#he really needs a rerun of his banner

[voidscreamns]

./

[rekishiteki]

Ardent Affection

Summary: You just really love Jing Yuan

Words: Around 1.5k

Warnings: Fluff the whole way through; reader is not described in any way and implied to be a long life species; reader and jing yuan are very clingy and a little possessive; jing yuan decided to be cheeky so this ended up kind of suggestive at the end

Notes: I wrote this for meee!!!!! It's self indulgent!! It's what I want to do with jing yuan!!! It's been months and I'm still so down bad for him. I'm so in love with him it's making me ill!!!! Done trying to edit this so take it before I explode from the yearning

This is also an offering to his rerun banner. I need my beautiful husband so please let me win my next 50/50 and his lightcone 👉👈

You're relaxing with Jing Yuan in his gardens. He's lying on his side with a hand propping his head up. His eyes are closed and he looks content to be here sunning himself. You're sitting with your back resting against his middle. His other hand is placed on your arm and you can feel the rise and fall of his chest. It's comforting. You let out a content sigh, basking in the serenity of the moment. Your thoughts drift to Jing Yuan as they tend to do, your gaze drifting along with it. You examine him and his beautiful features, heart tightening with the love you feel for him.

"I wish I was as old as you." The words come out of your mouth impulsively, the barely formed thoughts surprising you.

Jing Yuan's eyes open. He looks curious. A moment passes before he responds. "How come?"

You purse your lips before turning away to think. Knowing this Jing Yuan simply lets the hand on your arm start gently stroking you. He'll patiently wait for your answer. He always does.

After a while you turn your body to face him. One hand is supporting you on the ground while you rest the other on his side. "Because," you pause and squeeze the hand you have on him. You're always nervous to voice the feelings you harbor deep within. But in the end you can't help being an open book for him. He makes it so easy to do so. "Because maybe I could have known you sooner. We could've had more time together. And... you wouldn't have had to be alone for centuries."

He's silent as he takes in your words, eyes never leaving you. Then an amused huff escapes him as he brings his free hand to cup your face. The smile Jing Yuan's giving you drives you insane, the one where he looks so utterly in love with you that it constricts your heart to the point it feels like it's going to burst from the overwhelming affection you have for him. Those feelings are where this thought originated from. You love him so much it makes you greedy. Greedy for him. You want his everything and you want to give him everything in turn. You hate that you've missed so much of his life. You want all of him including the past you can't have. To make him irrevocably yours, and you his.

Jing Yuan draws you closer, his thumb lovingly caressing your cheek. It brings your attention back to him. You wonder how much of your thought process he's aware of. Your noses are almost touching now. He's smiling as he speaks. "I have you now."

It takes a moment to find your voice as you find yourself lost in his eyes. "Is that enough?"

He's staring at you like he wants to get lost in yours too. "More than enough. We have our whole future ahead of us, don't we?"

Something inside of you snaps. The way he says it, like it's obvious the two of you will always be together. For a long time. It makes you delirious. Delirious with love. And you need to act on it or you really will burst. So you surge forward to kiss him. And he must have been expecting it because he's already turning on his back and taking you with him. The hand on your cheek moves to the back of your head to press you closer. Your own hands are gripping him tightly. His other hand now on your waist squeezes in response. And so the two of you lie there, luxuriating in each other's sweet kisses. You want to kiss him forever but the need to breathe wins out. You break away with a sigh. Jing Yuan's eyes gleam with mirth as he watches you and you feel as if your breath's been stolen again.

You wonder if you should say something but the only thing you're capable of coming up with is a flurry of I love you's. Jing Yuan seems to know what's rattling in your head for his gaze softens. He brings a hand up to your face again but this time you lean into it and grab it. He chuckles. "You're always so sweet for me," he says, looking so incredibly fond of you.

You hum in acknowledgement. "I love you," you mewl. You love Jing Yuan so much, how could you not want to be so sweet and good for him? He's gone through so much yet still remains so good and kind hearted without ever expecting anything in return. But you want to return it. You want to give him the love he lives by and fill his life with joy. This is the second origin of your thoughts. If you knew him longer you could've started making him the happiest man on the Luofu sooner.

"I love you, too. Very much." He says it like it's a secret just for you, all while looking horribly smitten. It sends your heart soaring. You smile at him and there's no doubt it's just as smitten as his.

Jing Yuan stills and you don't have any time to react as he's the one surging forward to kiss you this time. However this kiss is different. It's searing and tantalizing. You feel your world tilt as Jing Yuan turns to settle over you trapping you under him. His lips part briefly and then give a chaste peck before pulling away to grin at you. It's a playful grin, almost smug. He tilts his head to the side almost as if he's challenging you.

You're wide eyed as you take a moment to recover. Then you laugh and shake your head, smiling all the while. "You're such a scoundrel."

"Only for you." You can tell how much he's enjoying this from the delightful smirk he's wearing.

"Yes, yes, you're my scoundrel." You reach up to pat his head. There's a small hum as his eyes close momentarily in pleasure.

"Do you regret being loved by a 'scoundrel'?" The amusement is clearly written on his face. It's evident he knows what the only answer is.

You scoff. Fleetingly you wonder how to continue but Jing Yuan's assurance in your love for each other always makes you want to be sincere. So you smile and answer, "No. I could never."

A quiet moment passes where Jing Yuan simply returns your smile before he's leaning down to press a loving kiss to your forehead. "Good. I'm afraid there's no escaping from me now." Suddenly, you're very aware of the hands that grip your waist a little tighter and how you're effectively pinned beneath him. It's like he's saying you're his and the thought sends a thrill through you. You're in the palm of his hands now and that's your favorite place to be.

You bring up your arms to wrap them around his neck. You easily pull him closer to you. The two of you stare at each other as the silence simmers with a gentle heat. It's broken—but not gone—when you quietly tell him, "I wouldn't have it any other way. Because you can't escape from me either."

Jing Yuan practically lights up at that. He grins, pleased. "I'm all yours." You think Jing Yuan likes to enable your possessiveness. Something about it seems to fill him with satisfaction. Maybe it's knowing that someone could feel so ardently for him. That somehow you've chosen to love him and never rescind it. Or at least that's how you feel about him and his possession of you. It does make you greedy. He's greedy. He'll take whatever you give him and return it tenfold. You two are lovesick and doomed to never recover.

The thought is tickling. You laugh. There's no need for words so you simply lean forward to kiss him. He meets you halfway. You can't tell who started it but it doesn't matter. Each one speaks of the love you hold for the other.

Jing Yuan pulls away with a nip to your bottom lip. Your breath hitches. Both from the action and the way he's now looking at you. He wants to proposition you. You know he will. And he knows you'll agree. He'll be so nice and sweet as he asks you it'll leave you swooning. You both know this and yet it never gets any less exhilarating.

You can feel the anticipation grow within you as you watch him draw closer. Jing Yuan rests his forehead against yours. He's smiling. The desire in his beautiful golden eyes holds you captive. One of his hands is lightly trailing down your arm to grab your hand. He interlaces his fingers with yours. The two of you remain like that for a moment to take each other in. Finally Jing Yuan says to you, "My dear," and it's spine tingling the way he calls to you so reverently. "Allow me to express my love for you in other ways. Let me show you how good I can be for you, hm?"

His words send a delightful shiver through you. "Please, Jing Yuan," you answer him but it's more of a plead. He really is so good to you. Whatever he gives you, you also want to return tenfold. Jing Yuan gives you one last fond smile before he's up and carrying you to your shared bed. The love you have for him is bubbling up again and threatening to overflow. You also want to express it in other ways. To tether him with sweet adoration and endless devotion like he readily does to you. It's a fulfilling game of give and take neither of you want to end.

[ilovelyneysm07]

Shooting Stars - SAGAU!Lyney x Player Part 2

Summary: Shooting Stars were always a weird occurrence in the world of Teyvat, so when they suddenly stop, certain magician can't help but wonder if it has to do with the strange aching in his chest.

CW: Self Aware AU, NOT Cult AU or Creator AU, Angsty, the Reader is referred as Player, Based on my own Genshin Account, Pretty Self-Indulgent, GN!Player, Cross-posted on AO3, English is not my first language and I'm not an experienced writer

A/N: Heyy, I'm so sorry for the long wait! My hyperfixation on Genshin just died when I got Lyney and I didn't have the motivation to continue this, but I finally got myself to write this. Also, I'm really sorry if this is bad, I got sick last week and I'm getting out of it rn.

Taglist: @crazed-flower @yurislilygarden @yurislotusgarden

The day is finally here, after five months of arduous saving and skipping characters (it was hard), Lyney's first rerun finally sees the light of day. The Player, who’s been waiting patiently for the maintenance to end, opens the game as fast as they could, feeling their heart beat in their throat.

Three hundred and twenty seven wishes. All for that magician they love so much. Oh, how much they regret being inactive from the game when his banner came out. They can only wish that they get him now… and his weapon if they’re lucky enough.

It’s kind of funny how they had to contain themselves from pulling for anyone else (except for Furina, they only pulled because she looked pretty at the moment), it didn't matter if all the new characters powercrept Lyney or if they were better in terms of DPS, for the Player, he was everything they needed, everything they wanted. They just wanted that cat-themed magician in their party and their account.

Seeing the Geo logo finally load, they rush to finish their dailies and change their team to the duo, Freminet and Lynette, and rush towards the Opera Epiclese. It felt like a dream, but the way they felt the keyboard under their fingers told them otherwise. This is pretty much real.

After reaching the designated “wishing spot”, they opened the wishing menu, seeing his splash art alongside the chosen four stars, happy that they can at least get constellations for them. The Player took a deep breath and pressed the “10 pull” button.

—

Lyney was looking at the ceiling in his room, the ache in his chest suddenly feeling harder… painfully so. He sat down in his bed, feeling how the sheets moved due to his weight. The magician sighed, running his hand through his ashy blonde hair while his head was strangely silent, no thoughts, nothing. 

After a failed investigation into the phenomenon of strange falling stars, Lyney was beyond desperate, no one seemed familiar with the ache the magician felt in his chest, even some people looked at him weird, like he was crazy.

Why is it only with him?

Lyney's gaze returned to the ceiling, the zero hope he felt about a possible explanation seemed to fade with each passing second. Was it only his imagination? Was he going insane? It's been five months since those shooting stars last fell, maybe it's time to-

*WAM*

Lyney stood up immediately at the sudden sound that came from outside, quickly dressing up (somehow) and grabbing his bow, he walked outside to see what’s going on and-

The shooting stars were back. The colors returned to the sky and made it pretty again, a purple star falling directly in the Opera Epiclese as he looked in awe. The pain in his chest was getting even more heavy, but he ignored it, lost in the colors of those shooting stars.

Thinking it was over when the purple star fell, another wave came right after, and then another, and another. And another. It became a full shooting star shower, that never happened before

It’s been at least eight or more purple stars when a golden one falls. Its shine lit up all of Fontaine, as the people exited their houses to see the show happening in the blanket of the night. Lyney looked at the golden star with anticipation, while it became bigger and bigger as it fell closer.

Only for it to continue falling towards… Sumeru?

—

The Player stares at their screen in disbelief.

Reached 79 pity only to lose it to Dehya… They sigh in frustration while closing the results of the pull, they still have a lot of wishes left, and now with a guarantee, it will be a lot easier… right?

They sigh again as their friend laughs at their misery on the discord call, deciding to continue the wishing session.

“He will come home, whether he likes it or not…” they mutter to themselves, already feeling pissed off.

—

Lyney thought the shooting stars were over until even more fell from the sky, this time more… fast, than before. Like they were in a rush.

He looked at the purple ones as some fall in the Opera Epiclese and the others go all the way to what appears to be Liyue.

He was starting to get anxious as he then became aware of the pain in his chest again. He felt a pull, like someone was calling for something, calling for him.

And suddenly, another golden star fell from the sky. And instead of going to Sumeru, it was falling dangerously close to him.

Wait, was it falling towards him?!

His body stayed frozen in place as the star fell on him. A golden aura engulfed his entire body and his feet felt light, and… a strange voice appeared on his head.

“Fucking finally, dude. You took your sweet ass time.”

That… was new.

He opened his eyes when the light disappeared, and he found Lynette and Freminet looking at him with a smile. Lyney then realized he was in the Opera Epiclese.

“Wha- how did I-” Lyney muttered, confused at the sudden change in scenery.

“Welcome home, brother. We’ve been waiting for you.” Lynette said with a small smile, the purple aura around her not going unnoticed for Lyney.

“Home? What are you talking about? What is going on?” To say the magician was confused was an understatement. He was beyond lost.

“Uhm, it’s hard to explain but… you’ll understand sooner or later.” Freminet said with a nervous smile and he had Pers in his hands, the little penguin making sounds of joy.

