#vantasks

[vantablackdraws]

can you draw millia and/or elphelt… girlfriends yk

"Take a look at my girlfriend~"

[vantablackdraws]

If you’re done doing requests that’s fine I loved all of the art. If not then could you draw Ramlethal, please and thank you

Girl just wants to eat her burger in PEACE

[vantablackdraws]

@kostecko27 Anji leave him alone...

[vantablackdraws]

I would love to see Bedman (without the question mark) in your style! Bonus if he's with Delilah.

And again, love your stuff! ❤️

Hope I captured his smug bastard energy well enough!

[vantablackdraws]

I'd just like to request a Dizzy doing or wearing whatever you feel like. As a dragon girl your dragon Dizzy makes me happy :)

coincidentally @igneous-croc also asked for a Dizzy, so two birds with one stone!

[vantablackdraws]

@shinnamoon still gotta figure out how I wanna draw him, but here ya go!

[vantablackdraws]

OH SHIT IS IT REQUEST TIME?? okay cool cool hey, if you got the time for it maybe Baiken and Dizzy hanging out? big hc of mine that they would be really good friends

They're havin' a girl's night (getting wasted and talking about their lives)

[vantablackdraws]

hello!!! I love AnBai and your work with all my heart! This is exactly how I saw them, but I couldn't implement them! THANKS FOR THAT!!

I recently realized that AnBai really remind me of the characters from Lilo & Stitch by David Kawena and Nani Pelekai. It seems to me that there is a similar dynamic in their relationship (only their homeland has not been destroyed). What do you think?

Honest to god I have genuinely thought about doing some Lilo and Stitch stuff for them, although it was mainly in the context of Baiken and Delilah as Nani and Lilo (Manager Vampire, record player, that sorta thing) But now that you mention it, Anji as David does make a lot of sense. I think if they were in a more modern world he'd probably go out of his way to make sure she had opportunities for jobs, get her to take breaks when needed, just generally be there for support without asking much in return... ...except for maybe one date, if she's up for it.

[vantablackdraws]

SHIT IM TWO DAYS LATE WHOOPS!!! REQUESTS?? FROM MY FAVORITE GUILTY GEAR ARTISR??? on my hands and knees begging for the smallest doodle of Chaos and Daryl if you have the time

(fun story: I spent months upon months thinking I was missing an image of the one drawing you did of them because ao3 loves being weird with pictures for me, only for you to post it here on tumblr and I find out I missed nothing boy was that a whirlwind of emotions)

(I'm so sorry I thought this was funny)

[vantablackdraws]

do you a favourite bit of official anji or baiken art?

I like this one from Λ Core! They're just chillin', he's got a bird, and she's got that small smile looking at him.

[vantablackdraws]

If your requests are still open, could you draw Libraria?

bada bing bada boom

[vantablackdraws]

What got you shipping anbai? I’m new here and they seem cute ^^ /gen

Oh god-

where do I even begin....

TLDR/Short version of it: Friend talked about Guilty Gear, I found out about Baiken, watched Another Story and some arcade mode interactions and song breakdowns and read some comments and it got me wondering "what is going on with these two~", I go on ao3, there is a little over 20 fics. I got really frustrated, made content of them myself, fell further down the rabbit hole, now I'm here.

The long and very rambly version of why I ship them that you can read under the cut if you wanna ↓

Firstly, a few things that I really enjoy about them (to get this out of the way-) is that they contrast and compliment each other really, really well if you think about it. Which I have. A lot.

I know I've said some of these before but like; the Sun and Moon motifs and how it literally shows up in their Overdrives (and Anji's command...grab...thingy(? idk strive terminology) also has a moon briefly appear hmmmmmwhatsupwiththat-), the Butterfly and Flower symbolism associated with them respectively and how in a sense, one helps the other grow, the classic red oni blue oni dynamic, cat and dog, Anji's graceful elegance and calm demeanor to go with Baiken's rugged toughness and fiery temper, blah blah blah the list goes on you get the idea. They're opposites, but they match each other and balance each other out, like yin and yang.

There's also their (strive) songs! Rock Parade is...extremely obvious lmao. I know folks like to joke about it but, dude. Single footstep carries two hearts? The promise he made to her? (Whatever that was I wanna knOW-) It really does feel like more than just a song about a crush he has on her, this man is dedicated. And with Mirror of the World it basically encapsulates Baiken's whole journey, going from someone who's resigned herself to a life of revenge to ultimately breaking out of her self imposed "exile" in the end. Also the line "If I had a comrade, I wonder what I would tell them." and I'm over here yelling "YOU HAVE ONE! HE IS RIGHT THERE-" (I actually think the song is also about Delilah, but still kinda about him too, it's about both of them they're both the comrade how about that)

But to get to the heart of it all (and to also get extremely corny here), there's this sort of earnestness to their relationship that I really admire. Every now and then, there's a pairing that comes around and makes me go Ooga Booga for the better part of a year because it's just got a lot of good stuff to chew on. Angst? Drama? Some form of love that isn't just inherently romantic but something more? I'm eating it up and annoying my friends to death with it. And I think to me that really shows in their XX arcade mode endings, (BOTH of their "canon" ones btw THEY GET TWO ENDINGS TOGETHER) where Anji gives up what he was doing so he can follow Baiken and make sure she's actually living instead of just wandering by herself. This one thing he's been chasing for a while now, probably even his dream job of learning the secrets of the universe (or whatever Asuka was teaching him), and he just gives it up because he can't stand to see someone he loves dedicate her life to something that will inevitably destroy her in the end. "I don't want you to die." I think about this so often it's not even funny.

