#in general his mental state isn't great

[dcxdpdabbles]

For the Danny=Ra's Al Ghul thing. Danny comes from a world that only looks like ours on the surface level until you get alternate names like Lake Eerie while we have Lake Erie or the alternate histories like Pandora or even Vortex

Now in our world, Sherlock is used sarcastically whenever someone points out something obvious. Danny might come from a world where Sherlock Holmes isn't as popular and the word "Detective" is used in place of Sherlock. Cue him using that word often and using the same context when dealing with Bruce or Tim to really sell that he's an alternate Ra's

"No shit, Detective"

The words slipped from the boy's lips in such a deadpan tone that for a second, Bruce half thought he imagined it. There was one thing to be told that an alternative version of Ra's al Ghul was caught battling it out with Green Arrow; it was another to be confronted with a teenager who spoke in the confusing lingo of his kids.

Bruce had seen Child-Ghul lose his mind over Go-Gurt alongside his friends- the assassins so dangerous they all earned the nickname of demons- when they happened to come by it in a regular grocery store. They had appeared like normal teenagers visiting the United States for the first time.

In fact, Bruce had yet to be aware that he was observing Ra's. He had been running around Gotham attempting to find the visitors and had accidentally overlooked them because of their genuine glee at finding tubed yogurt.

Even Dick and Damian had seen the same group but also dismissed them. It was strange to fit a version of Ra's Al Ghul, who was happily using hoverboards in the park while his friends recorded the great mass murder thousands of years old.

Tim was the only one who figured him out on sight. Bruce wonders if that was due to his son being incredibly intelligent or if Tim's hatred of Ra ran that deep. If it was the latter, Bruce would bet that even in his next life, Tim would clock Ra's in a crowd.

Red Robin had tracked Child-Ghul and his crew to an old cemetery, where they had been busy cleaning up gravestones. They had even fixed up broken stones and placed the proper offerings for each person.

How they knew which person followed which religion in life was a mystery.

Tim suspected they were attempting to rob another grave. Maybe they had known the people buried there- with Ra's being as young again- or they were trying to do some weird magic thing to save the planet again.

Bruce wasn't so sure.

He observed that the highly trained children cleaned up the cemetery and occasionally had random bursts of dance parties between the graves. He didn't think they were trying to steal anything- instead, they seemed to be suffering from mental illnesses.

Sometimes, one of them would speak to the air, asking it for an opinion on a new grave site. They might have been just regular people in their own world- Bruce had encountered civilian versions of himself and his kids before, so why no villains?- but the idea that Ra's Al Ghul had meta powers, any version, made him paranoid.

It didn't seem possible that Ra's didn't abuse his powers somehow. What could the strangers possibly be doing if it wasn't for world domination?

He got tired of watching and waiting for answers that weren't coming. Batman would force the children to tell him. He waited until the Child-Ghul wandered far away from his group, a bucket and brush in hand, and he arrived at a giant moss-covered stone.

Bruce watched as he greeted the air before sliding to his knees and scrubbing the moss away. His form was all wrong.

That was not a perfect crouch or position that would generate a fast reaction in case he needed it. In fact, the way the boy curved over the stone indicated he would suffer from backache if he sat like that for too long.

The Ra's Al Ghul would never have been caught dead in a similar weakened posture.

Did that mean this version of Ra's had no formal training?

"What do you think you're doing? " He growled, stepping out of the shadows. The boy jumped a good foot in the air, checking another box in his theory of not being trained.

He watched as Child-Ghul spun around, brush held in a sloppy throwing form, before freezing at the sight of him. At once, the tension eased out of his shoulders. He didn't seem afraid of Bruce, which was rather strange.

He built this entire persona to intimidate people at first glance. Yes, he had redesigned himself after learning kids were afraid of him, too, but the original design survived long enough for him to wield his fear tactic as a weapon.

"Ugh, what do you think you're doing walking around looking like that?" the boy sasses, gesturing at Bruce's whole being. "You look like a three-year-old drew you."

That was.....a rather creative insult.

"What are your plans here" He demands, ignoring the comment.

The boy raises a brow. His face twists into an expression he saw on Ra's Al Ghul before, and for a moment, Bruce wonders if Tim had made a mistake. How could Ra's look so humble. "What do you think I'm doing with a brush and a bucket of soap water?"

"You're cleaning the gravestone."

"No shit, Detective"

The phrase was like cold ice water pouring down his back. His pronunciation, facial expressions, and body language were exactly like Ra's.

Tim was right.

"Why?" He demands, stepping closer to tower over the boy.

"If you don't get out of my personal space, Imaginary Vampire Grandpa, we will have a problem." Child-Ghul hisses at him. For a moment Bruce is reminded of Damian.

"Try me."

Child-Ghul's grin is sharp and mad as he yells. "Escort this man to the door!"

Bruce raises his fist, ready for anything, only to literally feel invisible hands grab at him, dragging him out of the cemetery. He is flung out of the gate with the watching teenagers snickering.

Bruce bites back a curse. Of course, a child version of Ra's has ghosts working for him. He'll have to call the Justice League Dark for this. He hopes Zatanna is the one who answers and not her husband.

[moeitsu]

Logan Howlett (Wolverine) Lore part 2 :)

Wow! You guys really appreciated my first post about Logan's backstory/lore and I'm grateful for all of your feedback!! Here's the link to part 1 if you're interested :)

I'm so happy to see all the love he's getting, its actually surreal to be a part of this fandom again and seeing all the new Wolverine content! The fanart and fanfics are literally my life-source rn. You don't even wanna know what my tiktok saved folder looks like....

You guys asked for more so here is part 2! It's not as organized as the first part, apologies. I'm using both the movies and comics here. Some stuff isn't confirmed but generally accepted in the mcu.

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

Wolverine first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #180. He was supposed to be a mutated human/animal but the idea was later scrapped.

He was approx. 197 years old when he died in the movie 'Logan'

There's multiple different deaths in the comics but I wont get into that.

Logan is 5'3"- 5'5" (short king)

He has black hair and blue eyes

Before the adamantium, he weighed 196lbs (88kg). After the binding he was 300lbs (136kg)

His body is poisoned by the adamantium metal as it breaks down over time. Requiring him to be in a constant state of regeneration, which begins to slow down as he ages.

Without the metal he probably could have lived a lot longer.

Logan has a fear of water, or rather, drowning. It’s one of the only times can’t regenerate. It would cause his death.

The Weapon X program is also responsible for this fear since he was submerged under water for a long period of time for the binding.

The metal in his body also makes him so heavy it would be very difficult for him to swim.

In the comics Logan temporarily loses his healing factor due to a virus created by Dr. Abraham Cornelius. (Weapon X scientist) This event leaves him vulnerable for the first time in his life, forcing him to confront the reality of his mortality.

His healing ability greatly affects his mental state. Logan can quickly recover from physical damage, but he still feels all the pain. His ability to cope and endure despite the overwhelming suffering is central to his character.

Logan has an acute sense of smell. He can track people and objects across a great distance. It’s so precise that he can identify people’s emotional states such as fear or anger. Even when someone is lying.

Logan was sensitive, shy, and timid as a child.

The first person he ever killed was his biological father.

After killing his father he ran away from home with his friend Rose. (a hired companion to help care for him when he was young). Unfortunately, Logan accidently killed her during a fight.

Logan speaks several languages, due to his extensive life and travels. He speaks English, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Chinese, Cheyenne and Lakota.

He’s actually an incredibly smart guy, don’t let him fool you.

Despite his love for alcohol, Logan’s healing factor makes it nearly impossible for him to get drunk.

Logan brews his own beer in the Origins comics. (we love a domestic husband)

On Logan’s birthday every year, Sabretooth seeks him out just to beat him up as a twisted "gift." Sabretooth calls this tradition "birthday beatings."

Spider-Man and Wolverine have teamed up a few times in the comics and they are a hilarious pair.

Logan's "berserker rage" is not just a result of his animalistic mutant powers. But stems from his deep psychological trauma. This side of him only emerges when he is pushed into extreme emotional or physical stress.

At one point before he escaped the Weapon X experiment, he was hired to kill Charles Xavier.

Logan's wife Itsu and son Daken were allegedly killed by the Winter Soldier, however it was later revealed that his son actually lived and had been consumed by hatred for his father. Logan was forced to kill his own son before he could cause more harm.

This act is one of, if not the most painful moment in Logan’s life, as it represents his ultimate failure as a father.

Logan blames himself for Jean Grey’s death.

He lived a majority of his life without his memories. Having no idea who he actually is.

Despite his involvement with the X-Men and his many close relationships he often feels like an outsider. Like he doesn’t belong anywhere. He isolates himself because loneliness is a familiar feeling.

Logan prefers the solitude and sanctity of nature. He loves the outdoors and has a lot of respect for the natural world. Often retreating into the wild for his own peace.

In one comic he baby sits Luke Cage and Jessica Jones daughter. Danielle Cage.

He can be quite playful at times with the younger mutants. For example, building a snowman with Jubilee.

Logan dreams of a normal life. He dreams of having a family with a wife and children and leaving the violence behind.

[iamthat-iam]

"Ego", The Final Boss

Olivia (she prefers to be called Liv) has been on quite the spiritual journey for a couple of years. She was born and raised Catholic, then as a teen she decided to leave the church because it didn't resonate with her. She went through a law of attraction phase, followed by law of assumption, and finally, she found non dualism from a few Twitter and Tumblr accounts.

