#Community Participation Religious Events

[townpostin]

Shri Lakshminarayan Temple Consecration Ceremony Concludes In Jamshedpur

Five-Day Maha Yagna Draws Thousands Of Devotees For Idol Installation MLA Saryu Roy leads event as main host and restoration committee coordinator. JAMSHEDPUR – The Shri Lakshminarayan Pran Pratishtha Maha Yagna came to an end on Sunday as multiple deities were consecrated while Vedic chants filled the air. During the ceremony, idols of Shri Lakshminarayan, Shiv Parivar, Hanuman Ji, and Ma Kali…

[timeisacephalopod]

Love atheist communities that hate Christianity but reproduce every single issue Christianity has right down to the racism, wild misogyny, and of all fuckin things evangelizing atheism by sending religious people rude ass 'gotcha' type reactionary content to like idk, recruit people to atheism the way Certian Brands of Christian recruit literally anyone to their religion.

Like yes this atheism is what I see a lot of white men participating in, but like how dense do you have to be to only ditch the GOD part of religion and nothing else while claiming you're intellectually superior to religious folks like a great many incredibly talented and smart people in various sciences weren't religious?

[eretzyisrael]

by POTKIN AZARMEHR

‘Pro-Palestine’ protests have become a near-weekly occurrence across Britain. Since Hamas’s 7 October massacre, regular marches have been drawing in a growing number of young people, marked by passionate advocacy and fervent slogans. Yet despite their zeal, many of these protesters lack a fundamental understanding of the conflict they are so vociferously decrying.

In the past six months, I have attended many of these marches. Having engaged with numerous protesters, I have noticed a startling disconnect between their strong opinions on the Gaza conflict and their shaky grasp of basic facts about it. Among the most perplexing are the LGBT and feminist groups (the ‘Queers for Palestine’ types) who flirt with justifying Hamas’s atrocities. This is a bewildering alliance, given that Hamas’s Islamist ideology is clearly antithetical to the rights and values these groups claim to champion. Its reactionary agenda is profoundly hostile to women’s rights and LGBT individuals.

Protesters seem eager to make excuses for Hamas, but are conspicuously uninformed about exactly what or who this terrorist group represents. On 18 May, during a protest at Piccadilly Circus in London, I spoke to demonstrators who firmly believed that Hamas represents all Palestinians. When I questioned a well-educated participant about the last Palestinian election, she was unaware that none had occurred since 2006, when Hamas gained power in Gaza.

It wasn’t just young people who were uninformed. An older woman with an American accent, seemingly a veteran protester, admitted she knew that Hamas was linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, but had no deeper knowledge of its ideology or history. Others, such as members of revolutionary socialist groups, displayed similar gaps in understanding, unaware of critical events like the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

That revolution gave birth to the Islamic Republic of Iran, a theocratic regime that brutally oppresses its own citizens. It also sponsors Islamist groups like Hamas. I left Iran for the UK not long after that regime began and have spent years resisting its religious extremism and ruthless political intolerance. Protesters were not only unaware of these facts about the Iranian regime, but also ill-informed about the struggle against it, such as the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ protests against the government that began in 2022.

One particularly telling conversation involved a man advocating for a ‘Global Intifada’ to replace capitalism with socialism. When asked about successful socialist models, he was unfamiliar with the Israeli kibbutzim, one of history’s few successful egalitarian experiments. His ignorance of these communal settlements in Israel, built by socialist Jewish immigrants, was all too typical.

Perhaps the most telling moment was captured by commentator Konstantin Kisin earlier this year, when he encountered a young man holding a ‘Socialist Intifada’ placard. The protester admitted he had no idea what this meant and that he had taken the sign simply because it was handed to him.

Reflecting on past movements, such as the American anti-Vietnam War protests of the 1960s and the British Anti-Apartheid Movement of the 1980s, one can’t help but note a stark contrast. Protesters then were generally well-informed about their causes. Today’s pro-Palestine protests, however, seem to be driven more by unthinking fervour than by an understanding of the issues at hand.

Throughout all these protests, I am yet to encounter a single participant who condemns Hamas or carries a placard denouncing its terrorism. This not only undermines the protesters’ cause, but also risks aligning them with groups whose values fundamentally oppose the very rights and freedoms they claim to support. It appears that today’s young protesters are high on ideology, but woefully thin on facts.

Potkin Azarmehr is an Iranian activist and journalist who left Iran for the UK after the revolution of 1979.

[captainjonnitkessler]

The thing is - in order for me to trust you as a religious person, I need to know that you support apostates of your faith. ALL apostates of your faith.

The ones who left because they faced spiritual abuse, the ones who left because they didn’t think the religion was true, and the ones who left because they simply didn’t like it. The ones who are open and angry about their religious abuse. The ones who still participate in cultural events and the ones who completely cut contact with the faith. The ones who left because their community was sexist, racist, homophobic, or transphobic. The ones who converted to a different religion and the ones who decided they would just rather assimilate and the ones who don’t give you a reason.

And when your reaction to an apostate, ESPECIALLY ones who left because of abuse and conservative communities, is stuff like “well, the people who hurt you weren’t REAL [X]s”, or “well, actually if you interpret this religion the RIGHT way (by joining MY community) then it’s totally not bigoted at all -” or “well you can’t let your bad experience taint a whole religion” or “you shouldn’t talk about your bad experience because it gives the rest of us a bad name” or “then I guess you never REALLY had faith” or “the idea that you can leave a faith in a meaningful way is a Western colonialist ideal” or “if you leave this faith then you are committing voluntary cultural genocide” - the last two of which are real things I saw real people say recently - then it’s very obvious you care more about protecting your religion and its power over its adherents than about caring for the individual people within it.

Nobody owes it to you to stay in your religion. And if you can’t 100%, wholeheartedly respect that, then I'm not going to trust you or your opinions about religion.

