lbr if Fen & Miao didn’t live with their dad, he’d have been dead long ago. They could’ve gone with their mother, but even at their young age they knew she’d be fine. It was her who would have to come back to their dad, because he wouldn’t go to their mom. Even though he did a shitty job of taking care of them, I wonder how long he tried (and actually tried before becoming an alocholic) before Shi Fen started taking over Taking Care of Miao duties. That time Miao was sick, when they were kids, Fen had to call and let their dad know she was sick- he was out working, not drinking at that point. How long before their father gave up trying to take care of them and let them take care of themselves? Clearly he still thinks of himself as their dad even if he’s not doing a good job at providing a good home life for them. Dude’s just constantly out of it and in over his head.
I have Thoughts about their dad, their family relationship, and how the fuck the three of them work together.
Because I have become a Take My Brother Away blog, apparently
Dating an adult Shi sibling was... weird, for their partners. They weren’t like the usual siblings. Oh, they bickered and fought, of course, but there was more to them than that.
They lived in the same apartment, for one. Not just the complex, but they shared a two-bedroom apartment. Fen would typically cook, with Miao pitching in mainly when he was sick. She never truly improved. It wasn’t uncommon for them to share a room, simply for the comfort- after over a decade of sleeping in the same room and knowing the other was alive and well based on their breathing, it could get uncomfortable to be in a silent room. They tried to keep to their own rooms when one was dating and had a partner over, but the siblings always came first.
That fact drove a lot of people away, truthfully. Fen’s first loyalty was to Miao, always, and Miao still depended on her brother for the base of her comfort. Less than when they were teenagers but he was still her pillar of stability. They could not guarantee that should they be dating, everything else could be dropped for who they went out with.
It took some getting used to. To waking alone in bed, because Miao had knocked on the door quietly to ask Fen to make breakfast. To coming in late and finding the pair of them sat on the couch, Miao’s legs thrown over her brother’s lap and taking up whatever room she wanted while he read a book. To nightmares being woken from, and comfort to be found in the knowledge that the Shi siblings were still together, had not been separated by miles or death.
But the loyalty from one Shi sibling, from allowing them the comfort and stability of having the other nearby, meant that the other provided their loyalty as well. That Fen would cover for Miao’s partner in a pinch, and should Miao find Fen’s partner in need of aid - physical or otherwise - she was there with fists and wit.
It was an odd system, but allowing it truly worked some wonders.