#they are serving haribo realness

[numberstans]

Ngl I’d buy some numberjacks gummy candy

[albertonykus]

Doraemon Movie Review: Nobita's Great Battle of the Mermaid King (2010)

What is Doraemon? The title character of the Doraemon manga and anime is a blue robotic cat from the 22nd Century who keeps an array of high-tech gadgets in a portable pocket dimension on his belly, and has traveled from the future to improve the fortunes of a hapless schoolboy named Nobita. Although relatively obscure in the English-speaking world, Doraemon is a Mickey-Mouse-level cultural icon in East Asia (and some other regions, too). The Doraemon franchise was a big part of my childhood, and there are still elements of it that I enjoy now.

Doraemon has released theatrical films almost annually since 1980, most of which involve Nobita and his friends (kind Shizuka, brash Gian, and crafty Suneo) getting swept into adventures thanks to Doraemon's gadgets. Despite being of potentially broad appeal to fans of science fiction and animated films, there are very few English reviews of the Doraemon movies, so I'm embarking on a project to write about all the films that have come out so far. Good luck to me…

Movie premise: Nobita and Doraemon accidentally strand a real live mermaid princess in their yard.

My spoiler-free take: Unfortunately, this film consists of logical inconsistencies and unsatisfying payoffs from start to finish. Probably my least favorite Doraemon movie.

POTENTIAL SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT

Review: I distinctly remember this being the first Doraemon movie that I actively thought was bad, and sadly, my opinion has not changed much after a rewatch. I wish it weren’t so, because the undersea setting and mermaid concept could have been a lot of fun.

To provide a quick rundown of my main issues with this movie:

The mermaid princess Sophia is amazed by cars and doesn’t realize they’re dangerous, yet we later see that she comes from a society that has roads and vehicles.

Dorami suddenly shows up to deliver some exposition about mermaids, apparently at Doraemon’s request, even though mermaids have barely been mentioned by that point.

When the villains are about to invade, the mermaid queen dumps the responsibility of leading the war onto Sophia, and this is portrayed as a good thing for some reason.

There’s an abrupt scene cut into the middle of the final battle. (I seriously wondered whether I’d been watching a faulty copy of this movie when I first saw it.)

After everyone spends much of the story trying to figure out how the obtain a legendary mermaid sword, the end result is that Sophia can just summon it without even intending to, because she happens to be the chosen one, rendering most of that subplot pointless. (Also, why couldn’t the protagonists use Translation Konjac to decipher the ancient texts about the sword again? They’ve done similar things in previous movies.)

Despite that, Sophia ultimately doesn’t do much to help neutralize the villains. The sword she summons immediately gets taken by the villain leader, making him more powerful, and it isn’t even directly used to defeat him later. The other main thing Sophia does during the final battle is attempt to fight the villain leader herself, and... she gets disarmed in one hit. Yet her actions in battle are enough for her to be crowned queen in the aftermath. Huh?

The porcupinefish-boy Haribo (who is somehow the leader of the merperson army) is a leading contender for the most annoying character in a Doraemon movie.

As if all of that weren’t enough, this movie includes one of my “favorite” recurring Doraemon tropes: Shizuka getting captured and needing to be rescued. As far as I could tell, this doesn’t even serve any narrative purpose here other than to add some tension before the final battle begins. The rest of the story probably would have played out essentially the same way without that subplot.

This next observation is not necessarily a flaw, but Nobita's Great Battle of the Mermaid King is another movie in which the main characters seem rather unfriendly towards each other, more typical of the main Doraemon series than of the franchise’s cinematic lineup. Gian and Suneo shamelessly bully Nobita in the beginning of the story, and even Shizuka doesn’t show any sympathy or concern for him upon witnessing this.

There is also a strange scene in which everyone else chews out Suneo for being unable to point out a specific constellation (which they suspect to be the planetary system where Sophia’s people came from) out of hundreds if not thousands of stars in the night sky. They apparently take this as an offense to Sophia’s feelings, though Sophia shows no signs of being upset by it.

To be absolutely fair, I don’t think this movie is entirely devoid of merit: the underwater scenes are often quite pretty, and it’s nice to see Dorami get screentime that amounts to more than a voiced cameo. If I had to pick a least favorite Doraemon movie though, this would almost certainly be it.

Star rating: ★☆☆☆☆

[bothcreativitybois]

Intruality Week 2021 Day 2

I’ve decided to try and connect all these propmpts into one story. If you want to read the day 1 fic it’s here

Day 2: Cooking/Baking @intrualityweek2021  Wordcount: 1292 TWs: Swearing, little bit of sad Patton (I’m just like this okay?), Remus doing Remus things, brief gore (not detailed), alcohol meantion (one sentance)

General Taglist: (ask to be added <3) @crazydemigod666 @star-crossed-shipper 

After seven hours, five countertops, twenty spatulas and countless other fatalities, Remus looked at the dozen plates set out in front of him. This was his greatest masterpiece, he continually amazed himself. This plan would work perfectly, he just needed one more thing before he could start. He quickly sank out into Patton’s room. The only light was a little pooh bear night light, dimly illuminating the mound snuggled under numerous fluffy blankets. Remus sneaked forward quietly until he reached the edge of the bed. “Papa Bear!” Remus shouted and jumped on top of Patton. The sleeping side was startled awake and screamed loudly, grabbing his attacker. He was mostly relieved to see it was just Remus. “Hey Kiddo.” Patton said tiredly. “What do you need?” He rubbed his eyes as he spoke. Remus’ wicked smile glowed in the darkness. “I made you dinner.” Remus said proudly. Patton sighed. “Thank you Remus, that’s very thoughtful but I already ate.” Patton mumbled as he laid back down. Remus waited a moment before jumping again. “Please Daddy! I spent a long time on it.” Remus asked again. Patton didn’t move but shushed him. “Everyone is sleeping, please be quiet.” Patton asked. Remus shook Patton’s bed. “I’m gonna be loud until you agree!” Remus shouted. He started moaning and shouting vulgarly. Patton quickly sat up and put a hand over Remus’ mouth. His red face glowed in the dark. “Alright alright just plea- hey!” Patton retracted as Remus nipped his hand. “Ew.” He wiped his hand on the blanket, Remus grabbed it and pulled him out of bed. He sat Patton at the dining table and spun himself around. He changed into a sultry looking waiter outfit. “Tell me what you think of each dish.” Remus said as he grabbed the first plate. “I worked hard on them.” Remus placed the plate in front of Patton whose sleepy mind was caught off guard. He’d forgotten the golden rule of the mindscape: Never trust Remus. On the plate was a caramel apple, except the caramel was covered in lint and hair. “Oh um… I think you dropped it…” Patton gently picked up the apple by the stick and showed Remus. He looked it over with a smile. “I didn’t.” Remus said proudly. Patton relaxed for a moment. “That’s from Virgil’s hairbrush.” Patton dropped the apple back onto the plate. Remus pouted. Patton looked at Remus’ sad expression then back at the hairy apple. After a deep breath he picked up the apple and Remus lit up. Delicately as he could, Patton took a bite before dropping the apple. He covered his mouth as the sticky strands stuck to his teeth. Remus looked on hopefully. “It’s… good.” Patton lied as he churned the caramel with his teeth. Remus clapped and jumped excitedly. As soon as he turned to get the next plate Patton began spitting the caramel into a napkin and scraping the sticky bits out. He wished he had some water. “How about a drink?” Remus read Patton’s mind in the worst way possible. He placed a plate with a fancy looking martini glass in front of Patton. He would’ve taken it immediately after that horrid hairy haribo but he wasn’t going to break the golden rule twice. “What… is it?” Patton wasn’t sure whether it was better to know or not. “A cocktail.” Remus announced. “Sex on the beach.” Patton eyed the drink suspiciously. He’d seen pictures of the drink before but they looked a little more… colourful. Patton picked up the drink and took a slow sip. The grainy salty liquid was putrid. Patton gagged and spat it back into the glass as discreetly as he could. “What is in that…” Patton asked through teary eyes. Remus brought a notepad out of nowhere and read from it. “Sand, water from Logan’s fish tank, salt, oyster juice and bird poop.” Patton gagged again. “How's it taste?” Remus asked with a smile. Patton really began to re-evaluate just leaving. “A little salty…” Patton tried to be honest by Remus’ sad face smacked him in the heart. “But still good!”

Dish after horrible dish Patton puckered, swallowed and gagged his way through the devious delicacies. Each was worse and less edible than the last, he was pretty sure one was just a boiled baseball. With each plate he wished he’d stayed in bed. “Last course!” Remus announced as he grabbed the final plate. “A lovely dessert!” Patton thought of all the things he wished it was. Cookie Dough ice-cream, brownies, strawberry milkshake, chocolate mousse. “Kitten eye-cy pop!” Remus placed the bloody red iceblock in front of Patton who squealed. This wasn’t real, it was just a nightmare. Even Remus wouldn’t expect him to eat that. But even when he opened his eyes again, a handful of tiny sad frozen kitty eyes stared back. “No Remus!” Patton sobbed. “I can’t! No! I’ve had all your horrible food and I’m tired and upset and no!” Tears exploded out of Patton's eyes. He sobbed for a moment before looking up at Remus. He expected anger and disappointment, maybe a bit of shouting. But Remus’ eyes were filled with pride. “Fucking finally!” Remus said as he sat down. “I thought I was going to have to serve you Roman’s stupid little face to get you to crack.” Remus danced a hand over the dessert and it disappeared. “What?” Patton was really confused now. He really wanted to go back to bed. “Patsy, I didn’t wake you up at three in the morning and feed you a bunch of gross stuff and expect you to enjoy it. I’m sadistic, not oblivious.” Remus explained. Patton wiped his eyes and listened. “You needed a lesson, thankfully I am a great teacher.” “What lesson?” Patton asked sadly. Remus rolled his eyes. “You need to learn to say no!” Remus snapped. “I’m sorry.” Patton croaked overwhelmed. “No, don't apologise!” Remus stood and shouted back. “I’m a bad person! I did bad things! Yell at me!” “I can’t...” Patton sobbed.                               “Do it!” Remus pressed. “No!” Patton finally gave in. He pushed himself up with the table, tears sparkling on his cheeks. “I’m tired! I’m upset! I just wanna sleep!” Patton tried to emphasise by hitting the table but accidentally hit the plate. He slowly looked down at the broken plate. Patton fell back into his seat in a sobbing heap. Remus stood there looking between Patton and the plate for a minute. Then he took a few steps closer. “Didn’t know you were that strong.” Remus joked. Patton didn’t laugh. “Remus please don’t.” Patton begged, he didn’t know what for. Patton felt Remus drape something around him. Remus wrapped his arms around Patton and lifted him into his chest. A moment later the room darkened. Patton felt himself being placed down onto a bed. His bed. “Remus.” Patton felt more blankets cover him. “Consider it a thank you for the sweater.” Remus smiled to himself. It just occurred to Patton that this was the second time Remus had seen him cry in two days. No one saw him cry. He reached out of his curled up position and grabbed Remus’ hand. “You’re a good guy.” Patton whispered. Remus wasn’t sure how to react. “You’re delirious.” Remus said back. “Maybe.” Patton conceded. “But I would really like it if you could cook for me again some time.” Remus froze. He was trying to annoy Patton, trying to annoy him and be a terrible person, but Patton thought it was… endearing? “Oh I definitely will.” Remus chuckled. It was less wicked and more goofy. Patton hadn’t heard that before, neither had Remus. What was happening to him? He was getting soft. He’d just have to try harder.

[kim-seungmine]

dream the night away

title: dream the night away

characters: (fem) reader x hwang hyunjin of stray kids

genre: slice-of-life, romance, angst, best friends to lovers au, idol au, idol!hyunjin, hyunjin centric, inspired by 3racha’s cloud 9 but not really?

warnings: minor character death, sometimes heavy, slow burn (aka i wanted it to be but i wasn’t patient enough), i tried to proofread, i gave up trying to format text convo on tumblr, i think they kiss a lot.

word count: 11.6k i’m so sorry

synopsis: one night, hyunjin wonders how he long can stay floating on cloud 9 before he loses his balance and falls all the way down to the pits of hell. After that, nothing feels right.

disclaimer: this is idol!hyunjin so i just wanna say that this is not how hyunjin is in real life and im not trying to convince you that he feels the things in the story. some parts are inspired by the things they’ve said but everything that happens here is pure fiction... which actually goes without saying since this is a fanfic, but i just feel the need to say it. for my personal long ass author’s note, you can read it below.

Hyunjin is met with darkness when he steps into the dorm. It used to be more packed, it used to be messier, and it used to be really loud. Now he only shares the dorm with the 00z who are surprisingly quiet if you think about it. Seungmin sleeps early, Felix has his headphones stuck to his ears and plays games until the sun rises, and Jisung is snugged somewhere watching movies. On busier days, Seungmin and Felix are at the company for lessons and Jisung spends the night at the studio with Chan and Changbin. Hyunjin, meanwhile, usually has some photoshoots.

However, tonight feels unnaturally quiet, especially since Hyunjin has just won his first Bonsang as a solo artist. He switches the lights on, and his friends are soundlessly huddled together by the fridge, Jisung holding a small cake.

“Surprise!” Seungmin exclaims rather flatly as Hyunjin drops to the floor out of shock, shouting profanities. Felix proceeds to grab some candles from the kitchen counter and lights them up. “Come on, blow the candles."

Hyunjin lets out an amused sigh, rising to his feet before blowing all the candles out. “Please tell me these aren’t those candles that stay lit n—what the hell.”

He continues blowing, his friends giggling while Seungmin groans. “Why did you have to curse? I was about to post that on Instagram Story!”

“Why are we doing this anyways? We’re not 18 anymore,” Hyunjin protests half-heartedly. He can’t really remember the last time they gave each other a proper surprise. It feels like ages ago. Jisung scoffs, searching for a knife inside one of the kitchen drawers. Slicing the cake, he retorts, “Your dramatic ass loves surprises, stop denying it.”

“Anyone has anything to do tonight? The hyungs want to come over,” Felix informs while typing on his phone. Hyunjin’s vibrates after a few seconds; everyone on the Stray Kids group chat must be congratulating him.

Seungmin opens the chat, frowning. “Where’s Jeongin?”

“He hasn’t been replying since hours ago. That brat probably fell asleep. Just ask his bro if he’s home,” Hyunjin suggests, about to reply to Chan’s message when another message pops up.

y/n: sorry i couldnt watch the show

y/n: but i saw the news! congratulations!!

y/n: so proud of you, as always!

Hyunjin’s eyes light up at your messages. It’s been months since he saw you; he’s been busy with his solo debut and you’ve been busy with school. When both of you were children, you often pictured how life would be. Hyunjin would be a famous soccer player for Manchester United and the captain of South Korea national team. You would be studying to become a doctor.

He finds it funny that you’re doing the exact same thing while he’s doing something he never even imagined before. Hyunjin is always amazed at how well you planned your whole life and executed every single plan, albeit not always instantly.

After all these years, though, he dares to say that both of you turned out okay. Amazing, even.

“Order whatever you want. I’m eating outside but I’ll be back soon,” Hyunjin tells his friends, bombarding you with messages before you turn your phone off, the thing you always do when you’re about to cram.

Seungmin arches an eyebrow. “Y/N?”

“Yeah. I asked whether she wants to eat gopchang with me.”

“You should really be careful.”

“Everyone knows we’re best friends. No one will make a weird rumor or anything.”

Jisung clicks his tongue. “Well, do you?”

Whenever someone talks about you, it always leads to this very conversation. Hyunjin decides to let Jisung’s question (sarcasm) hang in the air, but he knows the answer. Yes, he knows you and him are just best friends. Does he like it that way?

Hyunjin knows the answer to that too. He only pretends that he doesn’t.

You’re already slurping your soup when Hyunjin says hi to the restaurant owners, Mr and Mrs. Jang. “Oh Hyunjinnie, I just watched you on TV. You won something, right?” he asks. His wife ushers him to sit down, putting extra servings of kimchi on the table.

“Why didn’t I get extra kimchi?” You pout, shooting a jealous glare at Hyunjin who’s busy explaining what a Bonsang is to the owners.

“You did a good job, then,” Mrs. Jang coos. “You don’t need to pay today. It’s on us!”

You quickly put your spoon down. “What about me? I barely sleep thesedays, and I’m not as rich as Hyunjin!”

“Aigoo, you started eating before your friend came then demand for free food. You’re lucky we love you as much as we love Hyunjin.”

The couple laugh at your reaction, jokingly scolding you for being whinier than Hyunjin when it used to be the other way around. He smiles, remembering all the times he forced you to eat his eggplants for him and the times when he begged you to help him study because he needed to beat all of his friends.

