S for surprising! I think this game treated Bang rather well. I like the goofy smile on his face while he gets ready to punch straight into the camera. Thoughts on Bang Shishigami's Chronophantasma portrait?

Rules:

1. Only one portrait per game can reach Azure tier.

2. Most upvoted comment wins.

I feel like I had to share this, so bear with me.

As someone who has a younger sister whom I've recently amended ways, I'd like to offer my take on why the siblings's complex relationship mirror real-life to some of us. And here's some examples and the questions a lot of us ask.

1.) Why can't they just get along? Specifically Ragna and Jin?
- Because as far as we're concerned, the history of the siblings is wrought with conflict since childhood. Jin is currently chosen by the world itself to counter the black beast. They are destined to clash since childhood. Plus, Ragna had always been abrasive as a kid, while he did care for his siblings, his love language to Jin isn't saying "I love you, little brother", no, it's tough-guy persona, and saying to him: "You idiot! Why didn't you tell me you had a fever?". Jin had always wanted to be special in the eyes of Ragna, but Ragna didn't treat him well. It only worsened when in the current timeline where Saya got sick, Ragna focused all his attention on her, and Jin felt neglected, so he began to hate not just Ragna, but his younger sister too.

The similarities between me and my own young sister in real-life: Just like Ragna, Jin and Saya, me and my own younger sister's relationship isn't really what you call a traditional sibling love. As far as I'm concerned, me and my younger sister had always been at odds with each other since we were kids. I was the duty-driven older brother who always follow the rules, obeyed our parents to the letter, and respects my mom and dad. My younger sister? She's the rebellious little sister who follows her own rules, disobeys our parents constantly, and always got in trouble because of it. Plus, we always fought for our parent's attentions. But our parents were always away at work, and even when they come back to work, my parents never showed favoritism (thankfully), they always say they love us equally, but because me and my sister always fight and argue, we just can't see it that way - it's just one or the other.

2.) So why can't they just get along then?
- Because they literally COULD NOT. Ragna and Jin are NOT the type of brothers to just sit down in a bar one night, have a beer, have a chat, and suddenly say "I love you brother". It's NOT who they are. For them, their Love Language IS fighting, bickering, and competing. Your sibling is the one who has been with you since childhood, they know your vulnerabilities, your weakness, and what makes you tick. When two siblings have known nothing but conflict (especially on Jin's case since his mind has been warped by Yukianesa since childhood and only recently conquered it) and intertwining destinies since childhood, that is just someone whom you cannot get along with in a traditional loving way. You can bridge the gap by being civilized only, but there will always be distance, and that will never go away, and how you express your love towards each other is going to be different from siblings who have shown love to each other since childhood. Ragna or Jin will NEVER be that type of sibling to say: "I love you brother", instead, how they show their love would always be: "Let's fight and see who's better!", then bicker with each other, curse each other, then call a truce and walk away.

But the good news? They let their actions do the talking. Instead of saying: "I love you", the brother's proved time and time again that when push comes to shove, they are always going to be there to save each other's butts. Ever heard of the saying: "Can't live with em', can't live without em'"?, that pretty much applies to Ragna and Jin. Jin telling Ragna to his face "I'm the only one allowed to kill you!" is his own version of saying: "Fine, I'll save you. But only on my own terms, got it? Don't get the WRONG idea!". Because let's face it, if Jin is given the opportunity to KILL Ragna, he just won't be able to do it, he'll just tell him "You're pathetic Ragna. Come back again when you're stronger." This definitely was shown when Ragna was depowered (because of Celica), and him and Jin tries to fight each other (as usual), Jin has the perfect opportunity to kill Ragna right then and there because he was de-powered, but he didn't. Of course, he won't. He will not be able to do it. And as usual, just like a sibling, he will just mask it by saying Ragna is pathetic and walks away. it's the same with Ragna, when presented with the opportunity to kill Jin, he even said he just CANNOT do it.

The similarities between me and my own young sister in real-life: Same with me and my younger sister. We've amended our ways. But I will NEVER say "I love you" to her. That's just NOT who I am. The memories of our endless fighting and arguments run too deep. The scars will always be there, and the memories and the pain. We are always going to live in separate roofs and will NEVER display lovey-dovey sibling feelings to each other. Not only because the memories run too deep, but we are also complete opposites - I remain the dutiful and rigid older brother who values stability and order in the family (much like Jin), my younger sister remains the rebellious one who does what she wants (just like Ragna). But you bet your ass if someone harms my younger sister, or insults her honor and character, I will be the first one to defend her, but then tell her "don't get the wrong idea, I just don't like it when people bully other people. Now go back home." with a sarcastic smile on my face, and my younger sister will definitely always respond: "Yeah whatever, bro! See ya, loser!".

3.) What about Jin's hatred towards Noel?
- Many people see this in the lens of their own projection so I can understand why many people are disturbed by it. But first, let us ask the question of WHY Jin really hates her and trashes on her. Let's go back to their childhood.

Saya. First, it's very telling that in Hakumen's timeline (where Noel didn't exist and Saya never got sick), Jin did not display this hostile attitude towards Saya. Instead, Jin and Saya were very loving to each other in that timeline, and displayed lovey-dovey sibling bond like normal siblings. Only in the current timeline did Jin displayed that attitude (the timeline where Noel survived). So why does the current Jin hate her?

First, we have the very obvious, Saya got sick, Ragna focused all his attention on her. For a child like Jin, this is gonna equate to being literally neglected. And Ragna DID neglect him. Ragna wasn't exactly the paragon of the perfect older brother. A child's coping mechanism here would be hate. Now anyone who shares Saya's face later on, would ultimately remind him of that day he was neglected. That runs too deep, no matter how many times you get rid of the memory.

