#and anyone can participate it's not closed or anything. and it's not very religious if that's something that concerns you

[bookwyrminspiration]

hey btw ayyám-i-há is coming up in a little over a month and it's the time of the year to give gifts, for generosity and hospitality and such. I don't really have a point but like...if anyone wanted an excuse to gift things/support each other while also learning about another culture...mayhaps we could celebrate together...haha unless

[tellurian-in-aristasia]

I've just fallen down this rabbit hole and I mean this question genuinely, but in your opinion, do you think people took this seriously as a 24/7 lifestyle or more as a roleplay scenario? I'm curious because I do a lot of online RP and while I see a lot of parallels between the two, I've never considered it anything more than brief escapism. Did these participants feel the same or was it more than that?

Hello there! This is a complicated answer because a lot of people were drawn to Aristasia, and Aristasia actually had many different incarnations. So please bear with my as I type up far far more words than you were expecting me to.

I believe that in the 70s and early 80s, when it was an ancient matriarchal paganism sect known as Lux Madriana they believed in the religious aspects of it as fully as anyone does any religion. Even when they were actively inventing their own history. They attempted to live this lifestyle as closely as possible, and you can read an account of a woman who lived with them until the mid 1980s here who admits there was a fair amount of apathy among the flock, as it were. They lived "without electricity", but they published computer games during this time, so clearly they had electricity somewhere in the big house in Donegal. But, still, they dressed up every day in shawls and aprons or bonnets and crinolines and seemed to genuinely believe in the religion they were selling (literally, they sold magazine subscriptions and mail-order courses, I am not being facetious). I believe that in the late 80s and early 90s when they were involved with Romantia, and laid the groundworks for what would later become Aristasia, they fully believed in seceding from the modern life as much as possible. Although I, perhaps, believe that this was almost exclusively limited to the goings on in the house in Donegal, as it seems like some actually lived elsewhere and seemed to live mundane lives outside of the house, but there is certainly (very unfortuate) evidence that the house in Donegal was run 24/7 as a Romantia house. Now that we're getting up to the Classical Era of Aristasia in the 1990s, and they moved to the infamous house on Eagle Lane that would later appear within the pages of Children of the Void and the BBC documentary, I do believe that those who lived in that house lived the lifestyle 24/7, but perhaps by that point the only two living there were Miss Martindale and Miss Priscilla Langridge. And perhaps this is the crux of the matter. The only 2 who really, truly, believed were Miss Martindale and Miss Langridge. And it seems evident that Miss Martindale was just a persona, and the woman behind the persona eventually went on to live a (on the surface at least) mundane life.

In their later years, sometime after Operation Bridgehead, when the embassies all but closed and they moved to virtualia, I believe it became much more acceptable for it to be just a roleplay for girls who dropped in, so long as they stayed in character. After all, they never met in the flesh, just in Second Life. And the trend continued when Aristasia became Chelouranya and Second Life was replaced with web forums.

I do think that, through all those decades, the only one who was able to live the life 24/7 was the mysterious Miss Priscilla Langridge, the "most seceded Aristasian". To quote a previously linked article:

"The founder was a remarkable person but was leading a fantasy life - we were living in someone else’s fantasy"

I believe that the truth lies here, that nearly all of this was Miss Priscilla Langridge's fantasy world, and she has had Miss Martindale as her biggest supporter over the years, to help make it a reality, for her at least. I do believe that they were true believers who believed that they were (to put it fairly simply) reincarnated souls from another plane of existence. This isn't even too strange of an idea, it's something fairly wildly believed by a lot of different types of people. To add onto this, I do believe that they believed the world was in a state of moral decay that was heralded by the pronounced change in pop culture in the early 1960s, another not so uncommon belief. But I believe it was real for Miss Priscilla Langridge, and she had people who believed with her, and wanted to make it real.

[burningtyranthp]

Is Hellenismos open culture?

Photo is my own taken by myself of the Parthenon at the Acropolis

One thing that doesn't sit well with me is that those who tend to participate in what they describe as "Hellenistic polytheism" in the Western world, often don't look into whether or not Hellenismos is an open or closed culture. There is an unspoken norm within neopagan spaces that Hellenismos is "for anyone and everyone," but that never sat right with me, knowing about the way Ethnikoi--Greeks who have ethnic ties to their own Greek culture, language, land, and religious practises--speak of Western "neopaganism" or "pagan" usage of their original, indigenous culture.

Before I get into accounts that raised these concerns, I'd like to clarify that I whole-heartedly support all indigenous communities or tribes and their ability to practise their original traditions and customs safely without any discrimination, persecution, or harm. I also super support the individual choice to relearn, revive, and recreate one's indigenous practises (if one is eligible to do so). As a member of an indigenous tribe myself, I can empathise with other indigenous communities on some overlapping struggles we might share such as frustration with appropriation, erasure, or persecution in the modern day.

Lastly, the intent behind writing out the following is not to place judgment on anyone for doing anything; the purpose is providing food for thought, and forwarding a different perspective that isn't as popular as the prevailing Western perspective around the topic. I will not speak for Ethnikoi, however I will include references and quotes from sites where Ethnikoi describe who they in their own terms, and share how they think on the matter. By learning more about indigenous cultures, we can show greater respect and support for them, and their preservation.

ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΣ (Hellenismos) vs. Hellenism

Hellenismos, also known as Hellenikon, is the indigenous cultural and religious tradition of Greece, but also the worldview and ethnic identity of the ancient and medieval Hellenes (Plethon, Marullus etc.). Hellenismos is the official name of the Hellenic tradition and way of life. “Hellenismos” and “Hellenic religion” are synonymous to many Hellenes, since the ancestral cults are a very important part of Hellenic identity. Hellenic tradition, Hellenismos, Hellenikon etc. are different names for the same culture and should therefore not confuse people, especially since the Hellenes perceive their religion, identity, worldview, language and way of life as a unity. Thus Hellēnismôs refers automatically to Hellenic religion. [Hellenismos.org]

The proper name for the religion isn't what people know it by in neopagan or pagan spaces. Furthermore, the religion is tied to cultural identity, ethnic background, language, and way of life--a word describing the isolated spirituality does not exist because each of these things is an all-in-one identity package.

Hellenismos and paganism are differentiated from each other culturally, historically, and by time, since paganism emerged from occultism, which is a by-product of Western Christianity. Hellenismos, on the other hand, is a Mediterranean culture that emerged from the commingling of Mycenaean, Minoan and other Helladic cultures. But it is still common to mistake revitalization or even re-indigenization for neopaganism, even in academic environments. [The Real Problem of Cultural Appropriation, Hellenismos.org]

Hellenismos is not paganism or neopaganism because it predates the existence of Christianity, and has been a mixture of Mediterranean cultures within a specific area long before Christianity's idea of a "pagan" designation was made.

Worship

A follow-up to the main question is, "can a non-Greek person worship the Greek gods, too?" The answer based on the following account is a hesitant yes, with a couple important things to bear in mind, in the event that someone would like to worship this pantheon.

People are, of course, allowed to worship the Greek gods, draw ideas and inspiration from Hellenic history and religion, build temples to their gods and find their own way in life. However, what they are not allowed to do is to usurp other people’s ethnonym, misrepresent their practices as something they are not and exploit or distort other people’s ethno-cultural identity, religion and language. And, of course, they are not allowed to speak on behalf of foreign communities. [Avoiding Cultural Appropriation, Hellenismos.org]

There is nothing stopping one from worshipping the Greek gods or goddesses per se, though it is one's responsibility to do so respectfully by not impersonating Hellenismos, and speaking as if one is a member of a tribe or cult one isn't a member of. As long as one doesn't cosplay as a member of a culture they have no ties to in any way, worship is not an issue.

The issue is...

...a matter of cultural appropriation vs. cultural appreciation:

People should not feel guilty for worshipping the Greek gods, should not feel bad for learning from Greek philosophy, adapting Greek ethics, listening to Greek music, enjoying Greek cuisine or learning Greek. This is not cultural appropriation. Loving Greek mythology or feeling drawn to a specific god is not cultural appropriation. Cultural appreciation is not cultural appropriation. Cultural exchange is not cultural appropriation. It never was. People enjoying the cultural goods of Hellenism are not appropriating anything. [ibid.]

Both terms are understood in terms of power and invitation: one one hand, when you appreciate a culture, you are invited to take part in it alongside others who belong to it. You are a guest in another's home who is expected to show respect for the one who invites you in, as well as the things they have in their home. You can learn, admire, and participate in everything the host invites you to do, and when it's time for you to return to your own home, you leave only with things your host allows (think extra food to take home from dinner at a friends house).

On the other hand, when you appropriate a culture, you are not invited by anyone who belongs to it to take part in it. You are not a guest in someone's home, but you invite yourself in anyway. You break in and enter, take whatever catches your eye without the homeowner's knowledge, and disappear into the night with stuff that doesn't belong to you. You then add what you took to a personal collection of other things you've taken from other homes on subsequent nights out.

Paganism and neopaganism can sometimes fall prey to the second scenario because some may pick and choose bits and pieces of different cultures and practises to create their own personal spirituality. I am not saying every pagan or neopagan does this, but this mixing of cultures that have little to no similarities to create a personalised spirituality is a popular approach within pagan and neopagan expression. In short, you can choose your own adventure because nobody's going to stop you, but you will run into opposition if you:

identify with an identity or a descriptor that is not yours, like "Hellenic" when you are not Ethnikoi . (You are welcome to come up with your own terms to define yourself or your spirituality as long as it doesn't involve claiming an entire ethnic background you have no part in.)

project your own ideologies onto a culture where said ideologies simply do not exist, or do not apply to a culture. (Many modern terms and designations did not exist for Hellenismos, and therefore do not apply to Hellenismos.)

utilise a culture solely to support a political leaning. (This could be romanticising classicism to justify "conservativism," "liberalism," "nationalism," etc.--either way, a culture and its values are unique to itself, and should not be reduced to a justification for [insert modern political idea].)

speak for the Hellenic community instead of amplifying members of it. (This may not sit well with some, but Hellenic people are indigenous people who deserve full rights to self-determination in their native land--just like all other tribes or groups of indigenous people.)

In Conclusion

Hellenismos, Hellenic culture, ethnic background, and identity, are not open for the taking. It would be offensive to cosplay or claim a background one does not simply have. However, nobody will stop one from worshipping, working with, or serving Hellenic gods and goddesses. In the same capacity, it's perfectly fine to enjoy all of the really cool things this culture produced so long as this enjoyment remains appreciative rather than appropriative. Paganism and neopaganism do sometimes gamble with the line between the two (not all the time), so that's something to be cautious of if someone does choose this pantheon.

References

ΥΠΑΤΟ ΣΥΜΒΟΥΛΙΟ ΤΩΝ ΕΛΛΗΝΩΝ ΕΘΝΙΚΩΝ (Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes)

Hellenismos heute

Labrys Religious Community: for the resurgence of the sacred heart of Hellenism

Further Reading

Whose Gods are These? A Classicist Looks at Neopaganism by Sarah Johnstone

[sketchbook-of-shadows]

sketchbook of shadows introduction & dni list

💜Basic Stuff About Me

I'm 19, I mostly do digital art, sometimes I'll post some traditional art I do.

I also do some writing from time to time, usually under the 'Point:Paimos' tag or the 'My Writing' tag

I'm from Ireland🇮🇪

I'm Demisexual, biromantic and use she/her pronouns, but you can also use other pronouns, as long as I know your talking to/about me

💜Sketch Requests & Asks

Sketch requests are currently not open due to being busy with college.

Asks will always be open if anyone would like to ask any questions about art stuff or anything/ wants a quick chat, any creepy/ very personal questions/ anything that makes me uncomfortable will be ignored or will lead to a block. Anonymous asks are currently closed

💜My Content

Most of the artwork you'll see here is horror/slasher-centric and will very likely contain a lot of gore, injury detail, and body horror. There may also be nudity or suggested nudity so please do not follow me if you are under 18

💜Slasher/Horror Art Taglist

The slasher/horror art taglist applies to my art of slashers/horror whether it be sketches, WIPs or finished pieces! If you'd like to be added to the taglist, feel free to send me an ask to be added and I'll add you!

💜 Non-slasher or horror related art will not have a taglist as I understand most people are here for slashers and spooks🎃

💜Commissions

Commissions are currently closed due to being busy with college

💜Stuff I Like

Most of my stuff here is slasher/horror centric, including digital and analogue horror.

I'll also talk about other things such as Overwatch 2, some stuff about college, baking, my dog Ripley, other games such as the legend of Zelda and other stuff I can't remember.

Some of my favourite slasher/horror franchises include; The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, House of Wax, Black Christmas, and Chucky/Child's Play.

"get off my lawn" list (DNI)

A pedophile

A zoophile

Write/post about rape, anything non-consensual, or "consensual non consent" in any kind of positive way

Glorify domestic violence, child abuse or child neglect

Write or talk about anything incest or incest-related in a positive way

Racist in any regard

Participate in stalking, harassment and/ or bullying

Promote/ glorify eating disorders or any form of self-harm

Misogynistic

Make ""dark edgy jokes"" about any of the above- I get it's a coping mechanism for some people but I don't want that shit near me because some of those topics are very sensitive for me.

However, you're more than welcome on my lawn if you;

Are LGBTQIA+

Are a survivor of sexual assault, domestic violence, or child abuse

Are from any ethnic background/ religion/ religious background

Are a creative of any kind (artist, writer, musician, etc)

Are on the autism spectrum and/or are neurodivergent

Are a furry

Thank you for reading💜🫶

[moviemunchies]

Mark Wahlberg plays a priest.

Okay, then.

Alright he’s not actually a priest for the majority of the movie. Father Stu tells the story of Stuart Long, a boxer who finds his career cut short after finding that his body can only take so much more punishment. Long decides to move to Hollywood and become an actor, which sadly goes about as well as it does for most randos that try to make that transition. He meets a woman he instantly falls in love with while working at the grocery store, Carmen, but she only dates Catholics, so he converts for her. After a life-changing accident, Stu decides that he’s called to become a priest. Life has more surprises planned for him in the form of a rare incurable muscular disorder, making an already uphill battle even more difficult.

This movie was pretty large in the online Catholic world when it came out? The Catholic Talk Show podcast had an episode in which they interviewed Wahlberg and another about priests in movies. There was some discussion about how we classify this as a Catholic movie if it’s got so much swearing in it (and to be clear, there is a LOT), and how this compares to other movies, religious and otherwise. I had thought about seeing it for a while, and it was Netflix so I figured, why not?

If I had a problem with the movie it was that it is two hours and it isn’t until halfway through that Stu decides he’s going to be a priest. I was under the impression that the movie was about Stu as a priest, and that’s not really the film’s subject. Father Stu is more about the man’s life and how he came to become a priest. Which is fine! But I was expecting something different, so when it’s not until the very end that he becomes a priest, I was a little disappointed. I’ll fully admit that’s a Me Thing, not the movie’s fault, but I want to put that out there in case anyone else was confused.

