#soon to be grandpa 2023

[thomasdaniel91]

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[ladychandraofthemoone]

Traintober Day 14&15:Young Iron(s)/Maintenance

Have a young Furness Redward doing a Submas Pose, it’s fitting for him with me trying to find era accurate classy punk-fessional fashion jkjk ♥️❤️

Ivo Hugh is mute so during maintenance if he can’t use his whistle, some of the workers and his driver Kara Cupper would use BSL as Ivo would reply via Morse Code blinking to communicate with one another.

[orcelito]

Finally doing some emotional processing ✌

[johnnydany]

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[azehearts]

Steambaby Week 2023 (ft. Zutara & Iroh)

Surprise Birthday Picnic

Zuko looks up to Iroh, and will always think of him as a father. He and Katara would likely want their kids to grow up spending time with their grand-uncle. Their family would travel to Ba Sing Se to visit Iroh, and stay there for a couple of days. Iroh would be really happy about it and would dote on them so much.

The children love hearing funny stories from him (and embarrassing Zuko and Katara), telling him about their days back at home, letting him know how many turtleducks are in their garden, start tea parties, showing tricks from bending or sword practice, and even ask for advice (teenage crush advice).

Unfortunately, at this time, their vacation was cut short because Zuko and Katara are needed back in the Fire Nation. So, the four kids decided they want to have a small surprise for their grandpa's birthday before they return home on the next day.

I got lazy halfway from drawing food props 😆 but yeah, that's a family picnic 😆 Why 4 kids? Well, 4 times that Zuko called Katara by her name in the actual series hahaha (I learned this funfact from zkopm week quiz night).

EDIT:

I rechecked the old quiz night, it was 5 TIMES he called Katara by her name 😳🤦‍♂️fuq.....I forgot that it had correction

ah well, no wonder I originally wanted to draw 5 kids 🤣. Let's say they're expecting another maybe soon 👀

[leennaan]

Leah Williamson/ Coming Home

You were nervous. After working for the royal navy for now almost nine years you decided that you missed enough of important events in your wife’s and your family’s life. When you were first recruited at the age of 18 it was the best thing that could happen for you. You always wanted to step into your grandpas footsteps and you did.

You quickly climbed the ranks until you became captain just after you turned 23.

Your wife was esthetic when you told her.

You knew Leah since you both were just five years old.

You became best friends until she asked you to be her girlfriend on your 15th Birthday.

It was one of the happiest moments in your life.

After you asked her to marry you in the summer of 2016 you got married in a small setting after her season in 2017 both of you being just 20 but you were never more sure of something.

No one even knew you were together not even her teammates and you liked the secrecy it gave you a bit of a rush.

When you were told in 2020 you would be stationed in America for some years you knew it would be hard but you both managed the distance. One of the hardest things was not being able to be there with her when she captained England to the Euros win. But you were unbelievable proud of her.

When she raptured her ACL and you couldn’t be there for her it broke you.

So when you were told that you would have to stay over sea even longer you knew you couldn’t be apart from her anymore so you asked to be discharged.

That is what let you to this day.

Standing in a sold out emirates stadium at the semi finals of the champions league 2023/24.

You talked with Jonas and asked him to help you surprise Leah.

The players knew that a former navy captain would be honored but that was about all the information the players had.

After the players walked on the pitch, Leah captaining Arsenal and after the champions league hymn was played it was time.

You heard the Stadion speaker announce you so you walked out of the tunnel still in your uniform.

“And now before we start with the match we would like to honor former Royal Navy Captain Y/N Williamson for her service.”

Your eyes were only focused on Leah. She gasped as your name was announced and sunk to her knees as soon as she saw you walking out of the tunnel. You could see that a few tears had already escaped her eyes and you felt some of your own tears roll down you cheeks. Her teammates looking confused between you and her captain as you walked towards her.

Suddenly Leah jumped up and started running at full speed towards you, jumping in your arms once she reached you. You caught her and held her close, crying into her neck.

“ I can’t believe you’re here. I missed you so much! Please tell me that you’re here to stay.” She whispered into your ear. Still clinging to your body.

“I am here baby. I am home. I here to stay. I am not leaving you again.”

After you both had calmed down a bit you let her down, still holding her close.

And it you didn’t care that you were standing in the middle of a sold out emirates, four years without holding your love, without being able to hold her were just to long. So you captured her lips with your own.

The kiss was everything and more. You felt her shiver and smile into the kiss.

After what felt like a lifetime but wasn’t nearly long enough you pulled away. Breathing hard and looking at a smiling face.

“I can’t wait until after the match but now you have to what you do best. Win this match. I am so proud of you!” You said and she nodded, kissed you one last time before she went back to her team.

Once the game started you went to Leah’s family and did what you wished you could have done for the last four years supporting your wife at one of her most important matches of her career.

Arsenal won the game 3:1 and qualified for the champions league final.

This evening you didn’t move from Leah’s side. Together you told her teammates about how you got together and everything between. Just holding your girl in your arms.

Nothing could top this feeling.

You knew you did the right thing. Never before had you seen Leah so happy, not even after the Euros win.

Coming home was the best decision you ever made.

“I love you Leah Williamson.” You said to her when you were dancing together at the winning party.

“I love you to Y/N Williamson. Always.”

[zeestarfishalien]

I Am Your Dad But Also Not?

[DPxDC Week 2023 Day 7: Clockwork // Accidental Baby Acquisition // Misunderstanding]

• In which, Danny is Richard Grayson from an alternate universe (the dna matches even if all the names and history don’t)

“Papa, hold me!” The words were Danny’s only warning before the bundle of flying child plowed into him. He spun with the momentum, hands quickly gripping the little girl so she didn’t go tumbling away.

Despite her sure and enthusiastic greeting, she was not in fact Danny’s child. Or maybe she is now? He’s starting to get really confused. Apparently he looks and feels like her dad since she’s so clearly attached herself to him. Clockwork’s cryptic smiling is not helpful so he takes his newly acquired magical toddler and leaves.

At least he’s assuming her powers are magic or something. The last time he tried asking something that “obviously papa knows already” she got a look not dissimilar to a sad baby seal. Sad baby seals are not something Danny can resist evidently.

So, asking Clockwork is out and asking the child in question is out. Danny is running out of options and he has half a mind to just assume she’s his child from the future.

Luckily Danny is a genius, maybe not literally but his point still stands.

His idea? Brilliant.

Implementation? Flawless.

Hotel? Trivago.

The little one is outgoing enough that when Danny prompts her to introduce herself to Sam and Tucker (visiting on holiday), she goes off into a rambling of questions and information without even pausing for anyone to answer her questions.

That’s how they learn that she’s Mar’i Grayson and she lives in Blüdhaven most of the time, except when her Papa and Mama go on trips, then she’s stays with Grandpa Alfie and Grandpa B and Uncle Damian, but also sometimes Uncle Damian comes to stay with her and Mama and Papa because he sometimes gets into disagreements with Grandpa B.

She says disagreements in such a careful and proud way that Danny makes sure Sam and Tucker compliment her on her awesome vocabulary.

That just leaves them with the problem of getting Mar’i back to her own home dimension and parents, who are probably worried sick by her disappearance.

