Modified A/B/O master post: Ac3’s version that is more “realistic” so to speak.
AKA: FERAL MAN AU
GENERAL STUFF
- I refer to all heats/ruts as “drops” generally speaking. It’s used as more of a slang term/colloquialism that goes both ways, and heat/rut are like medical terms. You “drop” out of society for like a week tops when it goes down, after all.
- suppressants and birth control vary on setting and time period, but generally speaking are like any other hormone regulator.
- no scent blockers, period. At least not not on the black market. People in my version get weirded out when they can’t smell what the people around them have going on…
- … which leads into the fact that all scents gain a “spoiled” or “burning” smell when the individual in question is distressed. Scents will be explained better in the next section.
- “packs” are usually a few couples, maybe more, or a polycule that live together and hep raise one another’s kids. Generally speaking, even if it’s a poly thing they each have their own “default” partner. Siblings/cousins may be in the same pack but never any other familial relationship besides their own kids.
- houses/apartments/etc are called “dens” and bedrooms are called “nests”. Each pack has a “den” and a “nest” for each couple, with a selection of others for the kids. Babies under 5 sleep with the parents, which is usually when they start to give off a scent other than baby powder (aka they’ve matured enough to start developing little by little. It’s like losing a tooth, it means you’re not a baby-baby anymore).
- what kids are called varies on the person and “base” (explained next section), but it’s usually Cub, Pup, Kit, Hatchling or Spawn. The real difference in what’s used is solely cultural, even if there are no eggs involved in certain terms.
- primary gender (what the person presents as in terms of like classical gender stuff) is more or less irrelevant and the only effect the “base” they start with has on them is how big their tits and hips are gonna get and what type of them, plus the general vibes you get off their faces and to an extent builds.
ANATOMY/PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL STUFF
- depending on setting (or even “subspecies”) different groups have different animal bases. In the same world/fic you could have the classic wolves alongside sea life (sirens/mermaids), snakes (nagas), birds (harpies), bats (vampires), really any combination of animal and human you can think of. You don’t even need to make it alternate monsters if you don’t want to, I just came up with that bc it’s fun to explore a new form of “race” layered on like how there’s 2 “sex” things you get in A/B/O stuff. This impacts physical characteristics, certain social elements, how they have kids (eggs v no eggs), and other minor details that are totally optional.
- betas are mostly normal folks except they have a fairly neutral earthy smell (think stones, dust, mud, etc.) and are a bit stronger than a standard human. They make up half the population. Betas have a 2-1-1 chance of a beta, alpha or omega kid of either primary gender.
- Alphas are a bit taller on average compared to Betas, prettier than them in a sort of elven way, and have sharper features. Generally lithe, built like runners or gymnasts. Pretty social, usually the ones who do negotiations and trade and the like. You’ll usually see these guys as teachers at schools or running shops. Definitly the most friendly of the bunch, but there are exceptions and when stressed or on edge they become pretty curt and quick to lash out. Middle of the road (physical) strength and speed wise. Better than betas, not as good as omegas. Scents are usually nature ones, like rivers, storms, plants and the like.
-Omegas…
Built like brick shit houses and they usually look 3 seconds from turning everyone around them into a smear on the ground. Aggressive, territorial, blunt, and the most feral of the bunch. If there are alternate forms involved in the thing I’m writing, these suckers tend to be SCARY as hell but in a pretty way. Overall they fully embody the “angry mama bear” trope… 24/7. They are like this because they are the ones who need to rear and guard the kids even if the alpha is gone for some reason or another. They do the hunting, the set up of dens, the kid wrangling, that kinda thing. They smell like “treats” and warm drinks, generally spiced and/or sweet things. Coffee, breads, pies, apple cider, tea, that kinda thing. Most also have a milky undertone somewhere in their scent if they are able to have kids. Once they hit menopause the milky scent is changed to a bit of a fruity chalk- like one, like crushed smarties.
Omegas are very much “yes murder” and the betas and alphas keep them in check with “no murder” and “some murder is okay but not now honey we need this guy to get that nice herbed goat cheese you love so much”. Omegas and alphas have a 1-2-2 ratio of having a beta, alpha or omega kid if they get with a beta. If it’s an alpha and an omega, it becomes 1-3-3.
A lot of social stuff is more or less determined by micro expressions, scents, simple noises and body language. Some people literally only talk in the local language maybe once every couple weeks when they go get groceries or something. Omegas are the worst about it, but also able to make the widest range of sounds and most proficient in the “language”. Betas have the hardest time with the more “feral” side of things, obviously, and make up about half the population. Betas typically live in towns and cities while the other half of society lives out in the wilds or countryside and either have a solid territory or wander around as nomads.
In short, more accurate to the animal kingdom A/B/O set up with a dash of “wouldn’t it be funny if the “mom” role was filled by a brick shithouse man who looks like he’s gonna murder you if you breathe wrong 5 houses over and the “big scary alpha” was a pretty boy who’s shorter than the “wife” and kinda the one you’d think was the “mom”?” Because I’m weird.
