Network | Text

[burnyoudown]

[Does he know about what went down in Temba this month? Yes, of course he does. Is he going to poke at it? No, absolutely not.]

alright
survey time

everyone tell me what your favorite holiday is
and your favorite way of celebrating that holiday

also least favorite holiday too
if you want
like valentine's day sucks
why do we need one day out of the year to treat our partners special?
you should do that every day

my favorite holidays are ones you can celebrate by throwing a party
i've also never had a good thanksgiving

Comments

[text]

[in_extremis]

You're probably happy you were born every day, too, but you still get a birthday. Try again.

[text]

[burnyoudown]

you want the truthful answer to that or the socially acceptable one?

also i'm not changing my mind

[in_extremis]

You're not changing anyone else's, either, if that's all you got. Good talk.

[burnyoudown]

i'm not trying to?
literally nothing about this is trying to change anyone's mind about anything

so what, big fan of valentine's?

[in_extremis]

This is really just data collection, you're some kind of holiday nerd? Good for you, everyone should have a weird fetish.

I don't know if I have any strong holiday feelings, I miss them more than not. I just saw a weak reason. It's not like you're only supposed to care about veterans on Veteran's Day and spend the rest of the year kicking them down the stairs. You only do that if they're assholes. Or that's their weird fetish.

I guess Valentines would be up there. An office full of roses is an improvement.

[burnyoudown]

i'm bored
i thought it would be interesting to feel people out
maybe learn something new

also maybe if i find out what holidays people enjoy most around here, we can all get together and do something for those days

and baby, you haven't seen weird yet

for real though, i just think it's kind of messed up that there's one day of the year where people are made to feel obligated to do something ~romantic
romance doesn't need excuses
go forth and be romantic whenever you want

what really sucks is i was gearing up for a really awesome fourth of july party before this mess

[A pause and then-]

no one's ever done anything for me for valentine's day, anyway
and i know it's a street that goes both ways
like
i can do something for someone else, too
but
you know

[in_extremis]

Are you learning something new, or not changing your mind? Come on. Mutually exclusive.

That argument, the one you had for Thanksgiving, that's much more airtight. You haven't had a good Valentines. Fine. Can't argue with that. I don't know why you're sticking with the obligation line, you've already made it clear you're too cool, you wish you were never born, blah blah, we're all very intimidated. Listen, you don't need one day of the year to feel obligated to set off a bunch of fire works and have a barbecue, either. You could have a Fourth party right now. You should always feel obligated to set off fireworks.

text;

[bluelilyblue]

I'm not a fan of valentine's either.
I'd rather have someone surprise me out of the blue with something because they want to, not because of sociocultural expectations that make them feel obligated.

And the whole narrative of men as economic providers that women repay with their bodies by looking 'sexy' is fucked.

Besides, it was a way to replace the Roman festival Lupercalia which was way more badass.

But I think New Years is my favorite holiday: it's fun with basically zero religious or colonial baggage to make it weird.

Do you want to do something for Halloween? I know it probably won't be a big thing but
I think it's fine even if it's just the two of us.

text;

[burnyoudown]

[See, stuff like this was why he was in love.]

exactly
like
feeling obligated to do something makes it seem less genuine
at least, with shit like this

also: gross
no one should have to repay anyone for anything with their bodies

[Which might be funny coming from him, all things considered, but he really wasn't as big of an asshole as he seemed sometimes.]

tell me about lupercalia

and new years is a solid choice
always one of my favorites, too

hell yeah, i want to do something for halloween
it's one of my other favorite holidays
and not just because it's finally not scorching fucking hot outside
i wish i could throw a party
but you and i could do something special, too

[bluelilyblue]

you know, sometimes you're pretty okay.

[She found herself thinking that he was a lot more than okay, but for now this was the only way that she knew how to say it.]

I'll tell you in a minute, I'm almost home. And I think stories are better when someone tells them to you. Do you know the myth about how Rome was founded?

I wish you could throw a party too. I know that it won't be the same, but I thought we could do whatever. Make cookies, carve a pumpkin, wear silly costumes, dance around the living room and whatever.. I want to spend it with you.

[burnyoudown]

i'd hope you think so
but also thanks

okay
yeah, stories are better in person
or out loud, at least
and i don't think i do

that sounds good
and it'd be special cause
you know
you care

[And she would be choosing to spend the time with him and that meant a lot to him.]

action;

[bluelilyblue]

[He can probably hear the front door open, a minute or two later. She'd just gone out to check on the roof-top garden that she was working on. Obviously winter would be here soon, but she was working on getting the space prepped for spring, knowing how much harder it would be when there was snow on the ground. If Kavinsky was willing to help her, she could try and turn it into a greenhouse, but she hadn't yet decided if she wanted to.

But as soon as she comes inside, she just tugs off her sweater, dropping it onto a counter and kicking off her shoes, and then she makes a line for Kavinsky's bedroom. Some days it feels like she spends more time there than her own. She immediately flops onto the bed with him, cuddling into his side and letting an arm drape over his chest, her fingers idly tapping against his body, tracing against the line of his chest. There's always that first moment, where it's like she reacquaints herself with his body and is pleased to find it the same as she remembers.]

