My nerves are shot!

Francis "Frank" Mohanty Pride U Librarian Part of swynlake-rp

[frank-mohanty]

Francis Mohanty

So man in the mirror / make another home here / you're put together but clear / you're lacking substance not fear

Nicknames: Frank, Frankie Magic status: Magick Sexuality: Gay Nationality: English Ethnicity: White British Accent: Pretty standard Southern English with a very slight west country twang sometimes Height: 5′7″ Build: Slim Complexion: Fair Eye color: Blue Hair color/length/style: Brunet, curly and kind of short Tattoos/piercings/daily jewelry: Has his left ear pierced but that's it

What would you find if you Googled them? Pretty much nothing, except maybe his instagram

What natives would know about them: Was adopted by the Mohantys and moved to Swynlake in 2003 when he was six years old, attended Swynlake Primary and Secondary school, and went to Pride University from 2014-2017 studying English Literature and History, and completed his Master's in 2018 in Library and Information studies. Known Magick - turns invisible when frightened.

[frank-mohanty]

To build a little house || Grank

[gem-mohanty]

Gem nodded and they went to work.

It was nice. Something familiar amongst all the unfamiliar things Gem found himself surrounded by. Not just this brand new house, but owning a house. Having a long term partner. A baby on the way. A homicidal maniac chasing him.

There was a comforting quality in quietly working on a project with his brother. It reminded Gem of their childhood. There were plenty of times, basically since Gem had been adopted, that his father took whatever set of siblings out with him on job sites. As they'd all started getting older, he started taking Gem a lot more and others a lot less. Gem only realized now that was because he was the only one, really, who took to it.

At the time, Gem had thought that everyone was having as much fun as him until they didn't.

Now, he knew better. Their father had been preparing them for life. Gem had just taken to it more than the others.

Eventually, he heard the sander stop and turned around, heading over towards the window.

"You think it's done?" Gem asked. He reached over to get the heels of his palms under the frame and lift it up. It clanged upwards with a loud bang. Gem nearly lost his balance with the force.

"Ah. Much better," he declared, reaching over to slap Frankie on the shoulder.

@frank-mohanty

[frank-mohanty]

Frank had never been the best at physical labour. He went on lots of jobs with their dad as a child, and was given lots of jobs to do in the yard, too. Slowly but surely, his jobs had become more livestock-based than DIY-based. Letting the chickens out and collecting the eggs, then fetching them all in on an evening. Moving the goats on to the next paddock, putting their feed out, that sort of thing.

Frankie could fix things. He had the ability, and he had a decent enough knowledge of power tools and how to use them to be able to make something work. But he wasn't exactly handy; any fixes were temporary, until something was replaced or an expert took over. And that was fine by him. Everyone had their own talents, that was what their mum always said.

He liked working with his hands, though. Being able to just switch off, focus on the motion of the sander in his hand and make sure that he was working away at the paint evenly, getting the job done right. Better still to know that Gem was not too far away, also working, neither of them needing to say anything at all.

Frank stepped back from the window, letting Gem inspect his work. It was his house, after all. He flinched when the window banged, momentarily there, not there, and there again with the brief racing of his heart.

"Better than passing out from paint fumes." Frank agreed, smiling as he swayed a little with the motion of Gem's hand against his shoulder. "How're you getting on?"

@gem-mohanty

[enid-mohanty]

Keep Your Voices Down * [Frenid]

[enid-mohanty]

"I don't know...I was thinking about doing something with magic? Maybe...exploring the cultural significance of mediums in African cultures? The problem with that is there is little written about it. At least, in any language I can read. I should've learned French in secondary instead of Latin," Enid huffed.

She had taken Latin because she had thought it would be more interesting. And it made her seem cooler. Knowing a dead language. Haha, a medium who knew a dead language? She didn't have to take Latin for that.

And yet.

She supposed she could learn French but that felt exhausting.

"But could I even trust sources written in French and not Swahili or Yoruba, or Igbo, or Afrikaans? Maybe I'll just do something boring like how Christianity/Islam destroyed fundamental spiritual beliefs and cultural practices in Africa."

