Brendan and Barty’s History
AKA here’s the context around Brendan’s ‘happy birthday’ post to Barty, for anyone curious. Because the Mun forgets sometimes that not everyone’s aware of their “connection”. (Also, they’re both my muses!)
Brendan met Barty Lockhart and his family shortly after moving to Hastings. Barty’s husband Gilderoy found Brendan wandering the streets lost and alone during a nasty rainstorm and invited him into the safety of the Lockhart family Estate to wait it out. Brendan was immediately attracted to Gilderoy and only became all the more intrigued after being introduced to Barty–because despite having silver hair and a few extra wrinkles on his face, Barty was every bit Brendan’s doppelganger.
It didn’t take long for Brendan to charm his way into bed with the couple and it took even less time to get himself kicked out. Unbeknownst to Brendan, Barty was an alien (specifically an AU version of the Tenth Doctor) and as such had special powers, including telepathy and psychic sight. Both of these abilities suddenly kicked in one night while they were having sex and Barty was able to “see” the monster Brendan truly was. Out of fear for his own safety and his family’s, Barty put a stop to everything immediately and forced Brendan to leave the Estate. Because they couldn’t reveal the truth about Barty’s powers, Gilderoy explained simply that Barty had got a “bad feeling” from Brendan and, trusting in that feeling, it was better they terminate their relationship and Brendan’s stay in their home.
At that time Brendan didn’t have a job or anywhere else to go, so Gilderoy, feeling bad about how things had ended between them, gave him money and set him up in the apartment Brendan still calls home to this day. The building itself belonged to the Lockharts at that time (it now belongs to Matthieu, unbeknownst to Brendan, but I digress..) and they regularly rented it out to people in need. For the first few months Brendan was allowed to live there rent-free, and behind Barty’s back he even continued to have a sexual relationship with Gilderoy on the side. When Barty eventually found out and ordered Gilderoy to end the affair, Brendan confessed to being “in love” with Gilderoy too and ordered him to leave Barty instead.
Gilderoy chose Barty over Brendan and this ultimately is what began the feud between them. Because Brendan didn’t appreciate having his latest toy “stolen” from him and losing the cashflow that came with it. But rather than seek a violent revenge against them, Brendan chose to get a job so he could continue living in the apartment the Lockharts had given him and used his monthly rent payments as a way to stay close to the family and antagonize them (particularly Barty) to the fullest while unsuccessfully trying to “steal” Gilderoy back.
Years passed. Brendan quietly took control of the Lockharts’ apartment building, paid the other tenants to quietly leave, and transformed their old spaces into holding cells for the people he secretly kidnapped and tortured to death as a serial killer. The basement in particular was given special attention and turned into a twisting maze with a torture chamber and furnace at its center to dispose of corpses. During all the “reconstruction” on the building, Brendan also met, fell in love with, and married a man named Gamma. What began as a happy and genuinely loving marriage quickly fell apart in the face of Brendan’s violent and jealous nature. Brendan told no one of his husband’s existence and kept him hidden away in their apartment, regularly beating him within an inch of his life for daring to get too close to the windows.
When Brendan suddenly stopped paying rent and blocked all contact with the Lockharts, Gilderoy (reluctantly) went to his apartment to investigate. He found a broken and clearly beaten Gamma there instead and rescued him without hesitation, taking him back to Barty at the Estate to be cared for and kept safe.
STILL TO ADD: Brendan gets revenge on Gilderoy for taking Gamma by kidnapping and torturing Barty (..including severing one of Barty’s hands).
Reference links for the kidnapping/torture thread:
Reference links for the aftermath thread:
