#also there's just a lot of flavor combinations i wouldn't have considered

[piedoesnotequalpi]

I do not discuss my cooking habits or lack thereof much on here but Cook As You Are is already my most-used cookbook relative to how long I've owned it and I am recommending it to everyone who has to cook for themselves

[marshmallowprotection]

Hmm what do you think the favorite candies of the RFA + the minor trio are?

Oh. That's a fun question! Let's think about this, shall we?

Jaehee isn't huge on sweets that she doesn't make herself. So, I'm torn. I don't see her as someone who enjoys any candy. I think she's more likely to consume a treat when it's something she baked for her cafe. But, I suppose, if pressed, you may be able to get her to admit a small memory from her childhood. Her parents used to buy her some Pepero, that's a Korean take on Pocky.

I went over this when someone asked me about what kind of treat Zen likes before and I think my answer stands. Hotteok! You can't go wrong with street pancakes... and you can't go wrong with a center filled with caramel or nuts. His parents wouldn't let him have candy as a kid and as an adult, he doesn't bother with candy, not because he remembers what his parents said, but because he doesn't want to break out!

Yoosung eats star candy like Tic-Tacs. He is Shooting Star Yoosung! He loves to eat candy that invokes his sense of self, and it's cute. He loves to be cute, despite whining about people calling him cute, he's determined to be the cutest. Imagine if you asked him for candy and he just hands you these. That feels right, doesn't it?

Jumin isn't a candy guy. But, do you know what I think he enjoys if he wants to indulge in a treat? I think he likes Oreos. I don't know why, it feels right. The way he was looking at those sugar-coated strawberry in the most recent photo from Cheritz told me that he's not big on pure sugar as a snack. But, an Oreo? It's a cookie with the sweetest center that has people debate by and large the right way to eat one. He'd enjoy that conversation! Does it dunk it or pull it apart first? I'm not sure!

I just know Saeyoung loves sour candy. I don't know why I feel that way but considering that he loves the combination of Honey Butter chips and Dr. Pepper, I know he's down to mix different flavors for a good time. Sour and sweet? He is a risk-taker, he is willing to try any food that comes his way, and that exploration lets him find out new combinations you might never dream of. I also think he'd love a dirt cup, that's pudding, oreos, and gummy worms.

I don't know what it is about Jihyun, but I get the sense he loves to see art in his candy. You can do a lot of cool stuff with rock candy, I saw someone make an entire geode out of chocolate and sugar for an experiment. He wants his candy to inspire him and what's more of a kick to a guy like him if not a candy that can be shaped in to be all kinds of stuff?

Saeran consumes Strawberry Bon Bons. I know if you're American like me, you've seen someone in your life with these candies before. They're the candy you might see your grandma eat! They were old in the twentieth century and they're even older now! My man is coded to be a cozy grandpa style these days, and it makes sense he would eat these up once you handed them to him. It's only a matter of time until he gets called old!

Controversial opinion. I think Vanderwood likes candy corn and I don't know why I feel this way but I do. Someone has to like this candy and the only person I can think of who would never want to admit that is Vanderwood. Good luck getting that out of him if you can, guys.

If you give Rika some dark chocolate Kit-Kats, I think she'd be set for life. Something about breaking them apart brings her some joy. I like to imagine she shared some with Mika that night in the hospital and it was one of the best days of her life, even if it was bittersweet. Life was cruel to her in that moment, and a small joy made a difference.

[acealistair]

🌙🌸🌻🌟❄️❄️ for dnd char of ur choice hehe

Gah, I got hit with an unreasonable amount of work the last few days so that's why I'm just getting to this now, sorry! 😭 But thank you so much for sending it!!! I'm gonna do Finch bc she's my fave right now lol

🌙- Does this oc have any unusual hobbies?

Yeah, I'd say so. Tinkering! Finch is an extremely hands-on person so she likes just about any activity that fulfills that, but she's found she loves creating mechanical/magical things. In-game, she made a friend who is an artificer student at a university, and in her downtime Finch frequently goes to visit and learn from him. It's to the point that I've considered multiclassing her to artificer, buuuut the benefits I'd get from that aren't quite what I want for her. My DM and I are working something out where she'll be able to get proficiency in tinker's tools and maybe one or two infusions.

