Forbidden Knowledge is the Best Knowledge.

[damnfandomproblems]

Fandom Problem #14,884:

Debates around changing a character's orientation.

If you're going to change a canon aroace character to make them gay, are you equally okay with someone shipping a canon gay character in a straight ship?

Either a character's orientation is something sacred and immutable, or it's not, you can't really have it both ways.

But people are rarely consistent about it. You can't argue that "making a gay character straight takes away from representation, there aren't very many canon gay characters" because hey, there's even fewer canon aroace characters.

[polygnosticu]

Fandom seems to have developed a double standard around this concept. Shippers have never cared about canon. The whole point of shipping is experimentation. The canon is established. Shippers are exploring the roads not taken.

[night-3y3s]

Creators are limiting interactions or fully going no-contact with their fandoms because fans disrespect them and treat them like property. Fans have become too entitled, believing they control another person’s story and dictate what they can and can’t do with them, and they resort to harassment when things don’t go their way.

If you dislike what a creator is doing with their story, critique it, find another one to enjoy, or make your own story instead of resorting to harassment.

[polygnosticu]

Fandom may no longer have boundaries but creators still do.

[unwelcome-ozian]

[smollyz]

Since it came out in 2023 I only just now watched all three final episodes of The Owl House

I...didn't like it, like at all lmfao

Didn't like it so much it somehow irritated me into spending TWO HOURS ranting about all the problems I had with it to my friends. I didn't even know I had that in me. So at least I won't be constantly bitching here...not that much...

Even considering how badly being cancelled must have screwed them over some of the episodes made bizarre writing choices i still can't wrap my head around

i.E why was like, the first 30 minutes of Thanks to Them just nothing? Everything worth mentioning only happened in the last ten minutes when they went to that Halloween fair or whatever but the rest? basically nothing

WHY IS FLAPJACK DEAD? WHAT REASON WAS THERE FOR HIM TO DIE? to make Belos more of the BadGuy(tm)? To traumatise Hunter even more? Hey, I'm a big fan of torturing your blorbos, but it gets to a point

(hunter wasnt even there for belo's death I-)

in For the Future, why did we spend so much time in hexside dealing with kikimora and boscha? It's so bizarre to me because it contributes nothing to the overall story. You COULD remove all of it and nothing substantial would change. At most, Luz doesn't realise what she truly wants that helps unlock her palismna egg (but come on, there's 100% more efficient ways)

That willow being a leader and needing to hide her emotions for the sake of others was so fucking bizarre and out of left field that when she was "finally allowed to cry" in what was (i assume) meant to be a cathartic moment, I was busy wondering when this had ever been previously established at all

Huntlow.

Gus (my poor boy)

The show's message kind of falling apart due to the main character's--whether intentional or not-- hypocrisy (everyone is complicated and can change with a little understanding. except that guy he cant. because he's evil)

I'm not talking about Belos. I won't even TOUCH that. (maybe later when I feel especially bitter)

and my biggest problem that drove me insane; what, the FUCK happened to The Collector?? Who was that character? certainly not the guy I knew from season 2

When watching For the Future I had this ever-growing inkling (and horror) of what the show runners were trying to do with him. I thought, no, no they wouldn't try to redeem the collector, right?

Oh you sweet, naive, stupid little thing. They didn't just """redeem""" the collector they REPLACED THEIR CHARACTER AND TRIED TO BASH YOU OVER THE HEAD WITH THE NEW ONE

Why were they reduced to a little baby who couldn't think for themselves in Watching and Dreaming? What?? The scribbling on the "mean" parts of their h

i will not be gaslit into thinking "Oh the collector is just a kid! He's a little kid and had been manipulated by Belos!" was the entire plan, no freaking way. I rewatched Hollow Mind and King's tide to make sure I wasn't losing it, 'cause I remember The Collector being perfectly aware of what death and pain and suffering is. They're immortal! Why would they care about mortal lives? That's how i understood it, at least

try to blame his behaviour on being influenced by Belos all you want, but a major thing i see everyone (even the show itself) ignore is that he TAUGHT BELOS THE DRAINING SPELL HIMSELF. WILLINGLY

and there's no "belos lied to him about his intentions" excuse, 'cause he acted out how the draining spell would feel in Hollow Mind. They were perfectly aware of the pain and misery it would cause and did not care. Found it amusing, funny even. They were borderline sociopathic and I loved it so much! A powerful, chaotic-evil god with child-like qualities! Awesome!

