#catholic university in usa

[mightybroncy]

My campus on film (Assumption University, Worcester, Massachusetts)

[likirahub99outfitstees]

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[lovethroughdelusions]

Fascinating! I figured Jewish people weren't big fans of his, but really wanted to understand the difference in perspectives on why they view him as not being the messiah. I figured that phrase wasn't exactly a compliment, but since, as you mentioned, it really is only used for two people historically I couldn't find further information on what it exactly meant beyond "we don't like you."

Thank you for the in depth answer! This will give me some more things to research into!

I've been enraptured with reading about the evolution of the Jewish religion and culture over time. I'm slowly working my way through "The Wars of the Jews" by Josephus. It is dense but very interesting, with many parallels to how to world still runs today as far as international issues and wars go.

Sorry for gushing 😅 I'm really glad I stumbled across your blog! It should give me quite a few places to continue my research both in sources and in topics. Thank you, again, for taking the time to answer my question. (I may have more for you later as I continue to delve....)

Hi! I've been doing reading on about how Judaism feels about Jesus and I keep coming across the phrase, "may his bones be ground into dust". I searched online and couldn't find anything except stuff about like. From dust you were made to dust you shall return and similar phrases. Are you familiar with the phrase?

(I did do a search on your blog to see if you answered this before, but Tumblr search is garbage 😅)

Thank you and have a great day ❤️

Yes, I am familiar with this phrase. It is a curse, similar to Yimakh Shemo ("May his name be erased," "May his name and memory be erased"), which is the strongest curse in Judaism. It is not a literal magical curse, more like an emphasis on how much we don't like you.

That phrase appears in reference to Jesus in Maimonides' letters to Yemenite Jews who were experiencing persecution at the hands of Shia Muslims, heresy, and apostacy over a man who was claiming to be the messiah. The man who was claiming to be the messiah had the goal of combining Islam and Judaism into one faith, with himself at the center, claiming that the Torah had foretold of his arrival. Maimonides, in these letters, reminded the Yemenite Jewish population of Jesus, stating:

The first one to have adopted this plan was Jesus the Nazarene, may his bones be ground to dust. 

And later, in another letter:

You know that the Christians falsely ascribe marvelous powers to Jesus the Nazarene, may his bones be ground to dust, such as the resurrection of the dead and other miracles. Even if we would grant them for the sake of argument, we should not be convinced by their reasoning that Jesus is the Messiah. For we can bring a thousand proofs or so from the Scripture that it is not so even from their point of view. Indeed, will anyone arrogate this rank to himself unless he wishes to make himself a laughing stock?

Jesus caused a lot of harm to the Jewish people, directly and indirectly. This curse is reserved in historical writings in reference to only him and Hadrian, a Roman emperor who banned circumcision, destroyed Jerusalem, established Aelia Capitolina on top of it, including a temple to Jupiter on top of the ruins of our Holy Temple, which ultimately lead to the Bar Kokhba revolt.

So yes, historically we are not big fans. Modern Jewish views regarding Jesus range anywhere from "He was just a dude" to "He has caused unforgivable damage to the Jewish people and apostate Jews are traitors." Each Jew will have their own stance.

[2sgf]

Solstice ☀️ Sol ☀️ Sunny

he/him ⭐ they/them ⭐ she/her

28 years old ; tme two-spirit first nations wo/man

@mermen is my moonlight 🌙

★ minors do not follow or interact thank you

☆ white supremacists, transmisogynists, sex bioessentiallists, TERFs, and anyone who follow these kinds of beliefs will be blocked

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☆ feel free to dm me any donation posts or anything else you need boosted. i will do my best to boost it during the day.

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★ disabled, neurodivergent polyfrag system

☆ remade on july 18th 2024

art blog: @solsunbeam

more about under the cut! ^^ not necessary to read

☀ my socio-political beliefs: land back, pro palestine, anti-colonization, harm reductionist, anti-canada and anti-usa, anti capitalism, defund & dismantle the police, prison abolitionist, anti child family services, pro family reunification, better funding for social services, pro universal healthcare (including mental health resources, optometry, AND dentistry), antipsychiatry, pro universal basic income, decriminalize drugs, sex bioessentialism is rooted in white supremacy, and may all the catholic churches burn down thank you

☼ i don't 'debate' any of the above with anon asks. if you want more info on why i hold these beliefs, you can ask me privately via message. though, i may block you if your vibes are bad. if you deeply disagree with the above, then i rather you block me than try to convince me otherwise. i'll save us both the time and just block you.

☀ in general i block whenever i feel i need to

☼ i occasionally post about the above, but this blog will also contain a mish-mash of my interests, personal posts, fashion pictures, nature pics, and like.... idk whatever ✌🏽

☀ mutuals this is your sign to ASK FOR MY DISCORD! come. enter my dms. let me send you pictures of my cats.

☼ interests: poetry, art, films, fashion, video games, animation, plants, comics, child welfare, trauma recovery, disability rights, tarot, witchcraft, the occult, linguistics, lolita fashion, and all kinds of other stuff

☀ video games: kingdom hearts, fire emblem, legend of zelda, animal crossing, final fantasy, supergiant's hades, minecraft, mario bros, pokemon (mostly gens 1-5), sonic the hedgehog, undertale, deltarune, // anime/manga: witch hat atelier, dungeon meshi, sailor moon, revolutionary girl utena, yugioh duel monsters, card captor sakura, madoka magica, hunter x hunter, ghibli movies, and other stuff lol

☼ alters may or might not tag their posts as [alter name].txt feel free to refer to them as their name! but we all respond to the collective name as well <3

☀ my final message...... peas and lov on planet erth....... goodnight

[mikkeneko]

I decided to make this its own post for two reasons: one, I didn't want to derail a post that is about Judaism with a discussion of a different faith and two, it was really only one of several posts I've seen recently that stuck out to me as being "man, this is way off-base."

This is not so much about "people are saying mean things about this religion and it hurts my feelings!" but it is definitely about "people are making statements that represent a wildly skewed and inaccurate picture of the reality, and I can't tell whether they're being hyperbolic on purpose or think they're genuinely telling the truth." This is not a question of whether any given church is good or bad; this is a question of whether there is or can be a distinct entity that serves as a single unified church or faith in American Christian tradition (spoiler: No.)

Here's the basic message: Any discussion of "the Christian god" or "the Christian faith" or "American Christianity" needs to be taken with a big honking asterisk that there is no single portrayal of God, or Christianity, or spirituality and faith that conveys accurate information about the entire breadth of American Christianity.

There is no single American Christian Church. None. The single biggest branch of American Christianity, Southern Evangelical Baptist, makes up at its broadest 30% of all American Christians (12% of the overall population.) The rest are split between Catholic, Methodist, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Pentecostal, Adventist, Congregationalist, and a dozen other even tinier branches, before you even get into the more far-out variants that people have ongoing arguments as to whether they even really count as "Christian." (LDS, Unitarians, and possibly Mennonites fall into this category.) Most of the major branches share a lot of common ground, but there's an enormous amount of variation -- they disagree widely on concepts such as the existence or nonexistence of Hell; the mechanics of conversion or salvation; the requirements of baptism or confirmation; whether prostylezation is required, encouraged or even permitted; what kind of sexualities are or are not accepted; God as an active or non-active role in the world; how 'sin' works or if it's even a thing; the existence or not of saints; the divinity or not of Christ; or even the idea of an anthropomorphic God at all. Some are progressive, some are fundamentalist, some are fundamentalist in ways that are completely at odds with the popular perception of what those fundaments are. I personally know one Methodist pastor who also believes and teaches about God as a "oneness of the universe" and have met others who conceive of God as "that which spans the space between the limits of our understanding and the limits of our universe." You cannot categorically state that all American Christians share a common notion on any of these topics.

Other statements I've seen recently that just made me go "what? no?"

