Farming Demon Zebra is rage-inducing. (Experiences of a frustrated Zebra farmer)

I hate this guy. Not because he was tough, oh no. I had more difficulty in the Noera Battlegrounds' FIRST LEVEL compared to this guy. It's just that his drop rate is insanely low...and I need another Dark unit. My last rare summon was a freakin' Aem. As if I didn't have enough Light units already!

Let's see... I have God Atro (Breaker), Knight Atro (Anima), Holy Queen Luna (Anima), Cyborg Lilith (Guardian), Cyborg Lilith II (Guardian), Legionary Melchio (Oracle, sadly), Hero Alma (sadly, another Oracle), Maiden Vanila (Guardian), and that Knight Aem I just summoned (Lord).

Now, Demon Zebra has a sizable amount of HP. Honestly, I found Creator Maxwell harder than Zebra. Maybe because when I fought Maxwell, my team was totally comprised of four star units that are barely at MAX level. If I'm not mistaken, they were Fire Knight Lava (Guardian), Holy Knight Atro (the current God Atro, Breaker), World Tree Altro (Oracle, unfortunately), War Captain Mega (Anima), and Queen Lidith (leader, Lord), with Champion Aem (Breaker) helper. Well, I DID use up all of my items and finished with a dead Fire Knight Lava, but I STILL beat him. Friend Aem was MAX level though.

Anyways, back to Demon Zebra. He is a Dark type unit, and, as you'd expect, he can Curse your units. His attacks can also inflict Injury on your units. His attack is off-the-charts high as a unit, but really, his defense sucks. So...if I ended up having this guy...no Oracle for me. Hopefully. My Bayley and Fennia were both Oracles, and my Vanila was a Guardian, so I'm not expecting too much.

My team for Demon Zebra the first time I fought him consists of Cyborg Lilith II (Guardian, and leader), Drake God Lodin (sadly Oracle), God Tree Eltri (World Tree Altro from Maxwell's battle, Oracle), Drake Queen Aisha (Lord), Commander Mega (War Captain Mega from Maxwell's battle, Anima) and friend Cyborg Lilith II (also Guardian). Spheres used were Burny Soul Stones (both Liliths), Cordelicite (Lodin), Flesh Armor (Eltri), Sacred Jewel (Aisha), and Mech Sword (Mega). Not the best selection of team and items, but it does the job well.

The first run of Zebra is not the easiest, as I'm finding current runs of Zebra FAR easier. Nevertheless, I beat him in 8 turns by spamming Brave Bursts as much as needed, using ALL of my healing pots (Cures and High Cures), and using a lot of Holy Waters and Tonics. Luckily, most of the BC ended up to both Liliths most of the time, and they often use their BB on Zebra. First turn BB by most of my units had this effect on Zebra. He also uses his 'weak' BB, Chaos Rage, on turn 1 of this run.

That's what happened. Note that Eltri was guarding at all times unless he was going to heal. At turn 5, and every five turns after that, I think, Zebra unleashes a strong Brave Burst, called 'Gravity Nova'. It's INSANELY STRONG if you somehow forget to guard, and I went from full health to this crap after that attack.

Yeah... Everyone was on guard mode though, and I vaguely remembered Eltri suffering from a Critical and a few added normal attacks from Zebra. Yes, Gravity Nova functions like that one accursed attack, Endless, from Creator Maxwell (as well as Cardes the Malevolent form what I read from forums and watched on YouTube), where during that Brave Burst, the guy just spams his normal attack at you. Not a pleasant experience. Especially when you're wasting Tonics over and over and over and OVER AND- GRAAAH!

I'm out of Blue Drops, Suzu Nuts and Buru Nuts. A farming spot for those three items that does NOT include the Friday Event Dungeon or the town's farm and river is greatly appreciated. Especially Buru nuts. I literally ran out of Buru Nuts for Demon Zebra and Palmyna Spirit World. I'm talking about the Alpha Behemoth and God Phoenix dual boss.

Anyways, BACK TO ZEBRA! I ended the battle with a large, victorious smile on my face when the rest of the people in my group of Brave Frontier players were busy with other stuff. It was like what? 10.30 pm when I beat Zebra? And I was in public, too! Well, it was my family's cafe but STILL! I literally had to double-check in case there weren't any glitches, because I did not believe my eyes.

This was how the battle ended.

Yep. Luckily, no Revives were needed that time. Bringing Eltri helped to reduce my usage of Tonics, but...the second time I used that exact team setup against Zebra, the guy ANNIHILATED my team. So I invested my time in getting my very first six star, Holy Earth Lance.

Remember that time when I raged about Lance not dying when he would just die the next turn, last post? Oddly, Lance is now my favorite unit in Brave Frontier. I started with Selena, and Lance was the second-last starter I obtained, but...he's my first six star. NO REGRETS HERE.

I was looking for the Defense buff from his SBB. This is Lance NOW, by the way. When I evolved him and leveled him up a few levels, I decided to do the Battle Maiden dungeon: The Lightning Bomber. For this maiden, I did three runs: one on level 1, where I tested the waters for my group (it's usually me who tests the waters for event dungeons and quests, usually to report my findings for general knowledge, while hoping that nobody does the same stupid mistake as I did), and twice on level 3. I totally bypassed level 2 so I could just go straight to the Gem. Free player btw.