And then in Watching and Dreaming he just becomes a straight-up child. At some point my draw dropped when it hit me the direction that had been chosen for their character.

(another side note, i HAVE to ask; where did the "the collector was influenced by belos negatively" idea come from? the show does nothing to imply thats what happened. "the show doesnt have to spell it out for you! look at the context clues!" what context clues? we don't even know how their first interaction went!

I doubt what happened between them and puppet raine is the context needed for their entire relationship. They spent centuries together, I'm pretty sure there's a lot we don't know

i dislike those scenes too by the way. I agree the collector is childish and naive but at that point he was just a straight-up idiot. But who knows maybe I'm the idiot)

"The archivists were the ones who wanted to kill everyone powerful, I just wanna play!" "Why don't they like me? I'm not doing wrong! I'm just a silly kid who doesn't understand death, apparently." "whats wrong with breaking toys? you can just fix them!"

ignores how if Belos was not who he was, the collector would have killed him right then and there when he splattered the guy across the wall in King's tide. Also there was clearly no intention of fixing him LOL

of course there's the whole finding belos' treatmeamt of the clones hilarious but that's been talked about to death so eh

(speaking of Belos and The Collector, I find him being genuinely hurt that Belos lied to him a bit..odd? when I watched King's Tide. In that episode it was more of a pissed "are you kidding me?" when Belos chose to not free him. His reaction was more of rage rather hurt as just before belos tossess the disk, he appears to try to attack him. Plus, when King summoned him, he first thought it was Belos and said, "Go away, I don't associate with fibbers," in a sulky tone, which feels a lot less serious than how he reacted in Watching and Dreaming, but whatever)

(also, am i crazy to think that while belos was indulging him (ish) their dynamic seemed a lot more equal? Look at how they interacted in hollow mind. I hope it's not just me who thinks so)

I just. I dunno what to say anymore. I'm so disappointed. If i ever write something including the collector honestly it'll only be their s2 personality

The ending was so sugary and sweet i could taste the glucose on my tongue. I felt nothing.

(No belos sympathisers? Who's the centre of authority now? why is everything peach perfect after Belos? He couldn't have POSSIBLY been the only bad guy in the boiling isles thats just not how societies work)

that's it for now. Maybe i'll bitterly whine about one thing or another occasionally but i don't want to fill the tag with my own petulant rambling

It seems I'm finally having an Owl House hyperfixation. haha expect more bs from me.

Apologies if this rant is incoherent it's 3am rn

[himejoshidreamer]

Feel bad for Dana, already feeling the fandom pressure from kog and the only thing out is the pilot.

Unfortunately the people making theories will cling to those incorrect ideas until the end of time, and they tend to take their frustrations out on the canon show instead of reflecting on themselves. I've experienced toxic fandoms who think they know better than creators on many occasions.

[polygnosticu]

Dana's learning.

[plexippusangel]

It’s interesting with the way that psi ratings work. It seems like from about psi 5 to psi 10, the difference is not so much of what you can do, but how subtly you can do it, and who you can do it too. Talia can look around in a mundane’s mind, but they very much know she’s there. Above a psi 10 you can actively hurt people with your brain, so that’s a major difference, but it seems like the only use case for a higher level of telepathy is policing other telepaths.

[polygnosticu]

P-12s can do more than that. Bester established that they can forcibly extract information from most people's minds unless they had specialized training in resisting telepaths and even then there are no guarantees. It was also established that they can implant images and ideas permanently into other people's minds. Remember the story of the guy locked up in a strait jacket to keep him from tearing his own eyes out because of horrors planted in his mind by Psi Corps.

[violetganache42]

TADC fans have proved that, once again, fandom-wide toxicity and media illiteracy/the lack of critical thinking and reading comprehension skills are at an all-time high. Of course Pomni and Jax are in the spotlight a majority of the time. THEY'RE THE MAIN CHARACTERS, AKA PROTAGONISTS, FOR FUCK'S SAKE! When someone is the protagonist, the story will primarily be about them, meaning they will be getting the spotlight a majority of the time! What part of that do you and your pebbles for brains not understand?! Just because you fail to understand that does NOT give you the right to harass Goose! Hell, you have zero excuse to harass her in general; same with all the other creatives as a matter of fact!

