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tryst-art-archive · 2 years

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Do-Overs: La Cirque 1

Hard, apathetic concrete stared up at the gray sky from which rained down droplets of half-water, half-ice. The pavement hardly cared that the icy rain was doing its absolute best to erode the man-made rock away. Renée, however, was far more concerned with the rain – and more so the small, pin-head sized bits of hail hiding in its ranks.

Renée’s mood was a foul one and one less inclined to sympathize with the girl would have laughed to think that the present weather was, simply, the figurative, cartoon storm clouds forming over her head.

Naturally, the weather had gotten her down, but that “getting down” was more of a dropping farther down from an already fairly awful mood. Certainly, joining the circus had seemed like a brilliant idea, and it was wonderful fun, and something she enjoyed immensely. She wouldn’t give it up for the world! What she would give up, however, was Darien.

Darien! Pretty little He-Man with the acrobatic skills of two men and a face that made the younger girls - and, indeed, some of the older ones, too - in the cirque swoon. Damn his daring, dashing, lovely locks all to hell; so help Renée if she had to see that oh so parfait face one more time!

Who needed coy flirtations and distracting quirks of an eyebrow? Particularly when absolutely everyone indulged themselves in a moment’s meaningless attention that consisted entirely of batting eyelashes and statements declaring one’s bravado. Certainly not Renée! But, of course, that just caused Darien’s twisted little mind to make the decision to bother Renée: In moments Renée had become the envy of a legion of pretty faces, talented air-hangers, acrobats, singers, dancers, performers, clowns, tight-rope walkers, script writers, composers, lyrical talents, jugglers, fire-eaters, muscle ladies (and a handful of muscle men), and a whole host of other oddities.

You really had to wonder where these people came from.

“Renée, hun!” Floe was a boisterous American girl from somewhere in Louisiana who was the proud owner of a strong, lilting accent and who had an affinity for calling people “hun,” “honey,” “darling,” and “dear.” She was also strongly “addicted” to rainbows and Renée had never seen her hair reach beyond her chin – if even to there. In addition to all of that, Floe was Renée’s best friend in the cirque and usually knew Renée better than the ballerina knew herself.

Lastly, Floe was completely insane, most of the time.

“Morning, Floe,” Renée mumbled as the brightly colored dancer swung her arms about Renée in an embrace of hyperactive friendship. “And I won’t say that it’s a good one, since it plainly isn’t. How are you?”

“I,” Floe declared, throwing a theatrical hand into the air and placing the other ‘pon her breast, “am wonderful.” Her manner immediately altered to that of an excited schoolgirl, whispering the latest gossip between classes. “I’ve just met the most amazing fille. I daresay, she is the manifestation of Venus herself!” She burst into a brief fit of giggles – drunk on her own giddy happiness.

“Ah,” Renée began with a wink. “L’amour!”

“Most certainly,” Floe nodded, proceeding Renée into the cirque tent. “Most adorable thing I ever saw. You’ll have to meet her, of course.”

“Of course,” Renée agreed, though a little intimidated at the prospect of standing around, watching Floe try to pick up some jeune fille adorable.

Floe continued to chatter on, launching into lovesick and detailed descriptions of the girl’s every strand of hair, every eyelash, and – truly – every single body cell. And though both, Renée in particular, were usually very much alert to those around them and – more specifically – he who was behind them, both women found the knowing voice speaking from behind them to be a surprise.

Provided, it only spoke once Floe paused for air.

“It sound like Floe’s gotten herself a love interest,” the voice said. “Who’s the lucky woman?” The owner of the voice winked and elbowed Floe a little less than gently (for Floe would have been annoyed if she’d been treated as “some common weakling of a maiden”) and chortled lightly.

Though she’d have liked to, Renée refrained from making a (childish) disgusted face; instead, she simply said, “Darien,” and left it at that.

“Wouldn’t you just love to know,” Floe replied, a mocking “sting” in her voice. Floe was not particularly adverse to Darien – perhaps because he couldn’t really do any of his “joking around” with her, for she simply didn’t like penises. Of course, on the other hand, she wasn’t particularly fond of the man, either. She saw Renée’s blatant dislike as childish and unnecessary, though, at the same time, she saw many an error in Darien as well; not the least of these errors was his persistence in pursuing Renée.

“I certainly would,” Darien replied happily. “Maybe I know her. Could put a good word in.” His eyebrows jumped the distance to inquiry and suggestion.

Barked laughter escaped Floe’s throat. “She’s hardly the sort of girl to hang around with you and your lot.”

With dramatic exaggeration, Darien gasped, exclaiming, “Why, Floe! I’m hurt! Do you mean to suggest that I am something less than respectable.”

Floe nodded primly. “I think that even your fangirls would agree.”

Falsely huffy, he snorted. “Well, I shall just have to go ask them, shan’t I?” He marched off as if his boxers were in a wad before looking over his shoulder and casting a wink at Floe and Renée – who had been mercifully excluded from his attentions.

Renée made a face that was far less than happy and likely to earn her wrinkles in the future for all her trouble. “I dislike that man.”

Floe rolled her eyes in exasperation. “You’ve stated that same at least twenty-five times in the past two days,” she stated – a little snappy, for the statement was beginning to annoy. “And he not so much as glanced at you ‘til just then, so you’ve nothing to complain about, Renée! Do get over it.”

In an attempt to salvage herself and make some defense, Renée opened her mouth to reply – but whatever she’d been about to say was drowned out by Chip.

Chip was the man who ran about backstage and onstage and everywhere in between. He notified everyone of their new scenes, the changes to the old ones, when they had to be on, there, leave, or anything at all. He was also more than a little eccentric and presently had a collection of Crayola markers hanging off of him in odd places. Last week, he’d been wearing no less than fifteen ties and the week before he’d wandered around with a surgical mask over his mouth; he had been under the impression that Renée was the carrier of some atrocious ballerina foot disease that was passed via air particles.

“IF YOU’D ALL BE SO VERY KIND TO GATHER ON STAGE. RIGHT NOW. PRONTO.” Chip paused a moment in his shouting. “RENÉE! DON’T MAKE THAT FACE AT ME!”

She simply shook her head in response. “Chip; there’s only four of us in the vicinity and you needn’t shout – you are standing right next to us.”

Chip made no response save to shepherd them all out of the locker room and onto the stage. The new scenes were in.

This 2006 scrap is archival. You can find my current work via @tryskits

#oc writing #prose #fiction #writing archive #Age 15 #original characters #00s #2006 #old writing #illustration #old art #art archive #deviantArt archive #the fact i found a drawing associated with this tells me it was on dA at one point #which I was pretty sure i remembered being the case #TrysKits work

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alannah-corvaine · 1 year

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GET TO KNOW THE OC ASKS

1. What kind of person is your OC in a crisis? Are they calm and collected? Do they panic? Or are they chronically the cause?

2. Is your OC a loner or a social butterfly? Are they satisfied with how they come across to other people?

3. What is your OC's financial status? Are they just scraping by, making enough to live comfortably, or wealthy? Has there ever been a drastic change in their status? If so, what happened?

4. Does your OC have a failed friendship or relationship they still think about? What happened? Is it an unresolved regret or is there a chance for reconciliation?

5. Does your OC have a signature weapon and/or attack? How long did they train to master it?

6. Does your OC know magic? Were they born with magical ability or did they train to acquire it? What is their favorite type of magic? Least favorite?

7. Does your OC like their natural hair color or do they dye it? What styles do they prefer?

8. What was your OC's most embarrassing moment? Does it still bother them or are they able to shrug it off?

9. Is your OC laid back or do they thrive on drama? What role do they play in their group of friends/associates?

10. Is your OC sentimental or pragmatic? Do they keep mementos or only what they need to survive? Have they always been this way or did something happen to make them change?

11. What does your OC believe in? God(s)? Monsters? Love? The power of unbreakable bonds of friendship to overcome any obstacle? The ability of money to open any door? Or are they indifferent?

12. Is your OC cynical or optimistic? Who or what shaped their outlook on life?

13. How important are romantic relationships to your OC? Do they prefer casual sex, short flings, or long term relationships? Do they want to get married or are they content with what they have? Or do they have no interest in romance whatsoever?

