Huge muscular thighs, a firm grip, a hot and sweaty body and moving rhythmically forwards and backwards…..

Happy thirsting peeps ❤️

Here are a few pages from an ‘alchemy’ book that I made for my boyfriend for his 21st birthday. It is based upon the potions found in the video game, “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim”.

Each in-game potion comes in varying potencies and colors. I took these potions and assigned them to real-life alcoholic cocktails that would be the same color as the in-game potion. I also took into consideration the proof of each alcoholic drink, pairing higher proof drinks with the stronger in-game potions. Thus, I created a sort of alcoholic potion recipe book based on the video game from scratch.

I aged the watercolor paper pages with black tea, illustrated the potions with watercolor, ink, and colored pencil, inked the recipes by hand, and hand-stitched the book together with embroidery thread. The cover is watercolor and a paper cutout.

victory song

lixrk·:

“nice proportions…” he tilts his head, and it takes a while for it to click for him. “ah, i get it.” he feels a little bad that eric is saying all this and felix is just taking it, though. so he decides to dish out a compliment of his own. “you’re not so bad yourself.” okay, that clearly isn’t good enough. “you also have… good proportions? you’re as cool as i thought you would be in real life, is what i’m trying to say.” he’s already messing this up, felix wonders how he keeps doing this to himself.

felix finds himself agreeing. although he makes plans to meet up with the friends he made in the virtual world, it’s different to have ran into them without a plan. it’s not so bad though, he thinks he could get used to it. “so am i. i mean, you did just get me this bear. i’m so glad i bumped into you.” he doesn’t need to waste more resources and time on these carnival booths now.

“yes! i’m parched! i completely forgot to get a drink among all this misery.” it’s a struggle to carry the bear and hold onto a drink but he’ll think of something. “i kind of want snacks too. what are you thinking of getting?” he’s falling into step beside eric, trying to decide on what he should get. nothing too expensive, that’s for sure, but everything here should be affordable anyway. can’t be too sure, though.

eric can’t help but laugh - it’s obvious that felix is trying to repay eric’s compliment, though clumsily. he appreciates it though, and bumps his shoulder against his with a smile. “thank you, i’m glad you think i’m cool.” he laughs, shaking his head a little. he already finds felix just as amusing in person as he seems online, so that’s a good sign for their friendship, he thinks to himself. hiking the owl up into his arms more he wonders how he’s going to carry food and a drink with the huge owl. he’ll figure that out when the problem arises. 

“lucky for you i’m a ring toss champion.” he says with a grin. he wonders if he’d get in trouble for trying to win a few more times to get more plushies of varying sizes. no, he reminds himself that one gigantic owl is definitely enough, and anything more would be overkill. she doesn’t need a million stuffed animals (all at once). 

“mmm…” eric thinks, wondering how far he can make the small amount of money he has available stretch. “might get some ddeokbokki and a coffee?” he considers, knowing that coffee will be the only thing that’ll keep him going for the rest of the day. “depends what i can afford, though.” he says, before realising he probably shouldn’t go shouting about his lack of money to felix when they only just met in person. 

.explanations

rkpjs​:

pj froze, feeling insensitive for the comments he had made moments before. as much as he felt like he wanted a brother of his own, he wouldn’t want one at any cost. his parents were happy together—or at least, they would be, if only pj hadn’t messed that up. now, his dad was all the way in another country working on his own, while his mom had to stay in seoul with him and his sisters. it wasn’t fair that he was part of the reason she wasn’t off on some grand adventure with the love of her life, and pj hated that he felt like he was to blame.

having zoned out momentarily, he pushed those thoughts aside, trying to regain focus on what was in front of him: eric. “yeah, yeah,” he answered, not entirely sure what he was saying it in response to. he tried to replay eric’s words in his mind, and, for the most part, he felt he had a pretty good idea of what the older was trying to say. eric continued to speak, only now pj was listening more intently, making sure that he wouldn’t zone out again.

“wait, hold up—you think he’d be angry that you accidentally found something out together?” pj questioned, setting down the controller as he turned his gaze to eric. “haven’t you ever heard that you shouldn’t shoot the messenger? it’s the same concept here. i don’t think jeno’s the type of guy to blame you. it’s not your fault that his da—i mean, your dad was a grade a jerk.” nice catch, pj. “that’s on him, no one else. i mean, dude, you weren’t even born, so what could you have done to stop it?”

eric notices who pj goes a little quiet, and he worries he’s made things awkward. stuff like this is sort of personal, maybe a little too personal. he’s always been comfortable sharing things with people he really trusts and cares about, at least some things. but what if pj isn’t comfortable hearing the negative details of everything that had gone down. sure, there was a lot to be happy about regarding the situation, but eric would argue there was more to be unhappy about, especially for jeno and his family. 

pj stumbling over who’s dad to label him as makes eric notice how he’s solely been talking about him as if he was only jeno’s dad. he’s the father of both of them but somehow eric feels as though jeno has a more legitimate claim to him. he has to stop himself remembering all the weekends they’d spend together when he was young in LA, because he knows that through this situation he might lose him as a father figure and remember their happiest times together only succeeds in making him sad. 