That the USA was founded by religious extremists and That's Why America is Like That. Only one or two of the original settlements were founded for this purpose. Some were founded with an explicit purpose of total freedom of (or from) religion; others were entrepreneurial ventures with nothing to say on the topic of religion at all. When the guiding documents of the American state were put together the clause of freedom of religion was included front and center precisely because they didn't want religious extremists to be steering the ship.

That the majority of USAmericans are in cults and don't even realize they're in cults. This requires both an extremely broad definition of “cult” (to encompass pretty much any branch of Christianity, not only the more extremely evangelical ones) and severely over-estimates how many people in the US are practicing Christians (less than half.)

That the "Christian God" is intended to function as a "Great Uniter" into which other faiths can be folded; This is not a Protestant thing. Most Protestant faiths are not syncretic to the degree Catholicism is (or at all,) since there wasn't a motivating political entity backing their creeds to make them so. Again: Not all branches of American Protestantism require, encourage, or even permit prostylezation.

On that note: Not all Christians are Catholic. This isn't news, right? People know this, right? This is one of those things that I always assumed was very common knowledge, and was very surprised to run into people who were not aware of this (who either think that all Christians or Catholic, or else that Catholics are not Christian at all, depending on which side of the equation they're approaching from.) Protestant and Catholic Christianity are very very distinct entities both spiritually and politically, and in the USA, Catholic Christianity is a minority religion and is mostly (though not exclusively) practiced in minority demographic communities. Of 46 presidents so far only one has been Catholic, and a lot of the opposition to JFK's appointment was people being suspicious of his Catholicism since it was thought that his loyalty to the Church might supersede his loyalty to the US. American Christianity is mostly Protestant, not Catholic, and Protestant Christianity does not function at all the way Catholicism does. We had a whole Reformation about this. Any take that refers to "The Church" in America as a single united entity that dictates theology to its outreaching branches is... off-base.

What certainly is true is that a number of individual churches in the US have organized around the aim of consolidating social and political power, have worked at advancing their members to positions of power in order to protect and promote their interests, and thus are over-represented and have outsized influence on the political sphere. The ones that do this, as well as the ones that put emphasis on proselytizing and on money-making, tend to self-select for being the most visible and infamous because their business model is expansive by nature. That's certainly the case for the SEB in the American South, or the LDS in Utah. I really get the feeling when people use these broad terms that they are thinking either of the SEB (again, not even a majority among American Protestants!) or of the Catholic church (even less so!)  But not only do not all Americans agree with those beliefs, they don't even agree with each other.

[sutekimar]

A Sagittarius Sun Observation

I have a few family members, friends and people I know with a Sagittarius Sun, and I’ve noticed some patterns regarding their father figure.

Before I begin, it’s important to note that the Sun is typically associated with the father in a natal chart, while the Moon represents the mother. Saturn is also seen as a representation of the father figure. However, I believe that Jupiter can symbolize the father figure as well, especially in a woman’s chart. This is because, as females, we often look for traits of our fathers in our husbands, and Jupiter represents the husband in our charts. This perspective leads me to think that the 9th house is more indicative of the father, rather than the 10th—though that’s just my opinion, and it doesn’t have to be universally applicable.

On the other hand the 9th House which is ruled by Sagittarius and Jupiter represent: higher mind, expansion, international and long-distance travel, foreign languages, inspiration, optimism, publishing, broadcasting, universities and higher education, luck, risk, adventure, gambling, religion, philosophy, morals and ethics.

Observations

Mother:

Her mother and father are the same age, but they come from different religious backgrounds. My grandmother was Catholic, while my grandfather was Protestant. As a result, all my aunts and uncles have two sets of godparents—one from the Catholic side and one from the Protestant side.

Niece:

My niece's father and mother are also around the same age, but there’s a cultural difference: her mother was born in the USA, while her father was born in Puerto Rico. Her mother has Puerto Rican heritage. Interestingly, my brother was born and raised in Puerto Rico, and while he speaks English, he doesn't speak it as fluently as his younger siblings. This is partly because he was out of school when my mother moved us here.

An Old friend:

As far as I know, his Father was older than his Mother. Because of what he told me once his dad was Half puertorican half African American, Not only that he was born in United States while his mom was born and raised in Puerto Rico, she moved him as a baby to Puerto Rico and he grew up over there.

My Mexican Friend:

Regarding my Mexican friend, I don’t remember if she mentioned whether her dad is older than her mom, but I do know she wasn’t born in Mexico. Her mom crossed the border and gave birth to her in the USA, then crossed back to raise her in Mexico. Interestingly, she has her Sun in the 4th house and currently lives in the USA.

Lo Que Pasó, Pasó:

Now, about this man: his father was born in Puerto Rico, and as far as I know, his mother was born in the USA but has Puerto Rican heritage, similar to my niece's mom. His dad is fluent in Spanish, as is his family, but he doesn’t speak Spanish, and as far as he told me, neither does his mom.

Interestingly enough, I know (because I’m worse than the FBI) that his two sisters also have their Suns in Sagittarius. His oldest sister is his father's daughter, while his other sister is from someone else, but based on her last name, I know her dad can’t be Puerto Rican. As for his younger brothers, one is a Cancer and the other is a Pisces, but I don’t have enough birth data to know all their positions.

Another detail about his parents' relationship is that they met in high school.

El Dominicano's Daughter:

This man has four kids; out of those, two are mixed. I don't have much information about the last child, but the baby girl is a Sagittarius Sun. Her mom is Puerto Rican, and her dad is Dominican. That's all I have to say.

Honorable Mentions:

Ex-Husband:

He is a Leo Sun with his Sun in the 9th house and a Sagittarius rising. His father is 14 years older than his mother, and he met her when she was in high school while he was a grown man of 30. (If I had known this story before we got married, I would have canceled the wedding.)

PLEASE IF YOU ARE A SAG SUN OR HAVE THE SUN IN THE 9TH HOUSE LET ME KNOW IF YOU SEE ANY OF THIS PATTERNS IN YOUR LIFE.

PS: I don't own the right for the image used in this post.

[useless-catalanfacts]

Fine that the Francoist dictatorship authorities made the director of Sant Jordi choir pay for having sung an unauthorized Catalan song on April 23rd 1964. This fine is kept as a historical document in the archive of the University of Barcelona.

General Francisco Franco's fascist dictatorship of Spain (1939-1975) banned and persecuted the use of the Catalan language for many years, allowing it towards the end of the dictatorship only in certain settings and under strict supervision of the police and censorship authorities. The dictatorship had the objective of eliminating the Catalan language, culture, and identity, and making all Catalan people become Spanish people. Cultural elements of Catalan culture were forbidden, such as certain songs, dances, and celebrations of traditional holidays, and people were imprisoned, tortured, and even sentenced to death for defending the right to exist of the Catalan people. The same persecution was suffered by the other nationalities under Spanish rule (mostly Basques and Galicians).

The choir Coral Sant Jordi, named after Catalonia's patron saint (Saint George), was founded in 1947 by Oriol Martorell. Its objective was to sing choir music with a focus on traditional Catalan music. The choir toured around Catalonia singing these songs with a great vocal quality, and became a symbol of cultural resistance against the dictatorship's attempt of ethnocide.

In the 1960s, the dictatorship wanted to become a normalized part of Europe and the international community. The regime opened Spain's borders to survive as a fascist stronghold, and thanks to the help from the USA (who was promoting fascist governments around the world), fascist Spain was accepted in the UN, normalized its relations with many countries, and opened its borders to tourism. To look more acceptable, it did some reforms among which they allowed speaking the local languages (Catalan, Aranese Occitan, Basque, Galician, etc) in public in some acts, as long as the person who was going to do it applied for official permission and turned in everything they were going to say or, in the case of a concert, the track list of all the songs that they were going to sing and all their lyrics as well as if they were going to speak between songs. The censorship authorities could accept or deny this application, and very often they censored parts of what was going to be said or sung, or whole songs.

