#I have my own reasons why I don't ship them

[demaparbat-hp]

What headcanon do you have about Avatar that you don't give in to no matter what?

For example, I always put in fanfics or when I read something else that Zuko has a more resistant body than Azula and is covered in scars.

Azula would have stronger chi but Zuko has already taken so many blows from Aang, Team Avatar in general, Azula, other people and after that explosion on the ship he must have enormous resistance and if it weren't for the censorship of the cartoon he would be covered in scars.

I love these headcanons! Zuko would have a supernaturally resistant body. That boy has survived things that...are actually quite worrying.

Anyway! I have a lot of headcanons and Demaverse cornerstones to share. Most of them have to do with Zuko and the Royal Family because...well...he's my comfort character.

Headcanons below the cut!

Much like Kya's necklace, Zuko owns a golden anklet that used to belong to his mother. It's the only thing of hers that wasn't turned to ash after her disappearance.

Ozai and Zuko are the only living members of the Royal Family that have pale golden eyes. The rest of them, including Iroh and Azula, have amber-brown eyes. This is canon, but for some reason most of the fandom doesn't seem to have noticed. I aim to fix such preposterous mistake.

The scar is a handprint.

Azula is more like her mom than she realizes. Ozai never did appreciate subtlety.

Zuko is pouting about 99% of the time, but he doesn't notice. Katara crinkles her nose when she's thinking about Zuko's pout.

She also has dimples.

Katara's crush on Jet wasn't about Cool Older Boy With The Dangerous Vibe (okay, maybe it was a tiny little bit about that)—what truly drew her in was the way he cared about the Freedom Fighters. Jet seemed to be the mature and responsible partner Katara needed at the time. It's a shame he was also a murderous bastard. Oops.

(Wonder who else could fill the Responsible Partner role hmmmm)

Iroh slips medicinal leaves into his nephew's tea. That's why Zuko only starts liking tea when he's working in Ba Sing Se and has to drink the real deal.

The Painted Lady and the Blue Spirit are human-born spirits. Their real names were Izumi and Jian Li. They are lovers.

Suki is perfect at everything she does except for singing.

Zuko draws and writes poetry and loves theater like the dork he is.

Lu Ten was in his early twenties when he died.

He called Zuko Spitfire.

All Fire Nation Royal Nicknames are repeated syllables.

Iroh is Roh-Roh.

Ozai is Zai-Zai.

Lu Ten was Ten Ten.

Azula is Lala.

This remains true even if the nicknames don't even exist.

Azula keeps her nails sharp because that's how Ursa wore them (also canon).

Katara is a natural at bloodbending. Even moreso than common waterbending.

Bloodbending was not invented by Hama. It's an art as ancient as the tribes themselves, usually taught to master healers only. Women's hidden power.

[yellowwwcrayon]

if I take my shipping glasses off (and yes, I am blind without them), I actually do not think Hwang Inho will redeem himself in the end. He, at most, will passively allow Gihun or Junho (or both) to do their thing to try and save people, but ultimately he's not going to change his own ways. There's no reason for him to keep being the Frontman after Il-nam's death if he didn't at least partially believe in the cause, and I think he will uphold that system until he dies.

There is an undercurrent of contempt for the players shared by both the Recruiter and the Frontman. I think they hold a core belief that all the desperate people that sign up for the games have destroyed their lives of their own volition, that they knowingly made every single choice that have landed them here, and therefore, these people do not deserve any sympathy. The Recruiter climbed up the ranks through "hard work," he would then think why can't other people do the same? Why can't they choose to make the right choices like he did? They must be lazy or stupid, and so their current predicament is justified. The experiment with the scratcher or bread in the park enforces this dehumanizing idea. Hwang Inho was in law enforcement for over fifteen years. He probably has even less empathy for downtrodden people. I won't go into why this type of mentality is dangerous for society as a whole (and it's unfortunately rampant nowadays in rl), but it is objectively wrong and takes out the effect of systemic oppression carefully woven into place for the average citizen by the ruling class and just makes everyone blame each other instead.

And while Gihun and his endless empathy/compassion might have caught Inho's interest as a standout among the "trash" he likely consider the rest of the players to be, that's not enough to shake him from years of momentum and ideology upholding the oppressive system (whether it was for law enforcement or Il-nam's little games for the oligarchs' amusement). And that why, at least partially, I don't think he will change all that much in S3.

But do I still want him and Gihun to sloppily make out on that tiny wooden chair? hell yeah 😌 feel free to come throw ripe tomatoes at me if this turns out to be wrong and they do ride off into the sunset together and that three-day situationship really changed that man. I'll throw one at myself then too as a toast to their happy marriage ❤️

[bobmarleygetupstandup-blog]

Yeah I'm totally banking on Anime Expo for RWBY news. I mean, it's where we got that info for RWBY's acquisition last year. So why wouldn't they do it again?

Every anime company makes their big announcements there. In the past when it was under Rooster Teeth, RT did their own thing and announced wherever and whenever. But US anime/manga distributeors (like Viz Media and older companies that no longer exist: ADV Films, Central Park Media, Pioneer Animation, Bandai Entertainment USA, Urban Vision, Tokyopop) since the 90s have always waited to make their big announcements during AX. Not Comic Cons, not Galaxy Cons, it's always AX. It makes the most sense since Anime Expo is the largest anime con in North America. It's where the major studios in Japan also do their promoting for major anime releases in the west.

It was hard to be an anime fan in the 90s. It was painful because negotiations and aqcuisitions to IPs especially here in the west, literally took forever. Which is why fansubbing groups existed to fill in that void until a legitimate Licensee would acquire it for the west. But because of streaming, aqcuisitions are a lot faster and so is licensing. If they still followed the same protocols of the 90s and early 2000s, we probably would have waited another year or two for Viz Media's RWBY acquisition announcement and 2 years later for any kind of physical releases of those IPs because they have other IPs that are on a schedule.

But since Viz had something out of the ordinary and purchased a North American IP (making them the Licensor instead of the Licensee this time around, they've technically sped up the process of announcements. People think waiting a year to hear anything substantial is long, this is actually very quick, compared to having to wait a couple years. And Viz is being even more transparent than other past companies regarding their titles. But there is still a protocol they have to follow, schedules of several titles they need to also worry about. It's not just RWBY.

