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Thanks for causing Hellworld, illegitimate heir to the throne of Russia and JRPG villain. We appreciate it.
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Mar 23, 2020 00:05
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I can't believe Nicolai loving unleashed the Coronavirus
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Mar 23, 2020 00:39
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What's Nicolai's goal here anyway? What's he gaining? I he just a dick or what?
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Mar 23, 2020 00:51
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I think his plan is actually: 1. Taunt Yuri to stop you from doing something apocalyptic. 2. Do it anyways to piss him off. 3. Win somehow. 4. Obviously only Yuri can stop me now that Rasputin's dead so I dunno, take over russia or something.
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Mar 23, 2020 01:09
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Has there ever been a Sith Lord who turned to the dark side of the force because they were friendzoned? Even prequel Anakin wasn't as much of a loser as this guy.
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Mar 23, 2020 01:15
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Okay. So. That's not just wedgie territory...that's "wedgie from a five story balcony" territory
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Mar 23, 2020 01:22
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Why is Pope Town even killing enough people in that particular area that they specifically needed to make a giant "Whoops, lot of pissed off ghosts, better lock that up" vault. Granted, I don't know a ton of Christian history, but I feel like the Vatican itself wasn't the main murder field. How old is this thing?The Dark Id posted:Barbatos can hole up here and fear of random beheadings. Probably "in fear of", and you're spoiled for choice on the second. The cutscene vocals used "balls of" and the subtitles used "spheres of".
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Mar 23, 2020 03:38
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Zagglezig posted:The cutscene vocals used "balls of" and the subtitles used "spheres of". 
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Mar 23, 2020 03:42
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Also you probably want “populace” rather than “populous”.
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Mar 23, 2020 03:43
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Zagglezig posted:Why is Pope Town even killing enough people in that particular area that they specifically needed to make a giant "Whoops, lot of pissed off ghosts, better lock that up" vault. Granted, I don't know a ton of Christian history, but I feel like the Vatican itself wasn't the main murder field. How old is this thing? Maybe the ghosts and Malice were already there and they built the tower and vault to contain them. The Vatican was built on top of a well-used burial ground - allegedly the tomb of St. Peter is underneath the basilica named for him.
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Mar 23, 2020 10:35
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Alternately, maybe the Catholic Church has some ability to transfer and store their collected Malice in a single place. They've been responsible for plenty of malicious acts in history- the Spanish Inquisition, the massacres of the Hugenots & Cathars, the Crusades, etc.
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Mar 23, 2020 10:45
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Well, the Colosseum's right over there. And Rome's been sacked a fair few times.
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Mar 23, 2020 12:05
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So, there was something in there sucking in malice right? And it's gonna get loose and be the real boss? Cuz like, We know that some creatures can contain malice, like Yuri
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Mar 23, 2020 17:21
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The Catholic Church seems to function something like the room that stores the Ark in Indiana Jones. They have a lot of random rear end artifacts that shouldn't be floating out there. I wouldn't be surprised if they have some Alexander Anderson rear end motherfuckers out beating up demons and shoving Malice into the ghostbusters locker.
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Mar 23, 2020 19:27
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Nicolai says "the 21st century" will be a time of bloodshed, so apparently he doesn't expect his evil plot to come to fruition for almost a century. I guess he's possessed by a demon now, and taking the long view, like Asmodeus Rasputin?
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Mar 24, 2020 02:12
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Well, the tower was used for torture and murder for YEARS, and the Catholic Church was pretty freakin brutal and unforgiving in the past from what I know. They may have just tortured and killed enough people at that specific place enough that it literally became a vault for Malice. Alternatively they used it as a focal point to draw in the malice of everyone killed due to the actions of Catholics over the centuries: The Crusades, Inquisition, ect, to keep it from causing them problems later. Basically Magically sweeping the anger of people killed by them under the rug and forgetting it even exists.
