Overconsumerism and Microtrends

 

There is nothing wrong with a collection. Something as simple as a curated collection is enough to keep one going and bring constant joy. 

Advice that collectors always give is to focus on something. A niche or a set or whatever it is. 

It can be something as simple as a crayon color or as niche as sleeping Pokémon cards or Trainer cards. 

It's just that trends by themselves are simply trends. Some might be good food or a small trinket that brings happiness. 

The point of overconsumerism is just how wasteful it is. It might look aesthetically pleasing, but when it's not personalized and little thought is put into it beyond generic items, it strays very far into the unnecessary. Sure, it looks good, but does it do anything other than the basics? Even coloring seems to gain more consumerism just based on how the product can be done, instead of just the necessary pens, pencils, and crayons. Even the best coloring can be done with minimal shades. 

These are hobbies that are meant to be enjoyed and gifts with thought and care for the person receiving it. Curation of a collection and gifting matters a lot more than the aesthetics of them all. 

For example, my only Flins is PSS topper for Intertwined Fates that I can surround with ghost and fairy Pokémon of my choice. It's the closest thing I would do to actually make a Pokémon team or Pokémon where he lives and keeps company in pin form rather than just imagination. 

I'm not even a Pikachu collector. If there were a Pikachu, they would have to be so cute and bring me some immeasurable kind of joy. My Pikachu collection is very much smaller but very curated because Pikachu is the mascot. Similar to Charizard, Gengar, and the Eeveelutions, I tend not to be picky...well, except for the Eevee Fusions, which I'm unmoved on collecting everything but the shinies, which is a bonus only. 

That's curation. That's the intention for a collection. 

Heck, let's look at another collection, my general Rapunzel. While half of them are Tangled, I still want to make it clear that I include original art and other series that adapted the fairy tale into the mix. I'm still looking for a good Barbie Rapunzel pin. Any pins that invoke the iconography of the fairytale, such as the tower, the flower, and the long hair, as long as they are in the fairytale. I also include the Tangled event from TWST because, other than the underwhelming story, it could've been so much better, it's Tangled adjacent, and I mean Riddle and Punzie with the mothers. I at least have to get Riddle with his getup, else I wouldn't be satisfied. I'm still so happy with my choice for Eugene/Flynn pop that it would be hard to top any future Eugene/Flynn pin, even though I still plan to get Silvy's version in the future. 

That's the intention. 

Heck, my Genshin and HSR collection is slightly more varied. Hilariously, one of my fave pins is Witchxing Furina, which is still so beautiful I want to give it a good picture one day. Ahh, I was so happy that other Furina just pale in comparison, and if I were, I would dedicate a single board to them. I just don't know I would. Sure, my Full Body Dan Heng IL will be the centerpiece of the Dan Heng collection as it expands to all forms. 

The thing is about intention. If you really like them all, then get them all. I know some completionists who collect whole original art. Heck, I collected Califlair's Angel and Friend pin collection. 

I feel so bad for completionists of the Pokemallows, though. With Mamo’s great ideas and adding effects, the Pokemallows are taking up a lot. I even stopped and only collected those of interest to me. 

I'm only a completionist when it comes to certain stuff in my collection. My Mamo Eevee Fusions collection only has the shiny as a bonus. My KPDH collection will have the girls plus Jinu if it's a series I like. For example, the Huntrix Senshi and Jinu Tuxedo Mask from Silvy Celestial Vanguard series, while I'm not a fan of the KPDH series from PinHut, wherein Elsa is mashed up with Rumi. If you know me, you know why I was a fan of one series and not a fan of the other. 

I think about these microtrends, and the way it lends itself to overconsumerism is the very fact of Fear of Missing Out, something that is so prevalent. 

For Godoka's sake, each new trend seems to be piling up every time to appeal to instant gratification in that moment, which is definitely an effect of short-form media appealing to that instant gratification. 

At least my pins give me gratification and satisfaction in the long term because they are so pretty displayed. Thinking of how pretty they would be when I finally get them up makes me happy. Pin mail just gives serotonin and all the thoughts to have them displayed. 

Trinkets can bring instant joy, much needed after awful, restless days. Curating that requires more than mindless FOMO. FOMO is not your friend in any hobby. 

Do you need that complete collection of so on and so forth? You certainly don't need to have a complete selection of all that is trending right now. If one thing from the current trend makes you happy, sparse the feeling whether you need more or not. 

Are you one of those people who is just going to donate these trinkets to a local charity/thrift store? Or you are going to give it as an inheritance to future generations for them to sell it? I'm pretty sure what looks like junk to others can cost a pretty penny in getting money at least in the sphere of the hobby? 

I have definite grails that others would like to have. Fuck for one person, I have about three of their impossible-to-find pins. Of course, one of them I'm going to put up for trade only and it would be so hard to move. I feel so sorry for those who wanted it, but it's going to be so hard to move. 

In the pin community itself, there are trends. Mamo's Pokemallows exploded the popularity of dyed metal pins, even though other popular makers who outright specialized in them have always existed, but Mamo has a huge reach. Think of any popular media, and you will see pin art. I'm not even surprised to see Frankenstein pin art ready after the blitz of KPDH, and that has died down already. 

Honestly, either be ready to start a new collection or not if you are in any collecting hobby that is already expensive as shit. I’m pretty sure the deluge of KPDH fan merch in all sorts of collecting hobbies is all sorts of crying wallet. 

Trends are a thing in order to be relevant, unless an artist has built enough of a base for their original art that people are willing to buy them in droves. Nuwa does have an original art tier for her Patreon, but I don't think she ever has public original art pins for sale outside the Patreon shop at when I joined but there were some original stuff she sold such as handmade necklaces but that's only one time. Califlair has original art, too, in both the public and the pin club shop. 

Hitting a niche is always the way to go since I’m aware of artists getting a fanbase. 

Hence why there are people who don’t care if an ‘artist’ is using AI even subterfuge to be seen as an actual artist because they fill a need, never mind other artists with similar interests have done those before. For them, it’s all their gratification. 

Buddy, people, artists had done NSFW art before Asamiart even existed. Her way of suggesting the person has seen her character is not even new. Asamiart garnered a parasocial base, which is why she stayed so long after the dossier. I don’t know how else to even decide what the Google Doc even called but dossier seems perfect. 

Still, artists, if they establish enough to be reliable for commissions and/or small business, should be able to at least make something. Not every artist can be Mamo, who can withstand the tariffs with open preorders. Sure, some artists can make a living, but it's so rare that, of course, not everyone can do it no matter how talented or hardworking they are. 

And even commission work must be completed on time and not be ghosted, as usual. Please don't ghost because the point of commissions is to build trust and you want to get money, right? 

