying that he has seen or possibly even fought Byakuya some time in the past, before he became his vice-captain. That seemed like a fun idea, and I wanted to write a little something about it. Also, Momo is here because I think there should be more stories about Momo being down to clown.

In case it's not obvious, this takes place a few years before canon, when Renji is still at Squad 11.

Rated PG for language, implied violence.

| read on ao3 |

💙 🖤 💙

"Hinamori," said Renji, "I am not actually going to become an adjunct fighting arts teacher."

Hinamori, who had been gushing for the last ten minutes about how excited she was that Renji was going to become an adjunct fighting arts teacher, was not dissuaded. "I know it seems like a longshot," she said. "The Academy doesn't exactly like to admit that the Eleventh Division even exists. But a lot of students are really interested in going there! And you aren't just some guy from the Eleventh--you're an alumni, you were third in our class, you've been writing that column in the newspaper--"

"HInamori," Renji cut her off before her face started turning blue. "That's not what I meant. What I meant is that I asked you to get me into this thing on, uh, you know. False pretenses."

This thing was some sort of open house day, where the grounds of Shin'ou had been opened up to a select set of visitors. Mostly, it was for prospective students and their families, or at least the ones who were already residents of the Seireitei. Renji sure didn't remember getting any invitations to tour the campus. There were various other festivities designed to attract the attention of donors or higher-ups in the Gotei or the Kidou Corps who might have research dollars or internships available. And there were some networking opportunities for people who were interested in part-time teaching positions. These weren't exactly easy to sign-up for, but it helped if you had a friend with connections.

Hinamori froze mid-step. "Abarai!" she gasped. "You have got to be kidding me!"

"I didn't think it would be such a big deal," Renji grumbled. "I mean, I'll go to the interview or whatever! I don't want you to get in trouble with your boss." Hinamori was an assistant layout editor in the publishing department. There was even one of her own drawings in the latest edition of Intermediate Bakudou: Theory and Applications--a diagram of tenteikura that was so good that even he could understand it.

Hinamori huffed and crossed her arms. "Oh, don't worry about that. The issue is--" she took a deep breath through her nose. "Abarai Renji," she said, "tell me this wasn't a ploy to come see the Kuchiki Byakuya demonstration fight."

Renji rolled his face down to regard her. "Of course it was a ploy to come see the Kuchiki Byakuya demonstration fight. Do you know how rare it is for him to fight in public anymore? He hasn't done one of these in thirty-five years. This is only going to be the third time I've seen him in action and the other two were pure luck. This is a huge opportunity for me and I honestly did not think angling me an invitation would--"

"Oh, stop it," Hinamori sighed. "You could have told me. I would have gotten you in anyway. I'm just mad because Kira told me you were only coming for the Kuchiki Byakuya Demonstration Fight and he's unbearable when he's right."

"Is he coming?" Renji asked, feeling a bit hopeful about the prospect despite himself. It had only been in the last few months that he'd started talking to either Kira or Hinamori again, after the big blow-up when he transferred to the Eleventh. Even though most of the blame for that probably belonged on his own stubborn ass, now that it was over Renji couldn't believe how much he had missed the two of them.

"He said he would meet us for dinner later," Hinamori scowled. "He said that he has it on good authority that historically, Captain Kuchiki's demonstrations are impossible to follow, very boring, and also that if he was going to have to hear the detailed play-by-play from you anyway, he might as well skip the actual event."

"You know what?" said Renji, "it's fine. You'll appreciate it more than he would, anyway."

"Will I?" Hinamori replied dryly.

"You have an appreciation of elegance. Of economy of movement. Of a guy who is just really fucking good at what he does."

"He has nice hair, too."

"Not that I was trying to find out, but I know what shampoo he uses. If you act like the demo was super awesome in front of Kira, I'll tell you, even though we couldn't afford it if we pooled together all the money we got."

Hinamori squinted leerily at him for a moment, before her face split into a big, teasing grin. "It's a deal."

🗡️ 🌸 💀

"I expected to see a few more shihakushou in this crowd." Renji glanced over the crowd while Kuchiki Byakuya's lieutenant hauled yet another one of his unconscious officers out of the sparring ring, The audience was mostly the white, blue and red of Academy uniforms, with a smattering of expensive civvies. The handful of other shinigami Renji could spot all seemed to have younger versions of themselves in tow.

"Are you feeling self-conscious?" Hinamori murmured. "It's your own fault for being seventeen feet tall."

"It's not that," Renji whispered back, although he was convinced that the Academy must be taking them shorter these days. "I just think that more people would be interested in seeing the best swordfighter in the Gotei at work!"

"I think that most people who care about seeing Captain Kuchiki fight are already in Squad Six, and he seems to have brought most of them with him," Hinamori suggested. As if on cue, Lieutenant Shirogane prodded a fresh victim into the circle. Nervously, the woman dropped into a combat stance, her practice sword held out in front of her.

"Observe," intoned Kuchiki Byakuya. "This disarming technique was developed by Kuchiki Souta during the 400 Days War."

"Oh, shit, the 'Seizure of Assets,'" Renji gasped.

"The wh--wait, what just happened?"

Captain Kuchiki was now holding two shinai. The poor Squad Sixer was holding her hand and looking like she was trying not to cry.

"He wrapped his arm around her sword and levered it out of her hand. I bet it hurt like a bitch."

"You followed that?"

Renji had watched Captain Kuchiki's stance, the way he held his shoulders loose, how he started with most of his weight held on the right leg. He had noted the distance between Captain Kuchiki and his subordinate. He had seen a blur of black, felt the way Captain Kuchiki had focused his reiatsu on the left side. "Kinda," he replied.