(And y'know, he also gives her the choice to just get rid of him if she doesn't want him around anymore, and idk about you, but I think that's very sexy of him and also very telling of her that she hasn't done it yet but moving on-)

Delilah ultimately ties it all together because at the end of Another Story, Baiken becomes to Delilah what Anji was to her all those years ago. A friend, a companion, someone to lean on. There's the line "She won't die well unless she finds a better way to live." before May mentions that's what Anji had said about her, and suddenly she gets it now. (I think) It's the final push that gets her to save Delilah from winding up in the same situation she's been stuck in for years and in the end, finally let go of her revenge.

No that does not have to be inherently romantic in the slightest, you can do whatever you want with that information or interpret it however you want and I encourage that, but also it's driving me insane whenever I think about it. He cares about her SO much, even if he has a weird way of showing it. I don't even think I can begin to do it justice trying to describe how it makes me feel but hopefully that can give you (and maybe some other folks who have made it this far hello) some insight into why I like this ship so much.

Also their strive in-game interactions are really flirty.

[vantablackdraws]

okay, this may be a bit ramble-y but I have an important question and I think you are the most qualified expert to ask!!! how would you describe Anji as a character (personality-wise)? I want to write silly little fics with him (also Baiken too because they are cute together hehe :3), but my usual method of reading the guilty gear wiki and combing through content with the character in it just ain't working this time!! anything and everything you have to say is very much appreciated ^^

Oooooh while I'm extremely flattered, I also kinda struggle with the same thing sometimes. He's a little hard to pin down personality-wise because he can be kinda all over the place in the stories and also idk if he's as fleshed out. But I can certainly try!

I'd say he's rather passionate about what he does/the things he cares about? He's lighthearted and a free spirit, but can also hunker down and get serious when it matters. He's definitely curious, sticks his nose into places it probably doesn't belong. And while he can definitely think things through and be cautious, he also just kinda does whatever he wants in the spur of the moment (ad(h)d who-)

I could also argue that he's rather secretive too? He wants to try and have the upper hand in a lot of situations, and I think that goes well with him being a trickster. But I don't think he's completely cold hearted either. He's goofy when he wants to (meeting Nago with Chipp) and earnest when it counts (Baiken.)

My best and honest advice is to both watch and read the script to the games and decide how you want to interpret him for yourself. The strive arcade mode, the few times he shows up in the strive stories, checking out the VG museum, etc etc. But assuming you've already done that, I'd also recommend reading fics and combing through some character breakdowns. @rex101111 and @elementroar do a fairly good job at that (granted a lot of it is in context about his relationship with Baiken but I'd argue that's kind of an important part of his character a little bit.) (but also that is just me so take that with some salt if you wanna)

Rex's fics and also Mundane and Lazy Life do a really good job at exploring more flawed and complex aspects of his character without sacrificing what makes him endearing. They're some of my favorite interpretations because they really flesh him out.

Hope that helps??

[vantablackdraws]

IT’S BAIKEN’S BIRTHDAY RAAAAAAAASGGGGHHHHHHH

YEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

[vantablackdraws]

Fam, you need to kill the part of you that cringes. The fanart is objectively good. I personally enjoy it.

Aaaaaaaah unfortunately that's something I still struggle deeply with to this day. Especially right now (sorta going through a bit of a crisis with my art). I know I shouldn't really care that much about what people think about my work, but I do! A lot! It sucks! Especially when it's work of something I love a lot and do for fun. It's a constant thought of "how am I being perceived by these people right now, how will I be if I post this-" etc etc., while also feeling like I'm not letting myself have fun like I want to because "I'm doing it wrong". It's...a lot. But genuinely, seeing how much people enjoy my work, even my dumb stuff, it does make me feel better about what I want to share. Hopefully I can overcome that part that cringes a little more in the future and just, focus on the fun.

[vantablackdraws]

Hello, vantablackdraws! Do you have any other favorite pairs from Guilty Gear or other works? if it's not difficult for you, can you tell us about them and how you liked them? How do you see the dynamics between these characters?

That's certainly a tall order of an ask my friend... well let's see, for Guilty Gear pairings, I also like:

Chaos and Daryl: I think Daryl can sorta play at his level and therefore possibly beat him at his own game so to speak. I mean he had Chaos convinced that he was a coffee addict only to be revealed he didn't like coffee. I think Chaos would find him interesting. Plus that line "It's so boring here, I shoulda kept Daryl at least." hmmmmmmmmm

Chipp and Answer: Changing Answer's life for the better and from a situation he was similarly in before aside, Chipp is also kind of a dumbass (a very competent one, mind you, but still). And Answer having the energy of "I would literally kill for you but Jesus Christ you drive me insane-" is funny to me. You got a lot of potential for tender/more serious moments as well as some comedy in there.

Axl and I-No: I don't really know a lot about them outside of Strive and some other lore but every time I think about them I get kinda sad, because it feels like Sol and Jack-o except if it doesn't work out. Like the whole "do you love me for who I am, or because I remind you of someone you used to love?" dilemma (plus I-No's whole doomed situation adding an extra pinch of angst-)

Nagoryuki and Testament: Tbh I'm unsure on whether I like this one romantically or more platonically, maybe I'll just keep it vague because I like that. But I think they have a lot of potential based on their arcade interactions and their similar history. Testament understands what it's like to be controlled against your will, or as they (roughly) put it, "I know what it's like to carry yourself like some sort of demon". I think they could also bring out Nago's more lighthearted and playful side (the dad jokes), maybe they could drink tea and go on long walks, just take time to appreciate life again together as two semi-immortal(?) beings. I think that would be nice.

Aaaand the other ships I also like are KyDizzy, RoboVenom, Mayburi, JohnnyTess, SolJacko, and AbaCelsus. They're just nice <3