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. 

AI ‘Art'

 

AI ‘art' isn't real art. There is no humanity in it, no slight imperfection or emotion, just robots stealing from artists everywhere. 

Art is something to be learned with patience. Why use AI when you can use your fucking imagination to make the cinema in your brain work even if you can't make it to the paper or tablet? 

I always have fun imagining scenes in my head as I read. I also have fun 

AI bro logic is insane. How is putting in the work and developing your art through learning is being ‘lazy’ and not being ‘real workers’ when mashing a myriad of art from a prompt that spits out in seconds makes them ‘artists’? There is so much projection there, it’s sad. 

So what if your first attempt is bad? It’s not perfect, but it’s yours. 

There is no such thing as imagination, apparently. People using AI want immediate results rather than working hard for the creative process. It’s really bad to use it for basic fandom things. Come on, use your mind as a theater once more than expecting immediate results from a computer. 

These AI guys are the ones trying to prove something to actual artists that they are artists who could ‘produce’ art within seconds. It’s never more embarrassing to see these guys try to act like they are artists. 

The rise of anti-intellectualism, lack of media literacy, isolation, hyper individualism to the point of lacking community, are just many of the things the far right conservatives wielded as a weapon in their utter ignorance and incompetence to walk back centuries of progress and move forward to the future. Every day, it feels like we are going back to the era of kings and peasants thrown into so many wars. 

What AI is being fed and spitting out information. All the AI 'artists' want is so their 'art' to be drawn from the pool of actual artists. 

They think they are actual artists when one of the analogies was that they are basically ordering from a list of available add-ons to a burger. Sure, they can add extra pickles or leave out the mayo, but you're not actually cooking it. 

You are not suddenly a five-star chef just because you order from a fast food joint. 

Shadiversity is so embarrassing for insisting that he's a great artist when professional artists don't even do that. 

For fuck's sake, seriously, even though I knew my drawing is shit as I come to prefer traditonal art over digital art at least in my domain, when I sketch out my Rapunzel fairytale canvas board on a piece of paper, that's me and no one's else. 

God, it was easy enough to draft it with the basics. I know I would eventually paint it on canvas for my pinboard. Honestly, the most challenging is the rampions and especially the Sundrop rampion because I do need some Tangled motifs in there, as the general Rapunzel board is supposed to be. Still unsure how I'm going to add a forest or even if I want to add lanterns and turn it into a night scene. I still want to add the Corona insignia but also the sun, so... I think I’ll stick with sunny skies because if I were to get the lanterns, it’s either part of the pin or a filler I like. I mean, I could make a single flying lantern, but again, a night sky. Have no idea how to implement Barbie Rapunzel ideas on there but I'm considering a silver paintbrush. 

There is a thought process because I want to honor the Rapunzel retellings, but at the moment, I am unsure how big I want the canvas and how many pins I'm gonna pin on it since I didn't intend to collect Rapunzel pins, but here I am. I, however, am restricting myself to open pre-orders and LE pre-orders going to Silvy.

The issue is that I know what I’m doing with my Rapunzel pins. When I tried to sketch out Cinderella, it was simply not satisfying, so I have no clue what I'm going to do with my Cinderella pins. 

I still am unsure how to display my Aven and Kaveh pins as well. Starting an unwitting Rapunzel collection and knowing how to display it first is just bad. I'm slowing down on Pokemallows and focusing on the Fashion Gardes and Eevee Fusions. Again, I don't know how to display those. 

I have even more of an idea how to display my fucking Kpop Demon Hunter pins than I do my favorite character pins. At least I have an idea about ORV with book pages as an idea. 

I'm not write down a fucking prompt and allowing of what my imagination comes to. 

Like most people, my art was not that good when I was a child. It has gotten to the point of taking any passion out of it, outside of writing. Sure, I'm still a suffering writer suffering from an eternal writer's block, but at least it's my imagination writing scenes and playing house with my ships as dolls. 

Art is incredibly accessible. The thing is that art is an ever-developing journey. There will be places where there is doubt. However, the thing is to learn and grow. Art is not this lucky thing granted to a few. What looks like talent to others is something they love and continue to love and learn. 

The artists I buy from practiced really hard to make it where they are. Fuck, it's fun to see how their art evolves through consecutive collections. I mean Mamo's wave 1 of Pokemallows compared to whatever wave that had been released. Look at Nuwa from when she started out to now. She worked damn hard to get the landscapes to eventually the puzzle pieces she's working on as a new series. It's gratifying to watch. 

I loved seeing the gratification of hard work and learning to create more art that speaks to them and to so many of their fans. I fucking loved Mamo and Nuwa at Artist Alley last summer. I cannot wait to meet them again next year. Maybe this time I’ll gather up courage to actually talk to Witchxing’s artist this time. 

Don't any of the AI bros want that? The hard work and the creation of developing something over a long period? 

To see their art style of whatever they are thinking of comes to life through practice and discipline developed over the years...

Obviously not when we're here now with these AI bros insisting they're artists, refusing to do the dirty work of actually practicing and discipling themselves over a period. 

AI is apparently the shortcut towards everything, including education. But when I have to fear future doctors and lawyers' knowledge on practical and critical matters when they knowingly use AI? 

It's all about the instant results, not the work to get to it. 

These guys calling themselves artists aren't artists. They are scammers who think they can actually make it in the art world, who let them in and display their 'masterpieces' to the public when their pieces aren't even good or passionate. It's downright embarrassing to see art galleries defend AI 'art'. To them, even welcoming, it's money. 

Seriously, a French AI 'artist's 'art' about New York is just unfailingly awful because they don't even get New York's popular foods, actual popular foods. Tiger and Bunny get that right more because Kotetsu's favorite foods includes pizza and hot dogs! We see the duo and their friends actually going out to get hot dogs! 

Even when I'm not following AI 'art' accounts, AI 'art' still pops up in my feed on Instagram, which isn't my following account. It's pretty bad that I can't block it as easily as I do on Tumblr or Ko-Fi, where I can just follow accounts and not expect to see AI 'art' anywhere. Heck, I easily block out the tag of ai art. 

I scream internally just seeing misinformation just on Tiger and Bunny AI overview. Yes, Kotetsu loves hot dogs, pizza, and fried rice but Barnaby’s sponsor definitely didn’t include or exclusively Pepsi Nex! You would think Blue Rose seen with only sole sponsors and Barnaby having fucking Bandai on his armor chest that AI would’ve guessed from photos. 

Of course, it’s not all doom and gloom. Like the federal judges that stopped Trump’s unconstitutional efforts, laws, and huge corporations with massively popular IPs are taking aim at AI that dared to use their IP. 

Listen, Disney is a monster in so many ways, in just how much they consume and destroy, and how much they create with their art. Their LGBT rep is slim to none and getting closer to none by the passing second due to the extremely conservative environment, but again, I'd rather side with people who want my money rather than people who want me dead. 

Disney is in another dork era with failed movies under their belt that they are doing everything in their power for short term profit. 

AI needs to be regulated as it has so many concerns, and it is just bad for creativity and critical thinking. No shortcuts. 

Suppose people in the past have to suffer writing an essay at a shitty hour and using Wiki references at the far bottom of the page of the wiki. In that case, these people who wish to graduate should have the decency to realize that future work demands more than relying on AI. 

Seriously, I see AI ads for something that should have been done with a quick wiki search, or just seeing patterns in their loved one's behavior, or something as simple as what shop you went to. It's bad and just distressing to see how AI is advertised as something quick and easy when again Google search without the AI shit is still useful. Misinfo aside, AI should not be a shortcut for basics. 

It's not even useful that day when something as basic as getting the brain going for something as basic as the last shop or the last thing you did, or even something that could've been achieved with Google search. Though with Google search, please ignore the AI up top please, because they'll spread misinfo and just get the wrong info. 

