#i don't know i'm not fully convinced but i'm not enough of an expert to really present arguments

[beevean]

Another thing to point out is that it's very likely that Lisa is Elisabetha's reincarnation.

I mean we know through Soma that that's possible, and not only do the 2 women look almost identical, have seemingly very similar personalities but also have almost the same name but look at the inspiration behind Mathias' story:

His story was certainly based on Dracula's from the 90s Coppola movie, in that version Vlad Tepes goes mad when his wife dies and decides to become a vampire to spite God. When he meets Mina Harker he realises that she's his late wife's reincarnation (and she is, it's confirmed in the movie itself) and falls in love with her. The main difference is that the Dracula in the movie tries to turn her into a vampire and manipulate her into being his forever while in Castlevania he seemed to genuinely love Lisa

And really, Dracula must've realised that it was more than a simple resemblence, if Brauner can recognise two random girls as his daughters' reincarnations and Alucard could seemingly track down Soma before AoS, then surely Dracula could've realised that he had just met his wife reborn

And at that point if she's technically the same woman that he used to love (though not completely, given that Soma surely isn't 100% like Dracula, only showing more Mathias-like traits when he saw Mina "die"), if she has a very similar personality as before and is willingly in love with you...then is it really replacing her?

I mean it's not like with Julia and Hector where we know for a fact that the former is a totally different woman

As an aside I feel like the best way to imagine what kind of person Mathias must've been before LoI is to just look at Soma

I don't have much to add lol. I haven't watched the Dracula movie but I knew that the Elisabetha plot point was inspired by it (also that has zero to do with the book but whatever).

I don't really know what to make of this reincarnation theme - yes, Soma is Dracula's reincarnation, but that's a special case. Why would Elisabetha reincarnate? Is Brauner actually right in seeing Eric's daughters as the reincarnations of his own, or is he just delusional?

As for the last part, I'm not sure how I'd describe Soma's personality other than slightly rude to people he doesn't know and bashful around Mina :P

[the-golden-vanity]

Is there anything that’s stood out to you as different or unexpected the first time you went sailing? Especially if you’ve ever spent long trips out at sea. I’m writing a seafaring character and I’d love to hear any firsthand experience about it 👀✨

Hello, shipmate!

Firstly, I'm honored to be asked such a question. I'm far from an expert, but I suppose crewing a tall ship on the open ocean is an experience few are lucky enough to share in this day and age.

I signed on to the Pride of Baltimore II for a voyage up the coast with the idea that after reading so many books about pirates, whalers, explorers, and other seafarers, and after watching so many movies and TV series set during the Age of Sail, the only way I could feel truly complete was by experiencing the Age of Sail firsthand. I think I told more than one person on Boat Tumblr that this would either fix me or it would make me worse.

...I'd like you to guess which one happened.

Much of what I encountered on the ship was familiar to me from history and fiction. However, what reading and watching movies can never quite capture are the physical sensations. Here are a few:

The ship makes noise. All the time. It's very rhythmic and predictable, and it is constant. Timbers creak, ropes strain; if the wind is variable or unfavorable, the sails flap loudly. Some of my fellow guest crew were bothered by this, but I loved it. At the end of a watch, especially one where a lot of work needed doing, the rhythmic noises and the rocking motion of the ship were just what I needed to fall asleep for the next seven hours, or until I was called up for standby. I understand now what it means to be "rocked in the cradle of the deep."

If your vessel is well-ventilated, your vessel is sinking! When you are belowdecks, you are essentially in a wooden box. If it's warm on deck, it is oppressively hot and stuffy below, and although my berth had a door, I kept it open most of the time to catch what little breeze came through the main hatchway. The temperature cooled down as we sailed north, and was eventually pretty decent, except when the auxiliary engines were on. I can only imagine in the 19th and early 20th centuries, with steam-powered auxiliary engines, it would have been even hotter!

No one knows what day it is on board. Everyone's on watch on a "4 hours on—4 hours off—4 hours standby" schedule, so you're on duty for 8 hours total, split between opposite sides of the 24-hour day, so "days" don't really have much meaning. This would probably also explain why I saw several of my shipmates wearing an outfit multiple days in a row–it just didn't occur to them that it was a different day.

Before you get your sea legs, you will spend a lot of time stumbling around, falling on your ass, holding onto things for dear life. This, I think, is pretty common knowledge. What I don't think is common knowledge is the fact that once you get your sea legs, land feels like it's moving under your feet. While you're fully awake, it goes away pretty quickly. However, I was waking up for days afterward—like, 4 or 5 days afterwards—convinced that my room was rocking like a ship. Deeply strange, but absolutely worth it, since it meant I had been at sea.

That's what I can think of right now! Let me know if you have any other questions, I'm always happy to answer them.

[contentloadingandstuff]

Lisa, Kujou Sara and Ningguang caring for a sick S/O

A/N: Just some short and silly headcanons since I'm a little ill. The characters were picked by The Wheel. Don't ask why ALF is on the cover.

Lisa

"Don't worry, sweetie. Mommy Lisa will take very good care of you~" 

Enough said, Lisa is an expert at potion crafting. As soon as she notices you're sick, you'll have one of her most effective tinctures delivered to you in no time. It's bitter, but it will help - you'll be frolicking again in just a few days. If it helps, she'll be more than happy to spoon feed it to you! 

Nothing helps the body quite like a rich broth. Add some chicken, boil with carrots and top it off with some fresh marjoram straight from the windowsill, and viola - just like that you have yourself a tasty revitalizing soup. Lisa doesn't like eating meat, but she knows how important proteins are for recovery. 

Tending to you is a great opportunity to pamper the absolute life out of you. Tissues and medicine? Right on the spot. Feeling peckish? Here, let her feed you. Thirsty? The best tea will be brought directly to you. Sleepy? Lisa will tuck you in, or let you rest your head on her thighs if you want to. You will have everything you need and even more without having to move an inch. 

Lying in bed is important - it lets your body sleep and regain strength. Still, boredom strikes sometimes. Lisa will provide you with a few books from her personal collection. If you're too tired to read yourself, she will do it out loud. Her narration skills are really something special, and will keep you entertained for hours on end, or until you doze off in her caring arms. 

Kujou Sara

“The medic will be here shortly. Do you need tea or a cold compress?”

Although Sara isn’t well-known for her caring nature, she really does worry about you. Inazuma’s climate tends to be quite harsh, with all the frigid sea winds blowing through the islands day by day. Even a minor ailment can quickly turn into a long-term illness in these conditions, so she will convince you to stay home when the first symptoms appear.

