#like. i don't remember what the maximum age for developing did is so like could you hc him as having did? possibly. considering his trauma

[alyimoss]

!!!!!!!!!!!

Biggest psych nerd pet peeve is when people use mental discorders inaccurately. For example people saying a character has DID without looking into it (ie. the only trauma they’d ever experienced was an adult, which is not grounds for being diagnosed with DID) instead of any of the other dissociative disorders that very well could fit this character. I mean what

[bloody-wonder]

ik I'm probably the only person that still sends u asks about aftg, but did u read the new short stories? any thoughts?

thank you for the ask and sorry that it took me ages to reply! i just wanted to reread aftg before checking out the new extra chapters (for maximum impact) so i was waiting for the right mood to do the whole thing and now it finally happened. reread the og trilogy and the extra content over the last couple of weeks and i gotta say - absolutely amazing, no notes, still love this story to bits, maybe even more than before😌🥍

i liked the new chapters a lot too! so turns out i still like nora's writing, it's just that i don't care about jean & the trojans oops😬 well maybe that's gonna change after i finally read the golden raven🤷‍♀️

funny moments:

"are you and neil not getting along? - bane of my existence." hehehe😁 "my hands are full with too many idiots" yes yes andrew we all know how much you hate your friends who you've invested so much time in keeping deals with😏

"now that you're doomed to bounce off the walls all night, any plans? - chaos and mayhem." 😂😂😂 lmao the implication that betsy got andrew into musicals - i love it. there is no other explanation for how andrew knows who jean valjean is in the late 2000s, right? it's before the movie adaptation came out and there's no way andrew read the book.

"he could waste his time being angry or he could go the tried and true minyard route of infuriating everyone else around him" haha aaron's chapter starting with him smirking about how he's gonna manipulate and gaslight his brother into breaking their deal. okay machiavelli, we remember now you're a minyard too. "Hey Bee!" ksjdvkjsd he's like i'm gonna ruin this man's whole career he won't even know what hit him😂

"exy this, exy that, get a fucking hobby already. oh, but i guess he did?" if the twinyards didn't have Issues they could've bonded over hating neil's exy obsession big time. also this is peak sibling teasing over crushes in front of an audience, andrew was probably so Embarrassed🙈 "i like neil's promise ring, by the way. matching set. very cute." GO AWAY AARON🙈🙈🙈 "neil is not our family, not with the way you look at him" no come back tell me more👀

"aaron was willing to be an ass about it" and what a burden lol "he tried to punch me out. - you bring out that urge in people." 😂😂😂 "i told her you were never going to develop a personality of your own. she held out hope for you regardless. she has a thing for lost causes." siblings banter👏 siblings banter👏 siblings banter👏

"i liked him more when he wasn't speaking to me, bee" 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

"neil, then? :) - tick tock, bee. goodbye." OMG they are literally ganging up on this poor man!! the worst day andrew has had since roland accidentally threw him under the bus that one time😂

"you will regret it. - says the man dating a MAFIOSO. - i'm not dating him. - LIAR😃" sjhvskvbksdj this is everything lmao. surreal that they just spent so much time discussing the danger katelyn may or may not pose to aaron considering who andrew is not-dating. love that we have this on page instance of neil being called a mafioso hehe😅 and technically it's true that one can't describe what neil and andrew have by the unassuming word 'dating' but aaron won't let semantics get in the way of MAKING FUN OF HIS BROTHER FOR HAVING A CRUSH🙌🙌🙌

emotional moments:

"coaches have no honor. your word is enough. just yours." 😭 as a big fan of "and my father comes to all of my games" i gotta say - 😭😭😭

"have to stack the deck in his favor somehow" jesus lord🥲 ik the twinyards would do anything for each other and ik the only thing andrew cared to know after being assaulted was if aaron was alright BUT this somehow feels bigger to me. maybe bc sa was nothing new for andrew but submitting this part of himself for examination by state officials was? andrew "get away from us" minyard giving these doctors this intrusive, unfair kind of power over himself bc he knows this is the only way to save aaron back rn😭

"who fears the monster that knows the taste of a whip?" this is the rawest fucking line everrr😱 andrew never fails to shakespeare. very revealing in terms of how he sees himself in his relationships - and a recurring motif too bc in the story where wymack recruits them to the team he says wymack can "loosen the chain" by letting him come off his meds during games. a chained monster who is only let loose when one of his own needs to be rescued by violence😬 i can only imagine how he felt when neil thanked him for being their defender (as opposed to others 'using' his services but being put off by the 'monstrous' parts of him) and told him he wants to see him lose control😳

"someone like you wouldn't understand the importance of hiding scars." 🥲🥲🥲 this is very sad but unfortunately now i can only think about that post i saw the other day about how andrew must have been showering wearing armbands in communal showers after away games bc otherwise everyone would know about his scars by now and then just what? went on wearing wet armbands? lol he probably brought an extra set but still - food for thought. also "andrew's smile was all ice" ?? is this a canon non medicated andrew smile before kevin changes his tattoo??? i'm gonna disregard this

"neurosurgeon, right? - ......................fuck you, andrew." it's so difficult being codependent sibling frenemies with andrew bc he will literaly help you fulfill your secret dreams and murder your abusers so you can't even be mad at him when you're playing machiavellian mind games to get him to let you date your girlfriend. like, there's no winning against this guy, he's always two steps ahead in your self-sacrificial frenemy game🥹🥰