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have been toying with the idea of an au wherein shen jiu, after burning down the qiu household and running away, comes across xie lian rather than wu yanzi poaching him immediately afterwards:
i'd imagine in this verse he runs away to town rather than immediately being found in the aftermath of what he's done. at this point, shen jiu would be too paranoid to consider reaching out for directions to cang qiong mountain even if he wanted to make it there: what if they knew what he did? or figured it out if he did know? (if he even had the mind to think of these things through his panic)
he doesn't want to end up begging on the streets again, though—too alike his childhood and last time he was in that position, shen jiu ended up with the qius in the first place
so he takes refuge in temples that he comes across, stealing food when he can before moving to a different part of the rather large town he's ended up in so there's no clear pattern of when he shows up at whichever food stall
despite not holding that same respect and unwavering belief in gods (how could he, after everything he's gone through? shouldn't they have stepped in, sometime? what god would let him suffer as he did, separating him from the only person he loved?) he knows better than to try them, and begrudgingly thanks them for the shelter (because this he did appreciate, at the very least, if nothing else)
winter hits hard when it does, and shen jiu, after spending so many years in the qiu household, forgot how the cold seeps into your skin and bones without solid walls to keep out the frigid breeze.
he quickly falls ill with nothing to protect him from the elements but his threadbare clothing, and when he grows ill, he becomes slow. shen jiu nearly gets caught stealing, running away before he can be dragged to a town guard for his offence, but earning himself a nasty wound to his leg as he retreated
sickness + the cold + the wound leave him weak and wanting: missing qi-ge, reminiscing on nights where they'd curl up together for warmth, still cold but not alone, the two of them steady against the storm that raged on ahead of them
fever-ridden and teetering close to death, shen jiu wanders into a temple late at night and sinks to his knees, falling to his side, heart-rate slowing. in his delirium, he misses the figure taking shelter from the storm in the corner, watching him
shen jiu wakes up (he doesn't expect to), warm while he hears the wind whistle. he's still in that temple from earlier, but it's considerably... cozier. a small fire warms the inside and his clothes aren't as damp against his cold skin. his fever's broken, too—he doesn't know how long it's been, but he's glad he didn't die: never realized that he wanted to live until he was close to forfeiting his right to
here is where he meets his accidental saviour: xie lian stood over a slowly bubbling pot of stew that smells heavenly to shen jiu—he'd eat just about anything at this point, starved
his immediate distrust of xie lian stops him from being truly excited about his appearance
their relationship is veryyy shaky at the very beginning: shen jiu refuses to trust him and xie lian refuses to abandon this strange child he found on the verge of death
(there's a strange sort of bond built up when you nurse someone back to life, dragging them away from the brink of death and xie lian isn't interested, but he's curious about this kid who stumbled into his temple at the dead of night on a midnight in winter)
shen jiu's torn between distrust and this desire for company he didn't know he possessed; after being alone with no one but the qiu household [before he went on his massacre] he didn't realized how much he wanted to share space with someone who wasn't actively hurting him until he was afforded the opportunity to experience non-violent company with xie lian
his distrust slowly declines when he finds out that xie lian is a cultivator. despite being arguably too old to learn cultivation to the fullest extent he could have if he started a few years earlier, he still desperately wants to learn
xie lian, perceptive as ever, slowly starts teaching him bits and pieces of the basics, teaches him to meditate, takes care to keep his distance when it looks like shen jiu's getting overwhelmed
shen jiu can't help but get attached. he hates it
shen jiu decides to test xie lian before resigning himself to this
he was snappy, impatient, and argued with xie lian, when he came over, one day, waiting for some form of punishment to come, bristling like a spooked cat.
nothing came of his experiment but a slight frown from xie lian, which made shen jiu feel almost bad—xie lian almost reminded him of qi-ge, which made him feel doubly bad because he desperately wants to find him
shen jiu came to xie lian the next day with a pastry [that he stole] as an apology. and a request:
"teach me how to cultivate so i can be a disciple at the cang qiong sect"
xie lian agrees easily enough: he's been around shen jiu to see that despite the late start, he has potential to be great [especially untouched by wu yanzi and his twisted form of cultivation]
shen jiu throws himself into his studies, working himself to the bone
xie lian is concerned by this and after trying to soften the load of his work doesn't make shen jiu slow down, he becomes stern: warns him against trying to chase too much frivolously
this leads to a breakdown of sorts—where shen jiu gets angry, dismissive, before becoming upset. the average emotional depth of a teenager but, like, 4 times worse because of the circumstances
xie lian coaxes the story out of shen jiu here; qi-ge [the first time he's mentioned aloud by name], the qiu household [only the barest of details. shen jiu refuses to dwell], and the night shen jiu made qi-ge leave, as well as qi-ge's promise to come back
shen jiu finishes by telling xie lian he needs to make it back to qi-ge, needs to see if he's still alive, he's been selfish for sticking around as long
shen jiu tells xie lian that he needs to figure out as much as he can, as fast as he can, so he can leave and make his way to cang qiong mountain with some sort of base knowledge to make it in. and that he's not sorry for pushing himself because he doesn't have time
xie lian is quiet for a while
puts a comforting hand on shen jiu's shoulder and tells him he understands; he knows someone who would do anything to make it back to the one they loved, understands the pain that comes when time and distance separates the two
however, xie lian tells him, he can't let shen jiu push himself. he'll only stunt his progress by hurting himself rather than speed things up
shen jiu is ready to argue again before xie lian offers to make the trip with him
shen jiu doesn't believe it at first—who would bother with helping him for this long if they weren't getting anything out of it? he already found this hard to believe, let alone the fact that xie lian would drop everything to travel with him for weeks on end
xie lian doesn't shake in his resolve, though. shen jiu figures out he's being serious and wants to argue, but he's just—relieved
so many people have stood as roadblocks on his path back to qi-ge; xie lian might be the first person actively trying to help them
it almost reignites hope in him; someone other than him believes in them. someone other than shen jiu thinks they'll make it back to each other and succeed in reuniting. xie lian's faith in him is like a gust of wind beneath his wings
he agrees to their road trip
[xie lian makes sure to tell his beloved he'll be away for a while]
[shen jiu doesn't notice that xie lian buys steamed buns off the same stranger in nearly every town they stop by for a night of rest in the following few weeks]
[xie lian notices, years later, when shen qingqiu doesn't recognize him upon their first meeting in decades. shen yuan doesn't know xie lian, but xie lian knows this isn't shen jiu, anymore]
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