hello this is an infodump about my probably-never-going-to-be-finished fic for the magic college au (it is Very Long)

basically like halfway through may i started this fic where (if you didnt read the tumblr post which is fine im about to tell you all about it anyways) I took all the lodgers, gave them super powers and stuck them into college (originally it was high school but that felt weird since they're supposed to be adults)

Here's me explaining all the powers and why I chose them now because I Can

Henry and Edward have the same power bc theyre still one physical being, Henry most reflects the "original", but pretty much when he was a little kid he accidentally used his power on himself and split his personality/being into two, creating Henry Jekyll (The "good") and Edward Hyde (The "bad"). Edward likes to hold it over him that as much as he likes to pretend he *isnt* the original and is just as much of a fragment as he is. Henry avoids using his powers now, but his friends and family kepts "casually" nudging him to try a school for exploring your powers, so now he's in one. His power is a lot more than what he did to himself, it just allows him to manipulate emotions, thoughts and memories. It was called "Disconnect" because the only way he knows how to use it is to shut off said things (for example, if someone is having a panic attack he could just turn their emotions off. he wont though, because he has no clue how to reverse it)

Ito is like, one of the most important characters just because of her power. Her power is like the opposite (kinda). It's called 'Connect', and it allows her to connect two or more people together through various means. Senses, thoughts, emotions, memories, etc. She hasn't unlocked much of its capabilities because she doesn't know how to control it, and one of the few times she's used it it was on her brother and he still holds a grudge on her for it. She accidentally Connects their entire dorm floor on the first day there. After those three the rest of the abilities are kinda basic and not super relevant to the plot i already came up with, but im sure theyll find a use at some point George Bird, who prefers to be called Bird, has chlorokinesis (which means he can manipulate plants) because in the comic his expertise is  Crypto-horticulture which is just like-- magic plants basically. So now he has a magic that deals with plants Christopher Archer, who prefers to be called Archer, has telekinesis. He often uses it to help himself while messing around with inventions or repairs (his family wasn’t exactly well off, so he was often the one repairing broken things. good thing he has a knack for it), he’s just in the college to learn something more and get away from home James Maijabi can communicate with spirits, it’s driven him a little bonkers but at least most ghosts fade after a period of time and stop bugging him. He doesn’t use the ability to do much, but he has successfully solved a murder once. He’s in the college to learn to banish the ghosts, and to maybe use them to his advantage. Ranjit Helsby can breathe underwater as his expertise in the comic is  Bathynautical Exploration, which if i remember right means he just explores the oceans. I thought it was fitting. He’s at the college to practice his power in a safe, controlled environment and see if there’s any hidden aspects to it. Lily Lavender can teleport, she doesn’t have much control on it as it only manifested in full a little under half a year ago. She often teleports around uncontrollably when excited, and it has turned into more than a few accidents. She just wants to learn to control it. Eleanora Cantiloupe can levitate herself and other objects, she wants to learn to life heavier objects and bring herself higher off the ground without risking falling off a building or crushing herself with a bowling ball. Jackson Griffin can turn himself and other living creatures invisible, which he discovered around age 8 when he turned his cat invisible and thought it died/ran away. The invisibility wore off after Griffin thought he was going insane feeling a cat-like weight on him while he was sleeping or hearing ghost purrs. Walter Pennybrigg’s ability is called ‘Lifelike’ and he can bring inanimate objects to life, he wants to learn how to make the time limit of half an hour longer. Anthony Sinnett can control fire, he wants to learn how to stop sparking when angry or excited and not catch random things on fire without noticing.  Martin Mosley can block light in such a way that seems as though they’re manipulating shadows, they want to see if there’s any way to make this useful. Baxter Tweedy can turn himself into a being of electricity and go from various electronic and manipulate them from inside. He wants to make sure he never gets stuck inside any electronic and maybe learn to manipulate things from the outside. Robert Lanyon can manipulate water, he just wants to stop accidentally splashing people when he gets pissed off. Jonathan Luckett’s ability is called ‘Combustion’ and it does exactly what it sounds like it does; make things explode. He just wants to be able to explode things without burning a hosue down. Rachel Pidgely can heal living beings, she wants to learn to heal bigger wounds after her brother died and she couldn’t help him. Charles Tanis can bring things back from the dead (temporarily, after half an hour they become zombie-like and after another fifteen minutes they drop dead, unable to be ressurected again), he wants to make his time limit longer and possibly re-ressurect previously ressurected beings. Jasper Kaylock, his ability is called ‘Werewolf’, he can shapechange between a fully human form, fully wolf form and anthro wolf form, he has heightened senses and is naturally much stronger and faster. He wants to be able to control his shapechanging, because currently he’s human during the day, anthro wolf at night and full wolf on full moons.  Victoria Frankenstein, ‘Sentience’, gives sentience to a being capable of containing it, and it is currently permanent with the exclusion of death. She wants to make the sentience non-permanent or learn to control those she gives it to. Creature, a product of Frankenstein’s attempts to create a new species, she has yet to kill him so he simply follows her around After arriving at the school Rachel and Jasper start gathering their dorm-hall mates (as everybody on this list all lives on the same floor/hall but in seperate rooms) for a shopping trip. sometime on this trip Ito accidentally Connects the entire party together, but it doesnt really hit until they all get back. There’s about fifteen minutes of everybody panicking, which created an obnoxious feedback loop of panic. Ito, familiar with her own ability (kinda), Henry, familiar with sharing a mind with another, and Rachel, naturally good at handling hers and others emotions, all manage to detangle themselves from the mess and start calming people down. They all make their way out into the common room where Ito admits that she really didn’t mean to do this, and she has no idea how to fix it. They have to figure out living with their minds all mangled up for at least a couple weeks now. In this time, they discover a few secrets about each other. Frankensteins dead girlfriend, Jekyll’s secret ability and even more secret other half, jasper’s werewolf downsides, rachel’s dead brother, the list goes on.  annd that’s all ive got anygays enjoy your day

Happy Birthday to DLabrie mother! Check Out her Music Video Debut starring MARVALESS in Short Film about Life in Oakland raising a son while also battling serious Health issues

Happy Birthday to DLabrie mother! Check Out her Music Video Debut starring MARVALESS in Short Film about Life in Oakland raising a son while also battling serious Health issues

Happy Birthday to DLabrie mother! Check Out her Music Video Debut in Short Film about Life in Oakland raising a son while also battling serious Health issues + starring Sacramento Hip Hop |Legend “Marvaless” as her in younger years Subscribe & Watch DLabrie’s mother Music Video Debut in Short Film about Life in Oakland raising a son while also battling Health issues Subscribe & Watch DLabrie’s…

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Oh hello! How unexpected, what a large group of people here! Excuse me for my forwardness but might I inquire as to who you all are?