🌸- What's this oc's favorite and least favorite color?

Red is her favorite for sure, she just looks good in it lol. Least favorite... ironically probably like a lavender/pastel purple. I say ironically because that's my favorite color, but she wouldn't like the femininity of it and she wouldn't look great in clothes of that color. She doesn't think too hard about it though.

🌻- What's this oc's mental health state?

LMAO it's uh. sure something. Not as bad as like, Lyrie's, but Finch is a fucking mess. She was emotionally neglected by her father, physically and emotionally abused by her siblings, and then anyone who didn't know her secret of being a tiefling either feared or revered her for being royalty -- not really conducive to forming normal, healthy relationships with people. Now that she's escaped the palace, she's paranoid, anxious, and selfish. She has a serious lack of empathy and doesn't think about/care how her actions impact people, particularly strangers. She also avoids all her problems like the plague, which we're now starting to see the consequences of in-game so that's super fun (genuinely, from a player's perspective, just not so fun for her 😂).

All that goes to say is I dunno what I'd diagnose her with other than Issues™

🌟- Is this oc good at expressing themself through words or do they have to use other means?

Finch may have received an excellent education and therefore has a great vocabulary and can write formally, but she's AWFUL when it comes to verbally expressing any emotions other than anger or snark. The issue is she's also pretty bad at expressing anything genuine through her actions as well, short of like, having her party's back in combat (though even then it's usually them who have her back since she's by far the physically weakest). Her way of showing affection is by hanging out with people (and pulling pranks on them if they give funny reactions), but she doesn't totally realize that isn't a loud and clear way of saying she cares. 😅 Fun thing is, she's currently kidnapped and the party is on their way to save her, so I gotta think of how she's going to show her gratitude, if at all.

❄- What is this oc's favorite and least favorite food?

I've thought a lot about this; as it stands, she doesn't have any super specific dishes that are favorites/least favorites, but she loves street food and, as much as she loathes to admit it, cannot stand spicy food. These both stem from her diet in the palace, which our DM described as essentially fancy French food, where it's hardly seasoned to let the high-quality ingredients ~shine~. Therefore street food blew her mind with how indulgent and flavorful it is, while spicy food is way too much for her palate combined with her pitiful constitution score lol (also it's just funny because she's a fire-themed tiefling)

[babyboyblasty]

CHAPTER 9:

In the end it was Mina who had to take one for the "greater good" and promise to delete /all/ (and it was a lot) of her girl Kacchan pictures in order for Bakugou to agree to let them doll him up for the mall. The pink skinned girl had pouted when Bakugou made the bargain but agreed nonetheless because to hell she was missing out on this once in a lifetime opportunity.

"You have to let us do /and/ dress you however we want though, okay? That's the deal" Uraraka reminded and Bakugou rolled his eyes with a 'tch', crossing his arms over his chest.

"As long as you don't make me look stupid, do what you want. Let's get this over with" Bakugou grumbled and the girls squealed. Mina and Hagakure immediately started digging through their combined pile of clothing they each took from their own closets and piled up on Bakugou's bed. Mina had a bunch of animal print and vibrant, loud clothing that just screamed 'look at me' while Hagakure's was a bit more simple but still very girly and cute. Bakugou was dreading what they were going to dress him in.

Kirishima waved goodbye to the girls and they all thanked him for helping them move their things to Bakugou's dorm. Not only were they dressing him but they also brought over their own things to get ready in his room too (they were dressing in their own rooms though). There were makeup bags on his desk, straighteners and curling wands plugged in as they helped do each other's hair, etc. It looked like a disaster zone as pinky and invisible girl dug through their things and carelessly threw them on the floor as they looked for what to put on Bakugou while simultaneously also looking for an outfit for themselves.

"I'll be doing your makeup, Bakugou-san. Do you have something in mind?" Momo smiled sweetly as she sat down in front of him, placing her makeup bag on her knees. Momo by no means considered herself a makeup guru but she did know a thing or two from watching videos and practicing on herself.

