#if you have neocities my name's the same so feel free to try and find it lmao

[duskgryphon]

btw. i’ve been setting up a funny little neocities site finally :]

[ink-flavored]

Introduction

BTS Series: ⬅ Table of Contents - Reworking Pride ➡ Also available on Neocities! P&J Taglist (Check out my Google form to get added): @elegant-paper-collection @auroblaze @zeenimf @vacantgodling @foxys-fantasy-tales Banner art by @auroblaze

Those of you who have followed me from the beginning of my fanfiction career will know that I’ve always loved writing Alternate Universe or “AU” fics. Taking characters we all know and love and plopping them into completely different settings and scenarios has always been more fulfilling to me as a writer than sticking within the confines of canon. That’s why something like the AU-gust 2022 Challenge was so much fun for me to do—it’s already something I’m familiar with and enjoy.

However, the big downside of AUs is that it’s much easier to lose focus of the characters the story is supposed to be about and end up writing original characters that happen to look the same. I’m plenty guilty of this. Though I always appreciate my readers telling me how strong my characterizations are, when it came to Pride & Justice, the fic I wrote for Day 9 of AU-gust ’22, I really felt myself deviating. The piece was short, written in a single day, and within the constraints of the Angels & Demons prompt, so it didn’t bother me too much. What did end up bothering me was how much the idea stuck in my head, shouting for my attention weeks after I’d written and posted it. When concepts linger around for that long, I know I can’t just abandon them to rot.

The thing is, I knew right away I didn’t want to make it a full-fledged multi-chapter fanfiction. To quote my own AO3 author’s note, the characters I wrote were “OCs in blorbo meatsuits.” Trying to turn something like this into a fanfiction would feel disingenuous—it’s not what my fanfiction audience is here to see, and it’s not fair to my creative drive that clearly wanted to write something original, but would be constrained by the flimsy barrier of fandom that I forced it to uphold. Really, I don’t think it would have held up as a fanfiction. I decided to take a different route, and begin the process of turning it into an original idea for a novel.

A lot of people disparage fanfiction writers turning their ideas into original works, and I think the reasons for outcry are often misguided. Yes, “filing the serial numbers off,” the most common method for publishing a fanfiction as an original work, consists of doing very little outside of changing the names of the characters and some light editing to make sure the plot stays the same. Yes, fanfiction and genre writing are different mediums with different rules. While fanfiction can be structured the exact same way as an original manuscript, it’s very rare. But fanfiction is a genuine artform, a medium for telling a story. Just as a book can be adapted for screen, or a movie can be adapted for the stage, a fanfiction can be adapted for an original work. You just have to treat it like what it is: an adaptation.

I thought I would document my process here, give you a behind-the-scenes tour, of how I’m turning Pride & Justice: the fanfiction into Pride & Justice: the novel. You may have already seen hints of this on my Tumblr, but I’m going to go much deeper than moodboards and backstories here.

You can find every entry in the behind-the-scenes series documented on Ko-Fi for a $6 donation, for free on Neocities, or here on Tumblr!

[a-bts-world]

Chapter I

Mariposa was at her dorm when Jaemin called her. Four days ago he told her about his life and what he does for a living, they haven’t talked since. Which is pretty rare, because normally they talk to each other every day. So it has been pretty hard on Mariposa, together with an exam coming up next week she has been getting way to little sleep and getting more stressed every day.  So when Jaemin calls her, she is excited to talk to him again. Almost forgetting what happened a few days back. ‘Hey!’ she answers with a smile on her face, getting ready to leave the dorm to go to her morning class.

‘Hello, how are you? Are you on your way to class?’ Jaemin asks her through the phone. Mariposa tells him she is indeed getting ready to leave. ‘Well I have something to ask before you leave. You know about what I told you four days ago? I don’t know the answers to everything I asked you. However, that doesn’t matter because the other girls want to get to know you better and they have some kind of stupid group meeting they want you to join. So what I am asking is, if you are willing to meet my brothers and their girlfriends after class?’ Jaemin rambles on without pausing, which ends up in him being completely out of breath for a minute. Which gives Mariposa time to think about his question.

