#anyway there is a REASON rahim is as confident & proud as he is.

[musecraft]

🪐 — RAHIM + GAZALA BRAVARD  /  @enclovir​  :

rahim’s parents were originally from algeria,  &  they both came from large families themselves, the majority of which still reside in algeria.  rahim’s parents were both free thinkers who valued education  &  didn’t believe in god, which often put them at odds with their very religious  &  conservative family members  —  as well as the very religious  &  conservative government.  motivated in large part by their desire to raise their son  &  any other children they might have in a nation where they would be free to decide their own religion  &  lifestyle, they emigrated to france when rahim was still very young. but rahim’s parents were not the only outliers in their family.  rahim’s maternal aunt had a daughter named gazala, who also dreamed of a life outside of algeria.  inspired by seeing her aunt  &  uncle move abroad to pursue more freedom for their children  &  themselves, gazala began looking for opportunities for herself that could let her move abroad.  it wasn’t long before gazala was accepted into a prestigious ballet conservatory in france at the age of 19,  &  rahim’s parents were happy to welcome their niece to live with them in their home while she trained.  gazala moved into the harrak home in france when rahim was 9 years old,  &  though they were technically cousins, they acted more like siblings during rahim’s pre-teen years.  rahim was the oldest of the three harrak children,  &  gazala adored him.  they quickly grew very close. as a trans woman, gazala was the first person that rahim felt safe coming out to at age 13.  &  when he started dating his first boyfriend at the age of 14, it was gazala who gave rahim “the talk,” about queer sex, making sure to include both the importance of pleasure  &  making safer choices in the conversation.  afterwards, they were both bolstered  &  affirmed not to be the only queer person in their families,  &  gazala’s unflinching acceptance was crucial in shaping rahim into the proudly out, sex-positive person he is by the time he transfers to moordale. but unbeknownst to rahim, gazala had been recruited to the kingsman during her time in the ballet collective.  for a few years, gazala balanced her new career with her family.  though she spent less  &  less time at home, she always took the chance to visit rahim whenever she could.  although she was very busy with the kingsman,  &  could not tell him the truth about her work anymore, still the two remained close.  until, when rahim was 15 years old, he got the news that gazala had been killed in a tragic accident. rahim had no way of knowing that gazala had actually been left for dead by her fellow agents  &  “rescued” by the valentine corporation  —  he didn’t even know she had been working for the service, after all.  gazala’s  “death”  was incredibly hard on rahim.  he turned to poetry in his grief, using writing to express his feelings of loss.  some of his first poems were dedicated to gazala. it isn’t until rahim is 26, graduated from university  &  beginning to settle into his adult life, that he gets the call that gazala is alive.  of course, rahim drops everything to go to her,  &  he spends much of his free time helping her heal from the brainwashing by reminding her what it really means to be part of a family.