Vampire Academy Characters In Quarantine

The real tragedy. 

julius caesar has been dead for 2063 years and they still havent made a movie that depicts him as the bisexual disaster he was

Antony: I was going to get you another cat. 

Cleopatra: We already have Cynane, and the animal shelter’s closed anyways. 

Antony: Shit! 

Cleopatra: where are you

Antony: I left early

Antony: sorry I couldn't stay longer :(

Cleopatra: wtf where are you going

Antony: I'm going home

Cleopatra: are you kidding me come back

Cleopatra: you're drunk

Antony: don't worry I called an Uber

Cleopatra: We drank at my place

Antony: oh

Antony: where am I going

Sounds fairly accurate to how they responded in real life surprisingly. 

Antony: oh my God, they killed Caesar!

Cleopatra: You bastards!!

I agree strongly with all of this OP. 

Community?

Several pagan/polytheist blogs have recently considered why our various online communities too often fall apart, and have been discussing ideas to help them stay together. 

It seems to me that burnout and conflict are the two main factors impacting community cohesion, so I’ll address each of those in turn.

Burnout

Our tumblr communities are voluntary associations without formal leadership and often without stated goals. I often see around 1-3 individuals actively welcoming newcomers, answering questions, and creating in-depth content. They eventually experience burnout and become less active, move to another blogging platform, or simply vanish. Some of that might due to changing circumstances (school, job, health, family, etc.) or having a change of interest, but comments indicate there’s definitely a feeling of being under-valued. Interestingly, some of the steps that could be taken to help community helpers feel appreciated may also help build community cohesion.taking responsibility,

Recognition. When we interact, we don’t always treat the other person as a real human member of our community with a life beyond the tumblr dash. We often expect entertainment, information, and quick answers. Reblogs and likes are the minimum one should do to acknowledge the content one values.Taking a moment to say “hello”, to introduce oneself, to ask how their day or a project is going lets the other person know they’re being seen, not just being regarded as a sort of Alexa. When we reblog or reply to someone, we can thank them for having made a really good comment or post, appreciate their art, or mention the wonderful items in their online shop. In short, we can treat each other with the kindness and courtesy we treat rl friends and associates, not just as faceless entities behind the screen.

Focus. We can take the time to read and digest posts and comments, and refrain from responding heedlessly. Someone recently took me to task about a small detail in a post about an Athenian festival. I pointed out that they were saying exactly what I had said in the post. They cut off the discussion without an apology.

Apologize. It takes courage to admit mistakes. Shame often leads people to deleting posts and trying to forget about the whole thing. Making a good apology - taking responsibility, acknowledging the offense, expressing remorse, and making amends - shows depth of character. Apologies can save relationships, and a community is, after all, a web of relationships.

Service. Everyone in a community has something to offer, and anyone can help answer questions! Just about everyone in the Hellenic community can direct newbies to theoi.com, share their favorite shop(s), art, poems, etc., and post about their gods. In fact, our community depends on as many of us doing these things as possible!

Support. We know who the content creators are - we see their names regularly. People don’t always have the energy to admit they’re feeling overwhelmed. When we don’t see them as often, it’s time to send a message: “How’s it going?” “Anything I can do?” “I admire your dedication.”  We can’t reach them by baking cookies or brewing tea, but we can post things they might like, answer some of those posts asking for help, offer a prayer for them. There’s an idea: how about praying for our community?

 Conflict I should be an expert in conflict by now..but I keep falling into it. Let me count…I’ve alienated at least 4 people on tumblr whom I previously regarded as friends, and there’s probably many more. Maybe you’ll be able to learn something positive from my lapses in judgement. Try to view disagreements as kindly as possible. 

Sometimes there is wisdom in scrolling past. Not everything is a problem, and not every problem, dear reader, is your problem. Our pagan religious communities intersect with the interests of people following tags for ancient history, mythology, witchcraft, feminism, and fandoms, just to name a few. A little self-control can go a long way to averting conflict.

