#anyone who critiques including nice people? No.

[the-modern-typewriter]

How do ik my writings good? It's my first story and so far it's been stressful cause I don't know if I'm doing anything right. I understand that writings a skill that'll build overtime but I have Noone that can give me critiques or tell what's ik doing right. All I get is it good which is nice but it's not beneficial 😅. So idk how to judge my self accurately

Part 1: How to ask for feedback

One way to get around just 'this is good' as feedback (especially when it comes from well-meaning places, like people who love you, so you don't know if you can trust it) is to ask some follow up questions.

This is partly because it helps you figure out what you're going for in a story/what's important, can be a way of checking if you conveyed what you wanted to convey etc. This is also partly because giving good feedback is as much of a learned skill as writing is. The questions can help anyone giving you feedback along because they don't necessarily know what you want or what would be helpful or where to start.

This can be questions that you submit alongside the piece or it can be questions you ask the person after. E.g. 'I was going for X, is this the impression you got?' This can be more or less complicated depending on who the reader is. So, if it is another writer, it might be more technical. If it's a kind friend, it might be 'did you see the ending coming?'

(The questions will depend on you/your story and what it is that you specifically want feedback about. There are many lists of 'questions to ask beta readers' floating around on the internet if you're not sure where to start.)

The questions can help bypass 'good', because no one wants to be mean, but if you ask the right questions it can help highlight if there are any issues in the story etc.

Leading to...

Part 2: It really does come with time/you as the writer/editing skill

Critique and feedback is fantastic and often validating. Most writers (myself included) adore feedback. Yay feedback!

However, the other skill you will developing alongside writing is editing and reflecting on your writing. This might include questions you ask yourself like:

E.g. Is this what I set out to achieve? On on a technical level, does this sentence flow nicely or am I catching on it? Is there a stronger word I could use here? Are there any boring bits?

Reading books you enjoy and figuring out what they're doing can help with this - and so can reading books and figuring out what you don't like about them and why. Both are part of the same skillset, it's just harder to do with your own work.

Final editing note: leave space between finishing a story and going back to it with an editing/'is this good' hat on. You will be blind to your own words straight after the writing process. Coming back in a week or two with fresh eyes can give you a much clearer perspective.

A first draft is often stressful and we are often not sure about it and honestly it often does need work or changes. That doesn't mean your writing is bad. It means it's a first draft and 75% of really brilliant writing is editing.

Part 3: Very important caveat

Good can mean 'I enjoyed writing this.'

You are on your first story! That's so exciting :D

While I've tried to give some practical advice in this post, honestly in the same way that someone who goes running for the first time probably isn't immediately training for a marathon, I'd also seriously argue you don't need to worry about technical ability on your first story. Or your second. Or your third!

Your first job is deciding if you actually like writing, same as with any hobby you might try. It's playing around with things and experimenting, because if you do like writing, that's what will make your writing your writing over any prescriptive guide you might read about writing craft. It's taking a stab at a story idea you had and seeing what happens.

My first pieces of writing were technically terrible. This is an example of my not even first piece of writing, but near the start of my journey:

I posted it back in 2018 with comments on how I would improve it with hindsight. I maintain it's an excellent example of the fact that writing is a skill you build over time. I know you know that. But I think there's a difference between intellectually knowing that and seeing it in action.

I hope this helps!

Good luck and try to have fun <3

[reel-fear]

Genuinely so curious who Mike thinks is gonna be buying The Cage or the new DCTL GN bc with the way he tweets as far as he's concerned, it's not gonna be:

The queer people he has actively admitted he will never show any representation of in the games.

2. The POC he has actively fought against representing in his franchise. [Who he also mocked for thinking they would be represented in his franchise]

3. The Bendy fandom which has always been concerned with topics of diversity esp in the sense of queer people since its creation. Who he has responded to really poorly esp in regards to the GN.

4. The fans who critique him. [He blocked me for doing so lol]

5. His fans in general who he tweets about like this currently. [He's being vague about why people were mad at him or sent him 'nasty messages' because if you actually looked into why you'd see he was in the wrong. Either way, a very hateful way to speak abt ur own fanbase.]

Reminder while Mike is trash talking his fans he has always treated them rather poorly. The fans who won the fanart contest for Chapter 5 never got their posters actually in game due to it being rushed. Not only was chapter 5 a big slap to the face story wise, but it was literally so rushed he couldn't be bothered to add in the art his fans gave him for his game FOR FREE. [Meatly blames this on a crazy timeline, reminder him and Mike are the literal ceos of this company. The proposal of future updates here is also pretty cruel considering Mike nowadays happily admits he corrupted Chapter 5's source code and therefore literally can't update it At All currently. Because he is a moron]

At least they got to be in Boris and the dark survival, and by that I mean that was the Only game they got to be in so far, isn't that just treating your fans like you love them? Shoving their hard work into a spin off game almost nobody has played or addresses much. [Hell, who knows if with the Lone Wolf rebrand they'll even stay there. In which case they'll be in None of the games, only in the credits of BATIM]

6. The Bendy fans who just generally disagree with him on stuff. Like the new ink demon design where there is literally a public poll showing people generally prefer the old one.

7. The Bendy fans who can see he is actively lying to them. To their fucking faces.

He says this has always been the case, but screenshots and links to tweets regarding the books being canon prove it was not. Does he really think bendy fans are stupid or something? [Unless he's admitting here he lied to Kress when he told her the books were canon which sounds worse!]

8. Anyone who doesn't like the idea of giving money to a guy who laid off tons of employees then afterwards thought it was a great idea to express his anti-union views! Also brag about how good of an employer he was, according to his employees, he was not!

So in summary; Mike is an awful person who has not learned anything from the awful things he did. I will not be purchasing The Cage because, combined with this and his absolute refusal to take any kind of critique or see any differing interpretation of his franchise, I have no reason to think my problems with the franchise will ever be addressed or fixed. I probably will pirate The Cage along with any future Bendy Products [Including the movie] and will do my best to avoid giving it any kind of monetary support. Unless this changes any time soon, I can't see myself making anymore positive Bendy posts soon.

Mike has just managed to make it so hard to speak positively or optimistically of this franchise when he's so willing to broadcast how little he cares about it or its fans. I'm at the point where I refuse to pull any of my punches with my problems with it. What's the point of trying to play nice with my critique when either way the people creating it don't care?

So with this post, I want to invite anyone who feels similarly about the franchise to tell me, make a post or send an ask talking about how all of this makes you feel. It may not change how things are, but genuinely seeing other people share my feelings of anger makes me feel better. It feels nice to see when other people share our same concerns and worries. I'd also love to know if anyone else thinks they'll be avoiding purchasing Bendy products over this.

I'm not forcing anyone to participate in it nor trying to say anyone who doesn't supports mike but genuinely maybe if we can collectively decide to boycott things like the movie, graphic novel and The Cage... It might at least make the bendy devs acknowledge how much they have destroyed their own fandom's faith and trust in them.

The way Mike tweets about his actions like he had no control over why people were mad at him at least proves to me he takes NONE of it back nor regrets it. If you didn't know about his actions and only went off his tweets, you would be led to believe Mike has been needlessly picked apart by fans over things he couldn't control [or in his own words, had his words twisted and taken out of context]. That is not how you speak about your actions if you have actually learned better from them.

anyway, that has been my bendy dev callout post. This is an open invitation to anyone feeling similarly upset about the way the franchise is going to talk about it. It's genuinely nice to see how people feel about this and the more we talk about the more it's likely the bendy devs are forced to address our concerns. I don't think they will but hey, that's why I'm not gonna support them with my money anymore nor am I gonna be nice to them in any content I make critiquing Bendy. I mean I'm also basically making this post just in case anyone asks me Why I feel this way towards to bendy devs/as a way to respond to anyone who thinks I am too harsh in my critique in the future.

As always, it seems the best part of Bendy isn't actually anything about canon but about what the fan's are creating with the ideas Bendy failed to do anything interesting with.

Also the books, the books slap.

[thecommunityfridge]

Welcome creatives!

Hi all this is a nice little experiment ran by @hockeynhandcuffss where I hope that creatives amateur and otherwise can share their work in some manner. This is primarily supposed to be prompt lead interaction, aka someone will submit a prompt and then all people interested can write a short story inspired the prompt and we can all share our love and encouragement! All prompts will be posted at the beginning of the month but if you find an old prompt that inspires you, there is no time limit on submissions.

You will see niche fetish! This is ran by a guy with a huge cg/l and abdl fetish, if that upsets you just leave. This is also 18+, I will be blocking anybody who does not have an age in their bio. Rules: 1. This is a Queer inclusive space, the second I see anyone complain about relationships that are not heteronormative I will block you. Yes that means the "weird ones" too.

2. You must put content warnings at the top of your submission.

3. All characters must be 18 or older.

4. I will be allowing slurs because that is part of the fantasy for some but absolutely mark them in your content warning. NO RACIAL SLURS.

5. If your post includes pictures and art, they must have explicit permission from the person involved, this disqualifies AI immediately.

6. Please follow the prompts, I won't be enforcing this strictly but if I find people abusing this I will start warning people.

7. Ask before critiquing. This is supposed to be a positive space so not everyone is here to get better, its all for fun so do not provide critique unless you received permission to. 8. We encourage supporting artist here, if you write something but also have a subscription service, please feel free to post a link in your submission. The only caveat is no ending baiting (aka saying if you want to see the end of this story subscribe here)

[velvetvexations]

This Warless Weekend...I accidentally broke the one rule of Warless Weekend sending "Maya Henry is in fact a trans woman lol" to a TERF. Sigh. Forgive me, Velvet Nation.

