#anyway. i love punk tam :)

[bookwyrminspiration]

Please please please share any and all thoughts you have about Tam being punk. Punk!Tam is a favorite headcanon of mine, and I would love to hear more about your thoughts on him.

-⚙️

(P.S. You have mentioned a few times that you do not enjoy emojis. I wanted to let you know that if you would prefer it, I am willing to change my signature to something else that is not an emoji.)

Oh where to even begin! He and the person most important to him are victims of their system, of course that manifests as a distrust of said system and the functioning of their world. He's directly experienced is atrocities and is disillusioned, his very existence is a politicized. Of course there's the necessary distinction here that punk ideology/culture as we know it in our world is in response to our world's problems (capitalism, consumerism, our particular inequalities, etc.), so the punk ideology Tam would focus on would be separate, focusing on his world's problems. The twin discrimination, shade stigma, talentless marginalization, etc.

I do think that Tam, if given the choice, would rather just disappear with the people important to him and go do their own thing instead of confront the system head on. Perhaps some sort of anarchist society/situation where people do their own thing, though getting into the specifics of what that would mean is beyond the scope of this ask. However, that's not currently an option for him (no society in place, people he cares about want to stay and fight), so he's fighting because that's his best option.

Related, a detail I can't get out of my mind is the blanket mentioned in Neverseen when Sophie first meets the twins, which is described as "patched together from the craziest bits of fabric" (p. 451); the execution and concept reminds me of punk fashion. Of using what you can find/have available, patching things together and creating something usable and beautiful in its salvaging that would've otherwise been abandoned. The skills needed to make that blanket would translate perfectly into appearance and altering/decorating clothing.

There's so many avenues and specifics to explore with this concept, but to summarize: being punk is largely ideological and being against oppressive, harmful, exploitative systems of government and ruling (of course that definition can be argued, I'm working on the fly here), and Tam is, by nature of his place in society and his experiences, disillusioned and against an oppressive, harmful, exploitative system of government. The issues faced by us and by him may be different, but the sentiment is shared. Tam being punk is not at all a long stretch.

[apocalypticavolition]

Let's (re)Read The Eye of the World! Chapter 4: The Gleeman

Welcome back, my pretties. Sorry for not posting yesterday. It was a day. Today is trying to be in the same mold but we'll see what happens. Anyway, this is a very spoiler-heavy reread of the series, so if you don't want spoilers, now is your time to flee!

[The cloak] was really quite thick, Rand saw, despite what Master al’Vere had said, with the patches merely sewn on like decorations.

This is of course a hint that Thom is not a regular gleeman but a former court bard and isn't just self-aggrandizing when he says as much later. When you consider that he hasn't had such a lofty title nearly the entirety of Rand's life though, the good quality of his cloak is a bit more impressive.

He wondered if there was a place where nobody had dark eyes. Maybe Lan comes from there, too.

Rand's only seen Lan for thirty seconds and he's already desperate to be adopted by him. Poor Tam, getting tossed aside so quickly for the edgier Blademaster with the even cooler Aiel War-related backstory. I'm sure Rand'll come crawling back eventually Tam, but only once he's been internalized some horrible lessons.

The yokels in that village on the hill tell me I can get here before dark, neglecting to say that that was only if I left well before noon.

Oh. My feelings that something significant was going on with this were completely silly. Thom just got punked. LOL.

Egwene’s face was a study, her goggle-eyed amaze at a gleeman in the flesh marred by a desire to defend Nynaeve. “Your pardon, Master Gleeman,” Rand said. He knew he was grinning foolishly, himself. “That was our Wisdom, and—”

Interesting that Rand doesn't appreciate that he and Egwene are having literally the exact same reaction, only Egwene is passive and he's active.

“So. I thought I recognized Padan Fain in there.” His voice was still deep, but the resonance had gone, replaced by scorn. “Fain was always one to carry bad news quickly, and the worse, the faster. There’s more raven in him than man.”

Jordan is usually quite good at making the world feel large and expansive, but this particular detail makes it feel rather small.

Egwene was glaring at him, and he had not even smiled.

Because your silence at your friends' bad behavior (they're not wrong that Thom's just playing her, but jeez) is douchey and implies you agree that it's laughable she might be very pretty.

“But the war,” Mat began eagerly, only to be cut off by Master Merrilin.

It's no surprise Mat ended up being the general and strategist, since he really does love the idea of it long before he gets super powers.

Not with your full growth on you yet, but I doubt there’s another man in the district with your height.

There isn't, but why do you all keep calling the region a district? It implies an administrative perspective that this region is utterly lacking. And of course, two sentences later we get our first actual instance of someone saying Rand looks Aiel.

“Well, now. Made-up creatures from my stories. Is that what they are? You lads are widely traveled, then, it seems.”

It's a rather interesting thing about this series that rumors about mundane or at least relatively mundane things are almost invariably so distorted as to be completely wrong, while nearly everything said about magical things is perfectly true.

[Egwene] broke off, her cheeks turning pink, and the look she gave Thom Merrilin was not as friendly as it had been. “It is not right to make. . . . It isn’t. . . .” Her face went redder, and she fell silent.

Since I pointed out last chapter that Egwene isn't a super awesome friend on average, I will give her a small amount of points here for standing up for the village shitheads who laugh at her.

Tales of great wars and great heroes, for the men and boys.

More of Jordan's unconscious sexism. His world has plenty of women who are heroes, and you'd think there'd be plenty of gals who want to hear about them, and farmboys who wouldn't mind hearing a rags to riches story of some strapping young cowherder winning the heart of a noblewoman and spending the rest of his days in luxury.

The Thousand Tales of Anla, the Wise Counselor.

You might think it's unlikely that Third Agers would remember Ann Landers, defunct newspaper personality, but OBVIOUSLY what happened was is that some microfiche in a library basement archive survived the nuclear war and since it was the most complete relic of the old days the early channelers and they preserved it very well through their age. You all must feel pretty silly for not being able to extract the UNQUESTIONABLE canon from this single sentence.

She had never liked stories about adventures and long journeys. Her favorites were always the funny ones, or stories about women outwitting people who were supposed to be smarter than everyone else. He was sure she had asked for tales about Lenn and Salya to put a burr under his shirt.

Or maybe because she's planning on going on some travels of her own she's looking for reassurance? Like, whatever happens to John Glenn and Sally Ride in the stories has to be a thousand times worse than any reasonable event that might happen to Egwene on the friendly country roads.

Ages when men ruled the heavens and the stars, and Ages when man roamed as brother to the animals. Ages of wonder, and Ages of horror. Ages ended by fire raining from the skies, and Ages doomed by snow and ice covering land and sea.

Silly Thom, even if I take you seriously I suspect that you're not going back any further than the late seventh age, when humanity was paleolithic and the climate was icy.

Oh and right after this he lists a bunch of other first age tales. If you can't recognize these you're even sillier than I feared.

