#Robbie Thompson will be a huge huge huge reason why

[flyingfish1]

Robbie Thompson:

I think representation is invaluable. […] [I]f I’m gonna be personal about it, it’s also just important to me. My wife [Kalinda Vazquez] is a person of color, my mom is biracial, my grandfather immigrated from Mexico to here. And I don’t see them on the screen. I don’t see them. And when I do, they’re a horrible stereotype. And that’s horrible. No individual person should be made to feel that way. It’s just bad storytelling to me, because it’s not the world we live in. You walk down these halls and you’re going to see every single type of person, every single type of representation, to not have that in your story to me, is just bad storytelling. But also it’s just a shitty thing to do. […]

A movie like Moonlight is epic to me. It’s like a fucking Lawrence of Arabia scale in terms of, you’ve never seen that depicted before and done by people who really understand what that experience is. It’s an authentic representation. That’s why that movie connected with people, because people are finally getting to see either themselves, or, “Wow, I’ve never seen that story from that point of view.” […] If you can change one person’s point of view, or just as importantly if you can show someone, hey, you haven’t been deleted by culture, here’s you, here’s a version of you, it’s worth it. And it doesn’t always have to be a positive kind of version of it, it can be a complex depiction. […]

We had a Native American consult on one of the comic books for Marvel, it was a great experience. But people from diverse backgrounds should be writing these stories as well. They also shouldn’t be relegated to writing just the story about that perspective. People will say all the time, “I’d like to see more women writing female characters,” like I wrote Silk and people said, “Oh, I think a woman should write that.” Yeah, you’re right. But a woman should write Spider-Man. A woman should write Superman. A woman should write Batman. […]

Diversity is important, inclusion is more important. And making people realize like we can all tell these stories. It’s a bee in my bonnet, it’s a personal issue to me, but I think ultimately if you want to be good at your job as a writer, part of your job is to reflect the world we live in. And if the world you live in is completely homogenized, you gotta get out of your bubble if you really want to tell a story that’s gonna connect with more people.

-Nerds and Beyond interview, 2018

*

I’ve been rereading some older Robbie Thompson interviews – as you do, lol – and I came across this quote on diversity and representation and inclusion in media. It’s great: I’ve abridged it for tumblr but I recommend going through to the article and reading the whole answer (I'll include the link in a reblog), because he goes into more depth about diversity in the comics industry, about the impact characters can have on marginalized audiences, about writing complex female characters, and about building empathy through fiction.

What a mission statement, right?

The interview’s from 2018, so it’s well before he became the showrunner of The Winchesters of course, but my mind went to that show and to all the diverse characters who've been cast in it. I’m especially thinking about the character of Carlos, a Latino character written by a writer/showrunner who's of Mexican descent himself.

I’m glad he’s making this happen! I’m glad that – out of all the people who could theoretically have become the showrunner of this thing – it was him. I’m glad he’s a showrunner now, period. I bet he'll do good things.

[positivexcellence]

The Winchesters has more story to tell, and they're ready to fight for it

On Oct. 11, 2022, The Winchesters premiered, offering fans a welcome return to the Supernatural world. With Dean narrating, the series introduced a young John (Drake Rodger), home from Vietnam, as he met Mary (Meg Donnelly) and discovered the truth that would come to define their lives together: Monsters exist.

For 13 episodes, fans were back in the world they loved — this time around, though, things were a little different. As any good prequel does, The Winchesters expanded on the world and the lore of the flagship series, striking that crucial balance between the new and familiar. They'd cracked the code on how to keep this story alive without Sam and Dean, by shifting the focus from brothers to friends and, for the first time, telling a central Supernatural love story.

In its final episode, The Winchesters opened up the world by revealing that we weren't watching Sam and Dean's John and Mary, but rather the John and Mary of another universe. In other words, the multiverse is the limit when it comes to future stories. "I feel like episode 13 was us literally dropping the engine block in and being like, 'Okay fire it up,'" Ackles tells EW. "We blew the proverbial doors off. I think the potential is massive."

Yes, the potential is massive, even after the show's cancellation by The CW, because he and the cast have already launched a #SaveTheWinchesters campaign to find the story a new home. "There's a lot of story to tell here and there's a huge fan base that is very actively engaged and willing to support it," he says.

The power of the SPN Family has been documented many times (and cannot fully be explained). It's how the show landed its first EW cover back in 2016 — because the fans voted for it. It's a passion that Ackles saw the instant he tweeted out the news that the show had been canceled. "They are fired up," he says of the fans. "I love that about this fandom. I love that they are so passionate about this world and this universe and these characters that they are willing to go to the mat for a show like this. I think that speaks volumes, especially to those who are willing to listen and have the power to do something about it."

As for Ackles, he's feeling optimistic about a future for the show. After all, Dean Winchester's been knocked down more than a few times, and that's never stopped him from getting back up.

"I do feel hopeful and I don't know whether that's just the optimistic side of me, which I didn't know existed in this capacity," he says with a laugh. "I've been moving more toward a curmudgeon, more toward what we all thought Dean Winchester would dive into when he got older. That's just the Dean in me. But I do have this crazy optimism for this show and I think it largely resides in the energy that we found on set with this cast and this crew. That crazy optimism is one of the reasons why this show made it on air in the first place, and I think it's one of the several reasons why the show should continue somewhere."

For those wondering, Ackles says they've already started discussing ideas for what a new season could hold. "We were talking not only about story and where we wanted to take our cast, we were talking about who we were going to bring back from the mothership," he says, adding that he received text messages from a few Supernatural alums who were bummed they didn't make it on season 1. "We were putting together a lot of tricks to keep up our sleeve and keep it exciting, not just for the new fans but for the returning fans as well."

Much like creator Eric Kripke had at the start of Supernatural, Winchesters showrunner Robbie Thompson has a five-season plan for the story. "Hopefully we get to execute that," Ackles says. "I just think that there's a way to keep this alive and it would be a shame to let that go."

Looking even further into the future, Ackles adds, "And then we don't know what it would look like beyond that but there was certainly a way of tying this into like a possible return of Supernatural down the line, which Robbie and I had talked about. It's something that Jared and I have talked about, what that might look like."

For now, it looks like hope. And the cast has a lot of that. See the cast share their thoughts below:

Drake Rodgers

"Working on The Winchesters for the past year has been such an incredible honor. The fandom is so immense and passionate for this universe. They've been so accepting and supportive toward the show, it's made the entire process a dream. It would be a shame not to continue exploring the vast world we've built and grown to love so much. There's so much opportunity for new storylines and perspectives on the Supernatural universe."

Meg Donnelly

"I've learned so much about myself working on this show. The Winchesters is a beautiful story of stopping at nothing to help the people you love. There is so much more of this story that needs to be told and it would be honor to keep playing such an iconic character like Mary Campbell."

JoJo Fleites

"This story is worth fighting for because everyone can relate to these characters in some way, shape, or form. They are universal and timeless and they speak to so many people. I love that people see themselves in Mary, John, Carlos, Lata, Millie, Ada and all of these other characters. We want to keep telling the story and I specifically want to keep inspiring those that may not feel represented, such as people of color, the outcasts, the LGBTQIA+ community, and so on. It means a lot."

Nida Khurshid

"Continuing the legacy of the hugely successful show, Supernatural, has not only been humbling and thrilling but also a way for me to represent my heritage proudly through the character I get to play. Fighting for what you believe in whether it be saving the world from monsters or standing up for your friends, I believe our show can inspire that sense of courage and direction to fight for what's right in a world that needs it."

Demetria McKinney

"This show has been such an incredible bridge, not only in connecting the Supernatural origin dots, but bridging the gap between day-to-day and fantasy. Stepping away from life for a moment to recharge is something I don't take for granted. The added bonus of doing that in a space that is familiar (in its Supernatural nature) and mysterious (in its own right) isn't something you get to do often. The array of characters made everyone feel they had a place in this space. And I loved living out these stories with this cast and crew! Thanks for all the support you all gave us! We hope we get to play again one day."

Bianca Kajlich

"The Winchesters has been one of those 'lightning in a bottle' experiences. From the cast's very first dinner all the way through to the final few scenes of our season, we bonded over our shared desire to tell this story in our own way. We became a family within a family within a family! And from our family to yours, we believe in this story, this universe, and all the fans that light the way for us."

The series might have a fight ahead, but thankfully, if anyone knows how to put up a fight, it's a Winchester.

EW

[thetrap]

episodes that were Game Changers for destiel that is episodes that took the romantic narrative to a whole new level:

- the man who would be king. no but really this WAS the first big turning point for destiel imo this episode was framed as a love story like even if it wasn't intentional it was. it was. sorry mr. edlund you can't brother zone your way out of cas watching dean rake leaves and dean's orpheus turn.

- the born again identity. i've said it before and i'll say it again: the moment cas showed up on that porch he became the love interest. like. "what's your issue?" [insert one of the most baffling acting choices jensen ever made]. the trenchcoat. he kept the trenchcoat and moved it from car to car. i can't BELIEVE that aired on network television.

- a little slice of kevin. was almost tempted to put 8.02 instead purely because "where's the angel?" and "i prayed to you cas, every night!" are both fucking insane but what can i say dean hallucinating/seeing cas in a scene so romantically framed it makes me black out every time i watch it and repressing his memories so he doesn't have to deal with the pain of cas choosing to leave him won out. i've always said that s8 was the point of no return in the sense that it made destiel so blatantly romantic on both sides that it could never be truly removed from the narrative moving forward - prior to this they had at least like. SOME plausible deniability re dean - but this is always the episode i think of in particular. like i think there are a lot of reasons that the spn writers decided not to make cas' love explicitly unrequited and i won't get into it all now but i am fairly certain that dean's "i did not leave you" being a line that exists was among them like. they KNEW that it would be bullshit they knew it wouldn't fit.

- goodbye stranger. like. literal power of love breaks the curse à la ella enchanted. AND. as if that wasn't enough. the titular needle drop and sam vs. dean's reactions like guys it has BEEN canon. and god that's not even mentioning the fact that "i need you" was originally "i love you" like robbie thompson was NOT messing around.

- the future. a mixtape is not platonic. especially considering the context it was used in. moving on!

- lost and found. i mean widower arc as a whole obviously but the intensity of dean's reaction to cas' death in this particular episode is fucking stunning. the scene where dean prepares his body was NOT needed they very easily could've had dean walk in uncover him look sad and then cut to the funeral pyre. they didn't. instead they had dean prepare cas' body - alone - because cas was his significant other. like it's really that simple.

- the trap. insane episode especially in hindsight because we know the romantic dialogue/framing was purposeful. i left but you didn't stop me i should've stopped you ever since the mark made cas go crazy ever since i had to BURY him in a ma'lak box ever since then etc. etc. anyways for me this was a game changer because it's a huge part of why i started watching again at all like. yes the august promo got me interested but it wasn't until i watched the destiel scenes from this episode on youtube (+ the breakup scene) that i went. oh fuck. and promptly created this blog.

- despair. no explanation needed ❤️

[castiellesbian]

i feel like i need a glossary of terms or a contact list for all these people involved with the show. i have shit memory and dont pay attention to the credits who is sera (sara??) and why does everyone hate her!! why is he Bobo!!!!!! please... has anyone posted about this im desperate

lol well including everyone involved with the show would be difficult, but I’ll give you some highlights

Eric Kripke: creator of Supernatural, showrunner for seasons 1-5. People have differing opinions about him but general people enjoyed his run and he’s considered the best showrunner in the series overall. Not much to say because there’s a lot to say lmao (notable episodes: “Pilot,” “Lazarus Rising,” and “Swan Song”)

Sera Gamble: writer who was involved from the beginning of the show, became showrunner after Kripke left. Her seasons, 6 and 7, are typically regarded as the weakest seasons. She was a huge brothers-only supporter, and was responsible for Misha being written out of the show (as well as Jim Beaver, Bobby) in order to get the show to just be about the brothers again. There’s a lot of drama regarding her treatment of Misha/Cas, but more recently she’s known for the Magicians debacle, a horrendous example of the Bury Your Gays trope. She’s also involved with (the showrunner of?) You on Netflix. She was a pretty good writer, but overall fans dislike her because of her showrunning tenure (notable episodes: “Faith” with Raelle Tucker, “Death’s Door,” “The Born-Again Identity”)

Jeremy Carver: writer from season 3 that was promoted to showrunner from seasons 8 through.... some time in 12, the timeline has been a little murky to me. He was the one who brought Cas back into the main plot, as well as allowing the deancas storyline to become genuine subtext (we can argue whether it was queerbaiting or what he was intending to do if he had been running the series finale, but yeah). Unfortunately, he was also the showrunner when Charlie was killed off brutally, which dampens his legacy. People are conflicted about his seasons, but generally he’s looked upon favorably (not related, but the picture that comes up when you search him on google is NOT him, he’s really like a typical white nerdy looking dude lol) (notable episodes: “The Rapture,” “Sacrifice,” “Do You Believe in Miracles?”)

Andrew Dabb: writer from season 4, promoted to showrunner during season 12 and is the last showrunner of Supernatural (he wrote the finale). He was well-liked by deancas fans for awhile because of how much screentime they were allowed to give, and because of the focus on extended/found family. Sam and Dean only fans didn’t like him for the same reasons. Unfortunately, HIS legacy has been marred by the awful series finale, though it’s debated whether that was his fault or because of network meddling. (notable episodes: “Dark Side of the Moon” with Daniel Loflin, “The Prisoner,” “Moriah”)

Robert Singer: executive producer since the beginning of the show (he’s also co-showrunner throughout Supernatural, but I don’t think he typically was involved with the plotlines too often). He’s directed quite a few episodes, including the infamous wire fight episode (s13 finale) as well as the series finale. Married to Eugenie Ross-Leming, writer of the show

Eugenie Ross-Leming/Brad Buckner: writing partners TECHNICALLY from season 1, but they only wrote one episode until they were brought back in season 7. They are regarded as the worst writers in all of Supernatural, responsible for tactless death scenes of fan-favorites (and typically minorities) like Kevin, Charlie, and Eileen. They also feature a gross amount of dubcon/noncon, racism, weird unnecessary sex stuff, and are SUPER into Lucifer for some unknown reason (they have a crush on Mark Pellegrino I guess). They’re also just kind of bad writers in general, their pacing is weird and their plots convoluted. To be fair, though, they have written some good moments, like Dean trying to reach Cas in Hell’s Angel and Dean’s confessional scene in Paint It Black. But overall, they suck. Why are they still on the show even though BOTH sides of the fandom (who never agree on ANYTHING) dislike them? Well, because Eugenie is married to Singer. Nepotism. (notable episodes, the ones I can stand to watch lmao: “Holy Terror,” “Hell’s Angel,” “Our Father Who Aren’t in Heaven”)

Ben Edlund: writer from season 2 who left after season 8, but people STILL talk about him simply because he is arguably the strongest writer of the series. Cas fans particularly like him because he did most of the heavy-lifting regarding Cas’ characterization. He also wrote the famous bi!Dean scene with Aaron in season 8, where Dean is flustered after being flirted with. (notable episodes: “On the Head of a Pin,” “The French Mistake,” and my all-time favorite “The Man Who Would Be King”)

Robert “Bobo” Berens: writer from season 9, his first episode was “Heaven Can’t Wait,” which is all you really need to know about his influence on the deancas storyline. He’s also gay, so people particularly enjoy seeing how he approaches destiel in his episodes since it’s not just another straight guy potentially just catering to fans. He was also the one who was meant to go off and run Wayward Sisters, and is responsible for a lot of their development in recent seasons. I believe he also created Rowena? He wrote the episode this season where Cas confesses his love to Dean (along with other heavy deancas episodes like “The Trap”). Sam fans typically don’t like him because he doesn’t give him much focus. (notable episodes: “Heaven Can’t Wait,” “Who We Are,” “Wayward Sisters” with Andrew Dabb)

Steve Yockey: writer from season 12 through the beginning of season 15. Also gay, and also responsible for deancas moments in recent years. Generally loved for his deancas subtext but ALSO because he is an amazing writer who came out with iconic episodes. (notable episodes: “Celebrating the Life of Asa Fox,” “Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets,” “Peace of Mind” with Meghan Fitzmartin)

Robbie Thompson: writer from seasons 7 through 11, and wrote some fan favorite episodes in the meantime. He is also the creator of fan favorite characters like Charlie and Eileen. He was also one of the few writers who was vocally supportive of destiel during his tenure rather than just later. I’m not implying anything about his intentions, but it was validating for him to encourage fans during a time where most of the cast/crew ignored or actively dismissed it. Plus his episodes are just fun! (notable episodes: “LARP and the Real Girl,” “Fan Fiction,” “Baby”)

Meredith Glynn: writer since season 12, has worked closely with Bobo during their seasons together. She and Bobo cowrote “The Future,” which is the mixtape episode, so she has been taken in by deancas fans haha. She also wrote the episode where Cas makes the deal with the Empty, so it’s pretty safe to say she and Bobo had worked on the deancas plotline together :) She’s also liked some deancas-related tweets on twitter, so she’s being subtly supportive (notable episodes: “Regarding Dean,” “The Future” with Robert Berens, “Byzantium”)

Davy Perez: writer since season 12 (a lot of the ones I’ve mentioned are, since this is when Dabb became showrunner and made changes in the writers room). His episodes tend to either be horror or bizarre. I mention him because he’s responsible for episodes like “Stuck in the Middle (With You)” (Cas’ first “I love you”) and “Tombstone” (aka Brokebacknatural lmao). I don’t know much about him otherwise, but that’s why he’s brought up usually (notable episodes: “Stuck in the Middle (With You),” “Tombstone,” “Atomic Monsters”)

hopefully this helps, and hopefully I didn’t forget about anyone major. There have been a LOT of people behind the scenes so it’s hard to say who to include. Like, I didn’t mention Jerry Wanek, Jim Michaels, Kim Manners, Thomas J. Wright, or others who might be mentioned from time to time.