Just don't ghost in general when it comes to your small business if you are building one. Why the fuck have an online shop if you aren't gonna ship anything and will be more active at conventions? Just advertise your shit and only sell at conventions. Looking at you, Shinnoyume, because that's what he did and unrepentant, no matter how much customers hounded him. 

This is a capitalistic society where a socialist society is deemed more and more appealing. For these small businesses, they have to keep up with trends. Yet if they are going to scam or not even bother with their part in even components of a business. Treating a business like a hobby should not be a thing. Once you have a customer's money in your hands, it should go towards production, not essentially defrauding your own customers. 

Hobbies are expensive enough, and whatever trends there are that normies get caught up in are just little trendy trinkets. Whether they actually keep it in a collection it's their issue. My cousin still kept her Labubu in her purse. 

There are nerds at my workplace. One has a Pochacco collection, and another has a Lucario acrylic keychain on their backpack; I'm pretty sure he also collects Pokémon cards, as another coworker commented about it. I overheard them playing online games pretty often, though I mentally cringed that one is playing Hogwarts Legacy. Another is a lover of K-Drama and will recommend stuff. 

Netflix Narnia

Listen, Narnia had never been adapted in its entirety, let alone considering its actual difficulty in adapting it. 

I thought it would be easy as pie, considering how much LWW is the easiest to adapt. Other adaptations run the risk of adapting what isn't the easiest.  

What I do have an issue with is the updating of the times. No, LWW and LOTR were born out of WWI. To delete an important part of an intrinsic part of LWW and why CS Lewis wrote the thing, it's stupid. There's a reason why nobody in the book mentioned just how much older the kids are after Narnia, because it was something everyone knew at that time.  Today, it's weird that such a thing is never mentioned, but it's something that everyone knew back then. 

It's pretty clear why they are updating because they want to get with the times. I'm just asking why this one, when the setting makes sense, and why the setting makes sense. It's not like we spent that much time in the human world- just set up, and whatever payoff when they come back, if there's something in the human world they need solving. 

This is not like Stranger Things and IT, the latter of which updated the late 50s to 80s because of ST and how the nostalgia at the time is demanding the 80s in general. The updating is so unnecessary when Percy Jackson is fine being updated to a new time. The updating of the times worked most of the time, except when it came to why the time period even mattered in the first place. 

I have nothing against updating to the current times, but what I do have an issue with is the definite influence of what CS Lewis and his experiences entailed. Even the LOTR movie has some influences of how the director, who had not experienced WW, sees things differently than their own war, seeing an unchanged Shire when the characters themselves changed so much. I understand the changes made there, but LOTR takes place in a fantasy world. 

Narnia is not ST and IT. These are four kids who need to evacuate during the London Blitz and were sent to the countryside, where they went through Kirke's wardrobe. 

Each book is divided into protagonists and even timelines. Horse and His Boy took place during the reign of the Pevensies. Silver Chair took place well after Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Magician's Nephew took place when Kirke was still a young boy with an ailing mother during the 1900s. It's really fun to see LWW adaptations use MN callbacks. 

I honestly have weird feelings seeing Kirke's mom in a hospital when the NHS finally established itself. It's flat-out weird to even think of the Pevensies in modern times when the point of them was to be evacuated during wartime. Adapting the WW2 era London is far easier just because one can easily adapt that, and to be fair, it's long ago, but still not ancient history. 

Really, how does war translate to the Narnian war? Peter, in the original Disney movie, has him turn his experiences with the Blitz into the eagles dropping rocks and boulders on Jadis' charging army. 

Y'know, I was really excited to see a new Narnia with the actual want to adapt the whole series. I already spoke about the problems of the initial problem of adapting when there isn't a throughline of character development. 

Again, half the series has not been adapted in any kind ever. LWW is by far the easiest to adapt to any medium. Heck, it's basically the first thing you can imagine the very thing Narnia comes to mind. 

I can’t believe we’ll be getting Magician’s Nephew, and it isn’t even the correct timeframe because this is CS Lewis’ fix-it for his own mom. Older Professor Kirke is based on J.R.R. Tolkien, but younger Kirke is CS Lewis, wanting to save his mom. 

Narnia is CS Lewis playing Legos. He’s having fun and not a lot of cause and effect is in his mind. Tolkien is about meticulously creating worlds for his languages. 

Hence, there is film-only stuff in the movies because there is so much character development that is only left in one book and not in the other, or if there are characters with their own conflicts. Hence why Edmund is a really popular character because he's complex and shows that development in later books. 

People who felt there were problems with the original Disney movies did not see the initial difficulties that the book presents because they aren't epic in their storytelling consistency. Of course, CS Lewis was having fun, but he was not thinking of the cause and effect. 

Of course, I do have to talk about Neil Gaiman's A Problem with Susan is just bad. Never mind that CS Lewis never intended it in that way, considering how much he puts himself in Susan's shoes, as well as her name's meaning, as well as 'once a queen, always a queen'. Seriously, what is up with the ending?! It's horrifying. I never understand other than shock value because it adds nothing, and to say Narnia is bad and always been, when the point of Narnia and Aslan's country is basically a different universe for Christianity, some allegory, but an alternate universe and telling. 

CS Lewis outright approved of fans writing Susan’s story. Heck, he’s more accommodating about it because what he said is basically how fanfiction has always done: write what I didn’t write. Any subtext, unexplored, and controversial things will be explicit and brought to the foreground. 

I mean, timeline updates aside, I don’t think Gertwig would do a better job when what was accepted had been the whole Susan being kicked out because she likes frivolous girly things. If they look at the context, Jill Pole, a tomboy who disdains girly stuff, would suggest that. While it is bad that her siblings didn’t clarify or that there is much clarification at all on the narration, it was left to that interpretation all these years. Susan does deserve better, but not at this expense. To be ‘feminist’ when there are more nuances than this.

They really cannot extract the Christianity from CS Lewis and Narnia. Even Susan is carefully chosen to tell his story that he walked. 

Narnia has difficulties adapting, unlike LOTR, which, despite its length, still has some things down pat and is easier to adapt once known themes. 

Ongoing Collection Updates

 

This is just a fun post, honestly. Just want to keep people updated with my pin collection. I will write the updates until the post is finally posted on the day. 

I have a major preference for portraits and full-body pins, preferably. I really like to see the whole character from top to bottom, even if some are cut at the toes. Those are my preferred types. Even with pin-on-pins, I tend to prefer full bodies and portraits. Silvy is such a weakness for me since I love her designs so very much, and what actually broke me a lot of the rules I set for myself. I was fine ignoring her Dreamy Disney designs until Rapunzel; I was still planning Meg and Cinderella, but that was it. Rapunzel was never thought of. Now Silvy has five designs I will pick up because it's between Silvy and Witchxing are the ones I will spend the most money on besides Mamo. Silvy still has a long way to go before she can reach the villains honestly. 

