Status: Closed
This round has closed. It remains open for fills, comments and remixes, but prompts are no longer accepted.
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
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- 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!
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.
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.)
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but mostly i am good, and quiet.
Major Tags: the horror of living inside your body, the horror of letting somebody do something with it
Additional Tags: references to past trauma/traumatic events
Do Not Wants: none
Prompt:
Re: [FILL] a whisper in the breeze
[FILL] a whisper in the breeze
Major Tags: slight blood/gore + references to murder, the horror of living inside your body, the horror of letting somebody do something with it
Additional Tags: horror au, bodyswap au, joshua hong pretending everything is fine until the end, reference to traumatic events, emotional support boo seungkwan (also w his own trauma)
Permission to remix: yes!!!
wc: 777
a bodyswap au gone horribly terribly wrong ft. joshy hong, enjoy :’0 please please please let me know if i need to adjust tags [reposted bc i didn't notice the error in formatting T__T sorry otl]
> going for 5 of a kind (horror / bodyswap au!)
***
Joshua sits in muted silence as he watches the stranger in his body go to work. It’s mesmerizing, the way his back muscles flex and shift underneath the worn white tee.
He never thought his hands were capable of being that neat, that delicate. It’s an artist’s work. It’s honest work.
Okay, he thinks. This isn’t too bad.
The more he says it, the more it becomes okay. Becomes something tolerable, something manageable, something easy to tuck away and hide and never have to bring up again.
He has to live with it, after all.
//
They call them body snatchers because the whole experience is incredibly fleeting. One moment, your body will belong to you. The next — someone is in there with you. It isn’t so much a feeling as it is a knowing: something is inside you, something foreign and strange.
They aren’t always kind.
What happens when you lose control?
//
“Do you like wine?” Joshua says aloud. The Joshua who is trapped inside his body nods. He tries to be helpful. Provides the body snatcher with where to find his bottles, watching with a sort of helplessness as his body picks up the most expensive one in his collection.
At least the pour is nice. Two glasses are out, but only one can actually physically be drinking. He appreciates the gesture nonetheless.
“I’ve never really done this before,” Joshua confesses, flexing his large fingers this way and that, marveling at their size and strength. His fingers clench into a fist suddenly, fast enough that his knuckles crack with the ferocity of it. It sounds like gunshots in the empty space, rattling around in his bedroom.
“I like it.” The creature inside him rumbles, grinning down at their hands. It’s a smile with too many teeth in it. “My name is Minghao. Nice to meet you.”
Joshua feels a growing sense of alarm.
Maybe it is bad after all.
//
A body acts as a tether. Grounds you to the physical world, so that the rest of you won’t float away into a different one.
“But,” Joshua says, frowning, “if it’s tying you down here, it’s also trapping you. What’s to say something else won’t climb right in?”
Seungkwan looks at him with tired eyes. Joshua doesn’t ever remember seeing him ever this haunted.
“Exactly,” Seungkwan turns away, voice breaking with shame. “Do you know what that does to a person? When even your body doesn’t belong to you anymore?”
//
You never think it’ll be you. Never. It’s always someone else, a friend of a friend of a friend. Somebody else’s horror story. A mother goes to sleep and wakes up as someone else and decides that now is a good time as ever to invest in cutlery. Knives are sharp and plenty in the kitchen.
You can see where this is going, don’t you?
Murder is easy when the hands you use to take a life don’t belong to you. It is even more useful when those very hands can’t get traced back to you. You’re a ghost in the shell, a stranger passing by, a whisper in the breeze. A fleeting memory. Who’s to say you were even there?
One day, Joshua gets picked. Not once does he feel lucky.
//
I am not here. I am not here. I am not here.
Maybe if he repeats it enough he will believe it.
//
Joshua wakes up to bloodstains on his hands. The blood is thick and red and oozing. Still warm. Still fresh. There is a dead body on the floor that doesn’t belong to him and one that is still alive, standing in the room — the one he woke up in but doesn’t quite own. Not anymore.
“What did you do?” Joshua croaks out in horror.
“Maybe the better question is, ‘What did you do?’” Minghao is mocking and cruel. It’s Joshua’s voice all the same. He registers it faintly, ringing in the back of his ears, used to the way it sounds but not the way it is spoken to him.
This is a horrid dream — wait, no. It’s a horrible reality.
This is Joshua’s reality.
Only a body has hands. Only a body can be tied down. Only a body can be capable of leaving a mark.
Minghao uses Joshua’s face to smile. The person staring back at him in the mirror isn’t him. Joshua wants to throw up. He wonders if his body will carry out the reaction. There is bile building in his throat. His mouth won’t open to let him check.
The corners of his mouth curl up, of someone else’s volition.
How are you going to prove that it’s me?
Re: [FILL] a whisper in the breeze
okay first of all Joshua Hong's insistence that everything is okay? T___T heart-breaking, how he tries to convince himself that this isn't happening. I love that strong sense of denial, that jerk away from reality. It feels so real.
and holy shit, MINGHAO. Trying to be kind to Joshua by pouring him wine but really he's just being cruel, isn't he? It feels like a tease. He doesn't know what he's doing by snatching bodies but he likes it... AHHHHH?!
