New Art From Volume 5 Of The CN Version

been watching my friend play hades

been watching my friend play hades

[Birthday] Shino (April 14th, 2025)

Twitter thread | Bluesky thread

Thanks for the lemonade. It's just what I needed after all this training. Want some? You've been standing there watching me all this time. Aren't you tired? Heh, of course I could feel you looking my way. It's not like you were trying to hide it, you know.

Birthday morning

Shino: You said we can do whatever I want today, right?

Shino: Then, you should come watch me train. I want to show you some real cool moves I’ve been practicing.

Shino: Prepare to be blown away!

Voicelines

Shino: … Heath, do you want to go to the party together? …Heck yeah. My birthday won’t be complete without you by my side. …I gotta find Cain and thank him later. …No, it’s nothing. Come on, the party’s about to start.

Faust: Happy birthday, Shino. I noticed you’ve become rather studious lately, and as a result, your grades have improved as well. Keep up the good work. …Heh, I have to give credit where it's due.

Heathcliff: Today’s your special day Shino, so feel free to ask for anything you want. As long as it’s within my capabilities, of course… You want to go to the party together? …How can I say no! Let’s eat and laugh to our hearts’ content and make tonight a birthday to remember.

Nero: ‘appy birthday, Shino. Ya sure have a way with words, but sometimes ya gotta take a step back an’ indulge yer childhood self. ‘Ere’s some warm soup for ya. Now, ya better drink up an’ go to bed, or you’ll never grow taller than me.

Oz: ...Is it Shino’s birthday today? He came up to me and declared he would defeat me one day… That boy knows where his strength lies, and he’s determined to grow stronger. He’s far from being on par with me, but he’ll undoubtedly become a powerful wizard in the future.

Arthur: Happy birthday, Shi– Whoa, where did you find this beetle? It’s huge! It must’ve come all the way from the depths of the forest to wish you a happy birthday. …Right, I came to find you to do just that too! Happy birthday!

Cain: It’s gonna be fine, don’t sweat it! Just go up to Heath and tell him you wanna celebrate your birthday together. He’s gonna fold immediately, bet! Now, take deep breaths a–nd off you go! …Those two never change, do they?

Riquet: Master Sage, look! Shino and Heathcliff are heading to the dining hall together. It seems like they’ve made up. Cain and I were a bit worried, but thankfully, it ended well. After all, there’s nothing more precious than celebrating your birthday with your best friend.

Snow: For his birthday, Shino requested a joint lesson with us Northern wizards, so we're consulting with Faust about it. Knowing each other’s homeland is more important now than ever after all. Our present will come a bit late, but we hope Shino will be pleased with the results.

White: Not only is Shino interested in a lesson with the Northern wizards, but with the Southern ones as well. He’s taking his studies very seriously these days, so they're holding a special classroom lecture for him later. Oh, how we look forward to seeing his continued growth!

Mithra: Happy birthday, Shino. Say, your magical artefact is quite impressive. Could I try holding it for a bit? …Hmm, I didn’t expect it to be so small since it always looks massive next to you. Well, regardless, it’s still a cool weapon to have. 

Owen: Happy birthday, Shino. I have a very special guest I’d like you to meet. It’s my dear Cerberus. He’s not as loyal to his master as you are, so I’d like him to learn a trick or two from a well-behaved dog such as yourself.

Bradley: If ya really wanna impress yer elders, it ain’t enough to jus’ keep bumpin’ up yer age. Ya gotta make the most outta every opportunity an’ put in the effort to grow. Kiddos like you are always lookin’ for that approval, yeah? …Eh? Yer past that age already?

Shylock: Welcome in, Shino. I made you a special birthday drink using orange juice and a touch of bitter herbs to give it an alcoholic taste. You’ll have to get used to the flavour eventually should you want to drink one day. Worry not, I also have a palette cleanser prepared.

Murr: Here’s your present! A lapis lazuli amulet made by yours truly! Even a real go-getter like yourself can feel lost from time to time, right? Well, this amulet can help ya find your way when ya need it! Probably! …Ahaha, got your attention?

Chloe: Isn’t Shino just so~ badass? It’s like nothing can bring him down… OMG wait, this is giving me so much inspiration! I feel like I could make him a ton of new outfits right now! Wouldn't that be an awesome birthday gift!?

