[Regrettably, Shepard is not the least-mannerly person Muffet has seen eating in recent memory. She's learned to accept that not everyone has her commitment to proper dining etiquette while in the middle of an unknown land- though that doesn't stop her from eating properly and delicately, even now.]
Oh yes- I might have made my living as a baker, but getting too wrapped up in my particular specialty would have done my skills no favors at all, so I made a point of cooking other types of dishes when I could.
Besides, someone had to feed all my cousins. I come from a rather large family.
[Shepard's attention is piqued at the mention of Muffet's family. She looks up from the plate of food, her cheeks a bit filled out as she tries to speak. She then quickly chews and swallows and tries again.]
Did you have a lot of siblings too? How many cousins did you have?
[Muffet's smile is, briefly, a little sad- not the look of fresh grief or pain, merely a momentary wistful sorrow, some passing melancholy.]
No, I'm afraid I was an only child.
[And then the moment passes, and it's gone.]
But quite a lot of cousins- I suspect we'd be here all day if I tried to list them all. My particular subspecies tend to lay eggs in batches, so you see where we might be inclined to end up with large households.
[When she elaborates, Shepard can understand the sadness a little more.]
I see... that must make you being an only child pretty troubling.
[She's not sure what the implications there are, but they can't be good.]
I may have been an only child myself. I don't really know.
[Honestly, she's entertained the thought of maybe having siblings somewhere out there, but if she thinks about it too hard the ache in her chest threatens to overwhelm her.]</small.
[She shakes her head gently- calm and understanding, not hurt even though she's discussing something sad, something that did hurt her once, a long time ago. It's not now. She's grown.]
Not troubling, precisely- merely rare. Not every egg in a clutch survives, that's simply the nature of things. For there to be only one viable hatchling instead of five or six is... very uncommon, yes, but not completely unheard of.
[More akin to a stillbirth, in human terms, than anything else.]
[It's hard to say she mourns her siblings, exactly, because how can you miss someone you've never met? But there's always going to be a part of her who would have liked to meet them, to have the chance.]
"May have"? [She tilts her head, curious.] That's an interesting turn of phrase- though you needn't elaborate if you'd rather not. If it's painful, I won't pry.
Yeah... I'm sorry that happened to you. But I'm glad that you seem to be handling it well.
[It's a breath of fresh air, honestly, to hear about something sad that happened to someone and seeing how it just... doesn't crush them.
She wishes she was like that.]
No, it's fine. It's old news for me.
[She sighs a bit, sitting back from the table, taking a break from eating.]
I was an orphan. My mother, presumably, abandoned me on the doorstep of an orphanage when I was a couple of months old. So I never knew my parents. Or any siblings, if I had any.
[Muffet nods solemnly, sad for her friend but appreciating how much it means for Shepard to tell her about this.]
[She can't imagine not growing up surrounded by family, the people who love and care for you. She's not unfamiliar with the idea of family that isn't blood-related, her relatives being prone to cheerfully adopting loved ones into the fold of their already-large family tree, but the idea of not having those relatives around is still depressing.]
My condolences on your loss, then- or perhaps hers, for never truly coming to know you. [She smiles gently.] Certainly, she missed out on someone wonderful.
[But the warm smile on her face and the slight blush on her cheeks speaks volumes.]
She never went looking for me in the end, even when I became a well-known name in human households so... who knows what happened there. Same with my dad. Never heard from him. I always wondered if I went back to the mega-city that I was raised in if maybe I would find them after the war but...
[She shakes her head.]
It doesn't matter, in the end. If they were alive when I grew up, they're probably dead now after the invasion.
[She looks at Muffet, curious.]
How were your parents? Kind? Strict? There for you or no?
[Muffet sees that blush, but has the tact and mercy not to point it out.]
Well, family isn't always blood. I'm certain you found those who mattered to you, regardless of relation.
[She looks wistful, the gentle nostalgia of recalling happy memories, as she replies.]
Oh, always kind- we had our arguments from time to time, as anyone does, but we never quarreled for too long. They were always there when I needed them, and on those occasions when they couldn't be, one of my aunts or uncles was there in their place, just as they did the same for my cousins. We... all looked out for each other, really. We knew we were stronger together than apart.
[Shepard's eyes soften at that comment and she nods.]
Yup, I did. Found a whole crew of family. They're an eclectic bunch, but I wouldn't trade them for the world.
[Shepard listens, a bit enraptured by this beautiful picture that Muffet weaves.]
That sounds so wonderful.
[Maybe when she was younger this sort of story would make her feel bitter, sparking anger and resentment in her heart at her own circumstances. But she's older now, more experienced, and all she can feel right now is genuine happiness that her friend had a good life.]
So you grew up in that... Underground, was it? On Earth? What was that like?
[She smiles warmly, seeing Shepard's obvious fondness for her crew.]
They sound like lovely people. I'd rather not wish this island on anyone, but I'm certain I'd have enjoyed meeting them.
[A brief nod.]
The Underground, yes. I'm not entirely certain how to describe it, since I have rather little to compare it to... It was a small place, compared to most nations. Overcrowding was an issue, and we had to be careful about growing food with the lack of sunlight in most areas. But we managed well enough, we took care of ourselves and each other.