[mittensmorgul]

I rewatched 15x07 today and I just couldn't stop seeing how much Eileen was Chuck in 15x7. Her personality, the "ew" when Cas said some part of Sam's soul is in Chuck, her reactions to any talk of Chuck, how she was standing behind Sam and sort of side eying him when Sam said he had been in Chuck's head... Well, even when she propositioned Sam, they were supposed to be looking for ways to *stop* Chuck. Why do you think the show chose to focus on that instead of developing Saileen's relationship?

omg, okay... so you see this exactly the same way I do, and I really wrestled with whether to post this publicly or not, because every time I bring up these extremely valid points, confirmed in canon by Chuck, I get told I’m either a horrible person for thinking this way or I’m delusional or a moron for feeling uncomfortable ignoring this stuff just for the sake of a ship. And I just... can’t ignore it. Because it’s canon.

One of the Big Questions of the entire season is “what is real, and what is Chuck.” Eileen returned ONE EPISODE after we learned the extent of Chuck’s ability to fuck with them directly, via Lilith. The notion that Chuck would just drop that lesson on them and then peace out is just... idiotic to me. We were supposed to see Sam’s statement at the beginning of 15.06, and Dean’s reply, as the huge flashing neon warning sign it was supposed to be:

Sam: No. I haven't had a vision since Colorado. I think maybe they stopped.Dean: Oh, I doubt it. Not until Chuck gets His end game, you know? The Winchester Bowl. Cain and Abel 2.0. This is God we're talking about. G-O-D. Wouldn't be too worried about finding Him. He'll find us. 

LOLOLOLOL I mean, yes? He doesn’t even have to look hard to find you? He knows exactly where you are and how to manipulate you. He’s been doing it basically forever.

and then all of a sudden *random dead character we haven’t seen or even MENTIONED in three years* just suddenly appears specifically needing their help? And we’re supposed to think it’s an unproblematic win all around?

Sure Jan.

Chuck honestly couldn’t have chosen a better lure to send them. Someone the Winchesters would be thrown off by, someone they felt guilt over not having been able to save. Someone they’d be willing to drop everything else to help, and wouldn’t question remaining present in their lives. Someone they would trust without question. And specifically someone who had the kind of connection to Sam that Chuck could exploit to further the divide between Sam and Dean. Exactly as we saw happen... Dean made assumptions about their relationship and retreated even further into his own issues, leaving Sam alone and open to Chuck using Eileen in exactly the way we saw play out in his Vision of the Future in 15.09... driving Sam into her arms only to kill her off in a horrific, tragic situation in order to manipulate Sam into the reckless nihilism that engulfed their world by the end. Sounds exactly like what Chuck failed to accomplish with the whole BMoL plot in s12, which we ALSO know was orchestrated BY HIM, thanks to 14.20. Same story, different turn of the wheel.

Because Chuck needed all of that to get around the effects of that wound and lay down a trap that would eventually be sprung at the end of 15.08. If Cas hadn’t gone poking around in Sam’s wound, compromising Chuck’s plan, theoretically I believe he would’ve continued to use Eileen as his eyes on the Winchesters. The whole “lure Eileen out of the bunker and ensure she brings Sam along for the ride” thing felt more like a scramble to find a faster solution to his bigger problem and eliminate the compromised middle-man in his ability to directly mess with the Winchesters, which brought us to 15.09 and his desperation to force Sam into “breaking the connection” by his own choice. Since it was Sam’s will that fired the not-a-bullet that wounded them both in the first place. He literally had to break Sam’s will that generated that connection in 14.20.

As far as Chuck knew, his plans for Eileen to seduce Sam had failed, repeatedly. Between Cas’s cockblock entrance in 15.07 (which I still struggle to see as Sam ready to accept her proposition, for SO many reasons... I mean just look at his face in the first moments after it registers that she’s propositioning him. Those initial reactions are absolutely not undiluted romantic interest and passion, much as some creatively edited gif sets would lead you to believe.

I appreciate this one, with the further context of 15.09 to support my tag on it from the day after 15.07 aired.

https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/189512551075

The look Eileen gives Cas is just screaming come on you believe me right? I’m completely innocent in all of this! Just nice little sweet resurrected Eileen! Like Chuck hadn’t expected Cas to show back up and interfere with his Seduce Sam for Manpain plan.

But that seduction scene actually hurts to watch... I mean, Sam is still feeling the guilt and pain over having killed Rowena, only to discover all of her worldly possessions and magic had been entrusted to him (and not yet knowing that specific spell to resurrect Eileen had been planted by Chuck as a deliberate manipulation in itself...).  LOOK AT THIS SERIES OF FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AND EXPLAIN HOW THIS IS ROMANTIC INTEREST AND NOT GRIEF AND SHOCK:

https://canonspngifs.tumblr.com/post/189663948344/adaav-sam-winchester-15x07

Okay, now that’s out of the way, back to Eileen.

Why did they make this particular choice for her character instead of developing a real relationship with Sam and Eileen? Because she was never written with the intent of becoming Sam’s endgame love interest.

Full stop.

Anyone who says otherwise is either choosing to believe that because it props up their chosen ship or they’re unaware of the numerous times that Robbie Thompson has contradicted that statement.

I mean, I don’t usually quote this source, but this is Robbie Thompson speaking recently (within the last year) specifically about the creation of Eileen’s character:

Next up: Eileen and Shoshannah. Did they specifically want a woman hunter?

Robbie: No, it was just, they were looking for standalone episodes. So what will happen is the showrunners will come around and say, “Hey, we need a myth-arc episode. Please deliver X, Y, and Z, but build an episode around it. Or [do] a standalone.” I had this idea for this character and I had worked with Shoshannah, sort of tangentially, because I was the writer’s assistant and I wrote an episode of Jericho. She wasn’t in the episode that I wrote but she played Bonnie on that show and (this is a spoiler if you haven’t seen Jericho) her character has an untimely death. But Shoshannah was so good in the series, and she was so terrific in that episode. She’s a badass in that episode, with a whole infiltration thing and she’s blowing dudes away with a shotgun, and I was like, “Oh, I wanna see her kick some ass.” I always wanted to work with her again. So I pitched the episode with that character in mind, and then I was like, “I’d love to work with Shoshannah again.” They reached out and she fortunately had a window in her schedule; she was available.

Then I reached out, I think originally through her manager, to say, “Hey, can you put us in touch because I’m not deaf and I want to make sure I’m getting an authentic experience for the performer.” So she and I exchanged a bunch of emails. She’s since gone on to be a showrunner and a writer in her own regard. She’s a really, really brilliant writer and a brilliant actor as well. It was great being able to get her the script early so she could help me fix the parts that didn’t work. Then, on the day, she and Jared had really great chemistry and John Badham, who was the director of that episode ("Into the Mystic" 11.11), they really played around and found a lot of fun moments that weren’t scripted at all. That was just them having fun and building moments.

All those cute chemistry moments... were never even scripted. She was intended to be a one-off character that was unsurprisingly very well loved by fandom, and who was brought back when the overarching plot made her MoL connection relevant to the story in 12.17. Unfortunately for her, that meant her ONLY purpose for returning to the story was literally to be killed for Sam’s manpain. They gave her just enough cute chemistry with Sam to imply they had the potential for a romantic connection, and then killed her in one of the most brutal and horrific ways possible. Which was literally exactly what Chuck used her for in s15.

I’d like to suggest that, knowing the full truth of her entire situation, that the sinister parallel being suggested in 15.07 is not between Cas and Eileen, but between Eileen and Lee Webb. Sam’s history with her is similarly tragic to Dean’s history with Lee. And Lee represented a version of an apple pie life that tempted Dean-- the prospect of having food, fun, health, and happiness instead of the grind of hunting. Only it was a lie, because Lee hadn’t made that life for himself, he’d built it off the magic of a creature he sacrificed an endless stream of human lives to in order to falsely manipulate his own circumstances. The cake is a lie, in other words. Just like the cheerful hangover breakfast Sam and Eileen were preparing at the beginning of the episode. It just... wasn’t real. We were being urged to consider this parallel. And not seeing it for what it was required having some heavy duty ship goggles glued on.

This was doubled-down on in 15.08, with Sam being a bit overbearing and nearly getting himself killed in the opening hunt, pushing Eileen to their “agreement,” which additionally foiled Chuck’s plans to push them together romantically. Eileen couldn’t spy on Sam for Chuck if she still retained enough independence to set boundaries like that, you know? If she didn’t have eyes on the Winchesters, she wasn’t useful for what Chuck was using her for, and she was punished for that failure as much as Sam was, being forced to hurt Sam in 15.09.

Heck. This is how I’ve always seen all of this. If folks enjoy assuming some Grand Romance between Sam and Eileen, more power to them. But honestly I just can’t personally see the justification in canon for that read on things. Not to say that Sam and Eileen won’t choose to come to a different understanding in the future, or that their relationship couldn’t develop into something more once Chuck has been dealt with, but I can’t see it as romantic yet. I’d be totally down to ship them in that eventuality. And in fanon, I’m totally here for it even now.

[charlie-minion]

21 Supernatural Questions

I was tagged by @amwritingmeta – thank you for including me, sweetie. You’re so lovely! I gotta tell you that it honestly made my day when I read that one of my favorite meta writers considers my blog one of her favorites, so yeah… thanks! :’D

Now let’s tackle these super fun questions ;-)

1. When did you start watching Supernatural?

I remember I watched for the first time around 2009. Season 4 was on, here in my country, on Warner Channel. I’m sure that season had already finished in the U.S. at that time, but it was just starting to air here in El Salvador. I didn’t know anything about the show and I didn’t know what season that was either, but now I know it was 4 because all I remember was that some dude had rescued another dude from Hell. Period. I understood next to nothing about the plot because I hadn’t seen any episode prior to the beginning of S4. I caught a few episodes now and then and continued to watch for some time until the schedule changed. The eps started to air at 11:00 p.m. and I had to get up early for work, so I stopped watching.

In 2013, I spent one year living in North Carolina with my older sister. I was having a difficult time, so I moved to my birth country (USA) to escape everyone and everything. I had no TV in my room, but I had my laptop and my sis had the first 7 seasons of Supernatural, so I was like, “Hey! I might FINALLY understand that freaking show that looked so cool”. That’s how I started. I wasn’t planning to binge-watch the whole thing, but it became addictive pretty fast.

I loved the first 3 seasons, but once I got to season 4 and Castiel was introduced, I was hooked for real! When I watched season 5 and I saw the “I did it, all of it, for you” from 5x02, I started Googling Dean and Cas, because I was SO SURE I was seeing romance there, and I couldn’t be the only one. I was super excited when I found out there was a Supernatural FANDOM (back then I had no idea that was a thing). And I was even more excited when I learned about Destiel, about shipping, and about all the fandom culture. I joined Twitter, became a Misha stan because the more I read about him, the more I adored him, and I got caught up just in time to watch 8x17 live.

Can you imagine becoming a Dean/Cas shipper all on my own, doing research, finding out about Destiel and then the VERY FIRST EPISODE I watched live, while living in the U.S., was Goodbye Stranger written by Robbie Thompson?!! Those were the days!

I have been watching live, along with the fandom, ever since March 20, 2013. I joined Tumblr during the hiatus and started writing meta (accidentally) at the very beginning of season 9. So yeah! This show has been a very important part of my life for over 6 years now, and I don’t want to think about how things might change after the show ends. NOPE. Not thinking about it AT ALL. (At least not yet).

2. Who is your favorite in TFW?

I absolutely LOVE my three boys. I want them to be happy because they deserve it. But, we can all have a favorite, right? I was a Dean!girl when I started binge-watching. When Cas was introduced, I became a huge Cas fan, and I thought he had become my favorite. However, lately I’ve understood that I became a huge MISHA fan, and that’s a little different. If we’re talking about the SPN cast, Misha is and will always be my favorite because he’s a real life angel. I love that man with all I have! But, if we’re talking about the SPN characters, I have to admit that I will forever be a Dean!girl, no matter what.

I’ll continue after the cut because, apparently, it’s impossible for me to give brief answers :P

3. Who is your least favorite in TFW?

This question sounds cruel, but I want to understand it in a ranking way, not in an “I hate this character” one.

If I have to rank TFW, for me, it would be:

Dean

Cas

Sam

HOWEVER, let it be known that I love my three boys immensely, and I want a happy endgame for the three of them. If Dean and Cas had a happy ending, but Sammy didn’t, that would ruin it for me. Ranking doesn’t equal hating.

4. Tag your top 5 Supernatural blogs!

I’ve said I follow very few blogs because I curate my fandom experience a lot, but you guys make my time on Tumblr extraordinary. I enjoy seeing you in my dash, reading what you blog or reblog and just knowing that you’re around as part of this community. If you answer these questions, please tag me ‘cause I’d like to read what you got to say about our beloved show. Much love to each of you! ♥♥♥♥♥

@dimples-of-discontent @mittensmorgul @cas-you-assbutt-dean-needs-you @naruhearts @casthegrumpy @fangirlingtodeath513 @bluestar86 @viva-la-cockles @obsessionisaperfume @caswouldratherbehere @perfectlyelegantdelusion @occamshipper @amwritingmeta (and no, Annelie, I’m not tagging you because you tagged me; you truly deserve to be here). 

If you’re not tagged, please forgive my poor memory, but if we’ve talked before, or I reblog/like your posts, please know that I adore you. ♥

5. Who is your favorite character (not including TFW)?

Oh my! This is so hard to answer. Supernatural has had so many amazing characters that choosing only one is hard. But I guess I have to go with Charlie Bradbury. The only time I seriously considered to stop watching the show was when Charlie was killed off. I was very angry and disappointed, and 10x21 became an episode I truly hate. I don’t think I have ever re-watched the whole ep because the writing was SO BAD. Dean and Sam were stupid in that ep, and Cas was basically a lamp. I… NOPE. Disgusting episode for sure. And I lost my beautiful lesbian queen.

 6. Who is your favorite woman in Supernatural?

I should say Charlie again, but because she got covered in my favorite non-TFW character, I will choose someone else for favorite woman.

And that has got to be Rowena. I don’t think there has ever been a female character in Supernatural written better than Rowena. And because the show’s ending, there will never be.  

7. John or Mary?

Definitely Mary. We got to know her better. I know certain parts of the fandom didn’t care much for her, but I loved her a lot, not despite her flaws but because of them! She was made human in a realistic way. We had only seen the idealized version of her through Dean’s eyes, but once we got to meet the real Mary, it was something I enjoyed. John, on the other hand, is not a bad person, but he wasn’t the best parent. He loved his children, and I know that, but his love doesn’t negate all the crap he put his sons through, even if his intentions came from a good place. I like the closure the boys got with him in 14x13, though. I was not against it at all. But, as John would say in that ep, “Me versus your mom? That’s – that’s not even a choice.”

8. What were your first opinions of Sam, Dean, Cas, and Jack?

Dean: Since the first moment I saw Dean, I knew he was faking and was trying to hide how broken he felt. That’s why I fell in love with him from the get-go.

Sam: My first opinion was that he was supposed to be the mature and detached brother.

Cas: I thought that he was meant to be the epitome for the enemies to friends trope. (And I added “to lovers” one season later).

Jack: The only opinion I had was that he was going to be the opposite of Lucifer. The characters were saying he was evil way too early for it not to be subverted. 

9. What’s your favorite season?

There are many seasons I love. I mean, this show has given us SO MUCH. But, season 8 is probably my favorite for two reasons. First of all, because it was the first one I watched live once I caught up. And to this day, the season finale still blows my mind.

And second, because it was when Carver took the reins of the show and did his best to fix the Gamble era. He gave the Dean/Cas dynamic a serious note, narratively speaking. I’ve said before that even though I shipped Destiel in the previous seasons, it wasn’t until season 8 that I saw an intentional development. It wasn’t played for kicks and laughs anymore, and it wasn’t just Misha’s and Jensen’s doing either. It was in the plot. The whole ‘I stayed one year in Purgatory just to get you back’ and all the ‘I couldn’t bear to think you didn’t want to come with me, so I chose to make it my fault’. Season 8 marked a new era, indeed, and Destiel became a real thing from then on, in my opinion.  

10. What’s your least favorite season?

Even though there are some episodes from that season that I truly love (and they’ve become memorable, like The French Mistake or The Man Who Would Be King), as a whole, I don’t enjoy season 6 much. After a formidable season 5, Sera struggled to keep the boat afloat and it shows. Season 6 is certainly the weakest.

