#the only cute chimera and is the penguin guy

[moss-c0uch]

currently bashing my head in with a rock

[shuttershocky]

Alright just the challenge modes for CB-EX-5 and 7 left, (and 8 vanilla) Here's the stuff I learned over the course of this event:

Pure damage such as from Amiya's Chimera or Franka's Thermite Blade talent is unaffected by the Greytail's shields, and considering the Elite Greytails have a mind-numbing 2000 DEF, it's a decent way of quickly taking them down when stalling them becomes difficult (such as EX-2 CM's increased enemy damage)

Speaking of the Greytails, regular Greytails will have shields that absorb 2000 Arts damage, while Elites' absorb 3334. They're rather expensive deployment wise (you have to dedicate a unit to block them and an arts unit to shatter their shield, which means you're usually using at least two units to deal with a single enemy) which can make them extremely difficult to deal with when combined with Bullies and Bulldozers who also need to be blocked, and the tight deployment limits of CB-EX-5. This is fixable with...

Arts Guards! Holy shit you guys, they're so good. Mousse and Astesia are the most deployment-efficient way of dealing with the Greytails, with Astesia even able to beat up two of them at once. They'll need to be supported with heals because Greytail damage is rather high, but if you were looking for a way to deal with those goddamn shields, look no further. They're also really good at ripping up Bulldozers you've managed to block, but there's one unit who's able to block a Bulldozer and hit them back.

Don't think of Dur-Nar as a Defender who's strangely damage-focused, think of her as an Guard with arts damage who's got significantly more DEF than the most other guards, with a (clunky) AOE option. While her Arts damage only activates when her skills are being used, the value of someone who can block a Bulldozer and actually be able to hit them back and make it hurt isn't to be underestimated. For a majority of the challenge maps, you should be able to comfortably block a Bulldozer where your casters can beat them down. If you find yourself unable to kill them fast enough however, consider swapping a defender out with Dur-Nar. Just support her with a medic though, okay? She doesn't raise her DEF.

CB-EX-2's CM gives increased damage to enemies, which gives the Bulldozers and elite Greytails the ability to steamroll through your defenses. Don't just slap a block over the top left of the map and form a killbox of operators like you did in the vanilla EX-2 stage, the Bulldozers are strong enough to nearly oneshot Cuora at E2 level 30! Once the Bulldozers spawn, you have to let them run around the map in circles, buying you time to kill everyone else so you can focus fire them when you run them back. If you let them run through you, remove the top left block and put one on the bottom right as they reach it, then let them pass through you a second time and put a block on the top right just as they reach it, they'll be forced to go through the killbox three times. Block them on the third time, where you hopefully would have killed everyone else!

CB-EX-4's CM's double HP and increased range marksmen mean you canNOT let them too close to the terminal without at least making them 1/4th HP. They will fucking destroy you. Slap an Ifrit (or a Schwarz with at least M1S3) on the high ground block nearest to the enemy spawn facing up to hit the Fanatics and Bullies that spawn in the top lane, but place a very strong sniper in the high ground block above that one, facing down at the Marksmen spawn. Put a ranged guard as well on the melee block closest to the command terminal, you cannot afford the Marksmen to spend too much time near it in Challenge mode.

For EX-5, the order of the block placement to force all enemies to move through the center is (if i remember this correctly) place Top, place Right, remove Top place bottom, remove bottom place top, place left. Use the enemy path lines to guide where to block next. The key to winning the stage without activating the command terminals is to funnel all enemies through the center where you've formed a killbox of 5 operators, so using the blocks is critical if you want that penguin trophy. I haven't done the CM yet, but with caster ops having tripled DP costs, it looks like time to bring out the melee arts units and supporters (also the terminals should be usable this time)

EX-6, both normal and challenge mode, is very easy, perhaps even the easiest of the challenge stages. It's a straight brawl where a horde of elite enemies rushes your left gates, while you have all the high ground in the world to support your ground units with. The CM reduces the block of vanguards and guards by 1, so remove all block-1 guards (sorry Franka, you were great in the vanilla stage) so prepare your Defenders. Here's a note: if your damage is high enough, you only actually need Block 3 at top and middle lane on the very last tiles, the Bulldozers' crisscross movements make them not pass through the last bottom tile. Use AOE guards (and a Texas if you have her) on the bottom tiles. Bring Gitano too, her massive AOE on skill 2 was made for this brawl.

