#I'm actually tagging this one in case people need some unit ideas for some 4 star heroes

[childofaura]

I am bored and overloaded on fodder from arena tickets and pity breaks, so any suggestions for other projects while I get grails for baby Azura?

<3

I'm probably gonna be super biased towards some units, just because they're my favorites, lol.

Big one I can think of is Python. If you have a spare Summer Elincia lying around, her bow works really well for Python, and since he's a cavalry bow, he has good reach. Mine has a bit of an outdated build, but I run him with Whitecap Bow, Swift Sparrow, Desperation (it has saved my ass and I can't wait for Desperation 4), and Threaten Def (which you can just substitute for some other C-skill). Plus Deadeye.

Luthier is a good green mage unit if you need someone with speed and attack power. Not a whole lot of 4 star green mages are super fast that I know of, but he's a good one. I've considered foddering Tailtiu's Teacake Tower on him, but we'll see if he gets a Refine soon. Holding off until then.

M!Morgan is a big one for me, I have him dual-function as an offensive and supportive unit with Inf. Null Follow 3 (so he can support his mom Robin and dad Priam in the Arena). His weapon with the refine is really good and it makes him a pretty hardcore demote Red Tome.

Benny's a fantastic Far Save unit for me, most people run him near save but that satisfactory Res stat makes him optimal for far save. Only thing is that I run him with Arcane Qiang which is hard to get, so go for it if you have one on hand, but hold off if not. Not a lot of lance weapons that help boost the Res stat. My Benny is run with Distant Stance, Mystic Boost 4, A/R far save, and Def/Res Ideal S seal. I'm considering nabbing an extra Armored Beacon fodder, but the Armored Beacon/Armored Floe fodder I have right now is being saved for if Miklan gets added to the game. So yeah, Benny's a sweetheart of a defender if you run a Far Save on him. I love Henriette but I've never pulled more than one copy of her, and Benny works best.

This one is weird, but Azama is also an interesting staff unit; he's not flawless, but I have him in Aether Raids and he tends to fuck up people who ignore him in favor of taking out other units first. Serpentine Staff deals less damage than Pain does (7 HP as opposed to Pain's 10), but it also has built in Deep Wounds. So I run him with Fort. Def/Res 3, Renewal 3 (which probably should be replaced with Poison Strike, or Poetic Justice if you need him to attack better), and two counts of Savage Blow 3. Problem is you gotta invest a LOT of Dragon Flowers into him. But to me, he's still worth the build. If you have a Holy Panic, slap that on him. His Attack stat is absolutely abysmal, but he's more of the "Death by a Thousand Papercuts" type of unit.

This one is only a suggestion if you have an Arcane Downfall, but Mustafa definitely is a solid axe unit. He virtually has Ganglot's kit (Distant Stance and Quick Riposte 4) plus Def/Res Menace and Fort. Def/Res 2 as an S seal. If you have good support units behind him, he's a monster. The unit showcase video I did of him has him taking down Ninja Camilla, though I'm like... 95% sure it was unmerged (or only had one or two merges), but STILL. He's an enemy phase slaughterhouse.

This one goes without saying, but one of my most utilized units is Silas. The only thing that sucks is the constant influx of sword units that are starting to outclass him (LOOKING AT YOU, B!SELIPH), but if you play to his weapon refine, he's incredibly reliable. Just needs a Far Save unit to cover him, lmao. I run him as an enemy phase unit: Sturdy Stance (prevents cooldown charge in most cases, very useful to prevent him from getting wiped out by a Special), Quick Riposte 4, Atk/Def Menace (which I may replace someday if we get a better Atk/Def C-skill), and Atk/Def Form 3. His refine weapon, Sworn lance, requires a support partner, but it prevents most units from making follow up attacks; which means sometimes he can tank hits from dragon units (but not all the time) because he prevents their follow up attack. So most of the time in combat, he's getting at least 20+ Atk and Def. And his support partner is OG Kinshi Hinoka (since I paired them in my Fates game), so with her Atk/Spd Oath 4, she can usually get around to where he is if she's close enough to him or another unit. He's not as destructive as Geralt or Petrine, but he's my buddy and that's all that counts.

