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bramble-rose · 2 years

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Okay, even though I think it's pretty presumptuous on my part to even comment on the situation I'm going to do it anyway, because Helluva Boss has been pretty much my whole life since last year and has brought me back into a fandom I enjoy very much in a positive way .... and the current affair is very much on my mind and has put a crack in my happy little bubble. When all I wanted was to stay in my pink and red bubble! And I still want to.

But I can't keep my mouth shut. So here's my two cents:

Personally, I'm rarely interested in the producers behind a series, instead focusing mainly on the series and the characters within it. Of course, you know the producers and artists and maybe even follow them ... but otherwise I usually hold back and enjoy what a series brings me personally.

But since I'm a big animation fan (and media studies were part of my studies), Vivzi impressed me a lot, as I admire and respect everyone who works their way up from zero to a hundred as an indi artist. It's hard to build a fanbase and create content that you might not even get paid for, especially in the beginning. Especially as an adult. Time and motivation and work and personal physical and mental state play a big role there. So the fact that she made it this far really impressed me, that's why I decided to support her.

I don't know Vivzi personally. I can only judge by what I see or read in interviews. And regarding the criticism that has come up, I have to say that the whole thing rubs me in the wrong way. In different directions.

First of all, I'm not a fan of the current mentality that social media has brought with it. Since everyone has accounts on all sorts of platforms and are thus 'accessible', many people, and especially younger people, seem to think they can interact on a confidential or friendly basis with people whose works they like. Of course, it's great to be within reach of these people ... but that doesn't mean you have any pretensions or you are their friend.

It would never occur to me to send personal messages to an actor or artist, or post a hateful tweet for the whole world to see, just so I can voice my personal little gripe. I don't think that's appropriate. It has something to do with politeness and respect. And with not getting too close to people you don't know. I also respect the privacy of people on the Internet and know what I'm entitled to and what I'm not ... And if there is a conflict to be solved, you have to confront this person at eye level and address the things instead of keeping dead silent or publishing them later on the Internet as a rant post (generally speaking).

But this is just a side note, because I have seen how people leave hate comments and rants under posts without reflection. It's disgusting ... and brazen.

And while we're on the subject, I detest the way some 'fans' act. Not getting their beloved free content? Boo hoo, everything sucks, the artist should be burned! I'll never watch XYZ again!11!!!111!!! Mimimi, the voice actors from the pilot are being recast, the ones who made these decisions are human scum and traitors!

Just like Coldmirror, a well known German Youtuber said: 'In the past I wouldn't have written Steven Spielberg a letter on my diddle paper with the message: Ha,ha, your movie with the dinosaurs was full of shit. It was badly done, you could see that the dinos weren't real and I don't like dinos anyway! Really bad, I'll tell everyone now! You are stupid!!!'

Like ... wtf? Who does something like that? I will never understand this audacity. But probably it's because I'm too old for that kind of shit and at least I got some manners and rules of behavior in the cradle and I transferred them to the internet. The internet is not a big, funny playground where you can thunder your unfiltered opinion at everyone. Grow up.

But enough of that ... I have to say that the current accusations against Vivzi have kept me very busy. Why? Because I've come back to a fandom after years and enjoy it. I thought, this one thing is good. This one thing is nice and the fandom is a little crazy but friendly and I managed to stay out of in-fandom drama. However, now that this statement has been released, I have to put my thoughts down so they are out of my head. Without meaning it maliciously, no matter how it may sound.

According to the said entry, the former Spindlehorse employee was just 18 at the time they worked at the studio, and the whole thing happened about 1-2 years ago.

The things that came to my mind are the following: at 18 you are young. Very young. The person worked 30-40 hours full time and still took the job at SH in addition. Ambitious, I would say! Animation is time consuming af.

But what I also had to think about was, and I don't mean this in a derogatory way, I'm just trying to explain the picture that came up in my mind: such a young person, who has also stated to suffer from mental problems and is already working full time anyway, now has to take on a second job in addition. In an area of work that is very labor-intensive and time-consuming.

