#raissa kamanzi

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

OC questionnaire

Thanks to @eccaiia here, @mysticstarlightduck here and here, and @elsie-writes here!

Other questionnaires:

Robbie, Gwen, Maddie, Noelle, Jedi, and Kelsey here.

Carmen, George, Akash, Sam, Lexi, and Ash here.

Gabriel, Carla, Parker, Rose, Alex, and Ewan here.

Liam, Hye-Jin, Wendy, Wade, Issa, and CJ here.

Teo, Niri, Jazlyn, and Anathi here.

Below the cut, I will do Tyler, Xitlali, Atsila, and Raissa!

#1- Tyler

Are you an outdoorsy person or a fair weather freak?

“Outdoors suck. Would rather stay inside. Gym is inside. Books are inside. Why bother dealing with outside?’

Do you like animals? Have any pets?

“Have a poodle named Jolene. No, we didn't style her hair. She's perfect as is.”

What's one thing you keep on you at all times?

“... Did you know that the last thing you think about before you fall asleep is the first thing you remember in the morning? So the night before a big test, study right before going to bed! That'll keep you up at night.”

#2- Raissa

Do you have any weird or unusual habits?

“Absolutely not. There is nothing weird about me. Though John complains about me sighing too much. He once said I breathe out more air than I breathe in.”

Are you a night owl or a morning bird?

“These are ridiculous Ceteri phrases that make no sense. But my answer is neither, or both. You decide how to interpret it. I have devised a daily potion that allows me to properly function on a mere five hours of sleep, rather than the eight most people need. I'm up early and late. Now, if only I can get my team to help find a way to eliminate sleep altogether...”

Who is the person you hate the most? Why?

“Atsila McLain would be such an easy answer. And I can tell you want me to say her. But no. She was merely annoying. I try to avoid thinking about her Aequales as long as I can. She thought of us as nemeses, but it was one-sided on her part. But maybe if she stopped trying to take what was rightfully mine, I would stop. She never experienced anything I did. And in the name of peace? She was an awful person. It was a relief when I killed her.”

#3- Atsila

What are your biggest pet peeves?

“Oh, spirits, I hate when people aren't doing what they're supposed to do at the speed they should do it. I mean, how hard is it to adhere to a schedule and complete your tasks in an efficient manner? I don't understand it! I tell people to do something, and they don't do it! Or, they do it in the least efficient way I've ever seen. Even something as simple as walking. Walk diagonally to get somewhere faster. No need to stay on a certain path. But no it seems like every other person here is staying on the path.”

Who is the person you look up to the most?

“I don't look up to anyone. Literally, I suppose, everyone--I am rather short. Figuratively, no one. I suppose Carmen is rather efficient. And organized. She's highly intelligent and... She listens to me. I admire her loyalty and companionship.”

Do you have any major fears?

“Absolutely not. [Pause] I suppose boredom. Mediocrity.” if I may add - it's because she's terrified at the state she'll be in if something isn't going on Right Now

#4- Xitlali

Do you have any allergies?

“I think this is a personal question. I mean, what kinda questionnaire is it? Would rather not answer it. But ekaberries. I break out in hives if I eat it.”

How many people have you kissed?

“Not as many as I'd like, but I'm only twelve, so I'll probably kiss a few girls before long.”

What is your favorite number?

“My favorite number is 63. I find it incredibly satisfying knowing it's divisible by 7. 91 is a close contender for the same reason.”

I feel like this is all of the prominent TSP characters I feel need to answer these questions. Next time I'm tagged will begin the repeats.

Tagging softly @aziz-reads @thegreatobsesso @i-can-even-burn-salad @mk-writes-stuff @starlit-hopes-and-dreams

What is your favorite thing about rain? What is your least favorite thing about it?

@willtheweaver @elsie-writes @dyrewrites

+ ANYONE ELSE

What is something you don't mind waiting a long time for?

Have you ever been punished for something you didn't do?

TSP intro

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

@nebula--nix @literarynecromancy

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

I feel like this is most of my characters in TSP

I love characters that tear themselves apart for something. I love characters that would willfully destroy themselves for their goal. Characters that have moved past the point of caring what happens to them because all that matters is this one goal and it’s fine if they’re destroyed or maimed or anything else because as long as they fulfill that goal they think they’ll be fine.

Even better if they gradually start to doubt this goal. What have I been pouring myself into this entire time? But by now they’re too far gone to stop so like clockwork they just keep walking towards this goal. They’ll constantly destroy themself for this one goal and they can’t change that fate no matter if they can recognize their original goal has been twisted beyond any recognition.

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Find the word tag

I'm going through them I'm going through them

Anyway thanks @aziz-reads!

My words: start, taste, large, change

Your words: talk, current, stick, jealous

Tagging @thepeculiarbird @blind-the-winds @little-peril-stories @buffythevampirelover @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @ohnomybreadsticks @dyrewrites @writeouswriter @writeintrees @verba-writing

Keep reading for:

Gwen runs (admittedly justifiably) away from Jedi and Carmen

Raissa makes an announcement :)

A short little scene of Robbie being a little shit

Arm wrestling discussion

Start - from The Secret Portal Part One (Gwen POV)

Thinking about them filled a deep, righteous fury as Dr. Asghar reached for the door. She let go of my left arm, so I jabbed my elbow into her gut. She yelped and I broke free. The time I spent running paid off when I shot down the hall, the balls of my feet carrying me across the gray tiled floor. I silently thanked the gym coaches forcing us to run thirteen laps. I heard Dr. Asghar and Dr. Moon run after me, but I didn’t stop. I had a good head start and was faster. I reached the vase I’d seen and gave a mental apology for knocking it over. Dr. Asghar swore loudly as I skidded around the corner and ran down that hall until I realized I reached a dead end. I whipped around but saw Dr. Asghar and Dr. Moon at the start of the hallway. I froze. “Where’d she go?” Dr. Asghar asked, panting. “I don’t know,” Dr. Moon said. He looked around. “She had to have turned here. Her powers must have activated.” I stood there in confusion. Looked behind me, looked back at them. What powers? How could they not see me? I decided not to think too much about it and be thankful that they couldn’t while trying to make my heavy breathing quiet down. “Let’s go back to the lab,” said Dr. Moon after a moment, turning around. “She could be demonstrating several abilities. I can name four off the top of my head.” He smiled. “Actually, seven! I’m curious to see which one it is.” Dr. Asghar huffed, but followed her colleague back around the corner. “Sorry about the vase,” I heard Dr. Moon say. “Who cares? It was my uncle’s. Good riddance!” I heard a sound that implied Dr. Asghar kicked a shard of the vase that bounced off the wall. “Eight!” I heard Dr. Moon exclaim. I could almost hear Dr. Asghar roll her eyes.