On April 23rd 1964, the choir Sant Jordi sang in a fundraising event to raise money for a church. Like all Catholic churches, this church is under the title of a saint, virgin, or similar. In this case, the church is dedicated to Saint George, who their choir is also named after. In the concert, the choir sang an extra song that wasn't on the tracklist that they had submitted to be approved by the censorship authorities. This extra song was the "Goigs de Sant Jordi" (goigs are a traditional Catalan music genre of songs dedicated to exalting a particular saint or Virgin). This is a goigs song composed in the year 1885 in the Catalan language, which explains the saint's story and asks: "patron of knighthood, watch over my homeland and for its rebirth".

For having sung this, the Spanish government made Oriol Martorell (conductor of the choir) pay a fine of 10,000 pesetas, a huge amount at the time. Oriol appealed the resolution many times, even reaching the Supreme Court, but as was expected they did not repeal it, and he (with support from the rest of the choir) had to pay the fine.

Under the cut I've included the whole lyrics of the unauthorized song translated to English.

This is a print of goigs song they sang. This one is from an act in 1990, kept in the archive of Jaume I University. These are the translated lyrics:

GOIGS OF SAINT GEORGE. Patron saint of Catalonia.

Since the heaven entrusted you the most excellent mission: Patron of knighthood, watch over my homeland and for its rebirth.

Art, history, and legend have embroidered your mantle and have given you the best offering with the quill and the chisel. From the north to the south, from the east to the west: Patron...

You were born in Cappadocia of a palatial lineage, honoured patrician, you were Diocletian’s knight; your illustrious hierarchy gave you great demeanour: Patron...

You follow the blessed law of crucified Jesus, which was persecuted in Rome as the most depraved crime. You, with all the courage, resolutely embrace it: Patron...

Like a willow, if it’s stripped off its branches, it grows more branches and lushness, new Christians aren’t missing either when there’s more rigour for them. One day you spoke in the council and they destined you to torment: Patron…

You were tied to a wheel, your flesh teared out; when they left you for dead, they found you well healed. Such a miracle soon converted many people: Patron…

The emperor, then, wants to convince you, sweetly, and gives you seductive offers, but he doesn’t get anything from you. Refusing idolatry you defect the Caesar: Patron…

He doesn’t receive the affront freely and immediately orders you be beheaded; seven gold-winged angels take you up to heaven. Jesus, Joseph, and Mary welcome you smiling: Patron…

Up in heaven they proclaim you patron of the good knights; the sword they gave you there is Lucifer’s fright. On your Shield was printed the red cross on a silver field: Patron…

There was a gentle princess, stealer of love, and a ferocious monster wants to capture her, traitor; but you, with bravery, turn up to attack: Patron…

On the first lance stroke the monster falls down pierced; the virgin, already released, takes him away well tied up; all the town, with happiness, branches and palms beat: Patron…

Clovis’s wife builds sumptuous temples for you, and you have pious altars from Calp to the Pyrenees; Sir Ramir also erected for you a monument near Viana: Patron…

You help, near Girona, the undefeated emperor, and you give back the golden sceptre to Borrell of Barcelona; your shining image used to appear to king Peter: Patron…

When April comes and is crowned with the roses from the gardens, Barcelona celebrates you more than all the paladins. People of all hierarchies sings to you devoutly: Patron…

Look over the loved homeland, for its freedom, for the well-rooted faith, for the holy brotherhood. And if the great day came to save it in combat: Patron of knighthood, watch over my homeland and for its rebirth.

Since the heaven entrusted you to free the good believer: Patron of knighthood, watch over my homeland and for its rebirth.

[gracie-bird]

Princess Grace at Mr and Mrs Amb. Peter K. Murphy's living room in Arlington Virginia in March 1978. "Unbeknownst to us, our 7 years old son, Marc, asked Her to pose and he snapped this photo with his little Brownie camera just before we left for the Catholic University of America where the Princess and Richard Pasco performed a poetry and prose reading entitled Birds, Beasts and Flowers. The same program was a smashing success - later that same month at Princetown University and Harvard University during that unique tour of the USA" - Amb. Peter K. Murphy.

[caassette]

one interesting thing in programming is the prevalence of scripting languages, which refer to programming languages that are built around "scripts" which are interpreted at run-time rather than other types of programs which are compiled into machine code and then executed. The important distinction here is that with scripting languages, you write your code and run it, with no in-between compilation step (which often can take a while).

as the name implies, scripting languages are really good for "scripting" things! so if you have a certain set of steps you want to execute every time you log in to your computer (i.e. turn on my vpn, adjust my timezone, deactivate my webcam) you'll use something like Bash to write that script, rather than an ahead-of-time compiled language like C.

The most common (by far, like it's not even close) scripting language is javascript, which you may know from the internet. But another popular scripting language, especially for videogames, is Lua.

There's a few cool things about Lua, but one of my favorites is that it's Brazilian! Nearly every programming language in widespread use was developed in the USA, but Lua was developed at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, which is where it is still developed to this day!

While made famous by roblox, which uses Lua for scripting the games you can make within it, manh other games also use Lua, such as:

Garry's Mod

BeamNG.Drive

Civilization V & VI

Don't Starve

The Elder Scrolls Online

Factorio

Grim Fandango

Payday: The Heist & 2

Powder Toy

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

Saints Row 2, The Third, and IV

SimCity 4

Star Wars: Battlefront I & II (the originals)

Tap Tap Revenge

The Witcher

World of Warcraft

and more!

[anamericangirl]

I've already graduated long time ago but I was wondering what is the relationship between schools and religion in your country?

I've heard about a thing in the USA called a Sunday School but I don't know how it works. Where I'm from, Poland, we have a class called ''Religion'' where we are taught Roman Catholic religion, the most prevalent religion in Poland. There would be sometimes lessons about other religions but they usually boiled down to ''Be nice to others and let's all get along.'' We would talk about other religions in history class. Ancient Greece? Greek Gods! Ottoman Empire? Islam. Poland before its Christening? (Yes, Poland ''becomes Christian'' when our ruler, prince Mieszko I, got baptized in 966. And yes ruler of the country doesn't have to be a king. We had few rulers who's never been technically crowned.) Slavic Gods!

What about kids who aren't Christian or who are but whose parents don't want them to be taught religion in school for some reason? They go to ''ethics'' class which boils down to ''Don't kill because it's a sin bad thing.'' etc.

Perfectly serviceable, right?

But even though it's not mandatory there are still people who think religion should not be in school at all. Because in their opinion there's already enough going on in school and religion class just keeps their kids in school an extra hour (In Poland classes are only 45 minutes and breaks are only 5 - 10 minutes long, with one long one, 15 minutes.).

Most people like or at least acknowledge that it's far more convenient that way.

It's not some small village where an entire school would fit in one room. How would the priest ask and grade an entire building's worth of children? (''Religion'' isn't taught by priests, nuns or catechists. (I think that's how you translate it.) We would get grades for reciting the prayers and other stuff, our notebooks and participation during class.)

But it might be because my school is religious even by Polish standards. Our Patreon is John Paul the Second. We have his bust in front of the school, almost every class has a cross and his picture. We have some pictures and drawings (made by previous students) of him in the hallways.

What do you think?

Thanks for the message! It was interesting to read about how things are done in Poland. I think for the most part it is the same here. Publics schools here can't promote or practice a particular religion, but they can teach about different religions (which mostly would occur in a history class and there wouldn't be a whole class on religion itself. That can be the case in college/university though).

However, there are private christian/catholic schools here as well and those schools can practice/promote religion and provide religious classes.

Sunday School is not an actual school that's just what we call church for children basically lol. During Sunday church services kids are usually dismissed to go to Sunday school which is just a class that takes place during church where they go over bible stories/lessons in more kid-friendly ways.

