#verbjectives

“Now, Sydney, love of my life, gorgeous mother to my equally beautiful children,  it’s Christmas so don’t be mad, but I think I left the cookies at hom-”

“They’re here, Daddy!” Their 9 year-old daughter Madeline announced happily, holding up a small pink box of said cookies from their favorite cookie shop. 

Harry sighed in relief heavily. Then he grinned like he didn't just confess to almost forgetting the one food item the Flynns were supposed to bring to the party. 

“As reliable as always, Maddie, love. You know, you get that from me,” Harry said smugly as he patted Maddie’s head, making the little girl laugh.

Sydney rolled her eyes as she and her family walked up to the front door of the Adler mansion, carrying gifts and toys for their annual get together. 

Usually the two families took turns in hosting but the Adlers volunteered to host that year’s celebration since it would be their new baby’s first Christmas. 

It was an even more special occasion. Which meant special cookies.

Almond - How seriously does your muse take their promises? How inclined are they to make them?

He takes them Very seriously. Merit’s Honor is dependent on his word, literally in terms of Summer Court, which are the only terms Merit was raised to care for. This said, he does not make them very often, to the point where he’ll even say “I promise you nothing, but--” when talking w/folks abt plans or similar. 

Angrec - Describe a royalty au with your muse. What position would your muse be in? How would they feel about their station?

Oooh. This is really fun, but also funny because... our D&D campaign posts our sessions, right? Like, we’re not a Show like CritRole and have never claimed to be, but our sessions are Out There somewhere. and there is one person who solidly watches them as a fan. Their name is Nava @damnedtreasure and I mention all of that to say this: Nava has written fic abt our campaign, and in fact they are writing a fae regency AU in which Merit is the King of Summer, and Noah is a new wanderer into the Wilds. They way they’ve handled it and the relationship of the Wilds to the Material plane is different from how I’d have done it, but 1) that’s the Point of fanfic 2) I delight in that so much. 

THAT LONG WINDED ASIDE WITH PROMOTION DONE... To me, a Royalty AU does entail being, well, Royalty, but it depends on how deep we’re looking to go. Is it still the Summer Court he’s a part of, and it’s similar to Nava’s fic in which he is King? Or do we play the more likely-to-canon card that he is a Lord, not unlike his Lord Kilan himself, or a diplomat only within the Queen’s graces than outright a part of the royal family? Or do we entirely expand on the idea of a faerie kingdom more separate from the Summer Court, in which Merit is a (possibly illegitimate?) Prince to his mother, who is Queen? 

If he were an aide to the Queen, he would be proud most likely, as he might have still had to climb a hard social ladder to get there. If we stick to his being prince, well... I like that idea a lot bc it reflects some of how he felt and what his life was growing up in canon. As a Prince outright, Merit would feel blessed with good charm and grace, but stifled under his mother’s care. I can’t imagine him being ready to take the crown either though, not quite wizened enough to the world to be a good ruler. 

Aster - How quick is your muse to trust in a relationship? What conditions have to be satisfied in order for them to trust their partner? What is the quickest way to break that trust?

Depends greatly on his first few impressions of someone, but he still trusts fairly fast if you don’t give him reason not to. Also depends on the context you’re from: you’re a guildmate from the Horned Hail? You met Margrae, Merit trust Margrae, you’re at least mostly fine. You’re from the Faewilds also? He’s glad to meet you and see someone from the Court! You are on his “Don’t Trust” Radar! 

Don’t lie to him and do even small things for him, or say you’re thinking of him and you’ll get a least a lil bit of trust enough to build up into Full Trust. Getting his Full Trust also requires at least one (1) heart-to-heart, with at least vague references to your backstory and/or past traumas. 

And yeah, if you lie* to him? Or, God forbid, betray him??? Not only will that break his trust in you, you might wanna keep an eye out for any arrows or daggers coming your way, because he doesn’t take it lightly At All, and betrayal esp turns his Fae Mode on and he’s likely to hurt if not kill you in his spiteful rage next time he sees you. 

*he’s been learning through his travels to let go of smaller lies, i.e. Reverence making a joke that is definitely a lie, letting his friends lie is also mostly fine in his head since it’s their lie and likely for a better good than blatantly spouting the truth, which Merit’s not a fan of doing either. But if you lie straight to his face? mmmnnnn BAD.

