Ted Tonks

Songs in the Attic makes me wish I'd found Billy Joel earlier in his career. Like most of the world, I discovered his music when The Stranger hit it big, but his early work has some really fantastic stuff. Dora has declared "Everybody Loves You Now" to be her favourite. I think "Miami 2017" is currently coming in tops for me. I like the sort of sci-fi-ness of it. Though I have to admit, Dora has a point. "Everybody Loves You Now" has quite a groove to it. Andromeda, in typical Andromeda style, likes "Streetlife Serenader."

Other stuff I'm digging:
- Bob Seger's live album
- Wanderlust's "Under the Full Moon"
- Pretty much everything Elvis Costello or David Byrne put their hands on

So, world. What are you listening to lately? Got anything new I should pick up, or that you desperately want to hear on the wireless?

All right, people. My daughter has Junior Witch biscuits to sell. Who's looking to order?

[Warded to Rockets & Robots]

All right, team, here's our plan for Dora's birthday session:

Action starts on board the LSS Pioneer, the newest ship in the Lunar Spacefleet. To make it easy on us for this oneshot, it's a Titan class starship just like the Courageous. Same layout, but with the addition of three ion cannons and more advanced sensor capabilities.

Speaking of the Courageous, everything from the last campaign is backstory. The adventures of our captain and his friends all happened a little more than a year ago, and they are accordingly legends in the spacefleet. Feel free to make reference to any of those events, people, etc.

I've put together pre-constructed roles, but you've all free rein on your character sheets. Call dibs on whichever one you want, and I encourage everyone to spread your wings a bit this time. Try out something you haven't given a go before, just for fun. We'll use a total points system for assigning stats. You have 90 points, spend them as you like. Yes, Caleb, I said 90. I told you we were going super-high-powered, did I not? This does of course mean you'll be meeting some rather substantial opposition, but this is also a game for an 8 year old. We're going for maximum over the top fun.

Roles available:
The Captain - Strong and brave, quick wits, and an ace pilot and leader. Born & raised in Luna City, so he has the high grav disadvantage and the low-grav advantage.

The First Officer - Martian, with the stereotypical temper that accompanies it. Extraordinarily cool head in battle. Also an expert in the Martian hand-to-hand combat style.

The Chief Engineer - Earth native (your choice of locales), highly intelligent, rumoured to be able to fix anything.

The Security Officer - Earth native (your choice of locales), weapons expert, suspicious and cautious

The Chief Medical Officer - Venusian, brilliant scientific mind, but unusually good with offworlders for a Venusian. I think it would be fun to have him/her related in some way to Kent's character from the last campaign, but you're under no obligation to keep that.

The Pilot - Sharp, quick, and has a saucy sense of humour. Hotshot flyer from Pakur, a small planet at the far reaches of the Alpha Quadrant that has just joined the United Planets after years of isolation. The planet's language is notoriously difficult to learn, with an alphabet containing 250 distinct non-phonetic letters, tonal variations, 4 genders, and extremely important politeness registers. Whoever plays this character, I'll fill you in on the rest of Pakurian culture so you can have fun surprising people.

The Navigator - This is going to be Dora's role, a character fresh out of the Lunar Spacefleet Academy. She's young but very capable, and will of course be playing a substantial part in our adventures.

Andromeda will be joining us for this one as well, playing some of our more important NPCs.

There will, as previously mentioned, be cake. We'll probably also order Chinese, since that's Dora's favourite, so let me know if you have any particular orders.

Questions/calling dibs may now commence.
[end ward]

[Warded to Rockets & Robots group]
Two things:

1. Somebody left a cardigan here last week. Judging by the jaunty little ruffle on the cuff, I assume it's Caleb's.

2. Dora's birthday is next week. She informed me this afternoon that what she only really, really wants three things: to have Lacey Podmore over to play again, a chocolate cake, and to get to join in just one session of R&R.

So. The question is...would you lot be willing to play a super-high-powered one-shot adventure with a just-turned-eight-year-old? We'd go good old over-the-top space opera, good guys win in the end, every character is nine kinds of brilliant. And Andromeda promises chocolate cake for all. No worries if you'd rather not, of course, but it would thrill her tiny soul to no end.
[end ward]

Lydia/Jack, Mr. & Mrs. Podmore - my daughter can't stop talking about how brilliant hanging out with Lacey was today. I've been informed "I don't care that she's only five, she's really good at climbing trees, and she actually likes cool pretend games, and she said she would do Under 10's Quidditch with me this summer." So apparently I've succeeded in teaching her proper priorities.

Phrases I'm really tired of hearing:

"You did so well! I can't believe you're Muggleborn!"

"Are you sure you're Muggleborn?"

"You're not like other Muggleborns."

"When I say Mudblood, I don't mean all Muggleborns - I just mean the really weak/incompetent/lazy/poor/rubbish/insert-negative-adjective-of-choice-here ones!"

"If you can say mudblood, why can't anyone say it?"

"Some of my best friends are Muggleborn!"

"I married a Muggleborn/I have Muggleborns in my family/I've dated a lot of Muggleborns/insert-connection-here, so I can say/think/do whatever and obviously can't be Purist."

"You're like a chocolate frog box - a real wizard on the inside!"

"Purebloods have died too!"

"Muggles burned witches!"

"Why are you so angry about this?"



The list is now open for additions.

A very happy Mothering Sunday to my beautiful wife, Andromeda Tonks - and to all the other mums out there, too. She just happens to be my favourite.

I told Dora she should draw a picture for her Mum for Mothering Sunday. I should have known our Dora would never turn out the usual picture of the family standing in front of the house.

( Dora's idea of a present )

As you can see, she's in something of a Dinosaur Phase, and thinks volcanoes are "wicked." Andromeda, wonderful mother that she is, was of course very appreciative.

[Warded to Arthur Weasley]
So I was helping Mum with cleaning out the garage this afternoon, and I have something you're going to want to take apart and poke:
( cut for picture )

Transistor radio, circa 1955. It still works, amazingly enough. And it's all yours if you want to tinker with it.
[end ward]

I have spent my entire day helping my mother clear out the garage. I don't think I've ever been so thankful for a shower in my life as for the one I just took an hour ago.

I also brought home way too much old stuff that I wasn't willing to throw out. My wife is probably going to kill me for invading her home with even MORE records, back issues of Rolling Stone, childhood toys, and my dad's old Army jacket. Dora's digging the big band jazz, though. I'm going to have to teach her to jitterbug.

Anyone remember the Ghastly Orchestra from the 1967 Hogwarts production of Bald Mountain Vignettes? Iwan, I know you will, at least. Getting Professor Flitwick to make the Orchestra all actually look like ghosts was the best idea ever.



That's your bass player there. I swear I don't remember looking that young. I kind of miss having the long hair, though. I thought myself very rock 'n roll at the time.

[Warded to Andromeda]
The house doesn't look as bad in the light of day as it did last night. The roof will need some repairs, and we'll have to rebuild Dora's swings, but it could have been a lot worse. When I get to work, I'll call someone about an estimate on getting the roof fixed. There goes the savings

You girls try to have some fun at the Burrow today. All our spirits could use a little lift.

[end ward]

When I was seventeen, I loved her because she was beautiful.

When I was eighteen, I loved her because she was smart and funny and kind.

When I was nineteen, I loved her because she was strong and independent.

We've had almost a decade together now, and I still love her for all that and more.

Andromeda Tonks is still the most beautiful, smart, funny, kind, strong woman I know. She's an amazing mother, a wonderful wife, and she truly means the world to me. I never take her or her love for granted, not for one single minute - maybe because we've had to fight every step of the way just to be together - but I think it's still worth saying again.

I love you, Andromeda. Happy Valentine's Day.

[Warded to Muggleborns]

Does anybody else get really pissed off with people who aren't muggleborn going around acting like we're not allowed to be angry?

There are all these people talking, all "Oh, well, being mean is one thing, but pranks are so awful! Someone could be allergic and die!" on Noah Burbage's journal. And I can't help but think, just...really? When it's Muggleborn wizards and our families that are in the most danger from the Death Eaters, from the Dark Army, they want to talk about how terrible pranks are? When we're the ones who still have to deal with legislation on the books that promotes Purebloods and puts us down? And what they see as the important part of that is "Oh, Noah, you're a big meanie" or "why are you still cross about that? It was so long ago!"

To me, it's not that long ago. I've been out of school a good while now, but the prejudice I dealt with there isn't just some closed chapter of my life that's all over. That's prejudice I still deal with, every single day, that keeps me locking my doors and warding my house and constantly carrying my driving license because I don't want Andromeda to have to identify my body if it turns up at the DMLE morgue.

So yeah, I'm angry. I'm angry as hell, and I'm sick and bloody tired of people telling me I should just shut up and behave myself so I don't draw undue attention and get myself into trouble.

[end ward]

[Warded to Andromeda]
Dora and I have discussed the matter, and have decided tonight would be a good night to splurge and have takeaway Chinese. Thoughts?
[end ward]

I don't mind saying that the adventure I have for my Rockets & Robots players next week is possibly my finest work ever. Truly, it will be an epic.

[Warded to Arthur Weasley]
Arthur, I've got a favour to ask of you. Might you have time to come by the house and look at our wards sometime soon?
[end ward]

[Warded to Friends]
Hello, everyone. I'm up and awake and functional this morning, and the headache's even mostly gone. I'm not allowed to use my left arm until this evening, and Andromeda's mostly making me stay put here on the sofa, but Dora's taking care of putting on records for us and we're having a nice bit of family time. Nothing to worry about on my account.

The Aurors don't know yet if this was a random attack, or aimed at a specific person on the bus. With the way the Death Eaters have targeted people they think are dirtying up the magical bloodstream, it could have been coming directly at me. Doesn't exactly take much research to know I get apparation sickness pretty badly and take the bus a lot. I'd like to think it was just coincidence, but since there's no real way to be sure, I'll need to be watching myself a bit more carefully. Not that I wasn't already, but you know.

I'm going to wait to hear from Kent before we decide if R&R is still on for Thursday. If he's all right by then, we'll plan to forge on ahead.

Thanks everyone for your concern and for looking in on me and all. I do appreciate it.
[end ward]

[Warded to the R&R group]

I already talked to Caleb and Kent about this, but just for everyone's reference: given the circumstances, we're going to cancel tonight and start on character creation next week. So, everybody just take it easy, yeah? And if anybody needs anything, call. This may be mushy, but I love all of you, and you're just going to have to bloody put up with me saying so.

[end ward]

[Warded to Andromeda]
Hey, sweetheart. R&R's cancelled tonight, because Caleb and Kenton are going to be at the wake for Saoirse's husband. I'm planning to just go for a minute, pay my respects, and come straight back. Will you be okay in the house by yourself?
[end ward]

Hey, Elladora! I had extra time to kill this afternoon and ended up in a second-hand shop, and these boots immediately made me think of you. They looked like miniaturized short versions of the ones Gene Simmons wears. But also crossed with cowboy boots. And they had teeth. Working teeth. I have no idea if they're your size, but I think you need to visit Second Chances over on Vertic Alley.

[Warded to Rockets & Robots crew]

Alright, everyone! The holidays are over, it's a new year, and it's time to get a new campaign rolling.

First Question:
Any change in preference of days? Thursday nights continue to work for me, but if we need to adjust I certainly can.

Second Question:
Do you want to stick with your same characters in the Luna City/Moon colony setting and just start a new adventure at a higher level, or do you want something entirely new? I'm open to suggestions either way.

It's a quiet night at the Tonks house, which is unusual. Seems Dora has finally begun to wind down from all the New Year's Eve excitement. The past two days she's been running at top speed, and this evening she finally hit the crash point - and thank god for it, because she was getting decidedly cranky this afternoon.

We settled in with Bruce Springsteen and The River, and I continued on our reading of The Hobbit, and now she's all passed out halfway on my lap. I don't want to move her until I'm sure she'll stay out, so for now I'm just staying put. Looking down at my little girl, I see that my father was absolutely right: the reason they look so cute when they're asleep is so you don't kill them when they're awake.

( Application for Ted Tonks )