#First and last time eating cold soba noodles LMAO

[witheria]

Found out I'm allergic to BUCKWHEAT of all things. Okay then.

[absoluteindulgence]

HC: Hot Girl Summer with the Boys

A/N: Hey y’all, I’m back... Let’s party. This is a magical world where the Rona has not taken over the world and summertime was filled with nothing but fun and bad choices ✌🏿. Sorry that it’s long, I had a lot of thoughts lmao. I hope you guys like this~ Characters are aged up⬆🆙

☀ 🌞Mirio🌞☀

Staying home reading a book... just fucking kidding

Mirio couldn't keep his ass still even if you told him to

This man is taking you all over the world, every amusement park to every ride.

Ever looked fear in the face? Well, being in front of every rollercoaster multiple times means you have.

His true daredevil nature comes out as you both try to see who will last longer going down the roller coaster

You've wanted to throw in the towel many times, but persevered, beating Mirio by a landslide. 

Due to all the crowded lines and the fact that you're heroes, everyone lets you skip. You try being modest, but it doesn't work as the other patrons say, "Not only are you my favorite heroes but my favorite couple. You deserve to have fun!"

The willingness of everyone approving of your vacation time is gratifying, to say the least.

After spending time doing all the extreme rides, You guys enjoy all the other stalls.

Ironic enough, Mirio comes across the win-a-prize games and swears to get you one.

You try to tell him not to worry, but that fires him up more. I guess in his blonde brain, he thinks you don't want one, so he wants to prove your cute ass wrong.

And oh boy, did he.

He had accurate precision: Throwing the ball in the cup, throwing the hoop onto the bottle, shooting the paper plate off entirely.

Mirio the Assassin confirmed

After managing to win 4 STUFFED ANIMALS, 3 are for you while 1 goes to Eri.

The feels right in the kokoro~

With enough wins under his belt, Mirio treats you to bubble tea and taiyaki. With no shame, you stuff your face happy to finally enjoy food that won't come up.

"Wow, this taiyaki sure is great! But nothing is as sweet as you, baby."

Heart: ABLAZE

This goofball can't even let you enjoy your food in silence. But his honest smile compliments the moment as your flushed cheeks puff from drinking your favorite thirst quencher.

The day ends with you walking around the amusement park, arms full of toys, and finding a unique spot to watch the marvel of the sunset.

As you hold hands, a glance is shared as you two share a passionate kiss.

❄Shouto🔥

You guys are spending a lot of time reading manga and going to cafes.

Shouto lives to see you get dressed up as you let your hair flow in the wind (no matter how long or short, he knows you like the cool air on your scalp. The smile that spreads across your face is contagious as he stares at you with a similar grin)

Your beauty leaves all the other pedestrians gawking as Shouto, nonchalant but proud holds your hand.

Some fans come up to take selfies with you guys and damn do the photos look good. 

Going to various cafes through Japan has been a bucket list that you've shared since your first date. Rating each and creating a rating system. When all other plans fail, the top-rated are the ones you'll go back to.

The day is mellow, leaving you to stay inside because you feel like it. Cuddling with Shouto has proved to be an all-time favorite.

His light snores turn into light conversations. He has a hard time opening his eyes since he feels secure in having you by his side.

When you finally wake up, you cook together, his fave ofc, Cold-ass Soba. (One time you pranked him by boiling the noodles in strawberry milk, and he retaliated by putting pepper in your tea. On that day, you learned not to come between a man and his soba)

When yearning for a little excitement, you drag Shouto to a karaoke bar

He tries not to get too involved, but then you play one of his favorite angsty songs, and he's singing like one of the greats

You can't tell me that Shouto wouldn't vibe to Linkin Park, 3 Days Grace or The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus (Especially when he hated Endeavor to his core)

Shouto would give an excellent performance to Breaking The Habit, Home, and Face Down. I FEEL IT IN MY SPIRIT!!!

The only way you feel like you'll win…. Is if you rap Monster (Nicki's Verse ofc) or sing My Heart Will Go On lmao

Shouto thinks you're cheating tho because those are your trump cards when all else fails lmaooo

After the scream-singing match is done, you guys go home and drink a bunch of tea, hoping your voices aren't gone by the morning

💥Bakugou💥

If you're going to an amusement park, y'all going straight to the "horror" houses.

You guys usually go in to laugh at the horrible attempts to make you scared. Until there's that one jump scare that makes your heart leap out your chest.

You're breathless with the mocking laugh caught in your throat as you grip close to Katsuki's side.

This fiery bastard laugh gets even louder seeing you cower in embarrassment. Once he's done making fun of you, he kisses your forehead.

"About damn time, you move in close."

Now say you're not at an amusement park? You guys are going to the spa.

Not because you're tense but because it's always funny seeing Katsuki tense up when they try to butter him with complimentary things (thanks to being top heroes).

He hates going to public spaces and getting stuff for free. He wants to pay for the experience so that no one can say he takes advantage of his status.

Although it creates funny scenarios, you respect how committed he is.

His reasoning is that he's a citizen paying another citizen for their service.

Granted, if the service is excellent, the worker is guaranteed a tip (depending on the country since he likes to follow customs).

The funniest thing is him coming from Massage therapy, he's a big ol’ softie.

The cuddles are intense, and his face never changes from the color pink, and his smile is curved too high.

Onlookers seeing him smile are terrified, and yet you are smushing his face between your hands kissing him all over.

"You look so relaxed, Boomer, let's take a bath together~."

Coming back to his senses, he'll grit his teeth a little and retort, "I'm not a damn Boomer!"

He's not mad that you called him that he's just mad you said it in public LMFAO

🌋Kirishima🌋

You guys are spending most of your time at the beach, soaking in the sun and enjoying his thick ass hands rubbing sunscreen all over your body

Don't let him see you enjoying it, he might have to pull you away from the public and give you that good ole sea cucumber

But when he can't get your sweetness right away, he'll have to push his energy into something else

And ofc, Kiri has an active personality, and when you mix that with demolishing opponents while playing volleyball, you too get into your competitive mode.

Anyone playing against you guys will catch HELL. Some cried from the impact of the ball, hitting them. Some deserving for the shit-talking...

Others getting sincere apologies and an autograph or picture lmao

Everyone on the beach knows you two as the power couple, and you win the nicknames, Otters of the Sand.

After kicking so much ass, you guys enter an eating contest as a team. Everyone's surprised to see how many bowls you've cleared. The appetite is already built up, so you guys are willing to stuff your faces until you're waddling back to the hotel.

And with the stamina you've gained at UA, you made it happen. In Second place to Kiri. He basks in his crown, winning first place, and you guys happily waddle back to your hotel room, taking a shower together then cuddling.

Imagine you guys decide to stay lax the whole summer, video, and card games are the vibe.

You try hard to kick his ass in Smash and end up losing... No matter who you main. You even try random (3 times) and still lose.

"Wow, Babe, you're doing well for a sore loser. You almost got a 3 stock victory!"

His laugh ticks you off even though he's just teasing you, and you wanna switch the game. Even in the back of your head, you deem it pointless, but he still obliges you.

No tlk angy frm l0sng😡💢

When you've played your last game, you accept your defeat only to tickle him into submission.

He apologizes and wraps you into a bear hug smothering you in kisses.

[burnedbyshoto]

Fools

pairing: todoroki shouto x fem!reader

warnings: literally pure fluff

word count: 4,021

a/n: I had the idea for this fic because I was doing a fun all-nighter in preparation for my ochem lab final today, and a song played during my morning hysteria called Fools by Lauren Aquilia, and well this idea was born. enjoy! :D also sorry for the heavy shouto content recently, i’ll be moving on to other characters LMAO

✩✶✩❇✩✶✩

There was something strange about being in love with someone when you didn’t recognize it.

Lingering gazes, soft laughter, and hesitant touches.

You were in love with Todoroki Shouto and there was nothing you could do about it. The way your heart hammered whenever you looked at him. The way he smiled when he looked at you took your breath away. The way he always seemed to wait specifically for you made your cheeks grow warm.

There was that time he forgot to bring an umbrella, and you couldn’t find yours, so you took on the pouring rain together. Shouto had his jacket lifted over both of your heads, as you both took down the road running.

His jacket over your heads was practically obsolete. The fat water drops kept hammering down on your bodies, soaking through your shirts and making the fabric cling to your bodies. Your laughter echoed through the air as people watched the two of you running by, their smiles widening as they observed your interactions. You were laughing so hard that your stomach hurt and tears were forming in your eyes. You missed the way he looked at you, his grin growing with every second as you finally stumbled into the train station.

