#tenement management

[tenementconsultant]

Unraveling the Intricacies of Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment

Introduction to Mining Tenements

In the vast and complex world of mining, ensuring workplace safety is of paramount importance. Mining tenements play a crucial role in this endeavour, providing a framework for managing safety risks and hazards. Understanding the significance of mining tenements is essential for both industry professionals and stakeholders. In this article, I will delve into the intricacies of hazard identification and risk assessment within the context of mining tenements, shedding light on their importance in maintaining a safe working environment.

Understanding Workplace Safety in the Mining Industry

Before we explore the role of mining tenements in ensuring workplace safety, it is crucial to have a comprehensive understanding of the mining industry's unique safety challenges. The mining industry is known for its hazardous working conditions, with potential risks ranging from geotechnical issues to chemical exposures. These risks can lead to accidents, injuries, and even fatalities. Therefore, effective safety measures must be implemented to protect the well-being of mining personnel.

The Role of Mining Tenements in Ensuring Workplace Safety

Mining tenements serve as legal instruments that grant individuals or companies the right to explore, develop, and mine mineral resources within a specified area. While their primary purpose is to regulate mining activities, mining tenements also play a pivotal role in ensuring workplace safety. By setting guidelines and regulations, they provide a framework for identifying and managing hazards and risks in mining operations.

What is Hazard Identification?

Hazard identification is a systematic process of recognizing potential sources of harm or danger in the mining workplace. It involves identifying and assessing risks associated with various aspects of mining activities, including machinery, equipment, infrastructure, geological conditions, and human factors. Effective hazard identification requires a proactive approach, involving the active participation of all stakeholders, including mine operators, employees, and safety professionals.

Hazard identification methods can vary, but they often include techniques such as site inspections, job hazard analysis, and incident investigation. By systematically identifying and documenting hazards, mining tenements facilitate the development of appropriate risk management strategies.

The Process of Conducting a Risk Assessment

Once hazards are identified, conducting a risk assessment is the next crucial step in ensuring workplace safety. Risk assessment involves evaluating the likelihood and severity of potential harm resulting from identified hazards. This process allows mining professionals to prioritize risks and develop effective control measures to mitigate them.

A comprehensive risk assessment involves a multidisciplinary approach, considering factors such as the nature of the hazard, the exposure level, and the vulnerability of workers. It is essential to involve experienced safety professionals, who can apply their expertise to assess risks accurately. Regular re-evaluation of risks is also necessary, as mining operations evolve, and new hazards may emerge.

The Importance of Regular Inspections and Audits

In addition to hazard identification and risk assessment, regular inspections and audits are vital components of maintaining workplace safety in mining tenements. Inspections involve systematic examinations of the workplace to identify potential hazards, while audits assess the effectiveness of safety management systems.

Regular inspections and audits help identify areas for improvement, ensure compliance with safety regulations, and promote a culture of continuous safety enhancement. By proactively addressing potential problems, mining tenements help prevent accidents and injuries, safeguarding the well-being of mining personnel.

The Role of a Tenement Consultant in Managing Workplace Safety

Managing workplace safety in mining tenements can be a complex task, requiring expertise and specialized knowledge. This is where a tenement consultant plays a crucial role. A tenement consultant is a professional who specializes in tenement management and safety practices.

Tenement consultants are well-versed in the intricacies of mining tenements and possess a deep understanding of safety regulations and best practices. They can provide valuable guidance and support in implementing effective hazard identification and risk assessment processes, ensuring compliance with relevant legislation, and facilitating the development of robust safety management systems.

The Benefits of Hiring a Tenement Consultant

Hiring a tenement consultant offers numerous benefits for mining companies. Firstly, they bring a fresh perspective and a wealth of experience, enabling them to identify potential hazards and risks that may have been overlooked. Their expertise helps in developing effective control measures and implementing safety improvement initiatives.

Furthermore, tenement consultants can assist in streamlining safety management processes, ensuring adherence to regulatory requirements, and enhancing overall safety performance. Their involvement fosters a safety-conscious culture, where safety becomes a shared responsibility among all stakeholders.

Best Practices for Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment in Mining Tenements

To ensure workplace safety in mining tenements, it is essential to follow best practices for hazard identification and risk assessment. Some key practices include:

Regularly review and update hazard identification and risk assessment processes to account for changes in mining operations and regulations.

Involve all stakeholders, including mine operators, employees, and safety professionals, in the hazard identification and risk assessment processes.

Utilize a multidisciplinary approach, considering various factors such as equipment, infrastructure, geological conditions, and human factors.

Develop and implement control measures based on the hierarchy of controls, prioritizing elimination or substitution of hazards whenever possible.

Regularly monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of control measures and adjust them as necessary.

Foster a safety-conscious culture through training, communication, and continuous improvement initiatives.

By adhering to these best practices, mining companies can enhance workplace safety and minimize the risk of accidents and injuries.

Conclusion

Mining tenements play a pivotal role in ensuring workplace safety in the mining industry. Through effective hazard identification and risk assessment processes, mining tenements facilitate the management of safety risks and help create a safe working environment. By hiring a tenement consultant and following best practices, mining companies can further enhance workplace safety, protecting the well-being of mining personnel. Let us prioritize safety in mining operations and work together to build a safer future for the industry.

CTA: If you require professional assistance in managing your mining tenements and ensuring workplace safety, contact us today to learn more about our tenement management services.

[galedekarios]

waterdeep & the city's wards: dock ward - part 1

"The splendors that await you in Waterdeep are legendary. Each of the city’s wards is detailed in this work, telling you what to expect depending on where you are, as well as what thrilling things you might see and do."

[from: Volo's Waterdeep Enchiridion]

waterdeep is divided into a system of wards and civic districts. the six recognized wards are:

dock ward

castle ward

north ward

sea ward

southern ward

trades ward

notable parts of the city that aren't considered wards are the city of the dead and deepwater harbour and its surrounding isles (deepwater isle and stormhaven island).

in this meta, i'd like to first focus on the dock ward of waterdeep.

the dock ward is often theorised to be the ward that houses gale's tower. i'd recommend reading this post by @dailygale or this post by @elspethdekarios, as well as the posts linked within them, for further details.

the dock ward in spring

map of the dock ward, 1491 dr [source]

dock ward ambience by dungeon crawler audio

general

"Ports, by their very nature, are unclean, noisy, crowded, and constantly busy places where few outsiders are welcome. Waterdeep's Dock Ward fits this mold, though its notoriety and bedlam are, if nothing else, slightly muted by the tales told up and down the Sword Coast. It was best described, by a wizard of no little note, as a riotous, semi-stationary but nigh-perpetual brawl that covers entire acres and is interrupted only by small buildings, intermittent trade business, an errant dog or two, and a few brave watchmen (who do manage to keep the chaos from spreading beyond the docks), the whole lot wallowing in the stench of rotting fish. Still, in all, twas quite a lusty, intriguing place to spend an evening. City watch patrols and guard contingents keep this ward in a semblance of order, traveling in well-armed groups of eight during the day and groups of twelve or more after dusk. Many of the roads are gravel-packed dirt, once the docks and cobblestone access roads to the Way of the Dragon are left behind. The dark, mud-strewn alleys are endless in Dock Ward, and they hide many dangers, despite the alertness of Waterdeep's defenders, so travel in large, heavily armed groups if you must. Dock Ward's boundaries, quickly stated, are the harbor and the southern boundaries of Castle and Trades Wards. The northern boundary runs north and east on Lackpurse Lane to Belnimbra's Street, over and down Gut Alley, and turns east to Shesstra's Street. Moving east and turning south onto Book Street, the boundary moves east again on Drakiir Street until it meets the Way of the Dragon, the eastern perimeter of Dock Ward. The southern border of the ward is, of course, the docks and the harbor." [source: waterdeep dragon heist]

in his waterdeep enchiridion, volo provides his impressions of the dock ward:

"The Dock Ward was long considered the most dangerous district in the city, but the Field Ward has since taken that title. I don’t doubt the residents of the Dock Ward are glad of it, for in some respects this area has never truly deserved its bad reputation. Yes, aside from the Field Ward, this is the area where most of Waterdeep’s poor reside. Yes, it is home to some of the least literate people in the city. Yes, most of its taverns are inhabited by habitual drinkers, and far too many inns charge by the hour. But all must concede this: the residents of the Dock Ward often work the hardest while living under the harshest conditions. Warehouses, poorhouses, and tenements dominate much of the area. Streets are steep throughout, and few have space alongside for pedestrians. Wandering through the ward can be a bewildering journey without a guide. Except in the immediate vicinity of the piers, shop signs and advertising of any kind are rare, and warehouses and other businesses often have no sign at all. You either know where you are going and have reason to be there — or you are lost, and a likely mark for pickpockets or worse. Streetlamps don’t fare well in the Dock Ward. Their candles, oils, and glass are too regularly stolen or smashed. The Guild of Chandlers and Lamplighters makes a halfhearted attempt to repair the streetlamps at the start of each season, but for most of the year, locals are forced to carry their own light when traveling these streets at night. The colors of the Dock Ward are burgundy and orange, and its mascot is a swordfish that has always been depicted as green for reasons lost to time. The folk of the Dock Ward take competition seriously, and they frequently draft their champions from the rough-and-tumble sailors who come to the city. (Some say they draft pirates, but that is pure slander.) Frequent complaints arise that these women and men are more citizens of the sea than of the Dock Ward itself. But if they register with a magister and pay taxes, they are as welcome to compete as any long-term resident of Waterdeep." [from: Volo's Waterdeep Enchiridion]

the sentiment that the dock ward is "dangerous" is echoed by elminster as well:

