First time penning the ExT fandom? Follow the recipe then ^^.

INGREDIENTS:

Daidouji Tomoyo

She is rich, sweet, kind, lovely, smart, understanding, compassionate, and sensitive. That is, in addition to her being a filial daughter, a self-sacrificing best friend, a wonderful singer, an awesome fashion designer, a great cook, and the list can go on and on, but Daidouji Tomoyo will never run out of special talents. She is, after all, DAIDOUJI TOMOYO. n_n

Hiiragizawa Eriol

He is RICH, sweet, kind, lovely—er, handsome, SMART, understanding, compassionate, and S-E-N-S-I-T-I-V-E. That is, in addition to him being an enigmatic and all-knowing mage, an annoying pest, a man that never runs out of poetic descriptions for women, a master pianist, a skilled artist, a man with THE fashion sense, a GREAT cook, and the list can go on and on, but Hiiragizawa Eriol will NEVER run out of special talents. He is, after all, a reincarnation of Clow Reed.

Mizuki Kaho

She is a bitch.

OK, now that I have released my initial objectivity, let's continue.

She is sophisticated, mature, and okaaaaay, she has a GREAT body proportion (but that would be immaterial, since 80% of fics will have her die of leukemia, be run over by a runaway ten-wheeler dump truck, get smashed by Titanic, get crashed on by a military plane, get trampled on by stampeding buffaloes, AND get hit by a Mars mission rover from the sky).

Or worse, she would just appear in the fic as a ghost. Yes folks, a ghost that looms malevolently in Hiiragizawa Eriol's cardiovascular organ that would prevent him from falling in love again.

***

(Optional)

Kinomoto Sakura

She is a chirper, always cheering up her second cousin, telling her that everything will be fine when she has NO idea what everything is for Tomoyo. She can serve as a Kaho Mizuki in Tomoyo's life too. That she is secretly in love with Saku-chan, but the cherryblossom doesn't know.

Or Tomoyo can be envious of her. (Who wouldn't when a girl got a Li Syaoran kissing the ground she walks on?) That can prompt Tomoyo to start a sappy unnecessary-but-it's-in-the-script headache for herself, namely, LOVE.

Li Syaoran

He is cool, calm, and sensible…except when dealing with his girlfriend. Anyway, he can add a twist to the recipe by being the object of Tomoyo's admiration.

Or he can be the platonic pal of Tomoyo-chan that will listen to her pains with her Eriol-kun, and be the one to punch the Londoner right in the nose afterwards.

Daidouji Sonomi

The tough mother of our leading lady. She can easily deliver hell to Eriol dear the way she does with Fuji baby.

Or she can be a mother figure to Tomoyo when the latter is drowning in her miserable swirl of thoughts in love.

Kinomoto Touya

Quiet, calm, and SPANKINGLY HANDSOME. He could be Kaho's love interest, Tomoyo's love interest, or he could take Li's role. If he bridges on to become Eriol's love interest is what we shall anticipate, folks.

OC (Original Characters)

Make an imaginary character that can make each one jealous of the other.

And that's it.

RECIPE 1 = Tomodachi-Koibito transition

Procedure:

Eriol Hiiragizawa and Daidouji Tomoyo had been best friends since forever…as in since fifth grade in Tomoeda Elementary. They already know each other inside and out…

"Hiiragizawa-kun, you look pale! Have you been reading the fifth revised version of The Psyche of Humanity Expounded Into the Simulated Reality for Mass Media under your sheets again?" asked Tomoyo, her violet eyes voicing out her concern.

He grinned sheepishly. "How did you know?"

"Well, I can see your bangs are sticking out northeastwards. Usually, they point southwestwards." She sighed. "And you were reading the book NAKED, weren't you?"

"How did you know, Daidouji-san?"

"It's in the way you walk."

"Ah, I give up. You really DO know me, Daidouji-san, and you have a queer way of doing so." He stood by the lockers. "Anyway, I'll—"

"—see you after lunch. I know, I know!" She smiled playfully. "We'll meet—"

"—at the top of the church roof. Right!" he finished. "I was wondering—"

"—what we should eat?" she asked. "How about—"

"—salad and pop soda?" he said, grinning.

She grinned back. "RIGHT."

But a wall stands between them. Ah, but what could be so vicious to hinder the two young hearts from uniting?

As Tomoyo placed the picnic blanket on the ground, she remembered once more the text message she received from her best friend.

I hav mergncy d8 wit Kaho. Cnt mke it der.

Of course, Mizuki Kaho. Since fifth grade, she knew already how special that woman was in her best friend's life. But really now, how could she compete with someone as beautiful and intelligent and classy as her?

She just had to live with the fact that at least, Eriol was giving her a fraction of his attention. That should be enough. That should make her happy.

But why couldn't her heart be convinced?

Ah, unrequited love was the sweetest hell on earth, especially if it was with someone forbidden…like your best friend.

Now, Tomoyo here, self-sacrificing as we knew she was, endured being the second-best in his life for many chapters until finally, she meets a guy that would give her the attention she oh-so-desperately wants. She spends less time with Eriol-kun, which of course, would strangely hurt him. And suddenly, he would find himself competing for her attention THIS time.

A confrontation will follow…

"I hate the thought of you going out with that guy!" yelled Eriol as he dragged Tomoyo out of the restaurant.

