Shepherds Of Haven - Tumblr Posts

Shepherds of Haven as tumblr posts

Blade:

Trouble:

Tallys:

Shery:

Chase:

Riel:

Ayla:

Red:

Halek:

Briony:

Lavinet:

Mimir:

Caine:

MC:

Can you please describe how each of the characters laugh? :):):) I'm betting Blade's laugh is an imperceptible twitch at the corner of his lips and nothing more, but inside he's wheezing and gasping.

Blade has three general tiers of humorous reactions:

1. Slight quirk in his eyes/faint twitch at the corner of his mouth: regular smile

2. Slight exhale through his nose: genuine amusement and laughter

3. Quiet chuckle: he’s crying with laughter on the inside

Trouble can only laugh loudly, like “BAHAHAHA” or “PAHAHAH.” Like it just bursts out of him. Like a real-life LOL. 

Tallys laughs quietly but freely. It’s a dainty, tinkling kind of laugh.

Shery laughs in a dry, breathy kind of way–I describe it as a mouse darting out of shadows. Whatever that means. She also tends to cover her mouth with her fingers when she laughs.

Riel has a really dorky laugh when he’s actually laughing, like a honking guffaw. Normally he doesn’t laugh, though, so his “in-character” laugh is a dry, amused little chuckle.

Chase has a wicked laugh sometimes, like a “heh heh heh 😈” when he’s amused but not lol-ing it up. When he is lol-ing, he has a deep, mirthful kind of belly laugh where he clutches at his sides and rolls around. 

Red has a warm, rich laugh where he throws his head back and slaps his knee.

Ayla has a kind of high, barking laugh where sometimes she chokes on her spit and it devolves into coughing wildly and turning red.

Halek has a quiet, shy kind of laugh where he sort of turns his head to the side and sort of wheezes quickly: almost like when a dog sneezes.

Briony has a bright, pealing laugh that bursts out of her, usually when she’s genuinely surprised. The kind that almost seems to catch her off-guard, and she usually has to wipe tears of mirth out of her eyes. Other times she gets fits of the giggles at silly things, and these are girlish and sometimes punctuated by a snort!

Lavinet has two laughs: a “court” laugh that is super snobby and condescending, like “ha-ha-ha, oh darling” and her real laugh, which is more like a witch’s cackle–the kind where you throw your head back and your hands crook up into talons. Like Linda laughing crazily and Bob getting all uncomfortable about it. 

Mimir has a high-pitched, girlish titter. Like “teeheehee.” It kind of unnerves people because they don’t expect it.

What kind of dancers are the ROs? It seems like Lavinet and Chase would be the best with Lavinet being good at choreographed ballroom dances(waltz, minuet) and Chase being good at just ~grooving~

You are absolutely correct! From best to worst, it’s:

Lavinet: perfect dancer when it comes to stately dances

Chase: perfect sense of rhythm, great at ~grooving~ and making it look cool and natural

Tallys: surprisingly great and graceful at dancing, but rarely cuts loose the way she could

Red: same as Chase when he gets into it, he can look endearingly dorky when he’s just jamming out but otherwise he’s a pretty swell dancer

Riel: fine at choreographed dancing, albeit a tad stiff, but privately loathes it

Ayla: only really good at headbanging but has a natural sense of rhythm that, while it does not make her necessarily a graceful dancer, you could never call her a clumsy one either

Shery: she’s very shy about dancing so you rarely seeing her doing it beyond a little shimmy, but if she were to dance a waltz or something, she would manage it without tripping 

Trouble: a pretty bad dancer. he will step on your feet and it will hurt. he is fine when it’s just jamming out with friends but as soon as it becomes like a formal thing he freezes up and is terrible at it

Blade: this one is mixed and I’ll say tied with Trouble because they’re pretty much opposites that cancel each other out. during choreographed dances like waltzes, if you give him like five minutes to observe what everyone else is doing, he can naturally fall into step and imitate them pretty seamlessly. He’ll be pretty stiff and tense while doing it, but it’s passable and not awkward. However, if you ask him to dance naturally or just groove, he is just... wow. Like shriekably bad. So awkward and stiff and weird and robotic about it. Absolute shit. Watching him try to do it makes your insides wither. It’s. so bad.

