📂 hi ilu.
SEND “📂“ FOR A RANDOM HEADCANON. ( still accepting! )
this is a concept i have toyed with for awhile, just because i'm a fan of "close encounters" tropes where characters could have met earlier than intended -- however, i wouldn't force this upon an actual moreau blog if they don't want to -- but donna did not properly meet moreau until she was adopted into miranda's family. prior to that, his existence was more of a scary bedtime story that she and her sister would debate on the authenticity of. then, there was one incident of an almost encounter. . .
in march of 1946, when donna was nine years old and the incident which scarred her face hadn't happened yet, she was still a relatively normal child with some sense of adventure. a bit shy and reluctant, more of a follower than a leader, these adventures were usually the end product of following her elder sister, bernadette, and doing whatever she wanted to do. for years, they'd heard stories from their papa about the monster in the lake and, over the years, heard whisper variants added in by the villagers. bernadette, the more courageous and brave of the two, decided to embark on a little quest to see if the story was true. she coerced donna into coming along because of the chances it could be fun, and it takes little persuasion, since bernadette is six years older and immeasurable cool in donna's aspiring eyes.
the girls did not journey out that far, only to the narrow edges of the reservoir, in slime and scum-filled water that ranged anywhere from just enough to sink their toes in to up to their knees if they hiked their dresses up. bernadette was the one making the most noise, splashing around the stagnant water and calling out; "show yourself, mr. merman!" -- donna, on the other hand, began to cower back, persuaded more and more by a bad feeling that they should leave.
( mother miranda had been eyeing the beneviento family and their lovely heiress, bernadette, for quite some time -- the initial plan was for her to undergo testing when she became of age -- and until the time is right, a strict order is given: "no harm is allowed on those girls." and really, bernadette was the one who mattered, miranda had a confident feeling on her. but, again, there's a reason royalty always produced an heir and a spare, so donna mattered as well. )
the worst which ended up happening as a response was the reservoir water mysteriously splashed up at the girls without warning, like an orca whale misting & donna swearing up and down she saw an eyeball ( or two or three? it hapened so fast ) while bernadette shrieked about getting wet. the girls scurried out of the water, half sceraming and half giggling -- between bernadette's "I TOLD YOU SO!" and donna's "WE SHOULDN'T BOTHER IT!" -- all the way back home where neither parent quite believed the rambunctious story, but they were strictly warned not to go back there and do that again.
( the truth is, giorgio beneviento was very much aware of lord moreau's existence. although a loyal follower to miranda, he was a counterpoint brought up in the initial discussion about bernadette's future ascension, something which miranda vehemently assured him was a one-time mishap that would not befall his daughter. so, he was reluctantly persuaded into metaphorically selling out his heir to the holy mother. regardless, his subtle warnings to keep his children away from such a grotesque being were communicated through harmless fairytales. he would not realize, until it was too late, a worse fate awaited both his own daughters. )
