#February Holidays and Celebration Topics

[rebeccablogs]

Love Couples Marvel

[zeroeightzeroone]

my valentine - han jisung

love collection

genre: soft/fluff

synopsis: y/n and jisungs first valentine's day as a couple

pairings: fem!reader (infp) x idol!han jisung (istp)

notes: i made a pinterest! i'll be making mood boards for this collection and other things i write!

wc ~2.3k | moodboard

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:

february 14th, also known as valentine's day where lovers exchange gifts with one another to express their affection. but in korea, valentine's day is when the girls express their feelings for their lover or confess their feelings. however, the latter won't know if their feelings are reciprocated until march 14th, also known as white day, a month later. on this day, the men are expected to exchange gifts of equal extravagance to their lover or clarify their feelings to those who have confessed a month prior. 

you and jisung have been dating for a while. the topics of valentine's day and white day have come up, but those conversations are more focused on how those particular days were celebrated in your different upbringings. you are brought up in a more Westernized household where valentine's is expected to be a day where couples exchange gifts. with jisung's upbringing in a korean household, valentine's day being for the boys and white day for the girls. of course, learning about how holidays work and different cultures is always something interesting, another good seed of knowledge. 

regardless of the wisdom you receive from your boyfriend during your conversations, how you two would celebrate those days was never discussed. would you only celebrate valentine's day and exchange gifts on the 14th of february? or would you be giving him a gift on the 14th of february and he to you on the 14th of march? 

with both cases on hand, if jisung does exchange gifts on the same day, then it's just valentine's day, or he gives his gift to you a month later for the white day. you'd be happy with either outcome you just aren't sure which one you'll have, you're also too nervous to bring the topic up to him and make him feel like he has to give you something, where's the fun in receiving a gift that you had to convince them for? a week before valentine's day, you opt to find something for your boyfriend and see the result the day of instead of asking him about it.

…

todays the day.

your social media accounts are littered with couples posting about each other, whether these are on their feed or to their temporary stories. no matter where you turn on the internet, the sudden influx of couple content makes it clearly undeniable that today is the day, it's valentine's day.

it's not even a particularly special day in your relationship with jisung, it's not a birthday or an anniversary, just an international day to celebrate love, and you're still nervous. regardless of those facts, it's the first valentine's day you're celebrating with jisung since becoming a couple officially; that fact overrides the others. 

trying your best to calm your nerves, you're staring out the window as an attempt to distract yourself; reading the names of stores that pass by, the street signs or pondering on anything that catches your eye that passes by. but every single thing leads you back to jisung.

a cafe passes by and it reminds you of the first time you met, should you have gotten something better to pay homage to that?

then a record store. should you have gotten him his favorite records? 

everything that passes by leads you to overthink your valentine's day gift. wondering if you didn’t do enough for your first valentines day together? what if you give it to him, and when you look into his eyes, he hates it, but he's trying to cover it up by smiling like he loves it? what if he thinks your gift is too cheesy? 

the closer you get to the jyp entertainment building, the more thoughts run rampant in your head. when the driver slows down to a stop, going through the necessary security screening before the car park attendant opens the gate, you feel like your mind is going into overdrive. your thoughts are so scattered that you nearly forget to text him to let him know you're here.

you: we're pulling into the underground lot

your leg bounces anxiously as the car park attendant goes back into the kiosk to open the gates. your phone buzzes.

seungmoo: ok give me a second 

did you mention that jisung doesn't know you're coming? 

with the help of seungmin, you planned to surprise him at work today. seungmin helped with arranging for someone from the company to pick you up from your apartment, something jisung always tries to do when you come visit

to ensure your safety. it's also easier for you to enter the building without too much unwanted attention down in the underground lot. seungmin also helped keep an eye on your boyfriend so he could update you on where to go and surprise him.

seungmoo: jisung's in channie's room do you remember where it is or

you: i remember thank you so much again

seungmoo: yeah yeah you owe me

…

your hands are clammy, and your heart is racing as you stand outside chan's room, the faint sound of music muffled by the door that divides you and your boyfriend. you gulp, taking a deep breath before you slowly raise one hand, knocking on the door hard enough to be heard over the music. 

the music stops, and you hear jisung call, "come in!"

your hand moves to the knob, turning it slowly as you open the door just enough to peek your head inside with a sheepish smile. 

jisung jumps in his seat, he's shocked to see you but it's a good surprise–great even. he expected to see one of the company staff or one of the boys when the door opened. instead jisung was pleasantly surprised to see his beautiful girlfriend on the other side. the sight of you has his heart fluttering, unable to bite back the wide smile that pulls on his lips.

"baby! wh– how…"

your boyfriend is giddy as he rushes up onto his feet and out of the rolling chair he’s seated on. he swings the door open to pull you into the room and into his eager arms before shutting the door behind him; immediately, both of his arms are enveloped around you and swaying your bodies back and forth.

“did you miss me or something?” you giggle at how cuddly jisung is being. he doesn’t say anything but he nods his head vigorously.

with a big smile on his face, jisung pulls away to look at you, "you didn't tell me you were coming today!"

"i wanted to surprise you. are you surprised?"

“very! come sit baby,” jisung guides you with his hand wrapped around your wrist, leading you both to sit on the couch pressed up against the wall. 

you’re seated across each other, knees brushing when jisung reaches over to place the spotify pillow in your lap, covering your thighs as your skirt had ridden up the slightest bit when you sat down. his other hand is still wrapped around your wrist, caressing the skin gently as he notices something in the corner of his eye. jisung had been preoccupied with shock at the fact you came all the way to his work to surprise him; he had just noticed the bag you were holding in your free hand. the sight of jisung’s round, brown eyes locked on the bag has your own eyes blinking quickly, hands getting clammy in nervousness once again. 

"whatcha got there?" jisung gestures to the bag.

blinking quickly again, you shift in your seat and clear your throat awkwardly prompting your boyfriend’s attention to shift from the bag to your face. quietly observing you. you retract your hand from jisung’s hold, both of your hands now on the bag and bringing it up into your lap. 

you glance up at him but don’t meet his gaze. 

“i.. uh...” you stammer, “i got you a valentines day gift…”

jisung’s chocolate brown eyes light up. 

“i-it’s not much but… uh… since it's our first valentines together as a couple, i just wanted to get you something.”

you reach into the bag, still avoiding your boyfriend’s gaze, and your cheeks get progressively warmer as you hand him the first gift.

“i got you some chocolates that i know you like, ones you said you liked before, and then some others i thought you might like.”

jisung feels his cheeks flush, listening to you speak and watching you ruffle through the bag's contents. 

“i also got you some of the snacks you like, i’m not gonna take them all out cos i don’t wanna make a mess but…” your voice trails off as you ramble.

you glance up at jisung for a second, wanting to take a moment to gauge his expression before continuing. from that split-second observation, you denounce that jisung doesn’t seem to hate your gifts and give him the last couple of gifts with a lighter weight on your shoulders. 

you extend your arms towards jisung, a small card in your hands, and this time you exchange a small, meek smile. jisung’s eyes dart between the beige card in your hands and your face, your nervous eyes watching his every move when he reaches out with both hands to retrieve the card.

jisung’s eyes graze over the two words printed on the envelope; mon cœur.

“it's a gift card. just in case the jyp cafe goes under construction again and you need your iced americano fix, elsewhere.”

“i don’t care if the jyp cafe is up and running,” jisung declares, “i met the most beautiful girl there. if you’re there, i’m there.”

his words have you flustered, your next words coming out in a sputter, “y-you’re cheesy. b-but that’s it, i’m sorry that i couldn’t get you more–“

“this is amazing,” jisung is quick to cut you off, “the fact you got me anything–period–is so much more than enough.”

your boyfriend brings one hand up to cup your cheek, leaning forward and tilting your lips up to meet his own in a slow, gentle kiss.

“thank you,” he lands a quick peck on your lips, “but…”

when jisung leans back fully, he scratches the back of his neck awkwardly, and the gesture, coupled with the sudden ‘but’ makes your heart drop. 

“but?” you squeak. ‘oh no, he’s going to break it to me that he hates it…’ you think to yourself, bracing for the moment he tells you he indeed hates all the gifts.

“but you being here kinda ruined my surprise,” jisung laughs awkwardly. 

his words have your head cocked and brows knit in confusion. jisung moves your gifts off his lap and onto the couch before he rises to his feet, your eyes cautiously following his movements as he bends over behind the arm of the couch across from you. 

when jisung straightens his posture, your jaw drops in awe at the sight.

with a sheepish smile on his face, your boyfriend shifts awkwardly on his feet as he holds a bouquet of flowers in his hands. you can’t seem to tear your gaze away from the bouquet, a beautiful mix of a variety of red hues, along with the dark greens of the flower stems and leaves. 

“i was gonna come and surprise you after work.” 

jisung walks back over to the couch and sits down, outstretching his arms to bring the bouquet closer to you. slowly, your hands come up, brushing over his own as he transfers the flowers into your hands. 

“i wasn’t a hundred percent sure what flowers to get, i know roses are the go-to option, but i also wanted to get something to go along with them.”

your boyfriend explains as he watches the way you observe the bouquet with eyes sparkling in admiration. 

