#are you ayaka? because i uh can't get enough of you

[glacialheart]

Are you Alhaitham? Because al-hai want is you <3

are you sucrose? because you're sweet as sugar <3

[plumblossomcafe]

Ch.43 (2/2): A Flower Blooms in a Prison

Okawara Goemon: Just hand it over. You don't want any trouble with me. If you think your elemental powers are enough to resist the Vision Hunt Decree, then you'd better think again. Believe me, you're not the first of your kind we've encountered... And we've seen the same unpleasant outcome time after time. You'd best save yourself the trouble.

Hanshirou: Can't you make an exception? I just got this Vision — I won't even use it, I promise.

Paimon: So this is the Vision Hunt Decree in action, huh? We can't just sit around and watch things unfold, can we?

Y/n: Let's move!

???: Psst...! Hey — wait...!

Paimon: Huh? There's someone trying to get our attention.

???: Come on...! This way...!

Paimon: Huh, what's going on!? Can't you see we need to go help...

???: Shh! Quiet! Just sit tight and watch for a moment...

Paimon: Hey! This isn't right, y'know! Just because you don't have a vision doesn't mean you can sit back and watch others in trouble... Huh? *noticed her Pyro vision* Hey, wait... you do have a vision!

???: Shh! If you don't keep your voice down, I won't have one much longer!

Hanshirou: Alright, alright... Here... take it.

Okawara Goemon: Hm, wise choice. Alright, let's go! *leaves*

Paimon: What should we do now? He's already given up his vision... Doesn't he know what could happen to him after losing it? Ugh, this is your fault. You're the one who stopped us from interfering!

Hanshirou: Phew! Many thanks, Miss Yoimiya. If you hadn't swapped me a fake just now, I'm sure I would have lost it.

Yoimiya: No worries! You put on quite the convincing performance!

Aether: So the Vision they took was fake?

Y/n: Seems we were fooled, too...

Paimon: Ohh, so that's what's going on here! And to think Paimon was about to unleash Paimonial wrath on Miss Yoimiya... hehehe... sorry about that.

Yoimiya: Haha, ahh, think nothing of it! I could tell from your reaction that we were on the same side — you just didn't know it, y'know? Alright — allow me to introduce myself. I'm Yoimiya, the current owner of Naganohara Fireworks. It ain't much, but it's honest work, hehe. Great to meet ya!

Hanshirou: Practically everyone in Hanamizaka knows Yoimiya. She's the "Queen of the Summer Festival"! Without her and her fireworks, summer on Narukami Island just wouldn't be the same.

Paimon: Whoa, that's quite the introduction! Paimon loves fireworks! It's nice to meet you.

Yoimiya: Hee-hee, stop it, Hanshirou, you'll embarrass me! As for thanking me, you'd be better off thanking Master Masakatsu. He's the one who gave me the fake visions in the first place. His handiwork allowed me to keep my own vision. Whew, I can't even imagine trying to run business without it...

Hanshirou: Yes, Master Masakatsu is a good man. It's too bad that good people seldom get the recognition they deserve.

Paimon: Master Masakatsu!?

Yoimiya: Huh? Do you guys know him, too?

Y/n: Miss Kamisato mentioned his name. We were just on our way to rescue him.

Yoimiya: You don't say! Then it sounds like the Shirasagi Himegimi has a plan... Awesome! I've been thinking about breaking him out too recently. But if I just marched straight in there by myself, I'd probably get Miss Kamisato in a whole heap of trouble, hehe... So... what about if I join you instead!?

Paimon: Sure! Welcome to the team! Ayaka told us to go look for help at a fireworks shop. She must have meant you!

Yoimiya: Hee-hee, seems like I've finally got a new job to do! ...Y'know, besides hiding Vision bearers in my shop, that is... So, Master Masakatsu is being held at the Police Station. I've already surveyed the area and found a way in.

Paimon: Whoa, talk about a reliable source. Seems we've got the right person on our team!

Yoimiya: Not bad, huh? Hehe. Let's go as soon as everyone's ready. Don't worry Master Masakatsu, we're on our way!

Paimon: Time to break him out!

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Paimon: Uh... Now that we're inside, this place is a whole lot creepier than Paimon imagined... Eh-he...

