#maybe i should start w that open cinema or a museum visit

[whoviandoodler]

I need to figure out stuff to do sometimes soon I'm wasting away indoors

[parkkjiminssi]

Car Sickness.

a/n: my beautiful musical anon, you always make my day whenever you pop into my inbox. Ilysvm for that! This is my first time doing a reaction so I hope it’s to your liking!

Kim Seokjin

You two were just going to the supermarket, for goodness sake! Literally a five minute drive from your apartment and you were already throwing your brains out. You offered to go walking but Jin quickly refused, not wanting to let you go on your own. So here you were. You asked Jin to pull over and before he did, you had already opened the door of the car. Jin rubbed your back lovingly until you were done then handed you a paper towel to clean yourself. On the way back, the same thing happened. When you arrived, Jin helped you get off his car and into your apartment. “Don’t worry about the groceries, darling. I’ll get them down.” You opened your mouth to protest but he was already out the door.

After a couple of minutes, Jin had already brought all the bags inside so you got up and started putting them away in the cupboards and the fridge. Your boyfriend walked over next to you and started pulling out plates and pans in order to start cooking. He was unusually quiet. ‘I should tell him, I mean he already saw me throwing up. I can’t just not explain what that was all about.’ You decided.

“Jin, I—“

“Y/N, are you pregnant?” He interrupted. “If you are it’s okay! I promise to take full responsibility. I was actually already thinking about marriage and all of that, anyways.”

“Wait, h-hold on!” You exclaimed, your heart beating a hundred miles per hour. “What makes you think I’m pregnant?”

Jin scratched the back of his head. “You’ve been throwing up a lot. I’ve never seen you throw up, so I just assumed.”

“Seokjin, I was throwing up because I get car sick not because I’m pregnant!”

“You get car sick? Is that why you wanted to go walking instead?” He asked perplexed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Yes, silly! I didn’t tell you because we had never really been on a car together and I didn’t think I was going to get sick since it was a five minute drive.” You turned to look away embarrassed, your cheeks beginning to feel hot. “I hate it so much.”

Jin dropped what he was doing and wrapped you in his arms. “Y/N, you shouldn't feel embarrassed about these type of things. It’s not your fault. If anything I feel lucky because there’s never a dull moment with you. You always keep me on my toes and besides, driving cars is so overrated. Plus you look beautiful even when you’re throwing up, so who’s the real winner here? Me, of course!”

You couldn’t help but laugh at his shows of affection. Jin finally let you go and turned back to chopping cabbage. While you were putting away the drinks in the fridge you recalled what Jin had said earlier and decided to poke fun at him. “So... marriage?”

This took him completely by surprise, causing his hand to slip and cutting his finger. “Oh, crap!”

Min Yoongi

“I’m going to start heading out.” You said as you stood up from the sofa.

“So soon? It’s not even seven yet.” Yoongi protested, grabbing on to your wrist to stop you from going.

“If I stay any later then it’ll be too dangerous for me to walk back to my apartment.” You explained but still sat back down.

“Why walk? I can just drive you back.” He said while he wrapped his arms around you and kissed the top of your head.

“I don’t do cars.” You said plainly.

“Well, of course not Y/N. You do me, duh!”

You slapped him gently on the arm for his comment. Your cheeks lightly blushing at his boldness. “What I mean is that I don’t ride cars, Min Yoongi.”

“Why not?” He asked, pulling away to look at you better.

“Because I get car sick. It’s been this way ever since I can remember. It’s crazy because as soon it starts moving I get all dizzy and nauseous.” You answered, resting your head on your hand. “So I must go now so I can walk home while there’s still light out.”

Yoongi listened to you attentively, but somehow found it rather cute and in a way convenient too.

You tried standing up again but Yoongi reached for your wrist again, this time he was the one that pulled you back down to the couch.

“Yoongi, I said I have t—“

“Shh.” He interrupted you, putting a finger against your lips. “How about you spend the night over then?”

“Sorry?” You blinked a few times. What this some sort of dream?

