#karrie talks

[kaiserouo]

"Huh."

[flamingphoenixfox]

Original Text Post By Captain-Lovelace

[jojaydoodles]

More 重生之门 because yes.

[lost-in-fandoms]

i went into a delirium and wrote 1k of logan/max does anyone want it

[theeastgable]

"well scientifically speaking womens bodys are just weaker because of-" thats really interesting but you should kill yourself actually

[the-amalgam-house]

My oldest niece is starting to fall prey to beauty standards and refusing to eat. She says she's not hungry and gives her lunch away to classmates. She's a people pleaser in the same way that I am, living with a mother that loudly yells at her to stop being such a people pleaser. She's only 11, going on 12 this year, and has stopped crying and hiding from her mother when she yells. She just smiles uncomfortably in silence.

This isn't okay. I already don't like my brother's ex-wife from my experience witnessing her abusing him both verbally and physically. She plants the idea in her kids heads that it was HIM that would abuse HER when all he did was try to defend himself in the least violent way possible. He knows and has always known that if a (now ex) military man were to even retaliate, he would be seen as a wife beater and his kids taken away from him. He loves his kids beyond anything that has ever been loved in the entirety of the history of the universe. And their mother is an abusive piece of shit, with a man-baby as a current husband and two more kids with him for a total of five that she basically has to raise on her own because he's a useless piece of shit who projects his inadequacies onto my brother, the ACTUALLY present father despite the distance.

But between her useless step-father, her abusive and careless mother, and the Georgia public school system, my oldest niece has to now deal with terrible self image issues on top of having a very negative experience over the divorce of her parents. She and all of her siblings really aren't safe in their mom's household, and my brother is working hard with his new, much more mature and caring and lovely, wife to get a home where his kids can stay if they so choose. His oldest son already wants to. He things his oldest daughter would prob want to as well, if she isn't already too traum bonded to her mother, and the youngest daughter still sees her mom as basically the sun, so she would prob need time to choose for herself.

Lord knows their asshole mother is CONSTANTLY trying to turn their kids against their dad. She kept him away from all of us for their whole marriage cause she's a miserable pile of garbage only BARELY better than his other baby mama and that's only because ex-wife was forced to grow the duck up when she left my brother for that man child white trash nobody. The same woman who called her own ex-husband a racist slur while they were still MARRIED. Over being a poc and party a culture that her children are ALSO a part of by blood.

Man fuck my bother's exes. Both of them fucking immature asshole pieces of shit who tried to manipulate him into abandoning old family for them, just in different ways. I hope my brother gets full custody of all of his kids and they all fucking THRIVE together.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for ignoring my friend's "advice" for my OC?

Using fake names for this and also including race because that is relevant to this.

Cast: Me (Mexican Female), Julie (16 White Female), Nico (16 Mexican Male), Gina (16 Chinese Female), and Karry (16 Black Female)

My friends and I were all making our own ocs to do an original story together. After we had completed all of them with reference pictures and backstories written, we all shared them in a discord chat.

Karry started acting dodgy whenever I would speak about my oc, and she would ignore my messages that were directly speaking to her. So Gina offered to speak to her for me on my behalf, but Karry had ignored her as well.

So Nico and Julie decided to bring it up in the main chat and Karry got mad about that. Then she started saying that she wanted me and Gina to make changes because there were some things she did not think were right about them. I asked her what it was, and she said that it was the fact that we gave our non-black ocs braids (singular thick braid). I had said I didn't see anything wrong with that.

Apparently that was a mistake because Karry blew up and me. She went on and on about how braids were a significant part of black culture and was primarily a black hairstyle. She said that it was wrong for anyone who wasn't black to be using that hairstyle and that people who did that were doing cultural appropriation. Gina argued that braids were in other cultures as well and that she would not be changing her oc, and I agreed with her. Karry called us both racist assholes for not listening to what she had to say.

Nico and Julie also sided with her saying that we were being assholes for ignoring what a black person had to say about their own culture. And that we should just change it so our ocs didn't wear braids in their hair to make Karry happy because she was not talking to any of us now. I want to stand my ground, but it feels like Karry is also right. Maybe I should change it so my oc doesn't wear her hair in a braid, but Gina refuses to change it because she says the braid style she is using is part of her culture. I'm not sure if I am doing the right thing if I keep my oc with a braid, but I also don't want to do changes because I like how she looks now.

AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[ro-written]

Only You - C.San

Tags/Warnings: Boxer!San, kinda sorta tsundere!reader if you squint but not really, best friends to lovers, fighting/violence, blood, fluff, yall this was supposed to be less than 1k….and this is so not proofread but fuck it we ball

Word Count: 3.5k

Playlist:

“Are We Still Friends” by Tyler the Creator “Baby Boy” by Kevin Abstract “only you” by karri

You watched with bated breath as San went to the corner of the ring, blood and a dark bruise gathered at the corner of his mouth. Your nails dug into your palms as you clenched your fists in anticipation. You knew that he could take care of himself, he’s spent years learning various martial arts, has been in the ring more times than you could count. 

So why are you always on edge when you watch him fight? Why does your heart race with every punch?