In the words of Elminster himself, the Dock Ward was a "riotous, nigh-perpetual brawl that covers entire acres, interrupted only by small buildings, intermittent trade businesses, an errant dog or two, and a few brave watchguards, who manage to keep the chaos from spreading beyond the docks; the whole lot wallowing in the stench of rotting fish." [source]

neighbourhoods of the dock ward

the living conditions in these neighbourhoods is described as ranging from "poor" to "modest":

Abovefish: Aeldinmuth Court, Arun's Bend, Drawn Sword Court, the Everwind, Fishgut, Frostraen, the Hobbles, the Hooks, the Krakenway, Leera's Trod, the Lurch, Redcloaks, Sakiir's Street, Scoundrel's Cradle, the Slide, Spider's Web, Three Daggers

Belowfish: Asteril's Trod, the Bitters , Cod Lane , Essunmar's Dream, the Ghemmerwalk , Greathoist, Horizons, Manycrates, the Odd , Old Elbermaen, Old Tar's Walk, Pressbow, Shipwright's Square, the Sirenwalk , Six Casks , Two Flasks

Eastsnail: Amanaster's Lane, Blackwell, Bulette Point, Candle Lane, Doerlunn, Emeskine's Shine, Foxden, Knightsfoot, Marvynhurst, Melinter's Alley, Oubliette, the Pearls, Philosopher's Court

Southdocks: Cedar Wharf, the Fishgut, Hoedmar's Trod, Manylines, Ormibar's Sky, Sailmaker's Run, Sambril's Lane, Smuggler's Run, Southshore, Sperival, Tower Watch

[source: waterdeep dragon heist]

landmarks and notable locations in the dock ward

below you'll find a collection of landmarks like the mistshore and notable locations like guildhalls, inns, temples, streets and alleys, as well as other places of note.

mistshore

mistshore is part of the northern harbour:

"After the Spellplague of 1385 DR, Waterdeep went into a decline and maintenance of the harbor was neglected. Many ships sank or were scuttled in the northern harbor and eventually Waterdeep's outcasts created a small community on the wrecked ship hulls. The harbor water was polluted and smelled horribly. In 1491 DR, Mistshore was largely destroyed in a massive fire, with most ships burning down to the waterline and having to be towed out of the harbor to prevent other vessels from running afoul the wreckage. By 1492 DR, most buildings in the neighborhood were still burned and abandoned. Mistshore was considered so dangerous that the City Watch refused to send patrols into the area." [source: forgottenrealms wiki]

notable locations within mistshore include:

Crib "This collection of partially sunken ships was the hideout of the crime lord Arowell prior to his death at the hands of Cerest Elenithil. The ships were arranged in a circle with suspended platforms in the center. Arowell sponsored gladiatorial contests to amuse the inhabitants of Mistshore." Dusk to Dawn "This tavern was nothing more than a tent that moved to different locations in Mistshore nightly." Hearthfire "The wretched inhabitants of Mistshore created a permanent firepit on which to cook." Waltzing Ferryman "Sea wraiths kept the inhabitants of Mistshore from approaching this old wreck. It was inhabited by an old spellscarred mage and his friend." [source: forgottenrealms wiki]

guildhalls, inns and taverns in the dock ward

"All sailors who regularly sail into Waterdeep have their favorite taverns and lodgings, but all are familiar with Cookhouse Hall, the large, echoing, hammerbeam-ceilinged hall where hot meals (usually roast beef, stir-fried vegetables, and a highly peppered stew) are served to all who line up and pay 2 cp for a meal. Minted drinking water is even provided. You don't have to be a sailor to eat here. It's open from dawn to dusk, and has fed many a weary (or poor or down on his luck) traveler who doesn't mind a little coarse company and dinner conversation.  The Shipmasters' Hall, by contrast, is a private inn and dining club for captains, first mates, and ship owners and their escorts only. It's very old and elegant, with polished dark wood paneling everywhere, shining brass fittings, comfortably cushioned brocade seats, and heavy plush drapes. One of the largest privately owned buildings in Waterdeep is the shipbuilding shed of Arnagus the Shipwright, who's crafted many of the fine ships that ply the Sword Coast. Owing to the dangers of sabotage and fire, he doesn't welcome visitors, but many folk go to the docks where the slipway from his shed runs down to the harbor to peer in at the work going on. A ship launching always draws great crowds. It's the nearest thing after brawl watching to a spectator sport that Dock Ward has.  The following guildhalls can all be found in this ward: the Butchers' Guildhall, League Hall, Mariners' Hall, Watermen's Hall, Seaswealth Hall, Coopers' Rest, Shippers' Hall, Shipwrights' House, and the Metal House of Wonders. The Most Diligent League of Sail-Makers and Cordwainers has as its headquarters the Full Sails tavern. The Muleskull Tavern serves as headquarters for the Dungsweepers' Guild." [source: worldanvil]

a list on inns and taverns in the dock ward from the forgottenrealms wiki:

a list on inns and taverns in the dock ward from oakthorne:

a list of shops and businesses in the dock ward from the forgottenrealms wiki:

a list of streets and alleyways in the dock ward from the forgottenrealms wiki:

a list of streets and alleyways in the dock ward from oakthorn:

listing out the following places of note with short descriptions:

Fishgut Court: A cobblestone court off Sail and Dock Streets where many strange happenings occur during nights of the full moon. Many know that Selûne herself hid in a mortal form in the tavern nearby, and her blessings continue to touch the courtyard.

Smuggler's Dock: The most isolated corner of the ward and also its safest, under the watchful eyes of Mirt's Mansion and the Watching Tower, used often for lovers' rendezvous.

Black Well Court: The small back-alley home to a polluted, monster-infested well that is sealed by order of the Lords, though it is occasionally broken into – or out of – and creatures haunt the shadows here before they are dealt with and the well re-sealed.

Manysteps Alley: A narrow alley that is the habitat of soothsayers, fortune tellers and thieves galore.

Melinter's Court: A dark courtyard often thick with the pipe smoke of curbside philosophers and corner sages (and sometimes the plotting of wizards).

Philosophers' Court: Also known by natives as "the Foolsquare", a daily (and often nightly) meeting place for intellectuals, old sages and drunken nobles alike found arguing over topics "too esoteric for a common mind".

Round Again Alley: An alley that doubles back on itself and provides a testing ground for many apprentices' illusions.

Three Thrown Daggers Alley: An alley that suffers from a magical curse that causes three random blades to fly from nowhere to attack passersby in the alley.

other notable locations are:

ilmater's safe harbour

"Ilmater's Safe Harbor was a soup kitchen, run by the Ilmatari priestess Mother Brenia, in the Dock Ward of Waterdeep in the late 15th century DR. It was known to be frequented by almost every beggar in that ward. The building's layout consisted of a cooking area, a dining room, a small room in the back, and a cellar. These rooms were provided illumination by means of lanterns and a heavy, iron chandelier of candles. Within the building's cellar was a hidden door, which opened to rough-hewn rock tunnels leading into the Warrens. Being a soup kitchen, this establishment provided free meals for the impoverished citizens of the Dock Ward. Additionally, in the building's small back room, Mother Brenia tended to the sick. [...] At some point during the late 15th century DR there was a string of disappearances of both beggars and stray dogs in the Dock Ward. This began not long after Ulmani, Rik Milesan, and some others began volunteering at the soup kitchen. A month later, the City Watchman Girnan Svann found himself frustrated at his superiors' not viewing the string of disappearances as something worth looking into. He went on to hire a group of adventurers at the Blue Mermaid to investigate, informing them that each missing beggar was connected to Ilmater's Safe Harbor, but that it could be a false lead. Looking around the establishment, the adventurers eventually discovered its hidden cellar door. Traveling through it, they came upona group of thugs dressed as Sharrans and accompanied by horribly mutated dogs and wolves. After beating up the thugs, the adventurers recognized some of them as the newer volunteers and that their Sharran identities were merely a red herring to distract from the mysterious mage they were truly kidnapping people for." [source: forgottenrealms wiki]

stinking sands

"The Stinking Sands was a local name for a stretch of beach in the southeastern most corner of the Dock Ward in Waterdeep. This beach was bordered by Dock Street and Deepwater Harbor. Along Dock Street the notable buildings that overlooked it included the Fellowship Warehouse, the Smokehouse, Telethar Leatherworks, a guard barracks, and the East Torch Tower. When the Laughing Lady sank near Waterdeep in 1372 DR, the caravel was dredged up onto this beach by barges belonging to Raulinvur's Ropehaul and by wizard members of the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors." [source: forgottenrealmswiki]

starry cradles orphanage

"The Starry Cradles orphanage is a Dock Ward orphanage run by Matron Griselda Hoppletun, a halfling care-taker, and funded by the House of the Moon and the Selûnites clergy thereof." [source: worldanvil]

wavehall of valkur

"The Wavehall of Valkur was a temple to Valkur located in Waterdeep during the late 15th century DR. The temple was built during the late 15th century DR. During the Year of the Scarlet Witch, 1491 DR, the Wavemaster of the temple was killed by Mirt the Moneylender over a dispute involving the priest's refusal to bring a deceased ally back to life. Valkur was a minor Faerûnian god of sailors and their ships, as well as favorable winds and naval combat. The Captain of the Waves was the very picture of the daring sea captain, one capable of sailing his vessel through any disaster the Gods of Fury could unleash." [source: forgottenrealmswiki]

this concludes my collection of information about waterdeep's dock ward for now. it's a sprawling topic, each and every ward, and i'm sure there are things i missed or forgot!

still, i hope this was of use to someone other than myself!