[leftistfeminista]

The Real Life Handmaid's Tale of Pinochet's Chile

Nieves Ayress Moreno, a MIRista militant after being severely tortured at Villa Grimaldi, was transferred to a prison run by Catholic Nuns. She had become pregnant from repeated rapes by Junta guards. "Dr. Mery, a military doctor who practiced at the Catholic University, and who told me that I should be proud to have a "son of the fatherland." Despite her health being in danger, her only hope of an abortion, under Chile's ultra-strict "pro-life laws" was to appeal to the Pope himself. A revolutionary feminist woman, in a prison run by Catholic nuns, forced to give birth. It is a nightmare out of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale come to life.

STATEMENT OF LUZ DE LAS NIEVES AYRESS MORENO

In New York, State of New York, United States of America, on ____ days of the month of August of the year two thousand, Mrs. Luz de las

Nieves Ayress Moreno (born in Chile under the name Luz de las Nieves Ayress Moreno, Chilean citizen, legal profession, domiciled in New York, New York, USA, passport No. 6.347.871-7) of legal age, who demonstrated her identity with your passport, and states:

I make this statement to be presented as evidence in the cases pending against General Augusto Pinochet and his subordinates in Chile. I make this statement under oath and with full knowledge of the crime of perjury.

The facts are the following: I was born in Santiago, Chile on October 5, 1948. I joined the Bolivian National Liberation Army, an arm of the Socialist Party in Chile, in 1968, and in 1973 I was still a militant and ELN activist, working with women and children in the towns. I was also an art and journalism student at the University of Chile. After 1973, I was a member of the Movement of the Revolutionary Left of Chile (MIR).

A few weeks after the coup, I was at the house of the mother of a friend of mine who was in prison, when, around 10 pm, a group of police officers arrived and arrested me. They handcuffed me and took me first to the Carabineros NCO School, and, after two or three days, to the National Stadium. (At the stadium, the carabinieri would tell me that my friend's mother had named me in the hope of saving her own daughter.) At the NCO School, they beat me and slapped me. They also touched my body, threatened me with sexual advances, and insulted me. The prisoners were kept in some cells that were in the back of the School, in the stables.

In March 1974 I was transferred to the Women's Prison on Vicuña Mackenna Street, in Santiago, which was under the administration of an order of jailer nuns. Here I was in free conversation, and I stayed in a patio with the other political prisoners; they kept political prisoners apart.

In April I found out that I was pregnant, and this was confirmed by Dr. Mery, a military doctor who practiced at the Catholic University, and who told me that I should be proud to have a "son of the country." My pregnancy caused great controversy. By now my case was internationally known, due to the efforts of my mother and family to denounce what was happening to me, and also because a woman who was imprisoned with me in the Vicuña Mackenna women's prison had managed to get a my statement I was interviewed by the International Red Cross, the Kennedy Commission, Amnesty International, the International Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States (OAS), the United Nations High Commissioner, by Bishop Aristía of Santiago, a Dr. Phillippe , and by Cardinal Raul Silva Henríquez, who came to see his niece, who was also in prison. A group of military wives came to visit me, and they promised me my freedom if I didn't make any more statements about my pregnancy and my torture, and they threatened to take away my son once he was born.

The nuns offered to help me request permission for an abortion. I was not a religious, but because I was in a prison run by religious, I had to submit a request to the cardinal, and from the cardinal to the Pope. In Chile, abortion is punishable by law for five years and one day. I was physically very ill, and if I had a clandestine abortion in prison I could die, and for this reason I decided to have the child. After having survived months of torture and detention, I was not going to give the military the pleasure of killing me. However, in April or May, I started having a lot of pain in my belly, and losing blood clots. I miscarried spontaneously. I received no medical care during the pregnancy or miscarriage.

I never had a legal process. General Bonilla, who took an interest in my case, sent an officer to interview me in jail about my pregnancy and the sexual abuse and other torture I had suffered. In this interview, the officer told me that at one point there were three different lawsuits against me, but that the lawsuits were so contradictory to each other that the military courts declared themselves incompetent in my case. Later there was an order to transfer me to the Pisagua concentration camp, with the penalty of firing squad, but General Bonilla blocked it; he did not agree with the treatment of male and female prisoners. However, I was sentenced to imprisonment "by virtue of the state of siege."

Two dams, M .D. and María Emilia Tijaux, were with me in the women's prison, and they are witnesses of the weak state in which I found myself. Eventually my case got too complicated because of all the controversy it was causing, and since I had no official conviction from the court, in March of 1975 I was transferred to Tres Alamos.

In Tres Alamos, where I remained until December 1976, I was again subjected to rape, threats, insults, and other psychological torture. Comandante Pacheco, who was in charge of Tres Alamos, constantly abused me, subjecting me to sexual harassment for almost two years. He liked to walk around the concentration camp with me next to him. I was very weak, and I fainted frequently. I stayed in a cell with eight other companions. Another prisoner, Marcia Scantlebury, was also badly abused by Comandante Pacheco.

In the spring, I don't remember what month, they transferred us prisoners from Tres Alamos for a month to Pirque, in the mountains, because a group from the UN Human Rights Commission was coming to Chile, and they wanted to avoid a visit to Tres Alamos. It was to give a good image before the UN delegation. I was very depressed, and I felt anxious. He ate and cried a lot. The beauty of the place somehow broke me psychologically.

After a month they took us back to Tres Alamos. We continue to organize ourselves to do craft work to sell abroad. Three babies were born, and we all took care of them. My mother and my aunts would visit me in Tres Alamos. At this time my mother was making arrangements for me to go to Germany.

In December, I was expelled from Chile by the dictatorship with 17 compañeros and compañeras. The dictatorship published a special decree to expel us, leaving us with no right of return. On this list were Gladys Díaz, Víctor Toro, Luis Corbalán, and 15 other colleagues. Many international organizations, such as the Red Cross, the United Nations High Commissioner, and "CIME", UN HIGH COMMISSIONER and the solidarity of the peoples of the world, helped to get me out. In Berlin I had acquaintances, and I stayed with Nuria Nuñez, and also with Gilde Botay. During this time I was dedicated to publicly denouncing what was happening in Chile, and I traveled a lot.

[brookston]

Holidays 10.23

Holidays

Asian Corpsetwt Day [Every 23rd]

Aviator’s Day (Brazil)

A Better Way with AI Day

Broken Diamond (Elder Scrolls)

Celery Day (French Republic)

Chinese American Day (California)

Chulalongkorn Day (Rama V Day; Thailand)

Claire & Henry’s Wedding Day (Time Traveler’s Wife)

Disabled Ace Day

Doctor’s Day (Mexico)

Event Organizers Day

Fallout Day

Frost Descends (Chinese Farmer’s Calendar)

Global Day of Action for Child Survival

Heavs and Earth Creation Day (Ussher)

Hoar-Frost Falls (China)

International GNSS Day

International Museum Meme Day

International Print Day

International PTEN Awareness Day

International Snow Leopard Day

International XLH Day

iPod Day

Kabuki Syndrome Awareness Day

Liberation Day (Libya)

Lock Your Meds Day

Lung Health Day

Medical Assistants Recognition Day

Mole Day (Chemists)

National Aviation Day (Mexico)

National Bioenergy Day

National Boys Dance Day (UK)

National Croc Day

National Day of Action to End Violence Against Women Living with HIV

National Horror Movie Day

National Maine Sanctuary Day

National Mole Day

National One United Race Day

National Slap Your Irritating Co-Worker Day

Nemzeti ünnep (Hungary)

Operation Safe Stop Day

Paralegal Day

Paris Peace Agreement Day (Cambodia)

Peniamina Gospel Day (Niue)