It's always the tech corps and the tech bros spreading that AI is the dawn of a new era. Their marketing was enough to make those susceptible believe that it would be great, never mind the consequences. Godoka, there were stories in the Mamo Discord of many pin collectors' workplaces singing the praises of AI, heck, even their loved ones. 

It's bad enough in the group chat I have with my cousins, who have one cousin AI faces onto stuff, making things uncanny with another following. It clearly wasn't photoshopped, and it was just uncomfortable to sit through. At least it was just that conversation, and they didn't do it again. 

Can we just go back to photoshopping faces onto other stuff? Can we go back to Photoshop rather than relying on AI to do everything basic editing? 

I get why people are stressed about not getting a job after college, but for the love of Godoka, does that mean to sacrifice critical thinking and learning in general just because you couldn't score a job after college? No, media literacy is at a low time, and having that for necessary knowledge and practicals for future lawyers and doctors is just a no, thank you. We do not need more people who think they can skate by with AI. AI bros and their insistence that they are true artists is just one of the many examples. The fucking administration is using AI for everything even when it's clear AI fucked up everything with their incompetent hands. The tariff percentage is a result of AI, never mind that the administration does not take care to learn because they are anti-intellectual and anti-science. Republicans really pride themselves in their ignorance and conspiracy theories. 

Having an imcompetent yet cruel Trump adminsitration who obviously promised shit if you know common sense that Trump is nothing more than an amoral raving lunatic out only for himself and winning in the moment rather than thinking of the others. Unlike Disney, who at least wants my money and only leans hard onto anything that will make them money because even the slimmest of rep will get them money, Elon Musk has no such presumptions about presenting himself as one of the hateful human beings alive because Trump is up there, alright. Trump is going down in history as one of the worst, if not the most awful, POTUS ever due to his dictatorial behavior and doing every unconstitutional act ever. Our Founding Fathers would've hung him and would not have taken it lying down to have another king running them again in any capacity. 

Honestly, anybody then would’ve hung the entire administration. 

Going back to the topic of AI, I do want to point out a flaw in Answer in Progress' video. 

What Jess is doing is not the norm. What she is doing is ethical and uses the previous generation as a reference. 

It's disingenuous to not portray generative AI as something that isn't easily abused or stolen. Because, for the most part, it really is that when AI is used as a shortcut for everything from education to the joy of the creative process, even if that means blood, sweat, and tears but you are creating something of your own nonetheless. 

AI can have its purposes, but the issue remained that the artists of all sorts are getting dismissed and devalued over money because that's what AI has essentially determined these art forms as. 

The way society sees creative works and creativity in general is something that should be noticed, not when every artist is being tossed aside for money. 

Women in Fandom

There have always been women in fandom. In fact, I think they are often an indicator of taste. 

They are the first to know that the Beatles and Star Trek are good. Zines are created from them after all, as well as the Premise. 

However, no matter what women do, men come in and take the credit as if it’s them that made it credible. 

It’s obvious that creators like Steven Moffat are often disappointed by their female fans and do whatever it takes to be credible to their male peers. They don’t care that they are alienating female fans by playing with their hearts and crushing them. 

I have no clue why women are being hammered against now openly in anime spaces. Female fans have been a thing forever. 

Again, why the decrying now when women have always been shipping and creating fanfics and fanart in their own free time? 

Fuck, housewives are the reason why Star Trek gotten as big as it did even before the boys came in and took it as their boys' club. 

The backbone of so many fandoms is built on the backs of paying female fans with disposable income. 

So what if we squeal that was mistaken for hysteria? 

Hating everything that women like seems completely justified from the world's perspective. Anything girly has been justified, as seen with the case of Princess Tutu. 

Princess Tutu, an underrated series, is praised for all its storytelling, but all the praise seems to ignore that it's girly with the romances and pink. 

There is nothing wrong with a series intended for girls and consumed by women. 

There's a reason why people begged to give shoujo and josei a chance outside of shounen and seinen if they even know about it. Just because Shounen Jump is the biggest name out there doesn't mean that other names shouldn't be given a chance. 

Jane Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice from her female lens. Mr Darcy is admired not because he's a man who was tall, dark, and handsome, he did the right thing for the sake of doing the right thing, not to win Liz's heart. 

Women are allowed to do what is usually done in fandom before this. To say that women are ruining porno just because they are open with their fantasy porn likes is just stupid. 

I'll shield them than against someone who say they are ruining things just because of liking fantasy porn. 

I don't particularly care for the romantasy as it's called, but I will make this clear: I'd rather have these women have their fun. Just like many things, there is so much trash to go through to get to the gems. There are so many trash animanga that came out that when something becomes popular, it's usually for good reason or not. Sometimes the trash is so bad it's so good. 

TikTok is a messy place. There is some truth in badly written romances with all the tropes, but considering it's moreover a woman's hobby that has more backlash. 

There is so much generalization of what women like that, therefore, anything they like equals nothing good. 

Oh, wow, if this itches men, then about the smut in fanfiction spaces? I read fanfiction porn a lot with a stone face. if me reading porn with a stone face isn't enough, just the fact that women are getting off of fantasy porn is enough for them to say that they are ruining fantasy, never mind that these tropes have been a thing since forever and women are not ruining anything. 

Women are allowed to wear things that any character would wear as cosplay. This also puts into the thing that 'women should dress conservatively because wearing sexy means that men are allowed to sexually harass and assault them just for existing' when women wearing perfectly normal clothes have and will continue to have such horrific things to happen to them. 

These characters are written by a man or a team of men, so why blame women for wanting to cosplay these characters when they want to cosplay their faves? The obvious answer is misogyny. 

Misogyny means not acknowledging or learning fandom history and the place women have in general from all walks of life, of colors, and sexualities. 

Because, of course, fandom is a boys' space, never mind that women are the majority of it. 

Fuck, in the pin community I am in right now, there are more women than there are men. Though there are famous male pin collectors in the community, as I can tell from you. One always makes pintography for his pins. 

It's obvious that for these men, women shouldn't be involved in fandom because they aren't as conservative as they would like it even though fandom is ultimately a hobby space where people share in their love and joy in something they like. 

That's what fandom is all about in the end: sharing in the love of something and having the right to all these things. 

No gatekeeping shit. 

Avoid what you don't like and don't police others, especially women, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and all the intersectionality there. 

Fandom has never been perfect. 

I am fully aware that the most popular ships are usually the white characters. Steddie, as much as I love them, gained more of a following than Jonathon and Argyle. Reylo is more popular than Finn x Poe. 

And that's just one example of the racism and misogyny in fandoms. 

We do not need all this BS. 

Fandoms are gaining momentum in the public eye, and being geeky about something isn't something to be bullied about anymore. You can be collecting TCG cards openly, and nobody is batting an eye. 

To deny fandom history and how it has now led to all this is just dismaying to witness. 

It's really a collision of the conservative values being more openly accepted and forced upon them when so many fought for their rights. They deserve to have a chance even when fascism looms over and destroys everything in their path, in their utter lack of creativity and joy, reveling in their hatred. 

Talent in the Arts and the Good or Niceness of People

Since the whole Gaiman debacle, I should say something. 

While there has always been the issue of the death of the author and how the support meant funding them, the revisionism of ‘of course all long they were a terrible artist’ going on is very degrading to art in general. 

This mentality will not help you at all. Yes, you could look back and see now red flags that foretell their thoughts. But creativity and imagination are a thing. While you can put down your own experiences, there is nothing wrong with imagination written from the heart. 

Dungeon Meshi is written by a woman who is admittedly not a good cook nor an adventurous eater but her imagination is so well done. She still loves the series but being the opposite of the creation does not negate her as a creator especially when she didn’t experience these in the so-called right manner such as being a good cook and adventurous eater. Having the imagination to provide a fantastical world with its own ecosystem and overall world makes good fiction. 

