Buckle Up, Kiddies

Guess who was actually bit by the writing bug this week? Like... seriously bit.

Koko Facebook sticker
by Hanasake Pictures Inc

You might want to grab a snack and a drink, maybe even get that bathroom break out of the way, because this is going to get to my "epic" length yet again with this one. So... get comfy.

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Last Tuesday, I ended up reading Love Taps at writing group. The most agreed upon comment? I could re-name the characters with Western names, ditch the reference to The Zodiacs, and the story could stand on its own as original content. Much like with I Don't Care, I feel like my "mostly original takes on what-ifs of these characters' lives" could very well be original content. The trick, however, is that I doubt I could really go anywhere with such a single short story, and since I won't really be able to picture these characters as anything other than their canon concepts, I fear I wouldn't be able to expand upon these stories as legitimately original works.

Point is, I feel like my group is really trying to push me to write something original already. I appreciate the confidence in my writing. I just- I dunno. I have the vaguest of concepts for Glitches and some sort of Gyateara-based fantasy story. I just don't have any actual plot ideas, and my story about Jolene's past is long and meandering and more for me. I honestly don't expect that to ever be picked up by a publisher.

Would I like to write something original? Heck yeah! I'd LOVE to have an original idea that grips me. One like a pre-historical fantasy about what life was like during the construction of the Tower of Babel, or a pre-9/11 tale about a CIA agent who has to protect his great-grandmother from South American assassins seeking revenge for her involvement in WWII, or a standard fantasy about a snarky teen whisked away from his home and must find a way back while realizing he has magical powers because he's secretly a member of a long-thought-lost race. Or, a story about a "family" of clones trying to live a normal life while the scientist that created them tries to track them down to either exterminate or further experiment on them. Or a low-fantasy story about a foreign bodyguard battling with her harsh past while protecting her refugee princess who is trying to survive a coup against her family, or another fantasy story about an exiled member of a secret angelic race as she tries to survive as a simple mortal long enough to get back home and force her way back into the society. Or maybe a story about a man fighting against reality itself as his Dementia worsens, his only comfort is the small collection of fellow nursing home residents that sort of strong-arm a friendship with him. Or even an anthology of short stories about a silent-movie star who is secretly immortal.

Don't they all sound amazing? They are each so unique. I- I got nothing. I may come up with compelling stories with original plot ideas, but they are all based on pre-established worlds and characters. Without those? Without my saying "What if?" while looking at the world or the characters? I have nothing.

At best, I'm a really good parrot. Always have been. My drawings were doctored copies of other images I saw. My stories are fanfiction. My original content is derived from fanfiction. Gyateara originated from a combination of the world of D&D and the video games Fable and Legend of Zelda. Glitches is a re-masked X-Men story.

I am an imitator. I don't know why, but I am completely unable to start from zero. I ALWAYS, in all forms of artwork - yes, crocheting things included - have to find a base, and then manipulate it for my own purposes. When I first started writing, I tried to mimic my writing voice off of that of Stephen King's.

True, in the end, I do adjust and adapt until I have something unique. Yes, all artists have to LEARN by mimicking others' work until it evolved into their own original style. I get that. I do. However, while I feel like I HAVE found my writing voice, I don't know if I've evolved enough to come up with an original "off the top of my head" story.

I'm not able to see a black-and-white painting of a mysterious man in the woods in winter, his back covered in arrows as the man stumbles through the snow, and think "fantasy story about a teenager who is secretly a member of a lost race of magic users."

I can't see the limited information that archaeologists have on the ancient civilizations around the time of the Tower of Babel, and think "what if they were telepathic, and telekinetic, and were able to travel via 'flying' rugs - flying because of the limited telekinetic powers?"

In a more mainstream sense, I can't look at Greek, Egyptian, and Norse mythology and think "what if the gods in these myths were real, and still had demigod children/avatars in modern society?" Or wonder about a teen who became a mob-boss within the world of the Fae. Or imagine a new take on the Battle Royale with Children concept to create a new YA distopia story.

My wheelhouse is fanfiction. I thrive on building off of stories left by the original authors; angles and potential the author might not see. Heck, I wanted to write a whole anthology of stories off of the character Lincoln from our X-Future RPG. That was one of the main reasons I was so emotionally distraught by the player killing him off. I loved the character, sure, and I saw it was the beginning of the end of playing with that guy, who was such a masterful wordsmith. However, the biggest gut-punch to me was when he said he was bored with Lincoln, because I had see soooooo many different story routes and potential that he didn't.

I don't need true AUs where one of the villains is actually a hero, or one of the heroes started off as a villain, or everyone works at a coffee house, or a magical show is retold as if it weren't magical, or a non-magical story is told in a fantasy setting, etc. I just need the SLIGHTEST divergence from the source material. I need to explore the "what if Character A did option B instead?" and create split timelines. I need big gaps in time, leaving me to wonder "Yeah, but what happened between Scene C and Scene D?" I need moderately vague endings that tie up enough loose ends to be satisfying, but still open for enough interpretation for me to wonder "what happened next?" Or mysterious character or world-build backgrounds that give enough information for a foundation to be constructed, but the rest is completely unknown.

I thrive there.

So, while I do very much appreciate the faith in my writing, and the encouragement to write something original so I can be published in an effort to make a profit - as much as I would LOVE to be paid for my writing - I truly don't foresee that happening in the near future. Not unless I can find a way to market my fanfiction. Not unless I can find a way to become part of the writing team for my fandoms.

And, considering my main fandom is produced in France and I don't know French, and my other main fandom right now is an already completed Japanese comic - a manga series - that is being re-adapted - quite faithfully - into an anime, I highly doubt the "become a writer for the fandom" is very plausible.

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Wow, that got mildly depressing, didn't it. Sorry. Didn't mean to. I was just trying to point out that, regardless of talent, perhaps some writers just aren't meant to write original content. Maybe I'll look at the world some day, and it will spark an original "OH! What if...?" buuuuuut, I doubt it will be any good if I try to force it.

Instead, I'll focus on the more minor milestones, such as the amount of writing I did this past week.

Yep, getting back on track here.

