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natsumi-no-hotaru · 2 years

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There and back again: a megane-ko’s adventure

Part 3: In memoriam of a bygone winter

AKA. A more-than-1-year anniversary post.

This is for you, 002.

[Previously: Part 2 - in which I couldn’t stop ogling at My Lady’s legs and made known my Zhongguang Manifesto. But content-wise, this is more a continuation of my GI experience in Part 1.]

Osmanthus wine tastes the same as I remember... But where are those who share the memory?

Nostalgia is perhaps an unusual mood to indulge in at the beginning of the year, when it’s the norm to look forward and not backward. But at some parts of the world like mine, where the lunar calendar still holds considerable importance, the Gregorian New Year heralds the end of another zodiac year, reminding all to wrap up unfinished work for a fresh start.

If you are not a first-timer to my tumblr, you may be aware that I have recently taken even more of my sweet time with posting, all the more so on GI. So in a way, part 3 is a challenge for myself - can I finish it before the Year of the Tiger arrives?

... Yeah, given my track record, you know where to place the bet. To put in gacha terms, I don’t think you’re gonna win the 50:50.

Self-defeating thoughts aside, it is high time to deliver on the promise made since Part 1 - to recount my adventure with the Samaritan in the snow.

To briefly recap, winter 2020 was a time of equal turbulence and excitement for me. Overloaded by work at the office, I sought escape in GI, accompanied by my coworkers, A-senpai (who has long quit the game by the time I was writing this post) and L-kun (who has now become Y-kun). After much fumbling and failing, not to mention the self-inflicted hurdle in the form of an inferiority complex, I finally arrived at a place of mental equilibrium, where I could enjoy GI without being wracked by hyper-competitiveness and torn by the stigma of spending money on game. It was tough weathering the mid-game - the period from Adventure Rank (AR) 35 to 44 - when the world level (difficulty of mob and bosses) went up much faster than the pace of investment into my characters, and the 5-star artifact drop rate was pretty dismal. Yet, it was an unforgettable time, filled with lovely moments of camaraderie, hours of joint exploration, and merry, nail-biting co-op trips for artifact grinding or event bosses. The struggle was so much fun because I never lacked for good company.

The next leg of my journey took me to Dragonspine, a then-newly released region with wintry aesthetics and mountainous setting perfectly made for a Christmas adventure. Dragonspine was also very special for it was the first area with adverse environmental effect. The arctic climes were not just for show - you would start to feel the chills settling in as soon as you step away from a heat source, and once the Sheer Cold bar is full, your HP will steadily drop unless you have a way to keep yourself warm. This made exploration of Dragonspine particularly challenging, especially when you may be waylaid by mobs in locations without close access to a fire or a brazier, and your Pyro characters may not be very strong or properly invested. Given such conditions and my noob skills, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that my exploration progress in Dragonspine was well, quite modest in the early weeks of this region’s release.

One beautiful day, taking a break from Dragonspine’s chills, I went to a pond in Mondo to catch frogs for Dustproof Potion (enhances Geo damage). Suddenly, my therapeutic routine was disturbed by a request to enter my world (aka. co-op mode). Normally, whenever someone wants to visit your world, a message will appear asking if you wish to welcome this person or not. Unbeknownst to me, the co-op settings were changed to welcoming all visitors automatically, without the inquiry message. Out of nowhere, a Diluc appeared. With no more prompting than my casual “hi”, the stranger asked if they could pick some of my Windwheel Asters. I had no need for those flowers so I told them to feel free and take as many as he needed. Normally, I would pay some attention as to where the stranger teleported to and what else they might be doing. But it was my chill time and I have not caught all the frogs yet.

Fifteen minutes or so passed and I was just about to forget about the stranger’s presence in my world, if not for a message cropping up on the left, something along the line of “I’m done. What are you up to?” Unsatisfied that I was more or less up to not much usefulness, he asked if I finished exploring Dragonspine and, upon my reply to the negative, immediately proceeded to drag my ass off to said freezing and inhospitable place offered a helping hand to speed things up. It was not everyday that a thankful and courteous fellow traveler made such an offer so I took them up on it and teleported to the Frost-bearing Tree.

Thus our joint exploration began along the meandering path up the snow-capped mountains. Helpful Stranger™ quickly set themself to work - getting rid of ice-shield hilichurls and Frostarm Lawachurls that barred our way or guarded treasure chests (or “boxes”, as the stranger liked to shorten), lighting the torches and braziers on the way to keep the Sheer Cold at bay, and pointing out the locations of Crimson Agate (items to level up the Frost-bearing Tree and earn its rewards), all the while keeping up a steady stream of solicitous questions about my progress in the game. It was lovely to talk to Stranger - they were baffled about my decision to skip commissions to stay at AR 35 (”but why not get free primogems?”), but most understanding about my frustration over artifact grinding (”you will get better artifacts after AR 40″) and super encouraging when I talked about my wish to be a Ningguang main (”your Ningguang will get stronger”). We totally bonded over being absolute simps for the dragon-tattooed lady - “no need for reactions!” and could not stop singing praises of Ningguang to save our lives (not that we were in any danger with a very capable Diluc).

Time flew by when one was on a mission and soon enough it was approaching midnight. Yet Helpful Stranger™ was only more fired up, pushing forward and taking the lead in the spirit of Caesar - they came, they saw, they conquered and kicked ass. Often enough, my horrid navigational skills would slow me down; hardly did I arrive at the scene of action only to find the fight already over and Diluc was jumping up and down near a chest or a Crimson Agate, as if to mark the spot with an X. We traversed the desolate landscape, combing through the columns and ruins at the Entombed City, dropping down the Starglow Cavern to solve the Fire Seelie puzzles, and frantically searching for Scarlet Quartz while scaling frozen ridges. What still impressed on me, a year later, was how patient Stranger was, no matter how often I fell down from slippery ledges, how long it took for me to clear the time trials we came across (or not clear at all). Helpful Stranger™ was nothing but sincere and and supportive, constantly telling me that it was fine, that they were not going anywhere, that they were still waiting for me to slowpoke my way to get here. I’m sure that if I were to play with them in person, there would likely be exaggerated eyerolls or the occasional bursts of laughter at my various failings, but even then, not an unkind word would be uttered. They would still believe that I could do it, be it battling a Ruin Grader or solving a Seelie puzzle --- well, at least let me have a couple of turns at it, before jumping in to incinerate all with a sizzling Phoenix.

Three hours have passed since we travelled together and the second hour of the morning had struck. It was time for Helpful Stranger™ to leave, cos it was quite late and their phone was close to out of battery. We bid a swift but fond farewell, eagerly looking forward to the next time we join forces to conquer all. One Ningguang lover, added to the friend list!

The heady excitement of the late night spilled into the next day, as I told my colleagues of my encounter with this super nice person who helped me explore Dragonspine for three hours straight, with only some Windwheel Asters for compensation. Y-kun was quite impressed, especially at the luck that Helpful Stranger™ had to have pulled Diluc as a F2P, and agreed that we would try calling on him for extra firepower, literally, during our co-op artifact domain runs. In high spirits, I called them my Samaritan, or Sama for short. The title grew on me and became the way I referred to them from then on.

My next outings with Sama took us back to Minlin and Lisha, where plenty of treasure chests awaited discovery (”go for a walk with me. I’ll get you free primogems.”) Along the way, we talked a bit more about ourselves and our Travelers’ namesakes. Sama turned out to be a Filipino boy in university, currently dating a girl, and raising a cat (or cats?). His Traveler’s namesake is a reference to the anime Darling in the Franxx, a big favorite of his. He asked if my Traveler’s name (Altair) came from Assassin’s Creed, to which I said nope (Shoukoku no Altair is a bit obscure for most people, huh?). Sometimes, we would share brief snippets of our lives - the food we ate (”do you eat chicken with adobo?”) or the kind of day we had. But more often than not, the topics of our conversations would return to our progress in GI, our luck with gacha pulls (”are you luckier because you put in money?”), whales (”I wish I had that much money!”), and my laggy gaming experience (”try to switch to xyz settings”).

