#Understanding Basic Accounting Principles

[emersonpierce]

Wilbur has said that if he were to fully explain the situation, it would involve doxxing both himself and Shelby. So why is it okay when Dream makes his statements, but not when Wilbur does?

The constant hate directed at Wilbur needs to stop. This situation was never something the public should have been involved in to begin with, and everyone needs to recognize that.

People are demanding answers as if they’re entitled to them. Wilbur did his best to explain, but when the answer didn’t satisfy some, they just jumped back on the hate train. That’s not just immature; it’s a refusal to move on.

Let’s talk about Shelby for a second. It’s been over a year, and she still hasn’t provided any concrete proof, only statements that are essentially a “trust me, bro” defense, backed up by people she wasn’t even close with. Yet somehow it’s okay for her to make those claims without evidence just because she’s considered a “victim” and a woman?

People need to take a step back and see the bigger picture. Wilbur did everything he could to keep both himself and Shelby safe, and just because you don’t like the way it turned out doesn’t give anyone the right to keep attacking him.

This situation should never have been public in the first place, and deep down, everyone knows that. You can lie to yourself all you want, but it’s the truth.

It's time to move on.

Wilbur's statement that fully explaining the situation would require doxxing both himself and Shelby is not just a cop-out or an excuse — it's a real boundary rooted in privacy and safety. Doxxing isn’t just the release of addresses or phone numbers; it includes exposing deeply personal details or past histories that could place people at risk mentally, emotionally, socially, or even physically.

If Wilbur is withholding information to avoid exposing sensitive details about another person — especially someone he had a personal relationship with — then that is not only valid, but commendable. It's respecting someone’s boundaries, even if that person has chosen a public-facing narrative.

Meanwhile, when Dream speaks, the public seems far more willing to entertain nuance, to say, "Well, we don’t know everything," or "He’s doing his best." Why does that courtesy not extend to Wilbur? It raises questions about selective empathy and inconsistent standards of accountability.

From the outset, this situation was steeped in parasocial dynamics. Fans want transparency from creators, which is understandable to a point — but there’s a difference between being a supporter and being entitled to someone’s private trauma, explanations, or personal life.

The truth is: no one is owed an answer — not beyond what Wilbur has already said. He did make a statement, despite the potential personal cost. And because that statement didn’t align with what some people wanted to hear, they dismissed it entirely. That’s not a search for truth; that’s confirmation bias in action.

Shelby’s narrative has often been accepted at face value, largely because of the public’s instinct to "believe victims" — especially women — in any dispute involving a man. While that instinct is important and rooted in a history of survivors being ignored, it cannot override basic principles of fairness, especially when evidence is lacking.

Let’s be clear: Shelby has not provided concrete evidence. Most of what exists are vague, indirect statements and anecdotes from people who weren’t directly involved. And yet she’s treated as if the burden of proof lies entirely on Wilbur, who cannot respond in detail without crossing serious ethical and legal boundaries.

That imbalance is stark. It suggests a public climate where one party is presumed guilty until proven innocent, and the other is granted the benefit of the doubt without having to prove anything.

What more do people want? Wilbur has said his piece. He’s been silent, likely on the advice of legal counsel or out of concern for emotional wellbeing — his and hers. Still, critics keep demanding answers. But what would satisfy them? A tell-all that invades someone’s privacy? A thread full of screenshots that drag a private relationship into the public eye?

The refusal to move on says more about the audience than the people involved. It's easier for some to continue cycling outrage than to accept an unsatisfying resolution. That’s not just immature — it's dangerous. It contributes to a culture where real-life mental health is collateral damage in a public drama people consume like a Netflix series.

This never should have become public. The audience has conflated their investment in a content creator's work with entitlement to their personal life. That’s not fandom — that’s voyeurism.

Both Wilbur and Shelby are real people. Real people don’t owe strangers their trauma breakdown. The expectation that they must publicly litigate a complex personal history is absurd and harmful.

Wilbur tried to navigate this situation with as much care and privacy as possible. He didn’t retaliate. He didn’t release compromising details. He chose silence where it would’ve been easy to clap back. That’s not guilt — that’s maturity.

And Shelby, regardless of what anyone believes, deserves privacy too. That’s why people need to stop using her identity as a rhetorical shield while using Wilbur’s as a punching bag.

It’s time to step back. Respect both parties. Stop pretending we’re owed anything here.

Anyone still dragging his name through the mud is in the headspace of entitlement because they can’t accept the fact people need to move, and he gave a mature response that they didn’t want.

[xplorediiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii]

Starting a new business venture is an exhilarating journey, but it’s crucial to lay a strong financial foundation from the outset. This begins with understanding the fundamentals of startup accounting.

[obscurevideogames]

Tumblr’s Core Prodct Stratgy

Here at Tumblr, we’ve been working hard on trying to keep our sinking ship afloat for as long as possible. This means desperately trying to copy every new fly-by-night social media app that some multi-billionaire sh*t out during their daily Peloton routine. What follows is the strategy we're using to accomplish the goal of user growth. If you find the things we say here worrisome, please understand that is our exact intention. You've outgrown our target demographic. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

The Diagnosis

It's lookin' pretty bad y'all!

After somehow losing hundreds of thousands of users during the great pr0n purge of 2018, we started to wonder if anything could be done to get back to where we were. We even brought in a management consultant who charged us a ridiculous amount of money. It would make you sick if you knew how much, but we got a few nice meals out of it at least. Anyhow, we handed this guy the app, and HE HAD NO IDEA HOW TO USE IT! It was f*cking hilarious! But suddenly it all clicked -- our users are a bunch of stupid idiots who can't even do basic arithmetic. I mean, they spend all day looking at their phones, so what do you expect?

Tumblr’s best feature is its unique content and vibrant communities. But who cares, right? We're just as happy getting traffic from people sh*t-posting memes, vague-booking, giving out-of-context hot takes to news events, and spewing whatever random thought is in their head at the moment. Plus that stuff doesn't p*ss off Apple.

To keep this thing going we need new people. And by "people" we mean teenagers, like we used to have back in the good ol' days. Unfortunately we're all in our 40s now, so we have no idea what they want. But teenagers are so cool! Imagine if they talked to us like we're one of them? We're getting hard just thinking about it.

Our Guidng Principls

To make Tumblr cool again, we must address these huge glaring issues.

People can look at a blog without logging in. How is that fair to all the poor schlubs who had to fill out forms to get an account? Also we haven't figured out a way to force ads onto the personalized pages yet. But we swear that's not the main reason.

People can see content they are looking for or linked to. People can keep up with blogs they follow. But the problem with this is, people don't know what they want. We know what they want! We're smart. We wrote this damn site, remember?

Promote posts that incite pointless conversations. Posts that are guaranteed to bait every troll into responding. Isn't that why all your Magat relatives love Facebook so much? We can do that!

P*ss off your content creators in every way possible (see #2).

Create algorithms that throw an unending barrage of irrelevant content in your face. Have you seen Instagram lately? We could do that so easy!!!

The app is slow. The website is slow. Obviously this is because of GIFs. Facebook and Instagram don't allow them, so why should we?

Conclusion

Our mission changes on a day-to-day basis. Right now we're super jealous of all the attention that new Threads thing is getting. We're still not sure what it is, but we're gonna download it after work.

[torturedreid]

The Perfect Formula

BARTENDER SPENCER

word count: 1265

warnings: drunk reader

The BAU’s bullpen had been transformed for the night, a rare occasion where work was on pause, and celebration took center stage. Strings of lights sparkled around the desks, and a large Bluetooth speaker on Derek’s desk blasted Garcia’s eclectic mix of holiday classics and ‘80s pop. The mood was relaxed, the team scattered around the room with glasses in hand, laughing and unwinding. A makeshift bar had been set up on the break room counter, cluttered with liquor bottles, mixers, and fresh fruit.

You leaned against the counter, watching as Spencer Reid stood at the center of it all, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, meticulously measuring liquids into a shaker. His tongue poked out slightly as he concentrated, and his cheeks were flushed a light pink, either from the heat of the room or the attention he was drawing from the team.

He’d taken charge of the cocktails after Morgan joked that Reid’s genius might finally be put to use for something other than criminal profiling. What had started as a tease quickly turned into a spectacle, as Spencer muttered to himself about ratios, volumes, and chemical balances while precisely measuring ingredients.