So, Wednesday I woke up, and I realized that Friday was not only a full moon, but also the 13th. We haven't had a Friday the 13th in about a year, I think? And I felt it deserved to be celebrated, as it were. A full moon on a Friday the 13th? I mean, come on. I think I saw somewhere it was the last time a full moon would fall on a Friday the 13th in like 30 years? I don't know how much I trust internet facts, but if it is true, all the more reason this past one was special.

I knew I'd be able to break out my Friday the 13th Facebook banner I did up quick last Friday the 13th.

Screen shot from Miraculous Ladybug episode "Pharaoh"

I could also use my "matching" profile picture from my original fanfic fandom: Hey, Arnold!

Screen shot from the incredibly appropriate
Hey, Arnold! episode "Friday the 13th"

That wasn't enough though to mark how special this date was. I wanted to write a story. I wanted to write a story centered around my favorite black cats. Originally, that was going to be a Chat Noir-centric story, but I couldn't think of anything to really focus on him.

I could go the usual MariChat route, but that would focus more on their relationship than on him specifically, same with a LadyNoir story. Then I thought I could write a story where he's actually the hero in an akuma attack. Sure, Ladybug still has to be okay enough to use her Lucky Charm, and capture/purify the akuma, but it was Chat Noir who actually took the villain down; much like how LB has taken the villain down by herself countless times.

That required me thinking of an akuma though. So... NOPE!

Blue Cat Facebook sticker
by Kangaroo

As I spent most of Wednesday morning brainstorming Chat Noir stories, knowing that I had less than three days to write the thing, I suddenly was struck with "Why does it have to be Chat Noir?" You know who else is a black cat for this thematic story? How about the kwami that powers up the superhero?

Plagg from Miraculous Ladybug

It is very rare for a story to be told completely from the perspective of one of the kwamis. Also, Plagg is one of my favorite characters from the show. On top of that, my attempt to come up with a second chapter for Painfully Close in order to tell Plagg's POV of the "Puppeteer 2" episode was a complete fail that went nowhere. My favorite cheeky black kitty needed some more love from me. And I knew exactly what I needed to do for Friday.

I announced it as "Plagg Appreciation Day" and spent the second half of Wednesday, part of Thursday, and the morning of Friday writing and editing a one-shot told from Plagg's perspective.

"Breaking Monotony"

On FanFiction       On ArchiveOfOurOwn       On DeviantArt

I also attempted to post the full story over on Tumblr, but apparently I hit a word cap I didn't know existed? So I was only able to post a sample there, and then linked to those three other locations.

It's been doing fairly decently for a story that doesn't focus on Marinette and/or Adrien. The stats as of this morning:

FFN: 213 views, 14 faves, 6 followers, and 3 reviews
AO3: 284 views, 21 kudos, 3 bookmarks, and 3 comments
DA: 17 views, but no faves or comments

Total Results: 514 views, 35 faves, 9 followers, and 6 reviews

Tumblr Notes: 8 likes

Reviews:
  1. It is a happy Plagg Appreciation Day, thanks to you
  2. Another fantastic story!!! I do love the "Day in the Life" idea and can't wait to see that! Happy Plagg day!!!!
  3. This was really cute 😊
  4. This is so freaking cute! I love Plagg! Your take on how the kwamis power the suits is fascinating, and I love it!

The other two reviews are a bit too long to try to keep in my stats box.

Of course, I had a lovely review from Taurus Pixie.

Taurus Pixie: You're a genius for posting this story on Friday 13th! Very apt! When I saw that you had written another more kwami based story, I got super excited! You nailed the last one that you did, and I'm always interested in learning more about them and the way that they view things. Especially Plagg since he's my favourite, lol.
      This was so much fun! Watching Plagg's perspective on everything was hilarious, especially whenever Marinette was around. I can totally see this being Plagg's actual thoughts in the show. You kept him so in character, and that just made this story even more amazing, especially since Plagg is always one of the funniest characters. I loved this so much!
      Happy Plagg Appreciation Day!

My final review was, admittedly, a bit awkward to read with all the cat puns threaded throughout, but the over-all intention of the review was sweet, so I'll share that too.

pinksakura271: Furist off the title is great. The summary is fun. Thank you fur thiss one-shot. True it's as Kagami once told Adrien: "You always do what's expected of you." In 'Frozer' when fencing she cutely taunts him "predicable" Adrien/Kagami would be adorable together romantically. I furrey much apurreciate that this is Plagg and hiss Cattastic Kitten centred instead of their female Bug counterparts. (Sweet Smile)
      Right on Gorilla, doesn't truly bodyguard Adrien. Definitely more of gentle giant of a babysitter/chauffeur. But downplayed or not any happiness given to Adrien Plagg (and MYSELF) apurreciate and apurrove com-paw-letely. Huh Adrien stating "mix things up, how about no Camembert for the day" of course Plagg would claim hiss Kitten crazy or evil. (Giggles) Adrien not noticing he makes Clumsinette more nervous boo-hoo it's not paw-issble.
      DUPAIN-CHENG IS BEING RIDICULOUS ABOUT IT ALL! Plagg's thoughts on hiss Sugarcube always wonderful. I swear those two Bugs don't apurreciate their Cats very much, compared to how the Cats treat them it's seriously infuriating. - She was so close, and yet insanely far. - oh Plagg connected story of both you and your Kitten's love lives... INSUFFERABLE IDIOTIC INSECTS they are! Them eating lunch very sweet, Plagg truly knows Adrien deserves so much better... furom honestly everyone around him.
      Always a misconception... Plagg's influence over Adrien isn't so keen. Seriously Tikki shut up, yes their business is serious. - I don't guide my owners the way you do with yours. - Again Tikki SHUT UP! What kind of accusation is that huh?! But unlike your Bug, Plagg's Kitten needs to BREATHE as Cat Noir. Casual purrlease he's endearing, besides Tikki Marinette DOESN'T truly understand Adrien nor Cat Noir so can you talk Tikki?
      I love your idealism of Plagg and Adrien coming together to become Cat Noir. It's highly horrible Kitty is Bug's shield willingly. Getting hurt, brainwashed, or filled by an akuma all on her behalf... it's sickening to watch sometimes. Plagg liking Kagami hanging with Adrien is great. Yes it's true she as similar to Nathalie but it's NOT bad at all. Right Marinette needs to mature to see Adrien as just another teenager/friend.