Sama’s generous spirit and all-time readiness to lend a helping hand quickly endeared him to me and I truly looked forward to introducing him to Y-kun in game, and to us three playing in co-op. Such an opportunity soon came to us in the form of Hypostatic Symphony, a series of combat challenges against elemental cube bosses with greater variety of attacks than those found in the overworld. Suffice to say that this event exceeded my abilities and was far too draining for Y-kun to go solo. Of course, it would be simple enough to do the challenge in easy mode to get primogems, the most valuable reward, and skip hard mode which gave useful but farm-able stuff like Mora, talent books and crystals. But somehow neither of us was willing to settle for the minimum and I couldn’t, for the life of me, say exactly what drove us to go the extra mile.

And so, the long-awaited moment arrived at last: Sama was introduced to Y-kun, also known as “the guy with Ganyu”, and off we went to conquer the Hypostasis challenges. It took us a while to put together the right team and strategy for taking down those pesky cubes, and for me to remember the cubes’ attack patterns and mechanics. I recall us taking all sorts of buffs from food items and potions, even running out of ingredients (lizard tails for cryo buff) to make them, and still struggling to survive and deal sufficient damage at critical moments. For me, the worst of them was the Anemo Hypostasis. My abysmal coordination and laggy laptop prevented me from gliding properly to collect all the anemo particles to prevent the cube from healing itself. What ended up happening was Sama and Y-kun taking on collection duty, instead of dealing damage, and me well... making sure to stay alive. The less painful one was the Geo Hypostasis, in which I was marginally more useful in using Zhongli and Noelle to break the basalt columns.

But the harder it was, the more rewarding victory became. We had so much fun throughout the whole 7 challenges - having each other’s back, healing, picking up the slack, being bait (dat me), coming up with the most optimal strategies for our handful of usable characters. Having me as part of the team sometimes hindered more than helped, but both Y-kun and Sama did not mind it at all. Their patience and tenacity pulled us through, and we each ended up with more than 14000 points for the entire event, enough to get all the primos, talent and experience books, and best of all - the event namecard to commemorate our success. The moment of claiming those rewards is certainly one of my most exhilarating GI experiences to date.

After the Hypostatic Symphony, the three of us teamed up often for domain runs, mostly Clear Pool for the Noblesse Oblige set (when the exchange mechanism of Artifact Strongbox had yet to exist), Domain of Guyun for Archaic Petra and Retracing Bolide (way back when these were the only sets available to Zhongli) and Midsummer Courtyard for Thundering Fury (goodness, the drop rate was abysmal but again, not much choice in artifacts for Fischl back then). If memory serves me well, we often suffered casualties in Clear Pool, because of the three Abyss Mages ganging up and none of us had a well invested Anemo character to swirl. Our usual strategy was to split up the Mages, with us taking care of one Mage each, or to divide the team in half, with 2 persons tackling the Pyro Mage first and then coming back together for the other two. Y-kun would often use Childe, Sama sticking to his trusty Diluc and I would bring Zhongli and Qiqi or just Kaeya/Xingqiu, depending on whose world we visited for co-op. Soon enough, the time spent on each domain run started to drop with practice and improved teamwork. Artifact farming, for a while, felt less like chores and more like fun, relaxing times with some occasional mishaps (poor Sama, sometime I didn’t heal him in time lol).

Once our daily resins were all spent, we would run around in the open world (often mine), having so much fun from chasing each other, gliding to pretty spots, gathering materials and beating up world bosses. Genshin felt much more novel back in those days, when the lack of time, not space for exploration, was the issue. The continent of Teyvat was much smaller than what has been unveiled to date, but I enjoyed myself greatly, especially the excellent company. And how could I not, when there was always a companion who would jump over to help out, regardless of whether he had already used up his resins or not, and be so generous with his time in tagging along my exploration of the open world?

And so these tender days passed by and the Lunar New Year of 2021 came, bringing with it the first Lantern Rite celebration of GI. The festive atmosphere was truly a welcoming change of pace, immersive and heartwarming. Making the Xiao lanterns, spreading the joy of Lantern Rite to faraway corners of Liyue, and persuading Xiao to join in the release of the giant Mingxiao lantern (shaped like a Qilin, the illuminated beast of Ganyu’s heritage) were all the things that I greatly enjoyed and still fondly recalled. And no Lantern Rite is complete without a few runs of Theater Mechanicus. This rendition of the tower defense is special not only because it was the first time, but also the only time that I solely played it in co-op mode.

I did not expect to enjoy it so much, given my general disinterest in the more strategic side of gaming. Reluctance was my initial reaction and I felt quite lost in trying to tackle this challenge on my own. But Sama came to the rescue, as per my request to team up, and I soon had a change of heart. There was this sense of exhilaration in following Sama’s directions on where to place this and that tower or a Geo construct, the way one would a commander in battle, and seeing how well it all turned out. At some point, I even called Sama “general” and he was inordinately pleased about it. It felt great to entrust him with leading us to victory and just do my part (and laugh a little at his occasional miscalculations). One stage after another, we cleared them all without breaking a sweat.

It was also around this time that Sama’s misperception about my gender was cleared up. Honestly speaking, I would have liked him to continue calling me “bro” for a little longer because being mistaken for another gender was actually pretty fun. The cat was out of the bag during one of our three-person co-op sessions. Most of the details have escaped me but in short, Y-kun saw Sama addressing me by “dude” or some similar form of masculine address, found it to be quite hilarious and decided to rectify Sama’s mistake via in-game private messaging. I was not wholly on board with the revelation but from Y-kun’s report, Sama was a real good sport over it. He was very surprised (to the point of even asking Y-kun if I was a male but preferred to be addressed as a female) but not unpleasantly so. Upon Y-kun’s explanation that I hid my gender to avoid being treated differently, Sama simply sought to reassure Y-kun of his respect for gamers, regardless of their gender. Female gamers were pretty cool to him, as his girlfriend was one too.

And so our gaming routine continued, with no substantive change in how Sama interacted with me. While I was no longer a “bro”, I was given a new term of endearment - “Ningbabe”, which, admittedly, was quite sweet. It really felt good, seeing it in the chat. I even jokingly told him to not go behind his girlfriend’s back when he first called me that, and got another sweet reply (of a different kind) - “Nah, I would never do that to my girl”. I really enjoyed how comfortable it was to speak my mind with Sama, because he faced my queries straight on, no flinchin’.

Spring went by leisurely in Genshin, in spite of the tumultuous drama engulfing my life back then (of which A-senpai’s departure from GI was part of the fallout). As if to evoke the guardian Archon of the city himself, the Windblume festival came like a breath of fresh air, relieving me of my woes and wrath (for a while) with a storyline starring all my old Mondo favorites: Venti, Kaeya, and Razor. And of course, this was also when I finally got the drunk bard, the “clickbait” that drew me to GI from the very beginning.

Then came version 1.5, featuring the second act of Zhongli’s Historia Antigua quest. The Traveler came face-to-face with Azhdaha, an old dragon pal of Morax, who sought to break free from the seal placed on him for breach of contract. It was a beautiful continuation of Sal Flore (the first act), further driving home the message of irreversible erosion by time, be it a primordial bond of friendship or your very own self. The ironic mirroring of loss between game and life cuts deep, considering how good we (senpai, Y-kun, and I) had it in January and how rapidly things fell apart.

Nonetheless, a haven from the suffocation of workplace drama was what GI meant to me, with solace and rejuvenation to be derived from designing your Traveler’s own realm, aka. the Serenitea Pot. Upon arrival, you would be taken to the wide open space of your choice - be it an isle surrounded by clear azure waters, mountain peaks adorned with rushing waterfalls, or a retreat in the clouds a la Laputa, and treated to views of endless horizon and perpetually beautiful weather. It was approaching summer and I was yearning desperately for holidays at the beach, so naturally, I went for the Cool Isle realm layout. Feasting my eyes on the sands, sun and sea, I turned around to find a delightful mansion in the style of Dawn Winery, complete with a spacious verandah, wooden pillars, balconies, red brick roof and spires. A soothing calmness took over me and construction work began in my little corner of Teyvat.

This new feature also enabled me to spend more time with my friend, Sama. As I reached higher AR and made more informed investments on characters, farming artifacts and world bosses became much easier, and later down the line, even faster on my own. Such independence was liberating on one hand, but on the other, it reduced the opportunities for Sama to hang out in my world. For a while, the Serenitea Pot mechanism gave the co-op mode a new sense of relevance. Friends dropping by your Pot can help shorten the time in crafting all furnishings by 4 hours, or in case of Y-kun, help out and use Diluc to burn down the lawn and grass around my mansion. This provides an excellent incentive to visiting each other’s Pot, considering that all furnishings normally would take up 12 hours++ to craft. The faster and the more you craft, the more realm currency you would obtain, which in turn allows you to buy more goodies for construction or valuable items for character investment.

