#if I was someone else trying to use this ‘’’method’’’ I would most def choose like

[cherrysnax]

I realized after typing like 200 words that the anon was probably just trying to be a dick and didn’t actually need help finding new stuff. But I did make a little incomprehensible “”tips n tricks”” to finding new stuff to get into when it’s hard

so one thing that I didn’t say clear enough last time is that it’s not abt watching some things less it’s abt adding more if that makes sense. like for me I like uhhh code lyoko more than a normal amount.

I don’t like it for one single reason but if I absolutely had to choose a thing to try and pinpoint it’s probably shit like the ensemble cast, the hero/double life aspect, the surprisingly dark tone, the sci-fi/drama genres, nd the monster of the week style. if I wanted to find a new show or comic or whatever I’d likely just. search up “shows about x “ “comic with x” “sci fi drama shows” etc

I also recommend tv tropes! sometimes it’s hard to pinpoint what u like abt something, and tv tropes can def help identify tropes, writing devices, plot points etc. it can also just help u find new media lol

for example I really like mlp:fim, unfortunately the other gens do nothing for me. after thinking abt it what I love abt fim (specifically the first three seasons) is the ensemble cast, the art direction, the mixture of both mundane and fantasy, the magic system, the fun world building, and the character focused writing style vs focusing on a big plot (for the most part)

the first thing that comes to mind is witch hat atelier, a manga about a young girl obsessed with magic accidentally on purpose becoming a witch herself and slowly uncovering the conspiracies of witch society while also getting to know other young witches and her mysterious new teacher. her relationships with her fellow witches in the atelier are some of my fav parts abt the manga, however the thing that really sealed the deal are it’s art direction, magic system, world building

From there I can go even further; and this is going to be really funny. when I think something like wha, the first thing that comes to mind is part one naruto! but this doesn’t seem helpful unless u already know what u like right? wrong! that’s where Google and tv tropes come in!

Nother thing I recommend, if ur not getting the shit u want outta the media u like, sometimes it’s okay to step away from it for a little bit. naruto shippuden will never have the ending that satisfies you specifically but maybe just maybe ur hurt no comfort narusasu fanfic can lead u to giovannis room or shit it might lead u to challengers.

maybe challengers will lead u to castlevania and maybe castlevania will lead u to interview with a vampire which can lead u to Disney channel original my baby sitters a vampire or hell it could even lead u to bram stokers dracula

The thing that got lost in my last post I think was that it wasn’t abt never never never watching shit for babies because “uhhh it’s for kids” it’s more abt the fact that u can miss out on soooo many stories and so many expirences thru so many different ppls eyes n shit

idk if u like little Einsteins your prob gonna like doctor who

if u like idk zooftopia u might like beaststars or sly cooper (play sly cooper… but watch out! the racism…)

If u like inspectors gadget u might like fucking columbo or macgyver

a lot of people argue that kid shows are the only shows with lessons and morals and I disagree. U can learn something from everything I think it’s good to intake a lot of different things 😳😳

Now on god if another motherfuck twist my words I’m gonna shit myself

thinking about the nigga on anon who got really mad I couldn’t rec them shit that wasn’t cartoons because I had no idea who they were and what they liked to watch.. good times

[dailydoseofcolor]

FEH Divine Code Path Breakdown

So I am a near-launch player and am semi-F2P outside of the FEH Pass and occasional orb packs. I’m a hoarder of premium currency that isn’t orbs and I was starting to wonder what the overall return on investment a full path of Divine Codes would yield to someone who might also be a F2P hoarder. Since many F2P players who have hoarded their Divine Codes will begin hitting the 6,000 Divine Codes mark soon, I figured now was a good a time as any to look at this from a mostly fodder standpoint (no need to tell people who to go for if they’re looking specifically for merges). The final member of each path’s fodder more or less speaks for itself, so what else will you get along the way?

It’s been almost half a year since we learned what the Divine Codes were going to do, and the meta has already shifted in some ways, so I suspect this semi-analysis will be outdated by the time new paths are added.

The last obvious asterisk to all of this is that every player can and should evaluate exactly which path yields them the most usage, whether via merges or fodder. This is colored by my experience, but I’m going for objectivity.

Below is the full write-up, but here are a couple of interesting facts that I found after reviewing all of these:

Every route offers roughly 8 or 9 full skill sets, depending on what you invest in additional fodder. Radiance is the highest, but requires the most additional outside inheritance investment. 

Almost every single additional investment to make the most of your choices requires sacrificing a unit available in the Grail pool.

Every route except for Holy War includes at least one inheritable weapon. Heroes is the most at 4 inheritable weapons. The vast majority of them are powercrept or less “meta” choices, but they are super fun aesthetic weapons.

Four of the six paths will net you Swift Sparrow 2.

Only three of the thirty available units have specials that are worth inheriting. I personally view that as IS needing to increase the number of interesting specials we have. I'm tired of mostly every unit showcase having one of the same 5 specials.

It goes without saying, but IS has some very, very strange positions on what skills are considered more premium than others. But, I find that most of the routes are balanced and, true to intent, will draw different players for different reasons.