“one of the stylists has a friend that runs a flower shop, and i had some back and forth with the owner to determine what i wanted to get. when i did some research, red roses are popular on valentines day because it symbolizes passion and love–makes sense because its the day for lovers…” 

jisung’s voice is timid as the four-letter word leaves his lips, words that have yet to be exchanged between you two, and he’s apprehensive about saying them too soon, fearing he may scare you off. 

he clears his throat and continues, “the owner then showed me photos of the red flowers he had, and i chose those ones,” he points to the daisy-like flowers, the flowers are a darker red, bordering on a chocolate brown, “they’re chocolate cosmos, which also symbolize love… and the name has chocolate in it which i thought was cute.”

unbeknownst to you, jisung purposely omits a detail he learned when choosing which flowers he wanted in the bouquet. 

florist: [photo attachments] here are the red flowers we have

jisung scrolls through the photos, scanning the flowers through and through–hoping to find the perfect combination with the red roses. the boy stops at one of the last photos, he finds himself particularly drawn to the darker red of these flowers compared to the previous ones.

jisung: [photo attachment] what are these flowers called?

florist: cosmos; typically, they symbolize order, harmony and balance. in korea they are said to mean happiness, romance and youth the ones pictured are chocolate cosmos, chocolate cosmos in particular, means “i love you more than anyone can”

jisung: i’d like the red roses and chocolate cosmos then! i’ll be sure to give ms. choi the money, and we’ll be in touch again around white day! thank you very much! 

with your eyes closed, you take a whiff of the flower bouquet, your senses invaded with the deeply floral and sweet scent of the roses along with notes of vanilla and chocolate from the cosmos. lowering the bouquet down and away from your nose, you open your eyes with a smile, meeting your boyfriend’s warm gaze. 

you say fondly, “happy valentines day.”

jisung tucks a strand of hair behind your ear before responding, “happy valentines day, my y/n.”

[beanghostprincess]

Usopp has never celebrated Valentine's Day. And it's not that he hasn't had the chance, because he has. In fact, Kaya was always the one saying they should be doing something together, even as friends. But... But Usopp has never liked it? He knows saying that out loud would cause a world war inside the crew because he's aware of how beloved the day is for some of them. But it's just... Isn't it dumb? He thinks it's basically just another way capitalism and big corporations have of taking people's money. If you truly love somebody, you show it every day, not just on a random day in February. Besides, his mom always seemed a bit sad and lonely this time of the year, and Usopp never liked thinking about his parents this way.

But Sanji? Sanji adores it. It's a day of joy and love and he has an excuse to give Nami and Robin flowers and chocolate without being seen as weird. It's still weird but, you know, less weird because now there's a reason behind his actions and they're always just a bit softer on this day. Sanji himself is way softer. He gives Luffy more meat and barely argues with mosshead, and if somebody asks? It's just a day for love. He cannot be bothered to be angry today. His mom loved February 14th. It was one of her favorite days because she kept saying she celebrated all kinds of love, not only the romantic ones. Sanji was always excited to see her at the hospital on those days.

So when they start dating and February comes... They have different reactions to it. It's- It's a bit hard to handle at first.

The sniper realizes it's Valentine's Day right when he wakes up, and he kind of sort of wants to die because he hasn't gotten anything for Sanji and he knows how much this day means to him. Usopp just never thinks about it or remembers until Sanji explicitly screams about it. He blames Nami for not reminding him either. Not that it's her responsibility, but the girl could've helped. Whatever- He's not panicking. He's not. It's a dumb, stupid holiday and there's no need to do anything. He doesn't owe Sanji a Valentine's Day because it's dumb.

Besides. They barely started dating. And Sanji only ever gets gifts to the girls. There's zero chance he's gonna prepare something for Usopp.

Or so he thinks. Because the second he wakes up, there's a box right next to his bunk bed and he knows he's fucked. He doesn't want to open it. He truly doesn't. But if course he does. It's a beret. One he fell in love with a long time ago. Back when they weren't even dating. Back when even the possibility of dating Sanji was just a faint dream. So he- He doesn't even want to ask how the hell Sanji got this or when, but there's so much guilt inside of him that Usopp doesn't want to get out of bed.

But he has to, doesn't he? So he does. And he hates himself a little too much during the whole day. Sanji kisses him oh so sweetly. The pet names are over the charts. The guy won't stop speaking in French, which he knows makes Usopp weak in the knees. He cooks his favorite meals, and aside from the beret, he gives him a bunch of flowers he says he has been growing himself in secret (oh lord, for a botanist that's peak romanticism). And Sanji hasn't even paid much attention to anybody else. Not even the girls. It's as if only Usopp existed. And the thing is-- Usopp is expecting Sanji to throw a tantrum or get angry or be mad about Usopp not doing anything for him.

Sanji doesn't expect anything in return, apparently, and he doesn't seem that bothered about it. That's what ends up fucking up Usopp the most, in the end. Because he knows why Sanji is like that. He knows why Sanji doesn't care about it. He hates it.

He tries to approach the topic subtly:

Usopp: I... Hey, Sanji? Sanji: Yes, mon trésor? Usopp: I'm sorry for not getting you anything for today. It's just- You know Valentine's Day is not my thing and I sort of forgot- Sanji: That's alright. Do you think I'd reduce our relationship to only today? Usopp: No, of coruse not. But, just saying, that if you want to be angry, I don't mind. You have the right to want these romantic things. Sanji: As long as you like what I have planned for you, that's all the gifts I need.

But it doesn't sit right with Usopp. The fact that Sanji never thinks about himself this way and yet keeps showering him with love and gifts instead. So he waits until nighttime because he knows it's Sanji's turn to watch the ship and he knows he'll probably be in the kitchen more often than not. It's not much, but he thinks about something he can do for Sanji.

Everybody is asleep when Sanji finds a letter, a notebook, and flowers on the dining table. While Usopp watches his whole reaction from the door, hoping not to get caught. It's a stupid, overly romantic letter that Usopp has written in no time because whenever he thinks about Sanji, the words just come out of him easily, like a story he never wants to stop telling. The notebook is basically just his sketchbook, and it isn't a gift because it wasn't planned to be one, but it is all the drawings he has made of Sanji over the time they've been together, and Usopp thinks that's way better than just any letter. Meanwhile, the flowers are just the most peaceful and beautiful ones of his garden. The ones he uses more for scents rather than explosives.

It's not the best gift he could've made. It really isn't. But he thinks it's enough to show Sanji that he deserves these things too. He doesn't want his boyfriend to spend any other Valentine's Day assuming he won't be getting any form of love from Usopp.

What the sniper isn't expecting is Sanji to start sobbing all of a sudden. That's when Usopp realizes he needs to step into the kitchen. He's panicking a little while Sanji cries, sitting right next to him and holding his wet cheeks in his hands to check if he's alright. Maybe he has truly fucked up with the gift? Maybe he didn't like it? Perhaps he shouldn't have gotten involved. Fuck. Fuck.

But... But Sanji starts laughing? For some reason? He laughs between tears and grabs Usopp's hands in his and kisses them, holding him close.

Sanji: I'm sorry. Shit. I hate it when I get like this. I'm sorry. I'll stop. Usopp: What? No- No, Sanji. What's wrong? Did you not like it- Sanji: Huh? How could I not like it, dumbass? I'm crying because it's the sweetest, sappiest most romantic thing somebody has made for me and it's from the love of my life. How could I not- Idiot. Shut up. Usopp: I'm... The love of your life? Sanji: Did I not make it clear today? Usopp: Then you... You like it? Sanji: Idiot. Yes. I do. Usopp: Well, then expect all of our Valentine's Days to be like this from now on and forever, because your fantastic boyfriend Usopp will be known as the king of Valentine- Sanji: Dear, I know you love doing that. And I adore it. But the king of Valentine's Day is me and I'm not letting you have the title. Usopp: But we're together. Then that means we're both kings. Sanji: We would if we were married. Usopp: Then... We should- Sanji: Stop right there. Usopp: Huh? Why can't you let me be romantic?! Sanji: ... If you say it I don't think I'll be able to handle it- Usopp: Oh, shit, you want to marry me for real? Sanji: Yes? No- Not yet. Someday. I- Please, don't make me cry again.

Usopp truly can't wait for the next Valentine's Day with him.

[arlechinav-blog]

Lupercalia vs. Valentine's Day

(Pictured: Etruscan Uni, a precursor to Roman Juno, wearing her goat headdress.)

There is an annual deluge of blog posts, articles, and cute works of art that attempt to link Valentine's Day to Lupercalia and every year for the last 5 years I have put together a little walkthrough to provide some context. This goes hand-in-hand with my earlier post on Roman Halloween, aka the entire month of February.

If you have ever been tempted to believe that Roman religion was identical to Hellenic religion, you would be pretty close to correct but only after the time of Emperor Augustus. More like a smoothed out Romanized version of Hellenic religion. A thing that deserves its own post, honestly. The big point that I want to emphasize here is that there are--or I guess were-- two completely different versions of the old Roman religion. The older one was indigenous to Rome, shared a lot of features with the shapeshifting pastoral cults of Arkadia, and can best be described as the archaic religio. Prior to Augustus' reign, Rome was led spiritually by a team of hereditary priesthoods known as the Flamen. I am telling you this because Lupercalia is a day that belongs to the archaic religion of Rome and not the imported and converted one that came later. Okay, now we are ready! Here we go!

Lupercalia

Lupercalia was the public face of the old Roman wolf-cult. I jokingly call it the wolfstravaganza  because it was part of a complex family of unambiguous werewolf rituals related to the hereditary Flamen priesthood of Mars (the Roman agricultural wolf-god). The greater wolf-cult was once (and still is in some areas) wide spread throughout Southern Europe and North Africa. Most people who have even casually looked into this topic are aware of Lupercalia as a single day event. The wolfstravaganza presents Lupercalia in its natural place as just one part of an entire series of ritual days dedicated to different aspects of the old wolf-death-agricultural-cult.

In Antiquity, Lupercalia was celebrated on the 7th day of the wolf-cult's 13 day wolfstravaganza that kicked off around February 9th. This placed Lupercalia on February 15th. All of these numbers had a coded significance. The number 9 was the number associated with transformation between human and wolf and we know this because the number is used consistently and repeatedly in Roman lycanthrope mythology and iconography. The number 7 was likewise considered the most auspicious day for a holiday so seven days into the private wolf-cult festivities would be the ideal day to do something publicly significant. Two days after Lupercalia, which would be February 17th, came the celebration of Romulus' (the deified werewolf himself) ascension or transformation into godhood as the reborn indigenous deity, Quirinus. This would be 9 days from February 9th, counting the 9th as day 1. So, this is the natural and perfect day to place a transformation event.

