Most of my progress this past week was re-reading chapter scenes I wrote months ago, in order to get re-acquainted with my story. I've been doing tweaks and edits, but mostly, I've been trying to structure everything as a whole. Trying to thread these scenes together, and wondering what other scenes need to go in between.
The next few paragraphs contain oh-so-minor spoilers for "One and the Same," but if you want to go into the story completely cold, you might want to scroll for a bit.
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The two main scenes I wrote for the middle of my story, the parts that are all MariChat goodness as Marinette and Chat Noir build up their own friendship, involves the bracelet Marinette gave Adrien in the episode "Gamer", and the fact that Marinette's room is coated in pictures of Adrien.
For those who don't know the show, Marinette's bedroom evolved thusly. In the beginning of the series, she had her screensaver and/or her computer desktop decorated with a collage she made of some of Adrien's fashion ads. A few episodes in, we see that she also has a copy of his schedule for the year, and a framed picture of him - again, from an ad - resting on her desk. By the episode "Gamer" we discover that she's basically wallpapering her bedroom with pictures of Adrien. These pictures are mostly from his ads, but there's also some candid shots from just hanging out with a friend. Still, they're taped up all over her walls. Late in season 1, in the episode "The Puppeteer", the pictures are still up on her walls, but Chat Noir has to enter Marinette's bedroom to stop an akumatized villain. Marinette, as Ladybug, gets very nervous about the possibility of Chat Noir seeing the pictures. Keep in mind that Chat Noir doesn't know who Ladybug is, and Marinette doesn't know that Chat Noir is Adrien. Still, she clearly doesn't want anyone aside from her family and her female friends knowing about her crush. Even if, as far as Ladybug knows, Chat Noir only knows Marinette in passing, she still doesn't want him to know of Marinette's crush. This is important for my story.
In the season 2 episode "Glaciator", we see that the pictures aren't covering her room as much, and she now has a corkboard by her bed, and THAT is where she has a whole collection of Adrien pictures. She even has a magazine cover he was on posted next to the board. About mid-season 2, in the episode "Troublemaker", we are shown a comedic explosion of Adrien pictures in Marinette's room as Ladybug and Chat Noir battle a supervillain in it. Nearly everywhere Chat Noir looks, he has pictures of his civilian form literally thrown in his face.
Now, in the season 3 episode "Silencer" that just aired, I noticed that Marinette didn't have her pictures of Adrien up as she normally did. I thought it was because her male friend Ivan, and her other crush Luka, were in her room, so she hid the pictures of Adrien. However, when I noted this on Tumblr, someone pointed out that the pictures went away after the embarrassment of "Troublemaker." I didn't notice that, and I haven't gone back to double check, but I know I'm probably going to take some time to do so this week.
Anyway, even if the person is right, and the photos are gone after "Troublemaker", my stories "Peeping Tomcat" and "One and the Same" are sort of an alternate telling of season 2. All the canon facts presented in season 1, and in the season 2 premiere "The Collector" - because it finishes off the plot of the season 1 finale "Volpina" - are the only things I follow to the letter. After "The Collector", I ignore seasons 2 or 3 exist. However, I do still use generic knowledge we gather from those episodes.
Information, such as Adrien always carrying around the bracelet Marinette gave him in his pocket, or Marinette having pictures of Adrien EVERYWHERE - at least, for a time, or that Marinette's paternal grandmother is Italian and a perpetual traveler, or that Juleka has an older brother named Luka, or that Chloe's mother is a fashion critic who lives in NYC so she can run a fashion magazine, etc. These elements would still be true, regardless of events that happen in the show, so I consider them fair game. Elements, like Marinette potentially taking down her photos out of embarrassment, or because she's getting close enough to Adrien that she doesn't need to obsess or idolize him anymore, or because she also has a crush on Luka and might not want to focus her room solely on Adrien anymore, won't show up in my story. They are reactions to events that happen within the 2nd and 3rd seasons of the show, and if those events don't happen in my universe, then the affects won't happen.
Make sense?
Anyway, back to my story, and this part gets a bit more spoiler-y, so I'm going to throw up another spoiler warning here.
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So, you're now caught up on the important elements of the show: Marinette basically wallpapers her bedroom with Adrien pictures, and she gets embarrassed when anyone outside a select few people sees this obsession. She even gets embarrassed when Chat Noir sees them, even though she doesn't know Chat Noir is Adrien. We also know, thanks to season 2, that Adrien carries around the bracelet Marinette gave him.
In the episode "Gamer", Adrien and Marinette were paired up to represent their school in a video gaming tournament. He went to her house in order to practice their team-up skills in the game, however, she was almost single-handedly beating each game boss. Adrien gets upset that he wasn't much help, which, honestly, I think had an extra level of sting because he saw a parallel with his partnership with Ladybug. Marinette cheered him up by offering a charm bracelet she just happened to have in her pocket. She claimed it gave her luck, which helped her win her matches, and told Adrien to see if it would work for him.