[blackownersseekingsuccess]

Remembering Bayard Rustin: The Unsung Hero of the Civil Rights Movement

written by Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.

August 1, 2024 - Growing up as a Black boy in Paterson, NJ, and attending Roman and Irish Catholic Parochial schools, Black history was not very familiar to me. I grew up in a religious Southern Baptist family and participated in the church choir. In this context, Martin Luther King, Jr., was all that I knew about Black history until I became a teenage Madonna fanatic. Ironically, Madonna made me aware of Black activists and radicals such as Nina Simone, Jean-Michel Basquiat, James Baldwin, and Bayard Rustin. Bayard Rustin was an African American activist who believed in civil disobedience. Rustin felt that Black people should deliberately break unjust laws but do it non-violently to bring about change and this would play a key role in the Civil Rights movement. He also advocated for LGBTQ rights. Rustin moved to Harlem in 1937 and began studying at City College of New York. It’s interesting to note that at the time CCNY was an all-male college once regarded as ‘Jewish Harvard’ which did not accept Black men—Rustin was an unusual exception. While Rustin was at CCNY he became involved in efforts to defend and free the Scottsboro Boys, nine young black men in Alabama who were accused of raping two white women. Activism for Rustin was something that came naturally. He later became a mentor to Martin Luther King.

Rustin is one of my all-time idols. I have been enamored of him since I learned about him, so I was excited to attend an event dedicated to his life and legacy at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, “Between the Lines: Bayard Rustin, A Legacy of Protest and Politics.” The event was a conversation between Michael G. Long and Jafari Allen, who edited the book of the same name. Their exchange sparked many revelations and I left the event more aware than when I entered. I felt so much pity for the life that Rustin had to live, including the attack on his character that was rallied against him by other Black people and the distance that Martin Luther King placed between himself and Rustin out of fear of people assuming that he was also gay. I also learned that it was Coretta Scott King who introduced King to Rustin. Scott-King met Rustin during her college years as a fellow activist who practiced civil disobedience. She would ultimately introduce her husband King to civil disobedience tactics. Rustin recalled that his first time meeting King he was strapped with a handgun and that he never traveled without his gun. It was Rustin who told King that if he represented civil disobedience he would have to be willing to put away his firearm, which eventually he did. Nevertheless, this raises the question, who was King really? The “I Have A Dream” pacifist or the “Beyond Vietnam” radical? We will never truly know.

All in all what I did learn was that according to Rustin, King had no idea how to organize an event. Instead, it was Rustin who developed the blueprint for King’s early Civil Rights movement, at least until the day that King removed Rustin from his inner circle.

Nevertheless, Rustin returned to organize the March on Washington, despite everything leveled against him by Adam Clayton Powel and Roy Wilkins. Someone noted during the discussion that “it’s funny how karma works given the fact that nobody remembers Wilkins's legacy in comparison to the sudden interest in Rustin.'' If I remember correctly, the comment was made by the moderator, NYU professor Dr. Jarafi Allen, based on the fact that the venue was standing room only, or that the Hollywood lens is now fixated on Rustin’s story, with an Academy Award-nominated movie based upon his life currently in theaters. Wilkins has not received the same interest from Hollywood, perhaps indicating that he is less marketable in the mainstream. Meanwhile, Rustin’s role as an activist for the LGTBQ community is also important for newer generations. Until recently, this legacy and all that he accomplished was invisible, but he has since become a symbol of the “others” and most notably the “forgotten others”. While in his lifetime he was shunned, rallied against, and betrayed by those that he benefitted, history has allowed his legacy the final word.

[dionysia-ta-astika]

The City Dionysia begins now!

About the Festival

The City Dionysia is a yearly festival in honour of Dionysos, Lord of Wine and Theatre. In ancient Athens, it was celebrated with a theatrical competition featuring tragedies, comedies, and satyr plays.

This blog serves to bring this competition into a modern scope by allowing Hellenic polytheists to submit their own creative pieces in honour of Dionysos.

Currently there are no prizes for winning, the competition only aims to be a fun way to bring the City Dionysia to life as a communal event for modern worshippers.

Categories

The categories for this edition are the same as last year, that is:

Retelling of Classic myths

Original myths

Poetry

Art (digital or traditional)

2024 Timeline

Submission openings: February 10th

Submission closing: March 10th

Vote opening: March 11th

Vote closing: March 18th

Winner announcement: March 19th

Rules for submissions

Roleplay and fanfic are not allowed in submissions. This is a religious festival, please respect our faith and do not submit an entry if you are roleplaying or writing fanfiction.

Submissions do not need to revolve specifically around Dionysos, but they must be created in honour of the Hellenic pantheon.

All stories, myths, poems, and art pieces must be entered using the submissions button.

All entries must be tagged for the category they are being submitted to.

Entries must also be tagged for potentially triggering content, squicks, and anything NSFW.

An entry may only be submitted to a single category.

Each person may only submit one entry per category each year.

Participants are the owners of their work and have full rights over their submission. Should a third party be interested in publishing/distributing/using a submission for whatever purpose, permission is to be asked to the original creator of the piece. The admins of this blog have no say in this matter.

Winners for each category will be decided by popular vote.

Happy creating and Io Dionysos!

[jade-gemstone]

Danganronpa Ultimate Categorization

Welcome back to another episode of: Jade is a nerd about something absolutely useless! Today's topic: Talent classification in Danganronpa/Fangans.

In the process of making my own fangan/s, I've created a classification system for the types of talents you can give characters. These classifications are...

