#but NONE of the sub stats are good

[inimitablereel]

tags from @adorablecrab #also hxz calls him xiao jiu ye on UN at least one time#(and I think about it constantly) #and I think xiuxiu calls him xiao hua gege there too

I still have the (kind of garbage uncommented messy) code I wrote to do this including the bit where I was searching for what I thought might be a possible name so let's do this

for all of these word clouds I was matching on the following list of names:

"Xie Yuchen", "Boss Xie","Xie Yuhua","Xiao Hua", "Big Hua", "Xiao Xiejiu", "little Xie Nine", "little Xie Jiu", "head of the Xie family", "Master Hua", "A Hua", "Da Hua", "Xie Xiao Hua", "Master Hua'er", "Xie Yu Chen","Xie Zi","Xie Ziyang", "Jie Yuhua", "little Xie", "Brother Hua", "Xie Yu Hua","Young Master Xie", "Master Xie", "little flower"

Looking now through the UN subtitles for anything that matches 'hua', 'yuchen', 'yuhua', 'xie', 'pink', 'jiu', 'nine', '9', 'flower', or 'little', I've definitely also missed:

Master Xiao Jiu (9 times lol, looked up a couple of them and it seems like various people he was interrogating about the Mystic Nine call him this?)

Xiao Jiu (this is an interesting subtitling choice for a line that was actually in English! It's QDK saying "you and Nine don't need to be like this" to HXZ. It's only in there a single time.)

Mr. Xie (4 times, looks like this is a thing people who work for him who aren't HXZ call him)

Just Hua (pretty sure this was only in the song. you know, the one that goes pingxie tiesanjiao heihua. so I'm not sure this counts as a full nickname)

Xiao Xie (just once, this is Huo Nainai of course)

Of course, all of this is in english and is specifically about subtitlers translation choices! In particular I definitely also remember that Xiao Hua gege and it sure is not in those subtitles as far as I can find - there's not very many places where "brother" gets used in the subs at all, and while it wasn't so few that I want to pull them all up in an episode, none of them contextually seem like they'd be about Xiao Hua.

My main takeaway here is my code for this was not very good and choosing to deal with 4 different sets of translation choices made it messier. I did think about doing stats on the chinese subtitle files to have less of this be so translation dependent EDIT apparently a year ago I did download all 36 episodes of chinese subtitles like a madlad. I do not know chinese so I'd probably need help making sure I'm not missing a zillion names but I can see if gege is in those subs.... will reblog with results if they're interesting

What do people call Xie Yuchen?

books

Ultimate Note

Lost Tomb 2 (Explore with the Note)

Lost Tomb 2.2 (Heavenly Palace in the Clouds)

numbers under the cut

With all of these, I manually searched for nicknames containing "Xie" or "Hua", so it's possible I missed some that I didn't spot or are different than expected. Once I'd built that list of names, I've just been running a script to search for them. That means there could be some mistakes where the name comes up but it's about someone else (e.g. little Xie COULD be Wu Xie or Xie Lianhuan, not Xie Yuchen), though I did try to look for outliers. Also, everything is obviously based on someone's translation choices and how much subtitles are even including the nuances of naming - I'm getting the impression that they were fairly detailed so thanks to whoever subtitled these.

If there's some other nicknames you know are used, I can get rerun this script pretty easily (also didn't run other shows/the heihua movie because I don't have subs for it downloaded, but it'd be pretty fast to do if people are curious)

Books:

I pulled these from the Merebear epubs, so this is missing some sidestories etc that aren't in epubs yet. [ETA worth noting that even though this is a mtl, merebear doesn't always 1:1 translate names, so this like everything else is extremely dependent on tl choices]

Xiao Hua:1231 Xie Yuchen:591 Boss Xie:63 Master Hua:60 Pink Shirt: 36 (all in Volume 7 before Wu Xie learns his name lol) Xie Yuhua:18 (written once as jie yuhua) Big Hua:4 (written once as da hua) Xiao Xiejiu:2 little Xie Nine:1 (this might actually just be a footnote translation of Xiao Xiejiu) head of the Xie family:3 A Hua:3 (Pangzi, Xiao Hua doesn't like it) Xie Xiao Hua:1 (also Pangzi) little Xie:10 (didn't make it into my wordcloud oops - probably NOT Xie Lianhuan because I skipped the volumes that don't have Xiao Hua in them, but I didn't check) (no Xie just) Yuchen: 1 (Li Cu apparently)

Bonus: in stories from the rain village Wu Xie makes up a story about "three heroes" which has a character who's "Official Xie"

Ultimate Note:

Just the 36 main episodes, I don't have a separate subtitle file for the extra

Xiao Hua:103 head of the Xie family:1 Master Hua:12 Master Hua'er:86 (this is what Hei Xiazi calls him most of the time) Xie Yu Chen:6 (UN subtitles decided that was two words?)

Lost Tomb 2:

Xie Yuchen:11 Xie Yuhua:13 (split fairly evenly between Xie and Jie - this is all around the arc with his family) head of the Xie family:2 Master Hua:23 Xie Zi:12 (Huo Nainai calls him this) little Xie:7 (Pangzi but not to Xiao Hua's face - this is an overcount because at least 2 of them are actually Xie Lianhuan) Brother Hua:5 (Pretty sure this is Xiuxiu)

Lost Tomb 2.2: I was planning on combining this with lt2 but it is notably different

Xie Yuchen:20 head of the Xie family:1 Master Hua:45 Xie Zi:12

[oneknightstand-if]

i feel like you may have answered this before and so sorry if you have but in your opinion where on the top/switch/bottom (or dom/vers/sub) range do the ros fall? do they have specific preferences or are they mostly malleable and it depends on the mc?

I know I answered something similar before, but I can't find it (damn you sucky Tumblr search!) as it doesn't appear to be in the oks-ROs tag for some reason. I even explicitly remember calling out Arthur's thing where he's always expected to be dominant than the MC flipping the script on him would be appreciated for a change *grumble grumble grumble*

Anyway, overall, they've got their preferences, but none of them are so selfish to not take into account MC's preferences as well. You may end up having to wrestle some of them over who gets to be dominant for the night though.

Merlin: A literal incubus. Any way you want it, any time you want it, any where you want it, just feed them already!

Adrian: ....he's a bit more aggressive than may be apparent at first look. Definitely one to take MC's comfort/preferences into high account, however.

Arthur: As mentioned before, he's pretty much always expected to be dominant in politics, in battle, in bed too. So MC trying to flip that on him would really amuse him.

Percy: Pretty submissive here. He's a demisexual with a long trigger point so aggressive horniness is really not his thing.

4̷0̴4̶ ̷E̴r̷r̸o̷r̸ ̸N̴o̶t̴ ̴F̷o̴u̷n̷d̶: Have you really raised your stats high enough for this, MC?

Cassandra: .......she's probably the most dominant one out of this entire lot, that's including the full-blooded fae and eldritch abominations, goodluck MC.

Gwen: Switch. Would start out more sweet & submissive, until she starts getting really comfortable with the MC.

Vivian: Good luck trying to dominate a full-blooded fae, MC. Although I suppose she'd be pretty used to topping from the bottom too.

Lorelei: Very dominant in normal life, but if you've reached this point with her, she would've let her walls down around the MC... so switch, depending on MC's preferences.

Broderick: You know how I mentioned about wrestling for dominance on a nightly bases? Yeah, that's him.

[stars-n-spice]

Meet the Baddies Batch!

I had this super dumb idea to give all the Batchers significant others (aside from Tech, since he already has Phee) and the lovely @urlocaldust gave me the idea to call them the 'Baddies Batch' after telling me that she dubbed the 'Bad Batch' the 'Bad Baddies.' And they're a bunch of baddies, so why not?

I want to make art and maybe even fics with them and their adventures because I think they could get into a lot of trouble with and without their partners.

I mean, you've got a bounty hunter, a pirate, a mercenary, a Jedi, and a medic. What could possibly go wrong?

Also, of course, Phee doesn't belong to me but the other four characters do!

Anyways, introductions!

Starting off, we've got Jung-Myn Yun! Hunter's selectively mute Jedi whom he's in a queerplatonic relationship with (Hunter's an oriented aroace in this AU). If anyone has a brain cell in the group, it's going to be him and he's desperately in need of a break. No amount of Jedi training could've prepared them for dealing with this crew and the Batch's shenanigans but he makes do! Of course, they've got loads of trauma from Order 66 and the sub-sequential aftermath, but you'll never catch them opening up about it.

Still working out how the two would come to meet, but I'm thinking it's really a chance meeting where they just happen to cross paths. Call it the Force or what you will. Or maybe Omega got lost in a marketplace and stumbled upon Jung. Who knows? All that matters is they make a good team and take care of each other's luscious hair.

Stats: Name: Jung-Myn Yun Species: Jedi Human (?) Age: 27 Pronouns: He/They Sexuality: MLM Ace Height: 6'1 Enneagram Number: 9W1 Occupation: None (lmao)

Second up, we've got Viram Cossa! Echo's lovely aspiring Mikkian medic who keeps the squad together but won't hesitate to kill a bitch. The other individual with the brain cell, Viram is the voice of reason and makes sure to keep everyone safe and healthy because the Force knows the kind of trouble they all get up to. She keeps everyone in check physically and mentally, making sure everyone gets the rest they seem to forget they need (her included).

Viram meets Echo through Chuchi! She and the Senator are friends and when Chuchi starts helping out the clones after the fall of the Republic, Viram helps alongside her as a medic. They have somewhat of a slow burn, as they want to focus more so on their efforts and jobs than a relationship but every now and then that composure slips. Nothing is going to stop them from judging people though. Absolutely nothing.

Stats: Name: Viram Cossa Species: Mikkian Age: 25 Pronouns: She/Her Sexuality: Demisexual Height: 5'2 Enneagram Number: 2W1 Occupation: Medic

Third up is Khea Nultez! Wrecker's fiery Mandalorian who is somehow even more reckless than all of the Batch combined. The designated demolitions expert of the squad, Khea's stubborn personality keeps them on their toes and surprisingly gets them out of trouble as much as it gets them into trouble. Her charm and sharp wit are as effective as her WESTARs and she is not exempt from the Mandalorian gene of adopting anything and everything that is in need of a home.

Khea ran a repair shop on Ord Mantell and one day Wrecker was sent to get supplies and ended up falling in love instead. Something about short brunettes with moles on their faces really got him. However, Khea is super stubborn, self-destructive, and way too wary, so it takes a while for her to open up to Wrecker. But it's so over for her once she finally admits to her feelings and realizes Wrecker doesn't have any underlying intentions with her. It's so over.

Stats: Name: Khea Nultez Species: Chandarlian + Mandalorian Age: 25 Pronouns: She/Her Sexuality: Pansexual Height: 5'4 Enneagram Number: 6W7 Occupation: Bounty Hunter/Mechanic

Next up, is, of course, the amazing and wonderful Phee Genoa, who I think doesn't need an introduction. The pilot of the group with a ship big enough for all of them, she gets the squad into trouble more often times than not, but always manages to get them out of it in the process. She's usually the one to start up shit (and Khea follows) but she's always there to save her squad or the Bad Batch when things turn for the worst.

We all know how they meet :) I will never not get over her introduction scene.

Stats: Name: Phee Genoa Species: Human Age: N/A Pronouns: She/Her Sexuality: Bisexual Height: N/A Enneagram Number: 8W7 Occupation: Pirate Liberator of Ancient Wonders

Last but not least is Tay'kaa Marr! Crosshair's snarky Chagrian mercenary boyfriend who is a saint for putting up with Crosshair's shit. He's as happy to join in on shit as much as he is to stir shit up, and boy does he love to stir the pot. He's a snarky, competitive son of a bitch who loves to tease, but the moment you say anything remotely bad about Crosshair, you better watch yourself. While not as good as a marksman as his boyfriend, he still has great aim and is the team's designated sharpshooter.

Working out the details on their initial meeting, but I'm leaning towards the classic 'meeting at the bar/club' trope. Tay probably challenges Crosshair to darts or something, thinking he can beat him and when Crosshair completely mercies Tay, Tay is both incredibly frustrated at the fact of someone being better than him while also being incredibly interested. Things just go from there and you'll never be able to tell if they actually like each other or not (they do, they just got a weird way of showing it).

Stats: Name: Tay'kaa Marr Species: Chagrian Age: 28 Pronouns: He/Him Sexuality: Bisexual Height: 6'5 (not counting lethorns) Enneagram Number: 3W2 Occupation: Mercenary

And that wraps it up!

And when you put the Bad Batch and the Baddies Batch together you get:

It's really stupid, I know, but they are my sillies and I love them so much.

I'll be tagging stuff with just the significant others as: baddies batch

And things that include the Bad Batch as: silly squad

Is this ridiculous? Yes, perhaps, but it's fun :D

[wynterrolls]

˳༄꠶ BLACK SWAN | Honkai: Star Rail TL;DR Build

Role: DoT DPS

Relic Set (More options below the cut)

4pc Prisoner in Deep Confinement

Planar Ornament Set

Pan-Cosmic Commercial Enterprise

Firmament Frontline: Glamoth (More efficient to farm)

Space Sealing Station

Main Stats

Head = HP

Glove = ATK

Body = Effect Hit Rate (EHR) or ATK%

Boots = Speed or ATK%

Orb = Wind DMG% or ATK%

Rope = ATK%

Sub Stats

EHR

ATK% or ATK

SPD

Endgame Stats to aim:

Needed EHR = 120% EHR

Minimum Total ATK = 3000

Speed Options: no SPD (if slow BS); 134+ to 145+ SPD (if using Ruan Mei or SPD buffers); 155+ (if fast BS)

Black Swan Rotation

Assuming your BS doesn’t get hit by enemies:

Using ATK% rope: 4x Skill > Ultimate (4 turn ultimate)

Using ATK% rope: 3x Skill + 2x Basic > Ultimate (5 turn ultimate)

Using Tutorial LC: 3x Skill > Ultimate (3 turn ultimate)

Light Cones

To know the damage difference between each light cone, check the tables below the cut.

Reforged Remembrance 5★

Good Night Sleep Well 4★

Incessant Rain 5★

It's Showtime 4★

Eyes of the Prey 4★

Fermata 4★ [S5]

Before the Tutorial Mission Starts 4★ [S5]

— Black Swan Kit TL;DR —

All Basic Attack, Skill, and Ultimate deal Wind DMG on enemies.

Arcana = deals Wind DMG and Wind DoT damage at start of enemy turn

Arcana stack = increase DoT dmg%; max of 50 stacks; resets at enemy turn

Basic Attack: Chance to apply an Arcana Stack for each DoT on enemy.

Skill: Chance to apply DEF shred and Arcana stack.

Ultimate: Applies Epiphany on all enemies for 2 turns.

Epiphany = more DoT dmg% and Arcana effects are considered as Wind Shear, Bleed, Burn, and Shock; Arcana stacks don’t reset as long as Epiphany is on enemy.

Talent: when enemies enter battle, applies DoT; each DoT enemy gets, chance to get Arcana stack

If 3+ Arcana stacks = chance to apply Arcana stacks on adjacent targets

If 7+ Arcana stacks = DEF ignore on target and adjacent targets

Technique: chance to apply Arcana stacks on target at start of battle

— How to Play Black Swan in Simplified Form —

Black Swan can’t detonate any DoTs. Her DoT damage depends on enemy speed = backloaded damage. Her kit revolves entirely around increasing the damage enemies take from DoTs at beginning of their turns, by increasing the Arcana stacks on them.

She needs another DoT unit to apply DoTs on enemy and to trigger DoTs outside of enemies’ turns (e.g. Kafka, E4 Sampo, E6 Luka, or Guinaifen’s ultimate). This is possible when Epiphany is on enemies, since her Arcana stacks can also be triggered by other DoT units.

Black Swan Gameplay in Razor Language:

Other DoT units take turns before BS, they apply DoT on enemy

BS takes turn to use skill or basic attack

Enemy gets Arcana stacks from DoTs and DEF shred (if used skill)

Enemy turn starts, DoT DMG and Arcana gets triggered; Arcana stacks reset.

Profit. ( •_•)👍

Black Swan using Ultimate: Use Black Swan’s ultimate first before her DoT allies detonate their own DoT DMG (e.g. using their Ultimate).

— Pulling Priority: E1 > S1 > E2 —

* Calcs from iSUMMON = Increase from E0S0 (Solo DMG calc):

E0S1 = 15.64%

E1S0 = 31.25%

E1S1 = 51.78%

* Calcs from Hunterkee = Increase from E0S0 (Team DMG calc):

E0S1 = 7.71%

E1S0 = 23.27%

E2S0 = 2.28%

— Trace Priority: Talent > ATK/EHR/Wind DMG > Others —

* Calcs from Gladius’s Build Guide:

Ascensions first to unlock the trace nodes below

Talent = 7.65%

ATK / EHR / Wind = 3.05%

Skill = 1.88%

Ultimate = 1.86%

Basics = 1.57%

— Theoretical Simulation Calcs —

Relic Set Comparison Difference

From Hunterkee: None.

From Bonk:

From GuobaCertified:

Planar Ornament Set Comparison Difference

From Hunterkee:

From Bonk:

From GuobaCertified:

Light Cone Comparison Difference

From Hunterkee:

From Bonk:

From GuobaCertified:

Theoretical Consensus:

Their calcs are mostly focused in stacking speed on their units.

In Hunterkee’s calcs, the speed ranges from 147 to 163 spd, where the healer is the fastest, while depending on the team comp, Guinaifen is the slowest.

The speed ranges from 153 to 162 spd in Bonk’s calcs, where Kafka and the healer are the slowest, while Ruan Mei is the fastest.

In GuobaCertified’s simulations, the speed ranges from 163 to 168 spd, where Ruan Mei is the fastest, while Kafka is the slowest.

