Newest Chapter and Thoughts · 5:07am Oct 18th, 2018
So I'll be honest, I really considered not posting this chapter and waiting, giving it more thought, rewriting, and for anyone who has read it already, especially the second half, you'll know what part I'm talking about. If you haven't read it I'll try to keep it spoiler free but just... yeah.
I'll add some space for the sake of not spoiling anything in the preview.
That should be good.
Now... look... Featherfall? It's not a dark fic. It's never going to be a dark fic, but that being said I endeavor to make it feel like a very... real fic... you know what I'm saying? In real life... bad things happen. Bad relationships, bad choices, bad things, savvy? I feel like the character of Grizelda King is one that is very raw, as in: she's young, impetuous, and feels very deeply and strongly just in general. Her temper runs deep and her coping mechanisms are essentially non-existent. But I'm sure you can all understand my reticence here. I was seriously questioning this scene, even from the very beginning of this arc. I wrote this scene in my head months ago and drafted it not long after and... only as I was writing it did I get the feeling that maybe I was taking a step too far.
But, obviously, in the end I posted it. I posted it because it happens, every part of that relationship? Every one of those exchanges are paraphrases of things that happen every day, every night, between so many people. Sometimes it ends badly, sometimes it ends well. Anyone who read my story For However Long I Will Never Run Away know that I touched on some of these themes in that story. Obviously in this latest chapter I went a lot more... visceral.
Above all I do want to assure my readers this isn't going to turn into some dark, gruesome, Chuck Palahniuk-esque commentary on society and how everyone is horrible. At the end of the day I want to do the opposite. I want to tell a story about how, even though we live in a world where awful things happen love can survive, friendship can overcome, and that the lessons of Harmony; of Generosity, Loyalty, Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, and Magic can really, truly mean something in a world that isn't just a place of pastel colors and questionable cell shading.
I want to show the darkness, and contrast it against the light, because for all of the darkness in my own heart, and the things I see every day being a minority in a few different ways, I really do believe that the Elements of Harmony aren't just a simplistic, childish, set of saturday morning cartoon lessons.
I think that they can mean something real if we let them.
But this stuff?
The kind of black-and-white, screwed up, toxic relationship that Sci-Twi and Zee have? Folks... I've seen that so many times. And like I said above, sometimes it ends well, with one or both of them growing and learning and becoming better people, I have actually seen that outcome. Other times... well, it doesn't go so well. I've seen that outcome, too. Probably more often, if I'm honest.
Ultimately I'll leave off with this: I was really unsure about posting this chapter because of that part and maybe I'm making it a bigger deal than it is. And believe me, more will come of it in the next chapter concerning some consequences, so I'm not just fading to black on it. The pacing of my story is such that I'm addressing it a little later down the line.
Leave your comments, let me know what you think when you've read it. I'd love to hear all of your thoughts.
Til next time, cheers.
...Should I put spoiler tags around this? Well, just in case:
Well, I didn't have a problem with it. Didn't feel too unrealistic even without the hinted-at potential influence of dark magic (though I, in general fortunately but in this case potentially reducing my ability to judge, don't have personal experience with this sort of thing). Also didn't go over my darkness tolerance, but that's fairly high.
I do kind of wonder just how frequently they do this, given the text saying or implying this wasn't their first.
And I'm also wondering if the dark magic is from Storm, the gauntlets, something else, or some combination.
Oh, and as for consequences, yeah, somehow I doubt Twilight's family will have their worries the Zee is beating Twilight, if those are the initial consequences you speak of, by being told that Twilight is beating back just as hard (if not, sometimes, harder), or that none of their multiple violent altercations so far have resulted in any serious injury. And then things will presumably spiral downhill from there... actually, possibly involving a car chase, even. But that's just one potential set of consequences, so... I guess we'll see. Whatever you do, I am not expecting you to handle it badly. :)
I agree that this kind of altercation in relationships is real sadly, however I also have to wonder how often it happens. Consistency should be their wakeup call. I doubt it was luck that a taser just happened to be in her labcoat (not exactly a labcoat accessory). I understand they have feelings for each other but what happens when 'sorry' won't fix it.
I think the setup and execution of the scene worked fine. You've done a fine job of expressing Twilight as a socially inept genius who thinks she knows how to handle anything and Zee as a trained sociopath abuser who thinks shes in love.
My only request for the story is that we get to see Gilda put her magic pokey stick through Storm Kings face in the middle of his bad guy speech.
I second this.
I hear you on that. TBH, that sort of toxic relationship is still working really well contrasting the levels of current codependency in the Gilda/Sunset relationship.
4954841
Codependency and abuse are not often so easily solved or recognized by either victims or abusers.
4954856
If anything consistency can actually make it harder to notice, because it becomes something that feels regular, even normal.
4954870 Pretty much this, yes.
4954856
Yeah I can believe that
4954870
If it were purely verbal I'd say ok but when you're preparing for it ahead of time as well as apologizing afterwards, it suggests you know something's wrong. Wanderer D's explanation of codependency I can understand but normalcy. Sorry but I'm not seeing it.
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One of my best friends was in exactly this kind of relationship for over a year and literally only realised it was bad when she opted not to go home and crash in a friends couch because she knew her SO was going to be at home and it still took what amounted to an intervention to make her see that that was not normal.
My friend is not stupid, mind you. She’s a smart woman, brilliant really, and incredibly creative and driven. It’s really just that I’m serious about how you would be shocked at how normal something that’s horrible can seem when you don’t have an outside frame of reference. It’s the reason people stay in abusive relationships, sometimes for their whole lives. It’s just ‘normal’ to them, even the physical violence is normal.
It seems impossible right up until youre in that kind of relationship with someone you truly care for, even love, and you find yourself making all kinds of excuses for their behavior and your own.
All I can say is that you captured the essence of an abusive relationship perfectly, not some extreme but REAL and for that my hat is off to you sir!