#( ld. | to the end of the line )

[screamsmeared]

(@itwcsmcroon || marta cabrera) "YOU KNOW, I NEVER USED TO BE INTO HALLOWEEN." it felt taboo to admit that in certain places, but it was true. not the whole story, but true. "pulling out pumpkin guts just didn't seem like a good time. and my parents were the type to make me give away all my candy, anyway. dad was a dentist." wasn't he? "but—it's starting to grow on me. at least now that i don't have to do the carving myself." much easier to grab a fake—ceramic, not plastic—pumpkin.

[clovdgyu]

#rafayel x m!reader #smut, fluff #the new lds memories seriously has me in a chokehold. so i made this

#hard and vanilla sex, friends to lovers trope, rafayel is possessed by an incubus, unprotected sex, creampie, rafayel moans a lot, lore-wise rafayel which means he has two dicks (i mean he's a lemurian and a mermaid so...), i'd like to think ebb day is when rafayel becomes in heat lol, foreplay, some mild choking, rafayel's scales hehe, pet names, a bit of blackmail and manipulation, some kind of DUBCON, overstimulation, double penetration, cockdrunk reader, belly bulge

your eyes turned to look at the other male who suddenly dropped down to the floor, placing a hand on his head as he held onto the chair for support. "rafayel! are you okay?" you asked the other male who was whining at the pain.

you looked at him with wide eyes, not knowing what to do. you hummed in panic, thinking of a solution before deciding to get him a glass of water. "fuck. you should've told me you needed to go to the ocean or whatever. let me start a bath for you."

just as you were about to give it to him, the moment you turned around, you were surprised when you saw him just looking down at you. in your shock, you accidentally dropped the cup and spilled the water.

"rafayel? are you finally doing okay? sit down," you told him, guiding him towards the sofa but was stopped when he held onto your arm and pulled you towards him. "wh--raf? what is this?"

the purple-haired male smirked and looked into your eyes, using his other hand to trace along the line of your lips. "hm? and who do we have here? can i have the honor in knowing your name, pretty boy?"

the confusion was evident in your eyes as you tilted your head to the side, thinking the other male was just making fun of you. "what the hell? cut this out, rafayel. it's me, m/n," you answered, looking up at the other male. "what is with this strength? were lemurians usually this strong?"

a curious and mischievous glint in his eyes made you gulp. "m/n, huh? you must be the guy he—" all of a sudden, he slapped himself which surprised you, "--you goddamn psycho, get out of my body!"

what the hell is going on? you thought to yourself as you looked at the other male who was...talking to himself? slapping his face over and over until his cheeks were red. deciding to end this madness, you shouted, "stop! can you just tell me what the hell is going on here? and why are you hurting yourself?"

rafayel let out heavy breaths as he looked at you before removing his arms from you and moved towards the sofa which made you follow him unconsciously. as you two sat down, he began to talk, "i am an incubus."

you let out a scoff. "uh huh, yeah. and i'm thomas. now stop with this pranks," you said. you were just about to move away but realized you weren't able to move. "what-"

"i'm serious. i indulge in the desires and pleasures of any men i see and unfortunately, this man has suppressed feelings," he stated, pointing at himself then smirked as if to say he was confident with something. "which is why i will help him."

"help him? why?" you asked him, confused.

the incubus (in rafayel's form) let out a sigh as he crossed his legs. "because he's currently in the verge of death. if he gets no action tomorrow, he's bound to die," he told you, making you confused yet again.

he pointed towards the calendar and saw that the next day was encircled red. that's when it hits you. "ah...it's ebb day. but he's always survived on his own. was it actually killing him? i never knew," you asked him.

his demeanor changed yet again before he shook his head and looked at you with a frown. "m/n, don't believe a word this demon says. i will be fine."

"fine, my ass! you'll die for fuck's sake. now, m/n, you wouldn't want that, won't you?" the demon told you, looking at you expectantly. it was obvious you were debating, looking at how you nibbled on your lip and eyes were practically quivering.

you let out a sigh before nodding. "alright. i'll help him."

the next day, as you expected, rafayel was heating up and you were there to help him. "wh-what the fuck, dude? this hurts as fuck," the incubus stuttered as he held onto his stomach.

you were already in your robes, ready to give yourself to your lemurian friend. "rafayel, i'm ready," you told him, the other male looking at you with hazy eyes as he sat up weakly.

you got on the bed and crawled yourself towards him, straddling him as you place your hands on his shoulders, blushing. "j-just so you know, this will only happen every ebb day a-and...this is my first time. i've never been on the receiving end."

a simple hum was heard from the other male before he moved to lean his head onto you neck, taking in your sweet scent, placing small kisses as he moved along your neck. you covered your mouth with one hand, stifling your moans.

"don't stop yourself from letting out those sounds, sweetie. i want to hear you," the incubus stated as he pulled you closer towards him, slowly grinding his erect dick onto your--wait, why were you feeling two dicks?

"what's..." you voiced out, pulling back before looking down at him.

he let out a deep chuckle as he looked up at you. "guess he has two dicks. didn't quite expect that as well," he stated before going back to your neck. "you smell so fucking good."

you were just about to protest but then you felt his hand adjust your robe to get your leaking cock out and began jerking you off. "w-wait, i haven't touched myself in a while. i-i might cum easily," you told him, but he didn't do anything, instead he continued his assault on your neck.

he jerked you off as he moved to the other side of your neck, placing love bites and hickeys as he did. "r-rafayel," you called out to him, hands latching onto the other male's hair. "i-if you keep doing that, i-i might--"

"you can cum as much as you like."

rafayel's voice near your ears was like hearing the symphony of the angels, quite ironic. "oh god," you let out, pulling him closer as you began to buck your hips, fucking yourself into his hand.

he let out an amused chuckle as he jerked you off in rhythm, trying to make you cum. "what a needy bitch. do you really want to cum that badly, huh?" he stated, using his thumb to tease the head of your cock that was already leaking pre-cum.

your moans began to grow louder. getting conscious of it, you buried yourself in the other male's neck as you stifled your moans, biting on your bottom lip.

"what did i tell you, hon?" he stated, stopping his movements as he looked at you, earning him a whine from you.

"wh-why'd you stop? i was just about to cum," you complained, brows furrowed as you looked down at him.

the purple-haired male only chuckled as he grinned, placing a kiss on your cheek before he whispered, "just let those pretty moans out, baby boy. it'd feel better that way, trust me."

then, he began to jerk you off once again. his hand was so big that it practically engulfed your whole cock and it made you feel so good. your toes curled at the pleasure as the once denied climax began to crash into you again. "ah fuck! oh my--rafayel, i'm gonna cum."

the man nodded as he placed kisses all over your neck, licking and biting as his hand began to jerk you off faster. "cum for me, m/n. do it."

and just like that, you let out a pleasured cry as you threw your head back, cumming on the other man's hand and splattering some on his toned stomach. "a-ah! cumming..!"

rafayel continued to jerk you off, slowing down once you came down from your high. "that felt good now, did it?" he asked you which you answered with a nod. he let out a chuckle before he let out a pained whine.

"r-rafayel? are you okay?" you asked him.

and then all of a sudden you found yourself beneath him, pinned down on his king-size bed. the usual soft and calm look on rafayel's eyes were replaced with something else. as if he has finally snapped and had enough. "fuck, you're just too sexy."

all you could do was stare up at the other male as he stared down at you, wanting to devour you right then and there. "a-are we...gonna do it?"

cute. rafayel thought as he roamed his eyes around your body, undoing the robe's belt and finally seeing you in your naked glory. "shit. so delectable," he murmured to himself before leaning down, latching his lips onto your nipples.

the suddenness made you flinch (in a good way), placing your hands onto his hair. "th-that tickles—ah! w-wait," you cried out. rafayel, wanting to hear more of you, began to jerk you off once again as he prodded his middle finger against your hole, using your own cum as lube. "no! r-rafayel, i just came!"

"i know you can still cum for me, sweetie. i need to get you ready for my cocks," he said before taking your nipples into his mouth again, licking and biting before moving to the other.

the pleasure was too much for you to handle, it was far too overwhelming. not a second later, the other male inserted his finger inside your hole which made you yelp. "relax, m/n."

you followed his instructions, but all you could focus on was rafayel's mouth on your nipples and his hand that was jerking your hard cock. "r-rafayel. oh fuck," you moaned out, pulling on his hair as he gave you the pleasure you needed.

it took you a moment before you realized that scales were showing on his body. you touched them unconsciously, earning you a hiss. that made you flinch before looking up at him, eyes teary and hazy. "you're seriously turning me on. no wonder this man likes you a lot."

what?

you weren't even given a second to ponder what he just said as he finally entered a second finger, his fingers pistoning inside your hole, preparing you for his big cocks.

rafayel's lips moved up, towards your collarbone, towards your neck then back down onto your chest. he knew how to make you feel so good. as he continued his assault on your nipples and his hand on your cock, he continued to finger your ass.

your moans began to grow louder in volume. "rafayel, it feels—agh!" you let out a yelp, clenching onto the purple-haired male's fingers as he hit a certain spot inside you. "th-that felt strange."

the lemurian smirked as he used his tongue to flick your nipples over and over, the ticklish yet pleasurable feeling making you moan louder. "this?" he asked you before pressing on that same spot again.

this made you throw your head back, a strangled moan escaping your lips as your eyes practically twitched. "quit it! p-pressing on it...ah!"

rafayel heeded no mind to your protests as he pressed onto your prostate ever now and then. he inserted another finger whoch makes it three. he hummed, "you're taking my fingers quite well, m/n. am i making you feel good?"

the question made your mind go haywire as you tried to answer, but all you could do was nod. his fingers were quite long and it could reach the perfect spots inside you which drove you crazy. "use your big boy words, hon."

damn, how can someone be so alluringly sexy yet soft at the same time. you gulped, "y-yes. it feels good."