Swallows Leave Capistrano Day

Timber Innovation Day

TV Talk Show Host Day

Ueno Tenjin Matsuri (Parade of Demons; Japan)

Unity Day

Universal Children’s Day (Australia)

World Edible Insect Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Boston Cream Pie Day

Canning Day (a.k.a. Canned Food Day)

Spam Jam (Hawaii)

World Mozzarella Day

Independence & Related Days

Day of the Macedonian Revolutionary Struggle (Macedonia)

Neeburm (Declared; 2021) [unrecognized]

Republic Day (Hungary)

Woodland Patchwork (Declared; 2013) [unrecognized]

4th Wednesday in October

E-Waste Wednesday (Canada) [4th Wednesday]

Heat Pump Water Heater Day [4th Wednesday]

Hump Day [Every Wednesday]

International Print Day [4th Wednesday]

Lung Health Day [4th Wednesday]

Purple Wednesday [Wednesday of Last Full Week]

Sustainability Day [4th Wednesday]

Universal Children's Day (Australia) [4th Wednesday]

Wacky Wednesday [Every Wednesday]

Website Wednesday [Every Wednesday]

Weird Wednesday [4th Wednesday of Each Month]

Whatever Wednesday [4th Wednesday of Each Month]

Weekly Holidays beginning October 23 (3rd Full Week of October)

Global Health Equity Day (thru 10.27)

National Red Ribbon Week (thru 10.31) [Last 9 Days]

Festivals Beginning October 23, 2024

Colisium International Music Forum (Kazan, Russia) [thru 10.24]

Golden Leaves Con (Hasliberg, Switzerland) [thru 10.27]

National FFA Convention & Expo (Indianapolis, Indiana) [thru 10.26]

National Pasta Association Annual Meetng & the World Pasta Congress (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) [thru 10.25]

Sycamore Pumpkin Festival (Sycamore, Illinois) [thru 10.27]

Feast Days

Allucio of Campugliano (Christian; Saint)

Amon of Toul (Diocese of Toul; Christian; Saint)

Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius (Christian; Saint)

Aravind Adiga (Writerism)

Beginning of Scorpio (Astrology; Pagan)

Bobby London Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Bob Montana (Artology)

Christmas (a.k.a. Feast of Señor Noemi, the Child Jesus; Apostolic Catholic Church)

Feast of the Most Holy Redeemer (Christian)

Festival of Forgotten Gods

The Finding of the King Jubilation (Shamanism)

Fontenelle (Positivist; Saint)

Giovanni da Capistrano (Christian; Saint)

Ignatios of Constantinople (Christian; Saint)

Island Heads (Muppetism)

James the Just (a.k.a. James, brother of Jesus; Lutheran, Episcopal Church (USA), Eastern Orthodox)

Jean-Louis Forain (Artology)

John Capistran (Christian; Saint)

Joséphine Leroux (Christian; Saint)

Juan Luna (Artology)

Lawren Harris (Artology)

Maggi Hambling (Artology)

Matthew Quick (Writerism)

Michael Crichton (Writerism)

Navami [9th Day of Dashain]

Peter Pascual (Christian; Saint)

Richard Mortensen (Artology)

Romain (a.k.a. Romanus) of Rouen (Christian; Saint)

Scorpio begins (Astrology; Pagan)

Servandus and Cermanus (Christian; Saint)

Severin of Cologne (Christian; Saint)

Strip for Your Lover Day (Pastafarian)

Surin (Christian; Saint)

Theodoret (Christian; Saint)

Hebrew Calendar Holidays

Feast of the Ingathering [21 Tishrei] (a.k.a. ... 

Feast of the Tabernacles (Christian)

Festival of Shelters (Christian)

Harvest Home (UK)

Kirn (Scotland)

Mell-Supper (Northern England)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Premieres

Almost Blue, by Elvis Costello (Album; 1981)

Arches and Planes or The Old Chisel ‘Em Trail (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S4, Ep. 172; 1962)

Auntie Edna (Pixar Cartoon; 2018)

Baba O’Riley, by The Who (Song; 1971)

The Big Countdown or Tally in Our Alley (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S4, Ep. 171; 1962)

Big Hero 6 (Animated Disney Film; 2014)

The Black Parade, by My Chemical Romance (Album; 2006)

Chili Corn Corny (WB LT Cartoon; 1965)

A Creep at the Switch or Sudden Pacific (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S2, Ep. 66; 1960)

Dictionary of the Khazars, by Milorad Pavić (Novel, English Translation; 1989)

Dumbo (Animated Disney Film; 1941)

The Dumbconscious Mind (Phantasies Cartoon; 1942)

Elizabeth (Film; 1998)

The Flying Sorcerers, Parts 3 & 4 (Underdog Cartoon, S2, Eps. 27 & 28 1965)

Hello, by Adele (Song; 2015)

Hold the Wire (Fleischer Popeye Cartoon; 1936)

I, Claudius, by Robert Graves (Novel; 1934)

I Will Survive, by Gloria Gaynor (Song; 1978)

The Last Hurrah (Film; 1958)

Life Is Beautiful (Film; 1998)

Live a Little, Love a Little (Film; 1968) [Elvis Presley #28]

The Magnificent Seven (Film; 1960)

My Neighbor Totoro (Anime Film; 2005

On the Waterfront, by Budd Schulberg (Novel; 1955)

Orgazmo (Film; 1998)

The Picnic (Disney Cartoon; 1930)

Pink Sphinx (Pink Panther Cartoon; 1968)

Pleasantville (Film; 1998)

The Queen’s Gambit (TV Mini-Series; 2020)

Rehab, by Amy Winehouse (Song; 2006)

Reservoir Dogs (Film; 1992)

Rock the Casbah (Film; 2015)

Rugged Bear (Disney Cartoon; 1953)

Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals, by Saul D. Alinsky (Philosophy Book; 1971)

$7.50 Once a Week (Money Rock Cartoon; Schoolhouse Rock; 1995)

Sourdough Squirrel or Hardrock Rocky (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S2, Ep. 65; 1960)

The Spider and the Fly (Silly Symphony Disney Cartoon; 1931)

The Stork’s Holiday (MGM Cartoon; 1943)

The Times They Are-A-Changin’, recorded by Bob Dylan (Song; 1963)

Treasure of the Temple (Animated TV Show;Jonny Quest #6; 1964)

Trespass, by Genesis (Album; 1970)

Today’s Name Days

Johannes, Oda, Severin, Uta (Austria)

Borislav, Ivan, Severin, Teodor (Croatia)

Teodor (Czech Republic)

Søren (Denmark)

Leevi, Liivi, Liivia, Liivika (Estonia)

Severi (Finland)

Jean, Simon (France)

Johannes, Severin, Uta (Germany)

Iakovos, Jacob (Greece)

Gy��ngyi (Hungary)

Giovanni (Italy)

Daina, Dainis, Severins (Latvia)

Odilija, Ramvydė, Sanginas (Lithuania)

Severin, Sørene (Norway)

Iga, Ignacja, Ignacy, Jan, Marlena, Odilla, Roman, Seweryn, Teodor, Włościsław, Żegota (Poland)

Iacob (Romania)

Alojzia (Slovakia)

Juan (Spain)

Severin, Sören (Sweden)

Fifi, Josefina, Josepha, Josephina, Josephine, Josie, Pepita (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 297 of 2024; 69 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 3 of Week 43 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Gort (Ivy) [Day 25 of 28]

Chinese: Month 9 (Jia-Xu), Day 21 (Geng-Shen)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 21 Tishri 5785

Islamic: 19 Rabi II 1446

J Cal: 27 Orange; Sixthday [27 of 30]

Julian: 10 October 2024

Moon: 57%: Waning Gibbous

Positivist: 17 Descartes (11th Month) [Herder / Vico]

Runic Half Month: Wyn (Joy) [Day 2 of 15]

Season: Autumn or Fall (Day 32 of 90)

Week: 3rd Full Week of October

Zodiac: Scorpio (Day 1 of 30)

[deathsmallcaps]

Blue beetle spoilers. And spoilers for Macario (1960)

There’s plenty of articles out there already with this info but these are my thoughts.