Arts: Talents that are involved in the visual arts, performing arts, or fashion. Encompasses performers of all types, any type of visual artist, or anyone involved in fashion. (Ex. Actor, Abstract Artist, Model)

Practical: Talents that focus on a specialized skill or work with your hands. Also includes any talents that are religious or spiritual in nature. (Ex. Mechanical Engineer, Detective, Shrine Maiden)

Academic: Talents that are recognized by how much knowledge or experience a character has in an academic field. Covers most science, literature, math, and research based talents. (Ex. Chemist, Theologian, Archaeologist)

Sports: Talents relating to athletic skill. (Ex. Footballer, Kickboxer, Bowler)

Novelty: Talents given to a person who is special simply by existing. Can also be given to characters who win a contest for their talent. Includes Lucky/Unlucky Students, royalty, and non-human characters. (Ex. Lucky Student, Student, Princess)

This system of classification was based on my experience in the community over about three or four years, seeing many other people's original characters as well as creating my own. I found many fell into these categories. My "perfect" ratio, which my friends and I used as a guideline for making our fangan casts, is 4 arts : 4 practical : 4 academic : 2 sports: 2 novelty. I felt this ratio kept things even and grounded.

A few months ago, I began to wonder if my "perfect" ratio was more of my own creation than an actual pattern I saw. I thought, in the event it was, that I would come up with a mathematically accurate ratio that better represented the talent distribution of Danganronpa and its fan projects. This was my attempt at doing just that.

Data Collection

For this, I tried to collect as varied of a sample as possible. I included the three mainline Danganronpa games and sixteen fangans, ranging from very popular ones to very obscure ones. The fangans sampled for this analysis were...

Danganronpa Another

Super Danganronpa Another 2

Danganronpa Despair Time

Brave Danganronpa Coward's Paradise

Project Eden's Garden

Danganronpa He(art)less Deceit

Danganronpa Hushed Whispers

Danganronpa Muave

Danganronpa Despair's Revival

Danganronpa Re:Birth

Danganronpa Twisted Truths

Danganronpa Survivor's Guilt

Danganronpa Despair's Flame (my fangan! also the one where the talent ratio originated)

Danganronpa Cyberspace

Danganronpa Akeda Amusements

Danganronpa Lost Paradise (my other fangan that isn't released anywhere but I'm counting anyway)

I figured out the talent ratio for each individual game by looking through their casts and sorting them with my classification system. Ultimate ???'s were thrown out if possible (such as in the case of Akeda Amusements, where Hanari was thrown out due to the fangan having seventeen participants) and if not, they were counted as novelty.

Also, shout out to Yuki Maeda and Teruya Ōtori for managing to count for two different data sets despite my best efforts at finagling a way to keep them confined to one.

Observations

The first thing I noticed in looking at the ratios for canon Danganronpa was that Academic ultimates are underrepresented compared to what I initially remembered. It had been a while since I revisited the mainline games, and it was a shock to be reminded of that. I was also reminded, but not quite as shocked by the greater emphasis on practical ultimates.

In fangans, the focus on practical ultimates continues to be heavy, with none having less than two. There was also less focus on sports ultimates, with the majority having only one or two compared to the three that the mainline games had a majority of the time. They also tend to have more academic ultimates.

I think that this could be explained by looking at the types of people who make fangans. The majority of people I know who make fangans have very particular knowledge about certain fields due to experience or heavy research, and more often than not these fields do not include sports. They are more likely to make characters based on their experiences and knowledge that they can then insert into the story to make it seem more authentic.

I also, unsurprisingly, found that my "perfect" ratio was not reflected in many of the fangans I looked at. There was only one besides my own that followed that ratio.

Now, if my "perfect" ratio is not the mathematically perfect ratio, then what is?

According to the data collected for the canon games, this is.

This just so happens to also be the ratio for Trigger Happy Havoc.

According to the data collected from the fangans, this is the perfect ratio.

The only fangan that followed this ratio exactly was Akeda Amusements. V3 also had this distribution.

When considering both mainline and fan made games, the perfect ratio was this.

Ironically, not a single mainline game or fan game followed this ratio.

Out of curiosity, I also calculated the standard deviation for each data set.

Canon Danganronpa has little to no variation, conveying that talent ratios are quite consistent between games. The biggest variation would be in the novelty category, making sense as V3 scaled down the amount of novelty ultimates compared to the other two games.

The fangans are shown to have a much larger variation. Though I can't be surprised by this, as perhaps it is an unfair comparison. The mainline Danganronpa games were written by mostly the same team and had less to sample from, while the fangans have not only a larger sample size in which to deviate, but many different writers that think differently about talent distribution.

Final Thoughts

In putting this all together, I found that my classification system, while not perfect in any sense of the word, has some validity to it. If I wanted to, I could definitely make some improvements to it (especially in distinguishing between certain academic and practical fields from novelty), but as of now it works perfectly fine as an aide in cast creation for me.

My ratio is also not perfect, which was an expected outcome. Really none of the ratios I found are perfect, with none of them representing more than one or two of any mainline or fan made game. While ratios like the ones I found can be good for making sure you have a balanced distribution of talents, they aren't required to make a good cast. Personally, I'll continue using my personal "perfect" ratio as a baseline for any cast I make in the future.

I also had a lot of fun making this, and hope I can find a way to make more posts like this in the future. Thank you for reading this.

[beemovieerotica]

trying to find like 1 buddhist temple near me to go to and braved reddit to find commentary on different sects and it's such a cesspool of both completely unaware hypocrisy and "all religion bad" shit.

the way americans talk about modern buddhism is like "it's such a cult...they require membership dues...and they get political sometimes...and the leaders are really charismatic speakers" as if. as if every community center doesn't have rent to pay. and makes commentary on society at large. and the people they choose to speak are probably good speakers. every christian church in america also does all these things. like if these are the requirements for a cult then every religion also does this and so of course the other half of the reddit comments go "and THIS is why all religions are cults!!"

