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thereisnolumos · 6 months

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If I could rewrite harry potter series: Neville so should have been the third member of the golden trio and Draco the unofficial fourth member that goes through a redemption arc and becomes the fourth one by the end of book 6th and all of 7th. Harry should have gotten with Luna, I'm fine with Dramione canonically because it makes more sense writing wise than dumb ron( I would love drarry, but that would be a up hill battle) Ron should be the school bully that gets worse and worse. Or just not exist period. All houses should have been part of the D.A. Slytherin house over all redemption arc because they're kids/tweens/teenagers! Plus over all that's just a better strategy war wise. Ginny gets a girlfriend/boyfriend and gets over crush over Harry over all.

I like your version❤️

If I was writing the rewrite style fanfic, first and foremost I’d start with Sirius raising Harry. Will never get over how many plot holes are in his entire character arc, especially getting wrongfully imprisoned WHEN THEY HAVE MIND READING AND TRUTH POTION

Anyway, Sirius is raising Harry, and, because their parents were in the Order together and the trauma is so similar for Sirius and Augusta in their losses, Harry and Neville grow up together, besties forever, soul brothers, the whole thing. They even celebrate birthdays together, having them one right after the other (it’s my dear headcanon that they were born a minute apart, but it so happened that the day was new when Harry was born)

They meet Hermione on the train, when she volunteers to help find Trevor (Trevor is the beloved Disney-style comic relief sidekick, I’m telling you). Without needing to hold onto Ron, Harry doesn’t brush her off immediately as annoying, Neville is incapable of being such an asshole on principal, but they don’t become instant friends, because Harry and Neville do have the mentality of “we don’t need anyone knew”, being slightly (a lot😂) codependent from having each other constantly near their entire lives. I’d leave them becoming friends after the troll attack, because she was their all alone because of Ron’s assholish remarks after she genuinely tried to help him. So I’d leave this canon moment, but have Harry and Neville be completely disgusted with Ron over what he said about her, especially Harry because Remus was a big part of his life (I’m not really a Wolfstar shipper, though I don’t have anything against them, but in my fic they wouldn’t be together, and there would be an exploration of their mutual hurt over the other one believing each were a traitor. But he’d still be an uncle Moony, as it was supposed to be), so someone shaming the person for having knowledge and HELPING??? Harry would be enraged

They also both would already know Draco, having grown up in the same world, and most likely in similar circles. To me, Sirius was against pureblood mania, not against the social circles and connections and all that. And because all three Harry, Neville and Draco belong to the same circles, they’d know each other and I imagine them mostly like frenemies, growing from enemies to friends more and more with years.

Slytherins would absolutely be a more flashed out characters, not just cardboard “bad guys”, and some of them would be in DA (so it wouldn’t be called DA, because Sirius that didn’t go to Azkaban would see right through Dumbledore and how he tried to orchestrate Harry’s life despite having no right to do so, and he’ll be damned if he’d let Harry be at all enamored by this manipulative old fuck). I would also add muggleborns bringing in muggle weapons into the discussion because “I see your bombarda and I raise you my bazooka😈”. I’d want to explore how both worlds can benefit from inventions of the other one (not just in weaponry)

Also, I don’t remember right now the name of the person who first brought up this au here on Tumblr, but I would absolutely include Cassius Warrington being chosen as Hogwarts champion in Triwizard Tournament. Because I can’t stop thinking about THE POTENTIAL and all the possibilities of this for years, ever since I first saw it

It would absolutely be Dramione and Hansy. Dramione is just incomparable and beyond everything else, Hansy is my most beloved Harry ship, I absolutely adore them. But I would explore all the shades of Harry-disastrous bisexual-Potter too😏

I haven’t decided who’d I pair Neville with though. I don’t like his ship with Luna (in my mind Luna and Blaise belong to each other, I have no idea how it started, but once it did -it never stopped), so she’s not an option.

Maybe I should write this😅 Scenes from this fic have been living in my head rent-free for half a year by now, if not longer…

#harry potter #neville longbottom #fanfiction #I really should write this #someone please harass me until I do🤪#slytherin #headcanon #dramione #hansy

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kurokoros · 2 years

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What I always wondered, aside from Steve who’s your favorite stranger things character? Or alternatively someone you just cannot stand whatsoever? Also I hope you have/ had a good weekend! 🫶

Stranger Things has a great ensemble cast, so it's hard to narrow it down, but my favorites are Steve, Max, and Lucas! I adore Steve because I want to pick him apart and analyze him under a microscope, but I just really enjoy Max and Lucas as well. Lucas is definitely a character that deserves more love, and I'd like to see him get something to do in S5, but for now he's free real estate. Hopper, Joyce, Mike, and Will are also up there on my list because I think they're just really solid characters. I like Dustin, but something about his sass just got to be too much in the later seasons.

As for characters that I don't like...

I just really can't stand the way Nancy is written. She was my favorite character back when I first watched the show at age 19, but now at 25 I just find her to be extremely self-absorbed, judgmental, and frankly hypocritical (she gets mad at Steve for being more concerned with how his parents will react to him throwing a small party with alcohol than he is with Barb being missing, but two episodes earlier she was annoyed that Will disappearing meant she couldn't sneak out with Steve, and she used a community gathering dedicated to Will as cover for Steve's party so??? Maybe this was supposed to show character growth, but it just seems inconsistent to me). Plus the Duffers really wanted to make her a late 2010s "badass woman" and it just doesn't work for me in the slightest. I don't dislike flawed characters, but she doesn't have enough positives to balance them, nor does she learn from her mistakes.