The post was discovered because I was once again going through radblr looking for screenshots to prove beyond the shadow of the doubt that radfems hate even cis men, let alone trans men. It's going to be a multi-day affair because I want to include so many examples that when you click "read more" it'll be like unraveling an ancient scroll that drops to the floor and rolls down several flights of stairs in a cartoon.

I've also been debating a radfem who's not...the TERFiest? Hard to classify someone who thinks private spaces should be sex-segregated for now but corrects anons who misgender me and believes radfems shouldn't be so hostile to trans women* because they're "allies of the feminist revolution." My only concern is that my (mostly AFAB trans!) followers would see me interacting with someone who has those radfemmy beliefs in a way that isn't pure hostility and be made to feel unsafe as a result. I have no illusions that his radical feminist beliefs are harmful. But am I being too nice, regardless? I've been personally convinced he sincerely holds beliefs that makes other radfems hate him, thus the anon he got misgendering me and saying he should stop talking to me because I'm a homophobe.** Sometimes good people get praxis wrong.

And TRFs will say "ooh, look at Velvet, being courteous to people who self-identify as radfems, she'd never do that for transfems she slanders as TRFs." First of all, I think a lot of non-transfems are TRFs. Secondly, I do do that for TRFs, all the fucking time! As with anyone else when they're not just horribly cruel I do actually go to extreme lengths to be polite, approaching them as a submissive doormat of a person, offering the most politely worded but in-depth critique of their bullshit you could possibly imagine. I've started several posts of such a nature with "please take this in good faith" and at least once I've DM'd someone after reblogging them to go the extra mile assuring them I'm not trying to take a swing at them.

I think talking to people is good and healthy and should be encouraged, idk. That doesn't go for someone who thinks all trans women are monsters who want to abuse Trve Wymbyn, or that all trans men are deluded victims/fetishisers of cis gay men/escaping into privilege.*** Most radfems, like outright conservatives, are 100% bugfuck evil and do not deserve anything other than mockery and scorn. But if there's a chance you might be able to connect with an intellectually and morally honest person who seems to be going for what they truly believe is best for everyone...I think you should go for it.

I desperately want to believe people when it seems like they're really honestly trying out of sincere moral impulses and are truly capable of treating others with respect rather than it being an enemy psyop. I'm trying to not let my fear of being gullible deter me from offering my hand to people when our differences might be bridgeable.

*and other trans people, plus those who are dysphoric but do not consider themselves trans

**I believe they were referring to when I said homosexuality was also an atypical arousal pattern in response to someone pointing at a basic ass furry to say trans people were ridden with paraphilias

***I just realized how diverse the "explanations" for AFAB trans people are. With how much transphobia relies on being offensive to Trve Wymbyn you have to get creative to explain why it's also bad when one of their own contracts the mind virus and it's so obviously completely incoherent

[mauesartetc]

Thoughts on Helluva Boss 205 ("Unhappy Campers")

Wow, this... This one may actually be worse than Murder Family. That's impressive.

Is anyone else noticing a pattern of Helluva Boss episodes going absolutely nowhere? Each one ends without affecting the larger plot in any meaningful way. Season 1's structure was fairly episodic as well, but at least back then there was some sense of progression.

I usually include separate lists of pros and cons in these critiques, but in this case, I have so few compliments to give this thing it's not worth it. I tried my best to find more to like about this episode, but it gave me bupkis to work with. So I'll just present all my notes in chronological order.

Let's get this over with.

-Looks like the rehab facility where Barb used to live is located in Sloth (on account of the floating islands and all the pink in the environment), just like the hospital in this season's previous episode. We've never seen care centers in any other ring, so... Does Hell society's opinion of sick people dictate that they're just lazy? Some clarification on that might be nice.

-"She's got a job now. A life. Don't fuck it up by findin' her." Holy shit, the nurse is the most mature, sympathetic character in this entire episode. Tasing Blitzo in the butthole earns her bonus points in my book. Nurse Pussyface, you are way too good for this show.

-Why is Blitzo even trying to visit his sister if he's been kicked out of the facility several times and knows she hates him? What's the impetus? "Look, I know you hate my guts, but Dad's dead, and he named you in the will." Or maybe he had an experience that reminded him of her and figured he'd drop by to see how she was? Y'know, something.

-By the way, Helluva's animation is usually a highlight, but here there's not much to say about it. It wasn't especially memorable or ambitious; just kinda... passable. Even the climactic fight scene (which I'll get to later) didn't have much to write home about.

-How the hell didn't the client notice the holes in his boat before he rowed it out into deep water? Because I'm pretty sure it would leak when it was still in the shallow end of the lake, unless this is a unique real-life boating phenomenon I'm not aware of. Also, you'd think this guy was a bit too gung-ho to get out on the lake for someone who can't swim. Did someone have a gun to your head, dude?

Fun fact: Did y'all know I was on staff at a summer camp once? We had a pond, canoes, and a boathouse just like the camp in this episode. One thing we had that this camp apparently doesn't, however, is this important rule: No one gets in a canoe without a life jacket. EVER. But, well... We see later that the adults at this camp don't care much about safety, so I guess that's fair enough. (Though I'm curious how they manage to stay open, or what the client's loved ones have to say about his mysterious disappearance.)

-What did the client do to get sent to Hell after he died? Mrs. Mayberry murdered someone, so that's why she's here, but this kid seems pretty chill-? (And don't even try to explain this on Twitter, writers. If it's not in the story itself, it ain't canon.) I also can't help but notice that his design reflects the way he died, but every other sinner's appearance is just random. Consistency? Who needs it!

-Some unintentional hilarity for ya: Here's Millie's face after the client recounted his death.

And she holds this pose for the remainder of the scene. Was there NO direction on how to animate Millie here?! This is a grim situation and she's smiling?! I get that she's a demon, but damn that is cold. It's never been clearer that half her role in this story is just smiling and looking cute, to the point the animators don't know what else to do with her.

-Richard Horvitz's valley girl voice was kinda funny. I dug it. Not sure why Moxxie and Millie had to dress in drag for anything other than cheap laughs, though.

-I know Millie's hurtin' for more development, but this story's conflict would have made SO much more sense from a character standpoint if Moxxie were getting all the praise from the campers. Think about it: He's the one Blitzo always shits on and doesn't believe in. He's the one whose father doesn't love him. He's the one who never gets positive attention from anyone except his wife. Suddenly the conflict is much more compelling: Now that he has approval from these humans, maybe he doesn't need it from Blitzo anymore (not sure why he needed his approval in the first place, but whatever). Maybe he'd realize what he's been missing, and how shitty Blitzo's treatment has been in comparison. Could this be the breaking point that finally gets him to muster some self-respect and quit IMP? We'll never know, because the episode has miscalculated where the most interesting dilemma actually lies.

As far as we can tell, Millie's had zero reason to doubt herself, and we never see her being mistreated like Moxxie has.

Take these lines of dialogue: "And for once I feel like... Like I'm important! Like I'm somebody to be proud of!"

Wouldn't they fit so much better if they came out of Moxxie's mouth?

-I kinda liked how the lyrics of Millie's song were humble while Moxxie's lyrics were egotistical, showing that being down to earth will win you friends while being self-centered will turn people off. But is that really the kind of message we need in an adult show? It's a useful lesson for children, but after you hit the age of this series' target demographic, most people will have the social skills to know better than to pull what Moxxie did at the campfire.

-Speaking of Moxxie being super immature, why does he weep when a bunch of preteens ignores him? They're...They're kids, Mox. They aren't your peers. Literally who cares. This behavior makes no sense outside of (once again) cheap humor. I could understand being bummed out that you're not good with kids if you wanted to have your own someday, but even that doesn't warrant actual tears. And this makes him look like a massive hypocrite later on when he asks Millie why it matters what "these yokels" feel about her. I mean... You seemed to care a lot about how they saw you, Moxxie...

-Moxxie's excuse for why it's so hard for him to get information on the case is that everyone's too busy "swooning over" Millie. Here's a thought: Why doesn't Millie get the info? She's the one everyone likes, so it should be a snap, right? Well, once again, the characters get railroaded because the writers can't entertain any other plot ideas. And of course Moxxie ends up getting blamed for everything as if he's the only one who fucked up here.

-Why the hell would a summer camp show so much favoritism toward a single camper that they set up a friggin' concert for this camper and this camper only? Yeah yeah, "viral sensation" and everything, but 1) The news crew can wait another day or so for camp to end in order to conduct an interview (y'know, something that wouldn't require a huge-ass stage and pyrotechnics that'd cost the camp boatloads of money), and 2) The camp staff thinks Millie is a child. How fucking irresponsible can you get to lavish this much attention on a kid? Think it'll go to her head or something? Psssh nah. Also, you're telling me none of the other campers are the tiniest bit jealous? How do you think they feel, seeing this one kid get treated like a god while they're left in the dust?

Okay, plot-wise, the writers decided they wanted Millie to sing a song so she's occupied during the final showdown with the killer. Easy solution: Camp talent show. That way, the adults treat all the campers equally, and Millie gets her (more believable) moment in the spotlight.

-Oh hey, we finally see Asmodean crystals in action. And of course the first one we see is a butt plug.

SuCh a MAturE shOw, GUys! (Sorry, I'm still laughing my head off at that.)

So, a bit of backstory for those who aren't familiar: We first learned of Asmodean crystals in the Season 2 premiere, when Stolas opened the grimoire to reveal Norse runes on its pages. Someone on the internet was kind enough to translate:

Now here's the deal: Blitzo tells the lust demon to open the portal with his crystal (even threatening him at gunpoint), leading me to believe only non-imps could use Asmodean crystals and that's why he needed the grimoire to get to the human world.

But guess what happens later:

Blitzo's sister Barb, another imp, uses a crystal on her bracelet to open a portal back to Hell. So what exactly was the point of stealing the grimoire from Stolas??