Wet uniforms, wet hair, and bubbling laughter.

It was at that moment you realized how deep your feelings for Shouto were. It wasn’t something passable, and the way he grabbed your cold fingers to keep them warm made you freeze. His cheeks were still pinched into a smile as yours fell from your face, your heart hammering away as suddenly your skin felt like it was on fire.

His fragrance overwhelmed your senses suddenly, the deep earthy tones making your head lull as your laughter stopped. His eyes locked on yours suddenly, and you froze as the air felt magnetized. Your nerves were firing away, tingles and shivers flying through your body as his lips pursed. His tongue poked out from his mouth, licking his lips in nervous anticipation, and you watched with excited horror as he leaned in.

His hand still clutched yours, and you found yourself leaning in as well. Your eyes fluttering closed as you rose to your tiptoes.

“Y/L/N-CHAN! TODOROKI-KUN!” A voice that sounded like Mina shouted, and quickly the two of you shot apart.

The static in the air was gone.

“I have your umbrella! I grabbed it by mistake!” Mina laughed as she presented you with a clear umbrella in her hand.

“Thanks, Mina,” you sigh and take it.

“Was I interrupting something?” Mina asks although the tone in her voice states she’s perfectly aware of what she interrupted.

Do you confess?

Do you take that risk?

“Todoroki-kun had something on his face,” you mumble and Shouto immediately agreed with you.

So began the weird romance between the two of you.

✩✶✩❇✩✶✩

“Todoroki and y/l/n, you’re partners!” Midnight exclaimed as she looked up from her clipboard.

Unbeknownst to the two of you, the class whispered in excitement as you stood up.

The Hero Course was taking dancing lessons to prepare for a large reception that was coming up. Hero work meant being able to participate in length at the various parties you’d be invited to, and that included being able to dance.

There was a concern that there was a larger number of males than females, so for the males, to be paired up with someone who wasn’t each other was a victory.

Soon enough, everyone was paired up, and you smiled up at Shouto.

“Hey there,” you say as his hand slips into yours. His other one rests onto the small of your back and your free hand takes its place onto his shoulder.

“Hi,” Shouto smiles down at you.

The instructions are given and the music plays. Chatter explodes throughout the room as everyone begins to dance. You laugh softly as you hear Bakugou yelling at Midoriya from the distance. Bakugou was complaining about if Midoriya didn't get his ‘shit’ together he would take the male part.

“Are we doing this right?” you whisper as you look down at the floor.

You hadn’t stepped on his feet yet and you were grateful. He was so close to you that if you got any closer you’d be pressed against him. His warm hand held yours reassuringly, and you continued praying to the gods that your hand wouldn’t sweat.

Again, his scent filled your nose and you struggled to keep calm as he guided you across the floor.

“I have no idea what we’re doing,” Shouto confesses with a chuckle. “I’m just copying Aoyama.”

You watch as Shouto nods his head towards the sparkling boy. You turn your head to look at Aoyama who is quite literally performing a dance epic with Mina. Of course, they would be the best dancers! Your amused laughter made Shouto smile wider, but it was gone by the time you looked back up.

“As much as I wish we could be that great, I don’t think we compare,” you admit as Shouto spins you around. You’re pulled back into him, but the yank is a bit too powerful and you stumble into his chest. His apologies are hushed as you forgive him immediately. Midnight’s voice yells at the two of you from the distance, and so you two go back to dancing.

Nearing the end of the lesson, Shouto’s long sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, as are yours. The two of you are completely lost in each other.

Maybe it was because the two of you worked well together in the field, maybe it was because there was something not said between the two of you, but you dance effortlessly with each other.

The conversation between you and Shouto was kept at a whisper as this dancing lesson had become a competition at the end. It was down to the final three, Shouto and you, Aoyama and Mina, and Bakugou and Midoriya.

How that last team had managed to stay in for so long was beyond all of you. Everyone swore they had begun swinging at each other at one point during the lesson, but their intense desire to win seemed to be pushing them forward.

Though, as you stared at Shouto, it dawned to the both of you how far into the competition you were in. The two of you had missed the initial beginning of the competition, so when they announced the final three, you two had been surprised.

Shouto’s hands were burning into your skin, electricity flowing from where he held you.

“You’re out!” Midnight declared, and an unconvinced shout from Bakugou and Midoriya made you laugh.

“They’re quite competitive,” you recognize as you rise onto your toes and Shouto spins you around effortlessly.

“They really are,” Shouto reflects with a nod. “I have to admit, I didn’t think we were going to get this far.”

“I think this means I can finally say to Mina that I’m as great of a dancer as hER!” You shrieked as you feel someone slam into you and you stumble into Shouto’s chest. He had been midstep and completely lost his balance as the two of you fall onto the ground.

His arms wrapped around your waist tightly, your fingers fisting into his shirt as the two of you collide onto the floor. Shouto’s body cushioned your fall, but now you’re sprawled on top of him.

Amused cheers and whistles sound from the peanut gallery at the situation that you and Shouto found yourself in. You push yourself up off him, your hand against his chest, feeling the pounding of his heart as your eyes are wide.

There’s something about this situation that makes you freeze.

Shouto’s hands still grasp onto your waist, his cheeks are a slight pink, and his tongue darts against his lips.

Your blood roars in your ears as you stare down at him, your body trembling as you wonder just what to do. You want to kiss him, you want nothing more than to grab his collar and slam this boys mouth against yours. You want him.

“Oi, y/n/n, stop fucking straddling icy hot and wait to get a fucking room!!” Bakugou roared from the sideline.

The spell is broken just like that.

Your eyes widen, even more, your face feels like it should be the color red as you see that you are in fact straddling Shouto. You jump to your feet and stumble back five meters as you try denying the teasing that has begun within your classmates.

✩✶✩❇✩✶✩

“So you and Todoroki-kun?” Hagakure teases as you come and slouch onto the couches where all the girls are sitting.

It was Saturday night. Which meant no school tomorrow and of course the weekly gossip session you girls had. It took no time for your hands to cover your face and the other girls pine in that they’re curious too.

“I swear to god,” Mina begins her hands clasped by her chin as she has a lovesick expression on her face. “I almost caught them kissing the other day! When I say I almost screamed, I almost screamed!”

“We were not going to kiss!” You deny as you shake your head.

“I caught y/n on her hands and knees in a hallway with Todoroki sitting down!” Uraraka inputs. “Deku-kun about died on the spot.”

“He wanted to try the soba noodles I had made! I was giving him one!” You defended yourself.

“Yeah, but what kind of fucking weirdo does it on her hands and knees? You shuffle over!” Jirou snorts as you slam your head against the armrest. “Besides in a hallway? That sounds super sketchy.”

“Shouto wanted to eat somewhere in private, and everything available outside was being used.” You mumble as you cover your face. “It’s not anything weird at all!”

“Did… did y/l/n-chan call Todoroki-san, Shouto?” Momo asks.

“She did.”

“SINCE WHEN HAVE YOU BEEN ON A FIRST NAME BASIS!” Voices scream at you as you want nothing more than the couch to swallow you whole.

“S-Since the dance lessons…”

“Well, she was straddling him in public for ten minutes,” Tsuyu sighs. “It makes sense.”

“I WAS NOT!” You cry embarrassed as resounding laughter rips through them all.

“Sweetie, you were on his lap for quite some time,” Hagakure giggles as your protesting moans only get louder. “It was not a fall and get up sort of thing! It was a fall, romantic stare and most likely eye sex, then you got up.”

“Good lord,” you sigh as you shake your head, unable to focus on anything anymore.

“I also caught them outside of her room last night! Had it not been for my cockblocking I’m pretty sure they were going to make out on the spot.” Mina sighs as she looks at her fingers.

“We were not going to make out!” You insist as you shake your head. “We went out last night and he was just walking me to my room! Plus he had a question about something personal.”

“Yeah, a question about if you want his mouth everywhere on your body,” Jirou cackles which makes everyone scream. Everyone’s talking at once now, details of your fooled romance being exposed. No one was listening to your protests and every revealed story sent you feeling more and more embarrassed. Were you this obvious?

“Y/n?” Shouto’s voice calls at you, and you whip around so hard you swear you nearly break your neck.

“Shouto!” You squeak as the girls go quiet, everyone turning to face the two of you. The girls had knowing yet neutral faces on, and you wanted nothing more than to tell them to leave.

“I’m going to be studying tonight if you wanted to join me?”

