#Dr Greenwood

[wherepond]

Trump's alarming

Trump's alarming condition unveiled

Top psychologists and doctors, including Dr. Greenwood, sound the alarm on Donald Trump's dangerous mental diagnosis, which could prove terrifying consequences if elected again. John Iadarola and Dr. Greenwood break it down on The Damage Report.

[yumyumpod]

Watching The Expanse for the first time: Jetsam

[ellzilla]

Had a hell of a time trying to upload this lmao. Doodles to accompany a ramble about my silly horrorverse/metathesiophobia/worldbuilding ramble that's very large so it's under the cut. It's as much Ella lore as it is Elliot lore :3c there might be some grammatical errors but idc I've tried to upload this 7 times now and don't wanna reread it lol

"Most organizations classify them as extinct, caused by villages hunting them and a lethal mutation in the survivors saliva, there are theories there are a few hidden surviving members, their numbers being merely in the single digits. Lycanthropy is not a 'one size fits all' type of curse/disease/parasite, it's classification is still being debated today, and it adjusted both according to it's host and to it's surroundings when it developed.

Before the lethal mutation, an infected person's lycanthropy could vary extremely in the first few months as it got a grasp on what was a normal environment for the individual. All recorded cases fit the 'true' werewolf classification. For people who gained Lycanthropy through genetics, bloodline werewolves, a vast majority were only slight variations of the 'true' werewolf.

-

The 'true' werewolf was most rampant back in the medieval ages, up until the mid 1800's, as to the Lycanthropy it was the peak time one could live 'naturally' and also a lack of constant danger while also having a sense of community. Although they were still bloodthirsty monsters, they held themselves back from ravaging people their host knew and hunted only strangers, even avoiding children if the host's morals were strong enough. They only hunted what they needed for the night, a person or two at most. True werewolves had very mild control of their curse, only being able to transform on command in dangerous situations. These transformations were relatively quick, taking less than 20 seconds, but remained agonizing as let the host take control until they were able to calm down in a safe area.

Sometimes an extreme burst of negative emotion could make part of their body rapidly transform to physically deal with the source of the stress, but it would result in the skin tearing due to the speed of it. Lycanthropy will only rip itself apart when it senses an emergency, a knee-jerk reaction if you will, to something in front of it. The last recording of a 'true' werewolf was in 20██, █████, Australia, however she had been found dead in her home. The cause of death was blood loss, caused by a silver laced bullet wound. For details about this report, please send a request to Dr. A. Whitelock.

-

Socialite werewolves are an extremely modern and elusive mutation of Lycanthropy. They are the sole reason the theory lycanthropes could still be alive today holds any water. Unlike 'true' werewolves, who could be anyone, all Socialite werewolves have been people who have lived in lavish luxury for the important developmental years in a bloodline werewolf's life. They are physically the weakest recorded mutation. The main theory for this is that the Lycanthropy adapted to learn that social power among regular humans is far more valuable for survival than hunting them for sport and changed to make transformation less intensive and more 'suitable' for it's new survival strategy. They were able to transform in around ten seconds on average, one recorded process shows them morphing with little to no pain visible on their face. The host confirmed that the Socialite werewolf's transformation is far less painful by saying: "A muscle cramp is only a touch more painful." This has enabled the few recorded individuals to amass groups around themselves, as they all publicized their lycanthropy. Most simply saw them as role-players with good 'fur suits' due to the fact the host's hair style remains unchanged while turned.

The last recorded socialite werewolf was in 19██, a popular rock star who had unfortunately overdosed on theobromine, the news had covered it as a 'normal' drug overdose and were forced forge it as a cocaine OD.

-

Brute werewolves are a debated topic, as some think we should classify them as Werebears instead, but all recovered remains confirm that their bone structure was far closer to a wolf than a bear's.

They are also debated to be a separate anomaly all together as they were initially thought to be a prehistoric megafauna before the bones were carbon dated to be only a few hundred years old. The term 'werewolf' was only applied to these bones upon the recovery of a library curated by a 'true' werewolf back in 1874.

