At the End Commentary: Chapter 2 · 5:03pm Jul 28th, 2012
This entry contains spoilers for its corresponding chapter of At the End. Be warned...
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Hark, do I have a guardian angel?
Since this chapter is mostly exposition and the ramblings of a lonely Crafter, I expected this one to be even harder to write than the first one. I had the entire chapter scripted and a quarter written in eight hours. At work. During busy hours. How the hell did that happen?
By the grace of god this chapter was absurdly easy to write. Awesome for everyone around then.
Back on topic, I set out to do three things with this chapter: The Crafter freaks the hell out, he stuns Lyra, and he hides when the Night Guards come to investigate.
I intended this chapter to be shorter because, even though he will be important, I needed the Crafter to deliver only a little bit of exposition before the next chapter comes. The first chapter set the backdrop for Equestria and this chapter set up Minecraft. There is no backdrop, goal, plot, or much of anything for Minecraft, so I set out to give the Crafter a soul. How can I construct an interesting character when all he really does is build crap? When the Crafter cleans off the dribbles of pee from his frightening experience in chapter two and begins to ponder his situation, I can flesh him out a little better, but more on that in later chapters starting with 4. And about the Darkness and Endermen... well, more on that later as well.
I also came upon the problem of how to rationalize the Crafter’s ability to mine and store items. I know it was vaguely explained in this chapter, but I assure you I can rationalize it. All I ask is for a little patience.
But getting back to plot related stuff, my biggest worry was how to rationalize getting the Crafter to Equestria and make it sound believable. MLP had lots and lots of crossovers, absolutely none of which I have read, so I was tasked with discovering a way to make the transition believable. My answer came right away: Minecraft already has portals to use. All I needed to do was modify them a little in order to fit into my storyline. The how was explained.
The next thing I wanted to do was the Crafter’s transition into the new world he was in. I wanted his own dialog reflect waking up in a new world akin to being born: a flash of light, the cold air, and the sensations and movement needed to explore his capabilities once more. That’s what I meant with the line ‘the cycle begins’ anew; he is no longer the expert miner and crafter on the Overworld, so he must learn from this new world filled with rainbow-colored creepers.
...and then Lyra gets a hit in the face, which in turn alerts Luna’s entourage and the Princess herself where the Crafter is. I originally wanted the ending sequence to conclude to what it will be in chapter 3, but I really didn’t like the way I had it described in the Crafter’s POV. This was partially due to the fact that I would need to be using his mining abilities heavily and I still needed to flesh them out a little better. I needed to show how they worked, not the reason why they worked first. But that wouldn’t happen if I continued the Crafter’s flight as intended. I’m sorry, but I had to leave it on a cliffhanger if I didn’t want to make the pacing and story sound like crap.
..but I hit Lyra in the face! In yo face Lyra!
Forgive me oh Lord, ‘tis but a joke.
Although this chapter was much easier to write, I really didn’t like the Darkness scene and the Crafter’s flight scene. But I didn’t know how else to write them. It’s for this reason that editors are a writer’s best friend. I’m still very nervous about those two scenes, but thankfully I’ve got a pretty boss editor. Stop by Viktor’s page and check him out.
You’ve done well my editor. Very well indeed...
I'm still waiting for a "How in the name of Merciful Notch" moment.
197586
GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!
197674
Oops, sorry.
I was wondering what I stepped in...
197677
Lol, but seriously, I'm very nervous about making a Notch or Mojang reference because I'm worried about continuity. I don't want to spoil too much, but I have a canonical reason why the Overworld exists. That will be explained when [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] meet [REDACTED] in chapter [REDACTED] after Celestia and Luna [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] by [REDACTED].
197683
Oh, okay.
well, I guess that makes since.
At least we don't have to worry about [REDACTED] and [REDACTED], though, right?
Wait, I didn't censor those...
197685
Unfortunately that's after my upgrade of At the End's rating, so I can't comment on the matter. [REDACTED said I can't.
197725
I think we should stop, before someone figures out who and what [REDACTED] is.
Any ways, have a [REDACTED] day!
Gooood....Let the English flow through you...
Also, thanks for the shout-out! Although I think the link may have been derped. It says Famfiction instead of Fimfiction
199398
Correct link get!