"Do whatever you think will look best on me" was all the blonde said and Momo gave him a nod. Based on his facial features already, Momo didn't need to do much. His skin was flawless already so she wouldn't need to do any spot treatments for acne or blemishes. Any eye bags were close to nonexistent too. Bakugou obviously took very good care of himself. All in all, Momo didn't think Bakugou even needed any makeup to appear stunning so something minimal just to make his best features pop out would be the way to go. Momo took a cute bunny headband to push his hair back and out of the way while she applied a sheer tinted moisturizer to his face. She started off with brows then moved on to a light pink/peach eyeshadow look with a small wing. Blush and a tinted lip balm for a coral wash of color was her next move. Cherry flavored. After that all that was left was mascara to make his lashes longer and fuller and a subtle highlighter for a dewy look. His makeup was kept to a minimum to make his natural beauty pop and if it was possible Bakugou looked even prettier than before.

"Wooow" Momo heard from behind her and turned to see Mina, Ochako, Jirou, and the rest of the girls looking over Momo's shoulder at Bakugou in awe. The blonde had his eyes closed since Momo had been applying a bit of highlighter on his lids so he opened them and looked at the girls with a raised eyebrow. For once Mina had nothing to say as she just appreciated the sight of her friend looking like an angel instead of an angry pomeranian for once.

"You did good, Yaomomo" Ochako broke the silence, one side of her head straightened while the other was still curved, the straightener still in her hand. They all agreed, each asking the black haired girl if she could do their makeup next. Momo blushed a bit under the praise of her friends and of course agreed to help them with their makeup.

Bakugou took out his phone to open the front camera and look at himself. He smirked a little. "Not bad, Ponytail" he looked up. Even he knew he looked good.

Momo smiled brightly. "There honestly wasn't much to do. You're already so pretty, Bakugou-san, so I only had to do a few things" she explained.

"Oi Blasty! Look what we have for you!" Mina and Hagakure both came forward with two articles of clothing. "Try them on!"

He took them. One was white and the other pink. "Fine" he mumbled, no other choice but to agree, and went into the bathroom attached to his dorm. He got undressed quickly out of his school uniform and put on what they picked out for him. The top was a white, layed, ruffled, off the shoulder crop top. The bottoms were a pair of high waisted, wide leg magenta shorts that sort of looked like a skirt if he kept his legs together. The combination wasn't bad and as he exited the bathroom, Mina gasped, putting her hands over her mouth like the drama queen she was.

"You look so good, Bakubabe!!! Here, I got these from my room just now. I think they'll pair well with that outfit" she smiled and grabbed some tan sandals with an ankle strap and a small heel. Bakugou took them and sat down to put them on. After that all they had to do was his hair. They didn't really do much but just brush it and add some product to make it fluffy and softer (which Bakugou definitely did not make a note of to remember and buy later). Hagakure spritzed him with a sweet smelling perfume and then he was done. By that point most of the girls had picked up their things and left to change clothing except for Mina who was changing in his bathroom since all her clothes were in his room already and Jirou who was already dressed looking like every girl's e-girl dream aesthetic.

Once she was done, Mina texted the class group chat to check if everyone was ready and that they'll be meeting in the common room in ten minutes so they can head over to the mall together. "We'll see you in a bit, Bakubabeeee" Mina waved him goodbye and she and Jirou left to their own rooms. Once they were gone Bakugou laid back in his bed to rest and mentally prepare himself for the rest of the day. After eight minutes he heard a knock and went up to answer it.

"Hey are you rea- oh" Kirishima's mouth snapped shut as he just stared down at Bakugou with red cheeks and wide eyes.

"Oh?" Bakugou tsked, leaning against the doorframe with a smirk. "That all you have to say?" The blonde was just joking but Kirishima immediately shook his head no.

"No! I mean- I.. you.. you look good. Very manly" he smiled nervously and Bakugou rolled his eyes with a snort. ‘Darn it’ Kirishima cursed himself for getting so awkward and not coming up with something better. It was like he was going back to his middle school self.

"Yeah whatever. Let's go, shitty hair" Bakugou grabbed his phone and room key card then locked the door behind him and started going to the elevator to go down to the common room with a strangely quiet Kirishima next to him. ‘What's up with him?’ he thought to himself.

