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Married to Mina Lestrange
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Leaky Cauldron bartender/Artist
CITIZEN
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Post by Leonardo Torian Drake on Nov 9, 2023 20:21:10 GMT
 WHEN THE WORLD'S AGAINST ME is when I really come alive It might surprise a lot of people to know that Leonardo Drake loved Christmas. Not because he wanted presents or was a particularly festive person in general, Merlin knew he didn't have the money to keep up with the season, but it did bring with it something he was very fond of. Decorating. He'd taken over the task of decorating the Leaky Cauldron for the past decade or so, his artist soul thoroughly enjoying making the place look incredible. To a lot of people, putting baubles on a tree was a basic task, and often boring, especially when the tree reached the ceiling. To Leo, it was another way to express himself through art. Choosing the baubles carefully, making sure the right colours went together to produce something incredibly pleasing to the eye. A lot of places tended to look like someone had thrown a box of decorations at their tree, not caring where any of it landed or what colours were mingled in there. He liked to dub those 'vomit trees', something which thrilled Atticus to no end, the excitable little boy always pointing out a vomit tree when he saw one. The Leaky Cauldron never had a vomit tree. It had two trees and a whole range of other decorations, which Leo took great pleasure in doing all by himself every year. It took up a whole shift, but he got paid for it, which was a bonus. He wouldn't tell anyone that he'd have done it for free on a day off if need be. He'd used magic to set up the two large trees on opposite ends of the pub, and had boxes stacked around them filled with baubles. He would not be using magic for most of it, saving that for the highest parts which were impossible to reach. The rest would be done lovingly by hand. Leo began opening up the boxes of baubles and tinsel and wreaths, having a good nose at what was inside each one so that he could organise his mind before jumping into the mammoth task. |
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Nov 16, 2023 14:07:12 GMT
Post by Taika-Satu Kyllikki Tuuri on Nov 16, 2023 14:07:12 GMT
find light in the beautiful sea, i choose to be happy  Christmas time was about the only time of year that Tai actually enjoyed spending time inside. The solstice was on its way and everyone would decorate for it, albeit not for the reasons she’d have liked, but they were decorating, making an effort and spreading good cheer and positive vibes. Tai could appreciate that, and perhaps it was the warm glow of a burning fireplace, the fresh pine smell of the Christmas trees, or even the way the lights would reflect and bounce off the tinsel and other shiny decorations, but everything felt much more beautiful. Perhaps it was the smell of a warm fire or the little grumble in her stomach, but Tai entered the Leaky Cauldron, eyeing the beautiful trees that were being placed at either end of the pub, preparing to be decorated by someone with accessories to make the place more festive. Her day's work was already complete and she had nothing to do but photograph whatever caught her eye and the thought of capturing a little festive cheer gave her soul some gentle tranquillity. Although she was planning on a little snack first, nothing outrageously large, something easy and enough to sate her until her main meal later. Ordering with a barmaid and taking a seat at a table, Tai pulled her camera out of her chunky bag full of lots of odd shaped pockets. The light in The Leaky Cauldron was a lot different to that which she had been shooting in less than an hour ago and so she took the cap of her lens, raised the camera to her right eye and shut her left eye. As she knew it would be, her camera’s settings were off for her environment. Tai knew there were plenty of magical cameras she could have used to always get a good shot, but she was a perfectionist in her creations and so she used a camera that required her skills. She held the lens to her eye, adjusting her settings, looking around the room through the narrow window. To get some truly spectacular shots she would require multiple sources of controlled light, which would be strange and unusual in a pub, but she could work with a more rustic and genuine feel, something she much preferred, and she could always float a few orbs for light if really needed. Once she was ready, Tai walked to the tree nearest the bar, the barmaid wiping the counter after a patron left. A quick snap of her camera and the moment was captured, just a regular day in the working life of this woman with the start of a little festivities that Tai knew was going to lead to a beautiful little collection. |
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Married to Mina Lestrange
| Bite Me
Leaky Cauldron bartender/Artist
CITIZEN
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Dec 12, 2023 22:10:59 GMT
Post by Leonardo Torian Drake on Dec 12, 2023 22:10:59 GMT
