#plus writing practice!

[cat-n-rabbit]

Lord Kzinssie is so mysterious...

[[ This short story idea was living rent free in my head since I considered picking Bokhohn on the side/or here :D;; ]] [[ Might be a fun read @soulxsteal ! ]]

---

There were many mysteries surrounding Rabbit's favorite hero and she had oh, so many questions. Unfortunately she was way too shy to ask him directly but fortunately for her there was another hero in the Vangaurd who she deemed perfect for that.

"Good...evening, Lord Bokhohn!" Rabbit greeted, holding a big bottle of wine in front of her face and strategically hiding a very apologetic smile. By now she knew this one hero in particular would rather have his drink and didn't want to bother with anyone, ever.

Bokhohn didn't even look up from his book. He didn't need to. The library in the Vanguard was peaceful and he was seldom bothered. Usually simply not replying to anyone was enough. There were occasional 'heroes' who would come to ask him to join on their silly adventures or missions - both things he didn't care about. This world he was pulled into was unnatural and he didn't plan to get involved in it. Instead he wanted to obtain as much useful information as he could, rejoin Wagnas and the rest and hopefully find his way to the ancients.

"I'm weak, leave me alone." Bokhohn turned a page and hoped this reply would be enough to protect his peace and quiet. It was not.

"I ah, I came to ask you about... Lord Kzinssie." Rabbit continued then carefully nudged the wine bottle on the table in hopes her offering would be enough to please the ever grumpy strategist.

'Lord... Kzinssie!?' Bokhohn's eyes paused and no amount of information in this book would pin his attention now. He finally looked up - first at Rabbit. 'Oh, great... one of The Emperor's goons.' he squint his eyes. 'But not the blonde...Ugh, never mind they all look the same anyway.' Then his eyes moved to the wine bottle. Obviously a bribery, and a bribery he was willing to take.

"He made it here too then? Very well..." Bokhohn closed his book and reached a clawed hand towards the bottle while his eyes remained pinned on Rabbit like a hawk who just locked on a prey. Suddenly the girl felt very uneasy. At the back of her head she reminded herself - she could outrun him. Running away was always the first option! "What do you want to know about ...Lord Kzinssie?"

"W-well... ah... anything really!" Rabbit rubbed her hands. A nervous jitters that was immediately caught by the strategist. She hurried to sit, shuffle her hands on her lap and out of sight, as if that would make her harder to read.

Bokhohn poured a glass, took the scent form the wine and began with a very indifferent tone. "Lord Kzinssie turns into a worm on full moon nights." The wine was good and now after a good sip, the strategist was very willing to humor the girl. Surely she won't buy all the'd say...

"Really? Like... a teeny-tiny worm?" Rabbit's eyes widened. When was the next full moon? Would he be alright? Maybe she had to find a little match box to make into a tiny bed for him so he will stay safe.

Bokhohn's face turned long...........She actually believed that? Young ones were stupid, impulsive and unreasonable. And when crushing all this was amplified. This one would not survive the winter... Not that this was his problem. Bokhohn sipped and continued. "His sword is made from his spine. That's why he lacks any."

"F-from his spine!?" Rabbit gasped! No wonder he was in a hurry to find it. "Lord Kzinssie's muscles must be so strong to keeping him going." She mused aloud. Bokhohn sipped again thinking how to top that - which absurdity would make this girl realize he is fooling her around.

"He went to the sea with Subier once, got lost and had to eat jellyfish for days because that was all he could catch."

"Aren't...they poisonous?" She knew this much and now Bokhohn was ready to flash a grin - yes, she finally is starting to question the absurdity of his statements, "Lord Kzinssie must be really strong to eat so much jellyfish and survive...!"

Bokhohn's grin very quickly turned into a disgruntled expression followed by a muffed groan. This girl can't possibly be this stupid! Suddenly the wine that was meant to bribe him was helping him preserve his own brain cells.

"One time Dantarg stepped on him and he was stuck under his foot for a week."