Rustica: You and I once had a discussion on love, did we not? Now that you’re older, I’d love to tell you my own love story. I’ll set a table for us, brew a pot of tea, and prepare some suitable music… That sounds like a lot of trouble? Well, love can be quite troublesome.

Figaro: There’s a cafe around here that makes delicious lemon pies, so I could take you sometime. I do know a thing or two about sweets after all. ...Is it really so surprising that I’m up-to-date with where the youths like to hang-out? I am a youth myself, I’ll have you know.

Rutile: Here you go, Shino! I saved the best cut of meat for the birthday boy! …Ahaha, you got me. Heath was the one who asked me to do this since he thought you’d just give it back if he came himself. Look, he keeps sneaking glances at us, so you should accept it for him!

Lennox: Happy birthday, Shino. I hear you’ve been taking your studies seriously as of late. I’m sure Lord Faust has been very happy to see you challenging yourself. ...Now, I should challenge myself and learn how to smile? Haha, I’ll do my best too, then. 

Mitile: Hey, Mister Shino, why don’t we take a study break here and head to the cafe? Since it’s your birthday, I want to treat you to something! I probably can’t afford the most expensive cake on the menu… But hopefully, I’ve saved enough for the second most! 

I think one of the most fascinating aspects of Joshua's character is that he was raised by a cult that worships him and it shows.

The game is very unsubtle in depicting the Undying as a cult, if a benign one whose goals are largely aligned with Clive's: the way it recruits from the disenfranchised dredges of society, the way it isolates it's members from the outside world, and associates devotion to their deity with worth as a person, even glorifying self sacrifice even past the point of reason- something Clive and Cyril butt heads on repeatedly.

And you can see the way that both being raised by them and being their messiah has impacted Joshua: the way Joshua feels that he can and should be able to do everything on his own (rebuffing Jote's efforts to help him even with small matters, avoiding Clive in order to 'protect' him), the way he's feels a right to order the lives of others around his own wishes (his meddling in the politics of each Kingdom, especially Sanbreque), even the subtle hint that he's given up on trying to persuade the Undying not to sacrifice their lives for his gain (and the even more subtle implication that he's maybe accepted that self sacrifice is a good thing, given his own self-sacrificial tendencies for Clive).

Their's this big gap after the reveal Joshua is alive where you wonder: how did he get from where he was Phoenix Gate (the shy innocent boy who wanted to do his duty more to make his brother proud then for it's own sake) to where he is at Drake's Spine (confident, mysterious, cold blooded in his pursuit of his goals), and the game answers that so effectively in the introduction of the Undying. This is where he learned it, this is what shaped him after everything fell apart and he went into hiding: a cult that all at once was trying to parent and worship and aid a 10 year old messiah whose only real desire was to save his brother from the monster that tore them apart.

Some recent hades doodles :^)

He was still holding Shen Qingqiu’s body, which was rapidly cooling down. It seemed like he wanted to call for him loudly and forcefully shake him awake, yet he didn’t dare to, as if he was afraid of being scolded. He said slowly,

“Shizun? Why aren’t you drawing more SV art as an SV main???”

i made this realization almost a month ago about that my extreme liking and obsession towards yanshen is also because of the fact that i like caiowe but unfortunately i do not know anyone who likes both mhyk and thousand autumns so i feel like i'm talking a wall whenever i mention this. anyway, for example:

a-qiao's and cain's constant goodness and perspective on the world, their strong will and determination on their beliefs and morals...

yan wushi and owen enjoying 'good' people straying away from their good character, their eagerness in riling up the person they've taken a liking to (shen qiao and cain respectively), their questionable beliefs and worldview... also the fact that both of them have a child-like personality (as a result of ptsd) LIKE THAT HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD FOR ME. xie ling and kizu owen 🥺

fjkefhdk i'd talk about this more but it's nearly 4 am and i have a class at 10...

Peter, not slept in 2 days and on a minecraft binge: no, no Mr. Stark dont turn the lights off or else the mobs will spawn

Tony, standing by the labs light switch: the who

Tokyo daylight

kaizenix arc yoohan....never not thinking about them