Amongst the three calcs, Hunterkee’s is closer to home because that’s mostly the speed range that F2Ps and low-spender players can achieve for their character builds. GuobaCertified’s, however, looks something you’d only see in whale builds or minmax builds. In all 3 simulations, Black Swan’s speed is somewhere in the middle.

— Does she need Kafka? —

BS could work without Kafka, but BS needs another unit that would trigger her DoTs outside the enemies’ turns. BS loses a lot of damage if her damage only relies on enemies’ turns, with no one to detonate her DoTs outside their turns.

— How much boost does Black Swan bring to Kafka DoT teams? —

From Hunterkee’s calcs, Black Swan brings about 19% boost against single-target enemy and 33% boost on AoE.

— ATK% or SPD on boots? —

Slow BS = ATK% boots

Fast BS = SPD boots

BS in Pure Fiction = SPD boots

Reasoning:

MoC has a limit of 10 cycles for you to defeat the enemies. Whether you use ATK% or SPD boots on her, Black Swan needs time to gain stacks to deal more DoT damage on enemies’ turn start.

However, Pure Fiction needs you to clear the enemies at faster rate. This means you need to clear out the first 5, before the next 5 could spawn in. This is where SPD boots would be more advantageous for her to act more turns before the enemies.

Also, SPD boots if you need to reach the SPD threshold for Glamoth set.

NOTE: There’s this discussion about building Fast BS, Slow BS, and “Classical SPD” BS. “Classical SPD” BS means her having 134 SPD. The post is written by u/L0wpriority here and a counterargument was posted by u/guobacertified here. To know what goes on in their talks, better check those links instead.

However, for me, I’d say to build your BS’s SPD according to what her allies’ SPD are. I’ve linked below some showcase for BS teams and the team order of each. I also explained how those teams are formed and worked together in the Practical Consensus below.

— ATK% or Wind DMG% on orb? —

Wind DMG% orb if no Ruan Mei; ATK% orb if Ruan Mei is in team. Difference is minimal.

Damage difference:

From Hunterkee’s calcs: 0.06%

From Guoba’s: 1.48%-2.75%

— Black Swan Team Showcase in Practice —

NOTE: Team Order = Highest SPD (Fastest) to Lowest SPD (Slowest)

Black Swan + Kafka + Ruan Mei

Fast Black Swan + Slow Kafka DoT team – sample showcase done by Ikatsu here. [Team order: Ruan Mei > Black Swan > Kafka > Lynx]

Slow Black Swan + Fast Kafka DoT team – sample showcase done by Dreamy here. [Team order: Ruan Mei > Tingyun > Kafka > Black Swan]

Black Swan Triple DoT team in Pure Fiction – sample showcase done by Ikatsu here. [Team order: Kafka > Ruan Mei > Sampo > Black Swan]

Black Swan without Kafka using other DoT allies

Black Swan + Guinaifen DoT team – sample showcase done by Moon here. [Team order: Asta > Guinaifen > Ruan Mei > Black Swan]

Black Swan + Sampo DoT team – sample showcase done by Ikatsu here. [Team order: Ruan Mei > Black Swan > Sampo > Lynx]

Black Swan + Luka DoT team – sample showcase done by Lv.999 Silverwolf here. [Team order: Huohuo > Luka > Silverwolf > Black Swan]

Black Swan without Ruan Mei using other SPD buffers

Black Swan F2P team - sample showcase done by Ikatsu here. [Team order: Guinaifen > Asta > Black Swan > Lynx]

Black Swan with Asta as SPD support – sample showcase done by Moon here. [Team order: Asta > Fu Xuan > Black Swan > Sampo]

Black Swan Hypercarry

Black Swan Hypercarry team – sample showcase done by Ikatsu here. [Team order: Ruan Mei > Tingyun > Black Swan > Lynx]

E1S1 Black Swan Hypercarry team – sample showcase done by Sleepy here. [Team order: Tingyun > Ruan Mei > Hanya > Black Swan]

Black Swan as Debuffer

Black Swan as debuffer for Dr. Ratio team – this could work if you use BS for her DEF shred only (and you have Ruan Mei in your team); sample showcase done by Rehoo and EdenPlays.

E1 Black Swan as debuffer for Jing Yuan team – E1 Black Swan is like 5* Pela (but with RES reduce instead of DEF shred) for fire, lightning, physical, and wind; sample showcase done by Sleepy here.

Black Swan as debuffer for Blade team – not sure if BS in this showcase is E0 or E1, but BS acts as debuffer for him regardless; sample showcase done by Exodus here.

Black Swan using Freeze Mechanics

Black Swan Freeze team – sample showcase done by Hyrion here. [Team order: Luocha > Pela > Ruan Mei > Black Swan]

Practical Consensus:

In teams with Ruan Mei, Black Swan speed in team showcase mostly ranges from 134 to 140+, while her teammates are ranging from 129 to 153 spd. Sustains are mostly either the slowest or fastest in the team. Other DoT allies are positioned either before or after Black Swan.

Ruan Mei is mostly used in Black Swan teams. This could be explained by Ruan Mei’s talent where she could reduce the SPD needed by Black Swan. With the enemies having 158 spd and reducing to 154 spd due to break, instead of needing 155 spd for Black Swan, she could settle with 145 spd instead.

Asta is used as alternative for Ruan Mei in F2P teams because she could increase the SPD of allies with her ultimate. Both Ruan Mei and Asta are positioned before Black Swan.

But, if no Ruan Mei in team, Black Swan is mostly built with slow build, with her DoT allies stacking as much DoTs as possible for her Arcana stacks. If BS is built with fast build (e.g having 155+ spd), this could alleviate the SP usage of the team because she could opt to use Basics instead.

Black Swan DMG relies on enemy turns, thus avoid using slow debuffs and imprisonment on enemies in her teams. However, she could utilize freeze mechanic and Ruan Mei’s break delay because despite freezing the enemies, the enemies still take their turn before being pushed back to take another later turn. This means that the enemies get two DoT turn triggers after getting frozen.

Some teams are quirky, but eh, it doesn’t matter. As long as their team could 3-star the stage, why make a problem out of it?

— Sample Black Swan Builds for Reference —

Fast Black Swan Build by u/-lightningstr1ike-

Fast Black Swan and Slow Kafka Builds by u/Mozaary

Sources

Black Swan Build Guide by Moon

Black Swan Build Guide by SevyPlays

Black Swan Build Guide by Braxophone

Black Swan Build Guide by Gladius

Black Swan Build Guide by GuobaCertified

Black Swan E1 vs S1 Analysis Video by iSUMMON

Black Swan’s Calculations by Hunterkee

Black Swan’s Calculations by Bonk

Black Swan Light Cone and Relic Comparison by Guoba Certified and Kygen

Black Swan E1 vs S1 Analysis Sheet by iSUMMON

2.0 Banner Warp Advice and Insights [Credits: @.regnum771 (Victor Charlie), @kuratine (Houseplant - EN), @soul_fish (Soul Fish), @1orange (1orange), @darkangel]

Black Swan Team Variations by Ikatsu

Zero Speed Swan and 200 Speed Kafka by Dreamy

Black Swan and Guinaifen Team Showcase by Moon

Black Swan and Luka Team Showcase by Lv.999 Silverwolf

Black Swan and Dr. Ratio Team Showcase by Rehoo

Black Swan with Dr. Ratio and Pela Team Showcase by EdenPlays

Black Swan with Asta and Sampo Team Showcase by Moon

Black Swan Freeze Team Showcase by Hyrion

E1S1 Black Swan Hypercarry Team Showcase by Sleepy

E1 Black Swan and Jing Yuan Team Showcase by Sleepy

Black Swan and Blade Team Showcase by Exodus

Fast Black Swan Build Showcase by u/-lightningstr1ke

Fast Black Swan and Slow Kafka Build Showcase by u/Mozaary

Fast BS, Slow BS, and Classical SPD BS Discussion by u/L0wpriority

Counterargument post on Fast BS, Slow BS, and Classical SPD BS Discussion by u/guobacertified

Uploaded on Patch 2.0

➥ Back to my HSR masterlist.

Author’s Note:

I compiled this guide because I don’t understand the talks about Black Swan kit whenever I would go lurk around in HSR-focused servers. Also, I needed something to convince myself that my F2P self can’t afford her for my DoT team. 😂

Update Log

02/10/2024 - Uploaded this post.

02/11/2024 – Added Moon’s BS + Asta team, Hyrion’s BS Freeze team, and Ikatsu’s BS Triple DoT team in Team showcase part; added Asta and freeze mechanic explanation in Practical Consensus part; added Gladius’s Build Guide in sources; added Trace priority; added the discussion links for Fast BS, Slow BS, and Classical SPD BS in ATK% or SPD on boots? part

02/13/2024 – Added classification in Team Showcase in Practice; added Sleepy’s BS Hypercarry team and BS + Jingyuan team in Team Showcase part; rephrased recommended SPD in Endgame stats; added ATK% in Body main stat

02/14/2024 – Added Exodus’s BS + Blade team in Team showcase part

02/23/2024 - Replaced the line dividers

02/29/2024 – Added GuobaCertified's and iSUMMON's video links in Sources

[transformersandturtles]

I don't know if I'm an idiot or what but can anyone help me with the final boss of the Season of the Cryomancer invasion? Every tutorial I look for either uses Omni-Man or is already after you beat Sub-Zero and unlock either new relics of talismans that I don't have access too and I'm struggling hardcore. Other tutorials also say to get a pink potion, but none of the shops I have access to sell potions, only keys, ambush protection, talismans, etc. 😭

I didn't do my best with dispersing stat points cause I didn't think much about it, I haven't played any invasions or story mode for the other MK games so I'm like very new to all this. I'm trying to use Liu Kang as he has the best/highest stats for attack and health 💀 (Scorpion, Reptile, and Shang Tsung are my other best characters that have good stats cause I used them a lot)

[hetalia-club]

H-ESPN Pregame Rundown: Tsunami Titans vs. Freedom Fighters

Stats Page

*Taps my papers on my desk*

1940's Radio Announcer Voice:

"Good evening, sports fans! Welcome to today's highlight of a highly anticipated matchup between the Tsunami Titans from Tokyo and the Freedom Fighters from New York City. This game promises to be a thrilling showdown, showcasing some of the finest talent in the Hetalia Baseball League.

I tell ya' Its looking like a fine day for baseball. It's supposed to be a nice over cast day tomorrow in Tokyo, a high of eighty four with a bit of rain in the morning. The humidity will be something the home team is used to dealing with, hopefully our visiting team get's a good nights rest in preparation for the big game on Sunday.

Sunday Night's game is set to be a clash of titans, quite literally! On one side, we have the disciplined and tactically astute Tsunami Titans, led by Japan. Known for their precision and strategic play, they excel in both offense and defense. The combination of Japan's pitching and Spain's power at the plate makes them a formidable force.

On the other side, the Freedom Fighters bring raw power and speed to the game. America's high-velocity pitching and Italy's finesse make for an interesting dynamic. With America's unmatched fastball and Italy's deceptive pitches, the Titans' batters will have their work cut out for them.

Without further ado, let's get into our player highlights for this evening.

Hitting it off with the Titans from Tokyo. Man I tell ya' this team has some skill. what they lack in power hitters they make up for in good fundamentals, and solid baseball. There's a couple players we want you to keep a close eye on in Sunday's game.

Certainly first we went to take a good look at Japan, The people of this city love Japan. When he steps up to the plate the crowd goes wild, with good reason to! Japan (#08) - The Tsunami: Leading the charge for the Titans is none other than Japan, also known as 'The Tsunami.' Don't let his stature fool you, folks; this guy is a tidal wave of power and speed. The fans have a special chant for him, and the energy in the stadium goes through the roof every time he steps up to the plate. His curveball is a thing of beauty, baffling batters left and right. He has the highest strikeouts in the league and it shows. Let’s just hope he’s well rested and on his A game because that arm will be crucial in warding off the heavy hitters on the opposing team.

Next up we think you should keep an eye on, Spain

Spain (#12) - Matador: Here comes the heavy hitter, Spain, affectionately known as 'Matador.' This guy hits like a bull, folks, and he's just as impatient. With nearing 30 home runs this season, he's a force to be reckoned with. Watch out, pitchers; he'll take you down a few pegs in a heartbeat. Let's just hope he can keep his cool out there!"

You know who's another fan favorite? Number 1, Prussia. Heh, you know funny story about this player, he actually gave himself his own nickname. Just started calling himself that and it stuck!

Prussia (#01) - Teutonic Titan: "Shortstop Prussia, or the 'Teutonic Titan' as he likes to call himself, brings a whole lot of swagger to the field. He's all about confidence and skill, making those tough plays look routine."

We'll round off our highlights of The Titans with, the first baseman and sub in pitcher, Canada.

Canada (#24): First baseman Canada is a dual-threat, stepping in to pitch when Japan needs a breather. Known for his fastball and pinpoint accuracy, he's the epitome of control on the mound. This guy is real quiet in team interviews but he makes waves on the field

Now let's take a more in depth look at our visiting team for tomorrow evening. The Freedom Fighters led by America. Speaking of America let's start off our highlights real with the Team Captain himself.

America (#01) - The Show: Leading the Freedom Fighters is America, aptly nicknamed 'The Show.' Always in the spotlight, regarded as the best player in the league, America is a power pitcher with a fastball that could scorch the batter's box, and I'm pretty sure I have seen that ball smoke a time or two! He loves the spotlight, and boy, the spot light sure does love him! If he makes contact with that ball it's going, going, GONE! Sayonara, Tokyo and on it's way back to the States with a first class ticket. You know it's a bit of a shame we won't get to see him in action in his home Stadium, tomorrow night. His walk on music always gets the fans on their feet. Whenever he hits a homer in his home Stadium they play an eagle scream over the oud speaker, The crowd goes wild!

Next we want to bring your attention over to the quickest player in the league.

Italy (#11) - Ferrari: Center fielder Italy, or 'Ferrari' as they call him, brings incredible speed to the game. I tell ya' folks watching this guy zip around the bases is something to see! His top speed was clocked at 30 mph, phew! It’s no wonder why he's earned his nickname with his quick feet. When he takes over pitching duties, his finesse and control make him a tough opponent. His slow ball and left hook are formidable.

You know his brother is on this team as well and instead of being hot footed this guy is a hot head if I've ever seen one!

Romano (#16) - Mouth: First baseman Romano, also known as 'Mouth,' just got back from a suspension for fighting a ref when he disagreed with a call at first base, the ref called out and well Romano, punched him out! Was insane to see! He turned the baseball diamond into the octagon. Provoking batters is his specialty, likes to get in their heads. You know this guy, you either love him or you hate him, and the fans of this team seem to love him! They put some of his insults onto t-shirts. I can't say what they say on a live broadcast, but you can check them out for yourself in the gift shop at the big game on Sunday.

Lastly let's take an up-close look at the not so Short-Shortstop

Denmark (#69): Shortstop Denmark brings a dynamic energy to the field. His quick reflexes and strong arm make him a key player in the infield. His long legs give him a good reach, I swear one time I witnessed this guy catch a ball 10 ft in the air, was an Air Bud type jump the world moved in slow motion. If they hit a ball his way it's bye-bye batter and back to the dug out. It will for sure be an area they want to avoid hitting to.

Man I tell ya' this team sure has some heavy hitters. It's going to be a hell of a match up for sure!

Now let's talk strategy for the game,

Pitching Duel: Expect a fascinating duel between Japan's curveball and America's fastball. Both pitchers are fan favorites and have the ability to control the game's pace. Key to Victory for the Tsunami Titans: Utilizing Japan's tactical pitching and leveraging Spain's power hitting. If Japan can keep the Freedom Fighters' batters off balance and Spain can capitalize on scoring opportunities, they have a strong chance. Key to Victory for the Freedom Fighters: America's dominance on the mound and Italy's speed. If America can overpower the Titans' lineup and Italy can create havoc on the bases, they might just edge out the Titans. The skills on both sides are so evenly matched, it's anyone's game!

Well that's all the pre-game analysis we have for you, we'll see you all tomorrow in Tokyo for the face off. This is Hetalia-Club, signing off!

[broomsticks]

today's hp fandom excavation fun: the hp_essays livejournal comm

1) When will the fandom end? posted by (ljuser)vegetasbubble on 07 December 2007

As much as we (any of us) hate to admit it, the Harry Potter fandom will one day (hopefully not one day soon) come to an end. Authors will write thier last ever fanfiction, draw thier last ever fanart, and put down the pencil and say "Thats it." Its a stage of life that no one, (I am one of those people), wants to see. The end of a generation, so to speak.

i was especially amused by this given the recent stats by destinationtoast that had HP as THE fastest growing fandom (and second largest to MCU overall) on AO3 in 2022.

anyway, virtually all the comments disagreed, pointing out the longevity of many many many other literary and movie/TV fandoms.

interestingly, though, i don't think i saw much note of how specifically groundbreaking HP was. aside from this:

Aside from the complete falsity of this claim, I'd rather pursue a new line of thought. In the past few years we seen the HP fanfiction exponentially grow being one of the hugest on general fanfiction websites, spawning huge websites in general for one specific IP and even within the fanfictiondom having different sub-sections, (such as slash, a particular ship or adult) of fanfiction having moderately large collections of works on their own. This is basically a testatment to HP being on of the biggest franchises of this generation to be able to generate such an incredible amount fandom, not to mention an almost serendipitously bring together the forces capitalism, luck, forture, marketing, publishing and talent to make it such a huge hit. The question I pose is to what degree will this fandom die down if at all? Obviously some people will hand up their brushes, mice and pens to abandon contributions to the monster than is HP fandom; but just as the longevity of slash Star Trek fics and LOTR fan art; to what extent will HP fandom survive? Does the content of being a youth fantasy or children's coming of age story have a bearing on how long it will last, when it will last and how slowly (or quickly) the fandom will die down?

this observation on the cyclical nature of fandom was fascinating too:

Hah. I used to ask myself the same question the first time that I was in a fandom. (Tolkien´s Silmarillion) People were writing everything off and exhausting all the good ideas by doing them over and over. Eventually, the people I knew grew tired, and I grew tired too, so most of us left. Years later, however, I suddenly had an impulse to go back and write some more… and guess what I found. New people had taken the place of the old, and the old fic ideas, the old controversies were coming up again as if they were new. Because for those people, they were new. They had not been there back when we wrote and discussed, and most of them had none or little knowledge of what had been done. Fandom repeats itself just like history, because new generations come, and they do not know what has been done before. And, as is the case with history, research about the past is a minoritary hobby. Do you read all the posts in a forum when you join? Or the mails in a mailing list that has been going for seven years? Well, it´s the same with the people who suddenly read Harry Potter and decide that they like it… they will start from zero, and probably read some classics that a friend reccomends to them, but they will not spend their first fannish months reading everything that has been already done, yelled, discussed, squeed and kept saved in Potter sites years before. They will spend them writing feverishly, noticing things, squeeing, yelling and discussing on their own- just as the others once did.

other Very Good essays:

2) Participatory Interpretation; Or, How Fanon Showed Me My Canon by gjules, posted 10 Sep 2004

Partly because of the size and complexity of its universe and partly because of its large and varied cast, the Harry Potter fandom has one of the widest spreads of potential interpretation… So how are we to take the author's intentions into this? As interesting as auctorial intent is in extra-textual interpretation, it still can be misleading. Authors are aware of their creation on many levels, and not all of those levels are consciously accessible. That's one of the strengths of the beta reader: they're not telling you what to do-- they're telling you what you've done.

