#pro LDS

[stcecelia]

mocumentary-style sitcom about an LDS institute class / student ward about all the shenanigans the YSAs get into. featured arcs include general conference viewing party, attending trek with the stake youth, returned missionaries adjusting to being off the mission, road trips to church historical sites, The Wedding Episode, someone invited their non-member roommate and the talks are kind of weird/its Fast Sunday, Baptism Episode, etc. would ideally include lots of references to LDS cult classics such as The Best Two Years, the singles ward, and such. also one character would have a Tumblrstake / Queerstake blog

working title is just "The Student Ward" but im open to suggestions lol

EDIT: IM SO SORRY I DIDNT MEAN TO TAG THIS AS LDSHADOWLADY I THOUGHT I DELETED THAT ACCIDENTAL AUTO-TAG LMAO THATS MY BAD

fun fact I used to watch Lizzie all the time as a kid (still occasionally do) and I used to think she was Mormon because... LDS hadowLady lol

[billionbrilliantstars]

When we put country before party, we vote for a future that benefits all of us. Let’s make the right choice this November.

If you’re a Christian, this is also about putting God before party and before a man. Trump is no Godly man. Liz Cheney is very much pro life, but the healthy way to reduce abortions is not to create dystopian laws. These are laws that force victims of rape and incest to carry a child. These laws also inhibit care for partial miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies, and other medically necessary abortions.

Conservative Christians, we can elect Kamala Harris and advocate for taking rapists accountable, enhanced access to comprehensive sex education, access to birth control, and a better adoption system. Kamala Harris has already promised to enhance the child tax credit and reduce the cost of living so less mothers will feel they can’t care for a child. You can be deeply religious and pro life and still vote for Kamala and stop Trump.

[acourtofladydeath]

Eris Week '24 Day 1: Bonds/Bargains

An injured Eris finds his way to the place he needs most, but are some wounds too deep?

Let's start out @erisweekofficial day 1 with a heavy dose of Azris angst! Read a snippet below, or read the whole fic on AO3.

Soft muted light danced across the streets of Velaris through the rainfall. The faelight reflected off puddles of water, glinting like fireflies as the new drops fell. It was a beautiful sight, Eris thought before he dragged his boot through the puddle. But he had a habit of ruining beautiful things, himself included.  Liquid from the bottle at his side sloshed to join the clear water, a puddle of amber dissipating out in concentric ripples. Beside the drop of amber fell several drops of a darker liquid, thick and rich. Whiskey in, blood out. The thought made a very drunk Eris chuckle as he continued to stumble along the dark alleys of the town he wasn’t supposed to know existed. It wasn’t far now until he reached his destination. Just a few more… Eris stumbled, falling nearly face first onto the wet cobblestones.  He felt the water run in the ditches between the stones, the cool patter of rain across his skin washing away more of what had been done to him as the liquor cleansed his mind. Needing to get further from his thoughts, Eris pulled the bottle up toward his lips but there was nothing there. His fingers wrapped around the neck of the broken glass, the shattered base of the bottle now glinting like gems amongst the stones. More blood trickled down Eris’ arms from the deep gash the broken glass has left in his palm.  What was more blood, at this point? 

Keep reading here on AO3!

Thank you to @iftheshoef1tz for betaing this fic! She pulled me back from a much darker ending, so you can all thank her for that.

Let me know if you want on or off the taglist! @pippsmcgee, @born-to-riot, @chunkypossum, @bubybubsters, @queercontrarian, @yanny-77, @fieldofdaisiies, @iftheshoef1tz, @secret-third-thing, @jules-writes-stories, @the-darkestminds

[isalisewrites]

A little word of motivation from Isa

It's Sunday for me again where I attend a Mormon church meeting. Going used to burden my mental health, but now I am unaffected. To me now, it is a gathering of people who like to participate in rituals and community surrounding their fandom niche. Even if they take it a step further and believe their fandom is based in reality

After posting my latest chapter for Terrible, But Great and seeing the overwhelmingly beautiful responses to my personal conflict with a Mormon family member, I felt such gratitude on a multitude of levels. Sometimes, I question myself about sharing such things because I'm really NOT trying to vent or garner attention through the experiences in my life.

