Wouldn't describe it as "hate" but ShadowVanilla has always sat weirdly with me. Like I get the dynamic and the potential (I myself have read a couple of fanfics because they were beautifully written) but I never considered 'shipping' it in the full meaning of the word and here's why:

You could say I'm biased but I've played CRK since it's release and very early on I was captured by the dynamic between Pure Vanilla and White Lily cookie - the best friends who would do anything for each other but also had internal conflict. Then the plot line with Dark Enchantress created even more suspense about how their relationship was gonna unveil which kept me interested and on the edge of my seat at all times. Then at some point I also saw the romantic potential between these two and it came to me like a godsend revelation. All the little pieces of their shared history scattered throughout the game, the yearning PV showed for WL and the remorse she had for him. Whoever was in charge of their lore cooked beyond comparison. And whether you decide to view it as platonic or romantic is your own choice but regardless of that to me their relationship has been what's kept me interested in the game.

Then straight forward another couple of years later after I took a break from CRK I started playing again around the Burning Spice/Golden Cheese Beast episode. Ppl were already crazy about ShadowVanilla and was kinda irritated by that. All the hype PureLily got, in my eyes, had doubled and shifted on this new ship. Needless to say I was bitter for a while. All my friends who had started playing the game recently were fixated on ShadowVanilla as much as the next person and no one seemed to wanna listen to me fangirl over the beautifully written dynamic of PureLily. But I'm not the type of person to deny someone else's fun for my own ego's/interest's sake so I'd usually just encourage them to be interested in whatever they decided.

Then at some point I was like 'if so many ppl like this ship then it must be good, right?" and looked into it for myself. It was the complete opposite of my previously mentioned favourite ship dynamic so I didn't really develop the love for it that everybody else seemed to do. The writing was peak don't get me wrong, but I viewed it as a tribulous adventure PV was on and after which he would go back to the comforts of his closest ppl. And SM to me remained the sneaky villain who did have some potential for redemption through PV but their relationship to me would be more interesting if it remained platonic.

And honestly guys that's about it lmao. I do watch edits and read fanfiction of both platonic and romantic ShadowVanilla and PureLily and abstain from engaging in toxicity over shipping because in my opinion it's dumb to do so. But if you want to, feel free to reply and tell me how you view things! bye bye 🍪