#this is me but i only have one more stamina unit to go until i'm full then i can finally stop being 1-2shot by everything

[tomboyfriends]

[sqarletsworldlesswandering]

Angel's Fight Ramble

Y’know how I was rambling about fighting Angel early on? That got me thinking, so I ran a (rather poorly conducted) experiment with three different runs:

The Unenthusiastic Hunter:

Follow Aven’s course until you get Shooting Star: Midnight Forest -> Scarlet Ravine -> Overgrown Sanctuary -> Silver Peaks

Explore somewhat thoroughly as you go.

Results:

A sizable number of enemies and upgrades.

Bow and Ice

You get most of Edda’s skills.

Around three stamina upgrades (I think)

A couple health upgrades

Angel only took one attempt.

Note: I hadn’t realized I was going to do this experiment yet, so I didn’t take notes – these are approximations.  

The Bloodhound:

Follow Aven closely until you get Shooting Star: Midnight Forest -> Scarlet Ravine -> Overgrown Sanctuary -> Silver Peaks

Minimal exploration - nothing more than a dash or so out of the way.

Results:

Fewer enemies, but still a good handful.

Bow and Ice.

Less of Edda’s skill tree:

9 orange

5 blue

One or two stamina upgrades (no notes, probably 2 though)

2 HP upgrades (I think)

Angel took 2 tries – timing is much more important.

Amusing aside: the Seraph thing in the Sanctuary killed me two or three times on this run (and only this one).

Vendetta:

Go as directly for Angel as soon possible (Note: as far as I am currently aware, without much careful examination.): Midnight Forest -> Overgrown Sanctuary -> Scarlet Caverns -> Silver Peaks

Minimal exploration, same as above.

Route: Midnight forest until you get Shine, then to the Sanctuary through the In-Between door. Follow the (now shortened) Aven route to Shooting Star, then cut through the Scarlet Caverns to the In-Between door, then to Silver Peaks.

Note: in the Forest, I briefly went back to grab the moth. You could skip that, but it gives you one less point and it’s on your path to the door anyways.

Results:

Even fewer enemies

Ice only. No Bow.

Minimalist but redistributed skill tree:

6 orange

5 blue

2 stamina (Note: I had three extras. Knowing that, I’d probably skip the two flower puzzle shards and the sneak shard in Sanctuary, since those slow you down a bit.) 

1 health (Note: This could be skipped as well, if you’re being rigid. It’s…relatively inconsequential.)

Angel took 4 tries (maybe 3, I forgot to count). There’s even less margin for error and the absorption meter takes much longer to fill. I also discovered Angel’s spear will one-shot you like this if you miss the guard impact, so…. Yeah.

Some personal conclusions:

Guard Impact, Counter, and Early Guard Impact are necessities.

Ace Cut is extremely helpful, as is the Perfect Guard bonus.

Maxing out lightning helps too.

Apparently I'm better at the Bow Release than Sword Release.

Not having the Bow really sucks.

Thank goodness Angel doesn’t have a health bar to juggle (Demon, I’m looking at you).

In terms of my own story-fication of this, Edda lands somewhere between the Bloodhound and the Unenthusiastic Hunter. Vendetta would require her to really want to fight Angel ASAP, over and above following Aven. I think there’s some very interesting interpretations to explore there, but for my own version I’m leaning away from it in favor of following Aven more doggedly first, then turning to Angel sometime before they unite.

[sitp-recs]

omg hi if you're doing kinky reclists how about one for accidental stimulation/arousal? or overstimulation?? or both?! (thank u love u!)

Good food anon, good food 🥘 I went for a mix of accidental arousal & overstimulation here, hope that’s okay!

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[ironsagaarchive]

Should you play Iron Saga?

No.

This is a bit of a personal post and less formal than what you can expect here, but if you see the images from this blog and think Iron Saga is a game you want to try I'd advise against it.

The Gameplay

The gameplay consists of building a team and deploying them to a partially-scrolling battlefield where they fight off enemies until one side is destroyed or time expires. You have minimal input, only able to direct one unit's movements every ten-seconds (with the ability to store up to three movements) and to activate their special ability once it is recharged assuming the necessary conditions are met. Not only does this make gameplay uninvolved, it also is unnecessarily hard as your units will not act optimally and may bunch up or move in ways that get them destroyed. There is a gamemode with direct controls but it has no narrative relevance, still requires for you to engage with the rest of the gameplay to build a suitable unit, and the controls themselves are sluggish.

It should also be noted the game is quite poorly translated. Not unreadable, but definitely a very rough experience. I'm not usually one to harp on that kind of thing, learning a second language is hard and as an English speaker I certainly don't need to be catered to, but between what this game is and how much that poor translation impede accessibility it's noteworthy, at least.

The Gacha

Iron Saga is a gacha game, so even if it was amazing in every other respect I'd still be cautious to recommend it. To buy enough premium currency for a single pull you need to spend at least 3 USD even when buying the largest bundle possible. There are all sorts of bundles and monthly passes and daily discounts but this is not meant to be a cheap game or have an understandable monetary system.

It should also be noted that in usual gacha fashion you require lots of duplicates to max out your units' potentials, something that is necessary as explained in the gameplay section. This is made even more frustrating than most gacha games as you inventory is very limited and can only be expanded with premium currency. This, combined with the usual stamina limitations and limited banners, means if you're not prepared to spend a lot of money you're going to feel and be very limited.

The Story and Characters

I think one of the biggest reasons not to play this game is the narrative. I struggle to think of a game that is quite as gross as this, and I played Nikke for a moment. The protagonist, Becas, is an uninteresting nonce, remarking on every woman, girl, or effeminate character regardless of age and is fully supported by the narration that clumsily tries to describe their appearances. When he's not leering over the various women who cross his path he's stumbling between major world events with complete apathy, only stopping to care when it's meant to subvert our expectations or show how great he is. Basically, if you've seen any anime that has an aloof protagonist who doesn't flaunt his power level (but is still nearly undefeatable) and has a harem you know exactly what Becas is like and can guess what he'll do at any given time. The other characters are also painfully played-out archetypes and from the moment they're introduced you know exactly what their deal is and how they'll be treated by the narrative.

There's a lot I could say about the attitudes this game has about women and people from the southern hemisphere but smarter people than me have said the exact same stuff about other similar media, so I'll leave it unsaid here.

So why make this blog?

