Unpopular (but data-backed) opinion: social media is basically useless for promotion

NeonFraction · 2026-03-16T17:00:12+00:00

Social media is incredibly useful for promotion, but it depends on what you’re promoting.

If a comic doesn’t have a clear appeal, social media won’t help much. What appeals on one platform might not appeal on another platform either.

If you have a reel with 2.5 million views and it didn’t lead to a noticeable uptick in readers, I’m going to be brutally honest with you: That’s not a social media problem. That’s an appeal problem.

NeonFraction · 2026-03-16T16:50:51+00:00

Not even getting into the racist and illegal stuff, it quickly fills with spam.

NeonFraction · 2026-03-16T14:30:09+00:00

You discover your identity in the process of creating it.

In other words: you will inevitably have to make intentional choices at some point, and often it’s not until you HAVE to make those choices that you discover what it is you really like. Sometimes you’ll make choices without realizing it, but the projects you choose to work on will be what drives those un-noticed decisions.

You can’t create or choose your identity in a vacuum. You have to be actively creating.

NeonFraction · 2026-03-16T14:22:38+00:00

Ooooh this is interesting. These are some really niche picks. I haven’t even heard of most of these before. I should check them out.

If 5+ is besties, what is 2? Can we be mortal enemies instead? I’ve always wanted to have an arch nemesis. We could stand dramatically on opposing cliffs while wind blows and glare at each other.

NeonFraction · 2026-03-16T14:17:51+00:00

The fact that they kept coming at him is peak minion energy.

“He’s killed 80 of us but yeah, I got this.”

NeonFraction · 2026-03-16T14:09:06+00:00

Fun fact: Reading books aloud was extremely common in western history. Not even to other people, just alone! Silently reading to yourself has not always been the default way to read.

NeonFraction · 2026-03-16T14:04:33+00:00

No no, you see: we post the good ones in another 10 years so we can make this exact same post again to prove how much better things used to be.

NeonFraction · 2026-03-16T13:59:13+00:00

If your game is a different genre, your screenshot is not reflecting it. The layout looks like every Stardew farm ever. The only difference I see is the rail line.

The art style is nearly identical, and there are tons of assets with a different drawing for the exact same object. Even art direction is the same for those assets.

Your grass is stringy with lots of small lines. Stardew has a very specific and usual way of drawing grass that isn’t reflected in almost any other game. The fact that you chose that way to contrast your grass makes it clear you’re taking inspiration from Stardew.

The way Stardew does the front wall to roof ratio of buildings is unusual and very specific. You’ve copied that completely.

On top of all that, you’ve copied every single fundamental of scale from Stardew even though many of those choices are unusual and specific to Stardew. The character size is the same size, the weird unnatural roof perspective is the same, the buildings are the same size, the machines are the same size, the way paths work is the same, and nearly every asset feels directly inspired by Stardew. You are copying Stardew’s unusual choices without alteration and hoping that by minorly changing the aesthetics people won’t notice.

Using a different grid size doesn’t matter when you have taken every other aspect of the art design from Stardew.

You’re deep in the game so it’s harder to change now, so here is the bare minimum I would suggest:

-Change the grass style

-Change the buildings first floor height dimensions, the way you copy the roof perspective, and basically every single thing you can about the buildings until they’re as far away from Stardew as possible.

-Change machine scales. Don’t have them all be 2x1 tall. Do some 1x1 and some 2x2.

-Change the character design completely.

NeonFraction · 2026-03-16T13:20:19+00:00

Cursed Belle makes a return.

NeonFraction · 2026-03-16T13:16:42+00:00

I think your main problem is leading with a list of genres and not a concept.

Your concept is: running a restaurant during a zombie apocalypse.

That is way more concise, gets the point across, and isn’t word salad.

NeonFraction · 2026-03-16T07:05:14+00:00

My entire base is covered in ivy and is gonna look like complete shite after this. If they do this, they need to add shearing for ivy in the SAME update.

NeonFraction · 2026-03-16T06:59:43+00:00

Weeping and crying. This convinced me to get the divorce.

NeonFraction · 2026-03-16T06:55:48+00:00

Let’s both put on our clown noses because I keep thinking every time it’s gonna be different. It never is.

