#Panel Aggregation

[insighttellers]

Precision Insights: Expert Quantitative Market Research Services

Our Quantitative Market Research Services help you quickly gather insights from our panellists and understand the changing consumer behaviour. Using our comprehensive services, we find the answers to the most of your questions! Follow this link to know more https://insighttellers.com/services/quantitative-research-market

[5-7-9]

WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS FANON ASS WFA PANEL

All the discussions about the fear of heights and ACAB- completely thrown out the window. Just a throwaway line that has no nuances of a person that cares and reads Duke’s storyline. This is a phrase said when you have nothing else to say but say anyways because you want to seem like you actually read about Duke.

Also, why would Dax say this ever.

[nnctales]

Types of Fillers in Construction

Introduction Fillers play a pivotal role in construction, providing stability, strength, and insulation. Their selection is critical, affecting the cost, durability, and environmental impact of a project. This article delves into the various types of fillers utilized in the construction industry. 1. Natural Fillers Natural fillers like sand, gravel, and stone are ubiquitous in construction due to…

[artbyblastweave]

"I think we will be gone soon" is an innocuous line from a full-page Rorschach monologue filled with much more interesting turns of phrase. Unsurprisingly, it didn't make it into the abridged version of this speech in the movie. But I turn it over in my head constantly. It's an abrupt injection into Walter's consideration of the Ozymandias situation, placed where it is as a segue from the "we" of Night Owl and Rorschach riding out against Ozymandias to the "we" of America at large facing nuclear holocaust; it's the inverse of Rorschach's prior assertion that nothing is insoluble while there's still life, segueing into how he behaves when he runs out of road on that belief and thinks that there won't be life, and that he needs to get his affairs in order. And ultimately, he's right- everyone referenced, in some way or another, will be gone soon. The Owlship is floating above ground zero for the squid attack as he's writing this. He doesn't survive his trip back from Antarctica, and even Dan metaphorically dies and begins anew as Sam Hollis.

Every single innocuous line in the book is like this- necessary to the flow of whatever monologue it's embedded in, and then tied into at least half-a-dozen other things around the book that are drawing on the aggregate of those connections for their weight. I could pick a panel at random and do something like this, probably. Unadaptable book. Unadaptable book

[class1akids]

BNHA 423 - Thoughts (aka how to fumble your ending: a masterclass by Kohei Horikoshi)

I won't have time on Sunday, so I'll write up my chapter thoughts today. Probably the last time for this series (unless we get a Todo-family moment in the epilogue).

I've joined this fandom 6 years ago and written countless meta and analysis. I'm grieving today not that the story has come to an end, but the way it fumbled its landing.

Last chapter: Deku after a combo from everyone Rises to everyone shouting Ganbare and All Might Annointing him as HIS personal Jesus Greatest hero

This chapter:

Everyone's aggregate animosity (including 16 members of Class A - missing: Uraraka, Bakugou, Shoto and Aoyama) and the strength Deku added to OFA in 2 years kill AFO-in-Shigaraki's regen (even though he was engineered by Ujiko to be able to hold OFA).

Deku punches the body of that little crying boy he yapped about saving of the big bad and it starts to crumble. So AFO looks for a new host in Deku.

We get to the only good point in this chapter: as Aizawa is yelling for Midoriya, ShiraGiri worries about Tomura. The tragedy of how their lives went in separate ways. The only person on this battlefield who cares about Tomura is Kurogiri

WTF - I'm emotional. This must help bring Tomura back, right?

Let me see! what's happening on the vestige side?

Is Kurogiri dead? Why?

I NEED ANSWERS!!!

Or fuck that - let's get to Bakugou, because why not. Obviously, he's in desperate need of another highlight.

Let's even make sure he gets personally praised in case in the last 5 chapters he was not mentioned we forgot how he's the awesomest. Who cares about Kurogiri dying in the background? Who cares about Aizawa's or Mic's feelings? The most important question is how Bakugou got to the battlefield.

Oh, wait, here comes the twist. Remember that crappy little panel of Shoto in the last chapter? No? Don't worry. Neither does 99% of the fandom, except a few die-hard Shoto-fans.

Well, you see, that crappy panel was actually Shoto being hidden as he lifted up Deku at the end of that long combo to give him his last push. And the one above, is not a BKDK combo but an Origin Trio combo. It's just cropped the same way BKDK shippers always crop Shoto out of any Trio pictures.

Congratulations, Kohei Horikoshi-sensei! What an amazing twist. You managed to write Schroedinger's Origin Trio scene! It happened, but maybe it never did. Thanks for stringing me along all these years through the rollercoaster rides of Origins and Risings. I'll take that playground from you and give it to fanfic writers who actually care about maintaining it.

While Bakugou is yelling in the background, Deku is pulling a Mirio on AFO and calls him friendless. The worst thing that can happen to a Shonen boss.