Rooster Teeth never had a protocol when it came to announcements and production schedules and they really only had RWBY to worry about in their animation lineup (outside of RvB and Gen:Lock ), they were somewhat transparent about that, which in turn basically spoiled the fandom to the point that RWBY fandom expects or wants the same kind of transparency. This isn't how it usually works with anime titles or any title done by animation studios...even live action movie studios. As someone who worked in Marketing, you don't announce title or anything related until the ink is dried and the production phase is way past "pre-production" or even more so in the middle of "post-production" which is where marketing starts to gather all the completed assets and start promoting.

I know it's difficult, folks. But your patience will be rewarded. Viz Media definitely knows what their doing. They are the one North American (Japanese-backed) company that outlived every other North America anime aqcuisition/localization company and there were plenty that I listed off up above and even more. It's amazing that I remember seeing these guys back in my very first Anime Expo back in 1995. Viz Media's booth was so much smaller back then but they still had such a huge presence.

Oh, also for physical releases:

The reason why those take longer as well, is because we don't always use US fulfillment companies (most of the time it's too expensive). Bandai Entertainment as well as older companies used overseas (mostly China) for printing out collector box sets for Blu-rays and DVDs). Waiting for them to ship out from China was also a pain in the ass. That was a long ass boat ride. And they specifically chose the boat option because it was cheaper than having them sent via air delivery. Blu-Ray and DVD authorizing and replication is usually done locally and if you're more into steelbooks (steel cases), companies like Scanavo, their standard production/manufactoring time is about four to five weeks. When the artwork is submitted for their steel cases, that takes about one week and as well as another week pending marketing approval. Viz's typical pattern is to release singles first, then collections that can include collector box sets, then thin collections.

https://x.com/VIZMedia/status/1931071831492235441

We are so back

keep your eyes on cons, folks

[moobloom11]

Johnathan Byers <3

I don't see enough people putting respect on Jonathan's name. Jonathan might honestly be one of my favourite characters because he is just one of the best people ever??

His relationship with Will is so important to me and has been since I started watching the show. He is constantly supportive and never gives up on his brother. When he believes him to be alive in season 1 he NEVER stops trying to find him; he does everything he can to try and get his baby brother back. He takes it upon himself to create and distribute missing posters when his mother doesn't have the time, he visits the home of his abusive dirtbag of a father because he'll be damned if he doesn't check even the worst possible option if there's any chance that he'll find Will there. In season 2, he comforts Will, listens when his little brother expresses his frustrations with people treating him "like a baby" and, unlike most people, who would tell Will that they're ‘doing it for his own safety', he adjusts his behaviour to keep his brother happy and feeling independant while also making sure he knows that needing support is ok. In season 3, he drops everything the moment Nancy even insinuates that Will might not be safe and puts his own life at risk without second thought to protect his brother and the other kids. Season 4 speaks for itself because, even while he's dealing with his own issues in some noooottt so healthy ways (being stoned all the time) he still takes notice of his brother's distress and pain, apologises for his own behaviour and makes sure Will knows he is loved and always will be loved no matter what (I could go on for days about that scene alone, makes me cry every time).

Also not strictly about Jonathan himself but I just adore the fact that, in season 4, we can see how Will has picked up on some of Jonathan's tendencies and habits as a brother and emulates this in his relationship with El (the protectiveness, methods of support, and even some of his body language and facial expressions in certain scenes resembles that of Jonathan’s).

(And I love that we also see Jonathan treat El like a sister immediately. The Byers-Hopper family are my Roman Empire I love them).

I know some people will disagree but I also think he is honestly a great boyfriend. (Yes he has his flaws in season 4 with the college application and his keeping of this information from Nancy but I can totally see the reason why he does it and it's honestly heartbreaking that he's willing to sacrifice a place in his dream college to support his family). Not to ramble about shipping in a character appreciation post but I think Jonathan and Nancy work so much better than Nancy and Steve because their relationship is truly founded in friendship and mutual respect. Jonathan clearly fell in love with Nancy at some point when she was still dating Steve but he never acted on it until she did. He treated her with kindness and supportiveness regardless of circumstance and that's what made her fall for him. I think the biggest evidence of Jonathan being a fantastic boyfriend is actually their fight in season 3. After both being fired from the Hawkins Post, they're frustrated with each other for equally valid reasons. Jonathan had a right to be angry, as did Nancy, but he showcased his brilliant boyfriend material by recognising that they were both right and wrong and choosing to take responsibility, apologise and he and Nancy worked it out together. Because of both of their openness to understanding one another, they were able to reconcile and work it out (communication which is extremely important to maintaining a healthy relationship!!)

I am going to quickly mention the photo-taking session because, while I understand that it was wrong of him to do, I fully stand by the opinion that he felt terrible about doing it and didn't take the pictures for any malicious reason (or any reason at all seemingly? The way the show presents this scene as a whole is just really confusing to me tbh). I think the most telling thing is that Nancy herself seemed neither creeped out or especially upset by the photos themselves and very quickly forgave Jonathan. I'm not saying what he did was good and it definitely was an uncalled-for invasion of privacy, but I hate it when people act like his character is 'irredeemable' when he did one morally dubious thing that he clearly felt completely awful about very shortly after. I like Steve as a character and 100% think he redeemed himself from season 1 but I can't handle it when people praise Steve for his development and change, excusing his actions entirely, then turn around and call Jonathan a bad guy for this one act.

I don’t think we talk about Jonathan’s character nearly enough and, resultantly, I think his own problems get swept under the rug both in the show and in the fandom. I see so many people insulting him for being stoned in season 4 and ‘having no personality’ throughout the series and it really makes me sad. Jonathan cares about his family SO MUCH that he’s willing to give up his dream college he’s wanted to go to since he was six years old so that he can stay behind to support his mother and family. He turns to drugs to deal with his own problems, which, as unfortunate as it is, is a very common coping mechanism and completely understandable for his character. He is trying to deal with his own trauma, personal problems and general life while maintaining a healthy and committed (now long-distance) relationship with his girlfriend and acting as a carer to now not one but two siblings. It’s a hell of a lot for anyone to deal with and I���m sick of people sympathising with just about every other character’s trauma and understanding their coping mechanisms but seemingly refusing to do the same for Jonathan.