For a moment Thom looked at Moiraine sideways, his face and body still except for making the balls disappear into his capacious coat sleeves. Then he bowed to her, holding his cloak wide. “Your pardon, but you are surely not from this district?”

"Dammit kids, I just told you I don't do Aes Sedai! Why didn't you tell me that there was one visiting?"

Suddenly Rand wondered what sort of entertainment a lady like her might be offered in a city like Baerlon, or Caemlyn. Surely it could not be anything better than a gleeman.

Rand clearly wasn't listening, or more likely not believing, when Thom told him outright he used to be a court bard.

“I assure you, none of my stories will displease. All will please and entertain. And you do me too much honor. I am a simple gleeman; that and nothing more.”

Rand is of course missing that Thom and Moiraine are having two or possibly three simultaneous conversations (at least one where they're making damn sure neither outs the other and possibly another I'm too thick to suss out on top of that), though he does recognize what Thom feels about the situation.

“Is he supposed to be a gleeman or a king?” Cenn Buie asked in annoyed tones. “A waste of good money, if you ask me.” Bran al’Vere half turned after the gleeman, then shook his head. “That man may be more trouble than he’s worth.”

Y'all haven't let him have a smoke and a drink and you're bitching? I can see why you don't get gleemen very often. They probably come the once, see how unfriendly you lot are, and realize they should never return.

Rand knew there must be some way to stop her from leaving the Two Rivers, but the only way he could think of was not one he was prepared to take, even if she was willing.

Good thing Rand's not book OR show Perrin, or he'd have an entirely different idea of how to stop Egwene from leaving.

“I’ve never seen Master al’Vere so mad,” was the first thing Rand said, getting him a disgusted look from Mat.

Mat sees him this mad about two or three times a month and is deeply disappointed that Rand doesn't dedicate himself to the art of pranking like Mat does.

“Battles interest me,” Mat said, and Perrin added, “What did he say about them?”

More good Mat foreshadowing. Not a whole lot going on with Perrin - I feel like Luhhan being the guy who can make Buie see reason is supposed to nod towards the kind of guy Perrin is meant to become, but he never becomes that guy so that's a moot point, innit?

The war is in Ghealdan, and the Aes Sedai are the Light knows where, but none of it is here. The man in the black cloak is, or have you forgotten him already?

The war is about a False Dragon (and the real one is here). An Aes Sedai showed up yesterday evening. And while Rand is right that the Shadowspawn are the real problem, at this point he's a little silly for not worrying that the rider is the false Dragon on the run, using saidin to appear and disappear at will. So he's right and wrong on every count; quite an achievement.

He could already hear Master al’Vere laughing. More witnesses certainly could not hurt. And if three of them had seen the fellow, others had to have, too. They must have.

This doesn't necessarily follow, but lucky for Rand in this particular case it does.

The peddler’s team munched their oats in eight stalls, and Master al’Vere’s massive Dhurrans, the team he hired out when farmers had hauling beyond the abilities of their own horses, filled six more, but only three others were occupied.

ONLY seventeen stalls occupied. This inn and stable are REALLY old if "only seventeen" is the way of phrasing things. They must have expected quite a few more horses back in the day.

“Father,” he said finally, “I don’t understand why the Council had to question Padan Fain.”

It's a good thing he's not a corrupting nightmare yet, or the whole of Emond's FIeld would be screwed.

They chose us for the Village Council because they trust we can reason things out in the best way for everybody. They trust our opinions. Even Cenn’s, which doesn’t say much for the rest of us, I suppose. At any rate, they will hear there isn’t anything to worry about, and they’ll believe it.

Here's some Perrin foreshadowing: in three books the mindless sheep of the Two Rivers will be looking to him and him alone for their opinions instead of the elected officials. Joy!

(Shame the timeline doesn't work to blame Fain for everyone's collectively throwing away their brains the way Elaida did.)

When Haral Luhhan mentioned Perrin jumping shadows, though, it all came out. Jon Thane’s oldest son saw him, too, and so did Samel Crawe’s boy, Bandry.

Moiraine might be behind the Shadow in narrowing down the region, but she is way ahead in narrowing down the candidates. Myrdraal don't seem to be as smart as they should be.

There was nothing the black-cloaked horseman could do that the people of Emond’s Field could not handle together.

Oh sweet, innocent Rand you naive little lamb. You gormless ray of sunshine. You absolute Ann Perkins. Your town is about to get FUCKED.

But that's next chapter. See you then!

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

TAM LOVES CRASS -- DAMIAN LOVES DISCHARGE -- LET'S MAKE A NOISE!!

PIC(S) INFO: Spotlight on Lynda "Tam" Simpson and Damian Thompson of UK hardcore punk band SACRILEGE, c. mid 1980s, location & photographer unknown.

Such an early shot of Tam, rocking far shorter hair than in her later incarnations, and she's still got some baby fat on her, too, which almost makes her look cherubic. Anyway, these shots are clearly from the same gig, and I don't know if Damian and she were in a relationship yet at this point.

Source: https://anarcolitico.blogspot.com/2013/02/garotas-no-vocal-sacrilege.html.

[crymeariveronceagain]

Tam and Linh dyed their hair by melting their stuff. Wouldn't that completely damage their hair? How does that work?

yep. don't know.

I've thought about this so much it's insane.

like, if it was metal, wouldn't their hair be super lumpy? Wouldn't it be all stuck together? Wouldn't it be impossible to brush? What?!?!?!?

SHANNON EXPLAIN?!?!! THIS MAKES NO SENSE??!?!

METAL COATED HAIR!!! DOES NOT MAKE SENSE!!!

How!?!?!?

How in the heck??

I just. Thank you for asking. I have so many feelings about how wrong this is. Like. Augh. Ew. What?!

What??!?!?!

What on earth.

Shannon.

Shannon you can't say things like this, babe. It doesn't make any got dang sense.

Anyways.

My headcanon is that both the twins cut off the metal hair at some point and dye it different colors.

Tam goes for Neon green. It's always been his favorite color. Matches his punk rock vibes, and his bangs are dipped in green.

Linh does light blue. It's soft, gentle, kind. It's everything she wants to be. She whisks water through it, and smiles. She loves the way she looks.

[stellar-lune]

*KOTLC incorrect quotes*

Anyways, a long list of incorrect KOTLC quotes, feel free to use these for anything if ya want!

-

Glimmer: Arson? Oh, you mean "crime brûlée".

-

Fitz: Oh, so when crows remember people who wronged them and hold grudges, its “intelligent” and “really cool”.

Fitz: But when I do it, I’m “petty” and “need to let it go”.

-

Keefe, holding up his class notes: And then this doodle of a burrito because when I first read Aristotle, I thought it was pronounced like “Chipotle”.

Marella, in shock: Wait a minute, is it “Chip-o-tottle”?