I feel like I have a pretty good radar for cult behavior after matrix bullet dodging at least 2 in college and these people online are specifically talking about the sect my grandparents & extended family are in. and it's weird because the complaints are primarily philosophical in nature, like "they communicate with the spirit realm!!" and idk how to emphasize to people that it doesn't strictly matter how weird you think a belief system is, that's not what makes something a cult. it's whether or not the cult subsumes the person's life, isolates them from non-participants, forces an emotional dependency, deifies and makes unimpeachable a still-living leader, and/or requires an ever-escalating financial stake. the average evangelical church ticks off most boxes in this list, the temples they're talking about don't do any of these things, they have esoteric takes that at best will get an eyebrow raise in conversation.

like it's not terribly surprising that american ex-christians are put off by the idea of people connecting with their ancestors and deceased loved ones because of its contradiction with both atheism and the christian afterlife - and I wouldn't lump it in with spirit medium grifters since people are literally not being paid for this service. it's just really odd sifting through all of the commentary because I absolutely agree that any religious group can turn into a cult, I don't think buddhism is immune to that at all, I don't think any belief system is at its core immune to becoming an isolating force in someone's life - but it's just wild seeing these sects being but through a Good Religion purity test that no christian church would pass just based on the surface level strangeness of their beliefs versus the actual identifiers of what a cult looks like.

but anyway that's a long tangent. the temple that I'm looking at is not part of that sect but a different one, it's the only one within reasonable driving distance with an up-to-date calendar of events and responsive staff, and I'm feeling very cunty right now and I'm seeing that is has had concerns raised about it in the past of being "too political" "too fast-growing" "too aggressive in recruiting" and I simply love placing myself in circumstances and then telling everyone about the drama I find. that is worth jotting down. I'm going to record all my experiences and report back, and if I do end up in a cult, y'all will be the first to know - and if it's an unremarkable place with a normal staff, you will also know. I would preemptively rate my cult susceptibility a 3 out of 10 - but looking at this temple I'm going to say it's a 2 out of 10 because everyone there is white and I'm put off by overly-enthusiastic white people.

[ksadvent]

Not to disturb your summer vibes, but September is here (*screams, part in delight, part in shock*) and this means: K/S Sign-Up is happening!

Schedule for 2024:

Sign-ups and prompt posts: September 1 - 30 Prompt claims and creation period: September 1 - November 20 Works due: November 20 Works revealed (gradually): Dec 1 - 31 The time for all these steps is: 11:59 AM UTC. A quick refresher of our FAQs and rules: FAQs:

Advent Calendar? Is this a Christian event? Do I have to create an X-mas-themed work?

No, K/S Advent Calendar is not a Christian (or, generally, religious) event. There's no denying that the concept of such an annual fannish event in December has its roots in the wide-spread, originally German Lutheran custom of advent calendars (which first appeared in the 19th century), and we do keep the term "advent" in the name, but it is important to us that this fest itself is not tied to any specific religion or culture. December comes with a multitude of holidays, traditions, and days of significance around the world (see this list on Wikipedia, for example), be they secular or religious or even fictional (e.g. Festivus or Hogswatch); all of them can be explored for this fest, as can the topics of end-of-year, New Year, winter, and family gatherings. This is a very wide and varied theme, and we hope there's something for everyone in it, creators and readers alike.

Why does this event take place throughout the whole month of December? Advent calendars have 24 doors.

Because it's fun and we think there can be no better way to end the year (and start the new one) than with the delight that is Kirk/Spock. (Also, not all advent calendars have 24 doors.)

Do I have to be on Dreamwidth or Tumblr in order to take part in this fest?

No, a DW account is not required. We have a community on Dreamwidth and a blog on Tumblr for announcements and discussion, but schedules and important admin posts will always be publicly visible. The only account you really need for this fest is an AO3 account. You are, of course, encouraged to post/link to your work anywhere you like to after its reveal; so if you prefer to share your art, for example, on Twitter or Tumblr for greater exposure, then you can crosspost it there as soon as your work is revealed.

Is this a fic exchange?

No. K/S Advent Calendar is a prompt meme, that means participants will not get matched one-on-one and assigned to a gift recipient as is the case in exchanges. So no one is guaranteed a "gift", but there's also much less pressure on participants. Members sign up and post prompts until the defined deadline (see the schedule). Prompts can be claimed by anyone who has an account on the AO3, and the resulting fanworks need to be posted to the collection until the deadline according to schedule. If you need more detailed information on how a prompt meme works (e.g. how to edit your prompts, where to find your claimed prompts etc), please see this section in the AO3 FAQ.

Do I need to be signed up to claim & fill a prompt? What if I missed the sign-up phase?

Admittedly, the term "sign-up" is a tiny bit misleading. The "sign-up" form is for submitting your prompts; if you would like to claim & fill prompts without submitting a prompt yourself, then you do not need to go through the "sign-up" form. Just browse the list of prompts other fans submitted and use the "claim" button to pick whatever tickles your muse. When you claim a prompt it shows up under "My claims" on the collection profile and under "Claims" on your own dashboard. Use the "fulfil" button to post your work, please. Rules:

1. K/S Advent Calendar is an event for adults as some prompts or fanworks might be mature or explicit. By taking part you confirm that you are 18 or older.

2. The theme of this fest is very wide: December comes with a multitude of holidays, traditions, and days of significance around the world, be they secular or religious or even fictional (e.g. Festivus or Hogswatch); all of them can be explored for this fest, as can the topics of end-of-year, New Year, winter, and family gatherings. The focus of your work should be on the pairing Kirk/Spock or Kirk & Spock. Slash (romantic and/or sexual relationship) and gen (friendship) are equally welcome. K/S has many layers and aspects, and this fest is a celebration of them all. No other pairings will be accepted (mentioning side pairings of other characters is fine, but the focus must be on K/S). If a prompt does not touch the theme of the fest at all, it is up to the person who fills the prompt to include the theme. So if you want to have more say in how this should happen, give a few pointers in your prompt. Otherwise the creator has free rein, barring any DNWs. (So if someone prompts, for example, "spanking in the mirrorverse", without any further details, then someone who claims this prompt will have to include the theme somehow. Maybe it's spanking al fresco, on a snowy planet? Or maybe it's 12 Days of X-mas spanking? Or maybe it's a family gathering on Vulcan that entails ancient customs – and whips and paddles (so, basically canon props)? And there are so many other ways the theme could be included.