According to literature in the library that claims to be history, Brute werewolves were thought to be lycans who had gone mad or were born to an accursed mother. Additional notes glued to the book claimed that they were simply those in the bloodline who had been tormented for a prolonged period of time, through they admit the 'cursed mother' could be part of it. Brute werewolves were described to be barbaric, rabid beasts that would rip apart anything with a heartbeat in front of them, only being satisfied when it had gorged itself on fresh meat and then some. There are drawings of Brute werewolves fighting packs of 'true' werewolves and descriptions of Brute werewolves being the cause of many deaths.

Despite the descriptions diminishing them as low intelligence beasts, they were said to speak in wails, attracting anyone to try to help the supposed person in danger, unknowing that they were the person in danger themselves.

Their transformations were said to be horrific as bone popped skin that ripped off muscle, their size was far to large to properly form from a regular human body. It is described to be a 'painfully long' process, so we assume it took over a minute for them to fully transform.

There has never been a case of an alive Brute werewolf, let alone a fresh corpse. We believe that if they are truly a mutation of Lycanthropy, they were the fist subsect to go extinct due to their heightened aggression that would have made it impossible to survive within the past 200 years. We hope that is the case."

7- █ - 202█ - Author Dr. Abigail Whitelock. Sources - ██████ - ██████████ -██████

[savycon63]

Oops, I was a little too eager & jumped ahead a day…crazy busy at work and already thinking it’s Wednesday😂Happy 54th birthday to the incredibly beautiful, talented, charming, adorable, funny, lovely & cute Nicola Walker! Wishing you the happiest of bdays Nic & thank you for all the joy you’ve given us.🥰🎂🍾🥂🥳💜

[thatsprettylane]

“Think a lot of bushels are gettin’ burned by a lot of candles today.”

[iamtryingtobelieve]

I'll drown my beliefs to have your babies

I'll dress like your niece and wash your swollen feet

Just don't leave

Don't leave

I'm not living I'm just killing time

Your tiny hands, your crazy kitten smile

Just don't leave

Don't leave

And true love waits in haunted attics

And true love lives on lollipops and crisps

Just don't leave

Don't leave

[thekylemeredith]

For tonight's show, I'll be hanging with #Radiohead's Colin Greenwood to talk about the band, his work with #NickCave, and his photographs.

You'll also hear from #NathanielRateliff, Fruit Bats, #MyMorningJacket's Jim James, and it's #DrWho for TV In The Radio!

6p ET on 91.9 WFPK

[luvrinne]

୭ SOME BOOKS THAT RORY GILMORE READ ׂ  𓈒

— 1984 by Orwell George

nineteen eighty-four by George Orwell is a dystopian novel that portrays a totalitarian society where personal freedom is non-existent. It warns against the dangers of totalitarian power, surveillance, propaganda, and thought control, in a powerful critique of modern society.

— atonement by Ian McEwan

atonement by Ian McEwan is a gripping novel that delves into the complexities of guilt, redemption, and the power of storytelling. Set in England during World War II, it follows the lives of three characters whose fates become intertwined after a tragic misunderstanding.

— the bell jar by Sylvia Plath

the bell jar details the life of Esther Greenwood, a college student who dreams of becoming a poet. She is selected for a month-long summer internship as a guest editor of Ladies' Day magazine, but her time in New York City is unfulfilling as she struggles with issues of identity and societal norms.

— christine by Stephen King

christine tells the story of a car apparently possessed by malevolent supernatural forces. A love triangle involving 17-year-old misfit Arnie Cunningham, his new girlfriend and a haunted 1958 Plymouth Fury. Dubbed Christine by her previous owner, Arnie's first car is jealous, possessive and deadly.

— the virgin suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

the story, which is set in Grosse Pointe, Michigan during the 1970s, centers on the lives of five doomed sisters, the Lisbon girls. The novel is written in first person plural from the perspective of an anonymous group of teenage boys who struggle to find an explanation for the Lisbons' deaths.