-

Sophie: I wasn't hurt that badly. Elwin said all my bleeding was internal, that's where the blood's supposed to be!

-

Police Officer: You have the right to remain silent.

Marella: I choose to waive that right!

Marella: *screaming*

-

Brant (whoops sorry bout this one): Do not come over to my house. If the house is on fire you may knock once, if I don’t answer assume I set the fire and I want to burn to death.

-

Sophie: I would never say that my best friend is a bitch and I don’t like her. That’s not true… Biana is a bitch and I like her very much!

-

Lex, Bex, Rex: If I can't cause tiny bits of chaos every day, I think my body will shut down.

-

Keefe on Tuesday: *glues a dime to the sidewalk* Heh heh heh.

Keefe on Wednesday: *walking down the street* Ooh hey! A dime!

-

Forkman, to the squad: And remember, if I get harsh with you it is only because you’re doing it all wrong.

-

Keefe, tearing up the room: Where are they?

Keefe, looking under a pillow: Who moved them? Who moved my children?

Keefe: Somebody moved my E.L. Fudges, and now I am going to run away again.

-

Tam: Your existence is confusing.

Keefe: How so?

Tam: Your presence is annoying, but the thought of anything bad happening to you upsets me.

-

Sophie: I have one foot in the grave but in a kind of fun flirty way, the way one might slip on a fishnet stocking.

-

Linh: I've never encountered a problem that can't be solved by an spontaneous musical number.

-

Dex: Dracula had it right, sleep all day, live alone in a castle, and explode into bats to get out of all social situations.

-

Sophie: Fuck capitalism. It's a rigged system that keeps us poor and it isn't fair. You shouldn't need to work three jobs to afford basic necessities.

Sophie, playing Monopoly: Sorry, if you wanted to win you should have tried not being poor.

-

Dex, to Stina: If karma doesn't hit you, I fucking will.

-

Sophie: My life isn't as glamourous as my wanted poster makes it look.

-

Dex: If I'm extra sarcastic with you it probably means I'm flirting with you or you really annoy me and I can't handle your crap... have fun figuring out which one, Wonderboy.

-

Marella: As someone who has a long history of not understanding anything, I feel confident in my ability to continue not knowing what is going on.

-

Fitz: I'm a firm believer in "if you're going to fail, you might as well fail spectacularly."

-

*out grocery shopping*

Linh: *takes a free sample twice*

Linh: Robbery and fraud. I am a Rebel (TM) .

-

Sophie: Sometimes I wonder if I’m hearing voices.

Sophie: Then I remember that’s the last bit of sanity I have trying to get me to fall asleep at a reasonable time.

-

Sophie: Does anyone know how to relax? Asking for a friend.

-

Demon: Hey, I took your soul last month and-

Tam: No returns.

Demon: *sobbing* But it's making me sad...

-

Dex: So, according to my university, it is, quote, “my responsibility if there is an internet outage to contact the faculty and the department.”

Dex: Now, if you’re a critical thinker like me, you might be wondering one thing.

Dex: HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO EMAIL THE DEPARTMENT?!?!?!

-

Tam: Hey, what’s the name of the other guy who lives with Tiergan?

Linh: His cats' names are Walter and Rose.

Tam: That's not what I asked.

Linh: That is all the information I have.

-

Keefe: Ro, remember when you said you weren’t going to interfere with my love life?

Ro: No, that doesn’t sound like me at all.

(alternatively, Alden)

-

Linh: Ayo, what the FUCK is this?!?

Tam, sitting down, surrounded by corpses: I won Mafia, that’s what.

-

Marella: I'd roast you, but my mom says you can't burn trash.

Marella: *slow-mo walks out of the room*

-

Biana: I'm gonna get my piolet's license. I've already got a driver's license and a cosmetology license, that's two of the big five licenses.

Fitz: The big five licenses?

Biana: Driver's license, cosmetology license, pilot's license, fishing license, and… license to kill! I can't wait to get that one.

-

Dex: You are irrationally angry 365 days a year.

Fitz: Well, that’s just your personal opinion, I don’t have anger issues. Biana, do you think I have anger issues?

Biana: Well, I wouldn’t really call it an issue. An issue is something you can fix.

-

Keefe: So how’s the food Sophie made?

Fitz: It's great! Compliments to her.

Keefe: *goes to the kitchen*

Keefe: You're adorable.

Sophie: *blushes*

-

Biana: And now for a gay update with Linh and Marella.

Marella: Getting gayer.

Biana: Thank you, Marella.

-

Sophie: Hey, do you know the password to Keefe’s computer?

Biana: I love you, Sophie.

Sophie: Aww, that’s so swe—

Biana: No, you misunderstood, the password is "iloveyouSophie".

Sophie: Oh, no numbers? Not very safe.

-

Fitz: Hey, Biana, are you free on Friday? Like around eight?

Biana: Yeah.

Fitz: And you, Tam?

Tam: Umm... yes?

Fitz: Great! Because I'm not. You two go out without me. Enjoy your date!

Biana: Did he just-

-

Sophie: Do you cook?

Biana: I made a cake once.

Fitz: Yeah, it was good.

Biana: Really?

Fitz: Don’t make me lie twice, Biana.

-

Dex: Nice rock.

Keefe: Thanks, Tam gave it to me.

Tam: I threw it at you!

Keefe: Isn’t he the sweetest?

-

Juline: I just had a long talk with the triplets about hitting and now they are yelling “it’s my turn to perpetuate the cycle of violence” before hitting each other.

-

Sophie: I made you all playlists!

Sophie: Tam, yours has only heavy metal and punk, and is dark like your soul.

Sophie: Keefe, yours has sad songs and blues to pair with your crippling depression.

Sophie: And Biana has the ABBA Gold album.

-

Fitz: A pessimist sees a dark tunnel.

Biana: An optimist sees light at the end of the tunnel.

Dex: A realist sees a freight train.

Tam: The train driver sees three idiots standing on train tracks.

-

Mr. Forkle: For self defense reasons, I'm going to pretend to be a burglar and you guys have to act wisely.

Biana, Keefe, & Sophie: Okay.

Mr. Forkle: If you don't want to die, give me all your money.

Biana: Bold of you to assume I have money.

Keefe: Bold of you to assume I don't want to die.

Sophie: Bold of you to assume I can die.

-

Sophie: My life is a little too much panic and not enough disco.

Keefe: My life is a little too much fall and not enough boy.

Dex: My life is a little too much chemical and not enough romance.

Marella: My life is a little too much imagination and not nearly enough dragons.

-

Biana: What’s it like being tall?

Marella: Is it nice?

Sophie: Can you reach comfortably for the cupboards?

Fitz: We live in constant fear of the short ones who, in my experience, will climb four chairs, two boxes, a small coffee table, and six oddly placed stools to get what they want.

-

Stina: You have friends and I envy that.