"'i am capable of multitasking.' aaron heard what he didn't say: i blame us both." 😔😔😔 aaron pushing at andrew with the couch pillow to get him to look at him😌

thoughts:

wymack's chapter:

so when kevin makes the info about his father public wymack says it won't have any impact on his coaching which like, sure, bc in the books, seen from neil's pov, it doesn't look like kevin gets any special treatment from wymack neither before nor after the reveal. well, no sort of treatment more special than andrew & co get in any case. so it's interesting to see from wymack's pov that he indeed has a different kind of emotional investment in kevin even before he knows him to be his son - bc kevin is the son of this lowkey legendary woman who he used to love, who he was in a serious committed relationship with, who he believes did not reciprocate bc she had this kid with someone else and then broke things off with him, and who then died in tragic circumstances. so a bunch of complicated stuff, not even related to kevin being his son - bc it's not like he suspected all along, he just looks at kevin and sees kayleigh and that by itself creates an attachment different to those he has with the other foxes. i wonder if it really never had any impact on his coaching or if neil just didn't mention it.

betsy's chapter:

so betsy's chapter is devastating, right? right. it's this special brand of angst i really like when absolutely fucked up shit happens but the characters involved try to act like it's nothing by having funny banter etc to obscure the fact that everything is fucked, things changed drastically and you have no control over anything except your own surface level behavior. ig i relate to this a lot bc this was the communication style in my family and i got used to it so much i still struggle to hold a sincere conversation without diffusing each vulnerability with a joke. so that's what andrew and wymack are doing in that scene - andrew for the above reasons and wymack bc this is how they usually talk to each other and he doesn't want to offend andrew by suddenly changing it in the wake of what happened - and then there's betsy who breaks through this by asking difficult questions directly, plainly stating that things that happened to andrew are fucked up, putting her compassion into words and basically firmly urging him to process. i didn't like that😂

lmao i mean on a personal level, not like on a narrative level. ik this is her job as his therapist and ik this is what andrew probably needed to hear despite his manic jester facade but ngl i preferred when neil 'yelled' at him bc it was a nice contrast to everyone's concern and pity, esp given how it's confirmed that andrew specifically hates that everyone knows now and might see him as weak. like on the one hand i completely understand what betsy means when she tells andrew it's time to put the monster away but on the other it feels like she just doesn't get all the levels of fucked up he has to deal with. which is why ig he responds nope it's not time yet "with him on our heels" (i assume he means riko) and that's the end of it.

given that betsy somehow managed to gain andrew's respect after he had to go through so many therapists i always assumed that they work bc she meets him halfway and is able to understand the psychology behind his deals and coping mechanisms without being preachy about how he needs to drop them sooner or later. i imagined she had some sort of interesting individual approach with him. but this didn't feel individual enough to me - just your standard "you were abused but this is not your fault" (true, and?), "nobody will judge you for it" (maybe, but they will see him differently), "it's time to put the monster away and become a normal guy" (how will this solve any of the problems at hand tho?). "but everyone deserves to be a normal guy! a friend! a brother!🙂" lol ik i'm twisting her words but this is the vibe i got from betsy here so it's probably good we see so little of her and her therapy in the books - otherwise i'd have been disillusioned. idk she just makes me feel uncomfortable, i'm with neil on this one lol

(however, later in aaron's chapter when she says it's time to pull the knife from the wound so it can heal i think it's appropriate both setting and timing-wise)

aaron's chapter:

i agree with aaron when he thinks andrew avoided talking to betsy about neil bc it would open a whole can of worms and she'd make him confront his feelings and admit how important neil is to him. however, i don't agree with his assessment that andrew needed him and betsy to accept and approve him being gay. i don't think andrew never came out to betsy bc he thought she was homophobic in some shape or form, but rather bc coming out would lead to talking about the issues he wasn't ready to discuss with her yet - such as his sexuality in the context of his abuse and then ofc his feelings for neil. as for aaron's approval, i think aaron's is self-projecting a bit.

like, as a person who used to be very homophobic and who has learned to become less so at least in part due to having a close relative who is gay but has done so much good for him, i think aaron often has the issues of accepting queer sexuality on his mind and so he thinks it's the same for andrew. i don't want to say that andrew doesn't at all care what aaron's thinks of him being gay but it does seem like aaron sort of centers himself in this situation and assumes that his gay brother owes him this information - as in: andrew would've come out sooner or later and only hasn't done so up till now bc he was afraid of aaron's reaction - as opposed to: andrew doesn't need to come out if he doesn't want to for many reasons but esp bc the idea that queer people have to disclose their sexuality and sort of give the others an occasion to accept or reject them, to form an opinion about their identity, is hetero propaganda. like, figure things out for yourself, i won't tell you anything🙄 people can be important to you and you can still never come out to them bc you literally don't have to. maybe andrew didn't come out bc his sexuality was wrapped in all these big problems and traumas and feelings OR maybe he just didn't want to hear nicky's running commentary about it. maybe he just wanted to keep his private life private. all of these reasons seem more plausible to me than aaron claiming it's bc andrew was afraid of what aaron, betsy and the others would think of him if they found out.

so aaron framing this convo as this big moment for andrew makes me roll my eyes a little. "andrew needed a few moments to come to terms with their easy acceptance" "andrew wouldn't risk their unfavorable opinion" like, come on. someone thinks too much of himself and of his straight superpowers to grant self-acceptance to queer people by showing a minimum of support. andrew was probably pleased to hear that they won't be having additional issues to work on but that's about it.

