Learning From ATP and New Questions! (Patreon)

Okay, folks, as I go through Observanc3’s edits for chapter 50 of ATP (y’all think I’m a wordsmith, hah, I can only do around 19,000 words a day), I have had multiple thoughts on it and about how I want to learn from the experience of writing such a huge freaking story. And I thought to get your opinions on this.

To that end, I am starting this thread regarding two upcoming projects whose length, if not complexity, will probably come close to ATP. The first to mention is my DC/Ranma crossover for obvious reasons,. Bhaalson Remodel will be mentioned as well here.

Death’s Avenger will have its own thread later in the week. I need to go back over my notes and the previous discussions about it so that I don’t repeat myself. I don’t think King of Champions will grow to that size, although I could see it reaching the current size of Magic of the Force. But I have a few questions there too.

This first segment is about my DC/Ranma story. Just to remind people, the pairing at this point is polyamory with Ranma/Cassie/Kara/Kori as the center of a Teen Titans group sponsored more by Wonder Woman than Batman.

{EDITS based on everyone's input will be in BOLD.  I have also created a new tag to connect this thread to the revamped concept for the DC/Ranma cross and the first chapter of it}

1. One thing I think I need to do a better job at is picking and choosing characters to include from such a monstrous number of characters. I… think I’ve done an okay job of the various characters’ personalities but even so, I have been nearly overwhelmed several times by how many there are. This brings me to DC. So beyond the obvious big names on both sides of the distaff (Luthor, Supes, Bats, Jokey, Martian Manhunter, lots o’ aliens), are there any specific characters you would like to see?

I am personally thinking of just tossing the Flash and his entire rogue’s gallery out the window. Same with a large number of Gotham’s ‘Finest’. And not just because that will let me kill several of them who really need their necks snapped.

Are there any other characters you think I shouldn’t even bother with including? Both in terms of enemies and heroes *cough* Elastic Man *cough*.

2. What KIND of enemies should I concentrate on? In the original outline, I had the team of teens traveling the world dealing with low-to-high level enemies while the alien threat of Darkseid served as a long-term foe and mythological enemies like Ares and others serving as mid-bosses. Does this still sound like a good idea? Or should I switch entirely to focusing on magical-type threats rather than run-of-the-mill villains?

3. A few specific characters I am on the fence on:

Batgirl. What version (and I am not talking just physically) should I use? How old should she be? I won’t pair her with Ranma, and am kind of leery about her entirely given she and Bruce had a thing for a while in the comics, and then she and Nightwing did as well, so… heh. Um. Yeah.

The female Martian Manhunter. Never got her story really.

Superboy. Er… let’s just put all of Cadmus here. My initial thought was that Cadmus and other government-sponsored groups would NOT like Ranma, but frankly, I just don’t know if Superboy, unlike Beast Boy (he and Ranma will become best bros) would fit in well with the new team.

Bizarro Superman. What is the point of him again?

Cyborg. I don’t know where this character even came from, so if someone could point me in the way of some comics with his origin story I would appreciate it.

The young girl Deathstroke trained. That origin does not pass the sanity check.

{Essentially folks, if you’ve got a young hero or heroine you think would fit in with the Teen Titans post em, I will look at ‘em and decide if they fit in. I want a team of ten max, but a lot of the slots are already taken - Ranma/WG/SG/Kori, Raven, Beast boy, Batboy… yeah…

4. I have already determined there won’t be anywhere near as much world building in this fic as there is in ATP but I just want to confirm that people will be good with the comedy/romance/action emphasis. Ranma and co are not going to be interested in solving the world’s ills folks.

5. And finally, I would like your opinions on what I can improve on folks. What mistakes – large type mistakes – do you think I should avoid making again?

Now, on to Bhaalson Remodel.

1. Should Harry and Imoen (Tonks without the name LOL) be able to use spells from the Forgotten Realms schools of magic without first changing their class? Or have I done enough in the last chapter to make Blood Mage Spells great once more?

Here everyone seems to be in agreement that they should not be able to use the spells of Forgotten Realms without a class change.  I will have Imoen making this her second priority going forward, while Harry will simply be unable to dual-class at all.  His ability to use Blood Magic will instead stay, and even grow more to do with imagination and will than previous knowledge. This will let their ability to use magic to grow apart and become more singular. The same will be said of Hermione when she shows up.  Thanks go to Braeden1002 for pointing out that Hermione would want to experiment. 