Art is subjective. ORV and Princess Tutu hit the things I love but it might not sway others. Code Geass regardless of nationalism claims is still a classic series that still deserves its place in history. Kenshin is still excellent despite knowing that the author had actual child porn and got off scot-free because of his connections. Yes, the connections do include Eiichiro Oda because we cannot let Oda slip by that he supports a pedo and is a known sexist and racist man (I mean Usopp from 'Africa' and partook in the whole Arab racism in Studio Tomorrow and Netflix). I don't even care that much about author worship, just authorial intent. After being burned by just one, I'd rather not worship again or put on a pedestal because admitting flaws in favorite writers is better for one's sanity and health all just because to put them and you on the same moral high ground. 

People have to reckon that talent is not a measure of being a good person and good art from bad people. Simply connecting with the good art written by bad people does not automatically negate you as a person trying to uphold a puritanical view of yourself. 

Neil Gaiman has done horrible things to people from women to fans to colleagues to BIPOC people. He is still a very talented writer whose art has impacted a wealth of people. 

John Lasseter is well past his prime but he’s still well-known for actually having a hand in his creation. Film is a collaborative work and Lasseter is not the only voice just as Butch Hartman was as Thomas Astruc was. They might have called most of the shots and controlled the general story but they literally weren’t the one. 

Talent is not meted out to the purest. It’s simply a skill. 

Bad people make good art as good people make dark art. Good people can still write all those triggers in stories and still be good. Bad people can make creatively impactful art and it’s still aged well. 

Vic Migogna is a very good actor and his voice for Ed Elric and Tamaki are perfect. HP Lovecraft managed to make a whole new genre of his own. 

I haven’t met any people in the pin community who are personally bad people. I only ever heard of their bad business and the jerk attitude they employ. I won’t be naming any names but using a business as a side hobby is not a good way to make business because people buying the art are your customers and you would want to establish that customer base’s trust in actually getting the products. Money is involved and the moment you have the money, you must make and deliver the product as a business. 

Still those are businesses. Outstanding small businesses will take constructive criticism and mobilize their business to actually have great customer service. 

Just because a person you admire and even like is nice to you does not mean that you are bad for not recognizing it. You might not even be the intended target yet you were treated so nicely. 

The point for these criminals is to hide. Blaming others particularly fans for their creator's secretive nature is not good. 

Just let people and yourself off the hook for simply having flawed judgment. We might never know literally everything about the person who interacted with us nicely. We won’t ever know and that’s alright. 

To say after the fact when it’s all revealed and it’s obvious you didn’t catch the hints that you never liked it in the first place is disingenuous to the time you spent on it. You shouldn’t have to take the way out by not admitting just how much it hurts you and owe up to it instead of making a proud face. 

Having pride just to keep from the feeling of hurt is valid to some extent but still feeling hurt from something you love that you didn’t ask for 

A large part is to uphold a puritanical view of oneself by wanting healthy and pure relationships with no drama. 

What is bad about wanting all those things without acknowledging the flaws. These people want the sake of literally everything they consume to be good and pure. 

This is a bit of an extension from the ship rants I did before but these people shouldn’t be expecting that for their own self-congratulatory puritan. What they spewing is what conservatives used against anything they deem horrid.

Grappling with these thoughts in regards to creator and creation has been a thing forever. Meting out cowardice like saying it was bad when reading comprehension and media literacy are a thing. English classes teach you these things. 

There is nothing wrong with admiring art but there is zero need to idolize the author too when it somehow connects to your politics and whatever you see fit. 

My cousin still loves Harry Potter given how she asked our niece a question relating to it. I don’t think she’ll ever support the transphobe in any way. 

This is just one case. 

I don’t really read up a lot on the author’s thoughts too much. In the case of SBS, I cannot know everything. I’d rather have compiled links so I can make the decision myself whether I appreciate the intent versus the interpretation. I rather not misinterpret the text but extrapolate meaningful readings from subtext and text. Shipping I see is again fun and derived from whatever is there or not at all to have Barbie dolls playing. 

JK Rowling’s intent very much differs from her execution and worst yet the things that are foreboding to her radicalization. She speaks of bravery and such but the execution speaks that she’d rather not change the status quo. 

Neil Gaiman’s style leans more into headcanon territory where the actual canon answer can waver and isn’t set in stone. Again, this is a perfectly fine applicable way without forcing headcanons into the canon. Acknowledging canon without letting the image of whatever is in your head take over. 

It’s okay that you cannot or no longer interact with the art you used to love because there is so much baggage associated with the creator in question. It’s okay that you can divorce yourself by other means such as buying them a third party and making sure your money doesn't go back to them. 

What we ultimately interact with art that has been damaged by cruel creators is to find in ourselves not cowardice but to confront what we wanna do in the face of it. 

While the creators are ultimately unwelcoming, the space created by fans and the circle thereof is better than anything a big creator might say to hurt people. 

Hurt fans can gather up their spite and pour it into their fanmade merch. Fans who refuse to contribute to the creator's money often go for fanmade merchandise. For some, it’s completely guilt-free. 

Personally, if I ever buy Harry Potter and Twilight fan merch which I never will, I’ll donate to the trans community and the Quileute tribe. For me, it’s not guilt free at least when it comes to those. 

I completely understand that the media I love is not without flaws. That’s why I say Aven is Romani rather than to use the in-game word which is a real Romani word. 

It’s another when the work isn’t tainted not by flaws intrinsic to the storytelling but by the fault of the creator who used the prestige the works grant access to for their horrid cause or to victims. 

For others, the thing they have loved since forever will forever be tainted and they can’t ever see them interact positively again. They can try with other fans reckoning in their shared grief and rage 

I roll my eyes whenever I see news regarding JK Rowling. Since in her mind is anti-trans to the point it’s all she ever talks about, she of course never brings attention to serious matters women are facing except her own. She is only about Neil Gaiman now because he supports the trans community and nothing else. 

Anybody who tried to bring attention to that woke crowd going after leftist Neil Gaiman is stupid. Wokeness was the buzzword they used to get attention without any nuance or empathy toward fans. Usually, the 'woke' crowd has more legitimate criticism than that crowd because it's down to something as simple as empathy. 

Godoka, while Trump will be having some infighting dogs and that his Executive orders are nothing more than force, there will be ways to fight back than roll over and comply with fascism. They want us to give up on the onslaught of laws that Trump is in a hurry to act and harbinger as a king rather than a functional governing body that only won not by a landslide. 

Remember that Democrats don’t even broadcast their wins they absolutely have to. We are heading into a dreadful conservative era in which the dominant white Christians are relishing their supposed take back of power from their supposed oppression and persecution. They have always been in power and the clear division of BIPOC was their gains to divide. These guys felt so safe in their bubble that even a demand for rights for BIPOC people was seen as a threat to their privileges. Even now these guys still feel they can trademark the word pho and go after actual Viet for it and trying to appropriate Agua Fresca and boba is just sickening. 

I know both sides are always bad things but for the love of Godoka, which of the lesser evil will you pick? Complaining about how both sides are doing bad things with such cynicism would not help the movements. We need to stick together and be loud in every available route we can to tell our government that we don't want this and they will be forced to change their tune with the overwhelming lawsuits. We'll be hurt on the way to our future but it's better than seemingly declaring everything is bad because both parties' actions are bad. It is unhealthy and we must focus our energies on gaining ground on what we can do. 

It's harsh now in the conservative fascist era we're entering but we cannot let this get us down. Go and be involved and do something instead of just dumping it all on a story and expecting the worst from it instead of actually doing something such as putting up links where people can actually help against the said disgusting act from the government administration.  

Award Shows

 

I never cared about award shows. When I was a kid watching them, my interest is mainly the celebrity dresses and shiny trophies. 

There are award shows for a bunch of things, even porn. I was admittedly mildly fascinated by gay porn award shows. 

You wouldn’t see me catching any news on any award shows. 