"that's good to hear," he stated before he began to finger your hole faster, making your toes curl in pleasure. the pleasure on your nipples, cock, and ass was all too overwhelming.

your moans became ragged as you neared your climax. but just as you were about to cum, rafayel stopped whatever he was doing and pulled away, smirking. a whine escaped your lips as you looked at him, watery eyes and cheeks warm. "why do you keep stopping when i'm about to cum."

"cause it's fun tormenting you. and you would probably be asleep by the time we're done here since you're tired," he stated, but you just glared at him.

the other male placed his hands beside your head, looking down at you. "i guess you're finally ready," rafayel stated as he leaned back, using one hand to jerk his two dicks. the size alone was enough to scare you.

"th-that's going inside me? that'll never fit, rafayel. it's too big," you tried to reason with him, hut all he did was growl as he rolled his eyes. "did you just roll your eyes at me?"

he just hummed as he lined his cock towards your hole yet you kept pulling away. fed up, he growled and placed a hand on your neck, choking you. "do you want him to die or not?" he asked.

you shook your head in response. "no...i can't do that," you answered, but sighed as you looked up at him. "fine, just do it slowly."

the other male let out a whispered 'good' before he held onto his cock, slowly entering. you were just about to tell him something but he suddenly inserted his whole cock in. this made your cry out in pleasure, cumming on the spot at how his cock brushed against your prostate.

"fuck! relax, sweetie. you're gonna snap my dick off," he stated, basking in the pleasure of seeing you make a mess of yourself, blabbering and all as you threw your head back, gripping the sheets tightly as your curled your toes and arched your body.

rafayel's eyes turned manic as he placed his hands on your hips, groaning at your tight heat. "shit, you feel so good, m/n," he said as he thrusted inside you harshly, wanting to see you writhe and quiver in pleasure.

the other male leaned down towards you, placing hickeys and love bites on your neck. you let out loud moans which rafayel loved. you placed your hands onto his back, scratching it out of pleasure, eyes rolling back.

"oh, fuck! your ass feels so fucking good, babe. taking me so well," he stated out as he threw his head back, fucking you with no remorse. you buried your nose into his neck, trying to bite back your moans as you engulfed the man in your embrace.

this obviously annoyed the other male as he placed a hand under your chin, making you face him. "what did tell you about holding in your moans, babe? i want to hear you."

"i-it's embarrassing," you answered him, feeling your cheeks warm up.

the man chuckled, amused. "i like hearing them, m/n. moan for me, please?" rafayel pleaded, placing his hands back onto your hips as he began to fuck you once again.

you nodded at him, but still stifled your moans. wanting to hear more of you, he began to jerk you off and he thinks you liked being jerked off cause the moment he did, you began to whimper and moan so loudly. "yes, just like that, baby. let those pretty noises out."

his thrusts gradually increased in speed, placing his arms by the pit of your leg, pushing them towards you into a mating press. "fuck, you feel so good, m/n. i've wanted this for so long. shit, ah."

rafayel's voice became louder as he pistoned his cock inside you, reaching deep inside you with every thrust. his cock consistently brushed against your prostate perfectly, not failing to make you moan every time he pushed his hips towards you.

the sound of your skins slapping against each other reverberated throughout his whole bedroom, your cries and his moans filled the entire area as well. you could practically hear the squelching sound your hole produced every time he thrusted hard inside you.

rafayel leaned down, placing his forehead against yours before placing his lips on yours. you weren't new to kissing but this obviously shocked you. nevertheless, you responded to his kiss as you pulled him closer towards you.

the other male grinned mischievously as he stuck his tongue inside your mouth, exploring the wet cavern. rafayel swallowed your pleasured moans, groaning as he sucked on your tongue, swirling his own wet muscle with it.

his hands moved towards your chest, playing with your erect nipples, making you cry out, gripping hard onto his hair as he played with them, flicking and twisting them.

"fuck," he cursed out as he removed his lips on yours, some saliva dripping down from your lips at the heated makeout session. you wondered why he stopped but you were rid of your questions once you noticed how he let go of your legs and changed your positions without pulling out.

your back was now turned towards him and now you were on all fours. rafayel chuckled as he landed a slap on your ass, liking the way it jiggled. "so fucking hot," he stated as he began moving again, using one hand to hold onto your hip. "you ready for cock number two, sweetie?" he asked.

you didn't know what to answer since you were already to drunk on his cock to even think about anything, blabbering nonsense and something about 'cumming'. taking that as a yes, he lined his second cock against your hole as he stopped moving before pushing all the way in.

the sudden intrusion made you cry out in pleasure as you threw your head back, cumming yet again for the third time that day. "n-no..wh-why...hurts.." you muttered out as your arms gave out, involuntarily sticking your ass up towards him.

"it'll feel good in a moment. okay, m/n?" rafayel assured you as he sheathed his cocks inside your stretched hole. he let out a breathy moan as he threw his head back, feeling even better now that both his cocks were inside your warm hole. "hah, you feel so fucking good, baby."

you adjusted to his cock as you fisted on the sheets. not a while later, he began to pummel your ass needily, moaning out as his cheeks were now tinted in red. "g-good...ah.." you moaned out.

suddenly, rafayel leaned his body down towards you, placing an arm around your neck before pulling you up with him. the position made rafayel's cock reach deeper inside you which got you a moaning mess, throwing your head back as you clenched your fists.

“m-my stomach, no…!” you cried out as the other male reached out a hand and pressed against the bulge on your stomach, pressing down which got you cumming again. “n-no more…fuck! i c-cant cum anymore,” you said, but it was as if he was drunk in pleasure and paid no attention to your protests.

instead, he turned your head and kissed you, choking you with his strong arm while using the other one to keep you both steady. your sweaty bodies mingled with each other, the pleasure making your eyes roll and your cock twitch back to life. you were already too tired at this point.

rafayel's thrusts grew faster and harder, moans getting louder as he held you closer, as if wanting to fuse his body with you. the scales that appeared on his body grew in number as he felt his own climax come to him. “fuck, i'm about to cum, m/n. can I cum inside you, baby? please?” he said, hugging you tightly as he placed soft kisses down on your shoulders.

as you were nearing your own release again, rafayel jerked you once again so you two could cum together. this made you cry out as tears finally dripped down from your eyes at the overstimulation. “rafayel!” you moaned out his name, holding onto his biceps that was around your neck.

rafayel nodded as he gritted his teeth, veins pulsating as he thrusted faster and harder inside you, hitting your prostate spot-on, jerking your cock off in the same rhythm. “cum for me, m/n. fuck, m/n. i'm cumming!”

“m-me too,” you announced, turning your head to kiss the other male who was already waiting for your lips. then your lips parted as you both chased your climax.

with one final thrust, rafayel came inside of you, biting down on your shoulder while you squirted all over the white sheets. “t-tired..” was all you could mutter as you fell asleep in the other male's embrace.

“i hope he's fine. i think i overdid it,” you heard someone say then a rather deeper voice was heard as well.

“well, when are you planning to tell him about this whole shenanigans?” the other male asked as he looked at your state.

rafayel bit his lip out of guilt before he sighed and looked at the demon. “the moment he wakes up, i will tell him everything.”

“tell me what?”

your voice made the two scream out in surprise, looking at each other then back at you. they watched as you blinked your eyes open, then sat up, using your hand to rub your eyes awake. “rafayel? who is he?” you asked, once you finally saw the stranger beside him.

“the demon that possessed him. nice to meetcha. i'll be on my way then, tata!” the incubus stated before he disappeared, leaving you and rafayel alone together.

the purple-haired male turned to look at you and held your hands, checking on your stature first. “are you alright? nothing hurts, does it? i got a bit carried away, sorry,” he asked.

“i'm fine, rafayel. it felt good honestly and thanks for cleaning me up. i got too tired and passed out. if anything I should be the one asking you if you're alright,” you stated, a smile on your lips as you adjusted the blanket draped on you.

rafayel mentally prepared himself before finally blurting out his feelings towards you, not wanting to regret not telling you. “i like you, m/n. ever since we met back then. it was love at first sight and I just couldn't let go of you, I needed you,” he started.