If there was ONE thing I learned: Lodin is an extremely squishy unit as an Oracle. Also, I probably shouldn't have brought two healers. Damage output is a bit too small for my liking and I feel as if I should be able to beat Fennia easier if I were to replace Phoenix with another Lance. Which I did the next time I did level 3. And whaddaya know?

I got Fennia. But she's Oracle... I don't really mind though. I have Amy AND Lodin, and that makes me happy.

So I did the Zebra dungeon again, this time with a completely redone team. Oddly I ended up having a better time with the team, even when I'm using up all of my Tonics and Holy Waters.

Me likey. This was after Gravity Nova, and Lance forgot to guard after he used his Super Brave Burst. And the picture above is my current team. No healers. I'm crazy. But their levels have been raised, especially since I was going to attempt the new battle maiden earlier on. I literally just leveled my team members up this afternoon. Here are the stats (I will not be putting screenshots...for I will comment.)

Cyborg Lilith II (leader)
Level: 54
Type: Guardian
Element: Light
Leader Skill: Five Light's Force (50% power boost to all units when 5 or more elements are present)
Sphere: Burny's Soul Stone (10% boost to all stats)
HP: 4857
ATK: 1399
DEF: 1609
REC: 1370
Brave Burst: Divine Blaster (12 combo massive Light attack on single enemy)
BB Level: 1 (I know, that sucks.)

Drake Queen Aisha
Level: 60
Type: Lord
Element: Fire
Leader Skill: Pulsating Retribution (BB gauge fills greatly after each turn)
Sphere: Sacred Jewel (IDK why either...but it provides 15% boost to all stats, so maybe that's why.)
HP: 5595
ATK: 1672
DEF: 1587
REC: 1630
Brave Burst: Dragon Rage (40 HP damage on one opponent- wait this isn't Pokemon. Instead...it's a 10 combo powerful Fire attack on all enemies)
BB Level: 1 (It's sad, I know!)

Commander Mega
Level: 75
Type: Anima
Element: Water
Leader Skill: Water God's Power (50% power boost to all Water units)
Sphere: Mech Sword (DON'T ASK. PLEASE. 5% boost to all stats...)
HP: 4904
ATK: 1565
DEF: 1097
REC: 1752
Brave Burst: Cyclone Disaster (6 combo Water elemental power attack on all enemies)
BB Level: 2 (Well, that's slightly better.)

Drake God Lodin
Level: 48 (No comments please.)
Type: Oracle (Noooooo.....)
Element: Thunder
Leader Skill: Five Light's Force (50% power boost to all units when 5 or more elements are present)
Sphere: Cordelicite (10% boost to ATK and DEF of unit)
HP: 3892 (Pitiful.)
ATK: 1758 (Insane.)
DEF: 1136
REC: 1469
Brave Burst: Dragon Discharge (Increases all allies' BB gauge and adds Thunder element to attack for 3 turns; i.e. Aisha can deal more damage to Water units, even if her element is Fire, when Lodin's BB is under effect)
BB Level: 3

Holy Earth Lance (HELL YEAH!)
Level: 67
Type: Anima
Element: Earth
Leader Skill: Earth Creator's Power (50% power boost and 10% HP boost to all Earth units)
Sphere: Flesh Armor (10% DEF and HP boost goes well for a tanker like him)
HP: 5582
ATK: 1516
DEF: 1631
REC: 773 (The worst in my team.)
Brave Burst: Eternal Symphony (8 combo powerful Earth attack to all enemies)
BB Level: 10 (Which brings us to...)
Super Brave Burst: Mistral Barrage (10 combo Earth elemental attack on all enemies AND provides a great boost to all allies' DEF for 3 turns)
SBB Level: 7 (Too focused on Lance!)

Then...the new Battle Maiden dungeon became available: Queen of the High Skies. Same thing with Fennia: I probably tested the waters again first with level 1. I did level 3 twice and got Vanila. Very painful experience and more wasting of Tonics.

I needed those Fujin Potions for Lance's SBB. Very much needed when she spams her BB almost every turn, so I had to forgo the Stimulants.

Then I tried doing Zebra again. Nothing.

That was my sixth try overall and I was running out of Tonics AND Holy Waters FAST. So I'm forced to hold off the Zebra farming until I replenish my Tonic and Holy Water reserves.

So, before I end this mini-rant on low drop rates and the horrible RNG...I have a few questions.

1. Will my current team (plus Tiara or Phoenix helper, but most probably Tiara) be able to beat Cardes the Malevolent? If not, any suggestions? I'll probably be putting up a list of all my units AND all my spheres in a future post. Please remember that I am a FREE PLAYER.

2. Where are good places to farm Buru Nuts, Suzu Nuts, and Blue Drops that does NOT involve the Friday event dungeon?

3. Is it the best strategy to play mono when going against a Miracle Totem, or is a rainbow team with Five Light's Force better?

4. Be honest: How hard is it to farm Zebra? How many runs did you guys do before obtaining him?

Answers will be much appreciated, especially for number 2. I NEED TONICS!

Well, that's all from me. Bye!