Wooyoung sprayed water from the bottle he had on the side right onto San’s mouth, using a towel swung over his shoulder to dab at the sweat and blood on his face. San tilted his head back, resting against the post behind the stool he was spread on. Woo tilted in to whisper something into San’s ear, something that caused his eyes to blink open and scan the crowd. Eventually, his eyes landed on you, and you saw his lip twitch a bit, before taking a hand and moving Woo off his shoulder, never leaving your gaze. You gave him a little nod, a small semblance of motivation, and put a fist up. It was your silent way of telling him to get up and kick his ass.

And so with your encouragement, San stood back up, body relaxed and you watched as you knew what was to come next. You had seen this move a hundred times by now to know exactly what to look for in his bodily movements. 

The opponent steps forward with a cocky grin, ready to continue his onslaught of punches. But San simply looks at him, eyebrow raised, before swinging his body around, launching himself into the air. It was all so quick, yet it felt like time stopped as his foot collided with his opponent’s face.

The crowd silenced for a split second, everyone holding their breaths. That was until Wooyoung jumped into the ring, stack of cash in hand, and went directly to the opponent, counting down on his fingers right in the man’s unconscious face. After three counts, with no sign of fight from the opponent, the crowd went into an uproar.

You jumped from your chair, and yelled out San’s name, cheering him on from your seat. You could see the tiredness in his eyes, but his excitement overshadowed it. You watched as Wooyoung took San’s hand and raised it up, crowning him the champion of the match. Eventually, people pushed up onto the mat and crowded around San, leaving Woo to leave and collect the betting money from all the losers. However, before he stepped away, San grabbed his collar lightly to hold him back, leaning in to whisper something into his ear. Woo simply nodded, waving his hand at his friend, before walking away, still collecting the money.

You observed as San gave his signature smile to everyone surrounding him, even with the busted lip and bruising at the corner of his mouth. His eyes curved into crescents, dimples appearing as he talked to his fans and signed whatever they were jutting out in front of him. It made your chest flutter, seeing him go from this scary and cold rough boxer to your warm, kind-hearted best friend. 

“Hey,” a voice called out to the side of you, hand landing gently on your arm. You jumped at the feeling, before relaxing once you realized it was Woo. A smile cracked across your face. “Hey Youngie, how’d yall make out?” You gestured your head towards the cash in his hand. He looked down and smirked, slapping the stack against his hand.

“Not too terrible, I’d say. I still have to make some more rounds before people try to sneak out on me, but hey, Sannie said he wanted to see you in the back.” He looked over at the man still in the ring talking to people, now signing some man’s arm. It made you chuckle as you watched the various people fawn over him. But you could see something. It was a split second, but you caught it nonetheless. As someone’s hand came down to pat his back, his face winced, but he quickly cleared it up before anyone could notice.

Anyone but you and Woo, of course.

“Please check on him,” his eyebrows were taut, worry written across his face. “You know how he can get after fights. Make him rest.” His eyes found yours, and his usual playfulness wasn’t anywhere to be found.

“I’ll try. If he actually listens though is the thing.” You offered up a half smile as Wooyoung laughs out.

“Please, only you could tell him to fight a mountain lion with one hand tied behind his back and blindfolded and he would do it in a heartbeat, no questions asked.” His playful smirk was back on his face as you rolled your eyes. You wanted to poke at him and tell him to not overexaggerate so much, but you couldn’t. It was true, and you knew it. You were one of, if not the only, person San would listen to no matter what. Perks of being his best friend for such a long time.

“You know how to get to the back?” Woo pointed over his shoulder to a door with a red sign on it. Staff Only. You nodded, having been back there a handful of times before his matches to wish him luck and give him a hug. Woo nodded, giving you a quick one-armed hug, before leaving off to get the rest of his and San’s money. 

You shouldered your way through the bustling crowd, trying to keep a straight line toward the door. Finally reaching it after what felt like forever, you pushed it open, slipping through and ensuring no one followed behind you. The last thing you’d want is San being mobbed in the locker room while he was trying to have his own time.

The locker room wasn’t like the typical locker room you had in school. You remembered how surprised you felt when you first walked into it. It was a smaller square room, the left wall lined with cubbies for people to put their items away in. One of them was filled with San’s belongings, while the others remained empty, save for a medical kit. On the right was a long couch that took up most of the wall, and two rolling chairs sat near it. In the corner next to the couch was a small refrigerator for people to put away the water bottles and any other items they needed to keep cold. The walls were covered in red brick, and the flooring was a black Berber carpet. Probably so no one could see the stains…

You made yourself comfortable on the couch, not knowing when San would be able to peel himself away from his fans. Picking at your nails, you could only think back to the way San looked at you before he ended the match. Something in his eyes seemed different, an emotion you don’t remember ever seeing in him. You couldn’t quite place it though, and it was frustrating. You knew him like the back of your hand, knew what every face, every quirk of his eyebrow, every curl of his lip was saying. You wondered if you were simply overthinking it. Maybe he was just trying to find some sort of encouragement outside of Woo. Maybe he was just making sure you were watching his signature move so he could ask you later how cool you thought it was for the millionth time.