Lyney didn’t know how to react to the confusing sentences his siblings were saying. Or why the world looked so different, so 3D… so- fake. Has the world always looked like that? And what are those numbers in his siblings' heads? Level 40 and Level 80? What in the world does that mean?

“He looks so confused… Do you think he’ll be okay?” Freminet whispered towards Lynette, who was pretty worried for her brother.

“I don’t know… he doesn’t seem to be taking it well.” she says back, and she hears the sounds from the player in her head.

“Aquila Favonia?! Are you serious?! I already have it R2- This banner fucking sucks!”

They must be pulling for Lyney’s weapon, it seems, and it also seems that they’re not doing so well. Lynette sighed when she noticed Lyney’s bewildered expression at the loud voice, before putting a hand on Lyney's shoulder.

“Listen, things might look a little confusing right now, but everything will be okay. The Player is someone really caring and nice, and they really like you.” Lynette says with a calm tone, but also a lot of reassurance. “Why did you think there were no shooting stars in five months? Because they wanted you.”

Lyney looked at her in shock, still processing everything. This.. “Player”, as Lynette called them, was the one behind the shooting stars apparently, and they… wanted him? Really-

“I hate this game, I’m never saving up for another character ever again. Fuck you, Lyney.”

Oh.

“They’re always like this, don’t pay them any mind.” Lynette says with a small frown before sighing again. “It seems their wishing session is over, you should feel some changes in a bit.”

“What changes-”

Before Lyney could process anything, the world around him changed again, the walls (or what he assumed were walls) around him became red, with some fire coming out of the floor, where did Lynette and Freminet go?!

Before he could feel even more confused, he saw them… a person was looking at him and pressing some buttons on what appears to be a… keyboard of sorts.

“If it didn’t take me more than 200 wishes to get you, I’d be happier.” they say with a serious expression but a tired smile slowly creeps in, and he feels himself getting stronger… somehow.

What is this person? And why does he feel so strange when he looks at them?

Even with their tired expression and dark room, he could see affection in their eyes. Affection for him. He remembers Lynette’s words about this “Player” liking him and wanting him for a long time. Was this person the so-called “Player” Lynette was talking about?

If so, then he might consider himself lucky to be favored by this really pretty Player.

“Yeah, I have everything ready to just Level him up and his weapon straight to 90, it did take me a while to get all of the Rainbow Roses though…” they say practically to no one in Lyney’s point of view. Were they not alone in that dark room? Or were they talking to someone via real magic?

Wait, Rainbow Roses? For him?!

Were they collecting Rainbow Roses for him?

The more he thought about it, the more flustered he felt. This person was collecting Rainbow Roses and… materials (he doesn’t know what that means) for him. For this moment alone.

“Hey, is it normal for Lyney to have this idle animation?” they asked when Lyney suddenly grabbed his hat to cover his face a little. He could hear them laugh a little. “That’s so cute, though! Look at him!”

Oh God.

—

[Little Extra]

“I still have a few wishes left, might as well get Lynette C6 since I’m at it.” Lyney hears them while fighting some Hilichurls alongside other people, Kaedehara Kazuha, a wanderer from Inazuma, Bennett, an adventurer from Mondstadt and, surprisingly, Miss Furina. What a strange bunch, Lyney thought.

While the Player made their sudden wishing session, Lyney sat down on a nearby rock. It’s been 30 minutes since he’s been pulled into this weird situation and he’s still processing everything. Heck, it feels even weirder to be in the same “party” as the former Hydro Archon. Was this even allowed? He's not sure himself, but he’ll just go along with everything this strange person does for the time being, Freminet and Lynette seem to trust them, so he might as well give it a shot-

“What the fuck?!” Lyney was startled when the Player suddenly screamed, he looked up and saw a sudden golden star fall on him.

He felt a burning pain in his right arm, he pulled up his sleeve to see a strange pattern in his skin. C1? What does that mean?

He remembers hearing the Player say something about “Lynette’s C6”, but he has no idea what any of that even means.

“Constellation.” He hears Kazuha say by his side, a calm expression on his face. “It means Constellation. When the Player gets lucky and the stars fall on one of us again, our “Constellation” increases. C6 being the highest.” Kazuha explains, although it’s just what he heard. “For example, me and Miss Furina are C0 since the shooting star only fell on us once. Bennett over there is C4 since the shooting star fell on him 5 times.”

“I see…” Lyney says with a smile. “Well thank you-”

“No fucking way!” he gets startled again by the scream. And before he could react, another golden star falls on him, and the pattern changes to C2.

Kazuha looks at him with a smile. “Wow, signature weapon, C2… you really are the Player’s favorite!”

Lyney just laughs, his cheeks a bit red. “Oh come on, they don’t love me that much-”

“I love you so much, Lyney! I’m so sorry I said otherwise!” Lyney gets even more flustered at that, making Kazuha laugh even more.

This was certainly a weird experience, but… it felt good.

[revserrayyu]

2.4 Xianzhou continuance thoughts [part 3]

**SPOILERS** for the end of this patch’s mission, covering all the drama happening down in the Shackling Prison, so advert thine eyes if thou have not finished the story as of yet.

Once we found out we were actually able to visit the Shackling Prison during this update, I was eagerly waiting to see how Dan Heng would handle returning to this place. It certainly makes him uneasy, even before entering this cold place, and Nicholas does such a great job conveying all those anxieties into every one of Dan Heng’s lines whenever his past is brought up while here. The level of concern we hear from the Trailblazer is sweet too, like I audibly “aww’d” at this brief exchange.

I admire your confidence, Moze, but please don’t do anything reckless! But hearing how he’s a jail-breaker doesn’t really surprise me. There’s a bunch of shadowy figures of him bound by chains in his splash art and recent leaks showing off his skills can back up how he’s so swift in his escapes. He managed to avoid capture towards the end of this quest too.

Huzzah, another Jingliu mention that only surprises me because I haven’t bothered to read any of the relic’s descriptions of the Prisoner of Deep Confinement set. And how does one possibly manage to avoid eating for several centuries?

Not only did this beast apparently not starve, but he also endured unrelenting pain every day? Frightening. Hoolay is really out here surviving purely on hatred and a need for revenge.

Once glance at these notes and I just knew someone was gonna yap about Jingliu in front of him. Definitely wasn’t disappointed when it happened either.

Hey Moze’s defiance is valid! Never take random medicine from people! But in this case, yeah, it’s for your safety sir, “just swallow it already.”

Okay so there was like one or two instances before this where Jiaoqiu also noticed shape-shifted Borisin by their scent and makes me wonder how he could tell the difference. I assume Foxians have stronger noses than we do so perhaps it’s easier for someone like him to notice, or perhaps it’s a similar feeling to him being around Feixiao so often since she also suffers from Moon Rage? He did refer to it as familiar later on. Either way, he really should’ve spoken up about his suspicions earlier.

Y’all..these two are absolutely delivering each line perfectly and the emotion is squeezing my heart so tightly. I love the bond the Express crew has with each other so darn much! The hand pat is cute but let me hug this man please! He needs several!

The feels keep on coming as I was kicking my feet and squealing all giddy when Dan Heng jumped in to save us from being crushed. I know he’s literally doing his job as the guard of the Express but.. aww. I’d probably have a better screenshot if I wasn’t too stunned by what I was seeing with my own eyes, but alas. I fangirled too hard to care.

We always resort back to our trusty baseball bat, huh? I get how pulling out the Watchmaker’s hat probably wouldn’t be as epic or helpful, but I’d like to see us wield the flaming lance a bit more during cutscenes like this. Having us use it during the cutscenes with boss battle Aventurine were nice. Makes me wonder if Dan Heng will call upon his Imbibitor Lunae form if the situation ever gets too dire.

Ohh, and with all that chatter about poison to March and the kids before, I believe he’d be successful in creating such a medicine too.

His dedication to cure Feixiao’s condition is extraordinary and I’m wishing so hard for him to achieve it somehow.

On a side note, I am glad this whole mission continued with that split character perspectives feature that Penacony had so we could try out Jiaoqiu in battle a few times. I’m still quite fond of him, but after mixing him in with my team, I couldn’t really find a decent place for him. I may wait for his rerun before I pull but we’ll see if my mind gets swayed before his banner starts.

Getting a little sneak peak at what Moze can do was cool but sadly didn’t last long enough. Still hard to believe this man is a four-star but at least he’ll be easier to level up.

It’s funny to me seeing Moze go nuts with his abilities and sharp weapons, then you got Jiaoqiu fighting with a fan. And spices. And cooking enemies in a giant hot pot. The strange fighting methods fit right into Star Rail and that’s one of the many things I love about this game; how literally anything can end up as a weapon.

But yeah, as expected, Hoolay managed to escape with the helped of the many Borisin who transformed themselves to look like the prison guards.

Xueyi gets absolutely wrecked after a failed attempt to stop Hoolay and I probably would’ve been more shocked if they hadn’t shown her lifeless on the ground in the 2.4 trailer.

Yeah, thank Aeons she’s a puppet or else this really would’ve been her end.. and with how casually Hanya mentions such damage has become somewhat of a reoccurring thing, I guess we’re all worried for nothing. Even less so as Xueyi later pilots a conveniently placed cycrane up and out of the prison to inform Jing Yuan of the disaster that happened.

Dan Heng literally saying that he rather die than having anything bad happen to us.. aahh. He’s such a good boy. I feel bad for never using this regular form of his, until I remember Imbibitor Lunae is most likely my strongest unit, so all is well. But how about neither one of us dies, okay? That’s more ideal.

Jiaoqiu thinking about Feixiao first before the entire wellness of their home.. god, he’s so committed to that promise of his. Love that for him.

Hearing him quite literally triggering Hoolay was to be expected, but also sly of him to conveniently leave out that our former sword champion is no longer on the Luofu. I think one of the nearby Borisin noticed and corrected this information to Hoolay anyways, but whatever. It manages to keep our medic alive as a hostage.

After seeing Dan Heng throw Cloud Piercer in an attempt to stop the prison’s doors from closing, I wanna assume we managed to escape, but it’s still kinda vague. I’d hope we did because I certainly don’t want our faithful Express partner to trapped in this nightmarish place any longer than he already has! He deserves to be free from his past!

Heeyyy there, queen. Missed you but definitely can’t end this rambling without you. My expectations after this first part have been raised significantly so if anything, I better see her go all out and fight like crazy in 2.5.

Tell me how exactly. How does one manage to lose sight of a huge, menacing Borisin like Hoolay? Unless he’s also capable of shape-shifting, which would make perfect sense if he can and used that little party trick to escape, but damn.

And with that, I’m finished. Until the next update, of course.

[cram-cram]

Bonjour everyone

So, I am here today to yap about ZZZ because Y E S

I made two tier lists and I shall comment on them because why not

This post will be for the first tier list, which is regarding playstyle, while the other post will be for companion quests. So let's get to it!

So, you could say I like fast playstyles but then BOOM, Anton (he doesn't have a fast playstyle per say, but it is very fun still). So, let's tacke each tier

Fun playstyle, feels great and satisfying to play

For this tier, we have:

→ Billy - fast playstyle leaning playstyle with certain gimmicks that I find super fun. His signature W-Engine, in my opinion, enhances his playstyle by incentivating the player to do his beyblade dash attack more often (the Engine's passive buffs attack for 10 seconds after doing a dash or basic attack). His skill does a HUGE ammount of damage and, when put in a team he has resonance with, using his skill before the burst will buff the burst's damage (and if you burst AFTER a chain attack, the burst ALSO gets buffed!). So, in general, really fun to play! Love dodging with him by just... Pressing a movement key while he's in his crouched state (yes you can do that), it makes me feel like a pro (it fails 90% of the time). Fun fact! Billy is one of the fastest running units in the game after Lycaon and Ellen I believe! So ye, love my lil' android man, he's amazing

→ Ellen - Another one with a fast leaning playstyle!(Did you notice I have a preferred gameplay type?) But her playstyle is SUPER fun, albeit I'm still fetching her gimmick. The fact that you should dodge, continue sprinting, and THEN attack instead of doing a normal dodge counter is a bit tricky, but as you play her more, you manage to get used to it. Ellen's playstyle is very forward imo, which isn't a bad thing at all. Enter stalk mode, hold attack to charge the scissors, let go, get basic attack stacks, basic attack, repeat. While I don't have her signature (didn't have enough time to fetch it, augh) the Engine I use, starlight knight, is very good, since it buffs dash attacks and basic attacks as well (made for her and Billy eh?). I also love her burst animation and I usually play her with Lucy and Soukaku for big pp damage. Highly recommend getting her on her rerun if you missed her on her banner!

