villain.

remain (facts)

[1]
River's full name is River Everleigh Grey. Orion's full name is Orion Trey Parker.

[2]
River and Orion do eventually get married <33. They have twins, a girl named Acadia and a boy named Atlas. Lmk in the comments if you'd read a book about them ((; (stay tuned for more info)

[3]
Every time I searched for characters for a cover or aesthetic, Matthew Clavane would always jump out at me. There was something in his face and hair that practically begged to be put in a book. Likewise, I had always loved the portraits of Anya that you see at the beginning of this book and so I decided they'd look nice together. After I'd written Gravity, I was toying with the idea of a boy who was supposed to be but didn't want to be a villain, and a girl who was trying to figure him out. Thus, Villain was born.

[4]
I tried to keep everything very similar to Gravity, but of you who have read it will notice one major difference. I wrote Gravity all in Blu's (the boy) point of view, and in Villain I switched back and forth between River and Orion. I think the story progressed better that way, even if it does mess with my OCD a little lol.

[5]
I had the biggest case of writers block after I wrote chapter 6. I knew how I wanted it to end, which would take place in chapters 9 and 10, but I had no clue what to do with chapters 7 and 8. Fortunately I finally figured it out.

[6]
The first word of some of the chapters usually connects with the next one:
{Chapter One Innocent, Chapter Two Villain}
{Chapter Four River, Chapter Five Orion}
{Chapter Seven Goodnight, Chapter Eight Goodmorning}
{Chapter Nine Frosty, Chapter Ten Heat}
*chapters 3 and 6 are exempt
^see how most are opposites? That's the point (;

[7]
This book is all about breaking stereotypes. The "nice and decent" jock (Joe) and the "welcoming and warm-hearted" cheerleader (Amber) instead of the "the hot bad boy and miss stuck-up popular"
The "fighting to be a good boy" (Orion) instead of "the misunderstood bad boy"
The "blond with brains" (River) instead of a"dumb blond for comedic relief"
The "actually a villain best friend" (Raven) instead of the "side chick that's part of the love triangle"
don't be afraid to be different as an author.

[8]
I was going to have Orion & River call the police and his mother be captured, but then his father would have had to go to jail or something because he's illegally married to her, so I decided her dying would be the easiest plot resolver.

[9]
Orion's powers are electrokinesis (controlling electricity), photokinesis (controlling light, but he only has a part of it, glowing in the dark), and telepathy (reading/influencing minds).

[10]
River's new powers are telekinesis (moving objects with her mind), and chronokinesis (manipulate time, but she can only see exactly five minute in the the future).

[11]
River graduated college with a degree in medical botany and went on to discover cures for over 30 diseases using plants. Orion graduated with a degree in architecture and founded a successful business.

[12]
Valoria went to college to be a nurse and gets married to a dashing young doctor named Flint. Hospital romance! *swoons*. They tell her everything and she is very close to Atlas and Acadia.

[13]
Speaking of which, Atlas and Acadia are both born with no mark and on their 18th birthday get to choose what they want, a rare phenomenon that occurs only when both parents are victors. Acadia becomes a hero like her parents, but Atlas surprisingly chooses to become an innocent. Like I said before, lmk if you'd read this!

[14]
In Gravity I had no pda between Blu and Harper because they were both very slow and cautious people about relationships and had known each other their whole lives; they had time. But in this book I included it Orion and River went through so much together in such a short time that they had to love other that much to emerge triumphant. However, I still tried to introduce the romance slowly and have them get to knke each other really well through their experiences. Orion, particularly, was cautious. Did I do a good job, what do you think?

[15]
I regret not including both of their families more. Peter is such an interesting character, who knows what his mark could be when he turns 18? And I LOVE Valoria. I imagine her and Peter as being good friends after Orion and River married.

[16]
Marks are 70% heredity and 30% by chance. River's parents are both innocent and thus she illustrates this point, Raven as well. When both parents are not innocent, there is a 50% probability of the child being an innocent, such as Valoria. And when the child of a villain or a hero is not an innocent it is also a 50% chance of being a villain and a 50% chance of being a hero, like Orion.

[17]
When villains with are caught, sometimes the government will keep them in a cell, but more often than not, they just remove their powers and let them go, since they are no longer a threat without them. Usually most villains are happy to live innocently. But if they are criminal masterminds, of course they'll keep them locked up.

[18]
Another motivation I had when writing this book was to create a believable villain, someone that had a strong clear motive behind their intentions. With Raven, and even with Wonder/Grim. I hope I succeeded.

[19]
In case you're wondering, Joe and Amber also got married and had six beautiful children, all who inherited their mothers warmth and fathers humor. How I pity the future freshmen of the college.

[20]
I wrote another book called Gravity before this one which exists in an AU. It is about a girl named Harper who has powers, a very rare thing, and is being hunted down by several organizations for it. Her best friend Blu, who tells the tale, is along for the ride. Check it out if you liked this book!

I hope you enjoyed these little tidbits! Thank you so much for reading!