For me, for example, rereading the books after finding HG/SS was an exercise in reinterpretation. Incorrect reinterpretation, reinterpretation informed and created by my hopeless enjoyment of Sevmione, I have no doubt, at least in light of the probability of that particular OTP occurring in future canon-- but still an interesting perspective on a given text which I might otherwise never have considered. Naturally, this leads to accusations of fanon muddying the waters of the original canon, making things confusing, blinding the fanfic reader and writer to what's really going on. I don't buy this. I would argue that instead, the reader who takes diverse perspectives from fanfic back to the original canon is instead more likely to see all of the possibilities, is less likely to be blinded by the initial assumptions anyone draws when encountering a text.

I've found that reading fanfiction often shows me the assumptions I've unconsciously held about canon. In my view of canon, Snape is more often the tormented hero, and Harry often closer to being in the wrong-- but the different views I have read of fanon Snape show me the other ways other readers see him.

This discussion eventually leads to a disturbing question, however: can all views of canon be considered equally privileged?

a response:

Short answer: no. Why? Because not all views of canon can be equally supported. If your view of canon can be demonstrably shown to contradict something like a significant point of the text, it is weakened. If you have an analysis of canon that fails to account for some major features of the text, or is contradicted by them, it is less priviledged than an analysis which is able to comphrend more things. The completeness criterion is one that I've found is applied across a lot of topics of analysis, from literature to hard-core music theory (yep, there is such a thing).

---

3) a lovely (if slightly ranty!) tonks character study meta:

The Deconstruction of a Miss Nymphadora Tonks by theregoesyamum on 09 Apr 2006:

1. She's direct. 2. She's intelligent. 3. She has a sense of humour. 4. She hasn't got a rotten bone in her body. 5. She's irreverent and unconventional. 6. She's a Black by blood, if not by name.

go read it in full! keeping in mind the fandom post-HBP was full of massive tonks-related wank (alluded to in the (mostly good! worth reading!) discussion here).

---

4) i'm sad this post (Fanfiction Writing Style and Stylistic Trends by ignipes, posted 04 September 2005) doesn't seem to exist on the internet anymore (yes, i did try wayback machine)

---

5) no shortage of peter pettigrew meta -- though a lot of these were written pre-DH, some even pre-OOTP and pre-HBP. interesting reads, but none i felt were especially notable.

[animebookworm16]

Based on a bunch of fics I used to see about the Greek Gods from PJO having to go to a mortal highschool.

As much as I love the concept, they’re all immortal beings that have been adults for most of forever... not a single one aside from maybe Apollo and Hermes would be able to convincingly pass as teenagers.

Instead I think it would be hilarious if they had to be teachers.

Ares - Gym teacher, the sports teams have never done so well, or been so terrified.

Athena - Math, somehow she can make every word problem relate back to fighting, and the students love it.

Hepheastus - History and Shop, it’s not that the school doesn’t have enough teachers for both classes, it’s that someone tried to tell Hepheastus that and got challenged to a duel using a sword he’d made in Shop class.

Dionysus - Lunch, origonally, he was going to be the Human Growth and Development teacher but then everyone remembered that he worked best around children only when extremely intoxicated (and was prone to driving them mad when not) so it was decided that having to deal with kids for only one hour of the day was probably best.

Hades and Hestia - Home Economics, no one was surprised when Hestia wanted the position, but Demeter was furious when Hades also signed up. 

Demeter - Agriculture, half of her students are convinced that she can telepathically commuincate with her plants, the other half are convinced she’s never grown a plant a day in her life.

Aphrodite - School Councillor, after Dionysus, she was going to teach Human Growth and Development, but then they all remembered what happened the last time she was left alone with a group of teenagers and decided it was probably best it didn’t happen again.

Apollo - Choir, Band, Theater, and Art - Now you might be asking yourself, ‘wouldn’t someone have tried to stop him?’ The answer is yes. Yes someone did try and stop him from running four classes, but tried is about as far as it went. In fact all four more or less got combined into one giant four hour class, and none of the other teachers can figure out how. (It’s also a wide spread rumor that occasionally, he’ll sub in for the Creative Writing teacher, and then be the school nurse for the day. But these are all rumors and no one has any proof)

Artemis - Languages, does she cheat and use her godly powers to know every language? Surprisingly no. Because of how often she’s traveling the world, and all of her hunters, she’s naturally picked up several languages.

Hermes - Statistics, while he did have to fight Athena for it, all the students agree that he’s awesome to have as a teacher, mostly because he teaches them some really cool tricks along with the lessons. And while Stats is his main class, it isn’t unusal to see him subbing in for any number of other classes as well.

Hera - Human Growth and Development, the moment Zeus tried to volunteer for the posistion, everyone unanimously voted for Hera to teach it. Both so that they didn’t have any mini Zeus’s running around, but also so that she didn’t fry any new mothers and children. It’s also because she is genuinely good at it.

Poseidon - Swim Coach and Secondary Gym, Ares was pissed that Poseidon took a sports team, and that he managed to weedle his way into a Gym teacher role, but had to let it go, because it’s water and no one is better in the water than Poseidon.

Zeus - Science, everyone else said that if he could come up with a scientific way to explain throwing lightning he could choose a different subject, so the students have been learing a lot about the weather and how to potentially harness it for their own uses like little future movie villains.

[prismatic-glow]

daily genshin advice 1/6 - let's talk about split-scaling and the strongbox!

Hello everybody! I was a bit out of ideas earlier but I feel very motivated to post after seeing what ya'll suggested!! So today, I'll be talking about split-scaling characters and the artifact strongbox! Let's begin

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥

┌── ⋆⋅daily discussion: split-scaling⋅⋆ ──┐

You might have noticed that some characters have multiple scalings between their abilities or sometimes multiple within each one! Today I'll be talking about why this is sometimes a problem and why it's sometimes a great thing!

Let's look at some examples

Albedo's skill scales off of DEF but his burst scales off of ATK

Dehya's burst and skill deal damage based on both her HP and her ATK

Dori's damage scales off of ATK but her healing scales off of HP

Thoma's shield scales off of HP but his damage scales off of ATK

Nahida's skill deals damage based on both her EM and her ATK

Now, why is this often bad?

Well, investing in multiple stats means none of them will be optimal. You can't max out both your HP and your ATK.

But what you can do is choose a stat. Pick 1 role that a character will occupy and invest in the stat that helps you with that. Is your Thoma a shielder or a Sub-DPS? Is Dori a healer or for off-field damage?

But, there are cases where split scaling is good

Let's look at Nahida and Alhaitham, both of whom deal damage based off of ATK and EM.

Both of these characters are Dendro and usually have an Electro character in their team. Electro allows for Spread which increases damage based on EM. Now, both Nahida and Alhaitham prefer building EM.

So, why is split scaling good in this case? Because both stats increase their damage, having a secondary stat they scale off of (attack) just acts as an extra bonus! Unlike DEF or HP rolls, ATK rolls on these characters are actually helpful even if they aren't the main stat being built

┌── ⋆⋅daily advice: artifact strongbox⋅⋆ ──┐

In path 3.0 the strongbox got a MASSIVE buff. It went from having 4 sets to having 14! And in 4.0, it got 8 new sets! The strongbox is great because it allows you to basically farm 3 sets at once. 2 from whatever domain you're in and a third from foddering your bad pieces! In my opinion, the current strongbox system really complements the path Genshin has taken with its artifact farming

In the past 2 and kinda 3 regions, we've seen "main domains" with sets that almost every character from that region wants and then a few extra domains for more niche sets. This new pattern means that you can farm the main set for a region and then strongbox for any other set you want

I think the artifacts that best fit this system are:

Husk of Opulent Dreams

Ocean-Hued Clam

Vermillion Hereafter

Echoes of an Offering

These fit the strongbox the best imo because they are rather niche so its a bit of a waste of resin to famr them, especially if the other set is useless for your account

with that out of the way, let's talk about the best sets to strongbox!!

╰┈➤ Emblem. Emblem is just an insanely broken set that a TON of characters use. Off the top of my head, I can think of 5 different characters who use it

╰┈➤ Tenacity of the Millileth. One of my favorite sets so I'm a bit biased. Tenacity is just so nice to have around because a few characters like it and its not that good to farm. It's living in a domain with bloodstained chivalry which like, nobody uses off the top of my head

╰┈➤ Viridescent Venerer. A set that literally every Anemo support uses. Not great to farm because it's with Maiden but definitely strongbox for a set or two if you don't have one!

╰┈➤ Noblesse Oblige. One of the OG strongbox sets but so so many characters can run it. Noblesse turns anybody into a support

╰┈➤ Honorable mention: Thundering Fury. Previously a pretty bad set but after dendro became quite strong! Not that good to farm because the set it comes with, thundersoother isn't used by anyone anymore

┌── ⋆⋅did you know?⋅⋆ ──┐

The wind created by Qiqi's idle animation can be used to gather enemy drops together

┌── ⋆⋅daily update: building Candace⋅⋆ ──┐

Right before this I posted an update and overall thoughts on Candace. I haven't made progress since yesterday on her so if you want my current thoughts, check out this post

That's all for today, cya tomorrow!! Remember to stay hydrated!

[redwineconversation]

SK Brann - Olympique Lyonnais Postgame Thoughts

TL:dr version: Lyon played badly and the ref was worse.

I'm annoyed because honestly, the draw was deserved in that Lyon did not play well at all. The passing was sloppy, the entirety of the midfield was atrocious, and Lyon, who is usually so good at keeping their composure, kept losing their cool.

It's easy to blame the sloppiness on exhaustion and I think it was definitely a factor. They've played a lot of games and there's been a lot of travel and it is mentally and physically exhausting to meet Lyon's demands / expectations week after week. I will gladly concede that argument.

I also don't think it justifies in its entirety just how bad the passing was. And it was from players you'd honestly expect better from. I expect van de Donk to, well, not send a ball straight out of play when none of her teammates were within 20 meters of her. I expect M'Bock, arguably one of the best center backs in the world, to not head towards her own goal with such precision that if it was not Endler in goal, Lyon would have conceded an own goal. I expect Gilles, a talented center back growing into herself, to be able to clear the ball.

I expect those things and I believe those expectations are reasonable.

Without Endler being Endler I genuinely think we would have lost that game. The plus side is it means we have the old Endler back, which is a good thing. I just am not in love with the fact we have to revive her. Now, again, I will concede there were circumstances - half the starting backline was missing (Renard and Bacha), and Lyon's left side was, well, what it was.

Carpenter crossed accurately, proving that Christmas miracles do actually happen. My lifelong dream of seeing Carpenter cross accurately having finally come true, I also want to give credit where credit is due, and say she was one of the better players for Lyon, up there with Hegerberg and Endler.

Lyon's midfield was bad even before Horan got a red card for having snarked "my fucking knee" (???). Damaris was invisible, I genuinely forgot Dabritz had been subbed on until I looked at the stats, van de Donk was off as well. But part of that comes from the referee not calling any fouls on Lyon but having the whistle already in her mouth if a Lyon player breathed in the general vicinity of a Brann player. I think Horan lost it because of the non-calls and the frustration over the physicality. van de Donk, I will concede was tired. Damaris overwhelmed.

They still should have done better.

It's hard to say whether Lyon would have won if they had 11 players on the field. I think Brann was roughing Lyon up and I think they would have probably equalized anyway - the ref probably would have made sure of that. But it's hard to say for sure, and we will never know what could have been. That's sports, but it's still unfair.

It's hard to emphasize, too, just how bad the referee was. I understand that it is easy to get overwhelmed in games especially when there is a hostile crowd. But if a referee can't cope with that kind of situation then they shouldn't be in charge of a UWCL game in the first place. Also, while I am not expecting a referee to be perfectly bilingual, they should at the very least understand that "my fucking knee" is neither an insult to the opposing player nor to the referee themself.

It wasn't just the linguistic barrier. The fouls committed by Brann players were overly physical and went unsanctioned. Morroni's yellow card, for example, came as a result of her first foul and there was no warning. Hora. gets sent off for saying "my fucking knee". That Lyon finished with 10 players on the field and not 8 or 9 - there were moments when I was convinced Gilles was going to be sent off - is an absolute miracle.

It was a bad game and while Lyon is qualified, a win would have assured first place in the group. Now we have to wait a bit longer. That's annoying.

But this will have pissed Lyon off, and a vexed, vengeful Lyon is sometimes just what the competition needs. This team needs their feelings hurt and something to get pissed off about. The referee in this game gave them exactly that.

We'll still have to wait and see what becomes of it. First there is the winter break, which for these players is so desperately needed. The schedule for January promises to be brutal with Lyon playing every 4-5 days for a month straight.

But they will come back, rested and vexed, and we'll see what the color of their eyes look like. That, if nothing else, is something worth looking forward to.

[cno-inbminor]

gravate (pt. 3) (final)

a/n: so i just realized i never posted part 3 onto tumblr even though it’s on ao3. this is very long overdue, so sorry!

ch. summary:  ajax tests just how much he can fall into the depths of his own personal hell, and somehow finds a way to crawl back out.

warnings:  angst, drinking, ~16k words;  smut tags (MINORS DNI): distension, sub!lumine, dom!childe, size kink, cunnilingus, blowjob, vaginal fingering, begging, degradation and praise, possessiveness.

[the attempt at finding the yellow brick road]

Ajax wonders if this is what they mean by a “waking nightmare”, because when his eyes struggle to pry open the next morning, battling against what feels like the weight of the world, the dread that stews in the pit of his stomach is something akin to that oxymoron. Having been rattled into staying up by his own shaking heart, it was a miracle that he even caught any shuteye. And even then, the ache in his bones from a restless dream of sprinting across school grounds to try and catch up to Lumine’s fading figure makes it difficult for him to delineate the fine line between reality and fantasy.

A few swipes and taps on his phone show that his texts to said girl have been left unanswered. They weren’t frantic by any means, but she would always answer his “see u tomorrow” texts before, and now it sits with two pitiful grey check marks. Ajax can’t tell which is worse: being completely unacknowledged, or being left on read.

Tell me how to fix this, he wants to beg, wants to grab her shoulders and plead until she finally relents and gives him an answer. But that involves part of his pride, and he still feels that some part of Lumine’s reaction to this whole situation is overexaggerated and completely unwarranted. He doesn’t want to remember how broken she looked when he first screamed those words at her. In fact, he’d much rather replace those horrid memories.

“Are you okay?” His mother asks him when he trudges down the stairs, exhaustion visible in his gaze.

�� ‘m fine,” he murmurs, grabbing the steaming bowl of pork and century egg congee placed by his usual seat at the dining table. The hair ruffle he gives Teucer is half-assed at best, barely lifting a smile when a cheery “Good morning!” is sent his way. Irina wants so badly to intervene somehow, but given that Lumine had the same look in her eyes last night on the way home and that the two didn’t speak a word to each other, she figures they’ll resolve it somehow.

Right?

-

Lumine avoids him with a twenty foot pole in between them. Does it drive him absolutely bonkers? No doubt.

Aether has begun to hover around her more often than before, keeping his gaze steely and guarded when they meet eyes. Ajax was hoping that he’d at least have the other twin on his side, but that was his naivety grasping desperately at any loose ends. In Lumine’s, that streak of sadness still shines through before she turns away almost immediately.

He is lost.

Signora steps in to try and impart him with some sage words, but he wants none of it. Eventually, she snaps at him.

“If you’re going to mope like a lost puppy that ran away thinking its owner didn’t care for him, you might as well just quit. It’s sickening to watch you like this. We know you can do better, and much more without her trying to stop you from reaching your full potential.”

She readjusts her cap before leaving him on the bleachers, ready to jump back in for her next set of drills. “Think about it, and come find us on Saturday at Dottore’s party if you agree. Otherwise, don’t bother.”

Ajax continues to watch as Kaeya slithers up next to Lumine, characteristic limb draped across her shoulders, using her as a crutch, his chest heaving so his lungs drink in all the oxygen they can. Normally, she’d scold him lightly for getting her jacket all wet with any lingering pool water, but instead, she just shoots him a tired smile. Her hands show him the journal and Ajax can only assume they’re discussing his stats.

