#let Duke be mean 2024

[redhelmetguy]

Bring back hater Duke

WFA ep. 132 but if it was We Are Robin!Duke instead.

[captainsophiestark]

One Night Werewolf

Dick Grayson x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for Fictober 2024!

Requested by @bandshirts-andbooks! I had a different idea for the prompt originally, but this came to me in a flash and wouldn't let me go until I wrote it lol. Hope you enjoy!

Fandom: DC

Day Nine Prompt: "Don't listen to me, listen to them."

Summary: Game night is never a calm affair when Dick and his SO host all the Batkids for the evening.

Word Count: 1,486

Category: Fluff, Humor

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

I leaned forward over my crossed legs on the couch, slowly moving in towards my boyfriend, Dick Grayson, until we were basically nose to nose. I stared into his deep blue eyes, just waiting for him to blink or flinch or otherwise give himself away. He didn't move, the faint, charming smile never once faltering.

"Don't listen to him! He's lying!"

The smile on Dick's face grew as I did my best to block out the shouting from his siblings. Everyone had been at Dick and I's apartment for a few hours now, since the two of us regularly hosted a little Batkids game night. We were deep into our sixth game of werewolf, and to say things were getting intense would be an incredible understatement.

"Baby," I said, my voice low and level as Dick and I continued our staring contest. "Are you lying?"

"Obiviously!" Tim shouted.

"I actually think I agree with Tim," Duke added.

"All you have to do is look at Stephanie!" Tim continued. His suggestion was met with outraged shouts, since Stephanie had been killed by the werewolves and wasn't technically allowed to influence the game anymore.

Dick just grinned. "I'm not lying, sweetheart. But if you're really that determined... or if you're not really a villager after all..." He shrugged. "Don't listen to me, listen to them. You guys have played it perfectly, if you're one of the werewolves. You've got Duke on your side now, he's all you need."

I closed my eyes and sighed, leaning back from Dick and uncrossing my legs as I flopped onto the pillows of the couch.

"If you're not the werewolf, why do you seem so okay with losing?" I cried. I didn't have to look at my boyfriend to know he was still smiling.

"Maybe I just love you, and I'm impressed with the game you're playing."

I huffed. I was a villager, which was my least favorite role to play. Especially with the Batfamily, who made it ten thousand times harder than normal to figure out who was lying, and about what.

Until this round, I'd been pretty confident that Tim was one of the werewolves. Everyone in the family was a good detective, but Tim more often than not took that deductive reasoning to a whole new level, which meant he usually got killed first when he wasn't a werewolf. Cass had been the first casualty of this game, which had immediately put the suspicion on Tim. We'd gone back and forth and played a few rounds without voting anybody out, until Dick had claimed to be the seer. Nobody in the game had contradicted him, but as Tim had pointed out, Stephanie seemed to be barely restraining herself from shouting a rebuttle.

Still, with her and the rest of this family, that didn't necessarily mean she was the seer. Last month, Jason had been correctly voted off as a werewolf, but managed to convince us all through facial expressions that he had been wrongly removed as the seer, and had played us all to a werewolf win.

I sighed, then finally sat up. Dick and I were still knee to knee on the couch, but I did my best to ignore it. Everyone in the room was staring at me, which worked pretty well as a distraction.

Dick and Jason were pulling for me to join them in voting out Tim. Dick claimed to be the seer, and said he'd seen that Tim was one of the werewolves. Tim continued to claim innocence, and had convinced Duke to join him in trying to vote out Dick, even though we'd all been suspicious of Tim since the beginning. Not a single person still in the game showed a crack in their poker faces.

"Okay... alright. Tim, I'm sorry, but I'm just not buying that you're a villager. You're always the first kill, and I know we've been joking for a long time about the round where somebody finally does it differently, but I'm not convinced that's this round."

"No! Dammit, Grayson's lying to you!"

"Or else she's one of the werewolves..." said Duke. Jason raised an eyebrow, but I just shook my head.

"I'm done with the back and forth, you all make it impossible to play this game." I met Dick's eyes again, and he gave me a gorgeously charming smile. "I'm trusting you. Don't make me regret it."

"Never."

I narrowed my eyes, but I knew if I let myself keep going in circles for another minute, I'd literally never stop.

"Alright, I'm calling it," I said. "Let's vote. I vote Tim."

"No!"

"I also vote Tim, since I saw his werewolf card," said Dick. I narrowed my eyes at him, but he just reached out to rest his hand on my thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I vote Dick! Because he's clearly the werewolf!" cried Tim. Jason rolled his eyes.

"Nice try, werewolf. I vote Tim."

"Well, I guess it doesn't matter then," sighed Duke. "But for the record... I'm still going to vote Dick."

"Tim has officially been killed by the village," Damian jumped in, continuing his job of narrator, his face and tone completely neutral. "He was not a werewolf. There are only two villagers left, and still two werewolves. The werewolves win."

"Hell yeah we do!" cried Jason, leaping off the couch and punching the air. Dick jumped up with him, grinning and high-fiving his stupid werewolf teammate.

"I told you it wasn't me!" Tim cried.

"I was the seer!" Stephanie shouted at the same time. "I'm gonna get you back for making me sit through that, Grayson!"

I just sat and watched the uproar until my boyfriend plopped back on the couch next to me, turning to face me with a grin. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"You'll never make me regret trusting you, huh?"

The grin took on a tinge of regret as Dick took my hand and leaned closer to me, but it didn't disappear. I narrowed my eyes further.

"I'm sorry, baby," he said, barely sounding sorry at all. "But I have some good news."

"It better be some record breaking amazing news, Grayson."

"You know the game night betting pool that you quit after the first month?"

I snorted. The Batkids ran a ridiculous, next-level complicated betting pool on various possible scenarios across game night, including who might win certain games, in how many rounds, etc. All the payouts were for things like telling Batman about a mistake on behalf of the group or switching villain assignments when one of them didn't want to fight Condiment King. I'd participated exactly once, and it had been so intense, nitpicky, and insane that I'd decided to sit out all future betting pools.

"...I remember it, yeah. Why?"

"We had one going this week that if Jason and I managed to win as a team in werewolves—which of course had pretty bad odds—everybody would pitch in for an extra-special date night for the two of us, and they aren't allowed to interrupt us for a full eight hours."

My eyebrows shot up. I think the longest Dick and I had gone without some kind of contact from one of his siblings was six hours, maximum. Despite the werewolf argument still raging around us, the corner of my mouth started to pull up in a smile.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

I huffed a laugh, then leaned in until Dick and I were nose to nose again. I met his eyes, this time with a smile matching his and about two thousand percent less suspicion.

"I take back my outrage at you making me a patsy in werewolf. You did a great job, and I can't wait for our date night."

"Neither can I."