— to kill a mockingbird by Harper Lee

to kill a mockingbird is a coming-of-age story about a girl named Scout. Scout and her brother Jem try to understand and relate to their father, Atticus, who is a lawyer charged with defending a Black man falsely accused of raping a white woman.

— sybil by Flora Rheta Schereiber

sybil is a gripping true story about a woman with multiple personality disorder. Written by Flora Rheta Schreiber, the book delves into the life of Sybil Dorsett and her 16 distinct personalities, as well as the therapy sessions with her psychiatrist, Dr. Cornelia B. Wilbur.

— pride and prejudice by Jane Austen

pride and prejudice follows the turbulent relationship between Elizabeth Bennet, the daughter of a country gentleman, and Fitzwilliam Darcy, a rich aristocratic landowner. They must overcome the titular sins of pride and prejudice in order to fall in love and marry.

@ luvrinne

[armed-with-a-waffle-iron]

Holy shit, didn't realise people thought this, but GALE WAS NOT GROOMED BY MYSTRA DAMNIT!!

Mystra was dead for a century and was only revived in 1480 DR, when Gale was TWENTY-THREE (Magical Histories, Volume 2: The Spellplague, found in Sorcerous Sundries). In fact, The Herald by Ed Greenwood suggests that Mystra was only full restored in 1487 DR, when Gale was 30!

Pay attention to THEME, guys! THEME, damnit! Gale's story is about ambition and hubris. "Gale's Folly" is that he's so tempted by excessive possibilities of greatness and achievement and even love that he's prone to self-destruction. Whether it's the romance with a god or the gift-to-Mystra fiasco or the blow-up-the-brain sacrifice or chasing godhood. Gale is an Icarus (unless character development™). Like I'm sorry but Gale's story just isn't really the place to explore themes of sexual abuse, especially if it means you missed the real point of the story.

-Magical Histories, Volume 2: The Spellplague (found in Sorcerous Sundries, ground floor)

Edit; Gonna add, Gale's a HUMAN and a WIZARD to give us more of a picture of what his story says; it's all about wrestling with excessive ambition, pride and arrogance, in a life too short for you to experience the cyclical nature of history, when unfathomable power may be a very real possibility. History repeats itself; first as tragedy, then as farce- Karl Marx; first Karsus, now Gale...

[the-forest-library]

November 2024 Reads

In Memoriam - Alice Winn

A Sorceress Comes to Call - T. Kingfisher

Graveyard Shift - M.L. Rio

Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen

A Curious Beginning - Deanna Raybourn

The Empress of Salt and Fortune - Nghi Vo

Bride - Ali Hazelwood

The Fifth Elephant - Terry Pratchett

Pony Confidential - Christina Lynch

The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love - India Holton

Here We Go Again - Alison Cochrun

One Last Shot - Betty Cayouette

Under Your Spell - Laura Wood

The Love of My Afterlife - Kristy Greenwood

This Summer Will Be Different - Carley Fortune

Savor It - Tarah DeWitt

Kiss Me at Christmas - Jenny Bayliss

Christmas Is All Around - Martha Waters

XOXO - Axie Oh

Killing November - Adriana Mather

Miracles on Maple Hill - Virginia Sorensen

The Miraculous Life of Edward Tulane - Kate DiCamillo

Because of Winn Dixie - Kate DiCamillo

Thunder Pug - Kim Norman

Stringbean's Trip to the Shining Sea - Vera B. Williams

Dr Seuss's Sleep Book - Dr Seuss

Leap - Simina Popescu

Uprooted - Ruth Chan

Taxi Ghost - Sophie Escabasse

They Called Us Enemy - George Takei

I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together - Maurice Vellekoop

Adulthood is a Gift - Sarah Andersen

Joyful Recollections of Trauma - Paul Scheer

The Deaf Girl - Abigail Heringer

True Gretch - Gretchen Whitmer

Growing Up Urkel - Jaleel White

How to Know a Person - David Brooks

The Expectation Effect - David Robson

Glory Days - L. Ron Wertheim

Democracy Awakening - Heather Cox Richardson

The Sleeping Beauties - Suzanne O'Sullivan

What It Takes to Heal - Prentis Hemphill

Vanishing Treasures - Katherine Rundell

Noodles, Rice, and Everything Spice - Christina De Witte and Mallika Kauppinen

Appetites - Anthony Bourdain

Bold = Highly Recommend

Italics = Worth It

Crossed Out = Nope

Thoughts: Please read In Memoriam if you haven't yet. It's sweeping and sad and sweet and very satisfying. The audiobook is lovely and does some interesting things with the narration.