So, according to myth, Rome was founded by the twins Romulus and Remus, children of Mars, the god of war, and a human mother. But the king of the city ordered them killed, afraid of their power and what it might mean for his rule. They were tossed into the Tiber River, but saved by a female wolf known as Lupa. Wolves were sacred to the god Mars. Romulus kills his brother as they argue over where to found the city and who should be in charge, and founds Rome. So wolves were hugely important symbols to the Romans.

[burnyoudown]

[There was something domestic and cozy about having Blue on his bed, snuggling up next to him, and he had to remind himself they weren't dating right now. He settled an arm around her shoulders, resisting the urge to press his face into her hair. She felt like home and there wasn't a day that went by where he didn't regret screwing everything up. He thought there was still a chance but- he was trying so hard not to push or make her feel pressured.

Instead, he listened quietly to what she said, nodding here and there.]

The names sound familiar. And I'm not in the slightest bit surprised that someone would order people killed 'cause they're afraid of their power.

[It was precisely why he never told anybody about the things he could do. People feared those who were different and fear easily turned into hatred.]

So, does Lupercalia have something to do with wolves?

[Text]

[out_of_order]

Never really celebrated many holidays. I guess Life Day was a pretty nice one all around. We'd have a few big gatherings at the temple, but that was mostly before the war.

Empire Day's definitely the worst. Basically a day that rubs it in your face that everything you ever knew and fought for came to an abrupt end, not much fun there.

[Text]

[burnyoudown]

life day sounds nice
celebrating any specific lives or just all life?

the other one sounds gross tho
and also exactly like something an empire would do
gotta keep the plebs in their place or whatever

are you a soldier?

[Text]

[out_of_order]

General celebration of life. I'm pretty sure we still had a watered down version of it. Life Day's more of a Wookie tradition, but the sentiment was something we could all get behind.

You are so right though. Can't be an Empire without throwing your weight around, I guess.

Wasn't supposed to be a soldier, but I guess that's more or less what we became at the time. Still wouldn't say I am though.

[burnyoudown]

life SHOULD be celebrated
sometimes, we take a lot of things for granted

wookie??

sorry
that sounds rough
no one should HAVE to fight
like, in wars and rebellions and whatever else
it's fucked up that some people won't listen to reason
or are selfish bastards

[out_of_order]

We really do.

Wookies are a generally tall species, covered in fur, renowned for being able to pull arms out of sockets so um, don't make them mad if you ever meet one. They're from a planet called Kashyyyk, which is covered in forests but everything there kind of wants to eat you.

It is what it is. Unfortunately we can't change what's happened. Wish I could say things got better for it but obviously that's not the case.

[burnyoudown]

[For a moment he'd managed to forget all about aliens- but luckily this was text to he had time to recover and laugh at himself without anyone knowing.]

sounds pretty badass
good on them for celebrating life, too
and that planet sounds like how everyone always talks about australia
that's a country, with a lot of dangerous animals and shit

yeah
doesn't mean it doesn't suck though
maybe they'll get what they deserve someday

[ziedrich_bearer]

Winter Solstice. It was a rather nice affair back home, and one of the holidays my father always stressed celebrating together as a family. At home we would take time off. Traditionally the family, and perhaps very close friends, gather in one place. There is warm food and drink, people tell stories and sing songs and do little plays. The point is to stay up all through the night, until the new dawn. And then the next day you sleep very late and only the family is together, talking about what they seek to find in the new year so they can all work together to support each others' goals.

I liked it because it was a time when I always knew my father would be home to celebrate and spoil my sister Iris with me.

Least favorite at this point is probably the Festival of the Draconian, now that I understand more of the unwritten history of my world.

We had a thing some people compared to 'thanksgiving' here last year. The Agrii called it Great Full. Though I do agree with your point about love centric holidays.

[burnyoudown]

that sounds really nice

[So, of course, he was immediately a little envious. Or jealous. Or both.]

like
genuinely
i guess it's even better when you have family to spend it with, too
sometimes i've thought about what it'd be like to have a sibling
like a little sister or something
i dunno if being a brother would be good for me

[Anyway-]

what or who's the draconian?
if it's cool to ask

great full
cute
and thanks dude

[ziedrich_bearer]

Being an older sibling is about stepping up. Realizing other people need something of you. Anyone can learn it, at any age. Give yourself credit.


An Astral. God in some other people's terminology apparently. And he's an asshole.

[burnyoudown]

maybe
yeah

oh
yeah, people have lots of celebrations for assholes
whether they realize it or not
and when they're aware it's just like
but why tho??
gets more complicated when they're a god tho
i imagine, anyway

[ziedrich_bearer]

It never hurts to take what chances you can to change.

Bahamut, the Draconian, sort of ruined a lot of my world. So yeah, fuck him.

[burnyoudown]

yeah that's a good point

are people aware of what he did??
cause if they are- ugh
unless they're worried he'll get pissed if no one celebrates him and he'll wreck more shit