>>1522965As you said, the three masks. No matter how personal, no matter how genuine, any relationship with a vtuber is in the first rule. Even if Mori earnestly loves her audience and people there like her for her, it's not the relationship between two close people, but one person on a pedestal with a whole lot of other people anthropomorphised into one entity - the audience. The chat. The flow of fanart. From witty fans who she inspires to do their reps, to the socially stunted creeps who'd stalk her if they knew her address, to the people who quietly lurk but respect her talent all the same, and anyone in between. The face Mori puts on has to address all of us at once.
You can't have a personal relationship in this medium, just a parasocial one. You've seen Mori express support for people, like 'good luck with work' or 'happy birthday' or specific advice. You've seen her break down when overwhelmed by positivity. You've seen her look to give as many individuals as she can see an earnest response, whether it's a red superchat or sometimes a nameless comment.
Now what you haven't seen is the thing you only see with close friends or family. No celebrations over getting a new job. No getting angry with each other over controversial topics. No spats of personal drama that leave you speechless, or you have to apologise over. No full details about insecurities or troubling events (which you would NOT have the answers to, most likely). None of the blemishes that encompass life. Because even in our own lives, we have people who can't take that. And if we trust the wrong person with that sort of thing, the result is catastrophic for everyone involved.
Any vtuber who's smart will respect this boundary, because it's literally their job to be a positive source. Any vtuber who's sincere will also be as genuine as they can despite it. Whether you think Mori is or not is up to you. Though I'd say she is. Just because there's limits to our interactions doesn't mean there's nothing real to them
