Afterword
Confronting the Faceless 💀 CompleteWell guys, that's all. It's been a crazy ride, and I never could have done it without you all and the amazing cast you gifted me with <3 This is a story idea I've had since I was a tiny tween reading the seventh novel for the very first time, and getting to see it finally brought to life (after several failed attempts on my own, I might add) is truly an indescribable feeling. I just hope you all have enjoyed reading as much as I've enjoyed writing <3
But because I've had ideas for it for so long, this story ended up posing some challenges I didn't have with H:aH, and haven't run into with UFF either. Since I had some solid story beats already planned in my head, there were some things that didn't happen, or had to happen very differently because I didn't have the characters to make certain things work. Luckily for me, there were also some things that ended up happening in the story that I never would have thought of myself, and I wouldn't change them for anything! So I thought to finish us out I'd give a quick rundown on the characters and how I worked with them, as well as how they ended up where they were at the end (and give a little update on those we only saw in 1998!)
Before we get into your characters, I figured I could give a quick overview on my own! So the Caldwell sisters were early creations of mine, and for the most part their stories followed the path I'd originally set out. One outlier in all this was Eloise, who fun fact was only created in case I didn't get a character who could serve as the third Leader of the Underground after Saundra's death. Once Claire was submitted, Eloise's role as a minor red herring for Rat was sealed, though another character majorly impacted how small her role actually ended up being. For Python, she was actually originally intended to be the Audrey Weasley of canon, and she and Percy would have been amicably divorced by the time of UFF - though obviously that isn't what happened, and I doubt anyone is complaining, least of all me!
Moving on to my very first submitted character, I'll be honest and admit I wasn't really sure what to do with Ava at the start. Here was a character who seemed like she'd do best in the DA, but due to her House she canonically couldn't join up. Luckily for me I had an entire year to work with her, and after about four months the idea of "a Slytherin who shouldn't have been Sorted into Slytherin" formed in my head, and from there Ava's character arc (slowly) took shape, ending in what you see in the final story. The number of alterations and adjustments made to her story was probably the most of any character submitted OTL But in the end, a character I was so frustrated with for so long ended up becoming one of my favorite arcs to write!
Venus Burke came in just after Ava, and I loved her from the start and knew precisely that her story was less about her own internal changes than about the external perception people would have of her. However, as Ava's story came together, Venus's began to shift into what you see in the story. It was a surprise even to me, but considering I didn't really mess with her story until actually planning CtF, it's not too surprising she caught me off guard a few times! As for Cadfael, well, they get their happily ever after together by the time of UFF ;)
After Venus, there weren't really any applications for a while (which did give me time to work on Ava!), so I was thrilled when Aiden Case appeared on the scene. Aiden was the first case of a character creating an entire element of the story that I really hadn't been planning on. If it wasn't for Aiden, the entire Floo-network related drama never would have been! Which is crazy considering how much of the plot centered around that precise point~ So everyone say thank you to Aiden for interconnecting pretty much every major player in the story! xD
Then came Lucas. Ah Lucas, you deserved so much better than what I gave you ;; Lucas's story was one that was actually very personal for me - a lot of his fears and feelings are ones I've experienced myself time and time again, though not quite at the level they were driven to for him since I've thankfully never been in a war ^^'' Every chapter I wrote for him was bittersweet, since I knew where everything was going to end up. But ultimately I think Lucas got a good story in, even if he didn't get the happy ending he more than deserved.
So up next is Kent, and I really can't talk about him without talking about his sister. Evera, for those of you who just joined us for this part of the story, was one of the supporting character in Hogwarts: a History, and Kent himself played a very minor role in that story. Evera - unlike characters like Laurel or ... okay, just Laurel actually, I was really nice to you guys - wasn't originally a planned death for this story. Then Lucas was submitted, and her impact on both Jemma and Kent instantly crystalized for me. Evera's death is probably the most plot-significant of them all honestly, though that doesn't mean I don't still feel bad about it ;; I also can mention here that Kent/Willow got changed a bit partway through the story when I actually realized how unhealthy the basis of their relationship was, hence the breakup after the Battle and not getting back together until they had both recovered! I considered cutting them entirely, but I'm biased and love them together so ^^''
Then we have Channer, the poor guy who got dragged into all this against his will. I loved the idea of a stubbornly neutral character, and Channer let me explore the lengths people will go to to close their eyes to things they don't want to deal with. Obviously things fell apart for him since his sister was so deeply ingrained into the fight, but if not for her Channer probably would have just coasted through, only to be hit at the end by his father's death. Channer also got to serve as a metaphor for the weight and consequences of guilt - lucky him! Full honesty though, when I worked out what exactly Channer's story arc was going to be I was psyched for it. It was one of the more complex ones to write, but I had fun!
