17hols | 2022 Round 1: Quotes

2022 Round 1: Quotes

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

"If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more."

"What is grief, if not love persevering?"

"You kept me like a secret but I kept you like an oath"

Calling all readers, lovers of poetry and music, screen and stage. Quote collecters and lyric hoarders, unleash your archive. Each prompt must contain a quote - you can combine them, add commentary, link to articles, and more. Steal from a literary classic, or WeVerse drama. Have fun!

Examples

Minghao + Ocean Vuong

The most beautiful part of your body
is where it's headed. & remember,
loneliness is still time spent
with the world.

Ocean Vuong - night sky with exit wounds

Hoshi/Anyone; "Beauty is terror"

Thinking about these two quotes together and the idea of on/off-stage personas:

"Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful we tremble before it. And what could be more terrifying or beautiful, to the Greeks to to our own, than to lose control completely?" - Donna Tartt, the Secret Histories

"I am calm in everyday life but when I put on my in-ear device and step on stage, I can feel the tension and hear the cheers getting louder as the music gets louder. When the staff tells me it's time to step on stage, I feel something boil inside me. I feel it steaming inside and I think I have to give a burst of something, spill what is inside me." - Hoshi in Hit the Road Ep. 04

Any ship; "It's been so many years"

Hello, hello there, is this Martha?
This is old Tom Frost
And I am calling long distance
Don't worry 'bout the cost.
'Cause it's been forty years or more
Now Martha please recall
Meet me out for coffee
Where we'll talk about it all.

Tom Watts - Martha

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 to something interesting;
Copy+Paste the following HTML into your comment and edit the sections. Feel free to add as much detail as you want!
Ship/Member: Any Major Tags: N/A Additional Tags: N/A Do Not Wants: None Prompt: <blockquote>[QUOTE GOES HERE] </blockquote>

Filling

Reply to the original prompt;
Change the subject to [FILL], you may add a title or stay chaotic;
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.

Ship/Member: Any Major Tags: N/A Additional Tags: N/A Permission to remix: 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)

Ship/Member: Any Major Tags: N/A Additional Tags: N/A Permission to remix: 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

❮ ROUND 1: QUOTES ❯

ROUND 2: ALTERNATE UNIVERSES

ROUND 3: LAST WORDS

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

writing this made me feel equally shitty while also cathartic!! vernon you can do so much better!!! thank you for reading and i'm sorry josh sucks so much!!

[jenny slate scream.png]

oh my GOD this was so good!!!!!!!!!!! the tensions…..how much jeonghan wants mingyu and how annoyed he is about it…perfect perfect perfect!!!!!!! ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!

Ship/Member: Seokmin/Minghao
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: friends to lovers(?), alcohol, drowning used as a metaphor
Permission to remix: Yes
Word count: 1791

dear ki, i probably shouldn’t be doing this when the prompt has already been filled so well but this poem has haunted me so! here we are, with no plot but lots of vibes

***

In the summer
I stretch out on the shore
And think of you. Had I told the sea
What I felt for you,
It would have left its shores,
Its shells,
Its fish,
And followed me.

- Nizar Qabbani

and you are ready to die in this swimming pool
because you wanted to touch his hands and lips and this means
your life is over anyway.

- Richard Siken

***

Minghao learns that he likes Seokmin by a lake.

It’s a school biology trip, and they’re sitting on the lakeside, using little nets to look for fish or plants or insects or whatever. Minghao’s already forgotten what they’re supposed to be doing. The sun glares on the back of his neck, like he’s being punished for something, and the dry grass irritates his legs. The air is teeming with insects; Minghao hasn’t seen any, but he can feel the shadows of them crawl over his skin. He shifts uncomfortably, looking over at Seokmin, his partner for the project. Seokmin is actually bent over the lake, moving the net around, discomfort be damned. Rays of sunlight crown him from behind and highlight the focus in his eyes, like he’ll coerce a fish into the net by sheer force of will.

“Why are you doing this?” Minghao asks.

“Doing what?” Seokmin replies, briefly glancing at him.

“Trying. Nobody else is. They’ve given up.”

“You never know, we could catch something!”

And isn’t that Seokmin all over? Trying when nobody else would? Helping when nobody else would? Befriending Minghao when nobody else would? If there was one thing that Minghao knows about his friend, it’s that he would only stop when he had enough, not when anyone else did.

Even so, Minghao doesn’t want him to waste his time.

“I’m not sure we’re actually going to-”

“Shh! I think I feel something!”

Minghao scrambles closer to Seokmin, watching the net intently. Seokmin’s hand is clenched tight on the handle like he’s drowning, like he’s the one struggling in the water. Minghao thinks he could memorise the shape of his hands; he isn’t quite there yet, but one day he could commit the ridges and valleys of them to memory.

“Well? Did you get anything?” Minghao asks.

Seokmin’s grip loosens. He turns to Minghao and smiles sheepishly.

“Sorry,” he whispers, like there’s something to apologise for. Minghao just smiles back.

Seokmin takes the net out of the water, looks around furtively to check nobody’s looking, and then puts it on the ground next to him. He stretches his arms out, tilting his head back to let the sun kiss his face, and if Minghao’s heart were a kite, it would be soaring right now with Seokmin to guide it.

He’s not used to this. He’s been friends with Seokmin for some time now, but he’s had an enduring heaviness in his core for as long as he’s been alive, and he’s not used to Seokmin making it lighter with his gentle smile. Minghao isn’t sure, but he thinks he knows this feeling - like he would know a friend of a friend, someone he’s heard about but never seen.

Minghao likes Seokmin. It’s a horrible thing to realise, that he likes someone as likeable and bright and untouchable as Seokmin. But as the insect shadows fester on him and bite through his skin, he realises he does like Seokmin. He burns with the knowledge, and the sun tries to turn him to ash, and at that moment he wishes that the lake would burst its banks and wash over him, drown him, swallow him whole.

