#It's a really big story and probably needs a ton of polish

[felassan]

A few more snippets of interest and insight from Mark Darrah, from an older Mark Darrah on Games YouTube video where he was livestreaming playing Dragon Age: Origins some months ago -

Chat asked "Why are there no Desire Demons in DA:I?". Mark said "I think they need a visual redesign and there wasn't time for them, and they're not, they require a combat rethink in terms of how they're used in combat, and a visual redesign, so it was basically just de-prioritized."

[please note this video streamed 4 months ago] "I'm not worried about DA:D not having been at TGA 2022. I mean they're doing it probably because they don't wanna date themselves. Their earliest launch date would basically be end of this year [2023], so it's rational for them not to be at TGA 2022. I assumed they would be mainly because of just the way the marketing campaign has gone, but the fact that they aren't is actually a strong signal that they've decided to regain control of their marketing campaign, which is actually probably smart. Yeah, they're not out of beta yet." Chat commented here "I'm kinda relieved to hear that because I was afraid they would push the game beyond Q4 24." Mark said, "No I don't think so. For them to go to TGA 2022 would have meant having full gameplay and they probably just didn't wanna polish it up. I should've clued in when they released a whole cutscene from the game on DA Day 2022 that they weren't gonna be at TGA 2022. That was a pretty strong signal. For them to do both wouldn't have been. There's no way that Geoff Keighley was gonna let them put that cinematic trailer on the stage at TGA 2022. So what they have is this sort've, too little for TGA 2022 but it's a big drop for DA Day, so that was the thing that I missed."

[following on from the previous point, and when chat was discussing feeling drip-fed] "It's just, I mean, for reasons that make sense for the project but less sense for the marketing. DA:D has been announced for a very long time. You wouldn't voluntarily announce a game so early if you didn't have external reasons. Also, harder to cancel an announced game."

"Cullen's story is done in DA:I."

"We've recast people before, for sure"

Chat said "I feel like DA fans have this tendency to cling extremely tightly to existing characters. Like, there will be a ton of characters introduced in DA:D that we will fall in love with, and not really miss people from previous games." Mark replied, "Yeah, you're right about that. That's exactly what happens, is people want stories with the characters that they know to continue but once they feel that they've seen new characters then they're a lot less concerned."

"I mean the general rule is, you don't bring back followers who are romances or who could be dead. So Cullen kind of doesn't meet any of the criteria for coming back. The quantum on DAII characters is really high. I guess there are a lot that don't die, but."

"My feeling on Absolution, I think everyone else is a bit too under-played and Qwydion is a bit too over-played. If you like brought her done one notch and everyone else up one notch it would be okay. But yeah, she does stick out a little bit for sure."

Chat asked "Was there any thought given to bereskarn in DA:I?" Mark replied, "I think the problem is the artists don't really like the visual design of bereskarn. I think there's a cool model to be had there, but they just don't have it at the moment. I think there's a general desire to move away from just generic wilderness creatures as combatants, like wolves and bears and stuff, so maybe they'll make a reappearance."

Chat asked "Who does everyone think the 'default' Divine is?" Mark said "Interesting question, I don't know."

Chat asked "Do you think that the Architect will make an appearance in DA:D?" Mark replied, "I don't suspect, I think they'll let the Architect just be, the place for the Architect to appear was DA:I, I don't think he will appear in DA:D. I think the reason why he doesn't appear in DA:I is because he could be dead." Chat commented, "Wouldn't he have the same powers as Corypheus though, and just come back?" Mark replied "Well that's true, that's a good point. I don't know that we established that by then or not but I don't know, maybe. He could've linked himself to a, could've been body-hopping."

Chat asked "Do you see DA continuing as a franchise after DA:D?" Mark replied, "Oh yeah, I don't think they're done with DA."

Chat said "We saw Hira in Absolution using a flying magic disc. Do you think they will implement that in DA:D as a new form of magic?" Mark said "Yeah, I don't know. It was interesting because when Hira uses it the first time she uses it to lift someone else, which is sort've how I imagined it working, but then she actually flies with it later. I don't know if that was just poetic license given to the anime creators or if it's an actual plan for going forward. It's definitely presented as quite an awkward way to fly."

[source]

He also talked more generally about DA:O and the franchise and things in general. These bits are collected under a cut due to length -

"I think you can always see the Black City in the Fade, I think that's been said/is correct"

"I like that in DAII the darkspawn have a consistent visual. They don't in DA:O. So I'm pro-that. A lot of the darkspawn in DA:O have like orc plus zombie equals question mark"

"They did lose the grab animation from enemies in DAII. I don't think DAII had any sync animations"

"Stun on the player is not a fun ability. It's not so bad if you have a party fully controlled by the player (you can switch to another party member to try and break it) but only one party member, it's not fun for sure. You definitely need some sort of range attack otherwise you just end up kiting like the Arishok fight in DAII"

"DA does have a tendency to use the Pride demon model as 'generic high tier demon'

"I don't regret putting Cullein in DA:I , the characters are not their voice actors"

"Oghren is kind of a caricature in Awakening"

"Lore in DA is always presented through someone's interpretation"

"In Awakening the Children don't really fit in with the rest of the design up until this point"

"The official response to Leliana's death retcon in DA:I is that the only way Leliana can die in DA:O is at the Urn of Sacred Ashes, so the Urn brought her back. The only way she dies is a weird, specific choice, you're making a choice if you kill her in DA:O for sure. It's not a common choice. Desecrating the Urn doesn't make any sense, I don't think there's a rationale given for why you do that. I can see 'destroy it' but I don't know why in the world you would desecrate it so. Very few people are able to, Renegade in Mass Effect is actually not widely chosen"

"Golems of Amgarrak DLC is there to [just] be there [basically]. Most of the DLC in DA:O doesn't have any particular goals. It was just to make DLC. Like Leliana's Song doesn't really expand Leliana very much. Darkspawn Chronicles is just kind've a fun thing to exist. In DA:O DLC was pretty much still a new concept, at least big pieces of DLC. So kind've trying to figure out what people wanted"

"Awakening is an old-school expansion pack in a time when expansion packs are gone basically. So that's why it feels so big"

Chat asked, "As Executive Producer, did you have any say on the story and direction of the lore?" Mark said "I'm always involved in that kind of stuff, I'm not the one dictating lore but I'm influencing it for sure"

Chat asked "Any chance of the DA tactics game actually being made at this point?" Mark replied "There was not really any chance of a DA tactics game being made. It's pretty antithetical to everything EA believes in"

Chat mentioned that golems in Awakening lack a 'gap closer' move. Mark said "that's why they got chucking rocks in later games"

"Strategy guides used to be a big money maker for games. Not so much anymore"

"The models got new bones in DAII"

Chat asked "Is there a reason why the Legion of the Dead don't automatically just join up with the Wardens?" Mark said "Politics I guess"

[source]

(pls note that in places there is a bit of paraphrasing of the info, the best source is always the primary source with full quotes in their original context)

[elumish]

How long and how detailed should a synopsis be before sending it to an agent? Also - any tips for getting an agent? Thanks! (I hope your flight is smooth and uneventful)

Most query synopses are going to be about two pages single spaced, with the extremely big caveat that the real right answer is "what the agent asks for."

Not every agent asks for a synopsis, but those who will generally specify a length--and you absolutely need to check what length they ask for. I queried at least one agent that asked for a single page, which meant I had to make an entire new synopsis for them.

As for how detailed it should be, the short answer is "the right level of detail to fit in two pages."

Unlike for a query letter, a synopsis should cover the story from beginning to end. You need to give the ending in the synopsis. So the main thing you need to convey in your synopsis is the key plotline to a sufficient degree that it's clear how we get from beginning to end. Depending on the complexity of your story, you may want/need to include more or less of any secondary plotlines, but having the main one clear is key.

This means that you will probably say less than you want to. There's a huge temptation to tell the agent about every cool and interesting thing and character in the story, but you absolutely don't have space for that, and if you try, it'll end up a confusing mess.

As to getting an agent--I'll let you know when I manage it lol.

In all seriousness, I think one of the main things is persistence. The publishing industry sucks, especially right now, and you're probably going to need to query a ton of people before you get much traction. That's okay! It's like that for basically everyone!

Also, while you shouldn't be afraid to tweak your query letter and/or synopsis and/or excerpt, don't do that every time you get a rejection. Getting a rejection doesn't in itself mean that anything you sent in is bad.

Finally, don't query until you're ready. You need to have a complete and polished manuscript that you are happy with.

I'd also say to primarily read advice from the last couple years. Even advice from five years ago doesn't really reflect the industry as it is right now.

[leatherbookmark]

☁️🐚🍄🍓(all, or any combination you want) for the fanfiction author ask meme

kissing your hand reverently for the ask etc

☁️ ⇢ what made you choose your username?

i just like leather bookmarks!! originally lb was a non-kpop sideblog, and i wanted something that wouldn't be fandom-specific (i don't really like changing usernames) but that at the same time would fit my current fandom (the hobbit hehe). so, leatherbookmark!!

as for my ao3 username, oenanthe is a name of two genera: birds and plants, but i took mine from the bird one. specifically, this little guy. i love that the latin name is so pretty (wine+flower) but both english and polish taxonomers went "this bird has a white ass. alright then here you go"

by the way, huh, these arrows are fun! they're not -> but ⇢. they're dashed. cute

🐚 ⇢ do you like or dislike surprises?

oh boy i really don't... i used to when i was a kid, but at this point it's just a source of stress. though like -- depends, because if someone gets me a little postcard or a souvenir that's right up my alley, it's great and i'm happy they thought of me!, but if it's a big expensive gift... yeag

🍄 ⇢ share a head canon for one of your favourite ships or pairings

fascinated by the separation of ship and pairing here, btw

ohhhh my god i gotta get my fandom brain back in order.

xiyao. what do i think about xiyao? i like to think that in a better world they'd love to Eat. try out different stuff, ranging from "drowning in grease and made by a 78yo uncle who spits into his hands spiritedly before kneading the dough" to... hm. would they go for the "lick the citrus foam out of the plaster cast of the chef's mouth" dining, uh, experience? probably not, but lxc would be amazed and interested, half sincerely and half because he wants to check at what point jgy will go beloved, what the fuck.

but ALSO i think they'd just enjoy meals as a way of spending time together! so whether it's a modern au or not, they whip out the nice tableware, make sure there's a nice plantly being/something decorative on the table, etc. (they don't play music/put on tv in the background because they don't believe in that.)

(all of the above also means their meals take WAY longer than you'd expect, or rather -- as long as they can make them. breakfasts come with dessert now icydk)

🍓 ⇢ how did you get into writing fanfiction?

hm!! i think i just... started doing it? when i was a kid and browsing blogs about the witch comic series, i stumbled upon some blogs that weren't like, character profiles and comic arc summaries, but instead basically chaptered fanfiction. and since that, i kind of seeked out people's fics, often more than canon material like scans, databases and such lol.

iirc i started out making comics about my OCs, weird little AUs (like... utena characters, but magical girls/boys lmfao), or "original" comics obviously were just crazy mixes of whatever i was into at the moment. i only started writing fic when i was, idk, ten? and even then it was more like "ough i have a certain scene/image/mood/feeling in my brain and i need to get it Out" than actual stories :')

another thing that hasn't changed until sort-of-very-recently was me just.... starting anew every new fandom. i'd be into fandom X for years, produce tons of fics, and then once i got into fandom Y i was like oh fuck this is all so embarrassing, STARTING A NEW ACCOUNT RIGHT AWAY OR WE DIE. 👍 on one hand cool, on the other i sometimes envy writers who don't have to log into three separate accounts to see all their stats ='D

[chemblrish]

Hello!! Remember an anon ask that had some questions in it and a little story about anon and their father? It's me again lol

Do you know any very good chemistry books? Even though i like chemistry, i only study school chemistry, and i would like to expand my knowledge of this science. Do the books have russian translation?

Have you ever had days when you didn’t want to study and quit everything because of laziness? How did you force yourself to study? I'm a little scared for my future if I can't overcome laziness

Have a good day. I hope you'll understand my English :")

Hi, yes, I remember you!

Back in hs I only studied off Polish textbooks, so I don't really have anything to recommend on a school level, but if you're not afraid to venture a little further, I'd recommend Chemistry: Molecules, Matter and Change by P. Atkins and L. Jones. I used it a lot during my first semester of uni and I think it was a nice link between high school and uni. It's a beast of a book, but it covers pretty much all of chemistry (on a "first semester" level of course) and there are tons of diagrams, pictures, and tips on how to solve numerical problems. It's very popular, so there's a high chance it has a Russian translation too :)

If you're interested in popsci books, I'd highly recommend The Disappearing Spoon and Caesar's Last Breath by Sam Kean. I enjoyed them both very much.

But also, there's a girl from Belarus in my year who often uses Russian textbooks and she's very content with them, so maybe it's worth asking your chemistry teacher or a librarian? They might know of some hidden gems :)

Truth be told, I'm fairly disciplined with studying, so I'm afraid I don't have any good tips on dealing with laziness. But I think we often say "lazy" when in fact we mean "tired", "overwhelmed" or "discouraged".

I don't consider myself lazy, but I can definitely get tired, overwhelmed or discouraged sometimes. There's plenty of advice on studying when tired circulating around studyblr, but I believe the most productive thing you can do when you're exhausted is to rest and without shame at that. Whenever I'm overwhelmed by a particular task, I start by studying something else, then return to the more difficult topic.

As for getting discouraged... I think it's a matter of one's mindset. Chemistry is hard, failure is common, and I'd be a liar to say my own shortcomings don't bother me. They do! But I've been learning to just move on. I give myself one afternoon to recover if I need to, then remind myself the only way not to mess up is to do absolutely nothing, and that in the end it's all about learning and enjoying this precious opportunity to be in uni and to study science. That's what keeps me going (and what's probably a big component of my discipline).

So, don't get too comfortable calling yourself lazy 😉 Always try to see what the real problem is. Those are usually much easier to solve than "laziness". Good luck! 🍀

[topgunreacts]

would you ever drop a long fic all at once? or do you always release them chapter by chapter

I always release them chapter by chapter. No matter how much I edit, there is always something to poke at. I do sometimes speed up an updating schedule. Part of that is engagement. If people are reading it and chatting with me about it, I find the energy to do updates closer together. I really can’t overstate how nice it is to get comments and messages about my work. I like being part of a community. That’s the best fandom has to offer. I’m considering sidling back in to a couple discords now that things are quieter and most of the drama I saw from afar has moved on to the next IP. We’ll see. Big discords are their own form of mental work to exist in.

But that’s just part of it. Other times, I get to a point in posting and realize something needs a ton of work that I didn’t catch before. The Heart is an Empty Room is a Needs More Work fic. I changed a LOT in act one based on the (excellent) feedback I got, which means act two needs tweaking. And act three needs a lot added to it. Principles of Aviation needs minor poking here and there; the sins are editorial.

I could release a long fic all at once. As mentioned before, I never start posting a story until an entire polished draft is finished and ready. But there hasn’t been one time where I’ve started posting and not realized something needs alteration. Having additional beta readers per story would probably help with that. The few times I’ve had that available, they chat with each other in the comments and that makes all the feedback (1) richer and (2) less strenuous on a single person. I’m not likely to drop the whole thing ALL at once if I had that going, but I would consider a twice weekly update schedule (possibly more) for something with that much extra attention.

I’m always open to having more beta readers. My asks tend to be A Lot, though—I want to be pushed to write better, with someone asking the hard questions and pointing out the strengths and weaknesses in small details as well as large themes. I will say this: the job is probably easier with a finished product on the beta’s end. You know from the start where it’s all going. No need to edit chapter by chapter.

