#even red and lappland

[besiegedhunter]

Got curious about how many Operators had "Outstanding" for Combat Skill in their profile and went through every character profile (272) to find out how many there were

Eight + one Chongyue

So 8/272 Operators have an Outstanding for their Combat Skill and two of them are 5*s. These eight are:

Nearl the Radiant Knight

Mlynar

Hellagur

Qiubai

Gladiia

Ch'en

Then the two 5*s

Lappland

Projekt Red

Somehow these two Wolves join this very exclusive club despite being 5*s but then I don't think their rarities line up with what they actually are capable of. Kinda funny it's just two Siracusan Lupos however.

[kharla-k]

Color associations is an entire cautus hole and a half, but I would be remiss if I didn't try and express my observations in some way before I Portatori dei Velluti comes to pass, so I'm gonna talk about how Lappland and Texas have and use the colors Blue and Red in their design. I don't know what happens, so I also want to see if my speculations end up having some basis too.

This one is long and unhinged, watch out.

In all of base Texas' outfits, including her skin, the primary color that isn't a shade of black or white is red. In her base outfit, her hair is dyed red. The underside of her hair, the bottom of her tail, even her ears all bear hints of red. Her belts, arm sash, and nametag are all red; she defines herself, in a way, with red. If you choose to believe e2 promotions demonstrate self-actualization and showing a truer form of the character, the implication here is clear.

Of course, Winter Messenger retains the dyed hair and fur, but Willpower takes it a step further. However, they both have fascinating descriptions:

Winter Messenger: Life is all about doing whatever you want. Willpower: The will of the Texas family she should have enforced. Also from Willpower's description: Classic Siracusan womenswear. By request of Texas, all parts once white have been dyed completely black.

I'm not sure what the last part entails, but it seems strange to include it if it doesn't mean anything. That's such a distinct thing to say. Regardless of that, Texas will, given the choice, pursue the color red and prefers the shade black over white. And what happens when she's forced against her will to return to Siracusa, to participate in its mire?

Her identity is reduced to Cellinia Texas; a Siracusan name, and her outfit to nothing more than blue. The only hints of red that we see are the arts in her sword, the last available route of self expression; because she retains the ability to recognize herself, despite her surroundings.

E1 Description: Exceptionally exquisite tailoring, exactingly custom-made to old Siracusan famiglie standards. E2 Description: She leaves Siracusa once again, not to flee the past, but to change the future. This outfit neither binds her nor stands for her. She is merely Texas.

I believe, ultimately, that red is the color of self expression in relation to Siracusa, where blue is adherence to its nature of ruthlessness.

If we look at Alberto Saluzzo and Bernardo Bellone, their outfits seem to support this, where Alberto is strictly ambitious. As opposed to Bernardo, who is keeping up appearances as a Siracusan, but makes plans to change what Siracusa is, by virtue of his red handkerchief. Not only that, Leontuzzo Bernardo seems to follow a similar change, where at the start of Il Siracusano, he's still trying to play the Famiglia game, staying within the rules. But by the end, as represented by his E2 art, he's helping to reorganize Siracusa, make new rules and circumstances that will work better.

Leontuzzo stays blue, because he's stuck around in Siracusa, and is working to rebuild it, though he's now approaching it from a new, personal angle.

You could also look at Giovanna and Wallach as another comparison; Giovanna doesn't emulate Siracusan behaviors; she isn't ambitious, she isn't even a lupo, she's a feline, despite being a mafia leader. This is why she bears no blue and instead red; she's interested in writing plays, not power.

Now when we get to Lappland, we can see that she's tried her best to wash herself of her nationality, bearing no blue, bearing no color at all. I would say that, right now, she doesn't know how to express herself; hence lacking color. When she follows Texas as she gets dragged to Siracusa, she puts on traces of blue, to keep up appearances, but her outfit is raggedy, she doesn't care for it. We can kind of see elements of red, the blood on her coat, the red tinges to her hair, the wound on her face... but all only in trace amounts.

Now when we get to her Alter; she's bathed in red, as much as Texas was and is. She's flourishing, knows what she wants to do, and is enjoying every moment, as always. She cares for this outfit, it's new and unblemished. It also shows off her oripathy lesions almost proudly, where her coats to varying levels hid them.

But despite all that, she's still stuck in a Siracusan approach, a Siracusan mindset still dictates how she proceeds. That noteworthy and vivid blue is still present, barely. Over her heart, and maintaining a choke hold around her neck.

So what do I expect from the event? I think that Lappland will have good, but warped, and way too enthusiastic intentions, and will end up being an antagonist if not the antagonist.

[sadgemint]

Req for VH tbh, she bumped me, I didn't know what to draw. After some digging, I somehow ended up with a Valentine's card even though it was meant to be a meme replicate. The sweet I chose for Lappland is a Pocky bcuz it looks like her weapon + her snappy nature, esp the double, if you had one or something similar you'd know splitting them into two even half is almost impossible, one half will always be smaller and knowing her she'd choose the bigger half. The flavor is lava chocco/ red velvet with sprinkled salt on top (salty chocolate is godsend)

[chibiisukee]

So much for a new life, it seems

I can't stop thinking how weird some interactions at Rhodes Island might be after I Portatori dei Velluti

(Thoughts in fic format below)

Poor boy Luchino just set up his new shop and is trying to get his life under control again and someday, at this new place, he just comes face to face with the one client that kinda led up to the whole mess that ended with his Nonno dead.

