Round 1 2023: Quotes

[hwarium]

Status: Closed This round has closed. It remains open for fills, comments and remixes, but prompts are no longer accepted. Seventeen Holidays Round 1: Quotes About "Someone will remember us, I say, even in another time." "How inconvenient to be made of desire." "It's me, hi, I'm the problem its me." Calling all readers, lovers of poetry and music, screen and stage. Quote collecters and lyric hoarders, unleash your archive. For this round, every prompt must contain a quote - you can combine them, add commentary, link to articles, do whatever. Steal from a literary classic, or copy WeVerse drama. 🛑 HOLD UP If this is your first time on 17hols please check out our About Page which contains helpful information and links to pages explaining dreamwidth and HTML. We are a prompting fest where all the action happens in the comment section. Rules Sign up is not required. Fills have a minimum of 400 words for prose, haiku-length for poetry (3 lines), and 400px by 400px for art (memes are also art). Other mediums are fine too! There is no maximum cap. Tag and provide content warnings at your discretion, but a good guide are the Ao3 four (Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage) and this list of common CWs (cr: SportsFest). NSFW/Explicit content should be tagged NSFW art should not be visible, please provide a link and a warning. You may crop the artwork and embed a SFW preview. How it works Prompting Click on [Post a New Comment] at the bottom of this post; Change the subject; Copy+Paste the following HTML into your comment and edit the sections. Feel free to add as much detail as you want! Need ideas? Check out our 2021 and 2022 Quote rounds. <strong>Ship/Member:</strong> Any <strong>Major Tags:</strong> N/A <strong>Additional Tags:</strong> N/A <strong>Do Not Wants:</strong> None <strong>Prompt:</strong> <blockquote>[QUOTE GOES HERE] </blockquote> Filling Reply to the original prompt; You must change the subject to [FILL] - this is to help the mods track. Feel free to add a title Copy+Paste the following HTML into your comment, edit the sections, and add your text. You may also upload your fill to the AO3 Collection. <strong>Ship/Member:</strong> Any <strong>Major Tags:</strong> N/A <strong>Additional Tags:</strong> N/A <strong>Permission to remix:</strong> Yes/No/Please ask *** Remixing Post as a reply to the fill you are remixing, using the same HTML as above; Change the subject to [REMIX]. Art/media Upload your work to any platform (twitter, imgur, youtube, soundcloud, google maps, etc.) Using the same HTML code as above, copy the link into your fill or remix. That's it! Optionally, you can embed a picture into your comment. Please use the following code instead. (To explain, the HTML resizes your picture to 400x400px so that it fits on most screens. Users can view the full size if they click on it. You can also add a link to your work on twitter so that others can share it, or to any other website you want) <strong>Ship/Member:</strong> Any <strong>Major Tags:</strong> N/A <strong>Additional Tags:</strong> N/A <strong>Permission to remix:</strong> Yes/No/Please ask *** <img src="INSERT IMAGE URL" width="400px"> <a href="INSERT ANY URL YOU WANT">TEXT THAT DESCRIBES THE LINK</a> Note! On dreamwidth, you can't edit a comment once someone has replied to it. Navigation ABOUT FAQ CHAT BAITS ✧ FILLS ✧ < ROUND 1: QUOTES > ROUND 2: ALTERNATE UNIVERSES 2021 2022

Comments

Re: [FILL] red, gold, and circles

[corar]

ohhhhhh this was so delicious. the taunting. the hunger metaphors.

Re: [FILL] red, gold, and circles

[infrequencies]

i will be back to comment on this fully but . are you kidding me. jeonghan sharl (both october libras, a fact that haunts me) and cheol chili i feel like i was run over by a bus i feel like EYE dnfed on the final lap in monaco i feel crazy

edit: I'M BACK LEE CHAN RED BULL I AM BITING AT THE BIT.

