#(( Even though the rerun event has already started... ^^; ))

[tariah23]

The boss fight is impossible for me 🗣️… Kromer…. This shit is a gazillion worse than 2-10 Arknights and I think I’ll still have a better chance of beating that eventually over THIS. This difficulty spike in LCB is so scary right at the very beginning…

[egophiliac]

hello ! I didn't really understand if you played on both the eng and jp servers of twst or exclusively on the jp one but just in case, would you happen to know if the ghost bride event already had a rerun in the eng version ? The internet is unclear and I have to know if I should start grieving Lilia's perfectly dapper and formal sr card :(

I'm just on JP, so I'm not sure! I don't think Eng has had a rerun yet... (I have been informed that Eng has in fact already had a rerun, sorry! please do not listen to me re:anything happening in Eng, I do not pay enough attention 🙇)

though if I remember right you guys never actually got the original, you've only gotten the rerun version with Idia in his groom outfit and Idia + Lilia cards (they didn't have cards or outfits in the original, Idia was getting married in his hoodie and school pants instead) (and, look, his fancy little tuxedo is probably my favorite card of his, but there is something so incredibly on-brand about him being shotgun-wedding'd to a ghost princess while wearing orthopedic sneakers).

that said the trend these days seems to be to release a new card with reruns, even if it it's pickup-only and doesn't actually factor into the event, so I think it's unlikely Eng will get another run at Ghost Marriage before JP does (so they can introduce a new card). but who knows! they've made unexpected decisions before, so you guys might just get a straight-up rerun or something. 🤷 fingers crossed for you! everyone deserves a grampa vampire in a spiffy little suit to throw bouquets at them!

[sandsorghum]

IT'S FINALLY HERE

Thrilled to be putting up this behemoth of a fic I've been working on for two entire months at last! as part of @tsukimefuku's Spookinky event. Yes, I'm aware Halloween was also 2 months ago (sorry Fuku, and thanks so much again for helping beta read it!) Anyway, do check out the other works, they're incredible.

+18, DARK CONTENT AHEAD. You've been warned. See end of story for further author's notes.

abstract. It was a fairy tale, wasn’t it? Or a cautionary one, as most of them turned out to be. wc. 9.4k (strap in with a beverage folks)

tags. Yandere!Nanami Kento x F!Reader | established relationship | smut | dubcon | psychological drama | manipulation |

Jim knew that he was awake and asleep at the same time, dreaming of the war and yet dreamed of by the war…

Your eyelids droop, heavier and heavier with every pass you make at the sentences. You’re fighting against the font even, dripping off the page into the pitch black pit of your mind, those once thick and bold serifs ooze into obfuscation, molten as the afternoon congealing into dusk. Your focus has been wavering for hours in this stifling summer air, the dense miasma of words shimmering into a mirage of meaning. 

You sigh, scrubbing a hand over your face as you let Empire of the Sun flop into your lap. You should have known; J.G. Bellard didn’t exactly stake his reputation on breezy prose. You have a suspicion the book’s about a week or two overdue, though Nanami hadn’t said anything. Well, it was his library card getting charged. You hadn’t renewed yours in years.

You rifle through your current slog; 300 pages give or take. Perhaps you should have been less ambitious, started with the short stories. Long ago, you’d read The Garden of Time. You had enjoyed it, you think. Your eyes slip shut, trying to remember how that story ended, but the details are fuzzy.

It was a fairy tale, wasn’t it? Or a cautionary one, as most of them turned out to be. 

These days, you were living with your own Count Axel too.

You open your eyes, gaze instinctively flitting towards the clock whirring with its tick-tock mick-mockery, matching the taunting your ears had already gotten accustomed to. The second hand quivers a sliver past the hour, as exacting as an anorexic’s indulgence of a fractional slice of cake; and promising as much sustenance.

Where was Nanami? When would he come back?

Your stomach growls. The shadows have grown, black slats cast by the window grilles lengthening and slithering stark against the bleached gold of the walls. You hate this time of day the most, this inevitable boredom numbing your mind into mulch, too sluggish to tolerate even the most insipid of dating reality show reruns, which was all that was on TV. As for your once carefully curated stash of true crime podcasts, the thought of listening to them now was unbearable. 

Something burbles in your belly, a strange gastric shriek acidifying into a yowl. You shut it out, closing your eyes.

Your present circumstances might make for a pretty good biopic, a thriller perhaps. Or a psychodrama. Grim amusement filters through your mind as you imagine actors you’d cast in the lead roles…who was that Danish fellow, who had played a Bond villain? He’d had a similar sort of malevolent charisma as the titular protagonist in that show about eating people…

A little too fixated on trying to recall the actor’s name, you don’t hear the key turn in the first lock. But the second schlick sends a jolt straight to your spine, muscle memory triggering you to leap to your feet. By the time the third and fourth bolts have slotted out of the way, you’ve sprinted to the front step, your exuberant chirrup eclipsing the hinges’ creak. 

“Welcome home, Kento!” 

He grabs you mid-lunge, as usual, chuckling as you fling your arms around his neck. He’s a little off balance today, with the bags dangling off his thick forearms but they still manage to curl, boa constrictor snug around your waist, the weight of their contents pressing you further against him.

“Hello darling,” he murmurs. 

You let him bury his nose against your nape, feeling the burdens of the world slough off him as he inhales your scent, ever familiar, ever constant. Never changing. 

Staring past the summit of his shoulders, you see dust motes drifting unencumbered in the scorched-tangerine shaft of the setting sun, the pavement glowing white, the bright brilliance of its incandescence and resistance petering into the imminence of night; all this, a few tantalising inches beyond the door. 

You blink, the dark spots perform their pirouette, and the temptation passes. You put on a smile as you feel Nanami’s question rumble low along your throat, peeling you away from his chest as he carefully shuts the door behind him, zipping chains one through four back into place.  

“I said, how was your day?” 

“Oh, good. Pretty good. You’ll be proud of me.”

“Yes?”

“I got through a whole 4 pages in your absence,” you grin at Nanami, waggling the book at him. 

“Am I proving such a distraction?” His tone is bone-dry, but you catch the glimmer in his eye, polished as fragments beneath flesh desiccated by a desert.

“You mean providing?” you hum, smoothing a palm across his pectorals as Nanami shrugs out of his coat.

Nanami tuts, catching your fingers and greeting them with a kiss,“You ought to know by now, your flattery has its consequences.”

“Seems like an acceptable risk.” 

Nanami tuts and you feel his lips twitch over your knuckles at the belligerence lilting your tone.

“Well, I’m sorry sweetheart but I was picking up a few extra things for dinner.” 

Nanami finally relinquishes your hand to set the bags down on the dining table. You gape as he proceeds to carefully uncover the biggest bundle of blue hydrangeas and pale yellow daffodils you’ve ever laid eyes upon, all exquisitely wrapped with an embroidered silk ribbon. Nanami holds the flowers out to you, savouring your little gasp as the full size of his generosity blossoms into view.

“It was a bit of an impulse buy,” he confesses, to fill your stunned silence. 

“You expect me to believe this was a snap decision?”

“Well, no, I was intending to get a bouquet from the start but they’d run out of roses. The florist suggested these instead, plus they seemed particularly fresh.”

“They’re gorgeous, Ken. Thank you, and I think I like their scent much better.” You press your nose to the delicate petals for a moment before you go to fetch a vase, submerging the stems in a few inches of water.

“These make me wish I’d paid more attention to my ikebana classes in elementary school,” you comment, caressing one of the butter bright coronas. “Or maybe I could enrol in one of those community courses now.”

“Leave it to the shops’ experts, they know the optimal aesthetic arrangement.”

“Oh, of course. It’s just, it’d be fun to learn something trivial and new.”

Nanami’s smile at you is soft and relaxed. “I’ll buy you more flowers, you can learn through trial and error, Miss Independent.”

“That seems a little lavish. What if I just consult our neighbours across the road, I’ve seen them growing-“

“You can figure it out on your own I’m sure,” Nanami interjects, patting your cheek and you have to remind yourself not to flinch, letting your face go taut with a perfected smile instead. “Or with a book. It could even be a nice hobby for us both, right?”

“Sure, Kento. Sounds fun.” You sigh, separating out some of the stalks. “So this is why you were delayed by half an hour today?”

“Yes, I’m sorry dear.”

“It’s not a big deal.”

It’s quiet for a few moments as Nanami observes you carefully thumbing through the floral clusters.

“I was...just a little worried. I wish you could tell me in advance. Maybe a text?”

Nanami lifts a brow, barely perceptibly.  “And you’d receive it with what phone?”

Swiftly, you recalibrate, your tone shifting into a playful inflection. “Or we can resort to pagers. Like it’s the 1980s.”

It was one of the ironies of this living situation; a tradeoff, Nanami would have termed it. Although you dwelled under the same roof, you communicated less than ever before with him. 

Nanami shakes his head ruefully, plaintively remarking, “I didn’t think you missed doomscrolling more than me.”

“Oh, don’t be so melodramatic,” you huff, setting aside the vase to place a peck on Nanami’s nose. Apparently random acts of affection usually worked to disrupt his morose musings.

You start to bustle with the groceries. “Don’t get me wrong, Bruckner’s 7th symphony on vinyl is exquisite,” you continue, “And I’ll be eternally grateful to you for making a cultured woman out of me…”

Nanami practically pouts at your exaggeration, indignation pulling the corners of his mouth down. You give a lopsided smile, pushing your luck.

“But…I’m just a little bit curious about the Top 40 stuff. Like what’s Ed Sheeran been up to?”

“That’s what the radio is for, dear. I’m not depriving you of pop hits.” 

No, just music videos. And remixes. Plus you’ll never set foot inside another club or karaoke bar. Or attend a live gig. Hell, you’d pay dearly to hear an off-key sidewalk busker. Even a drunkard caterwauling in a subway. 

Sounds from a lifetime ago. Better not to dwell on them. 

You pull out carrots, a few stalks of celery, some onions. “You’re right. I doubt Square Roots or whatever mathematical function his latest album is titled after is a seminal turning point in his discography. I’m not missing anything.” 

You survey the ingredients, feeling Nanami’s mild concern descend upon you as you ramble through your unexpectedly eloquent tirade.

You glance back up at him. “Anyway, dinner tonight involves a mirepoix?”

Nanami nods. You pass a hand hesitantly over the vegetables.

“It’s a lot of prepwork for a…a weekday, right?” 

“It’s a Thursday,” Nanami offers to your unarticulated question. “And trust me, it’s worth it.” 

This time the kiss he presses to your temple is a shade too tender. 

“You’re always worth it.”

Your eyes flutter shut for a moment, letting Nanami’s words lodge deep between your ribs. Then, you carve a smile against his cheek. 

“Who’s the one hoping for consequences now, mister?”

Nanami gives a light squeeze around your hips. “The meal will be ready in about 40 minutes.”

“Can I help?”

Nanami considers you for a moment, looking at your open face.

You skate your thumb across his knuckles, your voice becoming demure, saccharine in its wheedling. “I’ll just wash the vegetables? You’re welcome to do all the dicing and slicing.” 

Nanami chuckles and you feel the tension ebb from his hands at your suggestion. He fishes out his phone and taps on Spotify. “What are you in the mood to listen to, darling?”

Walking on a dream How can I explain? Talking to myself Will I see again?

The upbeat 80s inspired synths pulse through the kitchen, a backdrop to Nanami’s knife working its hypnotic rhythm against the chopping board. You run the cucumbers under the tap while he slides the last of the cubed carrots into a bowl alongside the onions and celery, also cut into similar sized pieces. 

“What are you thinking for the salad?” 

“Yuzu-wafu for the dressing?” Nanami checks his blade, noting its dulled edge. 

“Maybe some kind of vinaigrette? Would pair well since this variety is a little more tart.”

Nanami hums thoughtfully, setting down the knife. He strolls over to a drawer where the cleaver, scissors and matches are stored and after making discrete adjustments to its built-in number padlock, retrieves a whetstone.

“Good call, there’s some EVOO we need to finish up-” Nanami turns around and goes rigid, seeing the knife clasped in both your hands, poised just under your chin.

Thought I'd never see The love you found in me Now it's changing all the time Living in a rhythm where the minute's working overtime

You’re swaying back and forth to the melody, a distant look in your eyes.

“Dear?” 

His voice is gentle, even gentler than usual. Which is plenty gentle already.

Your gaze slides towards Nanami, how he’s tracking the most minute shifts of the gleaming point hovering inches away from your skin. He’s perfectly still, not a tendon twitching, not a nostril flared; the air doesn’t leave his body, you see how it’s gripped between his lungs, as if the oxygen has become cement pooling in his valves. Nanami locks eyes with you, ochre irises shimmering tourmaline, exuding perfect calm. Waiting on you for his next heartbeat.

We are always running for the thrill of it, thrill of it Always pushing up the hill, searching for the thrill of it On and on and on we are calling out, out again Never looking down, I'm just in awe of what's in front of me

You grin at Nanami on the other side of the kitchen island, your captive audience as you belt out the chorus.

Is it real now? Two people become one I can feel it Two people become one

Nanami purses his lips, taking a step towards you. “Dear…why don’t you get the olive oil?”

Your grip tightens on the knife’s handle. You shut your eyes.

Is it real now? Two people become one I can feel it Two people become-

You don’t immediately feel his iron grip manacled around your pulse; instead what first alerts you to his presence back by your side are his lips brushing against your temple. And that’s worse somehow, than his touch molding over your whitened knuckles, and the sinews of your wrist gilded with their jagged deltas of silver.

“I love you,” Nanami states, one hand heavily dwarfing your fists. You release the knife into his grip without another word. He swipes a brisk kiss across your jugular and you feel the maniacal desperation bleed from you, receding into the whirlpool of your subconscious. What had come over you?