"Huh..." Rabbit pondered on this one. She knew Dantarg was huge even if she has never seen him before but hearing this gave her an idea just how big this hero in particular could be "Lord Kzinssie must be... really soft and squishy if Lord Dantarg didn't notice him for a whole week."

Rabbit's eyes darted up taken by the idea. Just how soft must Lord Kzinssie be? Would he mind if she squishes his cheeks? They did look very squishable! No, no...that'd be way too bold and rude! Bokhohn was rubbing his face across the table. Was this girl playing him now or she really was that naive?

"Ah, thank you, Lord Bokhohn... I think I learned a lot about Lord Kzinssie from you!" The brunette perked up and lift herself form the chair, "I hope you'll enjoy the wine!"

"Right. And you... enjoy your Lord Kzinssie." He waved a hand dismissively hoping she will remove herself from the room before he resolved to removing her with her own hands. At least the wine was good and it would wash the memory of this dumb human from his head.

"Lord Kzinssie is so mysterious...." Rabbit muttered as she began to exit the library.

[bunnyyyuu]

includes: f! reader, established relationship, pure fluff, toge mentioned!

yuuta does not have to spend any time getting ready in the mornings.

brush teeth, brush hair, style hair if it's really messy: that's all for him. he also gets up far before you, chucking when you whine as he slips out of bed for maybe twenty minutes.

he sits on the edge of your shared bed as you frantically speed around your room trying to rush your process. he’s smiling and blushing the most beautiful pink you’ve ever seen while you're grumbling about how he should've woken you up. truthfully, he should've, but then you'd just be mad that he didn't let you sleep in. lose-lose, he thinks.

he follows you when you disappear into the bathroom.

he watches how you purse your lips together and knit your brows as you apply your lip combo, how you flick your wrist to put on eyeliner with practiced ease, how you speed through the makeup process as you don't have extra time (hint hint: you do). he thinks you're beautiful without makeup, an absolute marvel of a woman who he’s racing to get down on one knee for, but he also thinks you're so talented—makeup’s an art form after all, and you are the painting and the painter.

he places a sweet hand on your shoulder when you wince while brushing your hair, a particularly annoying sleep-induced tangle tugging on your scalp.

he follows you like a lost dog when you speed walk back into the bedroom. he grins when you pause while grabbing your phone for the first time that morning.

6:00, the time read. you didn't have anywhere to be until 8:30. yuuta had told you you were about to be late when he shook you awake. he bites down a giggle when you stick the mental puzzle pieces together.

you snap around with amusement and exasperation written all over your face. you push gently on yuuta’s chest, it's mot meant to hurt him (not like you could anyway), just to get his attention. “okkotsu!”

shit, the last name? he’s done it now.

“what?” he smiles with an almost too convincing faux innocence.

truth is, yuuta had been gushing to inumaki about you a little too much yesterday. he was complaining on and on, all while inumaki nodded lazily, about how he never gets the chance to see you in the mornings, how you never get up on time, how when you are awake you're getting ready and then you have to go. he wasn't mad at you—he never is and never will be—just a little sad he didn't get an extended glimpse of you before heading to school. his friend scribbled down on a notepad, “just wake her up earlier dude.”

“she doesn't like to be woken up too early,” he pouted, “and, if i did, she’d just spend the whole time getting ready.” he felt at a loss, defeated, and inumaki pondered for a moment.

“tell her that it's a different time than it is when you wake he up. make her think she’s about to be late,” he wrote, holding up the notebook for yuuta.

why didn't he think of that?

“you know what!” you laugh a little.

he laughs right along side you, the sweet sweet sound filling your ears and making your heart swell even with the annoyance inside you. “i just wanted to see you more in the morning,” he admits, grabbing one of your hands and holding it between both of his.

you can't stay mad at him. even when you want to say something about how that's mean, how he should've just gotten you up normally, but yuuta’s just too cute.

you follow him back into bed with a small, begrudging smile. he envelops you in his arms. so warm, like yourown personal heater. you nuzzle against him, careful to not ruin your sloppy makeup job. he rubs your back with his big hands, almost falling back asleep as he holds you.

you could get used to this if you didn't have to wake up early.