Not to say that he blames Lappland for it, not exactly. But it was still her order that lead him to being in the wrong place at the wrong time and that lead up to him being stranded in the Venezia residence and because of that, Signorina Ingrid and his Nonno had to bail him out and stuff just got worse and worse and...

He tries to breath. It hurts. But Nonno taught him to be professional, and he'll be professional, even if his personal feelings make him feel uncomfortable with talking to that one old client.

Luchino is a hard worker. It doesn't take long for the new De Montano shop to become a well loved place in Rhodes Island.

One day he hears about a sewing club and the few people who are part of it. Not interested. Luchino kinda joined Rhodes Island because it seemed like a good place to start over, but... there's a throwaway comment that bugs him during his free time: "Oh, I didn't know that sewing was that popular with the Lupo youths from Siracusa right now. I guess times really do change, huh?"

And because of that comment, he finds himself standing akwardly in the sewing club, trying to not stare too much at the other Lupo cursing someone under his breath while fixing what looks like some kind of uniform.

He's never really escaping the mafiosi, is he?

(Later he finds out that Aosta is way busier keeping his pals out of trouble and is not — currently — part of a famiglia).

Luchino really wants to have a break from these kind of scares. Yes and thank you. But Fortuna has a thing out for him, it seems.

He's working in one moment, and in the next one, a Vulpo who looks way too familiar enters his workshop and now he's wondering if he's actually paying for all the times he didn't listen to Nonno in the past.

As much as he mistook Suzuran for Signorina Ingrid in that first moment, it's not really a big surprise when Suzuran enters his shop to pick up her order and Signorina Ingrid is with her.

He should really have an extra sanity fee, it seems.

But the Ingrid that enters his shop by her daughter's side doesn't even feel the same like the scary mafiosa who got him out of the Venezia residence in New Volsinii. That doesn't mean she's less deadly, and Luchino is keenly aware of that. He might have even forgot how to sew buttons again for a moment there.

A random visit from Ingrid is not even the worse scare he gets after setting up De Montano at Rhodes Island.

Oh no, the trophy goes to the Lupo girl dressed in red, who just stands there without saying a word and leaves just as she arrived: silently.

He later finds a doll ressembling his deceased Nonno right where the girl stood. His stomach twists in knots and he tries to ignore the small note in scrawly handwriting that came with it. He has no need of that.

In the end, he keeps the doll, but only because it reminds him of Nonno and of Nonno's wishes for him. He can't change the past or his childish wishes of being one of the big guys, but now he understands Umberto's feelings (at least a bit) and wants to make him proud.

Luchino gets his tools. His new life might not be easy, but he's willing to do his best with his craft. Just like his Nonno always wanted.

[armoredisopod]

Arknights CN 5th Anniversary/New Main Story PVs

New Operators

PhonoR-0, 1* Ritualist Supporter

Anger turns words into fire.

Fang the Fire-Sharpened, 5* Charger Vanguard

Commanding a Squad? Don't worry, i'm familiar with it.

Logos, 6* Core Caster

The souls have left, but our souls still need rest.

If the deceased needs guidance on their way to the other side, i am willing to be the Sarkaz ferryman.....

Wiš'adel, 6* Limited Flinger Sniper

Remember, Doctor, It's "Wiš'adel"

No longer a dead man's codename, this is my name.

Civilight Eterna, 6* Welfare Bard Supporter

Time will heal all wounds, love will heal the scars.

Amiya, Incantation Medic Class Change

Hatred is spreading. I will try to put it out, no matter... how many times it takes.

Operator Outfits Update

Total of 9 new outfits, 4 new additions for the Bloodline of Combat brand, 2 new additions for the Iteration Provident brand and 3 new additions for the Ambience Synesthesia brand

Bloodline of Combat

Three Hundred Meters Underground - Savage (Login Event)

Blade-Cleaved Tides - Thorns

Under the Flaming Dome - Ines (21 OP)

Young Branch - Muelsyse (24 OP)

The blades are vibrating, the water is humming.

Now, i understand their emotions even better than before...

Iteration Provident

Nocturne of Elysia - Blue Poison

Red Countess - Skadi the Corrupting Heart (24 OP)

The scarlet velvet of life cushions this diamond of death.

Ambience Synesthesia

Carriage of the Winds of Time - Ho'olheyak

Rhythmic Blocks - Swire the Elegant Wit

Never-Melting Ice - SilverAsh (21 OP)

Announced outfit reruns

Series IV Bloodline of Combat outfits (Skadi the Corrupting Heart, Gnosis, Aurora)

Bloodline of Combat outfits of Kal'tsit, Specter the Unchained and Ebenholz

Epoque outfits of Rosmontis and Nearl the Radiant Knight

~120 other outfits as part of the 5th anniversary celebration edition of Rhodes Fashion Review

Operator Modules Update

Wiš'adel, Logos and Fang the Fire-Sharpened being part of branches with modules immediately get their modules

BOM-X module base effect adds another shockwave to Wiš'adel's attacks

CCR-∆ module base effect makes Logos' attacks additionally deal 8% of his ATK as Necrosis damage

CHG-X module base effect makes Fang the Fire-Sharpened generate 2 DP per enemy defeated and refunds her full DP cost when retreated