14. How important is friendship to your OC? Do they prefer to have one or two close friends or a large group of casual friends? Or do they prefer their own company over that of others?

15. What places hold significant meaning or memories for your OC? Do they have a positive or negative association with those places?

16. How does your OC make money? Do they have a respectible profession or work a series of odd jobs? Are they a criminal? Or do they get creative in the pursuit of coin?

17. Does your OC have an enemy? What happened between them? Is it mutual or one-sided? Is it petty or serious? Is one party seeking revenge? Does one person want the other dead or are they content to hate them from afar?

18. Has your OC ever had a prophecy made about them? Was it a big deal or did they ignore it? Was it straightforward or cryptic? Did it ever come to pass or did they circumvent it?

19. Has your OC ever had an experience with the paranormal or the divine? What happened? Was it a one time encounter or is it a normal part of their life? Did they find it terrifying or thrilling?

20. Has your OC ever done something terrible and lied about it? Did they run away or blame someone else for it? How long did they maintain the lie and did the truth ever come out?

#oc asks #oc questions #oc ask prompts #character development questions #tried to make the questions broad enough to fit any fandom or universe #hope you enjoy them!

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angelrinisadork · 10 months

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OC Ask game time

1) Will your OC get married and with who?

2) Will they have any children? What are their names?

3) When is your OC’s birthday or what is their zodiac sign if you haven’t picked a date yet? Answer both if you wish.

4) What color or colors do you most associate with your OC?

5) Any animals you most associate with your OC?

6) Any flowers you associate with your OC?

7) Does your OC have a favorite and least favorite food?

8) Greatest strength and greatest flaw about your OC?

9) What is your OC’s greatest wish/dream/goals?

10) Does your OC have a family tree? Who are their immediate and extended family if you created ones?

11) What actor or voice actor do you see best playing as your OC?

12) Favorite movie or tv show or musical or book for your OC? Or all? (Don’t worry I understand setting is important for this question so only answer what applies)

13) Does your OC have a good relationship with their parents or no?

14) What about any siblings, do they have any and is their relationship good?

15) Has your OC ever fallen in love before who their intended love interest is, or is the intended love interest their first love?

16) Does your OC enjoy school or no? Did they get any education?

17) Does your OC have a pet?

18) What is your OC’s greatest fear?

19) Does your OC have any close friends?

20) What hobbies does your OC have?

21) Any embarrassing secrets your OC demands you take to the grave but you will share anyway?

22) Does your OC have a job and what is that occupation? Are they currently happy with it?

23) Is your OC religious and what religion? If it’s a fictional religion for your story please give a summary of the core teachings of their faith?

24) What kind of sleeper is your OC? Light or heavy? What side do they sleep on? Do they like to sleep over or under the covers?

25) The name you chose for your OC, why did you chose it?

#oc #oc ask game #oc ask meme #oc asks #writers on tumblr

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thepromptfoundry · 4 months

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For June 2024, the Prompt Foundry is celebrating with Pride and Promptudice!

Different colors mean different things to different people, but for many the association between rainbows and queer community and pride is undeniable. Let's take some time to explore these colors, what they've meant historically, and what they mean to each of us now!

If you use this list, please tag me here @thepromptfoundry, I’d love to see your writing and art!

Feel free to combine different days' prompts with each other, or combine them with other seasonal events! Use your OCs, your favorite characters from media, your own experiences, whatever tickles your fancy.

Respond to as many prompts as you want or as interest you, don’t worry about missing or skipping any. Remember, this is supposed to be fun!

If you have any questions or musings, check our FAQ, and if you don't find your answer, shoot me an ask.

Plain text list below the cut:

1 Roses 2 Lipstick 3 Ruby Slippers 4 Oranges 5 Sunsets 6 Lemons 7 Wisdom 8 Green Carnations 9 The Forest 10 Turquoise Jewelry 11 Artemis 12 Bluejeans 13 Midnight 14 Lavender Marriage 15 Labrys 16 Sex 17 Life 18 Red Ribbons 19 Healing 20 Campfire 21 Sunlight 22 Gold Rings 23 Nature 24 Bow and Arrow 25 Magic 26 The Ocean 27 Serenity 28 The Lady of the Lake 29 Spirit 30 Royalty

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shhh-secret-time · 6 months

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Fuck it, OC brain rot won. Get ready for the Secret Ask List

1) Does your OC have a voice claim, if so who?

2) Who's your OCs best friend? How did they become best friends?

3) What song describes your OC?

4) What song describes your OC and their partner/love interest?

5) Do you ship your OC with a Canon character? If so who?

6) If your OC is in a fantasy setting, what profession would they be in the modern day?

7) Vice-Versa! If your OC is in the modern day, what fantasy class would they be? Would they be a different race?

8) What hobbies does your OC have? What do they do to unwind?

9) How does your OC handle their physical health? Do they take care of themselves?

10) How does your OC handle their mental health? Do they take care of themselves?

11) What was your inspiration for your OC?

12) Does your OC interact with other people's OC? If so, who's their best OC friend?

13) Does your OC have a rival? How did it start?

14) Who's a character your OC cannot stand! It's on sight when they see them!

15) Will your OC ever retire? Do you see them making it?

16) How's their relationship with their parents? Are they alive?

17) If your OC has kids, are they a good parent? Do they ever feel guilty if they have to leave them?

18) What are their pronouns? What would they like to be called?

19) What's their sexuality? What's their love language both giving and receiving?

20) If they fight, what's their weapon of choice?

21) What song best describes their relationship with their enemy?

22) Fight or Flight? Are they a lover or a fighter?

23) Is your OC reliable? Can I call them up at two in the morning if I have a flat tire?

24) Can they play any instruments? If so, what do they play?

25) Are they the kind of person who can't resist a good song? Can I catch your OC singing to themselves while they do the dishes?

26) What flower do you associate your OC with?

27) What's their spirit tamagotchi? Or an animal you associate them with?

28) What clique would they be in? (Draw them in the clothes of said group!)

29) Imagine a mood board for your OC! What's on it? (Make it if you want!)

30) My OC and your OC are friends. This isn't a question. I'm not asking. (How do they respond?)

#oc questions #question list #ask game #oc #my oc #thought it would be fun to make my own!#feel free to steal and add questions #send asks #I just love talking about people's characters #d&d characters #anime ocs #South Park Ocs #I don't care just talk to me about it #my ask box is open for a reason #30 questions #shhh its a secret

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itsnotmourn · 3 months

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SPOOKY MONTH ASK MEME

⟡ — i haven't seen one on tumblr yet so i figured it might be fun to make one! i tried my best to keep the overall energy positive :3 and sorry for all the "why" questions; i'm just nosey and curious. you're welcome to answer seriously or with silliness !! send a number to the user/reblogger (if they ask for it) for them to answer the question!

1. When did you start watching Spooky Month? Was it the same time you got into the fandom (e.g. interacting with the community, posting art) or was it different?

2. Who is currently your top three (3) favourite characters? Please feel free to explain why!

3. If you have any, share some headcanons of your most favourite character!

4. With any character of your choice, what is a song that you associate with them the most?

5. Is there a ship that you enjoy the most? Why?

6. Who do you think is an underrated character?

7. Who is your favourite villain/antagonist so far, and why?

8. What is currently your favourite episode?

9. What is your favourite shot and/or scene from the animated series?

10. Do you have a favourite background art from the animated series?

11. Do you have a favourite soundtrack/music from the animated series?

12. Which is your favourite end credit artwork so far?

13. What is your favourite official Spooky Month art (stuff that is posted outside of the episodes like posters, prints, doodles, etc.)?

14. Do you own any official merch? If not, what is one piece of existing merch that you wish you own? Is there anything that you wish it existed already?

15. From fanart or fanfiction, did someone's work made you think more positively of a character/ship? Free free to shout them out, whether if it's one person or multiple people!

16. Do you have any Spooky Month OCs you'd like to share and ramble about?

17. From the Tender Treats credit art, who would you eat and/or drink? Assume that it’s not the actual character, just regular food that looks like them.