I'm also not fans of the more comedic characters that have been introduced since S3. Robin is a boring "quirky girl" and I don't think she adds much to the plot. Erica is fine, but she's really just there to be sassy and it gets old after a while. Murray is there and I don't care. Eddie was fine in the show, but nothing super special or memorable to me. I like El in theory, but I think ST has some of the worst writing when the plot focuses on her instead of the rest of the ensemble. I frequently forget Karen has been part of the main cast since S1 and I just don't give a shit about her. Almost everyone introduced in S4 is there and I just don't give a shit about them. All that to say Nancy is the only character I have an active dislike for, but that boils down to 30+ year old men being bad at writing teenage girls so what's new.

I could sit down and write essays about every single character and why I do or don't like them, and for the most part the characters I dislike just boil down to them not being essential to the plot and making the cast bloated. For reference: S1 had 10-12 characters that I would consider central to the plot (depending on if you include Karen or Dr. Brenner). S4 has ~23. There are too many characters and a solid chunk of them realistically do not need to exist. The Duffers need to learn to kill off main characters, stop adding new characters, or stop bringing back characters the next season when there's no reason to keep them around.

Also I'm doing well this weekend! Thank you! I'm just working on my ST rewrite fic and trying to enjoy my day off because I go back to working with middle schoolers tomorrow.

#alisha babbles #anonymous #strangerthoughts

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lovebecomeshim · 3 years

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hello! your zutara posting today has finally motivated me to ask this question because I came to atla very late(last year, to be specific) and I Love It Very Much but am 1000% out of the loop as far as why what remains of fandom (at least that I've seen among my friends) is so very strongly zutara. I'm not opposed to it per se I just don't really know what has driven it to apparently be such a popular ship? can you help me understand and maybe convert me a little bit?

Hey!! Your ICON! :D I can try but I’m not sure how coherent I’ll be; however I AM sure someone a lot more competent will be willing to add to this. Either way, I’m glad you asked because my plan was to drag down as many people as possible with me.

*smacks the hood of zutara* this baby can fit so much mutual love and support!

This got so long, I’m so sorry. I don’t know how to put it under a cut on mobile and it already got deleted once so I’m scared to mess with it lol. Moving on.

I’m gonna start this with a disclaimer that im on mobile so formatting is tricky and I’m also really new to atla in that I only completed my first watch through in like 2019??? So some of my info is all just based on what I’ve picked up from Discourse 👀 so anyway the sparknotes version: zutara was wildly popular from the beginning. To the point where the atla crew internally disagreed on which ship should be endgame. (Ex. Bryke [showrunners] asked the writers to rewrite The Southern Raiders to make Zuko seem less ideal for Katara than Aang [which failed, depending on who you ask]; the animation team purposefully created a visual parrallel between Oma and Shu in the Cave of Two Lovers and Zuko and Katara in the catacombs under Ba Sing Se in the Crossroads of Destiny; etc.)

The ship was popular enough that Bryke actually chose to display zk fanart at a con for the sole purpose of mocking the fans, but that’s neither here nor there. The entire episode Ember Island Players, while a love letter to/parody of the whole show, was an opportunity to address zutara’s viability as a canon pairing (while, again, mocking zutaras for romanticizing that catacombs scene). Point is! It’s always been popular but with it not being endgame, there’s got to be something that’s given it staying power.

And that’s honestly got to do with three things: their dynamic, thematic cohesion, and potential.

(You know what... you know what, it’s four things. The fourth is they’re so aesthetically pleasing together and individually. Like, they’re just good looking people [specifically when they’re grown but they’re also cute kids] and that absolutely doesn’t hurt) (but it’s not the Point, it’s just nice to point out sometimes)

The dynamic is hard to get into without also looking at the canon pairings, but I think I can do that without unnecessary bashing. It’s just that part of the magic of zutara is really highlighted by what they give to each other that their other relationships don’t.

First off, it’s classic enemies to (would be) lovers. The absolute truest form of it. It’s not too different from how CS started out: a rogue antagonist with a job to do—but no personal vendetta against the future love interest—who is deeply and emotionally invested in his personal storyline (revenge/redemption) with little regard for how it effects other people after his entire life and genuine good nature are marred by suffering, and a fierce warrior girl with a strong moral compass and her own personal investment in stopping him (protect her family and save the world doing it). Obviously frustration and animosity grew between them by the nature of them being on opposing sides, but that just lends itself to the sweetness of their later reconciliation.

The thing is that while they’re wildly different on the surface (he’s a hot-headed prince of a fascist regime who is trying to capture the Avatar to please his father; she’s a nurturing daughter of the chief who is trying to protect and train the Avatar in order to topple his father’s throne) they find out that they have so much more in common both in their experiences and their personalities.

(What follows is an excessive use of the word “both” and I’m sorry about that)(I can edit it. I can do that. That IS an option............)

They both have an innate sense of justice that they are determined to see done (zuko, at the war meeting, sticking up for the Earth Kingdom kid when the guards torment his family, choosing not to steal from the pregnant couple despite his circumstances, abiding by his word to leave the SWT should Aang come willingly, etc.; katara, literally.... at any point). They both have pretty one-track minds at accomplishing certain goals once they’ve put their mind to it, regardless of a lack of support in that endeavor (it goes without saying I guess, but zuko’s entire hunt; katara’s determination to get the earth benders to fight back, her determination to absolutely destroy Pakku until he agrees to teach her, etc.). They both lost their mothers at young ages. Their worlds are war-torn and traumatizing to them both, if in different ways, but that ultimately forces them to grow up too quickly to be wholly independent individuals. They both have issues with their fathers (for WILDLY different reasons, but). They both hold extreme prejudices that they need to learn to overcome (which ties into thematic cohesion)(bit like Lizzie and Darcy in that way but magnified by a million). They’re both extremely emotional and empathetic—which can and often does result in loud outbursts. Katara’s a bit better adjusted and can temper her anger for longer than S1 Zuko can, but they both feel that anger deeply and have no compunctions expressing it (Katara is, usually, more justified, particularly in S1. Again, S1 Zuko is severely maladjusted but at the point when they could’ve feasibly become a couple, he’s so much better off with the way he carries himself). They both struggle with feelings of inferiority in their bending abilities when confronted with prodigal benders like Aang and Azula, but have the work ethic required to double down and become two of the most powerful benders in the three remaining nations. This is a little more minor but it is a parrallel that appeals to some shippers that they both have these alter egos in the Painted Lady (notably fire nation coded) and the Blue Spirit (water tribe coded) that are pretty different from who they are day-to-day and are useful in accomplishing a purpose that they as themselves cannot.