Last and least, time between updates means more opportunities to come up with my stupid chapter summaries and gifs.

[sinistermaximalism]

why, this is hell - Get Out (2017)

you don't need me to tell you what Get Out is about. you know what Get Out is about. it's one of the best horror movies of the 2010s! and part of the reason it's so brilliant is because it's so meticulous. nothing about it is left to chance, every word and every angle is serving the story.

so OF COURSE the production design is all very deliberate and intentional, and of course we should take a look at what it's telling us.

so this is the Armitages' house, in upstate New York. as a Brit, I basically know nothing about the significance of different states or different districts in the US, but everything about this house screams money. it's huge. it's got tons of rooms. and it's all incredibly ""tasteful"". by which I mean it looks like the house of old rich white people.

just have a look at this shot, for starters. the bookcases frame the shot, and the books on them look well-thumbed (and expensive). there are at least three different types of wood, from the shelves to the floor to the door to the cabinet to the chair legs, and you just know that's all solid wood. no IKEA laminates here. also, it's so shiny! you just know it's all kept well polished. you can almost smell the wood polish just looking at the still.

right in the middle of the shot, like a spooky eye, there's one of very few curved objects in this room. it's a portrait, right? some old-timey-looking thing like you'd find in a museum or art gallery. these people have ancestors worth painting pictures of. we're talking old moneyyyyyy baby.

here's some more of the house, and again we're seeing straight lines, neutral colours (so much goddamn beige) and framed art that suggests wealth, significance, history. (it looks like a map - does it have something to do with former colonies? I would not be surprised.)

there's no colour here, no joy, no life. remember the beginning of the film when we get to see some of Chris's photography? yeah you're not gonna find anything that looks like that here.

though... maybe not for lack of trying.

speaking of things in this house being kept shiny, look at that kitchen island! it's huge! and like a mirror! the copper pots, too, are spotless and beautiful. the green of the plants and the yellow of Georgina's gloves are almost shockingly bright compared with everything else. beige, beige, beige, everywhere you look. but clean, no traces of debris, no food, nothing that looks lived in.

this is rich people shit. they've got enough cabinets to hide anything that might look messy. they've got enough employees to keep everything neat and tidy.

the cracks don't show.

it's interesting how creepy that all feels. aren't we all supposed to aspire to this aesthetic? it's what you see on those reality shows, all those empty kitchens that you know no-one ever cooks in, all those spotless living rooms with their stiff-cushioned sofas, all those perfectly selected pieces of art sitting on those empty shelves. there's nothing welcoming about any of it. it's not warm, not safe, not comfortable. it's like the decor has been set up specifically to make you sit up straight, watch your manners, and worry about spilling your coffee.

you're supposed to want to live like that.

who wants to live like that??

ooh look at this. it's the torture basement, or, well, it's probably the "den", isn't it, but it's where the brainwashing happens. there are definite echoes of the first still I included here, with all those straight lines framing the shot and directing you to a round image at the back - this time, it's a dartboard, a target - but it's darker down here. the brown wood has become oppressive. there's no daylight. you're not meant to get out.

maybe the one worn object in the house is that chair Chris is sitting in, because I guess the Armitages don't care about the people who sit in it, but that's a big mistake on their part. that chair is an ally. it's been around long enough to see some shit.

this room really makes me think of secret societies, the kind created by bored rich guys who like to chat about the supernatural while getting drunk and abusing sex workers.

if you have a room that looks like this in your house, I'm scared of you.

[pocket-void]

Bro I am a sucker for world building, just read any of my AU's to see that lol. But if you like questions, the the SoH AU, how do they meet each other. I can imagine they all have a common goal it seems, well most, to stop the war and bring peace. But, I can also imagine that they do NOT trust each other.

World building is my absolute JAM! I can honestly do it forever, it’s just really fun crafting societies and worlds for stories to take place in, y’know? ^///^ It’s probably one of the reasons I like D&D so much.

But anyways, yes, you are absolutely correct! Everyone is more or less on the same page, but the main conflict centers around how they interact with each other! Character interaction based stories are my absolute favorites, and the SoH AU is mostly just interpersonal conflict. Can they work together to successfully reunite the kingdoms? Will the courts crush the rebellion before they reach that agreement? Or will they perhaps inadvertently destroy each other in the process? OOooh drama, one of my favorite flavors of it no less. o///o

I’ll give you a general plot run down I guess? Focusing on when they actually meet instead of like, actual plot threads. (This story has way too many layers, but what thing I make doesn’t at this point-) I wasn’t planning on putting tons of thought into this currently, but since you’re curious I’ll tell ya what I’ve got. ^///^

If this were a comic or fic, the story would be broken up into various points of views and basically tell different parts of the story at different times. Eventually everything gets pieced together by the climax, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Please note that these notes are out of order, but here’s how each of them eventually meet up:

Janus is the first person to meet everybody in the story at least once, under various different aliases thanks to his shapeshifting ability

He doesn’t approve of a lot of them

Mostly because they either seem unsuited for their cause or completely unwilling to cooperate

He thinks Roman is dangerous

He knows Logan is powerful but untrusting

He thinks Patton is valuable but soft

He and Virgil just flat out don’t get along

Patton and Virgil don’t realize that they’ve met Janus somewhere before when he’s introduced later

Logan and Roman do notice, but don’t really mention it

Well, Roman does, but like, vaguely and ominously for the aesthetic

---

Janus and Remus met a long long time ago. They’ve known each other for years.

They met in the land of Diamonds, which was strange because Remus is a Clover. 

He claims to be a runaway since he was young, though Janus finds that a little odd regardless.

They become pretty decent friends, and eventually skedaddle out of Diamond territory together once Janus gets cursed and is officially branded a traitor to the court

Eventually JOKER is formed and they’ve had eachother’s backs ever since. Though admittedly Janus doesn’t really know a whole lot about Remus in the grand scheme of things.

---

Remus kind of goes around acting like a wanted criminal very often; he has absolutely no fear

He is in fact Roman’s twin, their parents were of two suits and so they ended up being like that too

Unfortunately that causes a lot of problems when you’re a Clover in the Land of Diamonds, so he ended up being hidden away for safety a lot until he just ran off.

Remus’ core is actually unstable, which is why nobody (Not even himself) can figure out what his rank is

Patton eventually figures that out but he isn’t sure if there was a way to fix that

Honestly Remus thinks it’s super cool like that

He meets Logan by attempting to con him, but it ends up with them getting into an even larger scheme and busting some sort of underground trading ring

Logan thinks he’s insufferable, but a Clover is more bearable than a Diamond any day

---

Somewhere in the beginning in the Kingdom of Spades Logan comes to the realization of just how corrupt the higher court truly is.

He blows up at a higher ranking official for making clearly lackluster and inefficient decisions to manipulate and twist things in their favor and simultaneously quits and gets exiled for this. (Literally just “You can’t fire me, I quit”)

Well actually the court can’t just let him walk off like that, and basically try to get him assassinated

He realizes something is off and anticipates the ambush, but he’s still terribly outnumbered and gets really wounded, though he manages to escape into Hearts territory where he collapses in the snow and gets found by Patton

---

Patton’s workshop is in a really obscure alleyway, and there’s metal cuff latched onto his right wrist. He’s basically under house arrest for his history of trying to harbor fugitives.

He finds Logan during an outing and takes him in like a good Samaritan of course

Logan is still in his scholarly robes and so he’s instantly identifiable as a Spade, not that Patton wouldn’t find out regardless but still

Patton heals his wounds as best he can while Logan rests, since he was out in the snow for quite a while

Logan bolts up and almost causes a scene when he finally wakes, and Patton has to convince him he won’t turn him in to the high court

They don’t get along the best until Logan lowers his guard a little and figures out a way for Patton to escape house arrest (He fiddles with the bracelet along with Patton’s soul smithing abilities, not going in to the science of that rn)

Logan stays with Patton while he figures out his next course of action

He admittedly respects Patton’s profession and finds it very interesting, since the Spade court lacks a lot of info on the matter

---

Virgil has actually dueled Janus on a few occasions, and the main reason is mostly just because they don’t get along. He finds the man untrustworthy, which is a fair assessment ngl.

He meets Remus under better circumstances

They meet one day while Virgil is on patrol, since Remus is a Clover he’s the one in charge of doing errands in Clover territory

They get along alright and Virgil admits to him that he doesn’t think the high courts are doing what’s right for the people

Remus uses that opportunity to kind of nudge him into doing rebellion stuff, which Virgil actually declines

He does set out on a personal quest soon after though, and resigns from his position as a guard

It raises a few suspicions in the court, and a lot of people were against his choice, but Virgil was firm and he left before anyone could say anything more

He meets Logan somewhere down the line in Hearts territory with Patton, they’re pretty snippy with each other in the beginning

The three stay together at Patton’s for a while and are almost busted twice before deciding to leave

Patton stays at first but eventually he joins their plans to rebel and save the people, since he knows how much they’ve been suffering under the court’s rule

---

Roman gets a few visits sprinkled in various parts of the story

He meets Janus rather early, who visits him to ask for his assistance

It doesn’t work out very well

Janus is challenged to a duel, but because of the curse inflicted on him he was in no condition to fight a King ranked individual

He promises to find Roman a suitable opponent, to which Roman agrees to help the cause if Janus manages to do so

Virgil kind of stumbles upon his castle while travelling and gets roped into a bizarre tea party where Roman just kind of complains to him the whole time

Roman doesn’t take the Jack seriously but he enjoys company regardless

They quip a lot and kind of become friends, and Roman leaves him with some ominous words about the future and bids him farewell

Somewhere down the line Logan goes to formally challenge Roman to a duel, and they have quite possibly the most ridiculous and wild fight that ends in half of Roman’s castle in rubble and the Diamond court having a massive collective headache

Logan earns Romans respect and they settle stuff over tea

And those are my scattered and bare bone ideas written for you at 2:20 AM in the morn. o///o

[l-a-l-o-u]

super curious abt ur opinions on tlovm. would u be willing to talk abt it??

Two other people (@raycowboyroy and @sapphiczorua) asked me so I guess I'm doing this!! Ty for your interest in my opinion ♥

So!! The Legend of Vox Machina. The tl;dr is that I'm a lil disappointed in the quality of it, but I'm still very very happy that it exists. I have a ton to say about it after watching the first 3 episodes, so I'll organize my thoughts into a list of positives and negatives. But first, some context for my silly little essay:

• This is my personal opinion, and from what I've seen so far, most people love the show. So, please don't decide to avoid it because of me. Check it out and decide for yourself!

• I'm an animation professional so I have a trained eye for animation... and I'm really nitpicky about it! I'll complain about stuff that the average watcher wouldn't even notice

• Critical Role has been a main interest of mine for the past 3 years. I know the story of Vox Machina by heart and actually wrote a big chunk of the main characters' articles on the wiki. That means it's really easy for me to compare the two stories, and also that I already know what's going to happen most of the time

• I had really high expectations before we saw the final art, and that influences the way I feel about the show

Okay with that out of the way, let's start with the list of things I liked in the first three episodes!

• I like the story changes that were made so far. I'm glad we got to see Brimscythe - now we get to see the entire Chroma Conclave story! The way the reorganized some plot elements to shorten the storyline without taking away the main elements has been very well executed so far. And that must've been pretty challenging, what with hundreds of hours of content to distill into a few episodes.

• The voice acting is overall great! My favorites so far are Pike, Scanlan and Keyleth; their line deliveries make them very easy to get attached to. Percy is also very nice, although I wanna wait until I see how he'll be in the Briarwoods arc.

• I enjoyed the group interactions a lot! Every time two main characters talk to each other I can feel their connection and their history. The scenes in Greyskull Keep were especially nice and reminded me why I love this group! Scanlan and Grog's dynamic is especially entertaining.

• The Briarwoods....... hhhnnng

• I really like the backgrounds. There's a lot of great establishing shots where you can appreciate the environment designs, and the artstyle is really solid and pleasant to look at.

• Great use of color to set the tone in every shot. Not every animated series does that! It helps a LOT to carry the story and adds an extra layer of immersion. Plus, it adds a layer of mush needed polish on the animation.

• The storyboarding / photo direction is nice so far. Apart from a couple of awkward shots, I like how they frame everything, it flows well. As they say, good cinematography is when you don't notice it. I especially enjoyed the opening scene of episode 3 with Percy's memories.

• This is probably my favorite Scanlan design yet! I like it even better than his campaign art and comic book design. It's perfect for him. Keyleth is also really well executed overall

• I love that they made Gilmore fat and gave him eyeshadow. King shit

• I just love the fact that this series exist honestly! I love that a group of people managed to turn their silly little friend activity into an entire production. The CR cast looks over the moon about it, and I'm very happy for them.

And now for the depressing part! Here are the things I was disappointed by.

• I saw this coming a mile away with how much the cast insisted this was "adult animation" in interviews, but it really started off kinda crass. A lot of scenes, especially at the start of episode 1, feel like they exaggerated the gore, language, and gross moments just for shock value, and I just thought it was unpleasant to watch. They show vomit and peeing and gory deaths on screen and it's all front and center - I feel like there's a better way to make an audience feel the weight of the action without actually shoving it in our face, ya know? But I guess it was funny in a few places.

• Although the story is well planned out, I think they fell a bit short on the pacing. Many scenes feel very rushed, with too much happening and not enough time to really appreciate it. There are things that should have lasted longer so we can actually feel their emotional weight. For example, the scene with the fisherman's family was nice, but it didn't feel like we were supposed to care about them at all. So when Vox Machina uses their death to motivate their new goals and morals, it fell flat to me and wasn't super believable.

• I wish they would tell us more about how the group came to be. I already love Vox Machina, but I feel like a new viewer would have a hard time getting attached to them. When Keyleth asked “why are we even together?” and nobody answered her, I was like yikes. She’s right who the fuck are you!

• So far the tone of the show doesn't feel super solid. Is it supposed to be funny? It doesn't feel like a comedy, apart from a few jokes here and there. Is it a serious high fantasy adventure? I think that's what they're going for, but so far it lacks a bit in charm and lore. I'm confident this will pick up later in the season though.

• I've said this before, but I really don't like the art style they picked for the characters. It's really a personal preference, but I also think it does a disservice to the animation as a whole. The designs are a bit too realistic and complicated for a television production. They have a lot of elements and little things poking out, making them harder to move in three dimensions.

• I said earlier that I like the use of color, but most character designs are the exception. A lot of them I find weirdly desaturated, which doesn't help to integrate them in the bright environments. Some characters, especially Vax and Pike, have a weird greyish tone to their skin that constantly takes me out of scenes as I stare at them in confusion.

• There are several elements in the main characters' designs that I dislike - again a lot of it is personal preference.

• Vax is my least favorite. The furs on his shoulders make him like he's wearing a football uniform, and he looses all of his twink charm. The top of his hair looks weirdly flat in many shots, and the lines under his eyes are so pronounced that it makes his look a lot older than he is whenever he's not smiling. He doesn't really feel like Vax to me!

• I also dislike Vex's design: she has three belts for some reason, and her tunic is such a bright blue that it looks off next to every other desaturated character element. She also feels too old and not quite like herself, especially without her braid in the front.

• Some very minor things: I don't really like that Grog is blue now, and I CANNOT take Percy seriously with that hair.... And they made Keyleth short?!? at least its not extremely obvious

• Like I mentioned earlier, there were a couple of awkward zoomed-in shots here and there. You could feel like they were trying to be cinematic, but they stand out too much or they're not amazingly executed, taking you out of the moment.

• I thought Scanlan's songs were overall not great. I liked the one he sang to open a door tho!