In addition, to work for a person to who one looks up, at a show, which one likes. Sounds like hitting the jackpot, but could it also have created false expectations?

Deadlines have to be met. There are deadlines everywhere. So I don't understand harping on that. Nor do I understand that if you don't get deadlines and then explicitly ask for one and get a short time window, why do you complain? Just because you might be a fan of a series doesn't mean that it's a nice tralala job that you do on the side. Because that's kind of how it sounded to me. Last monday I was asked to give out 8 different handouts on various seminars I held – it had to be done til the next day. The agreement originally said otherwise, but the boss wanted and needed them. So it had to get done ... And it did get done. I also didn’t get a thank you very much or get one every time I've done my job. So when a deadline comes up and I work all night to get the deadline for that job done ... then that's what I've done: my damn job. My boss doesn't come running and throw herself at my feet with thanks ...

A job is a job and I think before the person started at SH, the conditions were discussed. Maybe there was a contract or some other type of agreement where it was outlined what the working conditions were. So the person knew what they were getting into as far as that was concerned ....

My further thought was: It is normal that there is a hierarchy in a company. How well it functions and is lived out is, of course, that’s another matter. And of course you have favorites among colleagues, with whom you prefer to work. Just because you're hired as a fan doesn't automatically make you best friends. And it's also natural that when Vivzi's friends have worked with her, she treats them differently. She knows them, there's a different connection.

With such a small, young company, of course the money goes to what attracts the customers: the voice actors. But I think even the payment was somehow agreed upon beforehand, so the person should have known what they were getting into. If Vivzi didn't stick to it, that's another thing, of course, and not okay ...

She can't be blamed for the behavior of her right hand. At most, she could have said something if she knew about it.

As for bashing other series, that's not the fine thing to do. I could imagine it was meant in a more sarcastic frame, but I can't judge that, so I won't say anything about it. The same goes for comments about other artists in the industry. That's not the kind of thing you do, and it's lousy.

On the other hand, I've also gossiped behind other people's backs before. Not even maliciously, but to blow off steam. We're all just people. We all make mistakes. SH is a young company. Vivzi therefore doesn't have much experience as a producer yet. You grow with your tasks and maybe everything is different now ... considering that said accusations refer to a point in time that is at least a year in the past.

The working world is tough. You have to get used to it...

I would really like to see a little statement on this. But I can absolutely understand if Vivzi and her crew don't say anything about it. And that's their right, too. They have a lot on their plate right now and a lot to do (the fact that Vivzi wasn't around at some point could be explained by the fact that she's producing a second series with a big official film studio and has to commute between two projects work-wise ... just as a side thought).

Vivzi took a break from social media because she wasn't feeling well and such accusations could have a corresponding effect. And my selfish ass hopes that this doesn't kill her passion on the project and the series gets cancelled .…

Which would also be her right. It's her fucking show, and she can do whatever the hell she wants with it. And if she turns all the characters into bouncing punching bags from the Muppetshow who only speak telephone language. Her show. Her choice.

For us, as fans, it would suck, of course, because the characters and the show are very dear to my heart.

But I don't want to deny the person their experience either. Not in any way. There are always two sides and everyone perceives situations differently, which is the point of the whole thing. If the person was stressed, that's how it was for them. If they were uncomfortable, if it got to them ... okay. Of course. Understandable, absolutely!!!

Nevertheless it is already very random to come out now completely spontaneously with it and to speak about things, which would have belonged to be addressed internally. Only talking people can be helped.

I wouldn't go and talk loudly on the Internet about my current employer, mentioning all the names and everything that's going wrong (which I wouldn't be allowed to do because of my contract ... cough).

And that was my brainstormed ted talk. I don’t want to offend or harrass anyone... but I needed those thoughts out of my head.

#helluva boss #vivziepop #drama #critique #ted talk #thoughts #hazbin hotel #tired

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