Let me know what Paths you choose! I’ll probably choose mine in the next week or so.

Awakening/Fates 

Summer Cordelia — Fallen M!Robin — Owain — Dancer Xander — Adrift M!Corrin

Summer Cordelia — It’s safe to say that S!Cordelia’s main skills are her Shell Lance+ and Dull Close 3. Neither of these are top tier fodder, but Shell Lance+ provides at least a little bit of utility with its inherit spectrum blow and Dull Close has the distinction of being a decent B Skill for physically-minded fliers. Shell Lance+ also has the aesthetic factor for many, never count that out. Dull Close 3 is only available at 4* on Cormag, so not a bad way to avoid spending grails. If you want her lance, you can also get Sturdy Blow 2 (make sure to pick up Armored Blow 1 from Gunter, Titania, Athena, or Catria). Otherwise you’re getting her lance and Dull Close 2.

Fallen M!Robin — The prize for continuing down this Path is either A) a merge for the OG Armored Dragon or B) Vengeful Fighter 3 and maybe Ward Dragons. If you’re here for the merge, you’ve already likely grabbed it. Otherwise you’re probably here for Vengeful Fighter 3. We don’t have a 4* option for Vengeful Fighter yet, so this is a solid fodder gift. For what it’s worth, the only other character with Ward Dragons is Spring Idunn. I wouldn’t blame you if you were shooting for Ward Dragons, but I’d have to ask how your Dragon Emblem team was holding up a year after the meta moved on.

Owain — The man with the hungering hand will net you Blue Flame (if you’re not considering this, I suppose I’d just be confused) and your choice of one extra ability: Atk/Def Bond, Wrath, or Spur Spd/Def 2. Theoretically, you can get Spur Spd/Def 2 and also level 1 of the other two, but that’s just dealer’s choice. Atk/Def Bond is also on Fjorm, Young Summer Tiki, New Year’s Hrid, Rutger (at 4*), Groom Hinata (at 4*), and, funnily enough, Adrift M!Corrin. Wrath is now on a cavalcade of 5* heroes and is most notably available on Astram. Wrath isn’t the premium fodder it once was, but it’s got its uses. If you’re looking for a more or less “free” Wrath without spending the grails and feathers to get Astram to 5*, then this is a pretty solid choice. Spur Spd/Def 2 is available on Oscar, just pull on Blue for a while and you’ll get it.

Dancer Xander — This is the first place in this Path where the choice for fodder is not an enviable one. Close Counter is the prize here, no doubt about that. So what do you take in addition? Dusk Uchiwa+ is a budget version of Dancer Micaiah’s Dawn Suzu and has at least some utility in AR and other modes. However, that requires choosing a dagger user that wants to be used in that way. The other (and more likely option, from my vantage point) is Quick Riposte 3. We’re 3+ years deep into this game and there’s still not a common unit with 4* QR 3, that value is hard to pass up for F2P. Another small note of commentary — it’s interested that Close Counter is considered less valuable than Distant Counter, even with no character having unconditional Close Counter built into a weapon, I’ve stopped trying to decide why IS makes the decisions it does.

Adrift M!Corrin — Finally, your grand prize for this Path is a character who just got powercrept by his own nightmare/fallen form. Null Follow-Up 3 is the jewel of this path and it makes sense — it’s still the main tried and true method for Infantry units who want to punch through those big, nasty armored units and their fighter skills. You can snag Atk/Def Bond 1 or, if you’re merging onto another infantry dragon, Hone Dragons. The only other character with Hone Dragons is Myrrh, so you’d be forgiven for pausing to consider infantry dragons that could utilize this skill. 

All in all, you get Shell Lance+ OR Dull Close 3; Vengeful Fighter 3 with potential for Ward Dragons; Blue Flame, dealer’s choice of Atk/Def Bond 3, Wrath 3, or Spur Spd/Def 2; Close Counter, Dusk Uchiwa+ OR Quick Riposte 3; Null Follow-Up 3 with potential for Hone Dragons. That’s 7 to 9 full skill sets across 5 units, which is an okay haul. 

Radiance 

 Leanne — Dancer Elincia — Lethe — Bridal Tanith — Valentine’s Greil

Leanne — Leanne might actually have the most interesting fodder of the 400 Divine Code options. But you’re likely here for one of two things: a Leanne merge or Flier Formation 3. If you’re interested in the merge, you’ve already likely grabbed it. Flier Formation 3 is only available at 4* on two grail units that are both popular in their own ways: Spring Loki and Young Minerva. As noted before, fliers don’t have access to a ton of B skills so this is a solid way to get it for “free.” Interestingly enough, Mirror Stance 2 is only available at 4* on Gharnef, so you’re spending grails for this. It’s by no means a top tier skill, but it has its uses on some builds (or, specifically, holding onto it as an easy way to get Mirror Stance 3 from Osian with a little less headache.) Finally, Hone Beasts is only available on Leanne and Lethe, who also makes an appearance on this path. You can grab both Flier Formation 3 and Hone Beasts for some special flying beastie.

