V- Day

Today is V-Day. You know it as Valentine’s Day and I know it is Victory Day because whatever happens today, I will come out on top. Valentine’s Day is now a cynical and manufactured event which tells people that they must exhibit love towards another or they ought to expect to be shown that they are loved. Accordingly, people are compelled to send pieces of card which are predominantly coloured red as some kind of token of their love. Florists go in to over drive to meet the demand as roses suffer their annual massacre all in the name of love.

Chocolates, stuffed toys, jewellery, perfume, champagne and many other types of gifts are purchased and presented for the purposes of heralding love. A special meal ought to be cooked or attendance at a venue which has invariably over-booked in order to capitalise on this free-for-all for love and attention. Simpering couples stare at one another, still enveloped in the early stages of infatuation, revelling in this materialistic manifestation of love.

He hopes to get laid or at least a blow job later for the outlay of his hard-earned, although of course he would ordinarily pour scorn on the notion of ever having to pay for sex. She hopes for a loving and romantic encounter between the sheets as the cherry on the cake for a delightful evening. If they might break their gaze they would see the jaded couples sat around them, struggling to find a sentence to share which does not involve talking about the children, how hard it was to get a booking and wondering when the food will arrive.

They give thanks to their own personal god as they grip their ‘phones and post their location and a picture of the over-priced fizz in order to tell the world, “Look at me, someone loves me, I am not a sad loser on V-Day.”

A day of fabrication and artifice. Yet, against this backdrop of manufactured sugary expressions of love, this a day for us to thrive. All of these superficial manifestations of how love should be shown amount to manna from heaven for our kind. There is not a lot of effort involved – buy a card, order some flowers, make a booking and so forth – do this for the expectant appliance which is being seduced and all the buttons are pressed. Maybe add some panache and sophistication in there should we determine that it merits it. Whether it is an over-sized card or an extravagant and classy piece of jewellery, it all amounts to the same thing from us. It is the simple exploitation of a day of expectations and we easily deliver.

Since we operate in the world of illusion, anything which tells us how love should be demonstrated and moreover how love is perceived by people is a bonus. If the expectation is created by this false festival and the ways of satisfying that expectation are legion then we will readily embrace it and join is to allow us to further your seduction.

Christmas, your birthday, Valentine’s Day, Easter, summer holidays and other besides are all excellent opportunities for us to deliver in accordance with a pre-conceived idea so that you fall for it. You expect certain things to happen on these days and Valentine’s Day especially. Thus, if you are in the seduction then who are we to disappoint and we will turn it all up to eleven in order to ensure that your expectations are met and even exceeded so that your intoxication with us continues apace.

It is a false day for false emotions and suits us down to the ground. You have been conditioned as to what you expect and when you are being seduced you will get it and then some and we have hit the ball from the park. Plenty of glorious positive fuel and your further embedding into our illusory world. We thank you Gods of Saccharine Verse and Chocolate Hearts, the Goddesses of Red Roses and Shiny Trinkets for blinding your disciples so we can deliver them your piece of heaven and in so doing advance our own agendas.

As you would expect, this day of expectations is one where we will deliver when it is your seduction and one where will fail to deliver when it is your devaluation. You may not expect the grand gestures which once came in those halcyon days of first seduction, but you do at least expect some recognition, if only to provide you with some respite from this slow and lingering death march you are experiencing as we devalue you. You still expect some sign on this day that we love you.

Valentine’s Day acts as a huge prompt which you expect us to pay heed to and at the very least there ought to be a card and flowers. Perhaps a pleasant gift to make up for the horrible behaviours we have been exhibiting towards you, something to cling to, to make peace? An evening out at a favourite restaurant or a hot bath with candles and dinner in the oven when you return from another day of toiling for The Man? You tell yourself not to get your hopes up but you will always do so. Just something, anything to give you a sign that all is not lost and that there is some love that remains even if it is just to take the pain away for just one day.

You may just hit pay dirt and find a Respite Period so that your hopes and dreams are indeed tapped into and allowed to flare in joyous elation as we come good and we greet you with smile and waiting glass of champagne. You border on tears of anxious relief as we meet you from work holding a clothes’ carrier and motion for you to return into the office to get changed as we are going straight to your favourite French restaurant. You might just be granted this and your positive fuel of relief, delight and gratitude is lapped up in contrast to the negativity that has prevailed previously.

More likely is the continuation of the devaluation as you awake to find us already gone to work and no card or gift waiting. No flowers arrive at home or the workplace (although we will have sent flowers to somebody as we work on that prospective primary source). You make the effort for us, but we call and explain there is a crisis at work and we will be late, if we bother to call you at all. You will be stood up, left waiting, given something totally inappropriate, lambasted for expecting something or making a fuss on “a complete con of a day which is only there to line the pockets of card markers, chocolatiers, restaurants and florists”. You can expect to be told

“I didn’t think we needed to bother as we have been together for years.”

“Valentine’s Day? It is for kids.”

“I do not have to be told when I can express how I feel.”

“Jesus, why are you wanting to waste money on that tat?”

“I would rather watch the sport and have an early night than sit an over-priced bistro with people who obviously hate one another.”

You have expectations of love, pleasure and romance. You can instead expect disappointment, dismay and dejection.

Whatever happens today we achieve victory – positive fuel from those we seduce and negative fuel from those that we disappoint. Whether it is meeting expectations or whether it is dashing them, today can only ever be about a winning outcome for us. Hence it is our Victory Day.

What was your worst Valentine´s Day experience because of the narcissist? What happened? Was it completely overlooked? Did you receive inappropriate gifts? Did the narcissist provoke a huge argument? Did the narcissist or spend his or her time meddling with this or her phone?

Vent your spleen and share the worst Valentine´s Day you have experienced in the comments.