Goodreads Goal: 414/400 

2017 Reads | 2018 Reads | 2019 Reads | 2020 Reads | 2021 Reads| 2022 Reads | 2023 Reads | 2024 Reads

[rawyld]

Because I can

Star Trek : Kingsman AU

[galesdevoteewife]

Let’s talk about Mystra

Hello everyone, I wanted to talk about Mystra👋🔮

As much of a crazy lover as I am for my fictional wizard, the more lore research I do, the more I feel like Mystra deserves some love too. This goddess lives a cursed life. I know I know she asked Gale to kill himself, but bear with me; here are my arguments:

A bit history of Mystra

There’re 3 Mystra: Mystryl -> Mystra (Elminster’s Mystra) -> Mystra (Midnight)

In short, Mystryl is the fourth deity in the universe, composed of Shar & Selûne’s essence. She is one of the primal existences while the universe is still new and trying to settle down, a significant component of the universe itself. While Mystryl’s spirit was born naturally, Mystra and Midnight were both once mortal and raised by AO to inherit Mystryl’s power.

Is Mystra bad?

Midnight, “Mystra 3rd ” is who we met in BG3. She was a human magic user born in 1332 DR. Midnight was aiding Mystra 2nd at the time of troubles. She’s a kind-hearted and humble woman who ascended in 1358 DR. She didn’t want godhood at all; she only did it to counter Cyric, the bad guy.

From comic book Avatar (1991)

For decades, she even tried to allow only the good use of magic, later learning her duty and place as the guardian of balance and impartial arbiter of the Weave; no matter how Midnight feels or hopes things could have been. She was only 26 when she had to wave goodbye to everyone she knew, shouldering the 24/7 goddess duty. It’s true that she will inherit other Mystra’s memory, but personality-wise she is only 160 years old; even Halsin is older than her. (Not to mention she spent 94 years in dormant)

Note[1]: Later on all the Mystra mentioned I will be talking about Midnight

Note[2]: Dec17/2023 I will come back and edit this section; it's misleading according to Ed Greenwood's tweet. The current Mystra is likely a blend of all three Mystras with an unspecified proportion. I will provide details on the stories and deeds of the other Mystras.

Being Mystra sucks. Truly.

Imagine your body is just a thing lying on the street; anyone can command you to dance for them so long as they know the right spell. While you CAN reject it, you are NOT ALLOWED to.

What’s worse is that too many mortals and too many gods want the Weave, but it’s not something that she can “give”. Like no one can give away their body to someone else. She IS the Weave; I think of it as the Weave being the cells that compose her. Whoever wants to take it away will have to separate her mind and “body” by:

killing her and inherit the Weave, where all the attempters failed step 2, then only resulted in a broken/Weaveless crisis

or completely manipulating her mind, which is the option no one ever considers; they all go straight to killing her

Whenever DnD wants to change the rules, they kill Mystra.

Shar wants the Weave, Bane wants it, countless mortals want it too. According to the conversation between Gale and Lorroakan, it’s almost a common conversation trying to dethrone the goddess and take the power for themselves.

And no one is there to protect Mystra; she fights alone. Although she has a good relationship with gods like Selûne or Azuth, nobody lent a hand when she was murdered. She relies on her chosens and her own power.

On top of defending herself, aka protecting the Weave, another important duty is to maintain the Weave. Whenever a spell is cast, it damages the Weave, and she is the one to patch the holes. The more powerful the spell is, the bigger damage it will cause. That’s why her dogma includes “Use the Art deftly and efficiently, not carelessly and recklessly.” She also needs to keep an eye out for possible upcoming threats. A tough and tedious job, and no holidays for the goddess.