At the beginning, Sama was pretty reluctant to show me his Serenitea realm, claiming that it was not ready or not good enough. So I gave him a tour of my pot first, albeit still in its early stage. My idea was to re-create a sort of old-timey and quaint country-home vibe, with the mansion encircled by tall golden and amber-leaved trees, gardens, fountains, flowers, benches and tea-tables, where you can relax and enjoy the sun setting over the water. Charming little cottages would dot the isle and the adjacent shoreline, complete with grapevines, hay bales, wine barrels, wooden carts and stone wells. Scant be the furnishings and decorations that I managed to put up, Sama still very much enjoyed the arrangement. We had a lovely time catching up and indulging in the simple pleasures: running, gliding and taking in the views that the island has to offer.

After much prodding, Sama also invited me to his realm. Decked out in the Floating Abode style, his space is less of an escapist hangout and more where you can be far from the madding crowd in your mind. Sama lacked a clear direction of what to do with his realm but he did not give himself enough credit for these small lovely ideas for indoor decor. One of them was to place wooden round tables and chairs along the hallway outside the rooms on the 2nd floor, especially where light shines through windows and cast shade on the furniture.

This nifty detail ended up inspiring me to turn my mansion into a cross between college library and cozy book cafe. Tall gleaming wood shelves, stands and cabinets, filled with books and decoration trinkets, are placed in close vicinity with comfy sofa sets and seating arrangements, and together they give off this feeling of lived-in tranquility that is incredibly comforting. Add in the cute doggies and kitties frolicking around the house, and there you have it, the perfect summer getaway for me.

After the Serenitea Pot, our next spot of fun was to be found at the Golden Apple Archipelago, a limited-time area to keep impatient travelers in their seat and drum up hype for the then-upcoming release of Inazuma, also another set of islands. After having only Liyue, Mondo and the tiny Dragonspine to explore for so long, the new summer-themed area brought a brief moment of freshness to the game. As Sama said, exploring the Archipelago felt like playing GI anew. Travelling from shore to shore on a little vessel, discovering the islands one by one and tinkling with new puzzle mechanisms gave one a taste of that sorely-missed exhilaration and thrill, as if time was rewound to when the Traveler woke up on the beach of Mondo and made his first steps in this brave new world.

Despite this excellent filler (and other quests and events), there’s no denying that the exasperating wait across several patches for the next big update (aka. Inazuma) took a toll on most players, especially those who had long finished all exploration and reached a high AR early on. Since patch 1.4, there was nothing else to do but farming artifacts when you have gone through the crumbs of new content doled out. So it was no surprise that Sama started showing up less and less, and every time I logged in, only the status of “online 1 day ago” on his namecard gave me any indication that he was still around. This state of affairs saddened me but I brushed it aside, believing that it was only temporary; certainly, patch 2.0 would certainly alleviate his fatigue of GI and rekindle his excitement, like in the cases of me and Y-kun. Little did I know that my time with Sama was running out, engrossed as I was by the contentious release of Raiden Shogun, the new Archon quest, and Yoimiya’s melodious Kansai-ben twang.

Exploring Inazuma and farming handguards with Y-kun

As summer drew to an end, Sama shared with me the reason for his decreasing online presence. As a new graduate, real life (read: new job) had him very much occupied and left him with little time to explore Inazuma. These days, he logged in only out of routine and a longing for that sense of belonging again. Our chats, brief and far in between, often took a nostalgic turn as we reminisced about the good old days. I told him of how awed I still was by how he ended up helping me explore Dragonspine for 3 hours straight in exchange for just a few windwheel asters. Apparently, the flowers were to ascend Bennett, whom he just got that day, so in his own words, I gotta “say thanks to Benny”.

Not only time but also technology was not on Sama’s side. With every new patch, GI took up more space on one’s device, adding to an formidable size for a game supposedly playable on a phone. And Sama’s phone, though recently bought, couldn’t keep up with the pace of GI’s expansion. There was a question that needed answering, and even though he had made up his mind for a while before telling me, it was not as simple as to just quit. Once in September, he even asked if I could take over his account because he did not like leaving it to collect dust. He truly wanted someone to keep playing it, and at that point, was seriously thinking about entrusting it to me. I did not take the offer because I was hoping against hope that he would just take a break for some months and return if he had the account still.

Things did not turn out that way and after roughly a month of Sama’s absence, the parting of ways came on a fine autumn weekend.

It was a small blessing that both Y-kun and I were available to log in then. While waiting for Y-kun, I took Sama to Watatsumi Island, where he had yet to open on his map. It felt pretty good, showing him the view from the Sangonomiya Shrine next to Sama’s Kokomi, the "lovely lady” he got with what’s left of his primos.

Together, the three of us had one last hurrah, roaming around and having a real blast over taking out overworld and weekly bosses for old time’s sake.

Our last pictures taken, farewell was said and all good times must end.

After the boss fights, Sama asked us to log off first, because he wanted to stay a little longer by himself. Later on, I got his last message.

There’s no helping the inevitable but I am thankful that we got to give him a proper send-off. Y-kun said that he must have felt pretty proud of me, cos I am his living legacy. I felt quite embarrassed and also incredibly humbled by those words. Indeed, I have come a long way from being bogged by self-doubt and assorted mental baggage, and can now face challenges head-on. But, for such transformation to be possible and so enjoyable, it is in no small part thanks to Sama and Y-kun.

My story of Sama may have come to an end but my journey in Teyvat still goes on, with new encounters to be had and new friends made. His departure taught me to be bolder in accepting people’s requests to join my world and sending my requests to others. Earlier this year, close to the end of the Lantern Rite, a player named Luna asked for permission to visit my world. Out of some whim, I clicked yes and was in for the biggest surprise ever. They did not come over for some resources or materials, but to make a strange request - to follow them to a hill in the surroundings of Wangshu Inn, sit on a boulder and wait.

And voila, fireworks! They cleverly set up the firework launcher behind a bush at lower elevation, took position and then started to play Twinkle twinkle little star in accompaniment. The suspense, the lights and music together bowled me over, all the more so since this was a complete stranger, who only wished to be a messenger of joy. I could hardly believe my eyes and ears - it felt more like the stuff of dream and fantasy than reality!

The display was short but sweet, and I thanked them profusely for it and the kind wishes that followed. I did not want the moment to end too soon so I suggested that we both put up our firework launchers and set them off at the same time. After all, the seats were made for two.

It took us a second try to coordinate the settings so that our fireworks would explode and end at the same time.

Oh what a night!

Inspired by this well-meaning stranger’s impromptu gift, I was super motivated to make it the “gift that keeps giving” and pass on the exuberance running through my veins. Luckily, some one on my list was online - an affable player named Liliana, another ardent fan of Ningguang (and collector of kickass ladies like Yae and Yelan) I met while looking for a world to get some Cecilia. And so I came over to their world, asked for a few minutes of their time and put on the firework show, albeit without music accompaniment.

It was super gratifying to see that Liliana enjoyed the gift so much, and at that moment, all was all right with the world, as strangers and newly-made friends shared in the festivity and did something unconditionally nice for each other.

Every now and then, a bittersweet yearning would rise in me for those long past days, when there was no goodbye to be had. But not all is lost - Y-kun is still playing with me, for which I’m very grateful and much comforted. New doors will lead to new people, if I choose to be adventurous and welcoming. Like the stories of Inazuma, though filled with tragedy, pain and loss, there is hope and healing at the end; perhaps I will also find worthwhile connections so long as I continue on this journey.

I shall stop my rambling here. Again, sorry for taking so long with it, Y-kun!!! After this, I will stop writing about GI for a while to return to Chihayafuru season 3. It’s something I’ve been dying to do, especially since I’ve got such an enthusiastic cheerleader (thanks @comfysocksfirst)!

To all who have read any of my megane-ko adventure posts: thank you so so so much, even if you’re only hear to see the pictures. To those who have read all 3 parts: you are amazing!!!! *gives out tricolor dango*

Until next time. Altair, out.