I cannot emphasize enough how much symbolism is contained in numbers. Odd numbers were considered lucky and even numbers were considered unlucky so it would have been important to conclude the wolfstravaganza on an odd number of days. The 13th and final day of the full wolfstravaganza was February 21st. Also known as a "holiday" called Feralia--and it was terrifying. Feralia was a day given over to the agents of the dead--the descendants of Romulus' twin brother, Remus--as they ripped through pantries throughout the city, eating and drinking with the unquenchable hunger of the dead. Because that's what werewolves do...

These 13 days were seen as the days of the dead. The entire month of February was devoted to solemn rituals to appease the dead and that 13th day, Feralia, was the most dangerous day on the Roman calendar. On the Feralia, members of the wolf-cult would raid the storehouses of Roman households to eat and drink their fill in exchange for protecting the living from the spirits of the malevolent restless dead. As I said earlier, the wolf-cult was originally led by a hereditary fraternity-priesthood known as Flamen. The tradition is probably older than the concept of Rome itself and I say that because of just how widespread this cult was and still is active--extending from Iberia to (what is today) Eastern Turkey. Surprise! There used to be, and kind of still is, an absolutely enormous chunk of the world that essentially had a werewolf based religion prior to the rise of the more literate and cosmopolitan Hellenic cultures.

Back to Lupercalia though... Lupercalia was among several occasions--the terms holiday or festival don't exactly fit--in the old Roman calendar that were so old that they ceased to make any sense to modern educated Romans by the time of Emperor Augustus, who was also a religious reformer. Many indigenous writers such as Livy and Ovid attempted to explain the strange trappings of the holiday with folklore relating to Romulus & Remus--the wolf-twins. What most people don't realize, because the wolf-cult is so off the Radar as far as Roman religious history is concerned, is that Romulus & Remus were not considered human. To call them demigods is accurate in a sense but incomplete. They were both considered wolf-men in antiquity but one was considered the wolf of the living (Romulus) and the other was considered the wolf of the dead (Remus). And you can see this theme repeated over and over in all of the stories pertaining to Romulus & Remus.

I prefer to stick to Livy & Ovid as far as written sources on this go because--as I said a moment ago--they lived during the time of transition between the old indigenous archaic religious practices and the religious reforms of Emperor Augustus AND they were native to the region themselves. This means they grew up hearing these stories from childhood as part of the transmission of native oral history. In those stories, Remus is the one who is always either dead or in mortal peril AND he and his agents are always hungry. Remus has the appetite of the dead because he is considered the fully dead wolf. As brothers, their close but competitive relationship is an allegory for the beloved departed who always desire the food of the living and the living who need that food to survive. Nowhere in the calendar year is that more true than in February. It is a cold, wet, dismal month that brings rot to pantries and uncertainty to the harvests in the coming year. I have explained this a bit more thoroughly in another blog post relating to the Roman Month of February. So, there is a broader context of death for the month that Lupercalia falls into.

If you have ever done any reading about Lupercalia, you have likely heard that boys would wear wolf-pelts and run naked through the streets lashing women with bloody strips of goat hide to improve "fertility." Fertility is a rather broad concept that a lot of archaic rituals from antiquity are categorized into but there is some serious nuance to it and that makes a big difference. The type of fertility ritual in play here was related to returning mother's milk to sweetness so that babies would not reject the breast.

Rome was plagued by high infant mortality rates and infertility due to lead poisoning, which has the same symptoms as a baby goat who refuses to nurse due to the mother being kept too close to a buck. Bucks stink. A lot. And this is the time of year when animals start birthing and this would become a major issue if it wasn't handled in some way. One of the methods of dealing with this was and still is a buck cull. This effectively removes the stink of the buck, which returns the goat's milk to sweetness so the babies will nurse.

Roman mothers were having this same problem thanks to the lead poisoning. February to March was a time when the first babies of a proper June wedding would start being born, which is why June & February are sacred to Juno and March is sacred to Mars. If sympathetic magic needed to be done to protect babies born during these rough, lean months, the middle of February was the time to do it. A buck cull would provide a lot of nutrient dense meat for pregnant and nursing mothers. And goat milk is more easily digestible for human babies who have rejected the breast so it is in many ways important to make sure the milk of both humans and goats is fit for consumption.

(Pictured: Juno Sospita wearing her goat headdress.)

Both Livy and Ovid attribute the rituals of Lupercalia to the wider cult of Juno--who is a goddess of forests, goats, and milk as well as the mother of Mars, which would make her grandmother to Romulus & Remus. Juno is said to have taught them this ritual through an Etruscan augur.

February is the month of the dead and the wolf-men are the descendants of Romulus & Remus, the legendary founders of Rome itself. This lactation ritual happens to fall here because of how birth cycles map out on the calendar year. The people who would have the spiritual authority to perform this sympathetic magic would be the werewolf descendents of Juno. Which is just a fun concept. So, it was they who sacrificed as many goat bucks as would be required to do this and then those strips of hide would be dipped in blood and splashed over anyone with a womb who wanted their blessing for this.

As time wore on, a disconnect arose between the hereditary cults and the educated up-and-coming political families who did not have those old ties to spiritual authority through family lineage. There was absolutely some overlap between the two due to marriages between older families and those who were politically on the rise. That only seemed to heighten the confusion as this and other elements of the old archaic Roman religion had secret aspects handled by initiation and birth. The old agricultural chants were sung in a language that grew further and further from the more widely understood Latin with each passing generation. At a certain point, educated Romans started questioning and pushing back against the old and often really odd rituals of their grandparents' generations. They had to make guesses about the provenance of many indigenous practices. Eventually, the old religion just went out of style.

At least part of the reason for the disconnect between the educated classes and the Roman public at this time was likely due to the fact that the priesthood for the wolf-cult was hereditary so the actual rules and reasons for "why and how" was a closely guarded mystery. There are also hints about some elements of cannibalism involved in the older rituals that may have been either real cannibalism or a ritualized stand-in for it. This was not seen as something that a civilized nation should do. It was mysterious, it was weird, it was old, and it was not subject to the rules of the modern Augustan priests who formed a hierarchy on up to the Rex Sacorum. This meant that the wolf-cult was eventually pushed to the periphery of Roman religion, seen as a relic or an antique from another time that was allowed to continue only because Romulus was so important to Roman identity. The educated classes either looked for ways to explain it or were a bit critical of it.

Valentine's Day

Now we can move on to the creation of Valentine's Day. I'm not going to get into the more modern romantic connotations of the holiday, we are going to stick to the time period between about 100-500CE. This is what I think happened based on the full context of what was traditionally going on during the month... (Artist's Interpretation)

In the early days of Christianity, the public largely took the wheel in creating the cultural practices that work alongside the religion. Back when Christianity had a very heavy focus on martyrdom, your average Roman Christian was keen to prove their faith. They did this in many subversive ways, responding to the dominant polytheistic traditions around them. Keep in mind that February itself was still the month of the dead to the vast majority of the population. As such, marriage was absolutely forbidden for nearly the entire month because it was seen as incredibly unlucky. The preferred month for marriage was June because Juno was the goddess of marriage. If you count off 36-40 weeks from June, you land somewhere between February and March. So, February was considered a proper month to give birth. Also keep in mind that mother and infant mortality rates were quite high and, thanks to widespread lead poisoning in Rome, many mothers had sour milk which would also cause infants to not take breast milk and die of starvation. February was just devoted to other things. Romance was not high on anybody's to-do list at this time of year.

When Julius Caesar reformed the Roman calendar, he left February alone. It was considered so unlucky that he didn't want to add more days to it. That is why it still only has 28 days when others have 30 or 31. Remember that even numbers were considered unlucky. So here we have the month of death that ends in an even number, ghosts are running rampant, werewolves are doing strange things in the city streets, what is a good Christian to do to prove their faith? Why, get married of course!

If heaven is real then there are no such things as ghosts because the dead are all in heaven or hell! If the Christian god is real and all other gods are fake then Juno will not be blasphemed if you get married in February! And if Jesus died for your sins then there is no such thing as bad luck so a faithful Christian can get married smack dab in the middle of the unluckiest month in the calendar year and nothing bad will happen!

February 14th was literally considered the most unlucky day of the year to get married... if you ascribed to the Roman religion. However, if you truly believed in the Christian god and heaven, getting married on this day would prove to all that you had no fear. So, Lupercalia has a little to do with how Valentine's Day came into existence but not much. It DEFINITELY WAS NOT an occasion of naked kinky boys with sexy whips and orgies. That interpretation came around long after the practice had faded into obscurity and people were looking around for ancient origins for modern holidays. It relies on a outside-looking-in narrative for Lupercalia.

Keep that in mind when you see those posts about supposed crazy ancient Roman romance on this day. It was not a thing. Now go do your part and eat some goat.

[karttaylir-darasuum]

FAQs

when are sign ups due by?

you can join whenever you want. if you're interested, fill out the google doc and i'll get you a bingo card!

if this becomes a yearly thing that people are interested in, then maybe we'll start having official sign ups in january or february.

i'll start reblogging new content from everyone on march 1st.

when are fics/art/moodboards due by?

this is a year round event, but since a good amount of holidays fall around the late november/december time period and i want folks to have time for celebrations and family time, i've marked the cut off point as november 10th.

what are these bingo cards gonna look like?

every person who signs up will get a personalized bingo card. for example, this is what i might make for myself:

your username will go in the bottom corner - i used the event username as an example here.

will i get a chance to specify what i want on my card?

there will be a spot in the google sign up doc where you can let me know what you are/aren't interested in, or if there are any specific characters you might want to write for, but bingo topics are totally randomized

do i have to fill out every single square?

definitely not! you can go for a blackout bingo or just do the prompts that really speak to you. 3 in a row? awesome. 4 in a row? perfect. you made jaig eyes out of your finished bingo boxes? i'm not sure how you did that, but i'm impressed.

what's not allowed?

if you cl*neship or ship cl*necest, then this is not the place for you. no rexsoka, master/padawan, rape, incest, underage relationships.

smut is allowed and encouraged, but please no toilet stuff and again no rape or incest.

can i write... [a threesome, polyamory, polybatch, etc] ?

sure! so long as there's no weird cloneshippy stuff going on/the clones are focusing on an oc or reader character, then that's totally fine!

do i have to write specifically about x character i received?

for example, let's say one of your character prompts is jango and you're not really interested in writing your oc/reader into a relationship with him. that's okay! so long as jango has something to do with the story (he's serving as wingman for a clone, he's hunting the main characters, etc), then you can write whatever you'd like.

do i have to write a long fic? do i have to write a certain word length? can i draw something instead?

let your creativity take you wherever it wishes to go! obviously don't just write, like, 5 words or something, but any length is acceptable.

feel like drawing something? making a moodboard? a spotify playlist? go for it, i promise you we're gonna eat it up.

please no ai generated content

i can't remember what glass is called in-universe/i'm having trouble drawing tem's face/i need moodboard images

i have a resource page for you! full of reader inclusivity, clone trooper info, tips on how to unwhitewash the clones, and some basic info on māori culture

how do i find other people's work?

you can search the event tag (#2024cbe) or browse through the reblogs on here, which i will categorize by character and author.

when the event is over, i'll make one big masterlist of all the authors and stories/other content created.