In sync, the two of us leaned forward to close the rest of the distance between us, our mouths meeting in a sweet, smiling kiss. Dick's hand wandered my waist, and I started to lean into his lap until a chorus of "ew!"s sounded from his siblings. We broke apart, both of us still grinning.

"That is not��allowed at game night."

"Save it for your stupid eight hour date!"

I laughed, leaning back against Dick as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. Everyone else had more or less settled back into their seats, so I sighed.

"Alright. We're done for now, I promise."

Everyone nodded, sighed, or otherwise overacted their relief. Dick shook his head, and I just laughed.

"Damian, give me the werewolf deck," I said, holding out a hand and deciding for the group that we were moving on. "I'm officially calling narrator. Obviously Dick and I are getting a happy ending, but I need a break from playing mind games with you people."

The assorted grins from the Batkids around me could've made even the most hardened criminal run for the hills. But after spending countless hours with them since I'd started dating Dick, for some reason, the looks just made me want to smile. I loved these scary, ridiculous idiots, almost as much as I loved Dick Grayson.

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989 @space-helen

DC Taglist: @gaychaosgremlin @v1ckycheesue @lavender-dinos

[scaredyspooks]

BG3 Kinktober 2024

Because I'm a perverted conduit that the void speaks through, I'm doing a Baldur's Gate 3 themed kinktober this year on here and AO3. As I publish the fics I'll be updating this list with links to them, and so y'all can gauge your interest here's the list!

Astarion (spawn) - roleplay - what's an innocent magistrate to do when his assistant propositions him when they're staying late at work?

Gale - pegging - growing bored of the wizard's endless accounts of how he and his goddess' bodies once intertwined, you notice there's one pleasure she never showed him.

Shadowheart - sensory depravation - life's greatest pleasures can be found in loss and darkness.

Lae'Zel - leather - peeling the leathers from your lover's body are one of the greatest rewards of battle.

Wyll - chastity - just because he wants to take things slow, doesn't mean you can't torment him a little.

Karlach - temperature play - attempts to cool her down end up having an interesting result.

Minthara - bondage - an interrogation goes south as you try to get to the bottom of the Absolute's cult.

Halsin - olfactophilia - after almost a tenday of not having time to bathe you head to the river, only be blocked off by a large elf.

Mizora - public - shrouded in the cloak of the hells atop a secluded pedestal, only to find it is in fact a stage.

Rolan - electro - someone's ego boost at getting a new tower has him coming out of his shell.

Zevlor - glory hole - the commander and the cleric need a release, things get interesting when the stranger behind the wall ends up being far too familiar.

Ikaron - semi-public - tensions are high in The Hollow, but you think you can help.

Raphael - naked platter - the devil has made a patisserie of you for his guests, though they seem to fade from existence as he grows distracted by the meal he's making of you.

Haarlep - size difference - the succubus is shocked that you want to see their true form, turns out they're a lot bigger than their master.

Rugan - impact play - the Zhentarim seeks to punish you for trying to skip out on your deal, he doesn't get very far.

Gortash - power play - your relationship has always been somewhat of a dance, one that you're determined to lead.

Dammon - edging - the forge's flames illuminate more than the smith realises, but you're happy to "help" once things quieten down.

The Emperor - hypnosis - the ilithid believes he can still get through to you, with one last attempt.

Aradin - hate fuck - your competitor, the thorn in your side, but damn if he doesn't have good stamina.

Abdirak - sado-masochism - two priests of Loviatar aid in each other's prayer.

He Who Was - free use - his ability to travel the shadowcursed lands unhindered has him popping up everywhere, making you pay for his insatiable desires.

Lia - wax play - after the first few drops, it's hard to tell what's blush and what's burn among the giggles in the Elfsong.

Cal - play fighting - a little extra training won't do any harm, though the proximity may prove... challenging.

Gale - findom - what starts as a simple shopping trip to Sorcerous Sundries takes a turn as you drag the wizard to more and more shops.

Astarion (ascended) - biting/marking - your last night as a mortal will be one to remember.

Shadowheart - human furniture - god's favourite princess needs a throne.

Wyll - roleplay - the son of a duke has a duty to mingle at these important events, though it usually shouldn't lead him to a cupboard with a handsome stranger.

Lae'Zel - predator/prey - your heart races, your breathing to quick to catch, and you know the more you sweat the easier it'll be for her to catch you.

Karlach - human ashtray - she's been making fun of you all evening for your drunken confession about her cigars, but once the other's go to bed she's happy to indulge you on the Elfsong's roof garden.

Halsin - breeding - ever the beast of nature, with your perils finally at an end he lets himself run loose with you and you realise it’s going to be a long night until he’s done filling you.

Minthara - body worship - the drow isn't keen onbeing nursed after but with injuries so severe you need to make sure she's alright.

[kiragecko]

Batfamily Relationship Tournament 2024

It's time once again to decide which Batkid relationships we like best!

Rather than pitting the Batfamily against each other, we're teaming them up! (And THEN pitting them against each other.)

In 2023, the winner was Dick & Tim, though Tim & Cass and Babs & Cass also made strong showings. I'm fine with one of them winning again this year, or with a surprise upset. Let's see what happens!

We've now added in the complications of DOUBLE ELIMINATIONS. Mostly so I can see a bit more Duke. This means that there is a Loser Bracket and complicated math going on. Complicated math makes me happy! Current plan is that Winners Bracket votes will be one week, and Loser's Bracket votes will be one day. (Because the loser's bracket has twice as many voting periods.)

You don't need to understand double eliminations. Just know that every pairing will get at least two competitions.

Starting 1PM Central time (an hour from now)

Round One Matchups:

Dick & Tim VS Dick & Steph

Jason & Damian VS Babs & Tim

Tim & Steph VS Helena (any version) & The Batfamily

Jason & Tim VS Damian & Duke

Alfred & The Batfamily VS Jason & Duke

Steph & Damian VS Cass & Damian

Tim & Damian VS Babs & Steph

Steph & Cass VS Babs & Damian

Babs & Duke VS Tim & Cass

Jason & Steph VS Dick & Cass

Dick & Babs VS Tim & Duke

Bruce & The Batfamily VS Dick & Duke

Kate & The Batfamily VS Babs & Cass

Babs & Jason VS Jason & Cass

Dick & Jason VS Cass & Duke

Dick & Damian VS Steph & Duke

-

Reminder that I'm aroace, and DO NOT CARE about how problematic a ship is. (I can assume things are platonic that would awe and dumbfound you.) You can assume they're kissing. You can hate them kissing. But if you a uncomfortable voting without complaining about Batcest or something else ... just sit this one out, please.