Sorry for the long list, I started going down my barracks and realized I have a lot of units that I just have fun using, lmao. There's a couple I left out but I didn't wanna drag out the list.

[mental-health-advice]

(Kinda urgent-ish) I'm confused... I've self-harmed a few times in the past couple of months but not in a depressive way, my life is pretty perfect at the moment.. I was just curious. An example from the other day was we were using scalpels in art and I just thought 'I wonder what would happen if I cut my hand with it' and even though I knew what would happen I did it anyway. It doesn't feel good or bad. I just see it as experimentation, but I don't know why? (1/2, please tag DangerNoodle)

(2/2, for DangerNoodle) I get other thoughts too, ones I know are wrong and I don't act on like 'what if I shoved this scalpel through my hand' last year I had to go to the minor injuries unit because my brain said 'I wonder what would happen if you put that entire pin/badge into your hand' so I did and I had to get it removed because it got stuck (I had to have a tetanus as well) I don't want to see a doctor, it's just experimentation right? There's nothing wrong with me.

Hi lovely,

Thank you for reaching out to us here at MHA. This does sound like a really confusing situation for you to be going through, so I hope I can give you a little information and help!

I do think you’re right that a certain amount of these thoughts is experimentation, we all have strange little thoughts that pass through our brain, so yes, I think that is completely normal. However, what we need to recognise is that these thoughts may have harmful consequences for us, like hurting ourselves or someone else in some cases - and if the consequences are bad, we need to try and ignore those thoughts and move on from them. We call these thoughts ‘intrusive thoughts’ because they are things that you don’t consciously think about, they just intrude into your everyday thoughts.

Intrusive thoughts like these can be super hard to deal with, but there are some techniques that you could try and use to help you manage them. When dealing with intrusive thoughts like this many people opt for trying to suppress the thoughts and ignore them. Unfortunately, this often doesn’t work and can actually make the thoughts much worse.  This has been described as the white bear effect: if you ask someone to sit for 30 seconds and not think of a white bear, thoughts of a white bear will actively occur more so than normal. The most important thing with intrusive thoughts is to avoid giving them too much power - easier said than done - but if you don’t give the fire and fuel then the fire can’t burn, you know? So, if you try and avoid milling over the intrusive thought and attempting to analyse it you are giving it the attention and fuelling the thoughts further.  This is not to say you should completely ignore the thoughts, but simply acknowledge the thought is present and then move on and try to distract yourself.  Instead of repressing them, I think an important thing to do is challenge the thoughts - you can do this directly, or some people find it helpful to challenge them sarcastically, for example ‘‘Oh yeah, what a greeeeat idea that is!!’

I am going to share a couple of resources with you which are helpful interactive guides to help you start dealing with the intrusive thoughts:

This four step programme

Intrusivethoughts.org

Suppression

To help with distracting yourself from the thoughts here is our page about distraction techniques. Grounding techniques might also be something you could try? Grounding techniques help to bring your focus away from any intrusive thought, bring it back to your consciousness and back to reality. We have a page of them here! I suggest to begin with you try something like saying the alphabet forwards and then backwards slowly, or running your hands under really cold water. One I find particularly useful is:

Describe 5 things you can see

Describe 4 things you can hear

Describe 3 things you can feel

Describe 2 things you can smell

Describe 1 thing you can taste

Although this may not be something which is causing you too much distress right now, please consider reaching out for some help from a professional if you find these thoughts becoming more frequent and are having a negative impact on your life. Also, if you do self-harm and injure yourself then please reach out to your local emergency department for help dealing with your injuries if necessary. 

I hope some of this has been of use to you, lovely. Please don’t hesitate to get back in touch if there is anything else that we can do for you. Having these thoughts does not make you a bad or weird person, they literally intrude into your thoughts and you can’t control them. They don’t reflect personally on you. Please take care!