Danny really really hopes that Mar’i’s actual dad and mom have such an abnormal life that they might be able to find the infinite realms because trying to find her exact universe from his side of things without Clockwork’s help will be nigh on impossible

He really hopes she’ll recognize her real dad. Danny is not equipped for parenthood.

Or at least not equipped for a toddler. He was able to skip the whole toddler part with Ellie.

Speaking of Ellie and her horrible timing, she has chosen this exact time to get back from her grand adventure aka traveling the worlds and she proceeds to laugh so hard she can’t even stay on her feet. She resorts to floating along behind Danny and Mar’i cackling and occasionally heaving non great gasps of air only to fall back into the laughing cycle once more.

Danny’s shooing motions are ineffective and he’s not about to show a five-year-old the violence or language necessary to get Ellie to go away.

When she finally does stop laughing, she starts snapping pictures at every angle she can imagine. Which is a lot given that she’s a half ghost like Danny. She has yet to let her feet touch the ground but that doesn’t bother Mar’i who seems to have similar ideas about gravity. Her own feet rarely touching the floor as soon as she realized that beings work differently in the zone.

~•~

In the end Danny can only keep the ruse of fatherhood up for a couple of days. Mar’i is no fool even if she is five. She figures him out and she’s not even mad when he explains that he didn’t want her to be scared if she knew she was alone with strangers in a new place like this. Her magnanimous forgiveness is one of the best things Danny has ever experienced. He understands why people have kids now.

At the end of a week with no news from Clockwork and an increasingly homesick Mar’i, Danny takes her back to Clockwork’s tower to demand some action himself or at least get some ridiculous riddle to keep him and Mar’i occupied until the “time is right.”

Clockwork’s smile upon their arrival is bordering on deranged in Danny’s eyes and he hugs Mar’i closer as though to protect her from Time’s hands.

“It is time,” the god says and bangs his staff on the metal flooring of the tower.

Before Danny can demand an answer about that, a portal opens beneath him and both he and Mar’i go tumbling through.

YOOOO by my time, I am not late on any of these prompts (even though they are a lot shorter and more vague than I’d like. Can’t help it with the thumbs being the way they are). But like legit I am proud of myself. Deadlines are a thing I struggle with especially when it comes to writing. But I’m finally getting better with it. Middle school and high school me would both be crying tears of joy rn.

I love that we started with found family fluff and ended with it. Danny and Mar’i are going to have a very lovely and entertaining adventure together. It’ll be great.

[kiszka-jake]

Road Not Taken

Road not taken: A Jake Kiszka fan fic

Summary: Katie and Jake broke up right before he made it big, and she’s been keeping one big secret from him ever since.

Katie’s POV-October 2023

“Mommy?” 

I rolled over to see my daughter standing by the side of the bed.

“Will you tell me a story about my daddy again?”

I smiled at her and pulled the blanket back. She giggled as she took a running leap onto the bed and snuggled in next to me. 

“If your daddy was here right now, he would be having so much fun teaching you how to ride your bike without training wheels. And he would definitely teach you how to play guitar” 

She looked wistfully up at me with her big brown eyes and a part of my heart broke. She loves when I tell her things about her dad, but she hates hearing what she’s missing out on. 

“Do you think he’ll be done with his secret mission soon and come home?”

I stared at the ceiling while she waited for my answer. I know I shouldn’t lie to her, but she’s only four. It’s better to tell a four year old that her dad’s a secret agent than it is to tell her the truth. I finally mustered up a smile and looked back down at her.

“Maybe! But you know he’s traveling to a lot of places on his current assignment.”

She seemed satisfied with my answer as her eyes started to close. I ran my fingers through her brown curls and picked up my phone to see a call from my best friend Grace. 

She didn’t even wait for me to say hello before she started speaking.

“The new Greta tour is sold out. I know I’ve been telling you this for years, but that money is Lyla’s too and I know you don’t let anyone help you but it-“

I had to cut her off or she would go on forever. Lyla’s dad and his money (and my lack thereof) is one of her favorite topics. 

“Gracie. Do you really think I’m going to call him up after not speaking for five years and just say ‘Hey Jake. Crazy story. You actually have a daughter and she really wants ballet lessons and a puppy, but I’m broke and can’t give her everything she wants. Mind sending some of your rockstar money this way?’ I don’t think that would go over well.”

She let out a long sigh and took a moment to reply. 

“I know, I know, I know. I only say it because I love you and Lyla and I want the best for both of you.”

“I know.”

We let the comfortable silence fill the air as we lingered on the call. Sometimes it’s just nice to know your best friend is there and ready to listen. 

“I really just wanted to call and say I’m excited to see you guys tomorrow.” 

I couldn’t hold back the smile growing on my face as I spoke. 

“I can’t wait to be back home either. Lyla can’t stop talking about going to Bronners again. I don’t know why she likes it so much.” 

“And her Auntie Gracie will gladly walk around the whole store and let her pick out whatever she wants for her birthday. 

We hung up the phone and it was just me alone with my thoughts. Going back to Frakenmuth always fills me with anxiety. I’ll forever be known as ‘the girl who broke up with a rockstar and got pregnant by a rando and dropped out of Harvard’. Quite a title to live up to…especially when it’s not the truth. 

I turned and watched Lyla sleep. She reminds me of him so much. They have the same eyes and the same big smile that is only reserved for the most special moments. As I started to fall asleep, all I could think about was all the memories waiting for me in Michigan.

———————————————————

“Mommy I see grandma and grandpa and Aunt Gracie!” Lyla shouted as we walked out of the airport. I looked ahead to see them excitedly waving and I let go of her hand to let her run ahead. 

My dad spun her around and put her on his shoulders while my mom yelled at him to be careful. “There’s my birthday girl!” My dad yelled as he reached a hand up to tickle her. Lyla laughed and put her arms around his neck. 

“It’s not my birthday today, Grandpa.” She said between her giggles. 

“Gosh sorry Ly. I thought you looked 5 years old already.” 

“You know, ever since Lyla was born you guys never get excited to see me anymore.” I joked as I hugged my mom. “You’re just old news now.” My mom said in reply. I felt my anxiety fade as I watched the happiness on Lyla’s face grow. I had every right to be here. This is my home too, and I have nothing to be scared of. Jake should be off somewhere getting ready for tour. 

“I did tell Lyla if she was good the whole flight you guys would take her for ice cream.” My dad smirked at me, “she could’ve been horrible and we would take her anyway.” I started walking away with Grace and turned around to wave. “We’ll meet you back home soon!” Lyla didn’t even say goodbye because she was too busy soaking up attention from her favorite people. 

Grace raised an eyebrow at me as she unlocked the car,” Kroger stop for cookies?”

“You have to ask?”

We blasted the radio on the way to the store  and it was like we were 16 again. I was still riding my child free high in the cookie aisle when it came crashing down.

“Katie?” 

I instantly recognized the voice. How could I not? It was the voice of the woman that was basically my second mother for years. I slowly turned around and smiled at Jake’s mom. The anxiety was back as I looked into the eyes of the kindest woman, who doesn’t know she has a granddaughter that would absolutely adore her. 

“Hi Mrs. kiszka, how are you?” Gracie glanced at me, probably wondering why I was being so formal after all these years. 

She scoffed at me while saying “you know it’s just Karen to you.” 

“Of course” I smiled awkwardly.

“We’ve missed seeing you around here. Last time I saw your mom she said you were still in Boston?” 

She was smiling at me so warmly, and I felt my cheeks getting red at the thought of this woman I respected hearing all the gossip about me. 

I laughed a little as I began “yeah, I had to drop out of college but I’m still in Boston with my daughter.” 

Her smile still didn’t waver as she reached out for my hand. “She did spend most of the conversation gushing about your daughter. She sounds like a great little girl.” 

I started to smile too, “Her name is Lyla. She’s turning 5 this week and she really is amazing. I’m still planning on going back to school, I just haven’t had the time.” 

Grace could tell I was still a little nervous, and interjected. “Yeah, Katie is the best mom. Too bad Lyla’s dad is a POS or she could’ve graduated by now.” 

Karen let out one of her signature booming laughs right in the middle of Kroger. I gave Gracie a side eye, but was also silently grateful for her boldness. 

“Yeah he was just a typical Harvard douche.” I said. Karen gave me a sympathetic look as she let go of my hand. 

“I’m sorry I never reached out to you when she was born. We were all just so busy with the band picking up and then life got in the way. The boys are in town this week for a visit and we’re going to have a little get together. You should come and bring Lyla. We would all love to meet her.”

I felt like I couldn’t breathe at the mention of the boys being here at the same time as me. 

“Aren’t they on tour?” Was all I managed to get out.

“Not yet.” She titled her head a little and came closer. “Whatever happened between you and Jake years ago is between the two of you, but you know you’ll always be another daughter to me and I would love to reconnect. We all would.” 

I couldn’t let her take all the blame for our distance. I would’ve ignored her if she had reached out. “I’m sorry for ghosting all of you too. Our relationship meant a lot to me and it was separate from Jake. You know I’ve always loved your family.”

We hugged each other again as she started talking. “So come tomorrow and we can start over.” 

“We will if we’re free”

She seemed satisfied with my answer as she turned to keep walking down the aisle.

We stood there in silence until she moved and Grace kept her eyes on me. 

“I don’t want Jake to meet Lyla.” I whispered as I tightened my grip on the cookies in my hand. 

She took the cookies from my hands and looked me in the eyes.

“He already knows she exists and he’s a self absorbed douche now so he won’t put it together.  It’ll be okay.”

————————————-

Jake’s POV-October 2023

I came up from the basement to see my mom bringing in the grocery bags. 

“Did you get everything we need for tomorrow?”

She was smiling at me like she had a secret. She put the hamburger buns away and ignored my question. 

“Is that a yes or a no?”

She turned around with a chip bag in her hands and beamed at me.

“Guess who I saw at Kroger”

I sighed as I tried to think of an answer. I hated playing this game when it could be anyone from the town.

“I don’t know maybe Susan that used to cut our hair when we were 5?”

She rolled her eyes at me as she put the chips away. 

“No, I saw Katie and Grace. Katie’s in town visiting her parents with her daughter. I invited them to come tomorrow.”

My head snapped up at the mention of Katie coming over tomorrow.

“Why would you do that?” 

She turned her head and squinted her eyes at me.

She began to speak slowly “You know..Katie had a similar reaction when I invited her. Are you ever going to tell us what happened between you two? You were always so cute together.”

I grabbed a banana from the Kroger bags and took a bite to avoid answering. She wasn’t letting me get away without an answer though. She stood and waited for me to finish chewing. 

“That’s private information” 

——————————-

Katie’s POV-October 2018

“It hurts so bad Mom.” I groaned while squeezing her hand. My mom pushed my sweaty hair back with her free hand and smiled down at me. 

“I know it does. But it’ll be over soon and you’ll have a beautiful baby.” 

The pain passed again as my dad walked through the door. I could tell he was still uncomfortable with the whole situation and couldn’t believe this was happening. He cleared his throat while he stared at my stomach.

“Are you sure you don’t want us to call the dad? We don’t care who it is, but he should be here with you.”

“David.” My mom said disapprovingly. “Is now really the time for this discussion again?” 

I couldn’t meet my parents eyes as I prepared myself to lie to them again.

“I told you, it’s just some random guy I met in class that I went out with a few times. He’s not interested in being a dad right now.” 

My dad was silent as he stared out the window. He was so proud of me when I got accepted into Harvard, and ever since I told him I was pregnant and dropping out, he’s been quiet. 

The door suddenly burst open as Grace ran in the room. “I’m here, I’m here!” She yelled while yanking her suitcase through the doorway. She was panting as she looked around the room at all of us.

“Glad to see you’re still ginormous. Guess that means I haven’t missed the birth of my niece.”

“Or nephew.” I replied with a laugh. 

“No it’s definitely a girl. She and I already have a connection so I just know.”

My mom smiled as she embraced Grace in a tight hug and turned to me. 

“I still can’t believe you didn’t want to know the gender.” 

Grace gave me a glance and I half smiled at my mom.

“I like surprises” I said in reply.

I actually hate surprises. I didn’t find out because Jake always said he wanted to be surprised like his parents were for him and his siblings. 

Gracie gave my hand a reassuring squeeze as she read my mind. She’s the only person on the planet that knows Jake’s the dad. 

After a few more hours, the doctor said it was finally time to push. My dad went outside to wait and my mom and Grace stood on either side of me.

I heard the crying first and then I heard Grace screaming it’s a girl. The nurse placed her on my chest and I looked down at the most beautiful thing I ever created. I felt an insane amount of love and peace while I held her little hand. She was always meant to be mine, and I was meant to be hers. 

——————— 

Later that night when everyone left, it was just me and her alone for the first time. 

“I’m your mom” I whispered to her in the dark. I watched her little chest rise and fall as she snuggled against me. “I don’t know how we’re going to do this, but I promise you’ll alway be happy.”

A nurse opened the door and stuck her head in. “Just wanted to make sure you guys are good in here.” 

I nodded at her as I started to hear the music that was playing in the hallway. I would know that voice anywhere considering I heard it everyday for years. 

She was turning to leave when I asked.

“Excuse me, do you know what song this is?” 

She looked excited as she turned back around to tell me. 

“The new Greta Van Fleet album came out today and it’s all we’ve been listening to. This one is called You’re The One. Have you ever heard of them?”

“No, I don’t think I have.” 

“You should check them out sometime, they’re really great.” She said as she pulled the door closed.

I looked down at the baby sleeping peacefully in my arms. “You were born on your daddy’s album release day.” 

Jake’s POV-October 2018

“Jake hurry up and get ready.” I looked up to see Josh in the doorway. I stood up, grabbed my drink and downed it in two seconds. He gave me a look and I knew what he was thinking. 

“Come on man. We’re certified rockstars now. This is what we do. Sex, drugs and rock n roll, right?” 

He kept staring at me as he answered. “Yeah, but I don’t want you to forget why you wanted to do this in the first place. Ever since you and Katie broke up you’ve been like this.”

“You gotta stop bringing her up.”

Every time someone mentioned her name, I felt like I needed a drink. Maybe I have needed more drinks this year, but she broke me. That’s what she does to people. 

We headed to the side stage and waited while we were being introduced to the crowd. It’s our album release party, I need to focus. We just need to do the Q&A and preform a few songs and then I can have another drink. 