***

Minghao learns to kiss Seokmin by a swimming pool.

It’s someone’s party, someone rich enough to have a swimming pool, and Minghao shouldn’t really be there. Neither should Seokmin. Not that their parents would mind or anything like that, but neither of them are there because they want to be. They’re there because everyone else is. And because there’s alcohol.

It’s the alcohol that’s making Minghao act like he is now, clinging to Seokmin like he’s the only thing stopping him from falling. In a way, he is - Minghao wouldn’t really have anyone else to talk to if Seokmin weren’t there. They try to dance in the living room to the horrible music for a bit, but then Seokmin pulls Minghao close and whispers,

“Do you want to get out of here?”

and Minghao has never agreed to anything faster.

They push past throngs of couples and obnoxious drunk boys to slip out to where the pool is. It’s quieter, but something in Minghao’s head buzzes as he walks around the pool with Seokmin.

He’s used to the thrumming ache of liking Seokmin without being liked back. He’s had a good two years of practice. He knows, really, that he wouldn’t sacrifice their friendship for anything - a thousand kisses would never be worth the risk of losing out on Seokmin’s bright smile. But in moments like this, where it’s just them, the ache turns into a hope, which turns into a longing, which turns into a rush of affection that almost suffocates Minghao.

So that is what he’s thinking about as he walks with Seokmin. Unfortunately, he’s so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he doesn’t even notice when he’s falling forwards.

He hears the splash before he realises that he’s the one in the water. He’s drenched from head to toe and starting to shiver - the pool’s much colder than he was expecting it to be.

Seokmin throws his head back and laughs, the full moon makes his laugh sound brighter. Seokmin moves to the edge of the pool, holding out a hand for Minghao to take, and Minghao - well, he grabs Seokmin’s hand and pulls him in the water.

Minghao giggles when Seokmin resurfaces, shaking like a dog and pushing his hair out of his eyes. He whines a little as he insists,

“That wasn’t funny, Minghao!”

“Oh come on. It was a little bit, don’t you think?”

“You’re insufferable, Minghao.”

“Am I?”

“Yeah,” Seokmin retaliates, crowding him against a corner of the pool. “You are.”

Suddenly, Minghao gets the feeling that he might not be drunk in this rich kid’s swimming pool. He must have just ascended, and that’s why Seokmin is looking at him like this. His eyes shining, drops of water falling from his hair, looking at Minghao like-

“You’re really insufferable, Minghao,” he says, his breath cold on Minghao’s lips.

“I’m not as bad as you,” Minghao mumbles. “You keep looking at me like- like-”

“Like what?”

Minghao gulps. He takes a deep breath and-

Seokmin kisses him, ever so gently. His hands are awkwardly gripping Minghao’s T-shirt, and it seems like he doesn’t really know what he’s doing. So Minghao takes over. He wraps his arms around Seokmin’s middle, bringing one hand to the back of his neck, and starts kissing him properly.

Minghao read somewhere that the heart of a mouse beats so fast that it doesn’t even sound like it’s beating at all. He thinks he’s feeling something similar, like his heart is beating so fast he’s not even sure he has one. All he has is Seokmin on him, around him. The alcohol is buzzing through his veins, and part of him is panicking that someone’s going to catch them - and yet he thinks, as the sharp chlorine stings at his eyes and nose, that this feels like the most natural thing in the world.

Minghao wants to kiss Seokmin. He wants to drag Seokmin into the pool with him, to let Seokmin fill his eyes and the water fill his ears, and he wants to taste the chlorine on Seokmin’s lips and never surface again.

***

Minghao learns that he loves Seokmin by the sea.

They’re at the beach, on one of the little trips they take together sometimes. Not as a couple - he and Seokmin have been hovering in the pleasant haze of undefined togetherness ever since they kissed in that pool. They haven’t said any important nebulous words, they haven’t tried to put meaning to anything, but they enjoy existing by each other’s sides and holding each other, so that’s all that matters. And honestly, Minghao doesn’t really mind it. He would rather have Seokmin this way, clandestine and confused, than go back to the tender ache of liking him from afar.

So they don’t call it love. And yet, something feels a little different as they walk along the beach.

Seokmin looks beautiful today. There’s something so unrestrained and boundless in his joy that Minghao wants to keep it under lock and key, to make sure that nothing can ever spoil it. Seokmin walks along the beach with a joy so delightful that the sun can’t help but love him, kissing his face and bathing him in splendour. He stops every so often to pick up a shell and show it to Minghao, pointing out the patterns and colours with his fingers, which Minghao has almost memorised now. Whenever he speaks in his honeyed tones, he speaks like he’s saying something secret, something just for them, and Minghao will never tire of that. Even if he’s pretty sure that Seokmin can’t think of him the way he thinks of Seokmin, he will never tire of thinking that what they have is special and different. And maybe it is - under the vast rosy sky, with nobody but the endless sea to guide them, anything feels possible.

Seokmin is beautiful. But that’s not what makes Minghao realise. He’s always known that Seokmin is beautiful. What makes him realise is when they stop to gaze at the rolling waves and Seokmin sighs deeply. Minghao isn’t used to hearing that from him, so he turns to see what the matter is. But nothing’s the matter. Seokmin’s just looking out to sea, and he keeps looking out as he says,

“I wish I could stay like this forever, Minghao. Just us, the sun, the sea. Wouldn’t that be beautiful?”

And that’s the moment when Minghao realises, because his answer is nothing but a deep and resounding yes. He wants Seokmin around all the time. Sometimes, he’s not sure he wants anyone else around at all. Nobody else can make him feel this light and peaceful. Nobody else can make breathing air feel this easy. It’s only Seokmin, with all his doubts and stubbornness and shyness, that can make him feel what the sea must feel when it’s caressed by the sun or guided by the moon.