→ Anton - BABYGIRL I LOVE YOUU! Anyways, his playstyle was VERY confusing at first, but you get the hang of it rather easily. His main souce of damage comes from his burst mode (not actual burst, but skill activation). Once in that mode, he will do constant electric damage, but you need to pay attention to his energy meter because, once it reaches zero, you're back to dealing physical damage. While off field, with his resonance passive activated, Anton will regain energy. Other ways to regain energy WHILE in burst mode is to assist with him. As soon as you hear the attack noise + see the glow, press space and his assist counter will refill part of his energy meter! His actual burst is also SUPER satisfying to use, doing big damage in an aoe. I was using the summer event weapon on him before getting his signature and GYATT he was doing some VERY good damage (he's not even properly built as of rn). Tldr, Anton, while having a playstyle that requires a bit of time to do damage, is very rewarding when the big pp damage mode is on.

→ Qingyi - Soldier 11 I hate you for making me lose my 50/50 to you... QINGYI IS SO FUN TO PLAY! Genuinely speaking, her playstyle is SO fun, love me some stun units (I don't have any stun units that I use, sorry Anby). Qignyi also has a fast and to the point playstyle. Just keep pressing basic attack until she enters tazer mode and then hold the button once the little gold bar beneath her energy is gold. Big pp dmg and the stun is great. I love her dodge counters too (I have only played her on quests and trials, but gosh I love playing with her). In general, there's nothing much I have to say about her playstyle, it's direct and rather simple. Just zap ppl, fill up gold bar, hold attack button, do damage. Great playstyle, I will get her on her rerun.

→ Caesar - FUN SHIELDER LET'S GOOOO. Fast playstyle on the basic attacks but that is not her purpose (you could absolutely play her as a dps tho). Her shield build off of her impact, which I found very interesting and fun! To play her, you just counter an incoming attack with her skill (shield) and press it again. Bam, shield is on, time to swap out! However, I recommend you keep her on field a bit longer and do a held attack before leaving. Why? Well, her held attack, the spinning shields, gather small-medium enemies into a horde, making it easier to attack them in one go! She's great in teams that have characters that can do aoe dmg, so I highly recommend her for literally ANY team that has a physical or sons of callydon character (such as Piper, Lucy, Corin, Jane or even Billy). One negative point tho, there are no A rank or B rank Defence W-Engines with an Impact substat, the only one is her signature. So, if you want the W-Engine buff, I highly recommend getting her signature, unless ZZZ plans on launching another A rank defence engine with impact substat (which I find unlikely).

→ Piper - *signs the entirety of the beyblade opening*. But yeah, that's her gameplay, LMAO. Albeit being ok the slower playstyle side, she is still very fun to play. You can spam her basic attack and use the section in which she jumps to avoid enemy attacks or ya can just, y'know, dodge them. Since she's an anomaly character, her dmg lies in anomaly buildups and procs. Do three of her basic attacks and press her skill (when glowing) and she will enter her fast spinning mode faster, acquiring stacks. Those stacks, when her resonance passive is on, buff her and her teammates' anomaly dmg when doing the physical anomaly reactions. She's great for solos (I solo'd the Dead End Butcher on Hollow Zero with her but hey, it's Hollow Zero lol) and just fun to play in general. Love spinning with her and hearing the SHING sound when she procs and Assault reaction.

→ Grace - ELECTRIC GRENADEEEE. Also fast style gameplay, just normal attack with her, wait for her bombs to charge up beneath her energy meter, wait for glowing skill, BAM. Swap her out for your electric dps. That's her playstyle frfr, just NA, skill, leave. Albeit being having a rather... Short time on screen, she does HUGE damage with her skill due to being an anomaly character (the ammount of times she got the MVP because of her shock procks are not listed). She's a great Electric character support and is just fun to play in general. Just be aware that she has a rather smoll ammount of hp, she's very frail.

→ Jane - normal attack, charge passion, held to spinn. Essentially piper but normal attack instead of skill. Her Assault procks are great and her dmg is just, MWACK, phenomenal. Fast playstyle with very smooth moves that make even FIGHTING against her difficult. The enemies are legit just... Tanking a thousand blades. Again, albeit being straight to the point, the fact of how fast you hit enemies and the shing sound of the anomaly procks are just prefection, love it, very satisfying to just put the enemies in the Jane blender (she fr blends them up with how fast she attacking, we gonna have enemy smoothie at this point).

Good playstyle, also fun to play

→ Burnice - she also has a very fast paced playstyle but I don't feel the vibes to put her on the tier above. Love that she pirouettes with her flamethrowers and that, to charge her basic attacks (there's a meter beneath her energy meter) you have to press the skill to just burn the enemies with her flamethrowers. Very straightforwards, very fun to play, just doesn't scratch the funky itch for me, but her playstyle is great! Pair her with Caesar and you'll have a great time burning everything to the ground.

→ Nekomata - SHING SHING SHINNG. Fast kitty has the zoomies and she is going to turn you into sashimi. Again, only played her on her quest and on the trials, but her playstyle, while being fast, doesn't hit as much as the others. Love how fast she goes, love how she just slides on the floor while slashing the enemy's kneecaps, but it just doesn't scratch the itch as much as the others... Very good and fun still tho!

→ Rina - press her skill and leave the field. That's it, that's her gameplay. She's mainly here because of how fluid her moves are and how good it feels to use her on the few moments she's on field. Her purpose is solely to buff pierce, but she still manages to have a fun and fluid playstyle while fitting that role perfectly. Wife, please come home, your W-Engine is waiting...

→ Lycaon - while he has fast attacks, that's not how you're supposed to play him. It's a bit tricky and I was considering lowering him a bit, but he's fun still so he stays here. The deal with his playstyle is that you have to hold the attack button so that Lycaon can do ice damage, otherwise is just physical, so keeping the ice combo is a bit complicated (skill issue on my end mb). Still, while being a bit slower due to that little gimmick, he still mantains his fun factor.

→ Lucy - HIT EM WITH THE BAT, GURL. But yeah, her gameplay is also very to the point, wait for her skill to start glowing, hold it, swap out and enjoy the attack buff. You can also build her with crit, since once her resonance passive is active, her little boars will inherit her crit ratio, doing damage alongside your on field dps. So I'd say is worth it to try and build her with a bit of crit, just for her boars' sake. I find it rlly funny that she just... Hits her children boars with the bat, and the hit is SO STRONG that they come back down like a fiery comet. Lucy, hun, pls take better care of your babies-

→ Koleda - NYOOOOOOOOMMMM. GIRLY IS FAST! But like, where the fire dmg at-. Love the weapons, love her hits, love her speed but... She's just a physical character with some fire stuff. I came to that realization while playing with her on a trial on the new event thingy we have at the HIA headquarters. She attacks rlly fast, but 90% of those attacks deal phys dmg instead of fire, with her only fire dmg hits being the end of her basic combo, skill and burst. She's still fun, but the lack of fire saddens me a bit.

→ Corin - smoll delicate gurl with beeg chainsaw, love her. Her playstyle is a bit on the slower side and she thrives in dealing repeated damage due to her chainsaw. Majority of her damage comes from her skill, where she keeps the steadiest grip I've ever seen on her weapon as she walks, hitting whatever the fuck is in her way. While it's fun, yes, it's also a bit... Boring at times, I think? Idk, I loved playing her at the beginning, with her hitting bitches around with her chainsaw, but nowadays, since I don't play her much, whenever I use a trial her I'm like "I mean... It's fun, but she only has like, one attack variation and her dodge attack is kinda... Meh" idk why, but she's still fun

→ Soldier 11 - I hate you, I hate you so much, you have no flavor but... Your playstyle is actually a bit fun. Her fire damage is WAAAY more present and, even tho I don't play her (I refuse to) the few times I had to I had a surprising amount of fun. Like, yes, she's almost a carbon copy of Anby, but she's a faster fire version of Anby, which makes her a bit more satisfying to play in my books (I'm so sorry Anby)

A slightly clunky but still solid playstyle

→ Soukaku - yes, I know she's a support, but her skill is a bit clunky to use imo. You have to use it three times in order to get the max buff she can provide, yet her skill activation time is so slow and leaves her vulnerable to enemy attacks. While yes, she has INSANE interruption res while using her skill, the vulnerability while releasing her ice circles (when she waves her weapon like a tennis racket) is very annoying to me. Like, should I give her more hp? Probably. Will I? No, she gets the attack, deal with it.

→ Nicole - same thing as Soukaku. Her skill is great, love the suck and the aoe, but why is it SO SLOW TO CHARGEEEE. GIRLY POP, YOU'RE VULNERABLE TO THE ENEMY DAMAGE, CHARGE THAT GUN BAG FASTER! As you can see, I don't like slower playstyle characters, it takes a LOT for me to like them. But besides her skill, her playstyle is ok. Don't use her so often besides trials and when the game forces me, but yeah, I'm not rlly... A fan of her playstyle (love her character tho)

Playstyle is clunky

→ Ben - he is, quite literally, the SLOWEST character in the game. His attack animations are great but... I just don't like his playstyle. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Ben as a character, but his playstyle just... Rlly doesn't hit home for me. Yeah, his skill is fun, but I keep forgetting to press it twice instead of only once.

→ Anby - girl... Girl I'm so not counting how many attacks you did to do your electric charged. Like, "once she's done four attacks, hold the attack button to-" BITCH YOU THINK I COUNT? Like, I understand if you love Anby, me too! I love her character! But... Why, why do I have to count to properly use her... My brain needs stimuly, not mathematics 😭 I'm so sorry Anby

→ Zhu Yuan - why are you so clunky. I rlly just don't like her playstyle, it feels so... Clunky and choppy and NOT FUN to me. I completely understand if you like her playstyle, that's great, but I just rlly can't bring myself to enjoy it. When I tested her I already felt soooo icky, she felt so choppy and rigid to play like, why... I know she's a cop and her moves are precise, but Qignyi, who's also a cop, plays smoother than her imo

Playstyle feels stiff and non enjoyable

→ Seth - Seth... Seth my love... I am so sorry... I rly don't like his playstyle. His dash attack? Confusing. His skill? Takes SO LONG to charge and also leaves him vulnerable to damage. And his normal attacks are like... Ok-ish? But he feels so stiff and clunky and I just can't enjoy myself while playing him... I'm so sorry Seth, but your playstyle, in my humble opinion, is shit. Not for me, 0/10, please never force me to use you again.

[mochegato]

Take a Chance

The large ‘Welcome University of the Arts London International Students’ banner draped ominously over the double doors to the ballroom, outside which Marinette and Adrien stood frozen, or rather, outside which Marinette stood frozen and Adrien stood patiently waiting for her to move.

Marinette smoothed down the full skirt of her dress, hands running and rerunning over her fabric as though there were wrinkles in it.  There weren’t.  She knew that.  However, that knowledge in no way impacted her need to smooth down her skirt or adjust the belt around her sleeveless fitted bodice, which she should have thrown a cardigan over.  Not only would it have warmed her up, but it would also have made the dress seem more casual.  “I’m overdressed,” she groaned.

“You’re not overdressed,” Adrien sighed, a bemused smile tugging on his lips.  He didn’t roll his eyes, but it was a close thing.  This was the fourth time they’d had this conversation in the short walk over.  And that was despite Adrien having intentionally directed the conversation away from that topic and toward finishing the furnishing for their apartment, their upcoming first day of classes, and plotting ways to get Felix to ‘network on an interpersonal level’ otherwise known as socialize.

“Everyone is going to be more casual than this,” she insisted as she stared at the doors in a familiar wide-eyed panic.  “Oh, this is a disaster!  Everyone is going to think I’m strange and not want to talk to me and then they’re going to avoid me for the rest of our time here and I’m going to spend my entire time alone and ostracized.”

Adrien turned to her with a flat look that he was positive would have had an effect if it hadn’t been softened by the warm look in his eye… and if she had been paying him any attention.  Unfortunately, she was too far down in her anxiety spiral to take notice of him or reality, really.

He’d learned long ago, when she was in this state, the only way to get her attention was to ground her through touch, which fortunately was how he liked to communicate as well, he would just need to make sure to ground her periodically throughout the night.  A hug or arm slung over the shoulders here, a forearm squeeze and hip check there and everything should be good.

He grabbed her shoulders gently and forced her to stop walking and turn to meet his eyes with a soft smile but firm voice.  “First of all, no.  Second of all, everyone is going to be so impressed with how good you look, they’re going to want to be your friend.  Third of all, nobody can avoid liking you.  Many have tried,” he smirked, the tension in his shoulders easing at the emerging ghost of a smile on her lips.  He would have mussed up her hair if he wasn’t absolutely positive she would have ripped his heart out with her bare hands for even attempting it.

“Fourth of all, if everything you said was to somehow actually happen, which it won’t,” he added in hastily before she could interrupt, “you’d still have all of us.  Felix and I live with you, Ash practically lives with us, Kagami is at our place constantly, and Felix seems pretty insistent on doing everything in the common area for someone who insists he doesn’t actually care about us.

“So, you couldn’t get away from us if you wanted to,” he assured her firmly.  He pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her like a weighted blanket until he felt all the tension ease from her body, only then pulling away to kiss her temple.  “Now, we can go home, if you want to, or… we can be brave and face it… together.  And together, we can do anything.”

