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| We enjoy even the same game in different ways but are nonetheless united. Xingqiu = me; Collei = Alevius. And yes, believe it or not, I don't like Chiori's personality. I'm surprised, though, that I got this epic shot in just one take. |
Introducing Myself in a Genshin Impact Context
What about me, though? I'd say I'm 55% meta, 25% lore, 20% headcanon. Yes, I know being a meta-heavy player is cliché given how male biology works. But when I was first introduced to Genshin Impact by ZeldaMaster (yes, a The Legend of Zelda YouTuber) and my friends BoltOLightnin and YoSquid back in October 2020, one major aspect of the game that got me so hooked is the elemental reaction system: mix various elements on a single enemy to achieve a special effect like adding or multiplying DMG, burning enemies alive, staggering and knocking them away with an explosion, and freezing them. I enjoy games that give me a lot of freedom to mess around with a variety of tactics, hence the Tactician half of my username. These days, I watch one too many meta videos and obsessively read Keqing Mains.
But don't get me wrong—the lore is still cool. I'm no stranger to lore-heavy games thanks to experience with the Fire Emblem series so Genshin Impact, despite the "Breath of the Wild clone" accusations, reminded me a decent amount of Fire Emblem as well. Genshin Impact may not have support conversations but almost every playable character has voicelines about certain other characters, helping me more clearly understand how these characters are perceived by the world around them. I think this lore has contributed to why headcanons are so popular and why I often watched comic dubs even in the 1.x days.
Another reason I enjoy lore and headcanons so much is I possess the Hopeless Romantic trait...which is why combined with my enjoyment of intellectual discussions, I was attracted to Sucrose—you can imagine Alberose (Albedo + Sucrose; yes, I defined it because people have largely forgotten about these two characters in favor of Chiori and Kaedehara Kazuha respectively) is one of my favorite fan-made ships. So I secretly fell in love with Alevius at first...who I will now explain.
Who is Alevius and Why Do I Love Her So Much?
Alevius and I first met in PDB, a social media site dedicated to personality types where users chat with each other in boards dedicated to types such as those in MBTI (the whole INTJ/ESFP stuff), Enneagram (numbers 1-9 with wings and those little subtype letters; e.g. 5w4 sp/sx), etc. She was helping the ENFJ board with how to communicate with INTPs better—we both share the INTP type whose most active cognitive function (basically thinking or perception style) is Introverted Thinking...which is least on the ENFJ's mind. Her main answer was to zero in on the INTP's main interests...and I provided examples because I felt generous. Little did we realize...we started a whole insane discussion about Fire Emblem and Genshin Impact. I immediately was told that Collei is the character Alevius relates the most to given their similar enthusiastic but reserved demeanor and hatred toward Dottore, the child experimenter.
So since I enjoyed the brain connection, I talked to Alevius in other ways such as tagging her when I did a personality self-evaluation. She responded with self-evaluations of her own which I thoroughly had fun with. We made essays, I tell you. I was surprised I got this much attention given that from my experience, the vast majority of young people simply do not have the "time" or brain juice to do this. I fell in love with Alevius secretly at first as a result.
To spare you the nitty-gritty details, we eventually privately discussed many other topics beyond gaming and personality. I was staying updated on Alevius's school and work life. What made her fall in love back with me was when I emotionally supported her while she was going through rough times at work, including cases of sexual harassment. She also held onto that feeling secretly at first...until she couldn't take it anymore and confessed (even though at the time, I explicitly told her I wanted a Filipino girlfriend for better accessibility). She was basically ready to die of cringe...but me returning the favor was something she did not expect at all.
And we lived happily ever after. The End. OK, just kidding. We're just getting started.
And we lived happily ever after. The End. OK, just kidding. We're just getting started.
When we're not raging at each other's family issues, school, or work, we're discussing something video game-related like planning our Minecraft base and exploration, introducing a game one plays that the other doesn't (e.g. I introduced Pokémon to her), and you guessed it—Genshin Impact. Let's do it.
Share in My Meta Knowledge!
I met Alevius some time during the later 3.x patches—I can't remember when exactly. But she actually started in Version 2.0. At the time, she was mainly getting advice from one of her friends...who built her characters almost entirely with ATK% main stats on her artifacts. Even now with Alevius having significantly better meta knowledge, this friend's Neuvillette, a pure HP scaler, has ATK% all over. It was easy for Alevius's Neuvillette to out-damage her friend's since I farmed optimal Marechaussee Hunter artifacts for her.