Taste - from The Secret Portal Part Two (Jedi POV)

“Hello, Alium,” the girl said. “What you are currently seeing is being broadcasted across every holoscreen in the world. No, there is no way to turn to another channel. My name is Raissa Kamanzi, and I am an Inutilia.” Murmurs began to ripple throughout the room. I found myself sitting up straighter, listening to every word this girl had to say. Rin and Jeong-Suk had turned in their seats to watch the broadcast. “I speak to you to bring a stop to how my people have been treated,” Raissa continued. “First, I want to tell you about myself. I was a certified genius at age three. I got a degree in dimension mechanics when I was twelve years old. I managed to hijack every holoscreen in the world for you to hear my message. There is nothing useless about me. There is nothing useless about any of us. My people are frankly sick of being treated as such. We are tired of the segregation, the attacks, and bigotry targetting us. You have no idea how much pain and suffering you have caused.” “Turn this damn thing off!” a Quinque man shouted as he stood from his seat. “Go back to Druz’ya Sem’i!” “So we have banded together,” Raissa continued. “We have decided to give you a taste of your own medicine.” “Did you hear me?!” “Sir!” an employee shouted. “We cannot change the channel!” “Turn off the holoscreen!” “I appear before you today to announce the existence of our new organization: The Refuga Alliance.” “No!” a Tribus woman shouted. “She has every right to speak!” “We renegades have risen up to take back what we have been denied our whole lives: power.” “I won’t stand here while some nullock spats propaganda!” “Together, we are working on ways to combat your powers, combat the prejudice, and evolve into better versions of yourselves.” “Do you hear her?” the man continued. “She’s threatening our very way of life!” “You will no longer be special. You will finally be able to feel what it’s like to be Inutil. Useless. You have relied on your natural powers for too long. Now you will finally be able to taste the consequences.”

I swear I've had to find "taste" a million times lol

Large - from The Secret Portal Part One (Robbie POV)

We turned a corner and went to a large door near the end of the hall. Dr. Asghar pressed her hand to the doorframe and the door slid open. We were now inside a room full of computers. Dr. Asghar walked behind one, leaving me in the center and Akash off to the side, and Dr. Moon stood in the corner watching her. “State your name,” Dr. Asghar said, putting what I assumed was hand sanitizer in her palm. “As in first name?” I asked. “Or first and last? Or full name? Or possible nicknames? Or—” “Enough!” Dr. Asghar said through gritted teeth. “Full name.” “Robert Benjamin Stafford.” “Age?” Dr. Asghar asked, not even touching the monitor. “I literally just said that I was thirteen.” “Date of birth?” “C’mon, man, that’s pers—” “Didn’t you literally just say that you just turned thirteen?” Dr. Asghar looked at me through her glasses. “Date. Of. Birth?” I sighed. I considered giving out a fake one, like yesterday, but decided against it. “May 2nd, 2010.”

Change - from The Secret Portal Part One (Akash POV)

Sammy’s cheeks glowed, her smile bright. “I got in! I got in!” “The Elite Crew?” I asked, referring to her studio’s advanced dancing team. Sammy bounced on her toes. “Yes! Yes, I did!” “Holy shit, that’s awesome!” said Robbie. “Congrats, Sammy.” “Hell yeah, it’s awesome!” said Liam, appearing in the doorway beside her. “I won the arm wrestling match because her phone went off with the news.” “Doesn’t count,” said Sam. “You’re catching up on Diamond Mode, anyway.” “Yeah, but now I’m catching up by one point less.” “It’s only fair I get a point. Now you can beat me in Diamond Mode, I don’t stand a chance in any other mode, so I have to take any win I can get. Besides, we have the rest of our lives for you to obliterate me in Diamond Mode.” “But what if you get better at Diamond Mode?” “Squirt, diamond can’t get harder than it already is.” “What if you find something harder than diamond?” “That’s impossible.” “We’re in an alternate dimension, Liam.” “Touché. But Alium doesn’t have anything harder than diamond, either.” “There’s a whole multiverse out there, though,” said George, taking a bite out of whatever granola bar he was eating. “Besides, an extremely powerful shapeshifter could theoretically shift their skin into a substance harder than diamond. However, that is unheard of. Also, if Sam gets so good at Diamond Mode Arm Wrestling, I suggest you change to weight-lifting and see if she can throw you when you’re dense or otherwise heavy elements.” Liam and Sam looked at each other. “That could work, Squirt. Excellent idea, George.” George lit up, but he hadn’t swallowed the granola, so his cheeks were puffed out. Like a chipmunk or something

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Find the Word

Thanks @sleepywriter00 for the tag!

Rules: find the given words in your WIP(s), then tag others with new words

My words: psycho, pranked, soil, grave

Your words: new, clean, decide, system

Tagging with zero pressure @theeccentricraven @mysticstarlightduck @little-peril-stories @blind-the-winds @buffythevampirelover @mk-writes-stuff @eccaiia @cowboybrunch @addicted2coke-theothercoke @gottestod-writes @chauceryfairytales @frostedlemonwriter @talesofsorrowandofruin @steh-lar-uh-nuhs @theprissythumbelina or anyone else who wants to hop on

TSP intro

TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @fairy-tales-of-yesterday per usual you can hop on

Keep reading for:

Liam and Maddie discuss the science of shapeshifting

George X Liam is a thing now

Beau creates a beanstalk

Noelle's research finds an article

Psycho Insane (closest synonym) - from The Secret Portal Part Two (Maddie POV)

“Thanks for researching all of this,” I said. “I mean, not being an animal morphian, you didn’t have to.” Liam leaned against the wall. “I always wanted to be an animal morphian. When I realized I got to train one, I just did a bunch of research. To both benefit your learning and just to learn a few things myself. Shapeshifting is just fascinating in general. Like, you can change your mass, like, that shouldn’t be a thing! But it is, and that’s, like, insane.” “Wow,” I breathed. “So what happens to the mass that you lose?” “No idea,” said Liam, smiling. “What if we took the mass from something?” I asked. “Great, but where would that something come from?” “I dunno,” I said. “Matter can’t be created or destroyed. We’ve learned that in science class.” “You’d be right,” said Liam. “But we’re in another dimension.” “So you’re saying matter can be created or destroyed in this dimension?” “Perhaps,” said Liam, pressing his hands together in deep thought. “But what if instead we’re borrowing mass from another pocket dimension? Like, there’s a pocket universe of just mass, and we put our mass there if we’re lessening our mass, or borrowing mass from there if we increase our mass?” “Hm,” I said. “That could work, but isn’t it complicated?” “Who knows?” said Liam. “We’re in another dimension. Anything is possible. The rules of this universe are different than the rules of Ceteri.” “That’s cool.” “Glad you agree, kiddo.”

Actually, matter can be created or destroyed but only with an anti-matter particle :)

Pranked Trick (closest synonym...) - from The Secret Portal Part One

Maddie gave Kelsey a small punch in the arm. She looked past Kelsey’s shoulder. “Hey, Liam, what are you dressed as?” Liam, who was talking with George, wore a black full-piece covering his whole body with glow sticks along his arms, legs, and torso. Upon Maddie’s query, he put a hood over his head, then zipped it shut over his face, glow sticks forming a circle. “A stick figure.” Maddie burst out laughing. Kelsey smirked, clapping slowly. “You win. You win.” Unzipping the hood, Liam smiled at George. “See? This is hilarious. It’s simple, but it’s super clever. I barely put any more effort than Gabe, yet everyone I’ve encountered says this is the best costume here. That’s the trick of Halloween. You either need to go all out or you need to be very, very clever about what you decide to be and what materials you use.” George, now eating what Ceters called a “cupcake,” nodded, very entertained by his new friend. While George loved sharing all of his speedster-induced hours research, Liam always managed to make a good argument out of seemingly everything. It was one of the fascinating things about him. He was glad Liam approached him working on one of the computers about a month ago, otherwise George wasn't sure he would’ve been able to work up to potential rejection from the only boy his age he’d interacted with in a decade.

