The Toxic Family - Relationship Dynamics
(Guppyflake)
(Burfinch)
ARCHICE
Arch and Wave
Arch loves Wave and knows that Wave loves him.
But, as mentioned a lot before, Wave tried to murder him in a horrific way and slit his throat, on top of the mental trauma of having him bury the bodies of their Clanmates (though Wave didn't really realize it was a big deal).
Wave is also the only one that has ever seen Archice for who he really is, to have faced all his horribleness and meanness and not only stuck around but continued to love him. And while, again, he truly does love his mate, part of the reason he stays with Wavespark is for that feeling of being seen, and he's deathly afraid of losing that.
Expanded on here
Arch and Guppy
Archice was utterly traumatized by Wavespark. Yes, he loves him and has a family with him now, but he's never going to forget that. And Guppyflake, who looks similar, has the same personality and mannerisms AND who also enjoys all the messed up things that Wavespark does, the same things that once hurt Archice.....Archice is scared of him, even if just subconsciously.
A part of him, a part he cannot control and may not even be aware of, resents Guppyflake for the same reasons that same part of him resents Wavespark.
Guppyflake--as well as Burfinch--are also roots to Wavespark, like a sign that he can never leave. Sometimes they make him feel safe and secure. Other times, it's like he's trapped, and they're the reasons why. Those thoughts, again, aren't conscious to him.
Most days it doesn't bother him, he just sees Guppyflake as the kind son that he loves dearly. Other times, he thinks of how much he's like Wavespark, and how much Wavespark put him through, and how maybe he wouldn't have to be here in this place if it weren't for him being in that river where Wavespark would find him and bring him home, like he's the glue keeping the two toms together. Sometimes he's grateful for it. Other times...
He wonders...
Arch and Bur
Archice, unlike with Guppyflake, is very affectionate with Burfinch, and it's mostly due to Burfinch reminding him of himself.
Neither kit went to the Daycare because, for Guppy, they didn't even know it was a thing and for Bur, Arch vetoed it because the other kits weren't good enough to be around Burkit and would be a poor influence (and by that he means they might change the things he likes about Bur).
Archice has a very high ego and has a "I'm always right" mentality, which he very much uses for Burfinch. Oh Burpaw stole the mossball? Well you should have kept a better eye on it, finder's keepers. Burpaw is hogging all the bedding? They don't have as much fluff as you, they need it anyways.
Burfinch becomes the golden child for Archice.
Because of that, they are Arch's favourite and Arch is their favourite.
There is a deeper side, though, one even Archice is not aware of. Wavespark hated him to the point of murder once, and only grew affectionate after time. Guppyflake was found by Wavespark and has stuck to him ever since. But with Burfinch, Archice never even tried and she chose him.
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WAVESPARK
Wave and Arch
Wavespark loves his mate so so so so much :3
Yes, he tried to kill him once, but that was a long time ago and in the past. Long before they died, he fell in love with Archice. Everything he had once found annoying had become endearing and adorable.
There was never a day that went by that the grumpy tom didn't make Wavespark smile.
Even in death, his blood still tastes the same, delicious and beautiful, just like the rest of him.
Wave and Guppy
While Arch is close with Bur, Wave is close with Guppy.
He loves that Guppy took after him, but he would have loved whoever Guppyflake turned out to be. Seeing Guppy's eyes spark with joy, seeing him so excited and happy, it filled Wavespark's heart with so much pride and bliss. But the fact that Guppy took after him only made it better, seeing someone who enjoys the same thing he does with so much truthfulness, having someone to understand that weirdest and most complicated parts of himself with such clearness...
It was like Guppyflake was truly a part of him.
Because of that, maybe Wavespark overestimates how much he knows about his son. They're so similar, they like all the same things...don't they?
Of course Guppyflake prefers moss over leaves, why bother asking? No, Guppyflake will want to swim today. How does he know? Well he just knows his son.
He doesn't ever intend to speak up over Guppyflake, he simply doesn't realize he does it. The conclusions he comes to involving his son feel as natural and obvious as the same conclusion you would come to if asked how many toes you had. You KNOW the answer...you don't need to ask.
He's a good dad.
He knows his son.
Wave and Bur
While Wavespark gets along easier with Guppyflake, he's careful not to show favourtism.