“Spence, you could just eyeball it, most people just pour and pray,” you teased, resting your chin on your hand as you watched. “It’s a party, not a chemistry experiment.”

His eyes flicked to yours, wide and flustered. “Eyeballing it would risk an imbalance in flavor profile, which could ruin the entire drink. It introduces too many variables. Cocktails, especially something as classic as a Daiquiri, require precision. The ideal ratio is two parts rum, one part lime juice, and one part syrup. Deviate from that, and you throw the balance off entirely.”

“Sounds pretty straightforward,” you said with a shrug, obviously joking, but of course he didn’t understand that.

“It’s deceptively simple,” he countered. “The ratio is easy to remember, but the variables compound quickly. For example, the dilution from the ice adds approximately twenty percent water to the final mixture, so you have to account for that when calculating the initial ingredient volumes. And then there's the acid-to-sugar ratio in the lime juice and syrup, which needs to fall between 1.2:1 and 1.6:1 for optimal flavor.”

You stared at him, blinking. “Did you just…math a cocktail?”

Spencer smiled faintly as he reached for a lime. “Of course. Math is the foundation of mixology.”

He began squeezing the lime, pausing briefly to weigh the juice on a small scale he’d brought over from the lab. “The average lime produces about 30 milliliters of juice, but that can vary depending on the ripeness and size. Too much acidity and the drink becomes harsh. Too little, and it tastes flat. This lime gave me 28 milliliters, so I'll adjust the syrup accordingly to maintain balance… for the record, this isn’t just a cocktail. It’s a daiquiri. The original recipe was created by Jennings Cox in the last 1800’s, and its simplicity makes it particularly vulnerable to imprecision.” 

You couldn’t suppress a laugh. “You really are a genius, you know that?���

Spencer glanced at you, his face flushing deeper. “I’m just applying basic principles of chemistry and physics,” he said, his tone modest but his expression pleased.

“You’re applying science to make a party drink,” you teased.

“And doing it perfectly,” he replied, with a rare bit of sass, pouring the lime juice into the shaker.

You watched as he added the rum with his standard precision, using a jigger to measure out 60 milliliters before pouring it in. Then came the syrup, which he poured slowly, his eyes narrowing as he calculated the exact amount to offset the slight deficit in lime juice. Finally, he added ice, giving the shaker a firm tap before picking it up and shaking with a smooth, practiced rhythm.

The clink of ice against metal filled the room as his arms moved fluidly, the muscles in his forearms flexing, exposed from where he’d rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. You tilted your head a little, unable to look away as he focused entirely on his task.

“Spencer-” you started, your tone teasing.

“Not yet,” he interrupted, holding up a finger without breaking his rhythm. “If I stop shaking too soon the drink won’t chill properly, and the dilution will be uneven.”

You smirked, waiting until he finally strained the drink into a glass. He slid it across the counter to you, looking up with a mix of anticipation and nervousness.

“Here,” he said, his voice soft. “Let me know what you think.”

You took a sip, letting the tartness of the lime and the smoothness of the rum wash over your palate. It was perfect- bright, balanced, and refreshing.

“Spence, this is amazing,” you said, meeting his gaze.

His lips quirked up into a small, bashful smile. “Really?”

“Really,” you confirmed, raising the glass in a mock toast. “To Spencer Reid, cocktail extraordinaire.”

He chuckled softly, his blush deepening and he turned to prepare another drink. 

--------------------------------------------

Hours later, the party was in full swing, but you found yourself repeatedly drawn back to Spencer’s bar. Each time he made you something different- a Margarita, a Negroni, an espresso martini- explaining the history and chemistry behind each one as he worked. You found it endearing, and hot, even as your head began to feel pleasantly fuzzy from the alcohol.

“Another, please,” you smiled, sliding your empty glass across the counter.

Spencer raised an eyebrow, his hands hesitating over the bottles. “That’s your fourth drink,” he said cautiously.

“And every single one has been delicious,” you replied, leaning on the countertop.

“Maybe you should slow down,” he suggested, his tone gentle but firm.

“Come on, Spencer,” you sighed, pouting dramatically. “You’re the barkeep here. Don’t leave me hanging.”

He sighed, relenting as he began preparing another cocktail. “You know, alcohol inhibits your prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for decision-making and impulse control.”

“Yeah, yeah, science boy,” you said, waving him off. “Just make the drink.”

By the time you finished that one, the world felt slightly tilted, and your laugh had become louder, less contained. You stumbled against the counter, giggling as Spencer reached out instinctively to steady you.

“Okay,” he said firmly, taking your glass from your hand. “That’s it. You’re done.”

“What?” you protested, looking up at him with puppy dog eyes. “No way, I’m fine!”

“You’re drunk,” he replied, his voice soft but unwavering.

“I am not drunk.”

“You just called me a wizard and asked if we could open a bar together,” he pointed out. “No more drinks for you. You need water.”

“But Spence,” you whined, swaying slightly.

“Water,” he repeated adamantly, guiding you to a nearby chair and handing you a glass of water. “Drink this. You’ll thank me in the morning.”

You took the glass with a dramatic sigh, slumping into the chair. “You’re no fun.”

He crouched down in front of you, his elbows resting on his thighs, his eyes warm and concerned. “I’d rather be no fun than let you drink yourself into a black-out.”

“Fine,” you grumbled, sipping the water. After a moment, you added, “But you’re still cute when you’re bossy.”

Spencer froze, his eyes widening as his face turned a deep shade of red. “I-uh-”

“Relax, genius wizard,” you said with a lazy smile. “It’s a compliment.”

He stood quickly, muttering something about getting a snack. As he moved behind the counter again, you couldn’t help but grin. Even in your inebriated state, it was fun watching the famed Dr. Spencer Reid unravel.

[togglesbloggle]

Insofar as I have a principled position on the matter- and I don’t, not really- it’s this: art does have the ability to alter our values and our way of interpreting the world. It’s absolutely a live grenade, and should be taken seriously as such.

Like, of course it does! Probably you can point to some book, some film, some story somewhere that touched you not just deeply but irrevocably. There are moments of aesthetic experience which give a before and after to our lives, just as surely as moments of extraordinary suffering or extraordinary joy can.

I’m lucky enough to have more than a few I can list off, personally. Profoundly transformative ones like Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited or the music of John Cage, sure. But maybe even more interesting (tractable?) to me were small moments of grace like the one I found in the Dragonlance novels by Weis and Hickman: the dark wizard Raistlin Majere wove back and forth across the line between ‘hero’ and ‘villain’ in exactly such a way that, after reading his books at a young age, I immediately and quite distinctly overcame my fear of the dark.

What a wonderful thing for a book to do! I’d be hard-pressed to explain exactly how, if only because I’m such a different person now than I was then. Perhaps your own intuition will bridge the gap a bit. It was all tied up with this distinction between good and evil, you see, and with the ability to stare in to the face of evil things without flinching, to understand that they have contingency and history just like good things do, and to be in some sense in community with them.

That was a long, long time ago, and I don’t think my model of the world even has evil in it any more, not in the sense that I believed in it then. But my fear of the dark never came back, either.

I don’t believe for a minute that Weis and Hickman had any idea that they were giving me that gift in particular, nor did they have any sensible means to achieve such a goal even if they somehow wanted to. It wasn’t a transformation mediated by intent, you know? It didn’t reduce to an argument that I believed or disbelieved in some intellectual way, or to some specific controlled experience that the authors had planned for me.

Art is transformative, but not in the way that effective polemic is transformative. It doesn't (principally) reason with us or persuade us. Rather, I think art is dangerous for the same reasons that travel to a foreign country is dangerous, or a friendship with somebody new is dangerous. It threatens us by expanding our conscious history to include new categories of experience, that is, by changing the context in which we go about the business of living.

It's wrong to think of art mostly as a tug-of-war dragging hapless consumers from one ideology to another, with the victory going to whichever faction can fill the algorithm with mass-produced and doctrinally compliant stories clamoring endlessly for their views. Normalization has its power, don't get me wrong, but there will always be far greater power in a single glimpse over the horizon.

Think about Whoopi Goldberg's account of seeing Nichelle Nichol's Uhura on television:

“Well, when I was nine years old Star Trek came on. I looked at it and I went screaming through the house, ‘Come here, mum, everybody, come quick, come quick, there’s a black lady on television and she ain’t no maid!’ I knew right then and there I could be anything I wanted to be.”

