#but thank you for the opportunity to think about it nonsie

[bookwyrminspiration]

Just thoughts on Alden's parenting and how manipulating you think he was/is to his kids (and maybe Sophie and Keefe)

alright, let’s do this nonsie. I’m very aware that the topic of Alden’s parenting is a controversial and often heated argument, which is why I’ve mostly stayed out of it (don’t worry, I don’t mind you sending this ask). I, however, do not have a lot of the reservations and anger many other people do—I’m mostly neutral because I don’t really care about him as a character enough to think about him. But that doesn’t mean I approve of all his actions

Additionally, everyone is allowed to have their own interpretations of his character.

to start: I want to make the definition of manipulation clear (at least the one I’m following), as it can be confusing sometimes. Psychological manipulation is defined as “a type of social influence that aims to change the behavior or perception of others through abusive, deceptive, or underhanded tactics.” It’s often covert and indirect, hiding ones true intentions.

the particular aspect I get hung up on is that it doesn’t seem like Alden hides his motives. He does try to get others to change their behaviors—most notably his conversation with Keefe about staying away from Sophie and “letting them be happy”—but he was upfront about it. He told Keefe why he wanted him to change. He told Biana why he wanted her to get close to Sophie (so he could keep a better eye on her).

As for sending Fitz to the Forbidden Cities alone without a clear idea why, we don’t see the interactions where he gives Fitz instructions so for me it’s harder to tell. Should a six year old have been left unsupervised like that? No. From a parenting perspective, that was incredibly inappropriate and another word I can’t remember right now but it means it wasn’t safe or mature or advised. From a writing perspective, it’s a handy way for main character to have an introduction to a new world in a friendlier way, because she’s talking to someone her age. (A lot of writing done casually has some nasty implications the author doesn’t think about—like Fitz being alone as a child in a completely unfamiliar place).

As for Sophie: most of his interactions with her were him telling her not to worry about various problems she was encountering. Personally, this feels just like a style of parenting where you’re trying to keep the kid from worrying, telling them it’s not their responsibility and intentionally keeping things from them that they don’t need to know that could needlessly stress them out. Which is reasonable in certain situations. Kids don’t need to know the full burden of everything, especially things that they can’t do anything about. It’s just in this situation, it didn’t work out because it turned out there was a lot more going on than Alden knew and these problems actually involved Sophie more than he thought. Essentially, trying to preserve her childhood went wrong. This feels less manipulative to me and more…trying to parent but slightly missing the mark. Although I will say that while being his guide thing for the mind-break is a different matter and I don’t think he approached that correctly, but this is already getting long.

And then there’s Keefe, the interaction the fandom seems the most upset about. I don’t think he handled this appropriately, but I don’t think he necessarily did it out of malice or a desire to hurt anyone. He didn’t tell Keefe to stay away because he hates Keefe and wants him to suffer, that’s just a unintended consequence. I personally think Alden stepped out of line. The relationships and tension between the three of them were awkward and uncomfortable and dramatic at times, but no one was seriously getting hurt. There was no reason for adult intervention. It was actually an opportunity for them to grow and learn and handle things in their own. They don’t need to be coddled. Relationships can require an outside perspective and help when they get bad, but this wasn’t that. It was unnecessary and uncomfortable and hurtful, but I don’t think Alden realized that. There is more to this, but once again this is already long so I’ll stop here for now.

TL;DR: I personally don’t see Alden as intentionally manipulative and emotionally abusive, but some of his actions are uncomfortable and clearly not okay.

again: this is just my opinion. You’re welcome to share your own and to have completely different interpretations. He’s a character, we’re not likely not going to see him exactly the same. Also, if I said anything disrespectful please let me know so I can learn from it and fix it /g

[bookwyrminspiration]

thoughts on how grady was practically the first one to out-right "accuse"/"voice" that sophie started a war by burning down the warehouse? i was rereading it and that part made me feel a bit icky(?)

Okay I gotta be honest this (as in Grady doing this, not your ask) infuriates me, but also I can kinda understand the whole debate over the "war" situation, Sophie apparently being the one to turn it into a war and everyone else being like "Sophie I hope you understand the consequences of your actions."

But before I get to the Grady thing, there's this one scene that I think Shannon was using to get us to this mindset to feel icky about it and for us to side with Sophie--as far as I know, there are almost none to no people who disagree with Sophie's actions in the fandom; we've all supported her calling it a war and think it has been a war for a while, none of us siding against her or shocked.

There's a line in Legacy that goes like this: "'The thing is[...] this isn't a game,' she warned Maruca. 'I've called it that before too, because it's easier to think of it that way. But it's not. It's war. Not the global, multispecisial battle that Mr. Forkle things we're building toward--yet. But still. War" (pg 391). Sophie has been thinking of this fight against the Neverseen as war for multiple books, and this is one of the clearer, more recent instances where she makes it very obvious. We, reading from her perspective, have then thought of the battle as a war for a while as well because we're influenced by her. But as far as I can remember, there are very few, if any, instances where war are mentioned by anyone else--and not nearly as plainly as Sophie does.

I think when it comes down to it, Sophie is used to war. Not that she's fought in them before or likes them, but she was raised human and humans have wars and violence and so she more readily applies those labels despite her distaste for them. Those raised in the elven "peaceful" world are more reluctant to use those words and only did when something dramatic shifted--Sophie going on the offense. They never thought it would come to that and were fooling themselves into believing they weren't at war on a technicality. Sophie doesn't have their reservations, so she didn't realize how much everyone else had fooled themselves into thinking it wasn't a war yet.