3. When we say K/S, we mean: both TOS (series and movies) and reboot; Discovery and Strange New Worlds content is also welcome (let's hope we'll get some K/S-worthy material from these series one day). No RPF, please. AUs and mirror universe are welcome.

4. Crossovers between different Trek franchises or between Trek and other media are permitted if the individual prompt states this or actively invites them.

5. All ratings are welcome in this fest. However, when you fill a prompt please stick to the preferred rating of the prompter (if stated in the prompt).

6. All genres welcome, including darker subjects if the prompter asks for them (as long as DNWs are respected). Use the AO3 warnings if applicable.

7. Prompts can be filled by more than one person. You can even fill the same prompt multiple times – the "fulfil" button will show up on the prompt you claimed even if you have already used it for posting a work before.

8. Participants can fill as many prompts as they want to. You can even fill your own prompt.

9. Please list your DNWs (Do-Not-Wants) in the prompt if you want to avoid certain types of content, e.g. rape or character death or specific tropes. When you submit several prompts, please state your DNWs for each. We kindly ask you to not abuse the DNW system: keep it short and simple, and don't box in your creator. When you fill a prompt, please respect the DNWs listed in the request.

10. All types of fanworks are welcome in this fest: fic, poetry, filks, art, vids, podfic etc. Made a giant cake with life-size Kirk and Spock marzipan figures? Post the photos.

11. Minimum word count for written fanworks is 100 words (exception: poems have no minimum word count). There is no maximum word count. Minimum for art: a doodle or clean sketch (on unlined paper, if you use traditional media); manips are permitted. No banner or icon art, please, unless it accompanies a work of fiction or a podfic. No AI-generated works, be it fic or art, will be accepted!

12. Fanworks in languages other than English are allowed: As this is not a one-on-one gift exchange, but a prompt fest, fanworks in languages other than English are absolutely permitted and welcome! Each prompt can inspire a wide variety of fanworks, and as long as you respect the DNWs and the maximum rating of the chosen prompt, it’s all fine!

13. For K/S Advent Calendar, the works will be gradually revealed, at least one per day, hopefully even more than one if there are enough submissions. There is no anon period, but we ask you to not blabber about your work on social media before it appears in the collection. As soon as your work is revealed, you can link or re-post it anywhere you want to. While your work is in the queue and waiting for its scheduled day to go live, it will be marked as "awaiting approval by the mod". Fear not, this is just part of how the gradual reveal that is key for an advent calendar works. Please note that the AO3 keeps the date on which you submitted your work as publication date. When your K/S advent work gets revealed, you can/should update its publication date to its reveal date. Otherwise a work revealed on Dec 20, for example, might carry the publication date Oct 5. Which is not the end of the world and happens in AO3 prompt memes and fic exchanges often, but updating the date will also make your work appear among the recent ones when people search for a pairing or fandom tag. We mods can't do that for you, by the way; updating the publication date of a work is something only its creator can do.

14. Works posted to the collection must be new (created for this fest and unpublished) and complete. No WIPs or placeholder uploads! If you post a work with more than one chapter, it must be complete before the due date.

15. We allow extra works to be posted to the collection: If nothing among the submitted prompts tickles your muse, and if you missed the chance of submitting a prompt that you could have filled yourself, then you can still take part in K/S Advent Calendar by posting the work directly to the collection, without using any "claim" or "fulfil" button. Make sure to put the correct collection name into the appropriate field during the posting process (e.g. for 2024 the collection name is "KS_AdventCalendar2024", without the quote marks), so that the work stays unrevealed until it goes live. We think of these extra works as treats for the whole community. However, please do have a good look at the list of prompts before you choose to take this road. There are such lovely prompts waiting for creators to pick them, and this should take priority over treats.

16. Last but not least: Be courteous to the other participants, act in good faith and assume good faith. For all questions, please contact the mod (DW, Tumblr-Ask, or email: kirkspockmod+ksadvent@gmail.com). We are happy to help!

[amateurvoltaire]

I went to Puy du Fou (1) and watched  'Le Dernier Panache' (2), and needless to say, I've got a few things on my mind. But before I gather my thoughts into something coherent, there’s one pressing issue I need to address: there was NO “extermination” policy in the Vendée.

Is it clear enough for everyone? I sincerely hope so because yesterday, I was among an audience of about 5000 who were shown a scene depicting Robespierre (in yellow), Saint-Just (in turquoise), and Barère (in purple) arguing for the complete destruction of the Vendée… for reasons…

In plain terms, were they advocating for genocide (3)  in the Vendée.

This didn’t happen. In 1793, the idea of a distinct Vendéen identity wasn’t a real thing. The Vendéens were not recognized as a specific regional or ethnic group, not by themselves or anyone else.

Do you know what was real? Brigands rebelling against the first French Republic. What were the policies of extermination targeted towards? Those Brigands. What do you call that? Civil War.

On 1st August 1793, Barère delivered an inflamatory speech (4) that many use to argue the Committee of Public Safety's alleged genocidal intent. His words were indeed unhinged, typical of the era’s rhetoric.

Barère did say, "No more Vendée, no more royalty; no more Vendée, no more aristocracy; no more Vendée, and the enemies of the republic have disappeared," but this infamous line follows a crucial preamble: "We will have peace the day the interior is peaceful, that the rebels are subdued, that the brigands are exterminated. (5)" It’s disingenuous to interpret this as a call to wipe out an entire region (6).