Briony: okay. I didn’t know where to place her in this scale because her sheer passion and energy makes dancing with her really fun. but. if you actually stand back and actually observe her movements... it’s awful. she has 0 coordination and just shimmies and jumps and she’s like Elaine’s dance in Seinfeld but she’s not drunk. also she’s very clumsy and will knock stuff over or bang into people. BUT as I said, she has so much fun while doing it and just doesn’t care how she looks that it’s infectious and people like “dancing” with her. But objectively it looks really bad.

I love your writing so much. <3 Question: who among the Shepherds can braid hair, and who would do MC's if they asked?

Ah, thank you so much, that's so kind of you! ❤️ And good question!

Blade: doesn't know how to braid hair, but can braid rope? Would braid hair capably if taught and would happily do MC's if asked.

Trouble: can't braid hair and will likely cause all sorts of knots and tangling, but would still be happy to do it if you were willing to suffer through it!

Tallys: can braid hair and would happily do so if asked!

Shery: can braid hair and would happily do so if asked!

Riel: no (but he may deign to brush your hair several years into the relationship if asked)

Chase: can braid hair (well, he can braid rope, and it really can't be that hard to figure out) and would happily do so if asked!

Red: can braid hair (sisters) and would happily do so if asked!

Ayla: can braid hair (I would hope so; she braids her own!) and would happily do so if asked!

Briony: can not braid hair and would be rather hopeless at it... she would try, but it wouldn't be very good!

Lavinet: can braid hair but prominently would not want to do so for her lover; might do it out of habit absent-mindedly for a close friend like Clara or Briony, but very rarely, and being asked directly to do so would put her off

Halek: can't do it right now, but would learn quickly and would do so if asked!

How would a group spa day go for the shepherds? Imagine trying to get blade to do a seaweed wrap or something lmao

Blade: this dude can’t even get a haircut without stressing out that he’s going to get stabbed while his arms are trapped under the tarp, so good luck getting him to relax at a spa! trying to give him a massage would be like trying to get a wooden plank to relax, so he’d probably wind up sitting sullenly by the pool (underneath an umbrella or with a hat because he sunburns easily) and maybe sipping on a cucumber water

Trouble: he’s a bit befuddled by everything going on, but he’ll do it! like sure, put mud on his face if you want to! he doesn’t know what in fuck it’s supposed to do, but go crazy! he sort of has this attitude like he’s doing it because it’s fun for the spa worker LOL, like a dad letting his kid paint his nails, but he has no real interest or desire on his own, he’s just along for the ride!

Tallys: yes. give her all the facials and seaweed wraps and massages. let her do yoga in the cleansing salt and crystal room and relax her muscles in the sauna. give her a moment of peace from these lunatics. she desperately needs it and is going to do every last spa thing for as long as she can!

Shery: she’s having the time of her life, but only if the spa activities are relatively social, like getting her nails done next to Briony and Tallys while sipping on fancy drinks, or sitting in big comfy chairs while having a perfumed foot soak and chatting the hours away. she’d be less comfortable with massages (nudity?? with a stranger??) but would be living for the ‘girls’ day at the spa’ vibes! she’d feel a bit differently if the boys were along for the ride, because they bring a different energy to the whole affair... (Trouble: ‘they kept handing me cucumbers but after a certain point I didn’t want to eat them anymore’ Chase: ‘I don’t think you were supposed to eat the cucumbers... you were supposed to save your appetite for the seaweed’ Trouble: ‘oh legit, you were supposed to eat the seaweed?’ Chase: ‘yeah, it’s for the ✨nutrients✨’)

