"Once, a long long time ago, there were two brothers who had a lot of power. But these two brothers couldn't use their powers on each other.
"The brothers didn't get along very well. They used to have horrible fights, but since they couldn't use their powers to really hurt each other, they could fight for days and no one would ever win. Not like that. So instead they had to try and one up the other to show which brother was the best.
"The first brother found the most beautiful woman in the world and married her so she would be all his. He flaunted her around to make his brother jealous. One day when she was alone, the second brother attacked her, horribly deforming her face and leaving her so ugly that the first brother couldn't even stand to look at her.
"The second brother married a good soul who was kind and would do anything for the second brother. But the first brother tricked this good soul by having him help a horrible evil person. This horrible evil person, who'd been helped by the good soul, did atrocious things. The good soul could only blame himself of course. And he never forgave himself for the atrocities of the horrible evil person.
"Both brothers, with their mates broken, began to really fight dirty. They resorted to hurting anyone who became close to the other.
"They burned through the whole world this way. Until one day, one brother felt he was left with only one option-- destroy half the world and bring the other under his thumb.
"Well, the other brother couldn't have that. So he destroyed the last half. And for thousands of years the world was ruined."
The boy stared at her with wide blue eyes as she reached the end. "So how're we here?"
"That is because--" she paused and leaned in, turning her head to wink at him with a smile. "They missed a spot."
Mary hoped he would know that she was only kidding. It was just an old story after all. The boy had been dropped off by his mother at the playground where the kids of the tribe members were watched and then left completely alone. Everyone had warned Mary about getting involved. They said his older brother was dangerous and volatile and highly protective of his little brother. Everyone warned that she should should stay away.
But she couldn't, and she didn't. Instead she'd snuck up to him, started talking with him, until she finally had his attention and told him the story of the Two Brothers. It was the only story she knew well enough to tell off the top of her head. The boy had been hooked. And now he sat before her deep in thought.
He glanced up then, looking over her head. "My brother's here."
Mary stood, feeling a prickle of anticipation at meeting the brother that had everyone so terrified. She was surprised to see a boy striding over to them who was no older than herself. His light eyes fell on the young boy beside her with a slight grimace.
"Where is she?" The older one gruffly asked the boy.
"I dunno. She left." The younger boy said it matter of factly as if it were something that simply didn't surprise him. Maybe it was something she had done before on occasion.
The older boy didn't look happy. He glanced away angrily, a hand roughly attached to his hip with one careless finger. Mary had never seen him before even though everyone else apparently knew of him. He was very handsome with such pretty light eyes scrunched in anger that it seemed almost wrong.
She hadn't realized she was staring until he turned his grey eyes to her warily, almost suspiciously. "Who are you?"
"Mary."
"Whose pet are you?"
The way he assumed she was a pet made her almost raise her head in indignation. But she couldn't blame him. Plenty of protected humans came to work the day shift here, watching the children of the tribe in order to make themselves useful as more than just playthings of the powerful.
"No one's. I live here." Mary crossed her arms and looked him dead in the eye. The one thing she had learned from living on the grounds and taking care of the children of the tribe members was that standing up straight and tall before them, showing no fear, often earned better results than cowering. She would be a target either way, but it was best to lean into the punch rather than stand back and let them fully throw their weight behind it.
It was like a sick game to them. So long as she stayed on the grounds, she was safe. All of the tribe members knew they weren't allowed to hurt her or take her. She was protected the same way the villages were protected. They needed her to be there to watch their children. But if she stepped off the grounds, she was fair game. Even a foot off of her designated boundary and they could take her.
She didn't know what she expected from him, but she didn't expect what came next.
"I'm Jimmy. This is Brandon." The suspicion slowly melted from his eyes as he looked at her trying to stand bravely before him. "Thanks for watching him."
Ages for the curious: Brandon ~7, Mary & Jimmy ~14
Next -->
Posts
Ooh...so she was the one in the flashback pics...Brandon remembers her when he's talking about the way his mother left. She must be pretty important...
ReplyDeleteSomething Brandon said before is coming back now--that although Jimmy hasn't ever hurt him, he might hurt the people Brandon cares about--I wonder if Jimmy hurt Mary?
Hm....I definitely want to know more about Mary!
I love LOVE that first shot with the shadows of the brothers in it!!
ReplyDeleteOK. This is a very prophetic piece. And I don't think it applies to just Jimmy and Brandon...I think there is something deeper, maybe related to Henri, although now I may just be grasping at straws.
And...if Jimmy and Brandon are like the brothers and cannot hurt each other, will Jimmy hurt Paula because she is important to him? Jimmy was so protective of Brandon at that young age that I wonder what could have happened, if anything did, to want him or Brandon to lash out at each other. Or maybe that hasn't happened yet...and how Mary plays into this will be interesting as well.
Fascinatingly mythopoeic. If it's prophetic, it seems applicable to the men in general.
ReplyDeleteMary is certainly different from the other women. This world is so brutal, and the men so horrific, such monsters, she had to have a very good reason to approach one. Even a small one.
All your shots are consistently fabulous, but I agree, that first one is phenomenal.
Rachel, *nods* Yes, he thought of her when he was talking about the way his mother left. Of course she was there that day, so it could just be that...
ReplyDelete*nods again* Brandon did say that.
Gayl, omg- thank you! That was just a fun shot while I was waiting for the right time of day. I wondered if it would even be noticed.
