Summoning-ventures (Tunguska Sanctuary or just Taigong Wang, I guess)

After the hell that was Muramasa and Caster of Limbo, I had only one other must-have target, even more sought after than those two: Taigong Wang. ...He's cute ok. And I've developed a weak spot for fox-eyed characters over the past few years, so I just must have him! ..........................But GudaGuda came along and I just had to get Ryoma and Oryou. Not only did I like them as characters, but they're an AOE lancer arts farmer!

While they may not have taken ALL of my SQs... I went from 300+ to 100+, and all my tickets so... I was running low on reserves for Taigong Wang. And then there came that Skadi banner from Christmas. I've been trying to get her since her release, but she had continued to evade me, and... this time wasn't any different. Even worse, she ended up eating up some of my Taigong Wang funds ORZ. Then Tunguska came along. No Taigong. I farmed all of my remaining interludes and rank up quests. No Taigong. I used my resources to level Servants to do EVEN MORE interludes and rank up quests. STILL NO TAIGONG. And then, the raids came along... and I decided to farm bond points for EVEN MORE SQs. I must have had 300+ battles which lasted until the final moments of the raid. I was ready to give up once the raid ends... So, I thought, hey, I'll try to get 15 more SQs- that's literally the last I can afford. The other Servants' bond exps are too high for what remaining HP the Beast had. Part of me wanted to settle for 13 SQs- I wasn't sure if the last Servant would make it anyway... but I decided to persevere. So, I ended up with 15 SQs. First pull. Nada. Kept going until I had 3 SQs remaining... And then, no lag- but GOLDEN RIDER?! I was skeptical because I've gotten 3 baits before this: Marie Antoinette, and 2 times for Nikitich. BUT THEN. FINALLY. HE CAME. HE FINALLY CAME.

...And I proceeded to throw all my resources at him.

NORMALLY I only grail Servants who have proven themselves to me, even if I really, really love them. ...But you, Taigong Wang, you get a pass. I don't even care anymore that I've lost too much for this man, but I do lament that I couldn't provide him with the proper supports (Skadi). STILL! I enjoy using him. Sadly, I don't have much opportunities to use him yet, unlike how I do with Odysseus (another fave! ...Why are they all riders?!). I'm gonna find a way to force use him though! So yeah, that's it for my Taigong Wang summons. Admittedly, this was the most effort I've placed for a summon... I've had Merlin flashbacks...

Summoning-ventures (Chaldea Boys 2023)

So... I've saved up my SQs for Muramasa and Douman, both of which sucked me dry. -Actually, neither of them came home from SQs I DID SAVE UP but from SQs I had to forcefully farm from interludes and rank up quests. For that? I had to feed my servants with my exp savings just so they meet the conditions for interludes+rank ups, not to mention, I had to farm bond levels for even more SQs. That said, they did come home... at a huge (F2P) price. Now, I'm saving for Oberon but he's on a lower priority- So, with Chaldea Boys here, I was just thinking- "Man, the CEs are pretty, I'll just pull for them". Anyway, I said I'll only use my tickets, but decided to use up 10, plus one ten-pull hoping to get the 5-star CEs...

AND THIS GUY DECIDED TO COME HOME-

I MEAN SURE! Amakusa isn't on my high priority list, but given that he just got a new skin? He's definitely a welcome addition to the team! Anyway, since I got him and I was still lacking some CEs, I figured I'd wait for Odysseus' banner since I've gotten pretty attached to the guy after the Aeaea event. Heck, he's my favorite Servant right now- favorite mythological hero, even. I did end up getting all the CEs I wanted, but... while I did tell myself that I'll only use my tickets... I ended up using my SQ stash. -Not that I had a lot to begin with; I think I only had like... 160+ SQs anyway?

And now, I only have 60 SQs left ahaha... But with this 5-star CE, I managed to grab the final one from the event shop, which means I've collected them all! The real kicker? Well, let's go back to last year when Odysseus released... it took me more than 300+ of my SQs to force him home. For this banner, copies of him actually did come home.

...Not once, not twice... BUT THRICE.

So, yeah. Now I have an NP4 Odysseus. From less than 200 SQs worth of pulls??? SOMEHOW??? Maybe all my nerding about The Odyssey these past few months served as his catalyst ahahahaha...

Funny thing? I had a similar situation last FGO summer event when all I wanted was a copy of the Odysseus CE, but ended up with an NP2 Sigurd-

Lostbelt(3)-ventures: Summoningventures Part II

Ok- so I summoned Qin Shi Huang waaaaaay earlier today.

Apparently, it’s my 900th day anniv on FGO, so they gave me 30 SQs.

Checked future banners, and tbh... I’m not keen on any of the future releases (maaaybe Lostbelt 4? But that’s eons away...) so I decided, why the heck not. I do kinda want that 4* (Yu Mei-ren) even though I’d never probably even level her up. Once again, joke’s on me.

NP2 Qin Shi Huang... haha... ha.................... ha...................................

... I won’t be getting any 5* next year, am I?

Lostbelt(3)-ventures: Summoningventures

I did a few pulls for Xiang Yu for kicks, though tbh, I didn’t really want him? Not a fan of the design... though with what happened to him in the Lostbelt, I kinda do want to reunite him with Hinako(?). Not to the point of splurging my SQ savings for them though. My real target is Qin Shi Huang after all. So it’s like... 1 or 2 am in the morning and I’m playing Genshin Impact (recording my gameplay while I’m at it) and then I saw a notification on my phone... apparently Qin Shi Huang’s been out since the 2nd??? I didn’t know??? So immediately, I booted up FGO while I continue playing Genshin since I’m recording and I don’t wanna stop. Did 1 10x pull for kicks... no go. Of course. 10x pulls suck, hmph! I continued pulling and kept getting uh... crap.  And then I was already down to 8 SQs, still nothing. I can’t really feel salty since I did just get Sitonai, Abby, Waver and Gilgamesh... like... can’t push my luck more than that, right? Ah... well.. 8 SQs left, one roll... golden sparks... huh, maybe I got Akuta? Well... joke’s on me huh?

He... came................. I don’t know if I should be surprised, but it is scary. C’mon, I just got Gilgamesh (and three others)..... which means I’m thinning out on resources...... But like... I do want him, so all’s well that ends well? Aaaand welp.......... I did end up having enough to at least get him to final ascension. RIP my QPs though.  On other news, I hadn’t had any 4* in a long while. Joke’s on me indeed.