#i can't believe i really wrote three whole bios for this

[rmbunnie]

It's most likely just Starlin trying to get to Jason dying faster because he did not like Robin, but the whole "Jason's spiraling because of his grief for his parents" thing they were trying to spin was honestly really weird, not supported by the rest of the run INCLUDING the parts Starlin wrote, and kinda reads like an unreliable narrator situation because all of the information supporting it is given through Bruce's narration, him speculating on Jason's thoughts and actions.

The plot thread of Jason's grief for his family affecting his behavior shows up like TWO issues after Jason first becomes Robin back when Collins was writing, and gets sorted out after one conversation where Jason gets to confront Bruce about hiding his father's death from him for 6 months. After that Jason is behaving normally until they encounter three predators in a row, and each time Bruce insists that they can't do anything because of The Rules and assorted red tape/diplomatic immunity plotlines. (The sister of a woman who got dismembered actually tricked the violent-misogynist killer who dismembered her sister (and then got his serial killings dismissed through a technicality) into attacking her, and ends up killing him in self-defense, and then Jason's like "seems fair" and Bruce is like "no. it's NOT. we need to follow laws and not take justice into our own hands. which like wtf Bruce! you are a vigilante who just used a custom tank to fight an evil televangelist! who then got ripped to shreds by his followers while you watched!)

Bruce kinda just decides with Alfred that it must be grief upsetting him and not the dozens of brutally killed women and their predatory killers who the law inexplicably protected, (all written by Starlin, so retconning it for DitF like five issues later would be an odd move) but the only text claiming that's why Jason was upset is from Bruce's POV and through Alfred's dialogue. Jason himself doesn't display any signs of grief in the story itself, or even act or speak in a way that alludes to Catherine and Willis beyond looking at a picture of them and smiling fondly while he sorts through their possessions. He kinda just happens upon the box with his mother's info by chance, and is like ok i guess we're doing mom searches now. He was only going for a walk through his old neighborhood, not actively searching out info on his family. When Jason is deciding whether or not to run off without telling Bruce, he considers telling him and then goes "no, all he cares about is being Batman, he wouldn't even understand why I want to see my mom." Which, I mean, "Bruce wouldn't get it" is a REALLY odd angle if the sole motivator for spiraling, then getting benched* and running away to search out his bio-mom, was because he was mourning his dead parents, a thing he notably has in common with Bruce. That statement only really makes sense if he's thinking about a different thing that was greatly upsetting to him that Bruce brushed past, like maybe a combo of hiding the murder of his dad for half a year and allowing several cases involving sexual violence to freely develop body counts in the name of the law.

Lots of people have written about how Jason's stay in the manor might have seemed dependent on being Robin with how he was kinda just scooped up, but (if we're including Detective Comics in our characterization,) Bruce had offered to let him resign from Robin and just live with him (a little late, but still. It's worth noting Batman proper shows Jason afraid and uncomfortable at the thought of Dick taking Robin back, which lends more merit to the housing-dependent-on-Robin-misunderstanding interpretation, but canon is pick and choose anyways.) The lack of trust involved in his choice to search out his mom kinda reads like it was bred by more than that alone, and Bruce's prioritization of the law over the protection of the people it ignores is notably upsetting to him in the prior issues. tbh I really do believe the outcomes of those cases could have informed Jason's stance that Bruce's method of justice is ineffective right alongside his own murder and his experiences in Lost Days.

It would make sense for Bruce to not consider his own actions while he's thinking through things that would upset Jason, because from his point of view the things there that were bothering Jason were the criminals alone, not the way that the methods with which they were approaching their crimes continually led to the perpetrators evading actual justice. During the point in DitF where he's thinking through motivations for Jason's running away because something isn't adding up for HIM, the idea doesn't so much as cross his mind. It would also add another layer to Jason's sulkiness upon Bruce's arrival if he held the belief that Bruce is ignoring the consequences his brand of justice has on victims (and the way it's affecting him to helplessly watch it play out), starts to hope that Bruce actually can understand his thought processes/relate to him when he shows up, only to be told to his face that Bruce is prioritizing his style of justice over Jason again. With the way everything that led Jason to his bio-mom was comically circumstantial and the context of the previous issues, it's kind of the ONLY way Death in the Family makes sense to me. Tldr: I feel like the grief claimed as reasoning for Jason's actions leading up to his death is mainly speculation from Bruce and Alfred and the more textually-supported reason for his erratic behavior and lack of trust in Bruce is the lack of intervention in several sensitive cases that led them to worsen unobstructed and eventually permitted them to escalate into casualties in 2 out of 3 cases.