Chase: a spa is probably not the best place for him... he can’t really sit in silence without breaking it to make conversation with the spa worker or crack a joke or a quip or play a mild prank like telling Trouble you’re supposed to eat the seaweed... his mind is too restless to allow him to sit still for that long without getting bored, and low-key being forced to do so makes him kind of uncomfortable, so it’s difficult for him to relax (or for others to relax around him! they sense his chaotic vibes and they’re always like 😒 he’s really quiet over there... is he up to something?) So a spa isn’t a really compatible place for him: he can chill by the pool and hassle Blade good-naturedly, but he probably won’t enjoy the actual spa treatments themselves! also I think getting a massage would put him in some kind of mood so he’d probably end up dragging romanced/FWB!MC into a closet, don’t take him to a spa if you want to relax 😅

Riel: strangers touching him? anointing him with OIL? putting their hands on his PORES?? horrific. absolutely mortifying. the most he’ll allow is getting a manicure, and then he’ll immediately ruin it by going off to work on his laptop by the pool all day, adding to the growing collection of Men Who Don’t Know What to Do With Themselves at a Spa so the Most They Can Do is Get Out of the Normal People’s Way

Red: he’d enjoy going to a spa, especially as a date, like getting a couple’s massage or getting mani-pedis together! He’d probably be too self-conscious going as a group (as in ‘Ayla, please lower your voice, there are people meditating in other rooms... 😅’) to truly relax, but he’d be down for the experience either way and would solidly enjoy it! I feel like all of the spa people (like his massage therapist and etc.) would be in love with him and throw in all sorts of freebies because he’s so courteous and nice to them!

Ayla: she’s a bit suspicious of the whole spa idea and very dubious about the idea of getting a massage specifically, like she’d scoff and be like, “that sounds awful, I’m not doing that,” but if coaxed into giving it a try, she’d discover that she actually really enjoyed it! she’s very tense, so they’d really have to grind her down and like use insane shiatsu techniques just to pummel her body into submission, but she’d kind of be into that 😂 she’d be like, “what, they didn’t give you bruises when you guys tried it??” afterwards but feel better than she ever has in her life! I also feel like she’d be into acupuncture for some reason!

Halek: he’s totally the type to fall asleep during a massage and completely miss out on the experience - but he’ll have the best sleep of his life! if they’re a good spa, they’ll just put a towel over his face and leave him alone in a dark room to snooze for a while 😂

Briony: she’d love a group spa day, that would be her heaven! ultimately she probably wouldn’t ‘relax’ as much because she’d be too busy running around checking in with everyone and trying to keep the day coordinated and fun, like ‘okay 10 AM is facials with Lavinet, 11 AM is the girls’ time for manicures, 12 PM is lunch with everyone (and we have to remember to check on Riel and make sure he isn’t burning up because he’s stuck on the phone), etc. etc.’ So it’d be more like an outing than a restful break for her, but that’s just how she likes it, so she’d be having the time of her life!

Lavinet: she lives for spa days. she’s thriving, she’s flourishing, her crops are watered and her skin is clear. let her sip champagne and mimosas while someone pampers and spoils her. this is her paradise and no one, not even the fact that no one can find Halek and are concerned he might be passed out in a room somewhere, is going to ruin that for her. Briony comes up to her while she’s having a pedicure and is like ‘Chase and Trouble got locked in the steam room and they might die’ and Lavinet puts her sunglasses on and answers ‘sounds like that’s someone else’s problem 😎💅🏼’ her absolute favorites would be a facial and a massage combo!

Mimir: she disappears and they find her like on the second day, having had her feet dipped in the jacuzzi while she casually tells every group who happens to join her their futures and the exact dates when they’re going to die. people are unnerved but keep spreading it around, like ‘there’s a woman in the hot tub who can read your fortune, haha weird right’ and by the second day there’s a line of people wanting to talk to her by sitting in the jacuzzi for 15 minutes while she tells them their future

MC's having a nightmare and keeps twisting and turning and mistakenly wakes up blade. How's are boi going to react? 👀 During the relationship

Blade would sleepily but patiently but his arms around her and pull her close to make her feel safe! He’d had his fair share of nightmares, too: he’s going to do whatever he can to make MC feel better!

i was scrolling through the singing tag and i realized we don't have one for briony! so on a scale of 1-10, how good is she at singing?