You shook your head, trying to clear it of his sly smirk and pretty dimples.

Suddenly, you heard a click at the door, and your eyes shot up from where they were staring at your hands. You watched as San walked in, hair wet and a new set of clothes on, turning around to lock the door behind him to keep from being pestered while trying to rest. His shoulders sagged from their usual position, something that had you quirk your head to the side. He took a lot of pride in having such a perfect posture, so you knew he had to be beyond tired at this point. He rested his forehead against the door, giving you a chance to take note of all the various bruises not hidden by his clean white tank that had already formed or were forming along his arms and back. You could see a cut on his shoulder that had blood slowly forming around the edges.

“Sannie,” Your voice called out quietly to not startle him. He lifted his head off the door, turning around to see you. In an instant, his face brightened up, a smile gracing his features for a second before the pain took over and his bruised hand came up to his lip. You stood up and walked over to grab his arm, leading him over to the couch. He let you push him down against it gently before you moved over to grab the medical kit and come back to him. You sat down next to him, opened the kit, and guided his head to face you. The cuts and bruises littering his face made you tsk and shake your head a bit, before letting his chin go.

“Well hello to you too.” He smirked and winced again at the pain. You rolled your eyes at him, but couldn’t help the smile playing on your lips at hearing his voice full of playfulness.

“You’re an idiot, letting him get this many hits on you.” You murmured, eyes looking through the kit to find ointment and alcohol wipes.

“Wow, not even a congratulations?” He feigned hurt, grabbing at his chest as his eyebrows furrowed together.

“You don’t need a congratulation from me, San. I knew you were going to win from the start.” You pulled out one of the wipe packets and started dabbing at the cut on his arm lightly, letting him get used to the stinging sensation of the alcohol before pressing any harder. You felt goosebumps stick up on his arm as you held his arm to keep steady. One side of his mouth quirked up in amusement, showing a bit of his teeth.

“You knew I’d win?”

“Yes, San. I always know you’re gonna win.” You grabbed one of the ointment packets out and ripped it, pushing a bit of the paste on your finger. You gently spread it across the cut until it was fully covered.

“And why’s that?” You looked up to see his eyes fixed on you, watching every movement. Your body froze under his intense eyes, face heating up. But you shook it off quickly, setting the ointment packet down to grab one of the bandaids from the kit.

“Because,” you split the bandaid wrapper. “You’re the best there is.” You placed the bandaid that wasn’t quite the honey tone of his skin on top of the cut to keep it clean. It wasn’t a lie, there was no one else you could think of that fought with the intensity and precision he did. You looked up again to see his eyes were still trained on your face, his ever-present smirk still there.

“Yeah?” His tone was cocky, and you had to remind yourself that you were in the middle of bandaging him up to tear your eyes away.

Something was different. Typically, even when it was just you two, you would playfully flirt, not ever meaning anything serious about it. You had been best friends for years, and you were comfortable with each other. You told each other everything and nothing ever felt off or awkward. So why did you feel so tense right now? Why did it feel like all your senses were turned to 11? You let out a breath as a way to bring yourself back to the task.

“Yes. Now, stop talking so I can take care of these cuts.” You gave him a pointed look, a look he was definitely familiar with when you were trying to get his stubborn ass to do something. He nodded with a hum, and you grabbed your wipe again, making sure you had a clean part of it, before wiping at the cut on his cheek. The position was awkward, having to slightly contort his head and neck so that you could reach it.

“Why don’t you– Just– Here.” He never fully finished his sentence before he was grabbing your waist and pulled you into his lap, causing you to let out a sharp inhale at the sudden shift. Your body was frozen yet again. Both of you had been close before, especially with how touchy San could be, always wanting to have skinship. You had even woken up a handful of times after sleepovers (aka you both had too much to drink after partying and you refused to let him leave out so drunk) with his arm wrapped around you. But you had never had this before. Sitting in his lap, faces inches away, his hands still resting on your waist.

“This okay?” He asked, searching in your eyes for something. You realized you had been staring at him with your hands frozen in front of you, and you finally moved after you processed his voice.

“Ye–ahem–Yeah, this is good. Better.” You got out, getting back to work and patching his face up. Your wipe moved from the cut on his cheek to the bruise at the corner of his mouth, gently dabbing at it to clean up the dried blood he managed to miss in his shower. Luckily, you didn’t find a cut there and used your thumb to move his skin around a bit to make sure you didn’t miss anything before grabbing the ointment again and using your finger to spread it out on the cut on his cheek. 

You tried not to think too much about how you could smell the refreshing scent of his body wash. Or how his hair smelled a bit like peppermint. Or how warm his hands felt still holding on to your waist. How you could see and feel his eyes watching you carefully as if he wanted to say something. You grabbed a smaller bandaid from the kit and placed it across the gash to make sure it healed well.

“Done.” You stated with a shaky breath as you gathered up all the trash and moved off his lap. You turned around to find the trashcan and didn’t catch the slight slump of his shoulders when the pressure and warmth of your body on his was gone. You tossed the trash and came back over, grabbing a rolling chair to bring in front of him and sit in.