Next to Bakugou, Kirishima's head was going a mile a minute. Every rom com movie he's ever watched with Mina was flashing through his mind right now and he kept imagining himself and his best buddy in the main characters' positions. Him picking Bakugou up by the waist, their hair moving in the wind while his open button up flew behind him like a cape. Him shielding Bakugou from the harsh sun while he enjoyed a popsicle snack (spicy mango is his favorite). Him tucking a flower behind Bakugou’s ear. Him kneeling down to buckle the strap on his sandal when it came loose. Glancing over at the blonde when they were in the elevator going down to the first floor, Kirishima smiled shyly but then looked away with a frown when he realized he was royally 100% screwed.

[word count: 1428]

[hotpocket-fucker]

🔥🔥🔥

Ok, idk what would you like me to talk about, but lets start with a light topic, let's talk about some food opinions.

1. If you eat with a spoon, I will assume that you are a kid or you are an absolute klutz, if you can't eat with a fork because you are chronically ill or something, I will excuse you I have no problem with you. I do know there are foods that can be eaten with a spoon, like soup or cereal, those are allowed to, but for the rest, learn how to use a fork for the love of god and stop eating pasta with a spoon...!

2. About meat and its cook terms, if you eat your meat Rare to Medium, you are satan, period...you e-coli eating bitch...

3. Relating to the last one, if you say that well done steak is always dry and ugly, you've never had a good, juicy, well done steak.

4. The three main flavors of ice cream: Vanilla, chocolate and strawberry; have these perks of flavor that I've noticed:

Vanilla and strawberry are the most refreshing of the three, chocolate tends to feel heavier.

But, vanilla and strawberry are easier for them to taste too artificial than chocolate.

When the taste is artificial, vanilla tends to be more overpowering than strawberry, but strawberry despite still feeling refreshing often tastes too sweet, while chocolate loses its richness and mainly tastes like sugar.

If you want to feel refreshed, go for a good strawberry ice cream, vanilla and chocolate will just make you feel heavy.

Strawberry milkshake with peanuts are bae.

Chocolate tastes a lot better with strawberries and peanuts

Plain vanilla is good but I prefer it if it has caramel drizzle combined in it or chocolate chips.

5. Brownies without that crust on the top are just chocolate cake, gimme the crust, dammit!

6. Nutella is overrated, but like...so fucking overrated, that shit ain't even that good and all it tastes like is sugar and chocolate, also, the composition is gross, considering that is mostly oil and sugar that keeps it together...ew

7. Sushi is gross, no matter how you put it, with what ingredients you prepare it or how much soy sauce you put on it, it will never taste good.

8. Salmon is too strong and gross regardless of how you prepare it and yes, it is also terribly overrated.

9. Mango is only good when its green with lemon and salt, and when you have green mango with salt in its popsicle presentation 😍

10. I don't hate avocado but...that damn fruit is not even that good! Is often very simple and flavorless, but hell does it make a good avocado butter sandwich...

11. Raisins ain't even that bad! If you don't want raisins to be the most overpowering thing in a plate, go get blonde raisins, those don't taste that strong.

12. Mint and chocolate IS a good combo, deal with it.

13. Coffee is not even that good, the smell is nice (specially the coffee beans), I like it, but the flavor...hmmm, and coffee snobs are THE WORST "no talkie before coffee" bitch imma slap you with a crowbar...damn...

14. Dark chocolate is THE BEST of them all, milk chocolate, depends on what type or the brand, white chocolate is fucking gross, too sweet and above all, it's FAKE! THAT SHIT AIN'T REAL CHOCOLATE! The only valid presentation of white chocolate is cookies and cream.

15. Pineapple on pizza ain't even that bad and its even scientifically proven that pineapple on pizza does work!

I don't hate it, if there is that type of pizza at a place I wouldn't hate to eat it, myself, I would choose for another one, BUT, I have my rules for it, if the pineapple is canned therefore it will not taste good and that too much pineapple can indeed ruin the pizza, a couple of chunks here and there is not bad but throwing the whole damn pineapple is just...no...

