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. 

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.  

Pin Collecting and Collecting as a Hobby

I keep getting myself into expensive hobbies. Gunpla, figure collecting, manga, books… Thankfully, they aren’t the first edition. 

Since I’m a veteran collector, I have seen complaints raised against pin makers that aren’t about money fulfillment of orders or updates about anything. It’s about quality and quantity. 

I know my limits. Heck, the Thanatos figure was a grail for a long time that it relied upon they rereleased it for the anniversary. 

I know that at this point in time, I don’t have enough speed to get anything that doesn’t have PayPal/Shop Pay. 

I know by now I cannot hesitate when it comes to drops. Mamobot trained me well with that lesson when I got cart swiped and paid more for it when preorders went up after it sold out. 

I know that I’m better at limited-time preorders than LE preorders. I cut my losses pretty naturally. I mean I can try to attempt but if it's like a pickup for a convention, it's a tossup if they can get it before sellout. Heck, I made my peace I didn't get one. 

No amount of guilt-tripping should have a pinmaker send personal copies to these guys. Listen I get you want the item but you are no more special than anyone who trying to buy the pin you wanted in question. 

If that was the case, they probably should've known how the pin community worked by now or arrived at a drop late. 

Not to mention drop buddies are a maybe, not a demand for satisfaction. I haven't drop buddy for anybody since I'm wary of my own money and that needs to go to necessary orders I want to keep. Still so happy with the pins I got in. 

Heck, I wasn’t expecting to get my beloved Pokemallow Dragonair at all. I was just one of the many who wanted the AX exclusives and I was lucky enough to get mine. She’s forever homed, my fave of all faves. 

I did not ask my pickup buddy for more than asked for and was willing to compensate if they had managed to snag that one. They didn't and it's fine. I didn't think I was deserving of it more than anyone else who was there. Heck, I managed to get it later even if it hasn't shipped at all at the time of writing. 

With scouring around reliable pin makers and their grading systems alongside people's experiences with the said grading system, I know reliable preorders that I will get the pin and the grades that aren't flawless because they're handmade. 

I know that pin makers have varied standards. There were lower grades that looked like it doesn’t have a flaw and there were those that people couldn’t believe it’s that bad. 

I can trust PSS’ B-grades for instance given the praise from people who bought from her hence I can buy off her that way without guilt. With her BOGO, she tried to match it with the pin you bought. I know somebody in the pin server I’m in got a Zelda freebie with the Xiao pop she got so I got an idea. Given I’m pretty much buying Genshin and HSR off her, yeah. 

If they can understand that pin makers have varying eyes for standards, then they should be able to make peace that it wouldn’t be perfect. 

I perfectly understand if a pin doesn’t have an art proof at ready by presale or you want to see a sample, hell if it weren’t for the fact that I needed to snatch a spot, then I wouldn’t be preordering as much. Sometimes preorders might be the only chance to get it. 

If people are unable to get past they won't be getting flawless pins completely and utterly, pin collecting isn't the hobby you should be in. All pinmakers including the bad ones outright said that they're handmade and thus prone to errors during the process. 

It has gotten to the point that I have seen a reliable pinmaker and popular one too forced to add mixed grade mention to any big three more pins, a size that should get more flaws with the more details it gets, or a pin set that will be prone to human error like hand mixing pearl or painted by hand.  

If they are forced to add that much detail albeit brief or even showing examples of what counts as each successive grade in their book, then maybe these complainers shouldn’t be in this hobby if they all want perfection. 

I won’t collect C-grades unless it’s my own chance for the pin or if I can trust people’s experiences. 

Even a detailed grading system is needed considering another maker had to try to set up a new one. 

No pin is ever flawless. The maker will try to quality check for the best ones to send out for preorders and won't ever send out their worst grades to those who preordered, those who waited for months. The worst grades are typically at a discount or explicitly said; if they are willing or don't care about it as long as they have it, they can have it. 

I don't know why these people are this mad about flaws even regarding standard or A-grades in general. I only collect lower grades if I can trust others to deliver or if it's the only chance I can get it. I got my Moulin Rouge pins at a B-grade. At the point in time, I really don't care as long as I have it. 

Now this is about the quantity. Depending on their lives, they can have open preorders or not. More often or not, they are often LE with the occasional reruns. 

Mamo and Nuwa leave their preorders open for a week with some going on for a few days. There are people who run on the higher ends that have extended preorder limits in the same way as they do such as Witchxing and Abigeyedowl. 

Not every pinmaker can make every pins they have open preorders. Maybe within a limited timeframe sure but limited nonetheless. 

LE is simply easier on what these pin makers can do. They might increase the numbers with more interest than they thought. 

Participate more if you want the numbers raised. If you want the number raised, comment. 

If you want the LE, go practice with the website, just don't press buy at the moment. Just click the buttons as fast as you can without buying the practice product. 

Practice makes things easier for you. It's how I managed to secure some of my snags for LE pins and gacha that sells out within a minute or two. 

After getting cart swiped which is not a great feeling, I know I have to have no hesitation. Actually, it was amazing that I wasn't cart-swiped with the Neuvi and Meg preorders I got probably because of the Shop Pay. 

Again, know your limits and if you want it, practice your speed with the preferred method of payment. 

Nobody is entitled to enamel pins, a hunk of metal. You can ask how to purchase but at the end of the day, ISO is there and given the right help, the pin might come to you. My Espeon Pokemallow was this. 

Now, I pay for keeps. I don’t preorder as often as I have seen others do in a month. I'm pretty sure people spend at least a thousand a month. I barely cracked 500 on my worst spending months. I already warned my wallet in July 2024 that it would experience pain. 

Sometimes there are preorders that came up that threw me off course from my intended budget for the month. I know this feeling all too well. Either it's pins that have been on my list forever, surprise art reveals, or characters I never intended to collect but will make an exception for this one. 

