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The Prince of Balkan by Joymuffin
Fandoms: Eurovision Song Contest RPF, Finnish Music RPF, Joker Out (Band)
04 Sep 2023
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Summary
"You can't live someone else's life, Bojan, Jere said softly. "You can only live your own. People will always find fault in us, no matter what we do or don't do. And it's not like you ever wrote straight songs."
"I was pretty good at convincing people I did."
"At what price, though?"
Everything is finally looking up, except for Bojan's career. Jere feels guilty about the way he contributed to Joker Out being in shambles. He has several ideas for fixing the damage, but Bojan remains convinced he ruins everything he touches.
It’s July 2027 and we have come to the end of this four-part fic (there is a Christmas special coming, but the "official" storyline ends here)! The last chapter contains some angst, but also a lot of friendship, tenderness and mush, and I dare to promise you will love the ending!
"Dear boos of all ages and genders,
They told me not to write this, but to babble in vapid press release language, and I said, fuck that. They said, don't tell the truth or no one will ever work with you again. I'm willing to take that risk."
Series
- Part 4 of No Walk of Shame
- Part 3 of In the Future 🚀
- Part 1 of Balkan 🇸🇮 🇷🇸 🇬🇷
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Summary
Sometimes Bojan hates pronouns and language. Writing songs would be so much easier without having to deal with them. His native tongues in particular are the worst. There are ways around gendered pronouns and expressions, yet that feels like a cop-out and he’s tired of living like that.
“Of course, that only works in the present tense, because queer people don’t have a future and they sure as hell don’t want to think about the past.”
Series
- Part 2 of Short and Emotional 🥹
- Part 2 of Balkan 🇸🇮 🇷🇸 🇬🇷
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Like Hell It Is Written in the Stars by Joymuffin
Fandoms: Joker Out (Band), Käärijä (Musician)
28 Jan 2024
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Summary
Bojan is trying hard not to write Padam #2, but even with all the simmering anger, it turns out he can’t write angry songs, either.
“Always murder your darlings, that’s what they said.”
The friendship with Jere is nourishing but incredibly turbulent, and at times Bojan wonders if it’s even worth pursuing. All the endless arguments and the distance on top of the feelings he has caught. Yet there’s a connection he doesn’t fully understand that goes beyond attraction and romance.
Bojan’s always been a spiritual person, whatever that even means, and now he’s wondering if he and Jere are actually meant to be together. Have they been together in a past life, are they twin flames or soulmates or is he just desperate enough to fool himself with all these woo labels as a distraction from reality? How is he supposed to know? Is there someone he can ask for guidance?
“Do you remember the fortune-teller where grandma took us? The one with jet black hair even though she was very old.”
“It was dyed, Bojan”, Tijana said.
Note: This fic uses the term “soulmates” colloquially/spiritually, not in common fanfic supernatural/AU parlance (with identifying marks and whatnot)
Series
- Part 3 of Balkan 🇸🇮 🇷🇸 🇬🇷
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Summary
Jere had a wife and two kids and everything was going well. Except the marriage is no more and he is reminded of an old flame, who is leading a boring yet satisfactory life in Ljubljana. Bojan might not have got what he really wanted, but no one does, right? Flights of fancy are not meant for actually pursuing and why should he let Jere convince him otherwise.
“It doesn’t have to work like that.”
Bojan scowled.
“What the fuck would you know about that? As if you weren’t doing it, when it mattered the most.”
Not an AU or actual scifi, but when we leap 20 years into the future, some scifi/AU vibes are unavoidable.
Series
- Part 7 of In the Future 🚀
- Part 4 of Balkan 🇸🇮 🇷🇸 🇬🇷
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So Much For That by Joymuffin
Fandoms: Joker Out (Band), Käärijä (Musician), Eurovision Song Contest RPF
29 Apr 2024
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Summary
“They probably understood that was exactly why – he couldn’t keep it in his pants because of that. That he needed to have a life that was wild and tasted of freedom and daring and had nothing to do with Joker Out.”
A leak of very explicit material of Bojan sends him spiraling, convinced that everything is ruined. Jere tries to support him, yet the complex feelings they both harbor around the issue and for each other turn things into a complicated mess, which they attempt to solve in several different countries.
The first chapter (and some of the subsequent stuff) will be very angsty, but the second chapter should be much less so and there will be a happy ending. I guess the first chapter also kind of fits the Bojere week prompt “finding comfort in one another”.
Note: Tommy will play an important role in this fic, but he’s not going to be shipped with anyone or anything like that.
“‘Tell me what’s true’, Bojan said, though he wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear it. Jere froze.