Anyways I could genuinely go on about this character for days because I just adore him. I think he’s an amazing brother, son, boyfriend and all around person and I want to see people appreciating him more. I am a Jonathan Byers defender, apologist, protector, lover and stan until the end.

[writingdevil]

Hi, I'd like to see if you can write Hero and Cheated. They seem like two different people who defend and encourage each other. I just really like their dynamic in The Razor

Also i love your writing

(Thank you for liking my writing!! I think they'd have such a cute and fun dynamic. I wasn't sure if you wanted them as a ship so I just left it up to interpretation. Enjoy!)

Hero has to admit, he's not a fan of feeling eyes watching him wherever he went today. He actually gets where Paranoid is coming from now.

Hero wasn't sure what prompted this staring, but he's felt this intense gaze burning holes into his back all day, and he doesn't really know what to do about it anymore.

So he tried to just ignore it. Hopefully the staring will go away if Hero just minds his own business and goes on with his day.

Except it didn't.

Except it actually got worse.

Hero didn't think he was doing anything wrong. All he was doing were chores, after all. Helping Smitten with cooking, assisting Skeptic with his investigations, and he had just finished helping Hunted wrangle Cold and Contrarian out of trouble again, when he heard a, "Psst!"

Hero froze, right in the living room as Hunted directed the misbehaving birds to sit down, and he threw a glance over his shoulder, and caught a glimpse of black feathers around a corner.

Hero chuckled in bafflement, and slowly walked up to the hallway, not scared but incredibly amused as to what was going on.

He peered his head around the corner, and giggled as he was met with the annoyed face of Cheated, who was leaning against a wall with his arms crossed, shaking his head in dissatisfaction.

"Cheated?" Hero said, walking up to him, noticing how Cheated only got more pissed off the closer he got to him.

"Cheated? What's wrong?"

Cheated scowled and pushed himself off the wall. "You know I've been watching you all day? Did you know that? Or were you too busy doing everyone else's dirty work to notice?"

Hero was about to throw out some sarcastic reply, until he actually processed what Cheated had just said. "Wait, dirty work?"

Cheated rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'm just here, watching you throw yourself at anyone who might give you even the tiniest of appreciation."

"Oh, you mean giving a hand to who needs it?" Hero teased, chuckling at the way Cheated's feathers puffed up when he was angry. Hero normally wasn't one to rile Cheated up, but the avian was getting angry over nothing.

But then Cheated poked him painfully in the chest with a clawed finger and snapped, "Yeah, except they don't need your help! They are all more than capable of handling it on their own, but you insist on helping out."

"I feel like I've had this conversation with five of you at this point," Hero bluntly replied, giving Cheated a look of unamused boredom.

"Oh yeah?" Cheated took another step towards him with an arched brow. "Then why isn't it getting through your thick skull-" and Hero winced as Cheated knocked on his forehead like it was a door, "- that you shouldn't be doing that then?"

"Just because I don't have to help out doesn't mean that I shouldn't," Hero argued, rubbing his now sore forehead. Cheated sighed, swearing under his breath, before gently yet still firmly grabbing him by the forearms.

"I know that," Cheated quietly said, "because you're really nice, but sometimes, you're too nice. Then you end up running yourself ragged because you're obsessed with pleasing everyone, for some reason."

Hero spluttered in embarrassment, feeling his face heat up at the truth, even if he would never admit it. "I'm not obsessed-"

"Yes you are!" Cheated snapped, although there wasn't much fire behind his words, just frustrated concern. He squeezed Hero's arms tighter. "It's like you're fucking allergic to saying no to people, and it pisses me off."

"Why?" Hero asked. "It's not like anyone's being taken advantage of, so why are you so hung up on this?"

Cheated paused, and Hero saw the moment that he had said the completely wrong thing, from the way Cheated's eyes darkened.

"I," Cheated said, voice low with anger and offense, "am hung up on this because I know you, and I know that you will keep ignoring yourself for the sake of others."

Hero wanted to protest, but he was genuinely afraid of Cheated throttling him if he said anything.

"You want to help everyone feel safe and happy so badly that you ignore all the things that make you happy." Cheated's brows pinched in irritation, and his grip kept tightening and loosening up against Hero, as if trying not to explode right now.

"It's nice to be helpful, but you do it to the point of exhausting yourself. Remember last time? When you got sick because you hadn't been sleeping or eating right?"

Hero winced. He did remember- some of the others hadn't been sleeping because of nightmares and Hero wanted to help them through it- then he promptly passed out when the situation was sorted.

"Yeah," Cheated said, "or the time before that, or the time before that- you are constantly putting others first."

Now Hero could hear that familiar rise in Cheated's voice, where his anger started to get the better of him, but Hero couldn't look away from the raw worry in Cheated's eyes.

"Which is sweet, sometimes- but then you go and drop everything all because some idiot looked sad for even a second! Which isn't fucking fair to you! You deserve to relax and have someone help you for a change!"

Cheated was starting to pant now, his anger coming out in waves, but not directly at Hero, but at what he was doing to himself, and it finally made a pang of guilt go through Hero's chest, that in his attempt to do good, people were only seeing how wrong he was treating himself.

"You do so much for us!" Cheated exclaimed, his patchy feathers puffing up in anger now. "You do so much for us, but you don't do anything for yourself, which is bullshit and so unfair, because you're like, the best of us and-and-"

Hero quickly cut Cheated's rambling off by pulling him into a crushing hug, feeling the other tense up, before quickly relaxing into his grip.

Hero shoved his face into the crook of Cheated's neck, mumbling a soft, "Sorry," against him, and Cheated sighed, then gently reciprocated the hug.

Hero started to pat down the feathers on Cheated's shoulders and back. "Sorry- I didn't mean to make you worry about me. I'm dumb. I forget about myself sometimes."

"You're not dumb," Cheated mumbled, clutching Hero tighter against him, and Hero smiled at the feeling of Cheated embracing him, his body relaxing and losing a weight that he hadn't even noticed was there in the first place.

"Thank you, Cheated," Hero whispered. "Thank you for looking out for me. You're very sweet."

This time, he felt Cheated's feathers fluffing up beneath him because he was flustered this time, and Hero chuckled, taking in a long, deep breath, and he pulled away just enough to look the other in the eye.

"You know what I wanna do now?"

"What?"

"I want you to teach me how to play cards." Cheated laughed at the request, until he saw that Hero was serious. "Wait, really?"

