#matilda's mail

[now-imstruggling-tofreemyself]

hello,,, *waves awkwardly*

hi!!!!!!!!!

[jiminrings]

Miss Hannah aka jiminrings I have to kiss your pretty brain for giving us a free fic (stopped my subscription bc I’m broke rn, RIP😔🤞🏽) but also I have to vent on my ig’s cf right now bc with all due respect your mc’s and the boys too be pissing me tf off, like Jungkook’s grown ass can’t understand the mc is his partner not his child? like bitch what lesson can you teach me? how to change the weather? Boy bye. But nonetheless we got sugar daddy jin endgame who is approved by everyone in the fic and myself

no worries at all friend 🫡 LMFAOOOOOOOOO THANK U THANK U THANK YEWWWWW FOR LETTING ME DEBUT IN UR IG CF!!!! matilda jungkook is absolutely himself (derogatory) n Trust that second lead jin will be doing more than second leading heh !!!!

[autumngracy]

October Movies Watchlist

Cozy Autumn Vibes

When Harry Met Sally (1989)

You've Got Mail (1998)

Mona Lisa Smile (2003)

Good Will Hunting (1997)

Clue (1985)

The Good Witch (1999)

Autumn in New York (2000)

Legends of the Fall (1994)

Dead Poets Society (1989)

October Sky (1999)

Big Fish (2003)

The Lake House (2006)

Rip in Time (2022)

Little Women (2019)

Knives Out (2019)

Anne of Green Gables (1985)

Cider House Rules (1999)

Remember the Titans (2000)

Nostalgic & Kid-Friendly:

The Halloween Tree (1993)

Matilda (1996)

The Iron Giant (1999)

Halloweentown (1998)

Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge (2001)

Halloweentown High (2004)

Return to Halloweentown (2006)

James and the Giant Peach (1996)

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Monsters, Inc. (2001)

Monsters University (2013)

Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie (2005)

Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Pagemaster (1994)

Into the Woods (2014)

Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

Don't Look Under the Bed (1999)

Spirited Away (2001)

Mary and the Witch's Flower (2017)

The Corpse Bride (2005)

A Monster in Paris (2011)

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022)

Coraline (2009)

Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)

The Karate Kid (1984)

The Last Unicorn (1982)

Jumanji (1995)

Earnest Scared Stupid (1991)

Hotel Transylvania (2012)

Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015)

Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018)

Hotel Transylvania: Transformania (2022)

Edward Scissorhands (1990)

Twitches (2005)

Twitches Two (2007)

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)

Little Monsters (1989)

The Witches (1990 or 2020 remake)

Labyrinth (1986)

The Gate (1987)

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)

Mom's got a Date with a Vampire (2000)

The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018)

The Little Vampire (2000)

Haunted Mansion (2003)

Muppets Haunted Mansion (2021)

The Dark Crystal (1982)

Beetlejuice (1988)

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)

Five Nights at Freddy's (2023)

It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)

Hocus Pocus (1993)

The Addams Family (1991)

The Addams Family Values (1993)

The Addams Family (2019)

The Addams Family 2 (2021)

ET (1982)

Return to Oz (1985)

Paranorman (2012)

Monster House (2006)

Toy Story of Terror! (2013)

The Scream Team (2002)

Double, Double Toil and Trouble (1993)

The Secret of NIMH (1982)

Ghostbusters (1984)

Ghostbusters II (1989)

Ghostbusters (2016)

Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)

Wolfwalkers (2020)

The Secret of Kells (2009)

Song of the Sea (2014)

Goosebumps (2023)

Goosebumps 2 (2018)

The Goonies (1985)

Casper (1995)

Disney's Tower of Terror (1997)

Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman (2000)

Mad Monster Party (1967)

Wendell & Wild (2022)

Under Wraps (1997)

Under Wraps (2021)

Phantom of the Megaplex (2000)

Scooby Doo and the Ghoul School (1988)

Scooby Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf (1988)

Scooby Doo on Zombie Island (1998)

Scooby Doo and the Witch's Ghost (1999)

Scooby Doo and the Alien Invaders (2000)

Zombies

Zombieland (2009)

Zombieland: Double Tap (2019)

Autumn (2014)

The Wailing (2016)

The Night Eats the World (2018)

The Dead Don’t Die (2019)

Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015)

City of the Living Dead (1980)

The Beyond (1981)

The House by the Cemetery (1981)

Rec (2007)

Rec 2 (2009)

Quarantine (2008)

Quarantine 2: The Terminal (2011)

28 Days Later (2002)

28 Weeks Later (2007)

Train to Busan (2016)

Seoul Station (2016)

Cemetery Man (1994)

World War Z (2013)

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Return of the Living Dead (1985)

Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Shawn of the Dead (2004)

Zombi (1978)

Zombi 2 (1979)

Zombi 3 (1988)

The Plague of the Zombies (1966)

Resident Evil (2002)

Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)

Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)

Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)

Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2017)

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021)

Vampires & Werewolves

Dracula (1931)

Dracula's Daughter (1936)

Horror of Dracula (1958)

The Brides of Dracula (1960)

Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966)

The Empire of Dracula (1967)

Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968)

Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)

Count Dracula (1970)

Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)

The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973)

Scars of Dracula (1970)

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)

Van Helsing (2004)

Last Voyage of The Demeter (2023)

Renfield (2023)

Vampyr (1932)

Mark of the Vampire (1935)

Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)

The Vourdalak (2023)

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)

What We Do in the Shadows (2014)

Interview With the Vampire (1994)

Queen of the Damned (2002)

Dark Shadows (2012)

Abigail (2024)

Blade (1998)

Blade II (2002)

Blade: Trinity (2004)

Vampire in Brooklyn (1995)

Fright Night (1985 or the 2011 remake)

The Last Man on Earth (1964)

I am Legend (2007)

Daybreakers (2009)

The Lost Boys (1987)

Salem's Lot (1979)

30 Days of Night (2007)

Underworld (2003)

Underworld: Evolution (2006)

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009)

Underworld: Awakening (2012)

Underworld: Blood Wars (2016)

The Howling (1981)

Ginger Snaps (2000)

Werewolf of London (1935)

An American Werewolf in London (1981)

Silver Bullet (1985)

The Company of Wolves (1984)

Howl (2015)

Moon of the Wolf (1972)

Dog Soldiers (2002)

The Wolfman (1941)

The Curse of the Werewolf (1961)

The Wolfman (2010)

Slashers

Psycho (1960)

Candyman (1992 or 2021 remake)

Pearl (2022)

X (2022)

Child's Play (1988)

Child's Play 2 (1990)

Child's Play 3 (1991)

Bride of Chucky (1998)

Seed of Chucky (2004)

Curse of Chucky (2013)

Cult of Chucky (2017)

Scream (1996)

Scream (2022)

Happy Death Day (2017)

Happy Death Day 2U (2019)

Friday the 13th (1980)

Friday the 13th Part II (1981)

Friday the 13th Part III (1982)

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)

Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)

Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)

Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)

Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)

Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)

Jason X (2002)

Freddy vs. Jason (2003)

Friday the 13th (2009)

Children of the Corn (1987)

Halloween (1978)

Halloween II (1981)

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1986)

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)

Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)

Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)

Halloween Resurrection (2002)

Halloween (2007)

Halloween II (2009)

Halloween (2018)

Halloween Kills (2021)

Halloween Ends (2022)

Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)

A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989)

Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)

Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994)

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

Black Pumpkin (2020)

Hauntedween (1991)

Dark Harvest (2023)

Monsters

The Invisible Man (1933)

The Mummy (1932)

The Mummy (1959)

The Mummy (1999)

Frankenstein (1931)

Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Son of Frankenstein (1939)

The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)

Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954)

The Monster Club (1981)

The Monster Squad (1987)

Hellboy (2004)

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)

Hellboy (2019)

The Gorgon (1964)

Gremlins (1984)

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

Pumpkinhead (1988)

Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings (1994)

Pumpkinhead: Ashes to Ashes (2006)

Pumpkinhead: Blood Feud (2007)

Cloverfield (2008)

Jurassic Park (1993)

Jeepers Creepers (2001)

Jeepers Creepers 2 (2003)

Jeepers Creepers 3 (2017)

Jeepers Creepers: Reborn (2022)

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (1973 or 2010 remake)

Tremors (1990)

Tremors 2: Aftershocks (1996)

Tremors 3: Back to Perfection (2001)

The Mist (2007)

The Descent (2005)

The Descent Part 2 (2009)

Bird Box (2018)

Aliens

The War of the Worlds (1953)

War of the Worlds (2005)

Annihilation (2018)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

Slither (2006)

Forbidden Planet (1956)

Signs (2002)

Mars Attacks (1996)

Evolution (2001)

Color Out of Space (2019)

Cowboys & Aliens (2011)

Paul (2011)

A Quiet Place (2018)

A Quiet Place: Part 2 (2020)

The Faculty (1998)

Prey (2022)

Predator (1987)

Predator 2 (1990)

Alien vs. Predator (2004)

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)

The Predator (2018)

Predators (2010)

Alien (1979)

Aliens (1986)

Alien 3 (1992)

Alien: Resurrection (1997)

Prometheus (2012)

Alien: Covenant (2017)

Alien: Romulus (2024)

Nope (2022)

Apollo 18 (2011)

Dreamcatcher (2003)

The Thing From Another World (1951)

The Thing (1982 or 2011 remake)

Evil & Hauntings

Annabelle (2014)

Annabelle: Creation (2017)

Annabelle Comes Home (2019)

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

The Curse of La Llorona (2019)

Ghost (1990)

Ghostwatch (1992)

The Uninvited (1944)

Hellraiser (1987)

Spawn (1997)

WNUF Halloween Special (2013)

The Lady in White (1988)

The Deep House (2021)

Ready or Not (2019)

The Woman in Black (2012)

The Woman in Black: Angel of Death (2014)

The Haunting (1963)

Ouija (2014)

Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016)

The Others (2001)

La Llarona (1960)

Gothika (2003)

Poltergeist (1982)

Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986)

Poltergeist (2015)

The Shining (1980)

Doctor Sleep (2019)

The Brothers Grimm (2005)

The Conjuring (2013)

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)

The Conjuring 2 (2016)

The Exorcist (1973)

Constantine (2005)

The Frighteners (1996)

1408 (2007)

Mama (2013)

Crimson Peak (2015)

The Grudge (2004 or the 2020 remake—OR, Ju-on, the og Japanese 2002 version)

The Sixth Sense (1999)

The Devil's Backbone (2001)

The Evil Dead (1981)

The Evil Dead 2 (1997)

Army of Darkness (1992)

The Evil Dead (2013)

The Evil Dead Rise (2023)

Skinamarink (2022)

Kill Baby Kill (1966)

Burnt Offerings (1973)

The Tomb of Ligeia (1964)

As Above, So Below (2014)

A Haunting in Connecticut (2009)

Shutter (2008)

The Mist (2008)

Pulse (2001)

The Eye (2008)

Ringu (1998)

The Ring (2002)

The Ring Two (2005)

Sinister (2012)

Insidious (2010)

Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)

Insidious: The Last Key (2018)

Insidious: The Red Door (2023)

Grave Encounters (2011)

Grave Encounters 2 (2012)

Paranormal Activity (2007)

Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)

Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)

Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension (2015)

Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin (2021)

Aterrados (In English: Terrified) (2018)

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)

High Spirits (1988)

Veronica (2017)

The Omen (1976)

The Omen 2 (1978)

The Omen (2006)

The First Omen (2024)

Thirteen Ghosts (2001)

The Babadook (2014)

Phantasm (1979)

Phantasm II (1988)

Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994)

Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998)

Phantasm V: RaVager (2016)

Devil Dog (1978)

Jennifer's Body (2009)

Lights Out (2016)

Kwaidon (1964)

Ghost Ship (2002)

House on Haunted Hill (1959)

The Devil Rides Out (1968)

Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight (1995)

Witches & Magic

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

The Witches of Eastwick (1987)

Practical Magic (1998)

The Witch (2015)

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000)

Blair Witch (2016)

The Wicker Man (1973)

The Wicker Man (2006)

The City of the Dead (1960)

Bell Book and Candle (1958)

The Witches (1990 or 2020 remake)

Black Sunday (1960)

El Espejo de la Bruja (In English: The Witch's Mirror) (1960)

I Married a Witch (1942)

The Craft (1996)

Apostle (2018)

The Love Witch (2016)

Burn Witch Burn (1962)

Horror

Creepshow (1982)

Creepshow 2 (1987)

November (2017)

The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

Trick r Treat (2007)

Bad Candy (2020)

The Barn (2016)

The Barn: Part II (2022)

Tales of Halloween (2015)

Willy's Wonderland (2021)

Eyes Without a Face (1960)

Frankenstein Created Woman (1967)

Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970)

The Midnight Hour (1985)

The Curse of Bridge Hollow (2022)

The Birds (1963)

Cape Fear (1960)

Horns (2013)

M3GAN (2022)

The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

The Phantom of the Opera (1943)

The Phantom of the Opera (1962)

The Phantom of the Opera (2004)

Viy (1967)

Haunt (2019)

Diabolique (1955)

The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008)

Rosemary's Baby (1968)

The Lodge (2019)

The Mask of the Red Death (1964)

The Premature Burial (1962)

Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981)

Dark Night of the Scarecrow 2 (2022)

Buried Alive (1990)

Midsommar (2018)

Island of Lost Souls (1932)

Honeymoon (2014)

Session 9 (2001)

The Blood of Satan's Claw (1971)

Black Death (2010)

Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)

Pet Sematary (1989 or the 2019 remake)

It (1990)

It: Chapter One (2017)

It: Chapter Two (2019)