He takes a deep breath, letting the salt-strung air and the presence of Seokmin fill him up. Seokmin is looking at the sea, and he’s looking at Seokmin, and, without meaning for anyone to hear, he whispers, “I love you.”

And he looks to the sea and he thinks, I love him.

And he looks to the sea and he thinks, Come and get me. I dare you to get me, to swallow me up and drown me. But I don’t think you can. I don’t think that you, with all your brutal power, would ever be able to contain my love for him.

WOW this is phenomenal. the way you've laid out the tension here, the miscommunications and Joshua knowing he's acting weird but not being able to stop or figure out what to do... it's raw, and so good. Thank you!!

Ship/Member: Any, Seokmin/Any
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: childhood friends to lovers? forbidden love? the inherent homoeroticism of sharing fruit
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

from your eager mouth
the taste of strawberries
in my memory
lean back again
let me love you

- Strawberries, Edwin Morgan

Ship/Member: Seungkwan/Chan
Major Tags: nsfw, I would say rated M in ao3 terms
Additional Tags: bad-idea drunken hookups, the plight of being boo seungkwan/lee chan
Permission to remix: Yes
WC: 1125

A/N: I'm really not 100% on this but I hope the bad vibes came across well enough here. Also pretty ambiguous in terms of setting but feel free to interpret as canonverse or not! :)

***

If Seungkwan had been any less drunk, he would have known better. What surprised him though, was that Chan didn't.

He knew well that Chan drank in perfect moderation; enough to loosen up and have a good time, lose a few of those many inhibitions of his. But, not enough such that many would remain. He never got too out of it, not like Soonyoung who would pull you into a kiss if you so much as stood near him.

It had taken him by surprise when, in that drunken stupor that he too mostly tried to avoid, draped over Chan's back and whispering into his ear, lips grazing the younger's earlobe – that Chan had said yes. Or, it was more like, "sure, hyung," said with a distinct teasing fondness that Seungkwan often heard from him.

Seungkwan had thought about it before. Chan's small, tight body, and so much energy and passion stored within it. In an inebriated state he might find himself wondering – fantasizing, more like – about what a more debauched, uninhibited Chan would look like. When he sobered up and thought back to how he pictured himself in slightly unsavory positions with the younger, he would internally roll his eyes as aggressively as possible at himself.

He knew that he was allowed to have fantasies, it was only natural – but something about it being Chan just made it feel more wrong and weird then if it was anyone else. So despite the haze of the alcohol clouding his mind, Seungkwan still felt a twinge of regret immediately after he had whispered I love the way these jeans look on you, Chan-ah. Chan had turned his head to look at Seungkwan, raising an eyebrow at him.

Chan's gaze was equally teasing and judging. For all of Seungkwan's own inhibitions, near begging him to stop, step away from the younger, and walk away, he continued on to ask – And what if I wanted to see you without them?

What an awful line, Seungkwan would think afterwards, cringing. Like something Mingyu would say.

Despite the line, and the glaringly bad idea that this was, it wasn't long before the two of them were alone, the door of Chan's room shutting behind them. Even through the drunken fog of his mind, that in the moment mostly just considered this encounter hot, there was a slight uneasiness at the back of his mind. Maybe that's why as soon as the door was shut, Seungkwan dragged Chan to the bed by the arm, sat him down, then got on his knees, without any delay.

Unfortunately, that uneasiness didn't stop him from opening his mouth.

"Thought about this for a while, Chan-ah," Seungkwan said, quickly undoing the button of those tight jeans he told Chan he liked not too long ago.

"And what's that, hyung?" Chan asked in reply. From him, it felt like a challenge. If Seungkwan hadn't been singularly focused on getting Chan out of these tight, tight, jeans, and he chanced a look up at him, he knew he would see that signature raised eyebrow.

Seungkwan didn't respond, waiting until he had pulled down Chan's jeans and far enough to be face-to-face with the younger's dick to finally look up and meet Chan's eyes. Seungkwan could be a tease. If there was any time to bring that out, it was now. Chan seemed to have gotten the message, a smug smile on his face. A smile Seungkwan watched melt away when he got his mo

By the time Seungkwan had finished sucking him off and two of Chan's fingers were inside him, they had both sobered up the slightest amount such that things were starting to get weird, at least for him. Not enough that they were going to call it off – they were both too riled up at this point that they weren't leaving until the rocks were off. It was just enough that that seed of uncertainty in the back of Seungkwan's mind grew further. Just enough that Seungkwan knew if they were still where they were before, he wouldn't have draped himself over Chan's back, nor would he have commented on those damn jeans.

"Sorry," Seungkwan murmured when he tensed up a bit, likely squeezing Chan's fingers uncomfortably tight. Seungkwan thought back to him five minutes ago, surprised he had let Chan do this. In those most dirty, ill-advised fantasies, he had been the one to do this to Chan. The younger always seemed to have the upper hand on him; maybe that’s why he always preferred to imagine himself as the one in control. Yet once his clothes were off, Chan brushed a finger across his hole and asked, with the most sincerity Seungkwan had heard that night, “can I, hyung?”

Despite Seungkwan’s increasing lucidity, he couldn’t say no. He didn’t want to say no. Maybe Chan had been more drunk than Seungkwan had thought initially, for him to be so eager and well, pointedly not getting up and leaving after they had both been without drinks for a bit. Seungkwan felt almost guilty at this point. He stayed quiet, and looked away, face turned to the side while Chan worked his fingers inside him. It felt good; there was no reason for it not to. But he stayed as quiet as possible, scared of attracting Chan’s attention, despite how silly that would be in any other situation like this.

“Does it feel good?” He heard Chan speak. Seungkwan looked down, taken by the image of a flushed, slightly sweaty Chan between his legs. Objectively, it was everything he had imagined when he did imagine this. But having it now, in front of them, made his head spin in an unpleasant way. Nevertheless, he nodded, meeting Chan’s eyes.