He punches down the shadows of jealousy that emerge when Kaeya murmurs something into Lumine’s ear before sending her a worried look. She merely waves it off, attempting to reassure him that whatever he asked about was no problem and of little consequence, but ultimately failing. Even as Kaeya brushes her bangs away, she doesn’t falter, yet Ajax seethes. That should be him comforting her. That should be him questioning the dark eye circles and thinking about what he could do to ease any of the burdens off her shoulders.

Diluc seems to catch the tail end of the conversation and gives a hesitant, yet firm few pats on Lumine’s shoulder as an act of encouragement. She showcases her best appreciative grin before she has to move and help Kokomi out with something.

Ajax can’t handle it anymore. He stands up from his seat abruptly, shakes out the tension as much as he can while stepping into a lane, then dives into the pool without a second thought.

It’s just him and the graceful fight against the water, nothing else. No regard for the screaming in his lungs, the ache in his calves.

No need for Lumine.

-

Dottore meets Signora’s gaze before arching an eyebrow that weekend, having caught Ajax walking steadfast through the front door. She merely gives him her all-knowing, shit-eating expression, and he knows they’ve got him good now.

“I don’t need her,” Ajax drawls two hours later, drunk and murmuring to himself in the guest bedroom. “She’s barely talked to me all week, and I was just trying to h-hic-elp so you know what? I don’t need her.”

Dottore sits next to him with a bored expression. “So you don’t want me to drive you to her place like we normally do?”

“...I do, but I can’t,” Ajax pouts before falling back onto the bed. His world spins in a nauseous fashion, making him screw his eyes shut. “She probably locked me out.”

“Dick move.”

A tiny part of his brain tries to speak some sense into him, attempting to convince him that Dottore’s just adding fuel to the fire, but he waves it away, quite literally, and hinting to the senior that yeah, he’s feeling pretty drunk right now. The larger, more inane and nonsensical part of his inebriated mind says that yes, his upperclassman is right, and Lumine’s hypothetical locking of her window and therefore barring him from entry is indeed, a dick move.

Ajax wakes up hugging a plain body pillow the next morning, and Lumine wakes up with frustrated tears in the corners of her eyes as she slams her window shut.

-

Over their last two year of high school, there are a number of times when Lumine considers talking to Ajax again. She gives herself ample opportunities to do so, often making excuses to stay back and completing extra errands before asking Aether to pick her up. She wonders if her anger is misguided. Maybe she should’ve been more understanding, been the bigger person to extend a hand and hope that the sinner would reach out and realize the negative influence surrounding him. Maybe she should’ve created more opportunities for him to apologize to her and explicitly delineate why he shouldn’t have said the things he said.

But maybe she didn’t love him enough. Maybe she was in the wrong for having left Ajax to fend for himself with Signora, Dottore, and Pulcinella. Maybe she should’ve spoken up more strongly in the beginning against the Harbingers instead of laying it down gently in front of him. Maybe this could’ve all been prevented on her end, and she wouldn’t have to watch Ajax in the pool for an extra hour and a half, silent and morose as he pushes himself to the absolute limits.

Maybe she wouldn’t be in this position where she could feel and watch the physical separation of her soul, so close and yet, so, so far away.

-

[the endless pining]

There is a dull pain in his chest when she walks by – the bang of a gong, the beat of a drum, the soreness of a phantom scar. After two years of feeling the same thing five days a week, occasionally during the summers, and often on the weekends, he wants it to fade. He craves a certain numbness to everything he feels when he sees her. Ajax wants to blame it on puberty, as Anastasia and his mother so often do. Said mother often laments about never having Lumine and Aether over anymore (read: mainly Lumine), and he tries to ignore it. It’s her fault that she never comes by anymore, her fault for never dropping off baked goods or a portion of Xiangling’s new concoctions, her fault for never really being in his life anymore. She was the one who chose to walk out of it with little to no reason, he tells himself.

It’s easier to fall prey to his delusions. He ignores the memory of his health teacher’s lesson on the five stages of grief and the way the word “denial” in all of its bold, Times New Roman print audacity, glares menacingly back at him. It makes him want to tear up the worksheet, but that would be an infraction and he’d like to not be benched from competing this weekend.

But she radiates and glows wherever she pleases. He knows she doesn’t mean to, that it is just in her name and hair, and people gravitate towards her like moths to a flame. Ajax had been one of those moths for years and she had hosted and warmed him. A bitter, conniving part of his soul draws the analogy of the spider and the fly, except she chewed him up and spat him back out in a state of worse than worn. But he stops himself because as strong as his negative feelings are, Lumine was anything but manipulative and evil.

Nevertheless, he still blames her for leaving him, for turning the other way. He was in the right, he believes. Ajax did what he had to do, and she just couldn’t accept him and wrap her brain around it.

He meets her eyes over and past Xingqiu’s head and part of him is tired. The world around them falls to a quiet hum, their steps seem to slow to a turtle’s crawl, and he takes in everything he can about her. It could be the strands of golden locks that are a little out of place, the eyebags signaling unhealthy levels of exhaustion. It could be noticing that Lumine has swiped on a coat of mascara and done her eyeliner, or the color of her lip gloss has changed. But every time, what shakes him most to the core, is the mixture of vulnerability and gentleness that bores straight to his soul. The gaze is all too familiar, one he had seen in all stages of happiness, anger, grief,  compassion, and love. And with the extra punch, her eyes harden, and she turns away to direct her attention back to Xingqiu.

Everything comes back to a full roar, and it’s the same breeze of the whiplash, multiple times a day. The environment picks up the pace once more, and he must continue with his day as if he isn’t missing the other half of his soul. Because no matter how much he hates her, wants to grab her shoulders and yell in despair to question her actions, possesses all the bitterness and darkness in the universe, he, undoubtedly and sorely, misses her.

-

When graduation comes, he gazes longingly as she crosses the stage to receive her diploma, giddily accepting the whoops and cheers from her friends in front of her and parents sitting in the audience. Ajax pretends he doesn’t hear his siblings calling out her name or his father’s voice more sonorous than her own father’s. He drinks in every detail of her that he can, hoping that he doesn’t look too much like a lovesick puppy. The entire time when they were waiting beneath the stage before filing out into their chairs, Ajax never caught a glimpse of her. It was predicted, to be fair, since their last names were some ways apart. After two years of never reconciling, part of him wasn’t about to start now. From what he’d heard over his mother’s purposely loud phone call with Lumine’s mom, she was attending a different university than his, a fact that didn’t settle well at all with him. In fact, it had kicked him right in the gut and stomped on his lungs. The sudden dread of realizing that this year might be the last time he’d ever really see her was more devastating than he expected, and he wanted to dial in her number from muscle memory right then and there.

But for what, he has no idea. He still didn’t want to apologize, had no clue of what the right words would be, and the fear of her potentially ignoring his phone call all together was a blow to the pride he refused to face. So Ajax just stares and stares, hating and loving her more than ever for residing in his brain at all times, and wishing that he’d been the cause of her glowing blush kissed by the overhead lights. She shakes hands and sends a wave to her parents, but walks too quickly for him to see how she’s decorated her graduation cap. While Ajax was good at whipping things up in the kitchen, he didn’t have a single arts and crafts bone in his body and had simultaneously rejected Tonia’s offer to do something about his own cap. He had no idea what he wanted anyways.

The rest of the ceremony goes off without a hitch, their voted class song blaring through the speakers at the end as they shuffle and file out of the building to meet their families outside. Ajax supposes he should be proud of himself to some degree, for there was a period when his truancy and occasional delinquent behaviors were rearing to get him in serious trouble, but his older siblings had all gone off to college without issues. The glomps he receives from his parents feel like forgiveness and pride, his mother quickly rallying them up for photos. Ajax has no problem picking Teucer up in his arms for a shot, then later crouching down so Tonia can climb on his back and press a loving kiss on his cheek for the pose. Anthon just stands next to him, half hidden by Ajax’s billowy gown.

“Ah, wonderful!” His mother exclaims, spotting a familiar figure walking by them. Naturally, his heart skips a beat when he sees two figures and their blonde strands blowing in the wind, now somewhat unkempt after having been stuffed into an ill-fitting cap for three hours. Irina quickly asks Lumine’s mother to take their whole family shot, grins wide and trying to crowd together as much as possible to fit into the frame. Instead, he stares straight past the camera and towards the twins standing idly behind, taking note of everyone passing by and giving them hugs and congratulations. Even Kaeya and Diluc, already-graduated upperclassmen and fond of the twins, hand their own congratulatory bouquet to a flustered Lumine. She tries to balance it with the other bundles in her arms, saying something that he can’t hear but it makes the other two laugh (or crack a smile in Diluc’s case), and Ajax does his best to ignore the waking jealousy in his gut.

And Kaeya, the conniving snow leopard that he is, sends him a teasing glance before leaning down to place what seems like an extremely tender and affectionate kiss on Lumine’s cheek. It lasts for an eternity in Ajax’s mind, his vision honing in on his next victim as the world turns red. But before he can step forward and wipe that smirk off his face, Tonia tugs on his gown to gain his attention. Any ill will immediately dissipates from his system, giving his little princess all his focus. She waves him down to her height, then whispers, “Look at Lumi’s cap.”

He had been so caught up in Kaeya’s little scheme that he didn’t realize Lumine had been precariously holding her cap between two fingers, but the face of it was completely open towards him and accessible to read. And when he does, Ajax feels sick. Sick, but giddy, moved, torn, and guilty.

Shades of blue swirl together, like the ocean front of the nearby beach they used to frequent. In a calligraphy font and in black paint to stand out, they read, “Take the world by storm.”

The saying itself was mediocre at best, common, and publicly cliché to some degree. But coming from Lumine, with their history and her sentimentality, it meant something much more. He would always say that to her when describing his aspirations and goals, ready and eager to make history in the world of competitive swimming. Part of the enthusiasm had died and disappeared when he and Lumine had their disastrous falling-out. “We’ll do it,” he’d say. “Take the world by storm and leave them in the dust.”

“Well, if anyone could do it, it’d probably be you,” she’d reply with a fond smile.

“Let’s call it – by the time we’re 25, you’ll be there to watch me sweep gold at the Teyvat Championships, and I’ll be the youngest and most decorated swimmer in Teyvat history.”

The gut-wrenching slime of guilt seeps through his lungs – he could be overthinking it. It might not have anything to do with him at all, or anything to do with the fact that he just couldn’t be the bigger person and apologize properly. Maybe, maybe she wanted to rub it in his face that she could move on with her life and it didn’t have to have him in it. He realizes how much his thoughts don’t make sense, but there’s a reason why Tonia pointed it out in the first place.

But with how openly he’s staring at her, it’s not unexpected that she feels it and returns his attention. Once again, he is stricken with the soft vulnerability in her eyes, how her grip on her flower bouquets seem to tighten with anxiety. He’s never wanted this – signs of fear of him, that he couldn’t just walk up and give her a hug like the old days, and chat about simple nothings.

The best they can offer each other now are small, tired smiles. She turns on her heels and walks away Aether, Kaeya, and Diluc by her side, Kaeya’s arm still slung over her shoulders, her parents soon following them.

The most painful goodbyes, he realizes then, are often the ones you cannot say.

-

[what i’ve mistaken for as enemies but really it’s just karma]

Second year of university

At first, it’s shock. Then betrayal. Then confusion. Then all three in a nasty, deadly cocktail coursing through his veins.

Ajax hasn’t seen her since his family’s annual summer barbeque. Lumine had spent most of her time playing with his younger siblings, mainly Tonia, who bemoaned her current love life (or as much of one a middle schooler could have.) She’d been donned in a cute bikini set, her top covered with a larger, off-shoulder tee that inadvertently helped keep his sanity intact. Luckily, he was distracted by chasing Teucer around in their pool, giving tips on his form and helping keep time.

With the aim to keep the peace in front of family members, they were amicable and cordial at best. She hands him a plate without a word, he grabs her preferred drink without prompting. She grabs him an extra skewer and puts it on his plate, and he makes sure she gets a generous slice of tiramisu at the end. Those brief interactions let him live in an alternate reality where things hadn’t gone so disastrously wrong. Instead, they’re making plans to go to university together, managing schedules, looking into which organizations they should try to join, and convincing her to apply as a manager for his swim team.

Which brings him back to the present moment as he stretches and looks three lanes over, and stops in his tracks. In a jacket too big to be hers, long hair tied back into a high ponytail, smiling beautifully at the young man next to her that isn’t him, his brain simply thinks, “What the fuck?” Said object of Ajax’s disdain hands over his own jacket to her and she drapes it neatly over her forearm, later patting him on the shoulder for good luck. Lumine then turns away completely, entirely missing him and his eyes boring into the back of her head, and simply focused on getting back to the rest of her team. His gaze follows her until the ends of her ponytail disappear around the corner, then wants to smack himself.

“Focus, you idiot,” he murmurs to himself, going through his routine stretch again. There’s a different adrenaline that begins to flood his system, fueling him more than before to make sure he comes out the victor -- almost as if to show Lumine that she joined the wrong side. Her position is supposed to be next to him, cheering him on, just like the old days.

The large, metaphorical elephant in the room only visible to him doesn’t stop him from sweeping first in his events. However, Xiao, as he sees the name on the board later on, comes in close seconds, and Ajax bristles. To him, the guy looks severely constipated at all times, a tight and slight grimace on his face, guarded and stiff as he shakes out any water from his hair when he takes his cap off in the locker room. He speaks sparingly to anyone, and Ajax wonders if the guy has any friends at all.

Ajax happens to watch them wait outside the arena, Lumine talking rapidly on the phone and looking around, probably for their team bus. The streaks of dyed teal hair on the figure next to her is visible enough to clue in on who’s waiting with her. Other figures in similar university jackets stand nearby, conversing with each other in a lighthearted atmosphere. Ajax would need to be blind not to see how attentive Xiao is towards Lumine. He hovers and follows her every step with half of one of his own, clearly not wanting to be overbearing, but also warning others to think twice about approaching his manager.

The ginger-haired man watches Xiao watching Lumine. But then his back stiffens, and as if he has eyes on the back of his head, golden irises meet his own azure blues.

It’s almost alarming how similar they are to Lumine’s, the shade just a little deeper under the sinking sun. They pierce into his very soul, as if to scrutinize yet challenge his attention, to ask and say, “Why are you looking over here?”

Ajax blinks once before turning away, ambling over to join his own team and ponder on today’s events.

-

A month later, he sees Xiao again at a meet in Fontaine, this time catching him in the locker room. He has so many questions for him, mainly about Lumine and a couple about his training routine because for someone of his…size, his speed is incredibly impressive. Part of him wants to know how Lumine is with the team, if she treats them as well as she treated her high school team (read: himself), if she’s overworked and burdened. But surely at the university level, they have the means and resources to hire more student managers to help out, and yet, Ajax knows that Lumine would push herself to go above and beyond to ensure their health and safety.

Xiao meets his gaze on accident, giving a slight nod of acknowledgement before walking past him. There’s a smell of ocean waves as he pushes by, and a small part of Ajax wonders if there’s anything reminiscent of him in Xiao to Lumine. The sinister, more possessive fraction of his soul cackles in glee, relishing in the idea that Lumine can (potentially) never keep her mind off of him. No matter the fact she’s out there supporting someone who’s so consistent in competing with him, he would always reign and continue to show his swimming prowess.

His rational side knows how silly the thought is.

After the finals, Ajax comes out first again, Xiao another close second. They accept their places on the podium and he keeps an eye out on the audience stand, scrolling and watching to see if he can spot Lumine. It doesn’t take long, that glowing head of blond locks like a beacon in the darkness, and he wishes she was cheering for him instead of her teammate. He misses the confidence and cockiniess he would feel when her jovial screams rang above all others back in high school.

Sure doesn’t feel like winning without her, no? A little voice whispers inside his head.

Not now! He chides himself.

When they go to the locker room to grab their stuff, Ajax sits down for a few moments, head between his knees. A few teammates clap him on the back and shoulders, some wondering if he’s feeling unwell and if he needs help leaving. He’s all fine, he assures them, simply daydreaming in bittersweet solitude about how he’d like to hug Lumine around the waist and spin her in circles, to bask in her excited giggles and protests to put her down.

There are only a few swimmers left getting their things together when Ajax finally looks up, letting out a huge sigh from deep within his chest. He looks to the side to see Xiao about to leave, fitting a wireless earbud into one ear and fingers fiddling with the other.

“Xiao, wait,” he calls out before he can stop himself.

Xiao’s stare can weather even the toughest mountains, Ajax realizes, as part of him wants to wither himself. He can’t help but attempt to relieve himself with a small gulp. Something about Xiao’s stance looks like he could take him down in the blink of an eye.

“What is it?”

Fuck. How is he supposed to phrase this?

“W-what’s your manager like?”

The squint of Xiao’s eyes is almost menacing, as if saying how dare you, and he shoulders his duffel bag like he’s about to just walk out without giving any dignified answer. Fuck, fuck fuck fuck – “L-lumi was my high school team manager,” Ajax confesses in an attempt to save himself. At least he has history with her, and not like some other scumbags who might just be looking to get into her pants.

Xiao seems to soften a bit with the outburst, seemingly less guarded, and checks his smartwatch for the time. “Then surely you would know what she’s like now.”

“We…haven’t kept in touch much.”

Which is a huge understatement, but Ajax isn’t about to spill out their whole life history together.

Xiao looks him over once more before an imaginary lightbulb goes off above his head. Ajax doesn’t know what to expect, but it most certainly isn’t a tilt of the other’s head and a gentle, “You must be him.”

This can mean one of several things: either Lumine has gone and completely besmirched his name (which she’s partially in the right to do), has recounted their story but left out all the gruesome details of their falling out, or simply just referred to him as a childhood friend who competitively swam and went to the same high school as her. Regardless of the correct option, all of them cause a painful twinge in his heart, and it’s his turn to be defensive.

“Walk out with me,” Xiao demands, spinning on his heel and stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets, and leaves Ajax no choice but to follow. With the difference in height, the latter manages to match his pace and keep his steps small.