"i wanted to treasure you and the moment i found out you were into men, i got so hyped up. i decided to make you my best friend slash bodyguard. but along with it, my feelings grew stronger. to the point where i wanted to defile your body."

he looked into your eyes, fearing that you'd hate him once you finally found put the truth. "i could never bring myself to do that, and so, i decided to summon an incubus to help me get the courage i needed to touch you. i'm sorry."

once he was done, you let out a laugh before looking at him, wiping a stray tear away. "you mean you were holding back? damn, you liked me that much? you're seriously cute and funny."

"what? no violent reactions?"rafayel asked, confused. but all he heard from you was a simple 'nope'. "shouldn't you be mad at me?"

you smiled. "if you knew i was into, why haven't you asked me out yet?"

"i didn't know if i was your type. what if i--"

"dude! you're a famous painter, tall, handsome, has constant moodswings, and did i mention your two dicks? who wouldn't want you, rafayel?" you stated, making the man in front of you blush, embarrassed. "so, when are you gonna ask me out?"

"will you really go out with me?" rafayel asked shyly.

you scoffed at him hitting his shoulder. "stop acting so coy. as if you haven't rearranged my guts earlier. now why don't we get breakfast, hm?" rafayel smiled before letting out a chuckle. "you're right. let's."

[the-cimmerians]

Today, ProPublica reports on yet another big change that stands to solve a decades-long problem we first learned about back in 2016, closing a huge loophole that allowed states to divert federal antipoverty funds to governors’ pet projects, like promoting abstinence, holding “heathy marriage” classes that did nothing to prevent out-of-wedlock births, funding anti-abortion “clinics” to lie about abortion “risks,” sending middle-class kids to private colleges, and other schemes only tangentially related to helping poor kids. It’s the same loophole that Mississippi officials tried to drive a truck through to divert welfare funds to former sportsball man Brett Favre’s alma mater, for a volleyball palace. [ ]

The agency has proposed new rules — open for public comment until December 1 — aimed at nudging states to actually use TANF funds to give cash to needy parents, not fill budget holes or punish poor people.

One change will put an end to the scheme Utah used to substitute LDS church funds for welfare, by prohibiting states

from counting charitable giving by private organizations, such as churches and food banks, as “state” spending on welfare, a practice that has allowed legislatures to budget less for programs for low-income families while still claiming to meet federal minimums.

Another new rule will put the kibosh on using TANF to fund child protective services or foster care programs, which are not what TANF is supposed to be for, damn it.

And then there’s the simple matter of making sure that funds for needy families go to needy families, not to pet projects that have little to do with poverty:

The reforms would also redefine the term “needy” to refer only to families with incomes at or below 200% of the federal poverty line. Currently, some states spend TANF money on programs like college scholarships — or volleyball stadiums — that benefit more affluent people.

[oncasette]

frat!lads

sylus, zayne, rafayel, xavier, & caleb x fem!reader

the love and deepspace men as frat guys in a college!au at linkon U + how you met them

content: fr*ternity boys, alcohol consumption, all apart of the same frat (lambda delta sigma—LDS), smoking/vaping for some of the guys. thank you to @nashusglasses for yapping about the boys with me 😘

SYLUS QIN, majoring in business, minoring in international communications

frat!sylus doesn't leave his room during parties after you start dating, whether you're up there with him or not. He'll attend brotherhood events, but it's a hard sell to get him to go to swaps, date parties, or weekend functions unless you're the one asking him to go.

frat!sylus definitely smokes when he's drunk. He's not a regular smoker, and he wouldn't be one to vape or zyn either, but he'll keep a pack of cigs in his back pocket at a function.

frat!sylus becomes pledge master the year that luke and kieran go through recruitment, and definitely plays favorites. He'll let the twins go to your apartment to sleep during hell week, he's more lenient on them when there's group pledge tasks, and he ends up being their big brother when big/little takes place. They start up calling you mom before the week's up.

frat!sylus sleeps through most of his classes. Or, most of the day, really. It's a wonder he was passing with his abysmal attendance, but you couldn't say you weren't proud of him when you saw that he made the Dean's list every semester.

frat!sylus still teases you for ignoring him for a while after you two met.

You met Sylus at one of his frat's parties. You were a little too tipsy to foster intelligent thoughts and the music was far too loud to hold any genuine conversation. The most you could get out to your friends over the thumping bass was your desire to get another drink from the kitchen and to take a trip to the bathroom on your way there. The line was, unsurprisingly, far too long and bleeding out into the hallway, leaving you to grumble and slouch against the wall as you waited your turn.

Sylus practically came out of nowhere, leaning up against the wall beside you and offering to take the empty solo cup from your hand.

"You alright, there?" he asks. He's seen you around a couple of times. In passing, mostly, around campus or at his frat's events, but this was the first time he'd gotten the chance to speak to you.

"Yeah, just, waiting on the bathroom," you huff, and Sylus has to bite down on the laugh that's creeping up his throat. You were cute, dangerously so, even hazy eyed and little wobbly.

"I'd be happy to let you use mine if you want to skip the line," he says. The look you shoot his way has him raising his hands up in defense, waving away all notions of foul play with your crushed cup still in his grasp. "I'll stand outside my room and keep guard."

You nod, thinking better of it as you lean into his guiding hand and allow him to lead you upstairs.

You nearly forget about him until about a month later when LDS throws a darty that you attend, Sylus immediately spotting you in the crowd and managing to get the phone number he'd sorely missed the last time you'd spoken.

ZAYNE LI, majoring in biology, minoring in chemistry, pre-med track

frat!zayne is the reason LDS doesn't get put on academic probation most semesters. His GPA never falls from it's pristine 4.0, even with the fraternity's functions and all the time he spends with you. It's how he got stuck with the director of academics position.

frat!zayne refused to do the sock on the door policy because he felt like it was crude. He didn't have a roommate in the house like he had in the dorm, so he didn't know why anyone needed to know when he was having private moments with you. That was until one of the brothers busted the door through the lock at eleven o'clock because they wanted to borrow his britta filter. Then he started using the sock, despite how red his ears would flush the next day when he left for class and had to pass the other boys living on his hall.

frat!zayne brings you all the trinkets he can find from people tabling in the quad. You've gotten plenty of stickers, candy grams, roses, and cookies. You even got a rubber duck once.

frat!zayne won't attend a swap unless it's with your sorority. When he'd been a pledge, he'd been forced to attend every event and stick around until the lights came on at the bar, but now that he's with you, he'll only go to the events you're attending or can tag along with him to.

frat!zayne gets asked all the time by your sorority sisters when he's going to propose. After all, the first time he'd locked eyes with you had been at a tacky wedding themed swap.

Your friends had been nudging you all night to go and talk to him. Your eyes had barely left him, looking at the cute guy at the corner of the bar in the powder blue suit over your friends' shoulders.

"Go! Please! You're killing me with this eye tag thing," Tara squeals as she shoves you towards the guy. Your heels are planted into the sticky flooring, but she's doing a damned good job of inching you closer to him. Before she had the chance to topple you over completely, you relented.

"Fine, fine, I'm going! But I'm not promising anything," you huff. Your body warms under his gaze as you approach. He sees nervous as he glances around the bar, anxiously checking to see if there's anyone around him that you'd be coming up to, now, though he can no longer deny it when you stop right in front of him.

"Hi," he says, cheeks flushed and ears bitten pink and you just about fall out right there. How cute could he get?

RAFAYEL QI, majoring in fine arts, minoring in marine science

frat!rafayel is the heart of most of the parties LDS throws. He's usually on aux unless they've hired a DJ or a live band, and he takes his job seriously. He never misses a function, but he has an arm thrown over your shoulder more often than not.

frat!rafayel has a recipe for jungle juice that gets put out at darties. He won't tell anyone else how to make it and claims it's made with "lots of love".

frat!rafayel carries a miami mint vape around with him, but he rarely hits it. Unless he's drinking, then it doesn't leave his hand.

frat!rafayel uses "anything but a cup" night to get you to wear one of those beer hats people wear to baseball games so he can spend the rest of the night draped over your back—like he'd be anywhere else, anyway, this just gives him a viable excuse—and drinking out of your hat.

frat!rafayel begs you to take another art elective with him. He claims they're all boring without you, and that you give him the inspiration he needs when he's locked in the art department's concrete walls.

You met Rafayel in an intro art course your sophomore year. It was about halfway through the semester when you accidentally dumped your paint water down the front of his shirt on the way to the sink. Class had already ended, meaning Rafayel had taken off his apron and had nearly finished cleaning up when you stumbled over.

He didn't mind, really, despite the whines and complaints on his end. He was all easy smiles and comforting words was he realized how bad you felt for your little mishap, peeling off his outer layer like it wasn't a big deal and leaving your mouth to water over his newly exposed biceps.

"Look, would it make you feel better if I let you make it up to me?" he asks. He ties the damp shirt around the arm strap of his backpack as he asks.

You nod, sputting out a helpless little yes.

"Alright," he smirks, just a bit at the corner of his lips. "How about you let me take you out for lunch, then?"