Soil - from School of the Legends Year One

Beau widened his stance, holding his arm out, palm aimed at where he’d planted the beans. Jack glanced at Jill, both sharing a confused expression. Jack looked at his cousin. “Beau, what are we supposed to see?” “Just watch the soil,” Beau said, his brow clenching together. Jack obeyed, looking at where the beans were. A sprout suddenly poked its head above the ground. Jack’s eyebrows rose, and a glance at his sister told him she had the same reaction. The sprout began growing, now at Jack’s knee. “Beau, you’re...you’re gifted.” Beau’s smile stretched across his face. “Yeah, isn’t it amazing?” He glanced at Jack, his eyes shining. The sprout now shot up faster, and Beau flicked his eyes back to the stalk. “Merde,” he muttered as he tried to regain his concentration. He, Jack, and Jill grunted as the stalk broke the ground at such a force they were knocked to their feet. Beau scrambled up as fast as he could, holding his palms out toward the beanstalk. It slowed first, then stopped. Jack tilted his head back, squinting to see the top of the beanstalk--which didn’t help. “O...kay…,” Jill soon said, breaking the silence. “That just happened.” “What are we going to do with this?” Jack asked, now standing. “There’s now a giant beanstalk in the middle of the yard! How are we going to explain to Da?” “You won’t need to.” Jack whirled around to see his dad leaning against a post on the porch. “I saw the whole thing.” “I’m sorry, Oncle Erskine.” “Don’t be,” he said. “D’ya know how much that would sell for?” He laughed.

Grave - from The Secret Portal Part Two (article Noelle is reading)

One thing I must make clear is that I AM Inutilia. I did not quit because I no longer believe in equality for my people. Quite the opposite. I still am a firm believer that we should get as much equal rights as those with powers. However, Raissa Kamanzi is NOT the way to do it. Ms. Kamanzi is obsessed with power. She does not truly believe in the equal rights of Inutilia, rather the dominance. She wants to oppress the system just as much as the old one oppressed us. A taste of their own medicine, she would say. This is not the answer. All Raissa has given us is a harder time to be accepted by society around us. It gave an excuse for bigots to become even louder, people who considered themselves neutral to become bigoted. It gave those in power a reason to persecute us from a genetic standpoint. We lost access to the portal last year because of her. We can no longer be with Ceters, in a world where WE are the norm. One thing I will say about Raissa is that she is a complicated woman with many heavy burdens and regrets. She holds tight to her morals, and will never cross a line that others would. However, that does not make her morals right. That does not make her policies right. I did not join the Refugae initially because I wanted control of the world. I did not join so others would suffer just so I would not. I joined because I was sick of the lynching, the riots, the massacres, the genetic engineering to attempt to erase the gene. I was sick of the suffering. But I see Raissa’s tactics are only going to deflect the suffering from herself to others. That it is causing people to flee to Ceteri, and those who cannot cross the portal to stay, suffering. Raissa is digging the grave of her own people. The arrival of the Aequales was the first sign. I do not believe the Aequales is the savior we need, for many other reasons, but its preaching of equality and peace is dragging more and more people away from equality. They can still hate us, but if they support Atsila McLain, suddenly, they can wipe their hands clean of their bigotry. Inutilia are still suffering under Raissa, and we have no escape. I ask you to support social reforms and to engage in political action. We must stop this violence. We must in order to survive. For all Inutilia. For all Alii.

I wrote two articles in this chapter - one of someone who worked with Atsila but left, the other who worked with Raissa but left. I really ended up being proud of the articles themselves even though I'm revising Noelle's research purposes later.

It is funny. She's like "hm maybe other perspectives would be nice to read about to form an opinion that seems logical" but then she does that and is like "nevermind these are both biased what a waste of time"

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

OC Questionnaire

Thanks to @willtheweaver here, @theeccentricraven here, @paeliae-occasionally here, here, and here, @the-golden-comet here and here, and @somethingclevermahogony here!

Hey, this is somehow still not all the tags I have for this game but I'm cutting it off at eight again!

Previous questionnaires:

Round one masterpost

Round two: Tyler, Gwen, Liam, Noelle, Akash, Robbie, Sam, Ewan

Round two: Jazlyn, Carla, Wade, Rose, Maddie, Xitlali, Jedi, Lexi

Keep reading for Ash, Kelsey, Atsila, Teo, Carmen, Issa, Raissa, and Gabriel

#1- Ash

What would it take for you to admit you were wrong?

“That's a bit hard because I really don't like admitting it. It sucks. I hate being wrong about things. [Pause] I guess it has to be pretty bad. I am usually sure I'm right about a lot of things, but this drama happened last year with Shelby, and I did admit to Lexi that I was wrong about her. But that was only after this weird thing happened with her dad. I dunno. It freaked me out.”

Are you forgetful? If so, how do you remind yourself to do things?

“Admittedly a little. But I have Lexi to remind me to do a lot of things.”

Do you consider yourself a neat freak?

“Pfft, no. Hannah is. We share a room, so that sucks to be her.”

More Ash: questionnaire one, two truths and a lie, bingo, bag, origin, OC in three, interview

#2- Kelsey

Have you ever gone against your morals? What got you to or would get you to make that decision?

“Can't think of a lot of things. [Thinks] Well, occasionally I'll have a thought I don't like. Like once, when we first arrived in Alium, I got bored and frustrated, then I realized I was super worried about Maddie and my cousins, and felt bad for being bored. I dunno, actually. I like to stick by my morals. I guess I'd put my morals after my family, but I feel like having a family value is a moral. This is stupid; forget I said anything.”

Did you have any speech disorders as a child?

“I had a bit of a lisp, which definitely didn't make me a bigger target for bullying on top of my ticking. And struggling to read.”

Do you carry the popular opinion or unpopular opinion in your society? Or would you say you are on the fence or in the middle?

“I can't really think of an unpopular opinion. I guess I don't like Cheez-Its.”

Other Kelsey: OC in three, Picrew, bingo, questionnaire one

#3- Atsila

Would you do something illegal if you were getting paid a large sum of money? (You can choose the illegal thing)

“Pfft, yeah, who wouldn't? I can choose the illegal thing? Easy: my good friend Gwandoya is a speedster. He'll help me exceed the speed limit, and then we'll get a fine. And then I get a large sum of money, which makes the fine meaningless.”

What is your favourite non-human creature in the world and why? (Gods count)

“I must say dragons. My beloved Custos is a wonderful companion.”

If you were forced to kill one person you have met, who would it be. (Not yourself)

“Raissa Kamanzi, no doubt. I unfortunately have met her.”

Other Atsila: questionnaire one

#4- Teo

If you had a pet, what animal would it be?

“A dog or a fox, easily. Wade and I want to own foxes one day - they're so adorable!! And, like, K'Ehleyr is the best dog I have, like, ever met.”

How long would you like to live? Why?

“As long as I can! I want to, like, grow old together with Wade, and of course Parker. If we can all, like, die of old age, at, like, the same time, that would be just lovely. Sound minds at, like, 99. That sounds amazing.”

When will you be done?

“... Wait, that's, like, the whole question? Done with what? Life goals?? Let's go with that. I want to live a fulfilling life. Make, like, an impact on the world. Start a family. I think becoming, like, a YouTuber would be, like, awesome. And when I'm, like, done with making content, I'll be done. I guess. I hope I understood this question.”

Other Teo: questionnaire one, kiss picrew

#5- Carmen

Why did you leave home?

“Why did I agree to this interview? Ugh, I was a young adult, let's move on.”

What is your ideal job?

“I am perfectly happy where I am. [Pause. Pause. Pause.] Though I'll admit that I have wished I were apart of the Alii Power Database Council. I have a few words about organizing the subpowers alphabetically rather than rarity - since it makes it impossible to find anything unless you have the rarity memorized - but I suppose it is consistent. Working directly with the database council would allow me to gain greater funding to research the powers and certain potential subpowers.”