Dancer Elincia — They continue to increase the difficulty of the inheritance math with Dancer Elincia. At her release, Dancer Elincia was probably the 3rd most enticing member of her banner, with her dragon-effective dagger being the main draw. Push skills were flawed and only desirable as one of the only options offensive healers got. Now, with the advent of Push 4 skills and the growth in dragon effective weapons, the calculus on Dancer Elincia’s fodder has changed. Her best fodder utility is to help you get Atk/Spd Push 4 onto the unit of your choice. If you do go the dagger route, you’ll get that and Atk/Spd Push 2. Drive Res 2 is available on Soleil, Lyon, and Summer Rhys, so you could at least get Atk/Spd Push 3 and Drive Res 1. If you’re here for her Dancer Skill in Rockslide Dance 2, you’re also getting one level one of the other two skills.

Lethe — The calculus for Lethe, on the other hand, isn’t hard at all. She’s the only character with Spd/Def Solo 3 and (as stated) one of only two characters with Hone Beasts. While it’s not the same as Atk/Spd Solo, boosting Speed by any means necessary is the name of the game for most units. Plenty of Calvary units would thank Manual Lethe for her sacrifice. Funnily enough, Lethe falls into that barrel of heroes where her base kit is mostly asynchronous, especially since she’s the one that wants the Hone Beasts buff. If you have a character in mind that can inherit all four, you’re a lucky Summoner.

Bridal Tanith — Again, they’ve decided to make the Summoner’s decision pretty hard. Getting both Lofty Blossoms+ and Swift Sparrow 2 on your favorite lance unit is nothing to sneeze at. However, you’d be forgiven for taking a few extra seconds to consider the other combinations. While Chill Attack 3 is available on 11 different units (tied with Chill Speed 3 at the time of writing), all of them have Chill Attack 3 5* locked. Gharnef and Conrad, two grail units, are the only characters that are easily obtainable, and you’ll be spending 20k feathers for the pleasure of inheriting that skill — not exactly economical. Sacrificing a 4* Gharnef or Conrad for Chill Attack 2 helps with the math, but you’ll have to make your own decision about that. If you do go that route, you can snag Chill Attack 3, Swift Sparrow 1 & 2, and Harsh Command+ (Harsh Command can be found on Clair, Gunter, and Saizo in the common pool) OR Fortify Fliers. So while this set up requires sacrificing a grail unit and a common, it’s a pretty potent combo. Fortify Flyers is available on Caeda, don’t spend 1,600 hard-earned Divine Codes on Fortify Fliers alone

Valentine’s Greil — You’ve made it to the end of this path! Your prizes are Aether and Fury 4, with some combination of Faithful Axe+ and Armor March thrown in for good measure. Ike’s heroic, if flawed, father has two skills that are excellent for Arena scoring, if that’s your thing. If that arena scoring character happens to be an axe unit, even better! You’ll get Faithful Axe+, Aether, and Fury 4 (make sure to pay homage to our Fury 3 lord, Hinata, beforehand). If these skills are destined for an armored unit, I’d suggest Fury 4 and Armor March 3. Grab a wayward infantry Chrom, stuff him full of 20,000 feathers, and Aether is yours as well. Obviously there are plenty of units that would love an Aether/Fury 4 combo and those alone are a pretty solid gift from Greil, don’t fret too much about the decision (Faithful Axe+ isn’t that great anyway).

This Path nets you the following: Flier Formation 3 or Mirror Stance 2 and potentially Hone Beasts; Atk/Spd Push 3 and Drive Res 1 OR Cloud Maiougi+ and Atk/Spd Push 2 or Drive Res 2; Spd/Def Solo 3 with potential for Hone Beasts; Lofty Blossoms 2 and Swift Sparrow 2 OR Chill Attack 3 and Swift Sparrow 1 or 2 (depending on other fodder) OR Chill Attack 3, Swift Sparrow 2, and Harsh Command+, for those willing to spend; Aether and Fury 4 with potential for either Faithful Axe+ OR Armor March. All told, this Path nets you 9 - 12 full skill sets over 5 units (with maximum inheritance investment). That’s pretty solid for people willing to make the math work. 

Blades / Sacred Stones 

Valentine’s Lilina — Amelia — Flying Nino — Winter Ephraim — Valentine’s Hector 

Valentine’s Lilina — Hector’s pride and joy’s first Alt didn’t age well. She personally pity broke me 4 times while attempting to entice her father to come home, which he never did. I’d say she was Atk Tactic 3 fodder, but Legault really has that covered. HP/Atk 2 has some utility on HP-support builds, but is available at 4* on both Valbar and Iago. Green Gift+ has Dull Ranged built in, which provides some interesting builds, but that’s all there really is to say about it. After all that…yeah, she’s Atk Tactic 3 fodder. 