There is some incomprehensible mumbo jumbo about OFA-magic - but don't worry peeps - it's all a set-up for Deku getting it back (in case you are one of the people who seems really to be worried about that)

And then AFO realizes - due to Deku transferring the last bit just so - that he was just a sad little human who loved his brother all along. Yoichi's lifelong efforts to make an impact on AFO didn't do anything. Only the Jesus-Punch-of-Magic did. Too bad.

Oh no, the whole fucking peanut gallery is back to nobody's surprise. (Actually All Might is missing, which may suggest Deku will only get the stockpile back). Even if Deku gets OFA back, please don't transfer these guys back. I'm so sick of them. They were a total waste of time and took Deku's precious real estate for introspection. Fuck that. I don't actually care. Deku has been damaged beyond repair.

GROUP FIST BUMP!!! Amazing Climax. Maybe a double spread, Sensei?

HK: Sorry, I used up my double spread quota on Bakugou!

I'm not one to criticize Horikoshi's artstyle, but boy, this panel is so underwhelming compared to the stuff he drew in this endgame. Is this your big AFO vs OFA clash????

What happens when Ghost Fist collides with Real blood? Of course, it will transfer all that sweet Ghost-DNA!!!

Aka - Horikoshi is saying - Don't worry, Deku won't be quirkless.

OK. Well. Let's move on.

Here is another line from Horikoshi's outline. Did you want to see a heart-warming scene between Nana and Tenko? Too bad for you. You get Bakugou, you voted for him.

(Btw, Shoto is not the only one who doesn't seem to be allowed to have a proper scene with his mom, I guess Tenko cannot even get an emotional afterlife scene. If you are an abuse-victim in story, Horikoshi says - fuck you! Take a swan dive and hope to be reborn as a bully in your next life).

Well, at least Tomura noticed that Kurogiri mysteriously died after Horikoshi couldn't think up an actual proper endgame for him.

OK, onto the MAIN ANTAGONIST's final monologue. It will be deep after being built for 400 chapters, right?

Shigaraki: Well, I didn't even manage to destroy your hand. I amount to just a crying boy.

Deku: Well, I still hate you for stabbing Kacchan and the others. (forget the others, I never cared about the others). I killed you because I was sick of your moping it's the International Board of Therapist's recommended therapy for victims of abuse and grooming.

Shigaraki: Well, what do I say to that. That's so fucking stupid.

Shigaraki: And to my gay little boyfriend, I leave my treasured Nintendo controller.

Deku: Yeah, whatever. I don't really have any thoughts. I've stopped introspection in Act 2. Your life sucked. You need to fuck off now and stop spreading the sadness, I have a victory punch to perform.

Deku: This is the story of how I became the greatest hero by punching the fuck out of this crying, abused little boy and then bathing myself in his nasty pixie dust. killing 2 main villains for the price of 1 in under 7 pages and changed the weather for the dudebros on Twitter can cry about the blue sky in the anime again. I also eradicated sadness with punching it hard enough.

Also - I probably still have a quirk. Tune in to find out in two weeks.

Sensei, with all due respect - this chapter was ass. Visually, thematically, from a storytelling point of view. Even the good ideas were executed badly or were crammed in with terrible ideas. What a fucking let-down.

Will Shigaraki go and be the hero of the villains?

I can see him reconstruct with Overhaul and magic, or I can see that we will get a reveal where Deku had the Lion Turtle solution all along and he has punched Shigaraki just at the angle to magically manifest 5-year old crying Tenko and save him and he was cold and aloof because he already "saved the boy".

I can see a BS solution incoming. But it will not fix this chapter for sure, nor the broader writing issues with Deku's character and with the Deku - Tomura dynamic.

[love-and-deepspace-wiki]

Miscellaneous Characters: Bounty Targets

Ages: Unknown

Details:

In the Hunt Day scene at the Nest, the protaganist stops to look at a series of displays showing wanted figures and their associated bounties. Though they don't show all of them in one shot, we six on the left side as she approaches and then briefly see two more on the right side when she stumbles.

Though a lot of the information was illegible, a few of them were clear enough to make out. I'll write out the following detaild for each that I could suss out:

Message Beside Panel 1:

Reward info is released irregularly. If there is a repeat reward info, the one with the higher price shall prevail.

Please note. Both parties who offered the reward and took the Bounty shall never disclose names to each other.

Panel 1

Provider: ?

Target: ?

Duration: ? Days Left

Releasing Code: ASP-OM-00-084

Target Details: ?

Mission Level: (four blue triangles)

Bounty: 20,000,000

Serial No.: ?

Panel 2

Provider: Mission Details

Target: ?

Duration: ?

Releasing Code: BPO-OM-??-2179

Target Details: ?

Mission Level: (three yellow triangles)

Bounty: 100,000

Serial No.: USS1-D40-L76CX8

Panel 3

Provider: Mission Details

Target: ?

