#Tally is my super super super super best friend

[jorvikzelda]

Petition for SSO to add the horse name first word option "tall" so if/when they release a horse that looks like my BOTW/TOTK soul horse she can keep being named Tally

[six-improbable-things]

Me and the DM of Rook's campaign were talking about what I'm going to do character-wise when Rook gets kidnapped by Cpt. Wolf, and I came up with the idea of playing the captain whose ship they hire to chase Wolf down, and I'm more than a little in love with them now.

Meet Captain Kyron Valris!!

They're a tiefling hexblade warlock, and they're the only captain in Bon Largo (and maybe the world) brave/stupid/crazy/take-your-pick-of-adjective enough to accept a job to chase down the most feared pirate captain in the world. And not just chase her down but attempt to steal from her.

I love them dearly, and it's gonna be a lot of fun to play an eccentric little weirdo. Also to play a good character for once... Chaotic good, of course, but still, good.

Funnily enough, they're my second nonbinary purple tiefling warlock character... [*insert Dr. Doofenschmirtz two nickles meme*]

[valiantstarlights]

Which Hob Gadling Are You? Quiz

Instructions: Get a pen and paper (or open your notes app) to keep track of your answers and scores. Select one response and add +1 to your tally. At the end, the letter with the most number of tally marks is your result. There are 8 possible results, as there are 8 versions of Hob. Enjoy! 😊✨

--

1.) How well do you flirt?

Not sure. There's no one to flirt with. (A)

Fucking terrible. (G)

Not trying, not interested. (E)

Somewhat of a disaster, but I'd like to think there's hope for me. (B)

Not sure. I think I'm decent at it, but... (C)

I'm often not sure if I'm being flirted with, but if the person is my type, then I'll do my best to flirt back! (H)

I know what I'm doing, and hopefully it's my date tonight. ;) (F)

Honestly? I'm at a point in my life where I don't care if I'm good at flirting or not. (D)

2.) How much do you wanna fuck/get fucked by your date?

0% - Not right now. I have other priorities. (E)

25% - I'm not actively thinking about it, but if they're interested, then I'm game. (B and D)

50% - Why not? My date is super hot and I'm very interested in them. But if they're not in the mood, then that's fine, too. (H and C)

75% - Look, I'm making an Effort here. It would be nice if my date could show some interest. (G and A)

100% - OH HECK YEAH (F)

3.) Finish the sentence: "How..."

did you know that I'd still be here? (B)

long should I wait? (A)

did you know my name? (H)

wonderful to see you again. (D)

the hell did I fuck that up? (C)

rude! (G)

do you want me? ;) (F)

much longer until my order gets here? (E)

4.) Pick one word from the list:

Life (E)

Patience (A)

Change (F)

Courage (H)

Wonder (B)

Contentment (D)

Friendship (C)

Prosperity (G)

5.) Do you hate Shakespeare?

Ugh. Do we have to talk about him? I have more important things to worry about. (E)

I'm so glad you asked. Here, make yourself comfortable. I have a 6 hour presentation on why he sucks. (D)

I'd rather read a phonebook. (A)

I don't know who that is. (B)

(sighs) If I say no, will you leave me alone? (C)

THAT FUCKING BASTARD (G)

I watched one of his plays. Still think he's overrated, though. (F)

What's a shake spear? Is that a weapon or something? (H)

6.) How likely are you to say stupid shit?

Everything I say is stupid shit. (G)

Only when I'm drunk. (H)

I have no filter, so... (B)

I'd like to think I have learned not to be so careless. (E)

Fuck! I thought I had it! Apparently not. Gods motherfuck I'm never speaking again. (C)

I'm trying, okay? I really am. (F)

I said stupid shit once and I regret it until now. (A)

Very likely. Just wait and see. Any second now. (D)

--

YES OR NO QUESTIONS: If your answer is yes, +1 to the letter indicated.

7.) Do you believe in love at first sight? (H)

8.) Do you get excited over things/topics that others consider boring? (B)

9.) Are you content with the life you have right now? (G)

10.) Do you still feel hopeful, despite the horrors? (E)

11.) Are you always DTF (Down To Fight)? (F)

12.) Have you ever fallen in love with a friend? (C)

13.) Would you wait/Have you waited for hours for your friend/s to arrive? (A)

14.) Are you willing to wait however long it takes for the love of your life to appear in your life? (D)

--

15.) BONUS: Which is your favorite Hob?

1389 (H)

1489 (B)

1589 (G)

1689 (E)

1789 (F)

1889 (C)

1989 (A)

2022 (D)

--

RESULTS:

Mostly A's = 1989 Hob

Mostly B's = 1489 Hob

Mostly C's = 1889 Hob

Mostly D's = 2022 Hob

Mostly E's = 1689 Hob

Mostly F's = 1789 Hob

Mostly G's = 1589 Hob

Mostly H's = 1389 Hob

[arrowheadedbitch]

Okay, I've been discussing ideas about a PJO Psych crossover and it is now time to share my findings

Okay, so once upon a time Henry Spencer met a woman who when posing as a mortal went by the name Madeleine but she was actually a goddess, they had a kid, she was a minor goddess, so she was able to stay for a while, but eventually she left.

Yes, of COURSE Shawn thinks it's his Dad's fault

The goddess was Mnemosyne, the Greek goddess of MEMORY and the mother of the muses (works perfectly, right??!??!?!)

And Gus is his Satyr protector!!!

Henry does all the same training with Shawn to be a cop and such

Shawn gets his eidetic memory from his mother, the goddess of memory

I've also decided he gets taskmaster powers (can do anything he sees from memory) because that fucks hard

Shawn gets the record of fastest kid to get claimed as his mother officially claims him before he even leaves for camp

Here's her symbol by the way!

Anyway, when Shawn gets to camp, he's a total little shit

At first, the other campers think he's just not being claimed, depending on how you work the timeline here? Percy is pissed

Then Gus and Shawn explain that he actually got claimed before he even showed up (Percy vows to personally thank his godly parent for being an actually decent person)

So, they ask who it is, and Shawn WILL NOT TELL THEM

Why? Because it's funner that way!

They have an ongoing tally and betting pool of who his godly parent is, no one guesses it

He also keeps sneaking Mr D alcohol because it's funny and no one but Dionysus is happy about that

Gus is still his best friend that he drags into things, obv, they probably end up soul bound just like percy and grover

Juliet is a child of Athena

Lassie is a child of Ares and if your going by the show there's a super funny joke about how he looks exactly like Hephaestus but is the son of the guy he hates most, haha

Shawn KILLS at capture the flag

No one believes him when he says he doesn't have charm speak

Instead of becoming a SB Psychic, he ends up being this crime solving traveling cryptid (he's gotta keep moving bc monsters) (dont worry, he still visits camp pretty often and likes to drop by Santa Barbara to solve crimes and piss off his dad)

There was also a lengthy convo about each gods opinion of him of any of you wanna hear that

Shawn is the muse of doing weird shit

Also art lover shawn 🔛🔝, he's got plenty of muse talent, yall

Instead of pretending to be a psychic, he's pretending to NOT be muse adjacent

And now, a list of Gods people keep guessing for Shawn

Dionysus, Hermes, Athena, Aphrodite, Apollo, Hecate

And finally, gay people real???

As you can see, we mostly talked about Shawn lol

[bonefall]

post/734733274896809984/do-you-ever-worry-your-own-writing-might-come-off that makes sense. i was asking because i'm afraid of accidentally writing misogyny myself and i kind of admire what you do

Hmm... I wish I had better advice to give you on this front, but honestly, the only thing I can tell you is to consider the perspective of your female characters.

Women are people. They have thoughts and feelings of their own, so like... just let them have their own arcs. A lot of the worst misogyny in WC comes from the way that the writers just don't care about their girls (or, in the case of tall shadow, actually get undermined and forced to rewrite entire chapters), so they're not curious about their lives, or WHY they feel the way they do or what they want, or any direction for their character arcs.

Turtle Tail as an example. She'll often just end up feeling whatever Gray Wing's plot demands. She's gotta leave when Storm dumps him to make him feel lonely. She shows up again to love him in the next book. Lets her best friend Bumble get dragged back to Tom the Wifebeater, but is sad enough about her death to be "unreasonably angry" with Clear Sky, and then calms down and accept Gray Wing is right all along.

And then she dies, so he can have his very own fridge wife.

In this way, Turtle Tail's just being used to tell Gray Wing's story. They're not interested in why she would turn on Bumble, or god forbid any lingering negative feelings for how she didn't help her, or even resentment towards Clear Sky for killing her or Gray Wing for jumping to his defense. She isn't really going through her own character arc.

