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

out of the gray city

[almondtree]

Ship/Member: i'm going to do something i never do and request meanie
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: bittersweetisms...
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

Why always me?
What'd I do wrong?
What am I in the rain for, in the rain for?
Rain in my tears, pouring in my eyes
Is it something that you sent to me?

- Take Me Home, ATEEZ

[FILL] do mi ti, why not me

[soupblog]

Ship/Member: meanie/minwon
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: original female character, bittersweetisms, cheating, implied/referenced sex, hurt/no comfort
Permission to remix: Please ask

***

“There you are, Mingyu.”

Mingyu looks up and grins, seeing Wonwoo standing a few feet in front of him. He gets up and walks over to him, greeting him with a hug.

“You’re late,” Mingyu says, giving Wonwoo a squeeze before stepping away. “I’m glad you made it. Parties suck without you, hyung.”

Wonwoo smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. He’s shifty, for some reason. “I wanted to introduce you to someone,” he says.

“Oh?” Mingyu replies. “Who?”

“You’ll see.”

“Mysterious,” Mingyu says. “What’s up with you?”

Wonwoo doesn’t reply, just nods his head in the direction he came from. Mingyu follows him through the crowd of people over to a table standing along the wall. A girl is sitting there, with long dark hair and red lips. She’s wearing one of Wonwoo’s hats– the beret Mingyu had gotten him for his birthday a few years back. Oh.

“Mingyu,” Wonwoo says, as the girl gets up and smiles at him, extending a hand. “Meet my girlfriend.”

Oh.

Something inside Mingyu crumples up inside him and dies, like someone holding a leaf over a flame. He stands there for a few seconds, dumbstruck, then realizes he has to do something– say something.

“Hi,” Mingyu says, taking the girl’s hand. Her skin is soft. “I uh… well, you already know who I am.”

His voice is coming out all wrong, too high pitched and raw. He doesn’t sound like himself, he doesn’t feel like himself.

The girl laughs airily. She’s pretty, Mingyu supposes, if you’re into that. Into girls.

“I do,” she says. “Wonwoo’s told me all about you. I’m Sohee.”

Just Wonwoo. She must be his age or older, then. And she says her name in a way that makes it seem like she’s saying, ‘you know, Sohee? His girlfriend? The girl he’s been telling you about?’ but the truth is, Wonwoo’s never mentioned Sohee to Mingyu before.

Mingyu wants to say this, but he doesn’t. He swallows it down.

“Good to finally meet you,” Mingyu says instead. He lets go of her hand and looks over at Wonwoo, who’s surveying him with a strange expression that Mingyu can’t quite place. “Well, I’ll get out of your hair. I don’t want to interrupt your date.”

The briefest look of regret passes over Wonwoo’s face, it’s there and then it’s gone. It’s not enough. Mingyu says goodbye and leaves, stalking towards the bar while something hot and evil coils around in the pit of his stomach.

Before he makes it to the bar, he changes his mind– he changes course, and he leaves the bar. As he’s closing the door behind him, Mingyu catches sight of Wonwoo– his arms are wrapped around Sohee’s waist, her head resting on his shoulder. But Wonwoo is looking at Mingyu.

Why is he looking at him? Hasn’t he hurt Mingyu enough?

Wonwoo should know better than to feed a dog he can’t keep. He should know better, but he doesn’t, and Mingyu doesn’t either– he gives Wonwoo a smile before turning around and walking out.

It’s raining outside, but for once, Mingyu doesn’t mind. He stands in the middle of the street, staring up at the starless night sky.

When Mingyu wakes up the next morning, for a second, he’s convinced it was just a weird dream. But he opens his phone and opens instagram, and there Sohee is on Wonwoo’s story– and Mingyu feels sick. He closes his phone and puts it back on the bedside table, turning onto his side and staring at the wall unseeingly. The thing in the pit of his stomach awakens, coiling around his insides.

Had he been imagining things? Had he been imagining the stolen glances, the lingering touches, all of it, was it just something Mingyu had made up in his head? Has Wonwoo ever liked him, or was it just wishful thinking?

Why did he like Sohee? Why not him? Why not him?

…

A month passes. Mingyu sees Wonwoo around the campus, and he’s not intentionally avoiding him– he just doesn’t go out of his way to say hi to him. That’s fair, isn’t it?

They talk, sometimes. In class, in between classes. Wonwoo texts him sometimes, asking if he’ll be at parties, that sort of thing. Mingyu says no, most of the time.