‘Well, I guess meeting them isn’t that bad. I mean you always spoke very highly about them, so it can’t be horrible. However, this doesn’t mean that I know the answer to your question from before,’ Mariposa answers her boyfriend’s question. Four days ago he told her about his life, turns out he is part of the a mafia group called Neocity or NCT for short. He also asked her a few questions regarding their relationship. Four days ago Marisposa could only answer one of those questions, but now she can answer a few more, but still not all of them.

‘So now that you know what I do, do you still want to be my girlfriend?’ Jaemin asks looking at the floor, after telling his story. This was the one question Mariposa knew she could answer, so she did. She gave Jaemin a kiss on his cheek and then nodded. He was always so attentive to her, asking her opinion on all most everything. It seems weird that Jaemin of all people is part of the mafia. ‘I also have a few other questions regarding all this. Like how much do you want to be involved? Do you wanne move into the base or do you want to stay at your own dorm? What about self-defense, do you know anything about that? Are you aware of all the risks this bring along? Is there anything else you want to know about this all?’

Mariposa couldn’t answer all of his questions. ‘I don’t know the answer of any of this yet. Can I get some time to let it all sink in and answer you after a while? There is one thing I do know for sure and that is that I like you very much Jaemin. So I still want you to be my boyfriend.’ She tries to ease Jaemin his mind. While at the same time, her mind is running hundred miles an hour trying to process everything.

‘I understand, no problem. I am happy you are even willing to meet everyone. Thank you so much Mari, see you in class!’ Jaemin happily answers her and then hangs up the phone. On the other side of Seoul Mariposa crosses the street and arrives at campus. There are about ten minutes left before class, so Mariposa decides to get a coffee before heading to class. In line for coffee she sees her friends, Serenity and Precious.

‘Hey Mari! You are on time for once. Do you want a coffee as well, I am paying?’ Serenity questions her as she saw Mariposa first. Precious just waves and then makes a gesture to Mariposa to get closer.

‘A coffee sounds like a great idea Ser, thanks for paying. You are the best,’ Mariposa answers and hugs her friends as a greeting. After hugging it is time to order. So the three girls order their own drink and then Serenity pays for the drinks. After paying there are only 3 minutes left before class, so the girls need to hurry to be on time. Luckily the lecture hall isn’t far away, so they arrive just in time. Out of breath the three of them sit down somewhere in the middle of the room. Then the teacher comes into the room and closes the door, a sign that the lecture has started. After two hours the door opens again and the girls are able to leave for another drink and a little snack.

When Mariposa leaves the lecture hall she is greeted by Jaemin holding a drink and a plastic bag with lunch. ‘Hey Mari, do maybe want to join me for lunch?’ Jaemin asks his girlfriend with a smile on his face. Mariposa nods and waves goodbye to her friends. The moment Mariposa nods her head Jaemin’s smile gets even bigger if that is possible. He hands her the drink and grabs her other hand with his now free hand. They walk towards the courtyard while holding hands and catching up with each other. It almost feels like the conversation from four days ago didn’t happen. Which makes Jaemin hopeful, maybe she indeed doesn’t care about what he does.

‘So who am I going to meet after class?’ Mariposa curiously asks Jaemin as they sit down on a bench. Before Jaemin answers he places the plastic bag with the lunch in between them on the bench. He gets the two lunch packages and hands one to Mariposa.

‘Well, since you are coming after class you will meet most of the older boys who don’t have university or college to attend, but just before dinner you will have met all my brothers. And during dinner you will meet all the important girls in the house. However, I got to warn you. Today is girls dinner or something stupid, so we aren’t allowed to eat dinner with you all. They want you to join them for girls dinner, but you aren’t obliged to. If you don’t want to, you can just eat dinner with me.’ Jaemin explains while Mariposa quietly eats her food listening to the information that is being told.

‘Okay, but can I get to know more about what you do and how everything works?’ Mariposa asks before she realizes and quickly places her hand over her mouth. ‘I wasn’t planning on asking that, it just happened,’ she apologizes.

Jaemin just shakes his head with a smile on his face. She has always been someone who acted before she thought about the consequences. ‘I will tell you everything you want to know, the moment we enter the house. However, for somethings I need to know the answer to a few of the questions I asked four days ago. But if you don’t know the answer yet, I will wait. I will tell you everything I can.’

‘Thanks Jae,’ Mariposa answers with her mouthful of food. Jaemin laughs at her cheeks who look like they are going to burst open. Then he notices a bit of the food left on her lips, so his hand moves towards Mariposa her lips and he brushes off the food.

‘Hi lovebirds! it’s time to go to class,’ Serenity shouts to the two as she walks towards them.

Class just ended and Jaemin and Mariposa are leaving. When they arrive at the parking lot a car honks at them and Jaemin waves towards the car, then almost skipping to it instead of walking. He is very excited for Mariposa to meet his family, even though she doesn’t seem to appreciate his job. ‘Hey Jeamin! How are you?’ the man behind the steering wheel asks while ruffling through Jaemin’s hair.

‘I am good, Mari decide to join us tonight. Which I am grateful for,’ Jaemin answers the question and then looks at Mariposa who watches the scene unfold from a distance. Jaemin walks over to her and grabs her hand. ‘I know it is scary to meet them, but Kun is driving and he is our medic, meaning he doesn’t hurt people. So will you please get in the car with me?’ Jaemin asks her, he sees her doubt so he decided to add his puppy eyes into the game and that is all what is needed to win Mariposa over. So she slightly nods and Jaemin grabs her hand pulling her towards the car. ‘Kun, this is Mariposa. Mari, this is Kun. Now can we get the others please?’ Jaemin asks while getting inside the car with Mariposa shyly sitting down next to him.

‘Hey Mariposa, I am Kun, how are you? How was class?’ Kun asks trying to put the girl at ease. However, Mariposa doesn’t answer, Jaemin does.

‘Class was so boring, I knew everything already.’

‘Really Jaemin? Well did you learn something new Mariposa, or was it boring for you aswell?’ Kun then again asks her a question trying to put her at ease. Kun drives away when he notices Jaemin wants to answer for her again. After driving for half an hour, picking up 2 other boys. The five of them are back at what Jaemin calls home. The moment Kun takes the keys out of the car, the other two boys run inside. ‘Please know that if you ever need something you can always come to me,’ Kun tells Mariposa seriously and then looks at Jaemin. ‘I will tell Taeyong about this, but you have to face Mark yourself.’ Is all he says before he leaves.

‘Okay, so just to prepare you I think around 11 of my brothers are home right now, however at the end of the day we will be with 22. So if you don’t want to do this, we can still go back,’ Jaemin tells her and tucks a piece of hair behind her ear. Mariposa just answers that she wants to do this, hoping she will get answers to the questions. ‘Okay, then let’s go inside.’ Jaemin says and opens the car door and walks towards the front door. When he opens the front door another man is waiting on the other side, not looking all to happy.

‘Jaemin.’

‘Mark! I know, I am sorry. Please just let me explain,’ Jaemin pleads as he hopes that he won’t be punished for bringing in someone unannounced. Mark only shakes his head and walks up the big staircase to your right. ‘okay baby, I have to go. You can find Kun in the kitchen, he will explain everything to you,’ Jaemin then tells Mariposa, kisses her forehead and the sprints away, following the other man named Mark. However, what he forgot to tell Mariposa, was where the kitchen exactly was.

So Mariposa walked further into the big hallway, expecting the kitchen to be on the first floor she doesn’t walk up the big staircase. On her left an archway leads to something that looks like the living room, but is occupied with four big sofas. Mariposa notices that it isn’t the kitchen, so she continues her way to the back of the house. There are two doors to her right, both of them have a name on them so once again probably not the kitchen. As Mariposa reaches the end of the hallway there is another door on her left. With nothing on it, she doesn’t know what it is so she opens it. She found the kitchen, but she didn’t find Kun, she found two other man.