“It was a pretty intense fight, Sannie. You let him get a few good hits I know you could have blocked. So…why?” You propped your legs up on the couch next to him, careful to not accidentally kick him with your close proximity. He leaned his body back to rest against the couch, arms coming up to drape across the back of it, and his legs extended on either side of your chair. You couldn’t deny that you felt something twist in your gut at the sight of him, but you were focused on his answer to your question.

“Woo and I talked before the match about that. He says that if I get my ass kicked around a bit at the beginning, people are more likely to bet against me in higher amounts, especially if they haven’t seen me fight before.” He huffed out, eyes closed to give them a rest from the ceiling lights. You nodded and tried to look anywhere besides his bobbing Adam's apple. 

“I guess it makes sense. But…I’m just…worried I guess. With how much you let the other guy rough you up. I’ve seen you in some pretty harsh shape but this, San? This is brutal.” You waved your hand in front of his body as if he could see.

“Ah, it’s not the worst. You remember when I got my ribs broken?”

“That was because you were still trying to figure out how to properly do your crescent kick and fell flat on your side, dumbass. Not the same thing as letting someone else beat you black and blue.” He quirked up an eyebrow at that and shrugged his head a bit. You went quiet, a question on the tip of your tongue but you struggled with how to word it. You looked back down at your fingers again, picking again at your nails. 

You didn’t realize how San opened his eyes and raised his head at your sudden silence, watching as you let your nervous habit take over. He leaned over to grab at your hands to keep you from picking at them anymore, and you looked up to once again see his concerned eyes.

“What’s on your mind?”

It never failed that you would be amazed at how well he knew you.

“When or maybe why did you decide to quit letting him hit you if you and Woo knew that you were making money?” Your eyebrows furrowed together as the question finally left out. His hands loosened up around yours and his eyes widened a bit at the question, face slightly flushing. “There was a moment when I saw you and you changed entirely. Why? Did Woo say something?”

He pursed his lips and looked down at where your hands were still connected, his brain jostling around with how to answer you. Eventually, he nodded, jaw clenching and unclenching, and he raised his head to face you.

“I guess it’s best if I just tell you now,” he huffed, making you even more confused. “When I’m in the ring, I have to calculate everything, have to constantly watch for everything that the other guy is doing. And there are moments when it feels…pointless. Like it’s all for nothing. Like I should just give up and let them lay me out, you know?”

You took in everything he was saying, trying to process his words and the emotions that came with them.

“Wooyoung wanted me to throw the match more so he could collect more bets. But…when I looked out and I saw you…I needed to make you proud.” He was ultra hesitant with his words, cautiously scanning your face to gauge out your reactions. It was funny how this man, someone who’s been said to have a cold heart in the ring and iron fists you would never want to meet, is instantly turned into a nervous mess when it came to you. Your heart was beating in your throat now, watching him back with wide eyes trying to understand what he was exactly saying.

“God, it’s just–...I don’t–...fuck, I guess it’s just–...” He keeps cutting himself off, the words he wished to say not forming right in his mouth. Sensing his frustration, you rubbed your thumb over the bruised knuckles, a soothing tactic you knew helped him. And it did, as you saw his face relax from the way it was scrunched up.

“It’s okay Sannie, take your time.” You spoke as gently as possible, not wanting him to feel rushed at getting the right words, or even feel pressured to say them at all. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath through his nose, before opening them back to level with you.

“When I’m in the ring, and all these thoughts get to my head, all I can think about is you. Only you. How you encourage me to keep going, your smile and your voice telling me to finish the match. All I can think about is how your eyes light up when I finally win.” 

You felt completely frozen at his confession, thumbs having stopped their movements since. It felt as if your brain had been slowed in its comprehension skills, and you had to repeat every word he said in your head five times over for it to truly sink in.

“So…you–”

“I like you,” he blurted out, face and neck turning pink. “A lot. More than as your best friend. I like every little detail about you and it just drives me insane not being able to tell you, so I am now. And if you don’t feel the same, well then we can just sort of forget this whole–”

“I like you too, Sannie. More than as a best friend as well.” You interrupted his rant, hands moving from his to grab his face, making sure he hears you. “I’ve been so confused for so long about these emotions I’ve had for you, but I think I’m starting to realize that they haven’t been platonic for a while.” You could feel your ears heating up at your admission, and this feeling of anxiety in your chest relaxed as you were able to tell him your feelings confidently.

And as he smiled at you, eyes twinkling and full of pure love for you, you start to wonder how anyone could see this man as a fighter with a cold heart. In the end, he would always be your Sannie.

---

This was written by @/ro-written and is not to be plagiarized, translated, or distributed anywhere else. Copyright Ro-Written 2023.

All comments, reblogs, and likes are always welcome!

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[kaiserouo]

if ordan karris wanna complete that sentence does that mean he also likes us?

[karriethemechtech]

*URGENT!*

My WHM-6R’s left arm actuator is on the fritz AGAIN! The damn thing keeps wanting to do a 20th century disco impression versus being a straight shooter and it keeps costing me.