@frank-mohanty

[frank-mohanty]

Frank listened as he ate his lunch, humming and frowning in the appropriate places. He thought it was a shame for Enid not to do something she was interested in, and, knowing Enid, if she wasn't interested in it, she probably wasn't going to work very hard at it. At least, that was the impression that Frank had.

"Could you not talk about that, though?" Frank asked, reaching for his water bottle. "Y'know, make it part of the thesis. Critical analysis of your sources, or something."

Taking a small sip of water, he smiled faintly, and added, "The librarians can always help with where to find stuff, if you need sources."

@enid-mohanty

[frank-mohanty]

You again || Far

[frank-mohanty]

@starfellwisher

If you had asked Frank whether or not he recognised the person who occasionally hung around the library, he might've shrugged and said, sure, I think I've seen them before. Some people did hang around the library - it was a library. It was sort of designed for it, especially on a university campus, and so many faces became familiar without Frank ever learning any names.

But now, after that dream -- the terrible plane crash, the foreboding forest, the gruesome injury he'd sustained right at the last second -- Frank could actually put a name to the face he had vaguely come to recognise.

"Star?" He asked, shouldering his tote bag when it threatened to fall of his shoulder. "It's-- It's Frank. From, y'know, the -- the plane crash dream thing. Hi."

[frank-mohanty]

You again || Far

[frank-mohanty]

To build a little house || Grank

[gem-mohanty]

Gem nodded.

"Sanding's fine," he said as they crested the top of the stairs that led to the spacious attic.

Right now, it was covered in plastic and tarp with a fresh pile of wood flooring laying in a stack to one side. Another section taped off where it was rotten, mostly so Snow didn't accidentally walk over and crash through the floor.

He wasn't planning on doing the floor today, but he supposed anything else would probably be too loud. Not that it really mattered. He was sure Frank would be content to work in silence. Most of his siblings were like that--except Joy. She'd want to talk his ear off.

"Alright. I've got the handheld sander set up already. And the primer for the paint is in those buckets." He nodded to some tubs with paint trays and rollers piled on it.

"Maybe work on the window first and see if you can get it open?" He nodded to the window on the other side of the room. It was just a single panel. Big enough to let some of the moody Swynlake weather in.

"That way we don't wind up unconscious from the fumes."

@frank-mohanty

[frank-mohanty]

Frank couldn't think of anything better than working in silence. He did it all the time; the library was as quiet as any place could be when there were people coming in and out and asking the odd question, working on group projects and things like that, and Frank loved it. It soothed his frayed nerve endings, letting him relax for just a second.

Plus, there was always something extra soothing about quietly working with your hands. Something like sanding or painting would be easy enough to sink into, to allow his mind to go quiet. Frank liked it when that happened, and it didn't happen very often.

"Yeah, good plan." Frank said, a faint smile curving his lips. Maybe he should be genuinely worried about the prospect of the two of them unconscious on the floor, but he was sure that Gem had been mostly joking. And besides, he was sure that if they did pass out, Snow would find them and would call an ambulance, and that did settle Frank's nerves just enough to allow him to laugh at the idea.

He picked up the sander, and went to work.

@gem-mohanty

[frank-mohanty]

NAME: Frank Mohanty OCCUPATION: Librarian SECTION: Tail SURVIVAL SKILL: None MAGICAL SKILL: None REASON FOR BEING ON FLIGHT 2015: Travelling to be a witness for Snow and Gem! PERSONAL ITEM: His stress ball PERSON OF SCIENCE/FAITH: Faith

BIOGRAPHY: Frank doesn't travel well at the best of times, but this? This feels almost vindicating. For once, his anxiety was right. There was something to be frightened of!

Never mind that his flight out to Chicago a year ago had gone smoothly, and the few flights he'd taken around the States since had been entirely uneventful. Did he wish there was an easier way to go around picking up rare books for the UCL library? Sure. But at least those flights had gone okay.

Now, though... Well, Frank loves his brother, and all of his adopted siblings, very much. But he does wish he hadn't been on that plane...

