Serendipity & the Serpent

Author's Note

What a wild ride.

I can officially announce that we have reached the end of our lovely journey together.

There are so many things I want to talk to you all about, but I don't want to overwhelm you. My mind is a very vast place, and right now it is filled with so much joy.

A lot of imagination went into this book (clearly). From random crossovers to references, I packed this fic with so much stuff that I love and enjoy, in hopes of you all loving and enjoying it along with me.

First and foremost, let's talk about Doc and Marty. My sweet, chaotic duo.

If you don't know, Doc and Marty are characters from Back to the Future. They are a wacky time traveling pair who always seem to put a smile on my face. I thought it would be fun and unique to add them in the story, and it helped moved the plot along. Because of their place in this story, I was able to manipulate the original Karate Kid plot to match my vision. Not to mention they are just really groovy characters who I adore greatly.

There were also silly references I threw in there that tied the two franchises together. Elisabeth Shue (Ali Mills) also played Marty McFly's girlfriend, Jennifer, in two of the Back To The Future movies. I briefly alluded to the fact that she was not always playing the role during the Welcome To The Jungle chapter (one of my personal favorites, and first visions for this fic) when Doc basically tells Marty to pinch him if Jennifer's appearance has changed when they get back to 1985. Since Elisabeth Shue didn't play Jennifer in the first film, I thought it would be really funny to throw in there, especially since they were messing with the timeline so much. Not to mention, I had desperately wanted to use that song for the title that I brought Doc and Marty back to make it possible (considering the song was released in 1987). The world is your oyster when two of your characters are time travelers.

And speaking of time travelers, you may have noticed my Loki reference in that chapter where I briefly mention the TVA (Time Variance Authority), an organization that tracks down people who are trying to mess with the timelines. This was another reason that I mentioned Ali being a variant of Jennifer (the different timelines indicating multiple universes).

Another super fun reference that I enjoyed adding in, was of course the Stranger Things reference. I adore that show and since it took place during that time period, I wanted to incorporate it somehow.

While watching the show for the 72859383th time, I was still left confused as to why Max and Billy moved out of California and into Indiana. In the show, it's eluded to as an "incident" that happened due to Max's actions. Since it's never actually stated what that "incident" was, I wanted to explore some crossover possibilities. And it worked out perfectly... because Season 2 of the show (where Max and Billy are first introduced) takes place in, you guessed it, 1984.

I had many scenarios as to how I could tie them into the storyline. For awhile, it was just a simple mention of their names by the Cobras in the arcade of Golf N' Stuff. I even recreated the scene where Dustin tries to beat Max's score on DigDug, and asks the manager who MadMax (her gaming handle) was. And for a very long time, I was just going to keep it that way.

But of course, I just had to bring them back somehow.

I was a little over halfway through writing the book when I developed their storyline. And yet, somehow, I (hopefully) pulled it off. Making Billy, Kreese's son, seemed like a fun little twist on the story that I had already written. It was a major plot twist, one that I'm hoping nobody was expecting.

Oh, and the 72 songs your character had written (mentioned in the epilogue)? That also just so happens to be the number of chapters in this book. 72 chapters. I published a chapter of this book every day for 72 days straight.

And I would do it all over again if I had the chance.

There are so many more silly references to other shows and movies I adore, sprinkled throughout the book. I felt as though these cinematic masterpieces shaped me to be who I am as a person, and wanted to incorporate that into the character as well.  I also tried to give the main character qualities that I personally want to possess. Just by writing these characteristics, I feel as though I've developed more confidence in myself.

I have been developing, writing, and publishing this story every single day for about 3 months. And I'm going to be very honest with you all... many of these chapters and plot points were written on a whim. I had a handful of plot points I wanted to create, and everyday I tried my hardest to build up to those points. But there were days where I would just sit and type away, my mind doing the work as I went.

I guess what I'm trying to say is... anybody can write! Don't let anything hold you back, because you are more than capable of pursuing your passions.

And what a blessing it has been to write such a wonderful piece of my heart. This story has been my escape when things get hard, my outlet to express my creativity, and a safe space for me. Life has surely been showing me no mercy lately.

My great grandma was 92, and went home to Jesus a few weeks back. (And currently as I'm publishing this note, it has been exactly one month without her.)

She was feisty, bold, sweet, and overall an incredible human being. I honestly have no words to express how much she meant to me. Or how she was my best friend.

The day that she passed, was the day I had to move into college. It has been a difficult few weeks, and diving into this story has been such a beautiful paradise for me.

When she first got sick at the beginning of this year, I was watching Cobra Kai for the first time. I'll never forget, I was watching the scene where a young Kreese saved Betsy from her bully, when we found out. From that moment on, I used the show as a distraction, and continued to watch it over and over again whenever I was sad. It was in that time that Johnny Lawrence became my ultimate comfort character.

Being able to write and share this story has been incredible. I love the comments you all leave, and the messages you send me. The fact that this story has made you smile, makes me smile as well. It was all I wanted in the first place. So thank you everyone for taking part in this. You all are the reason I continued to write and update daily.

And besides, who doesn't want Johnny Lawrence to fall in love with them?

And to think it started with a simple word: serendipity. Anytime someone asks me what my favorite word is, for years, this has been my answer. I thought that there was no better way to embody a fictional world with my favorite character then to use this word. Because writing this... has definitely been a serendipitous moment. The 80s have always been my favorite era, ever since I was little. Getting to explore this decade has filled my heart with sunshine. It has made me feel as though I was actually apart of it.

I'm sad to say goodbye to my baby of a story, but she's been absolutely wonderful to me. I hope she took care of you all the way she helped me through so many hard times.

I love you all so much.
Xoxo,
serendipiteaparty