Twiluna and the mistletoe

by Archvile

My thoughts on deletion of this story

Hello,

Sorry about this but from experience I know that people don't read my blog so this is the best way to reach those who have/had interest in this story.

I deleted a story the other day about Flutteryshy having to go to the doctor where she got diagnosed with HIV, a lot of people seemed to dislike simply because I gave Flutteryshy HIV. Originally the story was based on an interview I did ages ago with a woman who had gotten infected with HIV (which was why it was so modern with blood tests, the internet, dating sites and stuff like that, which was another thing that some people didn't seem to like about it) and my story was pretty much a re-telling oh her story with my own twist to it (and quite a few people liked the twist). However, I ended up doing something with the story that I told myself never to do! I changed elements to aplease my audience, which ended up with making a story that I already to begin with didn't feel like was mine but after those changes it just became worse and it felt even less like it was a story of my creation. Therefore I choice to delete it, both because it was the worst rated story I had (about 50% lieks and 50% dislikes) but also because I had grown to dislike it.

What does that have to do with this story? Well, I never intended to make a second chapter and I really dislike it and I will be deleting it soon (so you can get a change to download it if you like it before I remove it), I feel like I did the same with this story by adding a second chapter like how I heavily edited my other story with Fluttershy getting HIV that I just didn't feel any joy in writing it and not it's just an eyesore to me :/
However, I'm considering deleting the entire story and not just the second chapter, though for a completely different reason.

WHY?!?!? Okay... I'll try to keep it short but it's a bit of a long story. I wrote this story BEFORE the Hearth's Warming Eve episode, so at the time no one knew what Faust was going to do with a holiday related episode. And because of that I wrote this as a Christmas story, which at the time I was rather ignorant of Christmas... I live in Denmark and we celebrate something called Jul, which I at the time thought to be Christmas, so I got confused when people started to talk about Jesus and shit in the comment section because I've never associated Jul/Christmas with Jesus Christ "and why is that?" you might say. Oh, boy, here we go...

LECTURE TIME!!!

The celebration that a lof of people know as Christimas/Xmas has nothing to do with the birth of Jesus Christ and the religion of Christianity. Christimas is 'stolen' by Christanity from a Pagen tradition called Jul/Yule, when Constantine froced everyone in the mostly Pagen Roman Empire to convert to Christianity and thus Christianity had to incorporate the various Pagan tradtions into Christianity.

I don't hope this will start a flame war with Christians now... anyway!

So yes, I wrote it when I was ignorant of what Christmas really was VS what Jul is (I just wanted to make a holiday story with happy thoughts that should bring joy to people (though I mostly wrote it because I wanted Twilight and Luna to have an awkward kiss under a mistletoe, did they even have those in the Hearth's Warming Eve episode?) without making it into some religious stuff that I don't want to support). Back in the day when I wrote this I simply thought that Christmas was the same as Jul and even though we celebrate it in the exact same way with the tree, the gifts, the big dinner etc. We don't really do it for the same reasons and therefore I feel that this story is fueling an agenda that I simply cannot support as I'm an anti-theist and I find religions to be probably the most despeakable thing mankind has ever invented.
Not to mention that I don't believe the Jesus of the Bible has ever existed, there are too many figures that Jesus has been borrowing from to make him believable not to mention that none of the great writers of his time never spoke a word about it... it was only 50-100 years after his death that people begin to write stuff about him, stuff that had supposedly gone from mouth to mouth and thus not reliable... anyway, I'm getting totally off topic here! Sorry >_>

Therefore I'm left with two chocies:
1. Delete the entire story.
2. Re-write the whole thing into a Hearth's Warming Eve special (and never speak of the second chapter ever again) and either replace this or upload it as a new story (which will probably get less views as this story already has quite a few views).

I can imagine that people would perfer the second option and I could probably do that, but I've so many other stories I much rather write in my head and I still got 3 unfinished stories that I'll probably either re-write or delete and re-post when I've rewritten them from scrap (I haven't really made my mind on that yet). I guess the only thing that really holds me back is that this story is the most read story that I've ever written... it isn't the one that has the most followers (maybe because it's ended?), that achievement goes to 'The Demon Goddess' which has been onhold for more than a year, so you can kinda see why I might not was to waste time on 'fixing' this story rather than

Regardless, what do you guys think? Do you even care? Should I just delete it and maybe re-post a new version when I feel like writing one (if ever)? Or just delete it and put the entire thing behind me and focus on the stuff I really want to write? Or maybe someone would be willing to edit it for me?

Thanks for reading!
-with love from an agnostic <3

PS. I'm not sure if people are aware, but I only write Twilight x Luna ship fics with the occasionally Nightmare Moon x Celestia and in some future plans as a side-ship for my one of main-ship (TwiLuna) stories, I might be tossing in some VinylTavia, LyraBon and RanbowPie. So it any of those ships might be of your liking, I would suggest you watch/follow me, I know I've been quite for a while due to university, but I feel like a part of me died when I stopped writing these stories and I want to get back into the game!