[duketectivecomics]

Since it’s 2024, I think it’s about time for my yearly PSA:

Hey, Hi 👋 in case it isn’t obvious, this is a Duke Thomas resource/archive blog, dedicated to raising awareness for Duke! I’ve got all sorts of great resources linked in my pinned post, including a Reading Rec list, FAQ, and info about our annual Duke Week! (& so much more!)

I want to especially encourage my followers to reblog this to help spread the word. I’m seeing more and more posts in Duke’s tag that are completely missing the mark when it comes to understanding Duke. One on hand, it’s great news bc that means more people are at least aware of duke (yaaaay)! On the other, it means he’s being subjected to fanon flanderization (boooo).

I want to encourage y’all because those kinds of posts are exactly why I made this blog in the first place. Duke is by FAR the easiest batfam member to read for. I’ve also curated a lot of great meta on him over the years & im always looking forward to adding more! Give this blog a follow, shoot me an ask, let’s learn more about Duke in 2024!!!

[galixy0universe]

Kinktober 2024- Batfam Edition

Here is the list for kinktober based on the batfam!

Is it late? Yes, I got sick when I was supposed to upload it and then was busy with my life afterward. I hope to do a big upload with last week's and this week's prompt on the weekend. Until then, here is the list and the requests that were accepted. Please note that if it was not accepted, it may be because I just don't have confidence writing that specific kink. All of these will be rather short to keep up with everything I have to write and my IRL things. I will make a final master list at the end of the month with all the links if I can. If you still want to make a request, let me know; anything in Italics can be replaced.

Size Kink-Jason Todd

Breeding- Damian Wayne (18+ This means he will be over 18)

Creampie- Tim Drake

Gloves/Leather- Duke Thomas

Roleplay- Tim Drake

Biting- Bruce Wayne

Exhibition- Dick Greyson

Aphrodisiacs- Damian Wayne (18+)

Anal- Dick Greyson

Double Pen- Jason Todd & Dick Greyson

Prostitution- Tim Drake

Glory Hole- Damian Wayne (18+)

Dom/Sub- Dick Greyson

Pregnant- Bruce Wayne

Lactating- Dick Greyson

Fingering- Damian Wayne (18+)

Toys- Damian Wayne (18+)

Tifuck- Bruce Wayne

Bondage- Bruce Wayne

Uniforms-Tim Drake

Quickie- Duke Thomas

Face sitting- Bruce Wayne

Phone/Video- Jason Todd

Lingerie- Dick Greyson

Free Use- Jaosn Todd

Stripping- Damian Wayne (18+)

Spanking- Duke Thomas

Lovebites- Tim Drake

Mirror Sex-Bruce Wayne

Car Sex- Dick Greyson

Collar- Jason Todd

[wilsondick-winterexchange]

The WilsonDick Exchange 2024 is here! Join us on the first day of posting 💙🧡

6 NEW WILSONDICK works await you today. Please remember to double check the warnings and tags before proceeding!

WORKS

five days [FIC] for inabsurd [Mature, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage Sex, Omegaverse] [Slade/Dick, Wilson Siblings & Dick]

Summary:

Rose's daddy goes on a business trip. But that's okay, because her new mama is still there to take care of her, and her two older brothers. She really, really loves her mama.

Crucible [FIC] for Eriord [Explicit, Rape/Non-Con, Omegaverse] [Slade/Dick, Wade/Dick, Wilson Siblings & Dick]

Summary:

Slade is killed during a routine visit to his kingdom's border, and it is on Dick to protect the family they have built. But what is an Omega to do when Slade's brother attempts to take the throne?

Wood Stained Red [FIC] for hmmBarkBark [Teen+, No Warnings, Horror] [Joey/Dick]

Summary:

Dick agrees to join his boyfriend Joey for a weekend at a family cabin to meet said family. Surely nothing can go wrong with that. Except that fact that literally everything goes wrong. Or: Dick learns that his boyfriend is from a family of cannibals and he reacts about as well as you could expect him to.

We Found Each Other [FIC] for Midosune [Gen, No Warnings, Omegaverse] [Slade/Dick Respawn & Dick]

Summary:

Slade's in town and with a new kid following him. Dick can't wait to meet him.

the one that does not belong [FIC] for nursal1060 [Explicit, No Warnings] [Slade/Dick]

Summary:

Bruce’s parties are always huge, glamorous affairs befitting his status as the Duke of Gotham, which means there are bound to be times Dick encounters unexpected guests at them. None, however, have been as unexpected as Slade.

Freaky Friday [ART] for dicknge [Explicit] [Slade/Dick Joey/Dick]

Summary:

'It's not usual the three of them are all available at the same time, so Dick suggests they can have fun together tonight - let Joey posses Slade. But somehow Joey and Slade actually body-swap by accident. And that’s not gonna ruin their plan for the night!'

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

Why are some so confident that Harry will win the case? I mean, I'm not British or a lawyer and maybe I don't understand something, but… how can he win? Can someone knowledgeable explain? Because your arguments sound logical.

I think it has to do with the appellate judge's findings from the April 2024 ruling. I think the explanation to get there is going to be long-winded so I'll ramble for a bit and when I get to answers to your questions, I'll bold them for emphasis.

A quick recap first.

February 2024: Justice Lane dismissed Harry's complaint against RAVEC (which was that Harry wanted to force RAVEC to reverse their February 2020 decision downgrading his security status and give him him "back" his "original" security/IPP status). Harry appealed.

April 2024: The judge dismissed Harry's appeal of his February 2024 ruling. Harry's lawyers appealed.

May 2024: The appellate judge found that Harry's appeal had a legitimate ground and reversed the April 2024 dismissal, meaning that Harry's appeal can now be heard.

June 2024: Harry requested that the appeal trial happen sometime in the next six weeks. The judge, Lord Bean, said "nope, you can't jump the queue." (It may or may not have something to do with the fact that Harry waited 18 months after RAVEC downgraded him to file a legal complaint. I didn't fully understand it.)

In this article from The Telegraph (archived link), they report:

However, Lord Justice Bean said that ground one, which is understood to suggest that Ravec failed to follow its own written policy, “would have a real prospect of success”. He also concluded Mr Justice Lane may have erred in concluding the Duke was not in a comparable position to those in the “Other VIP Category” who receive state security.

So what this is saying is that Justice Lane made his ruling in February 2024 based upon finding that RAVEC followed its procedures to reassess Harry's security status when he quit. Harry disagreed with the ruling and appealed it because he feels there was evidence proving RAVEC did not follow its own procedures when they reassessed his security status. The April 2024 ruling said that Harry's appeal had no merit and dismissed it. But in the ruling for the appeal-of-the-denial-to-appeal-the-February 2024-ruling, Lord Bean (the appellate judge) found that Harry's claim actually had merit and is worth being heard out.

