I ran with it. It ended with an unexpected reveal, and I craved more. I added to it, polished it up a bit, and posted it on Fanfiction.net in September. I knew it had potential for so much more story, and decided that's exactly what was going to happen, so I named it Peeping Tomcat - Teaser.
Fun side note, out of the 4 people who reviewed the teaser, only one has come back to comment and/or fave the full story, and that one person only did so over on AO3. Also, out of the 19 people who faved the teaser, only 4 have faved the full story. I'm not sure if the others just don't like the full story as much, or if they simply haven't found it yet?
Anyway, fast forward to November, where NaNo had a superhero theme, and so I decided it was time to write the full "Peeping Tomcat" story. After a break in December, I got started on edits. It is June, and I'm still sort of editing as I go, but I'm getting close to finishing this story. Four more intended chapters left.
But the big one was chapter 11: Truth, posted this past Friday. The chapter that started it all. The first ever ML fanfic plot bunny that hopped into my head while listening to "Why We Lose" and trying to write another story entirely.
Since this past Friday's update was such a huge deal for me, I was antsy and couldn't wait for my 24hr stats check-in like I normally do. At 8:30pm I hopped onto each site to see how well "Truth" was doing.
I have to admit that I was surprised to only have the one review, and that no one new had faved my story on FFN. To be fair, though, for all I knew, a healthy portion of the 263 views consisted of the 150 people who had already favorited the story. They couldn't fave it a second time.FFN: 263 views, and a review from cassy1994, which I'll post below in the 24hr stats
AO3: 194 views, 6 kudos, and 1 new bookmark
DA: 10 views
Total Results: 467 views, 6 kudos, 1 bookmark, and 1 review
Tumblr Notes: 22 total - 18 likes, 2 reblogs, and 1 comment that I replied to
For me though, the real kicker was the number of notes I received over on Tumblr. For some comparison, here is the breakdown of the other four weeks I've promoted "Peeping Tomcat."
- First time I promoted PT was after I published the 7th chapter. As of today, there are still only 16 notes on it. I never thought to track how many of those were from the first 24hrs. All 16 notes are people liking it. No reblogs.
- The next week, for chapter 8, there are only 2 notes, even now; weeks later. One was a like from someone named theresatheseus, who had also liked the previous week's promotion. The other note was Cyhyr reblogging to help me promote it.
- The promotional post for chapter 9 claims it has 3 notes on it, but as of right now the only one listed is theresatheseus liking yet another promotion of "Peeping Tomcat."
- Last week's promotion of chapter 10 again only had theresatheseus liking it.
So I was dumbfounded and excited to see 22 notes within 12 hours of me posting on Tumblr. I know in the grand scheme of things this is still barely even peanuts, but it felt like my post was exploding. Especially when neither of the reblogs, nor the comment, nor any of the likes, were Cy or ChibiSunnie. All 22 notes were people who - as far as I know - don't personally know me.
For me, that's huge! And it got bigger during the remaining 12hrs before my 24hr check-in. I had jumped up to 46 total notes.
- 38 likes
- 3 reblogs
- 1 conversation between me and a fan, making up 5 comments
Oh yeah, and you should focus on the "at LEAST" part of that statement! There were people like Cy and Chibi who hadn't liked/reblogged yet, and others who may have liked the post IRL, but never actually clicked on the little heart to "like" something on Tumblr.
Even if it IS peanuts, having at LEAST 38 people like my story is amazing to me. Especially when I came off weeks where only theresatheseus had shown me love. Also, fun side note: theresatheseus was the second person to have liked the most recent post.
Two of the 3 reblogs that occurred in the first 24hrs were by completely different people than who liked the story promo, which brings me up to 40 people who are presumably fans. Either that, or potential fans who had just discovered PT via my weekly promo.
As for the conversation between me and the fan? Their name is skyeribbon, and the conversation, which added 5 new notes to the post, went like this:
skyeribbon said: “WOOHOO”I have absolutely no clue what changed between last week and this one. I don't know if I promoted better this go, or if I just stumbled into the perfect timing for my post to be seen by more people, or if I've become active enough in the fandom to be noticed and watched more.
Me: “Oh my goodness! I don’t think you understand how much a six-letter word made me want to cry. I’m so glad you were excited too. :D <3 Thank you."
skyeribbon: “Psh please this is LITERALLY my favorite marichat fanfiction, i was actually thinking of making fan art of it and if WOOHOO gets you excited im about to get you a full color spread child ur bae"
skyeribbon: “HOW WAS I NOT FOLLOWING YOU FOLLOWED UP BABY”
Me: “You are so sweet. <3 LOVE!!!"
Whatever it was, it got me stoked and amazed me so much that I felt the need to write up a Thank You post for all the love I felt.
How well did I do with my other 24hr stats?