Lord Guard branch gets 2 module types

LOR-X given to SilverAsh, Thorns, Qiubai, Lappland, Ayerscarpe and Frostleaf

LOR-Y given to Лeto, Arene and Luo Xiaohei

Events and Stories

Ep14: Absolved Will Be The Seekers

During the anniversary event period, Ep14 will be immediately accessible immediately after beating Ep1 and there will be an event shop

Operator Archives Update for Greythroat, Siege, Shining, Ascalon and Aroma

Misc Stuff

New QoL changes; failing Challenge Modes will only deduct 1 sanity instead of half the sanity cost, players can put signatures in their profile cards and the friends list limit is increased to 100

Blemishine, Aosta, Bubble and PhonoR-0 added to recruitment

The potential tokens in the red voucher shop will be changed, Royal Guard and Specialist tokens will be available

Players who don't have Scene and Siege's [Legacy] outfit can get them in the Ep14 event shop

Amiya's [Newsgirl] outfit will be available in the certs shop to players who don't have it

Livestream Stuff

Showcased Wiš'adel, a 6* Flinger Sniper that can apply heavy pressure in a wide area and just straight up dealing with high DEF enemies because sure why not at this point

First talent makes her attacks attach an Afterimage to enemies, when this Afterimage is hit with a shockwave from her attacks it has a chance to explode and Physical damage to nearby enemies and Stun them for a few seconds

Second talent allows her to summon a Spirit Shadow within attack range upon deployment, if she has her summon in a nearby tile she gains Camouflage, her summon attacks enemies in her range inflicting a brief Slow and Afterimage, her summon can be attacked by ranged enemies

Skill 1 is a power strike skill that makes her next attack inflict more shockwaves and Stuns the targets for a few seconds, additionally it increases the splash range and shockwave damage multiplier

Skill 2 reduces her attack interval, increases her ATK and lets her attack multiple enemies at once, it also has an Overload mode where her attacks turn into a rapid barrage that hits random enemies and has a damage multiplier, this skill can be manually deactivated

Skill 3 immediately summons 2 more Shadow Spirits (up to 3 can exist at a time, will remain when skill ends), increases her ATK, greatly lengthens her attack interval, massively increases her attack's splash range, increases the Afterimage proc chance to 100% and gives her attack a damage multiplier, this is an ammo skill and can be manually deactivated

Showcased Logos, a 6* Core Caster with a very interesting and versatile kit

First talent makes his attacks have a chance to bounce and target another enemy + apply a brief slow

Second talent makes his attacks reduce the target's RES and increase the Arts damage they take for a few seconds

Skill 1 is an infinite duration skill that expands his range and increases his ATK, enemies that enter his range with HP lower than a certain % of his ATK will immediately be defeated, then deal Arts damage equal to the amount of HP the defeated enemy had to a random nearby enemy

Skill 2 increases his RES and changes his attack to a channeling type attack, the attack increases in power and gradually reduces the target's movement speed the longer it's channeled (up to a limit), if the attack is interrupted or the target is defeated Logos will lock-on to a new target and have the attack's power reset

Skill 3 expands his range, increases his ATK and lets him attack multiple targets at once, enemy projectiles caught within his attack range will have massively reduced flight speed and will be removed if they are still in his range when his skill ends

Showcased Civilight Eterna, a 6* Bard Supporter

First talent is the 3 "Fine Dust" that revolves around her, when one collides with an ally it increases the healing that ally receives from her trait effect and disappears, disappeared "Fine Dust" will respawn after a few seconds

Second talent makes all allies take less damage from Sarkaz enemies when she is deployed

Skill 1 is an infinite duration skill that increases her trait healing effect and reduces "Fine Dust" respawn time

Skill 2 increases the maximum of "Fine Dust" that can appear, immediately spawns more of them, increases their rotation radius, and changes the "Fine Dust" to hit enemies, dealing True damage and inflicting Bind for a few seconds, allies within range gain an ATK Inspire buff

Skill 3 expands her range, increases her trait healing effect and makes it so the "Fine Dust" no longer disappears, allies within her range gain a Max HP Inspire buff and will have their HP periodically redistributed/equalized

Showcased Amiya's Incantation Medic form

Her talent increases the Max HP of all allies when she's deployed and heals all allies by a % of their Max HP when her skill is active

Skill 1 increases her ASPD and her attacks heals all allies in a Bard range around her by a % of her ATK

Skill 2 immediately deals damage to all enemies in range + reducing their ASPD and movement speed for a few seconds and she gets +ATK for every enemy hit by this (up to a limit), for the rest of the skill duration she deals True damage and attacks two targets at once but this skill can only be used once per battle

Showcased the new main story episode mechanic, originium storms that deals damage to allies and enemies and significantly reduces ally SP recovery, the storm can grow in size by absorbing originium scattered on the field, there are also beacons that can be shifted by operators and will attract the storm towards it

All operators will have special anniversary voicelines that will play during May 1st to May 3rd

Hypergryph promises they will no longer use non-token potential increasing items for future welfare operators (like they did with Vigil and Lessing)

Starting from Wiš'adel's banner, all limited banners will guarantee the featured limited operator at 300 pulls (does not reset your odds), additionally W has her spark cost reduced to 200 and other limited operators will have their spark cost reduced in the future

