#open for plots come at me !!

[statementlou]

Tbh i am not surprised that a person who openly talked about having drinking problems since 1d days, because of how crazy 1d worked has been agressive. What surprises me is people being surprised (they never seriously saw drunk person?). But i am also confused about this whole book. Apparently Maya said that that book is not fully bout Liam but compilation about her exes and some of the worst parts are not about him. But recently she said that the book is “ofc about him” so what is true then? Or did she meant it that ofc some parts are about him or that whole book is about him?

Sorry, just confused

I also am not surprised- we've learned so much more about the real stories of things and about the guys' actual lives over the last years, and the story that has unfolded around Liam has been totally consistent throughout if you've been following it, and so the information Maya is telling us is shocking and upsetting but not difficult to believe. I got an anon yesterday saying they were worried about getting similar revelations about the other boys, like "if Liam could be doing this we just don't know, any of them could", and while in a way that's always true I guess, anyone could be doing anything in private like... that doesn't really concern me. Because none of these Liam revelations are coming out of nowhere, there have been many MANY steps along the way leading us here if you've been watching, and he has talked openly about both his mental health struggles and his addiction issues. So to answer that anon... to find out something similar about Louis would in contrast contradict everything we know about him and no I'm not worried about it. Is he probably very irritating, absolutely, but an abuser or a loose cannon, well that news would shock me. But anyway as for the book I don't find it strange that she was nervous when it came out and treading lightly and later decided, fuck it. In the absolutely on point tiktok she dropped today (YES👏GIRL👏FUCKING TELL THEM👏) she even mentions attempts to keep her from publishing the book, presumably by Liam's team, that I am riveted by and cannot WAIT to hear more details about actually- like I said I don't find it at all strange that she was nervous and downplayed it a bit then. But if she says now that it's just about Liam, well, I would say it's been clear from the beginning that the book is their story. Maya herself brought up the parallel of songs being written about stuff and I think it's the same thing; it's true (she was in an abusive relationship that involved certain kinds of events) but maybe not 100% literal (I'm sure details were changed to make the story work, it's not like a word for word timeline of their interactions or whatever).

[screwpinecaprice]

Although I barely make content for my connverse kids, there is a series of headcanons it's storyline follows so might as well jot it down. ¯⁠\⁠( ⁠•́⁠ ͜⁠ʖ⁠ ⁠•̀⁠ )⁠/⁠¯

I headcanon that Steven isn't really immortal and that the Pink Diamond Gem will become an heirloom of sorts.

I headcanon that each of the Diamonds is some kind of representation or parallel to what forms the Universe. I don't know what the others could be, but Pink is the organic parts. Organic creatures, specially the sentient/sapient kind, is a rarity in the vast ocean of space, which was why she's the smallest.

Her affiliation to organics made her much more sympathetic and fascinated with them, and she was captivated with humans the most. Eventually, after living with them and her envy and wonder for them grew, she had the desire to be one. Or rather, something deep in her gem wanted to.

While she can make a baby without giving up her form, she chose to sacrifice herself so the gem can be passed down to Steven.

However, as Pink/Rose and Greg are different species, there had been an inconvenience. The offspring exists, but the gem and organic connection is imperfect and unstable.* The gem needs to develop it's connection to the physical body more. This can be done by letting the body naturally learn to adapt to the gem/magic, then passing both the gem and the DNA (with that learned knowledge) down to the next generation; who's physically more capable of hosting the diamond. The result is not instantaneous so it's going to take a number of generations before the gem and body becomes perfectly fused. (Slow burn route, babyyyy)

Passing down the gem can be done in two ways.

One is the natural way: by giving birth to the child with the gem intact. Of course, this will cause the parent to die. (There miiight be a chance they will still live despite now not having a gem, if they have the technology for it. But it can get trickier down the line as the body and gem becomes more connected.)

The alternate instance the gem can be passed down is when the current keeper becomes deceased and their "Pink Form" (like the Pink Steven in Change Your Mind) appears. They will guard the gem until a progeny claims it. There's a possibility the gem rejects the new body though.

There's a cool down after the gem is passed down. Of course, that and how mentally ready the person is can affect how long the cool down lasts. (Which was why Steven's gem powers didn't come out sooner.)

I was thinking about when you inherit the gem in the second way, how part of the cool down works is that you can still see the prior host as an apparition others can't see. They can talk to you and stuff. (Guide you? Torment you? Be your friend? Idk) But they can't really interact with anything else. They disappear when the new host (keeper?) is fully mentally ready to take in the gem.