Marinette snorted at his dramatic delivery, but grinned back at him, giving him a determined nod.  “Together.  We can do this.  We’re going to have an amazing time and meet new, incredible friends.”

He grinned and clapped her arms.  “That’s the spirit.  Now let’s go make new friends, and maybe something more for you.”  He waggled his eyebrows at her with a smirk before unceremoniously shoving her toward the doors.

Marinette squawked as she fought to keep her balance, throwing a dirty look at him over her shoulder as she entered under the welcome sign.  She ignored his presence behind her in favor of scanning the room to assess the scene.  The tables were set up around the periphery of the room, but almost nobody was seated at them.  Instead, they all seemed to be congregating in small standing groups near the dancefloor, dancing on the dancefloor, or grabbing snacks at the small dessert table.

The music was almost drowned out with the sound of conversation and laughter.  Everywhere she looked, people were smiling, not a frown, scowl, glower, or sneer in sight.  The jovial atmosphere drained away the last of her anxiety.  The smile spreading across her lips was Adrien’s only warning before she yanked him toward a friendly looking group of students to their right.

They slowly made their way through several different groups, each more friendly than the last and everyone… well, some of the girls and one or two of the boys, were, in fact, impressed with her dress, and told her as much.  After an hour or so, she couldn’t be sure how long it had been, having long since lost track of time, she had completely forgotten why she had been anxious in the first place and now felt chagrinned by her initial fear, not that she was willing to admit that to Adrien.  She had absolutely no doubt he was already well aware and would rub her face in it enough at a later date.  Acknowledging it to him would only bring that ‘later date’ sooner.

Toward the end of the night, she finally gave into her curiosity and excused herself to check out the desserts, not that she wanted to compare them to her parents’ she just… did, and get glasses of punch for her and Adrien, who had been quite vocal about how desperately he needed a drink or he wasn’t sure he’d be able to survive the night and since Ash was already sick and could barely talk, he had to make sure he could.

She shook her head as she made her way over, reevaluating her friendship with the drama king the entire way.  Luckily, she now got to share the burden with Ash and Felix, well, mainly Felix, but really it was just a matter of time before Ash moved in with them, though she wasn’t sure if that would make it easier to deal with him because there’d be another person helping distract him, or worse because he’d be acting up for her.

She was so caught up in her thoughts she didn’t notice the man standing in front of the punch bowl already, only looking up when she was just a step away, too close to divert without bumping into him and… oh god!  She realized too late to stop it, who was also holding a glass of punch that she was definitely going to spill onto both of them.

She tried to move to the side to mitigate the damage and brace for the impact, but it never came.  In the blink of an eye, he’d managed to set the glass down and turn back to her, his arms cradling hers to keep her from falling.  She blinked up at him, her eyes owlishly wide and her mind racing to make sense of what had just happened, but it was having a hard time once she met his brilliant blue eyes.  The combination of his kind eyes, sweet smile, and strong arms holding her was messing with her head, making cohesive thought impossible.  The only thought that managed to make itself known was that he looked really nice, personality and physically.

It took longer than she would care to admit, to realize she hadn’t moved from his embrace, but had continued to stare captivated into his eyes.  She blinked a few times and hummed lightly before stepping back, a bright blush on her cheeks.  “I’m so sorry!  Thank you for saving me.  It’s a terrible introduction.  I’m so clumsy.  I’m so glad I didn’t spill your punch on you.  I was positive I was going to.”

He grinned at her, only then pulling his arms back from their position hovering around her to ensure she was stable.  “Nope.  Guess we got lucky.  No spills.  It would be a tragedy to ruin that dress of yours.”

“Thank you,” she murmured, her blush turning from a rosy dusting to a full-blown fuchsia.  She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and looked down shyly as she busied herself with pouring a glass of punch, desperate for an excuse to look away while she willed her cheeks to cool down, a mission that would be helped significantly if his dark hair didn’t have those adorable curls falling across his forehead, almost long enough to fall into his eyes, and if his lanky appearance wasn’t belied by the concealed strength she could detect beneath his fitted shirt.

“Hi, I’m Jon.  American… uh, obviously,” he held his hand out to her, his eyes glinting brightly and his smile sweet and charming.

Marinette offered a small smile as she set down the drink to shake his hand.  “I little obvious, yeah.  But only after you started speaking…”  She turned away from him pretending filling her second glass was her greatest priority and not mentally chastising herself for her ridiculously awkward observation.  There was no reason to say that.  What did that even mean?  Of course it was after he spoke.  What else would it be?

It wasn’t until she noticed him moving to refill his glass that she remembered she hadn’t introduced herself.  She internally groaned and added to the list of things to chastise herself over while drifting off to sleep every night for the next few years.  “Bonjour.  Marinette.  French… also obviously.”

Jon chuckled, holding onto his glass with both hands, like he was nervous or unsure what to do with his hands, but he never lost his boyish smile.  “It’s nice to meet you, Marinette.”

“Enchanté,” she bobbed her head in introduction, her smile broadening at his bashful energy.

“Enchanté,” he repeated in a perfect French accent.

Her eyes lit up with a new-found interest.  “Vous parlez français?”

His bottom lip pulled down in a wince as his eyes dropped to his glass.  “A bit.  I’m learning.  I can’t… I’m not fluent.”

He sounded so apologetic, she couldn’t stop the chuckle that slipped out.  “Well, you sounded convincing,” she assured him, her voice kind but quiet.  His wince transformed into a brilliant smile at the compliment, causing her smile to widen as well.  After a moment, she blinked and took another sip while her mind raced for something to say, not willing to let the conversation drop so quickly.  She’d been talking almost nonstop all night long and yet now she couldn’t find anything to say?  “Are you enjoying the event?” she finally asked.

“I am, yeah.  I haven’t really met anyone other than my roommate so far in London, but I love meeting new people.  I’ve already met a lot of new people tonight.  You?”  She giggled at his wild gestures as he spoke, almost like he had forgotten he was holding the glass at all.  It was by sheer broken physics that the liquid stayed in the glass instead of ending up on both of them and the floor, table, all the other glasses, and some of the food.

“Yeah.  I’ve gotten to meet a lot of people tonight that I think I really like too, but to be honest, I was terrified at first,” she admitted, leaning closer to him and lowering her voice like she was divulging a deep, dark secret.

He cocked his head to the side and watched her with eyes only for her, waiting for her to enlighten him.  “Of what?”

She leaned back again and looked away shyly.  “I don’t know,” she lied.  Well, not an entire lie.  She knew some of her fears, but she didn’t know why she was afraid of it, she just was.  The idea of new people who she didn’t understand and couldn’t predict was terrifying.  It was almost never as bad as she anticipated, but it was like her brain never registered that little factoid when dolling out dopamine or serotonin.

“I can’t imagine anyone not liking you,” he offered so softly, she couldn’t stop herself from believing he meant it.

Marinette smiled and ducked her head to hide what she was positive must be a furious blush, taking another sip to hide the real reason.  “Adrien said the same thing as we were walking in tonight,” she admitted after a moment.

Jon’s face dropped momentarily but he recovered it quickly before she looked back up to meet his eyes.  “Well, he wasn’t wrong,” he smiled.

She snorted and waved him off.  “He usually isn’t, but don’t tell him that.  He doesn’t need the ego boost.”

She glanced back at the group of students she’d been in earlier, observing Adrien mid-story.  She could tell it was mid-story by the smirk he wore and the particular glint in his eyes.  That combination was unique to his telling a story that could be embarrassing, usually to her, if he divulged the entire story, and he knew she knew that’s what it meant.  She shook her head and smiled at him.  He couldn’t stop himself from acting like a cat even when she wasn’t watching.  “He was right.  I haven’t stopped smiling and talking since I got here.  I was just getting a drink for us.”

“Oh, right,” he nodded, his smile becoming a bit more forced as he eyed the second glass of punch.  “I’m sorry to take you from your date... well not sorry,” he admitted sheepishly as his hand found its way to the back of his neck, “but... I’m really glad I got to meet you.”

Her eyes snapped to his instantly at his admission.  “He's not my date...” she clarified quickly and a bit louder than she meant to.  She shifted awkwardly and took a breath before continuing at a more normal volume.  “I mean, he is, but not like date date.  It's platonic.”

Jon looked at the group of students she’d looked at earlier and back to her uncertainly, because they had been awfully touchy with one another throughout the night for a platonic relationship.  And that last look was awfully… familiar.  Not that he’d been watching her all night, at least not intentionally, but he’d found his eyes drifting back to her frequently.  Frequently enough that he was almost positive her friend had caught him several times.  “Does he know that?”

She smiled and added thoughtful to the list of his green flags.  “He does.  And so does his significant other.  They were supposed to be here, but they got sick.  I was supposed to be a third wheel.  Adrien and I are like siblings.  We went through a lot together in Paris.”

His smile returned in full force as the tension completely eased out of his shoulders.  He cocked his head to the side, his eyes sliding to the music stand and back to her, his smile softening with the movement.  “So, he wouldn't mind if we danced?”

Marinette smiled and brushed her bangs, not out of her eyes because they weren’t in her eyes, more she angled them toward her ear out of the need to do something with her hands.  His eyes followed her movement, but returned his eyes to hers so quickly she almost thought she’d imagined it.  “He would not,” she confirmed.

“Would you?” he asked slightly bolder this time.  He stepped around the table until he was standing just a few feet in front of her.

Marinette’s smile broadened as she grinned up at him, rocking slightly, shifting her weight from foot to foot, unable to control her sudden burst of energy any other way.  “I would not either.  In fact, I’d really like it.”

“Me too.”  Jon’s smile matched her own, shy but strong, as he held his hand out for her to guide her to the dance floor.  He wound through the couples until he found an open area, which led to a new issue… where to put his hands, which he fully realized was absolutely ridiculous.  This was hardly his first-time dancing with someone he liked.  He knew where to put his hands, but that didn’t stop his mind from screaming at him not to put his hands too low, that’s creepy, or too high, that’s strange, or too far toward her sides, they aren’t in middle school, or too far to the center, that would force her too close to him, which would be too forward for a first dance.  Or do French women expect men to be more forward?  Oh God, did that thought make him prejudiced?

His internal screeching battle royale was brought to an abrupt stop when she placed her hands gently on his shoulders and met his gaze with a sweet but nervous smile.  He felt the tension that had started building in his muscles immediately start easing and a content smile turned his lips up.  Instead of overthinking, he let his body act.  There was a bit more space between them than the other dancers, but it felt right for the moment.

They swayed together for a few moments, gazing into each other’s eyes with their shy smiles seemingly permanently fixed before Marinette spoke up.  “So, what are you studying?”

“Journalism,” he bubbled, his excitement for his chosen study bursting through.

“Oh,” she perked up, her eyes somehow becoming even brighter and moving a bit closer in her excitement, “my best friend is studying journalism.  How do you like it?”

“So far, I mean we haven’t started classes yet, but so far, it’s great,” he shrugged.  Marinette immediately cringed and barely stopped herself from turning around, running out the door, before dropping out of school entirely and starting over somewhere else so she would never have to face him again.  “I think that’s more the new environment and just, you know, college though.  Oh, no, wait, I’m supposed to say uni, aren’t I,” he chuckled and brought his hand from her waist to run it nervously through his hair.  He placed his hand back to her waist, unintentionally bringing it closer to the center of her back.  “What about you?  What are you studying?”

Her eyes slid to the side and braced herself.  “Communication design.  It’s studying how design can be used to communicate with the viewer,” she added quickly, used to the question by now.

Instead of the wrinkled nose and questioning look she was expecting, his smile widened.  “Oh! Maybe we’ll have classes together!”

“That would be great!” she grinned.  They swayed for a few more beats before she spoke up again.  “Where in America are you from?”

“Metropolis,” he answered quickly, hoping the reluctance he felt admitting that connection didn’t come through in his tone.  His eyes snapped to hers at the loud gasp she let out.  He’d already accidentally exposed his super speed to her just minutes before and now, combined with knowing he was from Metropolis, Superman and Superboy’s hometown… well, it wasn’t a large leap to his identity, was it?

“And you came here to study?” she demanded incredulously.  “They have a great paper there.  My friend wants to work there.  It’s why she went to America to study journalism instead of staying in Paris or coming here.  She wants to get an internship with Lois Lane.  If you ever meet her, my best friend that is, she'll ask you a thousand questions.”

“Oh?” he asked breathlessly, completely unsure how to react to that; relief she didn’t guess his identity or mortification of her knowing who his mom was.  His body decided on both in quick succession with a bit of self-doubt added in.  Should he tell her?  Did he want to expose that part of his life to someone he had just met?  Did he want to change the trajectory of their conversation?  He would almost believe she was fishing, a subtle hint that she knew who he was, but nothing about her physiology indicated she was anything but completely earnest.  One thing was definite, her friend had to knew who his dad was too then, at least his civilian identity.