Unless Witchxing does GWS with characters I collect (Sakura Kinomoto and Hotaru Tomoe, for example) and BGC with the Evil Queen and Yzma, I'm safe from her grasp. 

Chibis are more of a result of the personal style of the artist. I can like certain chibis, but it depends. On my current list of preorders, there is literally one set of Chibis since Cutematter Saturn came in. The rest are portraits, half and full bodies. Only five are pops, technically six since one is a pair of pin-on-pins. The rest are huge ass single-layer pins. 

I tend to like shrines, so I like to collect pins of certain characters. Of course, at the current pace, I can build a relatively small shrine of pins and nothing else. 

I’m literally using my Notion page, and since I know which pin is which, it’s easy for me to check off. 

OTP and Shounen and other Misc

Probably the smallest and weakest of my collection. I only put OTP here because it's largely completed, with some OTPs I'm just putting on the back burner. 

YGOGX and Digimon are basically left to rot, basically, heck, even Katekyo Hitman Reborn. 

DC, I prefer to focus on Young Justice, my beloved. Too bad, they are unpopular. Godoka, I might as well buy a Sabrina Carpenter Wonder Woman Halloween pin just to satisfy my Cassie love. I would also add Cass Cain to the list because, of course, she's my future Batman. My loves in DC are so unpopular. At least Tim gets something. 

It's just a collection that has so few, not helped that there are so few pins going around for them, that yeah, it's understandable it's more tiny than the KPDH collection I'm keeping small.

My Frieren and other collections that I decide will be small is this. Furina, should she get an ISP diamond alongside Focalors, then that will complete the collection for example. Frieren is just silver only. 

Pokemon

Mamobot still has a stranglehold on my wallet. Falling down the rabbit hole from the Fashion Gardevoirs has been fun, but still falling. 

For extremely popular Pokémon like Pikachu, Mew, Eevee, Ditto, and such, I'm more strict because they have to be really good. Heck, even my Mimikyu collection is just small. Heck, my Mew pins consist of only the Shinies because the pinks are just not calling for me. Really do like the glitter on the Ghost Mew's tail for the Shiny version. I can cluster some pins as some kind of blue. 

I’m getting the Gmax Hatterene of course because I can switch between the Rapunzel and the little Hatterene fusion collection. 

Eevee Fusions are still going strong with everything but the Shinies, which are only a bonus set. 

Fashion Gardevoir is basically fashion I like and see. Sometimes I don't get them because the fashion doesn't call to me, but others are simply that the designs are just too good. 

Any misc pins are doing great. I'm pretty sure Moonies are still waiting for Chibi Moon for the Moon Prism Project to complete all the scouts. Honestly, it is weird when see the whole complete collection so far and no Chibi Moon. 

Felt more like discussing Mamo than Pokémon. When your biggest collection is Mamo Pokémon, it’s hard not to lump them together. 

Magical Girls 

Saturn and Usagi are basically keeping this alive. For some goddamn reason, I'm far too strict when it comes to CCS, which is my number one favorite magical girl of all time ever. I only have a few CCS pins in comparison to Saturn pins, and another pair of Princess Tutu Fakiru pins is coming in. Heck, I only have a few Shugo Chara pins. All of my future Princess Tutu pins are pops. 

Kept alive by the Sailor Moon at this point. Hey, at least, it’s better than shounen or other childhood faves which are left in the dust. My YGOGX and Digimon collection only have a couple pins and that’s it. 

On the upside, CCS has the only Astral pin in the collection so far. Not even Sailor Moon has that honor. 

On an aside note, I cannot believe that at one point, PPGZ transformation was criticized for its length. Given my love for magical girls, that is literally nothing to me. I still love the PPGZ henshin, honestly. 

Kpop Demon Hunters

I only put this after the magical girls section because of KPDH's magical girl warrior aspect. It's also much easier to flow from there. My love for magical girls is way too strong, and of course, when it comes to magical girls, I prefer the girls over the boys, but if there's a true magical boy, I'm gonna include it in the love. 

As of right now, I only have the Derpy and Sussy pin I will ever have that isn't grouped with Rujinu from Mamobot, and the Nuwa Patreon exclusive Huntrix set with the Rumi I got as a result of pledging for August. I also snagged Pin Hut's Rujinu pop. 

So far, I am in the group for Silvy Celestial Vanguards Starlight Rumi, as I'm also hoping to get the resulting Mira and Zoey, and maybe Jinu as Tuxedo Mask if she ever does that. Probably the only Tuxedo Mask pin I will ever get. 

I have seen how Silvy used pink really well, so Mira will be great. 

I made a promise to myself that I would only get one pop for this, but obviously, Silvy broke that, so now I will have more pops, but at least they will look nice. The pops are going to make this board particularly heavy. 

KPDH is part magical girls. How can I not collect it? At one point, I would love to collect Umamusume, but it's way too hard right now when my focus is on the pins I'm eying so... Besides, I'm keeping the KPDH collection small so it's only a few more before I'm free. Honestly, I don't feel I'm at the end of the road just yet. I still need Silvy Senshi Huntrix and Jinu Tuxedo Mask and that's it on the pop's end. I'm dead serious this time, no more pops after I finish this series. 

Honestly, given the sheer volume of art produced in a short time, I'm no longer surprised that we've already received the Pokémon Mega designs. People did worry about the bubble bursting, and indeed, on some level, it had because while designs are still coming, they are much slower to come out. While in-hand still sells out, preorders are much slower. Heck, it took a while for even a plating option for Mamo Derpy and Sussy to be sold out. 

Hoyoverse

My biggest collection is next to Pokémon. Yes, Genshin and HSR combined here since Genshin, ever after the Nod Krai, still isn't enough for a resurgence. 

Since there is so much HSR going on, I have a primary focus on Aven the most. Aven directly competes with Saturn as the most pins I have for a character. But honestly, I have to count at this point, even though I don't buy as much as others do. I just buy what I can and want within budget restraints. I think I still need to count how many Rapunzels I have, both Disney and original art, and I think that's my big collection, directly competing with Aven and Saturn. A collection I never plan to get much less grow, but then again I got Sunday...A character my cousin loves, and also Dan Heng, but I really do love Dan Heng, though. 

Of course, when it comes to Sunday and Dan Heng (any version really), I tend to keep those light and only get the ones I really like. A Dan Heng IL pin I preordered is a single-layer dinner plate pin. If the scrapbook series is an indicator of how big they can get (that's probably my biggest Kaveh pin yet), then it's gonna be massive and deserve to be a centerpiece. Even just seeing the production pictures is enough for me to know that I'm happy to buy the thing. 

Still, misc characters are there even if it's only one purchase. I'm pretty happy with getting Minty Anaxa, for example, and I'm pretty steering clear of him. I wanted a collection at one point, but decided for the sake of my wallet that I should not, and it's been happy so far. 