Between the Internet getting centralized with social media eclipsing forum chats and the normalization of toxic behaviors courtesy of Voltron: Legendary Defender, it's disgusting what fandoms have become. Fans don't even treat the creators and crew members as human beings sharing their crafts and stories with others anymore. They view them as nothing more than cogs in the content machine—yes, I am making a My Chemical Romance reference. They treat all media, no matter the medium, as mere products meant for nothing but consumption and trends instead of compelling forms of art and storytelling to share and enjoy. They only care about shipping to the point of deliberately glossing over the narrative and other characters. They act like their headcanons and ships are 100% canon and demand that they should be by any means necessary. If there's anything they dislike or that "inconveniences" them, even the most minute, non-issue thing, their entitled asses go straight to bullying the creatives, sometimes to the point of heinous shit like doxxing and sending death threats. Well, guess what, dipshits? That type of behavior does nothing but harm, and what you did to Goose is no different!

This whole backlash just proves that more creatives are hesitant about sharing their own stories, and quite frankly, I don't blame them! Fandoms have gotten way too comfortable with having parasocial relationships with creators to the point where they think they know the stories better than the ones who actually created said stories. The constant waves of negativity and hostility are nothing more than a predictable vicious cycle at this point, and it completely cripples any love and passion the creatives have for their work and talents. Having opinions and criticisms is one thing, everyone has them, but making the media you claim to love your whole personality and being complete dicks to its creator is another. The level of entitlement you possess all because you can't fathom anything you don't like, let alone think about why you don't like it, is petty at best and heartless at worst. Have you seriously forgotten fanworks exist for a reason? You can literally create your own AUs, spaces for your headcanons, potential rewrites, etc. without needing to impede canon! Creators owe you jack shit! You don't dictate how they're telling a story that you should be thanking that they're telling for free! They have their visions, you have yours. PERIOD.

With TADC ending in a couple of episodes, if Goose does completely abandon it after it's finished or even flat out cancels it before its finale, then she has every right to decide whatever she want to do with it. If any of you toxic "fans" get all Surprised Pikachu or completely mopey over what the show's ultimate fate is, then that's all on you. You are exactly why we can't have nice things and why some shows pull their plugs prematurely. You did this to Gooseworx and The Amazing Digital Circus.

I hope you fuckers are proud of yourselves.

[let-us-cultivate-our-garden]

Hey. Another Owl House ask if you’ve recovered from the emotional drainage.

Personally the show lost me around FTF because I felt that the apocalyptic BI was played for laughs way too much. They’re here with this geeky fantasy rebellion and statues and thumbing their nose at Boscha for lashing out. Meanwhile, this is the equivalent of a world hit by a bomb where multiple people, including children, have been kidnapped by someone no one knows who just invaded their home and used as basically nonsentient toys and slaves. The hexside students are barricading themselves in a ruined building with moldy food and Kiki is manipulating and using Boscha, a traumatized child, who is lashing out because she wants things to be like they were and is confused and scared for her friends.

It’s very ironic that the narrative mocks Boscha for pretending things could be the way they were when that’s exactly what the show does. It’s a bombed out war zone with homeless children and people stripped of their sentience and this is honestly a situation that would leave people with Hiroshima level trauma. But the show makes sure to include plenty of slice of life crap, ships and jokes so you don’t think about it too hard.

Boscha and the narrative pretend everything is fine. On one hand, you have a broken child who is trying to hold onto a sense of normalcy after her friends are either kidnapped or missing and she’s holed up in a ruined building not knowing if she will die or lose her sentience or potentially worse. On the other, you have a show that pretends it’s growing up and acknowledging trauma, but is very selective on how much trauma it shows and whose. You said it yourself. Belos’s trauma is not acknowledged because this show doesn’t believe in nuance. You’re either entirely good or entirely bad, and you’re screwed if the narrative decides you’re bad or else people can’t fawn and coo over your trauma.

I’m not looking for therapy here. You’re not a therapist. I’m looking for some acknowledgment.

@mdhwrites has a great blog on trauma in fantasy and its purpose, check it out if you haven't!

Trauma in fantasy settings is a feature due to the heightened reality of the genre; you can't have characters have "realistic" reactions to a dragon burning down their village because that would undercut the whole escapist aspect of fantasy. So instead, our heroes grab their swords and storm the dragon's lair. After all, one of the primary draws of fantasy is the plucky hero overcoming incredible odds.