Lord Bean also indicated that it's possible Justice Lane overstepped in his ruling (not sure if it's the February ruling or the April ruling) when he said that Harry was not comparable to the other VIPs RAVEC supports. This one is a little confusing to me because I'm not sure what comparing Harry's position to the other VIPs had to do with RAVEC, but it sounds a little like they're opening the door for someone to argue that because Harry is incomparable to "other VIPs" (for what reason he didn't say, but let's read between the lines and assume that Lord Bean thinks it's improper to compare Harry to "other" people because he's the son of the King.

RAVEC categorizes their protectees into three tiers . There's not a whole lot known about these tiers, but this is what I'm assuming they are:

Tier 1 - Role-based security. People who get security based on the roles they occupy. Probably the main line of succession (the King, Queen, and the Waleses) and working royals, the Prime Minister, and other senior government ministers, and probably the people who have permanent around-the-clock security.

Tier 2: (Not really sure what this one is - maybe it's the rest of the royal family and junior government officials?)

Tier 3 - Other VIPs who are assessed security on a case-by-case basis.

Harry used to be a Tier 1 protectee and after RAVEC's 2020 reassessment, they downgraded him to Tier 3 (which in hindsight is a huge demotion for someone as ego-driven as him.)

With Lord Bean saying that Harry's appeal (that RAVEC didn't follow its own procedures to assess Harry's security status) has merit and allowing him to now appeal the February 2024 ruling, some people are interpreting it to mean that if the February 2024 ruling is overturned and RAVEC is forced to reassess Harry's security in accordance with their policies and procedures, they have no choice but to put him back as a Tier 1 protectee. Because the only other option is for them to not designate Harry as a protectee at all and there's an accepted assumption that that won't happen because he's the son of the King.

And this is what I think Harry expects to happen. I think Harry believes that RAVEC's protocols have clear policies on how members of the immediate line of succession should be assessed and he still sees himself as being in the immediate line of succession, aka Charles's family. And because Harry thinks those policies exist, he expects RAVEC to recategorize him as Tier 1. To which I say:

Yes, Charles's family is the line of succession now but "Charles's family" hasn't been the immediate line of succession since 2013. The immediate line of succession is now "William's family".

Anne, Andrew, and Edward existing completely debunk Harry's own expectation. Anne, Andrew, and Edward only get security when they're working and on public engagements. None of them have permanent around-the-clock security, even if they're designated Tier 1 protectees (which no one is actually sure about).

So even if RAVEC did have rules for assessing children of the monarch, they still don't give Harry what wants. Because RAVEC is still going to say "he only gets security when he's working official engagements on behalf of the King as per precedent". But maybe that's the point, because then Harry can turn around and apply more pressure on Charles to take him back, and he knows that with enough PR, Charles will fold because that's what Charles always does.

Then another part to all of this is that the government gave Harry a discount on something (I'm not fully sure what). Harry's arguing that the discount isn't enough and he wants more of a discount. I think the numbers are something like the government gave him a 10% discount but Harry wants a 50-60% discount (the numbers 10, 50, and 60 are sticking out to me for some reason). To this part, there's discussion/debate/theories that if the February 2024 ruling is overturned and RAVEC has to reassess Harry's status and they put him back at Tier 1, then Harry will sue RAVEC or the UK government for all of his security costs since February 2020. But that's a whole different thing.

I hope this helps, anon! There's a lot of pieces to this and it's not very clear cut, and I think I rambled a little bit.

But at the end of the day, people are assuming the appeal is fait accompli because if RAVEC is forced to reassess Harry's security status, they'll put him back at Tier 1. (I don't think that's their only option. They can leave him at Tier 3 or they can downgrade him entirely. IMO, if they reassess, they're going to leave him as Tier 3 with security on a case-by-case basis but maybe they'll waive the requirement for advanced notice (which Harry has never given). At best they'll put him back at Tier 1 but on the Anne/Andrew/Edward plan with "official security only when working for the King" and that leaves the ball in Charles's court so Harry can sue Charles next.

(And if Harry sued Charles, it'd actually confirm some long-ago theories and speculation that the Sussexes planned to sue for half-in/half-out and/or half of the monarchy as well.)

[weirdowithaquill]

Traintober 2024: Day 12 - Teamwork

Rusty has to Work with Fred:

Rusty the little diesel does not often like working with Fred. To Rusty, Fred is everything that the little diesel despises: he’s lazy, slow, uninterested and often more occupied with his latest daydreams than any of the work he’s meant to do.

To Fred, Rusty is just a grumpy old busybody who won’t stop griping about the trackwork.

One morning, the two diesels were stuck together in the shed at Lakeside Station. The night before, an out-of-season snowstorm had blasted the Skarloey Railway, much to Rusty’s horror. It had come too early! Poor Rusty and the gangers hadn’t had time to prepare the line. When their drivers arrived, the little diesel slowly peeked out of the shed to find that the entire countryside was covered in a thin layer of white. It looked like something off of a Christmas card!

“Get up!” hissed Rusty. “We have work to do.” Fred opened a bleary eye. “Noooooo,” he yawned, stretching out his jaw before pouting at Rusty. “It’s cold, and I’d rather stay in here.” “Fred, we have work to do,” reprimanded Rusty. “The gangers are coming, our drivers are here, and we need to get the line ready for Duke’s first train.” “Too late for that,” sighed Rusty’s driver. “Duke’s driver called – apparently the tunnel’s blocked. The snow dislodged that one bit we were worried about.” Rusty groaned, and started out of the shed. The little diesel and the gangers had been worried about a large overhang that had been threatening to collapse in front of the tunnel for ages – and much to their dismay, it had chosen to be knocked loose by the snow the day before they were going to carefully remove it.

“There wasn’t meant to be snow for another two weeks!” complained one of the gangers as he ambled over to where Rusty had shunted the tool van, crane and a coach ready for the group. “This is insane!” “It’s a problem,” agreed Rusty. “Snow only comes this early if there’s a storm coming in.” The group all looked skyward, and spotted the thick grey clouds. They needed to move fast.

Which of course meant that Fred dragged his wheels. The little diesel was meant to bring a line of empty trucks up behind Rusty to take away the empty debris, but instead he was moping about the sidings, doing his absolute best to be a pain.

“He’ll join us soon enough,” sighed Rusty’s driver, and the little diesel set off.

They found the tunnel soon enough. It was completely blocked by the landslip, which had brought down three trees and a painful number of brambles in its travels. “Looks like the snow just grew too heavy for it,” sighed one ganger as they all stepped out of the coach. Rusty positioned the crane to lift away some of the large logs, and then waited impatiently for Fred.

The little diesel waited and waited and waited, and still Fred did not come. Rusty’s engine began to grumble lowly, and the little diesel scowled. “Where is Fred?” Rusty demanded. “Let’s go find him,” sighed Rusty’s driver.