As for Ifa, of course, I'm gonna get him regardless because I'm already collecting much of HSR that Genshin deserves something at least. Now for the PSS Ifa, I think I'll likely get March's Scrapbook and the Intertwined Fates topper, maybe. I said the topper because I don't have a clue what the bottom layer would look like. 

I’m reluctant to start more. I love Phainon and admittedly only have the plan to simply collect one or a couple of character pins. I mainly specialize in my faves anyhow. 

I think I've been prioritizing this over ORV because I missed out on too many things for HSR when I started collecting that ORV's trendy popularity is just fine in comparison. November is going to be the priority. 

ORV

As with Princess Tutu, this hits me a lot. Due to the budget, I have to cut down on the spending and as a result of a new collection, I have to be more picky than normal, so more often than not, depending on which collection I feel I want more, there will be sacrifices. 

ORV is the last one to have chibis in the whole collection. Honestly, looking at my board, chibis will be the last priority regarding anything. 

Honestly, given the trendy waning popularity, I have no problem putting it on the back burner. 

Disney

This collection is the easiest to be strict with. Unlike my other collections, I know I have to be strict. Disney pins tend to run more expensive than usual, thus it's easy to avoid. It's with makers that I really like that I tend to buy, such as Nuwa, Witchxing, Calaveritas, and Silvy. Honestly, given the popularity of Ariel and Punzie alone, I have to take a step back and actually see what I want. 

It’s easy for me to ignore. Heck, for what I consider my Disney collection, I'm open to anything except Frozen, Brave, Pocahontas, Raya, Wish, and any of the current Disney slump era, including sequels and remakes, really, except Encanto and Moana, which seem more and more everyday as some kind of goddamn miracle in the current rot of sequels and remakes. I don't think I would even care to have a fantasy Wish pin because the movie is just so awful. 

Let's see, my TLM has a Nuwa Vanessa, WX BGC Ariel, and Sisters, both variants, especially the wedding dress, because I adore Ariel's wedding dress, even though I would not wear it personally, but it's delightfully 80s, and CalaveritasPinmaking Eric. I would like a Halle Berry Ariel, but the very fact that the special effects on the tail, no matter what version I'm seeing, still isn't getting me. Do I want a gradient pearl or stained glass, or something I do not know? Why am I not satisfied with the tail's special effects? 

On the general Cinderella board, I got Nuwa Cindy and WX GWS Cindy Silver Knight variant with ABEO Ever After Heart. Still waiting for Silvy Cinderella and whatever Cinderella catches my attention. Also got Califlair mini pins, carriage, and slipper. 

On the Meg, I got Calaveritaspinmaking Spirit Meg variant of the In Love Endearing Moments series, WX GWS OG Meg variant, and ABEO Meg x Herc Heart. Still waiting for Silvy Meg. Noticed that I had closed-eyed Meg a lot, so here to hoping for more open eyes. 

As for Belle, I only got Double Dots Floral Belle. 

On the general Rapunzel board, there's the WX GWS OG Punzie, Silvy Dreamy Rapunzel pop, Nuwa Punzie, Calaveritaspinmaking I won't Leave You Eugene (so very happy with him), and original art with Nuwa Grimm Girls Punzie and Califlair lantern filler, Rapunzel and SO Robin. I'm hoping to get a TWST lantern event Riddle and Barbie Punzie as it's a general Rapunzel board. At least this one is technically paused right now because of lack of interest in the Tangled pins I see so far so original art is my aim at this point. I'm thinking of getting UnboxDisneypinco Punzie Cameo at some point though. And even then, it's just a general Rapunzel fairytale, not just Tangled and of Tangled, it's about half of the collection but in comparison to other Disney... I mean, TLM is 4 at count right now? 

On Misc, I got Nuwa Yzma and Evil Queen, both of which I still love to this day. I hope to see Witchxing tackle more of the villains, especially since I really did love the coloring of the Evil Queen variant on her BGC Snow White. I would definitely buy the Evil Queen. Honestly, since Ursula is still in her shop, I don't know if there's any success. Princesses are, of course, going fine. She needs to do more. 

Also got WX GWS Jasmine, both variants, and BGC Sally OG. Hoping to snag a Purple GWS Jasmine if it ever comes to fruition. I need my trifecta of GWS Jasmine. 

Still have no clue how to display any of them. I could display the Megs I get with the misc HSR characters from Amphoreus because of the whole Greco-Roman theme. I don’t plan to collect more except maybe a few of Castorice, and that’s only because of how pretty the colors are. 

Censorship, Fandom Puritanism, and Anti-Shipping

 

With the fiasco with the CaitVi Kinktober and the very fact of the censorship mess everywhere else in threads from YouTube to the dismay of the citizens of the UK, censorship and puritanism are so concerning. 

There is no joy to be had in fiction and discussion thereof; anything remotely gray had to be deleted because we have to take care of the Puritan's feelings. 

The growing conservatism and puritanism in fandom is really bad. It’s been mostly concentrated on the ships side, but notably the popular fandoms. I don't have much say on what's going on with smaller fandoms who are just happy with the little fanworks they do get. 

I have seen trickles of it in the YOI side of things with Otabek and Yurio, which is stupid. I thought it was stupid then and stupid now. 

I did not give a shit about the Sheith thing at all. It's not my thing, and I don't care about it. At least I don't have to give an opinion on it when the ship wars with new paint occurred, but this time it's a definite precursor to the proshipping and antishipping mess, which again, as I said, ship wars with new paint. 

That was not fun. None of this is ever fun. 

Again, these guys, whether it is from a lack of knowledge of fandom etiquette or simply believing they are pure and moral above these, or coming from a so-called content and consumer route, want to believe they are good people who just want fluffy stuff. 

There is nothing wrong with fluffy stuff, as well as wanting the most fucked up sex. It's when these guys try to police others' experiences that they really show their ass about the conservative spread against anything related to porn and anything they deem not normal. Why else are queer media targeted in censorship so much?

From defenders and antis saying that their opponents have rape kink when that’s the thing? Kinks are supposed to be just that. They aren’t condoning the actual thing and doing actual child porn. 

Oh sure, Deku is having underage sex with one of his classmates, of any choice you decide, and because they are underage, it’s child porn. They are fictional, fake, which does not even scratch the impact of actual child porn. 

Let’s make this easier: Did Game of Thrones or Song of Ice and Fire normalized rape and incest? Did the cavalcade of booktok tropes normalized anything of note? Does measly fanfiction normalized anything? Of course not when fiction is meant to create discomfort and explore ideas. To demand that you can’t explore or use fiction as a medium is a disservice to fiction itself. That fictional underage relationships can’t even be depicted. Even something as stupid as a teacher’s crush that is a trope and obviously will go nowhere in this story is somehow bad and should never be depicted; keep in mind it’s a crush and the way the story was taking nothing else would happen when the guy in question have zero clue he’s crushing. That’s how bad it is. 