Last Batchall my ass nearly found itself as a bondsman to a hyper lethal yet admittedly gorgeous Ghost Bear Star Captain driving a Loki Prime. Like, ok, I admit she did have a rather cute radio voice and it might not have been the worst fate ever but it was exceedingly difficult for either of us to take combat bidding seriously when my mech looks more like Elvis doing his signature “wind up” move versus a mighty machine of war.

We ended up just settling for a pizza eating contest (which I barely won) if you’re wondering how it all went. We did agree I would pay the tab in exchange for me being her +1 at a football game next week. I admit I am rather excited for the prospect. Bargained and done as they say.

I somehow doubt that ex-Jade Falcon turned solo bandit that I have a contract on will be as generous.

Anyhow, Warhammer arm actuator glitches, kindly and thank you!

Hey, thanks for calling in!

First of all, nice to see some old hardware like that still floating around. I bet you and I would get along nicely—you’re ever near Terra or wherever I’m deployed hit me up and we’ll get a drink, talk ‘Mechs. It’ll be fun!

Second of all I think there’s your problem—your Warhammer is ancient. Unless you can prove it otherwise I’m willing to put some money that ‘Mech’s hundreds of years old. You can’t just treat an old thing like that like another piece of military hardware! You’re basically driving around a museum piece. No shame in that, so do I! You just gotta know how to treat them.

Anyway, here’s what you should do. What you’re probably looking at is either in the command wiring or in the drivers running on the ‘Mech’s central computer. I had the same issue when I pulled my Awesome from the junkyard—getting stuck in odd positions. Dunno why it happens, it’s different for each case—could be the drives degrading over time or could be someone else’s repair putting two “incompatible” parts together. Either way, I’ll send you a file with the patch I wrote in and a new wiring layout for your ‘Techs to try, should bypass whatever block you have. You should also check the myomers, see if they’re knotted or fried, and swap those out if you need to.

Should about cover it! Hope that helps ya.

—Karrie

[adarkrainbow]

I want to briefly talk about this book called "Gender-swapped fairy tales", by Karrie Fransman and Jonathan Plackett

I first saw it in several libraries translated in French as "Le Bel au Bois Dormant"

And I was quite interested by the idea. Take the classical fairytales, but change the genders, have heroic she-knights and princesses save men in towers and asleep princes. It is always a fun concept - and the illustrations looked weird and cool enough, with their Rapunzel-bears and drag-queen-looking wolves.

But I took a glimpse inside at a bookshop earlier and... Now please tell me if I am wrong but... it is just the fairytales retold with the pronouns changed, right? I mean I excepted a bit more of a rewrite than just copy-paste the tale by changing the pronouns, and yes there's slight changes like Rapunzel's hair being a beard and whatnot but ultimately... I can just take the original text, change myself the pronouns, and I have the content of this book. Right? Its just that?

Which is the whole point, I totally get it, it proves that fairytales in our modern world can exist beyond gender... But I don't think I am willing to spend that much money just to have a retelling I can literaly type at home on my computer.

(And they also did a gender-swapped Greek myths book apparently? And as a Greek mythology fan I can't help but ask... what's the point, beyond cashing on the trend set by this first book?)

At least the pictures are nice... But I think people are over-hyping way too much this book. They are selling it as like "the ultimate answer to fairytale misoginy" and I am like... Again, I can type this on my computer in two minutes. I just copy-paste the text and change the pronouns. Bam! Misoginy solved apparently? But please tell me if I am wrong, I just quickly went though the book...

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

OC Origins

Thanks @tabswrites here!

Rules: post the origins of how you came up with the name, personality, and design of your OCs!

I'll do Kelsey and Hye-Jin this time!

Kelsey

The original form of Kelsey appeared in the first draft of TSP, and she was Kelly's best friend Nellie. Kelly being the original Maddie. Like Kelly, Nellie was also eight years old and didn't do much, but she was one of the leads in the second book, which I still have not found. Nellie had blonde hair in a bob cut, blue eyes, pale white skin, and wore rectangular purple glasses. I don't remember what she wore. She had the ability to fly. I think her design stayed mostly the same in Draft Two, but I feel like I never described her. I gave her the last name Newman, and I also changed her powers to be force-fields. My sister was the one who told me to change her name, since she didn't like the name Nellie, so I changed it to Kelsey (and I don't remember if it was her suggestion or not). I thought Kelsey Newman still sounded like a good name, so I kept it. In Draft Three, I gave Kelsey very vague powers that I just described as "magic," but this is where Kelsey's design actually begins to look like it does now, and I finally aged her up to eleven. I cut her hair short and choppy and made her glasses black. Her personality finally decided to begin to form, but that doesn't mean it was good. In Draft Four, Kelsey found herself becoming a POV character, and that's when her voice came out a bit more. Her narration became a little sassier, and I was able to get her voice down pretty well. I solidified her powers as reality warping, which helped shape Kelsey's storyline, though I eventually gave it the name essokinesis. I also gave Kelsey some makeup. Draft Five was mainly started so I could work more on character, so I was finally able to get Kelsey down a little. While I kept her narration, a lot of it was internalized on Kelsey's part, so her exterior was written to be a lot shyer, and that strong voice only showed itself occasionally. I made her softer side stronger as she became responsible for taking care of her younger cousins. Design-wise, I tweaked her makeup and outfit slightly to fit more into the modern tween emo vibe I was attempting, and even after some debate I recently thought it would be fun to dye her hair, thanks to an incorrect assumption by @illarian-rambling that I actually really liked. Kelsey has come a long way, and I really like where she is now.