Amelia — While hovering on Amelia shows you her PRF weapon in Grado Poleaxe, Amelia is also packing Slaying Axe+. She’s the only character who comes with Slaying Axe+ naturally, otherwise you’re evolving it from Beruka, Hawkeye, and Sheena. This is the default “best axe” for Axe Heroes who don’t have a PRF, so I’d actually give it a bit more weight than the original draw of Amelia — Armor March. If the intended recipient is an Armored Axe, you’ll need to choose between the two unless you want to spend 20k feathers to inherit Killer Axe+ and send it on over.

Flying Nino — She can’t read, but she sure can fly! Your likely goal here is a “free” Swift Sparrow 2, and you’re not wrong. However, Aerobatics is great for flying units and, something I’ll mention for a 3rd time on this write-up, Fliers are hurting for B-skill options. Speed Smoke is a great skill, but is available on the otherwise lackluster Chad as well as Fallen Takumi (although you’ll spend 20k feathers for it from him). You’ll need to make a not-so-fun choice between those, but Swift Sparrow fodder is becoming more available every few months, so I personally feel Aerobatics is worth more.

Winter Ephraim — I will break F2P form slightly with W!Ephraim. At the time of writing, the man who can’t be bothered to put down Siegmund in any of his alts is featured as a Hall of Forms unit. Now would be a pretty decent time (if you like him) to grab a merge and enjoy using him with some primo fodder. If not, he’s got plenty of options for the more casual Summoner. Atk/Def Solo 3 is the main draw. Only available on 4 total units, this skill is regularly coveted by those who want a little more bulk. However, Bold Fighter 3 might be more your speed. I will caution, however. Bold Fighter 3 is available on 12 unique units and that list grows every time IS wants to add an Armored Unit but can’t think of what to put in their B slot. You’ll likely find other options for it (from personal experience, Kjelle might as well change her name to be Bold Fighter Fodder). Close Guard 3 is a Sacred Seal and also available at 4* on the Death Knight. Grab it if you really want, but know you have better options.

Valentine’s Hector — He’s DC fodder. If you know you need DC fodder (which is more or less evergreen in this game), this has been your prize from the start. Pamper your favorite new unit that wants to smack others from near or far. 

Our friends from the Blazing Blade and Sacred Stones Path gets you Attack Tactic 3 OR HP/Atk 2 and Green Gift+; Slaying Axe+ and Armor March 2 OR Armor March 3; Aerobatics 3 and Swift Sparrow 2 (with investment) OR Aerobatics 3 and Speed Smoke 1 OR Swift Sparrow 2 and Aerobatics 2 etc; Atk/Def Solo 3 and Close Guard 3 (with investment) OR Bold Fighter 3 and Close Guard 3; Distant Counter. This totals to roughly 7 or 8 full skill sets across 5 units, which is the lowest return on investment so far. However, you now have Distant Counter fodder, so was it worth it? 

Holy War 

 Leif — Deirdre — Sigurd — Lewyn — Dancer Ishtar

Leif — If you’re here for his merge, take it and go and don’t look back. If you’re looking to use him for fodder well, Drive Atk 2 is your main bet. However, with proper investment from common units, you can get Steady Blow 2 and Drive Atk 2 in one fell swoop. Easy, simple, no fuss.

Deirdre — So, Gamepress has Deirdre listed as Tier 2 on their Heroes Tier list. They make some questionable recommendations, but this one is a real head scratcher. Her Res holds up well and she has decent flexibility with her Dragon effective weapons but, I just don’t see it. Regardless, you’re here for one of two things: Quick Riposte or Speed Ploy. As mentioned four Paths ago, there aren’t any 4* QR users, so a free QR that’ll save you 20k feathers is excellent. Especially considering Speed Ploy is available at 4* from Saias, a rather unremarkable Grail unit. If anything, this goes to show you that the Ploy skills really need an upgrade and also they need to spread out their skills a little more evenly, this is just ludicrous. Take QR and don’t sweat the decision.

Sigurd — Our favorite BBQ father is an example of the level of power creep that now takes place every few months. Six months ago, we were only a month removed from the inclusion of Chad — a straight to 3/4* unit that packs Speed Smoke at 4* in the hell that is pulling on colorless. Most Summoners have now had 7 months to pull on colorless and find Chad waiting for them. You maybe are here for Close Defense, because you have a pretty solid idea for stacking Close Def on the A and SS slots on a stall tank. I respect it. Also, Miracle isn’t rare, but it’s here. Take Close Def 3 or Speed Smoke 3 for fodder but, I suspect you’re here for a merge. Honestly Sigurd and Deirdre should be switched, if they were following any kind of real rarity considerations, so just thank the stars you got QR 3 1,200 Divine Codes ago. 

Lewyn — Special Spiral. Don’t even hesitate. Swift Sparrow 2 is great, and you can snag that as well if you’re judicious with your Grail sacrifices, but don’t let Odd Atk Wave 3 cloud your judgement, especially since Spring Bartre was just added to the Grail pool. It’s Special Spiral or bust.