Now back to the Grady thing: him being the one to first voice that it was Sophie who turned it into a war is kinda icky, because we've come to associate him with complete support and someone she can always rely on to have her back. I mean think about it, what times has Grady spoken against what Sophie was doing? The only times I can remember are times where she was in danger or could be at risk in some way, and that's what he was against. Otherwise, he's supported and agreed with her almost 100%. This is a major change where suddenly...he's not on the same page as her, and actually kinda disagrees with her from what we can see. He still loves her and cares for her, but he didn't think of it as war until after she'd burned down the storehouse.

As much as he's been open to Sophie being in his life and the changes she's trying to bring about, he is still an elf. He was born and raised in the Lost Cities and he thinks like an elf. The main way he deviates is that he has experienced loss and grief, had an intense battle with guilt, and knew of the Black Swan and "what they were capable of" (though he had it wrong) before the rest of the world did. While that does make him more open in his thinking, none of that is nearly as radical as Sophie, so there's that disconnect between them. At his core, he still thinks and lives like an elf. Sophie, on the other hand, thinks like a human. That's a lot of what it is with everyone, actually. All of her friends think like elves while Sophie thinks like a human, and while it's what she was made for and the entire purpose of project moonlark, it was going to cause a rift eventually. And now it has.

Grady being the first one to speak on it I think was more for shock than because he is the most against Sophie. Because it being Grady is like...what? But he's been there with her since the beginning? He's always supported her? Why would he do this? If it had been someone else, like...Wraith or someone, it wouldn't have had that impact. It would just be another person who didn't see eye to eye with her, but this was Grady, which showed that this was serious. It conveyed the impact of her choice and how different her thoughts are from that of her companions. It really singled her out because someone who had been at her side through and through suddenly wasn't in the same way anymore. And that was the purpose of Grady speaking first, and he wasn't needed as much after that. That's why Tiergan stepped in.

So I agree, nonsie!! That scene did feel pretty icky to read, but that was also the point. It was meant to be a shock, because it was a defining point in where the fight, where the war will go from here. And it's put things into perspective, who is on her side and how people think. As icky as it was, it did serve its role effectively.

[bookwyrminspiration]

do you think sophie's character development in unlocked will stick for the rest of the series (more specifically the next book)? Or do you think she'll go back to the way she was after she sees how disappointed/upset everyone else is with her decision?

additionally, there's the possibility of having the constant disappointment around her, the disapproval, that she'll just decide fuck it and do what she wants. if she doesn't do it, they won't get anywhere and everyone will feel downcast that nothing is working and she'll feel guilty for not accomplishing more, if she does it they'll be disappointed in her for accomplishing too much in the wrong way. she looses both ways so why not take the actions that she thinks are making a change, despite what everyone else says

i think at the very least, right now she feels guilty and confused. she made a decision she thought was right, accomplished something she was proud of, but received all this negative, judgemental backlash. so i think she'll enter a state of questioning, if that makes sense, trying to figure out what she should do next.

so I don't think she'll immediately jump into making more bold decisions and committing more arson, but I don't think she'll ever go back to being the person she was before she made that leap. the seed, the idea that she can do more has already been planted, and as much as she tried to ignore it it's going to grow and take up space in her mind. to her, nothing negative came out of this action. she won, she got what she needed and went even beyond that, messing up her enemies too. to her that's progress!

i think she'll try and understand where everyone else is coming from, try and understand what she did "wrong," because she's made mistakes before and wants to learn from them. but as hard as she tries, I just don't think she'll be able to see it the way they do. her own goals and understanding of the world don't align with theirs and she'll get uncomfortable following a set of rules that aren't her own.

we saw in book one that she values her own morals over the law, so I'm assuming the same can be applied here. she tried to accept what Alden and the Council were saying, that the Everblaze wasn't a problem and that it wasn't her responsibility and nothing needed to be done, but she couldn't get the little voice in her head to go away telling her to take action. I think we'll see something similar here. The Black Swan and her parents and her friends and the entire world is telling her that she shouldn't attack offensively, that they're only supposed to be defense, but she did it once and she'll want to do it again. it worked out for her, so that means it could work again.

additionally, there's the possibility of having the constant disappointment around her, the disapproval, that she'll just decide fuck it and do what she wants. if she doesn't do it, they won't get anywhere and everyone will feel downcast that nothing is working and she'll feel guilty for not accomplishing more, if she does it they'll be dissapointed in her for accomplishing too much in the wrong way. she looses both ways so why not take the actions that she thinks are making a change, despite what everyone else says

(note: this would be a good segue into a corruption arc, the idea that no one approves or is proud no matter what you do so why bother with them. don't think the story is going here, but fanfic writers, here's some angst inspo if you want it)

and from a writer's perspective, shannon put all that effort into that drama and into that decision, building it up and putting tension there. it would feel like a waste not to take advantage of it and do something with it, otherwise unlocked essentially becomes just pages of filler, useless words. yes, keefe also ran away, but he's only part of the story. i think it'd make more sense to take advantage of the situation she created than let it fizzle into nothing

to summarize: i don't think she'll jump headfirst into being a little destructive arsonist, but I don't think she's back where she started either. She went ten steps forward, took five back, and is now still working her way forward to get back to where she was, if that makes sense

[bookwyrminspiration]

free space for you to talk about literally anything you want! rant about something?? write out a thought that you haven’t had the time to translate into words?? post the song lyrics or poetry you scribbled on the back of a paper?? idk just whatever you want. you’re cool :)

Oh oh this is perfect!! Also thank you, being cool is such a lovely descriptor!! Anyway, all the searching through my camera roll for pet photos recently has taken me back very far

Far enough that I ended up seeing some of my old photos of art from an intro level art class I took back in spring 2021, and looking at it I went…this is kinda good! But the only person whose ever seen it is that professor, so I’ve been considering sharing some!! And now you’ve given me the perfect opportunity!!!