*Also, side note, but the idea that Jason got benched for the Filipe situation, while perfectly reasonable, is not quite spot on. The Filipe situation escalated into the fight in the junkyard where his dad is crushed by a car and Bruce is all "everything you do has consequences" which is kinda big words for a guy whose lack of action indirectly lead to a girls death earlier in the storyline, but true. Jason actally gets benched because he jumps directly into gunfire while fighting the third set of predators and Bruce starts to worry he's getting a little suicidal with it. He baits a guy into shooting at him on purpose again trying to protect mom prospect number 1 later on in DitF, so Bruce might have had a point with that one.

[ac-liveblogs]

Greetings! Can I share my woes with you, fellow stranger? I... honestly cannot believe that a game like genshin could possibly exist. I'm almost done with the Fountain AQ and lemme just say that... This dumbfuck journey through the nations made me fear for my own sanity. There is almost NEVER any logical progression between the stages of the quests and literally only 2,5 people in the whole fandom ever talk about this! Half the time you cannot tell why the characters are doing what they are doing and even when you can see the logic behind their actions the actions themselves are usually stupid af. And then there are world quests that are written as if they exist in some entirely different worlds! Like how the Meropide from the AQ and from the Unfinished Comedy are two completely different prisons, because NO WAY are they run by the same Duke guy. So, I've been very troubled by this. Have I lost my last braincells and this is why I can't comprehend the very good writing of the very good hoyo? Is everyone else just playing a different genshin that ACTUALLY makes sense?? Am I insane or is it the world around me that has gone mad???

Salutations, kind stranger, please take a seat!

To risk sounding very unkind, my general impression behind a lot of the discussion surrounding Genshin's story and character writing boils roughly down to this post;

Because I do get the general sense that what sticks with most people are the big dramatic moments and the general SHAPE of what you expect this all to mean or look like, not what it actually is or says. Which is FINE, praise fanon because god knows this game needs it, but my eye will start aggressively twitching when I see people praising Scaramouche's deep emotionally charged writing (HYV avoided writing as much of his story as possible though) or how meaningful a character Neuvillette is (confusing role in the narrative at best, actively detrimental to the world-building at worst).

And maybe if you're willing to accept lore dumps, explanations that character arcs happened off-screen, character bios, flashback sequences, telling not showing and animated trailers as substitutes for actual writing... then maybe it does seem like a lot is accomplished, even if you do have to bridge the gap with fanon. Like, there's so much lore! And they wrote so many words! It must be smart!!

I did chat to a colleague at work (anime fan; writing a book) who played Genshin and dropped it very early on. I asked "so what did you think of the writing" and without missing a beat he said "embarrassingly bad". So I'm going to say that most of the people that recognise it just dropped it immediately and the majority of the remainders are people that are willing to accept this. And suckers like us who sit open mouthed watching the trainwreck unfold.

Or, there's a secret version of this game I failed to download twice, and you clearly didn't get it, in which case I think we need to find the correct person to complain to about it.

Though speaking of the Fortress of Meropide, I was really amused when 'this is a DARK PRISON' collided with 'this is a GREAT prison and Wrio's so cool' in Wriothesely's quest, where the writers struggled with giving him a dramatic storyline tied to his own location so much they made him accidentally endorse a torture cult without realising how much that clashed with Wrio's previous characterisation of 'I know everything in the Fortress, including that you three are Fatui agents, to the point that I can quiz the Traveller on weird conspiracy theories about this place'.