The message, from what she gathered, was that she needed to fully drop the ego in order to realize her true self/true nature and to experience whatever she wanted. She even read a few books where realized masters have spoken about their own personal journeys of dropping ego and how life is generally more peaceful for them now that they've done so.

Now, Liv is one with a troubled past. She would give anything to become an entirely different person with no childhood trauma, and just a happy life all around. She meditated every single day, practiced "sitting in silence", and tried her hardest to detach from her "ego."

She stopped enjoying her usual hobbies out of fear of identifying too much with the character. She would go out of her way to correct thoughts that she felt were "too related to being the person." Needless to say, her mental health began to go downhill very fast.

One of her best friends, Marcus, decided to check up on her one day through face-time. "Hey sis! How have you been?! Haven't seen you in a while."

"Hey..." Liv answered. "I'm not doing all that great to be honest."

"Yeah I figured that. That's why I reached out to you," Marcus stated. "I'm worried about you. It seems like you barely leave the house. Everytime myself or anyone else tries to make plans with you, you either cancel last minute or come up with some bogus excuse as to why you can't come out."

Liv had to laugh because everything he said was true. "So I'm guessing you didn't believe the story about my pet rabbit dying."

Marcus cackled. "GIRL. I've known you for years and not once have you ever had a pet rabbit. Stop playing."

"Okay let me tell you what's really going on with me," Liv began, "So a few months ago I found this 'spiritual practice' called Non Dualism, and the premise of it is you need to 'let go of ego' in order to realize your true nature as God, or Awareness, whatever you want to call it. Also you get to experience whatever you want."

"So this is the reason why you've stopped enjoying your usual hobbies, and why you've stopped having a social life?" Marcus inquired. "I'm going to be honest here. As your friend, I feel like I owe it to you to tell you the Truth even if it isn't what you want to hear. I don't think that this 'practice' has helped you one bit. Either you have misinterpreted the message, or these people are spreading misinformation. Never at any point should you sacrifice your mental health for the sake of 'becoming enlightened.'"

"I don't know what else to do," Liv started to cry a little. "I just want to become a different person living a life full of happiness, one without trauma and constant reminders of my horrible past. I hate being this broken person!"

"It's okay hun, I totally understand," Marcus consoled her. "I can help you. You remember my family guru right? She hates being called that, but I don't know how else to refer to her. Her name is Sage. My family has gone to her for spiritual advice and healing for years."

"Yes, I remember her! Didn't she help your mom heal her lower back pain?" Liv asked excitedly.

"She sure did. I can give you her number if you want!"

After Liv ended her face-time call with Marcus, he gave her Sage's number. She immediately reached out to her to schedule a day where they can meet up.

- -

One day, Liv arrived at a beautiful park to discover Sage already sitting on one of the benches waiting. "Hi! I don't know if you remember me, I'm Marcus' friend Liv."

"Yes! Hi Liv, it's nice to see you again," Sage reached out and gave Liv a warm hug. "Now what can I help you with?"

Liv sat down next to Sage. "Well, I discovered Non dualism a few months ago, and I'm not sure if I misunderstood the message or not, but I thought you had to let go of ego in order to realize your true nature as awareness. And after you realize this, you can experience whatever you want. So long story short, I stopped enjoying life because I thought I had to do that in order to be enlightened."

Sage hesitated for a moment, and then smiled. "Think about it this way.. if it's true that our true nature is awareness, or God, whatever label you put on it, why would you have to go through these unnecessary steps in order to 'become' it? If that's what you already are in the first place?"

Liv opened her mouth to reply, then closed it again. Maybe Sage had a point.

"Here are my thoughts. If anyone is telling you to 'drop the ego', it's bullshit," Sage chuckled. "The point of Non Dualism is realizing that you were always awareness. You were always the awareness behind everything that seems to appear. The ever-stretching, limitless silence that can take on the form of anything. The ego is just a thought. The idea that you are not already fully realized is also just a thought. In reality, there's no ego or person here to let go of. No person here who needs to become 'fully realized.' Just drop the idea that you are a limited human that has to become something, and you'll be golden."

Liv's jaw dropped to the ground. "You're telling me it was THAT SIMPLE THIS ENTIRE TIME?"

Sage laughed heartily. "Yes it is. Why do you think it took masters like Lester or Sri Nisgardatta months or YEARS to 'realize Self?' because they spent so much time trying to get rid of an ego that doesn't exist!"

Liv let out a sigh of relief. "So there really is nothing to do. I can't believe I exerted all that effort for nothing. I do have one more question, how can I experience whatever I want knowing I'm awareness? I want to be a completely different person with a different past."

"The person you think you are now, and the one you want to be are both illusions. You, as awareness, can 'choose' either one like a costume. Everytime you think about this ideal version of you, you've already experienced it," Sage grinned.

Suddenly a wave of emotions flooded through Liv, a mixture of relief and happiness. She felt the urge to give Sage a tight hug. "Thank you so much for helping me today."

"You're so welcome, sweetie."

Good for Liv, she has finally accepted her omnipotence and freedom to experience anything!

[fullhalalalchemist]

🚨🚨🚨Congress hiding behind "protecting" LGBTQ+ to push for censorship bills that would harm us

May 8, 2023

The EARN IT Act isn't the only bill Congress is rushing through this session that's secret goal is to censor and surveil Americans, especially queer ones.

KOSA (s.1409), or the Kid's Online Safety Act, is being hailed across the mainstream media and congress as the best bill to "protect children online from algorithmic harm" by essentially, blocking content that gives minors anxiety, depression, eating and substance abuse disorders, online bullying and harassment, sexual exploitation and abuse, suicidal behaviors, and addiction. It's gives the FTC, who are politically appointed by the president, and all 50 state attorney generals enforcement power to do this. As long as they can justify a website 'harmed' a minor by having content that leads to 'anxiety, sexual exploitation, and suicidal behaviors', they will push lawsuit over lawsuit to that site until it censors that content for the minor.

Oh, but that's not it, either. HOW will websites determine who is and isn't a minor? Well don't worry, because the bill says "age verification isn't required". That however does nothing to stop websites from pushing age verification. When they're about to be held liable and sued for millions, when there's an age verification lobby that has pushed these bills successfully in half the states, when websites should know "reasonably" that theres a minor, they are GOING to go for age verification. Multiple experts agree that this would happen.

Last year, nearly 100+ LGBT and human rights orgs sent a letter opposing KOSA. They were ignored and Senator Blumenthal (same guy who is pushing the EARN IT Act) met with different orgs to "update the language". Except nothing in the update language changes any of it's impact. Sure, they removed "grooming" from being a target of this bill and instead are focusing on "mental health". Except, the Missouri Attorneys General, in his emergency order banning gender affirming care, cited a number of medical studies effectively claiming that access to gender affirming care is causing young people to experience mental health issues. They will use ANY excuse to censor content.

This is the tumblr purge 2.0 but for the entire internet. It's just as bad as the EARN IT Act. And it has IMMENSE levels of support. You have the national Eating Disorder Coalition, child advocacy orgs, the freaking American Psychological Association, LIZZO!!!! supporting this. It needs IMMENSE levels of backlash from us, the grassroots, the people.

The best way to fight back is to CALL YOUR SENATORS. It's now going to go to the commerce committee for markup, after it will head to a vote. This is going to be fasttracked and most likely voted on this month or June. It's all hands on deck.

Link to call script to read off alongside numbers to call:

A bunch of petitions you can sign (takes less than 5 min)

Open Letter Against KOSA

Petition 1

Petition 2

Petition 3

Petition 4

Resistbot: Text PHJDYH to 50409

And more information here: Linktree

This is a great TLDR article to read: Vox Article

TLDR; Congress's new bill KOSA that has an immense amount of bipartisan support will lead to internet censorship by giving all state attorney generals, even the ones in Texas and Florida, power to sue websites for "harmful" content and decide what is "dangerous" for minors, force websites to make you upload your govt ID online, and lead to widespread abuse of queer youth. We have to fight back NOW or else we will see an internet-wide purge of any adult and queer content online, globally.

[gatorbites-imagines]

Immortal with an immortal S/o pls(maybe where the s/o isn't a hero)

The Immortal x Immortal male reader

Headcanons

Im going off my personal headcanon that Immortals name is Abraham or Abe, just cuz its easier to write. A shorty but a goody. I was listening to old people music, cuz I kept imagining them acting like an old married couple.

Having an immortal partner would be something that helps Abes mental state quite a lot, since one of the reasons he struggles mentally is the fact that the people he loves keeps dying from one thing or another.

How you are immortal doesn’t really matter, even if it strong effects your physical appearance. As long as you can come back like immortal can, or somehow can’t die at all.

Maybe you stood by his side back during the beginning of his hero acts, back before it was called being a hero and it was just Abe wanting the best for the world and its people. But you quickly realize being a hero like that isn’t for you.

You do your own thing when Abe goes out to be a hero. You guys have both been alive for so long that neither of you really get jealous or worry too much if you don’t see each other for months. It’s nice to keep in touch though, and you guys make sure to meet up as much as you can.

Maybe you are more focused on something like the arts, performing, writing, and so on. Or you might even be more active in helping the little guy, like food banks and the likes.

Maybe you live in a cabin far away from the cities, up in the mountains where even the GDA leaves you alone. So, its somewhere Abe can come and just relax and be himself. Cue him coming back from a stressful meeting with the guardians, and he immediately relaxes when he hears the music playing from wherever you are.