“Eat,” you scowl. “You only have half an hour to brag. I have a night shift.”

Out of the times you’re being petty towards him, you were only seriously petty once: when he beat your English score in ninth grade although you were the one teaching him. He had to bribe you with a week’s worth of Haribo jellies before you stopped ignoring him.

Hyunjin giggles. “When’s your exam? Tomorrow?”

“Next week,” you whine. “But I have so many things to do! And I think someone stole my notes, I can’t seem to find them anywhere. Do you even understand half the pain I’m going through right now? All I need is one solid hour of sleep.”

“Hmm,” he hums. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

You widen your eyes, eyeing Hyunjin from head to toe. “Sometimes I forget you’re Stray Kids’ Hyunjin.”

He pretends to stab himself on the chest. “That h-hurts,” he fake-groans. “Then who do you think I am?”

“My neighbor,” you answer. “—who doesn’t even live at home anymore.”

“To be fair, you’re practically holed in hospital now.”

“Yeah but I go home every two weeks? You go home twice a year.”

“Excuse me?! I went home on your birthday… in the middle of a tour! I could’ve been sleeping or practicing, but I came home!”

He always “argues” with you until both of you are out of breath, clutching your chests because it somehow feels hilarious. You drink the last few drops of the soup right from your bowl, setting it back on the table and empty your glass in one go.

“I don’t have enough energy for this,” you sigh dreamily, prepping your head on your arm. “Tell me about everything. Your first Bonsang.”

Hyunjin can still hear his fans’ voices chanting his name and cheering for him as he delivered his speech while sobbing (this is what he hates from solo promotions, nobody else is there to stop him from crying or taking over the mic from him so he could calm himself down). He remembers every single word he said and the proud faces of his fellow artists. The thrill, the triumph, the satisfaction, the love… it’s making him emotional all over again.

He grabs a tissue to blow his nose. “I was surprised when the company said that I was invited. Our group hasn’t made a comeback this year, and although my song did chart quite well, I never expected they would even invite me.”

“They gave me a 5-minute stage! I was so happy, I sent you my rehearsal videos, right?”

You nod, imitating one of the moves in his dance break.

“Everything was even more amazing on stage, with Stays watching me. I think I was possessed during the performance… I was goddamn nervous though.”

“Yeah, I watched it on the way here. You kept licking your lip, I don’t care if your fans think that’s hot. To me you’re just a nervous mess…”

Hyunjin has started to pout when you add, “… who did a very great job nevertheless! It’s just that I’ve known you so long. You can’t hide anything from me.”

He notices how you’re holding your breath, waiting for him to respond. After years, Hyunjin thought he would take negative comments much less seriously, but apparently it didn’t become easier. It became harder, so hard that he had to take a 3-month hiatus last year.

With you, everything is different. You can tell him that he sucks big time and he’ll take it seriously, but he never gets offended. There are a lot of times when people treat him like he’s made of glass (or a snowflake, Seungmin once said), but you treat him the way you’ve always treated him and he loves it. None of his other friends understands, but your honesty is priceless. It’s what keeps him going; he knows you’ll never cherish him less no matter what you say about the way he dances and raps, or the way he looks and behaves. And he’s sure that his honesty also means the world to you. You are each other’s toughest critic, but it will never change anything.

“Hyunjin.” You place your hand over his, eyes wide. “I’m sorry. It just slipped out of my mouth.”

He chuckles, flipping his palm to squeeze your hand. “You idiot. You just stated the facts.”

You squeeze his hand back before pulling away. “I’m looking at Hwang Hyunjin of Stray Kids who sold over 100.000 copies of his first solo album, who won Bonsang for the first time, who gets worshiped by everyone he locks eyes with—except for me of course. I’m a very proud friend.”

“Stop it.” Hyunjin rolls his eyes, but unable to hide his smile once he sees you grinning like a happy child. “How much time do we have left?”

You glance at your phone, sighing when a reminder for you to study pops up. “5 minutes. I have to go back to the hospital soon.”

“Can you even study during your shift?”

“I have to,” you mumble. “Anyways, thanks for dragging me out. I did miss you after all.”

“I missed you too,” Hyunjin says, probably too quick for his own good but he doesn’t regret it.

“I’ll be going now.” You stretch your limbs, grabbing your bag and slinging it over your shoulder. “Any last words before I go to war?”

“I should be the one asking you that.”

“Oh, right.”

Chan is the only one awake by the time Hyunjin gets back home. He huffs in regret, knowing that the hyungs decided to stay over to celebrate his Bonsang win. The leader greets him with a bear hug, carefully avoiding Felix and Minho who are fast asleep on the floor. “We’re so happy for you!” he whisper-yells. “How was Y/N?”

Hyunjin returns his hug with an even tighter one. “Thanks hyung. You composed the song after all! And sorry I came back too late.”

Chan shakes his head. “Nah, it’s fine. At some point we forgot why we were here and just started playing mafia.”

“Y/N is fine, anyways, just tired.”

“She’s always tired, isn’t she?”

“Yeah. It turns out that medical students are probably more tired than us.”

Hyunjin leads Chan to his bedroom. Each of the 00z has their own bedroom now. It’s much more convenient and they can arrange their stuff however they want to (they avoid entering Jisung’s room as much as possible), but Hyunjin misses the mess at times. The old dorm was cramped, either too hot or too cold, and way too noisy, but it was home for quite a long time.

Chan seems to be having the same thought. “We miss you kiddos sometimes,” he laughs. “But we fixed that sliding door. It closes properly now.”

“As long as Changbin hyung keeps opening it with too much force it will be broken again in no time. Trust me.”

Both of them are lying on Hyunjin’s king size bed, staring at the sideboard table he dedicates for his music show—and now, music award—trophies. “The kids don’t really say it but they’re all so proud of you. I’m proud of you. I raised you well, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, you kinda did.”

“Kinda?!”

“I’m joking.” Hyunjin scrunches his nose. “You raised all of us. We raised Jeongin. And we raised each other.”

“3racha are almost finished choosing the final songs, you have 2 weeks to relax then we’ll start production right away. Our next tour won’t start until May, so we have plenty of time to prepare everything.”

“Ohhhhh I can feel my bones breaking already. We’re getting old,” Hyunjin whines.

Chan pats his thighs, cracking his knuckles before jumping out of bed. “You’re getting old,” he teases.

“I’m glad, though. Everything finally works out the way we wanted to. I guess we can say that we’re doing well now, right?”

Chan doesn’t wait for Hyunjin to answer and leaves the room right away. The latter ponders the rhetorical question for a while, recalling the goals they have reached for the past few years. Entering the Melon chart (and staying on Top 20 for a week), having one of the most successful world tour, winning prestigious awards at prestigious music awards, 3racha getting acknowledged as the industry’s top composers, 00z winning music shows for their unit debut last year, Jeongin getting drama roles, and last but not least, Hyunjin’s successful solo debut.

Feeling nostalgic, he scrolls through his phone, looking at old photos and silly videos. Looking at the lyrics he wrote on his note app. Then he goes through @realstraykids’ posts on Instagram, from when Jeongin still had braces until tonight. The latest selcas on his own official account are still getting likes, the fans showering him with praises.

Hyunjin has ticked off everything from his wish list. He has reached every goal he set a few years ago. They are doing well. He’s doing well.

He looks at his surroundings, immersing himself in the space and peace of his room that he once craved desperately. He’s supposed to be at peace now, but his mind won’t stop buzzing, asking himself what to do next.

For the very first time, Hyunjin realizes that he’s now floating on Cloud 9. Everything is perfect, he’s living his dream life. But at the back of his head, he can hear the clock ticking, ready to push him over the edge the moment he loses his balance, watching him fall all the way to the pits of hell.

Everything is perfect, but why does his heart feel so empty?

Hyunjin’s brows furrow as he tries to catch some comments the fans are posting. When he was a rookie he couldn’t get used to how fast the comments come in, and it’s something that doesn’t quite change. Probably he got used to it at some point, but they kept gaining fans that the comment section is always extremely active.

“Hyunjin oppa,” he pronounces the words slowly. ”Spo-spoiler please!”

He lifts his head to give the viewers a secretive smile. “Nope.” He wiggles his forefinger. “You have to wait for the teasers!”

“Ohhh the comments! You guys are so excited I can’t keep up!”

More comments flood in, and Hyunjin has to press his phone screen in order to read the one comment he’s been trying to read. “Recommend me a song, please!”

“Uhhh—” He takes some time to think of the songs he’s been listening to, tapping his fingers against the surface of the table while the comments keep coming in, but this time he spots words that stab him right on his gut. With trembling hands, he lifts his phone, clicking the report button as subtle as possible. His vision grows blurry as he reports every single comment that has the word “fuck you”, “die” or “talentless” in it.

The pause has become too long and too awkward, so he stops himself from reporting more and stares at the lens. “Ah, song recommendation!” he exclaims. “I have quite a lot but thesedays I’ve been listening to 00z songs a lot. We had so much fun promoting together.”

Hyunjin feels his other phone vibrating in his pocket, probably his mother checking in. It gives him a boost of energy, and he tells his fans he’ll stay with them for 10 more minutes. “When we’re just talking like this, I’m always reminded that we’ve come so far,” Hyunjin says, a smile on his face. “It feels good to know that all of you are making time for us, for me, after your busy day. And no, I’m not sleepy. Don’t worry, everyone!”

He reads some more comments, mostly cheesy pickup lines to cheer himself up as his brain is still trying to get all the hurtful words out of his system. “Ah, I think I have to go now,” Hyunjin announces lowly. “I have to go back to practice, if not Chan hyung will barge in and drag me back to the practice room.”

“What? You want me to get scolded by Chan hyung? Why are you so mean?!”

Hyunjin ends up staying for 20 more minutes before finally ending the broadcast. Conversation with his fans is something he values a lot; it gives him strength and makes him laugh. It makes him feel loved and he wants his fans to feel the same.

But it’s equally tiring. He has to brace himself for some less-than-nice comments, sometimes they are way too severe for him to handle that the company sues all the commenters. You’ve told him over and over again that those people aren’t his fans.

Everything could’ve been worse. Hyunjin still considers himself very lucky that he has much more fans than haters. Still, he often imagines how it will feel if he has no hater at all, since he does have some friends who seem to only hear pretty words.

Hyunjin stays inside the room for a few more minutes, replying to Seungmin’s messages and assures him that he’ll be back soon. He idly plays one of their songs he hasn’t heard for years, the song that was always included in their setlist before being replaced by some other songs. Hyunjin initially thought he wouldn’t need that song anymore, but tonight, he needs it. Maybe he needs it more now than before.

After making a mental note to ask the other boys to add the song back to the concert’s setlist, Hyunjin leaves, cursing himself for taking too much time to regain his composure.

Should I stop or not? Should I give up or not?

“Hwang Hyunjin, stop coming into my room without my permission! You literally trespassed into someone else’s property!”

Hyunjin groans into his pillow, instantly regretting his decision to pick up your call at midnight. “I didn’t!”

“Don’t lie to me. You took Gureum with you!”

He takes a quick glance at the rabbit plushie he placed on top of his pillow. Last night, he did go home because Kkami (everyone calls him old man now) got a little sick. “I miiiiight have made a quick detour next door when I was about to leave.”

“You’re pathetic. You got soooooo many plushies and toys and cute headbands from fansigns and you stole my Gureum.”

“Stop guilt tripping me! I missed Gureum, okay? Why didn’t you take him to your dorm?”

Hyunjin senses your hesitation as you clear your throat. “Well, sometimes seeing Gureum only makes me miss everyone more, so I just left him at home.”

Now he feels guilty. Your parents are currently staying overseas to take care of your sick little sister. He pictures you coming to an empty home every two weeks, exhausted and not having anyone to welcome you.

“Do you want me to come over?”

“Our superstar isn’t busy?”

“I am, but I’m willing to sacrifice my precious time for my best friend.”

You scoff over the phone, but telling him to hurry up before ending the call. Hyunjin packs his clothes and toiletries, along with Gureum—his birthday present for your 11th birthday. You almost never sleep without it, yet the plushie still looks brand new.

Unable to hide his smitten smile, Hyunjin grabs his keys.

The apartment complex where Hyunjin lives has changed a lot over the years. The soccer field he used to play at is now a playground. The little bookstore you loved so much is now a bakery. Now there’s a big shopping mall right across the building. After saving up for a while, Hyunjin asked his parents whether they wanted to move to a bigger place. He kind of hoped that they wouldn’t want it because he wanted to stay close to you (although coming home is a real challenge for him). Luckily, his parents said no.

He enters your door password leisurely, recalling the time when your parents told him to take care of you.

So far, you’ve been the one taking care of him.

Hyunjin heads straight to your bedroom, opening the door and sees you curling on your bed. The mattress he sleeps on whenever he stays over is already laid on the floor.

“Gureum!” you yell when he throws the squishy rabbit to you. Hyunjin drops his bag and settles himself on the mattress, staring up at you.

“How’s your sis?”

You scoot towards the end of the bed, showing him a photo on your phone. Your sister is smiling; she looks much better than before, but still very pale and thin. “I haven’t called her,” Hyunjin admits. “But she got the albums I sent to her. Sent the ones signed by the others too. That kid loves Jisung, do you know that?”

“I got her into Jisung.”

He sits up, looking almost offended. “Your bias is Han Jisung?”

“This world doesn’t revolve around you, superstar.” You flash him a cheeky grin. “I wanted to ask you to let me go to the backstage again last tour, but I restrained myself. As your kind best friend, I shouldn’t abuse my privilege.”

“You know that he never cleans his room, right?”

You hum, “Nobody’s perfect, Jinnie.”

“Oh come on!” Hyunjin protests. “If it’s Jeongin I understand although he also never cleans his room. But Jisung? And you’re calling yourself my best friend!”

“He’s funny!” you argue. ”He has a nice voice—it’s really sexy when he raps, he dances well, he wrote all my favorite Stray Kids songs, and he actually had the balls to fight you. A real champ.”

Hyunjin rolls his eyes, making a gesture to snatch Gureum away from you. “And at the end of the day, you love him,” you add. “He makes you laugh too.”

Well, it’s a fact he can’t refute. You ask, “Do you think I should hit on him or something? Will people call me out? Does he have someone?”

“We are not having this conversation Y/N. I don’t care if both of you are my best friends, you’re not dating Han Jisung. What happened to that ‘hot senior’ Jung Jaehyun? The last time we called, you were so in love with him.”

The mention of Jaehyun’s name causes you to slump into your bed, covering yourself with your thick blanket. “I sort of blew it up,” you mumble. “He asked me on a real date and I said no.”

You seem to hit realization that’s way too late, and now you’re hollering, “I said no to Jung Jaehyun! Oh my God Hyunjin… I’m such an idiot!”

Hyunjin can’t contain his giggles. Relief washes over him; you and Jaehyun seemed rather serious and while he wished you well, the thought of you being with someone else always pains him. He knows he’s not allowed to feel that way just because you’re best friends.

Most of the times, he can’t help it.

“He’s a real gentleman and he said he was into me. ME. Everyone would throw themselves at him but he came up to me and I flat out rejected him. What the hell is wrong with me?!”

You’re rolling on your bed, whining and kicking at the air. “I tried not to think about it but… it was just a date? Even if I didn’t end up dating him at least I could tell my grandchildren that I went on a date with Jung Jaehyun!”

“Is he really that great?” Hyunjin asks, out of curiosity but laced with jealousy he hopes you can’t see. His words sound distant to his own ears, triggering his fear of losing you.

“Yeah, I guess?”

You nudge his legs when he doesn’t respond. “How about you? Everything’s fine? You don’t look happy thesedays.”

Hyunjin never lies to you. You have a full access to his heart; he lets you in on his happiest days when life feels like the shiniest summer. He also lets you in even after the messiest thunderstorm when he feels that everything is fucked up. This time, he wants to lock you out. There’s nothing to see, there’s nothing to fix.

His heart is empty—he is empty, and he wants to protect you from the bleakness of it.

“I’m fine, just been arguing with Felix and Minho hyung over the song we’ll perform. It feels too monotone for me, but they think it’s perfect,” he explains, not completely lying. “I don’t know if I’m being selfish but somehow I just can’t let it go.”

“Have you tried explaining to them? Not how you feel, but how the song is. You can always go technical, you don’t need to worry just because Minho is more experienced.”

Hyunjin sighs. “I did, but probably it’s just me.”

“Do you wanna talk things out?” You yawn, squishing Gureum into your chest. “Or do you want to just sleep?”

He glances at the clock. “We both need sleep. It’s almost 3A.M.”

“Alright. Good night—I mean good morning!”