“It does,” Seungkwan affirmed, and, wanting to avoid talking as much as possible now, reached down and grabbed Chan by the arm, dragging him up. “Kiss me,” he said, hardly noticing Chan’s fingers being gone, now instead wrapping themselves around Seungkwan in a way Seungkwan hoped would get him off fast.

Seungkwan could taste the alcohol on Chan’s tongue when they kissed, only reminding him of how Chan would probably regret this too, when he was lucid. They stayed like that until finally Seungkwan came, with the help of Chan’s hand wrapped around him, and Seungkwan willing himself to enjoy it despite the weird feeling that had overcome him.

Once they separated, Seungkwan met Chan’s eyes, and watched the recognition flash across his face, finally having sobered up enough to take in the situation completely. Seungkwan just feigned a smile, with nothing behind the eyes.

Ship/Member: wonwoo-centric, any/wonwoo but it's dino/wonwoocore TO ME
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: oh you know
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

You construct
intricate rituals
which allow you
to touch the
skin of other men.

Untitled (You Construct Intricate Rituals) by Barbara Kruger

Edited 2022-01-02 22:52 (UTC)

Ahhh I love the world-building of this, it's so FUN!! Soonyoung's attitude feels really true to him and I love the way Wonwoo balances him out here. “you've never complained about my lack of shame before.” that's not true—he has, and he will again, - made me laugh,, such a good soonwoo. Thank you for writing this!!

Ship/Member: Seungkwan/Vernon
Major Tags:
Additional Tags: Falling Out of Love, Stargazing
Permission to remix: Yes

463 words, Rated G
Wrote this in literally 15 mins if it's bad that is entirely my bad

https://archiveofourown.org/works/36163825

oh my gosh how lovely T___T the ending took me OUT!!!!!! what a beautiful and building metaphor u crafted w these vignettes … love your xmh voice a whole lot. my favorite line: Minghao read somewhere that the heart of a mouse beats so fast that it doesn’t even sound like it’s beating at all. He thinks he’s feeling something similar, like his heart is beating so fast he’s not even sure he has one. thank you so much for this lovely fill!!!

cant count the number of times i thought "what the fuck is josh saying" and "what the fuck is JUN saying" so overall it's just a really fun reading experience! the ending line, "Joshua didn’t say no, but he didn’t mean it either." definitely killed me though (;___;) thank you

you... you are so insane for this!! i haven't read hunger games au in a while but seungkwan as the one playing the capitol's game for his continued survival vs. maverick hansol is immaculate... But love is a death sentence in rebellion, and Seungkwan won’t let himself be Hansol’s downfall. Even if he’s Seungkwan’s. THANKS FOR THE PAIN

Ship/Member: Any, Seungkwan
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: the ache of loving (sometimes in extremes) but never being loved back at the same level
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

These days, I'm way too lonely
I'm missing out, I know
These days, I'm way too alone
And I'm known for giving love away, but

I want someone who love me
I need someone who needs me
'Cause it don't feel right when it's late at night
And it's just me in my dreams
So I want someone to love, that's what I fucking want

— THATS WHAT I WANT, Lil Nas X

Ship/Member: Any, will go bonkers if it's Chan and/or Hoshi
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: nsfw/suggestive, getting handsy in a club
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

Gonna give it to me dirty
Out where everybody sees
'Cause I can't do nothing with you
If you're never gonna dance

— Beat Drop, Simon Curtis

thank you so much!!!!! that means a lot coming from a seokmin liker...

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE COMMENT HUNNY i appreciate it so much ;; two dogs at the dog park except theyre not at the dog park theyre at the yoga studio

thank you so much!!! i'm so glad the tension came through

Ship/Member: wonhoshua, jeongcheol that’s jihancheol if you squint. or if you’re jeonghan
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: joshua’s boobs, what we’ve all been missing: yoon jeonghan’s opinion on the great wonhoshua dumbbell vlive incident of 2019
Permission to remix: Yes
wc: 2,243

this is deeply silly, I apologize. I normally take my wonhoshua very seriously, I promise

***

As Jeonghan watches, Joshua finishes his third set on the chest press machine, takes his third mirror selfie, opens up his chat with Wonho, sighs, and deletes the photo. For the third time that evening.

“If I have to watch Shua psych himself out of sending Wonho thirst traps one more time tonight I am going to end his life right here and right now in this stupid gym,” Jeonghan says.

“Please don’t,” Seungcheol replies. “I need to use that machine next.”

Jeonghan swats him with a towel. “It’s pathetic!”

“I think it’s sweet.” Seungcheol shrugs. “He wants to impress him.”

“If he gets any more impressive we’re going to have to add sports bras to the wardrobe budget,” Jeonghan says with a scowl. “I can’t take this any more.”

He stands up from where he’d been reclining on some sort of ab machine, probably. It’s not like he knows what any of the machines do. He’s not even here to actually work out, he just tags along as eye candy. The dorm gets boring when all of Jeonghan’s favourite himbos go to the gym at the same time.

Joshua is still sitting at the chest press, posing again. Peace sign this time. Jeonghan gags as he sneaks up behind Joshua and snatches the phone from his hands.

“Hey,” Joshua says mildly. Jeonghan can’t even faze him these days. It’s sick. “I was using that.”

“Not effectively, you weren’t.” Jeonghan waves one hand dismissively, using the other to navigate back to Joshua’s chat with Wonho and attach a photo. “Done,” he declares after hitting send. “You’re welcome.”

Joshua does half a flip to turn around in the machine’s bench seat and wrestle the phone out of Jeonghan’s hands. Jeonghan returns it after a second of holding it above his head.

Joshua sighs in relief when he opens up the chat.

“See? You’re welcome.”

