#remy's oc: James Rook | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

nadineselfships-archived · 4 years

Text

Misguided

A/N: The Seed brothers blow up a building storing important medicine and The Mother has a few things to say to them.

Rubble and ash coat the ground, smoke billows from the once sturdy building, now broken and caved in. Joseph rises from behind the overturned truck, walking slowly forward to stand in front of the crumbling building. He tries to ignore the guilt in his stomach as fire reaches up towards the sky.

Jacob follows Joseph, standing beside his brother and placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. They did good. At least that’s what they told themselves. Jacob could see the indecision in Joseph’s eyes and he tried his best to offer support. Joseph is thankful for Jacobs faith in him and holds the hand on his shoulder, grateful for how it grounds him.

John trails out from behind the truck more hesitantly, there was an uncomfortable weight in his gut as he stared at his brothers backs, this didn’t feel right. It didn’t feel right from the moment Marvin asked them to do this.

“Good job boys, you blew that thing sky high. Better get out of their quick before Nadine finds out and sicks their peggies on you.” Marvin’s voice comes from the radio on Joseph’s belt and slowly they walk away.

Jacob takes lead, expertly manoeuvring through the forest trails with Joseph and John on his heel. They don’t say anything, something feels different but none of them can figure out what. They’re nearing the Henbane River when John’s radio comes to life.

“Tell me you didn’t just do what I think you did.” John stumbles, something clenching his heart as the anger and betrayal rings clear in Nadine’s hissing voice.

“I never thought you’d go this low John. Your brothers, maybe, but you? You have no idea the chaos you just started. You have no idea the pain, the suffering, you’ve just caused.” John fumbles with his radio, heart hammering as he attempts to bring it to his lips. Calloused hands snatch it from him before he can and he watches in dismay as Joseph holds the radio up.

“I think you’re members will live without a little bliss, they’ll probably be better off without it actually.” Joseph speaks harshly into the radio, looking back at the smoke clouds still visible in the sky. He doesn’t think, doesn’t pause to consider his words. He just says them and John flinches when Nadine’s voice cuts through the air again.

“You idiot. YOU. FUCKING. IDIOT. I thought you were smarter than that, i truly did. All that wrath and pride you have truly clouded your goddamned mind. Pray the Mother has mercy on your soul Joseph Seed because I WON’T. You will pay for what you’ve done, one way or another so help me-” Nadine’s voice is cut off as Joseph presses a button on the radio.

John stares at said radio in horror, he knew something wasn’t right. Nadine wouldn’t get so infuriated over bliss, he knew that. They had done something they couldn’t take back but John didn’t know what. Silence hangs over the brothers before Joseph sighs and gently hands John his radio back. His eyes have the same confusion and worry as John’s and the two share a silent thought.

“We need to go.” Jacob grunts, eyes focused on the tree line as the sound of snarling dogs and distant shouts start to be heard. Joseph and John nod, following after him quickly.

They don’t make it very far before bullets are whizzing past their heads and the sound of a helicopter above them is heard. They stumble behind trees and cover each other as they try to avoid being shot. Joseph manages to grab his radio and send out a distress call but they were doubtful anyone would make it to them in time to help.

The Henbane River has a wall of peggies standing in their way, rage in their eyes and guns pointed straight ahead. They were trapped.

“What do we do?” John asks through uneven breaths. Joseph shakes his head in frustration, he didn’t know what to do. Jacob continues firing, covering them and giving Joseph time to think.

But time runs out and so does bullets. They put up their best fight, taking down as many peggies as they can. When John is roughly grabbed by two peggies and dragged back Jacob let’s out a rage filled cry and races forward, but he’s pinned to the ground by four peggies before he can get to him. Joseph watches his brothers being roughly restrained by peggies with anger and shame in his heart.

He too is restrained and the three of them are thrown into the back of a truck, their radios are taken and they’re completely vulnerable. Jacob curses Marvin’s name with venom on his tongue and John hangs his head silently. Joseph should have known, none of this had made sense from the second Marvin had asked them to take down the otherwise inconspicuous building. Why he agreed to it he didn’t know either.

Nadine’s reaction to his words ring in his head and build doubt in his gut. What was really in that building, he was almost afraid to know. With the peggies seemingly as equally enraged as The Baptist Joseph feared he had made a mistake.

Before he knows it he and his brothers are dragged from the truck and shoved onto their knees in front of the very building they had been at an hour ago. The fire was still burning and The Mother stood with Nadine, Michael and James at her side. Her back was to them but her siblings glared daggers into Joseph’s soul, unbridled fury in their gazes. Jacob glared right back and John refused to look up.

