Cinderluca (Cinderella but make it Edluca Brainrot)

Chapter 1: Beginnings

The Balsa family was once part of the aristocracy respected by all for their genius. The head of the family was a brilliant man who created valuable manuscripts and inventions. He was a leader when it came to the evolution of modern technology and had many promising ideas for the future. His wife, Mrs. Balsa, was a tender woman who researched the stages of childhood development. She wanted to understand children and help other parents understand the nurturing process. The couples' research brought about great changes to the way people perceived the field of science and allowed for incredible breakthroughs. They were practically unstoppable as they walked through life together hand-in-hand as a family. 

Alas, such fortune was short-lived. The patriarch would fall victim to a scam and lose all of the family's wealth in a poor investment. His wife was in so much shock from this incident that she would die soon after from all the stress she endured. The family was in ruins and soon forgotten by the aristocracy. They were merely known as the 'fallen family' and faded into obscurity.

All that was left of the family's former legacy was Luca Balsa, the current heir. He was blessed with his parents' brilliance and looks, becoming quite popular among his peers. However, he also had something much more valuable; the gift of creation. Ever since he was young he had a love for inventing and wished to follow in his father's footsteps. He worked tirelessly each day to create new gadgets and tools to tinker with. He was fascinated by everything there was to the world and wanted to understand how everything worked. Where others may have struggled, he triumphed with ease.

Such a gift wouldn't go unnoticed, of course. His father recognized Luca's talent and saw it as their only hope for redemption. The father and son wanted to bring the family back to prosperity no matter the cost. It was the least they could do in honor of Mrs. Balsa. Luca was very reluctant at first when his father proposed that he sell his manuscripts and inventions. it was an absurd idea. Luca loved his creations dearly and could never even fathom giving them away to some less than capable snob...

Even so, Luca knew deep in his heart that his father would never stop pestering him. So, he gave in. He began to sell off his precious designs one by one until he was forced to make new ones. The process was painful; he'd pour his heart and soul into these inventions only to have them bought off and claimed by a greedy noble. He hated seeing other people take credit for his work and he had had enough after he had to deal with Alva Lorenz, the worst of his clients.

Luca originally held Lorenz in high regard. He was one of the first nobles he had ever met that actually understood the complex mechanisms and formulas that went into his work. Alva was the consumer who purchased Luca's most prized manuscript. As bitter as Luca was about this, he was also grateful that it would at least go to someone who knew what they were doing. The two had a good relationship until the purchase was actually finalized. After that, things began to go downhill.

Lorenz was much greedier than Luca thought. After purchasing the manuscript, Lorenz claimed that Luca had stolen and resold his idea to him. He wanted to take him to court and be compensated for the theft of 'his' manuscript. Luca was appalled by this and did everything in his power to clear his name. This was useless in the end as Lorenz earned the court's favor. Luca's family was placed in even more debt and he was thrown into jail for two years. The officials overseeing his case considered hanging him but ultimately pardoned him at the last minute. After he was released, he had the reputation of a criminal over his head and lost all credibility. Nobody wanted to buy from a scoundrel.
He was only able to pay off the debt thanks to the help of his dear friend, Tracy Reznik. She was happy to help him get back on his feet and helped him treat his wounds. Although the court fees were paid off, the family was still struggling to remain stable. Tracy wanted to help more but was forced to stop helping out the Balsas. Her family didn't approve of them despite her pleas. After they lost Tracy's help, Luca's father hammered down on him harder than ever and Luca soon found himself working as a blacksmith to earn cash.

He was miserable, to say the least.

He spent each day fulfilling the same monotonous routine of creating and selling. He was tired of living like this, always being mocked by his co-workers for his eye and status as a criminal. No matter how hard he worked it was just never enough to help his family. He was tired of waking up only to see the callouses on his rough hands. He was battered down by life and wanted to find a way out. One day, he had enough of this abuse and hatches a plan with Tracy to end the cycle once and for all.

- - -

Author's Notes:

I haven't written fanfiction in like 3-5 years oh my god. I just saw Edluca and my brain just evaporated right then and there. I love them sm and they were the final push I needed to actually write something. There's a lot of flaws in this but I'm trying but best so I hope you like it ;w;

The chapter lengths vary and I actually don't have a plot planned. I'm just kind of going along with what my brain wants so aha I'm ready to run away from my inevitable panic

 ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