Hyunjin stretches his neck to look at you, your eyes are already closed. He relaxes his body and tries to sleep, but his jumbled mind keeps him awake. Hyunjin waits until you’re fast asleep before scooting closer, softly taking your hand in his before closing his eyes once again. He did it a lot when he was younger, holding your hand until he fell asleep. You nagged at him because it woke you up, but you never told him to stop doing it.

Tonight is no different.

“Hyunjin?”

“Sorry.”

You turn to him, “It’s okay.”

He mumbles a thank you, ready to go to sleep when you move to the mattress. Hyunjin gulps at the close proximity, it’s been too long since you slept on the same bed as him.

“Hyunjin, I missed you.”

Hyunjin heard a theory somewhere: 3.A.M-conversations are the most honest. It’s a little over 3A.M now, and he doesn’t how much of that theory is true, but your words fuel something deep within him. The feeling so strong he has to tear his gaze away from you. Hyunjin slowly pulls you into his arms, patting your back in rhythm with the clock.

He grazes his lips on your shoulder, mouthing his reply quietly, “I missed you too.”

You nod against his chest, pulling your hand out of his grasp so you could circle your arms around his torso.

Hyunjin falls asleep almost immediately, succumbing to the warmth and comfort you radiate.

He’s going to be alright.

“Do you think I’ll ever debut?”

Hyunjin takes off his SOPA jacket, plopping onto the bed while you’re munching on a pack of jelly. “Let me sleep for 10 minutes. I have to go to the company after this.”

You slap his thigh. “Why do you always sleep in my room? If I got a dollar everytime you sabotage my bed I’d be really rich now. Get out, you have practice!”

He reaches for your knee, using it as a pillow. Hyunjin feels you soften as you card your hand through his hair. “Is it hard? Are those mean hyungs still bothering you?”

Hyunjin shakes his head. “Changbin hyung told those motherfuckers to mind their own business.”

“Stop cursing!” you hiss. “It’s not cool, and what if you accidentally curse on broadcast later? You have so much to learn…”

Hyunjin opens his eyes and smiles when he meets your gaze. “Do you think I’ll ever debut?” he repeats his question.

“Have you seen yourself dancing? You’re better than most of the trainees I saw at the open showcase. Plus you have so many girls screaming your name. No offense, but that is definitely a plus point.”

You give his head a little smack when you notice doubt flashing through his orbs. “I believe in you, Hyunjin. Don’t doubt yourself,” you tell him softly. “And if you need someone to give those ‘motherfuckers’ a lesson, just call me. I know some people who can shut them up.”

He lets out an obnoxious gasp. “Are you a gangster now?! Your parents are going to be so disappointed in you. Looks like you have to say goodbye to medical school now…”

You sigh, now it’s your turn to look at Hyunjin with doubt in your eyes. “I’ll get in, right? What if I flunk my results later?”

“This is why I hate smart people,” he bemoans. “You rank first in the whole school, stop saying nonsense.”

Both of you a few more minutes lying in silence. When he waves you goodbye, Hyunjin feels like he can soar.

He’s safe with you, and you’re safe with him.

“Hwang Hyunjin, get off me!”

Hyunjin wakes up to you trying to untangle your legs from his. He catches your flailing legs, removing his before examining your face. “It’s almost noon. Aren’t you running late?” you pester, pointing at the clock.

“Lunch?” he asks.

This is supposed to be awkward. Hyunjin can’t recall what happened a few hours ago before blushing—he’s never been that intimate with you before. You two have had a fair share of platonic cuddle sessions, but last night felt different.

“Not yet,” you mutter. “I just woke up. Oh God my back hurts.”

He wants to know whether you feel the same, but you’ve made your way to the bathroom before he could ask anything. “What do you want to eat?” you yell, almost incoherently due to the toothpaste in your mouth.

“You’re not going to shower?” Hyunjin playfully shrieks.

“It’s my day off!”

“My mom must’ve cooked something. Gimme 10 minutes.”

Although he’s done this at least a hundred times, it’s still hard for Hyunjin to leave home. Seeing his he’s never able to stop his heart getting heavier at the sight of bidding his family goodbye until God knows when.

“Please come home more Y/N,” his mother asks you, raising her eyebrow. “Hyunjin seems to randomly pop up whenever you’re here, so please, come home more.”

You smack his back loudly, causing him to let out a choked groan. “I’ll teach him a lesson, don’t worry.”

Hyunjin gives his mother a sheepish smile, knowing all too well what she meant. He pulls you out before she starts grilling him for information, yelling one last goodbye before closing the door. You search for something inside your bag, stopping him from pressing the elevator button.

“You left something?”

“My dorm key,” you answer, walking back to your own unit. “You should just go,” you say. “It’s in the middle of the day anyways, we shouldn’t be seen together.”

Hyunjin follows you inside, watching you rummage through one of the buffet drawers. He notices how your shoulders are slumped and the way your eyebrows furrow. As his mind wanders to last night once again, you jab at his stomach lightly. “Hey, you’re spacing out.”

“Oh,” is all Hyunjin can say. He takes a good look of you, something he always does before he parts ways with you. Before he can stop himself, Hyunjin has wrapped his arms around you, letting you hear his erratic heartbeat. He still misses you, even after spending the whole night together.

Eventually, you pull away. “I’ll go first.” You ruffle his head. “See you when I see you?”

“See you soon,” he corrects you.

You smile, taking your bag from the floor and when he blinks, you’re gone.

Hyunjin still misses you now, even when you were just in his embrace a few minutes ago, burying your head into the crook of his neck. The empty space in his heart seems to expand whenever he thinks about you.

It hurts.

Minho ends the dance practice and everyone collapses on the floor the moment the music stops playing. Hyunjin immediately restarts the discussion they had before practice started.

“We used to sing both Grow Up and You Can Stay, why do we have to choose one now?” he demands while all of them are sprawled on the floor. “Our fans miss it too, I think it’s the perfect chance to bring it back.”

Chan takes a deep breath, nodding at Hyunjin. “I can’t see why not,” he says with a chuckle. “I don’t even remember why we abandoned it in the first place.”

Hyunjin does, and he knows Chan does too. It was simple, really. The song that once gave them comfort turned into this big monster made out of their worst nightmares. Each member had cried to the song during some of their concerts, and now performing it in front of everyone always brings back the painful memories.

“Yeah, we should sing it again,” Felix adds, kicking Jisung’s leg so the latter would sit up and voice out his opinion. “Well.” Jisung scratches the back of his head, “I’m cool with it.”

The rest of the group mumbles similar answers and Chan claps, giving Hyunjin a thumbs up. “Hyunjinnie is all grown up,” he praises before gathering his things and leaves. Hyunjin snorts at the leader’s compliment, but his sparkly eyes can’t fool anyone.

He pulls out his phone to relay the happy news to you, but the sparks in his eyes quickly fade when his messages from hours ago are still unread.

“What time are we leaving tomorrow?” he asks.

Seungmin checks his phone. “5A.M.”

Hyunjin wipes his sweat, chugging his water. Their American tour starts in a few days, and while he’s ecstatic because they’ll be performing at LA Staples Center for the first time, he also feels uneasy.

He takes out his phone, opening his contacts and stops when he sees your name. He stares at the number he remembers by heart.

“You okay?” Seungmin asks. “If you’re worried about District 9’s formation change, don’t. You nailed it today.”

“District 9…” Hyunjin trails off. “We’re getting too old for District 9.”

Jeongin grunts in agreement. “Whenever we finish my head always spins for like a minute. It’s been too long.”

“Yah,” Seungmin scolds him. “You need to get it checked. What if there’s something wrong with your head?”

The youngest does an exaggerated head banging, earning a kick from the puppy-like boy. Hyunjin chuckles at the two’s antics; some things never really change, and he’s grateful that this is one of those things.

Seungmin throws a playful punch at Jeongin’s stomach one last time before focusing his gaze back on Hyunjin. “Seriously though, did something happen?”

Hyunjin’s brain has a lot of template answers to questions like this, but the cliché words on tip of his tongue feel burning. His friends wait patiently as he fumbles for words, blinking his tears away when he fails to find the right words.

“I don’t even know if there’s anything,” he finally concludes. “It’s just—ever since Bonsang, it’s been hard. It’s been… nothing. Empty.”

Seungmin and Jeongin only nod, as if they understand how he feels. They probably do, Hyunjin thinks. Maybe he’s not the only one. Maybe all of his members have experienced it at some point, although at different times. Hyunjin feels slightly relieved at the thought. I’m not insane.

When he was a trainee, he thought everything would be fine once he debuted. It was, to some extent. But he was young and naïve, and when things beyond his control happened, Hyunjin barely managed to stay afloat. People told him how to handle stress, how to voice out his concerns, how to manage his body, mind and soul. He knew how to survive, theoretically.

No one actually taught him nor the other boys, and for an 18 year-old boy, feelings got intense quickly. After some trials and errors, everyone figured that it was best not to bottle up their feelings. Once again, it sounded easy in theory. In reality, with so many things happening at once, most of them eventually created a space in their own heads to seal everything in. They endured.

Jeongin looks at him with hesitation, rubbing his hands together. “It happens,” he reassures him. “It’s okay to worry about it, hyung. But worry about it with me, please!” Jeongin raises his tone. “You can barge into my room anytime. You can annoy the hell out of me, but stop suffering alone, will you?!”

Seungmin can’t miss the chance to tease the maknae. “Says the one who cried alone all night long in the bathtub after losing his voice.”

“If I hadn’t found you, you would’ve passed out,” Hyunjin adds. Jeongin lifts his hands in defeat. “Whatever. But I meant what I said.”

“Our Jeongin is so dependable,” Hyunjin coos.

“You say that all the time.” Jeongin rolls his eyes. “And then still baby me.”

Seungmin takes Hyunjin’s phone from the floor, passing it to the owner. “Call Y/N.”

Hyunjin panics a little. “Why?”

Seungmin shrugs. “Better days start after meeting the person you want to see the most!”

“Speaking of you and Y/N,” Jeongin quips. “You guys aren’t in high school anymore, stop flirting with each other and date already.”

Hyunjin gets a surge of bravery and dials your number, but immediately regrets his decision with each passing minute. He almost ends the call when you finally answer. “Hyunjin?”

“H-hi,” he stammers. “Busy?”

“Kind of... What? What happened?”

“Can we meet? I only need a couple of minutes. You’re in Seoul, right?”

“I am. Hyunjin, what’s going on? You’re scaring me.”

It’s scaring me too.

“I want to tell you in person. Where are you? I’ll come to you.”

Hyunjin isn’t sure when the lines between best friends and something more started to get blurry. The worse thing is, he realized it way too late and things got complicated before he could do anything about it.

“It’s too late to back out,” he mouths to himself while opening the stairwell door in the hospital you’re currently at. You’re sitting on one of the steps, dozing off as your head hits the wall every now and then.

Hyunjin runs his hand through his hair, guilt consuming him. He sits beside you, pulling your head to his right shoulder. The two of you always attended the same school until high school, when he decided to enroll in SOPA instead of a regular school. Since then, he never really knows what’s going on in your life. You told him about your close friends, the small fights, medical students’ inside jokes, the good looking boys, all the knowledge and experiences you’re grateful for despite the never-ending suffering and constant lack of sleep. You told him everything, but he’s never actually seen you in your world.

You’ve seen enough of his world—you’ve gone to his concerts, awards shows, even fansigns (as a prank because you wanted to see him getting all flustered while pretending not to know you). Hyunjin never has the time or makes an effort to do the same, and while it’s completely understandable due to the nature of his job, he feels like he’s going to lose you.

As he brushes your hair out of your face, Hyunjin asks himself whether he’s good enough for you.

“Whoa,” you suddenly whisper, straightening your body. “Did I fall asleep?”

Hyunjin stops you from getting up. “You must be tired.”

“So are you.” You remove his hand from your head. “So tell me. What’s going on?”

You’re here, sitting beside him, only wanting truth to come out of his mouth. Hyunjin bites his lip, the urge to just let go is eating him up, his soul begging him to get some answers. The familiar hollowness is back, and tears start to roll down his cheeks.

This isn’t the first time he cries in front of you, so you just pat his head, waiting for the tears to stop. “I’m sorry,” he groans. “I’m so sorry Y/N.”

You lift his head, eyes looking straight into his. “What for?” you mutter. “Hyunjin, please tell me.”

Hyunjin makes a silent plead at himself to toughen up, but it’s hard when you’re staring at him like this, wide eyes filled with raw concern and sincerity that never fail to touch the deepest part of his heart. “Hmm?” you prompt, still patting his head ever so softly.

“It’s been hard,” Hyunjin sniffles. “It’s hard to look forward to the future. I feel restless all the time. I have nothing to fight for. It’s…,” He makes gestures with his hand in attempt to explain it better. “… empty.”

You wipe his tears with the sleeve of your white coat. “Do you know why you feel that way?”

Hyunjin nods. “We’re doing well, we really are… and that’s probably why. Everything is going too well I don’t know what thrills me anymore. I thought I’d feel content once I reached all of my dreams, but that’s not the case.”

He examines your face, rehearsing the next lines in his head again and again. You cock an eyebrow, encouraging him to continue. And the last bit of Hyunjin’s defense crumbles with every blink of your pretty eyes.

“And you… I miss you all the time. Even when you’re right here with me, I still miss you. I have to hold back whenever I’m with you because I don’t want you to run away from me. I love you, Y/N. I don’t know when it all started but maybe I’ve always loved you and it hurts me not being able to tell you that. The emptiness… it gets worse whenever you tell me we shouldn’t be seen together or that you have to go or when you have other boys like Jaehyun who are clearly better for you than I am because they can be there for you. I love you so bad you don’t know how hard it is to go through days without you, without kissing you good night, without hearing you laugh for me. I keep thinking, ‘what if you’re suddenly gone?’ Maybe you’ll leave me someday, maybe you’ll tell me that you can’t be my friend anymore, but I need you, Y/N. I love you and I need you here with me to keep going. I—”

Hyunjin watches you slowly—very slowly—retract your hand from his head as words fail him, and he feels as if his guts are being hammered to pieces. He can’t read your eyes, can’t even try to define what your gaze means.

You eventually stand up, pulling him up with you. “I’m not the answer, Hyunjin,” you mutter. “You can’t expect that you’ll never feel empty again once I say that I accept your feelings. It’s just—it’s not fair. This isn’t just about us not being together.”

“But—”

“I know,” you cut him off, your body start shaking due to all the tension. “I know. That’s how you feel, and I can’t dictate you what to feel and not to feel. Think about it like this…”

You pause to check if he’s still listening to you. He nods, weakly.

“… you spent years working your ass off to get recognition from everyone, and you did it. Don’t ever forget that, I’m begging you. So all of your dreams have come true and you feel lost now… it’s okay. You have a lot of time, Hyunjin. You can always have a new dream, you can have a thousand more. Don’t make me the answer to everything just because you haven’t found any other answer.”

You wait for him to respond, but Hyunjin is frozen to his spot. His world is now upside down, and he doesn’t know how long it will take to fix everything.

Your phone rings, snapping him out of his trance. You look at him apologetically. “I have to go.” Those damn words again. “Ask Seungmin to help you ice your face, you don’t want to show up at the airport with swollen eyes, do you? Call me before you take off, okay? Hyunjin?”

He can only nod, trying his best to give you the most reassuring smile. He feels everything all at once: shock, shame, sadness… but mostly regret because you’re right.

You always are.

“Have fun on tour! Send me all the photos you take!”

Now it’s turn for Hyunjin’s phone to ring as you make your way out, leaving him alone. He’s about to press the green button when the door opens once again. Hyunjin lets his phone ring, watching you fidget with your hands.

He’s still pretty much tongue-tied, but forces himself to ask, “Did you ever… love me? As more than friends?”

To his surprise, you take quick steps towards him, tiptoeing to press your lips on his. Your eyes are closed, your hands are tied to your sides and it takes Hyunjin his whole willpower to refrain himself from pulling your body closer, wrapping his arms around you and kissing the life out of you. He closes his eyes and just stands there, accepting whatever you’re willing to give him because there’s nothing he yearns more than your love and trust.

Hyunjin almost whines when you pull away with red cheeks and teary eyes. “Come back to me when you’re ready. I’ll wait for you. Only you.”

It’s Hyunjin’s 10th (or 11th? He can’t really remember) visit to New York, but he’s still as excited as a kid with his lollipop. After years of traveling from country to country, Hyunjin realizes that he just doesn’t get bored, ever. Each place holds a special memory he keeps close to his heart, something sentimental that motivates him to go back every chance he gets.

“Stand there,” he motions at Seungmin—the only one who’s willing to accompany him walking around the Empire State Building for the nth time—to stand at the spot he points at. Seungmin follows his instruction, smiling when Hyunjin starts counting. They examine the result and Seungmin shoves his leg. “I guess you finally learned something.”