The movie takes liberties with the subject’s life, if Wikipedia is anything to go by. I’m half a mind on this–for a subject as serious as this, I would think it might be better to stick as close to the actual story as possible. However, I know how Hollywood works, and I know that a straightforward telling of everything that happens in a man’s life is probably not going to make a very fulfilling movie.

[My concerns are also somewhat mitigated by the fact that people who knew Father Stuart Long participated in the making of the film. At least, according to Wikipedia.]

But is the end result a fulfilling movie?

I’m not sure. Like I said, it feels like it takes a while to get to the point. Still, I think there’s something interesting here in what it says about faith and a willingness to sacrifice oneself. I’m generally annoyed at how often popular media depicts the “good religious figure” as someone who is more vulgar than people who care about things like theology or Church Law (see: almost every depiction of Friar Tuck), but when we see Long in seminary, he does really care about the theology, he’s just able to transmit it to people in vulgar or less-polished ways. Which is interesting. I’m not sure that I like that approach, but it is interesting.

 Long decides, ultimately, that his suffering is a way to become closer to God, and I think most Hollywood films wouldn’t do that. I don’t watch enough Sad Sick People Movies (thank God), but from what I recall they generally have this weird fetishism of how “this sick person is making everyone’s lives better through sacrifice/being a good person despite suffering” or something like that. There’s an element of that here, but overall it’s clear that to the character depicted, Stuart Long isn’t doing this because of that. For him, it’s about serving God, first and foremost.

Which leads me to saying what I appreciate about this movie: it’s one that takes religion seriously. Movies and television are, in general, remarkably bad at talking or displaying religion. Even when it tries to flatter and be respectful, it often (valiantly!) misses the mark. Religion is brought up with psychological causes, emphasis is placed on capital-B Belief in something Vague and Positive, or devoutly religious historical figures have their actual spirituality downplayed–all of this, if they don’t depict religious people as drooling fundamentalists ready to burn nonbelievers.

[A thing I liked about Harriet was also how the title character’s religion was front and center there–though I’m not sure if God’s visions to her were as specific as what the film tells us.]

I really, really appreciate that Catholicism is something taken seriously in the movie. That means that this isn’t a movie for everyone because of that, I think, but I don’t see that many religious movies out there, so it was nice to come across a good one. Mind you, this isn’t even for every Catholic because of the swearing all over the place, and that’s okay, a religion’s not a monolith.

I’m also very amused that this movie shows how WEIRD Catholicism is for someone who’s not in it. When Stuart first goes to Mass, he doesn’t understand all of the things parishioners do or pray about, and it’s deeply strange for him as someone who isn’t religious (though Wikipedia says the real-life Long went to religious schools so it’s a bit off from the record, I think). He doesn’t get it! And I thought that was a bit funny, especially with Protestant friends of mine acting as if Catholic Mass is some kind of unknowable mystery.

Still, though I am glad this movie exists, I am glad that I watched it, and I think it’s an interesting, if very different sort of, Catholic movie. If you want that, then give this movie a view and see for yourself what you think.

[blue-eyed-bloodstains]

What make up product do you never use? I rarely wear make up, usually only for like certain occasions but one thing I’ve never used is foundation

Do you ever sit with your legs open? more than I probably should lol it’s the tomboy in me...I’m always in jeans so it’s whatever I don’t care :P

Have you ever been offered drugs on the street? no

What is one place you have been to and hated? Clifton, CO...

Have you ever seen a jellyfish? not in person

Do you know who Dylan Moran is? yeah

What’s your favourite kind of soup? alphabet lol no joke

Do you ever put bread in your soup? if it’s tomato soup of course I dip my grilled cheese in it! otherwise no

Would you like me to stop asking questions about soup? lol I don’t mind

Is there anything in the USB key slots in your computer/laptop? no

What advertisements are on your screen at the moment? none

Do you ever get a really itchy nose when you’re unable to scratch it? I mean I can scratch it but it just keeps itching and drives me nuts sometimes lol

Has anyone ever randomly licked your face? not full on lick but like poke with his tongue when kissing my cheek to mess with me lol 

When was the last time you bought a book? Tom Felton’s memoir a few months ago

What question do you hate being asked in surveys? they can get pretty repetitive but I don’t necessarily hate any, it is what it is 

Are you upstairs or downstairs at the minute? it’s a one level house so neither lol

Did anyone ever draw on your face when you were sleeping? no

Have you ever done that to someone else? I’d never do that, I’m not Jigglypuff :P

Have you ever been asked for directions? yeah

If so, did you ever give someone wrong directions? hopefully not, I suck with directions even for myself let alone trying to help someone else!

What’s your favourite brand of chocolate, galaxy, cadburys, or nestle? Nestle since the other two aren’t a thing here lol

Are there any farm animals near you? oh yeah there’s tons of farm land here so lots of people have cattle. closest ones to farm animal around here I’ve seen are goats, sheep, and cows

Are there any lakes near you? a few small ones

Was there ever a time when you felt absolutely terrified? a lot of times actually

If so, why? many reasons, depends on what terrified me at the time

Is there any TV show you watch religiously? Jeopardy, Shark Tank, Hoarders, EVERYTHING on ID (crime shows), Law and Order: SVU, court shows mainly Judge Judy, Bar Rescue, To Catch A Smuggler...just to name ‘a few’ XD

Have you ever been in your local newspaper? one time the first time we moved to CO, I was in 5th grade and our class was in the newspaper for our class pet and I’m reaching toward it to pet it which is the pic they chose for the paper lol it wasn’t front page or anything though

Have you ever called your mother ma or mammy? no

Can you imitate any other accent? yeah Brit and “country” pretty well, I think :P

What is your funniest memory of the 6th contact in your phone? ironically enough that’s my fiance cause I have him listed as ‘Babe’ XD and wayyyy too many to even count or list

Have you ever protested? no

Have you ever participated in a parade? no

Are you going to do anything for Paddy’s day? already passed and couldn’t drink so...sucked

Were you ever chased by an animal? not that I remember

Has anyone ever really insulted you? ha you serious? all my life

Have you ever told an elder to fuck off? not to their face...but I’ve worked a lot of retail so nuff said XD

Do you ever make banana sandwiches? oh my goddddd no but I fuckin love them!

Do you blush easily? ohhh yeah it’s ridiculous lol

Are you single/or taken? taken

Are you happy with that?^ yes

Do you make the first move or do you prefer it the other way around? other way around

What is the most painful thing you’ve experienced? physically I’d say my collarbone being broken, with ovarian cysts bursting and the cramps from that a very tight close second

Do you feel guilty about anything? all the fuckin time

Do you hug someone whenever you see them? my fiance, my dad/stepmom/stepsis when we visit them in NJ

Have you ever been in the accidents and emergency room? I damn near live in the ER...accident wise? yeah, a few bike wrecks growing up and most recently when I totaled my car last year due to a DUI....I should be dead right now, let’s put it that way and I somehow came out with only major whiplash and a few bumps and bruises..

When was the last time you bled? What happened? I won’t state the obvious since I’m a woman XD umm this major basal cell on my hairline that I’m having major surgery on soon to remove with subsequent surgeries for skin grafts given how extensive it’ll be bleeds/pusses all the time even without touching it and rescabs/repeats so...yeah 

Is there anyone you know that gives you the creeps? not that I can think of at the moment

Do you call random objects ‘gay’? no

Have you ever started talking to someone that you thought was someone else? no

When you look behind you what catches your attention the most? the tv tray next to the loveseat (I’m sitting with my back against the armrest and legs stretched out) and the clutter on it :P

[astridstorm]

We Are the Scars We Bear: A Sermon for the Second Sunday of Easter

For an audio version of this story, click here.

Good morning on this second Sunday of Easter, the season (not just day, but season) that lasts fifty days. 

In every church I’ve served except this one, not much is happening on the Sunday after Easter Day. It’s even called “Low Sunday” for the poor participation we typically expect. But not at St. James! We have people right now on a Breakfast Run taking food to the homeless in New York City. We have people making and delivering food for the St. Bart’s White Plains Food Bank. We have a forum scheduled after the 10:30 service. Our Bible Marathon group meets between services. Children’s Music and Arts after Church, Confirmation classes -- I can’t make you people stop! 

I spent the better part of this past week at Sloan Kettering with my daughter Naomi, so I didn’t have a lot of time to put together a sermon; I trust you’ll pardon me. But I do love this reading, which we devote time to every year on this Sunday. That’s rare. Most Scripture stories only appear every three years in our liturgical cycle; this one comes up every year.

It’s the story of the disciple we call “Doubting Thomas” for this scene, in which he isn’t present when the resurrected Lord appears to the other disciples, and so (not having seen for himself) he refuses to believe their story that Christ is risen. 

Some days later, Jesus appears again, this time with Thomas present. Jesus meets Thomas’ demands, showing him the marks of the nails in his hands and the wound in his side, and by this, Thomas’ doubt is assuaged. He believes.

Doubt is a wonderful topic, especially for the Sunday after Easter Day. It’s the church’s way of acknowledging that even our most closely held beliefs, such as Easter for Christians, are complicated, for most of us. I like what the playwright John Patrick Shanley calls the practice of doubt: a “passionate exercise.” It’s simply what we do with our most cherished beliefs. They deserve not to be taken at face value, but wrestled with. 

Usually when I preach on this, I talk about doubt, and faith; the necessity of both in a religious life. This year I’m not going to do that, even though you would think a priest with a sick child would have a lot to say about religious doubt. 

I’m drawn instead to a subtler theme in this reading, one that appears in other of the post-resurrection stories of Jesus, as well, but especially here in this reading from John’s Gospel: Jesus’ wounds. The display of them, and the very fact of them in these Easter stories. 

In this story we heard today, Thomas goes out of his way to demand to see not just Jesus, whom you’d think he’d recognize with little trouble if he appeared, but to see his wounds. He has to recognize him by his wounds. And then Jesus, when he does finally appear to Thomas, makes a display of showing them. This scene always makes me think of the Baroque artist Caravaggio’s depiction of Thomas, almost photo-realistically, grotesquely, probing his finger into the wound in Jesus’ side. That gash almost seems to be the subject of the painting more than anything or anyone else.

But have you ever stopped to wonder, why do the Gospel stories even mention Jesus’ scarred body after he’s risen from the dead? Wouldn’t you think presenting a perfect body would be more compelling? Christ could have looked a lot more like the Victor if he returned without reminding everyone he’d just been persecuted and killed. 

But no. Jesus wears these scars and wanted his disciples, and us, to see them. In Thomas’ case, even touch them.

This isn’t a simple, happy ending; it’s a complicated ending, and that’s one of the things that makes this central event in our faith so profound. Jesus doesn’t come back unblemished, perfect, bathed in a sea of forgetfulness about the pain he suffered in those last days of his life; he comes back now that much more compelling for those wounds he still carries.

We can all think of so many scars from our past that we’d just as soon erase if we could. But then think of all we’d be giving up. Each of those wounds drew you in some way deeper into somebody’s life; introduced you to some new thought or idea; maybe led you to a new place, a new relationship. We ARE the scars we bear, so much so that if we somehow could erase any of them, we’d be difficult to recognize--to others, to ourselves. 

One of the most confounding and yet memorable things someone said to me after my daughter’s diagnosis came from a fellow priest and friend of many years whose daughter also had cancer, a similar type. He had read where people with or close to cancer, when asked much later to write things in their lives they’re grateful for and things they’re not grateful for--the grateful things were to be written above a line, the other things, below--the cancer was almost always put above the line. 

Now, I don’t know what I think about that and I’m pretty sure at this point (or ever) I won’t be able to put this above a line. But I think often about what he said. Because the fact is, in our faith our wounds are more than endured; they’re paraded. They’re what draw us closer to God and each other. That’s the central story of the cross. There is no resurrection without the cross. There is no Christian story, without it. It is, the cross, definitely, above the line. Improbably so.

The Paschal candle here, which we lit for the first time at the Easter Vigil one week ago yesterday, has (as I explained then) five pins in it representing the five wounds of Christ. This will remain here throughout the fifty days of Easter, and it will remind us to honor the scars we bear. These Easter stories of Jesus’ resurrection cannot be told without them, and neither can the story of our lives. Amen.

[nothorses]

Oh god I would love to hear you go off about homeschooling

Oh absolutely.

So okay: the public education system is deeply, deeply flawed. Most notably, in the US anyway (which is what all of this is gonna be- that's what the material for my degree was on) our education system was built up from two primary sources:

1. Schools for rich white boys to learn how to continue their legacy of being rich white boys (rich white girls were added much later)

2. Boarding schools and attempts to convert Native children to Christianity, erase their cultures, and replace them with white Western culture- all using incredible amounts of truly horrific, unspeakable violence.

The remnants of both of these systems still exist today, though there are more steps between them now: #1 exists in wealthy upper-class schools with a high level of gatekeeping, and #2 exists in impoverished and underfunded schools with mostly students of color.

#1 schools tend to also have a really positive impact on kids; their teachers believe in and respect them, resulting in both a higher level of academic success, and a higher level of self confidence and ambition. They believe they can do anything- so they can!

#2 schools have the inverse effect; teachers resent their students and view them as burdens, or charges to keep in line and shuffle through to the end with minimal trouble. Their students are, as a result, demoralized and unmotivated. They don't believe they are capable of anything, and so they struggle and often fail.

The steps between the two are lower-class, middle-class, & upper-middle-class schools, which make up a kind of scale- the lower class schools tend to have lower ambition and achievement, but also lower ego. There's a sweet spot- kind of- somewhere just below the wealthy schools, where students are highly motivated, but still a little humble.

You can see how people might be having different experiences with the education system, even in the same country.

People coming from low income backgrounds understandably, even rightfully, really resent the education system. People coming from anything above that might see things a little more favorably, though- that's not because anyone is stupid or self centered or wrong, it's because those experiences are intrinsically very, very different, and that's not really their fault for falling into one kind of school over another.

So okay, the public education system is flawed; but we can also see that there is a sweet spot. What we need is to figure out how to get there, normalize it, and bring that positive and healthy experience to as many kids as we can.

There are also certain undeniable benefits to a standardized public education system: ideally, children with abusive families are given a space away from the violence they face at home. They are given connections to trusted adults, mentors, peers, and experiences & knowledge their abusive families cannot control. They are given access to help, and access to power. (This isn't up for debate; rates of child abuse rose dramatically when schools closed during the pandemic because it removed a vital line of defense).

In a perfect world, the public education system is a really, really good way to facilitate communal raising of children; and who better to participate in that than people who are trained and educated and devoted to doing it in the best way possible?

There's obviously a lot of ways this can go wrong: teachers can seek those positions out for the power they might gain, people can weigh in on or control the curriculum who should not have that control, etc.