Well, that'll be quite the long list, but if it'll help you, sure!

There's Doctor Helsby, Doctor Maijabi, Doctor Hans Phaall, Miss Chabra, Miss Flowers, Miss Lavender, Mr Archer, Myself (Mr Bird), Mr Doddle, Mr Griffin, Mr Luckett, Mx Mosley, Mr Pennebrygg, Mr Sinnett, Mr Tanis, Mr Tweedy, Mrs Cantilupe and Miss Ito.

As I said, a very long list. Hope it's useful though!

~ Bird

"One document was called "the expedient homemade firearms manual" but was disguised under the file name "KFC secret spice blend", Mr Luckett told the court."

"...the new Regiment now raising": Continuing the story of the Extra Regiment [Part 1]

The 2nd Maryland Regiment at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in 1781. This regiment was broadly the successor of the Regiment Extra. Courtesy of the Military Print Company.

Reprinted from my History Hermann WordPress blog.

In our last post, many of the contours of the Maryland Extra Regiment/Regiment Extra were outlined. This post aims to expand that story. It was pointed out that Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Lawson Smith (called Alexander Smith in the rest of this article), described as a "gentleman Who's Conduct & Bravery deserves Your Excellency notice" by Harford County's Richard Dallam in a letter to Maryland Governor Thomas Sim Lee on July 14, 1780, led the regiment. [1] Within this unit, Maryland 400 veterans Samuel Luckett, Josias Miller, John Plant, Charles Smith, and James Farnandis were all mid or high-ranking military officers. This post aims to outline the known members of the Extra Regiment beyond these six individuals using available information, telling more of the story of this regiment which is broadly lost to history. Sometimes this will overlap with what was said in the previous post, but generally it will be new information to expand existing scholarship on the subject.

Recruiting and desertion within the Extra Regiment

In July of 1780, to alleviate the "Exigencies of the War in the Southern Department" or southern theater of the Revolutionary War, the Council of Maryland ordered the creation of this regiment. Originally, it was supposed to consist of 531 men, with orders it be ready by July. [2] However, recruiting was so abysmal that hardly "one-half the promised number was obtained." This means that there was less than 265 men, with exactly 228 in the regiment, commanded by Mr. Alexander Smith, by December, marching later that year. This was not only because the state did not have sufficient funds for the recruitment of individuals into the regiment, later giving men 1,500 pounds to serve for only a three-month period, a successful measure, but also trying to draw in former deserters. The latter was compounded by armed boats reportedly "maned by the torys" in the lower part of Dorcester County, suppressed by Lieutenant Jonathan Smoot, later a captain, who burned the houses of those who held pro-British Crown sympathies and hung others of the same political persuasion.

The other problems of deserters was outlined by Benjamin MacKall, recruiter for the regiment in Calvert County, who told Col. Uriah Forest that in July only one man joined the Extra Regiment, with two enlisted, and former deserters, escaping by "breaking through the Prison wall." Adding to this was that fact that the local militia was not paying more than 5% toward procuring new recruits for the regiment, leading certain counties to not fulfill their quotas required to fill the ranks of new regiment. Still, in some counties, like Queen Anne's, 31 men were enlisted by William Hemsley even with lackluster recruiting in general.

Other problems with recruiting the necessary men led to continuing pleas. As the "extravagant prices given to Soldiers" for the regiment reduced recruiting for other regiments, new recruits were even furnished "with meat" so that they would stay within the ranks. This confirms that the idea that Maryland abandoned the idea of an Extra Regiment after the Battle of Camden on August 16 is completely erroneous. Nine days after that battle, the Council of Maryland  wrote the wife of Governor Lee, Mary Digges Lee, saying:

We are very anxious to send forward the Regiment Extraordinary to reinforce the American Army. The Impracticability of procuring immediately by Purchase, a Sufficient Quantity of Linen, for Shirts for all the Men, induces us to solicit your Assistance at this Emergency, and to request a Loan of two hundred and sixty Shirts, which we will not fail to replace when you may deem it necessary to demand them.

In later months, the situation would seem to get worse. Fifty men within the regiment, as of September 17, were in the hospital, and "a number" deserted, but the Continental Congress still directed the state of Maryland to take certain measures "for the march of the new raised Regiment." As the year progressed, the soldiers of the regiment were clothed, even with continuing desertions and defections to "the Enemy's vessels," and was given the appropriate supplies for its imminent march Southward. Some soldiers were even rejected by the state, but then were allowed to march again under certain circumstances. Even the paymaster of southern department, Joseph Clay, was given 2,060 dollars on October 25 by the Continental Congress to enable the "extra regiment...to proceed to the Southward." [3] It was around this time that the Maryland legislature set the stage for the final dissolution of the regiment, by saying that "the non-commissioned officers and privates of the regiment extra ordinary be draughted into the old battalions of the quota of this state in the continental service, and that the field and commissioned officers of said regiment be recalled" with Mr. Alexander Smith holding "the rank of lieutenant-colonel, as a supernumerary officer of this state in the continental service." This does not mean that the regiment was abolished as other records prove that the regiment stayed intact until the following year.

On September 21, Mr. Alexander Smith was given his orders for marching the regiment, which he would follow and execute when the unit marched in December to join the Continental Army:

"The board think proper to direct That you proceed from :Annapolis as soon as circumstances will permit, on your March to Join the Southern Army by way of Alexandria to orange Court House & from thence by Charlotteville to Hillsborough. Alexandria being but two or three days march from Annapolis. Your men can take Provisions enough with them to last them thither, should there be no Issuing Post between. You will write to Col James Wood Commanding at Charlotteville, informing him when you expect to leave Annapolis. & on your March give him information of your movements by every private opportunity, it will not be necessary that you send Expresses. If on your route to Charlotteville you should receive orders from Col. Wood to halt, or hasten your March you will obey them, & from thence forward put yourself entirely under his Command, but if Col Wood should not find it necessary to alter your destination, you will proceed as already directed."