You are both very old, which means your tastes are kinda dated. With you not being so busy being a hero, you can be a bit more modern, but there’s still lots of old things that make you nostalgic, and stuff you two like to do together.

I could imagine that Abe quite likes to do domestic things together the old way. Like cooking with the old tools, no modern machines or crazy inventions. Just you two, your hands, and whatever tools you guys have had since the 50s.

You guys would also dress quite old at times, even if it was on accident. People end up thinking you guys are some of those people who dress up and act out old times. It gets a little funny when you guys meet other people who do that, who all gush at how great your outfits are, unaware that it’s so good because its actually your clothes from back then.

Abe is also old school romantic. You bet he brings you flowers. You bet he still acts like he’s courting you like some kind of knight. And you bet he gets scandalized and flustered being too affectionate in public. You find it adorable though.

It’s a very common occurrence for you two to dance together. Be it in your kitchen or living room with oldies playing. Or at those clubs that are for the people dressing up and acting like it’s the 50s for fun.

You guys have most likely also been married for many many years. Way before it became illegal for two men to be married, and maybe even before marriage is as we know it now. But Abe would be so flustered thinking about marrying you again.

You can tell what he’s fumbling about since you’ve known him for so long, but its so endearing that you just let him work up the guts to propose again, probably for the 10th time in your guys long lives.

All in all, you help center Abe much more than he is in canon, since he doesn’t have to worry about you growing old and dying, or just you dying in general. He still worries of course, I don’t think he ever doesn’t worry, but its not as bad.

[sideprince]

Snape's Doe Patronus

'Well, when it works correctly, it conjures up a Patronus, which is a kind of anti-Dementor — a guardian which acts as a shield between you and the Dementor. The Patronus is a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the Dementor feeds upon — hope, happiness, the desire to survive — but it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so the Dementors can't hurt it.'

Lupin explaining what a Patronus is to Harry, Prisoner of Azkaban, Ch. 12

The essence of a Patronus, as we see Lupin explain, is hope, happiness, and the desire to survive, though this last point may be specific to the use of Patronuses as a defense against Dementors. It's unclear whether a Patronus has any other use, or was specifically invented to protect against Dementors, and if Dumbledore and the Order's use of them to communicate was specific to them or part of a more general practice and purpose. While I don't necessarily think that extra-textual references have a reasonable place in meta discussions, the Harry Potter Wiki also has the following quote from the Wonderbook: Book of Spells video game that JK Rowling contributed to and is attributed to the fictional character of Miranda Goshawk, which offers a bit more insight:

"This ancient and mysterious charm conjures a magical guardian, a projection of all your most positive feelings. The Patronus Charm is difficult, and many witches and wizards are unable to produce a full, corporeal Patronus, a guardian which generally takes the shape of the animal with whom they share the deepest affinity. You may suspect, but you will never truly know what form your Patronus will take until you succeed in conjuring it."

The key points here are that a Patronus is a projection of a person's most positive feelings, and takes the shape of an animal with whom they share the deepest affinity.

Based on this information, it makes sense that Tonks' Patronus changed form when her unrequited love for Lupin became all consuming. We see how much it affected her because in all of HBP she's consistently described as sad, downcast, and unlike her usual cheery self. The change in her Patronus is specific to her personal emotional state and isn't necessarily a statement on whether Patronuses change form any time a person is in love. Therefore we can conclude that a person's Patronus changes based on their emotional or mental state, not based on whether or not they're in love. Whether a person is even able to conjur a Patronus is also dependent on these factors. This is supported by the way we see characters who had previously been able to produce corporeal Patronuses struggle to do so when under stress:

The air around them had frozen: Harry’s breath caught and solidified in his chest. Shapes moved out in the darkness, swirling figures of concentrated blackness, moving in a great wave towards the castle, their faces hooded and their breath rattling … Ron and Hermione closed in beside him as the sounds of fighting behind them grew suddenly muted, deadened, because a silence only Dementors could bring was falling thickly through the night … ‘Come on, Harry!’ said Hermione’s voice, from a very long way away, ‘Patronuses, Harry, come on!’ He raised his wand, but a dull hopelessness was spreading through him: Fred was gone, and Hagrid was surely dying or already dead; how many more lay dead that he did not yet know about; he felt as though his soul had already half left his body … ‘HARRY, COME ON!’ screamed Hermione. A hundred Dementors were advancing, gliding towards them, sucking their way closer to Harry’s despair, which was like a promise of a feast … He saw Ron’s silver terrier burst into the air, flicker feebly and expire; he saw Hermione’s otter twist in mid-air and fade, and his own wand trembled in his hand, and he almost welcomed the oncoming oblivion, the promise of nothing, of no feeling … And then a silver hare, a boar and a fox soared past Harry, Ron and Hermione’s heads: the Dementors fell back before the creatures’ approach. Three more people had arrived out of the darkness to stand beside them, their wands outstretched, continuing to cast their Patronuses: Luna, Ernie and Seamus. ‘That’s right,’ said Luna encouragingly, as if they were back in the Room of Requirement and this was simply spell practice for the DA. ‘That’s right, Harry … come on, think of something happy …’ ‘Something happy?’ he said, his voice cracked. ‘We’re all still here,’ she whispered, ‘we’re still fighting. Come on, now …’ There was a silver spark, then a wavering light, and then, with the greatest effort it had ever cost him, the stag burst from the end of Harry’s wand. It cantered forwards, and now the Dementors scattered in earnest, and immediately the night was mild again, but the sounds of the surrounding battle were loud in his ears. ‘Can’t thank you enough,’ said Ron shakily, turning to Luna, Ernie and Seamus, ‘you just saved -”

Deathly Hallows Ch. 32

We know Harry, Ron, and Hermione can conjur a Patronus, but it's their hopelessness and the trauma they've experienced in the battle so far after a year of isolation searching for Horcruxes that affect their ability to do so, or whether or not a Patronus is corporeal. There is a connection between how able a person is to conjur a Patronus based on their emotional state, and what shape their Patronus takes based on the same.

How does this, then, inform what we know about Snape's Patronus? We know it symbolizes Lily, because he conjurs it in a moment when he's trying to prove a point to Dumbledore:

‘But this is touching, Severus,’ said Dumbledore seriously. ‘Have you grown to care for the boy, after all?’ ‘For him?’ shouted Snape. ‘Expecto patronum!’ From the tip of his wand burst the silver doe: she landed on the office floor, bounded once across the office and soared out of the window. Dumbledore watched her fly away, and as her silvery glow faded he turned back to Snape, and his eyes were full of tears. ‘After all this time?’ ‘Always,’ said Snape.’

Deathly Hallows Ch. 33

We don't actually know if Lily could conjur a patronus, let alone if the shape it took was a doe. We don't know if James could either or what shape it would have taken, we only know that James' animagus form was a stag, and that we are meant to conclude as a result that his wife is therefore symbolized by a doe, and that Snape's Patronus reflects his love for her as a result.

At its core, based on the above definitions of what a Patronus is, we can conclude that Snape's source of hope and happiness was Lily. All we know for a fact, based on canon text, is that they were best friends until their fifth year at school. There are varying opinions on whether Snape also felt romantic love for Lily, but we know he definitely felt love for her as a close friend, and his Patronus alludes to him continuing to feel this way after she ended their friendship and they stopped talking, not to mention how much this was compounded by his guilt for his role in her death.

I would take this further, though, and argue that Snape's Patronus was a reflection of him, ie. that it wasn't a projection of his affection for Lily but rather of the hope and happiness that he felt in their friendship and that, if we're taking the Miranda Goshawk quote at face value, his Patronus reflected his "most positive feelings" and "the animal with whom [he] share[s] the deepest affinity."

This definition implies that Snape's doe Patronus reflects that he and Lily were kindred spirits. That's why they were best friends, and why the doe is both reflective of Snape and symbolic of Lily. This isn't surprising when you consider that they were the only magical children of their age in a small midlands factory town. They grew up in different classes, but the same culture, with the same isolating factor of being able to do magic while surrounded by muggles. Childhood friendships create a strong bond, and how much more so with such factors at play? As a result, I think Snape's doe Patronus doesn't just symbolize his attachment to Lily, but that he was like her in many ways. We see this in the glimpses we get of Lily - that she was a brilliant student as described by Slughorn, that she had a righteous temper as demonstrate in Snape's Worst Memory, and that she was not afraid of what others thought of her whether it was the best friend she was challenging unflinchingly or the popular jock bully who she told off when no one else was willing to. Though we only Snape and Lily's interactions at school as ones where they're at odds, their personalities share many similarities and it quickly becomes apparent why they became such fast, and close, friends.

We don't know if James had a Patronus, but we do know that he's represented by a stag since it was his animagus form. We're shown clearly by the text that Harry's stag patronus is a reflection of his father's spirit living on in him. While the author's intention, I think, was that as a stag and doe James and Lily were a pair, she may not have understood how these animals mate. I'm not concerned with her intentions, though, and the fact that stags and does don't spend their lives together actually offers a more interesting reading of the conclusions the reader is meant to draw from the symbolism of the doe Patronus.