Random Brave Frontier Screenshots

So, I've been playing a bit TOO much of Brave Frontier. No, seriously. I'm doing the Galant dungeon again ONLY for Vargas. I already have a God Arm Galant (Guardian, level 23, BB level 6). And I got Aisha from Rare Summon earlier. She's awesome, though I only got her three-star version. Now, I got some screenshots that I WILL comment on because, let's face it, I comment on myself a LOT when I'm playing the game. There may be more in the future.

First of all, Frontier Hunter. Now, I personally LOVE this mode to bits. My usual party to challenge it consists of: Malnaplis, Thunder King Eze, War Captain Mega, World Tree Altro, and Holy Knight Atro. They make it to the final stage. Usually.

Then, these matches come up.

Okay, WHAT?! These both were from the THIRD battles of Frontier Hunter Middle, if I recall correctly. They were usually NYMPHS or SPIRITS, for crying out loud! I never reached Battle 4 after the Winged Mimics totally massacred my team, and I was quickly taken down in Battle 4 after fighting Demon Abaddon. Well, at least Sky King Falma and World Tree Altro put up a fight against...who was it? Oh right. NEMIA AND STYA. In Frontier Hunter, they're HORRIBLE.

But this isn't the worst...

Okay. THAT'S worse. This is the FOURTH battle, for crying out loud! These Idols LOVE to spam their AOEs. As you can see, they have massacred most of my team, even my Altro, who has INSANE defenses. Ran out of Full Revives here, and also the Divine Lights. I just...ARGH. Challenge Finished! Cue cursing at stupid luck. Couple that with my sometimes unresponsive iPhone touch screen, which leads to a LOT of cursing, usually leading to rage-induced  'YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BRAVE BURST GODDAMIT' rants. 

This is the reason why I hate Nemia and Stya in Frontier Hunter. I always die against them. I mean, just...LOOK. They enjoy spamming their Brave Bursts at the EXACT SAME TIME. They Spark my Eze and outright KILL him. And they evolved! The other possible event units on this mode, Zeln and Galant or Alma and Oboro, weren't evolved, for crying out loud! They were FAR more manageable! At least, until Zeln keeps on kicking Mega. Then it's time to waste Elixirs.

Then...some things totally unexpected appear as enemies.

Okay, what? They're just freebies. Sure, they take a HELL of a long time to kill, but they drop LOADS of Esteem Points. My new high score is thanks to them, and the fact that the last fight was against the Atro, Lance, and Vargas team. Speaking of the fifth battles...

LOL. Awkward much? Nature God vs Vine Pike, a Holy Knight mirror match, and Thunder King + Thunder God vs Thunder King? Yeah, these fights got a LOT awkward. I won, though... Funny thing is, every time I choose someone with Nature God Lance as a reinforcement, the first screenshot plays. Whenever I choose someone with Thunder God Eze as a reinforcement, the second screenshot plays. Just my luck!

RIGHT! Enough with Frontier Hunter. Now...the bane of my existence...low drop rates, annoying RNG, and horrible luck all come together for...

Two separate occasions that I managed to capture Vargas on-screen out of the ten times I encountered him. None of which I managed to obtain him. Personally, I am annoyed at my own luck. And the RNG. It's always the RNG... The RNG made me waste freaking Ultra Balls, Timer Balls, Great Balls, and many other types of Pokeballs, only to capture Terrakion, Virizion, and Coballion with POKEBALLS?! A regular, run-of-the-mill, red-and-white POKEBALL?! Yeah, my cousin was shocked at my random, annoyed outburst.

If I don't get Vargas by the end of the Galant dungeon period, I am going to try my luck with Magress and Lance from Oboro's and Nemia's dungeons, respectively. After bashing my head on a table and cursing my luck repeatedly.

This...I have nothing to say. SCREW YOU, NATURE GOD LANCE. You could've died during the earlier assault, saving BOTH of our times as you WILL get beaten by the group of Fire units (plus Mega). This was Elios Plains in Palmyna, quest name is The Gallant Earth God. Happens to be the final boss of the area, too.

I was acting this scenario out in my head with the units.

Fire God Vargas: Alright, just a bit more!
(Everyone attacks)
Nature God Lance: (still standing with the small bit of HP left) Lolwut? XD
War Captain Mega: WHAT THE (censored)?!?!?! (Well, he IS a pirate. I assume he curses at least a BIT.)
Fire God Vargas: Dude. Not funny.
Fire Knight Lava: (eyetwitch)
God Arm Galant: It was...just a bit...more...
Hot Chef Lancia: Uh...
Head Thief Leon: NO MERCY!!!! HERE'S OUR CHANCE FOR AN ALL-OUT ATTACK!!!
Everyone else: Dude, you play too much Persona.
Fire God Vargas: Let's just end this.
Nature God Lance: (gulps) Well, crap.
(Lance is defeated)

LOL.

Well, that's all the screenshots I have for now, folks! Oh, and you don't need a five-star team for Maxwell. These are all four-stars that are adequately levelled! They're mostly at the 30-s range of levels, except for Aem (level MAX, and was the only viable choice at that time, Shida would've died too quickly), Lidith (level 27), and Altro (level 27, if I wasn't mistaken).

Song Lyrics Meme!

...Conclusion: I've been doing too many memes. Here's another one, I forgot where I got it, though.