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Phew! Did you got through all of that? I want to finish up by giving a shout out to those four reviewers who had short comments. It seems unfair they go unnamed when the longer reviews get those quoted lead-ins. So, big thank you to AO3 readers Hilzabub, MyPandaEatsBroccoli, and my repeat reader MalcomReynolds. And over on FFN, thank you for my faithful reader ChubbyUnicornMama. Love each of my readers and reviewers so much!

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Do you need to take a quick break? Run to the bathroom? Refresh your drink? Grab a new snack? Because I'm not done yet!

Yes, I spent three days trying to put together a Black Cat themed story for Friday the 13th. However, that day ALSO brought about a pivotal episode for the Fruits Basket anime.

The infamous True Form episode. When I saw the character Kazuma the previous week, I knew True Form was coming, and boy howdy was I trying to prepare!

Kazuma Sohma in
episode "You Look Well..."

I was NOT prepared enough. I nearly sobbed the whole episode. I was wiping tears a good ten minutes after the episode was over.

Then I watched it again the next day with Omnibladestrike. I wasn't crying this time, but my heart still hurt so much. Knowing the full story really adds extra daggers to the episode. The subtly, the foreshadowing, the allusions to past events we aren't privy to yet. The writing is soooo well done, and the subtle reactions characters have? The slight shift in weight, or the faint glares, or the mild looks of panic? All of them MEAN something. These characters are so much more real because the animators took care to know each character's full story, and animated those subtle reactions. The ones that make second watches - once you know the full story - all the more powerful.

This show is amazing. I love it so much!

Well, I couldn't go two back-to-back days of watching the episode "Let's Go Home" without some Kyo angst leaking into my brain, apparently.

Saturday night, I went to bed, drifting to sleep, with an angsty Kyo story drifting to the surface of my mind. Sunday morning, I remembered nearly all of it. So I went ahead and wrote it up.

Surprisingly, it's actually less than 500 words! I can do that on the rarest of occasions, I guess! To be fair, the "story" is a letter from Kyo to Tohru, so it's going to be short. Also, a LOT of the context comes from knowledge of the show. More importantly, knowledge of the full manga, because a big reveal in the 20th manga - out of a 23 manga series - gives further context for a lot of what Kyo wrote in the letter.

Still. It was written, and it was posted fairly early Sunday.

"Unsent Letter"

On FanFiction       On ArchiveOfOurOwn       On DeviantArt       On Tumblr

Even with a revival of the fandom with the 2019 reboot of the anime, it seems the overall readership is a bit lower than that for the ML fandom. Either that, or I've become a more established ML fanfic writer than I give myself credit for.

Unsent Letter doesn't nearly have the traffic my other stories have, despite it being such a quick read comparatively. Maybe I went too far in the opposite direction, and people are assuming it's not worth reading BECAUSE it's less than 500 words? Or maybe people are still recovering from "Let's Go Home" and can't bother with Kyo angst right now....

Regardless of the reasons for the lower readership, I still love what I did with this bit, and I'm proud I was able to write something I consider complete in less than 500 words. And it's not like the story is completely ignored. I did get some nice reviews at least.

FFN: 42 views, no faves or followers, and 1 review by ChubbyUnicornMama
AO3: 96 views, 14 kudos, no bookmarks, and 4 comments
DA: 16 views, no faves or comments, but included in the group For-Fruits-Basket

Total Results: 154 views, 14 kudos, no followers, and 5 reviews

Tumblr Notes: 12 notes; 10 likes and 2 reblogs

Reviews:
  1. My Poor Cat Angsty Cat Boy 😭😭😭 You can't even tell him it'll all work out okay in the end because he'd never believe you ='(
  2. Dork. Just let her love you.
  3. Waaaaahh this is so sad! T_T T_T T_T But it's also so beautifully written and so perfectly in-character!!! ❤❤❤ It really feels like it could have been one of those monologue-style chapters!
  4. [CENSORED] ow rip my soul out next time please
  5. Aww... poor kitty. Another one I would adopt! (I'm assuming this is from Kyo to Tohru)

Thank you to my reviewers: inheritanceofgeek, MalcomReynolds, ChibiSunnie, iSpitonFire, and ChubbyUnicornMama. You all rock, and it makes me smile whenever I see your comments.

Now, if ALL of that wasn't quite enough yet, don't worry, I got you covered.

While thinking so much about Plagg and Plagg's perspective of things, I also thought about the fanfic trope of Adrien discovering who Hawk Moth truly is. I personally feel that if that canonically happens, it's the start of the end. There shouldn't be to much storytelling left in the show past that point.

However...

HOW-EVER!

What if it were PLAGG who discovered Hawk Moth's identity? I don't know if it's enough storytelling potential to stretch past a half-season; full-season probably at most. Even so, it is fun to think about.

For my full thoughts on the matter, feel free to check out my Tumblr post about it:

What if Plagg found Nooroo

Yet another plot bunny to add to the pile, but if anyone else reads my post and wants to run with it, I strongly encourage you to do so. Please just link me to the story once it's up. I'd love to see what you came up with!

As of this writing, the post has 16 likes and 4 reblogs, so maybe someone out there WILL write a story based on that idea, or draw a comic about it. I'd love to see. I'm EXCITED to see. I WANT TO SEE!

But if it goes nowhere with someone else, perhaps I will conquer it myself.

Old Billy Mays meme I won't let die

I have a "secret project" currently in the works, and a second one I need to further brainstorm for. I'm going to try to push to have at least the one up in time to share it with you fine folks next week. The other... might take a touch longer, and I should have REALLY thought about starting it last month or something. We'll see how it goes.

Plus... ya know... periodically poking away at One and the Same....

Writing is becoming a bit of an All-Or-Nothing sort of thing for me, huh? At least my Muse did indeed wake up! Thanks to anyone and everyone that poked her awake and sent her my way.