#natsumi talks #genshin impact #dragonspine #benny adventure team #bennett genshin impact #tribute to a ningguang lover #tribute to an online friend

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lifeafterthelayoff · 1 year

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Life after the layoff: DAY 30

Thirty days is a month, yet sometimes it isn't. And that's language. As a someone that loves language, I now fondly recall a thread in my last role around the definition of a month. Our product was either billed monthly or annually, seemingly simple on the surface. Annual happens on the same day each year. Monthly, however, was a different story. Do we say every 30 days, or do we say monthly? As product designers, UX designers, and content designers, we are presented with situations that require an agreed-upon language, a shared vocabulary where definitions are set and unchanging. I find myself Googling signifier/signified, semiotics, and Marshall McLuhan's bon mots whenever this stuff comes up. My communications theory professors would be proud. But this month thing, it was a tough nut to crack. Here was the challenge: An interval of 30 days is generally considered a measure of time equalling a month. BUT The Gregorian calendar is divided, not-so-neatly, into 12 months. Only four of them have exactly 30 days. They're both reasonable measures, but the use of this time interval within the product required precision. To the day. "Monthly" doesn't deliver that, but it's easy to read. "Every 30 days" is precise, but it looks odd next to "annual" as an option. Billing is not like a game of horseshoes, where being close gets you points. Even minutes count. Things become blurry when a merchant's billing cycle starts on January 30th, but their next charge doesn't happen until March. This was a problem, and our merry band of designers needed to arrive at the agreed-upon version of the language. We were to provide not only accuracy, but also ease of comprehension and readability within the interface itself. (And a forward compatibility to accommodate future products and variations.) And we did it. We weighed the pros and cons of each and landed on "every 30 days" as the final language. I miss these conversations, these lively back and forth chats in video calls and in Figma iterations and comments. It just so happens that it's been 30 days since the layoff, too. Looking forward to getting back together with other designers again to work through things, even tiny things like this.

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invigilatcr · 2 years

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what's an unbirthday?

it's a reference to alice in wonderland's “ a very merry unbirthday to you !! ( yes , you ) ” where the celebration lasts 364 days . i’m making a joke because in my culture ( and i’m not sure which other east asian culture have it as well , but i do think there are other ones ) , we celebrate TWO birthdays in a year -- a lunar birthday ( a calendar that follows the moon phases ; also called 農曆 [ farming calendar ] ) and our actual birthday following the gregorian calendar . my lunar birthday is today ( well , it started at 12 noon today and goes until 12 noon tomorrow ) but it’s also NOT my birthday birthday -- so i’m saying happy unbirthday to myself :) .

#( ooc. )#hope this makes sense #( answered. )#( subject unknown. )

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ducklooney · 2 years

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Merry Christmas!

Christmas party at the Duck family

Although Christmas has already arrived, once again to all who celebrate that day (all Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox who celebrate according to the Gregorian calendar, and those who are not Christians, but celebrate Christmas), I wish you a Merry Christmas!

I love this holiday, but due to some circumstances I didn't manage to do it related to Christmas specials, so I did this as a Christmas celebration in the Duck family. I mostly combined classic style from Italian and Dutch comics. Also, to apologize for some mistakes I made while drawing, I was in a hurry.

Donald Duck and his family have decided to have a Christmas party and are getting ready for it, and his friends will be here soon. His grandmother, Grandma Duck (Elvira Coot), makes cakes and Christmas cakes for such an occasion and brings them to the table. Donald Duck brings presents and is helped by his girlfriend Daisy and kisses him on the cheek under the mistletoe. Scrooge McDuck plays Santa Claus and is assisted by Donald's nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie Duck, who play the role of elves and helpers of Santa Claus (actually, it's a redraw from the comic book cover of Topolino comics). Behind them are Daisy’s nieces, April, May and June Duck who rehearse Christmas carols and sing at the Christmas party. And there’s Fethry Duck, Donald’s cousin who loves to help. I am sure that with the Duck family, the Christmas party will be very successful.

This is also a belated gift for my friend @galoots, who celebrated her birthday last week, so I apologize for the delay, but certainly apart from the birthday gift, this is also my gift for Christmas. Merry Christmas and a late birthday, my friend and and I hope you like this gift of mine.

Also, this is my gift to my companions (followers) who love Donald Duck comics. My only apology is that I didn't add more characters, but probably not all of them would fit on one drawing. Sorry about that.

Plus, this is my 10,000 post since I’ve been on this my Tumblr blog.

Of course, I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and I hope you like this drawing.

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sokkas-honour · 3 years

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i have an idea if that’s fine ! how about headcanons for spending christmas with keith kogane (and giving home the best christmas ever because this baby deserves it) tysm !! 💕

he does deserve an amazing christmas, but he got my space christmas instead.

tis the season - keith x reader

pairing: keith x reader (gn)

warnings/notes: this was long

okay so, post show finale, keith is very often off earth, going from planet to planet to help those who had been affected by the galra empire. you tagged along, helping him have a partner that he could count on light years away from his home planet.

keith had been away from earth for years, meaning he hadn’t even remotely celebrated holidays in general, much less christmas.

so when you joined him in space, you made a point to keep track of the days on the gregorian calendar so you could be sure to celebrate christmas on the right day.

as the holiday soon started to roll around, you discreetly started to collect things to try and make the holiday as traditional as possible but being this far away from earth did make it hard, but you did what could with what you had. you were smart enough to bring cookie dough for christmas cookies but who knew if the ship had any sort of kitchen. (spoiler alert, it did!!)

so, you talked with a few of the blade of marmora members on if you could somehow get some sort of tree esque alien plant to use as a substitute christmas tree.

thankfully for you, axca mentionned of some sort of a small tree on the next planet you were set to settle in for awhile, having just restocked on supplies.

so as soon as you guys landed and had some free time, you eclipsed yourself from the group and tried to talk to the local population in order to find a way to procure one of the trees for yourself, christmas being a little under two weeks away. and they were extremely useful, helping you pick the best one for your limited decorations.

so you picked one of the storage rooms that no one used, them being there in case of excess supplies and decided that was the room where you’d set everything up so in the room the actually not that small, small tree being placed on top of one of the empty crates.

for decorations, you just scavenged for loose string all over the ship and the alien planet, anything that could either hold your decorations or you could use as a garland.

you ended up only finding cool rock looking rocks of various colours to use as ornaments but it’s the thought that counts. you managed to pierce the rocks to put the string through, meaning you could just tie a not at the top of the loop and set them strategically around the surprisingly many branches of the tree.

for the garland around it, you managed to find some vines on the planet which got you excited, you finally found something very green for the green and red theme you were trying to have to fully emulate christmas.

lucky for you, you found red flowers on the planet you were currently on and picked a few to put around the tree and thread the stem of it through the hole you had punched in each rock.

the night of christmas eve, you slithered out of keith’s arm that was draped over you while he slept, going to the kitchen in order to start baking them so hed have fresh cookies in the morning (and maybe the rest of the crew but they had to deal with the alien substitutes)

so you spent the early hours of the morning in the kitchen, managing to find what you thought was a galran cookbook that included their own form of cookies so you made a couple of batches for the crew while you cooked the cookie dough you had sneaked onto the ship.

getting a bunch of unique gifts while you’re travelling is hard but you somehow managed to find a uniquely carved knife by some of the local population. you nearly wrapped it with whatever paper you could muster and placed it right under your makeshift christmas tree.

now keith had gotten a bit suspicious when he looked for you during down time and was unable to find you, getting a simple “i was exploring” excuse more than once definitely didn’t answer his question.

it was even more confusing when axca mentionned that you hadn’t been present much during a time dedicated to helping rebuild houses but unbeknownst to them, you had already finished the ones you were assigned and were currently conversing with the locals on local delicacies/objects to maybe gift keith.

he wanted to confront you about it but for the last two weeks, it seemed to him that you were ignoring him and it definitely brought his mood down.

you had also somehow managed to find voltron merch used from back when they were basically superstars. you grabbed a standard voltron formation stuffed animal as well as a red lion, hoping he wouldn’t mind you getting his first lion as well as the color of his previous suit. (which you also wrapped in scrap paper).

while you were in the kitchen, taking cookies out of the oven, you were surprised to find keith looking at you from the doorway.

“why are you making cookies this early in the morning?” he was only half awake as kosmo passed him, coming to sniff the cookies.

“you’ll find out in a second, want one?” you extended the fresh out of the oven sugar cookies to him which he gladly took, surpise on his face as he realised they were from earth.

“you had cookie dough from earth and didn’t tell me?”

