#it had plotholes yeah but i rly liked this movie

[bolas-de-berlim]

All I'm gonna say is there's ALOT of potential for a sequel, the story was so fast paced it kept throwing stuff out there and I'd love to learn more about Hell Maiden lore and the freaky bear (that was let go btw so opening for a sequel there) and also sister Helley's past with Manberg!!!!! Is Kat going to be trained by them both????? I'd love another movie where Kat has been trained and has to kick ass and we get to learn more about the lore and powers of Hell Maidens...

[importunitas]

SPOILERS FOR ENDGAME

Can we talk about Steve pls?

The more I think about the end of this movie, the more it bothers me. I know I'm not the first or the only one to point this out, but I rly have to get this off my chest. So here we go:

(I will leave the whole time-travel-plothole out because that's another topic and not the worst part)

When Steve yeeted himself back in time he created a whole new timeline, right? But he knows exactly what will happen in the future of this timeline because he already lived it. So there are only two ways this would work and both are terrible.

One: he goes undercover and does nothing at all. That would mean he would live in a world where Bucky is still the Winter Soldier. Tony will lose his parents, etc. Can we agree that this would be awful and totally out of character? Because Steve fucking Rogers is all about action. He always tries to do the right thing. He simply can't look the other way when something bad happens. He said so himself! It's not in his nature. So if he would do this, it would stand against everything he believes in and everything we know about Steve. I get that he had a hard time and I do believe that he wants (and deserves) a break. But nobody can tell me that Steve can sit back when there is so much he could do to make the world a better place. Especially when Peggy is the director of SHIELD and Steve says nothing about Hydra infiltrating her organization. That would be a dick move.

Two: Steve is just Steve and tries to stop all the bad stuff from happening. He tells everyone about Hydra, he prevents the death of Tony's parents, he rescues Bucky, etc. THAT is something Steve would do. But then he wouldn't have the quiet life the movie wants us to sell so what's the point? He's still Captain Amercia and he still fights.

And here's another problem with this scenario:

If Steves tries to fix everything, the Avengers will never exist. Tony has no reason to build his first Iron Man suite and in conclusion there will be no Warmachine. Loki's scepter will never fall in the hands of Hydra, so Wanda and Pietro don't get their powers. Vision will never exist. There will be no 'Civil War'. No 'The return of the first avenger'. No friendship with either Sam nor T'Challa. And that's a bad thing because when Thanos comes to collect the stones, there will be no Avengers to stop him. You can argue that Steve could warn everyone, Fury could inform Carol and they could come up with a plan, but to what end? Thanos isn't that easy to beat. Even without the infinity stones he's almost impossible to defeat as Endgame has showed us. So Steve would doom this timeline to be a world he tried so hard to save in our time.

But that's not all. There are more things that rly make me angry when I think about it too much:

- Peggy had a family. A husband and children. When Steve travels back in time to be with her, he takes all that away from her and that's just cruel. Yes, in this moment Peggy doesn't have a husband and children but she will and Steve can't possible know for sure that he can make her as happy as her husband does. He just can't.

- Steve would be Sharon's uncle. That's just … wrong. On so many levels.

- What happens to the other Steve? I mean, there will be still the Steve from this timeline who's stuck in the ice. Does our Steve let him stay there? That doesn't sound right. Will he pull him out? Then the other Steve must live with the fact that another version from him is married to HIS Peggy and that doesn't sound right either.

And don't even get me started about how shitty it is that Steve leaves his friends behind!

- Steve went to hell and back for Bucky and now he just leaves him alone? That's NOT the end of the line, pal! Bucky has nobody. He lives in a world where he doesn't belong. You can say he has Sam but think about it: Bucky and Sam doesn't know each other that well. They met in 'Civil War' and right after, Bucky goes to Wakanda where he stays the next years. 'Infinity war' implies that Sam never was in Wakanda before and after that, they both die. So Bucky and Sam didn't spent much time together and Bucky has no one else he could call a true friend. No one like Steve.

- What about Wanda? She was on the run because she helped Steve. Now she has lost Steve, Natasha, Tony and Vision. She has Clint but he's busy with his own family. Steve didn't even say goodbye to her.

- He never asks Sam what HE wants. He just dictates Sam to be the new Captain America. Sure, Sam could say 'no' but that's nothing he would do. Not if it's Steve to put such a burden on him. Sam was retired until Steve came along. He was on the run because he helped Steve, just like Wanda.  Steve just assumes that's what Sam wants and that's not okay.