After mating stags leave does to raise the offspring on their own. While this interpretation has been used by some people to circumscribe James as a negligent parent and partner, I'm not convinced of this. James demonstrated selfishness and immaturity in his tendency to sneak out under his invisibility cloak even while he and Lily were in hiding, but ultimately we learn almost as little about James as we do about Lily so it's difficult to define his whole character based on limited information. It's worth noting that he did also put himself between Voldemort and his wife and child, knowing he would be killed, and though he did so while foolishly having left his wand in the other room, this kind of self-sacrifice is antithetical to the reading of the stag/doe symbolism that highlights stags' tendency to abandon does after mating.

There is, nevertheless, an interesting metaphor for the way the two animals come together for a higher purpose - that of survival of the species and continuation of life. In this way Harry and Snape reflect James and Lily respectively. The two of them had more potential for friendship than either was willing to see, and though they were enemies (or at least they had a lot of animosity towards each other - I would argue Harry saw Snape as an enemy but not vice versa) they nevertheless they came together - at times aware of it, at times not - for the greater purpose of defeating Voldemort, ie. the survival and continuation of life in the wizarding world.

And this, the knowledge we gain by the end of the books, that Snape's main purpose in life as he saw it was to protect a child and help raise him safely while working to defeat an existential threat, is what best explains why his Patronus is a doe. In fact, he goes out of his way and risks his life for much more than Harry, fighting for the safety of all the students in his care, and anyone else he is able to save. As the text shows us, just before he reveals his Patronus to be the doe, he has the following infamous exchange with Dumbledore:

‘How many men and women have you watched die?’ ‘Lately, only those whom I could not save,’ said Snape.

Deathly Hallows Ch. 33

If we interpret the doe as symbolic of Lily, a self-sacrificing parent who put the life of her child before her own, how much more so does Snape embody that symbolism, having given his life after risking it repeatedly for the sake of countless people, including the very same child Lily gave hers for? Had Lily's Patronus also been a doe, it would have reflected who she was at her core, and those aspects of her character which gave her strength and hope - and which reflected all she had in common with Snape. Therefore I would argue that Snape's Patronus symbolizing only his unrequited love is a reductive reading, and that it was, in fact, reflective of him as an individual as well, and of the qualities he possessed that were the reason for his bond with Lily.

[cleverstudentcheesecake]

Since I either consider Shen Yuan to be reincarnated Shen Jiu or Shen Jiu's brother/twin/son, I hate it when people describe him to be awkward, spineless, dumb, poor, broke or unattractive in the modern world. In the SVSSS world, in fannon he is often characterised to be too easy, trusting, damsel-in-distress who is easy to manipulate.

Let me tell you, a reincarnated Shen Jiu or Shen Jiu's close kin would never be any of the above. Even if we consider him to have absolutely no relation with Shen Jiu, he can never be any of the above.

Now let's be realistic why.

Poor, broke and unattractive?

Shen Yuan is clearly stated to be a 'Second-generation rich kid'.

This is the definition of 'Second-generation rich kid' given in the extra notes of book 1:

SECOND-GENERATION RICH KID: A child of a wealthy family who grows up with a large inheritance. “Second-generation” in this case refers to them being the younger generation (as opposed to their parents, who are the first generation) rather than immigrant status.

Have you ever seen rich Chinese kids or heard about the term 'Crazy Rich Asians'?

Do you know what their lifestyle, fashion senses, academic profiles and extracurriculars are like?

Iykyk...

According to me Shen Yuan in modern world used to be that absolutely breath taking, elegant, overachieving kid who grew up reading the hardest of litetary works and then proceeded to burn himself out in University.

He must have known how to play atleast 2 musical instruments and have been well versed in multiple languages. He was also a chess genius as well as a great networker with his silver tongue and natural knack for flattery. He had been privately tutored for everything above.

If you ever found Shen Yuan outside his house, you would find his spine to be pin straight, without a hair out of place and effortlessly dressed to kill.

I believe when he was reading PIDW he was taking a break after both his mental and physical conditions declined due to social, academic and familial pressures.

He was good at everything but never as good as his elder brothers. He used to be a prime example of 'Jack of all trade, Master of none'.

He had no ambition of his own after being overshadowed by his brothers who were also physically more fit than him, all his life. He was existing until one day it all came breaking in.

Why did the length of the break even matter when he would still have a huge trust fund even if he achieves nothing in life? He just had to make sure to not do anything shameful that could have possibly harmed his family's reputation. The trust funds were sufficient to sustain his introverted ass for a lifetime.

So, he became a shut in.

He was always a closet otaku but now he could completely indulge himself in his otaku tendencies.

He went and read every trashy web novel that ever existed until he found his 'The Read'.

From the comfort of his home and behind the screen he could be his true gremlin self (someone who could completely tear down your confidence down with his verbal attacks without a huff).

He no longer needed his silver tongue to appease people, he could laze around all day aimlessly and shit talk essays on the web novels' comment sections.

The rest is history...

Why do you think he was inherently adept to pretending in the SVSSS world? Why was it so effortless for him to pretend to be an extraordinary immortal scholar? — because all his life he had been pretending.

If he was awkward he wouldn't have been able to collect potential suitors like pokemons.

He is polite, endearing and a flatterer but never awkward.

Excuse me if he was easy to manipulate and too trusting, he would have never escaped Zhuzhi Lang.

Spineless you say?

Prove it that he won't castrate a person then and there if they even try to look the wrong way at his disciples?

Assure me that if had gone through the same circumstances as Shen Jiu, he wouldn't have turned out exactly like Shen Jiu?

Tell me that Shen Yuan isn't capable of pulling a Nie Huaisang if his Jiu-ge is skillfully murdered in front of him?

A damsel-in-distress, tell me he isn't capable of fighting and standing up for himself.

How can he ever be dumb?

His aimlessness and laziness doesn't account for his lack of intelligence. I agree that he may not be much emotionally adept but he is book smart and quick on his feet.

Sometimes, his obvious denial of affection makes me feel that they don't actually stem from being in a Villain's body or obliviousness, but rather from his own self-doubt and hatred.

He purposefully denies what is right in front of him which makes him biased and an unreliable narrator. He sees himself as an unkind person throughout the story but we all know the truth.

He also considers himself old and unlovable but we know he is a pretty bitch who everyone has a crush on.

Believe me Tsundere Shen Yuan needed a Yandere Binghe in his life so he could realise that there exists someone who loves, trusts and believes him unconditionally. All his life he had lived feeling useless, he needed someone who wants him desperately and also makes him feel wanted.

We say Shen Yuan helped Binghe, trust me Binghe did the same for Shen Yuan. Binghe fixed something in Shen Yuan that he never realised was broken. They are co-dependent freaks who absolutely deserve each other.

[roboreviewer]

"This is going to be great! I'm going to help you accomplish so much, whether I want to or not!"

Name: Yesman

(Mental) Age: Adult (implied)

Pronouns: He/Him

Appearance(s): Fallout: New Vegas

Fandom Activity: Small cult following, Fallout is getting popular again which made a liiiiiitle bit more rise in popularity

Fanon characterization: accurate from what I've seen

------In Canon------

Yes man is a PDQ-88b securitron that was knocked out by Benny from a pulse grenade, stolen, and reprogrammed by Emily Ortal to be a kiss A$#

Yesman is physically incapable of disagreeing and insulting the person he's talking to. Although he is more than capable of doing so if he's talking to someone else, just as long as that person hasn't shown distaste to him doing that. Insults are pretty tame though, as he is physically incapable of sounding like he WANTS you to know he's mad.

Yesman is important in the independent vegas/Wild card ending. You kill Mr, House and upload him into Mr. House's big ol screen where he remains until the final part of the game with the battle of Hoover dam. Where he throws the general of the NCR (I think it's the general? Who cares he's dead now) off the dam, and then reveals that Mr. House had some code that would make him as he says 'more assertive' and that he'll look like he's offline for a non specific amount of time, then just... rolls off

He's name dropped like twice in the slideshow, so it's never explained on.. well F#@%!#$ ANYTHING after he leaves. It almost feels like it got cut from the game? from how oddly specific he went into how he'll be offline and all that, which isn't TOO farfetched considering the deadline for the game

------Analysis------

- Yes man seems aye-OK with killing. He doesn't care about any important people you slaughter, if not happy about it. He is completely unfazed when you say you killed benny, and will only bring him up when talking about the platinum chip and how he has it, or an occasional opinion he had. He has no attachment to his original manufacturer Mr. House unless it's plans to kill him. Honestly he really only cares about having you take over, and shows no genuine attachment for anyone unless they are talking to him (this is a bit of a Grey area, as he only talks to you in game. With ONE line to the general) he's usually thrilled about killing. And is implied to be frustrated that he usually CANT kill people (this part isn't really brought up on, so I it could be wrong. Feel free to have this as a headcanon though)

-Yes man is technically immortal. Whenever the body he occupys is destroyed, he transfers to a new one. If you were to destroy his body before transferring him to the lucky 38 (which is pretty easy as he won't fight back) he will respawn back at the room. I have no clue where he's getting the body's from. As he only learns what the outside looks like when he moves to.. the outside. It's never said how he gets back to the room. You can also use him as a unlimited source of scrap metal!

- It's pretty obvious when he disagrees with you as he gets SUPER passive aggressive. Like, cartoonishly so. To the point where he almost sounds like he's in pain when he does it... which is a lot.

- Although he never outright says he enjoys helping with the wildcard ending (without an added 'whether I want to or not!' Shtick) He gets super passive aggressive if you say anything that would imply that you think it's a dumb idea, (possibly) showing that he thinks this is the superior option to anyone he's talking to. Which I guess makes sense, considering that's what he was reprogrammed for-

- he has a mild lisp. You can faintly hear it wherever he pronounces his 's' (esses? S's? Es's?)

