mr. dictionary

rhett randal old book smell personified [links]

[razorbrained]

do not pass go

[razorbrained]

porphyriac :

Masking a smile at the choice of mug, Hazel let the tea stew as she tipped one hand up in a gesture of acquiescence. “I suppose it is different for you, yes. It is so much more pleasant to be settled somewhere secluded, but you and your sister are such social creatures, dear.” As she often was, the vampire was grateful that she’d been born into a family with such large amounts of disposable income, and such good tastes. The family home, hidden away as it was, had allowed many generations of Delaneys to experience a life of solitude and safety - only a handful of times had Hazel ever been required to seek and subdue her own prey for consumption. “I certainly couldn’t bare to live so much of my life in human company.” 

“Oh, yes, I’m sure it will be a tearjerker, as they say. It came highly recommended.” Enjoying the praise, the vampire took the opportunity to hide her pleased expression by dipping her head to add cream and sugar to her tea. It was unbecoming to appear overly dependent on the opinions of others - over the centuries, her own siblings had developed faces of stone that Hazel had yet to master. Tapping the spoon lightly on the rim of the mug before taking a sip of the tea - a lovely brew, and the warmth that spread through her chest as she sipped was not unwelcome either - she tilted her head questioningly. “Did you have any suggestions? I wouldn’t like to act hastily before you’ve had your input. Moreover, I wouldn’t like to lose the opportunity to read a book of your suggesting - you do always have such impeccable taste.”

Rhett sighed, setting his cup aside. “I do believe you mean my sister is a social creature. It’s not exactly the lifestyle I woulda chosen on my own, but none a’ this is,” he admitted. “Your setup sounds like a dream, really.” He’d tried many a time to get Ruby to put some of their considerable wealth into establishing a permanent home, getting a real routine set up, to no avail. Rhett couldn’t understand how she wasn’t absolutely exhausted of this lifestyle by now, but it’s not like he could go it alone. Living apart on campus was a step, but the decades together created a lifestyle that was hard to change. Even now, he had five unread texts from Ruby dated within the hour - nothing important, probably.

“Oh, no, I ain’t found anythin’ remarkable recently. All that library work for nothin’.” He shrugged, smiling softly. “I like this one plenty, darlin’, I promise. Don’t worry about it.” Her compliment spilled warmth through his chest nonetheless - while he prided himself on his intelligence, he couldn’t help but feel others didn’t think the same of him. Hazel was just as smart but better bred, with better opportunities, and kind words from her always stuck with him a little longer. “I’ll look a bit harder for next month, how ‘bout that? Lil’ switch-off.” Seemed like a fair offer to him. The question was, why hadn’t they planned something like that sooner?

[lets-catch-some-waves]

[razorbrained]

do not pass go

[porphyriac-blog]

It was always a pleasure to visit Rhett - somehow, his Southern sensibilities reminded her quite vividly of many aspects of her own upbringing, and it was always rather good to spend time amongst one’s own species, even with the few differences in heritage. With a sweet smile, Hazel took the offered seat and said lightly, “How kind of you, Rhett. Thank you.” She cast one eye over the selection of teas, wondering how she had so quickly become involved in this wrongdoing, before tapping an Earl Grey decisively. “I’ve found that my fashion decisions tend to deflect onlookers from asking certain questions - even in summer, a well-tailored overcoat is rarely questioned, and nor are leather gloves. Perhaps I could put you in contact with one of my father’s tailors.” This last remark was said wryly, one ginger eyebrow almost arching and the corner of her mouth threatening to twitch up into a smirk. An ill-dressed vampire was rare to see; arguably, Rhett’s own sister could fall into that category, but Hazel supposed she dressed to suit her interests, and that was difficult to criticise.

Rhett’s own wry remark did not go unnoticed, and she gave a fleeting smile, shaking her head in light disapproval before opening her satchel. “I will admit, it was a little redundant of me to schedule my arrival - it appears as thought I somehow took you by surprise. Regardless, I thought I should show you my newest purchase as soon as it arrived. I intend to suggest it as December’s book for the group.” Naturally, Hazel had purchased a second copy for Rhett - it would have been embarrassing to be so poorly organised, after all - and she offered it to him. “I’m sure we could suggest that the library purchases several copies - that is, if you share my opinion of the novel.”

