HEATED RIVALRY • 𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐱 𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

THIRTEEN.

[ "Deleris, perhaps the two of us can go for dinner? It's been a long day, and...| ]

"That's too cliche," Arata complained. "You can't write that. They just finished a whole mission, did they not? And it's so out of character for Kyo, who is the one doing the confessing. He's more brooding."

"But he's soft towards..."

"Him." Arata was unhelpful as he supplied information you already knew.

"I'll change it to her out of spite," you glared, "but no, I can't. It took me super long until now to realize that I've basically been making my characters posture each other. The sexual tension was stifling," you had a resigned look.

"Posturing is a good thing for publicity," Arata encouraged.

"I don't know how to make good brooding depressed characters," you said in exasperation. "Everything Deleris does seems so off."

[ Kyo glared hard at Deleris. "Keep quiet, idiot| ]

"That's better," Arata said approvingly, "now that's good."

"He seems kinda assholery," you said doubtfully, "I think maybe I need to make him mellow...or something. Or base it off someone."

"That's always an option. I would base it off Jun, then," you said thoughtfully, "Jun is an asshole..."

"Readers are going to hate him."

"They are, won't they?" You smiled benignly at him. "It's a pity Jun is irredeemable—"

"Is that a hickey on your neck?" Arata interrupted, his eyes wide. This was the fourth time you had been asked that question today: first by Haruka then by Tanaka then by some random student you swore you had never spoken to before in his life. "It's a snake bite." Terry had been in an usually affectionate mood.

"Sure," Arata drawled. "You can't fool me, I've read enough BL manga to know that trope inside-out. Oh, we totally didn't make out, we totally didn't— "

You were speechless. As someone who was intimately familiar with web novel cliches, this was the first time you had been victimized by a fellow written media enthusiast.

Well, of course, it had been Arata. He knew you the best, you supposed.

"Let's go back to the topic at hand," you said with slight irritation. "Do you want me to pull up my whole file of Arata fanfiction? There's some where you brutally degrade the character."

"Ugh, no," Arata shuddered.

"Then watch your mouth."

"You watch yours. You do a lot of the sucking in fanfiction."

There was a peaceful silence and you continued typing. This time you had Jun in mind. Now you just had to pretend Jun was in love or something. That wasn't entirely impossible; you had once accomplished a Muzan fanfiction.

[ "I like you, Deleris. I don't want to have to repeat it." Despite his tone, Kyo's tone was soft, affectionate. There was a bright, shining look in his eyes. A loving one.

Deleris blinked| ]

"That's alright, I guess." Arata said grudgingly, "it's..."

"Forget I asked you for help," you finally said, tone exasperated. "Just go away. Plus..."

[ Daichi has added you into a group chat ]

"Plus, I think I'm about to receive my punishment," you sighed.

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Daichi has added [Name]