Marella: You're welcome to share my friends.

Stina: *looks at Dex and Sophie*

Stina: I don't want those.

-

Della: Tommorrow's garbage day.

Fitz: I can't believe you made a whole day dedicated to Alvar.

-

Linh: Bottling up negative emotions is bad for your health, so you shouldn't do it.

Tam: I know, that's why I bottle up all my emotions, both positive and negative, so it cancels out.

Linh: Th-that's not how that works-

-

Marella: Do you want to know your gay name?

Linh: My... my gay name?

Marella: Yeah, it's your first name-

Linh: Haha. Very funny Marella-

Marella: *gets down on one knee* And my last name.

Linh: Oh- oh my god.

-

Glimmer: You know you've made it when you see your picture everywhere you go.

The Black Swan: Those are wanted posters!

-

Biana: Are you mad?

Tam: No.

Biana: So sharpening your knives at 3 in the morning is just a hobby?

-

Keefe: Astrology is fun because i can pretend that all of my behaviors are just a result of being a Gemini and not symptoms of mental illness.

Biana: Being a Gemini is a mental illness. That’s not hate it’s just a fact.

-

Biana: *on the phone* Hey Fitz, do you know my blood type?

Fitz: Of course, it's A+.

Biana: Oh, I guessed wrong. Excuse me, nurse-!

-

Fitz, to Sophie: Are you ready to commit?

Sophie: Like, a crime or a relationship?

-

Literally Anyone: Hey, aren’t you Sophie Foster?

Sophie: You a Councillor?

Literally Anyone: No.

Sophie: Then yes, I am.

-

Sophie: I typed "bitch" into my GPS and guess what? I'm in your driveway.

Stina:

Sophie: Vroom vroom, come out already.

Stina: I’m gay—

Sophie: Not what I meant, but cool.

-

Keefe: Remember that time you dared me to lick a swingset?

Sophie: No, I said "Keefe, don't lick that swingset" and you said "Don't tell me what to do" and licked the swingset.

-

Mr. Forkle: I’m not so sure you’re stakeout material.

Sophie: I’m a chronic insomniac, I was born for this.

-

Juline: I only have two emotions: exhaustion and stress. And I’m somehow always feeling both simultaneously.

-

Marella: *gets set on fire and screams in agony*

Marella: Nah, I’m just kidding. Fire does nothing to me.

-

Biana: Maybe the true treasure was friendship all along. But I hope not, because I can’t spend friendship on new clothes

-

Dex: Do you want to play 20 Questions?

Fitz: Sure!

Fitz: Whats your favorite color?

Dex, laser fucking focused: Triangle. Do you like men?

[themonkeycabal]

re: Fantasy Recs

riseoftherose said: If you don’t mind a slightly younger aimed author, I still enjoy a series I first read as a kid, always thought it deserved more rep. The Land of

Sorry friend, it looks like your rec got cut off a bit there. 

msprufrock said: Also aimed slightly younger, but I really enjoyed Akata Witch (and the sequel Akata Warrior) by Nnedi Okorafor. It’s a YA fantasy series set in Nigeria

Oh nice. Sounds like fun. Scarlet Odyssey is also set in a very Africa-like world, really loved that. 

gerundsandcoffee said: I liked Uprooted by Naomi Novik. It’s a stand alone original but heavily rooted in Eastern European folklore.

I think I might have read that one. It sounds familiar. I’ll have to look again. Thanks! 

solysgoldensun said: The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman is pretty fun, involving dragons, fae, and librarians (oh my!) in a multiverse semi-portal fantasy deal with steam punk elements.

Oh nice. I’ve got a little bit of a weakness for steampunkish-ness. (oh, bonus, the first book was only $2.99. I picked it up. thanks!)

anomaly-nerd said: The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison is my current favorite. It’s a little plot heavy but the worldbuilding is fantastic and the protagonist is impossible not to love

I don’t mind plot-heavy if I feel like it’s going somewhere. Love good worldbuilding, though. So great. 

Anonymous said: I highly recommend Temeraire. That series was amazing. It's 9 books, complete storyline that begins in Napoleonic Wars era Europe and then expands into almost every continent. It was just mwah *chef's kiss*. The lead characters (one human, one dragon) are both absolutely adorkable and I thoroughly enjoyed every chapter. There are serious matters and some dark chapters, but it's a very optimistic series overall, not grimdark in the least.

Oh, thank you for reminding me of that one! I have the first one, I think I read it when it came out, but I never followed up on the rest of the series. 

emilise284 said: any/all of Diana Wynne Jones’s works: Howl’s Moving Castle, Dogsbody, and Fire and Hemlock are among my favorites. 

Robin McKinley is also gr9, I especially love Pegasus and Chalice

if you’re looking for recent fantasy Gideon the Ninth (and sequel, Harrow the Ninth) by Tamsyn Muir are GREAT fun and very gay (but also maybe edging a lil further towards grimdark than you’re in the mood for rn)

Cool. Thank you!

backwardsandinhighheels said: For urban fantasy, I’ve really enjoyed the Guild Codex series by Annette Marie - funny with found family vibes and slooow burn romances, and the heroine of Spellbound is a normal human girl in a magic guild which gives me serious Darcy vibes

That sounds like a lot of fun. Thanks. (score, the first one is $3.99 and has Margarita in the title. Can’t go wrong there. I grabbed it.) 

lady-of-luthien said: The first fantasy author I really got into was Tamora Pierce. She writes a lot of YA stuff. Song of the Lioness, The Immortals, and Protector of the Small series. All awesome.

Oh yes, I read some of those. Definitely fun. 

furyleika said: Absolutely second Robin McKinley, particularly The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown. Also Tamora Pierce. If you don’t mind younger aimed, my absolute favorites of all time are Patricia C. Wrede’s Enchanted Forest Chronicles. Anne McCaffrey’s Pern novels straddle the fantasy/sci-fi line depending where in the timeline you’re reading. The Harper Hall series is a great starting point.

I also really like Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom series. They may be closer to grim than not, but things turn out okay! Way less depressing than GRRM. I liked Holmberg’s Paper Magician series if you haven’t read that from her.

Swordheart from T. Kingfisher is awesome and funny and romantic. It says it’s in the same series as something else of hers, but I didn’t read those and enjoyed it anyways. Okay, I’ll stop. (Oh wait! Have you read Neil Gaiman’s stuff? I like almost all of it.)

Oh, I’ve totally read Anne McCaffrey, very into Pern back in ye olden tymes.  

I have the Paper Magician, but I haven’t read it yet. I just finished Spellbreaker/Spellmaker and I wanted to try somebody else first. 

T. Kingfisher sounds familiar, but I don’t recognize any of the titles (maybe I read Clockwork Boys, that sounds really familiar. Or I started to read it and got distracted and forgot -- this happens). I will check out Swordheart. 

