Further thoughts because I GUESS THE ABOVE WASN'T ENOUGH, but rereading your post:
Fandom is a really fucking emotional thing for most people. Our interests and obsessions are a pretty core part of our identities, and we wouldn't be devoting time and energy to them if we weren't mentally and emotionally engaged. Hearing that someone hates something you love can hurt, even when there is no hurt intended.
It's so fascinating to me how true this is! Criticism of shows and characters, especially the dismissive 'well this just SUCKS' kind, is really hard to handle - it's personal, in a weird sort of way, like someone talking about your family or your pet or your hometown. It feels like a slap in the face even though I understand that 99.9% of the time, it really isn't intended that way - it's just someone expressing their opinions! But it ends up feeling like criticism of you.
no subject
Fandom is a really fucking emotional thing for most people. Our interests and obsessions are a pretty core part of our identities, and we wouldn't be devoting time and energy to them if we weren't mentally and emotionally engaged. Hearing that someone hates something you love can hurt, even when there is no hurt intended.
It's so fascinating to me how true this is! Criticism of shows and characters, especially the dismissive 'well this just SUCKS' kind, is really hard to handle - it's personal, in a weird sort of way, like someone talking about your family or your pet or your hometown. It feels like a slap in the face even though I understand that 99.9% of the time, it really isn't intended that way - it's just someone expressing their opinions! But it ends up feeling like criticism of you.