psiamie

[psiamie]

🌺 send this to ten muns you think are wonderful 🌺

thank you 💕 and right back at you

[psiamie]

we usually think of mood as a scale from 1-5, but there's actually a negative scale too, where the frown turns back into a smile, but just a little insane !

[psiamie]

Determined to avoid any sort of eye contact for the foreseeable future, Kelly resolutely pins her gaze somewhere far over Jessie's shoulder.

She inhales sharply, preparing to offer a retort, but it dies as quickly as she'd thought it up. There's no sense in bringing up how Jessie'd only get a taste of zinc oxide. Nope, not at all.

"You're too kind. Are we there yet?"

Jessie, of course, could be kind enough to just tuck her free hand into her pocket and wiggle the fingers of her other hand still somewhat hooked around Kelly's arm. She is however indeed nice enough not even to tease that Kelly had turned as red as her hair.

"Well, alright. 'Cuz then I don't gotta point out I do bite back."

In her mind it was settled so she set off again because there were better things to bite on in the horizon.

[psiamie]

BOLD what applies to your muse tagged by @bioticgillian

PLACE IN SOCIETY financial: wealthy / moderate / poor / in poverty. medical: fit / moderate / sickly / disabled / disadvantaged. class or caste: upper / upper middle / middle / working / slave / unsure. education: qualified / unqualified / studying. criminal record: yes, for major crimes / yes, for minor crimes / no.

FAMILY married - happily / married - unhappily / engaged or betrothed / partnered / single / divorced / separated. has a child or children / has no children / wants children. close with sibling(s) / not close with sibling(s) / has no siblings / sibling(s) is deceased. orphaned / adopted / disowned / raised by birth parent(s).

TRAITS + TENDENCIES extroverted / introverted / in between. disorganized / organized / in between. close minded / open-minded / in between. calm / anxious / in between. disagreeable / agreeable / in between. cautious / reckless / in between. patient / impatient / in between. outspoken / reserved / in between. leader / follower / in between. empathetic / unemphatic / in between. optimistic / pessimistic / in between. traditional / modern / in between. hard-working / lazy / in between. cultured / un-cultured / in between / unknown. loyal / disloyal / unknown. faithful / unfaithful / unknown.

BELIEFS:

monotheist / polytheist / atheist / agnostic. belief in ghosts or spirits: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care. belief in an afterlife: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care. belief in reincarnation: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care. belief in aliens: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care. religious: orthodox / liberal / in between / not religious. philosophical: yes / no.

SEXUALITY + ROMANTIC INCLINATION

heterosexual / homosexual / bisexual / asexual / pansexual. sex repulsed / sex neutral / sex favourable. romance repulsed / romance neutral / romance favourable / greyromantic sexually: adventurous / experienced / naive / inexperienced / curious. potential sexual partners: male / female / agender / other / none / all. potential romantic partners: male / female / agender / other / none / all.

ABILITIES

combat skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none. literacy skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none. artistic skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none. technical skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none.

HABITS

drinking alcohol: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess. smoking: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess. other narcotics: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess. medicinal drugs: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess. indulgent food: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess. splurge spending: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess. gambling: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess.

[psiamie]

She slants a dry look the Commander's way in answer to that query. There really mightn't be a difference, but Kelly figures she's earned a moment to be dramatic. "Cats still have claws."

"Oh!" Kelly's brows twitch upwards, with the poor yeoman surprised at the interest in her...that. "Uh... No. No, I can't say that I have." Nervous about such line of questioning, she rambles on, "Making sure the Normandy doesn't burn down is a full-time job, so... Not enough time for play."

"...Why?"

"Is it really?" Shane asks, arching a brow. But then she smiles a little. "I keep tellin' people that Jack's really a pussy cat once you get past the uh, sharp teeth."

"Don't worry 'bout it," she urges, raising a hand. "I can see how you'd see it that way." A pause. "Since we're talkin' 'bout y'know... that. Y'ever thought o' findin' a special someone on the Citadel?"

[psiamie]

@teltinsurvivor was faced with a wild cupcake! from here

As if trying to entice the biotic, Kelly gently tipped the cupcake towards Jack. To the first question, she said nothing; merely shrugged her shoulders. The second, though, she had to answer--only because Jack had been nice enough to grace her with yet another nickname.

"Not at all," Kelly admitted calmly, setting the frosted treat down despite Jack's lacking acceptance. "I'm getting on everyone's good side with cupcakes. Y'all are getting to antsy for my liking.

"Think of it as...an attempt to boost crew morale."