Yoimiya: C'mon, this way! As long as we stay quiet, we've got a good chance! I certainly wouldn't want to end up locked away in here... Let's find Master Masakatsu and get out of here. We should split up. I've got a "little present" to prepare for Master Masakatsu, hehe... I'll be right back.

Paimon: You sure? Alright then... Just be careful not to get caught!

Yoimiya: Yes, uh — you too!

Upon reaching a certain area downstairs of the police station

Paimon: Shh... quick, hide! Look over there... That must be Master Masakatsu!

Kinoshita: ...Did you really think that little trick of yours could fool us?

Maeda: Hehe... locking you up was just the beginning.

Masakatsu: ...Argh... No...!

Yoimiya: Oh no... Those Tenryou Commission brutes are torturing him.

Paimon: If we don't come up with a way to break him out fast, then... Eh!? Yoimiya, when did you get back here...

Y/n: We can only grit our teeth for now... We need to ensure we have a means of escape.

Yoimiya: Ugh... I can't bear to watch. If anything happens to Master Masakatsu, our whole plan will have been for nothing...

???: Hey, you there! What are you doing!?

Kinoshita: Ah! M—Ma'am!

Maeda: W—We were just teaching him a little lesson... That's all.

Paimon: Huh? Who's that?

Yoimiya: That's Kujou Sara, adopted daughter of the Kujou Clan of the Tenryou Commission. She's also a general in the Shogun's Army. What's she doing here...?

Aether: I think Kazuha mentioned her before... She's also enforcing the Vision Hunt Decree.

Kujou Sara: Make way, let me have a look at him. *inspecting him* ... I'm sure you're well aware that torture is strictly against military regulations.

Kinoshita: Y—Yes, ma'am.

Sara: If you are unashamed of such disgraceful action, then you are also unworthy of the Tenryou Commission itself! Do I make myself clear!?

Maeda: Y—Yes, ma'am. I—It won't happen again!

Paimon: Whew, Paimon sure wouldn't want to get on her bad side...

Yoimiya: Hey, this is our chance! Let's move while they aren't watching Master Masakatsu.

Paimon: Yoimiya! Are you sure now's the right time!?

Y/n: *accidently stepped on a loose wood plank, unintentionally giving off a sound* ah...

Sara: Who is that... Quick, go, and investigate.

Guards: Yes, ma'am!

Paimon: The—They're coming! Quick — hide!

Y/n: Sorry, sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to... *hiding close to Aether*

Aether: We're in trouble now. They'll find us for sure if we don't do something.

Yoimiya: Don't worry, I've got us covered. Time for my "little present..."

Fireworks: BOOM!!!

Paimon: Wha—! Fireworks!?

Kinoshita: Huh? Was that an explosion!?

Maeda: I—It sounded like... fireworks?

Kinoshita: Quick, let's hurry!

Paimon: Whew, the fireworks were enough to distract them! Maybe more than enough, hehe...

Yoimiya: Hehe, fireworks aren't just for festivals, y'know.

Aether: Nice work!

Yoimiya: Hee-hee, I was particularly proud of this batch, I decided to—

Fireworks: POW!!! CRACKLE CRACKLE... FIZZZZ!

Guards: Wahhhhhh!!!

Paimon: Eh-he... Uh, Yoimiya... this is turning into a bit of a fireworks display, hehe...

Yoimiya: Well... fireworks are my craft, after all. Every batch has to be spectacular! Hee-hee...

Y/n: Well, those guards deserved what they got...

Paimon: Look, the coast is clear. Now's our chance!

All: *approached Masakatsu*

Masakatsu: Y—Yoimiya? Is that you?

Yoimiya: Master Masakatsu! Sorry we took so long... Ugh... those awful guards!

Paimon: C'mon, we've got no time to lose! They could be back any minute... *looks behind her to see Kujou Sara* Oh...

Aether: You were over there watching us this whole time, weren't you?

Sara: Yes. Leave, before I let my judgment get the better of me. He's in serious condition. Be sure he gets immediate medical attention. But remember... Once he's recovered, it won't be long until I bring him right back.

Yoimiya: Uh, well... Ahem, you can bet we'll do all we can to keep that from happening.

Aether: We will protect Master Masakatsu.

Sara: Hm... leave this place.

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Paimon: Phew! We're finally outta that creepy place.

Masakatsu: Yes... Finally, I've made it out of there...

Yoimiya: Master Masakatsu — how do you feel? Can you hold on?

