[ID: a screenshot of a Genshin party containing Xingqiu (Lv. 60), Chongyun (Lv. 20), Shenhe (Lv. 50), and Xiao (Lv. 70). It is labeled “Family reunion :) ”. End ID.]

Got chongyun randomly off standard and decided to make this team that I will probably not even use just bc I think their interactions would be funny 🥰

quick q but- what do you think abt jakob being an abusive dad to dwyer? not an attack just curious abt your opinion if that's ok

Hey there anon, first of all, I would like to apologise for how long this took me to respond to. I have been absolutely swamped with work all week. I hope you still see this though!Okay, so, odds are that this is going to devolve into just rambling nonsense but here we go. It needs to be said first and foremost that I was severely physically and emotionally abused as a child. I don’t say this for pity, I say this because I take portrayals of child abuse seriously. As someone who experienced, lived through it, deals daily with the after effects of it, my opinion is that Jakob (who is inarguably a shitty parent, don’t get me wrong) isn’t abusive. Now, let me explain why that is a bit and I’ll do my best not to ramble, I promise!First, we need to look at Jakob’s background. Jakob was abused and abandoned by his parents. Literally just left to die. He was already emotionally traumatized by that and then immediately after this, he is essentially sold into a life of servitude. He was noble by birth and has absolutely no idea how to be a servant, this is a massive culture shock on top of the trauma of being abandoned. Jakob was then tormented day and night by the other servants. This got so bad that he canonically says he had no reason to live. Corrin takes him under her wing and nurtures him, this is the ONLY loving relationship that he has ever known and this causes him to form a very unhealthy attachment to her and see her as “his only reason to live” again, not at all a healthy outlook. He is then raised alongside her by Gunter. Gunter has a shit ton of his own issues but he does his best to raise this band of orphans he was given. He is strict, cold at times and disciplinarian but he is trying. He obviously prefers Corrin above the other children and again this cements in Jakob’s mind that Corrin is to be revered above all else, that he is nothing and he will never live up to be anything. On top of this entire disaster that is his life, he is raised in isolation from the outside world, his only contact being the other unwanted children and their forced guardian. He has this constant demon parade of painful memories, abuse, self-hate and neglect going on in his mind at all times. Jakob, while a charming and loveable character, is a god damn mess.Now let’s move on to his life after leaving the fortress. Jakob abandons everything he had (which, isn’t much but still) to turn treasonous and follow Corrin into a war that looks unwinnable. They end up together and surprise, Dwyer is born. This is a war, a baby would have been unplanned and put them all at risk. Jakob also doesn’t have the faintest clue about how to be a parent, he didn’t have parents, he has no idea what a healthy parent/child relationship should look like. And again newborn + magical war = bad situation for everyone. They don’t really have a choice but to put Dwyer in a babyrealm to keep him safe, so a short period of time passes and Jakob’s newborn baby is suddenly an adult nearly the same age as him.  He doesn’t know Dwyer. He didn’t raise him. Dwyer is his son and he knows this but he can’t come to terms with it. He loves him deeply, he really, truly does but he is even more lost now than he was with a baby. How do you interact with your adult child that you know nothing about? He does it the only way he knows how, the only way he interacted with his “father” Gunter, competitively and as if he were training. So now, during this competitive type of relationship, he see Dwyer as a competitor, as someone who can replace him. And he is absolutely horrified to find out that not only is his son better than him in absolutely every way, he is effortlessly better. Dwyer seems lazy to him to because he never has to work at anything, it just comes to him because Dwyer is a gifted and naturally talented person. He excels in things that Jakob struggled to get his entire life. Instead of being proud of his son, that lifetime of being told he’s worthless comes back out and he feels nothing but bitterness and resentment. He is very clearly jealous and doesn’t know how to cope with it so he lashes out angrily instead and insults Dwyer for being lazy when he knows he isn’t. Jakob is a renowned and talented man but he got that way by breaking his back, pouring his blood, sweat, tears and every ounce of sheer will power he had into learning his trade. And then his son comes along and wipes the floor with him with absolutely no effort at all. He feels like he got the wind knocked out of him. He has been outshined by a boy he brought into the world. This isn’t a point of pride for him, rather he sees this as his own downfall. He takes out all of these negative emotions on Dwyer when he shouldn’t. It isn’t Dwyer’s fault that he’s talented or that he was born and I think Dwyer knows his dad isn’t an emotionally healthy person, he doesn’t ever seem to take it to personally, instead he just keeps going, showing his dad what he can do and working to show him that he does love him no matter unhinged he seems at times. Dwyer also laments not having a normal childhood, he loves his dad, he wishes he could have known him and in fact, Dwyer enjoys spending time with his dad, even if it’s spent in silly competitions, as evidenced by these lines:Jakob: Grrrrrrrrr. Even competing with my own son, I didn't expect to feel this frustrated. No, I'm just angry because I lost to you. That must be it.Dwyer: While we're on the topic...I've been thinking. I'm confident that I could handle any task as a butler better than you can.Jakob: Is that right? Well, my arrogant boy, what say we step into the practice field? It's been a while since you and I have gone head-to-head. Just know one thing: I won't hold back this time. Now go get your things.Dwyer teases his dad here. He enjoys it. This is a weird as hell relationship, yes, but neither one of them knows how a father and son should act. As Dwyer canonically states, he likes spending time with his dad like this:Dwyer: I have to say, it's been nice spending more time together lately... I'm surprised to admit that I have been enjoying myself on the whole.Jakob: Oh?Dwyer: Yeah. We didn't get to do much of that when I was little.Jakob: Feel free to complain. There is no chance I will apologize. Ever. I simply did what I thought best for you. It was only after much deliberation that we decided to raise you in the Deeprealms.Dwyer: I know, Father... You didn't want us to grow up in the shadow of war, right?Jakob: Something like that...Dwyer: I don't resent you for being absent when I was a child. Now that we actually have time to spend together, I've been thinking. I'd like to enjoy every moment that I can with you.Jakob: Hmph... You're certainly rather sentimental for a young man.Dwyer: Haha... I suppose I do sound a little childish...Jakob: That being said, you will always be my boy.Dwyer: Father, I... They really do love each other. They’re both broken, damaged and hurt individuals and it’s safe to say that neither of them wanted Dwyer’s childhood to go the way it did but they made the best of what they had to work with. Is it healthy? No, not really. But is it abuse? In my opinion, no, it isn’t. Whew. That went on waaaay longer than I intended. I’m sorry! But, I hope you see where I’m coming from with it.