(I’m.... I just realized that this could potentially get very long. Should I have made a slide show with bullet points??????)

Anyway, similar. I know there’s more but there’s literally so much to love about zutara that I’ll drive myself a little crazy trying to compile all the ways they’re similar. (Just gonna say that at this exact moment I went back to add more similarities.... so okay then)

Once they’ve reconciled, we see how all of these things only lend themselves to a deeper intimacy together than they share with literally anyone else. There’s a steady partnership that positions them as the mom/dad of the gaang, while also providing the support necessary to allow the other to not have to carry so much responsibility. A lot of zutaras will point out how zuko is actually depicted doing the more domestic chores that are normally relegated to Katara once he joins the gaang, since the others in the group are two 12-year-olds and sokka. The one that sticks out the most is how he makes tea for the group and then serves them, while Katara is able to just relax with her friends around the fire. Fanon expands upon this a lot to Zuko helping with the laundry or the cooking or whatever else needs doing since he, as a once-refugee, is used to doing his own domestic tasks. Before Zuko joined, Katara was the one mothering everyone, sewing for them, cooking for them, etc. She’s always tending to the needs of the group, and that includes emotionally. She does the emotional labor for the gaang 99% of the time, but when she’s the one falling apart, she’s usually doing it alone and without the comfort that she normally provides for others. Until Zuko. And that’s before they’re even friends.

Which is WHY people romanticize the catacombs of Ba Sing Se so much. Katara is verbally attacking Zuko out of her own righteous anger but also her own prejudice when Zuko, surprisingly, chooses to be vulnerable with her. He’s been on a journey that’s opened his eyes a bit, but he’s never actively chosen to expose the rawest parts of his past to anyone. But for some reason he chooses to do that with Katara of all people. While she’s yelling at him. He sees her humanity, and for once can look past his prejudice and empathize with her. And this time, when she breaks down, she gets to be comforted. Katara normally talks about her mother when she’s trying to explain to someone else that she sees and understands they’re pain, as a form of comfort to them. Here, Zuko uses the exact same tactic. He sees her and he understands. And for zuko? He’s not being shut down. He’s allowed to articulate his pain regarding his mother without being ignored and made to internalize it, and he’s allowed to process how he feels about his scar out loud without being told that he deserved it. And then he lets her touch his scar, something we’ve seen him actively avoid before. He’s completely open to her and she’s completely open to him and all it took was one five minute conversation. She was about to use the little bit of Spirit water that she had, that she was saving for something Important, to heal the scar that still daily causes him pain just because they had, somehow, connected.

Plus there’s the whole parallel to the star-crossed lovers forbidden from one another, a war divides their people—

And then zuko messes up, he regresses, he gets what he wants and he HATES it. And the sense of justice he had as a child has been restored to him against his will and he can’t think of anything he wants to do more than the Right Thing, so he joins team avatar. Before he does that though, we get to see his relationship with Mai, which is where comparison really comes in. And what we see is Zuko, fresh off of his encounter with Katara in the catacombs, trying to be emotionally honest with Mai... and getting shut down and dismissed. Which is just how Mai is and it’s fine, but not for Zuko. Still, he keeps trying, and he keeps getting ignored or scoffed at or yelled at. Which is really a larger symbol for how he doesn’t fit in his old life anymore, but again that’s about thematic cohesion. He tries to articulate his anxieties about returning home, he tries to make romantic gestures, he tries to explain how morally conflicted he’s feeling—and Mai diverts to some kind of physical affection to shut him up and a parting comment that is pretty much always, in essence, “I don’t wanna talk about this.” So they don’t. On the other hand, once zuko and Katara are friends, we see him again emotionally distraught and caught up in his anxieties about facing Iroh, and it’s Katara who comes to him and listens to him and comforts and encourages him.

Similarly, we have Aang clamming up and getting uncomfortable whenever Katara shows any negative emotion, usually resulting in him making excuses or running away. Or, in the case of the Southern Raiders, lecturing her on how she needs to just let go of her anger about her mother’s murder. People have talked this episode to death and usually better than I ever could, so imma... keep it brief. There’s a serious disconnect between Aang and Katara in his ability to empathize with Katara and her needs that has her tamping down her vulnerability and amping up her anger. He tells her that he was able to forgive his people’s genocide and appa’s kidnapping (petnapping? Theft??), which is blatantly not true but also not an entirely equal parrallel to Katara’s situation, and continues making these little remarks throughout the episode. But it’s Zuko that Katara opens up to. It’s with him that she’s able to talk about the most traumatic day of her life, and it’s with him that she’s able to get the closure she needs, cementing their bond as friends and partners. This disagreement between Aang and Katara is then... never resolved. They just never bring it up and hear what the other is saying.

There’s a fic called The Portraits of Ember Island that has a line that so completely sums up the heart of the matter for why people love their dynamic. For context, zuko has woken up early to help Katara with the cooking and they spend the whole time just letting one another talk, and zuko stops to ask why she always just lets him talk. And so she stops to ask why he’s always helping, and it goes as follows:

There’s just... so much mutual support! Trust! Intimacy!! And it just continues like that from the Southern Raiders on, listening to each other, advising each other, watching each other’s backs! And then! Literally saving each other’s lives!! I will never be over the last Agni kai. Not ever. Zuko may have been willing to jump in front of lightning for anyone, but he actually did it for Katara. And in a show, that’s the thing that really matters. It’s a fulfilled trope usually exclusively applied to romantic pairings, and it ended up applying to Zuko and Katara. And then she ran out into the middle of a fight with tunnel vision just to get to him.

