I'm sorry to hear about the trouble you've been getting. I'll try to weigh in with my thoughts. <3
The realistic vs colorful debate has been going on for quite a long time; the truth is, I don't see it so much a debate to decide which one is better, as much of it can boil down to preference, but it's a reoccurring theme in real life events all over the world. You will always have someone who hates what you enjoy, and you will not like something that somebody else adores-- it doesn't make one better. There will always be a controversy over whose idea is best, and there may even be disputes between trying to persuade someone to simply respect and acknowledge that there are differences, and to be okay with that. However, you will always come across someone who will refuse to look at a subject in another perspective, and sometimes there's simply not much we can do about it. In reality, I feel like it has always been like this-- perhaps other factors have attributed to it becoming more noticable, or even more inflicting, but there was always a time when people joked or disliked the neon or realistic color. Society as a whole seems to be a bit more vocal in modern times (which has good and bad effects), so it's a problem we face over many different platforms, and any interweb game is not much different. There's not a harm in attempting to explain a different point-of-view, in and of itself, but as long as you know what you like, you should hold onto that, because Feral Heart is only a game, and you can get as darn creative as you want to get. c:
I think the "realistic" look is also a bit of a trend; there are trends for quite a few things-- clothing, word usage, likes/dislikes, etc. Not all trends are a bad thing, although this could be partially why you've been getting some backlash for sporting a colorful character. Differences cause people to point them out-- anyone who has ever felt like he has stood out from a crowd will have felt some effect of being different from everyone else (although, we are all different from each other, which contradicts the point a bit). Basically, when it comes to something such as an individual preference of yours, or a color you like, there will always be some sort of negative presence from those who disagree or don't like what you're doing. It doesn't make someone a bad person if they dislike something you do, but that can be taken too far out of an appropriate level, at times. Keep your head up. ^^ I'd probably say that you can find a balance between acknowledging their comments (as opposed to ignoring them; I think it's a popular opinion to try to ignore every negative thing you've been told, but in truth, you can learn a lot about allowing yourself to hear other peoples' opinions. Just keep sight of your convictions. c:) and keeping strong to what you enjoy and believe in. I see it in a personal light, whereas it's easy to generalize a group to hate a color or style as a whole, or to categorize them as having the same agenda, so perhaps that might offer some insight. ^^ I've noticed that people tend to have different reasons for not liking something. Heck, it's kind of a trend in itself to hate against sparklewolves and glittercats, which is a bit of a shame, although oftentimes, I don't see there being any real malicious intent behind it. Sometimes, it's someone who's merely bored or wants to feel a part of the group, even if that means joining the one that brings a negative consequence, which does happen. ^^
Do you. If you love sparkley, colorful characters, go make one. c: There are probably a few people out there who are wanting to do the same thing and are just a little shy.
As Morgra mentioned above, if it's getting to the point of bullying or threatening, please consider blocking the offending user and reporting, if you feel it's necessary. You have every right to state your opinion about something in the chat, but that's not an excuse to personally attack someone.