Your eyes snap to Hagakure who lets out a strained laugh.

“S-Sure, what time?” You ask trying to ignore how six pairs of eyes locked onto your body.

“I’ll come to get you?” Shouto suggests, his hands shoving into his pockets, and a kind smile on his face.

“Sounds perfect to me,” you agree with a grin.

Shouto nods and waves, saying a soft goodbye as he left the common space.

You stayed frozen for a bit, your eyes focused on his retreating form. Your eyes shift to the girls as they begin chattering again. They raved about the intense and undeniable chemistry between the two of you. You roll your eyes as you look back towards Shouto’s retreating figure only to see that he’s looking back at you. Like that, your breath is stolen from your lungs.

“If you don’t confess your feelings to Todoroki-kun, you can’t complain when I finally get enough points to seduce him!” Mina shoves you, and you blink, almost confused as you sink back onto the couch.

“I think…” You whisper as they stare at you. “I think I do like him.”

“Girl, if you noticed that now you’re only two years late.”

✩✶✩❇✩✶✩

Three Weeks Later

✩✶✩❇✩✶✩

You lay on Shouto’s floor. The math textbook was in your hands as you stared at the different functions that only seemed to confuse you. Math was such a bittersweet subject for you. More often than not you either completely understood the material or you didn’t at all.

“Why do we need to learn calculus?” You groan as the derivative function swam in your brain. “I’m not going to need to know how to do this? My quirk isn’t Calculus!”

“Because it makes us competent and good students,” Shouto chuckles as he writes on his notes. “You understood last week’s lesson better than I did, and it was much harder than this weeks.”

“That’s because I didn’t drink any dumb bitch juice last time,” you quip with a chuckle.

“Okay, what is it that you don’t understand?” Shouto says as he places his pencil down.

Calloused fingers brush against your own as he takes the textbook from you, and you pout as Shouto pats the empty mat next to him. Groaning, you sit up and shuffle next to him.

“I think I have a good enough understanding to get you to understand this,” Shouto says as he writes out one of the problems on a blank sheet of paper. “Try it out, let’s see what you’re doing.”

“Yes, sir!” You salute playfully, your eyes closed as you grin.

Opening them you focus back in on the paper, your eyes staring at the first problem and your brain shrivels.

“This is going to be a long night for you,” you laugh awkwardly as you lean towards the paper, pencil in hand.

“It’s alright, I don’t mind staying up.”

The words are innocent, they’re words from a friend willing to help another out. Yet your stomach tumbles as if he had promised you something grand. You had to ignore the butterflies in your stomach. Ignore the way your skin warmed where his breathing hit your shoulder. Math was the best distraction so you began working on the problem.

So it turned out that you had no idea what you were doing as you had properly predicted. Your embarrassed chatter as you tried to defend your thinking made Shouto laugh as he shifted closer to you. That was a mistake, his chest pressed softly against your back, and his voice was a whisper in your ear.

Your stomach began to tangle into a knot as he explained what to do.

His arm was on the table; his pencil pointing and writing in what you were doing wrong.

This was a mistake.

You couldn’t focus.

Shouto’s voice was soft and spun in your mind. His body pressed too sweetly against yours, so you found yourself staring at him instead of the paper.

The math was long forgotten in your mind as you stared at his face, your eyes flicker to his lips and you feel drawn in. You wanted nothing more than to grab the collar of his t-shirt and press a scorching kiss to his mouth.

Would Shouto let you?

Would he let you kiss him silly? Let you ruin a friendship that the two of you had worked so hard to sustain?

Could you ruin it all and love like fools?

“The math problem isn’t on my face, y/n.”

Your eyes widen as you jump startled, you whip back around towards the problem in front of you. Your cheeks blazing as you mumble an apology. Why you had suddenly shied away, you had no idea. The need for you to confess your feelings had never felt this important. It had never made you feel out of breath as you were now.

“Why were you staring at me? Was I not explaining it well enough?”

“No, you were, sorry! I spaced out, can you explain again, please? I’m so sorry!”

Shouto chuckles as he nods, his eyebrows raise as he motions back to the paper. You concentrate this time as he explains it to you. His body leaning onto yours as you did another sample problem, and it clicked.

Your arms shot up in excitement as you celebrated this unlocked knowledge. Twisting around you threw your arms around Shouto’s neck. You were very excited as words spilled from your mouth as you tackled him to the ground.

His words were kind to you, congratulating you on successfully getting the answer. You felt his hands dragging up and down your spine in fluid movements, and you push away. Your hands planted by his head as you grinned.

It was then you realized the predicament of your position, and your joy died as you stared down at his soft gaze.

Shouto’s hand raised as he tucked a few pieces of hair out of your face and you trembled slightly.

“I knew you would be able to get it,” he whispers to you. His smile remained proud on his face as you gulped nervously.

Speak up now.

Your lips part and Shouto’s eyes fall down to your lips.

The drumming sound of your heartbeat in your ears and the rushing sound of the blood makes you bite down on your lip.

You let out a shaky breath, your shoulders tense as you lean down closer. You were ready to put yourself out there and you were going dizzy as he stretched up. You’re ready to kiss Shouto, to finally be able to confess your feelings for the boy who held your heart.

The space between the two of you is diminishing, and you watch as his eyes shut tightly. His breathing hits your face. The warm air fans against your skin in a way that makes a shiver go down your spine.

Centimeters are left and you feel your mouth ghost against his.

“Yo, Todoroki, do you have my manga-- oh my god!”

Sero’s voice cuts through the fog that had been placed over the two of you. You tumble off of Shouto’s lap, your knee banging against the table and you curse as Shouto sits up.

“I can totally come back later, bro! Lock your door next time though!” Sero laughs, his cheeks reddening as you push yourself to your feet.

“It’s fine,” Shouto waves him off as he stands. “You weren’t interrupting anything. Which manga did you need?”

Those words stab at your hammering heart and your eyes fall to the abandoned calculus textbook on the table. Sero wasn’t interrupting anything? The room is awkwardly stiff as Shouto finds the manga volume that Sero had come to find.

“Alright, thanks, man!” Sero chirps as he grabs the manga volume from Shouto. “I’ll, uh, leave you two to it! Just so you know, that the walls aren’t that thick? I can hear things when you’re being louder than normal volume.”

Your eyes fall to Sero’s retreating figure as Shouto is walking him out. “No need to worry,” you say as you take your notebook and textbook in your hand. “I’m actually done for the night, so um, goodnight Sero-kun, Todoroki.” You curtly nod as you push through the two friends.

“Y/n?” Shouto calls for you, and you can feel that his hand just missed your wrist. You don’t look back though; your feelings stupidly hurt as you choose to wave and continue down the hall.

Racing down the staircase, you opened the door to the fourth floor. Your brows were furrowed as you opened the door to your room. Turning on the light, you entered the room. Placing your study materials onto your desk, you picked up your phone.

Whenever you studied with Shouto you never brought your phone with you. That was because you never got bored or had the temptation to be on it around him.

Opening the messaging app, you looked at the sent messages. They were betting on how tonight would be the night something happened.

mina: no offense ladies but if he doesnt make a move on y/n soon ill literally date her instead

tsu: I thought you had a thing for todoroki though?

mina: I can’t make moves on him now!!!!!!

you: something almost happened but lol no

jirou: f

uraraka: f

momo: Oh no, what happened?

you: sero came over when we were about to kiss & my feelings got hurt LOL so i left

hagakure: i was gonna say!!!!!!! She’s typically in his room until 2 am!!!!! How do we know they’re not dating, that’s all i have to say about it

you: :/ i really almost got a kissed and then he said he wasn’t doing anything important

uraraka: oh on :( i can float his bed out of the earth?

mina: do you want a hug??????

you: nah, it’s okay i was probably forcing myself onto him anyways & i would like a hug rn :(

It took three seconds and then there was a knock on the door.

Your eyes flickered over to the door and you were confused.

When did Mina ever knock?

Walking over, you opened the door and came face to chest with Shouto.

“S-Shouto?!” You squeak as you stare up at the boy. His eyes are wide, almost frantic as if there was a major realization within him. “Are you okay?” You ask, your hurt feelings ignored.

“You like me.” He asserts.

“Excuse me?!”

“I like you, too,” Shouto says as he shakes his head, his fingers running through his hair. “I fucking like you, y/n. I had always assumed that you didn’t have feelings for me, but you almost kissed me and--”

You silenced him by pressing your lips against his.