so, in conclusion: you know the unreliable narrator neil discourse? many people in the fandom are convinced that neil is constantly lying, twisting and omitting information and there's a popular shitpost genre that's like "we would never have found out this *unimportant detail* if we hadn't gotten this other character's pov bc neil is so unreliable". i'm still irritated by this bc unreliable neil truthers seem so inexplicably sure that everyone is reliable except for neil (or more precisely: the more life has fucked you up the less reliable you are - but that is a post for another time) and therefore all other povs contain objective unbiased facts. well, i think this moment in the chapter is a good example of aaron being unreliable bc the way he interprets andrew's feelings seems to be colored by his own views and not consistent with how andrew is presented in the rest of the canon.

conversely, the way aaron explains his own homophobia - that it used to be about nicky's gayness itself but now it's more about how nicky's constant lewd comments make him uncomfortable - fits very well with their dynamic that we've seen before. i remember i first liked aaron bc nicky's sex jokes irritated me a lot and aaron was the only one to voice my irritation - so it was satisfying to get the confirmation that i judged his reasons correctly. it was also interesting to find out that he had enough insight to analyze why nicky was behaving this way.

[thedawningofthehour]

If Draxum had raised Gale then it would be a normal separate AU, which wouldn't hurt me as much since at least no one would be actively trying to keep the brothers apart (EW Shredder doesn't count because he's brainwashing his turtle too). What's more, in most separate AU's Draxum wants them to meet. And now I absolutely want to know what your version of that AU would be.

Because that's the part that bleeds me, for me, turtles are a package deal, you either get them all or you get none. I don't care if Draxum is trying to conquer the world as long as all the turtles are together and I think I just explained why my AU exists.

My whole basis for doth was literally a separated AU but with all the angst of having developed that brotherly bond and having it snatched away. With every other separated au, even ones where they were originally together and kidnapped/lost as older children, (like Leo and Mikey in EW, and there is one fic where Draxum kidnaps Donnie at a young age whose name I can't remember now) the bond still isn't what it is in the show. And it's ironic mentioning slushie's au, since that was one of the stories that inspired doth. I basically looked at that and went "I can make that more emotionally wretching." I wanted MAXIMUM angst, and this was how I decided it was best to deliver it.

An actual doth separated au, hmm. Well, first of all we have to overlook the fact that Donnie named himself here, realistically Draxum would have named him something else, (probably after some heroic Yokai or maybe his father or something) but for simplicity's sake I'll continue to call him Galois. A lot of it really depends on how Gale ended up with Draxum and what went down when the turtles were separated. Splinter could see that there were four turtles, did he think Donnie died in the blaze? I could see him becoming even more depressed if that was the case, trudging along to care for his remaining sons but always feeling the gap where his fourth kid should be. (he might have even resented April a bit, feeling like she was taking the spot his 'real' daughter/fourth son should have occupied) He probably wouldn't have told the boys about Donnie-until he was confronted with evidence that he survived the lab explosion, and then honestly it's a 50/50 shot whether he'd go murder a goat right then and there or jump straight to denial, because there's no way he could have just left his child with that nutjob for thirteen years.

If he saw Draxum take Donnie for himself, there's no way he'd leave that alone. He'd make sure his other boys were safe, but he would go at Draxum with everything he had to try and rescue his son. Maybe that's the situation he'd go back to Big Mama for, knowing she could keep his other kids safe and help him get his last baby back. Draxum would probably have to go into hiding.

On Draxum's side-I mean, like in doth, he'd go from 'warring warrior scientist' to "I love my son and if anything happened to him I'd kill everyone in the world and then myself" in about three seconds flat. Gale would do exactly one (1) cute thing and he'd be a goner.

Logistically, Gale's upbringing would be pretty much identical to the backstory Draxum fed him in doth. He would have been very hesitant to take Gale out in public, homeschooling him and, after realizing how intelligent he really was and giving up on the whole 'warrior and protector of humanity' thing, training him to take over as his scientific successor. They'd have a very close relationship, Draxum would probably be a little more affectionate, and Galois a little less.

I also don't know if he'd be the only one by the time the show rolls around. The ooze used to create the turtles was destroyed and Draxum didn't back up his notes apparently, so the formula was lost. He could have theoretically used Gale's blood to try and reverse-engineer the ooze, (something he does actually try in slushie's au) but it would be a question of if he was willing to use his son like a lab subject. He's very uncomfortable with the notion, he wants to maintain a separation between Galois and the crimes against humanity he regularly commits in the lab, and even something like taking his blood for a mutagen experiment feels like the first step down a slippery slope that Draxum is terrified of going down. But this Draxum would also still be on the 'army of elite warriors' things, plus he's enjoying this whole dad thing. He kind of wants more kids.

When he does realize that the other turtles survived, oh yeah he'd tell Galois everything and try to convince them to 'come home' to him. I don't think he could ever bring himself to harm them, knowing they're his son's brothers. Draxum and Gale would probably try doing what the fam is doing in doth, reverse-kidnapping his brothers and trying to make the case that Lou kidnapped them first and Draxum is their real father.

I still kind of wish I had set this story up just from Gale's pov after waking up from the brainwashing, treating his memories like they were real and having the truth slowly revealed through interactions with Leo and the fam. Most of the story would be missing then and the ending wouldn't really make sense, but that would have been SO COOL.

[onewingednatu]

I had an encounter with what was probably the worst case of medical fatphobia I've ever been a part of.

TW: Fat/weight shaming, medical fatphobia, talk of diets and weight loss, etc. Read at own risk.

So, for the past 6-ish months, I've been having problems with painful gallstones. All the women on my mom's side of the family had this problem at varying degrees at the age I'm at now, so it's hereditary.