Hero nodded. "Yeah, I've always wanted to learn, but I could never find the time, and since you play so much, you must be a pro by now."

"Ha ha," Cheated sarcastically replied in a bland tone, making Hero giggle, but when they let each other go, he still started to guide Hero to his room.

"Sure, but if I lose to you on your first try, I'm burning the cards."

Hero laughed again, and Cheated smiled at how light his voice now sounded.

[greypistacchio]

On the Power Of Honouring an Angel's Dignity: A Destiel Case Study

alright guys, think about it for a moment. throughout the show we've seen Castiel turn his back on Heaven several times, even when it should've been virtually impossible, for Dean. we have seen Castiel go against everything he's been taught to believe in for millennia, and we've seen him turn on his brethren to the point that he got demoted, exiled from Heaven, robbed of his angelic grace and turned into Heaven's Most Wanted enemy. all of these are fucking huge, and I think it's only reasonable to wonder why Castiel did all for Dean.

yes, one could argue that it's mostly because he harbors romantic feelings for Dean, but I don't think it's a good enough explanation. after all, Castiell falls for him over the course of several seasons rather than right away, so despite the fact that you'll have to pry the Destiel Truth from my cold dead hands, I don't think that explains why Cas rebelled against everything and everyone he knew and loved almost right after meeting Dean.

and this is where I wanna talk about an interesting layer to Castiel as a character that I reckon most of us, regardless of what we do or don't ship, can agree on. what is it about Dean that has such an effect on Castiel? I'd argue that it has a lot to do with what Dean offers him that Heaven never could and never will, which is dignity.

for lack of a better word, I've gone with the concept of "dignity", which Cambridge Dictionary defines as "the importance and value that a person has" or "the quality of a person that makes them deserving of respect". this is close enough to what Castiel receives from Dean from the get-go, though it might be a little lacking in the sense that dignity is a human concept and Cas is an angel.

until he met Dean, Castiel was the perfect little Heavenly soldier, which is why many angels are baffled time and time again by his loyalty to a human hunter even against Heaven's command. all he was supposed to do, and good at, was following orders and doing as he was told God wanted. he never questioned what was asked of him, since he blindly trusted his brethren and thought that God had a plan worth taking leaps of faith for.

in other words, Castiel wasn't seen as an individual being with any dignity. weapons are not respected, and they are not taken into any consideration. they exist to serve a purpose solely, after all, so it's ludicrous to entertain the idea of actually acknowledging his qualities or hearing him out. in fact, there have been a few episodes during which other angels talked about Castiel and either mocked him for his "weakness" (ie. his trust in the Winchesters and eagerness to help them out), or outright scoffed at him for having questions about what's right or wrong. he's laughed at about his genuine care for human beings, and he's used as a pawn in other angels' power games because they don't see him as anything but a useful tool.

think about Uriel playing him. think about how many times he's been told that it isn't his place to question what he's told to do. think about how brutally he was tortured by Naomi every time he didn't believe what she told him right away or had doubts about whether what she was commanding him to do was good. think about him being dismissed by countless other Angels for being too infatuated with humanity, and think about the many times he's been manipulated by Heaven and Hell alike so he'd do their bidding.

something that keeps happening to him is that he's not respected in the slightest as his own person. (his own angel? his own being? his own entity? you get what i mean) people don't tell him what's going on, nobody will explain what the plan actually is, and every time he figures out he's been lied to it leads to him being scoffed at for being too gullible, too innocent, too stupid. even though there are some angels every now and then that treat him well, it always has to do with what Castiel has been used for and the things his actions have caused. most of them, of course, while being kept in the dark by those who claimed to be his allies.

let's take a look at this quote from 9.14 ("Captives"), when he's talking to the leader of one of the Angelic Factions on Earth:

BARTHOLOMEW.- But with you by my side, the new boss and the ultimate rebel working together? Think of the message that would send to would-be dissidence. They'd finally understand that resistence is futile.

with this in mind, let's examine Dean's behaviour around Castiel. even though he is understandably wary of him the first time they meet, they warm up to each other real quick, to the point that Castiel, who's been shamed into never voicing his doubts or asking questions by Heaven for millennia, trusts Dean enough to come clean about his scepticism about what Heaven's doing. he says, and I quote, "Can I tell you something if you promise not to tell another soul? I'm not a... Hammer, as you say. I have questions. I... have doubts. I don't know what is right and what is wrong anymore".

although we don't really know what Cas was expecting Dean to do or say, I do think he was caught off-guard by Dean's lack of cruelty. after all, Heaven has mocked him for his big heart and strong moral beliefs until he stopped asking questions altogether, and he has never known anything else. by now he's used to not mattering enough for anyone to entertain his thought process. he never openly questions Uriel or the orders he's given, but he soon admits to Dean that he isn't on board with many things he's told to agree to. if you remember season 4's quest to stop Lilith's seal-breaking tour, he prayed that Dean would choose to spare the little town in which the rise of Samhain took place - even though Uriel was adamant that the town ought to be obliterated for "the greater good".

despite Dean's initial reluctance to trust Castiel, he nonetheless listens to what Cas has to say. they don't see eye to eye on many things at first, but the way Dean goes about it is a respectful one. what Dean does that Heaven consistently avoids might sound easy, but it's huge for Castiel because nobody has done it before.

and it's this simple: Dean listens to what Castiel has to say. he might disagree, particularly when Castiel's repeating a lythany Heaven has hammered into his brain, and he might get really riled up about what Castiel's defending, but he doesn't react with a holier-than-thou attitude. he isn't condescending and treat Castiel like he's a child who is too ignorant to have an adult conversation. when Castiel makes a point he disagrees with, Dean engages in a two-sided discussion, which stems from the premise that both parties are seen as equals who are worthy of respect and consideration.

where Heavens shuts down any discussions by saying that everything is God's Plan, Dean weighs what Castiel is saying. he might not be the best at keeping his cool, but he shows Castiel respect by engaging in actual conversations and bothering with actual replies to Castiel's statements. of COURSE Castiel likes him almost right away, Uriel, and of COURSE he ends up valuing Dean Winchester more than he does Heaven. Dean's the first being that treats him with dignity, and that's one powerful thing to offer to someone who's been treated as a mere tool for so long.

maybe, just maybe, that's why Castiel becomes fascinated by Dean so quickly, and maybe it's not unrealistic at all. after a lifetime of being little more than a shotgun whose sole purpose is to shoot when the trigger is pulled... who wouldn't be addicted to the feeling of being seen and listened to? he was never enough for Uriel or other angels to show him any empathy, or experience any emotion towards him other than contempt. Dean gets angry, and that's already more than Castiel has ever been graced with. he never mattered enough to piss Heaven off beyond mild annoyance. Dean is happy to see him, Dean worries about him, Dean brings him into his mismatched little family, Dean takes him out on Friday night shenanigans and tells him he's amazing and their time together has been the most fun he's had in a long while.