‘hello?’ the man with brown hair asked. While the other man with black hair looked at her with question.

‘Hey, I am looking for Kun? Jae said he would be in the kitchen,’ Mariposa shyly explained and the man with black hair nodded his head, like he now understanded the question. However the brown haired man didn’t, he asked Mariposa which Jae told her that. ‘You have multiple people named Jaemin?’ she asked in disbelieve and both men started laughing.

‘no honey, we have a Jaehyun and a Jaemin, so we didn’t understand who you were. But we know now, I am Johnny and this is Doyoung. Kun however is still in Taeyong’s office. So why were you looking for him?’ the man with brown hair that introduced himself as Johnny answered, while the other man, Doyoung was still laughing.

‘Kun was supposed to tell me everything about what is going on. Well, actually Jaemin was supposed to but he followed some boy named Mark,’ Mariposa answered the question and Johnny suddenly pushed his elbow into Doyoung’s side.

‘dude this is serious,’ he then said to Doyoung and looked back at Mariposa. ‘Okay, Well I don’t know what you already now. But I will answer all the questions you have,’ he told and pulled a chair back for Mariposa to sit on. ‘Do you want anything to drink before we start?’ He asks as he walks towards the kitchen counter, but Mariposa shakes her head. ‘Okay, I will start telling you everything from the beginning. Assuming you don’t know anything. If you have any question or you already know something please let me know,’ Johnny let’s her know while making a coffee. Mariposa only nods, being a bit intimidated by the tall man. Doyoung sits down on the other side of the table and looks at her reassuringly, trying to calm her down. ‘So we start with who we are. We are a mafia organization by the name of Neocity, but most people know us as NCT. We have different units working on different things. We will start with the Neos, we are the oldest members and we mostly handle the confrontation part about all of this. Then we have the Dreamies, those are our youngest, which Jaemin is a part of. They mostly handle stuff that can be done from a distance, not really coming in contact with the gruesome stuff. We also have Wayv, they handle the Chinese relations. And lastly we have the United unit, which is the unit that change according to mission. Taeyong, our leader picks the members that he thinks fit the job the most.’ Johnny tells Mariposa.

‘Do you have any questions already?’ Doyoung asks as Mariposa stays quiet for a bit.

‘I don’t think so. It is pretty clear what you told me. I’m just curious what does everyone do? Because Jaemin told me Kun was the medic, but that is all I know.’

‘Okay, so since we are with 23 in total, I think it’s best for you if you just learn what everyone does when you meet them. That way you can pair the name and function to a face. So we will start with me. I am Doyoung, I am part of the Neos and I am the gun specialist. Johnny is also part of the Neos, he is a hand to hand combat soldier and he trains any new members,’ Doyoung answers your question and gestures towards Johnny when he talks about him. ‘You have met Kun already, he is the leader of wayv and also the medic of our group. He also cooks most of the dinners, so if you need him look in the kitchen first. Then Jaemin, your boyfriend is part of the Dreamies. He is an undercover agent, like we said the dreamies don’t really do anything too illegal,’ Doyoung continued his story. After this, Johnny asked if she wanted to meet all the others, so they did and Mariposa met everyone who was at the house. Most of the dreamies weren’t home yet, but the Neos and the older Wayv boys were mostly at the base so she got to know around half of the members. After meeting everyone Doyoung and Mariposa went back to the living room there she found Jaemin.

‘Hey, how are you? Everything okay?’ Jaemin asked curiously, but mostly curious about Doyoung and what he was doing with you beside him.

‘I am good, I couldn’t find Kun so Doyoung and Johnny showed me around. It was fun getting to know all your brothers.’