If you work in the military, your leave will be signed by her without further issues. If you’re working in the civilian market, however, she won’t restrain from using her position to ensure your leave is approved by your boss. Because who in their right mind would argue with the Tengu General herself?

It has been some time since the conclusion of the Inazuman civil war, so most work regarding that period is far behind her. Sara’s general duties revolve mainly around paperwork - reading through inventory reports, approving funding requests and purchases as well as some officer training meetings every now and then. Thanks to that fact, she can work from home and keep an eye on you.

Sara isn’t the best of cooks, so most meals will be handled by your maids. This doesn’t mean she won’t contribute to your recovery. She will check up on you frequently, whether to see if you’re taking your medicine correctly, or just to keep you company.

Of course she will call a physician to examine you, and buy all the necessary medicine - she has an immense pile of money saved up due to her fairly modest lifestyle. 

One thing though - she’s sleeping on the couch. Sara can’t afford to get ill herself, even if it means forcing you to recover in a cold bed. Don’t you worry, she will give you more than enough affection to make up for that shortage once you’re back in full health. 

Ningguang

“Don’t worry, my dear. You will get better soon. Meanwhile, why don’t you try another cup of tea? I am sure it will help.”

Ningguang is a busy woman who has no time for sickness. But you? She’ll make sure you get the proper rest, else your weakened body will fall to another illness. There will be no work for you until you are fully recovered - just like Sara, Ningguang will not hesitate to pull a few strings to make sure you can rest without worry.

Baizhu will deliver only his best products, as money is hardly a concern for Ningguang. Every Mora used to help you get better is a Mora well-spent in her eyes. 

Although not a doctor by any means, Ningguang will use some homemade remedies as well - especially white tea with two spoonfuls of honey. The warm sugary drink will surely bring back your strength in no time… or at least lift your spirits. 

She will check up on you from time to time, yes, but will not take a day off. Liyue needs her, and there’s always money to be made. 

Ningguang will make sure to keep her distance - even if it is just a cold, it could affect her as well and make her work that much more annoying. That means no cuddles until you’re healthy - but, with the best medicine money can buy, you’ll be in her arms in no time.

Thanks for reading!

[elswing]

i've had the new elf OCs for two seconds and i'm already so attached oh my GOD. camnir!!!!!!!!!!! to be fair we spent a year in mass delusion convinced he was celeborn so i'm predisposed to adoring him but it doesn't help that he turned out to be my dream characterisation of galadriel's nerd house husband. you hear The Wise™ i hear slightly dorky, zero social skills, has at least seventeen highly niche interests that he's the world-renowned expert of purely because no one else in their right mind finds them interesting enough to bother learning about

anyway i doubt the show will explore them since they simply don't have time for fully rounded side characters but that just means i get to invent whole backstories and personalities for them in my head >:}

elrond asking galadriel to pick the warriors for the company implies that he was the one who picked the mapmaker, since a fellow scholar would fall under his expertise whereas the combatants would be galadriel's

WHICH!!!!! means that at the very least he knows camnir and has worked with him before. technically that could also mean they're old friends. study buddies????

i think whatever exclusion elrond went through for being peredhel was less outright scorn and more wariness/stiffness because they just didn't know what to make of him, either because of his biological fuckery or the intimidating presence of his heritage. camnir is completely exempt from this simply because he is too oblivious to follow a social norm

also he just. does not care all that much

he's originally a sindar, but he applied for an apprenticeship in lindon after he'd learned all he could from the mapmakers in eryn galen

he was offered a permanent position there after completing it, but in the early days when he thought his time was limited all he wanted to do was study

he and elrond became friends purely because of how much time they both spent in the library. neither of them spoke much and they didn't interact outside of it due to their interests and studies encompassing different areas, but eventually they both settled on the same table and spent many nights in quiet company

he's a little awkward and doesn't interact well with the noldorin elves, and though they view him as a bit of an oddity, most of them chalked it up to "ah, well, he's sindar. maybe that's normal where he's from"

it is not. he loves his home and his people, and like them he is very attuned to nature and loves passing time with wildlife or in the forests. he did not, however, inherit their love for festivities, as he found them horribly loud and the constant movement made him nervous. he mislikes the unpredictability of them

this is also why he was so drawn to mapmaking. he likes the precision and focus they require to draw, and one of the only times he can find inner quiet is when he's making those calculations

he also has a great love of botany. he spent most of his younger years with his nose buried in a book, reading about the plantlife that could be found beyond eriador's borders

he used to enjoy babbling about his findings to his younger sister when she was a baby, or to their grandparents who raised them after they were orphaned in the war

they were happy to indulge him, but if all else failed he would go into the forest and talk to the trees instead

he's very young compared to the other elves in the company, and the only one without much experience in combat. they took one look at him and unanimously went 🫵 baby. baby brother

camnir was fully aware from the start that he was out of his depth, so he asked the others to teach him some fighting manoeuvres.

daemor suggested archery, as he might benefit from a longer range weapon while he was too inexperienced for close combat. unfortunately his aim was comically bad and rían was forced to ban him from coming within three feet of a bow after he accidentally fired three (3) arrows that missed their marks so badly they almost skewered elrond

(elrond was so focused on glaring suspiciously at galadriel & nenya that he didn't notice)

they also had to remind him multiple times not to wander into rían's path while she was wielding a bow just because he wanted a closer look at an interesting patch of moss

he DID prove to be adept at wielding a knife, so vorohil entrusted him with one of his own

he grew very fond of daemor after discovering his love of singing. camnir taught him some drinking songs he remembered from his youth, and daemor spent most of their night-time treks humming them

he was very sad when he died. being shot at and then magically healed disorientated him at first, but the only thing that successfully soothed him was when they promised to stop and give daemor a small funeral ceremony

him, vorohil and rían definitely survive the siege of eregion and go on to help elrond build imladris btw. they reside there all the way through to the third age. no one gets boromir'd full of arrows or written off or dies off-screen. Btw.

[askhakukusanagi]

woudl ever been in relpashi wth mroe one preosn at once

Would I ever be in a relationship with more than one person at a time?...

I'm unsure. It's never came up, frankly, and truthfully, it's hard to believe more than one person would want to keep me around. I think you're expecting too much of me.

But...

I imagine it comes down to if my potential partner is comfortable with it. I know what you're saying. "Haku, I thought you're looking for normalcy?" There's no such thing as a normal romantic relationship. That's assuming people fit into boxes, and they just don't. People are beautifully complex works of art, and no brushstroke is the same.

But expecting everyone to be okay with it is different. They say no, I say no, too.