“I was just relieved you didn’t include some horrendous caption,” Joshua says, turning away from Jeonghan to type one of his own.

He doesn’t lean far enough, but the emojis he chooses to use in texting Wonho don’t bear repeating for the sake of Josh’s own dignity, so Jeonghan politely ignores them.

Jeonghan plays idly with one of Joshua’s ears while they both wait for Wonho’s response.

From: Lee Hoseok
looking great! are you still seeing the same trainer?
https://www.coupang.com/vp/products/4917671116?itemId=6437613249
haha this is the preworkout I mentioned last time btw, sorry it took me so long to send it to you!

Jeonghan watches Joshua take a minute to frown before typing back a message that also starts with “haha” and narrowly resists slamming his forehead into the bars of the chest press.

Making his way back over to Seungcheol, Jeonghan sits on his legs and declares “We have to intervene.”

Seungcheol gives him an unimpressed look.

“It’s leg day, right? I’m helping.”

“Okay.” Seungcheol sighs and attempts a rep with the added weight. “So you’re going to intervene by… telling Joshua to be more direct?”

Jeonghan nods appreciatively at Seungcheol actually succeeding in the leg press. “What? No. By going behind his back and talking to Wonho. Obviously.”

Seungcheol dumps Jeonghan off of his lap. “I’m not helping with that.”

“Oh come on, it’ll be fun! We can like, good cop, bad cop him,” Jeonghan offers, standing up and dusting himself off.

“Can I be the bad cop?” Seungcheol asks, unable to keep the interest out of his voice.

Jeonghan levels him a flat look, but quickly feels bad, so he pats Seungcheol on the cheek. “Maybe next time.”

Seungcheol frowns.

“You’d have to insult Shua, do you really think you can do that?”

“I don’t think that’s how good cop bad cop is supposed to go…” The furrow in Seungcheol’s eyebrows grows.

“And you would know? Are you a cop now?”

Seungcheol straightens up, squaring his shoulders. “I could be,” he argues.

Jeonghan pats him on the chest twice, enjoying the low thunk sound it makes. “No, you couldn’t, and that’s what I love about you.”

Seungcheol’s eyes curve up with a smile despite himself and Jeonghan marks it down as another win, already planning how to interrogate this “Hoseok” character.

— —

They corner him backstage at an award show. Well, Jeonghan corners him, Seungcheol sort of stands there apologetically without intervening.

“Wonho,” Jeonghan says like a death sentence. “We need to talk to you.”

Wonho cowers a little.

“Relax, it’s nothing bad,” Seungcheol adds.

Wonho notably does not relax. He’s also in full makeup though, so most finer expressions have been smoothed out with layers of mattifying powder.

“I’ll make this quick. Joshua Hong. Do you like him?” Jeonghan asks, devoid of inflection.

“Do I like him? Well, yeah,” Wonho replies quickly. “He’s nice!” He nods a little to himself, like he’s trying to decide if he agrees with what he just said or not.

Jeonghan exchanges a look with Seungcheol. This is going to be harder than they thought.

“He made me a bracelet once,” Wonho continues. He sounds thoughtful, like he’s one step away from stroking his chin as he reminisces. “And he always asks me how my workouts are going. Oh, and he gives me good feedback on pictures I’m thinking of posting to Instagram!”

Jeonghan narrows his eyes. “You send him photos?”

“Yeah,” Wonho says, blushing instantly. It’s like he can’t hide anything, the moment an emotion or thought comes to mind, it’s all over his face. Jeonghan wants to study him like a bug.

“That’s nice,” Seungcheol adds helpfully.

Wonho reaches to scratch at the back of his neck. “He’s saved me once or twice from posting something too risqué.”

Jeonghan feels light-headed processing this information. He has seen Wonho’s Instagram. He is well aware of the contents of the so-called donut shop. Joshua has been getting behind the scenes cuts and he wasn’t sharing them with Jeonghan?

Seungcheol places an arm around Jeonghan’s shoulder and Jeonghan feels the temperature of his blood dip back down below boiling. “Yes, he is helpful like that,” Jeonghan says stiffly.

Wonho blinks a few times. “So, um, it was nice catching up with you?”

“It was! We just hear a lot about you from Shua,” Seungcheol says. “So we wanted to talk to you ourselves, see if you are also… caught up. With him.”

“Yeah, we talked yesterday,” Wonho says slowly.

Seungcheol steals a quick glance to Jeonghan for help.

Jeonghan just smiles mildly. “You know, Joshua started working out because of you,” he says.

Wonho straightens up. “Yeah, we chatted about it and I gave him some tips for starting out.”

“Oh, no,” Jeonghan says with a laugh. “I mean, he started working out for you. Do you remember? That broadcast you did, where you talked about lifting poor Shua like a dumbbell?”

Wonho frowns. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“You terrified him,” Jeonghan explains. “He had nightmares for months about you climbing in through the window and lifting him by his neck, crushing him. He thought if he bulked up, he could fend you off.”

An idol group walks by the, chatting loudly. Wonho falls silent, blinking back at Jeonghan.

“He’s kidding,” Seungcheol says after a moment. “It’s a joke, don’t mind him.”

“You should definitely mind me,” Jeonghan says. “Joshua keeps a knife under his pillow now, so don’t even think about trying anything.”

“Um, what Jeonghan means, is…” Seungcheol trails off, rubbing at his eyelids. “We know you two started sharing workout tips around then. And we just thought—Joshua is a charming guy. It’s nice to talk to other people who appreciate his charms. Like, his chest muscles! You know, I feel like I’m the only one who appreciates them sometimes, but they’re really the best.”

Jeonghan performs an exaggerated eye roll, crossing his arms. “Too charming if you ask me. When he works out, I swear his arms and chest grow so fast. I’m always telling him not to work out so often. Don’t you think?”

