bintMail #1 - About Bint, Niji EN, Rigging and Doki

NBinted Answers Your Questions... Maybe

I just started a Marshmallow! And I’ve been absolutely flooded with messages. A lot of positive comments and a lot of nice discussions about VTubing have come from it. But I also thought it would be nice to have an FAQ archive on here so it’s easy to find what questions I’ve answered. Especially questions that people probably wonder about a lot. These responses are taken from Twitter, with some questioned shortened and some minor tweaks here and there. Enjoy!

How are you so knowledgeable [bint: their words not mine lol]? I really admire how good you are with words and am curious how you are able to do so.

I double majored in media studies and Japanese studies. Did a fair amount of writing. Read/watched a lot of better writers about media like Film Crit Hulk and Dan Olson, did a lil bit of IRL activism and been observing online movements since Gamergate.

Also I'm just a weeb who's watched a lot of anime, seen a lot of vtubers, spent a fair amount of time living in Japan and learning about Japanese culture, and read a lot of DiscourseTM.

Genuine question, how are you able to be a fan of livers from Nijisanji and talents from Hololive at the same time?

I don't think there's a lot of "good fandoms" in this world. Fandom culture just brings out bad shit. But I also know a ton of very cool Holo fans. Either way, I suggest you just enjoy stuff and don't let weird fans take that from you.

Makes me sad when people are like "ugh this thing looks good but the fans are toxic". I never want to deprive myself of joy because of other people. In any case, no fandom is immune to toxicity. Even if it comes out in different ways and to different extents.

I don't really watch Niji anywhere near as much after my oshi left and I have a literal laundry list of issues with the company, but the current state of the fandom is not something that the talents or their fans deserve.

I seriously don't begrudge anyone who simply fell off, as much as I think the very real problems have been mixed in with misinfo. But I think the dedicated movement of hating the company has done very little good, and has no real agreed upon goals or actions.

What's your opinion on how rigging should be?

I lean towards the middle ground, but I don't think there's a wrong way to do it if you have a clear concept and a design that goes well with the way your rigging flows. Unfortunately, some models just don't have that.

I have opinions about this model, but aesthetically and animation wise I do genuinely really like it. This face is the example I think of when it comes to having a range of animation that really enhances. Great rigging like any great animation does wonders for visual comedy.

What do you think is the worst flaw of the general en indie community? Do you think it it's any different from the jp community?

I think both communities have their own stuff to deal with. idk which is better or worse. The worst flaw of the EN community is probably just how it handles conflict. What people stand up for, what they don't stand up for and the chilling effects of peer pressure.

The next worst flaw is that it's so crowded and saturated. And there's so many people trying to make it who are On That Grindset and treat interacting with peers as a cynical networking opportunity to get themselves over.

What exactly are your feelings on Doki?

I knew this would come up lol.

It's complicated. I have expressed frustrations and she's not my cup of tea content wise, but I maintain she's insanely good at what she does and deserves the happiness and success she has. And I have no time for anyone who denies outright that she went through some shit.

I know some people might be like "but what about the time you said this?". Sometimes I'm angrier about things than other days, but like most of us I don't know her as a person. So I don't hold on to perceptions for dear life.

I think in any fandom, you need to let go of parasocial feelings in both directions. I think VTuber fans are so caught up in it that criticism of these online figures we don't really know is always this deeply serious emphatic thing etched in stone. It's not.

I am genuinely sorry for anyone who I've upset over this who isn't just looking to be upset or to "expose" me. But I never have and never will say that she's not deserving of support, love and fans. You have me confused with an imagined person if you believe that.

In any case, I think I've made peace with certain feelings that I had. There's just so much shit going on and malicious bad actors that I just don't have the room to be upset about someone who clearly isn't a bad person at all and clearly tries.

Hello! Rosemi Lovelock. Thoughts?

Yes.

Thank you for reading! I hope I cleared some things up and that this was worth reading. See you whenever I decide to post more of these here.