But these are also problems with homeschool. Parents might choose to homeschool their child because they want more complete control over them; they might put their child into a religious "homeschool" system designed to brainwash kids into blind devotion to a harmful ideology; they might find creationist schools or schools that otherwise align more perfectly with their beliefs, and with nothing to challenge that or help them develop critical thinking skills, kids are less likely to ever question or grow beyond what they absorb in homeschool.

Sometimes homeschool works out- and sometimes it doesn't.

But the thing with homeschool for me, at least, is this: there is a severe lack of accountability. There is nobody else to ensure those children are being treated properly. There is no standardization of curriculum, no training, and no education on best methods to educate- not just on facts, but to teach kids to think for themselves, question authority, and be capable of independent thought and action.

If a teacher in a public school abuses a child, there are people nearby more likely to notice and defend the child (and, legally, they are obligated to in a way even police are not). If a homeschool teacher abuses a child, nobody knows about it.

That's why Christian conservatives are such big proponents for decreased public school and increased homeschooling & private schools. Money or they themselves control those institutions, and they want that power and control. In many ways, they need it.

Tne public education system is a direct threat to their political and social power. That is why we need to fix it- to make it a more effective weapon against fascism and abuse.

[grubloved]

Lily Alexandre is speaking to the camera, mouth close to the microphone, tone even and measured:

LILY A: "We turn movements into logos. We turn real people into icons, and erase their human-ness in the process.

No one has been more thoroughly mythologized than Marsha P Johnson and Silvia Riviera, leaders of Street Transvestites Action Revolutionaries (S.T.A.R.) and participants in the Stonewall uprising -- especially Marsha, whose image has taken on an almost messianic weight in the years since her death. An invocation of everything holy.

A widely spread account presents Marsha as the heroic black trans woman who threw the first brick at Stonewall, igniting the gay liberation movement. The truth is more complicated, as truths often are.

Marsha never identified as a trans woman, she showed up to the riot hours after it started, and it's unclear whether anyone threw a brick. Outside her activism, Marsha was also a whole person, and a fascinating one. She was a performer, and deeply religious. She was a caregiver to a man dying of AIDs complications while herself HIV positive. The myth of Marsha is an all-timer, and we can learn from it, but the full story offers so much more insight.

If anything, I think that's actually why younger white queers avoid engaging with it, and avoid engaging with our history in general. With her life history fleshed out, Marsha doesn't seem so far away anymore. These details that were peripheral to the myth become impossible to ignore. How she was a sex worker. How she was described as mentally ill and prone to lashing out at people. How she was intermittently homeless.

Suddenly, Marsha and Silvia remind easily scandalized white queers of people we know and treat poorly. Transfemmes of color. Sex workers. Homeless addicts. Heavily traumatized people. People who speak out and don't take shit, even when it would be polite to."

[ Clip of Silvia Riviera, a mic clutched in one hand, bent forward slightly, shouting into the mic with all her energy, "I have been thrown in jail, I have lost my job, I have lost my apartment -- for gay liberation! And you all treat me this way?!" She jabs a finger at the crowd with her free hand. "What the fuck's WRONG with you all?!" Her audio fades out as she straightens, tosses her hair.]

LILY A: And Marsha and Silvia's detractors, those who marginalized them, jeered at them -- suddenly they remind us of ourselves.

[Silvia switches hands, has gathered herself upright, one hip cocked. She gestures again. "You're all very brave now," she says. She turns away, lowers the mic for a moment, as the crowd erupts in boos, hisses, and yells.]

LILY A: "The space between past and present collapses. It becomes obvious that when we villainize traumatized members of our community, we're also villanizing our trailblazers. That complaints about drag queens and the male-assigned among us are complaints about Silvia and Marsha, whether or not they mean to be. That the queer internet's puritanical, optics-above-all moral code would condemn these militants as a "threat to children", and ban them from any Pride events we have a say in.

Lily Alexandre, "Why is Queer Discourse So Toxic?", June 30, 2022 <- click for link

[quixotic-writer]

Temptation

Summary: Sal had always been the good little catholic boy. But, someone had been making it difficult to keep on that straight and narrow path of purity. 

Warning: Smut ahead! 

And, if you are religious and would be offended by individuals participating in intercourse within the walls of a sanctuary: respectfully keep scrolling 

–––––––––––––––––––––––––

He sat at the pew in the very front of the church. He stared at the crucifix that held the son of God, the savior he looked to in order to cleanse his mind of the copious sinful thoughts that have followed him as of late. Hands clasped together, rosary wrapped between his fingers, and he closed his eyes. 

Our Father who art in heaven…

He began in his head. 

Where did this all begin?

It all began with her. She had sweet doughy eyes, hair that perfectly framed her round face and sat above her shoulders, and curves… those curves. 

hollowed be thy name…

He tried to get his thoughts back on track as he went back to be cleansed of his sins, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. 

She had a shy and sweet exterior, but when he looked into those eyes of hers, he could see a daring passion that reeled him in. He was assigned to be the teacher in the word of the Lord. As she flipped through the thin pages of the bible, she had a smooth hum that would echo in the quiet of the chapel and send a shiver down his spine. As she wrote in her notebook, she would bite her lip and Sal would easily become a puddle of impure thoughts as he begged for forgiveness for allowing such naughty ideas to pass through his head. 

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done…

He clasped his hands together harder, forcing a montage out of his head before it could further fester as the beads of the rosary began to dig into the skin of his palm. But the more he tried to force her out of his head, the more viciously she would reappear with all the images becoming more vivid. 

He could almost feel her lips on his. Plump lips against his own. The feel of the wool of her sweater against his palm as he felt what he couldn’t quite see. He could imagine the smallest whines coming out of her, his nose taking in her intoxicated floral perfume as his lips sucked at the supple skin of her neck. He would leave marks on her virgin skin as clothes were shed away. 

on earth… as it is… in heaven…

He heard the doors to the chapel open softly. His eyes opened as his heartbeat could be heard within his ears. When he looked to see who entered, he saw that it was her. She quietly approached him and sat next to him in the pew. Sweat condensed in his palms as he dared not make any eye contact or look over the flesh he so desired. 

“What brings you to the house?” He asks quietly. Sal gives in and looks at her from the corner of his eye. Her fingers are in her lap, digging out dirt underneath her nails as her lips rub together. She was nervous, anyone could tell that much. 

“I needed to see you. I knew you’d be here.” Little did she know exactly how bad he had wanted to see her as well. It was unexpected for her to be here, and hearing that she needed to see him made his head flood. 

“Is that so? What for?” Where there once was a sizable gap between them, distance was shortened and minimized as she slid closer to him. Sal was scared she could hear how fast his heart was racing, and the fact that he was having unholy desires moments prior to her arrival made him almost feel ashamed and foolish. 

“I’ve come to you seeking help. You’re the only person that can help me with this… issue.” The pause made him swallow thickly. ‘Should I begin to pray again?’ He wondered as she moved in dangerously close. 

“And what is it that I can help with? I’m more than happy to help with anything.” Their eyes met moments after he said ‘anything.’ A twinkle behind them with a pleading look glazing over. 

“Sal… I’ve been having… unholy desires.”

“Is that so? Of what?”

“There’s this… boy. He’s the sweetest.” She places her hand on top of his. His eyes never tore away from her, not even for a second as a heat rose in his cheeks. She stares to the ground and off in the distance as she speaks. “He’s always been so helpful. But, he has awoken some sinful desires.

His eyes, like emeralds, charm me like a snake in the grass. His lips are a wine of temptation that I dare to taste.” She stares at his lips and goes back up to his eyes, leaning in even more where he could almost feel her breath on his skin. 

“His hands are strong, firm, yet graceful. I’ve wondered what they would feel like on my skin. Grabbing me, pulling me in closer to his body.” A squeeze at his hand and a heavy sigh from his lungs, he knew he was in deep. “I’ve gone so far as to wonder what it would feel like to have his skin against mine, just as Adam and Eve had back in the Garden of Eden. His heart beating with mine as our bodies intertwine and bring a sense of pleasure that I've never experienced before.” He was shaking, but he wasn’t nervous. He was shaking as everything dared spill out, holding back from committing a sin within the walls of the sanctuary of God. The apple was in front of him, practically in his hand and raised to his mouth — and he wanted nothing more than to sink his teeth in. 

“M-my, that seems l-like a lot.” He wanted to further things, but he wasn’t sure how. This wasn’t anything ever taught to him by anyone in the church. Such subjects are taboo and seen as disgraceful as well as distasteful. Her hand was hot and heavy on his thigh, making him squirm in the oak pew to find a more suitable seating position. When he looked at her, she was doing it again: biting her lip. Her lip falls out from between her teeth, leaving them parted as she sighs and looks into his eyes with burning desire. He quickly gathers himself together and takes an unsteady breath. 

“And, it seems that we have been faced with the same hurdle in our path.” All his life, he had always been told to be bold. Perhaps this wasn’t the context they meant, but he was putting those words to good use in fueling the inferno within his soul. He fiddles with the rosary in his left hand but then allows the string of holy beads to fall through his fingers and onto the pew so that he can place his hand atop hers. “I also have been flooded with lustful images. Playing scenarios in my head that would make anyone quiver.” He leans in closer to her. Their eye contact was intense, between them they could see the fingertips of their souls begging to make contact. 

“I know you can help me purge these sins, can’t you Sal?” Her voice was domineering and something fell apart within him. 

“Only if you help me with mine.” He was done feigning innocence and faking as though he wanted to remain pure. He knew what he wanted and he was done pretending like he didn’t. The small space between them was closed as lips intertwined. She tasted like the sin of lust: intoxicating, hypnotic, floral. The sensation was new to him, but it was everything he dreamed it’d be.

She took lead as her tongue graced his lips, the lips which he quickly parted to allow her entrance. He was so overwhelmed that he felt frozen. He had gotten what he so painfully desired that he no longer knew what to do. She could sense his tension as she traced her fingertips down his forearm, stopping at his wrist, and bringing them to grasp her hips. He brought her onto his lap as he was lost in the oral sensation of warm tongues melding together. 

He wondered what God would be thinking. Performing such acts within the chapel? Would He be disappointed? Surprised? It made him almost falter and hesitate. 

“Sal?” She pulled away, foreheads pressed together as they gasped for breath. He looks in her eyes and sees she’s worried. “You don’t have to do this,” was all she said as she had her palms on his cheeks, thumbs smoothing over the stubble on his face. How could she tell? He almost wondered if she was God. She starts creeping back, believing this embrace to reach its end, but Sal quickly and gently pulls her back in. 

“No, please. I want you. I want this… I need you.” A smirk quickly tugs the corners of her lips again as she moves her hair from her face. 

“You sound so cute when you beg.” Her lips graze his jawline. Careful, soft, fiery, entrancing, “I want to hear you beg more.” He groaned at the thought as her body embraced him closer. He could feel the heat of her chest against his own as his pants began to grow even more restrictive. She nipped a sensitive part of his neck and he couldn’t help but let out a whine and buck his hips towards hers, desiring the delicacies of the flesh. “Look at how hard you are,” she said as she cupped her hand over his growing bulge. Their eyes both went down to his crotch and she watched him twitch through the fabric of his pants at just the slightest sensation.

“This is what you’ve been doing to me,” He spoke in a hushed tone. He wasn’t ashamed at all, but he felt like putty in her hands. He was willing to bend to her will as he had bent the rules in his head, throwing all sense of humanity out the door.

“All hard because of me?” She sinks in front of him down to her knees, eyes watching as his chest would rise and fall as she unbuckled the belt that locked away the thing she desired most. “Tell me, Sal, what were those lustful images you have been envisioning?” She pulled down the waistband of his boxers just enough so that his cock stood at attention before her. It was already red at the tip, precum beginning to rise and spill out of his slit. The cold air against his cock made him twitch in response, knowing that because the layer was gone, he would soon be met with overwhelming pleasure.

He sat there breathless, hands at his sides that held him up as he braced for what was yet to come. She lay soft kisses at the skin of his lower abdomen, hot air ghosting his cock and making him squirm.

“P-Please,” he begs.

“Start talking then.” She traces her finger along his slit, bringing her finger around the head of his cock, teasing him until he was a whining mess.

“I have imagined what you’d look like naked,” he strains out as she takes his cock into her hand, giving it a few shallow pumps. 

“Keep talking Sal.” The way his name would so smoothly flow from her tongue made his head swim. 

“I’d always stare at your chest when you would l-lean forward to read something…” His eyes snapped shut and he groaned the minute her tongue slicked along the underside of his cock. His legs spread open a little further and his hands were no longer suitable leverage as his back leaned against the stiff pew. Instead, his hands now gripped the edge of the pew, knuckles turning white slowly from the grasp he had, and blood vessels becoming more visually prominent on the backs of his hands and along his forearm. She saw this and thought it was delicious how much he had begun to fall apart in front of her, and she was only getting started. “I imagined what your skin would feel like against mine… What your boobs looked like and felt like… and… and what it would feel like to be with you… intimately.” He couldn’t say anything explicit, he felt as though it would have been disrespectful to say what he truly wanted: what it would have been like to fuck you.

“You’ve taken a liking to my tits, huh?” With grace, her hand would stroke around his cock at a slow pace. Up and down his shaft, she would be hypnotized almost as she watched as his body twitched when her grip changed or when she hit certain spots along his cock. She loved watching the head of his cock poke through her fist, or the way precum would seep out as she brought her hand back up. Her eyes met his and his face was noticeably red. His lips were parted as heavy breath left his lungs, practically salivating at the beauty that was pleasuring him.

The knitted sweater she wore was quickly thrown off to reveal the sports bra she wore beneath. They squeezed her breasts together, making her cleavage more pronounced and the size of her chest appear larger. Around her neck was a thin golden chain. The charm attached to it: a golden cross, now being squeezed between the mounds of flesh that were attached to her chest. Seeing the sparkle in those green eyes she loved told her all she needed.

“Look at how much your pretty cock is leaking,” she said as she gently stroked the slit of his cock with the tip of her pointer finger, a string of precum connecting her finger for just a moment as she pulled it away. His cock twitched and his thighs constricted as his lip caught between his teeth. “So sensitive.” She spoke soft and sultry, she had him on his knees metaphorically speaking and wrapped delicately around her finger. His head was swimming in lust and desire, it was a sensation unlike any other he had ever felt. Sin was so compelling, so ravishing, so intoxicating.

She raised her chest and lined his aching cock below her breasts. He had no idea what she was about to do, but the following sensation was one he would never forget. His cock was surrounded by the warm soft flesh of her tits and he watched as the tip of his cock poke above and grazed the cool metal of the necklace she wore. His hips jolted slightly and a loud moan echoed through the chapel and his hand grasped at the first part of her he could: her shoulders. 

“That feel as good as you dreamed, baby?” The pet name made him melt more. The sensation made him wonder if this is what it felt like to fuck someone, he fell completely submissive to her every move.