[suja-janee]

Oooh this might be a controversial take (for the bireena community maybe) but I feel like I need to get it off my chest

I don’t ship sekhan, I feel like that is completely obvious, but-

I didn’t want bireena in khaos reigns either (even before it came out and sekhan became canon)

At most, I wanted them to meet, try to kill each other maybe, have no choice but to team up, and then leave off on a cliffhanger on what the future could hold. LIKE that was it. No romance yet, maybe not even an official friendship, just obscurity to set up their future.

I feel like we’re still at a point where Bi-Han needs to make a lot of personal growth first. The last thing I want him doing is putting his nasty unredeemed hands anywhere near my precious SAREEEENNNAAAA!! If they were to interact at any point in future games or kombat packs, I want the focus to be on redeeming the two (mostly bi-han) cause at the end of the day, I am a Bi-Han fan first, bireena fan second. I will even take it if they just end up as friends if that means he can finally redeem himself and not go down the constant path of evil and being someone’s side-kick.

From my time on twitter I’ve noticed the constant need of some bireena fans to attack sekhan and complain that we didn’t get bireena, which is fair they’re allowed to do that, but I think that’s genuinely the wrong way to look at this whole situation. I mean, if you wanna think in context to how Bi-han acts/ presents himself in this timeline, I actually think he and sektor make perfect sense. He doesn’t like people disagreeing with him and sektor is basically the embodiment of an enabler/ loyalist. OF COURSE, he’d be down for that (which is not to say I like sektor’s writing either, I wanted her to betray Bi-Han and push her own image onto the Lin Kuei). But I think the point of putting him with her (though I don’t want to give NRS any writing credit yet) is to show how messed up his mind is and how he goes for the wrong methods to get what he wants (like liu kang said).

I know we shouldn’t exactly take the Johnny cage announcer voice as canon but I feel like everyone is missing the “future” part in “bi-Han’s future bestie”. They still haven’t even officially met if you don’t count him kicking nitara’s ass at the Ying fortress. If they had gotten together in khaos reigns it would’ve been just as bad and poorly written as sekhan. If you wanna attack sekhan and call it forced because her entire story revolves around a man then you need to also keep in mind that if Sareena had been written as a romantic interest to Bi-Han in khaos reigns it would be the exact same thing. Sareena still has her own soul to redeem and her own past to confront. The last thing she needs is to be with a man that has all the mental maturity of a group of middle schoolers who frequent Hot Topic.

(This portion is my own headcanoning and how I want them to meet, I’ll mark where it ends)

As stated before, I think the main priority should be Bi-Han and Sareena focusing on their redemption arcs if they are to interact with each other in the future. Bi-Han needs to see the error in his ways of thinking and let go of his pride. Sareena needs to see she’s more than just an underling to Quan Chi and break free from his control. If anything, I think the best way to approach this is to maybe bring up MK Mythologies again and have them meet through that. Maybe Bi-Han gets betrayed and gets stuck in the netherrealm and has no choice but to spare a life (Sareena’s) and relies on her to help him get out. That way it would teach him the value of mercy that he didn’t understand in Khaos Reigns. And from there I think in terms of Sareena’s story she sees someone with a tainted soul and feels some empathy about that. Helping him to redeem himself- to her- would be like a way of helping her understand that no soul is too far gone and she herself can be redeemed and help others.

As far as how he would act after being “redeemed” I can’t exactly tell you how I think he would act, especially since he’s not really the apologetic type. But maybe an interesting route he can take is Kuai Liang’s old role in the previous timelines. He’s seen how fa pride can take you and how destructive it is. That way he’s the perfect perspective to redo/ remodel the Lin Kuei. Kuai Liang seems too focused with the Shirai Ryu this time around so if anyone should be redeeming the Lin Kuei it should be the guy who has taken the most mental and physical damage from being a part of it. And from that little plot line, the Shirai Ryu and the Lin Kuei can make peace with each other.