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Mar 24, 2020 16:14
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Episode LXXVIII: Astaroth.jpg) Welp. Nicolai has released all the Catholic Church's collected Malice into the world because he couldn't get a date with an ex-coworker he's tried to kill on multiple occasions. I am not sure how this is going to help his ability to ascend to the throne of the Russian Empire but incels are mysterious creatures.  NEW Music: Astaroth ~ Battle with the Fallen Angel (This only plays a couple of times the entire time. You should listen to it!) .jpg) Time to jump right into it with the Disc 1 final boss -- Astaroth. You know, especially here I would have expected a battle with human Nicolai before he smashed the Soul Pact transformation button. I mean the guy had a full set of combat animations and everything from the early game. But Shadow Hearts 2 seems to avoid boss rushes in general which I am perfectly OK with given some past RPG experiences. I'm looking at you, Xenogears. Getting back on task, Astaroth, much like Asmodeus, is another rare Non-Elemental enemy and has 3040 HP. .jpg) .jpg) Overall, Astaroth is mostly an easier time than Asmodeus. Again, Apoina Tower is strangely lower on the difficulty curve than Idar Flamme in almost every way. This time around we are going with Fides as we're taking a physical damage oriented approach against Nicolai and our big chufty armored boy is the best bet in that situation. Arc Gale, Arc Rage and Arc Barrier are all also essentials. Arc Shield couldn't hurt either but as an opening gambit, that's a solid spread to get us ready for the fight. .jpg) .jpg) Like Asmodeus, Astaroth's opening play is to cast a heavily damaging full party attack that lowers everyone's Special Attack power by 30%. It isn't quite as damaging as Rasputin's version, but it still smarts. .jpg) He will also cast Barrier on himself at the earliest time he can. These last few big boss battles have really been anti-magic caster affairs, huh. Maybe there is a reason the benched party members is full of their lot. If his Barrier ever falls he will immediately cast it again. Hence why we're sticking to physical strikes. .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) Nicolai's strongest attack is Meteor Fall which will well... just drop a meteor on everyone (what did you expect?) for 150-175 HP of damage. If we didn't have Barrier up it's more to the tune of 200-220. Buffs and debuffs! Use them! .jpg) His most annoying ability is that his physical attack chain can potentially cause delay and Astaroth likes to just slap around people far more often than Asmodeus did. Which can make setting up Combos irritating if someone is out of sync from the usual set-up. .jpg) .jpg)  That said, now that we're aware of his abilities the gameplay is to occasionally use an Arc Cure and just combo the poo poo out of him. Spoilers: That's kind of the flow of most Shadow Hearts: Covenant boss battles outside the occasional gimmicky ones. I've got to say, Astaroth lived up to its... complete lack of hype and only offhand ever getting mentioned alongside Amon and Asmodeus being the real deals. Music: Result ~ Victory .jpg) We get quite the payout in all categories for finally whipping Nicolai's rear end. Especially, the number of Souls. Time to pump some levels here.  To add insult to injury, Karin opts to just steal Nicolai's sword. Rude. Apparently its taint from Astaroth pushed it up to a +106 Physical and +104 Special attack weapon. .jpg) And with that, we have officially beaten Disc 1. Now just to watch the aftermath of our conflict before wrapping up the first half of the adventure. Music: ENDS .jpg)  <groans> I suppose I'm beaten... Even with the power of Astaroth... Uuugh...Nicolai falls to the floor. .jpg) It must be obnoxious to have Malice orbs getting flung at your face the entire time you're trying to do anything. Speaking of which, you all should perhaps consider closing the Hellgate spreading hatred and ill will beams across Europe. Just a thought. That cannot be good for wartime morale. .jpg) Time to finish it....jpg) Yuri seems pretty ready to curb stomp the smuggest mug in all of the Vatican. However, he stops short noticing... .jpg) Uhh... Hey there, Kato. It's been a hot minute since we've seen you last. Umm... whatcha doing here, buddy? This is an odd time for you to resurface. Got some diplomacy going on at the Vatican, or...? .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) Oh, you're just closing the gate to the Malice Zone. Smart. We probably should have done that as soon as Nicolai hit the ground. But, you know, you want to be respectful of dying villain's last words. It's only courteous. .jpg) Y-you....jpg) .jpg)  Kato... It's good to see you, but... kinda in the middle of something here. In the name of the Emperor, I'm taking this man under my protection..jpg) Yuri ignores him and continues his advance to finish off the defeated Nicolai. However... .jpg) Music: Serious Mood ~ Unrest  I do not wish to fight you. Please leave..jpg) (Going to let the laser blast slide. Kato is alright. Don't immediately punch him, Yuri.).jpg) No way. If this man is truly next in line to the Tsardom of Russia, then, as an allied country, we cannot simply let you kill him..jpg)  <gasps> ..... ...Excuse me?! This man is the illegitimate son of Tsar Nicholas II. He is... my brother?! What?! Seriously? Yeah... that's some new info for us. What the hell? But besides that....jpg) Look at those..jpg) Do you have any idea what those are going to do? I have some experience with Malice and it's