#anyway so somewhere in the past two months i also got a lunar on my right index finger. i didn't even notice it until i was tryna wash my

[keeps-ache]

okay i'm out of evil mode. peace love and a little bit of still-tired on planet earth lol 🧃

[skellebonez]

32. Are you aware of how much money you spent? Tang and Pigsy

go wild god of fanfic prompts, go wild

I WOULDN'T GO THAT FAR ANON JDFKLSJFAS But that's very sweet of you to say! And I couldn't pass up a great chance to write these two as the old (but not that old) married couple I know them to be in my heart. I tried something a little experimental, this isn't exactly how I would normally write them but I had a little idea and wanted to see what I could do with it.

Are you aware of how much money you spent? 

Tang loved Pigsy. And he wasn't afraid of who knew that fact.

"You sure you wanna come with me to the market after... you know,” Pigsy said with a shrug as he rubbed his neck awkwardly.

Tang knew. He remembered the events of quite a few months ago very well. Over half a year if he remembered correctly. It was the last time he had gone with the chef to purchase his ingredients at the market, not wanting to go anywhere close to what was likely still far too close to the lair of the Spider Queen.

Especially not after their later encounters on the new year and the following weeks.

“I’m sure.”

It wasn’t as if they didn’t spend pretty much all their time together anyway. Tang had work, of course he did, and he wasn’t always in the shop 24/7. But whenever he could take his work on the go or take a break or just have the day off he would be by the chef’s side. He always had been for as long as he could remember since their first meeting in college.

At first it was simply from a sense of loyalty to an old friend. He’d kept in touch with Pigsy since they had graduated together, went to the restaurant from day one since it opened, and went back almost every day since then.

And then... he’d lost his apartment, an accidental electrical fire no one could have prevented and he had been glad no one was hurt, and Pigsy had just offered him his spare room like it was nothing.

Tang could have possibly stayed in a hotel until he was able to find another apartment, at least for a while. But not forever. Not the way people who knew who he really was thought he could.

Once someone learned you were the descendant of a long distant cousin of the Tang Sanzang they had a tendency to assume and want things from you after all.

He wasn't in any way rich, far from it. But people thought he was the second they learned he was related to Tang Sanzang and he was just well off enough for people to assume they were right. Just enough for people to expect more from him than he could really give. And he gave all the same, scared to disappoint. Scared to be left alone. Scared to be alone.

Not Pigsy, though. He didn't tell the chef for a long while before moving in and not for quite some time after, guilt from not revealing who he was making Tang leave him far more money than would be his reasonable share of the rent despite the fact he didn't really have it to spare, and the charade would only last as long as Pigsy was willing to ignore that.

It took 1 month and 28 bowls of noodles that Tang vastly overpaid for before Pigsy dropped an overstuffed envelope with all the excess money (which was really nearly all the money he could spare) he had given the chef right into his lap while he was attempting to study a book on their now shared couch.

Pigsy barely got out his question of "why?" before Tang buckled under the pressure and revealed everything.

His heritage.

His past with others.

His feelings.

That last one had been an accident. Truly it had. He'd never planned on telling Pigsy that he had developed a crush on him ever since he had asked him to taste test some of the recipes for his shop. That he kept going to the shop not because the food was amazing (even though it absolutely was, the best he'd ever had and he was certain ever would have) but because he just wanted to see Pigsy more. That the day he'd asked Tang to move into his spare room in his own apartment his heart had skipped a beat and he wondered if there was a deity out there both enjoying the idea of giving him everything he wanted on a silver platter while also reveling in the idea of it being snatched away in an instant because he was certain Pigsy had never liked him back.

Well. Was certain.

Until Pigsy stared at him for a few second too long before a lopsided grin spread on his face and he ignored every single other part of his confession to ask "you had a crush on me too?"

It had taken a minute or two for them to realize they were both hopeless idiots who had been mutually pining for each other the entire time.

They felt pretty silly after that, having lived together for a month when they probably could have been doing so long before.

~

"You don't have to keep givin me all this, you know," Pigsy said firmly once everything was out in the open, gesturing to the envelope that Tang now held in his hands.

"I know," Tang admitted, worrying his fingers over the edges. "It's just... everyone else always wanted more from me and... I was scared, I guess..."

"I'm not everyone else." Pigsy gently took hold of Tang's hand, giving it a careful squeeze. "I don't care who your great uncle or cousin or whoever was. I mean, I do, cause they're your family!" The chef corrected himself, flushing a deep crimson in embarrassment. "But you could be related to nobodies or a king and that wouldn't make you less you to me. I like you for you! I... am I makin any sense? I didn't go to college to sound nice, I went for business stuff!"

Laughter bubbled up from somewhere in Tang's chest, making him squeeze the chef's hand back.

"You are," he said, feeling a lightness inside him that he didn't realize he hadn't felt in a long time. "I get it. I like you for you too, Pigsy."

"Good," the chef said, a chuckle of his own resounding in unison. "Good..."

The two sat for a moment longer, staring at each other before Tang started to lean forward. Pigsy followed, just as he had with the laughter.

It didn't take long for noses to bump each other awkwardly and for the two of them to burst into cackles as they realized they would need to remember to turn their heads before they kissed.

And then they shared their first.

~

They'd been together for years after that. Scholar and chef, old college buddies now roommates turned boyfriends and then later husbands. Most people didn't even know they were married at all, "if they couldn't see it when it was right in front of their faces why explain it" was Tang and Pigsy's mutual reasoning. And for those that did know, some people didn't really understand their relationship. Not with how they carried on with the whole "freeloader" thing.

But that was because of one of Pigsy's only requests when they started dating.

"Don't feel like you gotta pay me for anything, ok? I don't know what other people have said to you, but you don't gotta do that with me."

Tang liked to take that a little far, admittedly, for the fun of it with the noodle orders at the shop. He couldn't help it, he loved everything about Pigsy! His smile, how much he cared behind his gruff exterior, his cooking (obviously), and how cute he was when he would let out that exasperated sigh at the end of the month and just look at Tang's tab as he took out whatever was extra in his half of the month's rent to pay for all but a few yuan of it and just change into that soft smile all over again.

The tab was real, but Tang always paid it at the end of the month. Even if Pigsy always insisted behind the scenes that he didn't have to. He could just stop giving Pigsy the extra cash and they'd wash their hands of the tab and the freeloading completely if he wanted to.

But Tang liked teasing his husband too much and Pigsy was happy as long as Tang was alright with that.

Something in the back of Tang's mind wondered if he was still just scared though, despite everything. As if the ideas of his youth were too deep seated to really go away, intrusive thoughts needling into his brain in a way that would need something even more life altering than he already gone through to get them to leave, and he kept the tab and the teasing around just for some extra security so he would know he'd get to see Pigsy's exasperated smile and hear him say he could stop again. He was certain he was just overthinking things, something he did more often than he would like to admit.

Of course... that was until Spider Queen.

It hadn't been a good morning already, the selection at the market had been poor and Tang was tired from a long work week. Pigsy had been determined to find the right ingredients for... something that, frankly, Tang couldn't remember after all these months. What he did remember was the way the Spider Queen drew Pigsy in, despite his sniping at him while they were tied up he knew that the chef really was only after actual vegetable, and being in that lair.

It was awful.

They hadn't been down there long, but it was long enough for Tang to suggest Pigsy stay away from the market entirely and order his food via online delivery. Pigsy thought he'd been jealous at first, until he realized that Tang was just... scared. Scared of Pigsy getting hurt, scared of losing him. Just scared.

Until MK had shown up there really was no telling if they would have made it out. And that scared Tang. A lot.

Pigsy didn't stop going to the market entirely, but for Tang's peace of mind he bought most of his food via delivery like he suggested and took MK with him every time instead. Tang refused to go back, not when he knew how close that stand was.

And then the Lunar New Year happened and Tang no longer really felt safe anywhere.

Oh he acted like everything was fine alright, but he knew Pigsy could tell how defeated he was in knowing that Spider Queen and her crew could just show up anywhere at any time now. It left him tired, having trouble sleeping, and just emotionally exhausted.

Until this morning. When he woke up before Pigsy and got dressed and ready to go and suggested they go to the market together.

He was tired. Too tired.

Tired of letting himself be afraid. Of Spider Queen. Of the market. Of his old intrusive thoughts.

After all he had used a giant gun sword on that one spider guy with the pony tail who insisted on teasing Pigsy for some reason. And went through whatever happened with that weird shadow puppet guy. Why be afraid anymore after all that weirdness?

So at the market they were, looking over the selection of ingredients together for the first time in months almost as if nothing had happened. No one would have been able to tell except for the way Pigsy kept looking over at Tang to make sure he was alright.

Tang loved that about Pigsy too.

“Tang you don’t have t-”

“I want to,” the scholar said firmly, handing his card to the merchant they had stopped at over Pigsy’s head before the other even had a chance to argue further.

“Tang!” Pigsy yelped as his card was handed back, gesturing to the bag of food he was being handed shortly after. “Are you aware of how much money you spent? That stuff’s expensive!”

“I know,” Tang said nonchalantly, smiling softly as he turned to head to the next stall. “I told you, I wanted to buy them.”

“But why?” Pigsy insisted, looking a bit lost at having to be the one to follow someone else through the market for once. “You know I’d never make you pay for anything... well, heh, except your tab that you insist on keeping open.”

“About that" Tang said, smiling softly as he turned back to the man he loved for so long. "I don't think we need to keep that open anymore."

Pigsy froze, staring at Tang in confusion for a moment before his eyes widened as he realized what he'd just said. He blinked, looking at the bag of ingredients, thinking about the amount of yuan Tang had spent before he finally caught on to what the scholar had so sneakily done.

The exact amount down to the last little bit.

Paid in full.

"You're serious," The chef said as he took in Tang's expression carefully, reaching out to grab his free hand softly and squeeze. "What brought this on?"

"Just thought it was time to let go of old fears," Tang answered with a shrug, and he barely had time to react before Pigsy tugged him forward with a tilt of his head and pressed their lips together.

Tang didn't keep count of how many times they kissed over the years, who would after so long, but he was sure he'd remember this one as vividly as the first.

"Let's get back," Pigsy said after he pulled back, smiling warm and bright and just looking the way being home felt. "MK's probably waiting to get that out of the city training started and we don't wanna keep them all waiting."

He loved Pigsy.

And the one thing he was never ever afraid of was who knew that.

[qqueenofhades]

The photo set you reblogged of Yusuf and Niccolo helping throughout time just filled me with so many happy feels and it made me realize that it seems so common in media with immortal couples that they take breaks from each other and reconnect after a few decades. Which is a great trope but seeing these two that seems to have been attached at the hip since the day they met just fills me with all the heart eyes.

(I haven't read your fanfics for them yet. I know I'm a bad fan but if it helps I havent been able to read anything since all this started but while writing this ask I got the feeling that all this rambling I spewed out is a big theme)

Hush. Bad fan nothing. We all are coping with this stupid, awful year in different ways, some of us by escaping into fandom and some of us being unable to engage with it and some of us doing both or anything else. You certainly don’t owe me or anyone any obligation to interact with our content, fic or otherwise. So just to have that there on the top. You’re good, hun. :)

ANYWAY, thank you for giving me a chance to meta a bit on the boys and their relationship and to have a window into what my brain looks like pretty much 24/7 these days. (I blame them.) I keep thinking about all the ways this couple is depicted in the TOG film and how lovely it was and how unusual it is for me to have an OTP where I actually love them in canon and don’t need to violently disavow it in order to create AU fan content with just the characters. (See: Timeless, Game of Thrones, pretty much any show I’ve hyperfixated on at some point.) I love AUs anyway, because that’s the way my brain works, but the fact that I can also enjoy canon just as much is rare for me and for a lot of us. I saw a post somewhere remarking on how the fanfic for Joe/Nicky isn’t fixing anything, which is usually the point of transformative fanworks: we take something that canon atrociously fucked up and fix it. But in this case, all our interpretations are based on actually appreciating the way they’re presented in canon and wanting to enjoy that and uphold it, and that -- especially with a couple like this one -- is shocking??