Hereditary (2018)

Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990)

Re-Animator (1985)

Bride of Re-Animator (1990)

Beyond Re-Animator (2003)

Lisa Frankenstein (2024)

V/H/S (2012)

V/H/S/2 (2013)

V/H/S: Viral (2014)

V/H/S/94 (2021)

V/H/S/99 (2022)

V/H/S/85 (2023)

V/H/S/Beyond (2024)

Eyes of Fire (1983)

The Red House (1947)

Deadly Blessing (1981)

Dark Water (2002 or 2005 remake)

The Substance (2024)

Thinner (1996)

Cobweb (2023)

The Happening (2008)

Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)

House of Wax (1953)

House of Wax (2005)

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)

The Devil-Doll (1936)

The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)

Black Sabbath (1963)

Cabin in the Woods (2011)

The Ruins (2008)

Summer of Fear (1978)

Fear Street: Part One, Two & Three (2021)

The Ritual (2017)

Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965)

The Black Cat (1934)

Teeth (2007)

Late Night with the Devil (2023)

I Saw the TV Glow (2024)

Freaks (1932)

The Old Dark House (1932)

Mr. Sardonicus (1961)

I Bury the Living (1958)

Plague Dogs (1982)

Watership Down (1978)

Ringing Bell (In Japanese: Chirin No Suzu) (1978)

Felidae (1994)

Psychological

Lake Mungo (2008)

Shutter Island (2010)

The Dead Zone (1983)

Donnie Darko (2001)

Us (2019)The Village (2004)

Carnival of Souls (1962)

Carnival of Souls (1998)

Deus Ex Machina (2014)

The Lazarus Effect (2015)

It Follows (2014)

Get Out (2017)

Comedy/Satire

Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

Young Frankenstein (1974)

Death Becomes Her (1992)

Hubie Halloween (2020)

Scary Movie (2000)

Scary Movie 2 (2001)

Scary Movie 3 (2003)

Scary Movie 4 (2006)

Scary Movie 5 (2013)

[vamphorica]

How would a female Mello, matt, and Near be?

absolutely wonderful question, anon, thank you so much. if you've been on my blog for any length of time, it is probably not surprising that i've given this a lot of thought and, putting aside my intricate transgender speculations for the time being, let's gender swap the wammy's creatures, and consider how that could impact their narratives within death note.

note: i will still be referring to all three using he/him pronouns, but this is not intended to be intentionally contrary. feel free to substitute whatever pronouns your heart desires throughout.

♀ mello -> mihaela may be a little bit obvious, haha, but if mihael is a croatian name that means 'who is like god', and we need to retain the letter 'm' for obvious reasons, i think it works well as a feminine alternative name. mello is relatively androgynous as an alias, if not slightly masculine, but i think it is fine given what i'm about to talk about.

mello's canonical gender expression is already nonconformative, so it is interesting to speculate what he would he look like if he were a girl. one of my absolute favourite genderbent depictions of mello is this piece by thekatzone because it still retains mello's visual ambiguity but in the opposite direction. i do think he would dress more masculine as a woman not only because his subversive appearance is a very significant aspect to his character, but also because of how it might relate to his position in the mafia.

mello spends a significant amount of time in the manga and anime in hypermasculine environments despite his presentation, and i think it is important to retain this idea even if he were to be genderbent. i do think mello would have had a much harder time, if it was at all possible, in attaining a leadership position within the mafia as a woman. the women who frequent the base are implied to be sex workers, and so i'm genuinely curious as to whether mello would have felt able to approach the organisation as a masculine presenting woman, or whether he'd seek out a different group. in which case, what would that group be? would he have been able to effectively carry out his insane plans in the same capacity?

i have very little doubt mello would still have been ambitious, but i actually don't think that he would have been able to pursue his goal to catch kira before near as he went about it in the series. certainly light would not have taken him seriously if the voice he heard down the phone was higher pitched, and that alone could have greatly impacted how sayu's kidnapping played out, as underestimating mello could have easily resulted in her death.

♀ matt -> apparently mail as a name means 'pleasant', and that is very funny to me. i quite like the name maille, which is irish, so fits nicely with a vague headcanon i haven't fully developed. i also learnt it is the name for a brand of mustard, and i think he would appreciate that. matt as a pseudonym might have to be changed to matilda, or martha.

while i am under no illusion that matt would be the kind of girl to give a shit about their appearance, i do think in another life, he would have made an excellent e-girl twitch streamer. i can imagine him wearing cat ear headphones and miniskirts, and referring to "chat" every five seconds. rest in peace, mail, you would have loved twitch subs.

regarding matt's gender identity in the canon series, i think that it worth considering how he might have responded differently to surveying others as a woman rather than as a man. i think matt's approach to watching others is very informed by his own personal biases, which I think are definitively masculine. The most clear example of this is how he describes misa as "an awfully cute japanese girl" which, while isn't necessarily the worst thing said about a woman in this godforsaken series, demonstrates that matt's perspective on women is superficial at best. this isn't helped either by the fact that he completely fucks up when guessing misa's age, even going so far as referring to her as a "child".

i think a female matt would probably feel the most overwhelmed of the three by societal expectations of women, and may even distance himself away from femininity. i'm not trying to suggest here that matt's comments imply he's misogynistic, but i actually think matt is the most masculine of the wammy's kids, which may be controversial, i don't know. i believe that he retains his masculine personality in this genderbent scenario.

♀ near -> i love the japanese pronunciation of near's name, nia, as a girl's name that he could use as an alias. natania has the same meaning as nate – 'gift of god' – which does not match his character at all, haha, but that is what i managed to come up with.

near is the easiest to consider gender swapping because to me, he's a girl anyway. you can point to his female voice actors in the anime, or his long hair in the 2020 manga one-shot, but he is also so clearly coded as a feminine character, a contrast from not only mello's aggressive impulsivity, but the masculine environment of law enforcement. with halle as a notable exception (who herself is very masculine, but another post, perhaps), near is markedly different from every other character in the series. some might say he resembles his predecessor, but i think they are very distinct from one another as characters.

my personal opinion relating to mello and near's gender identities (which you may disagree with) is that mello expresses his gender ambiguity externally whereas near does so internally. essentially, if we interpret them both as androgynous, mello's appearance is far more expressive of this, whereas near's behaviour is his more nonconformative trait. this can be a slightly tricky area to navigate as it's important not to dive headfirst into gender essentialism, but i think near's mannerisms can, and should, be explored here.

girl near would still be able to work as head of the spk, without the disadvantages girl mello would face to become head of the mafia. i really don't think there would be much in the way of significant plot deviance if near was female, other than maybe light freaking out over the fact he was caught by a woman, which would be very funny. in the one shot, near's internal androgyny has manifested itself as a more external expression, and i really like that decision.

to conclude, i do love the concept of the wammy's girls, and i think it invites some interesting discussions relating to how femininity is often dismissed in death note. there's a lot of creativity in genderbending characters. mello, matt and near each have complex and interesting traits that are very fun to explore when thinking about them from this perspective.

[taniahylian]

The Friend from Afar's letters

Okay, so can we take a moment to talk about the letters we receive in the game's mail from "The Friend from Afar"? Not only it's interesting that to this date we haven't actually seen her, but also that she's described as "a blind lady" and has the exact same voice as Bessmert/Marta. In fact, I think in her letters we get yet another clue that she's indeed the same person as Marta, at the very least.

Here, she says "thanks for listening and sharing" and also "this is not your own story", both of these together indicate that she was also present on the current story, which in the case of this particular letter was Vereinsamt, or the release of chapter 7, where "Marta" is present.

Now, at first I thought maybe it simply was just a new format for the events in which Vertin doesn't participate, or at the very least is not the only protagonist... but lo and behold the letter we received for the 2.0 event, in which Matilda is the protagonist and we get no mention of blind ladies.

We go back to the same wording as before "although I wasn't able to witness it myself", so it was only the Vereinsamt letter that was so suspicious.

I wonder if, in the future, when we get blind ladies, or it's implied the "Friend from Afar" participated in the event, we will once again get the Vereinsamt letter, to imply she also witnessed the story.

[whinlatter]

Hi! Just wanting to say I adore Beasts. Well- I adore all your fics that I have been making my way through, but Beasts has just been marinating in my brain quite happily lately! I enjoy how you don’t shy away from the complexities of what it would be like for our characters in post, pre, current, and then post again war time conditions.

I was wondering since you brought up the McGonagall vs Kingsley or more specifically Hogwarts vs Ministry and who is responsible for the youth or the abuse that said youth experienced- how would that impact the canonical abuse/neglect Harry experienced both at the Dursleys but also the fact that he had an attempt on his life every year he was at hogwarts. I have always wondered in that ever really coming to light- who would the public be saying should be held responsible? I know people in fandom tend to place all the blame neatly on Dumbledore (which I personally disagree with) but how about the ministry? Child services?

Would his abuse by the Dursleys cause an upturn in anti muggle sentiment? I remember in the fourth book when Hermione was receiving hate mail in regards to her “hurting” Harry she had people simultaneously supporting Harry for stopping Voldemort but also being wildly blood supremacist towards her in the same breath. I could imagine for Kingsley, trying to face a wildly anti muggle status quo culture, if it got out the nature of Harry’s relationship with his muggle relatives people might actually riot.

Along with the “telling each other things” part of their relationship and Harry realizing how he needs to be better at providing more emotional support for Ginny and how much support Ginny already provides for him- if the nature of his abuse or even mentioning the cupboard ever came out how that could potentially shift things. The fact that we never know for certain if Harry ever even TOLD anyone about the cupboard in canon actually blows my mind

thank you so much for this interesting question, anon, and for reading beasts and and enjoying it and having a good ol think about it (every fic author's dream, having your story camp out for a bit in someone else's head - makes me beam). have tried to answer said interesting question - on what harry’s friends, family and a wizarding public would make of his time at the dursleys, and broader wizarding cultural ideas about child welfare and protection - below!

TW: generalised, non-specific references to child abuse and neglect

your question is interesting because it raises the question both of wizarding perceptions of muggle child-rearing and norms in wizarding society about the idea of child protection. i've written a bit before about how i tend to think about harry's abuse at the hands of the dursleys, which to try and put it in context as a literary trope in a particular genre (eg. the dursleys as roald dahl-esque pantomime anti-orphan villains) that the series outgrows and then tries to sidestep dealing with. harry's abuse at the dursleys is one of the most glaring examples of the series' tonal shifts and muddy, dissatisfactory space between genre conventions: a series that begins with harry as a matilda-esque figure dealing with pantomime cartoonish child-hating baddies and by the end is busy heavily implying the fact of egregious, gruesome violence against children (ariana dumbledore, for instance). morfin gaunt's violence against his daughter merope, as depicted in HBP, is absolutely not supposed to be farcical quaint slapstick, and as such it jars with the way harry's relationship with the dursleys is depicted early on in the series, which is a much more light-hearted story of ten years of dodging frying pans wielded by baffoonish, ridiculous cariactures of suburban english tories.

the dursleys exist for the young reader to jeer at and immediately hate rather than be taken seriously as portraits of child abusers. that somewhat colours how i personally tend to approach writing about harry's views of his upbringing - eg. don't spend too long trying to make the dursley plot consistent because the author certainly didn't.

i also tend to take cues from how harry the character canonically seems to reflect on and process his upbringing (ie. he recognises it was abuse, but he also recognises he didn't deserve it, and while he is certainly shaped and affected by it, he is not singularly traumatised by it, particularly relative to all of his other terrible teenage experiences). i think harry isn’t hiding the dursleys’ treatment of him from his friends. but nor is he talking about it all the time. as of book 2 the weasleys have decided his treatment is horrific and worthy of a jailbreak, which doesn't suggest they're all in the dark about it ('they were starving him, mum!') - i think they follow his cues on how much he wants to talk about it and have filled in the blanks well enough.

what a broader wizarding public would make of harry's treatment by the dursleys if they knew about it is tricker to think through, and asks us to read between the lines of the text re wizards' expectations/understanding of child welfare and children's protection, and how they might collide with wizards' varying attitudes to muggle culture, which range from polite fascination all the way to wanting to slaughter muggles en masse and hunt them down for sport.

