tagged by @socially-awkward-skeleton on yet another wonderful wipsday~!
if there's one thing about me, it's that i like to explore the brother dynamic between the seed boys and katc is no exception <3
Edited to fix the a factual error. A massive thank you to @the-silver-chronicles for catching that jacob fought in iraq and not afghanistan (as i had mistakenly written 💀)
“So, the Cleansing,” Jacob says, pointedly changing the subject. “How’d that go?”
[Joseph] sighs heavily and crosses his arms, leaning his hip against Jacob’s desk. “John nearly drowned the Deputy and she nearly scratched his eyes out.”
Jacob snorts. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”
A fond, yet knowing smile graces Joseph’s lips. He nods, but it quickly grows melancholy. “I worry about him,” he confides.
“He’s your little brother, Joe, it comes with the territory,” Jacob shrugs.
“Maybe,” he hums, and he lapses into a brief, but thoughtful silence. Then, his brow creases and a realization flashes in his eyes. He looks to Jacob, cocking his head to the side. “You worry about me,” he smiles.
Jacob leans back in his seat and crosses his arms. With raised brows, he regards his brother with detached incredulity. “Every damn day since you were born,” he grunts. It didn’t matter how much they bickered or how badly Jacob had wanted to stick Joe in a cardboard box and sell him for the price of an ice cream. At the end of the day, it was Jacob comforting baby Joseph when he couldn’t stop crying of colic. It was Jacob who stepped up to take the blame whenever the Old Man got pissed off. It was Jacob who set the barn ablaze just to get them away from that damn foster family.
There hasn’t been a single day where the health and safety of his brothers hasn’t crossed Jacob’s mind. Especially after they were separated. Juvie, Iraq, wandering the streets of Rome with just a duffel bag and the clothes on his back, it was the dream of finding his brothers again that kept him putting one foot in front of the other, even when it would’ve been easier to fall back into his grave.
Of course he worries about Joseph. And John.
Hell, he even worries about Faith.
They’re all he has left. He’ll do anything to keep them safe.
But that isn't what this conversation is about.
He scrubs his hand over his face and sighs. “Look,” he starts, “John didn’t really know you before you found him in Atlanta. He didn’t have the chance to outgrow the big brother worship, so you’re getting it now. He wants to impress you. Make you proud.”
“I am proud of him,” Joseph counters. “He’s come a long way from John Duncan.” He spits John’s former surname like it physically hurts him to say it. Whether it’s disdain for the hedonistic habits their brother used to entertain or contempt for the people who turned him into such a beast, Jacob can’t be sure. Maybe both. Maybe neither. Not that it should matter anymore. John is a Seed. He’s their brother.
“Have you told him that?” Jacob asks.
Joseph opens his mouth to speak, but he hesitates. “No,” he says eventually. “No, I suppose I haven’t”
“Might be a good place to start.”
Joseph nods, but the slight downward tug of his lips belies the gesture. “I just…I worry about his behavior. It’s been getting more erratic. Did you know he killed one of our flock last night? After we lost the Deputy?”
Jacob lifts a shoulder in a half shrug. He hadn’t been aware of that particular homicide, but does remember the first time John had called him panicking because he’d wrapped his hands around Lana's throat and didn’t stop squeezing until it was far too late. He’d helped him dispose of the body and kept things quiet. As far as anyone is concerned the former Faith's death had been purely accidental -- just an unfortunate misstep that sent her plummeting down Horn Serpent Cave.
But Joseph is right. John’s behavior is impulsive at best and dangerously erratic at worst. Jacob desperately wishes he knew how to fix it, but short of a fucking time machine, he’s not sure there’s much he can do. For better or worse they’re the culmination of others’ failures, and they’ve all had to grapple with that in their own ways. Joseph found his Faith. Jacob found Purpose. And John, much like the toddler Jacob remembers leaving behind, will do anything for attention and affection. Even if that means hurting and killing anyone he thinks stands in the way of him achieving those things.
“Ever think he might feel threatened by your flock?” Jacob asks.
The look of utter shock that crosses Joseph’s face gives Jacob his answer. “What?”
“You and I had more time to get to know each other,” he says simply. “John didn’t. He’s more like the rest of your followers than I am. He knows The Father more than he knows Joseph. He wants your attention and knows that zeal and devotion are ways to get it.”
“I suppose I’m not very good at this whole big brother thing,” Joseph sighs.
“Nah, you’re just out of practice.”
Joseph lifts his thumb to his mouth and chews at the corner of his nail -- a childhood habit that’s persisted despite the lemon juice and clear nail polish their mother had used to dissuade him from it. “What do you suggest I do?” he asks after a long moment.
“Christ, Joe,” Jacob breathes, and he mutters a quiet sorry when his brother shoots him a harsh look for his language. “Just…” He sighs. “Just listen to him, okay? And don’t patronize him. Despite our memories of him, he isn’t two anymore. He’s a grown man. Treat him like one. You trusted him with the Valley for a reason. Let him prove to you that he can handle it and try not to get in his way. The training wheels are long overdue to come off.”
A gentle smile creeps across Joseph’s face. “I should be so lucky that God has blessed me with such a wise older brother.”
Jacob’s eyes are rolling before he can stop himself. “None of that leaves this room,” he says gruffly. “Now, speaking of younger brothers, did you want to see the Deputy’s or not?”
Tagging the beloveds @wrathfulrook, @harmonyowl, @ivymarquis, @carlosoliveiraa, @cassietrn, @poetikat, @confidentandgood, @strafethesesinners, @trench-rot, @miyabilicious, @simplegenius042, @g0dspeeed, @inafieldofdaisies, @josephslittledeputy, @aceghosts, @adelaidedrubman, @madparadoxum, @voidika, @strangefable, and anyone else with something they want to share today! (taglist opt in/out)
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GRIMACE SHAKE RECIPE
i am SICK and TIRED of all these recipes online that aren't even trying, like yes of Course it will be *tasty* but raspberries blueberries and vanilla ice cream will Not taste like The Grimace Shake it will taste like a Froot Smoothie
when i tried the mcdicks version, the two flavors that immediately stood out insanely clearly to me were:
creamsicle ... and berry cap'n crunch
i was 94% sure i was riight, but didn't have a chance to test that theory ... until today >:3
that's all for my yappin here's that recipe! ingredients:
berry cap'n crunch cereal (we didn't have the 'oops all berries' it had regular mixed in, i just picked out the berry ones). blend or crush as finely as you can!
orange creamsicles
additional vanilla ice cream
milk (as needed to thin mixture)
optional black raspberry ice cream (for additional fruitiness if desired, purple colour also!)
optional whipped cream (topping)
i've only tried this once and it tasted too strongly of the cereal so i used too much of that, and i don't have exact measurements(sorry, if i try again and get closer i'll keep track and update!), but this go i did the following:
put approx 1 cup of berry crunch in blender and mix to break apart
add 3 creamsicles (minus sticks), and milk as needed, blend together
optional taste test
add 2 large scoops of ice cream, vanilla or black raspberry, depending what you have and/or how fruity the current mixture tastes, blend (add more milk if needed)
pour into cups and add whipped cream on top :3
it made about~ two good sized cupfuls, we split it in three unevenly so i'm not 100% sure lol. if you let the ice cream/creamsicles melt enough to be mixable by hand and went to absolute town on the cereal you could probably make this without a blender!
anyway go be free summon grimace and ik they dont have these anymore but dont give those clowns any money
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