I wasn't intending to make a Disney collection by any means. I saw Nuwa Evil Queen and I fell down the rabbit hole. It does help that the Evil Queen was threefer (love the classic Disney Princesses as I watch it all the time as a kid so it's a great symbolism for that era, my love for villains, and it's a beauty). I saw Nuwa Mali and wasn't that interested but I'm awaiting her Lady Tremaine. 

I always planned to start an HSR pin collection but it kept pushing back until May. ORV is still pushed back due to budget reasons. If it weren't for the fact that Penacony finally pushed me into buying it, who knows how long it would take to get that into gear. My misgivings about the final execution of the entire Penacony in its totality aside, it's still the final straw for me to finally collect it with Aven being the main drive. 

I didn't intend to get a Jing Yuan in any case but the Midnightmoon Purple Chrome variant did the job for me and I made an exception for getting him. I do not plan to get the Minty Jing Yuan anyhow. 

If Sunday is indeed a makeover with black clothes, oh I'm so tempted to get him that way. That's an if. There’s one Sunday but I don’t know. Again, my primary focus is on Aven, Ratio, Acheron, and misc characters at this point. 

I'm honestly waiting for Abigeyedowl to release the Ever After pin set because, unlike others, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna get hers and put it on my Cinderella board. If she does indeed make the other Cinderella such as Ella and Kit, then I'm a goner. Again, the only exception for a Disney Princess I will collect will be Cinderella. Witchxing is on the radar for that alone for her Girl with Sword series which I made the exception of getting Punzie. 

All in all, a hobby should make you happy. Pin collecting is just one of the many expensive hobbies I partake in. Concentrating on a hobby makes you money rather than making you happy wouldn't make anybody happy.

Singularly focusing on a pin and nothing else isn't really good for the psyche and maybe they should take a step back from the hobby if they are that happy for not getting a pin. 

Because of my previous expensive hobbies, it's no harm done if I don't get the pin immediately. Fuck, I still haven't gotten to the Real Grade Gunpla my brother bought for me for my birthday because I don't feel that I'm not at that level yet. 

It’s simply for the peace of mind that I get the pin at preorder. 

Heck, I easily let pins I won't be able to get pass through me once I see I have no chance and maybe one I might possibly get it. 

What I won't let pass me are Mamo's preorders because from what I heard from him, the second wave of the Eevee Fusions have in-hands but for some of them, there won't be in-hands at all. Thank Arceus, I snagged them all. 

I understand if a maker won’t make extras or can’t. I have a bunch of miscellaneous men from Genshin and Honkai that I can sufficiently make an ita bag day for it if I feel like it. If I’m feeling Pokemon Chandelure one day then hot Hoyo guys next then Cinderellas next, who knows. Though with abigeyedowl I’m refusing to let that out of a shadowbox if the Cinderellas would ever be released for presales. 

My Yugioh collection is tiny. KHR, GX, Digimon, and even CCS suffered from being on the back burner. Been trying to get in the groove with my fave animanga CCS by getting a pin at last for it after so many Sailor Moons. 

It's also fine if art doesn't jive with you. I passed on a few artists because they simply aren't for me. Some styles just don't do it for me and it's okay. Honestly, given how many hours passed since then, I was able to live with that and didn't suffer any FOMO. 

I passed on several that won't ever have restocks again or have limited extras that I know will sell out quickly. Though some had been pushed to buying need once I saw the full art. God, I got a Kaveh at last to balance out the Aven now in time for Kaveh’s birthday too. 

If Pris.pins is doing her half of the HSR pins which includes the Ratio Chibi I needed, I will cry. I've been waiting for that Chibi to be in my possession one way or another. Putting Aven and Ratio next to each other is so nice. 

Again, I think my main problem was the temptation. So once the temptation solidified after months wait, yeah, it's going on the list. There had been solidified choices that made my wallet cry in terror. 

There are common themes to my collecting: As of note, I don't have traders usually. I would offer the pins I don't like that I either have to buy to get. I was able to offload one now even if I got it in presale. I have yet to sell the Link I have as I decided not to collect LOZ. 

I’m pickier than most people but my budget will balloon if something I had been eying have a surprise drop and I somehow snagged it. I knew July was gonna be a big spending month but it ballooned my budget through surprise drop and designs. Ugh, I’m pretty sure what my ballooned budget doesn’t even touch others and even my cousin’s combined budget for both gacha and her love for board games whether through kickstarters or bargain. She has two petting Sprigatito dolls. 

• Fave characters from a series that I have major love for in the past 10+ years 
• Fave characters from recent series that have my heart or still feel love even after not getting into since then only through the peripheral grasp of other means 
• Purple - depending on the design, I have to get it. If it’s one of the two variants, so far I picked those two already. I didn’t intend to collect Jing Yuan but have a purple variant nor do I intend to collect Punzie but have Witchxing Girl with Swords purple variant. I don't collect all characters who have the motifs of purple in them such as Raiden Ei or Punzie. I much prefer Sailor Saturn or Kafka. At least I’m collecting the purple characters I like. 
• Pretty art that is up my alley. See Witchxing Girl with Swords Punzie purple variant and so much more. I do not collect Apothecary Diaries yet have one. I’ll likely get PSS Sunday but Aven will remain a priority with Acheron and Ratio due to being buff as he is going to be in the limited ones like Haitham. Maybe get Minty Sunday but since I wasn’t a fan of the Minty Kafka design, I’ll stick with PSS topper for the preference that the Pop didn’t entice enough with the purple. I'll just gift these Sundays to my cousin after a while of displaying and keeping them for a bit for the art alone. 
• Encapsulation or telling a story - I'm a sucker for stories so it's a given if it's an encapsulation of say foils or relationships to an extent, I'm more driven to get it. Hence the only MHA and AD pins I will ever own. Nuwa's recent series The Landscapes is up my alley in these terms but I'm not feeling a need, only temptation.

From what is above, do not compare your collection to others. You do not need artists and pinmakers' pins that are out of your reach if it's out of your budget or another. 

For example, I'm still wary of spending 100 on a pin and that's without shipping. I can spend if it's just a little over 100 only if the shipping goes over that. I can spend over 100 and even some 200 on a set and that's because it's a set. 