Hyunjin feigns hurt, setting his camera’s focus on a group of kids, holding his breath before pressing the shutter. “As if you taught me anything.”

He glances at his bandmate who’s busy taking photos with his own camera. Photo hunting with Seungmin is always in Hyunjin’s “limited free time” itinerary. They’ve strolled around so many cities together, sometimes it takes the whole day if time allows them. Strangely, Seungmin never gets bored of it either and although it’s no surprise since he loves photography more than anything else, Hyunjin is grateful.

“You never say no whenever I ask you to take photos with me,” Hyunjin states. “Why?”

Seungmin frowns. “What kind of question is that?”

“Just wondering,” Hyunjin mumbles. “We do pretty much the same thing everytime. Sometimes I force you to go to the places we’ve been to… don’t you get bored?”

“It’s always different everytime, I thought that’s why sometimes you take photos at the same place? It’s never exactly the same, don’t you think?”

Hyunjin goes through the photos he took in New York last year, smiling at some of them as he recalls the funny anecdotes behind them. When he slips his phone back into his jeans pocket and lets his eyes wander… yes, nothing is exactly the same.

“You truly are a photographer. When’s your next exhibition, Photographer Kim?”

Seungmin snaps his finger. “Ah! Exhibition! I forgot to ask you, why don’t we held a joint exhibition this time?”

“You want to show your photos along with my photos?”

“Why not? Yours are amazing too! And you’re my best friend, it’ll be fun.”

Hyunjin imagines having his photo framed on the wall. Small placards pinned underneath, containing the words he constructs to explain each of them. The fans will come to feel how it feels like to be here behind the lens. Maybe people who don’t even know him will come too, and get a chance to actually know him.

He reaches his phone to relay the idea to you, smiling to himself when he finds messages from you instead.

y/n: [sends a picture]

y/n: ahreum finally woke up today! isnt she pretty?

me: everyone is prettier than you

me: you must be happy!!

y/n: ??????

y/n: oh. she asked me to recommend boygroup songs

y/n: i made her listen to every single skz song

y/n: and your solo songs!!!!

me: awwwwwww

me: and you cant be doing this for free right?

“Is that your best friend slash girlfriend?” Seungmin is suddenly standing behind him, reading over his shoulder. “You guys are so cute it’s making me feel sick.”

Hyunjin sighs, gazing at the busy street upon him. “We’re not dating. At least not yet.”

“What happened? Just realized that I never really asked.”

“She asked me to come to her when I’m ready.”

Seungmin looks at him quizzically, but decides not to press him further. “Are you ready now?”

They’re flying back to Seoul next week, and while he thought he wouldn’t be able to enjoy the tour, he truly did. He thinks of all the good things that have happened: the sold out shows, the happy tears, his improvement, the upcoming exhibition with Seungmin, and lastly, you—the one who’s patiently waiting for him.

There have been a lot of times when Hyunjin feels like he’s everywhere but nowhere at the same time. It sounds scary, but now he realizes that he only needs to admit that he’s indeed everywhere, but never nowhere.

“Almost.”

The instrumental of Grow Up starts to play and all the boys rush back to their designated positions. The atmosphere turns a bit more sentimental as the bridge approaches, they’re just looking at each other while Minho is singing his part. In the past, they often teased each other during this very part, afraid that they would break down if they let their emotions overtake them. Hyunjin averts his gaze to the audience, watching the beautiful color of their lightsticks light up the huge stadium. As he gestures at some of the fans to stop crying, Hyunjin thanks himself for convincing the others to add the song back to their setlist.

The song comes to an end, and Chan gathers everyone to make a circle. Hyunjin feels pats on his head and back, Chan’s voice drowned by the fans who are still singing. He can’t resist the urge to turn around, so he does just that, and what he won’t trade what he sees for anything.

Their fans are standing there, eyes focused on everyone on stage as they sing each syllable perfectly. Changbin follows his gaze, and soon all of them are facing the audience again, listening to every wish, every hope, and every message relayed through the lyrics of the song.

Hyunjin lifts his mic, eyes darting to Chan who gives him a nod of approval. “Thank you,” he begins. “This is our last stop for this tour, and I can’t be any prouder and thankful to all of you.”

He lets the translator translate his speech before continuing, “I had a lot of worries before the tour started. I honestly thought I wouldn’t be able to go through everything.”

“You made our dreams come true,” Hyunjin continues. “You made my dreams come true and I naively thought that was the end of everything. But I learned a lot during this tour, and once again, you made this happen. All the pretty words you told us, they mean a lot. They always will. I realized that this will always be my dream, no matter how many times this has come true. I want to make you, who stay with us throughout everything, happy. I want to be here for a very long time. I want to be with you, to be with the members and our family, for a very long time.”

He stops when he feels he can’t continue anymore, letting the others take the spotlight. He gives each of his bandmates with a loving gaze, stopping at Minho who lets tears roll down his cheeks this time. Jeongin is giggling beside him, walking over to wrap the tsundere hyung in a firm hug.

Hyunjin thinks they’ve really come a long way.

Being back home usually gives Hyunjin a peace of mind, but when he sees no notification on his phone, he feels weird. He dials his mother’s number, his heart grows even more anxious when she picks up.

“Oh Hyunjin-ah, did you just land?”

“Yeah.”

“Can you come over here? Or do you have an important schedule?”

“No, we get 2 days off. What’s going on?”

“Y/N’s sister passed away. Sorry we didn’t tell you sooner, we didn’t want you to panic.”

“Eomma! How could you?”

“I’m sorry. This is Y/N’s request as well. She’s been here for 2 days and no one can make her eat anything. Can you take her home?”

“I’ll be there soon.”

“You’re going to live in Germany! You’re such a lucky kid!”

The little girl smiles bashfully as you pout at her. “The luckiest girl on Earth,” you add, fixing her messy hair.

“If you’re so jealous of me, why don’t you come along?”

“Are you kidding?” you exclaim. “I’m on my way to be the greatest doctor in this country. You can’t change my mind.”

“Alright, it’s time to go,” your father interrupts, giving you one last hug before whispering things into your ear. Hyunjin steps back to allow you say goodbye to your family, tearing up at the painful sight. Your father, a doctor, accepts an offer to work in a hospital in Germany and takes the whole family with him since your sick little sister needs more intensive treatment.

But you’re staying to become a great doctor like your father, hoping you’ll get a chance to cure your sister later.

“Please take care of her, Hyunjin. We trust you,” your mother tells him. Hyunjin nods, enveloping your hand in his. “Don’t worry, I’ll be here monitoring her every move and drag her back home whenever she spends too much time at the academy.”

Your sister laughs, bowing to Hyunjin. “I also want a boyfriend like Hyunjinoppa! Please take care of our unnie.”

You yank your hand away from him. “He’s not my boyfriend!”

Hyunjin seems unbothered by your statement, bowing to your family to annoy you more. “Our family will take care of her, you can trust us.”

Your sister’s smiling face greets Hyunjin as he enters the funeral home. He stares at the photo then closes his eyes to pray, whispering strings of apologies that’s always too late. I’m sorry I never visited you. I’m sorry I failed to take care of your sister. I’m sorry I didn’t call you enough.

He bows to your family, the first bow since years ago, and he wishes he could turn back time. Hyunjin turns to you, gazing into your tired eyes. Your mother pulls him towards you. “She hasn’t eaten at all. Can you please bring her home, Hyunjin? I hope you’re not too busy. I’m sorry that we meet like this.”

“Hyunjin just landed in Seoul. How could you force him to come here?” you snap, returning his gaze. “Go home. I’ll call you later.”

Hyunjin almost yells in frustration, but swallows everything before dragging you out, only tightening his grip on your wrist when you try to pry his hand off of you. You keep shouting at him, yelling at him to stop, but Hyunjin doesn’t budge. He drags you all the way to his car, opening the passenger door for you.

“Get in the car, Y/N.”

Without waiting for you to move, he lifts your body and sits you down, fastening your seatbelt. “Please don’t push me away,” he pleads. “Why do you always tell me go home, go back to practice, to leave… why?! I promised your parents to take care of you. I promised your sister, why aren’t you letting me do that?!”

“I never asked you to do that,” you mutter through gritted teeth, causing Hyunjin to grip your shoulders.

“You only said that to hurt me,” he replies. “Even now you’re still trying to push me away. I want to be here Y/N. Don’t you want me here?”

You avoid his eyes, keeping your gaze on your clasped hands. “Tell me,” Hyunjin challenges. “Tell me that you don’t want me to stay with you, and I’ll leave.”

He waits for you to respond, letting out a relieved sigh he doesn’t bother hiding when you shake your head. “Want you here. Thank you.”

“Have you cried?”

After your sister was born, you were told not to shed tears in front of her. Your parents always scolded you if you started crying when you saw her in pain, and after some time, it became a habit. A habit that Hyunjin absolutely despises since it makes you suppress your feelings, as if punishing you for having feelings.

“I don’t know… maybe I haven’t.”

“You lost your sister, you can cry. Your parents cried a lot too, it’s fine.”

You nod, resting your head in the crook of his neck when tears start to well up. Hyunjin presses a kiss on your temple, finding himself tearing up the moment you start sobbing, something he has never witnessed although he’s known you for almost his whole life.

“Is this your Armani suit?” you manage to voice in the middle of sobs and snorts. He takes you into his embrace, chuckling, “Yes, but you can ruin it however you want. Another privilege as my best friend.”

“Can I abuse this privilege?”

“Ruining my expensive suits?”

“No,” you laugh airily. “Crying when you’re with me.”

Hyunjin cups your wet cheeks, gently pushing your hands away when you want to wipe your tears away. “Anytime. You can cry, laugh, curse, get angry, get drunk… you can do anything when you’re with me.”

And that’s all it takes before you start sobbing into his suit again. Hyunjin is standing there for the longest time, sandwiched by the passenger seat and door of his car with you in his arms. He doesn’t care, he will do it all over again, and he will do much more. For you, and only you.

“Where are you? It’s past midnight already!”

“Hwang Hyunjin, you’re lucky I’m willing to go home when I have a morning shift tomorrow,” you scold him over the phone.

“It’s my birthday! Wait, it isn’t even my birthday anymore!” he whines in an obnoxious tone that never fails to upset you. He giggles when he hears you huff, the sound of the elevator signaling that you’ve already arrived.

“You asked me to buy you a cake right before I left,” you hiss. “Now open the door, I’m outside.”

The call ends and Hyunjin rushes to the door. You’re carrying the red velvet cake he requested, the candles already lit and Hyunjin tries not to melt at the way you look at him. He did ask you to buy him a cake and “surprise” him at your apartment, but he is nowhere near ready to see you like this: all smiley and cheery for him despite sounding annoyed over the phone.

“Happy birthday,” you sing song, your smile growing wider as he blows the candle. Hyunjin returns your smile before taking the cake from you, pulling you towards your room. “Go get changed, I’ll slice the cake for you.”

A few minutes later, both of you are seated on your couch, talking about every little thing while enjoying the cake. Hyunjin tells you about Stray Kids’ upcoming comeback, a very special one since Minho choreographed the title track. You tell him about various cases that happened in the hospital while wondering if you’ll ever finish medical school and actually be a doctor.

Everything feels the way Hyunjin expects it to be, until you put your empty plate on the table and look at him straight in the eyes. “Hyunjin…”

He quickly swallows and places his plate on the table as well, never breaking eye contact with you. “What?”

You gulp. “Do you remember when I asked you to come find me when you’re ready?”

“Feels like yesterday.”

“Well,” you murmur. “I’m just wondering if you’re… ready.”

Fire lights up in his stomach, and before you can continue, Hyunjin is already trapping you between his body and the couch. “I am,” he says. “Are you?”

You brush his fringe with your fingers. “You were waiting for me?”

“You told me to start dreaming again, so I did,” Hyunjin recalls. “And I realized that all of my dreams are right in front of me—you, my family, the hyungs, Jeongin, the fans… keeping you guys with me is something I’ll always dream of although all of you are already here.”

You pout at him, but Hyunjin doesn’t miss the proud gleam in your eyes. “Then what’s taking you so long?”

He pinches your nose. “I waited for you to be ready, as you said before, it wasn’t just about us being together. I don’t want you to choose me only because you feel like you need me. I want you to… want me… to love me with a clear head. Just like what you wanted me to do. I want to give you the world, but only if you allow me to.”

You circle your arms around his neck, sighing happily, “You gave me the world, Hyunjin. You listen to me, you console me, you give me a shoulder to cry on. You’re the only one I’ve ever waited for, and I’m so glad that you came back to me.”

Hyunjin is sure that his whole system has stopped working, the words you just uttered feel like the strongest, yet the sweetest liquor he’s ever tasted. He is drunk on the love you offer; he’s drunk on your touch, your smile and everything you want to give him. You’re driving him nuts, completely nuts, but it’s the only thing he wants to feel. You are the only one he yearns to feel.

You seem to sense his burning gaze and start nibbling on your bottom lip. “So this is the part where you kiss me…”

“This is the part where I kiss you…”

You shake your head. “This feels weird. You’re my best friend.”

“You kissed me,” Hyunjin reminds you. “It’s not like we’ve never done it before.”

“No, but—” You pause to let yourself breathe. “I kissed you. This is different, I’m not going to survive you kissing me.”

“For the love of God Y/N, just—”

You point at your lips. “And I still have my lipgloss on!”

Hyunjin is caressing your reddening cheek now, trying to destroy the last bit of your defense. “And what’s wrong with that?” he asks softly.

“It’s sticky! Our lips will get stuck and it won’t be romantic.”

“So what do you want to do? Go into your room and wipe it off with a cotton pad or something?”

“Yeah, let’s do—”

Hyunjin doesn’t let you finish as he finally dives in, capturing your lips in a searing kiss that set both of you on fire. He hums when he feels your body relax in his hold, allowing him to savor you with so much longing and want. Hyunjin lets his heart take the lead, kissing you harder whenever you tug the ends of his hair and making him putty under your touch. It never feels enough, it feels like he only gets hungrier everytime you return his kiss, the feeling of your lips moving against his almost destroys him.

Nothing is stopping him now, he came back to you and you welcomed him with open arms. Hyunjin leaves one more open mouthed kiss on your lips before pulling away with a loud pop, taking in the sight of you trying to breathe. You slowly meet his eyes with flushed cheeks, eyes mirroring his own and Hyunjin tries to remember every single detail. “God I love you so much,” he hears himself whisper.

You smile, lifting your hand to trace his face delicately. “I love you.”

“Are you mine now?” Hyunjin knows this is childish, but he wants to hear it. He longs to hear it.

Thankfully, you’re willing to play his game tonight. “Only yours.”

“No more mourning over Jung Jaehyun?”

“Jesus Christ, do you need to stoop that low.”

“Yes.” Hyunjin pecks your nose. “He doesn’t listen to K-pop, right? Introduce him to me.”

You roll your eyes. “I love you, why the hell are we talking about Jaehyun now?”

“Then what should we talk about?”

“Since we’re on a competition to ruin the mood, lemme burst your bubble: my parents are moving back in next week so we need another place to do... this.”

“Okay,” Hyunjin answers. “What are we gonna do now?”

You wrap your legs around his torso, making him gasp. “I don’t know, kiss me again? I’m gonna tell you this just once, but I, along with thousands of other people, have always wanted to kiss you. It made me feel pathetic, but it is what it is.”

Hyunjin blushes, but refuses to lose to you. “You tried to make me not kiss you a few minutes ago and now you’re desperate to kiss me. Was I that good?”

“Hmmm I guess so,” you hum.

He swiftly lifts your body, grinning when you tighten your hold around his neck. “Well, I’m yours to kiss now,” he teases, trying to walk into room without knocking into things. You leave soft kisses all over his face, prompting Hyunjin to walk faster so he could just kiss you already.

When your back hit your bed, Hyunjin stops to admire your face. “I kissed you a long time ago, don’t you remember?”

Your eyes widen. “You? Kissed me? With those plush lips? When?!”

“You don’t remember? But it was our first kiss!”

You spend the next few minutes racking your brain before nodding. “Ah, it did happen a long time ago.”

“It’s okay, maybe you wanted to forget that moment. It was your darkest time, and I probably shouldn’t have done that.”

Shaking your head, you run your thumb along his lip. “Thank you for staying with me all these years.”

Hyunjin closes the gap between you once again, hoping to chase away all the sorrow inside your soul. You pull him closer, making him practically lying on top of you, feeling your chest rise with each touch of his lips on your skin. “Thank you,” a kiss on each of your eye, “for,” a kiss on the tip of your nose, “making me,” a kiss on your lips—this time he lets it linger, “dream,” a kiss on your chin, “again,” and a kiss on your neck.