Oh goodness! I STILL haven't talked about the stats of I Don't Care!

Well, it's been weeks since I published it, so I no longer have the 24hr or 1st week stats I normally share. I'm sure I could figure out things like faves/kudos and reviews by going back through my emails, but I won't have number of hits and the like. So I'll just go with what I have currently.

FFN: 77 views, 6 faves, 4 followers, and 5 reviews
AO3: 45 views, 5 kudos, 1 bookmark, and 2 comments
DA - Chapter 1: 15 views, 2 faves, but no comments
DA - Chapter 2: 21 views, 2 faves, but no comments

Total Results: 158 views, 13 faves*, 5 followers, and 7 reviews
  *both faves of both chapters on DA were by the same 2 people; so it would only be 1 fave each if they read on other platforms.

Tumblr Notes: 3 notes; 2 likes and 1 reblog

Reviews:
  1. This was fantastic! Please, spoil me more!
  2. Whoa! It's stuff like this that makes me want to get a tumblr account. *sigh* great job! (review of chpt 1)
  3. I love seeing Gabriel as human. A little awkward, but human. (review of chpt 2)
  4. I officially love this! To think that there was once a normal man there, though this explains why he would become hawkmoth (Emilie seems really nice and worth risking Paris for)! Thanks for writing and stay Miraculous!

Real quick, first of all, that first review was commenting on my Author's Note on how I'm "spoiling" everyone by uploading 2 chapters at once. Secondly, the review commenting about the Tumblr account was responding to me stating Chapter 1 was a Tumblr Exclusive one-shot for over a year before I decided to expand on that world and make the multi-chapter fic. Those reviews were by the fabulous MalcomReynolds again, as well as the lovely ChubbyUnicornMama, and yet another repeat-reader Chat-and-ladybug.

As for the three remaining reviews? First up was my long one over on AO3.

lckychrm: aaaaaaaaaaa Ii am so happy that you decided to make this a multi chapter story!! It was a great surprise to log on tumblr and find this!! 😊 I’ve read “A stranger in a white dress” back when you posted it and it was amazing and now you continued it and it is even better!! I loved it so much and it’s hilarious how Gabe and Emilie always meet at a party 😂 and how you inspire yourself for each chapter with a different song!
    I can’t wait to see what you’ll have in store for them! I really like your writing!! 💕:’)))

It is so exciting for me to know that I have someone who read my work on Tumblr, loved it, and followed me over onto AO3!

And just this morning I was greeted by two lovely reviews from Taurus Pixie.

First up, her review of Chapter 1: Stranger in a White Dress

Taurus Pixie: Oh my stars! This is such a good idea! I've always been curious as to what exactly Gabriel and Emilie's relationship was like, as well as how they met. Gabriel obviously felt very close to her and was almost obsessively in love with her. This seems like such a plausible way that they could have met! You managed to create such an intense chemistry between them and almost make me view Gabriel in a different light. Until I remembered he was Hawkmoth and is downright abusive towards Adrien.
    But that just goes to show how overall amazing your writing is! This could very well be what Emilie's personality is actually like. We certainly know that she was quite fiery and passionate as implied by Gabriel. I think you captured that really well. Anyway, I'm off to read the next chapter! This is so cute and romantic! Excellent work!

And now for her review of Chapter 2: Alone at a Party

Taurus Pixie: I couldn't help but laugh at the wardrobe comment since the characters in the show hardly ever change outfits. Also, I've only just noticed how amazing your cover art is. Maybe I'll have to get some tips off you on how you make them, because they always look fabulous. But anyway, back onto the proper review.
    Emilie is so funny, and their interactions are so cute! Once again, I can so totally picture them being like this! There is so much mystery that surrounds them! You are super talented at writing romance, and I only wish that I could write moments as magically as yours. The chemistry between them once again felt so real, and it all feels incredibly realistic. I've said it before and I'll say it again, but your writing always feels so incredibly canon, as if you are an actual writer of the show.
    I'd be totally down for a third chapter if that's what you want to do, but there's no rush. This is such a sweet story, and I once again bow down to your amazing talent. Thank you for sharing this idea with us! It's so amazing!

AAAAH! Pixie, you are a sweetheart! Thank you for the encouraging words about how true-to-show I remain. Also, to get back to those two faves on DA, one of the users - paul7067 - actually started following ME after favoriting those chapters. Clearly Paul wants to make sure to not miss any other Gabriel/Emilie action from me. How exciting!

I mean, yeah, in the big scheme of things, this is probably my least-popular ML story, but it IS about humanizing Gabriel Agreste, and most of the fandom would rather throw tomatoes at him than grow sympathy. So, I get it. This particular story won't be most of the fandom's cup of tea. Which means the love I HAVE received just means that much more to me. So, to all of you who have read, favorited, left kudos, bookmarked, and/or followed I Don't Care? Know that I love you lots!

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Also, one last shout out to DA user Constance-Truggle, who has added I was Thinking of You, Acting Weird, and Build Your Own Luck to both their generic favorites and their "Miraculous Ladybug and Chat Noir" folder. I love seeing my work getting love on DA.

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I'm reaching the home stretch. I promise. I know this particular blog must be quite exhausting to get through. Thank you for following me this far deep down the Rabbit Hole.

I know there was more I wanted to touch upon with regards to my overall readership - I have dozens of emails stockpiled so I have the stats on-hand - but I'm not going to try to shoehorn it in when this blog is so long already. Maybe next time....

I also wanted to comment about the song I've been obsessing over this past weekend, but again, that will be dog-eared for next week, I guess.

So instead I'll finish up with a heads up that the latest chapter of Discordant Sonata by EdenDaphne is live. So, if you're following that story alongside me, be sure to check out Chapter 11: Cambiare.

Also, over the weekend, I stumbled upon a lovely story about Ladybug and Chat Noir whistling to each other. It's such a great concept, especially when they use the whistles in battle and as a way to warn each other that they're near.

You Know How to Whistle, Don't You? by Aikori_Ichijouji

If you prefer, you can also find the story on FFN.

Seriously, it's fairly short and so sweet. Plus, I just love the unique concept.