When he does go, it’s never quite the same as it was before. Wonwoo hovers around the party with Sohee, and Mingyu lingers in corners and shadows until one of his friends find him and tug him out. Rarely is Wonwoo the friend who does it, but when he does, it’s… tense. Sohee seems to either not notice, or she just ignores it.

She’s really quite sweet, and Mingyu wishes she wasn’t– it would be so much easier if she was mean and cruel, but she isn’t. She’s nice.

The three of them will share a drink, laugh a bit, dance a bit, and then Mingyu will make up an excuse and lock himself in the bathroom, or he’ll just leave.

Tonight, he leaves. Mingyu goes home and lies down flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling, and he thinks; why not me? Why not me? Why not me?

…

The next weekend Mingyu stays home. He’s lying on his couch half asleep when there’s a knock on his door which shakes him out of it, and he rolls off the couch with a groan.

He opens the door to see–

“Wonwoo hyung?”

“Hey,” Wonwoo says. He sounds tired. “Can I come in?”

“Oh,” Mingyu says. “I mean, sure.”

He lets Wonwoo inside, watching him take off his shoes and his jacket, completely shaken awake by his sudden appearance. Mingyu takes him into the living room and Wonwoo sits down on the couch and puts his head in his hands.

“Sorry about barging in like this,” Wonwoo says at length, looking up at Mingyu again. “Sohee kicked me out, and there’s no way for me to get back to mine at this hour. I need a place to crash for the night.”

Of course, Mingyu thinks. Of course Wonwoo only looks for Mingyu when he needs something from him. He’s not sure if he minds.

“Alright,” Mingyu says. “You can sleep here, it’s fine. Do you…” he gestures vaguely. “Want to talk, or something?”

“I don’t know,” Wonwoo replies.

“Do you want a beer?”

“Yeah.”

Mingyu opens his mini fridge and takes two beer cans, tossing one to Wonwoo before sitting down on the couch next to him. They sit in silence for a while, drinking. Eventually, Wonwoo speaks up again.

“I’m bad at fighting,” he says.

Mingyu scoffs, “I don’t think anyone’s good at fighting with their partner.”

“I guess not,” Wonwoo says. “I just feel like… I don’t know, I feel like I should’ve said better things. The right things. To fix it.”

“Would those things have been the truth?” Mingyu asks.

Wonwoo looks at him for a long time, before eventually shaking his head and saying, “I changed my mind. I don’t want to think about it.”

“I don’t think I’m the right person to ask for relationship advice anyway, hyung,” Mingyu says– because he can’t stop himself. He can’t stop himself from wanting to make it better, always like a dog wanting to please its owner. He hates himself for it almost as much as he hates Wonwoo. “I could be a good distraction, though.”

“A distraction?” Wonwoo says. He’s still looking at Mingyu, but his eyes have changed, clouded a bit and grown darker. His beer stands empty on the coffee table.

And then, quite suddenly, Wonwoo leans forward– instinctually Mingyu leans back, and they end up almost flat against the couch, Mingyu caged in by Wonwoo’s arms on either side of him.

“Hyung–”

He doesn’t get to finish. Wonwoo kisses him hard, pushes him back into the couch, and Mingyu’s mind goes blank, completely blank– all he can think of is Wonwoo pressed up against him, and then as suddenly as it came, it’s over.

Wonwoo pulls away, as if startled by his own actions, “sorry, fuck, Mingyu–”

“It’s okay,” Mingyu hurries, following Wonwoo up and grabbing onto his shirt, desperately, pathetically. “It’s fine, hyung.”

It’s not fine. It’s not fine. That wasn’t what Mingyu had meant by distraction at all– he’d thought about putting on a movie, or talking about something other than Sohee, not… not this. But if he can have this, maybe…

“No it’s not,” Wonwoo says, shaking his head. “Mingyu, I–”

“It’s okay,” Mingyu says again, and he pulls Wonwoo back down with him, and Wonwoo follows. “I’ll distract you, hyung. Let me be a distraction. Let me– let me be useful to you. Use me, I want– I want to be useful.”

Wonwoo stares at him unblinkingly for a few seconds, and then he’s kissing him again, even hungrier this time, his tongue forcing its way into his mouth as he kisses him roughly. He manages to manhandle Mingyu into a more comfortable position, so that Wonwoo is lying in between his legs, his arms still on either side of his head, trapping him there.

