![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
almostblue.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
thebrowniebunchHello!
The mod team (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
roebling and myself, almostblue) just want to say again that we are so incredibly grateful to everyone who has written, read, and commented for this third round of TBB. Thank you for your time and effort and talent! It's been amazing to see so much great enthusiasm and energy!
While we wait for the last few stories to get posted, we're going to hold a Lightning Drabble Round!
Before I get into what that means, I want to introduce this year's honorary mods for the lightning round -i_luv_tvxq, (you may know her as @TVXQluff) and akmongs (@himchanni), who runs bapfanfiction. They are both wonderful people who keep the fandom running through recs, comments and kudos, quietly and without much fanfare. We think they're great, and we wanted to thank them for all of their hard work over the years.
So as this round progresses, feel free to ask them questions as well! Ifroebling and I aren't around (or aren't...awake, ahaha, timezones /o\) they are here to help you out :)
Our hope is that the Lightning Drabble Round will be a fast, fun, low pressure opportunity for everyone to keep writing a little bit more! Here's how it will work:
1) If you want to participate, comment on this entry with a pairing you'd like to write. Please keep it to one comment per pairing.
2) A mod (any mod!) will reply with 3-5 random one word prompts.
For example, you might comment with the pairing DaeJae. A mod will reply to your comments with the prompts: apple, blonde, sneakers, failure, nuna
3) You have until September 13th to write as many drabbles as you want based on those prompts! All the drabbles you write should be under 1,000 words. They can use any of the words, all of the words, whatever you want. Post your fics as replies to the mod comment, and title them like this:[prompt, pairing, rating, warnings] in the heading of the comment. There's no assigned posting times or deadlines, so you can post 'em as you write 'em!
You don't have to have participated in the exchange to take part in the lightening round! Anon commenting will be enabled so anon participants should also be able to take part. It's low stakes, so if you can only write one drabble based on your prompt, that's absolutely fine. 10 drabbles? Fine too! Real life gets in the way and you can't write at all? We get it.
If there are any questions we haven't answered just comment below and we'll try to answer them right away! Otherwise, that's it! Lightning Drabble Round starts now, and runs until 9/13! Hwaiting!!!
THE LIGHTNING ROUND IS NOW CLOSED! Please stay tuned for an updated masterlist shortly!
The mod team (
roebling and myself, almostblue) just want to say again that we are so incredibly grateful to everyone who has written, read, and commented for this third round of TBB. Thank you for your time and effort and talent! It's been amazing to see so much great enthusiasm and energy!While we wait for the last few stories to get posted, we're going to hold a Lightning Drabble Round!
Before I get into what that means, I want to introduce this year's honorary mods for the lightning round -
i_luv_tvxq, (you may know her as @TVXQluff) and akmongs (@himchanni), who runs bapfanfiction. They are both wonderful people who keep the fandom running through recs, comments and kudos, quietly and without much fanfare. We think they're great, and we wanted to thank them for all of their hard work over the years.So as this round progresses, feel free to ask them questions as well! If
roebling and I aren't around (or aren't...awake, ahaha, timezones /o\) they are here to help you out :)Our hope is that the Lightning Drabble Round will be a fast, fun, low pressure opportunity for everyone to keep writing a little bit more! Here's how it will work:
1) If you want to participate, comment on this entry with a pairing you'd like to write. Please keep it to one comment per pairing.
2) A mod (any mod!) will reply with 3-5 random one word prompts.
For example, you might comment with the pairing DaeJae. A mod will reply to your comments with the prompts: apple, blonde, sneakers, failure, nuna
3) You have until September 13th to write as many drabbles as you want based on those prompts! All the drabbles you write should be under 1,000 words. They can use any of the words, all of the words, whatever you want. Post your fics as replies to the mod comment, and title them like this:[prompt, pairing, rating, warnings] in the heading of the comment. There's no assigned posting times or deadlines, so you can post 'em as you write 'em!