11. Opinions on Destiel?

My whole blog was born because of Destiel, so? What do you want me to say? Hahahaha. Destiel is life. And I can divide my opinion in 4 (depending on the showrunner):

Destiel was a fortunate accident during the Kripke era. It was played for laughs and it was the result of whatever was going on between Jensen and Misha. Their chemistry had nothing to do with the script.

Destiel was a tool during the Gamble era. I don’t like to use the word “queerbait”, but I think the closest Supernatural has been to that was when Sera was the showrunner. It seems to me like she used the ship to lure the fandom and keep the audience, but it’s clear she had no intention of giving a resolution (we all know how she treated Misha, so…).

Destiel became an intentional part of the narrative during the Carver era. As I said before, it wasn’t until season 8 when you could clearly see that things were not accidentally there anymore. It wasn’t a joke, either. The ship sailed for real during the Carver era, but Jeremy was not allowed to give a resolution because the show continued to be renewed.

Destiel became canon during the Dabb era. I mean, I know people will argue that it’s not canon yet. And I understand what they mean. But, in my opinion, Destiel hasn’t been TEXTUALLY made canon, but when Andrew took the reins of the show, he made Dean and Cas sooooo married that I came to the conclusion explaining the subtext was unnecessary. It was WAY too in the nose to need explaining. So, I stopped trying hahaha. I don’t know if we’ll ever get Textual Canon Destiel, but in regards to Subtext, it can’t get more canon than that. And noooo, that doesn’t mean queerbait at all. Queercoding is a thing, you know?

12. Do you believe Supernatural queerbaits?

As per my previous answer, currently I don’t think Supernatural queerbaits. I do believe Dabb, Bobo and company want to give the Dean/Cas storyline a satisfying resolution. I have no idea what they will be allowed to do, but even if they can’t textually give us what we want, I have faith they will find a subtextually strong way to wrap things up. I enjoyed when Misha and Jensen explained in the DC Cockles panel the restrictions the CW puts, and I think it applies to so much more than blood and language.

13. Seasons 1-7 or 8-14?

Seasons 8-14, no doubt. For two reasons: 1) They are really good (and gave Destiel relevance) and 2) those are the seasons when I was already part of the fandom and could enjoy week after week.

14. Favorite villain (plot wise)?

I think Chuck is the best of the best. Because when we look back, we now know that all the other villains were thanks to Chuck’s machinations. Plot wise that’s amazeballs! I mean, the fact that we always thought (or hoped) that God was on the Winchesters’ side just to learn he was the villain all along. Chef’s kiss!

 15. Do you think they should end the Lucifer plot line?

I think they squeezed the freaking Lucifer plot line as much as they could… until it got to a point where I was sick of it. Everything related to Nick and Lucifer in season 14 was stupid and boring, to say the least. The plot line should have ended when Dean stabbed Lucifer. Although… I would have liked a better closure for Sam, but I’m good. As long as I don’t have to see Pellegrino again, I’m good.

16. Who do you think has gone through more trauma (Sam, Dean, or Cas)?

I don’t like this question and refuse to answer because trauma is NOT a competition (either in real life or in fiction). Trauma is trauma and it affects people. Something Sam went through was painful to him and that same thing may be less traumatic to Cas, but that doesn’t mean the repercussions and the suffering are less real for Sam, just because Cas suffered in other ways that may have affected him more. Trauma is personal. All I know is that the three of them have gone through A LOT and that’s why they deserve peace and happiness. Period.

17. What’s your favorite Supernatural episode?

There are more than 300 reasons to love this show. I mean, it’s almost impossible to choose ONE episode out of so many that I love. But for the sake of this question, I will answer with a very personal choice. My favorite ep could probably be 12x22 because of the moments between Dean and Mary. Dean needed a moment to finally say what he had been repressing all his life. All that hate mixed with all that love. He needed to let it out. And it was both gut-wrenching and beautiful to watch. I always cry when I see it (and I mean gross sobbing for real).

18. Do you like case episodes?

I like them most of the time. I don’t enjoy them so much when they air because I would like the plot to move forward, but it’s the case episodes where we learn more about what’s going on with our characters (their internal emotional battles) through other characters and subtext. It’s an interesting exercise, and that’s why I end up liking most case episodes in the end.

19. Who do you relate most to in TFW?

For people who have been following my blog for some time, this will come as no surprise. I relate the most to Dean Winchester.

In fact, I AM DEAN. I can find in my life every single thing about Dean’s journey. I came to accept my sexuality thanks to Dean (first as bisexual, and later as demisexual once I became more educated). I have felt worthless and like I don’t deserve to live or to be loved, just as much as Dean. I have felt like a burden, like I’m here just to help/please others, and if I’m not doing that, then I’m failing at life.

I get why Dean lashes out and hurts the people he loves even though he’s so afraid to lose them. I understand why Dean builds huge walls to protect himself from being hurt and what he needs to grow. Because his struggles are my struggles. And now I’m crying, so I better move on to the next question.  

20. Why do you like Supernatural?

I like Supernatural because I’ve been able to learn about myself thanks to the characters. Despite being a genre show, the personal journeys (character arcs) have been so real and relatable that I truly think this show is a masterpiece. The fact that I’ve grown as a human being thanks to an ordinary TV show is incredible. I don’t think there will ever be another show like Supernatural in my life.

21. If you could bring back one character and kill off another who would they be?

I would bring back Charlie. The original Charlie. I mean, I know we have seen lovely Felicia Day again thanks to AU!Charlie, but I couldn’t connect with her the same way I did with the original one. Probably because not even the boys have been able to connect with her the same way, either. They see her and they will always see the little sister they lost. It’s hard to think of AU!Charlie as her own person if she always reminds you of the one you lost. ETA: I forgot who I would kill. I guess no one. I mean, if Lucifer were still around, I'd kill him. Or Nick. I just got tired of his face.

Wow! This turned into a very long post, but I had so much fun.

I tag EVERYONE who would like to do this as a way to pay tribute to our wonderful show. Much love to y’all!

[mycasandstarrs]

SPN 10x05: “Fan Fiction”

As a former theatre kid, this episode brings me so much joy.

“Ghost? Meet Winchester.”

There’s our girl!

“Where is the Samulet?”

“Oh! I took it off. It kept hitting me in the lips, and...”

“That amulet is the symbol of the Winchesters' brotherly love!”

!!!

“There is too much drama in the drama department.” Well...yeah.

“Why couldn't they just do ‘Godspell’ like good little skanks ? Instead it's this... awful, unbelievable horror story. Hmm! Like that stuff really happens! Huh, theater is about life, you know? Truth! Truth! Where is the truth in ‘Supernatural’?”

What the fuck kind of teacher is this??

I had a theater teacher who told us theatre was magic. I think she would’ve liked Marie’s play about Supernatural.

There she goes.

“I mean, it's close, but it's just.... It needs a little more grrrr!”

Our very special title card.

“Sundown” by Gordon Lightfoot

Our beautiful Baby.

Dean awake before Sam? A shocker.

“A teacher in an all girls school went missing in Flint, Michigan. She was heading to her car, disappeared, and nobody's seen her since.”

“Dean, there's nothing here that even remotely suggest there is a case.”

“There is nothing that even remotely suggest there isn't a case. Boom!”  

Logic!

Hell yes!

Thank you, thank you, thank you Robbie Thompson.

“Ugh, theater kids. Great.”  

“What? I was a theater kid.”

“Barely. You did ‘Our Town’, which was cool. But then, you did that crappy musical.”

“The - ‘Oklahoma’? Hugh Jackman got cast off of ‘Oklahoma’.”

“You ran tech, Wolverine.”

Hey, Techies are just as important as the actors.

They missed the huge banner advertising the show??

hahahaha, their faces are hilarious. Granted, if I found out someone made a musical about my life, I’d be speechless too.

“If there is case... It probably has something to do with all of this.” It has everything to do with it.

Marie, writer/director, and Maeve, the stage manager. (Fun fact: I was a stage manager once! Lots of fun, work, and telling people to shut up and pay attention.)

“I'm Special Agent Smith. This is my partner, Special Agent -”

“Smith.”

“Smith. No relation.”

Again with the joke.

There’s plenty of singing in Supernatural, mostly from you, Dean.

“If there was singing, it would be classic rock. Not this Andrew Floyd Webber crap -”

“Andrew Lloyd Webber.”

Love the improv correction.

Don’t shoot down “Carry on Wayward Son”, Sam.

I also had a theater teacher who went through a divorce.

“Maeve, right? You're the stage manager?”

“And I understudy Jody Mills.”

Maeve would make a great Jody!

“I'm gonna throw up.” Shush, Dean.

“I mean, I gotta say, it's kind of charming. The production value, and the...” I love Sam’s sincere interest tho.

Rule #1: You never touch the props.

“Why are they standing so close together?”

“Um...Reasons.”

“You know they're brothers, right?”

“Well, duh! But... Subtext.”

We gotta address that.

“You know, back when I did tech in school, we had two CD decks-”

“I'm sorry, I have to go sign the delivery.”

Aww Sam! I would love to hear his theater stories.

Pfft, Sam.

“There's no space in Supernatural.” We got close to it...

“Chuck stopped writing after ‘Swan Song’. I just- I couldn't leave it the way that it was! I mean, Dean not hunting anymore, living with Lisa?! Sam, somehow back from Hell, but not with Dean?! So, I wrote my own ending.” I don’t blame her.

“Dean becomes a woman.” Would still wanna see that happen in an episode.

“So, Sam came back from Hell. But without a soul. Then, Cas brought in a bunch of Leviathans from Purgatory. They lost Bobby. And then, Cas and Dean got stuck in Purgatory, Sam hit a dog. They met a prophet named Kevin, they lost him too. Then Sam endured a series of trials, in an attempt to close the gates of Hell. Which nearly cost him his life. Then Dean? Dean became a demon. Knight of Hell, actually.”

S6-9 summary, courtesy of Dean.

Here comes the second hand embarrassment.

“That is some of the worst fan fiction that I've ever heard ! I mean, seriously, I don't know where your friend found this garbage!” Oof, I still don’t like that.

“Siobhan and Kristen are a couple in real life. Although, we do explore the nature of Destiel in act two.”

“Sorry, what?”

“Oh, it's just subtext ! But, then again, you know, you can't spell subtext without.... s-e-x.”

!!!!!

Hi, Jensen.

“I don’t understand.”

“Me either.”

“I mean, shouldn't it be... Deastiel?”

LMAO SAM.

“You know... How about Sastiel? Samstiel?”

“Ok, alright. You know what? You're gonna do that thing, where you just shut the hell up. Forever.”

Teasing brother, Sam.

“This whole musical thing, everything, it's... It's all a coincidence? There is no case?” When is it ever just a coincidence?

“Get in the car!”  

!!!!!!!

BUT HE NEVER DENIED IT THOO, that’s all i’m saying.

“You know, we should've done ‘The Outsiders’, like I told you.”

Maggie’s the second person to get kidnapped.

“I called the cops, and a bunch of adults just told me I have an overactive imagination.” :(

“It is all real. And so are we. I'm Sam Winchester. That's Dean.” NO NO NO.

“You guys are way too old to be Sam or Dean.”

“Oh, yeah!”

“More of a Bobby/Rufus combo? Maybe.”

How old do they think Sam and Dean should be???

“We are what the books called hunters.” They believe that.

First guess: a tulpa.

“How do you kill an idea?”  

“Well, in ‘Hell House’, Sam and Dean burnt the house down, to take out the one tulpa they hunted.”

Correct!

“Gird your loins. It's horrifying.” Umm...okay.

I love how reluctant Marie was to burn her prop.

“What?”

“It’s not a tulpa.”

“Say it one more time, but just a little bit more Arnold--”  

LMAO, Dean.

Calliope.

“According to the lore, Calliope manifests creatures from the story she's tuned into.”

The show must go on.

An understandable panic attack over the possibility of getting eaten.

“Is Marie gonna get eaten?” Shush.

I love when Dean calls people “champ”. It’s so sweet and endearing.

“If Sam and Dean were real, they wouldn't back down from a fight. Especially my sweet, brave, selfless Sam. There's nothing he can't do.” !!!

“I used this for my one-woman ‘Orphan Black’ show, last year.” Marie is the theater kid I would’ve lowkey wanted to be.

“Writer. Director. Actor. I'm gonna Barbra Streisand this bitch.” FUCK YES! KICK IT IN THE ASS!

Dean fixing Stage!Cas’ tie!!

Funny Sam asked for Chuck...

“Oh! I-I, I love him. I do! But honestly, the whole author introducing himself into the narrative thing, it's just not my favorite. I kind of hate the meta stories.” I politely disagree.

“Alright, listen up, girls. Now, you're all here, because you love ‘Supernatural’.”

“Actually, I was hoping we'd do ‘Wicked’.” 

“I want you to get out there, and I want you to stand as close as she wants you to, and I want you to put as much sub and add text, as you possibly can. There is no other road. No other way. No day, but today.”

“Did he just quote ‘Rent’?”

“Not enough to get us into trouble.”

“Ghooooost-facerssss!”  This episode just adds wonderful years to my lifespan.

You know what I would pay to watch this play in full???

“The Road So Far”

There it is.

The misunderstood thumbs up, lmao.

Sam goes bye bye.

Maggie and the teacher.

They were in the school’s basement.

Hello, Calliope.

“I’ll Just Wait Here Then”

Nothing makes me more emotional than seeing the audience fall in love Stage!Cas, much like we did with our real Cas.

“If I have to sit through that second act, one more time... There's robots, and tentacles, and space. I can't even.” lol

“A Single Man Tear”

That exorcism special effect is so wonderful! I can see how they do it now, but from the audience’s POV, it’s absolutely magical.

What the hell did the audience think Dean was doing??

“We're through the looking glass, here, people. Strike the wendigo set, let's prep the priests costumes. And Sarah? Get understudies into hair and makeup.” Maeve’s a A+ stage manager.

“Supernatural has everything. Life. Death. Resurrection. Redemption. But above all, family. All sorts of music you can really tap your toe to. It isn't some meandering piece of genre dreck. It's... epic!” Agreed.

Stage!Dean is a pro if she could keep singing with everything going on in the background.

lmao at the one guy putting on his poncho.

Original Stage!Sam knocks out Calliope.

Understudy!Sam kills the Scarecrow.

Sam kills Calliope. A trifecta of Sam Awesomeness.

RIP Calliope. Killed by Sam.

The audience must be wondering how they managed to do that for years.

“Take a bow, Sammy.” Take a bow too, Dean.

“Thanks for saving my friends.”

“Sure.”

“You know? If you'd cut your hair a little, you'd make a pretty good Dean.”

Aww.

“Dean? You never should've thrown this away.” YYYEEESSS

“It never really worked. And, I don't need a symbol to remind me how I feel about my brother, so...”

“Just take it. Jerk.”

“Bitch.”

I love Dean’s panic when he realizes he just called a teenage girl a “bitch” without meaning to, lmaoo.

Take it away Stage!Winchesters!

Let me tell you, I literally bursted into tears when they started singing “Carry On Wayward Son”. It’s beautifully done.

Starting with Stage!Mary, who is more or less Square 1 of the entire story.

i remember a lot of people being upset about Cas not being part of the family lineup at the end, and I get it. But if Marie was only going off of the first 5 seasons, it makes sense that she didn’t see Cas as family yet because Sam and Dean didn’t see Cas as family yet. They’re just one year shy of that.

BUT the same girl who plays Cas is on stage as Adam, a technical Winchester. You could say Cas took over Adam’s role as the third Winchester “brother” because canonically speaking, that’s the highest title Sam and Dean have given Cas.

“Who's that?”

“Oh, that's Adam. John Winchester's other kid. He's still trapped in the cage, in Hell. With Lucifer.”

lmaooo. Awkward.

“Don’t you cry no more.” I sing, while crying.

I wish he had kept the Samulet Part 2 on there.

A picture perfect ending.

...One last surprise.

“Oh my gosh! But wait... That means that- Calliope came for me or for-?” Did Marie know who he was?

I thought it was Cas...

I legit lost my goddamn mind when I saw him.

A perfect episode of Supernatural, in my most humble opinion.

[winter-maiden11]

Fake relationship (or not) by WinterMaiden11

WenDip week prompt “Fake relationship”

Spring break is coming and most of the students in Gravity Falls University are getting busy for their upcoming Spring break ball. Often the alumni organize parties before the school break started. It is to ease up the students’ mood from their cramming schedules and projects.

“Say Wendy could you hang out with me this weekend? I’ll have to find a dress for the ball. And maybe you should buy one too?” Tambry nudges Wendy who is busy munching her cookies. They’re at the school lounge, sitting comfortably while at their break, it’s one of Wendy’s favorite place to standby.

“Nah, I’m good with my dresses. I’ll just accompany you then. And maybe we could hang out on the arcade after?” Wendy grinned.

Tambry pouted. “You haven’t bought new one since we entered freshmen here. I’ll buy you instead.” She patted Wendy’s shoulder.