18. Do you have any theories so far on either the lore or (any) character-specific development? It can be your own or someone else's theory.

19. What is your current prediction of Spooky Month’s ending? It can be as simple, brief or detailed as you want.

20. What do you hope will become a Spooky Short in the future (e.g. seeing character-specific lore, character interaction between x and y, etc.)?

#hopefully these all make sense !!#and yes i do have artblock dont look at me !!!!#[ mourn's mourns ]#spooky month #ask meme #ask prompt #spooky month ask meme

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melverie · 8 months

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OBEY ME MC & OC ASK GAME

an ask game specifically for your Obey Me MCs and OCs! List the OCs and MCs you want to get asks for and specify which species they are so people know which species-specific questions they can ask you Some questions have a lot of aspects to them; they're there to give you a little nudge in case you have no idea how to approach the question, but the only really important bit is the first question!

⸺ GENERAL INFO ⸺

01: What is their opinion on the other species? Would they rather be a different one? 02: Do they have a nickname? 03: When is their birthday? Do they celebrate it? Do they even remember it in the first place? 04: What kind of magic do they possess? If they can't use any, do they have magic potential slumbering within them? 05: Which deadly sin best aligns with them? Which one do they embody the least? 06: Have they been to other realms? Which one is their favorite and why? 07: What is their favorite place, and what do they love so much about it? 08: Do they have a kill count? How high is it? 09: Do they attend RAD? What is their role there? Their best subject/the one they teach? Club activties? If they don't attend RAD, what do they do? 10: What was there initial reaction to Diavolo's plans of uniting the three realms? Has their opinion changed? 11: Do they still have any objects from their childhood? What is their most vivid childhood memory? 12: What is something they have experienced that has shaped them into the person they are today?

⸺ RELATIONSHIPS & PERSONALITY ⸺

01: What's their relationship with...? [anon chooses at least one character for this one; MC is part of the cast if you're asking about OCs] 02: On a scale of 1 to 10, how annoying are they to Lucifer? :) 03: What is their family like? Do they have siblings? Pets? 04: What is a character trait that will immediately make them despise someone? On the flip side, how can you easily win their favor? 05: Do they openly show affection? What is their love language? [platonic or romantic] 06: Are they interested in romantic relationships? Do they have any experience? Are they proactive or would they rather be persued? 07: Would they date an immortal being if they aren't immortal themself, and vice-versa? 08: Are they easy to read or do they mask their intentions perfectly? Are they manipulative? A good liar maybe? What are their tells? 09: How is their temper? Are they quick to violence? Do they get frustrated easily? 10: Do they wear their emotions on their sleeve, or do they try to hide them from others as best as they can? Do they try to hide them from themself, too? 11: Do they cry often? What is the last thing they cried about? 12: What makes them soft? 13: What is their greatest wish? What would they be willing to sacrific to get it? 14: What is their biggest regret? 15: What is there biggest fear? Is there something they try to avoid at all cost? 16: How do they react when stressed? How does their behaviour differ when in a life or death situation? 17: What is a side of themself they don't want other to see? When does that side reveal itself?

⸺ CONCEPT AND DESIGN ⸺

01: How often do you think about them in a day? Be honest, I know they torment you in your thoughts as much as you torment them :) 02: What inspired you to create them, and what is the first thing you decided about them? 03: What is the biggest change you have made from their original concept? 04: What do they look like? Do you have a picture/picrew of what you envision them to look like? 05: Do they have any physical attributes that set them apart from others? 06: What is their clothing style? Do they put a lot of effort into their appearance? 07: How do you imagine their voice? Are they loud? 08: Anything you heavily associate with them? A color, a word, a picture, or something else? 09: Share some fluff headcanons about them! 10: How about some angst headcanons? >:) 11: Bonus: something else you really want to share about them that isn't mentioned on here ♡

⸺⸺ SPECIES-SPECIFIC QUESTIONS

⸺ ANGEL ⸺

01: What rank are they? [seraphim, cherubium, ophanim, ...] 02: How many wings do they have? Do they display them proudly, or do they try to hide them whenever possible? What kind of halo do they have? 03: Do they sometimes sneak out to visit the other realms? 04: Are they a guardian angel to someone? 05: Have they seen Michael in person and do they think he looks like a jellyfish? [the second part is mandatory, don't skip] 06: Did they know the brothers before they fell? Regardless of if they have or not, was is their opinion of them? And what do they think of fallen angels in general? 07: Did they fight in the Celestial War? What side were they on and why? 08: Have they ever questioned Father? What for? Were they punished for it? 09: How close are they to falling? If they are a fallen angel, what made them fall? 10: What is something they would willingly fall for?

⸺ DEMON ⸺

01: Wings or tail(s) in demon form? What do their horns look like? 02: Are they part of demon nobility or would they have taken the train back in the day? 03: Do they have any special abilities? [such as Mephisto's power to essentially forge pacts with demons, Lucifer's power to read and manipulate memories, and so on] 04: Are they a fallen angel? If so, do they regret falling? 05: Have they forged any pacts yet? How eager are they to do so, and do they forge them often? If they haven't, why not? 06: How would they go about forging pacts? Do they have a specific strategy they fall back on, or do they go with the flow? 07: How loyal are they to their human master? 08: Have they given anyone their grimoire? 09: What do they do with human souls? 10: Solomon shows up at their doorstep in the middle of the night to ask for a pact. How do they react? 11: What is their opinion of Diavolo as a ruler? Have they experienced the reign of any other demon kings? How does Diavolo compare in their opinion? 12: What was their reaction to the brothers first arrving in the Devildom? Were they scared of a potential war? Hostile toward them? Did they extend a helping hand? 13: If they attend RAD, were they chosen for the exchange program? Did they go to the Celestial Realm or the human realm?

⸺ HUMAN ⸺

01: How old are they? 02: Are they immortal? If given the opportunity, would they like to be? 03: Did they believe in demons and angels before the exchange program? Did they have any contact with the paranormal before it? 04: Do they have a guardian angel? Have they forged any pacts? 05: Are they into demons and/or angels? If they had to choose one or the other, which one would they go for? [trying to word this SFW but I'm sure you know what I mean :)] 06: Who do they trust more—angels or demons? Why? 07: Where do you think they would most likely end up in—heaven or hell? 08: Do they carry anything with them to protect themself from the paranormal? 09: How close were they to just bless the water inside a demon's body and turn it into holy water because they were just so done with them?

#my oc is called marchosias and she is a fallen angel so both demon & angel specific asks work!#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me nightbringer #obey me mc #obey me oc #obey me ask game

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twistedapple · 11 months

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On cherry and musk

EDIT 28/10/2023: Part two of the Perfume Rant is bout, about Astarion this time! + added a correction regarding the sulfur part.

EDIT 3/11/2023: Part three of the Perfume Rant is up, this time I talk about my OC, Nuria.

EDIT 28/11/2023: I kept forgetting to make that edit but I added a comment regarding the cherry and how its sickly sweet tone is usually used in perfumes to express death.

Hello hello.

Because Raphael's perfume, according to Yurgir, is exactly the type of scent that makes me lose my mind while being quite uncommon for men perfumes IRL, I've decided to go on a bit of perfume rant because I really like perfume in general (which is funny considering my autistic ass easily goes in sensory overload, especially atm with my state of autistic burnout).

To introduce the topic, I'd like to present some generalities about perfumes, so you know what I mean once I start losing my mind about why Raphael's scent would drive me crazy IRL (someone at Larian knows their shit about perfumes).

Perfumes are, most commonly, made with an alcoholic base (the Middle East also has an oil base), because the ingredients used to create the scents are more soluble in alcohol than water. There are distinctions in the types of perfumes once can find, based on the concentration of scented molecules:

Perfumed mists: less than 3% of scented molecules, low duration over time;

Colognes: the weakest concentration in perfumes as we usually know and use them. It has a long history as well, and was first worn by men;

Eau de toilette (here, understand that it's a perfume associated with cleanliness): count between 5% and 15% of scented molecules;

Eau de parfum (lit. "perfume water"): count between 10% and 20% of scented molecules. These perfumes are more expensive because they're more concentrated, however nowadays they're still commonly found in stores;

Extrait de parfum (perfume extract - pure perfume): count between 15% and 40% of scented molecules, the high concentration means it has to be used with care.