Garth Nix sounds familiar, too (I am bad with names, so this happens a lot, too). I’ll check out the first one. Thanks! 

And, yes, I’ve read all the Neil Gaiman things lol. 

owl-librarian said: Echoing Diana Wynne Jones, Tamora Pierce, and Garth Nix rec’s. I also recently reread a bunch of Patricia C Wrede books, which are delightful. If J/YA isn’t your jam, try Mercedes Lackey; HIGHLY prolific fantasy writer. Some of her stuff is a little dated now, but gosh a lot of it is still awesome. I particularly like her Arrows of the Queen trilogy.

Oh, yes, definitely I’ve ready Mercedes Lackey. Back in ye olden days with Anne McCaffrey and Terry Brooks (I was very into the Shannara books in high school). 

gothfirefaerie said: If you like amazing world building and word porn I can not recommend Patricia a McKillip enough! My favorites are alphabet of thorn, fantastic beasts of eld and ombria in shadow. Also great for world building is Michelle Sagara and her chronicles of elantra but while I wouldn’t call them grimdark they are heavy.

Those sound fun. Thank you. Love worldbuilding. 

owl-librarian said: Have you done any Terry Pratchett? He’s the right kind of fantasy for me, definitely not too heavy “high fantasy” - and full of real characters and great humor! If you are intimidated by his Oeuvre start with “Guards! Guards!” or “The Wee Free Men”

Oh yes, absolutely. Great fun. 

owl-librarian said: I also highly suggest the Bordertown books edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling; it was a shared world created back in the 80s for authors to play in - there are several short story collections and a couple of novels set in this town that is the border between our world and faerie. It was revived in the 2010s with Ellen and Holly Black in another short story collection.

That sounds familiar, but I don’t think I ever read any of it. Thank you, I’ll check it out. 

cathsith said: @sarahreesbrennan In Other Lands is *amazing* and lots of fun and the furthest thing from grim!dark that I can think of

Awesome. Thank you.

lover-of-the-starkindler said: *nods along for most of the recs and takes notes of the others* Summers at Castle Auburn by Sharon Shinn is good; Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope is a Tam Lin retelling set in Elizabethan England and is amazing; Woodwalker by Emily B. Martin if you like sneaking through forests and political plots…

Sweet, thank you.

Thanks everybody I will check out all of your lovely recs. 

[originofjaehyun]

Interlude: No More Drama & Prelude: After Story – Omake

Omake’s primary meaning is general and widespread. It is used as an anime and manga fandom term to mean extra or bonus.

Hi!

Because I wasn’t able to update the next chapter this week (stares directly at my other deadlines) – so I thought of updating you guys with something that is rather different instead! :D

Whenever I write, sometimes I would reach roadblocks, and ideas just wouldn’t come out. Usually by then, I would start to imagine things that most of the time are totally unrelated to the main story (haha).

Anyway! Long story short, these are the character profiles that I imagined when I designed them on my head (lol?)

Friendly reminder that this is a complete fiction!

P.S.: I imagined them during their Neo Zone era, so I wouldn’t talk that much about them physically? Also, you can search on Twitter on their actual perfumes, but I think these brands would suit them very well too (there are some that I took from that reference as well lol).

Read Interlude & Prelude

Jaehyun

Scent: Maison Margiela – Jazz Club, Jo Malone – Myrrh and Tonka

Cigarette brand: Marlboro Red

Carpool karaoke pick: (At first) Lauv – I Like Me Better, Cigarette After Sex, and such, but later he would play Spotify’s This Is Adele playlist

Cocktail pick: Ballatine’s Scotch Whiskey

Food delivery choices: Anything within reach (does not have any preference)

Kinks: This tickles him by a lot, but he likes it when you teased him by playing with his happy trail

Yuta

Scent: Diptyque – Tam Dao, Armani – Code Colonia

Cigarette brand: He used to smoke Camel, but changed to IQOS

Carpool karaoke pick: Depeche Mode, Post Malone, RADWIMPS, sometimes Arashi

Cocktail pick: Cassis Orange, beer

Food delivery choices: Fried chicken (let’s not make him obviously Japanese by making him ordering Ramen every time lol)

Kinks: He loves the sound of skin slapping each other, so expect a lot of spanking

Johnny

Scent: BYREDO – Mojave Ghost (for daily), LE LABO – Santal 33 (for the evening), Tom Ford – Fucking Fabulous (for the special occasions)

Cigarette brand: Dunhill Blonde Blend

Carpool karaoke pick: Daft Punk (for sure), Disclosure, and such

Cocktail pick: Negroni

Food delivery choices: Fast food, preferably burgers

Kinks: He’s sensitive behind his ears, and would go wild whenever you whisper directly to his ears

Doyoung

Scent: Le Labo – Another 13, Chanel – Bleu De Chanel

Cigarette brand: None

Carpool karaoke pick: Park Hyo Shin, Daniel Caesar, Celine Dion

Cocktail pick: Gin & Tonic

Food delivery choices: Jajjangmyeon

Kinks: He likes it when you explore his neck, and whenever you kiss his adam’s apple

Mark

Scent: Dior – Eau Savage

Cigarette brand: None

Carpool karaoke pick: 2Pac, Kendrick Lamar

Cocktail pick: He prefers dark beer, but would take soju anytime with his hyungs

Food delivery choices: Anything carbs

Kinks: He bites a lot

Taeyong

Scent: Penhaligon – Endymion

Cigarette brand: Raison

Carpool karaoke pick: Jhené Aiko, Kehlani, Justin Bieber

Cocktail pick: Jagerbomb, but he would be the one who suggested Tequila shots

Food delivery choices: Bubble tea

Kinks: He likes the feeling of your nail piercing onto his skin (lol did I just make him slightly masochist)

Haechan

Scent: Jean Paul Gaultier – Le Male

Cigarette brand: Lucky Strike Menthol

Carpool karaoke pick: Michael Jackson, Queen, Jason Mraz

Cocktail pick: Soju

Food delivery choices: Fast food, but he would join anyone who’s ordering any food

Kinks: He prefers the room to be bright so he can see you

Jungwoo

Scent: Roses – Chloe

Cigarette brand: None

Carpool karaoke pick: Frank Ocean, Dean, NCT (a-ha)

Cocktail pick: He would take a sip of anything tbh

Food delivery choices: Anything but he would often craves for kimbab

Kinks: Jungwoo you’re not allowed to have a kink

Taeil

Scent: Tom Ford – Noir Extreme

Cigarette brand: Camel Filter

Carpool karaoke pick: He owns a playlist called; “Wedding Day Songs”

Cocktail pick: Old Fashioned

Food delivery choices: Ramen (the legit ramen and not the instant ones)

Kinks: He breathes you in, a lot

Winwin

Scent: Aqcua Di Parma – Blu Mediterraneo Mandorlo Di Sicilia

Cigarette brand: Mevius One

Carpool karaoke pick: The 1975, Vampire Weekend

Cocktail pick: Ume Highball

Food delivery choices: Jokbal

Kinks: Surprisingly he’s into role play (he loves it when you call him by his code name)

Random Trivia

All Interlude chapters’ quotes are from Jaehyun’s parts on Neo Zone album

Same goes for Prelude, except for Make Your Day (since Yuta wasn’t a part of that song, I replaced it with Jaehyun’s)

You might or might not notice, but I also put Jaehyun’s part(s) on the actual chapter (either on the conversations or the narrations)

Yuta’s yakuza friend, Taka (mentioned briefly), is taken from MIYAVI’s real name (Takamasa Ishihara) – I borrowed his name because Yuta listened to MIYAVI alot (he also followed him on Instagram!)