Wendy doesn’t seem to bother her friend’s comment though. And pull out her celphone checking for messages. She was expecting a text from Dipper but instead she got an unknown number.

She frowned crashing off what’s left on her cookie. The message was from Brad, her classmate on one of her academic classes. Also one of the well known varsity player in their school. He has a huge crush towards her since the first semester of their year. He kept on proposing his feelings for her even when she gave a hint of rejection.

She doesn’t want to be rude to anyone, but sometimes she was on the edge of her temper that all she would do is snob him. Much to her dismay, he’s one of her groupmates in class. If anyone would say, she has struck a gold if she accepted his feelings. Some girls in the campus has a huge crush on him. Only seeing his good looks. Behind those gold blond waves, cheeky smile, and well-built muscles, he’s still a jerk. His massive pride and arrogant made him look bad to her taste. Maybe because he’s the son of one of the rich men in Gravity Falls.

She ignore the text, sighing, she shove it back to her pocket. “Did anyone of you gave my number to Brad?” she crossed her arm.

Tambry paused from her typing on phone. “Uhhh. Rob did?”

“That Idiot! Why did he do that! Without even asking me?” She glared.

“Uhh. You must listen to his explanation first.” Tambry pointed out. Wendy turned her back seeing Robbie with Nate and Thompson coming.

“Hey guys, why the long faces?” Robbie greeted as he sat down next to Tambry.

Wendy, gritting her teeth gave Robbie a smack on his arm; it was a good aim that she didn’t hit Tambry.

“Ooww! Why’d you do that!” He rubbed his arm.

“You tell me?!” Wendy eyed him. “Why did you give my number to Brad?”

“Oohh. That, I was supposed to tell you earlier, but I haven’t seen you. He kept on picking on me, so I have no choice and gave it to him!” He explained.

“You jerk. He started texting me! Why not gave him Nate’s or Thompson’s number instead!”

“Heh! You think Brad is stupid. He threatened me, and if I did give a wrong number, I’m doomed!” Robbie waved.

Wendy sighed. “I don’t even want to change number.” She murmured.

----

Back at their classes, Tambry and Wendy parted paths, heading to their respective rooms, They will be seeing in next subject. Wendy sat on her desk next to the window, she was on the third last row. It was a good choice of seat. She pulled out her notes, and kept herself busy scrolling to her pages, when she stumbled upon her old writings.

She smiled, remembering it was a draft note of her mysterious journey with the twins on last two years vacation. Time flies so fast, as if it’s like just yesterday when she reminisces those days. She misses the twins suddenly. And felt like they won’t be here for summer this year.

It was like; they are all getting busy on their own life. Like she is now. They’re all beginning to be an adult now and so they should be working on it to be a responsible one. She’s 20 now and eventually will have to find a fix income for herself. Thinking about it sucks.

She sighed pondering over things when someone approached her.

“Hey Wendy.” A familiar voice snapped her from her deep thoughts. She looked up seeing the Brad gazing on her, smiling.

“Did you got my text? I was wondering, coz you haven’t replied.” He said. Some of the girls stared at them. And she feels it. Moments like this really piss her off.

“Yeah. But I haven’t able to reply.” She waved. “I don’t have to.” She murmured.

“Say, you have plans for the upcoming ball?” He added.

“Not much. I’m not going anyway.” She flips another page of her note, pretend to be reading.

“Aww that’s sad. But I will be waiting for you.” He leaned.

“You don’t have to. There are a lot of girls you could invite.” She shrugged.

“Come on! You should be enjoying, you don’t even have a boyfriend.” He teased.

She raised her brow, cringing. But before she even tells a word their professor came and students went on to their seats, including Brad who is waving to her.

“That jerk! I don’t need a boyfriend, not if it’s you!” She murmured and tried to concentrate on her professor’s lesson.

 Weekend came and just few days before the ball. As they planned, Wendy and Tambry go shopping. Wendy might get bored waiting for her. But still it’s for her friend. She tap her phone checking new messages. But none. She wondered what might her friend Dipper have been doing. It seems he’s very busy. She haven’t received anything from him, recently.

She snapped out from her thoughts when a paper bag shoved in front of her.

“What’s this?” She asked taking the bag.

“It’s yours.” Tambry said. “You seem in deep thoughts.”

Wendy chuckled and stands up. “You shouldn’t have to.” She said peeking on the bag.

“I know you’re bored and it’s the least I can do.” Tambry nudges. “What you’ve been thinking to.”

“I was thinking… Not to go to the party.” She smirks.

Tambry stops walking and glare at her. “Oh come on! You didn’t!”

Wendy shrugged.

“Then what about that dress I gave you? I took an effort choosing it for you.” She pouted.

“Well, I can wear it some other time.” Wendy grinned.

Tambry punches her friend’s arm gently. “You traitor, I thought you’re into this.”

Wendy made a face mocking at her friend.

“Come on! At least you just try, I know why you didn’t like to go. Its Brad is it? The last year’s party went well for you.”

“You might say that it is.” She sighed.

“Heh. Figures. You can just punch him on the face if he’s still keep bothering you.”

“heh, I’m glad to, but not when we’re inside the campus. I’d like to see his expression if ever I did that, wanna see his beautiful face get wrecked?” Wendy grinned clenching her fist.

Tambry laughed. “Be my guest. I can even imagine his face like.”

They laugh; of course, Wendy wouldn’t do that unless she or someone was bullied. She won’t hurt anyone unless she has a reason to do so.

“So have you decided to go with me on the party?” Brad peered over as Wendy put her stuff back on the locker. “Every one else has their partner and they’re will be participating on the event.”

“I will go to the party but not with you.” She said closing the locker. She smiled sarcastically and started to walk. Brad hold her up. Blocking her way. She glared at him, he’s a big guy. “Why? Who will you go with?”

“My friends, who else to.” She furrowed.

“Tambry has her Robbie, you don’t wanna be their third wheel won’t you.”

Wendy glared. She clenches her fist, holding up not to punch him, not here though.

“And what? You’re not gonna hurt me. You can’t. You know what happens when you do that.” He said.

“Is that a threat?”

“Just a warning.”

“I told you I won’t go with you. I HAVE SOMEONE ELSE to go with me already!” She sternly said.

Brad furrowed. “You?” He snorted. “You did.”

“Of course. If I told you that I have a boyfriend will you leave me alone?”

“You never ever mentioned him to me.” He stared.

She blinked. What else she could do. There wasn’t enough excuse to avoid him this time. She’s been avoiding and rejecting his proposal for like a thousand times.

Then her phone rang. She pulled it out seeing Dipper’s contact. She didn’t hesitate to answer and ignore Brad.

“Hey Dipper, What’s up?” She turned her back.

“Hey Wendy. I’m sorry I never get to contact you recently. So I decided to call you now. How’s it going?” Dipper said on the line.

Brad frowned. “You’re just gonna turn your back now? Is that how you supposed to talk to anyone?” He yelled.

Wendy pursed her lip. “I’m not in a good situation right now.” She whispered on the line, telling Dipper. Dipper though got the situation.

She turned back facing towards him. “I’m sorry Brad but I have to leave, I told you already, I won’t go with you to the party…”

Brad furrowed, and before he even said another word. Wendy blurted. “My boyfriend is on the line. I don’t want to hold him up.” She grinned sarcastically.

“Like I believe you!”

Wendy shoves her phone towards his face showing Dipper’s contact picture. “Now you see it!” Brad growled and turn his back, walking out. “He’s a dork!”

“Sorry I have to do that.” Wendy said back in line.

“It’s okay. Are you alright?” Dipper said.

“I’m okay. You… Heard everything right?” Wendy started to walk, face palming. Oh Wendy why do you have to say that? She told herself.

Dipper chuckled a bit. “Yeah. But it’s okay. Its Brad again.” He said.

“Yeah. Can’t make any excuse and you calling now saves my life.” She chuckled.

“Haha! He calls me a Dork.” He said.

“Don’t bother him, he’s a loser.” She smiled.

Wendy proceed on walking while talking to her friend. She’s glad he get to call and they have a lot to talk to.

  “He did what?” Tambry puts down her phone. Her eyes widened. “Did Brad really get to pissed off.” She laughs.

“He growled and looks stupid as he walks out.” Wendy said. They’re at the lounge, school day is over and that was their last day. They finally finished cramming. And the break has started.

“So will you invite Dipper later for the party?” Tambry asked.

“I don’t have to. I don’t want to bother him.” Wendy fiddled to her phone.

“But you tell Brad that he’s coming with you.” Tambry said in a low voice.

“Well, I’ll just tell him his busy and could not go to the party.”

“That’s a bad move. He might take in as advantage.”

“I don’t care. If he still keep on bothering me. I’ll have to do what it takes even if he threatens me.”

“He did that to you?”

“Yeah, that’s all he could do, use his being son of this wealthy man of Gravity Falls and all that to get what he wants.”

Brat, just like that Gideon. She thought.

“Heh. Break a leg then.” Tambry waved.

“Literally?” Wendy cocked her head.

They both laugh. “Whatever.” Tambry nudges her friend. “Maybe I could take you for a dance after I’m done with Robbie.”

Wendy chuckled. “If he ever let you go.”

  The party will be starting later this night and Wendy seemed lost in thoughts whether she’ll be going or not. It’s still early. She got up looking at the dress hanging up over her wardrobe. It’s knee-length chiffon, a beautiful shade of purple and teal. She thought it’s too stylish for her. She snapped out when her laptop screen showed a call. It was Dipper.

“Hey what’s up?” She answered, as Dipper on screen appeared.

“All is well here. Finally our break started.” He said happily. “How’s it going?”

“Uhmm, all is well?” She blinked.

“Seems not so well to me.” He said. “What’s the matter?”

Wendy pursed her lips. “I don’t want to go to the party.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. You’re worried about Brad?” He raised his brow. She nodded.

“I’m going because Tambry wants to, and, she even bought me a dress.” She sighed.

“That’s nice of her. Uhhm, well. Maybe you could tell her why you don’t want to or as try as you might, you could only do is avoid Brad during that party.”

“Dude, I’ve been thinking about it whole day.”

“I know. You could just go for a bit and go home early.”

“I’ll try to do that. I’ll stick with Thompson… But…” Wendy bit her lip.

Thompson had invited a friend and he might never get to hang out with her the whole party, maybe their group but not with those activities.

She looked at Dipper on screen. Her brows wrinkled.

“What is it?” Dipper asked at her sudden silence.

She blinked. “Nothing. Oh well. Go with the flow. I wish the party will go well for me like last year’s.”

“Yeah, you enjoyed it.” He chuckled.

“Don’t you have one of your school today?” She asked.

“Well, we also have a party tomorrow. But I don’t know, I’m going coz I have to watch out for my sister. You know Mabel.” He shrugged.

Wendy laughed. “Yeah. I miss her. How is she?”

“She’s fine, she’s gone crazy over the studies, but she manages well.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“And so are you.” He said smiling.

“So is me? I’m getting crazy with all these cramming.” She snorted.

“Well, you can do it. You’re Wendy, you can do anything.”

“Heh. I wish.”

Her phone beside her rang. She checked it and frowned. She sighed shoving it off to her bed.

“I think I know who it is.” Dipper said noticing his friend’s reaction.

“Who else. I thought he has stopped.” She rubbed her head.

“He’ll get something on me later.”

“Go easy on him.” He teases.

“Just kidding.” She smiled.

“Any plans for the summer vacation?” She asked.

“I still don’t know. I hope we’ll be able to get back there.” He said. “I miss being there.”

She smiled. “Me too.”

She misses all those adventures.

Wendy let out a sigh as she reaches the hall entrance. Wearing her friend’s gift, she matches it up with a calf boots. Her hair tied up into a half pony.

“Wendy you look great. I’m really good at picking clothes.” Tambry said proudly. She wear a black and red lace dress paired with also a calf length boot. Tambry wears a heavy liner and shadows, which made her look more like a goth. But still rocks.

Wendy rolled her eyes. “Yeah yeah. Have you seen the others?”

“Nate and Robbie are on their way.” She said, checking her phone.

Later, Nate and Robbie joined as well as Thompson with their friends invited along. The event has started and they enjoyed as programs on going. Their group joins into an ice breaker game. There were almost four teams to compete with and they made up to the last game but didn’t win.

Still, they shove it off and relish the buffet prepared on the tables.

Slow music began to play and anyone who had their date went on the floor dancing. Robbie and Tambry went. Wendy, Nate and Thompson with their friends just stayed behind and chatted, and teased Thompson as they usually do. Good thing their laugh was drowned by the loud music and didn’t disturb any one on their sweet moment.

They even get a “narrating people’s life” game while they were seated.

They were busy laughing when Thompson paused and nudges Nate. Their friends didn’t get their sudden reaction and looked up. Wendy stopped laughing when she noticed someone beside her. She frowned.

“As I expected. You’re just lying when you said you have your boyfriend here.” Brad let out a cheeky smile. Behind him was he’s so called buddies but more like his bodyguards.

“I do. He’s just busy and couldn’t go tonight.” She said sternly.

Her friends with their girls started to glance up to him. Worried.

“Since you’re alone with these idiots, why not Dance with me.”

“I don’t dance.”

“I’ll teach you.”

“Not to bother I’ll stay here.” She waved up her hand. “You can go on. Go find another girl.”

Brad stared at her friends. He gave them a sharp gesture to leave them alone. But Nate and Thompson didn’t even move.

“You don’t think you can just order someone to do something.” Wendy stands up. “They will stay here and so is me!”

“Heh. Brave girl. That’s what I also like about you.” He smirks and grabs her wrist and drag her. Her friends rose to their seat trying to stop him but his buddies pushes them back to seat.

“Hey! That’s harassment you jerk!” Nate shouted.

“Where is he taking her?” Thompson said, worried.

Wendy tried to let go of his grasp but it becomes tighter that it will almost hurt her wrist. He uses his athletic grasp. “I’m warning you! Let me go!”

Brad tried to drag to the exit hall.

But as soon as he’s about to take a step, someone blocked their way.

“I’m sorry but I think you took the wrong girl.” A familiar voice could be heard. And Wendy behind him peered in. She cuffed her mouth in surprise.

“Dipper!” She shouted happily.

Brad stared at him. “You are?!”

“Just call me Dipper, every one’s calling me that.” He smiled extending his hand to shake.

Brad just gave a spitting look and ignores him. “You really think I believe you.”

“Of course.” Dipper said walking towards Wendy. Now some of the people in the hall are staring at them. “What else you needed to know… You already saw it the other day.” Dipper smiled and grabbing back Wendy to him.

People began to wonder, some of them ask who he is.

He held on to Wendy’s hand and raised it, showing everyone. “I’m her boyfriend.” He smiled playfully. Wendy smiled but surprise at the same time.

Nate and Thompson came in. They patted Dipper’s shoulder.

Brad stared. He looked around. Some people notice the commotion.

Dipper step to him closer. “Brad Hamilton. I’ve been here and there in Gravity Falls, and I heard about you. You have a reputation to protect and you don’t want people to see and know that the son of Hamilton Corp grabbed someone’s girlfriend.” Dipper said in a low tone.

Brad gritted his teeth. “You’re threatening me.”

“I’m just giving you a word of advice.” Dipper said smiling.

Brad felt embarrass, he cleared out his throat and back away. Walking out. People head back to what they were doing.

 “Glad you’re here Dude.” Nate ruffles Dipper’s hair. He chuckled.

“That jerk’s, serves him right.” Thompson raised his hands. They laugh as they head back to their seat.

Wendy smack of his arm. “Ow! Hey what’s that for?” Dipper said, rubbing his arm.

“You! You surprised me.” She crosses her arms.

Dipper smiled. “Did I? How surprised are you?” He teased.

Wendy pursed her lips and gave him another smack.

“Ah!”

She then held his arm and said. “Thank you for saving me.” She smiled.

Dipper looked at her. “That’s what a boy friend would do.” He smiled.

She chuckled. She waved her hand gesturing Dipper to lean closer.

As soon as he leaned down to her. She kissed his forehead.

Surprised, Dipper blushes. She chuckled.

“Thanks for being my boyfriend.”

He blinked. What?

“You said that you are my boyfriend. Then you are!” She smiled.

---

Here's another (and last) of my Wendip prompt. I had this idea for since the other day and wrote down the scenes, until I came up with something. I had to make another OC named Brad, (just snap on my head). Finally I did  finish this which I thought I couldn't. Note that I haven't proofread it so excuse the typos and grammar errors. (I'm not good in english). Enjoy.

[furederiko]

9 MARVEL CHARACTERS I WANT TO SEE IN THE CINEMATIC UNIVERSE

Just spitballing for fun here!

To celebrate September 9th, here are 9 Marvel Heroes I would like to see making their debut in the next phase of Marvel Cinematic Universe. By MCU, that means for the movies... NOT for TV. I'm not saying because the TV side is... bad (even if I do lean towards that conclusion, it would be a subjective opinion), but I just don't think TV would be able to do justice with these characters due to various constraints (budget, VFX quality, etc).