[the-occult-lounge]

𝓐 𝓑𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓯 𝓗𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓸𝓻𝔂 𝓸𝓯 𝓘𝓶𝓫𝓸𝓵𝓬

Imbolc is a Celtic tradition that marks the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. The Celtic pagan holiday falls on February 1st-2nd and heralds the change of the seasons and the shift from the dark days to the sun filled days ahead. This celebration, from information gathered from Irish poetry, dates back to early 10th century. From informaton gleamed the holiday was originally around the veginning of spring and aligned more towards rebirth. However, we can justify this with the meanjng of the word Imbolc. The holiday's name means 'in the belly of the mother' and within the earth at this time sturs the seeds of spring.

Brigid resides over this holiday and was originally worshipped by a class of poets and historians called the Filid. Brigid is a Celtic fire and fertility goddess, daughter of Dagda, lineage of the Tuath du Danann, and deemed one of the most powerful Celtic deities. It is also believed that she is a triple goddess due to the fact that she has two sisters with the same name but they seem to represent different aspects which is very much the summize of most triple deities. As time moved away from paganism Brigid was adopted into Christianity as St. Brigid and was still saint/goddess of dairy maids, cattle, midwives, newborns and nuns.

Per https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/imbolc:

"Brigid appears in the saga Cath Maige Tuired and the Lebor Gabála Érenn, a purported history of Ireland collected from various poems and texts in the 10th century."

"Myths about Brigid’s birth say she was born with a flame in her head and drank the milk of a mystical cow from the spirit world. Brigid is credited with the very first keening, a traditional wailing for the dead practiced at funerals by Irish and Scottish women."

𝓘𝓶𝓫𝓸𝓵𝓬 𝓒𝓸𝓻𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓹𝓸𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓷𝓬𝓮𝓼

❀ Animals: Firebird, Dragon, Groundhog, Deer, Hare, Rabbit, Ewe, Sheep, Lamb

❀ Birds: Robin, Swan

❀ Colors: Brown, Pink, White, Red, Orange, Pale Yellow, Silver, Lavender

❀ Customs: Lighting Candles, Seeking Omens of Spring, Storytelling, Cleaning House, Bonfires, Indoor Planting, Stone Collecting, Candle kept burning dusk till dawn; hearth Re-lighting

❀ Deities: Brigid, Virgin Goddess, Venus, Diana, Februa, Maiden, Child Goddess, Aradia, Athena, Inanna, Vesta, Gaia, Selene(Greek), Cerridwen, Demeter, Persephone, Prosperpina, Vesta, Branwen(Manx-Welsh), Cernunnos, Heme, Osiris, Pan, Cupid/Eros(Greco-Roman), Dumuzi(Sumerian)

❀ Element: Earth, Fire

❀ Flowers: Yellow Flowers, White Flowers, Marigolds, Plum Blossoms, Daffodils

❀ Foods: Dairy, Spicy Foods, Raisins, Pumpkin, Sesame & Sunflower Seeds, Poppyseed Bread/Cake, Honey Cake, Pancakes, Waffles, Herbal Tea, Cheese, Spiced Wine, White Meats, Yogurt

❀ Gender: Female

❀Herbs: Acorns, Angelica, Basil, Bay, Benzoin, Blackberry, Celandine, Chamomile, Clover, Frankensense, Heather, Lavender, Myrrh, Rosemary, Willow

❀Magick Areas: Cleansing, Purification, Renewal, Creative Inspiration, Initiation, Candle Work, House & Temple Blessings, Fertility, Awakening, Protection, Truth, Wand Cleansing

❀ Other Names: Candlemas (Christian), Brigantia (Caledonii), Oimelc, Festival of Light, Brigid’s (Brid, Bride) Day, La Fheill, An Fheille Bride, Candelaria (Mexico), Chinese New Year, Disting-tid (Feb 14th, Teutonic), DisaBlot, Anagantios, Lupercalia/Lupercus (Strega), Groundhog Day please note the celebrations are similar but are vastly different when you look at the details

❀ Scents: Jasmine, Rosemary, Frankincense, Cinnamon, Neroli, Musk, Olive, Sweet Pea, Basil, Myrrh, Wisteria, Apricot, Carnation, Chamomile, Jasmine, Lavender, Rosemary

❀ Stones: Amethyst, Garnet, Onxy, Turquoise

❀ Symbols: Brigid’s Cross, Corn Dollies, Epiphanies, Candles, Lanterns, Sun Wheels

Learn more, like rituals for this holiday, at:

[sollannaart]

Prince Poniatowski in Kraków, in spring 1813

Today let’s switch back o the topic of prince Józef’s last year. The Polish Army under his command entered Kraków in the end of February, 1813:

(all the drawing by the Polish painter Zbigniew Łoskot)

What was prince Józef doing then? Well, his main task as a commander was to rebuild the Army. New conscripts had been taken already in Warsaw, in Kraków there joined the locals, the Krakuses, on their ‘short’ horses. The maneuvers would take place on Błonia meadow west of the city, sometimes general Poniatowski would attend them.

Krakusi:

In addition to his military duties prince Poniatowski had to participated in the social life. The ministers of the Duchy had moved to Kraków together with the army; a lot of Varsovians, fearing the Russians, had evacuated from the capital as well.

Holidays, such as Easter, the Birthday of Napoleon’s son, the King Rome, prince Józef’s name day, were celebrated with great pomp.

And though the carnival was already over, people were in such a need of fun that dances would often take place.

Prince Józef had to participate in such activities as well, even if he wasn’t in a mood of having fun.

Because the citation was becoming more and more serious. The garrisons of some Polish fortress were capitulating; general Frimont, the commader of the Austrian corps, which theoretically was an allied one, would push general Poniatowski and his men to leave; Napoleon was rebuilding his army and didn’t hasten to come from France; and, in addition, Poniatowski’s friends and relatives were ‘defecting’ and persuading him to join them, to betray Napoleon and enter the service of the coalition. 

One of those men was Konstanty Czartoryski, prince Józef’s second cousin (and the younger brother of prince Adam, a friend of the Russian tsar Alexander):

Another - prince Antoni Radziwiłł, married to a princess from the Hohenzollern dynasty, a first cousin one removed of the Prussian king.

(The meeting with Radziwiłł, however, turned out to be a very short one, because on arriving the latter was arrested by the order of the French ambassador in the Duchy, Edouard Bignon, and Poniatowski managed to free the unlucky visitor only on condition he would immediately leave Kraków)

But prince Józef didn’t give in.

The hardest moment happened in night from 6th to the 7th of May, on the eve of his 50th birthday. The emotional tension was so strong, that prince Józef was even thinking of committing suicide. Twice. (More on the topic I wrote here, in the post about Poniatowski’s relations with Napoleon).

But eventually he made a decision to stay with the Emperor of the French, what he announced next morning, revealing some details of his night thought, to another of his pals trying to persuade him, the count Aleksander Linowski:

And the next day the first divisions of the Polish Army started to move west, to join Napoleon in Germany.

[nrc-broadcasting]

i dont know if you're answering asks right now, but yeah haha, happy holidays and merry christmas if you celebrate it!

note: sorry for the horrendously long ask

〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜♡〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜

Good day, Prefect, I've been thinking of sending a message for a while now, and I've finally gathered up the courage to do so. I'm a second-year student from Heartslabyul, and I'd like some help with some things. You see, there are these two cat twins from Pomefiore; they're first-years, and they're known to stir up mischief and cause havoc everywhere they go, and most people aren't exactly fond of them because of that. The thing is, I'm in a polyamorous relationship with the mentioned twins, and when word of that started to spread, people started to discourage me from continuing my relationship with them, telling me that I shouldn't associate myself with such delinquents. But the thing is, despite being mischievous and chaotic, they're actually quite sweet and know when to stop with their antics; they're also very caring at times too. But most people aren't aware of this side of them since they only ever show it to me. Now, Prefect, if it doesn't bother you too much, may I ask, how do I convince people that they aren't all bad? And what should I do if they continue to tell me to end our relationship solely due to their reputation? I thank you in advance.

~ Harlan

Been Under Scrutiny

⋆﹥━━━━━━━🎧━━━━━━━﹤⋆

Ah yes, I thought this would be perfect for February, so here we are. Is Harlan talking about the Pomefiore Siameses by any chance? I vaguely remember seeing a post about those OCs but I can’t seem to find it again so sorry if this took a while.

Here they are again, sitting on a comfortable leather chair(courtesy of Professor Crewel), a mic placed onto the studio’s mahogany table. A platter of snacks placed to their far right, beside a stack of canned tuna and a sleeping Grim.

Their school issued laptop with a tab already open to read messages from listeners and their simple phone case facing side up.

Stretching their arms and cracking their back to get their blood flowing, they finally turn on the mic with a muffled yawn.