I struggle to think of spending over a hundred for a pin so that's why I prefer to buy presales from Witchxing than in-hands or aftermarket for her to keep it down. 

Just know the limits of your budget and yourself and decide what matters most to you in your collection. You know your collection and comparison aren't good for your mental health, be it jealousy, cockiness, or another negative emotion. 

Staying in pin clubs especially when I previously missed out on exclusive drops for said pin club is what I know I want to do. I refuse to step out of Mamo and Nuwa's pin clubs because what if I missed an exclusive drop that is for Patrons only?? 

I’m attempting one and hope to Godoka and Arceus I snag it. I need the Neuvi for my board and I’m so happy I snagged it. The beauty would go great on that board. The colors would do well even if I put my Childe on there or heck my Suicunes. 

I followed Reylo shipper pinmakers. The ship itself is more of a pesky fly than something I prefer not to see in my feed hence me unfollowing any maker even making a mention about EndHawks. Sorry, that ship gives me psychic damage whereas Reylo is an annoying fly. Honestly, lucky them because I would’ve avoided the hell out of more great artists if Reylo became the level of avoidance for peace of mind that only one ship had. NaruHina a popular ship in the pin-making community just make me sigh and move on while I try to out that movie out of my mind, and worst case feeling uncomfortable. I don’t want to unfollow these artists. 

I dedicated a chunk of my budget to Witchxing Girl with Sword Punzie which I know is a need. Nuwa, as the one who careened me into collecting Disney with her beautiful Evil Queen, is tempting me with the Kiss the Girl Landscape in particular but if she had done Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, I would've bought it. Again I only collect Disney if they are villainous, Cinderella, or if it's misc, then it has to be something that I really love for my collection. As someone who loves Sleeping Beauty art, I would love that. Again, Nuwa only with misc hoping to Abigeyedowl and Witchxing. Maybe Mamo would have continued the Fashion Disney because I would've purchased the Yzma. I joined Nuwa's patreon mainly for her FTD though I did get her Sakura once a spot opened up for her but with FTD expanding to others than just Disney, I'm happy enough to hope one day to get an FTD of the others she's drawing that is not Disney if the design drives a need. 

For budget reasons, I have to pick and choose. For example, in August, since between a series I like and a character I love, it’s the one design of a character I will love forever that gets me. I had to choose. It’s for the sake of my wallet, I’ll go with my collection than something I promised myself I can’t collect. 

I collect Disney very casually for peace of mind. If anything, my wallet is mainly screaming in pain due to the magical girls, Genshin, and HSR purchases. Hence, I reserve my Disney purchases to Nuwa mostly with special occasions going to Witchxing and Abigeyedowl. 

I've been trying to look for Sailor Saturn filler pins so I've been on the lookout for LavenderxSilvy Outer Senshi filler pins and Cutematter's Kickstarter which I know will feature Saturn. I know that with any upcoming Saturns I will get, filler pins are the way to go at this point should I get the board that satisfies my favorite scout. 

I know I'm switching between an ita bag or a board or both for my Kaveh collection. Aven has the same amount too. 

Saturn exceeds the number but nowhere near others’ collections. Even my Pokemon collection which far exceeds Saturn in number has different Pokemon with the only Dragonair getting 3 and Mimikyu 4, Psyduck at 2. By number, Pokemon is my largest with magical girls coming in second with my Sailor Moon purchases inching it closer. By individual characters, Saturn won by a long shot with Kaveh and Aven coming close behind at 4 each. Serenity, Sakura Kinomoto, Cass Cain, and so many more sat at 2 or 1. In the case of Zhongli, Chiori, Acheron… it’s nothing even though I want to collect them. Ironically, despite not wanting to collect SatoSugu as an exclusive OTP, I got 5, technically 4 since it's a variant so about the same length as my fave sailor senshi... I'm stubbornly going to put together an OTP board so SatoSugu is not getting a board of their own I refuse. 

Compared to my cousin's spending on her hobbies, I'm more restrained even when I spend close to 3000 in the course of a year, it's nothing compared to her addiction to her gacha games and her board games addictions. She spent more in a year than I did in a single year of my pin-collecting hobby. 

Just putting down what I want in future presales barring any surprises just makes my soul go up in smokes. I got my credit card but a slight decrease in paycheck might hinder if I plan everything right barring a few surprises. I’m still considering any Mamo Moon Prism Project Serenity and that’s it since I collect Blonde Serenity (white haired Serenity isn’t my thing or at worst a shade of gray that isn’t in the original art so forgive me I want the blonde ones more) only as well as eying a variant about FTD Neo-Queen Serenity. Again, I turned into a Serenity collector by an artist and it was so slippery that I utterly refused to do that again with other characters of any media I love. Fuck, I am stopping myself at 4 Sundays, literally zero chibis. Luckily, I found almost nothing regarding PGSM pins so I have to wait to see Dark Mercury again from Mamo. At least unlike Serenity, there is almost zero Darkury I can choose from. 

At least with Disney, I allow myself to have all except Frozen, Pocahontas, Wish, Raya, and Brave. I'm open to everything but those. Because it's still under the Disney umbrella, I can collect pins from Nuwa. 

I do not have enough props at home to make pin pictures. Just showing it in bags and shadowboxes is enough for me to decorate. I still have to make my shrines and boards because that's far more of a priority than having a pin pic with a background I barely use. Giving shrines to my fave characters and fave designs is enough to push me through the pin box purgatory. My pins are stuck in boxes and I really love to decorate them. I have so many ideas for my beloved Saturn, Kaveh, and Aventurine boards or at least interchangeable swapping from board to ita with Kaveh in particular. I do not have it in me to have that many pins to flex more or less. Even my one of my insta highlights became a pin mail but it's not all of them. I was too lazy to take pics of then pin mail and only used the pics I had in my photos at that time sent to people who knew my hobby. Some individual pins will get their own special singular board. I have some ideas for some already but I have to spice up the board a bit. 