Once. It took one time, and the walls fell away, and everything was possible. The fashions and approved styles may come and go with the seasons, but the outer perimeter of our experiences, and the sense of what the world could be, can only ever grow, and sometimes it grows by leaps and bounds in an instant.

I guess this is why I tend to think of censorship and control over media as basically quixotic. Sure, with enough energy you can control what's normal and what's public, but controlling what's possible is an exercise in futility on a grand scale. You can never win that fight, only lose it fast or slow.

We all have this remarkably unpredictable collection of soft places and hard places: some things in us that deform to match the shape of their environment, and other things that break us before they can bend. And we all try to find a way to make these strange shapes work within the limits of our own experience and the world as we understand it. Some of us thrive in communities and cultures where others die gasping, and some of us spend our entire lives trying to smash through excruciating barriers that others can't even detect.

Art is one of the things that expands those limits, gives the strange creature inside us a little bit of room to stretch and grow and find a space for the hard bits to arrange themselves as they need to be. But it can't do that without changing the soft parts as well, because the soft parts need external force to maintain their shape. Socialization and ideology can only weakly bind us, because they rely on deliberate and conscious pressures to conform; ignorance is stronger, because it denies us the choice altogether. Without art, you'll never really be able to learn what kind of animal you are, as opposed to the kind of person your world has told you to be. But art will change you, too, as discovery always will.

The life you have now has real value- great beauty, and great meaning. For all that you are defined in part by the walls of your cage, knowledge and new experiences are not something to accept lightly, and they can never be undone. All I can say, really, is that I've never once regretted it.

[over-eden]

6B4T

Lately there has been talk about 4B and so I wanted to bring up 6B4T which grew from the South Korean 4B movement, and specially the 6B4T movement as it is practiced by our Chinese sisters. Before that however differences between the both are as followed:

4B

No sex with men

No giving birth

No dating men

No marriage with men

6B4T

Includes the original commandments of 4B and adds the following:

Don’t buy products from misogynistic brands

Support single women/women that have chosen to be celibate

Reject the corset (rejecting toxic beauty standards)

Reject idol culture (as in male-worship and idolization of entertainment figures this ALSO includes rejecting idol culture for female kpop idols/entertainers)

Reject otaku culture (rejecting misogynistic anime culture)

Reject religion

(**You may see 6B4T referred to as 10bt to avoid censorship as CN social media sites are heavily monitored by government censors, even outside of CN social media CN sisters will still refer to it as 10bt because 6b + 4t = 10bt)

Now that there's a basic understanding... I wanted to talk about some of the differences that the CN 6B4T movement has compared to what I usually encounter in English speaking radfem circles. Please note that this is my own experience and as with any political movement there can a myriad of women that agree and disagree (except on the 6B4T principles as a whole, those are rock solid for them haha.)

I was first aware of this movement around 2020 and have been following women on twitter/x since then that follow these beliefs. All of this has been gathered from tweets by 6B4T users on twitter/x + interactions with them. I am not a CN speaker and have used translation apps to piece together details on the 6B4T movement and have cross referenced this with some of the writings I can find in English about this and the conversations that I have had with some of the 10bt sisters that were willing to interact with me.

I do not feel comfortable just singling out specific accounts for people to look up on twitter but anyone that wants to do their own research can search the keywords on twitter 6B4T or 10bt and go under the "People" filter to populate accounts of CN women that have 6B4T and/or 10bt in their bio.

One thing that I want to talk about right away - the term donkey. It will come up quite often when you search 10bt accounts and is used to describe women that are perpetuating patriarchy because they "carry the patriarchy without protest and allow themselves to be exploited." (This includes married women.) 10bt sisters DO NOT have an emphasis on educating women that perpetuate patriarchy. You can find sayings such as:

"Feminism is like being given a weapon to support yourself with, do not use it to commit suicide by having a complex of saving donkeys" 

“Don't do donkey work for donkeys".

“Don’t get derailed by women support women, leave the donkeys alone.”

Which leads me to the next point - 10bt sisters are for empowering women independently. There is obvious acknowledgement of bonds and relationships between women but the general feeling is more to focus on the individual self, connections are based solely on shared interests and can be let go of as needed. (I have also seen discussions of letting go of romantic ties not just for straight sisters but for lesbian sisters as well.) Sentiments such as "focusing on oneself is a foundation for a happy life" "All thoughts and ideologies cannot be separated from down to earth efforts and dedication" are plenty. Really a focus away from "altruistic" causes so to speak

And on that note: anti veganism. 10bt sisters in general are adamant that 6B4T principles should only include tackling patriarchy and not have other causes added to it. Anti veganism sentiment also seems to stem from certain aspects in CN culture of serving smaller portions to young girls and discouraging them to eat meat as opposed to men. The focus on improving one's self from before also shows up here: "Women need strength to overthrow patriarchy, only then should we focus on improving the lives of animals."

Some 10bt sisters are also very open about criticism and believe women that openly identify with the 10bt movement should be prepared to have their posts critiqued, and while some will debate this... one of the things that is absolutely non negotiable is that actions MUST back up words. There’s lots of debates that go on in the 10bt movement but the bare minimum is that if you follow 6B4T then you must follow its core beliefs otherwise what are you here for? There is a huge disdain for those that say they belong to this movement but don’t follow its beliefs.

With that being said, how do the 10bt sisters feel about 4B taking off in the states? Well…

 “4B grew into 6B4T and they only dared to do half of the movement? It’s disappointing.”

“At this point in time, it is crazy to deliberately go back and start from 4B. You have someone’s shoulder to stand on but you won’t take it.”

“4B: No marriage, no giving birth , no sex, no dating. Doesn't that mean they are still serving as donkeys: supporting idols and otaku, believing in religion, using pornographic content, and consuming misogynistic brands... It really makes one recognize by a glance what stupid things they are still doing.”

“I don't understand how this kind of castration of the feminist movement came about.”

Is some of the general consensus on twitter/x.

Two more things I will add here before I wrap this up:

I have seen a post in English about other principles to follow such as 5B, 7B or 8B. I am not aware of what these principles are and could not find a CN source to confirm this so if 5B, 7B and 8B do exist, I do not believe it originated from the CN movement. 

There is also the concept of icing men out aka if a man comments on your social media posts immediately delete the comment EVEN if it is a comment in agreement. For this while I also could not find a specific CN source for the 10bt sisters, it feels like it is just natural to not interact with men. I have yet to see debates on whether someone can be part of 10bt and still have a boyfriend, husband, etc since the answer will always be a resounding NO. (And on this note… if you are curious about attitudes towards male family members.. rejection of filial piety is something that is very agreed upon. I would recommend first learning what filial piety entails in CN culture as whole if there is curiosity about this.)

I will wrap this up with one of my favorite concepts I have encountered from our 10bt sisters:

“When one woman keeps house*: five women are trapped: herself, daughter, mother, sister-in-law, and female coworkers”

[*keeps house meaning  - “when one woman marries…”] 

If there are sisters out here who are involved with this or have more info to add please feel free to do so! Also would love to get in touch with any that know more on the CN 10bt movement.  

[linberlyy]

HBO recently released a new video with mini-interviews with actors on green/black team. And do you know what conclusion we made? Our greens actors are so afraid to express their opinions and views on the actions of the characters that they begin to laugh them off, albeit in short phrases, and explain what we already know.

Just take a look:

Tom: “Why should Team Green be on the throne and not Team Black? My name is on the lease for the castle." (We know, Tom, how much you get hated, and we understand that this is all you can say in principle at such events).

Fabien: “I think it's more a loyalty thing for Cole. I think it's his loyalty to Alicent. He wants what she wants. I myself… no comments.” (I was already shy at the end, you are our sunshine).

Ewan: “Aemond, he was bullied and wronged as a kid. They carved his eye out. He bounced back. He put a sapphire gemstone in his eye. And yeah, they're gonna get what's coming to them.” (Here Ewan revealed what we've already...sort of...seen? Why do we need a summary of the events of the first season? Even the last encrypted phrase sounded without the connotation we needed, so that, obviously, God forbid, we put him against mailwife Daemon, against whom he is nothing).