That happened solely because of the Oscars' category of Best Animated Feature. They made that because Beauty and the Beast should be the only one-time incident but even then, Up and TS3 occurred their nominations in that category too but it shows that it's only Disney Pixar, no anime or Dreamworks or Laika or anybody. It must not happen again and they continue to denigrate animation again and again. The last time I ever watched that category was when Frozen won. Frozen won by the Disney name alone. This didn't even have to do with my feelings with Frozen shouldn't win even though they definitely shouldn't. The anonymous voters said they were dragged there by their kids and animation is basically suffering for them. They won't even watch any of the nominees or see animation as a medium. Just a slog because adults can never understand them. 

Wow, no wonder the live-action Disney remakes blossomed so much when animation was so derided. Even though they know the live-action sucked out whatever the animation had, it's still in their superior mind the better medium or genre altogether. They don't give a shit that animation is a medium that the animation community and whoever uses what kind of animation, 2D or 3D or both, sees animation as something more to tell a story best told in that medium. 

Guillermo del Toro won and let him say that animation is for everybody and a medium. Because the years with animation on the guillotine for tax write-offs and adult animated comedies showing their relative lack of creativity despite the animators basically carrying them, the release of so many good movies and shows showed that animation is still thriving and would not back down to be known as only the kids' stuff. 

The award shows regarding BTS even in their home country exempting the KMAs have always been weird. The Kpop idol industry has been seriously affected by BTS’s success so much that it’s funny. SMA split the main daesang with digital and album until going back the next year, MAMA got the Worldwide Icon daesang, Brits (this one was bad, really bad since I know about the Rina situation and I vaguely heard about the treatment with female artists) took away the international group category, Grammys up in their usual shit, and Oscars only dealing out awards to who knows even when these nominations are deserved. 

The only award show portion that I even bother to watch was the Best Animated Feature. After Frozen's 'win' and the revelation that voters only chose Frozen for brand name power and disdain for animation, I was furious. I vowed to never watch that section again even when Into the Spider-verse won deservingly.

Ugh, Moulin Rouge Broadway shouldn’t have won Best Orchestration. It’s an insult to the movie’s transformation of the music. Going backward to making straight-up covers for belting instead of the timeless songs the movie used and still transforms is an insult. Fuck those belting showcases. Just give me what the movie has done instead of the piss poor Broadway. Outside of a few gems, Broadway was a disappointment. 

No award shows ever receive a full watch from me. Even when award shows deservingly gave awards and a spotlight to people who finally got it after who knows how long for recognition, these award shows still need to catch up on the uptake. 

They were supposed to be the best of the best and even then it's not recognized. Seriously, BTS won again and again but still did not receive the recognition they deserved from the Korean media which had been nasty to them before their rise but even during their rise, and now the nastiness remains because they didn't help BTS. 

But when the Grammys used their name for the viewing power of ARMYs, the Grammys are the villains. Sending back their filmed performance to a later time just for the views because they know after the fiasco with the pre-show award showing, they have nothing, not even Beyonce who was shown. Seriously, after looking like they could win even staying up just for their award nomination, there is not much the Grammys have as after the entire thing showed they want to have their cake and eat it. Seriously, the Grammys is nothing more than what looks like they are the best when they are not. Hence why I couldn’t take the optimistic takes on fanfics that depict the Grammys as this great thing, knowing many deserving artists never got their dues until they submit to the corrupt practices or never had a chance in the first place. Godoka, I want to laugh at the Kpop peers who submit their work without scoring anything on the Top 100 or having enough streams even when they did payola on Spotify but they still have their grimy paws on US attendance award shows. 

These accolades are when they are deserved showed what the award shows could be at their best. 

But when there are negligent and vague rules that can be changed on a whim with the company in charge of the show wanting name power and designate attendance awards to people who came, yeah, they deserve no respect even when putting on a great show. 

The VMAs are a huge example of this. They aren't part of the Big 3 music award shows in the USA. Instead, they make do with wild performances and attendance awards. They don’t give a crap about respectability, just attendance. 

Award shows already have below-average or worse views. These attendance awards no matter how insane the performances are have nothing going for it. 

Hence taking advantage of ARMYs because other music awards saw a huge showing. Not enough to save them but still the largest since. 

I mean with award shows nominations right now aren’t showing anything that is deemed rightful. Snubs have always been painful but what about the nominations that are certainly deserved but the chance of winning is slim? Yeah, I’m not looking forward to any of the ceremonies. 

I won’t even discuss the current nominations. There is enough about them. 

These award shows at face value looked prestigious. 

Because these award shows look prestigious with all the rules to look fair when it’s never been, they maintain the impression of the arbiter of good media they are overseeing. While I’m not expecting them to see greatness or about the future, I do think they should’ve granted recognition to others for achievements than rewarding white performers or whoever owns them or bribing them. I mean Moulin Rouge is still talked about to this day as opposed to some movie crusty white male Academy sees as something that’s up their alley. 

On one hand, it's understandable that most people never heard about the movies. Even to this day, Crash is well-regarded as one of the worst wins over the well-deserved Brokeback Mountain. Despite my misgivings about Brokeback Mountain, I at least know how important it is. At the same time, what the Oscars see as Best Picture is often not what they think not to say that played into it too but often the cultural trend at that time. 

No award show is ever going to reward the flowers to those who broke new ground and proved themselves. That's probably never going to happen but only rarely it does. It's only when they are forced to according to their rules. 

Just imagine having a Grammy in the BTS museum at Hybe would be amazing. 

BTS has a lot of deserving awards. Yeah, they blocked off many of their peers but have a fighting chance against the soloists and bands that aren’t Kpop. Because Kpop is the equivalent of Disney Channel stars over there. Then again those Korean award shows prior to BTS’ wins have always been given to the Big 3 groups with the occasional small groups. I’m not even apologetic remembering that fact. Those award shows are for idols with the occasional soloists and bands who are actually popular on Melon. 

If you think the Korean award shows are myopic, just see the Tonys. I mean Aaron Tveit won against literally no one. It set up a precedent. 

The Tonys are all about Broadway, a very tiny slice of musical theater that only exists in New York. The Great White Way that advertised as the best of the best musical theatre the American musical theatre had to offer. That is a sheer lie. 

The Tonys don't give a fuck about any off-Broadway and any shows that aren't even staged off-Broadway either. Any plays or musicals not produced by the big companies and if they are luckily managed to stage there. Lin-Manuel Miranda got a friend who made sure Into the Heights was staged there making his name easier to get out. 

Sure there are previews outside of Broadway but it's just previewing, not the opening night wherein that night is eligible for the Tonys. 

The Tonys gave away awards to people who didn't have that performance as one of their top fives or just the only viable person or don't have enough eligible nominees for certain categories on a regular basis. Getting awards on people's hands is a far more tangible result than just having a separate category that has only 2 or 20 nominees. 

Besides, as much as the Tonys are myopic, there are good results when they do things right. 

I firmly believe Moulin Rouge Broadway shouldn't have won those awards because outside of the good performances, it's still a bad book and has bad orchestration of its music usage outside of just sounding musically great but in no way transform or keeping the focus on the damn story and characters. Moulin Rouge Broadway only won due to the poor season at Broadway and Moulin Rouge does deserve some but not a lot of it especially Best Musical and Best Orchestration. I wanted to wretch the Best Musical and Best Orchestration out of their hands onto the Moulin Rouge movie's hands. 

Avenue Q deserved the Best Musical than Wicked and Moulin Rouge at the Tonys any day of the week. 

At the end of the day, even when awards at the Tonys can be deserving, at most it's a self-promotion marketing tool afterward. Most Broadway people either stay at theatres or go on to Hollywood. There's a possibility Gaten might've always wanted to be a theatre actor but when he auditioned for Stranger Things, he became famous for the world to know and have doors open for him in both the theatre and screen acting. 