“I asked you to spend the night. As soon as it’s daytime I’ll walk you back home, but just for tonight stay. What do you say?” He wiggled his eyebrows at you teasingly. “It’s already started to get dark out anyways, and I don’t like the idea of you walking alone even if there’s still daylight.”

“I don’t have spare clothes.” 

“You can wear mine.” He quickly replied. “It’s not like you don’t already do it.”

“I can’t use your toothbrush, though.”

“We have spares, babe. You have no idea the amount of toothbrushes we go through here.”

You sighed in defeat. You tried to look for another excuse but you couldn’t seem to find one. You didn’t have work tomorrow nor had any type of errands to run. “Fine, I’ll stay the ni—”

Yoongi kissed your lips before you could finish your sentence. After that, the two of you cuddled until you fell asleep. Before that though, Yoongi made sure to thank whoever it needed to be thanked for this whole car sickness thing. If it weren’t for that, he wouldn’t have just spend one of the best nights of his life. He also prayed for many more days like this to come by your side.

Jung Hoseok

It had gotten quite late already.

You had gone over to visit Hoseok in one of his dance practices and had completely lost track of time. You just loved seeing your boyfriend dance. He was so beautiful!

“Y/N, lets go home!” Hoseok called to you while extending a hand to help you stand.

“What? Already?”

He nodded. “Yup, it’s almost midnight.”

“Wow, I honestly didn’t notice. Well, I’ll text you once I get home!” You got on your tippy toes to give him a kiss before leaving, but Hobi kept you in place not letting go of your hand.

“Baby, are you crazy? I’m not going to let you go home alone at these late hour, something could happen to you.” He dug into his pocket with his free hand and took out some keys. “I’ll drive you, come on!”

You felt Hobi tugging onto your arm but you just couldn’t seem to move from where you were standing.

“Y/N, are you okay?” He asked concerned.

“Hobi, it’s really okay. I can walk home.”

“Y/N, don’t be like this. I can’t let you walk alone at this hour. I wouldn’t know what I would do if something were to happen to you.” He protested, his brow furrowing in frustration.

“It’s just, I usually get crazy sick when I get on a car.” You finally confessed as you looked away. “I kind of have a phobia of cars because of that.”

Hoseok started chuckling.

“What’s so funny?”

"Nothing, it’s just that I’m usually the one who gets scared easily. I try to put a brave face in front of you but the truth is that I’m always dying inside.” He said in between laughs. “Learning this about you only makes me love you even more.”

Hobi took your bag from your hand and hung it around his shoulder. “Come on love, let’s take you home. Walking, of course.”

You reached over to plant a kiss on his cheek. “I love you.”

He smiled under the feel of your touch. “Besides, this is way better. I get to spend even more time with you. Who knows, maybe I can even spend the night.”

You nudged him on the side because you knew he was saying it to tease you but you quickly decided that it wasn’t such a bad idea after all. “Sure, you can stay the night.”

“W-wait, really?!”

Kim Namjoon

“Let’s go to the beach!” Namjoon exclaimed, happy to finally be able to spend time with you. The comeback had taken up most of his time, causing the two of you to be able to communicate through texts messages and calls only.

‘The beach..’ You thought. ‘It’s like an hour and a half away.’ “Maybe some other time, babe.”

“Okay, then. Let’s go bowling!”

“Isn’t bowling Jungkook and his girlfriend’s thing?” You came up with another excuse.

“Yeah, you’re right...” He placed his hand on his chin thoughtfully. “How about the museum?”

Forty minutes. “Hmm, not today. Lets do something else.”

“Carnival?”

Twenty minutes. “I think it said in the news that it would rain in the afternoon.”

Namjoon sighed heavily. “The car cinema?”

You shudered at the word ‘car’ but you also knew your boyfriend was close to loosing his patience. “Umm—”

“Okay, Y/N what’s going on?” Namjoon finally asked in frustration. “You keep on making excuses to not go out You’re not usually like this.”

You couldn't help but smile at your boyfriend and at how smart he was. You just couldn't get anything past him. “Have you ever heard of car sickness?”