Releasing Code: ?

Target Info: ?

Duration: ?

Mission Level: (four red triangles)

Bounty: 20,000

Serial No.: ?

Panel 4

Provider: Mission Details

Target: Lumiere

Duration: Longterm

Releasing Code: SGP-HP-00-0021

Target Details: He/she ended the targeted Wanderer attacks on earth in 2034. As a key figure in that incident, his/her identity remains a mystery.

Duration: long-term

Mission level: (five red triangles)

Bounty: 100,000,000

Serial No.: USS1-D4U-L76CX8

Panel 5

Provider: Mission Details

Target: ?

Releasing Code: ASM-TM-01-1563

Target Info: ? Is suspected to be the advanced species of ? ? that is always witnessed around the World ?. The species aggregates quickly after knocked down.

Duration: 75 days left

Mission Level: (four blue triangles)

Bounty: 20,000,000

Serial No.: ?

Panel 6

Provider: ?

Target: ?

Duration: Closed

Releasing Code: BBP-0W-00-4193

Target Info: Protocore dealer in his 40-50s. 68 inches in height. He has a scar on his left ear. The little finger of his left hand is missing.

Duration: Closed

Mission Level: (three red triangles)

Bounty: 100,000

Serial No.: USS1-D40-L76CX8

Panel 7

Provider: ?

Target: ?

Releasing Code: ASM-TM-01-1563

Target Info: ? Is suspected to be the advanced species of ? ? that is always witnessed around the World ?. The species aggregates quickly after knocked down.

Duration: 75 days left

Mission Level: (four blue triangles)

Bounty: 20,000,000

Serial No.: ?

Panel 8

Provider: Mission Details

Target: ?

Releasing Code: BBP-TW-00-3962

Target Info: Head of the Information Dept. of Leslie Company. She ran away after stealing the company's confidential data and was suspected to hide in Zone N109.

Duration: 3 Days Left

Mission Level: (three red triangles)

Bounty: 100,000

Serial No.: USS1-D40-L76CX8

[probablyasocialecologist]

Yes, we need innovation to solve the ecological crisis. We need better solar panels, better insulation, better batteries, better recycling, better methods for producing steel, etc. But we do not need aggregate growth to get these things. If the objective is to achieve specific kinds of innovation, then target those directly rather than grow the whole economy indiscriminately and hope it will magically deliver the innovation we need. Is it really reasonable to grow the plastics industry, the beef industry, and the advertising industry in order to get more efficient trains? Does it really make sense to grow dirty things in order to get clean things? We must be smarter than that. Necessary innovations can be achieved directly – through public investment in innovation – while simultaneously scaling down less necessary forms of production. In fact, the former is enabled by the latter. Engineering talent that is presently organized around developing, say, advertising algorithms, can be remobilized instead to develop better renewables and transit systems.

Jason Hickel, On Technology and Degrowth

[dorkhellbside]

HELLO!

this is desta-joy-d-etc-etc comin' in hot with another homestuck blog as referenced by the b side in the url. the main one would be @conceptofjoy.

general info and content warnings under the cut. suggested ages 16+, and no stri-cest shippers please and thank you.

every hal panel on a google word doc (WIP) collaborative music yt playlist view link || invite link send an ask by if you just want to rec a song.

aggregate of dirkhal content; im using the ship name here, but i really just mean any weirdly intense interaction between the two. i love studying them with a magnifying glass. hashtag alter hal truther.

i fuck heavy with dirkjakehal. we might have to fight if i see a mf diss english with their whole chest.

huge fan of t-fem hal and t-masc dirk. you'll probably see me she/they hal a lot. i have a human design of hal i default to that exists in my imaginary post canon scenario. more deets on the other blog but there's not a whole lotta story, i'm afraid.

no 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚌𝚎𝚜𝚝, any reblogs i make will be avoiding posts with those tags, and i'm a very liberal with blocking if you apply them to my own ^_^. we can hash out the ethics of hypothetical clone fucking, but like, really? is this what we want to be doing? don't like don't follow and i'll be doing the same.

CONTENT TAGGING! this is important. there will be heavy discussions and depictions of abysmal mental health and power imbalances and i will try to be top of that shit with the tags, but also tell me if you need something tagged even if its not "thaaat serious". subjects/ tags may include: physical abuse, verbal abuse, codependency, decapitation, gore, (those will be tagged separately), self harm, unreality and disassociation, freud and incest as it is discussed thematically in homestuck, suicide and suicidal ideation, intrusive thoughts, dubious consent, suggestive content, nudity, nsfw. the list's always gonna be a work in process, learnin' as i go here. also, cause of their general consent issues and the nature of their relationship, it's like... ok, what im saying is, not posting rape. totes reasonable to not trust a rando on the internet with what qualifies as ""dubious consent"", do what you need to do brah.

src

[theomnicode]

One punch man and flirting with romance

Romance, in my opm? More likely than you think.

