Why I Took Down 'Magnum Opus Dissonance.' · 3:18pm Sep 11th, 2014
So, if you were on late last night/early this morning, you might have seen the latest story I wrote in a sleep-deprived, ninety minute haze: Magnum Opus Dissonance, about a suicidally depressed Octavia lamenting that one of her works had overshadowed all her others, and chronicling the depression and intrusive thoughts of violence that lead up to an ambiguous choice to OD on painkillers and commit suicide. You know, just a little light and fun reading at four in the morning.
It no longer appears on my story list.
Blame my mother (Hi, Mom!) who called me up a little while ago worried about what I'd written and what the consequences, both for me and my possible readers, could be. Now my mother has known about my presence here for a while now, and while she's not exactly thrilled about it she's been willing to put up with it as long as it doesn't negatively affect other aspects of my life. For her, the story crossed a line. If never been one to shy away from writing about dark and uncomfortable subjects, but not really this viscerally and not in a way that might affect somebody or read as an encouragement to take negative action. I'm not really afraid that someone is going to read No Good Answers and go out to rape someone. Or read Reign and... uh... trap themselves in an unresolvable time loop? I guess? But, and I'm not saying any of you would do this kind of thing, I can see how MOD might read as advocating or glorifying suicide. Obviously it resonated as something that felt true, based on the comments asking if it might have been partly autobiographical. It isn't, thank goodness. At least it might seem like I'm advocating it to the twisted sort of mind who might be susceptible to considering it in the first place, or on a more practical note it might look that way to future employers or anyone who manages to link this profile to my real-life identity, which probably wouldn't be hard to do.
If, as a brief aside, you or someone you know EVER has those kind of persistent, intrusive thoughts then GO GET HELP! The National Suicide Prevention Hotline is just a phone call away.
Anyway, the story's gone now, or at least is no longer visible on the site. Those of you who didn't get to read it, don't worry too much. It's hardly some forbidden masterpiece. And don't worry about this becoming a recurring thing, either. It's not like Hard Reset 3: Thinly Veiled Excuse to Write Pornography That Incorporates Time Loops is languishing in my Google Docs list because of some sort of maternal censorship conspiracy.
I mean, not more than twenty, maybe twenty-five thousand words of it at least.
Still, wouldn't hurt to put something a little more light-hearted out there instead of some of the darker/sadder one shots I've been putting out lately. We'll have to see if my muse can pull herself out of the funk she's been in lately and try to come up with a little rom-com for good measure.
Anyway, TL;DR the story's gone and you shouldn't kill yourself
So when can we expect Hard Reset 3: The Search For More Money?
Or A Taste of The Good Life 2: Taste Harder?
The Moon Glows With A Vengeance?
The Sun Burns Brightly 2: The Brightening?
I hope writing it was at least cathartic for you.
It's a shame, here I was putting off reading it because I thought, and I quote, "Well it's not going anywhere, right?"
Well... damn.
Sequel to Taste of the Good Life?
The story's not actually gone, though. You may have de-published it, but links, such as the one on the feed, can still find it. If you want it properly gone, you'd need to delete it.
2446107
I'm thinking A Second Helping of the Good Life as the title for that one, actually
2446108
I can PM you a link directly if you're curious, I just don't want it visible to the whole site or sitting on my profile page.
2446109
I really do need to get on that, don't I?
2446110 I found it too and downloaded the html version so I can read it later.
I'm not gonna be that guy that compares fan fiction to classical works of art but I'm gonna be that guy.
It's a tragedy when an artist is forced to smash his own statue, or cut up his painting, or burn books they've written that asked awkward questions.
Especially when the reason is "because mom."
Maybe put a big disclaimer at the front that it's not how you feel, and include some of those links for help like in your post here?
Seriously, Hard Reset is one of the best stories on this site, and if Magnum Opus Dissonance is writen as good, then uncomfortable topics shouldn't stop others from reading a story.
2446115 Take your time. I'll be here waiting
mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/rsz/mlfw3427_small.jpg
2446111 That's a bit of a false dichotomy you've got going on there. You'll find that lots of people love and respect their parents enough to listen when those parents voice concerns without being tied to their mother's apron strings.
2446123 You'll also find that when a parent stops you from doing something you love doing that an festering and unequaled hate starts growing in such amounts that it would overshadow all other senses within hours.
