Gilda Through The Looking Glass · 7:00am Jul 8th, 2018
This is in answer to everyone asking/complaining about why Gilda and Sunset don't just abscond through the portal, but before I get into my in-story reasons let me acknowledge something.
Yes, this is clearly and obviously the easiest way to wrap up the story. Of course it is. From a meta-perspective where the characters are just words on paper and don't have any feelings or emotions of their own and are not characters at all, yes, this would end every issue neatly.
Note that word though: end. Not solve. It would end the issue. The issues would become non-issues, they would become moot. Not resolved or taken care of, just negated.
I do not and will never write like that. Now this next part gets a little ranty and, Warning, I'm going to spoil part of the story because that seems to be the only way to put this tiresome topic to rest. So, sorry in advance but with that out of the way, here we go.
Do you all want to know the trope I hate the most in almost every Anon-A-Miss story I read? Other than bully!Gilda, obviously.
Actually bully!Gilda is fine, it's just overused in my opinion and I wanted to do something different because I'm contrary by nature. The actual story context of Gilda as an antagonist is perfectly fine, there is not a single thing wrong with it in a story sense.
No, the thing I hate is the part where Sunset inevitably gets knocked unconscious or goes comatose or whatever and then has a literal conversation with her inner demon and resolves her turmoil through the power of conversation.
Now this is not to insult the authors who write those scenes, by and large the stories that have them are super good. I like the stories. Even the scenes are well written. See, I hate the scene as a concept because life is never that clean.
But just because I don’t have that scene, and this super important, does not mean her inner demons are not there.
I’m just not willing to author-hand-wave her issues away, because that’s not how life works. Sunset is a decorative cake made of neuroses and trauma with some serious trust issues on top. I want Sunset to bleed and sweat and hurt and sacrifice to overcome her inner demons.
I want Sunset to become better, of course I do... but not because she and her inner demon had a little sitdown and she came to a realisation about herself due to the power of her own mental construct ham-handedly (and usually literally) beating that realisation into her. I am so tired of that trope. It is so badly overused and it does such a dramatic disservice to the character.
I want her to work for it, because that's good story. I don't want to just take the easy way out because that's not what Sunset would do. She’s already done that. She has been there. She has the t-shirt. Taking the easy way out has always gone badly for her.
Now with all that, I'm sure you're wondering what that has to do with Gilda going through the portal, well here it is: And here's where the spoilers start so look away if don't want to be spoiled.
It's not about Gilda. It was never about Gilda. Sunset will ultimately not go through the portal, as I'm sure many have guessed, but it has nothing to do with Gilda. The fact that everyone is making it about Gilda is actually legitimately annoying me because this is about Sunset.
Featherfall isn't about Sunset just finding an emotional crutch (Gilda) and leaning on it (her) forever, it's about Sunset finding out what it means to put herself back together and having someone help her do that, and most importantly realising what it is she has to do in order to be able to live with herself and believe in herself again after having her whole world reduced to cinders through the loss of both her friends and her legs.
Here's the thing, though; when you're putting yourself back together, eventually you have to prove to yourself that you can do it. That's the kicker, the portal is Sunset's 'can I do it or not', it's her 'will I retreat to comfort or face the dark head-on'.
tl;dr - If you're asking why Gilda doesn't just go through the portal with Sunset, instead nix Gilda from the equation and ask: "why doesn't Sunset just go?" and then try to answer it from her perspective, as a tormented and flawed character. Try and reason out why she wouldn't want to just want to immediately go through and get literally everything she ever lost back, and why she would be conflicted on the answer. Instead of assuming it's a plot hole, ask how or why it could be a plot point instead and work from there.
I'm confused by this.
I honestly don't see how the choice involving the portal is necessarily tied to Sunset dealing with her issues (demon, whatever). The journey through the portal would merely resolve the physical issue of her broken back, and maybe give Gilda wings. I've been interpreting Sunset's biggest issue being the struggle to find a balance between allowing other people/ponies/whatever into her life, without letting them become emotional crutches.
I'm worried that if the author is inextricably tying this to Sunset's current physical malady, then to reach the desired character growth it requires the characters to hold an idiot-ball in regards to dealing with said physical malady, as no actual person would equate a physical would with a character flaw in real life.
