#Down to Earth

[vintage-tigre]

[screenshotingmonstercinema]

[ladyelainehilfur]

Literally insane to me how small the general webtoon fandom is outside of the webtoon app itself (and maybe reddit??)

I've talked to multiple people irl who LOVE reading webtoon, but the online community is borderline threadbare ! Most people on Tumblr have no IDEA who our blorbos are! I've checked tags for some fairly popular webtoon and it was like visiting that Tatooine town in the Mandalorian where there are 5 citizens total, but only if you also count the Mayor, the sheriff, and the deputy.

Lore Olympus is the most popular webtoon and has under 2,000 fics on AO3. Lookism has roughly 1,000. Unordinary, THEE legacy webtoon, only has 600, and it's been running for almost 7 years now. It has nearly 6M subscribers and still gets 50K+ likes each week. It's not dead by any means.

I guess it doesn't help that each webtoon is its own micro ecosystem and once a webtoon ends, that ecosystem typically fades with it. But webtoons can go on runs longer than most shows on streaming services, and those fandoms burn hot and bright even if only for the first month of a new season drop.

By comparison, webtoon fans are largely casual about their enthusiasm, even if they're highly invested in the story or characters. From my experience, only the most passionate try to connect with other fans online. But when you're passionate about one webtoon, I suppose it's hard to show constant excitement about the 20+ other stories one might keep up with. Still, between the 85 million monthly readers, you'd think each major webtoon would at least have a dedicated fan base (meaning people who regularly post theories, thoughts, fics, and fanart) of mere thousands outside of the app.

One exception for this is that Batman webtoon? It actually trends on Tumblr every now and again. But it doesn't count, because Batman has a built in fandom who'll eat up and yell in the streets about any content where he's a decent dad.

People who read romance webtoon all tend to read the same comics, and actively understand the references to other popular romance comics (Trashta, Team Seojun, SLS), so you'd think there'd be a greater sense of unity. More people actively searching out others to discuss with and posting their thoughts online and not just in that webtoon's comment section.

I mean, C'MON girls!!! Millions of people log into that app like everyday!!! WHERE is the community?? WHERE is the fanart?? WHERE is the fanfic?? WHY does Odd Girl Out only have 7 fanfics?? WHY are there like 2 people on Twitter posting about Weak Hero?? Head in hands fr

[balkanparamo]

Gravity's Rainbow (Free Falling): Harry Holland

[leuke-rants]

Webtoon characters I am supposed to hate/dislike but I love/like instead:

1) Rashta Iskua (The Remarried Empress):

Even before we meet Rashta we are suppose to hate her, Laura talks very poorly about her and even the comments call her demeaning names and say how much of an awful person she is.

After we properly meet Rashta the author goes out of their way to present her as this evil mastermind who is out to ruin Navier's as well as all of her allies lives (example, when she smirks as Laura gets drugged away to the dungeon)

And this is pretty much what happens throughout the comic, Navier gets praised for just existing and her flaws are either ignored or are not presented as flaws while Rashta gets blamed for almost anything bad happening in the story with her flaws being exaggerated.

Now don't get me wrong, I am aware that Rashta has done some horrible and unforgivable things (and I am not gonna try and justify them), but so did Heinry, Ergi and other characters who get immediately forgiven.

Rashta is an illiterate, traumatized and naive young girl who got enslaved as a child, she got traumatised by all of the horrible things Alan and his family have done to her and yet I am suppose to scorn her for not understanding how things work in her new life and for wanting a better future for her and her baby, all the while I am suppose to coddle an empress who was born with a silver spoon on her mouth amd cheer for her psychopath husband who commits atrocities in her name.

Rashta is is not a good person and I won't make any excuses for her, but I can't help but feel so bad for her. She deserved so much better, both in terms of writing and how the fandom treats her.

2) Lady Krista (The Remarried Empress):

Krista is another female character from TRE who deserved so much better.

All she ever wanted was to keep her position as a queen,aka the same thing that Navier wanted, but because she doesn't kiss the MC's ass she is the villain.

Yes, working with Kuffman ( or whatever his name is) and trying to go after her brother in law aren't exactly the best things to do, but like as said earlier all she ever wanted as not to be replaced.