And he really hopes they're sending a boat to come and rescue them.

[miss-lottielabouff]

Welcome to my Candy Store || Scared Pink

[miss-lottielabouff]

“I really need to be more like you.” Lottie was quick to admit.

“I swear I have no routine ever. I am such a go with the flow kinda girl I think I’d leave my head behind if it wasn’t attached!”

Lottie knew her mama use to tell her that as she flung herself out the mansion back door. A mile a minute without a single thought in that pretty little head.

Now she was doing just the same except in college and probably causing more of a mess than anything. “Every night I try my best just to remember my skin care.” There could have been a small hint of sadness as she called herself out but Lottie shrugged it off with a smile.

“I’ll just survive off my walking goodie bag I guess!” Lottie fumbles with her snack before attempting to take a small smoke of it. “What you make for lunch today?! Anything good?!”

@frank-mohanty

[frank-mohanty]

Frankie wished he could be a go with the flow sort of person. He knew that it wasn't his fault that he was the way that he was (his therapist said that a childhood full of adverse events had entered him into a pattern of expecting the worst and catastrophising, which compounded his need to plan and know what was coming), but he also knew that, well - he was the way that he was. He doubted there would ever be a day when he didn't need to follow the routines and rituals he'd set for himself.

But it would be nice to be able to just do whatever. Get up and out and not worry about everything. Frank was sort of envious of Lottie - sort of very envious, actually. He laughed at the mention of her skincare routine, inclining his head as if he understood. Hey, he did put on his moisturiser every night.

"Uh-- Cheese and ham sandwich." He said, opening the tupperware to show her. "My mum baked the bread, so it's good stuff. Proper sourdough. And the tomatoes and the lettuce are from the garden, too." He looked up at Lottie, and asked, "Do you want half?"

@miss-lottielabouff

[enid-mohanty]

Keep Your Voices Down * [Frenid]

[enid-mohanty]

"Yeah, I guess," Enid said with a shrug.

The thing was: she liked being in school. She liked the routine of it. She liked reading and researching, because it was easy and didn't take much of her physical energy. She could do it on days when she lazed about in bed, not enough energy to do anything else.

And she was, a little, worried about what she'd do afterward.

Continue to live with her parents, most likely. Everyone else, she knew, would eventually find lives outside of the cottage. Look at Frank! Being so brave to move in with Joy. Or even Gem--who Enid thought would be trapped in the house via ankle monitor, to be perfectly honest.

And had anyone investigated that lady's death who gave them the house? Lol.

Anyway, she wasn't worried about having a place to live, but what about a job? She didn't want to teach. She supposed she could just continue at the archives, become a decrepit vampire that never left the dark stacks...

"It would help if I could nail down a topic."

@frank-mohanty

[frank-mohanty]

Frank had liked the routine of academia, but not the deadlines. He had worried near-constantly that he wasn't answering the question right and he was going to fail, or he was going to mix up the dates and his submission would be late. He had never failed an assessment and he had never had a late submission, but he had never stopped worrying about it right up until he graduated.

He much preferred working. Having a routine and small responsibilities. Working at the university library wasn't too taxing, wasn't life or death, but certainly kept him busy. It came with its own challenges, ones which Frank learned to be able to overcome. There was still the odd thing that threw him, but he was mostly free of terrifying dread.

"Do you have any ideas?" Frank asked. Whilst he would probably be of little help, sometimes it was good to talk things out. "I mean, if there's anythign you're really interested in that isn't gonna bore you for the next few years, you might as well go for it, right?"

@enid-mohanty

[princess-ting-ting]

Moo Moo, Where Are You? || Open

[princess-ting-ting]

Ting-Ting was not sure this was going to work.

Actually, she was pretty sure it wasn’t going to work.

And then she’d have to explain to Matilda what happened to Moo Moo. Man, it would be one thing if the poor stuffie had just vanished. Then Ting-Ting could’ve ordered a new one and said that Moo Moo went on a short trip to visit her family. Maybe she’d even make it all cute and put in a postcard …

But no — this had to happen right here, right in front of Matilda’s eyes.