Which is why toh doesn't go too deeply into any potential trauma the Hexside kids go through. The purpose is to show how the kids survived this whole time through teamwork and determination. Plus, from an audience standpoint, For the Future immediately follows Thanks to Them, which ended with Hunter being possessed by his abuser and then killing his best friend. To jump from that to a bunch of school kids huddled in a ruin too traumatized to do anything wouldn't be fun to watch.

More importantly though, the real reason why toh doesn't take the trauma of what the Collector has done seriously because it needs to speed run his redemption. If the show went into great detail about how horrifying it is becoming a puppet and how psychologically damaged the children are, then his redemption becomes much less believable and downright insulting (it's the classic toh formula for redeeming its characters: downplay their bad actions, make them a victim of an Evil Character, make them a secret nerd for extra sympathy points).

And you're right, the show is selective with how it handles trauma; characters who are meant to be sympathized with are treated with kid gloves while villainous characters whose actions can be interpreted as coming from a place of trauma are written off as simply being evil with basic motivations.

Boscha, though, does have some nuance to her; she started off as the basic bully archetype and then we end with her in a more sympathetic light. It's her desire for normalcy and power that allows Kiki to gain a foothold in Hexside. She desperately craves Amity's friendship again but is ultimately rejected and basically has to be strong-armed into helping Luz and co. out. She's not redeemed but she is tamed (and she doesn't need to be redeemed either). Boscha's trauma receives a surprising amount of time for a character who hasn't really been relevant for a full season. Even though she's the victim of an Evil Character, it is refreshing that she keeps her bitchy attitude. I'm not one to pull the "if they had a full season they could've done more!" card but I feel like Boscha might've been some of the characters to get more focus if they had.

[mangaloversolar2000]

unpopular opinion but i’ve never liked lumity. it just feels forced to me — like the writers rushed it because they wanted a canon queer couple, not because their personalities actually fit together.

amity’s whole character arc was supposed to be about independence and growth, but the second she and luz got together it feels like everything she does revolves around luz. it makes her character less interesting.

meanwhile, luz barely gets to have her own storyline outside of the romance. i wish she’d stayed single longer, because then her growth wouldn’t always be tied to a love interest.

i’m not saying they have zero chemistry, but i don’t think it’s as “perfect” as everyone makes it out to be. honestly i would’ve rather seen them stay close friends instead of immediately being pushed into romance.

And frankly Luz realistically would never have wanted to date amity. Luz was implied to be bullied so it makes absolutely no sense that she would date a bully herself. Especially since said bully tormented her BEST FRIEND.

Willuz should have been endgame. The two of them already had an established bond and it would’ve been nice to see the two bond even more over their shared backstory.

Honestly? I agree with you. I’ve never been able to shake the feeling that Lumity was more of a mission for the writers than an organic relationship. It’s not that Luz and Amity have zero chemistry, but the pacing always felt like the show was sprinting toward “Look! Canon queer couple!” instead of letting their dynamic breathe and develop in a way that made sense for who they are as characters.

And the shift in Amity’s writing is a huge part of why it never fully worked for me. In Season 1, she had so much independent motivation, her ambition to join the Emperor’s Coven, her complicated relationship with her parents, and her guilt over how she treated Willow. Even as she began to soften and connect with Luz, she still felt like a character with her own internal conflicts and goals.

But once she and Luz become a couple in Season 2, the show starts to shift the focus. Amity's development becomes much more reactive, centered on how she feels about Luz, how she can support Luz, or how her relationship with Luz is progressing. Her ambitions (like joining the Emperor’s Coven) get dropped with barely any reflection, and her dynamic with her parents, especially her mother, only gets brief attention. Her scenes are often sweet and well-intentioned, but they don’t do much to re-establish her as someone with her own arc outside of Luz. While there are moments of personal growth, like setting boundaries with her family or reconnecting with Willow, they tend to take a backseat. Her story stops being her own and becomes framed almost entirely through the lens of her romance with Luz, at least that’s how it came across to me.

And Luz… yeah, she deserved more space to grow outside of a relationship too. She already had so much going on with identity, belonging, grief, and her connection to the human world. Letting her stay single longer would’ve given all of that room to breathe instead of tying so much of her development to a love interest.