(here's miss trunchbull from matilda, fulfilling genre conventions as only she can, also demonstrating what is likely a popular wizarding pastime: yeeting children).

on the one hand, there doesn't seem to be any kind of child protective services in the wizarding world or responsibility on the part of the state for child welfare. when it comes to children’s health and wellbeing, the wizarding state is hands off and happy about it. a few examples:

bob ogden's visit to the gaunts, for instance, ends in arrests, but seemingly not for child abuse - morfin and marvolo go to jail for attacking muggles and ministry employees, not for abusing merope, suggesting at a minimum there isn't much appetite for prosecuting child abuse or, in an unlikely but still possible reading, there are no express laws against abusing children in the wizarding world under which marvolo and morfin could have been charged.

muriel is critical of the dumbledore family's treatment of ariana ('though to take it to the extreme of actually imprisoning a little girl in the house and pretending she didn’t exist - '), but in the same breath also reveals that ariana was never examined or treated by any healer working at st mungo's, suggesting a distinct lack of scrutiny over children's health and wellbeing.

filch, longstanding school caretaker kept on under dumbledore (who, for all fandom’s ire at him, is a progressive among wizards on all sorts of things including on education and child welfare), frequently expresses a desire to 'whip students raw' and string them up by their ankles. the day umbridge tells filch she's going to sign an approval for whipping is clearly the happiest of his life, and filch exits the text having been outdone as a child abuser only by the carrows (eg. the two who literally encourage child on child torture), which is saying something. mcgonagall calls him a 'fool' (what are you like, argus!) and then lets him supervise the evacuation from the castle. just caretaker things!

does this mean witches and wizards don’t care about child abuse? i don’t want to say a flat no to that. as the muriel point on ariana suggests, even old-fashioned wizarding elders seem to think there is a right and a wrong way to care for children, and believe there are lines that can be crossed in terms of what’s fair and right to do to children under your care. umbridge cites a concern for the vulnerable children of hogwarts in making her case for more ministry interference at hogwarts, a case that makes her popular with many in the wizarding public, which implies some cultural sense of children as innocents who need to be protected. at the same time, though, we also see even progressive witches and wizards use corporeal punishment (the weasleys smack their children for particularly severe transgressions, as many middle class british families did well up to the millennium), and poor neville gets dangled out of a sodding window and his family are supposed to be kind of goodies. as we’re also told in canon witches and wizards are hardier and more durable physically than muggles, we also might expect that may shape wizarding attitudes to what you can do to a child in punishment without lasting damage or moral qualm. so it seems that wizards do have a cultural understanding of child abuse, even if they’re a bit hazy (or more forgiving) in what counts as abusive.

but. the example you mention - a wizarding public who are happy to hate harry but also happy to ride to his defence if they think a muggleborn tart has wronged him because of their kneejerk blood supremacy - is a really good one. canon is clear that hypocrisy is wizarding's britain's bread and butter. so i can absolutely see a right-wing commentariat doing what right-wing commentariats love to do most, which is selectively care about imagined or real violence against children only when it suits their political agenda. given the wizarding press canonically implies dumbledore has sinister intentions with harry potter the troubled youth (nonce allegations abound), i don’t think it would be a surprise if an anti-dumbledore camp seized on knowledge of harry’s experiences at the dursleys as proof of dumbledore’s hypocrisy, cruelty and dishonour.

as you mentioned ginny i will indulge myself and say a few remaining words about our girl. the question of how ginny would think about harry’s upbringing, and specifically what she would make of dumbledore leaving harry to the dursleys’ neglect for the greater good, is - i’m afraid - very interesting to me. ginny lives out ‘for the greater good’ in her war in lots of different ways; for one, she has to accept the likely prospect of harry’s death because of it. now, we know ginny names her son after albus dumbledore. i don’t think this is an act of charity, but a statement of how she and harry come to think of dumbledore and the sacrifices his plan demanded of them and others around them — ie. ultimately, they accept and support them, even if they acknowledge the terrible cost incurred. it’s not a particularly popular view in fandom at the minute, because (understandably and not entirely wrongly) audiences now see the surrendering of a very young child to abusive parents as part of a broader political and military strategy as perverse. that’s a changing-cultural-tastes-genre-trope issue as much as anything. but any of our revulsion at the idea is not how these characters - or even a wizarding public en masse - would necessarily would come to think of dumbledore’s decision to leave harry at the dursleys. (thinking of sirius’ very sad, very important line from OotP here: that ‘there are things worth dying for’).

[paintlesscanvas]

hello! any mail boy/girl/enby id packs? /nf!! tyvm if you accept!

and, just wanted to say..

UR BLOG IS GEN SO HELPFUL HELP LIKE ITS SO NICE AND COOL??? LIKE THERES SO MANY STUFF ON THE LISTS I CANT/pos

✉️ . MAILPERSON SNPTS . .

System Names: carrier doves, the mailboys, the mailgirls, the mailpeople, the travelers, those that walk through the city, those that run away from dogs, the deliverers of packages, those that tip their cap, the package pigeons, the stamp collection, the postpeople, the envelope senders, the satchel carriers, letter lovers, dove coos, pigeon squawks, those at the post office, those sorting through letters, the package receivers, the mail truck drivers, those that open mailboxes, carriers of gifts, deliverers of surprises

Usernames: mail4you, wowtherestrees, runfrmdogs, wavetopeoples, down.town, enveloves, pooostoffice, parcelpigeon, penciiilpals, quiet.townn, ghostatthepost, postprince[ss], carrierpige0n, stiiickersss, penpaaaals, flimsypaperrs, doodledanny, envelopunny, maaailbox, inkyyprints, cloudy.town, deliverydutyy, flutteringd0ve, deliverydove, givingdove, giftsfromyrstruly, doodlesforyoodles, no1postman, penmanshiip, heresanote, pitterpatter, boxesrsoheavy, owboxes, writemealetter, smilingparcels, scaredofbarrrks, atthepostoffice, darlingparcels, packagepirate, envelopes4youu, st.ampsss, inkstaaiins, no1letterlover, siillynotes, sentfromaway, organizetheoffice, summerstrolls, envelopesfrmyou, parcelpwr, lettersletters, ilovemail, messyletters, sendingstuff2you, youvegotmail, letterlvr, lovelylettr, mailmale, smilesformiles, parcelfromadove, writingacrssthewrld, prrttymailgrl, prettyparcelsss, g1ftg1ftg1fts, greetingyouu, dizzypackages, ssillystamps, scribblesilly, dancingletters, mailbooooy, hidinginurmailbox, notesfrmthesky, brightdaaay, proudserviiice, in2urmailbox, bewareofd0g, mailtruckdrvr, openbxes, sootcasee, stackofletters, boxoflovers, envelopeoflove

Names: alexander, alfred, alice, annette, archer, archie, arden, arlo, atticus, august, augustus, autumn, barnaby, bartholomew, basil, beatrice, beau, benedict, benjamin, bennett, birdie, blake, cedric, charlie, chester, cliff, clifford, clive, clyde, cornelius, cory, cullen, darwin, diggory, dom, dominic, dorcas, earnest, edgar, edith, effie, elijah, eliza, emerson, emilio, emmanuel, eugene, everett, fennel, flint, florence, flossie, floyd, ford, gale, galina, genevieve, gideon, glenn, greyson, gwendolyn, harriet, harvey, hattie, hayden, holly, ink, ivan, ivy, josette, josie, july, june, kane, kate, katherine, kay, kendell, kinley, kip, kleo, leo, logan, maeve, maggie, malcolm, marion, margot, marlowe, marshall, matilda, mayfaire, melvile, meredith, milton, minnie, molly, mortem, mortimer, nadira, nancy, nannie, navy, neith, nelda, nellie, nells, nettie, ninette, noah, noel, noemi, norman, note, oakley, odette, oliver, orson, orville, oswald, otto, parcel, parker, polly, posey, presley, quill, quinton, ralph, randall, raymond, reed, reid, rhett, romee, rory, rowan, rye, sabina, sawyer, scout, silas, sloane, spencer, stanford, stanley, summer, susan, tallulah, tatum, thelma, thena, thisbe, thomas, tibby, tillie, timothy, tinker, toby, tom, torin, trey, troy, violet, virgil, walden, walter, warren, willard, willow, winnie, woody

Pronouns: letter/letters, mail/mails, write/writes, pen/pens, ink/inks, note/notes, deliver/delivers, gift/gifts, scribble/scribble, doodle/doodles, carry/carry, give/gives, walk/walks, hum/hums, parcel/parcels, package/packages, box/boxs, stamp/stamps, sticker/stickers, smile/smiles, proud/prouds, newspaper/newspaper, envelope/envelope, sun/suns, mailbox/mailboxs, pencil/pencil, scrabble/scrabble, sketch/sketchs, house/houses, satchel/satchels, bag/bags, hello/hellos, twine/twines, string/strings, wrap/wraps, town/towns, cloud/clouds, clutch/clutchs, send/sends, post/posts, office/office, sort/sorts, organize/organizes, rain/rains, flimsy/flimsys, thin/thins, street/streets, apartment/apartments, greet/greets, pass/pass’, road/roads, home/homes, locker/lockers, wave/waves, cheerful/cheerfuls, joy/joys, old/olds, weathering/weatherings, service/services, dog/dogs, truck/trucks, fence/fences, sign/signs, slot/slots, city/citys, drawer/drawers, pin/pins, 🫶, 🌳, 🍃, 🍂, 🪹, ☀️, 🥖, 🥠, 🪃, 🛹, 🎫, 🎼, ♟️, 🚐, 🛞, 🚦, 🚏, 🗽, 🏢, 🏘️, 🏙️, 🎞️, 📺, 📻, 🕰️, 💵, 🪙, 🩹, 🧺, 🚪, 🪟, 🧧, ✉️, 📨, 💌, 📦, 🏷️, 🪧, 📪, 📫, 📬, 📭, 📮, 📜, 📃, 📋, 🗞️, 🗂️, 📔, 🧷, 🖊️, 🖋️, 🖇️, 📝, 🧳

Titles: the cheerful giver, prn who presses stamps to letters, the delivery thing, bringer of mail, prn who delivers packages, the penner of letters, the deliverer of mail, the mailboy, the mailgirl, the mailperson, prn who walks the streets, prn who drives the mail truck, gifter of deliveries, prn who strolls through the city, prn who gives mail [to those who need it], the mailman, the mailperson, the mailwoman, the carrier pigeon, prn who carries mail through the sky, the carrier dove, prn who drops mail from the skies

[thelaurenshippen]

Out of every film that exists, give one to each of your podcasts. I wanna see what vibes you think, cause I rlly wanna listen to some!

ooooooh GREAT question. this has me fully stumped, because I really don't watch a ton of movies? I'm much more of a TV person. but I'll do my best.

The Bright Sessions - depending on the season, this could really change. but, at its core, TBS is an emotional sci-fi story that's super queer, so...Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind meets Love, Simon meets...like, the non-saving-the-world parts of The Incredibles or...idk, Matilda.

Breaker Whiskey - Another Earth meets Portrait of a Lady on Fire.

Bridgewater - Hereditary is a horror movie about family trauma, right? So that, but not as scary or sad, plus cryptids.

Maxine Miles - Harriet the Spy meets The Goonies, but with environmental anxiety.

New Year’s Day - take The Prestige and The Illusionist, shake, add a dash of The Greatest Showman and then make it gay.

Surviving Hawkins - I mean, obviously, the TV show this is most like is, uh, Stranger Things (this was the official ST podcast I wrote lol), but actually it's closer to Dead Poet's Society or The History Boys, especially since there's no Upside Down business.

Passenger List - I really just want to say that Idris Elba Apple TV show about a plan hijacking but I'm committed to the movie thing--there's an element of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in here, plus maybe Flight Plan or...Shutter Island even?

and, honorable mentions (shows I produced but didn't write):

In Strange Woods - this is tricky because it's a musical but...Into the Wild meets Spotlight (but not sad in the same way) meets....a musical.

Life With LEO(h) - Her but, like, fun and actually romantic. Her + Pride & Prejudice + Nora Ephron movies.

Look Up - I have never seen it, but Briggon loves the movie Handsome Devil so I'm putting that here along with, like, the tiniest little sprinkling of Moonlight.

Greenhouse - jesus, there are not enough fun sapphic romance movies. Imagine Me & You meets You've Got Mail.

but I'd LOVE to hear all your thoughts, listeners!!

[holmesandtheroman]

not to bring up hp discourse but why tf didn’t Ravenclaws make it their year’s goal to maliciously comply to umbridge’s educational decrees? like I would have made it my life’s mission to bog that bitch down with so much paperwork she would HAVE to quit. all weasley products banned? all right, bet… any literature or research published by former professor Matilda Weasley that might be part of the curriculum is off the table. please revise the curriculum and submit it to the ministry for approval. all incoming and outgoing mail will be under review? fine, guess who just signed up for literally every wizarding catalog EVER which means that you now have piles of my mail to go through? we’re banned from discussing “the upsetting incidents from the previous year”? very well… what constitutes as upsetting? Is any event I consider to be upset prohibited? I’m sorry, I’m afraid I can’t use the curriculum I did last year to facilitate this year’s studies; it was very upsetting to me. we must submit complaints about Hogwarts staff in writing? guess who is going to be receiving an extremely detailed tome of every single professor’s every action that mildly inconvenienced me since I started school? I would make that bitch QUIT

[secretmagicalgiftswap]

Secret Magical Gift Swap: November Newsletter

Hi everyone! There is a week left to sign up for the 2024/2025 New Year Swap! The deadline is November 28th and you can sign up here!

Please also give a warm welcome to our new Newsletter editor, Matilda, who does not have a Tumblr but has done a marvellous job on this first Newsletter! We plan to expand this in the future with short interviews with various practitioners, a recipe here and there and maybe the occasional spell or feel-good ritual, along with witch tips and maybe even some divination - such as a Tarot card of the month. We decided to keep our first Newsletter short and sweet, but plan to write them as the year goes on with more pages and potentially in a digital magazine-like style. If you have any suggestions for what you would like to see in these Newsletters, please let me know on Tumblr either here or at @fernsinthemist or reply to our e-mail if you are subscribed to our e-mail newsletter. We'd love to hear from you!

And our Discord server is coming soon too!

Without further ado, here is our Deity Spotlight for this month! Do we have any Boreas devotees here?

(All images used with the exception of the SMGS banner have been found on stock websites - please let us know if you are the owner and do not want us to use them)

[now-imstruggling-tofreemyself]

yitzhak memories? happy or sad idc i'm just like wayyyy in a hedwig kinshift rn

i stole your makeup once. i don't know if you noticed, but you were out doing something or other, and i didn't have anything to do so.. i returned it. you either didn't notice or didn't care.

[jacaela]

"Rhaenyra brutally killed Vaemond, so the greens usurped her, they feared for their lives." - someone from reddit.