Like. Despite my historian gripes about the occasionally incongruous details for their graphic-novel backstories (which are the only things I HAVE fixed in my fics), I’m just... deeply appreciative of the care which everyone, writers and actors and all else, put into depicting Joe and Nicky and their relationship. And god YES, one of the things I love the absolute MOST is that they’re a loving, faithful, committed, happy married queer couple over centuries, and that seems to be the case for as long as they’ve known each other/ever since they got together. (See Booker’s “you and Nicky always had each other.”) These fools can’t sleep apart from each other even when they’re stuck on a freight train in the middle of nowhere, they flirt like teenagers at dinnertime and even when they’re strapped to gurneys in a mad-scientist laboratory, they make out to enrage bad guys and also because they’re just still that goddamn into each other after all this time.

I think it was Marwan Kenzari who pointed out that there’s simply no way to truly state the depth of their knowledge and devotion and commitment to each other. They’re 950 years old. They have known each other since they were in their thirties; they’ve been husbands for literal centuries. There is no way anyone else in the world could possibly come close to replicating the kind of bond they have with each other, and neither of them have ever had any inclination to look, because why would they? Especially with the fact that queer couples in media, even otherwise sympathetically portrayed ones, often have Drama and Third Parties and Promiscuity and whatever else (because of the tiresome old canard that Gays Equal Hypersexualized!), and Joe and Nicky don’t need or want ANY of that. There’s no urge to make their relationship a cheap source of soap-opera conflict. It’s the rock and the center and the core of both of their lives, and everything they do stems from that.

There have been some great metas/comments on how neither Joe and Nicky are sexualized, they dress like stay-at-home dads during quarantine (Marwan Kenzari and Luca Marinelli are both objectively gorgeous men, and they’re out there looking like that, god bless), and the viewer is never invited to goggle at or fetishize their relationship. There are no leering or exploitative camera angles on anyone, and their expressions of love aren’t posed or intended to titillate the audience, they’re just solidly embodied and natural and lived in. It’s never bothered to be stated clunkily in dialogue that they’re a couple; we just see them exchanging looks and smiles in the early part of the film, and then we see them spooning on the train after the mission in Sudan, which confirms it.

At every turn, the narrative celebrates the kindness and love shared by the Immortal Family, the individual characters, and Joe and Nicky, especially and explicitly in queer form. The villains of the film are also defined by how they react negatively to that love. @viridianpanther​ had a great meta on how Keane as a villain is especially set up to menace Joe and Nicky as the narrative representation of toxic masculinity, aggressive heterosexuality, and the usual “Kill Your Gays” trope that we’ve all come to wearily expect. But instead, after that scene where Joe and Nicky fight Keane, Nicky is shot and comes back to life in Joe’s arms rather than dying permanently like we probably all momentarily expected, and then Joe gets to FUCKIN’ BREAK THE NECK of the guy who enacted that violence.... good GOD. The first time I watched it, I almost couldn’t believe it was happening. (This goes for the whole film, but especially that scene.) Like... when do we get that?? When do we EVER get that???

Obviously, there are so many stereotypes, whether visually or in behavior or character traits, that could have been assigned to a gay Italian character (excessively dramatic, effeminate, fashionable, etc) or a gay Arabic/Muslim character (explicitly announcing He’s Not Like Those Muslims, having to actively reject his heritage to make him more palatable to westerners, being tormented over being gay, etc) and Joe and Nicky subscribe to none of those. I get very emotional about Joe referring to Nicky as the moon when he is lost during the truck scene partly because it’s SUCH a common motif in Arabic love poetry. To call someone your “moon” is a beautiful way to say they’re the light of your life, and since the Islamic calendar is obviously lunar and the holidays, months, and observances, are set by the phases of the moon, this also has a deeper religious significance.

I don’t know for sure if they did that on purpose, but it it’s a lovely and subtle way of showing us how Joe clearly doesn’t have an issue with being both queer AND Muslim, and is able to draw on both facets of that identity in a way that a lesser narrative would have denied him. And that is just really wonderful. Yes, we’re seeing these characters when they’ve had centuries to settle into themselves, but there are plenty of writers who would have forced those conflicts artificially to the surface, rather than letting them be long in the past. It’s the same way when you watch a film set in the medieval era, it wants you to know that it Is Set In The Medieval Era. Cue the filth, misogyny, racism, violence, etc! Rather than it being a lived-in reality, it has to be jarringly drawn attention to, and I’m just so glad they didn’t do that with Joe and Nicky. And for them to have met in the crusades and fallen in love??! Come on. That’s just rude. Rude to me, personally.

Anyway, this was a rather long-winded and feelsy way of saying that these characters are constructed, acted, and written organically in such a way that you hate to even THINK of them being separated, and it’s not because they can’t function without each other, but because they are two halves of a whole. We also see that the characters themselves can’t stand being forced apart: Joe’s freakout in the truck scene when Nicky briefly won’t wake up, Nicky making sure to tell Joe that he’s glad he’s awake in the lab, the whole post-Keane fight scene that I talked about above, the way Nicky fights ferociously to get to Joe when Merrick’s stabbing him, etc. For that to be given to the queer couple, where the strength of their love and devotion is reinforced as one of the emotional goals of the story, and for that queer couple to be written in the way that Joe and Nicky are, both individually and as a unit, is just so very rare.

Because yes, there’s plenty of drama and angst and pain in their lives, but there’s none at all in their relationship, and that’s what fans keep telling TV writers the whole time: they WANT to see the couple confront things as a unit, rather than being kept on tenterhooks the whole time and forced to go through manufactured or artificial drama. It would feel especially wrong for Joe and Nicky, who have known and loved each other for 900 years. The fact that their respective actors also put so much care and love into them is very obvious, and makes me feel even luckier that they’re played by people who clearly get them and honor them and know what they’re doing.

Basically: of course Joe and Nicky have been with each other the whole time, and of course we’re all drowning in feelings over it, and I feel very blessed that this ship exists, and I very much need the sequel ASAP. Thanks.

[adhd-wifi]

MDZS Modern AU Fic Tips (Festivals)

So I asked a while back if anyone was interested in some fic tips for writing Chinese modern AUs, and y’all seemed enthusiastic. But…when I tried putting it all in a single post it got…really…really long…

So I split them into a bunch of posts (Yes I copy-pasted this intro on all of them because I’m lazy)! Here are the links:

Names & Stuff

Modern Chinese Cultural Stuff

Superstitions & Beliefs 

Festivals (You are here)

Living in China

Anyways, these are based on my experiences living in Singapore and China, and I hope these posts are helpful. On to it.

Content Warning: Magpie Bashing

Festivals (Warning: LONG. Good Luck.)

Note: I do not have personal experience with all of these. For those I have celebrated, I’ll indicate with a (*). Also I’ll only be talking about how we celebrate them (typically), because diving into the history and meanings of it all would take like 8 years (not literally but you know). Fee free to look them up, and ask your nearest Chinese human for any extra details. If they know it. You might want to look up what the lunar calendar is too. It’s basically the moon cycle calendar, but I am too bad at memorizing how it works so I just google the dates every single year. 

Also, I’m restricting this post to ONLY Chinese & Singaporean versions of celebrations. Many other regional ethnic groups celebrate the same or similar festivals, but I don’t know enough about their versions of the festivities. Another thing is that my family is from Dalian & Harbin in the NorthEast, so there is more Northern bias in my post so I might have some info that is inaccurate to festivities in the South. I did try to search for some South-specific traditions, since Yunmeng/Hubei is in South China, but I’m not entirely sure how accurate those details are.

Chinese New Year (*) - Late Jan to Early Feb (15 days after CNY day)

Before CNY, often on the eve of the actual date, we decorate our homes with red (don’t you dare skip out on decking your home with RED) decorations such as lanterns, red and orange flowers, those vertical paper banners with auspicious calligraphy on them (what are they called in English???) and whatever these things are

As kids, my sister and I would make those loop paper chains out of red and yellow paper a lot. We never knew what to do with them when the festivities were over

Spring cleaning is extremely important, we usually do it (extensively) from about a month before the festivities (and get yelled at a lot by our Chinese mothers & grandmothers especially) up to CNY Eve

Please don’t do any cleaning, particularly sweeping or throwing the trash out, on the day itself. You’re throwing the new year luck away. 

Other preparations include: buying new clothes, often with at least one red thing, visiting friends during the month prior so you don’t have to do so on the day itself and giving them little gifts and red packets, & burning new year offerings for ancestors

You will probably see lion dances on the streets and during new year parades a lot, sometimes accompanied by dragon dances, though the former is much more common. They also tend to give private performances at a discount during the CNY period, though lion dances aren’t restricted to only perform on CNY and in fact perform for special events in general, not just cultural festivities

On the night of CNY Eve, we have reunion dinners, in which we gather our entire extended family (when possible) and have a really loud, really energetic dinner party while watching the CNY Spring Gala on TV together. Or just eating if we don’t have access to a TV.

Include fish on the menu. At least one major fish main dish, not a side dish. It’s from a lucky saying: 年年有余 - nián nián yǒu yú, meaning something along the lines of “To have more prosperity this year”. The Chinese word for fish (鱼 - yú) sounds the same as 余, therefore we have fish every year. Yes it’s a pun, as many Chinese superstitions and beliefs are

Other menu items you could include: homemade dumplings (a FUCKton of them), uncut noodles, chicken or duck, pork, Chinese radish/carrot cake (side note: why the FUCK do Western articles ALWAYS translate this to “turnip cake” it’s made out of fucking RADISH or CARROT I swear to HELL), Chinese yam cakes, good alcohol and traditional sweets like tang yuan (this is basically the original version of mochi, filled with black or normal sesame filling and served in a clear, sweet soup)

There’s also one Cantonese dish known as (撈起 - Lo Hei) which is basically a salad of shredded carrot, radish, cucumber with strips of sashimi-style fish strips like salmon. You serve it to the table, pour crushed peanuts, fried dough crisps, and sweet sauce all over it, and your entire table reaches in with chopsticks and mixes everything together. It’s more common in Singapore and Malaysia than it actually is in Hong Kong and China, but I’ve had it in China before in the springtime. I fucking hate it. 

By the way, a fun game to play is the coin dumpling game. Basically, when you make the dumplings, put clean coins into some of them, and whoever eats the dumpling with the coins inside are considered super lucky for the year. I wasn’t ever allowed to make them though, my 20 years of dumpling-folding have failed me I still suck at it so everyone knows which ones are mine.

Usually, relatives living overseas would go to China for the New Year if they can, and they would take turns hosting the dinner each year. You would traditionally only have a reunion dinner in a family home, mostly because everything outside is closed

During the celebrations, lighting firecrackers and sparklers is part of the fun. Keep a close eye on the kids. 

Wearing traditional clothing isn’t necessary, but encouraged

At midnight, the younger, unmarried family members will present their married elders with gifts (usually two oranges per person or a small handmade craft) while wishing them well for the year, and in turn the elders will return the wishes and gift the youngsters red packets with money. 

