Weird Decisions on stories · 3:34am Oct 12th, 2015
Okay, I’ve decided to make this next blog entry not about the show, but about my stories. Spoilers ahead so if anyone is reading them, this is not a good article to read first. I haven’t gotten people attacking me or bombarding me with questions, I just figured this would be a good exercise in critical thinking for myself and possibly others.
Seeing as “You’re Wanted” is my most popular work, I’ll put it at the bottom so everyone has to at least scroll past Mentoring is Awesome and get tempted to read it.
Vinyl Scratch: Mentoring Is Awesome:
Is this story about Vinyl or your original character, Lightning Strike?
Both. The story is supremely from Vinyl’s perspective, not much happening without her being present, and it’s also about her take on things, Lightning being the object of the story, not the main character. Vinyl’s story is much like a parent, her life starts to revolve around her kid, but it’s still HER life.
Considering Killy Filly, how much do you know about psychiatry?
Not much. I know I prefer practical solutions to problems over drugs, and I know about a few methods, such as yes, simply teaching a child to go ahead and think on multiple subjects rather than forcing them to focus when they have a hard time with that can often be a good idea. That idea is a take away from how many people use music to concentrate and it is used at times in real life. Lightning’s treatment for her thanatophobia (fear of losing a loved one-yes this CAN be induced by trauma-) is similar to immersion therapy, gradually helping her get used to having distance between her and her brother, helping her slowly accept what she’s afraid of to help her get over it. The format is abridged and includes rewarding cooperation, which I’m not sure is really part of that treatment, but its similar still. I must state this however, do NOT use my story as advice on how to do a procedure like this yourself. Thanatophobia is real and if it’s serious enough to require treatment, do what Vinyl did and get a professional.
I just figured Killy’s perspective might be interesting to help bring everything back down to earth.
Mentoring is Awesome is all over the place. Are you considering deleting a few chapters or short stories to get things more on track?
Not really. I like the crazy nature of the story and it’s giving me an excuse to experiment with writing styles I might not otherwise get to try. For instance, vignette, therapy stories and changing perspective. Let’s not forget, the entire nature of the story of a person getting super powers and then using them to become a performer instead of a crime fighter, is a huge break to the norm as it is.
The Event:
What is the event gonna be?
Can’t say, but it will be part of the Adventures of Scootaloo, Mentoring is Awesome and You’re Wanted. All three stories occur in the same universe after all.
Do I have to read all three?
Nope. It might make things more interesting though.
Ever done something like this before?
Nope, but I want to give it a shot.
How will I know where the stories connect if I read all three?
I’ll try to include annotations of some kind like a comic book.
You’re Wanted:
Isn’t Scootaloo’s recovery kinda fast?
Maybe? That kinda depends on the person and the events. Some negative things happened to our favorite crusader, as well as some positive things. From personal experience, I lost my mom a while ago and the serious grieving process was pretty much over in about a week, maybe two. Popular media likes to make characters grieve for months and even years, living their lives in a constant slump, but honestly if you see that happening in real life, I would seek help for whoever is doing it.
Why did you bring back her dad so fast after taking away Scootaloo’s mom?
I had second thoughts on this decision. It was a lot to display in just one chapter, episodic or not. What finally won me over was the positive responses to the format when the story first went up, as well as my own dislike of Violet’s character. Violet is evil, and while I like a good villain, and you wouldn’t believe how unfortunately realistic she is, as a villain she’s kinda weak. There’s no illusion that she can win, her evil is black and white and she’s entirely unsympathetic. I could try to make the audience feel sorry for her, but does anyone really want to feel sorry for a neglectful mother who put her own child in a limbo between abandonment and basic care for three years because it was more convenient? Ending a chapter with just her seemed boring to me as there’s nothing to think about other than how much you might like to pulverize her. Purple Cloud is just so much more interesting and I can see having him be a reoccurring character, rather than just a one note villain. Sure, he’s not evil and his is more a redemption story, but that’s FAR more interesting than just an ordinary villain.
Why is Violet written as so cold hearted?
Trying to make Violet sympathetic would sound contrived no matter what I did. She abused her own child for three years. That’s not a mistake, that’s not excusable by ignorance and a “good reason” for doing it… seriously I defy anyone to come up with one that doesn’t sound ridiculously contrived. There are some things that once you’ve done them, I’m sorry, you’re just a bad person and there’s no way around it. The best I felt I could do was make the audience as angry at her as possible as a kind of Zero Tolerance for child abuse message.
Why did everyone gang up on Violet in the clinic so quickly?
That question I got from someone I respect, but I don’t get it. Can you really see ANY of the main six defending this mare or even holding back with her? She nearly starved her own child to death for no reason. Even supposing she brought a friend or lawyer of her own, even a close friend would likely turn on her after seeing a scene like that and exactly what lawyers can or can’t do in Equestria is a complete unknown so… yea I don’t really want to include lawyers, just for the sake of not having to get super complicated. Violet essentially walked into a shark tank like she owned the place, what would you expect to happen? Violet is not cunning or sympathetic. She’s two steps away from being a cardboard cutout. Hence, again, why I ended her chapter with Purple Cloud, who’s far more three dimensional.