If I'm to attract attention, I'd much rather it be from my writing

I want to lift and to inspire. I am more assured of my path even more now. To those of you out there who still attend your religious meetings to keep the peace in your homes, all while you no longer believe, please acknowledge your strength and your endurance.

You are powerful.

You have awakened and that was an immensely difficult process. You've gone through a terrible loss, yet you're still here.

Remember, even while you're still physically attending meetings, the beliefs of others have no power over you. Your essence, your soul, your consciousness, whatever you call the you within, it cannot be bound by their beliefs. You are spiritually free.

Keep hanging in there. You are so strong for holding your tongue, for keeping your silence. There is nothing wrong in not telling anyone your beliefs. You owe nothing to anyone.

It's going to be okay. It's going to get better.

I might know that Mormonism isn't true, but that doesn't mean I don't believe that we all have special paths and journeys unique to us.

I was always meant to go through a faith deconstruction. I was always meant to share my story with others, so that it could comfort at least one person. I send you hope, comfort, and love. You will not only survive, you will thrive.

Remember, you are loved.

[heathersdesk]

"Those of you who voted to make this happen, stand ten toes down in what you've done. In the words of the Young Women leaders who taught me, understand that you cannot separate accountability from your choices.

It's the least you can do."

[pluralquotebook]

“IM TIRED OF YALL SO IM DIAGNOSING MYSELF WITH Singlet Disorder EVERYONE GET OUT OF FRONT AND GET OUT OF HEADSPACE WHILE YALL ARE AT IT BECAUSE YOUR TIMES ON THE PUTER THAT IS MY BODY IS OVER!!!!!!!!!!”

-LDS (💻, and yeah none of us left headspace if we Can Even Do That.)

.

[thebekashow]

Can't help but notice that ever since I decided to quit mcdonalds (because I'm pro Palestinian.), that I would ALWAYS crave the taste.. it was like i was addicted to it.

Turn out, they intentionally made it that way! All that good stuff from Mc D's you've been having hunger pangs for? It's cuz of the sugar, and all that salt. It was intentional.

Cuz.. y'know. Thats not a lawsuit waiting to happen -_-

Anyways. FREE PALESTINE >:(

[cthoniccompanion]

I don't think I was clear enough about this in the first wave of Tumblr migrants:

If you come to follow my blog and you have a DNI that includes any kind of shipping discourse, trust me when i say you are not gonna want to follow me.

I'm old and I don't care. Ship whatever you want. But if you're gonna come out front and try to police that for other people, I'm blocking you.

[antihibikase-archive]

Okay I've been posting about Summon Night Swordcraft Story 2 a lot the past few days and I do recommend it a lot even if the game is highly questionable at times.

Its one of the best games in the GBA. That said, its one of those games where you might need a walkthrough if you want to 100% everything, since the main game takes the span of ten days.

That being said, I know it might not be for everyone, so I've compiled a list of its gameplay elements, the things I liked about it, as well as some stuff that might irk other people out from trying it.

Basic plot summary; you are a craftknight's apprentice, someone who makes weapons such as swords, axes, spears, knuckles, and drills. You're also specifically the last remaining descendant of the Coltheart clan, a clan of summoners, people who summon creatures from other worlds (machine world Loreilal, Yokai world Silturn, spirit world Sapureth, beast world Maetropa)- these creatures are called as summon creatures.

Plot spoiler happens, and you basically have to seal a certain evil away from rampaging and destroying your village. At the very start, you encounter a stray summon creature- what you answer during this part will result in a different guardian beast to partner with you.

Some gameplay stuff;

The partner you chose at the start of the game cannot be changed. They have different skillsets and priorities from each other; the fire oni Loki focuses on attack and using flames, while the wind beast Arno focuses on agility and utilizing the wind. They all have the ability to enchant your weapon with the others' elements, but they can't learn each other's special moves.

The partner at the start also has different interactions with the player and the world around them; machine guardian beast Ex-e-LD is factual and logical, angel-devil guardian beast Dinah is abrasive and sarcastic, oni guardian beast Loki is hotheaded and reckless, and half-beast Arno is airheaded and peculiar.