The one review I got over on AO3 went on for quite a few paragraphs. I tried to abridge even the abridged version of the review, but what I have above is about as compact as I could make it. If you're interested in the full review, feel free to check out my comments on AO3.FFN: 501 views, 3 followers, and 3 reviews
AO3: 284 views, 9 kudos, 1 bookmark, and 1 comment
DA: 20 views (13 of which are for the new chapter), 1 fave (of the new chapter)
Total Results: 805 views, 10 faves, 4 followers, and 4 reviews
Tumblr Notes: 46 total - 38 likes, 3 reblogs, 5 comments (me and Skye)
Reviews:
1. He still has to tell her, but it got complicated now! Ooh exciting! (Another cassy1994 review)
2. Now Adrien is really gonna be a mess at school lmao!
3. The would-be confession has become a Ladybug reveal! Good deal, and please keep posting.
4. Love Adrien overthinking his feelings and wondering if he is just attracted to Ladybug. Although it is pretty obvious that he genuinely has feelings for Marinette, even without the Miraculous connection. It was just easier to fall for Ladybug because she was confident around him, and their battles helped them bond. Adrien's probably trying to find a way to sabotage or guilt himself for finding out. Especially since he knows Ladybug didn't want him to know. I also loved Plagg's reaction to seeing Tikki. Damn, Marinette is going to have to give him big hugs. That boy is good at guilting himself. (This is a massively abridged version)
So, I almost doubled my FFN views, even with the second half of the day taking up mostly overnight hours. I also got a few new followers and a couple more comments. Over on AO3, I had about half as many people read during the overnight, but I did get a few more kudos and a comment. My DA readership literally doubled, and I got a fave on the latest chapter.
The love kept spreading. As of right now, my stats are as follows.
Again, if you want to take the time to fully read the reviews, you can by going to the AO3 and FFN links. You can then click on "Comments" for AO3 or "Reviews" on FFN.FFN: 923 views, 2 faves, 7 followers, and 4 reviews
AO3: 394 views, 14 kudos, 4 bookmarks, and 4 reviews
DA: 35 views, and 2 faves
Total Results: 1352 views, 18 faves, 11 followers, and 8 reviews
Tumblr Notes: 51 total - 42 likes, 4 reblogs (1 was my TY post), 5 comments
Abridged Versions of the Reviews:
1. THIS IS AWESOME! Your grammar is very good. Your writing is riveting. Your story flows excellently. You've kept everyone very canon. Nice reveal, also Plagg's reaction was brilliant. Thank you for sharing.
2. This story is fantastic! I echo the other commenter's thoughts on your skills as a writer. The reader can feel what the characters do, and the plot is thought-out. I'm not a fan of 1st person, but this is totally enjoyable. It had to be told in 1st person. I'm quite in awe of your writing ability!
3. [paragraph expressing excitement over the chapter and the reveal.] I get the sense in this story that Plagg has feelings for Tikki. The way he reacted to her was interesting. Another awesome chapter. Reading this is always a pleasure because of how accurately you portray everyone. The plot is interesting. I'm curious to see how Chat Noir reacts, and how Marinette is going to find out. I'm so excited to see what happens next! Keep up the amazing work! (Jowy's Pixie's latest review)
4. A constructive criticism; my first one for the story. See below
As for my first constructive criticism:
Fan_Craze44: Personally, I really like the story but I think the scene descriptions are a little too long, to the point that they detract from the plot or just make it a little tedious to read. Also, I understood where you were coming from with the Chloe clones as it fit with the akuma's agenda and you're not necessarily trying to stick to canon, but it just seems a little unrealiatic since all the characters retained their personalities in the Reflekta episode after being turned. I hope this doesn't make you think that I am a hater because I really DO enjoy this story. I happen to be in yrbk and we do a lot of constructive criticism.The Chloe Clones critique is easy enough to explain: different akumas have different powers. While Reflecta's power was to simply change the physical looks of a person, Mimicker's powers were able to affect both physical and psychological. Kind of like how Pharaoh was able to make mummies, Dark Blade was able to make knights, and Simon Says was able to make people do whatever he wanted. I just had the citizens become Chloe instead of mindless knights or mummies. I can appreciate that this seems like a stretch for some, and it may be, but for my own reasoning, it does seem like a natural extension to powers we've already seen. It seems canonical enough. Even if it isn't; it's fanfiction.
For the scene descriptions: I did fear that would be the case. I purposely wrote out things like Chat Noir transforming with much more detail than any fan could need. I did this for two reasons.
In the past, I have enjoyed someone's writing so much that I attempted to read everything they wrote, even if I wasn't in the fandom. It was a bit difficult to read a fandom I wasn't a part of, because a lot of things went over my head, but I enjoyed the stories regardless. On the off chance I have similar readers from outside the ML fandom, I wanted to make sure I had enough description so that you didn't NEED to be a Miraculous Ladybug fan to enjoy my story.
The second reason is similar, and also because of past experience. I have read stories long after I stopped actively watching/reading/playing the source material, and I've had to pause what I was reading in order to look up references. I had been out of the fandom for so long I had forgotten what a character looked like, what episode/book/game something referred to, or how a particular character would act. It broke me out of the story. So, in case someone comes across my story after being out of the ML fandom for a while, I wanted enough description to remind them while keeping them inside the story.