[razorbrained]

“Look, sugar, that’s mighty kind, but I think that such things are far more acceptable in your circles. Goin’ to the grocery store in a wool coat when it’s blazin’ out is gonna get me some questions no matter what.” People tended to associate oddities with danger, and covering up serial murder was far more difficult with suspicions placed on you. Perhaps he’d take her up on the offer anyway - he had been looking into some wardrobe upgrades. The Earl Grey was extracted from the box, placed into an empty mug shaped like an owl, and quickly covered in steaming water. Rhett slid the cream and sugar, still out on the desk from his own drink preparation, towards Hazel. 

“Well, y’know, I forgot to check the clock. Your exact timin’ is helpful, but I got a bit too busy to make sure an’ wait for-” he paused to check his watch, a soft smirk on his face. “3:02 on the dot.” Ah, but this was a very pleasant visit indeed. Book club had become an increasing presence in his life - it was not the reading of the month’s book, of course, but the preparation. Each month, there were tens of books shuffled between Hazel and himself, each of them reading or rereading it as they made the necessary decisions. His job was quite helpful in the matter, though it tended to take time to convince the library heads to buy the books they needed. His eyes glimmered as he took the tome from Hazel’s hands, skimming the description. Oh, this was going to make him cry, wasn’t it? His tea was retrieved again, the warm mug beginning to burn color back into his fingertips the longer he held onto it. Rhett nodded once, twice, as he finished, setting the book to his right and looking back to his friend. “It looks lovely, darlin’. And by lovely, I do mean that I think we’re gonna have a room fulla weeping students at the end a’ the month, including me,” he smiled, taking a sip of his drink before continuing. “I think it’s an excellent choice.”

[kosankaplumbaga]

[razorbrained]

[text to: Ru]: Something’s not right.

Two days. It’d only been two days since he fed. Hell, the color in his cheeks hadn’t even faded yet. This feeling, this burn in his chest and fog over his thoughts, this shouldn’t be happening. Rhett stumbled to the bathroom, phone still in hand, and gasped in a ragged breath at his red-eyed reflection. No. Oh, no. It’d been decades since this happened, his schedule was perfected, he was feeling fine as frog’s hair just an hour ago, he shouldn’t be frenzied. 

[text to: Ru]: Please come over. This is bad.

Rhett frowned at himself in the mirror once more, pivoting on his heel and heading straight for the mini-fridge. He still had a stock, fated for later this week, but it seemed later had turned into now. He could only pray that an early meal would end this unfortunate mess.

[text to: Ru]: Be careful.

[macrolit]

The Iliad and The Odyssey, Homer

[razorbrained]

(( happy birthday, assholes ))

[razorbrained]

sharing is caring

[elithdesaeus]

Oh. Elith had put the pieces together and realized that he was a vampire. This was not good. Very bad. She wished that she hadn’t picked this up. She was just so interested in old fiction she couldn’t help herself. She reflected on what an insensitive thing that was to have done. 

“I-I am sorry, I didn’t mean any offense, sir,” she said. She could feel her face turning bright red. “I just found it on the top of a bookshelf, it was covered in dust, and I’ve never read the book, and I thought that maybe it would be something to pass the time,” she explained. She knew she was talking a mile a minute and had definitely not kept up her usual facade the more she said. 

“And of course I didn’t think it was factual I just thought it might be a good read, something telling of the times maybe,” she continued, trying to keep an even tempo in her voice but failing miserably. She had gone back to using informal contractions and cursed herself for it. 

She clenched her jaw and focused on keeping her speech pattern even. “I will put the book back where I found it, or I will turn it in to the administration. Apologies for the rude behavior on my part.”