It might sound a bit twisted, but she is taking care of the world by taking care of herself. Anything happening to her means catastrophe for the world. (e.g., Spellplague, where magic caused mutations to the users, see wiki here)

But she asked Gale to explode himself!

Yes, and she also promised Elysium once he’s dead. There is actually a thorough afterlife setting in the Forgotten Realms DnD setting. In short, a spirit doesn’t perish when a mortal dies; it would be drawn to the Fugue Plane and wait for the god they prayed to in life to send a servant to take them to their heaven.

It’s a terrible fate for the faithless or false spirits, those who either defy their gods or never choose one. They are forever punished in this grim plane and even become part of the Wall of the Faithless.

Fugue Plane and Wall of the Faithless: those are spirits piling up into a wall

In Mystra’s case, her heaven is Elysium, judging by the name, you can already tell it’s likely a heavenly place. Significantly better than the Fugue Plane, that’s for sure.

It’s a fixed truth that all will die someday, and Gale’s afterlife options are:

Defy Mystra: When he dies, he will be forever punished as a false in the Fugue Plane. Not to mention Kelemvor, Lord of the Dead, is also Midnight Mystra’s former(?) lover, and he detests cowardice.

Defy Mystra and try to gain favor from another god: I think this will mean changing class and profession for him, as a wizard he is tied to Mystra after all.

Serve Mystra and be taken to Elysium: And who knows, since he is chosen of Mystra, she might even revive him someday. Mystra 2nd did that for her other chosen before. Note: Interesting reading about how her chosen become weaveghost after death, see wiki here.

Obtain godhood: When the god Gale dies, he will go through a completely different process.

An interesting thought here is whether Gale knows about all these. It will largely define what his true colors are. It wouldn’t make sense if he is completely ignorant of afterlife logic, though. His background is an experienced wizard (probably studied some necromancy), goddess ex, and apparently visited heavens before.

Is Mystra power-thirsty?

I wouldn’t say so. She is already OP, and AO asked her to nerf herself by sharing and storing power in her chosens. Even if she were to gain more power, she is not allowed to keep it.

She wants the Shadow Weave

She sees Shar’s secret creation, the Shadow Weave, as a threat and aims to eventually subsume it into her portfolio, even if that means sacrificing her last remaining goodness and humanity.

From the DnD book “Faith & Pantheons”

We see how Shar is using her Shadow Weave in the cursed land, and it's safe to say it's not an ideal living environment for most beings. Shar has been very keen to kill Mystra and take over her power; I don’t think the world would be a better place in her hands than in Mystra’s.

She wants the Karsite Weave

The same logic could apply to the Karsite Weave. While we can argue whether Gale has a good heart and can be trusted with godlike power, he did show some concerning traits, did he not? Maybe in the future, when he is wiser and calmer, that's how I read Mystra’s line when she tells him to be patient.

Why doesn’t she just cure him since she can?

This is 100% headcanon. I think Mystra as a goddess is able to foresee some future. In Elminster’s story series, Mystra 2nd often asked him to do things that seemed irrelevant but were actually needed in the future. In Gale’s case, could it be that’s what Midnight meant to do? To mentor and humble him? Even prepare him to go through this journey? (Hardly imagine the prime archmage Gale joining our little merry band, and Elminster did say, “Mystra was anything but idle- she chose you as her champion.” What could that means?)

Gale has a curve where he goes from being “irked by untalented apprentices” to “enjoying teaching a lot” if not using the crown. He could have been relying on magic too much, and his ego or pursuit of power had led him astray from his good nature. If you look from this perspective, offering to use the orb before the final battle could be him still having doubts about the team's ability and having more faith in magic aka his own power (mixed with his deep love for everyone that he'd rather die than see their lives wasted, of course).

She is a terrible lover, and she doesn't care about Gale at all

According to patch 5, how time feels in the outer plane is very different from the material plane. God Gale came back in 6 months, and he seems not aware that it has been months. With this logic and putting myself in Mystra's shoes, she got mad because Gale recklessly activated a magical nuclear bomb and ignored him for a couple of weeks.(~1 year in the mortal world) When they meet again, this grumpy jumpy bean is thinking of the possibility of killing her for her powers already. Excuse me???