For EX-7, Rat King's most dangerous attack isn't his massive 1500 damage cross attack he does on your highest HP unit; that can easily be tanked and healed off by most competent defenders. His most dangerous attack is the one he reserves for your lowest max HP unit that deals 100 arts damage a second in the 8 tiles around them. That shit is gonna eat through your team, and is how he destroys your defenses. What you need is a low max HP unit guarded from a safe distance by your strongest ST medic. It can't be the medic themselves, because the tornado reduces ATK by 70% which will cripple the medic's ability to withstand the tornado. The defender that eats the cross attack on the other hand, can be sustained by just a healing defender placed on their diagonal if they're extremely tough, like Cuora.

Continuing with Rat King, his shield eats roughly 14,000 arts damage before it's broken, and he has 36,000 HP with 250 DEF after. Do NOT be tempted to bring out Exusiai and spray him when you break his shield like you would delete most bosses with her. I did this mistake, and RNG fucked me and gave the angel buff to my Specter blocking a Bulldozer, causing her to have higher max HP than my Cuora and the resulting cross attack annihilating my entire team, plus Rat King's 250 DEF gives him a decent defense against Overloading mode. Slow and steady wins vs Rat King, don't get excited and try to be cute with skills or talents that introduce RNG or lower your DEF in any way.

In EX-7, the Bulldozer runs in circles around the map until about 29/35. Don't get excited and attempt to block him early when you can't afford to fight him yet. You have time.

[omgnsfwisnsfw-blog]