Also!! Also Zuko pushing Katara out of the way of the falling rocks at the Western Air Temple!! And Katara catching him as he fell from the war balloon that he fought Azula on!! Before they’re even getting along, they’re the ones reaching for each other. They come to this place of equal ground, as partners, who watch each other’s backs, call each other out but still listen attentively and understand, and provide the support that the other has been sorely lacking up until they knew each other (whether that be from lack of effort or lack of understanding from others, or an unwillingness to accept it for themselves).

Then, trailing along under the surface of this, we see the themes of the show totally embodied by Zuko and Katara as individuals and in their relationship to one another. There’s a YouTuber, sneezyreviews, who has a, like, 2-hour explanation on why she not only loves zutara but also believes that their endgame would’ve actually elevated the writing of atla to new levels particularly because of thematic cohesion and resolved character arcs. It’s the zutara dissertation I never knew I needed, and it’s funny and eloquent and effective, so I’m just going to sum up her section on thematic cohesion to the best of my abilities and then link it for whenever you have the time. And I HIGHLY recommend it, especially if you want a full understanding of what makes zutara so great and gives it such longevity.

Guru pathik has a line that goes something like this: separation is an illusion; things that seem different are just two parts of the same whole. Iroh also tells Zuko something similar: balance and strength are achieved when the different nations come together and influence one another and celebrate what makes them each unique. And this lesson is a massive central arc that both Zuko and Katara go through, moving past a black-and-white, good guys-vs-bad guys, us-vs-them mentality and into a greyer, more nuanced view of the world. Zuko sees the fire nation from an entirely new perspective and while he still loves and hopes for his nations future, he surrenders his blind loyalty to them in exchange for an unflinching loyalty to peace and love. Katara too had to come to terms with the fact that cruel people exist in the earth kingdom and water tribes, while some fire nation citizens are just regular, kind people who also need and deserve to have someone speak on their behalf. And this is honed in directly on how they view each other. They grow in their individual journeys to be open to the humanity in the other and then, once they’ve found that, they’re able to grow more in compassion for others in a beautiful feedback loop. And this is all matched in the symbolism repeatedly and intentionally associated with them in canon: sun and moon, fire and water, yin and yang, Oma and Shu who found love despite their warring nations. Their individual arcs are completed in each other and complement the themes of atla beautifully.

The canon pairs... just don’t. Which, again, is fine. But the very things that give atla longevity and popularity are anchored in zutara. Kat@ang doesn’t accomplish this. They’re... nice. Sweet. Especially when you erase a good portion of their interactions in S3. It could’ve been just a sweet love story. (Personally, the dynamic between toph and aang accomplish the same thing that zutara does, with complementary personalities that fulfill the theme of opposites blending in harmony) M@iko, on the other hand, is less sweet but I think wasn’t even supposed to last. Zuko’s relationship with Mai seems to represent his relationship with his old life as a whole. He can’t be emotionally vulnerable, he’s goaded into abusing his privileges, his agency and opinions aren’t respected. They just don’t have common ground with which to discuss anything that matters, so they don’t. As far as themes, the relationship doesn’t fit with atla. It’s zuko returning to and sticking with what is (on the surface) like him, what’s expected. Fire nation with fire nation. Fluid water bender with the flexible air bender. Like with like, separated from what is different and challenging and complementary.

And all of these things combined of course lead to the potential for the ship. I don’t know how familiar you are with the post-atla canon but... well, miss “I will never turn my back on people who need me”, miss “I don’t want to heal! I want to fight!” ends up living quietly in the SWT as a designated healer who turns a blind eye to the water tribe civil war happening right outside her front door. Which can be fine! People change! Some people just wanna stay inside. I just wanna stay inside! But the potential future for zutara is so much more satisfying, with Katara becoming the most unconventional Fire Lady the uppity old cads who are stuck on the old ways have ever seen. Fanon has her serving as a voice for the other nations within a kingdom at the point of its biggest political upheaval, as a confidante to Zuko who can actually help him while he’s trying to figure out how to move forward and make reparations. They have the opportunity, together, to accomplish what they both have set on their hearts to fight for: positive change that lends itself to harmony and balance. And the steambabies! A popular headcanon is that their firstborn daughter, the crown princess, is actually a waterbender, which causes such an uproar among the people who are adamantly clinging to the old ways. It’s just a future full of potential to be forces for good together, full of trust, intimacy, joy. The exact era of peace and love and balance that zuko announces that he intends to ring in with the start of his reign as Fire Lord is, again, magnified by the very personal zutara relationship. And we love to see it.

tl;dr zutara isn’t for everyone. Some people just don’t vibe with it. Some are nostalgic. Some love the canon they grew up with. Some have been disappointed for years. Some just see themselves in other characters and want their happiness instead. Whatever the reason, that’s fine. But for me, I love the way these two, from the moment they give each other a fair chance, are able to lower their walls and prejudices to see the other for the kindred spirits they are. They see each other’s humanity, and their response is to pour out love and support and compassion. I love that they’re a power couple in battle. I love the symbolism and, honestly, soulmatism that colors their every interaction. I love that they embody the whole storyline of atla in their relationship and how it develops, which is notably why their seasonal arcs always culminate in each finale with how they relate to one another. I love that zuko adopting a waterbending move is what actually saves his life and then katara’s. I love the chemistry! And I love the future they could’ve had, instead of the ones they were given.