BLITZO. YOU. DENSE. MOTHERFUCKER.

Okay, maybe I'll be generous and acknowledge that there might be another explanation, like Blitzo getting banned from using Asmodean crystals because he's misused them in the past. (Maybe there's a spell that causes the crystals to burn him every time he tries to hold one. Something of that nature.) But at this point I don't trust these writers to fill in their plot holes. Or plot portals, as the case may be.

-The portals themselves are kinda pretty, though. I can appreciate that they look different from the portals created by the grimoire.

-Moxxie calls Blitzo "sir" in this episode despite Blitzo telling him to use his first name in Truth Seekers. Moxxie then uses it in "Ozzie's" (if I remember correctly), but now he's back to "sir" for unexplained reasons-? Coupled with how their relationship has reverted back to square one with Blitzo learning nothing (as well as no one bringing up the agents or what they can do to stop them leaking the proof that demons exist), do the writers just want us to forget that episode or what?

-Blitzo chastises Moxxie for dragging the case out for a week, but it took him a week to track down Barb. This hypocrisy is never addressed.

-At the boathouse, Blitzo tells Moxxie he's looking for his sister, then kicks down the door, revealing Barb inside. Moxxie asks, "Do you know her?" "Do I know her? That's my sister, fuckface!" That's... oddly repetitive, writers. I get that Moxxie wouldn't immediately make the connection since Barb's disguised as a human, but there's a more graceful way to handle that in the dialogue. Something like, "Is this her?" "Oh, now you're on the ball!"

-In an earlier post I expressed concern that these writers wouldn't handle Barb's addiction well, and I'm somewhat relieved they didn't go into it. But I also predicted she'd amount to a genderbent Blitzo instead of having her own personality, and... well...

Overindulges in addictive substances? Check. Runs a business that requires travel to the human world? Check. Pottymouth? Check. Uses sexuality as leverage? Check.

It would've been nice to at least get a hint about what Blitzo did to make her hate him so much (and perhaps confronting that would make him rethink how he treats Moxxie-?), but I guess we'll have to find out when she comes back in seven episodes or so. Yaaaaay.

-Barb says she picked this particular human as her supplier because teenagers are easy to manipulate, but she really had no way to accomplish that other than flashing her panties at him? Assuming Barb and Blitzo are the same age, she's in her 30s, and... it's just a tad creepy and uncalled for, even if this kid's legal. That's a pretty big age (and power) gap regardless. This is one of those times when it looks a lot more predatory when you switch the genders, but, importantly, women can be predators too. Bad optics, y'all.

-The climactic fight scenes in prior episodes were snappy and exciting, but this one's pacing felt really sluggish. I get that the song in the background had a slower tempo than we're used to in these action scenes, but would it have been so hard to double-time the animation? Also, previous fight scenes were notable for their creative choreography, but Barb wrapped her tail around Moxxie twice in a row. Having trouble coming up with new fight moves, guys? Like damn, she's an acrobat. She could do so much more.

-In another edition of "characters being idiots because plot", Moxxie and Millie make out in front of everyone who thinks they're related. They couldn't have run off to somewhere more private?? Apparently no; this needed to happen so Millie's internet fame would be dashed... or, here's another option: Show how the internet popularity cycle is so damn short that everyone's already moved on to the next sensation. You could have made that funny if you actually put in some effort. Like... The faux-incest was just so unnecessary.

-Much like Murder Family, another unfunny ending where Moxxie's dreams are crushed. Blitzo gets his hopes up only to call him a "fuckin' disgrace". But remember, guys: He'S HArd oN hiM BEcauSE hE CAreS! (Fuck it, I think I'll just edit a supercut of every time Blitzo has berated Moxxie, pre- and post-Truth Seekers.)

Oh and look, Millie's glaring at Blitzo, which is totally the same as opening her mouth to tell him off like he deserves, right?

She'll take on a whole gang of mobsters out of love for Moxxie, but standing up to Blitzo? Whoa, that's a step too far. Y'know, because he's the writers' favorite and he shouldn't have to experience any complications from his behavior. Same old story as it's been for a season and a half.

This ending would've been a million times better if it left off on a cliffhanger. Maybe this could have been Moxxie's final breaking point. After Blitzo calls him a disgrace, Moxxie could take a deep breath and...

MOXXIE: (flatly) I quit.

Then he walks out of the room. Everyone looks after him, stunned. When he closes the door, the screen cuts to black and the credits roll.

Oh shit, what's going to happen next? How will Blitzo deal with this? How will it affect Moxxie and Millie's home life? What kind of new job will Moxxie find to keep food on the table? Will he ever come back to IMP, or will Blitzo find a replacement? I know these writers aren't too interested in serialization or any sense of continuity outside of the stupid romance subplot (or hell, inside it), but good god, it would give viewers some exciting possibilities to look forward to.

This episode had so much potential and followed through on none of it. "Unhappy Campers" turned out to be a more fitting title than expected, as that's exactly what I was while watching this.

(Also this show needs a continuity coordinator like yesterday.)

[zetomato]

Brand New One (rant)

I need to understand something so I really want people to answer and tell me because I know my viewpoint on the QSMP cannot physically be perfect and whole.

I haven’t watched any POV in a few days (Due to being sick af, lel) but I’m hearing more and more confusing things coming from this fandom. I’ll point out some of them and hope people will explain more points of view to clear up the extremely confusing situations. (While tagging this neg because I don't want this on main for peeps trying to chill)

Ok so we can all agree that it’s impossible to watch everyone’s POV. Just taking the more active streamers gives you over 9h/day to watch, taking into account that they often are live at the same time and you get already more than anyone should watch their screens in a day (I say that as a Graphic Designer, I keep watching screens, that’s my job). Add everyone else and you got easily over 20h/day. So yeah, for viewers, that’s intense. So it’s even more impossible for streamers since, well, they have to plan their streams and… stream.

Good.

So why are people mad at Philza for not knowing Tubbo lore that happened while he wasn’t on the server, some even when he was streaming something else? I know that there’s always that weird moment when something happens for the character you main and then you switch POV and the information doesn’t line up, but why is it expected? Getting super into a storyline is incredible, it’s nice, it’s saying how immersive someone’s RP and storytelling is, how much it resonates with you. But this is live RP, not a script. People will read tones wrong, mishear/misunderstand, make mistakes, talk at the wrong time, mess with friends, have the wrong timing. A bunch of weird stuff will happen.

None of them are doing this out of spite, hell, they are making a point to make sure everyone is included and supported and they have ways to talk to each other when there’s a problem. The ones I know of who do chat with others/in other’s chat are Phil, Tubbo, Cellbit and Etoiles. (there are way more, those are the ones I saw do it/heard say it)

Then there’s the question of doing a critique of the CC’s under the guise of “Oh it’s about the character!”

Yes, QSMP and RP servers in generals bring you HARD into a story to the point sometimes things are hard to differentiate. I’ve reread books and got confused about something before I realized that they were headcanon things I grabbed from fanfics and not canon book events. But some of y’all need to step back. I saw people doing critiques of someone’s laugh or gesture or playstyle under the “Q!” excuse. These are real people, y’all. A CC not reading the room, Tubbo talking loudly over Bagi because he didn’t notice the situation and adjusting when told, Philza not immediately getting that Tubbo’s death was his canon last one and then adjusting to follow the mood. There’s been dozens of those situations since the start of the server, there will be a dozen more.

The players can deal with those situations themselves, they are adults, but I’ve seen some people on here getting weird information and spreading even weirder gossip about a character being mean/rude/an ass when they’re sharing friendly banter or just, not immediately getting a joke or an important moment.

No, Tubbo was not planning on talking over Bagi, he had a lot to say and didn’t notice everything.

No, Phil was not ignoring Tubbo’s lore, he was unaware this death was canon and did not watch a stream while he was already streaming.

People are people. CCs play Characters and aren’t professional actors with scripts. They chill in each other's chats sometimes.

Can we now play nice and take a chill pill about streamers being mean and heartless?

[likealittleheartbeat]

hello !!

i was wondering, do you know any other characters like aang from other shows/movies/books? or maybe, just his theme of radical kindness appearing in other stories?

i've been missing aang, and it would be nice to find other representations of such a fun and warm personality like his.

ps.: your blog is like, fantastic. truly.

🥰🥰🥰🥰 This is the best ask I’ve ever received!!! Depictions of radical kindness in media is a special interest of mine��not exaggerating. So I’ve done my best to make a list of rec’s, just tv, from most formally similar to ATLA to least, with a short description for each.

1. Fruits Basket (2019)

"My mom told me, it's better to trust people than to doubt them. She said that people aren't born with kind hearts. When we're born, all we have are desires for food and material things. Selfish instincts, I guess. But she said that kindness is something that grows inside of each person's body, but it's up to us to nurture that kindness in our hearts. That's why kindness is different for every person."

An anime orphan whose established memory of the kindness by which her family raised her ends up transforming and liberating a whole clan from an intergenerational curse that enforced an abusive hierarchy all within a show that has a deeply queer subtext, beautifully complex plotting and character development that due to its zen influence refuses to demonize anyone or any perspective wholly, AND a straight romance you can actually root for!? Nothing comes closer to ATLA thematically than this show. While the lead Tohru Honda is the biggest representative of radical kindness, the character of Momiji Sohma with his complex purity, idealism, and gender performance is one of the closest you'll find to Aang in any media.

2. Mob Psycho 100 (2016-2023)

"The truth behind one's charm is kindness. Just be a good person, that's all."

Mob Psycho 100 explores a core tenant of ATLA's critique of imperialism and power: greatness and perfection are overrated. They both ask the question about what to do for the world with one's gifts if that's the case. How can one be both normal and prodigious at the same time? The satirical comedy and style of this anime, which deconstruct a lot of the shonen genre tropes, are pretty distinct from ATLA, but when ATLA arrived on the airwaves, it was a pretty massive break from tradition in Western animation, and for both of these series, that difference of style is tied to the message of the show about the experience and acceptance of difference.

