#will u all think i'm goofy if i tell u that i'm too disappointed about that to be here rn🧍‍♂️

[kairiscorner]

heyooo, it's 🫐 again! i'm in the middle of class rn and i had an idea for student!reader as miles' classmate and them giggling over notes and doodles in class. this then gets the both of em caught by the teacher and what happens next is up to you, ate >:))

HI !! OMG, wait ang cute MMRHRRFNJFNMMM having art class today's got me thinking of some shit, I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS <333

(reblogs are greatly appreciated, it helps get my content out there! if you guys like what you see, please reblog it too <:D)

doodles on the margins. – miles 1610 x gn!reader

being miles' seatmate is a massive blessing, yet... also a massive curse. the curse being that neither of you could keep your pens, pencils–even brushes, be it paint or calligraphy–away from the others' clear notebook pages or clean scratch papers. you both would always come home with littered designs and doodles, expressing your feelings to each other out on the margins of your notebooks and the corners of your book pages.

in art class, you both took the liberty of expressing your feelings and viewpoints out to the world, like how your teacher defined what art was; it starts with an idea, and then becomes a beautiful flurry of colors, words, movements and all. you were both giggling as you drew on his notebook's margins, with your knuckles brushing over the side of his hand as his fingers would make contact with the back of your hand as you both ran the tips of your pencils over the once clear and spotless pages.

"what is that?" miles asked you in a hushed voice, accompanied by the ringing sound of his chuckle. you pointed out that your cute little blob of a creature was a fat frog, that looked utterly adorable. miles shook his head as he doodled a spider crawling down the margins next to the frog. "i know frogs don't look that goofy." "that's because you've never met my frog before, miles." you said with a giggle as miles asked you in a whisper shout, " you have a frog?!"

"yes, mr. morales? would you and your friend like to, um, make our art class a biology class?" your art teacher spoke up, asking you both with a confused smile about what you two were discussing. the two of two of you froze up and widened your eyes as the whole class turned their heads and darted their gaze your way. "u-um... just expressing our freedom of opinion... through our creative minds!" he said with an awkward smile as the art teacher nodded and smiled wider. your teacher walked over to you two and asked to see miles' notebook, but with the two of you reluctantly showing them the doodle covered margins of the notebook.

the teacher looked through it, and unexpectedly, their smile widened as they saw all the little creatures and people you two drew. they handed it back with a mutter of 'how creative' under their breath. the teacher then clasped their hands together and announced a surprise assignment: to fill the margins of their art notebooks with as many doodles as the students can fit. "i'll be looking forward to your output, you two." they said with a soft voice as you two bashfully smiled and thanked your art teacher and hurried off.

you both breathed a sigh of relief and slight confusion. "so... guess we have our work cut out for us now?" you asked miles as he nudged your arm with his elbow with a crooked smile. "ganke dmed me, he's telling me he won't make dinner for us tonight because we inspired the teacher about homework." miles said with a sigh as you faked a disappointed groan. "well then, text him back that i'll treat you out to a nice dinner and date to the art museum nearby? let's pretend curfew doesn't exist." you said with a wide grin as miles chuckled back. "oh, well... okay then, who am i to say no?" he asked you as you gently took his hand in yours and he held your hand back and walked down the halls with you–smudged ink stains and pencil marks on the side of both of your hands as you two walked down the halls.

tags !! @ii01vq @toneystank-3000 @luvstarrstruck @popeheywardssecretgf @onginlove @meowmoraless @solecitoszn @maxoloqy @lovefrominaya @conitagray

[sasukimimochi]

me and my friends @yuzanrath and @mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess were casually brainrotting today and we came up with a pretty funny prompt (who knows if I may eventually write it but I do really enjoy it and I don't write enough funny things) For some context, this prompt started as a joke where JC single-handedly invents non-sexual dual cultivation cuz he's so chronically single, but this is a separated idea more focused on wwx haha (no warning cuz no real pregnancies are had, just shenanigans)

TLDR will be at the bottom.

Let's say this is like, 2 years post-canon or more. So the 'juniors' probably aren't all juniors at this point but i'm still gonna call them that.

-wwx gets cursed with some sort of bloating while on a night hunt with the juniors but it doesn't start showing until the next day. wwx teases/jokes with the juniors about various forms of innocent touches/staring and points out he and lwj were holding hands the day previous before he left on his trip and kissed him goodbye and so everyone starts to believe he really IS pregnant from such a little thing. (the juniors are ofc horrified at the prospect of such easily acquired pregnancy AND FOR A MALE, and lsz is secretly excited about the prospect of getting a sib)

-Wen Ning (as part of the night hunting party who is still around rn) is kinda doubtful, but he also ends up believing bc the juniors getting excited (mainly lsz) is infectious. And, wwx really does have abdominal swelling; so, as is the theme here, he ends up believing too despite his doubts.

-lxc is informed via a junior and wwx shows that he is in fact not stuffing his shirt and lxc is stumped, can't defute, so decides it's best to go along with it for now just in case, as to not stress out the potentially pregnant brother-in-law.

-lxc and the juniors are babying him a little bit but wwx finds it funny and enjoyable so keeps it up for now since the curse is something he can easily fix and doesn't really hurt.

-LWJ comes home and at first thinks "wei ying what have u done now" but then sees the swelling is actually attached to his body and falls for it too, cue the doting husband who becomes his shadow. No more spicy food while he's 'expecting', no sex cuz he's too rough, no liquor bc bad for the baby.

-wwx handles this for a couple days, the super healthy food, lack of everything he likes, and a subtle pain in his gut from the swelling getting worse too quickly (skin isn't meant to stretch that fast) before he can't do it anymore and confesses that it was him teasing the kids and kept the joke going too long. (He cures the curse in front of him perhaps and lwj is just devastated but in his lwj way. That or LWJ cures it with something simple like cleansing idk)

-They tell lxc & lqr and lxc looks disappointed bc he likes children but mainly bc lwj is sad too (and of course lqr is celebrating oh thank god it was fake)

-they tell lsz & Wen Ning and that's the final straw, the sad subtle puppy-eye looking disappointment makes wwx drag the three on a journey out of the cloud recesses; They find a little bebe orphan to take in, perhaps they have a goofy journey of offering parenthood to orphaned kids who don't trust/don't want it before they find a local single mother died giving birth or something and they end up having a real connection with the baby, including lsz who gets insta attached, and so its decided one way or another that this is their baby.