Masakatsu: Don't worry, I think I can make it to the infirmary without keeling over.

Yoimiya: Thank you, all of you! I'll take him to get treated. I'll treat you to a round of drinks once this is all over!

Paimon: Don't worry about us. Just take care of Master Masakatsu! Whew, it's a good thing we were able to rescue him.

Y/n: *heals Masakatsu with her vision* Luck was on our side this time. All thanks to that person.

Paimon: Right, Kujou Sara... Do you think she was making up for how the guards were treating him? It seems as though there are some okay people among the ranks of the Tenryou Commission... Oh! Though Paimon would never agree with their actions in the Vision Hunt Decree, of course. How about we go tell Ayaka and the others the good news?

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Thoma: I see, so Kujou Sara stayed her hand. It would appear she still has some honor to her. I wonder if we should try establishing contact with her... Perhaps we could coax out some information.

Ayaka: Unlikely. Don't forget, Kujou Sara is also carrying out the Vision Hunt Decree. She obeys the orders of the Raiden Shogun without question. In her eyes, Master Masakatsu is of no threat to the decree. This is why she was so willing to allow his escape. If our true motives were ever divulged, she would act against us without a second thought.

Thoma: True... Though if you ask me, Master Masakatsu's release is an unexpected blessing. We are now one step closer to victory... and we couldn't have done it without Yoimiya, Aether, and Y/n! Hehe, you're both turning out to be even more reliable than we expected.

Aether: Thanks for the compliment.

Paimon: Hee-hee, don't mention it.

Y/n: I just thought we were doing what was right

Ayaka: Indeed, things may have turned out very differently this time without the help of Aether and Y/n. But if we wish to mount any sizable resistance against the Vision Hunt Decree... there is still much to be done. It is time we make ready our next set of plans...

Thoma: There's no need to rush, milady. Things seem to have taken a turn for the better, at least. Not only have we rescued Master Masakatsu, but our list of allies appears to be growing. Ah yes, which reminds me... The Tenryou Commission seems to be making preparations for a "celebration"... They call it a "ceremony" of sorts. And the number of samurai out enforcing the Vision Hunt Decree seems to be waning. The days ahead may be more peaceful than usual.

Ayaka: A "ceremony," you say? Why would such a task be left to the Tenryou Commission?

Thoma: I don't know, but I'm sure it has nothing to do with us. Anyway, with the Tenryou Commission busy with preparations, we should have a little more breathing room than usual.

Ayaka: Hmm, you do present a good point. Being in a constant state of alert will only tire us further. Perhaps a period of rest is in order. Thoma, what would you suggest?

Thoma: I'd say a celebratory feast is in order. Might I suggest an evening of hot pot together! Funny enough, I learned a new "hot pot game" recently. I'm sure you'll find it quite amusing!

Paimon: A hot pot game? What's that? Well, as long as it has to do with eating...

Y/n: I never heard of that game. How does it work?

Thoma: Simply put, every person prepares an ingredient to add to the hot pot. Once the meal begins, we add all the ingredients together. Then we take it in turns to close our eyes, pick an ingredient out of the pot, taste it, and guess whose ingredient it was. Anyone who guesses correctly can go again, and whoever finishes the meal with the most points is declared the winner. Tradition even has it that the winner receives blessings from the God of Hot Pot. Don't you think it sounds like fun? Hehe, I've been wanting to give it a try... In fact, I've already got my ingredients prepared!

Paimon: You really do wanna play, huh! Well, sounds like we've got our work cut out for us! Time to gather some ingredients. But... what should we choose?

Aether: Let's be team daredevil...

Y/n: Sounds interesting, I'm up for it, especially when it comes to games, I love games

Paimon: Ooh, Paimon proposes we gather raging demon-level Jueyun Chilis, super salty Ham, Mist Flower Corollas... This is already shaping up to be a hot pot to remember...

Everyone enjoys a questionable and borderline hazardous round of hot pot...

Thoma: Ugh, my stomach! It feels like Yoimiya's fireworks are going off inside me...

Paimon: Who would've guessed that Thoma would be the winner...? He ate practically all those weird ingredients without a second thought! Uh, Thoma? You okay, buddy?

Thoma: Salt-crusted herring, unripe Lavender Melon, flash-boiled dango... Oh, and whatever that thing was that nearly froze my tongue off... Hold up, my life is starting to flash before my eyes... Time I call it a night, everyone...