“Of course. Whenever a person with that condition gets on a moving vehicle they start getting dizzy and nauseous.” He said matter of factly. “Wait... you have car sickness?”

You nodded in defeat. “That’s right, so don’t you ever think I don’t want to go out with you. It’s just this stupid condition that limits me a little.”

Namjoon stared at you wide eyed. He had always heard of that condition but never really met anybody with it. After a few moments of silence, he couldn’t help but smile at this whole situation and at how unique you were. You just always managed to amaze him more with each passing day.

"But if you really want to go out, then let’s. We’ve hardly spent any time together and I’ve missed my Joonie soo much.” You said while making grabby hands. “What do you say?”

Namjoon walked over to you and settled himself in your embrace. “It’s okay, lets just stay home.”

"Namjoon, it’s your day off. You know how rare it is to get these.” You started protesting.

“You’re even more rare. One in a million. I want to cherish you as long as I can. If we go out, I won’t be able to cuddle with you. Let’s stay in, that’s what I want to do today.” He said as he stroked your cheek. “Okay?”

“Okay.”

Park Jimin

You sighed.

Today was the first time that Jimin had managed to get time off in a long while and he wanted for the two of you to go on a little trip. This had been in the plans for a while now and you were so excited about it but the moment Jimin arrived at your house in a car, that’s when your realized for the first time that you were traveling by car and for some odd reason nature thought it’d be fun to make you feel sick whenever you were in an automobile. You tried your best to hide your feelings of fear and anxiety to not worry Jimin, but he was already on to you.

He took your bags from your hands and started putting them in the trunk of the car. You went over to the passenger door and opened it but Jimin grabbed on to your hand, stopping you before getting in.

“Okay Y/N, what’s wrong? Are you feeling sick? We can always postpone the trip, you know I don’t mind.” He said while stroking the back of your hand.

You looked away embarrassed. “It’s not that I’m feeling sick right now, it’s that I’m going to get sick once I get on this thing.” You said while tapping the opened door.

Jimin frowned in confusion and you couldn’t help but giggle at his cute expression. “I get sick everytime I get on a car, like all the time. It doesn’t matter what kind of precautions I take, I always end up getting nauseous once the car starts moving. I’m kind of scared of them to be honest but don’t worry, really! I don’t want this to ruin our plans. It’s only an hour away, right?”

He couldn’t help but smile. Each day he found out something new about you and each day he fell more and more in love with you. “Does it only happen with cars?”

You nodded. “Well, I do get sick in other types of transportation but not as bad as riding in a car. I can get through a plane flight just fine with a good cup of tea.”

“Then don’t worry about it! I’m not going to allow you to be sick for a whole hour just for my sake, baby. Let’s go somewhere far, where we need to take an airplane or a train! That’s so much better, right?” Jimin was willing to do just about anything for you and your happiness, that’s how much he loved and cared for you. If giving up driving a car was part of it, then he wouldn’t even think twice before doing it. “I love you so much, Y/N. Sorry for making you worry like that.”

Kim Taehyung

“Y/N, the park is literally a thirty minute walk from your apartment. Wouldn’t it be better if we just went on my car?” Tae asked.

A week ago, you were on your way back home from work when you passed by this dog park and you got the idea to bring Yeontan here. As soon as you arrived to your apartment you phoned Taehyung and told him all about it. Your boyfriend agreed excitedly and said he’ll be going over next week to execute your plan. However, you didn’t think it’d be such an issue to walk from your apartment to the park. You did it everyday for work, but then again not everyone got car sick.

The moment you saw him pulling up, your stomach did a backflip. You hated cars. You hated the way it made you feel each time you got on.

“Tae, I can’t get on your car.” You sighed.

“W-what, why not?” He asked confused. “Is it because of the dog hair? We can call a taxi then.”

“No, no!” You quickly protested. “I can’t get on any cars, period. I, uh, I get car sick.” You looked down at your hands shyly.

“Come again?” He asked while putting Tan on the floor.