[igotanidea]

One step closer: Jason Todd x reader

Summary: Jason being terrified of the storm and reader helping him.

***

At first the sky was crystal clear blue and without a single cloud.

The weather, however has a unique ability to change in a blink of an eye – maybe that’s why people believe nature is a woman, with its specific humors and whims.

The droplets of rain started hitting the pavement when Y/N was walking home from work. Deprived of the umbrella, as usual. And even thought she liked a little bit of precipitation it was one thing to enjoy the musky scent of ozone and ground, and the other to be drenched. Therefore, taking cue of the other people, rushing to find even a makeshift shelter, upon realizing that the rest of the evening was going to be filled with October like weather, she took off running. In her best hope to get home before all hell break loose.

As the raindrops started to intensify, she swiftly swiveled on the puddles, miraculously avoiding slipping and stepping into the treacherously shallow waters, only to discover it was ankle depth.

Getting home in time to save her porous hair from frizzling into a mess on her hair, but not soon enough to miss the lighting and thunder echoing through the space.

“Oh no…” she muttered to herself, opening the door to the tenement, where she was sharing a an apartment with Jason.

Jason. Precisely.

She climbed the stair jumping two steps at a time, all to reach their place faster, knowing well enough what she was going to find there.

“Jace?” she called his name, kicking off her shoes and hanging the wetted coat on the hanger. “Jace, are you here?”

“In here…” weak, shaky voice came from the living room.

“Oh, baby…”

Jason was crouched on the couch, away from the window, almost paralyzed by the flashes of light and sounds outside. It was nothing new to her. After all, her poor boy was scared of the storm, not that she could blame him.

When they started dating, hanging around in the city and having fun, the first time the storm came in during their time out, he just stopped in the middle of the street with wide eyes, unable to move a single muscle. Scaring the shit out of her making the girl believe he was going through a stroke or something. Using whatever strength she could gather, Y/N grabbed the arm of the mountain of stiffened muscles Jason turned into and dragged him into the nearest roofed place.

In between ragged breaths and trembles, Jason tried to explain himself and prevent the damage of her thinking he was crazy or something. And even though all she was doing was holding his hand, soothing him with her voice, trying to ground him and not demand any words, he managed to stutter that the storm was reminding him of the time Joker was hitting him with a crowbar.

Lighting was like a flashes in his eyes, recollection of blood and pain.

Thunder was like a sound of a vicious laugh, echoing in his ears, a remnant of incoming ending.

And that broke her heart.

Since then, there was not a time she allowed Jason to be alone during the storm. Reaching him in any way possible. When at work – text or call. When at home – cuddles and kisses. When out – immediate retreat and doing anything possible to help him focus on her rather than surrounding.

So now, her course of action was almost innate.

Closing the windows, which he was unable of, due to immediate panic attack. Drawing the curtains. Sitting on the couch next to him. Opening her welcoming arms and surrounding him with her warmth.

“It’s okay Jason…” she whispered pulling his head to her chest. “It’s okay. Just listen to my heartbeat, baby.”

“I’m so scared, Y/N.” he almost sobbed, like a 15 year old he was when Joker was mutilating him. “I don’t want to –“

“Shhh. Shhh, my love.” Her fingers danced in his hair, touch as soft as possible to not startle, but help him. A single wrong move, too intense or in the wrong place could be catastrophic, considering he was one foot in the past “I’m not letting anything happen to you.” A gentle soft kiss placed on his forehead was supposed to serve as an assurance of her love, presence and protective shield “I got you, Jason. I got you…”

“He’s coming after me!” as another thunder tore the sound of humming rain he snuggled closer to her chest “He’s coming!”

This was worse than anything she has experienced before and she was forced to think and act quickly and with new methods, to avoid him spiraling out of control and rooting in the tragic memories.

Pulling him closer, Y/N started to hum some melody. Quietly as first, but then letting it grow a little louder and more intense, leaning towards him to make sure it was the only sound reaching his ears.

“I have died every day waiting for you, darling, don't be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years, I'll love you for a thousand more…..”

His hands tightened on her waist, almost bruising but she didn’t care.

“One step closer, one step closer….”

Slowly, her voice started to replace the bad memories.

One step closer – to her.

One step closer – to the present and not the past.

One step closer – to breaking from the nightmare.

“Y/N….” he whispered, allowing himself to relax under her caresses.

“Yeah, I’m here.”

“Thank you.” He nuzzled into her chest, loosing the grip but not letting go. Never letting go.

“I’m here…” she only responded, with a tiny smile, as if that was the entire explanation needed. And it was.

“Stay.” He whispered, not opening his eyes, not changing the position, not moving even in the slightest to avoid breaking the fragile peace.

“I’m here.” She said for the third time.

She was there. And the weight of her dedication, devotion and touch the made the door to the past close. Like a book that still describe your life, but stays on the shelf, being nothing but a memory. Painful, gory and traumatizing, but still – just a memory, making place for the new story.

And maybe it was time to commence it.

She was there.

[vkelleyart]

Deal Announcement: WHEN THE TIDES HELD THE MOON (Erewhon, Spring 2025)

If you've been with me on Tumblr for a while, then you may already be familiar with this title and been waiting for this particular update, and all I can say is thank you endlessly for patiently sticking it out with me! I am so incredibly pleased to announce that WHEN THE TIDES HELD THE MOON has been acquired by Diana Pho at Erewhon Books/Kensington Publishing as an illustrated adult historical fantasy!

Tor.com has published a blush-inducing article which features some insights from me about what inspired the story, reactions from Hugo Award-winning editor Diana Pho on what drew her to the book, a downright tear-jerking endorsement from the incomparable TJ Klune, and my original concept art of Benny & Río. I hope you'll take a moment to read it at the link below!

This project is the culmination of a lifelong dream to write and illustrate my own books, and there are no words to convey the depth of my gratitude to Diana for the gift of seeing it be delivered as an illustrated adult work. Infinite thanks must also go to my unstoppable agent Saritza Hernandez, my phenomenal critique partners Anna Racine and Mark Duplane, and the many experts who generously and enthusiastically donated their time and resources in the middle of lockdown to help me bring 1911 Brooklyn, NY to life, including:

Virginia Sanchez-Korrol –– Professor Emeritus of Puerto Rican & Latino Studies, CUNY Brooklyn College

David Sharp -- President, The Waterfront Museum

Jamie Salen, David Favaloro, & Lana Rubin –– Marketing Director, Director of Curatorial Affairs, & Collections Manager (respectively), The Tenement Museum

Adam Realman -- Artistic Director, The Coney Island Circus Sideshow

More details about WTTHTM's release will be forthcoming, but in the meantime, thank you all again for believing in this story and supporting it when it was just a humble MerMay fic. I can't wait until you meet Benny and his beloved Río in print in 2025!

[dujour13]

Owlcatober 3. Shelter

---

When the Worldwound weather blew into Kenabres you wasted no time going to ground. Big, sticky droplets hit the cobbles and you hit the nearest shelter before it turned into bugs, eyeballs, or even intestines like that one time—best not thought about.

Woljif ducked through a broken window into the basement of an abandoned tenement and stood in the musty darkness peering out at rapidly forming puddles of viscous crimson. Fed up with this place. When he managed to scrape up the funds he was on a boat to Katapesh and never looking back.

“You found me!”

He nearly jumped out of his boots. “What the—”

He whirled. It was the crazy elf beggar, clapping her hands and laughing like some kinda mad fey.

“Oh. It’s you.” He peered suspiciously into the darkness over her shoulder. “Anybody else here?”

“Just Soot.” The crow hopped about on the floor, pecking at things.

He relaxed a modicum. Be no good getting caught in here with some of the characters he rubbed elbows with around Kenabres. She might be loony but she wasn’t dangerous, at least. He slumped against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, tail weaving, and sullenly watched the blood course between the cobbles.

But she wasn’t giving up.

“Now it’s your turn to hide!”

He glanced her way briefly and then back out at the rain. Those scars weren’t fit for looking at. “I ain’t a kid no more.”

“I know. But at least now your Gran can’t get you in trouble for playing with me.”

This evoked unpleasant memories of pinched ears. He sighed in annoyance, tail beginning to twitch. “I got more important things to do.”

“Grown-ups always say that. And then the important things they do just make them and everyone around them sad. I don’t understand.” She came closer and sat down cross-legged on the packed dirt floor with her rags and her filthy bare feet, and looked up at him with those uncanny liquid black eyes.

“I ain’t sad. Anyway the important stuff I gotta do is gonna make me rich. And when I’m rich, I’ll be happy.”

“Rich people aren’t happy. There’s a Count I see sometimes in the city square. He’s rich and handsome and he has lots of friends. He laughs loudly, but he’s the saddest of all.”

“Well, I can guarantee you when I’m rich I’ll be laughin’ for real, and you can bank on that.”

A thump from overhead made him start up and stare at the ceiling, from which a soft rain of dust sifted down. He cocked his head, trying to listen over the splashing of the blood rain.

“It’s just—” the beggar girl began.

“Sh. Is there people here?”

“Yes.”

“I thought this place was abandoned.”

“I see people come and go sometimes,” she shrugged. “At night.”

“At ni—what kinda people?”

“I don’t know. They wear hoods.”

“Cultists.” He turned his head and spat. “We gotta get outta here.”

“What’s wrong with cultists?”

“They’re dangerous, that’s what’s wrong.”

“Cultists, crusaders, they’re all the same,” she said.