Now, why do we wear perfume? Everything around us as a scent: the soap used to wash our clothes, the food we cook, the deodorant we use... Our own skin has a natural scent. Wearing perfume is a way to control our scent and define our olfactive identity as part of our self-expression and sense of fashion. With hormones at play, not every perfume works with anybody - for example, Hesperide-type perfumes don't suit me, but work wonderfully well on my mother -, so the way a perfume sits and ages on one's skin is just as important as one's personal preferences in term of scents. Interestingly, for some decades now the most common perfumes tend to have a "clean" scent, which matches with Western standards of cleanliness. However, the goal of perfumes being self-expression, they also tend to tell a story based on the way the notes develop and work together.

We have various categories for perfumes, which involve the styles based on the families of notes, the time of the day and the seasons.

The main families of perfume are Floral (self-explanatory), Chypre (woody scents), Oriental (spiced scents), Hesperide (citrus scents) and Aquatic (water-like scents). These families can be mixed in the scale of notes to obtain a more complex scent. For example, Floral scents tend to work well with Oriental and Hesperide tones, Hesperide tones work well with Aquatic ones, Oriental and Chypre scents can be associated to create heady perfumes...

The times of the day are either Daytime or Nighttime. Daytime perfumes tend to be lighter, while Nighttime perfumes, often worn during events or at clubs, will be stronger since they compete with other stronger scents.

Seasons also influence perfumes, some molecules won't last as well in Summer as they do in Winter for example. On the other hand, some molecules will have a harder time expressing themselves in the cold of Winter, so heavier scents may be needed.

A perfume is organised in three layers to unfold its story:

Top notes: the very first notes, which usually don't last much but open the impression of the perfume;

Heart notes: the core scents of the perfume, around which the story is built;

Base notes: the lasting notes of the perfume, which close the story.

There is also two ways a perfume works:

Sillage: the trail left by a perfume;

Projection: the perimeter in whih a perfume can be felt.

Feminine and Masculine perfumes tend to be quite different as well. Feminine perfumes tend to lean on floral and fruity scents, while masculine perfumes will be more in the Aquatic and Oriental family with leather and musk tones. This is where I start my rant on Raphael's likely amazing perfume.

Fruits are rarely used for masculine perfume, to the point I'd say it's a grossly ignored scent family for men. Some years ago, I crossed path with a man in the metro who had the most amazing perfume, with raspberry in distinctive top note, unfolding into a warm woody scent. This is what got me into perfumes, because I had to find out what perfume it was - the most likely candidate is One Million by Paco Rabane, but even then I am not sure. This is a very specific and striking scent, precisely because it's so uncommon for a man to wear. With that in mind, let's remember what Yurgir said Raphael's scent is: cherries, musk and sulfur. I suspect we can take these notes in the proper top-heart-base notes, because they'd make sense that way both in term of perfume composition and as a mean to tell Raphael's personal story.

Cherries make for a sweet, enticing top note, perfect to express Raphael's ability to charm his victims clients. Cherries' sweetness is also often associated with the sickly sweet smell of death, and is used for that purpose in perfumes following that theme. Considering what signing a devil's contract entails, it's quite fitting.

Musk is a common note both for masculine and feminine perfumes, but it tends to be used as a base note. This time, however, it'd make sense to have it in heart note for at least two fantastic reasons: to draw people further in with a warm and sensual note, and because the base note serves to close the story better than musk.

Sulfur as base note would be extremely smart. One might ask me "but Crow, doesn't sulfur smell like rotten egg?" And that would be a pertinent question. It wouldn't be the first time a strange ingredient is used to complete a perfume by providing unexpected results. Here, we're not just talking sulfur, we're talking brimstone. Mixed with the other notes, however, it creates a smoky scent that serves to hint at Raphael's nature as a devil (gotta smell like Avernus!), and also provides a strong support for the sensual musk by adding depth to it.

We also have Raphael's boudoir invitation described as having his perfume: palmarosa and pepper. These scents tend to be heart notes, to compose a refreshing spicy floral: palmarosa is a floral scent with a citrus tone, pepper is what it says on the tin and is considered an aphrodisiac scent. Fitting the boudoir invite, considering the presence of a certain incubus... This addition in the heart notes would counter-balance the musk nicely and contribute to a layer of complexity with a surprisingly feminine tone: floral oriental notes are rarely used in masculine perfumes. However, here I think it serves to express refinement through complexity - something people often associate with Raphael, who presents as a noble (and is, by the Nine Hells' standards, a noble in his quality as Mephistopheles' son), as well as frames himself as an agreeable host who can offer many pleasures to his guests and clients (as long as they have something to provide in exchange - cue the sulfur as base note to remind of Raphael's diabolical nature).

Yurgir describes Tav as bearing Raphael's scent. Raphael was near Tav, which makes me think his perfume has projection rather than sillage. It'd make sense for Raphael to have a perfume more oriented towards projection than sillage: he'd want to let people know he's here, and it's a subtle way to dominate the scene as well in a magnetic manner - and we know Raphael has an imperious tendency, even in his handwriting, so having it expressed in his perfume as well would make sense.

To conclude, Raphael has fantastic taste in perfume in my totally biased opinion (this sort of perfume is a shortcut to make me swoon IRL), and what has been confirmed as being his scent/perfume serves to subtly support his characterisation and tell a story both to us players and the people he deals with in the story.

#not twisted wonderland #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #bg3 raphael #raphael's perfume would make me OBSESSED #keep this post under the arm if you want to understand what I'm doing with my OC's perfume as well #I REALLY LIKE PERFUME I'm serious when I talk about storytelling in perfumes

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queensharotto · 9 months

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Brittle Doughie’s Cookie Run x Reader Masterlist (Part 3: Early 2023)

A masterlist of @brittle-doughie’s Cookie Run stories organized by month.

Genre Emojis

😞 is for angst, 🎃 is for Halloween, 🎄 is for Christmas, 🍪 is for Cannibalism, 💗 is for Yandere, 💝 is for Valentine’s, 👻 is for Horror, 🎂 is for Birthday, 💚 is for Yandere!White Lily Cookie

The Indents are related to the featured cookies. If there are numerous cookies (Over 10 Cookies Featured), I’ll make a note on that as well. Additionally, I’ll categorize various cookies if they’re associated with a specific hobby, location, food etc.

Also, the ⭐️ will indicate a story featuring one of Brittle’s OCs.

January 2023 ❄️

• “Molded, Battered, Whole”

Featuring: The Five Dragons

• “Y/N Cookie getting Injured”

Featuring: Pomegranate Cookie, Mala Sauce Cookie, Black Raisin Cookie, Financier Cookie and Princess Cookie

• “Foul Play” 💗

Featuring: The Cherry Stars

• “Seize the Spin”

Featuring: Numerous Cookies

• “Face the Music!”