he sighs. pj’s right, but eric can’t help but feel guilty. jeno’s family lived in blissful ignorance until he had to come and mess it up - what if they’d have rather stayed that way? “i guess… i just… had i not seen the picture, or said anything about it when i did, maybe their family wouldn’t be all messed up.” his voice is a lot smaller now, as he can’t help but keep the guilt and shame out of his voice. it’s easier to blame himself, especially when he thinks about how jeno’s mum and sister will likely no longer welcome him into their home as they’ve been doing for months now already. “i just… i don’t get why he did it? he had a pregnant wife at home, yet he still… he still cheated. now i don’t think i’ll be invited back to jeno’s house again…”

.firsts

chaewonrk·:

chaewon shakes her head. “no way, plus, who’s even asking if you have or not?” she insists. “i mean, apart from this conversation, obviously. really, it just sucked. thinking about it makes me want to …” she scrunches up her face in disgust and points a finger into her mouth. she holds herself back from making the noises to match. she’s playing it up a little. “very weird memories. but, i guess most people probably find it weird the first couple of times.” 

“that’s dumb,” she says flatly, leaning back on her hands to get a proper look at him. “unattractive people get laid all the time too, so even if that was your problem – which it’s not – then you don’t have anything to worry about.” she’s not the most skilled in being reassuring. any of her friends can vouch for that. chaewon’s advice and comfort are almost always sincere, but tend to come packaged messily. still, she delivers her points confidently, a smug smile spreading across her face. she nudges him with her foot as she uncrosses her legs. “earth to eric, hello?” she teases, waving a finger in front of his face. “i think i know what your problem actually is. you’re oblivious.” chaewon leans back again, raising an eyebrow at him as she rolls her eyes. “how many people have you left hanging like this?” she’s messing with him now, her voice whiny as she pouts. chaewon can’t help laughing, mostly with him, but a little bit at him. “stupid. i’m trying to right now, if you want.”

eric snorts, “you’d be surprised how often it comes up when people are drunk at parties.” there’s been quite a few times at parties where the topic of first kisses has come up and eric’s had to admit he’s never had his first kiss. people usually don’t believe him, or call him cute and coo at him like he’s a baby (not that he really minds being babied, in all honesty). “i feel like i’d rather have a bad first kiss than no first kiss.” he says with a pout. 

he’s about to ask if chaewon thinks he’sunattractive, but closes his mouth, a flush spreading over his cheek as she says that isn’t his problem. something about her thinking he’s not unattractive makes his stomach do nervous flips. however, when she says his problem is obliviousness, he frowns. does she mean that.. he’s had the chance and completely not noticed it, or something else? because that sounds rather far fetched to her. “left hanging..?” he murmurs in confusion, before it slowly dawns on him what she could be saying. as she confirms his suspicions his lips part in a surprised ‘o’. 

she’s trying to kiss him? the blush on his cheeks spreads right to the tips of his ears and his eyes widen, before a nervous giggle escapes him and he bites back a grin. “really? you’d kissme?”it sounds crazy, someone as beautiful as chaewon being down to kiss him. but, since it was so blatantly said, he assumes she’s not joking around, so he nods eagerly. “yes. i definitely want.”

.explanations

rkpjs·:

playing games with friends was one of pj’s favorite pastimes. it gave him a way to be social while also doing something that he loved—it was a sweet deal, he thought. so it was only natural that he and eric found themselves sat playing one of pj’s favorite multiplayer games, having lighthearted conversations about whatever ridiculousness they could get themselves into. he found that he enjoyed it quite a bit, and, for a split second, he found himself wondering if they should invite others to come join in on the fun.

that was, at least, until their conversation became slightly more personal. pj listened, nodding his head before letting out an amused chuckle. what would it be like if he realized he was the one with a brother out there somewhere? “listen, that’s actually super cool,” he replied, eyes remaining glued to the screen as they continued to play. “i’ve wanted a brother for like—ever. do you know how awesome that is? and it’s not like he was just some random guy out in the world… you got to be brothers with one of your best friends.” for a moment, pj wanted to frown, but he stopped himself. as much as he wanted a brother of his own, he knew that something like this didn’t come without consequences. “i mean, what are the odds of that?”

eric feels as though he can’t be fully happy, despite it being something he’d spent his entire life dreaming of. for eric to get the siblings he’s always wanted jeno’s family has to fall apart. it doesn’t seem like a fair trade. eric wants to enjoy it, now that he’s able to experience the realities of having siblings, but it’s difficult to when he feels as though he’s partly to blame for jeno’s family having to deal with the fact his dad cheated on his mum. 

“yeah, i have too.” he admits, though the happiness he should be feeling is nowhere to be seen. eric sighs, trying to split his focus between the game and the conversation. “but for me to get a brother it ruined jeno’s family…” his voice is somewhat quiet towards the end, a feeling of guilt and shame creeping up his throat. “it’s great for me, but for jeno? what if he’s angry at me for making the truth come out?” jeno doesn’t seem angry, and he wasn’t mad at eric when they realised what the photograph and eric’s question about it meant. 