What will life look like when you complete your main goal?

“Wasn't this question asked to Mr. Attwood's Ceter boyfriend? Whatever, I just wish I was asked more unique questions. I hope to fulfill Atsila's wishes by completing her study on Alii from Ceteri and stopping the Refugae.”

Other Carmen: OC in three, OC in fifteen, Picrew, smash or pass, art, interview, questionnaire one

#6- Issa

Would you sacrifice yourself for another?

“Uh, yeah, duh. What kinda silly question is that? It would be wrong not to.”

How often do you daydream?

“Uh, quite often, actually. I find it so easy to be distracted.... Oops, sorry I fazed out for a second; thought of something CJ said earlier. Anyway, uh, my mind is a theater; constantly stuff is just happening up here.”

What is your favorite activity?

“Oh, I'm in musical theater! I love theater! I'm a champion at improv nights. I've also performed comedy skits there. I'm also in the art club and the debate club, and I'll attend book clubs! I also like baseball a bit, though I prefer to watch with CJ and Alex and Wendy. I'm not on a team, but maybe someday! Oh, yeah! Hanging out with my friends!”

Other Issa: questionnaire one

#7- Raissa

How many people have you killed?

“Ha-ha! I'm sorry, I had to laugh - what are you talking about? That's the dumbest way I've ever heard an interview start! How is that the first thing on your mind when you're sitting down with me? [Face hardens] Regardless, the answer to your question is irrelevant, and I find it incredibly offensive.”

Favorite type of drink?

“I am quite fond of green wine. Why do I have to answer such trivial questions?”

Do you smoke?

“... Occasionally.... This was a waste of time; I must get back to work.”

Other Raissa: questionnaire one

#8- Gabriel

What would you say is your greatest weakness?

“Tsk. I don't like to think of myself as a person with weaknesses. Cassidy says I'm too uptight. He's wrong, of course. Jaz sometimes says I'm stubborn. I think Traeger called me rude once. I suppose it is frustrating that I can't adapt to unfamiliar situations as much as I'd like.”

Who is someone in your life that you like but that you don't trust?

“Bold of you to assume I trust anyone.”

If you could magically learn any mundane skill right now (cooking, a particular dance, a language, singing, sewing, etc.), what would it be?

“Part of learning the skill is the learning itself. The process. I would rather not instantly learn a skill. However, if I must answer this question...I suppose it would be nice to just learn how to drive. I find it admittedly frustrating that knowing exactly how cars work and what to do to drive them is not appearing to help me.”

Other Gabriel: questionnaire one

Tagging @sleepywriter00 @finickyfelix @rehnwriter @dyrewrites @talesofsorrowandofruin

+ ANYONE ELSE

Your questions:

1) What is something you spend a lot of time worrying about? 2) Would you prefer to leave where your hometown and never come back or stay in your hometown and never be able to leave? 3) Do you own something to rarely/never use?

TSP intro

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

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

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Not exactly protags, but Xitlali, Wade, and Issa would be the best presidents out of the TSP cast.

Please keep Raissa, Atsila, Carmen, and Jedi away!!

Here's a question for all you writers out there; which of your protags would make for the best president, and which should be kept away from political office at all costs?

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Find the word

Thanks @mysticstarlightduck for the tag!

My words: loyal, haste, frost, glory

Your words: familiar, equal, pierce, door

Tagging with 0 pressure: @aziz-reads @andyswritings @cowboybrunch @blind-the-winds @little-peril-stories @eccaiia @jezifster @mk-writes-stuff @reininginthefirewriting @badluck990 @addicted2coke-theothercoke @i-can-even-burn-salad @sleepywriter00 @finxi-writes @finickyfelix @albatris or anyone else who wants to hop on!

TSP intro

TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @fairy-tales-of-yesterday y'all want to do this? Go ahead

Keep reading for:

Noelle's research part two (part one was here)

Jack, Jill, and Beau climb a beanstalk

TWO SOTL passages???? Anyways Jack is having a good time

Shapeshifting chitchat

(Dis)loyal - from The Secret Portal Part Two (article Noelle reads)

When I first joined the Aequales, I fully believed in the ideals that were preached. Now, I am unsure of what to do. It is true, the Aequales wants to bring peace to our world. The Aequales wants Inutilia to have the same rights as other Alii. As a fader, I still believe that Inutilia should not be treated the way they have in the past. I believe that Raissa Kamanzi’s methods are flawed. But Atsila McLain is not who we’ve been looking for. I had nothing but respect for the woman when I first joined. But as the years have gone on, I have found her to be insufferable. She’s demanding, harsh, zealoted, and disloyal to those around her. She doesn’t even seem to care much for her family, only obsessed with the end goals in mind. The ends do not always justify the means, and I am starting to believe she is no better than Raissa Kamanzi. It seems that even though Atsila does not appear to be lying about the rights of Inutilia, it is awfully convenient that her best friend is Inutil. Due to her being in high political standing in her neighborhood, having a high socioeconomic status, her connections to both the Sector 8 and 9 governments, and umbrakinesis, it is no wonder she is able to persuade the masses to her side. The Aequales does have many Inutilia members, some of them ex-Refuga, but there are a disproportionate amount of powered individuals, many of them using the Aequales’ guise of morality as an excuse to be bigoted to Aequalis Inutilia. Does Atsila kick out these bigots for not holding her ideals? No. She uses the advantage. She uses their pull to gain more and more followers. More and more people away from Raissa Kamanzi. I admit, it’s a brilliant strategy. But I cannot stand for a person who turns a blind eye to the very thing she’s supposedly fighting against just because the ends will justify the means.

Loyalty is a strong theme in TSP why do I never use it lol

Haste - from School of the Legends Year One

Outside, Jack, Jill, and Beau stood around the giant beanstalk, all armed with helmets, rope, and sickels around their waists, just in case one of them fell and had to dig into the side of the stalk in a haste. They tied the rope around each of their waists--Beau leading the way and Jack taking up the rear. “Alright,” said Beau, digging his foot into the side of the beanstalk and grabbing onto loose tendrils sticking out of it. “Let’s do this.” He began to climb up the side of the beanstalk. After he was high enough, Jill followed him. Jack looked up the beanstalk again. He couldn’t see the top, and today it was very cloudy--it may have been above the clouds. That wasn't a good sign. There was no way they’d reach the top, but surely Jill and Beau knew that. They were just having a bit of fun. And Jack was going to have fun, too. Once it was his turn, he followed his sister up the side of the giant beanstalk. The beanstalk was a lot easier to climb than Jack initially thought. It was about as thick as a tree trunk and had many layers of intertwined, well, stalks. Jack did slip a few times, but so did Beau and Jill. Maybe they were all average climbers. After what seemed like hours, Jack was beginning to get tired. How much longer until they were at the top? Jack strengthened his grip before he dared to tilt his head up. When he saw it was still forever, he felt weakened. Maybe if I looked down I could see how far we’ve come. Nope. That was a rubbish idea. “Beau!” Jack called upward. “Yes?” Beau yelled back. “Is there any way we could possibly speed this up?” “Yeah!” said Jill. “It’s starting to get a little less fun than expected.” “Okay,” said Beau. “Just give me a second.” Jack tilted his head back to look at Beau, who appeared to be concentrating. A tickling sensation on his chest caused Jack to jump. Parts of the beanstalk were wrapping around his torso, tight enough to be firm, and yet loose enough to allow him to breathe. “Hold on!” Beau said. Jack looked back up just in time to see his cousin thrust his hand groundward, and the three of them were shot toward the sky. A scream seemed to escape Jack’s lips, but he didn’t hear any sound. He struggled to keep his eyes open against the speed. He couldn’t find any way to speak, so silently willed Beau to stop, or at least slowdown. After a moment or so, it appeared to have worked. Well, it didn’t--Beau just stopped.