As discussed earlier, the extra regiment dissolved before the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, never seeing action under its name, with most of the regiment's men, but not all, merging into the Second Maryland Regiment. Some, such as Samuel Hanson, one of the regiment's ensigns, joined the 2nd Maryland. Lieutenant Colonel John Eager Howard wrote, as reprinted on page 87 of Cool deliberate courage: John Eager Howard in the American Revolution:

"there was a new regiment [Extra Regiment] sent out from Maryland which had been raised by the state, and it was thought that the officers had been more favored than the officers of the old regiments. It joined us a few days before the action and there were such jealousies among the officers that Genl Greene sent all the new officers home, and made a new arrangement of the two regiments. This was at the time my light infantry [troops who fought at the Battle of Cowpens] joined their regiments. The most of the new men were thrown into the second regiment which was very deficient of officers"

While some records show that some left the regiment on January 1st, it was not until February 12 that the Maryland General Assembly confirmed that the regiment was no more. Regardless, there is agreement among those who submitted pensions and with the existing records that the regiment was dismembered before the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, with the officers returning home as "Supernumerary" meaning that they stayed part of the Continental Army but were not "part of the regular staff," the regular group of officers. This explains why, in February, Mr. Alexander Smith was allowed to "hold the Rank of Lieutenant Colonel as a supernumerary Officer in this State in the continental Service." The following month, the General Assembly said that the regiment had been "reduced," recalling the field and commissioned officers, along with non-commissioned officers and privates, within old regiments, which confirmed what had happened earlier that year. By June 11, the Council of Maryland noted that several former soldiers within the old regiments and extra regiment applied for their bounties and they wished to "do justice to them" by giving them the money they deserved.

Who served in the regiment?

As noted in the previous section, 228 men were in the regiment as of December 1780. Even with this number of men, only the names of 184, at most, including some who later deserted, are known through remaining digitized paper records. If the number of 228 is taken as a fact, then that means that 44 names are not known. But, if the number of 531 men, the number they were aiming for with the creation of this regiment, then 347 names, at most, would not be known. Based on the fact that the regiment had problems with recruiting, it is more likely that between 44-100 names are not known.

From available information, it is evident that there were eight companies led by Captains James Gillespie, from Washington County, Samuel Cock (7th Company), a "young man with some property and of a very credible family," Mr. Charles Smith (Maryland 400 veteran), Benjamin Murdock (1st Company), Vachel Burgess, Samuel McLane, Henry Hill (son of Henry), and Montjoy/Mountjoy Bailey/Bayley, who later went on to be a captain in the Second Maryland Regiment and Seventh Maryland Regiment. [4] There was also Captain Archibald Golder, sometimes spelled incorrectly as Colder. But, he was described in numerous documents as the regiment's paymaster. [5] Hence, it is not known if he commanded a company or not. If there were eight companies and each had 55 people, this means there was about of 480 people, but since 531 were originally requested for the regiment, this means that there may have been an idea to create 10, 11, 12, 13, or even 14 companies, although this did not occur.

According to the records, there were twelve lieutenants within the Extra Regiment. They were Francis Shepard/Sheppard, Samuel McLane, Ignatius Boone/Boon (earlier an ensign), John Plant (earlier an ensign), Samuel Hamilton, Samuel Hanson of Walt, John Lucas, Samuel Jones, Mr. Samuel Luckett, and Charles Magruder (earlier an ensign). [6] There are eight other mid-level officers known. These men include ensigns Basil Clements, James Bickham, Ignatius Blandford, Theodore Middleton, Nathaniel Magruder, Mr. Josias Miller, Basil Gaither, and Joshua Warfield. [7] There was also Major Edward Giles, an officer who was second-in-command of the regiment.

Luckily some information survives on promotion and resignation of certain ranks. On September 1, Mr. Charles Smith, Samuel Cock, Archibald Golder, Samuel Hanson, Mr. Josias Miller, and James Bigham? resigned their ranks, while Benjamin Murdoch, Vachel Burgess, Francis Shepard, Samuel McLane, John Lucas, Charles Magruder, Mr. Samuel Luckett, Ignatius Boone/Boon, Theodore Middleton, John Plant, Jacob Gray, and Basil Clements were promoted. When this happened, the newly appointed ensigns to the unit were told that if they accept this promotion, they will "repair as soon as possible to this Place, to take Command."

The records of ordinary soldiers in the Extra Regiment are thin. A digital copy showing the return of those within Samuel Cock's Seventh Company is incomplete. There is only one page with the full return, of 55 men, and another showing 60 men within the company. Other pages are ripped off, only showing 18 or 29 men respectively. [8] They were clearly drawn from Prince George's, Charles, Queen Anne's, Kent, Wicomico, Worchester, and Charles counties, to name a few, as the records indicate. Some are listed as sick, others on furlough or not joined. The full return, with most of the men with blankets, shirts, shoes, and other equipment, with a few exceptions. [9] By later September, only 37 of Cock's company were present and able to march. The others were either sick in an Annapolis hospital, deserted from Annapolis, hadn't joined the company, sick in a Philadelphia Hospital, were "on command," or deserted at the Head of Elk earlier that month. [10]

There are scattered records of others who enlisted in the regiment. In July, there were 30 men who were described as the "1st 30 for Extra Regiment." [11] Seventeen others were mentioned at the end of this list. It is not known if they enlisted in the regiment or not. [12] On August 16, six men enlisted in the regiment (William Gloury, Francis McClain, John Butler, Peter Scott, James Scott, and Thomas Beaver), all of whom went down to Annapolis aboard "the Sloop Liberty." By November, there were 28 more within the regiment's ranks, with numerous desertions and non-joiners not among them. [13] If this isn't enough, there are assorted records for 24 individuals. One of them, John Hard, was "old & Deaf" and confined for desertion, which was different from the capture of John Collins, a private who had deserted to Kent County. [14]

Three other individuals seemed as people who wanted to join the regiment. In July 1780, William Hopewell of Salisbury, within Wicomico County, requested to have a command position within the regiment. Nothing else of Mr. Hopewell is known. The same month, Daniel Jennifer, in Charles County's Port Tobacco, said that he would be "glad" to be officer as part of the regiment. The same goes for Jacob Bythe who was proposed as a lieutenant for the regiment but the story ends there. Constantine Wright was part of the regiment reportedly as well and Private Jacob Blake was possibly a soldier, but his enlistment has not been confirmed. In all, Matthew Garner, Samuel Hanson (whose father was undoubtedly Walter, who said this son was a prisoner in April 1781), Charles Magruder, Vachel Burgess, Francis Shepard, and John Bryan were veterans of the Maryland 400, as noted in our last post.