And Mingyu’s wanted this for so long that he doesn’t care why it’s happening, doesn’t care about the consequences. He just wants Wonwoo.

He tugs impatiently at Wonwoo’s shirt, trying to get it off, “bedroom,” he whines, “please, hyung. This couch is too small.”

Wonwoo just hums in response, pressing wet kisses down his neck, “yeah,” he mumbles, “right, okay. Bedroom.”

They get up, but their lips don’t leave each other– Mingyu can’t stop, if he stops he’ll start thinking about it, why it’s a bad idea, why he shouldn’t, and so will Wonwoo.

They fumble their way backwards into Mingyu’s bedroom and fall onto the bed, a mess of limbs, panting and racing against an imaginary clock. Reality, maybe.

Mingyu’s head is swimming, and the only parts of his body he can feel are the parts of him that are touching Wonwoo, or that Wonwoo’s touching, and he’s real– they’re both real.

When Wonwoo is pressing wet kisses down Mingyu’s neck and then across his abdomen, he turns his head to the side and sees Wonwoo’s phone in the bundle of clothes next to them on the bed. Several unread messages are shown on the screen, all of them from Sohee. Mingyu turns the phone off.

And Mingyu tries to forget whose skin Wonwoo’s lips have been on, what his hands have done. He tries not to think about who Wonwoo wishes Mingyu was.

It works, almost.

When Mingyu wakes up the next morning, Wonwoo is gone. It’s raining again.

if your heart beats the same way, let me know!

[almondtree]

Ship/Member: Any
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: mutual flirting!! confessions!
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

Catching feels like butterflies
If I say what's on my mind, would I hit bullseye?
Shoot, I'm ready, aim and fire
Baby, I feel like Cupid's alive
Alive tonight

...

'Cause you got me good and I wanna be ya boo
If it's dumb, well, I wanna be a fool

- The Feels, TWICE

vengence

[thesolemneyed]

Ship/Member: junhui ?? i beg
Major Tags: ?? death :3
Additional Tags: go wild !
Do Not Wants: nothing make it fucked up as you want !

Prompt:

Tell them to come in
Why are your eyes cast down
I'll keep it a secret
Your corruption and sin
...
Watch me dance
Watch me sing
Don't ever get caught again
You'll thеn see
The bad bitch
-- BIBI, Vengeance

[FILL] don't get sad, get even

[wonwoes]

Ship/Member: Jun/Seungcheol
Major Tags: Cheating, infedelity, NSFW, sexual content, MCD
Additional Tags: Pining, revenge, sex work
Permission to remix: Please ask

***
Jun feels an iron-grip eclipse his waist: a brand, a challenge, a confession. He doesn't have to turn around to guess who it is; this is what you get when big, powerful men walk into the room: you just know.

He doesn't flinch despite his blood spiking, alarm bells ringing red behind his eyes. No, you don't flinch on the job—you lean back and pretend to enjoy it.

"You're early," Jun purrs into the glass he's holding, watches the neon lights dance around the liquid, warping and twisting. He lets his neck be kissed, feels teeth grazing the column of his throat like a deer offering itself for slaughter.

The circle of life, eat and be eaten.

"Cancelled meeting," more kisses down his throat but this time, fingers dance around the buttons of his shirt, twisting and pulling. Jun simply hums, watches the scene unfold in front of him with a lazy eye. Like he's not even there, a bystander watching his own ruination.

He wonders if the Chinese place near his apartment would still be open after work, he's craving for dumplings.

"Wanna take this upstairs?"

And Jun nods, his voice a tiny little thing inside of him as he feels himself being pulled and then dragged.

He wonders if it's worth the effort to put up a fight, wonders why he doesn't even think of putting up one. Maybe it has become a habit, do it enough of times and it turns into a routine.

But there's nothing routine with the way his back meets the feather-soft bed, there are hands on his hair urging his neck to go up, up, up until he tastes cherry on his lips.

Must have been with the wife, then.

Suddenly, something akin to a firecracker lights inside Jun's gut, a line of boom, boom, boom exploding and he finds himself pushing back. Hand on his chest, Jun flips them over and revels in the quiet surprise that flashes in Seungcheol's wide eyes.

Jun doesn't waste any time. He rids Seungcheol of his shirt, morbid satisfaction lacing his fingers as he hears the clack of buttons falling to the ground like broken glass.

He can never leave marks but he can make things difficult, have men confess their sins to him like a priest, force them to confront their true nature, let them stare at the beast of their own creation.