Not the most exciting passage imo but it was my only use of the word

Frost - from School of the Legends Year One

Jack stood with his feet just over shoulder-width apart, his left foot slightly behind his right. He focused his eyes on the wheelbarrow a few yards ahead. He pulled his left arm back and shot it forward. A stream of ice leapt out of his palm, striking the tire of the wheelbarrow. Jack laughed, spinning around. “Didja see that?!” “Sure did,” Jill said, grinning broadly. “You’re getting better at that.” Jack was sure his face was gonna split--that’s how hard he was smiling. He bounced on the balls of his feet to look back at the frozen wheel. Sure, he was aiming for the bed of the wheelbarrow, but honestly, who cared? Certainly not Jack. It had been a few weeks since their adventure up the beanstalk, and ever since the surprise letter, Jack had been trying out these ice powers he’d apparently possessed his whole life--that was something Jack still thought came out of the blue, although in the time that had past, it was starting to become more natural. His aim, still, was not terrible, not great, just average--so Jack was still Jack. “Thanks,” Jack said, responding to his sister. “Aw, this is wicked, ain’t it?” “You bet it is!” Jill said, crossing over to kneel beside the wheelbarrow. “You shot this out of your hand! I couldn’t even do that if I tried!” “Have you tried?” Jill pursed her lips. She stood again and backed up until she was next to Jack. She mimicked his earlier thrust of the palm. “Yeah, I tried.” “It’s still a little weird that I can do it,” Jack admitted. “Why? Because it’s above-average?” “Well, yeah, actually.” “Come on, Jack!” Jill said. “Stop being such a puss and enjoy this!” “Oh, I’m enjoying this alright,” Jack said, smiling again at the wheel. “It just feels… weird? Off-book? Out-of-character?” “Hey, if you want to feel more like your ‘old self,’ that appears to be an average amount of frost on that wheel.” Jack tilted his head slightly. “Yeah, you’re bang on with that.” Jill laughed, giving him a playful push on the shoulder.

Glory Importance (literally the closest synonym and it was only said once) - from The Secret Portal Part Two (Maddie POV)

“So, what does Liam have planned for you today?” she asked. “I dunno,” I said, shrugging. “We basically go over what each animal can do, and the importance of each one in a given situation. I assume more of that?” “Is that all y’all do?” I shrugged. “Pretty much. I mean, we focus on some combat.” “What does Liam turn into?” “I dunno, wood, diamonds, bricks. Water, sometimes.” “Which one of you is more powerful?” “I think technically he is,” I said. The doors slid open to an empty dining hall and we stepped in. I went to the replicator, ordered a granola bar, and then turned back into the elevator. “What Level are y’all again?” Kelsey asked as we stepped in. “Training room.” “I’m a Level-2, he’s Level-3,” I said. “So he is?” “I mean, shapeshifting is weird. The Levels aren’t related to each other.” “What are they?” “Uh, people, animals, textures,” I said. “One Level does all living things, and the highest Level can shift into anything. They’re called omnimorphs.” Kelsey let out a whistle. “Imagine being an omnimorph.” She cocked her head. “Could an omnimorph replicate the internal structure of an Alii?” I thought about it for a second. “Like, replicate their powers?” I shrugged. “Maybe. Do you think Hye-Jin is some level of omnimorph?” “I dunno,” Kelsey said as the doors slid open. “She could. It may not even be related.” “Either way,” I said as the two of us stepped into the training room, “omnimorphs are pretty rare. There hasn’t been a recorded one in a century.”

Levels are up to chance I'm figuring it out. Think Maddie is more powerful but unsure.

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Wine for the red ask game?

Thanks for the ask MK! (From this OC ask game)

WINE - How do they act when drunk?

Oh this is fun. Using characters who are legally allowed to drink at the present start of book one since most are not.

Carmen: since so much energy goes into suppressing her emotions and holding back her truthful nature she's gonna let everything she's been holding back for *checks calendar* twenty years in a sobbing mess

Jedi: would probably relax from all the stress he's constantly under and maybe become a little more bubbly in the process of doing so

Atsila: (yeah I know she's dead but idc I'll count her because I'd like to list more people) she's already super charismatic but she'll become more so - life of the party kind of thing. She'd just have the time of her life

Raissa: somewhere between Atsila and Carmen - she'd become the life of the party and more sociable but also might reveal a little too much of her emotional baggage

Liam: he's Canadian so he can drink at 18 in his province - he'd be a fun, crazy, happy drunk. Extremely openly affectionate, very loud, forget what personal space is. He and George will probably spontaneously make out. I may make this a scene.

George: I'm also having the Sector 9 drinking age be 18 so he's also good. Anyways he'd become a total blabbermouth, infodumping about whatever tech related thing he has. The fun thing is that he's a speedster, so he has to have a special kind of alcohol to get drunk, and even then a lot of it. So he's definitely not gonna be used to it.

Bonus: Carla. Long story, she's technically simultaneously 15 or 20 depending on how you look at it. The point is, she shouldn't be drinking, but she might attempt to get away with it on a technicality. If so, she'd probably tell a lot more dirty jokes than people thought she had in her - she comes across as so mild mannered and sweet but she would get creative swears, jokes, and insults.

So most of these people would have fun at a party. Except Raissa if she has too much or Carmen if she has even a little.

Thanks for the ask! This was actually a lot of fun.

TSP intro

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

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

If you had to chose one of your villains/antagonists to give a Disney villain song to, who would it be and why?

Ooh interesting ask.

TSP's primary antagonist Raissa would have to get Be Prepared from The Lion King. She has a plan, she's scheming, she wants to replace someone, take over, hates that she was wronged by society.

Yeah that works for one of them. The others are too hard right now so I'm glad for the minimal requirements. Thanks!

TSP intro

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

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

I've had a few dreams:

There was a dress up game with both TSP and SOTL characters. I put Ash in a red hoodie.

The entire dream was from Gwen's POV. She was walking around my high school testing her intangibility. Despite the fact that she doesn't have intangibility. Tyler was there.

Carmen, Jedi, Robbie, and Akash were at Walmart. I think Carmen was trying to explain to Robbie and Akash they were Alii. At one point Robbie stole gum and offered Jedi a piece. I want to make this a scene now.

So TSP opens with Kwasiyaa and Dylan running. A tree exploded. They ran into a subway for some reason and they video chatted with someone, maybe Carmen. Then instead of seeing Atsila die they saw 1990s Barry Allen die, since he was apparently the leader of the Aequales before Atsila?? Apparently Raissa was responsible for blowing up the trees and accidentally set Barry on fire. Kwasiyaa and Dylan go through the portal and we flashforward to two years later of Kwasiyaa waking up in a cold sweat.

Super empowering moment of Atsila cutting and dying her hair? Idk

I was drawing the Milo Murphy's Law cast but drew Robbie in place of Dakota

Lexi and George talked. George was an ultimate instead of a speedster.

That's all I remember for now

Anyone else have dreams about their characters? I keep having dreams about playing poker with Kunio, and he gets really offended when he loses. I don’t know why because neither of us knows how to play poker.