Balsam - When your muse falls in love, how hard do they fall? Do they outwardly express their passion?

WOOF.  O O F. 

For Merit to fall in love, it’d have to be a slow thing he just never noticed until it smacks him in the face, if he ever notices it and not just. bury it under denial. Merit may not fall fast, but he’ll have to fall hard to fall at all, is the thing. 

As for expressing this passion... He will never say “I love you”, because that holds a power he is afraid of, but he’ll show it physically. And not just in the 👀 way, I mean in actions of protecting his love, tender touches (not necessarily PDA, but still) 

personality:

grating / irritating / frustrating / boring / confusing at best / awkward / unreasonable / psychotic / disturbing / interesting / engaging / affectionate / aggressive / ambitious / anxious / artistic / bad tempered / bossy / charismatic / appealing / unappealing / creative / courageous / dependable / unreliable / unpredictable / predictable / devious / dim / extroverted / introverted / egotistical / gregarious / fabulous / impulsive / intelligent / sympathetic / talkative / up beat / peaceful / calming / badass / flexible.

how likely they would have sex with them:

not if they were the last person on earth and the world was ending / fuck no! / never / no way / not likely / not sure / indifferent / I’m asexual / maybe / probably / it depends / fairly likely / likely / yeah sure / yes / would tap that / hell yes / fuck yes! / wishing that could happen right now / as many times as possible / we are already having sex.

level of friendship:

never in a million years / worst of enemies / enemies / rivals / indifferent / neutral / acquaintance / friendly toward each other / casual friends / friends / good friends / best friends / fuck buddies / bosom buddies / practically the same person / would die for them / true friends / my only friend.

first impression of them:

i hate them so much / i don’t like them / i don’t trust them / they annoy me / they’re weird / I’m indifferent / meh / they seem alright / they’re growing on me / truce / I think I like them / I like them / I’m not sure if I trust them / I trust them / they’re cool / they’re genuine / I think we’re going to get along / I really like them / I think I’m in love / oh fuck they’re hot / I love them.

current impression of them:

i hate them so much / i don’t like them / i don’t trust them / they annoy me / they’re weird / I’m indifferent / meh / they seem alright / they’re growing on me / truce / I think I like them / I like them / I’m not sure if I trust them / I trust them / they’re cool / they’re genuine / I think we’re going to get along / I really like them / I think I’m in love / oh fuck they’re hot / I love them.

author’s notes:

the first thing you need to know about lily is that while she usually leans towards the good end of the scale despite being firmly neutral re: morality, she’s also a massive enabler who doesn’t know how to let anything go. she’s a stand by your man bitch. a “everything i’ve ever let go have has claw marks” bitch. a masochist, if you will. i can absolutely see them hitting it off pre-reaping — lily’s father was also a piece of shit, and what better to bond over than Piece Of Shit Fathers? and then comes the reaping, and syb’s inevitable slow shift over to the dark side so to speak. lily’s an idiot, but she’s not blind. she’d watch it happen real time, powerless to stop it but unable to actually walk away in any real capacity. shakespearean tragedy yuri, if you will.

— BEAU

attractiveness:

repulsive / hideous / ugly / not attractive / unappealing / not unattractive / meh / no preference / ok / mildly attractive / nice looking / cute / adorable / attractive / pleasant on the eyes / good looking / hot / sexy / beautiful / gorgeous / hot damn / would tap that / perfect / godlike / holy fuck there are no words.

personality:

grating / irritating / frustrating / boring / confusing at best / awkward / unreasonable / psychotic / disturbing / interesting / engaging / affectionate / aggressive / ambitious / anxious / artistic / bad tempered / bossy / charismatic / appealing / unappealing / creative / courageous / dependable / unreliable / unpredictable / predictable / devious / dim / extroverted / introverted / egotistical / gregarious / fabulous / impulsive / intelligent / sympathetic / talkative / up beat / peaceful / calming / badass / flexible.

how likely they would have sex with them:

not if they were the last person on earth and the world was ending / fuck no! / never / no way / not likely / not sure / indifferent / I’m asexual / maybe / probably / it depends / fairly likely / likely / yeah sure / yes / would tap that / hell yes / fuck yes! / wishing that could happen right now / as many times as possible / we are already having sex.

level of friendship:

never in a million years / worst of enemies / enemies / rivals / indifferent / neutral / acquaintance / friendly toward each other / casual friends / friends / good friends / best friends / fuck buddies / bosom buddies / practically the same person / would die for them / true friends / my only friend.