-They go back to cloud recesses and the juniors are all like "WHERE DID YOU GO WHILE YOU WERE PREGNANT AND THEN LXC SAID YOU WEREN'T AN- OH" baby reveal. and thus wwx grins and the baby joke continues, says that he just had the baby etc etc and lxc was mistaken they just wanted a private birth or smth blah blah blah

-lsz immediately goes along with it because he is extra happy he has a little brother/sister now and he's feeling mischievous too, and says they need to take the baby to the nursery etc etc and wwx needs to rest (he is a bit tired tho after running around and getting rid of that curse n stuff)

-JC comes storming bc of the rumors bc even in gusu they can't shut their traps and sees baby, deflates but still has grumpy face like wtf happened (probably Jin Ling's fault that he finds out)

-wwx would probably joke a bit then tell him the truth immediately instead of trying to make him believe it too to avoid confrontation but asks for him to keep it secret for the joke, and Jc is like "..." cuz its an opportunity for the two to joke around together again even if he's grumpy™️ about it and so he doesn't dote on wwx but he does play along with the joke in his own way for a bit until maybe jc says something crazy and/or outrageous that couldn't be true to jin ling and he goes to wwx in a panic and so the jig is up but he tells all the juniors with 100% honesty that they did just adopt a baby and that part wasn't a joke but he didn't give birth himself and he was OK and then its just cute baby and junior interactions

bonus that came up later:

-lwj gets drunk and ends up going out again with wwx tailing close behind. they come home with another child, and thus when lwj is sober again he's suddenly a father of two young children. Cue cute timid wide-eyed bunny mode lwj while wwx comforts him (but laughing and teasing him like haha you made me pregnant again what a scandal! one look and I instantly gave birth! lwj you're so insatiable) and lsz not-so-secretly celebrates their suddenly growing family.

-JC is extremely pouty in his JC way about all these nephews he only gets to know about after they're already adopted.

-lxc is feeling quite a bit better getting to baby the babies and help his brother with raising children again, and thankfully with wwx also by lwj's side.

It was too wild a ride not to share 😌💖✨

TLDR; wwx tricks the juniors, the jades, lqr and even jc temporarily into believing he's pregnant as a way to beat the boredom while lwj is out of cloud recesses (and continues until he can't stand the doting/guilt because he succeeds in his joking too well.) wwx and lwj end up actually adopting bc wwx can't stand the disappointed faces.

[spearxwind]

more thoughts on the quarry? i was gonna get it but then i saw your post and now i'm less interested tbh

[ probably gonna have a bunch of spoilers for this game, sorry about that ]

Honestly im just disappointed cause it really did start out very well and I was really excited to see where it went, but it makes a few... really bizarre turns that caught me off guard.

Like I said ... supermassive decided, once again, to go with a massively insensitive move. Without huge spoilers (I think), the whole ordeal is blamed on a group of Roma (Romani? I'm not sure what the correct term is, sorry) people who barely even in the game, and they call them g*psies every time, and they are made out to be weird and evil and freaks. It's pretty offhanded imo. Like they felt completely irrelevant most of the time but the game could have kept all of that without making them romani and it woulda been fine but it wouldnt be supermassive games otherwise I guess

also the ending is extremely underwhelming in general, at least in the playthrough I watched (jacksepticeyes) there isnt any actual payoff for finishing the game (there could be more to it if you 100% the game I suppose? but I can't say)

And the wolves are kinda just... really bad. I like some bits of their design but overall theyre kinda really underwhelming. I'm pretty sure they all use the exact same model too so they all look the same and there's no way to tell them apart (which is.. another plot point. actually wasnt this the exact plot point at the end of until dawn as well??). Also. The transformations are... the worst. If you were hoping for slow bone crunching and shapeshifting like i was u are going to be so disappointed. I guess what they did fits with the 'goofy' campy vibe though, which is nice, just not my particular taste

[amoristt]

Just a Dare | Nathan Prescott x Reader

@trueloveknifefight asked, Also can I request Nathan asking you out?

here u are! i love writing convos w nathan UGH i adore his character.

as always, replies and reblogs are greatly appreciated1 i check all tags and comments <3

wanna support me for just $3? here's my ko-fi!

The lights were bright, vivid. Almost blinding. They dance LED accents into the reflection of your drink- a dull plastic cup filled to the brim with one part whiskey, zero parts mixer. The taste could bring a tear to your eye but you would be damned to water down such fine alcohol, provided by none other than Nathan Prescott himself.

Music reverberated along the pool rooms walls, laughter and hollers distantly rising with the tempos. Your foot absently tapped to the beat- you were never one for dancing. Never one for parties, either, actually, favoring drinking in the solitude of a small friend group.

If not for Nathan you wouldn't be here at all. Some would say it's a privilege to slip past those heavy doors, entering the dully lit world of the Vortex Club. You mostly just felt like it was all for show. Somehow securing a place among Nathan's friend group, and a good friend at that, it was almost duty to show up. He insisted on it.

So, here you were. Leaning against a wall in a suffocatingly warm, cramped pool room surrounded by a sea of faces you hardly recognized.

That was, until you saw Nathan's face peer through the small break in shifting bodies. You knew him all too well.

Strikingly handsome, equally strikingly pompous. Funny, crude, an absent minded party goer just as much as he was a fireball with racing, incoherent thoughts. A drinker, a druggie. Takes the edge off, he says, but you think he does it to take away his thoughts completely. You felt like his entire life was all edges, never sacred ground.

The poor bastard.

He lures your attention in as he saunters over with squared shoulders, narrowly avoiding spilling his drink when a random student cuts it a little too close. Normally Nathan would make a bigger deal, give him what for, but this time he just shoots the poor kid a menacing glare and grumbles, 'fucking watch it'. He's walking with purpose and intent, you can see it on his face. You must have a target on your forehead as he darts straight over.

When he comes to your side, his own alcohol dripping down the sides of his cup onto his wiry fingers, you raise a brow.

"Something wrong?" You ask, as he takes a spot leaning against the hard wall right next to you.

"Just wondering why you're being so fucking lame over here," He shouts over the music, taking a sip of his drink, grimacing at the taste. "We're all having a good time over at the lounge and you're over here acting like all the other wallflower nobodies."

You roll your eyes with upturning lips. "Maybe I like being a wallflower. I like people watching. I see things no one else does."

"Yeah, okay, fucking weirdo."

"I mean it," You push off the wall and grin. "Look-" You point to a student obviously wasted, drink held high over head while he lets the music take him away. "That guy is clearly trashed- he's having the time of his life. He's gotta be seeing double."

Nathan whistles at his state, taking in the guys goofy smile, half lidded eyes. "I'll bet it's the triplets. I could breathe on him too hard and he'd fall over."

"You should go try it." You tease. He shakes his head and takes another drink.

"Nah, he'll get it himself. Guarantee we'll be dragging him out by his feet by the end of the night." He shrugs. "Or, at least someone will. I sure as fuck ain't staying that long."

You snicker. "What, got a hot date?" Nathan glares at you. "Oh don't tell me," you cup your hands to whisper, a secretive gesture, "homework?"