Featuring: Gingerbrave and Friends, B.A.D 4, Manager Scarlet and Producer D.K.E.C

• “Two Sides of a Coin”

Featuring: Hollyberry Cookie

• “New Time Balance Department Cookies”

Featuring: The Time Balance Department

• “Sands of the Sale”

Featuring: Yogurt Cream Cookie and Lilac Cookie

• “Memories”

Featuring: Numerous Cookies

• “Coworkers Delight”

Featuring: Maple Taffy Cookie

• “Spared No Expense 2”

Featuring: Cheesecake Cookie

• “Y/N Cookie’s Valentine’s Day Experience” 💝

Featuring: Numerous Cookies

• “A Fish in a Barrel”

Featuring: Affogato Cookie and the Cookies of the Dark Cacao Kingdom

• “Good Day for Walks”

Featuring: Pure Vanilla Cookie

• “A Handycookie’s Expertise”

Featuring: Coffee Candy Cookie, Baguette Cookie, Dark Fondue Cookie, Maple Taffy Cookie and Marble Bread Cookie

• “Chaos and Control”

Featuring: Twizzly Gummy Cookie and her Gang

• “House is Where The Heart Is”

Featuring: Raspberry Mousse Cookie

• “The Serenity or The Charismatic”

Featuring: Pure Vanilla Cookie and Clotted Cream Cookie

• “Eternity”

Featuring: Snow Sugar Cookie

• “Interactions with Milky Way Cookie during Episode 15”

Featuring: Milky Way Cookie

• “Y/N Cookie Dislikes People Yelling”

Featuring: Hollyberry Cookie, Purple Yam Cookie, Carol Cookie, and Caramel Arrow Cookie

• “No Deed Goes Unnoticed”

Featuring: The Cookies of the Dark Cacao Kingdom

• “At Your Beck and Call”

Featuring: The Pearl Legion and House Custard Soldiers

• “Ayo, Their Pouch Responses”

Featuring: Sea Fairy Cookie and Moonlight Cookie

• “No Dice” 💗

Featuring: Clotted Cream Cookie and the Ancient Cookies

• “Undeserving”

Featuring: Affogato Cookie’s Disciples, Dark Cacao Cookie, Adventurer Cookie, and Captain Ice Cookie

• “But the Dance is Today!”

Featuring: Cookies of the Hollyberry Kingdom

• “Y/N Cookie’s Tailoring Hobby”

Featuring: The Tailor Cookies

• “Lost Amidst Matrimony” 😞💗

Featuring: Pure Vanilla Cookie and White Lily Cookie

• “Sweet Heartmender” 💝

Featuring: Blue Lily Cookie and Lilybell Cookie

• “Burger Chain Backfire”

Featuring: Reporter Cookie and Shining Glitter Cookie

February 2023 💝

• “Antagonized”

Featuring: Almond Cookie, Truffle Cookie, Butter Pretzel Cookie, Lollipop Cookie, and Melon Bun Cookie

• “Even More Heartbreak”

Featuring: Black Pearl Cookie, Captain Caviar Cookie, and Seaweed Cookie

• “Star of the Industry” ⭐️

Featuring: Dumpling Cookie (debut), Reporter Cookie, and various Music Cookies

• “The Sugar Swan’s Treasure”

Featuring: The Sugar Swan

• “Y/N Cookie Blurbs”

Featuring: Various Cookies

• “Pet Times”

Featuring: Carrot Cookie, Cheesecake Cookie, and Baguette Cookie

• “Y/N Cookie’s First Encounter with Stardust Cookie”

Featuring: Stardust Cookie and Moonlight Cookie

• “Moon Pie Cookie”

Featuring: Moonlight Cookie

• “Tales of Sweetness” 💝

Featuring: Carrot Cookie, Beet Cookie, Red Velvet Cookie, Pomegranate Cookie and Light Cream Cookie

• “If Y/N Cookie Hated Someone”

Featuring: Dark Choco Cookie, Pomegranate Cookie, Affogato Cookie, Ice Juggler Cookie and Cocoa Cookie

• “Movie Star Y/N Cookie”

Featuring: Cheesecake Cookie, Blackberry Cookie, Cocoa Cookie, Mint Choco Cookie, Tea Knight Cookie, Eclair Cookie, Twizzly Gummy Cookie and Shining Glitter Cookie

• “Duel of Hearts”

Featuring: White Choco Cookie and Rose Cookie

• “A Very Much Invited Guest”

Featuring: The Cookies of the Hollyberry Kingdom

• “Fashion Week 2?”

Featuring: Cheesecake Cookie, Chestnut Cookie, and the Tailor Cookies

• “Po-tay-to, Po-tah-to”

Featuring: The Vegetable Cookies

March 2023 🌱

• “Artist Y/N Cookie”

Featuring: Butter Pretzel Cookie, Cheesecake Cookie, Truffle Cookie and Pastry Cookie

• “Y/N Cookie’s Costume Concepts”

Featuring: Numerous Cookies

• “Drawings for the Little Cookies”

Featuring: Lollipop Cookie, Walnut Cookie, Onion Cookie and Strawberry Crepe Cookie

• “Ya Like Raisin Buns?”

Featuring: Black Raisin Cookie

• “Sweetheart Timekeeper Cookie” 💝

Featuring: Timekeeper Cookie

• “Stress from a Job”

Featuring: Baguette Cookie, Almond Cookie, Pizza Cookie, Dr. Bones Cookie and Kumiho Cookie

• “Ancient Y/N Cookie’s All Nighters”

Featuring: The Ancient Cookies

• “Y/N Cookie being part of a Royal Family”

Featuring: Madeleine Cookie, Financier Cookie, Red Velvet Cookie, Chocolate Bonbon Cookie and Rougefort Cookie

• “Y/N Cookie having a Nightmare”

Featuring: Moonlight Cookie, Milky Way Cookie and Stardust Cookie

• “Downstream: Part 1”

Featuring: Affogato Cookie and the Cookies of the Dark Cacao Kingdom

• “Group Findings”

Featuring: Cauliflower Cookie and Peperoncino Cookie

• “Volunteering to be a parent to Y/N Cookie’s child (Part 1)”

Featuring: Numerous Cookies

• “Sea Fairy x Y/N Cookie”

Featuring: Sea Fairy Cookie

• “A Jammed Heart” 😞

Featuring: Chocolate Frosting Cookie

• “Croissant Cookie vs. Timekeeper Cookie”

Featuring: Croissant Cookie, Timekeeper Cookie, Coffee Candy Cookie and Dark Fondue Cookie

April 2023 ☔️

• “A Forced Hand” ⭐️

Featuring: Salsa Cookie (debut) and the Ancient Cookies

• “Y/N Cookie in Scovillia”

Featuring: Scovillia Headmaster, Capsaicin Cookie, Parfaedia Principal, Prune Juice Cookie, Creme Knights Preceptor and Kouign-Amann Cookie

• “From Afar”

Featuring: Chocolate Bonbon Cookie, Croissant Cookie, Sour Belt Cookie and Lime Cookie

• “Kindred Souls”

Featuring: Milk Cookie

• “Y/N Cookie Comforting Centipede Cookie”

Featuring: Centipede Cookie, Lilac Cookie and Scorpion Cookie

• “Chocolate Frosting Cookie trying to redeem herself”

Featuring: Chocolate Frosting Cookie, Croissant Cookie, Coffee Candy Cookie, Dark Fondue Cookie and Timekeeper Cookie

• “The Pudding Cup Circus”

Featuring: Banana Cookie, Ice Juggler Cookie, Licorice Cookie and Pomegranate Cookie

• “Cookies of Darkness Go to the Movies”

Featuring: The Cookies of Darkness

• “Volunteering to be a parent to Y/N Cookie’s child (Part 2)”

Featuring: Financier Cookie, Pure Vanilla Cookie, Red Velvet Cookie, Madeleine Cookie, Captain Caviar Cookie and Clotted Cream Cookie

• “Exiled from their Kingdom: The Darkness’s Offering”

Featuring: The Cookies of Darkness

• “No Simp September”

Featuring: Hollyberry Cookie, Kumiho Cookie, Frost Queen Cookie, Blueberry Pie Cookie and Princess Cookie

• “I’ll Miss You” 😞

Featuring: The Ancient Cookies

• “The Incorrect Quote Cookie Jar #2”

Featuring: Numerous Cookies

• “Y/N Cookie in the Crème Knights”

Featuring: Financier Cookie, Vanilla Sugar Cookie, Kouign-Amann Cookie, Prune Juice Cookie and Capsaicin Cookie

Divider Source l Next Masterlist l Previous Masterlist

#brittle doughie masterlists #cookie run kingdom #cookie run ovenbreak #cookie run #yandere cookie run #cookie run angst #cookie run x reader #cookie run x you #yandere cookie run kingdom #crk #crob

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jeonqkooks · 1 year

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isn't it romantic? | myg (01)

ENTRY ONE: Me Before You

⟶ SERIES MASTERPOST

Many things in life have a polar opposite: left and right, night and day, yin and yang, you and Min Yoongi... Hopeless romantic meets gloomy cynic. The only thing you seem to share is a magazine column but even then, you still can’t seem to understand how Yoongi can be called ‘The Love Doctor’ when he is the antithesis of everything love represents.

pairing: yoongi x f!reader; side/past taehyung x f!reader

rating: 18+ (minors dni)

genre/warnings: coworkers to lovers, magazine writers au, fluff, angst, eventual smut; central themes of cheating (not between yoongi and oc), swearing (a staple in this household 😗), one bit is a lilllll suggestive?, mentions of drinking, i think that's it hmmm, barely edited bc u know how we do

word count: 5.1k

note: this is the yoongi brainrot speaking !!! the banner for this entry is one of my all time favorite pics of him and i will find a way to use it in everything !!! but erhm yeah iir is officially starting and i'm very curious to see what y'all think about it 😗 please like it haha jk no i'm serious please like it it's my baby

— as always, i’d appreciate any thoughts or comments you may have, and please drop a like and/or reblog if you enjoy reading ♡

I waste my breath on a prayer, you don't care, I was never a part of your plan, You can't make a God of somebody, Who's not even half of a half-decent man.