It's already widely reported that the 2019 "UNTITLED Avengers" will serve as the culmination of MCU since 2008. That means, the door to welcome new characters and IPs would be wide open. So these are the names I would like to see getting the spotlight, and perhaps, assemble into a new set of Avengers. One might easily notice that the names I'm including here are characters from the animated "Avengers Assemble" series. That's actually... INTENTIONAL. One, because that means Marvel Studios obviously has the rights to use them (or at least partially, like the Spider-Man characters). And two, because I want this post to have a similar look and feel. But I'm NOT leaving behind other characters who have yet to show up in that series. That's why there's a special 'Bonus' section afterwards... (^^)v

Now that the explanation is out of the way, let's start right away! Here they are, in alphabetical order:

Agent Venom

Coincidentally, the first one is already a tricky situation. Eugene "Flash" Thompson is a Spider-Man character, so the rights to him is owned by SONY. That company is already working on a "Venom" movie that might not (or might?) be part of the MCU, with Tom Hardy as the lead. On the other hand, a modern-bully version of Flash has already debuted in the MCU via this year's "Spider-Man: Homecoming", as brought to life by Tony Revolori. Of course, the prospect of seeing a talented actor like Revolori becoming a headlining hero, is just too good to ignore. Mind you, it might take him a very long time (until after the high school characters graduate?) before arriving in a possible bittersweet situation (in the comics, Flash had to lose his legs first). But overall, Marvel Studios has already sown the seed for Agent Venom's debut. I can only hope this idea will be realized somewhere in the future...

Hercules

Odd choice, huh? But hear me out. We haven't had a great Hercules movie for a long time (my favorite was still Disney's animated-musical version, and it differed massively from the mythology). So why not leave it to Marvel Studios to do justice for the figure, and make a HUGE name out of him? The comic version of Hercules Panhellenios is a struggling, washed-out, unemployed hero, who spends his time slacking around and being a disappointment to others. True to his metaphorical title as a fierce male lion, huh? This situation and condition would carry massive potentials to explore in the movies. He can also take over Thor Odinson's position to expand the MCU towards more Greek-based mythological stories. Would you like to see Herc fighting Cerberus or Hydra (the monster, not the NAZI organization) in live action? I sure do. Good ol' Herc has seen a return to spotlight recently, with his own solo comic series. So what an excellent time to promote him for his own movie too! Since Chris Hemsworth and Pratt are already in the MCU (IMO, both are giving off a strong Hercules vibe!), perhaps Marvel Studios can hire... I don't know, Joe Manganiello as the lead actor?

Hyperion

Another mythological-esque hero! Unlike Hercules though, Marcus Milton has a completely different origin, being descendant of... the Eternals. Yes, the "Guardians of the Galaxy" movie series have already introduced this powerful race, which means, the route to Hyperion's debut is more or less smooth sailing. Interestingly, Hyperion is well known as part of the superhero team "Squadron Supreme". That means, if ever Marvel Studios needs a 'replacement' for the Avengers, this group is a good candidate. Just like Herc, Hyperion has returned to the limelight with a new comic series lately, eventhough it was cancelled after a few volumes. I admit, being a copy/parody of a certain DC hero, the character doesn't really have deep potentials. But that's why I trust Marvel Studios to give him the push he needed! As for the actor, for some reason, I would love to see John Krasinski in the role. Dude was considered to be Captain America before, right? And he's not another Chris. LOL.

Inferno

We're back to another tricky business. Dante Pertuz is a relatively new character, a modern version of Human Torch that FOX doesn't own. LOL. He's introduced in the recent years with the NuHumans storyline, which exactly leads to THE tricky situation. Yes, he's an Inhuman, and his origin story is deeply connected to the Inhumans Royal Family (specifically Gorgon). We all know that Marvel TV had taken over the Inhumans IP and turn it into a TV series (complete with bad writing, bad design, bad reviews *smh*). I'm VERY concerned the division would also want to capitalize on Inferno to boost the show's appeal, and I personally don't think that's a wise decision. Visual-effect wise, Mark Kolpack has admitted that creating Robbie Reyes' Ghost Rider's flaming head and chains for the 4th season of "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." was taxing and demanding. It's basically a movie-level VFX that required extra hours and patience, not something that can usually be rushed in a TV deadline. Now imagine doing that with Inferno, who emits flame from all over his body! But there's a bigger stake, here. You see, Dante's clearly a latino hero, and we haven't had one headlining an MCU movie until now. With his visual powers and relatable storyline (struggling with being Inhumans, a minority, rock star, and all), a movie would privilege Dante with the justice he deserve. I'm aware that highly likely Marvel Studios will be going with a cosmic Sam Alexander's Nova instead, and that's okay. But Inferno would be more current, if not more likeable choice.

Ka-Zar

Kevin Plunder came in to this list, with the same reason to Hercules. Because he's Marvel version of Tarzan! Hollywood has been trying to create a good Tarzan movie over and over again, and they're either an okay hit or a sad miss. As far as I know, none of them were ever able to please every audience, not even Disney's animated version. But Ka-Zar is different, because he carries more 'fantasy' than just trying to ape the King of the Jungle. The setting of his adventures, the "Savage Land" that's hidden deep in Antarctica, would be something magnificent to feature in the big screen. We've got Asgard, Kamar-Taj, Wakanda, why not add Savage Land too! Don't forget Zabu, his saber-toothed best friend, which would require massive CGI work. Suffice to say, the things I'm reading and hearing about Ka-Zar only leads to one conclusion: I want to see him in a live action movie! Now, who can portray him? Hmmm... a natural blond Brit like Charlie Hunnam, perhaps?

Ms. Marvel

All concerns I had for Dante, goes for Kamala Khan as well. Being a fellow Inhumans, there's been a rampant rumor recently that she'll be getting a TV series (supposedly the one John Ridley is working on). For me, that's a HUUUGE NOOOO. And due to THREE major reasons. ONE, similar to Inferno, TV budget won't be able to handle the VFX required to showcase her Inhuman ability with the right look and feel. Look no further than that underwhelming looking "Inhumans" series as example! Would you like to see an iconic figure like Kamala being reduced to a 'disaster' with the excuse of making her 'grounded'? You know, like what Marvel TV have already done to Medusa? I certainly DON'T. Kamala is basically the modern version of Mr. Fantastic, and we all know that even FOX have tried to do Reed Richards right in the movies several times, but still couldn't perfectly nail it. Downgrading this situation to a TV level would only make it worse. TWO, Kamala is a genuinely likeable and well-beloved character that easily captures the heart and attention of many readers throughout the world. If the 60s-90s had Peter Parker, Kamala's the youth representative for the modern world. Hip, cool, and current (being a social media freak and all), but also kind and caring... eventhough she's a triple-decker minority (Female, South Asian heritage, and Moslem) living in a racist country. Which leads me to the final reason. THREE, her story will have a MUCH BIGGER impact to the world as a movie. Releasing a Marvel Studios movie with her as the lead in an international market (including countries with Moslem as majority), would not only bank a great amount of money, but also sends the right messages: one, unlike its current government, Hollywood is NOT racist; two, that everyone can be a hero, regardless of their gender, race, and religion! Relegating a character this HUGE to a small-scoped TV series that not everyone can gain access to, would be a massive disservice. Kamala is the hero the world currently needs, so please don't undermine her into disappointments.

She-Hulk

Another tricky situation, though in this case, due to the confusing copyrights. Actor Mark Ruffalo has repeatedly said, that a Hulk solo movie won't be coming along the road because Universal has the distribution rights. What about his super-powered cousin, Jennifer Walters? It's unclear, but I can only assume that she has the same legal limitation. Thankfully, it also doesn't mean that she can't be used in a Marvel Studios movies. She just need to be included as part of an ensemble, that's all. The great thing about Jen, is that she's a lawyer and later a judge. Not only she's strong physically, but also academically. Won't that be a strong role model for young women and girls all around the world? We haven't really had a law angle in the superhero movies until now, with Daredevil occupying the Netflix universe. So bringing Jen into the light would be fresh and promising. As for who should play him, I don't have a particular choice, but someone with Award prestige like Emily Blunt, Charlize Theron, and/or Jennifer Lawrence would be a great get...

Songbird

Former villain turned Avengers? Yep, that premise alone would make a great story. Melissa Gold started off as a troubled woman, with broken family and harsh situation. Giving in to the world of crime (known as Screaming Mimi) was clearly her way to stay alive. Eventually she stumbled into the road of heroism with the Songbird moniker, and ended up becoming a full-time member of the Avengers. Just like the other characters I've included here, Melissa would be a great role model, especially for troubled teenagers. Her path of redemption proves that anyone, regardless of their past and issues, can be a hero too. An inspiring message that Marvel Studios need to share to the world. She doesn't sell enough as a solo movie? Well, then debuting her as part of the "Thunderbolts" would be equally okay for me. All the ingredients are already in the MCU anyway (Thunderbolt Ross, Helmut Zemo?). As for the actress, for some reason, I want to see Anna Kendrick in this role. Yeah, basically I just want to see her in a Marvel Studios movie, but I believe she would really bring justice to the gorgeous-designed Songbird.

White Tiger

We've already gotten an African "Black Panther", now it's time for a hispanic White Tiger! Her powers come from the mystical side, and since "Doctor Strange" has opened up the gateway to supernatural, we can have more heroes with this kind of origin story! I'm personally going with Ava Ayala, and not Angela del Toro, eventhough either of them would be wonderful. Why White Tiger? Same reason to Dante, and in a way, Kamala. Sure, the MCU have included numerous Latino actors who either got lost in the background (Jonathan Pangborn?), or turned out to be a scene stealer (looking at you Luis!!!), but we haven't really had a major hispanic hero in the MCU until now. More importantly, a female one! Debuting Ava in the MCU would also, once again, sends off a great message. The US government have been really discriminative about immigrants lately, including the hispanics. Putting Ava in the spotlight would remind everyone that South Americans CAN be heroes, and not criminals like what they're being wrongfully accused for. We truly need characters like this right away! As for who should play her, I'm currently setting my eyes on Gina Rodriquez of the hit series "Jane the Virgin".

Honorable Ment... SPECIAL ADDITIONS

The next characters are those who (as far as my memory serves) haven't made their debut in the "Avengers Assemble" series. So they sort of... didn't fulfill the basic requirement for my initial list. But it'd be unfair leaving them behind like that, right? That's why they are special 'Bonus' additions. Without further ado, in alphabetical order:

Brother Voodoo

For the record, I'm not being racist by sidelining the only black character to this section. The reason I put him here, is because his debut in the MCU movies is pretty much confirmed. Daniel Drumm, big brother to Jericho Drumm, has already made his appearance in "Doctor Strange" as the original protector of New York Sanctum Santorum. And director Scott Derrickson has already hinted that his death would lead to consequences, including the arrival of Jericho. Debuting Jericho as a sort of sidekick to Stephen Strange would be nice, but it would be much better if he gets his own movie too. Yes, there's an issue regarding his name, because using Voodoo might... well, attract criticsm. But titles can be tweaked, right? Considering Jericho ends up becoming a Sorcerer Supreme too, I believe he'll be perfect as the next black hero to headline his own movie.

Shang-Chi

I've already repeatedly mentioned that Marvel Studios NEED a major hero representing minorities, and this is another great candidate. Marvel Studios have brought several prominent Asian characters into the MCU, like Wong, Mantis (eventhough she's an alien), and Helen Cho. Yet they all share similar characteristic: they are all supporting cast. If Marvel Studios want to play it 'safe' and headline an East Asian lead character, then Shang-Chi is the go-to-guy. Nope, I'm not undermining him, but just pointing out how easy he would appeal to the audience. Shang-Chi is in a way, Marvel Comics' response to Bruce Lee. We all know that the world LOVES some Bruce Lee. And Shang is more than just a Bruce Lee copy, he's also a master of espionage who's determined to take down his own father's criminal empire. Pretty much a solid recipe for a James Bond-styled wuxia blockbuster hit, am I right! "Doctor Strange" has teased the use of martial arts to support magic, a hero like Shang would put it upfront as the star of the party. Marvel TV might have taken the stamp on Iron Fist (with mixed response), so Shang is the opportunity for Marvel Studios to do it RIGHT! Jon Woo, Ang Lee, or Jacky Chan can direct this, and as for the actor, Godfrey Gao is my top pick. But Ludi Lin, Philip Ng (star of the fictional Bruce Lee biopic "Birth of the Dragon"), or even Yoshi Sudarso (who is Chinese-Indonesian) would be fantastic nonetheless.

Spider-Woman

The last tricky affair of the day! Jessica Drew is called Spider-Woman, but she uses the 'Spider' moniker by name only, and unrelated to Spider-Man. That's why until now, it's currently unclear whether her movie rights is owned by SONY or not. She's actually one of the superheroine I've been itching to see in the MCU, but admittedly, these questions surrounding her place always put me on a weird crossroad. Drew is connected to Hydra, the High Evolutionary, and has always been a full-blown Avengers. And all of those screams MCU. She's also the best friend of Carol Danvers, so I honestly want to see her show up in "Captain Marvel". Her comic origin story sort of fits with "Captain Marvel" 90s setting too. Have Jessica encounter Carol when she was a child, then Jessica was put into stasis for years, only to wake up as a superpowered woman in the present day. And then she meets Carol again, and team up as the new Avengers. All's well ends well! I personally want to see Tatiana Maslany of the famous "Orphan Black" for this character, but Marvel Studios can always cast an Asian actress (like Constance Wu or Celina Jade) due to Drew's ambiguous background.

Young Avengers

This one initially started off with just William "Billy" Kaplan and partner Theodore "Teddy" Altman. A sweet pairing more famously known as Wiccan and Hulkling. My way of thinking was, it'd be rude and unfair to name just one of them, right? If Marvel Studios wants to go ahead and feature an LGBT representation, these guys are the one they should use. Is it possible? There's a hint that we'll be seeing Vision and Wanda Maximoff's relationship evolve in "Avengers: Infinity War". Perhaps somehow they end up bending reality, and Billy is magically conceived? Meanwhile, "Captain Marvel" confirmed that the alien race Skrull CAN be used in the MCU, so a half Kree-Skrull (his biological father is the original/male Captain Marvel) like Teddy is more than just possible. Basically, that movie is the only gateway needed for his debut in the MCU.

But then I began thinking. Why am I leaving behind Billy's twin brother Thomas "Tommy" Shepherd? Poor Pietro Maximoff was killed off in just one movie, why am I sidelining another Speed-ster? That's NOT right. Then the more I think of it, the bigger the scope gets. We have a Hawkeye and Ant-Man who are both fathers in the MCU. Why not include their protege/child? Katherine "Kate" Bishop might not be Clint Barton's daughter, but the two shared a special connection that would be great to depict on the big screen. And then there's Cassandra "Cassie" Lang who looks up to her father Scott, and aspires to be a size-shifting heroine of her own. Cassie has already debuted in the MCU as played by Abby Ryder Fortson, why not promote her into a hero too? And how could I miss out the lesbian latina America Chavez? Fitting in comfortably to all the diversity talk I've stated above, America is not only female, latina, she's also an LGBT representative. Another triple-decker like Kamala. JACKPOT!

So yeah, that's how I ended up with Young Avengers instead. If Marvel TV has "The Runaways", then Marvel Studios can have these equally (if not more prospective) young heroes! If we assume that we will no longer see the Avengers following the 2019 movie, then introducing the Young Avengers would be the most logical continuation. This movie doesn't even to take place in the present time, but a bit further in the future, or even in an alternate reality. That's the function of Reality Stone and Multi-verse, right? This team represents youth, fun, and diversity, sending all the right messages to the world. And at the same, enabling older actors like Jeremy Renner, Paul Rudd, Benedict Cumberbatch and others to serve briefly as mentor figures. There's also one other reason why this special team ends up being the last entry on this post (which is unintentional, to be honest): because I REALLY want them to show up in the MCU! \(*v*)/

So there you have it, the 9 (plus 4+) Marvel Heroes I want to see coming to the big screen. In the end though, this is nothing more than a personal opinion. It's obviously a very subjective thinkpiece, so anyone else might not have the same idea (if you do have your take, then do post them, I'd gladly read it!). I do however, hope that someone, anyone from Marvel Studios would somehow stumble upon this, read it, and put these names into considerations. I sincerely feel they will bring something NEW to the MCU, while continue conveying message of hope, inspiration, kindness, and good. After all, that's what Marvel Studios movies are for, right? Thanks for reading... enjoy your September 9th! Even if it might be just a regular day for most of us... XD

[kraken-with-a-plan]

Super rambly, self-indulgent fandom stuff under the cut

A year ago today I wrote my first post tagged with louden swain. It happened for a number of reasons. I hadn’t been keeping up with Supernatural at all for a couple years, (I began watching in 2012) but during mid-summer boredom and amid rumors that season 11 was a return to form, I caught up on the two latest seasons.

After 11x20 Don’t Call Me Shurley I felt like I had just seen one of the three best episodes of the show ever, and that impressed me. After being bored by season 9 and large parts of season 10, I never thought the show would get back to the level it was at in season 5. But it did. Season 11 was that for me (in retrospect, that was largely thanks to Robbie Thompson and a healthy amount of happy accidents). Sadly season 12 was a huge disappointment, and in many ways, the worst season yet.

