More Than Human

Fanfiction
Title:	More Than Human
Author(s):	sbj (essbeejay)
Date(s):	January 26, 2009-present
Length:	280,000, as of chapter 11 (June 2013)
Genre(s):	het, high school AU, futurefic
Fandom(s):	Powerpuff Girls
Relationship(s):
External Links:	More Than Human on Fanfiction.net essbeejay at LiveJournal
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

More Than Human is a het high school Powerpuff Girls futurefic by sbj. It is the most popular Powerpuff Girls fanfiction on Fanfiction.net, where it is the most commonly read, even though it is also posted at the author's LiveJournal. The main pairings are Blossom/Brick, Buttercup/Butch, and Bubbles/Boomer; or Reds, Greens, and Blues, as the author respectively refers to the pairings. This fic also likely originated these terms for the ships, which are now commonly used by the fandom.

The author often calls it The Epic Fic, or TEF - because of the story's scope and word count, not its contents, as the author has stated. Due to its massive fan following, many fans have referred to it as a fandom itself. It even has its own TV Tropes page!

It is currently a WIP but not abandoned, as of June 2019. The author initially posts new chapters at their LiveJournal before formatting them for Fanfiction.net.

Summary

There is no way I can make this sound original, ever. An attempt to write a believable RrB/PpG in high school fic. Rated M because teenagers use terrible language. "Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal." - Camus

Fan Responses

I feel like every fandom has that ONE fanfic that is so good and has been read by everyone

sbj’s More Than Human fanfic is SO GOOD and fulfills the feels my inner child has been craving for years JSKDKFM

Okay, this is my third time through your story and what strikes me each time is the realty of the sister and brother relationships you create. You highlight their team dynamic when fighting, but skillfully reflect it over their interpersonal relationships and color them with the advantages and disadvantages of living together. The relationships and character growth are just so well done!

This is novel quality stuff and I love it. Thank you.

I've been rereading this fic for so many months that I've become obsessed. That's how good this story is. That's how good you are at making me believe that a couple of characters who only showed up in like five episodes have all distinct personalities.

Should I go on farther?

I have little to no complaints about this fic. Like at all. Perfect writing, perfect dialogue, perfecting reorientation of characters who show up in like six episodes. Man you got it in the bag.

The Reds. Seriously. The Reds. That ship was almost sailing and than Brick fucked it up. But that's something I would see him doing. Blossom just wants him not to be a dick and he usually, or always, is. But gods I just love the way you write them. I could read they're 'date' in the latest chapter over and over again. That's how much I love it. Each scene with them is literally like a climax that's falling forever. Lol that's a weird way to weird it. But yeah. The Reds.

On to the blues! Which is my second-favorite ship for pure fluff. And fluff that is. Bubbles and Boomer don't get enough love and that breaks my heart, because I genuinely feel for this ship and will go down with it. I have to say my favorite scene is when there just chillin on Bubbles' bed and it's just so snejeijebuwosnd. So many feels. Boomer is a jerk, but at least he's not Brick. No offense to those Brick fans out there.

And than the Greens. How can I talk about my ship without sounding like a complete idiot? Butch is a psychotic dumbass and Buttercup is willing to punch his insides. Actually, she would. Would it be weird to say that my favorite scene with them is when Butch is just watching her sleeping. Like a creep. Or maybe it's when their on their surfboards talking-or maybe them in detention. Agh! I don't know! Anyways, kudos to writing the best ship ever, and the best fucking fight ever in chapter two like that was badass.

I'm looking forward to reading the next chapter, and I know there are a lot of dickbags out there who keep demanding the next chapter, but just take your motherfucking time with it. I'll wait a million years I don't give a shit.

And thanks for writing this

I don't know what time I started this fic, but got-damn, it is SEVEN in the morning. I have to be somewhere at 11!

Putting that aside: wow. I'm floored. I may have read one or two fics that can hold a candle up to this, but that candle is seriously sputtering. I can't believe, in all my years lurking on FF, I have never found this fic. Personally, the scariest part about reading this is how relatable everything is. The girls' random daydreams (Bubbles and Blossom, at least), the struggle with tears, there's just so much and I'm very afraid but good grief I am addicted to this fic.

