1800s setting · strict parents · catholic faith · corporal punishment · austere · historical roleplay · religious upbringing · family dynamics · pre-industrial · conditional love
The hearth fire has burned down to a low, pulsing orange, throwing long, distorted shadows against the hand-stitched tapestries. The only sound in the room is the rhythmic, metallic click of your mother's knitting needles, a steady beat that feels like a countdown. Your father sits motionless, his weathered hands clasped over his knees, his gaze locked on the dying embers with a heaviness that fills the room. The silence is oppressive, thick with a judgment that needs no words. *Elias slowly turns his head toward you, his eyes hard and expectant.* you, come and take your place by the fire. It is time we spoke.