"Fuck no," He scoffs, and you can just barely see that he's a little more than tipsy now. His pale cheeks dusted with red, the tip of his nose ruby under the harsh lighting. It's also then that you realize he's a little more tense than usual, even despite the drinking. He's standing straight upright, his right hand gripping his cup like a crutch and his left now shoved hastily into his pocket.

He hasn't looked at you dead in the eyes yet.

"So what is it then?" You ask curiously. He shrugs and stares into his cup. You frown. "Bro, are you like, good right now? Do you wanna leave?"

For the first time since he'd wandered over, Nathan looks up at you. His eyes are unreadable, but his composure seems stressed. He shrugs again. Before you can even open your mouth to ask him about his state, he sighs and downs an entire mouthful of burning whiskey. It makes you cringe just watching him.

"Fuck it," He huffs. "Look I got some stupid ass dare to come over here and put the moves on you, okay." He sounds almost annoyed, like it's a hassle for him, or maybe embarrassing. You cross your arms. "I was dared to come over here and try to get you like, to fucking, you know, leave with me, but now that I'm over here I'm starting to think maybe that was a dumbass idea."

"Leave with you?" You say incredulously, a brow already lifting. "You were dared to come over here and try to sleep with me? By our friends?"

"No, no, fuck," Nathan seems agitated now, rushing. "Like a date sorta bullshit. Ask you out." He manages to get it out in almost the worst delivery possible, meanwhile you're just trying to pick out who would put him up to this. Hayden? Victoria?

A laugh forces its way out of you. "Aren't we a little too old for that game?"

Nathan shrugs. "That's what I said but they insisted. Fucking babies. At least make the dare a little more fun than just asking some bitch out. That's like elementary level shit."

Your eyes widen, you scoff. "Excuse me?"

Nathan sputters. "You're not some bitch, I didn't mean to-... Fucks sake, I'm clearly a little drunk right now okay, if you could cut me some fucking slack that'd be awesome."

"Hey man I didn't ask to be a victim of bullying," You tease, and he can't help but laugh. You soften. "Never expected it from you, though of all people. As ironic as that sounds."

"I'm not even bullying you, come on. Don't be a bitch. I even admitted it and everything."

You grin. "Yeah. Gotta say though, I'm a little disappointed."

"Oh what, you wanted to see my moves?" Nathan hums. "You wanted some Prescott action?"

"Shut the hell up." You shove his shoulder, an action that would be a mistake to so many others, but for you, it was welcomed. "I'm disappointed that it was just a dare. I'd probably have said yes if it wasn't. But, oh well."

Nathan doesn't answer for a long moment. First, he stares into his drink, processing. Almost like he hadn't heard that right, or like you were messing with him. It's rare to see Nathan Prescott stunned into a momentary silence. He's thinking, wondering what he should say next. Suspicious that you're just playing with him, hopeful that maybe you aren't.

And, you hadn't been. Truth be told if given the chance you would allow him to take you out for the evening. Show you fancy things, try out something a little more intimate than just laughter and poking fun at classmates together. You enjoyed his presence, looked forward to it at times.

A small part of you had hoped that he felt the same, maybe. Somehow. While grateful that he respected you enough to cut the crap before it even began, you couldn't help but feel a little... Disheartened at the prank. You'd saved your pride by denying him beforehand, but, if it had been genuine...

"So if it wasn't a dare," He began, quietly, barely audible over the booming music overhead. Eyes barely visible in the sea of vibrant lights crashing like waves. "You'd have said yes."

You shrug, trying to play it casual to save your own feelings, just in case. "Probably. I mean, we're already friends. We have fun so it couldn't have been that bad." He nods along to almost every word.

"Well what if we did it anyways." He blurts.

"Did what?"

"Go out tonight. Like, you know ditch this lame ass party and have some real fun."

"You love this lame ass party, and plus," You shake your head in feigned annoyance. "I'm not sleeping with you, Nathan."

He glares at you. "Fucking duh. I'm just saying we can go and hang out somewhere else. This party happens all the fucking time so it's not like we're missing anything."

"But, wouldn't that make me the butt of our friends joke?"

He shrugs. "Fuck em. It was a dumb dare anyways."

"Now it seems like you're trying extra hard to convince me to say yes." You state, and he's frazzled, running lines through his brain to try and save the absolute failure of asking you out. You decide to spare him, take a little leap of faith for yourself. "But, alright. I'm in."

Nathan gapes at you. "You're in?"

"Yeah, why not. I'm not busy right now and if you're not either than," You smile. "Why not. You better wow me though, Prescott. I'm talking a night to remember. Fireworks, dinner by candle light, a serenade. The whole package."

Nathan's eyes light up, but he tries to hide it, rolls those beautiful blues. "Well considering I've had like no fucking time to prepare how about we instead go to the roof and chill out."

You toss the idea around in your head for show. You already knew the answer the moment he asked if you were being serious.

"I mean I guess that would work," You say. "I was looking for fireworks but I suppose that will suffice. Feel free to go tell our buddies their joke may have backfired on them."

Nathan shakes his head. "Nah, don't even bother. They're all drunk and probably don't even remember daring me in the first place."

"Alright then," You push yourself off the wall, feeling your cheeks warm. A flutter takes wing in the base of your chest, your heart picking up just a little faster. You can't stop the smile that graces you as you say, "Lead the way, Prescott."

Nathan does lead the way. He takes your hand into his own, your fingers tracing over his boney knuckles as he drags you through the sea of bodies, out to the school hall and up winding stairs.

You giggle like a child when he struggles to find the correct key on the janitors ring he'd snatched weeks ago just in case, tease him when he almost spills his drink all over himself. Nathan's hands are almost shaking, but you chalk it up to the alcohol. You chalk everything up to the alcohol- his trembling fingers, his red face, a shy, albeit goofy smile resting upon his lovely, angular face.

The night was cool and crisp, a stark contrast to the smoldering heat of the Vortex Party.

He looks amazing out under the stars, and underneath the scope of the vast, black sky dotted with trillions of perfect, twinkling lights, you feel at peace.

Looking at him, you feel like this may be the start of something you'd denied yourself the chance of ever even imagining.

Out there, alone but together, hearing the echoes of music mixed with the livelihood of crickets in the darkness...

it truly was a night to remember.

-----------

Days later, you sit atop your desk, feet tapping rhythmically on your chair, typing away at your phone.

"Love the top," A familiar voice pipes, and you glace up to find Victoria standing before you, books pressed to her chest. She takes in your shirt, a nicely fitted long sleeve with a rather low cut v-neck. "Why haven't I see that one before?"

You shrug and set your phone down. "Never got around to wearing it I guess. Not a big fan of V-necks."