The bullying angle is another thing people gloss over. Luz being implied to have trauma around being bullied makes it really strange that she’d jump into a relationship with someone who literally tormented her best friend. Even if Amity apologized, that kind of dynamic realistically takes time to rebuild trust — not a quick pivot into romance.

Plus, Luz seemed oddly quick to warm up to Amity, a character who initially mimics the same exclusionary, superior attitude that Luz should realistically be wary of. It strains plausibility that someone with Luz’s history of being bullied would so easily overlook that kind of treatment, especially when it extended to Willow, someone she was already fiercely protective of. Luz’s tendency to look for the good in people doesn’t fully explain that shift either. It feels more like the writers accelerating a redemption arc for ship potential rather than letting Luz’s boundaries and lived trauma shape her relationships in a more authentic way.

And redemption arcs can be powerful, but they hit harder when they’re earned through visible accountability. In Amity’s case, especially with Willow, the healing process felt almost like a narrative skip. No catharsis, no confrontation, just a quiet assumption of progress.

Luz not holding Amity accountable for what she did to Willow honestly feels like a betrayal — not just of Willow, but of Luz’s own character. One of Luz’s core traits is loyalty and justice. Her failure to meaningfully address Amity’s past behavior with Willow reads as a writing shortcut, not a character-consistent moment. And it erodes some of the credibility of the Luz–Willow friendship, which had been portrayed as one of the most emotionally secure and nourishing dynamics in the series. It leaves Willow — and viewers who identified with her — feeling like an afterthought.

And Willow deserved more. Her emotional wounds, her history with Amity, her quiet strength — all of that could’ve been explored with more care. She was a layered, vulnerable, powerful character, yet she often felt like a narrative tool to support others rather than a full protagonist in her own right. It’s not just a storytelling oversight — it reflects a larger pattern of sidelining characters of color, even in shows that are otherwise pushing boundaries.

Willuz just… made more sense. They already had an established bond, shared experiences, and a natural emotional closeness that didn’t feel rushed or forced. Watching them grow together — platonically or romantically — would’ve felt way more earned.

So yeah, I’m with you. Lumity isn’t bad, but it’s definitely not the flawless, perfectly crafted ship people hype it up to be. Sometimes a friendship arc really is the better story.

[mangaloversolar2000]

Please please please talk about how racist toh is sometimes. Especially with how they stop focusing on all their characters of color besides Luz.

I’ve been wanting to make a post about this for so long (especially cause I'm a POC and I’ve talked about it in other posts, but never as the main topic), so thank you for giving me the perfect opening.

The Owl House has a racism problem — not in the loud, obvious way, but in the very familiar “progressive show that wants the aesthetic of diversity without the structural commitment to it” way. And the way the show treats its characters of color makes that painfully clear.

✦ The sidelining of every POC character who isn’t Luz

People love to point to TOH’s “diverse cast,” but the reality is that almost every character of color besides Luz gets pushed aside the moment the story needs focus. Gus, Willow, Skara, Mattholomule (I know Skara and Mat weren't really side characters like Gus and Willow but I think they still deserve to be mentioned) even Hunter (coded as a character of color in many ways through narrative parallels and casting) — they all get arcs that start with promise and then get abandoned or minimized. They become emotional support furniture for the main plot rather than characters with their own narrative weight.

It’s the classic pattern: POC characters are allowed to exist, but not to be centered.

And when a show markets itself as groundbreaking representation, that kind of sidelining becomes even more glaring.

✦ Luz’s representation feels shallow compared to Anne from Amphibia

This is where people get defensive, but it’s important to say: Luz being Latina often feels like a checkbox rather than a lived identity. Her culture barely informs her worldview, her relationships, her conflicts, or her growth. It’s referenced in props and a few lines, but it never becomes part of the story’s emotional core.

Compare that to Anne from Amphibia — a Thai American protagonist whose cultural identity is woven into the narrative in ways that feel natural and meaningful. Anne’s heritage shapes her values, her family dynamics, her arc, and even the themes of the show. Her culture isn’t a sticker slapped on for representation points; it’s part of who she is.

With Luz, it often feels like the writers wanted to say they had a Latina lead without actually writing one.

✦ And then the show shifts almost entirely to Lumity

This is where the sidelining becomes impossible to ignore. Once Luz and Amity’s relationship becomes the emotional center of the show, every other character — especially the characters of color — gets pushed even further into the background.

