#i have a bunch of these for some of the other hashira and the kamaboko squad but theyre mixed on each sheet so ill have to edit in ps | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ladynightlark · 4 months

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Hi! I love CFLDF so much! I have so many theories about where the characters are going and what their past is, I feel like I'm trying to piece together a mystery book. It's similar and different enough to canon that I can guess the major plot points and still be blown away! I really like the way you weave the characters and their relationships and how you make them feel like real people. Special highlights for me are Senjuro my favorite anxious mess, Nezuko my queen, and the rest of the thunder fam; Kaigaku (world's worst older brother), Zenitsu (he should have been at the club), Jigoro (crazy old man), and the honorable member Tanjiro (world's best older brother).

I'm also trying to write a role swap kny fic and I was wondering if you had some advice? If it isn't asking too much! I've had half finished versions of a first chapter sitting in my docs for months because I can't decide what direction to take the story 😔

I keep swinging back and forth between thunder breath! Nezuko (probably found by Mitsuri the stone pillar before she was sent to Kaigaku) (where Zenitsu fits in this au depends, sometimes he is a demon and others he is the world's equivalent of the butterfly girls) and moon breath! Nezuko (ft. Koku being the Tamayo of the world and teaching Nezuko); and I also alternate between having Tanjiro stick around like canon Nezuko or having the DK take him and Tanjiro forgetting all about his human life and Nezuko's mission being more about revenge before the grand reveal. And also, just for example, I can't decide if I want to have a Shinobu-Tomioka swap (Shinobu has a lot of dead relatives 🫤 and Giyuu is the medic always pretending he is not filled with untamable hatred) (Aoi is his tsuguko and Sabito is the dead brother lover), or a Doma-Shinobu swap or the flower sisters as the spider family. Or a Doma raises Inosuke and Kanao but they're still human and they infiltrate the corps for him sub plotline in between everything. Or, every member of the Kamaboko is working for the DK as demons and Nezuko's gang is just a bunch of minor (probably demon characters) and everything plays out fairly similar. Or a Shinazugawa and Rengoku brothers swap based on my mom's (an anime only) theory that the Shinazugawa brothers were experiments and that was why Sanemi was all scarred and Genya could eat demons.

Some of this can coexist but a good chunk of them can't and I'm not settling for anything. Like there's so many possibilities, and I was wondering if you had some advice on how to settle on something?

Hi! Thank you so much! I’m glad you’ve been enjoying the series! Hopefully many of your theories will be answered soon!

That’s awesome to hear that you’re writing your own role-swap! And I’d love to offer some advice. Feel free to take/use whatever you feel will help you best or ignore what you think you don’t need.

(Also I’m not an expert on writing this, so please, for anyone reading this, use what you’d like and know this is just my opinion on writing AUs for KNY.)

So, the first thing you should work out when planning a role-swap is WHAT KIND of role-swap you want to do. Based on what I’ve read, there are probably five different ways people have done Protagonist Nezuko Role-Swaps:

The Classic Swap - Tanjiro and Nezuko swap roles, but everything in canon (story and character-wise) remains the same

The Mentor Swap - Tanjiro and Nezuko swap roles, and a different Hashira/Demon Slayer takes them in (typically resulting in Nezuko learning a different breathing style); everything else in canon (story and character-wise) remains the same

The Hashira - Upper Moon Swap / The Human - Demon Swap - All members of the Hashira/Demon Slayer become Kizuki Demons and the Upper Moons/Kizuki become Hashira/Demon Slayer; can also be expanded into all humans being demons and vice versa too

The Character/Role-Swap - A specific character has their backstory (and at times, personality) swapped with that of another character (Ex: Rengoku - Shinazugawa, or Tomioka - Sabito)

The Customized Swap - May use a combination of some or all of the above swaps, or just take the story in a different direction (Ex: Tanjiro and Nezuko being separated for a majority of the story, or simply giving characters a new role without giving them a clear/strict “swap”)

Once you decide which one to do, I suggest “working from the inside out” when planning the rest of your Swap AU. This is more for the last three swaps but can be used for the others depending on how much you change.

Start with the characters you KNOW you want to swap (whether it be members of the Kamaboko Squad, the demon “defecting” from the Demon King, or the Hashira). Once you have those figured out, you can start filling in the blanks. It might take a little time to come up with, but whenever you have a thought, write it down and play around with the idea for a bit to see if it will fit with the story you are writing.