“You’re kinda pitchy, but I love you anyway.” 

With that cavalier comment, Nanami starts on the cucumbers.

A joke. He's making a joke. Had he seen right through you?

Hasn’t he always? Another voice, almost perfectly resembling your own, whispers within your mind. And he always will. You’re a glass wall to him, utterly transparent, easily shattered.

And Nanami’s the only one who’s been patient enough to put you back together, the only one who can make you whole.

He knows all your fractures, enough to refract and reframe the truth. This was your choice to live as a one-way mirror, to reflect his desires; to orient to the prism without realising it was a prison.

You watch Nanami quickly and quietly julienne the verdant oblongs, the knife’s swift staccato the only sound for a while. You pinch a slender, perfect matchstick from the mound of green, holding it between your fingers. 

“Is there a point to such precision?” 

“It’s so everything cooks evenly. It’s the standard for mise en place cooking.”

“Miso what?”

“It’s another French technique.” Nanami puts down the knife on the far side of the chopping board before plucking the sliver of cucumber from you and returning it to the pile. 

“Literally translated, it means ‘putting in place’.”

“I see, I didn’t know that before.”

You fold your empty palms in your lap, eyes downcast. 

One hand still on the blade, Nanami settles the other over your fingers, his heated grip squeezing just tightly enough for you to feel your metacarpals briefly grate against each other.

“Now you do.”

As Nanami turns back to prepping the ingredients, he tells you, “Go set the table, dear. And open up the bottle, so the wine breathes.” At least one thing in this house can, you think, walking away from him.

“Taste familiar?”

The burgundy swirls in your glass, glinting like fluid rubies as you dip your nose over the rim. 

“You know I don't have your refined palette, Ken. Just tell me already.”

Nanami shakes his head, nudging the ceramic dish towards you.

“Pair it with the cassoulet, then try again.”

You follow your spoonful of the hearty stew with a sip of the red, and this time notes of Pinot noir and brambleberries are more pronounced, as the tannins press their lingering tingle on your tongue, coaxing forth a vaguely familiar association from the recesses of your mind.

“I’ve had this before?”

“It was a fusion restaurant, Japanese-French. We had our first date there,” Nanami prompts.

“Oh! Jonquilla’s?” 

Nanami smiles as his clues finally click together for you. 

“I visited them before their evening service started, on one of my days off. Had a chat with their chef to recreate the recipe for the cassoulet, though I don’t know if the proportion of spice blends is identical-“

“Never mind accuracy, it was absolutely delicious, Ken. You’ve really outdone yourself.” You hum in satisfaction and satiation around the last mouthful of his culinary achievement.

“But what’s the occasion?”

Nanami’s brow arches, almost imperceptibly. “Today’s March 7th.”

You blink owlishly at him for an extended second, then abruptly recoil, stiffening with your realisation.

“Oh crap- I mean, sorry! I-I didn’t know.”

Nanami gestures placatingly, sliding his hand over yours. You stare sheepishly as he laces his fingers through yours. “It’s all right, love. I should have left a note in the morning.”

Timidly, you glance up at him. The mortification only churns with more turbulence seeing Nanami’s gaze brimming with affection and mild amusement.

“Umm...well, happy fourth anniversary Kento.”

For the first time this evening his smile falters.

“Fifth,” he corrects you, with the slightest suggestion of a sigh ghosting over the single syllable. 

Your gaze plummets back to your hand underneath his. “Right, fifth. Five years.”

Five entire years...everything had changed; now none of your days did. All of them spent waiting, then waiting for him. The past three years had been an eternity, dwelling with a man you’d once been keen to spend forever with. The prospect had been a privilege, a certainty back then. When you’d been free to choose it.

Now, like death, it was nothing more than an inevitability.

The redundancy of your statement lurches heavily into the air; you and Nanami sit in silence for several epochs, its weight creeping into the room like a mastodon carcass emerging from permafrost. He splinters it first.

“You didn’t check the calendar?”

What would have been the point, etching out eternity by the day as if that would stall the lobotomy of this monotony? Every flick of a page would have been another papercut embedded in your epidermis, your spine chipped away ever quicker, just one more reminder of your sinews and synapses and wits atrophying, triggering an avalanche of spiraling, depressive thoughts and an even swifter, simultaneous erosion of your sense of self, your will to survive.

You can no more resist the scalpel than the cudgel, it’s an insidious chiselling of your core, to be remade in someone else’s image. Beatific as Helen of Troy, argumentative as an effigy. 

“I forgot today and well, you know the saying, time flies.” 

You pull your hand away from Nanami’s to examine the wine bottle, brushing a thumb over the label. 

“It really is the exact same isn’t it?” you murmur, looking up at him with a wider smile. The Ice Age passes, and both Nanami’s tone and gaze thaws.

“I figured I’d speak to their sommelier at the same time, since I was there. Not many places import this so it took some convincing for them to part with one from their cellar.”

You raise a brow. “Please don’t tell me you spent more than-“

“It was complimentary in fact. Turns out the sommelier was a rather romantic fellow.”

“Sounds like he was giving someone a run for their money.” You lean forward, topping off Nanami’s glass.

With an appreciative chuckle, he responds, “He said it was the least he could do, bringing Provence to you if you couldn’t go.”

Provence, hah. If he only knew, the furthest place you’d been dreaming of was the konbini that had been a five minutes stroll from your old apartment. It was cramped, and the rent had been exorbitant despite being in a dodgy part of town - sort of a shithole if you were honest, but it’d been your shithole.

What colour had you painted the walls? Turquoise? Cerulean? No, aquamarine maybe,to match the canal you could just about glimpse from your balcony in summer-

“They really do a good job, highlighting the seasonal and regional specialties.”

You snap your attention back to the conversation, before the man opposite you can notice anything amiss. Perfunctory participation and trite observations were necessary to shield your most private thoughts from Nanami.

“Yeah, incredible menu. I loved the ambience of the place too.”

“The ambience?”

“Well, everything. The art, the lighting, that live violinist. It all adds to the dining experience, you know.” You let your gaze drift into the scarlet liquid swishing around in your glass, the garnet sparkles enticing in their reminiscence of sweeter, simpler times, when you and Nanami were just getting to know each other.

“Perhaps. I’ve never really noticed those things. That’s just decor.”

Now of course you know him all too well. 

“Oh obviously the food should be the focus. And it definitely stood out. Your tarte tatin really took me back there.” 

“Hmm, you know I suspect they used caster not muscovado after all,” Nanami remarks, scrutinizing the remnant fleck of pastry balanced delicately on a single tine.

“Sweetheart, tonight was a success,” you coo, patting his hand. “Trust me.”

Nanami relents, putting the fork down. “Even in the absence of a live violinist?”

You roll your eyes. “Yes, even without that.”

Nanami raises the stem of his glass, trying to hide how pleased he is. You copy him, gaze catching his as the both of you drain your drinking vessels. It is good wine, after all.

You hum, idly letting your fingers skate up Nanami’s forearms.

“Still, there’s lots of French fusion places around Tokyo. Why’d you pick that particular one?”

Nanami shrugs. “I went there with a client once, back when I was a salary man, so I knew it was good. I’d checked the more recent reviews too. Based off those I was convinced the 4.8 average rating it retained was warranted.” 

You incline your head to the side, expectant. There were sure to be other factors, with this pinnacle of logic. Nanami pushes his spectacles up the strong bridge of his nose and sighs.

“And it was, well...equidistant from both our houses.”

You let out a mock gasp, voice fruity with an affectation of being scandalised. “Mr Nanami, I did not take you for such a schemer.”

Perhaps it’s the burgundy, but you can’t help but think the pink tinting Nanami’s cheeks is rather endearing. 

He clears his throat, sitting up straight. “That’s not what I meant. Quite the opposite in fact. We both had assignments early the next day. I wasn’t...making any assumptions.”

You purse your lips together, withholding a smirk as Nanami stumbles through more of his rationalisations.

“I mean, it could have gone poorly too, you could have wanted to cut the date short. So I considered your cab fare wouldn’t amount to more than-“

“Well, our first date didn’t end early, did it, Kento?” you interject. You don’t know why, but it delights you to see a rush of poppies blossom downwards, beneath his collar.

“I suppose not.”

You relax back into your chair with a chuckle, feeling Nanami’s significantly warmer gaze on you.

“Actually, I do have a gift for you.”

Nanami reaches into his satchel and for a moment you’re worried a velvet box will materialise from it. To your relief, he instead withdraws a simple paper envelope, too slim and understated for any expensive jewellery.

“Here you go,” he says, sliding the envelope over to you. 

“Takashimaya vouchers? Oh Kento, how romantic-“  You stop short of delivering the jibe when you see what his gift actually is - a library card. 

Your library card, to be exact.

It’s your turn to be baffled now.

“You were racking up too many fines on mine,” Nanami’s expression is strait-laced, but his gaze is affectionate .“So I renewed yours.”

“Is there, um, some kind of new demerit system?”

“No, the length of the penalty period is the same as the overdue one. Basically I was barred from loaning out more books till you were done, Miss four pages per day.”

“It’s not my fault if the plot drags on,” you protest.

“Pick a more compelling read then,” Nanami smirks, “Or know when to give up.”

You examine the laminated rectangle, and the photo of yourself from five years ago stares back at you, her expression bright and clear-eyed, the set of her jaw resolute. Virtually unrecognisable.

“I can...pick up my own books?” you mumble, eyes still locked on your picture. 

Nanami’s sigh is heavy and you hear him remove his lenses, setting them down on the table. You look up when he addresses you, and his gaze is tinged with the same slight weariness wrung from your name.

“Your residence needed to be updated, that’s all.” Nanami speaks patiently - no, patronisingly. “You can continue to give me the list of titles you want to check out.”

So, you wouldn’t be able to borrow the books in person, let alone browse the shelves in a public space, without him.

“I should...probably pay my late fees myself though, right?”

Nanami shrugs, “They don’t add up to that much. I usually take care of it with the petty cash.”

Money he wouldn’t miss. Transactions without a bank statement. Untraceable.

You’d never have to pay for anything ever again. And it had only cost you your freedom.

You slip the card carefully back into the envelope, face down. 

Some unthinking machine would scan its barcode, would log your details, your preferences in novels and fiction, the imaginations you escaped into. On some arbitrary database, you’d exist.

Somewhere outside these four walls, you’d live.

“Thank you, Ken. It’s a lovely...gesture.”

You don’t think Nanami registers the pause, neutrally watching you empty the wine bottle equally into his glass and yours. 

“Shame that’s the last of it,” you sigh, setting the bottle down. Nanami hums contemplatively as you drink up.

“It was... a nice restaurant. Would you want to visit it again?”

You stare at Nanami, not quite believing your ears at the sentimentality that has seeped into his tone, let alone his offer.

“Visit it?”

That would involve going back into the world. Strangers would see you. Might even interact with you. That would be too much, surely?

Nanami takes a long sip of wine before continuing.

“I could get candles and cushions and white linen tablecloths, or put a Poulenc record on...but I know it’s not the same.The environment does make a difference.” 

You nod slowly, twisting the stem of your glass between your fingers. He reaches for your hand and you let him hold it.

“You could do your hair, nails, get dolled up and all, just like old times. There’s this dress in a corner boutique I go past every day, that I think you’ll like-“

“That I’ll like or you’ll like?” 

He chuckles, “My dear, if you want to wear a burlap sack there you’re welcome to. I’ll insist to the maître d’ I have the most beautiful woman in the world on my arm, regardless.”

A blush unfurls across your face, looking into Nanami’s eyes and seeing the absolute sincerity and conviction there. 

“I just want you to feel as special as you are to me, when we go.”

Nanami brings your hand to his mouth, eyes closed, taking his time to plant a kiss on each of your knuckles. Something constricts in your chest, watching the reverence and regret of his lips each time they have to lift a tiny fraction away from your rapidly warming skin.

“It’s where we started to make so many memories.” Nanami says softly, opening his eyes to stare deeply into yours. You sink into the rich russet warmth of those irises, mesmerised by the familiar tawny flecks shining bronze with pure adoration for you. 

“If we were going to celebrate, it would be worth commemorating it there, yes?”

He almost whispers the question, with both his hands now clasping yours. Nanami brushes a thumb across your hand and you barely notice how it strokes slow, tender circles on your fourth finger.

Barely.

You know what he is truly asking. What he’s really after.

Would it be a celebration or a sentencing?

Even after all this time, it isn’t clear if there’s just the one answer.

You shut your eyes, taking a breath. You lean forward in the darkness, finding and anchoring your lips to Nanami’s, parting them to reel his soft exhalation into your mouth, feeling the tidal surge of his ache in his tongue tracing the very edges of your mouth, desperation lapping at your own control.

You haven’t permitted him this little in so long. You haven’t permitted yourself this much for even longer.

You break away just as his canines start to graze your trembling lower lip, whispering the truth through your teeth. “I’ve been utterly smitten by you, Nanami Kento. Too often, you know me better than I do myself. But I know you too.”

“And?” 

You let the panted word hang in the air, savouring the way his anticipation swells through his button-up shirt, his chest rising and falling with each second that passes, that you hold out on.

You imbibe a heavy gulp of composure, some of the burgundy spilling past your lips.

Your glass chimes against the table with a definitive clink as you reply, “And I know how much of a hassle you find washing cast iron skillets to be. Restaurants would take care of that, right?”

Nanami’s face crumples into confusion, his consternation finding physical manifestations in the crease of his brows and down turned lips.

Maybe you’d gone too far, even if it wasn’t an outright rejection. He might interpret it as a stalling tactic.

“That was a joke, Kento. Of course I’d love to revisit Jonquilla’s with you. Or even a Mcdonalds drive-thru.” 