Slowly, The Mother turns and walks towards them. Her usual calm demeanour seems off, the deep frown on her face uncharacteristic and unsettling. She stares Joseph in the eye and he feels shame and anger hot on his back. He couldn’t show weakness in front of them so he readies himself, stone faced with a facade of apathy.

“Do you know what you’ve done Joseph? Do you have any idea, what you destroyed?” The Mother’s voice is calm but there is anger biting at the ends of her words. She walks closer and lifts her arms up, motioning to the remains of the building behind her.

“Do you know the amount of my children that will die without the medicine you destroyed?” Joseph’s brows furrow at her words and she doesn’t fail to notice, “yes medicine. What did you think it was? What did they tell you, it was?” Her eyebrows raise as she tilts her chin up, looking down on Joseph almost blankly. Joseph feels his stomach drop. Marvin had said drugs he never said medicine. What was he supposed to think? Bliss was the only drug they were aware of the cult having their hands on. Apparently they were wrong.

The Mother sighs as he stays silent and she lowers her arms, turning to pace slowly in front of them. Nadine, Michael and James stalk forward to stand behind her. Michael and James stare Joseph and Jacob down while Nadine’s angry gaze is set on John’s bowed head.

“I cannot save people who don’t want to be saved nor will I try, there are millions who want to be saved who came to me of their own free will.” The Mother begins softly and Joseph scoffs despite himself. The Mothers glare is harsh and Joseph shifts his gaze to the ground.

“Your resistance started this, we did not start the violence, we did not hurt anyone, we didn’t kidnap nor forcefully convert anyone.” The Mother snaps, anger now clear in her tone as she marches up to him.

“We preached and welcomed those who wanted to be saved. It is not our fault that members of your resistance could not handle the fact that their family members wanted to be saved, that they saw the truth and wanted to follow the path to Eden.” She continues, Joseph snapping his head up to glare daggers into her emerald eyes. Before he can retort she’s leaning down to look him in the eye.

“It is not our fault that your resistance members, like snakes in the night, crept into our homes and snatched our family members away, took their choice from them, scurried like the rats they are, and laid blame on us so they did not have to face the consequences of their own actions.” She hisses dangerously.

“Snatched your family members away? They were saving their family from you, after you brainwashed them and convinced them the world was ending! How can you keep making yourself out to be the righteous one, are you really that delusional? You drug them with bliss and think they’re with you willingly?” Joseph snaps back. Rough hands grab his shoulders as he leans forward and pull him back into place.

The Mother frowns, disappointment in her eyes as she shakes her head. She stands and turns again, walking back to stand between Michael and Nadine.

“Remiel let me-” Michael begins to speak but The Mother holds up her hand, she places it on his shoulder and gives him a soft smile. He nods, a silent understanding between them and he stands back.

“Yes, we use bliss to calm our family, but not to drug them into complacency. When you learn the world is ending, when everything as you know it is going to cease to exist, it can break people. It can rip the hope and the will to live from them just like that. So yes, we made bliss, to ease their minds so that they might be at peace until the day they can walk into Eden and stand on their own two feet.” The Mother’s tone is calm once again and she sighs, clasping her hands together in front of her and gazing back at Joseph softly.

Joseph falters for only a moment, the absolute tone and confidence in her words has a small vine of doubt wrapping around his throat but he vehemently ignores it. He can’t let himself feel anything other than his anger otherwise he knows he’ll crumble too quickly too easily.

“That doesn’t change anything. That doesn’t change what you’ve done.” He mutters, grasping at anything to keep his anger raging and doubts at bay. They were bad people, they had hurt many people he’d called friends and stolen the lives they’d lived. Of course she had her own rose tinted version of it all, she saw herself as the saviour. He couldn’t let himself see her like that, no matter what he was told.

“Don’t bother Joseph.” Jacobs voice pulls him from his thoughts and he turns to see Jacob glaring at The Mother venomously.

“She’s too insane to really hear you,” he grunts. A sound resembling a snarl escapes Nadine and James, both step forward with gazes zeroed in on Jacob.

“What I’ve done?” The Mother begins, hands gently holding onto Nadine and James forearms to keep them from moving forward any further.

“We did not put guns in our children hands, we did not ask our brothers and sisters to fight, you think we are murderers, that we have no morals, that we’re insane.” The Mother gazes at Jacob, lowering her arms once more.

“Maybe I am insane, maybe the voices I hear are just that, voices in my head. But do not try to tell me I have no morals when your whitetails put guns into the hands of children and mercilessly torture my family with no remorse.” She steps forward, raises a hand to motion to the Whitetail Mountains and shakes her head.