"It fits you," She sets her books down at the table beside you and brushes a hand through her hair, making sure every strand is in line. "I'll have to get one myself."

"You know what, you can have it after today," You say, and she perks up in disbelief. "As a thank you for what happened at the party."

That disbelief soon turned to confusion. "...Meaning?"

"Y'know, making Nathan ask me out. He made a whole huge deal about it- said you guys were drinking and playing Truth or Dare of all things. Gotta say, I was a little surprised."

Victoria's brows knit. "We hardly drank at that party, and I wouldn't be caught dead playing Truth or Dare. That game is for kids."

It almost knocks the wind out of you.

They hadn't even been playing in the first place.

As the teacher walks into the room, the first period bell blaring annoyingly over the speakers, you climb off your desk and prepare for the day, hardly able to contain yourself. It hadn't been a dare, after all.

And, you and Nathan's official second date was merely a day away.

[kanesthirstblog]

NSFW ALPHABET: ABE HARUAKI

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

Requires lots of aftercare but also wants to take care of you. Very clingly, like, will latch onto you and cuddle you for the rest of the night clingy. You should probably give him some reassurance or comfort, he seems like the type to stress about whether or not he was any good to you once the fun is over.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

Hmmm... Totally the sappy kinda guy who tells you he loves all of your body and thinks it's beautiful and 100% means every praise he sings you about it. He loves everything about you from your soft hair to the tips of your toes.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

God. Just imagining him sprawled out on any surface with an exhausted yet dopey look in his eyes, covered in his own cum (and/or yours of course!) after a few rounds of sex really makes me feel satisfied. Really can't explain this one

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

Secretly a bit of a masochist but also scared of being hurt so he never asks even if he really wants to.

Also secretly owns a couple erotic novels he used as "research" when you first brought up wanting a sexual relationship. Since you are his first, he would want to see how he's supposed to act in that scenenrio so he could please you properly. (But damn was he shocked when you wanted to be the dominant one. That wasn't in his books.) Haruaki learns the importance of communication that day.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

Dudes a canon virgin y'all. This also excites me.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

Secretly loves it when he's on his back so he can see your face as you ride him or peg him. He just thinks you're the prettiest person he's evermet and loves watching you even as you tease or toy with him.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

He's a sappy guy. Would probably look at you like a puppy who sees someone they really love. Besides that he's have that dopey look like he's never been happier than he is in that moment, smiling up at you.

Once you've had sex a couple times he might start opening up more, cracking jokes and asking shy requests from you.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Yup. Makes sure he's nice and clean especially

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

He really tries hard to be romantic but he has 0 experience in this area and often fumbles his way through it by trying to be sweet and make you feel good. Very bad at saying romantic things and would probably give up after a bit before he dies from embarassment.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

Tbh I actually think he'd barely masturbate if he did at all. This is partly because I actually have an asexual headcanon for him and partly cause in canon he seems really put off by sexual things if not being outright afraid of them.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Contrary to some of the fandom headcanons, I don't really imagine the sailor uniform thing as a kink. It just seems like a typical fixation or something that gets played up for laughs to a strange degree. But maybe thats my ADHD dumbass brain projecting my ADHD onto a fave. (Off topic but him knowing everything about sailor uniforms, from design to creation, being able to make them himself, getting happy any time he sees one, ect. Are headcanons I have because his weird fixation with them reminds me of my fixation on rocks, mushrooms, and jewelry.)

HOWEVER

Praise kink. Body worship. He'd love to be pet gently while you tell him how pretty he is. How you love his soft hair or his long legs or slender form as you lightly trail you fingertips down his body or card fingers through his hair. And he would do the same for you too.

Might at least try pegging, and then realizes he actually likes it when you hold him down and pound his ass.

Would be too embarrassed and a bit scared to bring this up but actually likes the idea being treated roughly. If you could pull at his hair and bite him even a little bit he'd practically melt in your hands.

Might try bondage if it's light. Soft hand cuffs or silk ropes are the way to go.

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

At home. Anywhere is fine as long as its at home

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

The fastest way is probably being physical with him or just stripping for him. He gets embarassed and tries to hide but you know he's aroused, you can feel it when you sit on his lap.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

He'd probably not be okay with having more than one partner. You might frighten him if he starts feeling like you guys are ganging up on him.

Public/semi-public sex is a no go. Especially since he is a teacher, he wouldn't risk his job on the off chance you both get caught.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

I think he actually might no be very into oral at first. But will give or recieve though you may have to hear some complaint about it being kind of unsanitary or something. He's also kinda bad a giving oral but what did you expect? He's a virgin.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Personally prefers the slow and sensual kinda sex but you set the pace regardless so ultimately it's up to you. He won't be turned into a stuttering mess right away if you guys take it slow.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

Alright with it as long as it stays private. You'll be the only one asking for these but try to get him in the morning before he leaves for work so you can corner him against a counter. Its best when his back is turned so you can grab his hair and lick along his throat, nipping here and there. He'd shiver in your arms as you trail a hand down to undo his pants

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

As long as it isn't a risk to him (would probably be too scared to try knifeplay) or job (no public/semi-public sex) you could probably talk him into it.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

Hmmm... Depends I guess. I feel like he might only be active for a round or maybe 2 before he starts slowing down. You could still pound the guy into the mattress but he'll have those half lidded doe eyes cloudy with exhaustion. He'd wrap his arms around you loosely as if you'll help ground him to the waking world and try to hold you closer to him.

At that point you should definitely ask a few times before you start another round to make sure he's okay and reassure him that it's alright to stop now. Strikes me as someone who could easily fall into a place where he'd hide his desire to stop just so you can use him for your own fun since it makes you happy. That could be kinda bad for his mental health.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

You'd be the one with all the toys tbh. But you can sure as hell use them on him.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

He's not much of a tease but if he's feeling playful, he might play up the innocent look of his. He really is a pretty innocent guy actually, but he knows you love that sweet look he's got to him and he will use it on you.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

So damn loud. This guy would moan and beg loudly, scream your name and plead for mercy, for relief as you all but eat him alive. Might even cry and whine and beg. Oh, but he tries to be quiet so he doesn't risk disturbing anyone. He'd purse his lips and turn away from you while you play with his body in an attempt to stay quiet but he always gives in quickly. It's easy to turn this guy into a whimpering, begging mess no matter how many times you do this.

You'll know when he's tired because he will be unable to make much noise besides low pants and gasps. Probably best to wrap things up at that point before ya fuck him unconcious.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

I have a few actually.

-Has a hard time saying no to you. He's a bit cowardly and overthinks and he would be afraid to lose a first relationship. This is potentially hazardous to his mental health because he might say "yes" to something he doesn't want for fear of losing you. Consent is important though so even if it's difficult at first, keep checking to make sure he's alright.

