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i can't make this pretty right now i'm at work and can't crop art aaaaaa

here's my beautiful oc though

Su Fei is a former soldier in an uprising against an oppressive empire; the revolution was successful, but Su Fei did not get to see it to the end due to a serious injury that left her down a leg. once she recovered, she took the qilin she'd been given as a service animal, former imperial property, and decided to start delivering the mail—mostly for the newly-forming government, but she's too soft-hearted to say no to anyone who has a letter or a package for someone with a far away friend.

Su Fei is:
- boisterous, loud, and friendly
- big sisterly
- a bit of a bully
- constantly fighting the urge to fall back on old violent instincts

Su Fei is not:
- dealing with her trauma well!! mostly she just BOTTLES ALL THAT RIGHT UP
- genuinely mean-spirited
- holding herself in particularly high esteem at any given time

Likes: alcohol, flying, flowers, spicy food, jewelry
Dislikes: nobility, mad science (and magical equivalents thereof), fire, immortality, dogs

more info here!

Scenarios

Murdergame
i constantly have the murdergame bug but i have no time to play in them anymore... in general, expect su fei to be the sort who tries to take care of the others, especially the kids (anyone younger than su fei is a kid). she's more than willing to defer to others with more experience, but otherwise takes charge of keeping everyone organized as best she can. takes losses really hard, though she works hard not to show it, but is a little more understanding of most culprits than others might be.

in settings that are basically entirely indoors, su fei prooobably won't have her qilin available, and will instead be getting around primarily on her crutches.

potential specific scenarios include:
- su fei takes a hostage motive real poorly because they kidNAPPED ONE OF HER GODCHILDREN!!! laments this with another adult, partially in an attempt to keep herself in check and from doing something stupid (like murder)
- congrats on being one of su fei's little siblings; if you are having a rough time she will TAKE CARE OF YOU
- this one only works if you assume a scapegoat murdergame but: congrats on being one of su fei's little siblings, on doing a murder, and on getting caught in the act—by su fei, who takes it upon herself to try to help you get away with it: setting up the crime scene, trying to frame someone who sucks, and/or confessing to the crime herself at the trial
- su fei, resident body-toucher, excuses herself from her usual job when the corpse of someone she likes well enough is found badly burned—maybe talk to her about that one!!

don't feel limited to these, they're just what i've got off the top of my head!!! we can also borrow ideas from the murdergame meme

Jamjar
definitely my preference over AUs or trying to mash canons together tbh!! settings-wise i don't like horror, and maybe ask me before doing a survival setting (i don't like them normally but would be happy to do one for a thread's worth of time for a good idea), but will happily go for basically anything else. again, in settings that are more or less trapped indoors, she's less likely to have her qilin available.

potential scenarios:
- su fei has taken up a courier service in jamjarlandia and you're helping out for the day!! let's go flying
- jamjarlandia with action/combat aspects?!?! su fei is more than willing to teach self-defense. alternatively, she's protecting you from whatever monsters or threats have arisen—maybe it's her first time really showing off that she's combat-capable at all?
- sci-fi jamjarlandia and su fei, who is from ye olde fantasy china, has no goddamn idea what's going on. please help her. what's a microwave

Character Dynamics
here are just some specific character dynamics i think would be neat

- let su fei be your big sis!!!! i always want her to adopt people are you kidding me
- in particular gimme your child soldiers and let her adopt the everloving heck out of them ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!!
- fellow adults who have been through Some Shit, commiserating over, like, Existence. All Of It. especially good if we assume a setting with a lot of teens running around. ESPECIALLY especially good if they co-parent all those teens?!?!
- su fei hates nobility as a rule. either 1) let her be a rude li'l shit to your noble or 2) force them into a get-along shirt by virtue of some shared activity or crisis
- su fei does not hate magic or mages but like. she doesn't like it. it's been used against her and her people too many times. she's a little mage racist. force her and a mage into a get along shirt? have a mage talk to her about their craft?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[In Jamjarlandia, Tap has been pretty excitable. A new, interesting place, like a fantasy world she can explore.... and more importantly, she's not too scared to leave her house here. Big improvement!