• The 3D animation was awkwardly integrated with the 2D. The horses were especially jarring. But at least the dragon animation was well made, it just didn't fit super well.

• And lastly! I feel a bit let down by the animation quality. It's really good for the budget they had! I just wish they had more budget lol

That last bit is its own section because there's a few things to unpack.

I wanna preface this by saying that I absolutely don't think the animators did a bad job. The poses are nicely drawn, the layouts work, it's not hard to understand the action, etc. They obviously know what they're doing. Traditional animation always has a less polished look in a television production, because you have to animate more scenes in less time. That means less time for polish and touch-ups. Like I said before, the character designs are also difficult to animate. And I believe that the CR cast, ie. the producers, specifically asked for an animation style similar to anime (because they're attached to it, having done a lot of anime voice work) and also similar to 80s cartoons (for nostalgia again). And, well, anime and 80s cartoons are notoriously cheaply made, with very little budgets and a lot of cut corners. All of that helps to explain why it looks the way it looks. And I absolutely don't think it's bad animation - it's good, it does it's job, and I think most casual watchers will probably not be bothered by it. I'm a silly fool who just wishes to see my favorite thing have movie quality animation! Plus, the CR cast seems to love the final animation, which, awesome for them! It's their characters after all.

Let me explain what I mean. If you compare the animation in the show and the animation in the opening, I think even the untrained eye will notice a significant difference in animation quality. You could even compare it to The Legend of Korra, a show with a very similar art style. The opening of tLoVM was done by a different studio (Grackle), and they likely had a lot more time to polish every shot. Everything seems to move more fluidly, the actions have more punch, and everything is constantly in motion. So what's the difference? The answer is that the opening's animation follows the 12 principles of animation! You can learn more about the 12 principles here if you're interested.

In a production, the first step of animation is to draw key poses: the start of the movement, the end, and a few important poses in between them. When a production doesn't have a lot of time, they go from pose A to pose B to pose C by drawing the inbetweens at an equal distance from each other, going from pose to pose in a straight line. There's a LOT of that in anime. The movement works, you understand it, but it's kinda.... bland. It's stiff and robotic and a little boring. No action has more weight than the one before or after it, they're all equal. I barely noticed any anticipations, follow-throughs, ease-ins, ease-outs... not a lot of arcs either. They used a lot of still poses where only one body part like an arm, a mouth, or the eyes move on their own layer. Facial animations are limited, with characters often starting and ending a shot with the same facial expression. I don't think I noticed any deformation - nothing moves in an elastic way, nothing bounces or stretches or squashes. They did do smears here and there but that's pretty much it. And I want to reiterate that it looks fine and it works! They had less time to make it and less frames to work with.

All of that affects the acting. I don't mean the voice acting, I mean the body language, the expressions, you know!! Acting!! There's acting in the key poses, but so much of acting comes from HOW you move. And when you're trying to cut corners, oftentimes your animation won't do the voice acting justice. One scene that comes to mind is at the start of episode 1, after they've been thrown out of the tavern, and Scanlan turns to ask for his clothes: something covers his mouth, and even though Sam is delivering his line in a really peppy way, barely anything moves. That line deserved so much better!!!

There’s exceptions of course! Some shots, especially the action ones, are a lot more put together. I think overall, I’d give the animation quality a 7/10. Because the layouts and key poses are really good, and they cut corners in a clever way, so it works really well. I do think Titmouse deserves praise for their work! They did really well!! The animation quality is most likely due to budget limitations, and if less episodes had been made, it would've likely been higher. But they made the choice to write more of the story, and I think that in this case with how much material they’re adapting, that's not a bad decision. I wish The Legend of Vox Machina had a big production budget, but it didn't. And that's just life!

As a last thought, I just wanna say - this could've been a lot nicer if they had more cartoony designs. Do you guys remember the picture they used in the Kickstarter days? Sometimes I look at it and think about what could have been... They could’ve done cutout animation, even. That could’ve turned out nice. But oh well! The showrunners are happy, and for such a personal project that's what matters isn't it?

If you read all this hello!!! I hope you had fun reading this & don’t forget to love each other ♥

[saltoftheao3]

Goodbye + a few words for the road

(Edited to add: The blog will still be semi-active (mostly inactive) as the founding mod is still around. Thank you Mod Salt for taking over and being an amazing force for fandom positivity these past few years ~ Mod Saltiest)

Hey folks, this blog has been inactive for a while now as my life has been very busy and my interests have changed, so here's me offering official closure at least.

First of all: It has been a fun few years chatting, having debates, inspiring and helping each other out around our shared passion for fanfiction. I really enjoyed this form of interaction and was often moved, amused and empowered by our exchanges. I look back to this entire time with you with a fond smile. Thank you for your kindness, patience and enthusiasm.

And since i'm here, i want to use my reach one last time to share some personal thoughts - please indulge me, i won't bore you.

What is it about writing fanfiction that feels so empowering to so many of us?

When i was a child and young teenager i experienced stories as something closed-off, unchangeable, a product of great minds that, yes, i could and did vicariously enjoy, but of which i was forever the passive recipient. I was allowed in the fantastical playground of a storyteller's mind, but i was there as a guest, i could look but not play. I wasn't even aware playing was an option.

But with fanfiction ... somehow my entire perspective on storytelling changed. My relationship to stories moved away from mere consumption to a desire to make it different, to make it mine. Suddenly there was a space for my previously vague, unformed ideas, and an incentive to explore them.

Confronted with polished, glossy professional stories, I now saw possibilities. What if this character fell in love with the same gender, experienced trivial domestic bliss, came to grip with their childhood trauma? And i could make this possibilities reality through my own writing, bend the narrative to cater to my taste and interests. I was an active participant in the process of creating reality through words. And sure, the product was rough, awkward, mediocre at times - but it was mine, it held something of me. And sometimes it entertained and thrilled and moved readers from all over the world that happened to stumble upon it.

Online communities allowed me to realize that we can reach others, relate to each other, move others, that our voices are unique and interesting, if only we care to speak. A pen, a laptop, and we can make as much fucking sandcastles as we want to, tell the stories we want to tell, that are ours to tell. No one can do that in our place.

And if you've nodded along to this trail of thought; if you agree with this logic and can relate to that feeling of empowerment; then i want you to understand that this can be applied to all aspects of life.

This dreadful, gray concrete wall on your street that fills you with gloom? Why endure its depressing sight when you can grab a spray can and remake it into something colorful and joyful, reshape that wall into something you actually care to look at and that may bring others joy too.

Rewrite that story.

The wasteland next to your neighborhood that's currently hosting weed and trash and that the municipality doesn't want to take care of? Why accept it as it is, if you can envision better possibilities? A shovel, a wheelbarrow, some seeds, a few helping hands, the internet to guide you, and you have the first steps to an urban garden beloved by bees, butterflies and birds, and providing fresh fruit and vegs to you and your neighbors.

Sandcastle, build that fucking sandcastle.

Your workplace where everyone is treated like shit and your rights are threatened? Are you going to accept the narrative that things have to be that way? That there's nothing you can do, except maybe vote? What's to stop you from reshaping your workplace so it caters to your needs? Colleagues at your back, help from the union, and you can bargain for better work conditions, modify the entire workplace. No one is going to do that for you.

Transform the narrative.

The local coal mine that is tearing through the earth to dig up tons upon tons of fossil combustible, actively threatening all life on earth? Can you really accept that as a given, as something no one has might on, except maybe some remote politician? Or can you join a group fighting for climate justice and block the shit out of that mine so it's forced to stop the destruction?

Redesign the entire game.

The step from writing fanfiction to blocking a coal mine may seem far-fetched, but at its core it's a matter of how we interact with the world we live in. See how it all ties into each other? How once you've noticed you have the power to actively reshape things around you, whether stories or your real-life environment, you realize that everything can be changed, and that everything probably must be changed, too?

Listen.

Friends, hard times are ahead. Times have been hard for a lot of us for a long while now. With the climate crisis upon us and world governments eager to maintain this deadly status-quo of economic growth and environmental destruction no matter the costs, it's up to us to take action, fight the powers in place and change the lives we lead. We can't rely on politicians, we can't rely on big business, we can't rely on someone more smart and capable to emerge and fix things. No one's gonna come. We have to start where we stand, teach each other and ourselves what to do, and get shit done.

It will be difficult, and it will be tough and it will be scary, but we have each other, we have this wonderful medium that allows us to find each other all over the planet, hear each other's voices and organize on an unprecedented scale. We are creative, and numerous and bold, and we will be reckoned with. Because help won't come from above, and we have to stop waiting, hoping and campaigning for it. Let's invest our energy where it really matters, and that's not a mere cross on a ballot every few years.

Being an active participant in the fight for a better life, no matter how harrowing that might sometimes be, is so much better than enduring crisis after crisis with only the dishonest voices of the powerful to lead you through them. And the crises will come. Covid is only the start. You will not be forever able to keep your head down and abide the rules, not if you want to maintain your personal integrity. I repeat: keeping your head down will not be an option forever. So why not choose to act of your own impulse?

Friends, change is coming and there will be choices to face sooner or later. Questions that will demand answers. Can I accept the status quo? Can I accept the dominant narrative? Can I accept indignities and injustice, carried out against me or sometimes in my name? Can I accept the climate crisis and environmental destruction taking place under my nose?

Talk to your friends. Find your answers. Find the drive for change.

Friends, the world is yours to shape. The story is yours to tell. Be aware of your own power, and use it for good.

Friends, be brave. The time is now. Good luck on your way.

Love,

Salt

[rfadaydreaming]

hands of the rfa (v+saeran)

jumin’s are on the broader side. you can usually spot a couple of cat scratches or paper cuts here and there, not particularly soft, but not rough either. he’s almost always holding tension in them, so they get pretty veiny. subconsciously flexes them out of habit, or rubs his palms to get rid of the ache that can sometimes grow there. your favorite thing is watching him pet elizabeth, he’s so gentle and soft with her that it melts your heart. he carries that same softness whenever he touches you, one of the only times his hands fully relax is when he’s running them up and down your arms, maybe even holding your face in his palm. he likes to rest his hand on your thigh or run his fingers through your hand idly while doing paperwork. his hands are cold most of the time, not icy, but the chill is still noticeable. he has steady hands and a good grip. he likes to wear rings whenever he gets the chance, gothic style ones especially. when the vampire that he invited had come to the rfa party, jumin was obsessed with all his fancy rings. he usually has his hands crossed over his lap, and he doesn’t talk with them often. a wave of the hand to employees is most all you’ll get.

zen has soft soft soft hands. spends a lot of money on lotions and salves, so when he touches you it feels like genuine silk. not super lanky, but not broad either. they're just… very even and pretty. has a very tiny dusting of blood freckles on his knuckles, but you’d have to look closely to notice them. probably hand models in his free time. fluid motions whenever he uses them, it’s nice to watch the way his hands move especially while he’s acting. he holds a lot of passion in his hands while he preforms, it’s like they tell a story of their own. you like to hold your palm against his, twirling and twisting your hands around at random. he loves to run the backs of his knuckles down your jawline before placing down gentle kisses there, while telling you how much he loves you. he wears jewellery whenever he’s feeling it, likes a lot of different kinds too, wears fashion rings most of the time. his hands are on the warmer side, so if you’re cold all you need to do is hold his hands for a few minutes and then bam, you’re all nice and cozy again. his hands are usually in his pocket, playing around with a pack of cigarettes, or resting at his side.

yoosung’s hands aren’t particularly soft, but they aren’t exactly rough either. on the shorter side compared to everyone else too. his touch is still so gentle and comforting, especially whenever it comes to you. he holds your hand tight and tells you how much you mean to him, it feels safe and secure, he feels like home. his hands are insanely hot all the time, even when it’s cold outside, so he’s like your own personal little heater. has a barely visible coat of freckles over his knuckles and a few scars here and there, faded now but still noticeable. most of them are from cooking accidents, some from cats. he likes to run his fingers through your hair, or up and down your arms. in the middle waiting on game lobbies he’ll hold your hand, running his thumb across your skin with a smile. you like to watch as he plays video games sometimes, his hands get so tense during tough matches, so you help him massage out the tension when he’s done. he gets horrible shaky hands whenever he gets really nervous. doesn’t wear rings or anything, doesn’t like the way they feel, but he does like bracelets. has a matching bracelet with you that he wears pretty much all the time. he talks with his hands a lot, but when he’s idle, they're shyly tucked away in his pocket, fiddling with his thumbs in front of him, or crossed over his chest.

jaehee’s are soft, she uses a lot of hand sanitizer so there’s almost always some lotion at her side, her hands are silky and smooth because of that. not as much as zen’s, but still close. she gets a lot of papercuts is the only thing, but besides that her hands are overall smooth, shorter nails, she has a nail biting problem, and she’s a lesbian!! 🗣 so she prefers them that way. she taps her fingertips on things whenever she’s thinking. her hands are warm, not hot, but it’s comfortable and cozy whenever she holds your own. she likes to run her fingers up your wrists, leaving little kisses behind the trail. cups the side of your face with a big smile while telling you how much she loves you, running her thumb across your cheek. like jumin, holds tension in her hands so they have a tendency to ache sometimes. she holds them together or rubs them when she’s nervous. if she's still working under jumin no, she doesn’t wear jewelry or nail polish often. the most you’ll find is ink stains on the sides of her hand. but in the coffee shop she’ll start to explore more, finds she likes dainty little rings and neutral polishes. she talks with her hands when she gets excited or when she’s really into talking about a topic. her hands are usually busy tapping a table or holding something most of the time.

seven has some long lanky hands, we’ve seen his hacker fingers. a mix between broad and lanky. they aren't delicate and soft, but not bulky either. his hands are hot, like absolute furnace level hot. he gets sweaty palms easily. he has a rather rough touch, but not at all bad, it feels like saeyoung if that makes sense. he likes to squish your cheeks between his hands, run his fingers down your palms, warm your hands up in his own. a little rough when he touches you, kind of when you see something really cute and you get all tense and you just wanna shake it around, he has that with you sometimes. he has really short nails, some scars scattered around as well, a few burn marks from his childhood. he has a ton of freckles all over his knuckles especially in the summer. shakes his hands around for awhile whenever they get sore, which is often due to his job. steady hands and grip. he wears jewelry while in cosplay, besides that not very often. but he does paint his nails when he feels up to it or is bored, which is more often. probably did dick decals once because he thought it was the pinnacle of humor. talks with his hands heavily, very animated while he speaks. when he’s not using them they’re usually in the pockets of his hoodie, or busy annoying someone. pokes saeran’s cheeks which earns him a slap of the hand in return.

jihyun has the prettiest hands, lanky but sturdy. no shakiness at all, steadiness of an artist, but when he gets nervous, emotional, or has caffeine, they do shake pretty bad. super soft and silky, and like zen, his hands are very fluid and lovely to watch as he works, especially while he’s painting. surprisingly warm hands, never hot, but they're comfortable and cozy. he does get cold very easily though, so you’ll have to help him warm up on occasion. his touch is gentle and careful, touches everything like it’s art, especially you. he’ll trace your skin with his fingers, leaving kisses in their wake. he always touches you so softly, like you’re glass or the finest of arts. he likes to “paint” your skin with his fingertips sometimes. he holds his own hands and rubs them together when he’s feeling anxious. he has well kept nails, he’ll wear nail polish if you want him to hehe wears rings but only with meaning. has matching rings with you and jumin. bracelets sometimes too, the cute woven ones. but again, they need meaning for him. you can normally find paint stains scattered across his hands. he talks with his hands very gently, it’s not super animated and fast like seven, it’s slow and calm. his hands are usually kept behind his back, or loosely at his sides.

saeran’s are very pale and almost translucent. blue veins, cherry fingertips, red knuckles. they’re big like seven’s but a little skinnier. surprisingly they’re insanely soft, he doesn’t use anything for that, it’s just natural. his freckles are much more faded than saeyoung’s, he has some scars, more burn marks than his brother does. he’s incredibly insecure about his hands, so he’ll pull his hoodie down to cover most of the skin there. freezing cold most of the time, he has bad circulation. so he loves when you hold your hand within his, running your fingers down his own, kiss his knuckles and whisper “pretty.” when you look at them. while he’s not sure he believes you, it still means a lot to him. he likes to trace things you’re insecure about and whisper “pretty” back. his nails are short, he bites them from anxiety a lot. you suggest painting them so he won’t bite them as often, at first he’s not sure, but quickly finds that he really likes the way that looks. prefers when you paint his nails though, claims he doesn’t know how to do it, but he does. he just likes being close to you. very shaky all the time, doesn’t have a steady grip. he’ll only wear rings that you get for him. doesn’t talk with his hands unless he’s really excited about something, almost all of the time they’re in the pocket of his hoodie, or intertwined with your own.

elizabeth the third’s hands are the softest out of the entire rfa, so soft that even zen can’t compete. warm and cozy, but can be painful when shes hard at work making the meanest batch of muffins you ever did see directly on top of your stomach. watch out. looks cute, but still deadly. when jumin’s walking past the couch she’ll stick her paw out and take a swipe at his leg when he’s even a minute later past feeding time. rolls all cutesy if she does manage to draw some blood, because she knows absolutely no one, not even zen, could stay mad at a face like that for too long.

thanks for reading! find more on my mysme masterlist ♡!