Ok I just saw Blue Beetle and I’m in love with Xolo Maridueña!!! His character Jaime Reyes is so enthusiastic and loves his family and ultimately kind. And he has sweet eyes XD. It’s really cool he got the role because of his martial arts skills.

Harvey Guillén is in there! He plays another character with the same last name, de la Cruz, so maybe we can jokingly have crossovers in this universe with What we do in the Shadows. Blade (admittedly Marvel but still) is semi-canon already. (I didn’t catch the entirety of his real name sorry, just definitely the end.)(idk if Guillermo de la Cruz is his full name or if his name was shuffled around/inaccurately represented due to USian naming customs)

I loved George Lopez as Uncle Rudy. He rocks the kookiness!

Nana was hella cool. Between her implied revolutionary backstory (she hates Imperialists! The way she pulls out her braids when it’s time to attack makes me think that she was part of a pro-Mexico or maybe pro-Indigenous force back in the day) and Ignacio’s backstory (his mother, his only family, murdered in a ‘anti-communist’ attack in Guatemala, and then he was sent to ‘Escuela de las Americas’, a USA funded ‘school’ that basically churned out child soldiers and later adult destabilizers sent out to disrupt Latin America in the name of USian interests (its still in operation), and then he was experimented upon by the very people that ruined his life (a la the Tuskegee Airmen Experiment) really speaks to the racism and imperialism that affects the family in the movie and many people face today (preaching to the choir I know). The fight ain’t over.

(First link is in spanish, second link is the English Wikipedia page)

I appreciate that a good half of Jaime’s family were not in the US legally. The constant terror and unwillingness to seek help for fear of attention was quite palpable, and I think really adds to the idea that superheroes are supposed to make sure ALL people live safely and happily - legality should not contradict human rights. And hell, even though they were in the USA, their home was still threatened - by gentrification!

The poor Dad’s death is sadly not an uncommon phenomenon. Many immigrants, but especially undocumented ones, work themselves to the bone, both physically and emotionally. Poverty and instability kill more than any capitalist would ever like to acknowledge. And yet Alberto still found it in his heart to be kind whenever possible. I really respect that. And I think his kindness inspired Rocio (the mom, who is totally cool) and Milagro (sister) to keep on after his death.

The body horror aspects were interesting, for both Jaime and Ignacio Caripax. I hope they lean into that in later works.

But what really caught my eye was the cave of candles that appeared twice in the story. There’s a European story, Godfather Death, about a godchild of the personification of death who gets given the power to heal, and ultimately (in some people’s views) wastes it in greed and/or love. He gets to watch his life, represented as a candle, blow out. However, in Spanish, death is a feminine concept, and so Death is a godmother in that situation. Godmother Death* is thus a common story in Latin America too, but especially in Mexico and Guatemala, where Maya beliefs mixed with Catholic ones.

It turns out, the creators wanted to bring in some Latine magical realism and reference the classic Mexican film, **Macario, which is based on a novel based on a local legend that was likely based on La Madrina Muerte. I’ve ordered the book, lol, and will watch the movie soon. I’m quite excited to see it.

I found it quite interesting that Jaime’s acceptance of Khaji Da and the Macario/Madrina Muerte scene happened really close to each other. In a way, he chose compromise to continue with life, as opposed to Macario’s/the Godson’s stubbornness which lead to their deaths. His willingness to work with Khaji Da (scarabs are symbols of rebirth btw) shows a willingness to work with his place in the life and death cycle, and the Madrina Muerte themes showcase his interest in alleviating suffering***.

In any case, if you have money for a ticket, I highly suggest going to see Blue Beetle! It’s totally worth it.

*La Madrina Muerte, in Spanish. I’ve been somewhat obsessed with it since I was a preteen, as I came across the Spanish version translated to English first. My tumblr name is *somewhat* related lol.

I was somewhat inspired by La Calavera Catrina art, Santa Muerte and the Grim Reaper when I drew this.

**for some reason tumblr has decided that two links is quite enough for this post. Sometimes it just doesn’t let me add more links? Or copy/paste!!? Anyway if you’d like to read a more knowledgeable article about the relationship between the two films, look up ‘macario blue beetle’ & then an article by slashfilm will appear.

***In the legend, the godson is given a plant, a potion, or just the power to heal. But he must abide by Death’s position by the bed of the afflicted person. If death is at the foot of the bed, then they were meant to live, and he gets to take away their suffering and cure them entirely. But if Death stood by the head of the bed, then the person was meant to die soon, and so the Godson had to leave them be. In either case, Death prefers to end suffering - through complete healing or a cessation of life. However, Jaime makes sure (when he can) to help people live and be able to choose what to do with their life (like in the case of Ignacio). And Khaji Da respects that.

[imslowlydisintegrating]

WAY DOWN ON THE RIVER

“Oh mother tell my baby sister / Not to do what I have done / But shun that house in New Orleans / They call the Rising Sun” — House of the Rising Sun by Lauren O’Connell

——————————————————————

genre: horror comedy

pov: 3rd limited; switches between characters

setting: on a traveling new orleans riverboat, from new orleans, louisiana to cairo, illionois

content warnings: gore, graphic depictions of violence, depictions of panic attacks, blood, death

——————————————————————

blurb, characters + worldbuilding under the cut

BLURB

Nine killers board a boat, each with a different intent. Some there to kill, and some there for it's intended purpose — traveling. Whatever the reason, all of them get tangled up in the complex web of everyone's favorite game show, Who Killed That Guy? With the deaths piling up, everyone aboard has to manage to survive the rest of the week. If only there was a detective on board; alas, they probably killed him, too.

——————————————————————

CHARACTERS

Anastasia "Tasi" Marie / TEATIME

Anastasia "Tasi" Marie was born and raised in New Orleans, USA. Most of her childhood was spent hiding from her transphobic, alcoholic mother and learning about anything she could get her hands on, usually politics and government. When she turned 16 she leaped at the chance to get emancipated and won the court case. Due to her intelligence and studious nature, Anastasia managed to get accepted into a college soon after emancipation. She was a history major at Columbia University, New York, and later worked as an archivist at a local museum. When she discovered one of her coworkers was cheating on his wife, she killed him, leading police investigations to discover he was adulterous and make his wife aware. After the first killing, Anastasia continued to kill cheating spouses. Eventually, she quit her job and started traveling to find a wider variety of victims. Her method of killing is inviting her victims over for tea and poisoning them with cyanide. Anastasia hates violent killing, not for the nature of it, but simply because she thinks it's too messy and the cleanup isn't worth it. She's very strategic and can form a complex plan from very little information, which is how she's succeeded as a serial killer for nearly a decade. She has what she describes as 'the most peculiar sense of being able to tell when it's going to rain, but only a few hours before it happens.' She has a pet rat named Rat that she always brings with her to her murder scenes. Anastasia also suffers from inattentive type ADHD. She currently lives in Denham Springs, Louisiana, USA.

