#( MUSE: THE ENTERTAINER. )

[mossflavouredbaby]

My Muse ~ 💫

Fuzzed around with this for a while :)) Done for @charletsart Twitter prompting!!!

Follow me if you want @mossflavouredbaby on IG, and @mossflavourbaby on Twitter! :))

#alan wake 2 #alan wake #ilkka villi #remedy entertainment #art #my art #digital art #artists on tumblr #artwork #painting #digital painting #alan wake fanart #fanart #gaming art #remedyverse #sam lake #remedy games #draw #drawing #muse #renaissance

[fheythfully]

12.27.23 sometimes the fire you founded don't burn the way you'd expect

#my girls.... my loves..... #entertaining this AU now #c: astra #the muse #Lia edits #ffxiv #final fantasy xiv #ffxiv ew #endwalker #midlander #gposers

[thetrashthatsmilesback]

Watcher, Capitalism, and the Petite (Petty) Bourgeois

So the whole Watcher controversy has revealed an interesting misunderstanding of what constitutes "the rich" or capitalist beliefs. The major theme that arose during the controversy was the sense that Shane in particular had gone against his previously stated leftist beliefs - that he had, for all these years, taken up a humorous aesthetic of anti-capitalism without actually believing in what he was saying. I believe that this is due to a breakdown in definitions as they become spread to the general public. Dissemination of information is a good thing, and I would never argue against it, but one problem which arises from concepts spreading to large groups without context is that often the actual meanings break down until they are vastly different from their original, academic denotation. This is, I believe, what happened with the phrase “eat the rich” and its current colloquial usage.

I want to preface this with the fact that nothing I am about to say applies exclusively to Watcher, or that the Watcher staff have done anything wrong or misrepresented themselves. I also don’t think that the Watcher fanbase is wrong at all – the situation just happened to spawn arguments both in defense of and critique of the Watcher team which indicated, in my opinion, that an understanding of “the rich” in a capitalist society is not well understood. Disclaimers out of the way, let’s get into this.

During the controversy, two major sides arose – those who had begun to see the Watcher crew (in particular Steven, Ryan, and Shane) as “the rich” or ruling class in a capitalist setting, and those who argued against this by arguing that as Watcher is a small business, and not the upper 1%, they are not included in the definition of “the rich” expressed by leftists. I want to focus in on the counter-argument that Watcher being a small business just trying to survive means that they are not considered “the rich.”

In Marxist theory, there is a small group called the “petite” or “petty bourgeoisie.” This group is defined as those who both own and contribute to the means of production – aka, small business owners. Marx himself wrote little about the petite bourgeoisie, predominantly referencing them in passing in his essays The Class Struggles in France, 1848-1850 and very briefly in The Communist Manifesto. He does happen to criticize this group in the little writing he did on it, “Marx derides what he sees as the petit-bourgeois self-delusion that, because it combines both employment and ownership of the means of production, it somehow represents the solution to the class struggle. This class was progressive in a limited sense, as witnessed by its claims at various times for co-operatives, credit institutions, and progressive taxation, as a consequence of felt oppression at the hands of the bourgeoisie. However, these were (in terms of the Marxist view of history) strictly limited demands, just as the ideological representatives of this class have been constrained by their own problems and solutions” (“Petite Bourgeoisie - Oxford Reference”).

Now, it is very important to note that team “Watcher is a small business” aren’t completely wrong in their positioning of Watcher’s attempt to raise more revenue as Not Evil Capitalism. Marx’s belief was that eventually the Petite Bourgeoisie would be pushed into the proletariat class. I also am not positive that Watcher is a classical small business – they very well could be a worker co-op. A worker co-op is a business where the workers have ownership of the company, and significant representation on the board of directors(“What Is A Worker Cooperative? – U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives”). While some criticism of worker co-ops from a communist or socialist view exist, they are generally seen as a more socialist approach to the typical small business model.

