#tamarack rambles

[that-culdesac-kid]

Tamarack the "I'll stand up for what's important to you and be on your side no matter what"

[that-culdesac-kid]

So I was looking at Tamarack and Qiu's expression sheets a while ago and noticed that they have two versions of blush.

I thought: "Huh. I guess blush 1 is a soft blush and blush 2 is a deep blush?"

And since I was curious, I tried to compare the two by layering the images on top of each other.

That's when I realized...

TAMARACK'S NOSE TURNS RED WHEN SHE BLUSHES DEEPLY

AND QIU DOES THE SAME WITH THEIR EARS

THAT'S SUCH A CUTE DETAIL I-

Fic writers, this is a free real estate. Do what you want with this information.

[that-culdesac-kid]

Our Life: Now & Forever + tumblr text posts because why not

might make more of this, so let me know if you have any suggestion!

[that-culdesac-kid]

So, let's talk about Tamarack and Qiu's "fancy outfits"!

I was looking back at the fancy outfits post from two years ago, and I find it interesting that gb patch said they're for two different occasions, because I initially thought they're for the same events (like a school play or something). So I figured it'd be fun to look more into them and guess what those "two different occasions" are!

Totally not because of favoritism, let's start with Tamarack!

It seems like she's wearing a dirndl dress. The overall shape and design match the key features you can usually find in a dirndl (close-fitting bodice with cross lacing and low neckline, blouse underneath the bodice, wide high-waisted skirt with apron), and I think it'd make sense for her to wear it since she's part German.

While I was searching about this, I actually found some kid dirndl designs that look pretty close to the one she's wearing. I think these might be the vibes that gb patch/the sprite artist were going for? So pretty!

But what prompted Tamarack to get all dressed up with such a pretty dirndl in the first place? This is just my personal guess, but I think it might be for Oktoberfest. It's one of the events where dirndl is usually worn, and the time frame will really match the autumn setting of olnf.

As for Qiu, he's dressed in black tights and has his hair in a neat bun like he usually does in ballet class, so it's save to assume that he's wearing a costume for a ballet performance.

I was looking at ballet costume designs on the internet a while ago, and I think his outfit might be a combination of these two:

The first design has similar-looking buttons, floofy sleeves, and overall shape of the lower part, while the second design has matching belt, collar, and overall shape of the upper part. Though, this is just me guessing and the outfit was most likely created with different inspirations in mind.

Sadly, we can't really tell what kind of performance he'd be doing from his costume alone. My best guess is he's dancing for a ballet recital, though it'd be unusual to have one in autumn since they're usually held in spring. So it's also possible that he's dancing for other kind of performance or for a competition.

So... To sum it all up: we will probably have a Qiu-focused ballet recital moment and a Tamarack-focused festival moment in step 1. It's pretty exciting to think about the possibilities!

[that-culdesac-kid]

Idk what it's called but this dynamic with Tamarack:

Smol bean protecting a shy/timid giant

[that-culdesac-kid]

I think step 1 MC and Tamarack would make a cute double trouble/partner in crime duo who like to conspire and assist each other in silly mischievous schemes, only to get caught red-handed because Tamarack (or both of them) are bad at lying.

[that-culdesac-kid]

I love the cute detail where you can see Tamarack's expression turning into shock when she learns that Ren's dad is, in fact, a teacher too.

I know she was homeschooled and probably had limited knowledge about public schools and teachers, but it's still funny to see her treating teachers as some sort of mythical beings and being blown away by them having normal lives and doing normal stuff.

As the saying goes:

[that-culdesac-kid]

Hear me out

Tamarack X MC who has synesthesia

(specifically the sound-color one, aka chromesthesia)

So we know that Tamarack has a real love for music, as seen by her joining the school band and playing the cello in steps 2 and 3.

We also saw her habit of singing and humming in the demo.

Now, wouldn't it be perfect if we paired her up with MC who has chromesthesia?

If you haven't heard of chromesthesia before, it's a condition that some people have where hearing everyday sounds or musical notes makes them perceive colors, shapes, and movements.

Basically, it's kind of a cool ability that makes you see or visualize sounds as shapes and colors (like colored fireworks, abstract shapes, or waving lines) that change and move based on the tone of the sound.

> The gifs are just illustrations, btw. They're not accurate representations of chromesthesia and the experiences are different from person to person.

Picture this: MC listening to Tamarack play the cello in one of her practices and watching her surrounded by a beautiful parade of colors and shapes that come out from the notes in her music.

Or maybe just listening to Tamarack talking and humming while hanging out, then telling her how her voice looks like when she says a certain phrase or sings and hums in certain pitches.

It'd also be cute if MC has a fondness with a specific color or shape that comes from a sound that's related to Tamarack, like her footsteps, her laughs, or just her voice in general. Maybe even throw in some cute lines like,

"Out of everyone, I think your voice has the prettiest color."

Even better if the MC is an artist. They can make paintings to capture the colors and shapes that they see in Tamarack's music.

> Btw, there are actually irl artists who make arts inspired by their synesthesia! (like Melissa McCracken below, who illustrate what she sees from songs into paintings)

Or they can illustrate how Tamarack's voice looks like when she say a phrase like "I love you" in german.

> Totally not inspired by this reddit post.

And I just had the cutest idea of love confession!

What if... MC give the paintings that they make to Tamarack for years while keeping their feelings and the meaning behind those paintings a secret? And it finally come up as a big reveal in their love confession, with MC revealing how each of the paintings represents the music they've heard from Tamarack or all the words of affection that they've hidden for Tamarack in those paintings for so long.

TL;DR: I don't have talent in writing fanfics, so I just dumped my fanfic idea here.