When having a Waifu goes too far. · 4:44am Dec 25th, 2014
Hello again everyone. I apologize for getting behind in my routine for posting any new chapters. A combination of writer's block and holiday stress have unfortunately drained me of my mental energy over the past two weeks. But now that Christmas will soon be over hopefully I'll be able to get the new chapter caught up and finished; if not by New Year's then at least within the first week of 2015.
Anyway, I wanted to take a moment to share some thoughts I had. I was browsing some art on Derpibooru, and I came across some scans from the Reflections arc. Most of the responses to said scans were from hard-line bronies complaining about how horrible it was. So I made my own post regarding how I enjoyed Reflections for its dark tone, the tragic ending, and for how it humanized Celestia. Unsurprisingly, my response was greeted with a torrent of negative replies; most of which were arguing about how they ruined Celestia's character by giving her flaws (god forbid a fictional character not have any flaws) and pairing her with a Gary Stu love interest. And when I pointed out that they were just mad about their "waifu," one actually began writing about how hostile others have been to his opinions, how IDW was intentionally disrespecting the fandom, and how it all made him want to die.
First of all, the IDW comics are geared towards the bronies. That's why they're full of references that only they would get. (IE-the Micro-series issue featuring Rarity at a hippy health spa actually had a reference to R. Crumb. If you've never read R. Crumb, be ready to take a shower afterwards if you ever do.) Second, I don't consider Mirror Sombra to be a Gary Stu. But even if he is he's a lot more bearable one than some others I've seen. Frankly if given a choice I'd rather be trapped in an elevator with him than Edward Cullen. But that's not what I wanted to talk about. After all, one can't predict how a fandom will react to a character as there's always at least one who'll turn them into a death eater or squeeze them into a pair of tight leather pants.
The problem is the aforementioned response of that one brony. Now there's nothing wrong with having favoritism for a particular fictional character. Nor is there anything wrong with fantasizing about them. After all, people have been doing that since long before the Internet. And while we may not agree with all canon or fanon shippings, that's no reason to get upset over them. To use my own example, I don't support Dislestia. But I have on occasion seen works that despite my aversion for that particular shipping were so well done that I still enjoyed them. Case in point this little gem:
But when you get to the point that a particular story line or shipping counters your perception of a character or work to the point that you react in such an extreme way, that's when you need to take a step back and take a look at yourself, your thoughts, and your life. After all, these are not living individuals. Nothing they do has any actual bearing on real life. Keep in mind that MLP was intended to be a kids show and it's only through freak coincidence that it's developed such a substantial fringe following. For something so trivial to produce such an extreme reaction as stated above says more about the individual than the work itself and indicates the presence of a deeper psychological issue within oneself that should be addressed sooner rather than later.
Bottom line, enjoy whatever or whoever you want, but don't turn it into a crutch that should someone or thing knock it out from under you, you can't stand without it.
-To Be Continued.