I couldn’t find direct confirmation that Watcher is a co-op. One point against them being one is the use of titles such as CEO and Owner, but these designations could simply be for tax and paperwork reasons. Watcher is an objectively small company, they have between 25 and 30 workers, and most people cite them currently having 27 workers, but in the past they have employed interns and I am unsure of if they currently have interns on board so I am going to stick to the range. It would be incredibly easy to have a worker co-op with 25-30 people, you wouldn’t even need voted representatives; everyone could just be on the board and contribute to decisions. I figured the next best approach would be to see what the roles on Watcher’s shows are – if Steven, Shane, and Ryan contribute significantly rather than just showing up and looking pretty on camera, then there is a good chance they might be functioning as a worker co-op more than a traditional business or small business.

To do this, I decided to look at Watcher’s largest show for each co-owner. This means Ghost Files, Mystery Files, Puppet History, and Steven’s food series. These numbers broke down as follows:

Ghost Files: Ryan is listed as a Creator on all Ghost Files videos. Ghost Files Debriefs do not have writers, so that role will not be held against them on those videos. Ryan and Shane were listed as a Host and an Executive Producer on all videos, but neither ever held a Writer, Editor, or Sound Mixing role.

Mystery Files: Ryan and Shane were listed as a Host and an Executive Producer on all videos, but neither ever held a Writer, Editor, or Sound Mixing role.

Puppet History: Shane is listed as a Creator on all Puppet History videos. He is listed as a Host on all videos, an Executive Producer on all videos, Writer on 4 videos, and never held an Editor or Sound Mixing role.

Steven’s Food Series: Steven is listed as a Host and an Executive Producer on all videos, but neither ever held an Editor, or Sound Mixing role. This show does not require a writer so this will not be held against him.

*Do take these numbers with a grain of salt, I wrote this while in class so its possible that I missed something.*

Looking at those numbers, the main three do predominantly just film, but I don’t want to devalue the work that goes into being on camera. They are still generating capital by acting, I simply wanted to clear up confusion I had due to seeing people say they edited every Ghost Files video. From what I can see, they don’t do the editing, but as executive producers they likely have to review every video before it goes out. I also still can’t fully come to a conclusion on if the company can be considered a worker co-op, but I believe it is a standard small business – aka, the petite bourgeoisie.

All of that leads to the final point – the way that people only began to view the three lead Watcher members/founding members as “the rich” after the announcement of the streaming platform shows the way that leftist theory has become divorced from some of its meaning. I saw several people arguing “you guys can’t recognize the rich”/”you guys would attack doctors and lawyers under the guise of eating the rich,” and yes its true that doctors who work in hospitals are proletariat, but if a doctor opens a private practice or a lawyer opens a private firm, does that render them more bourgeoisie or more proletariat? At what point do the petite bourgeoisie become a part of those who we disavow? I don’t actually have answers to these questions, and I’m sure people much smarter than me or better versed in economics have written on this (one source I found that seemed good while I was skimming it despite its age is this one https://www.jstor.org/stable/2083291?seq=3 ). I didn’t make this point to argue one point over the other on whether Watcher counts as “the rich,” but more to focus on the way that term gets used. The argument could be made that we could have started questioning Shane’s anti-capitalist beliefs the moment he helped start a company, but we didn’t. We only started to criticize him on the basis of hypocrisy after the announcement and its out of touch comments. This raises so many questions about how we use the term “the rich” now – does it refer to anyone we dislike who is financially stable? Has the term become completely divorced from its original meaning? Or were we being hypocrites all along? Has Watcher Entertainment always been incongruent with Shane’s implied political beliefs? Is there a certain point at which the petite bourgeoisie become a part of the financial aristocracy? Or is that term only relegated to the industrial bourgeoisie, is it reserved exclusively for those in financial positions that no artisan could ever hope to reach?

Is it possible that both arguments are correct regarding the Watcher boys, and all other members of small business ownership and management positions? That they are both “the rich” but not a part of the proper bourgeoisie?

I don’t know. I find it fascinating though.

#watcher #ghoul boys #watcher entertainment #ryan bergara #steven lim #shane madej #watcher tv #we are watcher #this is really my distracted musings #its probably not very coherent #like i said #i am in class #meta #i guess???