It took Hyunjin so long to understand the world, and now he still hasn’t understood even half of it. But in the middle of his journey, he met you. He learned to dream, he learned to love you.

And he learned to love himself.

The door opens with a bang, revealing an incredibly panicked Hyunjin. He just finished training when he received a call from you, who said nothing but, “I won’t let you walk home alone.” You wouldn’t end the call throughout his way home, but refused to say anything else and almost making Hyunjin dash to the police station.

Hyunjin sees your shadow, letting out a small scream when he spots you lying on the floor in the dark. He runs to you, about to carry you back into your room when you stop him. “I feel like crying,” you rasp, choking on your saliva. “I can’t stop it.”

It’s been a month since your family left, and while you’re trying your best to be a big girl and live the way you always do, it’s not easy. Hyunjin lies beside you, eyes locked on the tears rolling down your cheeks. You never cry loudly. You never sob nor wail. You just cry silently, mostly in the dark so you can’t see yourself crying.

Hyunjin takes your hand in his, hovering over you before tracing your tears with his lips as if it can stop them. He pecks every wet spot, slowly getting to your lips. He leaves a chaste, barely-there kiss before wrapping his arms around you, whispering comforting things until you start falling asleep on the hard floor.

Hyunjin hopes you’ll allow yourself to cry however you wish to someday.

a/n: i was so happy writing this that i almost cried when i finished because i know i’m going to miss writing this one. this story feels so sentimental, happy and sad at the same time and probably that’s why i feel so attached to it. ive wanted to write this since last year, even before “give my heart a chance”. i always wondered what would happen after we reach our dreams and i hope you’ll feel a little better after reading this (especially if you’re experiencing the same thing). this story is a long journey, but i hope you’ll enjoy it. 

[sturlsons]

one anon sent me an ask about if all of my fic locations were based on real life locations but i deleted it like a dumbass so i’m sending it to myself

secret i do this all the time when i accidentally delete shit bc i’m actually really good at remembering the exact wording of asks but it’s 8 AM so

HI. so okay, most of the locations i refer to in fic are based at least loosely off places i’ve been to in real life. i’m assuming you’re talking about things like bars and restaurants etc ofc. 

in petersburg - the whole thing is set in stras so Every. single thing is real. eren and armin’s apartment is based off an apartment down the street from where i used to live, though i barely describe it. it’s near the main station. (i don’t usually describe living spaces a lot. tbh i barely describe anything i’m very curious about ur question actually.) jean’s apartment is near gallia and based off the ex-apartment that my friends oscar and hernan used to share. i wrote some scenes while getting trashed at theirs. the boat bar in which jean calls eren shorty and ymir is like, serving tequila or something, is barco latino. it used to be off the quais of gallia but it’s at rivetoile now. the cathedral is, well, the cathedral. the cafe is based off a now-closed cafe next to our physics institute. 

jaywalkers - so funnily enough, the Iconic vertigo and le petit whatever are actually just built from scratch. vertigo gets its name from an actual club called vertigo in grenoble that i either never went to or have no memory of going - it’s just special to me because my first real night out, this girl i met kept saying we should go there because it’s lit. le petit bum is possibly lowkey based off this chain of cafés we have in india called café coffee day, because those are really cozy if you ignore the demanding indian metropolis sprawling outside. very warm colours, couches, all that. but yeah. also, i know it’s impossible basically anywhere let alone metropolitan japan but in my head le petit cube is just that. a cube. like. this cafe in the middle of a parking lot kinda thing, not attached to any other building or anything. improbable? yes. but what are u gonna do. kill me. ANYWAY all this to say that jaywalkers which is like arguably my Biggest Thing is actually not based off anything, it was funny enough that i had to mention it here. that being said the library tsukki studies in is based off the library of my faculty. 

heretic - tsukki’s apartment is based off the apartment of the architect who designed my house in india. kuroo’s place is designed after the first apartment i have a memory of, from my childhood, where i lived for about three or four years. funnily enough, every time i imagine an apartment for kuroo and tsukki, it ends up being that one. the apartment in ephemerides, the one they used to share in moonfall, and even the one they’ll own later in jaywalkers. anyway. the club in heretic is based off this random club i went to in prague when i was trashed. don’t ask me the name, i don’t even know how i was standing on two legs at that point. 

s;b - oooh so AGAIN, my childhood apartment. jimin and jk’s place is based off it. i think there’s something about the design that just made so much sense to me. taehyung’s penthouse is imaginary i’ve never been to a penthouse lel. gd and tabi’s mansion is based off our country house in the woods of south gujarat. taejin’s engagement thing hotel is real. kibum and CL’s club is like a much larger version of a bar we have in stras called le 21. blue lights, very chic, etc. boongi’s club is based off this place in grenoble called the phoenix, but like, smaller and greener lel. 

11:58:30 - suho’s place is based off someone’s country house but i cannot remember who, definitely somewhere in india. we’ve got chemistry is one hundred percent our chemistry faculty’s bar. 

buttergingers - FUCK i meant fingers but that’s funny i’ll keep it. seokjin’s is based off a cafe we have in stras called oh my goodness. soooo fucking cute. 

poppy seeds - vmin’s apartment is based off my ex’s apartment, minus the fact that q and his roomies were. Special and had a collection of stolen street signs, a giant traffic cone that they use to gather bottle caps, and also one metal horse pogo kinda thing that they stole from a playground. so none of that. but definitely the apartment. same-ish apartment used for that hopekook fic where jungkook’s a giant theatre nerd. i basically default to this apartment for all extreme party situations in fic bc that’s what we still do when we go there. he lives with two girls now so it’s much more Sensible but that apartment is HAUNTED. anyway. that board game singing kinda cafe they go to is a combination of two of my favourite places in grenoble, kfee des jeux and brown’s which has since closed down. biggest tragedy of my life. 

that namjin indie cafe fic - so seokjin’s cafe is just a tiny generic indie cafe but namjoon’s cafe is based off this like place in stras that has since closed down/switched owners so the decor is nothing like it, but basically this place was a front for a secret bar like it’d always be empty and you’d go to the bouncer like table for 3 and he’ll look you in the eyes like We’re Full Sorry and you’re like what. i actually did that 4 times before i found out it’s a secret bar and you have to like waggle your eyebrows and go table for 3 UPSTAIRS and they let you up the stairs and you can enter if you figure out 1) where the door is 2) how to open it. fun times. it’s a great bar, it’s called moonshiners. BEST. COCKTAILS. EVER. 

rockstar fic - ehhh. the system is based off a bar in stras called delirium. i actually fucking hate delirium lel you can barely hear yourself bc it’s so huge and filled w ppl talking. they serve you piña coladas in coconut shells though and there’s this bartender called martin or marvin or MATHIEU THAT’S IT who will give you haribo if you ask nicely. the hotel they stay at is based off the hyatt at jeju. i mean it IS the hyatt. i just didn’t mention it bc like that’s whatever. kth’s studio is based off that one really cozy studio that coke studio pakistan often films in. i think it’s in laage re nain by ayesha something. also JIMMY’S. based off jimmy’s bar in strasbourg. beautiful. i lived practically across from it until last week, just moved. but i’m only 2 minutes further i literally moved like 500m away, life is good.

tuesday wednesday - ok so nothing special here but like their first Battle Moment on campus is definitely on my campus. in general if i vaguely mention Campus™ somewhere outside jaywalkers, you can rest assured that i mean EXACTLY this area: 

SO YES THERE YOU HAVE IT. now as a bonus for Big Boy it’s based in seoul (which i haven’t been to) but for the most part in paris (which i have been to and like lived in) and for The Most part the louvre. bonus appearances from moscow, st petersburg, new york, tokyo, and singapore. taehyung’s apartment is.........hilariously based on the apartment i just moved to. it’s hilarious because when i started writing (it opens at his apartment) i.....hadn’t seen this apartment yet? but i visualised it perfectly and when i saw it irl i was like oh it’s you. so fun times. 

[dirtdiggersanddinosaurs]

It’s not the greatest feeling knowing your birthday will fall while you are still locked down, I of all people should know as I saw my big 40th birthday plans crumble before my eyes. But as an adult we deal with the disappointment knowing that it’s a small sacrifice to make to keep our loved ones safe. However, I wasn’t so sure Stanley would be quite as understanding as he’d been looking forward to his 6th birthday since, well since the day after his 5th!

We’ve always had a ‘birthday tea’ at home to celebrate any birthday and the boys have always chosen their cake theme for me to try and create…so luckily no major changes there. But, we usually book a special day out, a mini break or a visit to an attraction too. No such luck this year! Add in the fact that extended family and friends can’t visit and I was tasked with still making Stanley’s birthday special from home. It had been James’s 3rd birthday in February and a visit to Cadbury World and partying with Nana at a family rave was very fresh in everyone’s minds, especially Stanley’s. So no pressure at all then!

I asked Stanley what he would like to do if Coronavirus didn’t exist, and he said:

I would like to go to the seaside, one with the games and the bit that goes out over the sea that you can walk on, and has the crocodile with the sausages!

Bless him! I assumed he didn’t mean the coast of Northern Australia, but rather a humble UK resort where Punch & Judy usually reside. I was determined to make that happen for him one way or another!

Oh, We Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside!

We don’t have a garden as such, but we recently did a yard makeover (read about that here) so I had a little more room to play with. All I needed was some good weather – ha ha yes, I know! As it happened we dropped lucky and it was beautiful on the day, but fully prepared for a UK summer I had an emergency canopy backup plan too.

Oh we do like to be beside the seaside!

In order to bring the seaside to Stanley I first wrote down all the things that we love about it. Then I found a carnival type font online, printed a few copies of the alphabet and crafted my own ‘signposts’

Handmade signs

The Beach

Yes, it’s an obvious one but essential really. I ordered 3 bags of play sand to be delivered and found some blue tarpaulin in the shed that would serve two purposes, to stop the sand from spreading too far and to give the illusion of the sea.

A few deckchairs, bucket and spade sets and we were all set.

The beach

The Arcade

There’s nothing Stanley likes more than taking a tub full of 10p and 2p coins into the arcade! One of his favourites is ‘the grabber’ or claw games where you have to try and win a prize, usually an impossible to grab plush toy.

The arcade crazy claw

I did a bit of searching online and found a ‘crazy claw’ game on Amazon. This is actually a family board game of sorts but I knew I could adapt it to our needs. I built the game up, used the tokens and balls from the set but then added a party bag of haribo sweets. I tested it out, it was nearly impossible to grab the sweets, and I was left highly frustrated yet determined to give it one more try – brilliant, just like the real thing!

Not as easy as it looks!

My second game was a tin can alley set up. I started off trying to make my own, but I was worried about sharp edges with so many little fingers around so I purchased one in the end. It is a lovely set though and we have it to keep, it will be good fun on camping holidays.

The arcade tin can alley in full swing

A gift of a pair of paddleballs from our neighbour (who was in on the plan) completed our arcade. For a bit of healthy competition the winners from each game received a token (re-purposed from the Crazy Claw game) to use in exchange for…

Donkey Rides

This required some imagination, OK a lot of imagination and a sense of humour too! By this point I had decided that anything to make us all laugh during these strange times was a good thing. A donkey mask was fashioned onto Eli’s baby tricycle and voila, we had the fastest donkey this side of Blackpool! I knew it would make Stanley laugh but I expected him to think it was a bit silly and more of a token gesture. But nope, this birthday boy went hurtling down the back alley on the worlds smallest donkey a number of times throughout the day.

Our trusty steed!

Fish & Chips

Our local chip shop had re-opened the week before offering a time slot collection service, and guess what? – they even served the children’s meals in a bucket and spade!

Yummy!

Well, that just had our names written all over it and the boys sat at the beach eating their lunch. Admittedly I had to take Stanley and James’s food out of the buckets and plate it up as they complained that they couldn’t eat it properly. I’ve learned not to get between boys and their food, Eli persevered though!

Fish & Chips on the beach

Ice-Cream

What else? We have a stable style backdoor so Daddy became an ice-cream man and took orders from his ‘kiosk’.

Ice-cream, get your ice-cream!

We had three flavours to go at and a choice of toppings, the end result was three very excited (and messy) boys.

Chocolate with a flake, excellent choice sir!

The Pier

This is where my cardboard hoarding came in handy! I wanted to recreate the face hole photo opportunities that are usually found on the pier at seaside resorts. I drew a cartoon character, complete with victorian style bathing suit onto a piece of thick cardboard. After painting it in I drew the outline in thick marker and then cut out the face hole. Ben made a base from scraps of wood he found in the shed so that it was free standing. We had great fun with this, we all had our photos taken.

Memories

We’ve had some amazing times at the seaside and Stanley always remembers his grandad knotting a hanky and putting it on him as a hat, and I can remember my Grandad doing it too to stop his bald head from burning. So, that was our party hats sorted, I already had some brightly coloured stripey napkins so I knotted them into hats, generational Grandad style chic.

Grandad chic

Two days before Stanley’s birthday we had the good news that Nana could become part of our social bubble. She was able to celebrate and spend the day at the seaside with us (although I think she came purely for the ice-cream ha ha). It made Stanley’s day and there were lots of long awaited cuddles to be had for all three boys.

Having Nana back was the best present!

We also had some socially distanced visits to the gate from Stanley’s friends, and they were able to have ice-cream with us too which was lovely and a nice surprise for Stanley.

After we had sung Happy Birthday and he had blown out his candles on his cake I asked Stan if he’d had a good day, and his verdict was…’BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!’

Fun in the sun for this birthday boy

I think lockdown birthdays can be just as much [if not more] fun than the all singing and dancing parties we were all used to pre Covid-19. If you put a little bit of effort in to make them memorable, you’ll have big smiles all round. But don’t just take my word for it, I asked my fellow bloggers how they made a lockdown celebration one to remember:

Sarah from Digital Motherhood:

We’re in Spain so it’s a bit different, though we were still in lockdown! I ordered cupcakes and we decorated the house with streamers, banners and balloons. We were allowed a small group of people around by the end of May so we had my parents and my daughter’s friend here for a bit. It was actually the day after they started to ease the rules so she was very lucky!

Michelle from Time and Pence:

We created a treasure hunt in the garden and gave my son clues to find lots of treats. We also arranged for his friends and family to have video chats and send him video messages then we ended the day with a BBQ and movie night! He had an extra surprise present in place of a party and he had a wonderful day!

Josie from Me, Them and the Others

We asked friends and family to record birthday messages for our son and then I edited them together to create a birthday video for him.

Erica from Things To Do In Kent

It was our son’s 4th birthday at the very beginning of lockdown so we were quite unprepared. We hastily put together a picnic in the garden and he got Gazillions bubble machines which he and his big brother loved playing with in the garden. For his older brother’s 9th birthday more recently we had a surprise movie day. I made a poster, we had far too many sweets and popcorn and he chose his favourite takeaway (Thai!), I would quite enjoy that for my own birthday!

Katrina from Trini Mama Bebe

We had a drive by birthday from friends and family, and even my sons favourite emergency service came to say hello. They gave him some sweets and some lights and sounds. It’s amazing what a tweet can do!

Nadia from Scandi Mummy

We celebrated our son’s 1st birthday in June with a little rainbow garden party as he’s a rainbow baby and it was (unsurprisingly) easy to find rainbow decorations and a cake to match!

Katie from Mums Family Fun

I organised a scavenger hunt and quiz with my son’s football buddies via Zoom for his 7th birthday. They all sang Happy Birthday to him with his cake. It was really lovely and he had a great day!

Kasia from Oh Mummy Mia

I made a cake for my son because we couldn’t buy any because of lockdown. I tried my best. He loves dinosaurs so the cake was with a dino theme. We did a picnic in our garden for his friendly dinosaurs and later we made homemade play doh and footprint fossils.

Paige from Paiges Preferences

We did a circus/fair for my sons 5th birthday. I have a highlight on my Instagram dedicated to it!

Kerry from Blissful Domestication

We did my sons 7th birthday as a pirate party. Activities included a treasure hunt, fancy dress, a video of happy birthday messages from friends, family and teachers. We decorated a tent for a tea party, and had a treasure chest piñata. Read all about our pirate party here.

Layla from Motherhood Diaries

I got the entire class to send my middle one a birthday message, along with other friends and family and compiled then together along with a Timeline of his birth to present day. He was chuffed! Read more of my party ideas here.

If you are feeling inspired by Stanley’s seaside birthday then check out my Pinterest board for more ideas.

All images are my own unless otherwise credited and must not be reproduced without permission.

Our Lockdown Birthday: How We Made It The Best One Yet! It's not the greatest feeling knowing your birthday will fall while you are still locked down, I of all people should know as I saw my big 40th birthday plans crumble before my eyes.