She does have personality traits of her own, don't misunderstand my criticism, but as a character she revolves around Gray Wing.

So, zoom out every now and then, and just ask yourself; "Whose story is being told by what I wrote? Do my female characters have goals, wants, and agency, or are they just supporting men? How do their choices impact the narrative?"

But that's already kinda assuming that you already have characters like Turtle Tail who DO have personalities and potential of their own. Here's some super simple and practical advice that helped me;

Tally the genders in your cast. How many are boys, how many are girls, how many are others?

And take stock of how many of those characters are just in the supporting cast, and compare that to the amount you have in the main cast.

If you have a significant imbalance, ESPECIALLY in the main cast, fire the Woman Beam.

It's a really simple trick to just write a male character, and then change its gender while keeping it the same. I promise women are really not fundamentally different from men lmao. You can consider how your in-universe gender roles affect them later, if you'd like, but when you're just starting to wean yourself off a "boy bias" this trick works like a charm.

Also you're not allowed to change the body type of any girl you Woman Beam because I said so. PLEASE allow your girls to have muscles, or be fat, or be old, or have lots of scars. Do NOT do what a cowardly Triple A studio does, where the women all have the same cute or sexy face and curvy body while they're standing next to dwarves, robots, and a gorilla.

Or this shit,

If you do this I will GET you. If you're ever possessed by the dark urge, you will see my face appear in the clouds like Mufasa himself to guide you away from the path of evil.

Anyway, you get better at just making characters girls to begin with as time goes on and you practice it. It's really not as big of a deal as your brain might think it is.

Take a legitimate interest in female characters and try not to disproportionately hit them with parental/romance plots as opposed to the male cast, and you'll be fine. Don't think of them as "SPECIAL WOMEN CHARACTERS" just make a character and then let her be a girl, occasionally checking your tally and doing some critical thinking about their use in the story.

(Also remember I'm not a professional or anything, I'm just trying to give advice)

[derangedanomaly]

Songs that I listen to while drawing the boys

(super random post- but I just thought I'd share this with ya lol. All of these songs fit them btw)

CHAOS:

Lana Del Rey: Diet Mountain Dew, Trash Magic, I want it all

Asteria: EYES ON ME, WHAT YOU WANT

Melanie Martinez: The Contortionist

6arelyhuman: Faster N Harder

DPR IAN: Don't Go Insane

Laurie Anderson: O Superman (ISTFG THIS FITS HIM SO MUCH)

Slowdive: When The Sun Hits

Lady Gaga: Heavy Metal Lover

Grimes: Genesis

Billie Eilish: What Was I Made For? (THIS ALSO FITS HIM SO MUCH)

Rihanna: Breaking Dishes, Disturbia

T-Pain: Take your shirt off

Chart: HEAVEN SAYS

Adele: Skyfall

Madonna: 4 Minutes

Bambee: Bumblebee

Elvis Presley: Can't help falling in love with you

NIGHTMARE:

Isabel LaRosa: Older

Mitski: Me and My Husband, Your best American Girl

Black Gryph0n: INSANE

Axie: I'M SANE, TERRIBLE THINGS

Insane Clown Posse: Halls Of Illusions

Beetlejuice musical: That Beautiful Sound

Namika: je ne parle pas français

Lana Del Rey: Once Upon A Dream

Dev: Monster

Slipknot: People = Shit

Lydia the Bard: Cover of TOXIC (Sadder and darker)

Heathers, the musical: Meant To Be Yours

Ayesha Erotica: Shitzu, Where you at, Hands Up!

Adele: Million Years Ago

Lady Gaga: Bad Romance

Theory of a Deadman: Bitch came back

ACE:

MCCAFFERTY: BeachBoy

Cigarettes After Sex: Cry, Sunsetz, Crush, Sweet, Apocalypse, K

Mitski: Lonesome Love, First Love / Late Spring

Mindless Self Indulgence: Lights Out

JT Music: Anytime You Smile

Miike Snow: Genghis Khan

Charlie XCX: Speed Drive

Tom Cardy: Red Flags

Connie Francis: Stupid Cupid

Arctic Monkeys: I wanna be yours

Jamie Foxx: Fly Love

Måneskin: GOSSIP

Melanie Martinez: Evil

Beyoncé: Beautiful Liar

Wheatus: Teenage Dirtbag

Queen: Bohemian Rhapsody

J. Cole: She knows

TV Girl: Lovers Rock

BLADE:

Lustra: Scotty Doesn't Know

Rammstein: Sonne

Tally Hall: Two Wuv

Mother Mother: Problems

6arelyhuman: Hands Up!, GMFU

Elvis Presley: Jailhouse Rock

Kreayshawn: Go Hard (La.La.La)

Toy-Box: E.T.

Boygenius: Not Strong Enough

4 Door Theater: Porcelain Face

Britney Manson: FASHION

Psychosticks: I can only count to four

Ryan Gosling: I'm just Ken (he's a fan 😔✋)

Tom Cardy: H.Y.C.Y.BH, Best Friends

Owl City: Good time

Dazey and the Scouts: Wet

TED:

Melanie Martinez: EVIL, Cake

Cavetown: Boys Will Be Bugs, Devil Town

Faouzia: Born Without a Heart

Maddie Zahm: Fat Funny Friend

Soddiken: Hansel

Mitsuki: Abbey

The Dresden Dolls: My Alcoholic Friends

Radiohead: Creep

Sarah Cothran: As The World Caves In

Skillet: Monster

TOOPOOR: Crazy Girls

Lady Gaga: Government Hooker (I just can't help but imagine the man's voice as Ted's- 😭)

6arelyhuman: XOXO

Insane Clown Posse: Halls of Illusion

Why did I actually spend my time doing this? 💀

[short-and-ugly]

If you're reading this I've finished my TWO WHOLE playlists!

Here's the infinitely superior DROPBOX link to the two:

The caveat to these being that you would need to download the playlists yourself to get the fullest experiences. But like. It's totally worth it. Prommy. Super duper prommy. Please.

Here are the timestamps for the longer versions:

SKOODGE:

00:00 - Losers by The Cardigans 3:18 - Happy/Ugly by Car Seat Headrest 6:16 - Sweet Talk by Saint Motel 9:28 - Step On Me by The Cardigans 13:17 - You name it, I’ll eat it (Bring The Hate Like An 808) by Talkshow Boy 15:02 - Jenny by The Orion Experience 18:19 - I Bet On Losing Dogs by Mitski 21:09 - Will You Wanna Live If You Can't Torture Me Every Day? by Star Kid 23:15 - Ruin My Life by Lusha 25:28 - Best Person You Know by Lowertown 30:18 - Tainted by MOP 32:32 - Strange by Celeste 36:47 - Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now by The Smiths 40:23 - I Feel A Little Bit Ugly Today by Su Lee 42:05 - 9 to 5 by Mustard Service 44:29 - Soldier In A Box by Hot Hot Heat 47:40 - Put Me To Work by Big Data 51:59 - Misery Meat by Sodikken 53:04 - Salivating by Sir Chloe 55:31 - Wars of Expansion by Space Cadets 59:52 - Normalize by Mother Mother 1:04:12 - I Don't Wanna Die by The Unicorns 1:06:15 - What Do They Know? by Mindless Self Indulgence 1:09:24 - Don't Bury Me I'm Not Dead Yet by The Riverboat Gambles 1:12:11 - Karma by AJR 1:16:18 - All I Need by Radiohead 1:20:04 - Everyone Adores You (At Least I Do) by Matt Maltese 1:23:26 - Death, Thrice Drawn by The Scary Jokes 1:26:26 - Side Character by Cloudfodder 1:29:42 - Honeysuckle by Pom Pom Squad 1:33:01 - Love's Caress by Moon Visions 1:37:52 - Never Ever Getting Rid Of Me from Waitress The Musical

PUNCHBUGGY/ZASR:

00:00 - Outside With The Cuties by Frankie Cosmos 02:33 - No Tomorrow by Le Matos (feat. PAWWS) 07:03 - 16 Mirrors by Alex G 08:30 - Ugly by Huxlee 11:05 - Glue by PHF 14:21 - Errasuriz by Kiltro 19:30 - Thermodynamic Lawyer, Esq, G.F.D. by Will Wood 23:06 - Drink To Me by Pleasantries 26:02 - Bubblegum by Matt Correa 29:37 - Second Best by Laufey 33:01 - I Hate Everyone But You by Elita 35:53 - Animal by Neon Trees 39:25 - Scroll Patrol by Rinse & Repeat 42:37 - From The Gallows by I Don't Know How But They Found Me 45:20 - Love Me Too Much by Carseat Headrest 48:41 - Ofelia by Kiltro 52:59 - Caroline Please Kill Me by Coma Cinema 54:50 - Love Me Dead by Ludo 59:11 - Cinnamon Bone by Eliza Rickman 1:02:18 - the perfect pair by beabadoobee 1:05:15 - Twilight by Boa 1:09:03 - Cellophane by Pom Pom Squad 1:12:36 - Oh My God by Bats 1:16:30 - You'd Like Me More by Axel & Lolo 1:20:13 - I Don't Know by You The Marias 1:23:43 - Break My Stride by Mattew Wilder 1:26:45 - Adorable by Artist Vs Poet 1:30:17 - My Ugly Mouth by Meg & Dia 1:33:52 - passing papers by egg 1:36:43 - I Was An Island by John-Allison Weiss 1:39:31 - Best Friend by Laufey 1:42:17 - Turn by The Wombats 1:45:42 - Best Friend by The Moving Stills 1:48:36 - Two Time by Jack Stauber 1:51:00 - Healing by Oh Honey 1:54:25 - Grew On Me by Chonny Jash 1:58:56 - milksugar by crushed 2:04:35 - Talk Like That by Wallows 2:06:36 - That Thing That You Do by Cody Fry 2:10:12 - I Think I Love You by The Patridge Family 2:13:04 - If I'm Being Honest by Dodie 2:17:45 - The Whole World And You by Tally Hall 2:19:31 - Valentine by Laufey 2:22:17 - Little Person by Matt Maltese 2:25:39 - Pink In The Night by Mitski 2:27:59 - Red With Love by Pom Pom Squad 2:30:28 - Poisoning Pigeons In The Park by Tom Leher 2:32:33 - Pretty Ugly by Bumblefoot 2:34:42 - End Of The by Earth Marina 2:38:24 - Deep Green by Marika Hackman

... but if you don't wanna go through the commitment of listening to these, here's the youtube versions:

... and HERE'S THE FULL YOUTUBE PLAYLISTS!!! HAHAHAHAHAA GOTCHA!!! YOU DUMB IDIOT!!!!!! YOU'RE IN IT DEEP NOW!!!! GO LISTEN TO IT. GO LISTEN!!!!!!!!! PLEASE. ALL TWO HUNDRED OF THE SONGS ON EACH OF THEM. NOW.

[haterbracket]

A BRACKET FOR THE HATERS

Sick of polls about heroes and duos? Want a poll about guys who hate? Guys who loathe? Guys whose raison d'être is just to suck, like, so bad?

INTRODUCING: the Hater Bracket, a single-elimination competition to find the Biggest Hater in All of Fiction. Your Iagos, your Yzmas, your Syndromes, your GLaDOSes: characters whose primary motivation is a grudge against one specific person or group for some (perceived) slight—the pettier the better.

Entrants will be judged on:

Proactivity: ok, so they're a hater, but what do they do about it? Anyone can hate, but a true hater puts everything they have into their effort to screw over the person who's wronged them.

Pettiness: how "wronged" has this person been, anyways? Did the object of their hatred kill their entire family in front of them, or were they just less than perfectly 100% accommodating once and the hater has literally never gotten over it?

Successfulness: is a successful hater or a failed one a "better" hater? You be the judge!

Overall panache: The "x factor" of haterness. Did they hate with swag? Were they super eloquent in their monologue that basically boiled down to "oh my god I hate that guy SO MUCH"? If not, was it at least funny to watch them fume incoherently?

Submit a hater here. Nominations are closed; you can still submit through the ask box, but we reserve the right to point and laugh at you if you do.

FAQ below the cut.

FAQ:

How do I navigate this blog? With the tags! #mod post - housekeeping stuff #hater polls - bracket polls #hatemail - asks #haterprop - propaganda (asks and reblogs) #hb off topic - anything that isn’t housekeeping or a poll

How will competitors be selected? Mod discretion. Note that we will be more likely to select haters that we either know, have friends who know, or that come with a good explanation of their hater-ness (that is verifiable by google) in the submission. Stuffing the ballot box, as it were, will have zero effect, since the bracket is not selected by number of nominations.

How many characters can I submit? As many as you like.

Can I submit real people? No. This is a bracket for fictional haters. Real-life haters are way less cool and fun anyways.

Note: Real people who have been sufficiently fictionalized (either in one piece of media, or multiple), and real people who play a public “persona” that is separated from their actual private life & beliefs do qualify for the purposes of this tournament.

What about [MCYT/celebrities/other thing where people play ambiguously fictionalized versions of themselves]? Sure, but if we think it isn’t sufficiently fictionalized, we won't include it.

What about...? Submit it if you want! In the worst case I simply won't include it, in the best case I will.

How many submissions has _ gotten? We will release a full tally of submissions after nominations close. We are working on tallying up all the submissions! We will post a full list once we’ve cleaned it up sufficiently. Until then, we will not be answering any questions about how many nominations any particular character has gotten.

[shepherds-of-haven]

If there was a popularity contest for the ROs, who would win? I think the obvious answer is Blade, with Chase as a runner up, but I think 3rd place is a bit of a toss up. My moneys on Lavinet… for completely unbiased reasons

Do you mean a popularity contest among us, the readers and fans, or a popularity contest among the Shepherds themselves? 😂 If you meant the first part, we did hold a popularity bracket a few months ago (results are here: Blade took first, with Trouble second) and a poll about romance options here, though a bracket is probably not the best kind of way to determine second and third places, etc., due to the nature of the random pairups (like Lavinet might have made it farther if she hadn't been paired with Trouble right off the bat, etc.). So in the future we probably will hold an actual "who's your favorite" poll, just to see!

If you're talking about a popularity contest within the Order itself, I think the results might surprise you! Who's considered most "popular" among the recruits tends to be a combination of who actively socializes with and spends time with them the most (i.e. who's friendly towards the most rank and file), which definitively isn't Blade (I actually talk about their various fanclubs and popularity among their admirers here, and discuss why Blade and the others lost some here).

If the Shepherds were to hold a popularity contest right now (Chapter 9 or thereabouts) with people voting for their favorite Shepherd, it would probably shake out to:

Trouble (universally popular and well-liked among the recruits because he casually hangs out as one of them quite often)

Briony (friendly and cheerful, makes a real effort to connect with people, learn their names and details about their lives (she has amnesia so she doesn't have any preexisting relationships, she's trying to fill up her life with new friendships fast), plus she can show you how to choke someone out with your thighs and that's awesome)

Chase (the vast majority of the people voting for him are fans/admirers who are feral about him, even though he doesn't mingle all that much with the rank and file, though he tosses them a wink or makes playful conversation with them just enough to fuel their ardor)

Ayla (goes drinking with the recruits and socializes with them regularly, arm-wrestling with them and mingling with them easily, etc. Sometimes she randomly pulls away or gets snippy if you rub her the wrong way, though, which is why she lost some points)

Red (he would likely be much higher if he wasn't rushing around with his nose in a book muttering to himself all the time--he's much more popular with the Circle Mages than he is with recruits who have joined up recently, simply because he doesn't really take the time anymore to meet new people or make friends, he has enough of those and now he just wants to be left alone to work on his own projects 😂)

Tallys (her beauty and mystique make her very alluring, so she has a strong backing of admirers and fans, but not super close friends outside of the inner circle; many find her a bit intimidating or hard to approach, so they admire her from afar)

Halek (similarly to Tallys, his hotness and laidback demeanor (plus his quiet celebrity status as sol) earn him a lot of admirers and fans, even if he doesn't really interact directly with them. People are really into guys who don't bother them and just do their own thing... they read his lackadaisical attitude about his position in life as humility and it feels like a gift and a blessing when the Halek Prince drifts by and idly asks to bum a smoke off of you lmao)

Shery (she has an incredibly strong backing of quiet fans and admirers, though nowhere near as much as the people who love Trouble--a magically-augmented sniper who has a penchant for boxing shirtless in the courtyard and remaining totally oblivious to people who are sneaking a peek from a window--or Briony, who can punch through walls. Fans of Shery are like... the hipsters of the Order lol they pride themselves on recognizing her awesomeness when it'd be easy to be distracted by the flash and drama of the others!)