[ride-a-dromedary]

Thinking about Thaniel and Halsin reuniting again when he wakes.

Thinking about how Halsin describes Thaniel as having been ripped away from him (just as he was from Oliver). How he was the only one able to see and interact with him; how Halsin is very insistent that Thaniel made him who he became. How Halsin's "very first friend" being an encapsulation of nature itself affected the entire trajectory of his life. How that implies, to me, that Halsin and Thaniel were connected on a level far stronger and more significant than just being unlikely playmates as children - even moreso than just Halsin deciding to become his protector as he aged, or the implication of the relationship becoming more along the lines of a parent and child - to the point of being so interconnected and intertwined, Thaniel evidently uprooted and followed Halsin from the High Forest to its own unpredicted detriment.

Thaniel's being cursed and trapped quite literally *did* rip the two of them away from one another, just as tearing Thaniel's being in two twisted and created Oliver. Halsin feels a hole in his absence - a loneliness and disconnect that eats away at him. He describes losing contact with Thaniel all that time ago as being "worst of all", which is saying a lot considering what else was happening to and around Halsin at the time. And all Thaniel talked about whilst trapped was Halsin, insisting to find him because he was the only one who an entire force of nature itself believed could help it.

Losing Thaniel sent Halsin into a century long spiral; Halsin who blames himself for "dawdling" in his own pain as it suffered. Who could almost place himself in the catalyst of Ketheric Thorm's tragedy of losing his daughter pushing him to the edge. It's the elevated metaphorical adult fear of losing a child and the indescribable sorrow involved in that, mixed with the loss of an important childhood and formative influence, mixed with losing a friend, a piece of oneself, all in one.

I just imagine Halsin twitching in his skin to head immediately back to camp after convincing Oliver to return. Distractedly following behind, but evidently elsewhere, until he is dismissed or the group returns. And he is first to arrive and first to break off to his tent, pulling aside the cloth, lacking any considerable delicacy of action, to see Thaniel sitting up, blinking slowly at his surroundings. Alive; the smell of lavender heavy and sweet. Not dead and rotting, not twisted and empty. Small. Frail. Not quite whole. But alive.

And Halsin...hesitates on the threshold, hands shaking, everything having come to its head at last and he doesn't know what to do with himself. He holds his breath, fearful of any disturbance spooking the life away that they'd worked so hard to revive, until Thaniel turns its eye slowly towards him. Two deer caught in a crosspath of light. A century past and there are hundreds of things to do, hundreds of things he had planned to say to him if they succeeded, but all Halsin can manage is a strained: "It's me."

And he does not need to say who he is; Thaniel knows. All those rehearsed things fizzle away in its face. Halsin is older now, he reasons, much older; perhaps Thaniel will not recognize the century carved upon his brow just as Oliver had not. In a moment of desperation, he needs it to know him. Needs Thaniel to remember - but, fool that he is to underestimate the power of life before him, of course he remembers. Of course Thaniel would recognize him, just as he had recognized him after the long winter had passed - when he had changed so much, and was no longer a little elfling and never would be again. Just as Thaniel had recognized him every springtime after, the thawing of ice bringing another year with it, even as its face did not change at all. It must; his eyes betrayed the centuries beneath his boots, even as the child rubbed fitfully at them.

"It's me," Halsin murmurs again, falling to his knees - as if he could make himself impossibly smaller - bring him back to the beginning, turn back the years before it all went wrong. And Thaniel just nods its head and touches little hands to his face, and when he echos his name, it feels like that first thaw of spring again.

"I heard you calling," it whispers, gentle like summer breezes. "You cried for me to stop hiding. You were frightened and did not wish to play anymore. But when I came out, it had gotten dark. I could not find you."

"I know."

"I called back," he continues, even and intoned, but his lip wobbles. "You could not hear me.

"I know," Halsin repeats, brokenly.

Thaniel blinks a few more times, seemingly working out how to reteach a face long asleep, though there were no muscles to move. A false start later, a twitch of the nose, and he is...smiling. "But I kept trying - I knew you would find me."