[benevolentbirdgal]

“Thirteen” Tips on Writing Jewish Characters / Some  Jewish Identity Stuff Explained

So you want to write a Jewish character, but don’t want to write a caricature? Or are worried they won’t register as Jewish to readers, or something will be off or wrong? Well I, friendly (virtual) neighborhood Jewish professional, am here to help! 

Note: The Jewish community is made up of roughly 14 million people worldwide with all sorts of backgrounds, practices, life circumstances, and beliefs. I’m just one American Jew, but I’ve had exposure to Jewishness in many forms after living in 3.5 states (at several different population densities/layouts), attending Jewish day school and youth groups, doing Jewish college stuff, and landing a job at a Jewish non-profit. I’m speaking specifically in an American or Americanish context, though some of this will apply elsewhere as well. 

Let’s start with the word “Jew.” It’s not inherently a slur, but can absolutely be used as one. I am a Jew. You can call me a Jew, just not a Jew. Like most minority groups, there are slurs against us, but Jew is the proper demonym. It can be used disrespectfully as a noun, but isn’t inherently disrespectful. Think “Chava is a Jew” versus “You’re being such a Jew.” 1a. Any use of Jew as a verb by gentiles (non-Jews) is not okay. Your Jewish characters should be horrified by someone telling them they “Jewed down the price.” 1b. Any use of Jewess by gentiles is not okay and your Jewish character should not be cool with it.  1c. Many Jews would actively prefer to be called such because that’s what we are and “Jewish person” is stepping away from our Jewishness. But I get that not everybody is going to be comfortable calling us Jews. That’s okay, and “Jewish person/people” or “X is Jewish” is TOTALLY ACCEPTABLE.  1d. With that said, Jewish people refers to ourselves as Jews. If Sarah is Jewish but is squicked about referring to herself as a Jew, your Jewish readers will immediately know she’s written by a gentile.  1e. Actual slurs against Jews is a post for another time (did you know K*ke literally means circle?). 

Your Jewish-American character likely does not speak Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino, or any other Judeo-Language (languages that are a mix of Hebrew and at least one other language, typically written in the Hebrew abjad). Three notes on this, however: 2a. If your character is an immigrant or the child of an immigrant, they might speak the Judeo-language of the old country. The most common will be Israeli-Americans speaking Hebrew, but families still speaking Yiddish, Ladino, Judeo-Arabic, and other families do still exist. The children of Jewish immigrants might also speak another language that isn’t a Jewish one, like Russian or Spanish.  2b. If they are in a VERY religious Ashkenazi community, they might speak Yiddish at home and in the community.  2c. Odds are decent, however, that your American Jew can read but not understand Hebrew. If your character went to Jewish Day School or Yeshiva, they definitely read Hebrew, and will have some understanding of it (but likely not fluency). 

Despite what I just said above, your Jewish-American character likely drops a lot of Yiddish words and phrases into their day-to-day speech. Which words/phrases in probably a list for another time, but the most common will be foods, family names (i.e. “Zayde” instead of Grandpa), and sassy expressions. They may incorporate some Hebrew to a lesser extent. 

There’s not just one version of kosher. There’s kosher, kosher-style, Halav Yisrael, glatt kosher, etc. Depending on your character’s level of kosher, they’ve need a hecksher (kosher mark) on any given item or only eat at kosher restaurants, although not all Jews keep kosher and many keep “kosher-style” (i.e. only eat theoretically kosher things).

Your Jewish character should be a whole character, both in general and in relation to their Jewishness. This means, among other things, that they aren’t obsessed with Israel and I/P discourse one way or the other and that while writing you remember that not all Israelis are Jews and not all Jews are Israelis. Your Jewish character is not constantly agonizing over the I/P situation, has a life outside of their Jewishness, and shouldn’t be a cardboard stand-in for your desire to discuss the middle east. 

The Jewish experience varies dramatically with geography. Jews living in Omaha, Richmond, Philly, Kansas City, Boca Raton, and New York City are all American Jews. They will have drastically different Jewish experiences. I strongly recommend doing research on the Jews in the specific place your story takes places, but generally:  6a. The closer you are to the northeast coast and NYC (except south Florida) the better and more varied your Jewish resources.  6b. NYC has the highest Jewish population of any city on the planet. Big cities like Boston, Chicago, and L.A., as well as just outside of NYC in NJ and NYS, and suburban/exburb south Florida will have lots of Jewish resources: day schools (Jewish + secular education mix), maybe Yeshivas (Jewish focus), multiple synagogues, a Jewish Community Center, Jewish dating services, social stuff, Jewish charities, and youth activities. Your character will have other Jewish friends and their gentile friends will likely know other Jews. Antisemitism is still a problem and usually takes the form of excluding Jews from activism, thinly-veiled stereotyping or excusing antisemitism from people from other oppressed groups, but it’s usually not as overt as elsewhere. Almost always safe to disclose Jewishness.  6c. Small and mid-size cities Denver, Virginia Beach, Charleston, and Harrisburg will have a JCC or Jewish federation, multiple synagogues, and maybe a Jewish day school. Your character is not the only Jew their gentile peers have met, but the bagels are meh. They will have other Jews to bond and commiserate with. Antisemitism here is mostly like that in big cities with occasional burst of overt incidents and attacks. It is generally physically safe for them to disclose Jewishness.  6d. Big towns and small cities in the south or mid-west will have maybe one synagogue - probably reform or Chabad. Your character will have to seek out Jewish spaces, but they will be easy to find. They will not be everybody’s First Jew, but it will be unusual. Antisemitism here is mostly overt - most of the antisemites your character deals with will be very obvious and many will be violent. Jews in such situations will not hide their Jewishness per se, but will be more selective in choosing to disclose it.  6e. Rural areas and small-small towns will not have a synagogue. Your character and their family may be the only Jews or there might be a small group that meets on occasion or carpools to the nearest synagogue. They will have to actively seek out the others Jews and they will be difficult to find. Disclosing their Jewishness is a serious consideration and not always safe. Odds are they are many people’s First Jew, which gets really weird real fast. Beyond the harmless ignorant-but-trying-to-learn-from-their-first-Jew types your character will interact with, there’s also violent and overt antisemitism here.  6f. If your character is in college, they will likely have a Chabad and/or a Hillel on campus if they are at a large school or a school with a significant Jewish population. 

Related: when Jews meet each other for the first time, a game of “Jewish geography” ensues as they try and trace people they know in the other person’s state/city/community. 

Jews come in all shapes, colors, sizes, genders, sexualities, politics, and religious beliefs. There are all sorts of Jewish people with tons of different intersecting identities. Don’t box yourself in to writing one kind of Jew. Just research a ton on the particular subsection of the Jewish community your character is a part of - a Mizrachi-Jewish Persian-American bisexual woman is going to have a different experience than a straight Ethiopian-American Jewish man who is going to have different experience from a queer Ashkenazi-Jewish-American girl with non-Jewish family.  8a. Jews with Ashkenazi (eastern/northern European) ancestry and customs are the biggest group in the U.S., but by no means the only group or representative of every Jew. Sephardi (Spanish/southern European/north Africa), and Mizrachi (north Africa and the middle east) are the next biggest groups. It would not be unusual for your character to have Polish-Jewish, Iraqi-Jewish, Moroccan-Jewish, or Russian Jewish ancestry or a mix.  8b. Each of these groups have their own customs, Judeo-languages, local holidays, and local historic tragedies. Generally, historic Sephardi communities were linked between themselves, historic Ashkenazi communities were linked between themselves, and historic Mizarchi communities were linked between themselves. The three had some, but limited contact. Additionally, all three major groups have subdivisions within them.  8c. There are also smaller groups that don’t fall within the three traditional categories, like the Ethiopian Jews, the Cochin Jews (India), Chinese Jews, Gruzim (Georgian), and more. Most of these smaller groups were not in contact with the wider Jewish world.  8d. All Jewish groups start from the same base texts (the written Torah), and the majority include the oral Torah as well. Local interpretations and traditions develop, these are referred to as minhag(im) (customs). For example, the biblical commandment is to not boil a baby goat in its mother’s milk. Some communities extend this to mean no chicken and milk, others reason that chickens don’t produce milk so the mixture is acceptable. Both are equally valid interpretations rooted in tradition, but they are different.  8e. Marrying between Jewish subgroups in the U.S. is super common and outside of extreme or really intense groups is not frowned upon. Traditionally, the father’s minhagim are followed, i.e. a Syrian-Jewish father and a Spanish-Jewish mother would follow the Syrian-Jewish minhagim with their children. Many modern couples choose the mother’s traditions or mix them up, but that’s the traditional route. 

Unless they are VERY religious, your character’s family is unlikely to be particularly wound up about them being LGBTQ the way a comparably Christian family might, at least not because they’re Jewish. Samuel’s Jewish mother is likely unconcerned he likes boys and is much more empathetic than he must marry a Jewish boy and raise any kids Jewish. 

There are so many Jewish holidays, and they are not all celebrated the same or with the same intensity. Probably enough material for its own post, but the ones most likely celebrated by your character: 10a. Shabbat and/or Havdalah. Shabbat starts Friday nights with candles, wine/grape juice and challah bread, Havdalah ends Shabbat with a braided candle, wine, and aromatic spices. Shabbat dinner is usually a meat meal and it is common to invite guests or eat with friends and family (in normal times).  10b. The “High Holidays” - Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. Jewish students often skip school for these. Yom Kippur is a 25 hour fast with services all day, Rosh HaShanah has services in the evening and morning.  10c. Passover - arguably the most important holiday. Celebrated with two sometimes agonizingly long Seders (ritual meals), family gatherings, and abstaining from leavened bread for 7/8 days.  10d. Hanukkah - Not actually that spiritually important, but culturally important for American Jews. Typically celebrated with candle lighting, presents, visits to family members, and greasy food. 

There’s a lot of wine involved in Jewish ritual, so it’s unlikely your character’s Jewish family are teetotalers. 

Jewish families tend to be very intense, loud, opinioned, caring, and involved, compared to many other assimilated American families. Shabbat dinner is not quiet. Dissent is a Jewish value - differing opinions are allowed (and expected in many circles), as is the ability to argue/defend competently. 

Jewishness can mean ethnic identity, cultural identity, and/or religion. There are several major denominations religiously, although that needs to be its own post in detail. The noteworthy movements at this point are Orthodox (further subdivided into Ultraorthodox and Modern Orthodox), Conservative (middle of the road, no relation to conservative politics), Reform, and Reconstructionist (both very “choose your own/your community’s adventure).

Probably will write more parts in the future, but this is heinously long already! Hope this is helpful!

[twstarchives]

Scary Dress・Voice Lines

● Event: Scary Monsters (October 14 - November 26, 2020) ● Exclusive Cards: Deuce, Kalim, Epel, Idia, Malleus, Lilia, Azul, Jack, Jade, Vil, Cater

Deuce Spade - R

Unlock Card “This school event is meant for everyone to have fun. I’m going to make sure this Halloween’s a success!”

Groovy “You’re not getting away from me... I’ll scare you till you're trembling to the bone!”

Home Setting “I’m a skeleton ghost that’s risen from the grave! BOO!”

Home Transitions “These are our special costumes, so make sure you’re careful with them. Grim, that means don’t claw on the lace.”

“When I was a kid, there were times when I used to start sobbing because I thought there was a monster outside. But it was actually just the laundry drying out there... Oi, stop laughing!”

“I got some treats from Epel. There’s a lot of them, so I thought I’d share with you. You know the secret code, right?”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “Happy Halloween! You just can’t help but get excited around this time of year.”

Home Taps “I saw Draconia a while ago. Seeing him walk around in that serpentine dragon costume so valiantly made him look cooler than ever.”

“I got a text from my mom—she said she wants to see my costume. I don’t mind sending her one, but I don’t know how I feel about taking a selfie... Prefect, could you take one of me?”

“I’m used to seeing the ghosts on campus, so they’re not that scary. Our terrifying dorm leader Rosehearts, on the other hand...”

“Viper fixed the lace on my hat for me. I feel like the vice leaders in every dorm are really caring.”

“Hey, you! You want me to bury you!? S-Sorry. I was practicing my scares; I didn’t mean to say that to you, Prefect.”

Kalim Al-Asim - R

Unlock Card “Are you all ready to have some fun? Alright! Come on and follow my lead! One, two—Happy Halloween!”

Groovy “Grr... Pain shoots through my body whenever I look at the full moon. You better watch your back if you start to hear some howling.”

Home Setting “Growl! I’m a werewolf now.”

Home Transitions “Rook knows a lot about wildlife, and he told me all kinds of things about wolves. It was really useful.”

“I always carry around candies this time of year. This way anyone can tell me ‘Trick or treat’ anytime!”

“My magic carpet seems pretty excited for Halloween too. I’m competing with it to see who’s the scariest!”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “A party that everyone’s stoked about—that’s what Halloween is! Let’s have fun together! Growl! Growl!”

Home Taps Whine! Grrrrr! Bark! *cough!* “It’s hard trying to sound like a wolf...”

“I feel like it’d be so much more exciting if Cater, Lilia, and I dressed up for our band performances. Don’t you think so?”

“Jade said his costume is a mummy. If you wore clothes like that in the Scalding Sands, you’d get so hot that you might actually turn into one.”

“I like this costume; its design is really reminiscent of the Scalding Sands. Plus it’s easy to move in. It fits for dressing up as a werewolf.”

“Hm? You want to try scaring me? Spare me from any tricks, though. Ahaha!”

Epel Felmier - R

Unlock Card “Boo! Did I spook you? Hehe. I’ll come scare you again if you let down your guard.”

Groovy “Struggling against me is useless... I think. You won’t get away from me.”

Home Setting “Now, Halloween has begun!”

Home Transitions “Wah! Oh, crap!¹ I stepped all over my cloak. If Vil saw me, he’d get mad and say ‘It’s not proper to run around like that.’”

“I carved some of the pumpkins that are decorating the school. Mine have ghosts and our dorm’s emblem on them. Try to find them, okay?”