Your lips glided against his own, the smooth friction of your dancing lips made your heart pound. You were on your tiptoes as you kissed him, and Shouto’s arms wrapped around your waist. He drew you nearer and you grasped at his collar.

Fireworks exploded in your mind, and electricity danced between your lips.

Shouto’s head tilts to the right, allowing deeper access to his moving lips. You let out a small gasp as your mind spins. It’s overwhelming you, and you want even more. Your arms move to wrap around his neck as he hums softly against your mouth.

“Ya know, I was trying to comfort my best friend, but I feel like someone beat me to it,” Mina sighs and you break apart from Shouto. Your lips feel numb with pleasure, your eyes finding it hard to focus. “Seems like you both have stopped being weird about this?”

“Mina…” you whisper embarrassed. Shouto doesn’t pull away from you, and your arms remain around his neck.

“Remember if you’re going to be freaky, move the bed to the center of the room!” Mina teases as she sends the two of you a wink. “Have fun, lovebirds.” With that, she left.

“Lovebirds,” Shouto repeats. “Does that mean I can ask you to be my girlfriend?”

The grin that twists onto your face sends butterflies to his stomach as you nod.

“It does,” you affirm as you touch your mouth back against his. Shouto returns the kiss as eagerly as the two of you walk blindly into your room. Your lips never once disconnecting.

[shytiff]

Mar 2021 Wins

1 - Work againn except the medical record ran out. So we went back at 12 am. Relaxeddd at home. Fasted today (still got 2 fasting debts to go). Meeting with dr dafsah dr bayushi and dr debby at 20:30. I embarrassed myself lmao,,, and what you can say as "asal bunyi". Let the overthinking and fear begin. I actually woke up 3 times during the night, lmaoo is it anxiety? Never happened to me before.

2 - we need to take care of administrations to get more medical record so we did. Wasted almost half of the day but we finally managed. Immediately fell asleep at home lmao

3 - the usual day in harkit. Asked more medical records. Planned to go to cp to see slip ons but the tj i wanted to ride went straight to kalideres so like the sane person i am of course i went back home. Timing is very222 great sometimes in life. Zoom meeting with the ever so kind dr eva. Mahmud and dela joined the assistant gang

4 - magang. Met dr eva in pediatric icu. late late evening lunch was kungpao chicken sec bowl (which i exclaimed as sweet. And then my friend said kungpao is supposed to taste like that. Huh). I was picked up after maghrib. Laid down in bed, playing my phone until 22ish and i fell asleep. Damn i shouldve slept earlier yknow

5 - magang. Ate spicy salmon onigiri from lawson for lunch. Went to btkv basecamp with mahmud since RM was a bit crowded. Not even 10 mins in, and we excused ourselves because misuh2 btkv near the computer on our table. Went to nonama in le meridien after magang with ara ness gen cal hanin amal alya. The sushi was so so (too much rice). Yay for lots of sashimi. Salmon kushiage was tasty. Salmon aburi cheesy stuff was tasty. Soba so so. Takoyaki explodes in your mouth. While waiting for mom, saw live piano performance in the lobby. Shes playing alone. I hope she knows someone out there appreciates it *oddly melancholic*

6 - slept in. Felt good. Hurriedly showered and got ready bcs i thot it was getting a bit late and turns out i arrived in halte kalideres 9:11 am lmao. Breakfast slash lunch was penyetan cok ayam. The sambal was not THAT spicy but my tongue has weakened now. Picked up some data in RM. Went to central park with my heavy ass bag to search for slip ons. Didnt find one yet. Went to kkv for the first time. Went back home and its heavy rain on the tj but dry in kalideres. Snacked on fitz cookies (its basically vegan tuffis) on the bus since i felt hungryyy. Juan bought chicken satay and when i arrived theyre all eating but i didnt feel like eating with them lmao (its been a while since i last did) so i just went upstairs, finished that fitz cookies, fell asleep in my mukena (after maghrib) and skipping isya :(

7 - didnt feel like doing anything when i woke up, but forced myself to open laptop for nemo. Played a bit of keyboard. Ate last nights satay. Rly was in a rut until i managed to shower (i last showered yesterday morning,,,) and felt a bit better. Even did night skin care and mask (which i didnt do lately)

8 - magang as usual while listening to curhat babu. I was still feeling "off" even though i was outside already. Felt a bit more normal after i had lawson's ice arabica gayo covfefe. Lunch was spicy sec bowl with extra chicken. Coffee's effect is amazing im just blown away. Like im not tired. I feel normal. I dont feel like immediately going to bed when i arrive at the house. Read and finished starving anonymous before bed. Its... A lot to take in. Especially before bed lmaoo

9 - mencret2 in the morning and i blame it on spicy sec bowl. my pace in magang is so slow why :( lunch is carbonara spaghetti from Barilla (29k with discount). It does make you feel full, and it is creamy. But the beef bacon is so few 😐 it will be more delish if it has more bacon. Picked up by mom after maghrib today. At 19:30 ish my stomach hurtedddd bcs of rising acid.its been a while since it happened. Thankfully mom bought tan ek tjoan and brownies. The ache dissipated after i finished my bread. Its so cold in the car tfff or is it my poor metabolism

10 - magang til after isya since tomorrow is a holiday. powered by lawson’s arabica gayo after lunch (good habit’s minimal-taste fried rice lol). while on the way back, kapjagiii ukmppd result announcement. alhamdulillah i passed. congratulated by some. slept late seeing people’s social media update.

11 - woke up late. didnt feel hungry, so i ate at 13:00 ish (tuna, peanut-chocolate sandwich). slept after eating. ghosted mahmuda calling me regarding after zuhur liqo. didnt pick up atikah’s calls. cant seem to talk lmao. rly rly tried to do dr dafsah’s excel this day, but cant seem to start my day. i was like “i’ll take a shower” but i didnt. “i’ll start the excel at 20:00″ i didnt. i just slept. and woke. and slept. dreamed about going to dufan with clara but we bailed since there was no promo. i practically didnt no anything today lol

12 - finally showered (that was supposedly done yesterday lmao). my pink flats broke down. i was the only one who come lmao. did dr dafsah’s excel and finished at 10. went to TA and tried popolamama’s ayce. tried chicken arabiatta (very tomato-ey taste, not a fan), pepperoni, bolognese and banana caramel with vanilla ice cream. Managed to eat 4 small pizza out of 9 flavor choices. While eating i remembered i came to celebrate passing ukmppd. so in my mind i pat myself in the back and said (not out loud) congrats for passing ukmppd. it felt bittersweet, but a nice validation. tried to search for slip ons again but didnt find one. bought a black top in uniqlo. started reading here you are

13 - lazed and lazed and jhs friends wanted to meet up but i cant even muster the courage to shower lmao. after zuhur was the meet up time but i slept at 12. lets go. come on. out. suddenly i have to build up a will to socialize just like with running. and i managed. left the house at 13:30-ish. went to ali kopi dm and got thai tea. slowly warming up my social battery. and then things felt a bit better. and we moved to flavola (got the somay). and talked we did, until suddenly its near isya. and then i had to go back bcs mom was being restrictive as usual. if it werent for that i would stay longer w atikah and pupuy. felt energized afterwards, read more of here you are and slept at 00:00 ish

14 - woke up, played some keyboard. im not prepared for another monday. Mangago is down. Unboxed my knockoff airpods that arrived couple of days ago. The sound and function was ok. Showered near the end of zuhur.

15 - magang as usual. Got out of my gloomy (felt a bit better) after going out. Lunch was ayam pedas lawson with added fried chicken. Also bought arabica gayo. Went back home before maghrib. Why must i be here while my dad talk about whatever before sholat maghrib. I hate it here. Ara and redita stayed over bcs theyre 'supposedly' going to rsut to pick up samples. Except it was cancelled and in the morning they went back to rscm,,,

16 - its only morning but i yapped abt worrying in our future to poor ekal who just sat there lmaoo. I told him how i realized im easily bored. Tried K-Chop for lunch, bought kimchi bokkeumbap, pajeon and kimchi jeon. The fried rice tasted like fried rice but with a hint of kimchi. Kimchi jeon was good and refreshing. the pajeon was basically egg with added ingredients. But it did make me feel full. Suddenly felt like singing life goes on with the keyboard.