[billinghamn]

Las Vegas TP Run in Nov 2019: Day 2 - Washington Dulles to Los Angeles on Fri 22 Nov 2019

By the time the people mover had reached immigration I was all over the place. Luckily I managed to get to the escalator and steady myself. From then on I was in auto-pilot, using the Global Entry (GE) kiosk and on through baggage reclaim. What I did notice was the number of passengers using GE - there must have been 40 or 50 kiosks and most of them were busy by the time I got there. It’s obviously a popular way of getting through immigration.

Once through baggage reclaim and back in to the check-in area, I had fully recovered from my little “turn”, and I headed to AA check in to get a new boarding card with “TSA Pre” on it. That would certainly simplify my transition back through security.

Security was fine other than my bag ending up on the wrong side of the barrier again. This time the very friendly security guy advised that the scanner didn’t like my 1.5kg of Haribo. It potentially hid other things inside my bag, so it needed special attention.

Once through, I was on to a train for the short trip to the B gates, and up into the BA Lounge. There’s no AA lounge at Dulles - Washington isn’t a big hub for AA, so no need for any lounge presence, especially when the BA lounge will do just fine.

It was really busy in the BA lounge, but I did notice that Nicholas Soames was sat in deep conversation with another gent - he was one of the rogue Tory MPs that had the whip removed. I’d mark that up as a vague celeb-spot.

I found a spot in the bar area - it seemed to be the last place with access to a power socket. I plugged in, and I decided to head out to stretch my legs. This concourse is fairly long, so it’s a good opportunity of getting some steps in, and it’s a nice looking terminal as well.

When I got back to my spot at the bar, I had been crowded out by a group of 5 guys who had obviously flown over on business and were now heading home - probably from one of the big consultancies. I managed to force my way back in to my seat, and to be fair to them, they did ask whether I had enough room!

The lounge emptied at around 6pm when the BA flight started boarding - that was the A380 I had arrived on. I moved into the main seating area, where it was a bit more comfortable.

I noticed that the inbound flight was running about 15 mins late. No big deal, so I delayed heading out to Gate B71 from where my flight to LA was due to depart. In the end, that delay extended somewhat.

Flight: BA2490 Equip: A321 Sched Depart: 19:14 Actual: 20:27 Sched Arrival: 22:12 Actual: 23:01 Takeoff: 20:37 Landing: 22:22

It was a good 20 mins after I reached the gate and had started the priority boarding queue, that all of the inbound passengers had finally got into the terminal building. I was quite surprised really - I’ve seen how long it takes for passengers to board an aircraft, but that’s understandable due to people getting in each other’s way, and the need to stow bags etc. Getting off should be easy. Obviously not for some passengers!

On in to seat 1F, and I dozed whilst the remaining passengers boarded. We pushed back about 20 mins after scheduled departure time, but that was just the start of the delay. Once the tug pushed us out, the captain advised that his computer system had thrown up a message, and that we would have to return to the gate, and they would (as a minimum) get the maintenance team out, and reset everything. It’s like pulling the plug on the aircraft, giving it a massive kick, and then pushing the plug back into the socket, hoping everything boots back up and that message didn’t reappear.

The guy sat in the seat next to me, had rung his “people” and asked them whether there were any rooms at the airport Marriott. I had checked on my phone about the airport Hilton and there were rooms available there too. Contingency plans were in place, and we were just waiting to hear whether the reboot was going to be successful or not.

The reboot took about 40 mins, and luckily the message did not reappear, so we were all set to go again. I had also checked about alternative ways of getting to Vegas, and there really weren’t any. AA run two flights every day, and then the major player is United on that route. So I was glad it looked like we would get to LA tonight.

The flight was bumpy in places, but I closed my eyes as much as I could to get some rest. The only real disturbance was when dinner was served. I think AA meals have gone downhill rapidly in recent years, and although the main course was ok (chicken and mash), the starter salad was a bit manky. The only other joy was in the ice cream sundae served afterwards.

After dinner, I did waste some time watching a film called About Time with Bill Nighy and Rachel McAdam, directed by Richard Curtis. It’s a classic British film, and it’s a wonderful watch. I had seen it before, but it was great seeing it again.

The flight crew managed to catch up some time in the flight, and we landed safely about 10 mins after scheduled arrival. However, we were then stuck for almost 30 mins waiting for a gate to become available. The captain apologised to those passengers on tight connections, but there wasn’t a lot he could do about it.

We arrived in to Gate 53A, and we were off fairly sharply. I whizzed down to Ground Transportation and was then faced with further hassle of trying to get to the airport hotel.

LAX has changed the way taxis, Ubers and Lyfts pick up passengers. That’s primarily due to the traffic jam that we see on World Way - the road that takes traffic around the various terminals. It’s all one way, but it’s a disaster area. I think the expectation was that if they could remove the taxi traffic, it might help reduce the log jam. It doesn’t seem to have helped, and it’s now caused a shed load of other issues for passengers.

When I left the terminal building, all I could see were cars and mini buses all stuck in a jam, most of them beeping their horns. I initially booked an Uber Black cab - they are still allowed to pick up passengers from the kerbside. The ETA was 20 mins, and it didn’t change in 5 mins, so I cancelled that.

I rang the hotel just after 11pm, and the free shuttle bus stopped at 11pm. So I jumped on a new free LAX-IT bus, which takes passengers to the new taxi area. Of course the bus got stuck in the traffic! BY the time I reached LAX-IT, I decided I would just jump in a taxi rather than order an Uber etc.

It only took about 5 mins to get to the hotel, but the fare was $35 - that’s scandalous, and may make me rethink where I stay in LA. I reckon I could walk from the airport to the Hilton at LAX, which is down the main road.

When I reached the HGI El Segundo, I then got in a queue to check in. By the time I reached my room, it was 2 hours after the flight had landed.

[sydbenj-f17]

T-minus Two Hours

I’m not sure that I want to go abroad anymore.  I know that’s not the most hopeful way to start a travel blog, but it’s true, and if I want these words to be anything, they must be, first and foremost, true.  The whole idea of blogging seems to stem from that notion: that you, readers, can sidestep into my world for a few moments, that you can shift from your understanding of what is true and real to my own.  I’ve never tried to blog before because I have always been afraid that my words would be entirely self-serving in that respect – self-validating rather than an attempt at some kind of service.

But let’s take a few steps back.  My name is Syd Benjamin, I’m twenty years old, and I’ve never been outside of the United States before (except for Canada, but no one counts Canada where I’m from).  I’m currently sitting at the gate at Logan for my flight into London.  I’ve just eaten an entire bag of Haribo gummy bears and said goodbye to my boyfriend of two weeks, who I’ll be doing long-distance with this semester.  In addition to having never left the country, I’ve also never flown by myself, and let me tell you it’s been a freakin’ experience so far, both more and less difficult than I thought it would be.  On the one hand, I feel like this is one of the most adult-ish things I’ve ever had to do, but on the other, I’m not sure I did any of them exactly like I was supposed to: navigating through baggage check, security (where my bag got pulled out of line and searched because I forgot to take out my Kindle, which I’m now even more embarrassed to own), a very emotional last meal with the boy (where I was envious of the little kids who didn’t get weird looks for crying loudly in the airport), and now getting to my gate and realizing that customs is only a thing you have to do once you actually get to the place you’re going, and I’m here, in my seat at the terminal, a full two and a half hours early.  

I’m more than a little sad and on more than a little bit of a sugar high, and I’m definitely second-guessing all of the choices that led me to this point.  I’ve said goodbye to the people and places and life that I’m comfortable with and I am feeling incredibly, pointedly vulnerable.  So I’m not entirely sure about this whole thing at the moment.  And yet, I’ve made my choices and I’m going to be boarding that plane.  I did all the packing (and yes, maybe most of that packing was done around 11pm last night, but it’s the finished product that counts) and made all the calls to my bank and phone carrier, I visited all my favorite coffee shops and cooked a last meal with my mom.  So even though I’m certain of very little at this moment, I know that I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.  And yes, I’m very definitely excited.  Even though I know there are some hard days ahead of me, I get to spend this next semester doing what I love more that almost anything in this world, in a place that is entirely new to me – shockingly vibrant with its potential.  There’s a lot of growing to be done, a lot of places to visit and people to meet and a lot of laughter and tears and exhaustion and awe to be experienced.  I’m not sure I want to go, but I’m sure that I need to go, and I’m sure that this semester is going to make me better and stronger and more sure of myself and where I fit in this tiny spinning green and blue marble we call home.  

A note, just so we’re on the same page: I’m verbose as hell, a little partial to the dramatic, and ultimately, though I might try to deny it, hopeful.       

For just a little more context before I have to board: Advanced Studies in England was a program that captivated me from the moment I laid eyes on it.  I had been playing around with the idea of doing something new with my study abroad time, trying something entirely unexpected, but I’m an English Major, and really have been since I was about six years old and read Harry Potter for the first time.  I am in love with this language and the things we can craft out of it, the people and places and ideas and realities that we can sculpt and inhabit.  Which, I suppose, brings me back to this blog.  I want to create something here.  Not something for me, or even something for you, readers, but for us, together.  I have a feeling I’m going to need this sense of connection, that we all could use a little more connection in this crazy world we’re living in.  They’re calling for boarding to begin now, so I’m going to run and catch the flight that’s going to launch me into the sky and then down to this next chapter of my life.  Here’s to the next four months – cheers.    

[omnomwithrob]

Burrata, boquerones, Battlestar Galactica.

Friday, August 3rd, 2018 was the five year anniversary of our wedding day! To celebrate, we got a babysitter for like, the second time ever, and Rob took me out for dinner and drinks. Dinner’s location was a surprise, and I was still a little surprised after we arrived at The Press Room because I’d never heard of it before! Tucked into a little basement in a low-traffic part of the West Loop, this place is tricky to stumble upon. I’ll admit, there were so many open tables that I was a little concerned that we were in for a rough meal. Thankfully, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

We started with both of the small plates categorized as “with bread” - the burrata above and the boquerones, below. Rob is a sucker for burrata, so it’s a must-have whenever we see it on a menu. Rather than being served in a traditional caprese salad style, this burrata was topped with a sunflower seed gremolata (which is supposed to be an herby condiment, but in this version seemed to just be some sunflower seeds and a handful of arugula). Thankfully, there’s no such thing as bad burrata, and it didn’t need much help aside from the bread. The boquerones, or Spanish-style anchovies (below) were a nod to one of our favorite tapas in Barcelona. These little guys weren’t deep fried like we’d had in the past but were hardly hurting for delicious fat, since they were served with a heap of cultured butter. Add a salty anchovy, some creamy butter, and peppery radish and a slice of crusty bread, and you’ve got something delicious.

A few minutes later, our roasted carrots appeared (or carrOT is perhaps more accurate), but it was not alone. It was served atop a bed of za’atar-spiced yogurt, sprinkled with hazelnuts and smoked feta cheese, and drizzled with spiced honey. I loved the overall sweet and smoky flavors of this dish, matched with the sharpness of the yogurt and the warming spices of the za’atar. The Press Room’s website boasts that its meals are balanced with salty, savory, and sweet, and this dish really exemplified that. 

Lastly, we shared the roasted lamb, which was served with “Moroccan glaze” and cauliflower three ways. I wish I could remember more about this flavor profile, but I do remember loving it and thinking the lamb was seared so perfectly - crusty and sweet on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside, with that singular gamey flavor of lamb.

I walked out of The Press Room feeling completely impressed. What seemed like a ubiquitous “American small plates” restaurant that honestly probably had better wine than food couldn’t have been more special. It was one of the best meals I’d had in a while, and I loved the incredibly intentional balance of flavors on each of our Mediterranean-inspired dishes. But for dessert, we were looking for something a little less cerebral.

BomboBar had been on my list for a while for its outrageous, Instagram-worthy desserts. They basically combine little Italian donuts (bombolini) with ice cream sundaes, and the world tried its best not to explode.

We ordered from a little window facing the street and oohed and ahhed as our creations made their way to the little counter nearby where we were sitting. Rob’s white chocolate Oreo shake was alarmingly purplish-blue and obviously topped with a lil’ donut.

I decided on a scoop of birthday cake gelato, which was ALSO topped with a bombolini, and some Haribo “Happy Cherries” on top. Hey, I don’t make the rules, I just eat them.

Look at those date night faces! We were feeling completely stuffed by that point - I thought BomboBar was a little overhyped, but that didn’t stop me from cleaning my paper bowl. We decided to walk it off and have one last drink before heading back to real life - at Fox Bar in the beautiful Soho House Social Club. All of this swank couldn’t have been more fitting for such a special occasion.

There’s nothing like having a baby to make you realize how much you took date nights for granted in the past. We go out to eat with Rose all the time, but it’s obviously different when your only interruption is a waitress asking if you’d like another drink and not your 8 month-old demanding sweet potatoes faster than you can shovel them into her mouth. Rob planned a wonderful evening for us to eat and drink and talk and laugh and reminisce about our lovely wedding five years before.

Caroline

[walterteng-blog]

Ultimate (Exchange) Student Guide + Travel Tips! [University of Surrey x Nanyang Technological University EEE]

After more than 171 days away from home, I am finally back in time for the reunion dinner in homely Singapore which is nice! :) Back to the topic, this is a short guide that I decided to put together for the benefit of the students who are going to/ interested in going for an GEM exchange programme at University of Surrey(UoS).  Writing this also serves a good time for me to reflect all the experiences and lessons learnt from my time at University of Surrey. Before I begin, I would like to mention that one of such article have been written before by getsurrey.co.uk which you can refer to as well. Academic: In case you are wondering, I am a EEE/3 student specializing in infocommunications and I did my Y3S1 at UoS. The 4 modules I took are: EEE2045 ELECTRICAL SCIENCE II Lectured by Dr David Carey and Prof Ravi Silva aka EE3001 ENGINEERING MICROMAGNETICS (4AU) - 100% Lecture and 100% 2 hour Written Paper. EEE3008 DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING A Lectured by Prof Mark Plumbley aka EE3014 DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING - 20% Weekly Flipped Classroom Assignments which are basically group presentations for your self learning of the new topic before the lectures. 80% 2 hour Written Paper - More theory explanations and derivations than calculations as compared to the usual NTU teaching style. - I realise there is a different syllabus for DSP B offered in Sem 2 while studying for my finals. I am not sure about this. EEE3033 RF AND MICROWAVE FUNDAMENTALS Lectured by Dr Peter Aaen and Dr Tim Brown aka EE4151 RF AND MICROWAVE ENGINEERING (3AU) - 20% Lab (Advanced Design System) and 80% 2 hour Written Paper - Really skeptical about taking this mod at first since I am taking Electromagnetics mod concurrently. - Lab was a little hard to grasp at first since the overall learning curve was pretty steep for me. - Glad that I have plenty of help from my EPS project mates :)

EEE3035 ENGINEERING PROFESSIONAL STUDIES Lectured by Dr David Carey and Supervised by Prof Klaus Moessner aka EE3080 DESIGN & INNOVATION PROJECT (DIP, 2AU) - Probably biggest takeaway mod; an eye opener - Project on creating a wearable tech for the medical field with a group of 6 - Lectures on various industry standards was very insightful. Topics like technological adoption life cycle, hype curves and sustainability management are a few of the many materials covered. - The UoS students have stronger hands-on skills like coming out with PCB designs and testing. Their 1 year placement/internship really gave them an edge that I am still hoping to catch up on my own. - Learnt some EAGLE basics and reinforced my knowlege of 3D design which I self learnt prior to this. - Efficient use of team management apps like Slack which was also new to me. University of Surrey EEE Faculty was highly regarded in the UK and it is a real privilege to do an exchange programme there. As mentioned, the teaching approach is very different as compared to NTU. It is very vocal with its flipped classroom teaching and there is a lot of self learning to do here. I have to refer to the textbooks a lot here. However, there is a need to memorize essential formulas for the finals which I am not used to, since the formula booklets for NTU papers are specific to the mods and comprehensive.