Pensions and closing

While existing records only show records for 184 men in the regiment, only a few actually wrote pensions. Specifically 19 men had pensions:

Lt. Col. Alexander Lawson Smith [15]

Captain Charles Smith [16]

Captain Benjamin Murdock/Murdoch (includes a statement in which Montjoy Bayley asserts he was a captain in the regiment)

Captain Montjoy Bayley [17]

Captain Archibald Golder [18]

Lieutenant Samuel Luckett [19]

Lieutenant John Plant (previously an ensign) [20]

Ensign Josias Miller [21]

Ensign Theodore Middleton [22]

Private John McKay/McCay (new person not previously mentioned)

Private William Elkins (new person not previously mentioned)

Private John Shanks (new person not previously mentioned)

Private William Groves (who may have later become an ensign)

Private Jesse Boswell (new person not previously mentioned)

Private Giles Thomas (new person not previously mentioned)

 Private Philip Huston (new person not previously mentioned)

Private Thomas Gadd (confirms regiment was broken up before battle)

Private William Patton

Private John Newton [23]

Others, such as James Hopkins, have no pension but are mentioned in other pensions, like his brother's pension in this case. This means that less than 11% of the men within the regiment, currently known, wrote pensions. Even the pensions themselves don't say much about the regiment as a whole. There may be even more since some of the names may be spelled differently in the pension records than those in the muster rolls.

Hence, it is hard to know the full story of those within the regiment, but the information gathered in this article and put into sections, brings it into public view, which is helpful for those researching their family lineage and those interested in military history.

© 2016-2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

Some of the Lodgers do know some of the Regulars, and interact with them from time to time! Here we have Griffin & Flora, Luckett & Franklin, and Bryson & Grye. They’re all good friends. (Or in Luckett & Franklin’s case...really, really good friends.)

bonus:

My contribution to FMA day: Mr. Luckett/Roy Mustang comparison.  You’re welcome. 

*Sinnett and Luckett sitting in jail together*

Mr. Luckett: So, who do we call?

Mr. Sinnett: I'd call Virginia, but I feel safer in jail.

So I watched Dumbo in the cinemas last night during my birthday and I was inspired. So, I drew these two lodgers and my OC.

UPDATE: Sorry about this but I watched this since April 23

The Glass Scientists: Info from the Author's Notes (Chapter 2)

The title of chapter 2, “Being for the Benefit of Dr. Jekyll,” is a reference to the Beatles song "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite"

Sabrina used it to set the tone of this chapter, “that of a whimsical, slightly haunted circus with a larger-than-life ringleader” (Jekyll being the ringleader ofc ♥)

It’s also very fitting because the song itself was inspired by a mid-Victorian circus ad of the same name

“Whereas most werewolves only transform at the full moon, Jasper transforms during any night a moon is clearly visible, and his wolf form tends to wobble back and forth between various combinations of -wolf and were-“

Sabrina calls the exterior of the Society for Arcane Sciences “the facade” which is 1) definitely a reference to the Jekyll and Hyde musical and 2) a recurring theme in Jekyll’s life

“Jekyll is concerned, above all else, that people's first impression of the Society be of respectability and reasonableness. But beyond the facade, he allows the building's residents more free reign--he has to, or else risk stifling their creative powers. And so there we can see glimpses of the Society as it truly is: a big, unruly pit of gears and smoke. Respectability in the front, madness in the back. So yeah, it's a rogue science mullet.“

“The Society's exterior is based largely off the Royal College of Surgeons in London.“ Which includes Sabrina’s favorite London museum: The Hunterian Museum

The person whose belongings fill the museum, John Hunter, was one of the inspirations for Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll (aka The OG)

The atrium of the Society is based off of the interior of the Paris Natural History Museum

The Lodgers are pretty sure the Leviathan skeleton isn’t completely dead

The Lodgers are “the rowdy children in a big, weird, happy family. Jekyll is the mom. Mum, rather.“

“Archer is loyal, energetic, and ambitious, but also quite stubborn. He often butts heads with the much mellower Mr. Bird and prefers to spend his free time with the other young Lodgers, often staying out late on the town. In other words . . . he's one of Jekyll's problem children.“

Jekyll holds a poisonous flower (wolfsbane) way too close to comfort. Because just like all rogue scientists, he is not known for stellar safety practices (which, considering he mixes up a bunch of chemicals and downs them without testing it on literally any living being before him...yeah that holds)

Dr. Maijabi's covered eye has a kind of "spectral vision." Maijabi’s non-covered eye is adjusted to seeing our world and his covered eye is adjusted to seeing the supernatural world. The eye-patch prevents it from re-adjusting to our world. (This is based on the idea that pirates would use eye-patches to train one eye to see better in the dark and the other to see better in the light.)

Dr. Maijabi is aboriginal Australian

All characters are bisexual, unless stated otherwise

The term “bisexual” will probably not be used on page, as it did not exist in 1885 (the setting of the story)

“The world of The Glass Scientists is almost entirely like our own, with the exception that certain old-timey scientific oddities are now scientific fact--Jekyll's neo-alchemy, the Hollow Earth theory, phlogiston . . . stuff like that.“

Mr. Helsby is based on Captain Nemo, a character in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

Mr. Helsby is an exploratory bathynaut. He works on deep-sea submarines, diving bells, and underwater ships

Mr. Luckett often says, "Every challenge has a solution no matter how unlikely the solution is or how bad the problem is. So... Chin up."

Rachel likes to play pranks on Jekyll, to the point where he “ has long since gotten used to this kind of morbid tomfoolery from her”

Jekyll is “enormously concerned with staying on the Lodgers' good side and upholding his reputation as A Good Guy and not some stuffy administrator (putting the "pal" in "princiPAL"), which is why he tends to express his frustration in little moments of micromanagement rather than outright control.”

The Society has a lot of safety measures built into its structure (i.e. cutting edge fire escapes, ventilation)

“Hyde is not subtle when he talks. He never conceals his attempts at emotional manipulation. Even his cleverness is painfully obvious (think: high school kid who looks up all the big words in the dictionary and seems to have a fixed, uncomfortable smirk at all times).“ This is because he, like all our inner voices, have a “direct hotline to that part of your brain that feels stuff.”

“Hyde is a big, big fan of Irish music and often sings songs to himself when he's in a good mood.“

“Jekyll's office is filled with custom-made glass cabinets housing all of his alchemical supplies, as well as just about everything scientific he has collected over the years. Every single item in those cabinets has deep sentimental value to Jekyll, but he hasn't taken any of them out in years. Most days he doesn't even look at them. The office also has thick red curtains which drench the room in a vaguely Hellish light“

Here's notes I made on the lodgers awhile back that I never finished nor do I want to 👉😎👉, but I figured the bits I did may be useful

You may reblog this dw

------

Jasper Kaylock, Crypto-Biologist:

Mr. Bird, Crypto-Horticulturist:

I assume that means he practices in taking care of rare plants?. Wait actually Jasper also has Crypto in his title, so Mythical/Supernatural plants?