First, she ordered Daemon to cut off his head, and fed the dead body to the dragon. Secondly, this was done with the light hand of Viserys and Corlys, because Vaemond violated the royal order. Nobody cared about his death, neither the greens, nor even Corlys. A little surprise that will burn your asses:

His brother Lucerys agreed, insisting that he and Jace were men, or near enough to make no matter. “Our uncle calls us Strongs, but when the lords see us on dragonback they will know that for a lie. Only Targaryens ride dragons.” Mushroom tells us that the Sea Snake grumbled at this, insisting that the three boys were Velaryons, yet he smiled as he said it, with pride in his voice.

Luke’s young brother Joffrey (Jace was still away on his mission north) swore a terrible oath of vengeance against Prince Aemond and Lord Borros. Only the intervention of the Sea Snake and Princess Rhaenys kept the boy from mounting his own dragon at once.

Having outlived all of his children and suffered the betrayal of his nephews and cousins, the Sea Snake seemed more than eager to accept these newfound grandsons.🤣

Yet none of these losses were felt so deeply as that of Jacaerys Velaryon, Prince of Dragonstone and heir to the Iron Throne. Rhaenyra’s youngest son seemed lost as well. In the confusion of battle, none of the survivors seemed quite certain which ship Prince Viserys had been on. [...] It is written that when the Sea Snake was congratulated on his victory, the old man said, “If this be victory, I pray I never win another.”

And most importantly, at the green council no one even mentioned him, so this argument has zero value. The reason Rhaenyra was usurped is misogyny. Alicent and Otto had been plotting to usurp her long before she married Laenor. For the same reason, the greens refused to send a raven to the Arryns.

“King,” insisted Queen Alicent. “The Iron Throne by rights must pass to His Grace’s eldest trueborn son.”

One-eyed Prince Aemond, nineteen, was found in the armory, donning plate and mail for his morning practice in the castle yard. “Is Aegon king?” he asked Ser Willis Fell, “or must we kneel and kiss theold whore’s cunny?”

GRRM: “The Civil War in England between Stephen and Matilda, which was over whether a woman could in fact inherit the English crown. And they passed her over but she was pissed about it and went to war and that war ripped England apart.”

"Rhaenyra would have killed greens"

“I offered her an honorable peace, and the whore spat in my face,” he declared. “What happens next is on her own head.”

Broken by the loss of one son, Rhaenyra Targaryen seemed to find new strength after the loss of a second. Jace’s death hardened her, burning away her fears, leaving only her anger and her hatred. Still possessed of more dragons than her half-brother, Her Grace now resolved to use them, no matter the cost. She would rain down fire and death upon Aegon and all those who supported him, she told the black council, and either tear him from the Iron Throne or die in the attempt.

Rhaenyra rejected her stepmother’s proposal with scorn. “Your sons might have had places of honor at my court if they had kept faith,” Her Grace declared, “but they sought to rob me of my birthright, and the blood of my sweet sons is on their hands.” “Bastard blood, shed at war,” Alicent replied. “My son’s sons were innocent boys, cruelly murdered. How many more must die to slake your thirst for vengeance?”

Sunfyre, it is said, did not seem at first to take any interest in the offering, until Broome pricked the queen’s breast with his dagger.

[lunefuforu]

I've been making a long list of funfacts I've came up with for my lackaocs, I decided that I may as well share these publicly now tho just so you guys can get to know them better.

It's a lotta word vomit so be prepared for that lmao

I will be continuing to add more over time whenever I think of new things, or if anyone has any suggestions that I like enough to add n make canon. If you have questions then shoot me an ask to my inbox.

⸻⸻⸻

Gale: Trans and Bisexual

Matilda: Bisexual

Marie: Trans and Asexual Demiromantic

Tony: Gay

Riley: Pansexual Demiromantic

⸻

Gale 6'0

Matilda 5'8

Marie 5'11

Dot 2'9

Tony 6'0

Riley 7'2

⸻

Gale's voiceclaim: John Mulaney

Matilda's voiceclaim: Jessica Rabbit

Dot's voiceclaim: Shirley Temple

Riley's voiceclaim: Geoff Castellucci

Marie's voiceclaim: Jennifer Tilly

Tony's voiceclaim: Aizawa Shouta [English]

⸻⸻⸻

Gale's nicknames for the others;

Matilda: May, May dear, Darling, Love, My Beloved, Honey, Sweetheart, Belle, Muffin, Sugarplum, Baby, Babe, Beautiful, Amour

Riley: Big guy, Buddy, Bud, Cousin, Sully

Marie: No nicknames for her, he just calls her Marie. Or Ms. Brooke formally.

Antonio: Tony (casually, most of the time), Antonio (formally, usually), and Mr. Brooke (more formality). Though sometimes he may call him Sheik.

Dorothy: Dot, Sweetie, Peanut, Button, Princess

⸻

Matilda's nicknames for the others;

Gale: Darling, Honey, Babe, Baby

Antonio: Tony, Old man, Menace (these are of endearment)

Marie: Angel Eyes, Daisy

Dorothy: Dot, Small one, Sweet pea

Riley: Big one, Brooder, Dove

⸻

Marie's nicknames for the others;

Matilda: Hilda, Dear, Blossom, Sister

Antonio: Tony, Dear, Dimples, Daffodil, Brother

Dorothy: Dot, Dear, Sweetheart, Rosebud, Babydoll, My Angel, Little lamb, Ladybug

Gale: Gale (most of the time), Mr. Wolfgang (formally), Dear, Smiles, Sunflower

Riley: Riley (most of the time), Mr. Sullivan (formally), Dear, Honey, Wallflower

⸻

Tony's nicknames for the others;

Matilda: Tilly, Matty, Baby sister, Sourpuss, Bitsy

Marie: MarMar, Lil sister, Sunshine, Angel Face

Dorothy: Dot, Dotty, Kiddo, Shortie, Little one, Thumbelina

Gale: Wolfgang, Bright eyes, Wonder boy, Screwball

Riley: Sullivan, Big man, Mac, Chap, Goliath

⸻

Riley's nicknames for the others;

Gale: Cousin, Little man

Matilda: No nicknames for her, he just calls her Matilda. Or Mrs. Wolfgang formally.

Antonio: Tony (casually, usually), Antonio (formally, most of the time), and Mr. Brooke (more formality)

Marie: No nicknames for her, he just calls her Marie. Or Ms. Brooke formally. Though sometimes he calls her Ma'am.

Dorothy: Dot, Little one, Sweetheart, Pumpkin, Precious

⸻⸻⸻

Gale is that malewife ken-coded husband to his wife he will do anything for.

Matilda is the girlboss wife, she wants to become a detective, though it's very difficult. Sometimes she has to do dirty work in order to get what she wants.

Gale may or may not be willing to do the same, though not in the way Matilda does it. She does things methodically and quietly. Taking advantage of word, minds and weaknesses.

Gale on the other hand, does things more hands-on. He's worked on railroads for many years before his current journalist job, so he's extremely physically fit.

On off days, the pair like to dance together, while Gale sings to his wife. It brings her immense joy.

Matilda has many plants, she's not a gardener like her sister, but she shares a similar green thumb interest. Though hers are more towards ferns, ficus, and other such greens than flowery plants.

Gale and his cousin Riley don't talk much, Riley still wonders why Gale left all of a sudden because Gale never gave a reason why. But Gale does mail to him, and well as to his mother, who is sick in a hospital. Gale's father left a long time ago.

Matilda, Marie, and Tony's parents are both still alive and around, just two old folks living peacefully at home.

⸻⸻⸻

Marie will give you a flower nickname once she gets to know you well. Being a florist, she just loves flower symbolism.

She also calls everyone dear on default. She has that sweet motherly energy to her that warms the heart.

Despite how unconditionally sweet she is, if she senses any of her loved ones are in danger, she will use physical force if necessary. She is far from a pushover.

She's lactose intolerant, but she still can't help but consume dairy products sometimes.

⸻⸻⸻

Because Tony feels indifferent to words, he's more of an "action speak louder than words" kind of guy. You want to impress him? Show him, don't tell him, otherwise he doesn't give a damn. You want him to know how much you like him? "I love you" isn't going to cut it on a first date, how is he supposed to know how genuine you are? You absolutely despise him? Attack him. He doesn't care about your mean little words, you better show him how much you hate him.

He has a knack for ice skating and ballet, two skills that were crammed into him when he was younger, but he doesn't mind them that much. Though he likes his piano skill more.

Because of his knowledge on medical procedures when he was working to become a surgeon before quitting, he is a great help if you need some assistance fast but don't want or can't afford a hospital. Just don't tell anyone because he doesn't technically have a medical license.

Tony has hyperopia (farsightedness), meaning things up close are blurry for him. Which is why he has glasses, but usually he doesn't need to wear them all the time doing regular stuff, he mainly uses them for work so he can see what he's doing precisely and clearly.

⸻⸻⸻

People often mistake Riley for being scary because he's big and doesn't talk much if not at all, but in actuality he is just socially inept and would rather give you a pat on the back than punch you in the face.

If he's at a party, a place with a lot of people mingling, he would not talk at all. Complete silence. All you would get from him are nods, headshakes, facial expressions, and grunts.

The bigger the crowd the less he speaks.

The only exception of this is if he's on the job. Lots of people could be around or in a burning building, but he still has to give orders, call out to victims, etc.

He has a pet dove named Petunia.

Since Riley lives up north, his fur is usually always very fluffy all the time, especially during the winter. If he goes down south and stays for a while, he's going to shed a LOT. Expect clumps of fur in shower drains.

⸻⸻⸻

(I got bored one day and decided to plan out Dot's future so yea)

After 18 years pass from 1927 into 1945, when Dot is 23, she begins her career as a singer/musician. She plays several popular genres at the time throughout the 40s, like country, jazz, etc. Trying to find her footing. She has a few song that are received really well, but nothing big. Yet.

Years pass and it's 1954, rockabilly starts and is growing. Dot is 32 at this point and she goes into rockabilly which evolves into rock and roll and Dot evolves with it, that's when she started to become a big hit. She specializes in rock music, becoming one of the most popular female singers, even at age 50 in 1972 she's putting on shows and cameoing with other singers/bands. She's not one who retires as she ages, she wants to make music til the day she dies.

Until at age 61, 1983, she has a big vocal chord injury which stops her from singing for some years, something she was warned about in her 50s after she experienced some vocal strain back then. Though despite the damage done to her voice, 7 years later after some rest and surgery, age 68 in 1990, she come back to record some more original songs and features in others, but less bombastic and more mellow since her voice was a bit deeper and raspy. Which was a good move since she couldn't sing rock anymore, and her new voice went well with the genre shift.

She did so for 10 years until her voice forced her to quit singing altogether age 78, 2000. Though she didn't stop playing guitar, her main instrument of choice since she was young, making a few instrumental tracks and cameoing in other songs, until her death in 2008 at age 86. Playing music until the end just like she wanted to.After 18 years pass from 1927 into 1945, when Dot is 23, she begins her career as a singer/musician. She plays several popular genres at the time throughout the 40s, like country, jazz, etc. Trying to find her footing. She has a few song that are received really well, but nothing big. Yet.

Years pass and it's 1954, rockabilly starts and is growing. Dot is 32 at this point and she goes into rockabilly, which evolves into rock and roll, and Dot evolves with it. That's when she started to become a big hit. She specializes in rock music, becoming one of the most popular female singers, even at age 50 in 1972 she's putting on shows and cameoing with other singers/bands. She's not one who retires as she ages, she wants to make music til the day she dies.

Until at age 61, 1983, she has a big vocal chord injury which stops her from singing for some years, something she was warned about in her 50s after she experienced some vocal strain back then. But she did still make music with her guitar, her main instrument of choice since she was young, like instrumental tracks and cameoing in other songs. Just because she couldn't sing didn't mean she couldn't still make music.

Though despite the damage done to her voice, 7 years later after some rest and surgery, age 68 in 1990, she come back to record some more original songs and features in others, but less bombastic and more mellow since her voice was a bit deeper and raspy. Which was a good move since she couldn't sing rock anymore, and her new voice went well with the genre shift.

She did so for 10 years until her voice forced her to quit singing altogether age 78, 2000. Though she just went back to what she did when she lost her voice last time, making instrumental tracks and cameos. Until her death in 2008 at age 86, playing music to the end just like she wanted.

⸻⸻⸻

I started to like Marie and Walter the drummer getting together. Marie doesn't mind being on the sidelines she just wants a happy quiet life, then there's this guy who is always on the sidelines ignored all the time. I imagined Marie giving him flowers, making him feel special, but also helping him feel content in being an average joe that's not caught up in a lotta things. I just think it's pretty cute

⸻⸻⸻

Just like his cousin, Gale is also good with kids! But not in the way Riley does it. Riley is tender and nurturing, Gale is fun and silly. But that doesn't mean he's irresponsible, he wouldn't go give a child a knife. In fact, someday in the future, Gale and Matilda become parents. The amount of children they have are unknown yet since I haven't decided.

⸻⸻⸻

Like it says in Gale's bio, he is partially deaf. It's his left ear that cannot hear anything at all, the most would probably be faint muffling if you get up real close to it, but that's weird so don't do that.

He's had several instances where people mistake him for being completely deaf in both ears, sometimes it caused some people to scream directly in his face, thinking that if they are loud enough he could hear. He's had to correct that he can hear you loud and clear from his right ear, right after it stops ringing-

Sometimes they think they can say whatever they want as clear as day right next to him. It got awkward when Gale turned to look at them.

Sometimes he's even had a couple cases of people mistaking him for being blind, not deaf. Those were very awkward instances.