Shit. She was right. No sense arguing with a nutcase. He reached out for her hand. “Come on.”

“But it’s still raining.” She got to her feet anyway, maybe just because it was nice to hold his hand for a moment.

He pulled it away. “I don’t care, we gotta hightail it. Now.”

“I’m not scared.”

“Neither am I! I just—I just think we ougtta find somewhere else nicer.”

“You can go if you want. I’ll stay here.”

Woljif sighed. “Aright listen. I’ll play hide-and-seek with you. But you gotta hide somewhere good. Not in here.” Indeed, the place was barren but for scattered broken glass and splintered boards. No hiding places.

“I’m gonna count to ten and you—”

“Twenty!”

“Aright, twenty. You get goin’.”

He kept counting, muffling his voice with a hand so she wouldn’t realize he followed her to the window and watched her run off down the alley splashing through puddles of blood and laughing, her stupid crow gliding after her.

When he was satisfied, he too crept out the window and headed down the alley in the opposite direction.

“Loony,” he muttered to himself, shaking his head. “Musta cooked her brains.” But he had to admit if he had to get caught in a bloodstorm it felt strangely… cozy to end up holed up with someone who wasn’t trying to rip him off or push him around. Someone familiar and harmless. Someone who knew what it was like. He glanced back over his shoulder, and then shrugged his jacket up around his horns and hurried off.

also on AO3

[reddy-for-more]

JV and HDB

I was exploring paths not taken (tooling around on FAYDE to look at dialogue options)

I learned that Harry, in "cop school" studied building safety regulations. One of his unsolved cases is that he sees what he believes is a sign of imminent collapse of an apartment building... then... look at this

Bad, bad thoughts go through your head. So what you do is -- you call your partner. JV (only initials available) is up. He comes immediately. He didn't take building safety, but he believes you. He brings five more officers. Together you knock on *every door* and explain the situation. [...] It takes 20 hours to evacuate the whole building.

I just. that's the bond Harry and Jean used to have. The ledger indicates that this incident took place 52 days ago. Less than two months ago, Harry and Jean's relationship was that strong. Jean trusted Harry's word, his training, his judgement that much. When Harry got into a situation that he was having trouble handling, he called Jean. It's 12:30 am, Jean is awake, and he comes to help immediately. That's what their partnership looked like. (It's implied that Harry is on-shift but Jean is off, but idk how shifts in the RCM work.) He ropes in other officers. They all work together. Their captain manages to throw together shitty accommodations for the 200 people living in the building. That is how well enmeshed Harry was in his department.

And then... less than two months later, their task force implodes; Harry tells Jean to fuck off so much he actually does; he loses his badge, gun, and memory; and when Jean shows up Harry doesn't even recognize him. Ouch.

god. i need to lie down. I dunno why but the Tenement Building Thing just highlights the tragedy of Jean and Harry's thing

[PS here's the link to the dialogue i was reading]

(Also. I want to know what other things officers can get trained in...

That's right. They trained you for this in cop school. Everyone has to pick a civil specialization so they can keep the city running: fire safety, first aid training, and so on. You took building safety regulation. And it tells you that this one -- is coming down.

What did Jean study? Kim? Judit? I must know.)

[isfjmel-phleg]

@healerqueen asked:

I haven't been around long enough to hear you say all of it, so I'd like to hear it. I'm an uninitiated reader who hasn't read much Wodehouse. I haven't heard about Psmith as much as other Wodehouse. I'd like to know the basics and hear a pitch for why it's worth reading. I'd also like some tips for a first-time reader. Is it a good introduction to Wodehouse?

The Psmith series was my introduction to Wodehouse. These books may not be the most typical of Wodehouse's work in general, but the humor and characterization was enough to make me interested in reading more. I would consider the final book, Leave It to Psmith, as a good example of Wodehouse at his best. It's a light romance/heist story, with lots of convoluted plot twists and connections, witty language, and distinctive characterization.

Anyway, the Psmith series came out of a period when Wodehouse near the beginning of his writing career was moving away from the school stories that he had been writing for boys' magazines and toward writing for adults. The first Psmith book is the last and best of his school stories. Known most often as Mike and Psmith today, it was the sequel to a story serialized as Jackson Junior, about the schoolboy Mike Jackson, youngest of a family of cricketing brothers, and his struggles with school sports politics and his relationship with his next-oldest brother, who is less talented than him. You don't have to read this story to understand the Psmith series (there is a lot of cricket in it). All you need to know at the beginning of Mike and Psmith is that Mike Jackson is an excellent cricketer but a terrible student, so his father pulls him out of his school and sends him to a smaller, more academically focused school.

Where he meets Rupert Psmith, who has been sent there for similar reasons. Psmith is an immaculately-dressed, monocled teenager who adopts a world-weary air, has a distinctively grandiose style of speech, and has added a silent p to his surname to make it more dinstinguished. He also happens to be a brilliant social manipulator who can talk his way into and out of just about any situation. He and Mike hit it off at once, and the subsequent story is about their friendship as Psmith tries to get Mike out of scrapes and the both of them try to avoid the indignity of getting roped onto their hated new school's cricket team. Hilarity ensues.

The next book, Psmith in the City, involves Mike and Psmith having to work at a London bank instead of going to university as previously intended. Neither of them want to be there, so the story is about how they survive the ordeal (particularly Psmith's ongoing battle of wits with their tyrannical boss) and how Psmith ultimately gets them out of it. Very hilarious, but also poignant at times.

This was folllowed by Psmith, Journalist, in which Psmith joins Mike on a cricket tour of the US and, on a visit to New York City, manages to turn a magazine called Cosy Moments into a platform for exposing horrific living conditions in the tenements, which inadvertently gets him involved in a gang war. This is the weakest of the series, with some content that hasn't aged well and much less emphasis on Mike and Psmith's friendship (Mike is absent for much of it), but it contains some hilarious scenes, such as Psmith's trying to pass off Mike as a renowned cat expert to a hard-bitten gangster with a soft spot for cats.

These three all appeared in a British boys' magazine around 1908-10 and are set around that time. They were not published in America until much later, so when Wodehouse at the insistence of his daughter wrote a new Psmith story in 1923 to be serialized in an American publication, the Saturday Evening Post, he assumed that his audience would be unfamiliar with the character and wrote the story in a way that could work as a standalone, while still fitting in with the previous works. Leave It to Psmith is about how Psmith, having lost his father and the family fortune, is looking for employment as an alternative to working in his uncle's dreary fish business. He ends up getting hired to come to Blandings Castle in the guise of a terrible Canadian poet to steal a diamond necklace for reasons that will ultimately benefit the recently married Mike and his wife. It also turns out that the newly hired librarian at Blandings happens to be Eve Halliday, whom Psmith has decided he is in love with after he sees her caught in the rain and gives her an umbrella (...that doesn't belong to him. long story), and he jumps at the chance to be near her. The result is convoluted hilarity to an even greater degree than previous stories, with a happy ending. Psmith never appears in another Wodehouse story again.

I wrote a series of posts last year about why I like each book--Mike and Psmith; Psmith in the City; Psmith, Journalist; and Leave It to Psmith--if you'd like more about my personal affection for the series. They're not everyone's cup of tea, but they meant a lot to me during a difficult time in my life.

And you further asked:

I noticed a reference to Blandings Castle in the first page of the Psmith typeset you posted. Does Blandings appear in several of Wodehouses's books? Are the separate series interconnected?

Yes, Blandings Castle is a recurring location in Wodehouse's books. It crosses over with multiple of his series. Leave It to Psmith is the fourth Psmith book, but it is also the second Blandings Castle book, if that makes any sense. (You do not need to read Something New / Something Fresh to understand Leave It to Psmith, by the way.) The character Uncle Fred first appears in a non-Blandings short story but would become a recurring character in the series. None of the characters from the Jeeves series appear at Blandings, but both series do occur in the same fictional universe.

These are all the books in which Blandings Castle appears:

Something New / Something Fresh (1915) (the former is the original US edition, the latter signficantly revised for the UK)

Leave it to Psmith (1923)

Blandings Castle and Elsewhere (1935) (first six short stories, set between Leave It to Psmith and Summer Lightning)

Summer Lightning (1929)

Heavy Weather (1933)

Lord Emsworth and Others (1937) (short story: "The Crime Wave at Blandings")

Uncle Fred in the Springtime (1939)

Full Moon (1947)

Nothing Serious (1950) (short story: "Birth of a Salesman")

Pigs Have Wings (1952)

Service with a Smile (1961)

Galahad at Blandings (1965)

Plum Pie (1966) (short story: "Sticky Wicket at Blandings")

A Pelican at Blandings (1969)

Sunset at Blandings (1977) (unfinished after Wodehouse's death)

I consider the earlier stories (Something New through Uncle Fred in the Springtime) to be the best; the prose is particularly excellent and they seem less consciously formulaic than the later installments. But there are many people who enjoy the later books a lot too. It's a matter of taste.

[girlactionfigure]

The Holocaust Whistle-Blower: Jan Karski

He tried to save the Jews of Europe.

Jan Karski was a Polish resistance fighter and diplomat who warned world leaders about the Nazi extermination of European Jews. Tragically, none of the leaders of Allied countries did anything to stop the atrocity – including U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt.

Jan was born in 1914 in Lodz, Poland to a devout Catholic family. His father died when he was a small child, and his mother struggled to provide for her eight children. They lived in a neighborhood of overcrowded tenements where most of the residents were Jewish. Jan attended military school where he trained to be a mounted artillery officer and graduated first in his class.