"Wha- when?" you ask. You're more than taken aback at his request, having expected for him to make you buy him a new shirt or a new set of paints.

"Now, if that works for you," he says. Now works great for you.

XAVIER SHEN, majoring in astrophysics

frat!xavier doesn't really talk to anyone at any of the functions unless you're there. He'll still attend, but more often than not, he's secluded off in the corner scrolling on his phone or watching whatever the bar's put on the TV.

frat!xavier smuggled a second twin XL into his room to make a mega bed. No one knows where he found it or how he got it in without any help. It's the comfiest thing either of you have ever laid on, and it takes about seven alarms and twenty-five kisses to coax him out of it in the morning for class

frat!xavier always has you on his lap when you're at the house for a game. Whenever any of your school's sports teams plays an away game, the brothers will line up four or five couches in the party room and move the biggest TV—sylus'—in, and Xavier takes the opportunity to keep you locked in his grasp for the next couple of hours.

frat!xavier is a favorite for so many of the girls that go to LDS. They think he's just the sweetest guy ever, but he barely even talks to most of them. He'll nod politely for a couple minutes before wandering off. He gets ribbed pretty bad for it later.

frat!xavier uses you as his reminder to study. You always drag him to the library with you on Sundays, and despite his hangovers, he uses the time to get ahead on his class work for next week.

You met Xavier in the library your freshman year. He'd holed himself up in the corner of the fourth floor, promptly falling asleep face first on his textbook. When he'd gotten there, there had been plenty of tables open, but as the day had gone on, more and more people had filed in to find a quiet place to study for finals. When you got there, all of the tables and chairs were full other than a single one at his table.

You work up the courage to tap him on the shoulder after awkwardly going back and forth about it behind him for ten minutes.

"Excuse me?" you ask softly, ducking your head down so as to not disturb the other people near you. He doesn't respond. You tap him gently again. That seems to snag his attention.

"Hm?" His eyes struggle to open, and you feel something flutter in your chest as you watch him wipe the corner of his mouth and sit up.

"Do you mind if I sit with you? The rest of the floor is full," you say softly as you gesture to the free chair beside him. He shakes his head softly and kicks the chair out a bit for you to sit beside him.

Xavier doesn't end up leaving the library until you do. Three and a half hours later.

CALEB XI, majoring in aerospace studies

frat!caleb catches shit from some of his brothers for hanging onto his high school girlfriend. He doesn't care, he'd drop them in a second if it meant keeping you. He never lets any of them rib you, or make any comments that toe the line of mean more than funny. You're his priority, and his brothers know that.

frat!caleb is the president of LDS and is always either sending out massive group messages to the frat or is on the phone trying to handle something. It's like he's trying to manage 87 different tasks at once, on top of his school work, but he handles it well.

frat!caleb only drinks beer and will make a sword out of the empty cans to fight his brothers with if he's drunk enough. but the bar really isn't even that low, get like three in him and he's ready to joust.

frat!caleb has a sex playlist that he thinks is so good until you tell him how goofy you think it is while you're drunk. It takes three weeks of silent nights, forgetting just how quiet you have to be with the music off so his brothers won't hear you, before you're begging him to put it back on. With alterations, of course. There's nothing sexy about doses and mimosas.

frat!caleb only lives in house because he's on exec. If he had it his way, the two of you would already be living in a cute little townhouse off campus, but with the rules in place, you practically live in house, too.

When you both had announced your college decisions, everyone had accused you of following your boyfriend off to school. They'd done anything and everything to try and talk you out of it, but you'd stood your ground. If anything, Caleb had been the one to follow you off to school, and you weren't going to be the one to stop him.

Caleb had bitched and moaned the whole month leading up to move in because they wouldn't let the two of you dorm together, but seeing as you were living on the same hall in the only contemporary dorm on campus, it really wouldn't have made much a difference.

You were attached at the hip, for better or worse, all throughout grade school. He doesn't see why college should be any different.

[steddieasitgoes]

Steve’s parents leaving him home alone more and more after the Fall of 1983. Half the time they don’t even tell him in advance, he just finds out from a note left on the kitchen counter and $10 to cover pizza.

Steve waking from a nightmare, friendless, alone (let’s pretend he and Nancy didn’t get back together), and hungry. The fridge is empty and Bradley’s Big Buy is closed for the night. He tries to go back to sleep but his stomach won’t relent so he reluctantly gets dressed and drives 15 minutes to the 24 hour McDonalds in the next town over.

The same McDonalds where Eddie works the drive thru headset at on the weekends. He’s not exactly fond of the job and finds dozens of ways to make it more entertaining — like coming up with terrible nicknames for the company.

Steve is taken aback the first time the static drive thru speaker welcomes him to “McCrap-lds.”

It makes him smile for the first time in weeks.

Neither Steve nor Eddie recognize each others voices as they banter back and forth. Steve ask for recommendations, Eddie makes fun of him but gives in.

When Steve pulls up to the window he expects to meet the funny drive thru employee but he’s greeted with a tired middle-aged women instead. Apparently Eddie lost window privileges after an incident. Steve doesn’t ask questions.

When he wakes up from another nightmare a week later, he returns to the McDonalds and engages Eddie in more easy banter before ordering his food.

It becomes a habit — one he keeps up for the entirety of the summer of 1984.

Steve and Eddie never meet face to face but that doesn’t stop them from venting, joking, and sharing their McDonalds recommendations through a shitty drive thru speaker.

Then on the first day of senior year, Steve is in line for the terrible cafeteria food (it makes McDonalds look like a Michelin Star meal) desperately craving chicken McNuggets and sweet and sour sauce when he hears a familiar voice. He turns quickly, eager to finally learn who the mystery guy responsible for making him laugh at 3am in a McDonalds parking lot is only to find Eddie “the Freak” Munson waltzing across lunch table going on and on about how conformity is killing kids.

Steve’s in shock. How could the sincere and hilarious guy he’s been shooting the shit with all summer be The Freak?! But then Eddie’s foot catches on a lunch tray and he topples ass first to the floor. When he pops up he takes a dramatic bow and makes a joke — one that sends Steve into uncontrollable laughter.

Yep, Eddie “the Freak” Munson is McDonalds guy.

And Steve knows exactly what he has to do.

He figures out where Eddie’s locker is and then excuses himself two minutes before the dismissal bell so he can get himself into position. When Eddie saunters over to his locker at the end of the day, Steve is waiting for him.

“Think it’s time I cash in on that free sundae you promised me a few weeks ago.”

Eddie stares at Steve dumbfounded for a moment, mind reeling as he process what Steve is getting at.

“You, Steve “the hair” Harrington are the McDonalds guy? My McDonalds guy?”

“Well I’m certainly the McDonalds guy,” Steve says taking a step closer. “Buy me that free sundae first and then we can discuss me being your McDonalds guy.”

[gudvina]

Your point about SC and the noble poor trope is so important and needs to be discussed more in fandom actually.

One of the things I struggled with most about the book was that LD was put on such a high pedestal her beliefs were meant to be seen as correct and virtuous but the issue is that Suzanne Collins was locked into having Maysilee and Haymitch team up. So we end up with Maysilee (who is a great character and the only thing I like about the book other than wyatt) who is sort of written with the reformed mean girl trope but then we also have LD who hates her because of her status and we’re not supposed to disagree with LD based on how she’s written the narrative is contradicting itself.

If SC could’ve just let LD be a flawed character it would’ve been a great opportunity to delve further into how division within the districts actually prevents rebellion and benefits the capitol. We could’ve explored more about the themes that were introduced in the first book with gales treatment of Madge.

Idk I’m biased because I love Maysilee as a character and dislike LD (not even speaking about them as love interests just as characters) and people refuse to acknowledge that LD’s hatred of Maysilee is unfair. Also her owning a caged canary is supposed to parallel Haymitch in a cage except Maysilee herself is in a cage too? Like she’s from the districts and is a tribute and is maybe better off than other people in district 12 but like she’s still a victim of the capitol and people refuse to acknowledge that? Idk I can’t stand the Maysilee haters out there LD included lmao

I also believe that showing Lenore Dove as a complex, flawed character would have benefitted way more to the story than the portrayal she had on Sunrise on the Reaping.

The way her character was written didn't leave any room for discussions, she was a sort of messiah who was rebellious in a reckless, inefficient way. A noble pure girl who was beautiful, smelled like honeysuckle, played the piano, was able to read proficiently but was also so poor she couldn't eat. She's written as the missing link between Lucy Gray and Katniss Everdeen. We are supposed to feel for her, admire her intelligence, be intrigued by her mystery, feel the ominous meaning of her words because, and that's important, it's all tied to a higher purpose.

And yet, she falls flat because her writing was inconsistent, underdeveloped and, at some point, incoherent. That pedestal she was put on by the narrative does nothing to help this, instead it just highlights these problems and makes her character feel even emptier than it could have been had she not been mentioned every two lines.

