#Adult Primary Care Services

[gkhealth]

Comprehensive Adult Primary Care Services in Hazlet, NJ: Putting Your Health First with GK Health PC

In the bustling town of Hazlet, NJ, prioritizing your health is paramount. At GK Health PC, we understand the significance of accessible and compassionate adult primary care. Led by Dr. Mehandar Kumar, our practice is committed to providing comprehensive healthcare services tailored to the unique needs of each individual. Whether you’re seeking routine check-ups, managing chronic conditions, or needing urgent care, our dedicated team supports you every step.

Visit Us -

Location - 155 middle road, suite 3, Hazlet, NJ, 07730

Call Now :- +1 732-787-0568

[springhillprimarycare]

Internal Medicine Doctor Near Me Accepting New Patients in Spring Hill, FL

Looking for a trusted internal medicine doctor in Spring Hill, Florida who is accepting new patients? Our dedicated team of internal medicine specialists is here to provide you with personalized, high-quality care. With a patient-centered approach and a focus on preventive health, chronic disease management, and overall well-being, we strive to help adults and seniors maintain optimal health at every stage of life.

Why Choose Our Internal Medicine Doctors?

At our Spring Hill practice, we understand that selecting the right doctor is a critical decision. As internal medicine specialists, we focus on adult primary care and managing complex health conditions. Here’s why we are the best choice for your healthcare needs:

Comprehensive Adult Care: Internal medicine doctors specialize in diagnosing, treating, and preventing a wide range of illnesses and conditions in adults, including diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and respiratory conditions.

Personalized Treatment Plans: We take the time to understand each patient’s unique health history, lifestyle, and concerns. Our doctors craft personalized treatment plans designed to meet your individual needs and health goals.

Preventive Healthcare Focus: We emphasize preventive care, providing annual physicals, wellness exams, screenings, and immunizations to keep you in the best health possible and catch potential issues early.

Chronic Disease Management: Our team has extensive experience managing chronic conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. With a comprehensive, long-term approach, we help patients maintain stability and avoid complications.

Coordination of Specialty Care: Should you require specialized care, we work closely with a network of leading specialists in the Spring Hill area to coordinate your care seamlessly.

What is Internal Medicine?

Internal medicine doctors, also known as internists, are primary care physicians who specialize in the care of adults. They are trained to manage a wide spectrum of illnesses, from acute issues like infections to chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension. Internists are experts in diagnosing complex conditions, providing preventive care, and managing multiple illnesses in one patient. Unlike family medicine doctors, who treat patients of all ages, internal medicine doctors focus exclusively on adult healthcare, ensuring you receive the most specialized care available.

Our Internal Medicine Services in Spring Hill, FL

Whether you’re new to the area or seeking a change in your healthcare provider, we are proud to offer a range of services tailored to your needs. Some of the key services we provide include:

Primary Care for Adults: Routine check-ups, health assessments, and wellness exams to monitor your health and prevent disease.

Preventive Screenings: Comprehensive screenings for high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, and other common conditions, allowing early detection and treatment.

Chronic Disease Management: Ongoing treatment for conditions like heart disease, asthma, arthritis, and more, with a focus on minimizing symptoms and enhancing quality of life.

Immunizations: Stay up to date with vaccinations for flu, pneumonia, shingles, and other preventable diseases, especially important for seniors and those with weakened immune systems.

Women’s Health: Preventive care and treatment for women, including menopause management, osteoporosis screening, and reproductive health issues.

Geriatric Care: Specialized healthcare services for seniors, focusing on the management of chronic conditions, fall prevention, and maintaining independence.

Accepting New Patients in Spring Hill, FL

Our internal medicine practice is currently welcoming new patients in Spring Hill and surrounding areas, including Brooksville, Hernando Beach, and Weeki Wachee. We are committed to making the transition to a new doctor as easy as possible, ensuring a seamless process from your first appointment to ongoing care.

We accept a wide range of insurance plans, and our knowledgeable staff is here to assist with any questions regarding coverage and billing. Whether you’re dealing with a chronic illness, need a routine check-up, or are concerned about an emerging health issue, we are ready to provide the expert care you need.

Convenient Location in Spring Hill, Florida

Our office is conveniently located in the heart of Spring Hill, [10500 Spring Hill Dr, Spring Hill, FL 34608 ] making it easy for patients from all over Hernando County to access quality healthcare. With ample parking and flexible scheduling options, we make it simple for you to prioritize your health. Same-day appointments are often available for urgent concerns, and we offer telemedicine options for those unable to come into the office.

Schedule Your Appointment Today!

If you’re searching for an internal medicine doctor in Spring Hill who is accepting new patients, contact us today to schedule your first appointment. Our compassionate and highly skilled team is ready to partner with you in maintaining your health and achieving your wellness goals. Don’t wait — take control of your health now and experience the difference that personalized, patient-focused care can make.

Call us at (352) 835–7155 or fill out our online appointment request form to get started.

FAQs

Q: What insurance plans do you accept?

A: We accept most major insurance plans, including Medicare. Please contact our office for a full list of accepted insurance providers.

Q: Do I need a referral to see an internal medicine doctor?

A: In most cases, you do not need a referral to see an internal medicine doctor. However, if you have an HMO plan, you may want to check with your insurance provider.

Q: Can I book a telemedicine appointment?

A: Yes, we offer telemedicine appointments for patients who prefer to consult with their doctor remotely.

Make your health a priority today. Contact our office to schedule an appointment with an internal medicine doctor near you, right here in Spring Hill, Florida!

[probablyasocialecologist]

The Cass Report is fatally flawed in its methodology, and as a result, its recommendations are harmful. Speaking on behalf of TransActual, Keyne Walker said: “It undermines the legal competence of both children and adults to access medical treatment and dismisses almost all existing clinical evidence on trans people’s healthcare by applying impossible evidence standards which, if applied to other medicines would invalidate more than three quarters of the existing treatments used in paediatric care which, like puberty blockers, are currently being prescribed off-label.” The report’s primary conclusions rest on excluding 98% of the relevant evidence on the safety and efficacy of puberty blockers and hormones for lack of blinding and controls. What this means is that they require studies in which some patients are given the treatment, and others are unknowingly given placebos. This is not only a clear breach of medical ethics and monstrous suggestion, but also impossible due to the obviousness of the impacts of puberty blockers and hormones.  The report also strays far beyond its scope and competence in recommending a review of adult services and in suggesting that young people ought to stay under the care of children and young people’s services until the age of 25. The latter is based on highly questionable understandings of brain development which have been repeatedly debunked as an oversimplification of the constant changes in human neurology over the course of our lives.  This recommendation, especially in a context of an already broken system of care for both adults and children, has the potential to have a significant negative impact on the lives and wellbeing of trans people in the UK.  Underpinning this report is the idea that being trans is an undesirable outcome rather than a natural facet of human diversity. This is clear not only from the recommendations but also from the exclusion of trans researchers from the design of the review process and the links individual members of the research team have to anti-trans groups, which the Cass team were warned about. Download the full briefing

[sflow-er]

YR Season 3 speculations: a layperson’s take on the criminal justice side

I’ve been considering making this kind of post for a while, because I’ve seen a lot of hopeful takes on how things are going to play out now that Sara has called the police, and I feel like I could add some perspective for those less familiar with the Swedish justice system. I hesitate to do it because I’m just a layperson and not even from Sweden but the next country over - but our justice systems are reasonably similar, I’ve spent a lot of time poring over relevant sources on Swedish law and justice, and @scatteredpiecesofme encouraged me to do this after our conversation yesterday.

So, here goes, haha.

As usual, I could very well be wrong about some things, and I welcome any additions or corrections!

Part 1: The system

Let’s start with a cultural observation: the criminal justice system in Sweden strives to be rehabilitative (restorative) instead of strictly punitive (retributive). This is especially true for young and first-time offenders, who are yet to develop a ‘criminal lifestyle.’ Fines, suspended sentences, and sentences on the lower end of the scale are the norm unless the crime is very serious. (See for example this text in Swedish about how the brain only fully matures at 25 and how young people experience punishments more severely.)

Swedish law recognises three different age brackets for offenders: 15 to 18, 18 to 21, and over 21 (adult). The punishments for young adults were harshened in Jan 2022 for some severe crimes (mostly to counter gang violence), but YR is set in the autumn of 2020 and spring of 2021. With that in mind, let’s review the situation that should apply in the show.

Firstly, the now-outdated law and practice include something known as ungdomsrabatt (juvenile discount). Any sentence given to an 18-year-old is normally reduced to 50% of an adult’s sentence, and a sentence given to a 16-year-old is reduced further so they get about 20-25% of an adult’s sentence. This can either mean a reduced version of the same sentence, or an alternative, more lenient sentence. Punishment can also be waived entirely for juveniles sentenced to minimal fines for minor offences (e.g. minor narcotics offences).

Secondly, there are some punishments specifically designed for young offenders. Ungdomstjänst (youth community service) and ungdomsvård (youth/juvenile care) mostly apply to those under 18 but can also apply to those under 21 where appropriate. The latter is for those in need of social service intervention; it’s an open arrangement where the juvenile continues living at home. Sluten ungdomsvård (institutional youth care) only comes into play in very serious cases. It’s the primary punishment for minors who would otherwise face imprisonment and, under the old law, also for those under 21, unless there are very heavy grounds for prison time.

There is also something called ungdomsövervakning (youth supervision); basically youth care with more restrictions. However, it was only introduced in Jan 2021, which means it cannot be applied to crimes committed earlier (for example in YR S1).