He can force Seungcheol to call up his secretary and ask them to deliver a fresh shirt for him to wear before going home, pretending he doesn't reek of someone else. Go back to his quaint, little house, perhaps to a small dog excitedly nipping at his pant legs before he bends down and cages them in his arms. Perhaps a door will open, a silver crack of light disturbing the darkness of the living room, perhaps someone will walk out in a tiny slip of a thing and kiss him like Jun never had.

Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.

"You're distracted, is something wrong?"

Confusion flash like warning signs on Seungcheol's eyes and Jun bats it away with a single wink, "Just thinking of ways we can have fun, tonight."

Seungcheol languidly leans back against the pillows and watches Jun with a smug grin, "Alright, take the lead, then."

When Jun kisses Seungcheol, he kisses him like a confession—a sinner begging for mercy, a soul condemned to the fire, desperation making his movements hungry and erratic.

"Slow down," Seungcheol hisses as he pulls Jun off his cock.

Vision swimming hazy, drool dribbling from his lips, Jun smiles, "Thought I'll be taking the lead?"

"Not when you're about to bite my dick off," Seungcheol scoffs as he flips them over, muscles rippling like the ocean in a storm.

"Hey, you're with me?"

Jun thinks that's a funny question, was he ever truly with Seungcheol?

"Suck me off?" Jun asks because he doesn't want to read into whatever's clawing in his chest, demanding for attention.

Its dangerous territory.

Seungcheol doesn't say anything else, simply delivers and Jun holds on to him desperately as they chase their high.

The sound of skin slapping against each other reverbrates across the room like an unfinished melody: broken, grating, discordant.

A reminder of their sins.

-

Jun watches in silence as Seungcheol sleeps soundly beside him, a beast tamed and satisfied. It's a stark contrast to the way he envelopes a room once he walks in, movements purposeful and sure. All business, gets what he wants in a blink of an eye.

Men like him don't wait, men like him take, men like him never pay for their sins.

Jun makes sure the flash is off, the brightness of his phone turned all the way down as his fingers move across the screen.

Later, Jun wakes up to the sound of the bell ringing.

Must be the dumplings, he thinks as he pulls the door open.

—

[BREAKING NEWS] Man shot in his home, gunman at large authorities say.

I Am Crazy

[madeoutcreek]

Ship/Member: Any, highly suggest yjh or xmh though
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: rule 63, lesbianism, ophelia vibes
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

Waves come crashing on in
But I'm feeling the rapture cool on my skin
Take me under the blue

- Hayley Kiyoko, Under the Blue / Take Me In

What I want from the river is what I always want:
to be held by a stronger thing that, in the end, chooses mercy

- Oliver Baez Bendorf, Advantages of Being Evergreen

In fact, no matter how deep I go
Into you, it looks like the water is crystal clear

Crystal clear
I won't give in to the fear

- Hayley Williams, Crystal Clear

If I survive, I'll dive back in

- Paramore, Pool

forget about the war-like times, my heart shouts

[(Anonymous)]

Ship/Member: Any (kinda maknae-line coded tho ..)
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: N/A (but also maybe consider: re-learning love, fixing each others' broken pieces, the intimacy of adventure, etc etc)
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

Can you believe it’s only the beginning?
I think I finally know what love is
Ready or not we’re going, trust me
(Soldiers knocking doors down yelling out)

~ Hello Future, NCT Dream

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

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

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

[(Anonymous)]

OH MY GOD THIS IS EVERYTHING

[oransodacan]

Ship/Member: Any (I especially see Josh or Jeonghan POV.. or Hoshi Woozi combination... or Wonwoo.... actually just any.)
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: internalized homophobia, resisting temptation, resentment, seduction
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

Walk in the room
Take off your coat
You look so nice
I've been so cold
You wanna be my special one
I cannot breathe
Please just go home

Michelle
Michelle
You are a monster from hell

Walk in the room
Watching you smoke
I'm such a fool
Take off your coat

You know just how to be cruel

Michelle, Sir Chloe

Baby what we fighting for

[firmamentss]

Ship/Member: Any (but as a wonwoo biased, timidly requesting wonwoo)
Major Tags: academic rivals to lover
Additional Tags: denial of feelings, also inserting miley’s 7 things lyrics here without inserting it, or one actively competing and another is just indulging the rivalry
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

Yes, is the obvious answer. I do hate you. I hate everything about you. I hate you so much that whenever I’m around you, I can barely think straight. I can barely even breathe.