*I was wondering also. Either conveniently or by design, Steven has a positive disposition as a lower morale can disrupt the gem's balanced state. Unfortunately for our boi, he's the first meat host, so he has to learn how to keep a stable mind the hardest. 😞

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

So, controversial topic. taking in count that in a month, the webcomic "scarlet lady" is gonna end ¿what are your feelings about it?

I know that there's people out there that don't like it for the chloe salt, but i have to admit that the damnation that chloe went through, at least for me, gave her more agency than canon, for the fact that it wasn't manipulated by outside forces like canon did, it gave her the right to choose to be better or worse.

Another great element is that it does what canon refused to do: five back Adrian his agency by letting him vent his frustrations AND let him realize that his father is a bastard.

If you don't agree, that's more than excellent, i want to know your take in this topic, that being positive or negative 😄👍

My friend, you are talking to a big Scarlet Lady fan, so I'm happy to give my thoughts! Get ready for some gushing and in-depth discussion of the adaptation process. That's really what all fanfiction is, but Scarlet Lady is more of an adaptation than most since it's a true canon rewrite that often requires you to know canon to fully appreciate its jokes and meta commentary.

Before we get into it, I want to give a link to the comic for those who haven't read it. The artist/writer is @zoe-oneesama and this is page one of the comic. I'd follow the comic link if you haven't read it as the comic is nearing its end, so going straight to Zoe's page will spoil you on elements of ending.

General Thoughts on Adaptation

Adaptation is an art, not a science. There are things that are objective elements of a story. Things you really cannot change if you want people to feel like you're telling an adaptation of a given tale. But there are also plenty of elements that are more subjective. Things some people might consider vital, but that aren't truly necessary to stay true to the story's core. (Yes, the character core thing applies to stories too!)

For example, to be a Cinderella adaptation, you need to have some sort of big reveal moment where "the prince" finds Cinderella, but that moment doesn't need to involve a slipper and the prince doesn't need to be an actual prince. My favorite modern Cinderella adaptation is A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song and it twists both of those elements while keeping the major story beats in place, making it fully deserving of the Cinderella label while also being its own unique story that isn't a straight retelling, it's an adaptation.

I bring all this up because, as readers of this blog may have already guessed, Scarlet Lady does a lot of things that I personally would not do when adapting Miraculous. A big one being that I prefer a more complex take on Gabriel, but that's simply a matter of preference. A complex Gabriel is not a requirement for adapting Miraculous. Complex Gabriel vs comedic villain Gabriel is just a choice you have to make when it comes to adapting canon because canon is such a mess that both options have straight up backing in the source text. Even if they didn't, Gabriel's core role - villain - is one that leaves you a lot of room for interpretation based on other factors that we'll talk about in a second.

I'll close off this section with this: having read all of Scarlet Lady, I'll be so bold as to say that Zoe and I almost perfectly align when it comes to identifying the flaws in Miraculous because I've agreed with pretty much every change she's made. She did a fantastic job staying true to the core of canon while also telling the story she wanted to tell. It's not the way I'd redo canon, but it doesn't need to be for me to call it a fantastic story. Plus a lot of the different choices I'd make come down to narrative style and tone.

Narrative Style and Tone

I'm a novelist at heart, which means that I favor serialized storytelling. For those who don't know that word, it means stories that are one coherent whole just broken into chunks. Stories where the order matters. You can't start watching at a random episode, you have to start at the beginning. And skipping an episode usually means that you'll have no idea what's going on.

Miraculous is not a serialized show. It's primarily an episodic show, a word that means that episode order doesn't matter. Every installment stands alone.

Obviously Miraculous isn't completely episodic, but that's fine. Purely episodic narratives are rare these days. Most stories have at least minor serialized elements even if those elements are often ignored for multiple episodes at a time. This is where both Miraculous and Scarlet Lady fall. They're mostly episodic stories with serialized elements popping up every now and then.

Miraculous does this element poorly because it acts like it's a purely episodic show and then takes that to an absurd extreme. Rules, characters, and lore can never be counted on to stay the same from episode to episode even though that's not actually how episodic stories work. Scarlet Lady doesn't make this mistake. It understands that episodic narratives should have STORIES that stand alone, but that the WORLD the stories take place in must stay consistent.

Now that we've gone over the basic format stuff, let's talk about tone.

Generally speaking, tone is the vibe of your story. It can be serious, silly, dramatic, and so on. One of Miraculous' biggest flaws is that its tone is all over the place. It's a silly romcom that brings in serious topics in serious ways and then handles them with all the grace of a hippo performing ballet in a china shop because of course it does! Those topics are horribly suited to the show's overall tone so it has no way to properly address them.

