You’re bad brother :/ (regarding Ollie and Tangent’s relationship)
While I thought maybe I should go through the beginning and ramble about my ocs in chronological order, I immediately gave up due to how much I’d have to explain. I don’t want to do that, not in one post at least, that wouldn’t be fun for me. I also don’t really expect anyone to read these other than me and maybe a friend, so I’m just going to organize these however I feel comfortable with. Adding here for context, the current age for Ollie is 16 and Tangent 28.
Anyways, quick rundown of Ollie, she’s a mixed canine; is she part coyote or just a mutt? Who knows! She was picked up from the streets as a small pup and taken home by her adoptive mother, a young wolf lady whose name or exact appearance I haven’t decided on. The duty of taking care of her was immediately passed on to the wolf lady’s son, a 12 year old wolf boy called Tangent. While Ollie’s mother is also an essential part in her memory and therefore trauma, the biggest role is played by Tangent so that’s whose relationship I’ll be focusing on as for now. Wolf lady will get her own entry later on since there's a lot of shit involving her, both in her past and her relationship with her children. An important thing to mention is that she passed away when Ollie was 10 and Tangent 22.
Tangent is what the cool teens these days call an abusive parental figure. I mean there’s no way around it. Yes he is complicated and has, for the most part, the best intentions in mind, but it doesn’t absolve him from being emotionally abusive towards his sister.
This is where I, as a creator, get to rant about his backstory, of course. Tangent was barely 12 when he was relinquished a big role of parenting his adopted sister due to their mother’s inability to do so. He committed to the role almost immediately and while he had no experience taking care of pups, he vowed to make sure to keep his new sister safe. But aside from growing to love this new person in his life, he also grew up to resent her existence, a lot in fact. It wasn’t without discontent that he took over this big responsibility, Ollie was now part of his family, but she was also a chore.
It had been up to him, ever since he’d become capable of working, to make up for the house income, filling in for dinner and necessities. By the time he was 11, Tangent could be considered the sole income maker in the house. His mother adding another mouth to feed which she never intended to parent herself in the first place awoke such bitterness in the young pup. It only grew as Ollie got older and her multiple disabilities, heart conditions, and health issues became more obvious. For Tangent this meant one less person unable to produce income in his eyes, as well as constant trips to the doctor they couldn’t even afford.
Of course this bitterness also bled on how he treats her: losing his shit easily, implying she has nothing to complain about, accusing her of faking palpitations/pain to avoid helping, and just being an instigator whenever he gets pissed at her. They both argue and fight often, but the power imbalance between them ends up in Tangent leaving with the last word and Ollie feeling like shit.
There’s a situation that happens at some point in the storyline, which I won’t go fully in depth here because that’s it’s own scene, where Tangent beats the everloving shit out of Skelter, Ollie’s best friend. Skelter is associated with the Squad, the mafia to put it in understandable terms, so it would make sense for a parental figure to get their guard up. There was definitely a layer of worry and concern for his sister in the way Tangent went out of his way to hurt Skelter, but it’d be dishonest to omit that it was also his resentment towards Ollie manifesting destructively.
From his biased perspective he feels betrayed and disrespected. He works all day at a factory while Ollie sneaks out with the street trash who probably just wants to take advantage of her. He’s not gonna ask questions, he’s just gonna act. He’s right, after all, he’s doing this for his sister’s wellbeing isn't he? So what if it hurts Ollie’s feelings in the process? She doesn’t understand how the world works, she’s young and fragile.
In the noir discord server (a server I'll probably mention often) I discussed this topic with Hannahbelle, a cool member of the server. She was kind enough to provide ideas and write a dialogue between the siblings after reading my rambles about their dynamic, I nerded out the moment I read it of course. I’m still very thankful for that dialogue and I’ll include it here in italics so people know it’s a quote.
Tangent: How can you POSSIBLY be this useless?
Ollie: (looks down)
Tangent: What?
Ollie: ...You're a bad brother.
She based this exchange on a popular tiktok audio, when Scorpia calls Catra a bad friend, but it inspired the rest of the dialogue.
Tangent: You're going to say that? After everything I've done for you?
Ollie: (laughs humorlessly) right, because you were always so GRACIOUS about it!
Tangent: (taken aback, but then steels) You don't get to talk to me like that--
Ollie: oh, but it's OK for you to talk to ME like that?! It's OK for you to tell me I'm useless and that I'm good for nothing all because I get sick--
Tangent; if you would just work a bit *harder--*
Ollie: I DO! I *do* work hard, but fuck, it kills me! I try my damndest every single damn day to do something, *anything* to prove that I'm not worthless and that I'm worth a goddamn, but it's never enough! No matter what I do, you're never happy!
Tangent: Because I've had to make *sacrifices!* I've had to give everything up just so your ass wouldn't be thrown out on the street! You saying you'd rather that?! You saying you'd rather spend your life out there with some riffraff instead of the people who raised you?
Ollie: Raised me? *Raised me?* You think providing is the same as *raising me?* You've done nothing but tell me how bored and tired you are. I was the chore, the burden you didn't want to deal with, the fucking problem Mom shoved onto you because she couldn't be bothered. If you hated me so goddamn much, then you should have done us all a favor and kicked my ass out to the curb so I could just *DIE* already!
Tangent: So you really want to give up?
Ollie: No. I don't. But I don't see what other choice I have. All I ever wanted was to live a normal life, but that was never in the cards. Now I'm stuck here, in a house that doesn't feel like a home, with a family that treats me like a goddamn burden.
Tangent: (scoffs) if you hate it here so much, then you can just leave.
Ollie: (says nothing, looks down)
Tangent: yeah, that's what I thought.
It’s a particularly painful exchange since Ollie would not be able to leave even if she wanted to. Ollie needs someone to help her. She needs support, she needs assistance, and she needs to rely on Tangent.
This dialogue was crafted in a context where Ollie were to escape with Skelter the morning after the argument. An alternative ending where nothing is ever resolved. Tangent would wake up and she would be gone. He would immediately go out to look for her, blinded by anger and worry until the realization that she’s really gone sinks in. I believe Tangent would be destroyed, but as much as I would love to ramble about this outcome I think that whole topic can be its own entry as well.
Another situation that was brought up was Ollie getting tipsy/drunk in Rouge’s bar with Skelter and a couple other members of the squad when suddenly she lets it slip out and just proceeds to rant.
Ollie: So I'm in the kitchen trying to put away some glasses when my wrist suddenly spasms, I guess I twisted it an odd way or something… it does that sometimes. And shit, I drop a glass and it shatters everywhere. Of course Tangent hears and goes on and on about… how I’m a fucking mess, you knowhow? Just fucking up everything I touch. Completely out of proportion, like fuck, I don’t even know anymore if that’s a reaction the situation called for. Hauled me out of the kitchen into my room and just… he just left me there for the rest of the evening. Didn’t even talk to me until the next day.
Tangent would know he went too far that day but would not apologize. Apologizing would mean having to admit he’s wrong, having to admit the abuse he suffered from his mother was wrong, and most importantly, realizing the abuse he’s inflicting towards Ollie is wrong as well. Quoting Hannabelle, he just doesn't have the capacity to do that.
But yeah, I ain’t great at conclusions but here’s me trying. Ollie and Tangent are currently trapped in a generational trauma that has not been concluded. I’ll probably make a follow up to this post as their storylines unveil in my head but as for now this is all I got.