Gus and Willow’s arcs evaporate. Their development stalls. Their screen time shrinks. They become props for Lumity moments rather than characters with their own stories.

And look — queer rep is important. Lumity meant a lot to a lot of people. But the show’s increasing fixation on just Luz and Amity came at the expense of everyone else, and the characters who paid the highest price were the POC characters who were already underdeveloped.

It’s not that Lumity shouldn’t have existed. It’s that the narrative balance became so skewed that it reinforced the exact pattern marginalized fans are tired of: white-coded characters get depth, while characters of color get sidelined.

✦ The uncomfortable truth

When you put all of this together, you get a show that:

Centers a “diverse” protagonist whose cultural identity is barely explored

Introduces multiple POC characters only to abandon their arcs

Shifts the narrative almost entirely to a white-coded romance

Uses characters of color as emotional support for the leads

Wants the praise for representation without the narrative commitment

This isn’t unique to TOH — it’s a widespread issue in “progressive” Western animation. But that doesn’t make it any less disappointing.

✦ Luz deserved better. The POC cast deserved better.

And fans deserve better than being told to be grateful for surface-level representation.

If Amphibia could write a culturally grounded protagonist with nuance and depth, TOH had no excuse. Luz could have been that. Willow could have been that. Gus could have been that. But the show chose not to invest in them.

And that choice speaks volumes.

[enigmatic-pages-deactivated2026]

The art commentary community/drama commentary community has a serious fucking problem and it's people refusing to stop the usage of eugenics(aka literal nazi) terminology. It's not just Gila.

I don't care how much of a depraved loser the person you're talking about is, stop using degenerate as an insult. It's fucking disgusting.

So many other Youtubers have this problem but it's genuinely so bad in the art commentary community.

I guess this counts as a callout post but it's just a general problem as well. Stop using this word. If you are someone who refuses to stop, I'm just going to assume you're a terrible person.

I'd appreciate reblogs to get this more traction. This problem NEEDS to be addressed, I'm genuinely tired of remaining quiet about it.

You can call people out for disgusting behaviour without using disgusting terminology. Do better.

[polygnosticu]

People need to learn the difference between movie Nazis and the Nazis of actual history. None of what people attribute to Nazis was invented by them. Even the swastika was used as a spiritual and religious symbol by cultures as diverse as Buddhists, Native Americans and Hindus for thousands of years before Hitler was even born. The word "degenerate" wasn't invented by the Nazis. It was used long before them and continues to be legitimately used long after them.

[polygnosticu]

Apologies if you've already answered this.

If Aika really doesn't want to be a magical girl what's stopping her from simply setting down her wand and never taking it up again? And how did she become a magical girl to begin with? In most mahou shoujo stories I'm familiar with the magical girl had to agree to the role at some level. She may not have been enthusiastic about the idea but agreed to it regardless even if it was reluctantly for whatever reason.

If the answers constitute spoilers for future plot developments then by all means keep them secret until you choose to reveal them.

[damnfandomproblems]

Fandom Problem #12,041:

STOP. GETTING. YOUR. IDEAS. OF. COUNTRIES. FROM. THEIR. MEDIA.

Hollywood doesn't accurately portray America. Anime doesn't accurately portray Japan. BBC shows don't accurately portray the UK. Bollywood doesn't accurately portray India.

Most media is made to portray an idealized version of a country, made by rich people out of touch with the "peasantry", or made by people trying to influence the culture.

[kianamaiart]

What's a misconception about working at Disney (or working in animation in general) that bothers you?

LMAOOOO how much time do you have?

ANIMATION TAKES A LONG TIME. One 11 minute episode of animation on average takes about 9-12 months and most episodes are written, locked and done MONTHS sometimes even a year before they air. When people online think they have any bearing on what happens from one episode to the next, or even within a season, they don't.

"Western animators" aren't unskilled. I feel like there's a lot of shows and artists doing independently made projects that disproves that. You can often see it in the concept art as well! The reason some shows might look bad to you is because the tightening of deadlines and corporations trying to get a product as cheaply and quickly as possible. It's not from a lack of caring, we also want stuff to look pretty and good but we're often not given the opportunity to. And when stuff does look really good it's often at the expense of artists who do absurd amounts of overtime without getting paid.