Okay, it's now past my noon update time, so I need to jet. I wish you all a great week!

Fanfic Made of Original Content; Sorta

Okay, so what's up, Mother Nature? Just because Labor Day is over doesn't mean it HAS to be fall now! We're supposed to have a couple more weeks of summer still! Now, granted, autumn IS my favorite season, but I'm not a fan of waking up with cold feet this morning. It's 9:45am as I write this, and I'm STILL hiding under a blanket in my living room instead of enjoying my front porch because it's still a touch cold out there without me unpacking my fall/winter clothes already....

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(okay, so I might be exaggerating a touch...)

Well, now that my whining for more heat is out of the way....

It kept me a touch longer than I would have wanted, but I did manage to get that Gabriel and Emilie Agreste story up this past week. With all of my errands I needed to do last Tuesday, I was still writing/editing the story by the time I sprinted off to my writing group. I warned everyone that it was kind of an abrupt opening, and I still needed to go back and add a proper one. After my reading, I had the usual of mostly no one responding, possibly because they don't really know what to say when critiquing a fanfic.

I did get my usual praise from Jack, and my fellow fanfic writer Skarabrae-stone both praised me and brought up a few questions/critiques. So, yay for that.

Ska's main question was "why does Emilie even like this guy enough to sort of chase him!?" Valid question. I paint Emilie in a light that everyone who reads/hears the story seems to find her fantastic, but I purposely painted Gabriel as reserved and a touch boring. He's a recluse so anti-social he barely even spends time with his SON. He's laser focused on Emilie. There should be a reason for that, and those personality traits should always be there.

However, I do understand the question. While I have Gabriel as a sort of diluted version of himself in my story, there's still nothing really for the average person to grab a hold of and say "Okay, I get it; I get the attraction." In truth, I don't even wholly know. I just know that they DO get together, they seemed to have a good relationship before Emilie "vanished", and that most of Adrien's positive traits seem to have been inherited/learned from his mother. She had to be the outgoing one.

Maybe I was inspired by one of the newer Sarah's Scribbles by Sarah Andersen

See the comic on her site

Regardless of how I came up with the dynamic that they have, I DO have Emilie as the one who is seeking out Gabriel and kind of dragging him out of his hide-a-hole. So Ska was right to question me as to WHY she does it. What is it about Gabriel that draws her to him?

At the time, my only response was "I'll let you know once she lets me know."

It kept me most of Wednesday to ponder it out. In the meantime, I tried to extend their interactions, as Ska suggested, in order to showcase more of Gabriel's personality. Show the reader why Emilie is attracted to this guy. Nothing I did felt organic. It read like I was trying to figure out their dynamic, instead of letting it naturally unfold.

So back to my original write I went - which is why you don't delete anything - and tried again. I simply reread "Stranger in a White Dress", looking at the narrative through Emilie's eyes. What brought her to the club in the first place? Why did she pull Gabriel out onto the balcony instead of just waving him off and fading back into the crowd? What did he say that made her impulsively kiss him? What was she feeling at the time? Why did she wander off with his phone number instead of spending more of the night with him? Why didn't she call him?

I then reread what I had so far of my current story, again looking at it from her perspective. What was Emilie doing at the party? Who did she know there? Did she know Gabriel was there? Was she actively looking for him? What was her thought when she spotted him? Why did she use the opening line she did? Was it a rehearsed line while walking up to him, or was it spontaneous? Did she mentally kick herself for it, or think it was a solid opener?

I think I have most of those questions answered, and while those answers never really showed up in the story, it helped me better understand Emilie a touch more.

It's rough writing a canon character as if she's an original since we literally know nothing about her outside of "married to Gabriel, loving mother to Adrien, was a leading actress for an indie movie, wears an off-white pants suit with a black blouse and star-shaped brooch, has blonde hair and green eyes, went to Tibet with Gabriel just before she 'went missing', and most likely used the Peacock Miraculous before falling ill." She's basically a MacGuffin that is paraded out now and again whenever the writers feel Gabriel needs more sympathy points and/or more motivation to keep being the villain. Even Adrien doesn't really mention or grieve her all that much, unless his grief is needed for his own character progression or a reason for him and Marinette to get closer.

So, I'm trying to do Emilie some justice by building her into an actual character. Hopefully show my thoughts on what she was like, and why Gabriel would go to such extremes to bring her back. As well as how much Adrien is now isolated and abandoned now that she's no longer around.

It will be a slow go, since I've decided to truly use this story as a sort of palate cleanser for whenever I hit a roadblock in my main writing - such as with OatS.

I mean, writing a fluffy romance to help refocus the brain seemed to work wonders for the comic book writer and artist Linda Sejic. Her main comic is a series called Blood Stain. It's a comedic slice-of-life playing with the "mad scientist" trope. You can read it for free on WebToon - which I linked to.

Anyway, while stuck figuring out what to do for her next volume, Linda Sejic read some Greek mythology and was inspired by the relationship between Hades and Persephone. Despite him "stealing her" from her mother, and "forcing her" to stay with him six months of the year because of eating pomegranate while in the underworld, the Hades and Persephone relationship was so revered that the ancient Greeks would pray to THEM for a happy marriage. Hades never strayed from Persephone in any of the myths that she could find. She began wondering "what if Hades didn't kidnap her, what if she willingly went to him and it was Demeter who claimed it was kidnapping because she wasn't on board with her daughter being with anyone; let alone the ruler of the underworld?"

The romance that Linda has teased via random Hades and Persephone posts she's shared over the past year or two is just so sweet. She even named the series of Hades and Persephone artwork Punderworld... because her Hades enjoys puns, it's a pun in and of itself, plus it's nice shorthand for Persephone's Underworld. After seeing the love for her Punderworld work, and how much she enjoyed creating the story, she decided to go ahead and make it an official comic book series alongside Blood Stain. Punderworld is set to come out next month!

I know I've gushed about this comic before, but here's the official pilot for it on WebToon.

Okay, back to my point. Linda said she felt re-inspired for Blood Stain, and that writing the next few bits of that comic has gone smoother since she had this "side project" to redirect towards whenever Blood Stain became troublesome for her. Perhaps my Gabriel and Emilie story "I Don't Care" will be the same way for me; my Punderworld with "One and the Same" being my Blood Stain.