Dean is perhaps the first being who has ever treated Castiel like he matters in the slightest regardless of whether he's useful or not, and I think that it's what Dean has to offer that neither Heaven nor Hell could ever beat. Dean treats him with dignity, and values his input enough to engage in conversations, and this is a big enough deal to Cas that he develops free will and halts God's plan just so he can keep Dean safe. Dean gives Castiel the dignity he never thought he would be afforded, and that, to Castiel? that's everything.

[thetentaclecommander]

I'd be annoyed also because a lot of my HCs are way after the fact or in the case of 3make were well before it lol - infestation nor the link to the plagas was mentioned in og3 so after 3make came out I kinda was like damnit Cap you had your chance, let me fill in your plot gaps XD It just makes things less fun if the canon is like 'and yup this was true actually' And admittedly, a lot of personal thoughts did slide in my stuff; my AU goes in very intense places that I don't think Resi is dark enough to (or should) go. The vibes just wouldn't fit and they'd ruin their own series in trying to canonize my thoughts. This is also why I'm honestly glad they don't make ships official, they'd just alienate ppl for no reason. I just like toying with Nemmy's possibilities way too much...and honestly 3 and 5 left so much on the table, especially with both games chickening out with his clearly parasitic nature and how that could affect Jill (3make didn't really go as far as it could have either). I so love reading people's varied Tyrant hc lore cause I just don't see it much fandom-wise (and the few I do tends to uh not wanna touch on their inhumaness much?) I dig your idea of paired off Tyrants who need the other to keep themselves in check and alive. The idea of your guys (and mons in gen) realizing they 'are' and will do anything to survive even if it marks them a threat to humans, especially doing things like eating humans is so cool and understandable. Like when you are lab-raised, questions like 'is that moral' are probably not a concern of a nonhuman trying to not be destroyed for simply existing. I like that Scrabs, when initially given partners, just ate or ignored the first few like a cat and only took to Ulcers because they were of benefit to him, showing he has the ability to rationalize. Small things like this and acting for themselves as a priority is stuff I wish I saw more in monster stuff. And cool Anthrax linkage with their names! Almost as if to survive and thrive both will always be a threat to humanity inherent >:)

okay, tentatively, this is my new RE9 reveal bingo card

subject to change as the date gets closer

but i'm feeling pretty ok about this right now

[crimsonlovebartylus]

I, personally, feel that two ships could coexist in the same fandom using one of the characters for different partners if some of the fans weren't such entitled bitches and comment shit on post that have nothing to do with say ship.

in order to coexist in a fandom, you have to be respectful of others people HC's or ships. like you can't consistently shit on someone ship and expect for people to not talk shit about yours. it's all about being respectful - I don't believe writers/artists (or editing) enjoy consistently receiving underneath their work comments like: "oh this is so beautiful but i prefer (ship name)" or "this (ship name) doesn't make sense, but nice writing".

I've seen people comment on others blog post, shit like, "I don't agree with you, but nice try." there shouldn't be a need for such a condescending comment. If you don't agree, cool. Stay quiet, and mind your business. If you don't ship two characters, than cool, stay quiet.

and there should also be no need for someone to send anonymous hate to someone because they don't particularly like a ship or they use their blog to talk about about their dislike. If you don't agree with the person, just unfollow them.

Coexisting in a fandom is about being respectful and just enjoying the content without it becoming some fan war or a ploy to make someone feel like crap for not enjoying the same ship as you.

You could most definitely like a different ship and still be respectful to the people in the fandom. Like for an example, I absolutely love Bartylus and I am moots with many that prefer Jegulus & Rosekiller - but I take the time to enjoy my moots content and writing and see their POV of how say ship works for them. They respect my post about Bartylus and we coexist in a fandom.

It's that easy. <3

[niightniines]

isn't it so weird that Misa Amane was kidnapped by L against her will, tortured and confined for seven weeks, and almost killed herself because of it, but nobody who ships Lawmane talks about it because I guess they don't want to recognize the parts of their ship that are a little fucked up? like ok what happened to "I'll never ship yagamane even in au context because it's just too toxic!" alright then do that for other ships too.

[gilgil-machine]

I wish some people never had access to internet at all...

TW assault, TW r*pe

[hum--hallelujah]

built this life and now it's mine - Fab Four fluff + jetpoison* (platonic or romantic, up to interpretation) (for @caffeineecold)

-

Kobra got the jukebox in the corner working two days ago and Jet's just returned from a run that nearly killed him but also scored them a crate of real booze — not the shitty moonshine brewed in the Zones that everyone pretends they like even though it tastes like the inside of the boot that gave bootlegging its name, real stuff.

Party's already sloppy drunk, sitting at the counter, and Jet doesn't usually let himself get this tipsy. Kobra and Ghoul sit in the corner next to the jukebox, picking out tunes and passing back and forth a bottle of champagne, of all things. For being a sandpup, Ghoul has expensive tastes.

Something bass-heavy is playing when Party slips from the stool and nearly topples over. Jet's reflexes are sluggish, but he manages to slide from his own seat and catch Poison. Party's pissed at him for nearly dying, again, and Jet expects a shove and dark look, but that's not what he gets. Instead, Poison leans into him, fitting them so naturally together that it's almost frightening.

"Y'okay?" Jet asks quietly into Party's hair.

"Dance with me, Star?"

Jet blinks, shocked. This is the last thing he expected. But he's just drunk enough, inhibitions just low enough, and he always crumbles when Pois calls him Star. Nobody else really ever does. "Sure," he finds himself saying, and Pois curls even more against him, their hands finding their places without even looking. It's too easy to sway back and forth together, in some facsimile of dance that's really just more an excuse for the comfort of touch that they both need, to the lilting gravelly guitars playing through the jukebox speakers.

