#i find the whole process overwhelming and unpleasant and anxiety enducing

[monster-noises]

Jfjfjcnkd working through some timeline stuff for Men of Their Nature instead of falling asleep, because it works on such a shorter timescale than FaHI, but I still want Lazarus and Henrik (Karl) to be Older Men

I got caught up in the debate between having their character timelines be the same as in FaHI (both born in the early 50's or so, so they're like 60-something? Now? I don't have exact numbers) and the story takes place in modern day or having it take place sometime in the 70's (they'd both have to be born Way pre-40's to be in their 60's during the right time period) got me all worried about having to deal with war-time stuff especially with Lazarus who, if I went with the 70's route (which is kinda what I want to do, because it makes the sort of time-locked anachronism of the countesses estate and surrounding towns less.. anachronistic in a way that's hard to explain, and I don't have to contend as much with modern technology) would have been a Young Man right around the time of WW2.. in Europe.... in The Netherlands... like HHHH Lazarus's story includes many Many terrible things but intense trauma from fighting in a war is not one of them I don't think...

And while the story overall is supposed to feel very surreal and off kilter and out of step with the real world I don't want someone to read it and think about Lazarus's age for two seconds and go 'wait a minute he woulda be x years old during ww2.. why hasn't That come up yet?'

If I could set the whole thing starting in the estate from the get-go I would, it would be ideal, leave the actual dates things are happening kinda vague, like it could be the 70's, could be the 50's, hell, could be the 20's or the 1890's honestly! I want it to feel a little dream like and untethered! But sadly the fact that Lazarus and the Countess have both had contact with the outside world, and the hero who comes and destroys everything has to come From Somewhere means I have to, at least in my own mind, think about the wider world and anchor it during Some Time.

unfortunately the only real alternative I could think of was to like.. severly age both Lazarus and Henrik down to make them children during the war, which would be more manageable to work into Lazarus's character, but also I'd loose out on the Old Man aspect of the whole thing which is.... A pretty fundamentally important piece of the story I think.

Now keen-eyed readers and knowers of Lazarus Bosch Lore may have noted the issue here that completely flew over my head for Several Minutes.

But if Lazarus was a late teen/early twenties during the war.... He would........... Well he would not be a He just yet exactly. At least not officially, not in a way that mattered on Paper.....

I forgot Lazarus was Trans. I forgot he was trans for a whole, like, ten minutes.

Just slipped my mind. Forgot not having a dick was pretty indicative of somethin else going on. And he would be considered exempt from participating in War.

I'm still not decided if that's going to be the official timeline yet, even with this revelation in mind (lmao) but i just... I can't believe I forgot about one of Lazarus's Defining Characteristics... Like Christ.

(Henrik gets a free pass on a lot of this because regardless of timeframes He's time-locked in a supernatural contract with the countess and could not go Anywhere regardless of what was happening outside)