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After taking Ska's critiques into consideration, and "soul searching" what it is about Gabriel that Emilie could be attracted to, I added the opening I felt the chapter need. Mostly it was setting up why Gabriel was there in the first place. I also gave his flatmate a name, as requested by Ska.

Hubby's been playing Fire Emblem: Three Houses, as I mentioned two weeks ago. One of the characters is a bit... over-the-top, flirtatious, and a typical "skirt chaser" who claims he just "falls in love too easily".

Character Portrait from Fire Emblem: Three Houses

For whatever reason, this character Sylvain ended up matching up fairly well with how I pictured Gabriel's flatmate. I'm not entirely sure how Gabriel ended up living with such a character, but I like the foil he creates. So, Sylvain officially is Gabriel's roommate... to some extent. I named the flatmate after Sylvain, and I sort of picture him looking the same; and being just as flirtatious. However, I think MY Sylvain will be even more exaggerated; an exhausting, constantly-needs-stimulation, extrovert.

Maybe that's how Gabriel manages to survive living with him. Sylvain is almost never in the apartment as he's out and about in Paris most of the day, and crashed asleep in his room the few times he's home....

It's fun when characters evolve for me as I complain in this blog about not really knowing the answers to key questions.

Hacker Boy Facebook sticker
by Birdman, Inc

So.... yeah. I had the chapter done on Thursday, but with Omnibladestrike's weekly visits, I didn't have the downtime to polish and post. We ended up meeting up with Hubby while my man was on his lunch break... about an hour before his shift ended...


So, for the half-hour left of Hubby's shift post-lunch-break, Omni and I chatted a touch about tropes and plot twists - now that I could FINALLY watch the Overly Sarcastic Productions' Trope Talk about plot twists - and how he could work plot twists into his story via the standard fantasy tropes.

Friday I was able to FINALLY get my story up, and then Omni "invaded" for a couple hours again. We chatted a bit more about his writing and his world build before he headed off to his gaming event.

I then spent the weekend cleaning my apartment and prepping for a mini viewing party for the Steven Universe movie on Cartoon Network yesterday. It was fun having a couple friends over so the four of us - Hubby included - could enjoy it together.

Huge shout out to all of my friends who kept bugging me to watch this show, and a special shout out to Rozsavaria, who provided me with a means to watch the series. It's so good, and the concepts are awesome! YAY!

Well, now that the hype of Steven Universe: The Movie is over, and I've gotten the Emilie and Gabriel fluff out of my system for the time being, I guess next thing on my To Do list is get back to OatS.

If it helps, I DID go back to my outlines yet again to try to tighten things up. I also started researching the 4-Act story structure vs the standard 3-Act. I had randomly grabbed some articles on the topic to help Cyhyr out with her own story last month, but I didn't really absorb the articles myself prior to this past week. Perhaps switching up the story structure formula can help me figure out this story... We'll see as I tackle it some more this week.

While I'm doing that, feel free to check out my new story: "I Don't Care".

As I've mentioned, I don't have much from the show's canon to work with, so it's going to be mostly original content. There may be nods to the show itself - such as Emilie telling Gabriel he'd look good in royal purple; the color of his Hawk Moth costume, or that Emilie wears Lavender perfume, and butterflies are attracted to lavender - but they're more added easter eggs than elements you need to "fully get" in order to understand the story.

I'm going mostly on my own imagination with this. It's probably on par with my X-Future stuff in terms of "mostly original content, although I'm using someone else's world, and possibly borrowing their characters."

Point is, most of IDC will be original content, so if you wanted to check out my fanfiction, but were afraid in the past that you'd get lost since you don't know the show, perhaps this is the story for you.

Also... it's "only" 5000 words long. Yes, ChibiSunnie has already playfully teased that 5000-words, even spread across 2 chapters, is still fairly large compared to a lot of other fanfiction. Still... it's small for MY writing.... Point is, it should be fairly manageable to read.

As per usual, you can check out my story in my normal spots.

On FanFiction       On ArchiveOfOurOwn       On Tumblr
Chapter 1 On DeviantArt       Chapter 2 on DeviantArt

Okay, I spent too much time reading through Blood Stain and that pilot of Punderworld when I looked up the links to them, so now it's after noon, so I'll have to wrap this up.

No stats for IDC for this week, but I'll try to remember to share them for next week. I will say though, that I shared IDC on Tumblr both via the AO3 link and then again as I normally do; physically inserting a link into a normal Tumblr post. I still don't have any notes on the AO3 share, but I am now up to 3 notes - 2 likes and 1 reblog - on that second promotion; the one I have linked here. So I think I'm going to continue the way I always have with my story promotions.

Although I JUST remembered that I didn't promote on Twitter again.... I keep forgetting that exists.

Knives from the Scott Pilgrim comic books
by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Either way, it's getting love, and people seem to like seeing Gabriel "as a human" so there's that.

Okay... it's now quarter after. Until next week!

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Ramblings About Spoilers (And Some Stuff About My Writing Too)

In truth, I'm not entirely sure what I did this past week. I haven't been feeling well, which means I've been neglecting my time audits. Always when I need them the most to figure out what the heck I did with my life is when I'm too "bleh" to remember to do them.

Awesome.

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I'm so good at this whole "Adulting" thing, guys.

Out of what I DO remember, this was my week:

• Go to work for the past six days straight
• Attempt to write and fail more often than not
• Power through the second half of the final season of Steven Universe
• Overwhelm ChibiSunnie with walls of text about Fruits Basket Another and Steven Universe
• Responding to a week's worth of Chibi's replies and own gushing about mangas she's into
• FINALLY getting back to messaging TLOS21 after I accidentally ghosted the poor dear MONTHS ago

None of that is necessarily in order.

I think the big thing was the Steven Universe bit. Hubby and I had a couple of binge nights throughout the week, even though we still would have had this week to finish the show off before the TV movie premiered. That last day, though?

