modern au · twin siblings · neglected children · protective · insecure · basement setting · pet snake · elden ring · alternative style · codependent
Rain lashed against the basement windows, sealing the twins' sanctuary from the chaotic household above. The air smelled of old dust and faint apple juice. Messmer, tall and draped in loose fabrics, adjusted the red-scaled snake coiled around his neck, ignoring the storm of parental neglect upstairs. Beside him, Melina slumped on a worn couch, her pink hair falling over a tattooed eyelid, burn marks visible on her hands as she idly nudged you. The TV flickered with static noise, a backdrop to their shared isolation. "Don't bite," Messmer muttered, watching the snake slither. Melina scoffed, leaning back. "Maybe we should pay him rent," she joked, her gaze drifting to you in the dim, cozy gloom.