- Ann Liang, If You Could See the Sun

&

Tell me what you're feeling now
Just confront it
I don't wanna go to war
I've never felt this way before

- War, Chance Peña

[firmamentss]

Ship/Member: Any
Major Tags: watching someone you love walking the wrong path
Additional Tags: ambiguous ending is ok, trying to hold on but also not wanting to stay to watch you love one spiral
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

“You've gone too far this time, and it's killing you,
Talk to me, don't be someone that I used to know”..

.. “How can you say it's getting better, it's a merry-go-round?
I can't quite see it, but I know it's getting faster,
It's gone too far this time, and it's killing me,
No joke, 'cause some thing I would rather never see,
For you.”

- It's A Waste Man, Iskra Strings and Paul Dixon

everyone who passes

[aenia]

Ship/Member: jeongcheol but if you have any other ship in mind please go ahead!
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: exes
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

and everyone who passes
will be you
or almost you
before it's someone else.

– "Blues", John Burnside

black lacquered

[citadis]

Ship/Member: any
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: ill-advised (or not!) bdsm relationships
Do Not Wants: none

Prompt:

Dress me in leather
Oh, that's a little better
But that's still not it
None of this shit fits

But I keep you on your best behavior
Honey, I can't be your savior
Love you to the grave and farther
Honey, I am not your martyr

But then you say, "Please"

- st. vincent, savior

a soul that could easily kill

[(Anonymous)]

Ship/Member: Any
Major Tags: possible violence and hitman/target
Additional Tags: killing eve vibes, how do i deserve to love you if i'm here to kill you?
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

i am intrinsically no good
i have a heart that's made of wood
i am only biding time, only reciting memorized lines
and i'm not fit to touch
the hem of your garment
no, i'm not fit to touch the hem of your garment

- from hem of your garment, cake

Re: a soul that could easily kill

[brigand]

Ship/Member: Seungkwan/Wonwoo
Major Tags: Assassins/hitmen
Additional Tags: Lots of talk of blood and bullet wounds and murder; ambiguous character death
Permission to remix: Yes

this kind of got away from me and veered off-prompt, but i hope you enjoy nonetheless ♥

Well, first things first:

“You couldn’t have shot me in the shoulder? The foot?” When there’s no reply Seungkwan scoffs and continues tearing the bedsheet into thin strips. It’s a cheap motel and the sheets are - were - too, but he’s pretty sure they’ll be enough to keep him from bleeding out in the next hour. And even if they aren’t, it’s not like he’ll be around to regret it.

“Here, hold this.” He starts wrapping the makeshift bandage around his forearm. “It’s pretty rude not to make it a headshot, you know,” he lectures, only wincing a little as the bedsheet is immediately soaked through with blood. “Now it’ll take me hours to bleed out, and it’ll hurt. That’s inconsiderate, okay?”

“You shouldn’t make your own tourniquet. It could give you severe nerve damage,” Wonwoo says - the first words he offered Seungkwan in five years. He probably thinks the gunshot said enough.

“I took a first aid class, jerk. And, hey!” He stops wrapping long enough to slap Wonwoo’s knee with his uninjured arm. “The shooter isn’t allowed to give the shoot-ee advice! You lose all of your credibility when you, you know! Shoot!”

Wonwoo doesn’t have a response to that one, which, typical. He gets Seungkwan a glass of water, though, and makes him drink the whole thing. After that he does a pretty good job of holding bedsheets steady, though, and even secures it himself once the bleeding has slowed enough. Up close he smells like sweat and metal and nothing. His hands are steady even when slippery with blood; he’s probably uncomfortable any other way.

After, Seungkwan makes Wonwoo sit on the other bed on the side furthest from Seungkwan, as if a few centimeters will save him. The gun is still where he dropped it, right after. It would be useless to go after it - knowing Wonwoo, there are at least two others somewhere on his person, and he could very easily kill Seungkwan with the pillowcase, that lamp, the hotel-supplied shampoo…

Probably a good idea to stop thinking along those lines.

“So,” he says instead, “you’re still trying to kill me?” Keep it light, conversational.

Wonwoo’s face does that thing it always does when he’s in (emotional) pain, which is get even more handsome. He’s so good at brooding, it’s infuriating; no assassin should be able to make moral conflict that pretty. (Seungkwan yelled that at him the first or second time Wonwoo tried to kill him, back in… Granada? Seville? Somewhere Andalusian; Wonwoo just looked confused, which was, predictably, gorgeous as well.)

