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

MinWon is bittersweet and I am ;___;

[hwarium]

Ship/Member: MinWon
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: Unrequited love? love triangles? puppy love? unspoken confessions?
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt: Ah yes the ambiguous Bittersweet MV. I need to someone to put all those vague montages into words!!

The Unbearable Lightness of Being au

[dumbo1510]

Ship/Member: any but if it's possible jeonghan as sabina heh
Major Tags:
Additional Tags:
Do Not Wants:

Prompt: so I just watched the film and I fell in LOVE with Sabina.. naturally I wanna see han as her character 🥲

This is my first time submitting a prompt so sorry if I do this wrong 😣

name one hero who was happy

[thesolemneyed]

what has hector ever done to me?
Ship/Member: Any (quietly) seokgyu..
Major Tags: MCD ?
Additional Tags: Friends to enemies? Lovers to enemies? Strangers to enemies? Rivals to enemies? You get it...
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt: Achilles and Hector AU (doesn't have to be Iliad au...). Born to be enemies. Destined to be rivals. Fated to cause one another harm.

[FILL] a doom that will never be done with

[seokmin_liker]

Ship/Member: Seokmin/Mingyu
Major Tags: Major Character Death
Additional Tags: royalty AU, vague mythological past, intergenerational curse, betrayal
Permission to remix: Please ask
Word count: 3349

dear peb, the second worst thing you have ever done to me is send me that oresteia pdf. the worst thing you have ever done to me is this prompt. hope you enjoy

[1/2]
***

The story is worthy of epic. Mingyu standing above Seokmin, driving his sword into Seokmin’s chest, ending the years of bitter feuding that have plagued their two families. Mingyu is a hero, even if the people don’t think so. Even if nobody else in this godforsaken city believes him, the gods know. They put him onto this, they see him for who he is. The gods know Mingyu’s story.

Mingyu’s story is worthy of epic. That is why nobody quite tells it right.

***

Mingyu knows why he is here. Seokmin’s father murdered Mingyu’s uncle, because Mingyu’s uncle murdered Seokmin’s grandfather, because Seokmin’s grandfather had cheated Mingyu’s great-aunt, because Mingyu’s great-grandfather had betrayed Seokmin’s great-grandfather. The chain was long, but it was traceable. There was a reason why Mingyu’s blood boiled whenever he even thought about Seokmin.

That is why he is here, vying for a spot as Seokmin’s military chief. Betrayal would be the only way he could get Seokmin where he wanted, and the only way to betray someone is to get close to them first. And the advantage of having been sent away for his education is that nobody knows him. His past, his family - none of that matters. All that matters is that he’s able to do the job. So Mingyu spars with the other contenders, shows off his skill in swordfighting and archery, shares his strategies confidently. Really, the others don’t stand a chance when he’s around. All the while, though, his eyes dart to Seokmin, making sure he is watching.

And Seokmin is watching. His eyes are trained on Mingyu, intent on his lithe movement and strong blows. Even from afar, Mingyu can tell that Seokmin is focusing on him, and so he might as well put on a little show. He pushes himself harder under Seokmin’s intense gaze, strains every muscle in his body to keep him hooked. If Mingyu wants his glory, he needs to catch Seokmin’s attention, he needs to make Seokmin need him.

At the end of it all, it’s Mingyu who is the victor. He knew he would be, but nevertheless he keeps his head down when Seokmin moves to congratulate him.

“I look forward to working with you,” Seokmin says, with a glimmer in his eye. Not haughty or cruel, but something almost genuine.

Mingyu smiles meekly. He replies, “As do I.”

And he means it, more than Seokmin can ever know.

***

It doesn’t take Mingyu very long to learn that Seokmin isn’t very sure of himself. It might be understandable - Seokmin is still quite new to being a king, after all - but every word he utters in front of his advisers sounds unsure, like he’s waiting for someone to prove him wrong. In this particular meeting, they are discussing a nearby city whose soldiers are lurking closer to the border. Royal adviser Jeonghan wants to make an attack, but-

“I don’t think we should,” Seokmin posits hesitantly. “They’re not too much of a threat, are they? There’s no reason to suppose they will attack us soon.”

“Seokmin, you trust too easily,” Jeonghan warns, like he has said this many times before. “They’ve caused issues before, and they might cause issues again. It’s better to anticipate them rather than lag behind.”

“Even so,” Seokmin says, voice trailing off a little, “I don’t think we should be too hostile just yet. I think that- well, given where we are in terms of manpower- I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“I agree,” Mingyu remarks.

It catches everyone else by surprise - perhaps they weren’t expecting the new military chief to be so vocal so quickly. Seokmin looks the most surprised of all, like he wasn’t expecting Mingyu to agree with him, like he couldn’t believe he had said something right.

“It’s the logical choice, in my view,” Mingyu continues. “There’s no need to make unnecessary enemies. Until they pose a clear threat, we shouldn’t use valuable manpower and resources to cut them off. If they want to advance, they can, but they’ll be the aggressors. I’m not too sure they’ll want that, diplomatically speaking.”

A weighty silence hangs over the room. Nobody is quite looking at Mingyu - not even Seokmin, who’s too busy staring at his own hands, like they’ll move of their own accord.

“Thank you,” Seokmin replies, scarcely audible. “Now if that issue is settled, we can move on.”

Mingyu doesn’t miss the grateful smile Seokmin sends him when nobody else is looking. Before he even realises he’s doing it, he smiles back.

***

Mingyu doesn’t mean to watch Seokmin pluck the orange from the tree. He wasn’t even expecting to see Seokmin at all. He was just walking around the grounds, looking to clear his head, to shake off the ghosts asking why haven’t you done it yet?
And there Seokmin is, soaked in sun and splendour, as he stands on tiptoes and reaches for the orange. Next to him, a little girl - one of Seokmin’s cousins, Mingyu realises - watches in wide-eyed awe as Seokmin’s long fingers grip the orange and pull.

It comes off into his hands, and Seokmin smiles a satisfied little smile. He kneels down so he is eye level with the girl, not caring for whether his robes got dirty.

“Do you want me to peel it for you?” he asks, honeyed voice carrying across the grass.

The girl nods vigorously, and Seokmin starts to peel the orange. He digs his nails in, making quick work of the peel, stripping it off in one piece. Then, he gently pulls the orange apart, separating the segments with so much precision and care that for a minute Mingyu feels like the orange is more important than anything he’s ever had to do. Seokmin passes the orange segments to the little girl, mirroring her bright grin, and watches her run off to eat.

Mingyu remembers his uncle and his great-aunt and how all his family want Seokmin to die. But they never saw his eyes shine with silken kindness as he gave his cousin an orange, nor did they see the curve of his lips as he smiled wider than any king should. If they did, Mingyu is pretty certain they’d change their minds.