He never got the chance to give the bracelet back to her, and now carries it around with him wherever he goes. In the second season episode "Befana" he pretty much claims that the bracelet is his now, because he makes a replacement for Marinette as a birthday gift. This replacement bracelet won't show up in my story, because I don't want to officially put my version of the story after Marinette's birthday.
Anyway, months ago, in writing group, I read "Build Your Own Luck" which tells my headcanon of where the bracelet came from in the first place: Marinette's father made it to cheer her up when she was 5. Then, around November, I read snippets of OatS, which included Adrien and Plagg talking about the bracelet. Adrien wondered if Marinette could ever like him back, and Plagg asked about the bracelet, almost noting it as proof that she might like him already. That was when the other members of the writing group wondered if Adrien knew that Marinette's dad made the bracelet. Since that isn't canon, I told them that Adrien didn't.
But... why couldn't he?
So, one of my scenes is Adrien, as Chat Noir, finding out where the bracelet came from, and the significance of Marinette gifting it to Adrien.
In another scene, Marinette's klutziness causes her to cover Chat Noir in a sticky icing, so she hurriedly offers that he gets washed up in the sink she has in her bedroom vanity. She's not even thinking about the Adrien pictures throughout her room. At least, not until after he sees them.
Herein lies the problem that I've been trying to tackle throughout the week.
I want both scenes in the story. I think they both are great, and each have their own impact on Marinette's and Chat Noir's friendship, as well as introduce something different into the whole Adrien/Marinette dynamic. However, both scenes are also perfect times for Marinette to either confess to Chat Noir that she loves Adrien, or for Chat Noir/Adrien to figure it out himself.
I can't have that "ah-ha moment" in BOTH scenes, however. So I have to decide which one is the "gateway scene", as it were, to hint that there's more than just friendship there, and which one actually confirms the crush.
Now, in the show, Adrien does indeed see all the pictures in the episode "Troublemaker." Before the supervillain attacks, Marinette's bedroom - pictures of Adrien and all - accidentally gets aired on a live reality show, so Marinette knows ADRIEN specifically saw them. Adrien also saw them as Chat Noir, so I have that as a good base on what his reaction would be upon seeing them.
By the end of the episode, though, Marinette claims she just has the photos so she could study fashion. Adrien teases her a little about being an obsessive fan, but quickly counters with how glad he is that she's a fan, and offers for her to come to a photo shoot in order to help her study fashion more.
So... it's possible that the photos are the "gateway" scene.
Alternatively, Marinette could talk about the bracelet with Chat Noir while they are on her balcony, before he's granted access to her bedroom. As she tells the story of the bracelet, it could just be showcased how selfless Marinette was, but implied that maybe she wouldn't have been so kind as to give the bracelet away if it were anyone but Adrien.
So.... is THIS the "gateway" scene?
Which way would be more impactful? Adrien, as Chat Noir, seeing how selfless Marinette is by hearing about her bracelet, and then seeing the pictures, and putting two-and-two together so that he knows she loves Adrien? Or would it be better if he finds out about the pictures, and just thinks she's an obsessive fan, only to hear the true significance of the bracelet and have THAT be the point where he realizes she's not just a fan but in love with him?
I keep writing both scenes in both orders, and let me tell you.... it's hard to adjust them for the alternate orders. I have to re-write most of the scene depending on which order they're in. But in the end, I can only keep one set. And the other 10,000 words or so are trash....
Hubby votes for knowing about the bracelet first since it seems more "friendly" and easier to justify without romance attached to it. Also, if Adrien thinks of Marinette as an obsessive fan first, it might affect how he acts around her. But the more I write, the more I think the evolution of Adrien's realization that Marinette isn't a fan but in love might be the way to go?
Alternatively, what if Marinette's crush is revealed with the pictures, and the bracelet is still the second scene, but this time it shows Adrien that it's more than just a crush; she's actually in love with him... should I do that?
I DON'T KNOW! I CAN'T DECIDE!!!!!
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OKAY! SPOILERS OVER NOW! YOU CAN START READING AGAIN IF YOU SKIPPED THE LAST PART!
The long and short, for any who scrolled past what turned out to be the top half of my post, I have two scenes that I definitely want in the story. They are pretty much ALL I have for the middle of the story. The struggle, however, is that I can't decide which one I want to go first in the story, because the order impacts the significance of each scene, and I can't decide which impact I like better.Trying to figure out which order I prefer, so I know how to write the scenes so they can coincide within the same story, I figured I'd attack the plot outline again.