17 - tried fitfut for lunch. Got mushroom chicken steak and katsu wrap. Their katsu is,,, simply put, tasteless. Like those HEALTHY healthy foods. The (small) chicken steak was ok. The mushroom sauce tasted good. Zoom call with dr dafsah at 12 am. More work i guess,,,

18 - fasted today. Still got 1 debt to go. Sahur was indomie, banana and protein shake. Did not feel hungry in magang but i kinda felt lightheaded. And then i cant take it anymore and went home at 2 pm. Arrived after ashar. Theres PLENTY of time to do stuff, right? Nope. I just laid in bed playing my phone til maghrib (iftar was chicken noodle) and continued until i fell asleep. My dream was absurd lmaoooo

19 - had custom salad hut for lunch. felt suuuper fult. bought pop cookies since it was the last day of grabfood’s 50% promo. was picked up after isya by mom. we talked with the resident who’s doing his thesis stuff and it turns out he’s from the same shs as mahmuda lmao. he bought kopsus and donat kampung for us, how kinddd :”) i said “mantap ni kakak kelasnya mahmud” and he said “kamu kan adek kelas saya juga”. kind seniors. i hope they have great careers and be successful and im learning to be kind from kind people. i dont know, im just easily touched by simple gestures lmaoo. first time trying tuku’s coffee. it’s smooth and creamy (like the milk and coffee unites (?)) and it doesnt separate when you leave it. its milky but has a strong coffee taste. Slept at 11 pm-ish, playing my phone

20 - lazed. saw long covid webinar. ate mom’s salmon mentai, pop cookies matcha cream cheese and dark chocolate. the dark chocolate one, especially a bit cold, taste soooo good wtf. concentrated sugar and chocolate at its finest. played some keyboard. saw youtube vids about the genius jacob collier. lent my byu phone number so ara could use it to catfish in coffee and bagel lol. bought sbux green tea and caramel macchiato 1 L for 100k + delivery fee and my bro said it tasted good

21 - tried pop cookies red velvet this time. Its super sweet yall and i thought martabak orins was the epitome of d40 bolus. did pamela reif 10 mins calorie burn that wont kill you. except i got doms WITHIN the day of work out. also attempted sun salutation and my leg is so damn stiff. did some work on sunday!!! wow!!!! (after wasting 2 weekends) finished skimming air gear lol. it still made me feel glorious. 

22 - volunteered to help vaccination at rptra planet senen w akis els yud kind. Finished at about 13:30. We got chicken noodle, nasi padang and mcd lol. Went to senen bus station. Prayed there. Called mahmud and turns out theres no new medical record so i went straight home. Ate the mcd and lazed in bed

23 - vaccine volunteer again, this time in sd 01 kramat, w regen nagit red adita. Observation table again. Except its twice the amount of pt compared to yesterday. Nebeng redita to gang IX and walked to nessa's place. Went to GI and we watched violet evergarden (tif gen ness kris indah ara). The ac in the screenX cgv theater wasnt even on. Picked up by mom at 20:30 ish so i hurried down. The movie was hilarious w indah's commentary

24 - sooo sleepy and lazy but finally went to harkit. Waiting for pak oji to get medicak records, i shopped at sociolla lol. Bought eyebrow pencil, eyeshadow palette, blush since i dont have those (i only have cheap 3 color mizzu eyeshadow). Did some work. Met kiki in RM. "planned" to do the rest of magang work at home and arrivd back at 3-ish pm but we all know thats a lie. Lazed. Maghrib. Bought sbux 1L to have some caffeine through the green tea. Sinau airway class by dr zeta (focused thanks to the caffeine). Had some "awake time" left and did not feel sleepy til 10:30ish pm but i had to sleep since i got 1 more fasting to go 2mrw. No progress on magang work aaaaa

25 - had indomie, boiled egg, banana and protein powder for sahur. magang. emir took a while to pick me up even though i already told him the time im arriving and i ended up ordering grab lmao and he showed up right before the grab. liqo w kak kartika and mahmud while sipping caramel macchiato. did some translation (job by dr triya)

26 - picked up pld medal, gown and buavita (lol) at salemba and then went to harkit. met kiki again. lunch was k-chop. quite good and fulfilling. waiting for mom to pick me up before maghrib. Was lazying around at night and it turns out clara came w kefas. She called but dumb ass me had my phone on silent. She surprised me and came all the wayyy with a little tayo cake and a line friends pillow. I was awkward w kefas bcs im awkward w new people :):):) she went back and then i cried afterwards in my room. Fianti sent me a wish before midnight (somehow havent fell asleep) and then i close my eyes and go to the dream world

27 - had mie goreng for breakfast. fell asleep again. woke to silvi and racheel calling me and as usual my phone was not ringing. there’s racil silvi devi reza outside the door lmao. they (including atikah) surprised me with gift (a bag). i asked them to come with me to gi since im gonna eat w regen. we tried yakiniku like and the meat was juicy and yum, better then kintan. racil dkk ate marugame udon just below. wanted to get banban but it was so crowded. went back by grab. racil and atikah stayed over. talked until like 12 am. forced myself to pray isya. 

28 - talked for hours like we usually do, tried some makeup bcs i need to practice for pld lol. tarik tiga to their place bcs i needed to borrow pld clothes lol. rearranged my room and i was sweating. i should’ve drank macchiato and did some work but i cant bring myself to so i just sleep. hangovers post feeling normal are never the best feeling

29 - woke up super late. cant bring myself to go to harkit. i feel like shit. sick and tired of feeling sick and tired ((quoting jhene aiko)). mustered some will to shower. rode my on bike pretending im going to harkit except im going to mcd. got big breakfast and lemon tea. went to flavola, ordered kopsus coklat and indomie + telor. Went back home after isya. 

30 - Binge watching sean and kaycee’s vids lol it all began with their leave the door open dance :). went to harkit by TJ after the redcap was unaccessible at 09:30ish. lunch was truffle belly chicken mushroom (somehow there’s 50% disc). Took some needed data and went back home at 14:20. did (new) translation for dr Triya. finally drank homemade matcha latte after a while. 

31 - originally intended to go to flavola after zuhur, but i just cant muster the strength. did dr triya’s translation work. didnt do any ecmocard today. felt like shit. ate the tayo small cake from clara. quite good and not too heavy. gladi kotor pld today. did green screen using mukena lol. fell asleep. skipped isya and the next morning’s subuh :( basically i ended march feeling like utter shit lol

[realtalk-princeton]

@Faun maybe the question wasn't submitted? just wanted to know more about life in Japan, especially culture (food, people) and language barrier

@faunJapan hey Faun, could you describe your experience in Japan? especially about the culture and people (and maybe safety)? thanks in advance :-)

Response from Faun:

Hey, sorry I’ve been away for a bit! Thanks for your question; I’ll do my best to answer it however I can. Just want to say in advance, all of this is based on my personal experience, so it could definitely vary for other people who have lived in/traveled to Japan. I am by no means an expert on Japanese culture, which in and of itself is hardly monolithic, so I’ll strive to avoid making uninformed, overgeneralized assertions about anything from my (outsider) perspective.

That being said, I think one general broad perception many people will have of Japan(ese culture) upon first arriving is the high emphasis on civility and order. Compared to countries such as the United States, Japan has a lot more organization and structure in nearly every facet of everyday life: buses always arrive on time, commuters queue up in perfect lines for the train, city streets are kept spotless and litter-free, etc. Furthermore, most people whom you meet (especially those who work in hospitality) will be extremely polite, from taxi drivers to restaurant servers to department store clerks—it’s very rare that you would encounter someone in Japan who is outwardly discourteous to you. A lot of this is derived from a sense of collectivism, which promotes group harmony and the good of the community above that of any one single person, that distinguishes Japan (as well as many other Asian countries) from some of the individualist cultures of the West. Nevertheless, I don’t think you can make any sweeping assumptions about how your interpersonal interactions with people in Japan will turn out before you actually get there.

For example, the first time I went to Japan, I lived in a fairly rural farming city in Fukuoka, which is located on the southernmost island of Kyushu, with an older couple without any children. They lived a pretty “traditional” Japanese lifestyle: their house had tatami mat flooring and sliding doors, they both took a bath after dinner every day, and we slept in futons on the ground in lieu of beds. I was only fifteen at the time, so being still a child I wasn’t really allowed to venture out too much on my own, but I remember enjoying the slow pace of summer life and the beautiful scenery of the Japanese countryside. I spent a lot of time with my host family and grew quite close to them, especially my host mother; we would pick vegetables from the garden and cook meals together, go on evening walks around the neighborhood after dinner, and sit in front of the television watching afternoon programs, me doing my homework while she folded the laundry. My host parents introduced me to a lot of local culture, bringing me to visit their family’s tea fields and taking me to various historical landmarks in the region. They weren’t super talkative, but in a way that was a plus, since it allowed me to slowly develop my comfort with the basics of the language as I lived with them. Overall, they demonstrated a lot of care for me, and I cherished them as if they were my own relatives.