I can do work-in-progress photos of pinboards and ita bags that I will just end up putting on the walls or bookshelves whereas pin mail would just be photos that I had sent to others that I later used for stories. 

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. 

Watcher Entertainment From the Perspective of a Casual Fan

This is posted long past but I just wanted to say my piece.

The initial announcement and the rescindment of the bad parts would be here. 

Let's discuss initial reactions and implications thereof. 

Well then, it looked like I won't subscribe to them there and won't likely after. While I never subscribed to Try Guys unlike Watcher, these guys have made a good apology but it's still a long road for a casual viewer who was forced into a position just to buy something I previously did not need to, and not least they never advertise anything. 

To note, they were willing to screw over anybody, Patreon and general viewers otherwise on Friday. I understand for those who are willing to forgive them and still watch them but for others, the trust is broken and people won't be subscribing to them ever again after how the awful way they presented themselves. I was a casual viewer and felt they had not earned anything after a weekend of their closest defending them blindly. 

So initial responses...

The news came out of nowhere with hints of big news and that's it. 

But nobody expected this. 

I'm more of a casual watcher of Watcher than anything else. 

This video just reeks of corporate and is clearly scripted with the false hipster to be relatable when they are anything but, revealing their true colors as ambitious business-poor TV producers wannabes who haven't even caught the eye of big networks or even in the YouTube ecosystem with just nary a 3 million subscribers that is not much to be popular enough to catch the eye of most popular creators like Moist. 

What I didn't expect was this big business decision that doesn't have the stability they need with their demographic expecting to cough up that much. 

Yes, there are entitled people and this is a small business and a business nonetheless. They want to be creative and allowed to spread their wings. 

The situation is nuanced but at the same time, they are failing to see the reasons why this isn't working. 

They want to spread their wings and make more creative stuff than just simply using a black background with respective colorful conversations. 

That is fine on its own and understandable for any creative. 

But jumping straight to a streaming service is a bad decision that bites them in the ass. 

At the time, they had not responded to anything, only retweeting news articles and disabling comments to the pinned comment on their video. They are deleting comments for Steven to step down as CEO and Ryan helping deleting on IG. 

Putting future formerly free media behind a paywall and much less not allowing discoverability is not the way to go about it. How the hell are people going to discover you now that they learn that to see more, they have to pay after seeing the first episode on YouTube? 

That is tanking even more potentially new viewers who don't have the cash to pay for that. 

This is a drastic move with no trickling down. People are still expecting to cough up for another streaming service in a world where streaming services are criticized and in overabundance that people cannot afford them all at the same time or none at all in an economy. 

Also, they have said in the original video and news articles they retweeted that the backlogged videos will be unlisted and put behind a paywall. Don't let them say otherwise that keeping everything up online was the plan. No, they backpedaled. 

I know a section wants to give them the benefit of the doubt but don't let them say otherwise about this!

I would like to give artists money but I also worry for my own budget so I often pick the tip jar at the lowest. 

This is the equivalent of career suicide because when streaming services are criticized as the new cable and the astronomically high prices with everyone getting minimum wages or below, why is a new streaming service the right one for your business? 

This is such a bad business decision in every conceivable way. It's as if whoever they consulted wanted to sabotage them. There wasn't any way they could make this a feasible way to continue. 

There is no Nebula or even Amazon Prime decision here. They want to be Nebula but without the infrastructure to get there, not when they have a measly 2 million subs that don't have the history like CollegeHumor that allowed DropOut to survive due to rotation of shows. 

The Watcher doesn't have enough popular shows to have a DropOut equivalent. They didn't even try a Corridor Crew route either. Just jump straight to streaming service without anything building up to it. 

And that's not getting into their international fans either. The new streaming service is entirely region-locked, forcing other countries' fans to get a VPN to even get access to it. 

And they are still going on tour internationally! Hard not to when so much money plunged into it. 

Worst yet, they can't backtrack this so easily. They sunk too much money into creating this streaming service to let it die quietly. The streaming service is gonna die especially when it's off-site from YouTube where there is little discoverability to be made. 

I found artists through Instagram and usually follow the public ones. 

I had liked Steven in the past but there is only so much creativity he can achieve with his food shows that are expensive as heck. Steven just isn't that charismatic and unfortunately wants to look the part of wealth. 

The fact the video focused on the expensive vacation Steven is going on is not much better. Steven's words have more impact because he's the CEO and he's the one who said that it's affordable to everyone. 

It's very easy to blame Steven as the perp of the colossal fuck-up with his expensive lifestyle but let's not forget that while Shane and Ryan stepped down as CEOs, they are still part of the board meeting that created this mess, and higher-ups themselves. 

Nobody had let Doug Walker slide when it was revealed that he was the final nail in the coffin for Holly to lose her job. Shane and Ryan are still responsible for this mistake just as much as Steven is. Andrew and Adam were recently got back on so they don't exactly have the same power that Steven does. 

The colossal mistake they can't walk back unlike the bit of walking back the content they were originally pulling and now staying on YouTube does not make up for the racism Steven and Ryan experienced in the wake of the disaster. They shouldn't have to experience that in response to a mistake they can't take back when they sunk so much money into it. 

They aren't greedy capitalist monsters, but content creators biting off more than they can chew because of their own poor business decisions and inability to budget accordingly but spend needlessly. 

Well, I can't afford most streaming services either. I'd rather donate to charity during CDawgVA's Cyclethon than pay so much for a streaming service that I cannot pay 6 dollars monthly. I can't even pay 10 dollars monthly for a sticker club as an international member. 

He wants to travel and eat expensive food and that is it. I'm sorry but him by himself isn't that great when I like it better he bounces off better with the people with them. I like it when he was creative on Dish Granted though the unnecessary no-expense is not good. 

The entirety of Watcher is built from the Unsolved fans who watch Puppet History and Ghost Files. 

They had said before that they are getting off the ground and isn't exactly profitable. 

Then why is hiring 25-plus people making that a decision for them? 

There are other ways to gain revenue. 

