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Arcane has had me thinking about this dynamic of what I'd call "found siblings" or something like that.
The trope of "like brothers" or "like sisters" I feel is often translated wrong, or ends up becoming more romantic than inteneded is what I think is the neglect of the tie that makes siblings, siblings.
siblings are tied together by a large, fundamental simualrity that forever will tie them together, regardless of what life brigns them. Sharing the same parents intertwines two indivudals, as well as growing up in the same home, regardless of if you are related or not. This tie is a shared expeircne that shapes a persons deveolpmental years.
Also, what always makes me laugh a bit when I hear the line "they're like my brother/sister" or "We're like siblings" is the fact that most of the time, they NEVER act like siblings.
If you want to have to characters have this "found sibling" relationship, they need to be able to express anger, frustration, and a childish annoyance at the other. Siblings know that regarldess of how much they can be angry and hold a form of hatred for the other, at the end of the day, that person has been in their life so long that there are some things that that person will only understand. It's being close because this person knows too much about you, it's sometimes a resigned love. It's not talking to this person for weeks or months but still knowing every intimate and embarassing detail about how this person's tween years.
Now, I'm speaking from a biased standpoint, I'm not close with my sibling in the way in which we talk with one another every day and are best pals or something. But, they're someone I can call at the end of the day when I need help. We won't talk for a month but if I'm stuck in the ER again because of my chronic health condtion, they'll hang out with me the entire time just so i don't feel lonely.
To write characters that percive one another as siblings, they need to be characters that will always help the other out at the end of the day. They can hate one another, but still come when called. They argue, maybe they don't see each other for months because life just got in the way, but when they see one another, they go back to bickering like six year olds. Sibling dynamics are held together by the fact that they know far too much about each other to stop being friends without it being a liability.
Overall, I feel like what creates a great sibling dynamic is the resigned love both characters hold for eachother. It's an eyeroll and a sigh while reaching out a helping hand. It's disagreeing with all of their choices, but reluctantly saying yes to helping them anyway because at the end of the day, you know them too well, you've seen them at their worst and walking away just isn't an option.
Duke and Jason Being Hood Kids - Part 10
Dick is dreaming. He has to be dreaming. The scene in front of him is a nightmare, but the operative verb is âdreamingâ and oh my fucking God.
âMy brother, Roy?â He knows heâs shrieking at octaves that probably trigger dogs, but he canât help it. âMy baby brother!â
Jason throws a t-shirt at him. A shirt that he should be wearing, because who gave him permission to be half naked with anyone, much less with Roy Harper?
âYou donât know how to knock?â The younger manâs pissed, but Dickâs so far beyond caring. âRing a doorbell? Send a text? Jesus, Dick, what if Iâd beenââ
âNaked?â Dick is pulling at his hair and gesturing wildly, completely ignoring the bleeding wound on his arm that led him to break into his brotherâs apartment in the first place. âOrâdonât you fucking move, Roy!â
The disheveled redhead freezes. His hairâs a mess, heâs got a bruiseâoh God, a hickeyâblooming on his neck, and heâs holding his unzipped pants up with one hand while reaching for the front door with the other.
In retrospect, Dick absolutely couldâve knocked. Or rung the doorbell. Or texted, even. Hell, a quick âbullet grazed my arm on patrol, need a stitch or two and a bandaidâ wouldnât have hurt. In fact, it likely wouldâve saved him from tumbling through Jasonâs living room window to find his brother pinned to the wall, held up by his thighs with legs wrapped around Royâs waist, one hand buried in red hair and the other dipping into the other manâsâ
Oh my God, Jasonâs having sex. The thought rings in his head like a church bell on Sunday morning. My little brotherâs been deflowered.
âHow long has this been going on?â Dickâs switched to his Nightwingâs Asking The Fucking Questions Now, Asshole voice. âWhoââ
Roy steps between Jason and Dick. âDickie, thatâs notââ
âHow long have you been defiling my baby brother?â
âDefiling? Jesus, weâre consenting adults!â
âAnd weâve been dating for over a year,â Jason interjects. âNo defilingâŠWell, thereâs been defiling, but itâs been mutual.â
Dick feels his soul leave his body momentarily. It comes back, but itâs forever scarred by this knowledge now.