3. Natsume's Book of Friends (2012-present)

"As I encountered kindness, I wanted to be kind myself."

The anime, Natsume's Book of Friends and ATLA both depict the challenge and necessity of facing abandonment, loss, and a deep-seated loneliness with kindness and gratitude despite the persistence of grief. Both take a deeply spiritual view--even a responsibility--of this experience that demands a compassion for all beings including those who intend to do harm. Natsume, an orphan shuffled between houses who is one of the few people who can see spirits called youkai, inherits his maligned grandmother's book of yokai names, becoming a target for them in the process. He hides all of this from everyone in his life, and even five season in, still has trouble admitting to the one person who understands him when he is struggling and needs help. The gentle and light tone papers over a profoundly honest representation of attachment trauma and the wisdom of compassion that develops as a tool to cope with it.

4. Hunter x Hunter (2011-2014)

"You can do whatever you want to hide your feeling. You still have a heart."

If you think that "Radical Kindness" is by definition non-violent, then this show is either not for you or going to change your mind. Gon, the protagonist of HxH, like Momiji mentioned in Fruits Basket, is another rare character whose naivete and optimism are treated with respect. He is allowed to suffer, to be wrong, to be stupid, and to inspire others away from their own cynicism with the persistence of his beliefs nevertheless. But HxH is a show that integrates the most violent aspects of the world (organized crime, capitalistic competition and privileging, state-sanctioned brutality, pure sadism) with its examination of human potential for goodness. And even within a list of shows deeply inspired by spirituality and religions, this show is abundant with religious references as it seeks out meaning, balance, and an ethic for modern experience. On top of that, it ranks with ATLA for the depth and relevance of its magic system to its themes, plus its got gay subtext out the wazoo!

5. Mushishi (2005-2014)

“Make sure to remember, every person and place has a right to exist. It is true for you too, the entire world, as a whole, is your home."

Elegaic, episodic, compassionate, and strange, with some of the best short story-telling of all time, Mushishi is the story of a medicine-man who travels the Japanese countryside helping people deal with the spirits that accompany the little trials and tragedies of life that cling to our minds long after they're passed. The protagonist, Gingko, and the show itself takes the approach of restraint to observe these problems fully and come to a conclusion that's taoist in its balance and acceptance of reality--"Eyes unclouded by hate" as Miyazaki/Gaiman would have it. Each episode is like a therapy session arguing for you to choose to live even as the heaviest burdens sit on your chest.

6. Reservation Dogs (2021-2023)

"See...love doesn't have to be received, it can just be."

We're finally out of the animes, and moving away from the zen and shinto approach into some other options. Reservation Dogs' indigenous humanism was groundbreaking, bringing in distinctly modern American realities (with the kind of true-to-life details only a an on-location shoot could offer) with Native beliefs about ancestry, community, and connection to the land, while rarely feeling preachy. Instead, it's just fucking hilarious and casually heartbreaking. Four friends on the edge of graduating high school on a reservation in Oklahoma try to figure out what to do with their lives after their plans to go to California get abruptly messed up. Radical kindness as a concept often gets focused on accepting the enemy but what about accepting the weird stoner uncle who farts all the time and won't talk about his years in the army. I think that might be a more important goal of radical kindness, in truth, if we are being asked to look and accept reality for what it is, because growing comfortable with disappointment and the mundane let's us live without the relentless striving that drives perfectionism.

7. Skam (2015-2017)

"The second you start looking for hate, you find it. And when you find hate, you start hating."

A Norwegian teen drama that understood internet culture better than any show before or since, four season-long romance plots better than any romance film from that decade, and a masterfully constructed exhortation about leaning into failures of connection to build deeper compassion rather than demonize another person or group. Each season focused on a specific character within a high-school friend group, emphasizing the limited scope of subjective experience, and had them confront the challenges of opening up to others fully. And even when they return into the scenes with new protagonists, their lives weren't sorted perfectly, reflecting how resolving a single romantic plot point would not resolve life. The impact of this low-budget public-television web series (!!!) will be felt for years (it's already been referenced by Netflix juggernauts like Sex Education and Young Royals), but we're not likely to see something that juggles political themes, heartfelt characterization, realistic dialogue, and meta-commentary (it flashed its own hater and fan comments across the screen in the last episode!!) in such a obsession-inducing package anytime soon.

7. Boys Like Boys (2023)

"Because I have always been someone who hates myself, I don't have the courage to face it. Running away is my only option...What if I give myself one more chance to be brave?"

So how can a reality show make it onto a list of radically kind tv series, especially a dating show!? Well, when that reality dating show casts people who radiate warmth, vulnerability, and respect and seem to have the kind of chemistry that most scripted shows can't even manage, it's a good start. But then, when they elevate that cast with a format that addresses the cruelty of dating, elimination formats, and broader societal exclusion (an important consideration for a gay dating show), it offers a new model for future shows. Boys Like Boys did this when mid-season (spoiler alert) they had contestants vote out a contestant, only to provide the contestants with a vote in which they could retain a contestant who they didn't want to leave. In fact, many of the contestants asked if they could abstain from making a vote that would eliminate a constestant and were allowed to. The final result left one contestant, Jia-Hang, up for elimination--he had voted for himself to be eliminated, and many contestants, recognizing his reticence to continue on the program, didn't want to force him against his will to stay. Then, looking around at nearly the whole cast sobbing, even apologizing to him for not providing him enough support, Jia-Hang chooses to stay on. This is just one of many heart-warming authentic moments in the show that illustrate the vital influence of kindness to impact the trajectory of our hearts.

8. Joe Pera Talks With You (2018-2021)

"I can help you reach things. I can tend the garden. The different hours we keep are a good thing. And when they overlap, I can offer companionship and entertainment."

So much has been written about this show's groundbreaking kind approach, I'm going to quote instead: "It can be difficult to convey how a TV show airing on Cartoon Network’s provocative nighttime programming block Adult Swim can evoke almost nostalgic feelings of kind-heartedness. The premise of Joe Pera Talks With You is so simple as to almost be beside the point: Comedian Joe Pera plays a lightly fictionalized version of himself as a sweet Michigander, a middle-school chorus teacher with small and specific passions. Joe likes breakfast food, obscure trivia, beans, trips to the grocery store, and his grandma. He greets every day with a contented smile, stands beneath a pale blue sky, packs a balanced lunch that contains no surprises. (A turkey sandwich with cheese and a tomato, a banana, some trail mix, and as a treat, some cookies.) Joe, more than anything, is satisfied. His greatest joy is sharing these small pleasures with you, the viewer who exists on the other side of the fourth wall he has cleanly dismantled, often speaking quietly to the camera like he’s sharing a secret, just between you two. That he’s talking “with” and not “to” you is a crucial distinction in the show’s title: Joe never lectures nor rhapsodizes. Instead, he waxes poetic about what he loves and who he cares for and how he leads his life, telling his stories from a vulnerable position of welcoming you into his daily existence.” --“A Great Comedy About Being Good,” Allegra Frank for Vox

9. Anne with an E (2017-2019)

"Her life was not short on challenges, and still she held no grudges, believing instead that grace is perennial like the green, green grass."

While maligned for not being the 1980s version, this Netflix adaptation of Anne of Green Gables takes what many have read as an autistic subtext and made it text, giving Anne a performative quality that pushes a lot of the audience into the same irritation that the characters of Avonlea feel for Anne at first, and, thus, requires its audience to persevere toward the same kindness that Anne inspires in her adoptive mother figure, Marilla, among others, which is much more rewarding than simply identifying with Anne right away. In so doing, it enhances the development of its broader approach to acceptance--an approach in its insistence on the requirement of a community of kindredness (see Sebastian's excitement at finding out about the black community in "The Bog") that is much more rigorous than many other shows will cop to. Expanding far beyond literal adaptation into queer, black, and indigenous characters, without disguising history or disparaging the thematic seed of grace at the heart of the novels, Anne with an E imagines what it meant and what it might still mean to build real joyful community with others through kindness.

10. Little Bear (1995-2003)

"Interesting."

A childhood favorite that disguised in its simplicity a wide-openness to the world and an acceptance of different natures. While most child shows emphasize kindness, few do so with as much patience, wonder, and generosity extended to its viewers. Little Bear is a curious kid who goes on adventures in the woods around his house that can turn into games or small imagined experiences. He is sometimes with his friends Cat, Duck, Hen, Owl, and Emily, whose personalities, along with Little Bear's, bring about small tensions in their games that ultimately resolve, if not independently, then with the help of Mother Bear or Father Bear, who give each other knowing glances about the expected childhood behaviors. This is the first show that initially taught me to observe things while withholding my judgment, that first step of radical kindness.

12. The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968)

"The key to happiness is finding joy in the simple things."

One really old and somewhat controversial throwback for my last entry. If you have concerns about a sheriff character representing radical kindness, I would encourage you to start with the third episode of season 3 where Andy, the sheriff in question, has to explain to the new mayor why he doesn't carry a gun and lets prisoners go to gather their crops. There have been some fantastic pieces written about the complexities of this show's bucolic fantasy and Southerners (of all races) attachment to it, but they all acknowledge a type of humanistic and deceptively simple virtue found in Mayberry that audiences long to witness, if not emulate themselves. It's a morality that resists the "hyperactive zealotry" and bureaucracy that the show satirizes through Barney Fife (along with guest characters like the new mayor) and instead emphasizes the understanding that one can have for each individual and the trickstery middle paths that one can find to address conflict.