I Burned LA Down - Noah Cyrus

Half your life, you hated blue.

You often associated it with so many bad things - loss, betrayal, loneliness. The great big storm. The end of life.

Most of the pigtails-wearing girls in your class disliked it because it was often a boy’s color. You hated it because of a stranger on a beach.

Then you discovered Blue Side (as ironic as the name was), the magazine that everybody and their mother was reading. There was this column - the Love Maze (as corny as it sounded) - that had your 15-year-old self hooked from the first article you read, “Flirty Pickup Lines to Text Your Crush”. It gave you a nice little distraction from the reality of your fucked up family.

You’d get home from school and dive right into it. You could count on the maze for a new article every day, covering all kinds of things - cute little quizzes, daily love horoscopes, relationship tidbits…

You started reading it religiously because it was stupid, and fun, but it was more than that too. They covered real-life stories of actual people, which you’d never really thought about. For the most part, it was tedious. Rekindling with an old flame whilst grocery shopping, accidentally spilling coffee on a stranger who then asked you out on the spot, etc. Things like that. You found them so… unremarkable.

But then it went beyond that, when they told their stories looking back on years and years after that first happenstance. How there was love in the mundane. How there was love every single day, even on the bad ones. How there was a spark that two people cared for and nurtured into a warm fire that never burnt out.

How there was love.

How there was always love.

To you, that was magical. It was something you’d only ever heard about in fairytales when you were a kid.

You still remember the exact moment when it all changed for you.

You met Kim Taehyung during your third week at Blue Side, where you were a wide-eyed assistant editor who somehow wiggled her way into a position there, and he was an effortlessly charming graphic designer.

Admittedly, the first time that you two had ever talked, wasn’t under ideal circumstances. You were tucked away behind the office building, nails digging into your palms at 3PM on a sunny but freezing afternoon, willing your tears to stay where they belonged. You’d felt severely underqualified, like you were only flailing about, trying to keep your head above water but something kept pulling at your feet, not stopping until you were at the very bottom. People always talked about how your early 20s were the most beautiful and freeing years, when you could truly live and feel your youth blossom all around you. But that just wasn’t true. Those were the loneliest years of your life.

Taehyung had found you then, while he was out for a quick smoke break. He could’ve made a lame excuse and left, or simply pretended to not notice you were even there, but he stayed. He approached you and asked what was wrong. He offered you words of reassurance and encouragement even though you were nothing but a stranger to him.

You were touched by his simple act of kindness and his endearing smile. Maybe it’s because you’d never been offered much kindness throughout your life that his small gesture seemed like everything. In a way, it was everything. He looked like the kind of fairytale love that you’d only seen in movies, only read about in Love Maze. To this day, a part of you still thinks that you fell in love with him the very second he asked, “Are you okay?”

The timing felt right.

Taehyung felt right.

He, too, was like the sun in the middle of a cold and isolating winter.

You remember the color of his sweater, and it was then that you realized blue didn’t have to be so bad after all.

[15:39] You: what r u doing tonight?

[15:45] Tae ♡: probably just head home after the gym. play a couple matches with Jungkook. hope i don’t die boiling water for ramen and hit the hay early

[15:46] Tae ♡: miss you :(

[15:49] You: thanks

[15:52] Tae ♡: mean

[15:53] You: lol 😇

[15:54] You: i miss you too <3

[15:56] Tae ♡: can’t you come back earlier?

[15:58] You: there’s only a week left. you’re a big boy, u can handle it :)

That was a lie. You were already on the train when you sent him that text, bouncing your leg all the way back to the city at the mere thought of surprising him with your early return. You’d taken a leave from work to visit your family, spent some time somewhere quieter, away from the hustle and bustle of the big city.

You watch as the scenery passes by, fast-paced like you’re in a montage. The rest of forever is right around the corner. You wish you could skip to your happily ever after and not have to rewind the tape ever again.

When the diamond on your ring finger catches the sunlight coming from outside the window, you allow yourself a blissful sigh as you gaze at the jewelry adorning your hand. But if you’re being honest, it doesn’t fit anymore, at least that’s what you’ve noticed over the past month. It’s a little loose now, not quite noticeable but you can still make out the slight difference if you concentrate hard enough. You should get it resized soon, maybe later this week now that your schedule has cleared up earlier than expected.

Three weeks is a lot of time to spend around only your family, you realize. You thought you could do it - seeing that you hadn’t been back in a while - but the second you stepped foot into your childhood home, you remembered what a dysfunctional household you had.

It was nice while it lasted, which wasn’t very long. You did all you could, bit your tongue and tried to suppress that unresolved anger until it eventually became too much to handle. Your mom has always been a complainer. Nobody likes talking about it, but she’d bring up the same old shit almost every day even though you all know what happened. Your dad would just sit there and listen as she berates him in front of you and your sister, and you suppose he keeps quiet because there’s really nothing to be said in his defense. It was his crime, and this is his punishment.

Sometimes, you wonder why dad still stays. Sometimes, you wonder why mom still lets him.

You just wanted to go, even though this was supposed to be home. You want to leave every time you visit, and it’s a haunting feeling that keeps following you around your whole life. Why is home always a place you want to leave?

When you arrived back in the city, the first place you went to was Taehyung’s apartment. You lounged about, enjoying the much needed silence after two whole weeks with your family, killing time as you waited for your fiance to return from work.

You thought about you and Taehyung, and how your wedding was only months away but this was still his place. You wondered why you hadn’t moved in yet, though it wasn’t for a lack of trying on his part. Even though you spent most days of the week at Taehyung’s, you still had your own place.

Twenty minutes before he was usually supposed to come home, you ordered from his favorite restaurant, so he would have a proper meal once he was back, instead of half-assing his dinner with flavorless ramen like he’d planned.

But Taehyung didn’t come back, and the food has been cold for hours now.

You glance at your phone again.

11:02 PM.

No new notifications.

The last message you sent him was around 8:30 - just a simple Whatcha doing? - but he hasn’t replied.

There’s a small part of you that goes into a dark place, and you physically have to shake off the thoughts. Taehyung has never given you a reason not to trust him, but still, the wandering thoughts can’t help themselves. Is it insecurity, or paranoia? Or have you been programmed to be skeptical after everything that’s happened?

Maybe he’s just caught up with work. Maybe the guys at the office had last minute plans. Maybe Jungkook showed up unannounced and dragged Taehyung into one of his shenanigans again. There’s a lot of reasons to explain why he isn’t home when he said he would be.

You wait for him. Sometimes, waiting is all you can do.

You don’t get any indication of life until some time after midnight, when the door opens and you hear him stumble into the hallway. The first thing that escapes you is a sigh of relief - relieved that he’s home, safe and sound, and not out there somewhere doing things you would really not even let yourself imagine. You sit there on the couch, shrouded by darkness, now even more committed to making him squeal out of his skin after (unintentionally) making you wait for hours like that.

You carefully listen to the sounds coming from down the hall, trying to time when you’ll jump up and shock him.

There’s his shoes dropping to the floor carelessly. There’s some shuffling as he moves about, navigating his way through the dark. There’s a light thud, the sound of something hitting the wall softly.