You don't have to have participated in the exchange to take part in the lightening round! Anon commenting will be enabled so anon participants should also be able to take part. It's low stakes, so if you can only write one drabble based on your prompt, that's absolutely fine. 10 drabbles? Fine too! Real life gets in the way and you can't write at all? We get it.
If there are any questions we haven't answered just comment below and we'll try to answer them right away! Otherwise, that's it! Lightning Drabble Round starts now, and runs until 9/13! Hwaiting!!!
THE LIGHTNING ROUND IS NOW CLOSED! Please stay tuned for an updated masterlist shortly!
no subject
Date: 2014-09-09 09:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-09-09 09:59 pm (UTC)waterproof, quiet, knees, rock, daybreak
no subject
Date: 2014-09-11 12:18 am (UTC)Yongguk sets the USB on the kitchen table, sliding it towards Daehyun’s steaming mug of chamomile. Daehyun watches his fingers before flicking his eyes up to look at Yongguk. “We’re going to try a different concept,” says Yongguk. “Not more difficult, just...harder, you know?” Daehyun nods. “It’s like the music on there.”
The unspoken request hangs in the air. Daehyun nods again, murmuring. “I’ll listen to it, hyung.” Yongguk smiles, hand flexing for an instant as though he was about to clap Daehyun on the shoulder. Instead, he murmurs goodnight and disappears out the door, probably heading to the studio to nurse his insomnia at the mixing board.
When he stands to put his mug in the sink, Daehyun picks up the USB, turning it over, curious. Listening to it later, all the music is loud. The vocalists scream, and the bass and guitar riffs are heavy and jarring. This is really the kind of concept Yongguk wants for one of the songs on the album? He puts the songs on repeat and closes his eyes, nodding his head along once he finds the beat.
They don’t spend much time talking about that particular track, either between the two of them or with the others. The group devotes most of their days running through the choreography for their title track, learning the melody, memorizing lyrics. Scarfing down meals when they can. The nights are just as full, decent nights’ sleep fading to a fond memory.
Vocal training is tough too, with Daehyun and Youngjae staying late to help Jongup with his range exercises. They’ve got their own to do as well, Daehyun struggling with finding and holding the correct timbre, Youngjae perfecting his pitch.
Final recordings come far too fast; Daehyun’s certain time skipped a few days. He’s the last to record. Yongguk and the producer hyungs wait outside the booth, sitting amongst the scattered cans empty of energy drink. The song moves fast, and Daehyun pushes with his diaphragm to reach the note. His throat feels right this time; he thinks this is the take that will go on the track. He records this section a few more times to give the producers more material to work with before Yongguk signals him out of the booth.
The segments he recorded play back through the room speakers. Daehyun frowns, lines between his eyebrows deepening as he tallies his mistakes. But then he hears himself hit the high, wailing note that starts off the final chorus. Yongguk turns to him, mouth open in an excited grin and eyes dancing. Daehyun fills with satisfaction, feeling renewed.
“You sound like an electric guitar!” Yongguk gushes. “Well, close enough. We can go the rest of the way, but it isn’t far.”
Daehyun grins, puffing with praise. “I’m going back first, hyung,” he says, already turning to pick up his bag by the couch.
“I’ll walk out with you,” Yongguk says, stuffing his hands in his pockets. They meander down the hallway, not talking. Yongguk stops in front of a drink vending machine in the building’s lobby. “Do you want me to buy you anything?”
He considers the options before picking a juice drink. Yongguk feeds money into the machine and presses the corresponding button. “Thanks, hyung.” Daehyun accepts the offered bottle.
“Don’t mention it,” Yongguk says, reaching out to pat Daehyun’s ass in a quick love tap. “See you in the morning.”
