After overhauling the inter-dimensional space-time barrier system, I hope that a repeat of last blog's incident shall not, well, repeat itself, for if it does, I will quit. No, seriously, I will resign this blog if something like that ever happens again. (At least now I know how to digitally summon demons, not that I'd want to.)

Disclaimers aside, things have been kinda slow around here lately. You can just taste the ennui now, that's how bad it's gotten. I even started reading some of those Gundam yaoi fics, just to pass the time. (Luckily, some of them weren't half bad.) As for advice of the day? How about I try incorporating it into one of my answers again? I have two submissions. Let's dive into number one.

"Dear Kokonoe,

Just wanted to let you know, I enjoy reading your segment very much and as such, have been prompted to send in a few questions of my own.

1. Is Tager on steroids? Cause judging by his huge size, I'd say he's had taken a ton of it.

2. Have you, Tager, Arakune (not using real name here.. don't wanna spoil anything..) and Litchi played Mahjong together before? If so, how'd it go?

3. What exactly is your contract with Hakumen? Is letting you order him to do stupid things one of the perks? If so, read question 4. If not, ignore it.

4. Tell him to cut his hair off. Would love to see his reaction.

Thanks for taking time to read this (if you have) and keep those "chapters" coming.

-Kansou Tenrin no Yoroi"

For question one, no he's not. We just live in a universe wherein those who are absurdly strong (like Tager) develop huge muscle mass. You see it all the time in American comic books, and our universe is following the leader in that regard.

Question two, us, mahjong? No way. We've never had time to play any games. So before any of you lustful fans get ideas, no, we did not trick Litchi into playing strip mahjong. Then again, she wouldn't agree to it . . . on second thought, if human!Arakune requested it, she probably would have. Beat yourselves off while I answer the rest of these.

Question three, it included a non-disclosure agreement, which, for those who don't speak Legalese, means I can't tell you about it. And no, I'm not copping out my lying to you; there really is a non-disclosure agreement in my contract with him. So . . . no luck there for you.

Question four, will do! Hey Haku, get in here.

"What?"

Lop off your hair.

"Why? Are you going to use it for some grotesque experiment, Grimalken?"

No, I just wanna see how much you're willing to obey me.

" . . . . . . . I refuse."

Normally, I should me admonishing you for that, just then I realize, fake hair can't grow back, so I understand. I'll let you disobey me, but just this once. By the way, spar with Tager next chance you get. I wanna see him beat your ass down.

"I find that unlikely, but I would gladly challenge him when I can."

Well, that was anti-climatic. Whatever, I got one other submission, let's get this over with:

"Dear Professor Kokonoe,

I read through each blog post to make sure that none of my questions were already answered. Fortunately, that isn't the case.

1. I noticed a few chapters back that poor Hakumen committed seppuku due to you telling him that Ragna was out to save the world, yet Hakumen was out to kill him, thus making him evil, so I consider that seppuku a waste. Now, if my knowledge of BlazBlue canon isn't off, since I haven't played the games due to the stores not having them, I thought Mr. Ragna the Bloodedge was simply destroying NOL bases hunting for Terumi? I don't recall him ever trying to free innocents from the NOL. As a matter of fact, I think that the Librarium gets unfairly depicted. Sure, the organization can be a bunch of dicks, but has any fan seriously thought of what would happen if they weren't there to provide protection or regulation on Ars Magus? Most of the people working there are simply innocent folks earning a paycheck. How come the fact that Terumi and Carl's pappy happen to be in the organization as well mean that the whole Librarium is full of nothing but evil monsters? I find that unfair, and I've yet to meet fans of, say, Ragna, who don't forget about the fact that he can be a prick a lot of the time. With good reason, mind you, given everything that's happened, but the fact remains I haven't found any fans of him or anyone else that fight the supposed "oppression" of the NOL who acknowledge whatever genuine faults they have along with their good aspects. Which brings me to my next question...(sorry if this first one is too long. If need be, you can just ignore it if you want, seeing as how it's rather ranty)

