Author and Friends' Final Words

Sup, y'all. This is Bwin, the author of 'Assassin's Guide to Being Ordinary.' (among some other no-named pieces that I'm not super proud of...)

BUT! I am super happy with it.

How it started, how it went, and how it ended—super, super, super happy with everything. Now that it's all over, I wanted to share some thoughts that I had while writing it, if y'all would be so kind as to follow my rant for a bit.

Alright, let's get started!

Initially, this idea came to me while I was lying down on my bed late at night, staring at the ceiling, as it is for most of my ideas nowadays. Admittedly, it wasn't the most 'original' idea.

Plot: A lonely dude who's not accustomed to normal life with a secret background meets a popular girl who's rich but wants to be seen as normal. Bing, bam, boom—they fall in love.

Sounds pretty cliché, doesn't it? I got some opinions from my friends, and they all shared the same sentiment. However, as cliché as it was, I still believed that the story could be really good if done well. Obviously, right?

Now... I'm not sure if I myself can say that I did it well, but I like to believe that I did. Of course, I can always go back and change things since it's not serialized. (Maybe in the future. Who knows?)

Now, with that out of the way, next are the main characters.

Tsuki no Ran.

In Japanese, his name roughly translates to 'Orchid of the Moon.' All assassins of the Hunt are given names that depict who they are.

Megumi no Hana roughly means, 'Graceful Flower.'

Saku no Satsu roughly means, 'Smiling Murderer.' (Of course, I left out the true meaning of murderer, 'Satsujin,' cuz why would anyone be named as a literal murderer?)

For our boy, Ran, his name comes from the boss man, Watcher, when he found him abandoned as a child in a patch of orchids beneath a full moon. Not the best backstory, but hey. The name sounds cool.

Originally, Ran's character was gonna be a cold, collected, battle-hardened guy who cared about nothing. He's seen all the worst things that happen in the underworld, and all of that broke him. He could never see himself living a normal life because those thoughts would haunt him forever. While I still somewhat kept to that, I tried to make him more... 'human.'

For example, he has a normal reaction to Ayaka annoying him.

Like... Why is this girl bothering me so much? She's pretty, but that's all there is to her. Can she just leave me alone already?

Suddenly, I felt three soft taps on my left shoulder. I turned around, and there stood the beautiful Ayaka with a bright smile. But... Why do I feel threatened?

"Seems like you have a lot to say about me," she muttered. "Since it's about me, won't you say it to my face?"

Erm... H-hey, Ran? Wanna help me out here?

"You're the one who wrote the script," he said. "I have nothing to do with this."

Oh, you right. And so, I erased the script.

Moving on, Taiyori Ayaka.

Bit of a fun fact, 'Taiyou' means 'Sun,' so I kinda did a play on her name to match 'Tsuki,' which means 'Moon.'

Her character was exactly how I wanted her to be; a rich girl with a snarky attitude who acts the way she does because of what happened in her past. As the sole heiress of a huge company, she was always the target of a lot of awful stuff.

We all know that adults can easily fool children. Oftentimes, it's out of good fun. Now, Imagine corrupt businessmen trying to manipulate a young child in the same way, not for fun, but to gain something from that child.

Disgusting, right? Many times, she had been betrayed by people she thought were simply kind to her, only for her strict father to scold her afterward. That would mess up the mindset of any impressionable child.

Flashing back to the present day, Ayaka would often use her classic condescending tone of voice as a way to drive off anyone who might be the same as those businessmen who manipulated her in the past. Of course, it never worked, cuz she then appears as confident and smart, qualities that anyone would admire.

So, in the end, she was just a broken girl who wanted something normal. A random guy dropping to his knees with flowers and a declaration of love? Yeah, that ain't normal.

And that's when she meets our boy. The man himself—the personification of 'him.' (I'm joking.) This takes me to the next point, the story itself.

Towards the beginning, I wanted Ran's life to be front and center before moving to the main plot. He's an assassin, so I added some chapters where we see Ran in action. That's also where we meet Sakuno, the dorky, loveable, devilishly handsome man who acts as Ran's best buddy throughout the story.

I didn't wanna rush things. In the beginning, I tried my hardest to make it clear that Ran and Ayaka did not like each other at all, while still keeping a semblance of interest. The mall episode was kinda tough, since that would be the transition of their hostile relationship to a somewhat neutral state.

Slowly, Ayaka lets her carefree personality out, and this is shown most in the scene where she nonchalantly asks him to go to the new tapioca shop with her. AND THEN! SHE KISSES HIM ON THE CHEEK! EEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Pacing mattered a lot to me, but it was difficult as the writer to know how it truly went. In my mind, I knew how much time passed between each scene, but would the readers also know? That's why I tried to sprinkle some mentions of days passing between each scene. Not the cleanest way, I admit, but I hope it reads okay-ish.

Now, for the crème de la crème, what I consider to be my most well-written part ever—the arc... of absolute pain.

When Ayaka finds out about Ran's true identity, she loses it, as anyone would, right? Finding out that a person you're interested in is a freaking murderer? Yeah, I'm sure nobody would be okay after that.

Cue 'Chapters 32-34: Same Paths, Different Ways.'