Rhiann xo

[jeanandthedreamofhorses]

Thanks for responding on the titanization question. I'm that Eremika shipper who asked you some other questions. I agree Historia's pregnancy was needed for both completeness of the coup and as insurance in case Titanization didn't work. If this story wasn't probably ending in the next 6 months (timeline-wise), I think a King (& daddy) Eren would likely be in the works. But things are going TOO SMOOTHLY for the Yeagerists. Hate to say it, but I'm hoping Warriors + SC throw a wrench in their plan

(2/3) Continuing on my previous ask, Isayama should provide damn good justification for Eren’s coup on Paradis, if not soon, then by series end at least; Eren choosing the path of fear in this conflict, while realistic, sends a depressing message, which I think totally merits resistance from the SC + Warriors. Ever since he slaughtered children in 101, he permanently lost hero status in my eyes.

(¾) Maybe I’m an idealist, but I think this story is at its best when we have heroic characters who inspire others to overcome the limits of human nature (Trost Eren, Erwin, Mikasa, The Brauses). Zeke/Eren/Historia SEEM to have resigned themselves to a plan rooted in Machiavellian cynicism; it may be right, but the story would not be complete if they went unchallenged by others who dreamed of more as Eren once did.

(4/4) Last part! I think Eren/Zeke/Historia go public in the next 3 chapters, and Eren is the father (goodbye my ship lol). But after some wallowing in despair, I hope Mikasa/Armin bucks up and looks for an alternative solution to the entire conflict, even if it means opposing Eren. Mikasa really needs this, imo. I think there’s something deeply poignant about her losing Eren to his new family, but still fighting to preserve the memory of the Eren she once knew. What do you think will happen?

Oh hi again! What should I call you? Is EM Anon okay? Em A-non? Ema? Eh?

Okay I guess I’ll respond to this per part:

1 - Yeees, I figured the regime change would take place before the Marleyan army arrived, but I haven’t factored in Spy!Pieck, partly because I really didn’t expect it to happen. It’s an interesting spanner in the works.

2 - You’ve read my meta on Eren’s motivations right? I’m pretty confident about it, but whatever they are Isayama will definitely reveal them at a pivotal moment. I actually really like how we’ve not been given Eren’s POV, it puts us in the same shoes as Eren’s friends who’ve been isolated from him. We’re trying to figure him out along with them.

If my meta’s right, then Eren isn’t so much choosing the path of fear as the one that will keep his friends safe. It’s a very interesting conflict between the macrocosm and the microcosm, and a question which I think very few of us would be willing to answer. Would you torture the people closest to you to spare a nation that’s been trying to kill you this whole time anyway? That’s essentially what fuels Eren’s decision to go for the Rumbling to save Historia. 

It’s not heroic, with the huge number of people inhabiting that nation, the vast majority of them innocent, and as you say he’s no longer a hero. But Eren is all too aware of this: he gave up on being a hero when he realised he was a historical accident in Uprising, and decided to live on for his friends specifically in Shiganshina.

3 - I personally see the series as a work in the deconstruction of the grand dreams and goals that are usually happily fulfilled in shonen. The goals of most of the characters have either changed or are changing, after realising their original hope was built on a lie. Eren’s reaction to seeing the ocean was the best example of this, and we’re seeing it with Mikasa now too as she re-evaluates Eren. 

What’s left is for them to either dedicate themselves to the Idea regardless at the cost of their own desires, as Erwin did in sacrificing himself; or else to show their true colours that had previously merely cloaked themselves in an illusory dream. This is what Eren is doing now, still ultimately just a normal kid who couldn’t handle losing his mum and can’t bear to lose any more friends on top of those he’s lost already.

So you’re right in drawing that distinction. Armin is one of those who continue to dream; that’s part of why Levi chose to resurrect him. We can see this still in his hopes for peace with Marley. However, these dreams can undoubtedly be tarnished, and Armin has already stained his hands in blood with his high-risk strategies. 

Armin and Eren will doubtless come to blows: the Mind against the Heart, Duty against Feeling. But will the cost of Armin’s Duty be any less taxing on his Feeling than the current costs of Eren’s Feeling on his Duty? If Armin has to kill his best friend, the very one who neglected his Duty to save him, surely it will be.

4 - As before, I think Armin will oppose Eren, and I’d bet my Founding Titan that Mikasa will too. It’s definitely where her development is taking her. Mikasa has also found new family - both in the SC and literally in Kiyomi - and her growing sense of duty over the series has been essential to her character. The old Eren, with his great dreams, ironically built up the very same Mikasa that would oppose him: she would have never joined the Survey Corps otherwise and would have never have changed the way she did.