Keith's hot sauce had gained them revenue as well as Eugene's other pursuits in the creative field. The Try Guys still stumble as they did lock the Without the Recipe finales behind a paywall but did eventually release it after the contract was up. 

And they are barely keeping the lights on despite being bigger than the Watcher who doesn't have the stability to create a streaming service. 

Is the GMM method not going to work for you? 

The DropOut method seems more appealing to what they want to do but they don't have enough content and cast to get that going not when their company is comparably young. 

It was a goddamn miracle DropOut did well and the same cannot be said for Watcher who can only get more content in a year if that. 

The Watcher isn't likely ever going to release any future content beyond the first episode eventually. 

They are less greedy and more delusional about the way they want their growth and expansion. Again, there is nothing wrong with creativity and wanting more film production quality but it's another when in this economy, they have to do right by people in their demographic who can't afford this. 

Most people can't get Patreon to people they want to support. Especially when the value has to make it worth it. 

And rotating three shows isn't enough content to justify the price point for your streaming service. 

I consistently stayed in Mamobot and Nuwa's pin clubs in the tip jars tier on Patreon. The value of their tip jars is so doable at 3 bucks monthly. 

I can only afford to stay in pin clubs of tip jars and only go for rewards if I like it. I've been going for stickers of designs I like but not enough to get them as pins. 

I understand artists getting paid their worth. Not every artist can run their own shop and can only do commissions and a subscription service that is doable for everyone and themselves that allows them to get paid if they are either tangible merchandise or not. 

I'm considering running a small business with testing out some stickers and P4P stickers for now. I'm only considering making ORV stickers made from the official art for testing purposes because ORV rotted the brain and I needed art of them that is not my computer wallpaper. I don't think that's unusual since I saw people make duel disk stickers from official art. If I ever decide to sell them, it will be at P4P prices for stickers. Not the expensive prices for the P4P pins (to be fair, I often see PoP P4P pins which are expensive whereas the flat ones are less so though the cost would go up for effects and such), just the stickers I saw are just five dollars. 

I'm a major tip jar supporter of Mamobot and MadebyNuwa, whose clubs I can't fail to miss. If I miss a singular preorder drop that is exclusive to pin club members, I will cry. I am incredibly thankful I managed to snag my Fashion Gardevoir Shiny Mimikyu and Free to Dream Yzma as I know they will be popular and indeed when the latter came in hands for the April shop update, it sold out fast. Just thank god, I don't have to worry about that due to my perk as a monthly Patreon member who always got the early bird discount. I also got access to the Patreon-exclusive Moon Prism Project Saturn which is a beauty and zero regrets buying her if he does Moon and/or Serenity, I’ll think about it but if he does PGSM, it’s an immediate preorder no matter the budget. 

Tip jar is better for me hence why I can pick that. For any pin clubs that don't have tip jars, it's unfortunate I can't join you. I like your art but I can't justify spending that much when other pin clubs justified that price. Mamobot and Nuwa are just too good to me by their affordability as long as I'm selective. 

That's the thing about pin clubs that have the pin and sticker bundle or a sticker club with the sticker as the reward for Patreon. They offer physical rewards which includes the shipping that is already included in the tier. I love my Nuwa Sakura Kinomoto and Mamobot PokePageant Dragonair with the random sparkle magnets along with the monthly discount I got after I paid the first of every month which was November and January. 

These are physical rewards that are standard for enamel pin clubs. If I like an art but not enough as a pin since I'm not collecting that (having an expensive Hawks figure is enough for me in terms of MHA merchandise, I just want the Dabihawks pin for my OTP board and because it hits so many things I like about the ship), it's enough for me. 

Watcher has their own Patreon that is losing just as much from hearing the announcement. Now only their paid members were refusing, access to everything that was blocked off from them with no early access and to even get a shoutout, pay 100, every fan had to be paying rendering uselessness of Patreon, and not just Patreon ones too who have to pay on top of that. 

They weren’t even grandfathered in, forced to pay essentially a 10% difference so double dipping. They no longer have the perks they were promised or once had, being forced to pay twice rather than having a reward for being loyal paying fans for years. 

At least loyal fans of Mamobot with their reward points can get Mamo Reward freebies so nice and sweet rewards I refused to use the discount I could’ve gotten just so I could get closer to a reward. You also can accumulate points fast too with 5 points a dollar spent. 

Even when there are no reward points for Nuwa on her website, her art is still a reward for fans and she’s on time too. 

Mamobot is an outlier that not a lot of other reliable creators are like him. Self-funding first pin productions before preorders start is unusual as even Nuwa had samples on her Patreon newsletter but since she’s on time, it’s well into production by the time she posted the samples. 

Also, their updates are surprises and can kill me. The double whammy of two preorders in a month for these shops killed me. 

There are literally no perks to Patreon. Patreon to Watcher is just another money pot rather than I don't know to advertise Patreon in your videos. Make more exclusive content to Patreon. 

Not helped they refused to promote it, leaving many including colleagues and peers unaware of their existence.

The pin clubs I'm in offer perks such as early access, exclusives, and a discount in the higher tiers. The Patreon of Watcher doesn't seem to offer many perks outside of early access and whatever Watcher Weekly+ is supposed to be and yet they don’t promote it to any potential fan who is willing to spare them monthly. 

At the moment, I can't pay for Mamo's Twitch subscription even though I can just watch the recaps if it came to that. 

Watcher doesn't have enough content to even get me to want to get the subscription. Their current popular shows don't have enough in rotation to get that through whereas DropOut does. 

Rhett and Link took twenty years just for them to feel secure enough to take a hit if a creative idea fell through. 

Watcher doesn't have any of that. They aren't even as big as the Try Guys. They don't even have enough to get their own TV show, not yet. 

They want big productions and I get why the DropOut route seems appealing but without taking into consideration what is DropOut and what they have on their own as well as what led them there. 

Having just three shows for six bucks monthly is not a good deal. There is not enough content on there for customer satisfaction to browse and choose. There is not much when only one person is gonna watch. At least my cousins who got their Disney Plus accounts consistently watch it with their families and turn it on for us at family gatherings. 