“My dear, you deserve so much better than that sodium saturated crap.”

Your laugh quivers, rippling with the pronounced vehemence with which Nanami had spat the expletive. He pins you with a stern glare, but you will mischief to glaze over your face, like a visor.

“Y’know, I’ve kinda been craving their fries.”

Nanami wrinkles his nose, and you breathe a little easier. “How your standards haven’t improved, after years of living together with home cooked meals, is beyond me.”

“You’re such a snob sometimes,” you dismiss his disdain with a giggle, “You gotta realise there are just some things you can’t exert influence over.”

Nanami’s eyes narrow. “I’m not going to give up.”

“Suit yourself,” you lick the last traces of a sauce off the back of a spoon with deliberation, feeling his gaze track your movements. “I see no downsides for me, if that means more yummy replications.”

Nanami’s exhale through his nose is short and sharp; what passes for a laugh these days. He regards you silently for a minute, exasperation mingling and melting into fondness, ever so gradually.

It seems you’re out of the woods. Still, it doesn't hurt to keep him in a good mood.

You reach out to caress Nanami’s cheek lightly, and his eyes drift close against your touch. “You can take me anywhere you want.” 

Everywhere and nowhere. 

“How about we start with the shower?”

Nanami stands a few feet away from you as vines of steam coil around his granite cheekbones, wilting his collar, leaching translucence into the whites of his Oxford top. You see the fibres strain with every rise and fall of his chest, the vapours of his mouth melding with the swelling humidity of the bath, amidst fluctuations of hunger and hesitation.

“Are you sure about this?” Nanami murmurs, he braces his arms behind him, pressing his back against the tiles, breath expanding underneath his shirt. You gaze upon Nanami, a centurion sculpted by Rodin, a cornered animal. 

You take a step towards him, feeling his heart hammer as you enclose your palm over it.

“It’s nothing we haven’t done before,” you whisper, reaching for his first button.

It wasn’t quite the same of course, as on the other nights. Usually your positions were reversed; Nanami, fully clothed, would strip you and usher you into the shower, only a sponge between you and him as he cleansed every inch of your skin. His own bath would be brisk, but he’d thank you for your patience every evening as you shuddered in the corner, eyes tightly shut. He didn’t seem to care if you stared at him with revulsion or resignation, the way a leopard would disregard a sparrow.

That was all your bodies had been to each other for the longest time, mere objects co-existing in space, empty vessels requiring maintenance.

It’s hard to remember that now, as a more carnal need pumps through your veins, as the fabric peels away from his skin, sleeves rippling slow in their remorse of being parted from his swollen biceps. You replace them with your palms, gliding over arms corded with sinews like steel cables. All this strength he’s never used on you, keeping you in his grasp by some other power.

No, it was exactly this restraint that restrained you; shackled to the myth that it couldn’t get worse, torture earning your tolerance, tolerance reaping your torture.

You thread your fingers through Nanami’s locks, barley sheaves darkening into rye beneath the spray and the circular motion of your hands, massaging shampoo into his silken roots. The cascade of water catches his lashes just right, fronds fluttering like the gold-gilded ruffled edges of ginkgo leaves at the terminus of autumn; yet, as you sink your fingers into the joints where Nanami’s nape connects to the base of his cranium, you doubt it’s the scattered droplets which are responsible for his eyes closing, or the guttural groan dragged from his throat, the octaves dripping much lower than you’ve heard in months, sending simultaneous sensations of heat dribbling down your spine and a lush insistence of warmth tugging through your gut.

Suds slip their foamy trail over the corded tendons in his neck, iridescence slathering over his chest and arms. Your fingers follow them, naturally. Nanami holds himself very still as you scratch your nails lightly over his pectorals and abdominals, tracing a path of your own design and desires, forgotten yet familiar. The terrain prickles beneath your wandering palms, goosebumps sprouting at your touch. But then, you reach a swathe of blue mottling into violet, and your hand hovers over it, a sickle sized smudge wrapped around his upper ribs. You can’t control the flood that suddenly surges to your waterline, blurring your vision.

All the violence, and all the silence. The endless chaos. This was the truth out there, and here was the evidence he kept from you. 

The bruise spreads beneath your fingers, wider than your hand.

And what was the truth in here? Where was the danger? Long ago you’d confronted that same savagery, the senseless cruelty, those injustices he used to justify keeping you safe now.

You sink your thumb against the wound, dragging your anguish through it. You feel the breath juddering through Nanami, as he winces. But he doesn’t stop you.

You can hurt him too.

“It’s all right,” he whispers, leaning into your touch.

Monsters creating monsters, curses birthing more curses. Perhaps misery didn’t love company, as much as it feared and loathed enduring its own misanthropy alone.

There were worse things to lose than freedom.

You lift your hand away, to cup Nanami’s face instead.

“I’m sorry,” you murmur, pressing the apology over his closed eyes. You feel them flickering beneath your lips.

“I’m sorry for all of this.” His gaze, when it returns to you, wavers wearily between guilt and grief. It’s dimmed and misty, there are no calculations, no charting these choppy waters; he sways towards you, a man (as before, as ever) seeking safe harbour, adrift in your arms.

You coax his calloused hands around your hips, and you’re uncertain for a few moments if the trembling from his fingertips has summoned the same across your skin, or if it’s your own nerves rippling outwards to his touch, all too tentative.

“Do you…not want to-”

You feel the answer in his immediate indentations upon your waist, squeezing your doubts into silence. But his gaze remains obscured behind his fringe, plastered to his forehead. You brace against the silence by sliding your arms over his, thumb circling the taut knot at the crease of his elbow. Gently you lay your cheek against his chest, savouring the solidness that has been so absent, and its underlying thump-thump-thump, far less steady. 

You feel the breath rising through his lungs as he tilts your chin up towards him, voice rasping with frayed restraint.

“I want to. Of course I want you.”

Nanami drags his thumb from the corner of your lips to its plush centre, feeling it furl and yield without very much pressure.

“What if I want too much?”

For him to ask this now is a kindness you can’t afford. You don’t owe him this, he has reassured you of that much, tonight and many other nights. Perhaps it’s time that has taken its toll instead, so that with your last shred of autonomy, you choose to give, or at least give in.

“Just let me be selfish, this once.”

You angle your face towards him, lips parted and watch the light in his eyes shrink to pinpricks; firelight flickering out as bipedal silhouettes slink and morph back into the shadows of beasts - 

coherence, logic, caution all consumed by more primal instincts.

And so, you anticipate his devouring, his half-snarl, his clash of teeth when he claims your mouth again for the first time in ages but it’s worse, so much worse. And divine. 

His kiss is slow but no less forceful, the pressure gradually mounting, lapping at your lips then teasingly receding so you have to push up into him, deepening the kiss so quickly without you realising, only vaguely aware of your shortness of breath, of the most mild discomfort; the same dissonance of someone witnessing a revealed shore and wading further and further onto it, clueless that the waves are pulling back because of the tsunami surging towards them.

It’s too late by then, caught in Nanami’s undertow when your head rolls to the side, hardly far enough before it’s cradled by one of his large hands. The warmth from his palms pools across your nape, dripping down down down your spinal column, an erosion of stalactites as your weight melts against Nanami when he pulls your waist flush to his. He drinks in your whimpered surprise as you feel a smear, thick and wet, between your legs and prodding at your gusset. 

Nanami finally lets you part for air but you cling to him, limpet-limbed. Your gaze and hand drifts down to where he’s stiff, scarlet and sobbing from his slit, globs of fat white pearls that remind you of the dryness in your mouth.

“So much…you’ve been holding back this much?”

Nanami had never responded this way when conducting your evening rituals of hygiene, had swept his eyes over your breasts and buttocks as efficiently as he’d inspected your scalp, elbows, knees. His touch had been mechanical, clinical to the point of brusque. You came to the conclusion then, over the years, that he was inoculated against arousal, that the sight of your bare flesh no longer titillated him, that on some level even, he was completely apathetic to your nudity. It’s impossible to argue such a stance now with the copious amount of evidence painting your thighs, the head bobbing heavily as it brushes against your skin.

“Sometimes at work…” Nanami croaks and you finally tear your stare away from his glistening length, to be sucked into the brine-dark whirlpools of lust churning in his eyes. “I’d…I’d take the edge off.”

“How?” you whisper. The crimson rush crests high on his cheeks and you reach out to caress his face, residual heat sweeping from your fingers down your wrist. 

“J-just in a cubicle,” he confesses, averting his eyes. “Not often.”

During lunch breaks. In between meetings. Just before commuting. You hadn’t been able to keep your hands off each other, in those early days. So many late nights, and later mornings. Beds were irrelevant. Desks, couches, corridors, stairwells - the two of you didn’t need much to improvise intimacy, the sparse surroundings testimony to the inspiration you found endlessly in each other. 

It must have been difficult, to forget and forego all that. It was, for you.

“Made it worse…I tried to stop.”

Nanami Kento, with his crisp collars, perfectly ironed jackets, shiny brogues - in a sterile bathroom hunched over fisting his cock with frantic, feverish tugs, struggling to sputter to a paltry climax, the spit in his palms a poor substitute for what he refused himself every evening, 

so close, so easily within reach that he couldn’t take it.

Temporarily vanquishing his visceral ache for you, while heightening his hankering, compounding his cravings, haunted by his half-measures for months and months. 

Diminishing returns, returning with a vengeance. 

“Why not here, at home?” 

You see the anguish flash across his face, feel the tremor in his hands as he clutches at your waist. 

“I…didn’t want you to ever - ever - remotely consider that risk, with m-”

You crush your mouth to Nanami’s, pillow-soft lips pummeling his doubts into nothing more than the air that escapes with his choked grunt of surprise, tongue spearing deep past his lips to wrestle with his, an excavation of the remnants of his uncertainty.

“Kento…” And he hears his name panted, twisted through with such longing he has no choice but to look at you. 

“You don’t have to stop yourself anymore.”

Coals glow in Nanami’s irises, you witness in an instant the incineration of his final vestiges of control. But even if you hadn’t caught the change, you feel it as your body is engulfed in flames for the remainder of the night. 

Nanami grabs you, pins you to the wall as he nips kisses all across your nape, sucks bruises down the column of your throat, carnality swelling carnelian across your clavicle, as you claw ruby rivulets down his spine. He buries his pleasured growls between your breasts, stuffing his mouth with your mounds and moans and the stiffened peaks of your nubs, while his hands waste no time, grasping at every inch of you, your curves, the plush of your thighs, the fat of your bum, years of denial striking the flint of desperation, skin singeing against each other, ragged sighs breathing life into him, coaxing the inferno higher and higher.

And then his knuckles graze the lake of slick between your legs and when did he get on his knees and Nanami hisses your name, whiskey-smoked gaze drilling into yours, demanding not your permission, but your focus when he finally sinks his tongue into you, and the sob rips from your throat at his impatience, his insistence, lapping ravenously at your folds, retracing every crease and crevasse of you, tip curving into spots you forgot you had to chase and catch every drop drooling from your niche, greed driving him deeper to get closer to the mouth of the river, your lust already streaming down his face. He grinds your weight further on his face, disregarding your garbled protests, you cry out as the high bridge of his nose brushes your clit and almost immediately you regret it as he switches his attentions and abuse there, to that tiny bundle of nerves, tongue now stroking ruthlessly fast, alternating between flicking and wrapping tight circles around it. 

A particularly vicious suck has your climax shattering over you, your wails of his name bouncing off the tiles and to your fascinated horror, falling on deaf ears. It takes you a few moments, with every synapse scorched beyond function, to realise that your jerking and spasms aren’t from your first orgasm, but an impending second. Because Nanami hasn’t slowed down for a fraction of a moment, your cunt still sealed around the cavern of his mouth, the beast within writhing its way back into its reclaimed burrow; you squeal and whine and squirm, but it’s no use, Nanami slaps a hand against your thigh, angling it to hook high over his broad shoulders to keep you splayed, the iridescence you’re spraying across his cheeks no match for the gleam in his eyes as he feasts and slurps and sucks. 

His moans reverberating through your pussy seem to crawl their way up through your own throat, writhing into your garbled pleas for amnesty, for release. You’re convinced your pleasure is mere collateral, not the priority, to Nanami now, that he’s punishing you in some sadistic, delightful way - until you feel the swipes of his tongue soften and his smirk stretching you, in time with the tips of his fingers spreading across your swollen lips.

“One more darling,” he promises, pressing a tender kiss to your inner thigh. You brace against the wall, whimpers tapering into relieved little mewls of his name as Nanami’s index glides inside you, pussy readily receiving every ridge and joint, liquid-smooth, as your resistance dribbles down his wrist.

“Gotta prep you, it’s been a while mmh?” he mumbles against your sodden core, starting to pump his digits in and out of you steadily, before he latches back onto your clit like an addict, picking up his pace and pressing into the soft spongy spots that have you erupting into your next climax.

But Nanami’s far from finished. 

He withdraws his fingers, luminescent with your essence and sucks them…clean hardly seemed an appropriate word, but it had to suffice in your severely diminished mental state, as the aftershocks scoured every nerve ending south of your tummy, satiation severing any attempt by your neurons to connect.

Brain mushy and muscles gelatinous, you slump forward into Nanami’s solid embrace, his baritone rumbling sweet nothings to reinforce the trembling in your knees. In a single fluid motion, he sweeps you into his arms, bundling you up bridal style out of the bathroom, not bothering with a towel.

“Ken! I’ll get the bed soaked,” you complain, clutching at his biceps.

“That’s the plan, dearest,” he rasps, the menace in his voice somehow simultaneously melodious. Nanami tosses you down on the mattress, lips chasing the blush rushing down your bosom, mouth puckering around the pertness of your buds, alternating between his tongue’s gentle flicks and how he rolls them roughly between his fingers. 