Rules:
-Put your iPod/iTunes/MP3/WMP on shuffle, and for the first 15 songs, write the first lyric or two. Go ahead and skip over the ones that don't have lyrics or you have no idea how in the hell they got there.
-The reader's job is to guess what the song is and who its by.
-If a correct answer is given (song title and artist), the lyrics will marked as discovered.
-You CANNOT use Google or any lyric sites. That's cheating. And then you'd be ashamed.

 Well, shall we begin?
...This should be obvious, but I don't any of the songs here.

 1.  moteamasu kurai nara  tarinai hou ga mashi da
      onedari surun da  kenshinteki na ai o

 2.  senaka wo mukete kimi wa arukidashita
      kawasu kotoba mo nai mama 

 3.  Zenzen tsukamenai kimi no koto
      Zenzen shiranai uchi ni 

 4.  Estuans interius
      ira vehementi

 5.  kabosoi hi ga kokoro no hashi ni tomoru
      itsu no ma ni ka moehirogaru netsujou 

 6.  Lost destiny, far outcry
      They hear you no more

 7.  Taitei no koto ja kujikenai 
      boku wa kimi to tomo ni aru

 8.  mitsumeau  sono shisen
      tojita sekai no naka 

 9.  Make up, and dress up
      I become very lovely too

 10. toosan kaasan ima made gomen
       hiza o furuwase oyafubi ja buru 

 11. Dareka o mamoru koto de dareka o nikumu koto wo shiru
       Michi no kodou

 12. Dreamless dorm, ticking clock
       I walk away from the soundless room

 13. Imi to yume to inochi o atsumete
       Tsukurarete shimatta karada wa 

 14. Kaze no koe, hikari no tsubu
       Madoromu kimi no sosogu

 15. Yeah, naked truth lies, only if you realize
       Appearing in nobody's eyes, till they sterilize

Answer with BOTH the original singer and the song title if possible. One of them must be VERY SPECIFIC. I'll give some hints...

5 of the songs are from video games.

A large portion of the rest are Vocaloid songs.

The 'very specific' song is a VGM.

Two of the VGM are battle music.

One song is from KagePro.

One song, from what I know, is based on a true story.

For the VGMs, just putting the composer is alright. So, if the lyrics are...

Fear's awake, anger beats loud, face reality

...then there's no need to say 'Lotus Juice' as the singer, but just saying 'Shoji Meguro' is alright. Btw, song title is Mass Destruction.

Can you guess?

Song meme...

I'm doing another meme...this time a song shuffle meme. Memes are fun. What is wrong with me. I found this meme on Adoro te Devote.

IshouldbedoinghomeworkARRGGHH!

Basic rules, from what I perceive...

1. Put your music player on shuffle.
2. Answer the following questions with the song title, no matter how weird or silly it sounds.
3. NO CHEATING! Don't press 'next' if you don't like the answer!

Okay, so...you'll see just how weird my song collection is...I think.

1. How does the world see me?

16 Melodies (Beginning) - Mother 3+

...told you so. One of my favorite Mother series tracks...but I can't interpret this...

2. How is my life going?

Tetris Type A - SSBB OST

My life starts easy and gets frustrating PRETTY QUICKLY. Like how all my runs in Tetris end up.

3. What do my friends really think of me?

Einsamkeit - Germany and Prussia

Germany's character song. 'Einsamkeit' means 'loneliness' in German. I'm usually seen alone. You do the math.

4. Do people secretly lust after me?

SSBB Sticker Mode - SSBB

...really.

5. How can I make myself happy?

Rokuchounen to Ichiya Monogatari - IA

Run away from everyone that doesn't accept me with the only person that accepts me? Um...

6. What should I do with my life?

Heat Haze Days - Nico Nico Chorus version

Oh no. Try to prevent my friend from dying without realizing we're living life in a loop?!

7. Will I ever have children?

SMILES AND TEARS - Earthbound OST

...um.

8. What is good advice for me?

Tal Tal Heights - SSBB OST

... Conclusion: My iTunes Shuffle is on 'screw-up mode' today.

9. How will I be remembered?

Monochrome Dream-Eater - Len

By making people forget their nightmares while giving them nasty side-effects, at least in hindsight? Um...

10. What is my signature dance song?

p3ct004_01 - Persona 3 OST

This is the song from the boombox in Persona 3...what?

11. What do I think my current theme song is?

Highlander - BlazBlue Calamity Trigger OST

No comments.

12. What do my friends think my current theme song is?

Draco Centauros's Theme: Let's Play Puyo With a Rival! - Puyo Puyo 20th Anniversary OST

I am NOTHING like Draco, okay? Though, she's one of my favorite Puyo Puyo characters.

13. What song will play at my funeral?

Staff Roll - Pokemon Gold and Silver OST

The End! Now continue on with your journey to beat Red. Wha-?

14. What kind of men do I like?

FF5 The Final Battle - Dissidia OST

FIRST of all: I dislike Exdeath. Second of all, I have THREE different versions of Yosuke's theme: In-game, LIVE, and Electro Mix. WHY CAN'T ANY OF THEM PLAY NOW?

15. What is my day going to be like?

Mother 2 - SSBM OST

Basically 'Because I Love You' with a more upbeat feel to it. WHAT.

Tagging: You wanna do it? Go on ahead. Maybe I'll do a song lyric meme later on...