On the contrary Maysilee, the reformed mean girl as you rightly called her, was just a girl who happened to not be from the Seam, but instead from the Merchant Area, and because of that (and the fact that people have been interested in her dynamic with Haymitch, colliding with Lenore Dove's character) her writing considerably undermined the importance of her character in favour of Lenore Dove's. She's the owner of the mockingjay pin but she hates it, apparently, so much that Haymitch feels it appropriate to mention how Lenore Dove would have been glad to have it herself. The mockingjay pin. What would one day become the symbol of the rebellion that frees the District, not anymore associated to Maysilee only, but also to Lenore Dove. She is judged constantly by Haymitch and Lenore Dove and constantly implied to be like Capitols just because she's well off, when she's actually the real rebel of this story. Lenore Dove's rebellion is closer to Gale Hawthorne's than to Katniss Everdeen's, but Maysilee's acts of rebellion feel more real, more powerful and, in a way, they have a higher impact on the story.

These parallels between Gale and Lenore Dove could have been explored and could have given the latter much more complexity, but Suzanne Collins was afraid to go that way because she didn't want the reader to dislike her, she wanted the reader to root for Lenore Dove. And for people to make twitter posts about her haunting the narrative.

Especially considered the fact that Lenore Dove is like that™ because of what she was told about Lucy Gray, someone she idolised herself and wants to imitate.

This book could have gone a different way. Could have been a little more subversive than the others, but for that Suzanne Collins should have put some effort in writing it, and ultimately its main purpose wasn't to send a message but to make a few more pennies to add to her wallet.

[heathersdesk]

How to Deal with the Family Proclamation

We had a lesson in Sunday School today on all six of the proclamations the Church has ever issued. So naturally, the Proclamation on the Family came up.

I have complicated feelings about it. I think it fails our queer membership and locks us into doctrinal positions that aren't scripturally supported. I don't like how every lesson that mentions it invites an open season to take pot shots at the queer community, at our own people, about sexuality and gender. I don't like that this is the first instinct of many of our people when they talk about it.

You want to know how to redirect the conversation that shuts it down every time?

I bring up the portion that talks about the rights of children not to be abused. No one ever wants to talk about that because it involves looking at our own mess instead of someone else's. And as a survivor of familial abuse, it's something I feel passionate about because I know there is no group that is immune to it.

Rather than enforcing a familiar standard of heterosexual nuclear family that everyone should aspire to, I think the proclamation does a much better job of outlining what every child deserves. All children deserve to grow up in a family where they feel safe, respected, and loved.

Whenever I have to talk about the Proclamation to the Family, this is what I say. This is the only way I've found it to truly be prophetic.

I did it again today and that was one of the most powerful and vulnerable conversations about abuse I've ever seen at church. I know the teacher well. He has been a lawyer for many years and has worked as a prosecutor for child abuse cases in the state of Idaho, including those that involved church members. He said outright that local leadership doesn't always get things right with this, to the point that it was one of the reasons he left that line of work. It instigated a really poignant moment with him and a retired social worker from LDS Family Services. The Church is not immune to failures in handling abuse, but the Proclamation on the Family calls us to be better. That's what the discussion turned into. That was the salient point we ended on before moving on to the most recent proclamation from 2020.

Discussions in church are malleable. You can shape them into what you want them to be instead through your participation. It takes courage and skill you can gain with practice. And you'd be amazed at how well people respond if you do it sincerely and with love.

I can't change the mind of every person in the Church about queer people. But I can be filled with so much love for them, the right thing to say and do will be given to me through the Spirit.

Never doubt that you also have this power and ability. With God, all things are possible—including this.

[what-even-is-thiss]

Is it common knowledge that Mormons still have prophets like our current one is 100 years old named Russel m Nelson and all the queer Mormons hope he dies after the guy who is next in line dallin oaks the guy in line after him is pretty chill as far as high ranking Mormons go tho

I think it’s well known by people who have done any level of research into them even on the surface level but I don’t think most people know about it. I learned a bit about Mormons in American history in California public school but I mostly learned about the basic facts. Joseph Smith’s treasure hunting, their migration west, their being annoying and the often disproportionate amount of persecution they received until they reached Utah and forcibly kicked out a bunch of native Americans. That’s about where most histories about Mormonism ended that I learned about growing up.

I originally learned about the prophet thing from my family members that are really into genealogy. Mormons run a lot of the genealogy research websites and organizations out there so if you are deep into genealogy especially in the US you might have reason to interact with the Mormon church even if you’re not a member.

That’s also how I learned about the whole Mormons baptizing the dead thing which is the reason that Mormons are really into genealogy. They perform ritual baptisms for the deceased by using a still living person to stand in for them. Genealogy is one way they get names for these rituals. Another way is by physically walking into graveyards and writing down names. And btw if you’re not Mormon the idea that after you die a Mormon could baptize you is kind of insulting to your own personal beliefs. I’ve been baptized and gone through my confirmation in my own church. I know what I believe in. The idea that some rando will someday pretend to be me and get baptized about it is kind of weird.

Back on topic though, yes the Mormons still have a prophet that they believe literally talks to God. The different branches of Mormonism disagree on who the rightful first prophet after Joseph Smith was. The LDS church is just the biggest sect of Mormonism. All branches of Mormonism also think that all the other branches prophets are fake and theirs is the real one.

[rei-ismyname]

X-Men #10 Review

Raid on Graymalkin is over with a return to status quo ante bellum, at least for the Alaskan team's roster. That was just one incident in a cold war, and as Cyclops predicted, consequences come in the form of the O*N*E. Lundqvist and his fuckboys are using the raid as a casus belli. It's a siege, and aside from a few oddities it's the best issue yet.

The civilians and support staff ready for war

X-Men #10 follows on directly from Raid on Graymalkin with the O*N*E coming to punish the X-Men for stepping out of line. It's not entirely clear how much collaboration there is between Graymalkin (a private prison) and the O*N*E (a federal agency) but Ellis called it in and Lundqvist responded. Every agency seems to have a mutant office, though it's implied that their budgets have been gutted since Krakoa left this dimension. Over in Mystique, Nick Fury Jr is on SHIELD's mutant desk, but it's literally just him. This plot development was solicited and setup so it's good to see it being taken seriously. Uncanny is a different kind of book but their Sentinel attack was accidental - it explicitly treated Raid on Graymalkin as if it didn't happen. Actions need consequences and they've come to Merle l, Alaska.

In Scott's absence, Magneto is in charge and he orders everyone except him and Xorn to evacuate in their Helicarrier. That escaping by air is incredibly dangerous against a foe with local air superiority might be the first hint that he's not thinking clearly. Ben Liu and Jennifer Starkey, the 3K mutants, both object to Magneto's 'blaze of glory' plan in different ways. Ben calls him out as wanting to die though he doesn't exactly condemn him for it. He's staying and he'll use his untested reality warping power to do whatever he can. Jen appeals to Xorn as a healer and he says 'I save lives however I can but I don't tell people how to spend them.'

I've been vocal AF about how much I hate R-LDS, and that hasn't changed, but it's good to see it play out in escalating character beats. Mags' powers are still there, he just doesn't have control over it. Considering the global damage and godly feats he's capable of intentionally, the devastation he could wreak unintentionally could destroy the planet. He's always been willing to die for the cause, but here he's seeking it. That says a lot about where he's at mentally and I look forward to seeing where that goes.

I assume they were delayed picking up Quentin

Magneto's mental health issues will have to wait for a future issue, because the cavalry is here and he does not have permission to die, dammit! Scott has a plan, as ever, letting the old man know that Hellions Protocols went online twenty minutes ago. The main event begins as Lundqvist agrees to talk, after some posturing. This negotiation takes up the rest of the issue, but I appreciate taking the time to check in on the support staff and how they respond to stress.

I'm not sure why Lundqvist would agree to this tbh, or why he'd accept the Factory as the place to talk. It's not a neutral location at all and if the situation turns hot he's either dead or a hostage. He's certainly been more reasonable than previous leaders of the O*N*E, and he did end up as an intermediary between the X-Men and whoever he reports to last time. Maybe he sucks at his job, or maybe he doesn't really want to be doing this.

Toothpick bravado, nice!

Scott cracks a beer and throws one to Lundqvist as they chat in the kitchen. Accepting allows Scott to set the tone of the negotiation and challenges Lundqvist's authority. They argue over the justification for this operation, with the damage of the Raid laid out. Scott quotes the Hague Invasion Act, framing the X-Men as being justified in taking action to get one of their people back. Meanwhile Boom Boom, Fantomex, the Bedlam bros and Locus are attacking O*N*E facilities.

Lundqvist is stunned that Scott would portray the X-Men as equal to the US government, as a nation unto themselves. He emphatically rebukes it and gets a 'says who?' in return. Meanwhile, The Hellions (copyright pending) are wrecking more of the O*N*E's shit.

Lundqvist tries to ignore that argument, shifting the focus back to force. The X-Men don't have a chance, he asserts, so Scott brings up Marvel's greatest force multiplier - superhumans. The X-Men have many and the O*N*E have none. He doesn't outright say that they're allied with The Avengers, but he asks why they're not here to help.