Anyway, as much as Andrea Riseborough does deserve at least an Oscar nod, there’s just too much there as the Oscars are going to keep her nomination anyway. There’s not much that anyone can do but talk. What I would say is that she's a white woman and BIPOC actresses won't even have a chance on doing what they could just to garner it on a grassroots scale. Well, as grassroots as a rich kid using connections than an actual grassroots because a BIPOC grassroots would not be enough. It’s telling white actors and actresses rally for Riseborough when none of these guys spoke about the nuances or even supportive of how Davis and Deadwyler put in so much effort with an Oscar-favorite historical drama with black lead roles only to show it means nothing, just David and Goliath the big bad white male industry. I see Riseborough's reputation taking a hit because of this, regardless of her talent. 

EEAAO is a surprise hit involving Yeoh as the big name. Yeoh deserves the Best Actress award for so long. 

I mean there’s Al Walser who ended up scamming the Grammys. 

I mean even the Razzies are getting criticized now for their mean-spirited categories that are only there for that one movie to be laughed at more. At least the Tonys know that it’s myopic even by award show standards by just not having categories regularly due to not having enough nominees. 

Like, do the Tonys want to end up like the BRITs? Because in combining two categories, they showed their true colors the following year with more male nominees over female and heck even nonbinary nominees because it's a system they like and only changes on a superficial level. 

I mean is the Oscars any better at addressing BIPOC actresses? 

Yeah, award shows are trying desperately to be relevant with all the comedy. Regular PR celebrity interviews are boring enough. It has gotten to a point where I know BTS US interviews are less about their artistry or about them as people but about RM learning English from Friends for example that they brought up constantly. BTS isn’t doing that kind of interview anymore, just ARMY, not the audience at the US interviews, seeing the interview experience they choose as the quiet and introspective ones. 

Hot Ones have been a source of envy for talk show hosts who went to great lengths to make their show exciting. I don’t think BTS wants to do any interviews there anymore. Oh, they’ll submit to more Grammy categories that their peers will follow, but make no question that they are jaded years after going into the US with wide eyes after their US debut in 2017. 

Like talk shows trying to be relevant, award shows have shown they are dinosaurs in a world that sees them as archaic. Sure it is great to see people rightfully awarded and given the time to shine but it’s an award show that heavily favored campaigning and neglected certain genres. 

I love musicals but I don’t like biopics. The rare biopics I prefer are from my high school days. Musical biopics vary in quality but saving graces are the performance. Rocketman is different because at least that one made the songs fun. Movie biomusicals are a different breed from jukebox biomusicals though there are overlaps. When BoRap and Elvis are just bad with the only saving grace being the performances, Rocketman sticks out like a sore thumb for not straight-washing Elton John and his troubles. It was produced by Elton John so that's a plus rather than the clean makeover of BoRap or the irreverent reverence of Elvis because the only way I could take Elvis is that it's in the view of whoever telling the story. 

It’s a hard trek for proper recognition in award shows, not when they are still embroiled with incest with loads of companies in the system they perpetuate. They might look like they could include queer and BIPOC communities but it’s only the slimmest chance. 

There is a chance BIPOC people, particularly women, can get their dues. Seeing how the system still favors white people no matter what, they can't afford to subvert the system, knowing that, unlike Risborough's kept nomination, their nominations would be punished. I don't see Riseborough's nomination process will make things any better moving forward, especially if white women and men will rally for other white leads in indie films than for BIPOC indies with BIPOC leads. Fuck, if they can't even understand the nuance of what happened with studio lead BIPOC leads who done everything right according to their rules and a white woman subverted it so easily and they can't, then what on earth are they going to do?

Who knows what will happen moving forward for these award shows? Some might as well try but others just don't care and reveal their true colors in incidental ways that showcase how much they don't like anybody but the white privilege and those tastes among themselves. 

New Snow White Films 2024 and 2025

I wasn't going to make a comment on this. When both films are straight-ass from the get-go (do you really think Daily Wire would make a good movie? With Ben Shapiro there? Who is untalented as fuck in his career as a filmmaker?), do you really think I would have more to say? 

These two films are lining up to be the worst yet. The Daily Wire's version is of course reactionary bs to Disney's live-action bs. 

Of course, Daily Wire can say whatever they want to say but it's clear they don't care about that when it's reactionary bullshit that is their MO. I snorted when I read their statement about making this movie. Why the hell should I believe them? 

If they really care, they really shouldn’t be reactionary to Disney live-actions that are criticized for adding nothing to the table. It’s only with Snow White, that they produce their own instead of the other times or even when the BATB LA whole thing. Really, reactionary to the poor publicity the two main leads from SWLA and that Disney will take bad publicity to drive up interest which Daily Wire doesn’t seem to care or even think of. Fuck, since the CGI dwarves' revelation after the grandstanding of different characters as the dwarves' counterparts, the SWLA is a subject of bile fascination more than it already is. The Daily Wire version has no legs to stand on their grand plan to supposedly think they can do better when I know Daily Wire never produces a good movie in their entire lives. The Daily Wire as always is reactionary to a product that after TLMLA barely broke even or even lost money. Of course, Daily Wire has a tunnel vision when it comes to the woke media but they don’t seem to think that Hollywood losing money now has nothing to do with woke. Do you really think they would really care that Hollywood is losing money due to spending too much when that's not necessary and pumping out those films every year that the term blockbuster loses its meaning? All of Daily Wire's arguments boil down to a narrowed argument to the bigger picture. 

Wokeness in their definition means it’s the core of everything bad when it’s performative activism and not doing their due diligence as well as knowing when to have fun as well and not leaning so hard into trying to be progressive that they turn right back to conservative are the main problems. Look at the Puritanism bs in fandom spaces. 

Godoka, these guys never expressed interest in anime. What would they think about Bon Clay coming next season in OPLA? Yeah, they’ll reveal themselves to be false with no knowledge but their own ignorance. 

Honestly, given how people complain that Snow White isn't the right race, they haven't heard of Snow White Fairest of Them All starring Kristin Kreuk, a mixed-race actress of Chinese descent? 

It's just awful because I've seen people complain about the casting of One Piece Live Action's adaptation. Have they not heard of the SBS?! If they are OP fans as they said they were, they should already know this. I haven't caught up with One Piece since finishing WCI and was waiting for Wano to finish and even I knew that the entire cast of One Piece is supposed to be diverse. Luffy being Brazilian or Mexican is supposed to be canon. 

Why the fuck is that wannabe star Lucas Amorim, a Brazilian actor, going so hard with the money even though nobody is auditioning in a middle of a strike? He hasn’t shown an acting reel of the capacity of emotions needed for Ace or what he likes about Ace or attempting to act out lines from the original. All he got is cosplay and a previous audition for Luffy no less. 

Wannabe actors for Ace are annoying. Ace is a popular character but for the sake of Arceus, they aren’t doing any more than showing they are unfit to be Ace. 

The casting crew and Oda reject cosplayers and are looking at actors who are natural and can encapsulate the character whether they know the material or not. Jacob Gibson’s audition for Usopp exemplified this; it’s natural and exudes Usopp. 

Oda didn't expect to find a real-life Luffy willed into reality by the universe just walking around Mexico as a largely unknown actor waiting to be discovered. He laughed because it's fucking Luffy right there! 

With the strike ending, these wannabe Aces can attempt to audition or for Lucas Amorim, audition as a different character. If he doesn’t get Ace, would he audition as another character the next season showing his desperation? I don’t want him in OPLA and should be let down gently but if he tries again, he’s going to be mocked. 

I don't mind actors of different ethnicity playing these fairytale characters but at least they know what they are. 

The two Snow Whites don't know who they are but one is misguided but mismanaged due to the dwarves' issue (really it’s Disney about overpromising or attempting a grand statement by sticking to their guns) and the other is reactionary and does not have good intentions (why the fuck are they caring about Disney remakes targeting specifically one aspect?! There are tons of problems about the remakes but wokeness is not the problem. I am not associated with those people whose only criticism is saying that it’s woke, a common criticism from them unless it becomes popular, and even then they twist themselves into a pretzel just to explain that it’s woke anyway). 