“that’s not the only secret i kept, come on.” you grabbed a cookie for yourself then grabbed his wrist to drag him to the storage unit.

and when you opened the door, his face lit up at the little makeshift christmas scene he saw in front of him.

“merry christmas keith!” you exclaimed, still waiting for a vocal reaction as keith almost seemed frozen on the spot.

“you did all of this?”

“yup, i even have presents, open them!”

this man felt his heart swell immensely, not believing he had someone who cared so much about him that they recreated a holiday he hadn’t celebrated in ages, a signifiant other that thoughtful.

he feels so guilty that he didn’t get you anything but it beyond thankful.

he spots to makeshift mistletoe and he smirked, grabbing it and placing it over your heads so you two could kiss, having your first christmas morning kiss together.

“you didn’t have to do this y/n.”

“well i wanted to, i was so excited to spend christmas with you on earth but it probably wouldn’t be possible for awhile so i brought christmas to space!” he thought your reasoning was just adorable so he kissed you on the forehead.

“merry christmas y/n.”

“merry christmas keith.”

people i tag for voltron: @alteasmoon @biqherosix

#voltron x reader #voltron #keith x reader #keith kogane x reader #paladin x reader #keith #keith kogane

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zamgoods · 3 years

Video

youtube

Hidden Clues to Real Life Easter Eggs in 1988 Die Hard

Wednesday November 3rd 11.3 3.11 307th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 58 days remain Waning Crescent Illumination: 3%

It’s not hard. It’s easy to see. Released on July 15, 1988, Die Hard drops major clues and Easter Eggs for our real lives. Number 1 is the fact that THE ROCK, as Dwayne Johnson will be a big Die Hardish action hero especially in his 2018 film Skyscraper. In fact he is one of the highest grossing action heroes ever.

Just take a look at the movie Posters. Twins. Both looking to the left at towers in flames. Just a wrinkle in time and place. One in LA and the other is Hong Kong. Both have references to Pearl Harbor. LA one, Nakatomi, Corporation the Japanese executive makes a joke about the ambush of Pearl Harbor as well as the pass code being Akagi (Red Castle) being an aircraft carrier present and the HK one is named “The Pearl.” Other WWII references pervade in the LA one, with the “terrorists” being mainly German. The reference to the Rock, there was a similar Die Hardish type movie called “THE ROCK” in 1996.

In Die Hard, the LAPD in charge at the scene was Dwayne T. Robinson, the LAPD Deputy Chief and the FBI agents who took over his authority were both called Johnson. They claimed no kinship, but they both die at the same time (Death Twins) in the helicopter scene at the roof of the LA tower. DJ was only 14 when this movie released but it was only a matter of time.

Which brings us to their next current Covid Era relevance. Johnson & Johnson vaccine has a bad reputation for causing deaths soon after being shot. Only one. Compared to 2 shots of venom from Pfizer and Moderna.

The twin references pervade, with Arnold Schwarzenegger refusing being cast for Die Hard so he can be in TWINS movie. But the big huge Akbar elephant in the room is the Twin Towers, set to be disintegrated in 14 years. And knowing that Joe Silvers produced this movie, Die Hard, along with Romeo Must Die, we can see a pattern of people falling from high places. Looking just like the victims falling from the buildings on 911. Remember that the action hero spends a lot of energy trying to call 911 to report the hostage situation at the LA Tower

At the start of 1988 Die Hard, when John McClane is conversing with his plane buddy who has the window seat, they compare work tips. Window seat guy says he has 9 years experience and John trumps his with 11 years experience as a New York cop...

Producer Joel Silvers makes a similar reference in Romeo Must Die with Aaliyah’s character Trish O’Day giving a tragic story about a planned joke that her and her brother had to trick their mom. She mentions how she was aged 9 and her brother was age 11. This 9-11 being a Joke. Public Enemy song released in April 1990.

Another 9112001 reference in Die Hard is the police car that Officer Al Powel is driving as seen from above was 01.

The Joke is on us. Soldiers die for the tricks and theater games performed by hidden parties. In this case during a Christmas party, a thief poses as a terrorist just to get his hands on $600 million worth of untraceable bonds in the highly secured vault. Should have been a Halloween party for the tricks played on the law enforcement who play by certain rule books and protocols depending on the situation. J&J tried to trick the Hans Gruber, but he had the last laugh.

The twin towers were known to have held FED gold bars in its vaults, which were ordered to be recovered even before the people were.

Joel Silvers RMD also had a Han and future Easter eggs for real life events. This party and left eye kind of hints to Leftist party, Liberal agenda, Democrat ties. Literally look at the ties of Johnson on the left wearing blue and Johnson on the right wearing red. One black and the other white. A Masonic image was seen during the movie when McClane was in the construction area. Someone spray painted Merry Christmas. The M had an extra v shape imposed over it.

#Easter Eggs #Real life #911 #Covid #johnson and johnson #Dwayne Johnson #Rock #Die Hard #Romeo Must Die #Aaliyah #Pearl Harbor

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ducktoonsfanart · 1 year

Text

Christmas celebration in the Duck family - My old fanart

Although I drew this last year for Christmas and I'm posting this again (because I didn't get enough views then).

Yes, celebrating Christmas the duck way. I drew in a classic style combining mostly from European comics, primarily Italian and Dutch. Yes, Scrooge is Santa in disguise, assisted by Huey, Dewey and Louie as his elf helpers. Donald is also in a Christmas costume and is being kissed by Daisy, his love under the mistloe. Daisy's nieces, April, May and June practice singing for the Christmas festival and Christmas dinner they are preparing, and Grandma Duck prepares the cake, cookies and food for the Christmas party. And then there's Fethry Duck, who's really looking forward to it all. More on this here: https://www.tumblr.com/ducktoonsfanart/671703859133038592/ducklooney-merry-christmas-christmas-party-at

I know I didn't come up with anything special, but I drew this for Christmas last year and I'm putting my ear back again for the coming holidays. Also, December 6 according to the Gregorian calendar and December 19 according to the Julian calendar is Saint Nicholas, and Santa Claus himself was born from Saint Nicholas, one of the greatest Christian saints who lived in the 4th century. So I wish everyone a happy Saint Nicholas Day. And sorry for the delay. I hope you like this drawing and this idea. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Happy upcoming holidays!

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paradoxcase · 3 years

Text

The full story of how Aragorn captured the corsair ships isn’t actually told until after the battle of the Pelennor Fields, when Legolas and Gimli meet up with Merry and Pippin and tell them where they’ve been.

The ghosts made them basically unstoppable while they were with them - they don’t just kill people, they terrify pretty much everyone except for the Elves and Aragorn and the Dunedain. (Note: when they entered the Paths of the Dead, Legolas specifically said something about not being worried because he did not fear the dead spirits of Men. Presumably this means that Elves are somehow immune to the ghosts’ fear, and maybe Aragorn and the Dunedain are just that brave, or something.) Anyway, they also terrify the people who are on the good side, so they have to tell those guys to follow them after the ghosts have left, instead of having them come with them. All of the enemies of course, they just chase all the way to the river, at which point they have to fight and finally the ghosts actually kill some people. I said earlier that Gimli could not see the ghosts, which generally did seem to be the case during the Paths of the Dead segment, but it is actually Gimli telling most of this story, and he describes the ghosts obeying Aragorn’s commands, and he describes the King of the Dead breaking his weapon when he’s released from his vow, so now I’m not so sure. I suppose it could be that it was very dark when they went through the Paths of the Dead (it says it was too dark to see the design on Aragorn’s standard) and the Elves are just better at seeing in the dark, but by the time they get to the river Sauron’s artificial darkness has covered Gondor, so they would have been in the dark then also. So I’m not sure whether or not Gimli could see the ghosts.

Something that’s interesting about Sauron’s darkness: so, Tolkien kept a very careful scheme of when things in the various different storylines were happening relative to each other, using a modified Gregorian calendar where every month has 30 days, and every time the book mentions the passage of time, or describes a new day beginning, the companion notes the calendar date of the current day, which makes it very easy for me to match things up, but of course, most casual readers won’t have this information. But the darkness hits basically all of Gondor and Rohan on the same day, and the three concurrant storylines (not including the Aragorn/Legolas/Gimli/ghosts storyline, which is only told later) all describe the sunset of the first day of darkness exactly the same way. So you can take these events and use them to match up the storylines (Frodo and Sam, Pippin in Minas Tirith, and Merry with the Rohirrim) and understand roughly what is happening when with respect to the other storylines. SInce the darkness isn’t present in the movie, you just kind of have to trust that things are being shown in a roughly chronological order, but I can’t remember how true that actually is of the movies, especially with respect to Frodo and Sam. (Technically, the movie moving Shelob into RotK actually makes the Frodo/Sam segment more chronological than it was in the book, since Frodo and Sam witness the sunset on the first day of darkness just before they go up to Cirith Ungol, whereas everyone else sees it during RotK.)