Araceli "Cheli" Malviya / LANCELOT

Araceli "Cheli" Zamora was born in Madrid, Colombia and lived there for the first seven years of her life to a Spanish father and Colombian mother who later divorced when she was 3. When she was 9, she was adopted by an Indian-American woman referred to only as the Specter after her parents were murdered. Cheli moved to New York, USA and The Specter became her mother and taught her how to kill as well as personally educating her in most other subjects. She learned Louisiana Creole, Hindi and Mandarin Chinese as a result of being raised with the Specter, Sam and Zexi. The Specter allowed all her children to choose if they wanted to choose the path of serial killing, and they decided they did want to, becoming the group of serial killers known as the Trinity. Cheli's main victims are pastors with a history of SA. Her method of killing is killing her victims with throwing knives. The knives are personalized — they're named after female Catholic saints, and the names are engraved into them. Cheli has slight anger issues and learned how to box and play drums as a coping mechanism. She's the only one of her siblings that knows how to do hair, and loves it. She learned how to do Afro hairstyles and dye, bleach, and cut hair so she could know how to do her sibling's hair. Cheli is described by Sam as 'charming in an annoying way — she'll insult you and make you fall in love with her all in the same sentence.' She has a strong dislike of bright, artificial lights, but loves dim lighting from lamps. Cheli suffers from hypoglycemia and as a result always has candy or candy wrappers in her pockets. She currently lives in New York City, New York, USA with Sam and Zexi.

Samson "Sam/Sammie" Malviya / BAM BAM

Samson "Sam" Zamora was born in a small farming town near Baton Rogue, USA. They were raised unaware of their parents, since the community operated under a communal raising structure, usually only bothering with parents for government requirements. When they were 9, they were adopted by the Specter, an ordeal the farming community was concerningly apathetic about. Sam moved to New York, USA and The Specter became their mother and taught them how to kill as well as personally educating them in most other subjects. They learned Spanish, Hindi and Mandarin Chinese as a result of being raised with the Specter, Cheli and Zexi. The Specter allowed all her children to choose if they wanted to choose the path of serial killing, and they decided they did want to, becoming the group of serial killers known as the Trinity. Sam's main victims are middle-aged addicts with children. Their method of killing is blunt-force trauma. Sam has horrible eyesight and uses glasses, but mainly relies on their siblings for guidance. They are easily the best dressed out of their siblings and put the most effort into their appearance. Sam is also the best cook out of their siblings and enjoys cooking Indian and Louisiana Creole food with the Specter. They love visiting museums with their siblings and making it a competition to see who can find the most homoerotic exhibit in a set amount of time. Sam is described by Ruhi as having 'impossibly long eyelashes over piercing gray eyes that make Ruhi's breath catch when they sweep over him with a mix of curiosity and disdain.' They currently live in New York City, New York, USA with Cheli and Zexi.

Zexi Malviya / HONEYPIE

It's unknown exactly where Zexi Zamora was born, as his mother abandoned him at an orphanage after his birth due to mental health and financial reasons on his part. He was raised by primarily Latina people, and as a result, became fluent in Spanish. They were also firm in teaching him Mandarin Chinese, believing it was important for him to have some connection to his culture even when he wasn't surrounded by it like he would be if he had been raised by his mother. When he was 9, he was adopted by the Specter, which was very bittersweet for the orphanage caretakers. Zexi moved to New York, USA and The Specter became his mother and taught him how to kill as well as personally educating him in most other subjects. They learned Hindi and Mandarin Chinese as a result of being raised with the Specter and Sam. The Specter allowed all her children to choose if they wanted to choose the path of serial killing, and they decided they did want to, becoming the group of serial killers known as the Trinity. Zexi's main victims are detectives who are assigned to investigate his sibling's murders. His method of killing is using a suffocation agent in his victim's food, usually a dessert like cake or pie. Zexi is the peacemaker between his siblings and often tells them they 'need to chill out.' He's a photographer and frequently visits the scenes of his sibling's murders to photograph them. Zexi is deaf and knows ASL (so do Cheli and Sam), but his deafness isn't took severe so he's able to use hearing aids. He likes to joke about lots of things being deeper than they are — for example, he could see a penny lying facedown on the ground and equate it the silencing, oppression and genocide of Native Americans. Sam has described this talent as a 'stupidly interesting skill, the way he pulls things from thin air. Sam nearly considers it an art form.' He currently lives in New York City, New York, USA with Cheli and Sam.

Akachi Moriai/ MS. MEDIC

Akachi Moriai was born in Enugu, Nigeria and lived there for 16 years with a complicated relationship with her parents until she left for college possibilities in the US. They had a few kills under their belt before they left for the US, but after they made it to the US they started killing more frequently. She befriended Toyoko, who was also coincidentally a serial killer, but it wasn't something Akachi was aware of until they started dating when Akachi was 19. Akachi dropped out of Harvard Medical School to instead travel around killing people with Toyoko, which they found much more rewarding (to each their own, I guess). She married Toyoko when she was 22. Their main victims are male gynecologists who SA their patients. Her method of killing is overdosing her victims on certain pills. Akachi is a very artistic person and paints portraits of their wife's victims with the victim's blood. She keeps a jar of things that are sensory-pleasing for her wife around at all times. Akachi is very fond of snakes and usually has one around them at all times. Sometimes the snakes aren't even personal pets, they're just...there. She also really likes wearing jewelry and is constantly layering bracelets, earrings, rings, and necklaces. While they are very artistic, Akachi is also kind of flighty and non-committal, hopping around arts and crafts and picking up new creative hobbies every few months and such. She currently lives in Chicago, Illinois, USA with Toyoko.

Moriai Toyoko / THE SURGEON

Moriai Toyoko was born in Narita, Japan where she lived for fourteen years before her parents immigrated to the USA. Due to large pressure to become a doctor like her uncle from her parents and their refusal to accommodate her needs as an autistic person, Toyoko went slightly crazy and killed her parents with surgical tools when she was 17. She managed to frame their deaths as if they were murdered by burglars and played the part of the grieving daughter. After that, she continued her killing. Her main victims are psychiatrists who diagnose with obvious bias/ableism. Her method of killing is cutting with surgical tools. Toyoko is often self-destructive and works more than healthy for her, but tries to stop because it makes Akachi nervous about Toyoko's health. She's obsessed with keeping her spaces clean and cleans her tools 3 times a day at designated times. While Toyoko is autistic, she has high-functioning autism and a harder time with social cues and interaction than overstimulation. Her special interest is in surgery and medical mysteries, and she spends a lot of her time reading or studying surgery procedures/statistics and medical mysteries. Toyoko is very oblivious and didn't realize she was dating Akachi until three months into the relationship. While not a very sentimental person, Toyoko makes certain to keep every small gift her wife gives her. She currently lives in Chicago, Illinois, USA with Akachi.

Ruhi Arana / FLASH-BANG

Ruhi Arana was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and lived there for their whole life. The start of his killing began as a response to the murder of his mother and father when he was 7. As a result of their parents' death, they were raised by their aunt. His parents' death was the outcome of a racial hate crime, and the man who murdered them was later put on trial and declared guilty due to the efforts of Ruhi's aunt. While Ruhi was on a vacation in Argentina when they were 16, they ended up meeting Don. They both attempted to kill the same man, which they succeeded at, but then both attempted to kill each other, which failed. Ruhi's main victims are people with a history of racial and transphobic hate crimes. His method of killing is stunning his victims with a bright light and then choking them via smoke inhalation. Ruhi is described by Zexi to be a 'tall, lanky son a bitch that was even taller than Zexi, who was notably the tallest of his siblings.' Ruhi is a solitary person and despises working in large groups, barely tolerating partnerships. It's easy for them to adapt to new situations and learn things very quickly, which is part of the reason they've managed to get away with murder for 8+ years. Ruhi is incredibly good at literary analysis and composition and works for a newspaper. If able, he signs up to write articles on his murders, making sure to reveal the victim's history of hate crimes. They're also majoring in English Literature at The University of Auckland. Ruhi's a shameless flirt, described by Don as 'willing to flirt with a shoebox if it attracted him enough.' He currently lives in Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.