After several weeks, I get in to see a surgeon to discuss my options. Nurse was great, had a sense of humor, took my vitals without issue. Commented on my high blood pressure, but understood when we said it was likely my severe anxiety. I'd been stressing all day about the appointment, after all. (And my resting blood pressure is fine.)

She leaves. After several minutes, the surgeon and his nurse practioner comes in. He has me tell him about my gallbladder. (Dude had zero sense of humor btw.) I explain the gallstones and the pain. He's puzzled since I said it doesn't matter what I eat, and I don't get sick after eating. He has me lay back. Pulls up my shirt and starts to press and knead on the right side of my ribs. (Very painful.)

He has me sit back up. Finally, he says, "I'm going to be honest. You're almost at the weight limit for the surgery." (Key word I want you to remember: almost. AKA, I was still under their maximum limit.)

He brings up the weight on my chart; the weight from when I was in high school roughly 8 years ago, and plays it like I've gained 50 pounds in the span of a year. I tell him look, the topic of weight loss is very traumatic for me, so I haven't been paying attention to the numbers.

He asks what I eat everyday. How often do I snack? Not very often. How much do I eat? The same as the average person, if not less.

This bastard looks me straight in the eyes, and says, "Then how can you be this heavy? We have to be honest with ourselves." He did not believe a single word I said.

"Do you eat bread? Potatoes? Rice?" Of course I do, we live in the deep south and those are staples. Almost every culture eats those. He tells me that I need to cut out sugar entirely, that it's absolutely terrible for me to have at my weight. He forms it like I'm actively poisoning myself for eating bread or drinking tea.

"You need to be on a diet. The only things you need to be eating are pure meat and greens." ...Excuse me? You're saying that the only things you want me to eat are meat and greens. Right. No fruit? No nuts? No things like carrots, eggplant, squash, sweet potato, corn, tomato? Hm. Okay. Alright.

"To prepare for the surgery, you'd have to be on a diet of liquid protein shakes for 2 weeks to shrink your liver." That's fine! I literally don't care about that! I'd do it to prepare for the surgery. Protein shakes would at least be easy to consume. HOWEVER. "But first, you need to [go on the very restrictive diet he suggested of meat and greens]. Keep a food journal, see a nutritionist who can look it over and say "Oh! You ate this when you COULD have had a handful of almonds!". Come back when you're SMALLER. We'll weigh you again, and maybe then we'll see about getting you that surgery."

Keep in mind: he never said I was over their weight limit. I was ALMOST AT it. He told me it would be difficult, that there might be complications. (When is there not? It's surgery, not building with Legos.) Also... I thought you said you wanted me to eat nothing but pure meat and greens? Where did the almonds come from? (Also: to put it very simply, he was encouraging me to develop an eating disorder. See: Orthorexia.)

All throughout the visit, he wouldn't listen to a word I had to say. I'm fat because of genetics; a long line of fat people. I'm fat because I spent my childhood forced on and off restrictive diets and heavy exercise. My metabolism is shot. Weight loss is not achievable nor sustainable for me. I WOULD KNOW. I LIVE IN THIS BODY FOR CHRIST SAKE.

Due to the trauma, I'd completely shut down. My mom had to take over the talking for me, because I could not speak. Hell, I couldn't even look at the guy. He kept telling me that he wasn't trying to upset me- despite not believing any of my defenses and continuing despite the trauma I told him twice about.

And all this time, he's still assuming I'm fat because I eat too much, and that im lying when I said I didnt. He doesn't even think about other possibilities. Possible disease? Side effect of the three prescriptions I take? Stress? Genetics? Nope, it's cause I decided you eat too much. And no, I'm no dietician or even a general practice doctor, I'm a gastrointestinal surgeon. (Also keeping in mind that the handful of doctors and nurses I've seen over the past few months I've been fighting these stones- or hell, even all my life-, he's the only one to ever say anything about my weight or deny me treatment.)

Soooo... yeah! Suffice to say I left the surgeon's office in tears. I will not be going back.

[agentblizz]

OK SO

I didn't actually know what a Shade was seeing as it's one of the less discussed additions of a third party D&D 5e expansion, 'Tome Of Heroes' by Kobold Press. But I did the research and OH MY GOD THEYRE SO COOL im gonna do a full breakdown for autism so click the thing if you wanna see that

Most dnd races are pretty limited in racial customization beyond superficial stuff like appearance, but the Shade is really different. I think the original material sums it up better than I could, so I'll just insert that here.

"Life leaves echoes in its wake, whether crumbled remnants of a bygone civilization, tales of heroes and gods that spawn new beliefs, or even the echo of an individual soul left behind to haunt the living world. Fantasy worlds are no strangers to ghosts and specters that linger beyond death, but sometimes a person’s passion, purpose, and will to live are so strong, their tie to the living world so unbreakable, that their memories create a vessel for their soul after their body dies. These people are called shades."

They're basically ghosts with a more material, undead twist, which, as the discerning reader might have noticed, means they were a different race pre-death. This is the main customization opportunity for Shades, as your previous race, or "Living Origin", will influence things. For the sake of answering this poll, we can assume your Living Origin is Human, exactly as you are now. If you don't like that answer you can spin the wheel again and use that as your Living Origin.

The way a Shade manifests is by having so much willpower/determination/self-confidence/whatever that they sort of spiritually manifest a new body to house that energy and their consciousness after they die. But that energy can run thin, and requires being replenished.

