An important note from Velvet: (Patreon)

Hi, everyone. Um. I...have no idea how to do this? So please bear with me.

Wow, THAT sounds ominous. Here, have a puppy to lighten the mood:

Adorable!

Anyway, a couple months ago, I briefly spoke about a situation with some commenters who were really wearing me down behind the scenes with some exhausting behaviors. 

Recently one person in particular, who we'll call "Blue" for the purposes of this post, finally became the straw that broke the camel's back. I'd actually begun dreading interacting in my own comment sections because of Blue, and had for awhile, because...trying to interact kindly with someone who refuses to respect you, gossips about you and unleashes the occasional stream of nastiness because they aren't getting enough attention from you is just...really tiring?

After a months long period of bad behavior and ignoring my hints, then requests, and finally demands to respect the space we all share on my channel, I revoked Blue's commenting privileges, as a way to shore up my boundaries, make my comment section a more positive place for myself and others, and also to protect my mental health. 

I did everything possible on my end to avoid taking this action, while holding Blue accountable for their behavior; Blue had many second chances to course correct before I reached my breaking point. Unfortunately, they didn't take those opportunities, doubled down and kept digging instead. 

To be clear: this is not what I would consider a block in the traditional sense; Blue can still freely consume my content, and even comment if they want, they just can't interact with me or other listeners on my videos.

But, as is often the case with people who don't respect you, Blue didn't like that. So after trying (and failing) to use other commenters as go-betweens to circumvent that final, undeniable boundary I laid, and attempting to manipulate me into allowing Blue back on the channel, Blue is now having a go at me in other VA's comment sections.

This is not a surprise, sadly, as Blue had already taken little swipes at me even when we were still on "good" terms anytime I tried to enforce a boundary with them. Energy vampires get upset when their supply cuts 'em off. Whaddya gonna do, right? Here, have some more puppies:

Balm on the soul, that is.

The point of this post is not to put Blue on blast--hence the use of a pseudonym instead of clapping back publicly with screenshots and callouts and the whole bit. The point of this post is to make a request of Patrons: 

ASMR/Audio RP is a relatively small niche, with a lot of overlap in listeners and VAs. If you see this individual even vaguely badmouthing me, please do not engage them on my behalf. I am not being coy here, I don't secretly mean "hey besties, read between the lines, wink wink, I'm slyly encouraging you to clapback with plausible deniability uwu" I mean, as forcefully as I can say it, please do not feed the energy vampire. 

I don't need to be defended, and I would like my actions to speak louder than Blue's words. Frankly, I didn't even want to make a post like this, but felt compelled when I realized someone might try to start something out of a sense of loyalty or something along those lines.

Blue is allowed to act out, if that's how they feel. They just aren't allowed to negatively impact my channel, my listeners, and myself with that sort of behavior anymore. Don't let Blue become your problem, okay? They're not mine anymore; they shouldn't be yours, either.

And if anything, I think the sudden smear campaign after refusing to allow Blue back into my space is rather compelling supporting evidence that I made the right decision. There are, quite literally, thousands of other VAs out there to choose from, and--again--Blue is not prevented from consuming my content in any way. Blue could choose to engage with other content, or engage with mine differently, but because they do not respect me as a person, and instead view me as an object they feel entitled to have unfettered access to, this is the tack they've taken.

It's unfortunate, but it's out of my control--and yours. Please respect this request to let the energy vampire starve. This will be my last word on the matter, as I generally try to remain drama neutral. ^^

Here, one more good boy for the road:

Hee, floppy.

Thank you for listening, thank you for your support, and especially thank you for treating me like a person and not a wind-up toy. You will never know how much myself and other content creators appreciate it. 💖