Unfortunately, this means she does need a job, and her skills do make her useful for this, so working at the courier seems like fun. Tap, a cute rabbit girl, dressed as a dancer, does not seem to really... bother with touching the ground that often. She jumps, she floats, gravity seems like it's really just a suggestion to her, which has her flying alongside Su Fei and the delivery qilin easily enough.]

Say, what kind of animal is that, anyway? You called it a 'qilin', right? I thought those were like, you know, giraffes?

[Also? Tap is very excitable and kind of a motormouth. Hope you can deal with TONS of energy and questions!]

[Really, all of Tap's endless energy is a bonus. Su Fei likes this kid! The thing where she just sort of floats around is, uh, different, but...well, even if it doesn't make for the best delivery method, given that Su Fei needs to slow her qilin down so Tap can stay alongside her and it's not like Tap can carry quite as much without a steed (Su Fei has given her a messenger bag full of letters and kept the packages for herself), at the end of the day, Su Fei likes the company. It's different, too, but it's nice.]

A giraffe? Nah, we don't have those where I'm from—I mean, they're elsewhere in the world but not where I live. Lairen is what she is, you know? I wouldn't be surprised if qilin look kinda different across worlds, though.

[She appreciates it, really. Tap is full of energy, and not everyone can handle that, so she always appreciates people who can handle her. Well, she loves and appreciates everyone, but especially people who like her company!

She floats along, keeping up as best she can- While she became her MMO character, being taken to this new world did remove a lot of her stuff... including all her mounts, limiting her to just player movement speed.]

That makes sense... Oh, I played a game once that had a kirin! Well, a few, but this one stood out, 'cause it was this cool lion-horse thing that could shoot lightning! It was really impressive!!

Oh, that's not to say you're not impressive! [she's talking to the qilin now.] You're really cool, too!

[Lairen, the qilin in question, snorts in annoyed dismissal. She, for one, does not have a lot of patience for Tap's energy, but she doesn't have much patience for anything, really. Su Fei barks out a laugh, addressing the qilin first as she speaks.]

Hah! No, girlie, we're lucky you can't shoot lightning. Every last one of us would be dead. Me, too, I can't take another one of those! [She shifts one arm, indicating the lichtenburg figure scar that goes down from its shoulder, before turning back to Tap.] A qilin's a pretty rare thing where I'm from, so Lairen's used to being the most impressive thing in the room, you see. She gets jealous real easy, though. Don't you, girl?

[Again, Lairen huffs out some air, displeased.]

[On one hand: Scars are scary, Tap is terrified of things happening to her- She had agoraphobia for so long.

On the other hand, that scar is really cool, and Su Fei does wear it well.]

It's okay, Lairen! Those were from a game, not real, so you're still way cooler!

[... not that the distinction between game and reality is as meaningful anymore. But. She'll keep that to herself for now.]

Have you been struck by lightning before?

Eh? [Ah, even with Tap around, she's still so used to just sort of talking to Lairen and only Lairen that somehow it surprises her that there's a follow-up question...] Oh, yeah, couple'a times. [Su Fei shifts again, rolling up a sleeve so Tap can get a better look at the scar.] A magic lightning spell—I've been at the fringes of a few, but this one really got me good. Wasn't enough to take me out, though!

Oh...

[It's hard to think about, that magic can hurt and cause scars like that. She's so used to it just being part of a game- Her magic swords, her friends' spells, but ultimately they're all just numbers in a game. It leaving scars is... horrible.]

That sounds... horrible. It must have been so scary...

[Oh, dear, she's gone and brought the mood down... She's used to talking about this with the last war buddy she's got standing, the two of them drunkenly reveling over their own survival; when she brings those experiences up around her parents or, really, anyone else, these are the reactions she gets—she's gotten too casual, she thinks. Su Fei tries for a smile and some levity.]

Hey, don't fuss too much about it, yeah? At the time, sure, it wasn't exactly fun, but I'm still here, ain't I?

Yeah...

[She perks up at that.]

I'm glad you're here! You're really cool, so I'm glad I got to know you!

[At least she's easy to cheer up again.]

[Oh! That visibly catches Su Fei off guard a little—it's not necessarily a sentiment she doesn't hear, but it's one that she never quite gets used to. She is here, but it is only her, with so much loss in the wake of her presence.

Still, she shifts back into one of her easygoing grins.]

Hey, you're not so bad yourself, squirt. It's good having you along. That bag getting heavy?