Again, THIS DOESN’T HAVE TO BE ROMANTIC FOR BIREENA. I’m more than happy if they’re just friends in the end. I just want some sort of redemption and closure for them for ONCE! They’ve been subject to so much heartbreak and evil in previous timelines, they deserve better than this one dimensional writing.

(End headcanon here)

I know this may all come off as hypocritical coming from me, the most frequent poster in the bireena tag 😂, but keep in mind the type of content I post. I VERY CLEARLY do not take myself or my art very seriously and most of my art is comedy based. So before you sharpen your pitchforks and sum me up as just another bireena artist, just know I draw what entertains me the most and I’m usually not serious about it.

Do I still want bireena? Or course I do. I just don’t want it NOW. I’m willing to wait- I don’t want forced/ rushed writing on a ship I’ve devoted myself to for the past year.

[parkitaco]

if i wrote a practice kissing fic would you guys promise to be normal about it

[mumblingsage]

I think I've recommended it in passing a few times, but writers seeking more craft books: I would run, not walk, in the direction of Matthew Salesses's Craft in the Real World. It's one of the most exciting books on writing that I've read in years (up there with Ron Carlson Writes a Story, Samuel Delaney's The Jewel-Hinged Jaw, Kim Addonizio's The Poet's Companion and June Casagrande's It Was the Best of Sentences, It Was the Worst of Sentences). I think it might be most helpful if you've already read some other books on craft--it's a sort of 201-level response to 101-level advice, and if you aren't familiar with the 101 advice you might miss some of the significance. But parts like the revision exercises definitely stand on their own.

Salesses re-evaluates and explores a lot of common writing ""rules"" with the understanding of how culturally contingent they are, and how this is a disservice to writers and readers from backgrounds and cultures outside the presumed "norm." At the same time, he offers modifications of the tools and new techniques/new ways of thinking of old techniques. I'm in the middle of his re-definitions of terms. For instance, Salesses recommends looking at Characterization as "What makes one character different from everyone else." Character + Story Arcs are "What changes or fails to change." Craft itself is "a set of expectations."

Lightbulb moments everywhere.

(While I'm sending out book advice: for less 'exciting' but super solid grounding in techniques designed for nonfiction but applicable broadly, try anything by Roy Peter Clark. Ursula K. Le Guin's Steering the Craft is short but rich; it's one of my first recommendations to writers just getting started on reading craft advice. In the Palm of Your Hand is another poetry workbook that has advice on vocabulary, detail, and narrative that applies well to fiction too. For anyone looking into self-publishing, it's out of print and parts are dated but if you can secure a used copy through your library or secondhand sales, Catherine Ryan Howard's Self-Printed: The Sane Person's Guide to Self-Publishing is hugely informative and amusingly written.)

[the-worms-in-your-bones]

Time to play the game of will my sanity make it to the end of the week

[vhenan-ma-ghilana]

how many more bleedin wips could i possibly have oml .................

is any of this visible on a device thats not apple cus the colours aren't colouring

(and unfortunately theres more where this came from rip me 😭😭😭 just sketching nonstop but not committing to colouring 💀)

[mylifeiscomics]

Starting over.

I’ve expressed before I do not like the 50th because it took away from Nines story. He was the soldier, he experienced those horrors and he had to harden himself to do it. Now, I do like “the Night of the Doctor” which was with Eight and fits so perfectly with Nines character… so that’s the reference here. He chose to become the Ninth Doctor to get the job done but then when that was finished he was just left on his own to deal with that.

[redr0sewrites]

guys if i wrote hcs/fics for azrael, michael, uriel, leo, etc (basically the heaven OC's from hazbin hotel, a lot of them are from the journey to the light au that was really popular on twitter between the time period of the pilot and the official show) would u guys read it?

[ejunkiet]

okay I need to leave, but I've been poking at wips, and after a month in the trenches trying to find romance authors I like, it's crazy to return back to fanfic and just be like oh. shit. this is good. why can't I find stuff like this published??