“Mingyu! Over here!”

Mingyu is startled. He didn’t realise Seokmin could see him. Had he known he was there all along? Sheepishly, he shuffles towards Seokmin.

The blinding smile is still on Seokmin’s face, even though his military chief has been basically watching him from behind a tree. Seokmin doesn’t seem to mind that Mingyu saw him in his tender, vulnerable moment. Kings don’t tend to like it when their advisers see them for who they are, but Seokmin doesn’t seem to mind. Something within Mingyu burns at the thought.

“Do you want an orange, Mingyu?” Seokmin asks when Mingyu approaches.

And even though Mingyu knows he’s taller, and he knows that he could reach the oranges much easier than Seokmin can, he doesn’t stop himself from saying, “I’d love one, thank you.”

The orange is sweet, even if the ghosts try and sour his joy.

***

“Sometimes,” Seokmin whispers, more to the candle than to Mingyu, “I don’t know if I deserve all this.”

Mingyu is in Seokmin’s chambers. He probably shouldn’t be - it’s hardly conventional for a king to invite his military chief to his chambers unless there is an emergency. But Seokmin isn’t conventional, and to him most decisions feel like an emergency.
So Mingyu sits on a chair opposite him, talking to him until his furrowed eyebrows relax and the tension melts from his eyes in the warm glow of the candlelight. Usually, they talk of defence strategy. Today, the worry seems different.

“What do you mean?” Mingyu asks. “Who else would deserve this?”

“I don’t know. But not me. Everyone expects so much from me, and I don’t think I could ever live up.”

“Everybody knows you’re doing well, Seokmin. The kingdom is fine. You’ve done nothing wrong.” It pains Mingyu to admit to himself that he’s telling the truth. “So why are you so worried?”

“It’s not the people here that I’m worried about. It’s… it’s the others.”

“What others?”

“The ghosts.”

Mingyu’s heart leaps to his throat. “Ghosts?”

“Not real ghosts, but the ghosts of all my family that have suffered at the hands of the Kims. They follow me. I carry them with me every day. They expect me to do something to avenge them, that will end this chain of killings, once and for all. But I’m not like that. I’m not sure I’m a killer. I’m not sure of anything. What I am sure of is that if I don’t avenge my family, I betray them, but if I do avenge my family, I betray myself. And yet I could never even think of betraying my family, because I want to keep them happy. I need to be a good son, but these ghosts are with me all the time, and I don’t know how to keep them happy. How do I keep them happy, Mingyu?”

Mingyu never knew that being understood could be such a horror. Seokmin didn’t tear open Mingyu’s chest with his bare hands, he didn’t rummage around Mingyu’s organs looking for the key to the core of his heart, but he might as well have. Seokmin has said what Mingyu could never have the courage to, and the recognition makes him feel sick to his stomach.

Mingyu’s throat is tight and icy, like he’ll choke if he tries to open his mouth. Distantly, he thinks there’s something tragic about it all - about how similar they both are, about how fate has landed them like this, about how all Mingyu wants to do is to kneel before Seokmin and put his hands on Seokmin’s knees and say forgive me, forgive me, I know.

But he doesn’t do that. Instead, Mingyu grits his teeth. He thinks of his uncle, his great-aunt. He thinks of all the ghosts he needs to keep happy.

He says, “Just do what you’re already doing. They’ll be happy with that.”

Seokmin looks at Mingyu. His limbs seem to relax, loosened like Mingyu has fed him fine wine.

“You’re kind to me, Mingyu. You’ll make me too soft, I think.”

Mingyu isn’t too sure about that. Seokmin has been too soft long before Mingyu came into the picture. Why else would he trust Mingyu so much after only a few weeks of knowing him? Unless they absolutely had to, why would anyone trust Mingyu?

Even so, Mingyu chuckles, unable to stop himself. “Who said that was a bad thing?”

***

This is not a conversation that Mingyu’s supposed to hear. Even so, he cannot help but lurk around the threshold.

“Why are you telling me this all of a sudden?” Seokmin asks, sounding uncharacteristically irritated. “Do you think you can change my opinion of Mingyu with spurious facts and whispered rumours?”

“Seokmin,” warns royal adviser Jeonghan, with an edge to his voice, “we just want you to think carefully. We know nothing about the origin of this man, so it might be wise for you to involve him less in… sensitive matters.”

“He is my military chief, Jeonghan. How exactly am I supposed to leave him out of sensitive matters?”

“Perhaps the position ought to be reconsidered.”

“And why would I do that? On what basis? It wouldn’t be fair to anyone, least of all to Mingyu.”

“It would be fair to the kingdom.”

“The kingdom saw Mingyu win the competition! What would it look like if I were to snatch away the title of someone who earned it so obviously?”

“It would look like you’re responsible! It would look like you can make hard decisions well. There may be people who oppose it - so what? When someone so high in the ranks cannot be trusted-”

“I don’t care what you say,” Seokmin interrupts, finally sounding worthy of the crown he wears. “I trust him. I have no reason not to trust him. What wrong has Mingyu ever done to me?”

Bile rises in the back of Mingyu’s throat. Seokmin trusts so easily, so beautifully, too beautifully for the bloody foundations of this palace. Mingyu hasn’t had anyone trust him like this - for the sake of trusting him, rather than because the family name depends on it.

Seokmin believes in him so openly. If it weren’t for the ghosts on Mingyu’s back, Mingyu would be reluctant to prove him wrong.

***

im hormonal don't judge me

[thesolemneyed]

Ship/Member: Any (but wonhui...just saying..)
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: Fluff
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt: Tattoo artist/Florist AU - a pure classic. Go as ham as you want with it. I love crying

[FILL] why don't you figure my heart out?

[wonwoes]

Ship/Member: Wonwoo / Junhui
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: Fluff, general dumbassery, crack, and side GyuHao if you squint hard enough
Permission to remix: Please ask

Full disclosure, I know nothing about flowers or tattoos even...so everything's in general terms but I couldn't pass this prompt up, hehe.
***

"You're getting a tattoo."

The way the words come out of Mingyu's mouth makes the whole idea sound even more stupid but Wonwoo has long been desensitized from other people and their disappointments.

Oh wow, dark.

"I am." Wonwoo replies as he begins the slow and careful repotting process of the plants that came in last week, gloved-hands softly sifting through the dirt to make a bed snug enough for his flowers to grow. "Next week."

"And did you realize, at any point, that you never had a tattoo before?"

Mingyu sounds huffy and it's warranted. Wonwoo never told him about his plans and the younger had only known about it, when Mingyu swung by Jun's shop with a tupperware of bread and flour on his nose.

"That's the point of getting one," Wonwoo hums as he squats down and opens a fresh bag of dirt from the floor, "To know what it feels like."

