Thread by @KaiserNeko

I've taken a lot of time to reflect on the way the hiatus panned out. Ever since last year, when we were faced with an indefinite hiatus from DBZA, it was a decision we struggled with.

It involved multiple contributing factors, that impacted multiple, if not all, of our members.

YouTube's "adpocalypse" hit in full affect, it's demonetization and rapidly changing algorithm making it more and more difficult for our gaming channel and the Patreon to keep us afloat while we built the workspaces and moved into our new studio to begin new projects.

Meanwhile, Copyright strikes were threatening to cripple our main channel, and the services provided to keep our channels hosted on the main site disappeared, one after the other. This was all in the middle of hiring on new talent, in order to begin new projects for TFS.

These expansions were always our goal with the Patreon, but one damning flaw in the whole ordeal was our promise to deliver these new projects without them hindering the production of DBZA.

This was never, ever a lie. We had every intention to keep that promise from the start.

The gaming channel has had little to no impact on DBZA, and in many ways has only served to provide income that could keep the necessar crew dedicated to our keystone project while not having to worry about outside income, along with the Patreon.

However, late last summer...

Things got a lot more complicated. We found ourselves looking at writing on the wall that we'd, until then, treated as a non-issue: DBZA cannot sustain us forever. While it helped us build our platform, sooner or later we'd run out of material... and then what?

And what would we do if, say, it had to end immediately? This became a possibility as our options and opportunities to grow and flourish were starting to pass us by.

Our hopes and dreams as creators is to make our own, original properties, where we could have artistic freedom.

While DBZA has always been a passion project for myself, along with Hellsing Ultimate, these properties inherently limit us by their very nature. While we love the audience we've cultivated with those projects, and I will never undersell the joy these projects have brought us....

... they will never truly be ours, completely, and will continue to be a source of struggle for us financially and creatively.

Which isn't to say DBZA is cancelled (although Hellsing is about to end) but when opportunities for something beyond Abridged series began to arise...

... we had to take notice, and make the decision of where our time would go.

When I say opportunities, I'm referring to multiple projects. The Hells Dub, AWF (@Takahata101's new series), Fist Master, as well as some other yet-to-be-announced projects we've been planning.

As well as Four Star Bento, TFS At The Table, Season 2 of FF7MA, and more.

In the meantime, we began scripting for Episode 60, and started planning for the future of DBZA, which will be announced with the release of Episode 60 later this summer.

I wish we'd been able to keep working on DBZA without the hiatus, and for the longest time we thought we could, but our goals for this company are to grow and expand, and create what's in our hearts. It's what we wanted from the moment TFS Entertainment became a real company.

Something important I'd like to note is that, if that hiatus *had never happened*, then DBZA would have 100% been cancelled after Cell. We wouldn't have had the money to support ourselves and devote the time necessary to the show.

We'd have lost opportunities for us to grow, and then been left with nothing to provide you guys with besides the gaming content. And while the audience there is grandiose and marvelous, we'd have had to start from scratch creatively, while letting go multiple people on the team.

This team is my family and I've fought tooth and nail to support us. I cannot-- and will not-- allow us to break down. That meant taking risks-- the hiatus, new projects-- and setting down DBZA, a show that fulfills me and makes me a happier person.

It's *my fucking baby.*

I just... wanted to talk about all of this, because the last year of my life has been a struggle of adapting to a changing marketplace, dealing with the anxiety of the world around me, and trying to satisfy our audience. I love you guys, but it's tough.

And I agree that our communication has kind of sucked. We've felt like we're always in a no-win situation: Keep updating people, only to frustrate them by not having more progress. Keep quiet until we have progress, then face scorn for lack of communication.

I'm truly sorry.

We could've done better to communicate the details of the hiatus, as well as our feelings and drive for a better future for everyone.

That's on us.

Just please, know this hiatus was it's own necessary nightmare, and it never was *easy* for us.

I've also been here, in the studio, from 12-2 PM to 2 AM in the morning, Monday-Sunday, sticking to my work, taking gym, bathroom, food, and mental health breaks only, every day for the last several weeks.

I want this episode finished, because I *need* to show it to you.

So... that was my rambling rant about this whole situation.

tl;dr I'm sorry about the hiatus, but it was the best option for *everyone*. We should've been better about communicating that.

Thank you so much for reading. Have a wonderful night. BACK TO EDITING!