Rusty found Fred dozing at the head of his train as his driver tried fruitlessly to get his engine to tick over. Rusty’s eyes turned furious, and the little diesel snuck over silently before…

“WAKE UP!”

Fred burst to life in fright, and zipped forward several feet!

“Why would you do that?!” he demanded furiously. “Because you’re being a lazy layabout while we have work to do,” snapped Rusty. “If we don’t work together, there will be no trains, and no getting back to the sheds. That means being stuck up here all winter long. Now will you get moving so we can get the work done?” Fred agreed to that.

With both engines working hard, it didn’t take long. Rusty’s engine was used to power the crane while Fred pulled loaded trucks away. Soon, the line was cleared. While there was some damage to the tunnel and track, it was light enough for the two diesels to pass carefully through so that Rusty could collect the necessary supplies from Crovan’s Gate.

As the two split off, Rusty smirked back at Fred. “See, Fred,” the little diesel hummed, “that’s what a little teamwork can do.” Fred didn’t answer, instead rolling straight into the sheds for a nap.

Back to the Master Post

[lalalian]

let’s talk students: aethergarde dr (dragon rider academy dr)

date: july 1st, 2024

welcome back to another episode of me blabbing on and on about the students in this DR! Today, I’ll be talking about Callisto Lancaster.

pronunciation:

Callisto: (Cal-list-oh) (‘Cal’ as in ‘Callie’)

Lancaster: (Lan-cast-er) (pretty easy right?)

appearance:

Callisto is quite pale and has stark white hair. His eyes are an intense light blue along with a dark rim surrounding his iris. Unlike his brother, he has a large snake tattoo spanning from the left side of his throat down to his chest.

Callisto’s appearance is often described as intimidatingly ethereal— as if he’s some sort of deity.

He’s lean and boasts a more lithe and elegant physique compared to Teagan (I realized I was spelling his name with an o this whole time— I’m changing it to Teagan 😭). He has pierced ears, which is a bit rare for younger men who aren’t associated with some sort of crime syndicate.

Callisto did get the tattoo and piercings without his parents knowing, though of course they know about it now and are pretty mad about it.

personality:

Callisto is a free spirited guy that tends to like sneaking around and doing whatever he wants; if I had to pick a fictional character that kinda acts like him, I’d pick Jesper from Six of Crows.

He is usually carefree, but can definitely get serious if the situation calls for it. His risky escapades often gets him stuck in some dangerous situations, though, Callisto isn’t the type to get others involved. Instead, he likes to handle everything himself. He is doesn’t trust people easily.

He harbors a strong fascination for the underground and has several powerful connections with people that have as much influence as him, but in different ways.

Callisto has been obsessed with the idea that the gilded dragon hasn’t become completely extinct in the last 5~ years or so, and has used his connections to find evidence proving his theory. He’s been trying to locate the egg and find out who is its riders.

Out of all the students I’ve introduced to you so far, Callisto is the one you should be most wary about.

relationships + social status:

Callisto is the son of a duke— which means his father has a position in the Room of Consuls. He is also pretty disliked by nobles, though there are a good few socialites who support and adore him.

Callisto is not close with his mother, father, or nanny. He has no close relationships with his family.

He despises his older brother, Asterias Lancaster, because he thinks that he doesn’t deserve to be idolized by his parents; Callisto always felt like he was overshadowed by him.

He is close to nobody, and has no true friends.

If you do manage to get close to him, his nickname would probably be Cal.

likes & dislikes:

likes:

- alcohol

- smoking

- being away from home

- horse riding

- dragons & dragon riders

- investigating things

- fighting

dislikes:

- his parents, but especially his brother

- banquets and other noble gatherings

- he’d probably dislike you tbh bc no matter who you are, you wouldn’t live up to his standards (at least at first, anyway)

- kids

aura:

Callisto’s aura is categorized as a vivid sun, and consists of a dark crimson (inner) and a burnt orange.

#401320

#4d1d10

dragon:

Despite his hopes of obtaining a gilded dragon, he instead is bonded to a male white+red+black naeyndrah. He names him Aamon.

strengths & weaknesses

strengths:

- genuinely just a really good fighter

- may know about things sooner than the public does

- really loyal and protective if you’re close friends with him

- can be quite charming when he wants to be

weaknesses:

- has so many connections to dangerous people that if he wanted to, you’d disappear

- has no friends (Miaene and him are in the same boat, but for different reasons)

- uncooperative

- holds grudges sometimes for small things

fighting style:

Callisto fights without weapons often, but if does use a weapon, he’d use daggers.

He is as good as fighting with daggers as he is without.

upon shifting here…

Callisto will be a first year student at Aethergarde Academy.

wanna know more about my aethergarde academy dr? here's a masterlist with everything I've posted about it!

poll time!

[saintmeghanmarkle]

Is Hugh Grosvenor really Archies godfather? Or is more lies from Meghan Markle? Lets find out by u/Ruth_Lily

Is Hugh Grosvenor really Archie’s godfather? Or is more lies from Meghan Markle? Let’s find out Previous to the Duke of Westminister‘s wedding where Harry & Meghan are NFI, Hugh was the actual godfather of Prince George Hugh Grosvenor did not invite Harry & Meghan to his weddingMeghan has been burning up pr saying that Hugh Grosvenor, who is superrich, was Archie’s godfather.However a simple search which shows that previous to this wedding that they are NFI to, that Meghan had previously pr released the names of who the godparents are to Vanity Fair“Mark DyerTiggy PettyferCharlie van Straubenzee They’re all confirmed, that leaves 2 moreVanity Fair thinks the rest are Markle’s friends“Lindsay Roth and Genevieve Hills“https://ift.tt/hdNn8b6 & Country also not mentioning Hugh Grosvenor in this articlehttps://https://ift.tt/qF70rNA since the wedding kerfluffle, and the Harkles being NFI, suddenly Hugh is one of Archie’s godparents, according to Meghan’s endless expensive daily pr.From December 2023, the Times now mentions Hugh Grosvenor being Archie’s godparent, for the first time everhttps://https://ift.tt/1BoYZz6 that means that Meghan would only have possibly 1 godparent/friend on her list of godparents for Archie.Perhaps not even that.Do we believe this? She’s obviously trying to h*t the very wealthy Hugh Grosvenor over the h*ad with this, and her anger….but I’m not sure it’s even true. Just because she SAYS it’s true & keeps pr releaing it over and over doesn’t make it true. This is how she does manifesting pr/pressure PR. Idiots like Harry crumble in the face of this kind of PR…. post link: https://ift.tt/ekO0p7n author: Ruth_Lily submitted: May 28, 2024 at 03:50AM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit disclaimer: all views + opinions expressed by the author of this post, as well as any comments and reblogs, are solely the author's own; they do not necessarily reflect the views of the administrator of this Tumblr blog. For entertainment only.