“Once again,” Yuu fixes their tie even if they can’t be seen.

“Good morning Twisted Wonderland! We’re finally back after… sh-t I can’t remember—” They turn away and whisper in realization.

“—a long time!” They turn back, a strange look on their face.

“Today’s ask is… quite lengthy. But so are most of them these days.” They playfully roll their eyes.

“Hmm.” Tentative eyes skim the message, soaking up the information like a sponge.

“Pomefiore cat twins…” They give a thoughtful hum.

They strum the mahogany table with their nails for a few moments, racking their brain for memories of said twins.

“Cat twins in Pomefiore… might you mean Akanda and Akenya Siam?” They trace their bottom lip with their index finger in contemplation.

An…unfortunate encounter with another set of twins’ prank crosses their mind.

“Ah. Probably not.” They grimaced at the memory.

“Perhaps…Siddell and Amani? Sorry, I don’t know their last names.” Yuu smiled sheepishly.

“Yes, they might be who you’re referring to. I might not have the best first impression of them, but it’s good to see them treat you as you deserve.”

“Anyways, back to the topic at hand,” Yuu pulls their school issued laptop closer to them.

“Let me provide a little summary of your situation,” Their eyes travel back to the message.

“You, Harlan, are in a polymerous relationship with the Pomefiore cat twins. They are known delinquents, which makes people around you to discourage your relationship, and this led to the twins attempting to shield you from that scrutiny by asking you to leave them,” They twist the ring around their finger, eyes still on the message.

“Huh, they seem a fair amount protective.” They remark.

“So from what I’ve gathered, the main question here is how do you defend both your relationship and partner— sorry, partners, from people who want 1950’s sh-t from you.” They softly click their tongue.

“I understand the need to defend you from others, but why do they seem so willingly to give your relationship up? As delinquents, one would expect them to not give a damn about what other people think and fight for what they think is right.”

“So where did that come from?” They ask.

“Yes, it might be to protect you, but at the cost of your relationship?” Yuu raised an eyebrow.

“That hardly seems like a fair trade.” They narrow their eyes.

“I think you should deal with your partners’ pleads first. As for what to say when you do,” They breathe, sincerely hoping this doesn’t sound wrong or out-of-pocket.

“Just say no. You know they’re asking you because they feel bad and think they don’t deserve you, so tell them it’s just self sabotage and encourage them to fight for your relationship than giving up on it.”

“Taking the easy way out is never good, so fight for it, even if it makes your knuckles bruise like violets.” They shrug.

“Then, defending and/or proving your relationship to other people will be easier as you now have them help you to maintain the relationship rather than giving in to other people’s opinions and pushing your break-up.”

“As for proving the relationship, the only thing I can really suggest as someone who’s been single since birth:,) is crank up the PDA and encourage them to show their sweet side. Since you’re already together, I don’t see any reason for embarrassment.”

“If they make you feel comfortable, if they make you feel loved, if you want to stay with them, then stay! You’ll be damned if you give a damn what people.” They say.

“If you long for those melancholic moments, staring the at ceiling with them when they never say too much. When they don’t have to read into your melancholia…”

“Then stay in their lavender haze.”

⋆﹥━━━━━━━🎧━━━━━━━﹤⋆

Our fairytale has come to an end.

[greenpanda-basicfakewitch]

Wheel of the Year | Sabbats Page One

Page two -> [In depth of the Wheel of the Year and the Summer/winter solstice and spring autumn equinox]

Just learned [as this is not my circle I'm frequently engaged in, remember whats common knowledge to you guys is new information to me] Sabbat = Origin was jewish and is appropriated and so it's not recocmended to use so others use Wheel of the year.

Why I don't call them Sabbats Blog Post -> Source Why I don't call them Sabbats/Tumblr -> Source *Little similair but goes into more detail about gardner etc. Wheel Of the Year Information -> [Source]

And so Wheel of the Year! Also words that might not be great to use;

Yule: December 19-23

Imbolc: February 1-2

Ostara: March 19-23

Beltane: April 30 – May 1

Litha/Midsummer: June 19-23

Lughnasadh: August 1-2

Mabon: September 20-24

Samhain: October 31 – November 1

And so with the above I am now in the position to pick out the rubbish out of this well, and see if the water is even usable at this point.

Most have stated that this is a hodgepoge luandry with a couple coloured socks in the mix and that others are made up/appropriated bastardized versions. Some are okay to use as long as you source the origins, not to claim it as wicca but state that for example Samhain is Irish descent, Yule or Norse descent etc.

Personally if it was up to me I would just do seasonal [speaking for myself but even when I tried to celebrate all the holidays I couldn't I was exhausted and all the STUFF you needed as a solitary which]

I don't know why it's not just split into the four seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter. Most you cannot use, but others I've been told not to disregard because celebrating them is whats keeping them alive before they fall to time. As long as you source them and say what is irish/ jewish/ norse and keep them in check you can still celebrate.

[Source] <- this is a tumblr blog post that goes into detail about the wheel of the year there 'are' some issues so I recocmend reading the comments/reblogs.

____________________________________________________________

[Source]

The 4 lesser Sabbats or quarter holidays are the two solstices and two equinoxes. They have origins in Germanic traditions and include: Yule (winter solstice) - Was told it was a pagan holiday, originally norse so far no ones brought up issues celebrating this one. Ostara (spring equinox) -> [Source] So online some people [and I myself who regurgitated and didn't realise] was told that Christians appropriated the old traditions from pagans/witches to use it into their beliefs they stold christmas from yule/ halloween from samhein and easter from Ostara. The blog touches on the misinformation that Ostara is NOT easter and explains why. Litha (summer solstice) From what I've been told Litha sometimes gets confused with the other one, and and Mabon (fall equinox). -> [Source] This person does just state the info as a fact and doesn't supply a source BUT others have discussed the topics and have backed up their statments so I trust it a little but in case you're like me and disregard information if it feels more like a personal opinion/ over fact.

____________________________________________________________

Okay this one I may still work on/edit when I get more information together because what I LOVE [sarcasm] about this site is that they are very vague about info and when someone makes a post THEN do they decide to be OH SO HELPFUL and tell me how WRONG I am ah gotta love tumblr.

[green-ann]

Meetings with V. A. Legasov

In the near future, at the initiative of the Council of Veterans of the Radiochemical Plant of the Siberian Chemical Plant, a book will be published entirely devoted to the history of the creation and development of the Plant. The creators are trying to make sure that not a single worthwhile detail is lost, so that people, thanks to whose work the plant "grew" in a short time and began to work successfully are not forgotten.

One of the brightest pages in the history of the plant can be called the work of Valery Alekseyevich Legasov, a simple engineer in the 60s, and later became a world-famous academician. He was one of the first to be at the site of the Chernobyl accident at that time, and was hardly one of the first to realize the seriousness of the consequences of this disaster and began to sound the alarm. Legasov's life ended tragically, for many reasons.

Today we present to your attention the memories of this man, written by Nikolai Vladimirovich Dedov. Nikolai Vladimirovich's notes should form the basis of one of the chapters of the new book.

Valery Alekseyevich Legasov arrived at the Plant in February 1961 with a group of graduates of the Moscow Institute of Chemical Technology. A very important period has come at the plant - the launch of facility No. 15. The international situation of that time dictated its own laws: it was necessary to eliminate the US monopoly in the field of nuclear weapons, so the commissioning schedule was very strict: the stock was loaded into the head department of the main workshop of the facility, first - not-irradiated, then - irradiated uranium blocks, while in the final departments, the installation and commissioning works were completing by an accelerated pace. Despite the urgent pace of installation, the acceptance of the equipment wasn’t easy: people were aware of their responsibility both from the point of view of the safety of the upcoming work and from the point of view of the importance of the events being held.

For us, students, who had just graduated from various institutes of the country, mainly of Tomsk, Moscow, Leningrad, the responsibility was very high: it was necessary to master and perform complex technological operations and manage subordinate personnel.

We worked in different shifts and met only during their changing, often staying on the second shift if necessary. We were young, physically strong, full of strength and energy (the medical selection of personnel was extremely strict).

Valery Alekseyevich, like everyone else, quickly joined the staff of the workshop and in August 1961 was appointed shift supervisor. From the very first steps, he won the respect of others, the ability to manage a shift team and workshop. The experience of relationships with people, accumulated during his work as secretary of the Komsomol organization of the Moscow Chemical Institute during his studies, affected him. Despite the intense shift work, we sometimes got together, often at Valery Alekseyevich's apartment, celebrated various holidays. Valery was an equal among equals, easy to communicate, never sought to stand out, although there were opportunities for this. Not everyone could resist the temptation to take advantage of such a situation: it was secretly known that his father was the head of the department of the Central Committee of the Party and, as they informally said, received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for participating in the revolutionary events in Cuba. We didn’t ask Valery about this: then it wasn’t the time to publicly discuss such issues.

Judging by the authority that Valery gradually and steadily gained, he had a good prospect at the plant, but Valery Alekseyevich in his spare time was persistently preparing for admission to postgraduate study and after two years of work in Tomsk successfully passed the exams at the I.V. Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy. Candidate's and doctoral dissertations were defended, the topics of which were closely related to practical tasks. At the same time, V.A. Legasov was elected secretary of the Institute's Party committee. It was a hectic time. Academician Sakharov started a political fuss, and managed to find a number of supporters among good scientists, but weak politicians. The merit of V.A. Legasov as the secretary of the Party committee was expressed in the fact that, as V.D. Rusanov, an employee of the institute, now academician, told me, he tactfully and skillfully managed to guide those who got lost on the right path.

As Valery Alekseevich told me, Sakharov, as a mathematician, together with a group of his colleagues solved the task of creating a hydrogen bomb set by I.V. Kurchatov. This is something that other equally outstanding scientists of the Institute could have solved with the same success.