[razorbrained]

“If by ‘tellin’ a’ the times’ you mean ‘ignorant and ill-informed,’ sure, it’s tellin’ a’ the times," he sneered. "I ain't even thirty years older 'an it, an' from what I can tell, vamps ain't truly evolved in centuries. Lil' hard to do when only some reproduce like a normal species, an' those types tend a bit towards inbreedin'." The borns did like their bloodlines kept clean, and they were running out of options with each generation. A shame, really.

The other's little explanation did absolutely nothing to improve her situation. In fact, it may have worsened it. Excuses, excuses. Such missteps were bound to happen when you put so many people from so many walks of life and unlife together, but that doesn't mean he was any less pissed.

Rhett snatched up the paper turdblossom, shoving it into his backpack. “Bless your heart," he replied with an insincere half smile. "It’s gonna meet the fate the rest a’ them did,” he grumbled, brushing off his hands like he’d been tainted with a dusty plague. “Burnt to a pile a’ rude ashes.” He hadn't been this mad in ages. Heck, all he'd wanted was a number. Stupid danged book, ruining his afternoon... Hazel was gonna have a field day with the payroll when she hears about this. That girl had the wrath of a proper aristocrat - ice cold and sharp. He almost felt bad for his coworkers about to lose a position, but this was some mighty offense.

[razorbrained]

((elijah ;*)) “Oh dear, do you need help?”

This job was thankless. Rhett spent enough time in the library that it just made sense for him to work there - even before he got the position, people asked him for information more often than the librarians. It was already too late to back out by the time he realized this wouldn’t be any fun. No reading on the job - outlandish. Rude. Inappropriate. Almost enough to quit, but the steady (if meager) paycheck and continued excuse to linger in the packed aisles had a bit more sway.

Some days, of course, were more exciting than others. Today brought him a younger kid, someone he’d seen in the library before, carrying a stack of book almost as tall as one he himself would attempt to cart around. Oof. Was this really how he appeared to other people? The act was almost comical, the boy’s hat threatening to float off his head with every desperate tilt to keep the stack upright. Rhett held back a chuckle, approaching the other with his on-the-clock smile firmly in place. 

“Oh dear, do you need help?”

[razorbrained]

(( speedy lil dorm study done at 5 am ))

[razorbrained]

do not pass go

[porphyriac-blog]

No matter how many sights she’d seen in her century of living, there was little more pleasing to see than a new book; it did not even need to be a new copy, so long as it was new to her. Thus, it was with some great delight that she’d acquired several copies of Grief is the Thing with Feathers, delivered to her personally, and it was with even more delight that she decided to suggest the book for the Book Club’s monthly read. The best course of action was to suggest this to Rhett immediately, and Hazel had pencilled in an urgent meeting with her fellow vampire to discuss the novel, even bringing a copy for him in her satchel. 

It was a little disconcerting, therefore, to sense faint warmth emanating from under the door as she waited for him to respond to her knock. Perhaps he’d forgotten, and invited another student over..? Hazel felt a little embarrassed, and was in the process of weighing up the decision to leave when he called out, and she abandoned her ruminations on the threshold, clicking the door open and neatly stepping into the room. Ah. With the visual evidence, it was far easier to explain the warmth she had briefly felt - some sort of portable stove, she presumed, or a hot plate - and she hid a smile with one pale hand. “Rhett,” she said lightly, “how gracious of you to prepare hot beverages. I fear we both need a little more warmth than others, do we not?” How could she not let her companion have this little indulgence? There was little risk of any accident - except, it appeared, for Rhett’s sleeve. “I’m certainly glad I brought several overcoats with me from home this semester, as autumn has caught us quite suddenly.” 

[razorbrained]

No clipboard in sight. A smile, even. Well. It seemed as if Rhett had written down the date for his day of reckoning incorrectly. His relief was palpable, the heavy breath trapped in his chest set free and the right angle of the set of his shoulders relaxing. He graciously pulled his desk chair out for his friend, however awkward the action might have been while seated with a cup of hot liquid nestled between his thighs. Probably shoulda moved that first. Whoops.  “Sit, sit. No reason t’ stay on your feet.” The mug was given a new position on the desk, steam and sweet smells emanating from the rippling surface. That was a much better home for it - far less dangerous.