“I get sick whenever I get on a car. That’s why I mostly walk or bike everywhere. I kind of am scared of any type of automobiles because of that.” You explained. “But you’re right, it is kind of far. Let’s go on your car, I think I can manage.”

Taehyung shook his head. “Love, you should’ve told me this since the beginning. I wouldn’t have asked.”

“I never thought it would come the time that i would have to explain this.” You chuckled nervously. “How silly, right?”

“You’re not being silly at all. Everyone has something that they’re afraid of or just don’t want to talk about, it happens to me too so I completely understand. But when it comes to your health please don’t be afraid to tell me babe, I don’t want to do things that will end up putting you in a bad position.”

Taehyung knelt down to attach the leash to Yeontan’s collard. Once he was done he stood and took your hand in his free hand. “Come on babe, let’s go walking to the dog park. Tan-ah could really use the exercise!”

With the same hand he pulled you in for a quick peck on your lips, causing your cheeks to blush. Taehyung made a mental note to start using his car less and start walking and biking more. He loved you for you and all that it entailed. Besides, you were helping him to lead a healthier lifestyle without noticing.

“But when we come back let’s cuddle, Okay? Okay! Thank you, I love you!” He answered himself before you could even process his request.

Jeon Jungkook

This was the first time in a while that Jungkook and you were going out and you didn’t wanted to ruin it. Jungkook had chosen to go to the carnival, trying to relive one of your first dates and of course you didn’t think twice before agreeing.

There was still two hours till the meeting time when you heard a knock on your door. ‘Who could it be?’ You thought but shrugged it off and went to open it anyways. What met you on the other side was your boyfriend, Jungkook with a bouquet of flowers in hand.

“What are you doing here?” You asked excitedly. “We’re not supposed to meet until two more hours.”

“I just couldn’t wait any longer and decided to come pick you up myself.” His signature bunny smile appearing on his face.

The two of you started making your way out of the apartment and just when you were going to turn to walk towards the carnival Jungkook stopped you. “No baby, today I came driving.”

You screamed internally.

With much regret you got into the passenger’s seat and tried your best to not think about the fact that you were in a car. Dizziness and nausea started creeping up the moment the car was set in motion but you managed to make it through the whole car ride without having to stop and throw up. As soon as you arrived to the amusement park you excused yourself and ran to the restroom.

Your date was amazing. Jungkook and you were so similar, always wanting to try the craziest rides and competing against each other. You missed spending time with him but you understood that this was his career and you were extremely proud of all he had accomplished.

It started getting late, which only meant that it was time to go home. As you made you way to his car, Jungkook chatted away while you remained silent. He opened the door for you and you were about to get in, but you honestly couldn’t go through that again.

“I’m sorry Jungkook, I can’t do this.” You finally said.

Your boyfriend looked at you confused, fear creeping up in his eyes. You quickly realized what his thoughts were and started waving you hands in front of your nervously. “N-no, I mean I can’t ride in your car anymore. I get crazy sick.”

He let out a deep breath. “God, Y/N you scared me. I thought you were breaking up with me.”

“I’m sorry.” You whispered, wrapping your arms around him.

“So, you get car sick?” He asked arching a brow and you nodded.

Jungkook started taking off his coat and put it around your shoulders, then he entangled his hand with yours and started walking.

“Where are we going?” You asked.

“Home.”

You stopped on your tracks. “What about your car?”

“I can come pick it up tomorrow, it’s not going anywhere.” He turned to face you, pulling on your hand to bring you closer to him. “I’m sorry I didn’t realized it sooner, baby. It must’ve been so hard throughout the whole ride. You want me to fight your genes and get rid of that stupid car sickness?”

“Yes, please.” You replied as you nuzzled into his chest.

Masterlist

[beardyallen]

Well, that went quickly...

What day is it? I’m starting to lose track of how long I’ve been here...

Well, it’s been a week since my last post, and it seems that a lot must have happened, but honestly I feel like I’ve just been cranking through a bunch of comic books.

But I do know that Friday and Saturday involved a good deal excitement, so I guess we had might as well pick up pretty much where we left off!