Like you know the idea of child rape existed long before fiction came to be. It’s hardly an original thought when the shit been normalized by the people in power and have major influence in getting their way and not by people actually writing and exploring something that existed long before. Instead all fiction depicting can now suddenly influence people. Even if fanfiction is growing mainstream, no way in hell is it normalizing shit when it’s still denigrated. That’s what keeps getting me. AO3 is the easiest target. . Keep in mind normies have zero idea of fandom etiquette. 

If we allow one fandom a pass, then it will spread, and that cannot happen. 

Most younger fans are often not inundated with fandom etiquette, and out of a desire to be good and moral, they wind up spreading conservative speech espoused from decades before, which ultimately fights against them. 

Apparently, the Kinktober runners were in their late twenties, and it wasn’t their first fandom either, but gotten stubborn about purity because fictional characters have more rights than actual women and children.

Seriously, the purity culture that has spread in ship culture has spread to stories and characters. Characters can’t be flawed or have character development. It’s in the NATLA for Godoka’s sake. How else do we explain other than the lack of literacy against the text of the original show of any flaws being removed? 

I really do loathe the term ‘goon’ as it’s used now. Instead of referring to henchmen/lackeys or the actual sexual term, it’s now referred to as all things remotely sexual. Embrace that sexuality and whatever you feel like for a certain character or person or whatever. It’s perfectly fine and healthy as long as you know it’s not going to hurt anyone. There’s nothing wrong with that. Using ‘goon’ to refer to anything sexual is a bad thing regarding the anti-sex rhetoric and censorship, when it’s fine to feel something arousing about something. So what if you get off of this character or that? Sex is not something to be ashamed of. It’s okay to feel and have sexual interest and relations as long as they are consenting adults or teens. There’s nothing to be ashamed of for wanting sex and reading smut. 

I already loathe seeing words like 'unalive'. When intrinsic subjects of humanity, such as death, are not even discussed, I feel my soul going out of my body upon hearing my own brother and cousin use it unironically in real life. I flat-out said death to them, and they didn't even react. Come the fuck on, there are better words than unalive. 

Seriously, what people are spewing is what conservatives used against the queer and anyone they deem abnormal in the past, and is still ongoing. Purity won’t help anyone be morally superior; they knew to avoid a person. Would that get it through their heads that they are spewing shit conservatives used all the time against anyone they hate? 

I don’t think so. They have seen so much backlash on toxic pairs in the media when the point of fiction is to explore. 

Please, my baby first fandom was Pokémon, with Pokeshipping being the top one. It's a friends-to-lovers relationship, but it still has some vitriol that I prefer. It’s definitely not the ship that kick-started shipping for me. I love Pokeshipping and Contestshipping, but it didn’t exactly make me ship in passion afterwards. That’s Seishirou x Subaru. I remember after finishing Tokyo Babylon, it fully became an OTP the way a shipper would go about. 

There is a lack of engagement with even a story's politics. Maybe I'm more used to circles where manga and anime are discussed in the context of politics and the like. Still, it's outright disappointing to see content creators unwilling to discuss the politics in connection with real life. 

I've seen fans point out and heck, even fanfiction point out just how political animanga can be. I'm not even surprised that Conner and Joey don't even see the politics, even if they are willfully being ignorant for the sake of not losing their revenue. Considering how much the Try Guys are doing after starting streams for Gaza fundraising, they are doing just fine. Trash Taste, as I often disagree with them, because I feel they aren't engaging with the fiction and what they are saying truly. You know it's bad when OPLA spells out the racism, and people just don't get it. 

With Trump's America's doings with anything medical, the Drum arc in live action will be hard-hitting to see the evils of privatized and monopolized medicine. For fuck’s sake, the mecha genre is built on anti-war. To say Gundam is apolitical is to disparage the anti-war messages common in mecha and especially Gundam itself. Just want to focus on the badass moments rather than engaging with the story and characters meaningfully is only so far that a media illiterate person would do. I can shut off my brain when I want something mindless and not think for a single watch but I will always analyze. 

When Indonesia, Nepal, pro-Palestine, Philippines, France, and Italy were protestors and calling for freedom from their own Celestial Dragons, then fans who aren't saying shit about the politics of One Piece will be forced to contend that it's ain't isolated incidents but people actively taking the anti-establishment from the original source itself. Oda may not say a word, but it's gotta be inspiring for him that a story he wrote from his heart resonated with so many people around the world to the point of revolution. 

To them, these are works of fiction that are escapism. There is nothing wrong with escapism, but crimes against humanity or even just volatile topics in fiction do not exist in a vacuum. Do these guys denying that One Piece is political not know that there are basis in reality? Do they think Oda pulls these things out of his ass because he took real inspiration from real-life atrocities and topics? 

Like I said before antishipping and proshipping mess are just ship wars with a new coat of paint, and it’s just as exhausting, but this time it goes for the most moralistic shit imaginable. 

Please, when Seishirou and Subaru are the couple that kickstarted my Mxm love, and Pokeshipping is partly why I prefer belligeren because that’s a definite friend-to-lovers, while contestshipping fits the rivals to lovers. Isn’t it a wonder why I prefer my own space and don't have to deal with hate? 

I hate the fandom police that came in as a result of normies not even considering fandom etiquette, and so soaked up by algorithms and instant gratification that something as basic as fanfiction being written from the heart and in free time is not even thought of. All they can think is that to be pure of heart is to consume everything pure. 

There is etiquette. There is such a thing as waiting, and that fandom is about sharing, not entitlement and demanding immediate food. For fucks' sake, there is a series I'm waiting on while the writer themselves is a medical professional because why else, outside of some liberties, there is accurate medical attention. 

Puritanism coming in and policing during the rise of fascism is concerning. When AO3 is literally the last bastion of creativity in fandom spaces where nothing is monetized and written from love, Puritanism does not and will not deserve a place where fans can write for any reason. 

Why should any fan justify to another fan that they are this and that to even qualify to write the thing they wanted? Nobody should need to justify, nor should they be policed. 

For what it looks like, what one consumes means what they are as a person, apparently. Zero nuance and critical thinking. 

I mean, the Taylor Swift Life of a Showgirl was even more divisive than anyone would've thought. Personally speaking, while I'm not a diehard fan of her work, I thought it would be at least bombastic Moulin Rouge musical theater-esque, as the imagery implied. However, it's just a whole lot of meh and some irking stuff that is alarmingly stupid, given her current status. 

Swifties tied so much of their identities to it that they feel like it's an insult. Never mind what you spend money on, you shouldn't tie your identity to something; it feels like an insult that people don't like it. From my ARMY experience, ARMY does not tie that much of their own identity to BTS; heck, they are willing to let negative opinions of BTS' music as long as people actually listen instead of passing it off as some stupid thing, as some critics have done, like that guy regarding BE. 