I was able to tweak it a LIIIIIITTLE, but I still don't have the middle at all. This evolution of the MariChat relationship, and having Marinette fall for Chat Noir is not coming to me. Which is weird, considering how I seem to stumble into that kind of emotional character development.
"Woven Heartstrings" had a growing MariChat dynamic that I didn't intend to have at the level it ended up becoming by the end of the story. If I can "accidentally stumble" into a dynamic MariChat friendship/relationship in a story I was writing on the fly, why can't I do it for a story that has been brewing for nearly two years now?
I need to figure out another way to try to attack this story, because writing out an outline isn't working. Writing out of order isn't working. Just sitting and writing the thing, and letting it develop on its own isn't working.
Under normal circumstances, I'd say the story just isn't working and abandon it, but I WANT to tell this story. I know where I want to start. I know where I want to end. I have, what I believe to be, a compelling ending.
BUT HOW DO YOU MIDDLE!?!?!
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| Knives from the Scott Pilgrim comic books by Bryan Lee O'Malley |
This kid makes me happy, and I'll probably fangirl about him for another week or so. While there were a few dud episodes this season - the season opener "Chameleon" and the episode "Chris Master" were kind of irritatingly meh for me - the majority of this season has been amazing! "Weredad" where Marinette tries to hide that she's Ladybug by distracting Chat Noir with a love confession? "Animaestro" where the show creator Thomas Astruc has a whole self-indulgent, self-insert episode where his original PV becomes canonically an in-universe movie about the superheroes? "Oblivio" where we get to see Marinette and Adrien's dynamic if they didn't get hung up on their own awkwardness around the other? "Silencer" where we have a wonderful Luka-centric episode? "Backwarder" where we find out more about Master Fu, and get a delightful Comedy of Errors and the most convoluted Lucky Charm solution to an akuma? Plus, "Backwarder" inspired me to write "Prescription for Love," so there's that.
Then there's the episode "Stormy Weather 2" which was equal parts "meh; clip show" and "this episode is amazing!" because it gave us more of the Nathalie/Gabriel dynamic, showed us more of Nooroo, had Marinette try to be less obsessive of Adrien, and had Adrien potentially show that he has feelings for Marinette as well.
Even the "meh" ones like "Chameleon" and "Chris Master" had good moments. "Chameleon" showed how much of an ally Adrien was to Marinette, and had the first true hints that he sees her as more than just a friend after she kissed his cheek in "Mayura." Then "Chris Master" FINALLY introduced us to ANYONE within Nino's family. He's one of the main support characters, and yet we knew nothing about his family: where he lives, how large his family is, who his parents are, does he live with both parents, etc. Meanwhile, we've been in Alya's home multiple times, and have met all six members of her family, Alya included. Juleka is a more minor character, but we've met her mother and brother - Luka - and have visited her home a few times. Mylene is another more minor character, but we have at least met her father. Same with Sabrina. Alix was one of the first side-characters, aside from Chloe, where we meet her father and older brother.
True, there are still tons of characters where we know nothing about their family and/or home-life: Max, Kim, Rose, Ivan, and especially the almost always forgotten Nathaniel. However, Nino is Marinette's friend, and Adrien's BEST friend, and it kept us until the 3rd season to find out he has a younger brother?
A lot of the fandom also loved "Chris Master" because it was just a silly episode where life-sized toys invade Paris in search for Santa Claus. Yeah, it was funny, but it was still "meh" over-all for me, except for meeting Nino's brother.
Anyway, I lost the point in there somewhere, which was that I'm LOVING this season of "Miraculous Ladybug." If only it could inspire me to get OatS written!
I need to shake off the rust, the cobwebs, and the self-doubt. I need to just sit down and write this week. Perhaps the rest of today can be spent really locking in that outline so I know where I'm going with this story. I have about 4 different outlines scattered throughout different methods: just straight up writing what I want to happen, writing out the plot points in a 3 Act outline, using the Snowflake Outline method created by Randy Ingermanson, and my notecards of plot points to organize. I feel like I actually have more outlines out in the ether somewhere, but those are the four I remember having....
Thankfully, I seem to have been matched up with some really cool people in my Camp NaNo cabin. I also have writing group tonight, so perhaps that can inspire me as well. With any luck and discipline, I should be back on track by next week. Here's hoping.
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| Vash the Stampede from Trigun Manga created by Yasuhiro Nightow |
I vote for pictures first, friendship bracelet second... I like the idea of her evolving (in Adrien's mind) from fan to love interest. And I think knowing exactly how special the bracelet is, he might think back and go, "Gee, maybe those pictures aren't JUST about fashion, after all!" Additionally, you could combine them slightly by having him notice NEW pictures, personal rather than fashion-centred, once they're in the bedroom. That could solidify his realization that this is about more than friendship for her.
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