“She completes her duties and takes care of the freshmen well, since you’re wondering. The coaches appreciate her help and dedication, as well as prior experience from high school. Of course, university coursework is more demanding, and she spends free time during training to catch up. Nevertheless, we all feel grateful to have her,” Xiao provides, speaking more than Ajax has ever heard from him. Even in short interviews and highlight clips on YouTube, his sentences have always been brief and straight to the point, but rarely in such sizable chunks like now.

Something warm, akin to pride almost, blooms in Ajax’s chest at the description. It sounds just like her – helpful and hardworking.

“But she keeps her distance,” the former continues. “Most of them don’t notice it, but it’s not hard to see the wall she’s put up once you think about it.”

“...what do you mean?”

“The team usually eats together after training in the athletics complex, but she rarely joins us. The offer always stands regardless, but how many university students really have important things to do after 7PM? She speaks more on her current uni life, but not much about anything before. In fact, she’s only mentioned you to me once or twice – never by name though. The others are unaware of the connection.”

Ajax does his best to stomp down any jealousy at the implication of Lumine’s vulnerability, yet winces when he realizes how touchy of a subject he might be for her. He thought by now, it would’ve been known by most of her team that the two had some history.

Xiao stops in his tracks. “You should leave before she sees us together. I’d rather not have her needlessly worry.”

“Makes sense,” the ginger nods. “So…she doesn’t stay with anyone after practice?”

His head shakes. “I usually train another hour or two on most days, but unless she’s finishing up errands, she’s usually gone.”

Oh.

Ajax’s brain goes into overdrive at this new fact. Lumine staying after practice with him before their fight could be left to 1)  the devices of her not having another way to get home and 2) out of principles of friendship. But what about post-argument? The final two years when he’d course back and forth in the lanes for an extra hour, absolute silence between them as she flitted around? All the times when she’d leave without a word on the back of Aether’s new scooter, just minutes ahead of his mother picking him up? All the moments when he thought, “Jesus Christ, our managers have so much to do every day, what the fuck? And they let Lumine handle it all alone?”

Because why else would she stay behind for so long?  

On the bus home, he forces himself to nap, neck stretched back against the headrest, because he doesn’t want to think, to feel and come to the uncanny realization that…

He’s so afraid of the answer.

-

You were wrong, Ajax. You’ve been wrong this whole time.

-

He thinks he must be dreaming.

The liberty of owning a vehicle on campus means he can get away whenever he desires. He’s not confined to the coffee shops that were within walking distance, no doubt the most popular study spots. The music was always too loud in those places and the other students were then unable to control their own volume, which only sprouted the planted seeds of a headache. So with a hellish week of exams coming up, and even with individual study rooms dedicated to athletes in the athletics training building, Ajax itched to just get away from campus.

His maps took him to a small cafe about thirty minutes out, twenty minutes of it spent on the highway and completely out of the college bubble. Ever since seeing Lumine at the swim meet, he had been on edge and weighed down by the endless dreams plaguing his sleep. Sometimes they were nightmares, replaying the most hellish moment of his high school career, and other times they were fantasies he never wanted to wake from. Holding her hand, intertwined fingers in an unmarked flower field, foreheads pressed together as the sun kissed her golden locks. He hated the sound of his alarm playing in the back, loathed the sensation of being pulled away from his subconscious and instinctively fighting against it. Just another minute with her, please.

To whom he was pleading to, he never had any idea. As his eyes would blink open and fight against his leaded eyelids, he would curl into himself and hug a spare pillow to his chest. He would screw them shut and scour his brain for any connection to bring him to those moments of bliss again, and then feel the despair in his heart when he had to accept the reality before him. Almost three years of wishing, pining, and loving from afar, it never got easier.

Which is why he freezes in the doorway with one strap of his backpack over his shoulder, gaze immediately trained on the head of flaxen strands and the hauntingly familiar physique. Her back faces him and he almost stumbles on his way to the barista, shakily ordering a simple latte and fingers fumbling over his credit card. He keeps looking back at her, wondering if his brain is just playing tricks on him, but the white and blue cecilias in her hair are unmistakable.

Can he call it fate? Destiny? The universe finally so sick of his bullshit that they shoved an opportunity in his lap to finally right all the wrongs he had committed against the girl of his dreams?

The few minutes it takes for his latte to be prepared flies too quickly, and he takes a deep breath before walking over to her table, each step leaden with hesitation. He rounds the edge with bated breath, ready to prepare an excuse in case the girl he’s approaching is not Lumine at all.

Amber eyes meet his surprised ones and match his shock.

“A-ajax?”

Her heart wrenches when she sees his dark eye bags, cheeks slightly sunken in, and ginger strands more mussed than usual. There’s a painful swelling of her chest when he sends the smallest, most tired and apologetic smile her way, all tension leaving his system at the sound of her voice.

“Long time no see, Lumi.”

His tone is soft, so full of affection and longing that she momentarily forgets they haven’t properly spoken in three years. She had internally forgiven him by the time graduation rolled around, having seen the positive change in him during training sessions. Everything about her old Ajax had returned and matured, but she wanted to hear him say those two words first.

I’m sorry.

That’s all she’s ever wanted from him.

“It’s been a while,” she chokes around the bubble in her throat. “Please, go ahead.”

As he situates himself in the seat across from her, she rearranges her notes and materials, having spread them out over her time there. “You’re pretty far from campus,” Lumine attempts to fill the silence.

“Everything’s too full and loud over there,” he shrugs while grabbing his own laptop out. “I thought it’d be good to get away.”

“Same here,” she says before taking a nervous sip of her now-cold cappuccino. “You have exams coming up?”

“Three this week. The worst honestly. You?”

“Just one. But we’re only two weeks away from finals, so I thought I’d start making study guides now rather than later.”

“Smart girl,” he chuckles. “You’ve always liked preparing in advance for big exams.”

“It’s a good habit, maybe you should learn,” she teases.

“I probably should.”

No studying gets done for the next hour as they catch up, filling each other in on their majors and classes they’re taking. It’s all small talk laced with intimate details of each other, nods of understanding and moments of unspoken words. There’s only peace and serenity in the atmosphere surrounding them, and Ajax feels like the weight of an elephant has been lifted off his chest, soaking in all her interactions and mannerisms to make up for lost time.

He’s glad to see she’s doing well, for the most part. Well-fed, well-rested, hair shiny and lustrous as ever. Ajax likes the floral designs of her nails and takes it as a sign of her occasionally treating herself, which she should. If it were up to him, he’d take her out every weekend to at least get away from the pressures of university life and just indulge. But most weekends are occupied by swim meets, so maybe that’s her getaway. And speaking of swimming…

“I saw you three months ago,” he blurts out when they reach a lull in the conversation. “At the swim meet in Mondstat.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, uhmm,” he rubs the back of his neck. “You were walking one of your swimmers out – um, Xiao. Yeah. Almost didn’t recognize you with your long hair in the ponytail. ”

She had seen him. In fact, she made very grave efforts to not look his way and focused all her attention on making sure Xiao was okay. Lumine didn’t miss his name at all on the sheet with who the swimmers were in each heat and round. The faint scar on his right tricep had given him away instantly, and that hadn’t stopped her from sitting on the edge of her seat at the screen, watching the rounds with bated breath. Ajax in the pool was a force to be reckoned with, and while Xiao had come as a close second in the finals for several events, she internally rejoiced at Ajax’s victory.

“I saw you, too,” she confesses, blush rising to her cheeks. “I just couldn’t find a chance to say hi.”

“You couldn’t, or you wouldn’t?”

Lumine flinches, but also not quite appreciating the sharpness of his tone.

“I-- I didn’t mean that,” he immediately backtracks, guilt gnawing at him. “That wasn’t fair to you.”

“No, it wasn’t.”

They both can’t bear to look at each other, gazes staring off to the side as they find their next words to dispel the awkward air.

“Lumine, I-- I’m sorry.”

The incredulous look she gives him is to be expected, he supposes. His apology is so severely overdue, and it hadn’t exactly been the moment he thought of when coming up with ways to do so while in the shower.

“I’m so sorry for everything. The name calling, my shitty attitude freshman and sophomore year, for not listening to you about Dottore and them when I should’ve, for never apologizing until now because I’m a coward and have issues with pride, I just – I really am…sorry.”

Her silence is terrifying, tearing and tugging at his heartstrings. The last time he felt so nervous was before his first, big swim meet back in middle school – and yet, this somehow feels a hundred times worse. For an apology that had been so deeply buried inside, finally unearthed, raw and genuine, he can only hope for the best. There’s a drop in his stomach when Lumine begins to nibble on her bottom lip, perhaps subconsciously picking at some chapped skin, but then she reaches over for his hands that are tight around his empty mug.

Her hands are warm, but he can feel the trembling in her fingers.

“Thank you, Ajax,” her eyes just the slightest bit teary as she smiles at him. And he knows, he just knows, that they’re going to be okay.

-

[the reparations]

At first, Lumine wonders if she was too lenient in her forgiveness – that as soon as Ajax received permission to close that terrible chapter in his life, he would revert back to old tendencies, or find something else to criticize her for. She worries that Ajax will be up to no good again and slowly destroy his body from inside out. But she is elated to realize that no, Ajax is back to his old self again. His ambition and drive is quite healthy, to say the least, and he does his best to support her in any way possible.

For Ajax, every interaction with Lumine afterwards is bittersweet, to some degree.

He bemoans all the lost time in high school, ruminating on how different their life would have been had he just listened to her. Would they have created new memories on the night of graduation? Would he have taken her to a house party? How many nights could he have had to wake up next to her? Could he have heard her voice during swim meets, cheering him on despite the cacophony surrounding them?

They make time for each other, switching between meeting at each others’ apartments or respective university libraries, occasionally the cafe. The number of times they’ve fallen asleep over a video call while getting some studying done increases exponentially, neither of them willing to end the call and instead just muting themselves until they absolutely have to go. Ajax goes through a cycle of nicknames for Lumine, ranging from Lumi to Lulu (to which she crinkles her nose at because it sounds too close to lululemon and now he does it on purpose sometimes) to love bug to girlie to moya zvezda, the last always causing an eruption of butterflies in her stomach.

But somehow, one of her favorites is when he just says, “Hey you,” and holds his arms out for a hug, a grin stretching across his face from ear to ear. His hugs engulf her completely, smooshing her face to his chest while he breathes her in, and she does the same. The serenity that washes over them is palpable and she feels a little less empty – sure she has friends and the swim team to fill up her social meter, but with Aether gone on an academic scholarship in Sumeru for university, she couldn’t help but feel just a bit lonely. Quiet nights in her studio apartment, faint Chillhop beats playing through a Bluetooth speaker, the occasional booming bass of vehicles out on the road – alone. It had hit her the first few nights just how little she’s spent her life by herself, always somewhere with someone; parents, Aether, Ajax, Ajax’s family.

And now Ajax was becoming her new piece of home again.

Yet each playful shove, each whimsical peck against her temple, each wink sent towards her at different swim arenas, each little gift that appears unexpectedly on her doorstep, she becomes more and more frustrated. Sure, Lumine can be the one to stomp into his apartment, grab him by the collar of his shirt, yank him down, and kiss him silly while releasing all her pent up energy. She’d have to be knocked unconscious to not see that Ajax’s feelings for her are way past anything platonic, and probably have been for some time now, so why can’t he just say it?

Is it too much to ask for? To want Ajax to pick her up and pin her against the wall, trap her between his firm body and the grey wall of his apartment hallway? Is it really just her hormones and years of restrained love threatening to beat out her chest?

“You should come to this party with me,” he suggests offhandedly one late night, ripping Lumine out of her reverie. She’s been dazed and spaced out for the last few minutes, though he’s not sure why. Has she been overworking herself? “It won’t be big, and most of the people there are pretty chill. A couple notches down from a frat party for sure.”

“When is it?” she asks as she pulls out her planner. Her fingers run down the tabs until they hit March and flips open to the monthly preview. Ajax takes a moment to sit in awe and admire her scheduling abilities, everything neatly color-coded and arranged in each individual square.

“Think it’s the Saturday before spring break.”

“Oh, makes sense. Yeah, I’ll be free,” Lumine agrees with a shrug of her shoulders. Despite the cool, calm nature she’s attempting to exude, her heart pounds in overdrive and nausea threatens to infiltrate her system. A party? With Ajax? With alcohol and dancing and weed and ample opportunities to accidentally end up in a young adult romance trope with him? And drinking games?

Ajax takes a long sip from his to-go latte, courtesy of the coffee shop within this library on Lumine’s campus. Past the glass windows, the sky is dark with stars peeking through wisps of clouds, signaling it was rather late. Regardless, he’d rather be here sitting mere inches away from Lumine and attempting to get some work done than back in his bed, alone, with only her on his laptop screen to fill the void.

This party would be the first time they’d get to hang out without ever worrying about time constraints – they would be free to do fuck all (within some malleable legal limits), and just be with each other. Have a sleepover, shoot the shit, watch some movies – anything, anything, to just have more time.

“Does that mean you’ll pick me up?”

“For sure. But they live pretty close to my apartment, so I was thinking of picking you up and then walking over there. Maybe 15 minutes at most.”

“Sounds good to me. It’ll be nice to let loose after midterms.”

“Fuck, I forgot about midterms,” Ajax whines, shoving his shoulder against hers. “Why’d you have to remind me??”

“So you can start studying now, dipshit. Be proactive.”

“You should help me study.” Lumine finds it horrifying that she’s actually falling for his miserable attempt at puppy-dog eyes coupled with an overdrawn pout. She beats it down with all her strength and looks back to her planner.

“If you think I’d touch anything from your intermediate Excel class, then you don’t know me at all.”

“Come on, you know that’s my worst class!”

-

Ajax does the best he’s ever done on midterms, and Lumine, naturally, passes with flying colors. Before they know it, he’s dancing around the room, trying to get his black skinny jeans over his thighs and ass while searching for his phone. His phone awakens as he peers over it, greeted by his home screen background of a selfie of him and Lumine. Sure, his teammates gave him a little grief over it, but as long as they realized that she was untouchable, he'd take their shit.

About twenty-five minutes away, Lumine double checks her outfit in the full-length mirror, needlessly smoothing over non-existent wrinkles. She worries if it’s too much or too little. How chill was chill?

If Ajax reacts negatively in any way, she has a backup outfit ready to go. The last thing she wants is for him to feel embarrassed or burdened by her in front of his friends.

“No, you look good,” she tries to hype herself up. “It’s Mona and Kokomi approved.”

“If he doesn’t kiss you by the end of the night,” said astronomy professor in-the-making warned last night. “I’m going to drown him.”

“And the last thing we want is for you to be charged with conspiracy to murder,” Kokomi chimes in. “But seriously Lumine – you look wonderful! Stay close to him, too. He’s clearly head over heels for you, so this should be enough to push him in the right direction.”

“You really think so?”

“Trust me, I know so. The stars can back me up on it, too.”

Lumine is threading thin rose-gold chain earrings through her piercings when there are three raps against her door. Her heart kicks into overdrive as the anxiety creeps into her veins – this is it: the moment she’s been half-dreading and half-waiting for this whole week.

“The door’s unlocked!” She yells from her bedroom, finishing last touches on her makeup and hair as Ajax lets himself in. The sound of his footsteps draws closer to her location as he announces himself and she’s scrambling.

“Sorry I’m not fully ready, but I’m just about done,” Lumine apologizes profusely. Ajax leans against the frame of her bedroom doorway, relaxed and trying to alleviate her worries.

“Don’t worry about it, I was…early…”

Oh gods. Oh Archons above.

She will truly be the death of him.

Lumine looks radiant, the epitome of peace and comfort yet so confident and alluring. Her golden tresses are tied back into a high ponytail, perfect curls cascading down with stray bangs at the sides. Dainty and sophisticated chain rose-gold earrings paired with some light makeup and a faint sheen of lip gloss shine back at him. A long sleeve, ivory white blouse with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows is loosely tucked into dark-wash jean shorts that may be too short for his sanity. Her legs stretch for miles in the confines of a pair of black tights despite her actual height, and he has to exert all mental effort to will away any excitement below his belly button.

“Wow,” he exhales, dreamy and in disbelief at the luck in his life. “You – you look amazing, Lumi.”

She can hear the reverence in his tone and lets out a huge sigh of relief. “It’s not too much? Or I’m not underdressed?”

He still can’t tear his gaze away from her outfit, even as he shakes his head. “No, not at all. It’s perfect.”

You’re perfect.

The beam of joy Lumine sends him soothes his soul. She gives one last cursory look in the mirror before grabbing a small purse just big enough to fit her phone and a few other small items. “Let’s go then.”

Okay, so maybe he let her walk ahead of him initially with bad intentions. Yes, he has looked at her butt one too many times, but he has a really hard time controlling himself! And in those shorts…

Ajax has to shake his head, fighting for some clarity. Lumine takes the cake when she toes on a pair of black low-top Converse, completing her look. He hasn’t said a word this whole time, even as she waves him out of the apartment so she can lock the door behind them. But again, Ajax knows his manners. He offers her his arm and she happily loops her hand into the crook of his elbow.

“What a gentleman,” she teases. “Your mother would be proud.”

Sweet, sweet Lumine. If only you knew.

“Well, with four sons, she’s had time to figure out what’s important to teach us. You know she used to give me mini-lectures on how to compliment girls? And all the details of the menstrual cycle?”

“All important things to know. It came in handy though – I’ve had my fair share of getting emergency pads from you back then.”

“Pads are expensive, too. You should pay me back,” Ajax teases.

“I’m sorry, and just who said homemade cookies were enough payment? Hm?”

