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HSR “DoT, I play DoT teams.”

    Its a story of a person losing his date for playing Damage over Time (DoT) team from Honkai Star Rail. The original source in Chinese is from a video description from Bilibili. It has been translated to English and used as a meme to poke fun at how weak the DoT archetype is in the game.

    Recently, I talked to a girl about HSR at a posh restaurant, it did not go well.
    
    She straight up asked me:
    
    "Hey, what kind of team do you play the most?"
    
    Upon hearing this question, my heart tightened, I began to have an intense panic attack and almost choked. So I gave my response:
    
    "Y'know, the one that got good recently?"
    
    I could see it in her eyes, a small flash of excitement.
    
    "Oh? Hyperbreak? I love hyperbreak."
    
    I immediately tried to explain.
    "N-no-"
    
    "Then FUA? "
    
    "Sorry, I-"
    
    "Acheron? She's not bad."
    
    "Also no..."
    
    At this point, my head was already buried in my chest. I dared not even lift my head up, I was already sweating bullets, and the atmosphere was so awkward my twitching feet could almost penetrate a hole through the marble flooring.
    
    "You play mono quantum? Then I'd agree it's pretty hard to say that so openly." Her expression was already that of astonishment.
    
    In this day and age, those who would play 4 quantum are few in number. Either they still cling to old hopes and sometimes OD on copium, or they are deranged in the mind. Quite pitiful they are. I felt her empathetic gaze on my neck, it shook me intensely like the 50/50s I've lost to Welt Yang and Yanqing pulling for my characters. I felt my face fluster, my breath get heavy, and my head dazed. I tried my damned hardest to calm my quivering legs and clenched my teeth to say the words I was about to say next. This took the last of my strength:
    
    "Not that either!"
    
    These words were wilted when they came out of my mouth, it's no more audible than a needle falling to a dancefloor. Though, I promise this was the loudest that I could speak at that time. I looked up. her expression changed completely. There was a brief moment of dreadful silence.
    
    "Then.... what team do you play? I thought the game only had these teams?"
    
    Every single word she spoke struck me like hammers nailing down the last few pegs of the coffin to my weak heart. I was awestruck, my soul rended apart by the sharpness of her words. Then, I could hold it in no more. Along with my words, a few strong-willed yet aggrieved tears rolled out of the corner of my eye.
    
    "DoT, I play DoT teams."
    
    When I said that abbreviation, the discussions around us stopped, leaving me to wallop in the silence between my occasional sniffles. Feeling the pitiful gaze from passersby around me, I felt like an orphan dragging their disabled body to beg for spare change on the streets of Belobog. I held my face in my hands, I was too embarrassed to let anyone see my miserable state.
    
    She turned to leave. At this point, tears already washed my face, I was on the floor, my two arms gripped on her ankles, and didn't dare let go. I was a clown to the people around me. The last words that I let out that day before being dragged out by the security and falling into unconsciousness were spoken at that very moment.
    
    "So what my damage is low? It's not like it's unplayable! It will be good in the future! The devs will make a good environment and buffs for it."

    Original CN version from Bilibili

    昨天跟初恋见面,她直接问我:“你星铁玩什么队?”我心中一紧,有些慌不择路:“就,就最近还行的那个。”女生眼神中流露出一点兴趣,问:“流萤超击破队?”我连忙低声解释:“不是。”“那一定是黄泉太后咯?”“不是......”“追击队么?那也还行呀?”女生兴致勃勃。“也不是,我......”坐立不安的我不敢抬头,与地面垂直的脚尖恨不得把地板凿穿。⁡“量子队吗?那确实有点不好开口......”女生表情讶异。这个年代,肯玩冷门弱势配队的玩家已经很少见了,他们不是游戏理解有问题,就是脑子有病,挺可怜的。感受到她向我投来的关切目光,我的身体像筛糠一般猛烈颤抖,我感到脸颊发烫,头晕目眩。汗流浃背的我死死按住哆嗦个不停的双腿,咬紧牙关,使出最后的力气从嗓子里挤出来几个字:“也,也不是!”⁡这声音尽管细弱蚊游,宛如一根针掉在嘈杂的舞池中,但我敢保证这已经是此时的我能喊出的最大音量了。随着这句话一出口,对面的女生瞬间变了脸色她仿佛是难以置信我刚才的话,表情肃穆,缓了半天才开口:“那你...玩的,是什么队?整个游戏好像就只有这些了吧?”女生这话里的一句一字都像是狠狠砸下的巨锤一般,一下又一下地夯击着我那脆弱的心灵。⁡我发愣在原地良久。被这句灵魂拷问摧残了良久。最终,我再也绷不住了,委屈的眼泪倔强地从眼角挤出:“我,我玩dot的......”一听到dot,原本略有喧闹的周围瞬间安静下来,只留下我接连抽鼻涕的呜咽声。感受到周围人向我投来怜悯的目光,像是看到一个身体残疾患有唐氏综合症的可怜孤儿在拖着羸弱的身躯沿街乞讨一般。让目光让我如芒在背,我死死捂着脸,低着头,不敢让别人看到我的狼狈模样。⁡此时的我已被泪水洗刷面庞,双手死死环抱住将要离去女孩的一条腿不肯松开,在围观的路人面前上演着一出精彩的闹剧,活像个小丑 m 。但我仍竭尽全力呐喊着,试图为自己辩解:“伤害只是低了点!又怎么样!又不是不能玩!未来会可期的!策划会给环境的!”