As you can tell I don't like this game. At all. But a lot of artists worked hard on the art featured in it and it'd be a shame if when the servers eventually go down it'd be lost. Archival, even of bad stuff, is a good thing because it lets us learn from the past and improve on what comes next. I can't understate how much I wanted to love this game. The amount of mecha-related games I've played and tried to find the good in is too high to count, and this is one in particular that started me down the path of making one myself. So I'd like to see other people get inspired and be driven, but also given them the opportunity to do so without wasting their time on that game.

[sonderwrit]

C89: Farewell

I Have to Be a Great Villain - Masterpost

Summary: The zombie tide has invaded the city, forcing Qin Xian to head to the frontlines to deal with the threat. Meanwhile, Wang Yi gets attacked by a zombie during house arrest and defeats it before entering the streets, where he successfully orders another zombie to stop attacking him.

Wang Yi: (What's going on?) WY: I...seem to be WY: Able to mind control zombies? WY [walkie talkie]: Ah, I suddenly started nosebleeding, it hurts a lot... Qin Xian: Don't move, I'll look for you. QX: Keep an eye on the walls, I'll be gone for 10 minutes. Underling: Yes!

WY [walkie talkie]: Hey, don't be so anxious, I'm fine. WY [walkie talkie]: Isn't it good that I can control zombies now? WY [walkie talkie]: I can just chase them all out and—pewpew Qin Xian: You're already infected, can you stop f**king laughing!!!!!

WY: .... WY: Haha. [SPECIFICATION: Although ability users turn into zombies slower than ordinary people, they can also be infected and die from the zombie virus. After turning into a zombie, their abilities are still preserved for the zombie's use.] WY [walkie talkie]: It's because I know there's no way back now that I'm infected. (You can't reverse the zombification process.) WY [walkie talkie]: So it's pointless to grieve. Might as well think of things I can do instead. Qin Xian: .... QX [walkie talkie]: How were you...infected? An injury? WY (smacking zombie to death): No. WY: I was never injured. That's why I feel like this is fate. WY: God wants me dead, but I was so well protected there was no chance for accidental deaths, so only a virus infection would do. QX [walkie talkie]: But I...don't want you to go. WY: Sorry... *digging for something* WY: I actually think this isn't a bad ending. WY: Zombies have no issues with stamina, so it's really convenient to use my powers. WY (with megaphone): Hello, hello? WY: (Great, it's working.) WY: Of course, that's as long as I'm still sane.

QX: .....! QX: Are you planning to— Wang Yi: Hello, hello— WY [megaphone]: ALL ZOMBIES PRESENT. WY [megaphone]: FOLLOW ME! Ability Activated: Mind Control WY [megaphone]: Humans don't need to come. WY [megaphone]: When it's all over tomorrow, everyone can go back to their peaceful, stable lives. Qin Xian: WANG YI?! QX: Don't be a fool, your body's still human right now! WY: Oh, Adjutant Qin's here? WY: Perfect, there's a favor I need to ask you. WY: I'm planning to climb on top of the city walls—to completely destroy the zombie tide. QX: ...... QX: Why.... QX: Why did it turn out like this...? Although I did my best...it still...still— WY: I said this was the best outcome. Otherwise, even if we stop the zombie tide, there'll be heavy casualties. There's no better bargain than sacrificing my life to protect all the people in the city. So... WY: Let me go, all right? QX: If I say no...will you listen. WY: Adjutant Qin won't refuse me. WY: Because in your heart, you also know— WY: What you need to do to save this place. WY: Qin Xian. WY: Come send me off for the last time?

QX: *grits teeth* QX: All units, listen up. QX: Collect all gasoline in the city and pour them over the city walls! WY [megaphone]: ALL ZOMBIES, LISTEN TO MY ORDERS. WY [megaphone]: LEAVE THE CITY—LEAVE THE CITY—AND THEN— WY [megaphone]: THOROUGHLY SLAUGHTER EACH OTHER!

Soldiers: Light the fires! WY [megaphone]: YOU CAN FIGHT EACH OTHER OR TEAR EACH OTHER APART! WY [megaphone]: ALL OF YOU, KEEP FIGHTING UNTIL YOU HAVE NO MORE STRENGTH TO CRAWL— Soldier 1: A single zombie...lit so many others on fire... Soldier 2: They're really—killing each other? WY: (Huff...exhausting.) WY: (Is it still pushing the limits to control so many zombies at once?) S-0: Host, you don't have much time left. S-0: It should've taken one day for the zombie transformation to finish, but because you overused your abilities, you're going to lose your mind very soon. WY: Yeah, I know. WY: Wait for me...to say farewell.

WY: Hey, Qin Xian. I need to go. WY: Give me some gasoline and explosives, all right. WY: I don't want to burden them by turning into some half-human, half-monster thing. QX: ..... QX: Do you want to drive me insane? Qin Xian tosses Wang Yi the gasoline. WY: Hey, there's nothing else we can do. WY: Thanks. *pours* WY: The next life. WY: If we can meet again. WY: Let's stay together.* QX: ....! QX: ...what? QX: Are you pitying me? Saying vague things like a next life! WY: It's not pity. WY: It's a promise. WY: I believe our future selves will meet again. WY: Does Adjutant want to try believing, too?

*Let's stay together （我们在一起) - also a way to say "let's be a couple together"

[soldiersorrowful]

gameplan

so i've shown off progress, that's cool! what's not cool, however, is that i haven't explained *how* the game even works! it would be beneficial for you, the reader; and me, the developer; to both understand the gameplay in order to explain future progress more easily. matter of fact, i was typing up a post to showcase a new mechanic only to realize it made no sense to anyone except me! so fair warning; this will be a bit of a crude and shallow explanation. if something doesn't make sense, reach out! enough of the formalities though, let's dig in!

we'll start off by explaining exactly what you're seeing right now -there are two sets of six units, one for the player (blue) and one for the opponent (red). each unit has a health and stamina value, as well as a spread of statistics and movesets (the last two are beyond the scope of this introduction; just know they exist!). -these units are currently resting on their respective benches. the bench is where units that are currently not on the field stay. benched units regain small amounts of health and stamina per turn, as well as some other bonuses depending on the unit's build (once again, out of scope) -the green square is the map, which contains four bases. if a unit tags a base (that is not of their respective color), they will obtain a base ball (no, not a baseball; there's a clear distinction!)

your objective is to have a unit tag all three bases successfully and return to your home base to win. from the diagram above, a unit is sent from the bench to the purple base, netting them a purple base ball. this continues until all three base balls are obtained, and the unit tags home to secure the victory. (of note, bases can be tagged in any order, not just the standard baseball order) base balls themselves can also be used to power up actions or can be thrown to other units, creating strategic opportunities.

with this explained, let's walk through two turns of simplified gameplay. i'm going first, with my opponent going second. i have no units on the field, so i send one out from the bench. i then boldly move this unit to the yellow base in order to secure the yellow base ball. an aura of smugness radiating from me, i end my turn.

it's now my opponent's turn. likewise, they send out a unit from the bench, but go directly to the middle of the map. are they planning to strike?

oh no, i was right! my opponent's unit directly attacks my unit, and- bigger oh no!- it was a critical hit, depleting my unit's health to zero and forcing it to retreat! units that are retreating return to the bench and drop any base balls they are currently holding. dammit! i'll have to rethink my gameplan!