There are many instances in one punch man where the author and the mangaka specifically tip their toes into showcases of implicit romance than explicit, but it is there and I'd like to jump into the romantic cruise ship and put down some of the cases where romance has been implied.

Starting with number one, Fubuki and Psykos implied to be kissing under a tree as teenagers where Fubuki seals off Psykos' powers with an implied kiss, where Psykos is also seen blushing right after. Rest of their interactions also ooze romantic overtones.

Number two is cd audio drama, Saitama and the mysterious heroine, where Saitama and Genos go see a movie and Saitama starts talking about relationships after seeing Suiryu flirt with a woman, then goes on tangent about girlfriends and such.

Saitama: That’s not the point... I have the feeling that things like a heart to heart interaction, sharing an umbrella, warmth, are all things broken away in my life. Other people can have things like big events and circumstances happening, romances and such bringing happiness in their daily lives. I have the feeling something broke and that sweet-like fluffy, nice stuff just fell right off from me. That's what I meant.

Saitama: Genos, look, have you ever seen a hero anime without a love interest in it? Genos: I don't remember watching a lot of anime in the past.. Why do you ask? Saitama: Well, we're heroes, right? We're working and living as such. And yet, why are we indifferent towards things like love interests or girlfriends? In some way it seems obvious and logical, but is it really ok? Are you ok with reality being so much harder than fiction?

It is obvious that Saitama would still be interested in romance, as he seems to be a romantic at heart, yet after becoming so strong he struggles with his emotions, his apathy.

Saitama also reads romantic shoujo manga on his spare time, as seen on season 2 OVA.

Number three is fairly recent addition where it is implied that Genos interest in Saitama as a disciple may or may not be entirely platonic. 3 different people (Zombieman, Flashy flash and Amai-mask) take note of Genos growing interest in Saitama. Genos has also been noted very much be interested in his master's physical appeal in audio cd dramas and below excerpt.

Genos for a long time, has been a prime example of a potential fool in love, but it is still handled in implicit rather than explicit manner. Shoujo sparkles and all that included.

Number four is a most recent addition of Blast and his partner, possibly holding hands under the panel. Blast's partner is specifically referred to as "partner" and not a collaborator by Sitch, giving his partner some more importance in the scene than rest of Blast's teammates. This one may be reaching, but we'll be seeing in future arcs how correct that assumption is.

Number five, Saitama and makeover audio drama where Genos has given Saitama's attack a long name.

Saitama: (Serious voice) Super shining and lightning, that’s right, this next punch will overwhelm you like a gust of northern urban wind deep in December, this illusionary, fantastical, understanding punch from the heart, starting from hyper dreaming attack the final, a never-ending eternal forever endless sentimental with a high sense aggregation of full throttle, godless, loneliness, can’t stop falling in love and as soon as fighting…

Number six, monsters named Maiko plasma and Electric catfish man appear to be a married couple. Maiko plasma refers to Catfish man as "darling" in multiple occasions, so they appear to be involved.

Number 7, where Tatsumaki thinks that Saitama is attracted to her because he's gripping her hand.

Last but not least, number 8, romantic alternate universe comedy part between Fubuki and Saitama in high school audio drama, where Fubuki thinks Saitama wanted to confess to her.

OPM may not yet have any really explicit romance, but implicit...there is a boatload. ONE does not leave fans cold when it comes to romantic undertones. :D

[marithlizard]

So I guess this year's edition of Worldcon Drama is that the concom decided to use ChatGPT (or something similar) to decide who would get to be guests on their panels. (Google search results are already unreliable and corrupt and everyone knows it. Having ChatGPT run and aggregate a bunch of Google searches and calling the results a "vetting process"? That's...a choice.) This beautiful, patient attempt to explain to the concom why they are fuckwits made me scream and applaud at various points:

"Again, when ChatGPT wrote my bio, it gave me a second book. It was, as it turned out, a real book, written by a real author: a woman of colour. ChatGPT blithely stole a POC's book and attributed it to some white lady." ----- "Long story short (too late): there are a thousand things wrong with what you've done. This is the one I know something about, as I've seen its effects firsthand. You have, without meaning to, turned Worldcon into a con-shaped object."

[juiceboxscans]

Happy Valentine's Day! 💝

After that last chapter we needed a little more fluff and silliness so here's a lovely Valentine's Day sketch Konishi-sensei posted on Twitter last year!

Also check out this panel Konishi-sensei posted a few minutes after we did. This next chapter looks... interesting.

We thought the Valentine's Day extra might be included in a tankobon/licensed volume so we held off but it hasn't been published so we're sharing our version. Enjoy responsibly!

Do not repost JBS's version outside of Mangadex. Just read it on Mangadex with the rest of us heathens. Comment there if you like what we're doing and let us know you're reading. Thanks!