But Nanami’s only got one hand occupied by your tits. With the other you distantly hear him rummaging through the nightstand, sounding increasingly agitated. He cusses against your cleavage, and you hear a hollow cardboard box clatter off in the corner as he hurls it across the room.

Of course, neither of you had considered replenishing contraceptives in a long time. 

Nanami sits back on his haunches, hands clenched on his knees. His erection juts tantalisingly between them, in a proud upwards sweep of roseate to vermillion, milky droplets already beading again from the heavy head. 

Later, you’ll blame the flowers, the wine. Even that damned library card, for the next words that spill from your mouth.

But something possesses you, and you whisper in a voice you barely recognise as your own, “I don’t care, Nanami.” You feel his gaze snap from the offending emptiness of the bedside drawer to your hooded eyes, which are decidedly not directed at his face.

Your statement sinks into the silence taut between your bodies, and you feel the bed dip, as Nanami cautiously (but eagerly) shuffles forward on one knee, the hard silhouette of his length brushing against his belly. Errant pearls drip wastefully into the sheets, and you have to hold back a sob.

“Repeat it.”

“I…I don’t care, I j-just want…” your voice falters as Nanami looms over you, caging you in beneath his arms. His broad mushroom head glides along your slit, rivulets of your slick running from his tip down the rest of his cock. In all your years together, you’ve never felt him this way, with such intimacy, such bristling urgency.

“What do you want, love?”

“You, all of you.” The conviction crackles from your lungs at last and something snaps when Nanami suddenly sinks partially inside you, hips stuttering at your confession, gasps eclipsing each other’s at the sudden surge and squelch of wet and heat and clinging.

It’s too much and not enough all at once and it has your hips jerking up involuntarily, your body remembering there was more, that it was made for much more - but Nanami clamps down on them, shushing your indignant whines even as you try to draw more of him in.

“There’ll be time for you to regret your greed later, my girl,” Nanami chuckles his hoarse assurance, and there’s something about the specific blend of his tone; the sardonicism, the delirium, the absolute warmth under it all that is completely familiar to you. You slip into surrender, relaxing entirely into the kiss you drag him down for. 

Nanami is slow to sleeve himself fully within you, savouring how your expressions flicker between frustration and pleasure, a reticence resonant with the way your pussy flutters around his girth, beguiling in its struggle as Nanami feeds you his meat, inch by throbbing inch. You feel him wrestle with the dilemma too in the aberrant twitches of his cockhead, leaking pre-cum, as if your passage weren’t satin-slick enough already and arduous with your ardour. 

It’s a surreptitious, viscous cycle; you get more sodden and sensitive with every incremental shimmy Nanami presses into you, the teasingly measured secretion of his slimy trail inside you mingles with your own wet wantonness, the excesses of this elixir dribbling down the remainder of his length and coating your already considerably saturated walls, making it harder and harder for him to resist slamming the rest of his way inside you.

He knows you could take it, that you crave such treatment even, but he wants even more to commit this eternity to memory, not simply the glorious, torturous novel sensation of fucking you raw but the way your face shifts from arousal to adoration, back and forth, again and again, as he seeds a new addiction inside you, gradually stretching you past your former limits; physical, emotional, moral.

Nanami presses a stilted groan into your nape when he bottoms out inside you at last, laving his tongue over the film of perspiration clinging to your collarbones, as if there were some secret adhesive he could absorb to keep himself together, to prevent himself from falling apart with every rippling contraction of your cunt, as your being is molded once more around his pulsing length. 

“Ke~nnnhg…” you moan, and he twitches hard inside your gluey, velvet-vice to hear his name so stretched out, like gum, like rubber, like the dearth thereof, of any barrier between your bodies when you squeeze around him, deliberately this time. There’s an abundance of obviousness that it’s your action, not a reaction, by how your voice tremors with the effort.

“Already told ya,” you huff, “You don’t have to stop yourself anymore.”

And perhaps it’s your petulance, how you’re pouting this reminder of your mutual needs to be devastated, that sets Nanami off, that has his hips snapping forward, callous and careless at last, his thrusts initially sharp and shallow building quickly into an erratic rhythm that you can barely keep up with, letting yourself be jostled and pounded and shaken like a ragdoll, like Nanami’s exclusive fucktoy for him to drain his desires into. 

“Fuck, angel, so fucking perfect. Gonna fill you up, make you so swollen with me, mmh?” 

Your keen peels from your ribs, pitching high into the air, as Nanami continues to whisper filth and praise and promises you can’t quite comprehend, the only sounds, barely intelligible, is his slurring of your name, the syllables stringing stickily together like the messy ropes of cum swaying with every plunge of his cock back into your cunt, relentlessly bruising those spots that make meteors flash across your screwed shut eyes.

“Ken, K-Kento! Ah, ah- missed this so much, m-missed you!”

It’s your last attempt at coherence before your climax crashes over you and you clench around Nanami’s spurting cock, his broken bellows echoing through your bones and veins as he cums shortly after, flooding you, tethering you. You arch into him, receiving each pump, pulses blending with tongues tangling, till there is no distinction between tributaries and alluvium, between river and ravine, only the abundance of silt from his slit, nestled snugly against your cervix.

Nanami shifts to settle you in his arms, some of his spend seeping from the apex of your thighs.Will there be a price to pay? The potential of a gynecologist’s scrutiny, doula appointments, consultations and consolations,  complications and consequences, another presence at last in this house…you push these questions far from your mind.

Because the night doesn’t end there of course, you don’t recall if it ends at all. It’s a haze of hormonal hedonism, hours lost in the fog of damp breaths and senses swamped by desire. It is as if you dreamed it all, drifting off with Nanami inside you, waking to find his hunger unabated. Any concerns the morning might bring are cloudy, what is crystalline instead - what you choose to curate - are the sparse intermissions of his syrupy kisses over the words you exchange, that he demands to hear with your will languishing, effervescent as the vow he pulls from you, but will hold you to, lingering in the long shadows of your subconscious: I’m yours and you are mine, I need nothing else.

Seraphim, succubus, sorceress...all these accusations and adorations Kento lays at your feet, worshipping at the altar of your thighs, whether you were astride or under him. Calling you his cornerstone, a becoming like cinder blocks around your ankles.

Drunk off of him, kisses spilling kerosene and casks of Amontillado, your kindness your kindling, immolated by indulgence. You’d yearned for this too, his hunger feeding yours, an Ouroborous of obsession wrapping around your arms, chest, eyes so you couldn’t see how symbiosis ceded to the parasitic, the pleasure paralytic, ambrosia abused into anaesthetic until it cemented your ruin. Your comfort and his catharsis was a drug, yet you do not stop to wonder if this love had never been medicinal, if it had been narcotics lavished against necrosis.

It was too late for either of you to realise he’d never healed, amidst the eternity of nights spent with your lips sealed to Nanami’s like an oath. He never cared or dared to question destiny, yet never been so sure he’s meant to share his with anyone except you. But Fate has always been cruel to the best people he’s known and known too late just how much he needed in his life. 

And he couldn’t possibly be crueler than Fate, could he, if it meant protecting you?

Sworn and bound to this, but it unleashed an ancient anguish that had festered for far too long in his heart, aches that should have stayed buried, instincts that should have gone extinct; His salvation now only in the mutation of satiation into starvation. Every love bite and bruise stacking upon each other’s skin like bricks in a citadel for two. You were his fortress, his hearth. 

You didn’t know he was building you a pedestal, a pyre, a pyramid.

All to serve a goddess in name, in invention not intervention. Does it matter? Nanami strips you of your mortality, your humanity. You are a being of infinite benevolence and eternal beauty, a deity who deigned to age alongside him. He would grow old with you. Even if it meant dooming you to dwell within a sarcophagus.

Nanami looks upon you, you are enshrined, entombed. He engulfs you in amber; Your life preserved, your love petrified.

thanks for reading!

a/n:also wanted to say I owe a debt of inspiration to @saintshigaraki's fic which has one of the most realistic, seductive portrayals of a Yandere Nanami I've read. Mise En Place would not exist without it.

@houseofsolisoccasum

[exoticalmonde]

So Long, Adele... Was Only Pain and NO Whimsy

Once again, Dr. Eve is a little late to the party, but you must understand that even 11 days into the year, I am already a month and a half behind on everything I wish I could have been doing.

So instead of lamenting my unfinished fanfics and the cross-stitch that's been in box jail since the end of November, we're going on an adventure with Eyjafjalla.

Fair to say, that I didn't finish anything during the rerun last time. It was right after New Year's and let me tell you... I was not in the mood for that at all.

Naturally, we start off with an update on how RI-8 is doing right now.

This means we have the opportunity to look back into it from the POV of someone very opinionated about men and entirely blind to the women on the field.

A...

Ah--- W...Welcome maam. I've been waiting for

A while.

Welcome to the team of my light-hair-coloured women, ignore the Sarkaz sisters, and I hope you have a pleasant stay.

My fields were barren... Still are.

I'm pretty sure whatever I had was already wasted, but that's alright so far. Surely, there's nothing that could possibly mess up your future career as my favourite Instructor...

But why do I hear Kazimierz's music?

Right, it's because Flametail has also joined the team, in an attempt to rally that E1Max Texas that I've been trying to ignore for the last hm 3 years.

Also, HAPPY NEW YEAR from RI-8 and all of Yan, who are here to celebrate with me in a wild mix between 'enjoy this while you can before we all die' and 'RI has never seen such bliss, glad you're here' type of way.

Okay, updates are done. It was a slow descent into madness this time, nothing too fancy-schmancy.

Here's how So Long, Adele went for me.

---

EyjaBerry is THE best medic so far in my experience. She's not just a single target Wandering Medic like the rest of the Berries, her skills just make healing trivial the way W'Alter manages to make dealing damage feel trivial.

Her S1M3? Unlimited and covers 2 people at the same time.

S2M3? Become an AOE Shining, but better for all I know, because I don't have her. Would I have pulled for her now? Absolutely, she is doing a much better job protecting my allies from the enemy than anybody else could.

I'm sorry Lumen, despite Dr. Pinkie's constant confusion between the words, being a Wanderer and a Therapist are two different things and you specialize in the things you do.

S3M3? Don'tDieInator3000, global.

---

Last time I saw Sw'Alter actually being used was during the Icebreaker Event and it was because Dr. Pinkie had the ingenious idea to use her bottles to charge the machines. For any players out there, you know what I am talking about.

After ages of playing this game, I finally realized that some peaceable objects like that charge the SP machines just like that.

She looks good though. Merchant. With Lee and Mr. Nothing, I don't need another DP-leech for the job. I'm comparing her to Lee, so Sw'Alter seems to have less health, but better damage in the base stages. Her abilities have a funky range.

S1M3 - Medic defenders all over the place with 1 block.

S2M3 - A typical Trapmaster ability

S3M3 - An unlimited duration skill, with a knockback that

---

If there were characters who were thrown in a black hole never to be seen again, it's Conviction and Poncirus. From what I know about the story, she only shows up at the end too.

We've been talking with the other Doctors about how recently the characters who are featured on the banner alongside the 6 star are completely irrelevant story-wise.

None of the new Babel characters were ever shown up. They weren't even FROM Babel.

These gripes aside,

Compared to Texas, exact same S1 with the same 12 DP, wait time and everything on M3. However, what I just found out was that her second skill actually looks pretty good. She's with better health, less attack and better defence on the Max levels. Defensive Pioneer Vanguards have served me better than offensive ones.

---

Bryophyta is in a weird spot because he's an Instructor in a world where only 5 in total exist. Which isn't a few, but it's not a lot either.

Pallas is the best by a margin because of Bryo's 5-star debuff (and he's a shop-erator), but since he's Dr. Lundi claimed, I have to say something nice about him or the sniper on the roof next door is going to get me.

I feel like all of them would benefit from the INS-Y Module, being able to be deployed on a ranged tile extends their versatility better since their whole gimmick is 'Don't Block for Damage'.

His S1M3 is a delight to see. The second the words 'Next attack' show up on screen I feel power. Nothing to write home about though.

But what about his S2M3----

Oh. Stuns self. Okay. I didn't need him anyway.

---

That was all for the operators. Now to the event itself.

Did I read anything out of this event's story? I did not. Would I let Pinkie explain everything to me? They did. Did I love the trailer and the music? You bet. Did I hate the event? Entirely.

You see, while I do like this 'being forced to think' situation during events, especially for EX or S stages because I understand that the enjoyment of the game is as much gimmick and working with what you have, as it is... a strategy game.

However, Dr. Eve being Eve, I end up thinking myself into a corner. The operators I level up aren't always the ones that I need.

Very rarely in fact.

Look at my wife's list. Look at my husband's list! Not a single person can handle 3 enemies at once unless they are a defender. Nobody does enough damage the way I needed them to.

I guided Dr. Kryo through SL-S-5 and some of the earlier challenges and he was adamant that he didn't want a W'Alter guide. I respect that, we're all quirky and he didn't get a W'Alter during her run. It worked out well for him.

I knew he struggled for the CM on SL-S-4 because we were in call during the time and I was crying about SL-S-3 CM, thinking 4 and 5 would be worse.

Mind you, this man thinks when he levels up (most of) his characters though. Mudrock Max, Ines, Kal'tsit, Blaze, Hoshi. He got Mlynar, he has Logos, EyjaBerry.

The last time we struggled so much was during Stultifera. A LONG time ago, because back then - me nor Dr. Kryo had Lappland.

I didn't even try to think too hard about the levels at first. EX-1 to 8 were absolutely fine, S-1 and 2, even 3 were great. I managed S-5 in three tries or something with Kryo guiding me since it was late and I didn't feel like thinking.