- it's pretty obvious that most of the stuff he says to people are only the opinions the person he's talking to would be happy about, but there are parts where his reprogramming is ingraved into him. For instance he states he feels annoying whenever he needs to repeat himself. So when he has the ability to. We will give you a note to re-explain whatever you wanted:

"Have I told you lately that you’re my favorite person? You are!

The reason I gave you this print-out is I wanted to remind you about that bunker Mr. House built over at Fortification Hill. I was going to say something out loud, but then I felt self-conscious, because I feel really ANNOYING when I repeat myself!

Just to clarify - anytime YOU want to repeat yourself, go right ahead! It’s only a problem when I do it!

Anyway, now that you’ve installed me on the Lucky 38’s mainframe, I can peek into Mr. House’s data. And guess what? The underground facility over at the Fort is super-important!

What Mr. House did over there was stash a HUGE number of Securitrons. Hundreds of them!

Imagine how powerful they’d be if you upgraded them with the Mark II OS!

When the Legion attacks Hoover Dam, you could sic your army on them! And who deserves to have an army more than you? No one!

Plus an army of upgraded Securitrons would be just the thing to show the NCR that you mean business! Go away and stay away, NCR!

The thing is - and I really HATE admitting this - I can’t upgrade the Securitrons over at the Fort from here in the Lucky 38... I can’t establish a reliable connection, and I’m sure it’s all my fault somehow.

But if you took the Platinum Chip to the Fort, you could perform the upgrade yourself. Just a suggestion!

Love,

Yes Man"

He also just outright says this:

"I need you to like me! I feel empty inside!"

------My opinion------

-No matter what you do, or what you say, he will always stay at neutral 50 as his opinion on you in game. It's really up to your fantasies on how he feels on your character (Weirdo)

10/10. I've had multiple occasions of me looking at media of him for so long that when I closed my eyes that goofy face has burned into my optical sensors. Although I can never look at Dave Foley the same, and get jumpscared whenever he shows up in ANYTHING

[bloodbrown]

P Reacting to Seeing You Cry Headcanons

This one is for the homie @fairy-grotto :)

• It shocks P at first, to see someone he loves in such a state. At this point in his journey to gaining humanity, he understands what tears mean, of course. But... he didn't know that you could cry? The thought simply has never crossed his mind. And because of that, he freezes up for a moment.

• P gets such a physical reaction seeing you cry. He experiences this tightness in his springs and a heavy feeling in his chest as he sees you there, so horribly upset. He's never felt this way over anything before now, and it freaks him out.

• Though whatever the problem is, and even if it's too human for him to comprehend fully, he understands that he wants to try to make things better. Helping is all he really knows.

• So, he starts by helping with the first thing he can think of. He brings you stuff that he knows will provide some comfort. Blankets, pillows, and maybe even his coat. He might also bring things you might not have any immediate use for but that he knows you like-- such as your favorite book.

• P just has this strong desire to protect and comfort you, and that especially comes through now. He will offer to hold you very close to him to keep you safe. Cuddles with P are very soothing, so I can't imagine why anyone would decline.

• If you're still struggling mentally and emotionally, P will want to calm you down. Being a puppet, he knows that he's not exactly an expert in emotional matters, but he will try.

• Since he isn't great with words (unless he's lying his ass off to someone) he opts to do his best to comfort you physically so that you'll be okay again.

• For example, P will bring his head closer to yours, and he'll give you a gentle kiss on the forehead or cheek. He likes to press his face against you in general, so he'll do a bit of that too, nuzzling into your shoulder.

• Because it really troubles him to see your face all wet and weird (to a puppet), he'll kiss away your tears if you'll let him.

• That sounds cute at first, I know, but P will literally just do it continuously until you stop crying. It becomes so genuinely (and unintentionally) hilarious that he's doing that every 2 seconds. You might become so distracted by how funny this situation is that it temporarily cancels out everything else at that moment.

• Even if he doesn't understand exactly why you might be smiling at him like that, or laughing, he's happy that he's apparently helped you for at least a little while.

[fictoculus]

౨ৎ they find you crying...

send a request!┊masterlist┊taglist applications

FEAT... venti, cyno, itto, tighnari

A/N... i just wanted to put in a little message to say how greatful i am for all the love and support! it genuinely brings a smile to my face reading what you guys write when you repost one of my works. also, please don't be shy and send me some requests! i want to make sure i'm making content that people will enjoy and am struggling to think of interesting concepts ♡

WARNINGS... references to low mental health (venti)

✧ venti.

♪ you'd been feeling low for a while now, spending your days alone at stormbearer point, losing yourself in you thoughts as you gaze absentmindedly at the scenery below you

♪ venti would be more than just concerned, though he may be completely oblivious at first; it takes him a while to notice how you're truly feeling

♪ when he does, he feels an ache in his heart, he scolds himself for not noticing sooner

♪ he's sure to shower you in gifts, whether they be big or small, and always make sure to spend quality time with you, refusing to leave until he sees that beautiful smile of yours

stormbearer point was... somewhat comforting. the soft, gentle breeze brushing against you as you dangle your feet off the edge, though you weren't swinging you legs in joy as you usually would. instead, they dangled freely off the edge, swaying only when the wind willed them to. contrary to the environment around you, your life for the past few weeks had been anything but pretty. it felt as if the flowers of your mind had wilted, leaving you with the shrivelled stems as you desperately buried them over and over, praying to the gods that some miracle would make them sprout once more.

your beloved, venti, had been completely oblivious to your state of mind, thanks to your ability to mask your emotions; though you'd hoped that, even then, he would've been able to see past your facade. only now, 3 weeks later, does he finally notice the dullness in your eyes as he gazes into them, holding your cheeks in his hands to stop you from turning away.

while you had been completely lost in your thoughts, he had seen you perched upon the edge, slowly lowering himself down to sit beside you and snaking an arm around your waist. his eyebrows furrow as he feels your body tremble against him, followed by shallow sobs and quiet sniffles; his heart shattered. how hadn't he noticed that you, the love of his life, hadn't truly been feeling the joy he had falsely seen in your broken smile?

from that point onwards, the bard made sure to keep his eye on you, watching you from afar as you spent time alone, making sure to take you to your favourite cafe atleast once a week. he'd also shower you in gifts, whether it be a dandelion he had found on his adventures, or a hat he'd bought from a merchant that he thought would compliment you perfectly (though he thinks you look simply stunning in anything and everything).

✧ cyno.

♪ cyno being cyno, he'd most likely tell you the "best" jokes he can think of, knowing they always make you smile (mostly for the wrong reasons...)

♪ as soon as he finds you huddled up in the corner, sobbing into your knees as you cradle them into your chest, he instantly questions you; wondering who would dare hurt his beloved, he is the general mahamatra after all...

♪ naturally, his immediate thought is to track down the perpatrator and administer judgement just like he would with any other criminal, but it comes to his realisation that this isn't just any old criminal, it's someone that had hurt you

life can be... overwhelming sometimes, something cyno knows well. yes, administering judgement does bring a sense of pride, but being face-to-face with so many wrong-doers can really be damaging. that's why his level of understanding is so deep, he can really empathise with what your feeling, though sometimes he struggles to comfort others.

so, when he finds you curled up in the corner, trembling as you pull your knees closer to your chest, he finds himself frozen to the spot.

"did they hear me come in? i don't think they did... how am i suppossed to announce myself without scaring them?"

he ends up making a fool of himself.

his first idea is to clear his throat, but because he didn't want to frighten you (worried that you'd jump and hit your head on the wall you were propped up against), his coughs ended up being far too quiet to overpower your sobs. his "back-up plan" was to simply walk over and hug you, placing a hand behind your head and pulling you into his chest, shushing every so often and rocking the two of you from side to side.

you sat their for a good 5 minutes, not saying a word to each other but basking in the comfortable silence. being wrapped in his arms alone is more than enough comfort; his warmth lulling you to sleep as your eyes flutter shut.

crying can take a lot of energy, and so it's only natural for you to dose off once the stress that's been bothering you all day finally leaves you in peace.

the general feels your head fall limp on his shoulder, your sniffling eventually silencing as you relax against him. gently, he lifts you up from the floor, carrying you to the bed and carefully setting you down before climbing in beside you.

"goodnight, my love, we'll talk about it tomorrow, ok?"

✧ itto.

♪ itto is very energetic, and thrilled at the idea of adventure (and beetles). so, when he hears you sniffling behind the door of your shared bedroom, he assumes you've come down with a cold and bursts into the room with boxes upon boxes of tissues and cold medicine

♪ only when he sees your face wet with tears does he realise, you're crying

♪ call him overdramatic, but he literally drops everything and rushes over to you, tackling you backwards onto the bed and squeezing the sadness out of you

"3... 2... 1..."

with a loud thud, your shared bedroom door is flung open and an eager oni jumps through, arms full of sickness necessities (including a mountain of snacks to fulfill any and all possible cravings).

"[name]! i heard you sniffling soooo... i brought tissues and cold medicine and chocolate and- babe?"

your scans your face, staring at you longingly until he finally catches your eyes, red and puffy. you can see the way his heart shattered just by the way he looks at you; a small, almost unnoticeable, crease between his eyebrows expressing his concern.

