Posted on 15th Apr, 2019 in Uncategorised
Three years ago, I co-founded an anime convention panelist group with some friends. Today, I'm announcing my resignation. This is not a decision I came to lightly. I've spent the better part of the last year contemplating what the right course of action would be.
When we first formed, the intention for Hen Tie Cake was to just be a panelist group. About a year and a half later, the other co-founder of the group began to hijack the brand in order to sell their photography. If it had stopped at that it would have been fine. Brands can change and grow over time. But it didn't stop. The problem only grew more and more out of hand. What started as photos, became a cursed calendar. That still wasn't enough though. There needed to be merchandise, and a magazine, and offers of press passes from right-wing websites too. None of this is what I signed up for, and none of this was discussed with the rest of the members of our group. Our group was unilaterally dragged in to all of these things.
When confronted about making our panelist activities play second fiddle to his perverse fantasies of becoming a media mogul, he would pretend to acquiesce for awhile before starting up again. After much thought, I came to the conclusion that sometimes members of a group will have differences in creative vision. Those differences are generally good and make for a stronger team. However, when one member forces their vision on everyone else while ignoring their concerns, you're only left with 2 options; destroy what you've spent years creating or walk away. Since Hen Tie Cake was already so far gone from what I had had originally envisioned, I decided I would walk away.
I want to entertain others at conventions with high quality panels relating to anime. I do not want to deal with thirsty "customers" sliding in to my DMs at all hours of the day. I do not wish to edit and review articles as if I were still a blogger. I want to be able to share my panelist group's social media accounts with everyone I know without having to explain why they only contain boobs, butts, and thirst memes. No longer will I stand for my efforts being used to further selfish aims.
I will always cherish the memories I made and the people I've met through being a part of Hen Tie Cake, but I will certainly not miss being ignored. Now that this chapter is behind me, I'll take some time to focus on the upcoming conventions I'm staffing. After that I will resume my panelist activities under a new yet-to-be-determined label. As for what will happen to the previously scheduled conventions Hen Tie Cake was planning to perform at, they will continue without me. However, when I quit I took my pet panel, Anime That Works, with me. If you see it listed anywhere by anyone other than me, know that it's an unauthorized imitation.
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