Ting took a deep breath and on the count of three, she released the Summer Breeze. 

Against all odds, the apple soared — and knocked Moo Moo out of the tree!

“Oh my God,” Ting said as Moo Moo landed on the ground with a soft thud. “I didn’t think that would work.”

@frank-mohanty

[frank-mohanty]

Frank watched the apple as it went, quite sure that he'd missed again. He didn't know if the other woman's reagent would be enough to lift it high enough, up into the tree and towards the magpies, but he had to hope. He squinted against the sunlight, watching as the apple soared, suddenly lifted, and knocked the stuffed animal out of the tree.

The magpies cawed in indignation, hopping around on the branch above them. They were peering down at the stuffie with intent, and so Frank hurried forward, scooping it up off the ground before it could get snagged by another very selfish bird.

Brushing some of the dust off it on his way back, Frank crouched down, holding the teddy out to the little girl.

"Here you go," He said, giving it a wobble so its arms and legs were flung around, making it look like it was waving. "Safe and sound." Looking up at the girl's mother, he added, "That was amazing."

@princess-ting-ting

[frank-mohanty]

To build a little house || Grank

[gem-mohanty]

Gem flicked his gaze up and down his brother, not really believing that it was "fine." He knew how anxious Frankie could get. And considering everything going on...

If Frank wanted to say it was fine, then Gem wasn't gonna contradict him. He didn't wanna talk about it. And if he pointed it out, if he asked, the answer might not be what he wanted to hear. Gem was used to letting things lie, even if he was trying to get better about it.

Today was not the day to practice.

"Just some stuff in the attic. I'm replacing a few of the breakers. Shit is old. And I'm sanding the walls. And painting. It's basically another bedroom so I'm getting a base layer done while Snow figures out what color she wants to paint it. Some of the floorboards need replacing too, there was a leak that went unnoticed."

As Gem talked, he led Frankie up the stairs. No one had really been up there yet. Not even his family. Partially because it was a bit of a nightmare. And partially because Gem wanted to keep it more private. Though, his family would at least get a peek at some point.

He had left the door open that was the staircase that led to the attic.

"You can take your pick of what you wanna work on. It all needs done at some point, so--" He shrugged as they crested the top of the stairs.

@frank-mohanty

[frank-mohanty]

Frank almost felt like he was doing something wrong by putting his foot down on the very bottom of the steps, nevermind then following those stairs upwards. He knew that none of his family had been upstairs, and he sort of assumed that no one else had, either (because surely if Gem was going to allow anyone upstairs, it would be him and his siblings).

But he tried not to let it bother him, trailing along behind Gem as if he was the little brother, wanting to be involved in whatever his big brother was doing. Maybe that kind of was what he was doing. After all, he didn't have to be here. He had work and the play and his own apartment (well, Joy's apartment, but he had helped with the decorating) to keep him busy, if that was what he wanted.

Fankie liked to be helpful, though. He felt better if he was being helpful, even if he worried whether or not he was doing things right, was he actually being helpful, was he just in the way? It still felt better to pitch in than to not. He nodded at the list of jobs as they went, thinking over each one.

"I can help with the sanding," He said, more than happy to leave Gem to the electricals and to dismantling the floorboards. "Depending on how much there is to do, I can move onto the painting, too. I don't really have anywhere to be today."

@gem-mohanty

[miss-lottielabouff]

Welcome to my Candy Store || Scared Pink

[miss-lottielabouff]

Lottie pouted out a frown. They really were the best of the best when it came to American snack but...she knew better than to push little Frankie Poo. "Suit yourself sugar! If you change your mind I've got the best skittles gummies out there!"

Looking down to her bag she bobbed her head from side to side and shrugged. "Well it really comes in handy doesn't it! Plus this is one of my smaller bags! You should see my never full! Really lives up to its name!"

Patting the side of it she smiled innocently. "I think the only thing I'm missing is a full wardrobe change!"

Which would be fabulous wouldn't it. Carry a whole outfit and shoes in her bag like Mary Poppins.