Archer and Bird share a room

Mr. Archer, Botanical Clockwork Engineer:

Well, clockwork means the inner workings/machinery. Engineer when combined with that makes sense? But how does botanical fit into this? I guess he studies the inner workings of plants? How does engineer fit into this then-

Bird and Archer share a room

"Mr. Archer is based off Bleeding Heart Kickstarter backer BlindSide, making this the third cameo of the Bleeding Heart Cameo Tier! Paraphrasing from his description, Archer is loyal, energetic, and ambitious, but also quite stubborn. He often butts heads with the much mellower Mr. Bird and prefers to spend his free time with the other young Lodgers, often staying out late on the town. In other words . . . he's one of Jekyll's problem children." -Arythusa on Page 10 Chapter 2

Dr. Maijabi, Ectoplasmic Pathologist:

Ghost grandpa! Hes one of my favorite lodgers <3. Ah well Ectoplasmic is clearly ghosts, Pathologist is pretty much always stated as the study of diseases. He works with ghost diseases? Helps sick ghosts? Likely its actually connected to possession? Ghosts? Help?

"Dr. Maijabi's covered eye has a kind of "spectral vision"--the idea came from an episode of the short horror fiction podcast Pseudpod called The Nightside Eye. As the story explains, one of the reasons pirates may have worn eye patches was to preserve their night vision. They would cover their eye when entering bright sunlight and uncover it when descending below deck, so that one eye was always adjusted to see in dim lighting. Nightside Eye adapts the idea to the sixth sense--keeping one eye covered allows it to remain always adjusted to the supernatural world. The story is Australian, and so Dr. Maijabi is also Australian (aboriginal, that is)." -Arythusa on Page 12 Chapter 2

There is a zombie monkey in Maijabi's room, that is wearing a red bellhop(?) Uniform, and sits on a chair

Maijabi's room is filled floating objects, has a blue look to whole place, with "Ghost's Blood" hanging from the ceiling, there are many objects holding blue "lights" that I'm not sure what they actually are, there are mirrors filled with some grey rather tormented looking people with long necks. Hands fill most of the mirrors inside however, all fire in this room is a light blue/purple

"I've got a family back in New South Wales. I send money back every month, but I long to see them again, face to face." -Maijabi on page 31 chapter 8

Dr. Helsby, Exploratory Bathynaut: Submarines (but they can go really deep) Apparently Helsby is based on Captain Nemo, I didn't know that and I only vaguely know who Captain Nemo is but I thought that was neat.

Miss Lavender, Junior Extremofaunic Zoologist:

Zoologist means the study of animals. I assume faunic is meant to mean fauna, which is all the animals that live in a certain time, place, or environment. Extremo is a Spanish word that from what I can gather can mean extreme or far. So?? They study a wide range of animals? I'm certain just saying zoologist would have done the trick,,

Mrs. Cantilupe, Senior Extremofaunic Zoologist:

Griffin, (I dont think Jekyll ever officially introduced him, rip):

He make thing invisible

He has turned a number of lab rats invisible, at least 16

Currently trying to turn a blond cat with an extremely fluffy tail invisible. Interestingly, the cats eyes are large and pure white. When becoming visible there was a ball of electricity, and the cat had apparently been floating right above Jasper, (which might be because we're still in Maijabi's room)

The invisible mice are visible in Maijabi's mirror

Mr. Pennebrygg, Automatonatomist: robot

Mr. Sinnett, Phlogistonic Pyrologist: fire

Mr. Mosley, Hollow Earth Submariner: dirt

Mr. Tweedy, Galavanic Engineer: electricity bill

Miss Flowers, Entomologic Interlligencer: bugs. Robot snail

Mr. Doodle, Experimental Confectionist: dessert (mystery flavor)

Nicholas D. Bryson, Aeronaut Explorer: a hot air balloon that goes to space

Mr. Luckett, Detonative Homopath: set himself on fire

:: No-More-Mr-NiceGuy - Carnell Luckett Sr on Beautiful Biker Chicks ::

Maths has drained me so time for selfcare in the form of revealing all the characters Smell Names in the puppy love au

Non-Lodgers:

Robert - Grapes

Lanyon Sr. - Smoke

Emma - Rose

Mrs. Lanyon - Vanilla

Brokenshire - Salt

Zosi - Grave

Carew - Anger

Utterson - Parchment

Frankenstein - Sickness/Mountains

Creature/Adam - Forest

Rachel - Cookies

Lodgers:

Helsby - Ocean

Maijabi - Ghost

Flowers - Copper

Lavender - Bones

Griffin - Light

Sinnett - Ash

Luckett - Soot

Mosley - Rocks

Archer - Soil

Bird - Plants

Doddle - Sugar

Cantilupe - Elder Bones

Tweedy - Lightning

Pennebrygg - Steel

Bryson - Clouds

Ito - Strength

Jasper - Wheat

15 Curious Facts About Cincinnati’s Spring Grove Cemetery

Superman Is Not Buried In Spring Grove

The earthly remains of George Reeves, the actor who played Superman on television during the 1950s, were held in a vault at Spring Grove Cemetery for a couple of months in 1959 while his mother sorted out what to do. Although she wanted a mausoleum in Cincinnati, it proved impracticable. Reeves’ body was cremated here and the ashes shipped to California.

Civil War Generals: Forty To One

Spring Grove Cemetery provides a list of forty Civil War generals buried within the grounds. Among them are distinguished names such as Cox, Hooker, Lytle and McCook. The cemetery’s official list does not include the single Confederate general buried there, Philip Noland Luckett of Texas, who was appointed as acting Brigadier General in June of 1863..

Fraternities Forced Pledges To Break Into The Cemetery

Isaac M. Jordan met his gruesome death in 1890 by falling down an open elevator shaft at the Lincoln Inn Court on Main Street. He was a hugely successful businessman and politician, but was famous because he helped create Sigma Chi fraternity. Well into the 1970s, Sigma Chi pledges were ordered to sneak in to Spring Grove Cemetery, record the inscription on Jordan’s tomb, and report back by dawn.

Spring Grove Once Had A Jail

The Norman Chapel was built in 1880 and originally housed a jail in the basement. A jail cell still survives, but is used today for storage. When it was functional, vagrants and reckless drivers – originally of horse-drawn carriages, later of automobiles – speeding in the cemetery were arrested and kept overnight. Cemetery watchmen were deputized by the county sheriff to enforce the law.

C.C. Breuer Was Not An Optometrist

Almost every article, book or blog post about weird Cincinnati sites directs readers to Charles C. Breuer’s grave in Spring Grove Cemetery. Breuer’s gravestone features a bronze bust of himself, with glass eyes that some folks swear follow them as they move. Most sources claim Breuer emphasized the eyes because of his career as an optometrist. Not true. Breuer was a salesman, commission agent and real estate investor. He married three times, disowned his own daughters, tried to blow up a one of his own buildings, was declared insane and died in a mental hospital – but he was not an optometrist.