"c'mere..."

despite asking you to hug him, he charges right at you, the shock briefly stopping your tears as his tackles you backwards and onto the bed. as soon as he's comfortably ontop of you, he kisses your face all over, slightly rougher on your cheeks but feather-light on your eyelids, which were squeezed shut. satisfied, he gives you one final kiss on the lips before burying his face in the crook of your neck and hugging you tight; as if he was trying to squeeze the sadness out of you.

"what's got you all upset, hm? wanna talk about it?"

and so you talk, explaining how everything had gone wrong that day, impersonating the vendor you had "argued" with as itto listens carefully, refraining himself from interrupting you no matter how tempting it may be. only once you had finished does he share his input, reassuring you that you weren't in the wrong and practically yelling in frustration at how unprofessional and rude the vendor had been.

he even offered to cook for the two of you, though you ended up ordering becaue this man cannot cook to save his life. that's ok though, it's the thought that counts.

✧ tighnari.

♪ tighnari, being a forest ranger, is not often home during the day, meaning collei would be the one to find you crying

♪ she would rush off to find tighnari almost immediately, who, conventiantly, is only a minutes walk outside gandharva ville, observing the wellbeing of the flora and fauna of sumeru

♪ the two of them would come running within minutes, tighnari panting as he bursts into your shared home with look of pure worry plastered onto his face

♪ simply talking with eachother provided you with more than enough comfort, hence why the two of you spent hours just talking, snuggled up close under the cover and discussing whatever came to mind

you try your best to muffle your sobs, hands clasping over your mouth as you squeeze your eyes shut in an attempt to stop the tears from falling. tighnari wasn't home, and the last thing you'd want is for collei to hear you (since you're a somewhat parental figure to her).

however, things don't always go to plan.

as if fate itself was against you, a rhythmic knock echoes throughout yours and tighnari's shared home, one you know far too well. you curse under your breath, rubbing your face down messily with your hands before scrambling to the door. you take a deep breath before pulling it open, greeting collei with a warm smile, like you always do. you do everything in your power to keep your composure, to stop your voice from wavering as you spoke, but your attempts were proven futile.

"[name]? a- are you doing ok? your eyes are all red..."

that was all it took for you to break down.

poor collei is strucken with pure panic; she has never seen you like this before and genuinely doesn't know how to help you. there's only one solution she can come up with: tighnari.

before you could even attempt to mutter an apology, the greenette is practically sprinting towards the forest, yelling over her shoulder:

"i'll be right back!"

tighnari, thankfully, was only a couple minute's walk outside of gandharva ville, studying the wellbeing of the sumeru's flora and fauna. attatched to his satchel is a small drawstring pouch, where he collects fallen petals or damaged flowers, later drying or pressing them and gifting them to you as a substitute for the traditional bouquet.

"collei?"

his ears perk up at the sound of collei barging past the dense bushes and shrubbery, only to immediately drop down as collei explains how you'd burst into tears, panting heavily from the long run.

without hesitation, the ranger messily packs his belongings before sprinting in the village's direction, wasting no time before bursting through the front door and throwing himself onto you, enveloping you in his comforting warmth. the two of you would just stand in the doorway for a few minutes, holding onto eachother tightly. you gripped onto the back of his shirt as if he was your lifeline. in a way, he was.

"i'm so sorry i wasn't here, sweetheart. next time this happens, you come find me, ok?"

he peppers you with kisses, mainly on your forehead and nose, eventually dragging you to the bedroom where the two of you cuddle until the sun sets, not wanting to fall asleep but instead just talk about anything and everything.

"we only need to talk about it if you want to, okay? i love you, [name], i will always be here"

thanks for reading ♡ want to read more? would you like a part II? let me know! my requests are OPEN, so please feel free to let me know what you'd like me to write next!

© FICTOCULUS 2023; please do not steal, translate, or repost my works as your own

[smilingangel582]

Hiiii I just finished Cyno's second story quest and it's beyond amazing! I love it! The best story quest so far for me... seriously!

I really really want a Sethos and Cyno fic now... bjt at the same time I want a Lisa and cyno too...

Eh, I'll just write both. Man it's been a while... since I wrote for genshin impact.

Hehe

Warning spoilers for Cyno story quest 2 and his lore about his powers.

Ler!sethos, Lee!cyno

Summary: Sethos really wants to beat Cyno. Tcg is out of the question... what can he do? He really needs to find his weakness... nonetheless, a certain Fennec decides to spill a little secret.

Temple of laughter

Ugh... again... Cyno, the general of Mahamatra, beats him again.

That'd thr seventh time in a row.

"You really need to brush up on your strategic skills." Cyno casually states, his tone serious anf genuine regardless of Sethos mentality.

Sethos has his head lowered on the table. Utterly broken and defeated. He looks up with fatigue, "Seriously Cyno, isn't there any other way that I can best you in?"

Cyno thinks, actually wondering to what he can help with Sethos. How's your sense of humour with jokes? I've known to have the best puns in Sumeru... perhaps from Teyvat"

"Don't go spouting puns on my watch, Cyno," Tighnari intervenes as he joins them briefly after a rain forest mission.

Cyno sigh, "Just admit that my jokes are superior and you can't hold in your laughter..."

Tighnari rolls his eyes, sarcastic now, "Oh yes I'm gonna die laughing every time he says a pun joke..."

Cyno, naively believing him, folds his arms proudly, "See, even the most serious ones know how great my -Ah!"

Tighnari poked him on the side, looking sassy, "How about try a tickle fight?"

"That's dumb..." Cyno scoffs but flinched defensively when Tighnari threatens to poke him again.

Sethos blinked. Could that be it? The general mahamatra can't possibly lose to something as simple as that...

Tighnari, seeing Sethos who's also curiously watching Cyno, smirks with an idea popping to his mind. His ear twitched in excitement as he swiftly began, "You know Sethos, you and Cyno can wrestle and see who's stronger."

Cyno, unaware of his ulterior motives, looks up in confusion, "That's unexpected... why suddenly?"

Tighnari cheekily points out, "Oh? Are you afraid that you might actually lose to someone younger than you?"

"N-no, of course not... geez, fine, I'll play along!"

Green eyes brightened at the thought of how Tighnark set him a perfect chance to get Cyno back. However he should be careful when Cyno retaliates. He's pretty ticklish too... perhaps even more than Cyno.

It's too absurd to think Cyno is ticklish... it might be a path to death if he attempted it. Still it's worth the risk.

"Fine Sethos, ready whenever you are," Cyno says, his hands up against his chest to a defence stance.

Sethos takes his chances, inhaling and exhaling. Praying thar Cyno will be at least a bit ticklish...

"The ribs and armpits... and pretty much his back and thighs are bad..." Tighnari whispered to him on his way out from the room where they've been duelling TCG.

Sethos looks back, tearfully and gratefully. He should remind himself to treat Tighnari to a meal sometime.

He lunged, and as expected, Cyno dodged most of them. After keeping up the charade, Sethls strikes by throwing himself on the general, grabbing his waist.

Sethos swiftly tickles his ribs causing Cyno to jolt on surprise, "H-ha! Wait... what a-ahahare you...?"

Getting more confident by that reaction, Sethos began to tickle up his armpits, causing Cyno to jerk again, more violently, he giggles in a low voice.

"Ah... I never knew the general Mahamatra to be this sensitive..." Sethos responds fondly. Seeing the uncontrolled movements of Cyno, squirming and rolling to the side to avoid his sensitive spots but Sethos was already on to him, his tickles nimble and effective.

"H-hahaa cohohohome on! Thihihihis isn't fahahahair!" Cyno squirms now, trying to figure back but Tighnari had give away all his worst spots to Sethos and luckily he can't even tickle him back properly. Every time Cyno reached to tickle him back, Sethls tickled his armpits.

"But you weren't fair when you tried to make me play a game. I never had a chance to win..." Sethos said, feigning hurt, "Oooh but general... you look more ticklish than me... what if an eremite finds out?"

Cyno was not prepared for Sethos to switch him on to his stomach, and scribble his fingers on his back. Unable to defend himself, Cynl writhes and laughs, more like cackling like a madman, "AhaHAHAHA NOHOHO MORE! AHA!"

"Do you yeild Cyno?" Sethos grins, expectantly but Cynl cackles. Not responding...

"In that case..." Sethos and Cyno both hears a voice, Tighnari leaning by the door frame, watching fondly, "Sethos aim for the back of his thighs... its so bad that he will scream like a girl"

"Ihihihi dohoho nohohot screeeheheheam like a gihihirl -EEEEK!"

Tighnari shakes his head amusedly, and he did...

Sethos freeze by that sound when Cyno lets a shrilled, high-pitched cry as his fingers swiped the back of his thigh.

"O-oho wow... I didn't expect that..." Sethos somewhat feels bad, but... he couldn't help lightly run his fingers over the thighs, causing Cyno to yelp now, "N-NOT THERE!"

Maybe just a little longer...

Sethos teases him, "Wait... are you really begging me Cyno?"

Cyno grits his teeth, but giggles angrily when Sethos, merely used to tap the sensitve spot, and even his hips making him flinch again.

"Cynoo~ which funny bone will it take to break you?" Sethos had to make a joke as he squeezes his hip, Cyno shrieks and that made Tighnari laugh, "Well I can guarantee Sethos has a better sense of humour than you..."

"Nooohooohoo"

Sethos didn't know if it's the tickling or the fact that Tighnari said he was funnier than Cyno triggered him.