Rhett chuckled softly at Hazel’s comment. “Don’t we? I’ve always found summers to be the worst,” he stated, reaching into his side table for the shoebox full of teas. The neat, organized box was silently proffered, waiting for Hazel’s selection. “Ain’t got a proper explanation for wearin’ a wool sweater in July. ‘Least now I can jus’ pass it off as bein’ a bit too excited for pumpkins an’ leaves.” It really was unfortunate - how could you explain being freezing from a humanly-fatal level of blood loss when it was over a hundred outside? Summers usually meant staying inside, being the only house on the block running heating instead of air conditioning, and having to change into less warm clothes to receive grocery deliveries. There had been many an unsuccessful attempt to convince Ruby to move to Alaska, or Siberia... Anywhere with a little more chill year-round. 

“Now,” Rhett grinned, crooked and proud of his coming remark. “Y’must have somethin’ urgent t’ tell me if you stopped by on such short notice.”

[razorbrained]

do not pass go

​Tea was so relaxing after a long day of classes and work. Perhaps the illegal hot plate made it a bit less relieving, but how else was he supposed to make a hot drink? The microwave, like some kinda low class ingrate? Rhett had been raised better than that. He was just stirring sugar into his mug when a knock at the door startled him, making him jump and spill hot liquid up his sleeve. Ouch!

He'd forgotten Hazel had planned a visit. Shoot. How could he forget? She planned everything! She lived three doors down and she'd called yesterday to make sure he'd be in his room when she had a break! The plate itself could be hidden quickly, but the steaming copper kettle was an obvious marker of what'd been happening, this blatant rule smashing. Boy, was he going to get the clipboard beating of his life when that door opened.

Rhett let out a resigned breath, grabbing another mug from his drawer before calling out to his visitor. "C'mon in, sugar!" Maybe he'd avoid the worst of it if he gave Hazel a cup of tea too... Ah, boy. "Door's unlocked."

[razorbrained]

sharing is caring

[elithdesaeus]

Elith broke her defensive mask to crack a smile at the thought of her little brothers. “Yes, my brother is very interested in… odd history. History that isn’t taught in a classroom,” she replied, almost immediately reverting to her stone faced demeanor.  He seemed like a nice enough person, but Elith knew that it was quite easy to get on her good side.

She stretched out her back legs and whipped her tail side to side a few times as she looked down at her mound of assorted text. Some books were on archery, others on wildflowers in the area, but on the top of the stack was a fiction classic that she had been meaning to read since forever, Dracula.

Elith knew that this book had little to no truth to its depiction of vampires, but she did love a good scare. She wondered if this boy had ever read it. She had seen him in and out of the library, for the few days she had been on campus, and he walked around like he knew the place. Her only conclusion is that he must be fairly well read to spend so much time in a library.

[razorbrained]

“Well, most a’ history ain’t taught in classrooms. It’s lived and forgotten, trod on by the big shots, the marginalized’s stories left to rot in memory until they’re gone altogether.” His words were quiet, distracted, but they still rang true. “Not many people get t' write books an' talk about their lives. Think about how much we’ve lost t' time already, an’ how much we’re gonna in the future. It’s important to study.”

Rhett rubbed the tips of his fingers together before grabbing his phone, stimulating the blood enough to use the touch screen. That was the problem with being half-dead - modern technology didn’t always work out well. His notes were quickly jotted down, a couple photos for future reference were taken, and the book was closed and returned to its original user. His gaze traveled along the small stack she possessed, stopping at the top which was - oh, no. Bram darned Stoker. Absolutely revolting. 

“Coulda sworn all copies a’ Dracula were removed from the shelves when the buildin’ name got changed. You bring that pile a’ bound slander in yourself, or did they happen to miss one?” His eyes narrowed, mismatched glare shifting from the book to the centaur. “Tell me, would you count th’ likes a’ Pony Pals t' be factual?”