I spent an entire afternoon on SL-S-4 CM.

Watched every single video guide. Nothing worked.

I couldn't manage to put down bottles for Lundi's Ex'Alter in the top blue exit.

DP not enough at any point.

Why are these bottles taking so long???

My Mudrock wasn't strong enough when I needed W'Alter. She was also not lvl90 or S3M3.

Instead of Mudrock, why not use Penance, she's mean to handle more enemies, right? Wrong. Gets eaten alive by the sheep. You're starting to understand who was being problematic.

My Kal'tsit isn't lvl90 and only S3M1, which was not enough.

Also don't have the modules for Mudrock, nor for Kal.

My allies kept dying on the bottom side. Hoshiguma was useless, using Nian for her innate skill was perfect.

They kept leaking past the 15/20 enemy count. Bam, put Shu behind Nian.

I figured out that the leakage mainly happened topside. I need someone who could do a lot of damage to a lot of people in a line since the magician goats are being a bother.

Hoederer S2M3 but his second phase for the +1 block count. He's too slow, that's not S3, what was I even thinking???

I don't have Ines and Silverash/Puzzle doesn't work the way she does.

I don't have Ascalon. I don't have Reed Alter. I don't have Mlynar.

Logos instead of Eyjafjalla does wonders for my mental health though.

Freaking Kazdelian Bubbling Hotpot, why are my Ling's dragons so easily perishable, she's lvl60 with the module.

Fiddled with this video for a little bit, but my ability to look with one eye in one direction and use the other for the other direction really made things unfortunate when I had to manage Pinecone's skill and also block the oncoming enemies.

If that doesn't work out, fine.

This one should work. I'm just going to borrow a Sk'Alter.

Blaze dies.

Ah, I don't have Nightingale, so I thought putting perfumer there would work. Let's switch it up, Perfumer goes in Ptilopsis' place.

Blaze doesn't die. She leaks instead.

Alright, then I will add someone to help with the enemies. Uh.

Tries again. Mission Failed.

Tries again. Mission Failed.

Tries again. Mission Failed.

Tries again. Mission Failed.

Sanity is still 133 from how much I've been wasting my time

Tries again. Perfects the bottom side strat, so I need to pay attention to my Blaze.

Mission Failed.

Oh, come on.

I'm starting to get angry, because the problem isn't anything else, BUT Blaze.

Civilight Eterna S2, borrow a Nightingale from Dr. Kryo.

Tries again. Mission Failed.

Tries again. Mission Failed.

Alright. I give up. I can't do this anymore. I'm gone. I'm done. I just won't get the complete medal set.

Goes to bed.

Wakes up.

...

...

...

New day, New me. Let's get Arknightsing.

Okay, that previous run should've worked fine. Let's go back and see what I was doing to figure out what to tweak.

Wanqing in front of bottom blue box.

Nian is in the corner. Soda box in front of her.

Myrtle below her to optimize DP.

Exusiai when I have 30 DP, so I can immediately plop Perfumer.

Box blows up a bit late because of the DP drawback with Exusiai and Perfumer, drop Bagpipe to break the box on the top blue exit because the skateboard sheep will be coming soon.

Earn back that 13 DP.

Logos under Perfumer, remove Myrtle after skill.

Blaze > Sk'Alter > Ptilopsis.

Remove Wanqing, put down Shu.

Discrepancy happens for Blaze again.

Wait a minute...

I don't want to look at this event ever again in my LIFE.

SO LONG, Adele.

[hollyparrot]

Cael is really handsome (you can't go wrong with a white haired LI) and I have a weakness for his voice. He shares the same VA as another favorite husbando of mine. Every time he talks I get a bit sad because I don't play that game anymore 😞 they also share a similar trait how they're nurturing, calm and level headed

I joined LbC a few days before the end of Corridor. My timing was really awful. I hate it so much that I missed that Clarence SSR 😖Being new has some positives though! The new and rerun events are keeping me entertained that's why I'm not too worried about pulling for SSRs yet

Oohhh is that theory about O Connor being a villain a thing in the community? I like that idea. I've been wanting O'Connor to be dateable ever since I saw him on the princess rerun 😂

I picked Alkaid as the first route in Godheim and even though he didn't end up being my favorite, he's the reason I'm playing this game. Had his Godheim route not been good I would've dropped this game like a hot potato 

When I started Alkaid's Godheim route, I thought this game is gonna be one of those I see meme ads of. Like "he's coming closer. Push him. Pull him close" 😂 I did not expect to get hit in the feels with beautiful visuals and amazing music.

Romance in a romance game??? Game changer /s (I'm a long time Obey Me player and we're starving for romance over there)

I'll have to have a separate post for Ayn because this is turning into a dissertation paper already 😂 all i can write for now is I really did not want him to be my favorite but I fell for the Ayn trap

[wildlife4life]

WIP Wednesday

Tagged by @destielbuddiepipeline before it was even Wednesday for me. But now that I've actually been to bed and had some coffee, I was inspired by Temptation Tuesday and started this bad boy (just for @destielbuddiepipeline bc they got super excited for it, which made me excited so I put words to the screen.)

This is my Buck is an NFL quarterback and in a secret longterm relationship with Eddie, who is the newest member of the 118. Chim and the others are really curious about their new team member who has years of experience, shares little about his personal life, and never works a shift when the L.A. Rams have a home game.

“HOLY SHIT!” Chimney shouts the moment the tweet pops up in his notifications. ESPN and the NFL app follow shortly after with the same breaking news.  One of the top quarterbacks in the league was coming to L.A. on a blockbuster trade.

“Put ESPN on!” Chimney demands as he pushes himself away from the kitchen table and quickly shuffles his way over to the lounge area.

Jefferson doesn’t hesitate and immediately changes the channel from the Bones rerun to a panel of sport analyst of ESPN.  Scrolling across the very bottom of the screen read, “Breaking News: Evan Buckley traded! Headed to Los Angeles Rams!”

“Oh my god! Our chances at the Super Bowl just skyrocketed!” Chimney exclaims in pure delight.  High fives are spread all around with those who actually appreciated the Rams.

In the distance a phone rings in the captain’s office.

“It’s official.” Maddie says over the phone. Eddie hums, watching the muted ESPN channel as the panel of several sports’ analyst freak out over the block buster trade. “And you’ve given your notice? To both districts?”

“Yea. Captain Royce is sad to see me go but thinks the change of scenery would do me good. Which I don’t know if I should be insulted or not.” Eddie answers.

Maddie is silent for a moment.  She was probably remembering how Eddie almost lost his life during rescue attempts after Hurricane Harvey. Or maybe she remembers the nasty custody battle he went through with Shannon just before she was killed in a hit and run. There was also Buck’s leg injury that almost ended his career and Maddie’s ex-husband trying to kill her only to end up dead himself.  There were several not-so-great memories wrapped up in Houston, but neither of them actually says it out loud.

But yea, the change of scenery would be good for all of them. The Texans just weren’t the team for Buck anymore and the L.A. Rams were just on the precipice of another Super Bowl run.  They believed Buck was one of only a handful of missing pieces to make it happen and Eddie could see by February next year Buck hoisting the Lombardi.

“LAFD is one of the top fire departments in the country.  They’ll be lucky to have you.” Maddie finally says.

Eddie laughs, “Well they may be just a little too excited. I’ve already been assigned a house even though we won’t be out there until end of May.”

“Oh? Which house?”

“118 with Captain Robert Nash.”

Ya'll I even made a fake tweet with an actual sports person who basically has all the inside information for the NFL. He always breaks the big NFL news first. This will probably end up being a long one shot. The timeline is an odd mix of canon 9-1-1 and actual NFL events mixed all together.

Also it pains me greatly to make another NFL team so amazing and win the Super Bowl that isn't the Kansas City Chiefs. But since they won this year, the pain is less.

Tagging: @ebdaydreamer @buddiefication

[sunder-the-gold]

Kinda funny that I joined right at the start of an event which I surmise reveals a lot of dread secrets of the lore, carrying Implications for the regular audience, and I'm just like "ok"

A pity that I won't get even to the end of the first part before the timer

But you weren't kidding that the writing is night and day compared to episodes 0 to 3

Hello again. Did you already determine if that one Six Star you really wanted was available through Recruitment as well as Headhunting?

And yeah, I wouldn't have recommended reading any of the [Babel] side-story until after you read a number of other stories.

Even after a side-event ends, you can still access the "story reels" in the archive. And [Babel] will be one of the special "Intermezzo" side-stories that gets its own section, so you can even still access the stages and unlock any remaining story-reels. Which means you can come back to [Babel]'s story later.

[Darknights Memoir] is the most important Intermezzo to read before [Babel], and even that basically pre-requires reading up to Episode 7 or 8 of the main story.

[Vigilo] is next-most important. The story reels for [Vigilo] can be unlocked in the Archives, under Intelligence, in the Special Operation section. These reels, or vignettes, came as part of a "Vignette" type of event that offers less content than "full" events. Vignette events NEVER rerun; after a certain amount of time, their "reels" just become available for unlocking.

It's less necessary to read [A Walk In The Dust] and [Lone Trail], but they help to fully understand [Babel].

Though [Lone Trail] itself has a lot of recommended pre-reading in the form of [Mansfield Break], [Dorothy's Vision], an official manga for Rhine Lab available on the Arknights website, all of the operator archive files for Ifrit, Saria, Silence, and Rosmontis, as well as the main-story chapters debuting Rosmontis.

Rosmontis is a limited operator, so you'd need to look her archive files up online at one of the wikis or Gamepress.

[zahri-melitor]

Okay I have opened March Solicits. Reactions as I go (and I'm feeling salty today):-

Chip I am trusting you to land this ZEA storyline. Also Zur!Tim is when? I am still hotly anticipating the possible fallout from that.

If Harley is back on Suicide Squad is she leaving Birds of Prey? Please?

(Also hot take but I think we're past the need for Harley to be on Suicide Squad. Part of me perked up at Black Alice and Clock King on SS, but eurgh. Harley)

Is there anything more eye-rollingly boring than "Bruce Wayne origin story" at this point?

Batman & Robin continues to look fine

I'm reminded I need to find time to sit down and start Ram V's 'Tec run.

"What's wrong with Nightwing" (I cover my mouth and laugh) anyway this looks very Tom Taylor levels of stakes.

I woke up to the Barbara discourse so I was already spoiled on this, but... sigh. Kelly Thompson not understanding the need for BoP to have someone in the troubleshooter/research role is hmmm a flaw. I am giving the team some leeway still though, as I DO think they're doing good Dinah content.

Outsiders: ...you know I actually have no clue what DC has done with Nocturna since the 2011 reboot apart from the fact she's apparently back. She's Kate's ex? (who isn't at this point??)

I'm again reminded that putting Poison Ivy on my longlist to read is probably a thing to do.

Red Hood: The Hill - "in their civilian lives, seeds of jealousy begin to drive a wedge between Jason and one of his oldest friends". Now don't get me wrong, actually developing Jason having his own cohort is something that is so necessary, but...it's intensely funny to me to see a book pretending Jason has a civilian life and longstanding friends. Go on.

World's Finest: look, I trust this team but you know what I don't need in my life? "the first meeting of Joker and Lex"

...oh damn, PG don't do this to me, that story concept looks halfway okay? Though it would still be funnier to hear about the team of Kara and Karen, ACTUALLY.

The Flash: you know what? I'm still enjoying Si Spurrier on this. Jai and Max sounds like an AMAZING team up actually.

Speed Force as a title is confusing me in that it's not only a mini, it's a mini that's actually keeping abreast of continuity around it for the characters involved. What is this? post-Crisis? (Keep this energy up)

I'm sorry, Wonder Woman is looking worse and worse. That cover makes me HUGELY uncomfortable. (the flag actually even more than the sword)

Sinister Sons remains looking SO BAD

I acknowledge that Amazons Attack is a bad rerun of a bad event, but also Mary Marvel is in it and I love Mary soooooooo (even though I know it makes other people mad)

The Green Arrow situation has been heavily canvassed, but my personal complaint is, in a slow meandering storyline to start with, we are at issue...10? and we finally get 4 women all at once? Why is Mia arriving with this group? Why are they all together? Why are any of them talking to Waller, particularly current Waller, let alone working for her? Why issue 10/12? (sings the 'devaluing women in Green Arrow again? Is it Tuesday?' song)

The old JSAers minis final issues - yeah that looks fine

CREEPER IN SHAZAM??? What??? The Creeper in a wacky hijinks book? This could be very fun but wow is that a tonal dissonance.

Blue Beetle *whispers* I'd actually be cool with Ted retiring from active hero work again. It's a good look on him.

Ape-ril - BANANA SCENTED COVER????? I feel this has gone underappreciated

I am, actually, excited for the Barda DCInk book. Though I wonder how much of the Furies backstory is going to get softened for it.

I still can't believe they're reprinting Dixon Nightwing AGAIN, in a 1024 page trade paperback. Why not collect Grayson? Why not finish out the Robin and BOP Dixon collections instead? WHY AS A PAPERBACK BRICK with all the downsides of both TPBs and Omnis and none of the benefits of either format?

[monarch-boo]

I think the possibility of a whole new Season is pretty much dead, HOWEVER that doesn't preclude content drops anyway. I still believe the chances of at least minor additions here and there is absolutely still not zero. I just doubt we're getting new catalogs or proper *Seasonal Updates* anymore.

As for the catalogs themselves... my assumption is we'll begin seeing 1:1 reruns of entire previous catalogues.

Starting with """Drizzle '24""" (not a proper new Season, but each three months'll probably keep being called Drizzle, Chill, Fresh, Sizzle, so on) having a 1:1 rerun of Drizzle '22's catalogue, then """Chill '24""" having 1:1 Chill '22's catalogue, so on and so forth until all have been repeated, then looping basically forever until... probably when the Switch's entire online services are shut down (which if it's like 3DS and WiiU, will be *years* from now still).