“not that he acted angry, because he didn’t, but what if he was just being nice to me? what if he blames me and wishes i’d never said anything so they never had to know about what his dad did?” he’s found himself talking about jeno’s dad as if he wasn’t also his dad as well, as though he’d cut off his familial feelings towards his father in favour of preserving jeno’s family. he was always jeno’s dad more than eric’s anyway, he thinks.

starter for @rkpjs!

eric rarely gets to play video games that aren’t cheap switch games or ones that he managed to get at a hefty discount. his switch lite wasn’t even bought by himself, but a gift by a far too generous friend. his laptop isn’t built for gaming either, so his ability to play games is incredibly limited. that doesn’t mean he doesn’t love games though, in fact he really loves gaming when he gets the opportunity, but unlike a lot of guys his age he never had the chance to play console games growing up since they never had the money for them. 

so, usually he watches playthroughs of games he’s interested in, trying to live vicariously through them. that is unless he’s invited over to play with someone - which is exactly what he’s gone over to see pj to do. they’re sat playing a particularly good game that eric’s wanted to play for ages, but the conversation has gone from lighthearted banter about the game, to eric’s current situation. 

“i just… saw he had a picture with my dad in it in his house and was like ‘lol why do you have a picture with my dad?’ and… well yeah turns out he’s not just my dad.” eric explains. pj and jeno are friends, so it seems only right that eric explains what went down when they realised they didn’t just look strangely alike for no reason. it’s a weird thing to talk about - that mutual friend we had? yeah turns out he’s my half-brother and neither of us knew for twenty whole years of life. funny, huh?

victory song

lixrk·:

“is it really a good thing? especially when i ended up shorter than you thought?” he hopes it was obvious with his lighter tone that he isn’t actually offended, just surprised, and maybe a little bit curious on what part of him gives off tall energy. he’ll never know, it doesn’t seem to be something that has a proper explanation. it’ll stick with him for a while, maybe it’s about time he starts putting whatever tall energy this is to good use. not that he wants to trick people into thinking he’s taller than he really is—actually, that’s exactly what it is.

he might be cheating now too, asking someone else to play for him instead of trying himself. but he’s tired, and he doesn’t want to keep burning whatever he’s got, knowing it’ll take years before he could manage even one successful attempt. it’s better to let eric try, seeing that the other was skilled in this type of scene. felix can only watch, hope and pray.

the person running the booth extends a hand, as if asking felix for the payment already. he quickly gives it out, he doesn’t want to miss the way eric seems to effortlessly land around the stick. “yeah, actually, didn’t think i’d see you here.” then again, he didn’t really think he’d be seeing anyone he knew here. typical of felix to walk around on his lonesome, finding eric isn’t a bad thing though, it’s proving to be quite the opposite. “i was gonna ask you what you were doing here, but everyone’s mostly here for the picnic, so that’s probably it?”

he shuts his mouth for a moment, because talking isn’t going to help eric concentrate. it might be best to keep quiet until the other finishes the round. it didn’t take that long at all, the next thing he knew, the last ring lands around the stick. “woah!” he looks at eric with a lot of awe, as if he couldn’t believe that eric had just done that despite already winning before this anyway. “thanks a lot, man. loved watching instead of stressing over the game itself.” soon enough, the bear is placed on the counter, and felix swooped it in his arms. he stumbles back a little, the bear is huge. he tries to peek at his friend from behind the bear. “maybe you can make this a side gig.”

eric’s pretty sure they’re actually the same height, but he’s not about to tell felix that - he’s taking every chance he can get to pretend he’s a tall boy. “tall energy is good for pictures and videos, it means you’ve got nice proportions.” he assures him. eric’s pretty sure he just looks short all the time - in person, and in videos and pictures. he doesn’t really mind too much though. he’d like be to taller, but he supposes it’s not awful being short. 

“i’ve never just… bumped into someone from online before.” eric says as he readies the rings, setting them out in a line. “i’ve been hanging out with a lot of different people but this was one of my few gaps between friends.” he laughs, fiddling with a ring for a moment as he talks. “so i’m glad we did bump into each other.” then, once the rings are all on the pegs and he stands triumphant, he sighs happily, pleased with his achievement. 

laughing at felix staggering around with his bear eric grabs his equally large owl and grins over the top of it. “people can pay me to win them things… good idea!” he jokes, though a little part of him wonders if he could really make some extra cash off of that. he’d rather enjoy his time at the picnic, though, so pushes the idea aside. “so, wanna hang out for a bit? i’m kinda thirsty, let’s go get drinks and take a walk?” he suggests, already slowly starting off in the direction of the food and drink tents. 

starter for @rkxmark!

eric loves fried chicken. he might even say it’s one of his favourite foods, if not his absolute favourite. maybe he should be more loyal to pizza considering he’s a pizza delivery boy… but who can resist the temptation of fried chicken? it’s even better eaten in the cool evening breeze by the river, beside a good friend. it’s been a little while since eric’s managed to fit in a catch-up with mark, but he’s damn well glad he’s shoehorned it into his schedule now, as he sits with his eyes on the reflection of the city lights on the water. 