Blade (he is pretty much universally feared, respected, and admired by the people in the Order, almost to the level of awe and reverent hero-worship... but because he never directly interacts with like 95% of them and treats them as subordinates, I can't see that they would all vote for him as their "favorite" Shepherd in a contest like this, not when they interact with many of the others on a daily basis and are actual friends with some of them! He may have the biggest share of non-romantic fans and admirers just on a general level, but the ratio of the ones who would actually vote for him are quite low because he's so aloof that they sometimes wonder if he's even human lol. Also, sometimes he terrifies them, like how he chewed out the guards for slacking off on his second interlude. It'd be like asking you to vote in a popularity contest between your close personal friend, a bunch of coworkers, and then your boss lol)

Lavinet (as of Chapter 8ish, her popularity among the Shepherds is still quite low. She is the latest major companion to join the inner circle, and on top of that, many recruits dislike or distrust her due to her status as a noble, assuming that this is a kind of PR stunt and she's going to quit as soon as the work gets too hard for her pampered self, or they outright resent her because they don't like the nobility in general (hard to blame them). However, give her some time, because after she starts really proving herself to the ranks by diligently and uncomplainingly doing her work and pulling off some impressive missions, and with a healthy dose of her patented, effortless charm and social grace, and feelings towards her are going to shift to become more positive... Given enough time, I believe her popularity and admirers would eventually rival that of Chase, Briony, and Trouble's, easily putting her in the top 3!)

Riel (he makes absolutely no effort to interact with any recruit in a way that would make him popular, lol. The majority of them know him as "avoid him at all costs because he'll rope you into doing manual labor for him" or "by God, do not drop any crates near his office because you'll be able to see his scathing, baleful look of reproach through the walls" so yeah, it's hard to see many people voting for him except for the quiet handful who are crushing on him hard)

Mimir (most recruits: who? because she lives outside in her tent, the majority of people don't even realize that she's joined the Order--I don't think she's even like an official officer, I think she just lives there now and gets fed lmao)

However, also keep in mind that these results are for a "who would people cast a single vote for if forced to choose their favorite Shepherd" contest. It's not exactly the same as, say, "who has the most admirers, period" or "who receives the most anonymous love letters"? Those numbers shake out to be more even... One might even argue that remaining aloof from the rank and file would have an inverse effect, in that it's easier to secretly admire someone from afar in a way that develops into sappy love-letter-type feelings, because you can project a kind of fantasy onto them, rather than having to outright vote for them as your "favorite" (while admitting you have almost no direct interaction with them). So if the question is, "who receives the most love letters?" I would say it's:

Blade - Trouble - Tallys - Chase - Red - Briony - Lavinet

Shery - Ayla - Halek

Riel (and only because people who truly admire him and have any inkling of his personality are terrified that he'd be able to figure out who sent him a love letter based on, like, the quality of their ink or something like that)

Woof, sorry for the long, rambling, overdetailed explanation, lmao... Hopefully that all makes sense!

[tabithatwo]

Do you think Jackie is autistic? She has alot of autistic traits and some are even accepted by the fandom. There's a tag for her on Ao3

this is a really interesting question for me. i'm sort of going to give my opinion in a round about way because its very bound up in who i am, so bare with me. i wouldn't feel equipped to answer this question if i didn't relate very heavily to jackie. part of my yj love started just from how seen i felt by jackie's character.

i was captain of a girls sports team, i was so stupidly lesbian, i had the on a boys sports team boyfriend who i didn't like at all, my home life wasn't like hers in many ways but my mother was also an addict and generally not nice lady lol, i tried my best to be as nice as i could to everyone, and surface level i was liked in a homecoming princess type way, but i had very few super close friends. i often got the "wow you're actually nice" or "i assumed you were a bitch" comments from people i'd never spoken to before and i had no idea why or how to prove that i was genuine. jackie gets accused of being "fake nice" to "manipulate people" a lot, but we really don't see her doing any manipulating or get any evidence that she doesn't mean the nice things she says and does.

i heavily relate to that and as i've gotten older i've realized that people often mistake the sense that something is off with fake kindness. i think there are a few reasons that jackie is treated the way she is, both by the other girls at the end of her life and by viewers, but it would take like...an extensive essay to get into the nuance of them lol, so i'll just stick with this:

i think being neurodivergent gets you the treatment that jackie gets a lot of the time. i'm EXTREMELY adhd, like really blow the assessment scores all the way up adhd lmao it impacts my life heavily, and i wasn't diagnosed until my twenties. i also score high on the autism screener and fit the criteria, but i have never/will never seek any formal diagnosis there just out of personal preference. all that to say, i relate heavily to jackie taylor, i think the girl is some kinda neurodivergent, and i think headcanoning characters as autistic makes total sense when the evidence tallies up lol.

the thing is, so many characters are lesbian-coded or adhd-coded or autisim-coded, because so many people don't know that they are those things. i knew i liked women from an early age, but i had the comphet of thinking i liked men also. so i didn't know i was a lesbian until i was 24. i didn't know i had adhd until i was 25. i didn't know i was (probably) autistic until 26. we don't have to know the words for the things we feel and do to embody them or to see them in others or to write them into characters. does that make sense?

anyway, if you think jackie taylor is autisic i love that and i can't say i disagree. that's my long-winded answer!

[iminhiraeth]

Limoreau Fic Ideas

because I have a terrible case of brainrot, I’m going to be listing all my fic ideas that I may or may not one day do. Who knows! But I figured I could share the brain thoughts in case somebody else needs a spark of inspiration :]

And Lmk if I should do more!! I’d absolutely be down to, but this is just a lil test of interest for neow. (Would also 100% be open with getting asks for blurbs like this on certain AU’s or concepts :])

Supernatural AU

Instead of 2 brothers on the road hunting the supernatural it’s Marie and Jordan, who are legacies of their monster hunter parents and are having to work together after their parents gave them an assignment before suddenly disappearing. Bonus points if Marie is actually a vampire and has to keep it under wraps, or Marie was turned into a vampire the same night Jordan was turned into a werewolf because the two of them were way too brave and confident they could handle a hunt on their own at the age of like. 8 or 9. Caused a lot of tension ofc because their families are HUNTERS !! Could be with super powers still except those with powers are all hunters and it’s like. A semi underground society that’s like idk. Men in black type of deal.

AU with boxer!Jordan

This one I imagine less as professional boxing and more as a sort of fight club. Everyone meets at a location that’s given only a day prior so they don’t get caught bc this shit is illegal, and Marie is dragged out to one by Emma bc Sam sometimes participates to blow off some steam. Marie ends up being the one who makes sure Jordan is alright after fights bc! I also think they’re only allowed to be in their fem form for the fights. (Due to make form being invulnerable to attacks.) Also sort of secret society but majority students in God U find out about it if the circles your in deem you worthy. (Aka you won’t snitch.) Jordan probably really gets a kick out of it too because they don’t have to be perfect in that space, and fighting just gives them some time to not have to think about anything else. Their parents were likely very strict and although God U does have public training n shit for crime fighting students, it could be that there’s just a lot less rules for these fights n’ nobody is nitpicking their form so they don’t have to worry about looking hero worthy. Just some college kids fighting underground, and maybe there’s a thing about there being an after party that usually turn out to be the best parties on campus. 100% just an excuse to have Marie patching up Jordan n being all hot n bothered over how they look in a fight. Bonus points if Jordan starts training Marie too and she starts signing up for fights.

Camp Counselors AU

This one explains itself honestly. Limoreau being rival camp counselors and always putting their teams against each other or some shit. They have a tally of their wins and have some sort of bet going on. After like their first year every other counselor was like why don’t you two just fuck already we’re tired of watching you flirt. Bonus points if it’s them reuniting after having gone to that camp when they were kids n even then we’re like. SERIOUS rivals. They could not get along for the life of them, but maybe one of them moved n they stood in the parking lot that year wanting to hug but not knowing if they were even friendly enough for that. They miss each other, much to their surprise, but then like idk 4-5 years later they coincidentally (Jordan for nostalgia?? Or bc their friends were like we should do something random for the summer… N maybe Marie because Annabeth wanted to go to the same camp for the summer.) both chose to come back to be counselors n when their friends try to introduce them they’re like we know each other already. (Likely Cate, Andre, Luke with Jordan and Marie with Emma and Sam??) Their homies then bear witness to the most sexually charged banter they have ever seen n are like you two… hate each other?? Are you sure?

Pirate/Siren AU

Pirate Jordan….. Siren Marie….. Froths at the mouth. That’s it, that’s the AU. I have no further thoughts other than Jordan washing up on fantasy island n Marie is laying there sunbathing next to them all oh ur awake!! Jordan short existential crisis of being attracted to a fish n then being relieved when Marie can change into a purely human form with small differences. (Sharper teeth and nails, a pointed tongue, a little more cat-like pupils, and a sort of strange gait to the way she walks.)