A Shades continued "life" depends on one key factor, memory. In order to continue existing, people, including themselves, must never forget them. They draw power and sustenance from gifts from friends, tokens of gratitude, songs, poems, and arts dedicated to them. These are all examples of a Memento Mori. In order to continue existing and keep a hold of themselves and who they are, A Shade must constantly be producing Mementos. This is what often drives a Shade to adventure, trying to meet as many people and do as many notable things as possible. One fun way to take this would be producing memories and Mementos through terror. You could have a tyrant warlord that takes over kingdoms to ensure they have citizens that know and remember them, or a criminal committing joker-esque nonsensical cruelties and crimes that linger in one's mind. A Shade NEVER operates anonymously or quietly.

Shades do depend on the gifts and memory of others, but their own memory is just as important. Shades will often keep highly detailed journals, write books detailing their adventures, or something else that ensures they remember their journey. Shades also don't need to eat, drink, sleep, breathe, or perform any of the bodily functions a normal living creature would, but they will if by any means possible, because this helps to remind them of their old life.

Shades forget themselves more and more as they age, developing more greedy and self-preserving tendencies along the way. A young Shades alignment is dependent on their personality and who they were pre-death, but as they get older they will tend to grow more towards the evil end of the spectrum. By 500, a Shade will usually have forgotten themselves, reliant on scraps of memory and the memories of others to continue on. By 700, a Shade has almost certainly devolved into a mere monster, most likely no longer resembling themselves or even a humanoid as they forget what they look like. They live to a maximum of around 750 years, at which point they dissipate fully as their last memories held by themselves and others are forgotten.

Mechanically, Shades have 60 feet of Darkvision and get a +1 to Charisma, a +1 to any other stat of your choice, and a +1 to a stat that their Living Origin would get a plus to. That's three +1s or a +2 and a +1 just from your race, making it one of the better spreads starting out. Sadly you can't stack them all, as the chosen +1 does specifically exclude Charisma. Your size category and speed are also those of your Living Origin, and you speak common as well as one language your Living Origin might have spoken. They also have several really interesting racial traits.

Firstly, the most basic of them, Spectral Resilience. A Shade has advantage on saving throws against poison and disease, and resistance to necrotic damage.

Their second, much more interesting trait is Imperfect Undeath. A Shade exists at a point between material life and spectral undead status. This is why, unlike most undead, they can benefit from healing that would usually only affect living creatures (And it would be pretty lame if they weren't able to get standard healing like the rest of the party). Unfortunately, this feature has two sides, and has something of a curse in addition to this boon. Because they are still, at their core, undead, the Shade is vulnerable to all things that affect undead such as silver weapons, spells like Turn Undead and Protection From Good And Evil, and, depending on what kind of campaign you're playing either the most inconsequential or the worst by far, involuntary control by Necromancers.

Next and my personal favorite detail of their kit is Life Drain. When a Shade deals damage, either by spell or attack, they can use Life Drain to deal additional necrotic damage equal to their total level. It has one charge, and you regain use on a short or long rest. What makes this really compelling is that when Life Drain is used on someone of the same race as your Living Origin, you also gain your total level in temporary hitpoints.

Finally, the core of a Shades kit, Ghostly Flesh. This is an unlocked ability but it's pretty low level so, depending on what level you build at, most characters will either start with this feature or get it pretty early on in their career. Starting at third level, as an action a Shade can activate Ghostly Flesh, allowing their physical body to dissipate and take on more ghost-like traits and abilities. The Shades form becomes translucent and devoid of color and the air around them grows cold. This form lasts for one minute (ten rounds) or until it is cancelled as a bonus action. While Ghostly Flesh is activated you gain a thirty foot flying speed complete with hover, resistance to bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing damage (assuming the weapon is nonmagical and not made of silver), and advantage on checks or saves made against being grappled or otherwise restrained. Lastly, and easily the most interestingly, a Shade in this form can travel through solid objects and creatures with a difficult terrain penalty. If you end your turn inside of an object or creature you take 1d10 force damage but remains where you are. It says nothing about what happens if you end Ghostly Flesh as a whole while inside an object or creature, but one would assume you are ejected and take damage as normal. This feature has one charge which is regained on a long rest.

In conclusion: HOLY SHIT THESE THINGS ARE SO FUCKING COOL there are so many opportunities for synergy or contrast in a characters class, it's so fun

tl;dr they're real cool ghost guys but might make you sad cuz ur dead:( you can fly a little, phase a little, and poison/disease doesn't affect you very much so that's a plus! You do mechanically HAVE TO do interesting stuff and meet people who will remember you though so no being a normal chill guy for you i guess

Ok, so you've been isekai'd to the dnd world and may or may not die due to the class you've been assigned. Better question. Are you human? (spinner wheel of all dnd5e species)

[richmond-rex]

Honestly the fact that Anne Neville and Elizabeth of York seemed to get on is pretty endearing to me. It would be interesting to know how much (if she did) Anne influenced EoY's style of queenship. Especially since, I think that, whilst there is something to be said for Richard having the potential to have been a good king hade things not gone like that, imo the more tragic 'lost opportunity' is that Anne seems to have fulfilled the role of queenship perfectly (except for motherhood I guess, but that's not her fault), and it's a shame that side of her doesn't seem to be discussed much. Now I'm just imagining the two of them in the afterlife chatting about clothes whilst their husbands glare at eachother lol.

Hello! I think this question has two parts: Anne Neville's relationship with Elizabeth of York and Anne Neville's style of queenship, so please bear with me while I go through all the points. It’s rather long so I apologise in advance!