As mentioned, juveniles can also be sentenced to reduced versions of the same punishments as adults. For young adults, that most likely means a suspended sentence and/or community service and/or fines. These fines are often dagsböter (day-fines), which can range from 50 to 1000 kronor based on the defendant’s income, wealth, and debts for example. The minimum number is 30 fines, the maximum is 150, or 200 for several crimes. There can also be some other financial consequences, e.g. a 1000-krona payment to the Crime Victim Fund or compensation for the victim (these are much lower sums than in the US, for example).

Here’s a made-up example from Domarbloggen: three people aged 16, 18 and 22 beat someone up together. The 22-yo gets 4 months’ imprisonment, which means the 18-yo should get 2 months. Instead, she gets a suspended sentence and 75 hours of community service. The 16-yo should get 1 month, but that is commuted to 50 hours of youth community service. Social services are (and must be) involved for the 16 and 18-yo but find that they are not in need of any services.

Thirdly, juveniles are processed differently from adults. If someone younger than 21 is suspected of a crime, the police investigation that starts when the crime comes to light must be conducted without delay. For those under 18, there’s a time limit of 6 weeks from the initial police report to the decision to prosecute. In many cases, the prosecutor can simply decide not to bring charges and hand the matter over to social services instead. (See for example this Q&A document on the old law, in English.) 

Young offenders are also often eligible for förundersökningsbegränsning (limitation of preliminary investigation) and åtalsunderlåtelse (no-prosecution deal). In the former, the police and prosecutor decide not to investigate the crime, and in the latter, the suspect confesses their guilt to avoid being charged or tried for that particular crime. There are specific circumstances in which these can come into play - for example, when there are several crimes being investigated/charged and the crime in question would not affect the sentencing, or the sentence would be minor anyway. Here’s more info on the reasoning in Swedish, but it’s basically done to save resources for other crimes. The sentence for all the crimes committed is determined as a whole; it does not necessarily match the sum total of all the individual sentences. Accepting a deal means the crime will still go on the person’s criminal record.

If sufficient evidence is found and the matter does go to trial, the court can decide to hold it behind closed doors if the parties are young and/or to protect them from negative publicity. The judge must also be specialised in juvenile cases if the defendant is under 18.

Trials in this corner of the world are usually rather boring compared to what you see on TV. There’s no jury or heated cross-examination. The facts are presented, the injured party, defendant, and witnesses are heard, and the court considers the case. (Here’s a detailed description and even a 24-minute film in Swedish.) 

The bar for detaining young offenders before and after the trial is higher than for adults, but it can happen if they are considered dangerous or there’s a risk of them destroying evidence/influencing the witnesses (for minors, the social services usually watches over them instead). There is no bail system.

Oh, and if someone is sentenced to prison after all, they are not necessarily taken away directly after the trial. Serving the sentence may be postponed until the period of appeal runs out (often 3 months after the sentence enters into force, according to the Prison and Probation Service).

So, now that we know the framework, let’s take a look at the crimes that could come into light in YR S3! Not just those committed by August, but also those committed by Simon and Wilhelm.

Part 2: The crimes committed by the mains in YR

All excerpts quoted are from an English translation of the Swedish Criminal Code. I will include some of my own interpretations in the context of the show - but while reading those, please keep in mind that I’m just a layperson and could well be completely mistaken!

Kränkande fotografering (intrusive photography): August

A person who unlawfully, by means of a technical device, covertly records an image of a person who is indoors in a home, or in a toilet, dressing room or other similar space, is guilty of intrusive photography (Swedish Criminal Code, Chapter 4, Section 6a)

Scale of punishment for adults: fines or prison up to 2 years.

I don’t think this should be very hard to prove now that Wille has admitted to being on the video. August could of course claim it was someone else using his phone, but I think it should definitely be someone other than Alexander, who had already been caught with the drugs.

Olaga integritetsintrång (unlawful breach of privacy): August

A person who intrudes into the private life of another person by disseminating: 1. an image of or other information about a person’s sexual life; (...) 4. an image of a person in a very vulnerable situation; or 5. an image of a person’s wholly or partially naked body is, if the dissemination is liable to result in serious damage to the person whom the image or information concerns, guilty of unlawful breach of privacy (Swedish Criminal Code, Chapter 4, Section 6c)

Scale of punishment for adults: fines or prison up to 2 years for normal severity, prison from 6 months to 4 years for gross offences.

This is the revenge porn clause. In reality, sadly few cases lead to a conviction; for example in 2021, only 27 out of 1876 cases. The perpetrator can always claim their device/account was hacked, for example, and it’s hard to disprove that. We’ll see if Sara’s testimony and August having admitted his guilt to Wilhelm are enough.

Förtal (defamation): August

A person who identifies someone as being a criminal or as having a reprehensible way of life, or otherwise provides information liable to expose that person to the contempt of others is guilty of defamation (Swedish Criminal Code, Chapter 5, Section 1)

Scale of punishment for adults: fines for normal severity, fines or prison up to 2 years for gross offences.

Note that defamation does not have to be untrue in Sweden! It’s the ‘exposing that person to contempt’ that matters. However, if the defendant can show that the information was true and they were a) obliged to make this kind of statement or b) it was “otherwise justifiable to provide information about the matter”, they are not held responsible. August’s lawyer would probably argue that spreading the video of Wille was a matter of national importance.

A note on aggravating or special circumstances:

Both unlawful invasion of privacy and defamation can be considered gross if the information or image or the method of dissemination was liable to result in serious damage. This bumps up the potential consequences.

Normally, charges can only be brought for the above crimes by the injured party. However, the prosecutor could also choose to bring charges on their own in cases where public interest calls for it. The same goes for defamation if the injured party is under 18 or reports the crime in connection with another investigation, and public interest calls for prosecution. In this case, it doesn’t matter if the injured party wants the case to be pursued or not. So in my view, any potential resolution where Simon and/or Wille decide not to pursue these crimes should be written very carefully to exclude public prosecution.

There’s also another interesting angle that I haven’t seen thrown around much. It was first brought to my attention by a friend on ao3, and I can’t believe it’s still a thing in 21st century Sweden, but it is.

Högmålsbrott (treasonable offences): August

A person who commits an offence referred to in Chapters 3–5 that involves abuse of the King or another member of the Royal House, or of a person discharging the duties of the Head of State as regent, may be sentenced to imprisonment for at most four years if the offence can otherwise result in imprisonment for at most six months, and for at most six years if the offence can otherwise result in imprisonment for more than six months but at most four years. (Swedish Criminal Code, Chapter 18, Section 2)

Yes, really. Wille being one of the injured parties could complicate things for August when it comes to the above crimes, because they belong to chapters 4 & 5. He’s not actually going to get six years in prison for gross defamation, that’s just the maximum for adults, but it’s an interesting angle and a potential aggravating factor.

Next up, the elephant in the room.

CP: August

I don’t think I need to describe what this means; you can look it up in Chapter 16, Sections 10a and 10b. I’m not going to write it out so this post doesn’t get flagged.

Scale of punishment for adults: fines or prison up to 6 months for minor offences. Prison up to 2 years for normal severity.

Rickard did say that this could land August in prison, but I am highly sceptical. For comparison, consider this case, where an 18-yo who had 540 images in his possession, 98 of those particularly graphic, was only sentenced to 60 hours of youth community service, despite having disseminated some material on social media on two occasions. Or this one, where an 18-yo who was in possession of a video sent to him via SnapChat for a few months, was sentenced to 45 hours of the same - although he was 17 at the time of the crime.

August was 18, but on the other hand, the video he made and disseminated was short, not very graphic, and meant to defame the people in it rather than arouse those who view it. By law, the age and developmental gap between the victim(s) and perpetrator must also be taken into consideration, and as we know, it’s only two years. I’m inclined to think August is only looking at a minor offence - if charges are even brought at all.

So, the fandom should probably prepare for a more lenient sentence than many are hoping for! Ironically enough, the opposite is true for the next crime, which also applies to Simon and, to a lesser degree, Wille.

Narkotikabrott (narcotics offence): August, Simon, Wilhelm

Any person who unlawfully 1. transfers narcotics, 2. manufactures narcotics intended for misuse, 3. acquires narcotics for the purpose of transfer, 4. procures, processes, packages, transports, keeps or in some other similar way handles narcotics which are not intended for personal use, 5. offers narcotics for sale, keeps or conveys payment for narcotics, mediates contacts between seller and purchaser or takes any other such measure, if the procedure is designed to promote narcotics traffic, or 6. possesses, uses or otherwise handles narcotics shall, if he has acted wilfully, be sentenced for a narcotic drug offence (Penal Law on Narcotics, Section 1)

Scale of punishment for adults: prison up to 3 years for normal severity. Fines or prison up to 6 months for minor offences.

Swedish law is strict on narcotics crimes. Both Simon and August are guilty of several of the above, while Wille is only guilty of use. Wille’s offence would be considered minor, and the punishment might even be waived. However, I think it’s quite likely Simon and August might be looking at normal severity, and Rickard would probably advise August against bringing it up just to spite Simon.

If August went against that advice or the matter came out another way, he would probably get a harsher sentence than Simon on account of his age - although he could provide mitigating circumstances for the selling by saying that Simon coerced him...

In any case, Simon wouldn’t get off with a slap on the wrist either. He sold drugs on two separate occasions - ADHD drugs (which are amphetamine derivatives) and possibly also strong painkillers. Micke’s back pain was specifically mentioned in S1, we saw Simon steal Tramadol (which is an opioid) when he first got pills for August, and there was clearly more in that bag than just the ADHD meds. Amphetamine derivatives and opioids are specifically classified as narcotic drugs due to their potential for misuse, even if the drugs in question (Tramadol and lisdexamfetamine) aren’t as bad as some others.

Furthermore, Simon also committed:

Stöld (theft): Simon

Pretty self-explanatory. Chapter 8, Section 1 of the Criminal Code.

Scale of punishment for adults: fines or prison up to 6 months for minor offences, prison up to 2 years for normal severity, prison from 6 months to 6 years for gross offences.