Try to assume the best. This relates to the previous point, but I’m thinking more about my specific communities. Sometimes tumblr eats part of a post, sometimes a key word or sentence is accidentally omitted. No one has encyclopedic knowledge of a subject, and even those with Ph.Ds can miss something (which is why peer review exists). Gentle inquiry and correction is one of those things that can help preserve relationships and community.

Think of the impact on your community.  Again, relates to the previous point. Is it ever worth embarrassing a member of one’s community? When online forums first started, people were encouraged to observe a “5-minute rule”, an “hour rule”, or a “24-hour rule” to think over a reply before sending. There are times when a diplomatically-worded private message might save feelings all around. There are times when one realizes no input is really necessary. 

But, face it, there are times when something (such as white supremacy, homophobia, transphobia) needs to be confronted, must be dealt with immediately, and sometimes it falls squarely on your shoulders to do it. When that happens, say a prayer for guidance, and speak for justice. When you see someone standing up against hate, please message them your support and volunteer to step in - if you have the spoons and if they need a break. It will be greatly appreciated.

Offer - or seek - mediation. Someone from the community once selflessly stepped in to mediate a conflict in which I was embroiled. It didn’t save the relationship, but the community was spared from seeing the train wreck. Those with conflict resolution training and have the energy to offer help are doing the gods work in volunteering to help the parties involved. In fact, it would be of benefit to our communities if more of us would take a little time once or twice a year to read up on, or refresh ourselves in, techniques for settling disputes.

Though we all value the concepts of kharis/hospitium/ma’at which are intrinsic to our religious practices, I think we also get so caught up in the fun of scrolling that we often forget that virtue and justice are just as important for online interactions as in our other relationships. Because we follow bloggers whom we too often know only by name, it’s easy to become a consumer of other people’s time and effort. Because we can’t hear tones of voice or see expressions, it’s easy to overlook signs of burnout and to misread the intentions of the person behind the keyboard. 

But maybe, if we try to maintain awareness of the communities we say are important, and respect the people behind the usernames, we might be able to maintain the vitality of our communities, support those who create content, and remain inviting to newcomers for many years to come.

These are my thoughts. Please share yours!

Dear Right Wing Christians, stop violating the First Amendment, and harassing Pagans. 

Religion News Service

Pagan sues Panera Bread Company alleging religious discrimination

(RNS) — A former baker for the chain said she was told that she 'needed to find God,' according to a court filing.

According to the lawsuit, the subject of McCoy’s religion came up in late May of 2020, when McCoy was on break with the store’s assistant manager, Lori Dubs, and the manager, Kerri Ann Show. Show asked McCoy what her religion was, and Tammy responded, “I am Pagan.”

Show reportedly responded by telling McCoy that she was going to hell, and Dubs “vigorously nodded her head in agreement.”

The lawsuit then goes on to describe a series of other discriminatory actions. Among the complaints are that McCoy’s hours were cut, and when she asked why, she was told that she “needed to find God” before returning to her “previous schedule.”

The comment section for the Wild Hunt's article on this case lists websites, addresses, and email addresses for Pan American Group.

If you contact Pan America Group (which also operates a number of Applebee's. Taco Bell, Arby's, Pizza Huts, and Wendy's) and/or Panera Bread Corporate offices to notify them that you're boycotting their stores because of this case, please, please use civil language so as not to adversely affect the plaintiff or her case in the media or to prospective jurors!

Beautiful FemShepard/Garrus Vakarian fanart. 

“One night off”. A gentle reminder that happy romances exist in BioWare games. <3.

Can I Copy Your Homework? Mass Effect Andromeda Edition

I’ll Help You With It: Vetra Nyx, Lexi T’Perro

Yeah, Sure: Jaal Ama Darav, Gil Brodie, Suvi Anwar

Bold of You to Assume I Did the Homework: Peebee

LOL, Nope: Drack, Cora Harper

Wait, We Had Homework: Liam Kosta

Read at 5:55 P.M.: Alec Ryder, Kallo Jath (He read your message, but forgot to reply)

Wonderful Vetra Nyx fanart. 

