Decided I had to write Lizzie's POV because I felt like I didn't get my point across in Jimmothy's and I'm still insane over Seablings smile
anyways something something Lizzie wants the world to burn but a conversation with her brother reminds her it needs to be a controlled fire or something like that
does that make sense. do I word good enough
You can read Jimmy's POV here!!
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It's not fair.
A blast of warmth consumes her as she enters the space after death, a stark contrast to the freezing temps of the void she'd found herself falling into moments ago, and it's not fair.
She hadn't even wanted to be part of these stupid games! But when Joel had mentioned another one starting, another period where she was left behind for Void knows how long, she couldn't stand the thought of letting him go through it alone again. It was bad enough, watching him lose his mind during the last one. Watching him lose it upon Jimmy's death, jolting awake in the middle of the night upon Joel's sudden return, upon his death. She'd never get that look out of her head - a fear she only ever saw at the end of the games, how he'd fallen into her arms and sobbed as she could do nothing but whisper to him and-
Lizzie sighs, picking at the loose threads of her dress. It's not fair.
Why her, of all people? Why was she always the one to forget, to be left behind? It wasn't fair. She wants to scream, at who she isn't entirely sure yet. But she wants to scream, to let out this stupid pent-up rage she always gained during this stupid game and-
And she's so tired. She just wants to go home.
Where is that? She wonders. She'd forgotten that long ago.
Distantly, she can hear Jimmy celebrating, and she can't help but glare into the nothingness. She can hear him being congratulated by other players and it's just not fair. Somewhere beneath it she can hear Joel calling for her, the only one who came to her party, but it's drowned out by the praise and it's like her death doesn't even matter and it's not fair it's not fair.
She shouldn't have gone to the End. She knew, she knew it was dangerous- Why had she done that? It was stupid, she knew it was stupid, so why-
Oh.
That's right. She had done it for Joel.
And somewhere she can remember being told to trust no-one, not when you're part of the Life games, and she's reminded of that look her husband had after that she can never forget. There's an ache, a flame threatening to spark beneath her ribs and she wants nothing more than to burn. But she can't, because the Void had claimed her before she could, and it's just not fair.
She feels it as a new presence enters the After-Void.
Lizzie watches, a match tossed into the already lit flame, as Jimmy celebrates his "win". Her death means nothing, she thinks. Her death means nothing because he wasn't the one in her place.
There's a part of her that wants to run to him, to cheer him on and congratulate him and he had done it! He had done it, because of her. She clears her throat, and it's a small victory when he nearly jumps out of his skin and screams.
"Congrats!" She puts on a smile, tries not to show how much she was hurting. But she lets the anger show. She wouldn't try to hide that. "You did it. Congratulations, Jimmy." Brother, she wants to say instead. Malicious and betrayed and hurt.
There's something painfully familiar about it, about being the only two left in a world only they were a part of. She watches as he reaches a hand up to his neck and her breathing hitches, knowing he must have thought it too. She squeezes her wrist to stop herself from doing the same.
"Lizzie-" His voice breaks on her name, and what right did he have to cry now? She was the one who died first. She was the one being ignored. "I wasn't- I didn't mean to-"
"To what, gloat?" Lizzie laughs, and she'll admit it came out harsher than she'd intended. It wasn't his fault she had died, but..She waves him off. "I'd have done the same. I mean- 4 seasons? You should be celebrating!" She wants to cringe, hearing herself speak like this.
There's an awkward silence between them, thick and suffocating and suddenly she regrets ever coming here.
"I didn't-" He pauses, and she can see the internal conflict he's having in his head. It was easier to resent him when he wasn't right here in front of her.
It's not fair, she thinks to herself. She hadn't chosen to leave him behind first, she hadn't chosen to forget everyone she ever loved, so why- Why was she being punished for it? She never wanted to, if she could go back to that lifetime and knock some sense into that stupid Ocean Queen she would in a heartbeat, but she couldn't do that. So now she had to be the one to be abandoned? It's not fair, it's not-
But he's looking at her with those sad eyes she never wanted to be the cause of, with cursed golden feathers and scars from death after death and he's scratching at his neck like he can tear it back and reveal gills long forgotten and-
It's not fair, blaming him for her sorrows.
