As an addendum to my previous statements, I'm not trying to say people should actively provoke fights between the axe wound brigade and vtubers. I'm also not trying to say they should be hunted down or actively prosecuted. What I am saying is that they shouldn't be given any special treatment at all, for any reason.
Honestly, this is not an easy thing to deal with. I'm a jaded bastard. I'm cynical and reactionary. Because I've been made this way. I'm reminded of that one scene in Watchmen where Rorschach is walking down a street, monologuing to himself about how filthy, evil and criminal everyone around him obviously is, while perfectly ordinary people do ordinary things in the background.
A lot of people here liked Pikamee because she was innocent and sweet. Even when she cursed and swore, it was like a kid trying to say big nasty adult words. She was sincere and warm. But you can't be like that forever on the internet, even if you aren't exposed to tranny nonsense. We grasp and latch onto people like her because they represent a purity we don't have anymore. They dance through dark caves we know are full of monsters, and skip through fields of pretty flowers we know are laced with poison. Every time one of these people gets stabbed by a thorn, we feel their pain and confusion, because we know that even if they'll likely survive, they'll never be innocent again.
That's what the vermintide take from you. They take your innocence. They force you to harden your heart and stop looking at the world with optimistic eyes. Sure, this happened before. Every creator has had that moment when they realize that their fandom isn't all hyper-positivity and unconditional support. But that adaptation doesn't destroy innocence, not like this.
I think just the revelation that you're sharing your social space with a group that hates you to this degree is what truly destroys your innocence. You see the monsters in the dark, staring back at you. You see the thorns on the flowers, ready to stab you. Suddenly everything you used to like unconditionally has to be examined, and you carry a torch with you when the shadows start to lengthen.
I don't really know where I was going with this. Too many thoughts. Too much to do.
Honestly, this is not an easy thing to deal with. I'm a jaded bastard. I'm cynical and reactionary. Because I've been made this way. I'm reminded of that one scene in Watchmen where Rorschach is walking down a street, monologuing to himself about how filthy, evil and criminal everyone around him obviously is, while perfectly ordinary people do ordinary things in the background.
A lot of people here liked Pikamee because she was innocent and sweet. Even when she cursed and swore, it was like a kid trying to say big nasty adult words. She was sincere and warm. But you can't be like that forever on the internet, even if you aren't exposed to tranny nonsense. We grasp and latch onto people like her because they represent a purity we don't have anymore. They dance through dark caves we know are full of monsters, and skip through fields of pretty flowers we know are laced with poison. Every time one of these people gets stabbed by a thorn, we feel their pain and confusion, because we know that even if they'll likely survive, they'll never be innocent again.
That's what the vermintide take from you. They take your innocence. They force you to harden your heart and stop looking at the world with optimistic eyes. Sure, this happened before. Every creator has had that moment when they realize that their fandom isn't all hyper-positivity and unconditional support. But that adaptation doesn't destroy innocence, not like this.
I think just the revelation that you're sharing your social space with a group that hates you to this degree is what truly destroys your innocence. You see the monsters in the dark, staring back at you. You see the thorns on the flowers, ready to stab you. Suddenly everything you used to like unconditionally has to be examined, and you carry a torch with you when the shadows start to lengthen.
I don't really know where I was going with this. Too many thoughts. Too much to do.