She defiantly lifted her chin. "You are making a scene here, Hiiragizawa Eriol. Let me go!"

"No!"

"Yes!"
"No!"

"Yes!"

"NO!"

"NO!"

"Yes--" He stopped when he saw the delighted twinkle in her eyes. "Damn it, it's not funny!"

"Look, I'm just giving the author a reason to categorize this fic under Romance/Humor." She crossed her arms. "Anyway, this is not like you at all. You know better than to barge into an elegant, members-only fine-dining restaurant wearing pajamas and demand that you will take your sister home because it is past her curfew." She rolled her eyes. "I think you need a doctor. SERIOUSLY."

"You're saying that I am insane?"

"No, I'm saying that you're one VERY sick bastard." She placed her hands on her mouth. "Oops. I'm not supposed to say that. I'm not following my character."

He sighed. "Daidouji Tomoyo, I want to MUTILATE you right now." He leaned on his car, playing with his car keys. "You make me do things that I don't normally do."

"Huh?"

"I mean, I never get out of the house unless I'm wearing an ironed starch long-sleeved shirt and slacks."

"True. But the teletubbies design of your PJ is cute."

"You think so?"

"Uh-huh."

"But that's not the point." He leaned on the door. "Promise me you won't go out without asking me first."

Hey, I let you go out with Mizuki-sensei without my permission," she protested.

"It's different. I know her, and she knows me. You on the other hand….you barely know that guy. What if he--"

She groaned. "Hiiragizawa-kun, I know you're concerned, and I thank you for that. But I think it's time to draw the line between us." She looked down. "We're the best of friends, but that doesn't mean you can meddle with my love life." She shook her head. "I'm sorry."

"Not as sorry as I am." He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "You know I'm only doing this because…"

"You care. I know. I know that, Hiiragizawa-kun," she said lamely. She then saw her date coming out of the restaurant. She turned to him, smiling tentatively. "I better go. Bye." She tiptoed to give him a friendly kiss.

But to her shock, his arms wrapped around her tiny waist and gathered her towards him. He bent down and kissed her deeply, sending all of her shivering and trembling at the same time. As his lips seared deeper, she felt herself losing her wits, her rationale, her everything.

He abruptly let go of her. "He's gone."

She blinked.

"Sorry I had to do that. I had to send a message to your lover boy." He turned his back on her. "I'll drive you home."

She felt her insides turn cold. In that single moment, she surrendered to him her everything…

…but her everything to him meant nothing. Nothing.

She felt tears well up her eyes. "I love you, and I'm paying hell for it. I'm so sorry…" she whispered.

She saw him stiffen.

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

RECIPE 2 = neko-inu kind of thing

We get to see a different kind of Tomoyo here. In this episode, she fights. She is a tigress! Roar!

Eriol, on the other hand, is a fountain of smart-alecky statements.

And the chapters will stand witness to their endless bouts of verbal joust and wit exchange. We marvel on dialogues after dialogues that were often just got quoted from somewhere else.

Procedure:

"Why can't you just simply cease to exist?" asked Tomoyo as she walked out of the classroom.

"You still hate me, huh?" he asked, his facial expression not anywhere close to the face of a repentant.

"Who wouldn't? You just made fun of my poetry!" she said through gritted teeth.

"Those were literary criticisms. I thought you would take it more like an adult and consider them—"

"Are you saying I do NOT act like an adult? Is that it?" she yelled, whirling around to face him.

"In not so many words."

"Go to hell, Hiiragizawa-kun!"

"Been there and back."

But then a situation would lead to both of them having a truce…

"Do you promise to find my Mom's poodle?" she asked, doubt still in her eyes.

"Sure. We'll do it together."

"If not only for your special powers, you would be the LAST person I would run to!"

"Well, thank God for my special powers then. And like they always say, we save the best for last."

"Ugh. Dream on!"

Inevitably, they fall for each other along the way, but they are too scared to let each other know. Until the fateful confrontation happens…

"Argh! Go to hell, Hiiragizawa-kun!"

This made him smile. "I just noticed…you keep on calling me by my last name. Are you that excited to join your name with mine?"

"W-What?"

"Tomoyo D. Hiiragizawa. That sounds lovely."

She felt her face turn red. "I HATE YOU!"

He laughed quietly. "As I love you."

"How could you joke about something like that, you shameless brute!"

 "Who said something about joke?" he asked challengingly. "Daidouji Tomoyo, soon your name and mine will be the same." He grinned. "By the way, I love your latest endearment for me. Shameless brute. I'll add that to my ever-growing database."

And for the first time in her life, she found nothing to retort to him.

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

Basically, that is how I box my ExT fics. At this point, I know that you already understand that this was a criticism of my own work. ^^;;  With this ficlet, I want to help other writers to see that well, we are slowly, painfully going to Stereotype Mode. I know that there can only be enough plots for the hundreds of writers for this fandom, but we must always be on watch for the originality of our plots so we can keep the E+T readers and fans happy and interested and yummified (satisfied and full^^)

I hope the rest of the E+T writers will continue to write original, fresh, fun and creative love stories. After all, aside from the fans, the real strings pulling and binding E+T, when we get right down to it, is the fanfiction world.

 ====

Post talk: My 101st fic – the E+T long oneshot one—, as well as my update for What I Want will be out within this week. So kyte-chan and the readers who want to slap me silly for being too slow on updates, please bear with me ^^