*squeels* The Distance Between You and I is sooo beautiful! I cannot wait for the next part.
*squeals right back at you* Oh my goodness, first ask on my new blog!!! Thank you so much, for this message and for the Tumblr follow! <3 <3 <3
I woke up to this ask and it made me want to cry (in the very best way). I’ve been writing fic for other fandoms on and off for over 15 years and was deeply entrenched in my past fandom for the past 7-8 of those, with several long, serious ongoing fics (ex. my big incomplete WIP over there is over 300K words), full of intricate headcanons and references to/retellings of fairy tales.
I just discovered SHINee in August (babywol here!) and started reading SHINee fic over the winter, then I had the miraculous good fortune to make friends with an absolutely beautiful 2min writer. In messaging back and forth, I told her some ideas that I thought would make fun fics (you know, ones you really want to read but you want/need someone else to write them for you) and she encouraged me to write them myself.
Other than some really feeble attempts at Beatles fic as a teen, I’ve never written bandfic or slash in general (do we still call it slash? I’m so old!), but I had all these fun ideas - all of them for 2min, mind you, except for one tiny oneshot idea, based on a Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin skit, that I thought would make a really fun Jongho fic. (Sidenote: I was solely a 2min shipper to begin with but the ever-amazing @lala-pipo made me ship Jongho with her delicious fic Anonymia. :D) The idea wouldn’t leave me alone so I tried to write it out of my head, as one does, and it has since spiraled into a 23K WIP. (It’s called Dream Girl, if you’re interested, and it’s on AO3 and AFF. Modern non-famous AU, very soft Jongho.)
I figured that would be it for my Jongho endeavors, much as I loved that universe (and honestly, I default to reading Jongho more than 2min these days, save for a couple of really amazing fics) - and then I heard about the Jjong’s Month fic challenge. I’m so new to this fandom and especially the whole sort of mythos of Jonghyun (I love him so much it hurts, I just know so very little compared to the rest of you!), so as badly as I wanted to contribute, I really didn’t think I could/should. (I’m also terrible at finishing stories in general, and challenges with deadlines tend to wring me out like a dishrag.)
The only idea that came to mind was an Endymion and Selene myth!fic with moon god!Jonghyun in love with handsome shepherd!Minho, but it just seemed so cheesy and predictable and probably overdone (albeit with a different pairing - I’m sure there are at least three Jongyus out there with this premise). But my dear 2min friend assured me that it would be anything but and encouraged me to write the story, so I decided to jot down a few ideas and just see what I could come up with. Because the month was already more than half over, I knew my best bet was to lean on my “voice” from my works in that previous fandom and aim for a sort of pseudo-Greek myth feel, told in slightly elevated language.
One huge downside of switching fandoms at this juncture is that SHINee fic traffic is virtually nil, especially for certain pairings (why, WHY don’t more people love Jongho??). This was especially tough as I created an entirely new pseud for SHINee fic and am literally starting from scratch - and as a brand-new Shawol to boot. Between AO3 and AFF, I’ve hit six total reviews/comments on Dream Girl in four months, and I have to remind myself that this is an accomplishment, especially in this dry season.
Yours is the first feedback I’ve received on The Distance Between You and Me, and it absolutely meant the world to hear. The entire month of April was absolutely miserable over here (thankfully no COVID issues at home, but lots of other stuff :( ) and I really struggled to get that fic out, and I was so worried that what I’d managed to come up with was flat and boring.
I’m so, SO thrilled that you enjoyed it! I cut it off where I did (I’ve already written Minho and Jonghyun’s encounter at the festival and just a teensy bit more ;D) because, as badly as I wanted to finish in April, I didn’t want to rush the good stuff in order to meet a deadline. And while I know how things will basically end up (and of course it will be happy - this girl can’t do angst!), I’m still deciding how precisely I want it to get there (and, erm, in how much detail... ;D).
As a thank-you, I’ll end this with a tidbit from the forthcoming second half. (I still have loads of writing and editing to do but I’m rather fond of this snippet as is. :D) I really hope to be done before the prompt-claiming for Summer of SHINee - I really DO have to write some 2min next, but I suspect we’ll see the next chapter of Dream Girl first. (Things are heating up over there in spite of my best-laid plans, and now the rest of SHINee wants to make appearances in the story too!)
Thank you again for your truly wonderful support! I hope I shan’t keep you waiting too long for the conclusion!
P.S. Girl-disguised-as-a-boy is my all-time favorite trope but I’ve never written boy-disguised-as-a girl, and it was surprisingly fun (in large part thanks to sassy, exasperated Key making Jonghyun pretty!).
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The moon had never known such bliss as dancing with Minho, neither in heaven nor upon earth. The herdsboy’s breath fanned his cheek, warm and sweet with apple wine, as those long strong hands guided Jonghyun’s body through the steps with lingering touches at hip and shoulder, then curled an arm about his waist, lifting Jonghyun up and against the herdsboy for a leap as the steps called for.
It was an intercourse in its own right: the ebb and flow of their bodies, pressing together and apart and together once more as hands caught and clung and breath fell in quick soft pants, and Jonghyun’s eyes grew damp with both happiness and heartache, for the longer he remained with the herdsboy, the more painful it was to think of leaving him. It is enough, he told himself. To feel his admiration and bask in his nearness just this once.
Jonghyun sank into a curtsy as the dance came to its close and turned away to hide his tears, but Minho had seen, and drew him gently back to cup his face in both hands. “What is wrong, my darling?” he asked tenderly, brows lifted at their inner corners and thumbs brushing the tears from Jonghyun’s shimmering cheekbones. “Are you over-wearied by the dancing – or did I perhaps handle you too roughly in the steps?”
Jonghyun shook his head with a whimper, wiping at his eyes. “It is nothing,” he dismissed weakly, “a bit of smoke in my eyes. Come,” he bid, though he had never desired anything less, “let us clean up our picnic before another discovers what remains of your prizes.”
Minho’s hands slipped from his face with clear reluctance, but not before those gentle fingers had daubed away every last tear from both cheek and lash, and he curled a hand around Jonghyun’s to lead him back to their dining-place.