Do he and Guppyflake spend more time together? Of course, but that's just natural when you share the same interests. That doesn't mean he loves Burfinch any less!
But does Burfinch know that? Does Burfinch get upset when he spends so much time with their brother? Does Burfinch think Wavespark doesn't like them as much?
He should make sure to spend a lot of time with them!
Oh, don't listen when Burfinch says that don't want to do ____ or talk about ____, all kits are like that! Burfinch really does, deep down. They're just pretending not to enjoy it.
Why wouldn't they enjoy spending time with their father?
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GUPPYFLAKE
Guppy and Wave
Guppyflake loves his dad. As a kit, he would cling to his fur and follow him everywhere he went.
He doesn't love Wavespark any less than he did then now that he's grown, but sometimes he feels like his dad never realized that he's not that clingy little kit anymore.
He's an adult now with his own thoughts, his own desires and ideas and wants and needs. Yes, he still enjoys a lot of the same things that Wavespark does, but they're far from the same cat!
He knows Wavespark means well, and that just makes it harder. If he tells his dad 'no,' will that make him sad? If he tells Wavespark that he doesn't want to hang out today, will he stop asking?
While he still loves spending time with his dad and would gladly be with him for hours on end, he also wants space and freedom, and he wants to be seen for who he is, not simply as an extension of Wavespark, and he desperately wants Wavespark to be the one to see him for him.
But a deeper, subconscious part of him doesn't allow him to bring these concerns up because what if there really is no 'Guppyflake'? What if everything he is is really just an extension of Wavespark? If he takes away all the parts of him that come from his dad, will there be anything left other than a scared, half-drowned kit?
Guppy and Arch
Guppyflake knows that his father loves him, and he loves his father, but...
He remembers his early kithood, when Archice avoided parenting duties. He remembers how he would roll his eyes whenever Guppykit annoyed him, he remembers hearing Archice complain about having to take care of a kit he never asked for.
It stings whenever he thinks about it. It makes him bitter.
But those moments aren't the only ones he remembers.
There was also the time Archice soothed him from a nightmare, the first time they had truly bonded as a father and son. There was the time an older apprentice teased Guppypaw, and Archice rushed to his defense before spending the entire day teaching Guppypaw how to fight so that the next time the apprentice showed up, Guppypaw could handle it on his own. There was the time Guppypaw got sick and it was Archice who travelled through *unknown forests in search of medicine in spite of his fear while Wavespark stayed back with him.
There were the moments in the present, too--when Archice would make a joke and Guppyflake would finish it, when Guppyflake's fur was a mess and Archice would clean it even though he never groomed Wavespark's fur.
But he also saw his father's eyes.
That flash of...something bad. The look he gave Guppyflake without realizing it, an expression that said "I don't want to be near him."
Guppyflake doesn't know what causes that look, or why Archice would put space between them at seemingly random times.
It's usually then that Guppyflake thinks about those early memories. And when his mind is plagued with all those bad thoughts instead of the good ones, he wonders if Archice still hates being his father.
Guppy and Bur
Regardless of their differences and how they behave, the two siblings care for each other deeply. Although neither are biologically related and they both feel less of a connection with one of their parents, they see each other as nothing other than siblings, through and through.
They spend most of their time together arguing, and even pleasant moments between them are filled with insults.
Guppypaw was 10 moons old when Burkit, 1 moon, was found. He had promised to always look out for her and keep her safe, excitedly waiting for her to grow faster so that he could show her around and play games with her.
But...
Guppyflake couldn't help but feel envious over Burfinch's relationship with their father. There he was, doubting if Archice even truly loved him or if it was just a lie, and here comes a new kit that the grumpy, stand-offish tom immediately warms to.
All those nights as a kitten being ignored or told to go away and bother Wavespark, and here is another kit, crying over the same things, and Archice rushes to comfort her, holding her close, nuzzling her.
Guppyflake knew logically that he couldn't blame Burfinch for Archice's treatment of her. But feelings don't listen to logic, and a bitter resentment burned in his chest.
It was Guppyflake who stopped their games, it was him who always made excuses whenever Burfinch wanted to play or hang out. He didn't like hurting her, and it stung to see the disappointment in her eyes. It didn't make him feel good. But seeing her made him think about it, and he didn't want to do that. She could play with Archice all she wanted anyway. Apparently he loves kits now!