‘I can’t.’
‘I want you to be perfectly honest.’
(Don’t be, lie and make me believe it.)”
Series
- Part 5 of Balkan 🇸🇮 🇷🇸 🇬🇷
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Nism Zvezda by Joymuffin
Fandoms: Käärijä (Musician), Joker Out (Band), Slovenian Music RPF, Balkan RPF, Hip Hop RPF
15 Jul 2024
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Summary
“Are you serious? You gave your mixtape to the guy in Laibach?”
“That wasn’t –oh, wait.”
In the early 2020s, Balkan has become the coolest destination in Europe. Belgrade and many Croatian and Bulgarian cities are already hopeless tourist traps for hipsters. Ljubljana looks like it’s about to face the same fate, certainly now that the whole continent has gone gaga for Slovenian music.
Bojan has been looking for a breakthrough for years with his band Apokalipsa, without much success. Now he’s trying to make it as a rapper. Jere hopes the key to properly kickstarting his own rap career lies in Slovenia.
Everyone’s like “this is my super interesting AU that no one wants, just kidding”, but this is the Slovenian music/rap AU that no one definitely wanted. :P
The following real bands and artists appear in my headcanon and will be mentioned or at least alluded to: MRFY, Siddharta, Alo!Stari, Leopold I, Masayah, Trkaj, Emkej, KOKOSY, July Jones, Laibach, Raiven, Niet, Kiwi Flash, Nipke, Apokalipsa, Buržuazija, Buč Kesidi (RS), MAiKA (RS/SI), Azis (BG). Only those appearing as actual minor characters will be tagged.
Series
- Part 3 of AU 🌎
- Part 6 of Balkan 🇸🇮 🇷🇸 🇬🇷
- Part 4 of Summer 🌞
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Hot Air by Joymuffin
Fandoms: Joker Out (Band), Käärijä (Musician), Eurovision Song Contest RPF
27 Aug 2024
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Summary
“There was something wrong with the floor and the air and people’s faces and how the instruments sounded. Time was wrong, Bojan knew how to keep time to music as that was in his bones, yet outside of that, time was woozy and stuck and incomprehensible. Everything was a little off in a sickening way but most of all he, Bojan, was.
And now his heart beat sickeningly more and more out of time with the bass, like an insult.”
Sometimes one night can change the course of an entire life, or several lives. One of them takes place on the 29th of July 2023, when Bojan has a panic attack onstage in Ptuj. Afterwards, he’s trying to reach out for support, but something goes slightly amiss and as a result, all events after that take a very different turn from how we know them.
This is a bit of a dark story, but I’ve tried to sprinkle in plenty of joy, hope, levity and other more positive feelings. Note: Many of the most interesting major themes and plot points are not tagged because I feel like they would be spoilers.
Series
- Part 7 of Balkan 🇸🇮 🇷🇸 🇬🇷
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Unstable by Joymuffin
Fandoms: Joker Out (Band), Käärijä (Musician), Eurovision Song Contest RPF
28 Oct 2024
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Summary
“The tea was a beautiful hue of ruby red, its taste a refreshing combination of sweet and a little tart, with undertones of befuddlement.”
Something peculiar happens in 2021 that Jere cannot shake. Getting answers will take a while, though some of them might only make things more confusing.
“Sometimes Jere would pull up that slip of paper, gaze at it as if trying to decipher an impossible puzzle and wonder what happened. Why did the guy feel compelled to tell him that. Why was his demeanor so dejected. And how was his smile still able to light up the room in a way that Jere couldn’t forget.”
Series
- Part 5 of AU 🌎
- Part 8 of In the Future 🚀
- Part 8 of Balkan 🇸🇮 🇷🇸 🇬🇷
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Summary
Tämä on ihan parhaimmistoa kaikista melkein 50 ficistäni, kannattaa lukea, vaikkei aihe niin nappaisikaan. :)
“Joku fiksumpi uskis joskus neuvoi, että jos oli vaikea tehdä valintoja, niin mieti mitä Jeesus olisi tehnyt. Ja tuskin Jeesuskaan olisi sanonut Bojanille ei.”
Nuorisopastori Jere matkustaa ekumeenisen riparin mukana Sloveniaan, jossa leirin ohjaamiseen osallistuu paikallisia pappeja ja munkkeja. Kristinuskon eri suuntauksilla on omat näkemyksensä siitä, mikä on syntiä, mutta luterilaisillakin raja menee jossain. Ehkä.
Ei, tarinan nimessä ei ole typoa. :) Ja tägeistä on jälleen jätetty pois kamaa, joka spoilaisi liikaa (tai johtaisi liikaa harhaan).
