2022 Round 2: AUs

[hwarium]

Status: Closed This round has closed. It remains open for fills, comments and remixes, but prompts are no longer accepted. ✧ Seventeen Holidays ✧ Round 2: Alternate Universes About When you put the characters you love in a new world, you end up loving them even more. Sometimes it's about the aesthetic (dark academia). Sometimes it's about straining those ship dynamics to the extreme (Pacific Rim). Maybe life is hard and you need to exorcise something (unemployment/coporate slave AU). Or perhaps you are so in love with the world you want to see Seventeen in it. Shakespeare, My Hero Academia, RuPaul's Drag Race. No problem - just give some context so anyone can fill it. Examples MinWon - Bittersweet Ah yes, the ambiguous Bittersweet MV. I'm curious to see anyone's interpretation of those MinWon scenes. Any / NCT AU Remember how Seventeen was supposed to be subgroups divided across Korea, China and Japan? What if that happened and the members were split up, only to reunite once a year. Or if they promoted like NCT - thinking about the graduation angst of NCT Dream, the ridiculous schedules of SuperM. Who is Mark and over-employed. Who is Shotaro and stuck in the basement? Wonhui X Link Click (Donghua) Link Click is a show about two guys who run a photography studio and time travels to help their customers. Wonwoo knows every event within 12 hours of a photograph being taken and Junhui can time travel and possess the photographer for 12 hours to complete a mission. Wonwoo speaks in Junhui's mind and tells him what he needs to do - where to go, what to say, what will happen. There's a rule that Junhui can't change the past because it will change the future :') but Junhui wants to :'). Would love to see WonHui investigating another sebong's story, or an exploration of their contrasting attitudes to fate (resigned vs headstrong - roles can be reversed if you want). 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! <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> [PROMPT GOES HERE] 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. <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! Have you considered trying for the 17hols hall of fame? The categories are: Exactly 400 Words, Year of the Tiger, Five of a Kind and the Rarest Pair. ▽ Click for More Info ▽ Exactly 400 words: your fill is the absolute minimum word count. Well done you cold curt succinct savage. Year of the Tiger: in celebration of 2022, we will also celebrate anyone who supports this agenda (context: burn your ears). You must seamlessly incorporate a horanghae or wooahae or hahahahanihae (etc) in your fill. You can not regret it. Five of a Kind: You win this if you fill 5 prompts, and each fill is different in the same way. E.g. 5 different ships, 5 different AUs, 5 different mediums. You also win this by doing 5 remixes! The rarest pair: the fill with the rarest pairing at the end of the fest wins. This is based off the number of works in the ao3 tag. For simplicity, this will be the / tag and not &. (e.g. a “Wonwoo & Minghao” platonic fill will be counted by the “Wonwoo/Minghao” tag). The ship must only have Seventeen members and be the main pairing in your fill. We will update the category with the current titleholder during the fest so you know who to challenge~ I anticipate polyamory. (To help us out, please mention that you’re going for one of these categories at the beginning of your fill.) Navigation ABOUT DATES FAQ BAITS ✧ FILLS ✧ ROUND 1: QUOTES ❮ ROUND 2: ALTERNATE UNIVERSES ❯ ROUND 3: LAST WORDS

Comments

Re: [FILL] for fuck’s sake / i’m already yours

[shuamuses]

ah i'm so glad to hear you liked it!! it's one of my fav scenes too when amy shifts from being hurt to finally realizing laurie is serious and actually loves her... T_T

[Fill] This Whole Damn City Thinks It Needs You(but not as much as I do)

[leomoonwonu]

Ship/Member: Seungcheol/Wonwoo
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: rock band, emo elder nostalgia, very gentle Pete!Scoups Mikey!Wonu except i’m taking some liberties
Permission to remix: Please ask
A/N: OKAY BET


Wonwoo is twenty years old when he meets Seungcheol for the first time, though he’s always been in Wonwoo’s periphery. They both play bass. That’s what catches Wonwoo’s attention. He always pays a little more attention to the bass players, the same way Mingyu always knows who is left handed. Seungcheol is like the kid brother playing behind Jeonghan’s smooth, racy vocals. His hair is jet back and wavy, eyeliner smudged under his lashes. He’s dressed in skinny jeans and a checkered long sleeve shirt and Wonwoo can’t take his eyes off the way his hands move over the strings. There is a quiet confidence about him. A steadiness, just like the bass line he lays down. Wonwoo wonders if you can idolize your peers or if that’s just jealousy.

Wonwoo is almost shy on stage, the amped up bass shaking through his skinny frame, the lyrics he pens coming from someone else’s mouth. Joshua only gets what Wonwoo is trying to say about half the time. That’s ok. Wonwoo doesn’t want him to understand everything. He doesn’t want anyone to understand that much about him.
It isn’t until Wonwoo meets Seungcheol that lyrics start to mean anything.




They're touring on a summer festival circuit. The usual suspects fill the tents that pass for dressing rooms. Wonwoo is tracing his eyelids with liner when Seungcheol and Jeonghan walk into the tent. Jeonghan and Joshua go way back, friends of friends or something like that. They all sort of exist in the same spheres. Wonwoo knows someone who knows someone who knows the legendary Lee Jihoon. It’s all connected.

Seungcheol spots him through the mirror and grins, walking over to him with a wave.

“Wonwoo, right?” he asks. “I watched your set in Chicago. You guys really get it.”

Wonwoo fights and fails to keep the smirk off his face. “Get what?”

“The scene. You have what the girls want.” Seungcheol’s eyes meet his. “The guys, too.”

Wonwoo has to drop the pencil before he pokes his eye out. It doesn’t clatter as loudly as he wants it to. “Y-yeah? You really think so?”

Seungcheol winks. “I know so. We should hang out after the show. You know, compare notes.”

There are things that Wonwoo has been hiding that no one knows. Bisexuality is one of those things. He’s staring at Seungcheol through a grimy mirror and Seungcheol is breathtaking. He’s hot. He’s implying things that everyone in the scene says but only means for the fans. He’s gotten his hopes up a few too many times to feel this way about Seungcheol. He takes the leap anyway.

“I’d like that,” Wonwoo says.

Jeonghan calls out to Seungcheol. He nods before he walks back to the other two men. It feels like he’s run a marathon, his heart skipping in his chest. Seungcheol wants to see him after the show.

Yeah. Why not?




Here are the things they do together over the course of the summer. Seungcheol takes his jacket even though it shouldn’t be able to fit him. It does. Wonwoo spots him in it during their set and nearly misses his cue. They smoke on the balcony of their hotel and watch the sunrise. Wonwoo plays a song with them, taking over the bass part while Seungcheol wanders closer to the crowd. Something shifts, so small Wonwoo almost doesn’t notice it.

I wish you were my bass, Seungcheol says a few weeks later, typed in black letters on his journal. Not just my friend. In the picture posted above it, Seungcheol is laying on the stage, hips canted up against his instrument.

A few more weeks and Wonwoo presses Seungcheol against the hotel door and kisses him, wet and messy and frantic. It feels like something clawing its way out of him. Something he has to do while there’s still time. Or maybe before it’s too late.
Seungcheol fucks him as the rising sun spreads across the bed, blazing orange when he comes, like his entire body is on fire. Seungcheol follows right behind, their foreheads pressed together while he shakes through it. Wonwoo breathes in the air he breathes out. It feels like they are one person. They could be like this forever, Wonwoo thinks dizzily. They could keep doing this as long as they want.





The thing about summer is that it ends. The leaves change, the days shorten, the air grows cold enough to steal your breath. Seungcheol and Wonwoo part ways at the end of the festival. Of course they do. There are albums to write, tours to perform. They have so much to do and how much longer will they really be on top of the scene?

The first time Wonwoo realizes that Seungcheol is writing about him is when he hears a journal entry from that summer put to music.

And I cast a spell over the west to make you think of me
The same way I think of you
This is a love song in my own way

Wonwoo laughs, a quick, sharp thing. It feels like ripping open a wound. It feels like talking about something that died, something long past. Something that they can never get back. Seungcheol never said it was about him, but Wonwoo was there. Wonwoo knows everything that happened over the summer.

Two can play at this game.





Joshua gives him a strange look when he hands over the lyrics. He sings them like he’s angry, and that’s all Wonwoo wants. Really. If the way Joshua and Jeonghan look at each other is anything to go by, maybe Joshua really does understand what Wonwoo wants to say.

Put another X on the calendar, summer's on its deathbed
There is simply nothing worse than knowing how it ends
And I meant everything I said that night
I will come back to life
But only for you

Wonwoo wants Seungcheol to message him. Summer exists in this liminal space. Like that episode of The Twilight Zone where the man falls asleep on a train and finds the perfect town. Like no matter how hard Wonwoo tries, he will never be able to get back to that summer. He thinks about the way Seungcheol looked at him, the sun casting warm light over his profile. Wonwoo should have told him he was beautiful. He should have told him that he wanted to try to make this work.

Seungcheol had the same chance. He wonders why neither of them took it.





The years pass. Wonwoo stops making music, but Seungcheol continues on. Pain turns to fondness. It’s almost a fun game now, finding the things Seungcheol is saying to him.

If you were church, I'd get on my knees
Confess my love, I'd know where to be
My sanctuary, you're holy to me

Seungcheol sends him a birthday message on Twitter. Wonwoo retweets it, ignores the way his heart flips and plummets into his stomach. It’s strange. They were never together, so they never broke up. In fact, they never stopped being friends. Wonwoo waits for the day Seungcheol finally pens what Wonwoo wishes he could say.





And then it happens. The song hits Wonwoo like a physical blow. He doesn’t even know what time it is. He picks up his phone and presses Seungcheol’s name and he holds his breath long enough that he wonders what the hell he’s doing.

“Wonwoo?” Seungcheol asks, voice bleary and rough.

What if he’s halfway across the world? What is he thinking?
“Maybe this is all my fault,” Wonwoo says.

“What are you—”

“Maybe you really don’t know what that summer meant to me,” Wonwoo says, cutting him off. “I’ve never stopped thinking about it. Being your friend, being…whatever we were that summer, is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“I’m definitely not awake enough for this,” Seungcheol says, half a laugh escaping him. “Do you really think I’m some secret romantic? That I’ve been writing songs about you since that summer?”

Wonwoo has known Seungcheol since he was twenty years old. Decades. They’ve been friends for decades. He grins even though Seungcheol can’t see him.

“You already said you were sorry every song is about me.”

Seungcheol groans. Wonwoo starts the song again, lets the soft sound of Jeonghan’s voice carry Seungcheol’s heart straight to him.

I'll be as honest as you'll let me
I miss your early morning company
If you get me
You are my favorite what if
You are my best I'll never know
And I'm starting to forget
Just what summer ever meant to you
What did it ever mean to you?

Maybe there’s a way to get back to that summer. If they both want it.

[FILL] *chanting* dilf changmin dilf changmin

[feralhoshi]

Ship/Member: Seungcheol/Changmin (TVXQ)
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: modern AU, sugar daddy Changmin (TVXQ), one sarcastic use of the title "daddy"
Permission to remix: Yes

a/n: sorry changmin but your wife doesn't exist here.

wc: 400 words

***

Seungcheol hums as he looks down at his new Rolex, flicking his wrist a couple times to feel the weight of the Submariner model heavy on his wrist. He smiles up at Changmin, who rubs a warm hand over his shoulder, and says, “Thank you. It’s so pretty.”

“Only the best for the best,” Changmin replies, and it makes Seungcheol’s smile widen at the teasing lilt to his tone.

“What am I supposed to say when my nosy classmates ask?” Seungcheol muses aloud, even though he already knows the answer.

“That your daddy got you a new present?” Yeah, there it is. Seungcheol thinks his face twists into something sour, because Changmin barks a laugh and corrects, “That your partner got you a new present.”

That’s a lot better. Seungcheol nods, reaching up to caress the back of Changmin’s hand from where it gently rests on his shoulder. “No, but seriously. Thank you so much.”

Changmin shakes his head, smile thinning into something a little more serious. “You only have to thank me once, Cheol. I do this because I want to.”

Even then, Seungcheol feels like he can never properly express his gratitude for Changmin’s gifts. He leans back into Changmin’s chest, fiddling with the steel body of his new watch. “I’m gonna text my friends and show off my new toy,” Seungcheol declares, and Changmin lets him go after giving his waist a squeeze and planting a quick kiss on his cheek.

Seungcheol takes out his phone, the fancy iPhone 13 Pro Max that Changmin had surprised him with for passing his chemistry final a couple weeks ago, and snaps a photo of his wrist. He sends it off to Jeonghan and Jisoo, who immediately start asking him if Changmin is looking for another boy to splurge on.

“I have a reservation for dinner later, if you’ll join me,” Changmin murmurs, reaching forward to tuck a strand of hair behind Seungcheol’s ear. He can’t seem to keep his hands off of him, but Seungcheol doesn’t mind. It makes him internally preen, basking in Changmin’s attention and sporting all of his pretty gifts.

The gold chains draped over Seungcheol’s collarbone clink together when he shifts to look up at Changmin again, pocketing his phone to tap his lips in a silent request. Changmin leans down to press a sweet kiss to his mouth, and Seungcheol whispers, “I’d love to.”

Re: [Fill] This Whole Damn City Thinks It Needs You(but not as much as I do)

[infrequencies]

me, giggling this morning: this one will get leesa me, on smack cam on the big screen rn: hey op what the FUCK

Re: this song sounds oddly familiar

[fleurissons]

oh this is so good!!! I think I've always adored the way you write seokmin and this time is no exception. soonyoung being the fanboy he is...A+++ content. would could and have already happened. the seokgyu-isms too!! thank you for this <33

Re: [FILL] there's no drug quite like denial

[fleurissons]

oh boy...the long game absolutely does not work what do you mean!!! but I guess he's cute and hopeful so I'll give him a pass on that. minghao getting tired of waiting and biting the bullet, with the implication that it had been two-sided: He didn’t realize Minghao was noticing. soooo good! he knows you've been a bumbling, pining mess and he wants you to call him mingyu so you better do that. this was a joy to read thank you so much for sharing!! <3

Re: [Fill] This Whole Damn City Thinks It Needs You(but not as much as I do)

[leomoonwonu]

VERY UNFORTUNATE FOR BOTH OF US REALLY I FEEL LIKE MY ENTIRE BRAIN IS ZOOMING AROUND IN MY HEAD

[REMIX] the abyss gazes also into you

[moonlitmelodiesfic]

Ship/Member: Seungcheol/Mingyu
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: seungcheol's pov, all of yohan's uncertainty packed into seungcheol, being aware of the darkness in you and wishing the other would walk away and yet you still selfishly want them to stay, and perhaps the subsequent shame of that
Permission to remix: Yes (if remixes can be remixed lol)
a/n: hello! here is the remix i promised! i have gone into this once again with little to no knowledge of the premise of this kdrama, but because of the yohan x gaon vids i watched i can perhaps say i know this a teeny bit better. if i've accidently twisted something or gotten something wrong, i'm so sorry!
i've remained pretty loyal to the og fill, mostly bc i can't really build off of this without more knowledge of the drama. i guess this serves more to fill in seungcheol's side more than anything else. but mostly, vee your fill was so stunning that i was like we absolutely need to get seungcheol's pov on here so. here's this. i've no idea how well i did, but enjoy:)
(i rlly need to get out of the habit of leaving such long author's notes :'))

***

Seungcheol senses Mingyu lingering outside before the door even announces his arrival. He stiffens his spine, straps on his posture like a piece of armor. The door hinge sounds like wounded betrayal when Mingyu finally works up the nerve to walk in.

Mingyu says something, Seungcheol registers dimly as he whips around, but whatever he said doesn’t get an answer as their eyes lock and Seungcheol feels something in him falter, soften, armor stripped. Mingyu is wide-eyed and full of dismay, words bitten and gutted, like he had to rip out a part of himself to say them.

“I know my face earned me the seat to your left, but I’m not as gullible as you think I am.” Of course you aren’t. You wouldn’t be here if you were. Seungcheol sweeps to his feet, trying to muster up some of his rigidity even in flannel pajamas. He watches Mingyu’s wide eyes as he crosses the space, pushes himself into Mingyu’s close vicinity, and feels the heat radiating from Mingyu’s body. It feels a bit like burning when he grasps Mingyu’s chin and tilts it up; it feels like being set on fire when he leans in close and says, “A well-earned seat. You have -- it is quite a pleasant face” and Mingyu’s breath trembles on its next exit.

Seungcheol can see the words, can almost sense them on the next breath Mingyu takes. But he says nothing, and Seungcheol is feeling more untethered from reality with each passing heartbeat. Is this how he’s going to lose Mingyu?

His hand moves of its own accord, shaken loose by a mechanical jerk of Mingyu’s head. It trails the curve of his neck, slips over the ball of his shoulder and comes to a halt over that songbird tattoo, the meaning behind which Mingyu, for all of his candidness, has never shared. He traces a finger over where he remembers to be the wings idly, wonders if Mingyu dreams of mended wings and breaking chains, of greeting the sun and feeling the wind sprint through his lungs. He wonders if Mingyu dreams of being free of him.

Wordlessly, he guides Mingyu over to lie back gingerly on the couch. He balances himself on the edge and a precipice and tries to tell Mingyu about -- everything in the only way he knows how.

“I will find who did this to you.” It’s a promise he will meet his grave, if he must, to fulfill. He wonders if Mingyu knows that.

Weary eyes meet his. “What are you going to do once you find them?”

“Nothing you would like to know.” It’s nothing Mingyu hasn’t already seen him do. Selfishly, he wishes sparing him the details would guarantee his staying.

Please stay, he begs in his head, even as he fortifies his expression and steels himself into the stoic figure Mingyu has always known.

Mingyu looks up at him like a man spellbound by the sick beauty of death. “Tell me, Chief.”

Relief is viscous, clogging tar in his veins and a ball-chain around his ankle. Seungcheol tells him.

here are your upturned hands

[fleurissons]

Ship/Member: Your choice of 96z/Any, Any
Major Tags: Violence
Additional Tags: The Witcher AU, when is a monster not a monster?, sexual content in a 'i say i want you inside me and you split me open with a knife' way
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt: One of the 96z members as a witcher, or you can go wild and make them all witchers! They travel to a village constantly under attack by a monster and set out to kill them to collect the reward. Things, of course, don't go as planned. The hunter suddenly decides the hunted is worth saving, despite what their vibrating medallion has to say. The leaves read a tragic ending in this one, you know when you think you can control them because you love them and that should be enough (it never was), but if happy is where you see this going, yeah why not!

Presents you with the following quote:

Monsters are more than just horrid looks and claws and teeth. Monsters are born of deeds done. Unforgivable ones.

and, of course, an obligatory monster poem.

Re: the abyss gazes also into you

[oeillet]

(very lovingly), you are INSANE AH. you felt like you needed to include the tattoo, and yes yes thank you, you also know i am very weak for tattoos. The whole part dedicated to it to...

The weight of taking flight never materialised until Seungcheol placed him under his touch.

That’s what finding a good tree means. It makes you want to build a nest. It steals the colours from the sky and the wind from beneath your wings. It promises you loneliness and heartache when you think of leaving.

the Kim Gaon-ism of Mingyu ^__^ i have screamed about it but i will again grr the mg bird of flight // finding a tree // experiencing the weight of flight for the first time // wanting to make a nest but knowing that it'll be a form of confinement. and yet he wants to stay. ah. don't know how many times i've read this part over, really.

Fly, his sanity whispers. But Mingyu gazes up at him and decides, in a heartbeat, that he’d rather be consumed by darkness than look at Seungcheol and see a stranger. “Tell me, Chief.”

and what he decides in the end !!!!

now. the elle Seungcheol Kim Yohan. God. Elle Seungcheol was An Image, but to be presented with the disheveled hair + pajamas combo (coughs, an image of vulnerability, coughs). Is pleasantness the reason you look at me with a gaze that puts a burning sun to shame? you know what at this point i've lost all coherency. Mingyu jerks his head, but Seungcheol’s hand merely drops to his shoulder. It slides along his back, greeting the songbird with a tender caress even more coherency lost, if that's even possible.


you've packed so much in these 400 words and it's all i ever wanted. the touches. the gazes. and as your tags say: falling in love with the darkness we recognise. your writing is as vivid and striking as always and the characterisation wonderful.


thank you for writing!!! i owe you one, but i'm also glad you're in this brainrot with me ^^ will be thinking of them for days to come. since i've rattled your brain, this time i'm going to smooch your brain.

Re: [REMIX] the abyss gazes also into you

[oeillet]

oh how lucky i am to not only get one wonderful fill but also a wonderful remix of the fill !! *__* and this is Wonderful !!!

the characterisation for Seungcheol is just mwah, you perfectly capture the juxtaposition of his cold, rough, indestructible exterior (and the need to uphold it even in front of mingyu !! re: Seungcheol sweeps to his feet, trying to muster up some of his rigidity even in flannel pajamas) and his decidedly softer interior.

Please stay, he begs in his head, even as he fortifies his expression and steels himself into the stoic figure Mingyu has always known.

this just encapsulates it perfectly. coupled with the fact that it's mirroring mingyu's Fly T__T screams!!

this part too:

He watches Mingyu’s wide eyes as he crosses the space, pushes himself into Mingyu’s close vicinity, and feels the heat radiating from Mingyu’s body. It feels a bit like burning when he grasps Mingyu’s chin and tilts it up; it feels like being set on fire when he leans in close and says

and also especially this part:

It trails the curve of his neck, slips over the ball of his shoulder and comes to a halt over that songbird tattoo, the meaning behind which Mingyu, for all of his candidness, has never shared. He traces a finger over where he remembers to be the wings idly, wonders if Mingyu dreams of mended wings and breaking chains, of greeting the sun and feeling the wind sprint through his lungs. He wonders if Mingyu dreams of being free of him.

God these two. I really love the way you write Seungcheol in this character. exquisite.

the SC pov is truly an addition i'm grateful for. and you're right! we absolutely need to get his pov, so thank you so much for sharing this!!!! <3

Re: [REMIX] the abyss gazes also into you

[moonlitmelodiesfic]

OH thank you!! For the kind words and the prompt (and ofc vee for the fantastic fill) I was originally eying this prompt anyway, and I’m so glad to put this out here! Thanks for reading and commenting! <3

Re: [FILL] fowl play (3/3)

[flippinflakes]

Hello, i love this, i love u author, i love op's prompt, i want all the geese in the world to have a time attacking ppl today god bless them for their powers and godbless true love amen or ameen or whichever holy shit

[FILL] power of love

[sanchen]

Ship/Member: Seventeen (Gen)
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blindness, Idolverse, References to Illness
Permission to remix: Please ask
(also going for year of the tiger [horanghae])

***

i put in ao3 since it got to 2.9k but here it is!

Re: [FILL] there's no drug quite like denial

[stickystickysticky]

it really does not work and i found it to be extra funny considering that i think usually mingyu is extremely eager and doesn't wait for the long game but this time, he doesn't want to mess up bc he thinks minghao's all cool and cute ! and minghao's like yeah i am so ask me out???

thank you for reading!!! i'm so glad you enjoyed it (':

Re: [FILL] roaring, roaring, roaring

[(Anonymous)]

I’m Japanese,so I’m not very good english.But I was very moved by this novel;; I LOVE JISOL SO…
Thank you.
I look forward to read your new novel.
I’ll learn more English that I can enjoy your novel more!

[FILL] In-betweens

[2978514]

Ship/Member: Mingyu POV, Minghao/Seokmin
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: soft rookie cameraman mingyu, overnight airport stays, peaceful acceptance that ur a filler team on a competitive reality show
Permission to remix: Yes

This one might have ran away from me but you totally captured my nostalgia AND my 97z favoritism... not at all intended to have a mega serious tone i might just be bad at writing funnies LOL i hope it's at the very least sufficient<3

***


Mingyu had not expected the sheer amount of waiting that this gig entailed.

He was aware that the idealized “fast-paced travel around the world with a side of filming some fools running around completing tasks sometimes” image that had popped up in his head at first was faulty. He had still quietly thanked himself for the networking efforts from his internship, starry eyed, for getting him into the crew of a major show straight out of his degree. But god, the difference between the screen and the reality was never as apparent as the hours upon hours spent in stiff airport seats, staring into space, somehow still expected to have the camera up and ready to catch footage for whatever narrative was being built in post production.

Thankfully, his and the sound guy’s assigned contestants seemed like a better luck of the draw, if the things he had heard during one of the unofficial shit talking sessions during the crew’s hotel breakfasts were true. He had thought it over, then, tipping the last of the coffee into his mouth. Seokmin and Minghao were two men, roughly his own age, and if he were to guess what the editors would write in little subtitles under their names, it would be something flowery and vague like “Life Partners.” They were easily manageable and polite without being boring, to the point where Mingyu had to remember to keep himself professional sometimes. Like when he had almost gone off on a ramble upon hearing Minghao ask about the camera lens they used, or the camaraderie he felt when Seokmin hastily dismissed the bungee jump choice at a Detour.

That’s the other thing: the job entailed that he would have had to have followed them up there. Having to stay within a regulated distance of contestants running for a cash prize while it’s just another day at work for you proves to be a workout, both mentally and physically. It’s typical, the way Mingyu would inadvertently end up soaking up everyone’s stress like a sponge.

It was the one thing he would have to complain about if he had the guts to speak up among the veteran camera crew, at those breakfasts. He was athletic, but perhaps not made for it. It showed frequently, like during the last leg: all 188 clumsy centimetres of him crumpled into the passenger seat of a shoddy taxi, just fucking praying to god that the look of desperation in Seokmin’s eyes at the notion of running out of money for the ride was not a sign he was actually planning to beg the driver to let them off the hook. (He didn’t have to. The crew carried an extra credit card for emergency situations like these, but Mingyu was not sure he would be able to stomach the sight before they could intervene. Turns out Seokmin was just being paranoid and very ready to sacrifice his pride. Thinking about it makes Mingyu feel ill, but mostly because he can’t convince himself that he wouldn’t have done the same.)





There would, however, not be much more of this.

A series of minor missteps had caused them to slip behind, narrowly missing the opportunity to book a flight that carried the last couple of teams just ahead of them. A classic, Mingyu had heard from a more weathered producer after the same fate befell another team a couple rounds ago. It made for fun drama for the screen, he had said.

Mingyu is not having fun. They’d been told that the next available flight was in the morning, and he did not feel any satisfaction about catching their reaction on camera.

That’s where he’s sitting now. Barely lit by a never-ending sunrise, in an empty airport, lens set on Seokmin and Minghao. The sound guy comes back from taking a call from the producers, and whispers the news to him: the second team has arrived at the Pit Stop, with more expected to trickle in in the coming hours. At this point, it’s a question of whether they’ll even let their team finish or if they'll cut their pitiful flounder short at the airport.

As per the rules, Seokmin and Minghao have not been informed of this, but there’s this feeling that they’ve known for a while. They haven’t spoken much, idly leaning on each other in a way that might have felt too personal if he hadn’t seen it all for the last week or so, or if the numbness of sleep deprivation wasn’t sitting on his brain like a fog. Mingyu manages to wonder for a second, if they’ll make him be an extra in any of the future challenges, if he’ll have to film Seokmin and Minghao clapping and smiling for the winners in the final episode. He hopes he gets to sleep better. He hopes he gets to pick up his own camera.

His coworker slumps back down and makes a face at him, shrugging. You know how it is. Right.





Another eternity passes. The sun has not moved, and the loudspeaker cracks open the stagnant air.

"Flight 26 departing from Gate 5 is experiencing technical issues and will be delayed. New departure time is calculated to be 10:22 AM. We thank you for your understanding."

They don’t move. Seokmin tilts his head upwards, the sides of his mouth tugging down. His eyes go shiny. Mingyu has seen this before.

Minghao moves to embrace him, mumbling something like, hey, why, thumb to his cheek.

“I’m such an idiot,” sniffs Seokmin, mouth cracking open into a wide smile. “I love you. I’m sorry.”

Minghao just laughs, warm, clinging on to him. He’s draped across him, hand finding Seokmin’s. He raises his head to kiss him, and rests there.

Mingyu subtly, sheepishly, slips the lens cover onto his camera.

Re: [FILL] In-betweens

[citadis]

first of all MY MINGUSSS.. i love the POV and this iteration of 97z is so good. or the camaraderie he felt when Seokmin hastily dismissed the bungee jump choice at a Detour. cryyyy yesss. also the seokhao moment at the end I die. *waves arms around* ily. also still highly entertained at the idea of finding your cameraman on grindr LMFAO

Re: [FILL] In-betweens

[2978514]

UUU AAAREEE THE WIND IN MY SAILS AND I LOVE YEWWWW.. & so glad to hear i did a good 97z... cry cry.... <333333

Re: [FILL] power of love

[moonlitmelodiesfic]

just left a comment on ao3 to express my overflowing appreciation for this!! thank you for writing and sharing, i love it 3000 [wink emoji x3]

Re: [FILL] In-betweens

[klav]

YEEEEEEEEEES OH MY GOODNESS OP I can't express how excited I am that you filled this prompt AND WITH 97Z?! I am on the floor. This is so good. This is. DELICIOUS UGGHMF. Writing the prompt, I really struggled with leaving it open to both angsty/heavy and funny/light fills, because I think this type of AU lends itself to both really well. And I feel like you touched on both tones so exquisitely! This is more than I could've ever hoped for!!

if he were to guess what the editors would write in little subtitles under their names, it would be something flowery and vague like “Life Partners.” - seokhao through the eternal heart-eyes of Kim Mingyu and his background knowledge of the crew and producers... THIS IS JUST SO PERFECT. + feeling camaraderie with Seokmin because he passed the bungee jump Detour oh my GOD when I tell you I literally almost asked for that SPECIFICALLY in the prompt I'm not even kidding I feel like you read my mind op this is crazy. It's so clear how Mingyu Cares, how he struggles to watch them struggle,, I love the way you captured his big bleeding heart here. Especially, Mingyu was not sure he would be able to stomach the sight before they could intervene. Even when he's exhausted himself, he's thinking of them, of how difficult the race is for them. Are you kidding [yelling forever]!

I love your descriptions of the airport, the never-ending sunrise (!!!), the melancholic atmosphere that is still somehow full of love because that's just how 97z roll... I can't get over how tender it is, their reaction to the flight being delayed yet again, how they're still just supportive and soft with each other. My heart is EXPLODING at Mingyu imagining filming seokhao clapping for the winning team, the whole last lines, Minghao just laughs, warm, clinging on to him. He’s draped across him, hand finding Seokmin’s. He raises his head to kiss him, and rests there. / Mingyu subtly, sheepishly, slips the lens cover onto his camera. Please excuse my language but fuuuuuuuuuck. YOU GET IT! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS I FEEL LIKE I WILL NEVER RECOVER!!

[FILL] Don't Go Gentle

[klav]

Ship/Member: Joshua/Minghao
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: Ella Enchanted AU, idolverse, almost-violence
Permission to remix: Yes

I don't know why I idolverse'd this but the prompt grabbed me,, hope this is what you were looking for sticky! <3

***

Joshua Hong is good.

He is good and polite. He is gracious and generous. Hospitable, quiet. Forgiving. Most of all, he’s obedient. He won’t say no. He can’t.

And isn’t that lovely? An idol who never says no.

No wonder Pledis snatched him up so quickly.

/

In the end it was a manager.

Thirty-something and going gray, he’d been around long enough to remember when Joshua still stumbled over his Korean fricatives. Long enough to see a few crucial slip-ups: Seokmin joking, “Go home, L.A. boy!” and Jeonghan turning white. Mingyu demanding a hug and then recoiling too quickly when Joshua obliged, flushed and apologetic. Jihoon too nervous to speak in his presence for weeks after accidentally commanding Joshua to cook dinner for the whole dorm.

This manager watched. He waited.

Eventually he must have developed a theory and decided to test it, because one morning he took Joshua by the elbow, hidden in the shadows of the company building, and muttered, “Break Myungho’s leg tomorrow. Tell no one. Forget we ever spoke.”

Joshua had half a second to panic before the words sunk in.

Then he obeyed—and forgot.


/


In the early days, after the debrief with the CEO and before they started filming 17 Project, Seungcheol would stumble over himself double-checking that his suggestions were only that—suggestions. Not orders. The others weren’t as careful, but they learned quickly. Jeonghan had his fun with the whole thing in under two minutes, after making Joshua fetch him a glass of water from the toilet bowl. Twice.

When Joshua came back with the second glass, Jeonghan’s face changed. The little smirk of disbelief fell away. He leaned forward on the bottom bunk, a lock of hair falling gracefully across his jaw, his eyes glittering. “You know we have your back, Joshuji.”

“Yeah.” Joshua looked away. Swallowed hard.

So many people had figured out his secret and made the same promise. His aunt, who once told him to sneak into his mother’s perfumed closet, dark and smelling of mothballs, to steal a fat wad of cash. An older church friend, practically family, who thought it was funny to make Joshua jump rope until he fainted. His grandfather on his father’s side, who never bothered to learn the rules of his curse and didn’t care if Joshua spent seven hours scrubbing the bathroom floor. It builds character, he used to say. Makes him into a man.

They’d all been tempted, one by one. Who wouldn’t be? How could he blame them? It was only a matter of time, now that he’d chosen this life, until the secret got out to the public.

“Yah, I’m serious.” Jeonghan caught his gaze and held it like they were interlocking hands, like they were making a pinky-promise. “Okay? You and me. We’re in this together.”

“Sure,” Joshua says.

He had to trust the members. There was no other choice.


/


It starts to hit around midnight.

Joshua’s heart races. His stomach spins. It’s an awful feeling, but a familiar one—this is how he feels when he’s resisting a command. Joshua tries to relax and let his body lead him to where he needs to go, but something is still different. Like, subconsciously, he’s rejecting the mission. God, what did someone say to him? He can't even remember, he must’ve missed it. It must’ve been during dinner earlier.

Joshua paces in his room, moonlight violent on the tousled bedsheets, until his feet drag him into the dim kitchen. Beneath the counter, in the dusty half-empty cupboard that hasn’t been touched since Mingyu moved out, there’s a toolbox. His hands shake when he removes the hammer. It’s heavy in his sweaty palm.

What the hell. What the hell?

He lets his body take him down the hall, past his own doorway. He stops where a thin band of gold underlines Minghao’s door and knocks hard. One, two, three.

Minghao peeks out. “Hyung. What’s up?”

He’s bare-faced, hair soft as a dream and falling elegantly around his face. In his silky black pajamas he still, stupidly, looks like a model, tall and graceful and perpetually out of reach, undoubtedly one of Joshua’s favorite people in the world.

And yet—there’s a snake uncoiling in his sternum, a thick, hot desire pressing on his chest. Suddenly he knows he’s going to hurt Minghao. He’s going to—

A premonition flashes across his mind’s eye. Joshua takes the hammer to Minghao’s knee. One, two, three. The sickening crunch, the screams. Joshua’s heart does a backflip. He thinks he might throw up. Sweat erupts over his body, a god-awful chill. It’s going to happen and he can’t stop it, he’s never been able to stop it, this is a fixed point in his destiny—

“I’m so sorry,” Joshua chokes, lifting the hammer.

Minghao’s face drops. “What?”

Joshua swings. Minghao jerks backwards and the hammer knocks harmlessly against the hardwood floor.

“What the fuck,” Minghao says loudly.

Joshua can barely speak through the tears clogging his throat. His hands are shaking too hard to hold the hammer; he drops it and immediately falls to his knees to retrieve it. Shadows stretch long in the corners of Minghao’s tidy bedroom.

“I’m sorry,” Joshua gasps, his eyes blurring. “Myungho-yah, I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s—what’s happening, please go, don’t let me hurt you—”

His voice rises to a wail as his hands close around the hammer again. The gravity of the situation dawns on Minghao; he kicks his slippers into Joshua’s chest and climbs backwards onto his bed, his eyes wide and dark and scared.

“Who did this to you?” he asks. “What happened?”

Joshua bites his lip hard enough to bleed. “I don’t know.”

He takes a small step forward. If he concentrates hard enough, embraces the full-body ache and the surging nausea, maybe he can slow himself down. Give Minghao time to escape.

Except there’s nowhere to run in the tiny room. Joshua’s feet drag him one step closer. “No,” he gasps, words tumbling out, addressed mostly to his traitorous body, “No, I won’t do this. Not this. I can’t. Not him.”

“It’s okay,” Minghao’s voice wobbles. Of course he’s trying to soothe Joshua, despite the way he’s cowered himself into a corner, his feet digging canyons into the mattress, his muscles locked and trembling with fear like a small animal. “It’s okay. Hyung. I know it’s not you.”

Joshua climbs shakily on to the bed. His weight dips the mattress; he feels his heart sink and settle at the bottom of something dark. Heavy as a stone.

“Don’t,” he says as he raises the hammer. Minghao’s eyes dart around the room. His fingers clench on the jagged wooden bed frame.

Joshua grits his teeth and lets pain throb through him, slowing his shaking hand. “Fuck—please stop—d-don’t be obedient.”

The hammer hits the bed with a soft thump. Joshua pitches sideways, sliding ungracefully to the carpet, all the momentum leaving his body in one fell swoop and the pain disappearing with a blink. Weight lifts off his chest so quickly he gets light-headed. The room tips over and spins.

He realizes he’s starting to hyperventilate and stops in the next second. Wiping his face dry, he looks up at Minghao, who hasn’t moved a muscle. Their eyes lock.

Minghao throws himself off the bed and crawls straight into Joshua’s arms.

“Wait, I could hurt you,” Joshua protests, weakly, his hands still trembling, the hammer like a corpse behind him, something he can’t look at or away from. “I almost… I was going to hurt you.”

Minghao takes Joshua’s face between his hands and looks, really looks, in that intense and startling way he has perfected.

“But you didn’t,” he says. “Did you resist a command?”

Joshua still feels shaky—but light. He lifts tentative hands to Minghao’s waist. “I think so.”

“Stand up,” Minghao says firmly.

Joshua clenches his stomach in preparation for the pain of resistance. It never comes. He sits, quiet as a mouse, so still that he’s hardly breathing. The dishwasher finishes its cycle and beeps loudly from the kitchen.

He defies the order. Painlessly. Easily.

Minghao’s face opens into a bright smile.

“I’m free.” Joshua laces his fingers with Minghao’s, a laugh bubbling out of his chest. “I’m, oh my god? Myungho-yah. Try it again.”

Minghao squeezes his palm. “Um, dance the chorus of Aju Nice. Right now.”

“No. No!" Joshua does the opposite; he wraps his arms around Minghao and rolls them sideways across the carpet, tugging him closer until they’re face-to-face on the floor like kids at a sleepover, their knees tangled together, his bare feet skimming against the dresser. “I won’t. Oh, my god. I broke the curse.”

Lying there, noses a breath apart, Minghao’s smile slips away. His careful brows go smooth. He loops his fingers around Joshua’s wrist.

“Who told you to hurt me?” he whispers.

The answer rises in Joshua’s memory like it was always there. “Manager Taeyeol-hyung.”

Briefly Minghao closes his eyes. “Okay. Okay.”

The horror that had settled over Joshua like a thick fog dissipates. He didn’t hurt Minghao. He’ll never hurt Minghao. He’ll never do anything else against his will. Tomorrow morning he’ll tell Seungcheol what happened and they’ll take care of it together, force an NDA down the manager’s throat and discuss their legal options. Send that man far away, regardless.

Tomorrow Joshua Hong will be a new person. His own person, for the first time.

"Thank you," Minghao whispers with feeling.

His hair hangs in his face like a stroke of dark paint. Joshua tucks a lock behind Minghao's ear, his hand lingering at the pulse in his temple. They exchange soft, secret smiles.

/

“Shua-yah,” the fan says later, giggling into her screen. “Sing me the chorus of the next title track!”

Before, Joshua would have to sing it under his breath, quick and quiet, just a line or two while covering his mouth or acting similarly coy. Offline fansigns at least have the advantage of someone else sitting across from him—oftentimes a member, sometimes a staff member hand-selected by Seungcheol and Joshua who is given a bare-bones explanation—ready to mitigate damage with an opposing command or a fabricated bad connection.

Today it’s Jeonghan. He finished his cycle of fansign calls two hours ago, but stayed to wait for Joshua anyway. His eyes fly up when he hears the command, setting down his iced coffee hard enough to make the little table shudder.

Before Jeonghan has the chance to counteract the command, Joshua wags a finger at the fan and grins. “That’s a secret,” he says. “I won’t tell.”

And it feels good.

Re: [FILL] Don't Go Gentle

[pixiepower]

i am about to LOSE MY MIND!!!! “not him” BYE!!!! BYEEEEE

Re: [FILL] Don't Go Gentle

[stickystickysticky]

UGH THIS WAS PERFECT KLAV I was not expecting idolverse but honestly? It suits it so well!!!! Thank you for filling my prompt!!! I especially love the ending and all the little Jeonghan bits scattered he's a good friend to him ;-;;

Re: [FILL] oh my god they were roommates

[(Anonymous)]

just wanted to comment that the moment where seungkwan is nagging vernon and he smiles at him reminded me of that vlive where boo is complaining about the camera angle and vernon just. smiles at him.
thank you. i enjoyed it a lot! i feel like those moments explain their dynamic so nicely~ you expressed that feeling here 🥰