[For when you get back]

Not fun at all question: if genetics had worked differently and Mark had grown to resemble either his dad or his grandpa rather than his uncle, how would the expectations around him have changed? ( Plus, how would he feel about it if it's not a problem to ask)

I think that Mark's grandparents may have been a little more lenient on him like they were with Sarah if that were the case. Like, the relationship with his grandad still would've been bad because, at the end of the day, Mark would still be Mark, and John could never really move past the fact that his grandson didn't enjoy 'masculine' things like hunting. Deborah might've been a little less cruel though. Because she wouldn't have seen Dave every time she looked at him (though she certainly doesn't refer to her estranged son by his chosen name).

Tbh the worst part about Mark not looking like Dave is the fact that he'd fully look like his father rather than just having his dad's eyes and I think that would make him feel even more terrible than he already does.

You know who would do this lmao

This is literally how Mark's grandparents saw Cesar and his atheism lmfao

Does Mark still look like Sam or does he only look like his dad?

Mark still looks like his estranged uncle apart from the eyes. It was another reason why Mark's grandparents were so harsh on him

I think that if John and Deborah found out that Mark was gay they would've definitely blamed Cesar for it.

And you know what? Cesar would've gladly taken credit lmao

I'd just like to understand a bit better (half a year fan yay)

Reeds treatment of 10 year old Mark & Reeds treatment of 17 year old Mark main differences, plz?

When Mark was 10, his grandparents were fine with him, it wasn't until he was about 13 that they started taking issue - a lot of it was prompted by the fact that Mark was starting to look less like his mom and more like his dad who the Reeds resented for killing their daughter. Mark's mental health also started to decline into his teens and that wasn't something his grandparents wanted to acknowledge was happening. On the occasions they did, they would have no patience for him because it was all a reminder of their now-estranged kid, Sam.

Mark got stuck as the scapegoat for his grandparents issues and eventually it slowly became an environment where he couldn't do anything right for them. He was always in the wrong no matter what.

What did Deborah say about Cesar during the flashback? Like, just keywords if you don't want to go into detail

Mostly that Cesar will go to Hell, that he has no soul or hope of going to Heaven. That he's a bad influence on Mark and must be the reason her grandson is doing so terribly in school.

Cesar doesn't mind saying those things about himself, because it's just a joke to make Mark laugh. But it's not as funny to actually hear someone genuinely think that of you, you know? Especially when your best friend can't defend you out of fear.

As an older fan whose fav fic was ORC, I really liked the new details on the last chapter. Really changes things now that Mark is aware that his relationship with his parents is wrong and that their treatment of him is unfair, but he's held back by his religion and can never admit to himself that, in truth, he hates them because of their abuse towards him, and when he thinks about that he punishes himself yet again because of just how much they've twisted his way of thinking

Fucking horrible old people, get them

Ah, thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the extra details and clarifications. It's been nice to revisit the earlier installments of the story as I now have a more solid idea of a lot of the characters and their relationships, so I can go in depth more :D

Was there something that could really piss Cesar of?

Very little could ever rile Cesar up, but the way Mark's grandparents (the Reeds) would treat their grandson made him absolutely pissed. He hated seeing the way they had broken Mark down over the years. Yeah. A lot of pent up anger as he was helpless to do anything about it other than try and hold the pieces together whenever Mark came to his house, falling apart once again.

Once / If Beth got her grandparents' house from them after they got old and kicked the bucket, would she invite Mark to pick up and look over all the family albums and other things from Hannah and Andrew?

There is something planned later in the story between Mark and Bethany once they reunite and Beth isn't so angry at him anymore. Mark has to come face to face with reminders of how he was treated and how Beth was treated 'better' than he was, and the inherent jealousy that comes with it. Beth then gets the opportunity to explain her side of things and they both come to realise that their grandparents fucked them both up, just in different ways.

Did the Reeds *want* to take in Mark and Beth, or did they want to take in just Beth but were forced to take Mark as well? Since they went through the whole process of making sure Sam couldn't take Mark in, but ended up borderline hating their grandson

They wanted to take in both Mark and Beth. The resentment and poor treatment of Mark didn't start happening until he was about 13, when he started behaving and looking a lot more like Sam as well as failing to conform to their harmful expectations of 'what a man should be'. The more Mark behaved less like Hannah and started to show more outward signs of mental illness and queerness (things that don't conform to the Reed's strict religious lifestyle) and an adversion to toxic masculinity, the more poorly he was treated by his grandparents.

Beth on the other hand looked and behaved more like Hannah and, as a result, was treated much better than Mark was. To them, she was essentially the 'perfect replacement' for her own mother.

The Reeds' expectations for Sarah was for her to be perfect at everything they asked/demanded of her, but what were their impossible expectations for Mark before they gave up on him?

For Mark, it was that same expectation to be perfect and to excel at everything, too. But there was an element of wanting him to be 'more masculine' and Mark's grandfather aimed to instill that quality in him through hunting and camping, etc. When it became apparent that Mark wasn't exactly a great student and that he didn't respond positively to the toxic masculinity he was forced to participate in at all, his grandparents just decided he was a lost cause. The fact that as Mark grew he looked more and more like Dave didn't help his case at all.

My great-grandpa who was born all the way back in the 1910s lived long enough to see my 18th birthday and also to tell me lots of things (his daughter, my grandma, did too but in much less detail for her own personal motives) Soooo Can I try to guess what Deborah and John believed in socially? Not religiously cause me and my family are Calvinists, not Anglican, so I don't want to accidentally get stuff wrong and offend someone

I mean, you're more than welcome to headcanon! A lot of the ideals John and Deborah held to are only ever implied in the AU unless they affected Dave, Mark, and Sarah in particular. They don't have much of a *physical* presence in the story compared to the main TMC cast so there's plenty of room there for folks to headcanon/develop out the gaps in Deborah and John as people! I really enjoy getting asks like this so they're always welcome! :D

I am gonna backhand Mark's grandparents I swear to God. The more I learn about them the more I want to yeet them into the sun

You're definitely going to want to do that even more once you get Sarah's experience with them later in the AU..

man, I really enjoyed writing that memory mixed with a dream scene for Mark where his grandad took him hunting for the first time. I've had that scene in my head ever since I mentioned in Old Rugged Cross that Mark had a bad experience shooting a deer before oughhhh

"Every man who is abusive to their children and grandchildren should be stoned"

After today's chapter, yeah John Reed deserves that

its valentine. let's go beat up htb adam and peter pan davis

The best Valentine's Day ever = all of us beating the shit out of Peter Davis, Andrew Heathcliff, and John and Deborah Reed