“Please, keep going… I need more… Please.” He begged and pleaded as he felt a warm sensation start building up in his naval. She chuckled and used her hands to move her breasts up and down his cock, squeezing them together to add more pleasurable pressure with a sinister smile. He watched as the tip of his cock poked out over and over and over again, heat building more and more, panting and gasping. He released sounds he never thought he could: moans and whines that kept rising in pitch with each sensation that fired at his nerves and made his posture slouch further and further if it meant being closer to her and feeling more of what she had to offer.

Under his breath, she could have sworn she heard him saying a Hail Mary prayer, enunciating whatever word he was on whenever she went lower onto his cock. The fact that he was praying to God as she was giving him unholy pleasure was something that made her thighs squeeze closer together as she felt a wave of euphoria wash over her as her pussy throbbed. 

“Oh god… oh god…” He panted, the sensation of his ever building climax foreign to him, he felt a need for release and he felt his core start to tighten. 

“Are you getting close?” She kept going, but she slowed her pace, raising her boobs slowly, then releasing them and allowing them to engulf his cock and drop on his lap. He nods his head, aching to feel more, aching for release. “Beg for it baby, beg for me to let you cum.” He whines, how could he deny her what she wanted to hear?

“P-Please, I'm… I'm so close… Oh god i’m so painfully close I can feel it… Please I need it… I need… I need to cum!” He was whining, begging, voice getting louder with each word he rambled. Just having her tits around him could make him release, but he needed the sensation of her movement. He was trembling with desire and an ache to finally release all that he had trapped within him. “You’re so beautiful and you make me feel so good please let me cum oh my god please!” She began speeding up her movements, reveling in all that she was hearing. “Oh god… Oh god, oh god, oh god… fuck i’m cumming!” With one more stroke, spurts of cum came flowing out of his cock as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Each spurt felt like a release of pent up ecstasy, he could already feel himself grow addicted to the sinful sensation. She knew how good she was making him feel by the profanities that came spilling out of his mouth.

“Good boy, look at you.” She milked him for all that he was worth, slow strokes, each one allowing a little more cum to seep out of the tip of his cock onto the bare skin of her chest. “Fuck, you’re still cumming.” She was painted in his seed as he sat there catching his breath. 

His mouth was dry, as were his lips. He could feel sweat collecting under the cotton of his shirt, beads of precipitation scattered across the sternum of his chest, a glow present across his brow, and upper lip covered with the same glow. His heart was still beating with desire as Sal watched her clean up her chest. When she was done, she leaned into his lips, sharing an embrace once again. 

“What can I do for you?” He asks, eyes first on her lips, then up to her eyes. “I want to make you feel as good as I did.” 

“You’re too cute Sal.” She lay back on the pew, allowing her legs to spread. When Sal caught a glimpse under her skirt, he could have nearly choked on the oxygen he was breathing. She was wearing no underwear, her pussy glimmering in whatever light reached it showing how wet she was. “I always loved your hands. The way your veins looked when you grasped your rosary during prayers or how your fingers looked expertly flipping through your bible.” She bit her lip and moaned at the memories, “why don’t you put those fingers to good use?” She sat up, taking his cheeks in hand and attaching their lips together as she began leaning back, guiding his body onto hers. He hovered above her, kissing like he wanted to take her last breath. With a free hand she raised the hem of her skirt, her pussy meeting the cold air of the chapel mixed with the humid heat of their love. She took Sal’s hand and placed it where she wanted. His cold fingers grazed her clit making her hips jerk slightly and whine into his mouth.

“You’re so wet,” He said breathlessly. He rubbed his fingers up and down her folds, spreading the moisture, teasing her. 

“Put them in baby. I need to feel your fingers inside of me.” He circled a finger around her entrance, teasing her a little more before easily sliding a finger in. His movements were slow and steady, calculated as he watched her face and how it contorted to each of his movements. 

He had never imagined doing anything like this before, he couldn’t believe that he was doing it now. As he sunk another finger into her, he realized something new about himself: nothing made his blood pump faster than seeing the woman he had lusted for visually and vocally display pleasure because of what he was doing. 

“Does this feel good?” He wasn’t sure entirely what he was doing and wanted to make sure he was making her feel just as good – if not better than she had made him feel.

“Yes, yes. Keep going,” She sighed and quivered at the sensation of his fingers inside of her. She kept on guiding him through, telling him to angle his fingers and to go faster or slower. He was quick to listen and oblige as he watched her juices coat his fingers and slick down into his palm as he worked his fingers.

Eventually, he started getting braver until he curved his fingers and her back arched way beyond the pew.

“Fuck! Right there Sal!” Satisfied and proud of the noises she was emitting, he attached his lips to her neck, leaving a sloppy trail of kisses as he traveled down to her collar bone, and to the center of her chest where the chain of her cross rested. With a free hand and an insatiable sense of lust, he took her sports bra and pulled it down, allowing her tits to spill out. He practically salivated at the sight, seeing the things that brought him to ecstasy moments ago without any layers hiding them. He attached his mouth to her. He suckled at the soft skin and then attached himself to her nipple, swirling his tongue around the hardened nub. “Your mouth feels so good, you’re doing so good!” She was panting, working her hips against his fingers, the sensation of his mouth making her pulsate more and drive her closer to her own inevitable climax. 

The praise only made him work harder, fingers within her building in speed, mouth reattached to her other breast. The scent of her sweat intoxicated him, salty sweet sweat lightly covering his taste buds as he divulged in the sins of the flesh.

That’s when he got an idea.

Once again his mouth was on a trail; Down her stomach, leaving a trace of his mark on the flesh that could be hidden beneath clothing, right at her pelvis where stubbled skin tickled his lips, and then for a moment, he allowed his breath to ghost where he knew she wanted him most. His eyes met hers: they were hooded with lust and her cheeks were now as red as his were, if not redder. Her lips were parted and taking in the humid air of her pleasure deep within her lungs. As his fingers slowed, he could have sworn he could have felt her pulse.

“Sal… Sal, I'm so close.” He smiled and laid his broad tongue against her as his fingers began pumping in and out of her, curling and hitting a spot that made her begin to see stars. There was no keeping her quiet, her moans were echoing off the quiet walls of the chapel, the pew was shaking, the slick sounds of Sal’s fingers and tongue slurping and working against her pussy were just as loud. It was a cacophony of erotic sounds that would make even the devil blush. “Your mouth feels so perfect, you’re doing so fucking good!” She was whining as her breathing became more and more shallow. Her hands were on the top of his head as her hips lifted off the pew and she forced herself along his mouth, aching to be closer and feel more. “Sal, i’m gonna cum, i’m gonna cum, i’m gonna–” Her words were trapped in her throat as her climax began to consume her entire being. Once the crescendo was reached, the throaty moan that was stuck within her throat was finally released. She bucked her hips as Sal rode her through her high, savoring each and every drop of her sexual nectar that she had to offer.

She laid back onto the pew, her body felt like jello as Sal removed his fingers and sat back up, licking the last of her off of his fingers with a prideful smile on his face. He crawled over her and locked their lips in a sweet and passionate kiss. She could taste herself on his tongue, it made her feel another stirring inside of her, but she knew she was simply too spent to even think of going for another round. 

“You did so good Sal, thank you,” She said quietly in a hushed tone that made her voice sound raspy. 

“I’m gonna need to bathe in holy water after that.” They both quietly chuckled. 

He could get used to this, and he knew there was so much more that she had to offer. It felt good to be bad.

[heloisedaphnebrightmore]

Heloise's 3.5k Followers Sleepover [Closed!] and Writing Challenge [Closed!]

Hello my lovelies <3

On Wednesday we reached another milestone once again! I can’t tell you how happy I am to know that so many of you have been enjoying my writing. All the support I’ve gotten from my followers has been beyond my expectations and I’m just so very grateful. I never imagined getting 50 let alone 3500 followers. Mind blowing really! I wanted to do something fun for such a huge milestone and as it’s a writing blog, I thought, let’s write. I want the writers to enjoy writing and the readers to enjoy reading. However, on the other hand, I didn’t want to leave out my non-writer followers so a sleepover should be in place as well.

Therefore, welcome to⁠—

Heloise’s 3.5k followers Sleepover and Writing Challenge

Part 1. Sleepover [Closed!] (Please click on the link above!)

Part 2. Writing Challenge [Closed!] (See below the Keep Reading option!)

Let's have fun and send your Ask! ^^

Heloise's Map | Masterlists

Heloise’s 3.5k Followers Writing Challenge Masterlist

Part 2. Writing Challenge!

Disclaimer! I do not own any of the prompts listed below, they all belong to @screnwriter and @dreamy-prose and each prompt list I have used for creating this event are listed at the bottom of the post. [Numbers] next to prompts refer to the prompt lists you can find them at.

Rules!

➵ You don’t have to follow me to participate, although it would be much appreciated. ➵ Chose as many prompts as you’d like. No limits. ➵ Write for any universe and any pairings, I basically read everything. ➵ No incest, racial, religious, or sexual hate openly, not related to the story line, but to hurt others. If you have any of the above in your fic, I will not reblog it. ➵ Fluff, angst, smut, anything goes, just please use appropriate Warnings!  ➵ Use the Keep reading option above 500 words. Tutorial from phone is Here! ➵ No deadline for submission, but deadline for entry closes on 27 September 2021. Clarification: You can submit your fics even next year if you wish. End date is only for entering the event. I will not be able to accept entries after 27 September 2021. ➵ If you would like to participate, just send me an Ask with the prompt(s) and character and Reblog this post. ➵ Please use the tag #heloises3.5kcelebration and tag my name @heloisedaphnebrightmore when you post your fic. If it's not reblogged in 48 hours, please send me an Ask or DM. My tags seem to be funny at times. ➵ And most importantly, Have fun! :)

I decided to use both Scenario prompts and Dialogue prompts to take on a different approach compared to my last writing challenge.

Scenario prompts

Enemies to lovers / Tension prompts

1. “I’ll kiss you right now to prove that I don’t feel anything for you.” “Okay.” The two characters kiss, and whoops they felt something, followed by lingering, as they’re catching their breath, trying to make sense of what just happened, and the feelings rushing through them, and then there’s this urge to dive back in for another kiss. [5]

@goddessofdawns (x) Loki Laufeyson x Reader

2. Your enemy has never let anyone touch their scar, until you come along. [7]

@natashxromanovf (x) Bucky Barnes x Reader

3. Character A and B kiss each other to prove there's nothing going on between them, but they get so caught up in each other, they prove the exact opposite. [2]

@wearywinchester (x) Dean Winchester x Reader

4. For one night, Character A and B give into temptation and sleep with each other, hoping it will solve the tension building between them. It does the opposite. [2]

5. Character A and B avoid each other after sharing an intimate moment, be it a kiss, a hug, holding hands, or just looking at each other's lips longer than appropriate. [1]

@wearywinchester (x) Dean Winchester x Reader

6. You're upset one night, and you don't know where to go, so you end up at your enemy's house, and as they open the door, you stay silent for a second, before saying “I don't know where else to go.” Your enemy doesn't say anything, instead they pull you into their arms, giving you a shoulder to cry on. [1]

@goddessofdawns (x) Bucky Barnes x Reader

7. The best friends to lovers “Let’s just kiss to see what it’s like.” They kiss, followed by the characters pulling away, eyes still closed, forehead against forehead, lingering… and then they go in for the second kiss. [5]

@goddessofdawns (x) Newt (Maze Runner) x Reader

8. You threaten your enemy, and when they close the distance between you, you realize how attracted you truly are to them. [1]

9. Pinning your enemy against the wall. Or straddling your enemy’s hips whilst they pin your arms above your head. [1]

@theravenclawgal (x) Sirius Black x Reader

10. You end up on your enemy's lap, and you yank the belt from their pants “Let's just get this over with.” [1]

11. You're about to leave the room, but your enemy slams the door shut, and with one hand on either side of your head, barricade you against the wall... (cue the reckless make-out session). [2]

@band--psycho (x) James Potter x Reader

12. You’re sharing a bed with your enemy and being told “Stay on your side or I'll set this whole bed on fire”. Only to wake up the next day with your enemy's arms wrapped around you. [2]

@forever-and-more (x) Lorcan Salvaterre (Throne of Glass) x Reader

13. Your enemy has been badly wounded, and somebody needs to bandage them up, so you agree to help them, and suddenly they're shirtless, and you can't help but admire their body, something that cheeky bastard takes notice of. [1]

14. You've been wounded, your face is all bruised up. Your enemy puts a finger under your chin, bringing your eyes to theirs, asking “Who did this to you?”. When you don't answer, they ask you again “Who did this to you?”. [1]

@band--psycho (x) Klaus Mikaelson x Reader

@grimdevil (x) Regulus Black x Reader

15. You've just been hurt, you're bleeding out, and your enemy is freaking out, dropping the “I love you. I can't lose you” card, begging you not to close your eyes. [2]

@goddessofdawns (x) Loki Laufeyson x Reader

@forever-and-more (x) Lorcan Salvaterre (Throne of Glass) x Reader

16. Two characters look at each other, a tense silence between them and then bang, lips crash into each other as they can’t resist anymore and then one of them pins the other against the wall. [6]

@forever-and-more (x) Lorcan Salvaterre (Throne of Glass) x Reader

17. You had a really good time on the date tonight, and your date is asking for a good night kiss. It was only meant to be on the cheek, but then you pull back, our eyes meet, and there's a gravitational pull pulling you closer again. [6]

18. You’ve never been kissed before so your friend volunteers, but you decline because you’ve been best friends and it would be weird. But a couple hours later you lay awake in bed and can't stop thinking about what it would be like to kiss them and suddenly you regret what you said. [6]

@queen-of-brokenhearts (x) Hermione Granger x Female!Reader

Intimate / Domestic prompts

19. You are wearing your lover’s clothes when they say, “Can I get my shirt/hoodie back?” and you say “No.” or “Come and get it.”. [4]

@oliverwoodmarrymepls (x) Oliver Wood x Reader

20. You're talking on the phone and your lover quietly comes up behind you, wraps their arms around you, and starts gently kissing your neck. You begin to lose focus on your phone call as you concentrate on not making any noise. [3]

@band--psycho (x) Fred Weasley x Reader

21. You’re supposed to be mad at your lover but they’re holding your face and smiling, and you just can't resist it when they're pouting like that. [6]

22. You and your lover sitting next to each other at a table, and they rest their hand on your thigh, gently rubbing their thumb back and forth. [3]

23. Looking at your crush or lover only to find them already looking at you and when you make eye contact, they smile at you. [3]

@iliveiloveiwrite (x) - Benedict Bridgerton x Reader

24. You think mistletoe kisses are lame, but your love interest brings you under one, regardless of the season and suddenly you're all for it. [6]

25. You and your lover are in bed, when you say, “It’s time to get up.” and your lover pulls you back down, wraps their hands around your body, snuggles up close, preventing you from getting out of bed. [4]