2446115
I will partake of the forbidden fruit.
Let's face it, this is obviously a lie. It's a lie in case your mother reads your blogs too. We all have mothers, we all know What Need Be Done around them.
(Mum, if you're reading this, this is a joke. Also that wasn't a lie. Or that. Come on, you can stop asking now, really.)
I want to read Hard Reset 3: Thinly Veiled Excuse to Write Pornography That Incorporates Time Loops, and I am upset that it doesn't already exist. You should get on that, Eakin.
Also, the fact that your mother apparently reads at least some of all your new stories boggles my mind. What must be going through her head when she reads something like Reign? I could not fathom living in a situation like that. I might just die if my mom ever read anything that I'd written about on this site.
now im curious about what you left out HR3...
I love that story
I love all your stories, I think ive read almost all of them at this point.
I think I love your grey matter and all the wonderful stories it throws out.
2446128 Given Eakin has not been forced to stop writing, I don't believe that particular scenario applies here. His mother voiced a concern over something he'd written and he responded in a way he thought appropriate.
It's not censorship. It's definitely not slavery, a comparison I think a lot of people would find offensive.
2446111
2446120
2446123
Trust me, if I 'followed my parents' slightest whim' I wouldn't be on this site at all. My mother reached out to me with some pretty legitimate concerns and made a sufficiently compelling case that there was a potential for harm there, and I wasn't so attached to it that I was going to keep it up just out of spite.
2446139 Right, I only have experience with my own parents to go after, after all.
2446135 Ooh! AMA request: Eakin's Mom! That'd make things even more interesting/awkward. :)
Are you sure it's down? Once I saw your blog I thought 'damn I missed my chance' but it was still in my 'read later' list and could still access it.
I thought it was pretty good, I can see the problem of reading it if I was in a lonely mood though.
Edit:
If I just click for all read later tagged stories, it doesn't show up. But if I select that one specifically from the drop down it does.
There it shall ever remain.
2446142
As the manager said to the employee at the movie theatre when he asked what he was supposed to be doing: "I think you're projecting, mate."
Hey man,
Among the EqD prereaders I'm known to take a harsh line against any fics that incorporate suicide, especially the all-too-common "suicide into Equestria" genre that we get bombarded with from time to time. I'm sure you know them: sad brony kills himself and wakes up as a pony.
I hate those stories with a passion. The fact is, in a fandom this size, there is going to be a sizable portion who are emotionally fragile or just not well. Presenting them with fics that not only glorify suicide, but seem to imply it's a pathway to a happier place, is downright dangerous.
Obviously, your story wasn't one of those. But I can understand why it would cause some people concern, and I applaud you for having the courage to remove it after realizing it likely wasn't going to contribute to your overall oeuvre.
Also, unrelated, I'm surprised you brought your family into the fold, as it were. I'm rigorous about segregating my participation in the fandom with my real life.
2446135
2446137
I was mostly joking about that, but I did seriously plot out a time loop clop story.
The central premise was that Twilight (of course) ended up stuck in one a la the alt ending. No invasion, just an inescapable time loop that's already driven her quite mad before the story begins. In the process of studying the phenomenon in order to escape it, she's discovered the 'closed' version of the spell that allows the caster to specify both a reset condition and an end condition of their choosing.
So she picks a stallion, casts it on him, and decides that the two of them are going to be soul mates regardless of his thoughts on the matter. The reset condition becomes 'either of us dies' with a bonus of 'whenever the stallion has an orgasm' for good measure, with both of them retaining the memory of what happens in each loop. In some sick and twisted bit of fairy tale logic, Twilight's set his personal escape condition to be 'kiss me with true love for me in your heart.'
Oh, and the reset anchor point is them in bed together the moment before Twilight herself hits climax. Best. Anchor point. Ever.
Anyway, I had a couple disconnected ideas but the story never got past the vaguest of planning stages.
I also can acess it without problems. And i can link to it, and as far as i can tell the link works. Not gonna post one here, that would be a dick move, but gone its certainly not.
I three hours ago I woke up and put it in my "Read Later" list. Now I wish I had opened it, considering that I love controversial stories.