[razorbrained]

sharing is caring

[elithdesaeus]

Towering over the boy, Elith could see that despite having to look up to her, this boy was not intimidated. She wasn’t usually so easily charmed by other individuals, but something about him was rather inviting. 

“No need, friend, the book is yours,” she replied to his insistently charming behavior. The boy looked very pale, and it somewhat concerned her. Though, he seemed to have no lack of confident character, so she dismissed the thought.

“I will need the book back by tomorrow afternoon, but If I may ask, what use do you have for a book like this?” Elith asked. Admittedly, history was not her favorite subject, but the eldest of her younger brothers was quite interested. She was trying to read up on as much as she could, so she could understand what he would talk with her about when he came to visit. 

[razorbrained]

Rhett smiled wider, sharp teeth on full display now, pleased with the outcome. “Thank y’kindly, sugar.” He gazed at his other materials, strewn across his favorite corner, and decided they were safe. No one ever dared to try and steal his spot anymore. All it earned you was a lot of glaring and wheedling until you up and moved. He might as well cordon it off and hang a nameplate on it.

He cracked the spine, immediately flipping to the section he could best recall this information in - he possessed an odd form of photographic memory, in regards to books. Finding a certain passage was as easy as remembering how much paper was in each hand and what direction he’d been looking. In this case, his right hand had been fuller than the left, making it early in the book; and the section had been close to the bottom...

“Ha!” Rhett glanced up at his new tablemate, wide eyes triumphant behind fingerprint smeared glass. My, my, she was... much bigger than he’d first noticed. Well, you meet something new every day. “I ain’t in need of it for long, sweetheart, don’t you worry. I’m writin’ somethin’ up, and this book’s got secrets no other book seems to have.” An enigmatic answer, surely, but he found himself embarrassed by the full truth. “You got some special need for it? I ain’t seen this thing off the shelf in months.”

[razorbrained]

sharing is caring

He'd been here for hours. Hours! Trapped in a set of two aisles in the expansive library, looking for one specific title. Rhett was writing yet another paper on something from centuries ago - however, this one was for fun, not class. A boy's gotta have his hobbies. The Sack of Rome, 1527, an understaffed, bloody, and ultimately successful military attempt to kidnap and imprison Pope Clement VII. Perhaps not a particularly fascinating subject to just anyone, but what an adventure! A historical landmark! All this information at his fingertips, and Rhett found himself needing one. Single. Date. He'd seen the numbers before, in a paragraph near the back of a dusty old thing he'd stumbled across in this aisle. It was an otherwise unrelated book, the subject lost to memory's wandering aisles but the outside appearance he could recall clear as day. Alas, his search had been so far fruitless and barren, every spine touched and pored over, every empty space checked. Rhett huffed, ribs heaving with exasperation, and glanced around the library. The history aisles tended to be less busy, shoved in the back near the locked and guarded superbooks section. That place was just darned spooky, but the mildew of old tomes was comforting to this senior citizen. He was about to keep searching, when his two-toned gaze caught on a familiar cover on a nearby table. Ha! He knew it had to be here! Sadly, it was at the top of someones stack. Ugh. Rhett steeled himself for social interaction, small fists balling at his sides, and strode over to the table. "Howdy." He smiled, soft and nonthreatening - as long you didn't look at his teeth too long. "I'm afraid I'm jus' desperate for a bitty piece a' info that I can only remember findin'-" he reached for the title, chilled fingers shaking- "in this book right here. You won't mind if I take this on off with me, right?" Now, it wouldn't be right to accuse him of using his unnatural charisma for something unsavory... But boy, if he wasn't ramping up the charm on this poor sap sitting in front of him. "Or would that be a problem? I'll just sit on down if you're findin' yourself in long term need." The chipped wooden chair across from the stranger slid across the dirty carpet, Rhett's slight frame threatening to settle in. "I got time."

[pbbbbtht-deactivated20140128]

i love to use phrases such as “well i’ll be” and “would ya look at that” because in all seriousness i thoroughly enjoy sounding like an astonished elderly southern man

[transparentthingss]