But the point of this is, I got something out of season 11 that was more important than any fondness I regained for Supernatural. And that was a deep appreciation for Rob Benedict. Identifying the most pivotal reason why I’m sitting here a year later still talking about him is difficult. I’m not sure if it was his music & songwriting or his personality & charisma that sucked me in at first, but at this point they’re kind of mutually intelligible. I spent the second half of last summer listening to all the Louden Swain albums (and nothing else), watching Swain concerts and watching Rob’s interviews and panels on youtube. That’s what being a fan of someone is to me.  

Becoming a fan of Rob and the band eventually brought me over to Twitter, where most of the fandom activity for them happens. If I hadn’t found them, I never would’ve started using my Twitter and I never would have connected with the people I’ve connected with there, so that has given me something hugely precious. The community around these people in particular is pretty awesome, but you do have to be on Twitter to really feel a part of it. Before this, I was pretty much a Tumblr purist, so it’s been a little strange to switch over. It feels like I’ve gone deeper into this fandom than I have any other fandom, and that’s powerful all on its own.

What is most important to me is that Rob is a good actor, a delightful script writer, a fantastic singer and frontman, and a world-class songwriter. The songwriting in particular is something I wish he’d be recognized for more, and the band deserves all the accolades in the world. The fact that I’d rate that higher than anything else probably betrays that my ultimate allegiance lies with Louden Swain, as much as I love Rob’s other projects too. After a year in this fandom, I’m pretty fucking happy I’m here.

[godshipsit]

ok, so with metatron it was established that cas is in love with dean. but dean?

It was established that also Dean has strong not-so-platonic feelings towards Cas, but it’s less evident. It’s funny, because Metatron uses also Dean’s feelings to outline his story. His plan wouldn’t have worked if Dean didn’t feel strongly towards Cas. 

I’m sure plenty of people have written meta on s9 finale, and I’ve joined the discussion and fandom late, but anyway here’s my personal recap on it. (Mostly Dabb’s episodes, because if he’s going through with what Carver era implied, we’re gonna have tons of fun)

(Also, consider that this “Dean = humanity” theme has never been dropped… we’ve seen it reinforced with Amara, Ishim, in part also with Crowley. Read @tinkdw​ meta, in particular the one regarding Amara) 

(Before I start, I’ve always said I have a love-hate relationship with Carver. Yes, he brought the deancas subtext to the next level, but he also sort of made Dean the object of everyone’s not-so-platonic love, while Dean was completely engrossed in his not so healthy relationship with Sam. But things are moving, and things have already changed a lot. Fun times are coming.) 

WhenMetatron first meets the Winchesters, he pretends he doesn’t know them, that he hasn’t kept up with what happened on Earth. Metatron is a huge liar. As a writer who wants to write a story (andCarver’s avatar), he’s done his research: he knows our heroes’ weaknesses andflaws, and he knows how to move them around like paws. He’s not fighting Cas,he’s playing monopoly and Cas for the most is just a piece he moves around.

Metatronis jealous of Castiel, God’s chosen one, because he was once chosen by Godhimself (just to be abandoned). He also wants revenge against Heaven, so he builds a plan in the onlyway he knows. By outlining a story. His goal? Well, I’ll quote Jim Moriartyhere for reasons: to burn theheart out of Cas.

(Metatronalso wants to be the new God, and writers are Gods of the stories they create…after all, our universe’s God is a writer himself)

When you create stories, you become gods, of tiny, intricate dimensions untothemselves. (Metatron, 8x21)

How doyou destroy someone? You destroy what he or she loves. Metatron knows wellCastiel’s story: he’s seen what happened with the Godstiel fiasco, and since he’sa writer, he understood the subtext. He witnessed the way Dean reacted toCastiel’s betrayal, and more than anything, he saw how hard Dean’s reactioncrushed Cas. He was there when Cas watched Dean rake the leaves, and when hemade a deal with Crowley to let Dean live his life in peace. To protect him.Who knows how long Metatron has waited to rub this fact in Castiel’s face, thathe did everything to save DeanWinchester. He wasn’t talking just about Cas destroying the Angel Tablet, hewas talking about the civil war against Raphael, too.

(That’swhy I always say Ben Edlund was the one to bring Dean and Cas’ relationship toa whole new level. No wonder season twelve is going back to referencing season six again,that’s where it all started and I suspect Dabb is a big fan.)

Metatronknows Cas’ true weakness. The angel who always had too much heart has fallen inlove with one human. And guess what? The human has very strong feelings abouthim, too (season eight docet). Some external factors help Metatron in crafting his story, buttowards 9x18 everything is ready: Castiel has been human, so he’s experiencedhis feelings for Dean at full force and understands them better now; Dean hasbeen lying the entire season and is more reckless since he got the Mark;potentially, Sam is the one who could change most of his plan, but thankfullyDean won’t listen to him. The Mark is enhancing his characteristics, and hisneed to protect Sammy from everything (and control him) is one of them. To beeven more sure (and to play with Cas’ heart a little more), Metatron makesHannah meet Cas, and writes her as a false romantic lead (it’s no coincidence that Dean is immediately in competition with her). The story about love,heartbreak, and love is ready for show time.

My job is to set up interesting characters and see where they lead me. The by-product of having well-drawn characters is…They may surprise you. But I know something they don’t know…the ending. How I get there doesn’t matter as long as everybody plays their part. (Metatron, 9x18)

I’ve alwaysfound Metatron a compelling villain, because he knows his adversaries well, andknows their pressure points. His biggest flaw, though, is his hubris and senseof superiority, which leads him to underestimate Castiel (who ends outsmartinghim). He still manages to hit Cas hard when he kills Dean.

What makes a story work? Is it the plot, thecharacters, the text? The subtext? And who gives a story meaning? Is thewriter? Or you? (Metatron, 9x18)

This isCarver and Robbie Thompson winking at us. They also inform us that Metatron isprobably the most meta character the show has ever had, and that subtext (andfans’ interpretation) will be king.

Anyway, by manipulatingour heroes, Metatron sets up the events of 9x22 and 9x23 perfectly. Castiel hasan army, angels who seem very devoted, in a freaky kind of way, which reminds us (and Dean) of the whole civil war arc in s6, whichended with the betrayal, Godstiel and Cas’ death. No wonder Dabb used 6x20 to buildViolet and David’s romance’s backstory. Somehow, he was telling us to keep those eventsin mind. In 9x22 (another Dabb episode), Dean is clearly uncomfortable with thewhole “angel army” business, because it hits too close home. It digs painfulmemories.

DEAN: Cas, I know you try to be a good guy, okay? Ido. You try. But what you got here, this is a a freakin’ cult.

CASTIEL: Dean.

DEAN: And the last time you had this kind of juice,you did kill humans and angels, and you did nothing but lie to me and Sam aboutit the whole damn time!

There’sno way it could get any clearer than this. Metatron is aware of Dean and Cas’history. Above all, he knows Dean would be subconsciously uncomfortable if hewere forced to relive those memories, which is important, because Metatron hasforeseen what happens next. Dean asks Cas to stand back (when it comes to investigating what’s going on with Josiah missing – another event set up by Metatron), but Cas doesn’t. SoDean sends Sam with Cas, and stays with the angels. This is exactly whatMetatron wanted.

METATRON: Mm. [Josiah] was a loose end. I – I told him where the gate was…Before we moved it. I just wish Cas had walked into one of those traps. Anyway, point is –while everyone else is playing checkers, I’m playing monopoly, and I always build a hotel on Boardwalk. And I always win.

That’salso why Metatron has Gadreel recruit Tessa: she has history with Dean, so he totally expected Dean to be the one who finds her. He knew neither Sam or Cas would be there.

DEAN: Just you and me now. Let’s talk about us. Imean, we got history, yeah? (9x22)

So far,all that has happened was foreseen and planned by Metatron. Remember, eventsmay change, but he knows how the story ends. 

Here’s some points Metatron set up and/or foresaw (wow, casually these are also some of the beats of the episode)

-Dean has brought the First Blade with him, lying toSam. (this foreshadows he’s gonna use it)

- Dean doesn’t like the cult-like situation Casseemingly got himself into (this perception is strengthened by the angelic kamikazesMetatron has recruited), because it reminds him of all that happened by the endof s6, and it still hurts.

- Metatron sets up a trap for Cas with Josiah, a pretext to have himleave his headquarters and leave Dean alone with the angels.

-This brings Dean to instinctly have doubts about this wholething. His excessively protective and controlling behavior (enhanced by theMark) leads him to send Sam with Cas, because he senses Cas may be falling in a trap,while Sam is anyway safer with Cas than with a bunch of fishy angels.

- Of course, Dean and Hannah don’t really like eachother with //no apparent// reason. Once again, the reason is subtextual. They’reboth jealous and fighting for Cas’ attention. Dean has noticed how smitten she looks when she’s around Cas, also makes a remark about how “creepy” is her calling Cas “commander” (funny implication: Dean’s interpretation of the word is sexual)

-Metatron has also Tessa recruited. She has historywith Dean, so of course it would pick his interest once mentioned. Tessa endsup impaling herself on the First Blade, so that Dean looks the one who brokethe rules and killed her. (Which will lead to Hannah asking Cas to punish him)

-Cas comes back, and Metatron goes on with his plan. Hetalks to the Castiel’s army, lies to them, but also tells them some big truths.He undermines the angels’ trust in Castiel and gets away with lying, because healso says the truth. Cas is dying and he will put the Winchesters in front ofeverything.

-Hannah, who of course wants proof of Cas’ loyalty buthas also been jealous of Dean since the first moment she met him, asks Cas tochoose. Us or them. Subtextual implication: me or him.

- Castiel, of course, chooses Dean. Duh.

Metatronwas the one to set up this choice moment, because he knew the outcome. After all, it’s during the crisis that a character’s true motivation comes out. Hannah, feelingcheated on in more than one way, leaves. Suddenly, Cas has no army. Metatron has flippedthe script, and he used Castiel’s true weakness to do it. He’s in love… withhumanity. Except humanity can be narrowed to one human, like Metatron does in9x23, when he can’t help but boast about how he knew Castiel’s true motivations.And he does it so cruelly, almost mocking him, just to drop the bombimmediately after. I’ve always been one step ahead, and no matter how hard youtried to save Dean, I’ve killed him.

Metatron also used Dean’s feelings for Cas to manipulate both of them and push the story where he wanted. If Dean hadn’t felt so strongly about Cas, if he hadn’t still been hurting because of Cas’ betrayal, the plan wouldn’t have worked.

PS. While writing this I forgot that also killing Kevin was meant to strenghten Dean’s desire of revenge against Metatron.

DEAN: I’m blaming you [Metatron] for Kevin! I’m blaming you for taking Cas’ Grace. Hell, I’m blaming you for the Cubs not winning The World Series in the last 100 freaking years. Whatever it is… I’m blaming you.

We know how it ends. We don’t know yet how it ends for Dean and Cas. Guess we’ll see. 

[mittensmorgul]

i love your s12 spn meta post, i love how you've analysed things and looked through different angles, but i have to admit. sometimes i feel that us fans of the show think more complexly about the characters and scenes than the writers themselves. they've shown continuity errors and character development mistakes time and time again, and the queerbaiting is frustrating as fuck. it doesn't make sense to me that these people are the same ones orchestrating such fantastic plotlines.

(i ran out of space for that previous ask) but again, i sincerely mean no disrespect to you or to the creators of the show. it was just my two cents. i'm sorry if you find it offensive in any way, i definitely did not mean for it to come off as rude! :(

Hi... I didn’t take it as rude, so you’re fine. :P

(I probably wouldn’t have posted it on anon, though, just because I don’t see the show as being fully of continuity errors and character development mistakes, and “queerbaiting” is in the eye of the beholder and seems a harsh statement to level against a writing staff that is comprised of several LGBT writers. Especially when they have been addressing queer characters and issues in serious ways, and absolutely not making them the punchline of a joke or dismissing them. It’s a word I would not throw around so casually.)

***On second thought, after typing ALL of this out, I feel like having spent the whole morning on it, it should be on my blog... I hope that’s okay.

Half the point of my rewatch (which, oops, I’m behind on because TNT showed a ten episode marathon the morning after a new episode aired, and the new episode had to take priority over the old) is to point out how consistent ALL of these things are.

There’s a post I like very much that I just saw again yesterday:

People should probably learn the difference between “plot holes” and “things I didn’t like” or “things the franchise plans to explain in the future” or “things film makers didn’t think they needed to explicitly explain because they thought you had critical thinking skills”

I didn’t reblog it because it’s already somewhere on my blog from ages ago, but especially relevant to s12, because of the way they’re telling the story.

99% of the time what looks on the surface like a “plot hole” is actually an expansion of canon, and yelling PLOT HOLE! or RETCON! just because something seems different means there’s a reason for the difference now.

Like the fact we’ve seen several shapshifters who don’t shed their skin like puddles of goo and can just *poof* into a new form. We’ve had shifters like this since s6 when we learned about the alphas. Truly powerful shifters don’t need to shed to change form.

(on a practical level, it makes the prop department’s job easier because they don’t have to create goo puddles, but also they’re able to use a shifter’s ability to change instantly as a plot point, and have done so several times very effectively. Like in 12.20 when Ketch was torturing “Mary” and punched her, so the shifter took on HIS form. They couldn’t have done that if they hadn’t introduced this more powerful strain of shifter before.)

Technically, everything that’s happened since 4.01 would fit the strictest definition of plot hole, because it had already been established that angels did not exist. And yet... here were angels.

Cas said in the past that angels were now walking the earth for the first time in two thousand years, so the fact he’d been down here in a vessel in 1901 must be a plot hole too... unless you assume that Cas’s previous statement was both specific and hyperbolic (which really isn’t a stretch, angels have always avoided certain truths in order to manipulate us). Angels as a whole hadn’t embarked on a unified mission to earth in the last 2000 years, but we know that Lily’s first encounter with Ishim in 1901 was because SHE SUMMONED HIM. She performed a magical spell that BROUGHT AN ANGEL TO EARTH. And the events of their relationship unfolded to the point she felt compelled to summon yet another angel (Akobel) to protect her from Ishim. Well, suddenly there’s a whole flight of angels coming to kill her, you know? It’s not the sort of story that any of the angels involved would be cheerfully chirping on about.

Point being, if Lily Sunder was capable of summoning an angel, there’s probably been OTHER people over the course of human history who’d tried it too. All of heaven may not have descended like they did in s4, but here and there, angels very well may have been watching over us.

It’s not a plot hole, it’s an expansion of canon. It refines our understanding and reminds us that we don’t know everything about the entire history of that universe.

I think there’s two kinds of people: Those who see something they think is a “mistake” in canon and scream PLOT HOLE! and get upset about it and think the writers are idiots, and then there are those who see that same thing and wonder how does that fit with the information I already have and then try to understand.

Sometimes a plot hole is just a plot hole (like the time travel nonsense in 12.13 that turns into a strange loop of infinitely decreasing returns), but most of the time it’s really really not.

As for characterization “errors”, most of the time they are incredibly purposeful. Like the whole scene at the beginning of 12.15. People are STILL shouting, “Out of character! Dean hates germs! He would NEVER do that!” and therefore MISSED THE ENTIRE POINT OF THAT SCENE.

Which was SAM standing there staring at Dean THINKING THE EXACT SAME THING.

Dean was putting on the performance FOR SAM. He KNEW Sam was lying to him about where the cases were coming from, and Dean’s not a moron. They visit the MoL, and suddenly a few days later Sam’s got a “magic phone app” that finds cases for him? Yeah, Dean wasn’t about to let Sam keep lying to him, and yet Sam was STILL lying to him even after two weeks of hunting, so he kept upping the Disgusting Quota trying to get Sam to break and confess. Because if he just comes out and asks Sam directly, he continues to lie and give him weak excuses. There’s more to it than that, but that’s the basics right there...

The one characterization thing that actually bugs me was the scene in 9.04 where Sam and Dean are watching Game of Thrones with Charlie, and Jensen and Jared DECIDED TO SWAP LINES because they felt that Sam was the one who would read the books, and not Dean... (Robbie Thompson, who wrote the scene, is still grumpy about it, too). Because DEAN DOES READ. And in this scene HE was the one who was supposed to be mirrored to Charlie through their mutual love of this particular brand of nerdery. It sort of wrecks the entire characterization of the episode, in which Dean’s usual “performing Dean” persona was SUPPOSED to fall down in Charlie’s company, and he would casually and comfortably admit he enjoyed reading the epic fantasy series (which, really, we know Dean reads fantasy novels... he’s a huge effing nerd).

Why do you think in 11.04 (also by Robbie Thompson) he wrote the line about Dean knowing that the phrase “god helps those who helps themselves” was from Aesop and not the bible? Because Jensen COULDN’T JUST HAND THAT LINE TO JARED. He HAD to admit he read. Because Performing Dean is one thing, but when he’s not trying to project that facade, he’s brilliant.

So yeah, 99% of it is 100% intentional. It’s our job as viewers to think about why. You can absolutely watch the show as a passive casual viewer (and the most casual viewer wouldn’t even NOTICE the things that get called plot holes or characterization mistakes), or you can see those things that seem not to make sense on the surface and look for the reason they struck you as being slightly wrong. Because if you dig just a little bit deeper, it opens up an entire new level of understanding about the show.