Alternatively, for Pirate/Siren, it could also be Pirate/Succubus

Marie ending up separated from her family after landing in human territory, Eek! Maybe b/c they’re like.. fantasy land royalty and we’re trying to strike a deal with this part of human land but then BAM betrayal, and as they’re fleeing Marie somehow gets pulled apart from them n their like find ur way back!! We’ll send Emma to come help you!! Jordan on the other hand is in search for a treasure that’s located in fantasy creature territory, and is in search of another crewmate after one jumped board. Marie gets rejected at first, since Jordan does not recognize her to be a succubus at first bc maybe… she has some magical amulet from her parents that blocks that perception of her for her own safety. Nor do they recognize her as royalty b/c I think it’d be fun if Marie was sort of? A veiled princess, nobody truly knows what she looks like but they’ve heard stories of what power she inherited. (Thinking that royal lineages are the ones who are supes.) Anyways, maybe that areas guards see her n recognize something she’s wearing so she’s like fuck it I’m jumping on board anyways Idc if you rejected me, n maybe it’s Cate who’s like ur in, I don’t know why Jordan was being an ass. Fairy!Emma joins them too either right after seeing Marie get on board or she was the one to be like FUCK WE HAVE NO OTHER OPTION JUST HOP IN !!

Bonus points if Jordan and Marie save each other at least once, and there’s cute moments of Marie showing Jordan places that are off their map (magic areas with like, cute little fantasy animals n just beautiful scenery bc I love that shit.) Marie basically on the run with Emma, maybe there’s also a part of the plot line where Marie has to deliver something to some magical beast or she was just tired! Of being holed up in that kingdoms castle just bc of her powers. Honestly could end with them reaching the place n Marie n Jordan are like strange that this is the same place I was going. N then they keep walking on the same path n their like are we… going to the same place right now. Edit: Forgot to add that Jordan would also probably come from a royal line, along with Cate, Andre, Luke and Sam! (Luke probably abandoning his position as king for some reason that could be adjacent to the whole situation with The Woods where instead of a virus being created it was just. An experimentation on Sam to try and see if they could come up with what essentially would be Compound V)

Post-Apocalypse AU

You can guess how majority of this goes. Could be that Compound V was made a lot earlier but somehow mutated and not only infected Supes, but also infected humans, which made them into zombies. Supes powers are dwindled down exponentially but they’re still a lot more enhanced in comparison to human zombies. Maybe Marie is on her own and finally thinking she’s reached the end of her line but then Andre comes in n is like hey!! Come with me lol I have a group n you seem cool. Andre explains to her that they’ve been on the search for a safe-haven they’ve been hearing about, and Marie is absolutely wowed bc she didn’t know any talk of that. Jordan is obviously irritated bc they’re like Marie is just body to protect and another mouth to feed W’s he’ll just slow them down blah blah blah. The usual Jordan looking out for themself first and foremost, but veiling it as a group thing. (Thinking it could be because they lost Luke n Brink n they just. Can’t take another loss like that, n it sort of feels like they’re just trying to fill a gap if they let Marie in. And they’d rather not stick their neck out for some stranger.)

Journey is long, Marie and Jordan have their moments of bickering and absolutely not getting along at first but after they find each other awake at night, both awoken by nightmares, they have a conversation and make a truce. They still snap at each other a little because they’re learning how to navigate one another but they’re noticeably a lot more friendly n are able to make jokes with one another. The group is like DAMN FINALLY !! Got sick n tired of hearing them constantly arguing. (Can especially see this situation bringing out the differences in Marie and Jordan’s moral compass. I feel like when in this setting, Jordan is a lot more willing to let others die if it means keeping loved ones safe. A lot more violent and unhinged and generally just a little bit scary, whereas Marie is the one who tries to see the good in people first instead of second even now. She’s more empathetic to the fact these zombies were humans once too, which could attribute to maybe Marie losing Annabeth to the virus. (Thinking that in this AU, bc compound V was made earlier that Marie’s powers didn’t show up until the apocalypse had already begun and possibly her parents were just in the line of fire when she freaked on a group of zombies, n Annabeth ended up bit but didn’t say anything. Except she was extremely irritable, slowly grew more sick, and eventually Marie had to lock Annie up n tried so hard to keep her alive until she realized forcing Annabeth to live like this was just cruel.) Marie probably ends up learning her lesson after a group they encounter stabs them in the back after Marie had JUST advocated for them. Jordan initially is rlly mad n is all up in arms about it bc they told her! They fucking told her! But quickly comes around when they realize Marie is genuinely having a whole factory reset bc of this n it just. Changes her perception completely, n Jordan almost mourns the fact that Marie had to learn things the hard away n they can’t just. Protect her from everything all the time.

[white-flwrs]

12.11.24

today was easily one of my most favourite days of 2024. i'd gone to school early as i had a talk with the higher education office about the process of applying overseas and other things to note. my bestie had her h3 chem lesson (which im not enrolled in) but i snuck into the class with her anyways as it was just a free lesson and honestly, i think h3 chem is a lot more muggable than h3 maths.

the fun part begins now: my class had planned to go to sentosa for the evening so the girlies and i changed in school and left to go there. we played jet lag and i was grouped with my ex crush (the one that introduced me to NIKI). i lowkey think we won but we havent tallied the scores yet. but we were interacting perfectly well and normally with zero awkwardness which is wonderful.

we ended the game at around 6 and started the beach party. we had dinner first (i didn't cuz i was eating at home afterwards) and then took pics before the sun set completely. the men had brought a football to play with so the girls spent the time taking more pics of each other and with one of my friend's digicam. i can't possibly choose a favourite moment from yesterday but that whole bit was peak girlhood and super super memorable.

afterwards, we sat in a big circle and started playing burning bridges and truth or dare. compared to the start of the year, our class seems to have bonded sooo well and i love every one of us so much. well except one guy who asked a rather rude question to my bestie (i am gna END him). i chose truth at every single turn and i kept getting asked questions about my ex crush while he was right there. i suspect that he told a lot of my classmates that i confessed to him cuz they definitely knew something... oh and best part, my other ex crush (who also knows i used to like him) was also right there. surprisingly, it wasn't awkward at all and it felt like we were just reminiscing and bonding over it.

we left the beach at around 9 but all of us wanted to walk all the way back to VIVO instead of taking the train cuz the view is quite pretty. we were just playing gracie abrams (and at some point, buzz by NIKI) and singing along to it and the whole thing was soooo vibes. i genuinely love my class so much and am sososo lucky to call these people my classmates<3

i think today i realised that i no longer have feelings for the more recent ex crush. what a great way to end this year! i hope i maintain it this way so that i can bring my grades back up. heheeee well that's it for today. i'll probably write more details in my journal haha.

[tallymali]

Don’t know if anon or messages is the better place to ask this. I have friend that’s had uti for 2 months and you came to mind. Would you mind telling your Dr/clinic and the new and previous meds you’re taking? Did both meds work & the new is just cheaper or does new work better also? Thank You Tally!

Oh my god, I'm so glad you've sent me this because I wish more than anything that I'd known about this illness so early on in experiencing it. I have soooo much to say about this so you're absolutely welcome to DM me and relay any questions your friend has.

Okay first off I definitely recommend your friend joins the facebook support group: www.facebook.com/groups/ChronicUTISupportGroup/

Even if they dont use facebook, they should totally just make an account to join. I didn't use it either so I just made a blank profile with a fake name. As long as you answer the questions they send, the mods should let you in with no problem. I said something like "apologies for the blank account, I don't use social media but I was told this is the best place for support" and I was accepted super fast.

So, the clinic I go to is the Harley Street chronic UTI clinic. They don't have their own website but all their info is here: www.chronicutiinfo.com/treatment/conventional-medicine/uk-treatment/prof-malone-lee/

(That website is also an incredible source of info on chronic UTIs)

You have to go there in person for the initial appointment, which costs £250. First thing they do is take your pee and analyse it under a microscope to get a count for white blood cells and epithelial cells. Then you go to the doctor's office (there's a team of doctors that all follow the same protocol) and they discuss your symptoms, any previous medications you've tried, and any other health issues you have. They will almost always prescribe Hiprex and a long term high dose antibiotic. Hiprex is a urinary antiseptic, and it essentially reacts with the acid in your urine to create formaldehyde. Most of us take high dose vitamin C pills with the Hiprex to keep our urine as acidic as possible (high bacteria in the bladder can raise urine pH so we often need help in that department).

At this point they will give you the prescriptions and say you can take them to your NHS GP and see if they're willing to fill them on the NHS. My GP didn't want to get involved with prescribing long term antibiotics, but was happy to fill the Hiprex prescription. I now get my antibiotics from Pharmacierge. Their prices are cheaper than regular pharmacies and they work closely with the Harley Street team. My doctor now just sends my prescriptions straight over to them which cuts out a little admin for me.

