pryvate cinematic universe ranking (2021)

[leejeno]

i've been meaning to do this for a long while now, but i'm forgetful and easily distracted and never really got around to it orz. for reference, i also did this ranking in 2020, but i thought i'd elaborate more on the characters this time.

anyway, here are the top jaemin and jenos from the fics i wrote in 2021:

the jaemins

5. event photographer jaemin (sit next to me before i go)

another cheeky flirty jaemin in the list of my many jaemins. you can tell what my favorite archetype of jaemin to write at this point lol. also, i just realized i've written two photographer jaemins this year. honestly probably not gonna be the last. anyway, this jaemin was just good vibes and cheshire smiles and shoulder kisses. i adore him a lot. this fic is short bc it's what the fest permitted, but i'd love to expand on more of their shenanigans in the future.

4. editorial photographer jaemin (tiny dancer)

my lovely tattoo riddled photographer, new in town and straight crash landed into jeno's heart at first meeting. he's charming and considerate yet still guarded and protective of his own heart. he shows his love in gentle actions and words of support and he's always there for jeno whenever jeno and his students needed some moral support. but also he can't get enough of that ballerino, can't help but be shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand, kissing him senseless. he's perfect.

3. gamer jaemin (hey there, great pair)

oh, he's crazy but he's free. this fic was renhyuck focus so there wasn't much jaemjen at all actually, but i enjoyed the times i had jaemin in the background unabashedly affectionate towards jeno, no matter if there was an audience watching or not. and god knows they were caught canoodling on stream many a time already lmao. i'd like to think that they eventually make a patreon or onlyfans to actually monetize their fucking and spare people from the random pda in the middle of a minecraft stream. a promising premise for a jj focused sequel. hm.

2. second prince jaemin (yours tomorrow)

alright. here we go. this jaemin is temperamental, rebellious and aggressive. but this jaemin also just want to love and be loved, something he's been deprived off since he was young. i just want to wrap him in a warm blanket and protect him from this cruel world but also i know he's strong and steel willed and can rise above all the people that bring him down. he lives in so many people's shadows and carries the burden of his family name on his back like a cross that it drove him to rebel, but also, he wants to protect the people that have been there for him from the start.

i know having his relationship with jeno be a secret behind his public marriage with renjun wasn't the best decision. believe me, jaemin doesn't think this arrangement is ideal either. for the meantime, he's enduring this to secure his inheritance and fortune from his father so that when the times comes, he can live a better and freer live with jeno proudly by his side. give him a few more years. yet another premise for a sequel LMAO i have to stop.

1. actor jaemin (passing time)

my husband. i'm serious. you don't even understand. he's bi, they're a lesbian and their 33 year marriage will change your perception of love. no, but he's seriously perfect. even i was smitten while writing him, i wasn't immune to my own tricks lol. i was smiling my face off writing probably my most favorite confession scene i've ever written in my life.

the grind never stops with him, having built his career since he was a kid. meeting jeno again thought him how to value rest and time for himself. i love the way they just picked up where they left off, like they didn't have 15 years between them of lost communication. jaemin got to be with the jeno he's loved and adored since he was 13, and got to know the new him, two decades later, older, wiser, and more handsome than ever before. and this time, he had the balls to finally confess, and in the most na jaemin way possible too. only he'd be cheesy enough to type it out and print it on actual paper. chefs kiss. and oh, you know he asked jeno to practice that first kiss scene together on purpose. he wanted that first kiss with jeno, no matter what. he's secretly taewook's biggest fan. don't tell donghyuck.

the jenos

5. rockstar jeno (sit next to me before i go)

he's just out there, playing the drums and looking pretty while doing it. not that the entire band isn't eye candy already, but this jeno is fresh meat, and all the gals (gender neutral) want a piece of him. he's never been interested in groupie culture, having not experienced it as much as the rest of the band, but he does anticipate seeing jaemin at every stop, and though he'd never admit it to anyone, he'd been waiting for jaemin to make a move since their first meeting.

4. gamer jeno (hey there, great pair)

a baby boy. my bbb, if ykyk. adorable, harmless, cutest. he's incapable of harming anyone, not even a fly. he has never done a single wrong thing in his life. ever. he's just sitting there, in the middle of a bickering renhyuck, smiling pleasantly like it's a normal peaceful day at work. oh but he's definitely a little horndog, but you'd never expect it at first glance. too bad the real scope of how horny he is in archived on the internet permanently. jaemin doesn't mind it, in fact he likes searching for videos and fanart of them, but jeno still has the audacity of being a little bit embarrassed about watching himself in these compromising situations, eventhough he's heavily the reason for most of them in the first place. he's perfect.

3. servant jeno (yours tomorrow)

he is the strongest person i know. he is steadfast and resilient and most of all loyal. he is a constant source of comfort and reassurance to everyone around him, and especially jaemin's. i love him so much you don't understand. just thinking about him makes me tear up lmao he loves his family and takes his job at high importance. he knows his place, yet also stands his ground. he's ambitious and loves to dream, and one day he's going to explore the world like he's always wanted and get to do things he's dreamed of. jaemin supports him in his bigger ambitions in life, and in the future when they've battled their way through their own freedom, they'll have all the time in the world to finally live their lives the way they've always wanted.

2. ballerino jeno (tiny dancer)

i love him so much. he is just a person full of love. he has so much love to give. he love dance, and he love teaching dance, and making people realize they love dance. he is passionate and kind and hardworking. he loves his students a lot and wants nothing more than for them to fly even higher than their dreams permit. he doesn't believe in fate or soulmates, instead he values time spent and getting to know people for who they are and not by the soulmark on their skin. he loves to love, but is scared of romance, scared of letting someone love him that intimately, that intensely.

and then jaemin barges into his life, loving him just as intensely. and even if fate had its way of bringing them together (donghyuck), jeno fell in love with him for being him. and jaemin in turn, loves him for who he is. also just—the visual of ballerino jeno is just too good, man. whether it be in tutus or leotards or even elaborate costume pieces, he's perfect. he is so pretty and suave and flexible and delicate.

1. (retired) actor jeno (passing time)

he. he is just so dear to my heart. he is so real, a reflection of humanity, and honestly a self projection of sorts. nothing more soul crushing that losing passion for things we love. burn out happens, and it's so human. circumstance has us letting go of things we love, and that's okay. we can discover new things and hobbies and interests. and we can also, years later, come back and find that we still love our old hobbies and interests and pick it up again. even see it in a new, different and mature light, and fall in love with it again. this fic showed jeno's growth as a person—it's intimate and personal and intense and honestly difficult to write, but cathartic.

he learns to embrace acting again while still enjoying the life he's lived without acting, and he got to meet jaemin again and was able to figure out these confusing feelings he's harbored since he met him years ago. i love him so much. he deserve all the good things coming his way as he steps back into the spotlight.



so there. probably allotted a little too much time trying to conjure up this list properly where it makes sense to me but lol i overthink and i have to let it out. in relation, i'd be willing to delve into more fic/character related things if anyone's interested and/or if i have work to procrastinate over. whichever comes first mwah