i haven't included any of the reference photos I used for the art, but if you'd want to see them I can share them as well. Moving forward, I’ll put everything under a cut to save space :)

(all IDs are in alt text)

Okay so this one's a negative space drawing of some plants! Fun fact the one on the far left is an onion that had sprouted because we hadn't eaten in in time, because at the time I didn't have a third houseplant I could use for the reference and I needed 3

This one is a line weight drawing of a glass jar filled with water, a wyvern figurine, and an ornament! The ornament shows up a lot because it was required

This was just some notebooks, cloth, an ornament, a jar, and a piece of folded paper. A random arrangement drawn in charcoal but I think it looks nice. the cloth in the back is actually a pillowcase because that's what I had on hand:

And then this is another random arrangement of things, but this time drawing with white on black paper instead of the other way around! And it's got a twilight book in it so :) very me

then this one was done on a scratchboard! essentially I used an exacto knife to scratch away the black and reveal the white to draw this owl:

this isn't everything I drew in that class, as some of it is mundane line exercises and such, and some of it just didn't turn out in a way I'm proud of.

like my final. ugh. the requirements for that one fucked me over because she wanted us to have a certain number of things in the piece, but in doing so I was just cramming things into the composition. The sketch was cool! But the inking...not so much. I might still have the sketch if you're interested

but yeah!! these are some of my realism art pieces/studies from that one art class I took to fill a credit over a year ago. that class actually turned out to be my most difficult and stressful one that semester due to executive dysfunction, but I learned a few helpful tricks :)

thank you for the opportunity to share them, Nonsie! I miss doing art more often, so I can't wait to explore it again when the wings au is finished

hope you enjoyed! i will now be taking compliments about how cool and awesome and talented I am (that's a joke you don't need to do that)

[bookwyrminspiration]

Hello! I'm afraid I'm a bit late to the party so I don't know if you already mentioned this but, what are your pronouns? Also, on a side note: Your art is amazing! I would love to see more <3

Hello to you too, Nonsie! Also welcome to the party! Unsure exactly what this party is but it's lovely to have you here <3

I do have my pronouns along with other little bits of information I've deemed important in the bio of my blog, but! It's not as simple as just the fae/it I have listed there so thank you for the opportunity to expand upon them! also speaking of my bio I'm thinking of putting "kotlc god" in there now that people have called me that cause I think it would be fun, but I'm on the fence about it at the moment. anyway!

The two primary pronouns I share with people are fae/faer and it/its pronouns, but my favorite between the two of them is the it/its. It's not listed as it/faer just because I've had it the other way for so long that changing it feels off, but the pronouns that give me the most euphoria are it/its! The fae/faer are also nice and satisfying, and that's why they're one of my other primary pronouns!

However, you may see me from time to time referring to myself with they/them, which is because those are the pronouns I use publicly in real life. People are more open to and aware of they/them pronouns rather than it/its, and as I don't feel like explaining my reasoning and also possibly endangering myself if closed minded people are around, I go with the they/them. It's a habit and sometimes I'll use them here and on other sites without realizing. I won't be upset with anyone for using they/them for me, so truly don't worry about it!

Also, if you refer to me with any others that's fine too! I wouldn't even point it out if it happened. I'd probably just be like "huh that's new" and move on, so if you she/he/they/xe/ae/ze/anything else me, cool! Pronouns are fun and I don't mind being referred to in different ways, it/its and fae/faer just happen to be at the top of the lists for the moment! if you want you can just pick a pronoun to assign to me and use those! My gender is undefined and I enjoy voidpunk rhetoric when it comes to it, so there really is nothing strict.

I know some people struggle with these kinds of pronouns because they think they're being rude, but you aren't! I like them quite a bit and like when they're used. If anyone is interested, I can also explain why I like them and how reaffirming they are to ease any of that anxiety--or if you're just curious. It has a lot to do with monsters and autism, but both in good ways!

And thank you for the art compliments! I have been drawing for a while and was actually primarily a fanartist in the kotlc fandom before I started sharing my writing and doing character analysis, so if you want to see my older pieces you can check out my instagram! it's in_quil_sitive (which I've linked. also I'm considering changing it to bookwryminspiration there too so it matches my tumblr). You can see I'm very fond of watercolor and kotlc. But I'm also planning to do more art in the future, just not as often as back then.

Thank you for asking about my pronouns, and if you have any other questions--about pronouns, me, other things in general--you and anyone else are more than welcome to ask <33

[bookwyrminspiration]

Thoughts on inflicting being Sophie’s strongest ability (as seen in legacy with that weird glow thing)?

Also on the fact that her inflicting was manifested by pure emotions rather than her bumping her head and suddenly waking up hearing thoughts? And on the fact that Forkle almost couldn’t control Sophie and get her to stop?

oh i have so many thoughts about Sophie's inflicting and how it's not used as much as I want it to be, nonsie. (i think i mentioned this before but the reason I don't want her to gain a new ability is because she hardly uses or understands the ones she already has)

I think in terms of strength, inflicting has the most powerful immediate affect on others. it does the most damage and is the most effective weapon Sophie has against the Neverseen. (although I'd love to talk about how her telepathy could be a truly horrifying ability if she was willing to use it that way). yet it's also versatile and can be used to heal--that makes it more applicable and useful in more situations. In terms of practice and skill level, telepathy is her strongest ability. She knows how to use it best and has trained with it the most. However, that's not what this ask is talking about.