a bad scene. And I don't think everyone has a mind palace graveyard in their soul to cleanse the buildup of that stuff. It was you who let it happen. ?! Did you once more stand there and listen to a dramatic monologue instead of immediately taking action to prevent this? Well... I... maybe... Hmph..jpg) The malice is already invading the people's hearts. It's too late for them. Taking this person's life is not going to change anything. Punching all of your problems away is not always going to be the answer. <clenches fist> Stay outta this!!Yuri rushes in to punch Kato. .jpg) Yeah, so I guess these Mega Man X looking rear end goons of Kato are here now. How does everyone keep sliding into the frame as though invisible until they're on screen? It's uncanny. This room isn't all that big. And it seems Kato's really put into some hours studying arcane arts considering he didn't know magic was a thing just a couple of years ago. It's good to have a hobby. Kato blasts Yuri across the room with an energy ball. .jpg) Yuri!!.jpg) I'm going back to the capital. Your war is over now. Look for another way to live. <groans>.jpg) Farewell..jpg) .jpg) Kato, his anime rear end goon squad and the unconscious Nicolai all teleport away from the scene. I guess Kato can just use Instant Transmission now. Sure, why not? .jpg) Well, I suppose we should have been a little bit more concerned when Kato and his mighty chin returned ripped as hell and dressing like M. Bison. And the part where he was fraternizing with Sapientes Gladio or at least Nicolai. And the part where he obtained the Émigré Manuscript... That's never a good thing either. The warning signs were all there, honestly. But it's kind of wild the bumbling doofus with a giant chin sidekick to a character who stopped being relevant half-way through the previous game is now a major villain. But here are! Shadow Hearts 2 will do whatever it drat well pleases! .jpg) We are now officially done with Disc 1 of Shadow Hearts: Covenant! And with it Europe as well. Get your passports ready and your documents in order and see you next time as we shift focus to glorious Nippon. Japan awaits and so does the second half of this adventure. Stay tuned!   We didn't meet anyone new in this outing but there were a handful of colorful creatures in our path. Monster: .jpg) Look, it just wants you to be lukewarm blooded. The whole hot-blooded thing is played out. .jpg) You can execute faster if you have TWO swords. .jpg) The soul actually resides in the skin, you see. .jpg) OK, boomer. .jpg) I'm disappointed we didn't get an intensely smug mutant Nicolai face on this thing.   Video: Episode 78 Highlight Reel (It the final cutscene of Disc 1. You should watch it.)   Astaroth Concept Art - Honestly, underwhelming after the 12-foot tall facehugger Rasputin. The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 21:14 on Mar 25, 2020 |
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Mar 25, 2020 19:15
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I honestly wasn't expecting that at all. I'm surprised that Kato took the Dalton path of Joke Villain to World Ending Threat between games.
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Mar 25, 2020 19:27
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If you didn't think "major antagonist in the sequel" when Kato was first introduced in the last game, I don't know what to tell you.The Dark Id posted:
Should be Kato's portrait here.
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Mar 25, 2020 19:52
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And with that, we are finally past that one spoiler I accidentally saw months ago. Everything is new again.
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Mar 25, 2020 20:17
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Really, it’s the chin that should have tipped us off about Kato. Anybody with a chin like that is either going to save or doom us all. And given the chin is not attached to Bruce Campbell, doom is far more likely.
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Mar 25, 2020 20:52
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Freakin' cutscene zone! Yuri just finished wiping the floor with a demon god, and then a bloody diplomat shows up and punts Yuri across the room like it ain't no thing.
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Mar 25, 2020 21:18
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Wait, if we're visiting Japan in the time period we're in, the Taisho period... does that mean we might see Raidou Kuzunoha? Or maybe bump into Tanjiro, Nezuko, Inosuke and Zenitsu?
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Mar 25, 2020 21:22
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I'm an idiot and saw Yuri's fanny pack belt straps as tiny baby legs for way too long before I realized what was going on in this picture. 
Egadsman fucked around with this message at 22:37 on Mar 25, 2020 |
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Mar 25, 2020 22:33
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I thought it was someone standing behind him until you pointed it out
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Mar 25, 2020 22:50
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As far as a big villainous intro, it's, uh, not very? Like, some pretty minor combat and "hey, killing this guy won't actually achieve any goals for you besides vengeance". Which is admittedly not true because presumably Nikolai still has Astaroth in him and could summon a giant doom fortress or whatever, but they don't argue with that part.
