Waifu > Meta

I'm a firm believer that waifu (or husbando) always trumps meta, but also, is it too much to ask that the waifu isn't so anti-meta that it physically hurts to defend the statement?

I jest, of course, the main waifu > meta ideology is "don't shit on people for loving characters that aren't necessarily the strongest" not "be happy even if your favourite character gets nerfed into the ground and then spat out as a barely functioning unit". All those people saying "if you think waifu > meta then pull for Dehya" are missing the point, waifu > meta is not negated if you let meta sway your decisions, it's only negated if meta is the only thing dictating your decisions.

Let's use my choices as an example.

Case study 1: I think Cyno is super cool and I really like his kit (I mained Razor all the way to AR45 so I quite enjoy the uptime-heavy playstyle), his multipliers aren't necessarily the best but he's a functioning unit, so I got him on his first run and crowned him shortly after. waifu > meta.

Case study 2: I think Ayaka is a decent character, she's certainly the great in terms of meta, but I don't like her that much to be honest, and I also don't really like her playstyle, idk why but I can't get the hang of units with alternate sprints (this is also why, despite having C2 Mona, I don't really use her). Back when she first ran I skipped her banner to go for Kazuha and Raiden (my beloveds) and I haven't really felt compelled to get her in any of her reruns because, even though she's a good unit, she's not for me. Again, waifu > meta.

Case study 3: I pulled for Yae Miko on her first run because I would have been a fool not to. a crown for you as well, my queen. waifu > meta.
(but in all seriousness she has always been a very solid unit and i fell in love her totem thing the moment i did the playtest, which is by far the most polarising aspect of her kit I believe. So in that sense, I loved both the character and the playstyle.)

Case study 4: I'm not pulling for Dehya because, even though she is peak character design and I want her to step on me (jk jk... unless...), I don't think her kit is fun and I think the way her potential was basically locked behind constellations + (rumoured) signature artefact set was just a really nonsensical shit move. That's still waifu > meta, I like her face but not her kit, so it's not the complete package. It's not my fault I like functioning characters smh.

Anyway my sib did pull for Dehya because they're even more of a simp than I am and they'd already prefarmed everything, but even they're regretting it a little because she's just such a bad character.

Waifu > meta is not about masochistically playing a character you hate to play just because they're hot, y'know? It's about playing the characters you love without having to feel bad about loving them because they're not the strongest or the best at what they do. Not wanting to pull for a character you don't think you'll enjoy playing (for whatever reason, be it meta-related or design-related or whatever) is at the core of the waifu > meta ideology.

You pull for love, not for numbers. But if your love is influenced by the numbers, that's fine too, we all have preferences.