“Yeah, she had a blog about Paris’ superheroes.  She was one of the go-to resources on them,” she answered, pride blaring from her tone, “she thinks Mme. Lane would be a perfect mentor with all her articles on the superhero in Metropolis but also other important things.”  She winced and looked back up apologetically.  “Sorry, I should probably know more than just ‘important things’.  Alya would be mortified by my ignorance.”

He blinked; her friend would lose her mind meeting his family, absolutely go apoplectic.  Luckily, Marinette didn’t seem as affected.  “Oh, well… she…” he stammered at a complete loss on how to continue the sentence.  He refused to lie about it, so instead, he diverted.  He looked up toward the speakers.  “It appears we’ve come to the end of the song,” he noted without loosening his grip on her.

Marinette hummed in agreement but didn’t step away while she considered whether she should return to Adrien.  She had promised to bring him a drink, and Jon may want to talk to other people, he had said he wanted to meet new people.  But he was still smiling down at her, his eyes glinting, and his grip hadn’t eased at all.  It all made her feel warm and bold as the next song started.  “We have.  But you asked me to dance last time.  It would be rude not to return the favor.”

Jon grinned brightly and tightened his grip on her fractionally, just enough to convey his contentment with her suggestion.  “Well, it would be rude not to return the favor and accept and I was raised to be a gentleman.  My Grandma would have my hide if I was rude to a beautiful woman.  Definitely safest to keep dancing.”

Marinette flushed and looked down, almost burying her face in his chest.  She looked back up after a moment but didn’t move away so her cheeky smile was clearly on display.  “But it would be okay to be rude to an unattractive man?” she teased.

He barked out a laugh and returned to look down at her adoringly.  “No, no it would not.  I suppose it was just a way for me to compliment you,” he admitted.

She beamed at him.  “Glad to hear I’m dancing with a rather handsome gentleman.”

He preened at the description and stepped closer letting his arms wind further around her back, not quite pulling her against him but leaving less space between them than had been there when they started, a space that decreased as they danced through the song, and the next… and the next, until Marinette had relaxed in his embrace so much, she had essentially melded against him.  Even when she pulled back to look up at him, craning her neck to speak to or giggle at him, she did so without moving out of his embrace.

She hadn’t realized how comfortable they had gotten with each other, his arms overlapping themselves around her waist, one of her arms resting comfortably around his neck and the other resting against his chest, their eyes focused on each other’s, their faces close enough for their breath to intermingle, only becoming aware of how close they were when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

She blinked out of the little bubble they’d created and looked around to find the interruption, admittedly taking a bit longer than it should have for her to remember where she was.  It took meeting Adrien’s amused smirk before it registered.  “I just wanted to let you know my throat is so dry, I might not be able to speak tomorrow, you’re a terrible date, and I’m leaving.”

Marinette pulled away from Jon just enough to bury her head in her hands with a groan, but stayed close enough she could have hidden her face in his toned chest if she’d wanted to.  “I’m sorry.  I’ve completely ignored you.  I did get a glass ready for you… before I got distracted.”

Adrien snorted and waved her off.  “I’m fully capable of getting my own drink.  I am somewhat self-sufficient, thank you very much, no matter what you and Alya… and Kagami and Felix seem to think.  And I’m happy to be ignored if you’re happy.”  His last word came out questioningly as his eyes met hers with a pointed look.

She looked between Jon and Adrien a few times.  “Oh!  Right.  Sorry,” she realized sheepishly, and shot Jon a reassuring smile.  “Jon, this is Adrien.  Adrien, this is Jon.  He’s a journalism student from America.”

Adrien nodded at her confirmation and turned to shake Jon’s hand.  “Nice to meet you, Jon.”

“And you, Adrien,” Jon grinned back, glad for the confirmation that neither seemed jealous or upset by his proximity to Marinette.

Adrien looked over him critically for a few seconds before seeming to come to a conclusion.  “I’d love to interrogate you, but I’d like to get out and check on my significant other, make sure they have eaten something and are drinking water, which they tend to forget to do when they get sick.  Plus, they’re winding up here anyway,” he added motioning around them.

It was only then that Marinette and Jon looked around them and noticed the crowd had substantially thinned and some workers were starting to stack chairs.  Marinette’s smile dropped and she looked over to Jon sadly.  “Oh, I’ll…”

“I can walk her home,” Jon piped up quickly.  He looked between the two of them but took particular notice of the way Adrien’s eyes tightened and his jaw clenched in response.  He reached into his back pocket.  “Here,” he handed a card to Adrien, “my student ID… and my real ID.”  He held it up next to his face and schooled his face into the wide-eyed image in the picture from when they took the picture before the count of three.

Adrien snorted and handed the student ID back.  “That’ll do for tonight, I guess.  I’ll just have to interrogate you next time you’re with Marinette.”

Marinette blushed heavily at the insinuation.  He looked over to Jon as he extended his hand to Adrien and smirked at seeing his matching blush.  “I look forward to it,” his eyes darted to Marinette, “if she agrees when I ask.”

Marinette smiled and Adrien nodded in approval.  “We’re having a get together at our apartment Thursday.  You’re welcome to come.”

Marinette’s head snapped toward Adrien, eyebrows almost at her hairline.  “We are?”

He snorted and shrugged.  “I invited the people we were talking to after you abandoned me.”

She groaned and dropped her head into her hands again.  Jon smiled at their interaction.  It reminded him a bit of Stephanie and Tim, comfortable and teasing, like siblings.  “I’d love to,” he chirped.  Marinette peeked through her fingers and offered him a small smile.

Adrien smiled as he watched them.  “Right then.  I’ll be back later tonight.  See you when I get home.”

She watched Adrien leave and turned back to Jon.  “So… we should probably…” she motioned toward the door.

He blinked as if startled by the reminder, trying to pretend he was distracted by something other than having been staring at the way the spotlights were illuminating her hair.  “Oh, right.  Yeah.”  He smiled and motioned for her to move first.  “Did you have a coat or a bag or…”

She shook her head and followed Adrien’s path out the doors.  “Nope, I’m good to go.”

He raised an eyebrow but nodded as he grabbed his hoodie from the rack.  “Okay.”

It took less than a minute in the now crisp evening air for her to respond the way Jon was expecting, a shiver wracking her body, though he could tell she was trying to hide it.  He draped his hoodie that he hadn’t even bothered to put on, expecting this outcome, over her shoulders and grinned at the look of her swimming in his clothes.  It didn’t completely swallow her, but it was clearly a few sizes too big.

She jumped at the contact and started to remove the zip-up with an insistence that he keep it, but he held his hand up before she could and motioned toward his shirt.  “I insist.  I’m not cold.  The long sleeves are enough for me.”  He grinned devilishly.  “And my grandma would leave me limping if I let a gorgeous woman shiver while I was hot anyway.”

Marinette blushed but looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.  “Should I be concerned?  Your grandma sounds rather violent.”

He barked a laugh.  “I’ve made it sound like that, haven’t I?”  He tucked his hands in his pockets but swung back and forth as he walked making him look goofy and childlike, and extremely sweet.  “She’s not.  She’s one of the most supportive, sweet, down to earth, but no-nonsense women you’ll ever meet.”

She nodded and looked forward with a shy smile, pulling the hoodie tighter around herself and letting his smell engulf her.  “How are you liking London?” she asked as she looked up at him and swayed close enough their fingers brushed ever so slightly.

“I haven’t really seen very much of it,” he admitted sheepishly.  He ran his hand through his hair again, but quickly dropped his hand back down so it brushed hers again, even more firmly this time.  “So far it seems not too different from home.  I’m still trying to understand London’s vibe.  I’m positive there’s a ton I’m missing.  How about you?”

“It’s been fun,” she nodded.  “I’ve been here a few times, though.  I don’t know it like a native, but Adrien’s cousin, Felix, does.  Maybe I can ask him for advice, and I can let you know.”  She looked down but glanced up at him through her lashes.  “Or we can explore together,” she offered.  “I mean, I’d like to get to know the area better myself.”

“That sounds great!” he gushed.  “Oh, no wait.  What is it they say here?  That sounds brilliant?  Brill?”

Marinette giggled and shook her head.  “I’ve never in my life heard Felix say that but I suspect that’s more a Felix thing than an indication of British slang.”

“He sounds like an interesting fellow,” Jon chuckled.

“He… takes some getting used to,” she acknowledged slowly.  “He’s a bit prickly.  A bit standoffish…” she paused as she thought about how to describe Felix.  “A bit hostile,” she finished with a cringe, but she quickly turned it to a smile.  “But once you do get used to him, you’ll never find a more loyal friend… sometimes too loyal.”  She almost voiced her mental completion of ‘dangerously so’ but thought better of it.  “He’d try to overthrow a government if he thought you needed him to.  Probably succeed to,” she finished with a mutter.

Jon snorted.  “Yeah, I’ve got one of those too.”  He grimaced thinking of Damian meeting Marinette.  Honestly, it was impossible to tell if he’d embrace her, not literally of course, or try to kill her… literally.  “Honestly a bit scary what he could do if he put his mind to it.”

Marinette beamed up at him, but her eyes slid past him to the sky above and gasped.  The stars were shining bright enough she could make out a few even in the middle of London.  “Look, you can see a few stars!”

He hummed and scrunched his face, as if he needed that to assist seeing them and couldn’t see them perfectly with his enhanced vision.  “A few.  That’s something I miss from home… well, not home, but kind of home, my grandparent’s home; seeing the stars,” he rambled.  He shoved one of his hands back in his pocket, leaving the other to graze hers.  “At night you can see the entire Milky Way sometimes.  Millions of twinkling lights, absolutely gorgeous,” he sighed.

Marinette watched his dreamy expression for a few moments.  “I miss seeing stars like that,” she agreed.

He quirked his head to the side and looked back at her.  “You can see the stars in Paris?”

“Well… no,” she acknowledged.  “We don’t get to see the stars almost ever in Paris.  But I’ve gotten to see them closer and they were gorgeous,” she sighed, breathless at the memory of how beautiful the stars were between the fighting.

His face scrunched in earnest this time.  “Closer?”

Marinette’s eyes widened.  “Uhhhh translation issue,” she exclaimed quickly.  She shot him a strained smile.  “I never asked you, what brought you here?  It’s a long way from America.”

He eyed her suspiciously, but let it go.  “It’s one of the top schools for journalism,” he started slowly, still watching her closely, “and one of my mom’s colleagues, one she really respects, went here and would tell me about it for ages and…”  He sighed and looked down the street as they walked as he considered his next words, which was particularly difficult when he could feel her hand brushing against his so much it was like they were magnetized.  “I don’t know how much you know about Metropolis, where I live, but there is a lot of rogue activity.  I just… really wanted to get away from it, to have a normal college experience, a normal life experience, without fear of my school blowing up.”

Marinette chuckled mirthlessly.  “I get that.”

“How about you?” he asked, lightly bumping his upper arm into her shoulder.

“A bit of the same actually,” she acknowledged hesitantly.  “It’s a great school for design and, while I love Paris, it will always be my home… after our villain, there’s a lot of memories and a lot of aftermath, especially for Adrien.  I have family in London and so does he.  His cousin is going to a school just down the road, the London School of Economics?  So, he’s here and one of our best friends goes there as well so she’s just a metro stop away.  It seemed like a natural choice.  And it’s really easy for me to jump on the Eurostar and go home whenever I miss my parents or friends.”

“Yeah.  I’m close with my parents and friends too and I felt a bit bad leaving them but if they need me, it’s a quick flight home.”  He froze, his eyes darting to her and away quickly.  “I meant hop onto a plane and fly home.”  He rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled anxiously.  “How else would I fly?”

Marinette laughed nervously and glanced at her dress pocket.  “How else indeed…”

“But I do miss my friends,” he added quickly.  “I call all the time, but it’s different when you’re not in the same room.”

Marinette hummed in agreement.  “Yeah, like I said before, my best friend is also getting a degree in journalism, but decided to go to America for it.”  She chuckled and lightly slapped his arm to pull his attention back to her.  “It’s almost like you guys switched places,” she teased.  Jon grinned.  “And her boyfriend, Adrien’s best friend, is getting his degree at a film school there too, so even when we go home to visit, we still won’t get to see them.”  She sighed wistfully, a far-off look in her eyes.  “We used to basically live in each other’s houses.”

Jon nodded solemnly.  “The price of independence and a new start.” They walked for a few more steps as the weight of his words set in.  He suddenly bounced in front of her and started walking backward with a bright grin.  “But!” he motioned toward the Millenium Bridge in the background, “how else would I get to see things like that.  And I wouldn’t have met you tonight.  And that would be a shame.”

