It would be a default on almost every distro that follows XDG specifications to have stuff like Downloads, Pictures, Videos in the $HOME folder. One of the first things I do as part of an installation is to modify ~/.config/user-dirs.dirs and set a specific folder, say /data/downloads or ~/downloads, for every XDG base directory.

using capital letters in file/directory names on Linux :|

Umm, I can’t recall ever seeing any animations in swaywm. You’re sure you’re using sway and seeing animations in it?