Their bickering goes on for the entire walk to the house, laughter wracking through their system as they keep trying to one-up each other. Ajax was fair in his assessment of the atmosphere of the party – it was fairly chill. Music played through speakers at a comfortable volume, nothing too bass heavy, too fast, or too slow. A random movie played on the flatscreen in the living room, drinks set up in the kitchen and other options to make cocktails, everyone simply mingling together and catching up. A few smoked weed on the deck in the backyard, their figures barely illuminated by the fairy lights strung up above them.

Lumine blends in beautifully with the crowd, chiming in and chuckling when appropriate. Given the little space available, she remains curled into Ajax’s side most of the night, his arm around her shoulders and fingers mindlessly combing through her loose bangs. In return, once her cup is empty and she no longer wants anything to drink, her own arm stretches across his waist, and Ajax tries very, very hard to not think about how close it is to his crotch. One way he attempts to divert his thoughts is by pressing chaste kisses into her hair at random, but then he just gets drunker on the scent of her shampoo, and it’s just a slippery slope all around.

She feels warm, intimate, and content. A perfect way to wind down from the stress of exams, truly.

There are a few rounds of Rage Cage, one of which Lumine ends up being the unlucky soul to down most of the drinks in the center. Ajax swoops in as a dark knight to help her drink the center cup with the most alcohol in it, the others ooh-ing softly at the grand gesture. It’s been a while since Lumine partook in a drinking game, and he quickly fills the cup with some water for her. Afterwards, the host changes up the music and everybody gathers back in the living room to dance and sing along.

“‘So testosterone boys and harlequin girls’,” both she and Ajax belt out to each other, little care in the world for how poorly they may be dancing. Their heads nod along to the beat as the lyrics spill off their tongues from the deep recesses of their nostalgic memories. At some point, she throws her head back and can’t stop laughing and Ajax simply follows, unable to stop himself from looping his arms around her waist and pulling her close. It’s almost second nature for Lumine to cross her arms behind his neck, and their proximity doesn’t seem to faze them much.

Whether it be fate, an algorithm, or a poorly-made party playlist, the beginning guitar strums of I’ll Follow You Into the Dark come through the speakers. A few groan and demand for the song to be skipped, but Lumine and Ajax pay no mind to them. Ajax is too tall for her limbs to rest on his shoulders comfortably for longer than a few minutes, and she opts to hug him around his waist. In turn, he shifts his embrace to her upper back, and they sway comfortably in their imaginary world. She keeps her head tucked beneath his chin, eyes closed shut as she feels his heartbeat against her cheek. It’s steady and strong, a reminder of how lucky she is to be alive and on this plane of existence, to be loved and cherished by someone like Ajax.

“You’re the best, y’know that?” She mumbles quietly but with a slight drawl. There’s still some effects of alcohol lingering around.

“If I were the best, I wouldn’t have said those things to you back then,” he can’t help but reply, bitter and unforgiving towards himself. “I’ve gotta spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

“I just really wanted you to say sorry, and I got it. You’re forgiven, and you’re here with me now, and I wouldn’t want anyone else, okay?”

“Maybe,” he replies and kisses her head gently. “You deserve the world, Lumi.”

“Jax–”

“I lied, you deserve the entire universe,” Ajax interrupts. “Like – like stars. Who gives a shit about the other stuff out there, it’s always about the stars anyways.”

“...don’t let Mona hear you say that.”

“I’m just saying – you deserve all the stars. Actually, no. You are the stars, Lumi. All the stars in the night sky, shining so brightly and so full of wonder,” he rambles and Lumine can’t help but giggle.

“Now I know you’re really drunk. I don’t think sober Ajax would say this.”

“I know sober Ajax definitely thinks it,” he resorts under his breath.

Lumine pulls back to take a good look at him. She expects to see a glaze over his eyes, signs of inebriation and pupils unfocused. But she instead sees an intensity she hasn’t seen before, boring into her soul, and she’s trapped. She’s frozen as he lifts a hand to trail his fingertips reverently against her right cheekbone, his thumb later following suit with an affectionate stroke. Suddenly, Ajax looks nervous, maybe a bit excited, and her eyes follow the bob of his Adam’s apple as he swallows around nothing.

“It’s getting late,” he whispers. “Do you…do you wanna go back to my place and drink some coffee? Sober up a little and watch a movie or something?”

If it were any other person, she would have turned them down and called an Uber home. But it was Ajax, her Ajax, and she wants this so bad.

“...yes, I’d like that.”

-

Ajax wonders if he’s actually thirty years old, coming up with the excuse of coffee so that Lumine would come over and hang out after the party. In fact, he later realizes halfway home just how insinuating the suggestion is, and while sure, they were plenty flirty with each other just minutes ago, this was about to be a big jump. Long-harbored feelings haven’t exactly been explicitly established, though it can be argued that for them, there really is no need because they most likely know how the other feels about them by now.

Just thirty minutes later, they’re giggling and reminiscing on middle and high school memories – the joyful ones, at least. Lumine mentions offhandedly about a past fling and another blind date she got set up on by Mona, recounting how the mechanical engineering major junior spent twenty straight minutes discussing his senior thesis project that his family was apparently helping fund for, something to do with a racecar that he got to ride in along – and Lumine hadn’t even asked about it.

“I learned that being inside has its perks,” she concludes, chuckles soft as her body melts into the couch cushions. “This,” her finger gestures at the space between them, “is much more fun, in my opinion.”

Ajax turns towards her with an elbow perched on top of the backrest, empty cup in his lap. The golden glow of the living room lamp accentuates her features and he’s just so in love with her – to the point where maybe he was much more jealous than the average man at a mere mention of a date that clearly went nowhere. She scooches closer to him, the ankle of her bent leg nearly touching his, hair out of its bind and cascading over her shoulders, drowning in his swim team jacket that she hasn’t bothered taking off since being handed it in his car. To him, Lumine looks more ethereal now than when he went to pick her up.

A true angel descended from the stars and heavens, and he will happily worship her for the rest of his mortal existence.

“You’re beautiful, Lumi,” he says in a gentle tone, words tumbling off his tongue before his brain can stop them. A furious blush blooms over cheeks and he takes her cup without a word, placing both it and his on the coffee table before facing her once more. Adorable.

Whoever leans forward first, nobody knows.

And they’ll never know. With the rush of blood and hormones, the pounding in their hearts and ears, fingers reaching out with a mind of their own, Ajax can’t think about anything but how sweet Lumine’s lips taste, how soft they feel between his own, how easy it’d be to cradle her chin and kiss her harder so that she would open up her pretty little mouth for him. And when she would let out an adorable, breathy gasp that’d shoot straight to his crotch, he’d take the opportunity to catch her bottom lip between his teeth, sucking gently before giving a nibble, then letting go.

Even though they’ve never been so intimate with each other (to his knowledge), this feels familiar. There’s something nostalgic about tangling Lumine’s sun-kissed strands between his fingers, really hoping he’d never have to go another moment without kissing her. A drug shot straight through his veins, he feels himself getting so deliriously drunk on her, the scent of her body wash further ruining him to smithereens.

Though she pulls back to catch her breath, he dives without much urgency to plant butterfly kisses against the smooth, untouched column of her neck. The jealous claws of possessiveness urge him to paint artistic shades of purple and blue, his own personal canvas that no one could even dream of touching. Initially, he wants to practice some patience, but the thought that someone else had marked her before him unleashes a sinister rage. Teeth begin to nip and bruise at the skin just above her collarbone, and he drinks in every whimper that leaves her lips. Her nails dig deeper and deeper into his shoulder blades as she clambers into his lap, causing him to smirk on the inside.

Lumine would have to be incredibly drunk to not feel the stiffness digging into the bottom of her thigh. There’s little to no space between their torsos, especially with how Ajax keeps tugging her forward, desperate hands and arms wandering around her back and waist. Him doing so creates a slight rocking motion, and just the tiniest bits of friction set her nerves on total overdrive. He has to have more, more, more, because if he doesn’t, he might just combust and make a mess of this night.

The fabric of her shorts rides up, and Ajax manages to register just how painfully hard he is, even more so when his hands slide up her thighs and his thumbs push into the clothed center between her legs and she gasps, his name slipping off her tongue with so much pleasure that he nearly cums right then and there. Only Lumine has the ability to unravel him so quickly, his pent up desires and dreams finally coming to fruition after so many years. As his thumb pads more forcefully, searching for her clit and mouthing at her neck, Ajax refuses to hold back and bites down on her neck when she lets out a breathy moan, her hips bucking into him once more.

“J-jax, please–” she mewls, mind fogging more and more with hazy lust. He wants to take her apart piece by piece, have her cum on his tongue, then his fingers, then at least twice on his cock. If allowed, he wants to wake her up in the morning by treating her as his personal breakfast, to ensnare her dreams so that she could understand even a sliver of how crazy she drives him at all times. Ajax can only imagine how addicting she’ll taste, that maybe he can’t hold himself back after just one taste of her sweet release, and that he’d die happily between her thighs.

He kisses her hard again, her tongue meeting his and so, so eager. His conscience falls deeper into the depths of hell, imagining this tight heat around his cock. Perhaps she’d struggle to take all of him in while the pink muscle dances around the tip, and he could train her to open her throat up and–

Hold back, slow down. “Use your words, Lumi,” he half-growls into her lips, unwilling to stop kissing her for longer than necessary. “Be good and tell me what you need.”

“You know what I need,” the starlight whines as her fingers drift down toward the button of his pants, digging in but waiting, as if needing his permission to move forward. Such a good girl, the voice in his brain purrs. Mine mine mine, all mine.

“Maybe,” Ajax murmurs before giving a punishing bite into her shoulder. Lumine didn’t realize her underwear could get any wetter, but perhaps she enjoys proving herself wrong. “But I need to hear the words from you. Are you sure you want to do this?”

He pulls back to look into her eyes, searching for any hesitancy. But all he sees are blown pupils, slightly parted lips, a heaving chest, and disheveled golden strands, and almost loses it. They haven’t done too too much past kissing, yet how does she looks so close to being fucked out already? He can’t imagine how he looks right now, perhaps half-crazed and thrumming.

Her lithe fingers curl deeper into the fabric of his shirt, and professes in a pant, “Please fuck me.”

Fucking hell.

Who is he to deny his goddess’ wishes?

Without another word, he picks her up, palms splayed beneath her thighs as an invitation to keep her legs crossed tightly at the base of his spine. The tiny squeal that leaves her when she does the same with her arms is delightful to him, followed by disbelieving giggles as he speedwalks to his bedroom. She scatters pecks on his neck, even working on a few marks of her own. Knowing she won’t drop, he lifts a hand to teasingly swat the round of her ass. “Be careful, girlie,” his voice a dark murmur in her ear.

“Or what?” she retorts, hints of a grin on her lips. Even when he sits on the edge of his mattress, she keeps her face buried in his neck. Ajax struggles to keep himself tethered, so tempted to act on primal desires and needs.

“Listen carefully,” he softly demands. “I don’t think you need to be reminded of this because I think you always knew – but you…you have always, always been mine. No matter what you think, you were never anyone else’s.”

His teeth nip the shell of her ear before they drift downward to catch the flesh of her earlobe. Just the tiniest exhale sends her back arching into him, her nails digging deeper into his shoulder blades.

“And I have every intention of teaching you just how much you belong to me.”

Oh.

Lumine has little time to catch her breath before Ajax pulls away to kiss her again, his palms scorching and weighted as they pull at her blouse from where it was tucked into her shorts, desperate to grasp at her waist. The feeling of her skin beneath his is soothing– after so long of admiring from a certain distance and just bearing with the emptiness in his soul, to finally have her in the most personal way possible, he is warm again. He can move forward and feel fulfilled, take on the world because with Lumine by his side, no one can stop him.

For every ounce that she is his, he is hers and more.

Regardless, he has no patience to grapple with the buttons of her blouse, instead shimmying it upward and over her head, sliding the material down her arms so she could hold onto him again. He loves how perfectly she fits against him and always has, that his upper torso completely envelops her petite frame. His hands wander and leave goosebumps in their paths, shivers passing through her system. It’s too cold and too hot all at once, a burning flame in her sternum as she pleads and pleads – for what, Ajax can’t quite figure out, but he does his best to keep the heat at bay.

Her pitiful whine sounds foreign in her own ears when she’s shifted off  his lap – but he makes up for it by getting her shorts and tights off. The thought that she should’ve worn a skirt instead is somehow the only logical thing she processes, her hands fumbling with his to slide the material down as fast as possible. She craves, no, needs him touching her again, the warmth and security he provides her. Lumine couldn’t care less that Ajax is less than delicate with her three-dollar tights, his nails creating crescent tears and digging into the flesh of her legs. On another day, he’d like to humor a fantasy of his where he could just rip them apart at the crotch, hook her underwear to the side, and press his face into her weeping–

“Get this off.” The pouty command makes him chuckle, alongside the fact that Lumine is practically clawing at his undershirt and somehow also gripping the ends of his flannel’s sleeves.

Seeing his sculpted and toned torso during swim meets only maddened her further, and she often spent half the meets a little dazed and horny because it was really nice watching the muscles in his back stretch and shift, how his arms come around from underneath the water during the butterfly, and she is digressing – you think after so many years, she’d get used to it. But Ajax has a wonderful body with nearly perfect form at this point, and she can’t not appreciate it.

In enough time, her naked body wraps around him once more, her dripping core grinding softly against his very apparent erection, with nothing but a thin cotton barrier between them. He hisses against her lips when he feels just how wet she is, wanting nothing more than to shift his cock past the hem of his boxer briefs and fit himself inside her. It takes all of his willpower and more to reel back and focus on wanting to taste her, but Lumine counters that by leaving the bed and forcing him to stand by the edge.

She wastes little time dropping to her knees, buttocks planted neatly on top of her ankles and Ajax curses, “Fucking hell – no wait, Lumi, you don’t–”

He’s never been so painfully hard in his life, all the blood filling his cock making it more sensitive to the chilled air. A hand cards through her hair before tracing her jawline, his thumb resting on her bottom lip so they part just slightly. The hazy, wild lust in her golden gaze causes his brain to short circuit, before it completely fries when she – “Can I please have your cock?”

Soft, yet confident, exigent under the guise of pleading – she could ask him to jump in front of a moving train and he would without a second thought.  

“Such a good girl for me,” he purrs, pushing his thumb deeper past her lips and applying pressure onto her tongue. It’s not enough to stop her from giving it a light suckle, from weaving it around the digit and he needs her mouth on him now.

He removes the drool-covered digit from her sweet temptation to tuck it with the other into the band of his underwear, dropping it down with no fuss and no regard for how the tip catches and snaps back against his abdomen. His balls feel so heavy as he strokes himself, pace slow and languid. He watches her gaze zone in on the drop of precum leaking from the top.

Lumine can feel  her mouth pooling at his length, so hard and thick, long enough that her abdomen and pussy clench at the mere thought of how deep he could be in her. She has half a mind to completely forgo sucking him off in favor of pushing him back onto the bed, straddling his hips, and sinking down onto him. But she knows better – she needs prep and time, and would like this night to last as long as possible.

“Shit.” His voice breaks when she repositions herself to be closer, his cock resting against her cheek. How Ajax doesn’t cum when she licks away his pre and latches softly onto the tip is a fucking miracle.

He can’t think about anything past the tight, wet heat worshiping him, her eyes slipped shut as she bobs her head up and down. At times, she tilts her head to the side and lets it dig into her cheek, a visible bulge protruding beneath the skin. Ajax catches the glisten of spit trailing further and further down his length as he pats her cheek. So filthy, how debauched and earnest she looks and sounds, drawing open her mouth as much as possible to take him in.

The guttural choke when he slips a little too far down her throat sends both his hands into her hair, fingers digging into her scalp. On instinct for her comfort, he pries himself away to give her room to breathe and catch her breath. But to his surprise (and pleasure), she follows his motions, determined to keep herself latched onto his length. Her moan is protesting, as if asking him, “How dare you deny me?”

And he loses himself.

Whatever hand she had to grasp the rest of his dick falls to hold onto his thigh when he bucks his hips into her face, surrendering to his basal desires. She just feels so fucking good, pliant and obedient, receptive to everything he’s giving her. Ajax wants nothing more than to spill his cum down her throat and see it overflow past her lips, to see it drip down her chin as she attempts to down it all. He’d swipe up any remaining and feed it to her, and he knows, he just knows, that she would accept it, probably make a lascivious show out of it just to rile him up.

“L-lumi – shit – do you know how many nights I’ve dreamt of doing this? To fuck your mouth and train you to take all of me?” A garbled mewl follows more enthusiasm, more suction as she leans forward and her throat fits more of his cock, a snug fit that drives him past the point of no return. “Look at you girlie, so fucking good for me. You were made for me, I know you were,” Ajax growls as he feels the tension grow in his gut. “God damn.”

The denial of his own orgasm aches like nothing else – as much as he wants to see her struggle to swallow all his cum, he wants to savor it. He’d rather see it leak out of her tiny slit – Archons, he can picture it right now. Globs and globs of viscous ivory mixed with her own cum, red and swollen, puffy clit peeking above at him, and he’d fuck it back in her, either with his fingers or his cock, he can’t decide and –

He yanks her up from underneath her forearms, frantic to feel her lips against his again. Ajax could care less that she was just blowing him, their tongues tangling together in a crass dance. But no matter how sweet her mouth is, he knows that there’s only one other place where it’d be even more decadent.

He pushes her back against his pillows, slotting himself between her legs. As they widen to bring him in, he can hear the squelch of her sticky cunt and thighs, and his mouth begins to water. He would have teased her and made her beg any other day, but he has to find out, to know what he’s been missing out on all these years. Ajax wastes no time laying prostrate on the sheets, nose just millimeters from her swollen clit that’s begging for attention. Her heady scent clouds his brain even further and her plush thighs position over his shoulders. His heart thrums when her hands readily grasp onto his ginger strands, combing through them, nails scraping lightly against the nape of his neck and his scalp.