“did i tell you about the juicy new family drama i’ve landed in?” he says through a mouthful of chicken. it’s easy to eat away his stress and worries, burying it all under what is probably too much sodium and fat. it’s easy to talk to mark, having known him so long. he feels a lot more at home around him that a lot of his newer friends - something about that connection to LA makes things feel just that little but easier. “found out i’ve got a half-brother and half-sister.” he says abruptly. 

he’s not really sure how to process it, so maybe telling mark, and getting it out, spoken aloud to someone who isn’t involved in the situation will help him work through his emotions surrounding it. though he’d said it so flatly, so matter-of-factly, inside he’s reeling, his brain scrabbling to hold onto singular emotions or thoughts on the subject. it just a lot…

.into the future

kdyxrk·:

A few seconds go by, before he lets out a soft chuckle and gentle nudges his friend. “Ohh. Why would that be lame? I wanna know that too. Let’s both ask, sounds fun.” As soon as Eric signals him to go in, Dongyoung obeys. He gets in the the cozy booth filled with glim purple lights. The other one, followed his footsteps as they both soon take a seat before some elderly looking woman.

She gave them good a good look from head to toe, before nodding head a head a couple of times. “Welcome.” She greets them politely.

Dongyoung bowls his head and greets her back, leaning comfortably back in his seat and glancing at his friend. “We’ve decides to come and see what the future beholds for us.” He says excitedly, tilting his head to the side. “Let’s start with my friend here. We’re both very curious about him.” Grinning, as he looks at Eric and carefully brushes the the back of his head.

eric’s a little nervous - what if this little old lady tells him he’s destined to live an impoverished life alone with no family?! he’s not sure he wants to know the future if it’s a bad one. but would she really tell him if it was that bad anyway? though he’s not sure he wants to pay to be lied to. there’s not time to second guess his decision to visit the tarot card reader though, as they’re already heading inside and sitting down opposite her. 

eric laughs as dongyoung offers eric up first, feeling as though he’d just been thrown to the sharks. he tries not to seem too nervous, because he is excited and very curious, but he wonders whether he’ll get good news or not. the old lady begins by spreading out her cards and asking eric a bit about himself.

“i’m a composition student, i have… a few jobs, and i like music and my friends!” he says, trying to keep it brief without going into his entire backstory - she doesn’t need to know every detail about him. 

—ˏˋ● unlucky loki .

rkyurim·:

yoorim can’t help but make a face when ericreveals that he doesn’t often eat out, somehow seeming in deep thought whilstconsidering the suggestion. though she doesn’t like to show off—which can bedifficult at times when having a considerably thick wallet filled with daddy’smoney—she wants to have a nice lunch together. she promised to take him out,after all, if she could talk him into tagging along to the star bright audition.“you sure? you know you can pick anywhere you like~”

if eric has already decided, however, yoorim simplywants to make sure that he knows his options; she is certain that they willhave a good time, regardless of where they decide to eat. not to mention hergrowling stomach, which attempts to warn her that if she doesn’t feast sometimesoon, she will suffer waves of nausea. after giving him some time to think andmake up his mind, she then tags along. since she isn’t a hundred percent certainabout the location, she lets him lead the way.

“gosh, i’m starving.” as per usual. anyonewho knows yoorim, knows that she has an intense appetite. always. how shemanages to keep such a slim figure despite eating for two people, is beyond herand most of her friends, although there is likely a good explanation behind it.“but things are good, really! a little busy admittedly, but nothing compared tohow it will be when uni starts again…” she sighs by the mere thought of combiningtrainee and university schedules. “how about you?”

eric feels bad letting yoorim treat him to lunch, even if it was repayment for him accompanying her to the auditions. he’s always rather nervous accepting things from people, even though he knows, sometimes, it’s okay to accept people buying him things. it still bothers him a little, and he makes sure the restaurant they’re going to isn’t an expensive one - he’s not about to take advantage of his friends generosity. 

the restaurant, though, isn’t one he’d eat at often since it’s not the cheapest place around. it’s a nice place, one that someone who isn’t struggling financially would probably frequent. “it’s a nice place.” he assures yoorim with a smile. it’s a family run korean restaurant - it’s one of his favourites because it reminds him of his grandmothers cooking, who he’d only met after moving to seoul, and didn’t get to see often because of his busy schedule. 

“me too.” he responds, frowning a little - he’d not eaten breakfast today, having been in too much of a rush to get to work. “yep, i know that feeling.” he says with a laugh, speeding up a little as he turns a corner and spots the restaurant up ahead.”there it is-” he points to it with a smile, eager to fill his stomach. “i’m busy as usual - work, uni, keeping up with people and hobbies.

.chicken chats

rkyoojimin·:

Eyes rolling, Céleste let out a laugh. “That’s not a very high bar to set, is it? I’ve been kinda just vibing along with everything that’s been happening lately, whatever,” she replied as she grabbed a menu. “Just focusing on making a bunch of covers to post later on. Some of them are pretty awful with the lack of inspiration y’know but I guess it’s somewhat? hopefully? maybe? coming together.” She shrugged. “You?”