It’s hard to say what the severity would be. On the one hand, it was just a few boxes and bottles of pills, and the value of the stolen goods should generally be over 1000 kronor to even be considered normal severity (case from 2009). On the other hand, committing theft as part of “criminal activities conducted systematically” is an aggravating circumstance. But I think the prosecutor would be lenient with a 16-yo like Simon and just focus on the narcotics crime (åtalsunderlåtelse for the theft).

Let’s proceed to the last crime, which is something I haven’t really seen a lot of people mention.

Olaga hot (unlawful threat): Wilhelm

A person who threatens another person with a criminal act in a manner that is liable to occasion serious fear in the person threatened for the safety of their own or someone else’s person, property, liberty or peace is guilty of making an unlawful threat (Swedish Criminal Code, Chapter 4, Section 5)

Scale of punishment for adults: prison from 9 months to 4 years for gross offences. Fines or prison up to 1 year for normal severity.

It’s highly unlikely that Wille’s shotgun waving would come out unless someone accidentally let it slip when questioned about the other offences. So the risk is slim, but I think it still deserves to be included, because an unlawful threat usually becomes a gross offence when a weapon is used. It’s also a publically prosecutable offence, which means August wouldn’t have the power to drop the charges. Note that the ‘treasonable offences’ clause doesn’t apply, because August has not officially been appointed as next in line by Parliament.

Like I said, I don’t think there’s any reason for August to sour his relationship with the Crown by dropping Wilhelm in it. I just wanted to include the threat to be thorough and show how much of a mess this could theoretically become.

Phew, that’s all of them! Thank you so much for reading all this way!

I guess the main point I wanted to make with this marathon post was that I really, really hope the criminal justice side is handled realistically in S3 now that a police investigation probably can’t be avoided. We shouldn’t expect anyone to be locked up with the key thrown away, due to the young age of everyone involved and the leniency built into the system. Also, the severest consequences could well come from the crimes that don’t sound as serious on the surface, such as the drug stuff - and Wille being one of the injured parties. (Or the potentially gross unlawful threat, but I doubt that’s going to come out.)

I’m intrigued to see what Lisa and co have in store for us, because they have a very real chance to highlight some interesting questions here.

Which (if any) of the potential crimes will August, who can liquidate enough money to pay for a great legal team, actually get punished for? Will he get off with fines and maybe some youth community service? Will the Alexander defence actually work when it really shouldn’t? Will social services get involved and maybe make August get some help for his issues? How will his social standing be affected when people learn it was him behind the video? Will the consequences finally teach him some accountability (which he definitely hasn’t learned growing up; see my analysis post about his upbringing and background)?

How about Simon? Can he avoid getting harshly punished for his dealing? How will social services treat him and his family if they get involved? Will his future and education be affected? Will he feel victimised again when the video matter is investigated (which could involve more publicity due to Wille’s involvement)? Could Micke try to claim he forced Simon to carry the drugs and sell them, to provide mitigating circumstances (and would Simon let his estranged dad risk imprisonment for him)?

And finally, is it fair that Wille being one of the injured parties could make the crimes more severe and extract “more justice”? Even though Simon was the one who couldn’t just deny being on the video to escape the negative consequences?

We shall see.

[eccentrcks]

𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐎𝐂: 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐫𝐨𝐞.

This gorgeous artwork of Marlene was made by my talented baby sister. Give her some applause for this! 🫶 I also made a taglist out of boredom, so don't mind me. Taglist to those who inspired me to make this profile and ref. sheet: @revnah1406, @welldonekhushi, @littlemissclandestine, @alypink, and @darkhazard19.

⎯ 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗟 𝗜𝗡𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡:

Name: Marlene

Full Name: Marlene Jamie Monroe

Alias(es): "Mona" (General nickname by her family), "Marlie" (childhood nickname), "Chicky" (Captain Price), "Squirt" or "Baby Girl" (Phillip Graves), "Marl" (David Mason).

Age: 23

Gender: Female

Nationality: American

Ethnicity: Irish, Native American, Welsh.

Hair Colour: Chestnut brown.

Eye Colour: Light brown

Height: 5’11” (181cm)

Weight: 187lbs (84.8kg)

Body Built: Athletically average.

Languages Spoken: English, Irish, Gaelic, Welsh, Cree, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Bulgarian, Mandarin, French, German, Portuguese, etc.

Date of Birth: August 29, 2002.

Place of Birth: Fairbanks, Alaska.

Blood Type: AB-

Sexuality: Heterosexual.

Marital Status: Single

Occupation: N/A.

Status: Unknown.

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⎯ 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗧𝗦:

Myers-Briggs Type: INTJ-T (The Architect)

Calm and reserved: Despite having her moments of being a spitfire, she is actually a well composed individual and this really helps her in matters of survival. Although pretty social sometimes, then she can be completely asocial, Marlene is not exactly the kind of person who wouldn't instantly show her actual personality to others whom she'd just met. She handles stressful situations with the pressure very well most of time.

Selfless and loyal: Marlene may be an impassive and hardened young woman, but she has a good soul and heart. Those who are lucky to be a genuine friend of hers are privileged to see her display her true self at most times. Has the tendency to put others before herself. Marlene's love language is giving gifts, acts of service, and physical touch- which the latter is a rare thing of her to do frequently as a young adult now. Keeps it discreet though.

Tough as nails: She is unbelievably durable and endures a lot of life-threatening situations. Often gets underestimated by others, but tends to straighten them up with a surprise. It still hurts, yes, although she just quickly learns how to suck it up and keep going without letting it drag her down.

Jaded and weary: It's safe to mention that Marlene didn't had a normal childhood and went through a lot of hardships growing up with a paranoid survivalist of a mother. Kind of a sore spot for her to be asked about. Has a bad case of PTSD and denies her clinical diagnoses constantly. ("I'm fine." is her favourite saying) Has a complex relationship with her mother, her only parent that raised her this way, which means Marlene cares and resents her at the same time, yet she internally respects the woman who taught her most of everything she knows. She suffered from losses who were dearly significant to her... somethings she isn't ready to openly talk about. So the girl is just simply exhausted from existing.

Adaptable and intelligent, also a polyglot: If thrown into an environment that Marlene hadn't been in before, she will learn and adapt if it's necessary. Growing up traveling with her mother had taught her some things. She's quite a multilingual genius, speaks and read around 37(ish) languages, but also graduated high school at sixteen before attending Stanford University and finishing in three years for her computer science degree. So in a shorter summary, she's an eager and fantastic learner.

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⎯ 𝗦𝗞𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗕𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗘𝗦:

Primary Weapons: Knife, Karambit neck knife, Remington 700PSS, HK-MP5K, HK-MP5A3, TP-82, XM177E1, and Pipe Bombs.

Fighting Style: Hand-to-hand combat, some MMA.

Special Skills: Great at reading others' body languages and sensing danger.

Talents: She can learn to speak at another language in a short span of time, craft explosives such as a pipe bomb within an hour if she has the resources, and create traps with the right stuff.

Shortcomings: Can get paranoid most of the time, chronically insomniac, has some trust issues, and suffers from terrible migraines.

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⎯ 𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬:

"Born and grew up outside of Fairbanks in an isolated cabin for five years of her life with her mother, who had Marlene at eighteen, and mostly traveled around on the road after. She grew up with tough love and Melissa, her mother, was fiercely overprotective with her only child. Once they settled somewhere in California when she was eight where Marlene finally got enrolled in a public school where her peers would eventually learn about her intellect. She never knew how, or where, her mother earned her huge incomes to financially support themselves, but knows Melissa just has an every important job whenever she isn't home. Besides, whenever her mother was confronted, she was just met with a firm look by her and the woman stating that it's none of her concern as Marlene should just focus on herself. Eventually this led to her rebellious behaviour before incidents occurred and slowly shaped Marlene into a withdrawn teenager in college."

"Her history with Taskforce 141 was purely platonic. Met them through her mother, one by one when she was an teenager, before the group realized she was Melissa's baby girl and they all knew the same woman who met each of them outside of their occupations. She've met Phillip Graves when she was a kid when he came by to confront her mother before a father-daughter bond was formed between them since then. David Mason is her godfather and one of the people whom Marlene looks up to- much to Graves' dismay."

"When she was done with college at nineteen and the year 2021-[REDACTED]."

"Until 2022, she was brought into the CIA's custody in middle of a late evening walk, more like by Taskforce 141, and interrogated after some evidence of her was caught stealing some invaluable intel and secrets, appearing as one of their employees, before she was picked up by a black van after that. She kept denying the accusations and evidence for weeks until Graves, allegedly dead at the time, safely liberated her despite Marlene being in a frail condition with the help from David Mason and proof that she was truly innocent. Someone had framed her."

"Then not too long hours after she was brought into his protective custody, no one knew who helped her other than the fact that she escaped CIA's custody, as one of The Shadow Company's bases was attacked. Mostly everyone made it out, but Marlene who was soon announced dead after she passed out from the blood loss with the base getting bombed into nothing once they were forced to leave her behind. Leaving Graves and David angry, distraught, and vowed to avenge her once they find the culprits. Her remains were never found after that."

Theme song: Methods of Madness by Secession Studios.

*Profile will be be updated once the story progresses and kept her backstory vague(ish) for now.

[auro-cyanide]

Today is my mum's funeral service, one week after she passed.

I can say without a shadow of doubt that her death has been the most painful thing I have ever experienced, and the most confusing.

I've gone from being a primary carer to very very suddenly being an adult whose only dependants are two cats. The way my life is going to change is going to be significant.

For the first few days I was so heartbroken I wanted to die, and now I feel so weirdly normal that I'm just waiting for the grief to swallow me whole again.

I'm going to stand in front of everyone and read my mum's eulogy when in the past I thought I would be far too distressed to ever speak.

