So, in the last few years I've gotten into various shows with varying degrees of of fandoms and also quality of storytelling. Voltron, Ladybug, Steven Universe, Ducktales, etc

In particular to how Voltron Legendary Defender and Miraculous Ladybug I've ended up discussing with friends (especially Gullwhacker) on really the line between fan entitlement and just straight up bad writing in a show.

Basically if people are complaining how a show ended was the story actually poorly handled or is it just fans whining about not getting what they wanted to see it?

It's easy to just see it as'people whining because they didn't get the ship they wanted'.

Heaven knows I've seen fandoms get toxic due to shipping wars taken to the extremes of harassing the creator of crew of said show. (Although, let's be clear, even if it is a case of bad writing harassing the creator and crew behind said show is just wrong. Just no. Stop, not cool.)

Ship wars itself have become rather just mind boggling to me. I get not liking a canon couple the story decided to go with, no one says you have to like it. On that note, nothing is stopping anyone from creating a fanwork with your preferred couple or finding other works associated with it. It's almost like some fans just want the privilege and bragging rights over their ship becoming canon like it's some special trophy.

Therefore, I get people who are fed up with that behaviour and sticking with "It's the creator's story, they can tell it however they want, so just deal wit it!" and it's true. A creator does have the right to tell their story how they think it should end...but then you get into the issue of said creator should be shielded by all legit criticisms of their story.

Creators are only human, and problems can sometimes come up due to lack of experience, misuse of tropes, or other factors. A show can have just plain bad writing or can just not be handled as well as it was hyped up to be. Sometimes the plans for a story were never exactly what the fandom was expecting, but creators can't necessarily get a free pass just by saying their plans were different.

So claiming that "Oh, people are just complaining they didn't get what they want" when someone brings up a complaint doesn't feel good to me either. Sometimes it's just a mixed bag.

I loved Steven Universe and I thought they did a fantastic job with it's story, however, I do get why some people say they feel how the Diamonds were handled was wrong. I don't agree with it, but I do get why they're seeing it that way.

Just like while I thought season 7 and 8 of Voltron were extremely poorly handled, I do understand not everyone agrees with it and did enjoy it.

I guess my point is the whole thing isn't a black and white issue where there is an automatically right camp. There is no clear-cut line of claiming a story was bad because of the creator or because of the fandom's entitlement. It's just something I can't help but ponder these days with all the stories and reactions I encounter.

Just found out that they finally started production on The Hobbit.

Filming Begins

(And I can feel about half the fandom excited and half of it dreading. XP)