[6.0 - 6.4 Spoilers] An interesting video detailing Venat's polarizing reception

[Absimiliard]

First time posting on the forums, I just wanted to voice my opinions as a newcomer who beat endwalker last year.

I was randomly reccomended the video for no apparent reason(only really listen to ff14 music sometimes), and i decided to voice my disagreement in the comments. I was rebutted by both the channel's account and some other person who responded to every dessenting voice without fail. I had never expierienced this amount of engagement in a comment section before so I was really fascinated. Turns out I'm 2 years behind on this war the forums have had about Venat. Making 2 videos on other characters and then just making a bunch of Venat videos was bizarre until i realized it was supposed to be a safe space for what was essentially discourse refugees. Some of my favourite stories are incoherent messes, so I didn't really care if someone thought that about endwalker. That said, the really specific focus on Venat from her critics to the point of actively fearing backlash in social media is genuinely concerning to me. Are you guys okay?

Mass reporting and threats, my dude. Some people take this game a little too seriously. Some vocal detractors of Endwalker and its characters, but in particular Venat, have met with types of backlash that come with actual consequences. Words on a screen screen can really only rustle somebody's jimmies if they allow it, but getting your accounts mass reported into oblivion because you had an opinion is something I think any reasonable person would agree is a problem, yeah? I'm not going to claim to know who was doing what when or whatever, but I can tell you from first hand experience some people were willing to get downright nasty over it.

As for the focus on Venat, I believe I can explain that reasonably well:
It's the double standard. It's pretty common for people to have an aversion to such things, and seeing it in action can (whether they realize it or not) leave them with a negative impression. In this particular instance, the issue I've seen people bring forward most often was simply how the narrative approached Venat's actions as compared how it approached the Ascians and their numerous misdeeds. At the end of the day, they all have more blood on their hands than any of us on these forums can possibly begin to comprehend. There's also the fact she played a key role in the story. You could swap Venat's role to just about any other character, and the discourse wouldn't change all that much other than a different name being thrown around.

For my two cents; my personal position on the matter has less to do with the double standard or Venat in particular and more to do with the writers seemingly walking back the morally grey angle they were setting up in Shadowbringers. Nuance in storytelling is something I'm rather fond of, and they did a pretty good job of setting it up. .... Then it largely went out the window.