The celebration period lasts for 15 days, but people typically go back to work a day or two after the actual CNY date

Personal note: I have only actually celebrated CNY once in China, back when I was tiny, so most of this is based on Singaporean experiences, what I know my in-China relatives, who live in Dalian, do, and what I’ve double checked online. But CNY is huge in China and many places celebrate it differently, so don’t get too worried about following this to the dot.

The Lantern Festival - Early to Mid Feb

In Singapore it’s actually illegal to celebrate the Lantern Festival traditionally on a large scale because of the potential fire hazards & pollution, so it’s somewhat merged with the Mid-Autumn festival here and thus I don’t know as much about this one in a “proper” Chinese context (I had to go to school in Singapore this time of year)

But anyways

The Lantern Festival comes immediately after CNY, on the 15th day of the first lunar month. It’s seen as a day of freedom for all, so everyone takes to the streets, lighting up the night with candles and lanterns

Lantern-walks are common, in which everyone holds a lantern - there are many kinds to choose from - and just walk up and down the streets together

These lantern-walks often take place alongside the official festival parades 

The dragon dances mentioned earlier are more likely to appear during the lantern festival than CNY, and the lion dances of course come as well

It gets crowded a lot. Hold onto your kids. 

Lantern riddles are fun games, in which they string up lanterns with papers hanging from them. Upon these papers are the riddles, and if you got them right you could win prizes. Or at least bragging rights amongst your family and friend groups

If you’re in a river town, you’ll likely have a chance to see water lanterns, which are also common during the Mid-Autumn Festival. They’re paper lanterns, sometimes made in lotus form, carrying wishes of prosperity. This can come in two forms, an official river lantern parade where they make HUGE lanterns for show, or smaller lanterns that just flow along. Sounds perfect for a Yunmeng Jiang family celebration, don’t you think?

Another one is the sky lanterns, which CQL watchers will recognize. People will gather together, usually on a hill, and release lanterns into the skies. Some will make them themselves, but most people will just buy pre-made ones. Like in CQL, you make a wish upon these lanterns, then sit down and eat tang yuan together.

They apparently eat a lot of tang yuan on this festival

A lot of romantic meet-ups happen on this festival (and the Mid-Autumn Festival) (y’all know what to do with this information)

This is considered the last chance of family time following on from CNY before you all return to your normal lives

The QingMing Festival (*) - Early Apr

AKA the Tomb-Sweeping Festival

To put it very basically, this is when we go to our deceased loved one’s graves and clean said graves 

We go to the cemetery in the early morning, wipe down the gravestones, clear them of debris like leaves and such, then we make offerings of food. A lot of the times, we would basically lay out a feast before the grave(s), lighting incense and also decorating the graves with flowers and such

Please do not ever eat anything in those offerings. It’s not for the living. Therefore, please feel free to stab your chopsticks upright into that bowl of rice.

You can burn offerings like paper too, usually in a burning urn (??? is it an urn?), but in my experience we weren’t allowed to do that at my grandma’s grave since it was a crowded cemetery so I don’t know how it works exactly

In my personal experiences, we usually stayed in the cemetery for about an hour, praying to the deceased and sort of chatting with them, hoping they’re doing well in the afterlife and updating them on our lives

After that’s done, we go have a picnic somewhere down the mountain and fly kites while getting bullied by asshole magpies

They keep stealing my food because apparently even they know you shouldn’t eat the food left out for the dead

One stole my necklace once ;-;

Anyways the food offerings left out are typically cleared the next morning (latest) by us or you pay the cemetery caretakers to dispose of it, but the latter is looked down upon for good reason

It’s really just best to clean it up yourselves when you can. For everyone’s sake.

The Dragon Boat Festival (*) - Late Jun to Early Jul

You could probably make a sports anime about this festival, because the main even at the Dragon Boat Festival is the dragon boat racing (shocking)

Okay all joking aside, during this festival, which is a summer event, dragon boat racers compete with one another in long, narrow wooden canoes with a Chinese dragon head carved out in the front and painted scales on the side, often really brightly coloured

They row to the beat of loud drums, with a drummer sitting at the head of each boat, facing their boat’s rowers, beating the drum as their team rows

People watching the races can do so from the shore, where they’ll be eating glutinous rice with meat/nuts/beans wrapped in large, woven bamboo leaves into a triangle shape, called 粽子 - zòng zi.�� (The Malaysians & Indonesians have this too, but they use banana leaves instead)

In some places, you have viewers in viewing boats too, with the race course marked off with buoys. I fell into the water once from one of these. Luckily they make you all wear life-vests. 

Also a limited occurrence but rarer, some places will have sort of official “cheerleading” boats, in which a bunch of colourfully dressed people will shout and cheer for the racers as a whole, often waving flags the same colours as their clothes. They’re often standing, but in the same kind of dragon boats. You have to be affiliated with the local dragon boat community / heritage board to be allowed to be one of these “cheerleaders” though

When the official races aren’t happening though, visitors are often taken around the river. You can technically do this at any time, but the Chinese believe that the time of the Dragon Boat Festival is the best time for traversing the great rivers

Other things people do during this festival include drinking realgar wine, making perfume packets for children, and hanging mosquito-repellent herbs on doors and windows, but I’ve never seen this in practice and couldn’t find much else on these

To be honest, this particular festival is seen as a thing of lingering cultural heritage or just something of a traditional ceremonial practice, but is overall kinda dying as a full-fledged festival, with only the racing surviving the passage of time (In fact, this has become more of a leisure event than a festival in Singapore in recent years)

The QiXi Festival - Mid to Late Aug???

Not gonna lie I didn’t know this one existed until I looked it up

I knew the legend surrounding it (The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl - Please look it up it’s a beautiful story even though it’s not realistic because the magpies aren’t assholes) but didn’t know it was an actual holiday at all

Basically it’s kind of the Chinese version of Valentine’s Day, but it takes place in like August

Traditionally, girls took this time to show off their skills in the “feminine arts” such as weaving, sewing, fruit carving (???), tea-making (?????) and poetry (?????????). I’m confused.

They also ate special pastries and children gave flower garlands to the sacred ox statues

Apparently it’s mostly only celebrated in more traditional/rural areas now because most modern Chinese people just celebrate the Western Valentine’s Day

The legend gets to stay though

The Hungry Ghost Festival (*) - Late Jul to Early Aug (Start) / Late Aug to Early Sept (End)

This one is not a festive festival at all. You shouldn’t be enjoying this festival as a living person. But this is probably the best festival for any fics set in the modern world revolving around dead spirits being active out of everything on this list

This festival lasts the entire 7th month of the lunar calendar, so the Chinese will literally just call it the “Seventh Month (七月 - qī yuè)” or the “Ghost Month (鬼月 - guǐ yuè)” 

I’ve never even heard anyone refer to it by its full name in Chinese, which is apparently 中元节 - zhōng yuán jié or 盂兰盆节 - yú lán pén jié according to Wikipedia

Basically, the Gates of Hell the Afterlife have opened for the month to get the spirits of the deceased ease their suffering for a bit. So, the festival is actually NOT celebrated by the living, instead, it’s “celebrated” by the ghosts of the deceased

Living human practices during this festival include making various food offerings (the main point of the festival) for the spirits, usually much more seriously and/or extravagantly than typical offerings, burning offerings such as paper money, paper houses, paper cars, etc in large quantities because this is the best time for the spirits to receive them, putting on special “performances for the dead” in which performers will dance and sing to a room of empty chairs, and having special family prayer sessions in which we “speak” to the deceased directly (Luckily, they don’t usually answer us)

Nowadays, only the first two of those practices are really still practiced as seriously as they used to be, for individual families at least

Again, if you see food being left out on the side of the street, especially if there’s incense or something next to it, please don’t eat it or even touch it. Don’t be the ignorant guy in a horror movie

People who can see/hear/sense spirits and environmentalists hate this festival, because ghosts can be terrifying even when harmless, and all the burning contributes to climate change

I happen to be both of those. I am also sensitive to smoke. So...

Ironically I don’t actually hate this festival THAT much but...

Personal note: I’ve never been to China during the seventh month, and because they make it a point to not really talk about it, I only know the Singaporean experiences. Telling ghost stories is both encouraged and shunned during this month here. Malaysian-Chinese ghost stories are fucking horrifying. Give me more.

Mid-Autumn Festival (*) - Late Sept to Early Oct

My personal favourite festival on this list. I don’t like crowded places, but I make exceptions for this one when I can. I would call this the most fun and enjoyable festival out of all of them. 

When speaking Chinese, most of the time we’d just shorten it to 秋节 - qiū jié from the full name of 中秋节 - zhōng qiū jié 

When speaking English (in Singapore, but you can use these in English fics and people tend to understand it fine), we also call it the Mooncake Festival, the Autumn Moon Festival, or the Harvest Moon Festival (this one is quite an old name though)

In modern times, this is celebrated very similarly to the famous Natsu Matsuri (Summer Festival) in Japan, in which a huge festival site is fully decorated in colourful lanterns and filled with countless stalls of food, games, and festival products such as more lanterns, traditional dress rentals if you’re lucky, wooden toys, cloth products, “festival” tea & wine, and many more

You are encouraged to wear cheongsam/qipao to the festivities, but honestly most people don’t anymore, but they dress their kids in cultural clothing a lot (in Singapore you’ll also see kiddies running around in other traditional dress, such as yukata, summer hanbok, festive baju kurung, etc.)

In some places, special dragon or lion dances will be performing

Expect to find a FUCKTON of fresh fruit stalls, including pumpkins, melons, pomelos, persimmons, pomegranates, maybe starfruits, dragonfruits & guavas, and probably a heck lot of longans if you’re somewhere in South China. Also expect every individual large fruit to be decorated with red ribbons and colourful wrapping paper

Also out of every five stalls, at least one will be a mooncake stall

Mooncakes come in multiple varieties! The most common are the white lotus bean paste ones, the ones with salted egg yolks (single yolk and double yolk), snowskin ones which as much softer and sweeter, red bean paste cakes, etc.

They make some super cute shapes too!

There are even more savoury options with minced pork filling or prawn/fish filling (not a fan of the fish ones), but they’re made with a flakier pastry than the sweet ones (Note: sometimes we don’t call these mooncakes, but it depends)

Basically the sweet ones use a pastry that’s more like a typical sweet tart shell while the savoury ones use something that’s more like a non-sweetened croissant 

Traditionally, people would make the mooncakes together at home, and offer them to the moon goddess during moon worship, but nowadays most people just buy them and eat them

This festival also shares a lot of the same customs as CNY & the Lantern Festival, such as: 

Having another reunion dinner. Duck is a very common dish, along with seasonal crops. Lotus dishes are also popular around this time, depending on where you are. 

Lanterns everywhere. Water and sky lanterns are also common. You’ll also see people playing with firecrackers and sparklers.

In much more rural areas, you might get to experience the Burning Pagoda tradition, in which they set up a seven-tier tower made up of wood and straw and burn it while dancing around it. This practice is similar to the Bon Odori even in Japan. 

Fun fact: This is also basically the Lantern Festival of Singapore, because the actual Lantern Festival isn’t celebrated here

Bonus: I made a post about the most famous myth of this festival that relates to MDZS.