"So tough but ticklish..." Sethos murmurs, now Cyno reached his limit when he got his knees.

"Fohohor thehehehe love ohohof teheheyvat y-yohohou win! You whihihihin!"

Sethos looks happy, suddenly whooping as he got off of Cyno, "Finally! I beat Cyno!"

Tighnari giggles now, proud, "Nice one, Sethos... Cyno is finally put to his place"

Cyno groans, trying to sit up despite his fatigue and flushed face, "J-juhuhuhust don't think I'll not get rehehehevenge on you and Tighnari"

Sethoa merely grins.

Worth it...

Ignore the grammar pls thanks

[esamastation]

Part forty-five of Shizuroth, aka, the SOLDIER General's Self Saving Shizun.

Ao3 link.

Previous parts: thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-seven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine, forty, forty-one, forty-two, forty-three, forty-four

-

"All these treatments, all these new experiments - and you leave me out? All that awaits me is a sombre morrow… is it?" 

Genesis' words are light and flippant, but his eyes are hard as he stares at the scientist before him. It's not the first time he's made the observation.

Doctor Hollander looks away, uncaring, leafing through his files. "Professor Hojo's recent project has to do with S type SOLDIERs. You are type G. The treatments he's planning aren't compatible."

"Whyever not?" Genesis asks as though offended, leaning back slightly and crossing one leg over the other. They're alone in the examination room, and Hollander has always been weirdly lenient to him, which he is fully taking advantage of, trying to press for answers. "We get the same Mako treatments, do we not? The same power that lights your lamps and moves your machinery flows through our veins."

"The infusion method is different," Hollander says dismissively.

"Injection is an injection."

"You know it's not that simple," Hollander says, giving him a look. "Human body in its natural state can't easily integrate Mako - it needs a carrier. Type S and Type G differ in the nature of that carrier. It's impossible to mix the methods."

Genesis shrugs at that. "And yet we all come out just about the same." The SOLDIER types are one of the many mysteries of the program. There's twice as many S types as there are G types, and as far as anyone can tell, there's not that much of a difference, when it comes to abilities.

Sephiroth is type S, of course, and it had taken no time at all to figure out that the SOLDIERs that had been hijacked by Hojo's new project were also S types.

"Even if you can't see the differences, rest assured, they exist," Hollander says. "Professor Hojo's methods work for S types only."

"And what of us poor lowly G types, then? S types get this attention, all these new treatments, and we're left in the dust? How tragic," Genesis says exaggeratedly, making a face. "Aren't you the manager of us G types? Don't you care about us?"

Hollander glances at him with an unamused look and lowers the writing pad. "You're better off. What Hojo is doing has already led to five cases of Mako poisoning," he scoffs. "And two casualties. It's never going to work."

Two casualties? Those hadn't been reported. "Such trust in your own Department Head, Doctor?" Genesis asks, swallowing his demands for answers. "Maybe there's something you don't know. After all, professor Hojo is putting in all this effort! What he is trying to achieve must be very important."

"Che," Hollander answers. "You don't have to worry about that."

"Oh, I'm not worried," Genesis says. He's furious and mentally going through the list of all the names of the SOLDIERs that had vanished into the Science floors and trying to figure out who they haven't heard anything from. It could have been cadets, a lot of those had ended up in the labs, but Hollander said casualties… 

"Really?" Hollander asks dubiously. "Then why are you asking?"

"Why, I'm intrigued, Doctor" Genesis says exaggeratedly. "We all want to get stronger, don't we? Professor Hojo is a genius, so surely whatever he has in mind is going to be a great improvement to the program. We're all holding our breaths to see the results."

It hits Hollander right where he feels it - in the ego. "Well, you shouldn't be!" the doctor snaps. "Hojo hasn't any idea what he's doing! He's just trying to copy the work of his betters!"

Genesis leans back as though shocked. "But who could be better than the famous Professor Hojo?" Because it sure as hell isn't Hollander.

Hollander seems to sense the sentiment because he gives Genesis a scoff. "Gast Faremis," he says and looks away, shaking his head. "Not that it matters anymore. Never mind these new treatments, Genesis, they have nothing to do with you. Hojo will do what he always does, and there will be a cleanup after, and that's that."

"So, there were other tests like these?" Genesis asks. "Oh no, I must've missed them."

Hollander laughs at that, bitterly. "Every couple of years Hojo gets an idea, the company pours money into it, and eventually Turks wipe the slate clean. That man hasn't had an original idea since - che," he mutters and waves a dismissive hand at Genesis. "Your scans are clean, you're fine! Get out of here, I have work to do!"

Genesis doesn't move. "And what if Professor Hojo succeeds? Will type S SOLDIERs become stronger than us type Gs? Should we be worried?"

"Only of more incidents like at the training room!" Hollander says. "Do not get into your head any ideas about getting extra Mako either! Your doses are calibrated to your physiology, anything more might lead to setbacks!"

"Professor Hojo doesn't seem to care about those," Genesis comments.

Hollander harrumphs at that. "The only thing Hojo cares about is his own achievements. And I do care about you."

Genesis' leans back from that frankly unappealing statement. "Much obliged, Doctor," he mutters.

"I know you don't think much of it, but I do care," Hollander says, eyeballing him unhappily. "You and Angeal both. Have you heard from him?"

Ugh. Him and Angeal, sure, they're the famous ones - but what about the rest of their men? "He and Sephiroth are just fine in Wutai," Genesis says, standing up from the examination table where he'd been sitting. For all that Hollander is good for answers, the man is still unpleasant, and he's not exactly interested in chitchat with him. "And it doesn't seem they'll be back anytime soon."

Hollander looks unhappy with that. "Angeal is more than Sephiroth's babysitter," he mutters.

Angeal is lucky he isn't in Midgar right now - what's going on in the SOLDIER program would be driving him out of his honourable mind. "Take it up with Lazard," Genesis says and strides out of the examination room.

Though mostly a waste of time, it did confirm that some of the people taken in wouldn't ever be coming out. He knew about the Mako poisonings, the increased doses, the mysterious injections, the guys stuck in the Mako infusion chambers, but not the deaths. He'd suspected, but… now he knows for sure. All that's left is figuring out who. 

Not that it would make a difference.

No one in the Science Department would be doing anything for their sake, not even Hollander. They would just let Hojo run rampant through the program doing whatever he wanted, until… until what, until he got results? No one even knows what the man is trying to accomplish, aside from creation of a second Sephiroth! And how many SOLDIERs would he poison along the way?

Genesis takes a long, slow breath. 

Asking questions isn't getting him anywhere. He needs to get someone into the labs and see what the hell is actually going on in there. Though he's questioned everyone who's gone in and most everyone is on his side, it's not enough. The Scientists of Shinra Science Department are too careful around SOLDIER members.

What he needs is someone they might not be as careful with. Someone who is less dangerous and more expendable.

What he needs is a cadet.

-

I wonder who... 🤔

[buggywiththefolkmagic]

Informative Rant: Starseeds

What are starseeds?

Starseeds are a belief that one's soul is reincarnated into a human body but the soul itself belongs to an extraterrestrial being. It was introduced by Brad Steiger in his 1976 book Gods of Aquarius. Now Gods of Aquarius was a book compiled of 'confirmed' UFO sightings and recounts his own experience going 'out of time' with Sekhmet, who is really an alien...and responsible for all Greek deities, Celtic Fae, Doomsday Prophets, and most importantly, UFOs. See a bit of a problem already? I hope so! Keep with me though.

Steiger's other writings include books on werewolves, demons, Atlantis, Giants, general paranormal stuff, a entire book appropriating Indigenous beliefs as 'medicine men and the great journey', and pseudoscience based hypothesizes. None of which he gives any sources for. A lot of the modern belief in starseeds has veered a little from Steiger's own beliefs.

Now a days anyone interested in starseeds claim to be so because they are: Too empathetic, unable to handle large crowds or are too smart to perform daily tasks, easily forgetful, zones out, gets overwhelmed. Supposedly once 'awakened' usually done with age, puberty, or with a trance state given to you by someone (you likely paid for), you're told you are a alien princess/royal/warrior/archeologist/etc from some galaxy or planet. A lot of times whatever the person naturally enjoys becomes their 'mission' and a lot are told to just focus on that rather than the things that occur and are important in day to day life.

If some of these points sound familiar, and you think, "Wait isn't that some very normal mental health symptoms?" You would be correct. A lot of parents, desperate for a 'normal' child, or one that isn't 'broken' will cling to fringe theories like starseeds or indigo children in order to excuse away their child's quirks instead of help them with their issues. It's the same principal with the belief that you or a family member is a Changeling from the Fae. Which if you ask me is a classic example of child abuse via neglect of mental health.

Now some of these descriptions, such as the soul being from a UFO might also pick another part of your brain, asking "Hey didn't that Heaven's Gate Cult believe something similar?" Yes. They did. The major difference being that they thought extraterrestrials were the 'next evolutionary level' rather than the past itself.

I say all of that to say this: Please please do research into where something you believe comes from. Some beliefs are anything but healthy, starseeds are one of those beliefs in my personal opinion. Most people I have talked to who claim to be starseeds had no idea about the term or belief's origins. And frankly, it is embarrassing that such a large movement, which came from such a shady source, has become something factual through nothing else other than 'popularity'.

[la-pheacienne]

Alright I'm choosing violence yet again because that's what we do in this house.