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Mar 25, 2020 23:28
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Nicolai should humble himself considerably. Yuri somehow managed to get both some of his level 3 fusions and an endgame level fusion from the previous adventure back this early even with everything going against him now, well before taking on any hideous abominations this time round, and getting Amon back at least was due to his previous efforts, a watered down New Game+ if you will, to which he immediately begins to use it to take on enemies outside his weight class. Nicolai on the other hand gets his hands on great power and immediately does gently caress all with it. No vying for leadership of SG or Russia, no cutting Yuri down to size when he has the chance, not even playing the long game like Albert, Kato and even Rasputin have done. What a chump.
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Mar 26, 2020 09:11
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Edit: you know what, I can't remember what I was trying to saw here, now that I've reread it. Nicolai definitely just seems like he's a very small fish in a big pond. I have concerns about the emigre manuscript coming into play. Wasn't it holding secrets more than just resurrection and eternal life? Req.Martyr fucked around with this message at 16:39 on Mar 26, 2020 |
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Mar 26, 2020 13:30
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Req.Martyr posted:known for forward thing what
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Mar 26, 2020 14:19
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Well, I guess according to the Astaroth description text Nicolai hasn't gone full demon like Rasputin. I wasn't expecting Kato to bail Nicolai out, though it seemed like they've been building up Nicolai enough I didn't expect him to die here.
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Mar 26, 2020 16:06
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Req.Martyr posted:Edit: you know what, Regallion posted:what 
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Mar 26, 2020 17:54
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The Dark Id posted:Episode XXXIV: Janus or The Trouble with Tarot I just noticed something in this old episode: The track you linked here is wrong. “Swoop! ~ Running Wild in Europe” is the berserk remix of the Disc 1 random battle music, but you were fighting a mid-boss there. Boss battles on Disc 1 have their own berserk remix called “Crack Your Body ~ Mid-Boss Running Wild in Europe” (one of my personal favourite tracks from the game, by the way). You can hear it in the episode video, as well. Pizuz fucked around with this message at 11:46 on Mar 28, 2020 |
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Mar 26, 2020 21:09
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I feel like being born first only gives you rightful heir privileges if the person you're inheriting from agrees, especially if you're a secret child. I know Kato is just giving excuses for doing what he wants, but still, there's a reason a designated heir is different from an heir apparent. Now, is Nicolai going to get experimented on a la Kowloon guy, or is he gonna be allowed to make a plan...D? The Dark Id posted:Maybe there is a reason the benched party members is full of their lot. "members are"
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Mar 27, 2020 00:30
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Zagglezig posted:I feel like being born first only gives you rightful heir privileges if the person you're inheriting from agrees, especially if you're a secret child. I know Kato is just giving excuses for doing what he wants, but still, there's a reason a designated heir is different from an heir apparent. Yeah, but when someone with any reasonable claim turns up who is suitably A: old enough, B: Male, and C: Kills the current King/Tsar/Emperor (assuming their plan hadn't been hosed with judicious punching) the rest of the kingdom's not gonna give much of a poo poo who's on top.
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Mar 27, 2020 07:38
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Zagglezig posted:Now, is Nicolai going to get experimented on a la Kowloon guy, or is he gonna be allowed to make a plan...D? Really? Given how far he's gotten thinking with his plan D? He should give it a rest.
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Mar 27, 2020 08:08
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Zagglezig posted:Now, is Nicolai going to get experimented on a la Kowloon guy, or is he gonna be allowed to make a plan...D? Rasputin already burned plans A-X, Nicholai bombed on plan Y (recruit female enemy and start over) and his plan Z (Astaroth and malice vault) kinda just went up in smoke. at this point the plans are gonna be labeled with punctuation marks, because numbers are to pedestrian for him.
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Mar 27, 2020 19:53
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sdn1B0N4k0 So we're getting a NieR remaster.
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Mar 29, 2020 08:02
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Nohman posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sdn1B0N4k0 And an ios game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqGmbdO3u7o Everything's comin' up Nier  Shame the Shadow Hearts licence is in pachinko hell, and apparently the attempt to get Koudelka on GOG and/or Steam fizzled out into nothing.
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Mar 29, 2020 10:23
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Nohman posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sdn1B0N4k0  Figures, with Automata's success fixing Replicant is probably a slam dunk. E: Is that number the decimal expansion of something interesting?
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Mar 29, 2020 11:42
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| # ? May 23, 2024 23:57 |
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Huh. I honestly forgot Nicolai doesn't just vanish in a spray of particle effects or something when he's beaten, and that Kato steps in.
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Mar 29, 2020 13:12
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