⸻⸻⸻

Riley doesn't respect cops. He despises people who take advantage of their position of power. Considering his own job and what he's lost and the many other things he's witnessed on the job, it's no brainer.

Riley still lives in Rochester Minnesota, he can't uproot his job to leave. If he's ever downstate, he's just visiting his cousin, but he won't stay.

⸻⸻⸻

If you recall that one short comic where Mitzi was getting pictures of Mordecai with her camera, then commented on his baggy clothes to get a silly pic of him, she also mentioned getting him some fitted clothes. Well, I had an idea that Tony was actually the tailor that made Mordecai his new fitted and symmetrical clothing. I presume this was back in 1920-1921 cuz that's the years Mordecai worked with lackadaisy, making him 21-22 at the time. Tony was 24-25 at that time, and already had a tailor shop going, he started it when he was only 18. Risky move starting his own business as a young man, but it paid off because he made a name for himself with his work. That's why he was recommended to Mordecai, and ever since then Mordecai goes to him for his tailor needs.

Also if you look at Tony's design, he's pretty symmetrical, which I think would give Mordecai a lil incisive to trust him with the clothing lmao

⸻⸻⸻

[TW HEAVY HEALTH STUFF ABOUT GALE'S MOM]

The sickness that is debilitating Gale's mom to have to live in a hospital for 24 hour care is cancer. The doctors don't predict she'll live much longer. She was diagnosed a year before Gale left the state, after years of feeling weak and unable to do most tasks. Gale wishes he could be by her side, but he can't go back. He's made mistakes.

The moment at the beginning of the guardians of the galaxy movie where Peter doesn't take his mom's hand then runs away, I imagine it went down like that for Gale. After a year of her being in the hospital, and the day after Gale makes his big mistake, he goes to see his mom one last time. She reaches out to him, asking him to take her hand. Time feels like it moves slow, Gale has so many thoughts going through his mind. The pain he feels looking at her is immense, the look in his eyes says it all…if he takes her hand, he'll never want to let her go. He runs the other way, running out of the hospital, then fleeing the state.

That inspired this doodle here

A big part of Gale is he's trying to run away from the past, run away from pain, running forever and ever. He does things for his wife to help her dreams, but also because he's convinced himself this is just how it's meant to be for him. He's a man stuck in the past and doesn't believe he deserves a second chance. He doesn't want that on to his family, which is why he ran out the hospital, and why he never told Riley he left until after he was already gone. Riley actually had to track him down himself. The letters Gale sent to him and his mother were not sent through mail but by more secret means, so his address were never on the letters. (<- MAY CHANGE THIS) And it's also why he's never told Matilda what he does for her, she doesn't know a thing he does. She is only aware of her deeds, and she doesn't want to tell him about them because she wants to protect him (even though he is aware), but she's unaware he's doing much worse things than she is doing.

Gale's a good man in his heart, at his core. But he doesn't think that. He believes his kindness is an act to hide what he really does, even though he truly is kind, he just thinks he's acting.

(MAY CHANGE THIS A TAD, BUT OVERALL GALE IS STILL A GOOD MAN AT HEART)

⸻⸻⸻

The Brooke siblings do love their parents and their parents aren't bad people per say, but they do have personal issues they've never worked on that do strain their relationship with their kids sometimes because the parents are not aware of their own problems and how they're acting it out. (But even if it's pointed out, they ignore it or flat out deny it.) Especially to Tony, being the eldest he's been dealt the brunt of it. If it's something not directed towards him, he makes it directed towards him so his little sisters don't deal with it. Their family is complicated, it's not all black and white on who's the bad guy and who's the good guy. It's just parents who have repressed issues from their past that they are too stubborn on getting help for. Which is another reason why Tony deals with it the most, because he's the oldest, they want him to lead an example.

Just a lil more deeper explanation on why Tony is so laid-back and unphased by things, as said in his character bio.

⸻⸻⸻

Tony was the first one Marie came out to, when she was little. She told him she wanted him to call her Marie, and he did so no questions asked.

Marie's softness back then was more of a timid soft than her current kind yet firm softness, so she was too quiet and scared to stand up for herself. But if she got bullied, Tony would scare them away. Matilda although youngest, would do the same, though her threats were more visceral than Tony's which made her scarier than Tony to some.

As Marie aged she learned to be more stern and unyielding, but she kept her gentle nature, believing she doesn't have to be mean to be strong.

⸻⸻⸻

Because of Tony's experience in medical practices and sewing/knitting, he's skilled with sharp objects, as mentioned in his bio. He's very quick with them, so quick that he could thwip a needle straight at your throat, puncturing an artery, without you even processing what just happened. He likes too keep needles in his pockets just in case, plus they're easier to hide than a gun tbh, not just cuz he's skilled with em.

⸻⸻⸻

Gale is very skilled with a large hammer because of his previous railroad job.

⸻⸻⸻

Thinking about Gale's backstory, I'm gonna change up his attitude when he disposes of someone.

I used to have him be like "I'll do anything for my wife I will get her anything she wants by any means necessary" and then kindly kill someone like yor does in spy x family "May I take your life?" But thinking more on it, he wouldn't really be like that tbh-

Again like I mentioned some messages above, he thinks he is a bad person so he thinks it's in his nature, even though it's not. Deep down he feels guilt, but masks it by believing he deserves it.

SO he would only dispose of someone if they are an actual threat to his wife, not just like- some guy who declined a deal she proposed. He'll just try to convice them to change their mind, sometimes using scare tactics if it calls for it, but not with the intent to kill. And even when he does kill someone he is vocally apologetic to them.

Mind you he's still a "I love my wife I will do anything for her" but now with less mindless following and more of a morale and motivations lmao

⸻⸻⸻

The situation to cause Gale to leave the north without a word was a train accident that he believes to be his fault since there was no indication given it to be otherwise at the time, which scared him so much on going to jail and how the situation would affect his family that he left in a panic. Little does he know there was ulterior motives behind the accident, and he was just a scapegoat since he was a railroad worker at the time. The work he did had been tampered with, but he just thinks he did the work wrong.

Gale is very new at this whole "running from the law" thing since he's never really done anything wrong, which means of course there are slip ups in his attempts. Like he hasn't changed his name, that's the first thing you do when you wanna hide is get a new name, but he didn't like the thought of abandoning a name given to him by his mother. The second is the letters he sends to his mom and cousin. He does his best to keep them a secret through his sending strategies, but sending a letter at all is not hiding yourself well. It just goes to show that ultimately he has no idea what he's doing at all despite how secretive he can come across.

Luckily for him the state ruled it an accident so he has no part in the statement, though investigations are still being looked in to since some investigators believe foul play. Even some not-so-savory people want it to be looked in to, since that train contained some important not-so-savory passengers that perished. At that might catch up to Gale, whether he likes it or not. Not to mention his wife who is working to become an investigator herself, who has a very keen eye on things and probes questions very diligently, he can't really keep secrets forever.

(MAY CHANGE THIS WHOLE THING)

⸻⸻⸻

As stated above, Dot will grow up to mainly be a guitarist and singer, but she does have an appreciation for drummers too because of her mom's partner being a drummer himself. Also she started playing guitar when she was 12 years old.

⸻⸻⸻

Since Riley design changed so much I'd like to update that he is no longer 6'10 tall he is now 7'2 tall, and I will be editing that to the height list at the top. Totally not a nod to him being a werewolf noooo

The bracelet Riley wears is a nod to his girlfriend's color scheme (his gf is a friend's oc)

btw if you notice that I gave Riley an earring as well. In the 1920s it was mainly just sailors that wore [an] earring[s] if it were a man. Sailors believed that if their bodies were recovered at sea the person finding them could take the earring as payment for a proper burial, or they were used as a status symbol for sailing around the globe or just being out at sea for a long time in general. The great lakes in north america are considered "inland seas" and Riley lives in Minnesota. So yea Riley used to be a sailor

He hadn't sailed for too long, just his teens and a bit of early adulthood too. He joined the fire department at age 22, but he still knows his way around a boat, been out sometimes for leisure rather than work now. In fact, he probably would have stayed being a full time sailor in the great lakes if he never experienced his parents perishing in a house fire, that's what gave him the drive. He's had a fascination for the fireman job growing up, but never really thought of it as something he'd do til that happened.

⸻⸻⸻

Tony got married to @pestiforousalt's oc Peter Davis

[aesopsharpmybeloved]

Tess' Sharpuary - 20. Hogsmeade

It's the first day of school, and professor Sharp enjoys a few final hours of peace before starting the term off.

chapter specific tags: slice of life

relationships: aesop sharp & parry pippins, aesop sharp & matilda weasley

20. Hogsmeade (1k)

tw: nothing i think? drinking before noon? 😅

“Ah, professor Sharp! It has been a while, hasn’t it?” came Parry Pippin’s accented voice the moment the Hogwarts potions master entered the small shop. “Good day to you, Pippin,” the tall man replied, grimacing slightly as his leg gave a painful throb. He didn’t usually walk all the way here, and instead relied on correspondence and deliveries by owls. It wasn’t every day he felt up to the task of dragging his sorry leg all over to and through Hogsmeade, and when he did, it was more common for him to enjoy a drink or two in either The Three Broomsticks or Hog’s Head Inn, rather than peruse the shops from which he could simply order by mail.

Well, perhaps Honeydukes was an exception…

However, today was different. Yesterday’s events left Aesop Sharp incredibly confused and disturbed, and instead of using this morning to sleep in and relax before having to teach his first class of the term in the afternoon like he planned to, he set out to take a walk through Hogsmeade, clear his head, visit Pippin’s shop and such. Matilda, having heard his new plan, approached him just outside the Great Hall and pressed a couple of galleons into his hand.

“You know, I did ask for a raise, but I imagined the money would be transferred to my vault at Gringotts as always,” he said dryly. Matilda merely smiled: “Good to know you’re in the mood for jokes on the first day of school, I’m certain your students will appreciate it. Seeing as you’ll be going to Pippin’s anyway, perhaps you could deposit the money for our new Fifth year’s items. I managed to convince Phineas that the school should replace the items lost during the dragon attack.” 

Aesop whistled. It took a special kind of person to be able to talk Phineas Nigellus Black into dropping a few coins. Correction, it took a special kind of person to be able to talk the bugger into dropping a few coins for a Muggleborn… Maybe he should ask Matilda to also convince the Headmaster to finally replace that one potion station in his classroom. It was still working well enough, but Aesop knew that the heating was getting a bit uneven, which could soon become a problem for whatever unfortunate student was stationed there. But he digressed.

“Besides, while you’re there, you can also see whether there is something else the girl might find useful in her studies,” Matilda Weasley finished cheerfully. Aesop gave a little wince: “Liquid luck then, because the poor girl’s going to need a lot of it to be able to handle all of this... And I don’t think you gave me enough money for that.” The Deputy Headmistress clicked her tongue. “She seems a very sensible, clever young woman, I’m certain she’ll be alright,” said the astute woman, and pretty much shooed him off.

Matilda Weasley was a Gryffindor through and through, but she did have a few Slytherin traits.

Still, as he stood in the small shop, he had to admit this wasn’t the worst idea. He wanted to discuss a few things with the owner apart from the new student anyway. First things first, however.

“A girl will come to pick out these items, here is the money for it,” he limped over to the counter and placed the galleons upon it, along with a roll of parchment containing the list of items needed. Pippin gave him a curious look: “Surely I could have that sent to her? Who is this girl, anyway, to get such special treatment? You usually don’t even come all the way here for your own goods.” Aesop leaned against the counter to take some weight off his leg: “She’s only now starting Hogwarts - in her fifth year if you can believe it. She already had the things needed, but they got destroyed en route. Don’t ask, you wouldn’t believe me anyway…” Pippin unrolled the parchment, studying its contents.

“Simple enough, and I’ve got all of these in my stock.” Pippin walked further into his shop, presumably to begin gathering the recipes as well as a few ingredients to have them on hand for the girl to pick up later, while Aesop peered down on the parchment: “Actually, maybe the recipe for Edurus would be useful too. I’ll try her out in class. The coins should be able to still cover that.” 

While Pippin still busied himself with preparing the necessities, Aesop adjusted his position to be more comfortable: “Have we already discussed the potential healing and curse-binding powers of aconite?” 

They spent the following half an hour discussing the properties of various ingredients and their usefulness in a possible cure for his leg. “Whatever you do, don’t forget to inform me. I too am curious as to what you figure out,” Pippin finished. Aesop gave a wry grin: “But not enough to also try to make something new, hm?” “I think my father would rise from his grave and come to kill me if I blew up the shop,” was the older man’s only answer. 

And with that, Aesop bid his farewells and left the shop. The village was rather empty, which of course made sense - classes were in session, people were at work. The day was quite nice, the lingering warmth of the dying summer’s sun gently embraced his skin and the cool breeze blew through his hair.

He was happy nobody seemed to pay him any mind as he slowly dragged himself over to the Three Broomsticks – Sirona’s cooking wasn’t that of the house elves, but her company and conversation weren’t exactly a punishment. Besides, he might as well get himself a glass of Firewhisky, or a pint of ale to go with his meal and help him digest.

Happy with his little plan, Aesop smiled momentarily before entering the pub.

---

Thank you for reading! ❤

[AO3] - [Sharpuary 2024] - [Masterlist]

[dragonjanusisthebestjanus]

The Dragon Lord

Pairing: Janus x Logan (Loceit)

Logan becomes the first ever mage to study in the dragon lands.

Trigger warnings: Fire, depictions of violence, attempted drowning.

Read it on ao3 here!

Taglist: @prince-rowan-of-the-forest @sleepy-nova-tea

Logan quickly tucked the mail into his messenger bag. He raced back up the stairs to his dormitory, attempting to avoid any students in his way.