So, in conclusion: I just think they’re neat and I hope you do too, at least a little bit. Even if it’s just respectfully from a disinterested distance cause you do you. And now here is the video I mentioned. I’m sorry this post got so long and then I gave you an even longer homework assignment, but I can’t recommend it enough. She says it all better than I can.

youtube

#zutara #atla #zutara rant #like really the way the canon relationships were written throughout s3 #it would’ve been more believable for zutara to happen #or at least be hinted at #all of the major issues presented in those relationship were dug up extensively and then... never resolved #and then they just slapped some kisses on a screen and said ‘there all better’#and we just kinda had to say ‘oh ok guess it’s all better then’#this got long I’m sorry #I wrote it all out and then tumblr ate 2/3 of it #which is why it took so long #and what I’ve written now doesn’t even match what I had before #because there’s too much to say about why I love zutara #and the stuff I left out the first time is what came out this time #rip to my original thoughts but this post is different #anyway that’s why this took so long #and I should’ve just made a PowerPoint...#I can do that too if you’d rather not read all of this lol #I won’t be offended #this is incoherent #Alia rambles uselessly #also hoping this doesn’t end up in any wrong tags because I don’t wanna step on toes lol #it’s not anti!! it’s just critical #in a compare/contrast way #I can pinpoint the moment when I started trying to rewrite my points from memory #because everything gets shorter and more succinct #like... I really said all that??? sounds fake and I don’t remember it anyway so here’s the condensed version #with no!! smooth!!! transitions!!!!#also why am I so lazy with proper grammar over text

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fallenflowersfromgrace · 2 years

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Are you ever going to continue your Split-Curse AU? I'm sorry if this sounds rude, but I loved it so much and would love to see where it goes next! Also I love your other stories too!

Hey, anon! And thank you so much!

So yes, I do plan to continue that au. HOWEVER, I am currently in the process of rewriting it.

I'll explain more under the cut if you really want a whole word vomit as to why but basically I wanted to rewrite the original MMBM because I wrote it pre-season 2. I was in the process of writing the sequel when a lot of revelations came to light and I wanted to include it into my fic. And by including the knowledge of season 2 into this rewrite, the 2nd part of the series is also being reworked to fit in what I plan for the 1st part.

So yes, I am going to continue it, I just need to rewrite it first if that makes any sense at all. I'm just holding off for right now until I have the information I need.

So why am I rewriting?

For one thing, all the things I messed up on. The original MMBM had Lily stressed out 24/7. Canon noted that stress makes the curse worse.

So with that in mind I had to find a different way to write Lilith this second time around.

And then there was the introduction of Raine.

Raine is a character noted to have a past with Eda. A very colorful past. And when I wrote the original, Raine didn't exist to my knowledge.

So I want to add them in because they give me a whole different element to add and their introduction would change a lot in this rewrite.

And of course, Gwendolyn and Dell.

Let me tell you, Knocking on Hooty's door was like being hit by a bus.

Because once again, Gwen was another character I didn't know I needed until she appeared. She offers a lot in this au, either potential conflict or a bridge for Lily and Eda and not exactly in a good way.

And then Dell too offers another element to this story.

Plus something else I got wrong was how old King was lol.

But on top of that, I think I can write Eda and Lily better than I had. These season 2 characters will influence a lot in the way I write them.

For example, Lilith was always overlooked by her mom. Lilith being cursed and seeing her mom fawn over Eda is an eye opener for her and I won't say how.

The original version had Eda dealing with everything alone. The rewrite has Raine, which means Eda doesn't exactly have an option to be as alone as I originally made her.

Plus Gwen is going to influence a lot of this story without meaning to. I originally had no idea what the Clawthorne parents were like but now that I've seen more of them, I know how to write them. But as I was saying, Gwen is going to have a lot of indirect influence.

Canon had only Eda cursed and Gwen made her feel like she was just a problem to fix. The au has both sisters cursed but Gwen is still freaking out over Eda. But instead of it following canon, Eda does have a shadow of support from Lilith who knows exactly what she's going through. Lilith is the only thing that anchors Eda to the belief that there is nothing wrong with her. "Something is different now and that's okay, we'll learn to live with it," because it comes from Lilith, who understands.

Plus, all these new elements also change the relationship between the sisters. Because not only are they now both cursed and having to navigate it, they're both having a different experience than I originally gave them. Because Lily doesn't get to become stressed 24/7. She has to figure out how to manage her guilt and her desperate attempts to cure a curse. Eda can't be angry for most of the fic cuz there's other elements at play that are going to change how she feels about things, (ex: attacking Dell) her anger can easily go from that to fear.

I'm just so excited about this rewrite.

Anyways, if you got this far, thanks!

#asks #my asks #anon asks #split-curse au

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yayninjabob · 4 years

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Author Commentary

Ramblings from Yay Ninja Bob about her monstrous creation~

Besides working on my fic, I personally try to journal every day, and I realized that a lot of my journaling has become me pretty much rambling about the process of writing this damn fic lol. So I thought I'd share some of that for those who may want to know more behind my chapters from my author's perspective.

It's certainly not everything I can say, but it is a lot haha..

Chapter 1 - Thirteen

Behind the title:

Well, when I first began writing VillainR, I hadn't planned on having chapter titles at all. Mainly because coming up with chapter titles (or titles for stories in general) has always been something I struggle with personally. Anywho after I decided I wanted to challenge myself with chapter titles, I went back and named chapter 1 "Thirteen." Why? Well, it is the PpG's thirteenth birthday, of course there is that. VillainR as a whole is many things, but one major thing is it is a coming of age story for Buttercup/Joey/Jojo, as well as a story of self-discovery. There's a few important ages I wanted to cover and 13 is around the age where many kids start to "develop" and being a super-powered kid, Buttercup finally begins to develop her own "special power" at this age. I wanted this "growing pain" to be the catalyst for the events of Part One. So, I gave the chapter the title of "Thirteen" to try to highlight the significance of that age for Buttercup. The self-discovery made at this age is that special power (although they are unaware of it at this point). It's considered an unlucky number, and as it turns out, it is an unlucky year for our main character.