“Out of pure obligation, he gives him a side hug. Doesn't miss the way Jeonghan's hand lingers on his waist through the layers, doesn't miss the way he grips it, tight, and lets go.”

this distinctly reminds me of a c2 image that i was deeply Unwell about for several days after i saw it and i am worse now.

the thing about these kinds of aus is that i am always fascinated by how the aggression on field - track in this case - translates into other spaces, and how jeongcheol competing for pole turns into a game of proximity. this is [shakes like a dog] yeah i’m normal about it

Re: [FILL] lovey dovey on me

[hwarium]

this was really cute to read and fun to imagine (especially how they are so enamoured that they both catch themselves by surprise with their earnesty) thank you for writing this anon!

immortality in a memory

[denimdreams]

Ship/Member: Seokmin/Minghao, Seokmin/Any
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: what lengths would you go to just to be remembered? will you leave behind scars or smiles? if going idolverse - is your image how you want to be immortalised? where do you draw the line between your real self and your idol image?
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

Who is the person you see when you look closer?
Who am I going to be when it's all over?

Sacrifice, but it's worth the price for a moment that lives on
Bury me in a melody to remember when I'm gone
Who is the person you see when you look closer, closer?

More than the face you see in the crowd
They know my name when they scream it loud
I don't need much, I just want it all
All I wanna be is unforgettable
(Unforgettable)

-Unforgettable, One Ok Rock

Re: [FILL] sunlit daze

[hwarium]

I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU SPENT YOUR CHRISTMAS MORNING WRITING 17HOLS!!!! I hope you're satisfied with yourself being the first fill for this round!! I hope your heart is filled with glee every time you click on the masterlist and see sunlit daze first off the rank!! klav!! I can't believe you hahahaha

thank you so much for filling this prompt! I love abdurraqib's poem ever since I first read it and you wrote it out in a way that made the feelings more tangible - like not just someone who you have a crush on and is out of reach in the way parasocial crushes are, but someone that was in front of you, who you've felt the potential of a maybe there could be more but then spun out of reach before you could grasp onto that opportunity. And ofc the wonhuiness of it all, you know I'm a jeongcheolist/gyuhaoist but 17hols brings out the wonwooisms ahhh. thank you for giving us this slice of (tragic) life. HUNGER GAMES AU IN 2022 HUH.

Re: [FILL] red, gold, and circles

[lightreframe]

allow me to add this accompanying article just for its title LMAOOOOOO

Re: FILL: in my arms

[(Anonymous)]

IM VIBRATING (EMOTIONAL) AND ALSO mindblown. the details of their relationship which you put in banter is so endearing... truly the craziness of 'rest well my love' from yesterday just permeated throughout this piece.... the feeling of it all. i adore this so much. thank you for writing <3

[FILL] at your altar

[moonlitmelodiesfic]

Ship/Member: Jeonghan/Mingyu
Major Tags: only slightly implied mcd, it’s open-ended (i think).
Additional Tags: mythology references, magical elements, witch/hunter dynamic, magical manipulation?, unreliable narrator?, unbalanced power dynamics, (slightly dogboy mingyu? if you think along the lines of pavlov’s dogs lol), open/ambiguous?
Permission to remix: Yes
a/n: some gyuhan for ally! this took a life of its own; idk how much sense it makes, but i hope you enjoy! any mistakes are my own and i apologize. wc 1388.

***

This story could have begun one of two ways: the hunter finds the prey, or the hunter becomes the prey.

Mingyu does not care about either of those. For him, the story began when he first saw Jeonghan, standing waist-deep in the river, the current parting around his waist like a billowing skirt. His blond hair sweeps around the globes of his shoulders. Mingyu is rooted, unable to move.

Jeonghan — no, the man. At this point, Mingyu does not yet know his name. He soon will, though, and it will be the only name his mouth will ever worship.

The man turns around. His eyes are green, like the forest around them, like wilderness. In the hollow of his throat rests a crescent moon. Silver bows and arrows drip from his earlobes. When he smiles, Mingyu feels weightless.

“Kim Mingyu,” the man says, voice lilting. “Welcome.”

Dumbly, Mingyu nods. He still can’t move. The man smiles wider, and starts walking up the banks of the river. Instinctively, Mingyu squeezes his eyes shut. The man chuckles.

“Oh darling,” a voice murmurs over his shoulder. Mingyu jumps, eyes flying open. The man comes into view from behind his right shoulder. “You needn’t worry about that.”

He smiles again, indulgent, as though he were looking at a particularly cute child. Secrets shine from his eyes. Mingyu wants to know every single one of them. The man’s eyes warm, as though he knows.

“Come,” the man says, voice like velvet. His hair grazes Mingyu’s cheek as he sweeps by, fully dressed this time. “Aren’t you curious to know more?”