1975. The time has come for the re-election of the President of the USSR Academy of Sciences. A number of candidates were submitted, coordinated in the Central Committee of the CPSU. The candidacy of A.P. Alexandrov, at that time director of the Kurchatov Institute, was represented by Valery Alekseevich to M.A. Suslov, a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU, and in the presence of B.N. Ponomarev, a candidate for the Politburo of the Central Committee. Valery Alekseyevich convinced Suslov that the time was coming to find and create fundamentally new solutions to energy problems and that the candidacy of A.P. Alexandrov as one of the creators of nuclear reactors was the most suitable in this regard. There were interesting moments during the interview. As Valery Alekseyevich told me, he said to Suslov: "Mikhail Andreyevich, you didn't understand me..." - to which Ponomarev immediately corrected him: "Mikhail Andreyevich understood you!" Valery Alekseevich didn’t immediately pay attention to Ponomarev's remark and during the conversation said again: "Mikhail Andreyevich, you probably don’t know…» and Ponomarev again immediately and firmly corrected Legasov: "Mikhail Andreyevich knows!" "That's when I realized," said Valery Alekseyevich, "that such expressions are inappropriate in conversations at this level."

As you know, A.P. Alexandrov was elected president of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

V.A. Legasov was appointed First Deputy director of the Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy, and while A.P. Alexandrov worked at the Academy of Sciences, he actually had to lead a huge Institute at that time, although there were many corresponding members and academics there. All this spoke of Legasov's extraordinary talent as a leader. In 1976, he was elected a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences, at the same time he was awarded the USSR State Prize for a number of works.

Despite my fairly frequent business trips to Moscow, knowing Legasov's huge employment (by this time he was in charge of the problems of hydrogen energy, plasma reactor safety technologies), I tried not to take up his time, but when I had to call and meet, Valery Alekseyevich always found time for a good friendly conversation. He was always easy to communicate, never referred to the lack of time, didn’t show a shadow of arrogance, carefully asked about business, about mutual acquaintances, and offered to appoint the meeting time to the interlocutor. Only once, when I went to see him at the pre-appointed ten o'clock, the secretary informed me that Valery Alekseyevich had been urgently called to the Central Committee. The meeting was rescheduled for 4 p.m., but during this period of time Valery Alekseevich asked Doctor of Science V.D. Rusanov to acquaint me with the institute. Then, I learned a lot of new and interesting things: I visited the Tokamak, I was told in detail about the mechanism of isotope separation in cold plasma. I was particularly impressed by the visit to Kurchatov's house, which by that time had been turned into a museum. The guide was the director of the museum, the former head of security of I.V. Kurchatov. We looked through a lot of unpublished photos, I learned a lot about  Kurchatov's associates, about the meetings held here, about how outstanding scientists made fun of each other. Already during the construction of the house, the architect ordered to replace everything in wooden structures with oak, "This is forever!"

At the end of the day, a meeting took place. It should be noted the modesty and simplicity of the furnishings of his small office. I told Legasov that he had been appointed an official opponent for my dissertation. "When will be the defense?" - he asked. I replied that I would have time to complete the material by the fall (the conversation took place at the end of January). Valery firmly told me: "You will defend in March!" "I don't have time to..." "You'll make it!" I had to work hard.

After the defense, we talked with him about plasma chemistry at the plant. I complained that interesting work has begun, but the plant wants to carry out some administrative changes that may negatively affect the pace of work.

"Don't worry!" he said just two words, and I didn't think that with all his busy schedule he would remember our conversation.

Not only remembered. After that, our group continued to work quietly.

Valery Alekseevich had the talent to see the perspective of the problem. Already in those early years, I listened to his speech at the conference, when he spoke about the prospects for the development of powder technologies. And only at the end of the 80’s these works were given great importance in the West. By 2000-2004, special national programs were created in the USA and many other countries, in the development of which hundreds of millions of dollars are invested. Unfortunately, there are no funds for this in Russia right now.

A lot could be told about this extraordinary man. At least how in England (apparently the author means Vienna – translator’s note) his appearance in the hall, where the international conference was held after the Chernobyl disaster, was met with standing and applause from the participants, or how in the USSR he was already congratulated on being awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor, but at the last moment his candidacy was crossed off the list thanks to the intrigues of some famous people. How he was not elected to the Interdepartmental Council on Chemistry. I know all this from the oral stories of his colleagues, our mutual friends.

Even such a strong, purposeful, efficient, cheerful person could not stand the intrigues of envious people.

The memorial plaque is rightfully installed on the wall of the house where Valery Alekseevich lived, in whose apartment we often met with friends, and reminds us of a resident of our city - an outstanding man who worked for the glory of our country.

About the author:

Nikolai Vladimirovich Dedov

The leading specialist of NIKI, Doctor of Technical Sciences

A former employee of a radiochemical plant

Defended his candidate's and doctoral dissertations on the job

Currently engaged in scientific activities

For the development of new technologies for the production of nanopowders, he was awarded the honorary title "Engineer of the Year-2002"

p.s. thanks to @donat5dio for sharing this article <3

@elenatria @legasovas @connihd @bewareofdragon @fuerst-von-argot @leonaevelyn @alyeen1

[atrayo]

Channeled Angelic Wisdom of the Jewels of Truth Series on Sex Addicts and Jealousy

Hello All,

It's been a personal journey to reach this moment to blog here today, aside from today's duo of channeled angelic wisdom topics penned originally today as a 1st draft by longhand. (i.e., it typically takes me 2 hours for inspirational psychic automatic writing.) But, let me first digress before I go off on the "Jewels of Truth" tangent. 

The reason in part why I missed my blog entry for late January last month. Was because I was observing the 3rd anniversary of my mother's passing from complications due to Covid-19. I wasn't in a state of mind due to melancholy and for some reason, it hit me harder this time around. 

Also, a Happy Twofer of Holidays today February 14th for this year 2024. We get the celebration of St. Valentine's Day and also part of the Christian Lent season for Ash Wednesday today. So I consider it a twofer which is a very auspicious occurrence n'est-ce pas? (Isn't it so?)

Today is in part a day of romantics but in an existential sense, it is also for lovers of the divine or of God(dess) him/her/itself. As a metaphysical phenomenon where the love is unconditional based upon Agape the form of love that is spiritually of service be it brotherly or sisterly. 

The nameless selfless angel I channeled as a master of grace decided to surprise me with the topic. I do that sometimes as a spiritual-based psychic channeler via automatic writing. I allow the angel to choose the topics and thus today's topics seem noir for St. Valentine's Day. Not just an excuse for the merry happy loving fool-making abandonment of the gaiety of the joys of lovemaking. But, the consequences when predation of the vile human condition is also unwittingly present, unfortunately. 

So I leave you with a duo of topics on the dark side of lovemaking that turns sour into lust for sex addicts and jealousy itself. Courtesy by the narration of the angelic master. Without further adieu may your spiritual horizons be healthy and well guarded in peace always. Amen. 

Sex Addicts:

3291) The gaze of the forbidden love can become the gaze of the unlawful. What was once an innocent attraction soon becomes obsessively passionate whereby it overheats unto a grotesque wanton unbridled Lust through and through. 

The seeker is now the crazed hunter of a manifold of social ills that best serves no one but the deformed fallen soul from within. We the Heavenly Host do not ever condone such hateful longing for the diabolical flesh. That injures everything that is noble and heartfelt normal of the Holy Spirit within each of you that may have such reckless aims. 

The flesh can be a thing of pristine beauty when it is cherished rightly by a mutually dignified grace of courtship. Where there is honor and devotion with respect towards the other person without succumbing to petty and vile tendencies of domination. Whether this is in genuine love-making even if such an adoration is purely spiritual of higher orders of devotion to God itself for the pure of heart in life. 

To have a predatory yearning toward forbidden lust in an unconditional classical deranged manner. Denotes truly a broken aspect of your personality and function in the world at large. A psychological fragmentation that reeks of a shattered life in the making. By masking selfish tendencies eroding morality to the point that carnal pleasure supersedes common sense revealing a total meltdown of addiction. 

Seek not to be defiled by the hungry that know no peace of the forbidden lust of various types of people and even animals themselves such as beastality. Whether as incest with relatives that lends itself to rape towards pedophilia that shatters a young life before it ever had a chance to begin emotionally. When there is no consent granted and devoid of manipulations by grooming the potential victim to be your fodder. Turn away from such corruptions we the Heavenly Host implore you for the sanctity of your soul. 

Be not the destructive monster that upends the lives of others be they innocent and guilty alike. Allow for the first whispers of grace to become the shining light of mercy led by unconditional forgiveness to find relief. Otherwise, the cost of your insanity will be complete as deformed and impugned to no end in sight. Your freedom will be no more rather more a slave to such devices that wreck any semblance of righteousness from having a sway over you. 

Do not be so far gone that you give in to such animalistic tendencies that leave you more of a rotten creature than an actual person in life. Those who are into predatory dating as womanizers are one such class of players of mind games in the sexual throes of personal conquest over the other lover. Such men and lesbian women be forewarned you are the Bitch within seeking domination truly over yourself. It is just you project it outwards as a form of demented transference onto your many lovers. 

Destruction of the flesh can be with violence as in warfare and it can also be certainly under the sexual guise coupled with self-loathing as predators of the erotic flesh by various degrees of Hell on Earth. Please discipline yourselves for even the youth of the man who later becomes St. Augustine from antiquity. Led such a highly sexualized youth as a hedonistic party-goer until that too led to personal disgust and tragedy in his life. 

Be the wiser and grow away from a life of the famine of lust into a greater looming perpetual state of forgiveness beginning within yourselves from God. Give yourself permission not to destroy yourselves multiple times over and then spread your moral disease elsewhere let alone sexually transmitted infections to the unknown. Yield to the spark that gives life spiritually from within your soul and allow us the shepherds of the ancient gods known as the angels to lead you away with mercy and peace of mind and heart in life. Amen. ---Ivan Pozo-Illas / Atrayo.

Jealousy:

3292) Be not the fool that destroys that which he or she has cherished in a relationship all along in this life. The wanton yearning for complete control over your lover by means of smothering them with your insecurities. Lends itself to stupidity rather than willful surveillance that is based on mutual trust. Jealousy can upend years of progress akin to a dripping acid of doubts that corrodes everything it touches in your mindless thoughts. 