Do not retranslate JBS's version. The original sketches are still up on Twitter on Konishi's account but if you do don't blast it all over the place because Konishi seems to be deleting things again (like the panel above that disappeared shortly after it was posted).

Here's where we cover our asses: We do not permit reposting for the same reason we do not have affiliate links or a Patreon - aggregators monetize scanlations which is not just illegal but massively disrespecful and we don't want any part of that.

We like doing this, it's fun, but generally groups drop when stuff gets licensed for a reason (it's not legal) so all joking aside we'd like to come away from this experience without getting a nastygram from someone's lawyers.

TL;DR: Bitches, please be cool.

Thanks for understanding and we'll see you at the next upload! (´｡• ω •｡`) ♡

[soapver4]

Romance Mushrooms Statistics

Platform Bubble: Pile on the foam! A store of nerve-soothing appliances that turn never-ending housework into a fantasy game à la the healing, humbling psychofantasy drama Eternal Night Star River, which cheesy official English title captures neither the humanistic significance nor the poetic quality of the native title's allusion to a transmigrating soul lighting up a stream of bright spots in [spoiler caution] another wandering soul's life. By the way, let's spell it out for this really unobvious instance: Romance Mushrooms Statistics is the renegades headquarters' store's name.

The store concept hails from the series' denouement: All along you probably think that the percentage values shown by mushroom-like dust demons as part of the in-show conquest game foisted onto the corporate-rat-trapped-in-novel heroine are the percentages of her its snarky demon-catcher hero loves, when in reality they are the degrees to which he is willing to do all that is necessary for her. The final push [spoiler] completing the dizzying journey from -200% to 100% is his newfound self-love that gives him the confidence to take a literal plunge back to real life for her, giving up his world guardian identity and magical powers and waking up as a bespectacled convalescent so that he, the novel's author, can rewrite the desolate ending.

Each appliance features a progress bar which mushy but hopefully motivational readings ranging from "-200% In Love" to "100% In Love" speak to the mundane reality of spousal and familial love, to the heroism we need more immediately from romantic partners than other forms of heroism most of the time. Users can set a frequency at which they aspire to operate the appliance (e.g. clothes washing once a week, dishwashing every 24 hours) and a buffer time window (e.g. one hour from an expected dishwashing time of 9 pm). The readings drop from 100% to 0% as the time window closes, and rise from 0% to 100% as appliances complete their runs, operate continuously or discontinuously for some aggregate amount of time (in the case of appliances like stoves), or get filled up (in the case of appliances like vacuum cleaners). Readings drop below 0% when appliances are damaged or under-maintained. The bars and numbers are rendered of course in sparkly bubbles. Lean into the mush!

Appliances are also renamed as follows:

Stove → Tummy counselor-demon academy (Remember? Not all demons are bad.)

Oven → Crust aroma demon abode

Dishwasher → Grub illusion demon slayer

Clothes washer → Fabric demon bathhouse

Clothes dryer → Water demon reincarnator

Vacuum cleaner → Dust demon herder

Buttons of the appliances are styled as images of spiffy, neat gray talismans like those in the story. The thematic approach can be extended to button captions too by, for example, rewriting the Start button as Begin Spell. All designs must be tweaked or discarded, however, where they compromise legibility or safety. Red emergency stop buttons will not be touched by invisibility spells anytime soon.

The mystical feel can be enhanced further, while maintaining sleek, clean looks in general, by selectively decorating side panels, vacuum suction pipes and appliance outlines with subdued depictions of the iridescent, gassy energy streams [spoiler] our bumbling but ultimately brave heroine learns to wield in the game to protect the many people she loves. Translucent, glassy panels or stripes are adopted where possible in incorporating these depictions. It is a buoyant balance between emotional immersion and practical functionality, just as the screen protagonists, tragic side characters turned power couple in the game, lift up and fight alongside each other.

To up the motivation factor, songs from Eternal Night Star River (can't we just forget the other title?) and other ancient romantic fantasy series are played, under licensing deals, from each appliance as it is put to use. New songs can be downloaded over the years to keep experiences fresh.

If all that sounds too fluffy and mawkish to you, here's mathematics to the rescue. Users have the additional option of downloading regular podcasts about mathematical ideas in ecology onto the appliances. Sample episodes: J-shaped (exponential) growth versus S-shaped (logistic) growth in microbial "demon" populations depending on resource limitations, density-dependent egg production of giant intestinal roundworm "demons," count distribution (specifically, the nature of Poisson distribution) of bacterial "demons" in diluted cell cultures. You'll at least want them for your little future Charles Darwins as they help out with the chores.

One downside of these appliances is their higher energy consumption. We need those next-generation solar roof tiles. What we also need: soul transmigration into some tech billionaire's life story to speedily make the store a reality. That's a new-year resolution: Scout for a mossy stone panda.