Y/n: Hehe, you've only got yourself to blame Thoma... All those strange things you ate were ingredients you added yourself.

Paimon: But weren't you the one who added those little cakes Ayaka? Hehe, I think Y/n ended up eating one. Boiling cakes in hot pot... bleurgh... think of the texture...

Y/n: I thought of it as soaking a slice of cake in some milk.

Ayaka: I must apologize... To be perfectly honest, I thought the cakes would be a tasty addition. I think I recall eating a dango, mochi, and some other type of Inazuma's sweets I'm not sure who added them

Y/n: That was me. Sorry, I can't help it, I love sweets.

Thoma: Uh oh, I'm definitely not okay... Ugh, I need to lie down.

Y/n: *made a pad of water to place on Thoma*

Some time passes...

Thoma: Whew... I feel like a new man.

Paimon: Uh, you know, Thoma... all you had to do was guess wrong on purpose, and it would've been someone else's turn. Talk about being competitive...

Thoma: Haha, I guess I've been feeling unlucky recently and wanted the God of Hot Pot's blessing. Perhaps I did get a little carried away... Still, I couldn't be beaten at my own game the first time around! I think my luck has already taken a turn for the better — I can sense it! So without further ado, I hereby declare that the winner of today's hot pot challenge is... me!

Paimon: Oh brother...

Y/n: *pouting* Lucky.

Thoma: Ahh... good effort, team, another important job taken care of. Next on the agenda: some well-earned rest and relaxation.

Ayaka: Yes, if the Tenryou Commission truly is as busy with preparations as Thoma claims, then some rest would be a welcome change of pace. And with the extra time, there are some other matters I wish to attend to...

Thoma: Let's all take some much-needed time off. After a few days' rest, we'll reconvene at the Komore Teahouse and discuss our next operation. Downtime is hard to come by these days, so be sure to make the most of it! I'll tidy things up here and start thinking about our ingredients for our next round, hehe.

Paimon: There's gonna be a sequel!?

Thoma: Sure, why not! We should play again now that everyone knows the rules. I'll see you all later!

Paimon: Bye, Thoma! Hmm, it seems we won't need to be visiting the Komore Teahouse for a while. Why don't we go explore some other places!

[mccnstricken]

Thoma cannot help but crack a larger smile in amusement, taking the immediate clock of the purpose of his visit lightly. "That obvious, huh?" Because it truly must have been. If it were miraculously not for his general appearance, it must have been the prior crowd of curious folks gathering around-- he can't blame someone for getting to the root of the "problem" (or lack of) within seconds. All in all, he retains the image of a good sport.

"Well then, Miss Navia," He extends his hand for a more proper way to introduce himself, bowing his head into his nod, "It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance. I'll be sure to keep both your name and your advice tucked away in the peripheral view of my memory." Not so completely out of sight that he may forget nor so dead center that he is forced to think only of it, but set aside just enough so that it lingers and recalls swiftly. Pocketed, to simply say.

"The young lady I work for would be far more aware of those laws than me. I'll have to ask her to fill me in more in depth when I return to the hotel..." His thoughts drift aloud, "I'm sure she has told me them in passing... She's been pretty excited about this trip."

Quickly, as he draws his hand away once hands shake, he then waves his hand-- to brush away the thought, so as to not get sidetracked within them. "But never mind that, Lady Ayaka isn't here currently." And neither the eldest. "It's just me, myself, and I in front of you."

"If you don't mind me inquiring, you mentioned this uh..." Thoma peers over curiously, pausing in an attempt to think to annunciate words foreign to his tongue properly. He speaks slowly, tilting his head. "Spinda di Rosula? Just what is that?" A company of sorts, he can only presume. Is it hers? Contextual clues signal to him that surely it must, but the want for clarification settles regardless. "Just how will they be assisting?" It's an honest inquiry at the end of the day-- attentive gaze waiting patiently.

(continued.) ━━ ˟ ⊰ ♡ | @mccnstricken

"Oh? You're sparing some hospitality my way despite the imposition on your travel venture's itinerary?" The Soaring Yellow Rose grins upon the pleasant revelation of her opposite's more personable reception of her otherwise more forward manner of greeting, balled fists settling on the dips of her hips. "I take it you're here on vacation?"