We need to ask the question, from the characters' points of view, 'what reason do they have to not go through the portal?' Nobody would say 'I need to put myself back together as a person, therefore I'm not going to seek treatment for a serious wound.' That's not merely a matter of comfort verse facing one's fears, especially since the journey to Equestria wouldn't necessarily be permanent; or at least as of ch 3.
All the same, this in no way detracts from my enjoyment of the story. I'm a person who reads for scenes and character interaction more so than plot or set pieces. I look forward to reading more of it in the future.
4897143
Okay, I've read your point vs his, and i can 100% conclude, your the one holding the idiot ball, you missed the point entirely, yes going through the portal would end the physical problem. However, everything up too that point would become entirely moot, as in why bother even having sunset suffer if she can simply magic macguffin her way out, she would gain nothing, except a permanent notion that all humans suck, and letting anyone but gilda close to her would end in betrayl, I.E. Sunsets emotion crutch.
"No, the thing I hate is the part where Sunset inevitably gets knocked unconscious or goes comatose or whatever and then has a literal conversation with her inner demon and resolves her turmoil through the power of conversation."
...Huh. That's really near-omnipresent?
(As far as I can recall, this is the only "Anon-A-Miss story" I've read; indeed, I don't think I was previously aware of "Anon-A-Miss story" as a category.)
re the spoiler, which I did eventually decide to read:
Oh, interesting! I look forward to further exploration of that.
4897143
The portal isn't just a magical "fix legs" button, though. I was already aware that there were complexities and costs involved, and the spoilered text in the blog post, and some other things, indicated to me that I was really only seeing the surface, and that there are even more complexities than I was aware of. It's like... this is probably a terrible analogy, but if you have a disability you can live with, even if there are difficulties, and there's a potential cure which would greatly increase your personal abilities but also require going into massive medical debt you don't know how you'd pay off, it's a less simple decision, isn't it? Like I said, I think "medical debt" is a really poor analogy for the much more complex costs here, but it's the best I could think of at the moment.
4897143
If I read that right, you mean Sunset can go through then come back healed? Don't forget that when she goes through, her human template would be saved so even when she came back she would still not have use of her legs.
I-A-M, I am really loving your story and love your reasons not to have Sunset and Gilda go through the portal, even if a part of me would love to see it. It is your story, and what you have planned and all of your thoughts on it only make me want to read more of it even more. I love the world building and character development you have done, and are still doing, and I can't wait to see what happens next and I while I don't look forward to the story ending any time soon as long as updates keep a coming, I do look forward to seeing how Sunset deals with everything and see how she ends up overcoming her problems, which I'm sure she will. Sunset is already a strong character, but she seems much more human and stronger in the world you are building and love her and Gilda so good luck and can't wait to see more. Here, have a taco 🌮
Yeah, I kind of figured this would be the path your thoughts went along. I fully agree about Sunset needing to work through her issues in a realistic and interesting way, and that the Dynamic Duo just dipping out the portal defeats the purpose of the inner struggle she is facing. I think most people, myself included, got caught up on the "leaving your new lover behind" angle rather than the "running from your problems" angle. That said, I would still advocate for at least some reason being given for why Gilda can't cross the portal in any case. I mean sure, the idea that Sunset needs to prove to herself she's strong enough to get past this, and face not just her crippled state but the holes that have been torn into her relationships is great, but I'm not sure it's worth 50% of her limbs and the majority of her mobility. Toss in keeping Gilda and it seems closer to a fair deal, you know?
4897305
There is indeed more to it than just proving herself, but I’ll cover that in a future chapter. Sufficed to say, Sunset has her own reasons for not going through the portal that have literally nothing to do with Gilda and, to a certain point, even her legs.
4897178
There’s literally an entiren Anon-A-Miss group here on fimfiction that this story is part of, lol. But yes, it is very common.
Hell and High Water, Phoenix, Repercussions... and a slew of non-Anon-A-Miss stories too have it.
So...isn't it your job as an author to explain why it's not happening?
If it's not clear for readers, either there's a whammy of a plot twist, or you're not communicating character motivations very well.