26. Your lover is resting their head on your lap, falling asleep whilst you are playing with their hair. [4]

@oliverwoodmarrymepls (x) Oliver Wood x Reader

@band--psycho (x) Young!Remus Lupin x Reader

27. Having a piece of hair brushed off your face as you're reading or looking down. [3]

28. You're sick, and you can't kiss your lover, and it's an absolute torture. [6]

@msmarvelouswinchester (x) Jensen Ackles or Dean Winchester x Reader

29. Being asked “Are you sure?” (There's nothing sexier than consent) [3]

30. When it’s a slow burn, and the characters just look at each other like “Fuck it, I’m done with this.” and they finally kiss. [4]

@acourtofbooksandfantasy (x) Azriel (ACOTAR) x Reader

Dialogue prompts

Flirty / Sarcastic prompts

1. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing I like the sound of your voice, because you don’t seem to ever shut up.” [9]

2. “Is that a challenge?” [9]

3. “You’re cute when you’re nervous.” [15]

@will-be-a-fineline (x) Harry Styles x reader

4. “When have I ever put you in danger? Actually, don't answer that.” [11]

@wearywinchester (x) Dean Winchester x Reader

5. “I dare you.” [9]

6. “If you don’t shut up, I might as well kiss you to put that mouth to good use.” [9]

7. Character A: “Do yourself a favour, get laid.” Character B: “Why, are you offering?” [9]

@grimdevil (x) Draco Malfoy x Reader

@theravenclawgal (x) Sirius Black x Reader

8. Character A: “What if bite you?” Character B: “I’m into that.” [10]

9. Character A is returning a priced procession to Character B and says, “I want something in return.” Character B “What?”  Character A “You.” [2]

10. Character A: “What changed your mind? “ Character B: “You.” [7]

11. Character A: “What do you want?” Character B: “You.” [9]

12. Character A: “Just admit it.” Character B: “Admit what?” Character A: “I’m the best you’ve ever had.” [13]

13. Character A: “You haven’t listened to a word I’ve said, have you?” Character B: “And yet for some reason your mouth just keeps on going.” [8]

@wearywinchester (x) Dean Winchester x Reader

@theravenclawgal (x) Sirius Black x Reader

14. Character A: “I shouldn't have kissed you” “ Character B: You're right. But I should've.” [7]

15. Character A: “Do you flirt with everyone?” Character B: “Unfortunately, you’re the only one who caught my attention.” Character A: “Unfortunately?” [8]

@sexysirius (x) Sirius Black x Reader

16. Character B: “I like to keep my options open.” [8]

17. “I hate you. Oh, I hate you so much right now.” [11]

18. “Jesus Christ, you're annoying.” [11]

First kiss / Confession prompts

19. Character A: “Come over here.” Character B: “Why?” Character A: “You said you’ve never been kissed before. I’m planning on changing that.” [10]

20. Character A: “Just… don’t make this weird, all right?” Character B: “Meaning what?” Character A: “Meaning, don’t treat me like I haven’t been kissed before.” Character B: “But you… haven’t been kissed before.” Character A: “Look, I just want this over and done with, okay. I don’t want to be treated like a delicate flower. Kiss me like you mean it.” [10]

@band--psycho (x) Damon Salvatore x Reader

21. Character A: “I love you.” Character B: “I know.” Character A: “You knew?” Character B: “You haven’t exactly been discreet.” [15]

@band--psycho (x) Natasha Romanoff x Reader

22. “Listen, I know you’re busy, but… it’s important.” [15]

23. “I love you, and I don’t care if you don’t love me back. I just need you to know that I do.” [15]

24. Character A: “Do you have feelings for me?” Character B: “What?” Character A: “Do you have feelings for me?” [14]

25. “Is that truly, all it is? Just, two friends, hanging out?” [14]

@pregnant-piggy (x) Sirius Black x Reader

26. “I need to ask you something and I don’t want you to brush off the subject or turn it into a joke… I need you to be honest with me.” [14]

@grimdevil (x) Young!Sirius Black

27. “Are you… are you in love with me?” [14]

28. “I can’t stop thinking about you.” [14]

29. “All this time I thought you didn’t want me.” [14]

30. “If there’s something you want to tell me, now’s the time.” [14]

@wearywinchester (x) Dean Winchester x Reader

31. “There’s nothing going on between me and Character C. because the person I want to be with is standing right in front of me.” [14]

32. Character A: “I want this to work. I really do.” Character B: “Then we’re on the same page.” [16]

33. “I’ve missed you so much. I didn’t even think it was possible to miss someone this much.” [16]

34. “I know we're not together, but I might die today so I'm going to kiss you just in case there is no later.” [6]

Reassurance / Sweet prompts

35. “You could stay here, tonight. For as long as you'd like.” [7]

@oliverwoodmarrymepls (x) Oliver Wood x Reader

36. “Could you ever love someone like me?” [7]

37. Character A: “I've never been in love before.” Character B: “Then let me show you.” [7]

@goddessofdawns (x) Sam Wilson x Reader

38. “I can’t get up. You’re gonna have to carry me.” [11]

@goddessofdawns (x) Sam Wilson x Reader

39. “Are you okay with me kissing you?” [12]

@deanwanddamons (x) Jensen Ackles x Reader

40. “I feel safe with you. I always have.” [12]

@band--psycho (x) Newt (Maze Runner) x Reader

41. “I need you to know that you can always come to me.” [12]

@iliveiloveiwrite (x) - Benedict Bridgerton x Reader

42. Character A: “You’ll wait for me?” Character B: “For as long as I need to.” [12]

43. “I’ll always be there for you. Don’t you ever doubt that.” [12]

@band--psycho (x) George Weasley x Reader

44. “Don’t hide from me. you’re even more beautiful in the morning.” [13]

@will-be-a-fineline (x) Harry Styles x reader

45. “I’m going to kiss you until you’re sick of it.” [13]

@goddessofdawns (x) Sam Wilson x Reader

46. “Just hold me. I’m not ready to wake up.” [13]

@pregnant-piggy (x) Sirius Black x Reader

If you have any questions, don’t be afraid of sending me a message. My inbox is always open for everyone :)

Prompt lists used from @screnwriter and @dreamy-prose

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]

[kikis-writing-world]

Pregnancy Announcement HCs

Drabbles under the cut for how Pedro boys would react to your pregnancy, and how you’d share the news. Trigger/content warnings: Pregnancy (both planned and surprise,) mention of abortions as an option, talk of contraception, smut (including cum play, cock warming,) mentions of PTSD and past drug addiction, mentions of dead former partners, blood, periods, doctors/obgyns, single parent/father not wanting to actively participate. If I missed anything, please let me know! Lack of editing as usual... 

Pics are for inspiration, not always an exact replica. All take place in a sort of modern AU where there might be a social media to post pictures to.

Dave York

This wasn’t supposed to happen. Dave already has a family and he made it very clear that he wasn’t leaving them for you. When you found out, you were terrified he would demand you terminate the pregnancy - heck, you considered it briefly yourself. You thought long and hard about your options even before telling Dave.

His first reaction was about as bad as it could get: he said nothing, got up and left. He returned a few hours later when you had already cried yourself hoarse. He held you in his arms as he spoke clearly and carefully. He asked if you wanted to keep the baby, and when he said yes he almost seemed torn. You don’t know if it was wishful thinking that he was excited to have another child, but you swore you saw a sparkle in his eye… of course, it wasn’t that simple.

He told you it wouldn’t be easy for you since he would never be with you like that - you were just the nanny he was fucking. If you wanted to go it alone, he would help financially and support you as much as he could, but he couldn’t claim the baby as his and risk losing his daughters.

You were going to have to go the single mother route, and if anyone asked you’d have to either say it was a fling or the father wasn’t interested in being in the picture.

Din Djarin

In all honesty, you were surprised it didn’t happen sooner. Din loved to cum inside of you. He’d lay with you, his softening cock still inside you to make sure nothing slipped out. When he finally did, he’d watch with amazement as your body twitched as it adjusted to emptiness. Gently, he’d push any dripping cum back into your fluttering hole. His deep, gruff voice was laced with exhaustion and lust as he would talk about filling your pretty pussy, not wasting a drop…

When you started getting ill, you at first thought it was just a passing bug. It was inevitable with all the travel that you would fall under the weather. Two weeks into the churning stomach, you realized you missed a period. 

When you brought it up to Din, he changed all travel plans - the bounties could wait, he had to get you to the nearest clinic ASAP. The test coming back positive had him glowing with pride. It was hard to convince him to wait until further along to announce the pregnancy, knowing anything could happen in these early stages. As soon as you gave him the all-clear, he did everything but shout it from the rooftops. By the time the picture was posted -your headgear, his helmet, and a tiny helmet between - everyone already knew anyway.

Ezra

It was a surprise, but not a shock. You and Ezra, although you tried to be safe, definitely had a habit of being caught up in the moment and forgetting certain precautions. A walk through the forest that led to a beautiful field of flowers, a picnic on a moonlit beach - there were times Ezra was so overwhelmed by your beauty and the beauty around him that he just got swept up. It was hard not to get swept up with him.

He was ecstatic when you told him you thought you might be pregnant. He could hardly wait for you to take a test. His knee bounced anxiously as you waited the 2 minutes, holding your hand tightly in his. The positive result brought tears to his eyes as he embraced you close but gently, already scared of hurting the baby. He saw it as nothing less than a blessing. He dropped to his knees as soon as he let you go, already talking to the bundle of cells, calling them his little shining star. The nickname sticks throughout the pregnancy, leading to a beautiful space-themed nursery and all events leading up to the birth, including the announcement.

Frankie Morales

You’re absolutely terrified to tell Frankie. You knew he wanted to be a father, but the two of you had talked so much about the fears you shared about being parents. Mental health, substance abuse, financial stability - it made the concept of “starting a family” overwhelming.

Your stomach rolled the whole time you waited for him to get home from work, little plastic test taunting you from the table. What if it set him off? He’d been sober for years, but you knew every day was a new battle. You were so consumed by your own thoughts, playing out how he might react in your head, that you didn’t even hear him come in.

“Are you…” He half-asked the question, eyes darting between you and the test. You couldn’t find your voice, only nod. The facial change in him was immediate: broad smile and wonder in his eyes as he laughed, scooping you into his arms. You clung to him just as tightly as he started laughing, too much joy coursing through him. As he started crying “holy shit, I’m going to be a papa,” how could you have possibly doubted he’d be anything but ecstatic?

You each tell your closest friends and your families, but you manage to keep it under wraps for the first months until posting your announcement and shocking everyone. Toes in the sand at the beach of your favorite camping spot, imagining the sandcastles and other games you’d be playing in the near future - it was everything you could ever want.

Jack Daniels

The two of you were religiously careful. You had talked about a family, but had agreed that until Jack was ready - which may or may not happen - you were going to prevent it. But life finds a way…

You find out much later than you would have liked - nearly 3 months in, you missed the whole first trimester. Looking back, there were obvious signs of pregnancy but you just didn’t think it was possible. You and Jack find out together at a doctor’s appointment. You leave the office shell shocked with a stack of pamphlets to consider your options and an appointment for next week. When you get home, Jack doesn’t even talk about it. You try to bring it up a few hours later, but he ignores you.

Finally, 3 days later, you can’t take it anymore. You feel like you’re in this completely alone at this point as you yell at him “ignoring it won’t make it go away!” Jack breaks down and tells you he’s so damn scared. He cries in a way you’ve never seen him cry, talking about how he wants a family with you but he can’t go through that kind of loss a second time. It nearly killed him the first time and he wouldn’t be able to handle it again. You talk long into the night about all of it - both of your fears, worries, dreams, thoughts - nothing is off limits as you talk about all the possibilities lying in front of you. Even through the fear and trauma, one thing is clear: you both want this.

It’s not easy, but your doctor helps relieve some worries. She speaks frankly to you about the development of the baby along the way and suggests a therapist that might be able to help, as well as classes you can take on parenting. It doesn’t take long for the worried “what ifs” to be paired with excited “whens.”

Javier Peña

When Javier Peña walked into your small town police station, you thought you were dreaming. Sent to help with a case that your rural forces didn’t have the experience to handle, he was only supposed to be in town as long as the case took. You never imagined you, just a lowly admin, would catch his eye.

It didn’t take long for you to tumble into the bed of his hotel room. And your bed at home. And your car. And his truck. And just about any possible surface in between. What you thought was a one night stand turned to three, then four, and soon into a full fledged fling. You knew the expiry date hanging above your heads, so you kept your feelings for the charming (if a little gruff around the edges) agent locked deep away. The case took about two months, and then he was gone just as suddenly as he arrived.

A month after his departure, when you found out you were pregnant, you didn’t know what to do. He hadn’t even left you his number, so you were sure he had no plans to see you ever again. Should you track him down and let him know, or just carry on with this on your own? You spent night after night talking to the growing baby, asking what you should do.

Javier ended up answering the question for you, when he unexpectedly walked into the station once more. He asked to speak with you privately before admitting he had missed you. He told you about trying to forget you, only to spend most of his evenings telling his father about you. Eventually you cut him off with a kiss, telling him you’re glad he came back. You take his hand, placing it on your stomach when you tell him you had been thinking about him too.

Javi helps you secure a transfer to Laredo and even though you technically have your own place, you’re spending practically every night with him anyway. If anyone wondered why the move, well the recognizable mustache on your announcement answered their questions.

Marcus Moreno

Marcus doesn’t believe you the first time you tell him “I think I’m pregnant.” He remembers his wife’s pregnancy with Missy, and you haven’t shown any of those signs. You roll your eyes and tell him that every woman and every pregnancy is different, but he still doesn't believe you. It isn’t until he’s staring down at three tests, all positive, that it clicks in his head he’s having a second child.

He’s excited, but he admits he’s scared. He’s older now, what if he can’t keep up with a baby? More than that, he’s worried about Missy.

You both know you don’t want Missy to feel left out or replaced by a new sibling. The two of you have a good relationship, but of course there were speed bumps to get there. She understood you weren’t trying to replace her mother. Would she be as understanding, knowing that you weren’t trying to replace her?

You and Marcus sit her down and tell her together. Before you can even start on your planned spiel about how the family is growing and no one is getting replaced, she is talking a mile a minute about having a little sister. You and Marcus share a relieved breath and lock eyes before you have to remind her that it might be a little brother. This seems to dampen her mood a little bit, but overall she’s still excited… even if she is adamant she isn’t touching any stinky diapers.

Another way you make sure to include her, is how you announce it to your friends and family. You’re sure, with Marcus’ status, it will get out to the public eventually, but you start by sending close friends and family a picture of Missy wearing a shirt calling her a “Big Sister.” She loves the photoshoot, making all kinds of faces as you snap away on your phone. Happy, sad, pouting, crazy… they all go in the baby book.

Marcus Pike

It was only a few months after your wedding that you and Marcus were ready to start a family. You didn’t “start trying” as much as you “stopped preventing.” There were a few false starts when your period would be late or the time you caught the stomach flu, but a few weeks short of your first wedding anniversary, you were pregnant.