You also bring up a really good point: inflicting is Sophie's only naturally manifested ability. her telepathy, polyglot, and enhancing abilities were triggered by Mr. Forkle. her teleportation is a result of genetic experimentation which is why i'm considering it unnatural for the sake of this post, though I will concede it was not triggered.

i think this was when she was around nine that her inflicting manifested naturally during an argument of some kind with Amy. It was just pure anger and frustration that brought it bubbling to the surface, powerful enough that this ability just exploded out of her. Her inflicting is also shown to be different than "normal" inflicting, although I will say that only having one person (our darling Bronte) as the standard for what it should be is less credible. It means we could pose the theory that everyone's inflicting presents differently, we just don't have enough people to prove it yet. that said, since Sophie was also an experiment that affects her inflicting and we'll say that's why it's the way it is.

Mr. Forkle almost couldn't get her to stop, the ability overwhelming her and her emotions taking control. I'm going to draw a quick comparison between that scene and the catastrophic Everblaze fiasco, the one where all those people died. i feel there's almost a parallel there, an ability that has the potential for so much damage that's so difficult to control, and catastrophic if you loose it (i guess we have yet another similarity between Sophie and Fintan now).

the dismissal of so many of sophie's abilities is infuriating to me, and I want nothing more (/hyp) than to take sophie's abilities into my own hand and give them each their own individual development and training. right now they're just "haha look at sophie, she has five abilities" but she only consistently uses about two of them--telepathy and teleportation. I am of the firm belief than any ability can be dangerous/overpowered if you just figure out how to use it right, so i really want to do that for all of sophie's. I have so many things I could say about that but I'll stop for now

I don't know if any of what i said made sense--this was mostly disconnected little thoughts with no real summary, but i have so many thoughts and things to say about how i'd want abilities to be used, so thanks for the opportunity to scratch the surface, nonsie!!

[bookwyrminspiration]

Idk if you addressed this already but: Fitz is an asshole.

I'm rereading the books and he is horrible to Sophie! He blamed her when Alden's mind broke, got really upset that Sophie wouldn't tell him that Oralie was her mom and broke up with her because of it... I might forgetting some things (I'm rereading really slow and am only at the beginning of Exile...) but that's most of what I remember

And he also chose to ignore when Sophie was calling for help when she was kidnapped so...

Also they're kind of weird? Sophie and Dex could've stayed at that cafe (where there a lot of people and they definitely wouldn't be attracted again) until she got her strength back to contact literally anyone or maybe wait until morning to look for that lantern?

I really liked the series when I first read it but now I'm noticing some weird stuff here...

i've definitely talked about Fitz before, but it's been a while so I don't remember what i've said either, nonsie! Also: apologies for the delay, got a little sidetracked with a few others things before getting to this ask

I will preface this by saying I have a more positive opinion of him, which will affect what I say. I do entirely respect your position and interpretation of his character despite having a different opinion of him. For me, it's less that Fitz is an asshole and more that he's a person and doesn't know what he's doing. He's not intentionally hurting the people around him and refusing to change--in Legacy he told Sophie that he was working on his anger and the way he reacted to things.

that's not to say that the way he treated Sophie was okay, blaming her for Alden's mind break and trying to get information from her she'd clearly stated she didn't want to share and had asked him to leave alone.

I will say for me that it feels almost unfair to judge Fitz's values based on frantic, chaotic decisions he did during one of the most emotionally challenging and turbulent times of his life. When Alden's mind broke he was devastated and it was a very low point in his life--same for Biana, although in a different way--so I like to also look at how he behaves when he's composed and rational.

I do entirely agree with you about his demanding of information about Sophie's mom being unfair an uncalled for. I can understand why he did it (i think i've talked about that before but if not I'd be happy to do so!), but just because it makes sense to me why he did it doesn't mean it was appropriate or right. Sophie made it very clear that was information she didn't want to share and he just kept pushing--those scenes were so uncomfortable to read because it was like he had this idea that the one piece of information she was keeping from him would fix everything and he was desperate to have it, idolizing it. it felt like for a moment he was prioritizing their relationship in the view of the public over her very real thoughts and feelings about it privately

also i think it's interesting that we as a fandom have two main "complaints" (unsure what else to call them) when it comes to Fitz: he got angry at sophie over something she couldn't control, and he often pushes/tests her boundaries. The first of which--the anger--had a major moment in the plot (alden's mind break) that he later went on to directly correct. The second--the thing with oralie and wanting information she didn't want to share--has happened but hadn't been resolved/learned from. We have another book(s) coming, so I wonder if he'll learn directly from their break-up and realize he's been testing Sophie's boundaries and address that directly too. he learns from his mistakes, so I would expect that this would be an opportunity for him to step back and figure out where he messed up here (not that he's the only one who's capable of wrongs).

but moving on! i will say ignoring her when she was presumed dead and had an entire funeral does feel more like he was grieving and thought he was imagining her voice over just being rude and ignoring her. everyone straight up thought she'd drowned and things like what happened to Sophie and Dex were unheard of until that point. i don't think it even crossed his mind that they could still be alive somewhere. Him ignoring her was also convenient for the plot because it left Sophie and Dex stranded, so it's possible that part was pushed a little more specifically so the later Neverseen interactions could happen.

also, you're completely right! there are so many different and smarter ways Sophie and Dex could've handled that situation, and it can be infuriating from a reader perspective--especially when you're someone like me who operates almost entirely on facts and logic and reasonble deductions--to see characters charge in almost blindly without taking stock of their situation. I think maybe things played out the way that they did specifically because sophie couldn't reach anyone, even if she'd been at her best. the only times she did manage to contact fitz were in pure desperation--while she was being tortured and while she was fading. otherwise she couldn't reach out--the transmission she sent out when on the bridge with the neverseen didn't actually get to anyone, it was only noted that it was really loud.

so as far as the two of them were concerned, they were completely on their own and no one would ever come for them, meaning they had to get back themselves. and they wanted to do that sooner rather than later. and that's how they ended up wandering paris by themselves--and their plan would've worked had the Neverseen not shown up and the most inconvenient time possible, which wasn't exactly something they could plan for in the same way

you brought up a lot of good points and topics on both fitz's character and the whole kidnapping situation, so thank you for giving me a chance to talk about it! I know i was a little biased going in with a slight fondness for Fitz--I don't idolize any of the characters but I do have neutral/positive thoughts about most of them--so it's really refreshing to hear another perspective. To clarify: i'm not trying to change your mind or tell you you're wrong in any way! you just inspired a few thoughts related to the topic and I wanted to talk about them. Hopefully I didn't sound dismissive or condescending in any way, as that was absolutely not my intention. But thank you for the ask!

