This Bitch
Though the memory eluded him, he must have fought. A burning and unholy ache twined through him, reminiscent of a superheated brawl played a hundred times too quickly to follow. That pain filtered up through cracks in his brain, perhaps, leaking out in each ragged gasp of air as he struggled to breathe, coughing wetly as the winter chill crawled in.
An apparition interrupted, he wondered, shallow cuts and nicks bleeding through his layers and into the snow—had someone grabbed him? The concept held up well enough. But had he been left to die? Did his attacker think him dead? Snow crunched beneath him as he rolled, and in turn, the world spun, churning violently even as his muscles locked up, pinning him still, shuddering and gagging through the worst of it.
Had he been thrown from the jump between points? Dropped? Twisting on the ground, a groan of pain, rising in pitch, thrust out of his chest, his mouth open and jaw frozen as he collapsed, mid-lift. Still dressed in his heavy overcoat, one of his sleeves hung limply at his side. His stomach bottomed out, the fall violent, his eyes wide.
Most of his right arm was missing.
Splinched, concussed and reeling, disoriented, wandless in the wilderness, Percival Graves, barely able to discern the horizon from a horklump, snarled as he reached out, sinking his remaining fingers through the shallow build of snow around him, clawing through to the freezing earth beneath, and pulled. Forward was a direction as good as any.
In the winter of 1926, Percival Graves is attacked by Gellert Grindelwald, and kidnapped via Apparition. However in the struggle that ensues, Percival is thrown off, landing in upstate New York, in the heavily forested Adirondacks. His right arm is splinched in the process, and later found on a New York City street. When he's able to fight his way back to civilization, the limb is later reattached at a wizarding hospital. However, it's not a flawless or easy recovery. Over a year later, Percival still deals with nerve damage from frostbite and hypothermia, as well as muscle weakness in his reattatched arm.
Taking up the mantle of Newt's in-house wildlife photographer, Percival employs the use of several cameras. Luckily for him, the 20's have several styles of camera (both still and cinematic) that are both handheld and easy to operate.
Still Photography [No. 2A Folding Pocket Brownie]
Plate cameras are used when color or larger-scaled images are needed. For larger images in the field, he has a 5 x 7 Deardorff. For studio-use only are the permanently mounted Deardorff P8 and the massive S11. How else do you expect to get all the details of the big beasts crisp? Technically, he doesn't even need the S11, but it's a big shiny toy and he's not immune to wanting to "go big".
Cinematography [Cine Kodak Model B, Instructions]
Splinched
He'd never been sure how he got there—one moment on the streets of New York City, taking a longer route for once, not out of an unvoiced obligation to alter his habits (never, never, never let your patterns become predictable), but to, for once, enjoy the evening air—then in the breadth of a heartbeat, tangled in the scratch of low-lying brush, with the moon suspended awkwardly above his head, nestled in the canopy of skyward-seeking conifers.
- Mr. Blue Sky, opening of Chapter One
Percival Graves's Cameras
Percival's favorite for still shots is his Folding Brownie. Capable of taking up to 12 2.5 x 4.25in shots in a single roll, this is what the bulk of his stills are from, and usually go toward helping Newt's illustrations, as well as personal photos.
Able to shoot up to four minutes at a time on 100ft of film, and safely reload without need of a darkroom, the Model B is his go-to when footage is needed.
Shocks, Startles, & Swears for the American Witch and Wizard
Invoking the name of George Corwin:
Referring to an exceedingly untrustworthy and callous person, usually a No-Maj, with no reservations toward potentially or purposefully endangering the wizarding populus. Occasionally used to reference the threat posed by No-Maj society in general.
Examples:
“Slow up! Corwin’s just around the corner. Don’t give her any more ammo against us. She’s already paranoid as hell.”“Do you really think kissing Corwin’s boots is going to stop him from stamping on your throat?”
Invoking the name of Giles Corey:
A highly contextual jab that refers to either:
(positive) A noble sacrifice, usually by means of stalling while oneself is in danger.
(negative) Stubbornly refusing aid or generally prolonging one’s own suffering, for a perceived, but not necessarily real, cause.Occasionally used in law enforcement to describe an uncooperative suspect.
Examples:
“I-I can’t believe he did that. We were all supposed to stick together, but then he had to go Corey on us!”“C’mon, Giles. Pack it up and clock out. I know this needs finishing, but you’ve been here all day. Go home and get some sleep.”“We should have had this interrogation over by now, but she locked up Corey on us. Refuses to talk. We’re gonna have to go in with another angle…”
Invoking the name of Alse Young:
Invoked in expressions of disheartened sympathy.
Example:
“Young’s blood! That’s horrible— Are you sure that’s how it happened?”
“Brooms over Philly”:
Referring to popular legend of William Penn’s dismissal of convicted witch Margaret Mattson, by commenting (regarding her self-professed right to fly a broom over Philadelphia) “Well, I know of no law against it.” Often used to describe a legal loophole, especially by persons looking to exploit it.
Example:
“We’ll be fine. So long as we stick to the plan, it’s all brooms over Philly. Don’t worry!”
Invoking "Old Scratch":
While many American wizards and witches are nonreligious (or at least less religious than their No-Maj counterparts), they often find the No-Maj fixation on the Christian devil over-dramatic to the point of silliness. Invoking anything related to the Devil is generally lighthearted word filler.
Example:
"Old Scratch and His kin willing...", as an alternative to "God/etc willing”.“Scratch’s sparks—”, as an expression of awe.
Prick/Witcher’s Prick:
More highly specified than its No-Maj counterpart, this refers to a deceitful person, often in the same breath as accusations of intentionally harmful deception, treachery, or fraudulent business practices. Almost overwhelmingly pejorative, will occasionally be heard as an exclamation of shock and surprise, where deception as used, but not maliciously (like in cases where the recipient of a surprise birthday party is revealed the secret)
Example:
“Remember that great deal I got last week? Turns out the seller was a real prick. Everything broke before I could use it!” “You rotten bastard—you'd have made a great witcher’s prick in a past life.” “Murphy, you old witcher’s prick! This is amazing! When did you find the time to plan all this? You told me you’d be out of town!”
“Your mother likes them mundane”:
An immature insult favored by younger blood supremacists, implying both that the recipient of the insult’s mother fucks No-Majs, and that the recipient’s perceived lack of a particular trait or skill is due to their bastard heritage (real or imagined). While used across the pond in Wizarding England, the American variant (prior to the repeal of Rappaport’s Law) carries the added implication of criminality.
MACUS-ey Goosey:
Pronounced “ma-KOO-see”, this term is used exclusively by (often lower ranking) MACUSA employees as a general exhausted criticism for the interdepartmental inflexibility and overall chaos experienced when handed down new changes in laws.
This was later misheard by No-Majs in the sixties and reimagined as “loosey-goosey”, where the meaning was interpreted as “imprecise, disorganized, or excessively casual”, which was, in all honesty, mostly correct.
Example:
“You wouldn't believe it. One statute gets a tiny rewording and suddenly our entire office is all MACUS-ey goosey, trying to fix old paperwork and make sure the branch offices are up to date. It's been a nightmare…”