When I told my friends I was going to read a currently ongoing fic (I never do. I just don't do that. I dunno what compelled me to do it this time.), one of 'em begged me not to do it. "Don't make yourself suffer." But this was a good decision. By the time I'd gotten to the end, I was ready to wait. I'll prolly scream with my other friend (who I also got to jump on the bandwagon) when the next chapter comes out, 'cause it'll be worth it. I'm not even upset. I'm just excited. I'M SO EXCITED.

I'm not even sure I know how to begin explaining how much I appreciate the work you put into this. I was reading your LJ post, and I was like, "man, if she ever decides to just write her own novel, I'm buying that shit up." So. Until next time! Thanks again!

Never in my life did I think I was going to read Powerpuff Girl fanfiction; it was just a silly show I watched as a kid. In the six or seven years I've been a member of this site, I have only favorited twelve stories. This is number thirteen.

I think the characterization is spot on. Impeccable, really. And not just with the Girls but the Boys as well. There weren't very many episodes featuring them so it must have been a challenge to work with what little of their personalities we were given. On top of that they've even developed, significantly, over the course of nine chapters (if you take out the two flashbacks). I'm very impressed with how real you made these cartoon characters. The combination of descriptive narration and dialogue is also great; there are never moments where the story gets bogged down with flowery language/purple prose, and that is so rare for something of this length. It's nice that you maintain a steady timeline that doesn't leave readers wondering when the hell these events are occurring. I like the abundance of background characters and their contributions to the main characters' lives, because it would have sucked if the Boys showed up and the Girls acted like no one else in the world mattered. That trope is the bane of my existence. And I offer the highest praise for the fact that you didn't just throw the Girls and Boys together immediately. This is a story about relationships and the way each one develops is, again, extremely realistic and actually worth reading. The underlying plot points are nice as well; if this story were just about high school shenanigans, I wouldn't have devoted time to reading it. It's excellent, in summary. You should honestly be proud of yourself.

Looking through the fanart for the fanfic ‘More than Human’ by essbeejay, and I’m finding it hard to not fangirl and not cry at the same time. This fanfic is just a rollercoaster, and I LOVE IT.

If anyone ever asks for fic I always point them to sbj's Powerpuff Girls epic More Than Human. The story is well thought out and brilliantly paced. The author has put so much effort and thought into the story and all the little details. The author is the only writer whose work I have saved and made physical copies of. It is set in high school which made me avoid reading it for about a year after I found it, but I loved the author's other work so I decided to bite the bullet and check it out. If it was going to be the usual OOC teenage idiocy that high school fics tend to be I knew where the back button was. However I was hooked and ended up staying awake all night and reading the entire fic in about twelve hours. It is amazing and on par or surpassing a lot of published works I have read. Fair warning: It is still WIP and the last true update was years ago but the chapters are massive and the author has stayed in contact with readers about the status of everything. There is also some amazing fan art for the fic over on the fan tumblr for it.

Right now the story is at eleven chapters and 286k words. The author's other works are great too.

Artwork Inspired by the Story

Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples.

• 

  The Boys. Digital art by avataraandy

• 

  Doodle of the girls. Digital art by gabzilla-z

• 

  Greens. Digital art by cookiecreation

• 

  Blues. Digital art by xhiale

• 

  Reds. Digital art by suziesartwork

Other Fanworks Inspired by the Story

• Lewd Thoughts by inevitablyapropos - a fanfic for More Than Human
• A Father's Worry by chloe-bourgeous-cesaire - a fanfic for More Than Human
• Cosplay based on Blossom from More Than Human
• Hello Dolly Or Letters Love Company And Ink by flylikeafairystinglikeawasp - a fanfic for More Than Human

Fannish Resources

• morethanhuman-fans on Tumblr - The primary fanblog for the fanfiction, run by two readers of the fic, not the author. The blog is dedicated to reblogging fanworks of the fanfiction, including fanfiction and fanart. The author is aware of it. The blog currently has over 2,000 followers.
• something-more-than-human on Tumblr - A fanart askblog based on MTH.