Dancer Ishtar — One of the few dancers that can boast to have offensive utility outside of dancing, maybe you’d like a merge. Otherwise, you’re here for Swift Sparrow 3 and I don’t blame you. However, if you’re content to hoard a little longer, this skill will continue to be added on newer units that you might snag and not care for. Outside of Distant Counter, Swift Sparrow 3 is the second most available skill of the 2,000 Divine Code options. If you don’t spend them, you pretty much have enough to snag the first three options from any other Path…sometimes F2P is about quantity over quality. One last thought: if you’re particularly fond of Flier teams, Air Orders is an excellent C skill and some lucky flier could get both Air Orders 3 and Swift Sparrow 3 as new tools in their tool box.

This Path has the distinction of having only one unit that’s a seasonal, everything else is in the summoning pool. This makes it the Path I suspect the fewest people will take (as well as a testament to just how little IS seems to care for the Jugdral cast.) You’re getting Steady Blow 2 and Drive Atk 2; Quick Riposte 3 and Spd Ploy 1; Close Defense 3 and Miracle OR Speed Smoke and Miracle; Special Spiral 3 and Swift Sparrow 2 with the right move; and Swift Sparrow 3 OR Air Orders and Swift Sparrow 3, depending. That’s roughly 9 skill sets across 5 units, but I’d say the quality of those skills is lower, simply because most of this path’s units are available in the summoning pool. 

Mystery / Shadows 

Bridal Caeda — Celica — Picnic Genny — Spring Palla — Kliff

Bridal Caeda — Listen, Bridal Caeda has a nigh-useless weapon, and skills that are either borderline between useless and powercrept. You started on this path for a Bridal Caeda merge, and you likely took it months ago.

Celica — Another candidate for “you likely wanted a merge.” Distant Def 3, while 5* locked, is best used on units that can Distant Def stack (Guard Bow+ users), everyone else can just use the SS. If you’ve got a good Guard Bow+ user in mind, that’s solid fodder. Spur Def 3 is available on both Sully AND M!Robin at 4*… you have this.

Picnic Genny — Here’s where this calculus starts to get fun. The least painful decision is Toasty Skewer + and Fireflood Balm+, these are direct upgrades for most common healers (plus the aesthetic of Toasty Skewer+ is top tier). Your other options are weird, less satisfying choices of Wrathful Staff 3 and Def Opening 3. Similar to how new 5* armors get Bold/Vengeful Fighter 3 if Intelligent Systems is having a bad brain day, new 5* healers get either Wrathful/Dazzling Staff 3. Stay focused. Def Opening 3 isn’t a bad choice, but it is available on Cormag, a grail unit +20k feathers. It’s also just not as useful as Attack or Speed Opening. Your most satisfying bet is Toasty Skewer+ and Fireflood Balm+.

Spring Palla — IS is showing us that they really, really value the AR-related skills highly. For the layman, take Pegasus Carrot+ and Swift Sparrow 2 for your favorite dagger user, they deserve to be spoiled a little bit. Hone Fliers is one of those weird rarer skills that find their use on Flier teams. If that’s what you need for your barracks, no one will hold it against you. Otherwise, Armored effective items are always excellent to have for things like AA and various high-level Lunatic/Abyssal maps. If you must take Disarm Trap…I’ll leave it at that.

Kliff — I’ll actually say that, while Kliff isn’t a particularly effective unit, you gotta give IS props for trying to be creative. Fortress Def/Res 3 is your prize for finishing this Path. Make sure you inherit either Fortress Def or Res 1 from one of the various common units that possess it. Chill Speed 3 is enticing, but there are other avenues for it (or sacrifice a Panne). Enjoy your unit’s newly enhanced defenses! 

This Path really doesn’t hit its stride until the third option. All told, you’re getting Blessed Bouquet+ and Attack/Res 2; Distant Def 3; Toasty Skewer+ and Fireflood Balm+ OR Def Opening 3 OR Wrathful Staff 3; Pegasus Carrot+ and Swift Sparrow 2 OR Disarm Trap 3 and Hone Fliers; and Fortress Def/Res 3 and Chill Speed 3 (if you sacrifice a Panne). Roughly 8 or 9 full skill sets from 5 units, half of which are (debatably) not worth the cost. 

Heroes 

Spring Alfonse — Yglr — Spring Bruno — New Year’s Fjorm — Summer Laevatein

Spring Alfonse — Alfonse’s first alt hasn’t aged well, but packs a couple of useful skills, namely Giant Spoon+. The seasonal version of Wo Gun+ has aesthetic appeal for many. You can also snag Def Smoke 3 if you sacrifice a 4* Panne or Rath as well, which is a decent return on investment.

Ylgr — The only non-seasonal unit in this Path. For a while, Ylgr was one of the only source of Speed Tactic that wasn’t on a Legendary Hero and is still the only source of Sorcery Blade (both of which are now seals). Speed Tactic obviously still has use on mixed teams, but the cost is much lower with the addition of Summer Lute. Sorcery Blade, while a fun skill, is actually better as a sacred seal, allowing units to shine with an A skill as well. Chill Speed technically has wide-spread availability, but on either 5* locked units, seasonals, or Panne. The skill is usually very nice to have on a team, and I suspect most Ylgr’s pulled will be for Chill Speed.