At Least One Man Visited By Telescope

George K. Shoenberger built the magnificent Scarlet Oaks mansion in Clifton for his wife, Sarah Hamilton Shoenberger in 1867. When she died in 1881 he had a magnificent vault constructed for their eternal rest. Shoenberger remarried, in 1883, to a young Canadian woman named Ella Beatty. Still, he sighed for Sarah, and often climbed into one of the Scarlet Oaks turrets to gaze upon her (their) tomb with a telescope. Legend has it that Ella had enough one day and locked George in his turret. When he died in 1892, he and Sarah were reunited at Spring Grove, while Ella remarried a Canadian composer.

Spring Grove Has Its Own Water Supply

It’s called Spring Grove because the cemetery grounds are watered by several natural springs. Spring water is stored in a reservoir tower located near the north gate. The tower is not only picturesque but  functional, providing a consistent supply of water.

It Almost Wasn’t Called Spring Grove

A meeting in November 1844 to choose a name for the new cemetery adjourned when none of the suggested names attracted a majority of votes. Losing candidates were Cincinnati Rural, Makketewah, Machpelah, Rose Hill, Shade Land, Oakland, Mount Hope, Rose Dale, Fair Lawn, Miami, Walnut Dale, Silent Hill, Cincinnati Cemetery, The Elms, and Rosamont. A second meeting produced Green Vale, Mount Repose, Hope Land, Glen Wood, Willow Glen, Oakland Valley, Elmwood, Hazelwood and Spring Grove.

Spring Grove Is Home To Several ‘Ladies Of The Evening”

There are at least 16 prostitutes or madams buried in Spring Grove Cemetery. While none are identified as such on the cemetery’s burial records,  cross-indexing with Cincinnati's death records and newspaper accounts confirm that prostitutes, "harlots," and "sports" are buried there. Some rest in common, unmarked areas, some in family plots. In other words, the women listed here are not all buried together. There is no concentrated "Red Light" district in the cemetery.

Its Ghost Stories Are Lame

For a cemetery this big, this old, and this scenic, Spring Grove has inspired few spooky stories. One involves the Dexter Mausoleum, inspired by a Gothic church overlooking one of the cemetery’s picturesque lakes. Supposedly, if you sit on the landing of this tomb, two white dogs will run by. Or two white wolves. Maybe their eyes glow red. Sources differ. They will stare at you, glowing bright white, or maybe not. In any event, not very spooky.

For Some “Residents,” Spring Grove Is Their Third Resting Place

Perhaps a thousand or more Spring Grove “residents” died years, even decades, before the cemetery was opened in 1845. How is this possible? Cincinnati’s first burial grounds were located at the original outskirts of town, around Fourth Street. As the city expanded, the dead were relocated to more remote graveyards, such as the area where Washington Park is now located. The “new” confines quickly filled during the cholera epidemics of the 1830s and 1840s, and many of the burials were relocated again, to Spring Grove.

Spring Grove Banned Automobiles

Cincinnati funeral homes maintained horse-drawn hearses for a long time after motorized vehicles became available because no Cincinnati cemetery permitted automobiles to disturb the silence. Spring Grove finally relented in April 1911 and allowed motor cars, except on Sunday afternoons, but only if motorist followed strict regulations. Spring Grove finally replaced its own horse-drawn carriage with an automobile in 1915.

Headstones Have Always Been Controversial

In 1850, when David B. Lawler, among the founders of Spring Grove, attempted to place a sphinx in his family plot, some directors objected to the “heathen” symbolism, but it was eventually allowed. Ten years later, Alexander Latta, inventor of the fire engine, unveiled a headstone design with his invention sculpted on top. Spring Grove rejected the design as too commercial. As recently as 2014, Spring Grove found itself in a dispute over a couple of Spongebob Squarepants headstones.

At Least One Burial Is Not Human

According to the Enquirer [8 December 1905], a dog named Old Man is interred next to his late master, George E. Turner. Mr. Turner was quite attached to his canine companion, a dog allegedly skilled at mathematics, particularly adept at sorting correct change on command. Although cemetery rules prohibit animal burials, Superintendent William Salway was a good friend of Turner. As Turner lay on his deathbed, Salway agreed that, when the dog’s time came, he could rejoin his earthly master.

Spring Grove Holds A Patent On A Tree

The white flowering dogwood tree (

Cornus florida

) is susceptible to a nasty fungus. The horticulture team at Spring Grove Cemetery bred a cultivar or variant of this species that appears to withstand fungal infection while producing abundant flowers and tolerance for hot and cold temperatures. Patent PP8500 was awarded in 1993.

Vampire AU

1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6  : 7 : 8 : 9 : 10 : 11 : 12 : 13 : 14 : 15 (you are are)

This is finally finished! Good lord that took a while I expected this to be half as long as it ended up being. As usual please leave comments/tags/replies of what you thought of the overall story (its okay you can be honest) and feel free to send any asks at any time if you ever want me to answer any questions. 

--

Jekyll led the way out of the office and stared down the expectant, though well-guarded, crowd before them, courtesy of Rachel brandishing that knife she never seemed to put down.

Lanyon tried not to look weak under all the glares he was getting, but he’d seen how insane these people could be. If this went wrong he’d be lucky to get the chance to flee London. Despite his obviously fake courage, he stood his ground beside Jekyll, who inhaled deeply, about to speak. He held onto the breath for a moment and exhaled it out into his first words.

“I know you’re scared, and confused, and angry, and feeling a lot of strong feelings about the situation, but please hear me out,” he paused, hoping his pleas weren’t falling on deaf ears.

Some people’s expressions didn’t change, but the air of curiosity and general lack of outburst prompted Jekyll to continue. 

“I think we of all people should understand that everyone deserves a second chance,”some heads rose in recognition, “and the opportunity to be a part of a community of like-minded individuals. Individuals who won’t hold judgement against them.” Jekyll glanced back at him, jerking his head slightly to them, still observing. Lanyon took a moment to realise that Jekyll wanted him to speak. Of course. Bloody hell.

He shifted, moving to Jekyll’s side, and could swear he felt himself sweating despite his physical incapability to do so. “I’m… sorry for my… outburst… yesterday. I swear that I didn’t intend to actually harm anyone and was fully aware that Luckett wasn’t in his room that evening,” he insisted, his voice almost breaking from how nervous he was.

“Why’d you do it then?“ called Pennybrygg, who was one of the few lodgers still accompanying the now less frazzled Luckett.