Scott follows up with an excellent point - that Graymalkin is a private entity run amok. By conceding the Xavier issue he's able to establish that they're exceeding their mandate. He really leans into the cold war framing as we'll see, but he sets it up here. It's refuge in audacity, but it's also an evolution of the thinking behind the Extinction team - we don't want war but we're absolutely capable of it. If they won't stop persecuting the X-Men then they'll make sure doing so is not worth it. I enjoy this. Remixing old eras is one thing, but building on Gillen's Uncanny run and escalating it is another.

It's at this point Agent Fuckface finds out his budget is in deep shit. Multiple O*N*E facilities have been destroyed but nobody has been killed. The war remains cold. He is NOT happy and he's just starting to realise he's been played. He's really sweating now, literally. It's clever to have Scott employ this Batman gambit. It's really only possible with an in-depth understanding of how the government operates.

It might be a stretch to infer Scott knows about funding for mutant agencies and departments from this text alone, but I guess he doesn't have to if he's slashing the budget himself. After letting that sink in, 'this is what it looks like when you push me' - calling back to their discussion in issue #3.

Lundqvist has had enough of negotiating from a position of weakness, sticking a gun in Scott's face and demanding the destruction stop. Cool as a cucumber, Cyke denies starting a war and pivots to the most terrifying Cold War and beyond concept - Mutually Assured Destruction. In our world it referred to the nuclear deterrent - if a country fired a nuke they'd be hit with instant, automated retaliation. There's no incentive to attack if you die too.

Lundqvist thinks he's bluffing but Scott elaborates. If he's killed by a government agent then important parts of Washington DC cease to exist. He doesn't have nukes, he's got mutants - using Juggernaut (not a mutant but he's down for the fight) and Xorn as examples. Lundqvist says that would be the end of mutants - total extinction - and he's probably right, in so far as they'd try. Not without a functioning government, seceding states, and foreign powers taking bites out of the US. This is wild. Krakoa's deterrent was mainly economic but the threat was implied. Here it's spelled out. Mutants will not lie down and if you come at us we both lose. Mutually Assured Destruction.

At this point Lundqvist blinks, shocked that he'd kill all those people. Brah, you have no idea. Scott shouts in his face 'THIS IS HOW BRINKMANSHIP WORKS.' He pulls his gun to his forehead and declares his lifelong willingness to die for the cause. He knows they want to kill him but here's another reason why it's not worth it. 'My wife will know and she will grieve.' Threatening the whole planet with The Phoenix. It's about fucking time. The X-Men have been offering peace for over half a century and received endless genocide in return.

With that, Lundqvist gets it. It's not worth it, at least by his calculus. He'll tell his bosses and by extension the US government and military. They agree that it's not over, and Quentin immediately steps in to call off The Hellions. Even more than issue #3, the last time these two were face-to-face, this was a riveting dialogue and Mackay fully committed to gunboat diplomacy on steroids. It's in conversation with the last 60 years of X-Men history and really sells this dynamic as the 'what now?' after Krakoa. I have all the praise in the world for that - the writing was fantastic and the facial expressions were perfect.

It's the final few panels that let it down. Last time, Scott had a full on panic attack after the situation ended. Anxiety and PTSD do not just go away and this feels like a missed opportunity to develop that further. Scott has just led a raid on a prison to retrieve one of his oldest friends, had a falling out with at least one other, witnessed horrors, been under psychic attack and a stalemate, then immediately after walked into the events of this issue. If that's not followed up on now, when the hell would it be? Sure, we can go there next issue, but it deflates the tension and character work for me.

Then Quentin asks if he was serious about the Phoenix threat and Scott says yes. He lets Quentin know that it's on him to defeat The Phoenix (his wife) if it comes to that. I find that very hard to swallow and at odds with the Scott/Jean/Phoenix dynamic we've seen so far. Sure, have a plan for Dark Phoenix, but wouldn't Jean just resurrect him? Thinking Scott was dead bought out Dark Phoenix the first time, but aren't we past all that shit? This is a different Phoenix, having been reborn, and a much more experienced Jean.

I don't buy that Scott would believe that, and I don't buy that he'd destroy Quentin's morale by putting it on him. Scott, of all people, knows that you oppose Dark Phoenix with love, not violence. Above all, I think Jean deserves a little more credit, especially from her husband. I'm starting to think it's more enjoyable to ignore From The Ashes cliffhangers. They have this habit of either being a fakeout or drastically exaggerating character and plot.

There's also mention that King Bedlam wants a very specific head in exchange for his services. No clues as to who, but the very notion doubles down on Scott playing a dangerous game. The Bedlams have been Hellion and X-Force adjacent for their entire publication history. KB was the lover of Tarot who was killed by Trevor Fitzroy. Tarot has reincarnated multiple times since then, but Fitzroy has been making a nuisance of himself by killing mutants in this run, so his head being the price would make sense. We'll see where that goes.

Without those last few panels this was the best issue yet, and a true paradigm evolution in the fight for mutant rights. It shows Scott Summers as wartime general and politician, judo flipping the consequences of Raid on Graymalkin from a position of weakness. This is why people look to him when they're up against the wall. This is the guy with more than 26 plans who's really had enough and is speaking the only language his enemies and oppressors understand. This is where Scott's efficiency and competence shines, but he isn't happy. The cold war continues but having invoked MAD, I have no idea where we go from here. Please no Dark Phoenix though. Enough of the past is being recycled already and y'all can do better, I know it.

[nerdygaymormon]

Below are excerpts from the article:

Steven E. Snow, the emeritus general authority and former historian for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is a bit of an outlier...the St. George native remains a staunch Democrat and a passionate environmentalist.

As the faith’s historian from 2012 to 2019, Snow is widely credited with helping bring openness and transparency to the church history department. He helped shepherd to completion the Gospel Topics essays, which tackled some of the thorniest of the faith’s historical and doctrinal issues.

Snow’s other signature achievements include overseeing the publication of the landmark Joseph Smith Papers and “Saints,” the new multivolume narrative history of the church. With Snow at the helm, the history department also took over supervision of church historical sites, where he placed a premium on education over proselytizing.

His beloved wife of 52 years, Phyllis, died from post-COVID-related issues eight months ago.

I didn’t always see eye to eye with all the brethren on environmental and political issues, but I can appreciate that. I tried to listen and be respectful of their points of view and understand them. I appreciate where they are coming from.

What did you think about the now-abandoned policy of not allowing the children of same-sex parents to be baptized?

I was surprised by the policy and was quite delighted when it was reversed. … I thought it was unnecessary, and I think it caused unnecessary hurt during the time it was in place. I was pleased to see President Russell M. Nelson revoke it.

How do you feel about the way the church addresses LGBTQ issues?

The church is trying. I’ve been really pleased with President Dallin Oaks’ and others’ efforts to try to find common ground. That’s why this recent action they took with regard to [transgender individuals in] the [General] Handbook seemed a little off, based on what they have been trying to do.

It’s a very difficult place for them to be. President Oaks continues to talk about gays in his General Conference talks. It’s as if he wants to draw a bright line that this is the way it is and there is not going to be a relaxing of that policy. It seems to me, that is what he’s trying [to articulate].

I have two gay granddaughters who have left the church. It causes me great sadness that we don’t have a place for everyone. They feel like there is nothing there for them.

How does environmentalism inform your faith?

We are given this beautiful planet upon which to live. As simple as I can state it, we should take care of it. We ought to make it a better place than when we came. We have to leave it in better shape, and we’re not doing that.

[klaipeda-witness]

Baselessly speculating about the implications of Lower Decks S5E9 Fissure Quest (spoilers obvsly)

Hearing Garak and Bashir's voices again saying new lines gave me a hit of serotonin that I'm gonna be surfing on for weeks. Alexander Siddig and Andrew Robinson both extremely still have the juice.

Garak hiding in the conduit in the wall is a callback to him having to go into the wall in the internment camp in By Inferno's Light, no? Crying screaming throwing up etc

Hologram Bashir a) exists and b) has a mobile emitter, meaning that he's from a universe where Bashir's secret was never exposed (or one where they have a more welcoming attitude towards the genetically enhanced?) but where Bashir was otherwise exactly the same, and either ended up as the medical hologram on Voyager or I guess they managed to make copies of the mobile emitter after Voyager got back to earth? (I actually haven't finished all of Voyager yet sorry :') )

How the fuck did Garak end up as a Star Fleet doctor. The things he says indicate that DS9 is otherwise the same, how did that even happen lol. How do you pick up surgery as an exiled spy and then get inducted into Star Fleet. And you might say hey, maybe he joined Star Fleet after he ended up in the multiverse, but the Harry Kims are all dressed like they were the day they got gabonked onto the ship! I think he came there dressed like that!! I love it though

And was he therefore a Star Fleet doctor on DS9??? Unfortunate place to station the federation's only cardassian doctor lol. And was Bashir still the CMO?? Is Bashir dead in Dr Garak's universe and so when the Bashir medical hologram showed up in the multiverse, Garak had a second chance to be with the person that he is cosmically tied to across all universes? And the hologram Bashir presumably didn't know who Garak was when they first met!!! Could someone please write a fic of that where Garak realises he gets the second chance he never thought was possible?