The track skips and Kobra thumps the side of the box to get it playing again, a rising guitar interlude without words. Poison's head is nested against Jet's jaw, red hair filling his entire field of vision. On an impulse he doesn't resist for once, probably due to how tipsy he is, he presses his lips to Poison's temple.

"I'm sorry, sunshine," he whispers. "Fuck, Poison, I love you. Not the way... you want me to, probably, but I do. I love you so much." His eye is wide and staring, a little bit desperate. There's no other way he can say it.

"Don't leave me," mumbles Poison softly into the skin of his neck. The song is different now, something softer. "My Star..."

Jet closes his eye. "I'm not trying to," he says.

Poison sniffs, still swaying to the new tempo of this song. "Try harder."

Pois probably won't remember this in the morning. Kobra and Ghoul will give them weird looks, like they've completely lost it, and Jet will know why. Heck, they're giving them weird looks now, over the top of a champagne bottle and between smirking giggling asides to each otherm But Party is too drunk to retain much. They won't ever talk about it, except maybe when it comes up in an argument they force everyone to hear. You said you wouldn't leave me, you said you love me. I don't care how it is I just want you to love me whatever way you can.

The future is unfolding in front of them in so many ways. But right now it's just two friends, irresponsibly drunk and folded into each other.

[maryasmorevna]

i think i finally found a semi-famous (?) blog that blocked me lmao

[dilfosaur]

well i haven't spilled my guts on tumblr since i was in college but it's the platform that's felt The Most Mine thru the years, so

let's talk!

i've had a huge chip on my shoulder that i wanted off before the year ends. very bad professional experience to follow

so firstly to get ahead of the speculating, i'm not naming names or anything. some of you will puzzle out who i'm talking about, but please don't bother anyone especially not on my behalf. i've worked hard to distance myself from them the past few months. shit happens, especially when you're a dumb bitch (that's me!)

but also this person was someone i considered a close friend and it makes me uneasy to possibly direct backlash at them. "then why post about it" bc i did intermittent work for them for over a year. this is just about that. so hear me out

basically it started off fine. i initially did some commission work for good pay, then was invited to become more involved with their team. unfortunately as i became more involved with their operation it became more disorganized over time. projects started then forgotten, constantly shifting schedules, lapsing communication between roles, confusing financials, and often inconsistent if not late payments. during mid 2023 i was doing colorist work, sometimes on a one day turnaround (all while also preparing drawfee's summer merch launch). the payroll wasn't set up correctly so i wasn't paid for that work for over a year (more on that later), tho to be fair that was largely my own fault at first as i just didnt realize the payments didn't go thru lol

i always consider myself decently capable of separating friendship and coworker-ship; i run a company with 4 wonderful friends, going strong for almost 5 years. that didn't really work out in this case. by early this year our friendship was on the rocks; work issues fed into personal issues and vice versa. so as the rest of this shit plays out, we had just had our first "big fight" which i felt very bad about and added to all the upcoming tension

a huge point of friction was the fact that i really wanted to work with them to make a music video for one of their songs. i've always wanted a chance to make a music video, was confident in a concept i came up with, and even did some concept art for the idea. everyone insisted they loved the concept and that we should do it, but we kept pushing it back for various reasons. it ended up becoming a huge sticking point for my frustrations, which i tried to express productively. TLDR, we eventually got around to discussing it seriously around april.

i planned to ask for $4000 with negotiable add-on for the whole project, which was my Friend Discount price. i was offered a contract for $1000 flat rate, as they insisted that was the only budget they had for it.

don't ask me why i signed it lol. i didn't even counter offer

there was some girlmath to it: i wanted an extra 1k for a student scholarship i provide every spring and well, there it was. but if i had to guess, i saw it as something i just couldn't back down from any more. i caused these folks- my friends- a lot of problems bc i dug my heels in so deep to chase this project, so fuck it we ball

i had about 4 months to solo a 3 minute music video. they wanted it done in august so they could release it before summer ended, bc "it was a summer song". to be fair i was asked if i needed them to pay for anything extra like assistants (which i would have to find and manage) but i was so immediately overwhelmed that i didn't wanna slow down to wait on that process lol. there was very minimal communication other than brief progress check-ins every few weeks. i did everything for that project myself: the original concept, character designs, storyboards, layouts, backgrounds. i even did the editing/compositing for the final cut of the MV. the only favor i did myself was limiting the amount of it that was actually animated to simple loops and motions. hardly my best work but it was work still done

i did it all in between my full time job. i ended up having to take nearly a month away from most of my drawfee duties (with the support of the others) to make the august deadline. i only ever asked for a 3 day extension (notice given about a week in advance, around the same time i was given the final song file lol). i finished the music video at 6am on the final deadline and recorded drawfee the next day on 2 hours of sleep

but it was done, coolies. the team was very happy with the final product. honestly, without getting into it, those were a very emotionally taxing 4 months. on the professional side, i regretted agreeing to the project and especially for the dogshit rate they offered. i felt like a hypocrite- as someone who always wanted to advocate for younger artists demanding their worth in a world that's getting increasingly hostile toward creatives, i failed myself

so when i met with the manager to discuss the release plan, i told them to do whatever worked best for them as i only had one request: i wanted my credit removed from the project

tbh... like... lmao this dramatic bitch right!! but really, i decided that bad practices only breed worse business. friends or not, it was unprofessional of me to accept such a low paying job so i just didn't want my name used in association. everything felt so muddled to me and i was just really tired at this point

the manager was very understanding and then offered that i could be paid more. they said that their team "was surprised" i accepted their low rate and they would be happy to up the amount. this confused me as the initial budget seemed pretty set and at no point between april and august was i offered a better rate. i knew these guys weren't made of money. so, i declined. i didn't want to put anyone out of their means over work that was already done and agreed upon. but more importantly, i was over the whole thing and didn't want to prolong the project with a contract renegotiation. i just insisted my name be removed

they decided to use a pseudonym (which i was fine with) so they could create a story about a character who made the MV (this sounds really convoluted but i don't know how better to put it without getting specific, sorry). that way if people asked about the credit, they could speak comfortably about it without signaling that something went wrong behind the scenes. ok, kind of a silly narrative imo but whatevs. and maybe this is where i finally went truly wrong but. yolo i guess

i gave the name "D. Smithee", D as in dilfosaur and Smithee as in Alan Smithee. look it up for fun film trivia ig! was it passive aggressive of me to reference that in this context? yeah, honestly. but i thought it was kinda funny and really not that deep. if it was a problem, i have other real, non-cheeky pseudonyms i regularly use. the manager accepted it and all i had to do was wait for them to post the video and i could leave the whole experience behind me

a week later i received a message from the manager that my pseudonym had been denied by the rest of the team bc one of them got the reference. fair enough lol. however, they decided that rather than ask for a different name, the were going to make one up for me that they liked and would "fit the [story]", without asking me

and that! is when i finally snapped!