Marcus spent many nights laying next to you in bed, hand on your stomach as he just stared at you - to the point where you actually started to get annoyed by it. He was amazed at your body changing, at the growing child inside of you, that he was finally getting the “happy ever after” he’d been looking for all his life.

The announcement was hilarious to shoot. Marcus and you were covered in paint splotches, laughing with love shining in your eyes. You held a palette Marcus knelt in front of you with a paintbrush, painting “Masterpiece coming soon” on your stomach where the bump had just started showing with the right angle.

Max Phillips

Max knew before you did, even if he didn’t put it all together. He started complaining that you tasted different, smelled different. Not just your blood, but as he spent hours trapped between your thighs. His keen senses had him identifying a change, but neither of you knew what change it was. After all, as far as you knew, a vampire couldn’t get a human pregnant.

Max whined when your period was late - he loved your time of the month. “Best of both worlds” he would say as he feasted on you for as long as you could stand it. It had happened before, your period being late due to stress or illness, but this time it wasn’t just a day or two. A few weeks later nothing had happened. A quick trip to your gynecologist confirmed it.

“I thought you said there was no way you could be pregnant,” she teased as she showed you the results.

Max was shocked, scared, and then proud as a pig in shit. He was terrified to be a father, but he hid that behind a swagger and a “yeah, I knocked her up. Not even death can stop these swimmers.”

Even if you did try to hide it for much longer, the vampires he worked with could smell the change in you too. Put together with Max’s protectiveness over you being ramped up even more than it had been… it was easy to figure out.

You took the picture as a joke - it was supposed to be a compromise that if you took this photo, he’d take the cheesy ones you wanted - but damn if it wasn’t your favorite of the bunch.

Maxwell Lord

You know that Maxwell had a bad history with family. First his parents weren’t as supportive as they could have been, and then his ex-wife had all but used Alistair against him anytime she could. You knew he may be nervous when you shared the news, but you didn’t expect him to turn into Maxwell Lord, television personality instead of your Max.

The first question out of his mouth was “is it mine?” Which broke your heart and set a fire in your gut. You threw anything you could get your hands on at him screaming at him for accusing you of cheating on him. You had just started to calm down when he mentioned lawyers and set you off again. You knew his past, but you truly thought he loved you and that you were his future.

You left, booking yourself in at a hotel. You didn’t leave the room - not only had you not packed anything and knew the paparazzi would devour a picture of you looking so disheveled, but you just couldn’t find it in you to go anywhere. You stayed in the room, ordering room service, watching TV, and crying. In a fit of rage, you had thrown the bottles from the mini bar across the room, needing to channel your anger and knowing you couldn’t drink your sorrows away anyway. 

He showed up a few days later, having followed the credit card charges to the hotel, looking remorseful. He apologized for the way he reacted, and you heard him out despite still being upset. There was a long talk in which you reminded him that you’re not his ex or his mother. You’re not trying to screw him over or get anything from him by having his child. It takes him a long time and a lot of groveling for you to truly forgive him, but you go back home that night.

A few months later, as the two of you take a picture on his yacht, both of your hands holding your growing bump, you can hardly tell the fight had happened at all.

Oberyn Martell and Ellaria Sand

Ellaria noticed before you did. A mother herself, she picked up on the glow in your skin, the change in your body, and the complaining about aches in your back or your breasts. When she pulled you aside and suggested you were pregnant, all you could do was blink. The three of you didn’t use protection with each other, only when others were invited into your bed. You’d never gone out of your way to prevent pregnancy, so while it shouldn’t have been shocking, it still caught you off guard. Ellaria brought you to her doctor, sitting with you while you found out for sure.

You were nothing but excited to share your news with Oberyn. You knew how he felt about you, about love and passion, about the children he already had. You had no doubt that he would love your child just as much as the rest of his daughters. The night you told him was spent making love while he waxed poetic about you, your body, your child... If you hadn’t already been pregnant, you’re sure you would have been at the end of the night.

With sand snakes spread across Dorne, you struggled for a way to tell them all. Sending letters didn’t seem to do the moment justice. This may be Oberyn’s 9th child, but it was your first and you wanted an extravagant way to share the news. 

Ellaria helped you to plan gathering all the children together. It wasn’t easy, but a month and a half after finding out, you had the whole, huge family together. You posed them all for a picture with you, Oberyn and Ellaria front and centre. You were handed a sign to hold for the picture - supposedly showing the family crest. However as soon as the picture was taken, you turned to show them.

Tagging: @wickedfrsgrl​ ​ @din-damn-djarin​​ @seasonschange-butpeopledont​ @kesskirata​ @phoenixhalliwell​ @dihra-vesa​  @vonschweetz​ ​ @insideafictionaluniverse​​ @driedgreentomatoes​​ @computeringturtle​​ @spideysimpossiblegirl​ @thottiewinemom​ @mrschiltoncat​ @anaaaispunk​

[dirk-has-rabies]

Gender variance and it's link with neurodivergency

Okay so this is it going to be another long one

All quotes will be sourced with a link to the scientific journal I took it from

Okay Tumblr, let's talk gender (I know, your favorite topic) my preface on why this topic matters to me is: I'm autistic ( diagnosed moderate to severe autism) I'm nonbinary trans ( in a way that most non-autistic people don't understand and actually look down on)  and I went to college for gender study ( Mostly for intersex studies but a lot of my research was around non-binary and trans identities) I will be using the term autism as pants when I have experience with however when ADHD is part of the study I will use ND which stands for neurodivergent and yes this is going to be about xenogenders and neopronouns.

autism can affect gender the same way autism can affect literally every part of an identity. a big thing about having autism is the fact that it completely can change how you view personhood and time and object permanence and gender and literally all types of socially constructed ideas. let me also say hear that just because Society creates and enforces an idea does it mean that it doesn't exist to all people it just me that there is no nature law saying that it's real and the “rules” for these ideas can change and delete and create as time and Society evolves and changes.  gender is one of those constructs.

Now I'll take it by you reading this you know what transgender people are  (if you don't understand what a trans person is send me an ask and I'll type you up a pretty little essay lmao,  or Google it but that's a scary thought sense literally any Source or website can come up on Google including biased websites so be careful I guess LOL) anyway to be super basic trans people are anyone who doesn't identify as the gender they were assigned at Birth (yes that includes non-binary people I could do a whole nother essay about that shit how y'all keep spreading trying to separate non-binary people from the trans umbrella)  some people don't like to use the label and that is totally fine by the way.

now autistic people to view the world in a way differently than allistic (neurotypical) ppl do.  we don't take everything people teach us at 100% fact and we tend to question everything and demand proof and evidence for things before we can set it as a fact in our brains. This leads to why a lot of autistic people are atheist (although a lot of religions and this is not bashing on religious people at all I am actually a Jewish convert)  this questioning leads to a lot of social constructs being ignored or not understood At All by a lot of autistic people and personally I think that's a good thing.  allistics take everything their parents and teachers and schools teach them as fact until someone else says something and then they pick which ones to believe. autistic people study and research and learn about a topic before forming an opinion and while this may lead to them studying and believing very biased material and spitting it out as fact it can also lead them to try and Discover it is real by themselves.

because of this autistic people are more question their gender or not fall in a binary way at all as the concept of gender makes no sense to a lot of us. “ if gender is a construct then autistic people who are less aware of social norms are less likely to develop a typical gender identity”

no really look: “ children and teens with autism spectrum disorder ASD or Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder ADHD  are much more likely to express a wish to be the opposite sex compared with their typical developing peers” That was posted in 2014. we have been saying this stuff forever but no one wants to listen. the thing is gender variance (being not cisgender or at least questioning it)  has always been closely hand-in-hand with autistic and ADHD people I'm even the doctor who did that study understood right away that it all made sense the whole time: “ Dr. Strang said they were initially surprised to find an overrepresentation of gender variance among children with ADHD. However, they later realized that prior studies have shown increased levels of disruptive behavior and other behavioral problems among young people with gender variance”  SEE YOURE NOT WEIRD YOURE JUST YOU AND YOURE NOT ALONE IN THIS!!

5% autistic people who did the study were trans or questioning. it was also equal between the Sexes fun fact. that may not seem like a lot till you realize that the national average is only .7% that's literally over 700% higher than the national average. That's so many! and that's just in America.

 in Holland there was a study in 2010 “ nearly 8% of the more than 200 Children and adolescents referred to a clinic for gender dysphoria also came up positive on a assessment for ASD” they weren't even testing for ADHD so the numbers could be even higher!

now I want to talk about a  certain section of the trans umbrella that a lot of autistic people fall under called the non-binary umbrella. non-binary means anything that isn't just male or just female. it is not one third gender and non-binary doesn't mean that you don't have a gender. just clearing that up since cis people keep spreading that. non-binary is an umbrella term for any of the infinite genders you could use or create. now this is where I'm going to lose a bunch of you and that's okay because you don't have to understand our brains or emotions To respect us as real people. not many allistics can understand how we see and think and relate to things and that's okay you don't have to understand everything but just reading about this could be so much closer to respecting us for Who We Are from you've ever been and that's better than being against us just for existing.

now you might have heard of my Mutual Lars who was harassed  by transmeds for using the term Autigender (I was going to link them but if it gets traction I don't want them to get any hate)  since a lot of people roll their eyes at that  and treated them disgustingly for using a term that 100% applied correctly.  Autigender  is described as " a neurogender which can only be understood in the context of being autistic or when one's autism greatly affects one's gender or how one experiences gender. Autigender is not autism as a gender, but rather is a gender that is so heavily influenced by autism that one's autism and one's experience of gender cannot be unlinked.” Now tell me that doesn't sound a lot like this entire essay I've been working on with full sources…..

xenogenders and neopronouns are a big argument point on whether or not people “believe” in non binary genders but a big part of those genders is that they originated from ND communities and are ways that we can try to describe what gender means us in a way that cis or even allistic trans people just can't comprehend or ever understand. Same with MOGAI genders or sexualities. A lot of these are created as a way to somehow describe an indescribable relationship with gender that is so personal you really cant explain it to anyone who isnt literally the same as you.

Even in studies done with trans autistic people a large amount of them dont even fall on a yes or no of having a gender at all and fall in some weird inbetween where you KINDA have a gender but its not a gender in the sense that others say it is but its also too much of a gender so say youre agender. And this is the kind of stuff that confuses allistic trans people and makes them think nonbinary genders are making stuff up for attention, which isnt true at all we just cant explain what it feels like to BE a trans autistic person to anyone who doesnt ALREADY know how it feels.

In this study out of the ppl questioned almost HALF of the autistic trans individuals had a “Sense of identity revolving around interests” meaning their gender and identity was more based off what they liked rather than boy or girl. That makes ppl with stuff like vampgender or pupgender make a lot more sense now doesnt it? We see that even in the study: “My sense of identity is fluid, just as my sense of gender is fluid […] The only constant identity that runs through my life as a thread is ‘dancer.’ This is more important to me than gender, name or any other identifying features… even more important than mother. I wouldn't admit that in the NT world as when I have, I have been corrected (after all Mother is supposed to be my primary identification, right?!) but I feel that I can admit that here. (Taylor)” and an agreement from another saying “Mine is Artist. Thank you, Taylor. (Jessie)” now dont you think if they grew up with terms like artistgender or dancergender they would just YOINK those up right away????

In fact “An absence of a sense of gender or being unsure of how their gender should “feel” was another common report” because as ive said before in this post AUTISTIC PEOPLE DONT SEE GENDER THE WAY ALLISTIC PEOPLE SEE IT. therefore we wont use the same terms or have the same identities nor could we explain it to anyone who doesnt already understand or question the same way! Participants even offered up quotes such as “As a child and even now, I don't ‘feel’ like a gender, I feel like myself and for the most part I am constantly trying to figure out what that means for me (Betty)” and also “I don't feel like a particular gender I'm not even sure what a gender should feel like (Helen)”

Now i know this isnt going to change everyones minds on this stuff but i can only hope that it at least helped people feel like theyre not broken and not alone in their feelings about this. You dont have to follow allistic rules. You dont have to stop searching inside for who you really wanna be. And you dont have to pick or choose terms forever because just as you grow and evolve so may your terms. Its okay to not know what or who you are and its okay to identify as nonhuman things or as your interests because what you love and what you do is a big part of who you are and shapes you everyday. Its not a bad thing! Just please everyone, treat ppl with respect and if you dont understand something that doesnt make it bad or wrong it just means its not for you. And thats okay.

[cienie-isengardu]

Not only do I not regret asking you to "RELEASE THE RAMBLES!", I'm sending you requests for more. Below is a list of questions that I asked @bihansthot , and enjoyed their answers, but because you are so thorough, and answer in such depth, I'm re-asking them to you.

Brace yourself, it's a list. I didnt have time to sort thru them, I just copied and pasted, so if any are questions you already answered before, please feel free to include the links.

"LET US BEGIN!"

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In the spirit of potential future writing,  I'm trying to find a building that  would make a good substitution for Lin Kuei temple.

I've tried looking up ancient Chinese military barracks/forts, and have found some stuff,  but is all exterior.  Anyone know of any locations (or several I can cobble together) that would make good inspiration fodder?

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So, uhm, religion? What's the Lin Kuei's take on that one? I know they are aware of Gods, they team up with/ encounter Raiden all the time,  and have literally worked for/against Shinook, so I know they recognize higher powers... but I  guess the question is,  do they care?

Do they have a religion,  or spiritual practice that resembles religion? Or do they have a more practical approach "gods exist,  but we just consider them very strong people"?

Which segues into... do they recognize and participate in holidays, or things like birthdays? Or are all their celebrations work related (I.E. successful missions or levels of combat mastery)?

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Food.  What foods do they normally eat? What foods do they like?  What foods don't they like? What foods do they absolutely love so much they'll stop what they're doing to get it?

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If you had to match the Lin Kuei with a dynasty,  what one would it be? (I know the 2021 movie has the opening in the Ming dynasty, so the Lin Kuei is at least that old,  but given that movie Bi Han hasn't aged in 400 years, and was taken is a child,  its probably much older) (and also know the game probably cherry picked random Chinese things it liked).

What do you think the Lin Kuei's view on artistic culture (probably not the right word) is? I know they are heavily militaristic,  but in the game,  Kuai Liang offers Hanzo tea and he properly prepares it the Japanese way, that says they have something of an education other than just related to fighting?

Lastly,  in the movie,  everything Bi Han does is "for the Lin Kuei", but the Lin Kuei is on Earth (assumedly),  and he is working for a guy who wants to enslave Earth, so what do you think the deal is?

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Question about the Cryomancers. I know the game lore says that they are supposed to be rare, but I also know that the Lin Kuei have had at least 5 (grandpa, papa, older, and younger Sub Zero,  and Frost). 4 of which are part of 3 generations that inherited it even with mixed blood (I'm assuming Mama Sub Zero wasn't Cryomancer since they left her alone).