I'm truthfully inclined to be a little selfish. Getting a reaction out of my partner and knowing I had the ability to make them feel that way is huge...but, I suppose seeing someone else is also quite nice.

I think I'd try it at least once. But everyone needs to be aware and comfortable with it before I even dare let it progress. And if anyone realizes at any point they're uncomfortable, we figure it out from there and find a healthy solution for all of us.

I don't know. It really depends on the situation. Like I said, it's a little hard to imagine someone that committed to me that they'd be willing to even be monogamous, let alone explore polyamory.

*Haku, despite being a lady killer, still struggles with confidence issues. Perhaps, if he makes you think poorly enough about him, or if he can trick you to take him less seriously, it'll be easier for you to let him go when (if) he betrays your trust and let's you down. Haku also loses interest in things very quickly. He is an expert at getting out when things get serious. He doesn't feel good about it, but, he gets cold feet often, and is prone to distancing himself in relationships because he is fully convinced that it's only a matter of time before he'll hurt his partner.*

For @leowifefover

《 I have a lot of thoughts about Haku's weaknesses as a romantic partner. He's a flirt and a tease, but, I think he's fascinating with how he flirts and breaks hearts to prove his selfdoubt right. He's stuck in a cycle, and needs someone to set him free from it.》

[lunar-years]

To preface I would never pretend to be any sort of expert on child abuse and trauma nor on healing from that trauma etc. but I also think the "Jamie wasn't forgiving his father, he was releasing his father's control over his life" viewpoint, while not necessarily wrong, is also...too simplistic? First of all Ted DOES frame it as "forgiveness." The phrase he uses literally is "just forgive him." So that's the message the show is sending regardless of whether that's how we personally make sense of Jamie's actions or not. Secondly, you don't just flick a switch from being terrified of your father and dictated by that fear one day to being totally free of his grip on you AND in a healthy and mentally stable enough place to reach out to him the next (let alone in the span of like, two hours, in the middle of a football match and immediately afterwards. Right after starting to emerge from a depressive episode!!).

I can definitely understand why Jamie may have texted his father in that moment, given the enormously high stress + bad mental health combo he'd been living under for days (weeks?), on top of Ted's (imo ill-fated) advice. But I can't for the life of me make sense of that being a "healthy" choice for him (which I think is how the show would like us to view it). The text alone may have not been inviting his father back into his life, but we see him going to visit his dad in the very next episode. I mean??? we skipped about 1200 steps to get there in an actually healthy way, I think, and talking to an actual therapist about the matter is top of the list.

If Jamie is working to free himself from his father's hold on him, that's a complicated and slow process that I'm not convinced is going to be helped by getting more involved in his father's life and potentially, given the rehab situation, care. I mean we know Jamie's character and I don't think it's really his personality to visit once for peace of mind and then drop this. It's much more likely he extends time and help to his dad and ends up more invested, rather than "free." That could be something that ends well for everyone, if his dad really is putting in the work and is in fact deserving of a ~second chance~ (or third, or fourth...we literally don't even know if he's tried and failed to get sober and Be Better before, but it's very possible), but it is also something that could go very very poorly and result in new devastation and instability for Jamie all over again. At the time Ted was giving Jamie his little speech about it (which he based on an extremely different situation with his own mother in his own life, mind you), he was completely unaware James Sr was even in rehab, and it was actually dangerous (imo) to Jamie, mentally and physically, for him to have given the advice that he did.

Basically, I think Ted's words were well meaning but ultimately very misguided, the actions we see Jamie taking as a result do make sense for the character's state of mind but not necessarily for his well being, and if Jamie would like to give his father another chance it is fully his decision and right to do so. But the storyline wasn't given the time nor care nor complexity that sort of story absolutely requires in order to be done well. And the fact that Jamie leaps in full-force on it without onscreen evidence of him getting any input on the matter from anyone in his life apart from one (questionable) conversation with Ted does not exactly instill confidence in me that the situation ends happily tied up in the bow of father-son reconciliation the show surface-level portrays it to be.

[quokkareactions]

Prompt list:

Cute prompts that came to my mind but I could never write for them. I would love to see better writers use them tho, so please go for it and tag me if you do. ♥️

1. "Right now I don't know if I want to kiss you or shove you off the bridge."

"Can I pick?"

2. "What's the worst thing love can do?"

"Love can make you stop believing in love."

3. "Buy me cute underwear and I will let you see me wearing it."

"If I buy you nothing, can I see you wearing that?"

4. "I'm sorry, what were you saying? I keep getting lost in your eyes."

5. "Don't yell at me in languages I don't understand!"

6. "When I said 'whatever helps you sleep at night' I didn't mean this."

7. "They don't love me. They are not that stupid."

8. "Love at first sight doesn't exist."

"Then how else do I describe how I felt when I first saw you?"

"Y-you love me?"

"Apparently not, according to you."

9. "I just ended a four year relationship."

"I'm sorry..."

"It's okay, it wasn't my relationship."

10. "Your heart is as cold as my dorm room, and I can't feel my toes in that room, so it's bloody cold."

11. "I already know I'm going to hell. At this point it's really go big or go home."

12. "You are being all sweet and cute, it's making me wanna kiss you."

13. "Oh my, what have I done to deserve such a beautiful smile?"

14. "I love you. You enormously stubborn pain in the ass."

15. "I don't have enough middle finger to let you know how I feel."

16. "I heard that!"

"You were supposed to!"

17. "You fainted... straight into my arms. You know, if you wanted my attention you didn't have to go to such extremes."

18. "I don't sleep. My mind has the scary capability of being dark and demented."

"You're afraid of your dreams?"

"Yes"

19. "Careful."

"What?"

"Your smile. You look like you're about to fall in love."

20. "If you bite your lip one more time, I'm gonna do it for you."

21. "I am fully convinced that you never graduated kindergarten."

22. "I didn't do it."

"Then why are you laughing?"

"Cause whoever did it is a freaking genius."

23. "If I tell you I... You know... Care about you... Would you laugh at me?"

24. "What? No! I wasn't staring... I-I was looking at something behind you."

25. "Why should we date?"

"Because we are attracted to each other."

"I'm attracted to pie, but I do not feel the need to date a pie."

26. "There's a fine line between cuddling and holding somebody down so they can't get away."

27. "I can't get over how a few months ago I wanted to learn your name and now your having breakfast with me in my hoodie."

28. "Quit smiling at me. I can't stop messing up my sentences when you look at me like that."

29. "This is going to sound controversial but I think that went well."

30. "I'm gonna kill him."

"Sit down. You are not murdering anyone on my watch."

"Then look away."