"I'd probaby be better off bringing a whole lunch every day but snacks are just too good!"

@frank-mohanty

[frank-mohanty]

Frank supposed it did come in handy, though he had to wonder how her shoulder didn't hurt all the time from carrying around bags full of snacks all day, especially if this was one of her smaller ones. Though, come to think of it, he hadn't asked. For all he knew, her shoulder was killing her.

Frank liked his rituals; that was why he couldn't carry around a random assortment of snacks instead of a dedicated lunch. He liked to make it the night before, so that he could go to sleep knowing that it was all prepared. There would be no rush in the morning, no worries about having to run out somewhere in a short lunch break to grab something just to not have time to eat it and then be hungry all day. One less thing to worry about was always good when you were someone who worried about everything.

"I have to make mine the night before." Frank admitted. "Else I'd forget. And I don't have a snack cupboard with me." He added with a joking smile.

@miss-lottielabouff

[enid-mohanty]

Keep Your Voices Down * [Frenid]

[enid-mohanty]

"If only that were me," Enid lamented as she fell dramatically into one of the chairs, briefly draping herself over the arm before she perked up again. Though, she slouched. She always slouched. Mama got on her about it.

"Summer classes are the worst, none of the students are even a little bit interested. Or, well, some of them are, but most of them just resent being there. Not that I blame them."

She took a bite of her sandwich. "And my thesis advisor says I need to have a first draft submitted by the end of next year."

@frank-mohanty

[frank-mohanty]

Frank sat down a bit more carefully, one foot tucked under him even though he worried about scuffing the upholstery. He set about getting everything out of his bag - his water bottle, his neatly wrapped-up sandwich, his orange, his chocolate biscuit - and putting it on small the table that separated his chair from Enid's.

"That gives you a year to work on it, though." Frank pointed out. He was sure Enid had already thought of that, but still. "A year's a long time."

@enid-mohanty

[enid-mohanty]

Keep Your Voices Down * [Frenid]

[enid-mohanty]

"Eh," Enid said with a shrug.

That was her stock response for most questions, follow by: "y'know" "fine" "good" "meh", et cetera, et cetera, ad infinitum. There was usually not that much worth commenting on. Class had been the same as it had always been, the students the same that they'd always been, the weather--okay, admittedly hotter than usual.

"Yours?" she asked as they meandered their way to their spot, unspoken that they were going to go sit on the second floor near one of the back windows. It was a place they'd found years ago and had kept coming back to since. Both she and Frankie were creatures of habit.

@frank-mohanty

[frank-mohanty]

Frank nodded. He was very much used to Enid's limited repetoire, and in many ways, he appreciated it. Delilah was so often snippy when he asked her anything, and Joy could talk for England, and Gem's grunts were so noncomittal that Frank sometimes didn't know what to do with them. At least Enid's responses, whilst concise, were something to go off of.

Frank walked the familiar path to the back window on the top floor, shrugging his shoulders as he went. "It was fine." He said. He was well aware that his job wasn't the most exciting, and anyway, it really had been fine. There wasn't much else to say for it. But, he didn't think Enid minded the brief reply. "Getting to that point where most of the students are gone, so there's not too much to do. It's actually kind of nice."

@enid-mohanty

[frank-mohanty]

To build a little house || Grank

[gem-mohanty]

Gem was not paying attention to the time or anything, really, except the work he was doing. He got like that. The rhythmic hit of the hammer or swirl of the drill was meditation for him. It cleared his mind, nine times out of ten and drew out a peace in him that was, frankly, otherwise somewhat hard to find.

Whenever he worked out on a site, he came home tired and pleasantly spent. And he didn't have the energy for nightmare or endless circles of doubt and regret. He could fall asleep peacefully to a job well done.

So, it, honestly, wasn't until his phone buzzed with a text that Gem even realized Frank was at the door.

"Oops," he said to himself and turned the radio down before coming down the two flights of stairs and jogging down the hall.

"Sorry, Frankie," he said as he pulled the door open, using his other hand to pick up the bottom of his shirt and wipe his face with it. "Was working, couldn't hear the door. We're up in the attic. It's kind of a mess," Gem warned him.

