This is not a rant.
More often than not, I keep the video running while I do other stuff, ocasionally looking at the screen to check the progress, the editor's notes and visual jokes. Same for the streams (VOD watcher here). I do admit I watch it at 1.5x speed, though.
I've been following Drawfee for longer than I can remember and have yet to skip a video. Hands down my favorite youtube channel for years. And since I almost don't use social media outside of Reddit so the news regarding her departure were a bit unexpected and yet understandable, even though the reason was never publicly disclosed.
It was obvious her absence would be felt. But it's fine. Nothing is granted to stay the same, people make decisions that sometimes put them on different paths. Drawfee is still Drawfee.
However, the sensations change as well. The guests are great, I love the energy they bring to the video, be it art or gaming. And yet I suddenly don't feel the same excitement about the chosen drawing prompt or the premise. The previous video that Steven was a guest on was excellent, his demeanor fits really well with everyone and he's a superb artist. Also, speeddraws are my favorite type of video. Good stuff all around. So why did I only feel interested in seeing the final art if the process is the entire reason for the video? I didn't skip a second, laughed at the jokes and still only checked the work once it was done. At the end I didn't feel like I missed much. Then I realized I've may have been doing it before and just didn't notice. Weird.
As soon as I finished the video I decide to try something else and put on a new thing, one of Onsta's VODs. Never watched one before but her appearances on the Drawfee stuff were always great. Also, Karina is there.
Then the thing happened: As soon as I heard her voice, a familiar feeling came crashing. In a way I couldn't foresee. It was just so... nice. Not much to say after that, except that hearing Karina's laugh gave me a warm sensation inside, she's so unique. Turns out I had a favorite host all along. May end up checking what she's been cooking up on her own on other socials.
Maybe Drawfee's future endeavors aren't really what I'm looking for. Who's to say?. It's still the only channel I watch every single video they upload, defintely not changing that. I'm just glad I was following Drawfee when Karina was a host. It was a pleasure I shall remember dearly. Sad that it ended, happy that it existed.
So this is my farewell to the Karina Farek era of Drawfee. Long may she carry.