Play (Travel):  I went a 44 days pre-exchange trip with my friends from 8 August 2016 and we mainly covered the Scandinavian countries and Central Europe. I traveled on plenty of day trips around UK during the semester and explored the Eastern Europe during the winter vacation. I did a custom google maps to detail my travels and wrote about it a few times before. It can be overwhelming at first so it is easier to refer to the legend as a guide. Article and Legend WallEEExplore v17.01.21 Map

Helsinki, Finland (09 - 11 August 2016) Hameenlinna & Tampere (11 -12 August 2016) Turku, Finland (12-13 August 2016) Stockholm & Tyresta National Park, Sweden (14 - 17 August 2016) Norway Road Trip: Oslo Trolltunga Bergen Lysebotn Larvik, Norway (17 - 23 August 2016) Copenhagen, Denmark (24 - 27 August 2016) Aarhus, Denmark (27 -29 August 2016) Hamburg, Germany (29 Aug - 01 Sep 2016) Berlin, Germany (01 - 04 September 2016) Frankfurt, Germany (04 -07 September 2016) Luxembourg (07 - 09 September 2016) Brussels, Belgium (09 - 12 September 2016) Antwerp, Belgium (12 - 14 September 2016) Rotterdam, Netherlands (14 - 17 September 2016) The Hague, Netherlands (17 - 19 September 2016) Amsterdam, Netherlands (19 - 21 September 2016) London Day Trip (09 October 2016) Windsor Day Trip with Students’ Union (22 October 2016) Oxford Day Trip (23 October 2016) Woking Day Trip (02 November 2016) Bristol + Northern Ireland + Glastonbury & Wells (04 - 09 November 2016) Scotland(Glasgow & Edinburgh) Trip with Students’ Union (11 - 14 November 2016) Cambridge Day Trip (19 November 2016) Brighton Day Trip (26 November 2016) Paris + Disneyland (02 - 06 December 2016) Manchester + Lake District Road Trip (19 - 21 December 2016) Stonehenge + Bath Tour (23 December 2016) London (24 - 27, 30 - 31 December 2016) Prague, Czech Republic (01 - 04 January 2017) Salzburg + Hallstatt + Vienna, Austria (05 - 09 January 2017) Budapest, Hungary (10 - 12 January 2017)

It will take me a while or forever to ever write about the details of all the places I have been to, so if there is any particular places that you might want some tips or itinerary, do contact me directly. I don’t bite. :))

Here are some other custom maps I did during my researches for new places to go. These are mainly within the UK.

UK Top Places to Visit (Detailed)

Lake District Day Drive Trip

: This was meant for a day trip to the Lake District from Manchester during the winter when the daytime is short. Nonetheless, it is still recommended to spend more time there and go for a hike!

*** Tips for travelling around UK 1. Get a 16-25 Railway Card first! It cost  £30 and it’ll save you 1/3 on rail fares. You’ll cover back that  £30 in no time if you go for a lot of day trips. 2. Going for day trips with University of Surrey Students’ Union (SU) is a lot cheaper (even with a rail card). It is more worthwhile if they are able to get discounted admission tickets to castles etc. However, in my opinion, it is not recommended to go for a long trip with them though. You’re more restricted in terms of time and (super) long bus trips is tiring. :( 3. Generally, you can go for a day trip anywhere as long as the ride one way is about 3 hours or less. You’ll still have enough time to explore the city/town. Avoid going those that are far away during winter as you will have little day time. Unless you want to fork out more money to find accom. 4. Get advance tickets if you are able to plan about 2 weeks ahead. It can be very cheap. However, day trips tend to be impromptu, so super off-peak tickets bought on the day itself are your best bet. But still, try to plan ahead. 5. The best part of Guildford is that, London is just 40 - 60 mins away! A day travel zone tickets covers both your travel to and fro plus unlimited London tube travel! 6. Get an Oyster card if you travel to London a lot. Don’t forget to link it to 16-25 Rail card for 1/3 off. You have to go to any station and ask the station attendants to do that. Remember that daily fares caps are at about  £6 or  £ 6.45 and it costs nothing after that. UNLIMITED POWER~ 6. I prefer the National Rail app over Trainline cos it tends to be more detailed. But you will need trainline app if you want to buy tickets online.

Where to go in Guildford?: 1. Picinic / BBQ by the university lake 2. Short hikes / Picnics around town like The Mount, Pewley Downs, St Martha-on-the-hill, Guildford Castle 3. Tea Terrace  at the top floors of House of Fraser 4. Bike / Walk along River Wey to nearby towns like Godalming, Shalford or the Riverside Park. Refer to this route guide.

Giffgaff or Three: Personally, I used giffgaff when I know I am not travelling out of UK for the month and Three if I am going to travel. Yes, in the end, I kept 2 UK lines since my android phone support dual sim anyway. Here is why: Giffgaff: Good: More data tiering than Three. You can buy data for 1, 2, 4 GB and so on, depending on your usage. Three only has 1GB and 12GB packages. (who uses 1 GB anyway?!) Three: Good: You can use your data in many other European countries. No more trying to connect wifi on the streets to upload your latest snaps or instagram stories. UNLIMITED POWER~ x2 Santander Basic or Current: Basic. I think it will still be confusing even if I explain the differences between the two here so, you should listen closely when you are at bank then. Here is the why: 1. You will get used to transferring money between your bank card and debit card in no time. 2. No  £5/mo

BTW, remitting money from DBS to Santander is free and it offers the best exchange rate. It is almost instant during office hours (both UK and SG), but it can be a nightmare if you ran out of money and it is the weekend.

Food: There are food places like Young’s Kitchen, Hillside and some kebabs stalls nearby in school, but trust me, you will get used to cooking for every meal in the end. Deals varies from time to time in Tesco and Sainsburys’ but there are 2 things that are certain. 1.  £2.50 -  £3 B&J or Haagen Dazs is irresistible 2. Poundland for your snacks, chocolates and Haribos. 

Useful Apps (Android): 1. National Rail / Trainline: For your railway timings etc 2. Santander: Banking 3. Giffgaff / Three: Check your data usage 4. Tube Map London: London tube can be confusing and there is no reception once you are inside! 5. Moovit: Shows transport route options in many European cities when Google Maps fails 6. Flixbus: Mostly used this bus service in Europe like Germany. Track its prices religiously if you desperately need a cheap getaway from studies to Paris Disneyland 7. Skyview Free: Just cos you tend to see more stars wherever you are in Europe than Singapore 8. Maps.me: If you need an alternative to Google Maps. However, I used Google Maps extensively by starring important places. You can label them for easy identification when your maps get too crowded.

Tip: Use location history in Google Maps to review the places you go before, in case you want to research further on the place you been to when you are back.

Tell me your experiences! :  While I spent a rather fruitful time in UoS, I didn’t really join CCAs or had any sort of party life. Haha. I had plenty of the “chill in the kitchen/room” life though. Besides, my housemates kept telling Rubix, the school nightclub was always mediocre anyway. There are plenty of interesting CCAs in UoS like Equestrian Club, ABACUS, the Singaporeans Society or the SurreyEARS but I didn’t get myself to join in the end because: 1. You need Surrey Sports Park membership for sports CCA. 2. I want to travel around during my free time. Hope this guide have been useful so far and do share with me your exchange stories, I would love to listen to them! Go out there and create your own memories if you started your exchange!

PS. Pardon me for any major grammatical errors etc, I am writing this at 5am, Singapore time in the morning. Jetlag is hitting me pretty bad. Haiz.

[ Teng Kok Wai (Walter) - Nanyang Technological University x  University of Surrey, Email: teng0107@e.ntu.edu.sg EEE AY16/17 Y3S1]

[musicaljojo]

I’m not usually one for doing anything on a bank holiday weekend because everywhere is so busy and of course the weather is usually just awful, but this year, what a Change!

We’d had a bit of a lazy weekend planned but I’d seen that a free event called the festival of water had been advertised in our local town, so I thought that with the absolutely stunning weather we’d go check it out and it was a lovely way to spend an afternoon.

After covering Haribo in suntan cream and making sure we’d got his hat, we set off to explore.

The first part to catch my eye was the display of vintage steam engines, cars and buses, Haribo loved the traction engines, watching the steam come out and the noises entranced him.

As we turned into the fair, we were handed a programme showing all the event such as folk singing and dance troupes, plus they had a lovely activity for children in which they were given a special book and you had to collect a sticker from certain attractions around the fair to complete the collection and you got a goodie bag if you collected them all, if Haribo had been a bit older, I would certainly have got him involved and I thought it was great that children had been thought about, excellent idea!

There was so much to see including Birds of Prey and lots of stalls which had home-made gifts, tombolas and there was even a chance for you to have a go at sign painting which is displayed on the side of the canal boats.

I did have a go but it was pretty disastrous and the gentleman who owned the stall wiped it away before I managed to get a picture which is probably a good thing!

The event was really well thought out with lots of food and drink stalls, there was even a tent selling real ale which my hubby went to investigate but he said the queue was far too long and it would have taken him ages to get served so we had a Tango Ice Blast from a van which was selling them which because of the lovely weather was much welcomed, they had put lots of seating out for people to enjoy the food and drink, which was quite reasonably priced apart from the crepe stand, we thought £5/6 for a crepe was a little highly priced especially when the pie stand next to it had pie and mash or roasties for the same price, I think it showed also because there was a very long queue at the pie stand!!

My only criticism was that there wasn’t a lot of shaded areas apart from the big marquee tent which we went in to try and feed Haribo but it was just far too hot in there, they could have done with some big umbrellas or even just a few gazebos dotted around for the children and babies to grab a bit of shade, but then I suppose no-one expected the weather we had!

Another fun free task for children was the chance to drive a digger, we watched a few children have a go and they seemed to really enjoy it and it looked really fun!! Infact I wanted to have a go but sadly it was only for children and Haribo was too small (( Can’t wait till he’s old enough to try these things!!))

There was  the chance to meet a canal pony who was teaching children all about when Pony’s pulled the boats along the canals, Haribo wasn’t too sure but found him quite interesting to look at and have a little stroke off, although he’s started to grab and squish at things so starting to teach gentle hands to him!

After looking around the fair and buying a lovely ornament for my Stepdads birthday, I would show a picture of it but it hasn’t been his birthday yet and I don’t want to spoil it for him, we took a walk along the canal path as Haribo had finally decided to co-operate and go for a nap much to mine and his daddy’s relief as he’s getting quite heavy to carry and especially with it being warm!

There was lots of lovely decorated canal boats, with beautiful flowers and bunting across their boats, hubby even spotted one with a Spurs flag on it which he took great delight in because he supports them.

We walked for a quite a bit down the canal and I bumped into one of the Mum’s from my Baby sensory class which was lovely to have a chat with as we walked for a little bit until we decided we’d gone far enough and came back.

We had another little look around the fair before heading to the pub which was across the road from the event and treated ourselves to a chip butty whilst Haribo slept before heading home.

It was a lovely way to spend the bank holiday Monday and enjoy the lovely weather!

IWA Festival of Water 2017 I'm not usually one for doing anything on a bank holiday weekend because everywhere is so busy and of course the weather is usually just awful, but this year, what a Change!

[lickyourforks-blog]

Dish: Peach Chocolate Doughnut - Dunkin Donut

I come to this place way to much with my only unqualifying reason being that I come her in order to “study” which is the definition of doing nothing but sitting there and going onto the internet. Since I have an unhealthy urge of coming to this place all the time, I decided to set a goal of sampling all of the doughnuts here by the end of 2017. I hope we can find the best doughnut in Dunkin Donut this year! Also, I recently discovered that there is a Buy 2 Get 2 doughnuts promotion happening every Thursday in Vietnam!(Thanks for creating more excuses for me to come to this place...)

The "Peach Chocolate” doughnut caught my eye today since it looked to be a new edition to Dunkin Donut’s wide range of donughts. Questions arise upon the design of this doughnut due to the fact that the frosting pattern would not make me picture a peach. Yes, a peach shape would be hard to construct on such a pastry with a hole in the middle of it, but perhaps they could have at least used pink in their design since the main colors of a peach fruit include pink and yellow(even the emoji of a peach includes pink: 🍑). Melons were the first thing that came up to mind when I saw this doughnut since the criss-cross design over the yellow looked like Melon-Pan.

Artificial peaches were the smell that surrounded this doughnut when I brought it near my face. It strongly resembles the smell of the Haribo Peach gummy candy. The frosting on top of the doughnut definitely has that stereotypical artificial peach flavour and also incorporates an indescribable bitter-sweet taste. This may have been added due to the slight bitterness you get when you eat a real peach. The actual cake portion of the doughnut tastes a super tiny bit saltier than some other doughnuts, probably to compliment the sweet frosting on top of the doughnut. Otherwise, the cake is seems to have been made with the same recipe as the foundation  doughnut.

Peach flavour wouldn’t be my top choice in the tastes of artificially flavoured food, but this peach flavour was somewhat enjoyable due to the distinction in the level of bitterness! The frosting decoration on the doughnut is very similar to the picture on the website as the colors of the frosting appear to be very similar as well as the overall frosting placement. This is something that can not be helped, but the green lines are not as neatly oriented on the actual doughnut. The frosting design is a little questionable since this doughnut doesn’t seem to posses any external traits of a peach. In the cafe, some of the Peach Chocolate doughnuts looked like they had been involved in riot with the chocolate doughnuts due to the cracked frosting and some mystery brown spots, so it may be necessary to choose your doughnut wisely.

Serving Size: 1(design forgiving) person  

Price: 20,000 VND - $1.00

Allergic Ingredients: May contain Eggs or Peanuts (According to a label in the store)

Vegetarian?: Yes! (According to the cashier)

Vegan?: No (it uses eggs)

Taste Rate: 💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💙💙💙(7 hearts out of 10)

Presentation Rate: 💛💛💛💛💛💙💙💙💙💙(5 hearts out of 10)

Dunkin Donut in Phu My Hung - 59 Nguyen Duc Canh, Khu Phu My Khanh 4, P. Tan Phong Q.7, TP.HCM, Vietnam

[kristablogs]

The intense flavor science behind Haribo’s gummies

The Haribo Goldbear's century-old recipe has evolved over time. Today, a gummy in Germany might taste different than one in Singapore, Brazil, or the US. (Stan Horaczek/)

A hundred years ago, the first Haribo factory cranked up its confectionery machines on the banks of Germany’s Rhine River. Started by 27-year-old Hans Riegel, the business stayed modest and local—until the founder made a marvelous culinary discovery. The exact formula to his bear-shaped success remains a secret to this day, but it’s recipe includes gelatin, sugar, a copper kettle, a rolling pin, and the magic of thermodynamics.

Haribo Goldbear gummies are now one of the top-selling candies in the world, spawning dozens of copycats and filling hundreds of fingerprint-smudged waiting-room jars. The company has grown out of Riegel’s home city of Bonn with 16 factories across Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America. It’s slated to open its first US production facility in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, in September.

The company cooks up 100 million gummy bears a day—on top of numerous other mouth-puckering chews. It sells more than 1,000 varieties in Germany, home to its current-day headquarters, and launches fresh lines every season, like this summer’s limited Passport edition. “Because of the way we produce our candies, we can make a lot of flavors and profiles with agility,” says Lauren Triffler, head of corporate communications of Haribo of America. US gummy fanatics can only choose from a modest 19 options at the moment. The sheer scale of the company makes it a powerhouse for profit, but it also lets it redefine how the candy industry creates certain fruit flavors, says Yael Vodovotz, a food-innovation scientist at Ohio State University. “They follow the trends and make the choices that change tastes.”

Anointing a new flavor to the Haribo lineup, however, takes some confection-making perfection. The company’s food scientists test each recipe exhaustively for aroma, texture, and regional preferences. The last step is key to ensuring a gummy will succeed across multiple markets. For example, Triffler says, Americans and Germans don’t always agree on what a “lemon” candy should taste like, making it tricky to develop a single yellow piece for a mix that suits everyone’s tongues. The company even had to change up Riegel’s famous recipe when introducing Goldbears stateside in the 1980s.

The company recently released a centennial Passport edition that samples from international varieties. It includes Goldbears, Starmix, Matador, Tagada, and Rotella. (Stan Horaczek/)

In general, customers in the US and Latin America have more of a sweet tooth than snackers in Japan and Western Europe. But in the past decade or so, Triffler says American candy lovers have shifted to the sour side. “The kids really like the Zing bites and streamers and the Twin Snakes, which is the second best-selling flavor after the bears. You see that change in generations.” Even in the tart profiles, no two gummy recipes are the same. Some candies are covered in crunchy sugar crystals, while others layer distinct textures like marshmallow and gelatin. “There’s always entertainment value in the chew,” Triffler adds.

Experiments aside (the company won’t admit it, but the berry-blue Smurfs are an experiment that just happened to be a convenience store hit), there’s still a lot to learn about the chemistry of gummies. “A firm chew with a burst of flavor and plenty of servings in one bag” is what keeps Haribo customers coming back for more, Triffler says. Oddly enough, a favorite flavor doesn’t need to match up with its real-life fruity counterpart. The strawberry Goldbear is actually a bright lime color, but nobody seems to mind as long as the taste is consistent from bite to bite.

Beyond that, Haribo is quite tight-lipped about what makes their gummies such a culinary delight. But outside of the candy industry, food scientists are upfront about the challenges of crafting gummies. “Most gummy confections contain 5 to 10 percent fruit juice and the rest is sugar water,” Vodovotz says. “There are non-synthetic flavors and dyes, but they’re really still mostly chemicals.”