Sure, they had just met recently, but Céleste felt totally at ease with Eric. They sure as hell made great venting buddies; close enough to feel comfortable to info dump without scaring the other person away (the best benefit of being related), but their age gap allowed for different perspectives. 

Céleste jokingly put on an angry face, “You better: don’t let that sleep debt catch up to you.” She quickly scanned the menu. Seeing that nothing interested her, she put down her menu. “I’m awful at ordering food: there are soo many options,” she finally said. “Any suggestions?”

eric’s always interested to hear about what céleste gets up to, especially when it comes to covers - he likes anything musically creative, though he himself never has much to show in that area other than school work, since he’d never show anyone the stuff he works on for himself - he’s far too embarrassed, since a lot of it’s sappy and emotional and romantic. trust a guy who’ve never been in a relationship to write romantic songs. “i always say that doing something, even if it’s not perfect, if better than doing nothing at all.” he fiddles with the case on his phone as he speaks, looking off across the room for a moment, then back at céleste with a smile. 

“i had a pretty busy day as usual. did uni work, filmed some stuff for tiktok - y’know, gotta keep the fans fed.” he laughs, knowing full well he doesn’t have fans, even if he does have close to a million followers on tiktok, that doesn’t mean he’s got fans. “mostly i sorted out stuff for uni, it’s getting pretty busy now, but i’ve settled into the rhythm of it at least.” he’d only been at uni since march, but was already feeling the deep-set exhaustion that comes with working your brain constantly for months at a time. 

“i’ll try, but i’ve got to be up early every day for work. oh the woes of poor people.” he says with a dramatic sigh. then, looking over the menu again he hums. “i usually just get the box of different types of fried chicken, since i can never decide whether i want like… sweet or spicy or somewhere in between.”

✎ Midnight pizza time

kdyxrk·:

“Oh it was fine. I smell something yummy… not gonna lie, my day just got better.” Said Dongyoung, as his eyes falls upon the box in his friend’s hand. “Let’s go go. You know how to make me happy.” His smile turned to a grin, that covered his lips, before he moved away from the hug and just linked his arm with Eric’s. “Let’s go to some park benches around the river, how about that?”

Dongyoung pulls his friend to walk along with him, a small sigh leaving his lips. They walk in silence for a few seconds before, the boy couldn’t help, but to speak again. “Sohnny, I’m pretty excited to share some news with you. I know we’re close to the park, but let me just let out a spoiler… I took the universities acceptance exams again and my results came back pretty good.” He says out loud with a bright tone in his voice, his gaze moving upon his friend’s face to catch his reaction.

laughing, eric looks down at the warm box in his hands, his stomach rumbling. “work really took it out of me tonight.” he says, trying hard to ignore the ache in his legs from all the peddling. “sounds good!” he replies, leaning into dongyoung for a second before they begin to head in the direction of a nearby park. it’s dark, late, and eric’s starving, ready to devour his share of the pizza and then head home for some well deserved rest. 

eric perks up as dongyoung says he’s excited to share news with him - he always feels so honoured when his friends are eager to share stuff with him. it makes him feel as though they’re excited to involve him in their lives. he breaks into a grin at dongyoung’s new, straightening up a little as his enthusiasm shows over the entirety of his body. “really?! that’s great doie!” 

“so, you’re gonna be a uni student soon then? that’s so exciting, i’m so happy for you. better rest up for it, university’s so tiring.”

splash. 

chaewonrk·:

“i’m not worrying, believe me,” chaewon responds, cheekily flipping her hair over her shoulder. he’s being sweet, she thinks, so she probably shouldn’t be so mean to him. she pouts back at his grin, though her lips quickly fall back into neutral, the hint of a smirk pulling at one corner of her mouth. “uh, no. i don’t think so. i haven’t cycled a bike since i was a kid. i’ll sit on your handlebars, though.” then he can push the peddles for her on a bike too. she doesn’t intend on leaving all the work to him though – she’ll join back in after a few minutes break. 

or, she would have done, if she hadn’t fallen into the water like an idiot. 

eric landing in the water almost on top of her head does nothing but elicit a scream from chaewon, as it splashes over her head. she’s submerged briefly for a second time, but she manages to keep a hold onto the side of the boat. as eric laughs, chaewon scoughs (that’s a scoff and a cough). she gently kicks him, letting out a wordless whine.