"And you didn't tell me?" Mingyu sounds proper upset now and it tugs something guilty from Wonwoo, enough for him to stop what he was doing and turn around.

Mingyu is predictably sulking by his perch from one of the stray barstools in the back house, arms crossed over his chest and pout clear on his face.

He shouldn't look the part of being a five-year old too much when Mingyu can barely cross his arms together with a chest that big, but he does.

Wonwoo sighs but stands up to unglove his hand and then deliver a swift pinch on Mingyu's cheek.

"Ow!"

"That's for being nosy," Wonwoo tells him, unimpresed as he places the gloves back to the table and proceeds to walk out the door.

"How else was I supposed to know! I had to find out for myself!" Mingyu easily catches up to him with his long legs and youthful exhuberance that Wonwoo can never keep up with, not even in this lifetime. "I looked like a fool in front of Jun-hyung!"

I'm sure you looked fine, Wonwoo thinks off-handedly as they enter the shop, the smell of blooming flowers and earth, and colors bursting at every seam.

"I'm sorry for making you look like a fool." Wonwoo replies, "But I didn't know I had to get your permission to get a tattoo, Mingyu-yah."

Mingyu pouts even deeper.

I'm never gonna win against him, Wonwoo sighs.

"Auntie told me to get you out of trouble and now you're here, fraternising with hooligans." Mingyu huffs, narrowing his eyes at Wonwoo, "What's next, you're gonna start planting special leaves?"

Wonwoo rolls his eyes.

"You hang out in Jun's shop every day, do you think he's a hooligan?" And to bother that other kid you have a crush on, Wonwoo doesn't wisely tack, further.

"No?" Mingyu replies as Wonwoo stares at him, dead-eyed.

"Did I sound like Auntie at least?" Mingyu asks, voice mischevious.

Mingyu really doesn't give a fuck if Wonwoo got tattoos. He'd probably goad him to getting stupid ones, even. But, he scared of Wonwoo's mom and that Wonwoo can understand.

Hell hath no fury like a Christ-devout mother scorned, or whatever the quote says.

"Close enough." Wonwoo agrees and Mingyu's sunny smile is back on his face.

"Can I see the design, though? I at least have to do my part in telling you not to get a tramp stamp, hyung."

Mingyu's head is awfully close enough to hit but Wonwoo resolutely keeps his hands to himself.

He knows Mingyu wouldn't tell his mom but Wonwoo wouldn't want him to start having ideas.

Wonwoo grabs his phone from his pocket and scrolls through his gallery before he finds the drawing that he had been staring at for weeks. He could probably draw the entire thing with his eyes closed with how often he keeps looking at it.

He passes the phone to Mingyu.

Wonwoo watches the younger's face contort into something unreadable before Mingyu bursts out laughing.

Wonwoo should have cuffed him at the back of the head when he had the chance.

"What, it's not a tramp stamp!"

Mingyu's clutching his stomach, doubled over in laughter and Wonwoo wants to throw dirt at him like he's seven and was not yet awarded with maturity and patience.

Mingyu's laughs one more time before he stands back up, looking at Wonwoo with a teasing glint on his eye.

"Oh, hyung. You're more whipped than I thought."

-

Jun's hands are cold, despite the layer of latex gloves separating him from Wonwoo's bare skin and he tries not to shiver.

That or Wonwoo is suddenly feeling cold feet.

"You good?" Jun asks, a charming smile on his face that makes Wonwoo squeak out a tiny yeah, just so Jun keeps smiling at him like that.

Mingyu was right. He was whipped, moreso than he thought.

In Wonwoo's defense, with a face and laughter like Jun, he doubts anyone would stand a chance.

Deliriously, he thinks of sunflowers when Jun starts sanitizing the patch of skin where the tattoo will be.

Always seeking the sun.

"It's gonna sting like a bitch," Jun announces as he sits beside Wonwoo and like this, they're as close as they have ever been from before.

"There's no point in lying." Jun shrugs but at least offers Wonwoo a reassuring smile. "But, I'm good at my job and the design isn't as complicated. So, we'll be done before you know it."

Wonwoo knows Jun is good at his job. Otherwise he wouldn't have gotten one after swearing it off, even when his friends were getting inked left and right through college.

It's not like Wonwoo has anything against them, it just wasn't his cup of tea.

Well, that was until seven months ago when a dimpled boy came crashing through his shop's door with a box of store-brought cookies and an apologetic smile at the tip of his tongue for the disturbance.

Wonwoo was tempted to call the cops when he saw the tattoos and piercings but then he took one look at his face and Wonwoo thought criminals can't be that pretty.

Said literally no one ever.

Jun had introduced himself as the new tennant from the building across and Wonwoo squinted through his glasses to make out the sign that was currently being attached, from the store-front window.

"It's a tattoo shop." Jun had said, scratching the back of his head and it made one of his ear piercings jiggle. "With a few friends."

Wonwoo had nodded, unsure with how to continue with the conversation.

He wasn't like Mingyu who could talk your ear off for hours without getting tired. But Wonwoo didn't want to accidentally insult the new guy with his lack of social skills.

"That's nice," That's a good thing to say, isn't it? "Do neighbors get a discount?"

Wonwoo should never attempt at making jokes, ever again when Jun's face turns complicated for a second.

"Oh...that wasn't me asking for a discount." Wonwoo backtracks, "I don't even have tattoos." He says, a little helpless.

Wonwoo didn't expect for Jun to bark out a laugh, instead.

"Oh no, it's okay." Jun had said and it was the first time Wonwoo had seen that charming smile, "I wouldn't mind giving discounts, especially to the pretty ones."

He tacks on a wink at the end and Wonwoo feels like the morning glories planted behind their childhood house, feels like he just saw the sun for the first time after a long night.

Wonwoo should have know he didn't stand a chance, even then.

When the needles puncture his skin, Wonwoo tries not to scream. Maybe he should have taken Mingyu's offer of holding his hand even if he'd look a bit silly to Jun.

"Sorry," Jun whispers, "Sorry, it'll be over soon."

Wonwoo tries to smile through gritted teeth, refocusing his attention to what Jun is doing, instead.

Jun tattooing had only been a sight Wonwoo had seen in passing, over the course of months he had known him and didn't think much about. Wonwoo didn't make daily trips to his shop (like some people) but he had visited once, to give Jun a welcoming gift after the opening.

Watching Jun tattoo is a different experience in itself.

