#canon mortem lives a very isolated life for most of it asfdgfhfgh

[cursedfortune]

Does Mortem have anyone she would consider "family" of a sort, or does she generally remain too aloof to consider anyone that close?

Not since her mother was alive. The only closest thing would be if she's "parenting" a child, but even then it will always be a mentorship for a long while before she feels genuine kinship. I make the joke a lot about Mortem 'adopting' others, it's not entirely false but the way she feels about it isn't the same as how most people would. She'll share similarities, like being protective and wanting the child to have a good life, etc - however, that being her child and in them being her family is something that takes time. It doesn't mean her care isn't genuine or lesser, it's just that some forms of love take longer.

As for the rest, it's not at all a matter of being aloof. The closest kinship she feels is with her own people, but that's a general thing and less specifically a family thing. She doesn't feel the need for family, her mother provided her with all she could have ever wanted in terms of family love and experience. Mortem does not actively seek nor does she even like the idea of having other familial figures in her life (parental, siblings, cousins, aunts or uncles, etc). There's also trauma there amongst the positives, given her mother was taken from her within the first few centuries of her life. So between a sense of fulfillment and old trauma, she doesn't care for familial bonds coming into her life again.

In fact, it's the only type of relationship Mortem will reject. The more someone aims for that type of relationship with her, the more she'll pull away and shun them.

I can't count her fellow witches in this since they just are. Children are the closest loophole to this, but again, she'll always be more of a mentor first and then potentially a genuine parent/mother later - regardless how the child may view the situation. That's both due to Mortem's personal self and also just because witches tend to raise their children (or those they've taken in) very differently from humans or other races. But even this is a slim thing due to Mortem's own purpose, any children she comes across she'll house briefly before relocating to a proper home in most cases.

#canon mortem lives a very isolated life for most of it asfdgfhfgh #one way to get her outta there tho is to want a family/found family dynamic. she doesn't do good with family stuff #platonic LIKE found family is fine. but the actual family vibes? she's not capable of possessing those #someone can view her as an older sister for instance but it won't be returned. if they don't acknowledge it much or ever #she will be better on letting it slide sdgfhgjhgkjhk at best #asks #headcanons #thanks for the ask tho! it's always fun when the family questions arise x'D