i was so tired of giving them concessions at this point and having a credit made up for me without any input from me felt genuinely violating and unethical. i started to Panic bc of how stressed i was, and asked for my overdue payments (aka the $500 still owed on the MV, and the colorist rate from a year prior that was never paid even tho i reported it in january) to be scheduled ASAP as i was leaving the work discord immediately

i finally told them off for exploiting me throughout the months while i kept trying to just be nice and finish my contact cleanly. in return i was told that it was unfair to say that as i agreed to everything- i accepted their cheap rate and denied further payment so that was all settled, and it was ok to change my credit without my consent bc i "said they could do whatever with the release". i called bullshit, ended the convo as kindly as i could, and cried lol. they agreed to ditch the pseudonym and just give no credit. that night was the last i heard from anyone on that team

and the real kicker?

august came and went. then september, october... and they never released the music video

and i don't know why, because i was never contacted about it. i've been removed from the picture entirely i guess. 4 months and boatloads of stress. just. up in smoke. i don't know what i expected honestly

it's hard to not take everything that happened personally and as done in bad faith. i really do, honestly. i've had plenty of shitty deals in my almost 10 year art career, but it hits different from people you saw as friends. but to the point of "why not keep it private", i have never felt so disrespected as a professional as i did this past year. i can toy with money and credits and other formalities all i want, but my work- my ideas, my labor, my effort- is still so important to me. i felt like the biggest idiot for doing so much work, pouring so much of myself into a piece for someone's use, for what has amounted to nothing

but more importantly i hated myself for undervaluing my work, even if initially i thought this person was a trusted friend. money is not really an issue for me- drawfee is my main job and i am fine and comfortable. it's so important to pay artists appropriately but i often undersell my own work bc i value the collaboration and passion between creatives more than the reward. i think a lot of artists tend to feel the same, and it often makes us easy to take advantage of. it's so difficult to find the balance between passion and making a fair living, and i think there's some shame within ourselves when artists choose to prioritize that passion

i wanted to finally get all this off my chest bc i was ashamed of every choice i made. things like this happen all the time i'm sure and hiding these mistakes only make it easier for it to happen to other people

tldr always value your work and protect your passion from people who just see it as a product. and don't give cheeky pseudonyms i guess lol

(and again pls don't bother anyone involved about this. a lot of chaos has left my life as i moved past all this, and this is me closing a door without opening new ones hopefully lol)

this shit was truly

so ass.

but i'm moving past it now

but on a nicer note. outside of all of this nonsense, i made lots of good memories this year. i'm truly so grateful to the many wonderful people in my life who keep me going even when i fuck up big time!

and thank you to all of you strangers who, despite everything, give me the time of day. especially if you read this whole thing. you're a real one :')

happy new year!

[penny-anna]

if voyager was like 25% racier they could have had a plot where someone stumbles on a buried holodeck program about having sex with Tom Paris and now everyone is trying to figure out who wants to fuck Tom so badly they made a whole holodeck program about it.

no-one wants to bring it up with Tom himself for obvious reasons. naturally all eyes turn to B'Elanna but she strenuously denies it. initially no-one believes her but on investigation they break the encryption and discover that it looks like Harry made the program.

Harry gets very flustered and insists that someone must have fraudulently used his credentials to make the program. but if that's the case then it was either one of the ship's other senior officers (bcos they're the only people who'd be able to fake Harry's credentials) or someone with very advanced holodeck skills

Seven is briefly considered (she has the technical skills) but is fully exonerated when they realise the program predates her time on the crew.

Seven points out that it could have been the Doctor who also has the relevant skills but the Doctor argues that he wouldn't bcos he has better taste and also if he wanted to make a secret holodeck program he'd cover his tracks better and he's right on all counts. Neelix protests his innocence and everyone's like yeah honestly we never thought it was you Neelix.

the Doctor suggests that maybe they should let the matter rest on the grounds that masturbation is perfectly natural and healthy and whoever's responsible it's their own private business but B'Elanna and Harry are like nooo this is a threat to the harmony of the crew we have to know. also we're nosy. don't you want to help us on this. and the Doctor's like yeah. alright.

B'Elanna and Harry and the Doctor can't find any evidence of fakery which makes it more and more likely that it was a senior officer. they're all eying Janeway and Chakotay and Tuvok trying to guess which one of them secretly wants to fuck Tom Paris.

Janeway seems the most likely prospect as she has technically fucked him before when they were salamanders and also like as far as anyone knows she's been functionally celibate since they got stranded so she's gotta be pretty pent up by now.

but then Tom and Chakotay have some history from their time in the Maquis so there could be something going on there??

Tuvok is the least likely by a mile bcos like he's Tuvok but then it's always the people you least suspect isn't it and last time they found a weird holodeck program it turned out to be Tuvok's so maybe?? maybe??

obviously they aren't about to bring this up with Janeway & co so they're just sitting in command meetings with their 3 most plausible suspects and Tom himself. collectively fucking sweating. unable to concentrate.

after several repetitions of this Janeway's like OK something's distracting you all. fess up so we sort out whatever it is and move on with business. and after a lot of squirming one of them breaks.

& then Tom is like ohh yeah that's my program. and they're like. say what?? and he's like that's my holodeck program I made it. for personal use.

so B'Elanna is like 'why would you make a holosex program about yourself' and he's like because I wanted to know what it was like to fuck me?? is that so wrong. get off my case.