“Excuse me, Pardon me, coming through!”

He finally reached his room and threw open the door.

“Patton,”

His roommate looked up from where he was studying his potions textbook.

“It’s here!” Logan gleefully plopped down next to Patton and dumped his bag all over his bed. Quills, ink, scrolls, binders, papers, and multiple letters fall from the bag. Logan quickly snatched the one sealed with a green stamp, and quickly opened it with a letter opener that had also come from his bag.

“What’s it say what’s it say?”

“They… I… I…” Logan put the letter in his lap, eyes wide and jaw agape.

Patton slipped the letter out of Logan’s hands. He read it and then wrapped his friend in a hug.

“Oh my gosh Logan! They said you can go! You get to be the first wizard to study in the dragon lands in a thousand years!”

“I get to, I’m; I’m,”

Logan’s smile widens. He returns his friend's hug; then stands and spins them around their room.

“I GET TO GO STUDY IN THE DRAGON LANDS!”

…

Logan hugged his roommate again as Headmistress LeFay opened the portal to the Swamplands.

“You’re gonna do great, Lo. I know it.”

“You are too! You get to study potions with Matilda the Swamp Hag!”

“I know! And it’s a dream come true for me! But it’s nothing like what you get to do, Logan. You have to tell me all about it next semester!”

“I will Pat, I promise.”

The roommates let go and Patton waved goodbye as he stepped through the portal.

“Alright, Crofter. You’re the last one. Are you ready?” Logan nodded at Headmistress Le Fay. She opened a new portal, and Logan took a deep breath as he stepped through.

“Good luck.” Headmistress Le Fay said.

“Thank you, Headmistress.”

The portal closed behind him. A few moments later a large, golden dragon descended in front of him. Logan stood in awe as the dragon transformed in front of his very eyes. A bright, golden glow appeared, then a man about a foot shorter than Logan appeared.

“Logan Crofter, I presume?”

“Um, yes, yes sir.”

The dragon chuckled. “No need to worry, Dragon’s don’t bite.”

Logan continued to stare in awe.

“I’m… I’m sorry. I tried to engage in what you humans call ‘humor’. Was that, was that not humorous?”

Logan shook his head. “I’m sorry. Yes, I suppose it was, humerus. I apologize, this is, this place is, amazing!”

The dragon around and took stock of his land.

“Yes, yes I suppose it is.” He turned back around. “So, you are Logan Crofter, correct?”

“Oh! Yes. Yes. I apologize again. I am Logan Crofter. Do you have a name? There isn’t much information on dragons in our realm,”

The man held out his hand, stopping him. “Yes, something I am trying to rectify. Beginning with allowing you to study here.” The man took a deep bow. “I am Janus, the New Dragon Lord. It is my pleasure to welcome you here, Mr. Crofter.”

…

Logan had the best time of his life.

He had learned Janus had recently won the title of Dragon Lord in The Gauntlet of Fire, after the previous Dragon Lord died of old age.

“So, you’re Dragon Lord for life? The old Dragon Lord’s child won’t try and usurp the title from you?”

“Of course not. I won the title fair and square. Is this not how it works in the human world?”

Logan shook his head.

As it turned out, The Previous Dragon Lord had been the one who kept the dragons isolated from the rest of civilization. Janus was now determined to reunite them with the rest of the world.

“It can only make us stronger. Why wouldn’t we want to be the best we can be?”

Logan had learned dragons were extremely vain. It made sense, from all the legends about them collecting gold.

Or other pretty objects.

Logan didn’t miss the ever-revolving rotation of pretty boys who left Janus’s chambers every evening.

“Janus, do dragons usually partake in…”

Janus had laughed from his throne. “As many sexual escapades as I? No. But being Dragon Lord certainly has its perks. And honestly Logan? I don’t even have as many as you think. Most come to me for this.”

Janus pulled down his shirt collar and showed Logan a bright red gemstone.

“Whoa…”

“Whoa indeed, my little mage. This is the last remaining Fire Ruby. It is the only thing that can heal any ailment any dragon may suffer. It is my duty as Dragon Lord to protect it.”

Logan sat on the armrest of Janus’s throne. “May I?”

The Dragon Lord nodded. Logan unbuttoned his shirt, fully exposing the Fire Ruby.

“It’s gorgeous.” He said.

“So are you.”

The mage allowed The Dragon Lord to connect their lips. Janus pulled him into his lap, and ran his hands under Logan’s shirt.

“Wait- wait.” Logan pulled away.

“Is everything alright, Logan?”

Logan stood up and took several steps away. “No, no, I just-“ he shook his head and sighed. “I don’t want to be another notch in your bedpost, Janus.”

Janus rose from his throne and took the human’s hand.

“Have you learned anything about how dragons court, Logan?”

“N-No.”

“You know dragons are jealous, possessive creatures Logan. If a dragon wishes to court another dragon,” he pulled the human back towards him. “They attempt to make the other dragon jealous by…bedding others.” He pressed kisses to Logan’s neck. “I understand now humans don’t see it that way, but,”

Logan’s eyes widened. “You’ve… you’ve been courting me?”

Janus nodded. Logan turned and pressed their lips together again.

…

Logan’s going away party was supposed to be magnificent.

Janus had mandated every dragon in the land show up. He spared no expense to make sure it had the best food, decor, and entertainment in all the lands.

“You promise you’re coming back?” Janus was in his halfling form, with his wings covering them both, his tail wrapped around Logan’s waist, and claws tangled in his hair.

Logan chuckled and pressed a kiss to his lover's ear. “Yes Jan, I’m coming back I promise. But I have to return to school and present my findings. Then I have to see my family for a little while.”

“Hmmm. I don’t see why I can’t write to the Headmistress. Insist you need to stay here. Then your family could come stay here! You can all be under my protection.”

“A tempting offer. However I doubt my Aunt Patty could make the trip. And before you offer to fly her here! I doubt she could manage the rocky terrain either.”

Janus grumbled and nuzzled back into his lover’s neck.

“I promise Janus. I will come back to you.”

The day was supposed to be perfect.

Logan happily watched the party from beside Janus.

“Why does that weak human get to sit by the Dragon Lord?”

Janus had gripped Logan’s hand.

“Yeah, like this whole party is already for him. Let someone else have a turn!”

Logan placed his other hand atop of Janus’s.

“You know, I could probably eat him in two bites! If we were allowed to be dragons, that is.”

“You know, the human probably knew we could! The human probably convinced the Dragon Lord to make the ‘halflings or humans only’ rule for the night.”

Janus had started to growl.

“You know they won’t try to do anything. Not with you around.”

One thing Logan knew: as self absorbed as most dragons were, nobody challenged The Dragon Lord.

The thought seemed to calm Janus. He slithered his tail around Logan’s waist again, although it was much more possessive than it had been that morning.

The two dragons that had been gossiping soon moved on, allowing Janus and Logan to resume enjoying the party.

After it was over, Janus and Logan indulged themselves by taking a long walk along the river outside Janus’s castle.

“You promise you’re coming back?”

Logan rolled his eyes. “Yes, love. I promise I am-“

A fireball appeared in the air. Janus quickly shifted into his dragon form and tackled Logan to the side.

“What the-“

Another fireball headed towards them. Logan quickly cast a spell, reducing it to nothing.

“Hold on,”

Logan hugged Janus’s neck as he took to the air.

“WHO DARE FIRES UPON THE DRAGON LORD?”

Another fireball came, specifically aiming for Logan. Janus spun in the air, allowing the flames to breeze past them.

Logan closed his eyes as he felt fire literally form in Janus’s throat. He let out a blaze all around the cavern, reducing several rocks into ash.

“SHOW YOURSELVES!” Janus roared.

Another fireball was launched. It would have hit Janus’s wing, had the dragon from earlier not came and swallowed it.

“You?”

“I’m, I’m sorry my lord! I was… I was aiming for the human.”

Janus snarled at the dragon.

“How dare you,”

The other dragon from earlier flew out and knocked Logan off of Janus. Logan watched the two dragons struggle for a moment before he cast a floating spell.

“Janus, look out!”

The second dragon came flying back around. He bared his teeth and bit Janus’s right hind leg. He kept it between his teeth as he dove towards the river, only releasing The Dragon Lord when his wings were in the water.

“Janus!”

Janus was struggling to keep himself above the water. Logan flew down near him, but ended up having to dive into the river when the dragon came back.

“Gostir, what the hell are you doing?”

The dragon didn’t reply to his friend.

“Logan! Logan!” The Dragon lord started thrashing violently, creating large waves in the river.

“Janus, Janus calm down-“

Logan was swept under by one of the waves. He tried to cast another spell, but his head hit the side of some rocks, knocking him out.

…

When Logan awoke, he was laying in a plush field beside a forest.

“Logan, Logan thank the gods! I thought I’d lost you!”

Logan coughed and tried to sit up, but Janus pushed him back down.

“You’re, you’re bleeding.” Logan pointed to Janus’s leg, which had bright red patches all down it.

“I don’t care.” Janus pulled his lover into a hug. “I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you.”

Logan returned the hug, but noticed something.

“Janus, the Fire Ruby?”

Janus shook his head. “It’s… it’s gone. I-I lost it going after you.”

“What? Janus! You-you should not have done that! The Fire Ruby is much more important!”

“Not to me.”

The two managed to somewhat pull themselves together. They tried to travel into the woods, back towards the Dragonlands. However, it soon became apparent that Janus’s leg was going to be a problem.

“Love, you’re, you’re limping. Here, let me make you a walking stick,”

“NO!”

Logan was taken aback. Janus had never yelled at him before.

“I’m, I'm sorry my love. But I am the mighty Dragon Lord. I have a reputation to protect.” Janus looked around, and eventually spotted a small cave. “Why don’t we stop there and rest for a while?”

Logan nodded. He took Janus’s hand and led him into the cave.

He worried about when they would be able to come out.

[whispersafterdusk]

Magnificent - ch 1

A long train ride at least gave him time to think and plan and make lists to keep himself organized as well as occupied -- they staved off boredom in the short term and in the long term made relocating no big deal. Heck, he was practically an expert at making lists now with how often he'd moved for his contracts and having pencil and paper in hand meant that at least the logistics part of moving wasn't so nerve-wracking.

This one was titled "Things to check" and was six lines of scribbled out and underlined AND circled words for emphasis: - best outerwear for protection -- heat exhaustion? - eye protection - where's the medical clinic -- IMPORTANT - grocer's - mail and telegraphs pricing - rail schedule and plenty of space under and around it to add notes or questions as they came to mind (though he was confident that there wasn't really anything else too vital to add - there was the 'day 1' stuff and the 'pick it up as I go' stuff, with the former being WAY more important to answer quickly).

When the world abruptly went dark he flinched at the sudden change - it was just a tunnel and they were through it as quickly as they'd entered it, which meant Sandrock was minutes away; he was dying to stretch his legs. Stuffing the note into a pocket of his shirt he slouched and let his fingers fidget with the strap of his backpack in his lap; he might be a pro at packing and planning but as he was carried closer to his destination he could feel his nerves creeping up as he started to consider the personal part of being in a new place - a social butterfly he was not, he had never grown into it like his mother insisted he would. What would his neighbors be like? Or his boss? Hopefully they'd at least all be tolerable, being as he was going to be here for a couple of years.

Huffing out a breath he straightened in his seat as the train began to slow. ((Continued below cut))

-----------------------------

It was marginally cooler this morning than it had been over the last week; Mi-an took that as a good sign - like the universe was pitching in to welcome their new builder - and quickly checked her sign to make sure her sweaty fingers weren't smudging the paint. Lindsay adorned the board and was thus far smudge-free, and a loud warning whistle had her looking up quickly as the train crossed the bridge and began to slow down on its approach to the station.

Behind her at the stairs came tiny pounding steps, and Jasmine bounded up beside her a moment later.

"Good morning, Mi-an! Oooh, who's Lindsay?"

"Hi Jasmine! Lindsay is the new builder! She should be on this train - Matilda asked me to meet her here, show her to the commerce guild, that sort of thing."

Jasmine clenched her fists and shook them a bit, grinning. "Can I help? I can give her the same tour I gave you! -- after I deliver the mail, though."

"Uh, sure! I don't see why not."

Jasmine grinned in anticipation and spun around to face the incoming train, clasping her hands behind her back and rocking back and forth on her heels as they waited. There was the usual loud hiss of steam and the screech of the wheels on the rails as the train lumbered to a full stop. Jensen announced its arrival and called out the time, then went to the passenger car and threw the door open.

----------------------------------

He waited for the other passengers to get up and leave before him -- he'd already come close to knocking one person down with his heavy duffel bag getting on the train so it seemed more polite and efficient to let everyone else disembark first, and this short time alone would help him get a handle on the jittery nervousness that had started growing after the trip through the tunnel.

With the train sitting still there wasn't any wind barreling in through the windows and it quickly felt like an oven inside. Such oppressive heat...he'd spent some years in Barnarock but this seemed worse, and it was going to be a big part of his life for the next three years; he supposed some blame lay in traveling in a long-sleeved shirt but he'd valued the pockets more than 'breathability' for the trip (he would NOT be making that mistake again on the train ride out of here) but, here he was, and he'd just have to suck it up and deal. Tugging the list free he added another bullet point and wrote 'approximate daily water needed' to the bottom before stuffing it and his pencil back into the pocket and finally standing to slip his backpack on and heft the duffel bag.

There was a slight breeze on the train platform that felt heavenly against his skin; a short, squat, bearded man waved for him to come out with a smile.