That's a lot of generations in a row for a rare trait... So do you think the Cryomancers as a group have figured out they're being hunted and have chosen to live in hiding?

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Lin Kuei society question? I like writing so I also like world building and I think about these things.

Is Lin Kuei society ever covered? I know there is a Grandmaster, a handful master assassins (Sub Zero's, Sektor, Cyrax, etc) and the  movies always have a bunch canon fodder lesser assassins.

And they live in the very isolated Lin Kuei Palace/Temple in Arktika (or wherever it used to be)

But is Lin Kuei (we'll call it "village") ever covered?   Do they have willing servants, kidnapped slaves, or a mix of both? Are there women (non fighter women,  I know there's Frost) or do they employ strictly male help? If there are women, what's their role, and are there children born there? What about Elderly? What about resources,  is everything (from food, clothes, weapons, and the raw materials to create them) grown or manufactured on sight by skilled laborers or do they import/interact with the outside world? How vicious or civil is this society, could you be killed for looking at Sektor wrong or do they value your services to a degree? What's the degree? This is obviously a combat culture,  but is everyone expected to know martial arts of some variety, is it optional, or do they prohibit it among the servants/slaves? How strict are they on things like clothing, food, alcohol,  drugs, "luxuries", or pleasures? Money? If they interact with the world do they recognize and use $$ currency, commodity currency, or a mixture? Internally are the Lin Kuei payed or just provided for? What about illness or injury,  if you're not a master and it a serious injury/illness are you taken care of or do they just give you a quick death?

Etc. That's all the questions I can think of,  but please feel free to answer questions I didn't ask,  if you think of anything else.

Thank you for this wonderful list to talk about! I’m gonna split the answer into smaller parts, for better focusing on each aspect but also so I don’t feel bad for keeping you waiting for ages, lol. For now let’s focus on asks about the religion!

So good questions! I do think they have some spiritual practice(s) because in martial arts the state of a mind is as important as the physical body and religion is one of many ways to shape someone’s mindset from a young age. I do, however, think that Lin Kuei does not worship the gods. They are aware that the gods exist (with Raiden as the thorn in the side) and may even respect their supernatural powers and battle skills but it never has stopped Lin Kuei from desecrating holy places, murdering people and stealing stuff for the best price. So, it seems to me that whatever religion the members of the clan follow, by nature it is rooted in nontheism.

Of course, there is also a chance that Lin Kuei worships some forgotten deity or deities (as a remnant of their ancient connections with Outworld / realms conquered and destroyed by Shao Kahn?) or may even practice ancestor worship which seems like a good way to uphold a widely understood tradition that plays an important role in the discussed community.

The closest thing to religious practice was seen in Mortal Kombat X, when Sub-Zero and his warriors seemed to pray together before statue of god / deity / ancestor / legendary warrior / personalized thing they value the most (sadly, my knowledge about Asian religious practices or faiths is very limited so I don’t have idea if the statue is supposed to represent any real god/religious symbol).

At the same time, it could be just a bluff since Grandmaster was aware of Cage’s team infiltrating the Lin Kuei territory and used this moment to lure them into a trap. Additionally, Mortal Kombat X comics presented once Kuai Liang sitting before the same statue albeit in a completely different (devoid of reverence?) position.

Of course, if we take into account Mortal Kombat Armageddon, the game states that Lin Kuei Temple placed in Arctika was actually once the Temple of Delia (the great sorceress & wife of god Argus) that at some point get abandoned and re-used by Sub-Zero’s clan.

(In the background, we can see a statue of Delia that Lin Kuei does not worship but did not remove for whatever reason. Mixing both old and new games, we can only wonder if MKX!statue is also the remnant of someone else's faith/religion?)

Beside that, Kuai Liang was pretty vocal about Lin Kuei not worshipping the Elder Gods, what was seen in MK11’s intro dialogue with Cetrion

Sub-Zero: The Lin Kuei do not worship the Elder Gods.

Cetrion: We seek gratitude, not worship.

Sub-Zero: I see no distinction.

and personally did not have any reason to pray to the goddess:

Sub-Zero: Why should I pray to you?

Cetrion: Why does a bird flap its wings?

Sub-Zero: I asked a simple question.

In all fairness, in MK11 Kuai Liang seems the most passive-aggressive toward the Elder God while Frost is focused on her ambitions and Noob!Bi-Han just wants to be left alone when bothered by Cetrion. Similar thing happens toward Raiden. Despite gratitude for saving him, Kuai Liang does not spare the god criticism (can’t serve both Elder Gods and Earthrealm, isn’t fit for his role of protector) and in MKX outright says he does not fear divine beings:

Raiden: Sub-Zero...

Sub-Zero: I fear no gods, Raiden.

Raiden': That's why you shall lose.

Surprisingly, Kuai Liang’s interaction with MK11!Fujin sounds less accusing than with Raiden and Cetrion and it is connected closely to their ties with Bi-Han. And maybe Kuai Liang did seek in the past Fujin and other elements to make a peace with them, like he planned to do so in Mortal Kombat 4 Limited comics?

"I came here to make peace with the gods of the elements that you fought [...]"

Anyway, the accusingly behaviour toward Raiden and Cetrion could be just Kuai Liang’s personal dislike for gods and serious authority issues, which makes sense considering how much he suffered because of their meddling and conflicts.

But honestly?

The available examples of Lin Kuei attitude toward gods, demigods and supernatural beings suggest how little the warriors - especially cryomancers - care for them.

Like, we have Bi-Han in Mythologies, who asked Quan Chi about details of mission:

Sub-Zero: If it's so precious, why don't you get it yourself?

Quan Chi: I cannot enter the temple until the four elements within its walls have been defeated. And I am not on the best of terms with the gods of your realm... especially your god of thunder.

Sub-Zero: Tell me about these elements.

Quan Chi outright said he and earthrealm gods weren’t friends and Bi-Han, reading between the lines, could get the idea that he may end on bad terms with Thunder God. Yet he was interested only in elements (lesser gods than protector of realm?) guarding the temple.

Then Bi-Han beat down four demigods and met a displeased Raiden after Quan Chi got the Shinnok Amulet. His reaction? No fear, like meeting an angry god was a normal occurrence.

Rayden: Do you realize what you've done??

Sub-Zero: I was just earning my living.

Rayden: Your clan's ignorance and greed will cost this entire realm. You must now set things straight.

Sub-Zero: Quan Chi could simply be a lunatic sorcerer. I've never heard of an elder god named Shinnok or of a place called the Netherrealm.

Rayden: Well, you'd better start believing in both, because you're going to the Netherrealm and you're going to bring the amulet back. We must act quickly. I have no dominion in the Netherrealm... You are reality's only hope.

Sub-Zero: I'll do it, Thunder God... but only because I have no choice.

And once he came back from Netherrealm, where he was fixing what he messed up in the first place on Raiden’s order, his abrasive attitude did not change much:

Sub-Zero: Here... the amulet.

Rayden: Impressive, Sub-Zero. Perhaps you will reconcile your reckless past after all.

Sub-Zero: That's it? Not even a thank you?

Of course, to some degree Raiden’s words did have an impact on Bi-Han but even the god’s warning about his soul tainted with evil did not stop him from coming back to Lin Kuei. Bi-Han’s attitude and/or approach to gods seems to change somehow once he was reborn as Noob, but that is a different matter for different times.

Anyway, Mythologies!Bi-Han and MK11!Noob act less aggressive toward gods than Kuai Liang. But then we have Sub-Zero from from the MK novel by Jeff Rovin, who not only is not afraid of gods but outright insult them:

“Wait! Be warned, Shang Tsung. He is cursed!”

“Cursed? By whom?”

Ruthay wailed, “By the immortal Yu.”

Shang Tsung felt cold spiders crawl up his spine. “The demigod Yu?”

“Yes… he who is said to dwell in the underground caverns of Horse Ear Mountain… which is sacred to the goddess Kuan Lin. He who protects the canals… and the tunnels… and looks after all who use them, human and animal.”

“What did our brash friend do to Yu?”

“He… killed a man,” said Ruthay.

“What man?”

“A toll-taker… one who had given up a life of crime… one who had been a partner of the man… you… seek.”

“And how did that crime come to the attention of the spirit of Yu?” Shang Tsung asked.

“The man was killed… slowly disemboweled with a sword… while accomplices forced his wife and his son to look on! After his murder… the man’s remains… were dumped into a canal!”

Shang Tsung raised an eyebrow. “Is that all? I was expecting something truly terrible!”

“It was!” Ruthay shrieked. “When he disposed of the body… in that way … he profaned one of the sacred waterways… of Yu!”

Shang Tsung smiled now. “Then he is definitely the man I want,” he said. “Anyone who is impudent enough to insult a demigod won’t be afraid to attack a member of the White Lotus Society, or the gods who watch after them. I will send Hamachi, Ruthay. When he nears his goal, see through his eyes and guide him!”

Book!Sub-Zero was impudent enough to insult a demigod which is why he was one of Shang Tsung’s favorites. And to be clear - book!Sub-Zero did not regret insulting the demigod at all. Even more! He found humor in it!:

He dwelt in a cave two hundred feet up the face of a cliff by the sea. The mouth of his home was barely wide enough to accommodate a slender adult, and was accessible only by climbing the sheer wall of rock, a feat that was impossible for most adults and daunting even to the few arachnids and marsupials that tried it.

Maybe some of them were even sent by Yu, he thought with a smirk, little assassins who would chastise me for having spilled blood in his precious canal.

The less abrasive attitude toward gods was shown by Cyrax, who talked a bit with Raiden over Bi-Han’s remains. He wasn’t outright antagonistic but wasn’t overall respectful either. He talked with Thunder God like he would talk with any other human being that wasn’t actually Scorpion. Frankly, from the named Lin Kuei only MK9!Smoke actually addressed Raiden in respectful manner, with proper bow and the name of lord

albeit did he do so because he respects the divine beings or just out of gratitude for saving him, hard to tell for sure.

So yeah, it seems like no matter what kind of timeline or age or medium of the story, Lin Kuei does not fear gods nor pray to them. And the clan has a long history of dealing with Raiden, so the Lin Kuei had first-hand experiences with supernatural beings. Somehow, cryomancers are the most impudent warriors when it comes to dealing with or criticizing the gods.

Interestingly, as much as Lin Kuei warriors don’t care for gods, most of the known to us named characters believe to have - and to care - for their own souls. Sektor and MK11!Frost embraced the Cyber Lin Kuei idea but Kuai Liang, Cyrax and Smoke were opposed to C.I. project out for concern for their souls among other things. Even Bi-Han, to some degree became concerned about his soul after trip to Netherrealm.

Believing in souls is usually a sign of belief in the afterlife, albeit after all of them went through (the change into cyborgs, death and change into Revenants) this is less a matter of faith (religion) and more first-hand experiences. And let's not forget that regularly dealing over the centuries with Shang Tsung who steals people's souls on a daily basis makes it really hard to not believe spirits are real.

Also, an interesting matter of Lin Kuei practices that could have a religious/spiritual ground and/or be an example of ancestor worship is the clan’s funeral rites. I don’t think we actually saw any Lin Kuei to bury their own (especially after warrior’s failure?) and for sure MK9!Cyrax and Sektor did not bother to take care of Bi-Han’s remains. However the sources provide examples of Lin Kuei keeping corpses, most likely of their own leaders or warriors.

And so, we could see human remains:

put in two coffins on each side of statue

hidden / kept in a block of ice(?) in chamber of Fallen Lin Kuei in which Frost’s frozen body was also laid, but on the altar

Cyrax’s cyber body was kept and guarded by Sub-Zero (and this is like the only thing that Kuai Liang and Cyber Sektor so far agreed on)

and even Cyber Sektor’s remains, even if just for pragmatic reasons, are kept in what seems to be respectful manner:

It could be just Kuai Liang’s good nature to honor fallen of his clan (I’m still not sure if Lin Kuei Palace is the new place for Sub-Zero’s clan or the ancient hideout) but even in MK Conquest TV series, after Grandmaster was killed by then-currently-Sub-Zero, there was the farewell ceremony with clothes on display (cause there was not much left of body after freezing and shattering) while new leader gave the speech promising to punish the guilty.

Which makes me think that Lin Kuei did honor their fallen warriors (especially those exceptional, deserving). Such custom and apparently common belief in soul could also support the ancestor worship - both as some ancient, mythical ancestor(s) connecting warriors into one clan (family) and tradition to follow in the footsteps of forefathers (Bi-Han taking place of his father [old timeline] or grandfather [current timeline] or Kuai Liang taking Bi-Han’s place as Sub-Zero).

My general conclusion about Lin Kuei is that its members believe in souls, have respect and use of spiritual matters (meditation?) and maybe ancestor worship. Whatever the religious / spiritual practices they have over the centuries, it is not something they will share, as the Lin Kuei by nature are secretive people who keep personal things mostly for themselves. The people that joined the clan (Cyrax and Smoke) maybe kept their old, eventual religious beliefs but overall, Lin Kuei warriors did not fear, care for nor pray to gods. They may respect god (Raiden, Fujin) as a person but not because of their divine nature. And even that would not stop them from criticizing said god. Which is pretty much how Kuai Liang and Raiden’s relationship looks like. Grandmaster is grateful to Thunder God for saving him but he won’t blindly follow his authority.

(Kuai Liang has serious authority issues, hasn't he?)

As for holidays, I can’t really see Lin Kuei to follow any specific religious (theistic) special day cause they don’t care much for gods in the first place. Unless they worked undercover and needed to act as normal human beings, religious holidays would mean nothing to them. The warriors may however celebrate their mission success, combat mastery or promotion between themselves or in secret, I think. Like, Lin Kuei did forbid friendship because it was considered warrior’s flaw yet we know some members either were blood-related (Kuai Liang, Bi-Han, previous Sub-Zero - father or grandfather, depending on which timeline is correct) or considered each other a family (Kuai Liang and Tomas Vrbada) and most named characters worked in duos so they have both opportunity and knowledge about each other to celebrate important matters. If they managed to remember anything from previous life, that is. Because from ancient to at least Great Kung Lao’s times most(?) adepts were kidnapped from biological families at a really young age (something around 6 years old). And Mythologies: Sub-Zero takes that even further:

Its warriors are chosen at birth to be raised apart from the workings of day to day civilization and are stripped of their former lives. Only the clan knows their existence. Each of them posses certain skills and abilities that set them apart from normal men. These abilities are passed on from generation to generation and honed throughout the experiences of life.

So, celebrating birthdays doesn’t sound like happening much, unless those with family around could allow themselves such luxury. The clan may however celebrate the day of becoming a fully trained and sworn warrior? Or the fallen warriors? Who knows.