A sharp intake of breath. His familiar groan, muffled. A whimper, feminine.

Your mind instantly blanks, and that nervous breath from before has suddenly found its way back into your lungs, growing in size until you stand up and say, “Tae?”

Somebody shrieks, and it’s neither you nor Taehyung.

When he switches on the lights, you don’t know what to focus on first - your fiance with his shirt unbuttoned, red lipstick smudged around the corners of his mouth; or the woman next to him with her back against the wall, hair disheveled, one strap of her pretty blue dress pulled down.

Huh.

If this was what you wanted, then you suppose you succeeded.

Taehyung stares at you, eyes blown wide, mouth opening and closing dumbly as he searches for words. “Y/N, I-” he stutters, “w-what are you doing here?”

You’ve seen this exact moment in movies, read it in books and online posts on the Blue Side forum from people seeking advice. You witnessed your own mother go through it when you had just learned how to read.

Your nails dig into the palm of your hands as you steady yourself. You’re not sure what your face is showing, if it’s even showing anything at all. You’re being pulled apart in every direction. Things that you felt as a child are things you never wanted to feel as an adult. It’s not until now that you finally understand why mom hasn’t gotten over it, even though it’s been decades. This is the kind of hurt that chases you wherever you go, never relenting until it makes sure it has a home deep within your bones.

You inhale a shaky breath, and take a step back when Taehyung starts approaching you. “Y/N, I’m so sorry,” he says, his voice cracking on the apology.

You don’t want to hear any of it. You don’t want to be here anymore. For the second time today, you’re leaving home. For the second time in your life, home is being taken away again.

Somewhere in the back of your head, a tiny voice echoes, There it is.

You run out of there, feeling like the ceiling is going to collapse on you. You hear him call out your name, but his voice drifts further and further away as you move. Taehyung isn’t even following you. The faint scent of whiskey on his breath follows you out, but not him.

You keep moving until you’re out on the street, until you can’t even see the building anymore. You shiver from the chilly air, and the influx of emotions that threatens to make you burst. Lightning cuts across the night sky, flashing bright for a split second before everything dulls into darkness again. The forecast said it was going to rain tonight, you recall. Your phone in your bag vibrates the whole time, but still, no one follows you.

Your feet slow to a halt when the first drop of rain hits the ground. You’re not even sure how long you were walking, but now that you’ve stopped, you notice the shiver is gone. You’re standing completely still, and that those seismic waves in the center of your chest from earlier are nowhere to be found.

Oh. You’re doing it again.

Heavier drops start to dampen the earth.

You don’t know where else to go.

Not your own apartment. Not now. No, it’s too empty there.

Maybe it’s a sign from the universe, that you’re just undeserving of a place to belong.

You open your phone to find his name on your screen, next to the words (7) missed calls. You ring up the only person you can, and when she finally picks up, you say, “Can I come over?”

Even when your voice cracks, you don’t cry. The earthquake never comes.

Sohee takes you in like the good friend she is. You’re grateful that she was someone you could count on to always have your back at work, who then turned into one of your best friends outside of the office too.

She gives you some clothes to change into, and doesn’t question anything when you ask if you could spend the night. Though, you have a feeling that she knows who this is about. She leaves you alone to get some rest, but it’s probably because she has work in the morning too, and it was already 1:30AM when you interrupted her peace and quiet with the call.

You don’t sleep a wink that night.

Instead, you think about your mom, and how she must have felt when she found out about your dad’s infidelity, time and time again. It’s true what they say, children really don’t know a lot about their parents.

How did she feel when she first found out? You can’t imagine what it must have been like, going through all of that while having two kids to think about too.

You feel bad that just yesterday, you’d been so annoyed with her that you cut your trip short.

Outside Sohee’s windows, the sky cries, like it’s grieving in place of you, its tears drowning the earth in waves of sorrow. For a moment, you consider stepping out there, to feel the rain on your face and in your hair. But in the end, you stay inside, where you’re sheltered and dry.

You don’t realize that the sun has risen until Sohee knocks on your - well, her - door.

She cracks it open gently. “Babe?” she asks, tentative like you’re a cornered animal, ready to bolt at any given moment. “Are you up?”

You lie in her bed, feeling so foreign in your own skin. You reckon your eyes must be bloodshot from the lack of sleep. You haven’t even cried once.

“I’m alive,” you tell her, as you stare up at the ceiling. There are no stars here, just plain cream-colored paint.

“Okay,” you hear her say, then she pauses for a moment, clearly not knowing how to proceed.

Sohee approaches you, sits on the bed, and gives you a smile. She pats your hair, and it reminds you of your sister. “You wanna tell me what’s wrong? I have some time before I meet Namjoon for breakfast.”

You sit up, reaching for your phone on the bedside table. It’s been switched off since you got here, and when you turn it back on, a flurry of texts light up the device until the screen lags. Messages from Taehyung, asking where you were, begging you to tell him if you were safe.

You open the texts to show him that you’ve read them. That should be enough of an answer.

You test the words in your mouth for a moment. “Taehyung cheated on me,” you say, thinking that if you verbalize it, it would be real and you would finally feel bad. That it was just a delayed reaction, that you were just too in shock to process anything. You want to feel bad, but it doesn’t work.

Sohee’s eyes widen almost comically. “Are you fucking serious?” she asks in disbelief, half because of the nature of the news itself, and half because of how calm you are.

“He cheated on me,” you repeat and still, nothing surfaces. If anything, it backfires. You can physically feel yourself doing it again - shutting down. “I caught him last night.”

You’re not sure what’s wrong with you. This isn’t a normal person’s reaction after they found out their fiance was cheating on them.

But.

It is a you reaction.

You keep doing this, even when you don’t mean to. You ran away last night, and you’re running away now. Your body shuts out every negative emotion until you feel nothing at all. It’s stupid that you do this, and it’s stupid that you don’t know how to stop doing it.

Fight or flight, and you choose flight every time. Every single fucking time.

You wish you could give Sohee something, anything would do. Scream, cry, go back to your apartment to set fire to all of Taehyung’s belongings. Anything would be better than this complete lack of emotions you’re showing.

You watch her face as it happens, things that you should be feeling but aren’t. She’s mostly shocked, angry, but not hurt. How could she? She wasn’t the one being played for a fool. You wish you could ask her to give you some of that anger, even if it’s only a fraction.

You don’t see Taehyung again until two days later, when he shows up at your door. Even when he’s standing in front of you, words spilling from his lips like prayers instead of apologies, you just feel… empty.

You let him inside, and the second that the door closes behind him, you fill up with unease. All your walls are up again, your system on high alert. Everything in your body is telling you that there’s an intruder in your space. Your feet are ready to bolt, just itching to get out of there Go, your head says, you’re not safe here.

Taehyung approaches you, tries to hold your hand, but you just shrug him off. The man in front of you visibly deflates, and despite the way his face falls, you don’t soften.

The first thing he asks you is, “Why didn’t you cry?”

“What?”

“You don’t look like you’ve been crying,” he points out. “Did you cry?”

Reluctantly, you admit, “No.”

Then he just stares at you. When his judgmental gaze holds yours, you feel guilty. Guilty that you’re not mourning the death of this relationship. Guilty that you’re just letting it go, but the truth is you don’t have any fight in you. You don’t see the point in trying to salvage what’s no longer alive.

“Do you even love me?” His voice is hard when he asks this, like he’s trying to keep his anger at bay.

“Of course I love you,” you say, but it lacks conviction. You both know it. The words sound so flaccid coming out of your mouth.

But you love him.

You do.

Did?

“Then why didn’t you cry?”

How do you tell him that you can’t? That you don’t know how?

How do you tell him that if you could, you would reach inside and claw out your feelings like digging for water in a desert.

What the hell is wrong with you? This isn’t a high school crush, or a casual summer fling.

You two were supposed to get married, for fuck’s sake. You were supposed to spend the rest of your life with him. If there’s anything that could make you break through those godforsaken defense mechanisms to let the hurt in, it should be this.

“Did you kiss someone else just to see if I would cry?” you ask. Your voice is even, and you can see that it makes Taehyung more frustrated than he already is.