During the writing process:

First draft was written on Halloween night 2019 and pretty much all of it was completely scrapped haha.

I started writing it in first person, like the original Villain, in Buttercup's POV. I kept the events but approached it again in third person and liked it so much better that way. One major thing I wanted to improve on with the rewrite was character development which is pretty hard to achieve when writing in a limited POV of a character who eventually loses sight of much around them. I debated briefly on maybe doing alternating POVs between Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup, but then I felt like it would still exclude a lot for other major characters like Mojo and Princess. I could add them too but I thought alternating too many POVs would be overwhelmingly difficult (for me as the author for sure but I imagine for the reader too) Third person seemed to be the best way to handle everything and really my only challenge with that was tweaking the whole "unreliable narrator" trope which I will be honest is my favorite trope ever. It is a challenge to try to recreate the same effect in third person, but I decided that a close third person was the best way to 1) tell a broader story and 2) still set limits on the reader's perspective, and control when and how I drop information and attempt to recreate a similar experience in an entirely new way I've never tried before heh. (I guess I will spend more time on this on my notes for Chapter 6)

Second draft I scribbled out in another few days with this new approach. It began at the start of the carnival and ended where it ends. Simultaneously I was reworking my overall outline for the fic and began to narrow down all the characters I wanted to be my key players for this epic. Once my outline was expanded to include everyone, I added the scene with Mojo and Him. For me, that's when I was like "Ayyy it's all coming together 👍👍" haha.

Another thing I wanted to improve on was setting and world-building. So final draft I decided to include some "history" behind Townsville and that's when I worked out the final draft.

This chapter definitely had the most trial and error during the writing process than any other chapter other than 5 so far.

Inspirations:

Townsville world-building/history - much of it is inspired by the city I grew up in (for the most part) which is Los Angeles. I mean it has all the sort of settings we've seen in the show which are all pretty diverse right? Townville had to have a diverse cityscape ranging from a busy downtown setting to quite suburbs to upperclass mansions, beaches, an island, forests, etc. Well I knew LA had all that and so I tried to re-imagine Townsville as basically an alternate universe LA lol. Monster Isle, I based on research I did on Catalina Island. I imagined the Utonium household was in a middle class neighborhood like Pasadena- close to the heart of LA but still a relatively "calmer" part of the city. Morbucks Manor would be in the Hills like Beverly Hills. Downtown was the heart of the city like Downtown LA. I debated briefly whether or not to have the Gangreen Gang be from an area modeled after South Central or East LA, but eventually I went with East LA because TBH I am just more familiar with it since that's where my mom's side is from and where I grew up early on in life. PLUS East LA actually has a pretty big punk scene so that fit the story too with Ace being in a punk band and all that.

1998 PpG Show References:

"Oh my gosh they have giant Bunny-Bunny's at the prize tent!"

(Super Zeroes)

Pop Culture References:

(OK most of my pop culture refs are just punk references lets be honest lol. Why Punk?? - because it is rebellion and rebellion is the heart of this fic)

The Clash - OK in original Villain I established that this was Buttercup's favorite band so I HAD to have that back for the redux. Here's all the refs I crammed into chapter 1 lol:

"Oh, Man! It's so hard to choose, like, I love literally everything by them. But I gotta say it's a tie probably between their first album and London Calling."

"Hell yeah. Jimmy Jazz is my jam."

youtube

"You know, my band does a cover of White Riot," Ace continued to talk music with the teenager as he lit his cigarette and took a deep drag. He held the smoke in his lungs as he continued, "Only we call our version Green Riot."

youtube

Blondie:

The one artist Buttercup had introduced Robin to that she instantly obsessed over was Blondie.

(Some) Symbolism:

- Blossom is 5'9" and Buttercup is 5'8" - Buttercup is always falling one step behind Blossom.

- Bumper Car scene - has some foreshadowing and well...

Blossom sat behind the wheel of a red bumper car at the opposite end of the metal floored rink. Buttercup crossed her arms in protest, "No way. I'm driving." she demanded.

Blossom also crossed her arms from where she sat behind the metal wheel. "So you can just rampage and crash into everybody here? No way." She fastened her seat belt with a quick snap and placed her hands firmly on the steering wheel again.

"Ugh. That's the whole point of bumper cars! It's to bump the other cars! You're supposed to try and bump everyone before the times up!"

"You always take it too far, Buttercup. I'm driving, so get in." The redhead grasped the steering wheel in her hands firmly, and refused to move.

And...

"You drive like an old lady," Buttercup shook her head in disbelief as her sister managed to avoid yet another collision.

"Well, that's your opinion," she shrugged off the insult, "Personally, I think it takes just as much skill to avoid every single car in here, as it does to hit every single car," she smiled at her sister.

And finally a brief allusion to the OG Villain lol...

"Blossom!" Buttercup shouted louder so she could get her sister's attention. She pointed at the fast approaching purple car that zoomed towards them from their right side. Behind the wheel of that car was Bubbles who wore a rather determined look on her face as Robin cheered for her.

Blossom saw, but by then it was too late. Bubbles and Robin's car slammed into Buttercup and Blossom's car at full force, spinning Buttercup and Blossom's car into the wall of the arena. The loud buzz which signified the end of the ride then sounded.

- the roller coaster is Buttercup's ideal carnival attraction; it's got the thrills, twists, turns, ups and downs. And makes Bubbles sick.