[psiamie]

[psiamie]

how does kelly feel about christmas? how does she celebrate it?

she loves it. she loves all holidays, actually, but she has the potential to be a tad obnoxious about it (depending on who she's with). at home, it'd be the perfect opportunity to get together with friends and family and get into all sorts of shenanigans (and lots of eating and drinking. so much of it).

on the normandy, though, it'd be a lot more subdued. she might try sneakily placing some decorations all over the place, but she'd definitely bake some Christmas treats.

[psiamie]

Going back to this, the headcanon I've had for Kelly's background is that she was a dancer (rather than a waitress) to put herself through school. In this instance, she never came into any contact with TIM or Cerberus (that she knew of, anyway) until way later, likely due to some research that she'd been undertaking.

(Somehow I feel like this needs to be stated, but she was a dancer, not a sex worker. She enjoys dancing and if it's getting her money, then... 🤷🏾‍♀️)

By the time Kelly was rounding up with school, she was already likely being poached to work with Cerberus by TIM and is sold the default Cerberus tale that has her believe that Cerberus (and TIM, I guess) have a mission pointing towards the betterment of humanity's stance in the galactic landscape. All this takes place before the Lazarus Project is even a thought in anyone's mind.

But with the cut dialogue highlighting the fact that Kelly kinda owes her life to TIM/Cerberus and that he "gave [her] a future," I'm considering adopting that snippet of the backstory because it provides so much depth into Kelly's loyalty to Cerberus (and where I have her questioning Cerberus' activities (and eventually TIM's decisions) throughout ME2)). Still not sure how/when she'd have met TIM while being a dancer. (Of course, I have an AU somewhere, where she's working with Cerberus long enough to briefly work with Rasa and/or Kai Leng, but eh. It's never seen the light of day more than once lmao.)

Just throwing this thought out for me to think on some more lol.

[psiamie]

It'll be okay *puts a little flower in your hair*

[psiamie]

Kelly's quite familiar with that look; that narrow-eyed glare that lets her know that her choice of words hit a nerve. Typically, she can face it head-on, steeling herself against the onslaught of whatever emotion. Coming from Jack (a still unfamiliar entity) though, it makes her fight to keep from fidgeting while her smile falters just a bit.

Maybe it was too soon, Kelly muses when the silence stretches for too long. Much sooner than Jack would have liked, considering the woman wanted to be left alone with whatever information on Cerberus she'd somehow managed to finagle out of Shepard. And as much as she'd prefer Jack to go through the assessment while more comfortable, they weren't running on unlimited time.

Consider her surprised, however, when Jack assents. It leaves Kelly reeling, blinking rapidly at the approaching biotic with a soft exclamation of surprise.

"Thank you," Kelly breathes, exhaling the tension that kept her rigid in her chair. She pulls her datapad closer. "I'll get right into it then. Why did you agree to join Shepard?" Shepard, not Cerberus; the more people the commander picked up for their mission, the clearer the distinction of their underlying loyalty to the cause. Some were expected, of course--those who were with Shepard on the SR-1. Others, like one Zaeed Massani, had other reasons.

"From all indications, you hate anything to do with command."

@psiamie from HERE

The biotic narrows her eyes at Chambers for a moment as she ponders what she just said. She's about to give some blunt comment - something along the lines of 'You know very well that I don't fit in with Shepard's band.'

Jack doesn't expect to. For her whole life, she's been an outsider, for as much as she desperately tried to fit in, seeking solace in gangs, even a cult. She's never belonged anywhere and if there's anything she's learned, it was that she was never going to be proven the opposite. She's made peace with fighting for just herself. Being alone.

She doesn't know much of Shepard's squad, so far having only met the two Cerberus officers, but Jack knows is sure they hate her. The woman-- Lawson, was bold enough to suggest to put her in a holding cell. As for the rest? She hasn't met them yet. And she doesn't care who they are, or what they think of her being on this ship. She'll only play along as far as she has to.

"Fine", Jack responds, refraining from verbalizing her pessimistic thoughts. If she lets Kelly know too much, there's a chance she'll wanna know why. And Jack doesn't want that. Fighting the urge to roll her eyes, the inked woman takes a seat across the psychologist, finding herself unable to relax in the chair.

[psiamie]

what are you the patron saint of?

patron saint of heartbreak

not of comfort. not of condolences. there is a heart and there is a fissure, a fracture, something that starts to splinter and break open. you're the patron saint of the way a heart is rent open. the way it tears itself apart. patron saint of the rift. patron saint of the gash. when they say to "open your heart" to somebody, you are the patron saint of bleeding out.

tagged by: @teltinsurvivor

[psiamie]

Kelly's smile falters, one corner of her lips tipping downwards before she morphs her expression into sympathy.

The commander had mentioned a skirmish with Cerberus that precluded Gillian's arrival. Unfortunately, in Kelly's rush to attend to the newest and youngest member onboard, those details were amiss to her because the report remained unread on her terminal (though she couldn't help but absently wonder what business Cerberus had the quarians). It probably didn't help that all the Cerberus emblems hadn't yet been stripped from the bulkheads.