[sussex-newswire]

Time Magazine has named Prince Harry one of the 100 most influential people working on climate issues:

"The Duke of Sussex supports conservation groups in Africa and says he really became an environmentalist during a trip in 2012 to the Caribbean when a 7-year-old boy told him that England’s environmental impact was damaging the coral reefs. After that interaction, he was inspired to start Travalyst ('travel' and 'catalyst'), a nonprofit that provides people booking travel with emissions and other sustainability data so they can consider the lowest impact options. The aim is to help make a dent in the industry’s carbon footprint; tourism makes up about 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

"Travalyst worked with Google to create the Travel Impact Model, a free, publicly available methodology launched in 2022 that predicts per-passenger CO2 emissions produced by upcoming flights. Travalyst’s coalition of partners, representing a combined market value of $3 trillion, includes top tech companies used by tourists like Booking.com, Expedia Group, Mastercard, Skyscanner, Tripadvisor and Visa. On Sept. 12, Travalyst announced that its flight emissions data has appeared in 65 billion searches worldwide.  

"Prince Harry has stressed that sustainable travel also means travel that boosts local economies and supports tourism businesses that hire local talent. He summed up Travalyst’s mission at its fifth anniversary celebration on Sept. 24 during Climate Week: 'As I sought solutions to some of the world's most pressing conservation challenges, I quickly realized just how profound an impact the travel and tourism industry has…together we are proving that travel can be a force for good. So let’s continue this journey together and make sure that travel benefits everyone everywhere.'"

[lyranix1201]

I have so many plot ideas for a nevermore fanfic, but there is a small problem.......

I need to write it😭.

(it feels like torture not being able to write something, that you have been planning to write for so long).

It's a pity because I have so many ideas, like:

2 pirate AU (one of them, is were lenore is the captain of the well know myth called the flying Dutch man. and the other one, is lenore being a pirate and meeting a fortune-teller/princes Annabelle lee)

Mafia/cleaning service AU [ let me explain myself 💀. basically lenore and some of her friends (Berenice, Duke and pluto) work for this organization called Nevermore cleaning service, whose main objective is to Clean up crime scene's for the mafia.] (I have been writing the first chapter since April, and I'm still not finished😭 I hate being a perfectionist sometimes.)

3 what if scenarios. [ what if lenore didn't run after Annabelle after their argument (in this fanfic, I am pretty much just torturing Annabelle and lenore, I'm not even kidding 🙂🙈. I am going to put lenore and Annabelle lee through hell and back ). what if the misfits and the clusterfuck (we need better names for them) team up and escape nevermore, and I mean they team up immediately after they meet. What if Annabelle and lenore actually made a good plan together and didn't die.]

Jazz club AU ( everyone is dead and works in a jazz club except Annabelle lee)

Train conductor AU (technically you could call it that. Everyone is basically trapped on a moving train.)

"Mr. And Mrs Smith" AU ( inspired by the serie that came out in 2024 on Prime, not the movie. I have currently only seen 2 episodes, in summer break I will finish watching it.)

One were everyone works in a hotel and everyone is also death.

One were I got inspired by the series called "Umbrella Academy" that is on Netflix ( I remember watching this series like 2 years ago, and let me tell you something. well watching this series it felt like I was having a fever dream😵‍💫, and it didn't help that I was having an all nighter.)

Cult AU

Time traveler/Imortal AU

Superhero AU

Vampire AU ( you can't go wrong with Vampires)

A fanfic inspired by a books that I found in my portuguesa school library. The book is caled the "magician nephew"( yes it is in English, somehow I found a few English books there. I haven't finished reading the book, exam season is killing me.)

One were we follow theo in nevermore

one-shots( were lenore and Annabelle lee are just spending time together)

One were the cast are going on a camping trip.

And last but not least, 2 crakefics. one is inspired by a childhood series that I used to watch when I was a kid, that is on Disney channel called lab rats. And the other one, that I somehow promise myself to make, that is a lenore as snow White fanfic.

There are many reasons why I haven't finished one Goddamn chapter of any of the fanfic.

Knowing multiple languages (dutch, english, Portuguese and French) is a blessing and a curse, My dyslexic ass can't write for shit. I have so many difficulties in writing in all languages and i can't even write a simple frase in English, without going through the seven stages of grief.

(funfact: I fucked up, I couldn't even write the word dyslexic correctly, I wrote it like: deslesic at first 😭☠️) how the fuck can i be dyslexic in 4 goddamn languages. SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME.... FREE ME FROM THIS TORMENT.

[cloysterbell]

This is probably a stupid question but do you have any Haven and Merlin fanfics that you particularly enjoy and might be able to recommend me...? 👀

BOY DO I

So I will caveat that these Haven recs are a lot fresher since I only got into the show last year. Most of my Merlin recs are a thousand years old since I haven't read anything new since probably 2016 but the old stuff is classic and still fucks despite its age. Also funnily enough, despite everything I still have the most Merlin bookmarks on AO3 over any other show

HAVEN:

The Void series by serendipityxii - to me this is how the show canonically ended

don't stop to think this through by gendernoncompliant - maybe my favorite Haven fic?? You will immediately see why if you read it

the only right i have wronged by gendernoncompliant - VERY interesting read! Love when actions have consequences! Also I do highly recommend most of gendernoncompliant's Haven fics, they're very good

The Accidental Threesome (Or, Five Times Duke Might’ve Date-Crashed, and One Time the Date Crashed Him) by jadzibelle - as a Duke stan I just think that

Emotional Motion Sickness by bellatemple - I really wish we'd gotten to explore the consequences of the finale a little bit more, especially if Duke had survived

Come See About Me by templemarker - absolutely insane about this one and again, you'll see why if you read it

Powerful (with a Little Bit of Tender) by polytropic - I don't remember the details about this one too well but I remember the concept was super interesting and well done

The Trouble with Fairytails by Kedreeva - not to be a furry but

and of COURSE I have to recommend Three Favorite Things and No one told me that there'd be a test (I never studied but I did my best) by multifandom-damnation because they were written for me and they rule!

MERLIN:

to the world that never let you be by imperialmint - oh my god. oh my god. maybe still one of my favorite fics of all time?

Down by the River by bleedforyou1 - wait no never mind THIS is my favorite fic of all time

Stars Above, Stones Below by Destina - I did reread this recently and it and its sequel still hold up

We Are All Diamonds by Footloose - listen. It's a strange concept but just go with it, it's one of the most beautifully written pieces of fiction because Footloose (also the famed author of the Shadowlord and Pirate King, which I never read) is a fandom classic

The Crown of the Summer Court by astolat - let Merlin be on equal footing with Arthur! It's what he deserves!