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Sending hugs always!

💙- What would your character be doing if they hadn't gone through what the have?(Don't play with me I know they're probably traumatized)

Please and thank you!

Thank you for the ask!! (From this OC heart ask game)

💙- What would your character be doing if they hadn't gone through what they have? (Don't play with me I know they're probably traumatized)

I'll go with Raissa, actually. She's a bit of an antagonist, alongside Atsila. They're both leaders of two opposing groups and cause most of the problems in the series.

Raissa, I definitely have a kinda canon answer, since we do know what she did in an alternate universe. See, Raissa was treated like shit her entire life due to not having powers in Alium, and despite her prodigious intellect, she was taken advantage of and barred out from equal opportunity. Had that not happened, she would've become a very famous, respected scientist who was known for being the best in her field. She would've studied alternate dimensions, rather than the origins of the powers - something she pursued trying to find away to at first give herself power then later take away power.

Don't talk about Raissa enough since most of her characterization exists in my head. She's in only two scenes barely in this draft of TSP, including what I have of Part Two. Can't wait to write her though!

TSP intro

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

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

OC/WIP Q&A

Thanks to @mysticstarlightduck here, @urnumber1star here, @paeliae-occasionally here, @leahnardo-da-veggie here, @illarian-rambling here,

And @willtheweaver here!

Rules/Premise: Open the floor for questions about your Stories/WIPs/OCs/creative processes, etc.

I'm doing The Secret Portal! Intro Post linked at the bottom!

Important characters of Part One--

Lexi Morgan

Maddie Morgan

Ash Hathaway

Gwen Amante

Noelle Bishop

Rose Hernandez

Kelsey Newman

Robbie Stafford

Akash Singh

Jedi Moon

Carmen Asghar

Carla Baxter

George Baxter

Settings:

Alium (general other dimension)

The Gateway

Sector 9 (general) or Taabe (the town)

Baxter Base

Asghar Base

Falcon Intermediate (it's just a middle school)

Anyone's house

Things of note:

Raissa Kamanzi and Atsila McLain, leaders of respective sociopolitical ish parties ish

There are 20 (22) powers

Alium is connected to Ceteri (our world) via portal

Question prompts:

Any questions about the world building

Any questions about the characters (including who is this and/or what is their deal)

Any questions about my process

Alright ask away in comments, reblog, ask box, whatever :)

Tagging @mundanemoongirl @little-mouse-gardens @buffythevampirelover @awritingcaitlin @winterandwords

+ ANYONE ELSE

TSP intro

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

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

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Get to Know the Writer Questionnaire

Taking the open tags from @the-golden-comet here and @illarian-rambling here!

Rules: answer the questions!

Basics

How long have you had your writing Tumblr/Writeblr? A fast and loose estimate is fine!

I think it was November of 2022.

What led you to create it?

Twitter was going down so I moved elsewhere.

What’s your favorite thing about the Writeblr community?

The engagement and overall positivity! I was surprised how welcoming everyone was, and how touched I was when people gave compliments and how excited I was when people expressed interest!

What’s one thing you’d like your mutuals to know about you?

Well I'm always open to chat about whatever though I do have mild social anxiety. I'm always hyper analyzing whether I did something wrong or whatever. So if I come across as awkward I'm trying my best but I am always being genuine!

Is there anything you’d like to see more of on your dash?

Hm. This is a hard one. I guess I just wish I saw more interaction and engagement in people's work? Idk, it's always there, and I love seeing it, but having full conversations about each other's OCs and WIPs aren't as common. So idk more of that!

WIPs

Which WIPs or writing projects are you noodling about, lately?

Mainly I'm working on TSP but occasionally I'll dip my toes into SOTL again. Whenever I get an idea for a side project I barely have anything for, I'll write it down and get obsessed with it for a while.

And I also have a side project where I write reviews and analyses of TV shows or movies but I haven't gone back to it in a while despite having live notes of several movies and TV episodes in drafts.

How long have you been working on them?

TSP - spring of 2013, technically

SOTL - first came into my brain I think 2014-2015 but the first draft was 2015-2016

The first media analyses I wrote were in 2019 I think.

Do you remember what inspired them/what got you started?

TSP - I liked fairies as a kid due to the Rainbow Magic series, but thought I was too old for fairies so when I was assigned to write a fictional story I wrote about kids with powers

SOTL - I loved different takes on fairy tales due to The Land of Stories and wanted to write my own

Analyses - getting Disney+ because I unironically had always wanted to review every single Disney movie so I did. It extended after I watched two seasons of DC's Titans (the live action one) and I hated it so much I shat out 10k+ words in a single fever driven day

How much time, in your best estimation, do you spend thinking about them?

Pretty often, I'd think, unless I'm deep in a hyperfixation stage of an existing show.

When someone asks the dreaded, “What do you write about,” question, what do you usually say?

"Fantasy mostly."

Name any characters you created.  Side characters, protagonists, antagonists, characters who’ve never been written, the first original abomination you ever pulled from your ass; whomever you’d like!

For TSP the characters I've put any effort into characterizing include: Lexi Morgan, Maddie Morgan, Ash Hathaway, Gwen Amante, Noelle Bishop, Rose Hernandez, Kelsey Newman, Robbie Stafford, Akash Singh, Jedi Moon, Carmen Asghar, Carla Baxter, George Baxter, Liam Beaumont, Ewan Traeger, Jazlyn Nyambura, Wade Attwood, Parker Cassidy, Tyler Nakashima, Gabriel Medina, Niri Shyaka, Sam Stafford, Hye-Jin Song, Alex Vaughn, Issa Johansen, CJ Reynolds, Wendy Amante, Anathi Makeba, Teo Nguyen, Xitlali Zepahua, Atsila McLain, and Raissa Kamanzi. Everyone else is insignificant.

For SOTL, I have so many OCs I have no idea who the relevant ones will be. So far, the most are Jack McDonald, Tierney Wayne, Úrsula Lobo, Beau Bellerose, and Bai Xue. Again, so far. I have so many characters for this it's not even funny.

And then there's the others from my other works but I'll stop there.

Who’s the most unhinged?

I'm not entirely sure who's the most. Parker is the most chaotic but Carmen is just the character, y'know? Jack I give whoever I want and Zainab of SOTL is pretty insane.

Who comes the most naturally for you to write?

Probably Robbie, honestly. The way his brain works and goes on random tangents is very similar to me. He's like if I was extraverted sometimes.

Do you ever cringe at them?

All the time.

How much control do you feel you have over your characters?  AKA, do they ever “write themselves,” refuse to cooperate, or do things you didn’t expect? To what degree? Are some less cooperative than others?

I only have minimum control. I decide what to do with them but then they say "how about this instead?" And I listen to them all the time. Ash is the most uncooperative one, though. But Noelle has been given me trouble recently. She's told me I need to change her role in Part One. It's frustrating. But awesome.

Interaction

Do you enjoy people asking questions about your characters? And do you have a preferred means of receiving said questions? For example, as Asks, as replies, as reblogs, as tag notes, as comments on AO3, etc.

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES I love questions about my characters!! And no I don't have a preference, although AO3 would be hard because I don't have an account. Any way of interacting with me that you can, I love to hear the comments!

What makes you want to follow another Writeblr account? Do you follow ‘em as you see ‘em, or take time scoping out the blog to make sure you align with its content? Do you follow based on WIPs, or vibes? What makes you decide against following?