To burn the bushes of Jealousy denotes a childish demeanor of being a spoiled brat. Making unrealistic assertions that defy common sense and mutual respect of your adored person(s). Placing the doubting Thomas with untold jealousy as the tyrannical ruler, judge, and executioner of their lover. 

The cliche is solid when it is the idiot man who with bravado as a womanizer has an informal circle of lovers akin to a haram. Such is the grand seducer or the lady killer of the submissive woman that is tricked suspecting they are truly in a monogamous loving union. That when he feels betrayed by a female lover who shows tendencies like his own to circulate with other men throws an unsuspecting tantrum himself as a hypocrite. 

Spells a vile tendency to control which is otherwise meant to teach him a hard lesson for the sake of the divine by means of karma. Such a bull-headed bastard gets a taste of his own poison and thus reveals his chauvinistic misgivings regardless of just cause. 

All who listen deeply have unfortunately seen this occur elsewhere in discreet social circles. The womanizer will injure the guilty and innocent alike just to feed their ego-centric narcissistic wants for carnal power over submissive or unsuspecting women. The logical fair truth is easily damned with such a dwarfed emotionally disturbed man or lesbian. With disgusted outbursts for control through unjustified manipulation with a wreckless need for power that borders on the insane. 

Those unhinged men and lesbians as womanizers who deem themselves with sexist bravado. Can easily lead to animalistic if not eventual demonic whoredom worshipping their own conquests in the making. Their hapless lovers caught in such a bewildering loop are now trapped in a web of manipulation and lies that can lead easily to domestic violence. 

On the other hand, as there are poor examples of patriarchy there are also disturbed women akin to Black Widow Lovers. Controlling or attempting to control ever-widening circles of their associates and lovers be they men and woman alike bi-sexually. These ill-gotten gains make Machiavellian look like an amateur choir boy in the offing. 

All manner of social drama is the stage that such Black Widow lovers thrive upon as their fields of cherished power over the hoodwinked. Their downfall is to injure or compete against their egotistical superficial pride. Often some are only living by an outline of a strategy of dominance where random unsanctioned events trigger a maelstrom of revenge and conquest alike. When others suffer in their sabotaging ways they smile with bloodless abandon towards the point of sheer malevolence. 

The Fallen whom walk amongst you as a continual work of ruin becomes an ever-widening superhighway into perdition itself. What began innocently soon spirals out of your egotistical control. Instead of surrendering towards the bitter lessons of life learned. They deepen their despair to the point of cultivating corruption wherever they gaze upon that suits their supremacy for ill-gotten unholy power socially and holistically.

But, the spread of their lies isn't sufficient they must make themselves as narcissists to being the legitimate caregiver that helps their distressed victims. To subjugate the other unbeknownst to them in circumstances of their choosing to begin spooling deadly silk to choke the innocent life from their prey unwittingly. 

The more victims they absorb into their madness as long cast shadows become a sweet-tasting venom of their design. Such manipulated victims become further lost to the world isolated further into the embrace of the Black Spider Queen. Sacrificial pawns of one hapless kind towards another are her newfound minions to serve the Queen Bitch as her fodder. 

Whether they are hooked by ideological brainwashing or sheer blackmail makes no difference. The Jealousy of such a manipulator soon weaves are viral madness like an infection like no other. Their Tyranny is only ended as the viper is soon beheaded by the often stoic noble-hearted knight out in the world metaphorically speaking. 

So confess your mistakes and make amends gradually where permissible without injuring your once victims of yesterday, today again. The one that rules themselves alone versus throngs of idiots is far more powerful of a purveyor of justice in due time. That only God can ordain with integrity in life.

Yours is the choice ultimately to live by the pain of your lessons with social horrors. Or pursue the pleasure of godly wisdom that leads you towards Heaven on Earth within a lifetime. Amen. ---Ivan Pozo-Illas / Atrayo.

Ivan "Atrayo" Pozo-Illas, has devoted 28 plus years of his life to the pursuit of clairaudient-inspired automatic writing channeling the Angelic Heavenly host. Ivan is the author of the spiritual wisdom series "Jewels of Truth" consisting of 3 volumes published to date. He also utilizes a unique channeled angelic divination method called the Multi-Deck Divination System. Numerous examples of his work are available at "Atrayo's Oracle" blog site of 18 years plus online. You're welcome to visit his website "Jewelsoftruth.us" for further information or to contact Atrayo directly.

[philosopherofabetterkind]

Little reminder for tomorrow's Valentine's Day, for all those who deny Israel's right to exist and still want to celebrate Valentine's Day on 14 February:

Valentine's Day, as it is celebrated in its current form in Western and Christian culture, goes back to a Christian saint and martyr or from the mixing of two Christian saints and named after him or both men. The two Christian saints are Saint Valentin of Terni and Saint Valentin of Rome. (It is also quite possible that both saints were one and the same person).

And we Christians are (Yeah, I know some of you baptised people out there would like to deny this reality, but sorry the New Testament is against you) a Jewish sect from Israel. Which only achieved the popularity and spread that made it today's world religion through the inclusion of Gentiles.

The first members of our early Christian church were Israelite Jews who saw in Jesus of Nazareth, an Israelite Jew too, the Messiah promised by God to his chosen people (the Israelites) and recognised him as such. And we Roman Catholics even trace our first pope back to an Israelite Jew — Saint Peter. (And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church […] (Matthäus 16,18 – ESV))

To summarise briefly for those who are confused:

→ Without Israel and Israeli Jews (including the Jewish faith), no Jewish sect, which later became the world religion called Christianity

→ Without Christianity, no Christian saints and martyrs, named Saint Valentin of Terni and St Valentin of Rome

→ Without a Saint Valentin, no Valentine's Day.

Get it? And if you're not hypocrites and enjoys in double standards, you should keep your hands off this holiday from now on. Or boycott it altogether, that's what you like to do. But of course you can still celebrate a festival of love and romance, I will gladly leave the Roman festival 'Lupercalia' to you. But wait, if you don't believe in the Roman gods, wouldn't that be cultural appropriation of an ancient and extinct culture?

Sources If you want to read more about the origin of Valentine's Day and Saint Valentin or want to check if I am telling nonsense, here are two English sources linked:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Valentines-Day

https://www.italyheritage.com/traditions/calendar/february/14-san-valentino.htm.

And otherwise, just search for 'Valentine's Day origin' or 'Saint Valentin' with your favourite search engine.

If you want to read more about the beginnings and origins of Christianity, please read the New Testament. (I highly recommend the Gospel according to Matthäus, who wrote for the “Jewish Christians” * and placed great emphasis on proving Jesus as the promised Messiah of the Israelites.)

But of course it is also worth looking at the other gospels (Markus, Lukas, and Johannes) or the Acts of the Apostles (Can be found in the ESV under 'Acts').

If you don't have a Bible at home, you can read the English Standard Version (ESV) online for free: https://www.esv.org/ * The term “Jewish Christians” is used in this case to distinguish them from the so-called “Gentile Christians”. “Gentile Christians” refers to all Christians who are not Jews or who were of the Jewish faith.

[sunlitabyss]

₊˚.✩🕯️°｡⋆ Imbolc ⋆｡°🕯️✩.˚₊

With the holiday coming up, I wanted to put together a personal research post for myself! If anything is incorrect please feel free to add on or send me an ask/ dm :D

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Imbolc, celebrated February 1 to sunset on February 2nd, is a pagan holiday from Celtic tradition. It marks the halfway point between the winter solstice and spring equinox. Imbolc highlights the connections between seasons changing, and winter and sunlight.

The word “Imbolc” means “in the belly of the Mother” referring to the seeds of spring stirring in the earth. “Oimelc” means ewe’s milk. Around this time of year a lot of animals are giving birth to their first offspring of the year or heavily pregnant, as a result producing milk. This milk symbolizes the hope of spring.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆Origins and Traditions⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

The celebration of Imbolc can be traced back to the pre-Christian British Isles. Its earliest mention can be found in 10 century Irish literature and poetry. The holiday traditionally aligned with the first day of spring and the idea with rebirth.

Traditional Imbolc celebrations were centered around the Celtic goddess Brigid, goddess of fertility, craft, poetry, and prophecy. She’s commonly associated with fire and milk. She was considered one of the most Celtic deities and appears throughout Irish poetry. She is also credited with the first keening, a traditional wailing done as a funeral practice in Ireland and Scotland.

Imbolc celebrations would traditionally start the night before February 1st where observers would prepare for a visit from Brigid by creating an effigy (sculpture) of the goddess, dressing her, and setting it in a basket overnight. The day of Imbolc was celebrated through rituals like burning lamps and bonfires in tribute to Brigid.

Over time Brigid was adopted into Christianity as St. Brigid. She’s become one of Ireland’s patron saints and is the patron saint specifically of nuns, newborns, midwives, dairy maids and cattle. She keeps the association with milk and fire as she was adopted into Christianity.

St. Brigid’s Day, celebrated on February 1st, replaced Imbolc. On that day an effigy of St. Brigid is washed in the ocean and surrounded with candles to dry. People also make Brigid crosses out of wheat as talismans.

Candlemas is a Christian holiday traditionally celebrated on February 2nd. It has commonalities with Imbolc. The celebration of the holiday can be traced back to 4th century Greece as a purification holiday and return of light after winter’s darkness.

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Sources:

https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/imbolc

https://www.bpl.org/blogs/post/the-origins-and-practices-of-holidays-imbolc-setsubun-lunar-new-year/

[carriechambers]

Wheel of the Year 101 - Imbolc

The post on website

Hello tumblr! Since we're in the Imbolc season, I've decided it's the best time to make a post on it. And it can also be my way of celebrating.

In this post, you'll find out:

the history of Imbolc

when and how to celebrate (MANY examples)

links to all kinds of tutorials (like Brigid's cross, recipes, crochetting, playlists and a tarot spread)

correspondences (colours, foods, topics, ...)