[wileycap]

I think we in the A:TLA fandom have missed the absolute potential of the fact that Ozai Firelord is canonically a fucking idiot. I mean the dude's straight up stupid. And I want to be very clear that this isn't a plot hole, this isn't a flaw in the show, this is a fantastic and super realistic element that honestly enhances my enjoyment of it! Dictators are often stupid and breed a culture of cronyism-over-competence. Any similarities with real world leaders, dead or alive, are coincidental yet inevitable.

What do I mean?

Well, let's take the Drill. When faced with the problem of Big Wall, Ozai's Fire Nation comes up with Big Drill. One singular Big Drill. Which, as anyone except an idiot could have predicted, immediately breaks down and accomplishes nothing. And if the Fire Nation had made it past the wall, then they would have been fighting through a narrow opening against people who can hurl long distance rocks! Which, if your face or body is vulnerable to high velocity rocks, is a bad thing for you and also for the battle.

Not to mention the resource cost of that thing! It's so insanely gigantic, it must have cost the Fire Nation the equivalent of trillions. For ONE drill. Not ten smaller drills. Just ONE drill. (Fanfic fuel: how much did Ba Sing Se profit off of stripping that drill for parts? Did they reverse engineer it? Did Long Feng keep that for himself?)

And you might be thinking, fairly, that it was War Minister Qin who came up with the drill and you'd be right, but it's Ozai who's approving all this shit. Instead of doing the reasonable thing and asking Qin if he et the whole edible, or even the in-character thing of burning him to death, Ozai just goes... big drill. Makes sense. We should have the biggest drill, because we are the biggest nation. Drill, baby, drill. sorry

It's not the first time, either! He also approves Zhao's invasion of the North Pole, apparently just because Zhao is good at kissing ass and hates Zuko? I couldn't tell you what merits Zhao has. We do not see him lead a single successful mission. The closest he comes is Pohuai, and even then its the Yuyan archers who do most of the work. (My longstanding headcanon is that the reason we don't see the Yuyan archers again is because Zhao blamed the whole thing on them and they were disbanded. This is great fic fuel for displaced Yuyan archers just, wandering around, being elite.)

He approved a massive naval invasion of the North Pole, surrounded by and made of water and ice, inhabited by people who bend water. A nation that was, by its own choice, completely out of the war.

Every time we see Ozai doing something, it's something stupid. Like disfiguring and banishing his firstborn child in a culture that has primogeniture. And then (once he's done pissing away a massive fleet of ships) he does the logical thing and sends his only other heir to bring his first heir back - even though his first heir would have been willing to return with a simple invitation. Like he could have sent a letter saying "dear son come home miss u pick up 200 000 tons of steel qin wants 2 build a drill lol", and Zuko would have come. (Okay, he did have a valid reason for having Zuko escorted, since he thought Iroh was a traitor, but there's absolutely NO reason to risk Azula. Why not send Combustion Man? It's the luckiest stroke of luck ever that Azula is 100 times more competent than her dad.)

Of course, a dictator(-wannabe) sending his daughter on high-level diplomatic missions is pure fiction. Nobody would do that.

The best part of this is that it's entirely realistic and in-character. I could absolutely imagine Ozai purging all of his competent admirals and generals, and then promoting brownnoses like Zhao and crackpots like Qin, because they promised him glorious destinies and secret knowledge of Big Drill.

I also really, really want a scene of Zuko and Azula realizing that their father is a fucking idiot.

I would also like to note that all this stupid shit happens after Iroh leaves with Zuko. So, here's a headcanon: the only reason the Fire Nation didn't immediately implode when Ozai took the throne and purged everyone is because of Iroh. Iroh leaving with Zuko doomed Ozai. It's also a nice little drop of complexity in Iroh's character - he knew he was single-handedly keeping the Fire Nation afloat, yet he only left when Zuko did. Did he plan for Zuko to take the throne from the start? What was his plan before Aang showed up? Did he not intervene in the Agni Kai because he was afraid, or because he knew that Ozai was making a huge mistake and didn't want to interrupt? Give me chessmaster Iroh please.

[my-castles-crumbling]

Hi guys!

Okay so I've gotten a lot of asks about JKR, since she's been extra terfy lately. ( @lonely-parrot @mushroom-enby and many anons) Basically asking me what I think about the marauders fandom, talking to people about it, etc.

I think that we have to acknowledge that being part of the Marauders fandom does cause some harm.

Why? Because we are, however unwillingly, talking about and giving popularity to characters created by a horribly bigoted and harmful person.

We can't just stick our heads in the sand and pretend that isn't true. Not in the days of algorithms that respond every time you search 'Sirius Black.'

However, I also think this fandom, and fandom in general, has been helpful to many queer people in ways I can't even begin to describe. For so many queer people, fanfiction and fandom is where you begin to explore those feelings you think are 'weird' or 'different,' and the people you meet through fandom are the first people you meet like you. The way characters are depicted in fanfiction can be the first time you see a character that you truly relate to, and I know that I am not exaggerating when I say I owe my life to fanfic writers, because I used it as a coping mechanism as a teen when I had nobody to talk to at all.

I think that we just have to be conscious of consuming fandom, especially Harry Potter fandom, ethically. And I have to say that I am NOT perfect at this. I have been to the Harry Potter theme park. I own Harry Potter merch. In my childhood, my entire Christmas list was Harry Potter things. So please know that I'm not speaking from some holier-than-thou position here.

But as things get worse and worse, we need to be even more conscious about what we are consuming, and how we are consuming it.

So here's my opinion on things we need to do:

Do not consume any new content by or related to JKR. This includes the new TV show.

If you want old content (the books), buy them secondhand. Do not give your money to the bookstores that give money to her. Give back to local secondhand shops.

Etsy has a lot of amazing independent artist-created merch, look there!

When people talk about the books, do NOT shrink away from their flaws. Mention them. Talk about the issues. Talk about the house elves and the goblins and the ridiculously racist names.

Same with JKR. When people talk about the books, the TV show, the videogame, etc, TALK about JKR's transgressions. Don't let people be willfully ignorant.

Make fandom a safe space. The world is an awful place right now and I think one of the reasons I, personally, am okay with being part of this fandom is because it is a safe place for me and so many others. DO NOT change that by becoming part of the problem and spewing hate. Cut the shit with the ship wars and the transphobia and the 'I don't like when writers...' Just stop.

Keep making your characters gay. And trans. And ace. And POC. And all of the things JKR is so scared of.

Yeah. These are just my thoughts. Feel free to comment (politely) below!