2. You've said that one of the best ways to piss off Terumi is to ignore him, right? Well, what confuses me is the fact that while you do say this, you are prepared to nuke Kagutsuchi to kill him. Isn't that a bit odd in the least to you? Granted, you are from Sector 7, so you oppose the NOL, so I don't expect an unbiased answer, but I'm in the same boat as Hakumen on this. Doesn't the fact that you're willing to go that far mean that you kind of believe that he's worth the loss of millions of innocent lives? And also, isn't it even a bit selfish-seeming to you, to sacrifice those innocents just to claim one kill? Granted, it is Terumi, but that's kind of going overboard, isn't it? Oh, yes, and relating to the first question, I don't know too many people who sympathize with poor Doctor Litchi more than you. After all, you're fighting Terumi, and she's on his side out of desperation, something that you helped in increasing, given you didn't try to help her. It's weird, ma'am. (Oh, yeah, you don't have to answer this, either, since it's also ranty again. But I shouldn't have to tell you what you already know, right?)

Sincerely, Johnny Gaddar

P.S.- I hear that this name is a bit of a popular pimp name in India, I think. Just, er, don't get me confused with those other Johnnies."

Despite that your listed handle is actually LeoBane, I will address both questions at once.

You seem to be under the impression that this blog has continuity, that it's somehow supposed to be telling a fully-realized story. How many times do I have to say it? This blog is not canon. NOTHING that happens here or on Ask Rachel Alucard is in any way something that happens in the real (relatively speaking) Blaz Blue. It's not the truth.

It's not the truth, you misguided fools! This fanfiction isn't the truth! It's a goddamned amusement park! It's a circus, a carnival, a traveling troupe of lolis, anti-heroes, cyborgs, freakshows, manipulators, catgirls, and puppeteers! We're in the boredom-killing business! This is mass hysteria, you maniacs! For Ishiwatari's sake, you readers are the real thing! We are the illusion! So turn off your computers! Turn off your television sets! Turn off your mobiles! Turn them off and leave them off! Turn them off right now, even in the middle of this very sentence that I'm speaking to you! TURN THEM OFFFFFFFFFF!

In short, I think you're taking this a little too seriously, and should lighten up. Logic doesn't work in fanfics that completely ignore canon.

I do however like your rant about Ragna possibly not being totally heroic (which is true). Being heroic implies at least some degree of selflessness, which, judging from your essay, he's not. Okay, okay, he's not entirely bad, but he's not the idealistic crusader some fans make him out to be either. He's a man with a massive chip on his shoulder, and as such, it's easy for him to forget helping out anyone who isn't also out to get Terumi. (sighs) You see kids act like anti-heroes are soooooooo cool. Well kids, Ragna is a better example of what an anti-hero is supposed to be. Of course, he's still cool, but that's only because I'm forgiving. (Hakumen, "Falser words have never been spoken, Grimalken.")

As for your comments on the NOL, it's like any other organization; it has the capacity for good, as well as evil. Personally, I think everyone in the NOL outside of Noel, Makoto when she's serving them, and (arguably) Tsubaki is a fascist bastard, but that's just my own bias speaking out. If the NOL were to disappear, some other group could always regulate Ars Magus. Or actually get rid of the corruption within the NOL and make me like them for once.

But I also like your comment about me and Litchi. I know she isn't a bitch, and I can confirm that since I know her quite well. If she were to save Arakune (and that's a big if), she'd turn right back around and smack that Terumi upside the head like a boss, believe me. And then she'd play strip mahjong with Arakune right afterwards, yeah, that sounds about right.

So today's lesson? Don't take everything at face value. If everyone tells you, "Ragna is awesome, yaaaaaaay!" don't just blindly accept it. Research Ragna on your own, and assess for yourself whether or not he's the hero fans make him out to be. You can do this for just about anything. And now, I'm off.

[Author's Note: Hey everyone. Remember last chapter, when I let Heraklinios write a story into the chapter? Well, it's been updated. Chapter 16 now contains everything he submitted to me. It's no longer edited; it's the full deal. You could read it again . . . if you dare that is.

However, I recently learned that the latest Blaz Blue release will be in February of next year. I'm gonna buy it, and after playing it, I'll have an even better understanding of the BB universe. I'll probably still update this series before then, but there's a possibility that I'll wait until after I've played Continuum Shift+ to update. Maybe, I'm not sure yet. Until then, later!]