Olivia: "We have bigger dragons." (Poor Olivia, she was hated, it seems, more than anyone else. She looks thinner and tighter. I really hope that we are wrong. They didn’t even say the words in using their party, just so as not to cause a storm of negativity, how dare this ungrateful person go against Rhaenyra!)

While the actors of the opposite side can afford to make too eloquent and provocative statements, it is clear that most of the normies will support them and begin to squeal with delight:

Steve: “Team Black should be on the throne instead of Team Green. Team Green are usurpers. Team Black are the rightful heirs. They were named by the King. They're just better looking, generally.” (Even green actors cannot afford to call their characters “legitimate” and make any comments in favor of the opposite side, but here there is just basic cringe. Everything we like).

Eve: “They're the best. And the annoying people are pretty obviously the Greens. They're all just a bunch of knobs, and they need their heads being knocked together." (No comments, right? Everything is clear here).

Harry: “Team Black are decent people. We are more of a functioning family. We do things the right way." (The funny thing is that the whole Dance is the struggle of ONE family. The fact that EVEN the actors divide both groups into TWO different families already says something, and we do not take this into account, as it is about the same persons in the scripts).

Phoebe: “I think we love each other way more. I think we have a family base that is incredible. (Yes, let's also compare who loves whom more).

Bethany: “Team Black are the most fun. We get on the most. They all hate each other. „You have no idea the sacrifices that were made to put you on the throne“. (In the video, after the actress’s words, they accidentally removed Alicent and Aegon from the trailer, obviously, there was a visible emphasis on the fact that there is no love in the green family, and in general they watched without exception, but with their black maniacs, everything is cool with them).

Matt: “My uncle is a challenge I welcome. If he dares face me." No chance. I'm coming for his head. I'm gonna put it on a spike. Me and Rhaenyra, there's a bloodline to us, isn't there? We're the thoroughbreds." (Compare Ewan's lines with his. There is a big difference. Matt has the ability to say things like this to please the surviving fans, while Ewan does not, because all he gets in response is judgment, hate speech and swearing. And the phrase “We're the thoroughbreds” each time comes closer and closer to the name of H*tler with his “pure Aryan blood”, don’t blame me).

Emma: "We have madness on our side. And we have a powerful naval presence. Thanks to the Velaryon fleet." (Ok, do we need to remind you in what right and wrong ways the characters got it? Do the Velaryons themselves even know what the key is? However, Emma’s words carry disgust, like the words of her fellow actors, so she’s just a bun. Thanks for that too).

Does anyone have any other suggestions as to which side we present to get our ass kissed? The answer is obvious.

[kazumist]

EPISODE 1 ✦ STOP BOTHERING ME

LOVE, MAYBE — A CHILDE SMAU

masterlist / next ep / timestamps don't matter

extra notes.

yes they're all named by actual backyardigans characters

sorry for the random terms lol but anyways fun of abm/funabm = fundamentals of abm (basically a subject where you study how to analyze and understand the principles of basic accounting and such. and since theyre in 12th grade, it's funabm 2 where it's mostly about studying how to analyze financial statements that can help with making economic decisions)

cfs = cash flow statement (an analysis of the inflows/outflows of cash. or in more basic terms, basically the statement that shows and lists all the cash transactions made)

taglist (open): @xianyoon @blue-b3rries @kizakiss @kissingkzuha @aethion @phtogravi @ell1e2010 @esthelily @b4tm4nn @hcmay @ivvieene @morganadorodo @kaitfae @kentply @scaranthropy @kyon-cherri @kookiibun @kochothehoe @mekiiiii @ibyobi @iuspired @tetsuskei @kunikuzushis-darling @morgyyyyyyy @chluuvr @scaradooche @kissmiere @a1-ic3 @bubblegum-angelquartz @tiredjxnna @levlucs-kiru @angeilix @cerisescherries @saeskiss @a-talkative-corn @briluvspnk

[film-in-my-soul]

The Face of Hextech | 1,957 | AppleSharon / @applesharonfiction

Summary: Jayce likes serving Viktor’s sweetmilk in the Man of Progress mug because sometimes Viktor looks down at the picture and laughs. He makes it a point to ensure that Viktor’s brown mug becomes a holder for pens, pencils, his compass, and other assorted stationary. It’s unfair that Viktor doesn’t have a mug, Jayce thinks. It’s unfair that people don’t recognize Viktor for the brilliant person he is. After receiving a mug with his face on it at their hexgate celebration party, Jayce wants to make sure that Viktor receives the recognition he deserves. Based on this art commissioned by the LoL Germany account where Jayce drew Viktor's face on a mug.

your heart was on fire bright | 4,667 | adoctoraday / @crownofstardustandbone

Summary: It's just Sunday dinner, it shouldn't be this hard for Jayce to open his mouth and ask Viktor to come, but somehow it feels even scarier than it'd been to stand before the Council and risk banishment.

Your Past is Always Close Behind | 7,442 | Miikado

Summary: After his time in the wastelands of Piltover, Jayce is thrown back further in the past then he intended, and finds himself standing in front of a version of his partner, before they invented Hextech. Maybe he has more options than he'd thought. And maybe, just maybe, he can allow himself to be cared for, for once. “There will be time for questions later… Come.” Viktor holds out a hand, helping the other man to his feet with some difficulty. “You need a bath.”

High Hawk Season | 9,959 | JeanLuciferGohard / @thefaustaesthetic

Summary: Three weeks, and the south-facing side of his apartment is still missing, and they won’t even let him sleep there with a tarp tacked over it, because the ‘structure of the building was compromised’ and it’s ‘not fit for habitation’, as if student housing, even student housing on the Kiramann’s dime, ever had any claim on habitability in the fucking first place. “I've been sleeping at the lab, Viktor.” (which he probably would’ve done anyway, but it’s matter of principle–it’s–okay, it’s fundamental question of free will and fair housing practices and not having to live with his mother, who publicly called him a lunatic) Sometimes, you are a genius, and a sizable explosion knocks out most of your living space, and you end up living with your research partner, and it's only weird if you make it weird.

(see more recommendations below!)

Another Bite for Our Hextech Dream | 12,969 | virtualbugs

Summary: “Have you eaten recently?” It seemed to catch Viktor by surprise. The man paused, his eyes getting glazed over for a moment as the gears in his head started turning again and he thought about the question. “I, uh, cannot recall.” Viktor had been getting thinner and more exhausted throughout the years, replacing basic human needs with magic and metal. Jayce couldn't help but get worried.

All that I am | 20,441 | FatherBroken / @fatherbroken

Summary: The distant look in the Mage’s eyes snapped to the gap of the roof, to the near-silent tuttering of other, watchful machines down below. “No, it doesn’t matter. You will be safe up here. It should be simple enough, to lay protective wards into the earth of the tower. I won’t let anything happen to you,” he vowed. Promises held no impetus in this world, where nothing happened, nothing changed. The Machine reset its position on its knees and replaced its hands on the weapon of a fallen era. I can’t stop you from making useless promises, can I? Somehow, without doing anything, the Machine had gained a visitor and protector.

Observational Studies | 7,573 | begaydocrimes10001

Summary: It is difficult to understand a person like Viktor. He is the smartest person Jayce knows, that's for certain, but it's difficult to say anything for certain beyond that. He's proud of his work, but he outright rejects any opportunities to brag about his work at galas. He's cold and sharp when he interacts with people, but he makes time to think about every child in the Undercity. He's mesmerizing, but he's also the guy who will whack Jayce in the shins if Jayce makes one more wrong remark about an equation. Jayce can't help but fall for him. (A collection of moments where Jayce learned more about Viktor as a person. It is hard not to observe someone as unique as Viktor; it is harder not to fall in love with him.)

Run It Back | 11,224 | spqr

Summary: The first thing Jayce sees when he wakes up is Viktor, frowning at him. “Jayce,” Viktor says, with that same cautious patience he gets when he wanders into the lab to find some contraption of Jayce’s half-built on the table and he doesn’t know whether he can touch it without running the risk of blowing himself up. “What did you do?” (or: Jayce builds a time loop after the council attack, and Viktor dies again. and again and again and again.)

