#[brüderlein komm tanz mit mir].julien

[mcmorare]

about a year after katrina left home, julien took some of her childhood pictures from the family album while he was visiting. even if they had never been particularly close, he missed his little sister, who as far as he knew at that point he would never see again. he still has those pictures. katrina doesn't particularly want them - doesn't love dwelling on her childhood in general - and their parents never asked for them back.

[fullofmemories]

Growing up, Christmas wasn’t always the most fun of times for Katrina. It meant seeing her entire family, having to spend time with all of them, having to deal with their judgement. But, she tried to make the best of it.

Around Christmastime her and her friends would go to the Christkindlmärkte and have fun. The best one was always in Vienna, when they could go. She looked forward to it every year - warm drinks, cute crafts, sweets, laughter and music and snow. Away from the stress of home.

When she did see her family, she would try to avoid most of the adults. A lot of her time was spent with her cousins, some of whom held a bit of the same frustration at their family’s strictness. It could still be a bit tense, but it was a bit of a comfort to know she wasn’t completely alone in her thoughts. 

When she was very little, she spent most of the family time glued to her grandfather’s side. He would tell her stories and play games with her, and sneak her cookies under the table when her mother wasn’t looking. It was after he passed that she started avoiding the adults much more. 

Now, that’s not to say her holidays were perfect. They were often still a time of stress, especially due to the fact that her mother was often more stressed around this time of year and so she was more irritable. But there were some bits of happiness among it all.

As an adult, she’s come to make much more happy memories of the holidays. Spending Christmas with Ariane and Reina and Julien and Evelin. Getting to spend pleasant time with her brother, exchanging gifts with her friends, baking cookies with her niece. Making it into a time of laughter instead of stress. And, eventually, she even started to look forward to the holidays.

[mcmorare]

katrina & julien brändle.

[mcmorare]

fun fact the first time katrina ever got drunk was on christmas when her and a few of her cousins stole some of the adults' gluhwein and hid out and drank and talked shit

her and julien continue this tradition every year on christmas eve by sharing gluhwein while julien (who, while not in contact with their parents, still sometimes talks to some of their cousins) tells katrina all the family gossip

[mcmorare]

KATRINA'S FAMILY

JULIEN - older brother. a bit of a nerd, but a sweetheart.

EVELIN - niece. outgoing and curious.

ALINA - sister-in-law. smart and always willing to help.

[mcmorare]

one of the major sources of resentment between katrina and julien growing up was their opposing traits. in all the ways katrina was seen as too masculine, julien was seen as too feminine. if it had been julien who was outgoing, feisty, independent, stubborn, it would be something their parents would have looked upon fondly instead of scolded. if katrina had been the one who was quiet, thoughtful, nurturing, attentive, it wouldn't have been a problem to work on. but that wasn't who they were. sometimes they wished it was - it seemed to come so easily to the other. the traits their parents wanted were there; just not in the places they wanted them. and that, to them, was somehow worse than not having them at all.

[mcmorare]

katrina's found family

ARIANE: Katrina's best friend since they were 7. A social worker who specializes in troubled teens. Determined and caring.

REINA: Ariane's girlfriend and Katrina's friend. A fashion student who came to Vienna for University and decided to move there permanently. Compassionate and creative.

JULIEN: Katrina's older brother. Works as a historian at a museum in Munich. Soft-spoken and thoughtful.

EVELIN: Katrina's niece, Julien's daughter. Isn't sure what she wants to do yet, but she loves art and stories. Sweet and outgoing.

[mcmorare]

i am Thinking once again abt how neither katrina or julien really ever felt loved by their parents and wanted so desperately not to be like them and then along comes evelin, and both of them would do anything for her, and (even though katrina is in some ways more like her mother than she realizes or would ever admit) they’ve both stopped themselves from becoming their parents in one of the most crucial ways by undeniably and unconditionally loving the next generation of the family

[mcmorare]

best gift for katrina?

send me questions and i'll answer them as an npc

"Well, a plant is always a good bet, but she already has a bunch of those." Brown hair, a smile that has a hint of shyness about it, a button-down shirt. Julien is answering this one. "When I get gifts for people I tend to think about things that are related to things that they like, or things that we both like that we can connect over. Like, sometimes I'll give Katrina a book that I think she'll like - nothing super long, because I know she doesn't exactly love reading, but then we can talk about it. Or, one time, I found sheet music for a bunch of songs that our grandpa used to play on his radio. But those wouldn't work for someone else." He thinks for a moment. "Ah... she likes Dortmund, and nature. Something related to those would be good."

[mcmorare]

reunion

send “reunion” for a headcanon about one of my muse’s family members

Julien and Alina met in university. He majored in history, and she majored in comparative literature. They were in the same world literature class, and it took Julien a full two weeks to get up the nerve to ask her out. They went to a museum on their first date and talked about all the art and history. He thought that would be a good bet because he could impress her with his history knowledge, but she proceeded to analyze the art in ways he hadn't thought of, helping him see so much emotion and beauty in them, and it only made him fall harder. Luckily for him, she thought his being flustered was very cute. As they started really dating, they would have study sessions together and drink coffee in the library.

[mcmorare]

since katrina and julien's favorite teams are complete enemies, they always call each other to gloat whenever the other person's team loses. and during these calls when her team loses katrina tends to use an especially high number of curse words and make unhinged threats (my favorite of which so far being "if you don't shut the fuck up i'm gonna do something that will get onto international news")

[mcmorare]

15.     bookcase.

a peek inside their...