Moreover, this speech was followed by the "Décret relatif aux mesures à prendre contre les rebelles de Vendée", which includes an article (the 8th) stating: "Women, children, and the elderly will be taken inland. Provisions will be made for their subsistence and safety, with all the consideration due to humanity" This directive was actually enforced as evidenced by the 20,000 to 40,000 refugees who the government supported in cities like Poitiers, Orléans, and La Rochelle.

The conservative right in France has been peddling this genocide narrative since the mid-1980s, but no amount of dramatic cursive text with melancholic violin strains will convert fiction into fact.

What happened in the Vendée was horrific. Were there war crimes? Numerous. Was the region scarred by the violence? Undoubtedly. Should we acknowledge that? Of course!  But pushing a theory that is not true detracts from recognising the violence, learning from it and ensuring it will never happen again.

It also cheapens the heroic acts and sacrifices of those who fought not for the narrow political agendas of the 21st century but for causes they truly believed in. The counter-revolutionaries in the Vendée and throughout France were driven by a deep commitment to protect their communities, faith, and way of life. They were not merely victims of a systematic extermination effort but active participants in a struggle to defend their political and religious beliefs (7). Admittedly, I'm not an expert on Charette, but I suspect he would be disturbed to see his legacy so grossly misrepresented…

Notes

(1) Puy du Fou is a historical theme park in the Vendée known for its elaborate live shows that recreate historical events. It has faced criticism for potentially exploiting history and is managed by the Puy du Fou Foundation, linked to its founder, Philippe de Villiers, a French politician noted for his conservative and nationalist views.

(2) This particular show focuses on François Athanase Charette de La Contrie, a Vendean general.

(3) Genocide is defined by the United Nations in the "Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide", adopted on December 9, 1948, as acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group.

(4) The conflict in the Vendée began in March 1793, prior to Robespierre's association with the Committee of Public Safety. Danton was the one who was instrumental in shaping the initial response to the uprising and was the president of the Convention during Barère’s speech. Weirdly enough, Danton is nowhere on that stage…

(5) The full qoute is "Nous aurons la paix le jour que l'intérieur sera paisible, que les rebelles seront soumis, que les brigands seront exterminés. Les conquêtes et les perfidies des puissances étrangères seront nulles le jour que le département de la Vendée aura perdu son infâme dénomination et sa population parricide et coupable. Plus de Vendée, plus de royauté ; plus de Vendée, plus d'aristocratie ; plus de Vendée, et les ennemis de la république ont disparu. "

(6) This type of rhetoric was not unique to the Vendée but was also directed at other counter-revolutionary hotspots across France like Brittany, Lyon, Marseille, Avignon, etc.

(7) I'm not a particular fan of those beliefs but I can respect the courage to stand up in defence of a lost cause.

[townpostin]

Women Lead Grand Kalash Yatra in Jamshedpur

Bhalubasa Jambu Akhara’s female-led procession set for August 12 Annual Shravan event showcases women’s empowerment through religious tradition and community participation. JAMSHEDPUR – Bhalubasa Jambu Akhara is organizing a lively Kalash Yatra in the city, with women at the vanguard of the planning and execution. The procession this year represents a substantial change, as the Akhara’s women’s…

[decolonize-the-everything]

Is anyone still watching Florida? Did y'all see this? It's from may 2024 and it's straight up Nazi nonsense.

Today, Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation to further strengthen Florida’s protections for consumers, teachers, and employees from being forced to adopt ideologies or reflect a preferred political behavior. With today’s actions, Governor DeSantis is bolstering protections for: • Consumers, by providing recourse for individuals who believe they have been de-banked for political reasons; • Teachers, by ensuring they are not subjected to trainings that teach an ideology of hate, but instead focus on achieving mastery of academic content; and • Employees, by taking steps to prevent ideological discrimination or harassment in the workplace.

Governor DeSantis signed HB 989 and HB 1291 into law. HB 989 does the following: • Increases protection for customers of financial institutions operating in Florida from unwarranted account cancellations and restrictions through a coordinated complaint and investigatory process within the Office of Financial Regulation. • Removes Florida’s exclusive preference of holding public funds with banks, particularly with out-of-state big banks, by allowing community-based credit unions to hold public funds. • Permits the Chief Financial Officer to have a dedicated consumer-liaison for assistance dealing with the Federal Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

HB 1291 does the following: • Prohibits teacher preparation programs from indoctrinating prospective teachers by teaching distorted versions of significant historical events; and • Prevents the infusion of identity politics in teaching methods and prohibits instructing that theories such as systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in America’s institutions.

Governor DeSantis is also working with the Attorney General’s office to bolster Florida’s protections from ideological discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Companies do not have a right to create a hostile work environment by forcing an employee to sit through trainings that tell that employee he or she is inherently racist or sexist. This includes efforts to mandate trainings meant to guilt employees or think less of themselves because of racial, religious, or social upbringing. “We reject a global elite trying to force their ideology on us by capturing major institutions,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “We are not going to allow big banks to discriminate based on someone’s political or religious beliefs, and we will continue to fight back against indoctrination in education and the workplace.” “For too long, credit unions were barred from participating in Florida’s Qualified Depositor program, which didn’t make sense,” said Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis. “Government entities should have more tools in their toolbox for maximizing taxpayer returns, and by opening it up to credit unions, we’ll not only bolster competition, but give banks more incentive to drop the woke-nonsense and focus on returns. Thanks to Governor DeSantis, Florida is where woke goes to die, and we were proud to partner with him and his team in getting this important legislation over the finish line.

🙃🙃🙃

That's systemic antisemitism, right, like this is what this bill is? These laws are to stop the "global elite" who control "big banks" from making Desantis do sensitivity training is antisemitic.

That's literally a dog whistle.

While many people might hear “international banks” quite literally, or maybe as an allusion to Clinton’s ties to foreign financial interests in general, anti-Semites hear something very different. After all, the supposed existence of a cabal of international Jewish bankers working to undermine US democracy is a recurring theme in American anti-Semitism, from Henry Ford’s The International Jew to Reddit troll-conventions. Trump’s choice of language serves as a signal that he is one of them.