2. I have already decided an animal form for Harry, but should Imoen have an animal form as well? Note: this will lock her out of regaining her Metamporph powers. My initial thinking is NO, but I value your opinions.

My initial feeling was supported by everyone here. Tonks/Imoen will be making getting her metamorph powers back a priority.  The question then will be if taking on someone else's forms should let her use some of their abilities that she would not otherwise be able to use...

3. This is an important one for the next chapter rather than overall worldbuilding. It is time to jump back to the Mighty Hermione and her new sidekick Fleur. But I am wondering if I should have the two of them transfer in now, or later.

Now, I would write up adventures of their own elsewhere occurring at the same time Harry’s does, but they would not meet until events near the beginning of the events of Baldur’s Gate 2. That is at least half a year in-fic time in the future.

Or later. They would have adventures in the HP universe for a while and then transfer only as Harry meets their characters. Basically I am just asking which kind of adventure would be most interesting.

Oh, and as an aside, I am ambivalent about the idea of Fleur joining and joining the pairing. I can take it or leave it at this point, although it would be interesting to play around with Fleur… in every meaning of the term.  But who she would be is a distinct question...

Here, everyone's opinions were far more varied.  Some people didn't care, others felt that Fleur and Hermione should jump to Faerun quickly like Braeden1002 and Scott, not realizing that would mean they would be on their own for a while until meeting with Harry and co. A few felt they should stay in HP land for a while, like Alex Crate and lostone2. Novus pointed out that the longer I wait the harder it will be to integrate H and F into the story.

I feel the solution here is to reintroduce the two of them into the fic via small, pointed bits of mixed interaction and world-building.  The world-building will mention what is going on with Voldemort, but only peripherally, while the main thrust will be to describe how the two of them have become such friends and Hermione's ongoing plans to find Harry.  These will be spread over the BG1 chapters, and then, when they arrive in Faerun, the two of them will have one big adventure on their own.

This will, in turn, let the two of them get used to their new lives and how their old ones carry over before meeting with Harry.

4. I am thinking about levels. What level should Harry and company – minus J and K obviously – be before they take on Sarevok, the big baddie of BG? I am thinking of having them need to take on side-quests and leveling up to 11 or twelve before then, but I am wondering about whether or not it would make sense in terms of the characters taking the time out of solving the main plot point to do so.  Basically, the question is: more character interaction/combat and world building in BG or rushing to the events in BG2.

Here once more, the consensus was to let Harry and company to grow stronger.  It will be interesting to see what people think of the direction I take that idea. I want to thank Novus for pointing out that even as Harry and everyone is out in the wilds, word will have begun to spread from Nashkel about the events there. So tensions between Amn and Baldur's Gate will already be decreasing.  This will allow me to slow the main plot down so the party can go on side quests.

And finally, my King of Champions questions:

1. Should Harry tell Pyrrha and Tia (and later Arturia) about his past life? And if so, when in the relationship? I am not asking if they would keep his secret, they would, I am just wondering when would be appropriate.

This was a somewhat mixed bag.  A few said the story shouldn't come out for a while, others did, while Bryan Brown pointed out he had already promised to tell Pyrrha about how he was able to use his Semblance so well instantly. That is a big deal, and means that Pyrrha will be the first one to learn about the whole 'I have dreams of a past life' thing. Beyond that, each retelling will be different. Tia may learn on the heels of learning Harry is not her twin. Arturia will eventually pry the truth out of him as he uses one too large ability in front of her.

2. Do you think Pyrrha is more a romantic type of girl who would wait a long time to have *ahem* or do you think she is more spontaneous and willing to be swept off her feet faster?

Again a mixed bag here, and from reading everyone's opinions, I have decided that while Pyrrha is more spontaneous and willing to push things, she will easily get flustered if things are pushed too far. She will also be very against PDA beyond light touches on the arm or so. And Pyrrha is not going to push things to the lemon side quickly, but could be swept up in events. 

3. One of the main mistakes I made in Semblance was breaking away from Beacon and the canon plot too quickly, then being tied down in travel chapters. I liked a lot of that, but you can’t deny it bogged the story down big time. So I am wondering if having Harry travel back to Evig Låga to deal with issues – both Grimm related and not – is a good or bad idea. Would that take away too much from the forward momentum of the story?

Here everyone's opinion was solidly with me on the fact I could not cut away from Beacon too quickly, yet a few also liked the world building i had done with Evig Laga. Working through my answers to everyone, I decided you will continue to see little scenes about that going on via scroll chats, scroll-based meetings and so forth before one peaceful visit over break, and another Grimm-related one.