[mariacallous]

X today filed a lawsuit against a group of major advertisers for allegedly conspiring to withhold advertising dollars from the social media platform, which, since Elon Musk’s takeover, has been seen as more amenable to hosting controversial content.

The suit, filed in federal court in Texas, says dozens of advertisers followed the recommendation of a key advertising coalition, Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), to boycott buying ads on X since Musk bought the company. The suit says this turn of events cost the company billions of dollars in revenue. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for violation of US antitrust law.

The right-wing video site Rumble, founded more than 10 years ago as an alternative to YouTube and positioned as a platform “immune to cancel culture,” announced on Tuesday that it had filed a similar lawsuit. “GARM was a conspiracy to perpetrate an advertiser boycott of Rumble and others, and that's illegal,” the company posted on its X account.

The US House Judiciary Committee, which is controlled by Republicans and has expressed concern about censorship of right-wing views on social media, has been investigating GARM. In a preliminary report in July, the committee found that “the extent to which GARM has organized its trade association and coordinates actions that rob consumers of choices is likely illegal under the antitrust laws and threatens fundamental American freedoms.” X’s lawsuit draws heavily from internal GARM emails reviewed by the congressional panel.

In a video shared to X, X CEO Linda Yaccarino said she was “shocked” by the evidence uncovered by the House Judiciary Committee that there had been a “systematic illegal boycott against X.” Yaccarino attempted to rally X users with references to free speech in her statement. While pointing directly at the camera, she alleged that the advertisers were “targeting our company, and you, our users,” and “threatening your global town square.”

“People are hurt when the marketplace of ideas is constricted,” Yaccarino said.

The Brussels-based World Federation of Advertisers, which oversees GARM, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuits. X’s lawsuit also names Unilever, Mars, CVS, and a Danish energy company as defendants, while Rumble’s suit additionally targets the ad agency WPP. None of the companies immediately responded to requests for comment.

X’s lawsuit contends that advertisers in the past had to individually strike deals with social media companies to set boundaries around what types of content they would sponsor. Through GARM, advertisers have been able to aggregate their power, establish industry standards for content moderation, and enforce them. In X’s view, GARM now has too much say over the content social media platforms may allow.

“In a competitive market, each social media platform would set the brand safety standards that are optimal for that platform and for its users, and advertisers would unilaterally select the platforms on which they advertise,” the complaint states. “But collective action among competing advertisers to dictate brand safety standards to be applied by social media platforms shortcuts the competitive process and allows the collective views of a group of advertisers with market power to override the interests of consumers.”

X’s fraught relationship with advertisers dates back as far as Musk’s buyout of the company formerly known as Twitter. The new lawsuit alleges that GARM, via a public letter to Musk, triggered a boycott of Twitter ads immediately following his purchase of the company in October 2022. Over the next two months, at least 18 GARM-member advertisers, including Mars and Unilever, stopped buying Twitter ads, according to the lawsuit. Dozens more members cut back their spending.

In November 2023, the nonprofit media watchdog Media Matters published a report that showed how pro-Nazi content on X had been appearing alongside advertising from reputable brands. As a result, entities like IBM, Disney, Lionsgate, the European Union, and, reportedly, Apple, pulled their ads from X. Later that month, speaking at the New York Times DealBook Summit, Musk told those brands “Go fuck yourself,” and aimed some of his remarks specifically at “Bob,” Disney’s chief executive, Bob Iger.

X alleges that GARM has yet to rescind its boycott. “By refraining from purchasing advertising from X, boycotting advertisers are forgoing a valuable opportunity to purchase low-priced advertising inventory on a platform with brand safety that meets or exceeds industry standards,” the complaint states.

In a preview of advertisers’ potential defense to the new lawsuits, Sarah Kay Wiley, director of policy at the advertising watchdog group Check My Ads, says in an emailed statement that advertisers have a right under the First Amendment to choose with whom and what they want to associate.

“Advertisers should not have to subsidize viewpoints they don’t agree with—in fact requiring so would be un-American and unconstitutional,” Wiley writes. “Elon Musk and X executives have the right, protected by the First Amendment, to say what they want online, even when it's inaccurate, and advertisers have the right to keep their ads away from it. It’s as simple as that.”

Alleging unfair competition isn’t a new tactic for smaller social media companies. In May, Rumble sued Google’s advertising business also alleging antitrust violations. Google last week filed a motion to dismiss the complaint on the basis that Rumble lacked standing to sue because it wasn’t using or competing with Google’s offerings. “Rumble does not belong in the current melee over Google’s advertising technology,” Google’s attorneys wrote. A hearing is scheduled for January.