Finally unfrozen, Mingyu scrambles after him. Farther away on the banks of the river, tucked between two large oak trees, is a wooden hut Mingyu hadn’t noticed before. The man walks up the porch and pushes open the door.

“Welcome,” he says again, cryptically, “to your new home.”

Maybe Mingyu should be afraid, but he only follows, unthinkingly, like a compass arrow faithfully following north.

-

Mingyu learns that the man’s name is Jeonghan, and that he’s a witch. He scoffs in response. Something about this blatantly outlandish claim makes him feel more at ease.

“Oh please,” he snickers, sauntering around the space, taking in the jars on the shelves, the mortar and pestle, the wooden table and benches. “Witches don’t exist, do they? What else have you got? A cauldron?

“I’m telling you,” he says, lifting a finger sagely, “I’ve been hunting in this forest my whole life, and I’ve never seen a witch, so—”

He spins around. Jeonghan is a hairbreadth’s distance away from his face. He jerks in shock, takes a step back. Jeonghan’s mouth tilts up.

“Oh really,” Jeonghan says. There’s something taunting in his voice. “Watch, then.”

A flick of his wrist, and a thin knife materializes between his long fingers. Mingyu’s eyes widen, fixed on the thin blade. Jeonghan looks smug. The expression is horridly elegant on his face.

In an effort to calm himself, Mingyu laughs through his nose. “Sleight of hand,” he dismisses, walking around the table, attempting nonchalance, sliding onto a wooden bench. “Anybody who practices enough could do that. You had it up your sleeve, didn’t you?”

Jeonghan smiles. His teeth gleam, catching on the sunlight through the window panes. There’s a sliver of danger in it. Between one blink and the next, he vanishes, and Mingyu feels the silver kiss of a blade at his throat.

“Oh really,” he says again, behind Mingyu this time. There’s laughter in his voice. “Do you want to see what else I’ve got up my sleeve then?”

Mingyu goes rigidly, sudden adrenaline coursing through his veins. Jeonghan’s face becomes visible in his periphery. He’s smiling still, horrifically beautiful. His hair is golden in the sunlight.

“Ignorance is not always bliss, my darling,” Jeonghan whispers, and the blade digs in harder. Mingyu flinches involuntarily, eyes squeezed shut. Jeonghan laughs softly, breath tickling Mingyu’s cheek. “I could do so much to you, and no one would know, hm?”

Mingyu trembles. His breath quivers between his lips. The blade breaks skin. Mingyu feels the sting like a shock of lightning, his eyes flying open. Blood trickles down his neck, hot and thick. Jeonghan’s eyes flick down.

“Would you?” Mingyu rasps, voice hoarse. All of his earlier bravado has morphed into something else, something that burns low in his gut. Interest and surprise flicker in Jeonghan’s eyes.

“Fascinating,” Jeonghan says, lifting the knife from Mingyu’s neck. “I’ve never met one that submits so easily.” He flicks the blade to the side, and reaches a finger to collect the blood from Mingyu’s neck. The red gleams like a ruby shard on his finger. Whatever he sees in Mingyu’s blood, it makes Jeonghan smile.

“I think I might keep you.” With that, Jeonghan’s knees hit the floor. A warm cloth materializes, and he cleans the cut he just made with dizzying tenderness. Mingyu doesn’t know what he’s supposed to think.

“Don’t,” Jeonghan murmurs, standing up, a finger trailing Mingyu’s jaw. “Don’t think.”

Mingyu flinches, eyes finding Jeonghan’s. Violation, he thinks. Jeonghan laughs.

“Darling, you’ve already given yourself to me,” he says, delighted. “Every part of you is mine. There is no violation.”

“Sleep.”

Mingyu does.

-

Kim Mingyu wakes up in love with Yoon Jeonghan.

He’s in a bed, quilt embroidered with flowers thrown over his figure. There’s sunlight through a window above the bedside table to his left. He feels pleasantly drowsy.

“You’re awake,” a voice says to his right. Mingyu rolls over and comes face to face with Jeonghan, who smiles at him warmly. Mingyu melts against him. This is right, he thinks. This is where I should be. This is home.

“That’s right.” Jeonghan’s voice is soothing. His smile is as bright as the morning sun. His eyes are emerald shards. “You love me.”

“I love you.” Jeonghan’s hand curls around his nape and squeezes. Mingyu goes boneless and weightless, like he’s on the moon. Over the moon.

Lips kiss his forehead. Mingyu’s eyes sliver open to see the crescent moon charm, dangling from the altar of Jeonghan’s throat, swaying in front of his face. Jeonghan’s voice is lilting when he says: “I love you too.”

-

Mingyu gets to love him for another year. During it, he does work around the house for Jeonghan, prepping ingredients, mixing oils, foraging plants, occasionally hunting game. Each time he does well, Jeonghan will award him with a kiss, and then he’ll walk away, never to linger, and Mingyu will follow, an arrow pointing loyally north, until he’s given a new set of instructions, and a new kiss to be earned.

Sometimes Jeonghan lets him try one of his mixtures, fragrant and fresh. They always make something bloom in his chest.

“How do you feel?” Jeonghan will ask, pushing back his hair, something like fondness in his gaze.

“Like I love you,” Mingyu will reply, semi-automatically, because that gets him the beaming smile and the kiss, and nothing else pleases him more.

“My best guinea pig,” Jeonghan will chuckle, and Mingyu will laugh with him. Anything Jeonghan finds funny, so does he.

-

The year goes by like that. One day, Jeonghan sits him down after giving him a dose of a mixture he’d been working on.

“Mingyu-yah,” he says, hands cupping Mingyu’s face, “how much do you love me?”

“To the moon and back,” Mingyu answers automatically, waiting for the kiss that’s supposed to follow.

The kiss doesn’t follow. Instead, Jeonghan’s thumb brushes over his lips gently, like he’s something precious. His eyes are soft.

“Would you die for me?” Jeonghan asks, his face open, the moon dripping from his throat. His bow and arrow earrings swing gently, glinting in the waning afternoon sun.

“Of course,” Mingyu replies, confused, still waiting for the kiss. “I’d do anything.”

“Excellent,” Jeonghan says. “Wonderful, Mingyu-yah.”

He finally kisses Mingyu, roughly, passionately. Mingyu burns in it.

Jeonghan’s hands slide down the column of his neck, trace around his adam’s apple. His thumbs dig in lightly.

When he pulls back, his lips are blood red and bruised. He’s grinning. Mingyu feels dizzy at the sight.

“Thank you,” Jeonghan whispers, hands tightening. “Sleep.”

Mingyu sleeps.


This story may begin two ways, but it can only end in one: the hunter becomes the prey. After all, the goddess Artemis takes them all.

Re: [FILL]hopeful or hopeless

[poppyseedheart]

YEAHHHH!!!!! "Like he’d been happy to see Seungcheol. Like it had been a funny coincidence." what is about 95s in general that make fucked up breakups where they're on different pages so COMPELLING a question we can try to answer but never truly find the root of. iconic of you to write this thank you for sharing <333333

Re: [FILL] Who's the real you?

[poppyseedheart]

"You start to piece together a timeline off of nothing but who can meet your eyes" okay shut up that line is SO good. I love this second person pov I love how visceral and gritty the focus on the body is when paired with the unreality, it's this iconic mishmash of grounded and totally dissociated and it works here soooo well.

"It opens inside you like a fist." this line roundhouse kicked me and then I got bonus kicked by the fact that it's idolverse. good god!!! jeonghan making pity feel like a kindness. op i cannot express to you how much this is making me lose my gourd. sorry im like live-commenting as i read lol. "Finally, finally the lights come up, and you have reached the only part of your day where you know exactly what to do." urghhhhhh YEAH!! idolisms!! the relief of doing exactly what you're supposed to. you can't fuck up fondgazing at a crowd (or— you can, but at least you know how not to). and the last paragraph is so PRETTY after all the ugly of the second paragraph... op your MIND... thank you so much for writing this i'm obsessed!!!

Re: [FILL] Undone

[poppyseedheart]

thank you so much! i've done some SPOILERS here lol so if you go on to read it please forget about this fill <333 truly it's a wild ride and was one of my very fave reads of the year if not my fave!!

Re: [FILL] Undone

[poppyseedheart]

thank you ninaaaa <333

Re: [FILL] Undone

[poppyseedheart]

thank you so much klav!! yes the locked tomb series is imo a total banger. i liked the third book less than a lot of people i think bc i'm crotchety about pacing but the first two remain glittering five star reads for me and i'd totally rec!! a lot of the vibes were just me trying to do what muir did in those books (but doing it worse bc i was like panic typing on my phone before my family dragged me away lsdfjds)

Re: [FILL]hopeful or hopeless

[bamboozled]

the constant fear of running into someone who rly fucked u up!!!!! thank u for reading and ur comment <3

Re: [FILL]hopeful or hopeless

[bamboozled]

like seungcheol, desperately in love, joshua, like definitely enjoying himself!


(sorry to joshy whomst i love)

thanks for prompting! glad u liked! <3

love-all

[madeoutcreek]

Ship/Member: Any
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: winning and losing, the sport is a metaphor for something else etc etc
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

A day with you is a match point
With this tension, I can't move my body
I'm hiding my heart from you

This feeling makes me crazy
I don't know if I'm swinging for nothing

- ITZY, TENNIS (0:0)

You want to hit to where your opponent isn’t, but in order to make a space where they are not, you sometimes have to hit to where they are. You are trying to outmaneuver them. But because he and Cole know each other’s game so well, the maneuvering is always in minor gains, little turns in momentum. A winner here, an error there, an ace, a return winner.

- Brandon Taylor, Real Life

If you would just make one mistake
What a relief that would be

So I'll be the loser in this game
I'll be the bad guy in the play
I'll be the water main that's burst and flooding
You'll be by the window, only watchin'

- Mitski, The Only Heartbreaker

You knew the password so I let you in the door
You knew you won so what's the point of keeping score?

- Taylor Swift, Hoax

[FILL]

[st8rgazer]

Ship/Member: Junhui/Wonwoo
Major Tags: Main Character Death (they're already dead)
Additional Tags: Tomorrow (k-drama) AU, afterlife, edge of consciousness, brief mentions of reincarnation/life after death, the in-between
Permission to remix: pls ask!!

For some context: This is inspired by the 2022 k-drama ‘Tomorrow’ and takes place in that universe. Wonwoo is a grim reaper. Jumadeung is their version of the in-between (neither heaven nor hell) where all sorts of grim reapers work. i did take some creative liberties with the little details of the world though!

to the prompter: thank u so much for this prompt, i loved this quote a lot
***
Even in death, Junhui is beautiful.

Wonwoo doesn’t remember now, but later, when Junhui pushes and prods him enough for it to bother him, he will sit in the armchair and look at his past life, and this will be his first thought.

/

Junhui’s arrival in Jumadeung wreaks havoc. He is adamant on not passing into the afterlife, insists on giving up his chance of reincarnation because he has unfinished business. The director invites Wonwoo to her garden, a week after Junhui arrives.

She asks, “What shall we do with that boy, Wonwoo-yah?”

The director is nursing a warm cup of tea in her arms. When Wonwoo takes a step closer, she places it down on her saucer.

Wonwoo folds his arms in front of him and bows his head politely, “I’m not sure why you would ask me this, ma’am.”

The director smiles at him placatingly as if he were a child.

“Wonwoo-yah,” she beckons for him to take a seat across from her. He steps closer, and perches on the chair across her. She looks younger, nestled amongst the flowers in her garden.

“Was it easy to become a grim reaper?”

Wonwoo turns over her question in his mind. The director is patient as she waits for his response. It’s been years, almost forty, since he died. Being a grim reaper is not easy, it is a sacrifice. It’s giving up any chance at living or dying ever again.

Wonwoo has no idea why he’d chosen to become a grim reaper.

“It was not easy to become a grim reaper, ma’am,” Wonwoo responds finally, “I’m still new, and I’m still getting used to it.”

The director picks up her cup of tea, swirls the liquid in the cup before she takes a sip, “What was so hard about it?”

Wonwoo doesn't have to think hard about this one, “The exam was hard, ma’am.”

The director laughs, big and hearty as if Wonwoo has cracked the funniest joke in the world. Jumadeung seems to shake with the force of her laugh. It takes her a moment to settle down, and she takes another sip of her tea.

“Why do you think souls choose to become grim reapers?”

Wonwoo knows this — it came out on the exam.

“Because they would rather forget.”