Another thing about the ordering of Return of the King specifically: after the battle, all the leaders (Aragorn, Gandalf, Imrahil who is acting Steward of Gondor while Faramir recovers, Eomer who is now King of Rohan, and Elladan and Elrohir) all get together and Gandalf councils them that they should go attack the black gate with a force that can’t possibly defeat it, in order to draw Sauron’s attention away from his own land and give Frodo a chance to destroy the ring. But at this point, we haven’t seen any of Frodo and Sam’s journey after Frodo gets captured at Cirith Ungol (i.e. the end of the Two Towers), so we basically know only a tiny bit more about their progress than the other characters, who have by this point all listened to Faramir’s account of meeting them. So, as a first-time reader, we would probably also feel like there is only a very slim chance that they succeed, just as the characters do when they make this decision, so we know what a hard decision this is to make. In the movie, though, I believe we get regular updates on Frodo and Sam’s progress as the other parts of RotK unfold, so we’re not actually stuck wondering what is happening to them, we have privileged information that the characters don’t have and thus I think it’s harder for us to understand how they feel. The companion also points out that they took with them seven thousand soldiers who had no idea about the ring or that there was a slim chance that Sauron could be destroyed, they were mustered up and told to attack the black gate in what they much understand would be a suicidal mission, and they have no reason to hope that it will accomplish anything. And indeed, some of them wound up having to go back because they were too afraid to continue, and Aragorn sent them to retake some stuff that had been taken by Sauron prior to the battle. But the guys that stayed and attacked the black gate were basically staying entirely out of loyalty and trust in their leaders, which is kind of incredible. I think if this story had been written by anyone other than Tolkien, there would have been some uprisings of soldiers who thought their leaders were just plain out of their minds, or something.

#lord of the rings #lotr

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madeleinejubileesaito · 3 years

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Hey. I found your calander and I wondered if you’d ever have time to do an Orthodox one? It’s on the Julian calander vs the Gregorian calander and has some different feasts etc. ❤️ If not then just have a lovely day! 💖

I’d love to!

I don’t know enough about the Orthodox calendar to feel confident making an Orthodox version by myself, but if you have capacity to collaborate with me, I’d really like to make it happen. Email me at madeleinecomics at gmail dot com

p.s. Merry Christmas, Orthodox followers 🤍

Original post re: liturgical calendar

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ohmmotsho · 4 years

Photo

NGWEDI: MOON PHASES Ngwedi di ke eng ho wena Mongakeng?

Ever since the beginning of time our people used to follow the Lunar/ Solar, which also aligned with the Stellar calendar. The Egyptian astronomers invented the calendar. This same calendar was then adopted and modified by the Christian Pope Gregory "Gregorian calendar" to mess things up with the alignment of the universe, since being a of practitioner such was seen as Pagan/ Devil worshiping well anything Christians fear or do not know nor understand they label it as such. In honest fact they fear the power of knowledge that we had, and still has which lies doormat in many. Awaken African Child.

As a Healer we are called Moon(Inyanga/Sangoma) cause our healing powers are connected strongly to the moon. A Healer should be aligned with the real Lunar calendar which is important to our healing abilities, there are debates as we should learn this, while being initiated as a Thwasa as this is Spiritual calendar, but lets be frank some,if not majority of aboGobela do not have this knowledge as it was lost through time, or they simply ignore it or edited it out of ephehlweni I don't know, so do not be hard on them, they too are Humans. Spirituality is different from religion lets not confuse the two. Ours is a Spiritual Journey., always has and always will be for eternity. Those who follow the stars use the Stella Calendar and the Scope of Horah, those of Solar follow the Sun, Rah is the famous deity or should I say God, the the Earth orbits around Him.

Now the Lunar Calendar can't be manipulated by The Roman man made calendar, spiritual Healers of Old times followed these God given chronometer, and they were never confused about their healing abilities, they knew the push and pull of the tides, and how it makes certain herbs powerful,when and where to dig for such, How it affects the meditation of connecting "ukughida" you would never find a healer desperately wanting people to know they are christian as we do in today's time. they were profound, proud and ordained in their calling. Ngwedi(moon in sotho) Kgwedi (month) We always refer our months to moon, depending on how the moon is, which house it rest in, they know what harvest awaits. Phato(August) is a new year for Basotho people,it a sign of new life new beginnings, selemo sa thwasa.

September this is when ho etswa Dimpho tsa Badimo, Offering to the Gods, This is where we do libation seriously, where Nkhono wa lelapa or an Elderly Male person that knows Diboko, Setso le Meetlo ya Leloko, has to ask good tiding earnestly for their family, we feast and be merry,we rest knowingly that the Gods were appeased, and our good tidings we awaits and work hard to achieve them as the universe shall conspire in our favour. The purpose of Calendar is there to remind us simple folks of life forces, of seasons to prepare for, of important dates for libation and ritual to be observed. The purpose of religion is to mask,taint and lie about what spirituality is truly is. To disconnect you from nature, to make one a proper individuality. Lets face it Africans are no longer a community, we are Singular orientated generation. Never caring about the next person nor nature. We even forgot ourselves, denying our forefathers, yet this is the lineage yee shall return to once the physical perish.

Be kind our Day of reckoning is soon coming we, shall answer those tough question when Nature asks I gave you time, You followed man made, I gave you Lunar and Solar, you forgot the balance praised the one and denied the other. I gave you trinity in Lunar, Stella & Solar.

You worshiped man made and believe their trinity. In the name of the father , the Sun, and Holy ghost. I gave you Herbs to heals yourself, Instead you used chemicals to cure your soil generated Flesh. In nature we come, and to dust we shall return but our Spirits are Immortal. LESEDI KHANYA @NKHONO

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brookston · 4 years

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Holidays 2.24

Caesar Salad Day

Dia de la Bandera (Flag Day; Mexico)

Dragobete (Lover's Day; Romania)

Engineer’s Day (Iran)

Gouden Carolus Cuvée van de Keizer Open Day

Gregorian Calendar Day

Independence Day (Estonia; from Russia, 1918)

International Pancake Day

International Repetitive Strain Injury Awareness Day

Konudagur (Woman’s Day; Iceland)

National Artist Day (Thailand)

National Tortilla Chip Day

National Trading Card Day

N'cwala (Thanksgiving; Zambia)

Nylon Toothbrush Day

Obnoxious Day

Regifugium (Flights of Kings; Old Roman)

Sepandārmazgān (Women's Day; Zoroastrian Iran)

Showza-Shinzan International Yukigassen Tournament (Snowball Fight; Japan)

Shrove Monday [Monday before Ash Wednesday] (a.k.a. ...

Bolludagur (Bun Day; Iceland)

Carnival Monday

Clean Monday

Collop Monday

Fastelavn (Denmark)

Fat Monday

Hall Monday

Lundi Gras

Luni Gras

Merry Monday

National Cream Puff Day

Old Mask Parade (Aruba)

Paisen Monday

Peasen Monday

Rose Monday

Rosenmontag (Germany)

Shrovetide (Day 2 of 3)

Twin Peaks Day

Voice of America Day

World Bartender Day

#calendar #Holidays

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outlikeflynn · 5 years

Note

five times kissed

X: Accepting

At first, Eugene has to blink slowly and focus. He feels like a newborn, with lungs remembering how to breathe and muscles struggling not to turn to jelly. There’s an acidic smell in his nostrils that he can’t quite place, but it’s so familiar. It’s in his mouth too, just a little bit. Everything feels just off - not so much from having the wound in behind his ribs knit back together, but because Blondie’s.. not so blonde anymore. But it can’t be anyone except her because nobody, ever, has eyes that are so gosh-darn big and watery and worried and -

Oh, he made her worry. Bad Flynn Eugene. His old name’s growing on him, again.

“Did I tell you I have a thing for brunettes...?”

And the feeling of her trembling lips just makes his heart and mind and muscles forget everything they ever knew all over again.