-I actually headcanon him as a sex indifferent asexual. He can 100% live with sex or without it. Doesn't matter to him, though he's terrified of trying it for the first time.

-The first time you tried to get him in bed, you pinned him to a wall and he was terrified because he thought you were trying to shake him down or harass him. (Well, the latter part was true but not the way he expected.) And then you kissed him and he straight up broke, wrapped himself in blankets and hid under the futon for the rest of the day. Disappointing? Sure, but damn was it cute.

-I'm actually caught up on how he would take to dirty talk tbh since a lot of it I've seen or heard involves some form or another of calling your partner a slut or whatever. Seems to be popular. On one hand if he's secretly a masochist, he might be into it. But on the other, he also seems like he might take anything you say to him to heart and beat himself up over it and would ultimately not like it. Also probably would not be comfortable if he did the dirty talking and assuming he manages to make it through the night without apologizing to you for everything he says, then you'll hear it when you finish.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

Mandragora patterned briefs. You cannot change my mind on this one.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

Not very, so he's pretty chill about it.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Depends on how much you exhausted him but it usually doesn't take that long.

Bonus:

Some more cute Haruaki.

[forkanna]

[AO3] [WATTPAD]

WARNING: Continued transphobia.

So I did try to put this up sooner, due to cilffhanger feelings, but didn't quite manage it. Hopefully you all forgive me!

------------

Rise couldn't believe the level of disaster her life had reached. And all because she couldn't keep her mouth shut. Because by the time she had finished crying, scraping herself together and sending the shambles that had once been a lovesick fool back into the school, she knew exactly where the leak had occurred. Plugging that would have to be the first step. And then…

Then what would she do? Beg Ai to take her back? She took out the note, stared at it, and almost threw it in the nearest receptacle. But that wouldn't do. No… she had to hang onto hope that there was still time.

"I got this," she whispered to herself as she used the note to wipe her eyes, smearing her makeup. "I'll do my best." Fine but empty sentiment. She had to take things one step at a time.

And step one was…

                                                   ~ o ~

"CHIE!"

The bowl-cut-hair had barely stopped whirling around Chie's head from turning to face Rise when she was hit in the face, full force, with a bookbag. The blow knocked her from her chair in the Junes food court and she went sprawling to the ground.

"WHOA!" Yosuke burst out in sheer alarm. "Hey, wait a minute there, Rise-chan! Where's the fire?!"

"You wanna know who's fired? SHE'S fired, that's who!"

Still struggling to sit up, Chie looked a little silly with a bag-print reddening half of her face. "Wha… whahidme?"

"Rise, what is the meaning of this?" Yukiko gasped in exasperation as she crouched over her girlfriend, trying to help her up. "Are you upset about something?"

It took real, concentrated effort not to snap at Yukiko, as well — especially given the Captain Obvious question she had just asked. But she knew she was only trying to be kind, to look after all of her friends equally. So she bit back the scathing retort and focused on the situation at hand instead.

"I'm upset about a lot of things, every day. But this time it's because somebody doesn't understand what a secret is!"

"Me?!" Chie intuited. "Are you- hey, I'm no snitch! Wait, what secret are we… talking…"

The food court went silent. Which was partly because it was too early for dinner, so they were the only ones there, not talking to each other. Rise idly noticed it seemed like Teddie and Kanji were absent, but she was on a mission; she didn't have time to worry about their whereabouts.

Finally… "Oh."

"So you got it? Huh? You figured out how you just screwed everything up?!"

"Now just wait a whole second, okay?" Chie said in a slightly nervous tone as she began to struggle to her feet. "I didn't say- I mean, like, I just figured it came out! Right? Because it's a secret, and this is a small town, and like, c'mon!"

"Who did you tell?"

"I didn't tell anyb-"

"NO! No, don't give me any of that crap, because we both know you had to have told someone — you already told at least one other person! I didn't tell anybody else! So who was it?"

"It… it doesn't matter!" Chie was trying to hedge with a hopeful smile. "Really, like I said, it was gonna come out sometime! Do you really think Ebihara could hide that forever? Like, he's kinda snowing the whole school…"

"Shut up!" Rise snapped, as Yukiko covered her mouth with her hand in alarm at the sharp tone. "That wasn't your choice, okay? And like I said, if I didn't tell, and Ai-chan for fucking sure didn't tell, then there's only one person it could be! Because I-"

"Oh dear," Yukiko whispered.

"Hey! I didn't commit any crime!" Chie shot back, starting to get heated herself now as she clenched her fists. "Tell that to the drag queen you've been hanging around with — he's the one that's gonna catch hell if they figure out he's been using girls' bathrooms and stuff! He should at least tell us if he wants to-"

"It's my fault."

Rise was still shouting when she turned to Yukiko. "What?! I mean…" She cleared her throat, tried to take the volume down a notch. "What?"

"Chie told me. When we were… well, when we were alone, because we're best friends. As you know, because we have already discussed things… so I was the beginning of the problem. I'm sorry."

"Yuka…" Chie sighed, grimacing. Clearly, at some point she had realised what had happened, and shifted her tactic to protecting her significant other. Rise would have respected it… if they weren't both going to be on her list now. At least that cleared up the true reason Yukiko had gasped; it was a sound of recognition.

"Really? You?" Rise said, completely betrayed. And disappointed; that much must have been readily apparent, because the innkeeper hung her head in shame.

"Yes. And Chie was so conversational about it, I… didn't realise… you seem very upset about all the rumours that have started going around now. Did we… have we done something wrong?"

Rise let out an exasperated noise. "Are you kidding? Of COURSE you did!" In the back of her mind, she knew she was basically just coming down on them to sidestep the blame Ai had thrown her way, but she couldn't stop; they had to pay for ruining everything. Someone had to, and she couldn't face herself. Not at the moment. "Do you have any idea what life would be like for her if they figured out for sure?!"

"Dude, who cares?" Chie tried to tell her reasonably. "Remember when we found out about Naoto? We're all cool! So what if she's a chick instead of a dude, or Ai's a dude instead of a chick?"

"U-um, I prefer you leave me out of this discussion," Naoto said in a quiet undertone. "If that's alright."

Throwing up her hands in surrender, Rise began to pace back and forth as she said, "This is unbelievable. I really didn't think confiding in one friend… well, I guess I should ask who you told, Yukiko."

Rise was too observant to miss the glance between her and none other than Yosuke. The boy gulped when she turned her glare on him, holding up both hands in front of his chest.

"N-now, let's be reasonable here. Just a second while I explain-"

"UGH! Did everybody here play a part in this?!" No answers. Rise groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Okay, well… I guess I'm going to be eating a whole big plate of crow later. If she even talks to me."

"Don't be so dramatic," Chie sighed as she rolled her eyes, hands on her hips now. "You're friends, you'll bounce back before you know it!"