This poor woman lost her husband, she got replaced as queen by a foreign woman, most of her ladies in waiting abandoned her and her family turned their back at her to avoid Heinry's wrath. She ended up taking her life just like Rashta did and just like Rashta no one cared.

Hell, people started liking her, so to remedy that, the author turned her into a ped* who went after a much younger man, but even that doesn't mean anything when Navier married said younger man.

This woman deserved so much better, I hope she and Rashta can find peace in the afterlife.

3) Stace (Down To Earth)

The moment we are introduced to Stace we are suppose to dislike him because he annoys the MC Kade and that dislike slowly turns into hate because Stace is trying to get with the FL Zaida (I think this is how you write her name).

People will say that Stace is a creepy weirdo who tries to steal the MC's girl, even though Kade and Zaida weren't dating at the time, the dude just tried to shoot his shot after Zaida herself told him that she and Kade weren't dating.

I see a lot of people bringing up the fact that Stace is a photographer who wanted Zaida to be a model and take pictures of her and therefore he is a creep, completely ignoring the fact that Stace is a manager at Spencers and the reason he is looking for models is because he wants to advertise the shop.

"But he put her in lingerie so he is a creep", again, he is manager at SPENCERS, lingerie is not something unusual in that shop. Besides, Stace didn't force anything on Zaida, the moment she said she wanted to change because she felt uncomfortable, he allowed it without any problem. Stace didn't even force Zaida to take the job, he and Suzy suggested it so that Zaida can be more independent from Kade and have her own life and money.

And speaking of Kade, I'd argue he is the actual creep. The only reason he saved Zaida is because he found her sexy and beautiful, he even said how he would kick her out if she turned out to be a child. He is the one who made the "No feelings rule" yet he constantly sexualises Zaida and is clearly attracted to her. Also, he bought her lingerie as nightwear when they knew eachother for one week. Kade didn't ask Zaida what she would like to wear or if she'd feel comfortable wearing lingerie but he bought it anyway so he can ogle her.

Even so, people find it cute when Kade does these things, but god forbid Stace breaths the same air as the MCs without getting flammed in the comments.

And yes, I am aware that Stace called Zaida a monster, but if the girl I had a crush on suddenly grew horns and his eyes started glowing, I'll freak out as well.

Stace should fire both Kade and Zaida and find some real friends, cause he deserves so much better.

4) Thanatos (Lore Olympus)

People hated Thanatos in the beginning of the story because he tried to get Persephone fired and for exposing her crimes later on.

Honestly speaking I never hated him, in fact he has always been one of my favourites.

Thanatos had every right to want Persephone gone, she had zero experience in the field she was suppose to be working on and she got special treatment from Hades, aka her boss.

Imagine if this was real life for a second, imagine your 40 year old boss bringing in a barely legal girl to work for him, who has zero prior experience in working and gets special treatment on top of that.

Not only is this pretty gross but also very unfair to the other employees who had to work their asses off to get the job they have and never got any benefits form their boss. It's even more unfair to Thanatos who is Hades's adoptive son and never got treated any different than the other employees, but this inexperienced child gets the VIP treatment from Hades.

Thanatos geta treated horribly throughout the comic especially from his so called father. Hades ignores, belittles and in general doesn't care about him. Hades reaches out to Thanatos only because he needs his help not because he cares about his adoptive son. The "apology" Hades gave was Bakugou levels bad and it was basically Hades going "I am a traumatized uwu emo boy so you can't hate me".

Thanatos gets victim blamed because he was a "difficult child" that didn't make things easier for Hades, a grown ass adult. And before anyone says "but Hades was not ready to become a father at the time", true, but he could have at least tried to pay attention to this abandoned child or he could ask for help raising him.

His also has a pretty shitty girlfriend. Daphne tells him how Hades giving Persephone special treatment is not a big deal and he should stop whining about it. She also invites Hades into their home even though Thanatos told her how he doesn't want to talk to him.

My boy deserves a rise for putting up with all of this bullshit.

5) Demeter (Lore Olympus)

I feel so bad for Demeter. She is constantly demonized in every Hades and Persephone retelling and LO is no different.

This woman has done so much and received so little.

She fulfilled her role as a daughter, sister and fighter exceptionally well and yet no one acknowledged her for anything.