Assumption gathers at one glance at the man's more Inazuman-styled attire. Fashion preference or something that catered more to the stranger's cultural ties, it mattered not. He docked onto Fontaine's land and brought attention to himself like a fish out of water. Naturally, there was a strong inclination to befriend this ripple in the waters of what was otherwise a typical day in the land of Hydro. After all, what fun was there to be had in stagnant tides?

"Well. Who am I to deny such a friendly invitation? I'd be more than happy to accompany you as you settle down." Her head dips in acceptance toward his offer, making strides to seat herself across from him. A hum passes curved lips, precautionary warning being the first thing that occupies her thoughts in the presence of a foreigner to start their conversation properly. This, too, was Navia's innate sense of duty kicking in.

"Let me start off by saying to mind the more obscure laws that Fontaine harbors, lest you wish to get caught up in a sticky situation." Her mind drifts off to the instance spread of the Traveler's own misfortune the very moment they set foot onto Fontaine borders. While she was not there personally to witness it, word in this city of dramatics spread quickly ━ even the most minuscule ordeal all but required to be woven into some sort of spectacle for everyone to judge as they deem fit.

"Pardon my manners! You gave me your name and I'm sitting here lecturing you. My name is Navia. Know that the importance of such a name is nothing to mind at this time, however, a time may come to pass when it'll be of value to you. If such an occasion arises, I ask that you spare no hesitation in weaponizing our relations if only in the act of greater good! Ah- rest assured, if such a situation rears its ugly little head, Spina di Rosula will be there to assist you!"

[collabwithmyself]

reminder to elaborate on the lore for your joke oc that explains pepsi and cadell's powers and ayaka's potential powers!

OKAY YES LET ME GET MY NOTES FROM DISCORD. DIRECT TRANSCRIPT SO.

What if you were a deity that created this universe and everyone in it, but you had horrible impostor syndrome and were constantly stressed about not being good enough, so I tried to teach you a lesson about your self worth by proving that other people's belief in you gave you strength, but your own opinion of yourself was so poor that you literally just shattered, and I was left with a single shard of your creative power and no idea how to fix my mistake, knowing that if anyone else discovered they had a shard of your ability they might be able to bring about the end of the world as we know it. And I just went "well, not my problem"

Thinking maybe Pepsi was a perfectly average conperson before stumbling across the despondent Artisan. Maybe The Artisan asked for xyr opinion on its work, as a person down on xyr luck and struggling to make xyr way in the world

The Artisan: Just... be honest with me. Did I do a bad job? Making all of this?

Pepsi, only just now realizing xe's talking to God: UH,

"It's not like I'd hurt you! ...That's hypocritical of me, though, isn't it. All I seem to do is hurt everyone in this world... I can't even ensure the happiness of my creations. What kind of cruel creator am I, just sitting idly by and watching you all suffer, knowing it's by my own design?"

"..."

"...this is unfair to put on you, I'm sorry--"

"Now, wait a-- hold, hold, hold on--"

The Artisan tries to apologize and leave, but Pepsi sees an opportunity to get xemself some leverage. Xe's a trickster at heart, after all, and if xe tells The Artisan what it needs to hear, maybe xe'll earn a little favor.

But xe places far too much faith in xyrself and fails to be delicate or encouraging, and when xe tries to spout some stuff xe doesn't really believe, about people's faith in humanity giving The Artisan strength, and trying to prove its immortality...

Well. The Artisan shatters like a poorly crafted ceramic sculpture in a kiln.

Pepsi: ...whoops! Anyway

The pieces are scattered pretty much everywhere, but Pepsi catches a decent chunk of them, and now xe has reality bending power at xyr disposal, as well as the partial consciousness of a heartbroken god that thinks it's worthless

But xe quickly learns that not only if xe uses too much of this power, reality starts peeling apart, but the shard of The Artisan in xem is acting as a moral compass

It doesn't want to hurt its creations and refuses to allow Pepsi to take action that would lead to direct harm

So xe rebrands xemself from snake oil salesperson to genuine potionmaker that offers a chance for people in need of change to do just that

Except, you know, the twist of the ironic transformation that will only wear off if the person learns their lesson

Who knows where the other shards of The Artisan have gone!

But... they tend to seek out kindred spirits. Creative people suffering from a roadblock and low self esteem. Trying to seek the fulfillment of The Artisan's own desire to be good enough by melding with that of its host.

