[16&OVER] DMMD Discovery Stories & Internet Limits

[TW/CW: DISCUSSION OF KIDS, MATURE MATERIAL AND INTERNET SAFETY]

I find it kind of funny but als sad how like every1 I've met who knows DMMD discovered it when they were rlly young. I've met like 2 or 3 ppl n they all had this story of "I found it while watching anime/searching for anime/cartoons/it popped up in google", something along those lines. All at a rlly young age, but the youngest I know so far is me. 

I discovered DMMD at the age of 8 for the first time (around 2015/16), sitting in a car alone, phone in hand, looking for anime AMVs on youtube. I saw a video with a pretty blue-haired character on the thumbnail and a lot of unnecessarily sparkly effects. So obviously I clicked on it, as a kid left unsupervised would do. In that video I saw shots of the anime, some really neat and tame and then we got to the chorus. 

That's the day that, I believe, changed my brain's course completely. I didn't completely know what was going on, but I loved the pretty blue-haired character so I went and typed into youtube "DMMD" in search of finding more. This being 2015/16 of course it was available! All routes, no censorship, in explicit details, down to the xtra content. I didn't know the words they were speaking, couldn't properly read the English language yet, but I watched it all. And I was mesmerized.

Fan content, official art, ALT. Endings, I watched it all. All I could find, all I could get my slimy lil kid paws on. Can you guess who my favorite character was, not counting Aoba? Mink. I still like Mink as my 2nd favorite, but in no way do I support a majority of the actions he did it the game, especially not in real life. These days I like him for the character-analyzing elements, and I love to complain about how?? so much of that??? stuff he did?????? was completely useless?????????? and could've been switched for something else???????????? THAT'S A WHOLE OTHR THING ANYWAY, but back then I liked him because I thought he was pretty, he knew what he wanted, he was big and apparently smells like cinnamon and I just loved him? 

Yeah, you can probably imagine the rabbit hole that took me in. 

Throughout the years I keep coming back to DMMD, n I just have to accept that. well. it's a huge part of what shaped me, specifically the characters and imagery. I like dreadlocks a lot, the childhood friends into romance trope makes me swing my feet and giggle, Aoba is LITERALLY just he just shaped me so much, OH. AND WE HAVEN'T EVEN MENTIONED VIRUS N TRIP N THEIR ALT. ENDING YET. 

Point is: There used to be so much unprotected, exposed information on the internet to be grasped by unprotected, exposed children. And things have not gotten any better. People forget digital footprint is actually a thing, and a child's not going to know what that is! The new generation of children being handed an iPad, how much do you think they've seen? Think about how much WE'VE seen, and sure it might be a deal of "Oh, well it's not that bad, I turned out fine!"

... *eyebrow raise vine boom*

We didn't turn out fine. And even if we did it took YEARS of untangling, even in the present that collection of cards that're supposed to be stacked atop one another are lost. Some of those cards we'll never get back. 

I would not trade knowing DMMD for anything, even in being such a fucked-up and flawed game! But I would've preferred to find it when I was, I dunno, 15 or 16 instead. The majority of people who know DMMD are most likely people who found it during their teenage years or early adulthood, but there's a whole subcategory of kids who were not cared for enough. 

Mature media and children's media CAN coexist in the internet, things just have to be done properly. The issue is not only in the household, but in the decreasing attention spans and content labeled as 'for kids'. I remember all that fetish content disguised as cartoons, and it never stopped. 

The internet is, and forever will be, a fucked up place. Predators, guilt-tripping, liars, poor-shaming, cyberbullying, we should not let under 10 y/o's use it. Even better, under 13. Because sure for some people that exposal allowed great self-growth and visibility of the world, but that should NEVER. EVER come through a sacrifice so large it will scar you for life. 

But kids will always be on the internet. There will always be parents neglecting their children, and they are curious by nature so we can't blame them for clicking on something meant for adults if it looks interesting. It's unfortunate how we can't do anything but exist with that fact, but the people with those kids have the responsibility to keep them safe. They need their breaks too, that's why a safe network of trustworthy companions is important, but it must never be forgotten how much children are influenced. 

Yes, kids DO understand. Kids DO remember. Kids ARE affected. WE were affected, and so will they be. 

...

... On that note, my favorite alt. endings were Mink and Clear, but Koujaku gets a point for that STUPID-ASS WET HAIR SLIPPED BACK IMAGE LIKE HAHAHISBDCJKLOLZZZZZ I CRACK UP EVERY TIME I GET ITZ SUPP0SD 2 B ROMANTIC BUT???? NAAAAH AM CRYING (yes I am part of the problem X3 I hate it here!! YAAAAAAY)