The Binding of Bloom Mountain: Definitive Edition

Hi, I'm Legend, she/ze, and I'm running this show here in the Teashop Between Worlds. Today we welcome characters from Siggy Chambers' The Binding of Bloom Mountain. This folk-horror-slash-dark-fantasy book is being rereleased with a definitive edition. Sounds fancy. Guess we need the Darjeeling out today. Please pull up a seat wherever you're comfortable and enjoy the interview.

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Legend: Welcome, both of you. Let's get going. First of all, please introduce yourself. Name, pronouns if you wish, and tell us an interesting fact about yourself.

 

Celeste: I’m Celeste Foster, she/her (mostly). I don’t think I’m very interesting.

Marta: Answer the question, Celly.

Celeste: Fine. Well, I worked in National Forests when I was younger. Your turn.

Marta: I’m Marta Finch, she/her, and I’m an apothecary. It runs in the family!

 

Legend: What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?

 

Celeste: I had a fucking breakdown and climbed a cursed mountain.

Marta: Very brave of you, Celly. Very brave.

Celeste: Your turn.

Marta: I fell in love with an Outsider who climbed a cursed mountain.

 

Legend: Marta, your story sounds really similar to mine. Fell in love with someone who had a breakdown and did something that sounds really dumb. Seems to have worked out for you both, though. If you had to hide a body, whose would it be and who would you ask to help you?

 

Together: Abram.

Celeste: Abram would help me or us.

Marta: No idea whose body it would be. But no one would ever find it. 

 

Legend: Abram will have to come to the next interview. How do you feel about magic? If you use magic, tell us a bit about it.

 

Celeste: I’ve had magic since I was born but I didn't know until recently.

Marta: Same. Being a good alchemist or apothecary is a talent you are born with.

Celeste: I just have a scary fucking grandpa who passed on magic to me.

Marta: Your grandmother was magic too. She did the Binding as well.

 

Legend: Ooh, colour me intrigued. How do you feel about social situations? Do you throw yourself into it or are you the person rehearsing every conversation in their head a million times?

 

Celeste: I’m autistic. I don’t do well with any kind of new social situation.

Marta: When we met she stared and stuttered and blushed cause she didn’t know what to order.

Celeste: Marta! Why are you telling them that??

Marta: Cause it was adorable.

 

Legend: Believe me, it's fairly common here so no need for embarrassment. Hope the interview doesn't get too uncomfortable for you. What’s the last thing that made you laugh and/or cry?

 

Celeste: This morning Matches ran screaming through the apartment with one of her toys. Then she stomped on Marta’s bladder trying to get her to play.

Marta: Ah, this is for the last question, isn’t it?

Celeste: 

 

Legend: Haha, love your dynamic! Tell us about the antagonist in your life.

 

Celeste: Does autism count as an antagonist?

Marta: Absolutely.

Celeste: It’s affected every part of my life. From growing up as the “weird” child, to my interests, to being a solitary person with social problems. I never really acted the way people expected or wanted me to act. It just *sighs* is a lot to live with.

 

Legend: That does sound tough. I blame the author, personally. Have you and your author ever seriously disagreed on something? What was it and who won?

 

Celeste: We disagreed on me having to do the whole binding thing and I lost that battle.

Doom: Well I needed someone to do the binding and a precious idiot was just the ticket. 

Celeste: I hate you.

Doom: I gave you a hot goth girlfriend.

Celeste: I can still hate you.

 

Legend: Can confirm the goth girlfriend is hot! Authors are still annoying. Are you superstitious? Please share a strange superstition from your world/locale/family.

 

Celeste: sings “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder

Marta: Superstitions are more a way of life in the Valley compared to Outside. The cryptids and folk stories of the Outside are based in the truth of the Valley.

 

Legend: Sounds like a dangerous place. Let’s have a quick-fire round of This or That. Try to just answer and not think too hard about it.

 

• Tea or coffee?

  • Coffee 

  • (Legend: Nope, we're done, out you go. No coffee allowed in Grandmama's teashop. No, no, sit. I'm joking. About leaving. There really is no coffee allowed.)

• Sweet or savoury?

  • Savory

• Music or sports?

  • Music

• Paperback or ebook?

  • Paperback

• Paint or pencil?

  • Pencil

• Countryside or city?

  • Both

• Fight or negotiate?

  • Fight

• Sword or gun?

  • I guess a hiking pole is kinda a sword

• Vampire or werewolf?

  • Werewolf

• Film or TV series?

  • Film

• Morals or laws?

  • Morals are like personal laws, so yes

• Kids or puppies?

  • Kittens

  • (Legend: Hehe, third option, like it.)

• Museum or beach?

  • Natural History museum, to be precise

• World peace or end famine?

  • Why not both?

  • (Legend: That's not the point!)

• Winter or summer?

  • Summer

• Dance or football?

  • Neither

• Olives or sardines?

  • Olives

• Rainbows or monochrome?

  • Monochrome

• Brain or gut?

  • Gut

• Traditional or new?

  • Traditional

• Revenge or justice?

  • Justice

• Fast zombies or slow zombies?

  • Slow, so I can outrun them

• Mountains or oceans?

  • Mountains

• Afterlife or ghost?

  • Ghost

• Friendship or the law?

  • Friendship

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Legend: Brilliant! Thank you both for joining me today. Please stay and enjoy tea and cookies. Genuinely, if you want coffee, you need a different continent. Thanks, too, to our beautiful audience who are also welcome to buy tea. Money not required, will take all forms of payment so long as you can blag it well enough.