[jeongjaebae]

1 plus 1

Pairing: Eric x reader Genre: fluff, fake dating Word count: 3.1k

While looking for an outfit for the party, you can't help but notice all the couples' BOGO sales going on. What better way to get free stuff than to pretend you're dating your best friend?

This has got to be the worst predicament you've been in this year. Forget walking into the wrong lab or tripping in front of the entire student body on campus, nothing has made you filled with such apprehension as the situation in front of you.

It's all Changmin's fault, really. He's the one who convinced you that pretending to be dating your best friend would be a good idea, but now, you don't even know if you're going to make it through this day. If you somehow actually go to his party, you're going to kill him, that scheming little—

"Y/N?" Eric's soft voice interrupts your violent thoughts. He's stopped a few steps ahead, holding out a hand as he waits for you to catch up, and that tiny smile on his lips is enough to wipe the rest of the complaints from your mind. Changmin who? The only thing on your mind is the way your palms start to heat up at the thought of having to hold his hand.

It all started a few weeks ago, at the beginning of the holiday season.

As per tradition, Changmin and Chanhee would be hosting another one of their infamous parties for the holidays this year. You received an invite from Changmin himself, perks of being his classmate or whatever it was he said; you hadn't been paying much attention when you were too busy thinking of the perfect excuse to not go. From the stories you'd heard about past events, this isn't something you particularly wanted to partake in.

But before you could spit out an excuse about your cousin's friend's sister's pet needing your full attention that weekend, Changmin was already telling you about the one plus one sales for couples that occurred during this time of year. Because Eric loves them, of course. And just imagine all the free stuff the two of you could get if you pretended to be a couple when you took him shopping to find an outfit for the party.

Simple enough, right?

When you first brought it up to Eric, you didn't think he would take it too seriously. Because, well, in your head, it should've been enough to show up together and look like a couple to participate in all those BOGO sales. The two of you standing side by side, the same awkward smiles pasted on your faces. That's why it never occurred to you that he would want to go further than the bare minimum and actually put on an act as if this was a role back in a high school drama class.

Now you'd have to live with knowing how soft his hands are and how well they seem to fit with yours as he intertwines your fingers together, but that this is only for the sake of getting a free hot chocolate. You'd know that the way his eyes soften and fill with fondness every time he looks at you is actually a look that's meant to be directed at that skincare package instead.

Once again, you curse at Changmin in your mind as you quickly catch up to Eric and slip your hand in his.

"Hey, let's go see what's over there?" he asks with a smile.

You nod, smiling back at him and ignoring the hard kick your heart does. Looks like your ulterior motive came back to bite you.

And so, the rest of the day is spent wandering from store to store and taking in all the eye-catching signs and colourful objects displayed in shop windows. You know how to play the part well and try to do an even better job than he does, almost one-upping him in a way. Eric might pull you towards him and gaze at you lovingly, but you go even further to lean in and brush away that eyelash that had fallen beneath his eye. He might take your hand in his or chain his arm with yours, but you move his arm to your waist instead so that you're nestled against his side.

It should be easy for the sake of free items, right? At least that's what you remind yourself. The truth is that this is easy because it's a role you've played all too many times in your head, having imagined this exact sequence of events. In a different context of course.

"This looks pretty cool." Eric points over in the distance and when you follow his gaze, you can see another big event going on right by the giant Christmas tree at the center of the mall.

The thought of doing any more pretending sends your stomach into a frenzy, but seeing the excitement in his eyes, you can't bring yourself to say anything. "Sure," you put on a smile and give his hand a squeeze, "let's go check it out."

The event isn't a buy one get one free sale, but rather a raffle. A bunch of prizes are lined up on the counter, with everything from cool kitchen appliances to gift cards to makeup sets and everything in between. Though raffles were never your forte, you actually consider entering this one when you see how Eric takes in the scene in front of him, eyes twinkling. You'd do it for him.

Or at least you thought you would until you get to the front of the crowd and hear the instructions for entering this raffle.