16. If you eat food that is supposed to be eaten hot, cold...you are the devil, and yes! I'm talking about y'all you pizza from the freezer freaks!

17. This is mainly a costa rican thing but toasted gallo pinto is the best, don't try to change that.

18. Tonic water is just so fucking gross, no matter how much you try to put stuff on that shit; that nasty ass bitter ibuprofen flavor (y'know when you try to swallow a pill but instead it stays on you mouth and the bitter taste lingers around...yeah that one) will always stay.

19. Bell peppers are the worst, they taste like mould, and they release an ugly smell either cooked or raw.

20. Cilantro, celery and parsley taste like soap and ibuprofen.

21. Cucumber ruins EVERYTHING it touches, and is so weird for a vegetable that's mostly water to taste/smell so strong, seriously, put it on a salad and try to get it out both the smell and taste WILL STAY, it can be smelt metres away, and I know that thing has properties but do I look like I give a damn about them?

22. All squashes, chayote, pumpkins they are all bad and when they are cooked they all smell like boiling ass.

23. Raw onions are the only valid presentation of that thing, caramelized onions are utter shit, I have no problem with onion rings tho.

24. Caesar salad, coleslaw and fruit salad are the only valid types of salad.

25. I have no problem with cheesecake but if the crust is thin, get it away from me, the crust has to be at least like 20% of the cheesecake because it has always been the best part, thick crust ftw!

26. I will side eye tf out of you if you eat beets.

27. If you add water to hot chocolate I fucking hate you (except if you are lactose intolerant).

28. Dry cereal is THE BEST snack out there.

29. If you eat olives black or green, guess what? You. Are. Satan!

30. Red pesto<<<<<<<Green pesto

And I think that's about it...

[quarterbackpack-blog]

Singapore: Inside The Heart of Lion City

I gave this review a lot of time. I wanted to let my experience of this beautiful city-state completely sink in. This was important as Singapore was my very first foreign destination that I was going to travel without my family. Thus, it held a a very close place to my heart.  I wanted to recall every aspect of my visit so I can give a fair and unbiased view of the visit. The things I would discuss in this piece would be the general vibe, culture and sense of attraction one gets from the city. For a detailed travel guides and things to in city further blog posts shall follow.

From the get go as soon as you land at the beautiful Changi Airport you are awestruck by the majesty of the place. It signals as an omen of things that await you. There is a reason that this airport has held the ‘Best Airport’ title since 2013. You quickly stumble upon MRT platforms to get you to the place you are staying. It was at the MRT station where I got my first cultural shock. The seating, cleanliness, the well-marked signs  makes one appreciate the effort that has been put by the planners. Being a Pakistani, I’ve always frowned upon the public transport mainly because we have not created this sort of culture nor the government has provided adequate facilities for us to appreciate such things. I am more used to driving from one place to another while being stuck in traffic for hours. Using the MRT in Singapore really made me appreciate the need for investing in more projects of such in my country of Pakistan.

After you’ve made it to the city you start exploring what it is. The mesmerising tall skyscrapers, clean pavements, excellent roads, amazing technological advancement all sound and look spectacular. Truly, Singapore stands as a great example of progress and development for third world countries. 

The beautiful Supertree Groves at the Gardens By The Bay with Marina Bay Sands behind clearly told me that this city would be anything like I have ever seen or will ever see. Yes it is as pretty as you ever imagined. Yes the “groves” do seem to be something out of Avatar. Yes it is indeed the first place that you’ll probably take that picture to post on Instagram.

Right next to Gardens by the Bay stands a true marvel of engineering. I am of course talking about the fascinating Marina Bay Sands Hotel. Every city wants to build a tall Hotel tower but I don’t believe any has combined a Museum, a Casino, a Shopping Mall and a Hotel so elegantly.

But these are just your run of the mill touristy places that I can ramble on and on about in later blogs. I can keep telling you about Clarke Quay, Botanic Gardens, Fort Canning, Sentosa and so on. But it’s just not fun. It’s what I like to call “puzzle or lego experience?” Let me explain.