The ChongYang Festival - Mid to Late Oct

Also known as the Double Ninth Festival (in English) and the Senior Festival (slang)

This is basically the festival of paying respects to our elders, both living and dead

There are...going to be a fuckton of chrysanthemums everywhere. Chrysanthemum flowers decorating the place, chrysanthemum cakes (I don’t recommend googling it if you have severe trypophobia, some of the more traditional cakes have a lot of seeds and stuff on top which may be upsetting, but I would say it’s at least better than a hollow lotus pod), chrysanthemum wine, all of that

Common activities include going on easy hikes or mountain walks with the living elders, and maybe visiting the graves of those who have passed and paying respects

It’s dying in modern times, but still seen as at least a day of relaxing with your elderly family and friends

The DongZhi Festival - Late Dec (just before Christmas mostly)

The Winter Solstice Festival

Nothing much is done, we really mostly just have a special dinner together, eating dumplings, noodle soup, mutton, and hotpot. Alcohol is often present at such dinners, and you would toast to the solstice 

You’d also pray and stuff like most of these festivals, but I think that’s a given by now lol

Modern Chinese people will often get together during this time and merge it with their Christmas dinners

Aside from that, we really just celebrate Christmas, though now you can add a line of cultural significance to those modern AU Christmas fics :3

Bonus Info: There is also a Summer Solstice festival called the Xia Zhi Festival that’s essentially the same as this, except you eat a lot of noodles and go swimming, but it’s not really significant anymore in modern times, the DongZhi festival only really surviving because of Christmas, so I didn’t include it in the list

Alright, that one took like 84 years. I’m tired LMAO. 

[ask-the-chan-family]