A single stick too heavy and the dam breaks. Eyes filled with tears, he hugs Thaniel to him like he hadn't since they were children chasing each other through the underbrush with glitters of gold tangled in his hair. Since Thaniel had guided his hand to make the flowers in his father's garden grow. Since all they'd had was each other under the endless canopy of trees.

"Forgive me," Halsin whispers, a century of pain and loss and loneliness exiting from him in a single rush, the cold empty spaces inside him filling up with warmth. And at last he wakes, dragged violently into the open air after drowning for too long, blinded but alive and whole once again. Interconnected; not alone anymore. The earth sings beneath him and Oliver's spirit hovers just beyond the outskirts of his vision. Halsin chokes on his laugh. "I was never very good at this game."

#BG3 Musing #Halsin Posting #Halsin #anyway...yeah - again half purple prose half nonsense #halsin's most valuable relationship in his life is pseudo-spiritually platonic and that means a *lot* #of course he wants to go back to his realm in the end - of course he wants to see him happy and thriving #because i feel like platonic relationships are just so wholly undervalued as being important and healing to people #i am also thinking about halsin telling oliver that he need not invent friends - halsin was likely told as a child #that thaniel was made up i feel it - treated perhaps at best as an entertainment of their son's imagination in his parents' case #because no one else had heard of him or seen him before #even in a land of magic and monsters #halsin providing oliver with the validation he wishes he had as a child #using the 'you needn't invent friends' as a reverse - thaniel is back and real and waiting for your return #see my previous post regarding this for musing about thaniel and oliver being kara-turan-esque nature spirits because tbh #they more align with that - how'd you get here thaniel #using it/he for thaniel feels right in my mind

[saucy-mesothelioma]

This is the last thing I'm going to say on this matter, because frankly being on the watcher tag on here isn't great for my mental health. I'm glad they listened to the fans and went back on the major decisions that led to the problem, but this never should've happened in the first place. I don't know who's in charge of the business there, but they need to be fired because that was just a god-awful business decision. I hope this works out for them especially now that they've compromised with their fan base, but what I really hope happens is that they learned from this and that it doesn't happen again. They absolutely deserve their shot to get out there and make a name for themselves, but they have to go about it the right way and not at the expense of their fans.

#back to staying off this tag for a while because I really can't deal with it atm #but I'm at least glad that they're trying to make it up to everyone #I think it's a pretty decent compromise #meso's musings #watcher #watcher entertainment #Youtube

[aestheticbyais]

"That's one cool-as-shell machine."

Donatello (TMNT 2003) character aesthetic.

#aesthetic #aesthetic board #aesthetic boards #muse aesthetic #character aesthetic #tmnt 2003 #tmnt #tmnt 2k3 #donatello #donnie #tmnt donnie #tmnt 2003 donnie #cartoons #animation #4kids entertainment

[gatomontanyes]

Might be silly, but reason why I really enjoy Reverse 1999 and Arknights is the good casts and the thought they put into them.

AK has good and cool portrayal of people in STEM but especially Geoscientists and Engineers, plus a thriving Volcanologist with disability (Eyjafjalla).

As for R1999 (afaik) a good portrayal of someone with autism (37 clearly), diverse cultural background of the characters, playable medieval knight armor, and the research they put into designing each character.

#reverse 1999 #arknights #just musings #i know they are not perfect but a girl can enjoy things! #video games #games #gacha games #mobile games #nerdy stuff #entertainment #gatomontanyes

[helltothenaw]

Finally watching the notorious Watcher video because my wife got so frustrated she couldn’t make it past the 5 minute mark.

(Which is absolutely fair because the first third is the most padding fluff to ever fluff)

I cannot believe Ryan Bergara said, with his own mouth, “no one had ever made full blown & developed shows which had not been kind of a thing on YouTube” in regards to Steven, Shane & himself sitting down to write the WATCHER bylaws.

Not when he started YouTube stuff in the aughts.