The alternative solution I believe they will all find - and this is where Pieck spying enters the picture as well - is that Marley and Paradis will unite against Eren after he takes power. Even the people Eren’s won over will slowly begin to die (I think Falco might eat Zeke and Jean might kill Floch), or else desert him (I think Historia and the populace too will eventually leave his side when he goes too far). The grand Duty of peace will be achieved through the death of Eren - but what of the cost of Feeling? What of the human loss, which SNK has always carefully weighed against the achievements of these blood-soaked Dreams? And will the peace even last? I think the final victory will be heavily implied to be pyrrhic: hardly worth the cost.

In a nutshell, these are my broad-sweeping predictions. As for the final panel, I think that’s a flashback to Grisha and Eren. I rambled in the tags of a reblog about that - I will convert it into a proper post soon.

[anime-matchmaker-blog]

Hello. Could I request a male Fire Emblem, Drrr!! and BSD matchup please? I'm a ISTP Leo female. I usually came across as an enigma and quiet person, but that's only because I'm a rational person and rarely express my emotions. People usually praise me as an independent and cool person. I'm also a good secret keeper, hence why a lot of people like to confide in me. They also told me that my appearance doesn't match with my personality. [1/4]

Due to my perceptive nature as well as my intellect, pranks and deception rarely work on me. On the other hand I’m not good at lying, and I rarely compromise with others. I also hold grudges. I’m very stubborn too. I usually keep my distant because I don’t like socializing. I’m very blunt too, so I won’t sugar-coat my words. I also have strong likes and dislikes, and I’m only courteous towards people that I’m on good/neutral terms with. [2/4]

I like reading, mostly manga, fashion magazine, classic literature and news. I am fond of extreme sports and martial arts. I really like video games, and I spend most of my free time gaming. I have a sweet tooth and I can’t stand bitter food/drinks. Recently I took a liking to cooking, been trying to improve my skills and as a result prefer my own cooking over someone else. [¾]

I don’t like misogynist, especially if they are female themselves. Even though I like animals, the same can’t be said for amphibians and reptiles. I really hate people who badmouth and make fun of people with illness (physical and mental). My strength is my creativity, and it is my dream to become a writer and be able to publish the creative ideas inside me into written works. I hope that day will come soon. [4/4]

Hey, Anon-san! I hope you enjoy your match-ups! ^^ Thank you for waiting!

I hope your dream comes true

Lon’qu (FE: Awakening) -

As the only unit in the army who cannot talk to women, you can’t help but feel it has something to do with him being misogynistic. You watch him from afar but it does little to confirm your suspicions as he’s always interacting with the other men. The women don’t particularly mind because he does his job well and he doesn’t make them uncomfortable. You interacted with him once and he snapped at you, telling you to back off and leave him alone. If he’s misogynistic, fine. You can avoid him. Until you can’t.

Chrom, having had noticed your poor sword fighting skills, decides to assign you to train with Lon’qu. There are far better swordsmen who can teach you, you argue, but Chrom argues back Lon’qu is a better teacher than all of them and can be spared from time to time to help you. You can’t argue - he’s the crown prince, after all. Lon’qu follows orders no matter what they are but even he can’t help but behave awkwardly around you. His interactions with you are kept minimal and his instructions don’t make much sense. Eventually, you tell him outright he isn’t helping and being around him makes you uncomfortable. Lon’qu surprises you by apologizing and that he’ll do his best to teach you. He’s dedicated to his sword-fighting skills, that’s for sure.

Slowly but surely, he adopts a teaching method that’s effective. Your swordplay improves gradually and reaches the point you can hold your ground against him in a fight. You surprise him with your martial arts skills and you learn he isn’t competent in hand-to-hand at all, but learning from you is the last thing he wants. The two of you rarely talk outside of training sessions and he has a reserved personality that makes him quiet and awkward. You do see him helping out in the kitchen often, usually peeling potatoes. The two of you sometimes work together to cook for the rest of the army but even during times like those, he hardly opens up to you.

