MLFT: Page from a myth-watcher's field notes

Hi folks!

Zoe's kindly made me an officer so I can host while she's taking a well-deserved break. This is such a great group that I would hate to see it lose momentum :)

Swap summary:

The idea of this swap is that it should seem like a page torn from the field notebook of someone who's been searching out and observing some kind of mythological, legendary or fairy-tale creature or being. A bit like the kind of field notes a birdwatcher takes - but more fantastical!

The specifics:

To create your swap, please use a page torn or roughly cut from an actual notebook or sketchpad - the idea is that it should seem like real notes that have somehow mysteriously come into your possession. One page is enough, but you can send two or three pages if your notebook is small. And it's fine if you have to fold it or otherwise mistreat it - who know what has happened to it to reach your hands!

Choose a creature or being to have been "observed". This can be something well-known, something obscure, or something you make up yourself, if you want to (but consistent with a myth/legend/fairy tale theme). I would say it can be humanoid (hobs, goblins, elves, pixies, giants, trolls etc etc) but not an actual human (standing behind a tree taking notes on Red Riding Hood seems more like a stalker than a naturalist!).

Your field notes might include:

• Basic info on date, time, location, environment and conditions (you can "set" your observations anywhere you like within the real world, either in the past or the present)

• Sketch(es) - these will add a lot to your notes, but not obligatory if you're not at all artistically inclined. They can be beautiful works, but they can also be quite rough and ready, consistent with being in the field and not having much time (or both) - so I'd suggest having a go even if it's not a work of art!

• Observations/labels on sketch, e.g. approximate size, any strange/interesting features, etc

• Observations on the behaviour of the creature/being (what is it doing? is it eating? interacting with others of the same/different species? is it making a noise and/or talking and/or singing? etc etc)

• Suggestive details that might indicate e.g. whether this is the first time you've seen it, or one of many.... and if so, is there anything unusual about this sighting (is it doing something strange, or in an unexpected place...?)

• Eccentric asides...

• Anything else you can think of!

Even though this is meant to look like field notes, with a certain amount of roughness, please don't just scribble something in five minutes. There should be plenty of interesting details for your recipient to enjoy. If this swap is a success I will host some more, so that we end up with a dossier of strange observations!

Even though this is a great group, I will be hosting as diligently as possible and will check participants. I will be filtering ratings manually, with a minimum rating of 4.98 except in exceptional circumstances (e.g. one unfair rating), and 5 completed type 3 swaps. I will angel, but hope not to.

The creature you choose is sender's choice (although if your recipient has a terrible phobia of spiders, probably don't pick giant man-eating spider-beasts). So (I know this is obvious, but...) when rating, please rate a 5 if you receive a notebook page/pages according to the description, whether you like it or not.

I hope that this is all clear and makes sense, but please ask in the comments or let me know by message if not!