NSFW #2.5: Zombie Flesh Eaters

It was always astonishing how small the world really seemed from this high up. NSFW would be landing in Medellin in an hour or so. They had left their home base after only a sparse couple days in Pittsburgh. They could have made a straight shot right from Cusco to Medellin- it would have meant less time airborne and more sightseeing- but they had an important appointment that couldn’t be delayed. So home they’d gone, and in their brief time there they hadn’t simply dealt with what was necessary, they’d spoken at length of things they wanted to see and do while in Colombia. However, at the end of the day, it all cycled back to what they were going there for in the first place. The ascent back up to the top- perhaps less literal than the ascent they’d taken together back in Peru, the grand pinnacle being the city full of the ghosts of a long-passed civilization, but no less strenuous. To prove to smirking, haughty Cross Reboca and his vicious, desperate partner that they weren’t going away, that they would be breathing down their necks as long as they held the Chimeras. Of course, that meant clearing away any obstacles in their path. The obstacle now, strangely enough, was the team that they first thought they would be chasing upon their imminent arrival to Valor Pro. Things had changed rather quickly. Now, with Cuba below them, its buildings in miniature from this altitude, Mike found themselves musing about the peculiar pair, representatives of an even more peculiar group. Giving a glance to their partner, who seemed enthralled by the view of the world from above, Mike looked to their phone, raising an eyebrow at the camera. “To be honest, I don’t really get it. I mean I wanna get it. I want to like you guys. You seem cool, and your mission statement is on point. I mean, after spending the last couple shows fighting against the fuckin’ paragons of self-serving bullshit, a team whose mission statement is to improve the world around them is a goddamn breath of fresh air.” Tucking their hands behind their head, Mike glanced past their partner out the window, shrugging. Their Mets cap was turned to the side, the brim tilted in an almost jaunty manner over their left ear. They and their partner were both clad in jean shorts and sneakers, as well as tank tops to beat the heat wave that’d been gripping Pittsburgh when they left it- Mike’s a plain white ribbed Fruit of the Loom number, John’s a heather grey with deliberately faded text reading ‘Property of Pittsburgh Penguins Hockey Club’, likely a gift from the redhead at his side. “And it ain’t like we don’t got shit in common. For one, we both got screwed worse than the recipient of the world’s biggest gangbang by ReKota- you got screwed out of the Chimeras, and we got screwed out of obtaining them, because actually playing fair and winning by your own goddamn mettle seems to be a foreign fucking concept to them. They don’t care as much as we do. You two. Me and Church. Those belts mean more to people like us than they do to a rich boy and his spoiled bitch. In all of this, Zombie Vice Squad and NSFW agree.” Their lips twitched as if in thought, and then pursed into a thin line. Their eyes narrowed to match. “But then I really start to think about your methods. It sounds nice on paper, yeah? We’re here to make the world a better place. We’re here to bring everyone up to our standards. And this is where you guys stop sounding magnanimous and start sounding fucking authoritarian.” John listened intently. He began to speak and his tone was just audible enough for the camera to pick it up. His fingers touched the window lightly.   “Mike. Kowloon, Siberia, they’re as legitimate as tag teams come. Inaugural champions. Impressive pedigree,” maybe perhaps dismissively, he waived that off, “that won’t matter. It never does. Ours didn’t matter. What mattered is one malicious act and three seconds later and our claim to the throne evaporated. But nowadays, you tune in and it's an alphabet soup of irrelevance. Spending precious time talking about anything but Valor Pro. Our little piece of this sport has been overtaken by complaining, petty vengeance, legal proceedings, and the melodrama of who created who.” His shoulders shrugged, eyes still towards the glass. The camera was angled so by Mike that it caught John’s reflection in the window anyway. “Getting away from what matters. Tag team wrestling.” “That’s what it’s all about. That’s all it should be about. If you have some kind of bigger agenda it should be secondary or you’re never gonna win. Not because you ain’t talented. I mean, Kowloon seems to make a point that he worships the Gods of Swole at the Temple of Iron. Dude, you might be cut like a gemstone but that ain’t gonna make a lick of difference. That conditioned body of yours might look nicer than mine…” Mike looked over their bare arms, their toned musculature going taut as they tighten their fists, but the scars of assorted shapes, lengths, and ages standing out even more against their skin. If they were self conscious about them, they were doing their damnedest not to show it. “...but that just means it’ll make a prettier picture when I lay you out flat. Again, I ain’t saying this outta fuckin’ disrespect. I’m sayin’ it cuz that’s what’s going to happen. Of course, you probably think the same damn thing. You’re a lot like me, Kowloon- a two fisted fighter with a temper on you. Which is real