[bookwyrminspiration]

Do elves have air conditioning

(if formatting is weird or something is repeated I apologize, tumblr did a weird thing)

okay okay so! i googled it! air conditioning was first created around the early 1900s, like within the first few years, which was when the human assistance program was still instated, so if they were paying close enough attention they would've picked up on them (they didn't become common/affordable until the 1950s, after the program ended). so, i'd guess they were at least aware of their existence! that being said, the way canon goes I wouldn't be surprised if someone said elves actually introduced the idea of air conditioning to humans and that once again, humans don't get any credit for any ideas and are inherently inferior and incapable of progress on their own.

however, my first response to this question was: they don't need it! they can regulate their temperature, which would be more true if the use of skills was more widespread and taught. so while it would make sense if they just regulated temperature, we've seen it's not actually a taught ability, so the question remains: how do elves keep cool?

now, let's take a quick look at the weather. it has not rained in the Lost Cities once, never been windy, never snowed, never had a storm, so i'd hazard a guess it's never been more than like 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 in Celsius) there. so do they even need air conditioning? (fairly certain the weather is just an accidental oversight on Shannon's part but it's become noticeable enough that it stands out and is Weird).

lets say they do! i'm going to propose that's its actually in the construction of the buildings, built in air flow and materials that are used! crystals are shiny and reflective, so perhaps the outside helps reflect the heat away from the building, keeping the inside cooler. i've mentioned this before but I would be at least a little worried about having crystals reflecting sunlight anywhere and whether or not they'd work like magnifying glasses and just start fires. also, there could be a series of small air tubes/passages (can't think of a better word) that are shaped in such a way they can magnify the movement of the air and turn it into constant airflow within a building. to take it to the next level, maybe they have ice (maintained by frosters) within those linings that make the air cooler.

where I live we have swamp coolers instead of air conditioners, so elves may even have something similar to that, though the humidity of the lost cities might mess that up (hence the ice idea instead). for anyone who doesn't know what swamp coolers are: essentially, the air is cooled as it passes through pads soaked with water, but this doesn't work well in humid environments because the air is already wetter and passing it through the pad doesn't help. i live in a dessert so it's dry here and that makes them effective

at least, while I don't think elves have human air conditioning, I do think there are several ways they could keep their homes cool. i highly doubt this is the response you were expecting but I was very intrigued by this question. thanks for the opportunity to research random history, nonsie!!

[bookwyrminspiration]

tinker has always given me trans vibes too, but you are SO right about the nd vibes.

nonsie I would absolutely love to talk about this more thank you for giving me the opportunity

I can’t speak to other’s interpretations, but she gives me agender/literally couldn’t care less gender vibes, which is technically under the umbrella of trans. There may be binary trans vibes, but as I am not that I couldn’t tell you what to look for. To me Tinker seems like she’d ignore her gender and just view her body as a machine/think about it in terms of how it works. Don’t need a gender if your body is just completing a task.

As for the neurodivergent vibes, I just think she’s super autistic-coded. Like I look at her and go oh you’re autistic except from an outsiders perspective.

Most obvious trait: speaking in questions. Tell me, what part of “she just communicates a little different” (paraphrased) doesn’t scream autistic? /rh. The clock tower that looks like a clock tower but functions differently and you won’t understand without asking what the symbols mean/effort? Symbolic representation of autistic Tinker. You have to teach other people how to understand you when your brain works different, and then they can make the effort to interpret your signals based on the information you’ve given them. Like the clock tower!

Another one: her outburst/trembling at the mention of explosives. Something that seems minor but she starts yelling/being more assertive. Hello? Can’t regulate emotions and it comes out physically? She was reminded of something traumatic and started experiencing negative emotions, so she lost control of her volume and her body language was “dramatic” and she seemed angry. Autistic! She wasn’t throwing a temper tantrum or anything, she was expressing herself which can often be mixed up, especially from an outside perspective like Sophie.

Another one: a fondness for things others don’t appreciate. Like Sprocket, her gremlin. Dex asks why she keeps something so destructive around, and she appears to care for it—although she’s not affectionate with him the same way Sophie is with Iggy, it’s more of something you just recognize and can pick up on if you know how a brain like that works. Empathy and sympathy for real people can be difficult, but it can come more easily with animals and inanimate objects, perhaps like her assortment of mechanical creatures! (I would love some mechanical creatures to care for, sympathizing with real people is so much conscious effort :/)

Another one: she doesn’t socialize with people. Wraith is the only one who knows her identity, and I highly doubt she engages with literally anyone in the elven world. It’s so much easier and less stressful to have very few meaningful relationships, and neurotypicals seem to have a much broader idea of friendship than neurodivergents, which can make them hard to maintain. I bet if I hadn’t formed a meaningful friendship before I started unmasking I wouldn’t have any; interaction with others is just not worth it. And that seems to be Tinker’s mindset too. She has her method, her ways, she doesn’t need anyone or anything to add to it.