He then trained to be a diplomat, and between 1935 and 1938 he worked at Polish consulates in Romania, Germany, Switzerland and the UK.  At the beginning of 1939 Jan returned to Poland to work at the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the fall of that year, World War II started when Germany invaded Poland. Jan – Officer Karski – was called up to lead a unit of the Krakow Cavalry Brigade. On September 10 the Krakow Army was defeated by the Germans in the Battle of Tomaszow Lubelski and Jan was captured as a prisoner of war. He managed to escape and went to Warsaw, where he joined the SZP, the first resistance movement in occupied Europe.

At that time, the Polish Government in Exile, overthrown by the Germans, was based in Paris. Jan organized secret courier missions to transport important information to the exiled Polish leaders. He traveled frequently between France, Great Britain and Poland, at great risk to himself. In July 1940 his luck ran out and he was arrested by the Gestapo while traveling through Czechoslovakia on his way to France. He was imprisoned and tortured so badly that he was transferred to a hospital. Fortunately Polish resistance leaders found out where he was and managed to smuggle him out of the hospital.

Returning to Warsaw, Jan served in the information bureau of the Polish Home Army, the main resistance movement in Poland. He and other Polish resistance leaders were horrified by the Nazi persecution of Polish Jews, and increasingly aware that the Germans planned to exterminate millions of them. Desperate to alert the rest of the world about the destruction of Polish Jewry, they chose Jan to gather evidence and then travel to Paris to report to prime minister Wladyslaw Sikorski, leader of the Polish government in exile.

Jan worked with Jewish resistance leader Leon Feiner, who smuggled him into the Warsaw Ghetto to observe conditions there. Jan later described the experience: “My job was just to walk. And observe. And remember. The odour. The children. Dirty. I saw a man standing with blank eyes. I asked the guide, what is he doing? The guide whispered, ‘He’s just dying.’ I remember degradation, starvation and dead bodies lying on the street. We were walking the streets and my guide kept repeating, ‘Look at it, remember, remember.’ And I did remember. The dirty streets. The stench. Everywhere. Suffocating. Nervousness.”

Jan also visited a transit camp for Jews on their way to death camps. He took photographs of what he saw there and in the ghetto, and carried them out of the country on microfilm. His testimony and pictures formed the first accurate account of the genocide of European Jews. Polish Foreign Minister Edward Raczynski published Jan’s reports in a pamphlet which was widely distributed. Jan traveled to several countries and met with high-level government officials including British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden, but they either didn’t believe him, or they feared the political consequences of helping Jewish refugees.

In July 1943 Jan traveled to the United States, where he personally met with President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the Oval Office. Jan vividly described the Warsaw Ghetto and the concentration camps where Jews were being murdered en masse. After telling his grim tale, Jan expected Roosevelt to be emotionally affected and want to learn more. Instead, Roosevelt displayed no reaction and didn’t ask a single question. The president heard first-hand about the murder of millions of Jews – and saw the evidence – but he refused to help in any way and showed Jan the door. Ironically, the majority of American Jews voted for Roosevelt, and many Jews still revere him.

While in the States, Jan met with other important personages including Jewish Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter. Jan told his story, answered a few questions, and then the great jurist said, “I am unable to believe what you have told me.” Like Roosevelt, he chose to ignore the inconvenient truth of what was happening to the Jews of Europe. A Polish diplomat later confronted Justice Frankfurter and asked if he thought Karski was lying. “I did not say that this young man was lying. I said that I was unable to believe what he told me. There is a difference.” The difference was likely not clear to the millions of European Jews being tortured and murdered while a Jewish Supreme Court justice chose ignorance over a difficult reality.

Jan Karski’s identity was discovered by the Nazi occupiers in Poland, and he was unable to return home. He stayed in Washington DC, and earned his PhD at Georgetown University. After graduating, he began teaching at the Georgetown School of Foreign Service. Jan remained at Georgetown for forty years, teaching generations of American political leaders about East European and international affairs and comparative government. Jan’s students included Bill Clinton and Madeleine Albright. Jan wrote several books about the Holocaust, and gave lectures around the world about the horrors he witnessed, and the tragic inaction of world leaders. He was determined to make sure the Jews of Poland were not forgotten.

Jan said that he had two missions in life. The first was to bear witness to the genocide of the Jews of Europe. The second was to reveal the tragic indifference of Allied leaders.

In 1965, Jan married Pola Nirenska, a Polish Jew who was an acclaimed dancer and choreographer. He adored her, but Pola was scarred by losing 75 (!) members of her extended family in the Holocaust, and suffered from mental health issues. Pola tragically killed herself in 1992.

Jan Karski was honored as Righteous Among the Nations by Israeli Holocaust Memorial Yad Vashem. He was made an honorary citizen of Israel and received many other awards and honors in Poland, the United States, and Israel. He was nominated for a Nobel Prize. In 2000, Jan Karski was formally recognized as a human rights hero by the UN General Assembly. Soon after, Jan died in Georgetown at age 86. Jan continued to be honored posthumously, and in 2012 President Obama awarded him the country’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He has been the subject of multiple books, plays and movies. There is a statue of Jan sitting on a bench on Madison Avenue in New York City.

For bearing witness to genocide and speaking truth to power, we honor Jan Karski as this week’s Thursday Hero.

[scotianostra]

On October 20th 1938 photographer Iain MacMillan was born in Carnoustie.

After leaving Dundee high school in 1954, he worked as a trainee manager in a local jute mill, before studying photography at the Regent Street Polytechnic (now the University of Westminster). He returned home in 1959 to photograph Dundee tenements and street scenes - powerful images of a way of life about to disappear. His talent was soon recognised by magazines and publishers, and by the early 1960s he was getting commissions from the Lutterworth Press, the Sunday Times, Plays & Players and the Illustrated London News.

Later in the decade he took photographs for a book, The Sculpture of David Wynne, and for Wynne's exhibition catalogue, while also working on a photographic essay about life in the capital. The Book of London (1966) contains some of his best work, and brought him to the attention of Yoko Ono, who commissioned him to photograph her exhibition at the Indica gallery, in St James's. It was there that Yoko met John Lennon, who invited MacMillan to photograph the Abbey Road album cover.

MacMillan continued working with the couple on such projects as the Live Peace in Toronto album (1969) and Sometime in New York City (1972). He also collaborated on the film Erection, an animation of shots of a London hotel under construction with a soundtrack by John and Yoko.

By the mid-1970s, MacMillan was teaching photography in Stoke-on-Trent. As well as possessing a sense of composition and a lively imagination, he was a meticulous craftsman with a sound technical knowledge. He tried to instill these values into his students. In the 1980s his photographs were exhibited in galleries in Britain and the US, and on the continent. The BBC used his work in the series The Rock and Roll Years.

In the 1980s, after his parents died, MacMillan moved back to Carnoustie. He continued to take photographs of Scottish landscapes, his friends and families - and his beloved collie dog, Mac - often using a borrowed camera.

In 1993 Paul McCartney invited MacMillan to take another picture on the famous zebra crossing near the EMI studios in St John's Wood, this time of the Beatle and his Old English sheepdog. MacMillan contrasted the simplicity of the earlier picture by including a team of policemen, press photographers and a lively crowd. The resulting image was used on the cover of the album Paul is Live, thus scotching rumours that McCartney was dead.

MacMillan was modest about his own achievements. He retained a lasting affection for Paul and Linda McCartney, whom he described as "the most solidly down to earth and unaffected couple imaginable".

Iain MacMillan passed away on May 8th 2006 from lung cancer.

[distressednoise]

It's not WIP Wednesday, but have some sad small Cassian amd Brasso anyway.

After his mother’s funeral half of Ferrix had crammed into their shambling rooms, a confused amalgamation of older tenements into a semi-respectable, union-owned family unit that somehow managed to be spread across three floors without ever filling one. Cass had liked it as a boy, squirrelling along its corridors with whoever else’s children were there or shadowing Brasso’s mother as she narrated her day in to him in Basic at half her normal speed and twice everyone else’s. He’d liked that you could only reach Brasso’s room, a strange triangular attic that was wedged up on the third floor and had no business being part of the property at all, by a single steep ladder, and had patiently taught him how to build a snare at the top of it in case of enemy attack.

When he’d disappeared during the wake Brasso thought he’d retreated up there, but instead found Clem and Cass arguing at the door to his mother’s room.

“Mate, you can’t be here,” Clem was saying. “It’s private.”

“Brasso doesn’t mind,” Cassian said, very confidently for someone who hadn’t spoken to Brasso at all that day and didn’t know he was currently making his way down the corridor with a tray full drinks.

“Let’s ask him then, shall we?”

“You don’t need to - ”

“Sorry about this, Brass,” Clem said, leaning round the door. “He’s not touched anything. He’s just a bit upset.”

“Because they’re doing it wrong - ”

“I told you, Cass, it’s different here. Where’s she going to find a mountain in this place?”

“It’s not in this place,” Cassian insisted, and when Brasso made it through the door he saw that Cassian was perched on the end of his mother’s bed, spine erect and face resolutely turned away from Clem, eyes focused intently on an overflowing plate of food of the dresser. “Brasso, when someone dies - ”

“What people believe happens when someone dies,” Clem said gently, “on Fest.”