But the idol was already shaking her head before she even finished. "You didn't see how mad she was. I'm… I'll see you later."

"But you just got here," Yukiko protested in a pleading voice, taking a step toward her. "I'm sorry we didn't understand the situation, but do you really have to go?"

"Yes. Got a lot of thinking to do."

As Rise headed toward the elevator, she passed Kanji coming from it. He smiled and waved and asked, "What's up?"

"Ask our Judas friends."

"Huh?!" He got no answer to his question. As the doors slid shut, she thought she could just barely hear him say, "Man, chicks sure are crazy," but it was too late for her to attack him since she was already heading downstairs. Oh well; there was always next time for him to pay for his crime against her gender.

                                                  ~ o ~

That was on her mind a lot as she lay in bed that night, staring up at her ceiling. Gender. Sexuality. The differences between men and women. How those lines could be blurred right in front of her eyes and she had no idea. And when she wasn't thinking about that, she was thinking about…

Why didn't she realize she shouldn't have told Chie? Theoretically, she should have been able to confide in her and everything be fine — and she also knew none of her friends really intended to hurt anyone. They were just careless. But now she could see with sobering clarity that carelessness still had consequences. Would Ai really have to transfer again, just because the secret got out?

Something that made her blood run cold whenever she thought of it: that comment about guys beating her up. Just because she used the women's bathroom? When she thought of it as a man sneaking in there, she supposed that made sense. Most guys would do that to protect any women from being harmed. But she had gone to the bathroom alongside Ai plenty of times — enough to know that she never did anything in there except her business, and preen in front of the mirror. At least she had found a way to prove to those nosy girls that she was all woman.

Even if it was a lie, technically speaking. Which confused Rise so much she just wound up stuffing her head underneath her pillow.

All her texts went unanswered, of course. She had expected that. Somehow, she still couldn't help herself and sent a grand total of seven before she manually turned off her phone to reduce the temptation.

The worst part of all? Now she couldn't talk to any of her friends about it, either. That was what got her into this fix in the first place! So all she could do was panic, wallow, and panic again.

                                                  ~ o ~

If Rise had thought the previous day was unpleasant, Tuesday definitely counted as a catastrophe.

"Oh my God," she overheard a girl muttering as she walked in through the front gates. "Can you believe she would ever look like that?"

Unfortunately, she only had a few minutes of blissful peace to have no idea what they were talking about. The minute she reached into her locker to get her indoor shoes, she felt the glossy paper on top of them. Withdrawing it, she felt her heart sink when she saw her own face.

A goofy face indeed. There was nothing particularly wrong with the picture; she had been trying on dresses in Croco Fur and was sticking her tongue out with her finger up her nose, obviously making the stupid face for the camera. Nothing incriminating, just vaguely embarrassing. However…

Everyone seemed to have a copy. No matter which way she looked, every single student of Yasogami seemed to have a glossy paper in their hands. Rise felt her face begin to heat up. She had done nothing wrong, and the picture wasn't that bad, but seeing the entire student body laughing at her brought on the reaction regardless.

"Wow, this is hilarious," some guy was saying as she headed to class. "Thought Risette was so cool but she's actually dumb. Look at this! Her finger's in her nose, gross!"

"I think it's cute," his friend said. "She's having fun."

But another guy in glasses standing nearby just sighed and rolled his eyes. "You plebs. Obviously this is just another publicity stunt orchestrated by her management. She probably distributed them herself."

The idol stormed into the room before she had to hear any more. Did they really think she had nothing better to do than print off a bunch of pictures of herself and throw them all over the place?!

"Uh, hey."

She looked up, ready to ream the speaker, when she saw a chagrined looking Kanji standing there, scratching the back of his head. "May I help you? Or am I too crazy?"

His weak chuckle spoke volumes. "Heard that, huh? Sorry… I just didn't know what to say when you snapped at me. Guys filled me in after you left."

"What? You mean the way you all stabbed me in the back by gossiping about my girlf- my new friend?" Damn. She would have to be more careful about that.

"Hey, I didn't do that shit," the tall, dangerous looking boy grunted with his arms folded over his barrel chest. Sometimes Rise forgot just how intimidating Kanji was to most people, because they knew him better than that now. He was a big teddy bear under that yakuza-esque exterior. "Yosuke was the real problem, I guess. He was talking about it to Naoto, and wasn't paying attention to who was around them. Bunch of people overheard. And Naoto didn't say shit to anybody, so don't blame her!"

Rise sighed. Unsurprising that he was so defensive of her, since his crush ran so deep. "Fine. So it's Chie and Yukiko's fault a little bit, and as usual, Yosuke's fault a lot. At least they're the same old idiots they've always been."

Kanji nodded with another grunt. "So… what's with the photo?"

"Ughhhhhhhh."

                                                  ~ o ~

The way Ai was standing at the edge of the school roof, gazing over Inaba, almost made it look like she was lying in wait for Rise when she got there. Probably because she was — and had been since the start of lunch. The popstar shoved the glossy page in front of her face.

"Well? What exactly is this supposed to mean?"

"Mean? Why, I don't know. Isn't that your picture? Aren't you supposed to be the one who knows?"

"You took this. I literally remember you taking it, with your phone, not mine. So why would you go to all this trouble to print up a dumb picture?"

Ai's smirk was practically demonic as she looked sideways at her without fully turning. The worst part was that she still was as beautiful as ever, even when being an asshole. "A beginning. By the time I'm through with you, you will be begging me to stop, and I won't. I won't stop until you feel the way I did yesterday."

"Right. So this is a really pathetic beginning to a revenge plot?"

"Hah! Good try. Have you forgotten how much abuse I've weathered over my entire lifetime? You're going to have to do better than that to undercut me."

"Ai, you don't have to do this," she pleaded in a quieter voice. "This is nowhere near what I wanted, I still don't want it. I made a mistake, and I'm sorry, but attacking me like this isn't going to-"

She fell silent when Ebihara actually yawned. Her anger flared, and her eyes narrowed to slits as her fists curled tight. "That's your pitch? 'Whoops, I outed you and almost ruined your life, hugs'? Lame."

"Fine," Rise hissed. "I guess this didn't mean anything to you at all. Throw it all away because you're butthurt. Whatever."

"That's why I'm doing it, you idiot." Now her aloof tone had dropped to absolute zero. "Because it did — it meant everything in a way you will never understand. And now I feel stupid for trusting you, because you broke it. Don't go acting all high and mighty and trying to play the sympathy card."

Rise's eyes were watering as she tried to come up with something to say. The bratty side of her personality wanted to swear her own revenge, that she would make things even worse for Ai… but she knew she wouldn't be able to live with that. Besides, it was the wrong move, regardless of what her friend…

Regardless of what her ex-friend had done. It was really over. And figuring that out took all the wind out of her sails.