After that initial appointment you have to have a follow up appointment every 3 months, which can be done in person or over teams. Either way, they cost £200. If you go in person they will do the pee analysis again, but it's not super necessary to do that to monitor your progress. Patient symptoms are the number one thing they use to decide your treatment. Basically as long as you're in pain, they will keep treating you (the NHS would NEVER). Not a huge amount happens at these check ups, but being on long term antibiotics is risky so they will ask you a million questions about any possible side effects, and switch your meds immediately if you're not tolerating them well. They also ask that you contact your GP and request a blood test 3 times a year to monitor your kidney and liver function. They might also ask for other tests depending on your symptoms and the specific antibiotics you're prescribed.

So yeah, the treatment kind of just boils down to: find the right meds. Take them until you feel completely normal again.

As for the specific meds, here's a list of their most prescribed antibiotics:

Cefalexin

Amoxicillin

Co-amoxiclav

Nitrofurantoin

Trimethoprim

Doxycycline

Oxytetracycline

Azithromycin

Clarithromycin

Pivmecillinam

Lymecycline

For me, before starting treatment under Harley Street, I'd been treated by the Urology Partnership. They prescribed me 3 months of full dose Nitrofurantoin (brand name Macrobid, super common UTI treatment) and I was almost symptomless during that 3 months, but when I finished the course the symptoms returned instantly at full throttle. From that point they would only prescribe me the half dose of Nitrofurantoin which was NOT cutting it. That was when I decided to move to Harley Street. Definitely would not recommend Urology Partnership to people dealing with a chronic UTI.

SO. I emailed the Harley Street clinic with an appointment request and they booked me in for the next week. At my appointment the doctor prescibed Trimethoprim, which is usually the first one they try with new patients. I took it for a little while, (around 2 weeks to a month, I don't remember exactly) but I was still getting symptoms that weren't letting up, so I emailed their clinical enquiries address to let them know. I'd mentioned at my inital appointment that Nitrofurantoin had worked in the past, so they took me off the Trimethoprim and prescribed the Nitro instead, with the note that I'd have to discuss it at my next appointment.

Basically, Nitro is a really good antibiotic but has some of the nastiest side effects and is also the most expensive. So at my follow up appointment my doctor said he was happy for me to stay on it to get my symptoms back under control but he'd like to switch to a less risky antibiotic in time.

So a few months later (June this year) I was switched to Cefalexin, which has some of the least side effects and is one of the cheapest. I've been doing really well on it and I'm really feeling optimistic.

This is all to say that treatment is easy in theory but requires a little trial and error to find the right meds, and then takes a metric fucktonne of patience. There's no set length of time for the treatment, but in general, the longer you've had the cUTI the longer it takes to cure. So if your friend does have cUTI and can get treatment quickly, it shouldn't take too long to cure.

I had mine for two years before starting with Harley Street, which is actually much shorter than the average patient. They frequently treat older patients who have been suffering for over 20 years. I've read a depressing number of posts in the facebook group from people in their 50s+ who have been able to live normally for the first time in their adult life thanks to this treatment.

Knowledge of this condition with the general public AND with doctors (even urologists?????) is basically nonexistent. The NHS and most healthcare systems will slap you with a wastebasket diagnosis (PBS/BPS/IC) and tell you to piss off and live in pain forever. I genuinely don't think I will ever be able to trust a doctor right off the bat to actually prioritise my health ever again in my life. The NHS is full of people who really do care and really do everything they can for their patients but as an institution it does not give one iota of a fuck about the wellbeing of the people it's supposed to care about. It's a big complicated systemic issue but there will never be a good excuse for turning away patients who need medical care to live normally.

If your friend or literally anyone reading this is interested in the more academic/scientific side of this whole thing, I'd definitely read Cystitis Unmasked by Professor Malone Lee. It's written for doctors so it's not an easy read for a layperson but GOD it's so eye opening and infuriating. Professor Malone Lee is the guy who created the Harley Street UTI clinic and I think he spent his entire life raging at all the pillars of incompetance that modern UTI testing and treatment is built upon.

[fangirlshrewt97]

A Dream Come True

You know, it’s been a minute since I wrote for RamBheem. And @umbrulla shared the most adorable/delightful drawing recently that really set my gears turning. 

I originally envisioned this as a comedic drabble, but predictably perhaps, it became super mushy instead. 

Warning: This is set in an A/B/O world, but its as family friendly as can be. Just didn’t want to blindside you...

Still, I hope you guys like it!

///

Ram hums as he pats Hathrini's back, a steady beat that turns into a caress when she finally burps. He smiles as he feels her small nose twitching against his neck as she rubs her petal-soft cheeks against his scent gland. Caressing upwards, Ram rubs his thumb in a circular motion in the back of her skull.

He shifts her, so she is laying in the middle of both his arms, parallel to each other as he gently curls and uncurls his arms. The motion makes her lips twitch in a smile as her eyes blink slowly, halfway to falling asleep. Ram coos as her when she reaches up to grab at his hair.

"I think that's enough playing, my little talli." Ram tells her. He places her in his lap, jiggling one knee to rock her. When she yawns, he presses the side of his index finger to the bottom of her chin, closing her mouth for her. She blinks at him.

Ram kisses her hair, a dense layer of raven curls that immediately make obvious who her father is.

His heart feels so full nowadays, especially in the moments when his daughter is in his hands. The past few months, no, years, before her birth had been an unending series of trials and tribulations, miseries and unforgivable actions. But against all odds, for reasons he cannot fathom, yet is deeply indebted to, Ram has somehow managed to get a happy life. With a mate who adores him, and a daughter he loves beyond comprehension, with friends who are loyal to them, and their cause.

Of course, the fight is ongoing, and now more than before, Ram knows it is imperative that India be free.

Hathrini deserves to grow up in a land that is not being crushed under the heels of foreigners who think they have a right to it.

The baby mewls, turning to rub her face against his thigh, face scrunching at the feel of cloth in the way. Ram huffs. "Come now, amma, you have already had your dinner. Go to sleep."

He shifts her so she is laying pressed to his chest where his shirt is unbuttoned. At the feeling of warm skin beneath her, the baby settles.

Ram cups the back of her head as he tilts his head back. He is sitting up against the wall of their hut, on their old mattress and worn pallet. The village is quiet as everyone retires for the night, and from the shifting curtains by the doorway that are swaying with the breeze, he can make out the night shift sentries heading to the lookout post.

Ram and Bheem had had several discussions about whether to set up their home in the village or a little away, with Bheem saying Ram would feel more comfortable with the privacy they could get. But Ram had argued that Bheem's duties would be best fulfilled if he was near his people, and ultimately won him over.

Speaking of Bheem… Ram opened his eyes when he heard the patter of familiar footsteps cross over the threshold.

As always, Ram's heart skipped a beat as he drank in the sight of his mate. When Ram had first met Akthar, something inside him had woken up, and as they had spent those weeks together, that…thing, it had yearned. Yearned for this man who he could never be with, for so many reasons, not the least being his life was not his to give, but one pledged to a cause he could not fail. And yet. He had been weak, and selfish, and let himself have one night.

When the stars align, one night is all it takes isn’t it?

After ascending to pleasures he had never known, everything had been ripped away by the cruelest of circumstances. When he was given the “honour” of punishing the Alpha who had dared to stand up against the Britishers, it was also with the idea of adding another layer of humiliation for Bheem, being forced to kneel for an Omega. Ram had bled that day, but could not shed any tears, because he did not deserve it. He had been the one inflicting the whip, what right did he have to pain?

After everything though, Bheem had accepted him anyways. Not because he was with his child. He had accepted Ram.

Bheem carefully stowed away all his weapons before unwinding his turban. He stripped out of the rest of his clothes, removing his waist sash, kurta, and dhoti, leaving him in his brown loin-cloth.

At times Ram would pinch himself discreetly, just to ensure this was his life, and not a fantasy his brain conjured up as he lay dangling from shackles, awaiting a noose that would send him and his child to doom. Other times, he felt such a tidal wave of gratitude and love crash into him, he thought he would drown. And many times, he would feel pride, because that was his mate. So strong and broad, with a heart the size of the world, and a light that would never let Ram feel the cold, or solitude ever again.

Ram met his gaze with a fond smile, head still tilted against the wall. Bheem's answering smile felt bright enough to mimic the sun.

"And how are the two halves of my heart doing ?" Bheem asked as he walked over to them.