The music that they listen to on the car ride during Pandora’s Box was Cigarette After Sex’s Apocalypse (because Jaehyun listens to Cigarettes After Sex before going to bed)

The music during the first car ride with Yuta was No Replacing You by Pink Sweat$ (it’s a part of Jaehyun’s playlist – which he revealed on one of his vlive)

The movie that Jaehyun and [Y/N] watched during the rainy day on White Night, The Notebook, is based on Jaehyun’s recommendation on NCT Night Night

I also mentioned this on Pandora’s Box, but the repeated quote between [Y/N] and Jaehyun, “What is the first twenty-four hours if we’re looking back at the past seventy years?” is highly inspired from Ed Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud (And darling I will be loving you 'til we're 70) –because Jaehyun is a fan of Ed.

Also, [Y/N] and Jaehyun met when they’re on their mid 20s. The average human lifespan is 79 years —hopefully our [Y/N] and Jaehyun would have a wonderful long life together. That phrase itself means that both of them are willing to spend the rest of their lives together. Though, I don’t know how that becomes their own love language, it just happened as I write the story haha

[Y/N]’s body gel inspiration is actually a body cleanser by Aesop, A Rose By Any Other Name

Jaehyun’s engagement ring pick was Étincelle de Cartier Ring by Cartier

Jaehyun and [Y/N]’s favorite Ghibli movie pick is Howl’s Moving Castle – Jaehyun mentioned on NCT Night Night that he watched Howl’s Moving Castle a lot when he was at school

After the wedding, dark crimson rose was spotted on Nakamoto’s residence. This symbolizes grief and sadness.

On Make Your Day, the flower language meaning for Buttercup is “Your charm dazzles me”. This is why Yuta knows ___ is attracted to her. If you didn’t notice, Yuta already know that she’s the florist during their first encounter at Nonstop. That is because Yuta remembers their first encounter, too

The tune that ___ listen to at the end of Make Your Day is Always With Me (Spirited Away theme song). I personally feel the scene (on my head) fits the song perfectly! If you want to give it a listen, I recommend the piano version

At the end, ___ gave Yuta anthurium, which means hospitality and happiness. Note how I never really specify their relationship status, since I want the readers to have their own interpretation on the continuation of their relationship

Yuta’s haircut was actually not planned, but it fits the transition since he did cut his hair haha

The hardest chapters to write was Pandora’s Box and Not Alone – purely because they’re mostly transition chapters

Out of all chapters, my personal favorite from Interlude would be White Night and Nonstop for Prelude.

In fact, Nonstop would be my favorite chapter. I think I was so immersed with Jaehyun and [Y/N]’s wedding so I kept including TONS of details hahaha (I hope you don’t mind lol)

[filia-secunda]

No one at all: *needs to know my opinion on Child Ballad No. 39*

Me anyway: Excepting the bowdlerized version I first read as a kid, my favorite version of the “Tam Lin” ballad is actually the least traditional - The Forgetmenauts’ modernized, folk-punk version. It excises the sex-and-pregnancy drama and the ambiguously-consensual first encounter between the heroine and Tam Lin, and goes straight for the core of the story I’ve loved since I was a child:

* Proto-feminist heroine full of courageous loyalty,

* a man who doesn’t rescue himself but isn’t belittled for that fact,

* magical kidnapping by a demonically scary villainess,

* the high drama of an unorthodox transformation battle where the protagonist has to hold on to her lover as he’s unwillingly turned into a snake, a lion, a raging fire, and

* the triumph and relief in the end, and “Till death do us part I will never let you go.”

[phoebehalliwell]

Your theme is so cute! Like I it feels so calm and refreshing (if that make sense?) and like it’s to pink!! 💕 i was wondering, do you have any Face Claims/ Fancasts ideas for the Next Gen + Dency? Like how some people like to imagine Melinda as Lucy Hale because she and Holly Marie Combs were in Pretty Little Liars together? Anyway, I really love your blog (and your theme) and I hope you have a wonderful day 🥰

aww thank u so much!! i really don’t have too many fcs in general for the next gen, it’s not really something i tend to do as either like make up an image in my mind and then like obvi i can’t match it be they’re like not an actual person or i like. literally have no image in my head. and so like. i have nothing to go off of. i’ve personally never really been a fan of lucy hale as melinda bc she really just. does not align remotely with how i picture melinda. like her face is just too,,,,, strong, y’know. like she has defined cheekbones and brows all that i just picture melinda a lot softer. also ideally with freckles. i’ve used kaitlyn dever in the past for a melinda fc, if i’m to hunt down a couple more i like ann kuleshova and jocelyn hudon, but like in general (and this is my not like “issue” but problem ig with a lot of face casts) they’re too model-y y’know?? like their cheekbones are perfect and they’ve got a smolder down pat it’s very much like a face carved from the gods very symmetrical form of beauty and i just don’t picture a lot of my characters Like That. like i picture melinda as pretty in an endearing sort of way, not it like a. perfect symmetrical undeniably drop dead gorgeous sort of way. if that makes sense. as far as the rest of the next gen, i’ve used shannon purser in the past as a kat/tam fc, but i always have difficult with those two bc while they’re identical i write them with two Very different looks and really have yet to find like a fc i can use for both that really fits both. henry jr i literally have no idea. i have no visual on him. idk i used a boyband member as an fc in the past. i have no idea what he looks like. there’s just like. nothing in my minds eye. it’s been like a year and i still just. cannot decide what he looks like. for the cupitches i definitely picture them all more model-eque so i’m open to a lot for faceclaims for them. i keep using jellybean from riverdale as peyton bc like. yes. and then i used taylor hill recently for pj?? idk i usually just peruse vanity fair interviews w models for fc with them. and then, usually when i wanna make sets, i will go through outfit lookbook collections or whatever on youtube bc i think the outfit usually says for about the character, and then either the face is cut off in frame or i just crop it out myself. i did that for this pj set, this kat set, and this dency set.

for fcs for dency specifically, i think honestly like a lucy hale / poppy dreyton type would be the most appropriate here bc like. she’s the daughter of cole & phoebe. she will be serving. however, i do picture her w like a very punk aesthetic and would love a good like undercut on her.

