Liz Blogs Her Life Away

Every single person has the power to make a meaningful impact on the planet. I had the most fireflies in my town this summer simply because I have a large area where the grass is never cut.

To the Wolf, god gave ripping teeth, and the Law of the Pack.

To the Bear, god gave crushing jaws, and terrible strength

To the Falcon, god gave slicing talons, and great sight

Odysseus: Regret it why?

Cassandra: You won’t believe me if I tell you. If I prophecy, nobody believes me. That is my curse.

Odysseus: … I’m Nobody. Fill me in. 

*A couple of months later* 

Odysseus: HELLO PENELOPE, I AM HERE PRECISELY ON TIME AND NOT YEARS LATE incidentally I rescued and adopted a Trojan seer while I was away, she’s great, got me home really fast, Cassandra this is your new mother who’s not going to treat you like shit. 

Penelope: … I’m going to need more details, but okay, sure. 

Over the past 7 or so years, we've seen this absolute shift in expectation, migration, and stagnation in the webcomics sphere which applies to style, sustainability, and the platforms grip on readers and creators

I'll be the first one to say that webcomics are not an easy way to make money and a majority of folks who make them rarely see profit. This has always been the case! But when virality, siphoning audiences from all over, and opportunity to 'get printed' presented itself, that expectation shifted.

So let's talk about what those expectations are now: 🔴Demand for Higher quality- less readers will check out beginner looking works or comics that feel too 'faulty' in style meaning less excitement to see webcomics grow over the years. Polish is expected and commented on consistently by readers

There is also an expectation for specific visual and narrative styles. This applies to other social media platforms too- in that works that take less investing in are often promoted and prioritised. That means less risks on narratives, less nuances, and shorter series running.

🔴All on one site/app- That may seem pretty fantastic for getting new readers (and is the absolute main sticking point for so many artists) but when algorithms and specific series are wanted, your works have a harder chance getting to the people they need to. The search function is trash for a reason

I'm not one to toot the competition flute, but there's a level of that at play when the spotlight for that platform is actually pretty small. What you get is a lot of readers checking out the same comics, and not spreading it all out to find yours (their subs have a cap for this reason)

🔴Sustainability (and lack thereof)- The creator of these comics are often burnt out and given little support- all while fighting to see what is allowed on the platform with its excitable censoring. I won't speak for originals (there's many testimonies you can find) but their experiences of burn out are harrowing

With the high production expectation for a person who is rarely given help (often has to hire out of pocket for that) and the readers who want Updates Now, it's a frustrating place to post your comics with no rest. It's 2026, we shouldn't be treating cartoonists this way still.

Webtoons (the company) is always going to be interested in making a profit. That's sort of where it all starts and stops here. They'll embrace the slop machines (more slop sources) for investors, they'll mistreat creators, cancel 'unprofitable' comics, censor work, and protect that bottom line. That's their MO, always!

So when I see these conversations that inevitably float around about Webtoons and how the only response is 'stop using it', I think we also need to deconstruct what it's done to creators and readers and how they engage with/create works too- because it doesn't seem that simple of a solution

Webtoons has solidified itself in webcomics as the Place to start and stop with comics. They want you to use their app of course, but they've conditioned folks to think it's the only way to share your stuff. How do we break this? How do we get people to stop using it?

We share resources 😎

During a 4th of July protest, a group of protestors met to set off fireworks at an immigrant detention facility as part of a noise demonstration. A few protestors split off and vandalized some property. When an officer pulled his gun, another protestor fired from the woods, striking the officer in the shoulder (the officer survived).

All nine defendants were convicted, despite the fact that some of the defendants convicted weren't even there.

Elizabeth Soto was sentenced to 50 years in prison for showing up, and then leaving when asked to, long before anything criminal occurred, and had zero involvement with any of the planning.

Daniel Sanchez-Estrada was sentenced to 30 years in prison, and wasn't even there. All he did was move leftwing zines out of the house after his wife was arrested. His wife was sentenced to 70 years in prison.

Despite the fact that most of the activists barely knew each other or were even complete strangers, prosecutors said they were part of a "North Texas antifa cell," despite the fact everyone knows antifa just means "antifascism" and isn't a group at all, much less a terrorist group.

Those who stormed the capital did not receive nearly as harsh of sentences. One man, Jared Wise, was pardoned by Trump and is now serving in the Justice Department as part of the "Weaponization Working Group." Despite video evidence showing him yelling "Kill 'em!" repeatedly as rioters attacked police officers. And Elias Irizarry now works in the Defense Department with a top-secret security clearance. He also stormed the capital and stalked the building armed with a metal pole.

Ilya usually does this for Shane.

All Shane usually needs to do is come stand next to Ilya, smile at him, and then usually Ilya's hand reaches itself around and settles on Shane's waist or his ass, sometimes if Ilya is feeling especially romantic he will even pull Shane back against him and wrap his arms around him, hooking his chin over Shane's shoulder and continuing to talk as if he wasn't suddenly leaning all his weight against Shane's sturdy body. He will introduce Shane as "My husband, Shane Hollander". While he says this Shane likes to make direct eye contact with the person.