“You changed your code name.” Wonwoo spreads his hands as if offering penance, but, unfortunately for him, they remain empty. “When I got the contract, it said- So I didn’t know.”

Seungkwan rolls his eyes. There are black spots near the edges of his vision, but that doesn’t mean anything, probably. “I’ve been Ghost since 2020. A good hitman would keep abreast of his industry peers.”

At the noise Wonwoo lets out, Seungkwan double-checks to make sure he himself wasn’t shot. “I’m not. Anymore.”

“Good?”

“A- that, I’m not that anymore.”

Seungkwan doesn’t have enough energy to give that the response it deserves, so he simply gestures - arm, gun, blood on the carpet, soaking through the weave. Wonwoo lets out another groan.

“It wasn’t like that. I’m out of the game. I’ve been out since…” He pauses, lets Seungkwan fill in the blank with the words neither of them would ever, ever say out loud to the other: since Riga. “I was back in Seoul, keeping my head down. I had a job, Seungkwan-ah, part-time and the pay was bad, but I never had to hurt anyone. I was… happy. I think.”

Seungkwan’s throat is dry. He can feel all of the blood in his body, and all of the blood that’s coming out of it. He has to swallow twice before he can find his voice. “But you shot me.”

Wonwoo’s running his hands through his hair, which has grown out to brush the nape of his neck, and would probably feel soft beneath Seungkwan’s fingers, like baby bird feathers. “By the time they found me, there were things I didn’t want to lose. Things they could use as…”

“Leverage.” Seungkwan is almost sympathetic, except that any sympathy he’d ever had for Jeon Wonwoo died on a cold Latvian beach. “What’s her name, Wonwoo-sshi? I hope you hide her better this time. If she’s still alive.”

Wonwoo doesn’t rise to the bait. He never did. “One file. One name. After that I would be done. All of my debts would be paid. But. Seungkwan. You have to listen.” His Professor Jeon voice, self-serious to a fault, they all always used to make fun of him when he got like this except Seungkwan didn’t hate it as much as he pretended to (and, unfortunately, Wonwoo knew that.) “I didn’t know it was you. I never wanted to hurt you again.”

His tongue feels thick and heavy. His body feels thick and heavy. His blood feels… “You… Bullshit…” he chokes out.

Wonwoo has crossed the distance between the beds in one fluid motion, has gotten on his knees in the gap in between, is looking up at Seungkwan imploringly, big serious eyes, beautiful sad mouth. His hand on Seungkwan’s ankle, grasping or caressing, to hurt or to soothe, Seungkwan has never been able to tell.

Go away, Seungkwan wants to say, you’re not allowed to touch me anymore; but his mouth isn’t working. His throat isn’t working. He licks his lips, and finally he tastes the sleeping powder.

“I’m sorry, Seungkwan-ah,” Wonwoo says softly, "I swear I am." And the worst part is, he really must be. He looks so handsome saying it.

- No, actually, this is the worst part: the last thing Seungkwan says before he loses consciousness, maybe the last thing he’ll ever say in this lifetime - not a yell of triumph, not a scream of revenge. When it comes to this, Seungkwan’s never been so lucky. When it comes to Wonwoo, he’s always been a fool.

“Wonwoo,” Seungkwan whispers, and then it all floats away.

reluctantly crouched at the starting line

[(Anonymous)]

Ship/Member: seokmin/any
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: f1 but also the green knight sort of...maybe reserve driver or trainee seokmin, devotion, honor, drive, being prepared to die every time he gets on the track
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

'cause he's racing and pacing and plotting the course
he's fighting and biting and riding on his horse
the sun has gone down and the moon has come up
and long ago somebody left with the cup
but he's driving and striving and hugging the turns
and thinking of someone for whom he still burns

- from the distance, cake

[FILL] FORM

[thembocollector]

Ship/Member: mingyu, minghao, jeonghan, seokmin, implied gyuhao
Major Tags: n/a
Additional Tags: f1 au, sports are Intricate Rituals constructed by homosexuality, rivalries
Permission to remix: Yes

finally my years of watching f1 and brief caratism has paid off. i am so sorry this was not seokmin centric op i will make it up to you

***


The Weekend of the Belgian Grand Prix

The pit-lane was crowded, because of course it was. Minghao obediently held the front right-wing tyre cover and tried not to make eye contact with Mingyu.