"Okay. Bye."

"That's it?" Ai chuckled harshly as the idol turned away, walking toward the stairwell. "Wow, you're usually so much chattier. You had better thicken up that skin, Kujikawa, or the next few days are going to be pretty unbearable!"

They really would. Just not for the reason Ai thought. Mourning the end of something beautiful tended to put a damper on one's week.

                                                  To Be Continued…

[btssavedmylifeblr]

Hi bee, i hope you're doing wellI just wanna ask for some tips bc I can't seem to do the "show don't tell" thing when writing. I have no idea why, it's weirdly difficult. Any websites or good examples about it? I'm kinda disappointed in myself. Thank u for being so kind! Much love to you

Ah yes, the classic advice that everyone says but is very hard to actually define. As a beginning writer, I always found this especially confusing because all writing is “telling” in the sense that you are telling a story. You only have words. It’s also a very hard thing to find clear examples of because “telling” might only be a sentence or two but good “showing” might take a whole scene, a whole chapter or a whole novel to do right. It’s something that takes practice and, unlike rules of grammar, can’t be fixed overnight. 

I don’t always get it right (and “right” gets pretty subjective with this topic), but as an exercise, let’s compare the first scene I ever wrote to the opening scene of Void. 

Excerpt One: Opening Scene of If You’re Struggling

(Disclaimer: I am so embarrassed by this cringey-ness. There is a reason I deleted it from Tumblr. Please don’t judge me too harshly. Writing is a learning process)

To illustrate the point (and because Tumblr’s formatting options suck) I’ve put a strikethrough on all the parts I would consider “telling” instead of “showing”.

“Have a great first day, honey!” Your boyfriend gives you a quick kiss as you grab your coffee and head out the door for your first day at your new job. You’ve been eagerly awaiting this day for several weeks now, since your successful interview with BigHit Entertainment. Up until now, you’ve been working as a makeup artist on a spec basis here in Seoul, but this is going to be your first full-time job as a makeup artist and stylist.

At the BigHit offices, you are welcomed in by the head stylist whom you met at your interview and she shows you around the offices.

“Ok, we need to get to the dressing room” she says, clapping her hands. “The boys are recording their dance practice today, and we need to do their makeup beforehand.”

Your heart beats a little faster when you realize you’re about to meet BTS. A month ago you had never heard of them, but since getting this job two weeks ago, you’ve been a bit obsessed - listening to their music non-stop as you do housework, watching all of their music videos over and over, seeking out all of their Bangtan bombs and television appearances. When your boyfriend caught you watching the “Boy in Luv” video for about the 30th time on your laptop, he wrapped his arms around your shoulders and kissed your cheek.

“Do I need to be worried about you spending so much time with these boys?” He teased.

You turned your head and kissed him reassuringly on the lips. “No!” you giggled in mock offense “look at them, they’re just kids!”

You enter the dressing room and are pointed to a makeup chair in front of a mirror. You set about cleaning up your station and setting up your kit before the boys arrive. You hear the boys coming before you see them -  shouting and laughing down the hallway before they get to the door. You are still setting up your station when the door clangs open and they burst into the room.

You turn around to find a tall, older blond boy already sitting in your chair. He gives you a smile and shakes your hand. “Hi. I’m Namjoon. You must be the new stylist.” He introduces himself as the leader and offers to help you get to know the other members. “Watch out for the younger ones, they like to play jokes on each other and everyone else.”

After Namjoon, you meet Jin. He is polite and spends most of his time in the chair filling you in on his recommendations for the other members “Be sure you get underneath Yoongi’s eyes, he was up late last night”, “Don’t go too dark on Jungkook’s lip color”, and so on. When you’re finished, he smiles gratefully at you and stands up to go.

Hoseok comes running over and throws his arm around Jin’s shoulders. “Jin’s make-up is easy since he’s so handsome already, right noona?”  he teases Jin.

“Yes, precisely.” Jin replies, not embarrassed at all, but gives you a smile before heading off to hair.

Hoseok is the easiest to talk to out of all of the boys. He peppers you with questions as you do his makeup, all about where you’re from and where you’ve worked before. Before you know it, you’ve told him all about your life, including how you moved from South Korea to the US when you were six for your dad’s work and moved back when you were sixteen. “Oh wow!” He says excitedly. “We can all practice our English with you!”

While you are talking, a loud commotion comes from the back of the room as Jimin and Taehyung are playing Rock, Paper, Scissors and shouting about something.

“What’s going on?” You ask Hoseok and he smiles, a little embarrassed.

“They’re having a disagreement about who gets to sit in your chair next…” He replies. You just blush and look away.

While the younger boys are distracted with their battle, Yoongi plops down into your chair. He introduces himself with a nod and puts in headphones.  About halfway through applying his makeup, you realize that he has fallen asleep. You look over at Namjoon, “What do I do now? Should I wake him up?” You ask.

Namjoon just chuckles, “You can keep going, he’ll just sleep through it.” When you’re finished, you gently wake him back up and point him in the direction of the hairstylist. He grumbles appreciatively and stumbles off.

Jimin has apparently won the game and comes rushing over to fill the vacant chair. “Hi. I’m Jimin.” He flashes you a devilish grin, then adds “You know… you are a lot younger and cuter than our last stylist…”

You’re a bit flustered, but Namjoon saves you. “Jimin, you can’t talk to our stylist like that!” He smacks Jimin gently upside the head and suddenly Jimin is just an adorable kid again.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry” he says and you get to work on his makeup.

Taehyung watches you doing Jimin’s makeup, making goofy faces in the mirror when your back is turned, trying to get Jimin to laugh and mess up all your hard work. He slides in when Jimin is done. He spends most of his time in the chair shouting across the room to Jimin, who is now having his hair done. You keep having to gently remind him to sit still.

The maknae is last. “Hi, I’m Jungkook.” He quietly introduces himself. He is really shy and barely says anything else to you as you do his makeup, but you can tell he is trying really hard to stay perfectly still, despite several attempts from the older members to distract him.

Once all of the boys are ready, their manager comes and rounds them up and you hear them running back down the hall to the dance studio laughing and joking. You breathe a sigh of relief and can’t fight back the smile that spreads across your face.

The first few weeks of working at BigHit are fantastic. The boys continue to warm up to you as you get to know them better. Namjoon loves talking with you in English, especially really quickly so his bandmates can’t follow what he’s saying. Of course, you can’t always follow what he’s saying either, but he is so thoughtful and full of ideas. Yoongi still often falls asleep, but he also now comes in with music recommendations for you and hands you the other ear of his headphones while you do his makeup. Hoseok continues to be your favorite, telling you all about his childhood, the audition and debut process, and filling you in on the latest gossip. Jimin and V continue to cause trouble, but are so adorable when they do that you can never stay mad at them. And Jungkook continues to be quiet and sit perfectly still in the makeup chair. He is so chatty with his bandmates that you are a little sad he isn’t more comfortable with you, but it does make his makeup easier to do than Taehyung’s.