“Hey, have you seen the decorations on Main Street? They’re all so pretty, and really marvy².”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “I think this is the first time I’ve celebrated such a festive Halloween. In my town, the festivals feel a lot more scaled down.”

Home Taps “Halloween celebrations in my hometown are never this big, but I can promise you the food’s always delicious. I want you all to come see it someday.”

“Riddle got really passionate when we were talking about the treats for Halloween earlier. Sweets are just amazing, aren’t they?”

“I’m a first-year just like Deuce and Jack, but I wish I could scare as well as they do. But only practice makes perfect!”

“Tremble in fear! ...No. That’s not menacing enough... Ah! What if I put ketchup around my mouth?”

“Huh!? A treat? Sorry. I finished handing all mine out. But I’ll peel an apple for you later, so don’t give me a trick or anything... Okay?”

Idia Shroud - R

Unlock Card “E-E-Even I get excited for events sometimes... Is that bad!?”

Groovy “Anyone who sees what’s beneath my helmet won’t be leaving here unharmed... Hehehe!”

Home Setting “Wahaha! The Pumpkin Knight has arrived!”

Home Transitions “Every time Ortho tells me ‘Trick or treat,’ I give him some candy, but earlier he got mad and said ‘Let me have a trick too.’”

“You need to know your etiquette to have fun with events. That’s true no matter what world you’re in.”

“This time of year, they’re always having tons of huge events in gacha games. I’ve got an overwhelming lack of free time.”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “Weheehee~... Happy Halloween. Huh? Why are you making that face? Is it that weird to see me pumped up?”

Home Taps “Hiding my face under a helmet really lets me relax. The downside is it’s a little hard to breathe, though.”

“Wh-What are you dressing up as? Don’t tell me you’re just going to throw on something basic like a headband or a hat and call it a day?”

“They say lions are members of the cat family, but... Sir Leona is not soothing in the slightest. Hah~ I wanna nuzzle a cat...”

“You can say it. There’s no such thing as a nerd that hates Halloween!”

“Weheehee! I made this using a 3D printer, so it’s got really nice durability. ‘How much did it all cost’? Well, if you want to know, it was on sale.”

Malleus Draconia - SR

Unlock Card “Halloween is a festival observed by both the living and the dead, regardless of one’s race. You, too, should enjoy yourself as much as you can.”

Groovy “I’d make anyone tremble in fear with a single breath of fire. Watch me.”

Home Setting “I’m not dressed up as a dragon. It’s a serpentine dragon.”

Home Transitions “The students in our dorm seem very pleased with our costumes. They were all cheering with joy. This was well-worth the trouble.”

“Lilia knows a lot about many nations’ versions of Halloween. He told me stories about them instead of his usual lullabies. That was a long time ago, though.”

“I saw two pumpkin knights around campus. The smaller one was floating, so I’m assuming they were the Shroud brothers.”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “I’ve experienced many Halloweens, but this year seems especially chaotic.”

Home Transition (Groovy) “Trick or treat!... wasn’t it? If you don’t give me a treat, I’ll have to trick you. What will you do?”

Home Taps “The red serpentine dragons from the Far East, which our costumes were based on, could even play folk instruments. Hm... How very interesting.”

“I caught Asim practicing his wolf howls. He’s lacking on the impact, but it does have a charm to it. Heheh.”

“Halloween in the Valley of Thorns is especially grand. It’s a different take on it than other countries have, but you should come see it someday. It’s beautiful.”

“If you hear a strange noise, don’t automatically assume it’s the work of a ghost. Faeries love playing tricks all year round.”

“This tail? Mine is not an accessory; it’s real. As curious as you might be, don’t get too close. You’d be easily flicked aside if you got hit by it.”

Home Tap (Groovy) “I’ll set fire to anyone that harms your dorm, just like a serpentine dragon would. I’m fond of that place.”

Lilia Vanrouge - SR

Unlock Card “Halloween is my home ground ♪ I can’t wait to see the surprise on everyone’s faces.”

Groovy “Do not underestimate me. You might end up finding yourself trembling and unable to sleep all night long.”

Home Setting “Growl! How was that? Did I sound like a dragon?”

Home Transitions “On Halloween Night, the goblins who served the Fairy of Thorns would gather around a fire and dance all night long. You probably wouldn’t expect them to be party animals!”

“I remember the day I met a real-life serpentine dragon in the East like it was yesterday. Its crimson scales were truly a sight to behold.”

“I like eating most sweets, but marshmallows are the only ones I can’t do. It doesn’t feel like I’m eating anything; they aren’t satisfying.”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “Trick or treat... What? You’re already used to my tricks? Then I’ll have to bring out my trump card.”

Home Transition (Groovy) “If I were a real dragon, I could give you a ride on my back. But instead, why don’t I give you a piggy back ride?”

Home Taps “Hnn... The decorative horns on my cap are so heavy. Malleus really has these on his head at all times?”

“Aren’t my red nails cute? Vil painted them for me. He told me these were called gel nails—long-lasting nail polish.”

“Silver and Sebek used to be such crybabies. The mornings after Halloween, I’d have to spend the whole day doing laundry.”

“Have you seen Ace anywhere? He’s always eating Trey’s sweets like he really likes them, so I made some for him as well.”

“Oh, oh! It’s dangerous for someone of my stature to have a tail almost touching the ground. Try not to step on it either.”

Home Tap (Groovy) “Achoo! Sorry, sorry. This peacock feather tickled my nose.”

Azul Ashengrotto - SR

Unlock Card “The Mostro Lounge is currently offering a special Halloween menu. You must come and see!”

Groovy “Let’s have all the fun we want tonight. Now, let me hear you scream all the way up to the moon!”

Home Setting “How do I look? It’s very stylish with the way it revisits the old-fashioned sort of mummy, isn’t it?”

Home Transitions “If these were my own tentacles, I could move them freely at will, but that’s not true with these bandage wraps. I have to pay close attention to my movements.”

“Of course we have Halloween celebrations under the sea. Although, unlike on land, merpeople don’t exactly wear costumes.”

“I ran into Silver with this costume on, and he yelled ‘The enemy!’ before pulling out a baton. ...He must’ve been half-asleep.”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “Halloween only happens once a year. Let’s have the time of our lives together.”

Home Transition (Groovy) “Did I hear you say ‘Trick or treat’ just now? Offering me of all people a deal is quite bold of you.”

Home Taps “I have an affinity for the costumes Jack and the other Savanaclaw students are wearing. They look like ghosts you’d find at sea, don’t they?”

“I referenced dishes that my family serves for the Lounge’s limited edition menu... Oh, my family runs a ristorante.”

“I’ll hold back on the treats, thank you. Accepting more and more of them will only increase my calorie intake for the day.”

“The reason we chose mummies for our costumes? I’m very unfamiliar with them, which made me all the more curious. After all, you can’t have anything dry under the sea.”

“What are you in such a rush for? I understand feeling excited, but you must be discreet when getting ready to scare someone.”

Home Tap (Groovy) “You must come see Halloween under the sea sometime! It’s just as fun as the academy’s.”

Jack Howl - SR

Unlock Card “Dressing up as pirates fits for Savanaclaw, since the guys here are all brutes. When you want something, you take it!”

Groovy “On Halloween, it’s ghost territory. Make sure you be careful when walking around at night. Grr...”

Home Setting “My scares aren’t just for show.”

Home Transitions “Scarabia dressed up as werewolf ghosts. They really nailed the ears and tails.”

“When we were making jack o’ lanterns, Ruggie kept eating the pumpkin seeds. Do those taste good...?”

“The pirate costume fits Leona really well. He’s lazy and vulgar—ahem! He comes off as strong and powerful.”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “Happy Halloween! It’s nice with all these decorations and festive energy. Wanna walk around together later?”

Home Transition (Groovy) “I was getting tired of all these sweets, so I got some jerky. Want any?”

Home Taps “Ace and the others swear that anything Trey bakes is to die for. I wonder how his pear compote would... N-No, nevermind.”

“I used to want to be a pirate when I was little. I remember making treasure chests by myself and filling them with coins and sparkling jewels. Those were the days.”

“Pirates have to aim their cannons and do a lot of heavy lifting while onboard. They’ve got to train hard.”

“I almost never wear rings, so I’m scared these might fly off at any moment. Plus it’s hard to move my fingers.”

“Oi! Stop prodding at my costume! What’re you going to do if one of the seashells breaks off?”

Home Tap (Groovy) “You haven’t put on your costume yet? The ghosts will come to kidnap you if you don’t hurry and change.”

Jade Leech - SSR

Unlock Card “I’ve been expecting you. Today I have a most wonderful scare prepared for you.”

“We’ve been working hard to ensure that everyone can spend a wonderful Halloween.”

Groovy “The sight of you screaming as you try to hurry away... It’s irresistible. I cannot hold myself back from chasing after you!”

Home Setting “Who would like to be tied up in fear?”

Home Transitions “You want to see me when I’m frightened? Heheh. I wouldn’t mind you scaring me anytime you’d like.”

“There is no such thing as using pumpkins as lanterns under the sea. I was very shocked learning about culture on land when I was a freshman.”

“Have you had a chance to try out the Mostro Lounge’s limited edition Halloween menu? I contributed a recipe to it.”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “Trick or treat! Heheh. There’s no need to look so frightened; I won’t bite.”

Home Transition (Groovy) “Oh, my. Were you hoping to play a trick on me? I have a treat on hand, so please spare me today.”

Home Taps “I helped Ruggie with making jack o’ lanterns. They’re very quick, cheap, and beautiful. How fitting.”

“Dryness is fatal for merpeople. If we were dried up like a mummy... Just the thought is horrifying.”

“Floyd, don’t eat too many sweets. It’s different while we’re in the water, but here we have a high risk of tooth decay.”

“The draping wraps on our costumes resemble jellyfish tentacles. They’re pretty, aren’t they? I like their asymmetrical design.”

“You seem to have a wish to join the world of mummies. First, I will wrap your whole body in bandages, and then dry you out... I’m only joking.”

Home Tap (Groovy) “Halloween under the sea? If you’re interested, I will show you around one day.”

Duo Magic Jade: Azul, we cannot waste any more time. Azul: Let’s be efficient about this, Jade.

Vil Schoenheit - SSR

Unlock Card “Are you prepared to pledge yourself to me? It’s a great honor to be the sustenance of my beauty.”

“If I’m participating in this, then I’m going to aim for quality that transcends all previous Halloweens. Please keep up with me.”

Groovy “How unfortunate; there’s nowhere left for you to run. Yield yourself to me and become my slave.”

Home Setting “You will be a victim to my fangs.”

Home Transitions “Vampires, who possess eternal beauty... This is a perfect theme for me, isn’t it?”

“It would be difficult to check my appearance if I couldn’t see my reflection in the mirror. Perhaps I’d have to check with Rook between every class.”

“The other day, I was drinking tomato juice in the evening, and Epel screamed at me. How rude.”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “Trick or treat. Although, I don’t need any sweet treats. I’m sure you can guess what a vampire would want... Heheh.”

Home Transition (Groovy) “Have you flipped your sleep schedule like a vampire’s because it’s Halloween? Make sure you don’t stay up too late.”

Home Taps “I don’t usually carry around treats with me, so last year I fell victim to Lilia’s tricks. That was honestly unpleasant.”

“You should carefully deliberate over your parasol and choose one that has strong protection from the sun. Don’t forget sunblock either.”

“Floyd’s skin is very beautiful. Makeup sits exceptionally well on moisturized skin, too. Always remember to moisturize.”

“My father is an actor, and for every Halloween he would come home in a costume with special effects makeup. I wonder if perfectionism runs in the family.”

“Even a single strand of hair out of place is something to pay mind to. Could you fix my hair for me?”

Home Tap (Groovy) “My cloak has enough cloth to wrap around a person. Should I hide you inside it if any scary ghosts come by?”

Duo Magic Vil: Let’s end this nonsense right here, Lilia. Lilia: Leave it to me to guard you from behind, Vil.

Cater Diamond - SSR

Unlock Card “I’ll fill you all the way to the bone... with fear, of course ♪”

“Aha! Are you surprised with how off things feel now? Let me show you Cay’s charm, now that I’m a touch different for Halloween~”

Groovy “You’re not thinking you’ll be able to get home safely now that you’ve dug me up, are you?”

Home Setting “Don’t you think my costume’s super aesthetic!?”

Home Transitions “The pumpkin pie Trey always makes this time of year... Mm, it’s not too sweet, and it’s sooo good~!”

“Did you see Lucius today!? He was wearing a super adorable pumpkin hat... I can’t believe Professor Trein~!”

“Sebek-kins really loves Malleus~ He’s got a reputation among the third-years for being the passionate Draconian.”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “Happy Halloween! How about we take a picture to commemorate?”

Home Transition (Groovy) “I have a feeling this year’s going to be the funnest Halloween we’ve ever had. You should be excited too, Prefect!”

Home Taps “I really like how our skeleton-looking laces are so elegant. Our dorm uniforms give off more cutesy vibes; it’s super different.”

“A black veil holds many mysteries... Heheh. You’re always free to lift it up anytime you want, Prefect! Just kidding.”

“Heartslabyul’s costumes last year? We were pirates! Wish you could see Cay as a pirate~?”

“The whole campus gets super festive and exciting around Halloween! And all the decorations are so photogenic.”

“Black makeup smudges easily, so you kind of need to have advanced skills to use it. Does it look okay right now? It’s not smudged?”

Home Tap (Groovy) “What are you dressing up as, Prefect? Come let me know when you have it ready. I wanna take a pic~”

Duo Magic Cater: “Jack, lend me some of your aesthetic support!” Jack: “This’ll be a breeze, Cater!”

[microwave-thoughts]

I'm bored so traveling to Poland tips because I am polish and, as I said, bored. Also I've traveled a lot so I guess I can compare things. This is very long. Also no one will ever read this. Did I spend like an hour writing this? I'm bored when did this become an investigation stop asking questions and go read it I was bored. I'm not an expert but like I've lived here my entire life.

Safety

We are really safe as I just found out. There isn't a lot of violent crime and there are no terrorist attacks (I'm not saying they can't happen though, they just haven't yet lol)

The biggest issues are pickpocketing and scams. For the scams taxis are a kinda popular place for that so make sure they are an official taxi with like a number and a name of the company on it or use Uber

Race related stuff

As I said not a lot of violent crimes but they do happen sometimes, they could be about race, but honestly there really isn't a lot of violence here. Casual racism is a different story though, there is a lot of it here, sadly. Some people might say some offensive shit and I have to say that in many cases it's them being stupid not them being hateful. If people stare at you there is a big chance they aren't doing it in a bad way it's just that we are a country that is over 90% white and people are just curious.

Generally it should be a safe place for you, some people just might say stupid shit.

Women

Generally speaking it's a pretty safe country. It can be pretty sexist but nothing that will affect your travel. Normal stuff just maybe try to not go to places alone at night, but if you do you should be fine.

Lgbtq+

Sadly not a very tolerant place, but again, generally speaking you should be fine. Maybe don't go around telling everyone about it? Sorry if this sounds mean lol I am gay and I live here and I'm surrounded mostly by accepting people but I know not everywhere is the same

Ok time for something less concerning lol

Language

Our language is polish. Most people speak two or more languages. English I'm pretty sure is the most popular one but the best speakers are usually younger people. If you speak Russian look more for people that are 30+. German is pretty popular so you might find some people speaking it. If you use any Slavic language if you can understand some polish while not knowing it polish people should understand some of your language. Some other popular languages - French and Spanish. Don't expect people to know them though.