When they wanted to create Watcher 4 years ago. After years upon years of YouTube channels creating full blown series, stars & tv quality content that even got the trio to attempt this endeavor.

I’m at the 8 minute mark & this does reek of Dropout envy, yes. But also a distinct misconception of their position on a platform & the achievements made by others on it. And it’s so bizarre to see.m

They’re copying Dropout & Rhett & Link’s homework without understanding the material to even attempt to pass a final.

#naw muses #watcher entertainment

[creature-wizard]

Thinking about how there's various non-Americans out there who think that our TV and movies depict how the average American actually lives. Like dear god, no. No it's not, not by a long shot, not by miles. House sets and whatever are designed around what's photogenic and easy to film in, or whatever serves the wish fulfillment fantasy the story is offering, not what's realistic.

#musings #america #media #entertainment #tv #television #americans

[ahli-stuff]

*Sweating throwing up nauseous dizzy*

What if vox is Asian American

#Hazbin hotel #vox #hcs #musings #idk I just think it would be cool #i feel like there aren’t a lot of East Asian villains that are allowed to be sloppy boisterous and vulgar outside of media made by Asian #people #I know a lot of people draw his human form white as a sheet but i dunno #I also think that would explain why he initially clicks with Alastor so much #both of them are part of marginalized groups in their respective time periods #swamped by the expectation to be subservient to their white peers #but they both rise above it with their passion for the innovation of entertainment #to describe that dynamic it’s basically that Alastor is the burr to vox’s hamilton . except in this version burr wins on most levels #this also gives context to vox’s raging inferiority complex bc. if his parents were immigrants at the time compounded with the economic #and war time struggles then that probably made him feel pressured to succeed quick and hard #vox would definitely be disconnected from his culture and obsessed with pursuing the American dream #whereas Alastor i think would be v in tune with creole based language and culture as evidenced by his close relationship with his mother #near the end of Alastor and vox’s friendship Alastor would likely mock him for abandoning his roots in search of prominence #it would actually be quite sad

[yourdailyqueer]

Soa de Muse

Gender: Non binary (unsure of pronouns)

Sexuality: Queer

DOB: 31 January 1989  

Ethnicity: Afro Carribean (Martinique)

Nationality: French

Occupation: Drag artist, dancer, entertainer

#Soa de Muse #lgbt #lgbtq #queerness #qpoc #non binary #queer #1989 #afro caribbean #black #poc #french #drag artist #dancer #entertainer

[aparticularbandit]

I think the Monokuma Theaters I'm most fascinated by at the moment are the student talking to Monokuma about how they're just copy-paste of a person and then the discussion about fate.

Tell me more, Junko. These are nice beginning thoughts. Where were you going with them.

#musings #bandit liveblogs #bandit liveblogs danganronpa #i honestly think these are literally what she puts on for the show while everyone's out #junko: i know some of you might be entertained by all these people dozing you pervs #junko: but i'm gonna have my bestest oc monokuma spout wisdom instead #junko: it's a much better use of your time!

[elliedearest]

Has anyone ever told Shane Madej from @wearewatcher that he looks a bit like Michael Redgrave in The Lady Vanishes?

He could easily dress up as him for Halloween! And Sarah could dress up as Iris Henderson!

See? It would be perfect!

#the lady vanishes michael redgrave #shane madej #watcher entertainment #michael redgrave #musings #the lady vanishes is such a good and silly movie

[skys-haunted]

I think the best way to play sky these days is throw all cosmetic goals and wants to the wind and abandon whatever current events or seasons are happening and just walk around your favorite areas like a funny little wearied traveler only stopping every once in a while to play a tune or have an interaction with a fellow player. Also breaking the game to get into secret places

#thatskygame #sky children of the light #sky: cotl #musings #the stuff that’s supposed to keep vets like me entertained and attached aren’t working #for me at least. going back to why I even bothered w this little game in the first place

[inchidentally]

MUSE LANDO YES

truly is this what he is for DJs?? energy being so important for a DJ set and of course having beautiful Lando dancing around with the sheen of his perfectly toned skin reflecting every change of the lights right where they can grab at him and furtively smell where his cologne hasn't touched has got to be inspiration.