I do check the bio and scroll through their blog to see if there's anything I don't like or stands out as stuff. Sometimes it's a writeblr in the bio but I don't see any WIP posting so I don't follow.

Do you interact with non-mutuals often?

Yep! Constantly. Sometimes I forget people aren't mutuals.

Do your mutuals’ characters occupy space in your noodle?

Honestly @illarian-rambling's characters are amazing and I finished her manuscript of Mortal God for beta reading and it was awesome.

Tagging @elsie-writes @mk-writes-stuff @leahnardo-da-veggie @mysticstarlightduck @drchenquill

+ ANYONE ELSE

Blanks under cut

How long have you had your writing Tumblr/Writeblr? A fast and loose estimate is fine! What led you to create it? What’s your favorite thing about the Writeblr community? What’s one thing you’d like your mutuals to know about you? Is there anything you’d like to see more of on your dash? Which Works-in-Progress (WIPs) or writing projects are you noodling about, lately? How long have you been working on them? Do you remember what inspired them/what got you started? How much time, in your best estimation, do you spend thinking about them? When someone asks the dreaded, “What do you write about,” question, what do you usually say? Name any characters you created.  Side characters, protagonists, antagonists, characters who’ve never been written, the first original abomination you ever pulled from your ass; whomever you’d like! Who’s the most unhinged? Who comes the most naturally for you to write? Do you ever cringe at them? How much control do you feel you have over your characters?  AKA, do they ever “write themselves,” refuse to cooperate, or do things you didn’t expect? To what degree? Are some less cooperative than others? Do you enjoy people asking questions about your characters? And do you have a preferred means of receiving said questions? For example, as Asks, as replies, as reblogs, as tag notes, as comments on AO3, etc. What makes you want to follow another Writeblr account? Do you follow ‘em as you see ‘em, or take time scoping out the blog to make sure you align with its content? Do you follow based on WIPs, or vibes? What makes you decide against following? Do you interact with non-mutuals often? Do your mutuals’ characters occupy space in your noodle?

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

What is jedis motives for being morally grey?

Hi! Thanks for the ask! (For the TSP Q&A tag game)

Well, this is a doozy. This entire thing has taken so much of my thought process because it's complicated and making it Make Sense is harder than you'd think, but I've come pretty far! I'll have to go into minor spoilers regarding Jedi's backstory, but I'll avoid anything too big. Here's the short version:

To start off, Jedi starts the series as part of what's left of a group called the Aequales, which used to be a group that rivaled the Refugae, which had taken over some of the world's (Alium's) governments and continues to attempt to do so. Alium is a world of powers and those without powers are called Inutilia, since they're deemed useless by society.

The leader of the Refugae is an Inutilia woman named Raissa Kamanzi, who believed she needed to rebuild the world to where her people were in charge. "You oppressed me, I'll oppress you" mentality. The leader of the Aequales was an Inutilia sympathizer, Atsila McLain. Atsila preached that there could be a more peaceful approach to settle this, and had a bit of a hero complex about her.

Alii get their powers at age ten, but if their blood test comes back without a result, they're declared Inutilia. Jedi was one of those kids, and unfortunately his father was a bigot. His mother Sori fought back for her son and then ran away with him and his sister to a more accepting Sector. To skip over quite a bit, Raissa Kamanzi did recruit Jedi to be a part of the Refugae when he was a teenager. Jedi saw her worldwide announcement, and he also wanted to fight back since he'd directly experienced many forms of bigotry. Unfortunately while he was there, he discovered Raissa's more violent, extreme methods, and deserted them. He was taken in by the Aequales.

At first, Jedi wasn't sure how to deal with a group that opposed the Refugae since he wanted equal rights, but the Aequales were supposedly for that, but with peaceful methods. This didn't change the fact that Atsila was not Inutilia nor did it seem like any progress was being made. Still, Jedi held on to the ideals Atsila gave out of hope for a better future. The person closest to Atsila, Carmen Asghar, was also Inutilia, and she ended up forming a close friendship with Jedi. Carmen's trust in Atsila helped Jedi also trust Atsila a little more.

But Atsila was also scientifically curious, and after seeing the effects Ceteri (the universe connected to Alium that is essentially our world) on Alii development - they seem to develop rarer and more powerful abilities - she wanted to study it and see if she could find practical applications. Unfortunately she was killed before these studies were complete, or even really started. The Aequales didn't disappear, but it caused many to leave.

Carmen refused to, and while the Refugae essentially ignored them after Atsila was gone since they were nothing without her but loose ideals, Carmen decided to focus on Atsila's last task: the study of Alii on Ceteri. Jedi helped her out with this because he had nowhere else to go and cared greatly about Carmen, having known each other for about thirty years at this point. As this goes on, Carmen hopes the results help her to discover new ways to defeat Raissa and get the Inutilia to be seen as equals.

How does this make Jedi morally gray? Well, the study is on Alii development which means teenagers/preteens are the subject, and they take advantage of the fact that adolescent Alii are naturally drawn back to their original dimension. The Aequales is also more based on ideals with no real action behind them. I won't unpack Atsila's psyche or motivation or anything since this is about Jedi, but she wasn't exactly what was needed to solve the issue.

Jedi wants to do what is best for people like him. He wants to stop the violence on both sides. However, he's become lost in what to actually do. He has values that he holds onto, and he wants to do whatever it takes to make those values real, but he's spent so long following other people who have not-good methods that despite the potential to be able to do so he's stuck, and the man doesn't have enough self-reflection to realize his mistakes, that this isn't working, and maybe using kids, even if those kids just kinda see this as a cool club to practice their powers and learn how to defend themselves, is bad and he shouldn't be doing it. He should actually be looking for ways to accomplish his goals, not the goals of others, especially if those others are dead.

So that's basically Jedi. Good morals, less than ideal methods.

TSP intro

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

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

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Proud of tag

Thanks @tabswrites for the tag!

Rules: post a writing snippet that you're proud of!

Well I wrote this back and forth between Noelle and Carmen for Part Two. I would have posted the full scene but it's already long

Tagging @winterandwords @somethingclevermahogony @badluck990 @memoriethereaderandwriter-blog @mk-writes-stuff

@dyrewrites @aalinaaaaaa @ceph-the-ghost-writer @talesofsorrowandofruin + anyone else who'd like to do this

This ended up still being a long excerpt despite it being a small section of the scene... The point is that this is the height of the conflict. Enjoy below the cut!

