• Member Since 21st Nov, 2014
  • offline last seen Sep 2nd, 2018

Eric Michael Kline


I like fantasy. I like heroes. And unsurprisingly, I idolize Master Tolkien.

More Blog Posts11

  • 427 weeks
    A bit of some bad news

    I'm afraid I have some bad news in regards to the story. About a few days ago, my 4 year old laptop up and died on me which pretty much destroyed the latest chapter. I was hoping to get it up by month's end but now I'm afraid it won't be out until Feb.

    0 comments · 267 views
  • 432 weeks
    Additional Info

    Just a few things I wanted to talk about in regards to the story.

    Read More

    0 comments · 338 views
  • 433 weeks
    Villainy 101

    And so the identity of the Shadow has been revealed. I know it was pretty obvious from the start but at least I hope I made it dramatic enough.

    Read More

    0 comments · 410 views
  • 433 weeks
    I'm back baby!

    Greetings to all my readers. It's certainly been a while hasn't it? My goal was to finish this story within a year but it seems as though life had other plans for me. Over the past few months, I've had to spend an unexpected hiatus on personal matters. You see, I suffer from depression but a new therapist and new medication has done wonders for me. It's also forced me to take a good hard

    Read More

    1 comments · 294 views
  • 459 weeks
    The Discord Effect

    So let's talk about what I've done in this latest chapter. Mirror Discord being defeated by the Shadow following his possession of Mirror Sombra is what's known as a Worf Effect; when the biggest and strongest character is defeated by the villain as a means to show how much of a threat the villain is. Not only did the Shadow defeat MD, but also managed to seal his powers, and by extension those

    Read More

    2 comments · 386 views
Dec
25th
2014

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.

Report Eric Michael Kline · 319 views · Story: Shattered Glass ·
Comments ( 0 )
Login or register to comment