Meme time!

Well, I found this meme on Pretty, Fizzy Paradise, and the meme tagged ANYONE...so...I would like to try it out...yeah.

WhatamIdoingI'msupposedtobedoingA-MathsARRRGGHH

First, select your ten fictional characters (from any medium) by whichever method you like best. Then answer the questions below.

1. Daichi Shijima (Devil Survivor 2)
2. Atsuro Kihara (Devil Survivor)
3. Yosuke Hanamura (Persona 4)
4. Akihiko Sanada (Persona 3)
5. Zidane Tribal (Final Fantasy 9)
6. Kano Shuuya (KagePro)
7. Sig (Puyo Puyo)
8. Guy (Draglade)
9. Koichi Kimura (Digimon Frontier)
10. Bartz Klauser (Final Fantasy 5)

1. Divide the list up by even and odd. Which group of five would make a better Five Man Band (like a Power Rangers team)? Who would you slot in each position: Leader, Lancer (second-in-command), Big Guy, Smart Guy, The Chick? If you think the team would be improved by swapping one character between the even and odd groups, which ones would you switch?

Odd Team: Daichi Shijima, Yosuke Hanamura, Zidane Tribal, Sig, Koichi Kimura

Hmm...this is hard, considering every character I chose is male...let's see here. I have to say, Brosuke would be the smart guy in this one, him being the second-in-command of the IT and all. Daichi is the big guy, he hits pretty hard with Multi-Strike, you know. Zidane could be the leader, Koichi the lancer, and...Sig the chick? Well, he's the gentlest one among them all, not to mention the one who's pretty much stoic...

Even Team: Atsuro Kihara, Akihiko Sanada, Kano Shuuya, Guy, Bartz Klauser

HARDER. FAR HARDER. Umm...Atsubro is the smart guy, I guess. He's the reason behind the survival of the main team in DeSu. Akihiko is the leader, Guy is the big guy. Kano is probably the lancer...and that leaves Bartz as the chick? Oh man. Putting an all-boys character choice is a worse idea than I thought!

You know what we could do? Swap Hana-chan and Kano. Yeah.

2. Gender-swap 2, 8 & 10. Which character would have the most change in their story arc? Which the least? Would any of these characters have to have a complete personality change to be believable as the opposite sex?

Gender-bended Atsubro? Umm...maybe not so much as a HUGE change...Atsuro is usually the one doing all the programming stuff, and Atsuro IS a smart one...so...maybe not...

Gender-bended Guy is a hard one. He'd have a large change in his story arc, maybe have more drama with Shelly. A complete personality change would not be totally necessary, I think...

Gender-bended Bartz? PFFT. He's a mime. He'll manage well. Trust me on this.

3. Compare the matchups of 1 & 8 and 5 & 9. (Ignore canon sexual preferences for the moment.) Which couple would be more compatible? Which couple would be more plausible to people from either principal's home culture?

 Shijima and Guy?! (laughs like a madman) No. Just no. One is a cowardly lion, the other charges headfirst into danger. Besides, they came from two TOTALLY DIFFERENT UNIVERSES.

Zidane and Koichi seems a bit more...doable... Koichi's this gentle person, and Zidane is also more on the friendlier side, but them being in two totally different universes don't help matters a lot...

4. Your team is 3, 4 & 9. The mission consists of a social challenge, a mental challenge and a physical challenge. Which team member do you assign to each challenge?

Hana, Aki, and Kou. A mental, social, and physical challenge. This is easy... Yosuke goes to social, Akihiko goes to physical, and Koichi goes to mental. Hana's a social person, Aki's an insanely strong Persona user, and Kou is a heavy thinker.

5. 7 becomes 1's boss for a week in some plausible fashion. How's their working relationship?

Sig's the 'I don't care what you do' kind of person...so...Shijima is free!

6. 2 finds him/her/itself inserted into 6's continuity. As far as anyone other than 2 or 6 is concerned, they've always been there. What role would 2 be presumed to have had in 6's story, and could they fit in without going wonky?

Atsubro in KagePro? Arrgghh. This is going to be hard and wacky. Atsuro would be a part of the Mekakushi Dan, and his eye ability is to immediately identify and be able to hack into networks easily, I guess?

7. 3 and 5 get three wishes. The catch is that they have to agree on all three wishes before they get the benefits of any of them. What three wishes would they make?

Brosuke and Zidane. They'd wish for better dual blades, greater strength to fix their slightly 'fragile speedster' status, and more MP-restoring items?

Either way...they're my favorite characters...the fragile speedsters...

8. 1 and 2 are brainwashed by a one-time artifact that works even on people immune to mind control to attack and kill 4. They keep their normal personality, skills and competence level, except any Code vs. Killing has been turned off. Can 4 survive? How?

Shijima and Kihara attacking Sanada? PFFFTTT- Akihiko wins, with a whole load of debuffs, Ziodynes, and good ol' punching. Oh, and the occasional Diarahan.

9. 6, 7, 9 & 10 must help an orphanage full of small and depressed children have a merry Christmas. Who does what, knowing that at the very least the kids will be expecting a visit from Santa?

Kano, Sig, Kimura, and Klauser. Bartz is tasked with being Santa, since he's, you know, A MIME. Sig is in charge of helping out by giving out gifts, Kano and Koichi entertains the kids, I guess.