Duplicate items will act the same as getting a duplicate from Shell-Out, repeat gear, etc. Predetermined banners/titles will probably just give you a random banner/title if you already own the predetermined one, I'd assume.

AAAANYWAY prediction time! This will be predictions based on both GrandFest related stuff *and* any potential future minor updates I think *might* happen, or I'm just hoping for and don't think the possibility is zero yet. Contains datamined info, so spoilers ahead.

First off, kind of a small one but I think the gear for the Alterna and Side Order Amiibos will be revealed as soon as tomorrow (as of me posting this). JP Twitter began making posts about GrandFest about four and a half hours ago. The last one of today states that the amiibo box will not be usable during GrandFest-they end the post with "...Amiibo, eh?" which in my head implies they're trying to maybe lead straight into their very next post tomorrow with something important amiibo-related, and I can't see it being anything other than a gear reveal.

...Unless? There's something *else* special we're gonna be able to use the amiibos for...? I'm personally leaning toward it just being a gear reveal, though. But not ruling out the possibility of it being something else, either.

Now, into bigger things... GrandFest is 1000% going to have some sort of cross over with Big Run. Seven rings. BIG Big Run was the seventh Big Run event. BIG Big Run clearly shows that the Salmonids are getting more aggressive. Just before that they were only invading one stage at a time, sending out just one King per Xtra Wave, but then suddenly in this seventh Big Run they launched an attack on all previous attack sites at once, and the Kings are teaming up now. Things are escalating. If I'm not mistaken FinalFests were usually five days? So GrandFest only being three seems... odd. Also by the way, dataminers found that GrandFest (codename SAND)'s code literally has a fucking handler for Big Run music. Why would a Splatfest need a handler for Big Run music, unless...? I think the Salmonids may flat-out invade at least one hub world. The Twitter posts about GrandFest say that you won't be able to travel to the other plazas during GrandFest, meaning in-universe there may be no Inkfish out and about in the plazas...... either the Salmonids will sneak into the empty town(s) while everybody's distracted with GrandFest, OR they could even just come directly to us to crash the party... either way leading to a massive critical emergency in which we'll need to fend them off.

In that case I have to wonder if perhaps BigBalloon and the six Bosses sitting in the files, who as far as I know are *still* present in the files meaning the devs still haven't scrapped them, may come into play here. GrandFest is obviously going to be kind of a huge event, the Big Run crossover that's most certainly happening may do something huge as well.

I just wanna see these bastards finally show up, BigBalloon and three of the six Bosses have been in the files since fucking Horrorboros was first introduced, they just added the other three Bosses into the files in Chill '23 (this just past Chill), they by all means seem to still be being worked on, as if the devs are still planning to or at least *want* to still implement them finally... BigBalloon, Balloon, Ghost, Wheel, Silo, Fish, Stick, where the hell are you all? Please!

Now for other additions probably unrelated to GrandFest:

● Third kits. THIRD KITS. I know a lot of people have lost hope but both previous games had some third kits and they don't need to be in a *major* update to still get added. It would be absolutely fucking bizarre if they had absolutely no third kits in their THIRD GAME, and for the first time in the whole series so far. I still have some semblance of confidence there will be at least Sheldon's Picks at SOME point eventually.

● On the topic of weapons: those two still-unidentified new main weapons found last Season are still in the files right now, I believe. Will we finally get them soon? Eventually? For those who don't know, even though one new main weapon for every class has now been added in updates, the devs seem to be at least toying with the idea of adding two more new main weapons... somewhere. Dataminers found two unnamed new main weapons in Fresh '24- while not much info could be gleaned about them, they know both of them are part of some sort of existing class, the devs aren't surprising us with a new class as far as we know.

● I wonder if they're cooking anything in regards to PvP stages. Lemuria rounds things off to perfectly fill the last page on the recon lists, BUT everyone noticed that last Season they explicitly called Bonerattle the final Salmon stage, while this Season did not call Lemuria the final PvP stage for whatever reason. Could be nothing. They could just assume we would know it's the last, maybe they're just suddenly starting to no longer state when something is the final something. Or.................

● I want more character customization please for the love of god, even just a couple hairstyles or something at this point.

● Literally any, ANY significant addition to Side Order. It's still pretty fun but could benefit from some new floor layouts, new weapons, new Cipher shop items to grind for, anything, even if just one of those things. I've made an entire post in the past about possibilities.

● I want the S2 Special Fest gear obtainable in 3 by some means. Whether it's somehow connected to GrandFest or added to Cipher's shop or what.

● I want a Triumvirate nerf of some sort.

● Maybe a Flyfish nerf of some sort, too...

● And some kind of actual real fix to Reefslider, no more of these random buffs that don't really resolve or counteract the issues people have with it.

● And tweak Ultra Stamp a bit- people are always able to shoot me dead from the front but I can never beat an opponent Stamp from the front (unless using my own Stamp or a Decavitator, the hitboxes for both of those can reach past their Stamp without any sort of interruption), it's like they get some kind of invincibility from the front that I don't. And the enlarged hitbox from a while back is still frustrating to be on the receiving end of. I say either A.) Make everybody consistently invincible from the front and shrink the hitbox some amount for balance sake, or B.) Make everybody consistently NOT invincible from the front and then it's probably fine to keep the hitbox how it is.

------

I think this is all I have any idea about, any wishes for or confidence in. If I think of anything else before I see more info then I'll put it here. May also edit this to condense it a lil at some point but for right now I'm gonna try and sleep.

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Super 027

Let’s talk about Vegeta vs. Golden Frieza, shall we?

This only takes up about a third of the episode, and it’s not a big chunk of the movie version either, but I think Vegeta’s fight against Frieza is the actual highlight of this story. 

I mean, you look at Goku Blue vs. Golden Frieza, and that sounds like it ought to be the main event.  It’s a rematch of their epic fight on Namek, Frieza’s out for revenge, and Goku never finished him off properly the last time.  Plus they have new forms, so it seems like all the ingredients are there for a great battle. 

But in the end, it falls flat.  Their battle is basically a repeat of their first fight on Namek, but with none of the suspense or tension.  They fool around for a while, then they get serious, then Goku seems to be on the backfoot for a while, then Frieza wears himself out and Goku declares victory.  Same deal, both times.  The difference is that Frieza has a guy standing by to shoot Goku when he lets his guard down, and Goku has Vegeta standing by to jump in if things go wrong. 

More importantly, though, the characters didn’t seem very emotionally invested in this battle.  Goku starts out filled with righteous indignation, but by the time he powers up to Super Saiyan Blue, he’s acting all cheery and chipper, like he’s fighting a regular strong opponent, and not his evil nemesis who killed several of his friends and also his bio-parents.  He treats the entire fight like a joke, which is kind of a cool attitude from Goku, really, but it also kills off the drama.  He simply doesn’t sweat Frieza, because he’s already beaten him once and he knows he can do it again . The problem is that when your movie is all about bringing Frieza back because that’s such a terrible and scary thing, the premise is ruined when the main hero refuses to take it seriously. 

On the flip side, Frieza wants revenge on Goku, but for what exactly?  He lost his chance for immortality?  That was Dende, not Goku.  He got killed and sent to hell?  That was Future Trunks.  All those wounds that had to be repaired with cyborg parts?  Well most of those injuries were self-inflicted.  Frieza cut himself in half, and he’s the one who blew up Namek while he was still on it. 

All Goku did to Frieza was beat the shit out of him, which, yeah, I don’t blame Frieza for being more upset about that than the other stuff.  But he went to all this trouble to turn the tables on Goku, but it feels kind of hollow.  Like, he doesn’t seem that fussed about it.  You’d think he’d want to kill Goku quickly, because he’s afraid of him, or maybe he wants to make him suffer a lot, but instead he just slugs it out with him until he runs out of juice.  Maybe it’s Frieza’s arrogance getting in the way of his wrath, but it feels like he didn’t think any of this through, which is dumb when you consider that he spent umpteen years in hell with nothing else to occupy his thoughts. 

Now, by contrast, Vegeta vs. Frieza actually feels a lot more satisfying.  Vegeta has a score to settle with Frieza, and he could never do it because Frieza killed him, and this is the first chance he’s had to avenge his own death.  And he doesn’t waste any time.  Frieza’s worn down by this point, but even if he were fresh, Vegeta’s all-business approach suggests that it wouldn’t matter much.  He was impatiently waiting for Goku to get on with things, implying that Goku could have handled the fight much more efficiently if he had wanted to.  So when Vegeta finally gets his turn, he just starts dropping the hurt bombs. 

And it’s fun to watch, because we know Vegeta has a lot of baggage here, and because Frieza had no idea that Vegeta had changed so much since their last encounter.  So this fight is not a rerun of what happened on Namek.  Instead, it’s a complete role-reversal.  Now Vegeta’s the one dodging all of Frieza’s hits and teeing off on Frieza, punishing him before delivering the final blow. 

And that’s probably not lost on Vegeta, which is why he hesitates to finish the job.  Earlier, Whis warned Goku about letting his guard down, and now we see Vegeta succumb to his weakness, which is his tendency to overthink.  He’s so caught up in his own revenge that he forgot about Frieza’s revenge.  Right here, Vegeta’s probably thinking “Yeah, this is just like when I was lying helpless on the ground, and he was preparing to finish me off!”  When instead, he should be thinking “Wait, in this position, he could totally blow up the Earth and kill me before I can kill him.”

Hey, here’s a shot of Pan crying before the Earth explodes.  Call me nutty, but maybe she’s crying because she can sense what’s about to happen.

Here’s Buu, sleeping through the whole thing. 

And then Whis reverses time, allowing Goku a second chance to finish Frieza off.  And this is where the story really blows it.  This do-over crap is why Resurrection F is the weakest of the four modern Dragon Ball films, and why the Res F Saga is one of the worst arcs in Dragon Ball Super.

1) It’s deus ex machina.  ‘Nuff said there.  I can’t remember the last time anyone ever said “Oh, boy!  Deus ex machina!  My favorite!”

2) The do-over is used to teach Goku a Very Important Lesson about not letting his guard down and murdering his enemies when he has the chance.  Which is fine, except Goku already learned that lesson when he got shot through the chest with a laser gun.  At least, I would hope it got through to him in that moment. Whis warned him about it at the start of the story, then Frieza mocked him for it, then Vegeta reminded him of Whis’s warning, and then Whis brought it up a fourth time right before the temporal do-over.  So it’s redundant. 

3) It undermines the satisfaction of the Vegeta/Frieza fight.  I think fans wanted to see Frieza take a beating, and Vegeta is the one character who could be trusted to dish it out.  And sure, it probably makes more sense for Goku to be the one who gets to kill Frieza, but he had his shot and he blew it, so having Vegeta blow it too, and then having Goku do it on the second try just makes everyone look goofy.  It’s a screwy finish.  What made the fight on Namek so awesome was that Goku and Frieza went apeshit on each other for like twenty episodes, and then Frieza took a hellacious beating, lost the fight, self-destructed, and got caught in the explosion of Namek.  There was no doubt as to who won and who lost.  Res F is the opposite of that. 

So what you end up with is a story that isn’t about Frieza’s revenge, or Goku’s revenge, or Vegeta’s revenge.  It just ends up being about... stuff, and things.  It’s not about life or death because the Dragon Balls and Whis’ time trick make those stakes meaningless.  It’s not about who’s the strongest because Beerus could one-shot all three of the main characters, but he’s more interested in eating a strawberry sundae. 

Anyway, this episode closes out with another post-battle party, and it feels like we’ve had like a dozen of these in this series.  Remember when Goku defeated Vegeta and they didn’t have a party because most of the gang was dead and Goku had to go to the hospital because Vegeta broke every bone in his body?

So Gohan asks Piccolo to train him again, because he blames himself for Frieza killing Piccolo and destroying the Earth.  He keeps talking about how he needs to protect his family, but when was that not the case?  Gohan had loved ones to protect all along.  There’s sort of a plotline here that culminates in Super Hero, but it’s very janky.  Gohan gets really serious in the Tournament of Power, but then in Super Hero he’s back to not giving a shit.  Then he goes Beast Mode and... well, I’m getting ahead of myself.

Meanwhile, Goku and Vegeta talk about Whis’ suggestion that they should learn to work together in combat, and they agree that working together sucks ass, and they should continue to stubbornly fight the way they have been.  Bickering over whose turn it is and getting in each other’s way.   And that’s the real moral of Resurrection F: That every dumb thing that happened in Resurrection F was actually a cool thing according to the twisted backwards logic of Resurrection F.  These two will end up using fusion again... twice!  So I have no idea what to make of any of this. 

The important thing is that we’re finally done with the first 27 episodes of this show, and now we can finally move on to material that wasn’t just cribbed from the movies.  Not that the next arc is great, but at least it’s original material. 

[cyborg-squid]

I love Zeta, she was my first SSR in Granblue, she's strong in both character and gameplay, but this announcement of a new Grand version of her is kinda really pissing me off, and is part of the larger problem with recent Grands in GBF.

I haven't been around super long in GBF (~2019) so I don't know the entire history behind them, but Grands used to be/are primarily: the Zodiac Generals, main story related characters, followed by anniversary event characters (which is in a way the new main story).

You have some that don't directly fall into those categories: Grimnir and Co (I don't remember what their designation/grouping was) which do tie in to WMTSB even though they don't directly feature, same with Helel, and then the Six Dragons, most of which were released before they became story-relevant in 'And You'. But both those groups also make sense as Grands because they're Primals or primal-adjacent, these guys are stated as being super-powerful, even if their gameplay roles might vary. There are some Grands, like Cain or Nehan, which don't fall into the 'super-powerful' category, but they fit either through their main story or anniversary event relevance. Plus, I like them, and in the case of the Idelva Trio, are direct upgrades from their SR versions, much like the Grand versions of the main crew.