Other Kelsey: OC in three, Picrew (blonde), questionnaire one, questionnaire two, bingo

Hye-Jin

While she's not in Part One, I wanted to talk about her in the same post as Kelsey. Hye-Jin made her first appearance in Draft Two as Alexia's friend Lucy Karry, who went to another school. Lucy had the ability to control the weather. Lucy was given one personality trait: shy. Which is more than most characters got in the first few drafts. Lucy was always East Asian and specifically had Korean descent, but design-wise that just meant beige skin, dark eyes, and thick black hair that I think was shoulder-length. Like everyone else, nothing interesting was going on. For Draft Three, I gave her nothing more than a shout-out as Lucy Harris, and I kept her ability to control the weather, but she never made a physical appearance. In Draft Four, I temporarily had her be named Lucy Day in her shout-out, but I realized early on that if she was Korean (or I guess at this point, the Alii equivalent of that), I should reflect that in her name, and I changed her surname to Song. Lucy did not make an appearance until Part Two, where she was revealed to have a new power like Kelsey: mimicry. Lucy stayed quiet and shy, but she didn't have a lot going on, and I struggled to give her something interesting to do. But her design slowly got better. I did give her more basic clothing, where she wore black and white, but that didn't seem to fit. Eventually I decided she'd wear pastels and also gave her a high ponytail and bangs. In Draft Five, when working with the characters, I figured her out a little more, though it didn't sink into place and become easy until I changed her name to Hye-Jin. For some reason, Hye-Jin was easier to write than Lucy. It was like I finally knew who she was. I kept her hairstyle, but I instead made her color palette be duller cool colors plus pale colors, which really helped her out, and I've been having fun describing her outfits. Personality wise, I love where she's heading. Making her a helpless romantic and have a long list of crushes was fun, but also giving her the same shy, sweet personality on top of other quirks such as a love of reptiles and strong self-confidence was very fun. I love writing her now, when before she wasn't like that.

Other Hye-Jin: OC in three, questionnaire one, bingo

Other Origins: Lexi and Maddie, Ash and Gwen, Noelle and Rose

Tagging @melpomene-grey @chauceryfairytales @leahnardo-da-veggie @sarahlizziewrites @dyrewrites

+ ANYONE ELSE

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TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @finchwrites

@nebula--nix @literarynecromancy @honeybewrites @the-golden-comet

[huskynotwolf]

Stuck (not really,) — Martyn and Grian

From my fanfic Watchers and Hunters on Quotev

Martyn growled and looked at the wall again. He could hear all sorts of noises, especially the talking of Watcher guards. Grian was next to him, clutching his head like he was having the worst headache in his life. His parrot wings have resumed to a striking rainbow, no longer dull, but his emotions screamed for help. 

Grian could feel his sanity chipping away slowly the longer he stayed here. He had gotten Martyn to tell Pearl about what’s happening, and he had told him that she’s coming. Then, using extra energy, he’d told Martyn the direction to get here for Scar, Ren and Scott. Two different patrols, trying to save them, but still the little Watcher shivered. 

Martyn hooked his claws into the chipped walls of the cell and tugged. He managed to yank a tiny chunk of rock out, but it took him almost a full day. He couldn’t keep going even if his instincts told him to. Grunting in defeat, he went over the the door and threw the tough rock at the hinges. The rock split in two and clattered to the floor. 

Grian mumbled, mentally exhausted. He couldn’t find any escape routes, but he could only see Martyn, the one man who’d kept him alive for their time here, banging a chunk of rock he’d ripped out of the wall. “Martyn, stop. You’re just gonna exhaust yourself more.” He prompted. The golden-winged boy stopped for a moment, then sighed and walked over to him, sitting down in the hard floor. “Scar or Pearl, who do you think is coming first?” Martyn asked. Earlier the man had explained every Hunter, or hermit, he calls it, to me do I could know a tad bit more. “…Pearl has a Wolf, Scar has the teleportation guy. I have no idea.” I stretched out my senses, then recoiled as Martyn yanked me back. “Pearl. She’s closer to us. I have hope, Grian. Even if your kind didn’t, I have. You’re officially my best friend. Aside Ren, of course.” He gripped my shoulders. 

Martyn thought of Ren when he mentioned it. The man-Wolf he liked… they’d led a siege together a long time ago, he’d saved Ren once. And now Ren was repaying the favour by saving him. He sighed, hopeless, but walked around the cell. As he neared the corner, his talons suddenly made a hollow clink sound. “Grian,” he whispered, tapping that certain spot of the floor. The kid wadded towards him, and hearing the sound, immediately lit up. “Tunnel!” He squealed, knocking at the floor to see where the lid ends. 