•

Hitler described Jews as “international elements” that “conduct their business everywhere,” thus harming and undermining good people who are “bound to their soil, to the Fatherland

[granulesofsand]

Reasons people underestimate the prevalence of RAMCOA:

Untraumatized people don’t think about trauma nearly as much as survivors

People don’t know what the signs are. Trainings are shitty when given, attendees don’t think they’ll need to use the information, and trainings offered are usually online and easy to walk away from

Mandatory reporters don’t usually follow through their contracts. This is sometimes a good thing, but it can leave room in the wrong places for endangered children

People who know the signs will ignore them. They think it unlikely, that they’re overreacting, or they just don’t notice

Survivors are quiet. Speaking up puts us in danger, and more people think of us as media material than peers

The police don’t do jack shit for us. Some stations train officers to overlook our cases, and it’s difficult to take to court if a survivor wants to. In larger cases, government works with organized criminal groups that perpetrate or do so themselves for research

We’re a test question. The only time we are brought up in psychology classrooms is if they want to nod to a DID diagnosis. Few therapists are educated and willing to take us on as clients

Abusers know how to make connections with local authority. In high control groups, members may be taught how to abuse and evade interception

All of this makes it hard to report anywhere how many survivors exist free, and the low numbers in turn make us less believable when we do report

RAMCOA includes severe religious abuse, manipulative coercion, programming, cults, trafficking rings, criminal gangs, and more. Survivors are your coworkers, neighbors, cashiers, librarians.

Signs to look for:

Ritual Abuse

History of self-harm, substance use, sui/homicidality, especially with prescribed patterns

Unusual phobias (red or brown foods, kinds of houses, churches, hospitals, fear of the dark or being alone in adults)

Aversion to or obsession with the occult/witchcraft or other faith traditions

Patterns of nightmares, aversions or obsessions with common or nondescript themes (gore, needles, bugs, rodents, monsters, babies, men or women)

Sudden or irresistible urge to relocate, recontact abusers, participate in abusive ceremonies

High pain tolerance

Repeated phrases with violent, aggressive or religious themes

Mind Control and Coercion

Unquestioning obedience of a person or doctrine

Defers to another, speaks as though scripted, frequently accompanied by another or has to ask permission inappropriate for their age

Sudden or dramatic change in behavior, hobbies, or long-standing habits

Refusal to consume media unless approved by another/without further explanation

Anxious or idealized descriptions of childhood home and family, unable to recall these things

No memory of childhood or missing years

Multiple self-states, especially in high quantities

Organized Abuse and Trafficking

Disconnection from peers, family and friends

Does not attend community events or faith services or is perpetually preoccupied with a single group

Repeated unexplained absences from work or school

Disoriented, confused or dissociated for long periods of time or without explanation

Fearful or self-persecutory behavior, especially with allusions to another person or group

Bruises, broken skin or other wounds in various stages of healing

Minors engaging in commercial sex (including CSEM or survival sex)

Timid, skittish, fearful or submissive behaviors (including when this is the norm)

Malnourished, dehydrated, exhausted or with untreated ails

Without belongings or suitable living space

Many indicators of abuses flow together, as do the events themselves. It’s common that RA and OA perps use MC to keep victims in line, and techniques are often implemented by default in abusive environments. A group using RA or MC also qualifies as OA. This is why the community acronym includes all three.

There are more discreet examples for each. It’s possible to find many symptoms of RAMCOA and have none of those maltreatments as the cause. It’s possible to have none and still be abused.

Noticing indicators in children should be followed up by alerting any available reliable authority. Children sometimes disclose using metaphors or slang words they have been taught, so keep this in mind if you work with them.

[woundlight]

hello! i'm currently trying to get back into the habit of reading and writing, so i'm hoping to use writeblr as a way to keep at it and possibly make some friends!

— about me.

✦ i'm riven, adult, nonbinary lesbian, they/them ✦ neurodivergent ✦ i love cosmic horror, religious symbolism, art, swords, the occult and space

— about my writing.

✦ right now i'm focusing more on poetry and short stories, but i do have a few bigger projects coming ✦ i like writing stories with elaborate worldbuilding, fantasy meeting sci-fi, queer romance, eldritch entities, complicated morality, body horror, general weirdness and, of course, angst ✦ english is not my first language. i've been writing primarily in my native tongue until recently, but i'm eager to grow and learn!

i'd really love to meet more writers and get involved in the community, so feel free to interact or drop a message!

wips under the cut!

— my wips.

☣️ GODSLAYER science fantasy

when angels discover humanity, the solar system unites under the inquisition, a powerful agency dedicated to the defense of mankind. as they battle against the cosmic threat, the stars seem to shift; the universe is dying, and the angels are ravenous.

🌙 ONEIRATA dark fantasy

in a city where it’s forbidden to dream, a condemned mage is saved by the child prophesied to end the world. as the moon demands blood, they struggle to understand the choice presented to them: betray their savior and secure the sacrifice, or succumb to the cataclysm that is coming.

⛓️ A CITY ABLAZE soft sci-fi

a story inspired by the prometheus myth, set in a frozen post-apocalyptic world. in the last bastion of humanity, a young woman finds herself enthralled by the world outside; a desire that might have deadly consequences for both her and the city itself.

🦐 TIDEFALL pirate fantasy

a story where you play as the branded, a person gifted with a fraction of an old god’s power. marked by an eldritch prawn goddess, you are tasked with saving the gods from extinction. however, the crew of the pirate ship that sheltered you might have other plans.

— other.

✦ i'm excited to participate in tag games and events, but i may be slow to respond. i would still appreciate them though ✦ send me an ask or a dm to be added to a taglist!