Spring Bruno — As with Picnic Genny before, Spring Bruno’s main draw is his Ovoid Staff+, which provides solid utility to teammates, especially in longer maps like Chain Challenges or Tempest Trials. Atk/Def Push 3 was rare for a period of time before released on Heath a few months ago. Dazzling Staff is useful, but widespread, with more units packing it surely to come. Atk/Def Push 3 is the main draw for boosting other staff merge projects and will be useful to hold on to for when Atk/Def Push 4 is released on a character not named Bramimond. Either pull and wait or use him for his staff.

New Year’s Fjorm — Another unit that will make you do some major inheritance math. Fjorm packs the Kabura Ya+ bow (which has Chill Speed 3 built in) as well as Atk/Spd Bond 3, Atk/Spd Link 3, and Even Res Wave 3. Chill Speed in a weapon allows its inheritor to be one of a short list of characters able to run the Triple Chill strategy, which has significant merit. Unfortunately, going that route more or less locks you out of a full skill in addition. Atk/Spd Bond 3 is available on 11 different units, the cheapest being Bridal Louise. Sacrificing a 4* Bridal Louise will allow you to snag Atk/Spd Bond 3 as well. Atk/Spd Link 3 is even rarer, appearing only on seasonal units, none of which appear at 4 stars. Even Res Wave is slightly cheaper, being on Brave Hector, but it’s honestly a skill you can pass on. If you’re willing to spend a Bridal Louise, grabbing Kabura Ya+, Atk/Spd Bond 3 (after sacrificing Bridal Louise), and a “free” Reposition is your best bet.

Summer Laevatein — And finally, the last unit on the last route, S!Laevatein. You’re gonna grab Mirror Impact, currently a skill only available on a Legendary unit and two seasonals. If you take the time to sacrifice an Oliver, you’ll be able to snag your choice of either Def/Res Link 3 or Odd Attack Wave 3 — both of which are available at 4* on Grail units (Sigurn for Def/Res Link 3, Spring Bartre for Odd Attack Wave 3). Feel free to attempt to snag Buoyboard+ as well for the aesthetic, but you’re better off with other tomes. All in all, dealer’s choice! 

As stated, this route has the distinction of only having one non-seasonal unit and provides a decent amount of variety. You’ll get Giant Spoon+ and Def Smoke 3 (with Panne/Rath sacrifice) OR Sturdy Blow 2 and Def Smoke 3 with common sacrifice from someone like Athena; Sorcery Blade 3 OR Chill Speed 3 OR Speed Tactic by themselves OR Chill Speed 3 and your choice of the others with a Panne sacrifice; Ovoid Staff+ and Atk/Def Push OR Wrathful Staff 2, or one of those fully and a Martyr+ to avoid other feather costs; Kabura Ya+ and Atk/Spd Bond 3 (with Bridal Louise sacrifice) OR Atk/Spd Link 3 with Atk/Spd Bond 3, thanks to Bridal Louise’s sacrifice; and Mirror Impact and Def/Res Link 3 OR Odd Attack Wave 3 with Oliver sacrifice. All in all, you’re looking at 8 or 9 full skill sets across 5 units, which is an average return, but the variety in these skills is slightly higher due to the number of seasonals and Ylgr having a strangely high number of desirable skills. 

If you made it this far, thanks for sticking with me. I hope some people found this helpful!

[rqs902]

.

ah hyt’s issues with being too passive and not wanting to speak up about problems bc he’s worried about hurting other people’s feelings reminds me of what happened to jin fan on snzm this week :\ except hyt had to figure it out on his own bc no one else noticed and he didnt say anything about it to anyone. jin fan was urged to speak up but hyt had to mull it over in his head and stress over it until he could come to the decision that he needed to do something to help his team.

i respect that he came to that decision on his own and acted on it. as someone who’s relatively passive and conflict-avoidant myself, i think that takes a lot of resolve and courage. 

aw im happy xiao li got to sing too bc i really like his voice. what a talented boy! i think hyt is lucky the two of them give off the kind/gentle vibes so that he can pull them together. i dont know much about him, but i wonder if gem is right that hes had bad experiences with communicating with teammates (and aligning their hearts, as he said) before that’s led him to be more scared to be honest now. the 2 kids are like optimistic but you can tell hyt is so worried with their score ouch. 

wu xing’s voice is nice. im a wind player but with my limited knowledge of string instruments I feel like pengpeng’s playing is okay but not amazing. fsc’s bass is questionably out of tune?? or is it just me? something feels weird about his bass playing, it sounds kinda scratchy and sticks out to me too much, in like a weird way :\ but maybe its just because im used to hearing bass in classical music and not like this