WHEN THE WORLD'S AGAINST ME is when I really come alive Leo had found a load of red and gold decorations, which he stacked to one side for the tree nearest the bar. The other boxes had blue and silver and other cool tones. Separating them all into neat piles, he floated the boxes with the warmer shades to the first tree. The fire was crackling away, some of the tables near it having been moved to make space for the tree, which kissed the beams on the ceiling. He began taking out some plain red baubles, hanging the larger ones around the bottom of the tree carefully, taking his time choosing just the right spot for each one, leaving space to scatter the gold baubles in between when the time came. There was a soft smile on his face as he worked, though his attention was not solely on the tree in front of him. He was aware of everything going on in the pub around him. The young couple stealing kisses in the corner booth, the old man on his fifth drink, looking sleepy and like he'd had enough. The girl with the red hair taking pictures of the bar staff. Leo watched her closely. She knew her craft well, and he enjoyed seeing how she kept adjusting the camera to get just the right angle and lighting. He knew nothing about photography, but it couldn't be that different from the type of art Leo was well versed in. His smile grew as he watched her, seemingly lost in her own creative world. |
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Dec 12, 2023 22:13:05 GMT
Post by Taika-Satu Kyllikki Tuuri on Dec 12, 2023 22:13:05 GMT
find light in the beautiful sea, i choose to be happy Tai's food came out from behind the bar and she smiled to the barmaid and pointed to where she was sitting. A simple snack of crusty bread and plain cheese would be enough to last her a while. Simple but delicious and one of her favourite foods. Tai enjoyed simplicity in life, to overcomplicate things seemed counterintuitive to the red head. Adjusting her lens once more she turned to a window. The angle she was at and the way the light was filtering in gave for a lovely photo opportunity. The dust that could be seen on the sunbeams, just floating around slowly, doing its own thing had a such a gentle simplicity to itself and the way Tai believed the world ought to be. She ran her finger back and forth over her lip in contemplation before she made a decision. Tai walked back to her table and placed her camera down gently. She then walked back to where she'd been before and started pulling one of the medium round wooden tables over into the light so the sunshine would cast down across the table instead of straight to the floor. Had she more space she would have liked to have cleared everything out the way, to take a picture of the sun filtering through the glass, casting the shadow of the window frame onto the floor but there were other people around and that would have been too much of an inconvenience for everyone, but this was doable and wouldn't be bothering anyone, and she could put the table back once she was done. |
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Married to Mina Lestrange
| Bite Me
Leaky Cauldron bartender/Artist
CITIZEN
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Dec 12, 2023 22:13:27 GMT
Post by Leonardo Torian Drake on Dec 12, 2023 22:13:27 GMT
WHEN THE WORLD'S AGAINST ME is when I really come alive The red baubles were all in mostly the right place, so he moved on to the gold, leaving the top half of the tree bare because he would need magic for that and he was enjoying using his hands for now. Leo started with some gold bells that tinkled gently when he hung them, bobbing up and down on the branches and filling the room with a soft magical sound. His eyes flicked to the redhead as she started moving a table in front of a window. He scanned the area, noting the light shining through, bouncing off the table top as she set it up. "A few inches to the left and it'll highlight that knot in the wood," he called, smiling warmly at the witch and going back to his decorating. |
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Dec 12, 2023 22:14:01 GMT
Post by Taika-Satu Kyllikki Tuuri on Dec 12, 2023 22:14:01 GMT
find light in the beautiful sea, i choose to be happy Tai was in her own little creative bubble as she moved the table. She straightened up to look at the angle of the table and see how the light was falling. Her own creative bubble was a sensitive little space, somewhere she could create but still stay attuned to the world around her, so when she head a voice mentioning the knot in the wood she looked for the voice, her chocolate brown eyes finding the man with the decorations. "Thank you." She smiled sincerely, and twisted the table around. She only wanted about a third of the table in the light, but the little note about the knot in the wood was appreciated. Finally she had the table turned, the dark edges of the knot bathed in sunlight. Tai went around the empty tables, looking at the chairs, picking up one and taking it around with her, swapping it for another until she found a chair she was happy with. She took the chair over to the table and set it with the back to the window. She tucked it in where she wanted it and then pulled it out a few inches and then angled it to her right slightly. Tai took a step back and admired her work, but it wasn't complete yet, she went back to her table, grabbed her drink and snack and placed it on the table she had been playing with. She toyed with the position of the plate and the glass until she was happy and then she returned for her camera. It wasn't often that inside spaces inspired Tai, she put it down to the trees giving her a sense of connection to the outdoors, freeing her up to be as creative as she pleased without feeling claustrophobic. Tai returned to her little project and crouched to the ground, looking through the lens, slowly rising and adjusting her shutter speed as she stood. In a half-sitting, half-standing kind of squat, Tai felt she had found the perfect angle for her shot. She held herself steady for a couple of moments, watching the dust flat through the air in the sunlight before she pressed her finger on the shutter. She stood herself up and looked at her piece in front of her, the shadows and the light, the meal with no one to claim it, the well loved table and chair. It was another satisfying shot for her collection. |
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