"Just take a picture of your kiss under the mistletoe," the lady says cheerfully, pointing you in the direction of the set. You follow her gaze and see it: there's a small Christmas tree, fake snow, even some reindeer figures set up.

Yes, it'd be a cute set up. It's just that you would think it's for kids' mall pictures with Santa, and not whatever the heck this is! This freaking kiss!

Before you get a chance to turn to Eric and voice your concerns, the two of you somehow get tangled up in the sea of people walking over, slowly pushing you along with them until you're right in front of the photo spot.

"You know... we, um, don't have to do this." You force on an air of nonchalance to hide your panic. At least no one else is paying you any attention; all these couples are too busy in their own world. "We probably won't win anything anyway."

So it really wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to pretend you never encountered this event and just walk away.

"Would you be okay with it?" Eric asks, breaking you out of your thoughts.

"With what? Not entering the raffle?" Of course I'd be okay with it, Eric, you think. Not an ounce of your hesitation is about the raffle or the prizes, and heck, there is no chance you'd win anything anyway.

"No," he says, shaking his head. There's a hint of a smile on his lips but his voice is quiet, perhaps hesitant like yours. "With kissing me."

You're almost sure you heard wrong.

"W-what?" you sputter, mind reeling over everything. Of all things you expected for today, kissing Eric was not one of them. It's not in the realm of imaginable things at all, and you have to force yourself to calm down when you answer. "Yeah," you croak, "um, yes. I'd be fine with that."

And for whatever reason, in the seconds upon hearing your answer, Eric's smile lights up his whole face and his eyes soften instantly. "Yeah?" He takes a step closer to you. "Okay. Good."

Everything in your mind seems to blur together as he slowly closes the distance. You're afraid, nervous, terrified that your lips are chapped, or your breath isn't pleasant. Or that your teeth might clack against his, assuming that your nose doesn't get in the way first. And no matter how well your best friend already knows you, you're not sure if he'll want to know you in this kind of way.

"Are you sure?" he whispers at the last second, breath grazing your lips. There are just millimeters between you now and he could've easily closed the distance, but he waits, searching for an answer in your eyes.

So you answer.

The second his lips meet yours, it's like all your thoughts disappear. This isn't like a first kiss, one that you always imagined might happen between the two of you, but rather a kiss of two lovers, already familiar with each other and unafraid to express their want. The unspoken 'I love you' is written through his gentle touch on your cheeks and at your jaw, and through your fingers between the strands of his soft hair.

And in this moment, it doesn't matter if this thing is for a raffle and if it's not real at all. Because none of it matters when you're kissing the one person you've been in love with for so long, when it might be enough to simply close your eyes, lean into the warmth of his every touch, and pretend.

Eric pulls back slightly and breaks the kiss first, but the way the two of you linger so closely together makes you feel like it was going to happen again.

Like it was somehow too real to be just acting.

"Oh, right," you say, quickly stepping back and ending the moment. "Um, I think we got it. Yeah?" You nod at the phone he's still holding out in front of the two of you in the selfie position. That's what quickly pulls you back to reality; you have to tell yourself it was for the selfie since it was all too easy to forget.

Eric quickly takes the phone and swipes across the screen a couple of times, away from your field of view. "Yeah, we got it."

So much for being a mediocre actor, you think bitterly. You don't know how he did it, but he has to be some sort of expert if he was able to fake something like this. Maybe he's thinking of someone else when he's doing all of this, someone who's not you.

And perhaps this is the worst part of today. Knowing how gentle the caress of his hands against your face could be, knowing the warmth of his mouth and how he tastes on your tongue.

Knowing that none of it is for you.

Eric calls you again, beckoning you over to where he's finished filling out the info for the raffle ticket, and then the two of you are off to the next spot as if nothing even happened.

In the end you don't win the raffle, but it never mattered anyway. It especially doesn't when it feels like you've won the lottery and then lost your ticket.