CW: political drama regarding rights for minority group; mention of bombings and bigots

From The Secret Portal Part Two (Noelle POV)

“Did Atsila only want to bring equality to the Inutilia because she was close with you?” “Atsila wanted to bring equality to the Inutilia because it was wrong to say otherwise!” Dr. Asghar slammed her hand on the counter beside her. “Then why did she keep a bunch of bigots around?” I asked, rising to my feet. “To keep them from crawling away and agreeing to an extremist group opposite to the Refugae!” “Opposite to the Refugae?” I asked, slowly walking toward her. “Extremist group? Like the Aequales?” “We’re not an extremist group! The Aequales were meant supposed to bring equality!” “Really? Then why isn’t there equality?” I now loomed over Dr. Asghar, who I’d back against the machine processing my blood. She stood her ground as she looked up at me, her composure starting to falter. “Has the Aequales done anything to promote equality for the Inutilia? Or was it just propaganda so Atsila could gain more followers?” “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Bishop! You didn’t know Atsila.” I stepped back. “You’re right. But you did. Bit of a biased source.” Dr. Asghar fumed. “This is what I get for trying to reach out. Some girl who doesn’t know her place!” “Is my place beneath you? Or bowing to the Great Atsila McLain?” Dr. Asghar pinched her nose beneath her glasses, hard. She sighed after several seconds. “Carissa, you don’t know how naïve you’re being. The Refugae have only brought the public’s view on Inutilia down in the past several decades. The Aequales was created to balance Inutilia in society. To prove that we’re Alii, too. To prove to non-Inutilias that we can unite together. As equals. Atsila was the leader because she was a good one. She was commanding and powerful. She had the former governments of Sectors 8 and 9 already behind her due to her parents. Do you know why you and most of your friends have Octanian descent? Because Atsila made this place,” she gestured around her, “a safehouse for those who lost their homes in the Sector 8 bombings. You know who did those bombings? The Refugae.” I refused to break eye contact. “You may have read a few articles online, but you have no idea the history of this world, the people who live in it, or run it. You don’t know Raissa Kamanzi, you don’t know Atsila McLain. One of them made life harder for people like her, and the other made life easier for people like and not like her. You don’t get to comment on their moral compasses because you haven’t been in a war. You don’t get to tell me that I’m biased just because of who I was to Atsila. You didn’t grow up Inutilia. You don’t know what we’ve been through. You don’t know what Raissa Kamanzi did to us.”

TSP intro

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

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Find the word

Thanks @i-can-even-burn-salad for the tag!

My words: bring, cling, sing, ring

Your words: can, man, tan, ran

Tagging with no pressure @mk-writes-stuff @blind-the-winds @little-peril-stories @sarandipitywrites @sarahlizziewrites @eccaiia @sleepywriter00 @gottestod-writes @gothamxwattpad @willtheweaver @mysticstarlightduck @aalinaaaaaa @cowboybrunch @poethill @finickyfelix @ohnomybreadsticks @dyrewrites + ANYONE

TSP intro

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

Keep reading for:

George is about to find out his power (flashback)

Carla and Carmen scene I'm kinda proud of

Someone is figuring things out

Oh no Carla is hurt

Bring - from The Secret Portal Part Two (George POV)

I leaned back in the chair, exhaling my annoyance. Jef Holtman was one of my father’s closest allies. They may have been friends, but I was only four when Dad died, so I only had other people telling me they were. I couldn’t imagine why my own father would like someone like Dr. Holtman. The one who hated my sister for supposedly being Inutilia. Eventually, I pulled out my tablet and tried to read. One of the teenagers, Isananika, teleported in at one point to take Eliza to bed so Damian could stay with me as long as he needed. The hour dragged on until finally, the APTA machine beeped to signal it was done processing the information. Damian yawned and wiped the sleep out of his eyes as he examined the results. My heart pounded. I could be a chronokinetic. It was a small possibility, but I hoped that was the case so I could help Carla. But maybe I would have intangibility, which was cool but not something that seemed particularly useful for the predicament. Maybe healing would be able to help Carla. The healers we did have couldn’t do anything, but maybe there was a way I could figure it out. Teleportation? Maybe I could find a chronokinetic and bring them here. Telepathy could help me communicate with Carla. Superstrength didn’t seem useful. Dad was working on using superspeed to reverse chronokinesis, so that would be helpful. Flight wasn't helpful, neither were any of the elementals. Maybe if I had dimensiokinesis, I could find a universe where they had more chronokinetics— “George!” Damian’s voice got me out of the mind spiral I found myself in. I realized I was sweating, and my heart was pounding.

“How did you know about that?” “Carla—Miss Baxter, I knew you growing up. You’re supposed to be twenty. You’re a chronokinetic—it doesn’t take a genius to put three and one together.” Carmen removed the sampling tube to place it into the computer. “Furthermore, Jedi and I did find your brother’s journal detailing his process to save you.” “You read George’s journal without his permission?!” “No, we asked him. He agreed we could see it. It’s not like your being frozen in time should be a secret. It’s not a big deal.” Carla fiddled with her hands. Maybe, but still, that time still haunted her. “Your father was actually working on a similar formula, in a complete coincidence. But Raissa Kamanzi was attempting to replicate a chronokinetic’s power, so he decided to try to counter it. He didn’t complete it.” “Why not?” “November 13, 2010.” Carla felt as if her blood had been frozen by a hydrokinetic. “That’s the day he left.” “I thought you’d remember.” “He was very angry. I never found out why.” Carmen’s back was turned, but Carla felt the tensity in the air. Carmen knew why, but Carla decided to back down. “Can I tell you something?” Carla asked, adjusting her glasses before returning her right hand to her lap to clasp the left. “After Pia died… I really missed you. You were a defining part of my life then. And… I’d like you to still… be that.” Carmen didn’t answer. She just stood and waited for the computer to finish its analysis.

Cling (how have I not used this??) Clasp - The Secret Portal Part Two

Spoilers in purple italics

Sing - from The Secret Portal Part One

“Hm,” Charlie mused. She set her tablet down and turned back to the hologram, zooming further in on the Numu district until the Tue Peena’yakoróo forest took up the screen. She scrolled toward the Taabe Village, keeping her eyes on the trees. She stopped when her eyes landed on a blob in the center of the hologram. She clicked on it to expand, and the hologram shifted its view to the front of the building. The program she had up automatically brought up all of the information she needed to know. It was registered under an unfamiliar name. She clicked on it, revealing a man who appeared to be of Tribus origin. He was apparently an ultimate—when he was alive. He’d been dead for nearly thirty years. Charlie scrolled down to his known relatives. He never married, never had kids. He had a sister—but she was under maximum security. He did, however, have a niece. Charlie clicked on her name, and a young woman around eighteen materialized in front of her. Apparently, that was the most recent picture, since she was supposed to be in her late forties by now. She disappeared a few months prior to her uncle’s death. Charlie saved the woman’s information, uploading it into a file to send to her superior. She pressed the comm button on her desk. “Oh, Rhe-ett,” she said in a sing-song. “You know how I have the most boring job in TRA?” “It’s hard not to know when you keep reminding me every day,” Rhett growled over the comm. “Check your inbox.” There was a pause before Rhett said, “What does she have to do with anything?” “I’ll explain in full later—maybe at the next meeting. Just put all available assets on this Carmen Asghar. I think she might be a lead in something big.”

Ring - from The Secret Portal Part Two

Carmen slid her glasses back on. “That black smoke can change atomic structure, but without being able to control her powers, I cannot provide an accurate enough sample to test what is going on.” “How have her powers worked before?” “She had to get angry.” “So…” Jedi gestured to Carmen to fill in the blank. “Making her angry doesn’t seem too hard,” Carmen muttered, crossing her arms. “Maybe I have to—” She stopped at the opening of the door, jumping to her feet at the sight that entered. “What happened?” George Baxter was setting his sister on one of the examination tables before Carmen finished her query. “We were in group training. Ash accidentally sent out a psychic blast, and it hit Carla.” “Accidentally?” Carmen spat, struggling to find the telepathic monitors. George suddenly had them in his palm, handing them to her, and she took them, placing them in the points around Carla’s head. “How does one accidentally hit someone with a psychic blast?” “Well, she did intentionally create the blast,” George explained as Jedi dragged over the psychic wave monitor. “But I think she only did it as an attempt to get out of Carla’s power.” Carmen paused for a split-second at the monitor before resuming. “She was able to break out of a chronokinetic’s hold? Psychically?” “I think so,” George said, his hand reaching up to twist his father’s ring that hung around the chain on his neck in concern.