PSS. Again, sorry for post this here rather than on a blog post, but I just know from experience that people are WAY more likely to reply here than on my blog... you've forced my hand you CIS scum! J/K

Comments

[Astarea]

First Published
17th Dec 2011

It would be a shame to see one of the first TwiLuna stories (such a classic!) go.
You also have more positive responses to the story than negative.
So my suggestion is: keep the chapters as they are and perhaps write new versions and add them.

Greetings from one agnostic to another.

[DthWaker]

Well, the first thing to say would be that it is your story, so it's your choice to leave it be or take it down. With that out of the way, if this story was recently published, or just the second chapter, it would be one thing, but after two years deleting either the whole story, or just the second chapter, seems kind of pointless. A story this old would have more readers in the past than potential future readers, and most of those who have already read it wouldn't notice if you took it down, even if it was because some of then no longer visit fimfic. Also if the problem seems to be Christmas just changing it to yule or rewriting it as Hearth's Warming would be better then deleting the story.
In short, in my opinion is that the story is too old to bother changing, or deleting it, but if the choice is only between a rewrite or oblivion I'd rather see a rewrite.

[Sauron]

Sees story published in 2011.
Story # 3800
Impending deletion.

No, please keep this historical artifact! It doesn't matter if it is Christmas! Just keep it here, for the sake of history please.

(And also, I'd normally get into a debate about historical Jesus, but FiMfiction really isn't a good place for that, so I'll save that for NationStates.)

[justwannaread]

Please keep this little gem removing 2nd chapter is your choice but removing altogether. I say no to that.

[Archvile]

6024764 6024831 6024778 6025279
Hello and thanks alot for replying :)
It's always interesting and nice to get feedback because you get different points of view and sometimes learn things that you hadn't really considered like the fact that this story is such an old one that got posted in the early days of fimfiction and that deleting it would serve no real purpose as it really isn't viral anymore, the only real purpose it would really serve to delete or edit any of this would be remove its Christian theme (which it was never my intention to make it related to Christianity) and make me feel like that I was less ignorant about the whole thing to being with, erasing my past mistakes, so to speak (weather or not if that's a good thing I dunno, maybe it's good to keep some of your short comings in order to remind you of what not to do... now I almost feel bad about removing the one with Fluttershy getting HIV...). Regardless, with this insight I agree that deleting this one would be a real shame and that editing it at this point is probably pointless... maybe I should? maybe I shouldn't? I don't know... maybe I should just make a re-make and either upload it here as another chapter (while still keeping the old version here) or upload it as a new story? But for now I've added an author's note to the start of the second chapter, trying to warn people of its horror :P

Sorry about the Jesus rant, I just have some personal issue and an ill back story with Christianity, which is why this story is bothering me so (well, beside the 2nd chapter that seriously needs to die in a wildfire)... so me deleting or changing this would mostly be due to the fact that I was to distance myself from Christianity. But in hindsight maybe it got the attention that it got was because I made it a part of the summary that it was a Christmas story? I dunno...

Thanks again for writing :)

6024843
I'm glad that you enjoyed it :)

[Sauron]

6025634
You can always just unpublish the second chapter, but not delete it. Then leave a link in the Author notes of the first chapter for people who want to see it.

[Archvile]

6025847
You think that would be better than leaving an author's note in the start of the 2nd chapter trying to explain that the 2nd chapter really isn't worthwhile?

[Sauron]

6025994
Yeah. That way it technically isn't part of the story if it is unpublished, and you can still have an author's note in it saying it isn't worthwhile, but it still exists and people can read it.

[Archvile]

6026038
Then the question remains whether or not I should edit the first chapter to be Hearth's Warming Eve... decisions, decisions...

[nine0one]

I am a little confused, if you don't associate Christmas with Jesus and wrote the story from the standpoint why does it need to be deleted? (written in genuine curiosity) I mean you have artistic license so there is no reason that the Equestria of your head cannon has to associate Christmas with Christians at all. I am sorry if I missed the point I'll try re-reading the post. In any case i vote for no deletion, its a good story id hate to see it go.

[Archvile]

6026767
It's because I wanted to make it a holiday thing and at the time I thought Jul was just what Xmas is, which it really isn't. Jul is a Pagen tradition that Christianity stole and then called Christmas and I don't believe in Jesus because the story of Jesus is very faulty. The only reason I didn't write this as a hearts warming eve was because I wrote this before that episode was made (yes, this is an old story). but yeah, I've decided to leave it be, I'm just not sure if I should edited it so it doesn't have any Xmas references in it... but I don't feel like I can really be bothered with doing that. So maybe I'll find an editor or maybe I'll re-make the story at a later date and correct it so it doesn't have anything to do with Xmas.

[Archvile]

6578614
You give men too much credit ^^ Thanks a lot though :) I'm guessing you didn't read the 2nd chapter? Which is a good thing, the 2nd chapter is so bad... I've no idea what I was thinking when I wrote that >_> Regardless, we can always use more Twiluna shippers :D

[neokiva]

6661284 I actually liked chapter two it was adorable. I didn't particularly care that you used Christmas rather than hearth warming eve.

[Archvile]

6994776 really? i despise everything about it >_> burn it with fire! D: but i'm glad you enjoyed it at least :)

[Archvile]

8178122 It still bothers me I wrote a 2nd chapter for this... it's so bad xD