Really tying your identity that much to a certain thing you like much less fictional, and you can't differentiate fiction from reality, which would make a dent more. 

Did Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire normalize incest? Did the fanworks on them ever normalize incest? Of course not. 

There are nuanced discussions to be had about morally reprehensible things in fiction, but targeting smaller targets such as fanworks isn't going to help anyone actually solve the crisis that these antis reigned with their puritanical need to be moralistic. The weird obsession with moral purity is outright degrading critical thinking and poisoning the ability to empathize with other people. 

Saying that proshippers are actually defending incest, rape, et, by making art that makes people uncomfortable is narrow-minded. No, nobody is defending that. Art is and can be uncomfortable. Not every piece of art would deal with a subject matter that will be dealt with delicately or tackle the many implications they’re writing about. Instead of actually discussing it civilly, it felt more cruel to deny art and attack. 

Fascism targets anything small and foreign against their rigid traditional desires, which only means control and power. Of course, foreign media are being targeted because globalization will not do in Trump's America. What would it take for people to understand that this is fascism, and the concerning rise of puritanical moralistic shit would only mean that things will be banned or at least much harder to come by?

Come on, the UK people are already dealing with so much censorship and surveillance. This stuff is encroaching on fandom spaces, and all we can do is fight against it. 

Mini-Review: Umamusume Cinderella Gray

 

I've been getting way too into Umamusume at the time of writing. Who knew a silly premise of anthromorphizing horses to girls would turn into sports dramas? Sure, there are still some inklings of the idol aspect that remain in concerts, but when most of the time is spent practicing for the big race instead, it's focusing primarily on the sports aspect. 

Cingray is notably really shounen by way of how Berno Light is the girl, even though everyone a girl. While yes, the other are sports stories too, but Cingray focused on the racing and competition aspect more so than any other. The idol aspect was playfully poked fun at and didn’t even feature that much. Even BOANE has the girls performing at a big concert at the end. Cingray has none of the large performing venues at all. Heck, I don’t think we even have a Cingray version of Umapyoi Densetsu. 

Cinderella Gray is given special notice of this since it's more of a serious sports drama than a slice of life sports drama than the previous one. I think Cinderella Gray's influence on the franchise cannot be understated because Road to the Top, Beginning of a New Era, and Star Blossom feature some idol-like stuff, even if there are just glimmers. On a side note, I really love the Umapyoi Legend version from the movie because of how distinct the voices are. Heck, we see Jungle Pocket after her victories going around doing athletes' promo rather than actually seeing her sing, which is reserved for the ending. That's great worldbuilding, though that active Umas has some promo that is beyond plushies that probably only gained popularity during Oguri and a little bit before it. 

Now, Cinderella Gray is effectively dramatizing Oguri Cap's career. Anime-wise, we are at Oguri Cap's Arima Kinen. There's still the second Japan Cup, Super Creek, the slump, and the final retirement race. 

The manga is really good with the anime, while good, it cuts out some parts and does parts that are just okay, whereas the manga is actually written better. I understand the time constraints here, but certain aspects of the explanation could have been improved. 

It's just sad that the Umas are destined to live out their previous lives' hardships without the death. The point was supposed to give them a better life. It’s why mistreated horses can actually be celebrated here and given better overall.

With that being said, we know retired Umas just go on their daily life, achieving a modicum of fame that will set them up for life, maybe. We know Tamomo Cross and Oguri's mothers at least reflect their real-life housing, with the former being so poor, while Oguri is at least on the lower middle-class, where White Narubi has to afford her daughter's healthcare, appetite, and tuition. 

They are set for life with food and housing. I don't know what Oguri would do after her Tracen graduation. I can see Kitasan Black becoming a fitness trainer after retiring, but all the real Oguri Cap's done after his stud career is eat and sleep. Would she go around and do press? I know that fans lined up to see Oguri after his retirement, so that's a good reimaging where her popularity allowed her to travel and sign autographs. However, it's not something that Oguri would do often or go too far and would either do those press in her hometown or an event close to Tracen. 

Now, in the manga, it's already finished with Oguri fully retired from racing. She's able to eat and sleep to her heart's content. Again, I do not know what she would do. 

I could see Agnes Tachyon becoming a sports medicine doctor, as that's her field of study. Kitasan Black was studying to be a fitness trainer after retirement. 

On another note, with the legendary horses and named horses who had won at least a graded race, it’s been taken for granted just how difficult the races really are. Never mind that some races are one and only chances, such as the Triple Crown. Even winning a G3 puts a horse in the top 5 percent. Twin Turbo and Machi-tan might not have won a G1 like Rice Shower, but they are still a lot better than the regional Umas. 

It’s extremely difficult. Haru Urara only got in due to goodwill and will not win fuck all. 

Keep in mind that although the Umas themselves are as strong as horses, we take for granted the status of what it means from the cream of the crop, which we are frequently exposed to than the regionals. Even regional Umas would've soundly beaten humans anyhow since they are horses. However, the regional horses will be soundly beaten by any of the Tracen students. I think Haru Urara's acceptance into the school was not due to her race record, but rather her spirit and popularity, similarly to how Oguri was scouted and accepted to Tracen, who were too good for regionals.

While March Tosho definitely outlasted Oguri in terms of career years, March Tosho wouldn't be able to go up against the best in any of the graded races. Again, there's a reason why Oguri was chosen over March Tosho to even get a chance at nationals. 

While the animanga have always been sports stories, the focus on the humanity of athletes was very emphasized, even when they were exaggerated, because Umas are superhuman. 

While horses are horses with personalities of their own, Umamusume dramatized everything, including aspects of jockeys in the Umas. 

I really want to get into worldbuilding. 

For example, idol concerts are apparently Japanese only. It’s actually been hinted at by S1, no les,s with Special Week performing alone. Obey only performed because she was that prepared and will insist on it. 

What about the other horse sports? Umas have to have their equivalent. Heck, Silver Sonic switched from racing to jumping. I wonder how they are going to translate dressage? Is it just dancing? At least what about Steeplechase? 

There is just so much worldbuilding to be had. The worldbuilding so far is very subtle, as everything has been accommodating to Umas since ancient times, to the point that obsolete tech is still being made for them if they are unable to afford smartphones. 

Even if you don’t want to participate in the game, there’s always the animanga and other forms of entertainment. It’s a multimedia franchise. We don’t know what future projects they are going to focus on. 

Since there are horses now and then still having incredible stories to tell, who knows what is going to come? 

People have been more interested in horses and racing since the release. There are horses not yet announced as more people become interested in the tales. The anime is a gateway that real life is stranger than fiction that some tales are so great to be told. 