Nyx /ˈnɪks/: The Primordial Goddess of the Night

I love how Penelope’s all, “I don’t have time for your nonsense, I’ve got work to do”. 

John William Waterhouse (1849-1917) “Penelope and the Suitors” (1912) Oil on canvas Pre-Raphaelite Located in the Aberdeen Art Gallery, Aberdeen, Scotland

Very useful info. 

sorry if this might be an upsetting subject, but what was believed to happen to the souls of those who committed suicide? i read that hekate has reign over and can command spirits that still wander earth due to having died traumatic deaths, like murder or suicide, but that's all i know

Hello, Anon! Thank you for the forewarning, but I've studied ancient Greek and Roman funerary practices and I worship Persephone/ Proserpina and Hades/Dis Pater, so the subject of your ask isn't upsetting to me at all.

In ancient Greece, those who died by suicide were regarded as innocent victims and their bodies were accorded proper burial. ¹

As far as I've been able to determine, the cause of death has no bearing on the fate of the soul of the deceased - deeds are what matter. So if a person has, in life, performed notable or heroic deeds or been initiated into the Mysteries, they receive places of honor in Elysium or the Isles of the Blest. Those who were basically good in life are sent to the Asphodel Meadows. Those who commit hubris (a serious transgression against divine law, such as flagrant disrespect of the gods, cannibalism, violations of xenia, or the murder of kin) receive punishment for a short term or eternity. *

The wandering of souls on earth was generally attributed to the deceased not having received "the honors due to the dead", meaning proper burial and the subsequent commemorations with their names spoken aloud and offerings of garlands, food, and drink at the grave throughout the year and across generations. Those who died by suicide or murder, unbeknownst to their families or friends, may have received proper burial and festival offerings from charitable strangers, but not the rites and offerings expected from their living family, and some of them may been unburied as well as untended. Therefore, they would be among the restless souls led from the underworld by Hekate each month on the eve of the new moon, seeking redress of wrongdoing and their honorable due. Hekate's deipnon, a plate of food crumbs and scraps, was left at crossroads at this time, an offering to appease the goddess and the wandering spirits.²

Wandering spirits were also believed to congregate in the streets of towns during the three-day Anthesteria festival in the spring of the year. On Chytroi, the final day of the Anthesteria, a special porridge of fruit and seeds was offered to those spirits and the last act of the festival was to proclaim to them, “‘Out! Out! Anthesteria is over!” Herbert Jennings Rose proposed that these wandering spirits were "...the spirits of the unburied or at least untended dead...Once a year measures were taken to give these spiritual vagabonds at least a little relief, which done they were got rid of with all convenient speed." ³

It's important to note that when the ancient Greeks made offerings to propitiate restless spirits, they did so at some distance from their homes. One knows one's own beloved dead, and has a good idea whether encouraging any of them to hang out inside one's home would be helpful, but a random wandering soul can become a nuisance and should be encouraged to return to the underworld.

Hope this helps!

*I have no idea how the ancient Greeks who believed in reincarnation worked this. Presumably, everyone got to select some aspects of their next life, except for those who'd reached ultimate spiritual development.

¹ Naiden, F.S. "The Sword Did It: A Greek Explanation of Suicide." The Classical Quarterly, vol. 65, no. 1, The Classical Association, Cambridge University Press], 2015, pp. 85–95, http://www.jstor.org/stable/43905643

² Smith, K.F. "Hekate's Suppers." Temenos, https://sites.google.com/site/hellenionstemenos/Home/festivals/hekatesdeipnon/hekate-d-1

³ Rose, Herbert Jennings. “Keres and Lemures.” The Harvard Theological Review, vol. 41, no. 4, Cambridge University Press, 1948, pp. 217–28, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1508045

I also consulted:

"Greek Underworld." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 6 October 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_underworld

The Greek Way of Death by Robert Garland, 2001 (X) is the best starter text the study of ancient Greek attitudes about death, the dead, and funerary practices, plus it has a rich bibliography for your tangents.