As the two of you continue exploring the mall, Eric gradually gets quieter and quieter. At first you don't notice it since he's been on the quieter side today, opting to walk silently next to you when he's not excitedly dragging you off to stores. But when you walk past one of those giant "1 plus 1" signs at the entrance of a store and he gives no reaction whatsoever, and he doesn't even seem to see the cats in the window of the cat cafe, that's when you realize something isn't right.

Sure, you could be overthinking it and he could merely be tired after a long day of walking around, but this is Eric. You knowyour best friend wouldn't be one to pass up any sales like this, especially since they're what you came here for today after all.

The drive home is mostly silent too, relying on the holiday tunes on the radio to fill the gaps. It's silent until he walks to you to the entrance of your house, and then he finally speaks.

"I—I have something to tell you," Eric says softly, only briefly meeting your eyes before looking at the ground.

This is it, you think. This is why he fully retreated into his head for the latter half of your outing—it must've been from the kiss. You weren't able to hide your feelings while doing all this today, and he had to have realized what a mistake everything was. Now, it might just be the downfall of your entire friendship.

"Y/N, I'm sorry."

"Why are you saying that?" You let a note of casualness slip into your voice and hope it'll conceal your concern a bit. All you want to do is to play dumb, to pretend like there's nothing wrong at all. "For what?"

Eric sighs, slumping against your front door. He looks thoroughly torn and this is probably the most stressed you've ever seen him. It has to be something big if this is a reaction even exam season couldn't get out of him, and it makes you all the more nervous too.

Because it can't mean anything good.

"Well, we didn't even end up finding you an outfit today."

"Oh. Right." You're not sure how to react to that, suddenly unsure if this should be considered good news or bad news. What you know is that it's certainly not something worth being upset over. "That's fine, don't worry about it. Honestly, I don't think I'll go to the party anymore."

A look of confusion creeps onto Eric's face. "What, why? I thought you wanted to go."

"Meh, it's not that important and like, Changmin is kind of weird." You shrug. "But that's not what you wanted to tell me, is it?"

"N-no." He briefly looks startled, and you wonder if he was about to chicken out of saying anything at all if you hadn't prompted him. You wonder if you should've just let him. "It's about... today.

"Today."

"Yeah," he says and doesn't make a move to continue.

You can see the gears turning in his mind but it's clear that neither of you want to breach the topic of how your friendship will never be the same again after everything that happened today.

"Today when we were pretending—um, how do I say this?" Eric pauses and runs a hand through his hair, then takes a deep breath. "Okay, I'll just go ahead and say it."

You have to mentally brace yourself as you await the final blow. He'll say that the two of you shouldn't have done it, that he was so focused on the sales that he never realized it'd be a mistake. Then you'd have to put on your best poker face and agree and pretend like each time you see him—if you ever see him again—you're not reminded of the fond smiles he's shown you, or how his every breath sounds when his lips are against yours.

"What we did today," he drags out slowly. "I didn't want to make you uncomfortable, but if you were, or you just hated all of it... Sorry, I didn't mean to get so carried away." His eyes flicker to yours before looking away as the words tumble out of his mouth all at once. "I would never risk our friendship over something so trivial, Y/N. The ice cream wasn't great and hell, I wasn't even interested in that raffle."

"No, it's fine," you mutter automatically and let out a breath you didn't even know you were holding. At least he doesn't want to stop being friends with you entirely. But then your mind processes his words, and you realize exactly what you heard. "Wait, did you just say you weren't interested in the raffle?"

"Yeah, I mean, the prizes weren't very good—" Eric stops abruptly. His eyes widen when they meet yours, turning impossibly big as his mouth opens slightly in realization. "I—well, I mean..."

He continues to struggle with coming up with what to say, going as far as turning away from you completely. You might've chosen to fill the silence before, but this time your heart is beating so loudly that you can hardly speak either.

Having no excuse left, Eric finally turns back to face you and sighs. "I know what we did today was supposed to be fake, but that's not how I saw it. It was real to me, Y/N. I wanted to believe that it was more than just acting. That maybe... you might feel the same way."