Or like, "oh I'm really observant, I did notice this weird and suspicious/worrying thing, I just haven't done anything about it" x2 because he can't look ignorant, he's gotta know what's up, but like, think about that a second more and that's worse. Wrio. That's worse, you have to investigate those things. There is a torture cult in the basement and the entire prison almost flooded with people dissolving water, Wrio, we could have avoided these problems!

My current conspiracy theory is this place sucks like the AQ implies, but everyone just lies to Wrio and pretends everything is great and he's doing such a good job running the joint and he just believes them. The bubble almost pops in his character quest, but not quite.

Although, I hate the Fortress in it's entirety and all, but the thing that's sticking with me despite everything that Fontaine did is still.... "these people used to be oceanids but just forgot". Who forgot? Hoyoverse, apparently. Furina's quest sure didn't engage with 90% of the writing surrounding both that and her trial, huh. What a stupid meaningless twist that meant nothing and had no impact whatsoever. Why even do it.

this game is punishment for something and i'm not sure what

[rseliu]

            “and then she knew, you could be homesick for people too.”

                          colin michael doherty played by pierce brosnan (65)

Colin Michael Doherty was born in Galway, Ireland with a spirit as lively as the place that raised him. He had two older brothers that were hardly around during his childhood, as they were significantly older and have already had their own families by the time Colin entered his teenage years. Always an optimist, he never found the hardships that came with having elderly parents, as he just wasn’t programmed to find all the ‘bad’ that there could be. When he was thirteen, Colin was fortunate enough to tag along on holiday with his older brother and family to the United States for the summer, falling in love with what the west coast had to offer. He was dead set on moving there when he was ready, even if it meant being away from family. When college came around, Colin applied to the University of Denver, where he met Faith and the rest was history. 

She was, admittingly, a very tough nut to crack, as Colin usually had it easy when it came to ‘wooing’ the ladies. Faith proved to be the toughest person he had ever met, and he just couldn’t get enough of her ‘hard to get’ nature. A lot of push and pull went on between them for years until Faith finally let him in, leading to a five-year relationship before he finally popped the question. Colin had to admit that Faith was really the backbone of their family. She was strong and wise beyond her years, as he grew dependent on her dependability. As the years went on and both Michelle and Rose entered their lives, their marriage was thinning. Faith would close herself off to Colin frequently but always made sure to keep a good face on for their children despite their struggles behind the scenes. Colin felt alone and gradually gave up on their relationship. In the midst of it all, he unintentionally grew closer to Michelle’s best friend, Heather. It started with pep talks and advice, which led to comforting moments whenever they were around each other which, coincidentally, was when they needed it most. One thing led to another, and they started a consensual affair for almost an entire year before they were caught on prom night in a room at the Country Club, by Michelle. Colin faced a public trial that was written off on the technicality that Heather was already eighteen way before the affair even started, but he still had to pay the price. Shamed by the public, he was fired from his job as a high school counselor and was completely shut out by his family. Faith and Colin had quick and clean divorced, with little to no words to exchange, Michelle forced their family to change their last names, and Rose was nowhere to be seen. After a few months, Colin relocated to Nevada to live with a college roommate in order to give everyone their space. He hopes to mend things with his daughters, but if nothing progresses within the next five years, he promised himself he’d go back home and stay out of their lives for good.

                           faith ( 映月 ying yue ) liú played by michelle yeoh (56)

Liú Ying yue was born in Hougang, Malaysia (now Singapore) on a rainy day with only her father and grandmother to welcome her when she first opened her eyes to greet the world. Her mother had died of childbirth, permanently scarring her father forever. He was a poor man that managed to move from Beijing in search of a better life, ultimately finding it when he met Ying yue’s mother. The two were madly in love, but all was at a lost when her mother had fallen ill, while pregnant. They knew childbirth would be risky, as they contemplated having an abortion, but ultimately decided against it after their families protested the idea. However, as soon as Ying yue entered the world, all hope of having a happy life without her mother died. Her father grew cruel along with her mother’s mother, as Ying yue ultimately grew up with no sense of warmth in her childhood. As the years went on, Ying yue grew a thick layer of skin. She became wildly independent and whilst being submissive to both her drunkard father and abusive grandmother, she was still tough and worked hard to live the life she has today. At seventeen, Ying yue left her home with enough savings to emigrate to the U.S. No one approved, but Ying yue never needed anyone’s approval. 