Donna "Don" Nekvasilová / BELLADONNA

Donna "Don" Nekvasilová was born and raised in Sokolov, Czech Republic where she lived for eleven years before her family immigrated to the US. Don attends Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey as a psychology major. He plans to get a master's degree in psychology and become a forensics psychologist. Their killing started when they were 16 and saw a xenophobic woman harassing an Asian person, leading Don to later kill the xenophobe. Her parents remained unaware of this and are very supportive of whatever Don decides to do with her life (probably wouldn't be supportive of murder, but what I'm saying is she's the only serial killer with a happy, living family). Don's main victims continued to be xenophobes after the first murder. His method of killing is through the use of poisonous plants, usually atropa belladonna since that's his calling card. Don is dyslexic and uses colors to code his plants instead of the names, which is helpful in concealing their crimes. She's incredibly skilled at makeup and uses it to her advantage and is one of the best at hiding her identity. He has the nervous habit of biting at his nails, leading to his fingers always having stains of blood or blood crusted around the nails. Don is also a gymnast, specializing in aerial silks and the balance beam, making them incredibly agile and flexible. She's a very energetic, vibrant person who often has trouble sleeping because of their amount of energy. It also causes him to be slightly irritating to the people around him, and his energy and constant movement can be tiring to some. They're described by Ruhi as seeming 'weirdly knowledgeable about many things — it's like she was made for Jeopardy.' She currently lives in Princeton, New Jersey, USA.

Muoi "Ash" Vanich / THE PYRE

Muoi "Ash" Vanich was born and raised in Bangkok, Thailand. He attended the Faculty of Medicine, Chang Mai University to become an RN. He lived in Thailand for nearly twenty-five years before immigrating to the US with his sister to help her raise her family. After immigrating, Ash got a job as a travel nurse, which led to him traveling around a lot, making it easier for him to kill people without his sister and other family becoming aware. In the medical world, ableism thrives, and as a result, Ash's main victims are ableists, usually people who accuse disabled people of faking it. His method of his killing is through fire by any means. Ash was born with a limp and uses a cane full-time, experiencing chronic fatigue as a result. He's plagued with night terrors about drowning, which is part of the reason he's so attracted to fire. Ash is depressed and anxious, and basically a tired old uncle that needs a nap instead of murder. Despite using a cane, is supernatural how clumsy he is, he gains fifteen new bruises every day. When he gets to new places he'll be in for a while, he walks around them, mentally mapping them out so when he walks around later he can close his eyes and get the slightest moment of rest. He's described by Cheli as a man who looks like 'the tired, sad uncle that you only see at the family function and always looks to be on the verge of death.' He currently lives in Washington, D.C., USA near his sister.

Crew of the Beaulieu

The Specter (she/her ; 53) is the Indian-American woman who adopted Cheli, Sam, and Zexi. She was also a serial killer, albeit before her children's time, stopping her killing around five years before her children's adoption. She was called the Specter for her unknown method of killing and the fact that her identity was never discovered.

Kalpani Corea (she/he ; 48) is the Sri Lankan pilot and captain of the Beaulieu, the riverboat WDOTR is set on. She is a close friend of the Specter and regraded by Anastasia as a woman with 'a confident set to her shoulders and a sly smirk playing on the edges of her lips.' To Cheli, Sam, and Zexi he is considered an honorary, 'fun' aunt.

Aniyath Inasa (he/him ; 34) is the Maldivan clerk of the Beaulieu and cousin of Kalpani. He's a serious man with a blank gaze and aloof attitude toward most of the passengers. He does have a soft spot for Cheli, Sam, and Zexi, however, and has been known to crack an occasional smile around them.

Nazli Volkan (they/them ; 26) is the Turkish engineer of the Beaulieu. They're quite skittish and usually only speaks around other crew members. While they do take a while to warm up to, they are very dependable and gets on Aniyath's nerves the least.

Szalai Zita (xe/xyr ; 40) is the Hungarian head of the firefighters of the Beaulieu. Xe's a loud, slightly obnoxious member of the crew, but much of the younger crew adores xyr like a mother. Xe is the love of Kalpani's life and her partner.

Miryam Caillat (she/her ; 36) is the French mate of the Beaulieu. She doesn't hesitate to snap, and while not abusive like mates used to be in older times, is quite strict with the deckhands. Even though she's firm, she's fair and respectful of each of the deckhands, taking the time to learn each of their names and getting to know them, despite her joking that she only does that so the deckhands know who she's yelling at.

Jackie Watts (they/she/he ; 27) is the American 'leader' of the deckhands, or the co-mate of Miryam on the Beaulieu. Jackie is a mischievous, bouncy person whom Toyoko describes as having 'a sparkle in their eyes that they'll always have, no matter how old.' Despite their decade long age gap, she's known to get along well with Cheli, Sam, and Zexi.

Isma Samaha (he/they/ze ; 33) is the Egyptian head of the cabin crew. Considered the kindest of the crew on the Beaulieu, Isma is described by Cheli as 'a soft kind of person, but only to the people he thinks need it.' They're very supportive of the entire crew and jokingly called Dr. Samaha due to the crew joking that Isma could be a therapist.

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Worldbuilding

The World

The world is basically a parallel/alternate world to ours. It's very similar and has many of the same elements like world leaders, celebrities, historical events, etc. Aesthetic-wise, it is more steam-punky and the use of machines and mechanics like trains, steamboats, and ferries is commonplace globally. Mechanics* as a whole are incredibly innovative and forward, much more advanced than our world. Supernatural elements are also way more prominent in this world, and things like cryptids, monsters, and magic are real, tangible things. This does affect the day-to-day life of the people of this world, and it's not uncommon to see something supernatural every day.

This world is, funnily enough, aware of our universe/world. While this world is not constantly up to date on our world, they do manage to get some form of news every few years. Of course, major historical events still happen, including the horrible ones. But as for mechanical, technological, architectural, etc. — those mistakes are often discovered and corrected.

Note: this doesn't mean technology. Technology, while more advanced than on our world, is not as common in this world.

Transportation

It takes place on a riverboat in New Orleans, Louisiana. In today's world, they usually aren't used for travel, more for a tourist attraction. In this world, steamboats and riverboats are used more commonly as modes of transportation on the water. The other main form(s) of transportation on land are trains and/or buses.

[agentfascinateur]

The illegal "spiritual battle" over the US elections

A network of ultrawealthy Christian donors is spending nearly $12 million to mobilize Republican-leaning voters and purge more than a million people from the rolls in key swing states, aiming to tilt the 2024 election in favor of former President Donald Trump. These previously unreported plans are the work of a group named Ziklag, a little-known charity whose donors have included some of the wealthiest conservative Christian families in the nation, including the billionaire Uihlein family, who made a fortune in office supplies, the Greens, who run Hobby Lobby, and the Wallers, who own the Jockey apparel corporation. Recipients of Ziklag’s largesse include Alliance Defending Freedom, which is the Christian legal group that led the overturning of Roe v. Wade, plus the national pro-Trump group Turning Point USA and a constellation of right-of-center advocacy groups.

The reporting by ProPublica and Documented “casts serious doubt on this organization’s status as a 501(c)(3) organization,” said Roger Colinvaux, a professor at Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law.

“I think it’s across the line without a question,” said Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, a University of Notre Dame law professor.

[mollyannice]

I just blocked someone on TikTok for calling Jason a far-right character because they are wrong. At best if he is right wing he is center right. The Encyclopedia of Politics: The Left and the Right states that far-right politics include "persons or groups who hold extreme nationalist, xenophobic, racist, religious fundamentalist, or other reactionary views."

Dude doesn’t talk about America a lotand how America should be. He doesn’t seem to hate people that weren’t born in the USA and/or earth. He gets a long well with characters of colour, he hasn’t gone on huge anti-LGBT rants. The only time he has been shown to be religious is when he was a catholic priest in flashpoint and an alternate universe.

The only far-right view he might have is death penalty and how much of that is just an emotional response because when he was Robin he saw rapists/murderers and in the end his own murderer walk freely without consequences to their actions and only being able to be brought to justice when killed. There is 3 to. 4 separate cases that have that conclusion.