Tira Bright and Friend: School Life

The perfect gift Somewhere inside Lavender bedroom at Queen Ember castle. Lavender was hanging out with her older sister friends Tira Bright and Timber Night Wolf, and all three of them were busy reading through a long list of things that Nightshade wanted for her birthday tomorrow. Pumpkin Spice was there also too, but she was busy eating some of the candy she saved from the Harvest Night Festival, while drawing a picture at the same time. Tira and Timber were doing their best to reading Nightsahde birthday wish list, Tira drop her portion of the list on the floor, and start asking Lavender of what wrong with her sister. Tira Bright: Lavender, is it just me, or Nightshade have a very twisted mind that we don't know about. Lavender: what do you mean, Tira? You know my older sister is crazy in her own way. Tira Bright: I know that, but some of the stuff your sister wants for her birthday is sort of on the kink side. I mean look at the stuff your sister is asking. One set of clear view lacy panties, a black leather lingerie outfit for special night, and *she blush of what she about to read*, a one year membership of super dragon magazine. What the heck is that? Lavender: oh yeah, I forgot to remove that one from the list. It one of Nightshade personal magazine she like to read at night, nothing serious there. Tira: ..... Remind me again why we're still friends with her, Timber .... Timber? Tira look at Timber notice that she was stiff reading Nightshade wish list. She also noticed that Timber face was all read as well. Tira sigh to herself, knowing that Timber must the read something, knowing that Nightshade must the write something that she wanted Timber to read. Tira try to yell her name again, which got Timber attention, after tossing the list on the side, like she wasn't doing anything wrong. Timber night wolf: oh Tira! Were you calling Timber? Tira Bright: I was, but I'm guessing you was a little busy reading something interesting that Nightshade wrote on her wish list. Timber night wolf: *she blush* Timber sort of did, but Timber sorry for not paying much attention. Timber still shock with this list. Even more shock of the things she wrote about Timber. Tira Bright: what did she said about you? Timber Night wolf: *she blush even more* you really don't want to know. Tira Bright: ugh, Lavender, does Nightshade have another list we can look at. You know, a list of things that a normal person ask for their birthday. Lavender: she does, but she prefer for us to concentrate on this list instead. The other list is already being taken care off by mom and Dad. Tira Bright: so in other words er stuck with something that nearly impossible for us to get. Timber Night wolf: surely it can't be that hard to buy some of the stuff, right? Tira Bright: of course, unless you have a bunch of folks looking at us for buying some random things that we are doing dominatrix action. Lavender: shhhhh would you keep it down. Pumpkin Spice is here, and she had no clue about these things yet. Look, I'm sorry this list a little weird. Nightshade wanted some sweets for her birthday, but mom been very strict on her diet for the past couple of days. Tira Bright: Tira couldn't been that big. I remember that she did alright passing the obstacles course with me. Timber night wolf: Timber remember seeing that, but didn't Nightshade barely pass that test. Tira Bright: ok so she barely pass it, but at least she tried to stay in shape. Lavender: true, but it not good enough for our mom. Since my sister, and I are Princesses, our mom wants us in our best look. As for my sister with her eating habits, it not going so well. Tira Bright: man, I don't want to be in her shoes, and my mom only nags me for not paying attention in class. Timber Night Wolf: that because your head is always thinking about something else all the time. Tira Bright: whatever. Well if we can't get her sweet, and there is no way we going to get those other stuff? What exactly Nightshade want for her birthday? Lavender: ... well, there is one thing she been wanting, but it nearly impossible to get. Tira Bright oh! And what is that? Befor she answer Tira question, Lavender walk by her bed, where Pumpkin Spice is sitting. She check under her bed to see where the thing she kept hidden, but notice it wasn’t there anymore. Lavender was supried the thing she was looking for was gone, she double check under her bed to see if it was move somewhere else, but so far no luck. After she was done searching, Lavender look above her bed to see if it was there, but she notice something by Pumpkin Spice that catch her eye. Lavender look at Pumpkin Spice, and see that her cousin was drawing something. At first she thought it was just a piece of paper, but instead it was the magazine she was looking for. Lavender look at Pumpkin Spice, and ask her to see if she can give back her magazine. Lavender: Pumpkin Spice! Where did you get that magazine from? Pumpkin Spice: um, I found it under the bed, and use it as a drawing book. Lavender: Pumpkin! I thought I told you to never take things that not belong to you. Pumpkin Spice: sorry, cousin Lavi, but I really needed some paper to draw a nice picture for cousin Shadi birthday tommrrow. Lavender: for the love of …. Sigh, did you at least save me a certain page that look like to be Nightshade birthday gift. Pumpkin Spice: *she nodded her dead, and look through her large breast to grab something that she kept inside. After searching, she found a piece of paper from the magazine, and hand it over to her cousin* here you go, Lavi. Safe, and sound. Lavender: ….. Why did you kept it between your breasts like that? Pumpkin Spice: that where I always keep things that are important safe there *she look through her large breast again, and grab a piece of candy* I even hide a few candy in there for emergency. Want some pumpkin flavor candy? Lavender: …. I think I’ll past, but thanks anyway. Pumpkin Spice didn’t said anything else, but open the wrapping, and start eating the candy. She even sniff the wrapping, liking the smell of the candy she is was eating. Lavender then to forget that her cousin was very weird, but after she was staying with her, and Nightshade, Pumpkin Spice was very happy to hang out with her favorite older cousins. After she gotten the piece of paper from the magazine, she walk back to Tira, and Timber Night Wolf, and finally show them what she was talking. Lavender: alright you two, take a load of this! Timber Night Wolf, and Tira look at the paper that Lavender was showing. On the paper they saw a necklace that was made of pure Onyx metal, and some Silver Diamond. Tira, and Timber were impress of how the necklace look, and curious to know more about it. Tira Bright: wow, Lavender, that necklace look amazing! Timber Night Wolf: indeed, what kind of Necklace is that? Lavender: this my friend, is the lunar eclipse necklace. It one of the most coolest, and rarest of jewelry that ever been made. Tira Bright: why they call it the lunar eclipse for, there something special about it? Lavender: the onyx metal that made the necklace, is actually came from an actual meteorite that crash landed on this planet. Plus the diamond itself were produce from the diamond that a few miles from the other side of the country. Timber Night Wolf: woo, this necklace got to be very expensive. Lavender: trust me, it is. The material itself are hard to come by, and only a few places that have them, charge a heavy penny. Tira Bright: well lucky for you that you, and Nightshade are princess, get some heavy allowance. Lavender: not quite, our mom cut our allowances when we went a little crazy on our expensive. Timber Night Wolf: what you guys spent on? Lavender: *she blush* we sort of went to the new clothing stores, and spent on some very expensive panties that were cute. Tira Bright: really! You guys spend all your money on lousy panties. Lavender: they weren’t lousy, some of them have some cool solar system on it. Tira Bright: …… *face palm* alright then, how are we going to buy this necklace for your sister. If it cost a lot of money, we got to find a way to get the money for it. Timber Night Wolf: maybe we check our finances, and see if we can buy the necklace together. Tira Bright: no can do. After my little transformation issue from being a Pegasus to a dragon, I have to buy some new clothes. Timber Night Wolf: same goes with Timber. Timber had to get new outfits, and Timber still feel weird going to female store by myself. Tira Bright: you know I was there with you the whole time we were there. Timber Night Wolf: yes *she blush* so was Nightshade too. Tira Bright: oh yeah, I couldn’t help you with that part. Lavender: great, so neither you too don’t have the money, nor do I. How are we going to buy my sister the gift? Pumpkin Spice: I have the money you guys needed. All three of them look, and saw Pumpkin Spice was standing a distance where they are, while holding the magazine she was drawing. Lavender: really, you actually have the money to buy the necklace. Pumpkin Spice: of course, aunty Ember give me bigger allowance for being good the past few months. In fact, I have the money right between my. Lavender: ok, ok, we got the point you are talking, Pumpkin. So it look like the money part for Nightshade gift is solved. Now the hard part for this task, is to keep my sister from knowing what we are doing. Tira Bright: wait, don’t tell me that your sister doesn’t know what we are up too? Lavender: only a little bit. Nightshade know that we are looking at her birthday list, but she have any clue about the necklace we going to get for her. Timber Night Wolf: aw, that is a clever idea, Lavender. But is it going to be hard to keep this a secret from her, especially how good Nightshade is finding things out. Lavender: true, it not very easy to hide thing from her, but this year with your help, I might actually be able to surprise her with this gift. Tira Bright: well we had no problem to help you, no offense with Nightshade, but she is a total sassy dragon on my rear. Timber Night Wolf: Tira, manners! Tira Bright: what! You know what I said about her is true. Timber Night Wolf: *face palm* so Lavender, what exactly you want us to do to keep Nightshade from knowing about the gift? Just when she was plan to tell them idea of what they would do, she look at her cousin Pumpkin Spice was standing by her laundry, showing of her drawing to it. At first she though Pumpkin Spice was pretending to talking to someone, but when she look at the back area of the basket, she saw a chubby dragon like tail, which happened belong to someone she knew. Lavender was very specious with the laundry basket, and figure to investigate it a little more. She head over where it was, and stand right next with Pumpkin Spice. She hand over the picture of the necklace to Pumpkin Spice, and tell her to hide it back between her cleavages. While Pumpkin was doing that, Lavender examine the laundry basket, and saw a few extra things that wasn’t there before. She saw two horns was sticking out, and the basket itself was a lot wider like she had several more laundry inside. Lavender already figure who it is inside the basket, but came up a funny idea. She back Pumpkin Spice again, seeing her eating a handful of cookies she grab from her breast. She barrow one of the cookies and leave it on top of the basket, waiting for the person to take the bait. After a few second of waiting, she see the basket pop open, and out appear of Nightshade head. Lavender roll her eyes that her older sister was hiding in there, but still surprised that she put herself inside there. Nightshade look above her head to grab the cookie, and start chewing it. Nightshade: oh chocolate chip cookie, you’re always be one of my favorite snack in the world. Lavender: you do relies you eating a cookie that was stuck between Pumpkin Spice cleavages, right? Pumpkin Spice: that where I keep most of my snack at. Nightshade: …. Eh, I been hiding in your dirty laundry basket, so eating a cookie from short cake breast won’t stop me. Lavender: speaking of hiding, how long had you been in there. You, and I both know my laundry smell can easily put anyone to sleep in second. Nightshade: *she try a few time to get out from the basket, but got tired out easily* oh I haven’t been in here too long. Maybe at least a few hours. Lavender: a few hours, then you must the heard everything of what me, and your friend are doing. Nightshade: not exactly. I was able to hear you, timber wimber, and the half breed, but Short cake stop in front of the basket, trying to show me a picture she drew. Pumpkin Spice: it was a special birthday gift for you, mommy. Nightshade: *she patted Pumpkin Spice shoulder* and it was a wonderful drawing too. Now then, if you would me asking, exactly what kind of gift you guys are getting me? Lavender: oh nothing much really, we just getting something we saw from your wish list. Right guys? Tira Bright: um, yeah, a special gift we think look great for you. Nightshade: ……… you do relies all three of you stink at lying, and I can easily tell it something else you’re getting me. Laveder: hold on, how you know we are lying. Nightshade: *she walk pass her sister, and head over to her two friends. She stand right next to Timber, and stare at her for a moment* because out of all of you, I can tell Whenever Timber lying, just by looking for certain sign. Timber Night Wolf: *she sweat a little* what do you mean, Nightshade. You know we aren’t lying to you. Nightshade: come now my dear sweet wolfy. Why not drop the act, and tell your future girlfriend what you getting for me, and I might not try to send you all to the dungeon Timber Night Wolf: what, you actually have a dungeon? Nightshade: no, but I can tell my mother to have the servant build one, if you don’t tell me what your hiding. Timber knew that she can’t lie to her face, but she can’t tell her the real truth about the birthday present either. Timber trying her best not to say anything, until her friend Tira blur it out for her. Tira Bright: alright, Nightshade, you win. I’ll tell you what we are doing? Nightshade: oh that good to hear, half-breed. Now, what sort of gift I‘m getting? Tira Bright: oh it not just some ordinary gift, it one of the best gift you ever wanted. Nightshade: how about stop playing, and tell me already. Tira Bright: alright, you going on a date with Timber. Everyone stood quite of what Tira just said. Timber was relief that Tira didn’t mention about the actual, but shock on what she said about her being Nightshade date. Nightshade on the other hand was smiling happily, knowing that she finally getting the number one thing she been wanting for a long time. She look at Timber showing her smiling face, but Timber look at her, and already know that things going downhill already. Nightshade: OMG! My birthday gift is a date with Timber. I can’t believe one of the many things I wanted is coming true. Lavender: you wanted to go on a date with Timber was on your birthday wish list? Nightshade: I wrote it with invisible ink, just in case if Timber read it, and try to come up an excuse. *she look to see where Timber went, and saw her sneaking for the door. She use her magic to teleport in front of her* where you think you’re going, dear boyfriend. Timber Night Wolf: wait, Timber is not a boy anymore. Nightshade: true, but until you turned back to normal one day, you’re going to be my boyfriend for the rest of the day. Timber Night Wolf: Tira, help Timber please. Tira Bright: hold your horses, Nightshade, maybe you should get ready first, before you go on a date with Timber. After all, you had been hiding in the laundry basket all day. Nightshade: ……. You know, I know you’re playing with me Half-breed, but your right. I might take me a quick bath, but since Timber here is a girl, she can join me. Timber Night Wolf: *she blush* Nightshade No! Nightshade: Nightshade Yes! Before Timber could try to run away, Nightshade use her fire breath, which both of them teleported out from Lavender room. Tira face palm herself, knowing that she sort of screw Timber with another problem she created. Lavender walk up to Tira, asking her of what she was thinking. Lavender: Tira! What were you thinking, why did you tell my sister that she was going on a date with Timber? Tira Bright: I don’t know, I thought would be a good idea for her thinking she was going on a date with Timber. Lavender: yes, but now we have to go and rescue Timber from my sister, before she does something crazy. Tira Bright: how much crazy she would do to Timber, other than the things we saw on her birthday list. Lavender: ………. Tira Bright: ……… ok, silly question to ask. But what about Nightshade birthday gift, did you say it super rare to buy. Lavender: it is, and the only store that have it, is at the mall that not too far from here. Tira Bright: alright then, since both of us going to deal with Nightshade, and rescue Timber, who going to buy the gift? Both of them think for a moment, and then relies the only person that can do the job is Pumpkin Spice. Lavender know that Pumpkin Spice can’t go out on her own without supervision, and she might cause some major problem if they don’t pay attention to her. Lavender don’t like the idea, but she had no other choice to rely on her cousin. Lavender: the only person that can do it, is Pumpkin Spice. Tira Bright: are you sure you want Pumpkin Spice buy the gift. No offense, she can be *she look over where Pumpkin Spice is, and see her picking up one of Lavender panty that was from the laundry basket, and place on her head like a hat* a bit odd on the side. Lavender: she can be a bit odd, but she’s our cousin, and Pumpkin Spice willing to do anything to help Nightshade. Lavender call out to Pumpkin Spice, and she walk up to them to see what they need from her. Pumpkin Spice: you call me, cousin Lavi? Lavender: yes, Pumpkin, there is something important I need you to do for me. Pumpkin Spice: oh, does it have something to do with cousin Shadie birthday gift? Tira Bright: yes Pumpkin. Your cousin want you to buy the birthday gift for Nightshade. Pumpkin Spice: you want me to get the gift, but I though we going together? Lavender: we were, but after Nightshade kidnap Timber, we might be a little busy for a moment. Pumpkin Spice: I see, so you want me to buy mommy birthday gift, but by myself. Lavender: I know it sound a little scary that you had to do it on your own, but part of me know you can do it. Pumpkin Spice: … I don’t know, Lavi. I’m still afraid to go places without you, and cousin Shadi. Tira Bright: then how about this, think of this a special quest from one of your favorite books you like to read. Pumpkin Spice: oh, like one of the adventure book your mother write. Tira Bright: yes! And as such, it your mission to find the perfect gift for Nightshade. Pumpkin Spice like the idea that she was going on a quest to find the gift for Nightshade. She clap her hand and agree to buy the gift. Pumpkin Spice: ok, I go buy the gift for mommy. Lavender: that good to hear, Pumpkin Spice *she grab something from her pocket, and handover a crystal to her cousin* here, this is a special teleporter crystal, which help you travel to the mall and back. Tira Bright: you guys have an actual teleporter to take you to the mall. I been asking mom for one of those, but keep on telling me to get better grades. Lavender: usually mom, and dad not a big fan for us to go to the mall, but Nightshade was lucky enough to buy these to sneak out the house once a while. Tira Bright: I give Nightshade credit, she a total sassy dragon, but a evil genius when she put some effort. Lavender: yup *she hand the crystal over to Pumpkin Spice* now remember Pumpkin, this crystal will teleport you to the mall. Once you get there, just head over to the store call “Nigel Treasure Cove” Pumpkin Spice: that the store I need to go? Lavender: yes, and from there, just ask them about the necklace from the magazine, and they should allow you to buy it. Tira Bright: sorry to interrupt, but we need to get going. I having a weird feeling that Timber is calling for help. Lavender: how can you *she pause for a moment, when she heard howling noise that echo the room* sigh, never mind. It up to you now, Pumpkin Spice, and please don’t mess this up. Pumpkin Spice: ok, cousin Lavi, I make sure to do my best on this quest. Lavender: great! Now if you excuse me, we need to save Timber from my crazy sister. Pumpkin Spice wave goodbye to her cousin, and Tira Bright. Pumpkin know that they counting on her to do a great job by buying the birthday gift for nightshade. Before she go on her quest, Pumpkin remember that she wasn’t wearing that much a clothes on, all she had was her tight shirt, and a pair of pink panty. She also can’t forget about the panty that she wearing as a hat. After several minutes of getting herself ready, and seeing some random items that catch her curiosity. Pumpkin Spice was able to teleported to the mall that have the store she needed to go. Pumpkin Spice always amaze how big the place was, and all the cool stores with different things inside. Pumpkin Spice walk down the aisle, and she saw a candy store that was having a big sale from harvest festival candy they trying to get rid of. Pumpkin Spice lips started to droll a little, so desperately wanted to go in there, and buy all the candy she like the most. But Pumpkin remember that she was on an important quest, and she need to contrite. Able to walk away from the candy store, Pumpkin Spice walk down a few more aisle, and finally reach “Nigel Treasure Cove” She look at the store a little bit, and notice that it carry more than just jewelry. The place had some old artifacts, and sailor ship equipment, for going off to sea. Pumpkin Spice already liking the store, and can’t wait to go inside. Once inside, she look around to see if she spotted the necklace she needed. Pumpkin Spice check between her cleavages, and grab the page of the necklace to buy. Pumpkin Spice kept on searching, until she run into a female shark that was taking a nap on the counter. Pumpkin Spice wasn’t sure if she should wake up the sleeping shark, especially she had some bad experience with the one at the school. Pumpkin examine the counter, and see there was a bell right next with the female shark. She push it a few times, until another shark appear. The other female shark was fixing her hair piece back in place, and look at her costume. She stare at the one was sleeping on the counter, and try to wake her up. Tsunade: hey sis, will you wake up already. We got a costumer. Morgana: give me five more minutes, Tsunade. I was out to see finding some sunken treasure all night. Tsunade: and who was it that forgot to do during the morning time. Morgana: *she raise her head* oi, it not my fault that I’m the only one that dive underwater, while my little sister is too afraid to touch any water. Tsunade: *she blush* you promise you wasn’t going to say that. Pumpkin Spice: um, sorry to interrupt, but can you two help me? Both of them stop fighting for a moment, and then relies they were dealing with a costumer. Tsunade: we’re sorry about that, my older sister, and I tend to nag each other once awhile. Morgana: hmph, more you think. But any case, welcome to Nigel treasure, where every item you see, have a smashing price deal. Pumpkin Spice: …… Tsunade: sorry, that slogan was actually our older brother Nigel Sharkberry. He thought it would be funny. Morgana: I told him a million time it was silly, but he insist that the slogan is brilliant. Tsunade: but any case, how can we help you miss? Pumpkin Spice: *she place the paper on the counter, and show them the picture of the necklace* do you happened to have this? Tsunade: oh my, the mystic onyx necklace. That a special item right there. Morgana: one of our best seller in this shop. Pumpkin Spice: then I’m guessing you have it for sale? Tsunade: sadly no. We sold the last one a few days ago. I forgot who the costumer was, but sure wanted it very badly. Pumpkin Spice was shock to learn that the ver y necklace that she wanted to get for her cousin was already gone. She know there wasn’t much she can do, but wasn’t going to give up that easily. She assistant on asking them to see some other way to get the necklace. Pumpkin Spice: please mam, there got to be a way to get the necklace. I promise my cousin, and her friend to get that necklace for my cousin birthday. I can’t go back home empty handed. Morgana: listen kid, I understand what you’re saying, but it not that easy. Tsunade: but we can order another one, although it will take about a year to get here. Pumpkin Spice: oh, ok then. I guess I won’t be able to get Shadie gift today. Morgana: sorry about that kiddo, is there anything else you wanted, let us know. Pumpkin Spice nodded to them, and then left the store. She was sad that she was going home empty handed. A quest she thought it was going to be easy, but instead a much difficult one. Pumpkin Spice found a bench to sit at, and sulk for a moment. Pumpkin Spice wanted to cry, but Pumpkin doing her best to be big girl. But some of the tears were coming out her eyes, and she use her scarf to clear them. While doing her best not to cry, she didn’t notice someone was standing in front of her. Pumpkin Spice look at the person, and notice it was Britney Fear standing in front of her. Pumpkin Spice pause for a second when she look at Britney Fear, remembering the bad things she did to her. She know that her older cousins aren’t here to protect her, and she not sure what to do. Britney Fear remember seeing Pumpkin Spice before, she know that Pumpkin is the young cousin of Nightshade, which she follow all the time. Britney is pleased that she see fear in Pumpkin Spice eyes, knowing that she still afraid of her. But ever since she started dating with Lydia, she doing her best to give up her bully days. Britney went to grab something from her pocket, and hand it over to Pumpkin Spice wanted to flinch to hide her head, but when she look, it was nothing more but a handkerchief. Britney Fear: Here, I notice that you was crying, so I figure I give you this to clear your eyes. Pumpkin Spice: ….. Thank you *she took the handkerchief, and blow her nose* you want it back. Britney Fear: you can keep it, the thing already dirty anyway. So what are you doing here by yourself? Usually I see you with Lavender, and Nightshade. Pumpkin Spice: I was on a mission to find a perfect gift for mommy, but once I got there, they said the thing I was looking for was gone *her eyes start to tear up* now I don’t have any gift for mommy, and she will be sad on her birthday. Britney Fear: birthday! Who birthday is coming up? Pumpkin Spice: cousin, Shadie. What! Her birthday is coming up. Wow, it been years since I last remember her birthday. Knowing her she going to have a good time. Pumpkin Spice: yes, but now she won’t have a good time without perfect gift. I failed both Lavie, and Mommy. Britney Fear look at Pumpkin Spice once more, and knew what she is going through. She had try to forget the moment that she lost the chance to be with her, but thanks to her, and Timber Night Wolf words, she finally fall in love with someone that care about her. Britney Fear look inside her shopping bag, and grab some sort of package. She hand it over to Pumpkin Spice, and place it on her lap. Britney Fear: here you go, this should be a good enough gift for Nightshade. Pumpkin Spice: what is it? Britney Fear: just open it, and you will see. Pumpkin Spice: *she unwrap the package, and notice it was the necklace she was looking for* oh wow, it the Necklace from the picture. But how you were able to get it. Britney Fear: the two shark you spoken to were actually my aunts from my dad side of the family. I stop by their store, and brought the necklace. It was meant to be a nice gift for Lydia, but since tomorrow it going to be Nightshade birthday, I figure Lydia won’t mind missing *she was cut off when she felt Pumpkin Spice hugging her* Pumpkin Spice: thank you so much, cousin Shadie is going to be happy with this gift. Britney Fear: no problem, but would you mind letting me go, your large breast is killing me. Pumpkin Spice: *she relies what Britney said, and let her go* sorry, I then to forget about my own strength. Britney Fear: … Sigh, no problem. Now if you excuse me, I have to go and buy another present. Maybe you should get going. I bet your cousin are worrying about you. Pumpkin Spice: oh, no, I nearly forgot. I need to head back home, and fast. Thanks again for the gift Ms. Fear, you’re a really nice person. Britney Fear: no problem at all, but also, would you mind not to tell anyone that I done something nice to you. I may not a big bully, but I still have a reputation. Pumpkin Spice: sure thing, I make sure not to tell anyone about it. Now where was I going again? Britney Fear: back home? Pumpkin Spice: oh, yes, back home. Bye again. Britney Fear once again say goodbye to Pumpkin Spice, and saw her ran off. Britney Fear nod to herself knowing that Nightshade have a weird cousin, but pretty cool dragon in her own way.