She moved to Denver, Colorado for her college years, where she met Colin-- a wildly optimistic man that she couldn’t help but grow annoyed with. Ying yue renamed herself as ‘Faith’ during her freshman year, to make it a little bit easier on Americans, but mostly for herself, when she discovered a new found love for Christianity. As tough as a rock, Faith was adamant on working hard to become a doctor and to live a good life. She never intended on having a family--- as she never really had one of her own, so sure that she’d be a terrible mother anyway. However, the more Colin persisted to be a presence in her life, Faith ultimately let her guard down and fell in love. It wasn’t a reluctant decision either. She saw him as a man that she could trust, a man that wouldn't give up no matter how hard she pushed back. And so, they dated for five years and Colin popped the question, making it one of Faith’s happiest moments in her life. After having Michelle and Rose, Faith grew depressed and had never really grown out of it. She began to worry consistently about motherhood and found it difficult to share her burdens with Colin. She was never a woman of many words, as she never learned how to share them in the first place, ultimately pushing Colin away far enough for him to finally let go. The two grew apart and had mentioned divorced a few times out of their relationship, but there was a part of Faith that held on... so that maybe, just maybe, things would go back to the way they used to be. When the news of Colin and Heather had broken out, Faith couldn’t say she was surprised... but still, she was devastated even if she’d never let herself show it.  She allowed Michelle to grieve over her father’s departure and allowed the name change. While Faith wasn’t so sure she’d need it, she knew her eldest daughter did. Contrary to belief, while most would figure that Michelle was most like her mother, it was Rose that resembled her the most. Strong, quiet, and quick to shut people out--- she worried over her youngest daughter the most, even more so now that she had moved to New York. Currently, Faith still continues to work as a gynecologist in Castle Rock, living each day until it gets easier to endure.

                                       michelle liú played by janel parrish (29)

Michelle never began her life as a jealous person. In fact, she had always been a very supportive friend and family member. Even during the trivial times when life pushed her from left to right, she was just too full of joy to pay attention to it. It wasn’t until high school rolled around for Rose that the picture began to get more clear--- realizing all those moments in her past that had people comparing her to her younger sister, relentlessly. It made her uncomfortable, sure, but Rose had always been such a supportive and caring presence in her life, she chose to ignore it all, it was only right. Most importantly, Michelle and Rose were two vastly different people. As the older sister, Michelle was guaranteed to make all of the big mistakes first. She got into a car crash with her parent's car first, got busted for drinking underage, got caught skipping class, and so on and so forth. The consequences were severe, but Michelle was just too much of a free spirit to follow the rules like Rose did. She just enjoyed life and didn’t want to waste it following the rules laid out of her. 

Her cynicism began during her junior year of high school, however. It was then when she met her current fiance, Sam, who has proven to be the only honest person in her life (aside from Rose and her mother) after the events of her father's affair with her best friend, Heather. Michelle took it the hardest. She lashed out unapologetically and was tolerated having a bad behavior for months after the affair. She wanted to get rid of every trace her father and Heather had left behind in her life, even going so far as to change her last name to her mothers. It wasn’t an impulsive decision either. She had marinated in the idea for weeks, deciding that she didn't’ want to be attached to the name of a coward. Michelle was close to her mother, more so than her father. She was more outspoken and more observant than Rose, who noticed right away when her mother was less than enthusiastic about the way she was living her life. Faith didn't’ say much to Michelle, as it was hard to disclose the details, but she was able to express enough that Michelle could understand. So, to Michelle, the name change wasn’t because she hated her father as much as she protested to be. She just respected her mother so much more, that she felt the need to show that in such a permanent way. 