“On Fest,” parroted Cassian, mustering a level of adolescent scorn that suggested he was, at most, one name day away from becoming ungovernable, “everyone knows that after they die people have to go up the mountain. And it’s difficult, so they need to take things with them. Like food and stuff. And then you need to watch to make sure that they take it, so you know they’re ok, they’re on their way.” He didn’t move, didn’t turn, just applied all his considerable attention to the food, which on closer inspection was only the centre of a wider offering that included an old drip lamp, barely burning, and a note in an awkward hand in a language Brasso didn’t recognise. Clem shrugged apologetically, a silent promise to deal with this and leave, but Brasso quite liked it. Outside, people were telling him how good his mother was, and how gone. In here, he was just babysitting Cassian again. His mother could well be in the other room, laughing with the Daughters of Ferrix and about to call Brasso to ask where the kaff was.

“Where’s the mountain?” he asked.

“You can’t see it until you’re dead.”

“What’s it called?”

“You wouldn’t be able to say it,” Cassian said, haughty, which Brasso was beginning to realise meant he’d forgotten the word in his own language.

“Okay. What’s that say?”

“Oh.” Cassian wavered slightly, his eyes cutting quickly to Brasso, his posture wavering. “It’s just a message for her to take. I thought she’d like to have someone to talk to.”

That got Brasso somewhere in the stomach and somewhere round the throat at same time. HIs mother was dead. She was going to the next place, whatever that was. And here was one of the neighbourhood kids - someone she barely even knew, really - concerned enough that he’d found her someone to talk to and wanted to make sure she got on her way.

His mother is so good, and so gone.

His face did something that prompted Clem to take custody of the tray. “I’ll take this through,” he said, and then: “is one yours?” Brasso nodded dumbly then took one of the mugs and put it on the dresser next to the rest.

Cassian hummed approvingly. “I told you he didn’t mind.”

“How long should I tell people you’ll be waiting?” Clem asked, and Cassian chirped “three days” so confidently that Brasso huffed out a laugh for the first time in days.

They didn’t manage three days: Brasso got called away and Cassian fell asleep, but after everyone was gone Brasso gave into the childish urge to curl up in his mother’s bed and in the morning the drip lamp had gone out, the kaff had curdled and Cassian’s note had found its way to the floor, so maybe someone had been through. Maybe his mother had her message and was on her way to the mountain, wherever it was.

[tenementconsultant]

Unraveling the Intricacies of Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment

[mybeingthere]

Joan Eardley was born in Sussex in 1921. A tragic childhood, with her father committing suicide when she was just nine years old, she moved with her Mother and sister, Patricia, to Blackheath, London in 1929.

Showing an early aptitude and enthusiasm for art, Joan attended the local art school in Blackheath, but soon won a position at the prestigious Goldsmiths College. Following a family move to Glasgow, Joan secured a place at the Glasgow School of Art in 1940, a move which was to significantly influence the course of her future life and art work. Here she was awarded the Sir James Guthrie prize for Portraiture.

Following spells away from Scotland after graduation, Joan returned and set up home and studio in Glasgow in 1949. Close to the tenements of Townhead, Joan began to paint the children from the “slum areas”. These are regarded as amongst the most powerful and prized of her life’s work; depicting the deprivation and yet humanity within the faces of the children.

In the early 1950s, Joan purchased a cottage at Catterline, a small coastal village close to Stonehaven. Here she began to experiment with both land and sea-scapes, working with paint to depict her surrounding world with a life and energy few had managed before.

Joan was made and associate member of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1955, and voted a full member in 1963. Sadly, it was in that same year Joan lost her battle with cancer and died, aged just 42.

[kenkaodoll]

Kamiya Dojo Monogatari Tale 78 (JUMP SQ 24/07)

About Kamiya Dojo Monogatari:

Tales of Kamiya dojo is written by Kaoru Kurosaki and published along with the “Rurouni Kenshin Hokkaido” arc in JUMPSQ. The tale involves the Rurouni Kenshin character in daily life that takes time between Kenshin and Kaoru marriage until the epilogue chapter in the original manga before the Hokkaido Arc. Until this month (June 2024) there are a total 78 chapters in Tales of Kamiya dojo. This is an unofficial translation. 

Previous Story: https://www.tumblr.com/kenkaodoll/750191530648748032/kamiya-dojo-monogatari-tale-77-jump-sq-2406

 

Kenshin leapt from the railing and first he swung down one bouncer on the bridge with the wet tablecloth on his hand.

“Uwaa!” 

Clang. The tablecloth hit the bouncer in the face. Kenshin landed on the bridge, kicking another bouncer who held a sword. 

The man whose face was pasted with a cloth was covering his face with his hands and groaned, "My eyes...! The other man who had been kicked was screaming "Aaaah" as his kicked sword fell under the bridge.

In no time at all, the two men on the bridge were out of combat.

“I owe you!” Mikio said to Kenshin and ran off across the bridge to somewhere else. It’s typical of him, a person who did not hesitate to run away.

“...”

Kenshin looked straight at Suwa. He was in the middle of washing dishes, so he had no reverse sword. How far could the opponent go against him with his bare hands and Kenji on his back?

“Tch. He is just a baby sister, what are you doing? Hey guys!"

Suwa backed up and looked at the three men who were waiting for him.

 The men step forward to protect Suwa and hold their swords ready.

Kenshin was standing on a narrow bridge over a waterway which was used for daily life. With the two men who were unable to fight and Kenshin himself, it was already cramped.

The three new men couldn’t attack Kenshin at once.

“Ah.. this…” Kenshin spoke to Kenji on his back.

“Yahiko once asked me about a way to fight multiple enemies by yourself.”

“Da—?”

“This situation is similar to the strategy we talked about then.”

That strategy to make the opponent come to himself one-on-one had come by chance on this narrow bridge.

Without a sword and with Kenji on his back, Kenshin had no choice but to play it safe and deal with the situation one-on-one.

“What’s wrong, hey babysitter? You talk to a baby. If you want to beg for your life, come to me."

Suwa wondered if it was a coincidence that Kenshin, who didn't have a sword, had knocked them both off the bridge at once. He completely underestimated Kenshin, who was carrying a child on his back.

“It’s an important old story between father and son, that it is.”

Kenshin took a fighting stance.

“Shut up, you’re a mess!”

 One of the men flashed a white blade at Kenshin, with all his might.

・

Meanwhile, a little while before that.

“I'm really sorry to bother you on such a big day… Oh, why on the first day of the cafe's opening,” Shino was talking to Megumi in a tone that sounded like she was asking for advice.

“What's wrong?”

“My stomach's just getting contractions…” Shino smiled helplessly and rubbed her stomach.

“Since when?”

“A little while ago. I was planning on asking a midwife near the tenement house to help me, but... ouch…”

“Then let's go back to the tenement house and get ready for the birth.”

“What if the baby is born now?”

Megumi encouraged the anxious Shino, “It'll be fine. The baby won't be born so soon. Anyway, where's the manager? By the way, I can't find him anywhere. Where is he?”

The only person who can take Shino home is her husband, Mikio. Megumi looked around and asked where Mikio was.

“Um, you see... he was called by a customer earlier and left. He hasn't come back since…” Tsubame said with a troubled look on her face.

“He's not here when he’s needed!” Megumi was irritated but still gave instructions,“So, where's Ken-san?”

“I just checked the washing area outside, but he wasn't there,” Yahiko reported immediately.

“We need a man! Oh dear! It can't be helped. I can't let Shino-san walk back to the tenement house, so I need to carry her on a two-wheeled-cart.”

“If Shino-san gives birth, it's a major event for the Nagaoka family... so... um, I'll do my best,” Tsubame offered.

“With your weak arms, it would be quicker for Shino-san to walk,” Megumi flatly refused.

“Ah... okay,” Tsubame retreated sheepishly.

“There's not enough strength here…” Megumi glanced at Kaoru.

"I'll do it! Got it. I'll borrow a handcart from a neighbor."

Kaoru rushed out of the store.

“I'll help too.”

“Me too!” Yahiko and Misao shouted.

“You guys stay here,” Megumi gave instructions to them .

“Since we won't have any adults here, don't let any new customers in from now on.”

“I got it!” Misao replied cheerfully.

“Then, once the customers who are currently in the store leave, we'll close up the store, a little earlier than planned.”

“We can run the store on our own.”

Yahiko pouted. He didn't want to close down the store early, which it's been going well.

“We deal with money and food, so when something goes wrong, we can't just say, 'The kids took care of it.'”

“We're not children.”

“If this was a shop that had been established for years, we'd leave it to you. Even though we're adults, we still don't know what to do…”

“Well, I guess there's nothing we can do,” Yahiko reluctantly agreed to Megumi's words.

“But... We'd have to turn away customers who want to come in... It’s regrettable…” Tsubame responded.

Misao made a suggestion, “If we close the shop, we'll have some leftover baked goods prepared for today, so why not give them out as an apology?”

“That's a good idea! If the cakes are delicious, maybe they'll come back again,” Tsubame smiled.

“It'll also be good advertising,” Yahiko nodded.

“Let's do that. The manager is not here to help us make decisions, but we can't ask permission from someone who's slacking off, so it can't be helped,”Megumi also agreed with the idea of ​​handing out baked goods.

And so, the group split up into a storekeeping team and a childbirth team.

・

“I've borrowed the two-wheeled cart!” Kaoru, who had rushed out earlier, jumped in.

“Leave the rest to us.”

Kaoru and Megumi put Shino on the platform of the two-wheeled cart.

“I'm so sorry... I wish my husband had been here.” Shino seemed to be in pain, so she obediently let herself be put on the two-wheeled cart.

“If you say that, this is a crucial time and none of our staff are here... Anyway, let's do our best!” Kaoru put in a lot of strength and pushed the cart. This thing was hard to start moving at beginning, she needed to put all her strength.

“Leave the cafe to us!”

“Please be careful!”