Tomorrow I leave to head to France to have what was meant to be a respite break from caring, which is now more of a circuit breaker from everything that has happened.

I've been reading a lot about grief and it has helped, especially stories from others that had lost their mum's, or lost their loved ones through a terminal illness.

The mix of emotions and thoughts are so complex and interwoven with memories of the past that I'm sure I'll need a lifetime to get through it all.

Right now it's one day at a time.

[punkitt-is-here]

I was like 12 when Season 4 of mlp first started airing, and I remember being vaguely aware of what episodes bronies did and did not like and I just like. Did Not Care. They didn’t like Mysterious Mare Do Well or Spike At Your Service among others, while I was just excited to see my favorite ponies (and dragon) going about their lives and learning things! It was so cool that Twilight became a princess! Despite some bronies getting very heated over it iirc. Now that I’m an adult, yeah I do agree or at least sympathize with a lot of the criticisms people had over certain episodes or plot points, but not enough to make me stop enjoying the show as a whole. I’m not saying adult fans aren’t allowed to dislike or criticize certain parts of it, nothing wrong with having opinions, but idk I just feel there’s an interesting perspective to watching it as part of the target audience and then watching it when you’re past that age. You understand the adult perspectives that people bring to this show that all ages enjoy, but you also know from experience that for the target audience things aren’t always meant to be that deep. It was made for kids to enjoy and it accomplished that goal and then some, and that’s what matters most

Yeah! I like your words, they're good. "It was made for kids to enjoy and it accomplished that goal and then some" is a great way of looking at it, because I'm much the same way. I'm never gonna work myself into a tizzy because the show was unrealistic or not as adult as I would like because it's primarily made for kids (its a show called friendship is magic) and if I get to enjoy it past that age, that's a wonderful bonus. I remember seeing a lot of adult fans complaining about stuff in Season 4 when I was young and just watching them completely work themselves into a rage??? and at some point you just gotta step back and go "this show is aimed at people who don't even know what taxes are yet. That is the primary audience. Anyone reached after that is a bonus" and I just enjoy the show wayyyyyy more looking at it from that perspective.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Reference archived on our website

I thought maybe some of y'all would like a qualitative study over a quantitative one. A study of covid disparities in England among PoC and disabled people.

Abstract Background COVID-19 Ethnic Inequalities in Mental health and Multimorbidities (COVEIMM) is a mixed methods study to explore whether COVID-19 exacerbated ethnic health inequalities in adults with serious mental and physical health conditions. We analysed data from electronic health records for England and conducted interviews in Birmingham and Solihull, Manchester, and South London. Sites were selected because they were pilot sites for the Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework being introduced by NHS England to tackle race inequalities in mental health. Prior to the pandemic people in England with severe mental illnesses (SMIs) faced an 11–17-year reduction in life expectancy, mostly due to preventable, long-term, physical health conditions. During the pandemic there was a marked increase in deaths of those living with an SMI.

Aims This qualitative interview study aimed to understand the reasons underlying ethnic inequalities in mortality and service use during the COVID-19 pandemic for adult service users and carers of Black African, Black Caribbean, Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi backgrounds living with serious multiple long-term mental and physical health conditions.

Methods We took a participatory action research approach and qualitative interviews undertaken by experts-by-experience and university researchers Participants were purposively sampled by ethnicity, diagnoses, and comorbidities across three geographically distinct sites in England. Transcriptions were coded inductively and deductively and analysed thematically.

Results Findings indicated multiple points along primary and secondary health pathways for mental and physical health that have the potential to exacerbate the unjust gap in mortality that exists for Black and Asian people with SMIs. Issues such as timely access to care (face-to-face and remote), being treated in a culturally appropriate manner with empathy, dignity and respect, and being able to use services without experiencing undue force, racism or other forms of intersectional discrimination were important themes arising from interviews.

Conclusion These poor experiences create systemic and enduring healthcare harms for racialised groups with SMIs that need to be addressed. Our findings suggest a need to address these, not only in mental health providers, but across the whole health and care system and a need to ensure more equitable healthcare partnerships with service users, carers, and communities from racialised backgrounds who are often excluded.

[moog-enthusiast]

FLOWER DEAN is 19 years old, 3 years older than her brother BASIL, putting her in the same age group as MARI & HERO. She’s a very bookish thing, she can almost always be found on her lonesome with her nose in a novel. She dyes her hair blue over her natural color, keeping it as a cropped pixie cut, often adorned with a daisy chain crown gifted to her by her younger brother. With GRANNY being old even when FLOWER & her brother first moved in, responsibilities often fell to FLOWER to take care of. She never really had the normal life of a kid, playing the maternal role for her younger brothers from a young age. GRANNY may have been the one to attend school conferences and such when FLOWER was young, but crippling chronic pains unfortunately left GRANNY bed-borne rather frequently. FLOWER was already a very caring, quiet kid growing up, but with this standard of being the adult figure of sorts, is the root of her emotional fragility, and her care-taker mentality. She made meals for her family regularly, cleaned wounds, handled finances, and varied chores around the house. This led to FLOWER becoming a sort of unofficial head of household, and a lot of self-isolation and social anxiety. MARI KANZAKI, one of FLOWER’s neighbors and classmates, takes interest in becoming FLOWER’s friend in elementary school— pulling her out of the house as they got closer between primary and middle school, so FLOWER could meet the other kids their age. They got even closer after their younger brothers became friends, as it meant they were now in proximity of each other a lot more, even if just to babysit. FLOWER became good friends with the older kiddos and developed a crush on MARI— her first love. This crush on MARI is written as a reference to FLOWER being described as a boring MARI personality wise by OMOCAT, and ties the KANZAKI & DEANfamilies all over again. Whether her feelings were requited or not is indeterminate. MARI may have been her best friend, but post-incident she finds a lot of comfort in HERO, as the two mourn and support one another together.

FLOWER’s real name is “PRIMROSE”, but she goes by FLOWER to almost everyone- a nickname given to her by her GRANNY. The DEANS’ grandmother referred to the kids as “SPROUTS”, affectionately, and a young FLOWER insisted she wasn’t a sprout anymore since she was the oldest- and earned herself a new name from the amused guardian.

She is always the older sister of BASIL, but in aus with other siblings, such as ROWAN variants, or ocs, she is perfectly happy as well! She puts a lot of her self-worth into being a good sister… to the point she ‘adopts’ many of the younger kids of FARAWAY, opening her doors to anyone hoping for a nice hot meal or general support. She often brings meals to AUBREY, though less frequently after she becomes aware of her bullying her brother. She has a hard time engaging in conversation with most of the old friend group, and opts for gifts and acts of service to show her support instead. She does not feel worthy of being known by her childhood friends.

BASE CANON

After the recital, BASIL goes home looking for comfort from his soft, quiet, older sister and tells her what he’s done. He needed someone to know- someone he trusted! He was small. 12 years old and the weight of his actions settling in. This puts a strain on FLOWER’s relationship with him, leading to her hiding at college (& work over the summer,) to try and avoid her family. She still cares very deeply about her brother, but has extreme difficulty with grappling with what BASIL has done— a very painful emotion, in conjunction with her sisterly instinct to protect him. As a result, BASIL worries he’s been abandoned again by the person he trusted most, and continues his downward spiral.

DREAMWORLD;

FLOWER in HEADSPACE appears on the picnic blanket with MARI, offering compliments when spoken to- until BASIL disappears. Upon BASIL’s disappearance though— her initial reaction is a panicked response begging OMORI to find him. Past that though, pretty much the only thing she will say to the player is a simple “…”. The exception to this is that at the start of every picnic, you can interact with her- and she’ll tell you “It’s important to stay hydrated, OMORI…!” to which the player finds a new juicebox in their inventory. Once you get your juice though, she goes back to radio silence.

she misses her brother… she’s worried..

Although FLOWER may be silent, her BLACKSPACE counterpart most certainly is not. Dubbed ‘WANDERER’, this entity exists to FLOWER as STRANGER is to BASIL. WANDERER acts as one of many of the STRANGER-friends you find, but is plenty talkative! When she sees OMORI alone, she can often be spotted pacing not far behind. When interacted with, she tells him that he “ruined” her family- and that he’s sent a divide into all the families through his hiding, and needs to be held responsible for his actions. Whether WANDERER knows the truth or not is left unclear, she’s very insistent that OMORI is at the heart of the ongoing issues she’s noticed.

BASIL loves his sister a lot! He encourages her to play hide & seek with them at the start, but doesn’t mind when she declines- simply giving her a hug, and scampering off to his friends. When he shows off his garden, he’s proud to display his daisy patch, in which he tells others why they remind him of his sister. When fighting with OMORI in BOSS RUSH, he’s quick to run to FLOWER upon winning, and telling her all about how cool OMORI is in battle.

—“These are DAISIES! I know they’re simple and rather common, but they represent ‘pure love’! These remind me of FLOWER because she’s always there for me, and is the best sister I could ever ask for. I guess what I’m trying to say, is that she provides me with pure sisterly love, and I feel the same for her!”

KEL views her as an older sister figure, and asks her lots of questions. He treats her like a human-encyclopedia, (lovingly), due to her vast array of knowledge picked up from her books.

AUBREY will go to her for comfort, [as seen in scenes when BASIL first goes missing, and AUBREY runs to FLOWER for a hug], but is typically very blunt in regular conversation, making comments about “You’re so boring, FLOWER…” with a pouting face, when FLOWER declines the offer to come with on their adventure at the beginning, and other varied pieces of dialogue akin to this. She sees FLOWER as an older sister figure too, though more of the straight-man compared to MARI, and even HERO.