A couple of years went by and Michelle was growing to be in a better place. She followed Sam’s dreams of being a pilot, obtaining a career as a stewardess. The two traveled a lot for that first year, but after five or so years of being in a relationship, Michelle wanted to take the next step. She never pushed Sam, but it was evident that she wanted to get engaged. She dropped hints shamelessly, and when she thought that all was at a loss, Sam finally did it. Currently, the two are looking for their own home to start a family, ready to move out of their tiny apartment, living their best lives. Although Michelle misses Rose deeply, she knows Rose can take care of herself. They face time frequently and send each other bi-weekly emails in order to catch up-- not to mention Rose’s blog where Michelle and Sam can keep up on her day-to-day life.

[msbluebell]

Hello, I'm the same anon talking about the Captured AU. Sorry about that, I'm not accusing you of making Edelgard a Yandere when I sent the ask, I may come off as oversimplifying Edelgard's character with that but the Captured AU where Edelgard amplified her controlling tendencies just... gave off that impression to me, so, again, I apologize. And part of me can't see Edelgard doing that, as much as I'm aware that it's an AU, since even if her methods are questionable, she still gave (1/2)

the rest of the Eagles a choice to whether or not they will fight with her or not. And even in non-Black eagles routes, she gave Petra a choice to whether or not she will help her if you recruit Petra. So even with all her controlling tendencies, I was on the belief that Edelgard still gave people a choice, no matter how little they might be. Edelgard's methods are NOT okay, but I just can't see her having her controlling tendencies amplified like the AU did. (2/2)Listen, I’m not mad at you. You’re allowed to not like something, and you’e allowed to criticize something, and you’re allowed to even think actively bad things about something.

You and I? We don’t agree on Edelgard’s character and that’s the bare bones of it.

I’m really, really, tired of trying to defend my view on Edelgard, or this stupid AU I made that got me so much hate from different anons (not you, I assume). I don’t even like her character, so it’s exhausting to keep repeating my views of her over and over. So, right here, right now, I’m using your argument less to argue about my AU, and more to put my final foot down on my feelings on Edelgard, what I think she’d do, and how I feel about her. So sorry about that.

I completely, totally, undeniably believe Edelgard absolutely would lock up Byleth in a tower for five years if given the option. That’s not even something I questioned when writing this AU. I think she’s ruthless enough to do it, I think she’s got the sense of compassion to want to do it, and I think she has the moral self-superiority to think she’s right for doing so.

This is the girl that was staged a bandit attack in order to assassinate her two fellow House Leaders, both of whom are underage like her. This is the girl that blackmailed Lorenz into siding with the Empire, this is the girl that is invading all of Fodlan in order to tear down the system and rebuild it the way she thinks is right, this is the girl that used Bernadetta as bait in a trap on Gronder Field in every route not Black Eagles. This is the girl that is possibly blackmailing Ferdinand. Her willingness to commit atrocities in the name of her ambition is what gets the other three factions of the game to paint her as evil. And, eespite loathing the methods of TWSITD, she is shown to actively aid them with their experiments by collecting Crest Stones for them to use to turn innocents into Demonic Beasts with her assault on the Holy Tomb. She also explicitly gave them the Death Knight, who then helps them kidnap Flayn for more experiments. She obsessed with control to the point that it’s listed in her bio, and the only time she lets up on any of these qualities is when Byleth is actively playing her morality pet in the Crimson Flower Route.

And that’s not even going into the fact that she justifies all these actions by the “I Did What I Had To Do” logic.

So, yes, with all the criticism you may think I hate her.

No.

I dislike her, but I understand and appreciate that she’s also a kind, compassionate, woman that is actively trying to make her homeland a better play the only way she knows how. She’s working on only half the actual facts, much like Dimitri, and like him she’s attacking the wrong people because she came to a wrong conclusion based on only half given facts. She legitimately does believe that playing the tyrant now is going to save a lot of people in the future, and it’s a genuine character flaw of hers that she overlooks the now in the name of the future. She is completely right about the corruption of the crest system and the need to reform, as well as the issues with the Church. 