...scenery chewing aside, i hope this serves as a basic introduction to the tactics side of things! to shed some light on the conceptual phase of development, this project started out as a joke about how the battle them in persona 4 golden sounded like it would fit in some hype scene in a baseball anime. i didn't let the joke go, and ideas started formulating in my head, and, well, here we are! obviously, the setting came first, so i had no clue how to adapt a baseball style gameplay in a way that seemed fun and interesting. after much trial and error, i came up with a tactics baseball fusion after getting a bit too into dnd haha. we're still taking baby steps though; things are subject to change! hopefully, i can get good feedback from players when i have a suitable demo ready? well, this post was longer than usual, ha... if you made it this far, thanks for reading! it means a lot! until next time!

[lovelywingsart]

Sleepless

-- Karl Heisenberg X OC (AFAB, She/They) --

And now we get to the sweeter stories I have for them so far until the inevitable heartbreaking end... Don't worry, there's more angst closer to the beginning of the timeline than the end. But hey, 30+ years of living with someone you end up being partners with will do that to you. eue

Anyway, this was a fun little thing, and is pretty common in the timeline itself. It's pretty short, comparatively speaking, but I liked it. Enjoy!

**Remember, check out the Masterlist for more! <3 **

------

*Warning?: Mention of nightmares/terrors, a very very sleepy metal man

Summary: Being a busy person has its perks, but everyone needs to sleep at some point... Unfortunately, sleep doesn't come easily to Karl. So, he tries to help it the only way he knows how- find some company.

The hiss of the cooling mould filled the small room, the molten metal providing what little light given other than a few lanterns and small industrial lights as always. Emelia preferred it this way, despite occasional offers given to brighten the room up a little. She watched the moulds fill one by one, reaching out her mutated arm every once in a while to help unclasp and move them along if they were stuck. The mutation itself wasn't practical for much other than strength and stamina, though it provided a surprising amount of heat resistance compared to the usual glove she wore on the other hand. She consistently worked to control the anger that came with the mutation itself with each transformation, easing into a decent work state of mind when using it around the machines. She now found it increasingly relaxing whenever she allowed her Cadou to make the changes, feeling the occasional fluttering in her chest with each movement she made.

She reached forward with her mutated arm again, her claws closing around the edge of the mould that had gotten somewhat stuck when opening, the metal bits getting stuck around the edges.

"Bloody thing..." she growled, her voice deeper and warped from the mutation as she very nearly pried the thing open and removed the newly created cogs from the mould itself. Defects, of course... The metal hadn't cooled right. The thing wasn't even full, the deformed half being what had caused the jam. She simply tossed them to the side with a grunt, watching as the machine closed and started the process again with molten metal giving a golden glow to her eye and skin as she gave a near content sigh from the rush of heat.

It was through the hiss of the cooling unit that she heard another noise, her head cocking to the side just slightly. It sounded like... Tapping? Rhythmic tapping... Her body froze as she realized.

Footsteps.

Two options ran through her head at once; either it was the snarky bastard who owned the factory, or she'd have to fight a Soldat for the umpteenth time this week. She listened carefully for any mechanic whirring, generally a telltale sign of the Soldats presence other than the whirring of drills or blades. The rhythm of the footsteps was slow and even somewhat miscalculated, but... there was nothing. No whirring, no grunting or growling, no guttural 'war cries', as she called them. No, but there WAS breathing, only audible once the hissing of the cooling units halted. She turned her head slightly as the footsteps got closer, her mutated arm tensing and preparing for whatever hell of a sneak attack this was, her claws gripping the small railing near the machine to brace herself to swing back with the bone spur on her elbow.

She was instead met with the feeling of arms slowly and almost lazily wrapping around her waist, holding on to her tightly and making her jump and hold her breath. It wasn't until she felt a head fall against her shoulder that she even thought about relaxing, letting out an irritated growling sigh once she relinquished her grip on the rail.

"God damn you Heisenberg, what the bloody hell do you want now, I'm busy-" she started, only to pause as she looked down.

No gloves... no coat... just his scarred hands gripping on to her shirt as if she'd disappear of he let her go. What the hell... She could hear slow, almost uneven breathing next to her ear as he pressed his face to her shoulder, dark silvery hairs almost sticking to her skin. It wasn't until she heard a weak hum that she finally turned her head to look at him. She felt as her muscles eased somewhat at the sight of him, frowning as she reached her mutated hand up to pat his head. The man looked utterly exhausted... Eyes half lidded with the color dulled, deep bags under his eyes, and nearly sunken features that made him look almost as old as he was. She could tell his obvious exhaustion wasn't the only issue, but it was the one that caused the most concern in her mind at the current moment. It was as if he had turned into one of the walking abominations he had working in the tunnels under the main factory, almost feeling like a dead weight against her...

"Karl...?" She said, her voice still somewhat warped, yet holding an oddly soft tone. He only replied with another hum before burying his face into her neck. Her frown deepened as one of his hands reached up to hold her mutated arm, his grip weak. The man needed sleep... It was painfully obvious. It looked like he hadn't slept in literal weeks, which was most likely the case as it always was.

She quickly hit a button to power down the movements of the machine in front of them, feeling as he relaxed somewhat against her back despite the sharp bone spurs that rested along her spine from the mutation. She waited for the thing to stop moving before patting his arm lightly.

"Hey..." she said quietly, turning her head to look at him again. The only response she received was a light squeeze along her waist.

"Hey." she repeated, managing to carefully turn in his arms without ripping his chest to shreds with the spines. "Hey, Karl... Look at me..."