interesting, especially when you think about your partner. Siberia, as cool a customer as my partner. It’s almost like you two are some weird alternate universe version of us.” They smirked a little. “In another circumstance? It’d be cool to get to know you better. You two… probably all four of you… sound like you’ve been through fresh fucking hell. You smell like smoke cuz you’ve walked through fire. We can relate. We saw what you said about us before- you were smart enough to see through Berlin and Brenna’s bullcrap and we like that too. We could almost be friends, or at least allies. Least… till we start falling short of whatever gold standard you’ve set for humanity in fuckin’ general.” “We aren’t those two. Whatever they have outside of all of this clearly did not translate well as a tag team.” A slight curve of his lips appeared in the reflection. A tiny bit of him felt the development was serendipity as Brenna’s biting words had been silenced in such a casual fashion. But most of all, he felt the act was cruel. “And who would doubt the tenacity of the inaugural Chimera Tag Team Champions? In one form or another, the Zombie Clan buzzsawed their way through a myriad of now imploded, temporary, and dearly departed teams to secure that honor. But we aren’t them either.” “You may come kinda close, but the fact remains- there ain’t no one like us but us. Where others falter and fall back, we stand tall. We’ve seen teams come and go- hopefully the ones here’ll have a bit more fuckin’ longevity than the ones from where we left. We call things as we see ‘em, and never mince words or shy away from calling people out where it’s warranted. But Church and me, we would never be so fuckin’ self important, so dismissive of peoples’ fuckin’ free will, that we would go about whooping the tar ouf of people who didn’t live the way we thought they should.” Mike’s jaw set, eyes flashing a bit. There’s a slight quaver in their voice- not from lack of constitution, but from trying to keep their voice at an airplane-appropriate volume. “People are gonna do stupid shit. Stuff that’s maybe not that great for them. Or the people around them. They’re gonna… I dunno. Snort a line of coke off the giant yet perky titties of a military themed stripper named Major Gunns while totally blasted off Jaeger Bombs at the Pink Cannonballs in Orlando, Florida. Is that a good course of action? Probably fucking not. Do they deserve to get their teeth kicked in until they course correct? Fuck. No. Learning from bad life experiences is part of being fucking human. If everybody behaved themselves like good little drones under threat of beratement or beatings, it’d be under duress and nobody would ever learn a fucking thing.” For a moment, John turned to Mike, giving them a curious eyebrow raise to this oddly specific tale. He had a question on the tip of his tongue but with the camera on, he felt it better to barrel on through. “So spare us the moralizing. The Zombie Clan has aspirations to spread itself far and wide. And as of now, things seem to be working.  And while we respect those aforementioned accomplishments, Mike and I find it interesting that there seemed to be little resistance to when those championships were stolen from the Clan. Seemingly content with moving on to other matters. As vague and mysterious as those are, it seems a bit strange that Zombie Vice Squad rides again after we walked into this company … stepping over them.” Mike tisked, shaking their head. “And you could say that wasn’t your fuckin’ fault and I’d believe it. We know what happened and we already touched on it. That wasn’t a gaffe on you guys’ part, that was you getting screwed. But you know what WAS a gaffe on you guys’ part? Kowloon kapowing Siberia’s cute blue-haired butt right out of the ring during the Rite of Kings battle royal. Now, accidents happen, fuck knows. Kowloon, you seemed pretty fuckin’ distraught about it. But one’s gotta wonder…” They tapped their temple, a cheshire cat-like grin playing over their features. “...how does Miss Siberia feel about that? I wouldn’t blame her for being a tad bit fuckin’ miffed at you.” “We aren’t trying to create any dissension,” John’s smile was wry, “Trust us on that. Maybe that’s all been ironed out. Understand that we aren’t here to play for other prizes. There is only one that matters.” “No split vision here. My partner doesn’t have his sights on the Apex- let Callum and Cross and Cooper squabble about that shit. I don’t have my sights on the Unleashed Title- though honestly I’d love to fucking fight Aoki just to see how I do. The Chimeras are all we want. They’re worth being all we want. Those beautiful babies deserve better than to be someone’s second choice.” “They deserve better than to be held by a team that can’t go one week without bickering for the most inane reasons.” John’s thoughts went towards their defeat and despite the measure of comeuppance served to one Dakota Jennings, both of them were still empty handed. “But our claim to those championships has expired and we need to earn that chance all over again. Can’t think of a better way to make our case, Mike.” “Just call us a couple of zombie hunters. We know exactly what we need to do.” There’s that shark grin. Mike leaned into the shot, their devilish look filling up nearly the entire picture. “Look out for the teeth and aim for the fucking head.” The shot lingered on that grin another moment before the picture clicked off.