“They’re not with us.” John speaks up quietly. He glances up and freezes under Nadine’s intense gaze, regret creeps up his spine and he looks to The Mother who’s attention is now on him.

“Maybe not, but your people do kill my family daily.” She says firmly.

“With no thought of their brothers, sisters. Their mothers and fathers. Their children. They don’t even have names to you, they’re not even people in your eyes. They are just crazy cultists, peggies, that is what you refer to us as isn’t it?” The Mother raises an unimpressed brow and John lowers his head once again. He wished he were anywhere else at that moment.

“May I also remind you that every instance that has lead to the death of one of your resistance members, has been in self defence. We did not instigate the violence you so desperately crawl in but we will finish it,” The Mother continues quickly as Joseph opens his mouth once again to interrupt, “I will do anything to protect my family even if that means getting blood on my hands. You’ve forced our hands and made it impossible to have any sort of peace. You. Not us. Not I.” She holds her head high as Joseph shuts his mouth. Watching her seething form with his growing irritation and denial.

“Self defence? We just want our lives back. We just want our land and our homes back. You instigated it when you came here and took over, when you stole the businesses from my friends and their family from them after that.” Joseph is practically shaking, he can’t believe the audacity the women before him has. The audacity of her siblings that look at him like he’s the villain and not the other way around. He can’t stand that he almost believes what she’s saying to him.

“We forced YOUR hands? What did you expect us to do? Fall to our knees and let you steal everything from us? We’re just trying to survive this hell that YOU created, not us. Peace was never an option here Remiel and you know it.” Joseph snarls, all the fury he’d felt building pouring out of every pore as he stared up at The Mother. He wasn’t sure who he was angry at anymore. Her. Himself. God.

“I could have killed you and your siblings at any point up to now Joseph, I have people everywhere. However I did not and I will not, because that’s not who i am, I am simply a Mother protecting her children. I’m sorry you can’t see that.” The Mother mutters somewhat numbly. She turns to look at Nadine, a small nod and a glance and Nadine was walking away to their helicopter swiftly, only pausing to glare at John bitterly before disappearing into the helicopter.

“I hope one day you can see the light. See the truth. And if the day comes that one of you,” The Mother trails her gaze over them, “or your resistance members sees the light, than I will welcome you with open arms.” She hums gently. A wave of her hand and Michael is next to walk away, marching towards his awaiting men to give them orders.

James walks forward and Jacob watches him with a hawk like stare as he stalks behind them. He speaks lowly to the peggies behind them, no doubt telling them what to do with the brothers.

“But until then,” The Mother steals their attention one last time as she turns back to the burning building, “I cannot save those who don’t wish to be saved and I have to clean up the mess you’ve made.” As she speaks the three are hauled to their feet, as they’re being moved towards the truck The Mother turns her head to the side.

“You might also want to ask your friend Marvin about what he’s been telling you, it seems to me he hasn’t been completely transparent with you. I’d question if i really wanted to leave my sister in his care. Just a thought.” She mutters and Joseph feels a small pit of despair in his stomach.

The three are loaded into the truck without much resistance. John stares numbly at his shoes, Joseph holds his head in his hands and Jacob stares James down with fire in his eyes. James doesn’t say anything, simply sneers at him as he closes the doors to the truck. The brothers are quiet as they feel the truck begin to move.

Joseph takes the time to ponder The Mothers words, his own morals and ideals clashing with the opposing information and crashing down on him until he doesn’t know what to think. He does know that he has to speak to Marvin, there were too many lies and truths not being shared and Joseph desperately needed to know where he stood in all of this. Where his brothers and sister stood. His whole image of the resistance he started was starting to crumble.

The moment the truck stops and the sound of the peggies walking away dances in the air Joseph lifts his head from his hands and meets Jacobs patient stare. It was time to call a small meeting.

#self insert #fc5 #fc5 reverse au #fc5 oc #self insert fic #my writing #nadine writes stuff #Remy and I wanted to flesh out the mother some more so she rambled a speech at me and I wrote this lmao #she's a lot different to the father and we wanted to show that #also Marvin is in place of Dutch and I don't like him enough to flesh him out so asdfghjkl #joseph is losing the reigns on the resistance and is having a lot of doubts #and of course I have to hint at me and john because the drama this causes is gonna be wild #I am biggie angr and have to find a quick way to regain the medicine we lost #and I'm disappointed in him too #angst incoming basically #Michael Sinclaire #James Rook

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