[uswnt5]

I’m very surprised Tobin’s comment from that panel isn’t getting more traction. It’s one thing for Christen to say Tobin isn’t retired. It’s one thing for Tobin to go on HAO’s podcast and say “god willing.” But it’s a whole other for Tobin to literally say this cycling is part of her rehab to COME BACK TO PLAY. Like?? HELLO?

the panel needs to be more widely aggregated. Nobody has seen it yet.

[triaelf9]

posting this just on its own b/c it’s something I’ve been wanting to say, but here’s the full post for other important input on the convo: https://www.tumblr.com/triaelf9/723501539078160384/xfreischutz-feathernotes-feathernotes-theres?source=share

This is something deeply personal to me and yes, the landscape has changed SO much. I started making webcomics in 2005, fresh out of high school and have been making them ever since. I make mostly grayscale comics on a schedule that doesn’t overwhelm me (1 comic updates twice a week, the other once a week, and the third twice a month). I use the same program I used back in 2005, though the newest version of it that came out in like 2010 I think.

The very first comic I worked on was silly and fun, but I still get the occasional email today of folks telling me how much it meant to them. After years of rejection & getting better each year, I started working on the stories I wanted to tell. I managed to get an agent, and one of comics was picked up by Dark Horse. I did not go to art school, I never got the networking a lot of the bigger folks got, and I don’t live in the US (which, fun fact, locks me out of being able to use Webtoons fully - they’ve region-locked their app AHAHAHAH FUN).

So yeah, start whenever the heck you want! If you have a story you want to tell, that is the only reason you need to start. The more YOU enjoy your story, the more that’ll show through. If you want your art to grow, nothing will improve you faster than starting a webcomic. Also, read comics, look how your favs construct a page. Panel composition is more important than you think. The main key to a good webcomic is “is what I’m trying to show clear” and just keep on pushing.

You can start anywhere. You can show whoever you want, or no one at all (I did comics for me all through elementary school). Everyone has their own personal goal of where they’d like to be. And I’m by no means a success story. but only YOU can determine your success, and I’m happy where I am.

START THAT COMIC! you’ve got this ^_^ (also, if you don’t want to do color comics YOU DON’T HAVE TO! If anyone bugs you about it, just tell them Elaine said it was fine and they can go make their own comic in color if they care so much XD)

And readers? SHARE THE COMICS YOU LIKE! Word of mouth does so much, and if we ever want the little folk to have a chance against the mega corps, or even just the highly popular aggregate sites, boost the heck outta the comics you love ^_^

[scalamore]

[Alert] Please remember to support the manhwa teams!

Creating manhwa is difficult. Drawing a comic takes a ridiculous amount of time. Each week, artists are expected to upload a high quality, full color comic with at least 65 panels (cuts). How to best support these artists? #1 - Support them officially on the official platform of choice, tappy, tapas etc. This is by far, the best way to support them overseas.  - Supporting on kakaopage would be great too, but I don’t see many people willing to support in a language they can’t read, even if it’s cents per chapter.

#2 - follow their social media (twitter, instagram etc), and comment on their weekly release posts.  - shout out your praise of a pretty panel, of how much you like their work, how you look forward to every chapter, how you wish they have a good day, how you’ll continue to support them etc; make it as cheesy and fangirly as much as possible. Emojis are OK too.  - Even if they don’t have time to respond to every comment, they are always very happy to get comments, especially positive ones. Their thanks is implied.  - Artists are always happy to get international comments too, twitter has a handy translation feature so it’s super easy for them to get a quick translation - type your english, japanese, indonesian, spanish comments proudly! - mention you support them on tappytoon/tapas/whatever official site you use - they’ll love that too! Please DO NOT: - If you do, for whatever reason, read on an manhwa aggregate site (not official sites like tapas, tappy, etc) NEVER mention you read off an illegal manhwa aggregate site, you’ll literally make them demotivated and cry. They worked so hard, yet readers would read on an unofficial site instead of supporting officially? it hurts their soul. They’re already stressed and sleep deprived enough (refer to the post below from Luna Heng) - Excessively bother the creators by tagging them on stuff. They’re very busy creating the manhwa we love!! We don’t want them to be so uncomfortable that they turn off comments on their posts!! 

If you are financially able to, please support them officially! 

Because I have a part-time job, I have extra spending money so I: 1) Purchase the weekly chapters from kakaopage 2) Purchase the weekly chapters from Tappytoon 3) Purchase the physical books from KR sites for collection purposes 4) Occasionally post on the Artist’s twitter weekly to give them support