In contrast, I had a somewhat harder time with my host family last year, when I participated in PII. I lived in the suburbs of Kanazawa, which is a moderately large coastal city, with a family of two parents and their two children, around my age. They had a much more “modern” lifestyle: their house was Western in style, located in a fairly new housing complex, both the father and the mother worked, and the family would take meals separately, depending on when they each came home from school or work. However, I had a more difficult time connecting with the individual members of the household; the children were usually out and about doing their own thing, and the father often came home rather late from work. I spent the most time with my host mother, but at first I had trouble adjusting to some of her stringent expectations of me—she would instruct me to put up my hair if I had it down, for example, or tell me to sit up straighter at the dinner table, and I wasn’t comfortable with such a familiar level of “parenting” in my relationship with a host family. Additionally, I struggled more with the language barrier this time around, even though I was much more advanced in Japanese at this point, likely because my host family thought I would be able to handle more complex grammar structures or vocabulary than I actually could given my current level. It wasn’t as if the family was rude or cold or anything like that; they were always kind and courteous to me, and we would also sometimes go on outings to restaurants or local cultural sites, which were pretty fun. Altogether, I just didn’t click as well with them as I did with my other host family (though in their defense, I was also severely depressed last summer so that probably played a part lol).

With regard to food, I feel like it varies so much depending on where you are, but there are a few staples that you can expect to find anywhere. In Kanazawa last year, my friends and I often ate soba, ramen, curry, etc. as well as boxed lunches (e.g. with rice, pork cutlet, etc.) that you can pick up from any convenience store. At home with my host family, my host mother would alternate between traditional Japanese breakfasts (with rice, miso soup, and some other side dishes) and more Western breakfasts (usually toast with jam and a cup of yogurt), and for dinner she’d either make something simple (like steamed fish or vegetables) or order some takeout. A lot of the foods you’d “typically” associate with Japan, like sushi or sukiyaki, are not commonly eaten on an everyday basis, and they might be different from what you’ve had outside of the country (Japanese sushi is a lot smaller and less convoluted than American sushi, for example!). Similarly, some Western chains in Japan will have different localized menus than what you might be used to, such as teriyaki burgers at McDonald’s or cherry blossom lattes at Starbucks. ALSO, the snacks and bottled beverages in Japan slap so hard—my favorites are definitely honey butter chips, kinoko no yama (lil choco mushrooms), oi ocha green tea, and c.c. lemon soft drink. All in all, some of my recommendations for food experiences in Japan include getting soba at a noodle stand (where you eat standing up), getting yakitori (chicken skewers) at an izakaya (a barlike setting where you can get late night snacks and drinks), and getting okonomiyaki (super delicious savory pancake, often cooked on a steel hotplate right in front of you) anywhere in Osaka (where it originated!).

In terms of safety, I’d say it also depends on where you go, but generally I found Japan to be a lot safer than the average city in the United States. When I was in Ishikawa last year, I would often go out on my own or with a group of friends, and very rarely did I feel any sense of unease while roaming the city of Kanazawa. I absolutely loved the freedom of wandering the streets late at night, something I never really got to experience growing up in the United States. One factor that helped was the accessibility of the public transportation in the area: there were tons of buses and trains whose maps and schedules were not difficult to follow, and in the worst case scenario I could always hail a taxi to reroute me to my destination. The language barrier wasn’t necessarily a hindrance at this stage of my time in Japan, but I would say that it’d probably be a lot harder to do some of the things I had to do, like reload a bus pass or buy bullet train tickets, if you didn’t understand/speak some degree of survival Japanese. However, I do want to acknowledge some of the privilege I have as an individual of East Asian descent traveling around Japan; because I often “passed” for a Japanese native (as long as I kept my mouth shut lmao), I rarely got any looks or stood out when I was making my way through my daily routine. I will say though, there was one time that I genuinely did feel unsafe in Japan, which took place not in Kanazawa but in Osaka, a much larger city that I had visited for vacation with a group of friends: I had gone out late on my own (while wearing a nice dress), and an older man had come up to me and tried to follow me back to where I was staying, but I eventually lost him by ducking into a restaurant bathroom. So in general, I don’t consider Japan to be dangerous for the most part, though again it never hurts to be vigilant, especially in a big city.

Wow that was a lot—I hope that was able to address at least some of the things you were asking about! I want to stress once again that my thoughts are by no means the final say on all things Japanese, and also emphasize that Japan and its culture cannot be simply boiled down into one homogenous description. Please feel free to reach out if there’s anything else more specific you would like to hear about (especially with such a broad topic as culture, there’s so much more to talk about, e.g. activities, etiquette, traditions, holidays, etc.)—I’d be happy to answer whatever I can given my own body of knowledge. Ultimately, I’m hoping that this helped to provide you with an initial sketch of Japan, and that you’ll be able to fill in the picture with your own travels there someday! :)

[steamishot]

Asia Trip Recap

I think I write this with some heaviness in my heart because I regret picking fights with him during the trip. Note to self: don’t travel with your SO when you’re PMSing!!

A few days before the trip, we met up at Wurst to plan our itinerary. I was tired from work but decided to meet up with him anyway. Again, he arrived later than he said he would and that put me in a bad mood. When I realized he was going to be late again, I almost cancelled on him and thought “maybe our relationship would be easier if it was long distance, so we won’t have to deal with these things”. During our dinner, I was annoyed because I felt he was judging me by putting extra sauce on my sausage. He made a disgusted face at it and said it tasted bad, and kept asking me why I liked it because I normally like to eat clean. I didn’t say anything that day and had the night to review what happened. I brought it up to him over text the next day saying that I felt he was being mean. He tends to bend over backwards and admits to wrongs, but i think he started feeling like he was always wrong. He tends to think “big picture” and in this fight, he understood that we were having a fight over food and that was dumb- and that he’s sorry and won’t do it again.

On the morning of our trip, he drove over to pick me up with his mom, who was going to drive the car back from the airport. They parked outside of my house, a few houses up, and my mom and grandma saw me out. Matt and his mom waved from outside of their car and I lugged my suitcase over. I was really nervous meeting his mom again. She was a part time physical therapist at the senior center I used to work at, and I remembered speaking with her a few times. The first thing she talked to me about was Cambodia… how Cambodia and China started off at similar playing fields, but that China advanced way faster. And that she really liked Cambodia. When I saw her I gave her a smile and a “hi”, but she just went for my luggage and was like let me take that. It was like a basic Asian greeting, which I am more comfortable with. So I was standing with Matt and his mom and waving bye to my mom and grandma. As were they. And it was kinda awkward because they’ve never met or knew of each other’s existence before lol. The car ride wasn’t that bad… she asked me a few questions about living in Echo Park and stuff about our trip. Me being the way I am, I said like a sentence in response to the questions and stayed quiet otherwise. I was sitting in the backseat and heard them talking about typical Asian stuff like universities, education etc. that almost put me to sleep LOL. I understood what he told me then, that his parents are pretty serious and he doesn’t joke around/laugh with them. Whereas I’m constantly joking with my parents and never really speak seriously with them. When we arrived at the airport and said our goodbyes, she told me while pointing to Matt, “he is a crazy boy”. Later on, Matt said that it was weird how his mom was fake laughing in the car and weird how she referred to him as a “crazy boy” since she’s never done so. When we boarded the airplane, I texted my mom and he texted his that we were about to fly. His mom responded additionally with “Connie is a good girl. Treat her well.” I saw the message pop up on his apple watch and he quickly swiped it away, because I think he saw my name and wasn’t sure if it was a weird message or not. But I read it quickly before he could haha. He responded with “Ok” and it made me feel good that his mom kinda accepts me.

The plane ride with ANA was great because it’s ANA and they have exceptionally good airplane food. We also got to play sexually a little on the plane so that was fun. I got mad at him again at the airport when I felt he was questioning me too much lol so that was like another hour wasted on negative energy. When we checked into our first Airbnb, it was worse than we expected… the floors were also dirty and I felt dirty laying on the bed. After I got up from the bed, I felt itchy. We were dirty as well being on the airplane/traveling for the last 15 or so hours. We ended up having sex and then showering/changing to get ready for the night. We both weren’t happy with the accommodation so we looked into other options. We went downstairs to speak with the host person, and he agreed the place wasn’t as nice as the pictures, i.e. “I admit that the pictures are professionally taken lol” lmao. So he agreed to refund us and we agreed to pay the clean up fee. I later contacted Airbnb with photos of the dirty floor and they refunded me the rest. We ended up checking into a nice hotel like 4-5 blocks away. The taxi ride there was $10! But it was wayyy more comfortable. After that experience, I was afraid the Airbnbs I chose for Korea and Taiwan weren’t going to be as good, and thought maybe doing hotels for Asia would have been a safer choice. When I came last year with my mom, there were two instances when we had to cancel our Airbnbs and stayed at hotels as well.