I will say there could be more considerate ways to handle this subject other than asking him to bomb himself. This long-distance cross-race romance was very problematic, but I will reserve my opinion on how much love she holds for Gale. Probably not seeing him as an equal partner, of course, but drawing the conclusion that she doesn't care a tad about his well-being might be too hasty, in my opinion.

A screenshot of Mystra telling Gale that she wasn't the one who took his gifts away from him. That's not an expression of 0 sympathy to me. I've never seen her make this face except for this line.

*UPDATE on Dec 11/2023* Add a tweet from Ed Greenwood, the creator of the Forgotten Realms. Ref: X

*UPDATE on Jan 11/2024* • Add a screenshots during Gale's meeting with her • Add a note on DnD weaveghost setting *UPDATE on Apr 15/2024* • An great analysis of Gale & Mystra's relationship and Mystra's behavior logic

-DISCLAIMER- I am very new to the DnD world, but these are what I dug up and puzzled together. I could be very, very wrong, but please be kind; I did all this out of love for my wizard ��💜💜

[ellzilla]

for a moment I was sworn that my girls weren't unique enough face-wise and then I drew them side by side and. Yeah no that's not the case lol Now everyone gets my 3 main horrorverse metathesiophobia ladies

[cinamun]

New updates every Sunday & Thursday (sometimes I go rogue)

TFA will return in 2025!

Named after one of my favorite books and albums, Things Fall Apart is an epic tale of lust, greed, betrayal, vengeance and, above all else, growth.

This story never started as a legacy nor was it intended to be anything other than gameplay.  However, these characters evolved and, as such, so did their stories; each intertwined and forever impacted by the others. 

Written, played and photographed by me circa 2015. This story is best read/viewed on a laptop, tablet or PC.

Should you choose to continue, please note that this story is rated MA for Mature Audiences and contains strong language, violence, adult themes, strong sexual content, nudity and a variety of triggers appropriately tagged for depression and abuse in all of its forms. This story is not suitable for anyone under the age of 18 (DNI).

Pictured above is the original cast, from left to right:

Elise Farrow ~ Juan Rivera ~ Darren Drake ~ Indya Williams ~ Jerrilee Coleman ~ Dr. Jules Carter

As you make your way through their lives, names will change and you'll find that new characters emerge for either good or sinister reasons.

Shall we begin?

Act One

Chapter 1: Understanding Indya | Chapter 2: The Horsemen | Chapter 3: Toxic | Chapter 4: Demons | Chapter 5: Vengeance | Chapter 6: The Aftermath | Chapter 7: Chances | Chapter 8: Restart | Chapter 9: Moving Forward | Chapter 10: Several Steps Back | Chapter 11: Unfinished Business

Act Two

Chapter 12: The Trial of the Century | Chapter 13: The Demon's Return | Chapter 14: I Do | Chapter 15: Conception at the Summit | Chapter 16: Hopeful | Chapter 17: Milestones | Chapter 18: Growth | Chapter 19: Growing Pains | Chapter 20: The Fear of Letting Go | Chapter 21: A New Journey

Act Three

Chapter 22: A Thin Line Between Life and Death | Chapter 23: And Then There Were Four | Chapter 24: Illusions of Independence | Chapter 25: Unthinkable

Current

Pictured above is the current (2023) cast from left to right

Elliot Mahajan* ~ Darren Drake Jr. ~ Indira Dior Drake ~ Jayce Carruthers ~ Hope Diamond Carruthers (Drake) ~ Indya Drake ~ Darren Drake Sr. ~ Jerri Coleman

*Deceased

Bonus Content

Story Commentary | Story Extras

In case you need a palate cleanser at any time, check out my Globetrotter Challenge or The Greenwoods for a little Rated E for Everyone fun!

Buy me a coffee?

Posting Schedule

I typically post story updates/episodes on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays*. I post in the mornings (US CST) and reblog in the evenings.

*As of 9/30/24 Story updates will post on Sundays and Thursdays

Author's Note:

This story has been a labor of love, writing is a hobby and so is gaming. Combining the two has helped me in ways I cannot put into words. I am thankful to you for enjoying this hobby with me. Writing urban fiction using the sims, for me, will forever be inspired by mochasims, rest in paradise, dear friend. Mocha created a community for Black storytellers where one didn't exist anywhere in the Sims Community and paved the way for other Black writers to follow with her epic tale of Men and Stilettos and of course Kasim's adventures!

I will be forever grateful for the safe space she created to tell real, Black ass stories. Much love sis.

Reactions to Mocha's passing:

1 | 2

[y-rhywbeth2]

So I do plan on doing a deep dive into it myself, but you’re si good at finding lore tidbits that aren’t easily found in the obvious places online, so I figured I’d ask you about it?

But how tolerant is Waterdeep? Both in regards to evil gods like the dead three and drow?

Because I know VERY few places are willing to tolerate a full or half Drow just casually walking around in the open, and that BG is one of those “you can come in but not through the front door” towns but I wasn’t sure about Waterdeep

And I’m asking about the evil gods because during the tot, Myrkul, Bhaal, AND Loviatar were all hanging out in Waterdeep, and obviously had at least SOME followers there. (I wonder if the three of them ever got together for tea and gossip during the tot, probably grumbling about Bane getting them into this mess (Myrkul casually keeping it to himself for a little while at least that he’s EQUALLY to blame) and shaking their heads at Banes ongoing bullshit around the Dales)

Not exactly a deep dive on my end, but:

The Dead Three:

(Well we know Bhaal was presumably dodging child support to his collection of ten year olds at the time, since a lot of them should've been back in Baldur's Gate).

Are honoured and their worship is legal so long as it's kept discreet and within agreed upon boundaries, as ever. Waterdeep is the most tolerant city around.

Marpenoth 15 in Waterdeep is Gods' Day:

This holiday observes the anniversary of the end of the Godswar in 1358 DR, when the gods of Faerûn returned to the heavens. Private shrines are brought out into the open, and many people wear holy symbols of their favoured deities. [...] At night this holiday becomes solemn and serious [...] The Griffon Cavalry sets up an immense bonfire at the peak of Mount Waterdeep, honouring the fallen and the risen gods Myrkul, Cyric, Kelemvor, Mystra, Helm, and Ao who appeared here. - Waterdeep: Dragon's Heist

(As Myrkul also killed a lot of people it's also unofficial 'be nice to the guards and watch because a lot of them died back there.' He's still a god so he still gets put up with though.)

Evil deities are legal to worship, but should be kept discreet. Cyric, Shar and Malar are quietly worshipped here, so Bhaal absolutely isn't out of the picture and by extension neither is Bane, and they would apparently have backrooms and private basement rooms where they conduct their business and worship. We have heard from Ed Greenwood on the matter regarding a guy who had a question about a Banite PC in Waterdeep in his game:

'Bane expects [his priests] to publicly bear witness to his faith, so as to impress (or cow) others. Bane is the god of tyranny, remember? Yes, that can lead to problems. Which is why so many priests of evil deities cast spells indoors, at night, in cellars or other hidden places. If they don't want their activities to be traced to their homes, they often rent a room in a bad inn or upstairs room at a Dock Ward tavern, or even take a room at a good festhall, send the pleasure-lass out, bar the door behind her, and get to work. [Or in this specific case tie her to the bed and have her terrified for her life and safety, which pleases Bane as an offering on domination and fear].''

---

Drow:

It's not illegal to be a drow in Waterdeep. It's not necessarily a good idea to be a drow in Waterdeep, either. There is a small drow presence with the recent wave of Eilistraeean pilgrims/immigrants who were allowed in and able to build a grove-temple to their goddess in the North Ward thanks to Harper benefactors. Bregan D'aerthe has a front operating there, but these drow are in disguise as surfacers for their wellbeing/ease of movement rather than operating in the open.