Outside, the night is lonely, with no one around to see him bite his lip and blush.
no subject
Date: 2014-09-11 12:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-09-11 01:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-09-12 11:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-09-12 03:17 am (UTC)It’s always dark when Yongguk gets up. He dresses by feel, a routine that has him setting his clothes next to his bed before he lays down to dream. By the time he’s finished, his eyes have adjusted to the dark. The path from his bed to the prepped fishing gear near the door is clear of obstacles. Yongguk finds his fishing vest, checking that the day’s artificial lures are in the right pockets. Even empty, the vest is thick. It doubles as a flotation device, easing some of the worry when he fishes. He packs the cooler with crushed ice from the freezer and hurries to the door, arms used to the weight. He steps into the beach shoes he bought earlier this year, grabs his fishing pole and hand net, and he’s on his way.
Outside, the moon is round and the scattered clouds pass slowly. The path to his favorite stretch of beach is subtle, private, not well-worn like the hiking trails in the mountains, or paved the like road to the marina. Nobody else is around now, except for creatures that thrive in the night, but he’s covered his legs against them. Yongguk prefers the solitude of day before the dawn.
The waves are calm this morning, but Yongguk tightens his fishing vest just in case. He preps his hook and line near the tree line, flashlight gripped tight between his teeth as his fingers work. Finished, he migrates his things further down the beach for when he catches fish. He turns the flashlight off and leaves it with the cooler and net. Once he gets out with the waves, he’s confident he won’t need his own light.
He wades out in the water until the waves lick his thighs. Yongguk inhales, the scent of the sea filling his lungs, and casts his first line of the day. It doesn’t take long before he makes his first catch, too small to take home. He sends the line out again, operating on rhythm and memory as his mind wanders. Another fish, too small. A chunk of seaweed. More fish, some of good size and decent quality, he lets loose again in the water. Light dims around him as a cloud lumbers in front of the moon.
Fingers tickle the backs of his knees, and Yongguk jumps. He jumps every time. “You’re here!” Yongguk says, turning around and grinning.
A head of dark, tangled hair breaks through the surface of the water. He doesn’t shake his hair or blink as saltwater drips into his eyes. The shape of his head is unusual for a human, broad and angled. The nose on his face is thick and round, nostrils clamped shut. His lips curl back into a grin, revealing his long, sharp teeth.
“Daehyun, I know you can rise taller than that,” Yongguk says, reeling in his line with caution. Daehyun makes a restless gurgle, rising higher in the water until his shoulders appear above the waves. Gills around the base of his neck seal closed as he opens his nose. He makes another gurgling noise as he transitions his breathing.
“Happy now?” Daehyun asks, eyelashes flicking seawater when he blinks. His voice carries a melody that stirs Yongguk’s attention. He is a siren, after all.
Yongguk pulls the hook free of the water, holding the fishing line just above the rig to the rod. He doesn’t want to accidentally snag Daehyun’s tail again. It’s quite beautiful.
And useful.
“Very,” Yongguk says, nodding. “Is your tail in? I’m casting again.”
“Yeah, it’s here,” Daehyun says, and Yongguk feels a fin flutter up his calves. Yongguk starts and Daehyun laughs. “You’re so easy to tease.” The reel buzzes as Yongguk casts the line. “Why are you doing that? I’m here now.”
“I like it,” Yongguk says. “It’s a human pasttime.” Daehyun splashes water at him. “Last time, and then I’ll ask you for the favor.” He doesn’t catch a fish, doesn’t leave the line out long enough to give himself a decent chance. Yongguk wades back to shore, pocketing the hook and anchoring his fishing rod in the sand.
no subject
Date: 2014-09-12 03:17 am (UTC)Fishing net in hand, Yongguk returns to Daehyun as the cloud passes the moon. Daehyun’s skin shimmers, an echo of the silver ribbons of moonlight painted on the waves. “Ready now?” Yongguk nods and Daehyun casts his gaze upon the waves between them.