Better Hypothetical | 15,186 | Miikado

Summary: Jayce Talis joins the Piltover Academy to work on his research, and meets his new lab partner. It’s all downhill from there. OR : Jayce and Viktor start working together under different circumstances, the struggles of getting along and the inevitability of finding each other

Ivory Tower | 30,051 | aban_asaara / @aban-asaara

Summary: Knowing that Viktor’s dying anyway should’ve made it easier, but it doesn’t. They should’ve had their entire lives spread out in front of them. Should’ve kept changing the world one eureka at a time. Should’ve returned the favour and made Viktor’s dream a reality. Helped him. Helped Zaun. Jayce waits. And waits. And waits. Following Jinx’s attack on the Council, Viktor slips into a strange, unnatural coma. It falls to Jayce to release him.

Imagine Being Loved By Me | 8,285 | FourOddApples / @fouroddapples

Summary: “If I didn’t know any better I would think you are trying to make me blush.” Behind Viktor’s ostensibly joking tone, their eyes meet again, and Jayce’s throat goes a little dry at the focused intensity of them. Alright. This…is admittedly not quite the direction he was originally planning to take this. Doesn’t mean he’s not willing to take a chance like this if it is offered to him so freely. “Is it working?” Or: Jayce, a young man from Zaun with no prospects and a scientifically inclined mind, decides to take his future into his own hands. In a stolen academy uniform at a party, he meets a Councillor’s son named Viktor who makes him question what he thought he knew about topsiders—and who is just overall very distracting.

the only living boy in piltover | 11,215 | weatheredlaw / @weatheredlaw

Summary: There is a beautiful stranger sitting on Jayce’s favorite bench. or: jayce and viktor meet. time passes and it doesn't. not everything is as it seems.

And It's Called Black Magic | 12,068 | beta_mackerel

Summary: Hogwart's potions master Viktor could never have expected this. How was he supposed to know that Jayce Talis, genius, golden boy extraordinaire, and fellow professor would be foolish enough to eat the love potion-filled chocolates he'd confiscated from a student? But he can fix this. All he has to do is slip Jayce the antidote without him knowing and forget about the love-sick puppy looks he's been giving him all day. It should be fine. Right?

High-Viscosity | 12,629 | capyshota

Summary: Jayce knows having a plumber over is like… the sex cliche, but he’s never even thought about fucking a client, let alone actually done it. His job isn’t sexy, it’s dirty, and kind of boring, and those things don’t usually spur hot fantasies for him. But smartly dressed older men with indiscernible European accents, he’s come to realize, definitely do.

maximum capacity | 14,537 | Sinister_Queer

Summary: Jayce is everything Viktor ever wished for in a partner: intelligent, kind, strong, handsome and — … well, he has everything Viktor ever hoped for and he fully intends to enjoy it to the fullest. (AKA the fic where Viktor is a size king and Jayce happily indulges.)

singular focus | 14,797 | Sinister_Queer

Summary: Jayce has always back-burnered relationships in favor of chasing his dreams - putting the possibility of love and connection aside again and again until the day he looks up from his work and realizes with sudden clarity that he is a 30 year old virgin. And Viktor has some thoughts on how to fix that. (AKA: the virgin!Jayce fic that needed to be purged from my mind like an exorcism.)

Your Hands on My Body | 15,274 | UndercityViktor / @undercityviktor

Summary: *Viktor voice* "I present to you...": A Modern AU with Jayce working as a physio and sports massage therapist after crashing out of medical school, and Viktor, who works at the university and researches and builds bionic prosthetics etc. After he is referred to Jayce for a sports massage, Viktor unwillingly goes and finds that it’s not as much hokum as he was expecting… Chill Modern AU where everyone is pretty happy, and no one gets hurt and there's no big drama, just found family taking care of each other. *Rating has gone up from Teen to Explicit, so please be mindful of that.*

the 7 years between (and a bit of the after) | 16,440 | yellow813

Summary: Jayce falls in love with Viktor in the small moments tucked within those seven years together. He doesn't realize until it's too late. Or; The events of Arcane told through Jayce's eyes.

And They Were Roommates | 18,252 | Neibba

Summary: “That is just how Jayce is, Sky.” Viktor argued. “There is nothing about him that even hints he is anything other than straight. He brought home literal Barbie last night, she did the walk of shame out of our apartment this morning.” “Well I said he was queer not that he had bad taste.” Sky mused and Viktor shot her another glare. “Viktor, when am I ever wrong? You don’t even need to answer that because the answer is never and you know it.” Or: Viktor is helplessly in love with Jayce, but Jayce is straight…or is he? This is just supposed to be a quick, short project to get the creative juices flowing. It is not supposed to exceed 20k words! We’ll see if I hold myself to that.

I've Been Thinking of All the Little Things That You've Been Missing | 19,664 | FourOddApples / @fouroddapples

Summary: “Just a note. If someone is in love with you and you don’t want them, the kind fucking thing to do is to let them go.” Or: Viktor takes a chance that Jayce doesn’t know what to do with. Things are different after that, and slowly but surely Jayce begins to second-guess his response.

advanced practical physics (the laws of attraction apply) | 26,045 | Sinister_Queer

Summary: Jayce has five months left until he finishes his undergraduate degree. Five months until he could start his real life, until he could start doing what he wanted. The only thing standing in his way is one group project and the partner he'd slept with two nights ago. (Jayce and Viktor have a one night stand, then end up as group project buddies.)

Bad Machinery | 27,239 | Tlon / @tlonista

Summary: It's as predictable as the laws of physics: a Piltover golden boy should despise a starving inventor from the undercity. But when Viktor's tipped off to a scholar buying strange materials in the Lanes, he's desperate enough to sneak topside and propose a deal. He's not expecting to break every rule he's learned to live by for a man who needs him just as much. Or, the Arcane Act 1 AU where Viktor never left the undercity, but he found Jayce anyway.

Blog Info ☆ 2025 Reclists ☆ 2024 Reclists

[tainbocuailnge]

Downloaded ark knights and gonna start today - read a few guides but there's so much info. Any advice before I start?

arknights as a game is pretty forgiving of just fucking around and finding out. you can read guides and lots of people have typed lots of words about the best way to squeeze out the most digital resources but don't feel like you have to memorize all that or you fuck up your account forever, it's really not that serious. do prioritise building your base though, because it passively generates resources that make things easier long term.

if everyone is saying a unit is good then the unit is good but if everyone is saying a unit is bad don't fucking listen to them, first of all because a lot of units that got called bad turned out to be god tier if you just use them as intended, and second because every unit in this game is perfectly functional and your strategy matters far more than how strong your units are. arknights is a well designed strategy game first and gacha game second.

level your 3* units, they're cheap and completely serviceable, and their functionality is designed to teach you basic gameplay principles that higher rarity units will branch out from. they also have good base skills to help get you started.

if you just want to read visual novel arknights then feel free to follow video guides for every stage, but if you want to also play strategy game arknights then try to understand why the video uses certain units in certain ways. again, an understanding of the game mechanics will take you much further than rolling the latest powerful unit.

the monthly card is a good deal if you're not averse to spending on gacha games in general.

here's the best gameplay information resource

here's the best resource for non-gameplay information like upcoming events and external media like manhua

here's my preferred online story archive

here's the droprates database

the arknights gamepress is dead and I personally avoid the arknights wiki where I can because the lead editor is a petulant despot, I only check it if I need a list of operators that have a certain debuff or something.

[sexyandhedonistic]

A word to some LOA blogs. You will know this is directed towards you when you read this.

The amount of times I have heard of a blog being rude and disrespectful to their followers is starting to become concerning and this is why I'm writing this currently, because it looks like a lot of you are letting your platform overinflate your egos and you do not know how to act as a result.

Not everyone needs to run a LOA blog.

I have reiterated time and time again regarding the fact that a lot of people join the community without knowing the first thing about the law of assumption which evokes confusion in so many people as a result. That is only one part of my issue with just anyone creating an account and starting to post literal gibberish (but that's a discussion for another day).

The other is the lack of basic empathy displayed by some blogs on here. I understand that the spectrum of questions in our inbox can range from very insightful epiphanies our anons have to hate to confusing questions to straight up irritating nonsensical ones, but that doesn't entitle you to be a piece of shit to your followers whether it's to their face or to your loa friend group regarding them asking you a genuine question they confided in you with.

As a blog, if you do not want to help someone, your options are the following:

Not respond.

Tell them you are unfit and redirect them elsewhere.

