Step by Step

Foreword

It was July 31 of 2017.

We were ready for bed, us kids in our pajamas and our respective places throughout the hotel room. The TV was on, though Mom and Dad had said we'd be turning it off soon. That's when I heard the opening notes to the theme song for Tangled: the Series. Though it was late at night-- and in a different time zone!-- my parents somehow came to the consensus that we could watch the show, so long as we immediately went to sleep after.

That's how I ended up watching Great Expotations as it aired for the first time ever.

That night, I could not get to sleep. My mind was focused on one thing and one thing only: the cuteness that had been the episode that I had just finished watching. Specifically, the interactions between Varian and Cassandra. So I pulled out my phone and began writing Every Step of the Way, then called More Than a Crush.

Since we were on vacation and spent a lot of time in the car, I had a lot of spare time on my hands. By the end of the trip, I had the entire story written down in the multimedia templates of my phone.

From there, I rewrote it to share using my NOOK e-reader, and from there, a "final version" was born, which I published on Wattpad first, and then Ao3.

Two years passed, and I suddenly started getting a lot of Wattpad notifications in regards to Every Step of the Way: comments and votes and reading lists... Somehow, people were starting to find it again. And that kind of got me thinking.

I wrote that story as a girl going into my sophomore year of high school. Since then, I'd taken plent of opportunities to write in the Tangled universe, or at least using its characters, and thus familiarizing myself with the world. I had written a lot more-- I went from having two lone fanfictions published to eighty-eight-- and... Well, I changed and matured.

And honestly, what better way is there to show that fact than going through and rewriting my first-ever Tangled: the Series fanfiction?

So here I am, in the middle of my senior year, going through and making an official rewrite of said story.

This rewrite is mainly for my own sake. As alluded to earlier, all of the original versions were essentially written in the middle of the night or during class. My mind was always elsewhere as I wrote it all, and it really shows. Also as mentioned earlier, I have grown. A lot. And so much was missed by me because of the fact that I wrote this story before any major plot points (except, obviously, the black rocks and Rapunzel's hair growing back) were revealed. So it was really behind, and I had to make notes everywhere throughout the story and its sequels saying that, clearly, none of it featured any canon past S01E08.

I started this rewrite sometime over the last summer and began publishing it on Ao3 on August 21 of 2019. Season three had not yet aired, and I began making notes to post on this story, saying that only the first two seasons were canon here. If anything lines up with any events from season three, then it is purely by coincidence.

Now, before I leave you to read this story, I will give you some random statistics and warnings that you may want to know.

I updated this story around once a month, with no set date or time for each update. I am only saying this now because I am currently working on the sequel ("Family Ties") and it's shaping up to be the same way. Each chapter has around three thousand words, so it takes awhile to work on each chapter, and it also takes a few days to typed up and posted (it might not now, since I don't have school to deal with, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there). I also post on Ao3 before I bring things here, so be patient.

As for the warnings... Again, I have grown and matured since Every Step of the Way. That story was borderline as it was, with slight hints of more mature themes here and there. Here, I am expanding a little bit. It manifests itself in the prologue, and I don't know how many things will show themselves further on in the story. Thus far, though, we have warnings for:

- Mentions of rape/non-con

-Mentions of drinking/alcohol

- Mentions of abuse

- Mentions of unhealthy relationships

- Mild language

I will add more as they show up, if they do.

I only want you to read this if you are absolutely comfortable. I am aware that things like these-- even brief mentions, as I kind of have here-- are enough to potentially trigger people. I do not wish to cause any harm to any of my readers, and I would hope that you will turn away if you know that any of this affects you. If you go farther and don't like what you see... Don't say I didn't warn you, okay?

Now, for those of you venturing on: have fun, okay? I have always found great joy in reading and writing fanfiction, and I genuinely hope that you do, too. You might have gathered from earlier that Every Step of the Way was... Well, as stupid as it was, it meant a lot to me. It was my second-ever fanfiction that I had completed, and my longest fanfiction at that point. It was the catalyst that helped an entire mini-career of sorts for me, writing several Tangled: the Series fanfictions, among many other fandoms. Every Step of the Way was the spark that lit the passionate fire that is my special "brand," that is the name Kai517. So rewriting it... As self-indulgent as it is, it is also somewhat therapeutic and calming to me. Please, try and enjoy it to the best of your abilities.

That is all I have to say for now, so I suppose I should let you get to reading my story.

Feel free to leave comments anywhere and everywhere. Feel free to vote, or to post on my message board or message me privately. I truly enjoy hearing from you guys.

Keep on reading and writing.

You guys rock!

- Kai517