A series of memories filter through the forefront of Wonwoo's mind, all consisting of Jun in different states—a laughing Jun in a brightly-lit barbecue place challenging an impressionable Chan to a game of how much spicy peppers they can eat (Jun lost and had to take the day off the next day to Minghao's eternal amusement); Jun burning the first batch of bread he ever made in Mingyu's kitchen after store hours, with flour and eggs all over his shirt; Jun sleeping soundly at the couch in Wonwoo's back house after a particularly slow day, dirt caking under his finger nails because he refused to wear gloves despite Wonwoo's insistence; Jun running away from a yelling Minghao after he accidentally mixed the younger's white clothes and his colored ones in the wash; and the latest one: Jun drunk-giggling on Wonwoo's shoulder as he kept Wonwoo's left wrist in a loose hold as the younger tried to get him home after a night out.

(Jun hadn't been able to stop running his mouth, like most times, and that night wasn't an exception. Wonwoo went to sleep with the memory of Jun tracing the inside of Wonwoo's wrist and mumbling how pretty
it would be if he could tattoo Wonwoo there, as they walked home.)

Unlike those memories, the Jun he sees now is laser-focused, quiet and subdued.

His hands are steady on Wonwoo and after a while, the pain melts into a gentle hum in his skin and Wonwoo feels like he's floating.

Jun's hand on his wrist anchors him to reality.

"We're almost done," Jun hums as he checks back on Wonwoo, "You okay?"

"Peachy." Wonwoo croaks out after being quiet for so long, "Is it coming out good?"

Jun smiles at him, impish and bright.

"Just a few more minutes and you're officially devirginized."

Jun's jokes are stupid but it doesn't stop the smile from forming on Wonwoo's lips.

Whipped, Mingyu cackles in glee inside Wonwoo's mind.

Wonwoo cuffs mind-Mingyu in his head.

"Okay." Wonwoo nods and leans back to the chair, feeling a little loopy. "Tell me when it's done."

-

The tattoo comes out pretty.

Scratch that, it's more than what Wonwoo had envisioned for it to be and he can't stop staring at it even when Jun's wrapping the tattoo and telling him aftercare guidelines that just goes over Wonwoo's head.

"You're not even listening are you?" Jun chuckles and Wonwoo gives him a sheepish nod.

"Nah, s'okay. Happens to all the first-timers," Jun smiles and helps Wonwoo off the chair even if Wonwoo probably doesn't need it. "How does it feel to get your first tattoo? Wanna get another one?"

"Maybe next year." Wonwoo replies, emboldened by the experience and it makes something in Jun's eye, twinkle.

"Well, you know where to find me, yeah?" Jun calls over his shoulder as he disposes the gloves and comes back with an after care kit Wonwoo has seen him give his customers, before. "Look out the window and I'm there."

"Yeah, I will." Wonwoo replies, gingerly taking the kit before grabbing his wallet.

Jun's hand stops him.

"No need." Jun tells him, pushing Wonwoo's hand back to his pocket. "On the house."

Wonwoo looks at him, dubious.

"I wonder what Minghao will say, when you're giving out free tattoos to everyone like this."

Jun leans his elbow on the display counter separating them, cheek nestled on the back of his hand.

"I don't do it for everyone," Jun replies, "Just for the pretty ones."

Wonwoo feels loopy for other reasons all together.

"But I—I feel bad for not paying you for your time," Wonwoo stammers, chooses to ignore Jun's words for the time being (and for the sake of his sanity). "Artists should be paid fairly and—"

"How about you pay me with dinner, this Saturday?"

Oh.

"Isn't Soonyoung paying dinner for everyone after losing the bet last week?"

Jun's looking at him with a complicated expression, like he just bit something sour and is pretending it isn't.

"We're not eating with Soonyoung."

"We're not?" Wonwoo asks, confused. "But didn't we plan that before? Should I tell Soonyoung then—"

Jun still smiling at him but Wonwoo doubts that he's amused.

"Won, just me and you."

Ohhhhh.

"Really?"

Jun reaches over to ruffle Wonwoo's head and it should be a little insulting, considering they're the same age but Wonwoo just feels the tips of his ears warm.

"Dress up nicely, yeah?" Jun tells him, "I'll pick you up at seven."

-

"I'm docking that out of your salary." Comes Minghao's unamused voice from the back room as he carries a box of inks.

"Not when I'm the CEO!" Jun crows as he bounds from his place to stand beside Minghao, who's busy arranging his station for the next customer.

"CEO my ass," Minghao says, scathing. "You always fall for the prettiest ones, don't you?"

Jun pouts but doesn't deny it.

Minghao pushes a roll of tissue to his direction, without a word.

"And just your luck it had to be flower boy over there, when you have allergies."

Jun through watery eyes simply grins as he looks back at the print-out of Wonwoo's tattoo that's still sitting on his desk.

A half-moon, made out of sunflowers.

"I think it'll be worth the doctor's appointment, Hao-Hao."

***

I hope this is to your liking! Thank you for the prompt ♡

I'm seouljwons on Twitter and lattewon on Ao3!

Battle Royale / Maverick

[hwarium]

Ship/Member: Any
Major Tags: N/A - potentially MCD
Additional Tags: sir they were just children, bombs around neck aesthetic, love language: violence
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt: Every year I have Battle Royale thoughts but after the The Boyz Maverick MV, the thoughts are back and stronger. (Background: you get put on a island and told to kill your friends or else you die). Survivor's guilt, vendettas, It's Always the Quiet Ones

[FILL]: Maverick

[thesolemneyed]

Ship/Member: Jihoon/Seungkwan
Major Tags: MCD !! DEATH
Additional Tags: Betrayal, Non Linear Narrative
Permission to remix: Yes

400 words, Mature

https://archiveofourown.org/works/36591637

College student x dropped-out artist

[dumbo1510]

Ship/Member: Any x han
Major Tags: N/a
Additional Tags: ace!jeonghan, mutual pining, angst with happy ending
Do Not Wants: N/A

Prompt: college student with dropped out of college artist (be it musician or painter or anything) or idk anything really. This is an excuse for some ace!jeonghan actually 🥲

who died and left aristotle in charge of ethics?

[fleurissons]

Ship/Member: Any, Jeonghan/Any, Genfic is perfect too!
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: The Good Place AU, second chances, the humour in trying to fit in where you clearly do not belong, fake soulmateisms (two-sided? you both know what's up but have to succeed at it anyway?)
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt: every six months or so I circle back to thinking about the eleanor shellstrop-ism in yoon jeonghan or just what he'd do if he gets send to the good (bad) place... :D

fun fact: in the heroes wiki, eleanor's hero type is redeemed jerk.

RuPaul’s Best Friend to Lovers Race??