I'm sorry to hear that." As patronising as those words may sound, especially from the on-board psychologist, Kelly means them. "It probably feels like a lot has happened in so little time, doesn't it? Would you like to talk about it?"

“Far from it.” The reply came without an ounce of hesitation as she made her way into the makeshift office, taking a seat across the psychologist’s desk. To say she felt anywhere near okay would’ve been a vast overstatement. Who did feel okay? As it were, the galaxy had yet not been attacked by the Reapers. Few knew of their existence - some have heard the rumors, but in the face of the public they were nothing but a ridiculous tale - but those who did, without a doubt, would not have an easy time going through their daily lives. It was an eerie feeling, knowing that any second, the start of galactic extinction could begin. It left Gillian with a sort of emptiness inside that was tough to digest.

And there was everything that had happened on the Fleet just less than a day ago, and the fact that she was practically forced to leave the ship that had become her home. For the past few years, Gillian had been under the impression that it would never come to that. Or, it was more like she hadn’t ever even considered the possibility of Cerberus finding her. It was stupid of her. Naive. Even though the quarians were alien, technically, Gillian had grown comfortable among them. Felt accepted, like a part of their community. That wasn’t a common feeling for her.

Gillian had all of that torn from her one normal morning, and she was just lucky enough that the Commander and his asari companion had gotten there in time. The infiltrating Cerberus troops had been prepared for her. Gillian wouldn’t have been able to take on them single-handedly, not without getting others killed in the process.

Now she was here. Safe, but having to process all that.

Gillian didn‘t add anything else to what she said. Her response had been as candid as she always was, and perhaps she’d interpreted too much into it. Perhaps it was a mere routine question, related to how people have been welcoming her or something like that; in that case, Kelly's intentions with the question had eluded her. She shifted a little in her seat, straightening her posture and brushing a strand of dark hair from her face. It contrasted sharply against the colors of her suit, which was of quarian design.

[psiamie]

where did kelly grow up?

kelly grew up on earth, in the united north american states. specifically what would have been somewhere around texas in the united states of america. her parents, though they weren't farmers by profession, raised kelly and her sister on a small farm that served more for feeding them and less as a supplemental means of income.

[psiamie]

what’s kelly’s favorite music?

how simple/weird/silly is it if i say 'dancey'?

high energy songs are very much kelly's sort of jam. if they've got the high bpms and bumping bass, she's all for it. the playlists I have for her aren't from one particular genre, but they help get me in the headspace for her more often that not so... 🤷🏾‍♀️

[psiamie]

Talk about more or less hitting the nail on the head.

There's a small wince from Kelly. "Not...in so many words," she answers carefully. Reactions from the crew about Jack steered in one direction, with many making it their mission to avoid crossing paths with the biotic.

"But I don't think it's without reason." She sets her spoon down, switching it for the cup by her plate. "Being held prisoner in cryo by a warden who seemed more interested in filling his pockets than the welfare of his prisoners?" She takes a sip of water, cradling the cup between her hands as she recalls the details of the mission report she'd read through (all something that seemed small in the long list of charges that followed Jack's name). "That'd get a strong reaction out of anyone."

@psiamie from here

That mention is enough to darken Jack’s mood again, something that is not a rare occurrence, given how sensitive she is to the words or actions of others. One small misstep, and she could lash out in anger.

Not that this is going to happen; Jack can keep it under control sometimes. If she has to.

Raising a brow, she can’t help but sardonically ask,

“Yeah? What’d they tell you? That I’m a really, really mean psychopath bitch?”

For as much as there is a hint of amusement in her voice, there is an equal amount of venom. Not that she thinks that she’s anything resembling a good person, but she has no doubt that Cerberus likes to twist things around a little.. They’re fucking liars, that’s what they are.

And there is a feeling that won’t leave Jack, and perhaps that is the reason why she is bothering to sit at a table with a Cerberus psychologist, one whose chipper attitude seemed so fake and off-putting to her.

A feeling she can’t name, but if she could kill it, she would.

Caused by the uncertainty of not knowing how much this woman has been digging around in her files, of how much she knows.

Powerlessness, maybe.

[psiamie]

jacob taylor and kelly chambers are bffs and they’re both consistently voted the most positive people on the normandy

every time they switch positions as “most positive member of the team” they make each other a cake

jacob makes kelly a cheesecake, from a recipe he got from this nice salarian chef from the citadel, with ingredients measured to create the best tasting sensation in a human’s mouth

kelly makes jacob angel food cake, because he’s a huge health nut and likes to put strawberries and whipped cream on his cake and jacob likes how it practically dissolves in his mouth