I can understand why such long descriptions may seem unneeded and/or tedious to any actively in the fandom though. I also reassured Fan_Craze44 that I don't think a reviewer is a hater if they legitimately have a constructive criticism. They had explained what they didn't like, and why. That's not hate, that's just informing an author what needs improving upon.
But let's get back to the other reviews. They were all incredibly long and detailed this go. Generally I get a sentence or two showcasing appreciation for my writing and/or commenting about a particular element of the chapter. Having so many multi-paragraph reviews was fun to read through. Really perked me up at just the right times. I also really appreciated that this apparently was the week of "Let her know her grammar and characterization are on point."
I was shocked that almost all of the reviews this go had some sort of mention of my overall writing skill, instead of the typical "the characters act canonically, and the story is interesting." Did my overall writing improve since last week?????
Another big theme for this week is the demand that Adrien DOES NEED TO TELL MARINETTE that he's been spying. While I get it, it is incredibly intrusive and shouldn't be glamorized because it may mean more victimizing of women, at the same time.... um.... what about Marinette? If my readers demand so adamantly that Adrien needs to let Marinette know that he's been spying on her for A WEEK, then maybe Marinette should let Adrien know that she has basically been stalking him SINCE THEY MET. She has a copy of his complete schedule - not just his school schedule - and even memorized it. Her bedroom is practically wallpapered with pictures of Adrien, a fact that will bite her in the episode coming out this weekend. She swiped his phone for a day. She spied on a "date" between him and Lila before using her Ladybug persona to break it up. She used her Lucky Charm power to stop Adrien slow dancing with Chloe. True, he probably loved the excuse to stop dancing with Chloe, but still.... Marinette even recruited her friends to help her manipulate/manufacture a situation which would coerce Adrien to go on a date with her.
I mean, that is all mad creepy. Is it about par with a 14yr old girl's crush? Yeah. I was about Marinette-level when I was that young.... not quite THAT obsessed, but close. But even if it is kind of par for the course, it is still SUPER intrusive. Way more than Adrien sitting quietly outside to watch her while she's doing homework, dancing in her room, or playing a video game. He even tried to go out of his way to make sure he wouldn't be at her room when she'd be dressing, and he avoided the skylight so he wouldn't be tempted to watch her sleep.
Soooooo, classic double standard that seems to come up frequently in this fandom. It's okay if Mari does something, but not our little Sunshine Boy Cinnamon Roll, even if anything involving Chat Noir is considered "sin." On the flip side, if Mari's heart gets broken people seem to have less sympathy than they do if Adrien's heart is broken. There are a LOT of double standards in this fandom, but that's for a post on my Tumblr blog; not here.
BACK TO REVIEWS!
I received a second one stating that they don't normally enjoy 1st person stories, but are enjoying mine. And they even think the story wouldn't work if it wasn't in 1st. Which is the exact reason I used that POV in the first place.
I don't know why there is so much hate for 1st person stories, but I appreciate that people seem to think I'm doing it "correctly." I just hope I didn't lose potential readers simply because they saw it was in 1st person and nope'd the heck out.
That fear is actually one of the reasons why I'm leaning towards "One and the Same" being in alternating 3rd person limited - switching back and forth between Marinette and Adrien. Cy is afraid that a switch from 1st person POV to 3rd within the same series would be too jarring. And now that she'd mentioned that, I guess I have to agree. I do know that I can't just stay in Adrien's POV though - which would be the most logical transition from one book to the next - because OatS is very much Marinette's story this time. On the flipside, I can't stay exclusively in Marinette's POV, because Adrien's attempt to figure out if Mari likes both halves of him may not play out well without his POV involved.
Cyhyr suggested alternating 1st person, which is how Rick Riordan wrote the Kane Chronicles. It is probably the best bet. I can have it be Mari's story with some of Adrien's insight, but I don't have such a jarring switch by going from 1st to 3rd. I'll have to see how well the alternating 1st works when I write the first draft next month.
DEAR LORD! NEXT MONTH! I really need to get back to working on that outline so I'm ready. Plus, I will still have a chapter or two to edit while starting off Camp. It will be a BUSY July, and I may have to make it my own personal "summer writing challenge" to finish the first draft by August end.
Speaking of editing chapters, this upcoming one needed an almost complete rework. I didn't delve nearly as deep into Adrien's psyche during my NaNo attempt at this story, so the post-reveal chapter was mostly "do I like Mari for Mari or do I like her because she's Ladybug." Now I have to add in the added complexity of "great, now if I confess to Marinette I'm also confessing to Ladybug; how is that going to go?" I also need to touch base on the "I don't deserve to be a superhero" angst. Jumbled among all of that, I need to address Plagg's relationship with Tikki now that he knows where Ladybug's kwami is.
I don't have any days off this week, due to a coworker being on vacation, so I should stop slacking off here. If I have time to write this long blog post, than I have time to work on the next chapter.
Catch you fans on Friday, and I'll see everyone here next Tuesday!
In the meantime, you can check out my latest Tumblr exclusive short.
Finally, a quick shout-out to Cyhyr for reblogging and promoting this story. I really do have awesome, supportive friends!
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