[(Anonymous)]

Ship/Member: MinWon/ SoonHoon/ JunHao/ 95z/ VerKwan
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: N/A
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt: RuPaul’s Drag Race is a show about self-discovery, sarcasm, passion and fashion with Charisma Uniqueness Nerve and Talent. But what happens when an Untucked episode reveals stewing emotions in the Werkroom? Hidden fantasies, suppressed emotions and a whole lot of abstinence results in contestants doing more with their mouths than just lipsyncing for their lives.

little women au

[saltysoon]

Ship/Member: hoshi/any
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: first loves, bickering (significant annoyance), angst
Do Not Wants: unhappy ending

Prompt: [Laurie and Amy. that's it go wild]

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

[shuamuses]

Ship/Member: soonyoung/jihoon
Major Tags: little women au, first loves, sibling jealousy
Additional Tags: soonyoung!amy, jihoon!laurie, seungcheol!jo, mingyu!meg the mortifying ordeal of having your feelings reciprocated, emotional insecurity and sibling-related tensions, soonhoon bickering as a love language
Permission to remix: Yes

greta gerwig’s little women changed my life n i’m glad i got to revisit it a little through this fic. this is also my 5th (!!) round 2 fill / my 10th overall 17hols work this year which is a pretty neat milestone.

hope u like this !!
(crossposted to ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/36569350 )

***

now it's all guessing games
i'm guessing every gaze, like
do you, don't you
would you even stay if you did?
– urs, niki

soonyoung’s spent the better part of the afternoon in the sitting room in front of his easel. the front of his translucent white button down is speckled with paint already, something his mother is bound to sigh in resignation at before dunking it in some homemade stain remover. the painting is almost done, but it isn’t quite right. he chews at his bottom lip, squinting at the floral arrangement he’d thrown together that morning. maybe the problem was there, at the root, not something he could just paint past.

the house is quiet now. almost too quiet, since seungcheol left for the city in an attempt to find someone willing to publish his book. since mingyu had moved two towns over with his wife to be closer to her family. it was just him and mother, each branch of the tree slowly withering and falling off. soon he’d be gone too. soonyoung swallows the lump in his throat, daubing paint at his canvas insistently and impressionistically. as if sheer determination alone could right a wrong.

“is this a bad time?”

the voice from the doorway behind soonyoung makes him freeze, eyes wide. it’s as if the sound had come directly from a dream. soonyoung pinches himself on the inside of his elbow, hard, and counts all his fingers one way and back again. ten. that means he isn’t asleep, mind filling the blanks with these stolen bits of happiness. he whirls around, the palette and brush once gripped in his hands now clattering onto the tarp-covered table.

“jihoon!” soonyoung’s entire face brightens when their eyes meet, and he practically launches himself across the room to land in the other’s arms. the momentum has them spinning, just a little, before jihoon sets him down gingerly on the floor with a chuckle. “i haven’t seen you since the ball auntie made me go to with her two months ago!”

it really had been one for the books. it was meant to be one of soonyoung’s last appearances as a bachelor in society, and he’d gotten absolutely smashed on champagne, though not before he and jihoon had spun around the dancefloor until the soles of his feet ached. he’d come home not long after, with his mother’s letter telling him that he’d received a proposal.

“yeah, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?” a ghost of a smile passes over jihoon’s face. “i– i traveled for a bit, after that. but it felt like time to come home.”

“well i, for one, am glad you’re back.” soonyoung declares, though his expression melts into something much more uncertain just moments after. “you’re a little late, though. seungcheol-hyung left for london about a week ago. he’s not here anymore.”

“i knew that,” jihoon replies easily. lightly. as if he hadn’t spent his adolescence chasing after seungcheol as though he were running after a kite blown in the wind further, further, further. “i’m here for you.”

soonyoung can feel his heart stop. for a moment he truly thinks this might be the end for him, between the firmness of jihoon’s gaze and the teasing way the words roll out between his lips. when he manages to speak again, his throat is impossibly dry. “what do you mean?”

“i mean – are you really getting married? to her?” jihoon’s voice is incredulous, and somehow that twists the knife he’s held to soonyoung’s beating chest in a way he never expected.

“i am, actually.” his gaze narrows, and a defiant edge creeps into his voice. “she’s – she’s a really decent person, and she set up a job and everything for mingyu, and…”

jihoon takes a step forward, closing the space between them as his voice drops lower. “if decent’s the best thing you can say about her… maybe this isn’t the right move for you.”

soonyoung retreats, inhaling a shaky breath. even after all these years, it is difficult being at the centre of jihoon’s orbit. “it’s good for the family. can’t you see that?”

“yeah, good for the family, but at what cost?” jihoon throws up his hands in frustration. soonyoung cannot help the way he flinches away, but when the other catches the movement he softens his expression. “your freedom, your art… i talked to your mother, and… what she’s asking for is too much, youngie.”

“someone had to make a sensible choice, jihoon. why not me?” soonyoung can feel the way his throat tightens, the hot pricking of tears behind his eyes a testament to the emotion swelling within him like groundwater rising, rising to the surface. his gaze falls to the floor where it stays fixed, insistent, on a little stray thread curling out of the edge of the rug. “besides, it’s not like i have any other options, or a family fortune to laze around on.”

jihoon clutches his chest dramatically, as though this age-old jibe still cuts right to his core. with one hand, he lifts soonyoung’s face so their eyes are level again, so soonyoung can see the little sparkle in his eyes. “you could always marry me, you know?”

and even though jihoon’s tone is light and teasing as it always is, soonyoung jerks his head away as if he’s been scalded. “don’t be mean,” he says, voice clipped and thin.

“what?” jihoon stares at soonyoung, at the way he’s folding in on himself like some matryoshka doll. “i’m not–”

“you are. don’t tease me about this,” soonyoung’s words somehow manage to be biting and begging all at once, and despite his best efforts he cannot smoothen over the hurt that’s crept onto his face. “i’ve loved you for years and you’ve just been too daft to see it and now that i have a real shot at a future you want me to throw it away? for a joke?”

jihoon’s shoulders fall in a sigh, his arms twitching ever so slightly at his sides as he refrains from pulling the other into his arms. “i’m serious, soonyoung,” he says gently. “i’m not trying to play with your feelings.”

“i will not be the person you settle for just because you can’t have him. i won’t.” he chokes out the words, the tears finally spilling their way free to track down his cheeks. soonyoung forces himself to bring his gaze back up, to look right at jihoon when he speaks the next sentence even as it twists his guts up inside him into knots. “not when i’ve spent my entire life loving you.”

soonyoung’s pretty sure jihoon knows. he has to. all those afternoons in their youth he’d spent chasing after seungcheol and jihoon through fields and forests even as seungcheol laughed about leaving him behind, caught in the brambles. all those evenings they’d spent at balls together dancing until they were giddy even when all of soonyoung’s siblings had bowed out and begged to go to bed. but still, to say it so baldly like this makes him feel exposed, especially when jihoon holds his eyes with that intense look of his.