“I was… er… acting on… some…. personal issues…” Lanyon attempted to get out, mumbling the end in shame. He directed his gaze towards Luckett, who was looking quite annoyed at him. “I’d be happy to help you restore your room, however, Mr Luckett.” He was relieved to see him ponder on it for a moment and grumpily nod his head with a grunt. Lanyon’s lacklustre explanation earned him some unimpressed faces, but Luckett’s acceptance of the offer seemed to stop anyone from protesting.

Jekyll cleared his throat, drawing attention away from Lanyon, who was clearly not used to speaking to this sort of audience. “We’re all people who have an appreciation for the strange, the macabre, the odd. To make things right with all of you who feel violated by having the presence of a vampire in your lives for so long, Dr Lanyon has agreed to allow you to ask for his help in any experiments that may require… someone such as himself… in them.”

That sparked some excited murmurs. Within seconds any mention of doubt or annoyance was lost and overpowered by a lively discussion about the possibilities this opened up. Questions were being yelled out at the two of them about what exactly they were allowed to do. The first few questions were answered but it soon became an impossible task.

Lanyon felt himself being dragged away by the arm. It took him a moment to actually look down at who it was. He was relieved to see Rachel. She didn’t seem to look as angry as he’d thought. If anyone in the building had a right to be upset with him it was certainly Rachel. All he could see in her eyes was gentle sympathy.

“I’m guessing that this is why you never eat my garlic chicken?” she asked, giving him a reassuring grin. Lanyon found himself slowly being led away from the lodgers, somehow unnoticed by them.

“No, actually, it turns out I actually can eat garlic. I’m just not a fan of chicken.” He chuckled back at her.

She huffed, half-giggling as she did, “And here I thought you’d at least use the opportunity to make an excuse for yourself!” They both took the opportunity to laugh off the tension of the situation. They both drifted into silence and Lanyon saw Rachel’s happy expression weaken into something inexplicably sad.

“Rachel, I’m sorry I never said anything to you - I didn’t want you worrying about me. Jekyll’s already a handful on a bad day.”

“You didn’t have to worry about me, Lanyon. I’m built tough, you know that,” she smiled, giving him a friendly nudge on the arm.

“I haven’t destroyed any hopes of you trusting me in the future, have I? Aside from Jekyll, I don’t really have many other people I can call a friend.”

She stared at him for a moment before breaking out into the most genuine laugh she’d let out for the whole conversation. “You’re not all that bright for a Doctor, are you? You think something like being a vampire is gonna scare me off?” She looked back at the crowd of lodgers bombarding an overwhelmed Jekyll with questions, some relating to the news and others drifting off to other topics, then back to Lanyon. “I live here, I can handle a little bit of craziness.”

Lanyon smiled at her with such a pure, light relief he feared he’d start floating where he stood. Rachel glanced at the nearest set of stairs and tilted her head towards it.

“Come on, you’d better get started on cleaning up Luckett’s room. I’ll grab some supplies for you.”

“I don’t suppose I’ll be getting any help with my least favourite type of labour, would I?”

Rachel placed a firm hand on his back and pushed him towards the stairs alongside her. “Don’t be ridiculous, Doctor, what kind of a redemption would that be?”

Despite how heartwarming the moment was, Lanyon was starting to dread this whole ‘apology’ business.

-

Everything was, astonishingly, quite normal after yesterday’s events.

Granted the extremely emotionally moving speech Jekyll gave was quite a substantial factor in the amazing outcome. Lanyon was nonetheless eternally grateful for the good reception he was getting.

He still got some stern looks in the Society and a few mild threats as he passed through the halls. He also got some very invasive questions about how his physiology worked, not that he entirely knew himself. Everything was otherwise quite normal considering he’d been revealed to be one of the most heinous types of beast in all of London.

He did appreciate that Jasper fellow’s offer to get him a less… morally ambiguous… source of human blood that he used to feed some of his pets. He wasn’t quite sure how much he would like where the blood came from, but it was probably better than murdering whatever poor sap was stupid enough to get drunk in the East End.

He might have to lie about how much blood he needed and get some for Jekyll as well.

-

Jekyll carried his hefty case of equipment upstairs. He’d almost forgotten she was there. Alas, forgetting didn’t mean she didn’t exist, so upon being reminded by an off-handed comment from Rachel he made his way over.

She looked very comfortable, bundled up in her blankets reading a book. It appeared to be new so he assumed it was a gift from one of her new adoring fans. She looked up at him and, strangely enough, smiled at him. Jekyll would be lying if he said that didn’t put him on edge at all.

He went through the usual routine. Say hello, open the case, make her medicine for the day and make sure she took it. She had this demeanour about her, though. Whenever he said anything, did anything, even took a moment to look at her, she had this mischievous grin, like she had some brilliant secret she was desperate not to tell. Eventually his curiosity got the better of him as she downed his medicine.

“What’s got you so… cheerful… today?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

“I’m so glad you asked, Doctor.” She casually fiddled with her own gloved hand, keeping that smirk on her face. “I was listening in on yesterday’s commotion, quite an outstanding resolution I must say. I personally wouldn’t have even noticed your friend was a vampire, since I’ve never even met him.” She looked up at him. “But I couldn’t help but think about how you always act.”

“What do you mean?” Jekyll asked carefully, keeping his voice as level as he could.

“Oh, nothing much, just how you’re pale some days and the next day you look flush as ever. How you talk less whenever your skin becomes quite pale. The way your eyes twitch ever so slightly whenever you give me intravenous medicines…”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

“Hmph, I thought you would be much more open at this point, but I suppose keeping up your facade is quite important. I believe you are a vampire, Doctor. A drainer, as you Londoners tend to call them.”

Jekyll’s blood would have run colder if it could. “That’s ridiculous, are you sure you don’t have a fever or something?” He began packing his things, sending her the message that he was about to leave.

She rested her chin on her elbow, which was propped up on her knee. “Really, Doctor Jekyll, I promise I won’t tell.” He stopped for a moment and stared her down, looking for some hint that she wasn’t toying with him. It was impossible to see through all of that smugness. She was obviously having some fun with this.

“Really?”

“Yes. It appears I may have thought you to be the wrong variant of blood-sucker. I much prefer a creature of the night than some pompous buffoon. A lot more fun to deal with, so I will let this slide for now. Creature insists that being disliked will be the least of your problems if I come to harm, anyway,” she said as she gestured to the monster in question, who simply gave a stern nod to him that Jekyll acknowledged solemnly.

“T-thank you, Frankenstein.”

“Of course, we beasts of humanity must live in harmony.” He wasn’t sure how comfortable he was with that comment.