The writing is NEVER going to hand you all of that deeper characterization on a plate. That would make for TERRIBLE writing. All they want is for the characters and the plots to stick with us, so that we DO turn these issues over in our heads, so we DO think critically about them, and hopefully come to some compelling and fascinating conclusions. Or at the very least we’re eager to tune in again the following week to see if our suspicions are confirmed.

This is a hook that writers have been using since writing was a thing. This is how stories are told. Not just in the words, but in the negative spaces. We’re not just supposed to consume stories, but in the very best way, the best stories also consume US. They make us into an active participant in the narrative, and force us to consider the world and characters on our screens as real people.

That’s how all of this works.

[charlie-minion]

Home, family & other herbs

Davy Perez is sort of filling the huge hole that Robbie Thompson left in my heart when he left. His last two episodes have been incredibly good, so I’ve decided to take advantage of the motivation that has apparently come back to me. As usual, most of the posts I write focus on the Dean/Cas relationship, so if that’s not your thing, you will probably not like this. There are five things about episode 12x15 that I want to point out as relevant to me in regards to Dean and Cas.

The first relevant thing was that Dean’s the one communicating with Cas. Dean was talking on the phone with Cas while Sam was doing the same with Mary. Of course, Sam had to become Mary’s direct line of communication, mostly after he agreed to work with the BMoL. And of course Dean was the one receiving updates of what Cas was doing –both at the beginning and at the end of the episode. It’s exactly what anyone would expect. I simply liked the visuals. For example, Dean’s and Sam’s conversations were simultaneous the first time we saw Dean on the phone with Cas.

The second time, it was obvious Dean was the one making the call even if he had Cas on speaker. 

I think these visuals reinforced the idea that when Cas isn’t at the Bunker, Dean keeps an interest in whatever he’s doing.

The second relevant thing was that Dean noticed something was off with Cas. Just as Dean was the one who noticed that something wasn’t alright with Mary in episode 12x13, this time he noticed that something felt off with Cas, too. As I mentioned above, Dean had Cas on speaker; that means both Dean and Sam heard what Cas was saying. However, Sam didn’t notice anything weird, whereas Dean did. The same happened last season when Lucifer was possessing Cas. Dean noticed that something was off, but Sam dismissed Dean’s suspicions. Dean is very perceptive with the people he loves.

 Another important thing regarding the Dean/Cas relationship had to do with Cas’ conversation with the other angel in this episode. The other angel asked Cas if he ever missed Heaven. He said that no matter how much he loved Earth, it wasn’t home. Cas made no comment about it. Don’t you think it’s interesting that an angel talked to Cas about home just three episodes after Dean Winchester offered Cas to go home?

(Source x) 

It’s even more interesting to think that both episodes were written by the same writer. Don’t you think it’s also very remarkable that this angel used the words “family” and “true family” to convince Cas to give himself a chance to be forgiven and welcomed in Heaven? It was Cas himself who called the Winchesters his family three episodes ago; it was Cas himself who confessed how much he loved them.

(Source x)

All of that happened in an episode written by Davy Perez, so I’m pretty sure what’s going on with Cas is on purpose, and I’m quite excited about it. I’ve spent more than 3 years waiting for the moment when Cas will choose the Winchesters (and by that, I mean Dean) not because he has to, not to save anyone’s life, but simply because he really wants to.  

The fourth relevant thing I need to mention is the fact that Dean thanked Crowley for saving Cas. Dean Winchester thanking the King of Hell himself for saving Cas was something I never expected to happen. I knew Dean was grateful; I just didn’t think he would bring himself to say it out loud. For some reason that reminded me of Benny. In season 8 we were shown that Dean learned to trust Benny because he saved Cas. Dean never said it textually, but the subtext was very clear. This time Dean used his own words to express his gratitude to Crowley for saving the life of someone that means a lot to him. That was better than I could have expected.

The last thing about the episode I want to point out is the foreshadowing we were given during the conversation between Sam and Gwen. I’m perfectly aware that the lying part Gwen mentioned was supposed to make Sam realize that lying to Dean was a bad idea, and that was why Sam told Dean the truth about working with the BMoL at the end. However, in this episode we had another person who decided to keep information from Dean: none other than Castiel. Cas didn’t tell Dean that he was going to Heaven to talk to Joshua, but Dean will find out sooner or later.

The thing is that the relationship between Marcus and Gwen doesn’t foreshadow anything good for Dean and Cas. Gwen is the one who survived, the one who felt that Marcus loved her more than she ever loved him. The one question she asked herself was: Why couldn’t I just tell him the truth? She lied even though she knew everything was over, but why was everything over? I suppose it was because of the long distance thing. What about Dean and Cas? Cas was tempted with the idea of going back to Heaven. He lied to Dean (or at least didn’t tell him something) probably to make things easier, just as Gwen. What can be more of a long distance situation than going to Heaven while the other person stays on Earth? Is it possible that season 12 will end with Cas going back to Heaven? (Of course, even if that were the case, I’m sure it wouldn’t be forever).

Some people might think that Gwen could be a Dean parallel. Truth be told, I thought about that possibility as well, but I discarded it because I don’t think lying to Cas is part of Dean’s arc. In this episode the one who had to leave was Gwen, so I see her as a Cas parallel because it’s more logical to expect Cas to leave. Nevertheless, I have to say that the “Why couldn’t I just tell him the truth?” could apply to both Dean and Cas. Dean hasn’t told Cas his feelings. What if Dean’s the one staying on Earth feeling that Cas loved him more than he ever did and feeling guilty for never telling him the truth about what Cas meant to him. This could be interpreted in both ways, and for some reason I consider the two options too painful to bear.

These are the things about the Dean/Cas relationship that caught my attention from episode 12x15. Dean is obviously the one communicating with Cas, the one noticing that something is going on with Cas, and the one being thankful for still having his angel alive. In addition, Cas’ arc about choosing to be an angel or human isn’t over yet. He still has to figure out what family he wants for himself and where exactly his home is. Finally, season 12 is foreshadowing more unrequited love between Dean and Cas (or at least that’s what they both think) and a huge chance that Cas ends up this season upstairs.  This episode has a lot of layers to discuss, so if I missed something, I hope someone else can write about it. All in all, I appreciate the effort Mr. Perez is making to keep his episodes consistent to the themes that are being developed. Now I’m looking forward to the rest of the season that will probably make me suffer too much.

[orionsangel86]

12x10 - “Pterodactyl Screeching into the void” - Part 1

My title is borrowed from @postmodernmulticoloredcloak comment on my crazy blogging after first watching this episode earlier. I feel like it is a fitting title for how this episode made me feel. To clarify, these are very very happy pterodactyls.

Steve Yokey wrote this episode and he appears to have well and truly taken up the gap left when Robbie Thompson sadly left the show. In fact this episode to me channels the ghost of Robbie in many different ways. From the fanfiction-esque moments of poor suffering third wheel Sam, to the meta nod to Charlie Bradbury, there is much of Robbie to be found here. Basically, it was bloody perfect.

I feel like there is so much to talk about in this episode that fandom will be chewing on it for months if not years to come. Yokey has picked up the characterisations brilliantly, and seems to have an understanding of what the fandom desperately craves in terms of Castiel, his character, his personality and his development. I adored his sass in this episode. Some other writers *cough*bucklemming*cough* struggle to really capture Castiel’s sass and humour. Showing their lack of understanding of Castiel’s persona and his intelligence and instead writing him in a way that is jarring and sometimes basically stupid. Castiel is far from stupid. In this episode he was written perfectly, in a way I haven’t seen since Edlund’s time. Is that a sweeping statement? Maybe. But I’m still riding my high so let me have it this time.

This episode gave us three of my favourite things. Badass and Sassy Castiel, Overprotective grumpy husband Dean, and poor long suffering brother Sam. (baring in mind this is how they are usually written in fanfiction nowadays this is exactly my jam and I am so so happy to see it play out on screen. Seriously who sold their soul to Crowley for this episode?)

This review will also be in two parts. Because I have so freaking much to say about it.

The first part will focus on destiel, the second on everything else including Castiel’s emotional arc (as separate from destiel), his relationships with angels, angels and gender and Lily Sunder’s character.

PART 1 - ALL THE DESTIEL

I’m still struggling to contain my excitement over this. The episode begins with Dean feeling very pissy about what happened at the end of the last episode. Castiel killed Billy to save the Winchesters regardless of the “cosmic consequences”. Castiel stands his ground that he doesn’t regret his decision. Dean is acting like a sulking child over the whole thing. Sam is cool with it. Because Sam is cool. He is also extremely fed up with being caught in the middle of a lovers spat.

And that’s just it isn’t it? How else can you possibly read it? This is a lovers spat. I have read this in fan fiction enough times to know exactly how this story goes. Funnily enough, the episode also goes the exact way of fanfiction (except for the explicit bits of course) and that makes me love it even more..

We start with Dean grumbling about Cas’s inability to track down Kelly Kline. It’s left to Sam to bring up Cas and whether or not they have spoken yet:

(gif source courtesy of @subcas)

We are 5 minutes into the episode, Sam is already so done, and I am having flashbacks to a fanfic I read recently… In fact I am pretty sure it was this one. 

No seriously read this extract pulled from this fanfic:

“Sam is witness to a lot of arguing, followed by one or both of them storming off in a huff. Long periods of excruciating silence stretch out between each altercation.  Sam never makes any move to intervene or get them to patch things up – Dean’s trying to figure out how to feel about that – but he always watches with careful concern and a raised eyebrow. Dean makes absolutely no effort to engage his brother on the topic, so he can only guess at what Sam makes of all this.

He tries to imagine what it must look like from Sam’s point of view – Dean getting irritated over nothing, sniping at Cas, fleeing without apologizing. Maybe Sam just thinks it’s all those perfectly reasonable aggravations, Cas being all up in his space and not backing off, Cas forgetting to refill the ice cube tray for the fifth time.

Then again, it’s Sam. It’s not like Dean doesn’t like Cas, or would get on his case so much even if he did, after all Cas has done for his sorry ass – even Dean’s not that much of a jerk. Sam must know that. He must know there’s something else going on. He probably understands exactly what Dean’s doing, maybe even better than Dean does himself.”

I mean COME ON. (also that is a awesome fic if you haven’t read it already… it gets pretty steamy further in the series. Cas is such a dom. Lmao.)

If we consider this entire conversation between Sam and Dean we immediately see a massive difference between their reactions to the Billy situation. Sam sees things objectively. He sees what Cas did, he knows that there could be bad consequences, but he understands that Cas did it for them, because he cared. He also respects Cas’s choice here and sticks up for him. Because Sam is not being unreasonable about his friends decision. Sam acts like a supportive friend. He gets it, it is his brother he is more fed up with.

Dean on the other hand is acting totally unreasonable. I haven’t even gotten to the conversation in the car when things start to get interesting because so far Dean is just being a jerk. Sam’s expressions tell us this straight away, before Cas even enters the scene. Why on earth would Dean act this way over a friend? He wouldn’t. It makes no sense. Just like in the fanfic I have quoted above. Something else is going on here, Dean is acting out for a completely other reason than what is apparent on first glance.

Once Cas does show up and things only get more awkward we get a brilliant moment which you can see giffed in its entirety here by @constiellation in which Sam is his poor awkward self stuck in the middle of a lovers spat that has been going on for the past week apparently. The way this moment calls back to 8x22 is completely thanks to the director Thomas J Wright knowing exactly what he is trying to show us in both episodes that poor Sam has been stuck in the middle of this domestic for years. (I should say a big thanks to @godshipsit for sending me the links to these posts since up until this point I have not been on my dash at all and therefore haven’t been gif hunting myself.)

The car scene drives home Sam’s terrible situation even further as he can’t even escape the immense *sexual* tension by moving to a different room.

LOOK AT THIS POOR BASTARD!!

Whilst I am sure that the intense tension and poor Sammy’s discomfort has been a major focal point here, the bit that I found most interesting was this exchange about Benjamin:

“Benjamin wouldn’t call for help lightly, he wouldn’t put himself in harm’s way if he could help it.”

“Wow this Benjamin seems like he is pretty cool, like he wouldn’t make any half-cocked knee jerked choices.”

What sets Dean off here is that Castiel’s description of Benjamin talks about Benjamin not putting himself in danger. That is why Dean thinks Benjamin is a cool guy. This is what Dean is digging at. This is our first clue into Dean’s real feelings about the Billy situation. He is pissed that Cas has potentially put himself in danger.

Cas’s response only pisses Dean off more:

“Yeah you know what I like about him, he’s sarcastic but he’s thoughtful and appreciative too.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Enough that Dean almost crashes the Impala. This is practically unheard of. Cas and Dean are not on the same page at the moment. Cas thinks Dean is just being a jerk and unappreciative of his efforts, and Dean thinks that Cas is being too careless with his own life (which you can damn well talk Dean, making death deals last episode)

Then this scene gets even juicer as we get this story about Benjamin and his vessel. This is our first of three Angel/Human love stories in this episode (not including the forth and most important love story between Dean and Castiel of course).

Everything about the way Castiel describes Benjamin’s relationship with his vessel implies a romantic connection (“gave him everything, her trust, her body… its more than that, she’s not just his vessel she’s his…” “friend”.) It of course, is never explicitly said (and that is important) but I bet that the general audience picked up on THAT bit of subtext just from the way Sam said the word “friend” and isn’t that so interesting? How often has the word “friend” been used throughout the series to describe Dean and Castiel? Yet here it is being used specifically in a subtextual way to describe something completely non platonic.

Moving on to our next bit of destiel deliciousness is another moment of brotherly teasing.

The boys arrive at the diner to meet Ishim and Mirabel. Castiel’s sass is on point today with his “If I plan to do anything else stupid, I’ll let you know.”

Can I please take a moment to appreciate Sam’s face here: 

(Gif source thanks to @godshipsit - you are a blessing Alex)

On top of that expression of absolute GOLD is this moment:

“and you’re gonna storm in riiiiiighht…. Now.” And omg Sam totally has no more fucks to give with his brothers bullshit. He can see right through Dean’s drama to how he truly feels. Dean may act pissy with Cas but the moment Cas may be in danger Dean is all like “oh HELL NO.” Five minutes. He lasted five minutes. I love overprotective embarrassing husband Dean it is MY JAM.

 “These are my friends, my friends who don’t listen well”

*cue Dean practically sitting in Cas’s lap*

This is the best moment in the history of the show. Three grown ass huge men squeezing into a tiny diner seat. I LOVE IT. 

Ishim is such a tool, the way he speaks to Cas is awful but what is so so great is how Dean and also Sam stick up for him here. We so often seem to get Sam and Dean digging on Cas, talking him down and treating him like shit. The Winchesters are world weary and grumpy men and Cas often gets caught up in this. What we are shown here is just how defensive they get when other people try to do it. Because where the Winchester’s digging comes from a place of love, these angels nasty comments come from a place of hate. The Winchester’s won’t have it. 

Also SO MANY jokes to be had over the subtext of “no one talks to my husband like that BUT ME bitch” Oh DEAN.

Moving on to this beautiful flashback moment and our even more beautiful fem!castiel who wow what a good casting. But more on that in part 2. What I wanna talk about here is this moment:

(gif source once again thanks to @godshipsit)

We have our second angel/human love story of the episode between Lily and Akabel, or at least what we are led to believe is an angel/human love story that resulted in the birth of a Nephilim. The truth being that Akabel has pledged himself to protect Lily from Ishim at all costs. By the end of the episode, we are actually given the impression that their love was platonic rather than romantic or sexual. Akabel’s confusion when Castiel reads out the accusations is evident of that, as is Lily’s reaction to Dean and Sam’s attempts at reasoning with her later on.

However going back to the above gifset, Akabel argues to Ishim and the angel group that “How could anyone know [humans] and not love them?” at which point the camera cuts to Castiel. This my friends, is a nifty piece of editing which Supernatural has used on many occasions to add to the growing mountain of destiel subtext. Why cut to Castiel at this point? Because Castiel is going to experience this himself later in his lifetime. (by knowing and subsequently falling in love with Dean Winchester of course).

The third angel/human love story is next and it is a worst case scenario, dark and twisted tragedy and a massive subversion of the Dean/Cas story. It explores how an angel fell ‘in love’ with a human, but that human didn’t return his affections and therefore the angel became cold and murderous and obsessed. Ishim is a horribly twisted and dark Cas mirror highlighting what Castiel’s actual weakness is. Because Castiel nowadays cares more for the Winchesters than the world itself. “cosmic consequences” mean nothing when the Winchesters (and more specifically Dean) are in danger. The difference between Castiel and Ishim is that Ishim takes his anger out directly on the woman he loves, whereas Cas would never harm Dean. He instead makes decisions which have put the world in danger. 