She grabbed his face with both hands, her mutated claws almost as big as his head entirely. But she held his cheeks carefully, forcing him to look at her as she examined his face. It was a pitiful sight, really... The man typically held either a grin or a smirk, his energy and enthusiasm for his work unmatched by anyone, even that giant witch Alcina. He always seemed oddly happy. Proud. But his look now... It was that a tired old man with years taken from his life in a single night. He blinked slowly, giving a quiet grunt.

"When was the last time you slept...?" Emelia asked quietly, a sudden concern flooding her gravely voice. Irritating as he may be, even now, she couldn't help but care for the man... She allowed her mutation to retreat with a quiet groan as he looked at her, the muscles and sharp bone disappearing back under the skin with cracks and pops as she kept a hold on his face.

"Dunno..." came the somewhat slurred answer. She felt his weight shifting from foot to foot, hearing a small mechanical clicking whenever he leaned on his left leg. She sighed, letting him lower his head so it rested in her hands, her thumbs brushing over his cheeks just slightly.

"Bloody hell..." she muttered, finally taking a step to the side. Her movements were slow, carefully removing his arms from around her waist and slinging one over her shoulder to help him keep his own balance. "Come on... Let's find somewhere for you-"

"Here..." he muttered suddenly, his voice low and broken. She paused and looked at him.

"Here?" She asked. He twitched his head into a nod.

"Sleep here... Please..."

She couldn't help but feel a pang of pity as she heard him speak. His tone wasn't begging, but it wasn't demanding, either. But she simply nodded, looking around for a moment. Her eye caught the corner of the room with a few tattered rags on the floor generally used for cleaning or polishing, and she carefully nudged his side to lead him over. His movements were simultaneously stiff and limp, creating an awkward pattern in footsteps just like she had heard earlier. She helped him sit once they reached the corner, the rags and fabrics providing a small sense of underlying comfort compared to the rough concrete floor. She left him for only a moment, almost feeling bad for doing so as she heard his grunts of discomfort.

"I'll be right back..." she said lightly, quickly making her way to the two entrances to the room itself.

She blocked them both, making sure the door entrance was locked and secure and moving two stacked work benched in front of the free corridor entrance. The last thing she needed was a goddamn Soldat bursting in... She didn't need one of the metal menaces showing their faces. Not when she already knew how this was going to end up... And it would end up the same no matter how she tried to prevent it. Almost every time he slept, the poor man would wake up screaming, speaking rapid broken German too quickly for her to understand. If he wasn't screaming, it was a panic attack bad enough for him to nearly hyperventilate and thrash around. Either way, one of both of them would have gotten hurt due to flying metal from his power going haywire from fear. It was why he was here with her instead of in his own room, even if she was increasingly nervous with the metal scraps laying about. The presence of someone... ANYONE else near him helped considerably, they both found, though that didn't obviously stop the night terrors... But she assisted him with pushing through them, often lulling him back to sleep each time while even falling asleep, herself. They still happened, but being near her made it... easier. Being near her made sure he wasn't alone.

And he hated being alone.

She made her way back to Heisenberg, kneeling down and helping him settle against the wall. She took her place next to him, feeling as he slumped over on her shoulder almost immediately before giving a quiet grunt. She looked at him for a moment before sighing, adjusting and nudging him forward so his head rested on her lap. He reached an arm forward to wrap around her leg as if it were a simple pillow. She couldn't exactly blame him... Even she knew it was easier to lay down.

"That better...?" She asked quietly, resting one hand on his shoulder as the other reached to pat his head lightly. He relaxed as she ran her fingers through his hair, occasionally reaching to trace along the scars on his face once she slumped back against the wall in a comfy enough position. It was a method she used constantly, having discovered it on accident. The motions soothed him, and soon she could feel his breathing even out.

"... thank you...." he nearly whispered, his words sounding almost like a simple breath had she not been listening. She tilted her head slightly towards him with the smallest hint of a smile.

"Easy, Metalhead..." she soothed, rubbing his shoulder for a moment before fully resting her arm over him. "I'll wake you if I notice anything, alright?"

She was met with silence, a gentle squeeze to her thigh the only hint of an answer he gave. After that, he was still, his breaths coming as gentle snores against her thigh. 'God damn, he WAS tired...' She thought, continuing the motions of her hand through his hair. She watched him for a moment before leaning her head back and closing her eye with a sigh. Despite knowing what was bound to happen, this was the most peaceful they would get, and she had to admit that she loved it... There was only a few hours if they were lucky, but she didn't mind. She quite enjoyed these times, she just wished neither of them were plagued by such nightmares. But even so, she couldn't help but feel relaxed... Even a bit closer to the man as he was granted a bit of much needed sleep. She was the only one to ever see him like this... The only one to ever assist with any kind of care he may have needed at that point in time, and the only one who understood what he had gone through.

She let his deep breathing sooth her, the other sounds of the factory lulling her into a drowsy, lazy feeling. She'd continue her work later... For now, she focused on the man on her lap, letting the smallest amount of sleep creep up. And suddenly she was out in a light doze, awkwardly cuddling Heisenberg with the warmth around them providing an inner comfort rarely felt.

[tuiccim]

Santi (Part 2)

Pairing: Bucky X Reader

Words: 4430

Warnings: Fluff, flirt, 

Summary: The team leaves for a mission leaving you and Bucky alone at the tower. 

Santi Masterlist

After bidding the team goodbye the next morning you and Bucky head to the kitchen for breakfast.

"How was your first night in the new place?"

"Good. Slept okay. How'd you sleep?"

"I have a hard time getting to sleep any given day but once I did last night I was good."

In the kitchen you pull out a frozen breakfast burrito to heat and grab an apple and peanut butter.  Bucky fixes a huge bowl of cereal. 

"Why aren't you on the mission?" Bucky asks.

"You want the official answer or the truth?" You ask.

"The truth, always."

"Steve didn't want you to be alone so he asked me to stay."

"You were okay with that?"

"Well, you know, my 'particular skills are not needed for this mission'" You say imitating Steve.

"You don't mind being my babysitter?"

"Well, first, I'm not your babysitter. You're a big boy and can wipe your butt all by yourself. Second, I don't mind having some time to take it easy. It's usually hard to come by. And, lastly, the rest of the team has worked with you before. I like that it gives me the chance to get to know you. Not the file or news reports or rumors, but you as a person." Bucky seems taken aback by your answer. "You said you wanted the truth, always." You smile and Bucky seems to relax a bit.