31. "It's okay. Everything will be alright. Don't blame yourself."

"I'm not. I'm blaming you!"

32. "Fix it, please."

"Fix what?"

"Me"

33. "Nah"

"Don't 'nah' me!"

34. "You gotta stop doing that."

"What?"

"Saying things that make me wanna kiss you."

35. "What an idiot"

...

"Oh hey, that's my idiot!"

36. "You don't scare me."

"Then why's your heart beating so fast?"

"Cause you're kinda cute."

37. "I have a plan."

"Is it a good plan?"

"I have a plan."

38. "Now... Let me teach you how to lose."

"Yeah, I imagine you're an expert at it. You had a lot of practice."

39. "Did you just fall?"

"No, I attacked the floor."

"Backwards?"

"I'm freaking talented!"

40. "Why are you avoiding me?"

"Because... Because I think I'm falling in love with you, okay? That's why."

41. "If you wanted a sign you should have said. I would have punched you in the face."

42. "No, I don't like them. They are loud and obnoxious and I think that thing they do with their hands when they're nervous is dumb."

43. "Do you not see it?"

"See what?"

"The difference between her and you. He looks at her like she's the prettiest girl in the world. But you... He looks at you like you are his whole world."

44. "I'm not jealous! It's just... you are mine."

45. "A broken heart is small price to pay, when you're not the one paying it."

46. "Why don't we take a nap? We can be nap buddies."

47. "Why am I on the ground?"

48. "Are you... Is this flirting or are you starting a fight?"

49. "How drunk were you last night?"

"Well, I still have my pants on, so not that drunk."

"Those aren't your pants."

50. "I'm with him. For better or for worse."

"It'll probably be for worse."

"I knew that the day I met him."

51. "I'd be more than happy to show you a good time if you are looking for one."

52. "Show me your scars."

"Why?"

"I want to see how many times I wasn't there when you needed me."

53. "Well, fuck me."

"Already did."

54. "Get in"

"No"

"Get in"

"No"

"Now"

"Make m..."

"Trust me, love. That's a sentence you don't want to finish."

55. "... You didn't."

"Oh, I did... I did so very much."

56. "I didn't fall for you, you fucking tripped me."

57. "I will destroy you and everything you care for."

"You do realise that includes you, right?"

"I'm counting on it."

58. "I remember kissing you... WHY DO I REMEMBER KISSING YOU?"

59. "Am I your lockscreen?"

"You weren't supposed to see that."

60. "Can you stop playing connect the dots with my freckles?"

61. "Not to toot my own horn or anything, but the dog loves me more."

62. "Permission to lean in?"

"Permission granted."

63. "I'm not a delicate flower. Kiss me like you mean it."

64. "Is there a reason you waited until she walked in to kiss me?"

65. "You talked in your sleep... Do you really love me?"

66. "I mean, I'd make out with them but like... platonically, you know?"

"You can't make out with someone platonically."

"Of course you can! We've done it like severeal times already."

67. "Can I buy you a drink?"

"Go ahed but only if you buy one for my boyfriend too."

68. "I hate you!"

"Why? I'm lovely."

69. "Did you just tell the person I was gonna go out with that we're dating?"

70. "He excelled! How the heck did you do it?"

"I promised him a date if he passed."

[doorlampwrites]

Carter rarely let people close. His past relationships had led to him closing himself off, something that he told himself happened to a lot of people. And on some level, he was right.

But, despite how much Marco claimed to relate to him, Carter refused to let himself be convinced Marco fully understood. Marco didn't know everything. If Carter had his way, Marco would never know everything.

It didn't quite make sense to invite Marco over for dinner, but here they were.

Carter nervously watched Marco take a bite of the braised chicken he had oh so carefully prepared. Marco met his eyes, and Carter looked away quickly.

"It tastes good," Marco said.

"Really?" Carter kept his eyes down. "I don't make it very often, so I wasn't sure. I usually don't have enough time."

"It tastes like you're an expert. I’m guessing you know your way around a kitchen?"

Carter finally looked up. Marco grinned at him.

"I knew you were shy, but I thought I might've cracked your shell a little bit," Marco said. "I mean, you were the one who invited me."

"Well—yes," Carter said. "I just haven't had someone over for dinner in a while. I haven't had a, uh, a one-on-one hangout in a while either. So I’m sorry if I’m a little nervous."

"A hangout?" Marco pouted. "And here I was thinking this was a date."

An electric shock ran up Carter's back. He didn't mind that—he certainly didn't mind—but he hadn't expected it, and he hadn't had any time to prepare. He needed to understand what he was getting into before it happened. If he didn't do everything right, then things might go wrong again.

"Relax," Marco said. "I’m okay with this being a little dinner party between two friends, if that’s what you want."

"Yes," Carter said.

"But I think the next part would go much smoother if this was a date," he continued.

Carter furrowed his brow. "Huh?"

"I mean, I don't expect people to notice where you are or aren't. People don't really notice you." Marco leaned back in his chair. "But we're going to be spending a lot of time together, and being in a romantic relationship would make it easier to explain that."

"What are you talking about?" If this wasn't Carter's apartment, he would be out the door already.

"I know what you are," Marco whispered.

Carter's heart dropped. No. That was impossible. No one knew about that.

"You're going to help me, or I'm going to make it a problem for you. Understood?" Marco looked different. Something in his expression, something in the way his eye gleamed. Predatory.

Carter nodded. What else was he supposed to do?

"Good." Marco smiled. "Now, back to our date, yeah? Really can't let this delicious meal go to waste."

[vexcraft]

i love ur convex fics so so so soso much. they r so silly and sweet. i love those guys ^_^

not necessarily a specific prompt but maybe some wound-tending or having to take care of the other when sick?

thank you!! i'm very happy to hear that, i love putting these guys into various situations >:] have some wound-tending that kind of escalated

-

“So, what kind of trouble did you get caught up in this time?” Scar asked as he wiped away the blood from Cub’s shoulder.

Cub merely gave him a glare that might have made a shiver run down Scar’s spine if it had been someone else giving him the look. This was Cub though, and Scar knew how Cub was.

“You need to be more careful,” Scar rambled mindlessly as he took the clean bandages and wrapped them around Cub’s shoulder a few times, making sure it was firm enough but not too tight. “This is the second time within a week I have to patch you up! That’s, like, unheard of! Never happened before!”

It was rather uncommon, though nothing Scar couldn’t handle, even with his limited medical skills. Neither of the injuries had been very serious, just hard for Cub to patch up himself.

Cub scoffed, looking away from Scar. “I’m fully aware, trust me. Can you drop it now?”