Running a law of assumption blog, much like indulging in any other task or hobby in which you have to help people, requires you to have three very important traits and those are:

Patience

Empathy

MORE patience

A lot of you guys are simply not built to be running a platform that is specifically intended to help people. If you're gonna be constantly belittling them, invalidating their honest questions then why are you here? There are principles of the law that we learn and talk about and you need to familiarize yourself with them before you run to point and laugh at someone who's asking for your help. You do not get to make fun of people's questions just because your understanding of the law of assumption is deeply flawed and cherry picked.

You are always welcome to be a lurker in the community and read what other blogs say, but if you have nothing to contribute except shitty responses and unwarranted mocking maybe you should reevaluate your decision to run a law of assumption blog.

To my followers, I am sorry if you've ever dealt with a rude blogger before. You do not deserve to be treated with disrespect LOA or not. This is supposed to be a community where everyone is welcome to learn about the law and discuss it accordingly. I hope you guys are able to find a blog that resonates with you and can answer your questions in a kind and digestible way, but please do not humor some of these awful people.

This is alI have to say about the matter for the time being. If you felt like I was talking about you I most likely was. Apologize to your followers for being an asshole, deactivate your blog or leave the community altogether. Any of these options work.

[hordikawins]

Viren’s Path

This line here is probably the most significant for Arc 2 Viren.

“The path of freedom is the path of truth.”

On the surface, it seems counterintuitive. Freedom and truth shouldn’t have much to do with each other—especially when, in Viren’s case, choosing truth led him to willingly surrender himself and accept imprisonment in Katolis.

But the freedom that Viren is talking about goes beyond this. It isn’t about following desires or having unlimited options. It’s the freedom to act in accordance with who you truly are—its authentic autonomy.

Viren wielded more power than perhaps any human in history. Yet he was completely enslaved: by his desires (protecting family, serving humanity), his fears (losing Soren, losing control), and external manipulation (Aaravos’s influence). Even his original embrace of dark magic was driven by desperation to save his dying son. Every choice emerged from compulsion, not genuine freedom.

But after entering his dark magic coma and being forced to wrestle with his own mind, Viren finally comes to know himself—his own truth. In realizing this truth, he becomes free to act according to his principles: returning to Katolis to face justice, and ultimately correcting his cowardly decision from Season 1 by sacrificing his own life for the kingdom. And this is honestly one of the biggest parallels he has with Callum - Callum has been walking the path of freedom for over two years now, since learning the Sky Arcanum or at least since Harrow’s letter. With Callum, this freedom leads directly to truth - Once Callum determines what's morally right, he acts with remarkable consistency and integrity, even when it's difficult or dangerous. Even when it would cost him his life.

In both instances, Callum and Viren are willing to sacrifice their lives entirely on principle, demonstrating that they do have free will. Aaravos’s manipulation depends entirely on exploiting basic drives—hunger, curiosity, fear, desire. His control works by making his targets predictable through their compulsions. But as both Callum and Viren show, morality confounds and breaks this dynamic completely.

When someone acts on principle rather than impulse, they become genuinely unpredictable because they’re operating according to internal moral logic that Aaravos cannot account for nor understand. This is why when Callum attempts to use dark magic in a way that would sacrifice his life, Aaravos is genuinely surprised and caught off guard

The deeper question these characters explore isn’t whether humans have free will in the abstract, but whether we can exercise free will when resisting systems of control and oppression. The series reveals how those with power maintain dominance: by controlling both sides of conflicts, creating the illusion of eternal struggle, and convincing dissenters they are powerless—caught in loops without end.

The show’s radical conclusion is that through freedom, truth, and moral courage, you can indeed choose your own destiny. But only by stepping entirely outside the predetermined scripts that power depends on.

[holidaycubed]

i’ve been thinking about the logistics of undertale a little too much. biologically, what are monsters? like hypothetically what biological phyla would they fit under?

is this too niche of a question?

if it’s two races: humans vs. monsters, then there has to be a genetic difference in between the two sentient species. humans are mammals, descending from apes and the like, suggesting that monsters are inherently different from mammals entirely. however, we see monsters that heavily represent a lot of mammal species (dogs, goats, deer, etc) as well as a plethora of other animal-inspired characters (undyne having fish like qualities, alphys with lizard-like qualities).

do humans and monsters share the same common ancestor and just have adopted similar animalistic traits through convergent evolution, or are monsters something else entirely?

if the latter is true, i’m wondering if monster biology could be considered as something completely different than how we understand life. if we take into account that mr toby fox based the world of undertale on the scientific principles of our own (minus the whole concept of SOULs), given that monsters behave in a completely different nature than most living species, how exactly did they come to exist on earth?

basically, what if the monsters represented a seventh kingdom of life?

organisms are typically classified under six distinct kingdoms of life (Archaebacteria, Eubacteria, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia). the first three kingdoms are basically microscopic, single celled organisms. the last three are probably the most familiar, being fungi, plants, and animals (with animals in this argument representing us, humanity, humans). monsters clearly don’t seem to fit into any of these categories

i mean, for one they (mainly) don’t bleed, instead decomposing into dust following the death of their physical bodies. like all other organisms, they run off energy, but this energy seems to be exuded outwards from a central point (their SOUL) rather than equally made and distributed throughout the cells of an organism like we see in all of the other six kingdoms.

essentially for us, yknow, mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. but i’m wondering if, for monsters, their SOUL serves as their mitochondria, in a way. it’s how they live and breathe. their food, too, is noted in undertale to be different than “food from the surface” or human food. it seems to completely rejuvenate their energy, instead of the traditional way that we as humans eat (by digesting other organisms). it seems that they don’t consume other organisms at all. instead their food is completely different and only MODELED after surface food (because yknow, they don’t exactly have digestive systems. take sans and papyrus for instance. real human food would just fall right through them probably).

ANYWAYS just some ramblings i could probably write a whole essay on this

TLDR: sans undertale is the secret seventh kingdom of life

[genericpuff]

The Kiss Bet Episode 172 - Hot Pot and Venting About How I Want My 70 Cents Back

Okay, look, this isn't a post I was expecting to make today but it's something that just happened and I have to fucking talk about, so let me preface this with some context.

I had to buy coins recently and because I switched to using my iPad for reading comics on, I got a "new reader" type deal from Webtoons for a coin bundle that got me like 100 coins for $5; because technically it was a 'new account' as Webtoons operates their in-game currency model on apps, not on actual emails (meaning if you use the app on an Android phone and then switch to an Apple iOS device, they're technically two separate accounts which you sync the reading data between via the account info linked via the email, therefore they have two separate coin wallets).

So with more coins than I knew what to do with, I decided to start FastPassing The Kiss Bet again, which I had recently stopped FP'ing around the S3 mark, as it's recently devolved back into the "will they won't they" trope, but instead of between Sara-Lin and Joe, it's between Sara-Lin and Joe's younger brother (the "true endgame") Oliver.

Now I don't mind the ship in essence. Joe was definitely not gonna be endgame, it was always gonna be Oliver, anyone who's read any amount of romance before - especially high school romances - knows how this shit tends to go, and The Kiss Bet isn't exactly trying to be groundbreaking or subversive in any way, it knows exactly what it's about and what it's trying to accomplish.

But it's almost become a little too good at this. Because in playing the "will they won't they" game for so long with a character that we know is endgame, it's basically been weeks and weeks and weeks of-

That said, after I caught up on the recent FP episodes, it seemed like stuff was finally moving a little bit. We were finally meeting Oliver's mom and his stepdad who he has a fractured relationship with, Joe was finally getting with his true endgame girl, Vicky (who's totally not an exact genderbent version of Joe lmao) and Sara-Lin was finally realizing she had feelings for Oliver.

And then the newest episode came out, Episode 172 - Hot Pot and Venting.

CAUTION: FASTPASS SPOILERS FOR THE KISS BET OFFICIALLY BEGIN HERE!

Already I was a little petty over the title like "lmao ok clunky title but whatever". I swept it off as not a genuine criticism, just me being a nitpicking asshole over what's essentially Fluff: The Comic.

The episode cost 7 coins, which is about roughly 70 cents, albeit closer to a dollar for Canadian readers (here's something they don't tell you about Canada - our Monopoly game currency is just as fucked as it looks) and that's where I'm gonna get into my second disclaimer that I need to be perfectly clear about (and it'll be what we get more into later on in this post).