"Thanks." He pauses for a minute but then smirks, "Wipe my own butt? You always had that mouth on ya?"

"All my life." You smile at him.

"Apple and peanut butter?" Bucky asks as he watches you eat.

"It's delicious!" You pick up a fresh slice, scoop some peanut butter onto it. Leaning over the table you hold it up for Bucky to take a bite. "Try it." He eyes you as he bites into the slice you are holding out to him.

"Okay. Weird but good "

You giggle at his expression and pop the other half into your mouth. 

"Are you always happy like this? You always seem to be on the verge of laughing." He asks suddenly.

"No. But, I don't know, I guess I've had the privilege of living my life unlike you and Steve. It's given me the time to work through things, figure out what makes me happy. I guess I've just lived long enough to learn contentment. And I think that's the basis of happiness."

"Lived long enough? You're what? 25? 30?"

Your face falls. "You haven't read my file."

"No."

"Have you read any of them?"

"No. It feels... invasive. Like I'm prying."

"It's not. It's just basics. Nothing overly personal. Abilities. Skills. Things you need to know in the field." You say emphatically. "For example, let's say we're on a mission. I get shot. Femoral artery hit. Bleeding out. What do you do?"

"Apply a tourniquet. Determine if I can complete the mission without you dying."

"Wrong. You just wasted time and possibly cost us the mission. You do nothing. I don't need medical attention." You take a deep breath, "I'm a Gifted. I have healing abilities. My body will force out the bullet and the wound will be repaired within 90 seconds. Blood supply restored in minutes. You and Steve heal fast but I put your abilities to shame there."

"Do you have any other abilities?"

"Additional strength, not your level but decent. Increased metabolism. Slow aging." You pause and look directly into his eyes, "And empathic telepathy."

"Like Wanda?"

"Wanda's a little different. She's more telepathic in the sense of reading minds and forcing waking dreams. My ability allows me, if I choose to, read people's emotions. And I can imbue people with emotions."

"Force them to feel things?"

"Ye...yes." You say hesitantly and then look him directly in the eyes, "Look, I have read your file and I know you've had your mind messed with enough. I will never, NEVER do that to you without your consent. Never."

You stare at each other for a moment before Bucky gives a slight nod.

"Is it helpful?"

"My specialty was deep cover. Being able to force trust, calm, caring. It makes getting to the inner circles easier. But after doing it for so long I had to get out. I was other people so much I started to lose myself. So, I told Fury that I wanted out. And then the world blew up and I ended up right back in the middle of it. I think I'm where I'm supposed to be now."

"How do you do it?"

"I just think it and I kinda push it to the other person. It's even easier when I'm touching them. If a person can somehow resist me mentally, once I touch them the resistance fades."

"What all can you make them feel?"

"Any emotion. Several if needed."

"Fear? Panic?"

"Yes."

"Pain?"

"Emotional pain, yes."

"Love?"

"Yes."

"Pleasure?"

You look at Bucky and raise an eyebrow at that one before replying in a low voice, "Yes."

"Have you done it to me?"

Voice strong again, "No. Never without your permission."

"Our teammates?"

"Only with their consent. Most people want to try it at least once."

"I have nightmares sometimes." Bucky says quietly.

"Yeah." Your tone softens.

"Could you calm me if that was happening?"

"I can, yes. I can also help you sleep. Do you want me to?"

Bucky stares into his bowl of cereal for a moment. When his eyes flicker up to you there is a tinge of red to them. He gives a slight nod. Reaching over you curl your hand around his wrist. "You're my teammate, my friend. I'll do anything I can to help you. Anything, okay?"

Bucky gives a small nod.

"Okay. Time to get some training in. Don't want Steve to think I'm slacking the first day without him." You start clearing your breakfast dishes.

"He's a real drill sergeant, huh?"

"Sometimes." 

"Wait, how old are you? I take it, older than 25."

You laugh, "That's sweet, Buck. I'm 62."

"So Sam was including you in his geriatric patients?"

"I think you have to be over 65 to be in that category. You and Steve are still the geezers of the place." You smirk at him. "I'll catch up with you later."

"I'll see you in the training room in a bit."

"Sounds good." You say as you walk to the elevator. Your heart hurts a little for Bucky knowing it had to be hard for him to ask for help. You hope he knows how strong he is, how brave to ask.

Before Bucky heads to the training room he detours to his room. Going to the desk he pulls out the stack of files Steve had given him and quickly located Santi's. Flipping it open he read:

Name: Bella Santi Delarosa

Last known address: Stark Tower

Date of Birth: November 1, 1957

Place of Birth: Mobile, Alabama

Status: Active

Title: Agent

Aliases: The Saint, Lucia Roman, Marie Frances, Eve Lastra, Elana Romano.

Document Citizenship: United States

Height: 5'8"

Weight: 140 lbs

Gender: Female

Hair: Black

Eyes: Brown

Languages: English, Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, German.

Identifiable Markings: Triangle shaped birthmark right shoulder.

Family: Parents, Marco and Giulia Delarosa, deceased. Brother, Luca Delarosa, deceased.

Classification: Gifted

Abilities: Healing. Increased strength, stamina, reflexes, balance, and accuracy. Decreased aging. Empathic telepathy.

Skills: Multiple forms of Martial arts, acrobatics, expert marksmanship, espionage, infiltration, tactical coordination.

Bucky closes the file and heads to the training room. He spots Santi lifting weights and joins her. "So, 'The Saint', huh?"

You laugh, "You read my file?" 

"Yeah."

"That's what you took away from it? My code name?"

"Bella Santi Delarosa. Beautiful Saint of the Rose?"

"I was born on All Saints Day. My parents were Catholic." You shrug. "Any other questions?"

"I noticed the slight southern accent so Alabama made sense. Did you grow up there?"

"Until I was 13."

He wanted to ask what happened but knew it wasn't the right time to get into it. Deciding on a subject change, "Expert marksman?"

"You bet your ass."

"I was gonna bet lunch, actually."

"Knives or guns?"

"Knives."

"Yay!" You clap your hands as you move to the weapons cage to pull out knives. "Let's start with a target and we'll see if we need to get to trick shots to determine a winner."

Bucky glances at the body shaped training target at the end of the range, picks up a knife, and says "Right eye." The blade finds its mark with barely a glance. 

"Left eye." Hit.

"Left shoulder." Hit.

"Right shoulder." Hit

"Center mass." Hit.

"Same." Hit within millimeters of his knife.