first impression of them:

i hate them so much / i don’t like them / i don’t trust them / they annoy me / they’re weird / I’m indifferent / meh / they seem alright / they’re growing on me / truce / I think I like them / I like them / I’m not sure if I trust them / I trust them / they’re cool / they’re genuine / I think we’re going to get along / I really like them / I think I’m in love / oh fuck they’re hot / I love them.

current impression of them:

i hate them so much / i don’t like them / i don’t trust them / they annoy me / they’re weird / I’m indifferent / meh / they seem alright / they’re growing on me / truce / I think I like them / I like them / I’m not sure if I trust them / I trust them / they’re cool / they’re genuine / I think we’re going to get along / I really like them / I think I’m in love / oh fuck they’re hot / I love them.

author’s notes:

so. the way beau approaches interpersonal relationships is so fucked that none of the above options even began to properly cover it. simply put: syb would piss him right off until the exact moment he realizes that she could be a tool to wield. initially, he’d find her passively attractive, but not his usual type. what would really spark for him is the undercurrent of darkness in her, a hint of violence that’s also tinged with submission. beau is very jacob-esque in the sense that he hates being publicly challenged, but he does get a bit of a thrill when a woman challenges him privately. he has never, ever felt in control of anything in his entire life, and i think that’s exactly what he would angle for with syb: utter control.

fear: What is your OC's greatest fear? What do they do when confronted with it? Are they open with their fear, or do they hide it away?

— LILY

Being alone in the end. I said before that she’s somewhat comfortable in her loneliness, but the thought of being lonely until the end is genuinely her greatest fear. Lily is a certified Lover Girl and, despite being a bit uneasy (and let’s face it — difficult) about the process of actually opening up, does want to love and be loved so desperately it makes her chest ache. It’s hard for her to verbally express, but it’s plain to see in the way she loves.

— KAT

Being found unworthy. Oh, man. I could wax poetic for hours about the way that being Faith’s Special Little Guy fills her with purpose in the way that nothing ever has. Kat was born into new money, with access to luxury most people could only dream about, and she’s never felt as complete as she did when that woman made her high priestess. Hearing the whispers of the Faiths that came before Rachel terrify her (fun fact — the first version of this current, redone Kat saw her being groomed as the next Faith) and remind her constantly how disposable they all are. It’s something she only ever expresses to Faith privately in fear of her uneasiness being misconstrued as disbelief or disloyalty, but it is, at all times, raging inside her.

hide: What does your OC hide? Why do they hide it?

— LILY

Anything about herself beyond the surface level facts. Lily is very insular (despite her gnawing need to Give Herself Entirely To One Person) and over the years has grown very, very good at entertaining conversation and friendship without ever actually having to offer much about herself. She’s often quite embarrassed by her upbringing and the trauma that went hand in hand with it, and it’s not something she shares voluntarily. She needs to be peeled open layer by layer. Like an onion.

— KAT

The biggest thing? She’s terrified of Joseph, and does her absolute best to avoid him whenever she possibly can. She’s still loyal, and for the most part believes his Word wholeheartedly, but something about him triggers an instant fear response whenever he’s near, which… is pretty interesting coming the drowned rat living dead girl. A smaller (or rather less consequential in her eyes) thing would be her physical and mental decline due to continued Bliss use/exposure. When the little signs begin (hair loss, tremors, memory/cognitive issues) she hides them as well as she can manage.

mistake: What's the worst mistake your OC ever made? What led to them making it? Have they been able to fix it? How have they moved on?

— LILY

There’s a few reoccurring mistakes she loves to make, and they almost always revolve around the men in her life. Any time she hunts down her father for any reason, it’s a bad time. William doesn’t want to see her. She doesn’t really want to see William. But every so often, something in or around her claims otherwise, whether it be a therapist or perhaps some bullshit article on daddy issues that triggered one of the, at best, three good memories she has of the man. It ends badly every. Single. Time.

The second is, of course, giving every bit of herself to a man who 1) doesn’t deserve it and/or 2) happily devours every bit until there’s nothing left. It goes back to her own desperation to be loved, and the fear that if she loses her current partner, there won’t be anyone else in the world left to love her. She’s fine. Super well adjusted. Therapy could probably fix her, but… well. Y’know.

— KAT