Marinette giggled.  “Tragic.”  She bit her lip in a vain attempt to keep her smile from beaming too wide as she moved her hand so he could grip it completely.  Her heart was thundering in her chest as she waited for him to respond, only slowing slightly when he finally interlaced their fingers and shot her a radiant smile.  No, nope.  She was pretty sure it was racing even faster after he took her hand.

“Exactly,” he agreed.  He turned back around to match her pace by her side again, this time, gripping her hand tightly in his, as they walked in companiable silence for a few blocks, throwing shy glances at one another.  “Penny for your thoughts?” he offered.  “Oh shoot, no, I guess it’s shilling for your thought or something.”

She smiled but looked away shyly tilting slightly away from him as she figured out how to verbalize her jumbled thoughts.  Her mind was racing, but not in the usual, overwhelming, anxious way.  She might not be able to pin them all down, but she could feel they all pointed to one conclusion.  “I’m thinking… I’m glad I took a chance.  I’m glad I faced my fears and went tonight.  I’m glad I decided to get a drink by myself.  I’m glad I said yes when you asked me to dance.  I’m…”

“I’m glad you let me walk you home tonight,” he added.

She turned her bright smile to him as she stopped and faced him.  “Yeah, that too,” she agreed.  They gazed into each other’s faces smiles so wide they surely outshone the stars.  “This is me,” she finally announced.

He looked up at the building and back to her with a nod.  “Oh.  Well, that… You were right.  That really was close.”

She hummed and rocked on her heels, not ready to let go of him yet.  “How about you?”

“I’m really far, but I’m right on the metro, no wait, Underground, so it’s not bad.”  He looked up at the building and back to her, not easing his hold on her hand either.  “Can… would it be okay if I called you sometime maybe... maybe to explore London together?”

Marinette beamed and bounced in place.  “Yes!”  She cleared her throat lightly and tried again.  “Yeah.  That would be nice.”

He grinned brilliantly.  “Great.  That’s… that’s great.  Yeah.  Oh!”  He pulled out his phone and handed it to her.  She entered her number letting her fingers brush against his as she handed it back with a matching grin.  Even after having held her hand for the last half hour, the contact still sent a jolt of electricity through his body.  “Thanks.  I’ll call?”

She hummed in agreement.  “I’d like that.”

He started to walk away but Marinette called him back, running the last few steps to meet him.  She stood in front of him smiling for a moment before taking off his hoodie and handing it to him.

She looked up though her eyelashes, a look that he quickly discovered melted him to his core.  If she ever wanted anything, all she would have to do is look at him like that.  “Thanks for letting me use it.”

“Anytime.  Literally any time.  Just let me know.  I have a lot of very warm clothes and I can’t wear them all at the same time…” he stopped and grimaced slightly, cheeks glowing in embarrassment.  She grinned brightly and looked down shyly.

“I don’t want to wait until tomorrow to figure it out,” he burst out suddenly.  “Will you go on a date with me?  Tomorrow?  Noon?  We can do lunch at Fields and a walk in the park?  Maybe you can show me around a bit too, since you seem a bit more familiar with London than I am.”

Her smile got impossibly brighter.  “Yes.  Absolutely.  That sounds brilliant.”

“Great.  That’s...”  he darted forward to kiss her on the cheek.  “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow,” she nodded.

He waited until she was in the building before making his way to the Underground entrance.  She watched him enter before leaning against the door and squealing as she touched her cheek.  She raced up the stairs, pulling out her phone as she moved and pulled up Alya’s number to squeal some more.

[undercookied]

who to warp or save for? (；￣Д￣)

under the cut is me yapping about not knowing which upcoming character to pull for, mainly between boothill and sunday. if anyone wants to weigh in i’d love to hear it since i’m a bit stuck !!

as happy as i am that i managed to get robin (but not before getting e1 yanqing first TT) since she’s a must pull in my eyes i am a bit bummed at my lack of funds for boothill now,,, rn i have 60 something warps with basically 0 pity and a 50/50

i really did want boothill prior to penacony even happening,,, i believe the first leaks i saw of him were back during 1.3 and he’d caught my eye since then. and now that we actually know stuff about him story wise it just solidified my want for him (his animations are the cherry on top). though him being physical or the hunt aren’t really what stand out to me.

but i’ve also been thinking about saving for sunday assuming he will be announced for 2.4 (hopefully?),,, while i did see leaks of him at the same time i first saw boothill’s, he didn’t really stick out to me until penacony played out. some of the stuff i’ve seen says he’s gonna be ice erudition, and i honestly really like the sound of that. i can’t wait until we finally get to see something of his gameplay/animations.

now, my main dilemma falls between these possibilities:

get boothill, but then the 50/50 falls on sunday

lose the 50/50 trying to get boothill, then that’s that for now and sunday can be guaranteed

completely skip boothill’s banner and save up to guarantee sunday and hopefully his LC

skip both and consider saving for another support instead

signature LCs are another thing i need to think about, as the only limited 5* i’ve gotten it for so far is aventurine… (and technically kafka’s but that was from an oopsy misclick bc i don’t have her nor do i plan on getting her anytime soon)

and new characters aside, the reruns i sort of have in mind are ruan mei or huohuo (though it may be awhile for those to happen?) since i think i sort of lack support-type characters as opposed to how many dps/sub dps characters i have (￣ヘ￣)

for anyone who wants to weigh in on what i should do, here are the characters i already own for a bit more reference !!

[jymwahuwu]

Have you seen the hsr leaks? Wait, are you ok with leaks??

I don't wanna ask if ur not, so pls just delete this and stop reading if u don't want to see!!

Leaks‼️‼️

The next banners have like 4 girl characters and the second phase only has 1 dude (Dr. Ratio) 😭

I'm tired of the girlies ok, I need aventurine and luocha rerun pls! Hopefully the next leaks can have at least two new 5 star male characters... But I doubt it *sigh*

The only hope I have is for my majestic king Sunday, excited for his drip marketing

cw: hsr leaks!!!!!!

I’m okay with leaks other than the main plot!! It was so hard not to be spoiled in 2.0-2.2😹

Saw this leak…it's really crazy, 3 female characters + 1 male character rerun together 🥲 when the two banners in the future are still two female characters. Hoyo can continue the arrangement and see how much money they can make 😑 I am not renewing the supply pass now. Be prepared to wait for Jiaoqiu banner. I'll also be pulling weapons for Ratio.

Sunday my love😭 heard date has changed again? He won't appear in 2.6? I think it will be 2.7 at the latest. For version 3.0 we have to go to cosmic classical greece after all...

[wormytoast]

NEW BLADE BUILD OFFICIALLY DROPPED!!!!!! i think this is my third post about his build being "finished"? LOL but this time i'm serious when i say he's finished and all he needs are eidolons :') rambles under the cut!

8k hp, 70/195 crit ratio. talent tree is fully clear with 6/8/8/8 on basic/skill/talent/ult nodes. he's now e0s1 since i got his lc on rerun! i think the only changes to his relics are with his planar set but i did rearrange his relics sometimes beforehand to try to cope lol

both planar relics are new pieces. i got this rope from the 300% planar fissure event and got SUPER excited because ive already gotten an hp% rope with both crit subs in the past but it was probably my worst piece EVER because the other two subs were flat hp (3 rolls) and flat atk (2 rolls). yes it was a 4 sub and got 5 upgrade rolls and it all rolled into flat subs. it was my lowest point EVER. but when i saw this new hp% rope with crit subs i knew it couldn't be worse so i used that old hp% rope to completely level this one to lv 14. and it rolled super well!

up until this point i'd also been using an hp% orb, but because of my new rope i decided to try to find a wind dmg orb and found a decent one which rolled really well! honestly it's super lucky that it had hp% instead of atk%. i don't mind that it didn't roll into crit dmg either since i need the crit rate a LOT more, especially since my preference is to hit the 70% crit rate on blade's stat page for the planar set bonus.

also, if i were to still use the hp% orb, i'd need to change my head piece to another one that rolled into crit rate a little more but i'd lose out on the 7 spd (and the 11% crit dmg but that's not as important in his build)

my next goal would be to get his e2 but tbh i don't think i'm gonna get it since i'm a f2p player and eidolons aren't that important for my gameplay (or rather they're too expensive for me to drain my resources for)

funny to think i didn't even mean to get blade on his debut banner but now he's one of my best units 🥹🫶

[imaginesfordifferentfandoms]

evermore

Click here for my masterlist.

Click here to add yourself to my taglist.

Prompt - ‘And I couldn't be sure I had a feeling so peculiar this pain wouldn't be for evermore.’

You and Matt had been sitting together on his rooftop, neither of you donned your costumes, content to just sit together under the mid-morning sun, your hands playing with Matt’s and sharing soft kisses. It wasn’t until you pulled away that you saw, off in the distance, a spaceship suddenly appear, the round ship causing your eyes to widen as you listened to Matt and headed downstairs into the apartment, switching on the TV you insisted he have and watching the events play out.

The Avengers, or whatever was left of the Avengers honestly you weren’t sure who was a member and who wasn’t anymore, seemed to have it covered. There was footage of a wizard or two who you didn’t know, Tony Stark was there and you recognised Bruce Banner, then there were the aliens. Whilst there was no sound you could see one of them talking, Tony Stark not looking impressed and cutting him off before the wizards used their powers and suddenly they were fighting.

“Hey, is that Spidey?” You grinned at Matt when you saw a familiar figure swing into frame and Matt raised an eyebrow at you before shaking his head.

“Isn’t this above Spider-Man’s paygrade?” Matt groaned and you laughed before turning back to the screen.

Both of you knew Spider-Man fairly well at this point, neither you or Matt had shared who you were under your masks and neither had Spidey but sometimes he swung by the Kitchen and he was always fun to fight alongside.

You continued to watch the screen, narrating what was going on as it happened, laughing about how insane the camera people were, literal aliens were tearing the streets of New York apart and they were still getting the money shot.

“Wait…” You said, sitting straighter in your seat and leaning forward, Matt raising an eyebrow as he waited for you to continue. “Spider-Man’s on the spaceship…and the spaceship’s gone.”

“Spider-Man was on it?” Matt asked, feeling a wave of worry for the kid because at the end of the day that’s all he was, a kid who put way too much responsibility on his shoulders.

“Iron Man’s heading up too so he should be good.” You said, leaning back into the sofa and letting out a deep breath before cuddling into Matt’s chest, his arm going around your shoulders.

“Aliens.” You grimaced, years of living in New York, years of playing vigilante and you still didn’t think you’d ever get used to everything that happened here.

“Let’s just hope they don’t come back.” Matt chuckled as he pulled you closer, placing a kiss to your head and you nodded before reaching over to turn the TV off, not needing to see reruns of the fight.

It was only a few hours later, you and Matt were back on his rooftop, Matt was talking about the people of New York and what they were doing. It was amazing how everybody was able to simply snap back and carry on with their lives like aliens hadn’t invaded this morning. It was truly ridiculous really and you couldn’t help but smile as you cuddled into Matt who was telling you about a business meeting happening right next to the clean up where cars had been tossed around the streets.

“There’s a school field trip, not too far away, a bunch of kids at MOMA still talking about the spaceship whilst their teacher tries to get them to focus on the trip.” Matt told you as he ran his fingers through your hair, yours trailing along his stomach. “He’s not having much luck.”

“Aliens invade the Earth and everything continues on as normal.” You laughed softly and felt more than heard Matt’s chuckle as it rumbled in his chest. “I think I’ll stick to criminals and the occasional ninja.”

“Not ready to take on the aliens yet? Join the Avengers?” Matt asked and you turned to muffle a laugh into his chest causing his smile to widen.

“I think I’ll stick to our little corner of Hell’s Kitchen, leave the aliens to someone else.” You said because as much as you liked fighting at Spider-Man’s side, especially on the few occasions you’d joined in a bigger fight, you couldn’t stomach the thought of going up against aliens, against powers you knew nothing about.

“Yeah,” Matt sighed softly, tilting your head back gently with the hand in your hair. “I like our little corner.”

You smiled into the kiss as Matt leaned down and you met him half way, the kiss wasn’t hurried, there was no urgency in it. It was soft and lazy, both of you taking your time, not in any rush, both content in each other’s arms.

It was only when Matt pulled away with a frown did you feel a sense of urgency, not quite sure why yet but if Matt was making that face then something was definitely wrong. He stayed silent for a few moments, crease apearing in between his eyebrows as he tilted his head, listening for something you couldn’t hear and you hoped it was just him deciding if a situation needed Daredevil’s intervention.

But when Matt shot up into a sitting position, forcing you up with him from your spot on his chest, you panicked. Matt’s face had gone pale, paler than you’d ever seen with the only exception being when he’d lost too much blood. His head tilted further to the side like he was straining to hear something before his mouth fell open with a silent gasp and you could see his eyes widen.

You trusted Matt’s judgement and for him to look this scared, this worried and confused then you knew you should be scared too.