Imagine you’re ten years old. You and your friend go and buy your favourite jigsaw puzzle. It is fun. It would come with instructions about how to put pieces together to complete the puzzle. The end result is a beautiful picture or image that you have completed by putting together each piece of the puzzle carefully together. But the problem is when you and your friend share your creation after completion of the puzzle with each other – it looks exactly the same. You both would have  similar challenges and experiences while putting it together. Now compare that to buying Lego pieces. You and your friend will have complete freedom putting together whatever creation you like. You both will have a different challenge putting it together and also a totally different creation.  

For me travelling is a bit like that. Do I want that linear jigsaw puzzle experience? Do I want to experience and share the same experience that millions of people have every year at the places they visit? Or do I want the “Lego experience?” I for one choose the Lego experience. I want to cut the body of the place, go deep inside, and separate it from the superficiality to see the soul and spirit of the place. I wanted to see the raw, untouched and pure heart of the city i.e. Singapore

I realise being in Singapore this can be tough. One can easily be fooled into believing maybe this place is just sterile and is all about its fancy buildings, gardens and development. One starts to wonder if this city actually has a spirit. Where is the grit and glory of this place?

So how do we find the spirit of Singapore? Let’s start with food. Everyone likes to go to the Orchard Road and explore its beautiful malls. All that roaming around can get a bit tiring especially in Singaporean heat. Now you have a choice. You can sit at one of the many international coffee shops like Coffee Bean and enjoy your iced Americano along with cheesecake...or you can just buy ice-cream bead. Yes, infamous ice-cream bread available at many carts alongside the Orchard Road. There is something about this thick slab of your favourite ice-cream put between a slice of bread that makes you appreciate the simplicity. Just select your favourite flavor (buy durian one for authentic Singapore experience) and indulge in the absolute delight.

Eat at a Hawker Centre. Oh the hawkers centres of Singapore. They are the places where this city, its people, its cultures are on absolute display. Being a Lahori I consider myself sort of an expert on food and believe me when I say this, Singapore has one of the best foods I’ve ever had. It is easily compatible with Lahore. Notable mentions: Chicken Rice, Penang Noodle Soup, Tandoori Chicken and so many other absolutely delicious foods. Just find your nearest Hawker Center, go to the favorite food stall, choose your meal, sit down and chow down on your succulent meal all the while observing the vibe around you.

Walking around on the streets of Singapore and checking out the authentic neighbourhoods of the city was my next favourite thing. Singapore is a safe city and roaming alone at whatever time of the day became my favourite activity. Meeting different people and witnessing strangest cultural trends made me realise that this city is truly indeed more than just a web of skyscrapers. I strolled in Geylang to enjoy the infamous Singapore fruit “Durian” and realised it is far more than just the red light district that it is notorious for, visited Chinatown countless times which was full of activity and culture as the Chinese New Year was just around the corner, got captivated in the allies of Little India where Bollywood songs were blasting on high volume, soaked in the hip and funky vibe of Arab street and Haji Lane which albeit was little touristy but was fun exploring. It is in areas like these that I found the beating heart of Singapore.

So what is traveling all about? It is about turning into streets that no one is talking about on the internet, going to places that are forgotten. Places where you need not pay for tickets for everything. Those landmarks that are yet to make it to Instagrams top trends. It is in these places where you’ll get the actual buzz and adventure of the place. There is nothing wrong in going to touristy places and taking pictures to put up on Instagra. I mean what evidence do you have of visiting Singapore if you haven’t taken a picture besides The Merlion Statue. But for me that isn’t the whole package. For me the soul, spirit and heart of the city are living and thriving in some other places. That is what feeds me. These will be the experiences that I will cherish. Place after place that reminds you that Singapore might have moved from, “third world to first world in a single generation” but at its core it is still closely connected to culture and history.

EVIDENCE!

So does Singapore have its own identity, soul and spirit? Absolutely. Will I visit it again? Hell yes.

For more on my Singapore stories visit my Instagram and watch my Singapore Highlight. More blog posts shall follow soon!

Also follow my friend Hassan Muzaffar on Instagram without whom this whole trip wouldn't have been possible and was an amazing travel buddy. Who also has better shots of the city too: