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

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[jwinki]

Ship/Member: GYUHAO
Major Tags: BREAKUP MAKEUP
Additional Tags: N/A
Do Not Wants: MCD BLEASE

Prompt:

When you left, I still need to unpack it
Let's save "sorry" for another night
'Cause this time, love, we're gonna get it right

— The Loneliest Time by Carly Rae Jepsen

take a chance with me

[stickystickysticky]

Ship/Member: Minghao/Any, Soonwoo, Gyuhan
Major Tags: Pining, Yearning, Friends to Lovers, Seemingly Unrequited (it's 100% not unrequited), College au or Teens hehe
Additional Tags: N/A
Do Not Wants: Anything sad

Prompt:

His kiss you'd kill for, just one and you're done for
Electricity surgin' in the air
He drives me crazy, it's so beyond me
How he'd look me dead in the eye and stay unaware
That I'm hopelessly captivated
By a boy who thinks love's overrated
How did I get myself in this arrangement?
It baffles me too, baffles me too

Oh, why can't we for once
Say what we want, say what we feel?
Oh, why can't you for once
Disregard the world and run to what you know is real?

– take a chance with me by niki

[FILL] not friends

[bluemening]

Ship/Member: Minghao/Mingyu
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: High school AU, Sports AU (volleyball), childhood friends to lovers, pining, A LOT of yearning, first kiss, i have to split this into 2 comments
Permission to remix: Please ask

***

The sound of a bunch of sneakers skating through the linoleum fills Mingyu’s ears while he prepares to jump. He doesn’t really see the ball when it flies through him and goes straight to Jihoon, but the flush of movement around him is familiar enough to tell him to get ready.

When Mingyu finally sees the ball, it’s already hitting the other side of the court, barely registering the impact on his hand after he spikes.

He can’t help the grin that tugs at the corners of his lips when he hears clapping coming from just the side of the court. Mingyu doesn’t need to look to know the coach’s assistant is there, watching their training intently and taking notes to hand over to Wonwoo, later. He doesn’t need to look to know Minghao is clapping just for him.

There’s no time to dwell on it or steal glances at him, though. The match resumes not even a second later, the ball hitting his arms when he jumps again but, this time, to block.

“You have no business being this tall, for fuck’s sake!” Seungkwan groans from the other side of the net. This makes Mingyu laugh for real, but he controls the urge to tease Seungkwan: he’s not supposed to show his foul, petty side to Minghao, or he will never like him back.

“Jump higher,” he shrugs, stepping back. Mingyu uses the hem of his varsity vest to dry the sweat drenching his forehead, almost misses the ball when Wonwoo sets it for him again.
He almost starts complaining, but Wonwoo isn’t even looking at him as he positions himself in the serve zone.

It would be nice if Mingyu could say he’s paying attention at the match and learning new things. It would be nice if he could say he’s the best vice captain ever, but the truth is that his head is still stuck at the side of the court, right where the coach’s assistant is still taking notes.

If Mingyu wasn’t so obsessed with him, maybe he could be the great player he knows he can be, if he wants to.

The training passes fleetingly through him, every bounce of the ball against the floor echoing like a single word in his mind: Minghao, Minghao, Minghao.

When Minghao actually speaks, astonishment fills his head with cotton.

“It’s enough for today,” Minghao is saying, “good job everyone!”

Before he can move, can even think of moving, Wonwoo is already crossing the court in long strides to talk to Minghao.

Fine.

Mingyu knows this is his job, and that Wonwoo simply isn’t the type of gush over teammates, but still. He watches them two as they speak for a couple of minutes until realizing it’s not ending so soon, then decides to stop making a fool of himself for no reason at all and heads straight to the locker room.

Heaven knows how much he needs a shower, and it’ll actually be better if he’s clean when he gets to talk to Minghao.

To be honest, Mingyu isn’t sure when this… thing started, but maybe it’s always been there. Minghao has been his favorite person in the world since they first met, eleven years ago, but it’s hard to pinpoint the exact moment when it stopped being wow he’s so cool and started being wow he’s so pretty. Not that Minghao isn’t cool anymore, it’s just… Mingyu’s brain focus on what it wants to and, lately, it’s been how soft Minghao’s lips look.

He can’t help but agree he’s pathetic.

Even Soonyoung says so whenever they hang out together, and it’s so fucking humiliating to be called out like this by someone who spends all of his waking moments fawning over Jeon Wonwoo, of all people.

Mingyu is so pathetic it deserves its own category, completely detached from what everyone else understands as its meaning.

He lets the tepid water wash the sweat and his dignity down the drain, rubbing one hand firmly against his face as he tries to come up with an excuse decent enough to convince Minghao to spend time with him.

It used to be easier when they were younger, when they were a lot less busy and their bodies were smaller, easier to fit against each other without making everything weird.
Unfortunately, Mingyu is still thinking too hard when he cuts the water off and rubs his face on his towel. He changes to his normal clothes on automatic mode, all giddy before even stepping into the same space as Minghao.

God, he’s pathetic.

When he comes back, Wonwoo is already long gone. Minghao sits alone on the benches, going through his knapsack in search of something.

“Oh, Mingyu-yah.”

There is this thing about Minghao’s smile. It spreads slowly through his face, like the sun rising on the horizon and lighting up his eyes as his whole face warms up. It does dangerous things to Mingyu’s heart.

“I was waiting for you, let’s go. Mom said she would make sweet and sour pork for you.”
“She’s so much nicer than you,” Mingyu playfully bumps his shoulder against Minghao’s, just a silly pretext to touch him.

“Keep talking and I won’t invite you over ever again,” Minghao huffs.

“You hate me,” Mingyu grumbles, watching as Minghao gets up. He doesn’t know exactly when it happened, but it still hit him right in the face whenever he looks at Minghao.

He isn’t sure when Minghao lost almost all of his baby fat and became so sharp, but Mingyu can’t help but feel diseased just by looking at his jaw. Mingyu wonders if he’s changed, too, or if his already too-long limbs just became all the lankier.

There was a time when they were the same height, too, but now Mingyu towers a whole head above Minghao. He doesn’t like it.

“Are you coming or not?” Minghao’s voice snaps him out of his thoughts. Mingyu nods and trails behind him like a puppy, wondering when will Minghao realize.

*

“Do you think my spikes improved?” Mingyu prompts, raising his head from the Math homework Minghao is forcing him to do.

“We’re on study time,” Minghao deadpans, not even raising his eyes from his own notebook. “When we’re on volleyball time, we can talk about that.”

“Myunghooooo,” he whines, “you know I won’t concentrate if it stays on my head.”

“Ah, nah nah. Don’t come with this ‘Myungho’ bullshit to me. We’re studying.”

Truth be told, Mingyu wasn’t able to focus on a single calculation since they sat down to study. He tried, but his traitor eyes kept straying to steal glances at Minghao, his brows furrowed and covered by the glasses he definitely doesn’t need to use, but claims they help him to concentrate.

It’s not his fault if Minghao is so damn cute, but he’s not that sure if the teachers would accept this as a reason not to flunk him in all subjects. He thought about starting to study alone, or at least with someone else, but the mental image of the hurt on Minghao’s face if he ditched him stopped him in his tracks.

And he’s going to flunk whether he likes it or not.

“So tell me,” he pouts.

“You’re doing good,” Minghao sighs and looks at him. “You’ve got a lot stronger lately.”

“Yeah?” A tentative smile pulls the corner of his lips upwards.

“Yeah, now focus,” Minghao hits his forehead with an eraser.

“You’re so mean to me,” Mingyu scowls, but does his best to comply.

His focus lasts for about eight minutes until his mind strays again. Minghao has no business being this pretty.

Mingyu tries to suppress a groan and fix his eyes on the notebook. Fantasizing about getting closer to Minghao won’t take him or his grades anywhere.
It doesn’t matter that much if he’s staring or not, as his mind has already a giant repertoire of Minghao’s facial expressions, textures, and scent. Even the softness of his lips isn’t foreign to him, as he’s been kissed on the forehead and on the cheeks plenty.

It’ll drive him crazy.

Mingyu’s brain only enjoys working on bad things at the most inconvenient times, it seems. He can fantasize about their first kiss — his first kiss altogether — when he’s alone, tucked on his bed, but the worms he has for brain cells find it funnier when Minghao is sitting right by him.

He knows Minghao already kissed before, some senior when they were still freshmen, and it hurt. Maybe it was around that time Mingyu realized he didn’t like Minghao the same way he likes any other of his friends. It was around that time he noticed how handsome Minghao was, even with those yaoi hands and fucked up haircut.

He tried to convince himself he was just overthinking, was just jealous because Minghao could pull someone and he couldn’t but, deep down, he always knew it was a lie.

“Ah, I’m done for today,” Minghao yawns, stretching his thin arms above his head. “Have you finished yet?”

“No,” there’s no point in lying to him. “Can’t focus.”

“Take a pause to rest, then,” Minghao says, but he’s already taking over Mingyu’s bed. He tries not to stare that much when his shirt rolls up and reveals his soft belly.
Mingyu follows him, folding his body around Minghao’s and just praying he won’t be able to feel his heartbeat.

This is normal for them, though, Minghao doesn’t bat an eye before going through his phone to find some music video he’s been meaning to show Mingyu for a while but always ended up forgetting.

“We can talk about volleyball now, if you want,” Minghao offers, one arm coming around Mingyu’s shoulders and pulling him close.

“Oh, okay. Tell me what you keep writing so much.”

“Just some ideas to improve the newbies’ game. You got a lot better since last year, I don’t have anything to complain about.”

“Hmmm, but it must have something I can improve,” Mingyu squeezes more against him, taking so much comfort in the closeness he doesn’t even know why he was freaking out about it just now.

“There’s always space to evolution,” Minghao shrugs, “but you can always find your way to it without stressing too much.”

“You know I get antsy when the tournaments are around,” Mingyu says sheepishly.

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry,” Minghao presses a kiss against his hair. Mingyu is sure he can see electrical sparks flying off his head. “But, thinking of it now, I guess you could put a bit more force on your serves.”

He needs a moment to process what he’s just heard, stupid brain focused on the pressure that’s already gone.

“Okay, I’ll try it tomorrow. Then you tell me how it goes.”

Minghao hums in lieu of a response, carding his fingers through Mingyu’s hair.

“We should go to the movies, tomorrow. Just us.”

“Oh,” Mingyu grins, “of course. We can have a sleepover if you want to.”

“I do, but gotta ask mom. I’ll tell you later, okay?”

“Yeah,” Mingyu smiles, such a dumb little thing all over the moon for the prospect of spending alone time with Minghao, as if they weren’t best friends and did this all the time.

*

“But hyung, I just like him so much,” Mingyu cries out, face smashed against the diner’s table. The milkshake cup presses cold against his face, a relief after the intense training.

The first matches of the tournament passed without a single flinch, but the team is very much aware that the level of their competitors will only increase as they advance. Having additional training on the weekends wasn’t that much of a hassle, also. If much, they were just an excuse to spend even more time around Minghao.

“Yeah, we know,” Soonyoung rolls his eyes but pats Mingyu’s head nonetheless. “You should just tell him.”

“And ruin everything?” Mingyu raises his head just to scoff at Soonyoung. He can be pretty dumb at times. “Why don’t you tell things to Wonwoo hyung, then?”

“It’s different,” Soonyoung deadpans. “I’m not crying and begging for help, am I?”

“You’re so mean,” Mingyu sniffs. “Seungkwan-ah agrees with me.”

“I haven’t said shit,” Seungkwan interjects. “Minghao-hyung must know about your feelings already, you’re so obvious. Spend the whole time giving him the bedroom eyes and shit.”

“I don’t do that! My feelings and intentions are only pure!”

“Stop shouting,” Jihoon interjects. “Both of them are right, though, Minghao’s dense as a brick.”

It only makes him feel even more miserable.

“It’s not like that,” he mutters, “I like him since always and we grew up together, he probably thinks this is my personality.”

“Then talk to him, we can’t stand you anymore,” Seungkwan says.

“But what if I ruin our friendship? You know I can’t function without him,” Mingyu stuffs the paper straw back into his mouth, slurping his milkshake at a speed that would make Minghao slap him.

“You don’t want to be friends with him anyway, I don’t see what’s the big deal,” Soonyoung shrugs. “Stop looking at me like that, you’re currently whining about how much you want to date him. This isn’t buddies activity, as far as I know.”

“We can tell him on your behalf, if it helps,” Seungkwan offers.

“Then he’ll think I’m a coward.”

“Well, you are.” Jihoon points out. “Just ask him out.”

“But then he’ll think it’s just like the normal dates we have all the time.”

“You two go on dates all the time and you’re convinced you two aren’t dating, already?”

“I go on dates with you all the time and we aren’t together, either!” Mingyu interjects.

“This isn’t a date, we’re hanging out,” Soonyoung says. “I would never go on a date with you.”

“I’ll tell Wonwoo-hyung you’re disgusting and that you stink.”

“Stop sabotaging me just because your love life sucks,” Soonyoung huffs, “and also. If you two are best friends, you should be able to talk about everything, no?”

“You’re so stupid,” Mingyu declares. “I’m not taking advice from you. Never.”

“Good, ‘cause I can’t stand your whining any longer.”

“Are you done?” Jihoon looks between them. “We can’t force you to take an attitude, Gyu-yah, but as we can see, Minghao is just as dumb as you. If you decide to keep it a secret forever, you can’t be mad at him if he starts seeing someone else.”

Ouch.

[jwinki]

Ship/Member: MEANIE
Major Tags: graduate students? professors? academia
Additional Tags: N/A
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

Lick my butt
cos I’m an angry ethnic fag
& I’m in so much pain
so lick my butt

& the next time
when there’s a multicultural extravaganza
& I’m asked for referrals
I can say
“I know this guy,
he’s really cool,
he licked my butt.”

Lick my butt & tell me about
Michel Foucault’s theories of deconstruction
& how it applies to popular culture,
a depressed economy & this overwhelming
tide of alienation.

— LICK MY BUTT, JUSTIN CHIN

make me your priority

[stickystickysticky]

Ship/Member: Mingyu/Minghao
Major Tags: Consider extremely close "friends", jealousy
Additional Tags: N/A
Do Not Wants: MCD, Dubcon, any archive warnings

Prompt:

Make me your priority
Just make me, make me

Actually, I'm afraid to get my hopes up

– Priority by Max Changmin, Taeyeon, Winter (literally insaaane)

[slytherminie]

Ship/Member: any but i see a jeonghan in here
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: (emotional) cheating, breakup
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

I stole your man
He got freedom to chase what he likes, I know you mad
But he ain't even worth none of your time, it's such a drag
I'm not being spiteful, but he's trash
Won't be the last to let you know, but he gon' show you

- baby i'm jealous, bebe rexha ft. doja cat

die for me

[slytherminie]

Ship/Member: seokgyu maybe?
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: secert agents? superheroes? villains? you do you
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

Said you'd take a bullet, told me you would die for me
I had a really bad feeling you've been lying to me

- die for me, post malone ft. future & halsey

[slytherminie]

Ship/Member: jeongcheol, any
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: fwb gone wrong
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

Hate that you're still in my head, hate that I slept in your bed
Hatе that I want it again but oh, nah, nah, nah

- do i make you nervous?, lilyisthatyou

[FILL] but i'm drinkin' out his hand like a vodka cran

[feralhoshi]

Ship/Member: Jeonghan/Seungcheol
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: fwb, feelings realization, one-sided(?) love
Permission to remix: ask!

***

Jeonghan wakes to the sound of a door closing in the distance, an echo of a click that quickly brings him to consciousness. He squints at the wall, slowly rolls over to face the other half of the bed, and doesn’t think about how disappointed he is to see it unoccupied.

He sighs, dragging his aching body into a sitting position. His phone sits on the nightstand, propped on the wireless charger because Seungcheol had insisted he use it since your phone is on 23%, I can charge mine at work and Jeonghan hadn’t had the energy to argue. Jeonghan glares at the device like it personally offended him, reaching for it to thumb it awake. Several notifications meet him beneath the bold 10:47am at the top, but only one stack stands out to him like a beacon in the dark.

cheol: work called
cheol: they needed me a couple hours early
cheol: u were sleeping so peacefully i didnt wanna wake u :’(
cheol: feel free to raid my fridge

This isn’t new. Jeonghan’s been in this apartment countless times, the first few as a fellow classmate looking to study, the following tens — no, hundreds, surely Jeonghan’s stepped over that threshold enough to hit the triple digits by now, of times being as friends, then friends who fuck, then post-grad friends who fuck, then coworkers who fuck because they couldn’t stand the idea of being apart (and shouldn’t that have been a red flag?), then back to friends who fuck because Jeonghan got fired. He likes to think at least one of them has learned not to be so codependent over the years, and it’s definitely not him.

Jeonghan waking up in Seungcheol’s bed alone isn’t a new development, no — no, no, not at all, but what’s a new development is he feels lonely. He’s used to being alone, when Seungcheol works late hours and doesn’t have the energy for even a drink or two, but being alone and feeling lonely are two different things. Jeonghan’s used to the former, and he’s come to find out recently that the latter fucking sucks.

Some would say they’re too old to be doing this — they’re in their thirties, they should be looking to settle down, et cetera. Jeonghan can’t find it in himself to disagree. And yet — here he is. Rolling around in the sheets with his friend for some relief, waking up alone most mornings with regret thick in his throat. Alone.

Feeling lonely.

Clearing his throat, Jeonghan drags himself out of bed to rummage for food in Seungcheol’s pantry, plopping down on the couch while he eats dry cereal straight from the box. The cornflakes stick uncomfortably to his dry throat, so Jeonghan chases it down with the leftover wine abandoned on the coffee table.

Jeonghan briefly entertains the thought of putting an end to this, for his own sake and sanity. He thinks about telling Seungcheol why, that he can’t keep fucking him because he’s greedy, because he wants more. The thought of Seungcheol — sweet, kind, caring Seungcheol — rejecting him with sad, pitying eyes makes Jeonghan physically ache.

His phone dings from the bedroom, letting him know someone’s trying to get his attention, and Jeonghan wouldn’t think twice about ignoring it if it wasn’t for the one-two chimes that follow. Jeonghan groans, setting the box of generic brand cereal on the table and hefting his body up from where he’d been sinking into the couch cushions. His phone goes off again in the short trek to Seungcheol’s bedroom, punctually reminding him of the text awaiting him.

Those thoughts will have to wait for another day.

[slytherminie]

Ship/Member: Any
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: f1 or car racing in general, losing someone or losing something important, the intricacies of fighting for wins against your friends
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

It comes and goes like it's a season
But the clouds are always grey
And late at night when I'm alone with my thoughts
It feels like a Ferrari racing (on and on)
I go from, feeling numb, to feeling everything at once

- when you lose someone, nina nesbitt

[FILL] red, gold, and circles

[lightreframe]

Ship/Member: Seungcheol/Jeonghan
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: IMPLIED SEXUAL CONTENT (there is an exhibitionism ment), Ambiguous Relationships, fucking ferrari (derogatory and evil), theres not a lot of loss but a lot of Intricacies, It Is Statistically Proven That Ferrari Is Miserable So Am I, sorry @ csc
Permission to remix: Yes

disclaimer: i am not an f1 driver nor do i work in f1. inaccuracies inbound……… hope this satisfied something??

***

Seungcheol is twenty-eight and not getting any younger. Instead, Lee Chan, at the age of twenty, is on his second championship. It's lost by a small margin, and by this, he means the fuel issue that renders his car undrivable. Nothing new.

Into the escape path he goes.

Another one bites the dust. Another championship lost through no fault of his own. His heart rearranges itself sickeningly within his ribs.

Regardless, Seungcheol makes the walk of shame back to the paddock and pretends that the clouds over his head are an angel's halo. A show-stopping grin. We'll be back, stronger. The media asks and PR training responds with practised ease.

We’ll always have tomorrow, goes the debrief, We'll always have next year, the drone-like voice says, too bored of its own failures to do much about it. Through it all, Jeonghan gets drunk with him—not on champagne, rather, on stupid red wine they have too much money for.

In the quiet, peaceful air of his motorhome, yellow street lights of the Abu Dhabi paddock lighting up the night, Seungcheol may just find solace.

“Do you want to put down bets for whoever wins next year?” Jeonghan says, swirling his wine glass full of scarlet red, haughty. It suits him, blond hair, half-lidded eyes. Anticipatory, confident.

It reminds Seungcheol of Lee fucking Chan and his post-race interviews and the teasing: Ferrari still can win the championship / We cannot get too complacent.

All of this with a grin. With the awareness that he can. Waiting upon another downfall caused by their fucked up car to deliver appropriately.

Jeonghan can, too. He's the Ferrari golden boy—no matter that Seungcheol has finished in front of him in the standings. The car next year will do its best to fit his needs.

No matter. He'll do what he can to fucking destroy him.

(After all, Formula One drivers are made to respond to threats. Stubbornness born into the shape of the driver's cockpit. A snug fit.)

“Seven million that I win more. You?”

“I’ll match.”

Jeonghan takes another sip from the glass. Red stains his lips, looks almost like blood. It suits him.

/

Jeonghan wins Bahrain, Australia and Saudi Arabia. He touches Seungcheol during debrief, still in fireproofs. He's dragged to Jeonghan's motorhome. The singe of a working engine—hand to skin contact, when his Ferrari polo is undone and there's hands on his waist.

Seungcheol laps it all up, ignoring the stick of champagne-stained fireproofs for the press of lips against his cheek.

Vaguely, it feels like he's touched gold. An appetiser that only makes him hungrier.

/

Seungcheol gets his first win of the season in Montreal. After various DNFs. It's worth celebrating, but the crew can't be bothered to, really.

For that, after debrief, Jeonghan doesn't even bring him back into the motorhome—ravishes him right there, lip to lip, hand to neck, in the red garage, behind the tyre stacks. Hidden from the pit lane. Adrenaline rushes with blood.

With newfound vigour, Seungcheol makes an effort to remove his fireproofs as much as possible—regardless, Jeonghan palms him through the material, hard.

(His lips rubbed raw from the force that Jeonghan kisses with, full throttle at eighth gear, never lifting. Unforgiving narrow walls that Seungcheol doesn't dare to test.)

That night, he falls into bed, marks dotting his skin. The promise of more comes in waves.

/

Jeonghan wins Austria, much to Red Bull's chagrin. Lee Chan's car suffers from a fuel leak. Seungcheol is second unintentionally.

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.

/

Seungcheol wins in Hungary. Ferrari are leading the Constructors' Championship.

Jeonghan teases him a little more with every race he wins: lets Seungcheol drink champagne off his skin. His fireproofs zipped down to his waist, the V of his pelvis a glorious expanse of skin he can't touch. Some stupid form of promise.

There's no real motivation behind it, as far as Seungcheol can tell. Emotional distance so palpable it feels like crashing into a concrete wall. I'm not faithful—you're just available.

The closeness of their hotel rooms and the reach of summer break allows them to take their time for the celebration, but Jeonghan's gestures suggest nothing of patience. He rings the bell at five PM with an opening line.

"Balcony sex? Or, really, you'd rather me fuck you against the podium railing, hm?"

/

Seungcheol wins Spa and Singapore. Jeonghan won Monza. Golden fucking Ferrari boy.

Today, after winning Suzuka, Seungcheol gets fucked rough, perhaps, in the same way he overtakes and is overtaken, unrelenting, always eager to see it off to the end.

Jeonghan doesn't come. Seungcheol kneels, and—

/

By Abu Dhabi this year, they're neck and neck with five wins each. One last one for the taking.

"Gonna go easy on me?" Jeonghan catches up with him on the way to the garage. He's holding a special helmet the colours of Ferrari and himself.

Seungcheol's on pole tonight.

It's still relatively impossible to overtake at Abu Dhabi. He bites just a little harder on the straw of his water bottle—some kind of coping mechanism for the way his body reacts to Jeonghan.

It doesn't work, really. Jeonghan slips on his balaclava just then and presses a kiss to Seungcheol's neck. The artery there flares at the contact—or lack thereof.

(He's heading steadily towards the chequered flag in first place.)

(Subsequently, Jeonghan is in second just as his tyre punctures on the last lap. He doesn't make it back for a pit stop. DNF.)

/

"Wanna bet who wins more again, next season?"

Seungcheol meets the voice with a glare, almost. The provocation gets under his skin, fills his vision with red, and then gold.

"Seven million."

"I'll match."

[slytherminie]

Ship/Member: any joshie pairing
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: N/A
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

I could say I never dare
To think about you in that way, but
I would be lyin'

- double take, dhruv

You're all I think about and everywhere I look
I know it's bad, but we could be so good

- so good, halsey

[FILL] you're my vice, you're my muse

[astralumina]

Ship/Member: joshua/minghao
Major Tags: getting together, idolverse, yearning
Additional Tags: N/A
Permission to remix: Please ask

***


He doesn’t mean to get hard watching Minghao meditate.

They’re all sitting in a waiting room, with stylists and managers and staff inching through narrow canyons of linoleum in between duffel bags and suitcases, different voices yelling out about call times and lost makeup bags. It’s messy, the frenzy sinking into his shoulders like a weight.

Joshua looks over at Mingyu, who’s knocked out cold on a chair, and feels a deep sense of envy. Next to him, Minghao scrolls aimlessly on his phone with his knees tucked against his chest, laughing occasionally at a funny video. Their eyes meet before Joshua realizes, and embarrassment burns in his stomach knowing he’s been caught staring.

Minghao looks at Joshua running his nails across the pads of his fingers and smiles reassuringly. “Come sit with me.” He goes to the very corner of the room, behind a few overstuffed clothes racks and a lumpy gray sofa. Minghao grabs the cushions off the couch and hands one to Joshua, sliding it under his thighs and wiggling in an attempt to settle in. 

“I was just about to do some meditation,” he says gently, pulling up a video. “You can just hang out a bit if you’d like, the clothes help block out the noise.”

Joshua nods, watching Minghao pull up a video on his phone and close his eyes. He starts matching the pace of his breathing to the video lady’s voice, who sounds kind of pretentious and has some ridiculous expectations of how long Joshua is able to hold his breath for. He tries to close his eyes, but it only makes the anxiety feel louder, and he decides the best thing is to find something to stare at until his brain has no room to think about anything else.

His eyes dart around the tiny space, trying to find something to fixate on. There’s not much room, especially since they’re both sitting cross-legged, and Minghao’s back is already right up against the wall and their knees are almost touching—

Joshua blinks rapidly, the thumping of his heartbeat suddenly a roar in his ears. He glances quickly, once, twice, just to make sure that Minghao really does have his eyes closed, before he gives himself permission to look.

Fluorescent lighting doesn’t do anyone favors, but even the flickering yellow bulbs do nothing to diminish the cut of Minghao’s cheekbones, the pink flush of his lips. Joshua watches the way Minghao curls and flexes his fingers with unrestrained fascination. He tries to trace the outlines of Minghao’s hands and commit the shapes to memory; every curve, every knuckle.

It takes him a moment to realize he’s hard. If he was embarrassed before, he’s absolutely mortified now.

Joshua quickly grabs the cushion he was sitting on and shoves it over his lap, suddenly wishing he was anywhere else. He’d take a thousand snoring Wonwoos over this misery any day. 

The video finally ends and Minghao slowly opens his eyes, smiling warmly and rolling out the cricks in his neck and shoulders. Joshua stares very hard at the striped pattern of a cardigan hanging behind Minghao’s head. “How was it, hyung?”

“Um, it was nice,” Joshua replies, taken aback by the hoarseness of his own voice only after a few minutes of disuse. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Minghao says, standing up and tossing the cushion back onto the couch. “Do you feel more relaxed?”

Joshua hopes his expression is calm, and definitely not one of a pervert who got hard watching his friend of over eight years do mindfulness exercises via YouTube. “I am so relaxed.”


❄❄❄


It doesn’t get much better after that. Joshua finds himself unable to concentrate whenever Minghao is in the room, relentlessly distracted by watching him do the most mundane things. He nearly drops his phone on his face watching Minghao unscrew a water bottle, and dreams about the flex of his fingers for days after. He steps on Jeonghan’s foot in practice because Minghao tugged his hoodie off and the tank top he was wearing underneath rode up with it, exposing the flat planes of his stomach. Jeonghan had given him a dirty look, but Joshua was too dazed to care.

“Are you sick or something? Maybe possessed?” Jeonghan asks dubiously when practice is over, pulling him into the corner of the room. 

Joshua rolls his eyes and tries to leave, but Jeonghan blocks the way and stares him down even harder. “Can you stop being annoying?”

“You have a lot of nerve calling me annoying when you basically ruined my shoes,” Jeonghan huffs, pointing at his once-white sneakers. “Is it Minghao?”

Joshua’s head snaps up almost instinctively, which is his first mistake, and he can feel his body starting to form the beginnings of a well-crafted denial, but it’s too late. Jeonghan’s eyes widen and he starts stabbing the soft joints of Joshua’s shoulder with his finger.

“What the fuck!”

“Did you bang him?” Jeonghan stage whispers. The other members have already cleared the room, but his voice still feels too loud.

“I didn’t do anything,” Joshua shoots back.

Jeonghan rolls his eyes. “But you want to.”

“It’s not like that,” Joshua mutters. “He’s a member, I’m not going to think of him that way.”

“Yeah, good luck with that,” Jeonghan cackles, clearly relishing in Joshua’s suffering. “Let me know when you need me to clear the dorms out.”

Joshua says nothing, but his cheeks burn hot pink, and Jeonghan laughs at him all the way until they reach the elevator.


❄❄❄


Mingyu shakes his head aggressively as he tumbles into the car, water flying everywhere. The rain has been relentless all week, only letting up for a few hours in the dead of night. Joshua used to be fascinated by how much it rained when he first moved. Now, as drops of dirty rain water smack into his face, he finds himself yearning for the dryness of Los Angeles once again.

“Traffic is bad,” their driver remarks once the door is shut. “Might take a while before we can get back guys.”

Soonyoung groans dramatically, pulling his jacket up to his face. “Wake me up when we get there,” he says, voice muffled underneath his giant puffer.

The car rumbles to a start, and then they’re on the road, inching slowly through the mess of a thousand other cars trying to drive in the middle of a rainstorm. The members settle in their seats, the steady thump of rain lulling them to sleep rather quickly. It was a long filming day, and Joshua should be exhausted, but for some reason he can't fall asleep no matter how many times he moves around in his seat.

He sighs and fishes his phone out of his pocket. If he can’t nap, he’ll find some way to entertain himself. He’s looking for videos when he spots a thumbnail of Minghao, arms stretched above his head showing off the flex of his muscles. Joshua stares, mouth going dry, thumb hovering over the screen. He’s about to scroll away when the car goes over a speedbump, and his hand taps on the screen, right on the thumbnail. The video immediately plays, and it’s a— a fucking compilation, of Minghao grinding against the floor, rolling his hips and showing off the firm planes of his abs, arms flexing, and Joshua cannot believe someone out there has put together a video specifically designed to hurt him–

He hears a firm cough behind him, and Joshua head whips around to see Minghao very much awake, looking bemused at the video that’s still playing on Joshua’s phone. 

“Are you looking at sexy fancams of me?” Minghao asks, his voice practically dripping with amusement. Joshua has never quite wanted to disappear so badly.

“No, it was just— um, it was recommended and I accidentally opened it," Joshua stammers, which only makes him sound guilty. "I wasn’t looking on purpose.” 

“I don’t mind, hyung,” Minghao replies, leaning back into his seat. He looks satisfied, like he knows every single deranged thought that Joshua has ever had. “It's kind of flattering.”

Joshua laughs, but it sounds forced, even to him, and he quickly turns back to his phone to close the video and put on music like a regular person. He can feel Minghao’s eyes boring into the back of his head throughout the rest of the car ride. 

That night, when he goes to sleep, he dreams of Minghao’s hands wrapped around his waist, his arms, his neck.


❄❄❄


It’s Joshua’s turn to host movie night. Seunghcheol insists they have them in their individual rooms because “it’s more cozy that way”, but Joshua hates having food in the same place he sleeps, and only relented because Jeonghan swore he would help clean up this time.

He’s microwaving the last bag of popcorn when he hears the knock on his door, and he runs over to open it only to see Minghao holding a thermos of what is probably tea and a big fuzzy blanket.

“It’s just me today, hyung,” Minghao says, closing the door behind him. “Um, they said they both had to do something, but I figured since you probably already set up everything that it’d be a shame to let it go to waste.”

“It’s ok,” Joshua says in his best cheerful voice, wondering what kind of hellish pranks he can exact on Seungcheol and Jeonghan for doing this to him. “We don’t need those two to have fun.”

He turns off the light and goes over to his laptop to start the movie, which plays on a projector screwed into the ceiling. Minghao settles onto the floor while Joshua lies down on his bed, trying not to panic at the thought of being in a dark room with Minghao for the next two hours.

“Popcorn is good,” Minghao chirps, tossing the puffs gently into his mouth.

Joshua clears his throat. “Um, thanks.”

They watch the movie in amicable silence. It’s a nice change of pace from the way he usually watches movies with Seungcheol, who refuses to stop asking Joshua questions about the plot as if they aren’t both watching the movie for the first time, and Jeonghan, who will look up spoilers and purposely yell them out right before it happens. 

He finds himself sneaking glances at MInghao while he munches on popcorn, mesmerized by the way the screen flashes as the scenes change, changing the angles of Minghao’s face from sharp to soft to smooth. Another scene changes and drenches Minghao in blue light like a wave, and Joshua thinks he’s never seen anything more beautiful.

“You can look, you know,” Minghao says after a few minutes. It takes Joshua a few minutes to realize the statement was directed at him, and he gives Minghao a puzzled look. On the other hand, Minghao looks pleased, almost smug, as he tosses another piece of popcorn into his mouth.

“At the screen?”

Minghao laughs, low and bright, and his hand reaches forward slowly across the bedsheets until he makes contact with Joshua’s fingers. “I mean, you can look at me. You don’t have to stop.”

Joshua’s heart feels like it's jackhammering against his chest. He can barely hear the sound of the movie now, the rush of blood and adrenaline roaring through his ears. The touch of Minghao’s hand on his burns hot and terrible. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he whispers. He doesn't know if he trusts himself to say more.

He hates the way Minghao looks at him, like he can see right through all his doubts and misgivings. He pulls his hand away, and the loss is staggering. “I won’t push you,” Minghao murmurs, “but if you’re thinking that you’re the only one who looks, I’m telling you now it’s not true.”

Joshua stares at him and the distance between their hands. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that you can want. You can want these things.” Minghao’s expression is fierce and unwavering, like he’s never been afraid of anything his entire life. “You can want me. All you have to do is ask.”

His entire body feels like one big TV static screen, loud and bright and numb, but Joshua slides down the bed anyways, reaching one hand out to press against the curve of Minghao’s neck before leaning in and pressing his lips softly against Minghao’s. It’s brief and fleeting, almost like he imagined the sensation. He can feel himself trembling as he leans back, from anxiety or joy or maybe both, but Minghao slides his arms around his waist and pulls him back in, kissing him harder this time, lips moving purposely.

Joshua sucks in a breath as Minghao presses up against him, solid and firm against his chest. They’re still kissing in long, drawn out motions. After a few minutes, Joshua realizes that he’s digging his nails into Minghao’s shoulders and makes a concerned noise as he pulls back, but Minghao shakes his head.

“You didn’t hurt me, it’s okay.”

Joshua blinks slowly, still dazed. “Are you sure?”

“I’m tougher than that,” he grins. Minghao leans back against the bed frame and gestures to Joshua, who scoots over in between the space of Minghao’s legs. Joshua, feeling unusually emboldened, takes Minghao’s hand and threads his fingers in between, chest thrumming with how right it feels.

Minghao laughs, the sound moving down Joshua’s back. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“What wasn’t?”

“Asking for what you want,” Minghao teases, and Joshua elbows him spitefully, face glowing scarlet for the rest of the movie.

love brings you home

[wonwoo420]

Ship/Member: Any
Major Tags: Found family, hurt and/or comfort
Additional Tags: Would love an ot13 but go ham!!!
Do Not Wants: Uhhhh angst, MCD

Prompt:

'So you know all about me?' asked the boy.
'Yes.' said the horse.
'And you still love me?'
'We love you all the more.'

— The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, Charles Mackesy

[(Anonymous)]

Ship/Member: any, but pls consider a rare pair
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: N/A
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

I cause no harm, mind my business
If our love died young, I can't bear witness
And it's been so long
But if you ever think you got it wrong
I'm right where you left me

- Taylor Swift, "right where you left me"

you already know

[(Anonymous)]

Ship/Member: Soonyoung/Minghao
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: just the strong soonhaoisms
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

Rest well, my love
— Soonyoung to Minghao, 221227

FILL: in my arms

[healingtoyou]

Ship/Member: Soonyoung/Minghao
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: introspection, idolverse
Permission to remix: Yes

***

Soonyoung feels like home in a way that Minghao can't describe.

Minghao's lucky, because he has two places that he can call home. The place he started growing up in, with the unadulterated love of his family and childhood friends, and the place he finished growing up in, among an amalgamation of talented boys who inspired him and let him inspire them in turn. Now, as he's settled into adulthood and his sense of self, he can take the time to give back the love he received from both his homes and also keep evolving, keep learning, no matter where he is.

And then there's Soonyoung.

Soonyoung is a home that Minghao can hold in his arms. Someone he can relate to so deeply, a fellow dancer, perfectionist, with dreams bigger than himself but he'll still make sure to achieve them - and someone he wants to protect, from life's disappointments and even from himself, when he's pushing too hard or thinking too much.

He's someone Minghao wants close to him always just to make sure that he knows how Minghao feels, just so Minghao's fingers can tap a quiet rhythm into Soonyoung's hip that says 'you're brilliant' and Soonyoung will wordlessly fit his own hand over Minghao's without even looking at him. He doesn't need to do that to know, and the thought makes Minghao so happy that he won't be able to stop himself from pressing closer.

Soonyoung who works hard every second of his life. Soonyoung who hangs on to Minghao's every word when he tries to tell him to relax, but still doesn't know how to listen because he's become so used to putting in every ounce of his effort to chase his dreams. Minghao knows he doesn't do it on purpose. He knows how hard it can be to listen to advice. Sometimes, it's difficult for Minghao to listen to his own.

So Minghao will take things into his own hands by taking Soonyoung's hand, asking him if he wants to go to a museum together. If Soonyoung says yes, they'll have a lovely time and they'll marvel at everything and Minghao will explain all the things that Soonyoung asks him to explain (and more). If Soonyoung says no, they'll go somewhere else and have fun there, too, resting together.

"Or we could stay inside for a while?" Soonyoung says like it's a question, hand flexing in Minghao's hold. Minghao looks at him and Soonyoung smiles, glowing because he's always glowing but it's softer now, the gentle kind that comes around when he's with friends, with people he loves. "You could read me something."

"I could, but I'd have to go back to my hotel room to get a book."

"Oh, that's too much effort. Just stay here with me, then! We'll find something to do."

'Too much effort'. As if that's something Kwon Soonyoung would ever say. But apparently it is if Minghao has to leave his side for barely a minute, and Minghao's heart swells at the thought, wondering if he's being too romantic with his imagination. Nonetheless, he lets himself be even more so as he dips down to press a kiss to the back of Soonyoung's hand and Soonyoung's giggles reach his ear.

Soonyoung, their fearless performance team leader who snaps at Minghao when he gets something wrong in dance practice but Minghao never minds because he understands the strive for perfection, and the way Soonyoung shines and brightly smiles at them all after they've executed it effervescently on stage makes it all worth it.

Soonyoung who gives him so much love through quality time, consistent phone calls every time he's away, sweet smiles and jokes and bursts of energy to keep him going when the work day gets long, so Minghao would find it too difficult not to forgive him instantly if he's a little mean.

Soonyoung who lets Minghao come close and hold him while apologising with all his heart when he's been a little mean, too.

"It's okay," Soonyoung tells him, stroking Minghao's hair, and these are times when he really feels like a hyung. Times when Minghao's desperate for Soonyoung to forgive him because his life would become a horror story if he doesn't. "We need to dance Wave together tomorrow, you think we'd be able to do that if we had any tension between us? I forgave you hours ago, it's old news."

"I know," Minghao says hoarsely, because he does know, deep down. It's just the kind of bond that their team has evolved to have, efficient and strong and filled to the brim with love, but... "We still need to talk about it, though. I don't want to forget how to talk about these things with you, any of you."

Soonyoung sighs, dramatic and teasing but Minghao can see a twinkle of understanding in his eyes. He holds his arms out and Minghao's quick to fall into them. "Alright. We'll talk. It'll be enlightening and a little sad but more uplifting and you'll probably teach me five new things about myself in the process and before we know it, it'll be midnight and I'll ask you to stay the night because you're a great cuddler and so am I. I'm ready!"

Minghao doesn't know if there's been a day in the last ten years where Soonyoung hasn't made him smile. "I love you."

Soonyoung makes claws at him. "I tiger you."

Minghao bites one of his curled fingers and Soonyoung screams so hard that somehow the both of them, two seasoned dancers with enough coordination to do flips, fall off the bed together.

It's freezing outside these days, but Minghao doesn't focus on it too much since they're all so busy working despite it all. He acknowledges it the most when he hears about fans getting sick because of the weather and he worries about them, sends them vocal or silent wishes for their health always. He does the same for his members, just in case.

He must've forgotten to wish for himself.

"We have a flight tomorrow," Minghao insists after the doctor has just told him that he has to rest, desperate even with his head aching and nose threatening to run. "I have to go, I- it's the last stop of the tour and I don't want to let them-"

"Minghao," his manager says sternly from beside him. "You are letting no-one down. But you will if you make things worse by trying to perform."

Minghao knows that. He knows that if any of his other members were in this position, he'd scold them for even thinking about going on a plane. But he wants to be there so bad that it aches, he's at the point of his life where he's bursting to give back the love he received that helped him find himself and his dreams, and he knows, he always knows that they're at their best when they're thirteen.

But the damage is done and Minghao needs to look after himself for now.

He's drowsy and nestling in bed when his phone pings hours later. He wonders if the guys have landed yet as he weakly reaches out for his phone. He sinks under his covers before he turns it on, and the light hurts his eyes, but he smiles when he sees who's texted him. Not a single day.

- myeongho my myeongho how r u if ur sleeping pls dont reply if ur not sleeping pls tell me a detailed recount of your recovery process so far i need to know absolutely everything or i will die

Minghao laughs hoarsely, swaddling himself like a coccoon as Soonyoung's messages keep popping up.

- i miss u sm
- i want to send crying emoticons but im worried if i do that then i will actually cry and there are people around me that would be EMBARRASSING
- but i would cry in public for u...

Soonyoung will never stop being lovely, and Minghao is awake, so he tries his best to give Soonyoung all the details he wants. Even though it's not much more than sleeping and drinking tea and noodle soup, Soonyoung seems delighted by every little thing he says.

'in my heart im by ur side rn', Soonyoung tells him. 'i am cradling u to my chest and i'm the one making u tea and it's probably terrible but i will still force u to take it bc i love u sm and u will drink it bc u love me sm!!'

'i do', Minghao replies, too feeble and smitten to tease or joke. 'so much.'

Soonyoung goes silent for a while, and Minghao feels his eyes grow heavy. But then he gets a stream of heart emojis that makes his own heart grow fuzz.

'hyung', Minghao texts him, heart heavy. 'i need carats to know i love them. they need to know that even if i'm not there, i wish i was and it doesn't make me love them any less.'

'silly', is Soonyoung's response. 'theyll never think that! hmmm....but how can we show them?'

Minghao gets an idea. He doesn't know if it's a good one, but it's all he can think of and it says all he needs to.

He goes into a little bit of a coughing fit when he's done, and decides he really needs to get some rest now. No more Soonyoung to make him smile and laugh beyond his energy levels right now.

He sees Soonyoung reply that he'll send his words to Carats, filling Minghao with warmth. He finally falls asleep after seeing the last text, feeling more free than he has since he got the news that he wouldn't be able to board the plane with the others.

'don't worry,' Soonyoung's telling him, and Minghao imagines him there, keeping Minghao safe in his arms and whispering in his ear. 'rest well, my love'.

[oransodacan]

Ship/Member: Any
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: the intimacy of watching & the adrenaline that comes with looking for longer than you should.
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

There's a woman
On the outside
Looking inside
Does she see me?

No she does not
Really see me
'Cause she sees
Her own reflection

And I'm trying
Not to notice
That she's hitching
Up her skirt

And while she's
Straightening her stockings
Her hair
Has gotten wet

Tom's Diner, Suzanne Vega, DNA

[FILL] imma see you better

[doongi]

Ship/Member: seokgyu, implied jigyu, side jeongcheol but something is also going on with jeongcheolgyu(+seok, unbeknownst to them)
Major Tags: possession, unreliable narrator, NSFW content
Additional Tags: one body as a vessel for more than one person, looking at him means looking at yourself (literal), mirror sex, technically voyeurism, warped sense of self: both in terms of esteem and identity, praise kink, dogboyisms aka being a good boy is a competition, seokmin is a little mean in this but he's also very good
Permission to remix: yes
WC: 2.6k

Notes: my first 17hols fill…still not sure if I’m doing this right. op, i hope this didn't stray too much from your prompt.


***

Can't you see? Seokmin whispers to Mingyu, Seokmin thinks out loud, Seokmin echoes all around them. Can't you see how much everyone likes you? It may be me in here but they all see you, Mingyu-yah.

posted on ao3.

the great war (me, myself & i)

[st8rgazer]

Ship/Member: Any OR Boo / Chan
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Chasing perfection
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

Looking out to East Sea in the distance, I think:
Could I be generous like the vast sea?
Like the deep and blue sea,
Could I be bosoming, embracing and accepting,
While governing myself with unyielding waves;
While whipping my body with a stern and sharp cane?

- East Sea — At Hupo Port by Shin Kyung-nim (plz visit the source material!!)
https://ahntranslation.com/2017/03/09/east-sea-at-hupo-port-shin-kyung-nim/

[FILL] like a stone

[bamboozled]

Ship/Member: boochan
Major Tags: mild violence? (sports related)
Additional Tags: looking at someone and wishing you were them, self criticism, general idol life struggles, a p negative view of the self and uh, the group dynamic
Permission to remix: Yes

***

Seungkwan looks at Chan and thinks, “I could never do that.”

He thinks it unkindly, images of his own round cheeks and the soft parts of his body flashing through his mind. He thinks of how high strung he is, how worked up he gets, how if he were the maknae and any of the hyungs treated him like they treat Chan, he would’ve quit a long time ago.

Of course, Chan is too dog-headed and stubborn to quit, so he shoulders the teasing, the roughhousing, the harsh words, and the pranks. He takes it when they kill him on purpose for a video game because Carats will laugh. He lets them push him down on a trampoline or make fun of him when he’s skydiving because it’s good content and the hyungs do care, in their own way.

And frankly, Chan is talented enough to know they would be found lacking without him. He accepts his place because he’s earned it. If he left, they’d beg him to come back.

Still. Stand up for yourself! Seungkwan wants to scream. Don’t let them treat you this way! Don’t let me treat you this way!

He never says this, of course, and he doubts Chan would listen if he did.

*

They’re filming an episode of GOSE, a game that apparently is ripped straight from a season of Kingdom: Legendary War. They’re in lines, Chan is at the end of one and Seungkwan is at the beginning of the other. Seungkwan has to pop Chan’s balloon and everyone has to stay connected.

“I don’t think I’m the best person for this. Can’t I sit out?” Seungkwan whines, mostly for the cameras.

“Ah, you’ll be fine,” Hansol says, and slaps Seungkwan's shoulder. He’s the one sitting out because he figured out some puzzle the fastest. Traitor.

The whistle blows and they go. It’s weird to run with five people behind you, and it’s even weirder to go for the tail of the other team. They end up in a strange sort of spiral, a circle, like that snake that eats its own tail. Mingyu is behind Seungkwan, holding too tightly into his jersey.

“I can’t get him!” he yells, but it’s lost to the din of twelve other members.

Chan gets close and Seungkwan reaches, pulling against Mingyu’s hold on him. His hands brush the balloon and he tugs forward again, except his jersey gives and Mingyu lets go and Seungkwan ends up in a painful heap on top of Chan.

The balloon popped, at least.

They’re both dirty, and Seungkwan knows he landed hard on top of him. Chan must be hurting. He never shows it, though. Maybe that’s what keeps them all coming back to torment him. They just want him to break.

The whistle blows. “Foul! Line disconnected! No point!”

Seungkwan could be nice. He could get up and beg for Chan’s apology and brush him off and offer him some water. He could baby him a little, like he’d want to be babied.

Chan doesn’t want that, though. Neither does Seungkwan.

“Ah! Yah! Watch where you’re going!” He shouts instead and stands. He picks Chan up from the ground under the guise of shoving him again. Chan whines back, rubs his arm, but takes it.

Seungkwan shoulder checks him on his way past, just because he can.

It could be weird, but I think I'm into it

[(Anonymous)]

Ship/Member: Any OT3 but I’d be especially delighted by Verkwangyu
Major Tags: established relationship adding a third, friends to lovers
Additional Tags: N/A
Do Not Wants: heavy angst, infidelity, unhappy ending

Prompt:

It could be weird, but I think I'm into it
You know I'm one for the overly passionate
I like you, and I loved him
We could all be the best kind of friends

In the Middle, by Dodie

à la ethan and cameron of white lotus fame

[madeoutcreek]

Ship/Member: Any
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: jealousy, rich people debauchery, past relationships, triangulation
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

E: You have a bad case of something called mimetic desire.

D: What’s that?

E: If someone with higher status than you wants something, that means it's more likely that you want it too.

C: You do not have higher status than me.

E: Not then, maybe.

your self-destruction doesn't hurt them

[almondtree]

Ship/Member: any performance unit member
Major Tags: possible consent issues
Additional Tags: android/robot performers, identity porn, can you be overworked and injured if you aren't human? can you love to perform? can you love? i've used this prompt before but i am greedy for interpretations of it
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

Your liver pays dearly now for youthful magic moments
But rock on completely with some brand new components!

- Rock n Roll Lifestyle, CAKE

[FILL] how to feel finger to finger

[citadis]

Ship/Member: Soonyoung & Minghao
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: android idols(+and their human caretakers)
Permission to remix: Yes

a/n: I don't usually write stuff like this but it was fun to try! sorry I didn't hit a lot of the tags you were looking for, hope you enjoy still :)

***

Minghao had become an expert in Soonyoung’s inner and outer workings very quickly. Those who had never worked closely with or properly known a synthe were puzzled when Minghao talked about it. They were made, not born, and thus to some should have been infallible creations. And they were, but just like humans, they fell sick sometimes, and broke bones – or rather, an analogue part. That’s what Minghao told them, to hopefully get it across. He could make the comparison to a car too – made, not born, yet repairs were always expected. Minghao wouldn’t make that comparison, though Soonyoung had never shied away from it when he explained it himself.

It felt cruel that synthetics, bestowed with consciousness, were subject to the same general design policies as vehicles. Minghao didn’t rant about that much anymore, everyone had already heard it all. And it didn’t change anything.

Minghao hadn’t been expecting to debut among a few synthes, because it hadn’t always been that way. Soonyoung and Mingyu had been something like last minute additions. A few withdrawals from their pre-debut team, and despite plenty of trainees clamoring for a spot – the agency opted to take up a synthetic human produced on a deal for some new, specialized models. Beautiful, meticulous things. Mingyu came first. Minghao remembers hearing someone, Seungkwan maybe, complaining about the audacity of creating something (someone) so beautiful after the first time they met. And it was true. For most of them, it was their first encounter with a synthe. And if there was to be an example of these synthetic humans being immaculate, perfect creations, Mingyu was one of them. He was mild-mannered and a bit shy when he introduced himself; the introduction was much the same as any other time new trainees were brought in for the first time. No one acknowledged the animatronic elephant in the room.

What shocked Minghao most that first time he came face to face with a synthe were Mingyu’s eyes. Sure, there was something digital there, but it was so completely different from the blank glassy eyes of those early androids. At the time, Minghao had stopped himself from reacting too much, unsure if perhaps androids were somehow endowed with extrasensory capabilities, or at least able to read the twitch of his lips and eyes like a book. That turned out not to be the case, at least with Mingyu. He was made, in the strictest sense, to be a celebrity; he was as similar to a non-synthetic human as fake flesh and fake blood could be.

Soonyoung – Hoshi, was different. He came along later, and he did not shy away from his provenance in his first introduction. A stage name, ready in hand, derived from a string of numbers in his registration number. He had a drive towards becoming an idol that even outdid some of the others. He practiced, hard, and drove the others to as well. Even though he always joked about it, his synthetic nature was not outright obvious from his demeanor.

He seemed to have more issues than Mingyu, and Minghao was willing to help him out. Those first few times he was mostly curious how they, his now-friends, worked. Like a frog dissection done in school to learn about the organs attributed to most non-synthetic animals, Minghao felt it necessary to be somewhat informed on those synthetic counterparts. So, with Soonyoung’s guidance on the crimping of fine wires within his electrical system, and cleaning of membranes, and plenty of other such tasks, Minghao ended up becoming proficient in ensuring his friend’s well-being. Or, repairing him, as others would call it.

(The first time Soonyoung guided Minghao’s hand into and onto a panel behind the skin of his back, Minghao could hear the smug smile when the other said, “at least take me out on a date first!”)

With Soonyoung’s penchant for injury and other malfunctions, as well as his disposition, Minghao quietly suspected there was something fundamentally different between him and Mingyu. That maybe, Soonyoung was not the deluxe, tailor-made idol synthe that Mingyu was. That maybe he was made – destined for something else (or maybe, destined for nothing at all, Minghao hated to think). After all, the group had been under the impression there was only going to be one synthe among them when they were told Mingyu was joining. Minghao never said anything, but he was sure Soonyoung knew as well.

There was one time, when Soonyoung was sleeping. Synthes did sleep, and it did serve the same purpose as it did for non-synthetics; parsing, storing, organizing the memory. Minghao was curious about what Soonyoung dreamt about, but always forgot to ask.

Minghao touched a few fingers to Soonyoung’s face while he slept, for whatever reason. Given that he had had a hand inside the other, it was not the most intimate act between them. His skin was virtually real; it was warm to the touch, it got cut and it healed. For some brief moments, Minghao did forget about the fundamental difference between himself and Soonyoung and Mingyu.

When his fingers grazed across Soonyoung’s lips, his mouth parted wide, something more than just a gasp one might expect. Minghao retracted his fingers, quickly, but before then his friend’s eyes were open and staring at him, with a look he didn’t recognize.

[(Anonymous)]

Ship/Member: 95z x mingyu/gyuhancheolshua
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: N/A
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

‘But it's just a sweet sweet fantasy baby/When I close my eyes/You come and you take me/It's so deep in my daydreams’ fantasy - mariah carey

people like us are guiltier than killers

[infrequencies]

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

Prompt:

i love you like a water sinks into soil. don't look at me. i told you i would evaporate.
(source)

california gurls

[nitemareodyssey]

Ship/Member: josh/any
Major Tags: explicit (if you like!)
Additional Tags: california setting, maybe oui'd mentions if you like, maybe cisswap!
Do Not Wants: MCD

Prompt:

you can travel the world/but nothing comes close to the golden coast

- 'california gurls', katy perry

[FILL] i know a place (where the grass is really greener)

[almondtree]

Ship/Member: Joshua/Vernon
Major Tags: cisswap (girl josh), canon age difference, marijuana use
Additional Tags: good christian girl joshua hong, nervous stoner vernon chwe
Permission to remix: Yes

***

i went a little crazy and wrote 1.8k so it's posted on ao3!! and gifted to you!! here is the first straight fanfiction i've written since i first joined ao3 lmao it was actually sooo fun

minor insults

[infrequencies]

Ship/Member: Any
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: competition; rivalry; teammates; being the less favored son
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

While Ferrari insists that they do not have a number one driver, it appears to those on the outside that Leclerc is the preferred son, and Sainz, older by a few years, must play sidekick. Competitors placed in this strange, anti-sporting situation often come to loathe each other.

[...]

You ache for Sainz, though.

[...]

Sainz says that if he catches himself indulging in self-pity for any reason—“If on a given day I feel tired, or sad, or maybe something’s not quite right with me, if I’m in a bad mood and I don’t know why”—it is his habit to find a peaceful spot on the Maranello compound and repeat a mantra.

[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.”

you-and-me

[arcsecond]

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

Prompt:

But sorrow is unreliable in that way. When people don’t share it there’s a good chance that it will drive them apart instead.

- Fredrik Backman, A Man Called Ove

[bluemening]

Ship/Member: gyuhao
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: touch-starved and emotionally constipated minghao
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

like any unloved thing, i don't know if i'm real when i'm not being touched.

- Natalie Wee

[FILL] among other things

[soupblog]

Ship/Member: gyuhao
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: implied/referenced sex, fwb, college au, freeform
Permission to remix: Yes

***

Minghao should leave.

He shouldn’t stay. Shouldn’t– can’t. He can’t stay. But maybe he can just… he can pretend for a little bit what it would be like, if he stayed. Would he be confused, annoyed, would he try and politely tell Minghao to go, or would he pretend to be fine with it?

In his head, there’s even a version where Mingyu is happy that Minghao’s still there when he wakes up.

Mingyu is warm, and the arm he’s got around Minghao’s shoulder is firm but soft. He’s snoring softly too, not loud enough for it to bother Minghao, but loud enough that he’ll tease Mingyu about it later anyway, just to get a rise out of him.

He can do that, but he can’t stay. He never stays. That’s not what they do, he and Mingyu. At least, it’s not what Minghao does– he hasn’t really asked Mingyu what he wants. He seems fine with this, fucking Minghao and watching the sun rise by himself afterwards.

Minghao doesn’t want to ask either, because it means that maybe they’ll have to stop, and that– no, Minghao doesn’t want to think about that.

He slips out of Mingyu’s grasp and starts looking for his clothes on the floor, tip-toeing around Mingyu’s dorm room like a thief. And maybe Minghao is a thief– it certainly feels like it, when he has to sneak out of Mingyu’s dorm and avoid being seen by his roommate, and he has to avoid waking up Jun when he gets back to his own dorm.

Not that Jun would care much what he’d been up to, but he’d be curious– he’d ask, and Minghao would have to tell the truth, because he never really could lie to Jun, for some reason.

And that means he’d have to talk about Mingyu, and what they are, and what they aren’t, and he’d have to try and define it in a way that makes sense, and give names to feelings that float around his chest unnamed.

He’d rather not have to go through that. So he leaves early, and he sneaks around, and he’ll let Mingyu fuck him again next weekend.

Minghao doesn’t know how to stay, but he doesn’t know how to stop either.

He’s not sure what he’d do without this, without Mingyu who always touches him so gingerly, like Minghao is something precious and something worth being gentle with. He doesn’t know what he’d do without Mingyu, who always fucks Minghao like he loves him. It's addicting, being wanted like that. He's never sure if it's real or not, though. And he's scared to ask.

Minghao is scared of a lot of things, it seems. Being loved, and not being loved, among other things.

sun and moon

[(Anonymous)]

Ship/Member: very partial to junhao, cheolshua, verkwan
Major Tags: any interpretation from long distance relationship to reincarnation/soulmate au
Additional Tags: N/A
Do Not Wants: major character death, sad ending

Prompt:

When my moon rises
Your sun rises as well under the same sky
In this different time
Our hearts are connected under the same sky

- nct 127, sun & moon (english translation by colorcodedlyrics)

[st8rgazer]

Ship/Member: Junhui / anyone
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: none
Do Not Wants: Cheating / Death

Prompt:

When facin' the things we turn away from
We're chasin' the way we were in Saigon
Oh, it's picked apart until there's nothing left of us to carry on
Now we're facin' the things we turn away from

- Saigon, Luke Hemmingsp