Briony's probably about a low 7, she's a decent-ish singer who sometimes goes off-key, but she brings such an enthusiasm and energy to it that it's fun to listen to even if it's not super pretty! Picture someone YELLING the words to "Don't Stop Believing" or "Bohemian Rhapsody" or something in a not very impressive singing voice... the happiness is infectious even if the notes aren't very in-tune!

on a scale of 1-10 (1 being nails on a chalkboard and 10 being Andrea Bocelli), how good are the ROs at singing?

Blade: solid 5, he’d be better if he wasn’t so awkward and hesitant about it, the Ket don’t really sing

Trouble: 3, pretty awful but you can’t knock him for enthusiasm

Tallys: 9, she’s a very good singer and a pleasure to listen to, though she doesn’t sing around other people often!

Shery: 8, good singer, her voice is sweet and high!

Chase: 8, good singer, but his song lyrics annoy everyone so much they often don’t notice how good his voice is

Riel, 10 but no one will ever hear him sing

Red, 8

Ayla, 5, little bit of a squawk

Lavinet, 9, she had singing lessons so she’s pretty gr8 but can sometimes drown out other people lol

think tumblr ate my ask! so here it is again: as RO is passing by they hear a soft sweet angelic voice in one of the rooms and when they go to check, they find out it was the MC singing alone in their room. how would the ROs (in the crush stage) react?

No, sorry, I’m just very slow at answering asks, especially the long detailed ones!Blade would pause and listen to the singing and be privately impressed, but he wouldn’t be enraptured–he’s not a very musical person, so music is nice but a bonus. However, he wouldn’t mention it to the MC on the off-chance he’d be able to listen in again!

Trouble would pop his head in the door and be like, “MC, is that you?! You have the voice of an angel?!” Then he’d just plop down and happily listen to the MC sing some more, if they were willing.Tallys would smile to herself but not interrupt the MC’s singing. Later she’d bring it up to the group (with MC present) to expose MC as a great singer. 

Shery would probably melt and maybe even be brought to tears! However, she’d run away before MC found out she was eavesdropping, and would sneakily try to find every opportunity to get them to sing again without letting them know that she knows. 

Riel would sort of loom up behind MC like a dire ghost and be like, “Your singing is very impressive. I implore you to sing at my next gala. I will hire an orchestra and pay you handsomely.” This sounds weird but is his way of showing off someone he deeply cares about. 

Chase would come in and sort of just lean against the wall, listening for a while until MC noticed him. Then he’d grin and wink and make a comment about being lured in by a siren’s call.

Red would open the door and start clapping to announce his presence. Then he’d shower the MC with earnest compliments until they either told him to stop or kept singing.

Ayla would spin around and walk away, embarrassed that she overheard MC singing to themselves. She’d find it oddly endearing and cute, though, and would blush and avoid eye contact with them for a few hours after, feeling shy.

Lavinet would start singing along and join in, because she too has a lovely singing voice and WANTS TO SHARE THE SPOTLIGHT. 

So how do you think Blade would react to an mc who tries to subtly cheer him up after his meetings with the Autarch? Brings some snacks to his office, leaves encouraging notes around for him to find, maybe asking him to train? Never really admits thats what shes doing, but the timing always councides. How long do you think it’d take him to figure out the reason?

Blade always notices patterns after 3 times; it’s what he’s been trained to do, and as someone who subconsciously longs for stability he’s very attuned to things like this. Once is just an event, twice could be a coincidence, but 3 times becomes a pattern/routine. He would definitely notice MC is interacting with him deliberately after his meetings with the Autarch, but he’d chalk that up to her being kind (another reason why he falls in love with her) but not because she, like, might like him. I hope that makes sense!