“Are you…” Wonho coughs. “Are you asking me what I think of his chest?”

“I don’t know, am I?”

Wonho looks like he might pass out, actually paling enough that his foundation is a match. Seungcheol’s hand tightens a bit on Jeonghan’s shoulder, the signal they’ve worked out for ‘cool it with the evil villain monologue-type speech’. Fair enough.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jeonghan catches sight of Joshua walking down the staircase nearest them. “I mean, look at him go,” Jeonghan says, turning to gesture at him while still facing Wonho.

Joshua rounds the corner without noticing them observing. His tits really do jiggle a little as he goes and Jeonghan has to admit it’s sort of entrancing. Shit, is he into that?

He shakes his head and refocuses on Wonho. “You should ask him out,” Jeonghan declares nicely. Not necessarily nice-sounding but it’s nice what he’s doing, really, so same difference.

Wonho studies him. “I should?” He asks, head tilted.

Seungcheol smiles his warmest peacekeeper smile. “You can’t not know that he’s into you?”

Wonho smiles back. “Well, sure. I know.”

It’s Jeonghan’s turn to blink dumbly. He doesn’t like it and makes a gesture for Wonho to continue.

“I mean, I know he's attracted to me, he's fairly obvious. I just didn’t think he was…” Wonho pauses to look pointedly at Jeonghan and Seungcheol, “available.”

“What does that mean?” Jeonghan says with a frown.

Wonho shrugs. “It just seemed complicated. Like whatever Changkyun has going on with Soonyoung and Wonwoo.”

Jeonghan fights a grimace at the comparison. “Look. I, for one, think you’re sweet. Forget the good cop, bad cop thing”—Jeonghan pauses to shoot Seungcheol a look for the pout on his face—“I like you and Shua likes you. If you’re interested, don’t play around with him or me. Why do you think it’s complicated?”

Wonho shrugs. “I’m not stupid.”

“I didn’t say you were,” Jeonghan replies.

Seungcheol coughs. “You kind of did.”

“I thought Josh liked stupid! It was a compliment!”

“No, Joshua likes nice.”

Jeonghan waves a hand. “Yeah, opposites attract. Same thing.”

Seungcheol pauses and then, like flipping a switch, turns the puppy eyes on. Jeonghan is spending way too much time with him. “You call me nice all the time. You think I’m stupid?”

Jeonghan purses his lips. “I think I’ve made a mistake.”

“I’ll leave you two to sort that out,” Wonho says and makes his exit.

— —

As Jeonghan watches, Wonho finds Joshua soon after. It’s almost immediately after his own performance, so he’s deeply sweaty and Jeonghan sniffs him out from around a corner.

“Sorry!” Seungcheol says, bumping into Jeonghan when he stops abruptly at the end of the hallway.

Jeonghan hushes him and ducks, peering around through a potted plant.

“You should’ve said something,” Wonho is saying, by the time Jeonghan’s in position and able to hear.

“I thought I was being coy,” Joshua replies.

Disgusting. Then again, Joshua doesn’t even look disgusted by how sweaty Wonho is, so maybe they’re meant for each other.

“Too coy,” Wonho says. “There’s nothing wrong with being direct.”

“Oh yeah?” Joshua asks. Jeonghan is going to topple over this plant and smack him. He’d let Jeonghan call Wonho the stupid one.

“Yes,” Wonho says simply. “I would like to make you dinner. And I’d like you to stay the night. And then I’d like to do it again next week.”

“Oh,” Joshua whispers, but Jeonghan can read lips. “Okay.” His stupid eyes are huge, staring up at stupid huge Wonho. Jeonghan is humiliated on his behalf.

Wonho laughs quietly. “Okay?”

“Yeah. I just… didn’t expect this.”

“I don’t have time for subterfuge,” Wonho says. “None of us do.”

Joshua hums. “Then why now? I’ve sort of been, um—I haven’t—I’m not the most subtle person.”

Jeonghan inhales a bit of dirt from the plant as he snorts out a laugh.

Wonho continues on, thankfully not noticing the interruption. “I thought you were unavailable.”

“Why? With who?” Joshua asks. He doesn’t need to sound that confused about it, it’s not that crazy.

Wonho turns around to nod at the potted plant. “Your friends,” he says.

Oh.

Jeonghan stands up and brushes dirt off his face. Seungcheol waves. “Don’t stop for me,” Jeonghan says, disguising blowing a little soil off the top of his lip as a derisive laugh. “Carry on.”

Joshua laughs too, like it rises out of him unexpected. “Well…”

“What?” Wonho asks, sounding for all the world like he really does intend to just carry on. Incredible.

“It is kind of complicated,” Joshua replies.

“That’s okay,” Wonho continues. Hold on, what? He just keeps talking. They’re just moving on? “Just be honest with me?” Wonho asks Joshua, tone tender. Okay, yeah, sure.

Joshua nods. “I can do that.”

A hand on Jeonghan’s collar drags him backwards. He back-pedals but ends up listening around the corner again, ignoring Seungcheol’s sighs. He’s just as interested as Jeonghan is.

“Then I can too!” Wonho is saying. “I think your chest looks great.”

Jeonghan hears Josh choke at the same time that he falls over with laughter. “This is the greatest day of my life,” he whispers to Seungcheol.

“So we can go now?” Seungcheol pleads.

“Yes!” Joshua replies.

“Thanks!” Wonho adds.

And that’s all Jeonghan needs to hear. Another job well done.

Edited (title) 2022-01-03 03:26 (UTC)

I.... Idk what is my favorite part.... The himbo calling.... The lap sitting..... The jihancheol.... The wonho.... Just quietly sat here and read with slowly growing horror and fascination.... God bless I love them.... Thanks...