Ajax gives her no warning, only sticks out his tongue to lave against the length of her sex, and groans immediately as his taste buds assimilate. There’s a slight saltiness to it, something unexpectedly addicting but he knew this would be the case – that he would have a hard time eventually stopping himself. Now that he knows exactly how she tastes, he could eat her out for hours, hooked on her scent and the tremble of her thighs.

He sucks on her clit before bringing it between his teeth, the gentlest nibble he can manage, but his hands push down as she bucks her hips, the most licentious moan he’s heard yet from her. It only fuels him further, tongue zealous in its duty to break her until she thinks of nothing but his mouth on her dripping pussy.

“Oh my god,” she gasps and whimpers, back arching as her eyes screw shut. Part of her is embarrassed by how quickly she’s going to cum, the stirring in her gut already brewing into something more intense than she knows how to handle. “Ajax, please, slow down–”

“Already close?” The swimmer sounds smug and she wants to knock him down a peg so badly, but he slips his tongue inside her entrance with determination. “Good, you’re right where I want you.”

“I don’t – ah – too fast, want – want, want –”

“Tell me what you want, zvezda,” he teases. Her arousal is blinding and she’s so close, but she doesn’t want to be, and there’s a tinge of fear by just how high she’s climbing, how wound up her insides are – the pleasure is too mind-numbing.

“Want – want you!” Lumine finally cries out. His face just isn’t close enough and she pulls him in as much as physically possible. Ajax enjoys being trapped between her plush thighs. All for him to squeeze and mark – he further denies her by sucking bruises into the sensitive flesh, relishing in her moans and gasps, her pleads and oblivion. His thumb rubs circles into her clit, so slick and hardened beneath his touch. As he admires his work, she tenses.

“Oh the Seven, fuck – Jax, please please please, I’m close,” she wails. “Jaxie, please, ‘m gonna cum –”

His mouth replaces his thumb as he pulls her closer.

“ – cumming, I’m cumming, cummingcummingcumming–!”

The snap of the spring in her system is visceral, the moan ripped from her throat close to a scream, and Ajax growls into her core, eyes fixated on her expressions of bliss and parted lips, drunk on the taste of her cum with his tongue now inside her. He refuses to let up, drinking in everything she has to offer and more and it’s not enough for him – he wants to hear the shrieks of overstimulation, to send her over the edge again and again – the dry sobs from her so, so addicting, the shuddering of her entire body, the fight it brings to remove itself from his clutches.

But he wants to see it all over again on his cock this time.

Lumine does her best to catch her breath when Ajax eventually lets up, crossing her legs up and over so he can sit up. She shivers and sniffles, coughs when she realizes how dry her throat is, and leans into Ajax’s touch when he cups her cheek, fingers swiping away some stray tears.

“You did so well,” he murmurs. “Was that okay?”

It was more than okay, she’d like to say, but she simply nods instead.

“Stay right here, ‘m gonna go wash my hands.”

The smallest yet cutest pout appears as her fingers loop around his wrist before he can leave. “Do you have to leave?”

“Solnyshko,” he sighs. “You really think you can take my cock without any prep?”

Her cheeks turn a deep rouge. “Maybe,” rolls off her tongue before she can stop it, and immediately clamps up afterwards.

Something dangerous flashes across his eyes – they drift towards her flushed pussy, and it clenches around nothing beneath his gaze.

“Definitely not for our first time, but someday,” he promises her. “Sit tight, love.”

The water runs and Ajax puts his weight on his palms, clutching the counter top. It’s close to 3AM and his eyes are bleary with adrenaline and lust. He pumps some soap into his hand and washes his hands thoroughly, later wiping away the remnants of Lumine’s climax off his face. When he returns, she’s still laid out all pretty for him, soft and beautiful and all his.

“I should’ve asked you this earlier, but…” and she hesitates, chewing on her bottom lip. Ajax waits patiently while sitting on the edge of the bed, slightly perpendicular so one of her legs can be stretched across his thighs. The hickeys and bruises scattered across her skin are exquisite, in his humble opinion. His personal canvas, all for him to mark up and paint to his desires. “...are you clean?”

“I am,” he reassures. “You?”

“Yeah,” her voice demure but with eyes lit up, and not just from the moonlight coming through his window. “I’m on birth control, too...”

“So you’re saying…since we’re both clean and everything..”

Lumine’s gaze follows his to his nightstand drawer where, no doubt, the condoms are located. Her teeth sink deeper into her bottom lip as she shakes her head.

“One thing at a time, Lumi,” his hand smoothing down some of her wild baby hairs. “I should’ve let you know as well, but in case you can’t tell already, I have a hard time controlling myself around you.”

Her little giggle warms him to the core, later dying off when his finger flicks over her right nipple, another joining to pinch and roll at the pink bud. It dissolves into a tiny squeak as he pinches harder, pulling at it before letting it bounce back to sit perky and tall on the peak of her breasts. He senses the impatience in her labored breathing, as well as the subconscious rolling of her hips, and he’s pleasantly surprised to see how wet she is again – the slick shines back at him and he wonders if he could get away with devouring her once more.

It’s his duty to quench her thirst though, to trace the tip of his middle finger over her entrance and lather what he can in her precum. Ajax watches her face with full attention, how it morphs as her eyes roll back when he slides the digit into her weeping cunt, and he curses under his breath because holy fuck, even around one finger, it already feels snug. What she might feel like around his shaft – it twitches and bobs on its own as he curls inside her, trying to find the spot that’d make her preen.

“You’re so wet,” he says with so much awe, soon following with his ring finger. It feels even tighter now – as the pads curl and tap against her g-spot, he mimics her sharp inhale. They’re gentle at first in their ministrations, basking in the slight upturn of her lips as she falls prey to the pleasure. “So tight, too.”

Her breathy chuckle has tones of joy and embarrassment. A free hand flounders until she can take hold of his dick, stroking it lightly and bringing it back to full attention in no time at all. As he switches up and slowly scissors his fingers, she hits him with, “Well…I do enjoy being stretched open…”

Deep breath in, Ajax. You can’t lose it now.

“You’re playing a dangerous game.”

“And I intend to win,” she sings.

“Oh Lumi,” he sighs, fitting his index finger in and savoring the moan that leaves her with her eyes rolling back. “There’s no way you’re leaving my apartment in the morning after I’m done with you.”

Ajax pushes through her whine and focuses on the vice of her pussy, imagination running wild. “Do you want this?”

“Ajax, my hand is literally on your dick right now, please.”

He leans forward to kiss her sweet. “What can I say, consent is sexy,” murmured against the apple of her cheek. Ajax shushes her when she whines at the loss of his fingers, her eyes wide and pleading as he replaces her hand with his soiled one, spreading her fluids on his cock. He pumps it a few times, standing by the bed now, and smirks when Lumine wets her lips with anticipation. “You seem eager, princess.”

She should not feel like crying so many times in one night – yet it wells up once more because she is empty, denied her most carnal want by the person she loves the most. Why won’t Ajax just fuck her?

Perhaps he’s finally reading her thoughts because he grabs her waist, adjusting her so her pulsing core lines up to his length. His hands push on the backs of her thighs to keep her spread open for him, though she helps out by hooking her forearms beneath her knees. He kisses a hovering ankle, fixated on how spread open her lower lips already are just by the tip. The sticky warmth reminds him of the control he’ll need to exercise, to take deep breaths in so he doesn’t immediately cum inside her.

The first couple of inches is exhilarating – Lumine wasn’t lying earlier, her core tight at the intrusion. “Breathe,” she hears him reminding her, one of his hands rubbing circles into her clit and the other into her stomach. “You’re doing so well, Lumi.”

“So big,” Lumine whimpers. “Fuck, more, gimme more–”

“Patience, girlie,” he pushes in a couple more inches, now almost half his length buried into her cunt, thrusting languidly and shallowly. “Still okay?”

“I shouldn’t have to beg this much to be fucked –ah!” He plants both hands on her hips and slides all the way to the hilt, surrendering to the suction that pulls him in, and now so, so close, to losing his mind.

Ajax wants to spend forever in her tight heat, bullying past her gummy walls as they clench around him. To spend eternity working her open and molding her pussy to the shape of his cock. He looks forward to the days when she will cockwarm him while they’re studying, to have a hand splayed wide against her waist, a bulge evident in her belly. her eyes glassy and hazy as she absorbs nothing from her textbooks – or in the mornings when they’re half awake…

“You can move,” her whisper brings him back to reality.

And so he does.

The full drag along her pussy sends her reeling, barely any time to regain herself before he thrusts in again. And he keeps it slow, methodical, searching for any signs of discomfort in her.

Instead, he’s greeted with her happy sighs, a dreamy smile gracing her lips, soft, delirious praises of, “Feels so good, Ajax…love you–”

She becomes wetter than he thought she ever could, his pace quickening as a creamy ring begins to form at the base of his cock. The sighs dissolve into whimpers and moans, her legs trembling in the air. Ajax is powerless and spanks her once, twice, thrice, moaning when her cunt somehow tightens even more. “Perfect, so perfect, personal little fucktoy of mine…”

“Fuck, yes–”

“You like that?” He pants and fucks her harder, balls slapping against the round of her ass. “You belong to me, Lumi – your pussy was made to perfectly fit my cock, my own cocksleeve. No one else can fuck you like I do, to keep you so full, shit, look at me.”

Lumine doesn’t even realize her eyes are closed, so deep in her pleasure that her eyes have to adjust.

“Wha–”

“Look down, you can see my cock right here,” he hisses, a hand now pressing down onto her stomach. The extra pressure has her wailing, all cares of keeping somewhat quiet as to not disturb his neighbors now abandoned. She manages to keep her eyes peeled open to see the distension in her belly and feels euphoric – Lumine swears she can feel his dick in the back of her throat, mewls and cries wracking through her system.

His fingers swipe fervently across her clit, ripping another moan of pleasure from her. Ajax can’t believe they’re here now, that he’s finally taking all of her for himself. After years of dreaming and fantasizing, he can finally deposit all his cum into her, to fill and breed her, to stake his claim. He yanks her forward so her ass hangs just slightly over the edge, supported by his grip and pelvis as he continues to fuck into her. Changing the angle is what kills her, a spot deep inside her that only Ajax could ever reach with his massive length – her cervix? – and she all but screams before white-hot pleasure causes tears to form.

Is it too much? Not enough? Her brain no longer functions for her own good and only focuses on cock, Ajax, the need to be plugged up with his cum swimming in her womb–

“Cum for me, I know you want to,” authority laced in his voice. “You’re so fucking tight, want you to lose it on my cock and take my cum–

“Yes, wan’ your cum so bad, please give it to me,” her boneless limbs flailing as she makes grabby hands, all but sobbing. His balls tighten – everything he’s ever wanted and more, right here in the palms of his hands – no, he has to service her first, so she can become just as addicted to him as he is to her, to become familiar with the future that her fingers alone will never be able to fully satisfy her, just like how jerking off will never be the same for him now.

She’s climbing, climbing, climbing, so much higher than when he was eating her out earlier. He keeps her stuck between his hips and the bed as he presses forward to kiss her, lips messy and jolting from the force of his thrusts. But it’s exactly what she needs, and before she can register it all, Lumine tips over and her orgasm absolutely rips through her.

Her scream is muffled against his mouth, as well as disguised by his growl of approval as he fucks her through her climax, prolonging it as much as possible with the additional help of his continued ministrations on her clit. Ajax believes this is the wettest and tightest she’s been all night, nearly flooding his cock and making it so easy to fuck her silly.

“Good girl,” and he truly sounds so proud of her. She’s still mewling and whimpering, now twitching from overstimulation, confessions of love spilling off her tongue as they turn into incoherent babbling. That empty look in her eyes, yet somehow full of adoration, her body and mind seemingly broken from his shaft splitting her open. “Wanna fill you up, have you take all my cum – can I, Lumi?”

Somehow, she’s able to nod.

Another day, he’ll have her beg for it, to render her the point of basal desperation.

“Gonna cum, zvezda, keep it all inside okay? Shit, such a perfect little cum slut for me, fuckfuckfuck–!”

He slams all the way inside her, deep, guttural growl unearthing from within him as thick ropes of cum paint her walls and crash against the entrance of her womb. Ajax can’t remember the last time he came so much because it never seems to end, always just a little bit more to fill her up with. He blacks out and comes back to reality maybe a minute or so later, still buried in her heavenly heat and seeing his excess cum begin to escape where they’re joined.

The sound it makes when he pulls out is downright filthy, coupled with a lascivious protest from his fallen angel, and it’s definitely worth not cumming down her throat earlier – to see his cum trail out of her in globs, staining his bedsheets and painting a white mess on all over her labia.

“Be right back, lemme clean you up,” he whispers into her ear, pushing past the ache in his thighs to quickly return with a warm washcloth. “Sorry, lyubimaya,” for when the material brushes against her sensitive clit. Eventually, she’s as clean as she can get, and Ajax gathers her in his arms to bring her to the toilet. It’s important for her to pee now, no matter how much she just wants to sleep.

“I’m right here. Mouth rinse is right there.”

A few minutes later, Ajax has the sheets changed and Lumine in his embrace, arms wound securely around her while petting her slowly. His fingers take out stray tangles as he murmurs sweet words to her, telling her how good she was for him, how much he absolutely adores her, how happy he is to be with her.

“You know,” he starts, then continuing when she hums to signal that she’s still awake and listening. “That was a great first kiss and everything.”

“We’ve kissed before, you dummy.”

“...what?!”

“You were drunk and made out with me after you had your first kiss with a girl at one of Dottore’s parties.”

“...and I don’t remember this.”

“And you don’t remember this.”

“Shit, is that why you pushed me onto the ice all those years ago?”

She shrugs in his arms and snuggles further into his chest. “You broke your pinky promise, so it was warranted.”

“What did I–:

“ – you asked to be my first kiss, then promised you wouldn’t forget anything, and absolutely did so the next morning. I never brought it up.”

Ajax groans into her hair, a mix of embarrassment and shame and regret all melted together in his chest. “I’m never drinking that much again. We could have been together years ago!”

“Well…we have each other now to make up for lost time. G’night Ajax, I’m so tired…”

And they’re both out like a light.

-

When Lumine wakes up, she nearly panics.

Because the last time she woke up in Ajax’s arms was back in high school before everything disastrously fell apart. Though this time, she’s naked save for a pair of clean boxers from Ajax, very much the little spoon in his hold, and a hand of his has surreptitiously cupped one of her breasts. His even breaths ground her to reality as she blinks awake, taking in all the decorations and personal tidbits that went unnoticed last night.

Staring straight at her is a picture frame on the nightstand, and in it is an old, old photo. In fact, given the length of her hair, it was probably taken back in high school. The quality is just a bit grainy, another sign of the passage of time, but very clear that it was her. It’s a shot of her back, arms crossed behind her, looking over her shoulder mid-laugh into the camera lens. It’s one of the purest, most candid expressions she’s ever seen on herself, sidebangs drifting with the wind, peeks of the ocean visible past her figure. She hadn’t expected her picture to be taken, but clearly Ajax has treasured it. There’s wear and tear on the frame, and she wonders when he had it developed.

Lumine notices a tiny hand drawn heart in the corner, clearly done by an amateur with a permanent marker. To think Ajax would draw something so cheesy makes her laugh quietly, but it’s comforting in its own way. It’s so clear, clearer than day, just how much he loves her; how much he regrets what he said and did, how much he thinks of her on a daily basis.

And she can’t wait to experience it all.

[fin]

[inktheory3]

TF2 succeeds in supporting a vast variety of different ways to play the same character through sidegrading. For example, let's consider the Scout. The default Scattergun produces a shower of pellets at close range, letting you run up, blast someone (not killing them usually, but softening them up), and then get the hell out of dodge. The Force-A-Nature has far fewer shots that deal much more damage, and a massive recoil that lets you jump. The Shortstop has fewer pellets but far tighter bullet spread, letting you keep distance from enemies so they can't annihilate you. You may wonder why I'm talking about TF2 when this is a Splatoon blog. Well. The game has been in development for a long time, long enough that there is a casual and professional scene, but none of the classes are really stuck in a specific meta. Every class has at least a few ways to play it that is fun. Is there any way to configure Splatoon's gear to have this possible as well?

This is a really interesting question!

Apologies about not responding sooner, I was busy with the Splatfest (#teamdarkchocolate4ever!!!). But now that I'm free (in my uni class) I can provide a response.

Full disclosure, I have very limited knowledge on TF2. From an outside perspective, though, it seems very difficult to translate this idea to Splatoon.

In TF2 there are only 9 characters. Disregarding their abilities and weapons, they all have different stats; health, speed, hitboxes etc. I think this is the key difference between TF2 and Splatoon. Inklings/Octolings all have the exact same stats no matter what weapon you use, the only exception being speed. Instead of having 9 base classes that you can customise to your liking, you instead have 1 base that you customise with gear abilities and ~60 main weapons and ~40 sub and special weapons, all of which function the same no matter what combination you choose.

Now, that isn't to say Splatoon's system is perfect.

I do think that the gear and weapon systems in Splatoon have good concepts behind them, but just fail to hit the mark. I already talked about how I would update the weapon system, (and I will talk about how I would update individual main weapons, as I already spoke about updating subs and specials) so why not dedicate this ask to talking about gear abilities.

Abilities, Explained:

In Splatoon you have 12 gear ability slots. Each piece of gear has 1 main slot and 3 sub slots, and you can wear 1 piece of headgear, clothing and shoes each, adding up to 12.

There are currently 12 main abilities and 14 regular abilities.

Regular abilities are basic. They effect your characters stats, making you run faster, swim faster, more ink efficient, respawn faster, charge your special faster, and so on.

They have an ability power score, a regular ability on a sub slot has 3 AP, and a regular ability on a main slot has 10 AP. Meaning an individual piece of gear has 19 AP worth of slots, and a whole build has 57.

My problem with regular abilities is simple. They don't really do a lot.

