[ MORE questions for Tanim and Daren, courtesy of the girlfriend! Want to contribute your own questions? Leave them in a comment! ]

13) What pet would each of them keep? Type, breed, name, gender, etc.

Tanim would definitely have a cat. He’d probably have some sort of fancy purebred cat, like a Siamese or a Persian, and he would spoil it rotten. It would be a really finicky, demanding cat that only ate the best food and drank bottled spring water. And it wouldn’t even like Tanim very much, but that wouldn’t matter to him; he’d just be happy to take care of something, and anyway, he’s drawn to one-sided relationships. As for names, I could see him naming a female cat Absinthe (Abby for short), or a male cat Percocet (Perks for short).

I think Daren would have a cat as well, though for a different reason. He’d appreciate a cat’s independence and desire for space, because he would only want a pet that didn’t demand a lot of his time or attention. He’d probably end up semi-adopting a stray cat that hung around his apartment building. I could see it getting into his apartment from the ground window one day, and Daren deciding to let it come and go as it pleased. It’d probably be a scruffy, scarred tom cat, maybe one who’s a little too small or old to be much competition for the other strays. Eventually Daren would start leaving food out for him, and they’d come to a sort of mutual agreement of “I don’t bother you, you don’t bother me”. I think he’d just call it Cat. Or You.

14) What kind of benders (from the Avatar universe) would they be?

Daren would definitely be a waterbender (probably from the Northern Water Tribe), and specifically a bloodbender. I don’t think he would necessarily use that skill for evil (though Daren has a… loose definition of the word), but he would definitely use it to his advantage without any qualm. I have a feeling he would figure out how to do it early, too, probably as a child or young adult. Knowing the stigma attached to bloodbending, he’d keep the power to himself, but use it when necessary.

Tanim would be a firebender, and definitely either royalty or very high up in Fire Nation society. He would be highly skilled, but no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn’t be able to master lightning bending. The inner calm and confidence required to lightning bend would be impossible for him. That would probably be a source of embarrassment for him, since his family would take pride in being able to master all forms of firebending.

15) What would their favorite words be?

Daren’s favorite word is violate. He says, “it’s a beautiful word with an ugly meaning.”

Tanim’s favorite word is absolution. I think he’s partly drawn to the beauty of its sound, and partly to its meaning. (Or maybe it sounds beautiful because of its meaning?)

16) If they needed Lorne (the demon empath from Angel) to “read” them, what songs would they choose to sing?

This is the best question ever, just FYI. Tanim would either sing “Every Me and Every You” by Placebo or “Run To You” by Pentatonix. Daren would sing “Battle for the Sun” by Placebo or “To Be Alone With You” by Sufjan Stevens. And if they had to sing something together, it would of course be “Broken Promise” by Placebo. (Basically every Placebo song is secretly about Tanim and Daren.)

17) Who would be the one to kill the spider, and who would refuse to?

I waffle on this one… I can see Daren killing a spider without issue, but at the same time I can also see him not caring if one’s nearby. I guess Tanim would be less comfortable with spiders, or bugs of any sort, having always lived in very luxurious settings. He probably wouldn’t be afraid of one, but he might not like them being nearby. He would probably be hesitant to kill it, but also hesitant to be near it, and eventually Daren would roll his eyes and go over and smash the thing with his hand.

18) What do their individual beds look like? What about the bed they share?

Daren’s bed, when he’s living alone, is basically an old futon with an equally old blanket on top. They’re both ragged and stained and not at all uncomfortable. Yes, it’s as depressing as it sounds. His whole apartment is like that, though.

Tanim’s bed is spacious and built out of rich, dark wood. The sheets and blankets are very fine quality and either red or black. The bed is always perfectly made, but only because Tanim usually spends the night with random fuck buddies or passed out on the couch. He would rather do either of those things than face the loneliness of sleeping alone in such a huge bed – or any bed.

When they live together, the bed they share is Tanim’s – though instead of being perfectly made all the time, it’s messy. Daren sleeps whenever he wants and for as long as he wants, and isn’t exactly one to worry about making the bed. Since Tanim likes the messiness, because it reminds him that their life together is real, he doesn’t much bother to make the bed either.