Actually, here's my theory as to how alt Garak could end up in Star Fleet: He asked Worf to sponsor his application to Star Fleet to fuck with him like he does in In Purgatory's Shadow but their universe's Worf was like "Okay"

Dr Garak is also a sweetie, I liked it when he was like "these Harry Kims are stronger than they look! He'll be fine". Sweetie behaviour.

"You do know I would follow you to any reality" I don't think I will ever recover

They kissed on the mouth for real

I love engineer Mariner, I hope she comes back for the finale.

Curzon!!!!! Curzon was there and he was a klingon weaboo!!!! That's how you know he was the real deal

There was the correct amount of Harry Kims on that ship. He's just a little guy

Garak seems like he would be good at racketball doesn't he. I think so at least

Such a good LD episode, can they please uncancel the show, my god. We need like 3 more seasons.

[theboardwalkbody]

Haymitch as a lover dynamic post-SOTR thoughts

OK so I read THIS POST and I want to say YES EXACTLY THIS THANK YOU. Please def read that one to get context for the train of thought here. Likewise I also figured a rough lover (BEFORE reading SOTR). In a way of almost venting anger and trauma through love (not great, I know).

But I also wanted to add my additional takes (but didn't want to bog down their post so I just wanted to make it separate).

It doesn't spoil events in the book - just kinda like his attitude.

So yeah the way *I* see it:

He's so so so so afraid of letting the walls down. Like he said in the epilogue. He's not immune to love but he fears it (esp before the end of the trilogy). He's afraid to love because he sees it as a death sentence for whoever he loves. He'd have to allow himself to let his guard down and be vulnerable. This would scare the hell out of him.

He'd push it away. Any inkling he gets that someone might like him a little bit too much he'd start driving them away. Now if he realizes HE is developing feelings it would be 10x harder of a push. I can also see him hurting himself the second he realizes he's caring about someone that way (heavier drinking, more isolation). He would keep crossing lines and getting more aggressive in his attempts to drive away the longer the person(s) hold on.

I really can't see him allowing to let his guard down until after the rebellion. I think that at the point of the epilogue it still seems fairly recent after and he's still learning to relax and be vulnerable. But maybe it's possible. It's going to take WORK. And it's not going to be linear. He might seem like he's letting the walls down one day only to build them back up the next. It's hard and he's got so much trauma to deal with.

He's always going to love LD and whoever he winds up with absolutely needs to understand that there's a piece of his heart that will always love her.

When he gets to the point of being open with someone I can see it as a dam burst. A lot is going to happen for him emotionally all at once. He's going to be flooded with the love, the relief, the happiness, the fear, the grief, the frustration, and he's going to have to fight his trauma response of running away. I can absolutely see that flood becoming more of an actual panic attack.

As for opening up with someone for the first time in a sexual manner.... Absolutely petrified. It's extremely intimate. It's extremely vulnerable. It takes a lot of trust and there needs to be a sense of security. I imagine a few failed attempts at it where he just fully backs out of it completely. Then when he does I still imagine for a while he's going to be so uncertain and shaky and need a lot of reassurance. For the love of god, do not leave this man immediately after the act is finished. Oh add in the fact that his scars would be visible. They were made into a spectacle after he won and they're also a harsh reminder of the pain and the games and I really feel he would have some body image / self esteem issues related to it.

He's going to be protective as hell but it's more paranoia than possessive. He wakes up one morning and they're not home and he's going to panic thinking they were taken from him. They go out and take too long getting back he's panicking. He's not scared of loosing his person to other lovers. He's scared of them loosing their lives. And this isn't likely to result in him having open panic attacks and crying or being clingy. He's not delt with his emotions properly over the years. He's still drinking (and even if in any fic he would be in recovery or working towards it - it takes a while) and we've seen he can get a little volatile. He would panic and that panic would manifest as anger and he'd likely lash out. Even if not physically he might do it verbally. His person doesn't show up = he's afraid they've been killed simply for being involved with him = he's angry with himself for letting things get this far and feels responsible = he's lashing out at himself and feels the need to punish himself = when his person comes back even though they're ok he's still dealing with the guilt and fear and is self-sabotaging himself as a mean of punishing himself by pushing his person away by lashing out at them. That sort of cycle. It's not because he wants them to go its because he's trying to punish himself and also thinks his person is safer without him. It's going to be a long road to undo that thought process.

Loving and being loved is going to be hard for him at first. No whirlwind romances - it's going to be a delicate and long road.

I really want to write this kind of fic but it would have to be multi-chapter and IDK if I can manage that ATM.

[dragonagegayz]

Sharing/Sample Sunday

Ok technically I'm late but by 4 hours my time so we're just gonna skootch this in here and pretend I am so on time

@alystrin03 tagged me in this trend! So thank you <3 and I'll be tagging @whispersleo, @adhd-riddled-crow, and @mortal-ethos! (Look at all these writers wonderful wonderful things RIGHT NOW!!)

Now, let's have some Oz, shall we >;P

NSFW TEXT UNDER CUT

Sweet noises rose from the taller man’s mouth as he finally let his fingers dip down and without any hesitation, two fingers slipped right in. How easy for him to sink those long, thick fingers into his pussy, almost like he had been waiting for this with heavy anticipation, almost like he had already done this, this evening. Emmrich had to know. “Were you already doing this when I came knocking? Were you already two fingers deep when I came to bother you?” He asked lowly, his voice gravelly with lust. Oz gave a moan, a high fluttering one stuck in his throat. “Cou-ld n-never bother me,” He promised, shaking his head but continuing his fingers going in and out, the pace picking up and slowing down as he tried to find a right angle. It was a wonderful thing to watch, the center of his fantasies pleasuring himself so desperately, because of him. Talk about a power trip. “Answer my question, Rook, tell me about how you were touching yourself before I came in here,” Emmrich swore the scent in the air grew headier as he spoke, as the qunari tossed his head back and a gasp of pleasure echoed through the room. How he wished they could be louder, almost tempted to tell Oz to let out his noises, damn anyone who hears. “I wa-s already fu-cking m-myself when you k-knocked!~” Oz’s voice was airy, light so it was quiet but wisps if the way he spoke just didn’t make the older Watcher’s cock twitch. He went to speak but the taller man spoke again. “I c-came wh-en I-I he-ard your vo-ice!~”

Two different things happened in succession. Oz’s body completely tensed over as a high-pitched moan came from his chest with his head being thrown back as he sezied around his fingers. Luqid gushed from his hole, soaking the couch and pant leg of the older man who at the same time, undoing his buttons as best he can and letting his cock bob out, just barely grabbing the angry head before his dick exploded in pleasure as white shot from it. He barely managed to keep his mess to go up his shirt, watching as at least three spurts of cum came from it before he was quickly distracted from it. The qunari was staring straight at his cock, with a mouth open and eyes wide as he stared down at it. He squirmed, he tightened around his fingers and Emmrich swallowed.

“Fuck,”

I am getting closer to the finish line with this fic, I can feel it (IF I WOULD STOP ADDING THINGS BUT THESE BITCHES KEEP FUCKIN) and I'm really hoping I'll be done by the end of this week!

-<3 Skunch

[goodoldfashionedengineer]

I like analysing shit.

I like Red Hood: Lost Days

So I am going to analyse some of it.

To start with, lets look at the titles of the issues.

#1: The First Step

#2: Baptism

#3: School

#4: Higher Learning

#5: After School Activities

#6: Benediction and Commencement

What immediately strikes me is how all of these are relevant to the issue AND as a whole. They are describing a life fresh from birth to how that life progresses until graduation. Extremely important when considering that this is basically Jason's second life. He died and now he is "reborn" after being put into the Lazarus pit.

The First Step: The fact that the title name was on the page in which Jason was pushed into the Pit lets me believe that this IS the first step, as Red Hood: Lost Days explains the time between him being found by Talia to him becoming Red Hood. This is the first step in him becoming the Red Hood.

Baptism: Not exactly clear as to what "Baptism" is referring to here. I have multiple ideas. First, there is the possibility that it is a continuation of the last issue, as that issue ended with Jason being pushed into the pit and in religious baptisms, water is usually connected to it as the person being baptized is getting water poured onto their head. But it could also mean a non-religious baptism as in he is starting a new role. He finally gets to train with a clear mind and can properly start his journey.

Issue #3-#5 are relatively similar, all him explaining his training and stopping the evil schemes his teachers are involved with.

Benediction and Commencement: Commencement, he has completed his training or "graduated" if you take the school aspect into account from issue 3 to 5. Benediction, he gets his blessings from Talia to finally confront Bruce after stalling him so long. Commencement, "the beginning of something new". The issue ends with him picking up the Red Hood helmet, before that, he met up with Hush. The beginning of the Red Hood.