Last Friday was Orientation for ICB, which meant getting all of the 35-40 instructors, 10 staff members, and the 6-8 people in charge of this program together in a room to introduce us to...basically what we’d been doing all that week. Also, aside from a couple study-abroad-undergrads and my officemate and me, everyone there had probably already heard the spiel.

It was scheduled from 5p-6p with a buffett afterwards, but a bunch of the Communications people from my floor were going out to eat (again?) afterwards, so I made plans with NR. She wanted to try this Mexican restaurant in what I’ll describe as the “international district” of Beijing. Most everything around us when we got there looked like it belonged in literally every metropolitan area in the world. Every major brand you can imagine had a store. Multiple. Too many...

But the Mexican restaurant we visited is owned and managed by a Mexican expat, apparently. He even stopped by our table to ask how the food was, and let me tell you: that quesadilla was the BOMB!!! And the margarita was pretty good (not as good as MHO’C’s, though!). By the time we finished up dinner, it was kind of late, so we wondered around the shopping center, found a bookstore. You know: the usual.

Fun fact: when a store or restaurant wants to indicate to their patrons that they are getting ready to close, they play smooth jazz and turn the lights down. Like for real. Had their not been windows open to the pavilion outside with it’s hundreds of light displays, I would have been seriously concerned when the lights in the place just went out and Kenny G popped up on the speakers.

We entertained the idea of finding the cinema nearby to see Alita Battle Angel, but during the 15 minutes that we spent wondering around in search of the complex, it seemed to elude us. Plus it was getting close to that time when the subway shuts down, and I wasn’t exactly hankering for a taxi ride this early in my stay....if at all.

The next morning, I got up early to meet back up with NR at the National Museum near the Forbidden City. Now, for the most part, the stairs I get don’t bother me. But I will say, if you’re going to stair at the pasty white guy with a hard-to-describe-its-color-accurately-beard, maybe don’t do it when you’re going 15 mph on a bike, facing in the wrong direction! *sigh.....Some people’s kids...

But what really bothered me, especially at the time, was the father-of-three who straight-up filmed me on his phone from 5 feet away for a solid 6 minutes, three hallways, and two escalators! I get it, I’m funny looking. But I really think I a picture would have done just fine...

One of the things that bothered me the most about that experience was that (a) he had a shit-eating grin plastered on his face, (b) his daughters seemed rather embarrassed, (c) he filmed me with the screen aimed at me so I could watch myself on his phone, (d) there was text on the screen, and (e) it went on for a solid 6 minutes.

In hindsight, I was wearing sunglasses and a hat, in a subway system, in the morning, heading to the center of Beijing. Maybe he thought I was a celebrity? I had spoken to a Communications graduate student the other day who happens to be black, and he told me the story of how a citizen here pull out their phone with a picture of Samuel L. Jackson on it, and gestured to him as it to ask if it were him...even though SLJ is for sure at 70 years old and this kid is no more than 35. And he looks 25. #smh

Anyway, after dealing with whatever the hell that was, I got to visit the museum! They, for whatever reason, were not allowing people to bring their charging blocks into the museum (external battery that you can use to charge your cell phone and other devices on-the-go), but more surprising to me was just how many people carried one with them! At least, it was surprising until I took a moment to think about it. As I’ve mentioned before, basically every payment made in Beijing is through WeChat, which needs internet access, so I guess it shouldn’t be too surprising. You also really can’t navigate through the city with some sort of Maps app; there are just too many bus routes, train routes, terminals and stops to keep logged in your head.

As far as the museum itself goes, the gifts to China from foreign governments exhibit and the Ancient China exhibit themselves took most of the day. Also, no surprise: the gift that took up the most floor space was given by a U.S. President. I also got a refresher in 8th Grade Social Studies. Too many small countries to remember all of them, and that space made me feel somewhat moronic.