“Jumalahan ne seisokitkin oli luonut, tietoisena siitä, miten hävyttömästi ne saattaisivat aamuisin päätyä törkkimään jonkun hyvinmuodostunutta takamusta.”
Series
- Part 7 of AU 🌎
- Part 8 of Suomeksi / In Finnish 🇫🇮
- Part 9 of Balkan 🇸🇮 🇷🇸 🇬🇷
- Part 6 of Summer 🌞
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Summary
“The winter probably was peopled with strange creatures who acted mysteriously and freakishly.”
- Tove Jansson“Watafak, Bojan?”
- JereJere and Bojan embark on a holiday on the Julian Alps, but nothing goes like it was supposed to. At least there is glögi and other important natural resources, and Spanish is vaguely easier than Finnish.
Most of the main drama and plot points left out of the tags for spoiler reasons (but also because some things would be hard to describe or sound misleading).
Series
- Part 5 of Winter❄️
- Part 10 of Balkan 🇸🇮 🇷🇸 🇬🇷
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Summary
“You thought I was cute but probably dumb, full of myself and not a real musician.”
“How do you know?” Jere blurted out, without even trying to deny it.
“Because that’s what they all think”, Bojan said, with evident sadness.
A billionaire Bulgarian oligarch has organized a lavish festival for his daughter’s sweet sixteen at the Plovdiv ancient theater, sparing no expense to get her favorite groups and artists there. These include a popular Slovenian boy band and a Finnish rapper, who despite some frictions strike up an unlikely friendship.
Drunk on infatuation and rakija, the rapper hatches a plan that aligns with his motto of “fuck around and find out”, an idea also enjoying considerable popularity in the Balkans.
Series
- Part 11 of Balkan 🇸🇮 🇷🇸 🇬🇷
- Part 7 of Summer 🌞
- Part 8 of AU 🌎
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From Black and White to Color (Family Album #2) by Joymuffin
Fandoms: Käärijä (Musician), Joker Out (Band)
11 Jun 2025
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Summary
While Jere is in Ljubljana for the first time, he visits Bojan’s family and asks if he could see some photos of Bojan’s childhood. Something takes him by complete surprise.
Series
- Part 4 of Photography fics 📷
- Part 8 of Short and Emotional 🥹
- Part 12 of Balkan 🇸🇮 🇷🇸 🇬🇷
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What has an extensively published fiction/nonfiction author with a career spanning decades learned from two years of writing Bojere fanfic and how is it benefiting her current profession? And how is everything in the world actually fanfiction?
I know no one wants essays, you are here for juicy fiction, but I think this one is actually interesting and provides some unexpected viewpoints. :)
Series
- Part 13 of Balkan 🇸🇮 🇷🇸 🇬🇷
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“Everything was a lot. There was so much he wanted to give to Jere but everything?”
A long-awaited skiing trip to the Julian Alps, clearly too good to be true. It starts with an aircraft almost getting lost, watafak, which you wouldn’t think is a common occurrence, and then other things vanish, too, and surely this couldn’t be happening?
And then there’s a feather, just a tiny little feather, but that’s the point where Bojan’s life starts turning upside down. Nothing makes sense anymore, yet once he gets used to it, it’s actually pretty nice. Even if it’s based on a lie, something that’s hard to push out of his mind. Lying is bad, probably, or is it?
Jure
Yeah, the closet might not be the best place for hiding Jere.😏Jan
Great plan, Bojč. Definitely not at all sus or anything.Hard to explain without being very misleading or spoiling everything, but this story has a lot of cozy and romantic vibes, smut, drama and plot with some angst and no one incurs serious harm.
Series
- Part 14 of Balkan 🇸🇮 🇷🇸 🇬🇷
- Part 7 of Winter❄️
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Summary
He wasn’t hungover, just in that state where the world was a little bit fragile and you needed something very salty to hold it together.
“I’m sorry for the stuff yesterday”, Jere said. “Sometimes alcohol is stupid.”
Nothing has been the same between them since Cyprus. Bojan has some theories on what has been going on for the past year. He’s pretty sure he’s right, as sure as someone like him can be about anything. Only one way to find out.
Jere is due to play a private gig in a foreign country and he doesn’t think much of it, but he is in for quite a surprise – or make that a whole handful of watafak. And despite the initial impression, maybe there is actual work for him to do.
“Thank you for saving my life”, Jere said and gave Bojan a kiss on the cheek.
This fic contains terrible misuse of saucepans, timers, Barve oceana and Internet reviews and probably acceptable use of cheese, rakija and trumpets.
