In Defense of a Favorite Character

Earlier, while talking, we somehow stumbled upon the topic of a certain character, and how many people hate her (often not even for a good reason).
And then I was reminded of how, way back when I actually gave half a rat's behind about what people thought on the matter, I used to keep up with comments on her Vocaloid Wiki page until things got so ugly I fled for good.
And THEN I remembered how I wanted to pour my heart into a lengthy speech concerning why I am a fan of this character, with an all-guns-blazing defense speech prepared as well for when the scum of the internet came to stomp and spit on me.
Of course, I never got up the nerve to go and do that; I figured there was no point, since it would just end the same way as every other fan's attempt to express themselves on that page.
So, remembering that unfinished business, and seeing as we have a board for such lengthy speeches, I figured that I'd type up a NEW one right here and actually post it. Yes, there's going to be a lot of fanbabble here (that you've all seen before, but I have so much pent-up fan energy that it's constantly having to pour out), but there will also be actual ranting mixed-in.


For a couple of years now, I've been a fan of Yowane Haku. I had known about her rather soon after I became a Vocaloid fan, but I first truly became a fan when I decided to try RPing her and exploring her potential as a character. Under that flaw that everybody focuses on and nobody seems to look past (you probably know what I mean; *glug*) lied a truly likeable character, I had discovered. And this isn't just entirely going by what I've woven from scratch; nobody seems to ever portray her as mean, and she's often portrayed as merely sad, lonely, and/or misunderstood. Eventually, I had woven an intricate headcanon for her, explaining why she thinks and acts the way she does (in my interpretation), and what could have possibly driven her into the rut she was in. I even ended up including her cleaning up in my headcanon, as we couldn't have such a character go to waste. With her biggest flaw left in her past, her character had a chance to develop more and more. And here we are today.

Now, although I'm sure there are quite a few people out there who can see more to Haku than just her biggest flaw, unfortunately, there are many more who don't. Although some of those people just have her playing the part of a sort of pathetic comic relief, some others do much worse, sicker things. I really, really don't want to go into detail about how they think of her, but... it's not good. And it's THOSE PEOPLE and their stupid fanart (I would rather not call it art, but alas) who really ruin Haku's image as a character. Because of them, hoards of ignorant people think that she's nothing more than a treat to feed the fantasies of disgusting-minded maggots (and honestly, her own CREATOR isn't helping her image with some of his drawings, either).

And this brings me to something that I've been meaning to get out for well over a year. Due to the bad reputation of Haku fanart and everything, there are many, many people who think that her only "fans" are a disgusting bunch controlled by their... ugh, never mind. They never stop and think that some people (who are actually TRUE fans) really do appreciate her as a character, and take the time to develop rich storylines with her. And as for her "voice", it is perfectly possible to like it while knowing that it really is technically Miku's voice tuned in a specific way. This IS a creative fandom, so why can't we love the child of someone's imagination?

As I've already mentioned, I've seen the venom so many people have towards Haku and her fans firsthand. No fan was safe on that battlefield; I even saw a sweet comment coming from an innocent 11-year-old fan being met with bladed words. No matter what any fan would say, peacefully expressing their appreciation, they would be met with flames and labels. If someone claimed to be a fan, somehow, they'd be automatically labeled as a "n00b", or even "dirty". Eventually, when things erupted even more, I fled, never to return to that section. I hadn't posted myself, but I felt for every other fan there, being harassed just for expressing appreciation.

I could probably scrape together a few more words, but I'll end things here.