HERO is very cheery with FLOWER, often telling her about the groups adventures when tagged— trying to help take her mind off things. He and FLOWER are good friends, and it can be seen in the OMORI route, when the two often share witty banter regarding their favorite nerdy medias- or sharing cooking tips & tricks!

MARI is worried about FLOWER, but tries to cheer her up by dragging her along to each of the picnics, and lightly teasing her. MARI is the one FLOWER is closest too, and in OMORI route, you can find FLOWER dancing to MARI’s flute music, or playing small games like truth or dare with HERO. (…Though, she always seems to pick truth?)

OMORI isn’t one to really make a comment on anyone, but he’s typically polite & respectful to her all the same. She’s BASIL’s older sister, after all.

PHOTO ALBUM;

FLOWER appears in a handful of photos, but typically is partially out of frame, or hiding. she’s a bit camera shy…

(3-2-1 DAYS LEFT in game);

In the OMORI game setting, FLOWER can be found working the first few days in the FIX-IT'S garden section, where you can chat a little- and get some anxious rambled dialogue about her brother.

3 Days Left

“Oh..! Hey, SUNNY… I don’t know the last time I've seen you on your own…”

“Say, SUNNY… You don’t happen to know anything about how BASIL’s doing right now, do you?”

2 Days Left

“SUNNY… could you drop a GINO'S order off at my house for me? I’m so busy with work, I might not be home to make BASIL dinner tonight…”

[*FLOWER gives you $25, but can be used for whatever. If you try to do as she says, you end up in the Pizza job mini game instead…. POLLY will make him something… probably.*]

1 Day Left

FLOWER can now be found inside her & her siblings home, cooking dinner with POLLY. If you try to talk to her, she mumbles something about her worries about BASIL, but otherwise incomprehensible due to sheer quietness.

(sprites by @/wario_car on twitter)

ENDINGS

FLOWER can be found in BASIL’s hospital room, lightly hugging her brother from beside the bed- very clearly worried.

Good (Secret) ending; With BASIL smiling, you are approached by your friends, and FLOWER wishes you goodbye with the rest of them. The forgiveness of BASIL allows her to move on as well :)

SUNNY route; After SUNNY reveals the truth, FLOWER leaves the room, and is not seen for the rest of the end. In an extended storyline she has gone into a mental spiral of sorts, but it’s not relevant to the game’s plot.

Neutral route; If BASIL dies at the sleepover, FLOWER is seen with her forehead pressed against his bedroom door and hand on the doorknob, crying and apologizing repeatedly.

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry.”

OMORI route; dreamworld FLOWER is talking again! She shows some of the ballet dance moves she’s been trying to learn to the group if interacted with on MARI's mat, and features little chime-ins to chat with her & her brothers’ friends. MARI teases her, and she’s more willing to play with the others. She can be seen in boss rush, where she cheers on all your friends from the sidelines. So long as BASIL is back, she’s happy!

more flower content here:

[specialagentartemis]

📂HEADCANONS

YEAH

Trying to think of ones I haven’t already talked about A Lot

Murderbot describes Preservation as "a complicated barter system" because it doesn't really have the words or concepts to parse what it's looking at: primarily a gift economy. An economy with a robust central government that does a lot of distribution of primary resources, and a social logic based more on providing than consuming. Farmers and agriculture techs don't produce food to then trade to other people, they produce food that's then re-distributed to everyone as needed by a central organization, and the farmers and ag-techs are given what they need and want by others who, y'know, eat food and express gratitude for Having Food. People don't trade for health care, doctors provide health care to whoever needs it because that's what they've trained and chosen to do and are given what they need by others for their service in providing health care.

Pin-Lee doesn't tend to have a lot to trade but she is a lawyer who keeps things functioning between Preservation and the Corporates, does the legal work that allows Preservation citizens to safely travel, and helps to maintain the contracts that prevent other more opportunistic planets fromtaking advantage of them. She provides this service to the planet and gets what she needs from other people who provide other services. Gurathin helps to maintain the university's database infrastructure, when he's getting coffee he doesn't need to offer to like, make a database for the coffeeshop, it's just understood that he's providing a service to society and partaking in another service to society. Arada and Ratthi are research biologists and their work is only tangentially productive to The Planet but I'm sure there's a public outreach or education aspect that's expected of a lot of researchers - learning without sharing what you're learning is socially unfair, even if their lectures are mostly only attended by students who are told by their teachers to go watch them. But it's kind of understood that by being an adult in the world, you are doing something that contributes to society and to others in some way, and as such are entitled to having your needs met as well.

It's a reciprocity-based logic of actions rather than commodity exchange, and honestly it works because 1) Preservation's population is relatively small, 2) there is a lot of bureaucratic organization work making sure everyone is getting what they need, the government is SO many committees 3) a whole lot of labor is done by machines (non-sentient robots) and bots (sentient robots). The reliance on bot labor is absolutely gonna be something Preservation has to think more about.

Citizens also every once in a while on rotation get called for a kind of labor tax akin to the way jury duty works, where every couple of months you have to put in a day working in the central town food court washing dishes or something. There are also Perks offered for jobs that might be a harder sell for people to do, like premium station housing.

Straight-up money that comes into the station from outsystem trade and travel mostly gets re-invested in supporting Preservation travelers off-planet into societies that do use money (like PresAux's ASR survey), or buying materials or machines that are hard to make locally (like ag-bots, or some spaceship or station parts for repairs).

However where barter comes in is on a more interpersonal one-on-one level, more similar to commissions. You grow a lot of carrots while my grapefruit tree is producing a lot more fruit than I could possibly eat, want to trade? You make ceramics as your primary Work, I'll trade you something if you make me something specific I have in mind. Can you help me fix my roof? I'll get you some good wood when the lumber trees are mature next year. Developing skills for these kind of interpersonal more-specialized trades is a significant motivation, too. And different skills and jobs inevitably attract more status and impressiveness than others. But it's not barter exactly so much as reciprocity, a strong culture of civic duty, and a highly organized government.

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

Hello lovely,

What are the pros and cons of pursuing a diagnosis?

I think I have autism (32 on the AQ, 139 on the CAT-Q, 157 on the RAADS-R, and 133 on the Aspie Quiz v5) but I'm a very high-masking gifted/honors/AP girl and I worry it will have more cons bc of poor societal acceptance then it will have pros : (

I mentioned my concerns to my primary care doctor and she really quickly dismissed them (I didn't mention the tests I did, just that I had a lot of traits/issues typical of autism) and I'm worried that trying to get help or anything will be a long hard uphill battle. Fortunately I am getting seen for sleep issues soon which are my worst problem but yeah

Thanks for your counsel

- 💙🌹

Hi there,

There are many pros and cons when it comes to getting an autism diagnosis. Here’s some from helpfulminds.co.uk

Advantages of Adult Autism Diagnosis:

1. Self-understanding and identity: Receiving an autism diagnosis as an adult can provide a profound sense of self-understanding. It validates personal experiences and challenges, helping individuals make sense of their differences. It offers a framework through which they can explore their unique strengths, interests, and areas of difficulty, leading to greater self-acceptance and personal growth.

2. Access to appropriate support and accommodations: An adult autism diagnosis opens doors to various resources and support services. It enables individuals to access specialised therapies, counselling, and tailored interventions. It may also qualify them for workplace accommodations, such as flexible schedules, task modifications, or a supportive work environment. These support systems can enhance well-being, foster independence, and improve overall quality of life.

3. Connection and community: Obtaining an autism diagnosis can provide a pathway to connecting with others who share similar experiences. Joining support groups, online communities or participating in autism advocacy networks can foster a sense of belonging and reduce feelings of isolation. These connections often offer invaluable emotional support, shared experiences, and practical advice.

4. Enhanced relationships and communication: Understanding one’s autistic traits can lead to improved personal and professional relationships. It helps individuals communicate their needs and preferences effectively, reducing misunderstandings and promoting better understanding among friends, family members, and colleagues. With increased self-awareness, individuals can build stronger connections and cultivate healthier interactions.

Disadvantages of Adult Autism Diagnosis:

1. Emotional impact: Receiving an autism diagnosis as an adult can trigger a range of emotions, including relief, validation, but also grief or regret. Some individuals may experience a sense of loss for the opportunities they feel they missed or the difficulties they faced due to a lack of understanding. The process can be emotionally challenging and require support to navigate.

2. Stigma and societal perceptions: Unfortunately, despite growing awareness, Autism is still surrounded by stigma and misconceptions. Disclosure of an adult autism diagnosis can lead to potential discrimination, prejudice, or social exclusion. Society’s limited understanding of Autism may hinder employment, education, or social integration opportunities. This lack of acceptance emphasises the need for broader awareness and education.

3. Limited diagnostic resources and accessibility: Obtaining an autism diagnosis as an adult can be challenging due to limited diagnostic resources and professionals specialising in adult assessments. Waiting times and financial constraints may present significant barriers for those seeking a diagnosis. This lack of accessibility may lead to delayed self-understanding and hinder access to vital support services.

Seeking an autism diagnosis as an adult has advantages and disadvantages. While the diagnosis can offer self-understanding, access to support, and a sense of community, it may also evoke complex emotions and expose individuals to societal stigma. It is important to weigh these factors and consider personal circumstances before pursuing a diagnosis. Regardless of whether one receives an official diagnosis, fostering acceptance and embracing neurodiversity can contribute to a more inclusive and understanding society.

The full article will be below. There are even more pros and cons, so those are just examples. I recommend researching for more to make up your mind.

I hope this helps. Thank you for the inbox. I hope you have a wonderful day/night. ♥️

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

From: Department of Health and Social Care

Published: May 29, 2024

The government has today introduced regulations to restrict the prescribing and supply of puberty-suppressing hormones, known as ‘puberty blockers’, to children and young people under 18 in England, Wales and Scotland.