[Tap has an older sibling back home, so there's something comfortingly familiar about Su Fei. The affectionate 'squirt', the kindness, it's all familiar in a way that keeps her grounded... as odd as it is to talk about 'grounded' while floating in the air.]

Not at all! I'm pretty strong, you know!

... Well, like this I am, anyway.

Yeah? You got a separate way that you're like where I shouldn't hand you mail bags?

I...

[She pauses, folding her arms as she thinks.]

I don't... know, anymore?

[Su Fei quirks an eyebrow, but her expression does settle into something soft.]

Weird stuff that this place is up to, huh? Well, if you figure it out and you do end up a little less ready to carry mail bags, let me know. I'll lighten the load up.

It's more like weird stuff my own home world was up to... I mean. You know how adorable these bunny ears of mine are?

[to emphasize her point, she even just curls up her hands to do the cute hopping bunny pose.]

Haha! They are very cute. You wear 'em well.

Right? Don't I? Aren't they just so cute? I designed 'em myself!

No kiddin'! We've got folks back at home who take on animal forms, keep some of the traits still when they're more human-shaped. Is it anything like that?

Sort of... Um, but also, sort of not?

[She waves her arms vaguely.]

You said a while ago that you don't have video games in your world, right?

Sure don't. I feel like such an old lady every time someone tries to explain them to me.

Oh. Sorry in advance, 'cause that's probably about to happen again.

Ai ya, I'm too young to get these things explained to me like this... I'm too young to be ai ya-ing like this! I sound like my papa!

[BIG SIGH]

All right. I'm bracing myself. Let's go, kid.

Your papa sounds funny.

[She giggles, but. Okay, explanation!]

Um, short version! You can make a character in the game, and the character is you, in the game! And then one day a few months ago, I woke up and I was my character, but in reality instead of the game! End of explanation!

[opens mouth

closes mouth

CONSIDERS]

So it's like—you pretended to be a person, like kids playing games where they're princesses or soldiers or magicians, and now you are that person.

[in the tone of someone so, so desperately trying to understand, who thinks she is onto something and wants so badly to hope that she's got the idea]

Yes! Except not. But sort of!

[SHE'S SO GOOD AT EXPLAINING. AREN'T YOU SO HAPPY SHE'S EXPLAINING, SU FEI.]

The game treated us as the person we pretended to be, but no one else playing the game ever did! We were just all people playing a game. Except for the roleplayers. They usually keep to themselves, though!

And now I am that person! Sort of. My character was always me, but now I look like her, and I have all the powers from the game too! Like flying. And dancing!

[Despite the "except not," this is just sort of solidifying her theory here???]

I'm—I'm, uh, starting to get it. You played pretend, and got all the powers and stuff you were pretending to have. Presumably because, uh, magic or whatever. [she never understood magic she has understood it EVEN LESS since being SPIRITED AWAY BETWEEN WORLDS]

Yeah... We don't know why. Magic wasn't real, at home. Or so we thought, I guess? And now, the whole world is starting to turn into the world from the game.

[She folds her arms.]

... Me 'n' a few friends thought, if anyone would know what was going on, it'd be the guy who made the game. Makes sense, right? Only... that guy passed away, a couple years ago.

Mm, that'd be trouble, huh. I wouldn't even know who to go to in a situation like that...

Do you like this new form of yours, though?

[Tap practically starts glowing with excitement...]

I do! Before, I was a total shut-in, but now I can fly, and go around, and meet people, and the world isn't scary at all! I get to meet all sorts of new people, and I can dance and do magic, and I'm super cute, and there's so much to see out here!

[Su Fei laughs, loud and cheerful, the sound carried on the wind as they fly. Tap's delight is infectious, and Su Fei can't help the way she grins.]

Not as much trouble as it sounded like, then, eh? I guess I'll give magic that it's good for somethin', if it got you in such a good spot!

Yeah... It's not a bad thing, by any stretch. I'm pretty happy now!

But it was weird to see a fast travel gate show up in the middle of the Shibuya scramble crossing. I kinda wish I could show you it!

[ Being uprooted from her own world and plunked into this new one has been... an experience for Annaliese, but plunging headfirst into a world she's never seen before is precisely why she ran away from home in the first place, so she's adjusting. Or at least, she's doing her best to adjust. She's a relatively new arrival and there's been kind suggestions from the people who've been here longer than her that she should take her first month or so to settle and get used to the rhythm of life here.