Hi!! How are you? I love your game. This is my first time leaving an ask here. The ROs see the MC dancing under the rain. What would be their reactions during crushing stage? Thank you and take care!! ( Sorry if you can't understand me.)

Hi there, thanks for leaving an ask! <3

In awe of MC, falls in love with them harder, truly sees the beauty of their soul:

Blade

Trouble

Tallys

Shery

Runs out and dances with MC under the rain too:

Briony

Chase

“MC YOU’RE GOING TO CATCH A COLD”

Riel

Red

MC is just imitating what they read in a romance novel, right? like real people don’t... do this, do they? oh god... the mud...

Ayla

Lavinet

Pls I must know for fanfic purposes, what do each of the ROs think about rain and thunderstorms? Love them? Hate them? Fine enough only if they're not caught in the downpour?

Blade: he likes rain aesthetically and prefers it to sunny weather, but can dislike it as a practical thing depending on his current situation; mud makes footprints and tracking much easier, rain dampens scent and hampers vision, etc...

Trouble: he’s indifferent to most forms of weather, what makes a day nice to him is the stuff he does that day and the interactions he has. So he doesn’t have any particular thoughts about rain except the stray thought of having to wrap up his rifle to prevent rust

Tallys: she loves the rain and will even sit in it if she has the chance!

Shery: she likes the rain when it’s calm and cozy, but tends not to like it so much when it’s like a RAGING thunderstorm and hurricane winds

Riel: he enjoys the rain, but from indoors. He does not like it if he has to go out in it uncovered!

Chase: he likes the rain at night, but not during the day when he has to go out and do things in it. I guess I’d say he likes it fine unless he has to be working in it!

Red: he enjoys the rain, especially in the fall. It’s a sign of the changing year for him and makes him nostalgic!

Ayla: she loves storms and rain, probably the most out of any of the ROs, and is noticeably happier when it rains or there’s thunder in the distance! She’s the type of person who looks at clouds on the horizon and urges them to rain

Briony: she loves the rain and thunderstorms and loves to sit outside (like under a covered porch) watching it or walking through the city while it rains. It’s fun for her! But sometimes, when there’s a lot of thunder and lightning, she gets this weird melancholy feeling too!

Lavinet: she dislikes the rain, primarily because it makes her hair and clothes go all wonky and she has to stay inside all day

just wondering but how soft is everyone's hair?

i saw that ask about blade's hair being so pointy it can act as a sword and it got me curious

Huh, I've never really thought about this before!

Blade: most of it's... decently soft, like an exact medium between soft and not soft? He's quite fastidious about personal grooming and care (despite what first impressions might tell you), so while he doesn't do anything particularly special to it, his hair is nice and healthy and thick, and smooth to run your hands through! The back is the most fun to play with because it's so spiky and bristly where he's chopped it off, though 😅

Trouble: I'm torn with him, I'm not sure whether his hair would be more bristly and coarse since it's quite short and shorn, or if it would be like dandelion soft because he also has that energy... I'm not sure!

Tallys: decently soft, though because it's so short, the softness is not as noticeable as, say, Shery's--I'd describe it as more healthy and thick/textured/layered than fine, soft, or silky! I'd say it's like an exact medium, sort of like Blade's!

Shery: the softest of the bunch, super silky and nice to touch! Running your hands through her hair is like slipping them through a sheet of water, her hair is so smooth!

Riel: I think at its base level, his natural hair is quite fine and soft, but because he always wears so much product (pomade/hair gel) to slick his hair to the side or back, no one would ever know that: petting it would feel quite crunchy/stiff/sculpted and smooth rather than naturally soft, and it would also deeply aggravate him!

Chase: quite soft, probably the softest of the boys after Red, though it's also so full of natural slight waves or loose curls that the first thing people usually notice is its bounciness and texture rather than its softness/smoothness!

