gay-thic lit anyone? (o/o)

(I honestly have no idea if that’s realistic when it comes to ship damage but who cares we’re going with it)

(I mean fair.)

(‘After he destroyed the family’ wow Margaret continues to be super harsh on my boy-)

He sighed and furrowed his brow. “Maggie, are you sure? Anna looked really bad back there. I don’t want to bring her into this and let her get hurt like that on the weekends too. But at the same time…” he covered his face with a hand, rubbing around his eyes. He couldn’t ask his sister to work, who would take care of Esme? But he didn’t want Anna to get hurt any more than she already was.
Would it be a good idea to ask Victor or the creature for help? They were his guests. It would probably be bad to bring them into this. He sighed deeply again.

(I mean she is a bit savage when she has to be. Or even when she doesn't. Also she's like really stressed right now so… eh.)

"No, no, we will do what we have to. I'll stay home and watch Esme like I've always done, but if your friends can't find work I'm afraid I'll have to make them leave." she said firmly. "I know it sounds selfish of me, but I'm the one who maintains the home, and I will continue to do so until I die. This is… this is just who I am… I need you to trust me." she sighed.

(Touché. Also whoops didn’t realize that ‘friends’ meant Victor and the creature)

“I trust you, Maggie, I do,” he said, dropping his hand to his side. “Perhaps I’m the one being selfish here. I’ll… I’ll let them know. Is it alright if… if I give you a hug?”
Maybe it was a silly question, but he honestly felt like he was walking on eggshells.

Margaret nodded, opening up her arms to embrace her brother. She didn't want to fight, but she had no choice but to stand her ground and make her points. "Robert, I'm sorry," she moved in to hug him, wrapping her arms tightly around his shoulders. "I should have been kinder to you, I know you're trying."

He hugged her back, wrapping his arms around her waist. “I’m sorry too. I know you’re trying, too.”
He stayed there for a moment, resting his head on her shoulder, then he let go. He managed a half-hearted smile. “Love you.” And he left.
He had his apprenticeship under Uncle Benjamin, and his but it clearly wouldn’t be enough. What else could he do? Work in the city, in a factory? Maybe, but he had to admit he didn’t like the idea.
Coming to the first guest room, he peeked his head in. “Victor?”

Victor perked up when the man entered. "Robert!" he said excitedly, then forced himself to calm, put on that indifferent persona he was so used to. "I mean, Robert. What news do you have for me?" he asked, tilting his head some.

His eyebrow quirked at his enthusiasm, but he didn't dwell on it. "I hope you're feeling better because I was hoping I could have your help. Uh… the damage the ice caused to the ship is going to cost us. Margaret said we had to find work, or else she won't house you and the creature. Have you managed to contact your brother?" He kept his voice steady and concise, rather tired from getting emotional earlier.

"Not yet, as nobody around the house seems capable of passing a letter on. If you're dealing with financial troubles, my father has had many accounts opened over the years for his travels, I could see if we have at least a little money stashed away here." he said sympathetically. "But I would need to get in contact with Ernest about the inheritance, that is if he's even still alive. He was always a sensitive soul, and well…" Ernest had attempted suicide more than once, Victor hated himself right now for ever thinking he could stay here and leave his brother alone. He wasn't exactly the family's pride and joy, but he was only seventeen now and he was hardly able to take care of the Frankenstein home on his own! "I need to see him. If there's any way to arrange that, whatever the cost, I promise I will pay you back."

Robert blinked. He hadn't exactly thought about Victor helping them directly like this. "I… I don't know if I can ask that of you. It would be very appreciated, however…" he sighed. "Ah, maybe we Waltons are too proud. Do want me to get Margaret so we can discuss it?"

"Only if she's… available." in truth, Margaret scared him a little, but he would rather die than to admit it. "However, if it would be a matter best left until morning, then I will wait."

(I’m sorry, I’ve found myself pretty busy today, I will probably respond tomorrow)

(No problem!)

At first, Robert didn’t like the idea of leaving it till morning. He put his family in debt, and he wanted to fix that as soon as possible. But he looked around the room, noticing that the sky was descending into oranges, reds, and indigos, and that Victor had a candle lit, casting sharp, looming shadows and making his complexion ghostly and skeletal. Robert was silent for a moment, staring. Then he sighed.
“Perhaps it is best if we waited till morning. We’ve had a long day.”

"It has indeed been, at least for you. Robert, if there is anything more I can do, please tell me." he said softly, looking the man deeply in the eyes. His own eyes were a cold, cruel blue, skeptic and pessimistic with how cruel life and his own creation had been. It was his fault, but for different reasons than he'd thought, and for reasons he didn't like thinking about, because that meant he was a father or some sort of parent to this monster and he didn't really like dealing with the implications of that sort of thing. "And… my creation, he can, well, he will likely agree to help in all ways. He trusts you, more than me at least, and he's loyal to a perceived righteous cause to a fault. He'll help you."