The delicate spines in the flourishes and folds of his tailfin illuminate bright, beautiful blue. Daehyun lets his fin move under the water, a gentle suggestion for fish to come and investigate. Yongguk stands still, net at the ready. Since he met Daehyun and managed this bargain, his profit selling fish at the market has gone up. Nicer fish to sell means less fish needed to make enough money to sustain himself.
Moments pass in silence before enough fish gather around Daehyun’s fin. Yongguk takes swift action, slicing the net through the water and aiming for the largest of the bunch. He manages to catch it, and a healthy companion, but the others scatter. The tail dims, and Yongguk moves to set the fish in ice.
They continue this pattern along the shoreline: finding a spot, Daehyun only illuminating his tailfin, fish drawing in, and Yongguk making the catch. Time passes too quickly when they fish together. Daehyun talks, murmuring to himself and to Yongguk between the lures. He can talk about anything and everything in dulcet tones that lull Yongguk into peace. Tonight’s topic is a wayward child of the sea, orphaned in open water and welcomed into Daehyun’s community. But all too soon, light seeps over the horizon in the grey wash of false dawn, they agree on one final catch before Yongguk must go to market.
no subject
Date: 2014-09-12 05:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-09-12 10:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-09-12 12:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-09-12 10:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-09-12 01:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-09-12 11:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-09-12 02:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-09-13 05:40 pm (UTC)if this isn't allowed please let me know and I will deleteAfter the last catch of the morning, Yongguk hurries out of the surf to set it in the ice cooler with the others. Daehyun follows, beaching himself. Yongguk often stays to watch the sunrise with Daehyun, and today is no exception. Yongguk joins Daehyun on the sand as more and more light fills the sky, grey brightening with color as the sun approaches. It’s easier to see Daehyun now, too. Dark hair snarled by the sea hides his long, pointed ears, broad and angled back against his head. The top of his ears split into three points, and the faintly darker circles on his eye-level lobes glow on command. His eyes, dark and large, blink more often than a human would deem necessary. Soft lips hide dangerous teeth.
He leans back on his large palms, his fingers long with small patches of skin webbed between the lowermost knuckles. His torso looks normal, save for the freckles and stripes on his skin that can glow, and the sealed gills above his waist arcing on both sides of his ribs. The sealed gills look almost like scars on his body, thin lines of dark pink flesh interrupting the expanse of sandy skin. His tail begins where his hips should be, two blue-jade fins angled out on either side, decorated with tinted frills. It’s long and healthy with stripes that can. The scales near his hips grow heavier in shade until his narrow peduncle is dark indigo. Daehyun’s wide-angled tailfin waves lazily above the waves as they rush to shore.
The sun peeks over the horizon, and Yongguk watches Daehyun from the corner of his eye. Sometimes Daehyun likes to set all the spots on his body alight as the sun rises. The freckles dotting Daehyun’s smooth, human-like skin seem to shift with unseen current. Yongguk holds his breath, waiting for Daehyun to close his eyes and glow. He keeps his Lights off, the cool undertone of his skin basking in the warm coloring of the sun.
Watching the sunrise passes quicker than the time spent waiting for it. “One day, I want to hear you sing,” Yongguk says, standing on the shore. Now that the sun is completely above the horizon, he needs to get moving to market and sell the day’s catches. As the sun rises higher in the sky, Daehyun’s skin and scales are in danger of burning or flaking the longer he stays out of the water.
Daehyun grins over his shoulder, already scooting down the sand to follow the tide. “You know I can’t do that to you.” The implication passes unspoken between them.
Yongguk frowns. “I know,” he lies, “but I’m still curious.” Inky eyes grow wide and somber, the smile fading from Daehyun’s face. He stops moving, a wave rushing in and spraying his body with seawater. Yongguk swallows and looks away, busying himself with re-checking his things. “See you tonight, Daehyun?” Yongguk asks, but when he turns around, the siren has already vanished under the surf.