[moirtre]

‎ ‎ ⋆⠀⠀&.⠀⠀٬⠀⠀(⠀⠀ARSENIC.⠀⠀)⠀...⠀is the first full album (lp) by south korean girl group, letalis. the album was released in both digital and physical form by south korean entertainment company, apricus culture on october 29, 2014.

the album was supported by performances of the title track, "POISON" and two additional promotional singles, "FOR THE THRILL" and "CHECK IT". as the group's first full-length album, ARSENIC received mixed reviews despite its overwhelming commercial success. the group promoted the album for a total of five weeks through music show performances, two seoul concerts, five fanmeetings, and several variety show appearances. the album's title track, "POISON" received a total of 8 music show wins while "CHECK IT" amassed 2 towards the later end of promotions.

despite the album's popularity, critics published mostly lukewarm reviews of the album. most prominently, a common critique was the "repetitive" sentiment shared by critics in both korea and abroad. despite critical favorites "REBOUND", "CHECK IT", "LOVE/OR", and "BAD GIRL" receiving praise for the involvement of contributing members naryun, jiseo, and melanie, other songs were heavily criticized for their recurring themes, genres, and structure. regardless, the group's fanbase would propel the album and its promotional singles onto the gaon and billboard global charts, solidifying the "bread and butter" of letalis' musical character.

⠀*⠀SECTION ONE⠀:⠀the tracklist.

ʬ.ʬ.⠀001:⠀ ⠀٬⠀⠀ REBOUND

ʬ.ʬ.⠀002:⠀⠀٬⠀⠀ FOR THE THRILL⠀

ʬ.ʬ.⠀003:⠀⠀٬⠀⠀ POISON* (title)⠀

ʬ.ʬ.⠀004:⠀⠀٬⠀⠀ GINGER TRUFFLE

ʬ.ʬ.⠀005:⠀⠀٬⠀⠀ DRIP⠀

ʬ.ʬ.⠀006:⠀⠀٬⠀⠀ LIGHT ME UP⠀

ʬ.ʬ.⠀007:⠀⠀٬⠀⠀ CHECK IT

ʬ.ʬ.⠀008:⠀⠀٬⠀⠀ LOVE/OR

ʬ.ʬ.⠀009:⠀⠀٬⠀⠀ MISS.ME

ʬ.ʬ.⠀010:⠀ ⠀٬⠀⠀ GUN

ʬ.ʬ.⠀011: ⠀ ⠀٬⠀⠀ BAD GIRL⠀

ʬ.ʬ.⠀012:⠀ ⠀٬⠀⠀ MINDURZ

ʬ.ʬ.⠀013:⠀ ⠀٬⠀⠀ GLASSSY

⠀*⠀SECTION TWO⠀:⠀the physical album.

‎ ‎ ⋆⠀⠀&.⠀⠀٬⠀⠀two versions of arsenic were available for purchase upon initial release. the group would go on to record the entire album in japanese for a limited edition special release in 2015 as part of their debut anniversary celebration.

ʬ.ʬ.⠀STANDARD VERSION: contains one disc, one photobook (featuring 100 photos), one of four unit posters, one of seven member-written letters, one of seven random photocards, one group poster, and one of three random stickers.

ʬ.ʬ.⠀TONEDEAF VERSION: contains one disc, one photobook (featuring 111 photos), one of four unit posters, one of seven member-written letters, two of seven random photocards, one of seven individual mini-poster, one of two random group posters, three stickers, and one fandom charm.

ㅤ*ㅤSECTION THREEㅤ:ㅤthe styling.

sticking to the general idea of their previous era, the members each had a personal hand in their own looks. each stage built off the individual tastes of each member while holding on to their cohesiveness. easily one of their most identifiable eras solely off the styling.

ㅤ*ㅤSECTION FOURㅤ:ㅤthe notes.

a fan favorite era

one of their more iconic albums, def a top three vitalis staple album

people either loved or hated this era (including the girls themselves). there were a lot of mixed reviews among critics and it wasn't secret to the girls.

weird animosity between emmy and juniper starts here. no one really knows why but they were regularly exchanging not-so nice words about each other to anyone who cared enough to listen.

one of their encore stages went viral after they used voice changing microphones with shuffled effects (entirely emmy's idea). still one of the highest viewed encores of all time, a letalis fandom staple video as well. several members were in tears from laughter (emmy, jiseo, naryun) while others were completely stoic (naira, juniper). ironically, this video pretty much sums up their public dymanic pretty well.

lots of controversy surrounding the tracks on the album. towards the end of the promotional period, the girls were visibly tired of performing "for the thrill" which was unanimously voted in a fan poll posted to melanie's fancafe as being the fans' least favorite b-side off the album.

despite how well the title track, "poison" did, some of the girls voiced their varying opinions on what they would chosen instead. snowballed into a weird scandal where they were accused of suffering from "celebrity disease". never ended up being addressed but apricus did tighten the reigns on what the girls were allowed to say/bring up during the rest of the promotions.

the true beginning of the core writers and producers that usually appear on letalis albums. also the beginning of the naryun and trenton rumors (that would eventually be entirely true). it wasn't lost on the public that letalis was gonna stick to what works so these same writers and producers in different arrangement are a staple to their discography.

miss. me randomly went viral in 2020 around the time challenges became a regular occurrence. so in between the challenges for the album they were promoting at the time, they were suffering through doing cute little hand choreo for the song.

naryun, melanie, and emmy gained their first credits on this album!

announced their first asian tour after the end of promotions. cute little 15-show tour, mostly in large theaters and arenas, nothing crazy but a precious memory for all the girls.

[azrielgreen]

Hi, I hope you don't mind my asking you this but why don't you like people reviewing your work on Goodreads? a lot of other authors are proud to have their work reviewed there and it makes fics more accessible so I don't really know why you'd ask people not to? Please don't think this is a criticism at all. I'm genuinely curious and absolutely love all your work!!!

Hi, that's absolutely fine. I'm always happy to talk about it and I know it can be a little divisive because people like to bookmark/review what they're reading and that mostly does come from a place of good intentions.

Firstly, I would never want my fics to be accessible or mainstream. It was always surprising to me that YD was read by so many. I write for myself for fun, and the only people I want to read it are the people who actually want to read it, who went looking for it using tags or read the blurb and thought, 'yes, definitely for me!' - usually a small audience, which makes me very happy!

It's no secret that I absolute despise rating systems for fanfiction and what that leads to - the mainstreaming of fanfiction in general. Fanfiction is written by people who just want to share their work, not to compete with others and get on the NY Times Bestseller list.

There is NO NEED WHATSOEVER in my opinion to rate fanfiction based on personal preference/enjoyment/critique. Goodreads is first and foremost a rating system for reviewing books. I actually disagree with rating art in any way whatsoever, including published works, movies, music etc... I believe that a rating system should, at best, be used to provide feedback about the functionality of a service/object. Art is subjective, it's there to elicit emotions and feelings and IMO should not be rated in such a way. One person's 1/5 review is useless to someone else because everyone is different and exploration is discouraged when the rating is low, but I'm getting wildly off track here.

Fanfiction is not intended, IMO, for wide mainstream consumption. The casual normalisation of rating fanfics on GR & TikTok has become a plague of misery for many writers and a lazy haven for mean-spirited book critic wannabes. To be very clear, I'm talking about RATING them. Giving them a score out of 10 or 5. Picking them apart in a negative & critical way, often on the immediate basis of them not being "canon compliant". Only today, I saw a TikTok of someone slamming a fic for being "different than the book".

To me, fanfiction is so special and beautiful and rare. I'd be lost without it and I read it daily. There are stories that have legitimately saved me. Fanfiction can be anything, written by anyone at any level. No one is obligated to read it, therefore any criticism, you keep to yourself. Rating it on Goodreads alongside published works is, in my humble opinion, fucking gross unless the author has specifically added it themselves.

This includes rating the fic in bookmarks, which is rampant. High rating or not, it's not a nice feeling and a little fandom etiquette goes a long way.

💜💜💜

[foxes-that-run]

The thing is...the manipulate jerk that Jake is, he was in her life for way more time than people think. No one understands how much Jake impacted her and broke her. Yeah that can happen in one month too but she literally resents him in a way that makes me think that it wasn't just one or two months. Feel like there's a chance they kept seeing eachother for few more months or like just hooking up. I mean I've read The Moviestar and Me so I wouldn't put it past him to keep coming back to a 21 year old Taylor. He has a pattern

Jake is a POS, Taylor said it was “a kind of bad that gets so overpowering you can't even write about it," Manuscript sings of trauma, and after dating younger boys. I know the WANGBT swiftie-lore is they were on/off, but it was in 2010. Her team said it ended December 2010. To Vanity Fair she said in 2013 "since 2010 I have dated exactly two people.” That is Harry and Conor, so she said she didn't date Jake in 2011.

He also just doesn't sound like someone with who 'the armor falls', 'a worthwhile fight', or the 'golden age of something good and right':

The Guardian: [Hide away and find your peace of mind / With some indie record that's much cooler than mine.] "That was the most important line of the song," Swift says. "It was a relationship where I felt very critiqued and subpar. He'd listen to this music that nobody had heard of … but as soon as anyone else liked these bands, he'd drop them. I felt that was a strange way to be a music fan. And I couldn't understand why he would never say anything nice about the songs I wrote or the music I made."

And finally to USA Today: "WANEGBT is a definitive portrait of how I felt when I finally stopped caring what my ex thought of me. He made me feel like I wasn't as good or as relevant as these hipster bands he listened to. So I made a song that I knew would absolutely drive him crazy when he heard it on the radio. Not only would it hopefully be played a lot, so that he'd have to hear it, but it's the opposite of the kind of music that he was trying to make me feel inferior to.