"You say two halves, yet your eyes are only glued to one of us." Ram teased, pointing out how Bheem had not taken his eyes off of Hathrini since he entered, save the one smile.

Bheem shrugged dismissively, getting on the bed and crawling over to the pair. The gold of his nose ring reflected the oil lamp's light. "Did she behave?"

"She always does. When she isn't trying to copy her father's roaring at the top of her lungs." Ram said wryly.

Bheem's eyes seemed to twinkle as he stopped scant inches from them, instead opting to lean forward to look at their baby. "She's amazing."

Ram took in the profile of this tiger of a man. So much ferocity and protectiveness within him, but looking at him now, he could be confused for a little kid. Ram bit his lip to curb the urge to throw his arms around Bheem. Hathrini would not appreciate the gesture.

"With who her father is, you expected different?"

Bheem's gaze flicked up to him. "Her dame is pretty extraordinary too."

Ram's cheeks reddened as he looked away. Bheem chose the worst times to be suave and charming.

Bheem chuckled, a deep, happy sound that settled into Ram's bones. He reached out one hand to cover Ram's on Hathrini's back. He peeled Ram’s hand away, sliding his own around the baby to carefully lift her. Ram jerked forward, a growl escaping him as Bheem giggled playfully, holding Hathrini close to his face.

"Bheem! I nearly had her down!" Ram complained as Hathrini blinked her eyes open, legs kicking when she realized who was holding her.

"But I haven't played with her in so long Rama!" Bheem replied as he shifted to lie down with his head on Ram's thigh, lifting the baby up as far as his arms would stretch before bringing her back down, and then lifting her again.

Hathrini gurgled happily, fists waving as she reached out for Bheem, only to be lifted into the air before she could grab his beard. Ram's smile twitched, at once adoring the sight of his mate and child playing, as he sighed at all his efforts for bedtime going to waste.

"You played with her two nights ago." Ram pointed out.

"Exactly. So long!" Bheem exclaimed as he brought his daughter close enough to rub his nose against hers in a motion that made her laugh delightedly.

"You're a menace." Ram said as he starting carding his fingers through Bheem's hair, his free hand laying on Bheem's shoulder.

Bheem winked at him as he turned, bringing Hathrini down to also lay her against Ram's thigh. He gave her his index finger which she grasped tightly, immediately bringing it to her mouth to suck on. "Such a strong grip."

Ram hummed, rubbing two knuckles against Hathrini's cheek. "Just like you."

Bheem pulled the fist holding his finger to his lips, pressing a kiss to the back of it. Hathrini gazed up at him wide-eyed, like he was the wonderful thing she had seen. Ram could understand.

"Her eyes are just like yours though. I'm glad." Bheem said as he brushed his thumb against her cheek. Ram’s cheeks flamed.

He tightened his grip on Bheem's hair, and when he looked at his mate, his figure blurred from the tears that had gathered at the corner of his eyes.

Bheem smiled kindly at him. Looking at their child, he cooed. "Looks like I tired her out."

Hathrini was fast asleep, sucking her thumb as she lay sprawled between them. Ram made to get up, but Bheem pressed his hand to his thigh. "I'll do it."

Bheem rolled out of bed, standing to receive the baby from Ram, and turned to place her inside the saree-cradle they had tied  next to their bed. He gripped the saree about halfway down, gently shaking it so it started to rock on it's own. Once he were sure Hathrini was not going to wake up, he let go of the saree. He then went to the oil lamp, extinguishing the flame before finding his way back to their bed in the dark.

Ram waited where he was, eyes closed as the world around him fell dark. “Did you have dinner?”

Bheem hummed. “Yes, before we crossed the river. Gayathri Akka had packed some food for us.”

Ram nodded, covering his mouth as he yawned. He went to shift down the bed, only to instead find himself yanked towards Bheem.

“Bheem!” he hissed, but didn’t resist as his mate pulled him onto his lap.

Bheem made a noise of acknowledgement as he smushed his face into the curve of Ram's neck, inhaling deeply as arms wrapped around his waist in an iron grip. "Do you have any idea how good you smell right now?"

Ram sighed, wrapping his own arms around Bheem's shoulders as he buried his nose in Bheem's curls. "I smell like sweat and baby."

Bheem nipped at his jaw, making Ram jump. "You smell like campfire and sweet milk. Like dinner, and Hathrini, and us..."

"Bheema..." Ram whispered as Bheem held him closer.

"I want to roll in your scent, Bangaram. Let’s never be apart for so long again."

Ram squeezed his arms. Bheem’s trip had lasted two days. Missions would come that would keep them apart for longer. They both knew it was an impossible request, but Ram nevertheless wished he could grant it to his mate.  

In the dark, Bheem tilted his head upwards, and Ram obliged by running his nose down Bheem's forehead to kiss Bheem's lips, pausing only to nip at the tip of Bheem's nose.

It was a soft exchange of kisses, the heat and desire banked in the background as they just relished in the presence of their mate in their arms after their brief separation. At some point they tipped over, Bheem ending in the space between Ram's legs as he peppered his face with kisses. It could have been minutes, or it could have been hours. The moon still stood high in the sky.

Desire started to make itself known when Bheem rolled their hips together, Ram bit his lip, eyes squeezing shut as he swallowed a whine. "Bheema..."

Just then, a quiet mewl broke through the lover’s haze. Ram turned towards the cradle.

Bheem's sigh was more felt than heard as he lifted his face to look at Ram. With their eyes adjusted to the dark, Ram reached up to tuck a stray curl back into place. "I'm sorry..."

Bheem leaned down to nip at Ram's lips. "Nothing to be sorry about, Rama.”

Ram rolled out from under Bheem to pull their daughter out of the cradle, trying to quiet her cries. “Hungry so soon, bangaram?”

Hathrini’s cries were hiccuping as she rubbed her face against Ram’s chest. “Yes, yes, hold on.”

Bheem had left the bed to grab the oil lamp. Ram shot him a smile in thanks as he settled back against the wall, shrugging off the shirt before bringing her up his suckle. He frowned as she didn’t latch, even switching sides.

“She’s not hungry?” Bheem asked.

Ram shook his head. Hathrini started to cry again, and Bheem ruffled her hair. That got her to stop enough to look up at them with teary eyes. Bheem blinked before his face split into a wide grin.

“Is that it, amma? You want to sleep with us?”

“What?” Ram asked, confused. Bheem took Hathrini from Ram, instead laying her in the middle of the bed.

“Come on, Rama, she just wants to sleep with her parents.” Bheem said as he laid down, left arm tucked under his head as he patted her tummy with his right.

Sleep with… Ram’s brows straightened. It had been two days since Bheem had spent the night with them. She had missed their combined scents.

Feeling his heart simultaneously beating rapidly and melting in his chest, Ram laid down in a mirror image of Bheem.

Hathrini’s sobs quietened as she noticed both her parents bracketing her. Ram smiled at her. “Was that all,  my vajrala moota?” Ram asked her.

Hathrini babbled sleepily at him as her eyes fell shut. Bheem giggled on her other side, winking again at Ram.

“Looks like its bedtime for us all.” Ram shook his head in amusement as he settled more comfortably, pressing a kiss to his daughter’s hair. And after a second, he pressed one to Bheem’s as well.

"Good night Bheema."

"Good night my love."

///

@rambheem-is-real​ @budugu​ @bromance-minus-the-b​ @hissterical-nyaan​ @obsessedtoafault​ @hufhkbgg​ @yehsahihai​ @rorapostsbl​ @fangirl-from-discord​ @fadedscarlets​ @alikokinav​ @chaotic-moonlight​ @rambheemisgoated​ @rambheemlove​ @jaganmaya​ @burningsheepcrown​ @lovingperfectionwonderland​ @rosayounan​ @iam-siriuslysher-lokid​ @thewinchestergirl1208​ @dumdaradumdaradum​ @ronaldofandom​ @jjwolfesworld​ @jrntrtitties​ @kashpaymentsonly​ @jeonmahi1864​  @stanleykubricks​ @m3gs1mps4a​ @tulodiscord​ @teddybat24​ @sally-for-sally​ @ssabriel​ @jadebomani​ @stuckyandlarrystuff​ @veteran-fanperson​ @ohfuckoffpls​ @bheemaxrama​ @chaidrivenwhore​ @gifseafins​ @keyhunter04 @umbrulla​

[neverwritewhatyouknow]

I asked, you answered, and you shall receive!!!!!

Yesterday I said I could post something about how Casey wrote the character of Nora in the book and how she used Jewish stereotypes, but in a way that was just stereotypical to be stereotypical, and people seemed interested! So here it goes!

Let’s start with the name Nora Holleran.