--

More info below: It’s been documented how much stress artists are under to succeed and to provide entertainment for the readers (as well as deal with pressures from management. The most well known cases is of "Solo Leveling" artist Seongrak Jang (Dubu), who died  in 2022 due to a brain hemorrhage connected to chronic illness (1). Starting in 2023, after the controversy regarding  Juniljus, “Roxana”’s artist’s miscarriage from overwork in summer 2022, there were some changes in the main webtoon platform, kakaopage korea, allowing artists a 4 week on, 1 week off period in publication. However, this isn’t enough. Some statistics (2) 1. 28.7% of Webtoon writers that responded to the survey have depression, compared to the national average of 7.7% 2. 17.3% had suicidal thoughts, 8.5% planned it, 4% tried it. Nationals averages being (10.7%, 2.5%, 1.7%) respectively 3. Depression, Anxiety, & Sleep disorders were more likely to be diagnosed if the artist received negative comments. 4. The average amount of cuts per chapter is 60-70, this only includes sketches, not detailed art, or coloring so the real number is around 3 times that. 5. muscle disorders, and other body illnesses were high due to long periods of sitting. Web platforms are growing but so is anxiety about impressing readers, so authors are including more cuts. 6. 51% said their income was between 2-4 million won (1600-3200 USD)

With the statistics above, these Korean artists are under a TREMENDOUS amount of stress and pressure to meet their deadlines. Their “off” weeks are not meant for them to go on vacation, it’s for them to catch up and get a bit more sleep, but also to build their “saves” (future chapters). This is also true of when series goes on 3 months - 1 year or more hiatus: it’s not meant for a rest and relaxation period. The artists continue to draw, and build up a stash of chapters to post during the “active posting period.” Each artist’s drawing speed is different, but an estimation is that one panel can take on average 2-6  hours to draw (Suol, the artist for Villains are Destined to die mentioned in a tweet somewhere iirc). Some key frame panels take up to 12 hours to draw!.  Regarding “saves” - ideally the artist has 5+ saves ready for a smooth publication schedule, but most of the time, they only have 1 or less. That’s why it’s so common for series to take an extra week (or four) for an unexpected hiatus, because they literally don’t have any chapters to post, they’re literally finishing hours before the posting deadline. 

Social medias mentioned: 

twitter @NightWitch_0615 - Artist of  “A World Without You” twitter @binu_1209 - Artist of “The Viridescent Tiara” twitter @Domics714 - Artist of “The Lady's Dark Secret” insta @ zoosun816 - Artist of “I Stan the Prince” twitter  @_HENG_HENG -  Artist of “Villain Duke's Precious One" twitter @sano_ramyun - “Artist of “A Talented maid” 

Shortly after starting the Lady’s Dark Secret, DOHA was hospitalized. Here she points out how much her art changes based on how she feels - when she’s in good shape her art is quite beautiful, but when she’s trying to push through to meet deadlines when she isn’t, we see wonky proportions. All these artists work hard, but they get limited understanding from readers. It’s common to see readers pointing out how bad the art is... causing the artists pain because they really do try hard, but they have relentless deadlines to fulfill. 

Binu has been having health issues since the serialization of “A Viridescent Crown”. In response to DOHA’s post above, she also  mentioned she was hospitalized during the publication period of S2. During it’s run, netizens were quick to see that the quality of S2 dropped a lot, and many readers even dropped the series because of the drop in quality or poking fun at weirdly drawn art, the ML was not as hot as he used to be and has “a dorito chin”. Meanwhile she’s trying her best to finish her work, but has required a lot of breaks and hospitalizations to recover. Even so, S2 ended 10/2022, and the earliest estimation of a return will be sometime in Jan 2024 (14 month hiatus!). The Season 1 break was 8 months, and even then, that wasn’t enough. 

Lunaheng, the artist of “Villain duke’s precious one” seems to have avoided hospitalizations and poor health, but she still speaks out about working all day and getting few hours of sleep at night. She even had to post it twice in english to try to stop readers from reading it from unofficial sites! I can’t find the tweet (because she’s so active on twitter), but  Night Witch, the artist of  “ A World Without You” was actually hospitalized in March 2023 while working on two series at the same time. She had a family member post updates for her while she was recovering to not disrupt the posting schedule. zoosun, the artist of “I Stan the Prince”, has had health issues limiting her ability to draw. The last chapter was posted 12/2021, and is projected to resume serialization 8/2023.  Even Hayeon, the artist for YM, had some health issues 12/2022 where she took 5 weeks off to recover. She seems to be doing better this year though >< 

Sanho, the artist for “A Talented Maid”, revealed she had issues after finishing the second season. She went on an extended hiatus from 6/2021-12/2022, about 18 months. Despite having depression and being on medication, and having a herniated disk (which is known to develop/worsen from poor sitting habits like slouching or sitting for long hours), she still tried to push through and it really took a toll on her health, which caused her to extend the hiatus even more.

As you can see, these creators work really hard to create content for readers. They really do sacrifice their well-being to create. Yes, the workforce is harsh, the business model is exploitive, but at least for us, as overseas readers, we can support them by purchasing the official versions if they’re available in our country.

Sources: 1) https://twitter.com/Manhwabang_/status/1611503074325024768?s=20 2) https://t.co/kEZnwFV4Pe, https://t.co/7cIN8965hq