[thevulernablepreacher]

Energy Healing-Read it Anyway

Inspiration is a God thing. When it hits my mind is on fire. It courses through me. I LOVE it. Rarely am i somewhere i can write it down as its happening. I’m on the toilet or driving..recording doesn’t help. I forget i recorded and have zero to negative patience for listening back.

I read Lean Dunham’s piece on her breakup this morning when i woke up b/c it was front and center in my Instagram feed. IT’s gross how addicted I am. i had been looking at her photo’s lately, wondering if she’d broken up. I sensed it. The energy surrounding here screams it. She’s been looking so clearly sad behind what looks like attempts to put on a strong and happy front . 

Someone wrote a reply saying so. I wanted to annihilate that person. I cannot tolerate the ease with which other people decide they're on an intimate enough basis to say this kind of shit to pepole. Of course she looks sad you ignorant fuck; you think she doesn’t see that or know that? She’s a fucking creative genius living in her emotions at every flipping second. So that’s not a helpful reflection.

I hate the word trigger but that comment clearly did just that to me. But that’s not at all what i want to write about.

What happened when i read that was that i fell in love with LD again. She blows my mind. She is an INCREDIBLE writer. She can talk about shit that we all talk about and experience in a way that no one articulates it. She has this special sauce ability with language to get into the nooks and crannies like a Thomas’s English muffin,  so deeply descriptively. 

I fell in love and i was jealous..so fucking jealous. I want to write that well. I want to be that fucking famous; not for fame sake, but i think maybe for the flow of cash (so i could work from an Adirondack chair) and for people desiring to hear more from me and thus paying gigs would fly in..a beautiful viscous cycle.

I had a mind blowing energy healing session yesterday and one of the things she said to me was, “I can just imagine your next speaking gig when you show up completely authentically; how powerful that will be.”

Well, i had that next gig this morning. I had to read  a “purpose and overview” statement to my networking group at 7:15 am. i wrote it last night. I took two bowls of ground curried lamb topped with black salt, and three cups of chamomile tea get it good and done. It took probably an hour and 1/2 to complete. I love it and its torturous.

I read it this morning and i will tell you i was amazed at my sureness confidence. No longer is my voice shaky when i speak. I”m finding that to be true in my speaking club group too. I just feel right; strong, upright, grounded. I was listening to myself and i thought, “God, this is really good.”

I was speaking to a room full of humans of an incredible caliber. They are all seasoned vets, with solid truly “successful” and thriving businesses. More importantly,  they are also stellar humans. 

Interestingly there’s a lot of lesbians in this group. We have the woman who brought Title IX to Yale, back in the day. She was also the first female plumber in the state. She’s unbelievably awesome. We have an amazing acupuncturist and a landscape architect to die for: all lesbians. Amazing, so cool. 

And in terms of men; stellar men. Incredible to be able to say that; and its true.

One of my mentors and fav’s among uttered, “wow” when i finished reading. Another caught my eye from a distance, beamed at me and gave me the thumbs up.

They’re all human of course, even though i pedistalize them (constant challenge for me). They've al made  gaffs in the building process. I of course LOVE to hear about them. Nothing more fulfilling than hearing about stellar fuckups made by people i so admire. It takes a ton of come to Jesus moments, courage and perseverance to create a business, build it, hone it and nurture it constantly. Beyond belief.

The first thing i thought when sat down was: “is that what i’m supposed to be doing, speaking publicly”? The answer is yes. I’ve known this ALWAYS.

That question came this morning though b/c my energy healing session was about clearing a blockage between my solar and lunar chakras. She said she’d never seen a more perfect and equal imbalance. she was psyched and I was psyched. she cleared it. 

The imbalance was making it impossible for me to live my life’s purpose. 

I knew exactly when the imbalance came in. It happened after the best six years of my adolescence. And ironically i have been through 6 years  physical pain, illness, total annihilation of feeling like Emily. So the six year thing she thought was incredible. I guess the jig is up.

What i learned: ANYTIME one has pain or feet issues it is because they are having Lunar issues. FASCINATING to me! Can you imagine if we all did energy healing instead of taking pills or having surgery? WTF!!!!!

Anyway a part of me got scared when she talked about showing up now authentically.  Could i do that after mastering looking like i was showing up authentically so well? What would that feel like?

I talked to her about how I am able to create great intimacy, make people laugh, connect, when i speak publicly. So I am living my life purpose..sort of; the blockage part is that i keep the all at a 5 feet distance. 

She asked about friendships; which ironically my former therapist asked me recently through an FB chat we were having. I said i have them; very close one’s but i never see them; any of them. it’s always been a source of great pain.

I don’t have daily intimacy. It makes me so so sad. You know those people who command the stage and can’t bear talking intimately with a group? I’m not that person. I have very intimate interchanges and time with close friends ..but it’s far from often. And when i do I then go home alone, and spend inordinate amounts of time alone.

Some of that is okay..but id prefer less at this point. Pain and illness have made that alone time grow; but it has been there since as early as I can remember.

And while i would love a best friend/partner who makes me laugh and with whom i can go to the movies, hang out, talk about nothing and everything with; i also stay away from it b/c i think it would suck to be with someone who has such intense forward and backwards and ups and downs..id be afraid of bringing them down and of becoming dependent upon them.

I know. I have a fear of true intimacy. I come by it so honestly it’s beyond.

I blocked off from true intimacy b/c performing was exhausting; performing in real life. i learned in my house that revealing all of me was going to receive very intense judgment and rejection.

Ive had two long term lesbian relationships. They were both abusive. Im so different now; that would not happen. And i think the right person will show up when the time is right; but i keep feeling like that may be close. I have a great curiosity as to what that will look like. It will be something i’ve never known before. This much I know.

I’m writing all of this b/c during the energy healing session my feet were buzzing. Afterwards i was able to walk in my adidas flip flops with the nubs comfortably for the first time in months. I was elated.

I thought...this shit works.

I talked about my very clear image of myself in my 60′s galavanting all over the globe with a partner having the time of my life; pain free; joyful, healthy. She asked that i write about the crazy creative that i was at Far Brook when i was a kid; when i was encouraged every day to be as insane and out there as I could possibly be. 

My surrogate grandfather Mr. Finckle, would sit in the back of the hall while i did this larger than life evangelical thing. He loved it. My friend Donna would play some soap opera music and gospel music and i would just go. If I was watching myself now i think i’d find it hilarious. I was off my rocker in the best possible way.

I did this every day all day for 6 years. I laughed straight for 6 years. it never occurred to me to button up or quiet down. My music, humor, authentlic prowess, improv gifts were living LARGE. It was a magical creative faucet turned on and flowing at full force.

That’s me. That’s my essence. 

I remember being at a visual art opening this past winter  at a crystal gallery (yeah, really). I was being told as the artist was playing her violin. That not only did she create art. she was clearly a musician, and a writer. I thought: Jesus  this art is hideous; but regardless, she has as show and is playing her music at her show and people are here loving all of it! WTF.  And i thought, i too am a musician and an artist..and used to produce on full throttle. What happened to her?

So this morning...i was wondering after i read that piece: “was i being authentically me?” I know i was talking to a bunch of  business people...but i think i was being me.

Im working on that really consciously now. I told my energy healer that really me is kind of messy looking and tatted abundantly. I wasn’t messy enough today for sure. And i would LOVE a few more tattoos.

I walked by a  woman looking like an artist coming home from yoga yesterday. She was disheveled and nothing matched. And i thought she was stunning. She made me feel completely at home. She was a huge reflection of me at my most creative self. She would have been floored had i told her how much i loved her look.

So i am trying to button down  big time; to be me in the realm of business and the real world..and watching; seeing what that might be. 

I write all of this because i left my networking meeting early. I was in a fuck load of pain. My foot is not healed. My knees were killing me. another part of my foot was really hurting and i though omfg i think i restrained the right ankle area again..this is of course not the left ankle that is always stressed and restraining if i have the boot on. 

A couple of people asked me why was there if i was in pain. I was completely flummoxed and searching for the answer. Why was I there when i was in pain?

Because i didn’t want to be in pain; because i thought i’d be okay. Because i rarely cancel on business things. Lately I'm cancelling more and not feeling guilty.

I was so fucking mad at my pain this morning. I told people i was mad, over it. Tired of shelling out cash like an ATM to heal myself. O.V.E.R. IT!

I get to say that. I so get to say that.

Im over the shame and i’m over the isolation it causes..i do everything in my power to heal. I seek every possible Western and alternative person on the planet..and still I am in  pain. 

I’m also confused and not sure how to proceed. I’m not good at figuring it out.

And because i’m me, this is what i think: There is something that i am not getting. There is something about my souls path that i am not answering. 