âDid anyone elseâŠâ His voice is hoarse from all the shrieking. Heâs barely holding it together and wants to do some more screaming very soon. âWho knows?â
Jason sighs in exasperation and grabs the shirt he threw Dickâs way. He puts it on and grabs the first aid kit by the coffee table before pushing his older brother onto the couch.
âDuke,â he answers. He pops the kit open and retrieves a set of gloves to check the wound on Dickâs arm. âHeâs the only one I told. Tim knows Iâm dating someone, but he doesnât know who. Pretty sure Bruce knows via osmosis or some shit, because heâs Bruce.â
Dickâs not sure if itâs blood loss or shock, or maybe a combination of both, but heâs suddenly reeling and lightheaded.
âDuke?â Jasonâs cleaned the wound already. Heâs threading a needle for stitches now. âYou told Duke? Why not me? Why didnât Duke tell me?â
Roy, whoâs keeping a safe distance from the brothers across the room, snorts incredulously. âGee, I wonder why. Couldnât be because you might overreact.â
Dick glares at his friendâpossibly murder victim by the end of the night, but he hasnât decided yetâwhile Jason completes the first stitch. âI just walked in on you trying toââ
âEngage in perfectly consensual adult activities?â Jason tugs at the thread with more force than is necessary and is satisfied when Dick winces in pain. âIn the privacy of my own home? Iâm 22, asshole. I canât get dicked down in peace?â
Soul leaving body again. Might not come back this time.
Jason finishes a third stitch and nods, satisfied that the wound is closed. âAnd Duke knows that snitches get stitches. He wouldnât blab without good reason.â
âTrue that.â
Dick almost jumps out of his skin when Duke, who absolutely wasnât here a second ago, joins the conversation.
âChill out, Big Bird,â the teen laughs as he tosses a backpack onto the couch. âRoy texted. Apparently you saw something you werenât supposed to see and need a ride home. Civvies in the bag, change and weâll go.â
Dick feels like heâs losing his mind. âYou knew! You never said anything!â
Duke shrugs. âFirst rule of surviving in Gotham, my dudeâsnitches get stitches. Not my business, not my news. But also, fuck I look like outing people?â
Jason fist-bumps their younger brother and smirks. This is unacceptable. A travesty. A hate crime. Not actually a crime, but it feels like one and Dick hates it.
Specifically, Tim is for the kids who had parents with undiagnosed trauma and mental illnesses. The ones who had to gentle parent their own parents. The ones that have to remain stable even when they can't because they are needed.
Dick is for the eldest children that feel constant guilt for how their actions affect the rest of the family. In success, you set a standard too high for them and in failure you're taking away resources(time, emotional energy, money) that should have been theirs.
Somewhere in between, relating to them both, is the youngest that has to be happy all the time for the family to function. The one that gets made fun of when you need a joke. But also the one that knows everyone's triggers and is always paying attention to everyone's mood. The one whose work is never recognized because no one else has to be home as much as them, everyone else gets a break but them.
Dick is for the eldest sibling while Tim is for the parentified children and I think that's the most important difference between them
Yall know the posts that are like "you can usually tell who little sister is bc she'll be the taller one", lets test that theory
if you need an example, my sister is older than me by 3 years and I'm taller by a few inches
Edit: 1) sorry to all the middle children out there!! I didn't mean to forget yall on purpose it slipped my mind when I made this poll, take a cookie as an apology đȘđȘđȘ. Just choose whatever option fits best and explain in the tags if you feel like it.
2) the formatting of the polls are like that bc it was late asl when I made this poll and it made sense to me at the time, so sorry again if yall have trouble understanding the poll
Sabo passing over the responsibility role to Deuce like, "That's the gist. Best of luck" đ
survival lessons can also apply to a ship
A very relatable conversation between siblings of brother and sisterđ
I'm sure heket tried to turn Narinder to "The one who waits" to "The one who dies" after this drawing
have this thing i drew yesterday
i was gonna add more to this but i need to stop for a bit i get a shooting pain in my hand when i move my wrist, thumb or index too much bye bye đ«Ą