“Take care!”

Yahiko, Misao, and Tsubame sent them off until the cart was out of sight, then changed the "Open" sign hanging at the cafe’s entrance to "Getting Ready."

Not long after that,

“Oh, are you closed already?” A middle-aged male customer came in and asked regretfully.

“Yes. I'm sorry, sir. Please take this as an apology,” Tsubame handed him a baked cake.

“It's the first day of business, why are you closing so early?”

“Ojisan, today is an auspicious day for the opening of the café, but we have something even better to celebrate!” Misao blabbered on about the manager's wife giving birth.

“Oh, that's great! Then I think I'll share the sweets with my eldest son's wife, maybe she’ll get some luck.”

"That would be great."

Thanks to Misao's customer service skills, what she learned from Aoiya, even the customers who couldn't get in the store received sweets and left with smiles on their faces.

And then…

Something noisy started going on inside the store.

“Where is it? Where…?”

Mikio came in through the back door and was making a big fuss inside the store.

“Damn, what the hell is that guy doing here just now!”

 Yahiko returned to the store, leaving Misao and Tsubame to give out the sweets.

“Hey you! Where's the sakabato?” Mikio’s face was pale and he was searching for the sakabato.

“What? There's no way someone like you would touch Kenshin's precious sword. You should keep talking in your sleep!”

“Shut up, I really need it! Ah, there it is!” Mikio found the sword on his own, grabbed it, and  left through the entrance of the store.

“Oi, wait! Hey!” Yahiko tried to stop Mikio, but unfortunately...

“Excuse me, can I have the bill please?” 

A customer who was still in the store called him. Yahiko couldn't ignore him, so he served the customer.

“Mikio-sama?” Tsubame, who was handing out sweets at the entrance, noticed Mikio but she didn't quite understand what happened to him.

“Hey you! There’s something important!” Misao tried to tell him about Shino, but Mikio ran past as fast as he could, as if that wasn't the time for him.

“Hey! Listen to what I’m saying!” Misao called out, but Mikio only showed his back as he ran away and her voice didn't reach him.

・

“This is getting messy”

One of the men flashed his white blade at Kenshin with all his might.

The blade almost hit Kenji if Kenshin didn’t dodge it in time, so he jumped back and landed behind the bridge.

All he had left as a weapon was the tablecloth in his hand. He put some distance between himself and his enemy, buying himself some time to think about what to do. At that moment...

"Here you go! Now there's no debt!” Mikio's voice rang out as the Sakabato came flying.

Kenshin caught it with his hand.

“Kyaa kyaa!” Kenji cried out happily.

“Hey! But what's the point of handing a sword to some babysitter?” Suwa still underestimated Kenshin.

But...

Kenshin quickly pulls out his sword.

“!”

Blood drained from Suwa's face.

“That's a reverse-blade sword... A cross scar on his cheek... That babysitter, I can’t believe this…”

Notes:

*sakabato: reverse-blade-sword

.…..to be continued in chapter 79……  https://www.tumblr.com/kenkaodoll/757126529274806272/kamiya-dojo-monogatari-tale-79-jump-sq-2408?source=share

TLnote(1): translating Japanese is so hard because the sentence structure is very different compared with English. Also the style of writing is different, plus there’s a lot of figurative, poetic language and things that don't make sense if it’s directly translated into english. So forgive me if this is very weird to read, and please tell me if you want to give corrections. 

TLnote(2) I will provide the original Japanese text for correction if any of you who read have better knowledge of the Japanese language. Just dm and I’ll send the file.

TLnote(3) Dtninja had translated some earlier chapters on his website. You can go and check on there

Read the rest of the story here: https://at.tumblr.com/kenkaodoll/kamiya-dojo-monogatari/5dqxxnmq29m0

[idk6123]

Broken Up (Johnny Vincent X Male Reader)

It’s a day like no other. Inside of the tenements, the entire greaser gang is hanging out. All except Johnny and Lola. It all was nice and tranquil until Johnny enters the room with one thing to say.

“Lola broke up with me.”

And that’s when the entire group changed. Not because Lola isn’t with them anymore. In fact, about everyone is happy she left, knowing full well she is poison for Johnny. The problem lies by Johnny, who lost his entire will to live. With Lola gone, all he does is sobbing around, feeling down and don’t do anything.

Because of that, the entire view upon the greasers goes down. The jocks begin calling them ‘pussy followers’. Their arch nemesis, the preps, call them incels. The bully begins to pick on them, and even fight them if Russell is involved, since Johnny isn’t involved. Hell, even the nerds begin picking up on them with snide remarks.

The greasers know very well this is going to be an outlasting issue if they don’t take a stance right now. And the solution is getting Johnny Vincent back. And thus, the group begins helping them.

Standing in the living room of the tenements, Vance, Peanut and Y/N stand in front of Johnny, who looks down while sitting on a couch.

“Sup, Johnny. How about we steal some drinks?” Peanut tries his best to sound excited.

“No thanks.”

The group feel somewhat less motivated, but don’t give up. “I saw that shit-eating Gord today and it’s been a while when we beat the shit out of him! So, you’re in?” Vance suggests.

“Not in the mood…”

Then it’s up to Y/N to try out the last suggestion. “I saw this girl that would be great for you. Real sexy. Nice tits, all ass, zero plastic and with the best personality. How about it?”

Johnny sighs. “She wouldn’t be the same as Lola…”

The three greasers frown, disappointed none of their ideas worked. Maybe some of the other greasers thought of something? Thus, they walk to the other room, seeing Hal entering the building, holding a bag with fast food.

“Hal, it’s not the time to stuff your face!” Peanut scolds him.

“It’s not for me. It’s for him.” Hal points towards Johnny. “The best way to comfort someone is with food.”

“That sounds like a bad way to comfort yourself.” Y/N says with a frown.

“And he gets fat if he eats like you!” Vance adds. “We’re already bein’ made fun of. We shouldn’t give them more reasons.”

Hal scoffs. “That’s what you think. You have no idea what extra weight can do for you during a fight.”

“That’s because you broke someone ribs when you sit on them, you dumbass!” Peanut yells at him.

“Whatever.” Hal ignores them and enters the living room. The three let out a deep sigh.

“So, any other smart idea?” Vance asks.

“He needs to move on from her.” Peanut says. He looks back at the rest. “We need to get him a new girl.”

“And where do we get one?” Vance doesn’t sound too confident in that plan. “Y/N’s suggestion was turned down instantly.”

“How about the strip club?” Y/N just blurted something out, expecting to get some insults. But to his surprised, everyone seems to agree with them.

While everybody agrees with the new plan, they hear shouting from the other room. “Does it look like I can eat garbage and get fat when there’s still a chance Lola loves me again?! Fuck off!”

“Alright, strip club it is.” Peanut concluded.

-

It’s the day that Johnny is finally come back! …At least, they hope it will. Everything is all being taken care of, such for a car and fake ID’s. Now, all they need is Johnny. With their car parked in front of their club house, Y/N is waiting in the car, with his hands on the wheel. Soon enough, the front door opens. He looks back to see Peanut and Vance dragging Johnny to the car.

“Let me go, you maggots!” Johnny tries to free himself, but surprisingly, Peanut and Vance manage to hold themselves and put their leader in the backseat, with both greasers sitting next to him.

“Go! Go! Go!” Peanut yells.

Y/N hits the gas panel and begins driving away. With the car driving, there is no way for Johnny to escape safely. Johnny let out an annoyed huff and glares to the man in front of him.

“I really expected better from yall.”

“That’s why we bring the old Johnny back!” Y/N says with an excited smile. “Because we’re going to have a… GUYS NIGHT!” Peanut and Vance put on their smiles, trying to infect Johnny with it, but it doesn’t help.

“I don’t care. Bring me back.”

“We bring you back when the night is over, man.” Vance replies. “But don’t look forward to that. Enjoy the moment! I think a couple of shots would help ya!”

-

And thus, during the entire ride out of town, the three greasers try to get Johnny excited. However it didn’t really work. But still, the night is young. They manage to get out of town and to the strip club. They all sit around the podium, where a woman is dancing with a pole. The boys try to have a fun time, but Johnny still looks down.

“Here, get some money.” Y/N hands over a couple of paper bills over to Johnny. “Put it in her bra… thingy.”

“Not in the mood.” Johnny says with a frown.

“What about the vodka?” Peanut gestures to the full glass in Johnny’s hands. “Don’t like it. We can order a cocktail or sumthin’.”

“Not thirsty.”

Vance tries to think of something to make Johnny at least a little active. Thus, he looks on the stage and points towards one of the strippers. “Look! Bet you haven’t see titties this big.”

“Meh…” Johnny couldn’t care less.

And thus, even though they tried to get Johnny happy, there isn’t much progress.

-

The plan failed. Johnny still feels miserable. Even though the three greasers did their best, they still somehow failed. The barely naked ladies didn’t help. The alcohol didn’t help. Not even their enthusiasm. And thus, the entire night was a letdown, with the only thing that kept the greaser trio going is the drinks, which made them drunk.

And thus, after so many hours, the four men walk out of the club. Peanut and Vance barely walking right, while Y/N barely functioning. Johnny seems to be the only one that can even think straight. That’s when they manage to reach the car. Everybody looks at it for a second before realizing that they can’t go home.

“Shit…!”

Johnny let out a deep sigh and looks back at his men. “Give me the keys.”

Y/N merely hands over the car keys, allowing Johnny to open it. The king then grabs Peanut and Vance both by the arms and put them in the back. When he’s done, he looks back at Y/N. “Get in. We’re leaving.”