Red: extremely soft, he pays too much attention to his hair for it to be otherwise! Though, like Riel, it's often quite stiff from hair product/pomade on a daily basis, so you have to really get to the roots to notice the natural softness! 😂 It's also very thick, and there is a lot of it, more than you would expect from first glance!

Ayla: not that soft--more wiry and thick and coarse than soft or silky, probably the least soft of the girls! Ayla herself jokes that it's like a paintbrush or a horsehair bow, so that should give you an idea on its texture!

Briony: pretty soft, and quite thick and fluffy when she lets it down from her ponytail, but also prone to many flyaways and wild stray curls, so it's not super smooth and is prone to tangles! The actual texture is pretty soft, though!

Lavinet: decently soft and very shiny and healthy, she uses good conditioner and haircare products, but because it's quite wavy/bordering on curly, your hand will usually get snagged if you try to pet it, so softness isn't usually the first thing people notice when touching it! The individual strands are very strong and smooth, though!

Halek: not that soft, it's more thick and wiry and strong than fine and soft, if that makes any sense!

Caine: very soft. baby

How would the ROs take care of MC if they got injured in a mission and had to take some weeks of bed rest to recover?

Blade: very protective of MC, scolding her constantly even as he’s putting the blanket up to her chin gently and generally treating her like she’s made of glass, hovering anxiously when people come to visit in case MC gets tired even though he knows she’s stronger than he is, ready to turn anyone away because HIS WIFE NEEDS REST LEAVE HER ALONE

Trouble: he’d be by MC’s side 24/7, utterly devoted, ready to fetch them anything, filling the silence with good cheer and jokes like MC didn’t just almost die…  He’d crawl into bed with them, feed them soup, read them stories, and pat them on the head and just stick to their side constantly!

Tallys: fussy and maternal, tucking them tightly into bed and lecturing them about taking care of themselves better while feeding them soup and medicine! She becomes this overprotective mother hen and shoos away anyone who’s disrupting MC and forces them to do things (like physical therapy) so they’ll get better faster!

Shery: worried and fretful, running around like a chicken without her head as she rushed to find MC a warm blanket, a packet of medicine, a cup of specially-brewed tea! Everything is a CRISIS when MC (the strongest person in the world) is hurt and she has to do everything she can to make it better, even if it means running herself ragged!

Riel: he’d be more affectionate than usual, though severely scolding and lecturing MC to take better care of himself and don’t let the soup get cold, damn it, does he have to feed you like a child?–and he’d be hiring all the best Healers to monitor MC’s progress and servants to come pamper MC. He would make MC’s recovery room his office and just do his business there so he could keep an eye on MC at all times.

Chase: would be low-key very worried and freaked out, he doesn’t often have to face questions of mortality and the fragility of life, so MC being so injured they have to be on bed rest would sort of freak him out. He’d plaster a smile on and be a devoted helper, but he’d also be quite clingy and would just want to hold MC constantly to reassure himself that they’re okay.

Red: would shoulder all of MC’s responsibilities and whatnot while they’re healing so they don’t have to worry about a thing. “Don’t worry about it, I’ve got it!” is his motto even if it means he’s not sleeping and running himself into the ground. He probably ends up having to be on bed rest too, honestly lol

Ayla: she’d be a bit exasperated, like “tch, honestly!!” as she’s fluffing their pillows and bringing them food. But if MC played it up like “cough… i’m dying… cough…” she’d be like “STOP JOKING AROUND” but would get really frantic and concerned!

Lavinet: she’d be in turns weepy (like randomly collapsing on MC and wailing that she was so worried about them) and indignant and imperious, bossing around both MC AND other people to HELP MC. She’d redirect all the Shepherds’ resources so that people would be stuck running errands to help MC feel better rather than actually accomplishing missions for the Order. She and Blade would have a fight about it, and Lavinet would probably win.

How would each of the shepherds react If a tiny child ran up to them saying something like, "A flower for my hero!", and then handing them a dandelion?