[spdy4]

Let’s Ask Arrow!

1) Hello! What's your full name? Do you like your name? Hello! My name is Arrow! I usually go by Arrow the Dragon. But my Real name is 

Arrow Yong Xiang. Due to my father being of the Xiang Clan. Now I personally like it. Due to the fact that it is a very unique and exotic-sounding name :3. 2) Neat name! How old are you? 24. So Mature, I know ;3 3) What exactly are you? I'm  a dragon! Well, technically I'm a hybrid between a Chinese Dragon and a Quetzalcoatl. Resulting in a cute, yet sexy combo that unlike anything you've seen. 4) Hmm, what's your favorite food/drink? For food, it's a Tie between Ramen and Pizza. But I kinda lean towards Ramen. As for Drink. I like Sodas and Water. 5) Cool! Have any siblings? If not, have you ever wanted any?I have a younger sister named Ember. She a little different than me. But the same amount of cuteness! I also have 2 Cousins. Both of them younger than me. One's Orion, he's a Chinese Chimera. Then there's Cinnamon, she's a siren. She's such a cutie x3. 6) Interesting, have parents? Which of your parents do you look more like? I do actually. There's my Father, Zion Cheng Xiang. The Emperor of Dracora. He's a cool dad. He believes in a fair and just ruler and he fights for the protection and safety of his people. Then there's my Mom! Aria Palmira Xiang. She's the Empress, she is so beautiful and she's super nice and motherly...I mean obviously, she's my Mom. Of course, she's motherly. 7) Who's your best friend, do you have more than one? Well, I got loads of friends on my world, and off world. In fact some of the artists on this website I'm friends with their OCs as well :3 (Arrow, you're breaking the Fourth Wall!) {C'Mon Ian, you know it's true though} (Yeah,...it is -w-; ) 8) Oh, that's cool! Have a crush/lover? If so, what do you like about them? Is there anything you don't like about them? Be honest I won't tell!~ You bet your sweet tootsie roll I do, Slash, He's a White Tiger, and he's a rouge. He's really cool! He's so strong and athletic. He's super flexible and likes to get rough. The only thing that I don't like is that fact if someone threatens him or just outright mocks him, he has a hard time of letting go and walking away. Now sometimes he's been able to control himself. But, sometimes he just pummels a guy, if gets to aggressive. I mean it's mostly their fault for egging him but We're working on it together! 9) Do you ever plan on having kids or adopting? Do you even like kids? I would like to have kids someday, but as of right now, I'm not really in a rush to that. I got loads of adventures to go on! At least I got my Slashy with me >//w//<~ 10) Do you have any secrets? If so, your secret is safe with me! Doesn't Everybody? That's why they're called "Secrets! 11) Interesting, okay! What's your weakness, have any? Rubber. It nullifies my Electric powers. Cause Rubber can't conduct Electricity >_>. I also sometimes collapse from exhaustion if I exert myself too much. 12) What are some of your greatest fears? Have a phobia? Spiders! I mean all those legs and hairy bits. I mean. I kinda like them, some of them are even cute. But if a Spider moves towards me I'll like, lose it. 13) If you could make a wish come true, what would you wish for? We stop fighting with each other over petty things. 14) Can I hug you? Sure you can! Bring it in :3 *Arms open for hugs*. 15) How would you describe yourself in three words?Cute, Sexy, Cool. Sounds like a TLC album xD 16) Ever been bullied or picked on? If so, did you ever get them back? Not really? I hardly ever get people who dislike me. 17) What are your favorite things to do? Flying, Training with my Sister, Video Games, and Chilling. 18) Have you killed anyone or committed a crime? WOAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!! Hold on there, That's a really out of the blue question. I mean I haven't committed any sort of crime before nor have I killed anyone...that wasn't a supernatural minion to a shadow king. That doesn't count, right? 19) What was your favorite toy as a child, and whatever happened to it? It's a Penguin plushy that was a gift from my friend Geneva in the Arctic Kingdom of Iciria. She's also a Princess like me :3. 20) Ah, interesting, well this meme is almost over! Just one more question, what is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you? Well,........... one time I was trying on some shorts and I thought I grabbed my size, but I grabbed a smaller size and I accidentally ripped them when I bent down to grab my phone, and even worse the stall door was broken and the door had swung open and like 10 people in the store saw my undies and my butt >///~///<;. I mean, I'm over it now. But it still kind of embarrassed me today.

If you want to ask Arrow a Question, send it to my inbox and I’ll try to answer as best I can!