Some more word of god on the topic:

Many Waterdhavians [upon encountering a drow] would scream and run to find the Watch; Watch officers might draw weapons and use them overhastily if the drow actively offered violence to anyone nearby, but Lords and senior courtiers and Guard officers will almost always try to maintain Waterdeep's "open trading" reputation

...drow are too much feared and hated to be openly welcome. Waterdeep is a human-dominated cosmopolitan trading city where coins rule and half the creatures of Faerûn rub shoulders; its tolerance is legendary and a foundation-stone of its mercantile success - - yet even in the City of Splendors, most folk react with either unease or open dislike to drow.

How it was historically (which flavours reception in the modern day:

In Waterdeep, circa 1372 DR, drow are NOT welcome in Waterdeep, and are likely to be detained (arrested or fought by the City Watch or the City Guard, and reported/fled from by other citizens, except perhaps adventurers or young nobles wanting adventure or members of the Watchful Order, who may well challenge them) on sight. This "general rule" is tempered with increasing hesitation at this time because of what THO alluded to in her earlier post: the increasingly-popular habit of some nobles and other wealthy Waterdhavians who can afford good disguises or appearance-altering magic, to "play at being drow" because of the spread of stories about the drow that make some see them as "alluring evil"="cool" bad guys. By 1372, there have been several well-publicized incidents of powerful noble lords being mistreated by the Watch or Guard due to being mistaken for drow, and of those lords complaining that they have every right to walk "their city" looking like whatever they choose to look like, and the onus is on public defenders and lawkeepers to make sure of their foes/targets before aggressively attacking anyone. Most REAL drow know all about how they'll be treated in any human-dominated (or elven, or dwarven, or gnome, or for that matter illithid) surface city, and don't visit such places without disguises that make them look like something else (human clergy of dark gods like Shar and Loviatar are favorite disguises). [...] Drow are similarly unwelcome in Neverwinter (though note the lack of a city wall and gates circa 1372 DR to stop most unwanted visitors except on the doorsteps of individual establishments), and in most parts of Baldur's Gate (though that city's cleanliness, order, and respect for law go downhill swiftly as it expands, in the late 1370s and thereafter). To reiterate: drow know this, and generally travel the surface world in disguise, sometimes among large groups of coster/caravan guards they serve in, making use of full-helm uniforms and cosmetics.

[cheerfullycatholic]

One Illinois family is celebrating a very special homecoming this week, as six month old Nyla Haywood was discharged from the hospital after her early birth at just 22 weeks. Considered a “micro-preemie” due to her small size and extremely early arrival, Nyla weighed just one pound, one ounce and was 11 inches at birth, after her mother, Nakeya Haywood, went into labor prematurely due to pre-eclampsia.  “I was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia [at] 22 weeks, and from there, things just didn’t necessarily get better. And we had to make that tough decision that we had to deliver her. That was pretty much the beginning of the story,” Haywood told Fox 32. “It was a very scary time.” A medical team of at least 15 people at Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox was dedicated to Nyla immediately following her birth. “Nyla’s eyes were still fused. Her tiny lungs were under-developed, and her skin was thin and translucent,” explained NICU Medical Director Dr. Corryn Greenwood. Despite this, Nyla showed signs of being a fighter from the get-go. “She cried at birth. It was a little whimper, but it was a cry. Her heart remained over 100, which for us is where we wanted it to be,” said Dr. Mario Sanchez, a neonatologist at the hospital. “So she came off fighting right off the bat.” After nearly six months in the hospital, Nyla now weighs 10 pounds and is 21 inches long. She does have some residual scarring on her lungs and is being sent home with oxygen, but is otherwise healthy enough to go home with her family. Giving Nyla a warm sendoff was a group that has coined itself “Nyla Nation” – hospital staff, friends, and family who have rallied together to support Nyla throughout her hospital journey. “We have so many family, friends who are so excited, and they prayed for us and took care of us, and everyone’s ready to celebrate this little one, for sure,” Haywood said. “I’m just grateful that she’s here, she’s healthy and she’s doing amazing.”