That’s why i ask: “am i supposed to be speaking and not building this business?” Logic to me, and the inner voice says, “yes, that’s right.”

My life should flow. My life can flow. My life is not flowing. 

When i’m in pain its really hard to be positive. Someone used the word “positivity” today at our meeting..a visitor. No one in our group would use that word. I wouldn’t be in a group that did. I would be throwing up all over the group if that was the case. I can’t stand that word. 

It’s complete bullshit. You have to get the core of your shit to feel positive..i think i’m at my core. I cannot stand “words or quotes of the times”..horrifying.

I also wonder: "If i start speaking publicly will my physical pain just go away?”

I’m an unbelievable magical thinker. So i think that’s what the universe is waiting for. 

For today i will wear my cool blue Bomba’s peds with my Adidias flip flops b/c for some reason that seems to ease the pain a bit. I think it’s just because the feeling of the nubs takes over.

I have no cohesive ending here; i’m just ending.

[marketingadvisorvietnam]

In Vietnam, debating Tet could be pointless as the holiday is being lost anyway

Marketing Advisor đã viết bài trên http://www.ticvietnam.vn/in-vietnam-debating-tet-could-be-pointless-as-the-holiday-is-being-lost-anyway/

In Vietnam, debating Tet could be pointless as the holiday is being lost anyway

In Vietnam, debating Tet could be pointless as the holiday is being lost anyway An woman wearing a Vietnamese traditional conical hat while she serves at a cafe during Tet (Vietnamese lunar new year celebrations) in Da Nang city January 28, 2017. Photo by Reuters/Kham

While netizens debate whether to keep Lunar New Year traditions, the festival seems to be quietly disappearing on its own.

For the past few years, every time the Lunar New Year celebrations have rolled around, so has the Tet debate. Some people have piped up online, arguing that Tet is old-fashioned and should be cancelled if Vietnam wants to be a modern country.

This year’s Tet debate was particularly intense. One of the most extreme proponents of the "get rid of it" position was a young writer Tue Nghi. In an article for HimMag, she said that the time to cancel the Lunar New Year had come, asserting that Vietnam could never become modern and successful while keeping the holiday.

She posed some stark choices: Vietnamese citizens must choose either a rich and strong country, or an intolerant preservation of traditions, watching pitifully while other countries speed ahead. They must choose either wide, open economic development, trading with Europe and North America, or choose to only work with neighboring countries that also celebrate the Lunar New Year.

This might all sound like a bizarre oversimplification of the relationship between culture and capital, and there has been a strong response from netizens and others. The government has rightly declared that Tet should be preserved. Professor Carl Thayer from the Australian Defence Force Academy and a heavyweight political scientist on Vietnam also rolled in to give his views on the holiday (he likes it).

Perhaps we could point out that in the most successful economy of the past 30 years, China, the Lunar New Year festival is still hugely important. We could point out that Korea, which in the 1950s was one of the poorest countries in the world and is now one of the top 20 economies, successfully industrialized without cancelling their Lunar New Year celebrations. We could also point out that Western Europe industrialized during a time when strong traditional religious beliefs and celebrations were present across the continent.

But what if it’s already happening? What if Tet is already being eroded? What if this is a process which is occurring largely unnoticed, without the help of think-pieces by those who are overly keen to stick a stake through the heart of the fun as soon as possible?

While most of us went off to various que (hometown) or beaches for Tet, some stayed in the cities. When we think of these people, we usually think of those who are from the cities so they celebrate with their families there, or expats who stay around, either because they have nowhere else to go, or because they like the peace and quiet.

But there is a third, often overlooked group. "Yes, we are open over Tet!"; "Come in for a coffee during Tet!"; "Happy Tet, we’re still here!" – or other similar sentiments – can be seen peppered around cities and social media, as cafes, restaurants and bars let customers know that they're still open for business over the holiday. And this service requires staff. A veritable army of laborers have to work over Tet, keeping the cities ticking over. Waiters, chefs, receptionists, security guards, cleaners, drivers – the list goes on – and their numbers seem to get bigger every year.

There are perhaps two types of people who work over Tet: those who are forced to by their bosses, and those who are forced to by poverty.

A cleaner in my apartment block said that she wasn’t allowed to have a break over Tet, is in the former camp. So is a friend who works at a cinema. She was working all through Tet to ensure that people who wanted to spend the holidays watching the latest tiresome Hollywood action film or laughless local comedy had somewhere to go. A GrabBike driver I met is in the latter camp. "I’m not stopping!", he responded to my question of when he was breaking for the holiday. "I’m too poor for that." Either way, these workers barely had a Tet celebration at all.

Elsewhere, among factory workers, the Tet bonus is changing. Workers traditionally got paid an extra 13th month salary at Tet, and relied on this to top up their low wages, buy gifts for family and pay for travel to their hometowns and back. But this can no longer be relied upon. While some companies still pay their workers the equivalent of a 13th month salary, others use the excuse of low profit margins or slow business to give much less – as low as VND50,000 ($2.2) in some places, or even just products such as clothing, rather than any actual money. This is another key part of the Lunar New Year that is being eroded.

Is this what the anti-Tet people want? Is this what they mean by “modern”? It certainly seems modern to me, in line with the logic of submitting everything to the demands of business. But is it really the dream of what a “successful” country should look like?

So, yes, the government is right. Tet should be preserved. It may, however, already be slipping away without us noticing. Preservation will require an active effort.

*Joe Buckley is a Brit who goes back and forth between London and Ho Chi Minh City. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of VnExpress International or VnExpress.

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[rueur]

Morning Pages #22 (30.01.2017)

Monday 30th Jan - 12:33 p.m.

Okay, so it’s not the morning, I know. I just missed the morning. And I also haven’t written for the past two days, I KNOW. Saturday was just too busy to do anything, honestly, it was one of the most busiest days I have ever had in my life. And Sunday was just a sleepy mess. I spent most of the morning being totally disoriented back in Mill Park, and the rest of the day trying to muscle up the energy to get to Ikaros’ house beforehand so I could see the apple baby (a baby apple tree) that he’s been taking care of so very lovingly (he calls himself an ‘apply daddy’ - like ‘apple-y’ not like ‘apply yourself’), and then take the train into the city together later that night for Gong De Lin!

Because there’s a lot to say about Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I will just go through it point by point and make sure I’ve mentioned everything before I go into more detail. First of all, our shows went very well. They were very well received, and we had a pretty decent crowd for all three shows. We also had a private fourth show (or ‘first show’) on Friday afternoon, at around 3. We had a full dress and tech run that some council workers decided to sit in on because they wouldn’t be able to make it to the actual shows. There were about three or four women, and one man in that audience, which was large enough for me to deem that Friday run a private show, rather than a rehearsal. I had nobody in the audience Friday night, but my entire family, and Malithi and Malith, came to see the show on Saturday afternoon, and Ikaros came to see it on Saturday night. Saturday afternoon was by far our best run, because Paul and Mahony gave us a fantastic warning regarding ‘second show syndrome’, but Saturday night was our worst run for that same reason: everybody lost sight of the fact that the Saturday night run was also susceptible to second show syndrome because, although it was our final show and our closing night, it was also our second show of that day. And everyone was insanely tired by 7 o’clock on that Saturday night. People tripped over their lines, forgot the order of scenes, lost their places and had essentially the lowest stage energy I’d seen them have. I almost coughed during my monologue, but I didn’t. There was, however, a very audible frog in my throat.

I biked home on Saturday night after saying goodbye to Ikaros at the station. He caught the 901 to Greensborough and then the train home. Jasper was also on the 901, because he lives out in South Morang, I think somewhere off of Gorge Road. He broke two guitar strings on Saturday, because he rocked so hard onstage. And Will broke the bin that he throws. He broke it during our FINAL show, it was fantastic. But yes, I biked home. The entire family (sans seeya thatha) was at Anthony’s house for some Eid dinner, so I was home alone. It was my first time back in my house that late at night and it would be my first time sleeping back in my own bed. I was exhausted though, so I didn’t go upstairs until 1 in the morning. I stayed downstairs from 9 till 1 watching Mad Men on Netflix, and playing Bejeweled. Jasper was sitting on the chair above me, my cat Jasper. Not the singer/songwriter who’s in my drama group, the guy who broke two guitar strings. Not that Jasper. Anyway, it was a lovely quiet Saturday night and I really felt I’d deserved it. The past month, living in Northcote, has been wonderful but it’s also been quite taxing, and being home after all of it has just been really refreshing. It’s been weird too, undeniably so. Sitting here on my bed right now, staring at my bookshelf, my own library, and the whole mess of clothes and bags that has been the result of my homecoming, is really odd. I have to get this sorted out, I know, in order for my room to start feeling more like home to me. This is my home, though. There’s nothing like returning home from a long vacation to make you feel like you know where you belong. I feel like I belong here, which is saying something because I don’t think I’ve ever felt like I belong here. Even when I was living at Rachael’s and I came back here on the weekends, I never felt like I belonged in this home in Mill Park. But my family’s here, and I guess I belong with them, so I made do. Now, I just feel at ease here.

I woke up at half past ten both yesterday and today. I slept for like nine or ten hours these past few nights, and have woken up totally out of it. My dad picked me up from South Morang station last night, at around a quarter past eleven. I fell asleep watching Mad Men downstairs, dragged myself upstairs at around 2 in the morning and just collapsed in the dress I’d worn to dinner. OH DINNER. Gong De Lin, with Ikaros. I’ll tell you about Sunday afternoon first, though. I decided to wear my brown dress with the red and yellow feathery pattern on it. That dress, I’ve always said, matches my skin tone to a tee, so much so that it feels like that dress has just been painted onto my body and I love it for that reason. It was nice finally wearing it out. I biked to the station, caught the 901 to Greensborough and then waited on Platform 1 for 14 minutes in the searing heat. There were line works going on on the Hurstbridge side (platform two) and I embarrassed myself twice with two different line workers, because I’d walked past them singing whilst listening to my iPod. I’m using these earphones that came with my phone right now, until I can properly replace the ones I broke with Ikaros last week, because the ones that came with my phone are crazy awful. They do this weird thing where if I twist the cord in a particular way, the song freezes or Siri is called up onto the screen, or the song FAST FORWARDS which I didn’t even know was possible. Anyway, I did try and listen to music on the way to Ikaros’ as a means of ignoring the heat. It was incredibly hot and sunny yesterday. I didn’t check the weather before I left, but I was very glad to not be wearing stockings and to also be wearing a very light dress. I also found another pair of sunnies on the train to replace the ones that broke a week or so ago now, so my eyes were well-protected yesterday. I left the sunnies at Ikaros’ house though, so I don’t know what I’m going to do until I see him again, hopefully on Tuesday right before I see Rhiannon at Lentils (she’s got a gig).

Ikaros’ dad is back with Anna so I saw her again, which was weird. Ikaros’ dad asked me how my show went too. I said it was all good. Then I got into an involuntary ‘argument’ (it was a very one-sided discussion if anything) with Connor, that lasted far too long for both my and Ikaros’ comfort. When I finally managed to edge my way past Connor, Ikaros and I sat in his cool, dark bedroom for a while before we gave in and had REALLY REALLY GREAT SEX. I’d literally just typed that and Ikaros texted me that he loves me. Fuck, I wish we were perfect for each other. We aren’t. Like we couldn’t ever work out. I know that. But I wish we could, I really do. I came twice yesterday, and he recognised my first orgasm as it was happening. I told him what to look out for, and he recognised when I came. It was kind of touching. Like he finally knew what to pay attention for and he didn’t stop until he found it. Then we had penetrative sex and it was so hot and we just got so so into it, I came again. And he came too, naturally. Then we had a shower together, which I also realised I had really missed. After we’d finished, we heard his family talking about us outside in the kitchen/living room. Connor said we were having a shower together, and Paul was like ‘great, they’re saving water’, but then Connor asserted that we’d been in there for twenty minutes (which was not true). Then Connor started criticising Paul for taking ages in the shower in the morning, and Paul was trying to stand up for himself, and for us too. And we were on the other side of the door trying not to laugh. Once we’d gotten back to his room though, we just let loose. We couldn’t help it.