Frowning, Scar tied the bandage in place. “Clearly whatever you’ve been up to has been dangerous!”

“I know I made a mistake,” Cub snapped and pulled his arm away, wincing at the pain from the sudden movement. “I told you to drop it, stop rubbing it in, I know I messed up!”

Scar blinked in confusion, taken aback by the other’s outburst. Cub seemed genuinely upset all the sudden. He looked tired, now that Scar looked at him more properly, dark circles under his sharp eyes, brows furrowed as he avoided looking at Scar.

“You do know it’s okay to make mistakes, right?” Scar asked gently.

“Obviously,” Cub replied, though Scar wasn’t quite convinced, raising a brow at the other’s words. Cub seemed to notice, sighing. “It’s just… It doesn’t happen to me. Not like this.”

Ah. Scar could see what was going on now, what was messing with the other's head.

"Everyone makes mistakes! It's not a bad thing." Scar, for one, was an expert at making mistakes, and he was not about to let Cub be this miserable about something like this. "Making mistakes and little errors is part of being human!" Scar continued. "And you, good sir, are just as human as everyone else, in that regard!"

Cub smiled a little at Scar's choice of words - neither of them were really human - but hopefully he would still understand the point Scar was trying to make.

"I suppose you're right," Cub replied, somewhat hesitantly.

Scar could basically see the gears turning in his head. Cub was a smart man, despite being rather harsh on himself. He was well aware of his own skills, yet he knew compared to others he wasn't exactly special in any way - he wouldn't tell anyone else they shouldn't make mistakes, so why should he treat himself differently?

"When did you last sleep?" Scar asked as he watched the other think.

"Jeez, you just can't stop interrogating me today, can you?" Cub groaned, though he didn't sound upset anymore. "I don't know, it's been a while. Maybe three days ago?"

"Three days?! No wonder you've been getting hurt!" Scar immediately moved to grab the other's healthy arm to pull him up from the chair. "You, mister, are going to bed right now!"

[clare-with-no-i]

read chap 3-13 of theogeny this morning since i was free until 2pm (wanted to wait until it was complete before starting, and did 1-2 last night since i had some time). very nice story! the tone and style of your writing feels totally professional (and honestly surpasses many published authors i’ve read LOL). however, i was especially blown away by all of the historical details about ancient athens & greece. i’m as close to the opposite of an expert on the time period as possible, thus am not fully convinced this isn’t based on a true story where you got sent back in time, but then chose to come back to the present afterwards. were there any sources you leaned particularly heavily on? even my own experience writing a gen-ed history paper about the original Olympic games during my undergrad felt about as straightforward as navigating a swamp of hopelessly entangled, greek-speaking, arguing jellyfish, what with all the completely speculative secondary sources and glaring holes in the firsthand accounts of the events.

i’ve been away from the depths of the hp fandom scene for a year or two, but my recollection of your blog was that you’re a law student? given that law ≠ classical greek history (as far as i know), i’d say the fact that you specifically researched all of this for the story makes it even more captivating. (although the attention to detail does also align exactly with the depth of case-research i’d assume is possessed by the top-tier, most competent lawyers, though that is purely speculation). but if your real answer is the time travel thing, just blink twice and cite wikipedia or whatever ;)

also, i’m curious how realistic it is for a classics scholar to know enough ancient greek that she can carry even a stilted conversation with native speakers. if so, i find it mind-blowing that such depth of knowledge of a dead language is wrapped up into a subset of a history PhD—makes my own discipline seem like 3rd grade times tables.

LOL thank you so much! this is such a wonderful, detailed review! I can safely say that I have not traveled back to ancient Athens, but if there's any way I can visit for about a day and then return to the modern era please LMK…

so: I tended to use a lot of sources from Google Scholar, JStor, my own university's online library, what have you; there are a few times I went back and read through my old Classical Civilizations lecture notes, but I only ever took an intro class so I wasn't exactly delving into the minutiae. many of the sources are listed in the end notes, but I have an entire bookmarks folder (which I should probably delete) that looks like this lol

of course, I had to suspend my disbelief and expect/hope the reader would suspend their disbelief at the things that I just couldn't really know; but that was my moment for artistic liberty, which I used a lot of let me tell you.

and yes! I'm a second year law student. but I started this story when I was still applying to law schools :") I have worked as an archival and online research assistant/hired researcher/research fellow since I was 19 in my undergrad days, so I've become very familiar with the process of sifting through online archives. I also just really enjoy it! I love learning about areas of history I don't know a lot about, so this was just such a perfect passion project.

so — in terms of speaking Ancient Greek, I think it's absolutely possible that students at the PhD level would be able to communicate, given that many programs have really robust Greek language curricula. however, and this is something I touched on in the early chapters and something I researched to the best of my ability, the way that academic accents from non-Greek native speakers (aka, modern Greek people) sound is very different in pronunciation and would likely sound strange and unnatural to someone in Ancient Greece; such is the nature of language development. so, I think would have been pretty much like any non-fluent language speaker being thrown into an immersive program with no preparation.

I'm not here for any discipline ribbing, though! I'm sure whatever it is you study is just as challenging and engaging as Lily's field :)

[redwineconversation]

Kadidiatou Diani Signing to Olympique Lyonnais

First of all I cannot wait to see how many fake football blogs get Diani's full first name wrong. (You're not her pal!! Don't use the nickname!)

Anyway, let's just grab a cup of tea and have a good and proper chat about things. Semi-annoyed at having to do this, but apparently there are a lot of so-called football experts who suddenly have deep insights about a team I'm not fully convinced they even knew existed prior to 2021.

Right, first thing I want to nip in the bud is the belief that Diani signing somehow telegraphs a Hegerberg exit. Again, shouldn't have to explain this, but critical thinking seems to be a bit too much to ask for some football fans, so alas. Here we are. Diani is a right winger. This means she plays on the right. Hegerberg is a center forward. This means she plays in the middle of the attack. If you are on the right, you are not in the middle; if you are in the middle, you are not on the right. Two separate positions. Right is different from middle. Cannot believe I have to spell it out in such simple terms.

"Diani played as a center forward this season!" you argue, not without cause. Yep, she sure did! Now, since you didn't realize that football actually existed prior to 2021 or 2022, you probably haven't heard of this player called Marie-Antoinette Katoto. She played center forward for PSG, got injured right before the Euros, had to sit out the entire season. That is why she found herself as center forward. It's not her natural position.