I could literally keep going I still have talking points but—

TL;DR: Tinker is autistic. Every way she’s written is like how nts view autistic people as quirky or out of place, but if you know what to look for you can understand her so clearly.

disclaimer: not every autistic person is the same. These traits are not what make someone autistic, but they can be common/relatable experiences. If you think you’re autistic, great! I bet it might explain a lot of things from your childhood/life that always felt out of place. There are plenty of resources online to use for research! This just isn’t one of them <3 ( this is all positive and non judgmental, don’t worry)

[bookwyrminspiration]

Any thoughts on Keefe and Wylie’s relationship¿

I feel like there’s a lot to explore there, especially when it comes to the age gap / levels of maturity that type of stuff

oo that's a good one--I haven't thought about the two of them in a while! Off the top of my head I honestly can't remember a moment where Keefe and Wylie interacted with each other aside from existing in the same room, so I'll mostly being talking in hypotheticals. (if there is one I've forgotten you can let me know and I'd be happy to look back through it!)

There's just so much to look at when it comes to Wylie in general because hes like...the most individual/unique character, if that makes sense. He stands out because of his age and experiences that no one else has had. he's the loner sophie was in book one human world. Sophie has her whole crew of friends and people close to her now, then there's all the adults who are friendly with and relate to one another, but Wylie's just kind of there. he's not friends with them per se, but he's there. In that weird age where he's more mature and has more knowledge than all of Sophie's friends, but he's still considered to be one of them because he's not centuries old like literally every other adult we know (that being said, can we get like an 80 year old adult, someone who's just vibing and more in tune with The Youths)

Keefe has become more and more like that recently, feeling separated from his friends and the people he cares about because of what his mother did to him, so he's started to exist outside of the group as well, at the very least in his own mind.

My mind keeps circling back to how explosively Wylie reacted to Sophie when they met in the wanderling woods. he didn't even think it through--there was just this one last hope he'd been clinging to that would bring his dad back and he couldn't see anything outside of it. Just that one thing was supposed to fix everything and he couldn't process the failure or the idea that there were more ways. Same as how Keefe treated his new ability. He gave up so easily, taking every failure are proof he could never be "fixed" and that he needed to run away. he wasn't able to understand that there were other ways to see the situations, to take their missteps in stride and learn from them, cool down and come back to it composed.

But aside from that, Wylie has grown up with positive role models and people in his life to support him and genuinely care about him. He's learned to positively respect authority (likely with a healthy grain of salt seeing as he was raised by Tiergan), which Keefe never got. Keefe only knows how to disobey, to make problems. he's never had to motivation or desire to succeed, and now he flaunts authority almost uncontrollably. Wylie took time to heal from his kidnapping and torture, he took time away for himself and to collect himself. he made his voice heard and told Sophie what he wanted, and then he backed away so he could return even better. and it worked! he's doing a lot better now. Keefe, on the other hand, was demanding to get back to work mere hours after he'd had his abdomen literally sliced open. he doesn't know how to take care of himself.

it just feels like Wylie can navigate the world, and Keefe is running blindfolded headfirst in any direction he feels like.

i don't think Wylie would pity Keefe were they to interact, but I think he'd be off-put and concerned. Like "what's with this sassy...lost child?" he might see the kind of person he could've become had Tiergan not been there for him. I don't think Wylie is a necessarily nurturing person, but he's protective. he might want to protect Keefe and just be like "you doing alright?" and try and set him back on a path to being okay and taking time to take care of himself.

they're very interesting nonsie, so thanks for giving me the opportunity to explore their similarities!

[bookwyrminspiration]

Hello quil! You’re a wonderful writer and I luv ur character analysis. Could you maybe do one about your thoughts on Biana and Tam’s possible relationship?

Hello Nonsie!! And thank you very much, that is very sweet of you 🥺🥺

Whenever people compliment my writing and analysis it makes me happy stim !!

As for Biana and Tam’s possible relationship, just a warning before I get into it! I am aromantic, so anything I say about them (and any other romantic relationship) will be through that lens, and I may not be able to pick up on or articulate everything properly.

Tam is very quietly protective, which can match Biana’s exuberant vibe well. She’s not outright feisty, but she has a loud personality. She’s out there and opinionated and stubborn and stern, an opposite to Tam’s boding presence.

He’d be a good listener and very attentive, and while Biana has gotten attention her whole life, no one really pays attention to her. It’s the difference between looking and seeing.

Tam has this instinct to protect the people he cares about due to his past, so it would be interesting to see how he would be affected by being with someone who doesn’t like to be protected. Who doesn’t need him in that way.

They also both have similar experiences regarding being judged. Tam has been judged his whole life for being a twin and a shade, and Biana’s been under the spotlight her whole life and constantly scrutinized, which is now added to with her scars.

There could also be something poetic in their dynamic, almost like opposites attract. Tam’s ability is darkness; Biana’s uses light. Tam is reserved and angry at the world, Biana is open and bold and determined to prove the world wrong.

In conclusion, I think they would go well together, and I’d be curious to see how both their friendship and their interactions develop in the next book.

This was an interesting one, Nonsie!! I haven’t gotten the chance to analyze a relationship like this before, so thank you for the opportunity!! If anyone else has any other ships/pairings (romantic or not) you’d like me to look at, please send an ask! I love character analysis lmao

TL;DR: Tam and Biana are like opposites attract, both in personality and ability, and I think they’d work well together.