The emergency ban will last from 3 June to 3 September 2024. It will apply to prescriptions written by UK private prescribers and prescribers registered in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland.

During this period no new patients under 18 will be prescribed these medicines for the purposes of puberty suppression in those experiencing gender dysphoria or incongruence under the care of these prescribers.

The NHS stopped the routine prescription of puberty blocker treatments to under-18s following the Cass Review into gender identity services.

In addition, the government has also introduced indefinite restrictions to the prescribing of these medicines within NHS primary care in England, in line with NHS guidelines.

The new arrangements apply to gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues - medicines that consist of, or contain, buserelin, gonadorelin, goserelin, leuprorelin acetate, nafarelin or triptorelin.

This action has been taken to address risks to patient safety.

Patients already established on these medicines by a UK prescriber for these purposes can continue to access them. They will also remain available for patients receiving the drugs for other uses, from a UK-registered prescriber.

Patients seeking more information should speak to their clinician.

==

Gender cultists are mad about this because they know that when kids go through puberty as normal, the overwhelming majority of them are likely to desist and become comfortable as regular young adults.

Puberty is the cure for their distress, but activists don't want well-adjusted, biologically intact kids. They want gender unicorns.

[calypsolemon]

so sorry for not talking much at all about goldi and the bears (I love them also I just didn't have too many observations people hadn't already made!) but this is one I haven't seen anyone mention so hopefully I'm pointing out something interesting?

The story that Goldi opens to in the book of fairy tales isn't just a random traditional fairytale. It's a wholly unique block of text to the movie. It's the tail end of a story in which a "proper family" is described having a snowball fight. I believe this text gives us a lot of insight into Goldi's character motivation.

The text is a bit hard to read so here is a transcript (its a bit long so the rest of this post is under a readmore, there is more analysis here too)

Year round, the old park was the most popular place for this proper family to walk on through and take in the beautiful sights on their return home. It was also quite understandably the most proper place for a young girl to make the perfect snow angel, build a quick snowman, or throw a few snowballs from behind the dense leaves of frosted maple trees. The father was no stranger to snowball fights. He relished every opportunity, in fact, to remind his family of his many past victories. Every snowball that he made was shaped with great care and purpose. However, all his best efforts would be for not. For the little girl, tired of battles lost, was determined to claim her first victory on this winter afternoon. It was the naive youth against the experienced adult. The mother laughed as the little girl struck her father square in the bum with her fastest snowball yet. A flurry of powdered attacks followed, overwhelming the veteran snowball soldier. Laying still on the very snow he once dominated, the father now knew his reign was over. It was an exciting moment. The little girl began to celebrate. Hoisted up onto her father's ice covered shoulders, the little girl looked at her mother and shared a smile. At that moment, they knew everything was just right… … and they lived happily ever after.

Knowing this little detail adds a lot of depth to our understanding, here. She wasn't just projecting onto a random fairytale family she read about in a story, wishing to be some little girl whose life she saw as perfect due to having "normal" biological parents. She was being told by this story from a young and impressionable age that families look a certain way, and as a result, she came away with the understanding that a family could be wrong too. And considering her catchphrase and arguably, some of her behavior could be attributed to her trying to emulate this story, it seems like she has always been trying to make her life fit into this mold that was never quite working out.

And that's where I think the animosity between Baby and Goldi comes in.

It's easy to see, watching the film, where Baby might have gotten his dislike of Goldi from. From the moment she first appeared she stole his bed and his food, and in reaction his parents adopted her and treated her like she did no wrong. Papa also seems keen on joining in insulting Baby often in this movie, while there's rarely a bad word said towards Goldi. That apparent favoritism is a perfect recipe for sibling rivalry. But lets be real, Goldi's attitude towards Baby is incredibly demeaning, even for a sibling rivalry. Not to say that Baby doesn't dish out his own deep-cutting insults, and it seems like the family overall has a kind of playful-ribbing type of relationship. But Goldi most consistently tells Baby that he is only useful, only cared for, when his primary skill - his sense of smell - is being used in her service. Like he's less so her brother than he is her underling.

But this book gives us a more solid reason as to why Goldi is so cruel to Baby, and that is that the "proper family".... does not have a brother. It is not only the bears being bears, but Baby's mere presence which disrupts the idealized image of a single-child family that Goldi has been desperately trying to fit her life to. So she becomes bitter towards him, pushing him down at every chance, attempts to micromanage him the most out of everyone.

That's why its so important that she specifically saves Baby instead of making her wish in the end. Its not only her abandoning the idea of a proper family, its her finally giving Baby a space in her heart which she denied him for a long time.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Mira Lazine for Erin In The Morning:

[Note: This edition of Erin In The Morning is brought to you by Mira Lazine, who is guest writing for Erin In The Morning after the passing of Erin’s mother. Mira Lazine is a freelance journalist covering LGBTQ+ issues, politics, and science.] On Thursday, Jo Maugham - director of the United Kingdom legal advocacy organization The Good Law Project - wrote a detailed thread on X/Twitter in which he alleges that there has been a substantial increase in the number of suicides for young trans people on the National Health Service (NHS) waitlist, and that the NHS has been suppressing the evidence. Maugham says that this occurred after the infamous 2020 Bell v. Tavistock ruling that restricted care for those under 16. While this ruling has since been overturned, the damage from it is still being felt today.

Maugham, who first announced some of these claims in a Good Law Project fundraiser opposing the British puberty blocker ban, says that he spoke with two whistleblowers. “I have seen their staff IDs and each has provided me with some internal Tavistock documents. There is no doubt they are who they say they are.”  The first whistleblower reportedly said that prior to the 2020 Bell ruling, only one young trans person died from suicide in seven years and that since the ruling, there have been sixteen deaths. This data is reported to come from an anonymous doctor referred to as “Named Doctor for Safeguarding Children.”

He then goes on to say that the whistleblower tried to alert higher ups about this, including a director at the Tavistock gender clinic and Dr. Hillary Cass. Cass is the primary person behind the infamous Cass Review, a systematic review that has led to the temporary prohibition of puberty blockers for transgender youth in Great Britain. Details related to the whistleblower’s concerns aren’t apparent within the Review, suggesting that Cass ignored concerns as the Review was being drafted. Cass, who has no professional history working with transgender young people, collaborated with people who had ties to SPLC-designated hate groups like Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine. During the writing of the Review, she met with Ron DeSantis-appointed members of the Florida medical board.

Maugham reached out to Tavistock and Cass for comment. Tavistock did not respond, while Cass referred Maugham to paragraph 5.65 in the Review, where she offhandedly discusses these suicides while underplaying the link between the NHS, Gender Identity Service (GIDS), and these deaths. Additionally, Cass fails to mention the total number of suicides in the Review from either before Bell or after. The second whistleblower claims to be able to substantiate the claims made by both the first whistleblower and the “Named Doctor for Safeguarding Children.” They claim that staff planned an open letter in response to these allegations, and that Tavistock retaliated and threatened them with disciplinary action before suppressing the material. Maugham then substantiates the allegations made by both whistleblowers by revealing meeting minutes that show Tavistock staff members were well aware of these deaths. He points out that this ignores attempted suicides and does not necessarily capture all deaths. Additionally, he shows additional notes that suggest that some data was deliberately left out of Freedom of Information Act requests.

[...] An investigation from The Guardian two years ago reveals that there are systemic failures in the United Kingdom’s mental health service which is attributable to many suicides, including some for transgender youth. Considering that several adults also died due to suicide while on waitlists, and that the majority of people on waitlists for gender affirming care have been there for more than 18 weeks, it’s possible that there are additional suicides unaccounted for This investigation, alongside the allegations made by Maugham, opens up substantial questions about how seriously medical professionals treat suicides of transgender youth. If Maugham’s allegations prove true, one of the country’s biggest medical scandals in history may unfold.

Mira Lazine writes in Erin Reed’s Erin In The Morning Substack about how the NHS in the UK covered up suicides of trans youths, especially after the Bell v. Tavistock ruling. The Cass Review ignored the impacts of suicide of trans youths as result of the post-Bell climate.

[erwinsprincess]

mine, always and forever: chapter 3

characters: OC (female, y/n, she/her) x Commander Erwin Smith

warning: this story will contain 18+ elements including but not limited to childhood trauma, age-gap, power dynamics, graphic sexual content, substance abuse, self-harm, death/violence/blood, and language (more in depth tags will be at the beginning of each chapter if need be)

aot semi-cannonverse (takes place in aot universe but I am taking some artistic liberties with timelines, characters, world politics, and happenings)

plot: (y/n) is a young (female, she/her) cadet (22 y/o) with a complicated past. escaping from a life of meaningless pleasures in a foreign land, y/n hopes to make a difference by giving her heart as a member of the scout regiment. with only her brothers by her side, she steps into a world of uncertainty. upon integrating herself within her rank, y/n meets a man that would flip everything she knows about herself upside down... and she likes it.

author's note: this story is my own personal delusion about meeting and falling in love with Commander Erwin if I was in the aot verse. therefore, the character is loosely based on my life experience and self-image. however, it is my hope that all of you will see something of yourself in the MC and all of you Erwin-loving baddies will enjoy our blondie in a new story. I am also new to Tumblr and it seems there are endless things I must learn, so feel free to kindly correct me if I fail to add something to my posts that is necessary for your reading enjoyment.

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"y/n can you please take Ava? She won't stop crying."

You gently take the crying baby from Sasha's stressed out hands. You chuckle, looking down at the 3-month old baby.

Ever since your volunteer service started, Sasha, Mikasa, Armin, and a few other soldiers have really been struggling with caretaking of the children in the orphanage. It was surprising how few of them had actually been around children before, let alone been tasked to take care of them. You had always loved children, and in fact that was the primary reason you wanted to become a doctor in the first place. Assisting the doctor in your village from a young age had taught you so much. Dr. Kopylov was a friend of your father's, who always let you assist him in patient encounters and small procedures. He called you his "young prodigy". You especially took a liking to the care of mothers and children. You learned so much under Dr. K.