10. 3 and 8 are challenged to circumnavigate the Earth in eighty days or less, using only forms of transportation invented before 1900. Can they do it, or will they be fatally distracted by sidequests or their own personality conflicts?

Hana-chan and Guy...nah, they'll fail, mainly due to their personality conflicts...just saying.

Tagging: You wanna do it? Go on. I don't really care about tagging.

Welcoming the Year of Persona with a Top Three Hardest MegaTen Bosses in Handheld Titles list!

Oh wow. It's been a VERY long time since I last posted something here. BUT! I have some perfectly good reasons!

First is homework. Oh man, homework. ESPECIALLY A-Maths. It's pretty confusing...but I'll manage. Then, there's exams to worry about. And the last...it's stupid to say, but I've been too busy trying to clear my file of Devil Survivor 2. I'm stuck on the fight between Makoto and Ronaldo after the Mizar fight, and I saved everyone so far... I CRIED when Io seemed to die. She's one of my favorite DeSu 2 characters. My other favorites are Daichi and Jungo... So I'll be taking Daichi's route, thank you very much!

The past few days were pretty amazing here. For one, there was LITTLE TO NO RAIN. I know, weird, considering it's the rainy season in Indonesia right now. Then, my family goes to BEC a lot, and I got some new DS and PSP games, namely, Ouendan 1, Ouendan 2, and Puyo Puyo 7 for the DS, and also Disgaea 1 and Disgaea 2 for the PSP. I managed to get Carol, and am on my way to get Little Witch (fighting a level 50 Mizunotomi right now, UPDATE, beat it and got Little Witch) in Ayakashi Ghost Guild, though I'm like what, level 44? One thing's for sure, though... I won't be able to get Tendo Hidari-uma, Unicorn (Xmas), Miss Santa, or Terrence, aka Pipe Fox (Focused). Even though I absolutely ADORE the Pipe Fox (mainly because of his design, though...I started with him, kept him until now, he's level 21). I got Izanami in Guardian Cross. IZANAMI! Now, is there Izanagi, Susano-O, Amaterasu, or the like in that game? I found my Pokemon Ruby and restarted it with a Torchic. I found the manga for KagePro and instantly shipped Kano and Kido. I laughed at some trollfics too.

Oh, and it's 2014, the Year of Persona! There's going to be a new Puyo Puyo game, Puyo Puyo Tetris, this year too! And, here's hoping that Super Smash Bros Wii U will be done soon, and that Ness and Lucas will be returning! They need more love.

With this being the Year of Persona, I find it appropriate to start off this year with my first list: The Top Three Hardest Bosses in Handheld MegaTen Games. I know, weird that I'll just put 3... I'd just have a hard time cutting bosses down if it's more than 5, and 4 is just a weird number for a list... ALL MEGATEN BOSSES ARE HARD.

First, some rules.

1. One boss per game. If not, every single boss will be a Septentrion.

2. Only bosses that I've encountered, but not exactly beaten. Bosses that I have NOT encountered will NOT be put in. So, I won't be putting in Benetnastch, if he is THAT hard.

3. Bosses come from games that I have played. I think this is self-explanatory.

4. Optional boss fights, bonus bosses, and hopeless boss fights will NOT be included. So, if I don't put in Elizabeth, Demiurge, Lucifer, Bifrons, Botis, and the like, please understand.

5. All judgments are based on my first, BLIND playthrough of the game. If I found Beldr hard in the first playthrough, but not the next, he might be in it.

With that in mind, let's start!

3. Jotun of Grief (Persona 3 Portable)

Okay, first of all, I'd like to point out that the ONLY REASON I beat this guy was because I checked Megami Tensei Wiki for the ONLY type of attack he WON'T drain. THAT'S RIGHT. The Jotun of Grief drains ALL types of damage (barring Almighty, but who resists, let alone drains, it anyways?), except for Hama, Mudo (both null), and Pierce. THAT'S RIGHT. PIERCE. AND IT ISN'T EVEN A WEAKNESS. If that alone hasn't made me rage enough to climb back down Tartarus, change my (totally awesome) team of MC, Akihiko, Aigis, and Junpei into MC, Yukari, Ken, and Aigis, the fact that he still has the nerve to cast ALL the Ma-nda spells, that lower your stats, did. In a game like this, lowering stats can make your life easier, or harder, if it's your stats that are being lowered. He also knows MEGIDOLAON, the strongest hit-all ALMIGHTY spell (can't be blocked), and Primal Force (strongest Pierce attack in the game). He uses the Stagnant Air + Infuriate combo to make sure that ANY of your non-Pierce party members HEAL HIM. He also has Mind Charge (doubles magic damage the next turn), but mentioning that right now is just...ARGH.