Here is a tip - learn a few words in polish. Some really basic stuff like hello goodbye thank you or names of food or something (We know you know the word "kurwa", no need to tell us, it literally means "whore", so don't do that, that's weird, we use it kinda like "fuck"). We LOVE when people try to speak our language. People might try to teach you a few other words if they see you trying idk just because it's fun. If they do you can teach you something in your language idk have fun. That brings me to

People

Polish people are kinda known to not smile a lot but I feel like we are really friendly. If you ask someone for help if they understand you they will help. We aren't a very popular country so we love foreign people wanting to learn about Poland.

Food

We have a lot of great food. The main things you should try: pierogi - our dumplings. We have both sweet and not sweet versions. They are like the most iconic polish food. Soups - we have a ton of types of soups they are pretty good if you want something popular you can try our broth (rosół) , tomato soup (zupa pomidorowa), or vegetable soup (zupa jarzynowa). Our meat thing? idk what to call that in English (schabowy) is very popular and it's pretty good. It's usually with potatoes and some vegetables. Crepes with sweet cheese are great (naleśniki - crepes, z serem - with cheese). You can always ask for something typically from here they will probably give you something good lol. Some of our dishes might seem weird from the description but trust me most of it is good.

Our food is mostly meat but if you are vegetarian/vegan you should find some options, it's not rare here. If you are lactose intolerant (I am so that's what I know about) or something like that look for bigger shops they should have more lactose free things. They are usually purple so that helps with searching for them. Most shops have at least lactose free milk.

Alcohol

Polish people generally like to drink but it's illegal to drink in a public place. I have to say that most people don't really give a shit about that lol. You can buy alcohol if you are 18 but it's not very unusual for a parent to let their teen have a drink or two.

Travel

In bigger cities you should get around by just a bus pretty easily. They can be late so prepare for that and they can sometimes say the wrong bus stop so when you get close to your destination look out the window whenever you stop, there should be a sign with a name there. Usually there isn't an issue though I'm just saying it happens once in a while. You can easily find taxis or get an Uber but as I said be careful with the taxis (in the safety section).

Money

Our money is called "złoty". We also have "grosze" 100 of them make one złoty. We have coins (1gr 2gr 5gr 10gr 20gr 50gr 1zł 2zł 5zł) with 1 2 and 5 zł easily recognizable (they are bigger) and bills (10zł 20zł 50zł 100zł 200zł). 500zł bill exists but I've never seen it, it's not really popular. Also since, you know, 5 zł exists don't lose your coins they aren't worthless.

Poland isn't a rich country but it isn't poor either. For Europe we are somewhere in the middle. My estimate is that our prices are about half of what they are in the USA, I could be wrong but that's what I've noticed (maybe a little more then that depending on where you are)

In conclusion - pretty safe, but be careful where you put your money, let's say affordable, people are helpful and should know some languages, don't be an ignorant asshole, have fun and try some food from here you won't regret it.

Also if someone actually reads this for some fucking reason and plans to go to Poland idk write to me I'm a bored polish person who speaks pretty good English and I like to help people. If you have been to Poland then write to me that's fun I wanna know how it went lol

Poland isn't the most beautiful or interesting place in the world but we have a lot to offer and it's just a nice place with some interesting history and cool places idk what to tell you. Have fun lol safe travels

[ithatangel]

Some things you might need to know about me.

For someone who should have made a post like this the same month as the first one (to which case I'm sorry for that) here is some context you might need to know when it comes to me and what I do on this blog:

If you hadn't read the headline already, I have Asperger's syndrome... or just somewhere on the light side of the spectrum since it ain't official anymore (FDA-wise), living with this has caused me to have difficulty reading intentions or misunderstand information, especially over text. There are also a lot of things with ASD that I can't think of at the moment. I might be able to tackle some of them In future posts if I'll manage to keep this thing active... There may also be some situations where my sentences may not make sense or be beyond confusing when making a point.

I see myself as Artist in a few fields, mainly digital artwork, writing and storytelling (let's hope that I'll get to expand into animation and beyond, aye?). My mind is pretty capable of producing pretty big ideas for concepts, stories, worldbuilding, aesthetics, etc. Especially those big, semi well-thought-out plots w/ details.

English is not my first language, which is quite obvious as I mentioned before about the headline. I do find myself preferably using English even more than my native polish tongue to construct whatever my mind feels like conceiving. This overuse of one language for several years has backfired for both ends though... (polish has suffered more believe me bro) Which I'll get to my next point.

I'll be blunt here, I tend to forget words a fucking ton. Sometimes some sectors of my vocabulary spark some outages... out of nowhere... AKA when I am looking for that one word to fit in whatever context I need for BUT NO I HAVE TO SUFFER TRYING TO REMEMBER WHATTHATWORDWASINTHE FUCKINGFIRSTPLACEBECAUSETHEBRAINJUSTFELTLIKEITICANTFU- You get the gist of the over-exaggerated frustration I tried to present there- yeah? Good. I'll assume you got it.

Speaking of forgetting words, this also applies... to anything really. My memory tends to be shit in most subjects and sometimes is not. That's all I need to say about it really. A mixed bag.

This blog is probably going to be a huge mess, you'll either expect a well-written post of either a poem or some thought I felt like putting into a public post (like this one) or just straight up a shit post meant for the funnies and people to be like: haha funni post go E

(So... yeah, let it be known to you that there may be going to be tonal shifts between posts)

I believe that's all I am willing to share on this. The rest you can find about me on here will be through posts I am going to post (maybe) on weekends.

For those who found me and wish to stick around with my ramblings, thank you for doing so. My appreciation for each of you brightens.

Cheers - "Angel"

▽

[wulfies-kpop-fanfics]

One Photo → Mark Lee [6]

↳  Pairing: Mark Lee/Reader

↳  AU: Soulmate!AU - The first touch of two soulmates permanently scars their bodies.

↳  Warning: Suggestive

↳  Word count: 4,349

↳  Chapters: Prelude | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | You Are Here! | 7 | 8 | 9

⁙ Summary: For an end of the year photography project, you’re tasked with taking a photograph for your favourite group, NCT127, and coincidentally, discover your soulmate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FRIDAY - 6 - Part 2

As the two of you travel down the hallway making quiet conversation, Mark stops in his tracks. You're completely focused on him, not sure what he's looking at. The hallway goes silent, save for heavy breathing and the sound of kissing. 

Peeking out from behind Mark's back, you peer around the bend of the hallway to join your soulmate's gaze, landing on none other than Rhiannon and Donghyuck, the latter pushing her up against the wall. 

"You hypocrite!" Mark quickly covers your mouth with his hand, but it's already too late- both of them are startled enough to quickly separate and begin smoothing out their clothes. 

Once Rhiannon realizes that it's you and Mark that caught her, she grabs Donghyuck's hand. She looks completely serious, her face flushed red. "Where, need it now. Our turn." 

With your mouth still covered, you look up at Mark. He's still nearly stunned, exchanging looks with Donghyuck, who is equally frozen in place and watching all of this unfold. "Uh," Mark starts sheepishly, glancing between the couple standing before you. "End of the hall, second last room," 

Donghyuck nods and says something in Korean, and from context you assume he's done the same as Mark - prepared a room. He tugs on her hand gently, quickly leading her past the two of you - the slightly awkward moment passing as soon as Rhiannon and Donghyuck are out of sight. 

Mark removes his hand from your mouth, and you glance back for a moment. "Well," you say, swallowing thickly. "I guess I know how she feels now."

Mark smiles, barely keeping back a laugh. "Seems like it. Let’s go back to the stage before we find out if those rooms are soundproof or not." 

It was relieving to know that once you two arrived back in the arena, none of the guys even so much as made a whisper about what you and Mark so obviously left to do. Everyone was now sitting on the stage around what looked like a picnic blanket that had a spread of snacks over top of it. They all waved to greet you and Johnny helped you up on the stage when you approached. “Help yourself,” Jaehyun said, popping a piece of melon in his mouth. “We just gotta wait for Donghyuck and Rhiannon to come back and then we can do a small dance practice.” 

You and Mark happily approach the others and take your seats among them. You sigh in contentment as you chew on a piece of pineapple, finally chipping away at your post-sex appetite.

"So," Johnny begins as you're about to eat your second piece of pineapple, "we couldn't get much out of Mark, but we were all wondering why you and Rhiannon were living by yourselves off-campus in the city." 

You freeze for a moment, chewing and swallowing cautiously. Mark grabs your hand and looks at you sympathetically. 

"It's a little complicated," you answer, "but we chose to move out when we were accepted to college. I lived with her family for a while after my parents were arrested, but I feel like I made their home life a lot worse. I would have left earlier, but my inheritances and my government grants didn't arrive immediately." 

Jaehyun looked at you, eyebrows furrowed. "What happened to your parents?" 

You licked your lips and sighed. "Your general gang slash drug dealer gig. They both got hefty prison time for child neglect, drug possession and trafficking on top of harbouring fugitives." 

Everyone was silent, save for the muted sounds of eating. "That all sounds horrible," Johnny said. "I never would have guessed you came from that life."

"Sometimes I can't believe I went through any of that either," you agree, "after I left home my life got a lot better. I have Rhiannon to thank for it all. Because of her, I'm here now." You smile as best you can, picking up a mini ham and cheese sandwich triangle you spotted on the platter. 

"What are we all talking about?" Rhiannon called as she and Donghyuck entered through one of the side archways into the arena. You and Mark helped them up onto the stage where they took their places and also began picking at the food. 

"Collecting my life story," you say, watching the others nod. "I was saying that I lived with you and your family for a while until we moved out." 

"Mm, yeah. Rough few years," she commented, picking up her own sandwich triangle. "I'm so glad we moved out."

"Why?" Jungwoo asked, causing you to turn your attention to him.

Rhiannon licked her lips. "It was pretty easy going for the five of us while my mom was still around. (Y/N) and I were working to help my dad out and my mom ran a daycare. When the two of us were graduating from high school, my mom passed away from breast cancer." 

You looked down at the floor of the stage, acutely aware of the sullen silence as she paused. "Then life got bad. Mine and my sister's mental health plummeted and everyone was always arguing, especially my dad and my sister. Once (Y/N) and I were both accepted to study in the city, we moved out with her inheritance as fast as we could." 

"I'm sorry," Taeyong added. "It's better now, right?" 

"As good as it can be," you smile somberly, peeking up a little bit as Mark held your hand. "I miss our mom more and more every day, but we know she's watching over us, cheering us on. If we give up on what we've been working so hard for, she'd definitely beat our asses. Once we graduate, we will be able to build the best lives for ourselves as we can."

"Now that we have all of you, it feels like we fell out of a nightmare and ended up in a dream," Rhiannon said, chewing on another piece of food. "Now all I need to do is get (Y/N) to stop eating stuff with ketchup and I will reach nirvana."

You rolled your eyes and smiled at her. "Ketchup isn't that bad," you protest, nearly breaking out into full out laughter as Mark also makes a disgusted face toward you. 

"You like ketchup?" He asked, jokingly frowning. 

"Not as much as her sister," you point at Rhiannon, "Lindsay will eat ketchup with mac and cheese!"

"Oh God, that's disgusting!" Mark stuck his tongue out and nearly gagged. 

"We know!" Both you and Rhiannon exclaimed in unison. 

Things quieted down again as everyone finished the snacks that were laid out, and you all helped clean up once the tray of snacks was polished off. Yuta ended up being the one voted to go backstage with the dishes, but Johnny, Taeyong and Doyoung eventually offered to go and help. Jungwoo, Jaehyun and Taeil also left, you assumed to maybe go to the bathroom, leaving you, Rhiannon, Mark and Donghyuck to occupy the stage. 

Once the crowd had diminished, Rhiannon turned her attention to Mark, mischief written all over her face. You already know what's about to come out of her mouth, so you stand up and make your way onto the other side of the stage to hide behind a curtain. 

"(Y/N)? Why are you hiding?" Mark seems curious, standing up to walk over to you, but stops in his tracks when Rhiannon begins to speak. 

"So, Mark, you guys were up there for a while."

"Y-yeah…" his response was drawn out, not exactly sure where the conversation was going. You inwardly groaned. 

"Did you like (Y/N)'s boobs? Pretty big, right? Also super pretty," 

"Noona!" Donghyuck chimed in, also standing up and reaching for her arm. "That's bad!"

Mark goes beet red, looking your way sheepishly. He starts stuttering as if he's shutting down. You take a deep breath, you probably should do something. 

"Y-yeah, they were pretty great, um-" he starts, then it looks like something clicks in his head. "H-how would you know what they look like?"

Rhiannon grinned at him, her eyes shifting to the backstage entrance as Yuta and the others were all clamouring back in, "I've seen her naked tons of times. Best breasts on the market if you ask me." 

"This needs context! This really needs context!" Johnny shouted as soon as everyone else stopped in their tracks. 

At this point, Mark is so red that you think he might actually turn into a tomato. He's completely frozen and speechless, mouth hanging open in shock. Taking in a deep breath you emerge from the curtain you take Mark's hand and squeeze it gently. 

"How about we address how quickly you came back from the VIP rooms?" You question, sticking your other hand on your hip.

"Well, y'know," she starts, looking over at the small crowd of boys staring in disbelief. 

"Noona-" Donghyuck tries to stop her, but she whispers something in his ear which in turn seems to stop his protest. 

"I'm all for taking dick up my cooch but I figured a nice thigh fuck would be better to start out with. Keep them wanting more, right? Oh, he's not small, either."  She winked. 

"Noonaaaaaa," Donghyuck whines, following that up with something else in Korean you couldn't understand. Everyone in the room was completely silent, frozen in disbelief of what had just entered their ears. 

"Well, I think you got your context, John," Jaehyun was the first to utter any words. 

It definitely took a while for you to process what just happened. You knew what Rhiannon was like and you expected a small comment from her, but you were completely floored. You opened your mouth to say something, but no words came. 

"Well, let's not just stand here, we have an hour before the stylists want us," Taeyong clapped his hands politely, and that seemed to get everyone else in gear. The awkwardness still took a while to fade, so you and Rhiannon decided to sit off to the side while the boys clamoured into their positions to practice dancing. 

Once the melody of Cherry Bomb entered your ears, your heart began to thud in your chest. It was one of your favourite songs by them, and the dance was also easily one of your favourites, just behind BOSS. You sat just by the edge of the curtain, clapping along and waving whenever Mark glanced in your direction, tapping your feet against the floor. Rhiannon was outright jamming next to you, making you laugh and grin at her as you shook your head. 

When Simon Says started, you stood and (pathetically) tried to imitate the dance as you stood in your spot. Mark looked over at you for a split second as he faced you to change positions in the dance and he flashed a quick thumbs up with a smile. 

The next thing you notice though is Rhiannon, who also decided to stand up to start dancing. "Hey (Y/N), watch this," she bends her arms to a ninety-degree angle and then begins to swivel her hips like she's playing with a hula hoop. 

You can barely contain your laughter as you watch her dance and don't even notice that the music stopped, everyone turned toward her to catch her in the act. 

Yuta is holding his phone, presumably the one controlling the Bluetooth speakers that are hidden somewhere on the stage, trying not to laugh. "Neither of you know how to dance, do you?" 

"Hell no," you're wiping away a tear, watching Rhiannon' silly grin. 

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I hope Red Velvet has an opening cause I'm about to take the world by storm," she is hardly able to finish her joke before she also bursts out laughing, doubling over and holding her stomach.

"C'mere," Mark held out a hand to you, "let's all have some fun before we have to go." 

With a smile you approach your soulmate, pressing your scarred palms to his. A newer song you don't think you've heard yet starts playing over the speakers, Yuta smiling warmly in your direction. Rhiannon joins Donhgyuck and the boys slowly begin to teach you an easy dance, laughing and having fun. 