One of the production assistants that was at our ep release walked by and stopped to talk.

“Congrats on the album, it’s awesome.”

I muttered a thank you as I shook his hand. 

“Is your girlfriend here for this one too? I can get her a good spot again.”

I mentally rolled my eyes and tried to not let my annoyance show. 

“She’s not here man, but thank you.”

I can’t escape that girl today. 

The crowd started screaming as we walked onto the stage. I sat next to josh and let him take over answering the fan questions while I nodded and laughed when it was needed. 

“Jake?” 

I snapped my head up to Sam looking at me expectantly. A girl in the crowd cleared her throat and spoke into the microphone again.  

“Sam just said you wrote most of You’re The One, so I was just wondering who it’s about” she was blushing and twirling her hair around while she stared at me. 

I made myself laugh a little before I began, “I suppose it can be about whoever you want it to be, but I wouldn’t say it was written with anyone in mind. Just a general feeling of longing.” 

That was a lie. It was written for and about one person. I heard the other questions being asked, but all I could think about was her. Her long brown hair that she always begged me to braid, the way she covered her mouth to laugh when Josh said something stupid, her green eyes filled with so much joy when she watched me on stage. The crowd cheered again as we started to get up to play. I walked over to my guitar and felt a peace when my fingers touched the strings. This guitar was always meant to be mine, and I was always meant for this. 

I looked out into the crowd and spotted the girl that asked me a question. I smiled shyly at her and figured I could find her at the after party. I’m not going to let Katie ruin this night for me too. It's not everyday you get to release an album. 

HI! I started to post this story awhile ago and got busy with life. I have the first 5 chapters ready to go, so I thought I would start posting again :)

[siopaoxiao]

SCREAMS I AM HERE WITH YOUR SMUT REQUEST

Idk if you write for welt, but the idea would also work with Jing Yuan if you don’t!

Anyway- initially fucking his s/o rlly gently and lovingly then getting pussy drunk and being wayyyy more aggressive/impatient with maybe a touch of breeding kink?

DO I WANNA KNOW?

cw. // breeding kink, pussy drunk welt :P note. // never wrote for welt before but he's a grandpa id like to fuck

welt always took it slow, worried that youd get hurt if he went too rough. today was a little different though, yea sure, he gets into bed with you after he's finished dealing with the express' shenanigans as always, you kiss as always, the foreplay is as good as always, he fucks you nice and slow as always. but the sounds of your whimpers n moans, the squelching and skin slapping that rings into his ears just gets to him. he doesn't even realize he's pumping into you faster and faster. and soon, he's got a tight grip on your hips, almost bruising them as he thrusts in and out of you quickly, you didn't even know he could get this aggressive with how calm he usually is. he's close, he can feel it. he lets out low grunts and his breathing goes shallow while he continues to fuck you senseless. oops, he forgot to pull out. maybe he did that on purpose.

@siopaoxiao 2023. do not copy, translate, modify or repost.

[pacthesis]

our vietnamese tea ceremony

some may or may not know i just got engaged to a weird guy i met in college that (to put it lightly) i wasn’t too fond of but after like 2 years of snubbing him he somehow won my heart i guess

i scribbled a comic about it cause whenever people ask how i met him they sometimes get invested haha

some people also may have seen him on america’s got talent or cbs news or jimmy fallon or on tiktok doing his pizza man shenanigans lol

people often ask if he pulled me with his dough skills and i have to clarify i didn’t even know about the dough spinning hobby until after we started dating and he didn’t do the tv/media appearances until like 6 years into our relationship 🤣

my parents were both boat refugees from vietnam (they fled during the war when they were teenagers and met as adults) and i’m american- but we’re not really that “traditional” i guess

i think many viet people don’t get married or commit without having a tea ceremony haha

a hetero buddy asked who were my bridesmaids and when i told him i don’t have any he asked why and i just said “i like my friends” 🤣 (my childhood friends were there as guests though!)

i also didn’t want/ask pizza man’s family to bring the customary gifts cause i didn’t wanna cramp my style

basically the purpose of this event was for people to witness us getting engaged and be an opportunity for our families to meet one another!

5/23/2015 is when we started dating

for our first anniversary i got our initials and anniversary date stamped onto a penny and pizza man still carries it around 🥺

so 8 years later we got engaged on 8/5/2023

8 for august (8 years later)

5th of august (5 for the month we began dating)

year of 2023 (23 for the day we began dating)

i think people often go to a fortune teller or someone who knows what they’re doing to schedule important dates using the stars and other factors but my grandpa doesn’t believe in that and the rest of us aren’t really superstitious

we wore áo dài- it’s a vietnamese ensemble consisting of a tunic with a long front and back panel that is worn over pants

áo means “shirt/clothes” and dài means "long"

a lot of the time the bride wears red and the groom wears blue i guess but i wanted my outfit to look bridal when i imagine an american bride or a vietnamese bride!

i also wanted to wear a gold khăn đóng headpiece and to incorporate pearls to resemble what my mom wore when she got engaged to my dad

sunflowers are also my fav

(after we started dating i thought pizza man was tall and sunny like a sunflower haha 😭)

my makeshift shoebox altar- or as i like to call it: my “spirit pager” 😤

the double happiness symbol is two copies of the chinese character 喜 (xǐ) which means joy/happiness and red symbolizes luck for the couple

my mom asked if we should put up pictures of our deceased and i was like i don’t wanna make pizza man’s parents go out of their way to bring photos 😭

i think we were supposed to ask our ancestors for permission to get engaged or married or whatever but since my mom raised me to believe my life is mine to live i just announced it to em

as far as i know it’s not really a buddhist thing- ancestor worship is more of a vietnamese thing apparently

my mom said vietnam is a country with a lot of war and death in its history- so imo it makes sense how they incorporate the dead into their culture and traditions

after introducing each of our family members and friends- we lit a couple of incense to (casually) announce the news to our deceased grandparents and relatives

apparently burning incense is an invitation to ancestral spirits and to deliver wishes to predecessors

smoke from the burning incense guides people to safety or safe passing when they die- it also guides em back home on days like these

the spirit(s) depart when all of the incense has burned

next month is my grandma’s "deathiversary” (giỗ) so we’ll be paging her again soon

we used a tea set that was used to celebrate my 1st birthday to pour and serve (my pick) of vanilla caramel black tea to my grandpa and our parents

pizza man’s mom doesn’t like tea so i was happy i picked something she did enjoy!

but when my mom brought her family to america from vietnam- she asked them if they could bring a tea set specifically for me

my mom said it’s meant to be used to celebrate any of my special occasions

then me and pizza man said some nice words to each other and exchanged rings

my ring was pizza man’s grandma’s- his grandpa initially proposed with a smaller diamond but after he saved up enough he got her this bigger one

i don’t listen to any comments that suggest or imply this carbon rock is not humongous 🤣

pizza man paid to get it resized and to repair its prongs (it was well worn by grandma mercedes 🥺)

also found out my ring size is 3.25 (US) haha 😭

he also decided to get his grandpa’s ring resized and to wear it too!

