u/losingit303

I know that there are ones that do, but, honestly, I am mostly complaining about HSR and how the last 4 new limiteds have been men. Like, I get that the store ones happened, plus the selector had women, but all of the new on banner units that you're guaranteed to not have have been m*n. I can honestly say, so far, every single one of the women they had in the selector, plus the ones in the shop, I have already had.

I think it further annoys me because it gets to a point where I feel like my paying for pulls is subsidising some of the most annoying people in the fandom that go around and then complain about the characters I am actually paying to have while they get theirs for free... idk its bumming me out now especially with seeing people hoping for the ZZZ collab to have a split again and I just know that if it does everyone is already assuming the guy will be the free one. Some people even sound entitled about getting free men atp.

This one is my favourite – The glaze lily war. A Ganqing fic where Keqing and Ningguang (who has in the past used her leverage over Keqing in a relationship so TW for that and mentioned such abuses)

Its one of the earliest works I've read but I'm such a sucker for slow burn angsty romances. It managed to make me cry and deliver me an utterly not what I want at all ending yet make me love it regardless because it felt real and earned for what it was. This is the first time I've read something where I can honestly say the ending is unsatisfying to me yet I wouldn't change it cause anything else I think would be worse.

What I really love about Amphoreus as a whole comes down to something deeply sentimental to me. Less about the grand space opera narratives about stopping intergalactic lord ravaragers, and more about the warmth of a found family facing guaranteed doom with empathy, it is fundamentally a story about the nature of stories. While Penacony served as a warning against the perils of capitalism and escapism, Amphoreus instead invites you to get lost in its narrative and actually let yourself feel.

Sitting through a 50-hour epic and letting it hurt you when it ends feels rare in a world dominated by short-form content and quick dopamine hits. When the story finished for me, I felt that profound loneliness of a completed journey. Watching characters choke up, say their goodbyes, and fade into literal text on a page had me sitting there ugly crying, not over code or pixels, but over the inevitable loss of the experience's necessary end. Those characters exist because people like us felt them; without our tears, laughter, and smiles, they really would just be data on a hard drive. Maybe I’ve just softened up with age and stopped needing to play the "cool girl", but the writers didn't hold back in their earnestness, and neither did I.

No character embodies this more than Castorice, in my opinion. Castorice's entire life and journey as a flamchaser is one of rejection of herself and of her bonds and the self-compassionate resolution to that self-rejection. Playing through 3.2, you learn her story is so fantastical in nature, yet it feels deeply human as you watch her learn to value herself through circumstances that force her into isolation and unintentionally hurt those around her. Castorice being touch-starved is, I know, something a lot of queer people, especially younger, closeted queer people, go through. I don't think Polyxia being disabled was a coincidence; I think that was Hoyo fixing their mistake from the Luofu. While there, the narrative essentially (hopefully unintentionally) sides against the inherent value of life through the mistreatment of its most vulnerable citizens. Cassie's arc's resolution shows that a person's value lies in the inherent worth of life, which only gains true meaning through death. The afterlife being a garden, with Cassie and Polyxia effectively acting as gardeners, was genuinely clever. It ties directly into how, by accepting herself, Cassie is finally rewarded with the ability to touch living things a striking contrast to the animated short showing her killing flowers. Everything leading up to it was perfect, too.

It was obvious what choice she’d make the moment she forgave, accepted and called Amunet her mother. By that point, she had accepted that she was someone who had truly lived, and now that journey, with all its highs and lows, was coming to an end. It's also when she starts seeing the love of everyone around her and her found family and starts feeling it. Throughout 3.2 we see how much Cipher and Aglaea want Castorice to make her own choice to participate in the Flame Chase Journey. Aglaea picked Cipher for a reason, and it's because she knew she would offer Castorice an out. We also see Tribbie's drawing/acceptance of Castorice into the family, and we see Mydei killing himself over and over and over just to give Castorice all the time she needs to actually make her decision without pressure because thats how important this kind-hearted girl is to those around her. Including her friendship with Stelle, the first person she ever managed to give life to rather than take it away. I think its really neat that when Castorice hugs Stelle goodbye (the 3rd hug we see in 3.2) after she hugs her old friend and Polyxia, "this warmth is proof that we lived". The warmth she talks about is both literal and metaphorical. She finally gets to have her wish fullfilled and is also granted reprieve from the touch starvation she has gone through her entire life.

Her character is someone I just heavily aspire to be like. She’s literally the type of person who talks to inanimate objects because she doesn't socialise much, but doesn't want to inconvenience those around her with poor social skills when she does. She is anxious and reserved, always keeping others at a distance. As a girl with social anxiety, I can relate so much, obviously for very different reasons, but still. Her compassion, kindness, and gentleness shine through again and again without Hoyo making that her entire identity. She clearly has some bite when she's around people she's close to and thinks they're being threatened or mistreated; one needs to just look at her entire interaction with Cerces. From everything I've written, she's clearly lonely and bored often, but she always channels her energy into self-improvement and creative pursuits.

She is truly the HSR character I aspire the most to be like.

Full on sapphic lean for the fem MC compared to the guy too.