This is a comment from the video on Watchers latest decision on Coffeezilla's side channel that just about sums up my opinion as well (video linked below the cut)
Ok, so I’m imagining that if Watcher HQ is a house… Mystery Files takes place in the basement, the Ghost Files boo bunker is hundreds of feet below that. THEN that means Worth a Shot and Dish Granted are on the main level, Puppet History is in the attic, and Too Many Spirits is in the backyard.
history nerd who want his corpse to be eaten by wild animals, and seeks out dolls in abandoned buildings the way one does a cat at a party full of strangers
jock who believes in ghosts, thinks hair grows through the skull, and can't stop himself from making shit jokes
stressed foodie who seems normal until he opens his mouth and is always one inconvenience from committing arson
bonus:
nervous gay bartender who didn't have this in his 5 year plan
historical beauty guru who's willing to put ground up bugs on her face just too see what it looks like
i get people not being happy about the watcher move. i get people mourning that they can't afford to follow the guys rn. but actually wishing they would fail? hoping watcher employees are stressed and anxious? i don't think you actually like them, i think you just like having your whims catered to and you just see the guys as your funny little puppet friends.
i get that parasocial relationships are a...complex topic, particularly when a specific kind of content pretty much requires fostering that vibe. even when you know it's a real phenomenon, it's really easy to fall into the trap of, "these people are really cool/funny! i wish we were friends" (and tbf, i think a "friend crush" is still a *little* different bc i think most parasocial relationships make you think, "we ARE friends...or would be if we met.")
BUT. the flip side is forgetting that these guys are people, too. people who gotta make ends meet, particularly if they want to keep providing great content. people with families, bills, expenses, and yes even little treats. like, shit costs money and we can't accuse someone of greed or hope they fail and then pat ourselves on the back for being anti-capitalist or something. this move is a risk but also surely not an impulsive one, and the guys feel this is the right move both financially and creatively then you should hope they succeed!
and, ftr—i already signed up, and i've already sent out my login info to friends who aren't in a place rn to pay. support the guys if you can, but i think the bare minimum is not hoping they crash and burn.
I tried to replicate the YT endcards of some of the Watcher shows, because I fell in love with the Mystery Files endcard.
(And as always: The original design belongs to Watcher. I just couldn’t figure out how to remove the several icons and suggested video frames from the ending screen. So I made the endcards from scratch.)
(Making Watcher/ Ghost Files/ Mystery Files/ Too Many Spirits/ Are You Scared?/ Survival Mode/ Weird Wonderful World/ Tourist Trapped/ Top 5 Beatdown/ Berry Boys/ Puppet History/ Pretty Historic/ Dish Granted/ Worth A Shot)
i love you ghost files i love you mystery files i love you food files i love you too many spirits i love you puppet history i love you top 5 beatdown i love you sd&d&d i love you dish granted i love you worth a shot i love you weird wonderful world i love you watcher weekly i love you survival mode i love you watcher entertainment <3
(you can also write your reason in the tags, or list each of their intimidation levels like brendon did in the most recent debrief lmfao. have fun! <3)