“Matt, what’s happening?” You asked and it seemed to pull Matt’s attention back to you, shaking his head almost in disbelief but he didn’t answer for a long moment. You could tell he wasn’t ignoring your question, could see the way his mouth opened and closed but nothing came out. “Matt please, you’re scaring me.”

“Something’s wrong.” He told you, his head shifting in every direction like he was hearing too much at once. “The city, it’s…”

In all the time you’d known Matt, from first time meeting him when you were both hidden under your masks to the time you’d spent together as Matt and Y/N, you’d never seen him like this before.

It was terrifying.

“Matt, please tell me what’s happening.” It had to be the aliens, it was the only explanation but you couldn’t see any giant spaceships, no aliens ascending from the sky. As you glanced around it just looked like a regular day.

“It’s, I don’t know, it’s like people are disappearing. I can’t hear- Y/N, I can’t hear their heartbeats, they’re just gone, they’re going out.” Matt told you, turning his attention back to you as his voice trailed into a whisper and you stared back at him with wide eyes.

“What do you mean, gone?” You asked as a wave of anxiety flooded through you and Matt shook his head, turning back towards the streets as he listened.

“I don’t know, I just-” Matt began but cut himself off, his head snapping around to face you, wearing an expression you’d only ever seen once on his face.

It was the expression he wore when you had been shot, he could hear everything and he barely got you to Claire before your breaths came few and far between. Claire had barely managed to bring you back to him but you still remembered that haunted look on his face and swore you’d be more careful because you never wanted to see it again.

And now here it was and you didn’t know why.

Not until you looked down anyway, a strange sensation running through your body and you let out a panicked cry as you saw your hand breaking off and separating into tiny specks of dust.

“No, no, no..” Matt’s voice had you snapping your head up to look at him, tears stinging at your eyes and you could see them pooling in his.

“Matt, what’s happening to me?” You asked, the tears slipping down your cheeks and Matt let out a choked sobbed, pulling you into his arms, holding you tightly like he could keep you in one piece. “Matt, I’m scared.”

“No, no, shh, you’re ok, you’re ok.” Matt murmured, his lips finding their way to your forehead, letting them linger there and you could feel his tears wetting your skin.

“Matt, plea…” Your voice trailed off into nothing and Matt was slumping over, you suddenly not in his arms and your breathing, your sobs, your heartbeat was just gone, like it hadn’t been there to begin.

The tears fell past Matt’s eyes, heartbroken sobs leaving him as he stayed hunched over on the roof of his building and as he cried he heard so many in the city doing the exact same thing whilst more and more heartbeats faded into nothing.

The Blip.

That’s what they were calling the damn thing. The thing that took you had a name and Matt despised it.

It had been eight months, eight months since that warm, sunny day in spring, eight months since you had been taken from him. Now it was November, the sky was grey and Matt could still hear the fear in your voice as you pleaded with him. Eight months without you, eight months where he had become nothing but a shell of himself.

Eight months of replaying every memory he had of you because the thought of forgetting you sent an ache through his heart. Eight months of thinking about all the words he should have said to you, words he would never get to say to you.

Matt stood by the window, the weather seemed to match his mood. He could hear the rain smacking against the window and the pavement, could hear the rumble of thunder, could feel the coldness on his skin but he didn’t care.

He’d been numb since that day all those months ago. At first he put on the Daredevil suit every day and found bad guys to take his anger, his pain, out on. Frank’s words had run heavy in his head, letting him know he was only one bad day away from being him and Matt knew he was right, he just didn’t think the bad day that would push him over the edge would be losing you.

It had seemed so unimaginable months ago that it never even crossed his mind. When you put on your mask you were always with him, fighting side by side, he always had your back so he knew you’d be safe.

But now you were gone and Matt was left alone. It had been months since he put the suit on, it didn’t feel right anymore, like it suddenly didn’t fit but he knew it was because you weren’t there with him. Daredevil had worked alone for so long before you showed up but then you had refused to leave and he found he actually liked working with you.

Matt couldn’t even remember why he used to put on the suit, couldn’t remember what he used to fight for. Everything seemed so pointless without you. How was he expected to just go on about his life? How could he pretend that he was ok when he felt like a piece of him had been ripped away?

He couldn’t do it, he couldn’t fake it until it didn’t hurt anymore because it would always hurt, he knew the pain and heartbreak and the rage he felt would be for evermore.

Somehow five years passed, five long painful years. Matt was surprised he was still alive in all honesty because he had completely lost himself. Considering how reluctant he had been to let you into his life at all back in those early days, he had to hand it to you, you really had wormed your way deep into his life, entwining yourself around every part of it and making it impossible for him to move on.

Not that I ever tried to move on, Matt mused to himself as he walked the streets of Hell’s Kitchen. He was practically catching his death, the cold was bitingly chilly and the rain was almost painful but still he hadn’t bothered to grab a coat on his way out of the door. He just needed to be out of the apartment.

What had once been an empty place had been filled with lots of little trinkets and all the things that made it feel like a home. Sometimes Matt thought about moving, there was too much you in the apartment but ultimately he never did, he couldn’t leave behind something that was a part of you.

It had been five years and Matt hated himself for forgetting the sound of your laughter, he hated that he knew your favourite song but couldn’t remember how you sounded as you sung it whilst dancing around his kitchen, he hated that his sheets and his sweaters didn’t smell like you anymore.

It had been five years since you died and five years since Matt Murdock became a ghost, still alive but really he had died that day with you. Some days he thought about doing it, about ending his pain but he could never do it, catholic guilt and all that.

He knew he’d feel this loss until he took his last breath and some days he longed to put the suit back on, to pick a fight and not fight like he used to, to let the other guy get the hits in until Matt felt himself slipping away from the world.

It was tempting but he couldn’t bring himself to do that either. So instead he was doomed to this life, for the pain to last for evermore.

He was so lost in thought that he missed it at first. It wasn’t until he bumped into somebody that definitely hadn’t been there moments before that he took notice, his eyes widening, breath catching as he heard it.

Heartbeat after heartbeat, it was almost overwhelming and Matt couldn’t stop the strangled sob that left him. More and more heartbeats returned, Matt could hear every single one of them, could hear the excited yells and confused murmurs.

It had been five years, five long, lonely, heartbreakingly exhausting years since you died. Five years since Matt Murdock last felt happy but here in the streets of Hell’s Kitchen a grin broke out across his face, tears pouring from his eyes and he didn’t hesitate to turn around.

He ran, he ran like his life depended on it because it did. As he got closer to the apartment he paused, nearly tripping himself up because there, that was a heartbeat Matt Murdock knew, one he had forgotten the sound of but now he heard it again it was hard to remember how he could have ever forgotten.

He kept running, he ran all the way up the stairs and through his apartment before he was on the roof and there you were. It was really you.

“Matt?” You asked and Matt felt his knees buckle beneath him, barely managing to hold himself upright as he forced his feet to move towards you.

He had to know you were real and when he lifted his hand and cupped your cheek he couldn’t stop the heaving sobs that escaped him and he buried his face against your neck, holding you tightly against him.

“Hey, it’s alright, you’re ok.” You murmured, rubbing your hand up and down his back whilst the other wrapped around his waist. “You’re ok, what happened?”

You didn’t know, Matt thought. He had gone through the worst five years of his life and you had no idea what had happened. Matt was going to have to be the one to explain that five years had passed without you, that the world had somehow carried on without you.

But that didn’t matter right now, Matt wasn’t sure he was capable of words at that moment. The tears and sobs weren’t slowing down but he didn’t care, it had been so long, so damn long, he never thought he’d have you back and now that you were here Matt was never letting you go again.

“Matt, baby,” You whispered, kissing his hair and pulling him closer.

You were so painfully confused, mind fuzzy and unable to remember anything. One minute it was sunny and you had been on the roof with Matt, the next it was pouring down and Matt was nowhere to be seen. You’d only been out in the rain for a few moments before Matt had burst onto the roof like a mad man, staring straight at you like you were a ghost.

“Hey baby, can we go inside, I don’t want you to get sick.” You said softly, noticing how pale Matt had been before he hid himself away in your neck. You had seen the dark circles that were practically black eyes and how gaunt his features were, it looked like you weren’t the only ghost on the roof.

Matt didn’t say anything for a long moment but then he nodded into your neck, placing a kiss to your skin causing you to shiver before he pulled away, his hand coming up to cup your cheek again and he brought your foreheads together.

“I’ve missed you so much.” He whispered brokenly and despite having no clue what was going on you felt your heart break for him.

It wasn’t long before the two of you were in dry clothes and Matt had you tucked under the covers on the bed, pulling you against his chest and holding you tightly in his arms, terrified that you’d disappear again.

“Think you can tell me what’s going on now?” You murmured as your fingers drew random shapes into his chest, from where you lay you could feel Matt’s heart hammering against his chest and though he had managed to stop the sobs there were still tears falling down his face.

It wasn’t long before you were in the same position, tears pouring down your cheeks as you held Matt close to you, heart breaking as you listened to him describe what had happened five years ago and all the time in between. Hearing how lost, how broken and lonely he was, hearing that he had been ready to join you years ago, God you were a sobbing mess by the time he was done and the two of you could do nothing but cry and hold each other close.

And yet even with the tears falling down his face Matt felt better than he had in years, somehow you were back from the dead and he would never take a single day for granted again. Matt had thought for sure the rest of his life would be filled with pain and nothing else, yet here you were and Matt knew the pain wouldn’t be for evermore.

Matt Murdock Taglist -

__________

Matt Murdock Taglist (Click the link in my bio to add yourself!) -

@cinderellacauseshebroke​, @black-rose-29​, @ppgrayson​, @lokismidnight​, @benhardyslut​, @jasontoddthezombie​, @qfton​, @buckysnumberonegirl​, @call-me-a-fool​​, @father-violet​, @lizamango​,  @taylordidsomthingbad​, @multifandomgirllol​, @lucyysthings​, @freeshavocadoooo​, @writeroutoftime​, @mrslizzyolsen​, @kosmic-klouds​, @eichenhouseproperty​, @cwritesforfun​, @daisyfreshwhore​, @myguiltypleasures21​, @luluwinchester​, @polyglot-noodle​,, @alexxavicry​, @sirachaee​, @bubsonnobx​, @fairydxll​, @valluvsu​, @inas-thing​, @bookfrog242​, @folklorianpixie​, @dumb-fawkin-bitch​, @chiaraxtargaryen​, @eichenhouseproperty​, @secretsthathauntus​, @clairemsworld​, @chezagnes​, @crazywitchbitch​, @navs-bhat​, @nashja​, @deathjawd​,  @spideysimpossiblegirl​, @nao1800​, @hoplessromantic17​

Thank you so much for reading!🤎

[hananoami]

[2024/08] Collection Progress

For once I actually remembered to do this one time. I can't believe August is already about to end... where did the month go?! There were a handful of new memories added into the collection. Some I've already collected, some I'm still working towards.

I could still use a few more duplicates of Sylus' 4-stars, but we'll get those in due time. I don't feel like using stardust to purchase 4-star memories. I would much rather save up what I have to purchase the 5-star memories on the monthly rotation.

I also realized I forgot to take a photo of the sweetie silk event banner... :c

𝔁𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒓

Xavier's memory collection for the end of August is 100% with two memories added this month. A 5☆ memory came from the limited-time wish banner, Misty Invasion. The other was a 3☆ memory came from the Sweetie Silk Event.

[02] New memories were added to the collection in August:

5☆ No Restraint [Banner: Misty Invasion]

3☆ Ardent Threads [Event: Sweetie Silk]

𝔃𝒂𝒚𝒏𝒆

Ending at 95% progress, Zayne had the most memories added this month. The ones I've obtained so far was a 5☆ memory from the limited-time wish banner, Misty Invasion, and a 3☆ memory from the Sweetie Silk Event. For the memories that I'm currently missing I should be able to obtain them next month to 100% my collection again. His birthday event started on the 31st so I'm considering those memories this month's addition. I am waiting a day to obtain all of the free wishes (20) before I pull for him. Surely he'll come home early... I also have one more day of checking in with the 10 Days With You login event for his [Doomsday] memory. I'll be getting that tomorrow at server reset.

[05] New memories were added to the collection in August:

5☆ Hidden Motive [Banner: Misty Invasion]

5☆ Eternal Attachment [Banner: Eternal Attachment]

4☆ Doomsday [Login: 10 Days With You]

3☆ Treasure In Palm [Event: Sweetie Silk]

3☆ Shining Blessing [Event: Very moment With U]

𝓻𝒂𝒇𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒍

Rafayel's memory collection for the end of August is 100% with two memories added this month. A 5☆ memory came from the limited-time wish banner, Misty Invasion. The other was a 3☆ memory came from the Sweetie Silk Event.

