varsity | vmin

fun facts+update

—alas gals n gays,,
be sure to tune into
the end of this spec-
ial bonus chapter or
whatever you could
call this to learn abt
what i will be doing
with this account xx

.ryn

Fun Facts About 'Varsity'

[1] For starters, I accidentally wrote Taehyung's character too mean in the beginning. My intention was always for y'all to like him but that didn't really happen. He was never meant to be the antagonist at any point in the story, but everybody just seemed to perceive him in that way. Oops.

[2] The inspiration for this book came from a fan art that I saw on twitter.  I can't find it for the life of me but it was basically a nerdy Jimin and a jock Tae and my creativity exploded.

[3] I was originally planning on taking out 'Jimin's sketchbook' as a part of the story but I had already published a chapter that mentioned it so i thought it would be weird to never reference it again so I just skipped it in whenever it was convenient lol.

[4] I was also originally not going to include a kissing scene.

[5] After writing the kissing scene, however, I thought about doing smut but ultimately decided to keep my book pure. Basically, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Cringe.

[6] Yes, your theories and assumptions were correct. However, Dr. Kim wasn't specifically exclusive to either Seokjin or Namjoon. I wanted to give readers the freedom to imagine whichever one they pleased. (And btw his 'husband' is either Seokjin or Namjoon depending on which of them is Dr. Kim in your brain.)

[7] When writing, I was on average about ten chapters ahead of what I was publishing. With an exception for the last few updates.

[8] Varsity was originally projected to last only about 20-25 chapters but while writing it more and more ideas came to mind so it ended up being about double that!

[9] The bowling alley worker is imagined as Jungkook.

[10] I never actually intended on Jimin's mother to be ill until right before publishing it. I wanted to add some kick of unexpected angst and the idea hit me.

[11] Jimin was originally supposed to have a female cat named mr. fluffles. (dont ask).

[12] Taehyung was originally supposed to have a younger sister.

[13] I rewrote several chapters over four times before publishing (hence the long wait).

[14] In Jimin's meltdown scene during chapter 39, Taehyung was originally supposed to punch Jimin and knock him out in order get him to stop (desperate times call for desperate measures) but I ended up taking it out since he'd already had enough in the big fight a few chapters back.

[15] I originally planned for Jimin to stay with his aunt and cousins for a while after his mother's death, but I took out that entire part.

[16] The painting in chapter 43 was originally only supposed to be of Jimin and Taehyung, but I threw his mother in there to make y'all hurt some more.

[17] I wrote all of my favorite chapters while in the bathtub.

[18] Notable topics that I covered in the span of this book include: bullying, single-parenting, the questioning of ones sexuality, the death of a loved one, terminal illness, child neglect, consent, it's okay to ask for help, self-esteem, friendship, the power of words, fragile masculinity, loyalty, redemption, teamwork, and of course, love.

Did You Notice?

(1) DYN that within the time frame of the book, football season fell right before graduation? As you know, football is played during the beginning of school around fall time. I noticed too late and just went with it hoping no one would catch me hehe.

(2) DYN that Tae didn't start calling Jimin "jiminie" until his mother passed bc this nickname was given to him by his mother and it reminds him of her?

(3) DYN that the kissing scene was heavily inspired by the stydia kiss in teen wolf?

(4) DYN that I never once mentioned what color Jimin's hair was? I imagined it as brown for the record tho. I did this to leave it up to the reader's imagination.

(5) DYN that I never gave Jimin's mom a name? There was no reason to this I just wanted to see if I could go a whole book without naming her and I did.

*Now, this one isn't really a fact, but can we just take a moment to appreciate the incredible female characters in this book:
— Jimin's mom
— Lee Jaehee
— Jaehee's mom
— Jimin's aunt
— Mrs. Lee
— and of course the hospital receptionist!

__

❝ that, my friends, brings our time here to a close. you've heard me say it more than once and you'll still hear it again; thank you so so so much for the last two years i was able to spend writing this book for y'all. if you told me way back when i published the blurb for 'varsity' that i would be completing this book at 400k + reads i would call you crazy. i seriously couldn't have done it without your unrelentless love and support throughout my entire journey on this app. while it may have been short-lived, all good things must come to an end.

as far as this account is concerned, i have in fact selected a new owner, who will be taking over when i'm gone to finish what i have started. i have no doubt in my mind that y'all will love her just as much if not more than you did me. i did not make this decision lightly, but i could not be passing you on into better hands. she has been a friend of mine for a while now and i'm happy to announce that she has taken on the responsibility, and i couldn't be more grateful to her. i'll leave introductions up to her when she arrives, but please show her the same love you have all shown me. having been friends with her, i trust her to continue any work that i have started, or write some of her own.

with that being said, thank you again for everything. it's such a bittersweet thing to grow up, but i wouldn't have it any other way. remember what bangtan means to you and never stop shining. xx ryn. ❞