Annaliese, of course, has absolutely no intention of doing so. The little hamlet she'd found herself in when she's arrived was lovely and charming – but it was sleepy and slow and she simply didn't have the patience for it, so the instant she'd heard of the courier making land in town, she'd taken off running. ]

Excuse me...! [ yes, literally, running!!! right into what amounts as the town square, skirts gathered in her hands as she goes and everything. ] Excuse me–! I'm not too late for the delivery, am I?

[The thing Su Fei settles into most easily when she gets dropped into what she's told is a universe all on its own (and she is struggling even more by the day to doubt it) is that there is still mail to deliver. Everyone else displaced from their worlds recognizes the idea of it, that there is always a package or a letter that needs to be somewhere else. There is always work to be done. Su Fei, despite whatever else is going on, has always been the sort to do it.

With the world stretching out so wide, she doesn't stay in one place for too long. She has a home base in town, as it were, but everywhere needs to send everything everywhere else, so she's always busy busy busy, from one end of things to the other; just how she likes it.

She's easy to spot when she makes landing in the town square; her qilin stands tall and colorful, and Su Fei, already an imposing enough figure on her own, sits tall and easy on her steed's back. She's shuffling through a beat-up brown messenger bag as someone's voice calls, and when she looks up, it isn't with much surprise. Su Fei has been doing this for a long time; Annaliese is far from the first to come running in a panicked search for a waiting message.]

You're just in time! [Her grin is easy, friendly. Her steed looks towards Annaliese and snuffles at her, somehow sounding annoyed, but Su Fei doesn't lose that casual, cheerful air about her for a moment.] Whatcha lookin' for?

[ She comes to a gradual stop in front of the two of them, huffing for breath just a little harder than you'd expect from a short run like that. But she's quick to compose herself, smoothing down her skirts and giving Su Fei a smile – a very nice smile, yes, but it has a slightly coy, sheepish edge to it like someone about to pre-emptively apologize for dipping their hand in the cookie jar, so to speak. ]

Ah, well... [ She dips her head politely in greeting to Su Fei and then her steed. It's important to make a first impression when she's going to make a request that feels as cheeky as this one does. ] I was rather hoping I'd be able to make a request of you. Since you're leaving the town, I'd hoped you might be able to take something with you along the way.

[Her steed, good ol' Lairen, looks at Annaliese unflinchingly, the expression somehow judgmental. It doesn't soften when Annaliese gives that little nod of greeting, but it doesn't escalate into anything more annoyed, which is impressive for her—and anyway, it sure does get Su Fei's expression to brighten with amusement. That spark comes from seeing the one in Annaliese's face, too—she can recognize that sort of smile. This girl is up to something.]

Depends what you got and where it's going. [She pulls away from the messenger bag, realizing now that Annaliese doesn't need anything from it, and leans back comfortably.] But I can usually make room for one more.

The destination doesn't entirely matter, really – so long as it's out of this village and into the world then anywhere at all is just fine. As for what you'll be taking...

[ That sheepish smile of hers turns into what can really only be called a grin and she gives Su Fei a slightly playful, one-handed curtsey as if presenting herself. ]

... is myself. I'm a new arrival, so I'm afraid that I don't have much to offer in the way of compensation... but if I can secure passage out of the village, I'm certain I can make myself useful elsewhere.

[Su Fei hesitates for just a moment—and then she laughs. It's not mean-spirited at all, but it's a big sound, a delighted uproar. It makes Lairen shift in place, lifting hooves and setting them back down right where she was, but when she snuffles and shakes her head it's like she's laughing, too.]

You're a bold one, huh! [There's still a chuckle in her voice when she speaks, and she grins wide.] First flying stranger you see and you're already up to pack and go and hope we don't drop you, eh? You hear that, Lairen? She's lookin' to be a passenger.

[Lairen snuffles again, this one in clear displeasure, but the sense Lairen gives off is that she's just sort of always displeased. Su Fei leans in, still grinning; it isn't ill-natured, and she doesn't mean to make fun of Annaliese at all, but she's clearly amused.]

What's your name, then?