Disney dgaf about the work you make while you're employed by them. They don't try to take and own everything you make in your personal time. It's a clause in our contracts that people on the outside frequently misinterpret to mean "Disney owns everything this artist makes". They use it defensively and it's mostly there to protect themselves.

In TV, when you're employed by a studio, you're not reaaaaally employed by the studio. We're more like contract workers for the specific show we're on. For example, if Big City Greens ever ends, I'm not guaranteed to stay at Disney, it's purely up to me to find a job elsewhere, Disney or otherwise. Whenever I say I work at DTVA everyone automatically assumes I've worked on like Amphibia or The Owl House or Moon Girl or other shows. I'm strictly contracted for BCG. Moving to other shows within the company while your contracted on another could be considered poaching and while not illegal, it's usually not allowed.

I've noticed this thing in the past decade where people get parasocial with showrunners and board artists specifically. We're like weirdly put on a pedestal and are seen as the people making the biggest decisions in a story. Animation is a HIGHLY collaborative industry and every production is built differently. Some showrunners literally just come up with the idea and are very uninvolved in production, some board artists have a say in the writing, some board artists just execute the script they're given, some writing decisions are quickly made in the final hour by a director and post-editor. It's rare that there is one person solely responsible for something and it's weird to me whenever ONE person is either praised or blamed for something in a show. There's too many moving parts for anything to be one person's doing.

Despite working at a large studio, we don't make that much money. We sometimes make enough to live comfortably but are by no means rich which a lot of people seem to think (especially for in LA). Even showrunners! I feel like a lot of folks think every showrunner is a homeowner and can live off the royalties of their shows forever.

Kinda to the money thing, even if our weekly paychecks look nice, unpaid hiatuses are common practice and even if you work full time, there's sometimes 2-6 months you straight up don't have work. It's quite unstable and a lot of artists dread hiatuses (especially right now)

I could go on forever but these are a few LOL

[polygnosticu]

Fandom really needs to understand the actual production process behind animated programming.

[damnfandomproblems]

Fandom Problem #11,887:

You offer criticism of a character based on how badly they're handled in the narrative and the fans of that character say that you just hate that character. Once again I have to explain that fictional characters aren't real so there's no one to hate. It's just a simple critical literary analysis of how well or poorly the creator handled their depiction of said character as part of their story.

[polygnosticu]

As true as this is we're stuck with the fact that parasocial relationships exist.

[confusedgoldenflower]

Concerning that fandom made feedback hate and unacceptable and harassment—unless it’s obvious praise.

Obviously obviously, this feedback is the helpful kind. Not actual hate or insults.

It’s “be decent and keep it to yourself or rant to a friend,” however, that’s if “it’s well written,” that is. If it isn’t, THEN comment uber duber nicely like you’re under duress in a toxically positive space on how they can write better.

BOTH HELP IMPROVE.

Not being able to handle feedback—which is part of the Artistic Process—is for egotistical artists who have too much money to recognise they’re in fact part of the human race. They’re too fragile to accept they’re not the epitome of whatever kind of art they create, and throw hissy fits on social media when their very obvious flaws are brought up.

IF YOU CAN’T HANDLE ACKNOWLEDGING YOUR FLAWS THEN NOT ONLY WILL YOU NOT IMPROVE AND GROW AS AN ARTIST, BUT WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING SHARING ANYTHING.

No, this isn’t a problem just on ao3.

[polygnosticu]

Fanfic writers really need to learn this lesson.

[strawberrychansora]

I cannot stand people who need every single thing in a story spoon-fed to them. Basic reading comprehension is disappearing. It’s like people don’t read anymore or they read garbage so they never learn how to understand anything beyond surface level.

“The author didn’t say—”

The author doesn’t need to say it, you pig. PAY ATTENTION TO THE STORY.

“It was only implied so it’s not canon.”

If it’s implied, that means it is canon. That’s how storytelling works, dumbass.

“The Straw Hats never say they love each other.”

They don’t NEED to. It’s obvious they love each other if you were actually paying attention.

Stop expecting everything to be spoon-fed to you and stop acting like the author owes you a kindergarten-level explanation for everything. If you’re one of those people, you’re just being willfully dense and it drives me insane.

[polygnosticu]

This also cuts both ways with people reading things into a character or story that aren't there in canon but that fandom wants to be there for whatever reason.