The traditional disclaimer is that we don't know much about Elizabeth of York's relationship with her aunt Anne Neville, but what many people might not realise is that they didn't spend much time together. Richard's time as Duke of Gloucester was mainly spent in his Northern estates where Anne was based, so apart from some big court occasions, Elizabeth would not have seen much of her aunt growing up. Once Richard took the throne, Elizabeth would likewise have seen very little of her aunt. She remained in sanctuary from May 1483 to March 1484. She left — maybe Richard publicly received his nieces or maybe they simply departed sanctuary after he swore his oath not to harm them — but it seems Elizabeth and her sisters didn't reside at court after that. The continuator of the Croyland Chronicle specifically says Elizabeth Woodville sent her daughters to Richard III’s court around Christmas. Then, Elizabeth of York either remained at court until February or until her aunt Anne died in March 1485. The longest time they spent together to develop some kind of relationship, at maximum, was three months (December 1484 - March 1485).��

The thing about Elizabeth and Anne sharing similar dresses in shape and colour is that it's not really a sign of a close relationship—we must remember that in a medieval monarchy, the personal was political and the political personal—though it could very well be a sign of a close relationship in the right circumstances. However, considering Anne Neville barely knew Elizabeth by that time, I would say it's rather a sign of Anne's attempts at reconciling her husband's family. It was part of her job as a queen consort to act as a pacifying agent, and Richard himself would try to reconcile the rest of the Woodville faction by offering them pardons in the following months. Gifting Elizabeth of York a dress in close resemblance to her own would send a clear political image, even if a false one: this is a united family. Indeed, once queen herself, Elizabeth of York and her mother-in-law Margaret were seen together on diverse court occasions wearing similar outfits (although they likely had a close relationship, sharing similar outfits is not evidence of that). 

Elizabeth of York would have seen very little of Anne Neville's queenship to have been inspired by it. In contrast, from birth to age seventeen she had experienced her mother's queenship first at hand. Elizabeth Woodville kept many of her children close and Elizabeth of York in particular is noted to have accompanied her mother almost everywhere. Aged three, she was there with her mother as Elizabeth Woodville visited Norwich to receive the city's welcome. Aged four, she was there with her mother and father as they made a pilgrimage to Canterbury. Aged six, she was there as her mother received Lord Gruuthuyse of Bruges. Aged eight, she was there at Windsor riding a horse alongside her mother as they took part in the Order of the Garter celebrations. Aged ten, she was again at her mother's side at the reinterment of her grandfather Richard duke of York. Aged twelve, she was there beside her mother rewarding the jousters competing at the celebrations of her brother's wedding. And aged fourteen, she was there at the baptism of her youngest sister standing as one of her godmothers. To quote Arlene Okerlund:

To the degree that royal occasion permitted, [Queen Elizabeth Woodville] included her children in the rituals and revelries of the Court— introducing them to responsibilities they would encounter as heirs to the Yorkist dynasty. Such nurturing during childhood greatly influenced Elizabeth of York throughout her adult life. As queen consort to Henry VII, she surrounded herself with family—sisters, uncles, nieces, nephews—including them in her Court and generously paying their expenses from her privy purse.

Likewise, Laynesmith and Beer have noticed how significantly Elizabeth Woodville influenced her daughter's style of queenship, even the nature of her patronage activities. In a sense, their performance of queenship was much the same—the only difference is that Elizabeth Woodville was the victim of a slander campaign against her family. Indeed, we can recognise the extent Elizabeth of York's Woodville relatives influenced other areas of her life. Comparatively, Anne’s three-month influence would be very minimal.

Now, speaking about Anne Neville’s queenship: again we suffer from a lack of sources, but equally, she simply didn’t have a long tenure as queen to have left an easy mark that we can assess. But for an informal analysis, let’s see what we have; let’s go step by step by the outline I laid out here.

1) Perceived as an exemplar of womanhood: We have unclear evidence. The priest John Rous described Anne as ‘seemly’, ‘beauteous’ and ‘pious’ — that’s keeping with exemplar womanhood, but that very priest was commissioned (either by Anne Beauchamp, Anne Neville or Richard III) to laud her genealogy, and indeed, boosted Anne at the expense of her own sister Isabel as if Anne was the eldest and true heiress of Warwick. 

2) Giving birth to royal heirs: During her brief tenure she saw her only son die, nevertheless, for half of that brief period she had indeed been the mother of the heir to the throne. There’s some evidence that she was quite involved with Edward’s household and that she and Richard were trying to set it up in Middleham (or somewhere else in the North) in contrast to the household of the last Prince of Wales, which had been in Ludlow in the Welsh marches. Unfortunately, Edward of Middleham’s death + Anne’s real or perceived barrenness gave grounds to rumours that her husband would set her aside by means of a divorce (or poisoning). Indeed, it undermined her queenship.

3) Appointing numerous officials to handle household and financial administration + collecting honourable female attendants: It’s likely that her household either absorbed Elizabeth Woodville’s former officials (as Richard absorbed Edward IV’s) or that she brought her own from her time as Duchess of Gloucester; probably a mix of both. As for her ladies, Laynesmith comments that “the majority of those who appear to have been in Anne Neville's household were members of northern gentry families, and were probably her attendants as duchess of Gloucester also”. It included some family members like her cousin Elizabeth Parr and her illegitimate half-sister Margaret Huddleston. 

4) Supervising various family matters + providing hospitality and welcome to guests at her husband’s court: The closest we can get to that is when she received Elizabeth Woodville’s daughters for Christmas 1484 and tried to have them reconciled and integrated into her husband’s regime. In any case, unfortunately, we don’t know if that was her idea or Richard III’s.