But I’m getting off topic.

I believe, based on both her ruthlessness and her compassion, that she would lock someone up in order to save them from the war.But BBell, you say, locking someone up like that isn’t compassionate at all, it’s torture.

Yes, person who just said that, I agree with you. By basic human decency standards. But you clearly have no idea how we treat prisoners of war. Even in modern day. And, yes, Byleth is a war prisoner first, as I have tried and failed to remind everyone over the course of this AU.

And, my lovelies, being a POW sucks hard, but I bet it sucked harder in an age before crossbows.

Edelgard, in this AU in particular, thinks she is saving Byleth’s life by keeping her a POW. And, on top of that, she’s keeping Byleth fed, in a nice room, with comfortable beds, nice clothes, entertainment. Compared to a wet, cramp, dirty cell with rats that eat you, no toilet, no bed, and no light I bet this prison seems like one of those fancy rich people prisons that are nicer than my apartment. Not only that, Byleth is getting company every day. (I do admit I decided that the room needs a window, just one that’s kinda like a skylight where it’s way too high up to reach). In Edelgard’s mind, she’s saving Byleth’s life and keeping them comfortable until the war is over. That’s downright compassionate right there. Horrifying to us though.

The thing about this AU that everyone seems to forget is that Byleth loving Edelgard was not the end goal for the woman. Yes, she does want Byleth on her side and thinks she can convince them one day, but actively controlling them and making them love her isn’t the point. The point is to keep this person she’s canonically obsessed with from dying in the war. 

I didn’t say this clearly the first time around because I wanted people to come up with their own reasons and endings for this AU, but in my head once this war is over and Edelgard rules everything, Byleth is free to go so long as she isn’t planning a riot or rebellion or assassination. Granted, I personally wouldn’t want someone that could incite a rebellion running around free, so house arrest in a manor or something is more likely, but the tower won’t be necessary after the war.

That’s how I saw it, anyway.

I don’t care if other people want it to be different. I don’t care if they make Edelgard a Yandere. I don’t care if they make Byleth a twenty foot dragon. I don’t care if they don’t keep it as canonically aligned as possible like I tried to do at first before more and more ask bombed my doorstep and this whole thing swelled way beyond my original prompt and got lost somewhere. I don’t care if this is a good horror story for people, or a story they hate, or a good yandere bait story. I don’t care if people have Edelgard obsessed to the point where she never lets Byleth out, because, you know what? I’m sure they have their own logical reasoning for why she would do that. I can’t personally see it. I know Anon personally can’t see it because that’s where this whole mess of me trying to defend my thoughts on a stupid AU I wrote that got me a lot of grief from much meaner Anons came from.

It’s just a dumb AU, guys, do want you want with it. Block it, hate it, love it, write it. Write a billion spin-offs. Make Rhea the one locking people in towers. Make Claude do it. I don’t care if you somehow make Jeralt a zombie and have him capture Edelgard in a tower at this point.You wanna know something? I’d write how I most logically think that very Zombie Jeralt prompt would happen if someone sent it. And I think that’s the problem. Maybe I’m trying to hard to logic out all this stuff I don’t think will happen. Because I don’t back down from the asks, even when I think there’s no way it could happen I tackle it. Maybe that’s why everything is swelling so much beyond my control, and I got three Anons (not counting you, Anon from this ask) that have harassed me about this.I’m going to turn off Anon Asks if I get one more hate comment btw. Check mate to that particular Anon if they’re reading this. Call me a cunt to my face so I can block you, coward. 

Anyway, I got off point again. You disagree with me, Respectful Anon that disagrees with my AU, and I disagree with you. I’m not mad about the yandere comment, I was just defensive. Here’s my feelings on everything. You probably disagree with them. That’s great! I don’t wanna live in a world where people blindly agree with me! I’m sure you even have a great counter argument that I’ll read, and then can’t do anything about because this AU is bigger than me and also I might still disagree.And that’s it, that’s my whole defense of myself in this AU. Have a nice day.