LOL qiang ge being the buffer between jym and zk, are you sure youre gonna be okay child? the more i see qiang ge, the more smol he seems to me, like a cute child, who just happens to play the most blaring instrument LOL he seems very insecure about belonging on this show. he didnt want people to choose him unless they were absolutely sure in the first round, and then in the second round, he was so scared of ruining the next group that chose him and so grateful that they were willing to choose him and that they gave him so much encouragement to join their group. the fact that he needed that much encouragement and still felt undeserving is telling. the matching photo tshirts he custom ordered are cute! what a nice friend, to spend money on this to make everyone a little happier. i think its mature of him to encourage jym by saying he should think of the worst possible happening and try to accept it, to lessen his pressure. its still weird for me to realize people call zzn “nan ge” because he just seems so young in my mind lol but then you realize there are even younger kids on this show.

zhao ke’s rap was pretty good, i respect it. with that score i bet qiang ge’s gonna feel like it’s all his fault. i wonder if he blames himself or the instrument more for the fact that he was criticized for being too unvaried, but i feel like either of those is bad bc i feel like he should be proud of his instrument. 

aw maomao’s message and ljt’s response hahahhaha 

LOL ljt playing “who” and cutting it off abruptly. gao xin tai LOL 

ljt’s group’s perf def felt more complete. his voice is so nice, i still love it. i will say, i remember zhao tianyu sang this song on mrzz. i wonder if ljt remembers that too. 

hmm i really liked kxy’s singing voice, i thought it was really good, nicer than mz’s LOL but honestly i feel like i also understand from the teacher’s point of view, that he wasted their time and just didnt take their advice when they were trying to help him. hmm he seems likes hes very stubborn in doing what he believes, which isnt bad, he’s standing up for what he wants, but also then he immediately started crying when questioned about it. which makes me think hes not very confident in his choice and/or feels victimized/attacked for just doing what he wants. either way, kxy has shown he cries very easily lol. but i have mixed feelings about whether he’s handling criticism well. im not sure how old he is but he seems young 

LOL muji and swh just being like DELETE to wjy and being like straight up “it sounds bad” HAH im glad at least having two of them on the same page can put wjy in his place more LOL 

during the perf was muji holding the pick in his mouth? lol muji is such a 寶藏 with the bass guitar along with all his unique talents. this was a pretty epic perf, i thought theyd get a better score than that.

hm interesting that the uptown funk people told them tencent they needed to pay them more and tencent DIDNT, but they were still nice enough to approve their use of the song anyway bc of their “sincere” messages. wtf tencent. im pretty sure they have money to pay them more lol.

i kinda think yrz still seems a bit stiff to me onstage, like look at xiao zhi, hes literally so comfortable and free and hes so enjoying playing his bass guitar hes like having so much fun and is super into the music. at first i wasnt sure how well him and zy would mesh but wow hes really owned up to the avocado name LOL i feel like him and zy are really really caring older bros to yrz and hopefully yrz is super grateful bc he got super lucky. 

LOL TYLER FREAKING OUT OVER YRZ’S SMILE 

“NA GE XIAO RONG!!!!” 

HAHAHHAHAHAH 

i think it does say a lot that this perf got everyone like on their feet and grooving along, i see why they ranked 1st! 

kinda sad wsh was like yea no ones gonna notice us and then tencent proceeds to give them 5 seconds of practice room footage and the mentors are all shocked by the lowness of their score

hm :\ i kinda wanted to hear more about how they resolved the conflict between rainbow feeling too restricted by da xi’s more methodical approach to music. i think thats an interesting discussion, because i think both sides have their merits, so what kind of blend of a compromise will they come up with? and it does say a lot about their personalities. rainbow also feels similarly hesitant to reveal his feelings because of his friendship with da xi, which reminds me of hyt yet again but then this group got 5 seconds of footage in comparison so we dont really know how any of this got resolved. also how do they deal with mty sleeping and disappearing all the time?? i do think its kind of cute how mty seems to bend down and really direct his speaking towards the audience when talking to them. i really like their performance, this music style and fun-ness!

LOL the way ruiyang and yingge look at tyler is literally with such adoration wtf hahahahahaa and tyler buying them the bunny hats wtf this is so cute. feels very parental LOL theyre so supportive of him and helping him shine and tyler’s just like a child bringing them happiness LOL i think its notable that yingge says he feels like theyre all using their strengths in this perf bc thats #goals 

why do i feel like tyler and ruiyang ave absorbed yingge’s fashion LOL

THIS AESTHETIC 

i think u can tell like they (yingge?) put a lot of effort into communicating with the production team about their stage design. its not just about the music for them. lol this perf is shot like a music videoooo

ok im hesitant to comment on tyler’s trumpet playing bc it’s not very clean sounding to me, but you can tell hes putting a lot of effort into the small details still. and if hes been practicing a ton, i know it can be painful to try to play into that kind of mouthpiece cleanly with tired lips. he has yet to amaze me but it seems like he’s working hard so i respect that. hes also very lucky to be in a group with two supportive geges. like ps said, i think it is notable that ruiyang is doing so well in a genre of music he wasnt previously into. and yingge’s personality must be some kind of strong to really influence the other 2 so much 

aw tyler crying out of happiness and ruiyang just bursting out laughing and pats tyler’s head with a “早講嗎!" bc he was worried about tyler being sad hahahahaha he just sounded so taiwanese there it made me happy. aw tyler must be really well loved by all the geges who crowd him with hugs when they see him crying like xiao zhi ahahah

oof samhar being brought to tears when gem notes how hard he worked on the composition. (oo xiao zhi helped him! - that’s it, im curious how old he is, so i went to his weibo and he’s just a little older than me! born in 95. but then i saw he and zy have made some conflict-confronting posts today and im like .-. what happened? not sure whats up, but it seems like theyre generally okay, fans seem mad tho) 

actually tbh totally makes sense to me why xiao zhi, rainbow, and yingge’s groups are the top 3 in that order, like their stages were really good and memorable. 