Once on the battlefield, Lon’qu acts like he was never uncomfortable around you. The two of you fight together, working in sync to eliminate enemies and ensuring Chrom’s safety. He’s a completely different person once in battle and he admits to you his fear for women disappears once placed in front of an enemy. This is news to you and he realizes a second later he revealed something he shouldn’t have. Unable to turn back, he continues on to admit he’s taken a liking to you, admires your determination, straight-forwardness, and ability to improve. He finds you pleasant to be around and he apologizes for his actions from the past. Now you finally understand it was a fear that made him awkward around women, nothing else. He has come to trust you, and that’s a step in the right direction.

Kida Masaomi (Durarara!!) - Neither you nor Masaomi look like how you act, which is one reason why the two of you gravitate toward each other. At first, Masaomi talks to you the way he does with everyone. That’s fine with you since you’d rather stay by yourself. There’s no reason for him to interact with you any more than necessary - but when you see him on the streets, it becomes a different story. No one would peg him as a gang leader and while it isn’t a secret, it’s something not many people know. When he notices you while out with his entourage, he approaches you the next day to keep what you saw to yourself. His tone shifted and his eyes gleamed with an emotion you wouldn’t expect him to express. You tell him his secret is safe with you.

It isn’t a secret that you have a fondness for extreme sports and martial arts and when Masaomi catches wind of this, he decides to take advantage of your skills. He doesn’t try to flatter you or manipulate his words when he asks you outright to act as his bodyguard. You refuse, partly because of your introverted nature and dislike for socializing, but mostly because he must have a ton of others capable of protecting him. He doesn’t trust any of them, he admits, doesn’t trust many people in his gang. He trusts you, however, and it isn’t like you’ll actually protect him. He has his own fighting skills but what he doesn’t have is someone to confide to. He wants you to be that person for him. So long he doesn’t rope you into anything dangerous or illegal, you agree to take him on.

As a result of this arrangement, the two of you spend a lot more time together - both at school and outside of it. When both of you are wearing your school uniforms, the air is pleasant and light-hearted. He loves indulging your sweet tooth and passion for video games, gaming with you whenever possible. During lunch, he makes it a mission to snatch bits of your lunch every day to the point you start making food for him. On the streets, though, the relationship between you two is strictly professional, but thanks to your creative mind, you also act as a tactician at times.

The two relationships you share with Masaomi remain parallel to each other until they gradually blur. He no longer calls you his bodyguard nor a member of the Blue Squares. When you ask him about this, he’s come to realized that it’s his duty to protect you. He can’t let you go or let you go to the front lines when needed. He knows you aren’t helpless but the thought of you getting injured because of him is one of his fears. He wants to protect the happy memories the two of you share and you feel the same way.

Tanizaki Junichirou (Bungou Stray Dogs) - Tanizaki gets along with everyone so his interactions with you are friendly and inviting. Naomi is usually with him and she befriends all women who may come to work for the ADA. Because of this, the three of you are often together eating at the cafe downstairs, or working on cases. Naomi tags along whenever she can but most of the time, she stays back to let the two of you wreck some stuff. His ability works well with your combat skills but you also compliment the other ability users in the ADA. Tanizaki gravitates toward you most of the time though, so the two of you are often working together.

Both of you match each other in terms of intellect and fighting prowess. As a result, each of you examines the case at different angles to reach the same conclusion. Sometimes, when he’s stuck, he asks you for help (asking Ranpo takes too much time) and he marvels at the creative ways you tackle the problem. Since he was a student, his academic skills are lacking, but he provides you as much help as possible when it comes to your writing endeavors.

In your down time, you and Tanizaki eat out, indulging each other’s cravings. You aren’t a fan of other people’s cooking so you treat him to homemade meals more often than you accept his. He isn’t much of a reader but he does enjoy the recommendations you give him. When it comes to video games, he prefers watching you and Dazai duke it out so he can cheer for you. He rarely plays himself since he’s terrible at them.

The blur between friendship and lovers is difficult to distinguish and Naomi is first to realize something has changed between you and her brother. She doesn’t call you out for it or threaten you - instead, she’s happy. She’s happy her brother has found someone to love and that you’re the one who’ll be by his side for years to come.