[bookwyrminspiration]

I’m not asking for a character analysis if you don’t want to do one/have already done a lot, though I wasn’t sure who else to share this information with, so you get to be the one to hear it

If we look through the books (specifically Lodestar-Flashback), it might be noted that Tam isn’t as snarky as we all make him out to be. He isn’t super ‘emo’ either I don’t think? Sure, he tugs on his bangs, but that seems to be a nervous habit he picked up. The hair is.. a lot when he’s first explaining it, but it seems to be something he likes to keep more so as a reminder to his parents (and, in a way, to himself.). I don’t think he keeps it because of the reason he got it.

He’s also pretty... almost timid? In Lodestar and Flashback - and maybe Nightfall - there almost seems to be times when he gets all quiet, like he isn’t sure what to do or say and he’ll tug on his bangs (if I remember correctly). He’s also been getting more and more freaked out by his power (we know that though).

Anyways, he really isn’t the emo/goth/snarky/over sarcastic person the fandom seems to make him out to be. Don’t get me wrong, he definitely is snarky and sarcastic, but not to an extreme I don’t think.

Thank you for allowing me to word-vomit even though you had no idea this was coming.

(2/2) Oh also! He’s not super great with his power even before the shadowflux. There seems to be multiple scenes throughout the books where he over exerts himself or has to do something (typically with veils and echoes) and by the end of it he’ll be covered in sweat, sometimes shaking, and sometimes having to be literally held by Linh.

Nonsie I am so honored I’ve become the type of person this kinda thing is shared with because I love this. and I have thoughts—

Okay, because this ask was fairly long I’m going to put my own thoughts under a read more so I don’t take up too much of everyone’s dash lol

I think it’s entirely possible that we as a fandom (and I’m including myself in this) have associated characters with certain traits based on their abilities. And that’s fine! There’s nothing wrong with that and it’s a lot of fun! For example, Keefe is an empath and we say he’s very in tune with his emotions. Marella is a pyrokinetic so we say she’s feisty. And we just so happened to have given Tam a set personality to go with him darker ability

When you think of dark and mysterious and protective, you most likely think of a snarky sarcastic character who likes to break rules and do whatever they want. And because Tam gave off enough of those vibes when we first met him (being protective of Linh and not subscribing to typical elvin notions, dressing in black, etc.) we made the association. There’s also a common association with the way he dresses and being emo, which we often like to joke about despite the lack of real...emo-ness?he dresses the part but that’s about it.

He used to be on a situation that required an aggressive kind of demeanor, because it would keep him and the people he loves safe. But now he’s not in that situation anymore and has been given the opportunity to grow as a character. And he has been! He’s quieter and more worried about Linh instead of actively defensive.

And you’re right, the way he’s acting could be described as timid. I think another way to view it is that he’s aware, taking a step back and observing his surroundings instead of constantly trying to present himself as a threat. So he doesn’t speak up as often, and when he does it isn’t as harsh. He’s also come to trust the people around him more, these are his friends now (or at the very least, acquaintances) and he knows them enough that he doesn’t feel threatened by them.

And he absolutely is snarky and sarcastic; he has a kind of subtle dry humor that’s absolutely priceless lol. But he’s basically like all of us, not every word he says is a sarcastic quip. If that was all he said he actually seem kinda mean, but to me he doesn’t seem outright rude.

Okay, I’ll try to wrap this up but your comment on his powers got me thinking about it. Is he actually not as adept with his power or is he just constantly testing limits and trying to do things very few have ever done before, and that makes everything we see a challenge.

When he lifted Prentince’s mental veils he was just fiddling around, he didn’t have a set goal. He went into that blind and had no clue what he was doing (as far as I can remember, I may be wrong about that). He couldn’t have practiced for something he didn’t know he could do. Same with the echoes.

Working with shadowflux is difficult enough that not even his mentor can do it. He can only work off of speculation and whatever notes he got from Umber. Thats...not a lot. And it leaves him fumbling around in the dark haha pun not intended trying to do something he’s never learned properly. And I’m assuming abilities work like exercising. You need to practice to get stronger and then it will become easier, so uh homeboy strugglin lol.

I hope I didn’t derail your ask too much, but if I did just send me another and I can try and stay more on track!! I love Tam a lot, in case you couldn’t tell 🥺

[bookwyrminspiration]

I’m sorry, it’s the “sokeefitz with kid with asd” anon, again. I just wanted to participate in Quilwyrm appreciation hours if that’s okay. You’re so kind and thoughtful. You have a way of speaking (or writing? I don’t know what the correct word is here.) that makes people feel understood when they talk to you. You always add your own thoughts to even the smallest of things, which for me at least makes me feel like you genuinely care about it. Also, you’re so creative! You have so many cool ideas and you always seem to put a lot of thought into all of them! That’s why I like coming here, at least. It’s like a quiet corner of the internet that you’ve created. Your Keeper analysis are top-tier, as well. I’m not sure if you’ve read the books a lot of times or if you just have a really good memory, but you always seem to have a great recollection of the events that occur in Keeper! And I don’t say all this in order to put pressure on you to keep being a certain way, and I’m sorry if it does. There’s just so many great things about you and the environment that surrounds you!

Oh hello! Welcome back, nonsie! Nothing to apologize for <33. And thank you for your patience as I got to this--I've reread it so many times since you sent it but I haven't been able to answer until now. And ahh!! appreciation hours--you're very kind; you didn't have to do this but you're entirely welcome to, it's okay

also, can I just say that quilwyrm is absolutely adorable and it love it so much!! a combination of my name and the url that people recognize me under!! I love it!! I've actually considered getting a tattoo of a wyrm in the past, but either way they're just so cool!