So if anything, it puts Cascarino's future at Lyon at play, not Hegerberg's. And even if then I think it's too early to try reading tea leaves - there has been zero movement on the bigger 2024 contracts (Hegerberg, M'Bock, Cascarino, Endler) and I don't think that it means that much. I don't expect a ton of movement on those ones until both the World Cup is over and Kang has officially taken over.

But going back to Cascarino. The plus side is that it was a partial ACL tear, so I don't think she will be sidelined as long as if it were a full tear. But this is still her second ACL injury, we don't know what her form will look like once she is back, she's talented enough that it's not worth rushing her back from injury. It's nice to have reliable cover until that happens.

The down side is realistically those players are too good to have one of them sitting on the bench, so that's why I think it telegraphs more a Cascarino possible departure than it does a Hegerberg one. That being said, the last time Cascarino tore her ACL, everyone and their mother wrote Cascarino off, and it was Aulas who gave her a second chance. TBD if Kang shows the same faith, and whether it is enough for Cascarino.

With that in mind, let's discuss how to get away with murder how to survive a scandal the Hamraoui affair, because obviously everyone else is going to be talking about it.

Hamraoui was the victim and it's shocking, absolutely shocking, at how badly PSG mismanaged the situation. Their casual disregard towards her is unethical bordering on criminal. I can't blame her for wanting to burn the world down. Scorch the earth, everyone finds a blow torch therapeutic on some level.

Now, you can argue that Diani wasn't directly involved, and that may be true, but it's also a hell of an argument to make in good faith. Diani's husband was directly involved, to the point that he was even questioned by police. Diallo's closest friends were/are Katoto and Diani. To pretend neither of them had any knowledge nor any involvement in the scandal requires a hell of a leap of faith.

So why did Lyon, who for all its faults usually does manage to keep the locker room under control, end up signing arguably one of the most controversial players?

Part of it, if we're honest, is simply Lyon flexing. Every time Lyon loses, the popular narrative becomes we are witnessing the team's downfall and they will never recover. This is Lyon simply reminding other teams that they don't have a statute of limitation on resurrections.

It's also Kang displaying a message of intent to the Lyon players, and I think that's actually something people are failing to grasp. Kang is showing the money is there, that they can attract top players and pay them accordingly. This is, realistically, something that will come into play for the bigger 2024 contracts whom I named earlier. Kang has to win them over. In a weird way, this is a financial gesture of good faith. I put the money down, your turn to deliver.

But money doesn't necessarily translate to control over the locker room. I said privately that I would be shocked if there weren't very, very tight clauses in that contract to ensure that what happened at PSG won't happen at Lyon. While it is true that PSG isn't run the same way Lyon is - both Kang and Aulas actually care about women's football, for example - the reality is that Kang is not Aulas, and so the ability to make the locker room fall in line has yet to be tested.

So what will happen with Diani at Lyon? From a footballing perspective, Lyon strengthened their right side, crippled their biggest rival, and sent a warning shot to UWCL contenders that they aren't quite yet willing to concede their throne.

But from a personnel perspective, a lot remains to be seen. Diani probably won't be able to pull the same shit with Lyon as she did with PSG, simply because the two clubs are run differently, and even with the paycheck, she won't be catapulted to the top of the hierarchy.

The question is will she try to change that, and how will Lyon react if she does. We don't know. And I'm not exactly thrilled that we may have to find out.

[seewetter]

What did I do to verify this information?

Step 0: Notice suspicious aspects of what I'm reblogging

Calls to Action (can cause people to act without thinking first)

False sense of urgency: use of ALL CAPS as if people weren't going to read it otherwise indicates THEY ARE WRITING FOR AN AUDIENCE THAT THEY DON'T EXPECT WILL READ EVERYTHING including the fine print.

KOSA isn't exactly an anti-LGBTQIA+ censorship bill, at least not explicitly so. It's a bill to protect teens from harmful health advice and image problems, it's a bill meant to protect young people from various potentially harmful things online. It's anti-LGBTQIA+ in the sense that it is anti-POC or anti-sex work. In fact it's also authoritarian-ly anti-racist and anti-homophobic. The purpose of the bill isn't trying to achieve censorship, but (according to ars technica, whom the linked blog links to) the bill will have censorship as a side effect, something we know from witnessing SESTA / FOSTA do the same thing with similar methods years ago.

Step 1: Read beyond the Headline

I followed the link, read some of the blog post

I have never heard of buttondown.email, so was not 100% sure this is real

Step 2: Find a Credible Source

I found a link within the article to an Ars Technica article

Ars Technica is a publication I trust

I read enough of the ars technica article to be convinced that KOSA is a law that could force social media platforms to be liable for their "content", causing them to use simplistic algorithms that overly censor online expression

Step 3: Verify Online Source is Authentic

I used startpage (a search engine that Google's things for you so Google doesn't know who is googling & thus won't tailor content to me)

startpage presented me with the ars technica article on KOSA

As an IT student, I know that when links show up in purple in search engines that is a feature offered by my browser history, not by the search engine.

The ars technica article showed up purple, so Firefox confirmed I had opened that link

so I can be certain the link on buttondown.email is the genuine URL of the ars technica page

Step 4: What did I neglect to do?

I could check for more credible sources to ensure that reporting is independent and that there is expert consensus (not a rogue editorial board or something like that). Some articles on misinfo say to find at least 3 credible sources. I didn't do that here.

I could read both the buttondown and ars technica articles fully or follow more of the links in the buttondown article. I could check the website and find out who publishes the information & whether I can make out any conflicts of interest or similar things.

Step 5: Could this information be misleading and if so, can I guess how?

If I didn't understand bulletdown & ars technica after reading about 5 paragraphs of each, then yes, I could be misunderstanding the thing they are saying

If bulletdown or ars technica are lying about the bill, then the easiest way to tell would be to (A) read the bill and (B) check with defenders of the bill. A basic question to try and find out from defenders of the bill would be: are they actually able to explain how this bill will not cause the censorship we have seen from SESTA & FOSTA and other bills with similar intent? Another basic question to find out is: are the defenders of KOSA aware of the basic criticisms levied against them & can they answer those criticisms in a credible way

Ideally, by reading the entire bulletdown, ars technica and maybe a few other sources, one could learn enough of the critique of KOSA to have a good sense whether the defenders and proponents of the bill (A) are making this law in good faith (B) have listened to criticisms (C) have addressed what might go wrong if they introduce this bill.

Step 6: Why share half-researched blog posts like this?

Because the idea (perhaps mistaken perception / fantasy) of an internet censorship bill scares me.

Step 7: Will I share more on this story or do more research?

I will probably reblog this and then not think about it any further unless it circulates around and generates more conversation.