You never think it’ll be you. Never. It’s always someone else, a friend of a friend of a friend. Somebody else’s horror story. - I'm going to pass out the world-building here is so good, just a few specific details and I can fully /see/ this world ((brain explodes)) When you lose control of your body and that body commits a crime - does something atrocious and unforgivable - how do you reconcile with that? What level of responsibility do you have? Are you your body or are you IN your body? Who will believe you either way??
x___x you grappled with literally all of my favorite questions re: bodyswap, and the element of horror here is just phenomenal. I am going to be thinking about this forever thank you so much!!!
Re: [FILL] a whisper in the breeze
Re: [FILL] a whisper in the breeze
“I’ve never really done this before,” Joshua confesses, flexing his large fingers this way and that, marveling at their size and strength. His fingers clench into a fist suddenly, fast enough that his knuckles crack with the ferocity of it. VILE!!!!!
Minghao uses Joshua’s face to smile. WRETCHED!!!!!!!!!!!!
you set up the mood and horrifying vibe here soooo well i'm so impressed. you always have such a good way with words and this was no exception. you showed just enough to leave us with a sense of distinct horror but there were still so many questions at the end, which imo is the best way to go with this genre. the exchange with seungkwan (;~;) was so short yet added such a good (horrible) emotional layer as well.
thank you so much for filling the prompt in such a distinct and wonderful(ly unpleasant) way!!!!!! you have so much talent and i'm so honoured you shared it with me like this ( ⌯’ㅅ’⌯)♡
Re: [FILL] a whisper in the breeze
Re: [FILL] a whisper in the breeze
Re: [FILL] a whisper in the breeze
every 17hols you drop a fic that HAUNTS ME for the entire year and goodness this is it, isn't it? you dare put JOSHUA HONG into my brain....the worldbuilding, the things left unsaid it's incredible, it's a craft you are AMAZING?!!! i am reeling, i've already read this twice.
Maybe the better question is, ‘What did you do?’” Minghao is mocking and cruel. It’s Joshua’s voice all the same. He registers it faintly, ringing in the back of his ears, used to the way it sounds but not the way it is spoken to him.
HOLY SHIT? HOLY SHIT!!! thank you for letting us into your brain!!
[FILL] a gentle touch
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: one-sided infatuation, touch starved
Permission to remix: Yes
***
Minghao is gentle, deliberate with his actions in a way that most people don’t notice. Joshua notices.
He watches how carefully Minghao plays with Mingyu’s hair and how delicately he touches Seokmin or Jeonghan’s faces and hands. He stares at the soft touch of Minghao’s fingers and wonders.
Joshua doesn’t like to be touched. There are many reasons, the inherent trauma of being scrutinized every single day for almost ten years notwithstanding. What it boils down to is this: it’s his body and he controls who touches him. He wishes it were easier, that he could accept fingers on his wrist or a friendly hand-hold without shrugging it off. He wishes that he could maintain any kind of contact when the cameras turn off and they’re all in the dorm. It’s so easy for everyone else to pile onto the couch, legs and arms and hands intertwined. Jeonghan lays on top of Mingyu more often than not, and Seokmin always seems to have a hand around Minghao’s wrist or ankle. Joshua could never. He isn’t sure why.
He excuses himself to his room — not that anyone is paying attention — to change. He runs his hands down his own body, trying to imagine what it might be like to let someone else, wondering if Minghao’s touch feels like a whisper of bird wings as it takes off beside you, or if he’s just being dramatic. Weird. He could let someone in. He could reach out and pull someone toward him.
He thinks about someone coming through the door. No, not someone. Minghao. Minghao wouldn’t be pushy about it, he would just ask what was wrong or if Joshua needed anything. Joshua could turn and touch him so easily. His face, his waist. Minghao would let him, he thinks. Minghao welcomes his touch.
What might Minghao’s hands feel like? His long, thin fingers remind Joshua of bird bones, delicate and hollow, but there’s a strength to him, too. Minghao would know how much pressure to put, where exactly to touch. He’d know Joshua better than Joshua knows himself. It would feel good, if Minghao touched him. Joshua wouldn’t tense up like he usually does. He wouldn’t squirm away or push Minghao’s hands away. He’d be comfortable with Minghao. Safe.
Joshua drops his hands, a bitter taste in his mouth. There’s no use in thinking about things that will never happen.
Re: [FILL] a gentle touch
you got just the right level of aching loneliness and want i'm so in awe! the way josh feels like there's something wrong with him, the way he wants it so badly but can't voice it and can't let himself have it... everything was completely perfect. like you saw inside my brain honestly! thank you so much for writing and sharing this!!!!!!! love you ♡♡♡
Re: [FILL] a gentle touch
Re: [FILL] a gentle touch
AKA this fill possessed my brain and made me write words!! op that's how good it was thank you!!
[FILL] earth eats away at itself
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: references to past trauma?
Permission to remix: yes
***
“What do you like?”
Minghao presses his lips to a spot just under Joshua’s ear; slow, deliberate.