I understand the principle of paying for art. I understand fully that many of these webtoons are being produced on tight deadlines by creators who often can only afford 1-2 assistants, if any at all. I understand and fully agree that creators deserve to be paid for their skills, time, and efforts, not just as creators working on the hellsite that is Webtoons, but as artists in general who deserve to make a living the same as anyone else. Anyone who follows my stuff here knows I'm an artist myself so I would never debate the ethical necessity of paying artists for their work.

However.

I can say that, and also agree with the people who have stated in discussion circles such as on /r/webtoons that a lot of the comics that have started charging 7 coins have been suspiciously delivering less comic since. And it's not even so much in the literal panel count, the liquid volume of these comics have remained the same, but the calorie count has dropped significantly. Food metaphors aside, what I mean is that despite many of these comics maintaining their 40-60 minimum panel count requirement, they have in fact reduced the actual amount of content that happens in them, and The Kiss Bet's newest episode is a stark example of what I mean.

I am going to start by posting only post three panels - three panels that literally sum up the entirety of Episode 172 and what it chooses to spend its time on.

That is it. That is literally all that's established in this episode. I'd tell you to go read it yourself, but honestly, this is genuinely one of those rare times I can honestly say that a 40+ panel episode is not worth 70 cents and you'd be better off, and that's saying a LOT when these episodes are only priced at the cost of a gumball. At least Lore Olympus has entertainment in how bad it is most of the time, Episode 172 of The Kiss Bet is just nothing. You will literally get more substance and flavor from an actual gumball.

Literally every other panel in this episode is either repeating the same dialogue (Sara-Lin saying the same thing multiple different times to express how Oliver is holding her hand or how his stepdad is a dick) and then Sara-Lin and Oliver staring at each other. Over. And over. Again.

I am not joking. I did not cut anything out in that sequence. That is where the episode ends. Complete nothingburger, seemingly cut off right as it was just getting started like Cait Corrain's career.

Out of the entire episode, there were 45 panels. So I can safely assume Ingrid's minimum panel requirement is at least 40 per episode, that's me assuming the best that she didn't exactly meet her panel minimum at 45 panels on the dot.

Out of those 45 panels, there were:

Two actual unique backgrounds that weren't gradients or just a single piece of furniture

4 separate panels of Sara-Lin freaking out over Oliver holding her hand and wondering if he even noticed

10 panels of Sara-Lin staring at Oliver either dumbfounded or asking him to repeat himself (or apologizing over nothing)

5 panels of the characters saying nothing

11 panels of Sara-Lin repeating information in different ways that could have been accomplished in half that time

Two separate occasions of Oliver getting Sara's attention from off-panel, literally formatted the exact same way both times (and both followed by reaction panels of Sara-Lin staring at him dumbfounded)

Way too many panels of Sara-Lin blushing in response to Oliver being an asshole tbh like literally this guy's a douchebag, Joe may have been the "out of her league" love interest but at least he was nice and didn't treat Sara-Lin like someone who just bought a Husky as a "starter pet" ???

Again, I don't usually like being a dick about the coin costs, and I definitely don't like being a hypocrite in telling people they should pay artists for their work while simultaneously posting their paywalled content like this, but I think there does come a point where it feels more irresponsible for people to not be aware of what they're about to pay for and how little they're going to be getting. This episode is literally one of the best - and worst - examples of how far the romance genre has fallen on the platform - when it's not being overtaken and oversaturated by problematic series that romanticize abuse and sexual assault, it's being dragged to death with the most boring executions of tropes that everyone has seen before and is only exciting for anyone who's never read a book or watched a romance movie, period.

And here's the thing where I do approach a bit more "hot take" territory, but every time I see this argument come up about episodes not being worth the coin cost, I see others who rightfully argue that 70 cents isn't that much to pay for what you're getting - weekly episodes of work that are usually always delivered on time, with more panels than you would ever typically see in a free to read comic.

But here's where I take issue with that argument, as much as the principle of it is sound, it misses the overall point: readers are paying for entertainment first and foremost, so can anyone who's actually paying for regular refills on their app currency step away from this and truly call it "entertainment"? Nothing was gained. The comic had 45 panels to say something, anything, and managed to not even squeak out so much of a word. Even the silent moments have no substance, they just reiterate information that we already know.

Do we really need another panel of Sara-Lin blushing at Oliver? We've known for weeks now that she has a crush on him. Do we really need another panel of Oliver getting Sara-Lin's attention? What is this actually showing of their chemistry? What is being shown here that hasn't been shown numerous times - with and without dialogue - for weeks now? What does the comic have to show for itself after four seasons?

Another point of the "it's just 70 cents, don't be an asshole" argument that people seem to miss is it's not 70 cents. It's $1. Because if you want to buy a single episode of the Kiss Bet, you can't just pay for the individual episode in isolation, you have to pay for the coins first, and $1 is the absolute bare minimum you have to pay to get 10 coins, which will only pay for one episode of a 7 coin series - of which there are many now, basically any series that's 40 panels or more will cost 7 coins and, shocker, those are the series that WT will tend to promote most, you'll rarely see the 5 coins series in the banner ads, and that's not even getting into how there are more and more series cropping up that have 5+ episodes behind FP rather than the traditional three.

So if you're someone who's (almost definitely) keeping up with more than one series? You can't just pay the $1, you have to pay at least $5 for 50 coins, and that will NOT go far anymore or cut as evenly as it used to when just about every series is now 7 coins. Webtoons knows fully well what kind of game they're playing by making the new coin cost an uneven number while still offering increments of 5/10 in their coin bundles. They undoubtedly want you to be left with an uneven number so that you'll be easily lured into buying more coins so you don't 'waste' the uneven amount you have left that isn't enough to buy the episodes for the series you want to read. Obviously this is more speculation and not fact, but it's a common business model and with the series that have adopted the 7 coin count model (rather than starting off with 7 coins outright) such as The Kiss Bet and Lore Olympus, it's becoming abundantly clear that either the creators or the platform itself is encouraging these series to meet their panel minimums with as little content as possible in order to get more money out of readers who are barely even being drip fed actual entertainment and narrative progression, let alone spoon fed.

And then there's the waiting. The goddamn waiting. So many of these series guilty of siphoning their content off through a hose that they're deliberately standing on are designed intentionally with the most egregious cliffhangers in mind to keep their audience hooked so they'll undoubtedly FP next week. Do you know what that amount of waiting does to a comic? To its readers? First off, it artificially extends the actual pacing of the comic to make it feel longer than it is, when in reality, many of these plotlines are happening in a vacuum of very short bursts of time. Case in point, Lore Olympus is commonly confused for having a plotline that takes place over the course of months, when actually when laid end to end in order of cause and effect, many of its subplots - including the romance of Hades and Persephone - takes place over the course of days. This over-inflates the plotline's actual depth and, even worse so, it makes it harder for readers to keep up with information that's being delivered, as it often takes weeks for that information to actually go anywhere - so by the time it does, many readers have straight up forgotten about it.

It's absolutely not okay that so many of these kinds of series are normalizing literal slow burning for an audience who's paying to be entertained. It's not a "slow burn". It's just slow, and deliberately so. It's absolutely NOT FUN to follow a comic that does not go anywhere week after week. It's frustrating. And before long, it starts to feel like gambler's fallacy, where readers have to essentially gaslight themselves into paying into it more and more convinced that it has to pay off eventually, based on a promise that was never actually made, only assumed in good faith. And readers should not have to fill in the bulk of the content that isn't happening with their own imaginations, which is something that happens a LOT in these series that spend so much time on the characters just staring at each other and saying nothing. It's not 'plot' to just draw characters blushing and have your audience fill in the rest of it entirely on their own. This is certainly a technique in writing, but in the case of The Kiss Bet and other comics like it, it's much less of a valid technique and more just flat out manipulating your audience into falling so hard into the sunk cost fallacy trap that they don't notice they're being robbed blind by the plot that hasn't actually happened - and they've been paying for that financial and emotional robbery out of their own pockets and brains every step of the way.

Again, I do not care about the coin cost in and of itself, seventy cents IS still an incredibly cheap price for weekly updates of a series that has to put out so many panels each week. But as a reader and a customer, I should not be leaving these updates with less information than what I started with. And I'm someone who's incredibly old school by webcomic standards, there are comics that I follow that have updated 1-2 pages a week for over a decade that manage to do more with their limited pages than Lore Olympus and The Kiss Bet manage to do after entire hiatuses filled with pre-production time.