Up next is everyone's favorite Deatheater Yurina Nakayashi xD What can I say about Yurina? I knew I wanted to build up fear and mystique around her and her motivations, hence her first POV being put off all the way to the end of March. Fun fact, if I hadn't decided to do UFF, Yurina's epilogue would have been very different, and involved Abeni and her team catching up and putting an end to her scheming before it could start. Hopefully UFF will justify keeping her around! And I'm not saying more on her since her story is far from over~
So for all the crap I put everyone else through in this story, I think I owe Farrah the biggest apology :( She never got the chance to recover after being literally locked up in a stone box for months. That said, I was so happy to get Farrah when she was first submitted - I knew almost immediately where she would be, and it was an angle I wasn't sure I'd get a chance to show. She didn't quite invent a plotline so much as unlock an optional one, and I really loved getting to try some experimental styles of writing for her mental breakdown chapters. That said, I refuse to leave her story without closure, so expect a cameo at some point in UFF ;)
Zara. Oh dear, sweet, awful Zara. Despite being one of the youngest characters, I think it's safe to say she was one of the most loathed, to a degree that actually surprised me. To be fair, she was definitely the most classically evil of the main DE trio - Yurina is the kind of evil you almost want to root for just to see what she pulls off next and Branwen is just fun to root against so you want to keep her around. Zara was just selfish, petty, and cruel, and I always knew her death was going to be cathartic. That said, I really loved writing for her and her twisted psyche, and in a way she's the most tragic character in the story - because of how she was raised she really never had a chance to be anything else, and because of her death in the battle she never got the chance to learn any different. She mirrors Theo in a lot of ways - she is what he could have been if he hadn't had support from Kent.
That's all getting a bit long though so let's take a look at Gabe! Who honestly was the easiest arc to create and often pretty easy to write? As a recent teen myself it wasn't too difficult to recall that very self-focused mindset teenagers often fall into, and then play with the dangers of that sort of mentality in a war situation. Gabe was especially perfect for this due to the fact he really is brilliantly clever, putting him in a position of power that fed his ego in dangerous ways. He's lucky no one died for it, honestly, but canon kept the students alive so he got lucky~ Also the Gabe/Nathan/Romilda friendship is probably my favorite in this part of the story, sorry not sorry xD Also I can add here that I did initially intend for Romilda and Gabe to end up together, but I just adore their platonic dynamic too much to change it so that ultimately got switched out~
Odette really got the short end of the stick among the Futives. I think she had literally one semi-optimistic chapter followed by months of solid misery. As with Farrah, she got to be the example of how bad things really got during the war :( I'd say her story really does embody the idea of "freedom, but at what cost?" and it's why I made sure to show she ultimately ends up okay. Trauma/your worst moments don't have to define someone, and Odette and her slowly crushed ideals and principles embody that.
What can I really say about Minki? He was hands down the most successfully neutral character in the story, barely participating in the DA and ducking out from the final battle, but never getting in trouble with the winning team for not clearly siding with them. He was an interesting character to work with since the way he thinks is very different from how I do, which actually is a big part of why he didn't show up until the halfway point of the story - I needed time even during planning to feel him out a bit more before committing to an arc for him. In the end I think him coming in late ended up adding to his story, so it all worked out in the end! Also, fun fact, both his daughters have names that mean "intellect" or "intelligent" ^^
Claire was honestly a godsend when I received her in the final run-up to the apply period's end. I needed an inside POV for the Underground and, well, you all know how long it took most of the UG POVs to join up xD If not for Claire, Eloise would have actually been used as a POV and would have taken up Claire's role in the Underground as one of the OG members and eventually one of the defacto leaders. As it was, I got to use her as a red herring for Rat instead ^^ ALSO, Claire is another member of the "invented whole new plotlines Dani got way too invested in" club with her side story involving her family xD
When Audrey was submitted, literally half my Underground planning got tossed out the window xD Originally, Percy's role in the group was supposed to be a secret throughout the story, something I hinted at but wasn't confirmed until the final battle. With Audrey in play that obviously was no longer an option - not if I wanted their relationship to be based in something healthy. And since she was requested to be the canonical Audrey Weasley who marries Percy in canon, I definitely wanted the relationship to be healthy, and that meant no secrets. I can't complain though - these two are sweet, and Audrey provided such an interesting perspective of the person doing good, but not for the most noble of reasons. And that's always a fun angle to explore.
Theodore Yaxley was... and interesting character to work with. He definitely had a clear, built-in arc, but I admit to having a hard time figuring out how to frame it at first in a way that both felt natural and tied into the rest of the story. It wasn't until his creator and I solidified the relationship between him and Kent that I had my starting point for his ultimate redemption (Evera's death was also solidified into the story around this time as well - up to that point I hadn't been fully sold on it yet). And once I began developing the parallels between him and Zara, the rest fell into place pretty quickly, resulting in what you see in the story.
Matangi was such a fun character for me to write, particularly once Xander entered the picture in her arc. It was super enjoyable to explore what a Slytherin on the run would look like, and Tangi never failed to give me fun action sequences and solid snarky banter to work with - for all I loved writing for everyone, I think finishing her final POV chapter was probably the most bittersweet for me, knowing I'd never be writing her teenaged POV again. I'm super glad she was finished in time to join the story - it really would have been a different tale without her.
And finally, the last minute submission that developed an entire new angle to the DEs that I never would have come up with on my own, our favorite infiltrator, one Branwen Avery. She was unexpected, but good lord am I glad I got her. Using her as a frame for the DEs in chapter five was not only a great story device, writing from her perspective was an absolute joy. The raw cleverness and conniving going on in this woman's mind never failed to entertain me. And her entire screwed up situation with Al is a study in questionable people dragging each other down, which is always cathartic xD That said, Al deserved better than what he got, but hey, that's why we should always question our biases, even if it's about people we care about.
And that sort of sums up my thoughts on all this. I'm infinitely grateful I got to tell this story, and I hope you all have enjoyed following along! I'm going to miss these kids something awful - even the ones returning in UFF are older and wiser, not the version we see here. Whether I see you again in the next story or our paths part here, I'm glad you came along with me, and I hope I created something enjoyable in these crazy times we live in <3
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