Robert met Victor’s gaze, watching how the candlelight filtered into those blue irises like shards of aquamarine. His own eyes were warm, flickering between a liquid, golden brown topaz and a bluish sliver, like warm rain at dusk. Like a day that was supposed to be filled with joy and yet ended in sorrow. How had he not known how much pain his sister and her wife had suffered? How much of it had he caused?
“I’ll… I’ll let you know when I need you,” he managed. Then his brow furrowed. “He trusts me? Really?”
He wasn’t sure exactly why he was surprised, but he supposed it never really occurred to him what the creature’s opinion of him was, much less the idea that he trusted him.

"Oh, more than anything. He sees me as a father figure, maybe, although I doubt it, that's more Anna's opinion. But, he looks to you for guidance. He's certainly had enough of me. And I really do think that you two would get along if you got to know each other," although this was spoken maliciously, as if Victor knew all too well how his creation could, well, trick you into sympathy. But was it really a trick?

Robert continued to stare, confused by how Victor’s words didn’t match up with the way he spoke them. He half wondered whether he was being sarcastic with him, but at the same time didn’t really want to ask about it.
“Um… okay….” he said slowly. He put a hand to his mouth to cough. “Anyway, I’ll tell Margaret we can discuss the money problem in the morning.” He turned to leave.

"We can head into the city in the morning, get ourselves collected. And Robert? I really do appreciate you housing me and my… creation. We appreciate it." he nodded. Victor was beginning to feel faint, so he lay (or lied? I can't get tenses right today aljgjlshgkglhla) back down and closed his sad, lonely blue eyes, hoping Robert could see the state he was in and leave him be.

(I’m pretty sure it’s lay)
He nodded. “Of course. What else would I have done?”
He turned his head to see Victor had laid back down, and a small frown appeared on Robert’s face. He paused in the doorway, undecided, before he turned and left to find Margaret.

Margaret had already gone to find Robert, and she met him in the kitchen where the creature had gotten up and was… comforting Esme? Whatever he was doing was working, despite the expression of bewilderment on his face. He was just letting her sit by him on the floor, relaxing against the sturdy walls and chatting about nothing in particular. Margaret sighed at Robert, motioning for him to sit down. "Anna went back out again, she wants to see about the changes that could be made to her women's clinic that she's been so obsessed with lately. If it actually gets off the ground we'll be seeing quite a few more pounds, but it's unlikely at the rate they're currently going." Margaret sighed. "Please say you have good news regarding finances."

Robert found himself smiling a little at the large man and the small girl together, but only for a moment. He followed In Margaret’s direction and sat down. He took a deep breath.
“Victor said his father had opened quite a few bank accounts over the years, and he suggested he would pull money from those. He has a brother who he needs to contact first though. I hoped the three of us could discuss it in the morning, as it has been a long day for all of us. Is that alright with you?
“Also, another thing. He said he would arrange to leave tomorrow, but I worry for him. I’d hoped to ask Anna this, but do you think he would be healthy enough to leave? He suffered from severe chills when we found him, and even now he seems quite exhausted.”

"Well, from what I can tell, he's absolutely in terrible shape and he'd probably faint just trying to get halfway through the front door, but I say give it a shot. Worse case result will probably be funny anyways." she shrugged, giving Robert an unsympathetic look. "What? I don't really like the fellow."

He arched an eyebrow at her and sighed. “I suppose I can’t blame you.”
He looked back at Esme and the creature, saying, “Do you think we should put that one to bed?”

"She goes to bed as she likes, we don't really force her to do anything she doesn't feel like anymore. She's old enough to put together that actions have consequences, and besides, I think those two are having a grand old time. I'll give her a few more minutes and then ask, but I think she'll be okay." Margaret shrugged, smiling at her daughter.

He nodded. “Heh, I guess I’m just starting to feel tired myself.” As if to emphasize his point, a yawn came over him. Then he stood, about to retire for the night, but he paused and looked down at the floor.
“Maggie, I…. I’m sorry. I feel like that’s all I can do, all I can say right now. I wish my first day back hadn’t turned out like this, but I suppose I only blame myself. I did love dinner, though.” He chuckled, a little sadly.

"No, Robert, I was too harsh on you. I stand by most of what I said, but I could have been much kinder about the whole thing." she said, standing up and moving over to hug him. "Look, I have no excuse for acting so horribly towards you. But I do hope you'll forgive me for being so rude." she squeezed a bit more tightly, and then let go.

He nodded, embracing her as well. “I do, Maggie. I forgive you.” His voice was soft, tinged with uncertainty. Of course he forgave her, but he hadn’t blamed her in the first place. It felt strange to forgive her when he really should be forgiving himself. But he didn’t think he could do that yet.
When she let go, he combed his hands through her hair and fluffed it up, and endearing smile creeped up on him despite himself.
“I’ve missed you too, y’know. Goodnight.” He took his hands away and went up to his room. After some time he found himself in bed, trying to get used to the absence of the sound of the sea and the sound of crickets and wind that replaced them.

Margaret sighed. She remembered when they were kids, when she hated how much attention her baby brother got, how much attention she was expected to give. But she couldn't change their hurt, she couldn't make it better. At least as adults, they cared for each other. "I must be getting old," she laughed to herself, "to be reminiscing this way."