my mom put this necklace on me- she says it reads “happiness” (i can’t confirm lol) but she received it from her mother-in-law when she got engaged to my dad

my mom was too scared to wear it after their tea ceremony cause it’s 24 karat gold and she didn't wanna wreck it

she said 24 karat gold hasn't been combined with other metals so it’s soft

i guess couples at viet tea ceremonies often get 24 karat jewelry- the idea is they can quickly sell it/melt it down for hard times

my mom also passed down her favorite jade bracelet and my grandma’s favorite diamond earrings to me 🥺

and on my 1st birthday my mom got a special ring made to celebrate my birth- she put it on a chain so the person i marry can wear it close to their heart

my mom also got a special ring necklace made to celebrate my sibling’s birth and gave it to their fiancée during their tea ceremony

it’s just the two of us so no more shiny token trophies up for grabs! 😤

i laughed when pizza man had to squat down so low so my mom could put the necklace on him 

after the ceremony i asked him if he wanted me to help him take it off (my sibling's fiancée keeps theirs in a safe cause she’s too scared to wear it daily) but pizza man was like "no i like it 😄" and wore it to sleep and showered with it and hasn’t taken it off since 😭🤣

at the end of the ceremony we lit the candles on the altar to represent the union of our families!

then we ate lots of food haha

my parents both cooked! egg rolls, fried rice, lo mein, bột chiên (fried taro rice cake)

my mom was excited because she knew many of our guests weren’t very familiar with vietnamese food and wanted to share that with them 🥺

and my dad was just so excited for me and pizza man and had so much fun getting the supplies and decorations 😭

my aunt and uncle and sister-in-law brought vịt quay (peking duck), heo quay (roast pork), gỏi tôm (shrimp salad), bánh hỏi (rice vermicelli), xôi gấc (sweet red sticky rice topped with coconut, peanuts and salt)

and pizza man’s mom and family brought lots of desserts

we have always been so amazed with how good their sweets taste and look! 🥺

we also got an ice cream cake

i wasn’t thinking and asked em to write “nicholas and amy lễ đính hôn” and they called me and were like wtf is this and i was like oh no it’s ok haha don’t worry about it! 😭🤣

we had some photos displayed but my sibling took lots of nice pictures of the whole thing!

i was happy i actually got the chance to spend time with and talk to everyone who came!

it went so well and we had so much fun that we’re thinking of doing something similar for our wedding- probably a backyard wedding haha

i was telling pizza man apparently some tea ceremonies have the first half take place at the bride’s home and then the later half is at the groom’s home 🤔

anyway reminder that leftover egg rolls can be reheated in the toaster

[endlich-allein]

Till Lindemann from "Rammstein" turns 60

Good man

Von Flake Lorenz

3. Januar 2023

Till Lindemann, "Rammstein" singer and lyricist, turns 60. Congratulations from his longtime friend and keyboardist.

Actually, one would not have to wait for a milestone birthday to honor this wonderful person. You could just pause and pay homage to the force of nature on any other evening. It may also be that Till Lindemann's birthday this Wednesday is not true. Even when Bravo reported about Rammstein for the first time in the early 1990s, our dates of birth were completely out of thin air. We were way too old for the Bravo target group back then, so the editors simply made us a few years younger. That wasn't a problem because the internet was still empty.

We soon realized that it doesn't matter how old you really are. Much later, when Rammstein became successful, being old was even better. You can deal more calmly with all that nonsense and enjoy your happiness in peace. Also, a person's age is just in the eye of the beholder, at least I don't know anyone who would call themselves old. On the other hand, I can still remember how, as a young musician, I couldn't calm down when I found out that the guitarist in a band I was friends with was over 30 years old. "He can still make music?" I asked. Men over 50 were half-dead, bleating grandpas in ugly brown clothes, they were every teenager's natural enemy.

It's 1986. Till turns up the system. I'm worried: What will the neighbors think?

Till seemed old to me when I met him. That was in the mid-1980s in East Germany. Till was not only older than me, in contrast to me he was already really grown up. He lived in his own house while I was still in my parents' room and didn't even have a girlfriend. I saw Till for the first time in 1986 in a Schwerin club after a Feeling B concert. I immediately noticed him: Till was a tall, strong man who on the one hand exuded natural authority, but at the same time seemed very shy. We didn't hesitate when he offered to take us home with him. His house in the country near Schwerin seemed like paradise to me, it was incredibly comfortable, probably because he had set it up that way himself; he had knocked out the walls between the rooms and left only the half-timbering. The volume on his system was turned up to the limit, the Sisters Of Mercy screamed from the cheap speakers.

I had never dared to do anything like this in my life. What would the neighbors think? When I wanted to play a song on the piano in between, Till simply carried it for me to another room where it wasn't so loud. At some point we all fell asleep where we sat and stood, like in Sleeping Beauty, and when I woke up the next morning, I imagined what it would be like if you always lived like Till. I really liked this idea.

Of course, his life wasn't a one-stop party. He also lived in the house because the argument with his father, who was not exactly frail, had escalated beforehand. Till had hit his father, the children's book author Werner Lindemann, with such a punch that he flew into the strawberry bed. Then Werner Lindemann threw Till's things out of the skylight. Life in a sports boarding school and training as a carpenter in Rostock were no fun either. Later, as a single father, Till lived with his daughter Nele in his nest, which in turn probably saved him from being drafted into the army. Till always seemed and always seems in a good mood to me – a bit like Obelix, of course not in terms of stature, for God's sake, he looks more like Arnold Schwarzenegger, but in terms of personality he's more like Obelix. Always according to the motto: "Friends, I have a plan, let's go here and there and break everything to pieces!"

Practical: He could change a wheel on the Trabi without using the jack

When the wall was suddenly open, Till drove to Lübeck with a couple of friends and spent all the West money he had saved and exchanged on gummy bears. He sat in a doorway and ate them all. Of course, he also manages a wild boar – it was an advantage back then that he lived so close to the railway embankment. When a waiter asks Till if he liked his food, he usually replies: "Yes, thank you, it was plenty." Incidentally, he also shares Obelix's great love of small dogs. Since Till is with (allegedly) Francis of Assisi, who wrote: "The dog remains loyal to me in the storm, man not even in the wind."

And like Obelix, Till seems to have fallen into a magic potion, because he really has tremendous powers.

At that time he could change a wheel on the Trabi without using the jack. In the old days, when we had to work as stewards at an open-air festival, Till just banged his fist through a car window to hold the driver down.

If Till sees any body of water, he immediately plunges into it and plows through it like a motorboat. He tucks the boxes that we carry in the studio or in the rehearsal room under his arm alone.

If a door is locked somewhere, he just sticks me through a second-story window so I can open it all from the inside.

I've never met anyone who is so pragmatic about music and lyrics. Till would never have originally thought of becoming a singer. Although he observed that musicians in Schwerin had a hit with women and then played drums in a punk band - but in all those years I really never had the feeling that punk music particularly interested him. An effective and well thought-out stage show was always more important to him. For example, Till once put chickens in the bass drum and only pulled the cloth away after the first song, causing the animals to tumble across the stage.