“soonyoung, i– i haven’t thought of cheol like that in years. i had a crush on him when we were young, but…” he trails off, his teeth worrying at the corner of his bottom lip. “but you, soonyoung. i loved you – love you – but i just didn’t realize how much. not until your mother called with the announcement of the proposal.” his face is red and blotchy, now, and soonyoung would tease him for it if not for the fact that he’s afraid to burst the bubble of this moment.

when jihoon sets one knee on the floor and kneels soonyoung thinks he might just keel over and pass out.

he pulls out a little ring box from his coat pocket and smiles a little shakily up at soonyoung, who can only look at him in open-mouthed shock. “soonyoung-ah, i’ve waited too long. i’ve made you wait too long for this.” jihoon pops open the box, a shiny diamond winking in the light. “i want to build a life with you. one where you don’t have to squeeze yourself into being someone you’re not.”

Bad Buddy

[saltysoon]

Ship/Member: soonwoo
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: enemies to lovers, angst, secret relationship
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt: [their parents have always hated one another and they have competed for everything all their high school years Until... they grew tired and became friends. Really good friends. there is a line in the series. "you never leave me but fight with me". (also genderbend seoksoo as inkpa, just a thought not necessary) ]

Once again...welcome to my house.

[dusksvt]

Ship/Member: I’d love to see jeongcheol but honestly any pairing with Seungcheol works!
Major Tags: Vampire/human
Additional Tags: N/A
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt: Dracula au (bram stoker) paired with an undying devotion to the one you love.

that's what the point of the mask is

[mcdonaldsprite]

Ship/Member: Any
Major Tags:
Additional Tags:
spiderverse/petergwen/spideypool/spideranything
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt: i just want to think about one of the members as our friendly neighbourhood spiderman! anything with the hiding your identity or crushing on a fellow superhero or multiverse thingamajigs. have fun with whoever you choose!

my first girlfriend turned into the moon

[mcdonaldsprite]

Ship/Member: Any
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: atla/tlok au, bending, dating the avatar
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt: so you think you can date an avatar? give me pining, fluff, and/or angst, & assign the members elementsssss

catboy hooters

[mcdonaldsprite]

Ship/Member: Any
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: maid café au!, silly boys in silly skirts, maid sama & tokyo mew mew fusion, awkward interactions
Do Not Wants: nsfw

Prompt: major (mahou) shoujo vibes for this one! make it as cheesy and cliché as possible idc.

SWF (sebong women fighters)

[mcdonaldsprite]

Ship/Member: any performance team
Major Tags: rule 63
Additional Tags: street woman fighter au, lesbians!, the line between on and off camera
Do Not Wants: men.

Prompt: competition but make it yearning. what happens behind the scenes and off the stage?

goose-on-tiger violence

[mcdonaldsprite]

Ship/Member: hoshi/any
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: the soulmate goose of enforcement, goose-typical violence, unrequited love (or is it?), highschool setting, hoshi in braces
Do Not Wants: nsfw

Prompt: soulmate au where hoshi finds a goose who leads them to the other person. the difficulty comes in not being mauled by the goose.

Re: [FILL] fowl play (1/3)

[goosegoosegoose]

Ship/Member: Soonyoung/Wonwoo
Major Tags: The Soulmate Goose of Enforcement
Additional Tags: side gyuhao, high school au, coming-of-age
Permission to remix: No, please.

A Goose Legend:
Soonyoung - Shetland Goose
Wonwoo - Red-Breasted Goose
Mingyu - Chinese Goose
Minghao - Embden Goose

---

It's hard for Soonyoung to pinpoint which came first: the butterflies in his stomach or the goose.

Okay, that's a lie. Soonyoung doesn't make a habit of lying to himself; he promised his mom that he would never lie, not even when he knows Minkyung-noona is secretly sneaking out of their house to meet up with Seungcheol-hyung at the arcade behind their school to play Dance Dance Revolution and maybe kiss. "I want my precious Soonyoungie to always feel like he can be himself," his mom said to him once before, "I want you to always feel like you can be true to who you are, and to know the same of others. You don't need to hide. That is how you can live a principled life with others."

Sure, his mother was actually just referring to the fact that Soonyoung refused to leave his bedroom when his voice first start cracking and his face sprouted hair in the ugliest patches—it was embarrassing, how could he dare to face his classmates—and she wanted to instill confidence in him. But regardless, Soonyoung has always carried her words of wisdom with him.

So he tries to be true to who he is—and the truth is this: Soonyoung knows the butterflies came first.

It first happened six months ago, a frustrating addition to his life when Soonyoung's voice just finally stopped pitching in the middle and ends of his sentences, and sometimes the beginnings, and he learned to shave without cutting himself or missing any spots. The pimples are still there and his teeth are still not perfectly straight, but it's fine and he got braces last month. Soonyoung can be patient. The calamity of puberty has finally crested over, he thought, and he was more than okay with that.

Except it turns out that puberty was just the calm before the storm because then Soonyoung went and did the stupid thing; he developed feelings for his best friend.

He's had feelings before, Soonyoung thinks. There's Jisoo-hyung in Minkyung-noona's grade, who used to smile at Soonyoung at the hallways and pat his head gently. There's also Jeonghannie-hyung, who would teach him how to play MapleStory and tell Soonyoung that he's cute because he keeps dying to the slimes.

But there's no one like Jeon Wonwoo, and there's never been feelings like he has for Jeon Wonwoo either.

Jeon Wonwoo is annoying. He hasn't learned the perfect formula of body-spray-to-body-odour ratio yet, he never wears his glasses enough even though he squints without them, he likes to bite Soonyoung's shoulder and his arms and sometimes teases Soonyoung to the point where he wants to stamp his feet and yell at him. There are too many photos of them bathing together as kids because their moms thought it was cute, and Wonwoo knows about the first time Soonyoung woke up with a wet spot in his pants and cried because he thought he peed himself. It's horrible and stupid and ugly.

Except it doesn't matter because Wonwoo also always gives Soonyoung his portion of kimchi, even if Wonwoo likes spicy food more than him. He still tries to teach him MapleStory, even after Jeonghannie-hyung gave up on him. He teases Soonyoung for dying often, but he waits for him to respawn anyway and never leaves him behind. Wonwoo knows about Soonyoung's first wet dream because he cried about it, and he never once made fun of him for it. Sometimes—and this is the worst part—Wonwoo holds Soonyoung's hand and doesn't even seem to notice when Soonyoung's heart pounds so hard that his palms grow slick with sweat. Wonwoo never pulls away or think he's gross.

When Soonyoung first notices the butterflies that erupt in his belly whenever he's with Jeon Wonwoo, the ones that make him feel like he could float away from how hard they flutter, he knows that the Goose is not far behind.

And so he's not surprised when his Goose shows up exactly six months later, at the foot of his bed on the cusp of his 17th birthday.

It's just that Soonyoung is not ready for what comes next.