[ Annaliese's smile doesn't let up for a second – she just beams with the easy confidence of a girl who's used to bluffing and charming her way into getting what she wants. She has a good feeling about this courier and her gruff, grouchy steed and out here, without her usual way of being so sure of things, she has nothing but her gut to rely on if she wants to get ahead.

So she doesn't look relieved, precisely, by Su Fei's response. Just pleased. ]

Please, just call me Annaliese. I don't think there's much call for formalities when all of us are in much the same boat. And yours?

Su Fei. This here's Lairen. [She pats Lairen's flank in the space where Su Fei's leg might get in the way if, uh, one was there. Lairen gives another little huff of air.] Glad you're not worried about the formalities, 'cause you wouldn't've gotten them if you asked.

[She keeps that casual air about her in the way she positions herself, inasmuch as anyone can seem casual on horseback—or, flying-deer-horse-thing-back. Despite this, Lairen watches Annaliese carefully, a certain suspicion about her that Su Fei doesn't share.]

We're not usually in the business of taking passengers, I gotta say. Logistics aside, it's a vulnerable spot for us too, y'know. Besides, my girl doesn't care for strangers.

[Lairen does give another huff of air, as indignant as ever.]

What's got you so eager to take on outta here, huh?

Is that so? Well, it's good that you're travelling with someone who's looking out for you, if nothing else. I'm certain if any potential passenger had unruly intentions, she'd see to them quick as a wink.

[ Which is her roundabout way of at least trying to reassure them both that she's not stupid enough to try anything under the watchful gaze of a steed who looks like she could bite Annaliese's head clean off her shoulders without even thinking about it.

The coy, airy sort of affect she'd been holding up wanes a bit at last and she tips up her chin – not quite defiant, but determined. ]

This is a lovely village, but... it's too small for me, is all. I've found myself in a world entirely different from the one I existed in until now and I want nothing more than to see as much of it for myself as I can. There's sure to be beautiful and terrible things here that I'd never even dream of seeing in the place I came from and... it just seems such a waste to stay here and let them go unseen. Don't you think?

[That gets a wide, sparkling grin from Su Fei and an almost prideful little lift of her head from Lairen, who appears to understand well enough when she's being praised—noting her general awfulness feels enough like praise to her, anyway.

But her expression settles a little, watching Annaliese's fierce determination in the face of something so simple as wanting to see the world. It has never been Su Fei's intention to take on all that beauty and terror, but it comes with the territory of courier. Even if she could go with or without, even if that's not the point, she can understand where someone else would find such strong meaning in it.

There is a respect in her for Annaliese's sheer boldness to even ask. Besides, if she had spoken only of the joys and splendor, of the wide and bountiful world, Su Fei might have doubted her, but it's that phrasing, beautiful and terrible things—it isn't that Su Fei bears ill will against naivety, but she is the sort to weigh it against the reality she knows. At the same time, there's that same soft-heartedness that had her taking up a courier service in such a strange land in the first place, that had her delivering trinkets and love letters alongside missives and orders.

Su Fei tilts her head a little, that casual air turning a little matter-of-fact, a little firmer.]

Here's the deal. I got more deliveries to take care of today and a passenger's gonna slow us down. Can't afford the extra weight, either, especially while we're carrying packages.

[She lifts her chin a little and gives half a nod.]

So pack light. We'll have to fly into the night if I'm gonna circle back here and get back to home base when I've got the current load gone, so think about taking a power nap before I get back.

[ Despite all that twinkling confidence from earlier, there'd been a not-so insignificant part of Annaliese fairly convinced that she was going to be rebuffed. She's not a fool, even if it's occasionally useful to play the part a bit in a situation like this – Su Fei has a job to do and errands of her own to see to and a tag-along passenger who can't even do her the decency of paying her own way isn't exactly an attractive prospect. But she has to at least try her luck, even if she doesn't think it'll get her particularly far.

All this together means that when she hears Su Fei's response and realizes she really is going to be getting out of this town, her whole face lights up in a smile far more open and sincere than the one she'd been wearing before – less playful, more transparent surprise and delight. ]

Ah– yes, of course! I wouldn't think of being so rude as to overload you when you're doing me such a kindness – I'll pack the essentials and not a thing more. Is there anything from the village I should bring, some supplies that might be useful for you?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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comfy fantasy jamjarlandia

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