"The caveat to all of the maneuvers I have been showing you," Captain Kuchiki Byakuya droned, "is that they will not work against an opponent who is prepared for them. Even a fighter of middling strength should be capable of maintaining a grip on their weapon. You may need to utilize a distraction or to take advantage of sloppy form. Who can tell me what Sixteenth Seat Gotou's mistake was?"

He waited.

At first, the crowd was silent. Then, as the wait wore on, the students began to murmur among themselves, but everyone seemed hesitant to call out an answer.

"Do you know?" Hinamori hissed at Renji. "I don't even know. She was too stiff? Caught flatfooted?"

"The question is for the students," Renji replied out of the side of his mouth.

"So you don't know, either."

"Of course I know. Her mistake was going up against Kuchiki Byakuya."

Hinamori huffed and rolled her eyes.

"I heard the correct answer," Captain Kuchiki's voice ran out. "Who said that?"

If a single blade of Senbonzakura had fallen to the ground at that moment, everyone would have heard it.

"You, there," Captain Kuchiki said, his eyes drilling directly into Renji. "Repeat what you just said."

If it were thirty years ago, if he were still in his blue-and-whites, if this were the first time Renji had laid eyes on Kuchiki Byakuya, he would have glanced from side-to-side, hoping the man was talking to someone else. He would have rephrased his answer, tried to make it sound less blunt, more thoughtful.

"I said, she isn't you," Renji replied loudly.

"Say more," said Kuchiki Byakuya.

Renji cleared his throat. "Your speed is so fast that almost no one can follow it. You made a quick feint to the right and you spiked your reiatsu to scare her. You outclassed her so badly that she had no chance of reacting."

Captain Kuchiki's gray eyes were as placid as the surface of a lake. "Did I do this to show off?"

Renji could feel some of the kids standing near him start to sidle away. Renji knew a few things about intimidating people, and he was pretty sure that Captain Kuchiki meant his question sincerely--exactly as sincere as Renji's answer had been.

"Not at all," Renji replied. "Everything is relative. Any graduate from Shin'ou could do that to a tough from Rukongai with no spiritual pressure. A seated officer can dispatch a Hollow before they know what's happened to them. Overwhelming your opponent swiftly is a safe and efficient strategy. A shinigami must never stop pursuing strength and they should not hesitate to use it against their opponents!"

To her credit, Hinamori was still standing next to him, back ramrod straight, staring dead ahead. Not a sound came out of her, even though Renji could practically hear her thinking how ridiculous he was. As soon as she passed that exam, she was gonna make a killer Vice Captain.

"Just so!" declared Kuchiki Byakuya. Then, he frowned and squinted. For the briefest of seconds, Renji wondered if Captain Kuchiki recognized him. "Who are you?"

"Abarai Renji, sir! Eleventh Company, Sixth Seat!"

"What are you doing here, Eleventh Company, Sixth Seat Abarai Renji? Surely you're not here to consider enrolling at Shin'ou?"

Renji felt his face go warm. "I already graduated, sir! 2066! I'm--!" He took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes closed, "I'm just to here to interview for an adjunct position!"

When he cautiously cracked one eye open again, Kuchiki Byakuya was regarding him with those flat, gray eyes. "I see. Which subject?"

Renji blinked. "Which…?"

"Which subject. Do you intend to teach?"

Renji's ears were ringing. "Fighting, sir!" he barked.

Kuchiki Byakuya gave the very slightest of nods. "Indeed. How interesting." For a moment, it seemed like that was that. He was going to go back to his lecture. But then something changed. For a million kan, Renji couldn't have told you what it was. The man's face didn't budge. There was no shift in his posture. But Kuchiki Byakuya had changed his mind, Renji knew it in his soul. "How would you have avoided being disarmed? Future Professor of Fighting Arts, Abarai Renji?"

Intellectually, he knew the answer. It was on the tip of his tongue. His tongue just refused to make the words.

"Oh just do it," Hinamori hissed out of her back teeth. "You know you want to."

"YOU WANNA FIND OUT?" Renji bellowed.

Kuchiki Byakuya's eyebrows lifted exactly three thousandths of a millimeter.

🍶 🍜 🩹

"So, did you get the teaching position or not?" Kira asked, sipping at his sake.

"It remains to be seen," Renji replied, shifting the icepack on his forehead.

"On the plus side, I think the head of the zanjutsu department was pretty impressed when Lieutenant Shirogane personally delivered him his office and said, I quote, 'my captain says someone should hire this man for something.'" Hinamori took a philosophical bite of tamagoyaki. "On the other hand, Abarai-kun insisted on going through with the interview with a severe concussion."

"I see," said Kira.

"I"m pretty sure," said Renji, examining his bandaged fingers and wondering if the pinky was also broken, "that I spent most of the thing explaining how we set up the brackets for the annual Tournament of Blood."

Kira made the face of a man who had already endured more than his fair share of Tournament of Blood discourse. "Why?"

"Well, the guy asked me to describe an improvement I had made to an existing practice and you know how un-fun the lower ranks of that tournament was before I got Ikkaku to, uh, come around on my vision. The guy seemed kinda into it. I think the whole job offer thing could still happen."

Hinamori rolled her eyes and tossed back her drink.

"Orrrr….maybe that's just the head injury talking. It doesn't matter. I don't actually want the job anyway."

"You don't think a little stint in academia might look good on your resume?" Kira asked archly. "For when you do finally get serious about making vice captain?"

Renji tried to remember the exact look on Captain Kuchiki's face the third time he had peeled himself out of the dirt and said that yes, he would be up for demonstrating the next block, thank you. "I think," he said, "I've improved my job prospects enough for one day."