"Nose." Hit.

"Mouth." Hit.

Getting an idea you move in a bit closer as he says "Forehead" and aims. As he's preparing to throw you reach on tiptoe and blow in his ear. The knife hits the target's groin. 

"I'm sorry. Did you say forehead or foreskin? If it was forehead, you were a little low on that one, weren't you?" You say still right next to Bucky's ear. Bucky turns eyes wide and swallows hard. You smile innocently up at him. 

"Wouldn't you call that cheating?" Bucky's voice is gravelly as he stared down at you.

"I'd call it winning. After all, out in the field there's all kinds of distractions. You have to get used to them." You say in mock innocence with a sweet smile.

Bucky tries to keep a straight face but a chuckle slips through. "Fine. I'll give you this one, Doll."

"I accept your defeat. There is this great diner right by the Museum of Natural History. They have phenomenal burgers and then we can go to the museum."

"I thought the bet was for lunch."

"Well, I figured I'd take you to the museum as a consolation prize. After all, I did cheat."

"I'm not taking you away from any plans?"

"Those were my plans. Now, you get to pay for lunch though."

Bucky laughed and his heart warmed a little at the thought that you had planned out the day with him. 

"Let's finish training and then we can get ready to head out." You say heading back to the weights.

Three hours later, you arrive at the diner and both order burgers and fries.

"Can I ask you something? Personal?" Bucky asks, glancing at you nervously.

"Anything. I'm kind of an open book. Which is unusual in this group."

"Yeah." Bucky says on a short laugh "What happened to your family?"

You knew it was coming at some point. "You want the short or long version?"

"Long if you're comfortable with telling it."

"Yeah." You pause to collect your thoughts. "You read my file so you know I grew up in Mobile, Alabama. My parents were Marco and Guilia and I had a brother named Luca. He was two years younger than me. My parents wanted more kids but it just didn't happen. We were a big Italian family. Steve always says he knows I'm Italian because I'm loud, always eating, and am touchy-feely."

Bucky laughs "Sounds right. You've never shied away from touching me."

"Sorry." You say feeling a slight blush creep up. "Please let me know if I make you uncomfortable. I just don't think about it much."

"No, I like it. Most people don't get very close to me. Keep going"

You smile blushing a little more but continue with the story. "My grandparents, my dad's parents, had a bakery. Most of the family worked there. I loved it. I had 8 aunts and uncles, a million cousins. Big, big family. Nice life, ya know. Lots of love and lots of drama. Then when I was thirteen, we were driving home from my cousin's birthday party and our car was hit by an 18-wheeler. My parents died on impact. Luca…" you pause and swallow hard willing the tears away. Clearing your throat you continued, "Luca died while they were trying to get us out of the car. He was such a sweet kid. Tender-hearted and quiet. I should have died too. My injuries were severe but that's when my mutation kicked in. Before they even got me out of the car my injuries healed. I didn't understand what happened. The doctor explained the mutant gene while I was in the hospital. I was so wracked with guilt that I lived. I didn't want to hear anything about it. Then my family… they were scared of me. I could feel it. They turned me over to the state. They didn't want anything to do with me. I was put in a group home and first chance I got I ran. Ran for nine years before SHIELD found me. They took me in. Taught me that my mutation was a calling not a curse." 

The food came at that point and you both dug in hungrily. Bucky looked up after a few bites. "What'd you do the nine years you were running?"

"Petty theft, lot of trespassing, might have been a grand theft auto somewhere in there, and then I joined the circus."

Bucky laughed, "Serious?"

"Yeah. I got a job helping set up and take down for a circus and when they left I kinda stowed away and they let me stay. I grew up dancing and doing gymnastics, so they taught me aerial silks and rope tricks. I ran errands, took care of the animals, cooked, and eventually even performed."

Bucky narrows his eyes at you, "You're pulling my leg."

"No. It was the 70s. I'll show you some pictures when we get back."

"What exactly are aerial silks?"

"They're sheets of silk you use to perform contortions while kinda flying in the air. I'll show you one day. I still love doing it." Bucky still looked skeptical. "What?" You finally ask when his face was still scrunched up.

"You really have pictures?"

"Yes. Tell me about when you and Steve were kids." Trying to get the subject off of you for a minute. 

You looked across at Bucky and saw a genuine smile on his face for a moment. He launched into a story and was more animated than you had seen before. It was endearing the way his face lit up talking about pre-serum Steve and their antics. He looked young and happy for a few minutes. 

The spell was broken when the waiter delivered the check. Staying true to the bet, Bucky paid and then you walked to the museum a block away. You had already purchased the tickets online and went right in. It was only 12:30 and it seemed to be a slow Tuesday as you were nearly alone in every exhibit. Bucky was enthralled. He went from display to display pointing out observations, wondering at the discoveries, and fascinated with the history. Sometimes even grabbing your hand to follow him. You were enthralled by him. It seemed like for a few hours the weight lifted from his shoulders. 

You stay at the museum until closing and then head back to the tower. Bucky talks nearly the entire way back about the museum exhibits. You thought your heart would burst that your outing made him so happy. 

Heading to the kitchen you look in the fridge. "What do you want for dinner?"

"You pick."

"If I pick, we're ordering pizza."

"Sounds good to me. What movie do you want to watch?"

"You're not sick of me yet?" You smile, amazed that he wanted to spend more time with you.

"No! I mean, you don't have to watch a movie with me. I just thought, ya know, pizza and a movie. You had, uh, mentioned the Star Trek movie yesterday, so I thought maybe..." He trailed off.

"Sounds good to me." You echoed his earlier sentiment and he smiled at you.

You sat on the couch eating pizza and watching the movie. After a while you ended up shifting to lean into Bucky and rest your head on his shoulder.

"You okay?" He asks.

"A little cold. I'm sorry, am I making you uncomfortable?" You say, moving away a little. He doesn't answer. Instead he grabs his hoodie and drapes it and his arm over you giving a little squeeze. You snuggle into him. It's a little harder to concentrate on the movie enveloped by his warmth and smell. 

After the movie was over, Bucky looked over at you, "Tired?"

"No, not really. You?"

"No."

"What'd you think of the movie?"

"It was interesting. I'd like to see the next one. Right now, I'm interested in seeing some pictures someone told me they have."

"Oh, yeah. Let's go to my room and I'll find them." You stand and stretch your arms over your head bowing your back. When you look at Bucky still sitting on the couch his eyes aren't quite on your face. You clear your throat ostensibly and his eyes snap up to yours while his cheeks gain a little pink tinge. "Come on, Buck." You turn away smiling to yourself. 