Can you really see Twilight demanding another pony bow to her?
Legally she has the right and I wrote that moment as an expression of how she was feeling at the time. In her mind, as you read later in the story, she was basically ruining the life of a child who she cared for personally. This means not only was she VERY angry with Violet in general, she was also venting her frustrations. Twilight has a tendency to snap and honestly I think Violet is lucky Rainbow Dash broke her jaw before she dug herself any deeper into a hole and Twilight ended her right then and there. Also, Violet was being disrespectful to both Twilight and Scootaloo in general, telling her to bow was a rather nice way of cluing her into where she was and who she was talking to. In the army, while I was in it, there were Sergeants who were VERY bashful about their positions just like Twilight, but even if just for your own good, if you stepped out of line, they would at least have the courtesy to tell you to shape up. Twilight telling Violet to bow was basically her giving the mare a chance to realize who she was talking to, where she was and how much trouble she was in before she got mouthy again. It didn’t help, but it was a good attempt. Had Violet taken the hint and changed her attitude, the scene might have played out differently.
Killy Filly goes from seeming almost professional in this story and Mentoring in Awesome, to being personal and philosophical in his second chapter, what’s up with that? Is he supposed to be an accurate portrayal of a therapist or not?
Not. He’s not accurate. Don’t anyone DARE try to employ his techniques. Whether his techniques would work or not, the situations he comes into would require a real professional. This is a fictitious story and should not be taken as a series of recommendations on actual psychiatry.
But seriously, he’s not believable as a professional in his last chapter where before he seem unconventional but at least practical.
Fair enough. You’re Wanted is a story that uses emotion to get through to the audience. If a character has the emotional range and moral outlook of a block of wood, he starts to kill the story. I get that real therapists are strongly discouraged from making moral statements, showing personality (which I did my best to make sure Killy was doing from the start) and from getting personal, which is good in real life, but in fiction it’s boring. You ever wonder why so many TV and radio therapy-esk personalities become emotional and make value statements, whether they’re professionals or not? The same reasons judges lecture on morality in TV court rooms, it’s far more interesting than watching the cold deliberation of actual professional procedures.
But Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash sound almost realistic in their emotional portrayals, why is he so unrealistic?
Scootaloo and Rainbow’s reactions I wrote based on my own personal real life experience of grief when my mother passed away. They don’t do exactly what I did, but most of those actions I at least FELT like doing. The feeling of going on automatic, the pain physically effecting you and taking over, yea that’s what a real person can go through. Oh and trust me, it makes you wish things were as easy to at least predict as suggested by the five stages of grief myth. Not always wanting to be hugged, yet not wanting people to just leave, that’s also real. It being a good idea for those helping to ask questions point blank about what a person needs, and needing to be open to both letting the griever take control and taking control back away, yep, that’s what had to happen with me a few times. Helping someone grieve is a give and take situation and no one plan is going to help everyone. The best advice I can give is to be available, patient, open and most of all, care about what’s happening.
With Killy I had to compromise. The advice he gives is realistic enough and could probably work, plus making a person feel morally superior is a good way to get them motivated to get back out there and live. To be honest, Killy is probably closer to a pastor or counselor of some kind in this story, but neither position really fits the story all that well. Rather than just omit the entire chapter, I opted to make Killy himself a sympathetic and interesting character. Otherwise, his character would simply be a sounding board for my poor understanding of psychology.
Would you really put odds on Rainbow Dash being a good mom?
She definitely would care enough, she’s already got plenty of experience being authoritative, supportive and a role model to both Scootaloo and Fluttershy, so yea, she could pull it off. Would she get overwhelmed if it was just her and no husband or family to fall back on… sorry that’s normal for a single parent. That’s why everyone advises against becoming one on purpose. Rainbow rushing into the situation makes sense narratively and from an emotional point of view, but yea, it’s asking for problems. The only reason I didn’t have her get a moral lesson smack down for her behavior is I couldn’t think of a way for that to happen that didn’t sound ridiculous. She didn’t do something mean or that, all things considered, was really wrong. Really she might have had to do it in the end anyway if no couple was willing to adopt Scootaloo, as she and AJ were probably the best candidates and AJ already said she didn’t want another kid. It would be either that or drop poor Scoots into some kind of foster care system. No her decision wasn’t perfect, but I hate it when writers try to pretend like it’s realistic to EVER have characters make perfect decisions.
No one makes perfect descisions... that's a good lead for my next review on the Mysterious Mare Do Well. I'm gonna defend it. Come back next week.
Well I'm glad you addressed my concerns. I obviously don't agree with your choices, but as a writer it's your prerogative to write your characters however you want to.
I forgot one I was going to bring up. Why isn't Scoots angry at Rainbow and the others for what they did in rescuing her?
From the story itself, there's no reason to believe Scootaloo wouldn't have stronger ties to Rainbow and her friends than her absentee mother. In the end, Scootaloo also isn't a very angry or depressed character in general. Her being angry would make sense, but it's more an option than a requirement. Not everyone gets angry, some do, some don't. I actually think the angry rescueee is over played these days.