“this isn’t funny! eric, this isn’t funny!” she’s yelling in english, and hits her hand off the side of the boat. chaewon gets a better grip on the side of the boat and tries to pull herself up, but she doesn’t have quite enough upper body strength to do so. she looks at him, a fierce determination in her eyes, fueled purely by the desire to get the fuck out of the water. “hoist me up.” she shakes her legs around in the water to demonstrate where she wants him to lift her from. she’s not sure if it’ll work partially underwater, but it might.

the thought of riding around with chaewon on his handlebars doesn’t sound too bad, to be honest. in fact he can’t help but smile at the thought. maybe he’ll take her out somewhere and transport them via bike soon, just so he can have her ride on his handlebars - just so they can say they’ve done it. “i get it, make me do all the work, huh?” he responds, laughing, even though he doesn’t mind it.

all those thoughts, however, are pushed from his mind once he’s in the water. he notices how cold it is almost instantly, giving a little choked scream to emphasise just how cold. he only half agrees with chaewon that this ‘isn’t funny’ because to him it’s kind of hilarious, seeing her with her hair plastered to her head, bobbing up and down in the water. though pretty soon the hilarity of it wears off, and he’s just wet, cold, and slowly realising they’re both wearing white, which is now see through. 

he stops laughing when she hits her head, frowning in concern. “okay! okay! stop wriggling!” he responds, also in english, defaulting to the easier language. he moves a little closer to her, then pauses to try and figure out how to lift her up, the thought of possibly having to shove her by her butt up into the boat making him flush from the apples of his cheeks to the tips of his ears. he eventually grabs the boat with one hand and leans as far down as possible, ducking slightly under the water to wrap his other arm around her. 

he’s still blushing as he holds onto her, holding himself steady on the boat as he lifts her as best he can with one arm. “push up from my shoulders.” he tells her, trying his hardest not to look at her, because her white dress is now translucent and he’s terrified of possibly seeing her underwear. he’s shivering now too, the cold water chilling him right through to his bones. 

victory song

lixrk·:

he can’t help but clap along when eric manages to throw the last of the rings and get it onto the stand, in genuine awe and impressed. felix has been pathetically losing this entire time, it could almost be a running joke—luckily he isn’t in the presence of people who would relentlessly tease him, at least he hopes. he isn’t ready to admit that there’s a type of game that he sucks at, it’s one of the few things he can pride himself in.

okay, so maybe he’s wrong about him not being around someone who wouldn’t tease him, when eric pointed out his height like that. his korean fails him for a while, just blinking rapidly at eric as he tries to come up with a response to that. “what does tall energy even mean?” how does someone exude tall energies through a video that only lasts a few seconds? that’s a small hit to his pride, but he stands tall and proudly still. “i can say you’re exactly like how i’d expect you to be in real life.” he isn’t sure exactly what that means, just that he believes in his own words rather strongly.

his eyes immediately light up at the suggestion. “funny, because i was about to say you can make it up to me by playing for me.” it’s easy to joke around this way with someone he knew, instead of being too careful with his words as he usually was. he wonders if it’s just an effect eric has on people, or if he’s improving himself. maybe both?

he points at the huge teddy bear still hung up along with a few other dolls. “if you can get me that bear, i’ll forget you basically made fun of my height upon first meeting.”

hoisting the giant owl plushie properly into his grip eric grins, pleased with his win. he’s already planning how to give it to her. he’s a little lost in thought when he’s dragged back to reality by felix’s question. “i dunno, just tall energy.” he shrugs, holding the giant owl as if he’s giving it a back hug. “like i don’t think i have tall energy, but you do. it’s a good thing.” he wonders what felix means by him not being exactly how he’d expected, but then thinks he’d rather not know if it’s going to be something negative. 

eric laughs at the suggestion that he play for felix, to win him a prize - doesn’t sound like such a bad idea. “that one?” he asks, pointing to the bear to make sure, wondering why he wanted a boring bear when there were so many other cool animals. he’d picked the owl because he remembered her saying she liked owls. if it’d been for him he’d have chosen the very round hamster. 

“alright, no problem.” he says, asking the person running the booth for another round. “you gotta pay for it though since it’s foryou.” he says, taking the rings from the person, then getting into position. throwing the first ring he easily gets it onto the little stick he’d aimed for. “so, funny seeing you here.” he finally says, thinking about how much of a coincidence it is that he’s just bumped into a friend he’d never met in real life before but knew well from online. 

tossing the second ring, he only just gets it over the tick, his body tensing from just how close that was. “maybe i shouldn’t make idle conversation while doing this.” he laughs, then turns back to the ring toss and throws his third ring, easily getting it over the peg and grinning in triumph. “only two more.” he says, readying himself, then tossing the fourth. it’s close, but he manages to get it over one of the further back pegs. now it’s time for the furthest away row of pegs, the hardest to get. taking a few slow, deep breaths, he readies himself. then, with a flick of his wrist he tosses the ring…and it lands right on the peg, perfectly thrown, not even nearly missing. “there ya go!” he says, putting his hands on his hips and turning to felix with a broad grin. 

the power of three.

rkjeno·:

siyeonrk

to say siyeon’s nervous would be an understatement. just from the weight of her picnic basket alone it’s plain to see she’d stress baked enough to feed the entire park, but if that doesn’t give it away, the way her fingers dance across her knees should. they’re pulled up against her chest, her back turned to jeno to look across the crowd. the gentle hum of life around her is muffled by her thoughts— would he like her? did she dress nicely enough? would he like what she’d prepared for them to eat? she hums to herself, tucking a loose strand of her behind her ear. 