As a person with limited financial means and little interest in policy discussions, I want people who read my blog to like...know about serious developments like this, but I'm convinced the main point of reblogging it is to increase the statistical chance that it reaches people who are keenly interested and more dedicated than I am to doing something.

That's unfortunate of course (I always worry about how wars and other nightmarish things exit the media cycle even while still ongoing!) but I don't run this blog to be a downer blog and I also don't run it to be discussing topics that only interest me in that I'd like to see people (including myself, when that is feasible) work together to solve them.

Hopefully (if anyone even reads this) people can relate and won't think the worst of me. Not like I'm the best person anyway. Uh, thanks for reading.

11/30/23: KOSA is an anti-LGBTQIA+ censorship bill. It is essential you call THIS week. Tell them you are specifically against KOSA and especially against hotlining the bill.

Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to the Senator of your choice.

Here is one that will send your reps a fax: https://resist.bot/

[snapheart1536]

Bad Arguments

Elizabeth I

She Never Said Nuffin!

Every excuse defends Seymour:

Me: Oh no! He's breaking into her room again!

Them: Listen up, stupid: Girls Could Marry At Twelve.

See? Stepdaughters are fair game now I've said that.

DON'T JUDGE HIM.

But damns Elizabeth:

Me: Poor baby. I do feel sorry for her.

Them: Um? She Was An Adult.

AH-DULT.

You know, gagging for it.

If she didn't totally want rape she would've done the honourable thing and died at birth.

Bitch.

Amazing how their oh-so precious Context always absolves him of guilt, yet brands her a whore in the exact same Perfectly Normal situation.

Funny that.

Now you forgot all about Elizabeth begging Seymour not to touch her and take this seriously like a true pearl-clutching Intelleckchul, for this line pops out when the other two don't work.

WELL! Well! I mean...well!

Well...she...she...She Nevah Sed Nuffin about it, did she?

Ah! Ah! Well that just shows, doesn't it!

Why are they so adamant Elizabeth enjoyed sexual abuse?

No matter the evidence we give, it's NEVER enough, yet we're pressured to accept the most warped readings of history as true.

All so they can vilify a thirteen-year-old girl.

Class.

Apparently Elizabeth not rushing down the pub and giving it good gossip about her uncle-step-dad feeling her up is proof positive she loved every minute; saying nowt precisely so the happy days just kept on rollin'.

Otherwise all those innumerable, ultra-powerful killjoy relatives o' hers might swoop in and put a stop to it, the bastards.

Strange. I thought staying silent was the textbook reaction to child abuse.

Nah. Turns out behaving like your typical victim proves it was never abuse at all.

Mmm-hmm.

I'm wondering now what evidence is acceptable, if even the tell-tale signs of distress aren't enough.

Why, nothing! Nothing at all!

Yeah. A girl whose mother and stepmother were murdered on false charges of sexual shenanigans naturally should've gone round bragging how she was on the receiving end of 'em for real.

As that'll turn out well.

Weird, innit? She grows up knowing society kills women for adultery, and then gets desperate to preserve her own reputation.

Come on, love. Lighten up.

What's the worse that could happen?

Nope. No downsides here.

Yet who was she supposed to tell?

DUH! Her parents, dummy!

But they're dead.

...

Well OBVIOUSLY her guardians.

But they're the ones molesting her.

...

AH! AH! How about her brother, eh? Eh?!

You want a thirteen-year-old girl to explain to a nine-year-old boy how his uncle and stepmother are interfering with her body?

AND for this to go through his other uncle, and thereby spread about the court?

...

OH! Whaddabowt Mary?! Ah, you forget that!

So she'd side with Anne Boleyn's daughter in a 'sex scandal', would she, withstanding all the resulting controversy whilst fully convinced of her innocence?

As if!

You're telling me Elizabeth had NO ONE to turn to, but should be ripped apart anyway?

For they can't sympathize on instinct; she's gotta earn it like a dog, jumping through an endless line of ever-shrinking hoops, which she doesn't even know are there.

It's up to her to fulfill their impossible demands to 'deserve' pity.

And THIS is moral righteousness?

But the worst part?

Abused children live in shame and terror, convinced they brought it on themselves and won't be believed.

Then here come the 'experts' blaming adult perversions on Elizabeth for turning twelve, interpreting everything she did in the worst light to justify their own raving hatred.

In doing so they confirm the fears every victim feels, perpetuating pædophilia by keeping the suffering silent.

[jdgo51]

Thank God That I Am Not God

Today's inspiration comes from:

Depression, Anxiety, and Other Things We Don't Want to Talk About

by Ryan Casey Waller

"'Do you remember the scene in the movie Rudy when he’s trying to get accepted into Notre Dame but it's not looking good so he goes to a priest for some advice? The priest says that in thirty-five years of religious studies he’s only come up with two hard, incontrovertible facts: “There is a God. And I'm not Him.”

When I first saw the movie I thought that was the most pathetic answer ever. You're a priest and that's all you got? Come on, man.  Over the years, however, the priest’s answer has grown on me, because as I’ve grown in both years and spirit, I've discovered that one of the more challenging and comforting aspects of faith is the realization that I am not God.

Confessing I’m not God is challenging  because while I say I believe in God I mostly live as though I were God. I am the expert, I know what to do, I am the one upon whose shoulders rests success or failure. I choose what it is right and what is wrong based upon my education, my experience, and my gut.

My words say there is a God. My actions say that God is me.

Setting aside my ego to actually trust in God’s sovereignty is a daily struggle.

On the other hand, confessing I’m not God is wildly comforting each time my depression and anxiety rears its ugly head to torment my body and soul.

You see, I count myself among the 1 in 4 Americans who struggle with their mental health each and every year. There are days when I wake in the morning only to be met by an immediate and unprovoked ocean of anxiety flooding my brain.

Other days I wake and discover I have neither the desire or strength to get myself out of bed.  I did not choose to suffer these maladies nor did I do anything to bring them upon me. Rather, they are simply aspects to the reality that is my life.

We have a God who chooses to rescue us in our bodies with His own body.

Why do these harsh realities help me find comfort in the declaration that I am not God? Because in this admittance comes the realization that

I need not — nor can I — save myself.  So I thank God that I am not God.

But what, exactly, does that mean?

Can I pray the depression away? Can I attend enough church services to convince God to heal me? Can I increase my faith to the point where I’m so filled with the Holy Spirit that I transcend my suffering?

No.

No.

And… no.

That’s not to say I don’t bring my depression to God in prayer or beg God for healing in my moments of pain. I do! What I don’t do is ignore the resources that God — the Ultimate Healer — has provided for healing.