Though just as a heads up, despite the title, it does not feature any elements of fantasy/magical realism (if you don’t count it being set in the Balkans, implicitly a form of slightly fucked up magical realism). The title is very relevant still.
Series
- Part 6 of Cyprus 🇨🇾☀️
- Part 15 of Balkan 🇸🇮 🇷🇸 🇬🇷
- Part 1 of Tuu mun luo 🫂
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Summary
“No, Bojan thought. This couldn’t really be, even Jere wouldn’t do something as ridiculous as that.”
There is a weirdo living at the Ljubljana airport where Bojan works. He worries the guy is going to end up like those sad outcasts in some documentaries who spent years in such a limbo. Not if he can help it.
While the dude isn’t immune to Bojan’s charms, he is still stubborn and reluctant to leave the place. Admittedly, there are many things you can do with the facilities inside an airport.
Perhaps the way to a man’s heart goes through his stomach, the furthermost gate in the terminal and several different wetrooms. And somewhere only a Finnish weirdo might consider sneaking, oh God.
Neither Hallmark Christmas nor a crackfic, but a sweet and spicy, very Christmas-y Christmas story with a decent plot and tons of Bojere shenanigans.
Series
- Part 12 of AU 🌎
- Part 8 of Winter❄️
- Part 16 of Balkan 🇸🇮 🇷🇸 🇬🇷
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Summary
Fucking Jere, Bojan thought. Read the room. This was not what “special guest” meant.
Karneval is about to be over, or maybe it’s just beginning. Ask Jere, he is an expert on many things.
“It’s okay. You can do stupid things and have fun. This is karneval. We are the clowns.”Series
- Part 10 of Summer 🌞
- Part 17 of Balkan 🇸🇮 🇷🇸 🇬🇷
- Part 7 of Cyprus 🇨🇾☀️
- Part 4 of Based on a song 🎵
- Part 1 of Thailand 🇹🇭🏖️
- Part 1 of Karneval 🎪
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Summary
“I like legs”, Jere admitted.
“Mine? Or in general?”
“Yes.”
Jere is a gambling influencer enjoying a lavish lifestyle. Traveling on the beautiful Adriatic coast, he sets his eye on an even more beautiful Slovenian man. Of course he doesn’t stand a chance, but money opens many doors. Which works for just as long as the money lasts.Just because someone is “daddy” doesn’t mean they wield the power. And the whole thing doesn’t go anything like Jere had expected.
“The sleek plastic of the chips felt comforting between his fingers. Brightly colored like children’s toys, it was easy to forget this play money was real money, which was the point. It felt victorious to gather a pile of them yet not too bad to lose a bunch.
Unlike with people.”
A cute and romantic story with a bunch of smut, drama and angst, mostly set on the Adriatic coast. Plus some illustrations, mostly in watercolor.🎨Series
- Part 14 of AU 🌎
- Part 18 of Balkan 🇸🇮 🇷🇸 🇬🇷
- Part 12 of Summer 🌞
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Summary
“Ghosts aren’t real, yet they are one of the realest things out there. Bojan has battled them all his life.”
An emotional and thought-provoking little story for Bojere’s three-year anniversary since they met in Madrid.Series
- Part 9 of Drabbles💯
- Part 6 of Thailand 🇹🇭🏖️
- Part 8 of Cyprus 🇨🇾☀️
- Part 19 of Balkan 🇸🇮 🇷🇸 🇬🇷
- Part 12 of Short and Emotional 🥹
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 200
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Kudos:
- 11
- Hits:
- 122
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Summary
“The way Jere talked was so unlike anything Bojan had ever heard. It wasn’t dirty talk. It wasn’t really sexy, outside of his lovely voice and the dreamy cadence he was using.
And maybe the accent, too.”
Anxiety and health issues have made Bojan unable to participate in his favorite activity, which has devastated his life. His friend Jan claims hypnosis could be helpful. Sounds dodgy, but researching online, Bojan finds a Finnish hypnotist who could potentially help. Unexpectedly, the guy might also be able to relieve the pressure building in Bojan’s groin.There is an interesting hypnosis con coming up a driving distance from Bojan. It’s sold out, but perhaps he could get in anyway.
The Finnish guy turns out to be very different from what he expected.
Written by an actual hypnotist, the stuff in this fic is >95% based on very real hypnotic feats, even though it will probably not sound like that. Even outside the hypnosis, the Bojere dynamics are a bit different here, and despite the large number of smut/kink tags, of course there’s an emotional story underneath them.
Series
- Part 15 of AU 🌎
- Part 20 of Balkan 🇸🇮 🇷🇸 🇬🇷