Next I want to focus a bit on religious imagery. I am not a big fan of it in general, but considering that words like "Baptism" and "Benediction" are in the titles, it is note-worthy. If it is something you're uncomfortable with, feel free to skip this section

I have seen people make the point that this cover:

Has similarities to pictures of Mary holding a dead Jesus.

And now that I think about it more, I can see why and they are pretty good stand-ins.

Jason came back from the dead, like Jesus.

Talia found Jason after he came back. She considers it a miracle. Like fate WANTS Jason to live. He wandered into her life. She isn't so much as interfering with fate, as stepping out of its way.

And then you have this page:

Jason as he has his arms spread wide, legs forming almost a straight line. Similar to Jesus on the cross.

The Lazarus pit isn't green. It's orange and yellow. It shines so bright. Ra's says it burns in his heart. He tells Talia it could turn Jason mad in a few months, years or decades. That she has unleashed a curse. A pestilence. Pestilence being one of the for Horsemen of the Apocalypse. And so, the Lazarus Pit becomes a symbol for Hell.

The fact that Jason and Talia are more distorted versions of the religious figures they could represent becomes more prominent as the story goes on. In the bible, Jesus goes back to Heaven to rejoin with his Father. In this story, Talia is told and knows that she should return Jason to Bruce. But she doesn't. Because Jason will see it as betrayal and he wouldn't forgive her for that.

My last and favourite point is how RH: LD is the perfect set up to Under the Red Hood.

Jason explains how it isn't about the Joker. Or Bruce. Or him. It's about the three of them.

Bruce was supposed to protect him.

Joker killed him.

Bruce didn't avenge him.

He tried to kill both of them only to NOT do it and walk away.

Jason died away from Gotham in Ethiopia, but not before being beaten with a crowbar, the building he was in having exploded and then asphyxiating due to the smoke.

Jason almost killed the Joker by setting him on fire. (Explosion)

He initially wanted to do it in another location. (Ethiopia)

He wanted to do it slowly. (Crowbar)

Jason says when the pain would hit the Joker, he would scream. Until it hit his throat. His lungs. (Asphyxiating)

He is reliving his own death. He wants his murderer to go through the agony he did. An eye for an eye one could say.

"Reliving his own death" is an objective statement here, as Jason sees the Joker swinging a crowbar that is dripping with his own blood while at the same time also standing right above the Joker, who is drenched in gasoline.

Now I want you to compare these two scenes. This is when he was about to kill the Joker:

The panels switch between Jason and the firelighter, present Joker and past Joker. The firelighter, the device that would end the Joker's life, comes more and more into the focus. Until he disengages it on the last panel.

Now to the second scene, when Jason planted a bomb under the Batmobile and was about to detonate it.

The panels switch between Batman and Jason. Jason is hovering over the detonater. Until he pulls away.

When Jason explained to Talia why he walked away from the Joker, he said that it wasn't enough. It was only ever about the three of them, not just Joker. His plan doesn't include murdering Batman anymore.

But the reason Jason gave Talia why he didn't kill Bruce? "I couldn't let him get off so easy. He'd never know what happened. He'd never know knwo why. He'd never know it was me." One could wonder if we are supposed to see this as a parallel as well. If we should apply this reasoning of why he didn't kill Bruce to why he didn't kill Joker.

The Joker would never know why Jason killed him. He doesn't even know that it IS Jason who is about to murder him.

And while is plan doesn't include killing Bruce anymore. Nobody said anything about the Joker.

As I said, perfect setup to Under the Red Hood.

[transgenderer]

Michael the Archangel barely shows up in the Bible itself, most information about him comes from sacred tradition. The Catholic Church specifically really reveres him (as Saint Michael, of course). Restorationist Christians tried to come up with alternate theories for who Michael is. Michael means “who is like God,” usually interpreted as a rhetorical question (nobody is like God). In Catholic sacred tradition, St Michael threw Lucifer out of Heaven when he rebelled, and yelled “who is like God?” as he did.

Jehovahs Witnesses are Arians, believing that Jesus is not the eternal God but the first creation. The Son is not co-eternal in Jehovah’s Witness theology. This requires a significant rereading of John 1, which says “the word was God.” They say it’s “the word was a god,” and then say the Bible doesn’t teach multiple gods, but rather that it uses language like this to say Jesus is like God. Since Michael also means “who is like God,” and all we know of him is that he leads the heavenly host of angels to fight Satan, they say that Michael is the name of Jesus in Heaven.

Mormons say Michael is the name of Adam in heaven, because Adam became a god after he died. Fundamentalist Mormon views on Michael are crazier. The gospel of Luke has a genealogy that goes in reverse, beginning with Jesus and ending with Adam and then God. “Jesus, the son of Joseph… the son of Adam, the son of God.” Typically, Christians interpret that last line allegorically, Adam is the son of God because he didn’t really have a father, and was created by God’s hand. Brigham Young said that this verse is giving Adam the title “Son of God,” the same title Jesus has. Adam, in their view, is an incarnate God. He’s actually the God who formed the earth, becoming human by eating the forbidden fruit. After his death, he returned to being the God the Father, Michael, in heaven with his wife Eve. Adam returned to earth later to have sex with the Virgin Mary, becoming Jesus’ literal biological father. When Jesus refers to the Father, that refers to Adam. This is called the Adam-God doctrine and it used to be taught in Mormon endowment ceremonies, but it was later removed and repudiated by the LDS church.

woah this is awesome. mormons might be the only people having fun with modern abrahamic religion

[kurithedweeb]

Okay SO, I think it was @al-ld who made the post about feeling like Xavier was retconned into being Esmund because the Jury of Nine is under O'khasis control if not directly under a Ro'Meave who are regarded as Esmund's bloodline, but I had the thought of what if they were both Ro'Meaves and then it turned into rewrite canon so I'm inflicting it on y'all too.

What if Esmund and Xavier were brothers, what if they were twins? They did everything together, they were close as could be. They became guards together and planned that if either of them ever ended up having to become Lord in the event their older sibling the heir died, they would do that together too. And then Irene came into the picture.

They both loved her. And Esmund was chosen as a Divine Warrior, and Xavier who had served at Irene's side as her personal guard, maybe even her head guard, was somehow left behind. 

The distance gave Xavier clarity. He loved her, yes, but he could see the way she was around Shad and quickly came to realize that she would never feel towards him what he felt towards her, and even if she did she would long outlive him on account of her seeming immortality, but maybe he could still protect her the way he once had after death. He went home to O'khasis, instituted the first guard academy there and the Jury of Nine, which he led and which followed the Divine Warriors on their later adventures as they went on their quest to save the world. Maybe he and Esmund get back to how they once were. During the separation, he became known as the Admirer because he admired both Irene and his brother from afar. 

In the meantime, Esmund followed in Irene's footsteps. He only looked back when he realized his brother was far behind, no longer following where Esmund led the way he always had before, and this spurs doubts about his position in the Divine Warriors. Did he do the right thing getting so close? Is it worth it when the one person who has been at his side his entire life, who he had always planned spending the rest of his life alongside, was gone? He followed Irene because he loved her, but it takes a lot longer for him to realize what Xavier had, and once he does the realization makes him feel like he had left his brother behind for nothing despite his work as the Protector, because she didn't love him either and even if she did he knew he couldn't make himself admit his feelings for her. So he sat and stewed in all these feelings, wondering whether he should leave for home, if they would be able to complete the mission they had set out to complete without him, and the guilt eats him up inside. 

Then Xavier shows back up with the Jury in tow. Esmund realizes that his brother has had an entire life without him while he was away. 

He made an institution that would outlive them all, he moved on, he's married with a kid on the way and Esmund was so far out of reach that this is the first he's hearing of it. They catch up, they talk about everything they should have years ago, and Xavier has to leave before the final battle when news reaches them that the heir of O'khasis, their older sister’s only child, is dead. Someone has to be the heir, someone has to put the Lord back together again, and Esmund is too important to the mission. 

This is when he realizes that this entire time, Xavier was the one leaving him behind and now he will never catch up. But he can protect Irene, something Xavier dedicated a massive chunk of his life to, and so he became Irene's guard in his brother's stead and remained so until the so-called betrayal' of Shad, a man he had come to think of as a brother too, and afterwards he went home to O'khasis to be with Xavier again. 

Further down the line, Esmund returns to Divine Warriors business but helps run the guard academy and Jury of Nine, and when their older sister dies the twins rule O'khasis as the only duo of Lords in known history. Esmund never married, his heart belonging solely to Irene, and so never had any children and when Xavier died his children became the heirs, beginning the modern Ro'Meave line. Esmund rules alone for a number of years, taking care of Xavier's family, the guard academy, the Jury, and holds O'khasis to the ideals of the woman he once loved, which turns O'khasis into the religious powerhouse it is today. When Esmund dies, his relic gets passed down to Xavier's children, eventually making it all the way down to Garroth and Zane, which makes anyone not in the know about Xavier believe that the Ro'Meaves are Esmund's direct descendants.