Ship/Member: Soonyoung/Wonwoo
Major Tags: mentions of death and murder, gore-ish, blood
Additional Tags: vampire wonwoo, horror, hurt/comfort, but also humour? this isn't extremely heavy, established relationship, the intimacy of a bloody bathtub
Permission to remix: Yes

word count: 1.7k

***

Soonyoung stands there, hand on the doorknob. Wonwoo looks at him from the bathtub, his eyes glossy with tears and panic.

“Don’t tell me this isn’t what it looks like,” his voice trembles.

Wonwoo drops the body he was holding. He tries to wipe the blood pouring out of his mouth, instead it smudges all the way up to his ear. “Soonyoung,” he sounds strange. Like every word he says is echoing in the bathroom when it really shouldn’t be considering how small it is. It makes Soonyoung’s toes curl, making him hold onto the door knob even tighter.

Soonyoung is waiting for a I can explain, or even a classic this is exactly what you think and now it's your turn. Instead, Wonwoo says, “You weren’t supposed to see this.” His disembodied voice does nothing to help his case.

The body in the bathtub shakes. They’re naked, blood still steadily dripping from the wound on their neck. It’s all so cliché, Soonyoung thinks. He drops his hand from the doorknob and grabs a clean towel under the sink. He steps closer to the bathtub, and Wonwoo retracts to the wall, hugging the person to his chest.

“What are you gonna do?” he asks. He sounds scared. Funny how fear works.

“They’re still alive,” Soonyoung says. Even his own voice sounds disembodied. It doesn’t echo, but it feels like it comes from the pit of his stomach, where the sight of so much blood at the bottom of the bathtub is making everything in him swing like he’s on a boat about to sink.

“I’m going to stop the bleeding, and hopefully save their life.”

Wonwoo shakes his head. “You can’t. He lost so much blood, and even if he does make it, he's seen my face and he would have seen yours and he knows where we live-”

“Then we’ll move,” Soonyougn answers calmly, ignoring every alarm blaring in his head. “Let them go.” Wonwoo holds onto them for a second longer before he obliges.

It’s a man, quite young, quite Wonwoo’s type. Soonyoung isn’t usually the jealous type but the fact that he wasn’t supposed to know makes him think of ugly things. Uglier even than what he’s doing.

He presses against the man’s neck with all his might, checks for his pulse and his breathing. His eyes keep opening and closing at irregular intervals, like he’s coming in and out of consciousness.

“He’s lost so much blood, I don’t really think he’ll remember anything.”

Wonwoo is still shaking in the bathtub like a wet dog. Soonyoung is too scared to glance at him. He’s not even scared for his life, that’s the worst part. He’s scared he might not recognize the person he sees in Wonwoo, and if that person is going to stick around, Soonyoung isn’t sure how they’ll make this work.

Eventually, the bleeding slows to a stop. The man is still pale, but Soonyoung can’t exactly cook him a warm meal to make him feel better. Both of his hands are drenched in blood now. The human body, what a fragile thing that can still hold so much life and power.

Soonyoung calls for an ambulance and gives them the address of a building a little down the road. It seems unlikely that they would be able to connect it to this building. Wonwoo doesn’t help Soonyoung dress the man back up. He doesn’t help with taking him out of the apartment and onto the street. He doesn’t hide behind a car with Soonyoung while he watches the ambulance arrive to make sure the man is alive.

But he’s here when Soonyoung comes back. It’s almost more than he was expecting.

Wonwoo is still in the bathtub, covered in cold and dried up blood, shivering from the open window above his head. Nothing around him has a bloody imprint of his hand. He didn’t move at all.

There’s no way to know how different Wonwoo looked when Soonyoung refused to glance, but there’s no doubt that what he sees before him now is the Wonwoo he’s known for years, the one he lives with, the one he plans on living with for as long as he can.

“I wasn’t supposed to know this,” he says. “You were trying to hide this from me?” he finds that he’s not even mad. Just tired.

Wonwoo holds his knees to his chest. “I didn’t want to put you in danger.”

“What danger is this?”

He looks up and opens his mouth, lengthening his front teeth for Soonyoung to admire. “I got bitten a few days ago,” Wonwoo explains. “I thought… I’m not sure.”

“You thought that you would be able to deal alone with turning into a what, a vampire?”

“Something like that.”

Soonyoung sighs. He sits on the side of the bathtub. Wonwoo doesn’t shrivel away from him this time. “What happened to you?” he asks kindly.

Wonwoo stares at his toes, naked, hairy and bloody. “I was coming home from work and the streets kept moving and changing. I was getting lost through alleyways that wanted me to get confused. Then one of those beast fell on me from a roof. It bit me at the base of my neck and, the next day, I woke up like this. In our bed. Which is funny because I have no recollection of getting there.”

“Did it hurt?”

“So much.” He bites back a sob.

Soonyoung doesn’t think twice and throws his legs over the edge of the bathtub, allowing his socks to turn red. They’re tiger themed and Wonwoo got them for his birthday. They’re his favorite socks and Soonyoung can’t believe he’s doing this to them. But they're just socks and he adores Wonwoo enough to ruin them.

He brushes the hair off of Wonwoo’s forehead without any hesitation. Wonwoo feels scared of his own touch.

“You’re burning up,” Soonyoung pouts. “You stood there in the cold, of course you caught something.” He laughs and readjusts the glasses on the tip of Wonwoo’s nose. “You’ve always had a weak constitution. This is just like that.”

“How could it be just like that… Soonyoung, I just almost killed a guy because I couldn’t control myself.”

“Control is something you learn through experience. And you didn't have me. Now you do."

Wonwoo shakes his head. He grips Soonyoung's wrist with more strength than he usually has. "I can't ask this of you. I'm dangerous, Soonyoung. What if I hurt you… What if something or someone else hurts you because you're associated with me…"

"Well, who cares if you're not asking, I'm volunteering anyway." He takes a deep breath. "I refuse to let you go through this alone. We're in all of this together, right? In sickness and in health?"

