hey so like when did fandom become less about writing fanfic about characters and more about writing fanfic about... creators? "this plot beat happened because the writer was secretly bitter about—" "actually the creator hates this character personally and has a vendetta because—" "i heard that this showrunner had a bad relationship in their past and that's why this episode—" oohhhhhh my god. whats going on here. im here to talk about headcanons for blorbos not headcanons for some barely-public person who probably isn't paid enough that neither of us have ever met jeeesssuussss christ. everyone is so weirdly parasocially obsessed and it's fucking strange and creepy and im sick of pretending like i dont recoil into myself every time i see it.
im not saying that these creators are above criticism or anything so callous but you all have to know on some level that getting really personal about these people isn't healthy, right? and that multiple people work on these properties, not just one person? you just Cannot analyze character arcs anymore without people butting into the conversation to explain their weird freaky headcanons about "actually the only thing here worth analyzing is the fact the writer is bitter and lonely and jaded and—" what the FUCK are you talking about???? HOW did you think this contributes to the conversation???? how did an attempt at media analysis for fun turn into some shitty bitter elementary school gossip???
and i know people will assume the fandom this post is about based on my blog (and it IS about that) but this goes for SO MUCH media nowadays. this is everywhere. i'll take a peek into a fandom for a new cartoon that came out and be met with hellfire beyond my wildest comprehension because some fan-favorite character didn't get enough attention or something equally vapid. "is [x cartoon] the worst fandom of all time?", everyone asks, as if it's not Most of Them. its inescapable. i cannot express enough how hostile the mere idea of being a professional creator is nowadays because of this culture. meanwhile everyone just perpetuates it like it's acceptable to speak violent fantasies of, or just generally constantly whine about, someone who worked on an episode of a cartoon you didn't like.
no, you don't actually know any of the things you are saying about these people's personal lives or beliefs. you don't know any of what you're saying. "but i heard—" i don't care. this is gossip. and i don't care if there's some tweet that vaguely supports your theory, either. these are real people and not characters. you cannot just form 'headcanons' about them based on implication. have you never had your words misunderstood? have you never worded a thought poorly? this is not interesting gossip. it's not thoughtful. it just makes you look bitter and vaguely creepy, and it's ruining fandom spaces. media analysis isn't fun when all the replies and comments are more interested in childish gossip than actually engaging in art. writing stories or comics isn't fun when the comments use your work as a vessel to complain about all the writers they have parasocial thoughts on, either.
if i don't give enough screentime to a character in a fic, will the people in my comments begin making assumptions about my personal life, too? will they think i'm bitter? will they make up lies about me, too? you might say "probably not, because you're not a professional" — but what if one day I was? will people go back, scrounge up my old fics, use them as ammunition to write their own twisted stories about me? me, the real person? do you see how this is discouraging? do you see how this is weird?