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>Vtubers serve many of the purposes that deities did in ancient times. They aren't real, but they have an impact due to the influence of their followers. Their looks and personalities are handcrafted to attract and capture the attention of people(mostly men) who do not get to receive affection from any other figure in their lives. Their 'churches' grow rich and influential.
>You can see it everywhere you look, the art, the fanfics, the schizo posts. These masks have been turned into symbols, given meaning they were never meant to have.
>Vtubers serve many of the purposes that deities did in ancient times.
Agree, but with reservations which will soon appear.
>They aren't real, but they have an impact due to the influence of their followers.
Much like Deities they are real in a non literal sense. Watame isn't a real person but she is full of real output and shares many elements of her roommate -- but Watame, or rather her roomate, is, perhaps, 'gifted' energy by her followers to become Watame. This energy gives her confidence and real energy.
In much the same way you could say Caesar, Brutus, or Augustus were built by their followers and ideals. Brutus, the human, did not want to kill Caesar, but Brutus, the Senator, did, and had to. Caesar, likewise, deeply loved Pompey as the good husband to his deceased daughter -- nonetheless he marched in battle against Pompey.
But will you deny these men their sins? It is not so easy to divorce the person they felt they had to be, and made themselves, from the person relaxed from underneath the demands of their environment.
Likewise we must realize Watame, as a person, would not act how she does now, as a V-Tuber, if she were not a V-Tuber -- but nonetheless she, as a V-Tuber, is Watame in much the same way Caesar was Caesar, regardless of if he was speaking to friends or his supporters. The energy which gives form to both forms, not that they are confined to only two forms -- I say only two for simplicity's sake, cannot claim divorce from each of it's outcomes. The energy which makes Pekora's roommate is the same which makes Pekora, and both are impossible to replace -- both are the same thing too.
V-Tubing allows these people to reach their exaggerated and almost mythical forms. These forms are not fake, they are based on reality, but they are normally impossible for most people to realize in themselves -- we do not have hundreds of thousands of fans cheering on these forms.
>Their looks and personalities are handcrafted to attract and capture the attention of people
Chicken and egg. I think, through Occam's razor, you can acknowledge it's easier to find people naturally close to the personalities they play than to find people who can convincingly fake their personality for thousands of hours live. Going back to the previous statement of mine, that they are exaggerated and empowered forms of themselves, not fake representations, how many of us would act similar in such positions as them? Would you really not genuinely love your fans? Would you not act silly? If not, then at least can you acknowledge there are some amount of humanity which would, given such support?
What makes Hololive specifically unique is they have exceptional talent acquisition. They look for girls who do not have to fake it, but who naturally become it through the power of others.
>who do not get to receive affection from any other figure in their lives.
This is hard to disagree with as a general statement, but as a 'Semper Vera Omnium Est' it's easy to dismiss; why has story telling and literature existed in humanity's interests for so long? Because we seek others, and the truth of others. I know no one in my life who share personality and entertainment with some of the V-Tubers I know of, not that I do not love my friends!
I am sure if I did know such people my consumption would be less, but that reality is hard to achieve, and it's lack of realization is no proof of a general lack of affection.
>You can see it everywhere you look, the art, the fanfics, the schizo posts. These masks have been turned into symbols, given meaning they were never meant to have.
Their form is inherently a mask they wear, one they themselves design and fit perfectly into. The extreme nature of art, fanfiction, and schizophrenia is all perfectly natural for such displays using masks invigorated with such energy.