Cheering crowds, prizes and honours: All of this actually leaves him completely cold

When Till was supposed to sing with us, it was very difficult for him at first, because as a singer you can't hide behind an instrument or another musician. Then he put on welding goggles so that he looked like a friendly insect. Till sang beautifully, deeply and soothingly. We stopped worrying immediately. Everything would be fine. We just needed good lyrics. So Till sat down to write them. He never pretends to be a great artist who needs to express his deep feelings. He prefers to think about what else can be lit on stage (like me). The concerts used to be a lot of fun. At that time we always looked for an attractive village inn first, in order to eat as much as possible. Only then did we set up our stuff and play.

Till loves women - and women love him. But how he manages to go through his life completely free of any affectation, even after 37 years, still arouses deep admiration from me. Cheering crowds of spectators, prizes and honors actually leave him completely cold. Organizing a party for our entire crew seems to be more important to him than any concert. Incidentally, he has renounced his rights as a lyricist for decades, so that all six of us at Rammstein earn exactly the same. In any case, Till has extended the life of the band, because money is usually the trigger for a breakup. He, on the other hand, has a very decisive influence on our band with his lyrics and his voice.

So we can still successfully defend our small East German village. By Teutates! May the sky never fall on Till's head!

(I'm not sure of this whole translation so feel free to correct me)

[readblogdescriptionandleave]

THE EPIC SEQUEL TO THE 2023 HIMBOFF IS COMING VERY SOON

I, @makerofmadness aka the host of the @2023himbotournament am already ready to present the epic sequel (which will not start until a bit after the himboff ends, I'm announcing this now 'Cus the conclusion of the himboff is near):

SUPER SMASH BATS

Aka: The Vampire Tournament!

The blood-sucking cast:

*Count Dracula (Dracula)

*Vampire Cookie (Cookie Run)

*Edward Cullen (Twilight)

*Draculaura (Monster High)

*Dracula (Hotel Transylvania)

*Count Orlok (Nosferatu)

*Michael Morbius, MD (Morbius)

*Carmilla Karnstein (Carmilla)

*William “Spike” Pratt (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

*Bunnicula (Bunnicula)

*Count Duckula (Count Duckula)

*Elena Gilbert (The Vampire Diaries)

*Alucard (Hellsing)

*Dracula Vlad Țepeș (Castlevania)

*Lestat de Lioncourt (The Vampire Chronicles)

*Blade (Blade)

*Count Nightwing (Goosebumps)

*Dio Brando (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure)

*Kanaya Maryam (Homestuck)

*Marceline the Vampire Queen (Adventure Time)

*Slayer (Guilty Gear)

*Zero Kiryu (Vampire Knight)

*Benny Lafitte (Supernatural)

*Count von Count (Sesame Street)

*Sarah Fox (My Babysitter’s a Vampire)

*Lucifer (Dragon Ball)

*Vamdemon (Digimon Adventure)

*Rayne (BloodRayne)

*Nitara (Mortal Kombat)

*Remilia Scarlet (Touhou)

*Vamp (Metal Gear Solid)

*Vanescula Drakan (RuneScape)

*Vampirella (Vampirella)

*Lady Margolotta (Discworld)

*Aukon (Doctor Who)

*Dracunyan (Yokai Watch)

*David Powers (The Lost Boys)

*John Mitchell (Being Human)

*Edward Dalton (Daybreakers)

*Vladimir Dracula (Young Dracula)

*Grandpa Walt Montgomery ( R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour)

*Karin Maaka (Chibi Vampire)

*Bill Compton (True Blood)

*Hazuki (Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase)

*Vampirina Hauntley (Vampirina)

*Rudolph Sackville-Bagg (The Little Vampire)

*Erika Sendo (Fortune Arterial)

*Lady Dimitrescu (Resident Evil)

*Count Koopula (The Super Mario Bros. Super Show)

*Madame Gazelle (Peppa Pig)

*Lily Munster (The Munsters)

*Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way (My Immortal)

(For images of Ebony: on the roster I thought it'd be funny to have her basically replace the random character option, but for the tournament itself User @lil-tumbles has offered to draw her so a big thanks goes out to em for that)

Btw since this was a bit of a problem for me with the previous tournament: if you don't mind, could y'all put posts about this under the tag "super smash bats" so that I'll be able to look through that and see them? I like being able to tell what people are talking about, what characters you all are rooting for, etc. (it makes me happy to see people getting excited over stuff I do :'3 I'll admit it's kinda an ego thing but I just. Like knowing that I've made something that people care about and that makes people happy y'know-)

anyway this will probably start a week after the himboff ends, be prepared

[dancingtotuyo]

The Life We Built (Joel Miller)

Part 5 of Build You The World Joel X Reader Rating: PG-13 (Language) Warnings: fluff, that's it. Tags: no outbreak, fluff, craftsman!Joel, Time jump, it's 2023 folks, no mentions of COVID, you decide if it happened Notes: So we've reached the end of this little adventure that was only supposed to be a one shot, but never fear! I have another Joel Miller idea in the works. Check out my Masterlist for some Javier Peña works as well! Thank you everyone for your support! Words: 1998

Series Master List | Author Master list

Joel eased into the chair next to you under the pergola he built 25 years ago. It was still sturdy and spoke to Joel’s craftsmanship. The sun was beginning to set, granting some relief to the spring heat as you watched your three grown children clean up the backyard. They’d insisted the two of you relax. 

Emma graduated from Duke last weekend with honors in Pre-med. Which meant traveling to North Carolina for the ceremony. Joel has insisted on driving up. He hated flying. With a 20-hour car ride one way, you caught up on a lot of reading and almost booked yourself a plane ticket home. The two of you had been gone for almost a week. So her graduation party took place this weekend at home. She’d been accepted into UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Medicine and would be going back to Durham in a couple of weeks. She was officially moving out, boxes already stacked high in her room. You and Joel both chose not to think about your baby leaving the nest for good.  

Emma laughed at something Asher said. You couldn’t see Sarah roll her eyes, but you knew by her body language. Joel chuckled next to you. He sensed it too, both in tune with your children. 

Asher graduated with a Bachelor's in Engineering from UT-Austin a few years ago, choosing to stay close to home. He had a small apartment in town working at Miller Construction since graduation. Joel joked that if he didn’t put his degree to use soon, he was gonna have to rebrand as Miller and Son. You had a sneaking suspicion that’s what Asher wanted. He and Joel shared the same love of building things with their hands. 

“Grandpa!” Sarah’s 3-year-old daughter, Jessie bounded across the yard, dark curls bouncing like springs behind her. You could see the brightly colored book in her grasp.

She panted heavily as she reached the two of you. Her small hands rested on Joel’s knees. She looked up through dark lashes. “Will you read this to me?”

Joel smiled. She reminded you so much of Sarah at her age. “Don’t you want grandma to do it? She’s a much better reader than me.”

“No, you!”

“Okay, Okay.” Joel chuckled, pulling the child onto his lap. You closed your eyes as you listened to Joel read. His drawl had only deepened with age but it still flowed like honey. It soothed your weary bones and often brought you through time, making you feel 25 again. 

Sarah had started college at the University of Georgia but transferred to UT-Austin after her freshman year. She loved Georgia, but she missed being close to her family more. She’d earned her Bachelor's in Journalism and Creative Writing (also with Honors). Working across all aspects of journalism, she went back to get her MFA several years later. She worked freelance for several publications and taught a creative writing class at the community college in town. She’d married Mike 6 years ago. They’d been together since senior year of college aside from a one-year gap. They’d bought a house just down the street from you and Joel soon after their wedding. Jessie’s 4th birthday was next week, and aside from her husband, you were the only other person to know that Sarah was 8 weeks pregnant. They were planning to reveal it next on Father’s Day.