Despite the title (and the first game being more centered around swords), you can choose to opt for other weapons. You start with a sword, and only two story elements require a sword; otherwise, you can shift to using the other four weapons in the game.

Weapons are highly customizeable; besides their appearance, you can alter their attacks and passive skills utilizing different ingredients.

The game is an RPG, with its overworld being similar to the likes of Pokemon, but the battle system isn't time based- its real-time combat. Additionally, there are random encounters outside the town and forts.

The world is small; there's no other civilizations explored outside your own town. There's a large forest, the caves, and the four forts it holds, plus some four areas you can instantly transport to, and the final dungeon. The four areas and the dungeon get bonus floors post-game, but that's about it.

Besides weapons, you can create accessories (not reflected on the character, sorry) for stat boosts, medicines, and other items, like a diary that lets you save anywhere, and an amulet that helps you repel encounters.

A fishing minigame is there so you can buy additional shapestones for weapons, as well as buy ingredients you could normally only obtain through story-bosses.

Sidequests that span over the course of ten days; there's quite a few, but the main ones I recall are talking to the merchant and his friends daily for rare ingredients, finding a lady's lost cat, and finding a child's missing items. There's also an NPC that trades you rare ingredients for medals you can find in the overworld.

After the end of every day, you get to spend time with one NPC; your guardian beast, or any of the characters you've met so far. Who you spend time with the most determines the ending you get.

Things I liked;

Fun gameplay! I liked exploring the world, gathering ingredients, and crafting all sorts of weapons. When the gameplay gets shaken up a bit, its also a fun time.

A lot of dialogue is honestly very fun, particularly between the player and their guardian beast; though a lot of characters' interactions with them are also nice.

Unlike the first game, areas can be revisited, and ingredients and materials can be gathered at any time, instead of being permanently missable content if you happen to break your weapon or misuse an item.

Depending on the guardian beast you pick and the weapon you choose to specialize with, the game either becomes very easy or difficult, so each run is at least a little different.

The main characters aren't silent, so they get to interact a lot with the cast. Additionally, Aera and Edgar (canon names of the MCs) are vastly different in terms of personality and interactions with their respective beasts, their family, and their friends, so they don't feel like the same character.

A lot of the things in game are actually progressive and handled decently; Arno is nonbinary (not explicitly stated, and though Arno uses he/him pronouns, he's not a boy or a girl- something he says himself), and Aera and Edgar's interactions with certain characters don't change even if they can be perceived in a romantic context.

There's no direct romance in the game regarding your character, so you can just.. imagine if its romantic, platonic, familial, etc. Qpr rep in my head. <3

Things to look out for;

Even though I just praised it, the game's handling of Aera's interactions with women (particularly the childhood friend's sister, Lynn) are.. less than stellar. Its the whole "but we're both girls" thing in some cases, but in other cases, its completely fine??? I haven't played as Edgar yet, so I'm not entirely sure if its the same case with his scenes with men..

A lot of very sexualized characters, dialogues, and scenes. Dinah in particular (her opening scene is her in a compromising pose) if you pick her as a guardian beast. Nina too, but she doesn't really get sexualized; she's just naked due to being a ghost, but is surrounded by bubbles. Lots and lots of suggestive scenes/dialogues spoken by Lynn to the player are. Yeah.

Unskippable fish plot which includes the last part. Without spoilers, some fish summon creature wants to be seduced. You can thankfully choose to refuse (though your guardian beast, regardless of who it is, tries it out for your honor). Again, sexualization of Lynn in particular in this scene.

Strange dialogue?? Not sure if its because of the localization, but there are strange.. dialogue choices. Or things said by the npcs. Just things that are so out of pocket and strange.

Depending on how you take it; the endings. Though the endings are not explicitly romantic, they end like a dating sim visual novel where the character you spent most time with is given a bust-shot of them smiling at the player. This includes the player's siblings, Orin and Tatiana.