That is until your stepfather put an end to your apprenticeship due to his "other plans" for you.

Every soldier must volunteer 100 hours in their first year of service. Most chose the soup kitchen, hospital sanitation, and extra security gigs because they were easy. Your poor friends had been convinced, by you, to help you at the orphanage.

You begin to gently rock the crying babe in your arms, cooing at her to hopefully settle her. You remembered a song your mother used to sing to you when you were upset. It couldn't hurt to try. You began to softly sing to Ava as you swayed and patted her back.

"You are my sunshine,

My only sunshine.

You make me happy, when skies are grey.

You'll never know dear, how much I love you.

Please don't take my sunshine away."

You heard a knock at the divided door, and ignored the sound as Mrs. Agnes, the head mother of the orphanage went to open the door. The door was quite genius actually. The top half could be opened while the bottom stayed closed, so adults could speak without children running out. Mrs. Agnes was an old and brittle woman with a still fiery personality and you loved her with all of your heart. She was so good with the children despite being so elderly.

You continued to hold Ava in your arms and sing to her as Mrs. Agnes answered the door.

"Miss Y/N?" Mrs. Agnes' sweet voice called to you. You turned around still gently swaying with the baby, who was now asleep, in your arms. Your eyes were drawn to the figure, whose form took up almost the entire door frame. Your heart began to pound in your chest.

"Hello, Y/N"

Good Lord above. How was one man so breathtaking?

"Hello, Commander Erwin. What brings you here today?" You asked in a lofty voice.

The way his eyes traveled from the sleeping baby in your arms to your face, caused you to feel weak in the knees. What was he thinking? His face was nearly unreadable apart from what you perceived as a sort of longing in his eyes. His smile grew across his face as he said, "I tend to drop in on volunteer locations to make sure my soldiers are working hard and not slacking. Plus, it's nice to get out of the office some." You walked toward the door where Mrs. Agnes and the commander stood.

"The others are certainly hard at work. The children keep them busy." you said gesturing to where Sasha and Armin were being chased by two little boys with paper swords.

Out of the corner of your eye, a flash of red curls appeared right next to you. A spunky 7 year old named Heidi looked up at you through bright blue eyes, and then to the Commander, and then back to you.

"Miss Y/N, is he your boyfriend?" pointing directly at the "he" in question.

Your cheeks burned as you tried to save face in front of your commanding officer. "No, silly girl, he's not my boyfriend." You said laughing, hoping to play it off. "Now go chase Miss Sasha, she likes being chased." You turned back to see the two sharing amused glances at you.

"Oh Commander, Miss Y/N is a natural." Mrs. Agnes started, resting a wrinkled hand on his arm. "She is going to be a wonderful mother someday. All of the children love her, and other than me, she is the only one that can get the infants to settle. She sings to them, you know." she finished turning to you, a smile painted on her sweet face.

The Commander looked at you again, and this time you could read his expression: a sort of adoration. Your stomach folded in on itself and your knees threatened to buckle. "I'm so glad to hear that my soldiers are doing satisfactory work here." he turned back to Mrs. Agnes. "Do you mind if I speak with my soldiers for just a minute, I need to deliver some news."

As the others gathered, nerves started to set in. Why was he here, and what news would he have to deliver so urgently?

"As you know the 57th expedition outside the walls is scheduled for late next month. Unfortunately, we must push the mission up to two weeks from today." He has to be joking.

Silent glances were exchanged between peers. He continued.

"Due to circumstances out of our control, the powers that be will not renew funding beyond this month due to the election in the fall. The only way we could ensure that this mission happens before winter, is by expediting it. I know this is unsettling, but I will explain more later. Tonight after dinner, I need every solider at an emergency meeting in the courtyard." he finished.

"Yes sir." we all said in uncertain unison.

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It was in fact, not a joke.

Two weeks came and went from the time the Commander delivered the news that day. Your training had intensified in order to expedite the readiness of the first-timers. Numerous meetings to discuss the long-range scouting formations had occurred over the past few weeks as well, to the point where you dreamed about the formation and you could recite where each group would be verbatim.

That morning, your brothers met you near the stables.

"I guess we should at least discuss the elephant in the room." Nik said gloomily. "That today could be the last time we see each other."

Your eyes filled with tears as you rested your head on Misha's shoulder, grabbing his hand.

"Yo, I’m not worried. We are all fucking good at what we do.” Alexei's arrogant voice bringing you indescribable comfort. You smiled at him as Misha exhaled an exasperated sigh. “Brother, we are not going to say goodbye to each other today.”

"We don't have to say goodbye," Nik paused. "but I do want to let you guys know that I am so grateful for you guys. My life would be absolutely pointless without you. I love you guys."

"Awwww, sibling hug." Alexei sang as he pulled us all in, Misha groaned, hesitant to get that close to his brothers. He loves the three of us more than anyone else in the world, but close physical contact was not his thing.

Riding your horse slowly toward the gate to the outer walls, you were silently praying for the safety of your fellow soldiers.

“Hey. Y/N. Psssst.” You heard from just behind you. Connie.

“What Connie?” You asked annoyed. Not because you don’t love Connie, but anytime he uses the sound “pssst” in his sentence, it is clear the following question or request is going to be absolutely ridiculous.

“Did you really have cars in your home country? And like electric lights?” He asked. You whipped your head towards him and the look on your face said “How do you know that?”

It’s true. Your home country and every other country for that matter was way ahead of Paradis. It had been an adjustment traveling by horse and lighting candles. You had gotten used to washing dishes by hand during chores time and you kept telling yourself you needed to learn to bake your own bread because most women here did.

“Yeah. We did. I had a car I bought myself. It was light blue with a cream roof. It was big enough for several people. It had a small, silver Bronco horse decal on the front. It sits at my mom’s house in my home country. Electricity is nice too, but to be honest, I don’t miss it that much.” You explained. “Life is simpler here. People are happier, believe it or not.”

Satisfied with your answer Connie smiled mischievously and added, “Alexei told me that they sell magazines with pictures of naked ladies in them.” Hiding your horror with amusement you punched him in the arm. “Gross Connie don’t say that.” You shared a laugh with your unhinged friend. What all did Alexei tell the other boys about?

You glanced over to Eren, your friend who was actually a little more than a friend. Or was he just a cute boy you happened to hook up with every now and again? That night after the ceremony where you pledged your hearts to the Scout Regiment and humanity, your circle of friends all went to the tavern for drinks. The night ended with you and Eren stumbling to a secluded corner of the tavern. Your hands had been all over each other all night, something was bound to happen. Since then, you had multiple little rendezvous to kiss and do some other naughty things, but never would you go all the way. To Eren’s annoyance, you would decline sex every time, but only you knew it was because you were still a virgin.

“Fuck. I’m going to die a virgin.” You thought to yourself as you looked at the massive gate in front of you. Why was that at the front of your mind at a time like this?

Silence fell over everyone in the cavalry, apart from Levi scolding Hange for being a little too excited.

Hange was one of your favorite superiors, she was basically the drunk aunt who doesn’t actually drink. Hange also happened to be the only person you confided in about your feelings for the Commander. Despite the absolutely inappropriate nature of your feelings for him due to the power differential, you trusted Hange to be someone you could be honest with. I mean, you had to tell someone. It was becoming torturous to keep it to yourself and Hange had been so open and receptive to hearing your feelings. The best part was that she didn’t discourage your feelings at all and had, in her own special way of speaking, remarked that “your babies would be absolutely gorgeous.” You had blushed at the idea and smacked her arm. Would you ever actually get the chance to tell the commander how you felt? Or would you die today and that would be the end of everything?

“Soldiers, let the 57th Expedition outside of the walls, commence!” The familiar voice boomed as the gate rose and you caught your first glimpse of the outside world in quite a long time. The cavalry began to move and as soon as you reached beyond the gate, commands by section leaders could be heard all around you. You followed Levi and Petra with Misha, Jean, Sasha, and a few others.

Living within the walls, it is easy to forget that the world beyond them is so vast, almost endless. You remembered your home country, a brutal environment for those who were not accustomed and you admired how the weather here was mild and pleasant. Most days were sunny, favorable, and tame. The vast blue sky stretched overhead was relatively without a cloud. You felt comfort knowing that no matter where you were, you lived under the same sky as your brothers, your mother, and the person who had become the sister you never had, Sasha.

Misha’s horse kept pace with yours. Glancing over, you smiled and said a silent prayer. Things would be fine. This was only a scouting mission to find a path to Shiganshina and the real thing would happen the following year. The stakes were “low” but the government was tired of funding failing missions and you could read on the Commander’s face how tired he was of pleading a losing case. He had a dream, and he had shared it with all of you. This was his life’s ultimate goal, and you only wanted to be a part in him realizing that goal.

Hours later, your squad was scheduled to converge with Erwin squad and Miche squad. It had been two hours since the undertaking began. You had seen several titans, but none that had posed a severe threat. However, it was jarring to see that humanoid figure with lifeless eyes ambling towards your, now spaced out squad. Captain Levi had taken out most of the threats.

In the distance, a flare was fired.

Black smoke.

An abnormal.

Another flare rang out.

Black smoke yet again. This time closer.

Your hands became clammy, your chest tightened, and your entire body was racked with fear. “Remember your training, you are strong, you are not going to die out here.” You tell yourself. Deciding you need to work your way closer to your squad, you look around for the closest soldier in your vision. You checked your ODM gear as you prepared yourself for the reality that you may have to fight.