You and Sarah were convinced Joel didn’t have a clue. The two of you were desperate to surprise him. Other than his 45th birthday party, you and Sarah hadn’t been able to surprise Joel in the 31 years you’d loved him. He’d even figured out Sarah’s first pregnancy before they’d told anyone. 

Joel continued to read. The world drifted further away only anchored by the sound of his voice. Sometimes a bird’s song drifted in and out. The warm breeze floated across your skin. Joel’s voice stayed constant. 

“Grandpa… Shhhhh, grandma is sleepin.”

Joel looked up from the book. He smiled. The wrinkles around his eyes were well-defined now. “I think she’s just restin her eyes, kiddo.”

“That’s what you say when you’re sleeping!” Jessie giggled. 

“Keep reading,” you said, keeping your eyes closed. “The story was just getting good.” 

He looked at Jessie who nodded her head, and he continued. 

The construction business had been good to Joel. Miller Construction kept its outstanding reputation throughout the years, something Joel worried about as the number of crews grew and his ability to check up on every job decreased. Joel spent most of his days on job sites in a supervisory capacity. He trained the new hires to meet his rigid standards, and his body took less wear and tear. He was able to spend more quiet morning moments with you. At 56 years old, he was still the best pitcher in the men’s rec softball league. He took every Thursday morning off to hang out with Jessie while Sarah taught her class at the Community College. He piddled in the garage on weekends, working on the next project. He’d just redone the kitchen cabinets. Tommy joked that Joel lived in partial retirement, but there was some truth to it. You liked seeing him take time 

Joel finished the book as Sarah and Mike walked over. You slowly opened your eyes, letting the world envelope you once again. 

“It’s time for us to go home, Bear,” Mike said. 

Before Jessie could issue a complaint, Joel pulled her into a back-breaking squeeze. She laughed. He tickled her sides. “Grandpa!” 

“I gotta make sure you meet your tickle quota.” 

“I have! I have!” Jessie laughed, her cheeks turning red. 

“Okay,” Joel let out a deep breath. “I think that’s enough for today.” 

Jessie wrapped her arms around Joel’s neck, kissing his cheek. “Love you, Grandpa!”

“I love you too.” He kissed her cheek, patting her back. “I’ll see you on Thursday.”

Jessie slid off his lap, rushing to you. A chorus of goodbyes between parties rose in the corner of your backyard in hugs and handshakes. Jessie nestled into her father’s arms, eyes already beginning to droop. 

Joel wrapped his arms around you. You leaned into him. His hands traveled down your back, lips finding yours. You grinned feeling warm and giddy. Even after all these years, he still had the same effect on you. 

Gagging noises interrupted your moment. Asher and Emma stood on the porch directing said sounds at you. 

“Get a room!”

“We don’t want to see that!”

Joel flipped them off before firmly grabbing your ass making a show of the steamy kiss he planted on you. You laughed. He kissed your neck softly. 

“You’re gonna traumatize the kids.”

“They’re grown adults. They can leave.” He nuzzled into your neck. “I want to kiss my wife in our backyard.”  

“Y’all are gross.” Asher chided. 

“If it weren’t for us, you two wouldn’t be here,” Joel shouted back. 

“You say that like it’s a good thing!” Emma responded. “Have you seen the world?”

“Hey,” You laughed. “You’re the saving grace of this family, Miss I’m going to be a doctor.” 

Asher scowled. “Don’t say that. Her head will get bigger than it already is.” He ruffled Emma’s hair. 

Emma rolled her eyes. “We’re done cleaning up. We’ll leave you two to do… that.” She motioned toward you and Joel. “Asher’s gonna take me out on the town.”

“Make smart decisions,” Joel called.

“Always!” Emma smiled. 

The duo filed out of the backyard leaving you and Joel alone. Joel kissed your forehead as you swayed to a nonexistent tune. 

When you finally stopped, you and Joel sought the respite of AC inside. Joel prepared a plate of leftovers for the two of you to share on the couch. You read as Joel watched the Baseball game on low volume. You propped your feet on his lap. His thumbs found the soles of your feet applying pressure. You hummed. 

You had stepped down from your position at Miller Construction after Emma started high school. As much as you loved working with Joel and helping him build and expand the business, desires drew you elsewhere. You started working part-time at the public library. When their head librarian announced plans to retire, the city had offered to pay for you to get your Masters in Library Science providing you could give them a 10-year commitment. Daunting at first, you’d managed to complete the courses in 2 years via an online program. You work at the library full-time now. Joel often brought Jessie in on Thursday mornings along with a coffee for you. You tended to the garden on weekends. Joel replaced your raised beds a few years ago. You had the kids over for dinner once a week. You and Sarah walked the block on pleasant evenings. You spent lazy evenings on the couch with Joel, something that had rarely been a part of your marriage until the past few years. 

“I’ve been thinking…”

You looked up from your book. “Uh oh, that’s never good.”

He tickled the bottom of your foot earning a squeal. Everyone talked about growing out of being ticklish. That had never happened to you. “I think it’s probably time to refinish the book nook.”

You glanced behind you, eyes trailing over the bookshelves Joel had built you more than 25 years ago. They’d been through it. The finish was peeling in a few places. The cabinet doors that lined the bottom were dented and scratched from a number of things bumping and running into it while raising 3 kids. You glanced at the farthest one, still stained with faint marks from Emma taking Sharpies to it when she was 3. Residue from stickers marked other areas. 

“Sounds like a big project.”

“I’ve got the time.” Joel smiled. 

He reached down beside him, revealing a gift bag. A simple brown paper bag with a gold ribbon neatly tied and curled. Sarah’s trademark. He handed it to you with a smile.

“This from you or Sarah?”

“Me.” Joel crinkled his nose. “Just asked Sarah to wrap it for you.”

You lifted the bag up and down. It felt like it was probably a book. It rarely wasn’t. “And what is this for?” You smiled at him.

“Just fulfilling my husbandly duties.”

You laughed as you untied the ribbon. Joel had taken your first line to him like an oath over the course of your relationship. He’d surprised you with a new book at random times. Sometimes you came home to one on the kitchen counter or your nightstand. Other times, wrapped or handed to you, each with an inscription detailing something he loved about you and how “Pretty” didn’t cut it. 

You smiled at him, pulling a hardcover book out of the bag. You opened the front cover. A piece of paper slipped out. Before you could investigate, Joel’s handwriting caught your attention. 

I don’t know if you’ve been counting, darling, but this is the 100th book I’ve given you. When I met you in that bar, I knew if I had the chance to give you just one, I’d be the luckiest man alive. 

We always talked about going on a big trip for our 25th wedding anniversary. I know it’s a little bit late, but I booked us on that trip to Italy you were eying last year. 

I’m sure it’ll be beautiful, but I still think the best view is you. 

I love you, Darling. 

You picked up the slip of paper: the booking confirmation set for mid-September. You looked up at Joel, tears blurring your vision. 

He chuckled. “Surprise.”

You set the book carefully on the end table, moving onto Joel’s lap. “You hate flying.”

“But I love new places.” He kissed your nose. He still looked at you like you hung the galaxy. You imagined you looked at him the same. “And you.”  

You kissed him, the words whispered for just the two of you. “I love you too.”

[eyes-above--the-waves]

The Leafs 2023-2024 Belt Pics Ranked By How Much Joy They Spark, Part 1: #46-41

#46

Hey, we just met you. And this is crazy. So, here's a belt pic. Stay healthy, maybe?

#45

Drunk girls taking selfies at the bar.

#44

Our EBUG has seen some shit

#43

"Hey grandpa, let's take a picture together on grandma's flip phone from 2001"

#42

Gonna pretend he got this after his ground-breaking 1-goal season.

#41

Is that a huge jacket or just a weird angle?

Part 2 coming soon!

[m7z]

In memoriam

I spent the last 30 minutes or so skimming through my Tumblr archive from 2011-2012 trying to find a post I know I wrote about my paternal grandparents’ love story, but I couldn’t find it. I probably moved it to another blog at some point and deleted it here. Along the way though I found all these other memories from my early 20s, such as my coming out/confession letter to a best friend from high school, many reblogs of sappy quotes/graphics/book snippets/lyrics, reblogs of photos of places I wanted to visit (many of which I’ve now been to), songs I liked, tech news from the era (like the death of Steve Jobs), political news from the era (like marriage equality, and Barack Obama’s reelection), many reblogs about Glee, my own photos from my early days of living in San Francisco (and interning at Twitter)… All of which is to say, it captured this whole era of my life from ~10 years ago that, in retrospect, was quite pivotal.

The reason I went looking for that post is because I found out yesterday that my grandpa passed away. My dad texted me and tried to call when I was in the middle of a work meeting. I registered the text but didn’t respond, and then called back after. It was the middle of the night in China at the time (around 2am), and he learned the news earlier when my aunt had called him, and she’d been notified by the staff at the seniors home where my grandpa had been living.

As I processed the news and decided on my plans, I told people the context that he had suffered a series of strokes and had been on the decline since last summer, so this news didn’t come as a shock. This is in contrast to my paternal grandma’s passing in January 2022 (also January) from a heart attack which was sudden, quick, and utterly shocking. As the matriarch of our family, her death had hit everyone really hard then.

At his passing, my grandpa was in his late 80s, possibly 87 or 88. Which is objectively quite a remarkable achievement for someone born into the chaos of 1930s war torn China to a poor rural/farming family. He joined the communist army as an accountant/admin, and then the local police after the war, and then worked at the state hemp/cotton company until retirement. He and my grandma met in their 20s, fell in love and got married despite oppositions (this is the story I had posted about that I was looking for), had 2 kids and 2 grandkids (one of which is me), traveled, had health issues and took care of each other, and grew old together.

I realized yesterday that I wasn’t reacting as emotionally as I did to my grandma’s passing — one because he’d been on the decline, and my dad/aunt thought he almost wasn’t going to make it after his last severe stroke in July. I think I had emotionally prepared for this back then, and so expected this to happen at some point. The other reason is that his quality of life in this last year, after these strokes, had become quite poor. He couldn’t eat or talk or walk, and had become reduced to almost just skin and bones. It had become painful to see him in this state, and I’m glad he’s not suffering anymore.

However, at the same time I still feel sad and regretful because I was hoping to see him at least one more time. Even though he hasn’t been able to speak since July, and he didn’t really recognize anyone anymore… even so, I was hoping he'd hang on until I visited again.

When my grandma passed in 2022, the pandemic, travel restrictions, and lack of flight options had made it virtually impossible to travel back. The last time I visited China was October 2019. Since then, in the last few years when we called, they’d almost always ask when I can go back again. My grandpa did this all the way up until his last stroke in July when he couldn’t speak anymore. When the pandemic largely ended in 2022, I’d always say “soon”, even knowing it was impractical with the Chinese government's onerous visa policies. When they finally reinstated the pre-pandemic visitor visa policies in March 2023, I started to say that I'll go back during the summer, then the fall, then the winter, then the spring. One reason is that the flight options were both expensive and inconvenient, but the larger reason is that I prioritized other plans in my life. I'm not sure where I could've squeezed it in, but I do regret that I didn’t try harder to visit sooner.

Circling back on the whole “eras of my life” thread — I always felt like as long as my grandparents were around, I still feel like a kid in some way. They treated me like one, still babied me whenever I visited or called, and would remind me of funny anecdotes from my childhood. I know I’m pretty lucky to have gotten 30+ years with almost all 4 grandparents in my life. I also know I’m lucky that they loved me as much as they did — because not all of my friends had the kind of close relationships I did/do with their grandparents.

Growing up, I was always pretty close to my grandparents, more so to my grandma who I genuinely enjoyed talking to and would call regularly, but I have many fond memories with my grandpa too.

I recall when my family first immigrated to Canada, I would cry about missing them. Later when I went back to visit as a teenager, I would cry on the flight back to Canada.

My grandpa liked to write simple rhyming poems after he retired, liked to drink and smoke and only quit in his 60s, and liked to sing Chinese opera. One year for my birthday, he wrote a “hidden message” poem where the first word of each verse added together would say “happy birthday <my Chinese name>”.

One really special memory of him I have is when I was in kindergarten, and during afternoon nap time (which I hated) he showed up unexpectedly and took me out of school. We didn’t live in the same city but he was in my city for a work trip, and he’d decided to take me out of kindergarten early that day so we could spend time together. I remember it feeling so unexpectedly awesome — one because I was doing something I wasn’t supposed to (skip school) but also because of the surprise visit itself.

The only time I felt emotional yesterday was when my mom told me how, even though I won’t be able to attend the funeral, I could pay my respects at both of my grandparents’ gravesites when I visit. The thought made me emotional because… they can finally be reunited again, or at least not be separated by death.

Didn’t really know what I was going to write when I started this, and the words kept pouring out, but I’m glad I did.

[goldielia]

cassandra jones

aka. cassy, cass, jonesy, darl, darlin’

born on april 2nd 2001 in melbourne, australia

grew up going to the australian grand prix with her dad nearly every year

is an only child

daughter of a nurse and a car mechanic

started dancing ballet when she was really young because she loved dance academy so much

still takes classes every now and then when it fits into her schedule

studied motorsport engineering in sydney

has been steadily applying to mclaren engineering jobs ever since she graduated

her grandpa is from new zealand which is the reason why she wanted to work for bruce mclaren’s team (he’s a kiwi) so badly

never mention the fact that mclaren plays the british anthem for race wins to her, she’ll go on and rant about why it should be the new zealand anthem for hours

jack has made this mistake multiple times

loves baking

wants a cat really badly but her lifestyle can’t provide a good life for it (traveling etc.)

knew she wanted to spend winter breaks in new york because of the christmas decoration and new year’s party

fell in love the second she touched down in new york and doesn’t want to leave anytime soon

thought it was fate when she met jack who lives & works in new york

they met at the 2023 canadian gp when mclaren invited him, cole and trevor to watch from their garage - jack just couldn’t take his eyes off of the hot red head-race engineer

starts a podcast with her best friend christina eventually

loves casual fashion and thrifting