So maybe State of Grace is about some blue eyed fire sign we never knew about... Conor Kennedy is a Leo (fire sign) with brown eyes... or maybe that detail was changed, or its a line she liked from an earlier song. Lots of swifties think its about Jake and that's all cool, but I don't think much of Red is about Jake apart from ATW. ... and I don't' think Taylor does either because:

In October 2013 she spoke with Vulture, “I heard from the guy that most of Red is about,” Swift said. “He was like, ‘I just listened to the album, and that was a really bittersweet experience for me. It was like going through a photo album.’ That was nice. Nicer than, like, the ranting, crazy e-mails I got from this one dude."

"Most of Red" is about someone who listens to her music, unlike Jake who didn't listen to her music, did rant at her and she so much wanted him to hear WANGBT that she made it an earworm. And:

On 28 December 2015, when the Out of the Woods Music Video was about to be released she went on a liking spree about it which included this post, linking the muse of State of Grace with Out of the Woods:

(Thank you @cntfightmydemonsthyknowhowtoswim who had all of that in her fabulous Red post.)

[buckysgrace]

Chapter One

This is the first chapter to my fic Cruel Summer. There are more chapters on my AO3 if anyone is interested in catching up there faster! This chapter is the shortest and a bit of a filler but I hope you enjoy it!

Billy X Fem!MayfieldOC (Includes Stepcest, smut and violence so please read to your own discretion.)

“Look,” Kim moved Addi’s legs to the side, water still dripping off her one piece as she held out her journal towards her, “I’ve got it all mapped out.”

“Fuck, that’s cold!” Addi cursed sitting up from where she was sun tanning. Kim smiled apologetically, not actually meaning to get the water on her. The girls had taken to hanging around the pool as the mall had proven to be too dangerous for their wallets. Their first paycheck had been quickly blown at the mall. “Seems like a solid plan, but you know in order to attract male gazes,” She quoted from your writing, “You probably need to wear those bikinis we bought and not the one piece your mom got you,” To make a point she pulled on the skirt of Kim’s one piece.

Kim gaped at her, “This is very cute,” She mumbled rubbing her hands down over the frills on top of the suit. All of her new and “mature” clothes currently sat hanging in the back of her closet with the tags still on them. Her confidence of wearing them outside had been quickly diminished when she had overheard Neil talking to her mother about the slutty clothes girls wear now while giving her a pointed look.

No, she was unsure if those outfits would ever see daylight.

“Right, it’s cute. You need sexy!” Addi pushed her long black hair behind her shoulders. She had chosen to wear one of the bikinis she had picked out at the mall. The current one was a light blue that contrasted nicely against her brown skin. The two girls may have been spending their days at the pool, but Addi hated the water and never did much more than dip her toes in and watch as Kim swam laps.

“I know,” Kim moaned pushing her wet, red hair back, “It’s just so hard, I’m scared people will sit there and laugh,” She sighed, rubbing her pale, freckled arms feeling a sudden chill come over her despite the hot sun beating down on her back.

“You just need to do it. How else is Steve Harrington going to notice you and get in your pants?” Addi questioned scanning over her journal again.

“Get in whose pants?” The deep voice that appeared from behind caused Addi to slam the journal shut and clutch it to her chest. Kim jumped, feeling her heart race as she tried to think of some excuse as she peered up at her older brother glaring down at them.

If she would even call him that. 

Kim didn’t have the worst relationship with Billy, but it wasn’t the best either. They sort of had some understanding and had some sort of shared bonding over their hatred of Neil. Billy was the only one who would allow her at times to clean up his cuts and bruises. And as a result he stuck up for her the most when Neil would try and critique her weight, looks and habits.

Still, it didn’t feel like they were close in a way that siblings would be. Her feelings towards him were so very different than the feelings she felt towards her baby sister, Max. 

Billy stood there in his life guard uniform, if you could even call it that, his red shorts clinging to his hips and his whistle resting comfortably between his pecs. He had pushed his sunglasses over his blonde curls and blew out smoke at the two of them as he awaited an answer. 

The two girls glanced at each other, both waiting for the other to make some excuse, before looking back up at him and answering in unison.

“Nothing!”

Billy huffed then motioned towards the journal, which Addi had a death grip on, “What’s that?” They both looked at each other again.

“Homework,” Kim finally spoke up, raising her hazel eyes to meet his piercing blue ones. She always felt like he could look right into her and know the truth without saying it.

“School has been out for two weeks,” He spoke up before putting his cigarette out. Kim’s eyes flickered to behind him where the group of mothers were looking at him like he was the last meal they would ever have. She shrugged and smiled sheepishly.

“It’s never too early to get a head start?”

“Shouldn’t you be watching the brats and I don’t know, making sure they don’t drown?” Addi asked dryly, leaning back in her chair and resting her legs over Kim’s. She relaxed softly, grateful for her friend. They had both met last year and bonded over their similarities. Both had come into the school year at the same time, and moved from different parts of California. She was more brash and bold, but still had a soft heart that she kept locked up behind big walls. She had been the one to suggest they both have an unruly summer before school starts.

Billy laughed, flicking his tongue over his teeth, “I’m on break but thank you for your concern,” He looked back at Kim, “What do you want with Steve Harrington?” She wished she could scream.

“Nothing, just seems like a nice guy,” She tried to reply as casually as she could. She knew he was a sore subject for Billy. They had some sort of competition last year that resulted in the both of them getting burned. Kim felt like she got part of the backlash as well. Everytime she went to Scoops Ahoy she’d watch as he’d flirt with girl after girl but when it came to her, he always deadpanned and referred to her as Kimberely before scooping out her mint chocolate chip ice cream.

She was determined to change that this summer.

“Yeah, pretty boy will only want one thing from you,” He leaned down until he was inches away from her face and looked over her face with his piercing eyes, “Stay away from him,” As quickly as he appeared, he left heading towards the concession stand. She scoffed, shaking her head.

“Can you believe him?” She groaned as she reached for her journal, she looked up to see Addi still watching him, “Addi!” Addi jumped and thrust the book back at her. She knew the effect that Billy had over people, and she had yet to find someone that didn’t swoon the first time that he opened his charming gaze to them.

“Damn, sorry. He is hot though,” She shrugged and Kim groaned, shoving her journal back into the safety of her bag. She wasn’t the first person to say that, and Kim knew she wasn’t the last. Kim always felt awkward, but she hated to admit that it was true. Billy had always been good looking and he knew it too. She had to live through constantly seeing the different girls he brought back and listening to their “happy screams” as Max would giggle and call it.

“He’s the reason Steve hates me,” Kim groaned, crossing her ankles. Addi shook her head.

“Steve doesn’t hate you, he’s just indifferent right now. I’m telling you, once you show up in that cute little dress you got he’s going to lose his mind,” She smiled sweetly, gripping Kim’s hand.

“You really think so?” She smiled hopefully and Addi nodded again. Steve had been the first guy to give her any attention when she moved here, not that she really qualified that as him being into her. He was being more polite than anything, guiding her from the front office to her first class of the day. He had been with Nancy Wheeler at that time, now, she had heard that they had split and felt like it was okay to make a move on him. Nancy was with Jonathan now anyways, she didn’t see what the problem could have been.

Until Billy.

“Of course I do and if he doesn’t - fuck him. You’re beautiful and there’s a guy out there for you. Even if it isn’t Steve,” She proclaimed. Kim nodded feeling a bit better about it, but she truly hoped it was Steve.

“I gotta leave a little early today,” Addi spoke up again grabbing her bag, “I told mom I’d help make tamales. Argyle should be here soon, we can drop you off at home if you want?” She asked, looking at her. Kim considered her offer for a moment.

Today was Neil’s day off. That meant lots of tense and unbearable hours as she would try and not make herself known in the house. She shook her head.

“No, I want to swim for a while longer. Thanks for the offer though, I’ll see you at work tomorrow?” They both worked as waitresses on the morning shift at Patsy’s Diner and insisted that they needed the same shifts in order to get through the day.

Addi nodded and leaned down to give her a hug right as Argyle pulled his van up and began honking obnoxiously. Kim laughed, watching as Addi rushed out but still managed to flip him the finger.

Now, Kim took in her choices. She could wait a few more hours, then head back home on foot with the hot sun beating down on her unbearably.

Or

She could oh so sweetly ask Billy for a ride home, of course that meant waiting a few more hours until his shift ended and probably having to assist him with locking the place up for free, but it also meant not getting a huge sunburn over her back again.

So she took a deep breath, and headed towards the break rooms where he liked to sit back and do God knows what. Goosebumps raced up her arms as the cool air hit her. She waved towards Heather as she moved towards the dark room and hoped that Billy wouldn’t try to ask about Steve anymore.

Kim pushed on the handle, but the door remained shut. She furrowed her eyebrows together, confused as to why it would need to be locked in the first place.

“Hey,” She walked back up to Heather, smiling apologetically. The other girl barely spared her a glance before looking back down at your nails, “Can I use your key to get into the supply room? I think that’s where Billy went and I need to ask him something,”

“Did you knock?” She questioned, smacking her gum but pulling her key out of her bag regardless. Kim shook her head.

“I figured he’d ignore me if he knew it was me,” She grinned and thanked her, before stalking back to the room, wondering if this was even worth the hassle. She could just wait until the end of his shift anyways and force him to take her home. Then again, she may get stuck in the car with him and whichever girl he decided was worth his time.

She stared at the door for a moment before quietly sticking the key in and turning it until she heard it unlock. She pressed her ear against the door, listening for a moment to try and hear what he was doing. She furrowed her eyebrows again, hearing nothing but heavy breathing.

Her fingers wrapped around the doorknob as she considered her options again. One last deep breath and she pushed the door open wide.

“Hey, Billy-” Her words jumbled in her throat and her mind blanked as she stared at the image in front of her. 

Billy had jumped so far that his back slammed against one of the metal storage racks, sending goggles and life jackets tumbling onto the floor. His cheeks were flushed, and the fly of his shorts unzipped, with his hand quickly trying to shove himself back into his shorts.

“You brat! You couldn’t be a normal person and fucking knock?” He yelled harshly, giving her a dirty look. Kim noticed he was flushed all the way down his neck and couldn’t tell if it was from embarrassment or from something else.

“I um-” Words couldn’t seem to come to Kim as the image of him holding his cock in his hand seemed to burn itself in her mind.

“Needed these,” She muttered awkwardly, picking up a pair of bright green, square goggles that had landed in front of her feet. “Thanks,” She muttered, looking anywhere but at him as she moved, slower than normal, and shut the door behind her. 

Once the door clicked shut she moved with haste before he could come out and say anything else. What was his problem? Who does that?

“Hey- Hey my key!” Heather shouted after her. Kim stopped so fast that she thought that her flip flops may go flying off. She gulped hard, turned and thrusted Heather’s key back towards her quickly. 

She quickly gathered her things, deciding that anywhere would be better than spending the rest of the evening anywhere around Billy.

God, she was so fucked.

[souryogurt64]

i watched your panic video essay and i really don’t think you came off too mean or hating on anyone discussed. i didn’t know much about the panic drama besides the very popular “we hate brendon poor ryro” narrative and so you gave me a much more nuanced understanding of the situation. you (rightfully) picked on brendon at times but i actually came out thinking more positively of him than i did when i barely knew the story before. i mean i wouldn’t say i like the man, and he strikes me as sort of egotistical and petty but not heartless and evil as i’ve seen him characterized.

learning about ryan ross and the sexism in attitude from early panic days definitely knocked him off the perfect pedestal of how people talk about him but also i can acknowledge that this was a teenager in the 2000s so of course he was a piece of shit. i don’t come out of the video hating him or anything and it never occurs like that was your intent in including that

as for pete, i already knew he was an evil businessman and misogynist prince of the aughts so like no surprise there. unfortunate for me im still not immune to that guy but yeah he is deserving of the critique and i don’t think you were too harsh. you were pretty fair in discussing his perception as a cutthroat mafioso vs just some guy. you complimented his disaster book.

i went into your video essay not know who the fuck this jmont guy is and came out not really caring beside briefly blinking at whatever he and pete had going on

anyways, all this to say i thought the video was great and both critical and fair

Brendon -- Throughout writing this essay and going through so much old Panic content it really reminded me why Brendon used to be a Tumblr babygirl and why I liked him, and made me like him a lot more. However, towards the end of the essay, when I started watching his more recent periscopes, I was reminded why this feeling has shifted loll

Ryan-- Ryan was a kid so its Not That Deep and I also just included that section so I had an excuse to mention the hayley williams thing. however I do think people have a tendency to like purposefully ignore this stuff, not just with ryan but with bandom in general. Ie "pete threw the first brick at feminist stonewall" etc so it's nice to have a reminder

Pete -- Yeah yeah yeah, he does not need any more attention

Jmont-- He is a band boy to me, I'm obsessed with all of this stuff and whatever weird relationship he and Pete had because I'm more obsessed with Pete's disaster book than I am with Fall Out Boy. However I recognize no one else on Earth cares about Pete's disaster book lol.

anyway ty <3333

[booksandpaperss]

kind of obsessed with the fact you've slowly gotten more blatant with heartstopper hate lmfao😭 it's like. fine to me it's cute but NOTHING SERIOUS IS EVER GOING ON so I gotta be in a really specific mood for it I still haven't watched s2. definitely couldn't be a fixation. and everyone fucking loves it it's the best thing since sliced bread and I'm like. why tho. and then any critique of it is sorta dumbed down to "oh you just don't like how sweet it is but teenagers deserve sweet romance" like ok but why's it gotta be boring though. and too healthy like beyond normal levels of healthy. like this is missing even the usual human levels of miscommunication. and it gets resolved too easy. sorry this was supposed to cut off 4 sentences ago I'm realizing now in your inbox that I apparently have beef with heartstopper

LKSSJJSJS LISTEN listen. I don’t even hate it. truly. I even genuinely enjoyed myself during the nick and Charlie parts bc that’s the part that thought is actually put into. I just hate how much everyone loves it so blindly

honestly my biggest beef with it is that it’s marketed and treated as the most genuine and diverse groundbreaking queer storyline there is when that’s literally so far from true and it really really shows ppls true colors when they think this bc the sapphics and POC are literal props it’s actually absurd for a show that’s supposed to be a safe space for queer ppl

and god do I hate that part of the reason it’s so popular is bc it portrays these queer teenagers as never having a single, physical thought in their entire life. there was this whole plot centered around one single hickey that Charlie had??? and something abt the physical attraction portion of it all, which they did try to show btw, felt disingenuous to me. and I know that’s why it’s so palatable to a mainstream audience and it pisses me off and again it just doesn’t feel genuine. which is ironically one of the main arguments against heartstopper criticism: “it’s not cringe it’s just earnest” when yeah maybe it’s Trying to be earnest but when u look at it from more than a surface level lens it’s not rlly succeeding

and I know the aroace storyline in season 2 with Isaac resonated with a lot of people and I think that’s wonderful, and I actually do think that was something that was done well, but how can you have a storyline around asexuality when you don’t show the contrast in how it is being an allosexual queer person. there was a whole lot of romantic attraction going on but even more tip toeing around the sexual attraction aspect. and I don’t expect it to be like sex education for example in terms of the focus on sex obv , but the lack of acknowledgment of that aspect of the queer experience paired with how much the uwu wholesomeness of it all is played up rlly rubs me the wrong way. once again: it feels dishonest

I was actually talking about this with one of my mutuals the other day and they pointed out that it is very plain that alice olseman did not consult a single queer man in the writers room. and if someone can prove this wrong be my guest but I rlly don’t think the whole physical attraction component would have been done so badly had an actual queer man been on the team. feels kind of like back in summer 2022 when byler shippers would literally shun and harass anyone who even implied that Will’s feelings for Mike probably included physical attraction meanwhile Noah Schnapp himself was making jokes about it bc he’s an actual gay teenager.

not gonna even get into right now how Tara and darcy felt even more like props this season than in the last one and I didn’t even like watching their scenes bc the writing itself felt performative. that’s a whole other post.

and man, wouldn’t it have been so nice if there had actually been people of color in that writers room. On a purely surface level heartstopper has a very diverse cast but once again, peel away even one layer and you realize it’s a bunch of tokenism, which brings me full circle back to my original point: you can’t say it’s peak representation and diversity when it’s whitewashed as hell and doesn’t gaf abt sapphics despite literally being written by one. guess she chose her whiteness over her queerness even when writing a queer story which wowwww sooooo original.

okayyyy anyways did NOT mean to write a whole essay but u discovering ur own beef reminded me of mine lmaooo

all of this was to say that basically I’m not gonna pretend I didn’t enjoy myself during parts of the show, and I don’t wanna shame ppl for liking it that is not at all what I’m trying to do here, it has its own place in queer media and if a show like this came out in like 2010 it would be groundbreaking despite its issues (but again it’s literally 2023 do fucking better) , but I take issue with people treating it like something it’s not and with the amount of love it gets I feel like I have to be really loud about my criticism of it, especially bc usually the criticism of the show that gets any attention isn’t even slandering it for the right reasons and like. if ur gonna hate on something queer and popular do it right

oh and heartstopper writers? maybe try speaking with an actual teenager once in your life before writing their dialogue they do not fucking communicate that well

okay I’m done now finally 🫡

[angelmelon]

MEET ANGELICMELONNNN

hi guys it’s me hit artist Angelicmelon He/It pronouns

I used to be called CheezyBakedRat on Amino. If anyone remembers this very niche era of our life DNI/hj

3rd gen Irish Diaspora living on Shawnee land, plan to move to Ireland with my beautiful partners and my service doggy, Little Melon when I turn 18 or soon after for the better disability benefits and connection to my ancestry

I am a veiling Satanist, I only veil part time but I aspire to begin veiling full time one day!! I veil as a spiritual protection, I find it gives me a clearer mind and clearer energy

My favorite fruit is watermelon 🍉, though I like many other fruits and foods!! I like pomegranate, macaroni and cheese, chocolate hummus, mint ice cream, all things sweet, and I make a damn good Waraq Dawali (I think. I know I will end up very embarrassed when an actual Middle Eastern person tries my Waraq Dawali recipe.)

I am pro 🇵🇸!! If you support the displacement or harm or death of indigenous people in any capacity DNI. In other words, if you support Israel DNI. You do not belong on my page and I will eat you

Other DNI Criteria include:

🍉 Endogenic systems or any other genic that is not traumagenic systems. System hopping is not real stop being delulu 😭🙏

❤️ TERFSSSSS!!! BOOOOOO GET OFF MY PAGE YOU PUS POSTULE COVERED ARBYS BAG GREASE PLAGUE ERA VAMPIRES!!! TRANS PEOPLE EXIST!!!

🍉 Fundamentalist religious folks of any kind!! I am chill with pretty much everyone of every religion!! However, I do not feel comfortable nor safe around fundamentalists. This may mean many things to many people, but the definition for this page is any religious person who proselytizes to others unprompted, or any religious perosn who utilizes their religion for purposes of eugenics, discrimination, or other forms of hatred rather than the love and respect religion is supposed to entail. I’d also prefer not to interact with any person who deems proselytization necessary; not necessarily to me, I already said that. Just deeming “spreading the word” to people necessary. You can do that with good actions, you don’t need to with missions or money.

❤️ this should be very common sense considering literally everything I have said up to this point but IF YOU HAVE WEIRD GROSS FETISHES BOOOOOOOO GO AWAY I am a minor 🙅 I guess some people apparently don’t care about that which reminds me IF YOU LIKE MINORS BOOOOOO DIE 🖕❌ I AM APPROACHING YOUR LOCATION AS WE SPEAK

🍉 non casual Hazbin fans. If you defend Vivzie go away 💔

oh yeah BYF

🍉 I am very VERY mean I apologize I am not exactly the most well socialized person

❤️ I WILL post and reblog Palestine and other humanitarian related things related things, regardless of graphic nature. People should be well familiar with what’s happening in Palestine right now, and I think people should know if they don’t already. I will make sure to reblog any educational posts I see!!

🍉 I make a lot of jokes at the expense of certain Christian denominations, I was raised Catholic and have quite abit of Christian religious trauma expanding beyond my raised denomination. Chances are if I bully your denomination it’s because the church unfortunately traumatized me somehow. I hold no ill will towards any person, but the institutions done screwed me up

❤️ I am a OSDD-1B haver and system. Will not talk about it much. Though if another alter posts something, be nice!!

🍉 HUGE oversharer. Like huge huge oversharer. I will tone it down from how I am in other spaces because iiiiii frankly don’t want my immediate family to know I have a Tumblr page 😭💔 you might be wondering how would they find it?? They would Not I am simply paranoid

❤️ I AM TAKEN X2!!! Shoutout to my lovely beautiful partners, neither of which follow me on Tumblr. It’s okay I only just started actually using this account 🙏 they’ll probably follow me in the future

🍉 may use this account to practice Arabic skills just abit, i have been learning!! Please, do critique my skills, it helps me learn!! Marhaba, esmi Angelicmelon!! wahadhih safhati ealaa Tumblr!!! 🫶

❤️ if you make transphobic BS and make it public I will comment on it sorrryyyyyyy jk not sorry 🖕

🍉 OH YEAH OH YEAH i have certain words that can trigger my Vasovagal Syncope, I can’t exactly say them and I don’t blame people for posting about them without knowing but know I will avoid certain posts like the plague

🍉🍉🍉 thank you for being on my page!!! 🍉🍉🍉

[neoaya]

Hot take!!! (Nuclear tbh)

People are way too shitty to the LW devs, especially Yumeno Rote.

This guy is responsible for every single piece of non-story card character art in the game, that includes units, costumes, alts, expressions, Music Video CGs, etc. Seeing as a new unit is released per week, along with 2/4 event costumes and 2/3 rebirth costumes at the end of the month, this guy is at MINIMUM drawing 8 fully detailed illustrations and backgrounds per month, for three and a half years straight.

The only other gacha to my knowledge that has one artist doing all the character art like this is Limbus Company, which even then has a significantly longer period between new art being added to the game. (I'm aware there are likely a lot more, but most to my knowledge have multiple artists)

So when I see a post criticising Lost Word, what do you think is being criticised 90% of the time?

Is it:

The fact it's a gacha game

Genuine criticism of the game itself and its mechanics or story

Hell, even criticism of the questionable work practice of having one guy do all the game's art

If you guessed 4, "near insignificant nitpick of Rote's art, AUs shown, or a VA (in a game where you can pick from 3 for every character) because it doesn't fit within their headcanon in a game about multiple different universes" you'd be correct!

Don't get me wrong, I have seen the first two plenty of times, but they're always either fair critiques or people who just don't want anything to do with gacha games and don't care which is understandable.

But for 4? The sheer amount of hatred and seething vitriol people express for details most people wouldn't think twice about is insane to me. It never seems to come from a sincere place of disappointment but rather fear to fit in, like "Oh this relates to me, I better lay in to it as much as possible since everyone else shits on it, wouldn't want to give people the impression I'm weird for liking it after all". It just seems depressing to me that people feel the need to act miserable out of peer pressure and not wanting to stray from the popular opinion.

As someone's who played the game since launch at this point I feel more than qualified to tell you it's FAR from perfect, hell I wouldn't even call it all that good. Gameplay fluctuates from playing the game for you to forcing you to have a full understanding of the meta, grinding is a chore, drop rates are far too low, the nature of the game forcing normally evil aligned characters to act more reasonably, and I unironically think the lack of representation and downright bad writing for Aya until now is singlehandedly responsible for making her drop by one place 3 years in a row in the THVote popularity poll.

So why do I still play it after all this time? Because I genuinely just want to see what they do next. I like seeing what new takes on characters they come up with, I like seeing where the story goes, what the next event will be and I love Rote's art and all the other art contributed by the JP community, I even think the Hifuu and RoM section of the story is genuinely good. It's nice to have a constant and reliable stream of Touhou media to read through in-between the wait for actual new games.

Somehow I don't feel that guy in the middle would want to come on livestreams 3 and a half years after launch if he didn't find it fun, same goes for all the artists and doujin circles that have contributed their art and music, especially those with more than one card or song.

If you want anyone to blame, blame GoodSmile for publishing this game and making this the complete extent they're willing to promote it and Touhou as a whole. (Last new character from them was a Reisen nendo from six years ago btw!)

In conclusion, I think LW has objectively done more good for the series than harm. You can not understate the fact that this game is responsible for introducing Touhou to so many new people and giving the spotlight to characters that are otherwise overlooked. Inaccurate character portrayals are rarely an issue when the series embraces differentiating itself from the source material, that's the nature of doujin culture. That and it seems silly to try and gatekeep people who got into the series through Lost Word, telling them they're experincing it wrong only serves to turn them away and I don't blame newcomers when official touhou media is still hard to come across in the west and the three most popular games in the series still don't have a digital release.

As a tangent, I used to have a problem with how Aya was depicted in a lot of fan media, even from people here, but a friend taught me I shouldn't let those alternate interpretations ruin my enjoyment of her and that I shouldn't fault them for seeing her that way. I feel others should be able to learn from that.

(I definitely forgot some stuff but this is ranty enough as is, I just wanted to get it out of my system)

[angelicxboi]

LO critique / rant

(I haven't read LO in a while, this is based off memory.)

One thing of many things I didn't like about LO is that the fantasy world of the gods and mortals isn't explicitly explained or understood? Why do the gods need the mortals and vice-versa. How are they gonna tease Thetis and Achilles and then not really explain how and why that came to be. Why are most of the gods one dimensional, they have multiple titles and 'purposes'. And those with epithets don't clearly abide by those epithets (See; Artemis in LO. even Persephone herself. I'd argue everyone in LO...just is similar to the greek gods in name alone.)

And on the topic of 'powers' because I'm pretty sure that's how they describe it in the comic-whats the rules here? Why do some gods 'gain' different powers or titles, why do they get epithets if they hardly interact with mortals? Are other gods giving them their titles?

I understand that LO is, supposed to be a romantic, consenting re-telling of Persephone and Hades, thus these things shouldn't be my main strife but since the author added all these weird plots and plot-lines about succession to power (Apollo becoming..king?) and constantly having scenes where the gods just sit around in legit business meetings yapping about nothing- I think it'd be nice to at least have a consistent line of rules and thoughts to go along with these plots.

Also since Hades is 'king' i feel like there should be alot more discussion about that. Not just how his realm works but like, his relationship with mortals. He's a king, but unlike Zeus he's kinda a king of dead mortals, which once again. Why aren't mortals really discussed in LO? Gods without mortals are just...guys.

But even if I poke and prod at the romance aspect, its... alot. Alot wrong. Here's how I'd re-write LO.

I wouldn't model the characters entirely off real people I know. These Greek gods have literal centuries worth of characterization I can choose from, or include all of it. Ex. Persephone herself is described as 'girl' a child, her titles include the same ones as her mother, 'fruit-grower' 'lady of the harvest' etc. but she's also known as 'mad/dread Persephone' just based on titles alone this is a good basis to further develop this character.

Make it more campy and anarchic, and play into it. Or, make it completely serious. Having one panel or one chapter discuss themes of emotional abuse and dominance only to be followed by a scene where Hades dresses Persephone up as Marylin Monroe and calls her "kitten", is like whip-lash. I'd either try to make it as Barbie 2023 as possible or just not add the comedy at all.

Characters, (especially the main ones) need to be fleshed out. I cannot tell you any redeeming qualities Hades has by himself. He is a shitty partner to Minthe and creepy towards Persephone early on. (Full-grown god thinking about Persephone, a goddess not even half his age...WHILE he is still dating Minthe.) I don't know his personality other than his trauma, and that he apparently loves Persephone but...why?

^ Going off this point. Obviously, characters need to change, having Persephone as a 'blank slate' in the beginning of the story as we follow her while she grows up and discovers her strengths and boundaries is fine. But we also need that from Hades.

Hades in LO is kinda written as a guy who doesn't want to look like he's in the wrong, but by being wishy-washy he's just a really worse guy. I'd write him completely differently.

Maybe the real villain was the patriarchy...kinda like the original Hades and Persephone myth. I would cut the nonsense and villanification of Apollo, and instead give that to Zeus if we were to demonize anyone in the story.

Demeter... I love Demeter and her and Persephone's relationship would be rewritten and reworked so much.

Expand on mortals. Mortals can be the backbone of this god society, they can be envied or treated like dirt in the eyes of the gods. but regardless they are interwoven with the gods and shouldn't only be mentioned just to mass slaughter them off.

Expand on nymphs. As is, I'm not really a fan of LO's deception of them. But, big fan of Hades (game) nymphs.

TLDR; I initially thought LO was fun because of the...different character design and the premise was funny to me, Persephone being a broke college student just like me. But...then the story went on and the plot holes became bigger and less meaningful and i remember reading a panel where Hades called Persephone 'kitten'

All this to say, LO was good if you have no previous knowledge of greek myth. It was a nice way to dip your toes into it- otherwise if you are familiar with greek myth and start reading LO expecting a cool new spin or reimagining of these figures. You will only get mad.