Casey said that they purposely choose the name Nora because the character is Jewish. That wasn’t her original name, but it was changed when Casey made the character Jewish. Nora is in fact a Jewish name, pretty common, not as common as Rebecca, Rachel, Sarah, Hannah, or Leah. Old Testament names really transcend time if you wanna name your kid something super religious. Obviously these names aren’t just used by people who are Jewish, but if you wanted to name a character something that reflects their background, names that have that -ah sound at the end, hugely Jewish. Anyway, she picked a Jewish name because “Nora is Jewish” (said by Casey)

Next: Nora’s family. They’re known to be Jewish, rich from investing in Apple during the 90s, and from Vermont. Nora went home for Hanukkah (2019) which did shockingly overlap with Christmas and Christmas Eve, with Christmas Eve being the 3rd night and Christmas the 4th. So apparently Nora’s family REALLY celebrates if she’s gone for the full 8 nights. Nope, more like Casey needed her out of the way and figured Hanukkah was be best so let’s make her a Jew! Mazel Tov!

The biggest take away about Nora’s family, is that it really fits into that Rich Jew stereotype. It comes up because Nora said her parents would tell her to quit journalism and run away to a cabin in the woods and own a million LL Bean things and then June says the investing part. Casey purposely wrote her as a rich little Jewish girl. Because, reminder, Jews aren’t rich!!! We don’t have secret money powers!!! I (Jewish) grew up on food stamps, 3 pairs of underwear for 12 years, house taken by the bank, cried when I had my lunch tray taken away from me because I couldn’t buy it. Jews aren’t rich. Are there some who are just by happenstance? Sure. Just like how there are rich Hispanics, Asians, Indians, Black people, White people, anybody. But she makes sure to say that the Jewish character is the rich one. Also from Vermont, which is a pretty damn Jewish state, but I don’t bump on that as much because her grandpa is Vice President and most democratic candidates do tend to be Northeastern, so that doesn’t hit me as much. But it’s still another tally on the board.

Nora’s physical appearance: Curly hair “nest of curls” Brown hair.

Nora is described as having curly hair multiple times. People (antisemitic fans of RWRB in the discord) have yelled at me about this before, saying that not only Jews have curly hair and that I’m erasing anyone who’s not Jewish who has curly hair. Which is just, literally insane. Nobody is saying Jews own curly hair, but it’s is a stereotypical physical characteristic of how people describe Jews. If the character wasn’t Jewish and she had curly hair it would be like “Okay, cool, curls.” But because we know she’s Jewish, you see that in your head. You form the picture of the rich Jewish girl with curly hair. She used a common Jewish description to describe her because it’s easiest. It’s not… offensive technically, but it sorta is?

Like, do Jews have curly hair? Not all, obviously, but yeah, a lot of Jewish people do tend to have curly hair. I have curly hair, many of my Jewish friends don’t. So it’s true, but not always. It can be offensive, like saying someone has Jew-hair or saying someone is Jewish because of their hair. But a Jewish character having curly hair isn’t directly offensive.

When it becomes more of an issue, is when that curly hair description is used as the physical representation of a character’s Jewishness. Nora isn’t known to be religious (totally fine), she’s ethnically Jewish and seems to be holiday religious (depending), the flashes of her ethnicity that we get is her hair. It comes down to the curls and Casey using the stereotype to say “Hey! Look! She’s Jewish!!! CURLS!” That’s when it gets a little problematic, because then it’s being based solely on a Jewish appearance.

Casey was raised Evangelical Christian. CMQ said that their family was “less religious” even though they was still fully in that environment. Their words were “I didn’t totally drink the Kool-Aid” referring to being totally into Christianity. Casey also said there was a lot of internal conflict and absorption of what those surroundings were, “I was still marinating in that environment.” Evangelicals have strong beliefs in their religion and look down on others, there are tons of Evangelicals who spew antisemitic nonsense but as a part of common rhetoric so no one knows that it’s really hate. It’s buried under the “love for Jesus.” There was an article I read and lost that talked about how Evangelical Christians don’t realize that Jewish people are being hurt by them because of the hatred from huge Christian leaders being so widespread and accepted.

Casey was raised in that environment. It’s impossible to not be surrounded by Jew-hate whether you know it’s happening or not, it’s there. That was absorbed. The way CMQ describes Nora as the rich Jew with the dark curly hair is really telling of how they see Jews. The description isn’t even the offensive part, but the fact that you know it’s only like that because that’s how Casey thinks it is. Casey lives in New York where that stereotypical Jewish appearance came from, so it was like, clearly, Casey was doing the bare minimum in knowing anything about someone who’s Jewish and used the same tropes as always.

This became very apparent to me, not with the book, because I didn’t mind Nora when I read it. It was when the movie decided Nora’s Jewishness didn’t matter onscreen. Casey could have fought for a Jewish Nora, but didn’t. Casey fought for other stuff, like the brand of ice cream, a dyed hair color, and little things like that, but an entire ethnicity NOPE. And here’s why, I don’t think Casey knows that Jews are an ethnicity and not just a religion. It says Nora is home for Hanukkah so she’s not in the White House, so Alex can call Henry and talk to June. Since there isn’t a June anymore, he’ll need Nora there. Therefore Nora would have to be there for Christmas, and in Casey’s mind and the mind of the production… NO JEWS ALLOWED AT CHRISTMAS!!! ITS NOT YOUR RELIGION!!! So they removed her leaving, removed her Judaism, removed her Jewish ethnicity by not casting a Jewish actress. But, like, newsflash, you can be Jewish and go to a Christmas party or an Easter party, you can even walk into a church and not burn!! Crazy!! Because it’s not just a religion. But since they didn’t need her being Jewish (religiously), Casey didn’t know you can still be Jewish without religion, and the ignorance erased an entire minority from the film. And also, Jews aren’t there when you need them and easy to throw out when you don’t. If you write a Jewish character, you can’t just decide to fuck that for a paycheck, or you’re just antisemitic.

TLDR: Casey used stereotypes for Nora and when it became clear that the movie wasn’t going to ~require~ Nora to be religiously Jewish, Casey (with their limited background) didn’t know what to do

[arsenalgbt]

pls share ur jealous!kai hc. is he ok with sharing dec? does he get possessive and what does that look like?

yoooooooo I did get a similar question a couple of months back, here's the link:

think I have a fresher perspective now??? but because I don't understand the psyche of 'being possessive in a relationship'---because imo jealousy stems from lack of confidence AND neither is an insecure person, have a fic plot instead LMAO

in an established relationship scenario, they're super chill actually. not joined to the hip ya feel me; if you can be my +1, ok perfect, but if you've already engaged someplace else, that's also fine

in my HC, both are pretty level-headed. they like what they have been building for the last 7 months or so (still new!)

the funny thing is, whenever they're on a date night/drinking on Thursdays, Declan always gets hit on by every pretty lil thing (women of all age + twinks) and kai just doesn't get it?

like he's right over there. it's a table for two. they sit/stand close by the bar. Declan is constantly leaning into him to laugh or just to put a hand on his lower back. HIS LOWER BACK, people.

the problem is, kai is not big on PDA lol

Declan NEVER indulges btw. say, a lady blatantly stumbles so she can fall into his arms; he would help her, ask if she's alright? are you sure? and when the lady drops the line, he would decline politely, ah, I'm here with my boyfriend. and if the lady is very progressive, she'd proposition them both because hey, kai is tall and hot, too.

they'd laugh about it. maybe kai starts to keep a tally in his notes app. with lil details like: 'pixie cut, goth, method of flirting' or 'artsy twink, smells good, method of flirting' LMAO

he tells his best friends about it ofc. Martin says, "you guys have massive just bro energy" - Leo chimes in, "dec wasn't always like this, remember? I think he's been toning down his hearteyes for you ever since you asked Martin 'how could you live with how Rambo is looking at you? he looks like you hung the moon'. when we went to a foals concert." and Martin laughs and kai wants to cry lol

so it's his fault

so after the revelation, kai gets super clingy in public lmaooooooo. he kisses the corner of Declan's lips when he arrives to the pub/bar/restaurant. he lets Declan crowd him against the wall/the bar, one arm caging his waist, eyes heavy and always zeroing in on his wet mouth. he lets Declan put his warm hand HIGH on his thigh. if they're taking the tube he wraps his arms around Declan and leans into him (yes, Declan gets flirted with even in the tube!!!)

Declan still gets approached, but it's becoming less and less LOL and Declan whispers I know what you're doing, baby, and kai just bats his eyelashes at him innocently

IF YOU EVER WRITE IT, gift it to me on ao3 or @ me teeheeeeeeeeee