Seriously, do you really believe the right wing would actually go all the way with the iron-hot red shoes that the evil queen would be forced to dance in at her stepdaughter's wedding? How about the fact that the prince liked the dead princess and asked the dwarves to take her to a proper burial at his palace until the poisoned apple was dislodged from Snow White's throat from a bump? 

Their cognitive dissonance as well as their hatred in general made it pretty damn clear they hate women as a means of power. 

Even Bentkey’s better shows, by comparison, Mabel Mclay doesn’t have Shapiro’s overseeing eyes as opposed to Chip Chilla and still lacked the awareness that Mister Rogers, Sesame Street, and Muppets are political as fuck back in the day. 

I’m saying original shows here not whatever rights they secured. 

Had their best shows been shown elsewhere, I wouldn’t feel that Daily Wire insists they are the right everything with the 100-dollar registration subscription. That they are the best alternative when everything they do that they are the overseers of is uncreative. 

They aren’t the best alternative when their mentality of Disney’s queer rep is to be an absolute zero when almost zero rep seems to be enough for them to scream wokeness. It’s hilarious and sad. 

I'm crying...crying from laughter because the right wing is intentionally hurting others while doing what they don't preach. 

Sound Horizon's Marchen under Revo's songwriting has Snow White with all the sheer horrors that were known in the original fairy tale. Snow White was actually dead! Snow White gave an evil laugh as she watched her stepmother or mother if you care about interpretation die! It's implied that this Snow White didn't take care of the dwarves and is implied to be vain that like her stepmother/mother, she will end up envying her own daughter and trying to kill her, repeating the cycle of violence! It’s heavily implied this Snow White had been sexually assaulted or raped by her dad which led to her deteriorating sanity to think her mom is her stepmom! As a bonus, since it's not originally from the fairytale, the prince is necrophilic. Just to let you know, the rock opera Marchen has metaphors for the Black Death and has a connection to other Sound Horizon works. Note that all interpretations are valid in Revo's words for his Sound Horizon's discography so all of these I just mentioned is just one interpretation of the many. 

I doubt the Daily Wire would go all full Grimm on us. Even the Brothers Grimm movie starring Heath Ledger and Matt Damon is far more competent in using the Grimm fairytales than anybody in the right-wing conservatives who we know have poor media literacy skills. I'd trust Steven Sondheim and Revo to use the Grimm nature of the fairytales to tell a story well with all the interpretations that are viable to tell the story to them. Daily Wire has no such compunction to tell a story of their caliber because their Snow White product is reactionary to Disney and the overall woke they fear. They don’t want to honor the original fairytale or take inspiration from it. They are unimaginative and lack creative vision other than woke Disney is bad with no thoughtful nuance. Do you really think they would consider Lindsay Ellis’ video at all? Hell no, they refuse to watch her.  

I would recommend Sound Horizon's Marchen, Snow White Fairest of Them All, and the original Disney classic over these two movies. Even foreign adaptations that aren't from America are better than these two films. 

Sydney White, Tale of Terror, Huntsman, and Mirror Mirror are far better than these two movies. 

Will they actually go up against the worst of the worst Snow White animation films with these two films? Well, these films are still going to be shit and so are those films but I feel like those two are of a different beast because of the reactionary bs in one and the indecisiveness and lack of imagination in another. 

Of course, I refuse to comment on the whole Rachel Zegler, Gal Gadot, and Greta Gerwig's mess regarding the whole film. I ignored anything regarding the Daily Wire's version; the only thing I did was confirm who was on board and went off my merry way after confirmation because I didn't need more. 

Ah, Greta Gerwig. A talented director but has some failings. I do take issue with her seeming siding with the studios with her wanting to work with them on bigger-budget films. Certainly, directors do need a line of work too but does she need to? She certainly wants to with the Narnia. 

Talented but still a point of criticism because she doesn't need to work with them. Working with A24 is far better because at least they were literally exempted due to the fact they agreed to everything. 

As for Gal Gadot, while her accent would definitely make her not a solid actress in English, her politics didn't really mesh well because never mind Wondy is a hard character to capture, she is just hard in general in terms of everything due to the ever-changing writing. I'm not talking about adaptations here but the original source. 

I love Wondy, I love Wonderfam, I love Donna Troy and Cassie Sandsmark. You bet your ass I would scoop up Laropins and Nuwa’s ladies I want. I’m waiting for Wave 5 from Nuwa that you cannot imagine my anticipation. As much as WW1 is the better film of the two with the sequel just being sheer badness, I want Wondy and the rest of her family to be depicted faithfully. Donna and Dick's friendship in Titans the show was undeniably the best out of the many, many terrible choices. 

As for Rachel Zegler, she really is talented and her career shouldn't be torpedoed because of one bad movie. All I can say about her is just pure naivety. 

Never mind the movie was pushed back three years post-production after they wrapped. Reshoots, anyone? 

The Daily Wire version isn't much better. Even if it's going to be released this year, it's not gonna be good by any means. 

I'm pretty sure that after I see it on a pirating site, I will go see a better Snow White or adaptation right afterward to wipe the sour taste out of my mouth after that horrible experience. 

I'm a fairytale lover. I have been subjected to terrible adaptations of fairy tales forever. The live-action Disney films are nonsensical as they are performative as they don't want to rock the boat too much but at the same time, they are still better than the Republicans and the entire right-wing radicals any day of the week who want me dead. All Disney wants is my money but Republicans want me dead. 

I'd rather be subjected to the Disney live-action remakes over the Daily Wire version any day of the week. Lindsay Ellis had already spoken at length about Woke Disney in her dedicated video about just how they utterly ignore the racial implications rather than acknowledge or do something more about it. Performative and full of shit but at least there are hints of talent even if stifled by corporate. Sideways has spoken at length that the corporation doesn't trust the actors to sing their versions with proper training. Emma Watson wanted to learn but yeah, nope, not Disney. People shouldn't blame Emma Watson for her bad singing when so many circumstances don't let her sing as well as her peers Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint. I fully accept knowing the TWST Tapis Rouge event was purely to promote the film which is funny and not at the same time because of course as a Disney product, it should be promoting an upcoming movie but at the same time, TWST feels more like it has more effort in it. 

I am going to pirate the shit out of these films and never look back at them again after that. I can look back fondly on the other adaptations and even grew to like the adaptations I mentioned. I'm not the biggest fan of Huntsman but it's still far better than this shit. 

Really, the way the reactionary conservative people saying woke about these works featuring POC characters and stories, it says a lot that they didn't seem to remember the period before the Disney remake where we got Huntsman or other turnouts that attempted to make the protagonists more proactive. 

Even Sydney White had her try to be the school president or whatever position the Evil Queen counterpart was supposed to be. 

Is it because Kristen Stewart was white? Because that's really the problem they don't seem to remember it. 

The Daily Wire version is utter bs as is the Disney live-action counterpart. 

At worst, the live-action Disney counterpart could tarnish the original animated movie that started it all or dissolve in the background. It could either be forgettable or so bad it's not going to be good to watch. 

At least we know the Daily Wire version will die a horrible death due to the sheer fact it's gonna be terrible under the awful handling of those guys who have the same mindset of the Christian media that we have seen at their worst. 

Outside of Critical Drinker and other conservative media reviewers who always complain about woke Disney, I haven't seen shit from others I usually see like Smarty Pants or ModernGurlz ever talk about that. 

And really why should they when they are well aware the movie will end up being shit anyway? 

I never liked the Critical Drinker in the first place but sheesh. 

You would think the association with Daily Wire is a red flag that the movie will be shit. The people behind the movie that I have seen so far don't have good records about making a good movie. Ben Shapiro's movies are awful and you can just look at Jose ripping apart all of that. 