Hidden Light by Destina - I have this bookmarked as 'the fic with the lake' which is all you need to know

I'm Colourblind, Kid by brbsoulnomming - a fun little au where again, not to be a furry but

August by rageprufrock - it's what we should've gotten if canon wasn't determined to be mean to Arthur all the time

Leashed by riventhorn - 👀

Sense Memory by glim - soft!Arthur my absolute most beloved

and of course, I have to recommend The Student Prince by FayJay. I truly have no idea if you were to read this for the first time in 2024 if it's any good, but it's still very much considered to be one of the fandom classics so it's worth a try at the very least

Unfortunately with Merlin I don't really read that many modern!AUs but stick to mostly canon or canon!AU so I'm not much help if you do want more recent stuff. But I would also very much recommend checking out @dirtybookshelves (better on desktop than mobile)! It's a PHENOMENAL resource for Merlin fics and whoever ran this (I think it was emjayelle?) is a goddamn hero

[shannendoherty-fans]

The Rolling Stone

AMERICAN IDOL

Nobody Could Break Shannen Doherty, and Everybody Tried

The Beverly Hills, 90210 star was America's favorite Nightmare Girl — hated, feared, idolized. She embraced it all with an ever-present, knowing smirk

BY ROB SHEFFIELD

JULY 14, 2024

MARIO CASILLI/"TV GUIDE"/© AARON SPELLING PRODUCTIONS/EVERETT COLLECTION Rest in peace, Shannen Doherty — the quintessential Hollywood bad girl of the Nineties, the Heather-est of the Heathers. Doherty made her legend on Beverly Hills, 90210, the best TV teen drama ever by a mile, playing teenage chaos agent and drama factory Brenda Walsh. The world is mourning the news of Doherty’s death, at only 53, after an agonizing, nine-year, public battle with cancer. Yet she faced her health struggles with the same fighting spirit she brought to everything she did. Doherty was always defiantly herself, America’s nightmare of a Difficult Girl, which made her the most vilified celebrity of her time. But she wore it proudly. “I have a rep,” she said in 2010. “Did I earn it? Yeah, I did.”

She always had that wonderfully cocky grin, from 90210 to her Let’s Be Clear podcast. It was that grin, more than anything, that made her controversial. It wasn’t her brief marriages or her “difficult” work rep or her tabloid feuds that made her Hollywood’s most hated woman — it was the smile, her cool self-satisfied look of knowing she was the shit. That’s what America could not forgive her for — she loved being Shannen Doherty and refused to apologize for it. Nothing she went through, even in her final years, could break that grin.

She blew up right before the Nineties explosion of feminist pop culture, as the Alanis/Fiona/Courtney/Missy/Liz/Left Eye revolution took off. She was the jagged little pill that America could not swallow, and it got her crucified in public. But it’s why so many of us idolized her.

In Heathers, Winona Ryder’s Veronica Sawyer asks, “Why do you have to be such a mega-bitch?” Doherty, as queen bee Heather Duke replies, “Because I can be.” Only Doherty could give that line such a stiletto twist.

I saw her last year making a rare public appearance at a Nineties pop-culture fan convention in Florida. She had the longest lines at her autograph booth — fans told me they’d camped out for hours before her sessions even started. Everybody knew she was battling cancer, so it was emotional to see the crowd erupt when she came out for a Charmed reunion panel, saying that she was “feeling great,” holding court with that same cocky smile. She also refused to take part in the Beverly Hills, 90210 reunion panel, featuring almost all her castmates, even though she was right there in the building — she scheduled an autograph session while it was happening. What a Brenda Walsh power move.

Even before 90210, Doherty was ferocious. She was just 17 when she became one of the all-time-great movie supervillains in Heathers, as the high-school mean girl Heather Duke. It was supposed to be a star vehicle for Winona and Christian Slater, but Shannen steals it, especially in the funeral scene. She’s dressed to kill, in black gloves and a royal-wedding hat. She kneels by the casket to pray over her dead friend’s body. “I prayed for the death of Heather Chandler many times,” she tells the Lord. “And I felt bad every time I did it, but I kept doing it anyway. Now I know you understood everything. Praise Jesus! Hallelujah!” Her sadistic smirk is still shocking after all these years.

Doherty was a child actress, appearing in Little House on the Prairie when she was 11, alongside frontier patriarch Michael Landon. She credited him for inspiring her combative streak. “He told me, ‘Go with your instinct, and never let anybody walk over you, and always stick up for what you believe in,’” she once said. She stood out in the bizarrely underrated masterpiece Girls Just Want to Have Fun, one of the Eighties’ best teen movies, as Sarah Jessica Parker’s sassy little sister.

But she became a household name with Beverly Hills, 90210. “This receptionist told me, ‘What you have done for brunettes is amazing,’” Doherty told Rolling Stone in a 1992 cover story. “‘It’s always the blondes that get the guy, who have the wonderful life, who are perceived as the most beautiful one. And you have totally turned it around.” Brenda and her twin brother Brandon (Jason Priestley) had just moved to Beverly Hills from Minnesota. The Walshes were an innocent Midwest family dropped into the decadent SoCal fleshpots, where her mom fretted, “You didn’t wear this much makeup in Minnesota.”

The joke was that Shannen didn’t have a drop of Minnesota in her — her family was from Memphis, but she grew up in L.A., with showbiz written all over her face. “I dress more for my figure than Brenda does,” she said to Rolling Stone, explaining why she wore a bodysuit to the interview. “She’d probably put a dress over this bodysuit to hide herself. Brenda’s more apple pie, girl next door, America’s sweetheart.” That wasn’t Doherty’s style. Her glamour was more suited to the L.A. shoulder-pads era — she made a fantastic hair-metal muse in a video for the band Slaughter’s power ballad “Real Love.” Brenda was originally scripted as the nice, wholesome heroine, but Shannen turned it around with her sheer force of personality. Brenda had drama with practically everyone at West Beverly Hills High School, dating the bad boy Dylan. (Luke Perry tragically died of a stroke in 2019, only 52, a year younger than Doherty.) Jennie Garth played her best friend Kelly, yet they famously despised each other; one on-set brawl got so intense that Brian Austin Green had to break it up. (Green and Doherty had a laugh about this last year on her podcast.) The tension blew up with the Brenda/Dylan/Kelly love triangle. Dylan and Kelly try to keep it secret, until the legendary scene when Brenda catches them at a restaurant. Naturally she turns an awkward public encounter into World War 3, snarling, “Kelly, if you’re trying to lose your bimbo image, I honestly don’t think this will help.” If you doubt her greatness as an actor, watch her in this scene: She was a genius at hostile eye contact. Doherty made it a classic TV moment — even though Dylan really did belong with Kelly, sorry.