What about you? What was it like where you lived, when you were young?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2018-09-24 08:32 pm (UTC)[Regrettably, Shepard is not the least-mannerly person Muffet has seen eating in recent memory. She's learned to accept that not everyone has her commitment to proper dining etiquette while in the middle of an unknown land- though that doesn't stop her from eating properly and delicately, even now.]
Oh yes- I might have made my living as a baker, but getting too wrapped up in my particular specialty would have done my skills no favors at all, so I made a point of cooking other types of dishes when I could.
Besides, someone had to feed all my cousins. I come from a rather large family.
Shepard Doesn't Even Know
Date: 2019-03-25 01:11 am (UTC)Did you have a lot of siblings too? How many cousins did you have?
The sad backstory headcanon comes back to get me once again...
Date: 2019-03-26 07:17 pm (UTC)No, I'm afraid I was an only child.
[And then the moment passes, and it's gone.]
But quite a lot of cousins- I suspect we'd be here all day if I tried to list them all. My particular subspecies tend to lay eggs in batches, so you see where we might be inclined to end up with large households.
yes it does :3c
Date: 2019-04-18 01:00 pm (UTC)[Muffet seems... sad at this thought.]
I'm sorry to hear that.
[When she elaborates, Shepard can understand the sadness a little more.]
I see... that must make you being an only child pretty troubling.
[She's not sure what the implications there are, but they can't be good.]
I may have been an only child myself. I don't really know.
[Honestly, she's entertained the thought of maybe having siblings somewhere out there, but if she thinks about it too hard the ache in her chest threatens to overwhelm her.]</small.
no subject
Date: 2019-04-19 02:20 am (UTC)Not troubling, precisely- merely rare. Not every egg in a clutch survives, that's simply the nature of things. For there to be only one viable hatchling instead of five or six is... very uncommon, yes, but not completely unheard of.
[More akin to a stillbirth, in human terms, than anything else.]
[It's hard to say she mourns her siblings, exactly, because how can you miss someone you've never met? But there's always going to be a part of her who would have liked to meet them, to have the chance.]
"May have"? [She tilts her head, curious.] That's an interesting turn of phrase- though you needn't elaborate if you'd rather not. If it's painful, I won't pry.
no subject
Date: 2019-04-21 08:12 pm (UTC)[It's a breath of fresh air, honestly, to hear about something sad that happened to someone and seeing how it just... doesn't crush them.
She wishes she was like that.]
No, it's fine. It's old news for me.
[She sighs a bit, sitting back from the table, taking a break from eating.]
I was an orphan. My mother, presumably, abandoned me on the doorstep of an orphanage when I was a couple of months old. So I never knew my parents. Or any siblings, if I had any.
no subject
Date: 2019-04-26 07:26 pm (UTC)[She can't imagine not growing up surrounded by family, the people who love and care for you. She's not unfamiliar with the idea of family that isn't blood-related, her relatives being prone to cheerfully adopting loved ones into the fold of their already-large family tree, but the idea of not having those relatives around is still depressing.]
My condolences on your loss, then- or perhaps hers, for never truly coming to know you. [She smiles gently.] Certainly, she missed out on someone wonderful.
no subject
Date: 2019-05-04 02:05 pm (UTC)I don't know about that.
[But the warm smile on her face and the slight blush on her cheeks speaks volumes.]
She never went looking for me in the end, even when I became a well-known name in human households so... who knows what happened there. Same with my dad. Never heard from him. I always wondered if I went back to the mega-city that I was raised in if maybe I would find them after the war but...
[She shakes her head.]
It doesn't matter, in the end. If they were alive when I grew up, they're probably dead now after the invasion.
[She looks at Muffet, curious.]
How were your parents? Kind? Strict? There for you or no?
no subject
Date: 2019-05-05 03:51 pm (UTC)Well, family isn't always blood. I'm certain you found those who mattered to you, regardless of relation.
[She looks wistful, the gentle nostalgia of recalling happy memories, as she replies.]
Oh, always kind- we had our arguments from time to time, as anyone does, but we never quarreled for too long. They were always there when I needed them, and on those occasions when they couldn't be, one of my aunts or uncles was there in their place, just as they did the same for my cousins. We... all looked out for each other, really. We knew we were stronger together than apart.
no subject
Date: 2019-05-06 12:02 pm (UTC)Yup, I did. Found a whole crew of family. They're an eclectic bunch, but I wouldn't trade them for the world.
[Shepard listens, a bit enraptured by this beautiful picture that Muffet weaves.]
That sounds so wonderful.
[Maybe when she was younger this sort of story would make her feel bitter, sparking anger and resentment in her heart at her own circumstances. But she's older now, more experienced, and all she can feel right now is genuine happiness that her friend had a good life.]
So you grew up in that... Underground, was it? On Earth? What was that like?
no subject
Date: 2019-05-10 09:35 pm (UTC)They sound like lovely people. I'd rather not wish this island on anyone, but I'm certain I'd have enjoyed meeting them.
[A brief nod.]
The Underground, yes. I'm not entirely certain how to describe it, since I have rather little to compare it to... It was a small place, compared to most nations. Overcrowding was an issue, and we had to be careful about growing food with the lack of sunlight in most areas. But we managed well enough, we took care of ourselves and each other.
What about you? What was it like where you lived, when you were young?