This is one of the many things I love about Scarlet Lady. It takes the show's absurdist tone and honors it. That's why Zoe's version of Gabriel works so well! He's a silly cartoony villain in a silly cartoony comic as he should be. It's also why my versions of Gabriel tend to be more complex. More serious serialized narratives are where more serious complex villains thrive. Neither option is better than the other, it all comes down to how you're adapting the original work. Zoe's choices are perfect for her version's style and tone. If mine are even close to that good for my preferred style and tone, then I'll be a happy author.

Narrative Weight & The Chloe Thing

This is getting long, so I'll end with a note on Chloe since you brought her up as it's another great example of the fact that there are very few choices that are inherently right or wrong when it comes to adaptation.

I don't know if I'd say that I'm a Chloe fan, but I certainly don't hate her. I also love what Zoe did with the character! It's a prime example of a thing that I've talked about before: the issue with Chloe is not a lack of redemption. The issue is that Chloe was given too much narrative weight to be what canon made her.

Quick definition: narrative weight is the importance a narrative places on a person, event, thing, etc. The more time you dedicate to an element of your narrative, the more weight that element has in the eyes of your audience. The more they expect the element to matter. The way that you develop the element will also shape audience expectations.

In the context of canon, Chloe has more development than almost any other side character. We know more about her family, her childhood, her personality, and so on. This was an absurd choice for canon to make because Chloe is not actually important to the story they told. You could pull her out of canon and almost nothing would change. Gabriel can make akumas do whatever he wants so, lore wise, he didn't need Miracle Queen. In fact, he arguably shouldn't have made Miracle Queen. He could have just taken the miracle box and jumped right into the plot of season five. Similarly, Chloe being mayor was an absurd one-note moment that's easily replaced with something more logical.

Because of this, there are a lot of things you can do when adapting Chloe. Everything from turning her back into a one-dimensional mean girl to redeeming her to what Zoe did: take Chloe's narrative weight and petty brat behavior and lean into both to make Chloe a main antagonist while also acknowledging the fact that Chloe is a messed up teenage girl who needs some serious help. I'm super excited to see the end of Chloe's arc in Scarlet Lady as I think it's going to be one of my favorites in the fandom. That is admittedly not a high bar as I'm very picky when it comes to Chloe content. I think most of it falls flat because most of it fails to let Chloe hit some sort of rock bottom when she absolutely needs to if you want to do anything interesting with her. She's not the kind of person who will easily change or see the error of her ways.

Conclusion

Scarlet Lady is a fantastic adaption of Miraculous and Zoe is a fantastic and funny adapter. The comic might not be to your tastes - and that's fine, nothing has universal appeal - but it's still a great example of how to honor source material while doing your own thing with it, which is a true skill. One of the problems with many modern retellings and reboots is that the people running the show don't understand how to adapt a narrative. They take far too much creative freedom and end up with something that doesn't feel anything like the source.

If I found out that Zoe somehow got hired to adapt something I love, then I wouldn't have any concerns. I'd have no idea what she'd do with it, but I'd be confident that it wouldn't spit in the face of the thing I love. I'd personally read a hundred Miraculous re-imaginings with her at the helm.

[vivitalks]

i can't stop thinking about lydia's role in the nightmare-ception nightmare stiles has at the very beginning of season 3b. it's fair to assume that the nogitsune is, on some level, pulling the strings on this matryoshka of a dreamscape, possibly because it doesn't yet have the strength to control stiles while he's awake, but even if it's not the nogitsune, lydia's presence and behavior make no sense.

she's in the part of stiles's dream where he thinks he's awake, and other than wish fulfillment, there's no real reason why she would be there. and while she seems like just another part of the dream - manifested by stiles's subconscious - the way she acts suggests more than that. her presence is the first thing to tip stiles off that something is wrong. he thinks he's awake, but if he's awake, then why is lydia in his bed? maybe lydia was not, actually, supposed to be part of this dream at all.

the moment stiles realizes this, his door creaks open, distracting him from lydia and drawing his attention to the door - specifically, the idea that someone could "get in" if the door is open. if we run with the likely theory that the nogitsune has already entered stiles's mind by this point, then this is stiles's subconscious understanding to a certain degree that he could be in danger, but not yet aware that he already is.

but lydia knows. from the second stiles moves toward the door, lydia does her best to persuade him not to. first she tries to dismiss it ("just go back to sleep", "don't worry about it") and then to challenge his reasoning ("what if someone comes in?" "like who?") but by the time he's reaching for the door, lydia is full-on begging. she's panicking. she knows that (1) stiles isn't going to close the door, but walk through it and (2) there is something through the door that is incredibly dangerous.