Not really a big deal, but the beginning part of the game (before you get your guardian beast) just has rushed exposition and pacing and it seems jarring at first, trying to fit in the player's relationship with Ryoga, the childhood friend, how they were taken in by their master Blaire after their father's death, what your job entails, etc.

[unknownfaceless-ds9]

Pleased go and check out the wonderful avatar maker from @star-trek-dumb-comics . It is wonderful and my friend and I had a lot of fun with it.

We both wanted a klingon emoji so I started with this.

Then I did this and we both agreed that Spock with freckles would have looked wonderful.

After that I made her and he was like " Okay, he's cute" even though he's straight and didn't know that she's a girl. I agree with him though.

And lastly I did him.

He may look a bit stereotypical, but we agreed that he's probably hella drunk

[manic-oatmeal]

oat/lake ! he/they + more

syshost + minor (14) + artist

i like splatoon, project sekai, object shows, pizza tower, a hat in time, pokemon mystery dungeon + a Lot more 🪦

fictionkin /srs

anti-endos/sysmeds dni. also basic dni criteria too lol lmao

my artstyle had a stroke and died but it's shurikoza .... SHURIKOZA !!?!?!?! REAL😯😯😯😯😯😯

part of the fd community. i watch cesarfever sometimes still 👍

yeah idfk what else to say

[stcecelia]

Women in Scripture Day One: Eve

(first off, sorry for the delay in post. We have class every Tuesday evening, but this week has been crazy with work and also starting my online college classes. anyway on to my notes ! )

It seems very fitting that for our first lesson on women in scriptures this semester, we discussed the very first woman in the scriptures: Eve

To start the class, our instructor posed us the question: "How does Eve's life and example deepen my conversion to the Savior?"

Then we began reading scripture. We bounced between the book of Moses and the book of Genesis, but I mainly used the book of Moses since it's the JST :)

The first Scripture we read was Moses 3:18, which reads, "And I, the Lord God, said unto mine Only Begotten, that it was not good that the man should be alone; wherefore, I will make an help meet for him."

To be honest, I was never a fan of this verse. I didn't like the implication that God created women only to be a helper to men. That seems to be the most widely held belief in the general christendom; God created women second, and only to be subservient and submissive. Lower in rank and duty and worth.

You could say I've been a feminist my entire life, even well before I knew what the word was or its meaning (my mom tells me that when I was little, I used to constantly ask why when I turned twelve I wouldn't be able to get the priesthood like my twin brother would. It didn't seem fair to me as a young child that had been told my entire life growing up I as a girl could do anything a boy could do, and it still didn't for a good portion of my life. It was only until a couple years ago that I really grasped why, and was ok with it). So this idea that in my God's eyes I was lesser than any man angered me. I believe I wasn't put on this earth to be a lower, side-kick, passive, baby-making, subdued woman that would sit idly by while the more important men in my life made decisions and gained educations and ruled over me.

But here's the thing, that was never Heavenly Father's intention for me, or for Eve.

In the original Hebrew scripture, the word for "help meet" is "Ezer Kenegdo". "Ezer" means "help", but not in the way our modern English language would suggest. Instead of just being a passive helper, being an "Ezer" means to strengthen, protect, and provide sanctuary. "Ezer" was used twenty-one other times in the Old Testament, and was only otherwise used to describe protection against the greatest forces of evil, from armies, and for divine guidance and strength for all of humankind. Here are a few of these verses:

Exodus 18:4 "For the God of my Father, said he, was mine help [ezer] and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh." Psalm 115:9 "O Israel, thou has destroyed thyself, but in me is thine help [ezer]." Hosea 13:9 "In me [the Lord] is thy help [ezer]."

With this knowledge we can say with absolute certainty that to be an "Ezer" is to be a stand in for God's protection and love.

"Kenegdo" is generally thought by scholar's to mean "opposite or corresponding to". Like a puzzle piece, is what my instructor said.

Combining these two words together, we know that God created Eve to be a different but important and equal counterpart to Adam, with special power to comfort and protect against evil. How wonderful is that!!! Whenever we as women serve or help protect our communities and families, we are fulfilling our God given roles as ezer kenegdos.

And this was just the first half of class!