2. Megrez (Devil Survivor 2)

This...this SEPTENTRION... He's the source of ALL MY RAGE in the fourth day of DeSu 2. Ronaldo has NOTHING on this guy. Megrez has a relatively large attack range, and the arena is relatively hard to move in, like what you’d expect from a harbor, unless you’re moving with an Avian or a Genma. Dispelling miasma is pretty much a must in this fight, or the fight will just get harder. Some of the miasma being on boats that are only accessible by Genma of Avian does NOT help matters. Megrez will not move unless attacked, but when it is attacked, it starts RECOVERING HP every single turn. It resists Physical skills and NULLS Fire, Mystic, and Electricity skills. After it is attacked, it MAY move or RELEASE MEGREZ BUDS. Remember the bottom half of Dubhe, encountered earlier that day? Yeah, this Septentrion can summon them after being attacked. The buds will behave like they did in Miyashita Park earlier that day, dealing Phys damage to each ally team, and being able to attack from a distance. Probably the only saving grace for this fight is that Megrez is weak to Ice. I used Team Nagoya: Airi and MC for attacking Megrez, Jungo for beating the crap out of the buds, Fumi for dispelling miasma. I lost Baphomet and Tlaloc to him. GAAAAHH. Oh, and the battle is on a time limit. Have fun!

1. Commander Gore (Strange Journey)

Probably shouldn't have gone with the Chaos route for my first playthrough. But, if I didn't, I have to fight Mem Aleph... Oh well, what's done is done. Commander Gore hits like a cement truck powered by rocket boosters. I'm not kidding. He has INSANE attack power, knows Fleeting Rain (strong, random-hitting Gun damage on all foes), knows the DEADLY Charge + Adaptation combo that will most probably kill if you're not guarding and not equipping armor with good Defense and resists Physical, using it ONLY ON THE MC. If MC dies, it's an automatic Game Over. He can also increase his attack power. Knocked his entire 15000 HP? He heals himself for 7500 HP. He reflects Gun and Physical skills, and nulls Hama and Mudo, like all bosses. Only saving grace? He's weak to Garu skills. Equip the gun Frost Ace gave to you, and you're set to Co-Op attack him to death. If you haven't been investing in Alice...have a nice battle. Looking forward to working together with him in the second playthrough on Neutral, and also beating the crap out of him in the third playthrough onwards with Susano-O. He's my favorite demon in Strange Journey. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have beaten Pillar Zelenin. Also, if it weren't for him, I wouldn't be introduced to Yosuke Hanamura, and, subsequently, Persona 4.

There we have it. The top three hardest bosses in MegaTen games, at least, the handheld ones. If anyone is harder, please let me know.

Honorable mentions:

-Beldr (DeSu)

-Jezebel (DeSu)

-Sleeping Table (Persona 3)

-Mizar (DeSu 2)

-Ronaldo (DeSu 2)

Shadow: A Persona 4 Oneshot

A/N: This story was done for an English descriptive writing in class. There were three topics, and the topic I chose was ‘describe a person that is trustworthy/sinister’. Even though we were only asked to pick one of the characteristics, if possible, we could talk about a person who seems trustworthy, but is actually sinister. Our teacher also told us that we could describe a character from a story…and this just seems to scream Shadow Yosuke and Yosuke, so this is it.

This story is told in Yu Narukami's POV.

As usual, I own nothing. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 belongs to the AWESOME Atlus.

Summary: Yu ponders about Shadows, and it brought him back to his thoughts regarding his partner's Shadow.

Characters: Yu Narukami/Souji Seta, Yosuke Hanamura

Rating: K+. I had to tone down the language and edit some of the speech timings and length to fit it in the 'barely over three pages' limit our teacher set...and is 'hellhole' a curse word? I was using it to describe a horribly unpleasant place, so I don't think it warrants for a T rating...

            What do you think would the personification of the deepest, darkest corners of your heart look like? Would it look like a demon, or would it look like something else entirely? Would it look like…would it look like your own self?

            It truly shocked me when I saw another figure stepping out from one of the dark corners of this strange world’s rendition of the liquor store of Saki Konishi’s family. It was just earlier that Saki-senpai’s death –no, murder- was announced, and as it was, Yosuke was devastated by the death of his crush and dragged me back into this world, which Yosuke, Chie, and I suspected had something to do with the murder of Saki-senpai.

            Yosuke had run into this world’s rendition of her family’s liquor store and heard some…confessions of Saki-senpai, saying that she hated Yosuke and thought he was annoying. Yosuke denied it all, and then here we are, looking at the figure stepping out of the corner.

            At first sight, this person seemed to look a lot like the fawn-haired, hazel-eyed teen beside me. He was wearing exactly the same clothing as Yosuke: the standard school uniform consisting of a long-sleeved, button-up shirt with a popped collar and a white shirt under it, long, black pants, and red headphones with a black band hanging around his neck, his own personal touch. The only difference was that the other Yosuke was not wearing the thick, orange-framed glasses a creature, specifically, a Shadow calling himself Teddie, gave him before we entered this…hellhole.

            Maybe, just maybe…I can trust this person. Not all Shadows are the same, as Teddie is living proof of it. Maybe, this Shadow isn’t out to kill us, just like the Shadows did to Mayumi Amano and Saki-senpai, from what I assume…if he really was a Shadow.

            Even so, the other Yosuke gave out an aura unlike Yosuke’s. While Yosuke had a kind, trusting, and joyful aura, the other Yosuke had a sinister, dark, and distrusting aura. It even showed in their mannerisms. I had always been a master of observing people, and I noticed that Yosuke usually had a smile that seems accepting of everything, and makes you feel like you could actually…trust him. The other Yosuke, however, had a dark, sinister smirk plastered on his face, and it could give everyone chills just looking at it, like he has some ulterior motive behind everything…

            Perhaps, what was most chilling about the other Yosuke was his yellow eyes…the eyes that seemed to gleam in this dark, eerie room…and the dark, visible aura, spreading around the room…it’s quite sickening, actually.