People are learning what kind of personality they have and the varying levels of horse. Even learning IRL horse facts and giving them out as trivia to non-fans is a fact of the fanbase at this point. Never mind the trivia videos, even trivia comments are also just as known to comment and explain whenever they can. 

For what it's worth, you can get into any part of the franchise no problem since each iteration is basically its own universe and each with its own protagonist with different personalities that might strike your fancy. 

Censorship and 'The Children!' Excuse

Censorship has always been bad. Its targets have always been anything that isn't normal normal things, such as porn. 

Surveillance has always been the intention behind these rules, as they aim to prevent people from viewing something they deem abnormal. 

The internet is not here to babysit your child. The parent or guardian is the one who should be supervising, not everyone else. 

To even be asked to give their identification through a credit card, driver's license, or whatever does not grant you privacy and freedom whatsoever. 

Apparently, anyone who isn't 'normal' whose art is designated as something to protect the children when it's anything but. 

Queer and disabled people have art and words they want to share with the world, and to block them out is a case of censorship. Sex workers have to deal with this, too. 

What Visa and Mastercard are doing to the adult games made for an adult audience, and where children can't even enter the space because they are moderated by people there. 

Everyone has to deal with this horror because why would anyone want to have a breach of privacy and censorship of what people deem either not grown-up enough or 'not normal'. 

No matter how seemingly powerful a company is, a leak of personal information will occur. I do not want to have my face or any of my identification other than my age on my bio. 

Seriously, even when people point out that even if the Tea App has poor security, leaks from major companies have happened and continue to do so. This won't deter because power is more important than the safety of their citizens. 

When people can't log into basic things and even things such as basic dictionaries and encyclopedias at the risk of being censored, fucking dictionaries and encyclopedias, then it’s time to question what the hell they are doing! 

I also want to legit point out that not even the most vanilla of sex is safe because it's still sex at the end of the day. With the major anti-sex attitude and not just because of refusal to discuss it in any meaningful way, it's just anti-sex that for some reason these people also wants to know your genitals and bathroom. 

Children have always been expendable to the right-wing conservatives. Given how many criminals there are in the Trump administration, and colluding treasonously, it's pretty obvious that they don't give a shit and use children as a shield literally. 

Seriously, the way the Trump administration said Tylenol instead of the actual ingredient said so much about how they are willing to hurt children and women. Anyone who even believes them is stupid. It's pretty clear they cherry-picked it for a self-imposed deadline when all they reveal is utter stupidity in their cruelty. 

Seriously, children have been used as meat shields. Roblox used feeble attempts to protect their money. Which is sad too because there are no kid-dedicated spaces on the internet. Difference between kids-friendly and kids-dedicated spaces. Godoka, I remember the kids dedicated spaces on the internet, like all those games. 

Nowadays, kid either have YouTube or whatever their parents have access to. I think the only kids thing I can recall is the PBS Kids website, and it's not something like Club Penguin or the like. 

There are things that are kid-friendly but not kid-dedicated, and kids need kid-dedicated spaces on the internet where they cannot be taken advantage of and things are monitored. Y'know where adult games for adults are restricted for adults but now can't even be bought by adults due to censorship. 

Censorship is bad for everyone and everything. 

There are so many cases for anti-censorship. The Hays Code needed to die, and their creatives knew that. Sure, they found a way to walk around it, but it wasn't easy, nor is it actually good. 

For fuck's sake, do we need to bring up fandom history as an obvious reason for people crying out for censoring out AO3's fictional depictions of whatever they are against? When every other social media site refusing to 

The very fact that I have to see 'unalive' or whatever terms there are for what censored word that the US does not want in their social media even though death and much better words for it have been used. The mortal coil, anyone? 

We could talk all day about how they don't give a shit regarding gun control at all, especially when children have to live in fear of shootings. Oh yeah, the right to guns and all, but for the safety of everyone, limitations should be instituted and be restrictive. I mean, it's gotten to the point that other countries know full well the US' trigger-happy status. 

When gatekeeping and cringe culture are pervasive because people can't bear being sincere, sincerity is much better than trying to maintain some kind of pride that you aren't cringy. 

One of the reasons why K-pop Demon Hunters even garnered the response that it did was its sincerity. Regardless of its flaws, it's more sincere than something that tried to be hip and failed miserably and hated it. 

Seriously, where is your fun and whimsy? There is decorum for such things, but when it comes to things that hurt nobody, why not express that joy and whimsy instead of shouting down anything that makes you look like a 'cringy' idiot?

I sincerely hate the word 'gooning'. It's anti-sex censorship and an insult in the worst way. Goons belong to bad guys' henchmen, not lusting after a fucking fictional character, get that out of my face. I'm an oldie in the fandom space, and the censorship makes me scream in my hands with all the moralistic shit going on. 

I hate the censorship. I feel a part of me died when I heard my brother, out loud, say the word 'unalive'. It's that bad for me when I prefer to use the word death or any other idiom. 

I can read NSFW fanfiction with a stone face. I don't want to see any more NSFW stuff being censored when I have met that censorship on every social media platform I'm in, including Tumblr. Can people just express those without tickling some moralistic people? Why should everyone else care about those guys when curation of fandom experience is a thing? Blocking is a thing? 

Parents are the ones who should be supervising what their children are doing. So, if my young niece and nephew were to browse the internet, I, the supervising adult, wouldn't let them touch my phone or iPad, specifically for my reading tabs that are always on. They really shouldn't have their eyes on NSFW art. My nephew should be happy with his love of cars and Pikachu while my niece should be happy to indulge in dressing up and playing with the Labubu she does have. My cousin stated she paid some 70 bucks for one, which Labubu better be worth it. I paid more for pins and since I curate my collections, what my cousins paid for is nothing in comparison I've been in far too many expensive hobbies and only settled with pins because it's flat space and unlike others, I'm pretty sure I can display them in time. For now, they are in box jail and only taken out for pintography. I have to see if we still have microphones so I could take photos of my Kpop Demon Hunters collection. 

The internet is not your oyster. It's your responsibility to curate your experience. Honestly, seeing the drama in the pin community is enough to make me sigh. At least, during my twenty years of fandom, I encountered these flames and wars, but I do not want to touch them. I'm way too old for that, and it's stupid. 

Using children as an excuse to do horrible things isn't the way when there are ways to provide children with safety and comfort. Attacking everyone and trying to portray as if they are the arbiter of all things good and objective is wrong. 

How the Pin Community Functions

 

The pin community is a totally different beast from any other fandom I've ever experienced. 

I'm used to ignoring flame wars and not even stepping into grounds that I know annoy me. Curating your fandom experience is better than nothing. 

At the time of writing, there is a lot of shit going on. Fan merch makers are always treading on a wire regarding IPs. 

Hoyoverse is a-okay with fan merch, but that's not the case for everyone. Disney and Nintendo are the hard hitters of this one. Heck, even stuff like Steven Universe and Avatar: The Last Airbender have been known to be hits. 