She switches up the traditional formula and uses freeze-dried fruits and powdered vegetables to design supplements with a gummy-like chew for cancer patients. Compared to the classic candy, these hold much more fiber and plant matter, which creates a jam-like consistency on the insides. Gelatin is a no-go because it’s not gluten-free or vegan—so, she gets creative with a variety of gelling agents to account for the acidity and calcium levels of her ingredients. Grapefruit, for example, has a low pH, so it pairs best with agar as opposed to pectin or starch.

While Vodovotz aims to preserve as many natural compounds as possible to give her products a nutritional kick, her snack-y counterparts only borrow a few to spin out their artificial flavors. But there’s potential for this treat to do more than satisfy a sugary craving. “While the industry is associated with indulgence, I think they’re starting to notice that there are possibilities to use gummies as a healthier vehicle,” Vodovotz says.

Triffler points out that Haribo is also tinkering with vegan and gluten-free options. These future candies will hopefully hit the same tender notes that Riegel once simmered up with a modern-day, diet-inclusive twist. And though people’s tastes might change over time, in the end, they’ll always want two things: a gummy they can really sink their teeth into and a departure from the ordinary senses.

[scootoaster]

The intense flavor science behind Haribo’s gummies

The Haribo Goldbear's century-old recipe has evolved over time. Today, a gummy in Germany might taste different than one in Singapore, Brazil, or the US. (Stan Horaczek/)

A hundred years ago, the first Haribo factory cranked up its confectionery machines on the banks of Germany’s Rhine River. Started by 27-year-old Hans Riegel, the business stayed modest and local—until the founder made a marvelous culinary discovery. The exact formula to his bear-shaped success remains a secret to this day, but it’s recipe includes gelatin, sugar, a copper kettle, a rolling pin, and the magic of thermodynamics.

Haribo Goldbear gummies are now one of the top-selling candies in the world, spawning dozens of copycats and filling hundreds of fingerprint-smudged waiting-room jars. The company has grown out of Riegel’s home city of Bonn with 16 factories across Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America. It’s slated to open its first US production facility in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, in September.

The company cooks up 100 million gummy bears a day—on top of numerous other mouth-puckering chews. It sells more than 1,000 varieties in Germany, home to its current-day headquarters, and launches fresh lines every season, like this summer’s limited Passport edition. “Because of the way we produce our candies, we can make a lot of flavors and profiles with agility,” says Lauren Triffler, head of corporate communications of Haribo of America. US gummy fanatics can only choose from a modest 19 options at the moment. The sheer scale of the company makes it a powerhouse for profit, but it also lets it redefine how the candy industry creates certain fruit flavors, says Yael Vodovotz, a food-innovation scientist at Ohio State University. “They follow the trends and make the choices that change tastes.”

Anointing a new flavor to the Haribo lineup, however, takes some confection-making perfection. The company’s food scientists test each recipe exhaustively for aroma, texture, and regional preferences. The last step is key to ensuring a gummy will succeed across multiple markets. For example, Triffler says, Americans and Germans don’t always agree on what a “lemon” candy should taste like, making it tricky to develop a single yellow piece for a mix that suits everyone’s tongues. The company even had to change up Riegel’s famous recipe when introducing Goldbears stateside in the 1980s.

The company recently released a centennial Passport edition that samples from international varieties. It includes Goldbears, Starmix, Matador, Tagada, and Rotella. (Stan Horaczek/)

In general, customers in the US and Latin America have more of a sweet tooth than snackers in Japan and Western Europe. But in the past decade or so, Triffler says American candy lovers have shifted to the sour side. “The kids really like the Zing bites and streamers and the Twin Snakes, which is the second best-selling flavor after the bears. You see that change in generations.” Even in the tart profiles, no two gummy recipes are the same. Some candies are covered in crunchy sugar crystals, while others layer distinct textures like marshmallow and gelatin. “There’s always entertainment value in the chew,” Triffler adds.

Experiments aside (the company won’t admit it, but the berry-blue Smurfs are an experiment that just happened to be a convenience store hit), there’s still a lot to learn about the chemistry of gummies. “A firm chew with a burst of flavor and plenty of servings in one bag” is what keeps Haribo customers coming back for more, Triffler says. Oddly enough, a favorite flavor doesn’t need to match up with its real-life fruity counterpart. The strawberry Goldbear is actually a bright lime color, but nobody seems to mind as long as the taste is consistent from bite to bite.

Beyond that, Haribo is quite tight-lipped about what makes their gummies such a culinary delight. But outside of the candy industry, food scientists are upfront about the challenges of crafting gummies. “Most gummy confections contain 5 to 10 percent fruit juice and the rest is sugar water,” Vodovotz says. “There are non-synthetic flavors and dyes, but they’re really still mostly chemicals.”

She switches up the traditional formula and uses freeze-dried fruits and powdered vegetables to design supplements with a gummy-like chew for cancer patients. Compared to the classic candy, these hold much more fiber and plant matter, which creates a jam-like consistency on the insides. Gelatin is a no-go because it’s not gluten-free or vegan—so, she gets creative with a variety of gelling agents to account for the acidity and calcium levels of her ingredients. Grapefruit, for example, has a low pH, so it pairs best with agar as opposed to pectin or starch.

While Vodovotz aims to preserve as many natural compounds as possible to give her products a nutritional kick, her snack-y counterparts only borrow a few to spin out their artificial flavors. But there’s potential for this treat to do more than satisfy a sugary craving. “While the industry is associated with indulgence, I think they’re starting to notice that there are possibilities to use gummies as a healthier vehicle,” Vodovotz says.

Triffler points out that Haribo is also tinkering with vegan and gluten-free options. These future candies will hopefully hit the same tender notes that Riegel once simmered up with a modern-day, diet-inclusive twist. And though people’s tastes might change over time, in the end, they’ll always want two things: a gummy they can really sink their teeth into and a departure from the ordinary senses.

[nanalikessurveys]

Breakfast! 1.) Have you ever eaten a “balanced breakfast” like they show in cereal commercials (I.E., bowl of cereal, fruit, glass of orange juice)? I have but i don’t do that as often as i should

2.) When’s the last time you made someone breakfast? Couple weeks ago i guess

3.) What’s your favorite cereal? I don’t eat cereal

4.) What’s the highest calorie, most terrible for you breakfast you’ve ever had? I don’t remember. but it had been somewhere in a hotel, i love hotel breakfast buffets

5.) Would you rather get breakfast from McDonald’s or Burger King? Mcdonalds

6.) Waffles or pancakes? I love pancakes, waffles not that much

7.) Eggs or cereal? Eggs

8.) Milk or orange juice? I would prefer someting else but i guess i would pick orange juice over milk

9.) PopTart or Toaster Strudel? I have not tried either of these

10.) Do you even eat breakfast? Every morning 

11.) Do you take vitamins with your breakfast? I take those multivitamin gummy bears lol

Lunch! 1.) When do you usually eat lunch?

If i eat it, at about 12-1pm

2.) Did you get notes from your parents in your lunch when you were little? Haha no

3.) If you had one, what did your lunch box look like? Never had, we have free lunch in schools here

4.) What’d you have for lunch today? I didn’t have lunch, just a snack

5.) Do you like to go out for lunch? Where? Yes but i don’t do it that often, i like to go for sushi lol

6.) Do you have/want any cute sandwich cutters? (They decrust your sandwich into a shape) Nope

7.) Do you sit with/meet with anyone for lunch often? Not really

8.) Have you ever had a peanut butter and butter sandwich, or does it sound appealing at all? I don’t think i have

9.) Is your lunch usually a hot food or a cold food? I think cold

10.) Has the word “lunch” been repeated so many times it’s a meaningless word by now? Hahah no

Dinner/Supper! 1.) Do you follow the health rule of having a small dinner and big breakfast? No, all of my meals are pretty big lol

2.) Do you ever say a prayer before eating dinner? No

3.) What’s your favorite take out dinner, if you have one? Idk, pizza?

4.) Have you ever been taken out to a nice restaurant for a dinner date? Yes

5.) Did you grow up eating dinner with your family? How do you think that affected you? Yes when i was a kid and my dad still lived with us we used to eat together, but when my parents separated and he moved away we just kind of got more chill and started to eat whenever and wherever we wanted. I don’t think that affected me tho in anyway?

6.) Do you have “nice” dinner plates for special occasions? Not really

7.) Do you ever eat frozen dinners? Rarely

8.) What dinner foods can you cook? I can actually cook alot of foods if you just give me a recipe

9.) White or red meat (or their vegetarian substitute counterparts)? White

10.) Soup or salad? Salad

Dessert! 1.) Do you ever get dessert at a restaurant when they ask? Yes if my mom allows me LOL

2.) Is there a dessert food most people like that you hate? I don’t like cream cakes

3.) Cupcakes or real cake? Cupcakes

4.) Ice cream or pie? Ice cream

5.) What kind of birthday cake (or other sweet birthday type thing) do you usually get? No-bake cakes are the best and i always ask for those

6.) What was your favorite childhood birthday cake?

Ice cream cake

7.) Do you have a favorite foreign (to a Westerner, anyway :P) desserts? (Baklava, biscotti, churros…) Yes i love churros and creme brulees

8.) Do you bake sweets? Which are you best at? Sometimes. i make pies and cupcakes

9.) Have you ever had a good “diet” dessert, like something endorsed by Weight Watchers? What was it? No

10.) What’s your dream dessert? Some fancy ice cream bowl like a banana split lol

11.) Do you watch shows like Cake Boss or Cupcake Wars? No

Snacks! 1.) What’s the best candy in the world? i like liquorice and haribo candies

2.) Do you eat more snacks or full meals? Meals i think

3.) Is there anything you find yourself eating when you’re bored? Anything i can find lol

4.) Do drinks with calories count as a snack? Sure

5.) What’s your favorite food that’s usually served at parties? I don’t go to parties so i don’t know whats served in there lol

6.) Do you eat in class? If so, what is it, usually? Never

7.) Honestly, are your snacks healthy or bad for you? Unhealthy usually

8.) Potato chips or trail mix? Potato chips

9.) What do you usually get at the movie theater? EVERYTHING literally, we bring the whole grocery store with us lol

10.) Did you get fruit snacks with your favorite character on them when you were little? No

11.) Do you remember any sayings from conversation hearts? Which is your favorite? I don’t know what those are

Food in general! 1.) Do you buy generic brand food? Sometimes

2.) Is there a common food you find repulsive? Pickles

3.) What’s your favorite “ethnic” cuisine? I’d say chinese

4.) If you were stranded in a zombie apocalypse with only a full, run-of-the-mill and full-of-junk vending machine for food, which items would you eat first? Chocolate maybe

5.) Are you a candy fanatic? No i wouldn’t call myself that

6.) Do you like any weird food combinations? No i don’t think so

7.) Are there any foods you shouldn’t eat because of your religion? No

8.) Would you eat a bug if it was covered in your favorite food? Haha no

9.) Do you think being a vegan would be/is really hard? I don’t think it would

10.) Do you eat in the car? I rarely travel by car but yeah

11.) Do you pay attention to serving sizes? Sometmies

12.) Fruit or vegetables? Fruits

13.) Mustard or ketchup? Ketchup

14.) Does mayonnaise disgust you? Nooooo i love mayo

15.) What’s your favorite holiday, in terms of the food you get to eat during it? Christmas obviously

16.) Are you hungry? (: What do you plan on eating next?

I am not, i just ate mushroom soup lol

[timothyduranne]

Meet Dr. Leigh Wilson

Credentials, experience, and associations are extremely important aspects to look for in a pediatric dentist. What makes one stand out from the other? WHO they are. Our Doctor Spotlight series allows our tiny patients and parents to get a glimpse into the doctor’s lives. Come get to know us!

Doctor Spotlight: Dr. Leigh Wilson

Dr. Wilson joined our team in Fall 2016. She serves patients in our Gastonia and Waverly offices. She has a deep-rooted passion for providing care to special needs children. In the last year, she spent her residency at the Children’s Hospital in Colorado. In Moshi, Tanzania, she provided dental care for children with vision impairments as a volunteer. She shares our vision of providing a safe and calming environment for kids while they receive dental care.

Why did you decide to focus on pediatric dentistry rather than general dentistry?

The short answer is that I’m just a big kid at heart, but the real reason is the chance to be a positive role model in a child’s life. I look forward to being able to offer consistency in a child’s life and can be someone that they look back on their childhood and remember that I always believed in them. I want all of my patients to grow up and love going to the dentist, or if they don’t love the dentist, at least they won’t fear the dentist.

Do you have kids?

Yes! I have a 15-month-old little girl named Hattie Ann. She was born in Colorado while I was in residency and is enjoying becoming a North Carolina girl!

What are some of your “tricks” to help ease kids’ fears about their dental visits?

I love talking to little girls about my “frozen juice” when giving anesthetic, I convince them that Elsa gave me some of her special powers to make it feel like winter in her mouth.

When I’m doing extractions I always tell the kids that I’m using my “Hulk” muscles to really push on their tooth, and if they watch closely I might turn green!

What’s the best part of your day?

My favorite part of my day is walking on the front porch when I get home from work and knocking on the glass to get Hattie’s attention through the door and seeing her face light up when she realizes I’m home! Then we spend 5 minutes ringing the doorbell over and over, which makes her giggle uncontrollably.

What’s your favorite kids’ show?

I don’t watch a lot of TV with a 15-month-old running around, but I do love kids’ movies. My niece has made me watch Frozen more times than I would like to admit, and I love singing the songs during my day to little girls who are scared, you can stop tears quickly with a poorly tuned rendition of “Let It Go.” I also love Cars, Tow Mater is hilarious and one of my favorite characters of all time. If you turn on any Disney princess movie I still find myself mesmerized by the story and lessons that they can still teach me today.

What’s your favorite color?

I have three favorite colors, kelly green, neon pink, and violet!

Do you have a sweet tooth? If so, what’s your favorite sweet?

I don’t have just one sweet tooth, I have a whole mouth full! Any road trip I have ever taken is never complete without Swedish Fish, Haribo gummy bears, Muddy Buddy Chex Mix, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Basically anything sweet and gummy (not sour) and anything that combines peanut butter and chocolate is my kryptonite.

Have you always wanted to be a dentist? If not, what did you want to be as a kid?

I honestly did not know I wanted to be a dentist until I was a junior in college. I had always wanted to follow in my sister’s footsteps and become a physician, an OB GYN, to be specific. I wanted to be a part of that miraculous moment in someone’s life when they brought such love into the world, but after long discussions with my sister and the type of lifestyle that medicine offers to your family, I had second thoughts.

My mom’s best friend growing up was our dentist’s wife, and I had a lot of dental work done as a child, and I really liked going. I changed to Pre-dentistry my junior year of college and never looked back!

I love Pediatric Dentistry because the training still requires a vast amount of medical knowledge of syndromes, medical disorders, medications, and I feel like I’m always having to think, but it also allows me to be a great mom, and offers such a great life-work balance.

Do you have a role model or a mentor? Why do you look up to them?

This is such a hard question, I am blessed with so many amazing people in my life that I can’t only choose one.

My mom would have to be the number one role model in my life, she has been such a great example of a kind, compassionate, working mother that has shaped me into the person I am today.  She has her Ph.D. in Special Education and worked for my entire childhood, and she has instilled such a spirit of service in all of my siblings.

My sisters would also have to be included in my role models. My two older sisters have taught me so much about being a working mom, being a loving sister, and have provided me with such support through all of my decisions in life. My younger sister is also someone I look up to so much, she is a special education teacher in New Orleans and is a wonderfully patient, kind, giving person that I strive to be like.

Lastly, Mrs. Abbie Rogers was someone who I have looked up to my whole life, she was like another grandmother for my sisters and me when we were growing up in Mississippi. Mrs. Abbie started a summer camp for children and adults with special needs many years ago, which my sisters and I were lucky enough to be involved with during our childhood because our mom was one of the assistant directors. Through this experience, I was able to experience the joy and fulfillment that can only be achieved through service to others, and I can wholeheartedly say that this led me down a path to a healthcare career.

What is your favorite sports team?

I love the University of Georgia Bulldogs football team! Go Dawgs, Sic ‘em!

Finish this sentence: When I was a kid… I never had a haircut until I was 8 years old, and I have the craziest/curliest hair.  So my sisters liked to, and still do to this day,  kindly refer to me as “fro-baby.”

The post Meet Dr. Leigh Wilson appeared first on Charlotte Pediatric Dentistry - The best Pediatric Dentist in Charlotte, Davidson, Gastonia and UNCC area..

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