I get customer satisfaction when accessing the Mamo and Nuwa pin clubs where I can get exclusive designs and have preorder access to exclusives and designs that are locked behind a paywall like the Disney ones. 

Watcher are out of touch with their fans' wants and their own wants. They want bigger and better film productions whereas fans are here for banter and silliness. 

They can be that without losing the aspect fans love but it seemed Watcher is so focused on film productions they forgot what got them there. 

I get YouTube is not conducive to content creators much less for a team of more than 2 hence Nebula being a thing. Nebula has exclusive stuff on there that is legitimately peer-reviewed to make sure that it's legit and refuses to allow any mass campaigns to get in. James Somerton got into a Discord server just for Nebula and blew it because he's not the one on there and not the many queer creators on there apparently. 

It’s just for them, they felt that it’s the only way. 

But they didn’t lay out any groundwork or understand the circumstances of who they were attempting to follow. They want to be big when they are still young while it took decades of goodwill, luck, and management for their peers to make it a success. 

They want all the money and creative control for themselves while increasingly becoming out of touch with fans whose wishes don’t align with theirs. 

Fans have no problem supporting them but what fans didn’t expect is to be treated as customers who won’t get their value now. 

All their fans felt like they were taken for granted for Watcher expected the Patrons to follow them and severely miscalculated. They severely miscalculated the turn of events. 

Especially knowing they have the UK live tour which their British fans who can't pay for the service in addition to getting a VPN will give them an icy reception after the news they were given. 

So far their peers and colleagues have been diplomatic or rather Hank Green and the Nebula CEO. Note that none of them argue that is a good idea. 

Except for fans who are giving the benefit of the doubt and people with the privilege of having another streaming service on top of what they have. 

Oh, and some of their friends, adjacent to them that is, who don't seem to realize the problems like their wives, investors, and Simu Liu. Yeah, they are his friends but they are failing to realize due to their cushy lifestyle that not everyone can afford and the value is not great if it's just four episodes in a month. They argue just how much they are struggling and worst yet in their London stories, they are partying it up. 

Obviously, the Watcher team sees it as a good business decision. 

They are in for a rude awakening come Tuesday. Well, make that immediate given they have to film the update before leaving for the UK. 

Their friends who do see the problems are being diplomatic or not saying a word or simply not arguing that it's a good idea like the other friends are doing. Probably because they had run into troubles like what Watcher wanted to do because, for example, it's only after the Ned debacle, that the Try Guys found themselves in a spot they can begin anew and they are barely keeping the lights on top of it. 

This is goddamn hilarious because, through their sheer blinding arrogance, they disrespected their peers and colleagues in the industry. Really, Ryan, you don't think that since its inception, YouTube doesn't have TV quality? 

Try Guys got the Food Network show based on one of their most popular shows on YouTube and produced a documentary about themselves. 

Quinta Brunson made Abbott Elementary, the sitcom that was heavily praised. 

Rosanna Pansino was on several Food Network shows as a host and a judge. 

Bo Burham is one of the most well-respected comedians today and he got his start from YouTube. 

The Hot Ones had a TV game show and were well-respected in their own right. 

For fuck's sake, Aboard in Japan and Trash Taste got specials that are shot so well and always anticipated. An ambitious Hawaii special was released right after the Watcher apology. Just look at Abroad in Japan's Journey Across Japan road trip through biking or car depending on the conditions to make it safe. 

Markiplier is making his own movie so anticipated after his Emmy-nominated movie before. 

Talk to Me, the hit horror film was made by YouTubers RackaRacka. 

Short films from YouTube went on to premiere at film festivals and even in theaters. 

Web series of well-known television and movies existed on YouTube for decades. 

There have been movies and television made on a budget yet their dedication, creativity, and passion shine through. 

They truly lost all reason why fans love them in the first place with their ambition forgoing everything because they want it fast. 

The overall snobbery about YouTube more than just the restrictions and the very fact it's a large platform that Watcher is not considering is a telltale sign of just how much the traditional media versus YouTube has become with Watcher being part of the Hollywood out of touch problem. Watcher cannot see that due to their overspending and adversarial opposition to any changes to their creative process, they think they can just be funded in another way without seeing the nuances of how DropOut or any of their peers even stay relevant. 

Instead, they lost so much repute in their big-headed arrogance to think they can do the same while putting down their peers for the snobbery they show when their peers show they want creativity too in the traditional media sphere but TV rarely wants them unless it's an idea that is profitable or interesting like Try Guy's Without a Recipe. 

They overproduced their shows, thinking bigger productions equals better quality. They threw money that Buzzfeed threw money at just for anything to stick. However, they are a small business that is too ambitious to balance any kind of budget. They cannot see that if you make content good enough for TV, they would be on TV as indicated by the Try Guys. Too blinded by large productions that they don’t create enough good content for TV to reach out and make it based on them. Honestly, they want a blank check no questions asked, and no interference or feedback from anyone. 

They spoke about investors and wanting to be more than just a company that makes content online. They want to be more. They want to be TV producers and stars, having their own shows to the point of dropping their seasons once a week.

However, it should be noted that TV still has to answer to executives, advertisers, etc so these guys are blind and arrogant enough to believe they want it to be ad-free. Artists aren't beholden to that much freedom if they want to stay in business. 

Again, in the pin community, there are popular franchises pin makers are in to make business and they have multiple exclusives in what they do. 

Instead of I don’t know, instead of relying on investors, get a rich benefactor who is willing to fund everything at this point rather than forcing your fans to fund everything from on, only a fraction to boot. I’m sure there’s some rich guy that you rubbed shoulders with who is willing to throw money at you because they like you. They wouldn’t care if you’re wasting his money.

The Try Guys noted that they wanted to try something like that and indeed for the whole of 2024, there are monthly releases of planned stuff. One month was dedicated to pilots for example and better yet they budgeted all of it better than Watcher. They have to budget for the expensive ingredients for the yearly Without a Recipe. 