In most competitive builds, you want a spread of a lot of useful abilities, but this leaves you with less individual AP of each ability. Having 10 Swim Speed AP is an increase, but it really isn't noticeable. An enemy can still track you in the ink just fine. It helps but it doesn't give you a sense of power. Maxing out your AP of a certain ability doesn't do that much either. 57 AP of special charge up reduces the time taken for a full charge by around a second.

It's a similar problem to most modern RPGs. Yes sure, equipping this armour will give you 5% poison resistance and 20 more defence, but what do those numbers even mean? Yes technically it is better than your previous gear, but you'll be able to clear the game just fine without it and the vast majority of players wouldn't even notice if they accidentally unequipped it.

I see the same issue with Splatoon's regular abilities. Yes, you know what every ability does in a broad sense, and you can have a sense of which builds outperform others. But you don't feel the difference. You don't see your enemies build and understand innately that your inkling has different capabilities than them and that their gear enables a wildly different playstyle. Abilities give minor advantages, and there's no power fantasy in using a coveted gear set. Using the Hydra Splatling makes you feel like a powerful juggernaut. Using the Carbon Roller Deco makes you feel like an assassin, a looming threat. But you don't feel anything using different gear sets.

Lets put that thought aside for a second and talk about Main Abilities. Main abilities are exclusive, (ninja squid and respawn punisher are only found on clothing, meaning you can only equip one and not the other on a build) and they generally aren't raw stat buffs like Regular abilities.

They can be split into 3 categories:

Passive abilities (adds a new layer to your character, adding effects to your actions): Ninja Squid, Respawn Punisher, Tenacity, Haunt, Thermal Ink, Object Shredder, Stealth Jump

Active Abilities (adds new actions for your character to utilise): Drop Roller

Conditional Abilities (gives you flat AP of regular abilities when meeting certain conditions): Comeback, Last-Ditch Effort, Opening Gambit

Ability Doubler doesn't fit into a category because it is completely useless. doubling 3 sub slots gives you 18 AP, when having any other regular ability in the main slot would give you 19 AP.

In my opinion, Conditional Abilities should be removed from the game. Main abilities should not buff stats that regular abilities buff, they should change your playstyle! Regular abilities already don't change your playstyle, they only slightly buff the default playstyle for a weapon, and Conditional Abilities just do the same.

Second, Passive Abilities can be great, but they can also be bad when they encourage negative play. Ninja Squid allows you to play stealthily, Stealth Jump allows you to get into the action and play agressively, and Object Shredder allows you proactively deny enemy subs and specials. The other 3 are all based around respawn timers and getting splatted. They all encourage players sitting around staring at their death screen, and don't actually encourage a new playstyle.

Finally, Active abilities can also be great, if the Devs expand on them. Drop Roller requires you to tilt your stick to dodge roll when coming out of a super jump. It's a novel concept and fun when you execute it correctly, but it's completely outclassed by its cousin Stealth Jump (primarily because the developers haven't realised that active abilities need to be more powerful than passives because they require you to be constantly aware of when and how to use them effectively. Or they're just too scared to buff Drop Roller).

I envision Splatoon having 12 main abilities, 6 active and 6 passive. But I won't be going into detail about them in this post.

Playstyle Changing Abilities:

Ninja Squid and Drop Roller are cool and all, but they weren't exactly what you were talking about.

The Force-A-Nature doesn't make scout invisible while swimming (though it would be funny). It changes how his weapon functions!

I really do think this is a cool mechanic in games, but it doesn't translate 1:1 in Splatoon. For example, slightly increasing The Splash-O-Matics range and shot spread doesn't make it a different variant of the Splash, it makes it an N-ZAP. Changing how the weapon looks doesn't apply either, because that's already in the game to allow different weapon kits (and still applies under the Starfish Class System I talked about in my last post).

But we absolutely still can give weapons different attributes, we just have to be very careful about how we do it. So I'm going to overhaul an important part of Splatoon based on an inspiration from 1 ask.

You should recall the Starfish Class System, sorting sub and special weapons into 1 of 5 categories, POWER, ENGAGE, SCOUT, CONTROL and SUPPORT. Initially, I didn't think I could apply this to main weapons. There are far too many to sort evenly, and they don't really fit neatly into 1 category. Most main weapons have attributes that fit into all 5 classes!

Every weapon can somewhat fit into all 5 classes, but what if they could spec into a specific class. Lets imagine that aside from Main and Sub abilities, every gear set had 1 Key ability that gives a new attribute to the main weapon. Of course, there would be 5 Key abilities for every weapon, one for each Class in the SCS.

I couldn't possibly explain (hell I haven't even come up with any yet) every attribute for every main weapon in one post. But I'll leave you with an unfinished example.

Splattershot Jr.: POWER: The Splattershot Jr does 4 extra damage on every hit (28 => 32) [note: This is still a 4 shot kill, as dramatic damage increases can be problematic]

ENGAGE: The Splattershot Jr. has its shot spread decreased massively while the aiming crosshair is directly on an enemy.

SCOUT: Enemies damaged by the Splattershot Jr. can be spotted through walls.

CONTROL: Enemies damaged by the Splattershot Jr., while still nearby, take damage over time.

SUPPORT: Allies recover health and lose status effects faster while standing or swimming in ink painted by the Splattershot Jr.

So, what did you think?

[dwnwndrlnd]

@┊BASICS! . . . ៸៸៹ ࿐.

STAGE NAME: Hao

BIRTHNAME: Wu Haojun

BIRTHDATE: 17th of December, 1998

DIMENSION: Evergreen Dimension

HOMETOWN: Dongguan, Guangdong, China

ETHNICITY: Chinese

NATIONALITY: Chinese

LANGUAGES: Mandarin // Korean

@┊SOCIALS! . . . ៸៸៹ ࿐.

INSTAGRAM || wuhaojunnie

PRIV. INSTAGRAM || darkprinceyju

TWITTER || wuhaojunnie

TIKTOK || - none -

@┊CAREER! . . . ៸៸៹ ࿐.

AGENCY: ColorCover Entertainment

CAREER: Idol

TRAINING TIME: 2017-2020 (3 yrs)

POSITION: Dancer, Center, Vocalist, Sub Rapper

TITLE: Prince of Thorns

@┊PERSONALITY! . . . ៸៸៹ ࿐.

Extrovert

Playful

Hot-Headed

Energetic

Trickster

@┊FAMILY & RELATIONSHIP STATS! . . . ៸៸៹ ࿐.

FAMILY || ????

SEXUALITY || Bisexual

PRONOUNS || He/Him

RELATIONSHIP STATUS || Single

@┊FUN FACTS! . . . ៸៸៹ ࿐.

According to his profile on the company's website, Hao is from the Evergreen Dimension

Each member has an obsidian stone that had brought them over to the real world. Hao's obsidian stone is ink obsidian

His title is the Prince of Thorns

Hao is good friends with URi of BREVKERS and Haneul of KITSCH (@urnineteenskitsch)

He's a former members of the company's EL!TE Project, a project boy group that silently disbanded in early 2020

Hao says his closest friend within the group is Leewon because they came from the same dimension

[a-bit-too-much-of-a-pokemon-fan]

Did you know that in terms of design, Nuzlocke viability, and nostalgia, Vaporeon is unironically one of my favorite Pokémon? It has been since I was a little kid. My love for this little water dog-cat-whatever-it-is has only grown since I started Nuzlocking. This is Thaniel the Vaporeon, and I’m here to tell you how he (almost) singlehandedly swept Nemona’s champion team.

By the end game, Vaporeon can learn Surf, Acid Armor, and Aqua Ring. Its Spec Def is really good, and its Defense is average. Its biggest weakness is far and away its sub-average speed, but a high Spec Attack helps make up for it. I've used Vaporeon on Nuzlocke Elite Four teams before. I know what it's capable of. I'll prove it.

...

Champion Nemona leads with a Lycanroc that knows two Rock attacks, one Ground attack, and Stealth Rock. All three attacks are physical. I lead with my Dachsbun, Long Island Iced Tea. Dachsbun has great Defense, so I take the opening to use Charm three times and bring Lycanroc's Attack to the minimum. Now Lycanroc can barely scratch LIIT.

I use Work Up three times to ratchet up my Attack and Spec Attack, aware that I can't count on Lycanroc not critting me, so I can't be too greedy (keep in mind that critical hits bypass the user's attack nerfs and target's defense buffs). I use Baton Pass to switch and transfer the Work Up buffs to Thaniel the Vaporeon. Now the fun begins.

Lycanroc tries to attack Thaniel, but it just can't manage more than a few HP. I lead with Aqua Ring, then I proceed to use Acid Armor three times to max out Thaniel's Defense (every attack on Nemona's team except for Goodra's deal physical damage). Any damage I take is immediately healed with Aqua Ring and--get this--Thaniel's Leftovers. At level 66 with this HP stat, Aqua Ring and Leftovers recover a collective 32 HP per turn. If that sounds insane, it is.

With Thaniel at max Defense and buffed Spec Attack, I let loose. Lycanroc crumples to Surf. Next comes Pawmot. This is where my plan either pays dividends or backfires horribly. Pawmot is Electric/Fighting. Its signature move, Double Shock, is a physical Electric attack with 120 base power. Crucially, it can only be used once. Nemona's Pawmot does not know any other super effective moves.

If Thaniel can tank the Double Shock, he can take Pawmot down in one hit. With his current stats, that he survives is almost certain. If it doesn't crit. Pawmot's Attack stat is way too high to discount that threat. My two options are to either swap out and lose my massive buffs and crucial tempo, or risk the 1/16 chance that Double Shock crits. Knowing there is only one major battle after Nemona, I take the bet. Double Shock does not crit and takes out a third of Thaniel's HP. Surf wipes Pawmot off the battlefield.

Orthworm and Dudunsparce follow in short order. They get some damage on Thaniel, but this Vaporeon is a master of protracted combat. Ahem, 32 HP per turn. Next is Goodra, which is a Dragon type and so resists Surf. That's alright, though. I've mentioned Surf, Acid Armor, and Aqua Ring. What is Thaniel's fourth move? Mother fucking Ice Beam. Boom.

Last up is Meowscarada. Its signature move, Flower Trick, is actually disgusting. It carried hard in my vanilla run. 70 base power, always crits, never misses. Terastallized for double STAB, the weed cat can dish out 210 physical damage that always bypasses stat changes that would otherwise weaken it. That is insane. That's what Thaniel is up against. There is no bet to take. I switch out.

I send in Pupper, my Arcanine. He eats a Flower Trick, losing a third of his HP. None of Meowscarada's other moves are stronger than even a half-power Flower Trick, so I know it will either use it again or deal even less damage. It's faster than Pupper, but we're safe for at least one more turn. Pupper tanks one more Flower Trick, Terastallizes for double Fire STAB, and delivers a Flamethrower to finish the fight.

Thaniel, Pupper, and Long Island Iced Tea went on to take part in the AI Turo battle and win my first ever Nuzlocke to not allow unlimited items in battle.

...

Vaporeon may be the haha funny copypasta Pokémon, but hopefully this story has proved its worth in battle. Even without Spec Attack buffs being Baton Passed over, it can set up and sweep teams. I'm afraid that I took it for granted in my previous Nuzlockes, though. The bulky stats, defensive typing, and Aqua Ring+Leftovers strat are especially valuable in a limited item/itemless run.

Now, Eevee is a gift in Platinum and a guaranteed encounter in B2W2 in Castelia City Park if you repel at level 18. Encounters in SV are obviously different. Repel strats don't exist anymore. So you can imagine my joy at seeing a Vaporeon that I could lure into Ruchbah Squad's base and catch as my encounter there. God I love this Pokémon. I just don't want to fuck it.

[malmanichoti]

𝑴𝑨𝑳 𝑴𝑨𝑵𝑰𝑪𝑯𝑶𝑻𝑰 ---

basic stats.

full name: malai manichoti nickname(s): mal birthday: 14 august 1997 current age: 25 gender id: cis woman pronouns: she/her sexuality: bisexual nationality: american ethnicity: thai religion: none birthplace: fairford, washington current neighborhood: downtown occupation: receptionist at a liberal magazine/sex worker on onlyfans education: high school diploma and a couple semesters at community college

physical.

hair color: dark brown eye color: dark brown height: 5'4 tattoos: jigglypuff tattoo on her ass piercings: both nipples scars: one on her knee from rollerblading when she was a teenager

nuclear family.

mother: naiyana manichoti peterson, 51 father: sam manichoti, 52 stepfather: marcus peterson, 55 birth sibling(s): none step sibling(s): brother (23-26), sister (23-26)

personality.

+ self-sufficient, savvy, funny, can exert logic over her emotions - arrogant, insecure, clingy in relationships

bio/headcanons.

dad is a second gen american and mom is a first gen american. both were a bit rebellious when it came to their respective families' culture and tradition and that was rly the biggest thing that drew them together in their early 20s

mal was born out of wedlock and her mom's side of the family is rly weird about it and didn't cut her mom off but highly disapproved and then kind of came around a bit once mal's dad left them when she was abt 7 years old, she's super close w her maternal grandma now in her adulthood

dad left them when she was 7 and she hates his guts but will pretend like she doesn't care

her mom remarried when she was 15 and mal thinks he's a fucking loser and has never rly given him a chance even tho he's rly not terrible just super lame hrdftjgyjh and has two kids around her age she also is weirdly cold towards just on principle

she has a p neutral relo with her mom, thinks she's lame for marrying marcus and that she's just kind of a pushover in her middle age who shouldn't have had kids cuz she has no maternal instinct whatsoever

is not a huge bitch for no reason usually but can def come off that way bc her personality is just very blunt and especially her insecurities make her feel like she has to present herself as thinking she's better than everyone. massive attention whore

has nooooo idea what she wants to do with her life. she's mildly content working for the magazine as a receptionist bc she's p good at dealing w phone calls and other businesses and being organized and shit and she does genuinely like making content for her onlyfans

has a tumblr where she blogs abt her life and shitposts and promos her OF and has like 20k followers lmao

tried going to community college out of hs and stuck it out for like 2 sems before dropping out bc she had no idea what her goal was and didn't feel like doing hw

bit of a klepto 🤭🤭 she'll steal shit for no reason just 2 feel smth

has the be the hottest person at 7/11 vibe

wanted connections.

subs to her onlyfans

tumblr mutuals

coworkers at the magazine

exes, fwb, one night stands, people she's led on for laughs

someone who scorned HER and now she's out for blood

enemies

besties

frenemies (there will be so many of these)

childhood friends/acquaintances

her step sibs

neighbors

a roommate

[comfortlesshurt]

August 2024 Stats Update

Hoarded some more data this month, fellas! I had a few overnight trips, so there were some days I couldn't get data, but it shouldn't be a big deal. This is all for funsies.

Discussion of AO3/FFN stats under the cut if you want to avoid! If it really bothers you, block the #stats update tag.

Main goal: VLD word count greater than Spider-Man. Current progress: 48,364/100,258 (48.24%) Not too worried on this one since I have a LOT drafted that should start posting in 2025.

Time period: July 31st, 2024 to September 2nd, 2024

I missed getting data this weekend, so I went through the 2nd of September.

AO3

I broke 12k kudos near the end of the month, so that's cool to me! I missed it this month, but I'm also gunning for 250k hits.

Published word count delta: +5,287 across one new work and one existing works (basic edits on that one)

Work subscriptions delta: +4

New hits: 3,310

New kudos: 179

Comments delta: +21

Works bookmarks delta: +38

User subscriptions delta: -3 (I suspect the updates every other day for my Augusnippets fic finally scared away some Spider-Man subscribers. Sorry, old friends! Also, technically it's -4 because one of those subscriptions was my own side account to help me confirm I'm running my experiments as expected later.)

FFN

Background info: this month, FFN finally fixed its email alerts, so I was surprised to see not many people leave after getting spam updated on every fic I've posted this year.

User favs delta: +3

User alerts delta: -1

Published word count delta: +4,938 (A bit more words to add TWs to a fic, but still less because I edited an old fic on AO3 and haven't updated it on FFN yet.)

New profile views: 37

New reviews: 1

New story views: 888

C2 delta: 0

Story favs delta: +8

Story alerts delta: +3

Single-Point AO3 Data: September 1st, 2024

Newer Fic Achievements

I'm happy with all of these! I know VLD isn't super popular anymore, so it's surprising to see such good conversion rates on these. All of these are top 10% for hits/day and kudos/day, but I don't think that's significant since they're all posted so recently and the other fics are being dragged down by 2000+ days since publishing.

5 Times Lance Doesn't Matter: still holding a top 10% comment and bookmark conversion rate.

Smiling 'cause you're used to it: top 10% of comment and subs and top 10% of conversion rates for subs, comments, and bookmarks.

Chemicals, chemicals in my brain: top 10% for subs and bookmark conversion.

Nowhere to call home: top 10% of comments, top 10% for subs and comment conversion. Top 10% for number of AO3 tags used. Honorable mention for getting bookmarked multiple times and they're ALL private bookmarks. (This one is a shameful one to enjoy, apparently!)

Top 10% by...

Comments:

5 Times Peter Struggled with Spider Metabolism

Nowhere to call home

5 Times Lance Doesn't Matter

Whump Bingo

We are the reckless

None of the other stats really changed since last month, so I won't add 'em here this time!

Skipping the all-time stats as well because those don't change as much in the span of a month! I'm thinking those are more worth checking out every three months, so we'll check again at the end of October maybe.

Experimental Phase

I wanted to get some base control data before I moved on to this stage, but as of now, I've got about 90 recent days of standard data (posting as I typically would). Now, it's time to design experiments, but I'm going for a single-blind situation, so you won't see exactly what I'm testing until I'm done testing to avoid skewing results!

Overall, not a super exciting month as far as stats! But that's okay because it was a great writing month. Hopefully I'll have something more interesting to report at the next stats update!