[anywhere-with-you-event]

Intro & Rules

Welcome to the Anywhere With You gift exchange! This event is for sharing FirstPrince-centric, alternate universe fanworks, and bringing a little more excitement and joy into what can often be a stressful time for people. As we all know, November is election season in the US, and people in marginalized communities (LGBTQ+, people of color, people with disabilities, and more) are often exceptionally worried and stressed due to this. With the source material being so rooted in politics, we wanted to create a little bubble away from that while still featuring the characters we love so much. While we know this won't make any of the world's problems go away, it's nice to have an opportunity to take our minds off of it and take comfort in escaping to another world for a little while. 

This event is open to anyone who wants to participate - not just US creators. Everyone deserves a respite, and there's plenty of room here for all.

Rules below the cut!

Participation Parameters:

Must complete one fanwork for your recipient based on one of their prompts

Fanwork options include

Fanfiction (approx. 2k-5k word count)

Art / Comic (approx. 1-2 pages)

Podfic of one of recipient’s linked fics OR a fic meeting criteria with permission from the author

Stick to requested source media

Red, White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston (book)

Red, White & Royal Blue (2023) (movie)

Either/Both

If someone requests the book, do not include movie-only characters or vice versa

If someone only requests one source, only tag the one corresponding fandom

For Your Request:

Please provide 2-4 short Trope or Theme prompts and 2-4 Specific prompts for a min of 4 or max of 8 total prompts.

Optionally, you can include a link to 1 or 2 of your own fanfictions that meet the parameters (FirstPrince, AU, 2k-5k) if you would like to receive a podfic of those.

Also provide a short list of Likes/Wants and a short list of Do Not Wants.

For Your Offer:

Provide a list of things you like to or are willing to create/work with (tropes, styles, side characters, etc)

Provide a list of things you will NOT create (squicks, kinks, character bashing, etc)

Example:

Requests:

Trope/Theme Prompts

Cowboys AU

Fake Dating

Legally Blonde AU

Specific Prompts

Alex is a model and Henry is a runway photographer. It’s love at first sight for Henry, so he keeps finding reasons to end up at the same shows Alex is working.

Henry is a mermaid and Alex is a marine biologist/diver. Bonus points for language barrier, bonus bonus points for underwater bjs

Want: fluff, cuddling, David the beagle content, Actual Good Parent Ellen

DNW: omegaverse, heavy religious content (mention/imply is okay), Philip-bashing, drug use

Podfic options

too sweet by thesleepyskipper (link)

Doing It the French (Fry) Way by EmmaLostInWonderland (link)

Offers:

Will Write: Sci-fi, romcom rewrites, social media content, outsider POV, hurt/comfort, fluff, humor

Will Not Write: Darkfic, smut, anything with archive warnings, omegaverse, religious content, kidfic

If you have any questions, please contact the mod team by DM, Asks, or email at anywherewithyouevent@gmail.com

[canary-prince]

Ways For US-Americans To Help If You're Abstaining From Voting

Can't vote on moral grounds, but still raring to do something? Stuck in America and unsure of how to meaningfully serve your community? Here are some ideas that I, a social worker serving house-bound citizens, can share out of personal experience. Feel free to add other ideas or links. We are not powerless.

Volunteer (these are just examples/sources of info)

Planned Parenthood needs volunteers for nearly every non-medical department

See if your state has a volunteer stewardship program, where you can help weed out invasive plant species and defend your natural ecosystem

If you have medical skills, become a street medic

Contribute to the preservation of Queer History

Put your labor towards the upkeep or repair of properties in Indigenous communities

Adult literacy is not great right now, and we're harder to lie to if we're literate; volunteer to help your neighbors who were failed by the school system

Resources to help the unhoused constantly need volunteer counselors, cooks, and someone to sort donations

The sick and elderly are very under-served, particularly if they're broke, so reach out to a local hospice to see what skills they need

Give (if you can't physically volunteer but have money to spare)

Donate to an abortion fund; this one is for Native peoples specifically

Donate to a book gifting program or book mobile; this link is for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

Donate to preserve the histories of communities of color; this fund is specifically for preserving African American historical sites

Donate to protect the natural environment

Donate to help free those caged in prisons; this link is for the Innocence Project, which aims to challenge wrongful convictions

The arts are for everyone, but wealth gaps interfere; this fund is for art initiatives that contribute to community building, including increasing accessibility

Learn (resources that many communities have but aren't widely educated on)

Community Action Agencies: these are non-profits and private companies that act in service of their communities' human rights and quality of life. Many have utility funds, run food banks, manage emergency shelters, provide education and job skills opportunities, and participate in social activism.

Area Agencies on Aging: Non-profits that serve elders (and non-elderly disabled citizens) in a designated service area. They primarily offer services to prolong independent living (free or low cost in home care, meals on wheels, home safety modifications, and Medicare guidance) or help with transition into assisted living.

Habitat For Humanity: They aren't just in disaster zones or on foreign soil; they have local US chapters that provide critical repairs to families in need. They repair roofs, address barriers to access, and perform electric and plumbing work.

Durable Medical Equipment Loan Closets: Communal sources of vital medical equipment including wheelchairs, walkers, canes, hospital beds, shower chairs, and more. May be able to provide incontinence supplies or diabetes supplies. Rarely but sometimes provide oxygen.

Non Emergency Medical Transportation/Alternatives to Mass Transit: Transportation for elderly, disabled, cognitively impaired, and low income citizens to help them reach medical providers, dental care, physical therapy, and eye exam appointments. Can also provide transit to shopping centers, the grocery store, religious events, cultural events, and polling stations. Offer door to door services for the housebound. IF YOU HAVE MEDICAID, YOU SHOULD NOT EVER BE PAYING FOR THIS. MEDICAID IS OBLIGATED TO MAKE SURE YOU REACH ANY AND ALL MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS.

Legal Aid Clinics: Sources of pro-bono or sliding scale legal advice and representation.