He gets mad whenever she tries to get their dad to leave her alone. Can't she see Wavespark wants to be with her because he loves her? Archice--though he and his father are much closer now than when he was a kit--never tried so hard with him. She should be grateful she is loved by two devoted, caring fathers! She should be glad she never has to doubt if one of her dads even love her!
Why does she have to be so selfish?
Why does she have to be so mean?
What a spoiled brat.
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BURFINCH
Bur and Arch
As stated, Archice is Burfinch's favourite parent for a number of reasons.
One of them being that Archice will let Burfinch get away with everything. All she has to do is bat her eyes at him, and he's won over to her side--if he wasn't already there!
But despite whatever Guppyflake says, this isn't the only reason she likes her father so much.
She just feels most comfortable with him. Wavespark may be gentle and sweet, but he's also loud and energetic and too much. And Guppyflake is...well, it's complicated.
But like Burfinch, Archice prefers quiet, and he doesn't poke and prod and lick at your fur without warning or permission. When Burfinch tells him she doesn't want to do something, he actually listens! No insistent "I know you want to play with your ol' pop, come on! Get up!" like with Wavespark and no angry "stop being so selfish and just go with him for one damn afternoon" like with Guppyflake.
Her relationship with Archice isn't completely healthy, either. Archice is a terrible influence on his daughter. When he was alive, he was an arrogant, egocentric, self-important jerk, all things he allowed her to become as well.
Bur and Wave
Burfinch doesn't hate her dad, as much as it may seem at times.
She just...hates how fake he can be.
Does she want to hang out with him? Of course! Sometimes! But not when it's painfully obvious he only wants to spend time with her out of obligation.
Some days he's on his own, and those days are better, but most of the time he goes up to her right after spending quality time with his other kit, and it just feels like he's balancing it out. He spent time with his son, now he has to spend time with his daughter.
When she was younger, she spent more time with him. Although she and Archice are very close, Wavespark wasn't an absent parent. She slept in his fluff when it's especially cold and still does to this day, he taught her all the best games along with Guppyflake and cheered her on every time she accomplished even minor things.
As much as Burfinch holds those memories close to her heart, she also wonders how good they really are. Did he do those things because he loved her or because she was a cute kitten?
She loves her dad, she does! And she knows that, to at least some extent, he loves her too. But she can't help but wonder if he only cares for her because she's his daughter. They have nothing in common, after all. If they weren't family, would he care at all?
Bur and Guppy
Burfinch's resentment at her brother began when he started avoiding her, and when he gave her those strange glares he didn't even know he was making.
Soon, anything and everything she did, he either found annoying or plain uninteresting.
It was laughable how he always called her selfish and an ass while apparently never noticing that he was the one always picking fights between them.
What was the point of even hanging out with him if he was just going to roll his eyes at everything she said and did?
And the way he mockingly called her father's little girl, as if he wasn't obviously Wavespark's favourite!
It's not her fault she wasn't daddy's little twin. He spent more than enough time with him anyways, that surely makes up for whatever time she refuses to spend with dear ol' pop.
But Guppyflake hates her. At least, that's what she believes. He gets pissed off whenever she doesn't do what she's told, and he hates it when she acts like herself instead of like how others want her to act. He just wants her to do everything that Wavespark wants, everything he wants, to be the perfect untroublesome little daughter or sister that they never have to think twice about.
Well, she doesn't give a damn what he wants! If he doesn't like her as she is, he can kick rocks!
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ADDITIONAL NOTES
--Guppy is envious of Bur's relationship with Arch, and Bur is envious of Guppy's relationship with Wave. That puts a strain on their own relationship, in addition to the other problems mentioned.
--Wave goes by "dad" (sometimes calling himself "pop" playfully), while Arch goes by "father."
--Bur goes by she/they.
--*Called "unknown forests" because at the time, the family wasn't entirely familiar with the area, and weren't aware of the Garden.
--BASES:
Arch base by Kaylink on DeviantArt
Wave base by paraqeet on DeviantArt
Guppy base by Snowwire on DeviantArt
Bur base by wt17903fff0 on Hippolink