‘Really? That is good to hear. Now do you want to go upstairs and rest a bit?’ Jaemin asked her. Mariposa wanted to argue, but she could feel how tired she was from all the new impressions, so she just nodded. Jaemin also noticed her tiredness and stood up from the couch, putting his arm over her shoulder and walking towards the staircase, so they can go to his room. Arriving at his room, Mariposa sits down on his bed and then falls back on the pillows. The moment she closes her eyes she falls asleep. After her little nap Mariposa is ready to meet the other boys and most definitely ready for dinner.

 ‘Hey, you are awake!’ Jaemin excitedly says as he notice his girlfriend waking up. ‘ready for dinner with the girls?’ He then asks pointing to the clock in his room.

‘I slept for so long? You were supposed to wake me up Jae,’ She mumbles disappointed. Jaemin then explains to her that the other boys didn’t mind that they haven’t met you yet. They understood it must have been pretty tiring for you. However they do hope to meet Mariposa later tonight. They are all very excited to welcome someone new. ‘Okay, then it is all good. I am ready to have dinner with the girls. However I have no idea how I can get back to the kitchen,’ Mariposa smiles at Jaemin while getting up and combing her fingers through her hair. With a quick look in the mirror she notices her make-up isn’t too messed up from sleeping. So she doesn’t feel the need to touch up her make-up.

‘I already thought about that, I am allowed to bring you to the kitchen, but after that I have to leave because it’s girls night as they say. So if you need me, you can text me,’ Jaemin explains and opens the door of his room. Mariposa stand up, adjusts her clothes and grabs his hand. They intertwine their fingers while Jaemin explains how the house is layed out and walk towards the kitchen. There is the ground level, there is the kitchen, living room, dining room, library and Taeyong and Taeil their rooms. Also the meeting room can be found on the ground level. First level is for the younger members, which means Lucas and everyone younger than him sleep on this level, that is also where Jaemin’s room is. The second level of the house is for the older members, so everyone above Yukhei, with exception of Kun he lives with his girlfriend most of the time. Mariposa tries to remember it all, but when they arrive in front of the kitchen door she knows that she didn’t remember anything. However, there is no time for that now. ‘Have fun, they are really nice,’ Jaemin encourages her and gives Mariposa a quick peck on the lips. ‘I love you Mari, see you in a bit.’

Mariposa nervously opens the door. ‘hi?’ she asks quietly while opening the door, not knowing who she will meet. Once she fully opened the door and let her eyes scan the room, she notices 5 girls in the room. 2 of them are making the dinner, while another one is getting a drink and the other two are sitting at the table, waiting for the food to be done. For a moment it looks like all five of the girls are frozen in time.

‘Hi! I am Sun,’ says one of the dark haired girls who is cooking dinner. ‘You must be Mariposa? How are you?’ Sun asks as she steers in the pan a bit more. Mariposa answers, telling her she is good only a bit nervous. ‘Oh! No problem, we were all nervous at first as well. Now let me introduce the other girls to you. This is Honey, she is Taeil’s wife,’ Sun explains while pointing towards the short girl who is the other half of the duo that was making dinner. ‘Daisy, Jaehyun’s best friend and Jewel, Ten’s girlfriend. And last but not least, Baby! Our best hacker and also Yangyang’s girlfriend.’ With every introduction Sun pointed towards one of the other girls in the room. Mariposa is mentally taking notes. Honey is the short one, Daisy is the darker skinned best friend and Baby is the girl looking the same age as Mariposa, but she has purple hair. Jewel is the taller girl, with an nose piercing and short hair. Sun is the older female with blonde hair.

‘Dinner is ready! Now let’s go eat,’ Honey screams excitedly and puts the pans on the table, while everyone takes a seat. It’s time to eat.

a/n: here we go! I’m so nervous posting this! hope you guys like it! please let me know how you feel about it. Hopefully I get my motivation and inspiration back by posting this. Please also note that I will try to post atleat once a week, but I am not sure if this is even possible, so please be patient.

taglist: @yutahoes @bvbyxuxi​