For the second half, we discussed the story of Eve being tempted by Satan to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge, which led to her telling Adam to eat of the fruit, which led to their expulsion from the garden.

There are a few students in the institute who converted to the church only recently, and shared their previous religions perspectives on this scripture. That Eve was stupid and foolish, easily tricked by a much smarter man, and cursed all of mankind with the Fall that we should live in evil and misery and sin. But we are blessed to know, through living prophets and modern revelation, that the Fall was a necessary part of Heavenly Father's plan. In order for us to become more like Him, we need to have knowledge.

Lehi taught Jacob, "....wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin". It reminds me of the final season of The Good Place, which is one of my favorite TV shows of all time, where when the protagonists finally make it up to heaven they find that the constant state of happiness has become insurmountably boring, and there's no real joy to be found. We can only appreciate wonderful things if we know what it means to be miserable.

2 Nephi 2:25 (the best scripture verse, IMO) sums it up entirely for us: "Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy."

Eve knew this, and she made the right decision. She was never remorseful, saying "were it not for our transgressions we ... never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient" (Moses 5:11).

So, how does Eve's life deepen my conversion to the Savior? Through her, I can be an ezer to the people in my life, and can comfort myself with the knowledge that through her's and Adam's transgression, I can find greater knowledge on both spiritual and worldly matters, and make mistakes that will lead me to grow closer to my Heavenly Parents. Through the "Fall" and the Gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ, I can repent for my sins and imperfections and develop into the woman God knows I can and will become

Amen!

[acourtofladydeath]

Eris Week 2024 Masterlist

D1~Bonds/Bargains: "A Wound So Deep"

🔪 An injured Eris finds his way to the place he needs most, but are some wounds too deep? (Azris)

D2~Childhood/Legacy: "Dreams Do Come True"

👶🏽 Chapter 4 of "And So Our Life Begins": 50 years after their bond snapped and 5 years after they started planning, Azriel and Eris expand their family with the help of Miri. (Azris)

D3~Healing/Betrayal: "And So We Danced"

💃🏽 Nesta and Eris find more than a superb dance partner in each other, and their mates, Cassian and Azriel, go on a wild goose chase to figure out why they’ve been secretly spending nights together. (Azris/Nessian)

D4~Traditions/Hounds: "A Walk In The Park"

🐶 Cassian makes a mistake and Eris gives him a choice on how he’d like to make it up to him - he almost instantly regrets his decision. (Casris)

D5~War/Adventure: "The Song of Azris"

🏛 An Ancient Greek Azris/Patrochilles AU using inspiration from The Iliad and The Song of Achilles, featuring Azriel as Patroclus and Eris as Achilles. Series launch including the Catalogue of Characters and Ode to the Muses.

D6~AU/Retellings: "TSOA Book 1: The Promise"

🏛 The epic begins: we learn of Azriel's past and the fateful day in Sparta that would once again bring these men together again in Troy. (Azris)

D7~Free Day: "The Clause"

🔥 Part 3 of the "To Become A Vanserra" Series: Azriel, Eris, Lucien, and Elain haven't been able to stop thinking about their initiations. What they experienced, and what they missed out on. Deep within the rules of the Vanserra initiation, there may just be a way to experience it all... (Erlain/Elucien/Azris/Luzriel)

I can't wait to share all of these works with you during @erisweekofficial!

Which piece are you most excited for? Let me know in the comments and tags!

Let me know if you want on or off the taglist! @pippsmcgee, @born-to-riot, @chunkypossum, @bubybubsters, @queercontrarian, @yanny-77, @fieldofdaisiies, @iftheshoef1tz, @secret-third-thing, @jules-writes-stories, @the-darkestminds

[acourtofladydeath]

I'm still playing if you've still got questions! Let me have it, loves!