and then also while i’m on fcs, i used eli goree & jonathan daviss for the morris brothers (as seen in this set) even tho i did accidentally get their ages swapped 😔

[liquidstar]

whenever you are ready, I would LOVE to hear about why each roommate pair was chosen :3c

im SO SORRY this is like a week late but when it comes to typing long stuff it can take me a while to jump past that bridge even if i REALLY want to, its just the adhdyslexic way... BUT i finally typed it all and im glad i did :) im going to put it under the cut of course

 I should preface this by also saying something I didn’t say before, the roommate pair system likes to follow a pretty strong “opposites attract” type model, it plays into the theme of duality and completion and “other halves” especially in regards to Iris and Crocus (The former of which having founded the school and set this system to begin with lol) so that’s something you’re gonna see a lot here. Anyway,

Amary and Rue are kind of a special case because since Amary was admitted into the school late and Rue was the only person without a roommate there was no one else to pair her with to begin with. But Rue is also special here, because there’s hardly ever been a student without a roommate from the get-go (Some people might drop out) but the crystal ball was ADAMANT about not pairing her up with anyone. At first Plumeria assumed it was because she’d be some type of problem child given her whole punk-rock thing, but in reality the crystal ball just knew that Amary would be admitted into the school later on. It can tell the future, it was looking ahead. Amary and Rue both needed each other to force the other to be better whether they wanted to or not.

Sorrel and Aloe also force the good out of each other, but rather than rivalry it’s the fact that both of them have a really strong genuine desire to become better people for each other and both feel a sense of obligation and protection to the other, so they really do help each other out a lot. They’re not perfect at it by any means because they’re still both dumb teenage boys but they make each other want to try

Carnation and Pine were paired together because their magic types are complementary and so are their ways of approaching them, they need to learn from each other. While Pine’s magic is all about innovation and the future, Carnation’s is very rooted in tradition and is seemingly set in stone. Carnation needs to adapt Pine’s sense of innovation to make something new with her magic, something only she can do. And in order for Pine to find constant inspiration sometimes they have to look back on the past. 

Geran and Fennel seem to have opposite problems that could cancel each other out if they actually cooperated. Geran doesn’t let himself express his feelings while Fennel is overemotional, basically they just need to learn a middle ground from each other and become… A stable current. That’s a water pun AND electricity pun.

Musk and Gallica should seem obvious, beyond being siblings and they literally need to be touching in some way to use their magic in major ways. Not pairing them up together would have just been a dumb move. Not to mention the fact that the only reason Gallica was even admitted into the school to begin with is because of Musk.

Daisy and Protea were just both good fits for each other, their magic types seem unrelated but compliment each other well, one is incredibly passive and the other very active, which also reflects their personalities. They basically have what the other lacks in that regard, but unlike certain others they both get along incredibly well.

Maggie and Tam are childhood friends, so like Gallica and Musk it’s pretty much a no-brainer that they got paired together. But aside from that they can both be pretty hard to have as roommates for one reason or another, but since they’ve already known each other so long they already work really well together and make an incredibly dynamic team. 

Hyacinth and Holly got paired together because no matter what Hyacinth says, Holly will always try to push them to be better, and no matter what Holly says Hyacinth will always stop her from doing something stupid. Together they can be competent wizards against their own wills.

Sun and Moon also got paired up together because the fact that they’ve known each other for so long makes them a better team, but also because they would have probably been too resistant to other roommates.

Cherry and Camellia got paired up together because Cherry has literally not felt fear in years so she’d have no problem rooming with someone who has basically ghost magic, and Camellia needs Cherry around as an example of how to be nicer and less gloomy all the time.

Zinnia and Pansy absolutely need each other to encourage the others jackassery, this MIGHT sound like a bad thing on paper but if you take their magic types into consideration it’s actually something that’ll help them both improve. That being said though, Pansy is the more responsible one with more chill vibes that wouldn’t let things to TOO far, and Zinnia needs that.

Bluebell and Heliotrope are partners because even though Heliotrope is very smart and capable, they’re also kind of an airhead that doesn’t work all too hard. So they need Bluebell there to boss them around and make them do work, and Bluebell needs Heliotrope around to show him how to relax for a bit and not burn out.

Fungus and Cactus got paired up together because Cactus has the most sort of parental personality, basically a “mom friend”, and that something Fungus needs since he’s younger and more socially isolated than most of his classmates, and Cactus is the other person who can look past his weirdness and just kind of laugh at it.

Violet and Cori are roommates for a similar reason, Cori can be very nice and supportive side, but she’s also a lot more laid back and it was important for Violet to have someone like that with her who isn’t completely overbearing like her brother. 

Almond and Primrose got paired up together because Almond sort of lacks creativity while Primrose has an abundance of it, and stuff like that can be important when you’re a wizard and really affect the way you use magic, he basically has to follow her lead until he gets it himself. Meanwhile he’s also around to talk her out of her overly eccentric or complex ideas, sometimes simple problems need simple solutions. 

Jonquil and Lavender got paired up together because Jonquil is easily a lot more athletic while Lavender is a lot smarter, they basically both have those qualities the other lacks. Jonquil isn’t the smartest and outside of his magic Lavender isn’t the most physical guy, in fact his magic requires very minimal movement despite being active, but they’re also both incredibly willing to help the other out. 

Lotus and Bamboo are a good fit because Bamboo is someone who is simultaneously very active and vigorous but still very soft in nature, she’d need a roommate that can match that tempo, while at the same time Lotus needs a roommate who’d inspire him to be more active himself instead of just thinking: being a healer=being passive

Celosia and Heather were paired up because Celosia is pretty much one of the only people who wouldn’t give into Heather’s bossyness no matter what but still wouldn’t care enough to actually start any serious drama. She’s just indifferent, which is good for Celosia and also good for Heather, because she needs someone like that to keep her from getting a big head.

Delphi and Lisia were paired up together because Delphi really needs a partner who would keep her from going too far while also having strong enough magic to stop her if she does. And Lisia needs someone who will force her to be more assertive if needed, even if the need to be assertive stemmed from them. 

Clove and Hazel are partners because Clove is someone who can talk Hazel down from being too eccentric about stuff while still not being too soft or too shy to deal with their antics, and Hazel is someone who can put Clove in situations that he hasn’t been in before, good and bad.

Nep and Buttercup are roommates because Buttercup has a need to be a “one of a kind” while Nep is a straight-up copycat, they basically are both incredibly annoyed with the other because of this but Nep has to learn that she’s her own person and Buttercup has to learn that the world doesn’t revolve around her, they just both force each other into that.

Cowslip and Ginger were a very obvious choice because they compliment each other very very well, both have southern themes and animal-related magic, they’re both two people that can just relate to each other and build functioning teamwork off that. 