5) Advising her husband: This sections ties a bit to the last point because we don’t have any kind of evidence if she did advise her husband (though she likely did) or if Richard III deferred to her advice/requests. For example, we have at least two occasions when Henry VII told someone else he took some decision at Elizabeth of York’s request. However, given the private nature of this activity, it is unlikely that much evidence would have survived. Maybe the main point should be: did Richard III listen to Anne Neville? It’s hard to tell though he probably did on some occasions at least or at some point in their married life. Their point is to have evidence of this whilst Anne was queen.

6) Spiritual support; patronising individuals; both lay and religious: Her previous links during her time as duchess might explain why she didn’t join any fraternity whilst queen. However, in March 1484 'the most serene Queen Anne... augmented and endowed [Queens’ college] with great rents'. Scholars have speculated whether that was Richard III’s initiative, though many of the estates granted to the college had initially been property of Anne’s mother, Anne Beauchamp. That’s the extent of her charitable endeavours as queen as far as we can tell, though let me remind you that even this initiative was political: the college’s last patroness had been Elizabeth Woodville, and her patronage was necessarily cut off when Richard took over.

7) Enriching her husband’s kingship, taking part in courtly rituals, complementing the king’s masculine qualities, acting in a Marian-like capacity as intercessor: 

Anne Neville provided status and wealth to Richard III during his time as Duke of Gloucester and was an instrumental part in the establishment of his strong grip in the North. Richard III leaned almost entirely on his Northern powerbase for his usurpation of the English throne (so in a sense, Anne Neville was instrumental to that takeover as wel). According to Croyland, many people were loyal to Richard thanks to Anne, and his kingship was threatened when people perceived Anne to have suffered slights (real or imagined). She took part in courtly ceremonies and in that capacity legitimised her husband’s kingship, but we don’t have examples of any intercession carried out by Anne on behalf of any individuals, or indeed like I talked in point 5, of Richard III taking her counsel. 

TL;DR: We can’t say if Anne Neville fulfilled the role of queenship perfectly. She may have lacked in some areas, though it’s unclear whether that was because of the circumstances of her husband’s usurpation, her short time as queen, or any personal fault of her own — obviously, her son’s death and her infertility were not actually her fault, but her sickness contributed to the descredit of her husband’s regime, either because they thought he was harming her, or because people believed it to be God’s just punishment for the murder of Edward IV’s children. Again, circumstances outside of her control, but that played a role nonetheless 🌹x

[loeksgood]

The things Property Investors Don't Know When They First Start Investing

Here's one thing most property investors won't know when they first start through investing in property..... Close to half of them will sell " up " in the first 5 years! That's right. Whilst many new investors originally buy an investment property to risk-free and develop financial freedom, they fail! So what gone wrong for them and how do you avoid following in their actions? 1 . The first and absolute most important reason is individuals didn't start off with a plan, research or get specialist When buying an investment property you will need to do your homework as well as best place to get advice is from professionals. Therefore talk to your financial planner, your accountant and another ideal way to learn is the web, so get online not to mention do some reading. From the web you'll be able to access lots of viewpoints, ideas, concerns and possibilities from which you should take remarks and use as reference once you are ready to start shelling out. Talking to family and friends who own or have owned expenditure of money properties can also provide another way to research property investment decision, as many of them will tell it to you 'exactly how it is' from their own experiences. You may hear such things as "we had the worse tenant and they never paid out rent" or "I would never buy a property because most of we did was spend money fixing it all the time" or even "I couldn't believe how much the property really price tag us out of our own pockets". All of these points need to be evaluated and plans need to be set up so you don't have the same matters they did. In fact , it's this time you need to spend researching the process of buying and owning a property that's critical. Most of the people spend more time planning an annual holiday than preparation out the purchase of an investment property and the financial future. It's a great idea to talk to experienced real estate buyers who's role is to help first time investors order property and make the right decisions. A property buyer, and / or buyers agent will help you in planning your strategy, staying away from pitfalls and achieving property investment success. 2 . Individuals bought the wrong property If you ask some investors the reason they purchased their property you'll often hear them tell you things like, "it was close to where I lived", "I read in the paper that it was the place to buy" or even things like "it was where my son was going to rent so I bought it for him to live in". Yet another very common one is that it's the area they want to live in one day or perhaps retire. These are all emotional reasons for buying property and also need a lot more thought put into them. Remember, ultimately the house and property will be an investment and needs to be treated that way then it will need to tick a lot of other boxes and not the ones employed here as examples. Some good investment reasons for buying a building are more like a high demand in the area for rental properties, big employment, excellent schooling and good transport in plus out of the suburb, and finally the demographics must suit. There isn't an use buying a house on a big block of area in an area where singles live and work. A second example is that it's not preferable to buy a 2 storey home in a suburb that has older age group living right now there. 3. They didn't review the property for growth as well as suitability to the market. We all know that property is a long-term investment and buying real estate can cost considerable amounts of dollars initially, however as your property grows in value, a subsequent property you buy may need no money upfront at all. Holding on to and reviewing your investment property value implies that the increase in the equity of your first property can now be used to buy your second home and so on. You also need to critique the property you have for other reasons, like whether the hire is still at market rate or even ensuring you are adding to the property so that it is receiving the maximum rent. Property upgrades could quite possibly include access to Foxtel, remote controlled garage doors, alarm products, automated watering system, internet access etc . 4. They couldn't manage their risk The last thing you would ever really want is to be forced to sell your home due to unforeseen circumstances. Once starting off, the best option is to allow for additional funds to be attainable just in case. Events such as a major repair, employment change, expanded sickness or one of the most common reasons is sudden interest rate rises. All of these events could put you in an not comfortable situation which may mean that you could be forced to sell your property a result of lack of cash flow to cover the event. Make sure you are ready for the fluctuations of investing in property to ensure that your journey as a place investor is a long and profitable one. Happy Place Investing Fred Rasheed is the CEO of Total Investment decision Property Solutions which specialises in helping everyday mums, pop, couples and singles enter the property market and develop wealth through investing in property. With over 20 years feel in the home loan and property investment market, Fred is equipped with an wealth of knowledge and experience that he now dispenses with others.