That night, we asked the hotel guy for recommendations. The place he recommended for izakaya was just alright… I think he recommended only like the “touristy” restaurants where they have English menus. We walked around til close to midnight and went back to sleep, so that we would be on the new timezone. The next day, we went to the Tsukiji fish market, Asakusa temple, Shibuya, standing sushi, and Kobe beef dinner. I thought the standing sushi was really fun and interesting. The other places I’ve already been to last year, so they weren’t that big of a deal to me. Tbh, the food in LA is just as good or even better than the places we had in Japan. The last (half day) we were in Japan, we had soba at a little shop outdoors that seats like 8 people max. That was one of the highlights. We also got to see the cherry blossoms… and those were beautiful. I was reminded at the garden that I’m more of a naturey/countryside person than a city person. (I enjoy the city only for food haha). Matt’s back hurt a lot the first night. I remember getting up at 5am to give him a massage. We did some yoga and I really enjoyed taking baths and using the bidets/toilets.

Going to Busan was a struggle. I didn’t know that the train to the airport only came once every half hour (instead of every 10 min or so). We were freaking out because we thought we were going to miss the plane. Once we got to the terminal, we ran and ran lol. And we literally got to the check in like 10 minutes before the window would close. After check in was another struggle, going through security. The line was longer than we thought, but we made it! We got to the gate as people were boarding. Very close call and stressful. I was so hungry on the plane that I ended up ordering instant noodles and paying for a bottle water.

It was gloomy when we reached Busan. We waited for the airport “limousine” bus to the city. There were a lot of Hong Kong people waiting around too. I started feeling sick and hot and took my sweater off on the bus. Matt said to put my sweater back on or that I will get sick. He said it’s the stress and being in a new environment that I can’t feel that I’m cold but I really am.. so I thought that was caring of him and put my sweater back on. It was my first time being in Korea. When I saw all the taxis lined up, I was reminded of the Korean dramas I used to watch. It was like K-drama coming to life for me. We stayed near the Busan station and the location was perfect. There were restaurants and coffee shops everywhere, and it was close to the station. It took a while to find the Airbnb but we were both blown away by it once we entered. Ironically, it was the cheapest Airbnb of our trip as well. The view was fantastic and everything was new. The washing machine was nice. The fridge was built into the cabinets. The A/C and heater were all new and so technologically advanced. I remember that about Busan’s airport- how advanced it was. Even though Japan is known as the city of the future, their airport was under renovation and all their workers were old and slow. The machinery they used was also kinda outdated. Not in Busan. The best thing about the Airbnb was the heated floors. I didn’t realize they were heated until I woke up in the middle of the night to go pee. The first meal we had was pork soup and rice, with sides. I really enjoyed it because it was clean and we had way too much ramen the few days before. Busan also had way less tourists than Tokyo. I felt like tourists/foreigners were everywhere we went in Tokyo. Most people knew how to speak English. In Busan, there were like no tourists around and no one spoke English. It was definitely more fun that way.

The first (and only) full day we had in Busan, I wanted to eat at a little restaurant in the train station. The food didn’t look amazing, but it was one of the few things open and the owner seemed nice and encouraged us to eat there. As we sat down, Matt said “I’d rather eat at McDonalds”, which I got angered by and started a fight by calling him judgmental. The mood was tense the first few hours, mostly on my end. And it seems our “fights” mostly revolve around him being late or something food related (wait for the last fight). I guess we learned how to work with each other. When I was living in Taiwan, and visiting Japan with my mom last year, we often just chose restaurants by random. I was down to do that this time too, but he wasn’t so much into the idea. He prefers to yelp or use Tripadvisor for the restaurants we eat at, even though he claims he “doesn’t care about food” (eyeroll). So I would get annoyed when after being on Yelp or TA for a while he still couldn’t decide on something, or when he’s looking down on his phone so much he’s missing things in action. His argument is that he wants to have a plan of action, and he wants the decision to be a good one. My argument is that you can kinda tell whether food will be good or not by looking at the menu/restaurant/food in front of you and consulting the internet isn’t always necessary.

Anyway, we went on our day as planned. The temple was okay, the beach was nice- had a Santa Monica vibe to it, but it was foggy and we couldn’t see much. The cultural district with the “slum” view was super nice. Afterwards we went to a seafood market. It was then when he realized he wasn’t as adventurous as he thought. I learned that he wasn’t as adventurous as I thought too. He really enjoys watching travel vloggers (mostly white people) so I thought he would be into trying new things/food. But sometimes I felt he was like a white guy in a Chinese guy body- minus Chinese food, he can eat that. We went into the Jalgachi market and ran into a Chinese store owner. “I’m Chinese, not Korean. I’ll give you some extra free seafood for being Chinese” he told us. So we walked around and checked out the other stalls and came back to the Chinese guy. I got to try live octopus for the first time! Years ago, I was keen on trying it in Koreatown but for some reason couldn’t find a place and gave up. I also read that there were some deaths related to eating this because the tentacles may suck on the inside of your throat, but I don’t know how true that is. It was just as I imagined it tasting. I think it’s just the novelty that is fun. It was really nice going back to the Airbnb and sleeping next to such a nice view in a nice apartment.

Learning from our previous hurdle, we got to the airport early this time. However, we faced another hurdle… I think because Korean technology is too good. They stopped my luggage because I had about 40-50 face masks and it was required that I have them in a zip lock bag. The lady was nice enough to bring two out, but I was sad when I saw that there were about 15-20 that couldn’t fit and that were would have to throw them away if I didn’t check in my luggage. Most of the face masks, I had bought from Japan to give to my mom as she requested. The others, I had bought from a Korean store thinking it was special (later on finding out that they sell them here at target!!!) I couldn’t decide on the spot, but I looked sad that I had to throw them away. Matt went ahead and checked them in for a fat fee of $50 and regretted it immediately. When we were figuring out what to do, he said it’ll cost $50 to check in. When I asked him are you sure? He said he wasn’t sure so in my head I thought maybe it’s only $25. But internally he was sure. He felt bad about that, and I venmo’d him the money immediately because it was all my stuff. We both felt bad about it. At least we got to check out a few cool lounges at the airport.

At the Taipei airport, I learned about mainland Chinese people. They do not leave gaps when waiting in lines because people will cut. That is something Matt is cognizant about. They have a different understanding of personal space and will get up all in your business. I was annoyed by them and understand what people mean when they say Chinese people are rude… but it helped me understand where Matt is coming from sometimes. They’re just blunt and to the point and it is normal for them to speak that way. Maybe I’m the more Americanized one? At our last airport stop from Taipei to Shenzhen… I got cut twice in line at the restroom because I was the only person waiting in line. Anyone coming in will go in front of me and wait right in front of the stall that has the person coming out. Culture shock: you snooze you lose.

On our train ride to the city, we were looking up things to eat, and I said something like I want to eat! And he said “again??” and I got upset at that. When we got to the Airbnb, he ate some pastry we bought but didn’t have the capacity to eat. I thought, “why are you eating a pastry when we could be eating local food. What are you doing in Asia, people come here to eat”. He also commented on the Airbnb saying, it always looks nicer in the photos- which is a valid point because I did agree it wasn’t the best, but it made me feel bad at the time. I accused him of “not letting me eat” because we ate lounge food, or pastries instead of eating local food. I guess I was just being pissy and moody and extra sensitive. We went to Taipei 101 and he had Starbucks reserve for the first time. We went to the top of the tower and got to experience the observatory. For dinner, we went to eat at a fancy hot pot place I ate at with my friends back when I studied abroad there. I didn’t expect it to be so expensive, but the bill came out to be $120. A little into the meal, he said something along the lines of “I think you don’t know what you like to eat either” and that I only chose this restaurant because my foodie friend influenced me to. I got defensive because I felt like he wasn’t listening to anything I was saying – it was true that my foodie friend reminded me of this place and that I do value his opinions, but to imply that I only wanted to come here because my friend told me to angered me. I wanted to go back to a nice place that I’ve been to 5 years before. Had I known dinner would have cost that much, I wouldn’t have gone. Anyway, we argued through dinner and I couldn’t enjoy my meal as much. We were the last ones at the restaurant and I paid for the meal because I wanted to take responsibility for the cost. We went to the nearby night market after that. Whatever we were arguing about, he wanted to look at my text messages as proof of something, but once he saw my texts, he realized he was wrong. He was annoyed at himself the rest of the night and wasn’t in a good mood. Fighting with him felt different than fighting with David. Because even though we were arguing, I felt like we were still together and that he wouldn’t leave me. He wouldn’t emotionally shut down to the point where he would ignore me or walk away. Even though we were both in a bad mood, we still stuck close (maybe because we were in a foreign land), and I still felt secure in us. We went back to the Airbnb, where he worked on some applications for residency. It was like he couldn’t concentrate… it was the first time I saw him when he needed time alone/to himself. I left him alone, and then cuddled him later in bed.