We got dressed very quickly and then headed into the city. We were eating around quarter past eight, at which point we were quite starving. But Gong De Lin does not disappoint! We got more lemon chicken, pumpkin soup, fried shiitake mushrooms in sweet and sour sauce, spicy noodles with pork and beef, these vegetable bao dumpling things and ‘chicken’ nuggets. Gong De Lin is a completely vegetarian Asian-style restaurant right on Swanston Street near the corner of Lonsdale and Swanston Streets, very close to Melbourne Central Station. It’s a little pricey (last night cost us $76.60, but Ikaros paid for everything because last time we went it was my treat) but the food is of top quality, honestly. I’ve eaten there twice now, both times with Ikaros, and both times were up there with the best meals I’ve ever had. I could not recommend this place more highly. It is, however, an egregious indulgence and I don’t see myself going back there more than once or twice in a year. We ate really well, and then we walked around the city. We went to Crown and checked out this glorious display they had on for Lunar New Year (which was on Saturday the 28th of January, and the reason why I’m not seeing Evan again until this weekend), and read our horoscopes for 2017. Ikaros was born in the year of the pig, and I’m an ox. The horoscopes warned us both about relationship troubles in 2017, which we expected. The ox horoscope said that I place too much power in words, and that can damage relationships (which is painfully true), and the pig horoscope said that Ikaros (if he’s single, which he kind of is) will meet someone special in the last half of this year. Pigs will have wealth in this year, and Oxen will have average financial success, but good professional opportunities. Hopefully that means I’ll be able to land some kind of internship with a council, or at a publishing firm.

Anyway, last night was really wonderful, and it felt like we were just happy and together again. I know that’s not the case though. I love Ikaros with all my heart. And I was very comfortable with him last night. It was like being out with my best friend. I’m going to make myself sad if I keep talking about this, I know. I feel myself getting sad right now. But I shouldn’t, I know I shouldn’t. Because it’s just been amazing knowing him. I love him so much, and whatever happens will happen. As long as we’re still in each other’s lives. As long as we still love each other. We have plenty of time for everything else.

[marketingadvisorvietnam]

In Vietnam, debating Tet could be pointless as the holiday is being lost anyway

Marketing Advisor đã viết bài trên http://www.ticvietnam.vn/in-vietnam-debating-tet-could-be-pointless-as-the-holiday-is-being-lost-anyway/

In Vietnam, debating Tet could be pointless as the holiday is being lost anyway

In Vietnam, debating Tet could be pointless as the holiday is being lost anyway An woman wearing a Vietnamese traditional conical hat while she serves at a cafe during Tet (Vietnamese lunar new year celebrations) in Da Nang city January 28, 2017. Photo by Reuters/Kham

While netizens debate whether to keep Lunar New Year traditions, the festival seems to be quietly disappearing on its own.

For the past few years, every time the Lunar New Year celebrations have rolled around, so has the Tet debate. Some people have piped up online, arguing that Tet is old-fashioned and should be cancelled if Vietnam wants to be a modern country.

This year’s Tet debate was particularly intense. One of the most extreme proponents of the "get rid of it" position was a young writer Tue Nghi. In an article for HimMag, she said that the time to cancel the Lunar New Year had come, asserting that Vietnam could never become modern and successful while keeping the holiday.

She posed some stark choices: Vietnamese citizens must choose either a rich and strong country, or an intolerant preservation of traditions, watching pitifully while other countries speed ahead. They must choose either wide, open economic development, trading with Europe and North America, or choose to only work with neighboring countries that also celebrate the Lunar New Year.

This might all sound like a bizarre oversimplification of the relationship between culture and capital, and there has been a strong response from netizens and others. The government has rightly declared that Tet should be preserved. Professor Carl Thayer from the Australian Defence Force Academy and a heavyweight political scientist on Vietnam also rolled in to give his views on the holiday (he likes it).

Perhaps we could point out that in the most successful economy of the past 30 years, China, the Lunar New Year festival is still hugely important. We could point out that Korea, which in the 1950s was one of the poorest countries in the world and is now one of the top 20 economies, successfully industrialized without cancelling their Lunar New Year celebrations. We could also point out that Western Europe industrialized during a time when strong traditional religious beliefs and celebrations were present across the continent.

But what if it’s already happening? What if Tet is already being eroded? What if this is a process which is occurring largely unnoticed, without the help of think-pieces by those who are overly keen to stick a stake through the heart of the fun as soon as possible?

While most of us went off to various que (hometown) or beaches for Tet, some stayed in the cities. When we think of these people, we usually think of those who are from the cities so they celebrate with their families there, or expats who stay around, either because they have nowhere else to go, or because they like the peace and quiet.

But there is a third, often overlooked group. "Yes, we are open over Tet!"; "Come in for a coffee during Tet!"; "Happy Tet, we’re still here!" – or other similar sentiments – can be seen peppered around cities and social media, as cafes, restaurants and bars let customers know that they're still open for business over the holiday. And this service requires staff. A veritable army of laborers have to work over Tet, keeping the cities ticking over. Waiters, chefs, receptionists, security guards, cleaners, drivers – the list goes on – and their numbers seem to get bigger every year.

There are perhaps two types of people who work over Tet: those who are forced to by their bosses, and those who are forced to by poverty.

A cleaner in my apartment block said that she wasn’t allowed to have a break over Tet, is in the former camp. So is a friend who works at a cinema. She was working all through Tet to ensure that people who wanted to spend the holidays watching the latest tiresome Hollywood action film or laughless local comedy had somewhere to go. A GrabBike driver I met is in the latter camp. "I’m not stopping!", he responded to my question of when he was breaking for the holiday. "I’m too poor for that." Either way, these workers barely had a Tet celebration at all.

Elsewhere, among factory workers, the Tet bonus is changing. Workers traditionally got paid an extra 13th month salary at Tet, and relied on this to top up their low wages, buy gifts for family and pay for travel to their hometowns and back. But this can no longer be relied upon. While some companies still pay their workers the equivalent of a 13th month salary, others use the excuse of low profit margins or slow business to give much less – as low as VND50,000 ($2.2) in some places, or even just products such as clothing, rather than any actual money. This is another key part of the Lunar New Year that is being eroded.

Is this what the anti-Tet people want? Is this what they mean by “modern”? It certainly seems modern to me, in line with the logic of submitting everything to the demands of business. But is it really the dream of what a “successful” country should look like?

So, yes, the government is right. Tet should be preserved. It may, however, already be slipping away without us noticing. Preservation will require an active effort.

*Joe Buckley is a Brit who goes back and forth between London and Ho Chi Minh City. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of VnExpress International or VnExpress.

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[marketingadvisorvietnam]

In Vietnam, debating Tet could be pointless as the holiday is being lost anyway

Marketing Advisor đã viết bài trên http://www.ticvietnam.vn/in-vietnam-debating-tet-could-be-pointless-as-the-holiday-is-being-lost-anyway/

In Vietnam, debating Tet could be pointless as the holiday is being lost anyway

In Vietnam, debating Tet could be pointless as the holiday is being lost anyway An woman wearing a Vietnamese traditional conical hat while she serves at a cafe during Tet (Vietnamese lunar new year celebrations) in Da Nang city January 28, 2017. Photo by Reuters/Kham

While netizens debate whether to keep Lunar New Year traditions, the festival seems to be quietly disappearing on its own.

For the past few years, every time the Lunar New Year celebrations have rolled around, so has the Tet debate. Some people have piped up online, arguing that Tet is old-fashioned and should be cancelled if Vietnam wants to be a modern country.

This year’s Tet debate was particularly intense. One of the most extreme proponents of the "get rid of it" position was a young writer Tue Nghi. In an article for HimMag, she said that the time to cancel the Lunar New Year had come, asserting that Vietnam could never become modern and successful while keeping the holiday.

She posed some stark choices: Vietnamese citizens must choose either a rich and strong country, or an intolerant preservation of traditions, watching pitifully while other countries speed ahead. They must choose either wide, open economic development, trading with Europe and North America, or choose to only work with neighboring countries that also celebrate the Lunar New Year.

This might all sound like a bizarre oversimplification of the relationship between culture and capital, and there has been a strong response from netizens and others. The government has rightly declared that Tet should be preserved. Professor Carl Thayer from the Australian Defence Force Academy and a heavyweight political scientist on Vietnam also rolled in to give his views on the holiday (he likes it).

Perhaps we could point out that in the most successful economy of the past 30 years, China, the Lunar New Year festival is still hugely important. We could point out that Korea, which in the 1950s was one of the poorest countries in the world and is now one of the top 20 economies, successfully industrialized without cancelling their Lunar New Year celebrations. We could also point out that Western Europe industrialized during a time when strong traditional religious beliefs and celebrations were present across the continent.

But what if it’s already happening? What if Tet is already being eroded? What if this is a process which is occurring largely unnoticed, without the help of think-pieces by those who are overly keen to stick a stake through the heart of the fun as soon as possible?

While most of us went off to various que (hometown) or beaches for Tet, some stayed in the cities. When we think of these people, we usually think of those who are from the cities so they celebrate with their families there, or expats who stay around, either because they have nowhere else to go, or because they like the peace and quiet.

But there is a third, often overlooked group. "Yes, we are open over Tet!"; "Come in for a coffee during Tet!"; "Happy Tet, we’re still here!" – or other similar sentiments – can be seen peppered around cities and social media, as cafes, restaurants and bars let customers know that they're still open for business over the holiday. And this service requires staff. A veritable army of laborers have to work over Tet, keeping the cities ticking over. Waiters, chefs, receptionists, security guards, cleaners, drivers – the list goes on – and their numbers seem to get bigger every year.

There are perhaps two types of people who work over Tet: those who are forced to by their bosses, and those who are forced to by poverty.

A cleaner in my apartment block said that she wasn’t allowed to have a break over Tet, is in the former camp. So is a friend who works at a cinema. She was working all through Tet to ensure that people who wanted to spend the holidays watching the latest tiresome Hollywood action film or laughless local comedy had somewhere to go. A GrabBike driver I met is in the latter camp. "I’m not stopping!", he responded to my question of when he was breaking for the holiday. "I’m too poor for that." Either way, these workers barely had a Tet celebration at all.

Elsewhere, among factory workers, the Tet bonus is changing. Workers traditionally got paid an extra 13th month salary at Tet, and relied on this to top up their low wages, buy gifts for family and pay for travel to their hometowns and back. But this can no longer be relied upon. While some companies still pay their workers the equivalent of a 13th month salary, others use the excuse of low profit margins or slow business to give much less – as low as VND50,000 ($2.2) in some places, or even just products such as clothing, rather than any actual money. This is another key part of the Lunar New Year that is being eroded.

Is this what the anti-Tet people want? Is this what they mean by “modern”? It certainly seems modern to me, in line with the logic of submitting everything to the demands of business. But is it really the dream of what a “successful” country should look like?

So, yes, the government is right. Tet should be preserved. It may, however, already be slipping away without us noticing. Preservation will require an active effort.

*Joe Buckley is a Brit who goes back and forth between London and Ho Chi Minh City. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of VnExpress International or VnExpress.

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