2446168
It wasn't entirely by choice, and for a while I did the same thing you did keeping the two separate whenever possible. At this point I'm 'out of the stable' to my immediate family and some close friends. Generally they're fine with it, and it turned out to be way less of an issue than I'd feared.
I find the fact that your mother dotes on you for your pony fic kind of adorable. I wish I could get my mom to read my stuff.
GIVE ME THE SEXY PRONZ. NOW.
Aw bullshit, I really wanted to read that. Your mom fucked up my day.
I find this post somewhat oddly appropriate seeing that today (September 11) was "R U OK? Day" - a suicide prevention initiative here in Australia.
2446169
i.istockimg.com/file_thumbview_approve/46887562/3/stock-photo-46887562-teen-girl-looking-over-glasses-with-disbelieving-smile.jpg
2446168
I feel a little better knowing I'm not the only one who keeps this whole deal here on the down-low. My parents have both expressed a desire to read what I write here... heck, maybe they do. I don't know. I try to keep it all hidden from them and everyone else in my daily life out of some weird, deep-seated sense of personal shame.
I probably need to work on that.
I don't agree that a story like this could be harmful, but it's your call.
Damn I knew I should have read it when it was posted instead of putting it on my read laters list
. On another note I find it quite odd that this is the story that crossed the line considering The Reign of Queen Twilight Sparkle Is probably far worse 
Off topic I know but... How does the weather vane work!? I've even been seeing it in other stories by other authors!
2446265
It is a classic case of the unknown being more scarey or alluring. Not knowing lets your mind spin in circles until it falls down.
2446290
It's the damn 3 sea shells all over again.
Anyone else suddenly concerned about Eakin's mom looking at your favorites list?
Just me? Okay.
Is she reading this blog post?
...
Hi mom!
Eakin´s mother best mother. That simple. Hey, she deserves an OC and a story ´bout how she saved Equestria while making sure her son did not went out without a sweater. And an umbrella.
Well, that's what I get for using my Read Later list as a procrastination device.
Not that I disagree with your mother about the whole suicide thing, (though the thought of my mother reading my fanfiction is more than slightly terrifying,) but it's a bit frustrating to miss the chance to read something by one of my favorite authors on the site. Oh well. Given the subject matter, it probably wouldn't have been my usual cup of tea.
EDIT: Oh. Thanks to the RL list, I could access it. And I quite understand why she was worried, but I'm sure the story doesn't reflect the views of the author. At least, I hope it doesn't.
> Still, wouldn't hurt to put something a little more light-hearted out there instead of some of the darker/sadder one shots I've been putting out lately.
How about something starring the CMC? I find they're good at leading a story into fairly lighthearted areas.
Wow....damn.
I...really don't know what to say. This left me dumbfolded.
Anyone so easily influenced by fiction that they would spontaneously decide to commit suicide upon reading a story about it is a ticking time‐bomb. What happens when they read something that’s merely depressing, should you censor that as well? (Hey, it could just be the straw that breaks the camel’s back!)
Censorship makes sense only in situations where it is even remotely feasible and for something as broad as “might induce someone to commit suicide” nothing less than total censorship of everything, ever, would be enough to shield them from exposure. In cases like this, where it is simply infeasible, censorship is not only irritating but pointless and stupid as well.
2446168
One could say the same about most religions, except, of course, for those that vilify suicide as an unforgivable sin or lack a respawn point altogether. Oh wait…
1: Living is good and you should keep doing it, agree with that sentiment fully.
2: What is this WiP Good Life sequel, and why haven't I heard of it before?
Soo, your mother sometimes reads your stories posted on this site...
Wow.
It's definitely an honest work. Dark, but honest. I happen to like both.
I do hope things get better. It can be tricky for a parent and his/her child to come to an understanding on certain things. I should know. I guess I should say, I'm no expert on these kinds of relationships.
Regardless, I understand your decision to pull down the story (though it's still accessible). Gotta keep up
that smileappearances, right?2446307 She can see through your soouul (and probably through his followers too)...
1-800-273-TALK.
My Latin teacher pounded that into our heads.
That's rather silly. Its just a story.
Your mom needs to chill, man.
...says the guy who would probably be proud if he wrote a story that drove someone to suicide, because it would prove that he has the POWER OF EMOTION.
Not that I actually write that sort of thing.