If Jose is gonna rip apart that movie, then I'll gladly watch it. I know that Jose knows even if I don't actually know him that the movie under Ben Shapiro's eye (executive producer) is gonna be bad. 

Just look at those I mentioned. They are far more worth your time even if some I did mention are mediocre but putting it in contrast the time they were released with the time the woke material is made because of consciousness of experience of color is exponential. 

The irony that I have a Disney fantasy pin (a fanmade pin as it is used in the pin community to refer to) is a Nuwa FTD Evil Queen that the fact Snow White adaptations are coming is funny. It really wasn’t my fault that I love that FTD pin in particular. She was just lovely in her art style I fell in love with her. As much as I love Disney, I don’t collect Disney. Whatever Disney merch I do have, they’re gifts from others whereas the Nuwa FTD is mine alone. All I’m begging is that my designated girls don’t sell out. I heard LE Meg sold out 2 minutes flat. The reason why the FTD is in the secret shop is because they are Disney. It makes the stock last longer not that it had Yzma and Winter Belle selling out fast. I’m anticipating future designs so this is the only Disney pins I ever will have. Not that help much considering Yzma sold out fast. 

I don’t participate in Disney pin trading. Sure they are nice to look at but it either looks like they took the official art or barely changed much when designing new things that look new. I understand the point of recognition but I would love to see more. I’m generally a picky person hence why the traders (either from commitment groups or freebies; I'll likely just give all Sunday designs to gift my cousin who is a massive Sunday fan eventually. I like pretty art but I can just give those to my cousin.) I do get is eventually going to be sold. 

Zines

 

Zines, you heard about them. 

In the past, they were cheaply produced and distributed for free or cheap. There is rarely ever any merch added to them. 

The point was to spread the word and to reach the community in a way that is easily distributed. 

Nowadays, less so. I feel that unless the fic is uploaded into AO3, I cannot read shit except excerpts. I want to take part in the community that I dearly love but because of the priceyness, I can't buy it easily. 

Okay, so zines nowadays are essentially booklets instead of cheaply made and distributed. 

A reasonable price for a zine is 5 or less. More than that is not a zine. In fact, it’s best to get it free even as I read free zines before. 

This isn’t gatekeeping or imaginary semantics. It’s about the exploitation of punk amateur production values to induce creators to work for less and eschew of formal guarantees and protections they are entitled. Best of all, they are accessible to the community for cheap. 

I made the exception of getting the Dabihawks Lunar Flare zine because multiple of my favorite Dabihawks writers and artists are on there and not much more. The creator was out front admitting it was for profit. If it wasn’t for the sheer fact that they gathered the best of the best of the Dabihawks community, I never would’ve looked at it twice since I prefer to read mine for free or cheap. 

Once leftover sales opened up, fanfics and fanart that were created for it began spilling for free so yeah, these people want the fandom to at least have that much even if they can't pay for it. I wanted the zine and the pin and that's it. I can look at the pretty art on social media. 

I do not plan on creating a MHA or a dedicated specific pairing board. Having OTPs is enough for me as well as having an expensive Hawks figure. Just putting one Dabihawks and multiple SatoSugu is enough for me whereas I’m putting the Timkon pin with the other DC pins because of how rare I found Kon. 

Fuck, I’m not creating a Haikaveh or a Ratiorine board entirely. I rarely get sets unless I really like the art of them. Hunky guys typically aren’t my cup of tea (still don’t get when Touya got the time to work out?? I wasn’t planning to collect MHA that only a zine pin satisfied me but even from a story standpoint, why the hell is Touya that way?? I get Hawks but not Touya.) so it will take something interesting for me to collect them. I want emphasis on Ratio’s weirdo behavior for one thing. I love Haitham and Ratio but they are buff guys and buff guys aren't something I usually collect or bother to collect. I've preordered a Haitham (a Velkia one but that's one required and I wanted a Haitham for a long time that Velkia is perfect) so I'm just waiting for Ratio pins that just make me want to make their forever homes. Even Itto suffers from this. Buff guys aren't for me, only bishies. 

My primary focus is Kaveh and Aventurine with sprinkles of Haitham and Ratio. Love Zhongli, Childe, and Neuvi but I’m even more pickier. I collect other miscellaneous characters so they are there but cluttered. Kaveh is just growing a collection at this point because I really love his character so much that is not healthy. It’s about 3 preordered pins with one Haitham and an upcoming Haitham from Putorblue. I got about 3 Saturns and an upcoming Saturn preorder in June. Need to see cutematter Saturn and others in order to make it since I’m planning to get the Aventurine anyhow. I only got 3 chibi PGSM pins and that’s all I have to declare my love for PGSM. 

I collect every single character of ORV because ORV isn’t that popular and small by comparison. There’s a difference. I can find lots of Genshin and HSR’s popular characters whereas I can only find the main three and their incarnations and Biyoo and Uriel. With the exception of Punisher which I cannot find a pin of, ORV just makes me start a collection later due to that fact. 

I don’t collect ALST and Solo Leveling no matter how much I like the series. My priority is one of my favorite books of all time. At least fans have food, ORV fans likely won’t have the chance of their fave book officially published for a while if at all. Would we see an upward of pins once the movie comes out in 2025? I hope so. Korean movies are well known to be good so I hope the ORV does go over well. 

I'd rather have all of the fanfics and fanart that are supposed to be free and cheap for zines to be available to see and read after everything is done and over rather than having to pay for that is not really a zine in the end. 

Again, the only reason I got the physical zine is because of the sheer fact that the zine itself gathered the best of the best of the Dabihawks community. 

They are essentially art books that aren’t accessible to the rest of the fandom. Fans are either building a shrine of manga or figures rather than having an art book of their fave OTP. 

Worst yet, they also have appealing merchandise. Finding pins of ORV is so slim I was forced to rely on zines. I was also lucky that ORV pins are still available as overall ORV isn’t Solo Leveling popularity. I can only find two ORV kickstarters and that’s it. Starting the ORV collection with that scene is a great banging start. 

Very rarely do I see a zine pin be presold separately from the bundles. 

I was freaking lucky that I managed to find a pin maker who was willing to make ORV pins due to me following as many creators as I can. I was damn lucky that I managed to get the Velkia Haikaveh pin set (ordered separately but are a set regardless because they were supposed to be released during Valentines' but pushed back to March and April. Really, because I was collecting Kaveh as a major point at this point, I hummed in interest but kept an eye out for the story just in case. When I recognized Velkia's art style, it went from tiny interest to need because I've been trying to get Velkia's art as pins for a while now. It's definitely in my forever home pins though most of my pins are typically.) as much as I did due to following a prominent pin maker that allowed an open order on those pins. 

Preorders for pins are taken as nicely for me since I'm so used to fanfiction not updating for a long time. At least fanfiction is a hobby whereas pin businesses are small businesses and thus I have to research businesses that sufficiently fulfill my order reliably. It does help that I have a Mamo discord which is my main pin discord. 

It's preferable for me to secure a spot and I have a tendency to hyperfocus on a pin preorder period so I can get it. 

It was a bloodbath during the Dabihawks zine release but I secured what I wanted due to my quick training from Mamo's in-hand releases. 

Now popularity in a general fandom does not always translate to the pin community. There are famous anime that are talked about that rarely if ever get pins. Take Monster but you hardly ever find fan-made pins. 

Anime pins are expensive with Shounen being regarded as the stock market hilariously. Disney and Sailor Moon pins are more expensive than others. 

CSM pins aren't as in demand now as during its hype. The fandom all but died but there are still people who are fans who collect stuff from it. 

What I paid for my expensive pins typically would give me looks. Had they been sold for retail, they would've averaged from 30 at the very least. Even official Disney pins are around that frame upon release; it's only after everything's sold, that it's upsold for much higher due to its scarcity. 