/

Junhui finds him wherever Wonwoo goes (hides). It is an eerie ability that Junhui should not have, especially after only being dead for two weeks. Wonwoo is on his way to the hospital to collect a soul when Junhui materialises beside him, seemingly out of nowhere. Wonwoo doesn’t regard him, but Junhui follows along.

He walks one step behind Wonwoo, a little to his left so Wonwoo can always see him in his periphery. He pushes and prods at Wonwoo’s buttons like nobody’s business, mischievous smile always in place.

(He has done nothing to get in the way of Wonwoo’s work, he is only curious and has apparently taken a liking to Wonwoo.)


Perhaps Wonwoo should have seen his talk with the director of Jumadeung as a sign.

Junhui knows Wonwoo.

Not in the way lost souls and grim reapers know Wonwoo has one of the youngest grim reapers in Jumadaung, as the fastest soul to have sat and passed the exam.

Junhui had known Wonwoo when they were alive.

/

They are on the rooftop of Seoul General Hospital, waiting for a soul to pass. Junhui is leaning back into the wall fast asleep. Wonwoo checks his watch, his soul is about to die in a few minutes.

Without looking, Wonwoo feels Junhui shift beside him. They are both dead souls, but Wonwoo thinks he feels the warm press of Junhui’s shoulder against his. It’s quiet at first, so much so that Wonwoo doesn’t hear it.

And then, Junhui shifts closer, moans out a torturous, “Wonwoo-hyung–”

Wonwoo’s head snaps towards Junhui, but Junhui is already awake. Guilty eyes meet Wonwoo’s and before he can say anything, his watch signals — his soul has died.

When Wonwoo comes back, Junhui is gone.

It wasn’t noticeable at first, how much of Wonwoo’s time recently was spent keeping an eye open for Junhui’s presence. But now, when he isn’t on his left anymore, it’s harrowingly empty.

The first time it hits Wonwoo, he is at the site of a car accident and he turns to see the expression on Junhui’s face. Junhui’s eyes have always been open and

Junhui stops seeking Wonwoo out. He doesn’t notice it at first, but when Wonwoo visits an accident site to pick up a soul, he looks over his shoulders to see the expression on Junhui’s face and doesn’t find Junhui there.

When he returns to Jumadeung, Junhui is nowhere to be found either. Wonwoo tries not to let it bother him, but after his shifts end and the nights stretch into the mornings’ shadows, he thinks back to the rooftop. Junhui’s gentle presence as they waited, his torturous voice as he called out Wonwoo’s own name.

/

Wonwoo is not the type of person to rush into a decision — he knows this. A soul does not choose to become a grim reaper on a whim, especially not a soul like Wonwoo. Wonwoo has heard there are two reasons a soul chooses to become a reaper.

The first, cuter, reason is so that new reapers can welcome new souls — people who want to walk the same path as them, and breathe new life into them.

The second, more honest reason is because many souls who have chosen to become reapers have nothing to exist for. As a reaper, you can choose to erase the memories you have of your past life, and Wonwoo had. Being a reaper and choosing to exist in between the planes of existence is choosing to give up your chance at reincarnation.

Wonwoo finds himself seeking out the director of Jumadeung, but she finds him first.

They are in her garden again, and it feels like they’ve come full circle in the past month.

Wonwoo folds his arms in front of him, bowing politely before he slips into the chair in front of her. She beams at him, a glint in her eyes as if she knows a secret.

“Do you know where Junhui is?” Wonwoo asks cautiously.

Wonwoo is about to watch his past life, so he can understand why. Why Junhui has slipped out of his grasp, before he even had a hold on him. Why does Junhui stand a little to his left, always by his side? Why is Junhui a warm presence in his periphery?

/

Fates are a precarious thing.

Wonwoo feels him before he sees him.

“I heard you took a look at your life,” Junhui says from behind him.

They are in the director’s garden, there is a light breeze blowing through the flowers, carrying their scent over to him. There are no seasons in Jumadeung but it feels like summer, warm and tender, in full bloom.

When Wonwoo turns around, he thinks oh, how pretty. He smiles a little. Junhui’s eyes are cautious, but there’s a glint in his eyes that looks a lot like hope and a nervous smile playing at his lips.

“Our life, you mean?”