[02] New memories were added to the collection in August:

5☆ Omnipotent Perception [Banner: Misty Invasion]

3☆ Cherished Moment [Event: Sweetie Silk]

𝒔𝒚𝒍𝒖𝒔

For August I ended Sylus's memory collection with 95%. I'm only missing one memory... A 5☆ memory came from the limited-time wish banner, Misty Invasion. The other was a 3☆ memory came from the Sweetie Silk Event. Lowkey I was a little upsetti that [Nightplumes] wasn't in this month's Wishing Well's 5-star memory rotation since I wanted to have the satisfaction of completing his memory collection for the first time with 100%, however, September is literally 2 hours away. I'll complete his collection next month!

[02] New memories that were added to the collection in August:

5☆ Lost Oasis [Banner: Misty Invasion]

3☆ Taking Control [Event: Sweetie Silk]

[ 𝓶𝒆𝒐𝒘 𝓫𝒂𝒅𝒈𝒆𝒔 ]

Both XAVIER and ZAYNE have collected all of the permanent meow badge series. They're only missing the limited-time badge series [Meowschool] which is new for next month and [Kittyland] which I'm waiting for a rerun for. RAFAYEL: completed both [Pawsemble] and [Superkitty] meow badge series this month. Aside from the 2 limited-time badge series mentioned above he only has to get the missing SSR from [Kittyland] left. Maybe next month we'll be able to complete all of the permanent series! I have hope that we will, hehe. As for SYLUS, since his character was added no too long ago I still have a ways to go before we complete any of his meow badge series. I don't really spend my diamonds on extra attempts every week. I don't feel the need to as I'm not in a rush, despite it being useful for affinity points. I will get them all in due time.

XAVIER: 82%

ZAYNE: 80%

RAFAYEL: 79%

SYLUS: 28%

[ 𝓹𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒔 ]

Rate up [Diving Dolphin] to the three-prong claw machine this month.

XAVIER: 46%

ZAYNE: 50%

RAFAYEL: 52%

SYLUS: 15%

[merakiui]

!!!! Those are so cool :DDDD!!!! Very very pretty!! The first one honestly reminds me a bit of Rollo but I think maybe it's just the palette it's got going on lol 😭 either way really neat :3 and glad to hear you're well!!!!

The second one though,, auughh I hope to get an outfit like that one of these days. I love the sleeves and the suspender pants!!! They're so fun!!!

It WAS a shock tho!! Usually my twt and tumblr circles do not cross much. But you're also really the only twst tumblr account I keep up with. Notifs on and everything 🫡 you're also so okay talking abr fashion!!! It's such a fun subject!! So many styles and pieces out there to look into

I have been very well though thank you :D! Trying very hard to get that eel Jade card but I fear he is not coming home this time. Maybe I'll have more luck on his rerun 💔💔

- :3 !!

Oh!! Sorry I meant to add this but forgot !! But I looked through my last asks and one of the last ones I sent was about Obey Me

They added it so you can read the entire og main story in nightbringer. In case you were still interested in reading it

- :3 again

- - -

Is it crazy that that was my immediate thought when I saw that dress and so it gave me even more reason to buy it.......... (ó﹏ò｡) I saw it and went: :O !!!! omg NBC dress!!!! It is so Rollo flavored to me..... definitely due to the colors hehe!! I'm happy you had similar thoughts. :D I would do anything for Rollo. I love him so dearly. If he is cheese, then I am rat. If he is light, then I am moth. If he is Crimson Lotus, then I am the hopeless mage throwing myself at him. <3 who needs magic when you have Rollo Flamme?

AND THE SECOND OUTFIT YES!!! AAAAAA it's just so amazing!!! I hope you can get an outfit just like that!!!! ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡ may you feel fashionable every day!!!

I know the feeling! There was a time when some classmates were avidly discussing omegaverse while we were at lunch, and I could only sit there in shock as two worlds collided in the most unexpected, miraculous way. But omg you're too kind, :3 anon!!! Having notifications on for me...... I am immensely honored. 🥺 that's so sweet,,, and thank you for listening to my brief fashion rambles! I also think it's a very fun subject, so I adore chatting about it when given the chance!

As usual, the eel is so slippery and can be difficult to catch. >_< I'm sending you heaps of luck so that he can come home to you (whether during his current banner or during rerun)!! You will bring that slimy eel home!!! And I'm very happy to know you're doing well!! Please have the best day always!!!!!! ✨✨✨✨✨✨

[zhongrin]

Popped real quick out of indefinite hiatus just because I saw the change from "neutral about Neuvillette" to "am i aCTUALLY GETTING BRAINWASHED ABOUT LIKING HIM NAUUUUGHH??" and let me tell you Miss Rin, it's only a matter of time before you could accept that fact 😔 but really, what's another doting husband among your protective and possibly possessive harem? (You now have to make sure Monsieur Neuvillette and Zhongli won't be hostile towards each other 👁️)

Plus, not surprisingly, Neuvillette does fit a lot of your criteria (basing this on the type of men you're into). He's gorgeous, not a loner but has that solemn-like, beautifully mysterious vibe, a dragon, a person of power (have you noticed your harem consists of men with power), no doubt gentle with children or those of child-like innocence...

It's not so bad with the Monsieur, give him a chance 🙏🏻🙏🏻 Maybe you could even get with a slowburn, 200k fic love story with him because have you seen the potential he has .. gosh, don't get me started HAGDHSH I'm a little bit insane on how much potential Focalors and Neuvillette had (in both romantic and platonic sense, BOTH suits them!!!)

crying sobbing es PLEASE NOT YOU TOO (˚ TT⌓TT )

"what's another doting husband among your protective and possibly possessive harem?" -> you almost got me with this one. i almost caved. shame on me. i. i mean. yes but. but. but. i dunno I FEEL GUILTY FOR SOME REASON orz (i am not confident i can do that hauhsdlfjskd what can a mortal girl do when two dragons are hissing and snarling at each other and doing their own equivalent of frillnecks raising their frills to intimidate its enemies??????)

i cackled at the 'dragon' part lmaooooo but yes, i know... i am aware... i do tend to go 🥺 when i see men with those traits in position of power... like. i mean. come on. the charisma and skills someone must have to manage to triumph others to be in that position? and despite that, they're not flaunting it around or misusing it? hot.

plus, i'm a follower through and through (i think i've had enough of being in the 'leader' position when i was younger). i like being led. i like having clear guidelines. i like following instructions. i like getting the approval stamp of someone who's more experienced in the field. i can gush and froth about this for hours on end hsdljfksldjf

and hhhhh yes men who are gentle with children and animals.... i don't think this needs any explanation, it's just so <3 <3 <3

es i've been having thoughts™️ since last year it's already a 300k slowburn fic at this rate, it's ridiculous orz i've held back for so long thinking 'eh it'll pass' but his banner is rerunning soon and the thoughts™️ are slowly coming back and people are fueling it i am weAK sobsob

[notthemonthbutmarch]

If I was Hoyoverse I simply would’ve made the banners better.

Hot take but it does make sense for Kaveh to not be on the banners. I wanted the Haikaveh banner too, but if the 4 stars chosen are meant to compliment the 5 stars, then putting a 4 star Dendro DPS with a 5 star Dendro DPS doesn’t make sense.

If I were Hoyoverse, I would have chosen Sethos, Thoma, and Cheveruse.

Because if Clorinde is made to sway players towards an Overload team, then Cheveruse is the Overload support. Sethos is the new 4 star, so there’s no negotiating his presence. Thoma is a pyro shielder, which is good to put on a dps that is gonna be alone on the field the longest, and then Cheveruse is the Overload support which would’ve made that reaction even stronger— rather than Bennett. Bennett is a good universal option, but by this point everyone has a Bennett and there are 4 stars we hardly see in the banner pool anymore (cough cough like Kaveh). Plus, if 4 stars are really supposed to compliment the 5 star, then Cheveruse is fucked. None of the electro 5 star units have been made with Overload in mind, so she’s gonna get locked in the cycle of not being more useful than other 4 stars that everyone already has because they made her for a niche reaction. This banner should’ve been Sethos, Thoma, Chevreuse. The only reason I think it isn’t is because of Alhaitham being a dendro unit so a Bennett is better for him— but this is his rerun, we have supports for him!

Then in 4.8, I would then go 5 star Emilie with Kaveh, Bennett, and someone else for the character running along side her. If Emilie really is a burning sub-dps, then she’ll still need a dps that’s preferably dendro to sustain the burning reaction. The only 4 star dendro dps we have is Kaveh. Then I would’ve put Bennett here because, again, he’s a good universal pick and he does give that good pyro circle so he’d be a good pick to react with Dendro. I would say Xiangling also fits as a pyro enabler here, but she just ran alongside Arlecchino and Lyney. Maybe Yanfei could take this spot because she’s a pyro dps to match with Emilie’s sub-dps, but overall I would’ve moved Bennett to this banner instead. Plus putting Kaveh on Emilie’s banner makes people want to pull for Emilie since she doesn’t have much going for her other than all the Voicelines teasing her (and now the slight flighting over her design). Hoyo wants your money more than our little gay dreams realized.

[den-ai-d]

Yay, Invitation to Wine Rerun is here!!! ...no Lee banner though😭

Anyway, I have another gripe:

Why is Shen Lou not an operator???

My goodness, he's so cool though!?!?! I really like these "I'm just a simple old man" types which are—of course—actually badasses. Like, when everyone noticed the sudden rain that preluded his entrance in that one scene in the mountains. UGH, SHOWOFF BASTARD; get over here and give me a hug!!!

Seriously, this game needs more of these playable old gents aside from Hellagur and Młynar. I guess Lee can be added to that list??? And although technically an old timer, Chongyue is too much of a bishie boy to be even considered lol.

[moldybonessmell]

So.. There are some of my genshin characters' builds I'm kinda proud of + team comps as AR 60 playing for 3,5 years

(esp proud as f2p except for Shenhe skin)

______________________

Tartaglia main since year one he's my absolute babygirl

And I wasn't even simping for him, I liked him bc of the gameplay in the first Hyakunin Ikki event

Farmed hydro set for him, then the nymph set and then RE-BUILT him by farming the whole new nymph set the dedication is proved I think ahah

Childe C2 was a double accident trying to pull for Heizou and Freminet (I haven't got them btw lol)

The fact that his best team is still the International is vile but also incredibly based

______________________

Arlecchino enjoyer

Ngl I also wasn't really simping for her but for her gameplay and animations and ESPECIALLY SCYTCHE yes I did end up spending 100 f2p pulls for her weapon and I have no regrets

I use to play her in Overload team (with attack sands) but recently only been playing Vape

______________________

Neuvillette yes I'm a meta player

He's pretty straightforward and thankfully low-investment and he's been carrying me easily since release

I play him in few different teams, including double geo with Albedo, but teams other than Hypercarry are only for overworld

______________________

Fischl appreciator

Ngl I was pretty annoyed by her before this one summer event where we got to know her story and since then she easily became a top character for me (including damage-vise)

She's a sub-dps so I literally put her in every team I can lol

______________________

Proud Kaeya main

C6 Triple-crowed

Kaeya main day one. Literally the reason I started to play genshin. I didn't even know it's gatcha at the time imagine that. Just saw a pretty character on twitter and decided to try. I'm like super lucky he's standard chara lol

I've tried a few different builds over the years (physical, freeze, melt) and end up stopping at melt one

Yes, he's in his og outfit even tho I have the skin, I just like it more

Even pulled Shenhe for him (even tho she ended up being my absolute favourite female chara in genshin) I even got the skin for her and broke my f2p journey

Her build is hybrid, support noblesse but also cryo goblet for some damage

And yes, she has her signature, but to be honest I was trying to pull for Mistsplitter for Kaeya

I play them both in Melt comp

______________________

Alhaitham autism bonding /j unless

He's just that bitch you know. Plus I'm a meta player once again.

He's rocking 3* weapon because he's a low-investment king definitely not bc I'm broke

Hyperbloom team is my favourite yes I put him with 2 archons and what about it

Kuki is my queen btw but she's low-investment support so there's no need to show her build. I actually liked her since release and KNEW she's gonna get better over time.

______________________

Traumatised like Xiao

I was saving the entire first year I played just to get him (I started to play on his banner but couldn't get him), I never got any Inazuma 5* except for Kazuha just to get Xiao.

..And then devs decided to rerun him every 3 months FUCK

I was definitely hurt but oh well

Tried many different builds and teams for him (even pulled Albedo for double geo). Every time he was getting buffed, I got this chara/artifact.

Is my build doing enough damage? Still no. But he's still my favourite deadly little meow meow and I'm not ashamed to admit it (I kinda do cringe writing this please know it's meta ironic)

______________________

Last but not least Tighnari

Liked him since beginning and yes I did pull on his banner instead of waiting for standard and I don't regret it. He's a good dps and best standard chara

Tighnari's is a day-one build btw I haven't changed it since he came out I think it's still good.

______________________

That's it, thank you for reading if you did haha!!