Their second (or is it third? They did stop on the way back across the bridge. Fourth? Seventh. Seventh sounds right). The seventh time he kissed her was standing on one of the tallest towers in Corona. Taller than her old one. Not his tallest, but he’s rarely stopped to enjoy the view. There’s just a shiver shared between them, because hey - this could really go wrong in a hurry. What proof did they have that she was their host’s lost princess-cum-daughter besides a tiara that he stole and a tale that would come straight from the Brothers Grimm.

“We’ll just run off into the sunset and see the world. They have lanterns all over. I bet you’d get a kick out of Chinese ones.”

But first they have to try, because she deserves a damned chance of happiness, and he presses a chaste kiss against her temple while they wait for the King and Queen to be told that a man from death row found their daughter. He could almost feel a vein throb behind the skin, and he resists playing with her newly-sliced hair.

They need this to work, because Eugene’s fairly sure he’s responsible for taking away everything she’s ever known. Home, life, and hair.

It’s a good luck kiss. Lucky because they haven’t thrown him in chains right away, so... that’s a step in the right direction, right?

It’s easier to think of time in months, rather than kisses. Probably why the Aztecs and whoever invented the Gregorian calendar made it that way. Who did that...? Probably some schmuck named Gregor. Eugene would ask Rapunzel because she soaks up information like a sponge, but every time her eyes peek up at him from behind a book, he tends to forget certain things. Like who made the calendar, and what her lips feel like, and oh, look, they can remember what one of those things are right now!

“Eugene - I’m in class,” she giggled, which is cute because her laugh is adorable and her ‘class’ consists of the frog and a tower of books taller than the gloomy hand-maiden.

“Recess, sweetheart,” he beamed, winking and pressing a kiss against the bridge of her nose. She smells faintly of a new perfume that’s been given to her and the scent of old paper, because she gets more of a kick out of reading than any of the other stuff people think she’s interested in.

Leave the lips for after school - something to look forward to, he told her playfully.

It’s day two on the road following a bunch of horrible, evil looking ebony rocks that explode whenever his girlfriend touches them. But it’s okay, because Rapunzel is practically vibrating with joy for being out of Corona, jumping out of the caravan (or Hairavan, as Hook Foot calls it) and dancing with sheep and singing and having a merry old day. In no time she’s covered in mud, from her head to her toes, and it’s probably all inside her hair. But it’s fine because she doesn’t care, and the little nymph has the audacity to look mischevious before Eugene feels himself tumbling in the air. There’s weightlessness and vertigo and splat, and he’s just as dirty as she is.

Goodbye combing and skincare and clean clothes. But Blondie’s nose is crinkling up behind her mask of mud, and her eyes are twinkling, and Eugene just feels a laugh bubbling up in his chest as he scoops her up, mud and all, and kisses her like she’s the most brilliant thing on Earth. (Which is fine, because she pretty much is.)

Nothing feels as wonderful as the small, eager melding of Rapunzel’s lips when he holds her. Not because they’re alright, or because the ancient castle (which is apparently his, because of course he’d have a castle just in time to lose it) is shaking apart by the foundations.

Just because the last time he really saw her, those big eyes of her looked so hurt because of him blocking the way. Even the miniscule crack in the door as it shut was enough to show how hurt and betrayed she was. Because why wouldn’t she? Stupid fortune came right, after all.

But it’s okay, because she’s there and smiling, and not pushing him away. Eugene can feel her delicate little hand on his face (which is a role reversal for them) and she’s telling him it’s alright, and he’s fairly sure he wants to cry just a little, because he can handle discovering missing family and the reason he was sent away from them but he can’t handle just how wonderful she is, even when she’s making cheese puns about mazes and indulging crackpot Romani’s and getting involved in evil seashell houses.

The castle can fall apart when they’re done - Eugene’s fairly sure he’s had more than enough luck in this life.

#Answered #Phew #This #I liked this #Drabble #runningracingdancingchasing

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derwandelndegeist · 5 years

Photo

God Yule! God Jul! Frohes Julfest! Happy Yule! Love is Perfect! Love is Noble! Love is Holy! I Love All Noble Gods and Goddesses, Archangels and Angels! Merry and Blessed Yule! Hail the Sun God! It's the Return of the God! I am the Knight of the Holy Mountain! I am the Knight of the Lonely Mountain! Mount Kailash! Happy Yule Freyja and Wotan! Happy Yule Elohim and Maya! Happy Yule Krishna and Lakshmi! Happy Yule Shiva and Parvati! The Essence of Life is to Communicate Love and Kindness!

The Winter Solstice - Yule (pronounced EWE-elle)

•The date of this sabbat varies from December 20 to December 23 depending on the year in the Gregorian calendar.

•The winter solstice is celebrated at this time in the northern hemisphere but it is now time to celebrate the summer solstice (Litha) in the southern hemisphere due to the seasonal differences.

•Yule, is when the dark half of the year relinquishes to the light half.

•Starting the next morning at sunrise, the sun climbs just a little higher and stays a little longer in the sky each day.

•Known as Solstice Night, or the longest night of the year, the sun’s “rebirth” was celebrated with much joy.

•On this night, our ancestors celebrated the rebirth of the Oak King, the Sun King, the Giver of Life that warmed the frozen Earth.

•From this day forward, the days would become longer.

•Bonfires were lit in the fields, and crops and trees were “wassailed” with toasts of spiced cider.

•Children were escorted from house to house with gifts of clove spiked apples and oranges which were laid in baskets of evergreen boughs and wheat stalks dusted with flour.

•The apples and oranges represented the sun.

•The boughs were symbolic of immortality (evergreens were sacred to the Celts because they did not “die” thereby representing the eternal aspect of the Divine).

•The wheat stalks portrayed the harvest, and the flour was accomplishment of triumph, light, and life.

•Holly and ivy not only decorated the outside, but also the inside of homes, in hopes nature spirits would come and join the celebration.

•A sprig of Holly was kept near the door all year long as a constant invitation for good fortune to visit the residents.

•Mistletoe was also hung as decoration.

•It represented the seed of the Divine, and at Midwinter, the Druids would travel deep into the forest to harvest it.

•The ceremonial Yule log was the highlight of the Solstice festival.

•In accordance to tradition, the log must either have been harvested from the householder’s land, or given as a gift… it must never have been bought.

•Once dragged into the house and placed in the fireplace it was decorated in seasonal greenery, doused with cider or ale, and dusted with flour before set ablaze by a piece of last years log, (held onto for just this purpose).

•The log would burn throughout the night, then smolder for 12 days after before being ceremonially put out. Ash is the traditional wood of the Yule log.

•It is the sacred world tree of the Teutons, known as Yggdrasil.

•An herb of the Sun, Ash brings light into the hearth at the Solstice.

•A different type of Yule log, and perhaps one more suitable for modern practitioners would be the type that is used as a base to hold three candles.

•Find a smaller branch of oak or pine, and flatten one side so it sets upright.

•Drill three holes in the top side to hold red, green, and white (season), green, gold, and black (the Sun God), or white, red, and black (the Great Goddess). Continue to decorate with greenery, red and gold bows, rosebuds, cloves, and dust with flour.

•Many customs created around Yule are identified with Christmas today.

•If you decorate your home with a Yule tree, holly or candles, you are following some of these old traditions.

•The Yule log, (usually made from a piece of wood saved from the previous year) is burned in the fire to symbolize the Newborn Sun/Son.

Symbolism of Yule:

Rebirth of the Sun, The longest night of the year, The Winter Solstice, Introspect, Planning for the Future.

Symbols of Yule:

Yule log, or small Yule log with 3 candles, evergreen boughs or wreaths, holly, mistletoe hung in doorways, gold pillar candles, baskets of clove studded fruit, a simmering pot of wassail, poinsettias, christmas cactus.

Herbs of Yule:

Bayberry, blessed thistle, evergreen, frankincense holly, laurel, mistletoe, oak, pine, sage, yellow cedar.

Foods of Yule:

Cookies and caraway cakes soaked in cider, fruits, nuts, pork dishes, turkey, eggnog, ginger tea, spiced cider, wassail, or lamb’s wool (ale, sugar, nutmeg, roasted apples).

Incense of Yule:

Pine, cedar, bayberry, cinnamon.

Colors of Yule:

Red, green, gold, white, silver, yellow, orange.

Stones of Yule:

Rubies, bloodstones, garnets, emeralds, diamonds.