It just makes sense!

Until recently, meaning the release of Grand Jeanne, who is neither main story relevant or anniversary relevant, doesn't feature in an event series, and most crucially, already had a 5* uncap (she also had a summer version but that's whatever). And while YMMV, she's not really notable among the Granblue cast, unlike Grands that would come later. like Grand Cagliostro. I'm loathe to speak against her because. she rocks and could kill me with a snap of her fingers, and while she isn't a Primal, she is one of the strongest in the skies. But she is part of this thing that started with Grand Jeanne, the addition of new versions of characters into the Grand pool despite not fitting the previous criteria and already having multiple alts and/or 5* uncaps. Though I suppose you could make the anniversary event argument for Cagliostro, since she does feature lightly in WMTSB, it doesn't really fit. And the real reason she got a Grand alt, from my perspective at least, is because she is popular and long-staying character, as well as a fan favorite.

Much like the Grands that would follow her: Narmaya, Lancelot, Charlotta, Percival, and now Zeta: all new Grand versions of long-standing, recognizable Granblue characters which also already have multiple alts and 5* uncaps. (Aside: you also have Poseidon, Lich, and Kaguya, which were normal summons in the game prior and fall into the 'powerful Primals' category, despite having little story content or relevance. And yeah, with the upcoming Zeta one, you could say that she has the anniversary event relevance through Home Sweet Moon... which was 2.5 years ago. Yeah, they do tend to release anniversary relevant Grands on the 1 year later rerun of said anniversary, but this is 2~3 years after the fact AND after she already got a new variant of her debuting with said event. That variant, Water Zeta, worked because, despite being after her 5* uncap, sets up for Home Sweet Moon and ties in with the new alts Vaseraga and Beatrix alts for her comrades and Eustace's 5* uncap being through the event. And while I'm interested that the new Grand Zeta will be prologuing the new event and that the writers will be continuing the Society and Moon storylines, I'm not thrilled by this trend of them trying to sell already released characters back to us, even if it is a character I really like.

Which I suppose is a thing that Granblue has been doing the entire time, but it really feels amped up in recent years. And while tier lists should not be the be-all-end-all, if you take a look at the top positions, they're mostly occupied by Grands (which are limited, just reoccuring ones) or other holiday limiteds.

TLDR; Gacha Man Mad About Gachas

[hellocupie]

Haha I found Yosuke’s attachment to Kiyo amusing from the start. Which is why, while I was reading Kiyo’s season 4, I could already imagine what was happening behind the scenes even before I read the ending set story. But I’m sure it was obvious to other people as well. :) And we later on get confirmation about Yosuke’s attachment to Kiyo’s on his season 5. About the VIP events, I’m very picky now on what to pull for because my priority has always the stories but it’s hard to get them sometimes. So I just made peace with just completing some events only. I mean it is expensive but it’s okay to spend for something that makes you happy in my opinion. Yeah and I know, right? I was also wondering why Kiyo was skipped but I will just go with the theory that Kiyo didn’t really want any part of the bunny boy thing because he was just forced to do so by Yosuke and hence Voltage kindly spared him from it. XD The love more stories are pricey indeed but I’m honestly just glad that we’re finally getting them now because there was no way I was going to buy them on the Japanese website. XD Anyway should you decide to get them all, you can wait until the coins campaign in May to save a little with the free coins. :) Thank you for your wishes for the VIP event I’m saving for and I hope you enjoy Yosuke’s bunny boy story. I just saw that he will be the last one to be released but I guess it’s something to look forward for, for you. :)

yeah, i thought kiyo's season 4 was interesting cause we got to learn more about kiyo and meet his slimy old boss. the guy showed up again in one night in purgatory and it seemed like something was going on but then season 5 didn't address that plotline at all?? kind of like with shun's plot around the investors and his father. and while we're on the topic of shun, i still can't believe they decided to go on hiatus without giving us his season 5... i know these 2 are not as popular but i can't stand seeing him and kaisei being behind on seasons.

i know these stories are centred around romance but i really loved reading about what was going on in their professional lives too, but season 5 was focused on the mc's stances on getting remarried so i'm not surprised they put those plotlines on the back burner. we did get a sneak peek of what's coming for taki and yosuke's stories though, ofc voltage is gonna drag it out smh

about the vip events, my first vip event that i completed was perverse ventures (yk the one with yosuke and the pole ;) ) and that took me about 3 reruns iirc. so yeah, you shouldn't feel any pressure to complete every single event.

i feel the same about the more stories. i'm not too bothered about price cause call me jaded/pessimistic but i actually wasn't expecting voltage to bring these stories to love 365 and if anything i thought they would only release the stories that came out after they made the rebrand from otona to more.

thank you!! i feel like my responses to your asks always get very long without meaning to but i seem to always have a lot to talk about ><

[msclaritea]

WHY RUSSIA'S HIGH TECH IS CALIFORNIA DREAMING

"This article from Moscow Times (April 2011) is so prescient. The focus is Tim Draper. I haven’t seen something spell out so clearly how techno-libertarians operate above nation states. Sounds like a good idea… until it’s not." Keri Kukral

"I recently attended the annual Global Technology Symposium. Although held in Menlo Park, California, the worldwide hub of venture capital companies, and organized by Silicon Valley insiders, it had a strong Russian component. Russian Venture Company, the government-run fund, was a key backer, while Rusnano and the Skolkovo project were sponsors. Russians were prominent among attendees, and a Russia Day opened the event.

In a small way, it was a rerun of last year’s visit by a California high-tech delegation to Moscow. Even though neither then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger nor President Dmitry Medvedev was present this time, there were numerous Russian government employees and prominent U.S. venture capitalists, including legendary Silicon Valley investors Bill Draper and Pitch Johnson.

Russian officials talked about the important role government can play in shaping the entrepreneurial culture in Russia, but they admitted that private money was needed to make innovation a success. They emphasized the importance of early stage investment in technology startups by experienced private investors, mentoring entrepreneurs and giving them professional advice. The sooner the government gets out of the venture capital business — and private capital gets in — the better it would be for the Russian high-tech industry. Rusnano and Skolkovo even announced that they had opened an office on in Menlo Park to attract U.S. venture capital.

They said all the right things and sounded quite proud of themselves for learning their lines. But all they talked about was promoting Russian innovations and high tech. U.S. investors, meanwhile, never once said the word “American.” They talked about the private sector and Silicon Valley, not strictly U.S. entrepreneurs, industry or innovation. They praised Russia’s scientific establishment and education system, but they mentioned India, China and Israel in the same breath. A technology company used as a case study at the symposium was started by scientists in Cambridge, England. It now has a factory in Germany and plans to build another one in Russia, using Rusnano investment.

The high-tech industry began in California, but it has transcended U.S. borders. It relies on ideas, entrepreneurial skills, managerial talent and capital without regard for its origins. Research and manufacturing follow the logic of business decisions, not national interests. The best thing Russia can do to promote innovation is to abandon its misplaced national ambitions and integrate into the world economy promptly and seamlessly. It needs to improve its legal protections for investors and entrepreneurs and restrain its bureaucrats and siloviki raiders. Recent initiatives by Medvedev to separate state-owned companies from the government by barring top-level bureaucrats from serving on their boards of directors is a step in the right direction, but many more will need to follow.

As for entrepreneurs, there are plenty of them in Russia, and they need no government involvement. Once there is a healthy business climate, private money from around the world will rush in to back their projects. Until that happens, however, they will want to leave Russia and join many of their countrymen already living and working in California. For them, the most inspiring words at the symposium were probably uttered by Tim Draper, founder of venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson and a third-generation high-tech investor. He started his remarks by rattling off a list of a half-dozen successful high-tech firms in the United States and asking what they had in common.

“They all had founders born outside the United States,” he said."

Alexei Bayer, a native Muscovite, is a New York-based economist.

[fierykitten2]

So last night I dreamt… idk but it had something to do with Koraidon and Miraidon’s Glide Modes, characters called Scarlet (from Pokémon Scarlet) and Violet (from Pokémon Violet) and my family going for a walk (yeah that’s the boring part you can forget now). So it got me thinking about what I’d do if I played Scarlet (not instead of Violet, because I guarantee I would’ve chosen Sprigatito again)

My starter would be a Quaxly this time, because I’ve already chosen Sprigatito and I hate the Fuecoco line

So in Violet, I started off by going to the East where I caught Shimmer my shiny Rookidee (who is now a shiny Corviknight at either level 55 or level 64 I’m not quite sure which) and battled Klawf and Brassius. Also I think that must’ve been where I caught Char the Charcadet (now a Ceruledge). Anyway, because my idea for a potential (I don’t expect this to end up happening btw but don’t worry, I’ll be thinking about it all day) Scarlet playthrough is to have it as a similar but different to my Violet playthrough (plus I don’t have to worry about Spriggie’s type disadvantage because at least Quaxly and Quaxwell aren’t weak to Flying-types) I would go west and start with Katy followed by Bombirdier

I caught an Eevee early on in Violet that evolved into an Espeon and was part of my early main game team (he even helped me defeat Ryme and Grusha) so I was thinking this time I should do the same for Umbreon

I would hopefully catch a Charcadet early on that evolves into Armarouge this time. Armarouge and Quaquaval would be close friends and my aces in the late main game

I can’t guarantee half my Pokémon wouldn’t have the same nicknames as their Violet counterparts (I think I’d have to name the Armarouge Cadet instead of Char)

The Cadets would end up as Armarouge instead of Ceruledge! - I may want a different group name if I end up calling my main Armarouge Cadet. I don’t think the Chars sounds quite as catchy though

I feel the need to recreate all the defenders I’ve used in Violet to beat event raid bosses (uhh… the version-exclusives are gonna have to change which is fine for Char and Katana but not fine for Lucifer. Actually, I used Char against a version exclusive anyway and somehow, I don’t think an Armarouge would be that useful against a Walking Wake (especially if Armarouge has the Fire Tera type and Walking Wake has the Water Tera type)). Hey, I know I’ve made it pretty obvious that this is in case they rerun the Tera Raid events and I know it seems unlikely but I remember a disclaimer saying Walking Wake and Iron Leaves would be in events again and given the fact that their return was because of the Bad Egg glitch, I don’t think the disclaimer was referring to that event

My character’s hair would be orange/red and once again they’ll be named after it (I think I might go with the male player character because I sorta had a plan that I would always use the male player for the first version and the female character for the second version. I only have Let’s Go! Eevee and Violet currently so I’ve only used female player characters so far) but I’ll probably switch my Scarlet character’s hair to the colour Scarlet and change Lavender (my player character in Violet)’s hair to Violet just because. Also Lavender’s hair will be exposed again (will they wear hats? Who knows). Oh yeah they’d also wear similar accessories in their games theme colours

Paradox Pokémon: idk I’m sure Scream Tail and Flutter Mane would drop into my party a bit

Ooh, I would finally be able to own the version-exclusive Tauros forms without being disappointed that I’ve got one with no way to get the other (of all the version-exclusives where this bugs me, Blaze/Aqua Breed Tauros and Walking Wake/Iron Leaves?)

[np5enkidu]

summer event thoughts

ok i have some thoughts so let's start with the good ones;

- only two ssr's instead of three. this is a good change, i didn't think the three banners were a good choice. the character split is also cool; tam lin and castoria and friends. plus oberon rerun is cool.

- suzuka's fat milkers np is funny.

- the new classes for the tam lin are pretty cool i suppose

the negatives

- chloe np. why'd they take away her cute journalist outfit :^/

- another original character sr avenger. erice was a weird choice and chloe even weirder.

- no vortigern costume version, seems weird that they'd make only his princely version playable. but i hope he has good lines.

- cnoc na riabh as a playable character. i don't feel like it's very appropriate.

overall thoughts;

going back to luluhawa, a chance or a threat.

servafes is still a really great event and event story and it was written by nasu so i can kinda understand it but i'm a bit dissapointed that there's no new place to explore.

i'm looking forward to the story but also i feel a bit dissapointed already that it's almost fully just an lb6 themed event. like lb6 is great and worthy of recognition but i also wish they'd kinda leave it alone and make something entirely new.

i liked cnoc na riabh in lb6 and her role was well done, but i never thought she'd be a servant. i don't know what kind of angle are they going to write her with but i'm a bit sad it's not someone else.

though the foreigner class fits a lostbelt native well i suppose

[freyayuki]

Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia Divine Pandemonium Event

The Divine Pandemonium (World of Illusions) event just started in the Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia (DFFOO) mobile game. This event came with 2 banners.

Divine Pandemonium (World of Illusions) Banner 1

The Divine Pandemonium (World of Illusions) banner 1 features the following chars and their weapons:

Zidane Tribal from Final Fantasy IX - 15cp, 35cp, Ex, LD, and Burst or BT

Beatrix from Final Fantasy IX - 15cp, 35cp, Ex, and LD

Relm Arrowny from Final Fantasy VI - 15cp, 35cp, and Ex

Have Zidane’s 15cp and 35cp fully MLB. His Ex has been limit broken once. This is the first appearance of his LD and BT.

Have Beatrix’s 15cp, 35cp, and Ex fully MLB. Her Ex is at Ex+ 0/3. Missing her LD.

Have Relm’s 15cp and 35cp fully MLB. Have her Ex and, IIRC, it’s fully MLB but at base Ex only.