\

schadenfreude

[madeoutcreek]

Ship/Member: Wonwoo/Any
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: really bad breakup + water sign angst
Do Not Wants: no physical violence! just emotional turmoil

Prompt:

So wear me like a locket around your throat
I'll weigh you down, I'll watch you choke
You look so good in blue, you look so good in blue

- Fall Out Boy, Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner

I hope you find it hard to breathe

More than the tears I cried

More than the tears I cried

More than the tears I cried

- Wonwoo, Lies

^__^

[madeoutcreek]

Ship/Member: 8jun
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: N/A
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

I love you because you are not mine, because you are from the other side, from there where you invite me to jump and I cannot make the jump, because in the deepest moment of possession you are not in me, I cannot reach you, I cannot get beyond your body...

- Julio Cortázar, Hopscotch

friends like that

[madeoutcreek]

Ship/Member: Any
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: platonic love
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

at the function, i feel myself splitting into too many rooms of static
you touch my hand & there i am

you love me despite the history of my hands, their
mangled confession

o the horrid friends who were just ships harboring me to you

- Danez Smith, acknowledgments

All that no one sees
You see what's inside of me
Every nerve that hurts
You heal deep inside of me
You don't have to speak

And you push me up to
This state of emergency
How beautiful to be

- Björk, Jóga

Re: [FILL] at your altar

[arundels]

GYUHAN FOR MEEEEE???? okay!!! OKAY!! WHERE DO I BEGIN WITH THIS PIECE... first of all the mythology allusions are stunning and the way you draw it out, drop hints, and then casually slip the reveal in at the end... SHIVERS. it's so good and haunting and has that eerie feeling of myth, not knowing what's real and what's been smoothed over by repeated tellings. and using that to draw out everything that is gorgeous and horrible about gyuhan, mingyu's obsession and WORSHIP, jeonghan's sweetly doled out affection that is callous in the impact it has - so much like the relationship between god and mortal in the greek myths auughghghg

and your prose!! I could scream about every line but some that truly gave me goosebumps:

- At this point, Mingyu does not yet know his name. He soon will, though, and it will be the only name his mouth will ever worship.
HELLO??!?!?!?!? OH MY GOD

- When he smiles, Mingyu feels weightless.
HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO ME

- He’s smiling still, horrifically beautiful.
HORRIFICALLY BEAUTIFUL THAT'S SOOOO GOOOOOD

- Kim Mingyu wakes up in love with Yoon Jeonghan.
full. body. shiver.

- Mingyu’s eyes sliver open to see the crescent moon charm, dangling from the altar of Jeonghan’s throat, swaying in front of his face.
This moment is so evocative and cinematic I can SEE it, I can see the crescent moon charm, and also "altar of Jeonghan's throat" are you INSANE how can you just say WORDS LIKE THESE

and then the last line, circling back to the opening...... LITERALLY I HAVE GOOSEBUMPS this is beautiful thank you for this gift!!!!!!

Re: [FILL] Who's the real you?

[(Anonymous)]

eek. i’m so glad you enjoyed it. this is the first thing i’ve ever written in this fandom. i read your quote and then i opened notes and went into a light trance and this is what came out. so thank you!

Re: [FILL] red, gold, and circles

[lightreframe]

thank you <3 that was the basic idea...

[FILL] your missed option

[(Anonymous)]

Ship: Soonyoung/Minghao
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: artistic gymnastics au
Permission to remix: Yes

***

Soonyoung heads to the chalk bowl, but it’s only an excuse.

Even as he preps his hands he can see the still rings in his periphery, and Minghao on them.

He’s working on connecting his Deltchev into an inverted cross. Soonyoung’s heart nearly breaks at how perfect his lines are, even from what little he can see. Soonyoung is stronger, can probably do the connection in two attempts, but what good is that against picture-perfection?

Minghao holds his cross. Lean effortlessness that would make any judge swoon.

*

It’s a stupid rule, really.

Two-per-country. Soonyoung still remembers Xu Minghao’s stunning score in last year’s All-Around qualifying, but also his crestfallen face as two others on the Chinese national team outscored him. Eliminated even with the fourth highest score.

Enter the following year: Seo Myung-ho, South Korean national athlete.

*

“That’s it, Myungho-yah! That’s it!”

Their coach is ecstatic, clapping as he steps up to hug Minghao, patting him on the back. Minghao had just managed to land, for the first time, a Shewfell on vault.

Soonyoung has to bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself from laughing. He’d been doing a Shewfell for years.

