It may be the end of the world as we know it – but you don’t have to face it alone.

With the last recorded Mayan calendar cycle approaching its final day on December 21 of this year, survivalists who believe that late 2012 will bring catastrophic change or annihilation can now find each other through dating websites that cater to their apocalyptic search criteria.

The website Kwink.com seeks “to unite soulmates & lovers based on their defining trait… their kwink,” according to the website.

Joel Peters is the COO of Kwink, LLC, and the creator of the website’s Doomsday Preppers community.

“In mentioning my desire to prep for any disaster, leaving us ‘off the grid’ whether short term or long term, I made people feel uncomfortable or the topic would be ousted,” Peters said. “I personally don’t feel that there is a specific date to look for but I do have a sense that we need to be ready for anything that could leave us without city comforts.”

Anthropology professor Winifred Creamer lists droughts, famines, floods, fires and warfare as just a few of the mostly negative predictions passed down by ancient Mayan prophecy about the end of a calendar cycle.

“Mayans believed that time is cyclical – what goes around comes around,” Creamer said. “Mayan predictions tend to be about impending disasters.”

The Mayan calendar year consisted of 18 months with 20 days each, and cycles of 20 years were called katuns. A baktun is a cycle of 20 katuns, and the current baktun ends this year.

Creamer said the ancient Mayans participated in big celebrations at the end of a major cycle, and their calendar inscriptions, ranging from around 300 B.C. to just after 800 A.D., can be stretched into the future with differing hypothetical outcomes. The most pressing prophecy, at present, is the end of the current baktun and the beginning of the next on Dec. 21, a date on which many survivalists predict the earth will experience cataclysmic change.

One user on survivalistsingles.com said in his public profile he began using the site to prepare for any disaster that may come.

“With the world being what it is, I believe there are too many possible threats that could bring an entirely unprepared society to its knees,” user “Satyr,” from Glendale Heights, writes. “Be it a freak natural disaster (take your pick) or a complete economic collapse, the likes of which nobody now living has ever seen. I refuse to be a victim of such an event and cannot believe that our government will have everything under control and be able to help every single person.”

Whether it is fear of an ancient apocalyptic prophecy or a desire to be prepared for any disaster that may come, survivalists share a similar outlook on meeting new people.

“I would imagine, in terms of a relationship, you’d probably be seeking a person to fulfill short term goals,” said psychology assistant professor Amanda Durik. “Things like starting a family are not so relevant if the world is going to end.”

Theater and dance major Yahkirah Beard said she and her significant other have had a few conversations about the end of the world and agreed it isn’t going to take place this year.

“I’m not a firm believer in mythology about the end of the world,” Beard said. “You’ll have to believe it when you see it.”

Both Durik and Creamer agree that a core belief such as this, to a person seeking companionship, is an important factor to match on.

“A person wants to be with other people who agree with them,” Durik said. “It’s comforting and affirming to be with others who share core beliefs. And if you’re wrong, you can deal with that together too.”