For me, and many others who battle their mental health, that means availing myself to therapy, medication, and a strong support network of a trusted community.  For too long Christians have hyper-spiritualized mental illness by marginalizing these healing tools. As a result, countless children of God have suffered in ways that could have otherwise been otherwise.

We would never ask a believer to forgo chemotherapy for cancer or a diabetic to skip out on their daily injections of insulin. Likewise, we must avoid the temptation to characterize issues of mental health as wholly spiritual issues. Instead, we need to acknowledge depression, anxiety, and other forms of psychological distress are every bit as bodily as any other form of disease.

Fortunately, we have a God who chooses to rescue us in our bodies with His own body. When God decided it was time for humanity to more fully understand His very nature, He chose to come in a body. It was in this body that He taught us, loved us, died for us, and rose again in power to redeem us. Of all people, Christians should be the first to embrace the idea that our deepest suffering need not wait to be relieved in the life to come but in the life that is here and now with the tools given to us by the here and now.

Gone are the days when mental illness was seen as a mysterious force that could only be treated by mysterious means. These days we know a great deal about how to help people think, feel, and act better.

We go to therapy. If appropriate, we take medication prescribed by trained physicians. We allow people we love to hear us, us love us, and normalize our pain.  If the body of Christ is to be truly serious about treating all the bodies that belong to Christ then we must not be afraid of the means by which these bodies find their healing.

Encouraging Christians to seek out the resources offered by the mental health community is not of minor importance but in many cases, quite literally, a matter of life and death. All of which brings me back to the wise old priest Rudy went to see.

I am not God, for which I say, “Thanks be to the God all healing!”'

Written for Devotionals by Ryan Casey Waller, author of Depression, Anxiety, and Other Things We Don’t Want to Talk About.

[eimearkuopio]

I wish I could believe that but given that they apparently knew about child abuse in 1948 and in 1952 the founder of that institution wrote "I myself would be inclined to favor laicization for any priest, upon objective evidence, for tampering with the virtue of the young", and yet it wasn't until 1996 that CSA went from being an open secret to open knowledge in Ireland, and as recently as this summer there was still a need for investigative journalism to expose the sins of the Catholic Church... Not to mention that in just one of our mother and baby homes, almost 800 children died in what I would view as actual post-birth abortion from neglect and abuse between 1925 and 1961, and we only heard about it in the past decade... And then there's what the Canadian First Nations went through. I know that article talks about an apology, but how can we take them seriously when they insist that we must confess our sins in full and atone for them to be absolved, but an apology suffices for them? If they have records, the records should be released to survivors or next-of-kin. If they don't have records, they need to fully clarify why.

I know that the Church is doing a lot to atone for its actions; and I know that most of the people doing the atoning weren't the ones actively involved in the sinning. They were probably the ones desperately trying to keep the Church on what they viewed as the right path. And I do appreciate that, tremendously; but there are some fundamental errors in how they are trying to resolve matters.

I see priests working themselves to the bone trying to save as many as they can. But there aren't enough boots on the ground, because decades ago, a choice was made to prioritise the reputation of the Church instead of the safety of its individual members, with the eventual result that both were sacrificed. There are people who want to serve the Church, and who are being rejected for being honest about things that I genuinely don't believe Jesus would have issue with - while individuals who can put on a false front are given the keys to the Kingdom by well-intentioned but naive or ignorant authority figures.

I think it's a very good thing I wasn't allowed to become a priest when I was younger; not because I'm a woman, but because I'm bloody terrifying and I'm apparently the kind of person who's willing to talk like this under the right circumstances. Can you imagine if I had the cachet that comes with ordination? I dread to think. But most of the people who think like Jesus did aren't going to be willing to sign up for a lifetime of the current status quo. It would be such a waste to let the Church fall apart. If nothing else, the infrastructure is terrific; and without their central governance applied globally, we would inevitably end up with fractured local churches the world over, each claiming to be the true heir of Papal Infallibility.

I don't want to overthrow anyone. But I am so tired of being hurt and disappointed, and I can't be the only one. I have seen movement in the right direction on a lot of fronts, but part of the issue is that many of us have reached a point where we need full disclosure for the Church to regain our trust - and if that's not possible, it doesn't bode well for the Church, but that's not my doing.

I tried reaching out privately. I tried being discreet. I am honestly kind of assuming there aren't that many people reading my Tumblr; it's my version of standing on a street corner with a sign, something I'm doing to process what I'm going through, whether it's real or not. I'm not an expert on any of this, because I couldn't bear to become one. And then I had to try, but I was so far gone that I nearly couldn't. I don't know if I have to do this; but it feels like I have to. It should be easy to convince me. I don't understand why no one seems willing to try.

Part of what makes Christianity at large not a cult is there is no Secret Knowledge. It's all there. You can't level up.

My sister, discussing gnostic heresies

[willel]

"To be clear, I'm not saying everyone has powers. Of the few amount of people who do have powers, I don't think it can just be given to you with science and experimentation. If that were the case, Brenner could pick up any kid or adult on the street and inject them with power juice. I think people who have powers are born with them, and that it's probably genetic or something just like any other talent."

That makes sense, although it's curious why they all seem to have the same or at least very similar powers (telekinesis etc. ) except Kali (and Will, I'm fully convinced he has creation/alteration/manifestation powers).

I know Henry had to "steal" El's "gate powers" in order to open the four gates and El can't do the hallucination thing, but as far as I remember, all the other powers are pretty much the same. ...Right?

Plus all the lab kids were telekinetic and telepathic too.

And speaking of powers (plural), I do wonder why Kali is the only one that doesn't (seem to) have multiple abilities. It's a little odd imo.

I'm not sure where it was stated but supposedly all the lab kids pretty much have the same powers, but some specialize more in one area than others.

For example, #002 might've had every power, but it's clear he was probably the best at telekinesis and maybe not much else.

We didn't see much from #010 but he seemed very good with remote viewing and seemed to have some sort of power to predict things going by the magic 8 ball.

Then you have Kali who probably can do telekinesis but it's really hard for her. Meanwhile, she excels at creating illusions.

You have El who is very good at telekinesis and telepathy I guess? (I suppose remote viewing she does could fall under telepathy). But she clearly has no talent for creating illusions.

Henry seems to be an expert on telekinesis and creating illusions, but as we saw, he needs the help of the Upside Down tentacles to do the remote viewing thing El does, whereas El just needs some water and silence.

I think it's safe to say maybe it's more like... anyone with powers can TECHNICALLY use all powers if they try hard enough. Or steal them, in Henry's case.