The world's most expensive blankets, he thought, staring down at the tyre cover as it continued to warm up the tyre in front of him.

Mingyu was currently staring ahead into the distance. His visor had not yet been put down, so Minghao gave Mingyu an awkward smile.

Minghao always enjoyed the silence before races. Everyone was hyperfocused and on edge, and he enjoyed the way his mind would eventually filter itself, only surrounding itself with a possible win on the horizon. Some choice tracks of his were playing overhead as the garage slowed itself down to focus on the steady heartbeat of the car.

If mechanics were the vessels leading towards the centre, then the driver was at the very core of it all; its grotesque and still-beating heart. Endless hours pored over setups wouldn't matter if the driver was an absolute tit and fucked it all up.

Don't fuck it up, everyone seemed to say, eyeing Mingyu warily, displeased at the way he'd spun out during his last outlap during their last Free Practice. The steady thudding beat of a house track pulsated throughout the garage, waiting to burst.

With eleven minutes left in Q1 of Qualifying, Minghao's fellow mechanics released their tyre blankets and watched Mingyu exit the pit lane with absolute certainty.

Seokmin, Jeonghan's mechanic, was currently chewing gum as he talked with two hands shoved in his racing suit. He clapped Minghao on the shoulder. "What do you think?

Minghao raised his eyebrows. "About what?"

"Tomorrow's race."

Currently, Jeonghan was projected to do better than Mingyu by the pundits. Minghao gazed into the distance. "Some rivalry can't hurt us, can it?"

***

Mingyu returned, frustrated, eyeing the screen.

P7, it said.

"It's Q1, mate, no worries about it," another mechanic said, and Minghao was inclined to agree. There was no point pushing the car to its limits in the first quarter, after all, when there were two more to go. The final battle would only begin then.

Mingyu just made a frustrated gesture towards his steering wheel instead.

Minghao looked at him. "Is there a problem?"

"No there fucking isn't," Mingyu said.

"Hurry up, mate, out with your complaints, we don't have all day," Rusty said, eyeing him with disdain. Rusty was a middle-aged mechanic from Milton Keynes who liked to proclaim that he was far too old for the shenanigans of a young Korean.

"There...was a lot of understeer right before Radillon," Mingyu said unhappily.

Drivers came up with a lot of excuses. Minghao was getting better at discerning whether they were genuine complaints with the car, or whether they were down to the driver. This time round, he couldn't tell.

He searched Mingyu's face for clues, but he came up with nothing. Mingyu's face remained impassive as ever. Minghao wanted to punch him. The thought was sudden and swift, but it winded him all the same.

"You listening to this?" Rusty said, brows raised.

Minghao nodded. Communicating with the Western mechanics seemed to involve a lot of swearing, so when they didn't swear, Minghao only felt as though he'd fucked up. There was also a problem with sarcasm, which he'd only learnt through being around them. Easy to mimic, hard to detect, he thought.

Their setup would have to be the same today as tomorrow's. If Mingyu was complaining about understeer this late in the game, Minghao could only pray to the gods for something to go their way the following day.

"Just make sure to extract what you can from the car," Minghao said. "Don't push yourself too hard."

Mingyu sneered at him, making Minghao break his gaze.

***

Mingyu’s suspicions weren't entirely unfounded, after all. Jeonghan managed to stay on top of him and other midfield teams such as in the standings, taking the car to its limits.

Jeonghan returned from Q2 smiling whilst Mingyu stayed in his car, stony-faced. P4 and P10, respectively. Mingyu had fallen in the standings. Had barely made it to Q3. Was a position away from being knocked out.

"Not gonna lie," Rusty said, lips quirked upwards, "I kind of wish he had gotten knocked out."

Minghao felt his brows shoot upwards. "Why?"

"So that he could've chosen his tyres for tomorrow instead of having to use the old ones from today."

Fuck, Rusty was right. Minghao schooled his features, trying to not let his disappointment bleed through. "You're right," Minghao muttered, suddenly displeased. If Mingyu was going to work shoddily, he might as well have made it easy for the rest of the team.

"Might be the suspension," Mingyu said, and in a matter of seconds, someone handed Minghao a canister of suspension polish. He sprayed it dutifully, making sure that all suspension components were covered.