A scream so unbearable rang out into the open plain, it caused you to pull back on your reins and stop your horse dead in its tracks. Looking to where the scream emanated, your eyes met an unimaginable sight. Your heart felt as though it had stopped beating, as if it could just rip apart into a million pieces, your eyes filled with tears that completely clouded your vision, and every ounce of executive function that you could have had, left your body. You were frozen at the sight before you, a mere 100 yards away.

“L/N!”

You faintly heard a yell for your name from behind you. It was Captain Levi. You couldn’t pull your eyes away from the sight before you.

“L/N! Get moving!”

The last thing you heard before you were impacted with the force of a car crash. You were flung from your horse, hitting the ground and knocking the wind from your lungs. You knew you had broken ribs. Suddenly, you were enveloped by a cold hand, being lifted from the ground as you screamed at the sight you still could not take your eyes away from. A crushing pain wrapped around your body, you accepted that this was it, and you had failed. So much for giving your heart. You barely did anything beyond riding your horse for a few hours, you hadn’t given anything to humanity. Such a waste.

Blood splattered from behind you as you felt yourself falling back to the cruel, hard ground. On instinct you began to run, with no plan in mind for what you would do when you arrived to your destination.

“L/N! Get the hell back here!”

Captain Levi again. You would be paying for this insubordination if you survived the mission.

Every ounce of hope eddied from your mind. The abnormal titan before you, carried its prey to its mouth and bit down on the lower half of their body. Another scream that rattled your insides. You felt like throwing up, and for a reason you couldn’t work out in your head, you kept running towards it. You pulled a blade from your sheath, readying to get your revenge when, as if by divine intervention, the titans neck was cut from behind and the gargantuan abomination fell to its knees, then to it’s face, dropping the torso of its victim.

Your legs threatened to give out, blood started to stain your hands as you coughed, mixing with the tears you cried as you ran towards the titans victim. Falling to your knees, you put your hands on the now lifeless face.

“Misha… Misha please!” You cried out. “Please Misha please don’t leave me. Misha I love you!”

It was useless. His once beautiful hazel eyes, now bloodshot looked to the sky, unmoving. You sobbed, your cheek to his. Every part of your body shook and you were purely numb. You pulled yourself up as the other squads could be heard in the distance, making their way to you. You screamed at the unimaginable pain you felt at the loss of your brother. Your hands shook as you ran them over his face and through his hair, you couldn’t take your eyes away from him. There were other people around you, but you couldn’t hear anything.

A cart pulled up and two men came to retrieve Misha’s body. You held onto him and protested that they take him. Still crying and coughing up blood, your own injuries were still not apparent to you. Two firm hands pulled you from your knees and you fought against them to no avail. You watched as the two men wrapped up Misha’s torso, and hoisted him onto the cart carrying several other casualties.

The two hands spun you around to a serious, somber face. Commander Erwin. Face and shirt flecked with blood and sweat gluing his usually perfect hair to his forehead.

“Y/N. We have to go back.”

You protested. Not even in your right mind. “But the mission we haven’t even completed it.” Tears still streaming down your face.

“It’s over. Y/N. We failed.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………….

[featherwurm]

The monastery Tav hails from is one of the largest in Baulder’s Gate, and exists in service to the god of justice, Helm. It’s practice is a blend of traditions, with a structure that both serves religious and martial ends. Like any nearly self-sufficient monastery, it is an institution, and almost a little city unto itself. It is large enough to not only support monk-related religious practice and study (which includes the infrastructural support for people who live there – gardens, baths, kitchens, classrooms, dormitories, libraries), but also training for combat-oriented monks, paladins, and clerics, social services for the city (food and medical care for the poor, orphan and other child-related care and services), educational facilities (with a religious bent, but also considered to be a high quality of schooling), and of course, plenty of functions and celebrations. It is a permanent home to many people, and a temporary one for many more.

This close little group used to hang out between the time Tav entered the monastery and left as a solo wandering monk (ages 12-21) – she still crosses paths with them occasionally. They all like to hang out and catch up as adults. They are not her only friends, but they are her closest ones from her time in the monastery, they grew up together and all know each other’s business. They are the ‘weird kids’ that found each other and have stuck together – knowing each other eased a lot of issues from their younger years.

Descriptions below (age is as of the end of the events of Baulder's Gate 3):

Sahayla Cove (52, F, Human) – Very shy and always a little young for her years, she found comfort and safety hanging out with this bunch of weirdos who thought she was very cool and interesting. Eldest of the group. Artistically talented, currently an illuminator at the monastery and loves it. Schooled at the monastery since primary school, took to boarding there for secondary school. As with Tav, has family in Baulder’s gate but her relationships there are very strained. Found comfort in the monastery and never left – is very theologically loyal to Helm as practice, but likes lively debate on divine topics (tends to view gods as just doing their jobs, and sometimes not doing it well.) (Trans woman.)

Dumah Malekson (50, M, Human… or was anyway) – Pragmatic and kind, intelligent and sensible, generally the ring-leader of the group, unless one of the younger ones got a hair up about causing a specific kind of trouble (he only ever held them back JUST enough to stay out of serious trouble – mischief and nonsense were always fine.) Less the dad-friend and more the NCO friend. One of many children of a large Bauldiran noble family who didn’t stand to inherent anything in the long term and was coaxed by his family into joining the monastery as the proper and right thing to do (both for his sake and theirs – it was… mostly his decision.) Eventually trained as and went to adventure as a Paladin of Helm – and has many of his own stories to tell.

Ceili Meddleweed (48, NB, Halfling) – Thoughtful but strongly opinionated and kindof bossy (occasionally got into some VERY mean verbal fights with Tav). Suffers from an unfortunate condition called “being right.” Very nearsighted, and small even for a halfling. Quite contradictory – orderly but not neat, impatient but kind, has a hand in everything they can reach and a wicked memory, but is only really interested in their own business. Originally entered monastic training to become a monk (and be combat trained,) but lost interest in their later teens, preferring study anything that sat still long enough (which proved no trouble to change in the monastery.) Like Tav they still have blood relatives in Baulder’s Gate they interact with – their relationships are fine. They work as a librarian now in the upper city (not in the monastery,) and are a little leery, skeptical, and gruff, but ultimately very very knowledgeable and eager to share it when prompted. (Might also be a sorcerer but keeps their casting ability on the down low – hold person is a cantrip, right?)

Pareesa Denbek (46, F, Tiefling) – Generally quiet and observant (sometimes to a point of being seen as ‘creepy’), but will speak at length once trusting and happy. Born to human parents, they did try to care for her, but were lost to tragedy (probably Bhallist activity – but no suspects were ever named) – became a ward of the state and was bounced around for far too long in foster care until finding a permanent home in the monastery. Although a little traumatized from her background, she has become one of the head gardeners as an adult, and her favorite topic in the world is plant genetics, hybridization, and the minutia of growing conditions and micro-climates. Also has an ongoing project of selecting the monastery's cats for intense vocalizations, much to some of the other inhabitant’s chagrin (they can’t talk… yet.)

Zatavia “Tav” Felix (45, F, Tiefling) – Chronically cranky with a fierce sense of loyalty and a good punch. Entered monastic training at the age of 12 as a way to cope with terrible internal anger (and also not having her emotional needs met.) Grew up into a wandering monk then turned adventurer. Now the hero of Baulder’s gate or something – off having adventures in Avernus or wherever with her partner.

“Grembo” (45, M, Malkin) – Tav’s “biological identical twin brother” (ongoing joke), more outgoing and a bit lighter-hearted than her, but the two of them have a similar sort of approach and vibe. They do behave much like siblings – the only person who can kill the other one is them. He is the main material component in Tav’s spell “fuck your life, bing-bong” (Material – Grembo, Verbal – “fuck your life, bing-bong”, Somatic – Throw Grembo at it.) Grembo is also a combat-oriented monk, he left the monastery earlier than Tav, and has been off on his own adventures.

Helena Oorstag (43, F, Human) – Fearless, outgoing child, not a fighter or angry like Tav, but always amenable to be the first to poke something, touch something, or go somewhere unseen. Desperate to be important and to prove ‘worth.’ Orphan adopted by the monastery at a young enough age (three or four) that she doesn't remember anything much else. In some ways it doesn't entirely suit her, but she doubled down and studied to become a cleric because she thought that would make her ‘best.’ Became much more reserved and stalwart as an adult, after a short-lived adventuring career as a cleric that nearly killed her – slowly and unpleasantly. Works as a potter these days and has a family in the lower city, just enjoys making things with her hands. Her friends say she’s all very different than when she was a kid, but they still love her anyway.

Cian Cian* (41, M, Half-Orc) – Clever but blunt, former street urchin who tried to pickpocket the head abbot, somehow got talked into joining the order (he’s not quite sure how it happened, honestly). Combat-trained monk like Tav and Grembo, but chose not to wander, instead serving to guard the monastery itself (Baulder’s Gate is an interesting city, and all of the large temples and monasteries know to have appropriate force to maintain their standing.) Slow to warm to the others, but he, Grembo, and Tav were sparring with each other from early on and took a liking to each other’s own gruff composure. Still mad Tav grew up taller than him (they were about the same size when they met – he was a big kid and still is a big guy.) *Didn’t know what to put down as his last name so just wrote his name twice.

Posin “Po” Tailclap (40, M, Dragonborn) – Just a little guy, youngest of the group, bright and curious and full of hell, orphan left in the monastery's care as an infant, grew up into a loyal paladin of Helm. Really good at getting into places he shouldn’t be – even in plate armor these days. Curious, bright, bug-eating menace to society. Has a tendency even as an adult to bully people into doing the right thing by being too cheerful and sweet to say ‘no’ to. Idolizes Dumah, as well as Tav, Grembo and Cian to a degree, and all of them lack a bit of humility, so they just run with it and let him do what he wants. (Trans man.) Knows Karlach from having done various volunteer and charity work in the lower city.