“Just big enough,” Grian smiled. He frantically scraped at the sides with his claws and Martyn began doing the same. It wasn’t long before they dug up the whole lid. “Come on! What’re you waiting for?” It was as if his stamina and light was relit at the sight of the tunnel. Grain jumped in first, and his friend followed afterwards. 

Martyn and Grian began making their way out of the base of the Watchers, completely forgetting to close the lid.

Watchers PoV

“Hole. They went through the hole. I though it was sealed, Karrie.” *Anadil growled. Karrie hissed. “I would never know.” She resorted, turning to Ember. “Guard the other end.” The Watcher nodded and ran off. Then she turned back to Anadil and Dandelion. “I have sleep gas. Does that work?” Karrie studied its pin.

“It would work.” Dandelion muttered, ripping the pin off and tossing it into the cell. It clattered for a second and hissed, releasing the gas. Anadil slammed the door shut. “I don’t understand those stupid Hunters. They take our territory then say we took their’s, they stole from us, they say we killed them when they killed more of us, most that never returned…” The eagle-winged Watcher sighed. “And now our exiled parrot Watcher and the clueless Listener is under their influence.” Anadil slowly stalked away. Karrie understood why her friend was so down; they had killed off most of his family members, the only ones left were her and her younger sister, who died in her own hands. In revenge she’d attacked on of the Hunters and gave him a massive scar. She’d got scars as well from that encounter, but her loss was the most grief the Hunters have caused.

We’ll talk sense into Grian. He’s just angry we’ve exiled him. And the Listener.

***

Basically, if you’ve noticed, all of the perspectives were from Life Series winners: Grian, Scott, Pearl, Martyn and Scar. It would stay that way until the end of the book. Also, keep in mind that I’ve used multiple ships (Flower husbands, Scarian, Renchantyn and the Last Life Scott and Pearl.) Also, the book was based on Martyn’s Eyes and Ears au, so I’m just reusing it on this at this point.

*The name Anadil was from The School of Good and Evil. I just liked it so much I used it for our little sad Watcher.

—— that cat on the moon

Contents

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[theeastgable]

...the confusion betty and archie have trying to choose between each other, jughead and veronica. so silly! you guys dont have to choose! if you just talked to your partners instead of cheating on them, i really severely doubt there would be a problem! you're gonna talk to your partners right?

[anxiety-elemental-kay]

Jade Shadows: Reactions and Gender Thoughts

I know opinions about Jade Shadows are a dime a dozen, but! I also have some Gender Thoughts I need to get out of my skull.

Spoilers under cut, natch.

There’s two things I want to talk about: my reaction to the quest itself, and Jade as a playable Warframe.

Part 1: Jade Shadows Story

I agree with a lot of people that the hype surrounding the quest was ultimately harmful to the story itself. The devs promised Stalker backstory, and we only kinda got that. I still don't know what a Low Guardian is, or even what the Stalker’s deal is. So he and Jade are sentient warframes like Umbra, I guess? And they were punished for being together? Why though? And despite this punishment the Stalker still hates Warframes and their role in the downfall of the Orokin? I feel like I'm missing a critical piece.

If the messaging had been more along the lines of “We’re getting an insight into the Stalker as a person and find out what he’s been up to lately” I think it would’ve had a more positive response. Instead it was framed as if we’d be getting answers, which we didn’t. Even upon completing the quest there’s a cheeky line in the codex about being left with more questions than answers.

That’s fine in a general sense, but that’s not what was promised.

As for the mystery of Jade… I’m disappointed that Jade turned out to be the Stalker’s romantic partner. It was the most boring option they could’ve picked. I was on board with the speculation that Jade Shadows was going to be a transition story; either the Stalker finds peace with herself and becomes Jade, or he used to BE Jade, but after the fall of the Orokin became the Stalker. At the very start of the quest when we see that Jade is, in fact, a separate person, I started to wonder if maybe Jade was his mother.

Jade just being his girlfriend who pops out a baby then dies… sucks ass. It’s boring! Even more than the problematic elements of this trope, I’m disappointed by this direction because it’s BORING! Warframe is a lot of things, but even when I don’t understand or don’t like the story, it’s at least interesting in its insanity and incoherence.

I desperately wish Jade was an actual character in the story. For example, since Jade is associated with the Jade Light, she could have been an executioner for the Orokin. That’s why she’s ready to give up her life to have her baby, her guilt about her participation in that system, and feeling that making a new life might begin to atone for taking so many. Not the best way to take her story, sure, but it would’ve been something!

At the end with the Corpus standing down when they realize the Stalker has a baby with him and letting him go felt dissonant. Especially with, uh, the state of the real world. There are people out there who are totally cool with murdering children, and I don’t believe the Corpus would ever let something as unique as Stalker’s baby go without a fight.

Since I’ve rambled about things I didn’t like, I want to spend some time talking about the things I did like! Because there’s plenty of that too!

Although the Ascension mission isn’t part of the quest itself, I really like the stuff with Parvos and Ordis! I’d never expected these two to interact, or for Ordan Karris to be brought up again! There's so many nice lore tidbits in there, as well as great character moments and animosity between the two. Delightful! Get his ass Ordis!