---

Some people wait forever for their Goose to appear, and sometimes they never do. Some people are born with their Goose, an occurrence so rare and revered that it almost always makes the news.

The science isn't precise for when and how the Goose will appear, but that's because it's not a science at all. Still, the phenomena is well-documented throughout history; Europeans once saw the Geese as a foreboding omen associated with witchcraft, while the Chinese associated it with luck and fortitude. In Korea, the Geese were always more auspicious than ominous, but it depended on which part of history you were looking at.

Nowadays, there is one congruent agreement about the purpose of the Geese. The Geese appear as a manifestation. It's meant to be a guide of sorts, one that directs you to your soulmate. Your Goose sometimes appears before you even meet your soulmate, before you even realize you have feelings, and sometimes it appears much later. There are times when it manifests for both soulmates at the same time, and times where only one person ever receives a Goose at all. The most delayed documented record was when two friends found their Geese when they were both 80 years old, a full fifty years after they first became friends.

Soonyoung is somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, neither an anomaly nor the standard. He's relatively young, only officially just turned 17 on Monday, and has met his soulmate before he's even graduated high school. There’s no one else in his grade who has a Goose yet, at least not that Soonyoung is aware. Some might say that he's the lucky sort, to know he's fated to be with his best friend.

In Soonyoung's opinion, it's an inconvenience. One that he's never asked for.

---

Soonyoung stares at the bird.

She has almost entirely white plumage, with a few grey feathers on her head, back, and flanks. Compared to some of the Geese that Soonyoung has seen, she’s pretty small—but Soonyoung knows better than to underestimate her. He’s seen her in flight, and he’s seen her weaponize her short bill against his leg hair like she’s plucking at weeds.

He supposes he should be grateful that she’s otherwise quite friendly. Soonyoung has heard rumours about Donghyuck from Jeonghan’s sister’s class, and the massive Canadian Geese that dogs at his heels, nipping and honking with a terrifying ferocity with every step. No one wants a Canadian Goose.

“Please do not attack me again when Wonwoo gets here,” he begs, flattening himself along his bed to be on eye-level with her. Last time, he tried to reprimand her and received a beak to his nose for his trouble. She stares at him unflinchingly. “At least do it quietly. He’s already suspicious, I think.”

The Goose does not respond. Soonyoung briefly wonders whether he should give her a name.

It doesn’t matter, because in the next second, she descends on his legs once again. With an infuriating deftness, she manages to squeeze her beak into the tender spot between his pants and his socks and starts yanking at his leg hair. Evil, evil creature.

“Ow—”

A knock resounds through the door. “Dummy, you’re going to make us late again,” he hears Wonwoo say through the door. Soonyoung’s heart instinctively flutters at the sound of his deep voice—he’s not used to how deep it is now yet—before panic overrides his system. “Your mom said she went to wake you up an hour ago.”

Soonyoung clamps one hand over his mouth, and pushes gently at his Goose with the other until she dislodges from his leg hair.

“Coming!” he shouts, and scrambles to fix his pants, then his shirt, and his tie. He has to wrestle away from his Goose as he hastily throws his notebook into his bag, feet slipping over the hardwood floor as he slides to a stop in front of his mirror to double check his hair and to make sure remnants of his breakfast aren’t stuck between his braces. Another 30 seconds is wasted trying to keep his Goose from leaving his room—and then he’s out.

“Hi,” he says, a little breathlessly, as he stares up at Wonwoo. He smells a little too strongly like Axe Body Spray Crushed Mint and Rosemary once again, which used to give Soonyoung a headache, but now he only gets a stupid stomachache from how much the scent reminds him of Wonwoo. Soonyoung likes it now, which is gross. “Sorry.”

Wonwoo gives him a look. He’s been giving Soonyoung this look a lot lately, somewhere between concern, worry, and something Soonyoung doesn’t know how to read. “You’ve been taking a long time to get ready lately.” Wonwoo says, but not with impatience. Soonyoung’s too scared to think it might be concern, but he thinks it might be anyway.

His traitorous heart pounds in his chest. There’s an echoing thump on the other side of the door, but Wonwoo doesn’t seem to notice. He’s still staring at Soonyoung.

“Uh...” Soonyoung says, shifting around. He wipes his palms on his uniform pants and hopes Wonwoo doesn’t notice. He’s never been good at lying. What can he say that won’t arouse further suspicion?

Wonwoo adjusts the strap of his messenger bag and curves a hand over the flap of it. He seems to be waiting for Soonyoung’s response.

Thankfully, he’s saved by the bell when his mom rounds up the stairs and catches sight of them standing in the hallway. “Ah, ah,” she tuts, patting Wonwoo on the face and Soonyoung on the head. “Won’t you two be late?”

It’s only then that Wonwoo drags his eyes away from Soonyoung. He breathes a little easier.

“Yes, auntie,” Wonwoo says politely. He casts one last look at Soonyoung, his mouth set in one grim line, and then he’s smoothing a hand over his messenger bag before he turns to head back down the stairs.

As always, there is no Goose that follows close behind Wonwoo. Soonyoung tries not to notice the way his stomach plummets, as it does each morning.

Sighing, he hoists his backpack higher up on his shoulders. There’s another thump at his bedroom door, and he knows his mom hears it at the sigh she lets out and the glance she gives Wonwoo’s back, before kissing the top of Soonyoung's head.

Soonyoung ignores his Goose. With a hole burning in the pit in his stomach, he follows after Wonwoo.

---

Whenever they’re at school and Soonyoung is at least ten blocks away from his Goose, it always gets a little bit easier to be around Wonwoo again.

The reminder that he’s in love with his best friend never completely goes away. It’s nigh impossible, with how Soonyoung looks at Wonwoo’s chapped lips and wonders whether their first kiss would be just like his favourite dramas.

But it’s easier without his Goose to remind him that maybe his love is unrequited, that Soonyoung might have fallen for a soulmate that does not love him back as anything other than as a best friend. In the rhythm and syncopation of their school, Soonyoung can let themselves be as they always are: Jeon Wonwoo and Kwon Soonyoung.

That’s what being a teenager is, anyway, isn’t it? New changes that come unbidden, sudden, and startlingly daunting—and learning how to ebb and flow to the best of their abilities. Compartmentalization.

It’s pretending that his chest doesn’t throb when Wonwoo’s foot slides under the table at the library and prods his shin to keep Soonyoung awake while they’re studying, or when Wonwoo always has a faint smile, patient as always, when he helps Soonyoung with his math homework. It’s ignoring the longing that clumps down in his stomach when Wonwoo touches his neck or the small lobes of his ears, as if Soonyoung’s just an extension of his own body. It’s ignoring how Soonyoung thinks he could live like this forever: going to the arcade after class with Wonwoo, eating tteokbokki by the train station near their academy, surviving on Melona popsicles and the buzz of cicadas when they walk home together long after the sun sets.