            “The only reason why you wanted to enter this world is so that you felt bored living in the town! You wanted to feel excited, wanted to feel known, so you took the first opportunity to try and prove yourself, and that opportunity happened to be the murder of Saki-senpai!” the other Yosuke cackled, his voice distorted.

            Yosuke’s eyes went wide as he denied everything that the other had said. The other only continued with his speech, his eyes growing madder with each word, the dark energies surrounding him seeming to spread and grow in size.

            “You put on a show of being carefree and happy-go-lucky ‘cause you’re so terrified of being alone. The more the merrier, right? You can’t handle the solitude of being alone!” The other Yosuke continued. That seemed to be the last straw for Yosuke. He then shouted in a loud, defiant voice, “Shut up! That’s not me. That’s not me AT ALL!”

            …Wait. Yosuke was…faking it? He only puts on his jovial persona so he will not be alone? He’s…scared of being alone?

            As I was pondering this, the other Yosuke had transformed into another creature…one that was a Shadow. It had two halves, namely, the human half and the frog-like half. The human half was all black, save for what seemed like two yellow stars for its eyes. Its hands were yellow, and it had a billowing, red scarf around his neck. Its bottom half, the frog-like half, had a camouflage pattern around its body, save for the hands and face. Its hands were black in color with yellow ‘nails’ on it, and its face was black, with two red slits for eyes, and a yellow, savage, grinning mouth, full of teeth.

            “I am the Shadow, the true self. I’ll get rid of everything that bores me…starting with YOU!!!” The Shadow screamed out as it charged at us.

            My suspicions were confirmed. It seemed like the other Yosuke was really a Shadow…and it seems like I am forced to fight it, if I were to protect the real Yosuke, the one with the kind, trustworthy attitude. And so, I called out my own Persona, the one I had used to protect Chie and Yosuke the other day…Izanagi.

            The battle between Izanagi and Shadow Yosuke raged on as I tried to get Yosuke to accept his Shadow…since apparently, a person’s Shadow is the personification of someone’s deepest, darkest corners of his heart, according to Teddie. As Izanagi landed the finishing blow on Shadow Yosuke, the real Yosuke seemed to have a resolution as he approached his fallen Shadow, who had reverted back to its human form.

            “I’ve always known that Saki-senpai hated me. But, I never had the courage to accept it. And it’s true…I did feel bored in this town.” He sighed. “Sometimes, even I feel like I put my foot in my mouth a lot. But that’s just who I am, huh? I guess I just have to accept it.” Shadow Yosuke looked up at Yosuke as he kneeled down beside him, lifting the Shadow’s face to look straight at Yosuke.

            “I am you…and you are me.” Yosuke had said that time, smiling at his Shadow. Shadow Yosuke looked slightly shocked, before he gave a small smile as he closed his eyes in acknowledgement. This time, the smile was neither malicious nor sinister; in fact, the smile now was a calm and accepting one. Bright, white lights surround Shadow Yosuke as he began to transform.

            When the lights have faded, a Persona stood in Shadow Yosuke’s place. It had a black head with two ‘ears’ above its head, with one red slit in each ‘ear’. It had two yellow stars for its eyes. It wore white overalls with a camouflage pattern on the edges of the pants and sleeves. The overalls had a yellow, v-shaped collar, and was red on the top of the overalls. Its hands were much like a human’s, though it was covered with white gloves, having a camouflage pattern under it. It also wore a red, billowing scarf around its neck.

            The Persona turned into a blue card, bearing a picture of a flame, surrounded by a pair of eyes above it, a pair of hands below it, cupping the flame, and the symbol for ‘infinity’ above the eyes. There was also the Roman numeral for the number ‘1’ on the bottom of the card.

            I then remembered my own card, bearing the picture of a laughing jester about to fall from a cliff, a dog trailing closely behind him, colored grey, and bearing the number ‘0’ on the bottom of the card. If my card was ‘0’ and Yosuke’s card was ‘1’…then are we dealing with Tarot cards right now? If that is the case, then my Persona must be a ‘Fool’, while Yosuke’s Persona must be a ‘Magician’.

            Frankly, I can see the symbolism between the cards, my own self, Yosuke, and Shadow Yosuke. I came to Inaba for a new experience, much like the Fool in Tarot divination. Yosuke comes off as a self-confident person, much like the Magician in Tarot divination. Shadow Yosuke, however, may have power, but he is also cruel and misuses his power. It is the meaning of a reversed Magician card in Tarot divination.

            “So this is Jiraiya…my own Persona…my power.” Yosuke had his hand over his heart. He then proposed that we could use our strength to save people before they got killed in this world…which I whole-heartedly agreed to.

            He kept that promise, for he was a trustworthy person. We gained more members…people that we have saved in this world of Shadows in time. We became known as the Investigation Team…

            And to think this all started because I saved my best friend, my partner, from his own darkness.

A/N: Frankly, I think this is one of my better works, even though it is not very true to the story...