Could you expand a bit on how Jack and Nana's interactions with Romulus and Remus involve social commentary? Really curious to hear about that.
Heads up because this is a long one
Jack has a big fat crush on Nana, who is basically a Lupine (specifically she is half human and half Lupine) which is among many magical races on Lore that have a messy history with humans (because humans have bad history starting shit with any race that ain't the mundane in Lore)
Lore isn't the same hostile place it was eons ago BUT there are still some humans out there who feel uneasy with nonhuman beings.
Nana's mother doesn't see Jack as a good fit for her daughter and views him as a bad influence since, after they became friends, Nana has become somewhat more adventurous. Nana's mother is slightly paranoid about the world and the dangers it contains for the more magically inclined. And she doesn't think Jack is careful enough in how he navigates it for him to be around her daughter.
Romulus and Remus have encountered many of hostile humans in their lives. Way more than Nana, because they are VISIBLY Lupines (and they also are older and have traveled many different places). They don't have cloaks to hide their ears and they are not small at all. They are actually among two of the tallest OCs in Beanstalked since Lupines are naturally very tall. It's just that Nana lost the gamble of life and came out tiny.
It's partially because of her small size that the Big Bad Wolf Brothers are worried about her wondering around with the Fabled Five. She thankfully hasn't encountered much hostility save for when her father died protecting her. Her dad was also VISIBLY a Lupine.
Romulus is the biggest voice of concern and he also isn't too fond of Jack, believing him too weak to protect Nana. And as far as Romulus cares, Jack is just a human. Yeah he's Bookmarked, and Bookmarked face some scrutiny from some that believe they are bad omens, and he has fangs, and his eyes go green sometimes, but he's human compared to Nana.
He's magically inclined but he's not immediately VISIBLE like Nana when she takes her cloak off. And he definitely ain't as visible as Romulus and Remus.
Remus doesn't mind Jack and is willing to help him when it comes to learning more about Lupines. He tends to bump heads with his brother about Jack...which adds on to Romulus not completely vibing with Jack.
Jack does his best because he loves Nana and wants to keep her safe and happy. He works to learn more about her and Lupines in general as well as other magical races in Lore.
He is Bookmarked and a Slayer, but these are things he is learning in real time throughout the entirety of Beanstalked. He lived a relatively sheltered life on a farm in an area where there isn't any fear of magically inclined beings, so he doesn't know the danger or hostility that Nana, Romulus and Remus know. And he probably wouldn't have ever learned it if he stayed put on the farm even after revealing he's Bookmarked because, AGAIN, the area he lives in is chill when it comes to magical beings.
And boy didn't even grow up knowing he was a Slayer, which LITERALLY ran on his dad's side of the family, so that's a whole magically inclined side of him he has to reconnect to that will be a wee bit of a struggle for...reasons (spoiler reasons). It's also a side that his mother purposely hid from him because she wanted to keep him safe.
So he's much more optimistic about Lore compared to those three. Remus is also an optimist but it's more so just because of his personality and not a lack of experience. Jack is optimistic because he came in late to the game.
SO YEAH -- I accidentally did something here. I might have sprinkled a little bit of personal experience in there because I tend to prefer writing from what I myself know.
I got Romulus, Remus (both of which need their tatts fully reupdated), and Loligo who canonically have tattoos that aren't some very convoluted birthmarks or markings. I probably have more but these are the only ones coming to mind right now.
If we are talking about marked up OCs in general, where we counting magical markings and birthmarks...too many.
Does romulus still end up with xia? I remember some rrl old asks about the two of them
Welp, that was before I completely restarted and rewrote Beanstalked. Back then I did plan on them being a thing but with the way the write has gone now - I honestly have no idea.
I'll see how things play out as I write them because sometimes OCs just create their own story paths in my head.
As of now, I see them both as getting along well platonically. Or at least Romulus having a higher tolerance for Xia than he has for some other characters in comic (aside from Remus and Nana of course)
Has Nana ever met Romulus and/or Remus? If so, what do they think of each other? Do they get along, or not as much, if at all?
Nana, Romulus, and Remus all meet during the course of Beanstalked.
However, things are a bit...rocky...to say the least as Romulus and Remus work for Nevermore (the main antagonist of Beanstalked) so they are on opposing sides to the Fabled Five.
Fortunately Romulus and Remus are part of the small handful of Nevermore henchmen that don't entirely do all her bidding and are more grey morality than full on evil (especially when it comes to Remus who is practically a protagonist that is just working under evil because his big bro thinks it's the best way to keep him safe)
I will say that Nana and the Big Bad Brothers are more along the lines of a niece and her uncles, at least outside of canon (and inside when things are going alright).