Why does this page of Alfie manage to move both the intrinsic plot of the titular character as well as the external plot that's going on around her in one page made up of 5 panels better than what The Kiss Bet can do in 45?

Why does this page of Tamberlane manage to convey more information about the world's lore and the people in it in a way that's emotionally driven and clearly affecting the characters without outright info-dumping than what Lore Olympus has managed to spit out onto its plate since S3 started over a year ago?

How does Tales from Alderwood manage to be more entertaining and convey more meaningful storytelling through its characters in a single page consisting of zero dialogue than what The Kiss Bet can convey in its silent panels of staring, blushing, and repetitive stuttering?

Why are the creators who are relying entirely on their own efforts, resources, and ability to generate income through community interaction and support putting out better work with less panels and on slower schedules for FREE than what we're seeing from professional creators on a professional publishing platform who are being paid to do this as their job?

There's this saying in the tattooing industry: good work isn't cheap and cheap work isn't good.

At this point, 70 cents is not a 'bargain' as many people like to argue in defense of the creators. And while I do want to have good faith in the creators who don't pull this shit, the creators who clearly go above and beyond to do what they do in the pursuit of storytelling and polishing their craft to be the best piece of work that it can be - the comics that are worth paying 70 cents and beyond for - are not the comics that Webtoons is promoting to people. The creators of the works that genuinely deserve more than 70 cents per update are being left to fend for themselves without support from the platform, while those that aren't worth the price of even a flavorless gumball are consistently winning the Wonka Golden Ticket lottery.

The cost of 70 cents is relative. For some works it's a genuine bargain. For others like the The Kiss Bet and Lore Olympus, 70 cents is not a "bargain", it's not a "good deal", it's exactly the value of what you're paying for - cheap work that isn't good.

[wolfertinger]

TW; abuse dynamics discussed and mentioned, + a couple of words I wish a therapist told people encaging in chronically awful behaivior towards others.

.

I don't understand why is this Wis ruining her whole reputation and art following etc. for the sake of defending a proven abuser.

She never had to.

She could've just made trans and queer art that made a lot of people happy, but chooses this destructive path instead.

It seems her worldview requires the myth that trans women are always misunderstood, lacking the agency to actually do harm like anyone else.

Why so? Does this myth bring so much relief to her that she's willing to make everyone hate her for the sake of parading a proven abuser as an innocent, misunderstood victim?

I've had to report on a person who shares a certain marginalized identity with myself, - and that I can easily identify with in how I see the isolation and out-of-placeness experienced by people in this demographic in said person, - and that made it particularly painful for me to tell on them.

It was a choice of "Who will I protect?" and I chose the vulnerable over them. It hurt but it isn't my fault the person did what they did. My responsibility as the witness was to say something and I did.

(Mind you, this was not a country with prisons similair to the US and this wasn't really dealt with on the level of police/law but within the close circle of people affected by the events.)

It was hard because I feel so deeply for folks who share certain familiar sorrows and pains with me. To add to that crushes me. It's even traumatic. But that person did something that could not go unaddressed. So I addressed it.

To Wis or anyone feeling like you identify with any aspect of someone abusive etc. and struggle to cope with seeing them held accountable;

I see your pain, but your pain is not the only pain.

There is an abuse victim out there, traumatized by that person.

It's the worst nightmare ever to be abused and not believed, having to watch your abuser get sympathy and care while people treat you like the problem for being HURT.

^This is what you, Wis, have been doing to Sawyer.

It's simply your responsibility to get over how bad you feel that a person sharing a marginalized identity with yourself (Mari and you being trans women) indeed abused someone.

You MUST develop the ability to cope with this, not only for your own wellness, - but to make the world safer and more fair for abuse victims.

Abuse victims are not monsters.

Having been abused by my own ex, - all I wanted was for him to DO BETTER AND NEVER HURT ME OR OTHERS AGAIN. + Actually admitting what he did to me + genuinely apologizing without excuses.

Wis, by continuing mistreatment of others, you make people hate you. Every step you take to double down makes things worse.

Injustice hurts.

Gaslighting and smear campaigning towards victims of injustice, multiplies that hurt.

....

If it's guilt of your own actions...

Take responsibility for yourself.

There will be people who won't like or trust you, but you are not entitled to others, especially anyone you hurt, comforting you or making you feel like a good person.

You must simply choose to be a good person without asking to be validated or praised for it. For having actual principles to go by, to actually want the world to respect everyone's human rights.

I see you share many fundraisers from Palestinians and while I'll NEVER call that a bad thing, the most influential thing we can do is starting from how we truly treat other people we encounter.

One's politics are weak if they are not applied relationally. Protecting abusers and hating on victims is not in alignment with being against fascism, because fascism is just systemic mass abuse basically.

Being good isn't about looks or reputation, or praise. It's just something we are supposed to strive towards, by being open to learn more and change.

Forgive yourself so you won't demand others forgive you. Other people have the right to not forgive you, but when you have that kindness for yourself, you can stop harming others, be accountable and CARRY YOURSELF.

You'll no longer try to control what's outside yourself, like you do now. (at the expense of hurting others with it)

Forgiveness to yourself means accepting with compassion that some folks want to stay away from you or hate you. And respecting their right to.

Stop trying to control other people's opinion of you or how people see folks you hurt.

You have no business deciding those things.

You can and should work on yourself.

It'll prevent more people from being hurt by you, it'll stop you from enabling abusers to hurt more people.

It makes more loving and meaningful friendships and relationships a true possibility for you, too. True change does that.

It's not any abuse victim's job to comfort you or tell you this. But this is basically what a therapist would tell you.

Admitting wrongs and deciding one must change is not a dead end, even though it's a moment of loss for some things in life, like certain relationships etc.

.

[axescryinwater]

the suspension of the indus waters treaty by india isn’t just a diplomatic blunder, it’s an existential threat to pakistan. india’s move to weaponize water—an act that blatantly disregards decades of international law and cooperation—is a stark violation of the spirit of the 1960 treaty, which was hailed as one of the few successful examples of cooperation between two deeply divided nations. for pakistan, this treaty was more than a technical agreement; it was a lifeline, ensuring access to the waters that sustain 80% of its irrigated agriculture. india’s threat to disrupt this flow, a reaction born from the latest kashmir violence, is a strategic misstep that doesn’t just endanger pakistan’s economy, but its very survival. the indus river system, which is entirely controlled by india upstream, has been a flashpoint of geopolitical manipulation since partition. the first major attempt to weaponize water occurred in 1948 when india blocked pakistan’s access to the rivers, resulting in the 1960 negotiations. the treaty that followed was a testament to the understanding that even in a region rife with conflict, some issues transcended politics. yet, india’s current approach echoes the cynical unilateralism that has defined its treatment of pakistan since the 1947 partition, where strategic interest always trumped mutual benefit. also, india's suspension of the simla agreement, which was signed after the brutal 1971 war, is a major blow to any remaining avenues of bilateral dialogue. that agreement was a cornerstone of post conflict diplomacy, aimed at fostering peaceful coexistence despite the traumatic legacies of war. india’s withdrawal from this framework further proves the extent to which it’s willing to abandon even the most basic principles of peace and stability in favor of militarized nationalism. pakistan, already facing economic turmoil, is now confronted with an india that seems determined to provoke an escalation at every turn. whether through water, trade, or the military skirmishes at the line of control. meanwhile pakistan has consistently called for dialogue, for diplomacy, and for adherence to international treaties. yet, it finds itself isolated, with india leveraging its military and economic dominance, while pakistan faces the perilous consequences of its own limited geopolitical maneuverability. india’s military first strategy, emboldened by a nuclear arsenal, undermines the possibility of any meaningful de-escalation, putting the entire region on the brink of catastrophe.

to frame this as merely another india-pakistan flare up is to ignore the broader narrative of asymmetry and historical injustice. india, with its economic and military supremacy, seeks to impose a new order that threatens pakistan’s sovereignty at every turn. pakistan’s calls for peace are drowned out by india’s relentless aggression, leaving pakistan with little choice but to stand firm. now, will the world stand by as india reshapes the subcontinent’s geopolitical map at the expense of its smaller neighbor, or will it hold india accountable for actions that risk a wider catastrophe?