4897384
That’s sort of a tricky question actually, the short answer though is no, it’s actually not my job to explain every detail. Many published books have plot details that are never explained. That’s said, yes an explanation for the majority of these plot points is covered in later chapters. People reading this seem very impatient though, most stories don’t disclose full character motivations early on, the fact that tho is such a sticking point right now when there’s a lot more to go and plenty of time to learn the why of things confuses me.
4897392
well, if you decided to consciously not explain a crucial point of character motivations -- that's fair enough. You know the story, we don't (not until we read it, that is). But then you really should not be surprised that some readers question the choices protagonist makes if you didn't give them the information that is necessary to understand it.
4897397
Fair enough, though like I said: Most stories don’t disclose full motivations for character choices right away so I’m not sure why people are so up in arms over this.
4897404
I'd contest that notion. Most stories do show the motivations of characters -- I can't even really think of examples of stories that don't.
4897327
Hm. Thanks.
(And I don't have any particular impatience I'm aware of for the story to hurry along into that stuff, just so you know.)
4897410
I said “Right away”, of course stories should disclose motivations, and mine will but you just completely snipped out the part where I said they don’t do it right away.
4897327
I love AAM as a basis of stories, but I absolutely agree with this that people use the face your demon shit literally way too often. Been brewing one of my own and this has for certain urged me to get to it. I love every word of this story and am glad if the direction it's taking. The only thing I disliked more than the face her demons trope in these is the blind acceptance of forgiveness for her former friends that so many of them employ. I'm so happy that none of your stories I've read so far even hint of forgiveness for them.
4897544
Not that you're wrong, because you're not, but the difference is that they publish their stories whole hog, so the readers in question can simply keep reading to find out, as opposed to waiting for the next update hoping to find out. That's a problem all serialized stories face.
To put it another way, it would be like calling up J.K. Rowling about some plot hole midway through one of the Harry Potter books that gets resolved in a few chapters. The solution was already in the writing, and was there for the reader to see. But you are writing a story that publishes chapters periodically. I believe you when you say that the thing will get resolved later, but unlike with most major published books, we can't just read a few more chapters to find out as we are used to, having been raised reading books that were already completed. We only have your word that it will be fixed, on a site littered with various stories never to be completed that left us on major cliffhangers and destroyed our trust in the "brand," so to speak.
This entire conflict is due to our different perspectives as a reader and an author. Imagine yourself as presenting a series of paintings you have made, with your various works interlinked by themes and characters. Each piece is covered by a curtain right now, but you yourself know every one and how they are linked. The readers are observers; we only know what we have seen from the pieces you have revealed so far and are trying to make what connections we can without seeing the whole. For all we know, some of the curtains hide blank walls, and you haven't finished the pieces that go there. So, seeing what we see, we are offering our thoughts on what should be behind those curtains.
Perhaps we are completely wrong, or perhaps we predicted the next piece perfectly, or perhaps we are correct, and the next piece was not done, and we just gave the artist the critical piece of knowledge to inspire them to finish it.
In the first case, ignore us. WE have no clue what you plan to do, and it is ultimately your story. In the second case, no words need to be offered. The observer will be happy knowing that they "nailed it." And in the final case, well, I supposed the observers will just be happy that the piece is done and they got to contribute. I have no idea how you would feel in that situation, so I won't try to guess. But no matter which of the three is true, it is your show to do with as you please. So ignore our rampant speculation and be content in the knowledge that whatever issues we are complaining about are already taken care of. Don't worry about us:
We don't know what comes next until the next curtain is lifted.
Edit: Holy CRAP I got pretentious towards the end there.
4897544
Well, usually it's before the event where the motive is relevant occurs.
4897628
Hm, I'd say it depends on the story the author is trying to tell, though. For an example of an entire category where the motive for an action usually isn't revealed before the action, consider murder mysteries; a murder mystery can still be a good story if the audience gets told before the murder exactly who's doing it and why, but other aspects of the story have to make up for the audience no longer having the mystery itself. The standard approach is to leave the audience starting just as in the dark as the protagonist, and finding out the motive behind an action already taken becomes a key part of the narrative.
4897731
But the murderer is not the protagonist of the murder mystery. He's barely a character.
4898541
Variable from story to story, I think. And sometimes the murder is the protagonist, as an unreliable narrator.