Eris Week Ask Game 🔥🐶

Send me an emoji and I'll answer the corresponding question. 

creators please reblog, do not send @erisweekofficial asks 🤣

🔥⇢ When did you first start liking Eris as a character? ❤️⇢ What is your favorite Eris ship and why? 🔗⇢ Share a link to one of your favorite Eris creations from another creator! 👏⇢ Give yourself a complement! Yes. You have to.  🐶⇢ Tag another creator and give them a compliment!  💬 ⇢ What's your favorite type of comment to receive on your work?  ✏️ ⇢ Add 50 words to your current Eris wip and share the paragraph here. Or spend 20 min working on your art / moodboard / poetry etc and share a sneak peek. 🎉⇢ Summarize one of your Eris creations using the format of “It’s like X meets Y!” 📙⇢ Give us a title for the Eris Novella that SJM is definitely writing rn 📝⇢ Share a snippet of something you are working on for Eris Week!  🦇⇢ What did Azriel say to Eris during the High Lord’s meeting? 💭⇢ What's a dream project you'd love to make for a future Eris Week? 🍷 ⇢ What's your favorite headcanon about Eris? 🌲 ⇢ How do you imagine Eris's relationship with his brothers? 🏅 ⇢ What's a scene with Eris you’ve always wanted to create but haven’t yet? 🍁 ⇢ What’s the most challenging part about writing or creating for Eris? 🍂 ⇢ Describe one of your upcoming creations using three emojis. 🍎 ⇢ What’s a song that reminds you of Eris? 📜 ⇢ Do you see Eris as a hero, anti-hero, or something else? Explain why. 🦊 ⇢ What’s your favorite fan theory or speculation about Eris? 📅⇢ Which day of Eris week are you most excited about?  ❓⇢ What question would you ask Eris given the chance?  🎥 ⇢ What‘s a movie that reminds you of Eris? 👄 ⇢ Give us a prompt for next year’s Eris Week 📱⇢ Give us some modern Eris headcanons? 👀⇢ Who would you fancast as Eris?  #️⃣ ⇢ On a scale from one to ten how excited are you for Eris week? 👔 ⇢ Describe Eris‘s style in three words. 👶 ⇢ Eris as a girl or boy dad? Give us your favourite headcanons. ✨ ⇢ What would Eris think if he knew there is a celebration week for him? 

[heathersdesk]

I recently saw a pro-life person trying to justify abortion restrictions, that it's better for mothers with fatal fetal abnormalities to be able to hold their babies instead of them being "thrown away as medical waste."

They say it like that from ignorance and heartlessness. They need that malice from mothers and doctors to exist to justify doing this to women, to mothers who never wanted to be in this position with their babies. The trouble is, in an effort to punish hypothetical women who are allegedly 'just trying to throw their babies in the trash,' they harm women like this.

For Amanda Zurawski, it wasn't a choice between getting to hold her dead infant or not. She was dying of sepsis, which is what happens when women who genuinely NEED abortions don't get one. Her body was being ravaged by infection because the state of Texas had legislated that her life didn't matter and wasn't worth saving as long as her baby still had a heartbeat.

Pro-life folks almost killed her. She's lucky to be alive today. She's suing the state of Texas and I pray to God she wins. Because here's the thing: you can be a religious person and see that regardless of how you feel about abortion, THIS? This isn't any better.

This isn't the holy and humane treatment your pastors, priests, and prophets told you would happen by making abortion illegal. Supporting forced pregnancy doesn't save lives. It just switches out who is going to die. They reassure you that it's justified, that it's better this way, that these women deserve it because only "horrible" women would "throw away" their babies like that.

But who gave them the authority to decide that a woman they don't know is worthy of death? Who appointed them to decide that a failed pregnancy should be a death sentence to every woman who has one, just in case?

A kind, loving, merciful God who is no respecter of persons, who cannot show favor to one life over another without ceasing to God, does not do that.

Which then leaves me with the real question: if not God, then who? From whom does this suffering, this indifference, this death by tyranny come?

Making abortion illegal and punishing doctors doesn't save lives. It fails to save the pregnancies that were going to fail anyway and makes women like Amanda less capable of surviving them. It doesn't save babies. It kills women.

That is the objective truth.

And no matter how much you don't like it, no matter how much you try to spin it any other way to suit the narrative your church has given to you, it doesn't stop being true.

[pluralquotebook]

S: we may be plural

(Silence)

177 #2: ........and you.. Didnt... Know that already?

S: denial is a river in Egypt

-LDS

.