Saint Rubenio

Nope. The answer requires I input two words, and the max letters I can fit there is five. It's a message to be decrypted, I just can't figure out how. Nah, the puzzles are self contained, you don't need to be up to speed with the Layton lore to be able to solve them or anything. All I know is that the chocolates say GECY NW and that my girlfriend is apparently a technophile who usually communicates digitally. That's all I got to work with.

Hey, it was my first thought as well, haha. We've got to factor in availability here, though. Samurai can get it later, sure, but capturing this one means getting it right now. No, actually, I've called it a night. Chapter 10 is enough. This is true. There are also counter archers and miracle diviners that I considered. Hmmm... So many interesting enemies. If only I could keep winged shield, I'd know what my choice would be... True, I can do that, but if they give each other bigger buffs that separates them from the generics. ...Then again, I can't think of any other run where screwing Niles would be a viable option, so... Yeop. Unfortunately, even the sacred ritual has failed me. I cannot for the life of me figure out what "my girlfriend" could possibly have meant by sending me a slab of chocolate with the words GECY NW on it. Like, the puzzle's description and the hints keep suggesting at her being a tech wiz, so I figured it's either an acronym or your typical slip of the finger typo. The latter does suggest "NW" could be "ME", since the M and the E are right next to the N and the W, respectively. But GECY is just beyond me. I guess this goes to show what a poor boyfriend I'd make if I actually had a girlfriend in real life, doesn't it... I can't even understand a message left on chocolate. Then again, if this was real life I'd probably have eaten it before I bothered to wonder what the deal with the letters was.

Oh God, I think this Layton puzzle is trying to make me decypher a SMS. Damnit, I'm not big on acronyms! The fuck is a GECY? I paid three hint coins and all it told me was "yeah it's an acronym, what you're still stuck? Look at the nearest keyboard"! Useless fucking hints, I want a refund!

I care more about the fact that I lived. That was fucking hellish. I'm relieved that I don't care about the cast's survival due to the nature of the challenge. I cannot imagine trying that deathless... At least the rainbow sage map has separate, smaller rooms, so I get to breathe. Incidentally, I noticed a ninja with Seal Speed. I'm torn between the Life or Death samurai and the Counter diviner for my second pick, but that guy needs to be on my team. Sealing speed is huge. Hah! Well, you said it, not me.

YES I WON AHAHAHAHA, WHO'S THE MAN NOW!? I mean, sure, Elise, Effie, Felicia and Beruka suffered tragic accidents and I missed the two lower villages, but on the other hand, Saburo the samurai with quick draw got a good level, and I welcome Daisuke the oni savage with lunge and Yayoi the sky knight to the team. Who cares about all those scrubs?

Okay, I've been gone a while. Time for another attempt of Conquest chapter 10. It's a pretty sweet moment from him. Shame about what happens afterwards... I was tempted to do this at one point. I also patched the part 4 rout maps into kill bosses, got rid of the shitty game over conditions from the earlier chapters and restored the weapon triangle. I never got around to playing it because I remembered how bored I was with parts 3 and 4 and just sort of... couldn't bring myself to start. Whoops.

F I don't know if I'll ever have the heart to do that.

Yeah, that's the "really good" thing Eirik gets. He just gets it automatically if you send him to Strand. This may seem like it comes out of nowhere, but... No, actually. Take a look at the very first fight in the entire series. See that, chained up behind the tables? Yeah, that's where he gets his bear if he's sent back to Strand. Blew my mind the first time I saw someone pointing it out. Of course, this is just another reason why Eirik is much better with the Ravens, on top of just giving the caravan in dire need of fighters two more for the price of one. I'd say the developers agree that he's better off there, too, seeing how he gets a conversation in TBS3 if he's with them but not if he's with Skogr (unless I'm forgetting, I suppose you can confirm when you get there).

Howard's hit issues are like, his only flaw lol. But they're simple enough to fix. Just throw him a secret book if you have one, let him hold Yue's amulet, maybe give him a support. You do that and he's fantastic. As for Levion, his flaw is a bit harder to patch up, since it's speed. But with 16 he won't get doubled, at least, so he can tank pretty well. They're the true christmas cavaliers of the game. Howard's the swift one, while Levion is the slow tanky one. (Incidentally, why didn't you use Levion? Do you hate beards that much?)

It's 20. You put them sideways and you only need 20 to make a square, since 0.5 * 5 = 10. Upside, since the sides are 10 and 12 respectively, you need a minimum of 30 tiles to make a square. ...I was on the right track, but I tried to use one upside tile and four sideways tiles to technically make a square if you look at it from above. The game didn't like that, so I spent a good hour looking in other directions before I performed the magic ritual of complaining on the internet that I can't solve it, and that unlocked the truth in my brain. Most certainly. Well, what can you do. Grrrrr.

OF COURSE! IT NEVER FAILS! I MAKE THE "help I'm dumbo" POST AND THEN I INSTANTLY SOLVE IT! GOD DAMN EVERYTHING!

Okay, I give up. I know from the hints that the answer is lower than 30. I've tried everything I could think of and everything is wrong. I'd rather try to understand the puzzle before I resort to just brute forcing it so the game tells me what the heck it's going for. Little help?

Well, if you're a generic or a funny meme you have a higher chance. I like the idea of Advance Wars... Until I try to play the games. Then I invariably get stuck in an inescapable stalemate and give up on the game. I've tried every game in the series except DS and they all ended up the same. I don't think I need more to tell that it's not a series I can enjoy. I was once like that. Now I'm not like that anymore. Though I do still struggle to let go of units I like or am using/intend to use. Damnit, Cosmo! Not only is he cool, he's also good and would've been a great asset for you! Be more careful next time. Well, the water shrine comparison was more in a "this is the closest FE gets to this problem I have with AW" vein. FE never quite reaches the horrible stalemates I always encounter in AW, not even the water shrine.