Zeus told her that he'll make her queen of the gods if they sleep together, only for him to choose Hera instead. He didn't even make her queen of the mortal realm, despite Demeter being the reason the realm is alive and flourishing, he just tossed her aside and forgot about her. The only time Zeus remembers her existence is when he needs something from her and then throws a tantrum when she declines.

Hades treats her the worst. First, he refuses to give her the volcanos, they are important to him but he never told her why they are so important. Second, he constantly belittles and demeans her because "she is an annoying helicopter mom", because god forbid a mother doesn't want an old, dusty man with bad reputation near her teenage daughter.

Like, Demeter has every right to be concerned and guess what, she was right! Persephone hasn't been to Olympus for one month and she gets drugged, kidnapped and SA'ed. Demeter was right about the other gods being assholes and Olympus being dangerous.

Anyway, I can go on and on about Demeter but I am pretty sure you get my point. This woman should disown Persephone and go live her life with the nymphs and her son, far away from the rest of the gods.

6) Minthe (Lore Olympus)

Ah yes, the infamous Minthe. Even people who have never read the comic recognize her as the "Trashta" of LO.

Minthe is proof that it doesn't matter whether you are the side chick or the main girl, what matters is that you are the main character.

Persephone is a homewrecker but because she is the FL it's ok for her to steal Minthe's man.

Yes, Minthe and Hades's relationship was toxic af and although I am not trying to justify Minthe's abusive behaviour, Hades is no better

He himself financially abused Minthe, he emotionally cheated on her with barely legal girl and never bothered to defend her against his racist family.

Hell, he was going to propose to her until he saw a younger and more vulnerable girl and he completely forgot about his girlfriend.

Minthe exposing Persephone was petty af, but I don't see the problem here. Persephone committed a crime, so even though Minthe did it for selfish reasons I don't see a problem with a mass murder getting consequences.

Again, I can go on an on about Minthe but I have more characters to talk about.

Girl should go and live her life with that one mortal who thought she was a goddess, far away from any god, cause she deserves a good life after what she has been through.

Also, an honourable mention to Leuce, Alex and every other character who got screwed over by the gods, they all deserved so much better.

7) Prince Bavilo (The Princess's Jewels)

Ok, Bavilo is not the same as the others, mainly because you are not suppose to hate him after a certain point, but I still wanted to talk about him.

We are suppose to hate him by the moment we see him because he is mean to the perfect FL Arianna. People call him jealous and spiteful because he isn't as perfect as his sister but Bavilo's anger towards Arianna makes perfect sense.

For one thing, he was right about Arianna setting a bad example to other women. She is a princess who collects men like Pokémon for her harem without caring about anyone else but herself.

She took away a general from another country and she basically kidnapped a dude after she threatened to start a war with his country if he didn't submit to her.

This doesn't just set a bad example for young girls who will definitely try to imitate Arianna but will definitely cause problems for the kingdom, Bavilo has every right to be against his sister.

His life is absolutely shit, his mother physically and emotionally abuses him on a daily basis, she is using him to gain more power and generally doesn't really care about him, his brothers don't seem to think highly of him, no matter how hard he tries to get his father's approval the king will never acknowledge him or love him as he loves Arianna and on top of all of that the queen (aka Arianna's mother whose name I don't remember and don't care to look up) is manipulating him, she wants Bavilo on her side to get back at his mother but just like everyone else she doesn't care about him.

His anger towards Arianna is completely valid, he suffers so much while his spoiled sister gets all the love and attention not only from their father but from literally anyone who knows her.

This boy should run away from his shitty and toxic family and cut all ties with them and marry a woman who would truly love him, become king and start his own family. He deserves a happy ending.

8) Queen Phoebe and Lord Demeter (This Isekai Maid is Forming a Union)

Though these two are pretty similar, so I decided to put them together.

First of all, both are actual villains and not demonized characters like the rest of the people in the list.

And second, both of them are well written characters, with goals and motivations instead of hate sinks to make the MC look better.

Both of them are a deconstruction of manhwa tropes, Phoebe is the MC who dies and gets reincarnated as a scorned young noblewoman and Marinus is the ML who is a straight up a psycho that can only be fixed by the FL's love.

But unlike stuff you'd see in a generic manhwa, these two actually face consequences for their actions and are not glazed by the author.