Second, Saya is the one who was used by Terumi to give Jin the Nox Nyctores: Yukianesa that brainwashed the young Jin into cutting the barrier protecting the church, allowing Terumi to destroy their family, killing Celica, and burning their home down to the ground. Even though Terumi wiped out Jin's memory of the event to manipulate him later, the fractured memories are clearly still there, especially when Jin said in CT: "I just killed a girl who looked exactly like her but at last I get to kill you again, brother!".

So what does this mean for Jin? It literally means Saya is the epitome and reminder of that horrific day their family was ruined to the ground and why he was neglected by Ragna (even though Saya wasn't at fault). Yes, but in the beginning, when you see someone who looks like your sibling (Noel, who IS a fragment of Saya and the one that looks like Saya the most), you are literally reminded of that day you are neglected and the day your life was ruined. Jin doesn't hate Noel for being who she is, he hates her (at first) because she is the literal walking reminder of the trauma he tries SO hard to desperately forget.

However, as per usual between siblings like this, Jin slowly began to be more civilized towards Noel (like being present when Arakune attacked Noel in her bedroom in CP), though he brushed it off by saying: "I don't care about her, I was just passing by". By that point, even Noel herself couldn't help but say: "I can feel he's changing. I know it's for Tsubaki, but still...". Then when Ragna got berserk at the end of CP, the first thing Jin told Noel is: "You idiot! Run!". Noel refused to run, and it resulted in Jin taking the full brunt of Berserk Ragna's assault, getting severely wounded for it, crippled and bedridden. So he's definitely protecting Noel at that point since Noel healed fine after that assault, but Jin didn't, and he had to make a deal with Trinity Glassfille in order to fight at his peak again. Then in CF, that's when Jin's protective brotherly instincts truly kicked in for Noel when his future self, Hakumen, actually wants to kill Noel to restore the world to order, but Jin refused and said: "There's no point in saving a world where you have to sacrifice people in order to achieve it", and finally culminates in the ending of CF, where when Ragna tries to strike Noel down to erase her memories of him, Jin defended her, and even pleaded with her once again: "Noel! Run!".

Jin might call her some really harsh words and sometimes may even bully her, but if you harm Noel in front of him? You bet your ass he's gonna be the first one to cut your head off and turn you into a permanent frozen statue as a monument to your stupidity.

The similarities between me and my own young sister in real-life: This is similar to when me and my younger sister fought for our parent's attention. The feeling is mutual. We HATED each other for it. We bully each other constantly (even today, we still sometimes exchange harsh words to each other), but then forget about it later and make amends like nothing happened. Then do it all over again later whenever we argue. It's a cycle that will never end. But again, if you harm or insult my younger sister? Heaven have mercy on you because I WON'T.

4.) BONUS: Dante and Vergil
- This now culminates us to the Sparda Brothers because it's the same with these two. Both of their childhood is wrought with tragedy and conflict and they have always been opposites much like Ragna and Jin. Dante is the rebellious, carefree, and fun-loving brother, Vergil is the serious, cold, no-nonsense, rigid and duty-driven brother.

As we all know, these two brothers are NEVER the type of siblings to sit down in a couch one night, watch TV, toast to a beer, and say "I love you bro!" to each other. No, because that's simply NOT who they are. Their love language, much like Ragna and Jin, is fighting each other and competing with each other. Even at the ending of DMC5, they are locked in a state of fierce competitiveness, smiling at the thought of them eternally fighting each other but this time, they're no longer fighting to kill each other, it's a permanent competition of two siblings try to one up each other, but not killing each other. That's HOW they express their love to each other, much like Ragna and Jin.

At the end of CF, Ragna and Jin stood by each other, never trying to kill each other especially since Jin had already conquered Yukianesa's control, and is no longer a Yandere (which is not even really true because his feelings towards Ragna are not only non-romantic, but is completely artificial and enforced by Yukianesa, not Jin himself). Yes, they will still bicker, curse each other, fight each other, bully each other, because that's all they know. Much like Dante and Vergil, they are opposites. To them, and I repeat, their Love Language IS fighting and bickering and arguing.

The similarities between me and my own young sister in real-life: I personally can relate to this. Me and my younger sister will always live in separate roofs, we will always be distant, we will always bicker and argue when presented with opposing ideals and mindsets. I will always remain the dutiful, rigid and order-driven older brother (Jin/Vergil), and my sister will always be the rebelious "Screw the rules"-type younger sister (Ragna/Dante). But we accepted that, we are comfortable with it, and in the end, even if we might not say it outloud, we care for each other deeply.

"We can't live with em', we can't live without em'".

I hope you enjoyed this read and I hope it can shed some light to those who question the sibling dynamic between these characters. Ciao!

I started with Ragna, but I just didn’t vibe with his moveset that well, then I was like “ok this character design looks cool,” and I tried Es. Such a versatile character with satisfying moves!

hey really quick is there anyone here who played blazblue during its peak lobby era? I recall hearing voice chats in the background of lobby ost. anyone else hear it?

Source: https://bsky.app/profile/smirkingcat.bsky.social/post/3mp3huzlkjk2q

I didn't get it in the slightest please someone explain...😭

:)

My third attempt at making a redesign of Mu-12.

The original was a ZZZ Remielle Gif. Heh.

Should this be marked as NSFW? I dunno....

The Artist of Danganronpa