Well, that was a very successful attempt of chapter 10. I'm going to need to sell some things to get Odin a nosferatu tome, because Arthur and Silas are completely useless. Also, I need not to lose everyone before Takumi's fun dragon vein. I need as many sacrifices as possible for the final turns when it becomes impossible to hold the enemy off.

Okay, so I have tried the infamous chapter 10 on lunatic difficulty. I have decided to have some mercy on myself and go back to nab Haitaka. I can replace him later if I feel like it, but right now I need those defense rallies in order not to lose my mind.

American fanservice is funny. It's like the opposite of Japanese fanservice: whereas Japan has boobs and skin all over the place but doesn't go into the fun stuff too often, America has all of the sex scenes but refuses to show even a milimeter of nipple. Then there's France, where anything goes. I'll say, the one scene you just mentioned does go a bit further than usual... What even is that? Are you reading western hentai now? Silly Shrimpy. Ugly is funny. You can't have an American adult comedy without ugly. Or gross. Gross is really funny and adult too. Invincible is quite pretty, but it suffers a bit from superhero designs and le big 'murican pride. Of course, the former is subjective. I never liked superhero designs. Why do they all have their underpants outside their pants...? And the latter doesn't even have anything to do with aesthetics, I don't know why I'm bringing it up. So yeah. Invincible is fine, looks wise. I can't say much else, I haven't watched it. Another return! Welcome back, mate. I like how half of them can't dance for shit. Sigurd and Deirdre are American now? This calls for the anthem. (Fun fact: If you search "American anthem" in Youtube, the third result is the Wikipedia article of "cock and ball torture" vocoded to the American anthem. I find this fun fact to be extremely funny.)

I will try. Come now, western stuff is not degen like anime. It is just extremely patriotic. Like, for each bit of obnoxious sexual fanservice in anime, there's a shoving of the American flag in the viewer's face in American stuff. Jokes aside, what did you see that would make even one such as yourself recoil?

Actually, he does bring up Sasha's family name. ...in his recruitment conversation. Prior to that there is nothing to indicate he may be recruitable, other than perhaps the fact that he doesn't seem particularly loyal to Codha in his two scenes. I started my first Conquest Lunatic run. It is also a generics only run. I am a very smart person.

Ruben is long gone. I am all that remains. ...Nah but seriously, it's a bit late. I miss opportunities and forget to move Azura when it's late. No, that was Revelation. In Banner Saga I stuck to my guns. Much to Gudmundr's dismay. Yeah, difficulty certainly increases overall. Don't get too cocky now. Yes. Yes. Yes. ...Well, I'll have Camilla fly around because otherwise it's impossible. On the other hand, every proper character is a free sacrifice, so it shouldn't be so difficult.

Oooooooookay, that's the third time I lose because I forgot to move Azura. Time to stop playing FE for tonight. Well, no matter. I already know what generics I'm going to grab from this map: a spear fighter with seal defense, and a samurai with quick draw. Shame about Haitaka, but Sooks is right. I always use Haitaka. The whole point of this run is to use characters that nobody else would! Your arguments are very impressive, you must be very proud. ...Not sure how I'm going to handle Rallyman, to be honest. The guy arrives so late, is a full on generic, and I've never experienced him because this is my first lunatic run, so I'll grab him, fuck it.

Why imagine? Do it. It's awesome, your units are injured for 6 days of rest. And hey, you can always turn it back down to normal if you feel like it! Do be warned, however, that the setting isn't saved. You must set it back to hard each time you reboot the game. It's a bit annoying, but oh well. Technical oddities do be like that with lower budget games. This is all true, but... Sooks brings up a fair point. This is the run where the true generics get their chance on the spotlight, to prove what they are capable of. Haitaka and Kumagera are units that I'd always use, no matter the run, so... No, I think they can take a rest in this run. An eternal rest. ...Besides, I'm going to keep a separate save for chapter 10. If I see that I can't do it without Haitaka, I'll go back. Damn you, English...!

Of course I am. Give me a B. Give me an O. Give me an R. Give me an I. Give me an N. Give me a G. B-O-R-I-N-G! ...You know, I'm not sure if I should use "an" or "a" for R and N. On the one hand, they're not vowels, but on the other hand, when you pronounce them they do start with a vowel. So who even knows, honestly. Of course the best characters would die... Fates hates everything that is unironically good. In the story, anyway. Hmmm... This is a fair point. A really fair point. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... We'll see. I can still decide while I play the chapter.

I swear Professor Layton is harder than Conquest Lunatic. Well, don't forget, you weren't just shit, you were premium shit. Fuck it, then. They count. And you should. Fates generics are the best. I thank you all for humoring my indecisiveness. Now I can use the best spearman without regrets.

I dunno. Do they count or not? Do I use them or do I not? Are they generics or are they not? I've asked elsewhere and I got a vote for yes, but I still have time to hear more opinions while I solve this Layton puzzle. Help me out here, man, I'm too indecisive to help myself.

Oh, I didn't know you could kill Flora without consequence in chapter 8. Always thought you were supposed to leave her alive. Silly me, of course Corrin would use their superpowers of non-lethality on her as well. Anyway, prison got. I can finally begin to get generics next map. Still a little conflicted on Haitaka and Kumagera. I mean, I love them, but they're technically not generics, are they... ahh, decisions, decisions. What do you guys think?