- the Ferris Wheel is Blossom's ideal carnival attraction; it's a staple of any fair, grand and big, overlooks everything, and traditionally romantic

YNB's favorite scene:

Personally, I loved writing the whole exchange between Buttercup and Blossom in the car. Establishing their rivalry, Buttercup's jealousy over Blossom's special power and heroism, Blossom's projection of her own insecurities, their differences, and their commonality.

Final thoughts on the chapter:

I was pretty satisfied with how it turned out but I did wait to post it until I had a decent headstart on chapter 2. I was pretty nervous about whether or not I could stay personally committed to writing this fic so I just wanted to make sure I was really feeling it first, lol. It had been so long since I'd written fanfic so I just needed to be sure.

When I outlined everything I estimated the chapter length to be around 6-7k words... And I was surprised that it was double that at about 12k. Which was wild because on my outline each opening chapter for Part 1, 2 and 3 were supposed to be shorter and more like preludes to everything else. Well, I guess they ARE shorter chapters but STILL definitely longer than any chapter I used to write for my multichaptered stories. At the time I thought "Ok obviously my writing has changed but surely I wont go much longer than 12k for future chapters...." Hurr hurr.

Personally, I was pretty proud of myself for spending so much time on it and rewriting it over and over and all that. In the past, TBH whatever was my first draft was pretty much also my last draft haha. I cranked out a chapter in one sitting usually and edited it mayyyybeee lol. I just wanted to get it posted so I could move on and get to that next point in the story. But I suppose now that I'm older and a bit more self aware, I realize a lot of my own anxieties manifest a lot in my writing though and I can recognize it in my old works like the OG Villain where I JUST WANNA GET TO WHAT I WANT TO WRITE RIGHT NOW OK?? I forced myself to slow the hell down this time, take it one scene at a time, and when things felt off I took breaks, slept on it for a few days and came back with new approaches or ideas. And so far that's how I continue to work on it.

Also, CHVRCHES. I listened to a ton of that band while working on this chapter especially.

#villainr #ppg fanfic #yayninjabob #behindthescenes #writing process #chapter 1 #let me know if you guys like this kinda stuff and I'll continue for the other chapters #commentary #author stuff

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kusunokihime-a · 7 years

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*cracks knuckles* all right beech trees this is some ramblings for @littlelilypetal about my twins because she made the mistake of asking for it lmao

Also small disclaimer for anyone else who pops in here curious: this is a verse I wrote with two friends LONG before I joined Tumblr. It was written over literally hundreds of pages (I have the threads saved don’t try me boi), and it’s very dear to me. It’s nothing that has to happen here, but it’s still a thing and any whining about OC x Canon pairings will be met with fingers in my ears going lalala can’t hear you.

OKAY? Okay. Cool beans :3

First off, a quick summary of this verse’s story before the twins are even a thing so we have groundwork.

Ryū is adopted by Manami when she's four, after Manami's ANBU squad is sent to clean up the wreckage of Kusunokizan and make sure nothing fell into enemy Iwa hands. Manami is Mikoto's elder sister, and was married to Kagami's son – making her Shisui's mother. Shisui and Itachi are first cousins in this (since I started writing it literally like...five years before the manga ended and we had almost ANY Uchiha info, including ANYTHING about Izumi).

Ryū, therefore, is taken into the clan when Manami decides to retire and adopt her, though not without some...friction. It takes her a while to settle in, but she ends up really close with Shisui as her brother figure, which means lots of time with HIS friend, Itachi. She ends up crushing on him, but Itachi being, well...Itachi, he's not too keen on it at first. But she's there just under a year, including when Sasuke is born.

Now, with Manami being Mikoto's sister, and Mikoto being good friends with Kushina, Manami is asked to come out of retirement for a night to help with the guard while she has Naruto. Which, as we know, means Manami is killed, as Obito kills all of the ANBU guards outside. Shisui is then orphaned, as is Ryū (again), but due to the suspicions of the Uchiha, the village refuses to let the Uchiha keep her. Shisui is adopted by his aunt and uncle, and Ryū is shuffled into village quarters, just like Naruto.

Despite this, Ryū still does her best to stay close to the three Uchiha boys (Shisui, Itachi and Sasuke) as they get older. Rather than attend the Academy, Ryū goes straight into medical training in the hospital. She can't bring herself to be a shinobi after her mother's murder, so she becomes a medic like her mother instead. The four drift apart some as they each settle into their training...and it only gets worse as the coup starts up.

Shisui and Itachi both agree to keep her and Sasuke out of it. Ryū, of course, only gets worried as things seem to change between them. When Shisui dies, she has a huge breakdown, running and hiding only to be found by a young Hinata of all people. That introduces them, and her kindness is something Ryū remembers for years to come.

As Itachi gets into deeper and deeper trouble, he realizes what he's going to have to do, and starts manipulating her. He does have some feelings for her, but assumes she hates him because he's a shinobi: something she's always been afraid of since her mother's murder. So he purposefully kept away from her as they grew up. But knowing that he'll have to take out the clan and leave Sasuke alone, he begins grooming her to take on the role of Sasuke's guardian.

So when the massacre happens, Ryū immediately steps up and struggles against the council to have a hand in Sasuke's care. She's already in village custody, as he's set to be, and ends up being his primary caretaker as he grows up, doing her best to get him through his traumas and keep him from a path of revenge.

During that time, she ends up involved with a few events from the canon timeline, including seeing Itachi when he comes to collect Naruto, which drags up old memories and guilty feelings.

But, of course, there's no stopping Sasuke in the end. She lets him go, knowing she can't control him. Losing him leaves her in a lurch and depression, and she decides to go back to her home ruins to try to learn more about where she came from. THAT'S when she discovers the sage that lived in her valley, Suigin. After getting permission, she stays in the valley during the Shippuden timeskip, learning more advanced medical ninjutsu, as well as a sage state and her barriers...as well as one high-level technique for reviving souls.