Wonwoo sobs out a laugh. "We're not even married. This doesn't have to be your life."

Soonyoung frowns. "Yes it does. Why are you pushing me away… You really hurt me when you said I wasn't supposed to know. I know everything about you, always have been, and I love all of you."

Wonwoo's lips tremble and Soonyoung brings his head to his chest, holds him close and feels his hot breath against his neck. Wonwoo takes a second to hold him back, but when he does he almost makes them fall over from how hard he's holding onto Soonyoung. He tries to reciprocate the intensity, but he finds that he simply isn't as strong anymore.

"What else has been changing for you?" He asks, petting the back of Wonwoo's head.

His lips move against Soonyoung's skin as he answers, and he feels the brush of his abnormally sharp and long teeth. "I've been having a weird sleep cycle. For the past two days I've been just laying in bed next to you for hours and I'm only able to take naps during the day.

"There's also the… lack of reflection. And I can't stand garlic now."

"Wow. Guess all of those books were right about vampires, huh?"

Wonwoo lets out a soulless chuckle. "I guess we were right. Hopefully not about the glowy skin though."

Soonyoung gasps. "What about bat shifting? Have you tried that?"

"Why do you sound excited…"

"You can't tell me that wouldn't be amazing. If you can shapeshift, don't hide it from me." He pauses. "Actually, never hide anything from me ever again."

Wonwoo hums. "You can see why I would try to hide that I'm turning into a monster, right? Like this… this isn't normal, Soonyoung. I'm scared. For me and for you."

"Me too. But I'm always scared about everything. I'm scared that they're gonna run out of the good kimchi at the store. I'm scared that one day the pipes are gonna burst and neither of us would have any clue how to handle that."

"That's… Soonyoung, come on."

He kisses the side of Wonwoo's head. There's blood in his hair too. "One thing I've never been scared of though, that's us. I can't be scared of you. Just not made for that. So you're safe, here, with me. In my arms and in our absolutely filthy bathtub - how are we even gonna clean that, by the way? Did you choose this place because you thought it would be less messy? Have you seen the rate at which we scrub here?"

Wonwoo kisses his neck, Soonyoung freezes. A shiver runs down his spine. Wonwoo kisses him up to his mouth. His lips taste like blood, that metallic feeling. It's not a bad thing, Soonyoung realizes. He does despise that it's someone else's blood.

"You could feed on me," he mumbles against Wonwoo's lips.

Wonwoo pulls back to frown at him. "Did you not see what I did to that poor guy?"

"You wouldn't do that to me. I know that."

He shakes his head anyway. "No. I don't want to hurt you."

Soonyoung shurgs. "I don't know, it's kind of sexy."

"No it's not."

He wiggles his eyebrows. "But it is…" He kisses Wonwoo again, who kisses back without missing a beat.

They've always been in tune with each other. Two complimentary instruments, strumming the same notes.

"Thank you," Wonwoo whispers against his skin.

"I'm Dracula's wife now, it's you I should be thanking. What a title!"

He squeezes Soonyoung's middle. "I'm serious."

Soonyoung smiles and goes back to petting his hair. "I know. When are you not. Most serious vampire out there."

Wonwoo grunts, exasperated, and Soonyoung laughs his heart out.

Edited 2022-01-03 03:51 (UTC)

ahhh thank you! I actually looked these places up, went down a whole rabbit hole looking for these apartments, and set gyuhao directly into these places, so that combined with personal experience might have contributed to the vividness of the descriptions! Thank you so much for reading and commenting! Happy new year!

Perfection as always 👌

oh my godddddddddd this actually made my pulse start to pick up with anxiety, jesus christ you did such a great job of capturing the desperation and atmosphere of this situation, and like the total misery of surviving in the capitol. Like these are words that are used a lot in love stories but it REALLY DID feel like seungkwan was the only reason vernon was still trying, and vernon was the only spot of joy in seungkwan's life??? god the fact that you made the brutality and cruelty of the games feel fresh to me also made the rebellion feel fresh and exciting to even though like, OF COURSE vernon is going to join the rebellion OF COURSE. anyway I'm really happy to know that in the unwritten part of this they both live happily ever after, that is great, that is good news, really happy about that mmhmmmmmmmm :) - robin/bapilli

wow. oh this is.. great. art. jeonghan sniffing joshua from around the corner... what a madman!
wonho is so chill holy shit. I know he's chill and nice but i always get surprised at how much. he's so big how is he this chill!
also really loved the jeongcheol. that little evil disciple thing they have going on is simply delightful! i think you'd be really good at writing jeongcheols actually. mostly because you're good at writing jeonghan and also guys with honkers who simp
loved this thank you so much for writing it <3<3

obsessed with your jeongcheol. when seungcheol asked if jeonghan thought he was stupid that was like. "yeah that's jenna!"
also love your wonhoshua. i just,,, i wish them a happy marriage

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Page 47 of 73

2022 Round 1: Quotes

Re: [FILL] letting go ain't easy

Re: [FILL]: go choke (me)

[FILL] let the tide in

Re: [FILL] earth eats away at itself

strawberries

[FILL] the mystery is always better

obligatory

Re: you know me better than i do, so why didn't you stop me?

[FILL]: A Dream by the Side of the Road

Re: [FILL] let the tide in

Re: [FILL] one for the money

Re: [FILL] deepest, desperate downfall

no subject

no subject

Re: [FILL]: year of mingyu

Re: [FILL]: year of mingyu

Re: [FILL] earth eats away at itself

[FILL] joshua honkers..

Re: [FILL] joshua honkers..

[FILL] intimacy is truth

Re: [FILL] distance: 4.35 years

Re: [FILL]: go choke (me)

Re: [FILL] deepest, desperate downfall

Re: [FILL] joshua honkers..

Re: [FILL] joshua honkers..