"you have a way of speaking that makes people feel understood." thank you so much, that genuinely means a lot. It sometimes feels like my connection to others are artificial or not as "real" as others because I have to do a few things different to understand people and relate to them, but when people come to me I try to connect to them as much as a I can. You may have noticed me sharing stories of my own in response to yours, which is how I try to show that I'm trying to understand you. you give an experience, and I share one similar so you can see that I'm trying to remember how I felt so I can empathize with you and understand your perspective. it's never to try and make it about me, it's me trying to relate to you

and I talk about loving the details frequently, but it's true. I know sometimes I, myself, hide a lot in the small words that get overlooked, so I try to make sure to pay attention to every aspect of what someone else is saying. this is also why sometimes I'll say "if I've skipped over something you wanted to focus more on, send me another ask!" because as much as I try to pay attention, I'm not infallible and I want people to have the comfort and opportunity to come back and tell me that they wanted to focus on something else. I don't mind going back at all, and it's always fun to look at new details! and people are welcome to do this even if I don't leave that little reminder at the end. I don't know where I'm going with this, but I'm trying to say that I do genuinely care about the details, and that's why I try to cover everything I can in a single post.

about the creative thing: thank you!! I try to be! my brain is constantly filled with questions and it's nice to be able to channel them into something where others don't mind how critical (as in inquisitive, not negative) I am of things. Just last night my family was playing a card game about unicorns and I got distracted because I just started wondering how their horns work. Are they made of keratin like their hooves? Are they hollow? Is that where the magic is stored? What generates the magic? Or is it like a protrusion of their skull and it can connect directly to the cranial cavity and there's a gland in the brain that produces the magic? So I think that general principal of always asking questions helps me think through all the ideas people send me and help me just go off in several different directions and possibilities for each post. So a lot of thought does go into my posts! There's been some asks I've spent over an hour answering, typing responses and thinking it over and consulting the wiki and pulling down my books from the shelf to find specific scenes and lines. (this is also why I don't answer asks very quickly, because I'm doing all that. not that it's a bad thing! just an explanation)

I'm incredibly pleased that you like coming here. I often conceptualize my blog as just a little bubble or corner of the internet where I'm just doing whatever I feel like and others can come and join in and vibe with me for as long as they'd like. I just don't know if I'm capable of having surface-level, brief conversations. Not that it's impossible, it's just so much more natural for me to go in-depth and try and give everyone my full attention every time they interact. Which might be a little rarer on the internet, but I do try to curate a space where everyone can enjoy themselves and interact as much as they feel comfortable doing. No requirement to like posts, reblog, send asks, or anything. Just be here if you want to be!

"your keeper analyses are top-tier." ahh thank you!! I think it's so cool that everyone's started to associate me with the analyses and more technical aspects of the story, because those are my favorite parts!! it's so much fun!! I think is a combination of having read the stories several times--I've read each book at least twice, though several of the earlier one's I've lost count of (I know I've read many of them six times or more)--and interacting with others who notice details I don't for so long. Sure, when you read a book six times you get to know it pretty well, but I also see people pointing out things I've forgotten on a regular basis! That does help for when I'm answering asks or analyzing a character, but there are things I miss from time to time. I will admit I do know a lot about the story, probably as much as I know about twilight if not more (twilight is another one of those stories where I could go in depth on anything you put before me, though that interest was more accidental than keeper. to clarify, I love making fun of twilight and it's writing, not trying to justify any of it).

and don't worry! you're not pressuring me!! if anything, it's encouraging because I know you like the things I'm doing. like a little okay!! I'm doing something good!! because a lot of the times I'm just winging it (I can't say this expression without thinking of the wings au anymore), so it's always nice to get some feedback.

I've tried to be very supportive and receptive to everyone I interact with, so I'm very glad that I have a nice environment around me!! and that you think so kindly of me. you're also a wonderful person and I'm always excited when I see another ask from you (no pressure to send them in though). it's like a little there they are!! I recognize that person!! what's up with them recently, how they doing?

I hope you are doing well <33. this morning was a little stressful for me so this was really nice to see !!

[bookwyrminspiration]

I agree about Tinker giving me nd vibes, but I don't agree that the way she was written was inaccurate. I have asd and Tinker behaves in a very similar way to me. She didn't seem like an outsider's view of someone with asd.

Ofc she's not representative of all asd people, but autism manifests differently in everyone so it's not exactly possible to have a character who's representative of everyone with asd.

you’re absolutely right, nonsie.

I never meant to make it sound like she was written to represent everyone (I specifically said not all autistic people all the same), just that my personal view was that it seemed like her role. That she’d be used as the one autistic character to represent everyone when really all autistic people are so different. A token neurodivergent character to be the singular one in the entire book, which is unrealistic because nd people are everywhere (and in my experience tend to group).

as for her being inaccurate, I agree! I don’t think she’s necessarily inaccurate. In fact, the reason I picked up on the vibes is because some of her behaviors are very similar to my own and I saw myself in her. The reason I said it was from an outsiders perspective is because we see the story through Sophie’s eyes, who I’m almost positive is supposed to written as neurotypical.

Of course, we can have different interpretations too. To me reading about her feels like yes, she is autistic, but because the readers aren’t shown the thought processes behind her behavior, we’re just seeing her from the outside. Which makes sense because Sophie isn’t reading her mind or anything. I feel more connected to autistic characters when I can see their thought processes and read about how their minds are working so I can go oh, me too! So because Tinker isn’t a main character and I didn’t get to see that, I personally didn’t have that level of connection. If you did, great! It’s so nice to see yourself represented and I’m glad you got that /g. We’re just different people and will interact with media differently. Nothing wrong with that.

It’s difficult to properly explain all of my thoughts in a single Tumblr post and I often end up omitting things or not clearly explaining myself, so thank you for asking and giving me an opportunity to clarify. Representation is a complex topic and not everyone will agree on what we need or how it should be done, so thanks for sharing your thoughts. /g