Divine Pandemonium (World of Illusions) Banner 2

The Divine Pandemonium (World of Illusions) banner 2 features the following chars and their weapons:

Y’shtola Rhul from Final Fantasy XIV - 15cp, 35cp, Ex, LD, and BT

Rinoa Heartilly from Final Fantasy VIII - 15cp, 35cp, Ex, and LD

Cyan Garamonde from Final Fantasy VI - 15cp, 35cp, and Ex

Already have all of Y’shtola’s weapons. Have copies of Cyan’s 15cp and 35cp but can’t remember if either or both are fully MLB already or not. Missing his Ex.

Have copies of Rinoa’s 15cp, 35cp, and Ex but none are fully MLB. Missing her LD.

Thoughts about the Divine Pandemonium (World of Illusions) Banner 2

Skipping the Divine Pandemonium (World of Illusions) banner 2 since I already have all of Y’shtola’s stuff, Cyan’s horribly outdated by now and doesn’t even have an LD, and Rinoa’s pretty outdated herself since this is merely a rerun of her weapons.

Divine Pandemonium (World of Illusions) Banner 2 Free First Multi-Draw Results

As part of the autumn fest campaign, we get a free multi-draw on both the Divine Pandemonium (World of Illusions) banners.

Was hoping to get something new such as Rinoa’s LD. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be.

My free pull gave me nothing but trash. Only 1 gold showed up and it was nothing more than a dupe of Y’shtola’s 15cp. Meh. How utterly disappointing.

Thoughts about Zidane Tribal from Final Fantasy IX

Heard some pretty good things about Zidane Tribal from Final Fantasy IX (#ad). He and Y’shtola Rhul from Final Fantasy XIV are the first chars whose Bursts can be Realized or upgraded to Burst+.

Zidane’s a debuffer who can delete the turns of enemies. He also deals pretty decent damage.

Wanted to have even just his LD to make it easier to farm the Divine Pandemonium Boards.

Zidane can also deal with the Lufenia orb of the Divine Pandemonium Lufenia (level 200) and Lufenia+ (level 250) quests.

Divine Pandemonium (World of Illusions) Banner 1 Free First Multi-Draw Results

Unfortunately, my free multi-draw on the Divine Pandemonium (World of Illusions) banner 1 gave me trash too. Got 2 golds - a dupe of Beatrix’s 15cp and a dupe of Relm’s 35cp. Meh.

Divine Pandemonium (World of Illusions) Banner 1 Tickets Pulls Results

It seemed like a good idea to use gems on the Divine Pandemonium (World of Illusions) banner 1 since I’m missing a lot of the weapons featured on said banner.

Also wouldn’t mind getting more dupes of Zidane’s Ex to help me further limit break my first copy.

Even if this was the case though, I still found myself reluctant to use gems on this banner.

Beatrix’s LD is a rerun so she’s been kinda powercrept by now and I don’t really see myself using her for hard quests unless she’s necessary to deal with the Lufenia orbs.

Like I said, I would love to have Zidane’s LD but Cid Raines from Final Fantasy XIII was coming soon and it seems like he’s more meta than Zidane, especially if one has no plans of upgrading Zidane’s BT to BT+.

Wouldn’t say no if Zidane’s Burst ever shows up but I don’t know if I’d go all the way to spending over 100k gems just to get it.

I like Zidane well enough, but it’s not like I’m all that attached to him. Not even sure yet if I’ll Realize his Burst even if I luck into it.

I mean, I have Y’shtola’s Burst and could Realize said BT, but haven’t quite made up my mind on whether to do so or not.

At the moment, I’m more leaning towards skipping both Y’shtola and Zidane and just waiting for the next Realizable Burst weapons.

Decided it was best to try out the Divine Pandemonium Lufenia+ fight first and see how it goes before upgrading a Burst weapon. Maybe I’d be able to clear the Lufenia+ quest without needing either Y’shtola’s or Zidane’s BT+.

So instead of using gems, opted to try my luck with tickets. Only have 40 tickets on hand at the moment though.

Aside from the usual trash and dupes, got another copy of Zidane’s Ex so just need 1 more to be able to fully MLB my first copy without having to use a single Power Stone.

Divine Pandemonium Boards Farming

To help make farming the Divine Pandemonium Boards easier, opted to Purple Beatrix’s Ex.

Was leaning towards Purpling Zidane but since I was still gonna keep throwing tickets on the Divine Pandemonium (World of Illusions) banner 1, I thought it best not to spend the Power Stones needed to fully MLB his Ex in case I end up getting another dupe.

Beatrix’s Ex was already at Ex+ 0/3 so any more dupes I get would be nothing more than Power Stones which was why she ended up being Purpled instead.

Finished all of Zidane’s and Beatrix’s Summon Boards. Didn’t want to get any of their Char Boards though since I don’t even have their LDs. Didn’t bother getting their High Armors either.

Apparently, I’d already completed all of Y’shtola’s Boards from before. I knew I’d done all of her Summon Boards but it’s been a while since I last used her so didn’t even remember that I’d already spent the resources needed to fully complete all of her Char Boards.

This was just as well though because I was actually thinking of just unlocking part of her LD Boards. At least she can deal more damage that’s unfortunately gonna be capped at 99999 since I didn’t want to get her High Armor either.

So I was able to clear the Pandemonium fight on auto+ with this team, which was great but this was definitely not the most efficient setup. It takes forever to win.

Beatrix’s and Zidane’s damage are meh, to say the least. Beatrix does better than Zidane since her Ex is Purple but her Ex ability also charges slow so she only gets to use it like once or twice per fight.

The auto+ AI is pretty bad too when it comes to using Y’shtola. It uses her HP+ attack when it should be using her Stone+ move to delay Pandemonium instead.

It never uses the upgraded version of her BRV+ which deals really good damage when she’s at max stacks of her overhead buff. It wastes turns having Y’shtola use her Medica II which heals and batteries the party but doesn’t deal damage.

I guess I could just remove Medica II so the AI won’t use it anymore but - meh. Don’t really want to bother removing passives and skills and such from chars since I’m likely to forget to re-equip them afterwards.

So, yeah, farming with this team is perfectly doable but it’s a pain. Really glad auto+ works, or I’d need to farm manually, which would really suck.

Divine Pandemonium (World of Illusions) Banner 1 Tickets Pulls Results Part 2

Every time I got enough points, I’d stop farming for a bit then complete a Pandemonium Board to get the tickets from it. Also got some tickets from the other currently ongoing events and such.

Threw all the tickets I got on the Divine Pandemonium (World of Illusions) banner 1, hoping for Zidane’s LD and Beatrix’s LD.

Just kept getting trash though. Also got trolled by a lot of gold dupes. Kept getting the likes of Beatrix’s 15cp and Relm’s 15cp.

I also got a dupe Ex but it wasn’t Zidane’s. Very frustrating. It was too late to switch to gems though since I’d already used up a lot of tickets on this banner.

Was also thinking that maybe it would be best to just stop already. Wanted Zidane’s LD and Beatrix’s LD to make farming the Pandemonium Boards easier.

But I’m already farming Pandemonium, and it’s been working well enough even if it takes a while for a single run to finish. Really, it was better to just save the tickets that I got from the Pandemonium Boards.

It felt like I was wasting them by continuing to pull on the Pandemonium banner when it was clear that I didn’t really need either LD to farm. Sure, having Zidane’s LD and Beatrix’s LD would make things easier and faster but what’s the rush anyway?

Besides, I’ve already seen a few vids of the Pandemonium Lufenia+ fight without Zidane or Y’shtola. The quest seemed doable enough even without a Burst+ char. So, really, I don’t need Zidane or even Beatrix, and I should stop wasting my tickets.

Easier said than done though. Couldn’t seem to help myself. Just kept right on tossing any and all tickets I managed to acquire on the Zidane and Beatrix banner.

Each time I used a ticket, ended up being horribly disappointed. Couldn’t even get a dupe of Zidane’s Ex. Just kept getting lots of bronze and silver trash and useless dupes.

Was really starting to lose hope of ever seeing either LD, and yet I couldn’t seem to get myself to stop wasting tickets on this banner.

It got to the point where I didn’t even bother looking at the screen anymore because I knew I’d just end up with crap and more crap.

I’d alternate between doing single pulls or 10-draws until I run out of tickets before trying all over again as soon as I get more tickets.

Much, much later, got a few more tickets so went to the Zidane and Beatrix banner again.

The latest 10-pull I did just gave me a normal blue orb so wasn’t expecting anything from it. Just let the items reveal themselves one-by-one without paying close attention.

So the next time I glanced at the screen, was greeted with the sight of this -

My very first copy of Beatrix’s LD! OMFG! Also, hell yes! Didn’t think I’d ever see this.

Also really glad to finally get an LD on this banner. At least all the tickets I threw on here don’t feel like such a waste anymore. And now it should be faster to farm the Pandemonium Boards.

For a while, I just stared at the screen displaying Beatrix’s LD. I’m happy to see it.

But there was a part of me that was kinda disappointed that I didn’t get Zidane’s LD instead. But, ah well, what can you do, right?

Anyway, so after taking a screenshot, I tap on the screen. I get to the draw results screen where I see -

OMFG! Apparently, this draw also gave me my very first copy of Zidane’s LD. Welp, who would have thought, huh? Seriously, can’t believe this actually happened.

Very surprised, to say the least. This was a really pleasant and welcome surprise though.

So freaking happy and thankful to see these LDs. Still missing Zidane’s Burst but it’s fine. Done with this banner.

Maybe - hopefully, I can get a copy of his BT while pulling for Cid Raines. Well, assuming I still want to pull for him anyway. We’ll see, I guess.

Beatrix from Final Fantasy IX

Spent all the Power Stones needed to fully MLB Beatrix’s LD. Still couldn’t bring myself to get her Char Boards or her High Armor (HA) though.

But just having her LD definitely helped in making the Divine Pandemonium Board grind go by faster.

Just checked Beatrix’s Artifacts and, while I do have triple Continent’s Finest Boost★★ (Raises party’s ATK, DEF by 5% while Noble Loyalty active), their secondaries aren’t really good.

Beatrix wants triple ATK 108 with Continent’s Finest Boost★★ so still need to farm for her Artifacts. Gonna focus on farming for Zidane and Y’shtola first though since I still don’t see myself using Beatrix in a Lufenia quest.

Zidane Tribal from Final Fantasy IX

Still missing one more dupe of Zidane’s Ex to fully limit break the one I already have but it doesn’t matter anymore since I’m done with the Beatrix and Zidane banner.

So just spent the 4 Power Stones needed to finish limit breaking his Ex then used the Book and Ingots needed to Purple it.

Also finished fully limit breaking his LD. Afterwards, decided to spend the Power Stones needed to fully MLB his Dark Manikin Weapon.

Even went to buy his World of Illusions weapon from the Weapon Token Shop then spent the Power Stones needed to fully MLB that as well.

Now I have all of Zidane’s weapons except for his Burst. Bought Zidane’s Bloom Stone and High Armor and completed all of his Char Boards.

Now Zidane deals pretty awesome damage and he can delete or steal the turns of enemies which helps with farming the Divine Pandemonium Boards.

When I checked his Artifacts, was surprised to see a number of double oranges, including 2 ATK 108 with MAX BRV 330. Just need one more then I can focus on farming Arts for Y’shtola and Beatrix.

Thankfully, it didn’t take me that long to get the last 108/330 for Zidane. So now I’m farming for Y’shtola’s Arts. Like Zidane, she needs triple 108/330. She didn’t use to though.

Before, IIRC, she wanted triple INT BRV 170 with MAX BRV 330 and/or triple ATK 108 with INT BRV 170. Well, at least those were the ones I currently have so was pretty annoyed when I found that she now wants 108/330.

Anyway, a bit later on, decided to give Zidane some RF Spheres. He now has Noel Kreiss’s (from Final Fantasy XIII) A Sphere, Seymour Guado’s (from Final Fantasy X) E Sphere, and Yuffie Kisaragi’s (from Final Fantasy VII) E Sphere.

Artifacts Farming

Unlike with Zidane, it took me much longer before I managed to get triple ATK 108 with MAX BRV 330 Artifacts for Y’shtola. Got one that costs a whopping 15cp. The other 2 costs 12cp and 10cp.

Since Y’shtola doesn’t have her High Armor, had to remove some of her other passives, notably her DEF and HP ones, to be able to equip these Artifacts to her.

After finishing farming for Y’shtola’s Arts, I now turned my attention to Beatrix’s Artifacts. She gave me even more trouble than Y’shtola. It took so freaking long before I managed to get her perfect Artifacts.

It got to the point wherein I considered stopping. It wasn’t like I really needed her perfect Arts anyway since I’m not gonna be using her for hard quests.

Plus, she already has triple Continent’s Finest Boost★★, which was more important than ATK 108 since this one’s for the party and not just for herself.

But I decided to continue farming anyway since I still wasn’t done clearing out the Divine Pandemonium (World of Illusions) co-op shop.

I figured I might as well farm for Beatrix while I try to get enough tokens to be able to exchange for all the important items in the co-op shop.

Was so pleased when I finally started getting 108/Continent’s Finest Boost★★. The first one I got cost 15cp, which sucks but was just glad that at least I finally obtained one.

It still took a while before I got the last 2 I needed though but, eventually, was able to get them.

After getting triple 108/Continent’s Finest Boost★★, still had a few Beatrix Eidojas left so decided to fuse them all in the hopes of getting another 108/Continent’s Finest Boost★★ with a much lower CP cost.

Was only able to get one before I ran out of Eidojas to fuse. This one costs 12cp which was only slightly better than the one that costs 15cp.

Conclusion

So, what about you? Did you pull on either of the Divine Pandemonium (World of Illusions) banners? What do you think about Zidane, Y’shtola, Beatrix, and all the other chars featured on these banners? Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions by leaving a comment below or by reblogging or replying to this post.

Notes:

screenshots are from my Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia game account