and i keep wondering: if the nogitsune was already there, and on some level, however small, controlling the dream, then why the hell was lydia there? her entire role was to counteract the nightmare. she did everything she could to prevent stiles from opening that door. how did the nogitsune benefit from that?

now. i know this is a far-fetched theory. but hear me out: the lydia in stiles's dream was the real lydia. stiles and lydia were in the same dream - they just didn't know it.

essentially what i'm saying is lydia "dreamwalked" into stiles's mind without meaning to. i know there is no canon basis for this being a thing that can happen, but play in the space with me for a minute:

lydia is specifically singled out for her clairvoyant ability to predict danger and death, though it is often presented to her in an abstract fashion

she has been known to sometimes have these visions while she's asleep

there is a door open in stiles's mind, meaning theoretically anything with the capacity to enter a mind could enter stiles's mind, whether intentional or not (and we know that at this point, lydia lacks the ability to control her powers)

there is a connection between stiles and lydia - a tether - that linked them in a supernatural capacity at least once before (with the ice baths)

given the other supernatural concessions of the show, it's not that much of a stretch to propose that lydia could have unwittingly entered stiles's dream, perceived it as her own, picked up on the threat to stiles, and been inclined to protect him from it, without knowing exactly what "it" was.

and before you say "banshees can only predict death, not any danger," that has generally held true for lydia...but with one notable exception, which happens later on in this season: she finds nogitsune!stiles unconscious in the parking garage, after the nogitsune slices his stomach open. he's not dead, and we know he's not dying because deaton says he seems to be healing. something about the connection that exists between lydia and stiles enables her to predict any kind of threat to him, not just the imminently fatal kind.

so: stiles has a nightmare where lydia is inexplicably there, the only part of the nightmare that isn't nightmarish. and at the same time, lydia has a dream that has all the makings of a banshee vision, and responds accordingly: by trying her best to protect her friend, pleading with him not to go near the door, because she can tell there's something bad behind the door. they had the same dream. they were both there. lydia, somehow, entered through the same open door the nogitsune used to get into stiles's mind, and, thinking the stiles in her dream was a premonition of danger coming to him, did her level best to keep him safe, unaware that this was the real stiles, and the danger was already here.

[arsenicflame]

Hornigold's Izzy was the worst, of course. A version of himself that never escaped that terrible place, who lived his life as little more than an object. He still has nightmares about all the things Baz told them, about all the things he didn't.

It doesn't really surprise him, after the first ones, not at its root. To be Izzy Hands is to be someone's after all, though seeing his own face on someone so fundamentally different to him never gets less weird. The people who these other Izzys attached themselves too often left him with more questions than answers. Jack's Izzy, he can understand, from a certain view, though the man himself felt like a fever dream. The less said about Stede's Izzy the better, he's never going to forgive him for the ideas he put in his Stede's head.

Then there was Sam's Izzy.

The first thing anyone noticed about him was that he was happy. He smiled and laughed without thought, and went through life with an ease Izzy didn't think he had ever felt. The crew took to him immediately, accepting him in a way they never did the other Izzys, and certainly not their own. They prodded him and asked him endless questions, and he took every touch without a flinch and answered every question without a hint of a grumble. This Izzy was free. He was open, unburdened, trusting. He was happy.

Sam's Izzy was the one that hurt the most to see. He could accept the worst that Hornigold could've offered, that he would have suffered and been broken. It was infinitely harder to see that he had a chance to be this happy. That it slipped through his fingers.

He's never looked back before, but now? Seeing what might've been? He can't stop himself from considering the possibility that maybe he made the wrong choice back then, going with Ed.

[justanotherfanfolks]

Wait, you know what makes this extra funny?

The fact that this is all of Ruggie's screen time in Phantom Bride.

He shows up for like 5 seconds, refuses to help, and never shows up again. Not even in a vignette like the others that had small parts in the story. And I love that for him.

[dilfmobius]

seven sentence sunday

i just want loki and mobius getting high y'all that's it, so i'm gonna try real hard not to let this one die dfgjhsdfs 😩💚🧡

Mobius tips his head back to rest against the couch and releases a plume of smoke, billowing out of him like a chimney. Loki’s eyes drag over the agent’s neck up to his mouth, but his gaze ventures a little too far up, and their eyes meet.  A slight twitch to the corner of Mobius’ mouth is Loki’s only indication that he had been caught in the act.  “Okay, well, this is the herb that does that,” is all Mobius says. He takes another slow drag, but keeps his eyes on Loki this time, careful not to pull too hard causing a side burn. Loki remains still, holding Mobius' gaze as the man inhales, holds it for a second, and then exhales slowly.  Mobius holds the joint out for Loki to take and chuckles at the god before him, wide-eyed and lips slightly parted.