In any case, though, that was only an example; I was not saying that this story was, or was analogous to, a murder mystery, simply that there are definitely cases where leaving the motivations of a character unclear for some time can work well.
4897731
4898541
I would also point out that, in the murder mystery analogy, the murderer does have motivations ninety-nine out of a hundred times, but they're generally only explained or explored at the end. Take it from someone who grew up on shows like Poirot, it's a common trope. Though Reese is right, this isn't a murder mystery.
End of the day, I promise there will be explanations for Sunset's behaviour, I am sorry it's not at that point in the story yet though, so all I can ask for is your patience.
4898669
Aye, rarely is the "motive" "he's just kind of crazy, I guess".
"Take it from someone who grew up on shows like Poirot"
Heh, yes, I was trying to be general, but there was a particular moustachioed detective coming to mind when I was writing that. :)
(Oh, and when I went to check the spelling, I discovered that Poirot is featured in my dictionary's example sentence for "moustachioed".)
...Aaand now I have the signature tune running through my head.
"End of the day, I promise there will be explanations for Sunset's behaviour, I am sorry it's not at that point in the story yet though, so all I can ask for is your patience."
I still don't have a problem, but thanks for your concern. :)
I have to ask, because I've read the whole thing and I still don't understand it.
Why did you even include this plot element?
Why did you have Sunset deliberately cripple herself, by refusing the obvious solution, instead of her just being crippled without a cure, magical or otherwise?
I can seriously not wrap my head around this design decision.
4920492
I’m sorry if this comes off as terse but if you really don’t grasp it after reading the whole thing, with Sunset explicitly laying out the why of it, I’m don’t want to even try to explain it again.
I understand if you disagree with it, that’s fine. Everyone is allowed their opinion. But I’ve explained as best I can in-story to the satisfaction of pretty much everyone else who reads Featherfall (some of whom do still disagree which, I reiterate, is fine) so I don’t have any desire to rehash a completed storyline when I still have a good 100k words or more (probably way more) to go to finish this behemoth.
Once again, I’m sorry if that was terse or offensive, I’ve jut explained it so very many times and I have desire to do so more.
If that puts you off reading the rest, I understand. Not every story is for everyone.
Regards
I-A-M
4920508
I get the whole thing about Sunset choosing to face her problems head on and everything.
I just don't get why you've done it by way of introducing a way to cure her, but her not taking it.
I could understood, if say her body was healthy in Equestria where Gilda couldn't follow her to, but would remain crippled in the human world regardless, so she had to choose between those two lives.
Then her reasoning would've made sense to me.
I'm not even questioning the in-character reasons. I'm trying to understand why you did that from a storytelling perspective.
Ok, I've just read chapter four, and I can understand why she wouldn't run away, nice point on her being a human being (or pony) with emotions and a bit absolutely rational mind.
I also recognize what I'm going to ask might've been answered in a subsequent chapter, but I'm curious as hell:
Twilight's message makes it kinda clear the reset is on the 21st... So why not go through the portal before the reset, wait half and hour and then come back? Sure, there's the "She might not have the courage to come back" angle, but on that I'd call bullshit. She loves Gilda and would give back to EQG world with her. It wouldn't solve the drama, although I agree it would be somewhat of a copt out, having a safe haven if things went to shit. But she's way too smart not to think about it.
Dunno, it just seems like choosing to become a cripple in both worlds instead of spending fifteen minutes facing her own insecurities is just as much running from her fears as escaping permanently from equestria would be.
I might be wrong though, considering there's eight more chapters to read already, but still.
Oh, and I'm loving the story, even if it hurts to see friendships broken and a young girl robbed of much and choosing to stay that way.
Now that I think about it, did it is that through her head that maybe she could work and change that aspect of the mirror? Sure, as you said it would've being a negation of the issue and therefore bad storytelling, but it makes sense. Not in a "let's abandon, run away and etc" way, but in a "there might be a way to surpass this with ingenuity and hard work, so I can go home to the one i love whole again".
It's already done in the story, whatever the decision was - and I did read the spoiler - buy I do wonder.
Edit: I doubt this will be seen, but after reading the scene? I take it back, it felt real. The emotion, the decision, the meeting. Sometimes (ok, a lot of if not most times) people follow their heart more than their brains.
And sometimes we'd not have it any other way