They had said in the videos about the beta streamer to work out the kinks though not saying that only three people at a time in the same account can watch it and there was no app or anything ready for launch unless they considered the end of May to be the actual launch. 

They speak of fans as customers with the Silicon Valley bro speak. 

Treating fans like ATM instead of considering other revenue streams, burning all but one stream of revenue, and only leaving their old library up due to backlash now a passive source without any sponsorships shows a lack of respect for their audience and fans as if disrespecting their peers and colleagues aren’t enough that they are the sole filmmaking YouTubers out there. 

Patreon was screwed over the most here, the willingly paying fans who knew there was a way to pay directly. Again, no advertisement for Patreon rendering it useless as if it wasn’t bare bones. 

They revealed they could care less they are discarding over 90% of the fandom just as long as the numbers are met on their service. Fans are numbers as they used fan submissions in a large number of their series which I have to mention they had done before the big announcement. 

No respect for fans and their audience, no respect for their peers and colleagues in the industry, and were so far up their own asses about their deserved TV shows they refused to listen to reason or advice from people who were in the industry longer than them and even nuance to what made DropOut the way it did. 

Their reputation is flushed down the toilet with their brand totally destroyed, revealing cracks of their lack of business acumen and forethought for arrogant ambitious men who want more from their young company who 

Now with the apology up, I still say they are bad at business and finances. They walked back everything instead of forcing fans to choose. The streaming service is essentially Patreon+. The compromises are fine yet there are many problems. 

They still won’t get a resub from me precisely because it should’ve been done from the start. Their original video had them emphasizing the Hollywood of it they want. 

Fans can see them just as actors now, as their characters clearly now. Their image shattered in the eyes of many with Shane taking the hardest hence sitting in the center to draw the eye. They are allowed to follow whatever dreams and whatever expensive food they want but I don't have to be with them as a casual viewer, not when they left me conflicted about how I know about them from their Buzzfeed days. Not help that their initial response was simply their closest loved ones defending them, revealing that they show contempt towards fans they chose to alienate. 

However, there is a point when the 6 dollars isn’t enough as seen with the other services they are competing with. 

I don’t think I would forget that they try to ‘clarify’ that they’ll take down the entire library from YouTube when they in the video and the Variety article said they would. The gaslighting is unforgivable and they should have said something about that. 

The initial deflection from their rich pals and wives shows they didn't understand at first so that's one of the reasons why. Sara Rubin was just so tone-deaf when her wedding venue was 55k and her previous post was a 100-dollar tote. Honestly, I think that caused the most damage. Not help that Shane deleted comments regarding the Tumblr post when most of them were perfectly innocent in pointing out the post in question. 

They could have just done so many things like publicizing Patreon more instead of a paywall. 

Honestly, I prefer to see their finances going and where are they spending them when they show they want a blank check for everything due to their extravagant film style that couldn’t be bothered to be creative in the restrictions they have as a young company. Tell me why a small percentage of your fandom has to shell out money is the one way for your solvent. Tell me the Patreon income vs ad vs view numbers that you're getting that you feel you still want to overspend money and overextend your staff. Even just the basic salary of your workers is enough, just something. 

Why on earth is Watcher going under? If you don't try anything but the nuclear option? Because at this point, people are asking how much you are spending and are still willing to spend if you are going under but will not stop spending needlessly on production costs? You still won't cut down on production costs nor say why fans are the only option to get the money from. 

They're not cutting back on anything as they said they want to expand bigger and better with the launch in the previous video. How on earth are they going under then if they are going to spend willy-nilly regardless? The streaming service was simply the best option to benefit your interests nothing more. 

Yeah, this is the part I have the most issues with, and really a big reason I won't bother returning to them in any form, even as an occasional view on a video. They simply had not addressed the mismanagement of money and will definitely waste fans' money on whatever extravagant and unnecessarily overproduced shit they will plan. Again, it's not matching the excitement of expanding to international locals for videos to suddenly saying you're going under thus needing a streaming service when other YouTubers found ways to survive and be better within the restrictions of the industry. 

Their fellows like Quinta Bruson succeeded outside of YouTube and inside of it like Safiya Nygaard. Why do they feel they cannot succeed and have to rely on fans only outside where there is no discoverability? 

The company is still much too young. While the controversy wasn’t as big as the Try Guys because they aren’t big enough yet in the ecosystem, it’s still a bit on their reputation that they still need to recover from. 

The initial video showed the cracks whereas the following video was a band-aid. We'll see if they'll keep the promises this time to better themselves after this debacle but time will tell. 

They have not said anything about the bigger concerns like the budget thing now that people realize just how stupid it is that they have a large staff for a Let's Play show of all things. Why on earth do they need a gaffer and director for Let's Play? 

They didn't think anything through even from the start of their new channel. They have yet to apologize to their peers and colleagues and they have yet to give them the numbers and how they manage things because now people are realizing they are poor business people who are willing to spend money frivolously and why they feel that fan money is the only way to sustain themselves for who knows how long. 

This also might be the first time people had ever heard of them considering Moist's video on them toppled them in terms of popularity. They have to set up an episode fast that shows they can still do it within the confines of YouTube and garner new ones. The disaster wasn't ever everywhere but it's on YouTube and people on YouTube would know the trending topics. 

I wish them the best moving forward but I won't watch them again, not even for their old videos I actually like Puppet History. Though considering I haven't been watching them for a while now including the later seasons of Puppet History, I think I dodged a bullet with the casual misogyny in an episode of said series and won't be returning either way so yay. 

There was a minor mishap with communications over in Patreon regarding the free subscription and how long it would be but it seemed to solve with an official newsletter, telling Patrons that they are still working out the kinks regarding the subscription to and from Patreon and the website they're using as well as getting a survey out for a focus group for feedback, a great thing to know since y'know the whole fiasco started without any of the fans' knowledge and the team's belief that the fans will be happy to eat it up but not expecting this big of a backlash. 