there shouldn’t be anything to worry about. jeno will have put in a good word, if not because he’s her best friend, then because jeno is too nice not to. but she knows the impression she gives off, knows what she thinks of herself. if eric is anything like jeno, maybe he won’t mind that her usual clothes are blindingly bright or that her words are often rather firm and brash, but she doesn’t know that yet. she just knows that until he arrives, she’s going to continue wiggling her feet and tapping her fingertips against her knees. hopefully, it won’t take long. 

normally, jeno would be fixated on siyeon enough to notice how nervous she seemed. he was usually pretty good at reading her, but his mind was too preoccupied for him to entirely notice. truthfully, he’d been out of it ever since he found out about eric. carrying around such a huge and horrible secret weighed him down, making him a hundred times heavier than usual. he wasn’t constantly smiling or making jokes, he was far away, lost inside of his own mind. he agreed to do this because he wanted to start making an effort at strengthening his relationship with eric now that he knows he’s his brother, plus it was important to siyeon…

but he couldn’t help but feel there were more important things for him to be doing. with every day that passed by without him telling his mother the truth, or at least confronting his dad, he felt worse. he almost felt like an accessory to the crime, given he is withholding the information. it felt wrong… dirty… but he doesn’t want to focus on that. he wants to have a good day, he just wishes that it wasn’t so hard. finally, he turns to look at siyeon, trying his best to seem in good spirits. “he’ll be here. maybe he got lost in the crowd.”

eric’s been trying not to think about it. that day at jeno’s when they figured it out had been one of the scariest days in eric’s life, and he’d been pretty on edge since. he’d been trying not to show it though, putting on a happy, bright, unbothered exterior so that know one knew he was constantly terrified of this situation going south. he’s scared that jeno blames him for ruining his perception of his family, and probably eventually the reality of his family, since eric assumes it’ll eventually come out and he’ll have been the catalyst to his family falling apart.

but, he’s got to pretend everything is okay for his own mental stability right now - he can’t let his worries take over, especially not this weekend when he’s got so many people to spend time with. two of those people being jeno and a long-time friend of his, siyeon. eric has heard a lot about her, and knows she means a great deal to jeno. so, he has to make a good impression. 

only problem is he’d just fallen in the river with chaewon and had literally only minutes ago waded out and parted ways with her, sending her off with his soaked plaid shirt to cover her white dress. he’d left her with other friends, knowing he needed to get to this picnic with jeno and siyeon, even if he was soaked and shivering. luckily it’s sunny, so he’s rapidly drying off as he walks across the grass, heading for the couple he can see on a picnic blanket not far away. “jeno!” he calls out as he gets close enough, finally stopped beside the blanket and giving a slightly embarrassed smile. “uh… sorry about… this,” he gestures at his soaked self. “i fell in the river.”

.into the future

kdyxrk·:

Dongyoung was carrying their picnic basket in one hand, as his best friend grabbed a hold of the other one. The older boy let out a soft chuckle. Eric seemed kind of excited, which carried on upon his friend as well. “Now that I see how thrilled you look, I’m getting pretty curious, what they might tell us.”

He sighed lowly and side eyes his friend, before nudging him gently in the ribs and uses his aegyo voice to speak up, even though he hates those kind of stuff and knowing well enough, that he’ll surprise Eric. “Sohnny-ah~ what are you saying. I know you’ll be the king of kings one day, so don’t forget about me~ please! Aing!” He lets out that noice with a ‘v’ sign gesture from his hand, before slightly shaking off his shoulders and laughing. “This was hard… you should be honoured.”

They stopped right in front of the booth. It took him a few seconds to answer his friend’s question. “Hm, I’d say health. Mine and of those most close to me. Cuz it’s the most important thing. If you’re healthy, you can achieve whatever you want to…” He rang twice at the small shiny bell, as the board over the door said and waited for their turn. His eyes shifts in the younger boy’s direction. “What about you? What are you most curious about?”

eric’s never had a tarot card reading before, but he’s heard a lot about it - how a few randomly picked cards can tell the reader so much about you; your past, present and future. he’s thinking about what he could possibly learn from the reading when he’s shocked out of his thoughts but dongyoung’s aegyo voice. his head whips round to stare at him, before he laughs. “what was that?!” 

it’s very nice of dongyoung to say that, but he knows it’s not true, and he’s just saying it to be kind. he’s most likely going to have a mediocre life, but eric’ll just be happy if he’s comfortable in his boring life. he’d like enough money to have a family, but he’s not sure how realistic that is. “oh, totally. super honoured.” he replies, squeezing dongyoung’s arm as they reach the tent. “i dunno about that, though. i don’t have the talent to be the ‘king of kings’.”

dongyoung’s curiosity is much more wholesome than eric’s, he thinks. maybe eric should try and be less selfish in his thoughts. just because he wants to, doesn’t mean he can stop wondering about his romance prospects though. “well…” he blushes a little, avoiding looking at dongyoung as he replies. “i kinda wanna know if i’ll ever find love, i guess. i think they can tell you that stuff. lame, i know.” his eyes are glued to the entrance of the tent, waiting for someone to come out, or to call them inside. after a minute a voice calls out for them to come in, so he tugs on dongyoung’s arm to urge him inside.

splash.

chaewonrk·:

     for @rkxric. ✨

chaewon has been on a swan paddle boat once before. she was really young at the time and hadn’t actually done any of the paddling. her legs couldn’t reach the peddles back then. all these years later, at the grand height of 157cm, she can only just about reach them. she pushes along regardless, making the most use of her toes and the ball of her foot in the process. and it’s fun, really, it is … for the first fifteen minutes anyways. after that, the novelty is all gone. 