The world feels infinitely quiet when he’s with Wonwoo. For all that Soonyoung embodies restless energy and vivacity, he thinks he enjoys this the most—that he can truly, sincerely rest whenever he’s with Wonwoo.

He wonders whether Wonwoo feels the same way.

For now, Soonyoung decides, they don’t have to let a Goose change anything. They can be perfect like this, too.

single's inferno au

[hyojungss]

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

Prompt:

Stranded and ready to mingle, nine young flirty Korean singles search for love on a deserted island that they can only escape as couples for date nights on their new island paradise.

i think you could take this in many different directions, for example:
- same format
- same format but contestant develops feelings for someone in their gender group
- remove the gender grouping from the format
but at heart it should retain the pseudoscripted drama!!

[celestiais]

Ship/Member: Seungkwan/any
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: queerplatonic relationships, nature, hurt/comfort
Do Not Wants: mentions of disordered eating

Prompt: some kind of Ghibli au!!! I'd love for it not to shy away from some of the darker themes explored in the films, but also feel free to go all out with the countryside/small town aesthetics and flowing/lyrical feeling

[celestiais]

Ship/Member: Any
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: N/A
Do Not Wants: mentions of disordered eating

Prompt: A Psalm For The Wild Built AU, based on the book by Becky Chambers

"It's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again; centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend.

One day, the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered.

But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how.

They're going to need to ask it a lot."

Basically I'd love to see svt inhabit this strange new world of the future. Its a very peaceful/hopeful vision of what could happen. Maybe one of them is a robot? Some of them going on an adventure through the rewilded landscape? Idk it's yours to play with

amélie wonhui

[hyojungss]

Ship/Member: Wonwoo/Junhui
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: Amélie (2001) AU
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:


film summary @ wikipedia but the gist of the pairing is that they know nothing about each other except for the eccentricities but are still interested!! / observe only from a distance etc

so far, so great

[(Anonymous)]

Ship/Member: Any, but I could see Mingyu/Seungkwan for this
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: Drama Actor/Comedy Actor; Network Rivals to Lovers; Fake Enemies to Hide They're Dating
Do Not Wants: Angst.

Prompt:

Sonny With a Chance AU but aged up!

Comedy actor is a novice who is still starstruck about all things that come to their new life, while this is all old hat for the drama actor. These two poke and prod at each other publicly enough that people see that they're adversaries, but surprise! They're secretly dating!

being john malkovich au

[hyojungss]

Ship/Member: Any
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: being john malkovich (1999) AU
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt: being john malkovich is a movie in which there is a physical door portal into someone else's mind - upon entry one has the ability to control that person for 15 minutes.

the forest of hands and teeth

[klav]

Ship/Member: Any
Major Tags: N/A, MCD?
Additional Tags: violence
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt: ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE AU. Heart-warming gen story about survival? Tragic tale of star-crossed lovers who get bitten? In the style of Warm Bodies or Train to Busan? Any interpretation lovingly accepted.

[FILL] halcyon days

[wonwoo420]

Ship/Member: Seungcheol/Jeonghan
Major Tags: Mentioned sebongie death
Additional Tags: Blood mention but that's it!!! Also exactly 400 words ehehe
Permission to remix: Please ask

***
Jeonghan is on the floor when he finds him, fletching an arrow with unwarranted viciousness. The feathers are uneven. His hands keep slipping on the wood, blood still in his hands, the sleeves of his jacket soaked. Seungcheol is worried he’s gonna get himself splinters but if he says anything about it Jeonghan will just blow up.
“Are you gonna say sorry.”

Seungcheol takes that as permission to approach. “No,” he says. “His name is Chan by the way.”

Jeonghan whacks him with an arrow, then throws it and punches him on the shoulder. All these scavenger hunts are building his strength. Seungcheol feels a little proud.

“I don’t care what his name is,” Jeonghan says darkly. “You don’t have to save everyone!”

That’s their problem, Seungcheol thinks. Jeonghan cares about everyone so much it hurts him the most when something unfortunate happens. When they lost Jihoon, Jeonghan was inconsolable. Seungcheol didn't leave their camp for weeks to take care of him.

It's not that Seungcheol grieves less. He just prefers caring about what's in front of him, and what they can look forward to. He kinda has to.

He clears the arrows in Jeonghan's lap and puts his arm around his shoulders. Jeonghan leans on him automatically and it makes Seungcheol smile despite everything.

"What's the point of surviving all this, if not to have more people around?"
If they ignore the undead just outside their fences, it's almost nice. Seokmin is trying to start a vegetable garden and he's close to brainwashing Seungkwan to help him. Mingyu got it into his head to start decorating their "houses" and no one has the heart to remind him they need to be ready to leave whenever. They think he's trying to impress Sooyoung but she's already busy running their watchtower schedule with Minghao even though she just arrived a week ago.

He wipes Jeonghan's hands with a clean-ish shirt from his backpack. He had trembled so bad earlier trying to staunch the blood from Seungcheol's shoulder, muttering "You're okay," over and over. He's not sure if Jeonghan was saying it to him or to himself, but what's important is they got back home in one piece, and they got Chan out of his overrun apartment complex. Chan looks like a good kid.

"There's no point surviving this without you," Jeonghan says, voice small. He grips Seungcheol's wrist.

Seungcheol gets it.
***

life really is strange!!

[maritimo]

Ship/Member: Wonwoo, Vernon etc
Major Tags: MCD (temporary?)
Additional Tags: Life Is Strange AU
Do Not Wants: None

Prompt:

Follow the story of Max Caulfield, a photography senior who discovers she can rewind time while saving her best friend Chloe Price.
The pair soon find themselves investigating the mysterious disappearance of fellow student Rachel Amber, uncovering a dark side to life in Arcadia Bay. Meanwhile, Max must quickly learn that changing the past can sometimes lead to a devastating future.

What if you were a girl and you saved your best friend from dying multiple times while trying to solve the disappearance of said best friend's sortofgirlfriend? And in the end you learn nothing but how to accept the inevitability of fate? And that being girls is the most special thing in the whole world? What if you were trying to get close to someone who was still in love with a dead girl? 

There's infinite painful things to explore from this game honestly, you can do whatever you feel is best with the story/characters/concept. Personally I believe Wonwoo is like the perfect boring protagonist for Max, but any combination of maknae line is also very good. Also genderbend is kind of ideal but not necessary, up to your taste!! 

two idiots falling in love hooray

[jevno]

Ship/Member: soongyu!! but also anyone
Major Tags: N/A
Additional Tags: happy ending
Do Not Wants: death

Prompt: a is b's new acrobat partner for performances on a cruise. while they're slightly sceptical of one another, they perform together and feelings follow :-)