Time flew by and eventually they had to go backstage to get changed and have makeup done by the stylists. You and Rhiannon stuck around backstage for a bit, but eventually, you decided to go find your seats. You left your backpack in the stylist room with Mark, hoping you would remember it after the show. 

"Wait!" Mark caused you to stop in your tracks on the way out, turning towards him and meeting his eyes. "I have something for you." He stands up from the makeup chair he was perched in and dug around in a cardboard box in the corner of the room. He eventually comes up with an NCT127 light stick box. 

"You really didn't have to, I could have gone out to the merchandise line," you said sheepishly as Mark handed it to you with a grin.

"It's a gift," he retorted with a smile. "I wouldn't want you to be in that line long enough for you to miss any of the performances."

"Thank you, Mark, I'll wave it higher than everyone else." You looked over at the stylist. "Can I kiss him, please?"

She nodded. "We haven't done lips yet. Go ahead." 

Excitedly you lean forward to peck Mark on the lips. "I love you, see you soon," 

"I love you too, (Y/N)," Mark held your hand for a few seconds before he had to let you leave the room and return to his chair. 

Once you had taken your seat and prepared your light stick, the lights began to fade. Other fans were being let into the venue, and soon enough the concert would start. Rhiannon looked over at you with a grin, holding up a pair of earplugs. 

"Check your light stick box," she said. "If we learned anything from seeing BTS last year is that we need these, Donghyuck packed some for me. Maybe Mark did for yours."

Peering into your box, you noticed at the bottom that there was a pair of earplugs sitting there and a note in Mark's writing.

In case you forgot. Love, Mark

You smiled at the note fondly, placing it back in the box, closing it tightly. You slipped it underneath your chair, sitting down and watching the lights dim. You just finished putting the lightstick strap around your wrists, putting the earplugs in your pocket. 

Your phone buzzed as fans began to take their seats, and smiled when you read a text from Mark. 

Mark: I hope you're ready for the show tonight

You: I've been preparing myself since I bought the tickets

Mark: I wanted to ask you something before my phone gets confiscated

You: What do you need?

Rhiannon perched her chin on your shoulder and read the texts. "Ooh," she sang. "Does he sext you?" 

"No!" You quickly dispute. "I'm not sure what he's gonna ask." 

Mark: I spoke to my manager and the guys, since I leave for Vancouver tomorrow, I wanted to know if I could spend the night at your place

You: you would really be allowed to do that?

Mark: they made a special exception, I just wanted to know if you would be comfortable with it

You: of course I would be, you are more than welcome to stay with me 

"Ooooh! I hope they made that exception for Hyuckie!" Rhiannon exclaims, taking her head off your shoulder and reaching into her pocket for her phone. 

Mark: that makes me really happy, meet me in the VIP room after the show, I will bring your backpack 

You: okay, I love you, don't overdo it

Mark: I can handle anything life throws at me, dont worry :) love you too

It felt like as soon as you put your phone down, the concert started. Any concert you've ever been to has always managed to be the fastest few hours of your life. This one was no exception - you could feel your heart pound and your chest vibrate with the beat, eyes glued to the stage before you. 

You always had problems remembering everything that took place during any show. You knew every song and you sang until your throat went raw, danced with your lightstick until your arm was sore and rolled your eyes with a smile whenever Rhiannon screamed too loudly, too close to your ear. During the concert, you forgot about life outside. You forget about your problems, your exams, graduation, everything. 

Something you would never forget, though, was every time Mark looked at you. No matter how deep in concentration he was, every time he was on stage and close to you, he would smile. His face would be glistening with sweat, his chest would heave in deep breaths during a transition, but no matter what, he always managed to grin in your direction. 

Being so close to the stage and just being at any concert always gave you a special type of high, that filled your heart with music and happiness that you sometimes felt you couldn't experience. At the end, when the boys left the stage and the lights came back on, you sat down to finish soaking it all in. 

"Agh, I'm all sweaty," was the first thing Rhiannon said since everything was all over, and you couldn't help but laugh a little. 

"I wonder why," you muse sarcastically, looking up at her from your seat with a smile. 

She looked down at you and stuck her tongue out. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" She asked. 

Your eyes widened. "Yeah. Is Donghyuck going to meet you backstage?"

She nodded. "Mhm, I'll meet up with you two later. See you in a bit." 

You gave Rhiannon a quick hug before grabbing your lightstick box and attempting to move with the crowd exiting the arena. Some of the fans that catch a glimpse of you stare as you pass by- most likely noticed that you had a backstage pass lanyard around your neck. You try to avoid eye contact with them as best you can, slipping into the staircase that leads up to the VIP rooms. 

You reached the end of the hallway, gripping the doorknob and pushing it open. The curtain was still covering the window that looked over the arena, and the small coffee table was still pushed up against it, next to the bar stools. You slipped off your shoes and sat on the couch, making yourself comfortable. It would probably be a little while before Marked joined you, so you set down your lightstick box and curled up in the corner of the cushions.

The ringing in your ears slowly faded away as your mind wandered, drifting off into a light snooze. You feel comfortable and warm, the scent of Mark still was barely noticeable in the air around you. You smiled to yourself when you thought of what Mark reminded you of- a strong campfire with fresh s'mores and the sweet summer air that lingered just outside the radius of the fire's warmth.  

There was a soft clicking sound that followed the doorknob being turned. You barely perk up when Mark enters the room, clad in his Superhuman t-shirt and black jeans. It seems all of the sweat from his performances has been wiped away, but his face is still flushed. He slips your backpack off his back and gently sets it by the door. 

"Hey, sleepy," he whispers, approaching you and kneeling before you. He gently takes your hands, kissing the knuckles. "Did you have fun?"

You smile sleepily at him. "Yeah, I had a lot of fun. You don't look tired,"

Mark continued to smile at you. "Looks can be deceiving," he says. "I just have to put some things away and then we can go."

You perk up a bit as he stands, grabbing the blanket to put inside his own backpack. "Shouldn't we wait until everyone is gone?"

Mark shrugs. "We have to go back down to see the others, that should give us some extra time so that we don't get in a streetcar where we will be swarmed." 

You nod, yawning. "Okay, I trust you." 

Mark sat down beside you once he zipped up his backpack, giving you a tired smile. He looked down at his arms, idly running a finger against the scar of his arm. "I guess we will be seeing a lot of news about this soon."

You join his gaze and frown a little. "Do you think it will be bad?" You ask, chewing on your lip. 

"No, I don't think so. At least I hope. I like to think our fandom is mature enough," Mark takes your hand for a moment and squeezes it. "Shall we go?" 

You nod and unfurl yourself to stand up. You both put on your backpacks, you put on your shoes and then head out the door together. You return backstage to meet with everyone, feeling a little surreal that you can personally compliment them on their performances. When you hug each member one last time, you barely catch yourself indulging in their scents, all unique and sweet in their own way. Rhiannon is watching you with a knowing smirk as you do, and as you hug Jungwoo you manage to stick your tongue out at her. 

It felt strange but good to go home that night with Mark. It was warm and a little lonely outside compared to how it was inside the venue during the event, but it was a nice change after being inside with a few thousand screaming people. The streetcar ride and the walk back were pleasant, making idle conversation about the concert as Rhiannon and Donghyuck walked along with you. 

Once you arrive home, everyone stumbles tiredly inside. You bring Mark's backpack into your room, and all of you play rock-paper-scissors to determine who gets to use the bathroom in order. Rhiannon, Donghyuck and Mark all destroyed you in the game, so you hang back in the kitchen to make some sleepy time tea while you waited. 

You nearly fell asleep standing in the kitchen and waiting for your kettle to finish heating up the water. Just as you're finishing preparing everyone's tea, Mark emerges from the bathroom clad in soft pyjamas and sporting freshly dried hair. 

"Is that for me?" He asked, pressing a kiss to your cheek. 

You nod at him. "If you could bring the other mugs to Rhiannon and Donghyuck too, Rhi's is the purple mug and the blue one is Donghyuck's. I'm going to go freshen up." 

Mark nods at you with a smile. Briefly holding your hand as you make your way into the bathroom. You shower quickly, not bothering to pamper yourself. Once you get out, you dry your hair thoroughly with a towel, sighing at the feeling of massaging your scalp. 

Once you exit the bathroom, clad in your own pyjamas, you see that Mark is still in the kitchen, clutching his mug of tea. 

"Feel better?" He asks, taking a quick sip.

"Mm," you answer, "I'm just about ready to pass out," 

"I made you a mug of tea if you want it. Half-full." Mark smiles when you gently return his earlier cheek kiss. 

You reach forward and grab the warm Dragon Ball Z mug to take a few quick mouthfuls of perfect tea. "Thank you," you say, "I had a really great day today." 

"Me too," Mark grins sleepily, "but I'm ready to sleep."

"You and me both." You place your mug in the sink. Mark follows suit, gently taking your hand as you lead him to your room. When you pass the living room you notice it's empty, so you assume Rhiannon and Donghyuck have already both gone to sleep. 

Once you open the door to your room, you feel so much more relaxed and comfortable. You beckon Mark in, sheepishly smiling as you begin to relocate your mountain of stuffed animals. There's not much light since you hadn't turned any on, but a streak of moonlight is seeping in through your curtains, enough that some things in your room are clear to see.

"Your room is very cosy," he compliments, taking a seat on the edge of your bed and running his hand along the fabric. 

"I spend a lot of time here, so I like to make it as comfortable as possible,"

Mark nods with a small smile. "Oh, I almost forgot."

"Forgot what?" You watch him curiously as he stands and moves to his backpack, unzipping it and rummaging for a few seconds before pulling out the fuzzy polar bear plush. 

"This belongs to you," he says, tucking it under the covers before taking his seat again. "We should keep him comfy."

You grin at him, "thank you for not thinking I'm weird for asking about it,"

He shakes his head, "anything to help while I'm gone," he comments, trailing off as he continues to observe the contents of your room, and you blush once you realize Mark has spotted some photo cards stuck onto the edge of the shelf above your computer desk. 

"I see you have everyone here," he comments with a smile. "Including…"

"Day6," you answer sheepishly, inviting yourself under the covers. "Come cuddle?" 

Mark chuckles lightly and complies. He pulls back his side of the covers and slides in, immediately moving to drape an arm over your side. He blinks slowly, smiling warmly as his eyes search your face. 

You bring a hand up to lightly run your hand through his hair, massaging his scalp gently. He closes his eyes and hums with contentment.

"I love you," he whispers, pressing a kiss to your forehead. 

"I love you, too." You manage to drift off easily that night, content to sleep in Mark's arms.

[thestruidora]

Landslide

The Avengers (MCU) Fanfiction

Rating: Explicit

WARNINGS: This story will contain but it’ll not be limited to explicit 18+ content including Obsessive Behavior, Smut, Shower Sex, Edging, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Fluff, Oral Sex, thigh riding, Dirty Talk, Praise Kink, Jealousy, Possessive Behavior, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Dominance, Submission, Knotting, Scenting, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Rutting, Rut Sickness

Category: F/M

Pairings: Steve Rogers/Reader, Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanov

Summary: Steve was never quite sure if he truly was an alpha. Genetically he should be, coming from a long line of alpha males. But due to the several health conditions in his youth, his poorly functioning body never presented. But now, because of the serum reacting to his true designation, a terrible case of rut sickness takes hold of the super soldier, threatening his life. Being a beta, Natasha can’t offer him what he needs, and since omegas are rarer today then ever, she is forced to hire a foreign girl to tend to Steve during these desperate times.

Author’s notes: So the reader is finally introduced in this chapter, and since she is foreign and I’m Brazilian, she’ll be from Brazil as well, as is easier for me to include a language that I already know (Portuguese) and also cultural curiosities. But our similarities stop there, I’m not trying to make the reader into me, that’d totally defeat the point of writing a reader insert story.

Shout outs: @captainchrisstan, @keenkiddeputynickel, @danidv011, @ballyhoobarnes, @pophbfdsxa, @crashbarbie, @readermia, @musicnowandforever661

Thank you so much for you guy’s support!

Chapter Three

For those who missed it >>

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Miscommunication

“This not a good idea.” Bucky spoke, for what it seemed to be the hundredth time.

“So you’ve said, over and over again. I didn’t ask you to come, you know? ” Natasha sighed, focused on steadfastly driving the plane, her hands firmly planted on each side of the control wheel. “He’s in pain, Barnes. And if Bruce’s right about his diagnosis, it’s only going to get worse.”

“I’m the last person in the world who wants to see Steve suffering. He’s my best friend, Romanoff.” The Soldier’s shoulders were tense as he looked straight out of the aircraft's window, seeing the big building in the approaching horizon. “But we have to think about what he would want for a second. I mean, he fights to get these kinds  of places shut down.”

“Well, Captain America’s moral code is the least of my worries right now.” The redhead’s voice came out in a harsh bark, jaw clenched as she smoothly landed the machine. Once the engines stopped and they took off their seat-belts, she looked over at Bucky, who’s face was series and unreadable. Before he could get up, she stopped him. “Look, I despise this too. But we’ve looked everywhere, Barnes. This is the only way and I… And we have to save him.”

Bucky shook his head, eyebrows knotted in a frown, but eventually opened his expression to her, knowing she was right.

“When he finds out that we came here…” He murmured, letting out a long breath and getting up from his seat, Natasha hot on his tail as they left the plane.

“He’s not going to find out.” She said, voice low but never faltering. He stopped dead in his track, noticing the obvious threat in the Russian Agent’s voice. She kept walking as if nothing happened, never looking back, her stride straight and calm. “Right?”

He looked up at the imposing structure of the building ahead of them, the entire place looked dark and mono-toned, as if it had come out of a horror picture. It was a skyscraper, tall with many floors and windows. Tons and tons of windows, all square and sealed with fat metal bars. A shiver went up his spine when he thought of what was being kept inside of that prison, and Bucky wondered if Steve not knowing about any of this wasn’t for the best after all.

“Right.” He let out, following her to the entry with reluctant feelings.

They stopped at a massive closed gate, noting the security cameras surrounding the whole area. Natasha approached the scanning mechanism at the superior right corner of the iron door, letting it scan her retina. After a couple of seconds, a loud buzzing ringed through their ears and the gate opened slowly.

Surprisingly, the place looked extremely luxurious, thou clean and minimalist. There was a grand open space, completely grassed and filled with flowers, like a secret private garden. There were a couple of trees with comfortable-looking swings on them, providing a welcoming shadow to cool off in summer days. But at the sides of the garden, they could also see two tall stone towers, where armed man monitored Natasha and Bucky’s every move.

Stunned at the juxtaposition of the whole thing, they kept walking towards a fancier looking door than the ones before, this one made of a glass-like material that led to a reception area, where they could see a blonde woman typing away in her computer. Her posture was straight and her physique was lean. Her hair was pulled back in a slick bun, not a single strand out of place, making her forehead look bigger than probably was in reality.

There were a few leather sofas on the lounge, but not one single person in the waiting room but the receptionist, and with the level of security and organization of the place, both agents were willing to bet that whoever came there, didn’t have to wait around for long.

“Merhaba, size nasıl yardımcı olabilirim?” The receptionist spoke once they approached her, not ever looking up from the keyboard she typed on, her clear polished nails nothing but a blur as her fingers moved at top speed.

“Hum… ” Natasha turned to look at Bucky for a second, checking to see if he knew Turkish, because that was, unfortunately, one of the few languages that she was not fluent on. But the brunet simply shrugged, looking at her with an impassive expression taking over his features . “Hi!” She tried, and the second that that simple English word left her lips, the blonde woman behind the desk quit typing, her hands stopping mid-air as she finally looked up at them, a spooked look in her face, her skin tone getting even paler than before, almost as if she had just seen a ghost. “We’re here to speak with Mr. Bürsin, actually.” Natasha continued, sharing an uncertain look with Bucky due to the woman’s reaction .