Click Keep Reading to read the entire post, or you can read it on the blog page Imbolc.

Imbolc

History

Imbolc (which is pronounced ee-molc btw), sometimes also called Brigid’s Day, is rooted in Gaelic history and is mostly about the Celtic goddess Brigid, goddess of learning, healing and fertility. She, as hearth goddess, is associated with cooking and family life. Traditionally, it marks the first showings of spring. However, as we often orientate ourselves around a calendar rather than how nature changes, it is usually celebrated on February 1st, as a midpoint between winter solstice and spring equinox. Some people do like to celebrate it closer to February 5th or on the second full moon since winter solstice though. And some celebrate on January 31st. Technically speaking, the celebrations were often stretched across multiple days around the actual date, so don’t worry if you don’t get it exactly right.

Marking the start of spring, it mostly was the start of agricultural season. The early celebrations were focused on welcoming the growing light, cleansing and purifying (take the spring cleaning for example) and fertility (milk is a common association, as the birth of lambs and other livestock was also happening through this season and was also important for agriculture).

In Wiccan traditions, Imbolc is when the God is developing and the Goddess is recovering from giving birth to him at Yule.

  How to Celebrate

A well known symbol of Imbolc is Brighid’s cross. Typically it has 4 arms with a woven center, but there are other versions too (like a 3 armed version). It is made of rushes or wheat stalks. Kind of like Yule log, it is meant to be kept around the whole year - leave them where you want, often it is hanged above fireplace. It’s supposed to protect the residents from illness, hunger and fire. Each year you’re supposed to make a new cross. I couldn’t find any sources that would talk about how to deal with the cross from previous Imbolc once you make a new one, but considering Yule log is meant to be burnt, I would say this one is likely meant to be burnt as well, or burried. You can see it as a talisman collecting the negative energy so that it doesn’t get to you, and then burrying / burning the negative energy. And here are some tutorials on how to make it: Written Tutorial Video Tutorial 3-legged cross video tutorial

As I’ve already mentioned, Imbolc is closely associated with cleaning. This can be both physical cleaning and spiritual cleansing, often you can combine the two (like by visualising while cleaning that the dust / dirt is negative energy).

Since it is the beginning of spring, another good activity is planting seeds. And this can be done both literally and symbolically. We often plant seeds for something we want to improve, or a project we want to start. Then we take care of the plant and our goals grow with it. This can be also done just in visualisation, or by writing our goals / wishes on a piece of paper and burning it.

Part of this festival is lighting candles to celebrate the growing light. Make sure to let air in too though, we don’t want the candles burning away all our oxygen. And as for all holidays, you can set up a seperate altar, or just decorate your usual altar with things from Imbolc correspondences. The correspondences can be honoured in many ways - like by cooking (with) them, wearing the colours, etc. And some other unusual things to celebrate can be making a playlist for this season, crochetting, etc. You can get creative.

And another thing can be taking a walk in nature and looking for signs of spring, like some flowers poking out, or trees starting to get their leaves again. Though, it can be hard to do in some colder regions, and even in other ones when the weather is changing, as if winter starts later than it used to.

And as it is the Brighid’s Day, the goddess of hearth and family, you can also have lots of family time! Watch some movie under a warm blanket, gather at a fireplace, in the kitchen, cook together… The options are limitless.

Other things:

Cleansing simmer pot

Sunflower crochet tutorial

Flower bookmark crochet

Spotify playlist

Youtube playlist

Imbolc tarot spread

recipes

Imbolc ritual cake

Recipes to celebrate Imbolc

Bannock

Baked custard

Honey butter

Honey cookies

  Correspondences

Incense: rosemary, frankincense, myrrh, cinnamon, peppermint, basil, jasmin, wisteria, apricot Herbs: angelica, basil, myrrh, willow, yellow flowers, bay Decorations: corn dolly, besom, candles, Brighid’s cross Colors: white, orange, red, green, brown, pale yellow Foods: dried fruits, grains, bread, cheese (any milkproducts really), nuts, eggs, seeds (like sunflower seeds), spicy foods, honey Stones: ruby, onyx, turquoise, garnet, bloodstone, amethyst Other names: Imbolg (Gaelic), Oimelc (Saxon), Brighid’s Day Other celebrations: Candlemas (Christian), Lupercalia (Roman), Feast of Nut (Egyptian), Groundhog Day (numerous places in Europe and America) Misc: beginnings, change, fertility, seeds, cleaning, cleansing, family, inspiration, creativity

   Sources

Llewellyn’s Sabbat Essentials - Imbolc (Rituals, Recipes and Lore for Brigid’s Day) by Carl F. Neal (2015)

wiccaliving.com - imbolc

mabonhouse.co - history of imbolc

thornandclaw.com - imbolc

paganpages.org - imbolc correspondences

Imbolc by Willow Martine on P&W amino

Imbolc by Damilein on P&W amino

Thank you for reading! Consider hopping into the blog and into Library. This is only the second post, but it'll keep filling up. I'm also reblogging useful witchy or pagan info, so if you're interested, do follow 💜

[amateur-weatherman]

Ol' Burnt-Out-Bisexual's List of Ways to Add Chaos To Your Daily Life

The Pocahontas Conundrum: In a social setting, when the topic of an form of media (movies, TV shows, art) comes up, immediately go over and ask, quite excitedly, if they are talking about Pocahontas. If and when they say no, lose all interest and leave. If anyone asks you why are you so interested, pull an Uno Reverse and ask if they do not care about Native Americans

Greet everyone that enters an elevator that you are on as if it is your job

At your desk, at work if you have an office job, have stock photos of children framed and set up. When people inevitably ask about them, seem offended that they assume these are your kids.

This one *might* get you in trouble with the law, but... Set fire to random things. On an unrelated note, pistachios are surprisingly flammable

Loudly gag in quiet public places. The surrounding people will be morally obligated to feel worried about you, but socially obligated not to ask for that many details

This one is for the feminists out there: Next time someone tells you that you would be nicer-looking if you smiled, tell them your whole family recently died in a car wreck. Bonus points if you cry

Buy fake teeth, and then "accidentally" drop them out of your pockets when you leave a bus or restaurant.

Celebrate incredibly obscure holidays, like Yorkshire Pudding Day (October 13), Banana Bread Day (February 23) or Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day (January 29)

Reblog to help others spread chaos into the world

[lgcmanager]

V&A MISSION 005 ( UPDATE )

( important note: there’s no writing requirements for this. it’s just an ic update so that everyone knows what happened/will happen. )

on NOVEMBER 21, the current members were summoned to another meeting with their managers, KYUHWAN and KYUWON. the two of them were seen wearing christmas hats to celebrate the joyous festivities early. KYUWON begins to speak first, “good news, all of you got a christmas present from legacy.” he then hands each of the members the folders of line distributions for their b-sides. “due to the holidays, the company was able to prioritize your comeback and we can now slowly work on making sure that everything is ready for the big day. i know it means more work for all of you, but we did warn everyone beforehand to enjoy the break while you can.” 

“but wait!” KYUHWAN exclaims as he felt excited over the next batch of news he was about to tell them. leaving his spot, he exits out of the room and after a few minutes, he returns back with HAN KEEHO, JUNG WOOKJIN, and PONGSAK TEE standing next to him. “these three should be familiar to you thanks to future dreams. if not, now is the time to get well-acquainted with all of them. after the coaches saw their performances during the debut bootcamp that they undertook recently, we’re happy to announce that these three will be joining all of you as members of V&A.”

KYUWON smiled as he added, “i know, i know. some of you are going to ask us who is going to what unit. that was the same question we had when our bosses told us the news too.” perhaps it’s because it was the first time V&A had new members, but both of the managers were hoping that this would be the start of something good for their group. 

“HAN KEEHO,” KYUWON called his name first before revealing, “you will be joining AGITO, the unit that i take care of.”

KYUHWAN looked at WOOKJIN and TEE with a shy smile as he told them, “and WOOKJIN and TEE will be joining VERSUS.” KYUHWAN then added in a lighthearted manner, “personally, i’d say all three of you should get used to recognizing your managers. you don’t want to accidentally go to the wrong unit.”

the managers give the next few minutes some time for both the current and new members to get well acquainted with each other before explaining additional details about the new members.

for KEEHO, WOOKJIN, and TEE, all three of them will move from the debut bootcamp dorms to the V&A dorms. KEEHO will be in ROOM B with HARU while TEE will be in ROOM A with ALEX and WOOKJIN will be in ROOM B with JAESUN and YEONWOO.

because this announcement is only known to the members and not to the public, they will be spending the rest of the trimester and part of JANUARY getting well acquainted with the rest of the V&A members and learning all of V&A’s songs and choreography ( including the new ones, as you will see later on ). they will not be able to participate in OPEN EVENT 006 ( FANSITES ) until FEBRUARY, but if you want to give us the e-mail address to add you to the blogs, you can do so! furthermore, aside from the year end ceremonies event, they ( KEEHO, TEE, and WOOKJIN ) can participate in V&A MISSION 005 ( WRITING CHALLENGE ) if they want but for them it will be any posts written from TODAY until DECEMBER 31, 2022 11:59PM EST.

“oh! about the comeback,” KYUWON changes the topic back to what they had originally. “V&A’s comeback will be on FEBRUARY 7. it’s a bit earlier than what the creative team had in mind, but supposedly legacy is going to have a busy first half of 2023.”  

since the title tracks were not revealed last time, we can now announce it:

TRAUMA – VERSUS

YOUR SONG – AGITO 

( important note: there will be no V&A title track song like before and the albums this time around will be split into two; one version for versus and one version for agito. in addition, for agito’s title track, there’s no choreography for it so agito won’t be focusing on dancing as much as they have before. however, they will be strongly encouraged to work on their vocals. )

you can find the line distributions document for the title tracks and b-sides over HERE ( this includes the new members and their parts too ). with this update, you can create threads pertaining to this if you wish for the writing challenge!