I wanted to make Ran suffer, and I think I succeeded. When Ayaka passes him without a single word, and he cries for the first time in his life, I felt that in my soul. (My poor boy...)

Chapter 34, in particular, was probably the most emotion I've ever put into a single chapter. I could picture it all in my head. Ayaka's voice cracks and her sorrowful tone, while Ran stood there, speechless and hurt.

Pain... so much pain... but unfortunately, we're not done yet.

Originally, 'Chapters 39-42: No Contact,' never existed. It would just jump from 'Chapter 38: Sleep Tight' to 'Chapter 43: What lies ahead.'

When I wrote it for the first time and went back, I didn't like it at all. Okay, he saves her for the second time, and she remembers everything. Of course, she would think about it over the week that Ran is gone, and it would just cut to one week later, but it felt so~ forced.

And that's when I came up with the idea to make several chapters from Ayaka's point of view. The 'No Contact' chapters are my second most favorite part of the novel, as her thoughts were somewhat derived from my own experience.

To try and cut someone off because you feel like they've wronged you, but the more you think about it, the more it feels like you yourself are in the wrong. Then you end up missing that person more than you thought you would.

Every time I went back to edit those chapters, I made Ayaka suffer a bit more. At first, there were only two chapters. It felt less rushed but not at the same time. So, I decided to add Sakuno's bit where he makes Ayaka question if Ran truly is a 'bad person.' The second one that I added was Ayaka's nightmare, and that's when she finally realizes her real feelings.

Thankfully, it worked out, and I'm also extremely glad that I decided to add these chapters. I was definitely not crying while writing them...

In the words of my good friend and avid Runescape player, Jonathan, "You were supposed to go to sleep, but instead, you decide to make us suffer."

"Weirdo," said Ayaka with her arms crossed.

Hey, man. I had to. I'm addicted to suffering. Can't have a good romance without drama.

"Tch... Why couldn't you have done a classic misunderstanding? Something like... I dunno. I see Ran with another girl."

Bruh. I know I said that my idea was cliché, but that doesn't mean I have to use ALL the clichés. Besides, misunderstandings like that irks me really badly. As a viewer and as a writer.

Ran appeared next to me while nodding his head. "Understandable. Although, if I initially had no interest in Ayaka, who is the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen, then how could anyone else hope to catch my attention?"

"Ran..." Ayaka whispered as their faces inched closer.

Take it to the dorm! I'm still monologuing!

In the following chapters, I tried to make their recovery as smooth as possible, particularly with 'Chapter 46: Cry of Desperation.' For once, the wall that surrounded Ayaka's heart crumbled, and they were finally talking again.

Finally, the time came... 'Chapters 54-57: Farewell to Past Regrets.'

I thought long and hard about how I wanted to do the inevitable kiss scene. I didn't want it to be normal or over the top—something in between that matched their personalities.

Since trust was the issue that initially broke them apart, why not do one of the oldest tests of trust? A trust fall! I fell on my ass when it came to my head.

Of course, Ayaka would be the one to initiate it, but in the classic Ayaka fashion, she decides to spice it up. Instead of falling backward, she falls forward towards the water, and Ran rushes to catch her, which ends up with them on the ground.

At this point, they've never referred to each other as their first names, so this would be the most opportune moment. But how could I make it more romantic?

"Say it," she whispered.

"... S-say what exactly...?"

"The name of the girl you see right in front of you. I want to hear you say it."

I'm not Japanese, but I know that calling someone by their first name in Japan is a huge deal. You're either relatives or really, very, super close to that person. This was Ayaka's way of letting Ran know that they were at that point.

And then... AND THEN...

"We kissed!" Ayaka exclaimed. "Wooo~!"

"That, we did," Ran scoffed.

What the... How do you guys keep coming back here?

"We're in your head," Ayaka smiled.

Uh-huh...

Alright, I think I've gone on for long enough. I've never had the opportunity to do an author's note cuz I'm lazy and don't finish most of my novels.

This story, however, kept me interested from start to finish. I wanted to reach the key points I had planned so~ badly (Chapters 42 and 57), and that was the main motivation. It was very fun, and I 'MIGHT' do a sequel. After all, it's an 'Assassin's Guide to Being Ordinary.' Tsuki no Ran is not the only assassin of the Hunt.

Heh. Hehe... AHAHAHA!

"Ahahaha!" Ayaka laughed along with me. "Wait... What are we laughing about?"

For a moment, I glared at her while she stared cluelessly back at me.

"What?" she smirked. "You falling for me? Sorry, but I'm spoken for now."

You can thank me for that, by the way.

Ran let out a sigh. "You're also the one who made us suffer, but sure... Let's just go with the fact that you were indeed the one who set us up."

Dude... Okay, whatever. I'm done now. Thank you guys infinitely for reading my novel. I hope it was as much of a pleasure for you to read as it was for me to write. Hey, you two! Say goodbye to the audience.

"Bye~!" Ayaka winked. "Thanks for sticking around till the end!"

"Thank you, everyone," Ran bowed his head. "Truly. It means a lot. Farewell."

Peace, y'all.

-Bwin