but god I want him to get really artsy friends who not only make him feel desired and loved but who can express how Lando makes them feel in photography, painting, sculpture, poetry, film, or making jewelry that specifically invokes Lando's eyes or the gradient of pinks in his lips or the way humidity clings to his curls like a coronet fashioned from the air of faraway places that smell like oudh incorporated in a fragrance made just for him.

a painter could express the textures and vibrating energy of Lando standing shirtless and shoeless on a balcony during torrential rain. a sculptor could transform pieces of old industrial iron into a lithe climbing shape to evoke Lando stretching himself up and awake after a nap on a sun-filled penthouse rug. photographers and visual artists would spend weeks just following him around cities he's never seen before, straining to capture the way his neck extends balletic and strong when his curiosity is piqued and the broken-open fragility of his verde gris eyes when he falls into a fleeting love affair with a stranger or a cramped side street or a little hint of the humdrum practicality of a Normal Life he's never known even in passing.

and if I let my brain go real nuts here maybe some rumpled wannabe documentary filmmaker-slash-nepo baby desperate to justify his place in filmmaking chooses to stumble after Lando during an entire F1 season. and maybe he brings a cumbersome setup of thin, patched screens covered in acoustic foam panels and an even more unwieldy vintage camera across oceans and continents so that he always records Lando in one familiar corner of space no matter where they are. maybe he's trying to settle Lando's too-trusting, frightened nature into a sense of habit so that he can finally record the way Lando looks and talks when everyone's phones are down and the early evening steals the hotel room's artificial light and makes reality feel thin and viscous. maybe after a few races he finally gets Lando to talk about The Ones Who Were Gone. the men who did what Lando had never known men could do to him: leave. he'd urge Lando past the "I know it's stupid" and "it's totally normal in racing" and "obviously we're still really good friends, it's not a big deal anymore". get him to revisit two, three, four years ago and the filmmaker would sit frozen as still as possible until Lando's face regresses into the softness and the bitterness of watching a supposed dear friend laughing big and loud while his child's heart was burning with hurt and sadness. perhaps it would feel too cruel to keep him there in that old sadness and the filmmaker's own voice would be left in the film when he brings up Piastri. good, steady, possibly boring Piastri who eagerly took two extra years before his first had even finished. the even-keeled wallflower who had endured resounding hatred from fans across everywhere Ricciardo had sown loyalty to himself and an entire team proclaiming Piastri an ungrateful turncoat, both to the public and to the court. the pale boy who pressed his pale lips together and turned his shoulders in and soldiered on through months of everyone crowing that he must already regret all he had thrown away, that he was getting what he deserved. all because the boy chose McLaren, chose the little live-wire changeling Lando, and whose steady brown eyes saw his future's glory clear and bright through the mess and the noise. the boy who was so unlike Lando in every superficial way, who Lando one day turned to look at in the eyes and thought 'you're the same as me'.

because it was worth the waiting through all of Lando's capricious sometimes frenetic moods during their hours of filming to capture the moment when Lando's smile untwists from wry and fond to bright and clear when he talks about his future with the boy who waits and watches - and sometimes turns serious - in exactly the way the one! and only! Lando Norris! deserves. whose eyes see just what Lando's see and the filmmaker thinks bang! got it! because that bright-eyed toothy smile looks just like the photo of tiny Lando holding a trophy nearly the size of his own body that he's absolutely going to cut into the end of the doc.

#inchreplies #I have #nooooo idea what this is lol #but I hope it's entertaining! #muse lando #mine

[saucy-mesothelioma]

Words can't explain how this thumbnail makes me feel.

On one hand, I already know the story from Unsolved Mysteries so I'm excited to see their take on it.

But on the other hand Ryan doing the fucking disaster girl look made me do such a double take that I'm a bit afraid to watch it now.

#I'm so intrigued yet also a bit wary because I don't like Ryan lookin at me like that #sir please stop I'm begging you #mystery files #watcher entertainment #meso's musings