I really don’t want to pay over 100 for one hunk of metal. Unless it’s really worth it or I can work up my feeling to get a HederaHelix pin, I usually don’t spend that much unless I really want the pin. 

My family is already judging me for my purchases. What I purchase doesn’t scratch other pin collectors’ collections. 

I’m usually picky and buy to keep therefore I usually judge by whether I really want it or not. For example, I was considering Witchxing Chimera Falin but decided against now the release of other Falin Chimera pins. I’m just going to wait to see future musical installments since she did Phantom of the Opera. The only musical I ever collect is Moulin Rouge so hoping for that. 

My monthly purchases do not scratch even those who buy at a higher rate than I. The sets I buy are typically from Mamobot so it’s rare for me to get them. I got the Velkia HaikAveh because it’s Velkia. I’m very happy to get the set not just because of Velkia but also because of 4.6, it felt right. Now I’m on the hunt for another set or a pin that got both of them. 

From the beginning, I only collected what is best for me, concentrating on my planned purchases from Mamobot which took up a lot of my budget frequently. The final set of the Eevee Fusions and another of the Fashion Gardevoirs as well as the Project Voltage until later this year. I’m still debating getting which of the new Pika Spooky designs outside of getting the stickers of the old designs. 

The small businesses have that much pricing due to the effects, size, etc that it raised its price up. Mamo and Nuwa are far more reasonable with their pricing but still I followed pin makers who have daily 100 or just scraping 85 for the lowest grades. Really the highest I ever spent in one month was just a little over 500. 

Nowadays because of the economy, people aren’t spending too much on pins and focusing on certain characters. Even in the previous fandoms and outright medium of anime, people are focusing on what they want. 

Yeah, there are pin makers who focus on extremely detailed PoPs and large pins with lots of detail effects and mechanics that are costly still. The Venn diagram of pin makers who throw effects at the wall to see what works and pin makers who don't really think what looks good on enamel pins vs printed art is a circle. 

In fact, I only read zine fics after the fact when they are uploaded on AO3. If they were uploaded at all. 

I refuse to get a Twitter X account for the sake of my sanity. I got myself an Instagram if only because I need to see accounts. In the end, I end up participating in pin community like C2C groups. 

However, in the pin community, due to small businesses and how easily they can be ripped off or lose money, it’s easy for people to feel personal. In all my nearly two decades-long fandom curation, I never witnessed more arguments and boiling unreasonableness to the point of hatred almost, dragging innocent people into the crossfire. I’m mainly just there trying not to read the stories. In the end, good intentions have the road to hell, and unreasonable anger is felt in the pin community. Due to my research, I know which shops are definitely to avoid and to make sure I get into something that is reliable and gives updates. 

I have seen way too many pin makers complain about customers' complaints. It's too commonplace to see these rants alongside the rants of people who felt they were ripped off or lost money and weren't even refunded. Customer service is part of the deal of business. Why are you treating your customers so poorly when you could just have highlights or a separate account for progress alone? So unprofessional and mental gymnastics that it's fine to be unprofessional in what the end is a business that concerns money and products that can lead to fraud and thievery in the worst case.  

Considering how pins exploded during the pandemic, it's much easier now to see when a pin isn't put into production or not paying the rest of the money for the pins they made where delays can't no longer be blamed on the pandemic. The issues of cut-and-run makers are rampant with so much theft and fraud that these guys are either unprepared for the workload of a pin maker and overwhelmed due to excessive preorders or just shut down or criminal fraudsters thieves just made it clear there is a thin line to prepare for this line of work. Apparently, it's much easier to take money rather than make pins. 

The other ones that got overwhelmed and just disappeared are unprepared which the buyer usually doesn't see. All the cost for production and other additional effects is overwhelming. They treat it as a hobby and not an actual business with customers who need to see where their money is going and when they are going to receive the product. 

I have seen this even in a previously well-respected Disney fantasy pinmaker no less. He used to create pins that go for a lot in the pin community. Now after his divorce, he just vanished and doesn't respond to customers' concerns at all to the point that customers at this time could freely discuss now. 

If you are planning to go into pin-making, just understand there is a workload that we buyers don't see at all. Be prepared to spend a lot of money or lose a lot of money if you do pay for production for official arts and the like. 

Since I don’t collect P4P outside of ORV, I am decidedly not the best person for that due to my own pickiness. I’m too picky. Because there are so many Kaveh to choose from, I only pick out the ones I know I cannot live without. I’m still gonna collect him even after I fill up the ita bag. 

Y’know after getting into the same hyper fixation levels since Kaveh with Aventurine and noticing my link with Hawks, yeah, give me blond self-destructive morally gray or in Kaveh’s case good at the very least alignment with issues and a complicated relationship with their foil. While I don’t think Aventurine is Ratio’s foil, there are still some parallels to be made such as the god’s eyes on them and such. 

I’m a sucker for foils complicated relationships hence shooting up to OTP levels quick. I know when I see a foil relationship. Even without the popular Dabi is a Todoroki theory, I just know Dabihawks is like Shizaya and Suzululu from the flashback alone. I know my preferred ships well. Heck, when I finally got to Sumeru, after meeting Kaveh and Alhaitham's story quest, I knew immediately that this was the ship for me more than Zhongchi which I still read. Just to note, I missed how the fandom reacted to Haikaveh so Ratiorine is just what I needed. Considering my obsession with ORV, it's understandable about that too. Give me self-destructive fictional men who don't know love or have felt love but fear/feel they don't deserve it now. 

I’m getting way off-topic. Zines!

There are cases where a zine is just stopped. Back when I was able to access Twitter, I remember an infamous case of a mod using funds gathered for a Genshin gacha and was kicked off as a result. 

Zines need a lot of care at least in the days of not cheaply-made ones and there are loads of scandals more than misused money. 

It’s a great way for popular fan writers and artists to get together to create an art book really. Again, it’s not a zine if it isn’t as cheap as dirt. 

Again, there is so much money at stake if these things don’t go into production correctly. 

In the current zine time, too much money is poured into this since it’s a for-profit generally. 

At least they are upfront about that. 

At least the creators have some claim of power instead of their shitty entitled fans who cared more about their own profit. 

Sometimes zines might be the only chance you can score a merch from a popular fan merch maker. 

I think I’m just gonna get the Ratiorine merch for the zine precisely since it has both Velkia and Lushiette, the latter of which is hard to secure. It was difficult scouring if Velkia had any collaborations with pin makers so it’s a relief that I got the Insomniapins Velkia Haikaveh set. 

It's better for peace of mind that if you are planning to get some merch from a fan artist who just quickly sells out. If there is a zine out there that has them on there on the merch front, get theirs! 

Zines are often preorders til a certain month. So yeah, if you want to get a creator's work, then it's better to get it that way. 

The zines of today are not zines but artbooks with accompanied fics. There is great merch that went with it. 

Zines demand so much time and effort certainly in these times when it could’ve been solved by giving to the community in its free state at the cheapest. 

While I would like some physical zines then and there, my main preference would be the merch. I’m getting Lushiette’s merch one way or another. 

I would like zines to go back to the cheapness so that it can be easily accessed. Sure, everything will be released after the leftovers but it'll be a year at least. That is nothing compared to fanfics updating after so long. 

If it was a year at that, I heard cases where the printed zines weren’t produced in over two years. I was lucky enough to be near zines that have dedicated parts to show everything. 

I’m so used to fanfics not updating for a long time that preordering pins and waiting for 3-6 months from reliable pin makers (or pin makers who used to be reliable and big in the community backed out due to stress and just ran with the money; since it’s a long time now, Pin it on Magic and Archibald pins are just disappointing considering their pins are now sold for cheap now or DSS in comparison to how they were sold before they left a disappointed base of customers). 

I'm not hammering against these artists who want to make artbooks of their fave ships and characters but it's not truly a zine if it's that expensive and only applicable to release to the wider fanbase during leftovers for the entirety of the reveal.