“Anything you want,” Joshua says, breathy. It’s a line he’s used over and over again. Minghao huffs, amused. The sudden puff of air is hot on his neck.
“You don’t have to do that,” Minghao says, drawing back enough to kiss his jaw, his throat, and then repeats, “What do you like?”
Minghao looks at him then, one hand cupping Joshua’s jaw. He drags his thumb up over the shape of his chin, presses the soft pad of it into Joshua’s bottom lip.
“I want you to fuck me,” Joshua says, watching for the shift in Minghao’s expression. He’s hoping for hunger. He gets a smile - a sweet one, out of place.
“I figured,” Minghao says, not unkindly, “Tell me how you wanna be touched. I want to make you feel good.”
Joshua is good at this part, usually. Some guys are only looking for someone they can toss around. Someone to make them feel big. Some guys want him shy, blushing. The way they talk to him, the way they touch him - there’s always something to give it away.
Minghao hovers above him, patient. He seems content to explore Joshua’s skin with his thumb, the pad of it now a little wet from his lips. Even the way he holds his body is languid and easy, as if it doesn’t matter how long this takes or where it goes. Joshua has no idea what Minghao wants him to say.
“I don’t want you to ask me,” Joshua says, and it comes out wrong, he knows it comes out wrong. Minghao is already pulling away, the warm weight of him shifting back, and there’s a little spike of panic in Joshua’s chest. “Wait, wait. Do you want me on my stomach?”
It’s too fast, it’s fucking weird; Joshua bites his lip and lays a hand flat on Minghao’s chest, looks up at him like he’s embarrassed. He hopes Minghao reads it as desperate, needy. There’s an odd pinch to Minghao’s eyes, and Joshua doesn’t know how he’s fucking it up this fast. How he’s fucking it up at all.
“Do you wanna be on your stomach?” Minghao asks, voice slow. Joshua does, honestly - he wants his face pressed into the pillow, he wants Minghao to do what he’s supposed to do. He wants Minghao to stop looking at him. He wants Minghao’s hand heavy on the back of his neck.
“Yeah, please,” Joshua says, eyes hooded. He lets his voice drop low, a little whine on the please. He hopes desperately that Minghao doesn’t ask him another question. He’s already guessing as it is - he can’t seem to find the angle, how Minghao wants him to be.
“Okay. We can do that,” Minghao says, making no move to let Joshua roll over, “But I wanna take it a little slower for now. Is that-” is that okay, Joshua’s mind supplies, while Minghao visibly changes tack, “That’s what I wanna do.”
Joshua nods, not trusting himself to say anything he could predict Minghao’s reaction to. He thinks it might be the way Minghao kisses that’s thrown him off so much. It feels like the end itself and not the means; the way Minghao holds the back of his head, the way he takes his time with every kiss. It keeps Joshua grounded there, so he can’t disappear into the feeling and come back later; sore, accomplished. It means he can’t do it right.
“Let’s try this,” Minghao says, between kisses, his weight settling back between Joshua’s thighs, “If I do something you like, tap my shoulder.”
Which is - definitely fucking weird, and probably a technique Minghao learned on a meditation app, but if Minghao needs feedback to get off, Joshua can do that.
Minghao seems to see something in Joshua’s face, though, because he adds, “Only if it’s really good,” he kisses with teeth, bites down on Joshua’s bottom lip, “Only if I make your toes curl, yeah?”
“Yeah,” Joshua agrees, breathless without even meaning to be. The sweet smile is back on Minghao's face; Joshua doesn't know what to make of it. He keeps quiet. He doesn’t close his eyes.
Re: [FILL] earth eats away at itself
oh my gosh. this is so... the way you've written joshua's discomfort is so hard to swallow in the best way. wow. wowowow.
Re: [FILL] earth eats away at itself
Re: [FILL] earth eats away at itself
“I figured,” Minghao says, not unkindly """NOT UNKINDLY""" i'm gonna scream! the hint of condescension here is so delicious. the way minghao is perfectly comfortable and that's what makes josh LESS comfortable because he can't get the upper hand... also delicious!!!
and then there are so many little things that made me feel absolutely insane... “I don’t want you to ask me” and minghao's reaction, the implication that josh usually checks out completely while having sex and this is the first time he hasn't done that, the way he can't figure out what minghao wants from him and can't figure out it's because minghao doesn't actually want something from him at all... minghao giving him a way to say what he wants without saying it... it's all so good and you got so much into such a small snippet, i'm so impressed!! and just in general i like your writing style, it's very clean and you show everything so straightforwardly which i really love.
thank u for filling my prompt so perfectly *ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ i've reread this like six times already today and i KNOW i will be back!!!!!!!!!!!!
Re: [FILL] earth eats away at itself
Re: [FILL] earth eats away at itself
Re: [FILL] earth eats away at itself
Re: [FILL] earth eats away at itself
Re: [FILL] earth eats away at itself
Re: [FILL] earth eats away at itself
Re: [FILL] earth eats away at itself
Re: [FILL] earth eats away at itself
Re: [FILL] earth eats away at itself