Blade would accept the flower with a nod and a smile, then keep it in his breast pocket all day, because what is he going to do, hold it in his hand–dangerously impeding his movements–or put it down somewhere like a dick????

Trouble would ruffle the kid’s hair with a grin and say, “Thanks, kid!” and then rummage around in his pockets to give the kid something back. Probably like a bottle cap or a rock or something

Tallys would smile, thank the child, and put the flower in her hair–asking, “How does it look?”

Shery would accept the flower but go, “Me?! I’m not a hero!… but… thank you… :)” She’d show it off to anybody who would pay attention that day and beyond!

Riel would accept the flower with a smile, and if anyone were to ask him about it, he’d be like “ew, no, I hate kids and flowers, I threw it away.” But if anyone were to go searching in his belongings, they might find a pressed dandelion hidden between the pages of his favorite book…

Chase would be “OH WOW!!! A FLOWER??? FOR ME????” all excited like he’s NEVER seen a dandelion before, and would probably play a game or two of playacting with the kid. He’s not that impressed by the dandelion but it’s sweet and he gives the kid a good show as thanks!

Red would be like “omfg this is too cute” inside and would crouch and have a conversation with the kid. What’s their name? What do they want to be when they grow up? He gives them some friendly encouragement and advice and sends them on their way

Ayla would drop her gruff act for a hot second and be really touched that this kid thinks she’s their HERO. She’d kneel and let the child pin the flower to her collar like she’s a knight being ordained by her monarch.

Lavinet would let the child put the flower behind her ear before taking them along the path to find a flower to put in THEIR hair. “This way, we can match!” And she’d wear that damn flower in her hair all day long, and kick anyone who makes fun of her in the face. 

*Picks a flower and puts it's behind romanced Blade's ear (and yours too jsjjdkf THANK YOU for making this incredible story)* (✿^‿^)

Blade will accept the flower but only if no one else can see him 😳

What I'm hearing is that between Shery, Trouble, and potentially Chase, there needs to be a Shepherds book club.

There actually is a small book club consisting of Shery, Riel, Lavinet, and occasionally Red—I don’t think Chase would be allowed in due to the Chaos he brings and Trouble would only be interested in reading pulpy adventure novels about airships and improbable, rogueish heroes who sweep people off of their feet while the others are like reading Edwardian romances or like heartfelt memoirs by prominent figures of celebrity lol

What genre of books do the shepherds like to read

Blade: short poetry books, historical fiction often featuring martial or military heroes (similar to wuxia) or knights like in Arthurian legends

Trouble: adventure novels, especially about exploring unknown lands or war dramas

Tallys: folktales, myths, and fairytale books, instructional books (such as how to grow such-and-such)

Shery: romance novels (and smut)

Riel: historical books, political and philosophical essays, autobiographies and memoirs

Chase: mysteries, thrillers, the occasional spicy romance

Halek: travelogues and cookbooks

Red: he’ll read and enjoy any book of any genre, but especially enjoys books describing magic before the Castigation and academic theses by other Mages

Ayla: she hates reading and won’t sit still long enough to finish most books, but will tolerate travelogues with lots of illustrations of plants and animals

Briony: she favors epic fantasy novels with strong heroines, but also enjoys romance and historical epics

Lavinet: romance novels, especially of the courtly intrigue or historical variety

What would be each character’s favorite classic book if they had to choose? As a bonus, what are your favorite classic books Lena?

This question came to me because I just finished Great Expectations and I am forever ruined🥲Looking for some recommendations!

Hi there, thank you for your interesting questions! I'll start with some of my favorite classics in the hopes that some of them might strike your fancy, and then move on to the characters!

Note: I should put a disclaimer that, as is the case for many classics, some of these examples are quite dark or may contain disturbing themes or content matter, so just letting you know that you may have to look up content warnings for some of these titles if you feel the need to! 