He dropped his shirt and closed the door behind his brother. "Do you, er, want a water or summat?" Gem was not a natural to hosting, but he had been raised by his Mama and Papa, so it was ingrained all the same.

[outfit]

@frank-mohanty

[frank-mohanty]

The waiting did sort of make him worry. Was Gem okay? Had he just not heard the door, or was had he fallen off a ladder or down the stairs and was now a twitching heap on the floor? Was he just absorbed in his work, or had he accidentally hit an electric line and shocked himself halfway across the room?

Frankie blinked. Knocked again. His thoughts continued to spiral. Obviously, Snow wasn't home. She would've come to the door if she had. Or maybe she was tending to some emergency, and was too busy to come to the door. Frank sent a quick text, muttering curses to himself when his fingertips turned translucent.

The invisibility was creeping up his hands to his wrists and his forearms by the time Gem opened the door, at which point they blinked back into being. Frank smiled, shrugged, and said, "It's fine. Don't worry about it."

He headed into the house, leaving his catastrophising at the doorstep.

"Uh-- I'm okay, for now. We can just get going. What do you want me to do?"

@gem-mohanty

[miss-lottielabouff]

Welcome to my Candy Store || Scared Pink

[miss-lottielabouff]

"Oh I would love to get a look!" Lottie smiled big with a large nod of her head. Blonde hair flopping around from her high pony. "I can dodge some paint alright!"

Hopping up to her feet she waved for Frank to join her. "Plus with this little cute set I got over at Queen Bee I can't be getting paint on it! I would be lookin a hot mess!" The set was cute and she knew a dry cleaner would have a hell of a time getting paint out of it.

"You will have to show me the best bits!" Reaching in her large bag she pulled out her little pouch of snacks - nails digging through some of the wrappers she pulled out a granola bar and apple sauce pouch. Looking over to Frank she smiled and raised a brow - "You wan't a snack sugar?! I've got just about anything you could dream of in here!"

@frank-mohanty

[frank-mohanty]

Frank nodded, quietly hoping to himself that he wasn't going to get himself or Lottie into trouble for offering. It wasn't that it was a secret or anything, like he'd said - more just that he didn't want to accidentally ruin anyone else's hard work if things had been left out to dry or set or whatever.

He liked working on the play, maybe more than people might think. It was something to do, sure, but there was always something sort of relaxing about working with your hands.

At the offer of his snacks he shook his head, saying, "Oh, no thanks. Brought my lunch from home today." Why he said it as if he didn't bring his lunch from home every day, he wasn't sure. He was quite intrigued by Lottie's bag, though. "You really do seem to have everything in there, though."

@miss-lottielabouff

[enid-mohanty]

Keep Your Voices Down * [Frenid]

[enid-mohanty]

@frank-mohanty

Enid hovered by the edge of the circulation desk, waiting as Frankie finished with a patron. It seemed to take a lot longer than it needed to and she was having to resist huffing as she waited. Instead, she just tapped her nails, flashing a brief, fake smile at the student when they turned to look at her.

Finally, they left. Off to find their book and Enid slid down the counter.

"Kind of scary how many students don't know what the fuck they're doing research wise these days," Enid sighed. "Anyway." She shifted her bag on her shoulder. "Ready for lunch?" Enid had given Frank her food earlier to keep in the staff room while she taught.

[outfit]

[frank-mohanty]

(outfit)

Frank could feel more than he could see Enid hovering just behind him. Though he, like most of his siblings, had gained a sixth sense for when someone was loitering from being in such a full house, he was still sometimes taken off guard by it. Thankfully Enid had not taken him off guard today, but Frankie was still very aware of how long he was keeping his sister waiting.

When the student finally stepped away Frank gave a soft sigh, telling the other librarian at the desk that he'd be back in a bit. He ducked to grab his totebag from under his desk (it didn't have anything particularly important in it, but he still didn't like leaving it behind), and slipped around the edge of it to stand beside his sister. "Ready." He agreed. "How was your morning?"

@enid-mohanty