Even in Disney fantasy pinmaking space, there is always a chance that one of them could be struck down, no matter how big or small. 

Nuwa kept the Disney pins behind a paywall, so if you want her Free to Dream series or any Disney designs like the Landscapes, which are available through other means via the secondhand market, you can buy from her through her pin club personally. Or if you are going to a convention, she'll have them there too. 

Fanmerch space is very trend-heavy. The art that was churned out for Kpop Demon Hunters and Arcane are just one of the many examples to be made in so many fan merchandise. Stickers and art prints are the easiest so if any artists have conventions, you will see them and can buy them then. Pins take months in production. Who knows what will come in once this post is up? 

That means any rare pair, less popular, or dormant fandoms will not be the focus. From a pin collector once said, Shounen is the stock market in the pin community. 

This is still a business, and fan merchandise has to go with the trends because that's what it is. 

There are pinmakers who create original art. For example, Nuwa has a line dedicated to original art. They are at least not harmed by the waves of the trends because they created a fanbase for their original art. 

Consistent fanmerch that always sells are Disney and anime like Sailor Moon and Pokemon. Heck, I don't think there is much drama in the Pokemon pin space except for Shinnoyume who has horrid customer service and I don't recommend buying from because buy with caution. He won't even ship out and refuse to entertain concern from customers. He won't update any preorders and for the pin club as well so I won't recommend him. Buy from him only at conventions only. 

I wish I could avoid just how personal the drama is. The money is personal because it's their hard-earned money, and they haven't shown shit. 

Scamming is apparently easy to spot now. But it's not always clear that they would be a scammer. I did miss a spot for a pin I wanted from a maker who would wind up being a scammer, which is disappointing. I really did like the Saturn pin, and people got theirs. 

Most of what I read about scammers used to be big makers, but one way or another, they mismanaged funds or refused to take responsibility and ran away with the money. 

I know that for some, it's a hobby or a side hustle, but they still have to treat it like a business. Being able to make it a full-time business like Mamobot and Mualcaina isn't the case, nor is it easy for everyone else who prefers their full-time jobs. 

However, even if some businesses have questionable policies, they still need to show themselves to be trustworthy. Honestly, it's better for anyone's sanity that you actually show manu updates. 

Mintyxpins, for example, has awful updates. Even when she eventually delivers on the products, she still has pretty terrible updates. I still think her pre-orders every month are way too much, even with LE. Heck, I didn't bother getting the Shugo Chara specifically of Ikuto because of this. 

There are businesses that do pre-orders every month, but they really have to limit themselves because they can't overreach and bite off more than they can chew. This is a business with lots of money involved. 

Sometimes I'm just wary of Minty doing preorders every week of the month. At least I can trust HFP and Liu because their turnaround is relatively short and timely, never exceeding three months. Minty takes a long time and still 

There’s so much drama that I feel I’m in the crossfire of flames. At least I feel I don’t need to have an opinion on those things. I understand the gripes and the ickiness of wrong actions and what was said. I simply don’t have to buy them or those particular items. 

Honestly, there is always drama, but I've seen more than I have in my more than twenty years as a fandom lurker. 

It's saying something when artists, pinmakers, and customers are fighting, I feel more at peace in my other fandoms I'm in. Again, I usually side-step anything volatile or anything that makes me take psychic damage because I curate my fandom experience. It's much more difficult, so the best I could do aside from reading up on scammers and troublesome businesses, I try to avoid pin community drama as much as I can. 

It’s a necessity to at least have a pin collection for at least a few posts. If you really want to involve yourself in some of the practices, at least have some pin posts of some parts of your collection or in your stories. It's much easier for pinmakers and other collectors to semi-relax around you. 

It’s actually easy to get pins and build a collection. Etsy and artists have storefronts on Shopify, Big Cartel, and other platforms. Put collections together on a board or try photography and plaster them on your Instagram, posts, reels, and stories, and they should grant you at least that much leeway. 

Certain artists might swing your side. Crowd pleasers like Mamobot's video game designs are always great and have lines everywhere he goes. I experienced such a line at AX. 

Considering the tariffs, if you are in the US, best shop US pinmakers for the time being, who have the deal with the burden of tariffs themselves. 

The supposed point of the tariffs was to shop American-made things. Considering how America is still unwilling to go into manufacturing and that this stupid administration is doing everything in its power to punish the American people while stealing from the poor, that's not going to happen. Businesses are still going to rely on other countries to better make them rather than being isolationist to the point of destroying allies' relationships that will take decades to recover. They're destroying everything in their path to keep their power, regarding everything that opposes them as terrorism to their 'values'. 

There is nothing wrong with relying on other countries for things America cannot do. It's okay that manufacturing is something difficult for America to even do because the infrastructure is not there. Largely, if you look at my Notion, you see mostly American-based pinmakers, but that was a thing even before the tariffs. 

Tariffs and getting rid of the de minimis are just heartbreaking as it's been the flow of so much relief for everyone. Of course, Trump had to get it of it for lining his own pockets and he's a guilty coward who loathes laws and will do everything in his power to be king. 

Anyhow, building a collection and showing some of it must be done. I have monthly pin mail that I usually show off at the end of the month. That's a great way to provide some level of semi-trust in a fellow collector. It's not much. I mean, you don't even have to be that active in your Instagram account as long as you have pins on your account to be at least semi-trusted. 

It's gatekeeping in a way, but when the small businesses have to protect themselves from losing their businesses from bad eggs reporting to the large IPs, it has to be done, unfortunately. Even Mamobot has to deal with this because he ain't making ATLA and SU pins anymore after that experience. Nuwa was able to escape, as all she puts up fanart and explains they are preorders in the post itself and as I said before, puts her Disney pins behind a paywall. 

It's an unfortunate situation for anyone unused to such things to even want to be part of a commitment group just to buy that one pin, so the best approach is to feature pins in posts or stories. It's only that much. 

There's not much that one can do besides show pins. Collectors leave every day just as pinmakers come in. This is a hobby that can be easily exploited by scammers more so than others, as frauds can utilize good artwork and open preorders, requiring no self-funding on themselves. That's a red flag and making no effort to show updates is also another. I know people are pressuring Minty to showcase more updates in the clubs I'm in for her. 

Unless they are already in the community and can be trusted, as I know is the case with one, they must self-fund. There's this one new guy who's making pins now who only opens preorders because people wanted it, and since he wanted to do good, he took a lot of advice from those in the community. He consistently updates his clients and always ensures that he showcases trustworthiness in handling business finances. 

There are lots of scammers in this, so really be careful to place your hard-earned money in the right hands. There are smaller makers out there doing their best while scammers are using art to scam people and ran off. I wasn't able to get into the Facebook group that called out pinmakers, but I've been in enough Discord servers to avoid pinmakers.