Also, something worth thinking about: in Mortal Kombat Conquest TV series, when the Grandmaster presented newly appointed Sub-Zero to the rest of the clan, he “celebrated” the cryomancer's first official performance as the execution of two men who failed their mission. So, yeah, celebration of something special in (old) Lin Kuei does not necessarily mean anything nice.

(The next part of answer most likely will be focused either on food or architecture / origin of Lin Kuei. Let's hope I will get it written sooner than later)

<><> EDIT <><>

RELIGION <> ORIGINS / ARCHITECTURE <> FOOD <> FOR THE LIN KUEI <> ART <> CRYOMANCERS <> LIN KUEI SOCIETY <> MONEY & MATERIAL GOODS

[gaykpop]

S.coups: Could be straight, could be bi but I'm personally leaning towards straight. His past interactions with Jeonghan and Woozi are def a little sus but can be arguably seen as mostly playful as they always happen in a fanservice/brotherly context (though I don't follow him as closely as some of the other members so I might be wrong on that one). He has so much fondness for his team and can get very giggly and flustered when there's any show of affection between them, despite being an avid 'complimenter' himself. At the very least, he's not afraid to call a man sexy 10× in a row (+ wrote some questionable lyrics predebut which we must not forget).

Jeonghan: Straight. While being no stranger to skinship as the resident fondler of the group, I don't think I've ever seen him express genuine attraction towards a man, or anyone really now that I think about it. Used to be very flirty in their early days due to the image the company gave him, but has long since abandoned that label and now only flirts with his closest friends: Joshua, Coups and DK (though he treats DK more like a little brother than anything). With that said, Jeonghan's extremely introverted and likes to keep personal matters away from fans so I never got a good read on him. Either way he does an amazing job playing up the 'I only got eyes for carats' shtick.

Joshua: An enigma. Very good at concealing his emotions, which is why while I haven't seen him act too suspiciously with the other members (sans Jeonghan and maybe hoshi) I can't say he's 100% straight. This ability to appear completely neutral might be attributed to his religious background but I don't like to speculate on it too much since I know almost nothing about his family. It's important to note though that I only ever hear him talking about his mother (which some of the members have met on their own and who's also apparently friends with Wonwoo's mom) but never his dad.

Jun: Very gay and very blatant. I used to think he was bi cause he's super shy around girls, but after reading the opinions of other people on this thread I think this can be chalked up to him being extremely sheltered as a kid. In Chinese, he's a grade-A master of seduction, and in Korean he's an outright disasterous gay mess who is equal parts flirty and awkward at all times. How he chooses to express himself (whether it be the songs he covers or the profound things he says sometimes) clearly points to some struggles with identity. And while this too can be chalked up to him being sheltered as a kid, I believe a big reason for it is his sexuality.

Hoshi: Horny™ and also a raging bi king. From his recent single release and 'touch' to him constantly groping/flirting with the members and trying to kiss DK while drunk, he's shown me no other signs other than being a very loud bisexual™. I can't even list the members he's had suspicious moments with cause he pretty much flirts with everything that moves. I guess a few notable mentions would be: Woozi, DK, Mingyu -  the latter two being very active participants in his shenanigans. He's also shown clear attraction to men outside of svt, has gushed over other idols and actors + talked in length about how exactly he would like to kiss his girlfriend and how big of a family he's planning to have and so much more. In short: a self aware king who knows what he wants.

Wonwoo: Straight but likely very open minded and chill. Used to be touchy with Mingyu predebut and while they're still good friends and clearly like each other a lot, I think most of the supposed attraction fans saw came from Mingyu, who is all around a very flirty and tactile person (and gay). People shipping them both def made them not want to interact for a while, which is pretty sad but I don't think it's because Wonwoo is homophobic, just an introvert with a good sense of boundaries. He's very thoughtful + he's most close to members like Seungkwan, Vernon and Mingyu (and Dino, the #1 heterosexual™) so I can't see him being bigoted in any way shape or form. In any case, besides his and Mingyu's relationship, I haven't noticed anything suspicious about his behavior but I'll gladly accept being corrected on this one.

Woozi: Straight and used to be very inexperienced with women which is why so many people get ace vibes from him. In recent years though he's relaxed a lot more and became considerably open and carefree around topics like love and affection (in regards to members too) which I assume has to do with him gaining more relationship experience. He's able to laugh at himself now, where previously he had a lot of hurt pride and was probably a bit embarrassed about a few things. and while this doesn't usually mean much imo, the fact he acts the most macho/'manliest' out of all of the the svt members but isn't shy anymore about showing his caring side to them makes me think he's developed a strong sense of self and is also def not homophobic like some people have speculated. Took some work to reach this point though.

DK:Straight? But an extremely sensitive and sweet soul. Quite oblivious tbh, considering the amount of attention he gets from the mlm members, or maybe he just really doesn't mind being like that with other guys. Which raises some questions, but as he's talked about his attraction to women several times and the members themselves have teased him about awkward interactions he's had with girls, I'm pretty confident in saying he's straight. Probably still lets Hoshi kiss him when he's drunk though lmao.

Mingyu: Gay, or at the very least bi with a strong attraction to men. Aside from being very flamboyant, his interests are also curious. He likes anything creative like fashion and art, which is something he shares with Minghao (a fellow artsy queer) and has also created a mascot for their team that he said was genderless. He's the so called clean freak of seventeen and is comfortable doing tasks that are considered womanly like chores and cooking (which I'm aware is a bit of a stereotype but one which I feel is still relevant esp in a more conservative society like S. Korea). He's flirty/touchy with Seungkwan, Hoshi (and at a certain point, Jeonghan) and gets excited/giggly seeing the members engage in fanservice. While Mingyu is quite comfortable with a handful of svt members, the way he and Seungkwan interact is a level beyond all of his other connections imo. They know everything about each other (more than Mingyu's same-age friends) and are always bickering/cuddling, more so than the other members, which to me indicates that they have a special bond, something they distinctly share. Something like not being straight perhaps…

(btw I feel like the only reason Jun isn't included in this golden trio of gays is because he's not as outgoing/chatty as the other two and would probably have a rough time trying to keep up with them lol)

The8: Bi, pan or a really great ally, I'm not sure. close to Mingyu, Vernon, Hoshi, Joshua and Jun who all ping me like crazy. His relationship with Mingyu in particular is interesting (they give me artsy gay bfs vibes) and he has said a lot of things in the past that can be interpreted in interesting ways. Went with Vernon to watch Hedwig and the Angry Inch, has shown interest in experimenting with gender expression through fashion and other means + a lot more tbh. He likes to separate his personal life from his work as he takes it very seriously, and always makes sure to let his fans know he's not planning on dating them, but I clearly remember seeing him being flirty with girls (Kyulkyung is one I can def affirm) so while I think he might be queer, there's a strong chance he's also attracted to women.

Seungkwan: 1000% gay. I don't understand how anyone can say he's never shown any attraction to men. Maybe it's because he's my bias (and not as popular as the other members) so most of my attention is focused on him, but there are so many moments I can count where he was checking out members (not to mention other idols), trying to kiss them or touch them (in particular DK, Mingyu and Vernon). He used to get very flustered at acts of fanservice, too, but this past two years I've only seen him react on that level when Vernon flirts back with him. and they do that a lot more casually than before, mind you, but I'll talk about their relationship some other time maybe. As for his music taste which has been discussed quite a bit, I'm more than happy to announce that by both western and Korean standards his favorite artists are all considered more or less gay icons in their respective industries. When svt performed on immortal songs he literally called Uhm Junghwa the unmatched glamorous queen of kpop (I think he even said queen in English) and confessed to liking her music since he was very young. Aside from that just look at his We Remember Kpop playlist, almost all of the songs are of girl groups and quite a few of them are really obscure girl groups at that (Kara, Orange Caramel, GG, Wonder Girls, After School etc but also Secret, 9muses and Chiri Chiri) and female soloists (IU, BoA). The male artists he featured were Beast, Infinite, BtoB and those whose songs he practiced predebut. On his second We Remember Kpop ep fans even begged him to play some boy group songs after thirty minutes of only listening to female artists and he said 'fine fine but I don't think that's gonna happen' though eventually he did lmao. Not to mention Mingyu is his gay bff and they're so lovey dovey with each other it's disgusting. Hoshi is also his biggest rival, which is highly appropriate considering how overt he is with his overflowing bisexuality/queerness while seungkwan can be really sensitive and has a tendency to get pouty and defensive when teased lol. Finally, I think he was and still is madly in love with Vernon, and while I don't want to go all delulu shipper on you guys I do believe they have something very special between them and are very much secure in their relationship even if it's only a very close friendship (which i doubt)

Vernon: 1000% bi. While Hoshi is the in-your-face, I'm-gonna-kiss-everyone-in-this-room kind of bi, Vernon is the laid-back, finger-gun toting, jeans cuffing I'm-fine-with-whatever-and-I-just-really-like-people kind of bi. Out of all the members he's shown the most interest and biggest support towards the lgbtq+ community. He constantly recommends queer media (sense8, cloud atlas, handmaiden) to fans and loves frank ocean, kehlani and many other artists popular with the gay community/who're queer themselves. He's watched moonlight and Hedwig and the Inch, wore Clothes from Burberry's Pride line in June and wrote a song which he specified to be intentionally gender neutral. When a fan asked him what he would like to say to lgbtq+ carats he said he 'hopes to make a place together for everybody, for all equal rights'. He tweeted rip Sophie, which is maybe one of the most telling things he's done, as I don't believe many if any allies would have said the same, esp since he's Korean which tells me he's quite diligent about learning and exploring queer culture even outside his own country.  He's always said things like 'binaries can't define you' and has talked with members about not being restricted by gender. If you look at him predebut, he pings like crazy. Even now I don't think he acts esp straight tbh, he's just an introverted bi guy with a better understanding of his job requirements and social expectations. He just had to figure out some things for a while and nowadays he's totally comfortable and confident with who he is. Also I know we're not supposed to go off of stereotypes here but I swear he literally has the most bisexual smile I've ever seen in my life (that damned lopsided smirk!!)  His entire stance +mannerisms scream bisexual to me, but maybe I'm projecting because we emote in a similar way lol but then again I have met so many bi people in the past who had identical vibes to his that I can not simply brush it off. Also there's Seungkwan, but I heard you guys don't like ships so I'll have to shut up about it lol

Dino:1000% straight. Confirmed dated a staff member before. Likes attention from female fans and is very much comfortable with fanservice and is an expert at hamming up the 'boyfriend' act + is pretty shameless about it. The members he's closest to are all queer af though and it's funny seeing him pretend not to notice when gay shit happens all around him. I really love him lol

I agree with the vast majority of this (so glad we have moved on from the days where Jeonghan was touted as one of the gayest members), especially the part about Joshua being an enigma - I said the exact same thing yesterday to a friend lol. Really his only receipt is his LA gay voice when he speaks English so I have pegged him as straight BUT I would say he is the most mysterious/private member so I wouldn't be shocked at all if he turns out to be not straight. I haven't seen him show any attraction to men but I also haven't seen him show any attraction to women so...

One thing I will say I disagree with is Coups, who I believe is bi. But I'd also like to state that his lyric of "I like both, I don't mind" in that predebut song being taken as a bisexual statement was actually a misinterpretation and should be discarded as such. However, I still believe he is bi because of that time he changed the lyrics in a song from "my baby girl" to "my baby boy" (if anyone has a credible heterosexual explanation for this please let me know), the time he said he wanted to be a Slytherin because he thought Draco Malfoy was cute, and the time he wore both a jacket with rainbow flags on the back + a Balenciaga Pride-inspired shirt. (IIRC Hoshi also owns various Pride clothing items and made sure he was first seen wearing them publicly in June.)

I'm ashamed to admit I started falling down a 'Seungkwan heterosexual' level of thinking until I saw this compilation of him interacting with female idols. Like another user mentioned, I feel that there's this marked difference between straight and gay male idols interacting with female idols. Straight idols usually have this kind of air of awkwardness around them but Seungkwan is truly no holds barred and will interact with female idols freely. He kinda reminds me of Key in that way (another idol I think is gay).

I agree with the rest of what you put (I think Minghao is queer but admit that could be wishful thinking as he's my bias) except that possibly my most controversial SVT opinion is that I think Mingyu is straight? I used to think he was gay but...idk. He seems to be effeminate and artsy but I'm not sure I can recall any instances of him showing attraction to men (whatever he had with Wonwoo was weird but I like looking at interactions outside of the group for things like this). I'd love to be convinced though.

[ms-demeanor]

To clarify, would you support a ban on religious symbols if it DID include crosses and everything Christian along with the rest?

No. Fuck that.

I’ve said over and over and over “you do you, just don’t build policy around it” and wearing your religious clothing and symbols is you doing you.

Also here’s a fun story.

In my school district it was common for muslim girls who were going to wear hijabs and practice modesty of dress to switch over during the summer so that it wouldn’t be this big thing that happened like, on a random Wednesday or whatever.

Anyway, 9/11 happened and a couple weeks later the Arabic club had a meeting and everyone was really upset because YEAH there was suddenly a SHITLOAD of islamophobia that these students hadn’t been experiencing before.

Now, my friend A. had started wearing her hijab before school started that year, so a few weeks ago, and I walked home with her because she lived halfway to my house. After 9/11 was the first time anyone ever threw shit at us when we were walking home and within a few weeks it had happened a couple of times, to the point that A. stopped walking home and started getting a ride with a different friend. And I do not blame her at all, I never got shit thrown at me when I was walking alone or with our male friend K. who was muslim but didn’t wear anything that visibly denoted that from fifty feet away. What was happening to A. was very shitty and scary and I’m glad she found a safe way to get home.

But M. hadn’t worn the hijab before and was worried about starting because she heard what A. was talking about and heard about the Sikh worker at the local gas station getting attacked.

She came to school the next day and wore it anyway.

M. and I weren’t friends like A. and I were, I wasn’t close to her or anything, but I always really admired her conviction on that. She was genuinely scared in a scary time and had a good reason to be frightened but she cared enough about this to do it anyway.

It was ballsy as fuck.

As an atheist one of the things that is INCREDIBLY important to me is that people be allowed to choose how much they participate or do not participate in religion. It’s part of the reason that infant baptism freaks me out but adult modesty doesn’t.

YOU DO YOU. DON’T HURT PEOPLE AND DON’T IMPOSE YOUR CHOICES ON OTHER PEOPLE.

(I should note that I’m aware there’s some “I wear makeup because I want to, not because it’s harder to get interviews or I’m seen as unprofessional if I don’t” in this - sometimes people who are in religions that have particular clothing associated with a particular stage of life may not want to wear those clothes but do so because their families expect it and put pressure on them to do so; I feel like if we normalize making choices about these kinds of things as a society as a whole that makes it easier for people within religious groups to say “I don’t have to do this if I don’t want to, I can go over here and do this other thing but if I decide I want to go back and do it I can later” and I think that’s probably better than feeling like you’ve got no choice or that you’re going to be utterly excluded from society if you DO choose to wear a niquab or something.)