From there, she's pretty involved in several arcs of Shippuden, up until the search of Hidan and Kakuzu (she's in the hospital awaiting injuries from the squads send out to fight them). This is just after the latest jinchūriki sealing. In the lull after the sealing, knowing that events are beginning to speed up, Itachi slinks away to see her. At first she's angry, confronting him about all he's done. But, in exchange for keeping Sasuke safe while she could, Itachi entrusts the truth behind his actions to her. (This might seem OOC for him, but she raised his brother – the most important person to him – for like...six years. He thinks she deserves to know the why behind it all, especially since he's setting himself up to die soon – it's his way of repaying his debt to her). Things get really emotional, and – knowing he won't live much longer – Ryū ends up sleeping with him, DUNDUNDUN.

A while after that, Sasuke 'kills' Orochimaru, and the team's set up to go after him. Ryū, being stubborn, insists she goes along. By this time, she's realized she's pregnant, and she wants to try to slip away and find Itachi to tell him before he dies.

She's too late, though, and gets there not long after the battle's over. Obito shows up and moves to kill her, but stops when he recognizes Itachi's chakra in the fetus. He lets her go, planning to use her to manipulate Sasuke later.

So she goes on, having to keep this HUGE secret from everyone, including where the baby's from. Eventually she goes with Naruto and co. to the Land of Iron to try to talk to A, as she's pretty heavily invested in trying to recall the death order on Sasuke. When Obito confronts the group, he ends up stealing her away as a 'gift' for Sasuke, after he kills Danzō. But Konoha interrupts, and she's taken back to the village...only AFTER Sasuke's Sharingan confirms that there's not one chakra signature, but two. SHE'S HAVING TWINS.

After having them on May first, Ryū later insists on joining the medical corp for the war, not wanting to sit idle. Tsunade, after trying to talk her out of it, instead assigns her as the medic for the group hiding Naruto.

When Naruto escapes, Ryū goes with him, only to later encounter Edo Tensei Itachi. After the battle, she insists on talking to him, telling him all about the twins. Clearly torn, Itachi lets her go with him to stop Kabuto, where they then run into Sasuke. Mostly in the background of the fight, she eventually gets Itachi's permission to take back his soul, but only when the time is right.

The war later ends, everyone goes home, and Ryū...insists about Sasuke getting a new arm (because there's no way she's letting him NOT have an arm). She also helps take part in the clearing of Obito's old lab alongside him to put Itachi's body to rest...but not before she slips a sample of it into a vial.

After Sasuke leaves, she begins obsessively rebuilding a new body for Itachi from the scrapped cells. It takes her months and nearly kills her, but she manages it. (Her soul technique is affected by how long the person has been dead. If it's been too long, she can't 'reach' them, and he'd be lost forever). BUT, she manages, and also then works with him and Sasuke to clear up the whole massacre deal, which is the whole third arc and I won't go there.

SO NOW THAT THAT'S OUT OF THE WAY, twins time xD

Ryū names them after Itachi's parents, Mikoto and Fugaku. Mikoto's got dark, wavy hair, and grey eyes. Fugaku's got wild white hair and black eyes, and later the Sharingan. Mikoto's aggressive and cocky, while her twin is meek and submissive. Things are awkward enough between them until Fu awakens his dōjutsu. Immediately jealous, as she believes her own nature is much more suited to wielding it, Mikoto becomes more and more aggressive toward him over time.

Fugaku, on the other hand, isn't even sure he WANTS to be a shinobi (which makes her think it's an even bigger waste). This leads him to lack confidence, and only go along with it because he ends up on his sister's team alongside Sarutobi Mirai.

Things only get worse as they get older, up until the chūnin exams.

Mikoto is determined to become an ANBU like her father, so she drags Fu into the exams, as she can't do them alone. The first task goes okay, while the second is...shaky. But by the third, tensions are mounting between the two of them. And when the finals come up, and the twins names are given as combatants, Mikoto finally snaps and screams at Fugaku how much she hates him, and about her jealousy. The sadness and grief Fugaku feels as their bond severs ends up being enough to awaken his Mangekyō (I mean they're TWINS ffs, and he really does care about her, like a lot). They proceed to have a nasty fight, with Mikoto using barriers like her mother, only offensively, trying to crush him. Fugaku, who uses swords and katon, is too fast for her. But she ends up blasting him up into the air, ready to catch and crush him...only to realize she can't bring herself to do it. So instead she catches him, which ends up giving her a concussion and broken ribs from the force.

After the exams are over, Itachi and Ryū agree that they BOTH need some help. Mikoto has to work on her anger and her jealousy, while Fugaku needs to build confidence and certainty about what he wants in life. So, Ryū takes Mikoto and Reika to Kusunokizan for a while, and Itachi takes Fugaku just out and about to see more about how shinobi make a difference in the world.

Both end up growing a lot and reaching ANBU rank. Mikoto mostly uses it as a way to vent her aggression, but Fu is SUPER protective, so he uses it to do good :3

...and that's a rEALLY barebones telling of it, but that's what I meant x''D AREN'T YOU GLAD YOU ASKED? I'm not even to this part in her fic yet – this was RPed YEARS ago with a friend. I'm only really to when the twins are about a year old. And that's still over 600 pages worth of fic, wHOOPS.

...can you tell I've put too much effort into this? lolol

#sylvie speaketh [ ooc ]#littlelilypetal #here's your essay #tbh i could have said a lot more #because yeah #like seven years of fic and planning #300.000 words #and it's only like 2/3 done #plus i'm rewriting it because the first parts are old and i need to add things #so yeah #you got off light tbh xd #i have the first...three chapters? up on a sideblog #but i haven't touched it in ages otl #character essay

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