You get to your room and find the photo album with pictures from the Seventies in it. Placing it on the bed in front of both of you, you skip the first few pages and flip until you find pictures from the circus. They're starting to fade with age, but there you are riding an elephant, another showing you contorted in the silks, one where you are surrounded by clowns, cooking in a tent, and a few more showing your circus life. 

"You weren't kidding!"

"Of course not! It was actually a pretty fun time in my life. It was easier being accepted there. Once I got past being first of May."

"First of May?"

"Green. New. Takes awhile for circus folk to warm up but they're good to you once they do. They were like a big family." 

"Why'd you decide to leave?"

"SHIELD. They could help me learn to control my powers. And to be able to use them for something good."

"What are these other pictures?" Bucky asks as he flips back to the beginning of the album. 

"Oh!" You say in surprise. You reach for the album but Bucky is already looking at the pictures. Resignedly, you explain, "That was the last family portrait we took."

Bucky looks up at you sorrowfully, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have." He goes to hand you back the album.

"No, it's okay. It's been a long time since I looked at them." You point to the next photo. "That was my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary."

"Is that the entire town of Mobile?

"No, that's just my grandparents, their kids, and all my first cousins."

"First cousins?!?"

"Yeah, they were prolific. What can I say? My parents were picked on because they only had two of us."

"How old are you here?" He points to a picture of you holding a stuffed bunny.

"Three, I think." The next picture is you holding a baby Luca. You reach out and touch his little cherub cheeks but only feel the cold plastic covering the photo.

"You miss him?"

"Yeah. I guess you never stop. Losing a sibling sucks, ya know? They're the ones that are supposed to be with you through it all. You expect grandparents and parents to die, but your siblings are supposed to be there. Do you?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I miss Rebecca."

"Sorry. I shouldn't have brought that up."

"No, it's okay. But I probably should get some sleep."

"Yeah."

Bucky gets up and puts the album back on your shelf. "Night, Santi."

"Night, Bucky." You say in a small voice.

"Hey." He waits until you look up at him. "You okay?"

You force a smile, "Yeah, I'm good."

He hesitates, studying you. 

Finally, you give in to yourself. "Actually, can I have a hug?"

"Absolutely!" He walks over to you taking your hand and pulling you up before wrapping his arms around you. You put your arms around his waist and your head on his shoulder. After a minute you feel a soft kiss pressed to your forehead. "Sweet dreams, Doll."

"You, too." You say as you reluctantly let go. You change into a sleepshirt and get ready for bed. Knowing sleep won't come for a while you pick up a book.

A couple of hours later you feel your stomach twist in knots and a loud grunt issues through the wall followed by "NO!" Getting up quickly you knock on Bucky's door, "Bucky, are you okay?" You listen for a second but only hear another grunt. You knock again, "Bucky?" You say a little louder. 

"Стоп!" Hearing the Russian word from Bucky made your decision. You turn the knob and walk in. Bucky is thrashing a bit on the bed. His right hand is clenched around the sheets.

"Bucky, wake up. Hey. Come on, Buck." You put a knee on the bed and lean over to shake Bucky. The moment you touch his shoulder he sits up. The knife in his left hand lands with a thunk in your side. You hiss at the pain but stay still. "Buck. Bucky, hey." His eyes are far away and you know he hasn't come out of it yet. You put your right hand over his hand gripping the knife and your left on his shoulder suffusing calm into him. "Buck, I'm calming you. You said it was okay. Look at me, darlin'. Hey, hey." You see his eyes begin to focus. Finally, he looks at you. "Good. Hey, love, I need you to let go, okay?" You gently nudge his left hand which is still firmly holding the knife in you. You see him glance down and panic blanches his face. Suffusing calm again you take your left hand and touch his face drawing his attention to yours. "I'm okay. I just need you to let go. Bucky, talk to me."

"I'm so sorry!" Comes out in a panicked whisper as he lets go. 

"Bucky, I'm fine. Healing ability, remember?" You gather the ends of your shirt and brace to pull out the knife. "Mmmm...had to be a serrated one, huh?" You press the shirt to the wound to staunch the blood flow and look at Bucky. He looks shattered. "Bucky, everything's okay."

"I stabbed you." He whispers.

"Better me than anyone else." You give a humorless little laugh. You wipe the knife on part of your shirt and set it down on the nightstand. 

"I stabbed you."

"90 seconds, Bucky. 90 seconds and I'll be healed. No harm, no foul."

"I stabbed you and you're laughing." He looks at you incredulously. 

"What's a little stab wound between friends?" You smile but he still looks lost. "Bucky, another empathic part is I can let you feel how I'm feeling. Can I show you?"

He nods and you put a hand on his. "What do you feel?"

He looks in your eyes finally, "Calm. Caring. Worry for me."

"Exactly. I'm fine. Now, are you okay? You were having a nightmare."

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay." You pull him into a hug keeping your bloody side away from him. He puts his right arm around you and runs his left hand up your arm to your neck. Pulling away he looks into your eyes, glances down to your lips, and then back with an almost questioning look. It doesn't take empathic ability to know what he's feeling and your heart twists a little. You raise up a bit and kiss his forehead like he did for you earlier that night.

"I'm gonna get cleaned up. Can I borrow a shirt?" You stand up and that's when Bucky notices you had bunched your shirt up to stem the wound exposing your legs and a pair of peach colored panties. 

Tearing his eyes away he stands up quickly and pulls open a drawer. "Yeah, here, Doll." 

You look in the drawer and pull out a black ribbed tank from the top. "This will work." You say as you head into his bathroom. 

Bucky watches you walk away thinking with the peach colored underwear it almost looked like you weren't wearing anything down below. He shook the thought away. Nice, Buck, you stab her and then ogle her, he thinks to himself. 

You take off the shirt you are wearing and grab a cloth to clean off the blood. After washing your hands you slip on the tank. It comes down just past your butt and almost looks like a dress on you. A very short dress. Staring at yourself in the mirror for a second you can't deny the feelings developing in you. Bucky is...you can't even describe it. Beautiful inside and out. But too often your empathic abilities had interfered with real feelings. You had wanted to kiss him in that moment but the emotional charge was too much. What if that's all it was? The heat of the moment? It was too soon. You'd known him for less than 48 hours. Sighing, you shake off your thoughts and walk back out. Bucky eyes you from where he is sitting on the bed. 