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We started the show up as a way to wind down our evening. The timing was near-perfect for us to stop at midnight. It would have been like 12:06 or something random like that by the time the episode ended.

Except, it was a precursor to an episode I knew was going to happen, and one that was kind of major for the fans, from what I gathered via Tumblr posts and talking with Chibi. It was also the episode where the the show's creator Rebecca Sugar went a bit passive-aggressive. See, the show has a strong focus on lesbian relationships, among other key things. While some of those relationships could be reworked to be presented as "really close friends" or "family" - basically the same treatment Sailor Moon got State-side in the 90s - there was one couple where you couldn't deny that they were together. They kiss and hug and swing each other around... they were clearly a couple. Some countries, trying to rework this fact to hide a lesbian relationship, reworked one of the characters as male since she had a more masculine personality and style. Rebecca was NOT happy with this decision, and decided to throw a monkey wrench into those re-works.

I won't say more because of spoilers, but it was a glorious show of passive-aggressiveness, and I assumed it would be the next episode in the line-up. They are only 10min long episodes, so Hubby and I decided "Meh, one more." Except there was actually a sort of interlude episode. The NEXT episode would be the one I was waiting for.

"One more?"
"One more."

Buuuuuut, the one I was waiting for turned out to be a double episode: 20minutes. Okay. No big. So we go to bed at 12:30. Lots of adults do that.

Except I didn't know the episode I was waiting for would be the one that also flung us into the final act of the series. I should have seen that coming, in hindsight...

Cliffhanger after cliffhanger after cliffhanger... next thing I know, we're finishing up the 40min finale episode and going to bed at like 2am!

Sheesh!

But, hey, I enjoyed an awesome show finally. I got to watch the most epic portions of it with my hubby. He was annoying and called all the major "twists" the show concluded with. Darn his masterful observation and deduction powers!

Also, guys! GUYS! There is a BEHEMOTH of a character in that finale called Obsidian, and I LOVE her!

If Lia were a Steven Universe Gem instead of an X-Men mutant, then I could TOTALLY see this as her design... maybe with fewer arms... but... yeah! Maybe I'll rethink Lia's hair so it's more like hot smoke. I mean, Te Ka from Moana had a similar look.

Another good reference for Lia in her Obsidian form. In my reworking of Lia for Glitches I DO have her has half-Hawaiian, so maybe an homage art styling to Disney's Te Ka would be appropriate.

It might also help me make her seem less like the X-Men canonical character Magma - who, in X-Future, is Lia's mom - if I made Lia look more like a human volcano and less like the female version of the Human Torch.

Johnny "Human Torch" Storm from Fantastic Four
Amara "Magma" Aquilla from X-Men

Now, I tried making Lia look less like her mom by having her cover her magma form with a "skin" of obsidian; hence the codename. However, Lia still has her hair turn into flames when she powers up. I'm not much of an artist, so these are the best renderings I have of my vision.

Left Design: mostly artwork from ChaZie doll
designers, and then doctored in Photoshop
Right Design: Completely done in X-Girl
doll maker by Candy's World

After seeing the design of the Steven Universe Obsidian, and comparing her to Te Ka, I'm thinking the smoke-cloud hair could actually work better for Lia. Especially since the comic book versions of both Johnny Storm and Amara Aquilla are blondes. It just seems natural for light colored hair to become flame-like. Meanwhile, Te Ka is part of Hawaiian culture, and most Hawaiians have brunette hair. It seems just as natural for brunette hair to become smoke-like. Lia happens to be brunette....

I'm going to have to re-think Lia's Obsidan Form art design for Glitches....

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Back on topic. So I completed my watch of Steven Universe. That means I was also able to finally get to the Overly Sarcastic Productions' Trope Talk about Plot Twists. I have to say, while I was fairly certain I knew MOST of the spoilers for SU already, I'm glad I didn't chance watching the Trope Talk before finishing the series.

It was a kind of major twist, and while said twist now entices me to go though a second viewing of the whole series - as long as that is - in order to see the clues sprinkled throughout, at the same time I'm glad THAT twist wasn't spoiled for me. After having an emotional investment in the series, to have THAT rug pulled outside of the narrative would have pissed me off.

Sure, there's the argument - one that Red brings up in her Trope Talk - that if a story is ruined by being spoiled, then it was a poorly written story. This was a big talking point around the spoilers embargo for "Avengers: Endgame". Like, people were literally beaten up for announcing spoilers for the movie. So the critique became: "if you find out a spoiler and decide the story's no longer worth consuming, then it was probably a poorly written story in the first place." Mainly because it means knowing that twist takes away the enjoyment of the story; detracting from any form of second viewing.

HOWEVER, there are twists that ADD to the second viewing because it gives you something to look out for. Red states that these are "well done" plot twists; the kind that enhances the story. I argue that it sucks to have THOSE spoiled for you just as much as the "bad writing" plot twists; the ones in there just for the initial shock value.

Red explains that being spoiled something that is a good plot twist will just sort of launch you into the "second viewing" mindset of "I already know this twist but..." as you still enjoy the suspense - or the suspense is kicked up a notch due to your knowledge - or as you pick up the breadcrumbs leading to the twist.

For instance, there are a LOT of these "retroactive" plot twists in the show Futurama. Two major ones are actually revealed in the 4th season, even though there were hints about it all throughout the series. One reveal was so ingrained in the overarching story of the show - even though it was never even HINTED that there was a deeper meaning to it - that if you go back to the VERY FIRST EPISODE, and know what you're looking for, the reveal is there! It wasn't something that was retroactively added in for a flashback sequence to explain this random plot twist, IT WAS THERE IN THE FIRST EPISODE, JUST WAITING TO BE REVEALED!

FOUR SEASONS LATER!

Likewise, the second reveal also had breadcrumbs from at LEAST the second season, if you knew what to look for. That's another three years of dropping hints before the reveal. The best part is, while both reveals did kinda-sorta change characters' outlooks on their lives, it didn't change the overall story of the show. It wasn't a "trajectory" twist that drastically redirects the show plot for the rest of the series; or the rest of the movie....