“my legs hurt,” she whines, pulling her feet back from the paddles. chaewon turns to eric with a roll of her neck and pouts at him, hands lying dejectedly in her lap. “whose idea was this again?” she asks, crossing her arms over her chest. she knows all too well that she was the one who originally pointed out the swan boats in the first place.

“urgh …” it feels like the last few weeks of training are finally catching up with her. this is what happens when she takes a day off. her body is fighting back against her new daily routine, it seems. she’s always been active, but she hasn’t been this active in a long time. “i just need to stretch my legs.”

hindsight is 20/20. chaewon doesn’t mean to stand up, she only lifts her butt off the seat by the tiniest bit as she leans forward to stretch, but it’s enough for the swan boat to start rocking back and forth. bent over as she is to try and stretch her hamstrings, chaewon’s sense of balance is thrown off, and that’s all it takes to send chaewon off the side of the boat. she lets out a yell, and quickly scrambles to the side of the boat, trying and failing to hoist herself back on. she holds on to it with one hand, and reaches up to eric with the other. “help! fucking help!”

eric had only ever been on a paddle boat once before. it’d been one of those weekends his dad had taken him out when he was young, back in LA. they’d gone to a really big lake where there were these same swan paddle boats and eric had begged him to go on one. he’d laughed and agreed to one short ride. they spent ages on the boat, eric staring around him in awe and his dad doing all the leg work. 

now, he’s tall enough to paddle himself, finding it not too difficult thanks to all the cycling he does. “i’ll paddle then, don’t worry.” he says with a smile, enjoying himself too much to want to head back yet. he likes being out on the river with chaewon, noticing how the sun reflects on the little ripples in the water, and gazing at the buildings on the other side of the river and their outline against the blue sky. he deigns not to answer her question, since he knows it was her who pointed them out - though he was just as enthusiastic, if not more so, to take them out on the water. 

“well, maybe you should cycle more, like me.” he says teasingly, grinning mischievously across at her. he doesn’t mind being the sole paddler, though he can see this getting tiring after a while. it’s a lot more difficult to push two people around in a boat with no help than it is to push two people round when both are pulling their weight. 

it’s a good thing they left their belongings back in the rental booth for the swam boat, as the next thing eric knows he’s watching chaewon topple overboard into the water. a horrified cry escapes him, hoping to god she can swim as he leans over the edge to grab her hand. he’s trying his hardest to pull her in without letting himself get pulled in, but he must’ve messed up his balance, because seconds later he too is falling into the water, almost toppling in right on top of chaewon. he bobs to the surface and spits out some water, blinking in shock, before he slowly starts laughing. 

.that’s what friends are for

yuzurk·:

admittedly ever since yuzu started training for heartz, picking something up in yongsan to take home had been just easier and simpler than ordering from the usual places she’d like to frequent. one of those being the delivery service eric worked for. the guy was a nice one; ambitious, hard-working, friendly and kind. 

so in a way it doesn’t surprise her all that much when he does show up at her door one evening after making sure she was home. 

she still stands in the doorway as he makes his way to her door, a brow raised and a lopsided, amused grin on her lips. “missed yer favourite customer that much, eh,” she jokes, knowing the two of them were more friends by now than just customer and server. be it in a cafe to share some barista knowledge or her chatting him up after he delivers her a jumbo chicken pizza with garlic and extra cheese; those two always found themselves sharing a neat chat.

“c’mon in,” she says after having teased him long enough, stepping aside with a friendly smile. the beer he held along with the pizza was definitely an appreciated extra as well.

eric’s rather excited to see yuzu, she’s always managed to entertain him even if their conversations were short ones - she’s just the type of person eric likes. so, as he nears her door and sees her already standing there waiting, he grins. “definitely.” he responds, thinking about how long it had been since he last saw her. she’d been busy, and while he isn’t one to pry, he can’t say he’s not curious about what’s been keeping her so busy. 

he’s more than happy at the invitation to come in, his legs aching from a long shift of cycling around delivering pizzas. it never gets any easier, sadly - he does have some nice thighs though. making his way inside he sets the pizza and beer down on her kitchen counter after slipping his shoes off by the door. “so, how’s my favourite customer been recently? you seem a lot busier.”

he tugs off the red baseball cap with the pizza place logo on it and shoves it into the pocket of his jacket, which he then shrugs off. “i don’t know which kind of beer you like best, so i hope this is okay.” he pats the top of the beer cans.