If it’s easier to start with the Kamaboko Squad, get everything you want figured out with them first. If it’s the hashira, have your line-up and see what details you can give them in the moment. If it’s the Demon King, come up with a basic idea for his/her appearance, personality, and motives. Start with what you know, and then move on from there.

Once you’ve figured out most of your characters, then look into how you’re going to develop the story. Will you be following the canon events exactly as they happened in the manga/anime? Will some events be rearranged? Added/Removed?

I recommend creating a rough (and I cannot express this enough, ROUGH) timeline of how your story’s main events will unfold, and then walking your characters through them. See if it makes sense, and take note if you find areas where you might need to revise things or add another scene.

And as a final piece of advice, read a few role-swaps and see what you like. I know before I even started writing the first chapter of this story, I read through a lot and found a few favorites that gave me inspiration for concepts such as potential swaps, different ways to explore characters/events/themes, and how to handle changing what’s canon without taking away what made it good in the first place. Have fun with your research, and you’ll slowly start to see things come together!

(Manga Spoilers Ahead)

Now, to address some of the ideas you have…

I'd go with whatever breath-style you feel most confident writing Nezuko in. I know writing her as a thunder breather can be a bit tricky since we only see Zenitsu perform the first form in canon and Kaigaku’s version of the other forms are influenced by his blood demon art, I do think it’s one of the best breathing styles to play to her strengths. But I’ve never read a story with her as a moon breather, and that could definitely open a lot of segways into different storytellings (especially if you decide to go the Human - Demon swap route). Plus, having Kokushibo in a different role other than Upper Moon One or a Hashira could be a fun storyline to explore that would definitely catch some attention.

This is also a very interesting idea that could really set the story apart. Kind of like what I said above, I’d say go with what you’re most confident writing. Having Tanjiro stick with Nezuko is one way of keeping the story close to canon, and I think there’s a lot of popularity/meaning in having their strong sibling bond emphasized as they navigate the world of demons together. But having Tanjiro separated from Nezuko makes a lot of sense as well, considering their heritage and how the DK (if they are different from Muzan) may want to take advantage of a descendant of sun-breathing being a demon. That would probably change the story a lot, but if you have a plan for how you will navigate the split POVs and how their characters will be affected by the separation and development of their ideals, then I think that would be a fun route to go and lead to a lot of awesome content.

I can definitely see Tomioka and Shinobu swapping. I’d be curious to know how much of their personalities would change as a result (such as Shinobu being more open with her feisty attitude or being more subdued like canon Tomioka, and then Tomioka being like you said having some hidden anger).

I think any of the Doma swaps would be fantastic ideas to implement. Especially the one with Kanao and Inosuke being spies infiltrating the Corps! I don’t think I’ve heard of anything like that before, and given the amount of development that could bring about, and how much of a twist/shock that would be for their “allies” with their reveal, that would be such a great plotline to include.

I’d love to see more of the minor demons that were killed off early in the series get bigger roles! I think it boils down to what I mentioned in the first part of the post, and deciding what the exact parameters of your story’s swaps will be. If you do go this route, I’d be excited to see what other backstories the other demons/humans will get.

I think switching the Rengoku and Shinazugawa brothers would definitely be a cool idea! Especially given how they share a lot of similarities, like how the older brothers would do anything to give their younger siblings a better, happy life. And that’s actually a really interesting theory your mom came up with! I think that would be such a cool idea for an alternative backstory for Sanemi and Genya, given how unique their abilities and conditions are (Sanemi having incredibly strong marechi blood and Genya being able to eat demons and gain some of their strength).

Ultimately, have fun with it. If you’re having trouble deciding, try and write out rough story outlines for your ideas and characters and see what works best. Or, just pick the one you’re most excited about. After all, it’s your story, and as I’ve found, if you’re really passionate and excited about a certain idea or swap, the planning and writing comes so much easier.

I hope this helps! If you would like to discuss these more, I’d be more than happy to answer any questions you have or brainstorm. Feel free to privately message me here (or if you would prefer, I have a Discord where we can communicate further).

Thank you so much for reaching out and asking! Have an awesome day!

#kimetsu no yaiba #demon slayer #demon slayer fanfic #ask me questions #ask #writing advice #demon slayer role swap au

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