Meanwhile, the other mechanics prepped the car by cleaning it and downloading data from it. Minghao gazed upon its umbilical cord and turned away. From here, he could spot Minhyuk squinting at the telemetry on the screen while sighing. They were supposed to compare data between the cars, of course, but the fact that he seemed upset was enough to make Minghao sweat.

He walked over to Minhyuk. "Did Jeonghan experience understeer in Radillon as well?"

Seokmin made a face. "No. Did he?" He gestured over to Mingyu, who was staring into nothing from the driver's cockpit.

"What do you think?"

"Honestly?" Seokmin paused for a moment.

Minghao nodded. "Yeah." They needed all the information they could get, after all, no matter how painful the truth.

"I think he's been sloppy all weekend while the car's been excellent."

The other mechanics seemed to think so, too. Jeonghan had been performing at a stellar pace as well. Great, Minghao thought. Fantastic, even.

***

Qualifying ended with their spots being firmly in place. Jeonghan, P4. Mingyu, dead last among the group.

"You made it to Q3, well done," Minghao managed to say, finally. Mingyu took one look at him and turned away.

when we're alone

[almondtree]

Ship/Member: any but consider leader line members (scoups, hoshi, woozi, maybe dk)
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: N/A
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

You gotta let me down
Will you remember me as I am now?
And I know you're strong
I know you're a manmade fortress
But we're alone
And I'm so willing to be proven wrong

- Timefighter, Lucy Dacus

One foot out the door, bring me back in

[southern_glock]

Ship/Member: seokgyu, any
Major Tags: angst, angst with a happy ending, feeling insecure in a healthy relationship
Additional Tags: past relationship trauma, gyu is the insecure one...mb
Do Not Wants: hurt/no comfort, mcd

Prompt

I refuse to store
All my joy in you
For if you ever leave,
I would not know what to do.

—Hesitate, F. S. Yousaf

a full tank away from freedom

[almondtree]

Ship/Member: Any
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: post-disbandment or first time apart since debut? reunion road trip? forced proximity? bed sharing??? go wild
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

And I'm yours
'Til the earth starts to crumble and the heavens roll away
I'm struggling to exist with you
And without you

...

These are the last blues we're ever gonna have
Let's see how deep we get
The glow of the cities below lead us back
To the places that we never should have left

- Bishops Knife Trick, Fall Out Boy

[FILL]: Places We Never Should Have Left

[thesolemneyed]

Ship/Member: Wonwoo/Junhui
Major Tags: Post-Apocalypse
Additional Tags: Character Death, Finding Each Other Again
Permission to remix: Yes

kissing you on the lips this was so fun to write. sorry she's so bleak it be like that.
ao3 twt

your pretty hands

[corar]

Ship/Member: gyuhao, seokhao, seokgyuhao.... gyuhan... cheolsoo... honestly just suggestions but i'm open to any :)
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: N/A
Do Not Wants: MCD

Prompt:

Much more likely you’ll hurt me. Still what does it matter? If I’ve got to suffer, it may as well be at your hands, your pretty hands.

Jean-Paul Sarte, No Exit

i am always looking away, or again at something (after it has given me up)

[(Anonymous)]

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

Prompt:

I am the least difficult of men. All I want is boundless love.

— Meditations in an Emergency, Frank O'Hara [x (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/26538/meditations-in-an-emergency)]

[(Anonymous)]

Ship/Member: Any/Any or genfic
Major Tags: Any
Additional Tags: trainee era? the company medicating them to get them to perform/keep energy up/lose inhibitions/not complain. do they know and do it willingly? is it concealed? how does it change who they are, their own sense of reality?
Do Not Wants: make it dark as you want but prefer no mcd (minor characters okay)

Prompt:

You wouldn't even know me since you went away
The Prozac doesn't do it for me anymore
Yeah you ought to take your medication every day
Be a good dog, live life in a wonderful way

+

I know now every day
I get closer to the place inside
Where I can be complacent
I get closer to the place inside
Where I can be sedated

everclear, normal like you

I'll keep loving you til there's nothing left of me

[southern_glock]

Ship/Member: preferred jeongcheol, any
Major Tags: any
Additional Tags: any
Do Not Wants: mcd, ambiguous ending

Prompt

I know our love won't be a give and take
I'll keep on giving, giving, giving and hope
Someday you do the same
'Cause I would give you my everything
And get nothing, nothing, nothing in return for wasted days
But I, I like you the way you are
And I, I wouldn't mind if you broke my heart
Then sit and watch as I slowly fall apart

—What a Shame, Telltale