ouch qiang ge feeling all the guilt and like he doesn’t have the skills to do better :( why is the show ok with jym acting this way? why is there a lack of communication that leads him to not understand what’s going on with the votes? they chase after him, he’s moping, they just film him and are barely encouraging enough to get him to come back at the very last minute. im sure he’s very frustrated but its also unprofessional and disrespectful of him to leave like that. how does that make his group mates feel that hes just gone? this is all very questionable to me. 

wait i havent been keeping up with their current rankings but wtf the kids who are like super worried are like ranked super high??? like im assuming they’ll be fine?? like jym and hyt’s group members are all relatively high... (I realize now why hyt got so much screentime LOL hes #1....) im surprised tyler is so low and i wonder if he’ll get more popular after this ep lol 

anyyywayyy so it looks like they’re having a party and elims next week so im sure thatll be an emotional roller coaster... and snzm is having elims next week too so thats just great... double the disaster 

[polarishq]

Meet PEPPER HAWTHORNE. They are THIRTY THREE years old and hail from BOSTON, MA. Pepper embodies the constellation, PAVO. They use she/her pronouns. Their faceclaim is ANNIE MURPHY.

Pavo reminds me of new york fashion week, a pair of heels for every occasion, raging yacht parties, but first a selfie, pink lipgloss, expensive cars with a driver, diamond tennis bracelets even though you don’t actually play tennis, gold undereye gelly masks, sparkly nail polish, silk pyjamas, pumpkin spice lattes, real housewives of everywhere.

BIOGRAPHY

Pepper Hawthorne – daughter of Richard and Deirdre Hawthorne and heiress to the dr. pepper fortune – grew up with a silver spoon in her mouth, wanting for nothing… except for the love and affection of her parents. but honestly? When you’re born into dr. pepper kind of money you can buy other people’s attention and adoration, so this is definitely not a tragic story.

Pepper has a twin brother, though the two couldn’t look more different (by her estimation, anyway) and she feels awful for him. can you imagine growing up with pep and having the misfortune of not resembling her? Big yikes, so sad.

Speaking of her brother, it was made clear from a very young age that he would be primed to take all family business responsibilities and that pepper’s only real job was to be pretty and stay out of the way – and she became something of an expert. A beautiful underachiever, spending the better part of her school years playing hooky with loose acquaintances and paying her more academically minded classmates to do her homework because why not? She had zero expectations to live up to. this method of doing the bare minimum and buying mediocre grades would get her through boarding school and earn her a communications degree from Cornell. She’s totally aware she deserves none of it but we don’t talk about it.

Her powers first made an appearance during Coachella - she’d just taken mushrooms when the air around her boyfriend at the time started to glow – oranges and reds, like the hot firey passion he felt for her. At the time, she assumed it was a bad trip but when her constellation appeared later that year, I would all start to make sense.

For the first time in her life, Pepper actually found herself engaged in something of real importance. Hours spent on google, and then (gasp!) in libraries doing research. trying to find out more about the constellation that had chosen to sponsor her and the powers it provided. It was through that research she found herself drawn to Polaris. and for the first time, she’s found herself actually caring about something real and not actually carrying what anyone else thinks and it’s kind of awesome.

INCLINATION

Pavo, the peacock, obviously chooses those who have a flashy personality. Pavo is not someone to play, and they definitely have the magical capabilities worthy of a peacock. Pavo’s gifts lie in color magic and reflective spells-- aka, they can change colors at will, and they’re able to reflect one’s own spells back at them with varying degrees of success. Pavo chooses a witch who will live up to the name of beauty, poise, and decent flying.

CONNECTIONS

Filling Carter MacArthur’s’s grub hub

Filling Matilda Chenery’s drama club

Filling Frankie Martin’s what and also why

Twin Brother: Rhere’s a competitive streak between the two of them but hey love each other as best as they can with the tools they were given which is to say not very well at all. but pepper kind of wants to be friends or something? It’s all kind of a lot and neither of them really wants to be vulnerable with the other but for the first time since they were kids they’re both in the same place so like why not try?

Opposites Attract: Just like a really cute flirtation that makes very little sense but like they’ve got that James Dean daydream look in their eye and she’s got that red lip classic thing that they like and maybe they should just make out for a little while because this most def will go out of style in a hot minute so like why not just enjoy it while you can?

Penned by Dee ★