Which. (gestures to Cadell and potentially Ayaka)

Pepsi is a little different because

1) xyr main motivation isn't to please others

2) xe was struck by multiple pieces due to standing directly in front of the explosion

So Pepsi and the piece of The Artisan in xem are still separate beings with separate desires that are very aware of each other, while other people with pieces of The Artisan have just fully fused with it, and only awaken its creative power in life or death situations.

[rkgk-art]

Okay second try, so I doodled my MC for @lemonade-if 's game and I wanted to show these here and talk a bit about her :D

I had lots of fun doodling and coming up with a design, though I might still change some stuff around, we'll see.

Uh, I wanted to put it under a read more for people that don't wanna bother but it seems like it doesn't work, so I'm sorry _(:'3/ L)_

Anyways, here she is!

Her name is Hisakawa Kotone (久川コトネ), going by the stats we got told she'll most likely be:

Genuine and a tiny bit sarcastic, playful, charming, bold (general with people, shy in romance), emotional, positive and lawful.

She's friendly and respectful towards others (especially authorities and people older than her).

But she's got a foot-in-mouth personality, meaning that she talks before she thinks and may say something unintentionally dumb rude.

Academically she excels in scientific(?) classes like math and chemistry and the likes but is only average in everything to do with languages and literature.

I have no idea which club I'll make her join atm. She's athletic but I feel like you need to really commit for any of the sports clubs which sounds like a total bother. Cheering is not her thing, at all.

Art and Kotone aren't a good mix, she might be able to doodle some chibis but that's the extend of her artistic abilities. While she's sociable enough for journalism, in case they need to interview people, they better not let her handle the articles for the papers...

Kotone can play instruments tho I haven't decided which ones yet and is good at singing (though certainly no pro), but music club still sounds a bit boring to her. She wants to do stuff like that for fun, not for school.

Still, journalism or music might be the most likely to be chosen.

I forgot if it was explicitly stated in what sort of environment our MCs live? Like, a house or in an apartment complex? Though I guess judging by the example we've been given it sounded like the parents wanted to reason with their child that they moved places a lot because of commute and "rent being cheaper", so I figure money might be a topic and our MC probably lives in a tiny apartment complex now.

Does that mean no pets? My cat loving Kotone will cry.

I like giving my OCs significant birthdays (like holidays) so I decided on December 25th for Kotone. Since I also think smol girls are cute she's 161cm.

As you can see with the doodles I loved putting her in all sorts of clothes and hairstyles. She wears all sorts of stuff as long as they're comfortable and/or cute. Her go-to hairstyle is two braids and she loves long skirts/dresses which she pairs with sneakers.

Also I put her as some of my fav LINE stickers I might have a LINE sticker addiction which I thought fit her personality as well. I had more but I didn't bother drawing them all lmao. I like the smug one (bottom) and the fox the most, heh.

I'm a seiyuu lover (though mostly for the guys) so I wanted to imagine one for her too. I'm not too sure yet but I do really like Ohashi Ayaka (Angelina in Arknights) so I might go for her.

I'm a lazy ass so I usually don't make multiple MCs for IFs and just reuse my one MC for all the ROs. It's going to be the same here, but I typically have a "main RO".

I don't have one here yet because I like all the tropes the boys seem to represent (bad boy/delinquent, genki boi, notorious flirt and the kuudere stoic one) so I'll wait and see until I know more about the guys :3

While Kotone is not interested in the girls on a romantic level I do hope she can become BFF with all of them. Hopefully they can hang out a lot :D

Are sleepovers possible? She'd love those xD

I'm seriously looking forward to getting to know everyone. Not only the ROs but all the other important characters too (like Sensei).

I also can't wait to see what adventures my idiot daughter will go on Ｏ(≧▽≦)Ｏ

This story and its characters live already rent free in my head _(:'3/ L)_

To everyone that made it this far, thanks a bunch, you're amazing! I'll give you a virtual hug--as long a you're comfortable with that of course.

Also as a bonus, here's the one colored piece from above but with a different hair color. I didn't undecide yet at that point if I wanted Kotone to be blonde or pink I'm still a bit unsure I guess

But I thought pink-ish hair might be a bit TOO shoujo manga...which would actually make sense given this story's setting but still LMAO

I think that was the most important stuff I wanted to tell.

So...baiibaii!