Speaking of Ordis, I loved him so much in the quest! I love Space Dad so much and it's always a delight to get to see him do things.

There was a brief mention of Umbra in the quest! When Stalker is trying to sneak onto the Orbiter and Ordis is patrolling, he calls out asking who’s there “Operator? Umbra? …Helminth?” I’m still disappointed he doesn’t get to be a character in the rest of the story after The Sacrifice, but its nice to acknowledge that he’s not just doomed to sit in the arsenal.

The message from Hunhow at the end of the quest was touching too. Jade and Stalker might not be trans but Hunhow is, or at least Sentients don’t adhere to common human understandings of sex and gender. Which still counts because I say so!!

I’m not wild about how the baby (I named him Orion) entered the story, but he’s a possible interesting thread for the future. How will the Stalker change going from a hunter to a carer? What does this new kind of life form mean for the rest of the system?

Whispers In The Walls is already setting up a longer story arc, so I’m okay with stuff just planting seeds for now! I know I was just talking about how a big problem with Jade Shadows was it failed to deliver a payoff after years of speculation, but I have enough respect for DE that I’ll wait and see. I always appreciate that they’re willing to take risks (I totally misunderstood how to do the, uh, mini game… but still… won???) even if those risks don’t pay off.

Part 2: Jade as a playable Warframe

Okay, so…

Here’s a bit of background for me to establish where I’m coming from when I talk about Jade: I’m an AFAB nonbinary person, and pregnancy is one of my few dysphoria triggers. I’ve talked before about how I would rather die than give birth. Any discussion of how precious or important motherhood is feels weird or gross to me, because I know I’m perceived as a woman, and those expectations could be projected onto me.

…So keep that all in mind when I say I think Jade being pregnant as a playable Warframe is interesting!

I don’t yet have Jade as of writing, but I’m still excited for her and hope to play her a bunch! When I watched the devstream where Pablo showed off her kit I was excited! She has a fun theme, she has interesting abilities, I love her visual design, and I love Titania so I’m happy to see another warframe that can fly! (I low-key keep forgetting Hildryn can fly because I almost never use that ability oops)

The reveal that Jade is pregnant was shocking during the quest, and sure I feel a bit uncomfortable thinking about equipping a pregnant frame… but that pregnancy is entirely aesthetic. The Jade we build is not the person who died, there’s no baby in there, and like any other frame, we can equip and unequip Jade as we like. In the same way the Tenno are not locked into one gender when picking a frame, Jade’s pregnancy doesn’t feel like a cage or a parasite the way real pregnancy seems to me. There’s no permanence or consequence to Jade appearing pregnant.

Additionally, being pregnant is entirely unrelated to any of her abilities or signature weapons. Though she was just Pregnant Girlfriend in the story, as a warframe she’s primarily Avenging Angel who just also happens to be pregnant. She’s still powerful and capable, her pregnancy doesn’t take that away, and that’s cool! People get Weird about people who are pregnant, like it diminishes their personhood or capability forever. This isn't a topic I know much about, because of the aforementioned dysphoria, but those are the vibes I get, especially from some of the critiques of Jade herself.

Thanks to everyone who stuck around for this whole thing! I know there’s been a lot of negativity around this quest, much of it earned, but I’m enjoying the update as a whole! Even if I have mixed feelings about the story, I’m not going to linger on the negative aspects because I don’t think that’ll do anyone any good. The devs will hear the criticisms the players have, and we all move on. I’m excited to get Jade and BE NOT AFRAID my enemies to death.

[rubixpsyche]

Jade Shadows liveblogging

Number big yippee

love how when Ordis catches you stealthing on the Orbiter it fades to black, implying Ordis CAN beat Stalker's ass if given the chance and toss em out

Warframe Sex and Pregnancy update REAL. They do not, in fact, lay eggs

LOVING this gamemode, actually. They said Mobile Defense but we move it for you. Improved Hijack because it makes you utilize your parkour.

(I'm aware of. the Tropes. gon yap about that in a separate post)

I am such a sucker for lil kids I am in tears lil BABYYYYYYYYYY with the lil HANDSSSSS please I have 2000 floofs to give you (real)

Alright Captain Xeto. Real recognizes real. Real recognizes real. Corpus are like we will commit every warcrime except this one. Hey don't look at Fortuna. Don't worry about that. Nothing is happening in Fortuna what are you talking about.

Hunhow womb mention,,, yet again,,, thank you king I love you

Well that was crazy fucking short. Would work much better if given more time to develop Stalker and Jade. Can I go visit Hunhow now? Are we really leaving peepaw down there all alone? I think Hunhow should get a direct line to Grandmother they would be funny as shit together I can feel it.

Talk your shit Ordis!! TALK YOUR SHIT ORDIS!!! FUCK EM UP!!!

Onto the gamemode!

Parvos is being SUCH a fucking hater to my king. but also ORDAN KARRIS LORE? ORDAN KARRIS MENTION!!! ORDAN KARRIS RECOGNITION!!