However, there is still an ego there if they like a comment for someone willing to cancel Disney for them which is what?? Disney has a far larger catalogue and at least I can watch my favorites. Watcher needs a bigger catalog and their starting catalog schedule does not leave anyone much to look forward to when there is one video per week. 

Just holy shit, I continued to watch Try Guys after the Nedgate. 

I never once thought that these guys would end up being the ones that would be the ones I would never watch again. It's simply that there are too many points that they haven't learned anything outside of focus groups now maybe. They still haven't learned to communicate first to their Patrons immediately after the video of the plans is for them and all they can do is help including sending the codes. The corporatism is still there and they won't back down that easily after plunging so much money needlessly. 

I'm just a casual viewer but I never once thought I would never have these guys on the list of people I would never watch or would watch again in my life. Any videos I ever like from them would be tainted with the contempt towards fans they feel they can Pie Piper to the paywall. Until everything dies down, I will freely proceed to let my YouTube know they won't be recommended again. 

There was a kerfuffle with extremely parasocial fans lashing out at ambivalent fans who still have the right to feel upset and disappointed with the betrayal. It's as if just because an apology is good enough, it's good moving forward. This is bad because now Watcher, all three of them and their closest, are protected by their most rabid fans even though there is evidence that Watcher still needs to learn and not put up a wall from viewers and themselves just because of their stupidity for ambition and refusal to cut down cost. 

Edit: So, in the Patreon survey, two of the options turned out to dissolve Patreon and use WatcherTV as one of the few sources of revenue streams now. Aside from merchandise and live shows, I don't think they are thinking any of this through. 

Not helped that over a thousand Patreons unsubscribed and the Patrons still on there are still waiting for their refund. Technically there are no paying Patrons on WatcherTV yet but Watcher is for sure trying to convert them when they are already losing so much revenue with the loss of the higher paying tiers. 

I want to be hopeful for their future but Watcher have already demonstrated they refused to be YouTubers anymore by dissolving their Patreon entirely. They haven't addressed any of the main issues despite the nice apology that is utterly meaningless in the end if they don't back it up with their actions. And their actions with Patrons are behind closed doors that the non-paying fans are only willing to wait till the month's end. 

Speaking of the month's end, the fact there are no videos or even shorts out shows that Watcher is done with YouTube. And if they ever decide to return, speaking generously here, they're going to have a hard time with sponsors given their vitriol towards them in the initial goodbye video. 

Unlike Try Guys and their undeniable legal issue, Watcher does not, and not even uploading a podcast to discuss the situation as candidly as they could be possible while discussing their future business plan should've been enough. Not uploading anything until next month is not a good look when they're still not answering fans on Discord no less. Patrons on Discord want to hear from them and there is nothing. Just release a short or something because now it's clear they are not doing anything to let it out there anything can reassure their fans outside of a nice apology that doesn't do much. 

The fact they changed up their schedule just a bit by having Survival Mode for May instead of Travel Season is just what??? Survival Mode is a standard YouTube gaming channel but this time with Buzzfeed employees and no research done with unnecessary needs for a director and gaffer for an audience of non-gamers. If that isn't a hint that they still haven't shaken off Buzzfeed's influence, there it is. Doing video games behind a paywall is not a good look when developers made it clear they are not cool with that. However considering just how clueless these guys are and that Survival Mode is first up, it's pretty clear they still don't understand their issues. 

Edit: They released a new podcast and are just so vague about the whole incident, just not saying much outside of yeah we're listening and such and such. 

Steven, Ryan, Shane, people saw you guys as business-poor people who can't manage finances to save your life in pursuit of bigger productions that you deem your fans' problems to solve and any revenue streams outside of merch, live shows, and the streamer is getting destroyed. Make it make sense that you need money to destroy most of your revenue streams. 

What's worse was Critical Role's Beacon and everything is already on there and your WatcherTV got nothing on there except a fucking Let's Play. Fans are going to be forced to wait two months just to give you a chance. 

Hilariously, when I wrote this, they un-paywalled the Minecraft episode so...either they got Microsoft on their ass or they learned about the rules, they just did not paywalled a Let's Play of Minecraft. They're not making money off of this as I'm really ugly laughing once I knew about this. Either way, the first video up that won't be on YouTube until next month is here on their official streamer aka the only video that is not trailers that too are still paywalled. 

It's just a mess in their office right now as well as overseas where they are still filming UK Ghost Files. 

Edit: I have no plans to make a Try Guys streaming service post on its own. It's still sort of an extension of the discussion being made. 

It's ironic that the ex-Buzzfeeders focus so much on algorithms that they are failing to see their peers that succeeded or they just see those that retired. 

It does feel like they had watched Watcher and countered their mistakes. It seems Miles shutting up from the whiteboard falling on him for not discussing the awkwardness he has his own show on there and the universe calling him an idiot. 

Both still fall into the same trap of their international audience being forced to pay out more than they can in the middle of a recession. 

Eugene already left the group. He's doing one last season, not as a Try Guy, but as a guest since he wasn't taken with the remaining duo in stills at all. 

I still think that a recession and a younger fanbase will make them fail. To the Try Guys' credit, it does seem the streaming service is more of an add-on, they actually have exclusives on there, and an app up and ready. 

It's simply the fact that people called it since Try Guys have an announcement to make. Again, the Try Guys plunged too much on them but at least these guys seem ready as Critical Role's Beacon. 

For these YouTubers, it's more of an add-on but still, in an age of streaming services that are bundling instead to make up the hemorrhaging money, it's still a choice to make when Nebula is right there. 

Perhaps Watcher did race forward with theirs unfinished and poor marketing. I don't think Try Guys and Watcher were planning a streaming service together when Watcher demonstrated an arrogance that will destroy their company. 

All I knew about Try Guys was that they barely kept the lights on. Maybe they were following DropOut's example after all but again, DropOut is a unique case. 

They aren't abandoning YouTube but hopefully Try Guys and Watcher would do the least for international fans to get their membership through there even if they will lose money. 

It just feels that these two while aren't in the financial situation that Watcher is in, they aren't trying to break the laws. 

It feels too discombobulating for this decision to come.