[cleansingreflections]

idk if ur the right person to ask for this but: I was thinking of pulling for ayato bc his skill and ult seem really useful especially in the spiral abyss. but other players say his icd is too long/his scaling is trash/ he's not worth it etcetc. do you have any thoughts on this?

starting this off by saying that i am in no way a meta player, i play how it's comfortable to me and how i'm used to, i'm not an expert and also lol sorry for the long ass response but i wanted to get as specific as possible, and also it kinda doesn't make any sense so forgive me for that lol

first i wanna say i disagree with the scaling is trash point because i think his scaling is pretty average for a sword dps as far is im concerned, besides that:

if you listen to people who talk about "meta" endlessly, then you're gonna end up not pulling for any character. i've been playing genshin since 1.1 and as far as i'm concerned almost every single limited 5* character was deemed "trash" either before or when they were released, the only exceptions i'm aware of that didn't have any major controversy, negative or even remotely dubious response were itto, xiao, hu tao, ayaka i guess but she was a special case, maybe venti and klee (initially)

idk if you're a new player, but if you are you'll be surprised to find out that raiden shogun was deemed unusable, ganyu was called "cryo amber", albedo was completely overlooked, i'm not even gonna get into the zhongli discourse because i'd have to write an entire book about it

my point is "xyz is trash because [1 flaw that they have]" are comments you shouldn't pay too much attention to, especially if the character is still in beta and hasn't been released

if you play only to 36* abyss then honestly, i don't think you should pull for ayato only for that, but i also think you shouldn't just play for spiral abyss in general. if you're a newer player then uh unless abyss gets a big rework you're gonna have a tough time 36* starring it (i kinda gave up on it :p)

if you play to have fun, then ayato seems to me a perfectly viable hydro dps, sub-dps or even support that could potentially work well with a lot of different units as far as i'm concerned; ICD is a problem that's not unique to ayato and it is kind of annoying, there's not much that can be done about that honestly and you just have to deal with it. and also. god. for the love of god. for the sake of everything that is holy in this world. look at me anon. repeat it with me:

-> vaporise is not the only reaction <-

the only reason why i would tell you to rethink pulling for ayato is if you have childe already since their kits are extremely similar as they're both very team oriented (as opposed to hypercarries) (but even then i'm still pulling for ayato even with a childe in my roster like idc)

i'd say if you're unsure then wait until he's released (if you can and weren't planning on otherwise pulling for raiden or kokomi in a couple of weeks), do his trial, if you have the patience you can even wait to see what other players think in the first few days, and then make your decision

but please, and i mean this genuinely, don't skip a character just because someone on twitter called them trash, pointing out flaws in characters is perfectly valid criticism and i watch videos about characters' flaws all the time, but you can't know for sure until the character is released and you did a test run with them outside of beta

TLDR: if you like a character and you want to play them because their kit looks genuinely fun to you, pull regardless of meta, there is no PvP in genshin so which unit you play is absolutely inconsequential outside of spiral abyss

i feel like i've definitely missed some stuff but that's what i think, at the end of the day ayato is not a badly designed unit in my opinion, he's balanced enough that whatever he lacks can be filled in with other units in my personal opinion

[catcze]

Hi! Uh- this is out of place but I can't decide on my own. I want to pull for Kazuya because I like him a lot, his play style and all that, but I'm also considering to pull for Ayaka. The drawback for Ayaka for me is that she looks like she's hard to build. I do like her play style too and kit, like Kazuha;; but I'm very conflicted because Kazuha's banner will soon end. I do have enough primogems to pull for anyone at the moment and I'm guaranteed so 🧎🏻‍♀️

Hmm,, well, it honestly depend on what you need? Because unless you're prepared to make Kazuha a dps, his kit is mainly geared towards being a crowd control / support character, Ayaka seems likely to be a main dps character. Uhh, i don't want to get too into it, but at the end of the day, it's ultimately your choice who to pull for (and there's also no need to panic over getting charas asap btw, since they're very likely to have reruns in the future) but some important things to consider how much you like the character (the most important) , what kind of character you need atm, how they can fit into your team comps, and etc.

Honestly babe the answer is all yours, but just don't feel any pressure i guess? Just pull for who you like the most, regardless of their kit n the whole building process. Roll for whoever you think will make you happy when you log into your acc and see them standing there hasjdna 💞💞💞