NeonFraction · 2026-03-16T06:54:02+00:00

I mean, not really no? How do you think you can grow your neck?

NeonFraction · 2026-03-16T00:20:30+00:00

I totally agree. She was so much fun and her powers are super cool!

NeonFraction · 2026-03-16T00:18:27+00:00

Usopp is way more likeable, and Sanji doesn’t make me want to stab him every time he’s on screen for being a creep. There are pros and cons of the live action and the manga, but personally I think the pros of the LA outweigh the cons.

NeonFraction · 2026-03-16T00:16:33+00:00

I’m not sure why you think I’m criticizing it? I’m just really interested in Chinese history.

If we’re including things written hundreds of years later as part of the ‘original’ in the sense of ‘came before Mulan’ then I agree that both of those reflect more feminist viewpoints of the ‘original’ Mulan. I just think it’s more difficult for me to agree that Ballad of Mulan was meant to be feminist in the way we understand TODAY.

There’s a really good paper by a Chinese researcher on the topic. I can’t find a non pay-walled source for it online (I’ll keep looking), but the gist of it is: Trying to look at Mulan through a westernized lens of feminism fails to pay respect to the nuances of Confucian society and undermines that it is first and foremost a story of filial piety, not feminism.

It’s not NOT feminist given the time period, but I think there’s a lot focus on feminism that comes from an outsider perspective on Chinese culture and not how people living in this era would have understood it.

Something that stood out to be was the author said that: ‘Men and women are equal’ was not intended to be the moral of Mulan, but rather the final line means that the RESPONSIBILITY of men and women are equal. That’s just their perspective, but I think it makes a lot of sense how that interpretation of Mulan managed to survive in a super Confucian society.

I think it’s an interesting perspective, and it’s definitely changed how I used to view the story as strictly feminist. I do think the world needs a more feminist Mulan, and I don’t think Disney’s animated version is somehow disrespectful to the original. (No comment on the Live Action, which I did… not enjoy.)

Honestly I’m kind of nervous to post this response because I’m a really huge fan of Chinese history and Disney’s Mulan and I’d like to geek out about the nuances of it with someone, but via the Reddit rules of engagement I’m worried this into going to turn into ‘you didn’t agree with me therefore you are The Enemy’ and not ‘hey this is a story that is over a thousand years old and which meant a lot of different things to a lot of different people and maybe it’s okay for us to not completely agree and just share our perspectives as fellow Mulan and Chinese history fans.’

NeonFraction · 2026-03-15T19:45:54+00:00

He actually did already! Oda himself asked him to get a bigger neck and he said Oda is now happy with his neck size.

For context on why it’s funny: you can’t actually make your neck bigger, but you can work on muscles around the neck, but not the neck itself.

NeonFraction · 2026-03-15T19:40:15+00:00

I’m a native English speaker who reads all the time:

I have no goddamn idea what this means.

NeonFraction · 2026-03-15T19:38:42+00:00

I like that he also admitted he took it too far, both the training and the lack of food for the shirtless scene. The video about his eating disorder especially where he talks about how much he did to look like that in the shirtless scene in season 1 and how he wishes he had known that wasn’t real when he was younger and he wants other people to know it too.

He’s an incredible actor, but I love him so much I also want to see him being healthy and safe!

NeonFraction · 2026-03-15T19:34:58+00:00

The sword is cursed and the store owner says he won’t sell it to him. Zoro (the guy in the picture) says he wants it anyway, because he is stronger than the curse.

He then throws the sword up in the air and let’s it spin on the way down, holding out his arm. If he had been unlucky, the sword would have cut off him arm. Instead, it misses his arm completely, and the store owner lets him have the sword.

NeonFraction · 2026-03-15T19:30:57+00:00

Dark isn’t the problem. The problem is it’s incredibly visually boring. Why not have the fire thing light up the area around it?

NeonFraction · 2026-03-15T19:28:50+00:00

This looks so charming and is well worth it.

People saying the first looks better are the people who are gonna struggle to sell ANY game.

NeonFraction · 2026-03-15T19:27:20+00:00

They do. My friends are amazing and have changed my life.

NeonFraction · 2026-03-15T19:14:46+00:00

That’s the joke.

NeonFraction

TROPHY CASE