This is where he and Minghao differ: Minghao’s execution relies on the angle of his legs, the neatness of the lines of his arms. Like anyone who trained in the Chinese program he would beat everyone in the Korean team on parallel bars even with his eyes closed.

Soonyoung relies on his power, his explosiveness, the heights of his jumps and releases. He has the more difficult vault, the more difficult high bar routine, the riskier sequences on floor. He looks sloppier—a bent knee here, a crossed ankle there—but his power more than makes up for it.

Who wins, then?

*

Soonyoung is taken out of his rhythm by a barely-there gasp.

“That’s a Kovacs,” Minghao says.

Soonyoung is thankful he’d finished the skill and caught the bar before his attention was lodged off-center. Lets his momentum run out, swinging back-and-forth until he can let go safely. He laughs and says, “Barely.”

“That’s insane,” Minghao continues, still awed. “Will you be doing one at Worlds this year?”

“Oh, god, no,” Soonyoung replies, heading back to the bowl. “I’d fall flat on my face.”

He readjusts his grips, reapplies chalk on them. Minghao hasn’t said anything since, the silence slow, unnerving.

Soonyoung counts his breaths and heads back to the bar.

“Do you want me to spot you?”

Soonyoung spins on his heel, looking at him. Minghao always looks so unguarded, his palm always up in offering, as if dreams have never crumbled in the heart of it.

“Sure,” Soonyoung manages.

Soonyoung raises his arms and feels Minghao put his hands on his waist. Hears him whisper dul, set before lifting him.

Repetition after repetition. Minghao learning Soonyoung’s body. Minghao making split-second judgments, nearly all of them accurate, on whether Soonyoung would catch the bar or not, whether Soonyoung would hit his feet on it or not. Soonyoung realising just exactly how precision is drilled into the Chinese gymnasts, source of their strength.

It feels like choreography. Soon enough, Soonyoung’s arms are burning, but he’s catching the bar with less trouble than before.

*

The national championships are a formality more than anything.

Soonyoung remembers when he was the favourite. When most of the cameras were at his rotation, when all eyes were on him at every event. Now, the gazes are split.

Minghao is outrageous. The gap between him and everyone else has never been clearer. Barely a mistake anywhere, neatness that almost looks robotic.

When all is said and done Minghao is on top of the podium. Soonyoung, to his right, looking at the dull silver disc resting against his stomach.

*

There’s a small park near the apartment Soonyoung’s family used to live in.

The same faded yellow monkey bars from his childhood are still there. His starting point.

Soonyoung tests them out, seeing if they can bear his weight. When he’s confident they can, he pulls himself up onto a handstand, gripping either side of the bars.

I’ve come so far, he thinks, looking at how high up he is from the ground. I can go even further.

*

They’re both headed to Worlds this year, just the two of them.

They step out of the Korean Gymnastics Federation’s office at the same time. Minghao is uncharacteristically quiet, sullen; his head down, hands in the pocket of his jacket.

At the exit, he whispers, “I’ve never had to carry this before.”

Soonyoung is about to ask what he means until he follows Minghao’s line of sight.

The Korean flag, six meters above them, waving in the wind.

Soonyoung doesn’t know how to feel about understanding it all, with so little said. Minghao has never had to be the best in the country until now. Minghao has never had to feel how unbearable the hope of a nation is.

Soonyoung knows what it’s like. The guilt that crawls up his neck when he steps on an airplane back home with not a single piece of hardware to show for it.

What more for Seo Myungho, the promised saviour?

“I never even know what to say to the cameras. I forget all my Korean,” Minghao adds, half-smile drawn on his face. “Just, ‘I worked hard,’ and, ‘Thank you for your support.’ And they’re supposed to trust me?”

Soonyoung scoffs at that, looking at the clear nervousness on his face.

“You’re getting ahead of yourself,” he says. “There’s two of us going, remember?”

The glory halved, he thinks, but the weight, too.

The realisation blooms slowly on Minghao’s face. He nods.

“There’s two of us,” he whispers back, looking straight at Soonyoung.

*

“By the way,” Minghao says, later when they’re back at the gym, “I’m gonna do a Kovacs next year.”

Soonyoung grins. “I’d like to see you try.”

[(Anonymous)]

OH MY GOD THIS IS EVERYTHING