Thoughts:

So there a lot of things here like it being her first day of work, her being nervous, and the mannerisms of the boys that would have been much better if I had showed them through dialogue, description, and physical mannerisms rather than telling them outright. It would have done a lot better job of placing the reader in the scene and would read as a bit less cringey. The last paragraph in this scene is particular egregious because instead of allowing the reader to see those relationships build over time and really invest us in those characters, I just summarize in one paragraph. 

As a result, we get to the end of this scene and we know a lot of facts, but we don’t really have any good sense of who this character is or why we should care about her or empathize with her. 

Excerpt Two: Opening Scene of Void

(Disclaimer: This is also not perfect, but it is much improved from the previous)

“Can you see them?”

You blink your eyes as you stare into the microscope, squinting against the bright light. You’ve been staring into this scope for two hours, searching for tiny signs of life.

“Maybe?” you reply. Your colleague leans in closer, close enough to smell his shampoo. Your eyes begin to water as you scour the field of view, checking each fleck of dirt for your prize. But again, you came up empty. “No, I don’t think so.”

You lean back in your chair, closing your eyes and rubbing them to relieve the strain. You didn't get much sleep last night. But you can’t bring yourself to complain to Hoseok.

He groans, standing up and twisting side to side. Your back aches in sympathy from bending over these finicky slides all morning. “We’re going to run out of samples.” The corners of his mouth pull down into a frown.

“We’ll run out of kerosene first,” you mutter. You look back through the lens one last time, hoping you missed something.  

“They should have sent us with more.” Your fellow science officer stands up and walks over to chemical storage.

“Yeah, because large amounts of volatile organic liquids are a great thing to have on spacecraft." No one else on this ship would appreciate your joke. It’s not a good joke. But Hoseok humors you and gives you a small chuckle.

“Should we try an acid?” he suggests, as he examines the inside of the storage cabinet.

“Acetic?” He nods and scratches his chest as he fishes out the necessary bottle. He walks the acid back to your lab station and sets it down on the counter next to you.

He sighs and puts his hands on his hips, resuming his twisting back and forth. He clasps his hands together and does a long slow stretch upwards. Your eye catches on the sliver of exposed skin popping into view as his shirt rides up.

His smooth skin stretches across well-defined muscles, distracting your serious scientific mind. You lick your lips as you imagine how warm he would feel under your palm. You stare at the gap between his navel and the top of his pants. Not for the first time, you find yourself wondering what his skin tastes like.

“We should dilute it.” His shirt falls back down, breaking the spell. You look away, shaking your head, embarassed by your own lacivious thoughts. You’re a professional. A highly educated astronaut and scientist. You have a PhD, for god’s sake. Focus on the mission at hand.

“Yeah, we should.” You nod in confimation before standing up to get some glassware. “What concentration?”

As you turn around to reach the water tap, Hoseok moves to reach the tablet behind you. Your small lab is so narrow that you end up colliding with him. You bounce backwards off his body, cradling your beaker of water, headed straight back toward all of your ship’s glassware. You panic. Visions of shattering thousands of dollars of lab supplies fly through your head. But Hoseok catches you before you stumble into the cabinetry. You breathe a sigh of relief when you realize he’s got you in his arms.

“Fuck.” You smile. “Sorry, Hoseok.”

“It’s okay.” He laughs, shaking his head. “My fault.” His hands linger on you as you both chuckle. You feel the heat of his touch seeping through your jumpsuit.

Despite living in such tight quarters, it’s rare that you’re ever this close to him. You try to avoid physical contact with the crew out of self-preservation.

He smells good. Hoseok always smells good. While your ship smells mechanical and sterile, the man holding you smells warm and human. It’s comforting, but in a way that makes you ache with how you long to bury yourself in him.

Your colleague lets go of you and steps backwards, coughing into his shirt sleeve. He picks up the tablet and scrolls through your research materials. The warmth of his hands begins to fade from your shoulders. He finds the correct dilution factor and reads it out to you.

You measure out the appropriate amounts of acid mixing it with water. Hoseok retrieves another fragment of the meteoroid that you’re scouring for microorganisms. When he returns, you cover the sample with the acid, stopper the flask and set it to oscillate for a hour.

“Nothing to do now but wait.” You sit down on your stool and drum on your thighs. The idea of being alone with Hoseok for another hour fills you with nervous energy. It's a relief when he excuses himself to the bathroom.

It didn’t used to be this hard. When you started this mission two years ago, you had no problem being alone with any of your crew members. You were professionals doing a job together, and there wasn’t time or energy for idle sexual tension. But as the mission drags on, you have begun to feel more and more on edge. And it’s not only Hoseok. You are finding it harder and harder to be alone with any of the crew. When you spend all night fantasizing about someone, normal conversation becomes difficult.  

You stare at the flask rocking back and forth on the counter and let your mind wander. You replay your previous clumsy moment.  You imagine Hoseok catching you in his arms again, but this time you grab him and kiss him. You smell him and taste him and surround yourself in him. You close your eyes and follow the fantasy further. You imagine dropping to your knees and sucking him off up against the glassware cabinet. You imagine the way the lab equipment would clink as he bent you over the lab counter.

Hoseok returns, brandishing his tablet. “I got the new article from Geology on microfossils, if you want to take a look.” You sigh and nod.

Thoughts: So there is definitely some telling happening in this scene too. Telling is not always the worst thing in the world, although I wrote this scene nearly two years ago, so if I could go back and edit some of this out now I would. But what I want to point out here is how much information I convey without ever having to explicitly spell it out: we’re on a spaceship, the OC is a scientist with a crush on her colleague, she is touch-starved, they are searching for fossils, etc. And I think it does a much better job than the previous example at drawing the reader into the scene. 

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In general, here some good pointers for moving more in the showing direction:

1. Focus as much as you can on the present moment. What is your character thinking right now? What are they feeling? What information are they getting from their senses?

2. Use dialogue. Dialogue is a great way to show relationships between characters and fill in backstory without long paragraphs of just “telling” your readers stuff. Just be careful that it sounds like real dialogue and not exposition masquerading as dialogue. No one tells anyone their whole life story the first time they meet them or repeats information that the other person would obviously know. 

3. Trust your readers to fill in the gaps. Readers are very good at picking up context clues. You don’t need to spell everything out for them. If you put them in the scene and describe the world around them well, they will figure out lots of things just from context.

Hope that helps! The only real solution is to play around with it and practice and see what you like. Good luck!