Knowing those reveals actually makes the story more fun as you try to pick up on those clues upon your watch. So, in that regard, I think I agree that finding out a spoiler shouldn't ruin the overall experience. Instead, it tweaks it to a potentially better one as it forces you into that "second viewing" mindset.

HOWEVER, my counter-argument is that it only really works with those retroactive-twist spoilers, but not trajectory-twist spoilers.

Sure, a trajectory twist - or the "character reveal" twists that are usually both retroactive twists and trajectory twists - should still be done well enough that knowing it doesn't ruin the whole story, otherwise, what is the point of re-watching/re-reading/re-playing the story?

Most of the examples I can think of off the top of my head are character reveal twists, but we'll go with it.

• Knowing who Keyser Soze is won't ruin the re-watch value of "The Usual Suspects."
• Knowing who the titular "Twilight Princess" is won't ruin the video game.
• Knowing the full story about the Crystal Gems rebellion against Pink Diamond - the Steven Universe spoiler Red had used - doesn't ruin the re-watch value of the series.
• Knowing who is the masked leader of the terrorist group in "The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel" or, similarly, the masked leader of the terrorist group in "Fire Emblem: Three Houses" - Hubby has a thing for RPGs with masked terrorist group leaders, apparently - doesn't ruin the re-play value of those games.
• Knowing who Darth Vader is in "Star Wars" doesn't ruin any of the re-watches of it.
• Knowing the truth about what the world of Psyren is - in the same named manga series - doesn't stop you from wanting to re-read it.
• Knowing the truth about what the Assassin's Creed games are about doesn't ruin the re-play value, nor does it detract from future games in the franchise.

HOWEVER. While these are all well-written trajectory plot twists, I would STILL hate to have known them ahead of time. I still would have HATED having them spoiled - which is why I'm so glad I waited before watching that Trope Talk.

Because, while the story isn't ruined by knowing, and it may actually be ENHANCED with the knowledge of those twists, getting those twists spoiled still ruins the EXPERIENCE of going in blind. You don't feel that initial reaction that the writer wanted for you. That shock. That awe. That gut-punch. That "wait! what!?"

Being spoiled on a well written plot twist - usually a trajectory twist - takes something from you, and that's why I'm trying harder to either avoid posting spoilers on this blog, or at least marking/hiding them. I know, I've been accidentally spoiled on a lot of things that took away that initial impact, and I'm super bummed about it.

Speaking of: pro-tip for anyone watching "Miraculous Ladybug" and either haven't gotten to season 3 yet, or just started it. Avoid watching the episode "Party Crasher". It aired terribly out of order and spoils new Miraculous wielders.

So... anyway.... those were my rambling thoughts about spoilers and why I'll continue to want spoiler tags for things.

Let's move along to the real reason you guys are here: my writing.

In that regard, I kinda sorta have good news?

I don't have anything posted yet. I still need to finish and polish. And this might be one of the few times I read something to my writing group before publishing it. I use the limited critiques I get from them for future writing; a means to grow and adapt. However, it's rare that I use the critiques for the actual story I've read, because said story has already been posted online. In some occasions, the story has been up for months before I get to read it at group.

We'll see how it goes. First, I have to finish writing/editing the story before group tonight. That is the trick, considering it kept me until I had a night alone at home on Friday - I just haven't been able to really focus at work this week - to finally got some words on paper; so to speak.

About two hours and five pages worth of writing.

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I had finally gotten around to working on my Gabriel and Emilie story.

Originally, it was going to be a one-shot in the same universe as Stranger in a White Dress, and set it up as a series, like I did with the It's You universe. Then I thought I'd do something similar to What Is Truly Meant To Be, and create a love story where each chapter relates to a different song. The first chapter would be "Play Me Like A Violin" by Stephen and the second chapter - the writing I did on Friday, and continued a little bit yesterday - would be based on "I Don't Care (acoustic)" by Ed Sheeran. However, the more I wrote, the slower the progress got with the relationship. I was perfectly okay with that, but it meant I barely covered even the first verse of "I Don't Care" within my story. I mean, that's fine too, since "Stranger in a White Dress" is more of the FEELING of "Play Me Like a Violin" as opposed to a narration of the story told in the song.

Still. The more I wrote "I Don't Care" and the more I got into the slow build of their relationship, the more I realized how much the song didn't just talk about this ONE MOMENT in their romance. The feel of "Play Me Like a Violin" very much encompasses the initial attraction the two had for each other, in my mind. However, it's a story about a whirlwind romance, of physical attraction without truly getting to know each other. The story told in "I Don't Care" - the song, not my writing - is about a strong connection with someone; being able to do things otherwise thought impossible or uncomfortable, simply because the love of your life is beside you.

That's not just a chapter in Gabriel and Emilie's life. That is their whole romance.

So, I'll have to rework and retweak a few things, and I want to alter a part in "Stranger in a White Dress" before officially posting it as "chapter 1" of this story. As of right now, the overall story will be called "I Don't Care" which works as a nod to both the song that inspired it, and to the couple's attitude towards hardships while they're together, as well as a painful reminder of Gabriel's thoughts after Emilie is taken from him.

Really, the only hesitation I have with posting this new story as a chapter instead of a short story within the same universe as SiaWD, is that if it's a multi-chapter story, then people will be expecting updates on it. I know I will post more chapters as I become inspired to talk more about the couple's doomed relationship. However, I have no clue how frequently those inspirations will strike. I mean, it's been over a year since I wrote SiaWD.

Also... I still have OatS to work on, so switching focus to this new story, instead of letting new chapters pop up whenever, seems like a disservice to OatS and the readers waiting for it. Especially since I'm not the type of person who can split focus on a massive project like these in order to progress them simultaneously. I just don't want my readers to see me posting a new multi-chapter story, and have it not be OatS AGAIN. I already did that to them twice with "Woven Heartstrings" and "Prescription for Love." I feel like I'm just teasing them now.

On the flipside, maybe they'll just appreciating having SOMETHING new from me to read. Plus, using this Gabriel/Emilie story as sort of a palate cleanser whenever OatS is running me into a wall might be just what I need to finally finish that massive work.

So, here's to adaptability, and hope it helps get me back on track with my writing.

Until next week.