the eff fic that wasn't

[umji]

i dropped out of emo fic fest this round. i didn't want to since i was writing ggroup fic and 1) ggroup fic is sparse(r) 2) i had been working on and off this wip for literally probably six months, but i did. i was debating about whether to make this post after reveals and just share some extracts bc there are a few things in there i wanted to share, but then i didn't, but now i am! i picked paramore's adore for my song, 1) bc i wanted something different 2) i rarely relisten to the unreleased/non-album songs bc they're not on streaming services so it gave me a chance to loop them all. it also meant my fic was heavily romcom based which is my Point Of Contention because i struggle with romance if there is no Other point of conflict (e.g. actual conflict like fights, or something 'different' like a paranormal/supernatural scenario which also lends to conflict). it's good to push out of your writing comfort zone though so i figured i would try! i reworked a 4k wip i had abandoned around feb, and it ended up around 8k (almost 9k!! i just checked) when i abandoned it again. it was ryuryeong (obviously). post-uni meet-cute, adult lesbian struggles when you're afraid of dating bc you haven't had real commitment/are trying to juggle other elements of adult life. here are just a few bits from the vault

They have never met, not officially anyway, but Chaeryeong recognises her from pictures. “Donghyuck’s friend, right?”
“Does my reputation precede me?” Ryujin asks. “I would ask what he has been saying about me, but I’m not actually sure I want to know.”
“Nothing bad, I promise,” Chaeryeong laughs. She tucks her hair behind her ear and Ryujin’s eyes follow the movement. “Jaemin says Donghyuck is mad that you’re funnier than him. They never told me you were so pretty though.”

chaeryeong flirt!!!!! you go girl

“You’re back early,” Minho says when she gets home. He’s in the kitchen, rummaging around in the cupboards. He re-emerges with a handful of cereal and sticks it in his mouth. Eyes wide and cheeks full, Chaeryeong wonders sometimes how she ever thought he was intimidating. “I guess they don’t party like they used to back in my day.”

as i have entered my skz era, i have also entered my sprinkling skz members in fics as background characters era. minho and chaeryeong are living together (minho looking for someone to rent with, chaeryeong post grad has no friends locally since they all moved away and they were on the dance team together so she figures its her best option). i rlly love these two together.. my jyp 2pick, dance line <3 there is also minchan in this... are we surprised? not really

“Chaeryeong! Come and join us.” Ryujin pats the space on the sofa beside her. “We’re swiping on Yuna’s Tinder for her.”
“Oh?” Chaeryeong looks around but Yuna is nowhere to be seen. She stumbles as she drops down onto the sofa and the girl on the other side of Ryujin laughs quietly.
“I’m Jimin,” she says, leaning around Ryujin to smile at Chaeryeong, and maybe she’s drunk, but Chaeryeong is convinced that for just a minute the world stops. Jaemin would laugh if he saw her. Tell her to close her mouth and stop staring. You’re a mess! he would tell her, and Chaeryeong can’t help but agree.
“Hi. Chaeryeong.” She points at herself.
“I know,” Jimin says, with another laugh and again, drunk, but Chaeryeong thinks that maybe love at first sight is real.

so much to unpack in this paragraph... the fun in drunken tinder swiping, yuna being like yeah cool, karina appearance, chaeryeong loving women... i posted this excerpt back in like feb/march, i kept it from the original fic and honestly it was the driving reason behind making this post. i have been thinking lately about ryuryeong/karina fic (how can you not after ryujin's "i call jimin unnie and chaeryeong jagi"??) but i wouldn't know where to begin.. ot3 fics are so hard, i've written a few but worry they get repetitive. i do want to write more messy lesbians though. me projecting on the life i could lead if i was in a big city and not bumfuck nowhere

At some point they are joined by another girl, Minjeong. Chaeryeong recognises her from a few classes. She sits on Jimin’s free side and watches quietly, interrupting every so often to point out major red flags the rest of them (drunkenly) missed. “No fish men,” she says, reaching over to point accusingly at a guy posing on a boat, and Chaeryeong laughs so hard her drink almost comes out of her nose.

no expansion needed

Chaeryeong saves Ryujin’s number. She heads home, squished in between Jeno and Jisung in the back of Jaemin’s car. It’s not until way later that night that she texts Ryujin. Minho had gone out for celebratory drinks with Chan now that they were official and he is just as drunk as Chaeryeong when he arrives home. They stay up, eat Minho’s cold takeout leftovers on the kitchen floor and then stumble to bed with a promise to get brunch in the morning.

just a couple of besties!!!! this is all i'm going to share.. after this point it gets into dating and internal stresses and the whole reason i abandoned it is because i was worried it was just too.. samey. like the same internal battle over and over, and i was struggling to get through it. i do think it wouldn't matter too much - really, it's probably all in my head and also it fits the song - but i just wasn't feeling like i could give it 100% anymore, which is a shame, because i do like what i've written anyways. the end! wondering whether i should count this towards my nano goal since i haven't written in two days and i am not beyond cheating