"You okay?" He asks. 

"Yes. See? No harm, no foul." You lift the tank up to show him. 

He raises his left arm and touches your side. The cool touch from his metal hand breaks your skin into goosebumps. You cover his hands with yours and for a moment get lost in his eyes when he looks up at you. 

Breaking eye contact you pull the shirt back down, saying softly "It's late. You should go back to sleep." 

"I don't think I can." He says.

You sit next to him on the bed. "Lay down. Get comfortable. I'll help you."

He lays on his side and hugs his pillow. Running your hands through his hair, you suffuse calm and see the tension slip away a bit. Giving him a minute before suffusing lethargy, you watch as his muscles start to relax. Finally, you suffuse a sleepy feeling. You can't force sleep but have found that when these three feelings combine they make a fairly good sleep cocktail. Bucky's form slowly relaxes and you continue to run your hands through his hair suffusing the sleepy feeling until his breathing evens out. You retrieve your ruined shirt and bloody cloth from the bathroom and the knife from the nightstand. You don't want him to have any reminders when he wakes. Switching off his lamp, you reluctantly head to your own bed. 

Part 3

[af1899]

FEH - update notes [5.10.0] + thoughts and reactions

So, I.S. posted the release notes for the Fire Emblem Heroes 5.10.0 software update with quite the delay, but you can see them here.

I'll comment on each point of interest right below, skipping on less relevant stuff Imo.

Tfw you were saving for the merge but it'll come at you for free the same month

I was planning to save for Halloween Kagero (and use the opportunity to perhaps get a merge on either/both Halloween Myrrh/Mia) but her first merge is literally coming my way with enough participation in events and I'm excited to get it of course, I'm definitely gonna work my way through it. My plan now is to summon all but blue in her rerun banner in the first round, then wait for whatever banner could be of my interest before deciding if I wanna keep trying... at least this free merge will help me...

If you're looking to fodder her, she has [Bottle Juice+] (always active [Guard] positive effect) or [Bold Fighter 3] as noteworthy fodder, you'd probably prefer the former since it's seasonal and somewhat useful, but the latter is also great.

This time, both 5★ [Combat Manuals] are seasonals, the other is Halloween L'Arachel who has a bunch of nice fodder options, I'm taking [Madness Flask+] (grants same effect as [Fury 3]) and [Rally Atk/Spd+] as I think they are among her best comboes (as for who will get those, it's been decided to be Female Robin... I don't really like at all the Lv.2 {Tactic} effect and I'd daresay Cecilia is better for colorless/blue checking overall, so I'll delegate that role to her and do something else with Female Robin... who should start to get some premium skills), but should you need to plan ahead who needs some of her skills, she has the mentioned ones plus [Swift Sparrow 2] and [Spd/Res Ruse 3].

You may also be able to get that Young Innes, a good practice is to save all {Divine Codes: Ephemera} of the month until no more are obtainable, then pick the [Combat Manuals] you need, otherwise you may be risking to lose one of the free 5★ ones or even the [Heroic Grails] one — which you shouldn't — but with active participation you should get something over 700 to get those.

The red refines batch

This time, everyone is only red, like... why? But at least, some units that have been waiting on those refines will finally get them, Soleil has sure been waiting for long, hasn't she? I'm not excited for her at all but I'm glad for her fans.

I'm moreso looking forward to Laevatein's refine, even though I don't have special admiration for her, she's still an interesting character indeed, I actually have her but never built her properly... and I'm glad I did wait this long since a refine should give me a better direction on how she should be built:

Bridal Tharja was also due her refine since she was the next seasonal with preference weapon waiting on a refine, next should be Summer Tana, which I'm hyped about!

I'm also curious about Julius too, sadly I foddered one of the free copies but I still have some around should I end up building him someday, hopefully his refine will give me a "oomph!" to get on it.

Wrapping things up

Gonna start to finish this post talking about this new feature, from the looks of it, the [Memento Events] (cinematics you watch to get [Rapport] and rewards) can be now obtained by choice using a specific resource that's locked to the current season of the [Heroes Journey] event, so you should use them before they vanish...

[Memento Events] can now be watched anytime, instead of when [Heroes Journey] is around.

I think this is a nice feature, it doesn't do much to improve the event's overall rating Imo, but it's nice that at least, I.S. allows us to somehow relive it anytime.

I realized I've never gave my opinion on this event... I'll rate it at 7.5/10, it's nice to have more interaction with our units, we can even hang out with our favorite character by bringing along [My Summoner] in a growing variety of sceneries, some of them being really heartwarming, but the rewards are slightly underwhelming barring [Orbs], and asides the cutscene stuff you have to partake in [Heroic Ordeals]-esque battles that cost [Stamina].

Aaanyway...

...Yes, I consider this part important, I'm still waiting to put "No Justice" (whichever version) from Fire Emblem Fates everywhere in the game, best track of the game hands down.

This is more important though:

...There'll be a maintenance period, we've been notified before I believe, neverthless, it doesn't hurt to add the periods here and remind you the game will be unplayable during this period, the seasonal banner comes the 7th.

Use this clock for reference... so you can have an idea of when maintenance starts; for me, it starts at 9 p.m. the 5th and ends the next day at 2 a.m. (PT is 4 hours behind GMT-3), it's likely we'll get the trailer in-between, and the update roll out at 8 p.m. (GMT-3) at the usual day before the banner, do note they don't say when the update will be out.

As for you, use said clock to determine what's the difference between the PT timezone and yours, then use that difference to go forward/back in the time periods that appear above.

For example, it's 10/1 11:50 p.m. in PT, and 10/2 3:50 a.m. in GMT-3, I can see there's a 4 hour difference, so I add 4 hours to each timestamp I.S. gives me: "10/5/2021 10:00 p.m." in PT is "11/5/2021 2:00 a.m." in GMT-3. (The date format in my country is DD/MM/YYYY but normally I'll use the American format here, to avoid confusing the English-speaking community)

The update details are now in the bulletin board in-game but figured you could keep this advice for the future, the in-game notices already convert the timestampts to your timezone.

In any case, that's all for this post and I hope the info here has proven to be helpful to you!

Btw... I just spent 4 [Orbs] on [Performing Arts] revival banner (had a circle with three red stones, 1 colorless and 1 green, chose the latter first then the former) and got nothing special on either, just some random low rarity units... meh, I'll just keep saving.