The Ancient China exhibit was exceptional, though. They broke up the last, oh...750,000 years of human-ish life in China into 8-10 separate eras, the first few cataloguing the life and evolution of Homo erectus pekinensis into Homo sapien, while the latter eras were segregated dynastically. I’ve never seen the progression of human evolution laid out in such detail! The rock tools became better rock tools, then pottery and paper, stamps, buildings and so much more! There were even ceremonial helmets that would put the Juggernaut to shame!

It was strange, though, to have all of this knowledge just beyond my fingertips both literally and figuratively. The literal sense isn’t too shocking, as I’ve been to a museum before and know not to touch the pieces, but to have placards written in a language that would take years to learn was frustrating. Fortunately, NR has a never-ending supply of patience, and she translated much of the text. She even quizzed me on several of the characters. I’ve worked out how to write “rock” for sure.

After the museum, we wondered over to a nearby mall that, honestly, puts the Mall of America to shame. No joke. This place was huge! It just kept going and going and going! There was a particular alley that has all of the “exotic foods” that you might see on The Amazing Race, which I haven’t tried yet but intend to, but the rest is mostly-outdoor shopping center. Our reason for being there was to find food (we had been in the museum for a bit over 7 hours), and then sit our fine asses down in a movie theater to watch Alita.

We found a restaurant that served food traditionally found where NR grew up. It was exceptional. And the beer just made it better. :P

The movie experience was something else entirely. I’ve gotten used to watching television and movies with subtitles so that, when people decide to talk to me, I can follow along with both bits. Or if people are just talking near me while I’m watching television, I don’t have to rewind the show. That helped a lot; the movie was still spoken in English, but there were Chinese subtitles. I recognized the Chinese character for “1″ frequently enough, but that was about it.

The movie itself was way more than I expected. I shouldn’t be surprised, given that one of the primary characters is played by Christoph Waltz. If you haven’t seen it yet, you should definitely consider it.

Also, additional fun fact: I’m thinking that most (if not all) showings of major motion pictures here are in 3D. *shrug* Side note: we’re going to see Captain Marvel tomorrow and I’M SO FREAKIN’ EXCITED!!!!

After the movie, we wandered back to the subway station and parted ways mid-subway-ride to head home. The next day I spent playing Kingdom Hearts 3 and sipping some beer in the 3rd Floor Lounge. All day. It was blissful.

This workweek has consisted of four main things: teaching responsibilities, a bit of dissertation work, trying out another one of the cafeterias on campus, and reading comic books. Oh, and beer. But that kind of goes without saying, doesn’t it? There’s a convenience store on the other side of the building in front of the Guest House that has cans of beer. You can buy them individual for 3 yuan, or roughly 45 cents. I won’t lie to you: I bought 12 of them and it didn’t cost me more than 6 bucks. And it’s really not bad, and even more convenient than the liquor store I lived by in Denver.

Anyway, as I said, I’m going to see Captain Marvel tomorrow, then to “W-Town” (originally Watertown...so glad they shortened it...) in northern Beijing, which sits at the base of part of the Great Wall. More than 20 people from ICB will be heading up to their on Saturday, so I imagine one of them will take pictures. Probably ML or S. So you’ll have those to look forward to since you know I won’t be taking any!

Oh!!! I almost forgot the biggest thing that happened this week! Actually, it might be the biggest news of my entire stay!!!

I did laundry.

And I washed my slippers. I’m not convinced that they’ve stopped smelling, but I’m holding out hope that I’ve finally figured out how to resolve an issue that I know humanity has been seriously struggling with for decades. I’m on the verge of a breakthrough, people, I swear!

Anyway, time to finish this beer, read a bit more of Scott Lynch’s Republic of Thieves (WE FINALLY FIND OUT ABOUT SABETHA!!!!), and head to bed. Big couple of days ahead...

Sláinte,

BeardyAllen

P.S. I bet you thought I was gonna forget! After class on Wednesday, I worked out how to make a phone call from here to the States to wish my Mom a Happy BIrthday. Caught her at work, and we got to chat for a good long while. It really put a nice cap on my evening, and it seemed it gave her a good start to her day. Anyway, I hope you had a great evening, found something nice at C&B and enjoyed that glass of wine you mentioned! Love you!!