Someone said to me that the movie doesn't want me to think that hard about Steve's ending but I have to. It's so wrong and it makes me rly sad and angry. So yeah. That's it.

[ezra-brainrot]

“you find adventures in places i couldn’t see” retrospective - ch 1

Spoilers for Howl’s Moving Castle the book, the movie, and  my fanfic below!

Hello!  So - this is me trying something a little different.  I’ve seen writers review / lampshade their works before so - this seems like a perfect time to go back and explain a few bits and share some rly dumb coincidences and try to help explain some random plotholes as they come about.

This is a Howl’s Moving Castle AU so - if you’ve seen the movie or read the book (and seriously - read the book!  It’s super neat!!) then a lot of it should be familiar.  This background commentary also has spoilers for - well, everything.  

Other random asides - the title comes from a line in a song called “Nothing in this World” by Taxiride.  No relevance, I’m just a music nerd.  

The biggest difference between the book and the movie is that the book is its protagonist.  There’s a joke that the movie is told from Howl’s perspective (where he is suave, tragic, romantic, and likable) whereas the book comes from Sophie’s (Howl is aggravating, annoying, over-dramatic, a liar).  But the bigger thing with the book is that Sophie, as the POV character, refuses to believe she’s the protagonist of a fantasy romance because she’s “too boring” to be a lead character.  She very stubbornly insists that she’s nothing special as she’s the eldest daughter of a well-off businessman and she doesn’t hate her stepmother all the while ignoring that she’s a very powerful witch that has the power to give “magic” to inanimate objects around her.  So - I guess I should start?

The wicked wizard Hugor was causing trouble in the highlands north of New Galatea.  His castle, a big, blackened assembly of sharp weapons and grey stones, sputtered around the rolling hills, disturbing all the goats and sheep and cows that normally spent their lives peacefully grazing on the highland grass and blue wildflowers.

This is how the book starts.

Few people lived, once they’d met Hugor in the flesh.  It was said he would descend into the town late at night and challenge young men to duels 

Kind of true, but only twice.

and feed their souls to his blood-red blade.  

Not true, if only because Felix doesn’t have a soul-sucking blade and red is a tacky color for it.

It was said he’d carve out the virtue of young maidens should they be outdoors after the sun disappeared beneath the horizon.  

Only once.  This is from the books (Howl eats hearts of the women he seduces) but it really paid off to include it!

It was said that his eyes glowed with burning hellfire where his heart had once been.

100% true and the first hint of a connection between Felix and Sylvain.

Dimitri did not care as much for the possessed sword bit.  But mostly, he was rather perturbed for the livestock.

Dimitri is very much a protector, even if it is only initially about goats and sheep and cows.  Their feelings matter too!

“My, they are getting quite large, aren’t they?  All of you will become the most impressive goats in all of Faerghus, won’t you?”  Dimitri asked as he leaned down to rub behind a black goat’s ear.  His owner, a rather short farmer named Albert, simply glowered at the sputtering black eyesore on the horizon.  

(It was true actually.  New Galatea’s livestock, without fail, took home the blue ribbons in the annual Faerghus Farming Fair.  Old Gertrude, a cow nearly as old as Dimitri, was the current record-holder for “Very Large Cow.”)

This is the first nod to Dimitri’s ‘power’ which is mostly to give blessings to others as well as affect reality in small ways.

I was trying not to go too broad because if this was longer and/or more dramatic, I imagine Dimitri would very much have a crisis of believing he could curse people with just a nasty word said.  But in general, Dimtiri’s “power” only works so long as he is not selfish with it and it’s up to “Faerghus” (the land / spirit of the land / whatever magic runs the country) to decide how to implement what Dimitri says.  So his control over his own abilities is actually very limited.

Whereas Felix, being a talented wizard, can do just about anything so long as he knows how to cast the spell properly.  

Tl;dr - Dimitri’s magic powers are significantly stronger but not really under his control due to the being a part of the royal line; Felix might be a little weaker but he’s also the one who can actively control his magic.

“They aren’t doing anything so long as that vagabond is drifting about.”  Albert huffed and stared pointedly at Dimitri.  “When’s your pa going to scare that ragamuffin off?”

I’d like to think the farmers of New Galatea are all secretly the type of people that live in a magical fantasy land and just say “Yeah, whatever, I have work to do.” and find the entire thing really silly.  If you’ve ever read Discworld, they’re meant to invoke Lancre where kings are seen as a necessity but very boring and not special if they can’t do a day’s farm work.

Dimitri awkwardly brushed a strand of hair behind his ear.  “Yes.  Well.”  He bowed.  “I will see what we can do.”

Dimitri’s hair is still very Boy Scout-esque in this fic although he’s been letting it grow just a little bit longer.

Albert nodded approvingly.  “Do that.  Can’t have the mayors falling down on the job with no king to guide us, you know.”

The king, it was said, was on his deathbed - yet another thing that had most of Faerghus uneasy.  The heir died many many years ago in a fire and the throne would inevitably fall to the king’s brother - by all accounts a lazy skirt-chaser who cared nothing for the Flame Witch to the high north or the Adrestian Empire to the south.

I… didn’t really think up much of a backstory here besides “fire.”  Ultimately it just came down to everyone losing track of the heir who somehow ended up in New Galatea orphaned and with amnesia but young enough that everyone kind of collectively assumed he was someone’s child.  Alois and Gertrude adopted him after his initial family died and Dimitri was brought up in a loving household despite the terrible, terrible puns.

“I will speak to my father upon my return.  Do give your wife my regards.”  Dimitri bowed once more and, after a moment, made sure to scratch the goat’s ear one last time.

 “Yes - it is very important indeed that we protect the cows.  Or should I say - provide sheepcurity.'' Alois, Sothis bless him, made a sharp snort before shaking his head.  “Really.  To have all this trouble at such a time - surely the Goddess is laughing at us.”

Alois was, by all accounts, a very caring man and an effective enough mayor for a small-sized town.  He was friendly and boisterous enough to handle crises and loud and physical enough to handle the vagrants that occasionally would come through and threaten the peace.  He’d taken care of Dimitri ever since Dimitri’s parents met an untimely death and indeed, Dimitri had not a single complaint of his upbringing save the occasional painful pun.

They were funny when he was a bb!Mitri.  “What do you get from a holy cow?” was his favorite.

“I could go up to the wizard and speak to him?”  Dimitri offered.  They were both sitting in the small, spartan mayor’s office as Alois parsed through letters and notes and muttered over a map of Faerghus.  Dimitri didn’t miss the several little red circles that indicated Adrestian forces drifting through, supposedly under the pretense of searching for some lost princess that disappeared years ago.

I really hesitated on including Edelgard here but I thought it would make a nice parallel that the two major countries lost their children, as well as that if you’re going to make the Flame Witch, there’s not many characters to draw from.  I’ll try and go into more detail later there though.

Lost princesses and dead princes and wizards and witches running about.  Perhaps Sothis really was playing some sort of joke upon Fodlan.

“You shouldn’t need to do anything, my boy.”  Alois reached out to pat Dimitri’s shoulder.  “You know, I heard Ashe did indeed receive knighthood at Gautier.  Perhaps you should follow his footsteps?  I hear they’re looking for young men to help with the border there and, after all, you’re quite adept with a spear.  I would hate to see you spend your life looking out for this place.”

Dimitri smiled although the effect was more than a little strained.  It was true - he remembered the day Ashe had set out and their last conversation where he’d reassured Ashe that he would certainly end up as a knight the second he set foot in Gautier.

Second mention of Dimtiri’s power, although it was really Ashe’s hard work.  Dimitri’s blessing just provides the ‘in.’  Dimtiri’s aware enough and empathetic enough to note things about people; his blessing just helps them achieve it.

And Mercedes, bless her, who went off to serve in the church.  Dimitri always did speak highly of her ability to soothe troubled souls.

Third.

And Dedue, his dear childhood friend, who had opened a restaurant to great aplomb, just as Dimitri knew he would.  Dedue had, Dimitri noted, never burned a meal in his life.

Fourth.  

But Dimitri was different.  He was not the son of a poor farmer who, as a general rule, found out they were related somehow to some long-lost nobility and had some great destiny to fulfill. He was not the youngest child who tended to rise to the greatest fame and fortune and he got along quite well with his little sister Hannah instead of some great sibling schism that always led to blood and tragedy.  He did not have any magic beans or long-lost artifact that needed to be returned to its owner.  He did not even have an evil stepmother as Alois’s wife Gertrude was quite kind and devoted to her children.

Very much invoking book!Sophie here and the “I can’t be a protagonist because protagonists fulfill very specific criteria.”  It’s not the refusal of the call - it’s assuming the call just has the wrong number and wants to talk to the farmboy three doors down.

This meant that Dimitri would forever live a life of mediocrity in a medium-sized town.  At some point, perhaps, he’d dreamed of more but he was happy enough.  Someone had to look out for the farmers and the sheep and manage merchant disputes.

Again invoking the book and the “Oh well this is good enough for me.”  I was a little unsure starting out as to whether it was Dimitri holding himself back out of obligation / duty to those around him or general unease about adventuring as Dimitri in canon very much has issues with duty and obligation and who to provide his duty to.  So - he’s looking at the small picture here, I guess, instead of following his own inner desires and has convinced himself that it’s all fine because someone has to do the small town jobs.

“Please don’t worry about me.”  Dimitri pulled a letter from the stack.  “I’m sure I’ll be quite fine.”

 New Galatea was considered a quaint pass-through to most of Faerghus.  Few people paid it any mind but no one spoke ill of it.  The weather was quite nice, especially in comparison to northern Faerghus’s bitter cold.  The inside of the town was usually bustling with activity as it had a rather well-known haberdashery 

This is Sophie’s career in the book and the movie.

and a bakery that sold the most delicious pastries made with the most impressive goat cheese around.  

This is what one of Sophie’s sisters does as she never wanted to be a magician and instead liked baking.  The book does a lot with “wrong assumptions all around.”

At the center of the town was an old, creaking water wheel that had gone through so many iterations and repairs over the years that no one could remember why it was built or what it looked like to begin with.

Idk - I just hadn’t written a water wheel yet?

Dimitri had memorized each route, each bridge, each door of the pathway.  He smiled pleasantly and greeted each and every member of the community and inquired politely about their goings-on.  Each afternoon he spent some time in a private area of the back alleys to perfect his lancework, just to spend some time gathering his thoughts together.

And yet this afternoon he felt somehow - small.  There was nothing unusual, aside from the speck of Hugor’s castle whirling around somewhere past the town limits.  There was no danger, no bandis, no upset merchants that he could tell.

It was just him.

Alone.

Trying to invoke a feeling of “It’s fine that I’ve done this 888 times before and will do 888 times more.”

Dimtiri thought of Ashe and then Dedue - perhaps one day he would venture out and visit them.  One day.  There was still so much that needed to be done and Alois certainly had his hands full as it was.  Perhaps - 

Dimitri felt eyes on him.

He turned, pausing to look up as someone drifted into his field of vision.  It was a young man - perhaps his age, if not slightly younger.  He wore soft blues and had dark hair and a sword tucked against his hip.

Dimitri fixates very heavily on Felix’s looks.  Everyone else will get a passing mention to set the scene but Dimitri always notes what Felix is wearing and his hair.

“May I help you?”  Dimitri asked politely.  Mercenaries and swordsmen weren’t an unusual sight but usually they stayed very close to the center of the town before going on their way.  This one was rather - 

Pretty - 

Perhaps a knight from one of the lords then?

“Where did you learn to do that?”  The stranger asked in a low, measured tone.  

Okay so - going ahead in the fic here as well as spoiling a good bit of the book.

Book lore - The  Witch of the Waste has almost been fully consumed by her fire demon.  The fire demon, needing a new host, goes after the wizard serving the king and takes him (literally) apart to build the “perfect” wizard.  His extra pieces become a dog, a skull, and a scarecrow.  There is a lot of “Because Magic” involved here.

Howl is of particular interest because he’s clever but also a coward and so keeps slipping out of the Witch’s grasp.  Howl thinks it’s because he jilted her which is - partially true, but also not really because the fire demon’s involved too and needs Howl to complete its new wizard host.  

Fic lore - Lambert sent Rodrigue and Glenn out to search for his missing son upon realizing that baby!Dima wasn’t dead at all.  Of the two, Rodrigue was captured by the (unnamed) demon and replaced / put under a deep sleep.

Glenn came to New Galatea as he was getting very close to figuring out Dimitri’s location because Glenn is an expert at investigation and hunting.  He runs into the Flame Witch who, under influence of her flame demon, tries to capture him.  Glenn had just enough time to shapeshift part of himself into a dog and run away. Glenn lives the normal life of a sheepdog even though a little part of his mind keeps fixating that he’s supposed to do something important.

Upon “Rodrigue’s” return to Fhirdiad, Felix recognizes that the “person” isn’t his father and so he bolts to hide out in his very own castle (which isn’t really a castle so much as a small cottage with moving rooms hiding behind the guise of a scary sword-castle) while still trying to track down his older brother and figure out what to do.  This is also hindered by him starting to lose himself as Sylvain can’t help but burn through Felix’s heart which makes him less and less empathetic and ‘good.’

And so - Felix goes to New Galatea where he coincidentally runs into a most attractive young man who is wielding his lance suspiciously exactly like the king in his younger years.

Dimitri awkwardly spun his lance around, more out of habit than showing off.  “I taught myself.”

The swordsman raised an eyebrow.  He stepped closer, slowly - 

Dimitri lifted his weapon just as the stranger charged.  He blocked a high blow, then a lower one, then he whirred around to counter as his opponent deftly swung his blade downwards.

On impulse, Dimitri shoved his weapon forward, catching the stranger in his sternum.  He fell back to the ground and Dimitri pressed the blunt tip of his spear against the other’s stomach.

Hey you remember the wicked wizard challenging young men to duels?  Good thing he didn’t have a soul-sucking blade!

Dimitri and Felix should always meet in a duel it is romance.

And then Dimitri jerked back, flushed and embarrassed.

The stranger ‘s expression remained neutral but there was a slight upturn of his lips.  “You’re good.”

Felix, inwardly, “Oh.  He’s hot and talented.”

“Oh.  No.”  Dimitri shook his head, trying to settle the solid thud of his heart.  “I do apologize for my recklessness.”

The stranger stood up, casually brushing the stray dirt off his trousers.  He tucked his sword back in its sheath and went back to considering Dimitri.

“Hot and talented and probably the king’s son.”

“You could come with me, you know.”  He tilted his chin northwards.  “I’m headed for Fhirdiad.”

Felix is being self-indulgent here because sparring partner?  That wins?  That might be the prince?  He’s still not going to admit to being the son of the duke though because Felix is also avoiding that particular subject and you don’t want to tip off that someone is really the prince unless you’re absolutely certain.

Dimitri bowed his head apologetically.  “That’s not necessary.  I am quite happy here.”

“”Be that way then.”  The stranger sniffed disdainfully.  “Keep living as some old, stubborn bore.”

“Why good looking maybe-prince not want to spar with me?  :|”

And then he turned on his heel and walked off, not sparing a moment’s glance backwards.

Dimitri gripped his lance and wondered why he felt so - disappointed.

“Why good looking mysterious swordsman just spurn me?  :(“

 That night he stood in his very small room and stared into his very small mirror and sighed.  

“Perhaps I really am an old boar after all.”

And this is where Dimitri creates his own curse.

He did not sleep very well.

 Rain moved in to the highlands the next day.  Dimitri did not remember the scholars predicting such but New Galatea weather was rather fickle.

Second part of the entire Dimitri is a magical prince bit - he can (passively) affect the weather.  I really want to do a more overt Fisher King Dimilix AU someday but this is not it.

Alois packed his things and announced he would set out to speak to the regional governor to try and shoo off the bothersome wizard.  Dimitri smiled and promised to mind the mayor’s office so that Gertrude and Hannah could accompany Alois on his journey.

Perhaps it was his bout yesterday but he’d noted a dull pain in his joints.  If that was how one felt after a spar, he could only imagine the aches Ashe received!

Still, it was quiet.  Few people would venture out in such a heavy downpour.  Dimitri read through tax form after tax form and then, after that started to give him an odd case of eye strain, he turned his attention to the map of Faerghus.

This is to hint that he’s already aging rapidly here.

The door opened.

He blinked, looking up to see a small woman in bright red silk and black furs.  Her light, almost white hair was fixed in tight braids.  She carried herself with a grace Dimitri rarely saw around New Galatea.

Edelgard / Flame Witch is trying to track down Felix.  At some point in the past they had an altercation where he cut out a small piece of her heart as he recognized the same fire demon connection as he had.  It was partially a mercy, partially Felix being vindictive because he thinks she’s responsible for Glenn’s disappearance.  (She is, but not the reason for it!)

I didn’t write / create a full backstory for either of them but they both made a connection with their fire demons when they were young teenagers and a little more reckless than is healthy.  The difference is that Sylvain’s pretty easy-going and he and Felix are fast friends whereas Edelgard’s demon is greedy and malicious and burning through her pretty darned fast so she’s lost much more of her humanity.  If Dimitri didn’t cut the curse when he did, Felix too would eventually become super-cruel and warped and fixate only on things like swords and himself.

“May I help you?”  Dimitri asked, trying to sit up straight.  Something inside felt wary; almost hesitant under her gaze.  A mouse waiting to see what a cat would do to them.

“What did he want with you?”  The woman asked, crossing her arms.  “The wizard?”

Dimitri’s brain stuttered.  “I beg your pardon?”  He hadn’t ever met a wizard - not in all the years he’d been about.  Surely he’d remember such.  Wizards were rare and, aside from the wicked ones, served as advisors to royalty.

“I know he found you.”  She pursed her lips.  “There’s no need to be coy.”

Dimitri just does not want to think he’s a protagonist in a story here.

Dimitri rubbed at the bridge of his nose.  “I can assure you - no one found me.  I have no idea who you’re - “

He stopped.

The swordsman yesterday did not have glowing eyes.  He most definitely did not perform any magic.  Surely it was not - 

No.  This woman was - was quite dangerous.  He could tell.  “I’m sorry.  I cannot help you.”

“Very well then.”  The woman took one step back.  “Continue to be stubborn, if you must.  I’ll find him one way or another.”  She turned to head back towards the door and paused, her hand hovering against the doorknob.  “By the way - you will not be able to tell a soul about that little curse of yours.  Have a good day.”

Edelgard does curse him, but only that he can’t speak about his situation.  Dimitri’s just not aware of it because magic likes semantics.

I didn’t want Edelgard to be overly-malicious here because she’s basically Felix’s parallel and a lot of it is limited to Dimitri’s very limited POV.  She never actively harms Dimitri because well, she’s just after Felix for taking away her heart and the flame demon working through her.

And then she was gone.

Dimitri rubbed at his nose again, tired, somehow even more aching and - 

He looked down, startled to see wrinkles on his skin.  There was an unfamiliar age spot against his knuckle, and then another.

He tried to jump to his feet but his bones protested with each and every aching movement.  He shuffled weakly to the nearest mirror and stared - 

An old man with ghostly white hair stared back at him.  His skin was covered in wrinkles and age spots and his nose was more snout than human.  Atop his wispy hair were two pig-ears, folded over and downright absurd.

In retrospect I… kind of needed to write the pig-nose part better.  I handwaved it with most of the people Dimitri interacts with are just used to magic shenanigans and too polite to ask what’s going on there.

Well.

Dimitri felt strangely distant as his own hand went up to touch the wrinkly pig-man’s face.  He felt skin like dry paper, hardly that of a young man.

Distantly, he went to the back area of the mayor’s office and gathered some plain cheese and dried bread, a coat and, after a moment of guilt, reached for one of Gertrude’s old light blue shawls.  He tied it slowly around his face and shrugged the coat on, noting how much heavier the fabric felt.

In my first draft I forgot about the raining business and nearly had him going outside completely unprepared.  Glad that I caught it!

Before he left, he wrote a short, one-paragraph letter in scrawling, shaking handwriting that he was most sorry but was going off due to an unforeseen circumstance.

The farmers would not be pleased to meet with an old man, let alone one with a pig nose and pig ears.  The sheep would be put off too, surely.  Best not to upset anyone, let alone Alois and Gertrude who would be most troubled about taking care of an old man.

Sophie leaves in an equally shocked / distant state of “Oh.  I guess this is fine.”

There was no one in New Galatea that could undo curses.  Perhaps no one at all aside from another witch or wizard, and Dimitri doubted he would run into one on the side of the road!

Dimitri messing with Fate again here.

Slowly, carefully, Dimitri left the mayor’s office.  He made sure to turn the sign in the window to “CLOSED” and apologized profusely for failing in his duties.  

In my first draft I forgot about him switching the sign over and was like “GASP he would not be so irresponsible as to leave the place unlocked!!”

He tugged a coat tight around his shoulders and walked slowly, the rain pelting on his head, towards the highlands.

There was nothing to be done about it but leave after all.