Noragami Fanfic Writing Blog #1
Hey guys,
Just dying for some community with folks who like Noragami as obsessively as I do while I fight my way through (hopefully) finishing my first long form piece.
These posts are going to be a stream of thought kinda deal, and people like it, great! If not, at least I got my thoughts out.
It's called "If Iki Hiyori Didn't Wake Up..." and I've got the first chapter on AO3 already. https://archiveofourown.org/works/77692631/chapters/203500416
Fanfic summary:
When Hiyori pushes Yato out of the way of the bus, she doesn’t wake up again. Trapped in her spirit form with her body in a coma, Hiyori becomes Yato’s Regalia and breaks nearly every rule that comes with it. Heaven disapproves of this violation of the natural order and Yato's Father attempts to tighten his leash. And Yato is forced to reckon with what it means to bind someone who was never meant to be bound.
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The premise is: "what if Yato made Hiyori his Regalia at the beginning?"
Turns out it changes a hell of a lot of stuff. Which I love, because Hiyori feels sidelined in her own story (open to debate, but I feel it strongly enough that I wrote out a whole outline for this nonsense).
I've got an outline figured out, and I've got 30% of it written down in first draft format. I've got about 10 to 11 arcs planned out, and I've just been jumping around as inspiration strikes me.
Chapter 1 is up because a friend liked it, but Chapter 2 humbled me fast. Turns out “this is done” and “this needs a full rewrite” are sometimes the same thing. Which is sad, cuz I thought I had three good chapters written and ready to post. But progress is progress, and if my writing group has taught me anything, it's that getting it written, even shittily, is the most important thing.
Anyway, re-reading the manga has been dangerous. I've been driving my boyfriend up a wall talking his ear off about the lore bits that I remember or learn about that affect my story. The Bishamon arc changes dramatically when Kugaha can't just kidnap Hiyori to pit Yato against Bisha. The introduction of Yukine and the trajectory of his whole emotional arc takes place later and differently. Also, the entire "God's Greatest Secret" arc where they hunt down Yato's Daddy-o is non-existent in my story. Maybe I'll talk about it later.
Can we talk about how dumb it is for godly weaponry to be completely nuked instantly by just saying "Hey kid... how'd you die?" We could nuke the entirety of Heaven at once if you just gathered all the Regalia into a conference and shouted into a megaphone "Hey, y'all DEAD!" *surprised Pikachu face* Yukine's whole emotional arc was about being dead and unhappy about it, you really going to say ✨magic✨ is the reason he never thought about why that is? No weird little habits or quirks that carried over from his life that made him wonder?
I can accept Yato's Dad being cracked by having an OP regalia that can corrupt other Regalia with a poke. He's the big bad™️, of course he's got bullshit like that. But just by any body asking Regalia a question? Nana shows up like a last-minute patch fix and then barely matters. That whole situation feels like duct tape over a narrative crack.
When I was originally reading the manga many many years ago when it was still getting published, I remember rage quitting when Yato told Hiyori goodbye to go hunt his Father. Man, that really put the final pin in Hiyori's narrative coffin. I like Hiyori a lot and she has so much missed potential.
That's why I'm putting all this time into writing a fix for this horrible miscalculation that I see in the story.
It's no wonder Yukine is seen as the main romantic interest for Yato more than Hiyori when Yato calls Yukine his "one and only" and other gods say God's and Regalia share "body and mind" and two of the three pairs of gods are CLEARLY in domestic or close to romantic relationships. The fuck you mean Yato and Yukine aren't fucking on the down low?
Anyway, I'm Yatori for life, so I am putting her in the spotlight.
It feels good to get these thoughts out. Maybe I'll write more when I finish the manga and write more of my fanfic.
If you’ve got thoughts, arguments, or just want to scream about Noragami, I’m listening.