So Lizzie, too tired to keep the flame alive anymore, just takes his hand - pulling it away from where he'd been digging his nails into the side of his neck. "It's okay, Jimmy. You made it. That's all that matters now, right?" Despite herself, she can't help letting some of that anger slip through.
Eventually Jimmy nods, gently squeezing her hand, and she does her best to not fall apart. "I didn't mean to make you a Red," He says after long minutes of silence, that inner turmoil never settling.
Lizzie tilts her head, a small laugh. "How many times are you going to apologize for that?" And she knows, she knows that's not what he meant, but she'll let him believe whatever he needs to. Because she was his sister once upon a time, and he still needed her, and she had time to be angry at the world later. "I already told you it was just a silly mist-"
"I missed you."
She pauses at that, and her heart aches for their lifetime in the sea once more. Lizzie can feel herself tearing up, but she refuses to break down - not in front of him. So instead she smiles, pulling him down into a hug so he couldn't see. She can't find her voice at the moment, and it's hard to navigate, now that her little brother has wings instead of fins, but she hopes the point gets across anyway.
It's not quite forgiveness, not for what she'd been put through. But it was a start. An understanding.
A new presence stumbles in as they pull away, stumbling till he trips to the invisible floor and shouting something about a...fence post? He stops, cuts himself off upon realizing where he was, and looks to the other two players.
"We're really bad at this, aren't we?”
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Wanna watch me ramble about Frank and Eddie's Parenting for Much Too Long? No? Too bad here it is anyway!
I see a lot of interpretations of Frank and Eddie as parents where Eddie is the more lenient parent while Frank is more strict. But what if it was the other way around?
Update: ok. this just turned into me talking about their flaws as parents,, oh well that's cool to think about to
Frank's "not afraid to get dirty" attitude could lend itself to him being a parent who would let his kid go about and explore (with appropriate supervision and reasonable curfew of course) and overall have more faith in them to not get in too much trouble. Curfew to him is an agreed upon time between him and the teen, so about 10-11pm, maybe 12am if they're old enough and it's not a school night. He's far less likely to ground or take away privileges if they get into trouble (unless it's school but I'll get to that), usually turning it into a learning opportunity. Maybe restricting curfew if necessary.
Eddie on the other hand, has some worry wort tendencies and would be Terrified of his babies going out on their own, even if they're supervised by a friend's parent. His idea of a weekend curfew is 7-8pm and he needs a phone call or text every hour. or maybe every half hour. And when they do get into trouble he is the first to lecture them. He's more likely to want to ground or take privileges entirely, not just change curfew. Eddie's fine with after school stuff because knows a Teacher will be there and it's a school program/function. Though field trips and prom still make him a nervous wreck.
Frank hardly gets to lecture the kid(s) because Eddie gets to it first. the only time he does is when Eddie gets Too Upset or overwhelmed and Frank's worried he'll start yelling at them.
Though Frank's not without flaw either. Frank is more concerned with grades than Eddie is. He's more likely to pressure them By Accident and bring up college a lot when they're older. Eddie on the other hand never went to college, and knowing the American school system, he probably had more 'C's than 'A's despite how smart he really is. So Eddie is less concerned with perfect grades and believes if the kid doesn't want to go to college they shouldn't be pressured into it.
I won't go too in depth but I don't think Frank did many extracurriculars in high school. Meanwhile Eddie was getting into all sorts of activities. So when their child's grades have been slipping, Frank is the one to bring up taking them out of their extracurriculars "so they can focus on their grades." To which Eddie responds with a very firm No because he knows how much extracurriculars can mean to a kid.
Frank is also more strict with chores and such. Their room needs to be clean before they go anywhere, they make their bed every day, etc. Eddie is on board, but he understands Organized Chaos and that sometimes it takes a few extra minutes to get up and start a chore. (ADHD and Depression let's go babyy) Though he is stern about getting them done by a certain time (like before dinner). Frank would rather it be done sooner/when told.
In conclusion, Frank doesn't mean to pressure them so much, and Eddie doesn't mean to be so overbearing. They're great parents, but no one is perfect. I think they'd learn and grow overtime especially with each other to bounce off of and rely on. So in the end they turn out to be great parents whose kid(s) call and visit regularly when they're adults.
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