While I admit I cringed when I first saw the pure ATK% builds on Alevius's account when I got permission to use it, I think I was polite in my criticisms, focusing on the positives of, say, the traditional ATK%/Elemental DMG/CRIT build instead of the negatives of pure ATK%. Even now, we maintain a private spreadsheet containing all the summarized info needed to grind up our characters, particularly the material requirements and artifact recommendations.
Prior to getting Alevius's account access, though, I helped Alevius every day, doing Daily Commissions and Weekly Bosses with her...using an America account belonging to someone I had a contract with—I asked permission, don't worry. This led her to save enough Primogems for C2 Zhongli...and in Version 4.0, she got C3 out of nowhere!
Aside from Zhongli, one of Alevius's best pulls ever was Arlecchino, a character she also strongly relates to because she loves children (and funny enough, she sometimes thinks of me and my friend group as a group of cute little babies to be taken care of) and has an occasionally firmly protective approach (beware if you have a Citlali-like demeanor). I built Alevius's Arlecchino with the abundance of Gladiator's Finale artifacts she farmed from bosses 'cause we both can't stand artifact Domains...and little did I know the Fourth Harbinger would turn Alevius's account from a wheelchair-stuck grandma to a destructive powerhouse.
To this day, I still happily manage Alevius's account. With Arlecchino, Neuvillette, and Tighnari fully built, it's incredibly comfortable to play compared to last year.
The Kaveh Joke Turned Insane Feat
Alevius normally can't stand some of her professors in college but feels really comfortable around me even though I can be quite strict in teaching and using English. So I jokingly challenged her to write a 1,000-word essay about why she likes Kaveh.
She churned out a...1,500-word essay detailing not just Kaveh's outfit but also his personality, life challenges, and how he overcame them. With citations too! It normally takes Alevius days to complete an essay this long but it only took her 2 hours given how enthusiastic she was about the topic! It even skyrocketed Kaveh from just being in one of her top 10-ish ranks to #1, no question!
And to think Kaveh was this garbage character full of wasted potential. I was so inspired by that essay that I once beat a combat challenge with Kaveh when I had no other choice. While the Kaveh in my own account remains unbuilt as I am hyper-focused on preparing for the Imaginarium Theater with more off-field characters, I still hold Alevius's Kaveh in high regard given how well-built he is with 7/8/7 Talents so far and how he's still in one of her signature teams.
I also try to live up to Alevius's appreciation for Kaveh by honing my own Minecraft building style. I think Alevius still loves the house I built for us earlier this 2024.
Sucrose Supremacy!
As a Sucrose simp who firmly thinks Alevius is Sucrose-like and she agrees, I am very proud that she prefers Sucrose over Kaedehara Kazuha or as we call him, Uggo.
She skipped three Uggo banners before finally pulling him in Version 5.0 out of necessity.
We staunchly believe Sucrose is superior because while Uggo is indeed a strong fighter with a calming personality, Sucrose's intelligence surpasses Uggo's given that she administers the exams in Alchemical Ascension, the potion brewing event, and I imagine she'd be able to pass those exams. The potions pack amazing utility, being able to buff all the D&D ability scores (counting Wisdom as both Intelligence and Wisdom) while containing special properties like healing and a relaxing feeling. Also, call us crazy but we can keep up with Sucrose's sciencey rambling just fine.
When running my Sucrose against my Uggo on Genshin Optimizer, I realized that my Sucrose buffs my Hu Tao more than Uggo does (even when not counting Sucrose's C6 effect) so I advised Alevius to take good care of her Sucrose. It helps that Sucrose buffs Dendro teams better than C0-C1 Uggo given the latter lacks a teamwide Elemental Mastery buff...and Dendro is one of if not Alevius's #1 favorite element.
Warning: Ship Infection Detected.
I once told Alevius that I imagine most Genshin Impact players would compare me to either Albedo or Xiao given that I give average Joes the impression of a smartypants edgelord. Alevius agreed with the Xiao part, saying that I'm always there when she calls, especially if a combat challenge needs the BRUTAL MURDER treatment.
I also find Lumine quite beautiful...so I introduced Alevius to Xiaolumi comics. Now, she's completely melted by the romance and considers this the best HoYo ship hands down. (Yeah, even better than the canon Trailblazer x Firefly in Honkai: Star Rail.)
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