Viscaria and Arum are paired up together because Arum can help Viscaria take it easy while Viscaria can help Arum have more energy, both pumping each other up and calming each other down depending on what the situation entails. 

Mint and Snowdrop are partners because both of their problems cancel each other out. Mint is overly paranoid and Snowdrop is kind of a jerk at first, neither of them would get along with ANY roommate. But because Mint steers clear of Snowdrop, Snowdrop leaves him alone, which in turn makes Mint less paranoid. They both have to learn to overcome these issues if they want to be a real team though. 

[figjelly]

Rules: answer these 30 Qs and then tag 10 blogs you want to get to know. I was tagged by @voxel-loves-you

In true Ash fashion instead of thanking you I’ll just keep apologizing for putting this off so long.

Nicknames: kimmons, kim tam, marzipan, ash

Gender/pronouns: Genderqueer, they/them but I’ll flow with she/her and he/his

Star sign: Sagittarius

Height: 5′8"

Time: 3:53PM

Birthday: December 1

Favorite bands: part of my infinite list includes My Chemical Romance, ABBA, Daft Punk (forever and ever, amen), Phoenix, Arctic Monkeys, CHVRCHES, Cake, Salt-n-Peppa, TLC, Garbage, Sleater-Kinney, Phantogram, Bastille, The Black Keys, Franz Ferdinand, Grouplove, Glass Animals, Middle Kids, Nirvana, Electric Guest, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, Tame Impala, Alt-J, Saint Motel, The Killers, Queen

Favorite solo artists: Fiona Apple, Faye Webster, K.Flay, BORNS, Amy Winehouse, Selena Gomez, Britney Spears, James Blunt, Bishops Briggs, honestly I can’t go on because all y’all’re getting is a list of Spotify stuff and not a comprehensive list.

Song stuck in your head: “Paranoia” Liza Anne

Last movie you watched: Train to Busan

Last show: series (*ugly sobbing*) finale of Lucifer. (If season 4 doesn’t get picked up by anyway, it’s gonna end me, I swear)

Why did you create your blog: I think back in 2009 I just created one to be able to interact with people on here

Other blogs: None that I use with regularity. I’m bad at keeping up with things

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/users/futsch

Do you get asks: Yes? I mean, tumblr’s changed it’s format such that Asks aren’t really what they used to be in terms of interacting with one another. I get lots of kind and cool people who IM me and do the reply thing often.

How did you get the idea for your URL: it me! Literally

I follow: I’ve no idea

Followers: Again, no idea (sorry! I know I could check but my phone is dying and I wanna listen to an audiobook).

Average hours of sleep: 3 or 12--there is no in-between

Lucky number: 19

Instruments: I played the euphonium for a year in middle school. Very noteworthy

What are you wearing? Running shorts, baggy sweatshirt, and my chaco sandals that I love dearly.

Dream job: Comic book writer and artist

Dream trip: a place where I feel home (may I please stay there?)

Significant other: I’ve got one and am currently exploring polyamory (anyone in my area wanna be my other, long-term, queerplatonic partner? Asexuals preferred).

Last book I read: Stephen King’s On Writing (I think? It might also be The Elements of Style, that classic).

Top 3 fictional universes: His Dark Materials’s world, Elder Scrolls (...my AO3 account probably makes me look obsessed but it’s just easier to write something I’ve researched so much), and Discworld. I’m tempted to add Fallout 3 but only if I can be the hero and have Liam Neeson as my dad forever.

I shall tag @saberwitch @just-ennie @alsafysh @animalswithfancyhats @luffthearts @kmlaney @nuwanders @nonsensicaldiary (and I can’t think of two more so if you aren’t here, consider yourself tagged!)

[bookwyrminspiration]

tam and linh being the opposite of what their outward persona is inside (tam: angsty/surly->an absolute sweetheart; linh: absolute sweetheart-> pessimist?/trying her best) anyways so sophie introduces them into human music (bc they’re yk, Songs) and she expects Tam to like the heavy metal, but no, it’s linh! bc it’s a way to express what she feels/hears on the inside w the constant sound of the water just, screaming at her, and her wanting to scream back but -t1sb (pt1)

(pt2) she cant scream back bc she has to be sweet and calm and quiet or everyone else would be right ab her just being a violent Hydrokinetic who only knows the destruction of water, but she can scream they the harsh lyrics and it brings her a freedom she’s longed for. and then Tam mildly enjoys punk rock, but mainly the soft sweet songs, or the quiet sad songs where he can just sit and reflect and relate and be at peace and relax -t1sb

Oh I love every part of this! Characters who subvert your expectations of who they are and turn out to be both in part what you expected but with quirks opposite how you think they'd behave are so much fun. Tam being so intense becomes his intense compassion, protective streak, and gentleness towards those he's let get close to him. Linh's open and kind nature becomes her motivation for talking back and fighting and levels of destruction no one else is capable of.

I think on top of the heavy metal being a kind of screaming that Linh can do without proving everyone right, without causing destruction by giving into the pull of the water, it could be a sort of distraction. When the water isn't pulling her to flood everything in anger but is just there and won't leave her alone and she's not getting upset over it but really doesn't want to have to fight against it, she turns the volume up and then the call of the water is drowned out by the screaming. She doesn't need to scream along then, just lets it overpower the call until she can't hear it anymore and doesn't have to fight against it.

It's both protection and release, a distraction and an outlet. When she screams the lyrics she's focusing on something entirely different than the commands the water is trying to give her, the ones she wants to give herself over to.

Then Tam!! When you said the quiet sad songs I just started nodding along because you're right! He's so angry and guarded all the time so why would he want to carry that over into his music? He needs a chance to relax, to unwind, to just let himself feel like and feel the quiet without having to put on a mask for anyone else. Because his persona is part of his defense, and he can let that down when listening to music because it's just him. it's quiet and gentle, two things he's missing in his life. And it's an acknowledgement of everything messed up that he's gone through, that it's okay to be sad about it and that's it's an appropriate reaction!

He's on guard like all the time but the soft songs? They're soothing, they help with his anxiety and his worries about everything. Bittersweet, downright sad, hopeful, anything goes. Just the soothing tone is what he's looking for.

These both fit with their characters so well! Absolutely splendid ideas for both of them I am now wondering what kinds of playlists they'd curate.

[crymeariveronceagain]

what do you think of Tam with a southern gothic aesthetic?

i should say i think he’s punk not emo

YES?!

OKAY BUT HEAR ME OUT HEAR ME OUT TAM SONG WOULD LOVE FLANNERY O'CONNOR

she is my FAVORITE AUTHOR E V E R and like, my author inspiration and the person i'm trying to be cooler than with my midwestern gothic vibes tbh but she's one of the coolest southern gothic writers imho

her stories are spectacular

anyways the aesthetic specifically:

yeah Tam would vibe so hard idek what else to say

and punk rock yeah he's punk as heck