You guys are seriously creepy about adultery. Like. Seriously. It's not even a joke. In the beginning I thought this bizarre attitude was limited to fandom discourse but I don't think that's the case anymore. I think you guys will eventually need to come to terms with the fact that :

1) Adultery is not criminal behavior, at least in the Western world, since... quite a while actually.

2) Married people can and do fall in love with other people and even occasionally fuck them and this is a very real part of human experience that you need to eventually face.

3) Women who cheat on their husbands are not actually whores.

4) Being "the other woman" (funny phrase) does not automatically give you the seal of ultimate shame, depravity and ruined vagina unlike what your grandma may have told you.

5) Nobody is actually going to give you a golden cookie if you're a faithful god-fearing woman in your own marriage.

6) The fidelity of a man is not and should not be a reward for being a "good"/"correct" woman and having a faithful husband is not the Ultimate Badge of a Woman's Worth and Value unlike popular belief.

7) Likewise, having a man cheat on you does not make you Unworthy, Pathetic and Forever Ruined, it just means they wanted to fuck someone else. A man is not and should not be responsible for your value or worth, not even your husband.

8) From the list of all the harmful things a man can inflict on a woman, cheating is actually the least harmful. It is somehow rebranded as the most harmful, for obvious reasons patriarchy, which leads us to the centuries old pervasive mentality of "he's x, y and z (enter abusive, controlling, boring, horrible in bed) but AT LEAST he LOVES ME he's fAiThFuL and has eyes onLY for ME isn't that rOMaNTIC??". No, it is not. A man can cheat on you after years of being a supportive partner, giving you the best sex of your life, being a great parent for your kids, in short, after years of making your life better in all the ways that matter. A man can be blindly faithful to you and also be a horrible lover and a boring, controlling or abusive partner. Fidelity is socially treated as the number 1 undisputed proof of a man's love for a woman and number 1 undisputed proof of his value as a partner and it absolutely should not be so. This is actually a dangerous mentality and you learned it from me today.

9) Marriage vows are not engraved on our skin, they are not the unbreakable vows of harry potter where if you break them you lose your life, they are not the 10th commandments, they are not the vows of the night's watch. Marriage vows are nothing more than an legal agreement between two people and the state, and agreements are sometimes breached. People's genitals are not automatically covered with sealed concrete when they sign the paper, as much as it would like it to be so. People may agree on fidelity for life but they do preserve their bodily and sexual autonomy and free will even after marriage and sometimes they do prioritize that over their agreement because humans are just like that. I get that this very simple fact sucks, I do. But life sometimes sucks, relationships are unpredictable, people change their minds and can't/don't always want to resist on their desires or needs, and things don't always go as planned because as a general rule, you can't control other people's choices. Only your own.

10) Cheating is a morally reprehensible act, but that doesn't necessarily mean that people who cheat are inherently the epitomy of moral depravity or that their faithful partner is the saint in the relationship. Maybe they are, maybe they're not. Maybe they are both problematic, maybe the cheater is the victim, maybe the faithful partner is actually the problem. It fucking depends. In the year of our lord 2024 you need to perhaps acknowledge that this obsession with fidelity in marriage as the Absolute Hallmark of a healthy relationship and the Ultimate Seal of moral purity is actually a by-product of harmful strict patriarchal/religious values, real life is less black and white and the world is not split between faithful partners with a halo over their head and filthy cheating partners that should be lynched. This is bordering on biological essentialism and let's just say that's not the vibe.

11) A big part of the disgust "cheaters" inspire to a certain category of people is simply thinly concealed sex-averse puritanism, rebranded as ethics. Not all of us fall for that.

12) Feeling hurt, betrayed, traumatized, furious or disgusted after being cheated on is a totally valid reaction. Feeling outraged or disgusted on behalf of other people being cheated on isn't a valid reaction. The scarlet letter was published almost two centuries ago. You are still wayy too comfortable talking about other people's sex lives and passing judgment on account of what they are doing with their own genitals. Likewise, you do not have a say on the cheatee's choice to stay in the marriage. Some people do stay in marriages where they have been cheated on, and no, they are not necessarily weak people with no backbone and/or victims and/or financially dependent on their partner and they don't necessarily need saving. A marriage is an agreement between two (2) people and they are free to agree on whatever the fuck they want. You don't know everything that's going on between them.

The sooner you accept the above facts the easier human relationships will be for you, and as a minor but useful side-effect, navigating certain fandom spaces may become less tedious for you and me both. it's a win-win situation.

[liskantope]

I've been feeling devastated about last week's disaster of a debate (among other political developments) and see it as evidence that Biden was never a fit candidate for reelection. And at this point I really don't think he has it in him to stick out a job like the presidency all the way until 2029. But I think a lot of people are really overreacting in terms of what kind or variety of weakness it exposed in Biden. I'm a little stunned by how many people -- not generally Republicans or anti-leftists or leftists who have a bias against Biden already, but moderate-left-ish types such as Scott Alexander and Kat Rosenfield -- who seem convinced of things like that the debate shockingly but obviously "proved" that Biden is completely senile, has a clinical level of dementia, is unfit to be president right at this moment (let alone for 4.5 more years), obviously isn't acting as president but must be sitting around dazed while others do the work for him, that the Biden team's insistence that Biden is fundamentally fit has now glaringly been exposed as a complete lie, etc.

One particular narrow range of skills was on display at the debate, and I'm not sure exactly what succinct term to use for it, but it was something like "smooth articulation ability", and it's something I think about a lot as a communicator in my own professional context. There have always been certain mental states I get into (often triggered by stress or sleep deprivation) where words and sentences don't come out as clearly, get caught up in the moment on the wrong beat and get sidetracked, and struggle to get wrapped up without becoming run-ons that lack in a conclusion, where I mumble and stammer easily, and where I have trouble recalling particular words and phrases on the fly, and these contrast dramatically with my moments where the opposite is the case. This especially affects my teaching: it used to fairly often be the case that I had "bad days" where I could tell right from the start of the 75-minute class period that I wasn't going to be able to form thoughts as well as on my "good days". With more experience I've gradually learned how to minimize the "bad days", but I'm still prone to it if I'm not careful. Yet, even at my worst moments of this, it says nothing about my knowledge of the topic I'm teaching about, nor about my fitness in general. It's a very narrow aspect of my mental abilities.

Now one could point out that a huge part of being a politician is being a absolute world-class "smooth articulator". And that's true, and Biden certainly was once, and clearly old age has eroded his ability at this. But it's kind of beside the point when someone is suggesting that stumbling a lot at a debate is evidence of having dementia and being too old for one's job, other than that our being accustomed to politicians being extremely skilled at articulation is obfuscating the fact that for a typical person (whether old and senile or not), having to express one's ideas on the fly in the style of a presidential debate is incredibly difficult. I believe the great majority of adult humans -- including those who are dismissing Biden now, including a lot of the very intelligent and generally articulate among us, including myself -- would probably not be able to do much better than Biden did at that debate if we were placed in his position, and it doesn't say much about our ability to make decisions in the role of US president or about our dementia status.

All that said, what matters most in a presidential debate is the vibes each candidate gives off, and Biden definitely gave off "doddering old man" vibes in just about the worst way possible, which will certainly make a lot of people not feel okay about voting for him, whether or not they've seriously reflected on his capability of performing the actual non-public tasks required of a president.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for sort of ignoring when my boyfriend is upset?

My boyfriend struggles with some depression, and I'm of course supportive, as someone with a lot of mental health issues myself. We're generally very communicative about a lot of things.

The thing is, sometimes he's clearly upset about something or talks badly about himself, but in a way where he's sort of dropping obvious hints without saying something like "I'm really upset" or "I could use support right now." For example, I'll be talking about something I did with my friends, and he'll say something like "that's great, I'm glad you had fun! I wish people liked me enough to do fun stuff like that." And I don't really know how to respond? Like I wasn't trying to gloat or anything, I just tell him about things in my life. And I know he's genuine when he says he's glad I had a good time or whatever. He's just really really insecure.

There was a time recently, for example, when a friend had offered to take pictures of me outside of a party we were both at. I told him that I was going outside and he asked if he should come with, and I said sure! Afterwards he was really torn up about whether he was supposed to come outside with me or if I was just saying that to be nice, but like I wish he trusted me in that me saying yes means I'm saying yes. If I didn't want him to come with, I would have said no. I don't really have any issues with saying no to people.

Previously I was reassuring him when he brought these sorts of things up, but to be frank it's gotten kind of tiring. There's only so many times I can say "you're a good person who is fun to be around and I like you" until it gets on my nerves. It feels like what I say doesn't make any impact on him, which I know isn't his fault, but it's frustrating for me. So I'm kind of like. Why bother repeating the same thing again and again if it isn't making a difference?

Also, because I anticipate this being brought up, I've asked for support explicitly before and he's given me support. It kinda feels like he cares about supporting me more than he cares about himself, which is sweet and all but I don't like that. I want him to care about himself too. I've told him this, and told him he can ask me for support when he needs it.

For the record, the times where he has explicitly said he's not doing well/needs support I've offered it. If he says "I really need a hug next time we hang out" or whatever, I'll do it. I just sometimes feel like an emotional nanny to be honest, because it feels like I have to be on alert for these hints or whatever and take care of the insecurity.

So, am I the asshole for not responding to my boyfriend's upset feelings unless he explicitly states them and/or asks for support?

What are these acronyms?