"Welcome to Sandrock! All passengers not continuing on are welcome to rest in the station or head into town proper by the stairs to your left! All passengers continuing on should expect to re-board in a half hour!"

He offered the man a nod and headed for the aforementioned stairs, pausing when he spied a small woman standing there next to a kid holding a sign with his name on it and watching the passengers walk passed with a growing look of confusion.

---------------------------

Hmm...no one's stopped... Maybe I didn't make the name big enough?

Mi-an glanced nervously from face to face - not that there were a lot of faces to look at, but not a single one of them so far seemed interested in giving her the time of day. Was it possible Matilda got the date wrong? Or maybe the builder had missed the train?

A tall, muscular man stepped off the train last, carrying a duffel bag that was large enough she could have easily fit inside it. His face was a little flushed and sweaty, his short brown hair already wet at the temples with little beads of moisture running down into his neatly trimmed beard, and his shirt sticking to his arms at the elbows. He stepped away from the passenger car's door and headed toward her and the stairs; no one else got off after him and Mi-an frowned as Jensen shut the door behind him. Uh oh...where was-

Her train of thought screeched to a halt as the man walked right up to her and stopped.

"Wow, you're big," Jasmine said beside her, craning her neck to stare up at the man.

A small smile flickered over his features as he shifted the duffel to his other hand, then held out the freed up one to shake.

He didn't look familiar...so what did he-- Mi-an looked between him and the sign and his hand. "Wait - YOU'RE Lindsay?" He nodded. "Oh...oh, uh, howdy then! Sorry, I was expecting..."

"Yeah, I uh...I get that a lot," he said softly.

He had a nice, light baritone that was more of a rumble at that volume and Mi-an hurried to shake his hand; it utterly dwarfed hers yet his grip was especially gentle.

"Isn't Lindsay a girl's name?" Jasmine asked - voicing what was going through Mi-an's head right that instant.

"I guess not always! Anyway, I'm Mi-an and this is Jasmine. I was asked to meet you so I could show you where the guild and city hall buildings are."

He nodded silently as he let go of her hand and jumped a bit as Jensen appeared at his elbow.

"Here you go, Jasmine - not much in today, I'm afraid," the conductor chuckled, handing over a small stack of envelopes to the girl.

"Thanks Jensen! I'll be back once I've delivered the mail!" she said.

Mi-an waved as the girl skipped off then turned back to Lindsay. "Off we go then!"

With him following along she headed down the steps and over toward the Commerce Guild where she could see Yan and Mason waiting for them outside. As they got closer she could see Yan eying them, confusion plain to see.

"Uh...Mi-an, who's this?"

"This is Lindsay," she answered, tucking the sign under an arm. "I guess Matilda didn't realize she'd hired a man, not a woman!" Turning her head she smiled encouragingly up at him; the height difference was absurdly obvious now that she was standing right beside him, and she could only imagine how easy all the heavy lifting that came with being a builder would be for him and felt the tiniest amount of jealousy as she turned her attention back to Yan who was staring blankly up at the man.

Lindsay offered a sheepish wave in response to the stare. "I'm used to the mistaken identity thing."

"Er... I...guess that's possible. Matilda must not have read that application too closely... AHEM -- howdy there, Lindsay!" he said, still staring up and trying to get his tone and expression under control - he looked like a child trying to size up an adult and Mi-an suppressed a giggle. "I'm Yan, President of the Sandrock Commerce guild! Pleased to make your acquaintance, yadda yadda yadda..." He trailed off then leaned in to Mi-an to hiss in her ear. "You're sure this is our guy? Gal? Whatever?"

"As sure as I can be," Mi-an whispered back, shooting Lindsay an apologetic - and awkward - look.

"Eh, right," Yan muttered, straightening back up and forcing a smile as he turned back to Lindsay. "I'll be overseeing you and Mi-an, but don't think of me as your boss! Think of me as more of a buddy that's your...surpervisor! And this here's Mason - he's retiring, hence, y'know, the whole reason for you being here and whatnot. Anyway!" He shifted to point back the way they'd come, finger jabbing out between the two builders. "See that workshop there on the other side of the tracks? Once Mason's left it'll be all yours!"

At the man's sudden troubled look Mi-an cleared her throat. "Don't worry - you can stay at the saloon. It's right over there," she hurriedly explained, gesturing to their right. He seemed to relax at that and again nodded without a word.

Yan opened his mouth and closed it a few times, mustache twitching. "--er, well Mason, got anything inspiring you want to say to our new builders?"

Mason hardly reacted to the question aside from suddenly looking a bit more tired and worn. "Uh, well...let's not get too friendly since I'm on my way out of here." He paused, looking Lindsay up and down silently before shaking his head and moving off toward the station - presumably to head home.

Mi-an looked from him to Lindsay and gave the newcomer a small shrug. "He's...a man of few words?"

"Yeah, he was always a bit awkward," Yan muttered. He huffed and straightened his hat, then jerked his head toward the Commerce Building. "Follow me, time for the official speech on how things work out here. You can worry about lodging later."

"Right," came the rumbling response.

Yan turned and sauntered off toward the guild building and Lindsay followed along behind, as did Mi-an - she'd probably already heard everything since she'd gotten here first but he hadn't said NOT to come with him...better to hear it all a second time than miss something important.

------------------------------

"Hey Mi-an! Who's your friend?"

The man he assumed was Owen greeted them as they walked through the door; Yan had finally talked himself out and let them go and Mi-an had suggested they stop at the saloon first so he wouldn't be carrying his things all over town.

"Hi Owen - this is Lindsay. He's our new builder and is going to need a room for however long Mason sticks around," Mi-an said, heading over to hop up on a bar stool.

Owen reached below the bar with a smile. "Let's get a room sorted right away so you can drop your bag off." He produced an iron key with a rumpled paper label attached with worn twine from beneath the counter and hurried toward the far end of the bartop. "Here you go - head up the stairs and you're in the middle room."

They met at the bottom of the steps and Owen handed him the key; Lindsay took it with a nod and smile and turned to head upstairs as directed -- just to be absolutely sure he checked the label and saw a barely visible 2 in faded blue ink, and there was a small brass 2 nailed to the frame of the middle door. The key smoothly turned in the lock and he stepped into a nice, dim, and cooled room where, with a deep sigh, he headed over to the bed and gently sat the duffel bag in the floor next to the little bedside table then plopped his backpack on top of it.

Care had definitely been taken to keep the room in good shape; it was one of the nicest places he'd been in - at least in the top three - and if he didn't have to go to City Hall next he'd happily towel all the sweat off then sink into that bed and take a nap. For now sitting on the edge of the bed and letting his nerves settle for a moment would have to do; Sandrock was about what he'd expected: not a lot of people, hot, dusty, a little worn down -- he felt a little out of place, as he usually did in a new region, and while he wasn't regretting his choice, exactly, he was starting to wonder at what kind of living he could eke out here. The smaller population of the town combined with the outlying tiny villages he'd seen dotting the map would probably all average out in the end -- fewer big jobs but lots of small ones, and while the small ones would pay the bills so to speak those types of tasks had always felt monotonous...oh well. Gols were gols; he'd primarily come out here for a change of pace anyway and the contract was only three years -- if Sandrock turned out to not be the place for him then he could move along as soon as his contract was up, like he'd always done.

There was a tiny bathroom that connected with the next room over; the inner door for that room was locked from this side - no idea if there was someone staying in there but after he'd wiped his face off with a damp cloth he flipped the latch open just in case (and then locked the door on his side, from within his room) then headed back down to the saloon proper, slipping the key into his pocket as he went.

Mi-an and Owen were chatting in low voices when he reached the bottom floor and she perked up, smiling over at him.

"Ready for City Hall?"

"Yeah."

"It's just up the street from here," she said as she walked passed him. "And I can show you where the general store is too."

That WAS one of the things on his list, at least. He gave Owen a quick wave and a smile, getting the same in return, and followed Mi-an back out into the heat.

---------------------------------

The sun really glared off all the windows and the street up here and there wasn't any shade at all either; if it wasn't for the fact that this balcony gave him a great view of all but the streets and upper part of Sandrock behind him Pen wouldn't regularly pick this vantage point for his morning watch.

He could see that weak little shopkeeper setting up for the day, and their bumbling Civil Corps members standing outside the sheriff's house talking about whatever it was they wasted time on. Matilda had just entered City Hall through the door beneath his perch, there was Heidi and what's-her-name, the shopkeep's sister, standing at the notice board talking. And then there was the little builder walking up the road toward him with an...absolutely...massive...beast of a man walking along beside her. Who the hell was THAT? He was almost as large as Pen was!

Almost. From here it was hard to gauge it precisely -- it was a good effort at coming close to comparing though!

But seriously. Who was that?

When they reached the steps he jumped off and landed all awesome-like right in front of them; the man jerked back with his hands half-raised, as though he'd been expecting a blow or something, and had a suspicious look to him when Pen straightened and brushed off the dust he'd kicked up with the landing.

"Stop right there!" he bellowed, eying the man. The man lowered his hands after a moment but was standing very still - like an animal cornered by a predator. "Who's this?"

It was Mi-an who answered him. "Um, hi, Pen. This is Lindsay, our second builder."

"Lindsay?" he repeated, squinting. This guy was a builder? Building things could give you a physique like that? "Builder? You're sure?"

"...yes?" Mi-an answered, looking confused. "Who or what else would he be?"

"Could be one of Logan's gang - I don't see how a builder can reach THESE gains just from swinging a hammer," Pen snorted, reaching out to prod at the man's bicep. "What's your work out routine? Protein intake?"

"Uh..." The man didn't actually answer, still looking like he was ready to bolt. Suspicious.

"Huh...? Why would I be walking down the street with a bandit?" Mi-an asked. "Matilda's expecting us in City Hall."

Pen huffed; how annoying - odds were if he held them up for answers Matilda would come looking. "Fine. But you-" he jabbed his finger into the builder's appreciably large left pectoral. "-if you ever see a man named 'Logan,' run. To me. So I can dish out justice to this criminal. And in the meantime I'll come by again later to hear about your exercise routine because clearly something more than building is going on here."

The builder looked between his chest and the prodding finger. "...all right?"

"Hehe...maybe you should become a builder then, Pen," Mi-an giggled awkwardly.

She ducked around him and the man stiffly followed her without taking his gaze completely off Pen as he moved; Pen watched, arms crossed, until they disappeared inside then heard a burst of laughter from his left.

Turning his head he saw Heidi and the- Amirah! That was her name, right - with their heads huddled together, laughing.

"And what's so funny?" he challenged, shifting to face them.

"It's nothing," Amirah replied, hiding her mouth briefly. "You needn't worry about it."

"Oh hoh, now that sounds exactly like something I should worry about - if I were the type to worry about anything," he grunted. "So, what's the joke?"

"It ain't a joke - you saw him, right? Did Mi-an say who he was?" Heidi asked.

"That...was our second builder," Pen answered slowly, eyes narrowing. She was getting at something...but what...

"Oh good, he's staying," Heidi grinned. "Can't wait to meet him. It's not often we get someone out here built like that."

"...wha- built like "that?" Him?" Pen sputtered. "Excuse me ladies but I am right here! AND I was here first!"

"That's true, but," Amirah said slowly, "I'm pretty sure he has you beat, oh mighty Protector."

Pen let his jaw drop open - were they blind? Lacking spacial awareness? ...teasing him? The audacity! "He absolutely does NOT, I assure you. Compared to me he's-- he's...skinny! A bearded stick! In dire need of protein and a proper regimen! He'll have to work A LOT harder if he wants to catch up to ol' Pen, pfuh," he scoffed. "Didn't anyone ever teach you two how hurtful it is to lie? Honestly."

Heidi folded her hands across her stomach, shrugging. "I wouldn't be too sure about that -- I'd estimate he has you by at least an inch across the chest, if not more, and a few centimeters in those biceps bare minimum."

"Again, hurtful. Lies." Sticking his nose in the air he flipped his cape out of the way and spun on a heel to stalk off, grinding his teeth at the tittering laughter behind him.

Who did those two think they were? Rude, is what they were! Hmmph. And now he was in a bad mood... He would definitely go find that builder later and those girls could think whatever they wanted -- no one was stronger than him in Sandrock. NO ONE.

-------------------------------

Amirah waited until Pen was well out of earshot before turning to Heidi. "So...exactly why did you want to rile up Pen like that?"

Heidi was laughing too hard to answer right away, rubbing away a tear that had gathered at the corner of her eye. "He slammed my door the other day and knocked four picture frames off the wall, which I then had to commission replacements for."

"Goodness. What was he even doing in your office anyway?"

"Going on about turning one wall of his room into a floor to ceiling mirror or something," Heidi answered, shaking her head. "I can't just change anything in the dormitory without the Church's approval, AND he had the nerve to complain about the price too."

Amirah sighed, crossing her arms then shifting to instead rest one hand against against her cheek. "Has he at least offered to pay for the frames he broke?"

"Nope," Heidi answered, tone flat.

"Lovely..." Amirah sighed in response.

"It didn't cost much and Mi-an got them done in a matter of hours so they've been replaced at least. That wall looks way too bare to not have something on it. ...but, on a more serious note, our new builder, huh?"

With a nod Amirah turned to look toward City Hall's door. "Mmhmm. I wonder where he's from... I should get back to my shop, however. Do let me know if you learn anything about him, though I'm sure I'll either hear from Mi-an or get to speak to him myself eventually."

Heidi gave her an affirmative nod then headed back into Construction Junction, being sure to carefully close the door behind her.