You can't believe what you're hearing. The kiss may have been the least expected part of your day before, but this is something straight out of a dream. It's so surreal that it has you searching Eric's face for any hint that this is some kind of joke or a prank, but the way he avoids your gaze and focuses on the ground in front of him proves otherwise.  

"You... you—what?" is the only thing you can get out in this moment. You stare at him, and he stares back.

"Well, um." He blinks, licks his lips. Looks everywhere except at you. "Actually, you know what, just forget I ever said anything. If you never want to see me again, I get it."

"No, Eric." You shake your head, trying to snap out of your thoughts. "I'm just a bit in disbelief right now because I was supposed to be the one telling you that, not the other way around."

It's his turn to be frozen in shock. "What?"

"It was all real to me too." Something tells you to reach for his hand just as you'd done many times throughout the day, but this time you're tentative. This time you're hesitating at the last second like you can't believe this is really happening, that it's really okay to do when no longer under the guise of those sales, and it isn't until Eric reaches out for you that you realize it's okay. It's all real. "I've felt this way for a while and I don't know if I was ever going to tell you, but then this came up. Actually—Changmin was the one who gave me the idea of using the outfit shopping excuse to go and check out those one-plus-one sales because you like them."

Eric furrows his brows. "Changmin gave you the idea?"

"Yeah. I didn't really want to go to the party but he kind of blackmailed me with this."

"No way." His jaw drops a little. "Because Chanhee was the one who gave me the idea. I just thought it was a coincidence when you brought it up first that day."

You've heard stuff about Chanhee and Changmin's parties before but never realized that maybe this is what people meant. And now, you're not even sure if you should be mad about it. A minute ago, you were picturing the worst that could happen after today's events, but it seems like you actually got the best possible outcome, one that you hadn't even dared to hope for.

Eric gives your hand a squeeze, and when you meet his eyes, he's smiling. "So if I go to the party, will you be my plus one?"

[jichanxo]

date outfit kitakata save me......... save me....

[lovesick-x-prince]

have you ever thought about writing and publishing an actual book? your writing style is so good, i would definitely read anything you might publish lol

Thank you! I have thought about writing original books - I actually have two fantasy series in the planning stages that I eventually want to write. I’ll try to summarize them simply but the plots get pretty convoluted lol, and I’m not anywhere near done planning either of them.

The first is a shorter, two book series. The two main characters are forced to leave their home and travel around the world collecting specific magical objects for a ritual that will save their lives. During their travels they learn a lot of lost history about their world, including a secret land no one has ever been to, a mysterious organization that appears to be stalking them, and tales of the two god creators who died fighting one another millennia ago.

The second is a longer series, think five books or more. The main character has amnesia (cliche I know) and is taken in by an a non-profit humanitarian organization. They pay and provide for the MC, and the MC works for them. The MC is sent on a job to protect a vital object in a realm - this object functions as the “heart” of the realm, if it were to be taken the plants would start dying, the weather would go out of whack, natural disasters would occur, etc. The reason why they’re sent to protect it is because of whispers of a plot to steal it. So the first book would all take place within this realm, and protecting this “heart,” while the MC is trying to ultimately discover more about their past and who they were.

Both series contain themes of immortality, magic, gods, LGBTQ+ characters, found family, and major world building. I’m really passionate about both of them - the second series I’ve been creating characters for and thinking about for almost ten years, haha.

I’m not sure how I’m going to publish them - I think I’ll get in contact with some literary agents to see if traditional publishing will be possible, because that would be so very cool, but even if that doesn’t work I’d like to still publish them online. Maybe as a kindle ebook.

[xskyll]

Who taught the Kokiri how to read and write? The Deku Tree?

[mayordeas-clone]

hoping and praying my professor will let me do an utau cover album for my midterm project pleeeeaase don’t break my heart 😇🙏🏻

[electricea]

...okay yeah the release of the wild robot has been thoroughly kicking my butt (so so many endless lines of families) in terms of activity, but my hype remains as strong as ever! even got some notebooks and gel pens!