[puhpandas]

as someone who isnt super excited for sotm for certain reasons I am really glad that like. it's clear that since ruin theyve been setting up for carnival and sotm IS carnival. so now that carnival is finally coming out, afterwards theyll be moving on to other plotlines since the main villain stuff is sorted out

I'm just rlly happy to finally see a clear direction for how the story is gonna be playing out with like "okay these games were leading up to this so after this will be open possibilites" instead of like. absolutely no info about each upcoming game and being left guessing before it releases and just having to wait and see what's in it and if anything you're looking forward to will be in it

it feels like they have a plan and a solid direction for what they're trying to do and after carnival releases thatll be all that buildup coming to fruition. & we already know from the Scott interview that theres another release 'beyond sotm' that's 'super exciting' so maybe thatll be focusing on another big currently untouched (which is basically all of them) plotline, or even the big campaign game that dawko has been calling security breach 2

[bookshelf-in-progress]

Number of stories I would like to write: Many.

Number of stories I find myself able to write: Zero.

[kandicon]

*writes the same exact headcannons in slightly different scenarios over and over again*

[bumblingbabooshka]

Fake Voyager Episode: Tuvok gets kidnapped and forced to compete in an arena where telepaths fight one another to the death for a shot at fortune and prestige. He was initially kidnapped as 'fodder' - the aliens who run the arena will grab any telepathic alien they can find regardless of skill and they're essentially just there to be killed by flashier veterans of the bloodsport. The episode is mainly Tuvok showing off his tactical know-how and combat skills. We also get several flashbacks to him as a young man, learning how to fight both on Vulcan and in Starfleet. There's a concern that he will lose himself when forced into this seemingly endless battle, surrounded by violence, but in the end he prevails and manages to escape without killing a single person. He leaves the arena after giving a message of peace. Patreon | Ko-fi

Unnamed Goon: [Laughter] That puny 'Vuulcan' didn't land a single hit for all his bluster. Once I sealed his telepathic powers it was over! Huh huh huh… If I keep up this pace I should have him crushed beneath my fists in- What...? I can't move...? Tuvok: By now you have surely noticed it.

You are certainly a formidable opponent. Most would assume you to be a simple bruiser but that is not the case. You are a knowledgeable telepath - able to not only bolster your own physique but nullify the telepathic capabilities of your enemies.

However. You rely too much on one tactic and are too proud to allow yourself to look 'weak.' This was the ultimate cause of your ruination. While you gleefully battered my body about the field I was able to locate twenty two out of twenty four 'kobat sfek' on your body - points which will render you immobile for approximately…four minutes. More than enough time. It was a shrewd precaution to nullify my telepathic ability. However. I do not need them to best you in combat.

Even now, I am ten times stronger than you. Unnamed Goon: T-Ten...TEN TIMES!? [Imagining the sort of gruesome end that might await him, the unnamed Goon faints - leaving Tuvok the victor.]

[clochanamarch]

" hey, you wanna stay for dinner? and i mean that in the irish sense, which is to say, i'm already making a plate for you and you can't say no unless you already have plans. "

OPEN STARTER. / have dinner w aisling immediately tbh

[charlesemersonwinchesteriii]

Ah, Major Winchester, the party of one! Dinner is served.

[flying-cat]

Anyway on another note I cannot explain to you just how Severely disappointed I will be if bnha ends with a confession ending. I hate confession endings outside of romance manga 😀

+big ass rant in the tags

[rearranging-deck-chairs]

no offense to mel shes great its not that i want her gone or anything, its just that her narrative role would make so much more sense for yaz to have

[mrpenguinpants]

Omg you're back again hello 👀 how have you been????

Big mood on the "man I wish this author would finish their fic" LOL I've been rereading my own wiring recently and going wtf. Where's the rest of it?

For a limited time only babyyy

But I've been good. Extremely busy but it's okay, the pto is worth it. That's what I keep telling myself at least :) but how are you??? Is anything interesting happening? New developments perhaps 👀

The funny thing is that I've actually been talking with a few mutuals, and they've all told me that they recently went back to re-read their drafts. Maybe it's something in the air or we're all feeling a bit nostalgic? Or because everyone is on break since it's summer.