--------------------------

Though the saloon was busier when the builder came back Owen still caught sight of him holding the door open for a few people before heading up the stairs - he was a big man so even in a crowd he'd be hard to miss, and was just as easily noticeable when he came back down the stairs in a dry, short-sleeved shirt. As he sat down at the counter Owen gave him a little nod to acknowledge him before ducking into the kitchen to bring out table 3's order, hurrying by and in his periphery seeing Grace hand the guy a menu.

After dropping off the order and quickly tending to a refill Owen came down to that end of the counter, putting on his warmest smile. "Hey builder! Did Mi-an give you the grand tour?"

The man looked up from the menu. "Jasmine did, actually."

"She likes doing that - she's a good kid, helps out around town wherever she can. You hungry? Thirsty?"

"Both," Lindsay answered. "And sorry for not saying much earlier. New places make me a little...shy, I guess."

"Ah, no worries, and no need to be shy around here either! You'll find folks are pretty welcoming."

A small smile ghosted across the builder's face. "I figured that out already, yeah."

"Just to make it an official introduction - I'm Owen, owner of the Blue Moon Saloon. Welcome to Sandrock," Owen continued. He stuck his hand out and Lindsay accepted it, shaking with a gentle grip, and a familiar-looking tattoo on the man's inner forearm caught his eye. "-not to be nosy or anything but is that...?" Owen released his hand and Lindsay obligingly turned his arm to bring the tattoo fully into view; it was a pair of boxing gloves touching at the knuckles, with short length of visible 'arm' extending out passed the ends of the cuffs. There was a capital L on each arm segment, and a larger capital B in the middle overlaying where the two gloves were touching. "Haha, I thought I recognized that! Lucien Boxing League, right?" Owen laughed.

"Yeah. Was a member while I lived there. Seven years."

Owen leaned down to brace his hands on the edge of the bar, letting out a wistful sigh. "I haven't been to Lucien in an age... Stayed there for about ten months back when I was younger. The league is where I learned to box, in fact! I was only a member about six months before I moved on though. Do you still box?" A nod. "Well, hey, if you're ever looking for a sparring partner, just ask! I've got all the gear needed -- not really anyone but me around here who knows the rule sets and whatnot, though. Justice - that's our sheriff - sometimes is up for a few rounds but boxing isn't really his thing so he only knows the bare basics. It could be a lot of fun to have an actual challenge again!"

Lindsay smiled. "I'll keep it in mind." He held the menu up to him. "Special, and water, please."

"The special comes with yakmel milk, did you want water instead of that? Both?"

Lindsay considered a moment, glancing back at the menu before holding it out to him again. "Um...both, but make the water a small."

"You got it," Owen chuckled, tucking the menu away and heading off to the kitchen.

Stewed beef and potatoes, sandberry egg soup, and a tall glass of yakmel milk to wash it all down -- an easy order, and it didn't take long to cook. As he brought the dishes out he noted Mason taking a seat on the stool to Lindsay's left, hunching over and looking surlier than usual.

"Afternoon, Mason - the usual?" he asked as he set the plates down in front of Lindsay and then stepped aside to get out of Grace's way as she came over with the glass of milk and water. Mason grunted quietly and didn't look up from where he'd clasped his hands on the counter. That wasn't...entirely out of character for him lately, but something about it seemed a bit off all the same. "Er...everything all right?"

The old builder was silent for several more breaths before his hand darted out and snagged Lindsay's glass of milk; turning on the stool he stared Lindsay down with a stony expression.

"You shouldn't have come out here. If you know what's good for you, you'll leave on the next train."

Lindsay looked shocked as Mason stood and downed the entire glass of milk in a few large gulps before moving to the far end of the bar to take a suddenly vacated stool.

"I...uh..." Owen sputtered a little bit -- THAT was definitely not in character. "I'll...get you another drink..."

He slowly backed a few steps up toward the kitchen, eying Mason silently, then as he turned to head through the doorway he heard Grace reassuring Lindsay with a "maybe retirement is already getting to him -- can I snag you anything else while Owen's getting that milk?" The heavy kitchen door swung shut before he heard an answer - if there was one - and for a moment Owen stood just beyond the door, puzzling over Mason's foul mood.

The guy was getting to retire and move on to (literal) greener pastures, and it wasn't like he was being driven out of his home to do it or anything - HE'D chosen to retire and leave, and that place was his until he left. Heck, would Lindsay even be able to work with Mason still here? ...he wasn't trying to convince Lindsay to leave because he'd changed his mind, had he? If that were the case it would be better for everyone involved if he'd just be honest about it immediately so Matilda could help Lindsay figure out living arrangements...it'd be awful to uproot your life, come all this way on a promise of employment and housing, only to have the housing half - which also directly impacted your ability to work! - be ripped away at the last moment.

Regardless of the reason, someone would need to make up for that rudeness.

Owen quickly poured a second glass of milk and headed back out to Lindsay. "So, uh...hehe, sorry about that. Not sure what's gotten into him. But how about this: when you're done eating we can head over to a booth and have a sit down, chat a bit - Sandrock is pretty different from anywhere else in the Free Cities and I like helping folks acclimate however I can. I bet you've got a lot of questions."

Lindsay nodded (he had a full mouth - Owen probably could have timed that better) and Owen stepped away to settle up the bills with a few folks. He split his attention evenly between the remaining customers from the lunch rush, Lindsay, and Mason -- the latter was still sitting at the bar nursing his second glass of milk and looking less prickly but more...gloomy. If he got a chance Owen would try to talk to the man and see what was bothering him but when Lindsay was done he led the way over to the booth near the main door as Grace took care of clearing away the dishes.

"Not bad timing," Owen chuckled as they sat down. "Crowd is light enough that Grace can handle things while we chat. I know Sandrock can be a bit overwhelming to newcomers but lucky for you this old barkeep has been around for just a hair longer than a panbat's age! Perhaps I can shed some light on any subjects you're unfamiliar with, or answer any questions you've got about desert life."

Lindsay smiled faintly and reached a hand up toward his chest, then paused and glanced down. "...wrong shirt." He was silent a moment, thinking. "Does that tailoring shop I saw do custom orders for clothes? As stuff wears out I'll need shirts and pants that can hold up to work without cooking me and I don't usually find ready-made clothing that fits that criteria AND me all that often."

"Absolutely - just go see Vivi, she'll get you sorted out whether it's work clothing or otherwise. I can't speak for what you'll need for your builder duties but for casual stuff around town you'll want anything loose-fitting that breathes and long sleeves to keep from getting burnt to a crisp," Owen answered. "Hats really help keep you cool too."

Lindsay nodded. "I've lived in extremely hot climates before so I somewhat recall what's appropriate for day to day living - it really is just an issue of finding things in my size that can handle how rough a builder can be on fabric."

"Ah, I gotcha. Luckily Vivi does it all: custom orders from scratch, alterations, and stuff good to go right off the shelf in various sizes - possibly even yours, so no need to worry about that."

"Got it." Lindsay hesitated then; Owen waited until he continued. "Is it safe enough to go for walks and runs around here?"

"Here in town is pretty safe. I mentioned him before but our sheriff Justice and I go way back. He's one of the toughest guys around, his partner Unsuur is very reliable, and they get a lot of help from Pen with the Church-" he stopped as Lindsay winced a bit at the mention of Pen's name. "-I take it you've met Pen?"

"Yeah..." the builder answered quietly. "Thought he was there to pick a fight at first."

Owen laughed. "He's excitable and earnest, but he'd never purposely goad someone into an outright fight for the heck of it. Now, he will probably insist on taking you down to our showdown ring to teach you the basics of combat, which is going to seem like an excuse to fight and not get in trouble for it, but he does try to do his best to make sure people are prepared for the dangers around here - in his own way. I think you'll be fine though if you've been a boxer for seven years plus some," he added, chuckling.

That got a smile out of the man. "Understood. So town is safe, but what about elsewhere?"

"That's a bit trickier," Owen answered, sighing. "We've got dangerous wildlife around, the environment can be deadly if you're not prepared, and, well, you've probably heard about our bandit problem." Lindsay nodded. "The more infamous one is Logan. He used to be a citizen of Sandrock, then one day he just went crazy and blew up a building. I guess being out here in the desert makes some people lose their minds... Other than that, you'll mainly want to watch out for the rocket roosters, the rockyenarolls - they both attack in packs and flocks so if you see one always assume there's more somewhere nearby and just try to give them a wide berth. They usually don't attack unless you get close, at the least. Then there's the Geeglers. They're mutated lizards who seem bent on causing us trouble for some reason... And, of course, there's sandstorms. It's better if you just stay inside during one of those -- we've...we've lost a lot of folks to them over the years. Our mayor is out in the desert right now trying to stop the winds from blowing sand over what little greenery we have left."

The builder hummed thoughtfully, leaning back against the booth and propping an elbow atop the back of his seat, giving Owen a good view of how built the man was. Though he'd just warned him about all the dangers he didn't think he'd have much to worry about; boxing may not be the right kind of fighting style for all occasions but just being a big guy in general ought to be a bit of a deterrent to man and beast alike, not to mention the reflexes and reactions that came with practicing the sport. (Owen was already wondering if he'd come to regret asking him to spar in the ring - he'd better brush up on his skills if he didn't want to be embarrassed).

"I heard folks on the train fretting over whether they'd be able to afford water around here so how does that work?" Lindsay asked then.

"I'd think that's a bit of an overreaction, but you'll want to talk to Burgess over at Water World," Owen replied. "It's the tiny storefront over at the water tower's base, and Burgess runs it - he's a really nice guy, and will insist on helping you carry the water back to your place after you've bought it so don't feel bad about that. We're big on conserving water out here; we have to be. That oasis has been getting steadily smaller over the decades... Buy only what you need to fill up your tank, and check the filter weekly to make sure it doesn't need cleaning. I usually keep two or three spare filters on hand so I can rotate them out when I need to clean one of them."

"Are there ever any boil warnings?"

"Burgess will warn you if there's a boil warning in effect. We usually don't get those until toward the end of the month when the water in the tower is getting low and we need to start drawing off the oasis stores. We get the majority of our water from Portia and Atara and it gets filtered and treated before they ship it to us."

He was silent for a few breaths, clearly thinking. "...I think that's all I have for now. The rest I'll learn as I go."

Owen paused as Grace came over and set two glasses and a pitcher of water on the table between them. "You two look like you'll be here awhile," she said with a smile directed at Lindsay, who returned it but didn't comment.

"Thanks Grace, appreciate it," Owen chuckled before turning his attention back to the builder. "If you think of anything else feel free to ask. In the meantime, if you feel up to chatting still - no pressure at all! - do you mind talking a bit about yourself? I like getting to know my neighbors."

Lindsay smiled faintly. "You're a native Sandrocker, then?"

"Yep - born and raised and, aside from some traveling in my younger years, I've always been here. How about you?"

"My family is from Seesai, originally. We left when I was little and moved to Ethea, then to Barnarock. After I completed school I started out on my own: Tallsky, Lucien, back to Barnarock, then Highwind, then here."

"Barnarock, huh? Arvio and Amirah are from there. How's the weather compare?" he chuckled.

Lindsay shook his head, helping himself to the water. "My time in Highwind must have de-conditioned me when it comes to extreme heat. I didn't think Barnarock was bad until I got to Highwind and remembered what actual weather was like, and now I'm here and it's too hot again."

"I do get told a lot that we're hotter than Barnarock, it just means we all have to be mindful of the heat and our health. It's not so bad once you get used to it and learn how to manage." Suddenly the man tensed, eyes on something off to Owen's left. Turning his head slightly he spotted Pen having just walked through the front door, on his way to the bar. "-he's really not so bad," he said quietly. "A bit - ...ah, well, a lot - full of himself, but not someone you need to be afraid of."

"You'd be amazed at the number of times I've been sucker punched because some guy had to prove himself or whatever," Lindsay replied, eyes still riveted on Pen. "He definitely gave me that feeling earlier."

Owen looked back to him, blinking in surprise as that sunk in. "...really? People have just up and attacked you before?"

"Yeah. Growing up it was because I've got a 'girly-sounding' name. Then as I got older they were mostly drunks, or the newcomers to the league who thought they needed to make an immediate name for themselves by picking a fight with whoever they thought was the toughest in the room. But, yeah, really. You get to where you assume people walking up behind you or approaching you with, uh...with purpose, don't usually mean well."

"Well, I don't allow that sort of thing in the saloon - I've bounced my fair share of folks out of here for bad behavior - and Pen certainly won't do that."

"If you say so." With that Lindsay...didn't quite relax, not fully, but he at least looked away from Pen.

"-oh! Speaking of the league, was Sugar Pete still there when you were a member?"

The builder snorted in amusement. "Yeah, he was."

Owen let out a low whistle. "That man was ancient even back then... He'd have to be, what, almost 90 now?"

"Nearabout. Haven't heard that he's passed away so he's probably still sitting ring side yelling at the new blood."

With a laugh Owen shook his head. "He was a character, wasn't he? Did he name you or did you get to pick yours?"

"He did. You?"

"Yeah, he picked my name too," Owen replied, grinning. Ol' Sugar Pete...Lucien's boxing legend way back when and general terror to the newest members of the league, but there wasn't anyone more knowledgeable about the sport than him and though Owen had regularly gotten the tar knocked out of him at the start under Sugar Pete he'd eventually gotten competent enough to hold his own. "I ended up with Hotfoot." A slow smile crept its way across Lindsay's face at that. "I know, not exactly impressive. What'd you end up with?"

"Avalanche."

"...ah," Owen said.

Yeah, he was probably going to regret getting in the ring with him.