“You are Natasha Romanoff? Mr. Bürsin had already let me know you were coming, but I was told that you’re Russian and… Alone.” She had a tick accent a strict-looking face, even though her scared expression, her royal-blue blazer just a little too tight for her chesty frame.

“Well, there was a minor change of plans.” Romanoff’s voice and posture shifted, mimicking the blond’s, an old manipulation tactic that always seemed to work on Alpha females, like this one, her pheromones strongly wafting out, overpowering her overly sweet perfume and making Bucky want to growl, but instead, he simply rolled his eyes, not at all caring about the dissatisfaction that his presence caused . “I’m sure he won’t mind, thou.”

“I’m sure he will.” With a frown she picked up the phone on her desk, dialing only one number and then proceeding to have a long conservation in Turkish, before finally hanging up. “Mr. Bürsin will see you now.” She gave off a tight smile , knuckles turning white while she still held on to the phone, and before they could move, she spoke again. “But only Miss Romanoff, not the Alpha.”

“What?” Natasha and Bucky said at the same time.

“Why?” The redhead crossed her arms under her breasts, trying really hard not to get visually annoyed.

“Ma'am, we have protocols in place, he cannot come in.” The woman’s tone was polite, but still condescending.

“Don’t ‘ma’am’ me. Do I look like a ma’am to you?” Her eyebrows shot up, completely giving up on the previous plan by now. “I’m probably younger than you.”

When the receptionist expression didn’t change, Bucky touched the Russian woman in the arm, getting her attention.

“Romanoff, it’s fine.”

“No, you-”

“This is more important than any of that, remember why we’re here.” His voice was but a whisper, so that only she could hear. “Besides, I pity the fool that tries to mess with you. You can handle yourself, with or without me.” She smiled at that, looking at him for a while before nodding.

“Alright, let’s go.” Natasha said, giving the blonde a pointed look as she got up from her seat and away from her desk, starting to walk towards one of the many corridors of the building.

“Follow me, please.” Her accent hanged heavy, her hips swinging while she strode atop of her hills.

In the hall, Natasha saw many doors, all closed and guarded b y strong, armed man. There was an ample opening at the end of the hall, where the receptionist stopped, indicating for her to continue with a nod of the head.

When she walked in, noting as the woman closed the door behind her, she almost blacked out from the sheer smell of the room. The whole place looked sterile, but still reeked of Omega pheromones. Even for Natasha, a Beta, it was dizzying. Now she understood why it was so imperative that Bucky was not allowed to come inside.

The room was packed full of chairs, placed in a big circle that led to a stage. There were only man sitting in those chairs, all extremely well dressed. Some old, some young, but all clearly rich. Not one of them gave her a second glance, all to focused on what was about to happen on that stage. There was a narrow hallway in the center, in between all of the chairs. And right next to the stage, in a front-row seat, she saw the back of his head, and noticed the empty seat next to his.

Making a beeline for it, she sat down, yearning desperately for a take of fresh air right about now that she was so close to the stage, where the Omega smell was the strongest, being slowly mixed with all of those Alpha’s scents.

“Do me a favor and warn me next time you bring a friend, will you?” Emir Bürsin’s voice was low and raspy, the light golden hair in his head tinning out and turning grey with age. But still, he was a very handsome man. Strong and muscular, but not bulky, with long, big arms straining inside of this tailored suit jacket.

“There will be no next time.” Natasha was quick to answer, not at all impressed by his imposing build. He gave her one fast look, a crooked smile plastered on his face as he sat down in his front-row chair like a king, legs crossed in a nonchalant display.

“Oh, I bet. Once you try one of my girls, you’ll never want for seconds.” His smile became even bigger when Natasha couldn’t control the disgusted look in her eyes. “But you’re not shopping for yourself today, are you, Widow?”

She didn’t appreciate the use of the nickname, turning to stare at the stage as the lights of the room stared dimming and a cold-toned spotlight shone brightly at the center of the stage.

“No, definitely not.” He laughed to himself as she continued to ignore his remarks, frowning a bit when slow background music started to play. “You know, in this business people talk. And I happened to hear such an interesting tale.”

“I’m dying to hear it.” She murmured, the sarcasm strongly embedded in her features by then.

“I heard- oh, thank you.” He was cut off as different Beta woman, clearly assistants of the place, began to give out number plates to each and every man sitting in the room, making a point not to give one to Natasha. She frowned again at that, getting more and more confused by the minute. As they continued to work the room, he proceeded . “I heard that one of your brand-new, shiny superhero friends got himself into a pretty sticky situation, if you know what I mean. Apparently — and again, this all word-of-mouth —, he succumbed into such a bad rut, that he may actually die if he doesn’t get his hands on an Omega, can you imagine that ? Dying from horniness?”

His scoff was loud on Natasha’s ears, and she never had to restrain herself from punching someone so bad.

“And after years without speaking, completely out of the blue, you call me up to ask for a favor.” A man appeared on stage and, wearing a suit and tie, he stood behind a podium, turning on the microphone in front of him and shuffling through cards. “And that favor just so happens to be exactly what our favorite Captain needs to survive, isn’t that such a funny coincidence? Don’t you just love when the universe plays this crazy pranks on us? I mean, what are the odds of these two situations not being connected?”

By the time he was done, the man on stage had started to talk in Turkish, and the audience cheered on to whatever he was saying.

“What do you want to keep your mouth shut about this, Emir? More money?” Natasha asked, mouth forming a little circle when an entirely naked woman entered the stage, s topping in the middle of the stoplight. Her hands were mechanically stuck to her sides, her limbs clearly trembling as she just stood there, completely exposed for those man’s eyes.

“Money? Fuck money, I got enough of that. I want security.” Natasha wasn’t fully processing the conversation at that point, looking over at Emir who had picked up his number plate and put it up, waiting for it to get acknowledged by the man behind the podium before putting it down.

“What do you mean?” Her lips were moving, she knew she was forming words, but a big part of her brain wasn’t truly there.

Her eyes scanned throughout the room, seeing as other men were also putting their plates up, and that’s finally when it hit her. Her blood ran cold when she realized what was happening, and her vision got stuck on that poor girl standing there, her body shaven from eyebrows down, beginning to follow the instructions of the spokesman, turning around to show the audience her form from behind, and them proceeding to slightly open her legs to show the inside of…

Natasha closed her eyes, not wanting to see more, turning so that Emir couldn’t see her face. She felt like throwing up, a little lightheaded as well. So this was what he did here, he ran auctions, Omega auctions.

“I want the security of knowing that no matter what happens, neither you or anyone of your super assholes are going to come busting through here and ruin my business, that’s what I want.” She tried swallowing down the knot that had formed in her throat, putting on her best poker face to look back at him, only to find the man smiling over winning the bidding. He turned to her, putting the plate down on his lap as the girl left the stage and another waked in right after. “ Do we have an understanding ?”

“We do.” The steadiness of her voice shocked even Natasha herself, but Emir didn’t seem to notice a thing, looking comfortable and relaxed, not taken aback one bit by the situation that was taken place.

“Lovely.” He quickly got up, leaving the number plate on top of his seat, and closed his jacket, exaggerating the slimness of his waist. “So, now that we got that out of the way, do you want to come and meet the present that I hand-wrapped for Mr. Rogers myself?”

Natasha got up as well, trying to ignore the raging feeling running through her body, forcing herself to think of Steve, to think back to the reason she was there, and nod in response to his question, instead of doing what she really would like to, which would be betting him into a pulp.

“I just hope I got the right size.” He chirped as they star ted walking out of the auction room, out into the corridor and entering one of the many doors, where a small bedroom was home to a frightened-looking young woman.

*

Everything hurt.

His whole body ached, literally. He could literally feel the muscles underneath his skin contracting and expanding, and the pain was all so bad. He could feel his lungs enlarging as he breathed air in and shrinking as he exhaled it out, and the burn was almost maddening.

This wasn’t what a normal rut was supposed to feel like, of that Steve was sure. No other person should ever have to feel the way he was feeling, ever.

This was hell.

His own bedroom ha d become hell.

His back was pressed to the bed, the sheets were so soaked with sweat that he felt like he could drown. He tried showering, but that had been a bad idea altogether.

He hated the hellfire that his skin had become, that he had passed the point of feverish a long time ago and now whenever the cold water hit his flesh, vapor could be seen wafting through the air.

But that wasn’t even the worst part, it was the smell. The simple smell of soap, from that ‘vintage’ brand that tries to recreate the classic scents from older eras, the one that he used to love. Now, that smell made him want to trow up.

Now, most smells around his house hit him differently, making his stomach turn and nausea overtake him. He definitely hasn’t eaten in a while, he could see it too, in the quick passing glances he gives to the mirror, how skinnier he has gotten.

The bed is the only place where he doesn’t feel like putting his guts out. Because it smells of him. Only him, and nothing else. No one else. Isn’t that sad? That his body so desperately earns for another, but since it can’t have it, it prefers to slowly shut down and die alone.

All of a sudden, the doorbell rang, and Steve berried his face in his pillow, a growling noise involuntarily coming from his chest at the idea of having to come to the door. That was the worst part of his apartment. The one that smelled the least like him and more like others, especially like Alphas. Oh, god, he hates Alphas. And yes, that includes himself.

“Steve?” He could hear a female voice from outside the door, calling out to him, and the Alpha inside got excited for a second, before the scent of Beta hit his nose, making his face contour into a grimace. “It’s Natasha, can I come in?”

He could hear keys jiggling before he could even answer. Hadn’t he made her give him the keys to his apartment last time?

“No!” He screamed at her, his voice hoarse due to the lack of use.

He wanted to die, in private, was that so hard to understand?

“Well, too bad.” He could hear when she closed the door behind her and began walking towards his room.

“Don’t come in.” He barked as her shadow stopped outside of his door, which was almost completely closed, if not by a tiny slit.

“What? Why?”

Because your mere presence makes me want to break every single square inch of this bedroom while I trow up on top of the debris. That’s what he wanted to say, but instead- “I’m naked.”

“I’ve seen you naked already.” She sighed from behind the barrier that separated her from entering his room, invading his space. And he really didn’t want to be rude to her, not again, but Natasha could be really push y , and it’s not like he could control most of the words that come out of his mouth in the state’s his in.

“And I didn’t like it then, nor will I like it now.” He tried to stop the relief that rushed through him when he heard her murmur a small ‘ok’. “What do you want, Nat?”

“Look, we don’t have much time now, and Banner says the only thing that’s keeping you alive after all these days suffering through what your body’s been suffering is also the thing that made you sick in the first place: the serum. He says that the only thing that you’ll get better and survive this, is seeing your rut out with an Omega.”

At the mere mention of the word, his dick twitched, a wave of pleasure-laced pain cutting through his lower body, and Steve had to contain a moan, embarrassment warming his cheeks even more than they already were.

“I already heard all that before, Nat. I know my situation, but it’s too late now.” He gritted his teeth against each other, getting pretty good at coasting through the pain by then. “And I’m fine with that.”

“But it doesn’t have to be like that.” Maybe she could hear his eyes rolling, because before he tried to ask her to leave once more she spoke again. “Listen, Steve, I know you didn’t want anyone to know about what is happening to you, and I wanted to respect that, but I… But none of us could just sit by and watch you die.”

Her mouth was suddenly dry, her vocal cords scraping against each other ruggedly, creating an unpleasant sound and making it clear that she was nervous, but Steve let her continue, his heart beating faster with her every word.

“So Tony put out an ad, letting people know that Captain America was in need of help, and if any Omega out there was willing they could come to the facility and get tested to see if they were compatible with you. A lot of women showed up — shocker —,” She let out a humorless laugh, listening to nothing but silence in return, “but most of them weren’t even Omegas, and the ones that were weren’t compatible with you. But finally, yesterday, this foreign girl showed up, she doesn’t know much English, but she says that you saved her in Sokovia and that she’d like to save you now. So, if you still want me to go and leave you be, I will, but if you’re done with this whole self-loathing and self-harm thing, I could invite her in, and you two could have tons of savage sex and also not die.”

A long time went by after that, a long period of silence, where only Steve’s labored breathing could be heard. He didn’t say anything, but that wasn’t intentional. He was stunned, actually, still trying to digest everything that Natasha had said. Considering every word, processing it slower than he usually would in his natural state.

“Steve?” The redhead’s voice ringed, waking him up from his trance. “Did you even hear what I said?”

“She’s outside?!” Was the first thing that he could think of saying, voice strained, sounding a little scared, even.

“Yeah, me and Bruce brought her over. Like I said, she knows very little English but she was clear on the fact that she wanted to help you.”

“And we’re compatible?”

“Yes!”

“Are you sure?”

“Oh, my God. Just put some clothes on and get out here!” She demanded, bossy as always, but his Alpha wouldn’t take that, not right now. A loud growl emerged from him, and Steve had to physically restrain himself from breaking something.

Still, he took a deep breath, his head hurt so bad that he wasn’t sure he was capable of getting up. But he pushed through, having to hold his head with both hands to try and make the room stop spinning. Very slowly he got out of bed, immediately missing the familiarity that it provided him.

He looked over at his closet, seeing all of his clothes laid out neatly, and only the thought of having any of that fabric on top of his skin was painful enough to make him give up on that premise entirely and put on his robe instead. Th e feel of it was still very much wrong, but knowing that he would be able to take it off much quicker than any other piece of clothing was just a little more soothing.

If there was one thing you needed to understand about Steve Rogers, is that he was a planner. He not only loved to plan, he was good at it too. He’d plan his missions, his day s , his meals, everything meticulously. That was when he was at he’s most comfortable, making up a plan and following it through. He wasn’t completely against making things up as he went, but saying that it didn’t make him anxious would be a lie.

He always preferred to know how things were going to play out, and this wasn’t any different. He had already created a route for this whole rut sickness deal: he was slowing going to die alone inside of his room, leave his shield to Sam and his comic book collection to Bucky, maybe his record player and records would go to Tony, and he would leave that pretty brooch he got from his mom to Natasha. That was it. It was a date.

But all of that changed now and he had to reroute his way around this. And that’s precisely what he was doing as he approached the door, already having wrapped himself in his robe.

He was going to go out there, tell this poor girl that she didn’t owe him anything, that he was happy to know that he had saved her life in Sokovia, and that she should go out into the world and find love, not wait around like had. Then he would apologize for his friends bringing her here, tell them all to leave him alone for good, and he’d even keep his posture throughout the whole ordeal.

That was the new plan, and he was happy with it. Yeah, this was good. This could work.

“Finally.” Steve heard Natasha say when he left his bedroom, entering the living room, a weird fuzzy feeling catching a hold of him for some reason. “So, can I tell Banner to let her in?”

He simply nodded, not sure what to do with a different kind of sensation starting in his lower abdomen. It wasn’t necessarily good, but it wasn’t bad either, which was surprising, because all he could feel of lately was bad. An uneasy, unplaceable feeling forming. And it was something completely new. Was it… Excitement?

Natasha opened the entry door of his apartment again, getting out but leaving it open. He could hear her and Bruce talking softly in the hallway, but he didn’t care to try to understand what they were saying, he didn’t care about anything, not anymore.

Because even before they walked back in, with a young woman following close behind them, with her hair pulled back and a makeup clean face, eyes glued to the ground and hands closed together in front of her body, he had already smelled her. He had already taken a big whiff of that intoxicating scent, goosebumps staring at the back of his neck, travelling all the way to his cock and making it leak precum. He had already set his eyes on that Omega.

And by then, he knew.

Fuck the plan.