Katrina isn't a huge reader (there's a reason she's not the "academically gifted" sibling), but the bookshelf in her room has:

The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke, a dual-language edition that has both the original German and an English translation.

A copy of Anne Carson's translation of An Oresteia, which was a gift from her brother.

Little framed photos, one of her, Ariane, and Reina, one of her and Evelin, and one of herself, Ariane, Reina, Evelin, and Julien all together.

And another picture of Evelin because she just loves her niece so much

Im Westen Nichts Neues by Erich Maria Remarque.

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk.

A german-language copy of Carmilla by Sheridan le Fanu that Reina found for her.

A copy of Herr der Diebe by Cornelia Funke and a copy of Emil und die Detektive by Erich Kästner for when Evelin visits.

A little aluminium plant.

[mcmorare]

incorrect brändle siblings, no. ??

[fullofmemories]

like brother, like sister

[fullofmemories]

1. Favorite toy? Any specific reason or are they just attached?

3. Did they have any irrational fears? Ones not based in reality?

9. Did they ever have a phase where they watched something over and over? Like an episode of a tv show or a movie?

17.  How did they play as a kid? Did they like playing with their toys or  did they prefer imaginary friends? Did they like to play pirates? House?  Pokemon? Warrior cats?

19. If your character is lgbt, was there any “signs” of it in their childhood?

20. What kind of toys did they gravitate towards? Stuffed animals, trucks, action figures, dolls?

37. Were they ever put in daycare? Did their parents work a lot?

childhood ask meme

1. Favorite toy? Any specific reason or are they just attached? Her soccer ball, and her little stuffed bear named Minna! She used to daydream that Minna would protect her whenever she felt scared.

3. Did they have any irrational fears? Ones not based in reality? When she was young she was scared of the dark, but she grew out of that one. She didn’t really have many irrational fears - she was more of a ‘wild child.’

9. Did they ever have a phase where they watched something over and over? Like an episode of a tv show or a movie? She tended to spend more time outdoors than watching TV, but she did like Emil und die Detektive, Hallo Spencer, and Pumuckls Abenteuer!

17. How did they play as a kid? Did they like playing with their toys or did they prefer imaginary friends? Did they like to play pirates? House? Pokemon? Warrior cats? She would usually play outside with her friends, whether it was with an actual set-up game or just playing make-believe! She never really liked playing house, but she did like playing pirates and pretending to be a knight on an adventure to slay the dragon. Though, when she was at home she would play with her toys as well!

19. If your character is lgbt, was there any “signs” of it in their childhood? Not too many that were clearly visible to others - she kind of learned to repress them even before she really knew they were happening. But she did have a crush on one of her best friends as a child and didn’t realize it until years later.

20. What kind of toys did they gravitate towards? Stuffed animals, trucks, action figures, dolls? She liked stuffed animals and action figures more than dolls, and she didn’t really gravitate towards trucks or cars or any of those either. Though, her parents would usually get her dolls instead of action figures, so she would play with Julien’s instead.

37. Were they ever put in daycare? Did their parents work a lot? Occasionally, but not super often. Her dad worked more than her mom, and her mom was usually able to be home to watch over them when they were done with school or whatever activities they had for the day. And even when her mother wasn’t home, they were allowed to be left alone from a relatively young age (for her) since Julien was about 3 years older. But she was usually sent to play at a friend's house more than she was sent to daycare.

[fullofmemories]

01:  A memory from your character's childhood

04:  A memory that your character cherishes

07:  Something that makes your character happy

17:  What kind of books your character reads

character development questions

[ok i'm gonna do the last two at the bottom bc they're a bit longer

07:  Something that makes your character happy Her friends! As much as she might be hesitant to admit it sometimes, she does like having her friends around even if they're not doing much of anything.

17:  What kind of books your character reads She's never been a super avid reader, but she likes poetry!

01:  A memory from your character's childhood “Schwesterchen, komm tanz mit mir, beide Hände reich ich dir. Einmal hin, einmal her, rundherum das ist nicht schwer.” Katrina laughed as she spun in a circle, Julien catching her hands as she slowed. “Mit den Händen klapp, klapp, klapp, mit den Füßen trapp trapp trapp.” The two clapped and stomped along to the little rhyme that they both knew by heart. “Einmal hin, einmal her, rundherum das ist nicht schwer.” As they continued the rhyme the two of them spun and nodded and tapped in perfect sync. The last spin sent Katrina stumbling into her brother, both of them crashing to the floor with loud, blissfully childish laughter.

04:  A memory that your character cherishes Katrina smiled over at the scene in the living room. Ariane, Reina, Julien, and Evelin, all laughing and talking. She paused for a moment. This is my family, she thought. It’s a bit strange Her eyes caught on Julien’s wedding ring. Alina was gone. As well as both of Reina’s sisters and Ariane’s mother. And there are a few pieces missing Evelin excitedly showed Reina the picture she had been drawing at the coffee table while Ariane and Julien burst into laughter over some joke. But it is happy Katrina felt a sense of peace and warmth wash over her as she took in the sweet domestic scene. And it is safe “Hey, Trina! Come back here and help me settle this argument!” Ariane turned to her, grinning. Katrina walked over and sat back down on the floor next to Evelin. “Always so impatient, Ari.” She teased, shaking her head with mock scorn. And it is mine.