Brenda became the most hated character on TV. The zine Ben Is Dead did a spinoff called I Hate Brenda, with lines like “Shannen: The Other White Meat” and fantasies about Ted Nugent bow-hunting her. Plus a spinoff album full of bangers like “Brenda Can’t Dance To This” and the sensual slow jam “Horny Brenda.” It came with an “I Hate Brenda” T-shirt riddled with bloody bullet holes. When Doherty hosted Saturday Night Live in 1993, it became a horrifyingly misogynistic get-the-guest episode, sadly typical of that SNL era. In one sketch, Doherty was in the dock at the Salem Bitch Trials, with the whole cast chanting, “Burn the bitch!” (When Luke Perry hosted SNL, one of the first jokes in his monologue was “Be nice or I’ll get Shannen after you.”)

The tabloids were obsessed with her public fights, especially when she battled with Paris Hilton over Rick Salomon, Doherty’s ex from a quickie Vegas marriage. When her name came up on The Simple Life, Hilton just sniffed, “I hate that girl.”

Doherty was the bad conscience of Nineties girlhood, which was why America was so fascinated with the idea of hating her. Like Brenda, she was judged by ridiculously hypocritical double standards, sexualized and then demonized for it. She was about one-sixth as destructive as your average Hollywood male star of the time, yet she was the one constantly on trial for being everybody’s worst-case-scenario of a messy girl in public, prosecuted in her own real-life Salem Bitch Trials. Yet she refused to back down or play nice. This bitch would not burn.The 1992 ABC TV movie Obsessed is largely forgotten now — it’s total trash, but Doherty is brilliant in it. Her character spends the movie stalking her ex, who is (of all people) Seventies character actor William Devane, who was in McCabe & Mrs. Miller before she was born. (When this movie comes out, she’s 21, he’s 63 — exactly three times her age.) Naturally, the movie presents him as an innocent family man seduced and trapped by a stereotypical psycho sexpot, but Shannen’s feral intensity makes it very different — she’s in a totally different movie from anyone else onscreen. It’s full of normal people living their hypocritical lives, all agreeing that she’s the problem. But she doesn’t see it that way and won’t play that role. It’s the Alanis “I’m not quite as well and I thought you should know” brought to life.

Doherty moved on to Charmed, in a threesome of witch sisters with Alyssa Milano and Holly Marie Combs. After three seasons of conflict with Milano, Charmed finally killed off Doherty’s character and replaced her with Rose McGowan. Doherty reprised the role of Brenda in the terrible 2008 Beverly Hills, 90210 reboot, and again in the campy 2019 BH90210 miniseries. She also had a great 2006 reality show on the Oxygen network: Breaking Up With Shannen Doherty. Each week she met with people desperate to escape their dysfunctional relationships, so she stepped in and did the breaking up for them. A perfect use of her skill set: the emotional assassin.

At the Charmed reunion panel last year, she kept snuggling on the couch with fellow bad-girl lifer Rose McGowan, who said her biggest career regret was that she and Shannen didn’t overlap on the show, so they never got to be witch sisters. A fan asked if Rose, Shannen, and Holly-Marie Combs would say the Power of Three ritual together, since they never got the chance on the show. It was indescribably moving to see these three women — all outcasts in Hollywood, all women discarded and demonized in different ways, all counted out and written off — huddle together and chant, “The Power of Three will set us free!”

It was a moment that said so much about her power, and why she will be missed and remembered. But she always lived up to that answer she gave Winona in Heathers. Why did she have to be Shannen Doherty? Because she could be.

[maaarine]

Women are being diagnosed with ADHD at unprecedented rates. Here's why. (Kaelyn Lynch, National Geographic, Jan 16 2024)

"There are three types of ADHD: hyperactive, inattentive, and combined.

Girls and women tend to have the inattentive type, characterized by disorganization, forgetfulness, and struggles with starting and staying on task.

“They’re more likely to be seen as daydreamers, or lost in the clouds,” says Julia Schechter, co-director of Duke University’s Center for Women and Girls with ADHD.

Even hyperactive or combined-type girls often display their symptoms differently than boys—such as excessive talking, twirling their hair or constantly shaking their legs, and emotional reactivity.

“Their symptoms are just as impairing, but can fly under the radar,” Schechter says.

When clinical psychologist Kathleen Nadeau co-authored Understanding Girls with ADHD in 1999—one of the first real attempts to characterize how ADHD appeared in young girls—the research community still thought of ADHD almost exclusively as a “boy disorder.”

“We were laughed at during conferences,” says Nadeau, now recognized as an authority on women with ADHD.

“They said, ‘We’ve got these guys that are in the principal’s office three times a week, getting suspended and throwing spitballs. And you’ve got these quiet girls making honor roll grades and you think they have ADHD?’”

While that attitude has started to change, the overwhelming majority of research on ADHD has been done in boys and men, leading to the hyperactive, disruptive boy stereotype of ADHD.

Many girls with ADHD excel in school, though it comes at a price—they may get an A on a paper but stay up the night before writing it after being unable to focus for weeks.

“Girls work very hard to hide their problems. ‘I don’t want the teacher to be mad at me, I don’t want my parents to be mad at me,’” Nadeau says.

Experts call this masking, or how people socialized as female tend to find ways to compensate for their symptoms due to societal expectations.

“They have to put in at least twice the effort of other people if they’re determined to do well,” Nadeau says.

“You can’t let people know that you’re falling apart,” says Janna Moen, 31, a postdoctoral research scientist at Yale Center for Infection and Immunity with a PhD in neuroscience, who was diagnosed with ADHD in her late 20s.

Like many girls who go untreated, Moen scored top grades in school and went on to have a successful career, but years of masking her symptoms contributed to her developing mental health and self-esteem issues, and struggling in personal relationships.

Like Moen, who showed symptoms of ADHD from childhood, girls and women are more likely to have their symptoms mistaken for emotional or learning difficulties and are less likely to be referred for assessments.

Gender bias also may play a role: in two studies where teachers were presented with vignettes of children with ADHD, when the child’s names and pronouns were changed from female to male, they were more likely to be recommended for treatment and offered extra support.

All these misconceptions mean that girls with ADHD are being overlooked and untreated well into adulthood.

As David Goodman, the director of the Adult Attention Deficit Disorder Center of Maryland and an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, points out, the ratio of boys to girls with ADHD in childhood is about three to one, while in adults, it’s about one to one, suggesting that ADHD prevalence is more equal across genders, with women being diagnosed later. (…)

Compared to their neurotypical peers, women with ADHD are more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression, substance abuse, and eating disorders.

They are also five times more likely to experience intimate partner violence, seven times more likely to have attempted suicide, and have higher rates of unplanned or early pregnancy.

One Danish study showed that the risk of premature death in women with ADHD was more than twice that of men with ADHD, potentially due to women being less likely to be diagnosed and receive treatment."