Jekyll packed the rest of his things and quietly stepped out of the room, keeping an eye on them as he left. The grin didn’t leave Frankenstein’s face, but it didn’t seem as menacing as it did before. Instead it was more playful. Once he closed the door behind him, he let a tense sigh escape him. 

He reminded himself to yell at Hyde a bit for getting bitten in the first place.

The Worst, The First

((A little OC drabble for Mike. Mentions of death/suicide, I can't put it under a 'read more' because I'm on mobile but I will tag accordingly.))

___

Mike sort of moved automatically when a knock came at the door, as he usually did. With so many charges- and his friendly approach with them- home visits weren't all that rare. Though thankfully it didn't sound like a distressed kind of knock. Probably not urgent, but, as usual, his charges still came first. He laughed with the others as he stepped towards the hallway, pointing back at the table as he left the room. "If that dessert's gone when I get back, I'll get answers~"

"Yeah right, I'm like a sweet-toothed ninja." Came his brother, Tyler's confident reply. "That cake won't even see it coming!" With a smile, Mike rolled his eyes and left Katie to smack his 'ninja' hands away. Unless of course they split the prize... Eh, like he said, he'll get answers later.

With just a little smile left on his face, Mike turned the handle and stepped back, slightly bracing himself for the change in atmosphere in the highly likely event that this charge still came with a problem. Though he was left instead blinking in surprise. Two uniformed officers were standing there, right outside his door. They didn't wait for a greeting- all the better really, since all Mike had managed so far was "oh".

"We're looking for Michael Luckett?"

He straightened up slightly, the surprise on his face only slightly tempered with confusion now.

"Uh- It's Michelangelo. I know, weird one, but, Mike's fine. What's the problem?"

"Just to confirm, are you Mike Luckett?"

"Yeah, that's me, but what's-"

"We'd like to speak to you in regard to the death of Elizabeth Judy."

He blinked again, then frowned. "She's not dead, she's at-... She's not. ... Right? There's no way."

"We'd like to ask you to come down to the station, we have some questions for you, maybe you can clear something up for us."

This officer was being gentle with him, clearly, but it didn't really soften Mike's reaction. Instead, he picked up a little volume, spoke faster.

"Wait, she's not dead, I spoke- she can't be." There was a soft but firm "Mr Luckett-" from one of the officers, which he ignored completely, fishing his phone from his back pocket as he carried on talking, and started scrolling through his text conversations. "I spoke to her just two days ago, I dropped her at the train station, she can't be-"

Suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks. Starting to go pale, his eyes wide as thoughts raced through his mind like lightning. "The train station."

He'd taken Liz to the station himself, the day before yesterday. She'd been making good progress this last month or two, but he'd seen firsthand what her family were like. And how stressed she'd been about seeing them again. Of course he told her she didn't have to go, she could make some excuse, tell them she had to work over the holidays or that she was spending it with a lonely friend, she didn't have to go and stay with people who made her feel so awful. Every time she'd say she couldn't, she had to go. Both of them knowing how badly it could go.

But she'd found a strength from somewhere. Though he could still see nerves in her actions, hear it in her voice, there was also a resolve, a belief that she'd get through it and not crumble under their influence. At the time, it reassured him. But now... It was that resolve that sent a cold chill down his spine, and a sharp pain through his heart.

The phone dropped from his hands, barely bouncing on the carpeted floor, but it could shatter for all he cared. He just stood there, the colour gone from his face. One thought held in his mind, and it was the worst one imaginable.

"Please tell me she didn't." He all but whispered, not even looking at the officers in front of him, almost shaking his head in resignation.

"We'd, like to talk about this at the station." The officer tried again.

It knocked the air out of Mike's lungs. He covered his mouth with one hand, his breaths deep and rushed, and turned away. Without even thinking, he'd taken a few steps back inside.

Of course, they followed, saying something that didn't quite reach him through his panic. "This isn't happening. She can't have- it- No. No no no."

"Mike?" Just out of the hallway now, Mike was once again visible to his siblings. And though he didn't look their way either, they could no doubt see the state he was in anyway. "What's going on?"

Mars was the first to stand up from the table, but it was Tyler who approached him first. As soon as he moved close enough, Mike could catch sight of his shirt and lost his breath again, hand back over his mouth and tears in his eyes as he turned towards his big brother, who caught him in a gentle and unexpected hug. Tyler's own eyes now flicked back to the uniformed bodies moving further into the room as Katie joined the ranks of standing siblings, her sights locked on the strangers in the room.

"What have you done to him?!" She demanded. Mars reached out a hand and touched her arm- not really holding her back, more sending the signal that she ought to restrain herself- but Katie snapped her arm away. Meanwhile Mike had hold of the fabric over Tyler's chest, the way a scared baby monkey might grab the fur of an adult they trusted, as if to say, 'take me away from here'.

"We haven't done anything- We're just here to ask-"

"Haven't done anything?? Look at him!!" Katie yelled again, gesturing wildly in Mike's direction as Tyler guided him slowly the few steps to the couch, where he sank.

"Katie.." Mars spoke far quieter, "this isn't going to help him."

"But look at-"

"You know what fighting does to him." They added firmly, glancing back themselves at the youngest Luckett with worry in their eyes. At least that seemed to stop the yelling, for now.

The officers stepped further towards Mike, though smartly kept some distance. "We're not here to cause any distress. But we do need to talk to Mr Luckett down at the station." The taller one spoke, and paused, before leaning down slightly to address Mike directly. "You can bring someone with you, if you want to. They'll have to wait outside the room while we ask you some questions, but-"

"Fat lot of good that is then." Katie interrupted, though thankfully quieter.

Ignoring her and holding Mike's hand- or rather having his own hand squeezed in half by Mike's, Tyler spoke up. "What's it about?"

"Liz." Mike finally choked out, still not looking at anyone's face. "I think-.. I think she jumped in front of a train." Mike gasped and cried, though his words seemed to silence everyone else, the three older siblings looking back and forth at each other wordlessly. At least, to a human, it would look that way.

"We can't confirm that yet," the shorter officer started, "but.. yes, it does look like.. a train was involved."

"But you can't say she jumped." Mars didn't quite ask, more stated really, as was their way.

"We're investigating into that." One officer spoke, the other taking over quickly.

"Which is why we need to take him to the station."

"You're not under arrest, Mr. Luckett, just a few questions, that's all."

"I can't do this" he whispered, to no-one in particular. His charge, his friend, Liz... He should have recognised the signs. He should have known. Maybe if he'd done his job better, she would still be alive.

He'd failed her. And now... It was permanent.