I didn't want to read or get involved in any of this silliness but after seeing a couple of posts I feel like maybe I have something to offer.
sigh...
yea we were both on tmf but we were literally just random users to each other for the most part
i knew of him since he was one of the staff members plus he ran dupe day which was hands down the best forum event
he knew of me bc uh... not to have a main character syndrome moment but like who didn't know of me at the time?? there was pretty much always drama or controversy happening with me during my entire time on the forum
the first time i really ever talked to him was on the tmf server after the forum shut down and the extent of that was only in grp discussions and when he was helping me and another user learn how to get and battle powomons using the owo bot
my first actual one on one conversation with him was a month before i turned 18 when i asked him for help on a math problem since i knew he was a math major in uni and that's all that happened there
we became friends after i was 18 when i challenged him to a game of connect4 bc he was bragging abt it on the server and we actually started talking after that and later on after vid calls and everything, he asked me out
now that u actually for some reason have begun entertaining the idea that im not a dupe, u should be well aware that i was groomed during my time on tmf (or at least have heard of rumors abt it)
so if anything i should have several yrs of experience knowing the diff between a creepy groomer and a regular person
no creep is that excited abt me vid calling his parents 3 days into our relationship or even suggests the idea, not to mention his sister, aunts, nephews, everyone
plus weve also met several times in person at this point now too and there was nothing "dark" or "fishy" abt it
im saying this less to u and more to the other members on here bc I feel like ur twisting it into something its not and i dont want other ppl to get the wrong idea and start judging based on it
ur free to have ur opinions abt the age gap, ik most ppl probs judge it anyway and theres not much i can do abt that
but rn ur basically suggesting that hes some sort of groomer/pedo which is absolutely false and gross
So firstly hime I think the best approach with Finalbeta is to ignore him. Justifying yourself like this will change nothing as he will just change tack and pivot to something related and create the feeling like you're talking past each other. In terms of the part where you say "I know most judge it anyway", I don't think this is the case. I think when you're made to feel guilty about something you can feel the need to prove yourself otherwise or in this case mention that it exists as if it's common, but it's important to recognise it for what it is - a manipulation tactic designed to get you to engage with him.
I can of course only speak for myself but the way I see it is that no one who should matter to you would judge this sort of thing out of hand, and also that most people tend to be more charitable than you think they are.
i dont think he's the reformed guy u think he is, ekko. and u might've been sweet-talked into thinking he is.
I don't believe for a moment that Ekko believes Beta is some reformed character and more to the point, I don't thibk he cares one bit whether he is or not. Indeed, the welfare of people, particularly the women, on here, is of no concern whatsoever to Ekko. I'm addressing this to you and also to
@Dr. Watson who I saw got frustrated when responded to Ekko, you are not reasoning with someone who is just a bit naive and sees only the good in people, I.e someone like Fuji. You are responding to someone who sees this as it is and simply doesn't care.
Ekko's motivation is wholly selfish - he hasn't enjoyed the last few games and likes Finalbeta and so wants him back in the games for his own interest. He doesn't care about any human cost associated with that so you are never going to make him understand your perspective. You are only going to get yourself upset and annoyed at going back and forth with him. I say this to you both as, well I wouldn't be as presumptuous as to call us friends but someone who would rather not see you upset on a personal level. The best thing that you can do is ignore Ekko because there is nothing earnest about this in the slightest from his part.