Y/N did so and sit next to the driver’s seat, while Johnny sits in front of the wheel. After starting up the car, Johnny drives away. Y/N looks somewhat sleepy. His eyes locks on the mirror to see Vance and Peanut instantly in deep sleep.

While driving, Y/N heads looks back at Johnny while leaning further in his seat, his face concentrated on the road. “Are you upset…?”

“Hmm?” Johnny slightly looks to his side. “No. Not at all.”

“We just wanted to make you feel better. We’re worried about you… and the gang get harassed by everyone.”

“Whaddya mean?” This is the first time Johnny heard something like that.

“The bullies beat us up. The preps make fun of us even more. The jocks call us weak. Even the nerds start having the balls to annoy us.”

Johnny instantly feels guilty. With a sad frown, he looks at Y/N. “I didn’t realize… I’m sorry, Y/N. I shouldn’t let my boys down.”

Y/N quietly hums. His heads roll back to the window to see the dark highway. Lights of the other cars flickers his face. In the background, the radio is playing softly the newest songs. Johnny continues to feel sorry for him and looks back.

“Johnny… I’m sorry Lola dumped you. You… you deserve better then that.”

It takes a couple of seconds before Johnny responds. “I know…” He looks contemplated, looking back and forth from Y/N and back to the road. “I can talk to ya right?”

Y/N slightly looks back. “Of course…” He says with a tired voice.

Johnny wanted to threat him and tell him Y/N better not tell anyone else about this, but he trusts him, so he didn’t. “I have problems about… expressing my feelings.”

Y/N doesn’t understands what he’s saying. “What do you mean? I always think of you to not hold back your anger or love.”

“I’m not talking about those feelings. I meant like… sadness.” Johnny looks like he has difficulty admitting something so personal. “I never been good at dealing with stuff like that. I never cry, especially in front of others. I never had someone to talk to. I don’t even have some kind of coping mechanism to deal with it. Does that make me weird?”

“To be honest, I understand. You’re not one to appear weak, so you won’t allow yourself to grief properly.” Y/N comments.

Johnny hums quietly. “Ya right. I won’t allow myself to be sad.”

Y/N wanted to help him out. “Johnny, listing to me when I say this. I don’t expect yourself to cry, or even grief properly. But please, whenever you feel down, talk to me.”

Johnny remains quiet, not responding. Though after a couple of seconds, he puts the car to the side of the road, stopping it. Then he looks back at Y/N. “Y/N… Can I get a hug?” He sounds rather nervous.

Y/N unbuckles his seatbelt and move over to him to hug him. Johnny puts his arms around his fellow greaser, feeling reassured that he’s not alone. Johnny eventually hugs tighter.

There is a silence, a nice one. Though eventually they stopped, with Y/N getting back to his seat. There, he sees Johnny looking already a little better.

“Thanks man. I really needed that.”

“Anytime, Johnny.”

Johnny smiles a bit in respond. “I’m not that much of a hugger. Not sure it’s because of who I am, or that other guys will call me homo for hugging one of my boys.”

Y/N smiles back. “Depends. Did you like it?”

“I did…” Johnny let out a sigh. “Guess I’m just too much of a pussy to think of what other’s think.”

“You are everything but a pussy, Johnny.” Y/N reassures.

Johnny looks grateful at him. “Thanks.” He looks back in front to start up the car, only to stop and look back at Y/N. “Is it possible that we hang out together? Just us.”

“Anytime you want.”

Johnny smiles, happily. “Ya know? I feel like I can get over Lola.”

“You do?”

“Sure do.” Johnny admits. “I think I know someone who can make me happy. Someone that is loyal for me, as well kind and a badass.”

Y/N has a feeling who he’s talking about but doesn’t want to make things awkward. “Who’s the lucky person?”

Johnny smirks. “You would like to know, dontcha?” He returns back at the car to start up, leaving Y/N believing that he’s talking to him. “I tell ya later. I’m certain you’re going to like it.”

[unproduciblesmackdown]

an/other thing/s, Of Course

rifling through things again going like "oh yeah, That" & "hmm making connections. great work, me" & "huzzah forgot that entirely / what a delight as always to revisit things" & Pointing these couple times

reminded of wondering "wait did another sibling die in infancy or are they always just out of frame, infantly. or is their mom coincidentally babysitting at the moment" and in a real feat was like alright a wiki sure might have these answers, i'll open it & look things up. indeed telling me an infant hannah was a sibling, died. then going "oh right you're telling me What lmfaooo" re: the wiki's timeline asserting that Mordecai's First Murder(tm) was four years before the fleeing on a train incident?? murder of "opportunism and revenge" like What is going on there lmao, a lot at once, apparently. providing more of a quote that i'm just taking for granted Exists rather than perhaps have to wayback cited sources: "He extorted money from someone who had previously worked for and who had, in a way, betrayed him and indirectly cost his already depleted family a great deal. What he managed to get from this individual was a frustrating pittance, though, so believing himself to be smarter and more capable, he murdered him and took his place as a relatively minor player in a larger criminal network. He used the to position to embezzle money from higher-ups, at first to make up for what was lost and later, because he could. Eventually, inevitably, he got caught." that little Mystery Solving thing where you sure just don't have enough info until you do lmao like What! out here going "starts as a bookkeeper. probably does some embezzling wuh oh" like no way am i inferring "yeah but also previously worked for, indirectly kind of betrayed by some bookkeeper, Got His Ass i.e. killed and replaced him like hello yes it's me, That Guy? working remotely? what Comedy played out in replacing him lmfao and Then embezzles and Then gets in trouble for that" like hello!!! amazing. another win for looking things up ever after all.

which does kind of ramp things up, also. figured "i do remember mordecai's dad died at some point in his childhood & the entire poor tenement living conditions issue & combining that & general socioeconomicpolitical factors it's like well yeah sure so he gets into bookkeeping for perhaps less than legitimate(tm) enterprises, does some less than Definitely Not Embezzling" was motivation for things enough, sure, then like oh uh hello murder years before fleeing??? but add in a sibling dying for increased sense of insecurity and some kind of especial acute crisis specifically uponst this family by some specific party Fucking Around like ah right sure. doling the Finding Out and more broadly being in tempestuous situations always from some point onwards, gotcha.

and well the only thing about the little atlas & mordecai photograph is "oh right i forgot there was that photograph of these two" and the other remarkable point being like, can't really think of another time mordecai is ever shown so Wide Eyed in a "neutral" mode of being. rather than elevatedly bothered, whether at the level of "quite unsettled &/or irritated" or the level quite above that of "trying to kill someone before they kill him and it's extra tricky / urgent" which is very neat of him (to shift o_o mode for that, namely. thank you mordecai for the Drama as always. real [!] visuals) and it's like, maybe it's to cue his being younger? sure has real I'm Baby design, even with also "yeowch. sharp" and resting bitch face design, additionally. complimentary. was gonna be like "sure don't know when it was taken or how quickly this particular of the job was further presented to him, but maybe it's about having a few dozen fewer kills under his belt or something. but like damn never mind even getaway train mordecai was like been there, ["you son of a bitch i told you i'd do it. you're next (i'm referring to a specific post edit lmao. but you can imagine)"]'d that....still perhaps several dozen fewer kills and, you know, kind of a wash to consider the specifics beyond that when it's like sure maybe that'd make him look unhappier in pictures or maybe there's reaching the point of having to adjust to that new norm here. rather than that even with motivation, probably baby's first murder is more difficult than the implicit second through fourth required to Not Be Killed himself. or maybe not. much to consider; all speculative. maybe it's another impromptu unexpected snapshot. maybe he's glad to take a pic with just atlas &/or doing so feels more like a Portrait & this is still his Portrait Face. presumably he wouldn't have had many, or any at all, taken in years. and atlas mustering half a half smile like another giddily joyful day with the boys

[ladyanaconda]

The Notamafia Commission

There are Five Families in Notamafia, each controlling their own neighborhood Midtown Notamafia has the biggest hotels, the racing track, swankiest nightclubs, and the most valuable rackets in town. One Family controls it - The Morettis, tough sons of bitches. Don Emilio Moretti is an honorable man, but if you cross him once, you're a dead man. Then, there's the Peraltas, from Cocthills. Whatever you do, don't bring up Don Vittorio Peralta's height. As for Cocthills – it's pretty ritzi, but watch out near the waterfront. If you had a dime for every cheap hotel, brothel or sleazy clipjoint, you'd be a very wealthy man. Look into the face of a Sciandra, and you'll see one thing - trouble. You don't wanna run into them on a dark night in their Downtown Heights stronghold. At first the place looks pretty quiet, all little shops and fancy parks - but watch out. Never pay the Sciandras a visit if you're ill prepared. There's rumours about Don Estefano Sciandra having... cannibalistic tastes.

Lower Notamafia is one of the city's toughest neighborhoods, controlled by the Gattos. They ain't that rich - a few gambling clubs and brothels, plus some weapons. Lower Notamafia is a sewer, full of burned-down tenements and empty warehousees. The railyards are a rats' nest of scumbags and late night wheeling and dealing. Don't underestimate Don Ira Gatto, though. He might look old and frail, but there's a reason why he's still in charge.

Finally, there's the Knolastnames - the only family led by Imp Dons from their humble beginnings in the Docks. Until recently, they had some financial troubles, which the other Families attribute to its... poor management. There's rumors that the consigliere, Alessio, is the one truly in charge. The Commision would certainly prefer him in that role rather than Don Crimson.

Notamafia Town has many criminal gangs and organizations, but these five are the big fish—literally in four cases.