The next morning, he was acting lovey and cuddly, more so than usual. He said it was his way of saying sorry. I had more to say… and he said guys can’t win with females, because they have ammo from way back when lol. But anyway, I asked for a full apology and it was fine after that. We started our day kinda late, but it was okay because we were both already really exhausted from traveling/walking everywhere and could use the rest. We went to eat Chun Shui Tang for breakfast, which was a highlight of the trip too. Chun Shui Tang supposedly “invented” boba, but I just recently learned of it. We had beef noodle soup and fried chicken, and jasmine tea with pearl. Everything was amazing. Afterwards, we went to Yangmingshan, the national park. The first stop was really nice and pretty. We had an impromptu picnic. The second stop- the main one with the cattle and grasslands—was filled with fog, so we couldn’t see anything. After that, we went to the same night market as the night before and had a better experience. It was a holiday of some sort so there was a parade and firecrackers. We also saw gogo dancers on moving cars. The dan dan mian we had was also excellent. We waited in a semi line for this sausage rice thing at a stall which a “michellin star guide”. It was my first time having it so it was interesting- good to try but wouldn’t get again. We went back home after and considered going clubbing, but was like nah- since neither of us had clubbing appropriate shoes. We went to eat xiaolongbao instead. In hindsight, I probably focused too much on food, and we should have racked up the energy to do some nightlife lol.

Our last day, we woke up kinda late, because I felt like my period was gonna come soon and therefore I was extra tired. We got ready to check out and left our luggages at Taipei main station, where we would have to go for the airport. Right below our Airbnb is a dance studio (ballet). They had pictures of all the girls in the class on the wall, and they had one special ed/down syndrome class. Matt described it as “little girls under us” which I thought was funny and made fun of him for. When we were leaving, there was a girl with down syndrome waiting there, so that was nice to see. Very independent. Memory in Tokyo: a little girl (~5 years old) standing next to Matt on the bus, and yelling out: hey stop the bus! It’s my stop! Also another memory from Taipei going to Yangmingshan: a lady yells at the bus driver saying why didn’t he stop the bus when she pressed the button 3 stops ago! (why she didn’t voice anything until after 3 stops later, don’t ask me). We went back to Willbeck coffee shop which had this really good sesame coffee latte (something I’ll miss). Then we went to this niuroumian place in an alleyway we saw that had a long queue. We waited in line and then were guided to sit down in front of another Asian American couple. We shared a table with them and sat directly in front of them. “this is intimate,” Matt said. The girl was like where are you guys from? To start conversation. Later we found out that they are both starting residencies too- basically I had lunch with 3 doctors lol. Matt was really good at talking to them and made them laugh, and I would just say something here and there but keep quiet the rest of the time. After they left, it was interesting to hear what he said about our interaction. We both forgot their names. He said the guy is good at bringing up a topic and the girl talks about it and finishes it. He said I mainly looked down and said something every 5 minutes lol. He said I was mostly focused on the food and the others were more half and half. But he admitted that he didn’t know what he ate afterwards. That was something I used to tell him when we first started dating, to stop talking while eating so he can taste the food.

So to the airport we went. Last stop Shenzhen for a layover before heading back to LA. When we got to the check in point, the guy nonchalantly told me: you have two problems. 1. The flight is going to be delayed so you will most likely miss your connecting flight. 2. You don’t have a Chinese visa so you might not be able to leave China. And Matt was like uhh those are pretty big problems no? So I was freaking out a little. Matt told me to relax, and that it’s coming from him (I’m usually the more relaxed one). Matt had a flight to Kunming from Shenzhen the next morning at 7am, so I thought if I missed my flight, at least we would be able to spend the night together.

So we stayed at the Taipei airport lounging for a few hours. The niuroumian they had there was actually really great. Walking into the lounge, it was like walking into a restaurant. That’s Taipei for you. Matt stuffed himself per usual and I ate a little bit. I ended up drinking like 4 glasses of red wine because I was stressed out about the flight situation. I was already pissed at Chinese people for them cutting me in line and being “rude” (culture shock), and horror stories from friends about going through China’s airport didn’t help. Matt took the subject seriously too, and told me to try to find nice looking customs people to talk to. He kept saying how Chinese people fear the government. But he also told me to relax. Drinking while watching music videos was fun. I was a little tipsy going on the flight. When we boarded the airplane, Matt noted how the airplane is part of the Boeing 737 Max line that crashed. I was like what the fuck. What else can go wrong. The flight was like 95% Chinese people with like 2 white people. We later found out that the pilot was also white (when he made the announcements). We were both like, thank goodness there are white people on this plane. I felt more safe.

Contrary to my expectations of it going to be a bad/scary experience, the Chinese people were actually really friendly and helpful. As our group of plane people entered the airport, there were two girls who shouted “who’s going to Kunming tomorrow morning?” so they had a plan of action for Matt already, who they were going to hook up with a hotel for the night. They also knew about me who had a connecting flight. They helped me get a temporary visa and I went through the airport no problem. They told me to hurry up and check in upstairs and said Matt can retrieve my luggage and bring it up to me later.

Takeaways from the trip:

He mentioned how I do stuff he doesn’t like either but he just lets it go and doesn’t point them out. Whereas I’m nitpicky and point out the stuff I don’t like. He then feels that he’s always in the wrong/can’t do anything right. I think this was a problem in my past relationship too- my perfectionism. One thing he said that stood out was that I hold him to a really high standard. And it’s true. He says I respect my friends more than I do him. That if my friends act a certain way, I can always justify it and I’ll be on their side. But I have trouble doing that for him. Which is another thing I think is true in relationships too. Because I don’t see my friends as often, or their lifestyle/decisions don’t affect mine as much, I can easily be more supportive. I can let things go more easily because we aren’t as very intimate. That’s something I will work on doing.

And our pride- we both want to be right, but in reality, we are both right to an extent. Towards the end of the trip, I realized that what he says is right too, and it seemed he realized what I mean as well. We are both stubborn and forget to be kind over being right.

Anyway, this trip was stressful, the way it was planned wasn’t the best. We only had one full day in each city and maybe at least 30% of the trip itself was traveling/going to and from airports. That put pressure on that one full day being going well. Since I’ve been to Tokyo and Taipei before, I didn’t experience that many new things, so I do want to go somewhere new next time. And that was also my bad, because I wasn’t as open minded to the other countries and I thought it would be nice to be with him to experience his “first” in Asia (outside of China).

They say traveling with someone is like getting a taste of what it’s like being married to them. Even though we got on each other’s nerves and traveling was a struggle at times, we’re still there for each other at the end of the day. I hope, at least. Saying bye to him in China was sad, as he is staying in Asia for an additional 11 days while I’m back in LA. It was hard going from sleeping together for 6 nights straight to not, especially when struggling with jetlag- you just want some love. LDR is definitely harder when your SO is halfway around the world, and there are only a few hours in a day when your times match up. It’ll be hard saying bye to him when he leaves for NY. Maybe I’m needy, but it already sucks not being able to talk to him normally for 3 days now.

Before our trip ended, he kept saying “our trip is ending soon…” and he is planning out the remaining weekends he has with me. He wanted to do Seattle the weekend he gets back, but I said it was too rushed and that he will be jetlagged. So it made me sad that after he leaves for NY, our relationship will never be the same. Because I’m certain his workload will be very hectic and it will remain hectic for at least 3+ years. And that made me realize I really don’t treat him with the same respect as I did when we first started going out. That I’m becoming “comfortable” with him/taking him for granted. So I’ll just be mindful of that in the future. To remind myself to think big picture instead of narrowing down on details.