Arknights anime season 3 - Rise From Ember confirmed

Rhodes Island Icebreaker Games, limited time event with live co-op gamemodes, rewards include a new profile card theme and a new outfit for THRM-EX

Both players need to coordinate on which operators they bring since they can't double up on the same op, each player can bring up to 10 operators

The battle can go on 2x speed if both players agree to it, the battle can also be paused

Players can also send each other Deployment Points

Both players play on the same map and have objectives to clear, in the livestream the objectives that were shown were survive for a set amount of time and protect some ursus civilians

There is also a Football co-op gamemode where both players have to fight against the CPU

Operator attacks can move the ball; attack power, attack trajectory and shifting ability affects how and where the ball is moved

Operators can attack and knock down the enemy team

Having operators successfully intercept the ball allows the players to place the ball where they want on their side of the field

Each round is randomized, there are breakable barricades that block some (or all) tiles in front of the goal and there can be stage hazards on the field, the one showcased in the livestream had the Magnificence waregeist enemy periodically apply Camouflage to the enemy team and the ball

Teaser for an Aegir event with Ulpianus

Revealed a Sanrio collab, said it won't have any collab operators but will have collab skins, special icon and merch

Revealed IS5 set in Kazdel

The main system for IS5 is "Thoughts", players can use these to gain buffs but the more of one type is used there is a chance to get debuffs as you progress

Thoughts can be combined and analyzed to gain Collectibles/HP shield/Hope/etc

In IS5 players can sell Collectibles and Thoughts in Cannot's shop

Thoughts can be used to upgrade and alter nodes

IS5 debuffs last for a certain amount of moves

IS5 QoL changes; E2 Class squads will have all ops of those classes at E2 on the starting pick, Elite recruitment vouchers will give guaranteed E2, Recruiting 4* operators no longer cost Hope and 5* operators have their recruit cost decreased, squads also get upgraded as you climb in difficulty, they also plan to improve the King series Collectibles

There is a special enemy that can capture your last deployed operator upon defeat, the captured operator cannot be deployed for the rest of the battle but will be promoted to E2 afterwards

Revealed Dunmeshi collab, with Senshi as a collab unit

Arknights 2024 Commemorative Animation PV ft. Mili

Arknights PV 4 ft. Starset

[gothicskies90]

"Crazy Dream..."

Honestly this is just.. one of the stupidest pieces I have ever done.. I am so sorry for doing Texas like this ._.

It was based on an incident that happened in a friends Tomodachi Life not long after she added Texas into her save, Texas had a dream about this scenario.. aaand kinda had to draw it.. aaand made it stupider in the process by adding Exusiai as a villain and Lappland as a "Damsel in Distress/Lover".. Since Texas is no where near the cutesy, fun and colorful magical girl shown in the first panel, I thought to make it even LESS like Texas..

Kinda also went opposite with Texas' hair, making the red parts teal and the blue black hair pink.

And as per usual.. I struggled to shade.. yee.. but hey theres glitter on the dress, thats something… right? XDDD

Anyways thats kind of all from me.. Now time to wait another month before another drawing comes.. aaand hopefully it wont be as silly or dumb as this was.. (And hopefully its not more fanart)

[lizzy-frizzle]

"Oh, Val, who are your favorite operators?"

Fucking....who knows. Here's a non-comprehensive list in no particular order:

- Saga

- Kroos

- Reed

- Lappland

- Mudrock

- Fiammetta

- Weedy

- W

- Ho'olheyak

- Blue Poison

- Andreana

- Saria

- Ptilopsis

- Dorothy

- Frostleaf

- Deepcolor

- Ling

- Lin

- Platinum

- Tomimi

- Scavenger

- Kazemaru

- Greythroat

- Projekt Red

- Jaye

- Lee

And even then I think I'm missing some but I'm not at my PC looking at a list of operators

[elbiotipo]

opinions on the operators on Arknights I use the most so far (please don't spoil me anything about them unless it's really funny):

Amiya: why does she take her so long to deploy and then does whatever and ocassionally wins, fucking Di María ass bunny

Noir Cornudo: my Dibu Martínez, he can block anything, he's awesome, he's a Cool Guy. Also he's apparently a monster hunter?

Fang: I don't know anything about her and I don't see anyone talk about her but she makes like 75% of my strategic planning, wish she had more lore

Rangers: WHY DIDN'T ANYBODY TELL ME THIS GAME HAD DINOSAURS, too bad I can't upgrade him anymore yet he's one of my favorites

Jessica: la pobrecita michifuz... world's saddest meow meow with the highest ranged attack of the game. I also put her to work on a factory sometimes, which is probably why she's so sad all the time.

Lappland: THIS WOLF GIRL IS ITALIAN. DO NOT TRUST ANYTHING SHE SAYS.

Exusiai: She's so cool but I feel she would cry if I called her gringa (she is)

Shaw: Dr.Kalt'sitjustonequestionwhyarewelettingasquirrelgirlfirefighterintoacombatzone

Kroos: Annoying bunny thing that gets too many upgrades every time I roll

Beagle: She's apparently from Bolívar (Furry Latin America) so I'm gonna say she's Chilean, also apparently she was in some sort of war there so even if she's annoying I'm curious

Projekt Red: I LOVE HER. I deploy her anywhere and she kills anything I ask her. She's if like Messi was a murderous wolf girl. I love her so much.

[exoticalmonde]

Sultifera Guiding Continues...

In today's episode of 'Two Drumsticks Get Lost At Sea' me and Kryo are off in Sultifera to figure out EX-8. I would have helped him between 5 and 7, too but somebody decided that they want to be sneaky sneaky about it and go without me.

Thankfully, I overheard his operators screaming in the background and figured the best time to drop the Carrd I'm working on and help out is now. Like a friend who, you know, cares.

Vendetta aside, I had no other ideas beside watching Kyo and then incorporating it into Kryo's desired and available team. And that means I have to make it sound like it's high end without making it seem like a low end becuase sometimes he can't brute his way out of it.

Such occasions are funny, because conversations such as

Me: "Get Nightingale." Kryo: "Which skill?" Me: "Uh..." Kryo: "Is it green or blue." Me: *Glances at guide*

Me: "Blue." Kryo: "Does it have a shield?" Me: "It sure does."

happens so naturally.

The longer you are a Doctor the better you learn how to lie with a straight face.

He got his high end team and (eventually) my Honeyberry, we learned what the Brambles are, the Roomba is, who the Priest is and the Jellyfish and he got to witness why two pixels matter.

Because someone had to be stubborn and insist that Nearlalter should stand on the second tile to the second red exit (top to bottom) on the right, which eventually scuffed the entire scenario. Since, wouldn't you know it, the boss swallows up the wrong rune.

Guideknights worked out too, though and I even did CM on my own. I don't remember my mindset 10 months ago, but I know I didn't have a lappland and that meant CM was hell.

So much has happened on Dr. Evealia's Rhodes so far, it's a small miracle that we're still the same after all.

And this is my team. Of which, the run was absolutely fantastic.

[dcviated]

@bloodywoes sent: Upon the lupo being covered in what seems to be crimson fluids, peeking from kitchen's door, ears wiggling as she spots a certain operator visitor. Steps becoming muffled, expected of a guard operator. "Boo~!" Lappland whispers from behind, ready to offer her infamous homemade pasta! Ignore the mess, Operator Raina Elegy!

Rhodes Island. Though it may be a small exaggeration to call it a safe haven, the Aegir appreciates their neutrality towards certain figures. Even if she keeps her family history hidden, the travelling performer expects fewer untoward questions when taking a break here on her journey.

Rhodes Island however, is only safe perhaps because it contains figures far more eccentric (and dangerous) than herself. Not only in past, but in... personality. Or respect for boundaries. No sooner does she hear a sudden whisper behind her is a knife whipped from her hair, stopping a mere breath from the... hm? Wine red eyes blink confusedly. At least this unorthodox entry aids in Elegy relaxing.

"Oh! It's only miss ..Lappland. I'm sorry about the reaction, it's never my intention to be so on edge when I'm visiting this landship." The sigh is tense, shifting away from that edge of a creature hunted and back to a more... palatable personality. The narrow blade is replaced in her bun, and ...

"What were you... ah... are you trying to offer me pasta?" She watched as sauce dripped from the other and into the bowl. It seems far from sanitary. This is leaving alone the question of quality- she was... Siracusan, was she not? The Ueno family had some business there in the past. Purely business. "That's so very nice of you! But, well, I may have to pass..."

[besiegedhunter]

Red's abilities and Lappland Boss (Spoilers for the event.)

So I now make it a habit to examine the boss animations for the Siracusa story and I was looking at the Lappland Boss animations and I realized something:

How she moves around the map in her second phase is just Projekt Red's S2.

Like it hurts your operators like Red's S2 does as well.

Like it's generic. Sure. But I also feel some things can be gleamed from this, like for example uh Texas Alter is also an Executor with on deployment skill activation and Lappland Boss's animation are distinctly different.

It may look like the animations start early but this is the earliest I can show without the whole deployment menu (hence screenshake.)

But Texas S1 is like Red's S1: she lands without a slam and then her skill activates.

Her S2 is quick slashes noticeably without a slam.

Her S3 is her jumping and throwing her sword in the air to create the sword rain.

Lappland Boss doesn't try to emulate any of these, going for either a simple fast redeploy slam or purposefully emulating Red's S2. After all Zaaro before her has a very similar animation to Red's S2 with his phase transition, that similarity recently appearing in the recent 3D animation "Exclusive Screening of Lappland."

She kind of functions like a fast redeploy too and vaguely resembles how a Red boss could work with the moving around the map. Even the animation for her ascending is vaguely similar to Red.

We don't have an in game animation but we do have the animated trailer, though the scene is brief:

I want to point out as well the first screenshot of Red. She runs into a star akin to the ones around Lappland Boss.

But do I actually think there's a connection here? Honestly no. I don't think Lappland has gained the ability to walk on walls or propel herself etc. I mean this boss fight is like the Steam Knight's in that it doesn't even happen in canon.

But one thing I do think is maybe worth mentioning is that this may add context to these abilities of Red's.

See to play it safe with my theorizing around Red's mysteries I proffer the possibility that Red's abilities are caused by Grandma or as we learn in Portatori: Caesar. That she's the one actually doing these, just invisible as Beast Lords can make themselves, so it looks like Red.

These abilities being:

Scaring Lupos

The wolf, howl and explosion that appears in her S2

Walking on walls

Propelling herself (so far animation only)

In the least scaring Lupos is something that Caesar can do and so far the most reasonable explanation for why Red does scare Lupos.

But Lappland as we see her in Portatori is working with Zaaro. He's directly involved in her attacks, either in her Alter or her Boss form. If Caesar is the reason for Red's abilities then it would follow that Zaaro is allowing Lappland to do the same thing.

Lappland Boss's random ability to jump around the boss stage in a manner similar to Red could be an example. I'm personally going to hold my breath on that because there's key differences between the two.

These are the shots of Lappland Boss's impact:

And this is Red's S2:

There's a lot more actually going on with Red's animation than with Lappland Boss's. Some of these I think could be explained by the difference in time. The effects are more graphically impressive around Portatori than the launch of the game.

But the things like the wolf that appears, the howl, the claw marks on the ground, how the explosion is initially white like Lappland's and then turns red and then Red's eyes glowing afterwards.

If they wanted to drive it home that they're using similar abilities they could have just shown us but they don't which is curious because in Il Siracusano during the Zaaro bossfight:

And in the "Special Screening of Lappland" released for the global release of Portatori:

So even with Zaaro helping Lappland and proven to be capable of what Red is (he's the reason we know the Signori scare Lupos like she does.) there are these key differences between them kind of implying that Caesar is not responsible for Red's abilities, that Red is the one who creates her S2. The wolf, the wolf howl, the explosion.

Now these are in game and not stated to appear in the lore but it's a reappearing aesthetic for her and Zaaro so I feel confident there's something in it.

And I think we will get proof because of course at the end of Portatori, Caesar abandons Red and it's implied Red only sees Caesar now when Lappland comes to the landship so if Red walks on a wall or etc after Portatori we will get confirmation that she's the one doing those and will have to deal with the implications of Red being so similar to the Signori when no other Lupo is, not even their so called "Packleader".

Something to chew on.

Also Portatori wrapped up the Signori's plotline and Red left Siracusa but it didn't answer any of the questions about Red. What the hell?

[guilty-pleasures-and-dead-doves]

[Free Wolf, She-Wolf] Chapter 10

Chapters post

Chapter 9: Step into my parlour...

[Chapter 10] Spellbound

The Emperor had warned the boy; his girls stole away the breath Bison had barely recovered.

The sight of Texas and Sora in matching, tight, backless, shoulderless, mid-thigh, plunging-neckline dresses destroyed what little sense Bison might have maintained against the surprise and absurdity of the situation. Texas wore red, and Sora her usual black. Even if Bison had seen Sora’s Siracusan dress, this one would still have blown him away.

With Texas opening the door for her, Sora entered the room while giving Bison her best audience-dazzling smile, framing her face with her waving hands. “Hi, Bison!”

As much as her high-heels allowed her, she bounced and skipped as she moved to the side of the Emperor’s chair. She knew such a gait defeated the purpose of the heels, but she had more faith in her stage performance skills than her non-existent seduction experience.

The wide-eyed, open-mouthed look of awe he gave her gratified her like it never had coming from her fans. She’d never purposefully tried to elicit that specific reaction from people, and she felt differently about it coming from the young man she’d chosen to marry. For the first time in her life, she relished the power of having a man utterly spellbound.

But the night’s performance didn’t belong to her alone, so she looked back to Texas; as much to redirect Bison’s attention as to indulge herself in looking at her girlfriend.

At the same moment, Texas’s eyes shifted from Bison to her, as the lupo closed the door behind her. The soft look and smile she gave Sora fell away as she turned her attention back to Bison.

Texas stalked her way over to Sora’s side, using the high-heels to accentuate the lines and movements of her legs. Her face remained completely neutral, but eyes intensely focused on their target.

Sora cheerfully turned back to Bison, expecting to see him appreciate the sight as much as her. She was as surprised to see terror written all over him as Texas was not surprised.

Texas had even less experience with seduction than Sora. She’d metaphorically buried her sexuality even before she’d semi-literally buried her family. The only promises of the body she’d ever used to bend the will of others were the promises of physical violence.

Intellectually, Texas knew intimidating Bison worked against her goals, but she honestly had no idea how to provoke any other reaction.

At least, not without looking like a total fool and fraud. She’d seriously considered mimicking Sora’s behavior, but the thought made her die inside. If she had to choose between badly pretending to be something she wasn’t or being open about her unsavory nature, she’d rather be honest.

Sora linked arms with her and turned to smile at Bison, but she leaned into the lupo and whispered, “Texas, smile!”

Well, if Sora insisted it would help… Texas tried channeling her earlier enthusiasm into her face, and pulled the corners of her mouth farther apart, exposing some of her teeth.

If anything, that seemed to alarm Bison more.

Sora whispered again, “Not like Lappland!”

The look of shocked disgust on Texas’ face provoked the Emperor into another laughing fit. He made no effort to contain it, and as he hoped, his merriment brought a blush to Texas’ face to make her seem more human.

“Boss!” she protested. Her mortification brought a perverse sense of nostalgia for the days when her mother still lived; days when she still wore dresses instead of suits.

The Emperor unrepentantly mocked her. “I figured you want to eat him, Texas, but try not to let the boy think you mean it literally.”

Sora giggled nervously, wanting to defuse the situation but lost as to how.

But as the Emperor expected, Texas’ show of vulnerability managed to break the spell on Bison, and rouse the young man’s inner White Knight.

“Emperor, sir!” Bison snarled, rising to his feet. “This is much too far for a joke!”

The Emperor tilted his head back and idly scratched his throat. “I told you: I ain’t jokin’. Girls, why don’t you take a seat?”

The only other seats in the room were on Bison’s couch. Sora wearing a practiced smile and Texas keeping any further expression off her face, they split up and walked around the coffee table.

“Wait, what’re you— Miss Sora, Texas, what—”

Each of them took one of Bison’s reluctant but unresisting hands in their own, and sat down, gently pulling him back onto the couch with them and between them. He fell down and fell silent.

The softness and warmth of their hands and bare arms, the heat of their thighs permeating through his jeans, the scent of their bodies filling his world… Bison once again lost his ability to reason.

The proximity did not leave the girls unaffected, either. The Emperor watched as Texas and Sora became fully aware of Bison’s post-exertion scent; the boy’s sweat had dried but left its musk behind.

Texas was familiar with the fear-stink of mafia soldiers before and after mortal battles. Sora had endured the body odor of many unhygienic fans in meet-and-greets. It was a new experience to find a man's stench so agreeable.

Their fingers ever-so-slightly played with hands and digits already larger than their own, which did not help Bison’s state of mind.

When Bison finally remembered he had eyes but decided that the safest place to look was straight ahead, the Emperor deigned to continue.

“Consider yerself the luckiest man in the world. These fine young ladies are offerin’ you a two-for-one package deal. You could have a lovely flower on each arm, with no two-timing or jealousy or in-fightin’.”

He gestured to Texas. “With Texas, you get the experience of being loved by a warrior-woman who could and would break any other man in half with her bare hands. She’s willin’ to give up her transporter career to become a full-time, stay-at-home wife. She’s ready to have children immediately, the more the merrier, and you’ll never have to hire a bodyguard to look out for them.”

He gestured to Sora. “With Sora, you can enjoy the thrill of livin’ the dream that none of her screamin’ fans could ever hope to achieve. The starlet wanted by the tens of thousands chose you to be her Number One VIP Fan.”

The beast-lord held flippers to either side, ‘palm up’. “And on top of that, you’ll be the first and only man they’ve ever been with, or ever will be with.”

The Emperor leaned into one arm-chest, propping up his head with one flipper while sweeping the other across the three of them on the couch. “So, what do you think?”

Bison said nothing. He dared to look first at Sora, then at Texas, carefully trying to keep his gaze above their chins, helped by the fact that they were meeting his eyes.

He looked back to the Emperor and croaked, “You’re not joking, are you?”

Sora giggled nervously again, as a crease appeared between Texas’ eyebrows, and the Emperor sighed with exaggerated drama.

The Emperor said, “I can see that you need a little more persuadin’ of our sincerity,” and he hopped down from his chair. “Which means that this is where I take my leave.”

“Wait,” Bison said, with rising panic. “Where are you going?”

“Anywhere but here,” the beast-lord said, waddling out of Bison’s line of sight and towards the door through which Bison had entered the room.

Bison made to rise, but Texas and Sora put their hands on his shoulders.

The Emperor parted with the words, “Remember, girls: No Regrets.”

Then he shut the door behind him.

====

Chapter 11: Wanton, wanted, wanting, waiting

[fishing-lesbian-catgirl]

(Tomimi art source)

I find that a lot of the 5 stars might not be as powerful or versatile as 6 stars, but a lot of them have niches that they excel at that there aren’t any 6 stars to fill, even if they’re very specific. Lappland has the most consistent silence in the game, Asbestos can tank more arts damage than anyone, Cement can briefly have one of if not the highest defense in the game, Kafka needs specific maps to maximize dps but her ability to stall with the aoe sleep is really helpful against certain enemies, Blue Poison gives access to low dp arts damage, April is a fast redeploy sniper, Andreana brings ranged damage to abyssal hunter teams, and Franka and Projeckt Red can do guaranteed damage against high defense targets. Sure most of them aren’t units you’ll be bringing to every mission, but they can serve niche functions that make them, at least in my opinion, definitely worth investing in. If not for their niches than because they’re fun to use

While I do think the average power of 5 stars has gone down in Arknights from launch (ive noticed many gacha games tend to have pretty great lower rarity chars on launch and then have more unimpressive ones later, I suspect to make up for the lack of higher rarity units on launch) I do think people often overlook pretty good 5 stars because they arnt 6 stars.

Especially if you think of them less as supposed to be on par with 6 stars as fill a role of a 6 star someone decided to skip because they cant afford to gacha every operator or have too few upgrade materials. Morgan is way better then she is usually given credit for, especially if you dont have stronger helidrop assassins like Texalter, Skadi or Nearlter. Firewhistle also has pretty insane AoE damage, it just pales in comparison to Horn. Cantabile is probably one of the best vanguards in the game even if Ines brings more to the table. Quercus healing is only slightly behind Lumen and Eyjaberry (this assumes you got modules for Qeurcus) while also giving good shelter. Kroos the Keen Glint is legit almost on par with the 6 stars of her archetype and you should go level her now, especially if you do not have Exusiai. And of course many older 5 stars are still really great, Ptilopsis, Texas, Amiya, Provenance, Warfarin, Specter, etc.

[cerastes]

top 5 operators ranked by how much they like frozen pizza

5. Something About Siege Tells Me She Fucking Knows About This. Siege just gives frozen pizza energy and it's quite hard to explain. If you know, you know. 4. Pramanix on the principle that she's like a real ass regular girl besides the whole "besties with God" thing and she doesn't even like the ceremonial part of all of that, you know she's on those TV pizzas watching Red Line on her laptop late into the night. 3. Skadi famously has that one official artwork where she's eating pizza and she also famously has come to adapt far better to the surface world compared to her fellow Hunters, not to mention she was a mercenary for a significant amount of time, probably got real good at being a frozen pizza sommelier. 2. Lappland loves herself some frozen pizza and specially the really really cheap and crappy ones because, as we've come to learn, she HATES Italy Siracusa and hates everything that has to do with Siracusa, so she probably loves Brazilian Pizza and Wrath of Siracusans. Lappland will join the war on phony Siracusan food on the side of phony Siracusan food. 1. Nian and she's the actual grandmaster of frozen pizza, Brazilian Pizza, and something she calls "Yan Pizza" which no one likes, everyone hates, and Yanese Operators attack her with knives and kung fu if she makes a Yanese claim over those pies.

I was also going to put Aak there somewhere but he literally lives with Hung who is an insanely good chef, Lee who is an insanely good chef, and spends time with Jaye who is a professional food guy so likely Aak eats better than you and I. Also Doctor but Doc is not an Operator.

[dsknsk]

Operator names (trends)

(any operator will be mentioned only once, even if they fulfill multiple categories)

The 'Why do I need something fancy, lemme just use my name' operators (more are on this list actually)

Saria

Silence

RockRock (Rochelle Rockwell)

Jessica

Fiammetta

Nearl

SilverAsh

Dorothy

Angelina

Franka

Młynar

Morgan

Astgenne

Astesia

Heidi

Ceylon

Ethan

Ines

Jackie

The Warrior Cats operators

(noun/descriptive word + noun, usually nature-based)

Purestream

Cliffheart

Mudrock

Fartooth

Ashlock

Flametail (she has the name of an actual Warrior Cat. he drowned as he fell through the ice)

Wildmane (when spelled as one word)

Highmore

Firewhistle

Beanstalk

Frostleaf

Aciddrop

Blacknight

Windflit

Goldenglow

GreyThroat

Honeyberry

Heavyrain

Pinecone

Stormeye

Firewatch

Skyfire

The operators who let themselves rather be described

Flamebringer

Steward

Scavenger

Executor

Enforcer

Minimalist

Cutter

Perfumer

Passenger

Courier

The colorful operators

Akafuyu (aka = red)

Schwarz

Mint

Indigo

Projekt Red

Qiu Bai (bai = white)

ShiraYuki (shira = white)

Platinum

Luo Xiaohei (hei = black)

Blue Poison

The operators you can build on

Cement

Gravel

Asbestos

The operators with a famous name

Magallan

Saga

Nightingale

Kafka

Mayer

Beehunter (= Beowulf)

These operators think foreign languages are cool, actually

Ling

Chongyue

Leizi

Shaw (xiao)

Waai Fu

Aak

Hung

Ebenholz

Jieyun

Yato

Mizuki

Lee

Lin

La Pluma

Toddifons

Kazemaru

Sussurro

Gitano

Qanipalaat

Saileach

Pozyomka

Zima

Rosa

Istina

Pramanix

Sora

Exusiai

Gnosis

Yato

Noir Corne

The operators at home in the kitchen

Mousse

Vigna (vigna angularis)

Pudding

Paprika

Absinthe

Tequila

Vanilla

Croissant

The musically talented operators

Bagpipe

Horn

Wind Chimes

The operators who mash two words into one

Blemishine

Corroserum

Whisperain

Lunacub

Whislash

Shamare

The operators you can find on the map

Texas

Lappland

Aosta

Matterhorn

Provence

Eyjafjalla

The operators who refer to their origin species

Tuye (means 'camel')

Cardigan

Dobermann

Beagle

Podenco

Tomimi

Durin

Manticore

Bison

Ptilopsis

FEater (= iron-eating beast, aka panda)

Leonhardt

Glaucus

Weedy

The mythological operators

Ifrit

Surtr

Dusk

Nian

Vulcan

Dagda

Indra

Nightmare

Skadi

Sesa

Mostima

Ceobe (= cerberus)

Pallas

The nature-loving operators

Breeze

Chestnut

Lava

Orchid

Quartz

Humus

Bubble

Haze

Meteor

Meteorite

Quercus (= oak)

Reed

Beeswax

Carnelian

Plume

Folinic

Warfarin

Flint

Rosmontis (= rosemary)

Kal'tsit (= calcite)

Mountain

Aurora

Midnight

Hibiscus

Blaze

Mulberry

[catgirl-doghouse]

I’m still having thoughts about how Texas and Lappland are so incredibly similar and how that leads them to clash with each other.

Like idk what to preface this with, but just observing that Lappland acts wild but displays a very high degree of competence and control. Texas acts very controlled, but she’s running around with Penguin Logistics getting into all sorts of trouble. Even just aesthetically mirroring each other (Red/White/Black and Blue/Black/White). They know each other so well, and reflect parts of each other, and that drives them to compete and fight. I think it’s interesting