Also, the ones with an asterisk (*) are ones I think you might particularly enjoy if you liked Great Expectations!

Some of my favorite classics:

East of Eden by John Steinbeck - my absolute favorite "classic" novel and a brilliant masterpiece in my opinion! Can't emphasize strongly enough how great the prose, narrative themes, emotions, and characters are, and it's definitely Steinbeck's best novel!

Germinal by Emile Zola * - an incredible work and magnum opus by Zola, this details the harsh conditions of a coal miners' strike in Northern France and is similar in its gritty depiction of poverty to Great Expectations. Warning: it is uncompromisingly brutal and was praised at the time for its shocking realism, so be aware that it has quite a darkness to it!

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky * - I love Crime and Punishment as a pairing to East of Eden, and I also think it's the best of Dostoevsky's novels (a bone of contention between me and my partner, who insists it's actually The Brothers Karamazov) and an incredible character study; I think if you like the characters in Great Expectations, you might feel similarly while reading Crime and Punishment, though it also covers dark subject matter!

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - both Dracula and Frankenstein are absolutely wonderful stories on their own, but also incredibly important lenses into the Victorian era and its culture and beliefs! Also, the beginnings of monster fiction! How could you say no to that?

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys - If you read Jane Eyre, you absolutely must read Wide Sargasso Sea, which is a postcolonial and feminist rebuttal to Jane Eyre told from the perspective of Mr. Rochester's "insane wife" in the attic!

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens * - Actually my favorite of Dickens' novels (even moreso than Great Expectations) and a must-read if you haven't already read it!

Greek classics - My favorites include The Oresteia, The Iliad (I particularly enjoy Caroline Alexander's translation), and The Aeneid.

Japanese classics - There are a few of these, but the one that's stuck the most with me was The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu. Although it provides a fascinating look at the court life of Japanese nobles at the time (and is thought to be the world's first true novel, or at least the world's earliest classic novel), it is notoriously wily when it comes to its descriptions, complex language and grammar, and difficulties with translations, so something to be aware of!

Shakespeare - My favorites include Hamlet, Othello, Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, and Coriolanus.

Finally, let's move on to what classics would be the characters' favorites!

Blade: The Iliad, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, The Count of Monte Cristo

Trouble: The Three Musketeers, War of the Worlds, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Dracula

Tallys: Tess of the D'Ubervilles, The Scarlet Letter

Shery: Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, Little Women

Riel: Crime and Punishment, Divine Comedy, Paradise Lost

Chase: The Great Gatsby, Candide

Red: Gulliver's Travels, Through the Looking-Glass, The Island of Dr. Moreau

Ayla: Pygmalion, A Doll's House

Briony: Anne of Green Gables, The Once and Future King, Le Morte d'Arthur

Lavinet: Madame Bovary, Gone with the Wind

Halek: A Farewell to Arms, Ask the Dust, The Big Sleep

What bubble tea flavour would each shepherd love? What’s your go to boba flavour?

OHHHH great question anon!!!

My go-to flavor is actually almond bubble tea (as in almond flavor, not almond milk) with boba, blended (so it's more of that slushy texture)! If that's not an option, I'll almost always go for brown sugar boba/tiger milk tea, and if that's not available, peach with peach or mango jelly is also a good option!

As for the Shepherds:

Blade: Coffee milk tea

Trouble: Honeydew slush with boba

Tallys: Thai milk tea with boba

Shery: Honey milk tea with egg custard

Riel: Royal milk tea

Chase: Taro slush with boba

Red: Almond slush with egg custard

Ayla: Mango slush with lychee jelly

Briony: Peach slush with peach jelly

Lavinet: Strawberry milk tea with strawberry popping boba

Halek: Vanilla slush with boba

Mimir: 5-color dessert (smashed mung bean, taro, red bean, pandan jelly, grass jelly, topped with coconut cream)

Prihine: Matcha milk tea with boba

Caine: Chocolate milk tea with boba and egg pudding

Thanks for your question!!