Phoebe is an elitist and racist woman who abused her power, she doesn't care about anyone other than herself and her family and is a horrible human being who mistreates her servants and will do extremely messed up stuff to get what she wants . This is pretty much how every OI protagonist acts like, the difference is the author doesn't let Phoebe get away scott free just because she suffered, she gets a very deserved karma and is forced into hiding after the commoners started a coup against her and her family.

Marinus is written is a similar way. Despite his tragic backstory,the narrative does not excuse his actions because of his trauma. Marinus committed mass murder, he killed the MC Bridgette in the first timeline and her fellow servants ( who were all minorities btw) after they tried to protect her. Then he pretended to have amnesia so that Annette (the FL) won't be mad at him. He was an awful father, he killed his own wife after she wanted to divorce him and poisoned his own daughter because he liked to feel needed (also he was a huge asshole to his son)

Yet, despite all of this, Phoebe and Marinus are my favourite characters. They are very well written and interesting, they move the plot forward without being plot devices and the author gave them a reason as to why the act and think the way they do without justifying any of their horrible actions.

[gatabella]

Jewelry Rita Hayworth wore in Down to Earth (1947)

An 18K gold snake necklace, bracelet and headpiece with simulated diamonds, rubies, and emeralds.

[springsketches]

They’ve arrived

My collection grows

[ftcynthia]

Rita hayworth is down to earth .

She is so unbelievably gorgeous

[roselinbooks]

Not super satisfied with how I draw eyes lately so I decided to do some studies/practice! Always a fun practice. I actually kind of like how I draw eyes better now that I can compare to some of the artists I frequently see and how they do eyes. Also fun to find similarities between them and their likely inspirations!

[numptypylon]

👀

Some alternate timeline shenanigans from Down to Earth, my very long, ambitious and unfinished S4-5 fic (written before S4 so an original story). I have so much written for the ending and so little left to write, but dang, it's a lot of ends to tie up

“I think… I can get out of here,” Rayla said, in clumsy draconic that the guards would not understand even if they did happen to be listening. “I know this place. I know the guard on duty right now, and that he’s… not observant. I know he’s gullible. And kind.” Poor Clem tried, but… yeah, it was some good luck for her he was on duty. “I know the layout of this castle. I know there’s a set of lockpicks in Sergeant Katya’s locker just down the hall, because she’s obsessed with those adventure stories with dashing rogues and she practices on the doors during night shift.” In another world, Rayla had taught her to use them. “I know more than I should, and it’s really hard to explain how I know, but-“

“Don’t,” Runaan said, firmly and cooly, but… this Rayla knew it was love, making him hold back his own feelings. “Don’t explain. Don’t hesitate. Go.” He smirked, with grim humor that she had missed so much she had to swallow down a sob she didn’t have time for. “I do realize why you are babbling so. You can get out. Not we. It was hard-won, establishing that you… your life comes first to me, as it would any parent. But we did, and that has not and will not change. Go.”

“Dad-“ she sobbed, the word familiar in this Rayla's mouth and foreign in hers. She had thought Runaan was dead for so long and now he was here and she was leaving him in a dungeon like she had before-

“Daughter. Go.”

[todayinhiphophistory]

Today in Hip Hop History:

Monie Love released her debut album Down to Earth October 30, 1990

[lovelylittlesiren]

webtoons im obsessed with! these are all romance 😂

Cursed Princess Club

Midnight Poppy Land

Taming the Marquess

Lore Olympus

Obsidian Bride

Love or Attraction

Down To Earth

Children of the Night

Eaternal Nocturnal

The Kiss Bet

Marionetta

Edith

Lets Play

The Devil is a Handsome Man

My Gently Raised Beast

Brass & Sass

Going Up

The Tyrant Wants to Be Good

My Husband Changes Every Night

The Dragon King’s Bride

Archie Comics: Big Ethel Energy

Hello Baby

My In Laws ws Are Obsessed With Me

Maybe Meant To Be

Your Wish

She Weeps for the Devil

Death of a Pop Star

Harem of LuuAnh

Feel free to message me im always up for convos about any of these!

[jemthespud]

Rik in random places🤭

[princessofhating]

Has anyone else read any of these webtoon?? I absolutely love them and have spent so many coins !! 💵

[gatabella]

Rita Hayworth during the filming of Down to Earth, 1947