[confusedshades]

Ok I'm throwing Jason into this for maximum chaos and drama.

Jason had just gotten back from a mission with the Outlaws, which is why he can be forgiven for not knowing but as he stared at the group chat messages on his phone he wasn't sure whether to laugh at Bruce, sigh in exasperation at the adoption tendencies, or go guns blazing to find the kid's parents.

Jason decided to kill two birds with one stone. He went on patrol that evening, eager to find out more information on the new sibling and tease B about his adoption tendencies simultaneously. Luckily he found Batman easily enough early in his patrol and followed the man for a bit. He raised his eyebrows at the violence he was doling out at the criminals, but they were all left for the cops to process so that at least told Jason something.

He dropped down on the rooftop next to his father.

"B."

"Hood." The hand on the back of his neck in lieu of actual scenting grounded Jason further. Settled something he didn't even realise was unsettled.

"Heard you've found yourself a new trainee."

"Hng." Oooh that meant it was bad.

"How is baby Bat treating his successor? Any biting yet?"

"D is badly traumatized. He barely seems aware of his own dynamic. N caught him letting out a purr today and he was horrified at the reaction apparently."

Green tinged the edges of his vision like they hadn't in ages. A pup afraid of purring? Yeah he was heading back to get his favourite knife after this. "What do we know about him?"

Batman moved closer and as one they stepped away from the edge of the roof. He looked around before pressing a button on his gauntlet to start a small white noise machine. The big bad Bat breaking his own rules about personal details on the field? At least he remembered the white noise to make sure no one else could hear them if they tried.

"Danny Fenton is all we've been able to get out of him. He won't say anything about where he came from or anything else. We've figured out he's fourteen and physically okay. Emotionally and psychologically is a very different story. He doesn't have any scent - not even his own, doesn't know how to react with any of the dynamic centred behaviours. Scenting, cuddle piles, scent based emotional reading."

Jason's anger increased. To not even know what to do, to not even recognise anything meant the kid's instincts had been suppressed via training. "Was he kept isolated from everyone except his trainers?" He growled

Batman shook his head. "He lets things slip about friends or a sister, about classes at school. He knows how to interact with people and emotionally and socially his development seems fine. Just his dynamic which has been targeted."

The subvocal growl stuttered out in Jason's throat. Everything else was fine but just his dynamic was affected? A vague idea began to itch at the back of his mind. "B, are we sure the kid is actually from around here? And not an alternate dimension where they don't have dynamics?"

"Leslie did a full check up to rule that out early on. He has the biological aspects of the dynamics like extra scent glands and puppy fangs."

"I think it's time the kid met his older brother. Maybe a new face and fresh eyes will help."

The two agree on some logistics and part. Jason, due to his long absence decides to do a short patrol of his territory, check in with his men, remind people who keeps an eye on things. It's the twilight hour before sunrise, when even Gotham becomes silent for a breath, that he catches sight of a kid furtively trying to catch his attention.

He drops down to the ground to see what the issue is. "Oh thank the ancients I never thought I'd find you! I need help. These people keep trying to adopt me but they're also doing all these strange things that they say is normal for kids but they make me feel uncomfortable and strange and I just want to escape. Please I know I'm new to Gotham but everything I've read about you says you protect children, you have to help me!"

Jason looked around and tugged the kid towards one of the Alleys. Once they were out of sight he took off his helmet. It was effective in a lot of things, but when trying to talk to kids, he'd found that an actual face and voice were helpful for them, and being able to smell was helpful for him.

The minute he took off his helmet though he knew someone had not kept their eye on the ball. Because this kid vaguely smelled like pack, like the Batpack, but he didn't have his own scent. He could see the kids distress and lack of sleep all over him. The eye bags, the chewed till broken lip, picked edges of an obviously new sweatshirt.

"Alright kid, I'm going to need some information from you to help. What is your name? And do you have someplace safe to go?"

"Danny and uhh no. Not really. I can't go back to my own home but I can't go to the fruitloops either."

"Alright. I have a safe place close by if you want to stay with someone else," a rapidly paling face that shook made it clear that wasn't a possibility. "Or I can have you staying at one of my bolt holes. It's not the nicest place but it's got food water and security."

"Okay. Yeah. The, the bolt hole sounds good."

dc x dp prompt

So I just got into the dc x dp fandom very head strong and I’ve been reading dc x dp fics left and right, some of the fics containing a/b/o dynamics and I just had a thought what if Danny one day took a trip to the DC universe and this universe had the a/b/o dynamics

Danny: I am a traumatized teenager that is alone and is totally normal

Adopting orphans left and right Bruce Wayne: don’t worry pup I’ll take care of you, you’re obviously neglected due to you’re having no parental scent

Danny: STRANGER DANGER, There’s a child sniffing pervert on the loose protect your childern(runs away)

Bruce Wayne: ???

Bruce Wayne: was it something I said.