Activities of Yule:

Caroling, wassailing the trees, burning the Yule log, decorating the Yule tree, exchanging of presents, kissing under the mistletoe, honoring Kriss Kringle the Germanic Pagan God of Yule

Spellworkings of Yule:

Peace, harmony, love, and increased happiness.

Deities of Yule:

Goddesses - Freyja, Brighid, Isis, Demeter, Gaea, Diana, The Great Mother. Gods - Apollo, Ra, Odin, Lugh, The Oak King, The Horned One, The Green Man, The Divine Child, Mabon.

The Bulgarian Spirit is the Spirit of Freedom! The English Spirit is the Spirit of Freedom! The German Spirit is the Spirit of Freedom! The French Spirit is the Spirit of Freedom! The Russian Spirit is the Spirit of Freedom! The Armenian Spirit is the Spirit of Freedom! The Italian Spirit is the Spirit of Freedom! The Portuguese Spirit is the Spirit of Freedom! The American Spirit is the Spirit of Love! The Asian Spirit is the Spirit of Love! The European Spirit is the Spirit of Freedom!

The Bulgarian Spirit is the Spirit of Love! The English Spirit is the Spirit of Love! The German Spirit is the Spirit of Love! The French Spirit is the Spirit of Love! The Russian Spirit is the Spirit of Love! The Armenian Spirit is the Spirit of Love! The Italian Spirit is the Spirit of Love! The Portuguese Spirit is the Spirit of Love! The American Spirit is the Spirit of Love! The Asian Spirit is the Spirit of Love!The European Spirit is the Spirit of Love!

#Literature #Love #Yoga

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If you doubt me, HERE'S A LIST!! If you really need to hear the words, "Merry Christmas", please consider wearing a button that says, "Please say, 'Merry Christmas' to me." >> NOVEMBER << Christianity • All Saints Day: 1 November – in Western Christian churches el dia de los muertos. Day of the dead. • Nativity Fast: forty days leading to Christmas – also St Philip's fast, Christmas fast, or winter lent or fast (Eastern Christianity). Secular • Thanksgiving: fourth Thursday of November (US); second Monday of October (CAN)[5] • Calan Gaeaf: 1 November – the first day of winter in Wales • Guy Fawkes Night: 5 November – celebrated in the UK commemorating the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot • Armistice Day (also (Remembrance Day or Veterans Day): 11 November: memorial day honoring the war dead Punjabi/Hindu Diwali >> DECEMBER << Buddhism • Bodhi Day: 8 December – Day of Enlightenment, celebrating the day that the historical Buddha (Shakyamuni or Siddhartha Gautama) experienced enlightenment (also known as Bodhi). Christianity • Advent: fourth Sunday preceding 25 December • Krampusnacht: 5 December – The Feast of St. Nicholas is celebrated in parts of Europe on 6 December. In Alpine countries, Saint Nicholas has a devilish companion named Krampus who punishes the bad children the night before. • Saint Nicholas' Day: 6 December • Saint Lucia's Day: 13 December – Church Feast Day. Saint Lucia comes as a young woman with lights and sweets. • Longest Night: A church service to help those coping with loss, usually held on the eve of the Winter solstice. • Christmas Eve: 24 December • Christmas Day: 25 December – one of the most celebrated holidays around the world, increasingly celebrated by Christians and non-Christians alike. • Anastasia of Sirmium feast day: 25 December • Twelve Days of Christmas: 25 December–6 January • Las Posadas: 16–24 December – procession to various family lodgings for celebration & prayer and to re-enact Mary & Joseph's journey to Bethlehem • Saint Stephen's Day: 26 December • Saint John the Evangelist's Day: 27 December • Holy Innocents' Day: 28 December • Saint Sylvester's Day: 31 December Fictional or parody • Feast of Winter Veil: 15 December–2 January – A holiday in World of Warcraft. This holiday is based on Christmas. Cities are decorated with lights and a tree with presents. Special quests, items and snowballs are available to players during this time. The character of "Greatfather Winter", who is modeled after Santa Claus, appears. • Feast of Alvis: in the TV series Sealab 2021. "Believer, you have forgotten the true meaning of Alvis Day. Neither is it ham, nor pomp. Nay, the true meaning of Alvis day is drinking. Drinking and revenge."–Alvis • Hogswatch: a holiday celebrated on the fictional world of Discworld. It is very similar to the Christian celebration of Christmas. • Festivus: 23 December – a parody holiday created by Daniel O'Keefe and made popular by Seinfeld as an alternative to Christmas. • Decemberween: 25 December – a parody of Christmas that features gift-giving, carol-singing and decorated trees. The fact that it takes place on December 25, the same day as Christmas, has been presented as just a coincidence, and it has been stated that Decemberween traditionally takes place "55 days after Halloween". The holiday has been featured in the Homestar Runner series. • Wintersday, the end-of-the-year celebration in the fictional universe of the Guild Wars franchise, starts every year mid December and ends the next year on early January. Hinduism • Pancha Ganapati: 21–25 December – modern five-day festival in honor of Lord Ganesha, celebrated by Hindus in USA. Historical • Malkh: 25 December • Mōdraniht: or Mothers' Night, the Saxon winter solstice festival. • Saturnalia: the Roman winter solstice festival • Dies Natalis Solis Invicti (Day of the birth of the Unconquered Sun): 25 December – late Roman Empire Judaism • Hanukkah: Ḥănukkāh, usually spelled חנוכה, pronounced [χanuˈka] in Modern Hebrew; a transliteration also romanized as Chanukah or Chanukkah), also known as the Festival of Lights, Feast of Dedication, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the re-dedication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire of the 2nd century BC. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar. Paganism • Yule: Pagan winter festival that was celebrated by the historical Germanic people from late December to early January. • Yalda: 21 December – The turning point, Winter Solstice. As the longest night of the year and the beginning of the lengthening of days, Shabe Yaldā or Shabe Chelle is an Iranian festival celebrating the victory of light and goodness over darkness and evil. Shabe yalda means 'birthday eve.' According to Persian mythology, Mithra was born at dawn on 22 December to a virgin mother. He symbolizes light, truth, goodness, strength, and friendship. Herodotus reports that this was the most important holiday of the year for contemporary Persians. In modern times Persians celebrate Yalda by staying up late or all night, a practice known as Shab Chera meaning 'night gazing'. Fruits and nuts are eaten, especially pomegranates and watermelons, whose red color invokes the crimson hues of dawn and symbolize Mithra. Secular • Human Rights Day: 10 December • Zamenhof Day: 15 December – Birthday of Ludwig Zamenhof, inventor of Esperanto; holiday reunion for Esperantists • Soyal: 21 December – Zuni and Hopi • HumanLight: 23 December – Humanist holiday originated by the New Jersey Humanist Network in celebration of "a Humanist's vision of a good future." • Newtonmas: 25 December – As an alternative to celebrating the religious holiday Christmas, some atheists and skeptics have chosen to celebrate December 25 as Newtonmas, due to it being Isaac Newton's birthday on the old style date. • Quaid-e-Azam's Day: 25 December • Boxing Day: 26 December – Day after Christmas. • Kwanzaa: 26 December–1 January – Pan-African festival celebrated in the US • Watch Night: 31 December • New Year's Eve: 31 December – last day of the Gregorian year • Hogmanay: night of 31 December–before dawn of 1 January – Scottish New Year's Eve celebration • Dongzhi Festival – a celebration of Winter Unitarian Universalism • Chalica: first week of December – A holiday created in 2005, celebrated by some Unitarian Universalists. >> JANUARY << Christianity • Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God: 1 January • Feast of the Circumcision: 1 January • Saint Basil's Day: 1 January – In Greece, traditionally he is the Father Christmas figure. • Twelfth Night (Epiphany Eve): 5 January • Epiphany: 6 January – the arrival of the Three Magi. • Armenian Apostolic Christmas: 6 January • Orthodox Christmas: 7 January – in churches using dates corresponding to the old Julian calendar, 7 January is equivalent to 25 December in the Gregorian calendar Judaism • Tu BiSh'vat Secular • New Year's Day: 1 January – First day of the Gregorian Year. • Freezingman: 11 January – A Burning Man inspired event held in Colorado as a Winter Arts and Music Festival. • Old New Year: 14 January: New Year's Day according to the "old" Julian calendar. Includes a winter ritual of strolling and singing that was later incorporated into the Christmas carol Punjabi • Lohri: 13 January

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