He grits his teeth, exhaling. You notice his blue sweater, and you stop him before he can say anything else. Obviously, it looks a lot more worn than it did back then, but over the years you’ve always found it endearing. It’s the first memory that you have of him. It was always something you could cherish.

Now, you can’t even bear to look at it.

It’s then that you realize it doesn’t matter what answer he gives you. Yes? No? It genuinely doesn’t matter. There is nothing that can make you see him the same way ever again.

You run your thumb over the ring on your finger, twisting it for a moment to memorize the feel of it. It’s the last thing that ties you to him. “You can have this back,” you say, handing the piece of jewelry back to him.

When a relationship ends, especially for a reason like this, people tend to think it’ll go down in a kdrama-esque fashion - crying, slapping, throwing water in the other person’s face. But that’s not what this is. It’s not cathartic; sometimes the end of a relationship is just a fizzle, doesn’t even make it to a fullburn. It might be unsatisfying, but it happens every day. It’s not always a pivotal point; sometimes it’s just a point.

Taehyung stares at the object in his palm. “That’s it?” he asks in disbelief. “We’re breaking up?”

“What else is there to do?”

“You’re not even gonna ask me anything? Who she was, how it started, how long it’s been going on?”

The other morning, Sohee had asked you to elaborate after you told her what happened, but there was just not that much to tell. You were there. He brought someone else home. End of story.

It was enough for Sohee to call him every name in the book and curse his entire bloodline though.

You suppose that’s a reasonable reaction. Taehyung cheated. You never thought he was a person capable of doing that. Three years of your life, down the drain. There’s nothing left to save.

“Okay,” you shrug tiredly, like you’re just having a casual and dull conversation about the weather. “Who was she? How did it start? How long has it been going on?”

Your name comes out of his mouth, sounding like a scoff. “Ask it like you mean it.”

“But I don’t mean it,” you say. “What difference does it make? Knowing doesn’t change the fact that you still cheated on me. You know what I’ve been through and you still fucked it up. You did the worst thing you could ever do to me.”

“Fuck, I know that!” he groans, throwing his hands up. “I messed up badly, and I’m sorry. Y/N, I’m so fucking sorry. I will never deny that what I did wasn’t wrong. But have you ever stopped to think that maybe you’re to blame for this too? You never want to admit that it could be your fault too.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You tell me. I keep having to put up with your baggage.” Then he shuts right up, barely even makes it through the last syllable before he’s squeezing his eyes shut for a second, clearly realizing that out of all the things he could’ve said, that was grossly out of line. “Fuck, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean th-”

And now you’re getting angry for the wrong reasons.

“You cheated but somehow it’s my fault, right?” you snap. “Boohoo. Sorry that you’ve had to put up with me all these years. I’m such a burden, right? Fuck you, Taehyung.”

“Y/N, I’m sorry, I didn’t-”

“I think you should leave.”

You think it’s the steel in your voice as you say this that makes him stop arguing.

He holds your gaze for a moment longer. You’re someone who tears up when you see stray dogs, who cries alongside the fictional characters in your favorite show. And yet, as you watch your own fiance leave…

The door clicks shut as he exits your life, but everything he said stays behind, clings to your walls and festers like mold.

The second you step onto the floor, everyone grows quiet. Lively chatter turns into hushed whispers. People go back to making their morning coffee, side-eyeing each other in a way that’s not meant to be very subtle.

You quietly make your way to your desk, all the while feeling the nosy pairs of eyes on you as you walk. You don’t know how word got out, but you were sure that everyone would know eventually. You just didn’t expect it’d be this soon. Sohee would never do that to you, and you highly doubt that Taehyung would go around broadcasting his infidelity.

As you set your stuff down, you make eye contact with the new intern who sits a few spots away from you. You haven’t had the chance to talk to her much, but she’s a nice girl. She gives you a small smile in greeting, and even though you know she doesn’t mean to pity you, you can still see it in her eyes.

A minute later, Sohee comes up to you. “Hey, babe,” she says, leaning on your desk with two plastic cups in her hands. One iced latte and one mango smoothie. She puts the yellow-colored beverage down and nudges it toward you, a little lackluster and unlike her usual playful self.

“Thanks,” you say, taking the smoothie with a smile, commenting, “Interesting morning so far. Never thought I’d ever be the subject of office gossip.”

“Yeah, about that. Do you know who was Taehyung’s… uhm… y’know?”

It’s okay. She can say it. You can handle it.

You already feel nothing, and there’s nothing you can even do to rectify it. Might as well lean into it, right?

Or maybe you should just go to therapy.

“No,” you tell her. “I didn’t want to know.”

“Well, uhm, now that the whole office knows, I think you should hear this from me first…” Sohee bites her bottom lip as she gauges your reaction. When you only sigh and give her the go-ahead, she continues, “It was Yura from Marketing.”

“What?”

“Yura from Marketing. You know the one. Brought muffins for the whole office on her first day? A little too bubbly for my taste. But yeah, she was at work the other day and suddenly burst into tears at, like, 10AM, and that’s how everybody found out.”

Of course. Even though people here are surrounded by celebrity gossip on the daily, nothing beats the good old-fashioned office affair. Why bother with celebrity gossip when you have front row seats to live drama unfolding ten feet away?

You take a sip of your smoothie, swallowing down the inkling of irritation that tickles the back of your throat. “Well,” you say, “I’m glad the downfall of my relationship is like a circus animal for them to gawk at. Can’t wait until they move onto the next big thing.”

“Honestly, it might blow over sooner than you think. The Love Doctor is back today.”

“What?” Your ears perk up at the mention of his name, glancing up at her in surprise as you put your drink down. “Doesn’t he work at the Paris office?”

“He used to work here. We joined around the same time. Then he transferred to Paris a few years ago. Nobody even knows why. One day he just upped and left.”

“Why didn’t you tell me he’d be here? I didn’t have time t-”

“Calm down, sweetcheeks, I only just found out,” Sohee chuckles, holding a finger against your mouth to shush you. “We all know you used to have a major lady boner for him.”

“I do not.” You don’t even know what he looks like, just his name when it appears in the byline of an article. “I admire him.”

Which is true, you do admire him. He’s your own version of a freaking rockstar. Though, you have to admit that Love Doctor is a huge cliche of a nickname, and significantly reduces the scope of his brilliance. The way that man writes makes it seem like he’s experienced lifetimes and is now here to pass on his wisdom.

He doesn’t feel like a mere magazine writer like yourself. There’s something in his words that turns you inside out, makes you experience things that you’ve never even gone through. He flows like poetry, and leaves you stunned every time.

Okay, maybe you do have a lady boner, but for his brain.

Which… is probably something you should never say out loud.

Someone walks in then, a man you’ve never seen before. He looks around your age, if not a couple of years older. He bypasses all of the other desks without saying anything, not a single Hi or Good morning. He doesn’t look like the type to speak if not spoken to.

Then he walks over to where you and Sohee sit, and sets his bag on the empty desk next to yours.

You look at Sohee, and she just shrugs.

It can’t be him. Surely, it’s not…?

“Min Yoongi,” she says in greeting.

Oh, it is.

He spares her a nod before he looks away again. “Sohee.”

Is that the Parisian way? Is that how people normally greet someone they haven’t seen in years? Sohee and him were only colleagues, but still, the least you could do is pretend.

You’re not one to judge a book by its cover, but c’mon, seriously? Were you wrong for expecting the person who writes about love in its most raw and beautiful form to look… not like Grumpy Cat personified? It makes you even more fucking intimidated. And he’s going to be sitting next to you? The fuck?

As he sits down, you blink, still a bit dazed, not sure how to process this. Sohee gently pushes you forward, which makes you nearly stumble right into him. You turn to her with a glare, but she just motions to him, mouthing ‘Go on.’

You clear your throat, wiping your hand on your pants before you hold it out. “Hi, I’m Y/N. It’s so nice to finally meet you,” you say, trying to sound as professional as you can. “I’m really looking forward to working with you.”

He glances at you, and reaches out to meet your outstretched hand in a barely-there handshake. “Yoongi.”

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