How do you do it? Well, Brandon's related to Henri... But I'm still sure you'll never guess.
All great questions! Oh I'm going to have a lot of fun with this little intermission.
SB, oh you're right. I didn't even think about that, but it does seem applicable to the men in general. And it's about men.
Yes, it's true. Even the small ones can be dangerous. She watches them all the time, so she knows better. Still, she couldn't leave him there.
Oh wow, thank you very much!
Oooh, Mary's an interesting one! If she watched Brandon so often when he was a kid, she must have left somewhat of a mark on him. It didn't occur to me that Mary was who Brandon was talking about when he spoke about his mother but that just makes things even more intriguing.
ReplyDeleteWonder what happened to Mary over the past several years? Or even if she lived very long after this scene took place. Hmmm.
I enjoyed the whole Two Brothers allegory too. Well, I guess it's an allegory to Mary. I suppose for Brandon and Jimmy, it's closer to literal?
I really like that picture of Mary where we can see her face straight on. She's a wonderful looking Sim and she's very expressive.
Oh yes, she is the girl from the flashback!
ReplyDeleteI love that story of the brothers any time one of your characters mentions it. It feels so loaded and important!
And Mary! She seems so brave and curious and stubborn, so I love her already! I can't wait to find out more!
Of course, I'm still dying to know more about what happens to Paula too though. We are coming back to Paula again eventually, right? Right? ;)
Carla, Mary is definitely different. And she comes into Brandon's life at such an important time here.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard for me to tell who takes this story as nothing more than an allegory and who takes it as literal. I imagine that it's something like their version of a creation story, but it's about their destruction. It certainly captured Brandon's attention here.
You know, Mary is actually a premade sim! She's the one with the cowboy outfit you find in CAS. Originally she's a pale blond with blue eyes I think. I just fixed her coloring.
Laura, thank you. I have to admit I was surprised when it first popped up. It's definitely very loaded. I'm not done with it completely yet!
lol! She's definitely all of that. Plus maybe a little something else.
Yes, this is only an intermission. We'll get back to her story after this.
Ah ha, the lady with the kerchief, or should I say, teen (thanks for putting the ages up, I WAS curious)
ReplyDeleteI too, continue to be amazed with the pictures you come up with, wonderful.
And that a stark contrast to the story Mary told and the brothers Jimmy and Brandon, there is probably no correlation here, but it makes me wonder if perhaps Henri has a brother we don't know about! (There goes my brain again,LOL!)
I too, look forward to more on Mary, and how her life intertwines with Jimmy and/or Brandon, great update! You ALWAYS get me thinking! I love that!
Ahhhhh, have I told you how much I like the way you write this story? It's incredible. We get to look into the lives of these characters in all their different stages.
ReplyDeleteBrandon back then doesn't seem afraid of his brother nor very worried that he was caught with Mary by Jimmy.
As for Mary, she has some backbone. Jimmy's reaction was .... unexpected. There's something there ... how intriguing.
Even at a younger age, Jimmy is just as scary - it makes me wonder what happened to him to make him so ...well, so Jimmy.
I do get a sense that Brandon has a lot of respect for his older brother and isn't really afraid of him back then.
Drew, thank you!
ReplyDeleteHaha! Wow, well, I am SO not saying anything about Henri's family. I won't even verify if he was a kid ever! You and your brain, lol.
Thank you very much again. I quite had some fun with this intermission, so I hope you all enjoy it.
Oh, Carnaxa, thank you. I love looking at their lives at different times. I've even jumped into the future for some characters... just depends on what I get fixated on.
Oh such important insights. Nope, Brandon wasn't scared at all. Mary does indeed have some backbone. Or at least she appears to.
And it's interesting that Jimmy pretty much doesn't change from younger to older. As for what could have possibly happened-- *shuts lips tightly*
More story to add to this. I love how everything is connecting and we get to learn more about the inhabitants. Let me just say how gorgeous Mary is. You have a way of making sims where they look normal in such a stunning way where you just want to look at them. :D
ReplyDeleteThank you very much. I really enjoy making sims, though in this case I can't claim any credit for Mary since she's a pre-made sim. All I did was change her coloring.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad I found this! I don't know how I missed it earlier.
ReplyDeleteI just finished the chapter "Brandon's Past" and it fits so perfectly.
I like Mary a lot. She is good story teller and obviously has a kind heart. I like the fact she stands up tall and shows no fear too.
I'm so glad she was there, when Jimmy's mother abandoned him. He must be born under a lucky star.
One question about the myth itself. The second brother married a 'good soul'... who was a man?
Thank you so much for this lovely intermission. :)
This part is linked at the end of Chapter 14 when Paula leaves.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you like Mary. She's different from Paula, but at the same time...
Brandon was very lucky to have her indeed. Jimmy too.
I wondered if anyone would notice that. The story came out that way one afternoon when it popped into my head, so I shrugged my shoulders and ran with it. I would assume so! And I liked having that in one of their creation myths. It would suggest that homosexuality in this world isn't something frowned upon generally.
Of course Mary is just telling a version as she heard it, so it's possible that Paula or others have heard different versions or that versions were edited due to prejudice. Like that book in the junk shop; it's completely possible that it would suggest the other partner is female depending on who wrote it and their own bias.
Aw, thanks Moondaisy. You're too kind. Actually, all of Mary's story will be the intermission. I thought a nice break from Paula would be fun for everyone and me too, lol. But it will still tie in. It's actually rather important.