I mentioned this previously, but the dark foreshadowing here is rather horrible. We have a terrified Lily left powerless whilst Ishim makes her watch as he kills her child. Claiming that she “broke his heart” so he will “break hers”. This is extreme. Where Lily is our Dean mirror and Ishim is Cas, who is Lily’s daughter? Sam. We have already seen this situation play out with our boys previously. Castiel, hurt and betrayed that Dean wouldn’t stand by his side to open purgatory and stop Raphael, breaks Sam’s wall and leaves him comatose. Its not the first time that Sam has been the one to get hurt in a fight between Dean and Cas. In an episode where he has constantly been trying to play peacemaker between them, could it be that Sam gets caught in a much bigger situation that started between Dean and Castiel? That perhaps the “cosmic consequences” Billy spoke of somehow end up hurting Sam? How could such a situation harm Dean and Cas’s relationship? Leaving Cas cold and hating human’s and Dean on a revenge mission to rival Gerard Butler’s in Law Abiding Citizen? Hopefully not. But with the emphasis at the start of this episode on the lovers spat and Cas not thinking before he acts, rather acting on his emotional need to keep Dean safe, and Dean’s anger possibly also being about Cas’s supposed obsession with him putting Dean first before the world… well, its not looking good for our boys basically. But then again I did say this was worst case scenario. 

The next moment that made my heart leap thanks to the destiel of it all:

(gif source thanks to @some-people-call-it-tragic )

This was preceded by a phone call that Dean made to Cas that only rang twice before his over protective nature kicked in and he ran back to the ‘safe house’ to go save his husband from Ishim. Leaving Sam to talk to Lily (its always Dean who goes back for Cas. Remember that.) After all the bitterness from the start of the episode, it is clear by this point that none of that matters if either of them are in danger.

“Who are you gonna believe? Your brother? Or some filthy ape?”  Ishim tries to make Cas choose him over Dean. Which is of course hilarious to anyone that has watched even just one Cas episode of the show.

“Always talking down at you, always mocking you”.

Whats great about this is how this is being said in front of Dean because Dean is getting called out here. Ishim has been nasty and rude to Cas all episode, IN FRONT OF DEAN. Through Ishim, Dean is able to see just what a jerk he has actually been. Its giving Dean the chance to think about his actions, because there is no way Dean will want to be put in the same boat as this asshole.

“Ya know Cas and I might not agree all the time, but at least he knows who his real friends are”

Look at these two badass hunting husbands forming a united front against the bad guy. Also “Friends” just like the “friends” of Benjamin and his vessel right?

Of course everything goes super bad after this and poor Cas gets beaten to shit by this absolute dick of an angel IN FRONT OF DEAN. All this crap that Ishim is coming out with is being said IN FRONT OF DEAN. Do you know why I love this so much? Because we have had crappy villains like Ishim saying this kind of shit to Cas since SEASON 9 and sometimes even earlier. Castiel has always just taken it, never said “no. You are wrong about me” and in the later seasons he has started to believe their words, adding to his depression and PTSD. He has been called weak and pathetic and expendable and a tool and every time he has been alone. We have never had Dean be there by his side to hear these words to argue against them. But that is EXACTLY what we get this episode. And it is ABOUT BLOODY TIME.

And then we get probably the most obvious moment for Destiel from the whole episode. To the point that if the general audience don’t see it now they are a bloody lost cause:

(gif source @godshipsit AGAIN because I am Alex’s biggest fan)

SERIOUSLY THOUGH. Let;s do a nice simple logic puzzle with what we know is canon:

Metatron says Castiel’s “true weakness is revealed”

Metatron says that that his weakness is “He is in love… with humanity”.

Metatron says “You draped yourself in the flag of heaven, but it was all about saving one man”

Ishim draped himself in the flag of heaven, but it was actually all about getting revenge on one woman.

Ishim said that he was “in love” with that woman.

Ishim called that woman his “human weakness”.

Ishim says that Cas also has a “human weakness”

Ishim threatens to cut out Castiel’s “human weakness”

Ishim goes to stab Dean.

Therefore can we please, finally accept that it is CANON that Dean=humanity. That Castiel is IN LOVE WITH humanity and that therefore

Castiel is in love with Dean Winchester.

Now that we have accepted that this is canon. Lets move on to the very next scene. This:

(gif source thanks to @codestielckles)

Now its Dean’s turn to get a choice. Blast away both angels, and Castiel will potentially die, or die himself. Of course Dean won’t do it. Dean would rather die fighting for Cas than risk Cas’s life. Ishim of course knows this to be true. “yeah, that’s what I thought” he says.

Also such an interesting shot of Cas looking at Dean in that moment because HOW MUCH does it remind you of that horrible moment from 10x22? What’s the betting that was also done intentionally? 10x22 was also directed by Thomas J Wright. This guy knows his stuff.

Thankfully Lily and Sam come in to save Dean from Ishim who really was just on a mission to kill Dean at this point probably because of his massive jealousy that Cas gets a human lover and he doesn’t.

Finally, probably the end scene we have been waiting for the past YEAR. The Winchesters actually TALKING to Cas and telling him what he NEEDS TO HEAR! I am all over this scene man I’m telling you I have been waiting for this I have been hoping and praying to Chuck for this! Dammit I am so happy about this!

“You’re not weak Cas you know that right?”

“Obviously you’ve changed, but its all been for the better.”

“And you’ve been with us every step of this long crazy thrill ride… and no matter how crazy it got, you never backed down”

“That takes real strength”

THANK YOU SAM AND DEAN AND THANK YOU STEVE YOKEY

*sips Cas hater tears*

And THEN we get this beauty which sums up Dean’s attitude all episode. It kinda actually sums up Dean’s attitude throughout the whole fucking show:

(Gif source thanks to @godshipsit again)

“I’m not mad, I’m worried.”

Exactly. Like how right at the beginning he picked on Cas after Cas mentioned Benjamin wouldn’t put himself in danger. Dean is worried about Cas. Dean is worried about his idiotic husband who cares more about saving him than he does himself and the world. Cas is blinded by his love for Dean. It is a problem and Dean ain’t happy about it. But it is all rooted in love.

And that’s it and I am exhausted!

I haven’t written so much meta on Destiel for one episode like EVER in my time in fandom. I doubt we have had an episode with THIS MUCH destiel in it since Goodbye Stranger. I can’t actually contain myself. Anyway, in summary. Destiel is canon. Destiel Exists. (Poor Jensen he must be so confused that season 12 skipped straight from episode 9 to episode 11) We have textual confirmation now (via a little bit of well applied but completely solid logic) that Castiel is in love with Dean and that Dean is an overprotective emotional mess when it comes to Cas being in danger (not that we didn’t know that already thanks to 11x18 among every other Cas-in-danger episode so far) This is undeniable.

Like I said in this episodes title. I am still pterodactyl screeching into the void about it. I don’t think I’ll stop going on about it for a long time yet.

I have more to say about this episode that is not specifically related to destiel coming up in part 2. Watch this space!

[movietvtechgeeks]

Latest story from https://movietvtechgeeks.com/shoshannah-stern-brings-kickass-hunter-eileen-back-supernatural/

Shoshannah Stern Brings Kickass Hunter Eileen Back to Supernatural

I’m not alone in loving the return of Eileen Leahy on Supernatural a few weeks ago, so I couldn’t wait to interview Shoshannah Stern again. She’s crazy busy right now (with all good exciting things) but still took the time to answer my questions – which just proves all over again how awesome she is. In her most recent Supernatural episode, the character of Eileen gets to flirt with Sam Winchester, prove what a badass hunter she is by singlehandedly taking out a demon, fire the Colt, and accidentally kill a particularly annoying British Man of Letters, for which she needs a Sam hug. As you do. Lynn: Eileen was a fan favorite by the time that first episode in Season 11 (Into the Mystic) was over, and fans—me included--were so excited to have her back. What is it about the character that you think has clicked so much with fans?  Shoshannah: I know that for me, when I got the first draft of the script for Into the Mystic, Eileen leaped off the page and into my heart. There were just so many dimensions to her. I love that both of her episodes so far haven’t really been about her taking down monsters, but the different sorts of emotional baggage that’s left behind in their wake. There’s a side to her that’s hard, and I think that’s the side you see first, but then there’s another that’s vulnerable, and it’s kind of surprising. I also love that she can take some things seriously and take the piss out of others. And yeah, she’s deaf and shoots a Colt. None of these things are exclusive. Lynn: I'm a huge fan of Robbie Thompson, who created the character of Eileen. In fact, everyone knows I'm still massively grieving his departure from Supernatural. He wrote some of the most iconic, memorable, fully realized female characters the show has had. What was the impact of his initial characterization of Eileen? Shoshannah: Oh, so am I. I think that impact is still being felt. I’ve been lucky enough to have had several truly spectacular conversations with him that I sometimes replay parts of in my mind. One reason for that is that I think he may understand the importance of representation better than maybe anyone else I’ve ever encountered in my professional life. Another is that when you come on a show as guest star, it can sometimes feel as if they were born when they met the main characters and once they’ve served their purpose, they cease to exist. But Eileen felt so fully formed that it was easy to understand where she’d been and where she was going. He breathed life into her, and her being deaf was just one small part of that life. Lynn: That’s a great way to put it – I feel like Robbie breathed life into all the characters he created for Supernatural. Where are my tissues? (composes self…) So, I've spent the last decade studying fandom, and one of the things that is unique and valuable about the fan community and the people drawn to that community is the sense of being different in some way and thus respecting difference across the board. How do you think that intersects with your own views on the importance of representation, and how does it impact fan reception to Eileen?  Shoshannah: I’m sure most people are fascinated when they encounter people signing in the wild, but what they don’t realize is that, at least for me, I’ve always felt pretty much the same way about people who speak. That might be what attracted me to film and television in the first place. I loved that I could see people having all these passionate, intense, funny and crazy encounters, but unlike real life, they were accessible to me because on my television, they were captioned. I think it’s part of human nature to be curious about other people and their lives. We’re all so different and yet so similar. But for anything on television or in film to be successful, it has to feel authentic. Like, if someone seems like they’re acting, then they’re really bad at it. I think the same thing applies with representation. If it looks like you’re trying to represent something, you’re probably not. It’s so easy for me to tell when actors who aren’t deaf are playing characters that are because I can see in their faces that they’re thinking about how being deaf would affect everything they do. In reality, you don’t think about it. You just live it. Representation just is, and I think that’s why people respond when it’s authentic. Lynn: That makes so much sense. And the actors on this show, you included, make it authentic. Fans definitely love how badass Eileen is too, and she got to show that off in this episode -- I particularly loved your delivery of "Demon" in response to the demon's "Hunter." How do you decide on the inflection to use in dialogue like that, when so much rests on the way the line is delivered? Shoshannah: I really don’t think about stuff like inflection, just because stuff like that just isn’t in my vocabulary. Hearing and speaking aren’t things that come naturally for me. I’ve spent years and years sitting in speech therapy and audiologists’ offices learning how to do these things and mostly wishing I could be outside playing soccer. And I’m still not that great at it. Inflection is a very fine tuned and precise thing. You have to be able to pick out specific intonations and syllables, and I just don’t have that facility. When I take on a role where I’m voicing for myself, I deliver the line the way it makes me feel. And if that doesn’t land, the director tells me to do it again. And sometimes again and again. But that didn’t happen in that particular case. Lynn: That line totally worked, everything about it. One of the things I love about Supernatural is that the cast and crew and writers -- everyone -- really cares about the show and works hard to 'get it right.' I noticed that every time Sam or Dean was having a conversation with Eileen, they made sure that she could see them speaking. I remember you told me last time that part of your characterization of Eileen was that she was very good at reading lips. Is that attention to detail something you discussed, or just Supernatural and its cast being good at what they do? Shoshannah: I always make sure I bring stuff like that up in my initial conversation with the director, so we won’t run into a problem if they have this big fancy idea for a shot later on. But it happened to come up with Jared because I’ve never had a problem reading his lips in any of the conversations we’ve had. But anytime we happened to improvise on camera; I would have absolutely no idea what he was saying. I mentioned that to him when we did Into the Mystic, and he said oh okay, so Sam is an asshole. I said, like, well, that’s better than the other way around. And then when I came back to the show, one of the first things he said to me was, you know what, I watched myself on the show after you said that and you’re right, I didn’t even know I speak differently when I’m playing Sam, but I guess I do. Lynn: That’s true, he does – Jensen and Misha do too when playing their characters. Shoshannah: Most people don’t ever stop and think about that stuff because they don’t have to. I thought that was pretty cool. Lynn: I guess that is the Supernatural cast being good at what they do – and caring about what they do and who they do it with. That’s a great story. I also really loved that Sam was given the opportunity to sign something again and this time to get it right—at least I think he got it right. I also loved that he got to sign 'mistake,' which seemed to refer back to Sam's difficulty signing in the first episode you did. Was all this scripted, or was any of it added to or embellished by you or the boys? Shoshannah: This time around it wasn’t scripted. We shot that fun scene in the war room right before that other heavier scene, and we were all playing around with some signs I had taught them. Both of them were actually pretty good at it. And our director John Showalter is just the sweetest, most collaborative person. He was pretty much like if you see anything in the script you feel should be signed, then just go ahead and do it. So I was just like hey Jared, listen. You need to sign this one thing. He didn’t really have a choice. But he was like, please please just tell me that what I’m doing here really means what you say it does. He was petrified that I might be pranking him. I was like dude, ask my interpreter! And she came around from behind the camera, and he wouldn’t really let me look when he showed her in case there was this big conspiracy. He was like, does this really mean mistake? And she was like yes. Even then I don’t think he was completely convinced. Lynn: (laughing) That’s the price of playing pranks a lot, I guess. You live tweeted the episode when it aired, which is always awesome -- care to share any of the (not G rated) things the boys learned to sign? Shoshannah: On my god, no! I can’t. I’d be embarrassed to say. Not only because they were really random and bizarre things but also because it was wholly and completely me who instigated all this. But it’s also their fault because they bring out some kind of inner frat boy I didn’t know I had. Lynn: I feel like they bring that out in a lot of people. There is undeniable chemistry between Sam and Eileen - it was obvious even in the flirty way Eileen says "bye Sam." Was that scripted—like, Eileen says in a flirty manner--or was that your take on how Eileen would probably have said it? Shoshannah: All that was scripted. It was on the page. I was so bad at it. I was asking John [the director] if I could be funny with it, and he was like, no, listen, Shoshannah, you need to try to be sexy. And I was like right, the key word here is: try. Lynn: I think that’s part of Eileen’s charm, so you weren’t bad at it at all! I loved that little moment. And while I actually hope that the show never tries to add an actual romantic relationship to Sam or Dean's lives--because I just don't think it's that show or that it makes sense for the way the Winchesters live--I do really hope that Eileen survives and returns. And I wouldn't mind more of that flirting. Do you think the character's chances are good considering what an experienced hunter she is, or is the British Men of Letters' death sentence likely to do her in? Shoshannah: I agree. It’s a show about a world that has a lot of darkness in it. I think that’s why it’s cool to see the lighter side of these characters, particularly two hunters, like Sam and Eileen, whose job is to go up against that darkness everyday. But the difference between that world and ours is that we can’t always fight the kind of darkness we have in ours. But in their world, that danger is always real. It’s not imaginary. While I think Eileen is probably one of the more capable and skilled hunters out there, I don’t know how you could not worry about anyone who exists in that world. But the cool part is that in their world, there are no rules. Anything could happen. Lynn: So true, you never really know with Supernatural. I enjoyed that in this episode, Eileen got to interact with both brothers. I got the feeling that she now feels close to both Sam and Dean. What has been the impact of getting to know them and seeing their closeness on Eileen, who has always had to go it alone? [caption id="attachment_45202" align="aligncenter" width="598"] Photo: Twitter[/caption] Shoshannah:  I think you’re right about that. I know that a part of her initial and immediate connection with Sam in Into the Mystic was that she was questioning the hunter life. And then she quickly realized that for better or worse, it’s not the kind of life that’s easily left behind. I’ve said before that at first I didn’t feel like Eileen being a love interest for Sam made sense in that kind of world. But then again, friendship is absolutely one kind of love. How do you define what a love interest is? Having a one night stand with someone isn’t necessarily going to change your life, but having a real connection with someone who shares your experience can. Leading a solitary life is lonely, even if it’s by choice. I’m happy Eileen has the Winchesters there with her in that life now, and that it’s pretty clear they have been since Into the Mystic. Lynn: I agree with that totally. I’m gonna cross my fingers for that. You also got to spend some time being hugged by Jared--and from your tweets, apparently being hugged by Jensen too. In your opinion, how would you rate them as huggers? Personally, I think they're pretty good - except when they don't know their own strength! Shoshannah: I mean, they’re okay. I wasn’t mad at it…. Lynn: That’s very nice of you. (ahem). So, the SPNFamily is known for their support of causes which resonate. Can you say a little about the Eileen Leahy scholarship (to help a Supernatural fan attend Gallaudet University, Shoshannah’s alma mater) through the #SPNSignLanguage tee shirt campaign? Shoshannah: It’s more of an attempt at a cause than anything else right now. A scholarship is a pretty big goal to have, but I mean, why not try? Like I’ve said before, I was dumbfounded at just how many people reached out to me and said they saw a part of themselves in Eileen. A lot of people don’t realize that 9 out of 10 deaf people are born to hearing families. And so, like Eileen, they don’t always necessarily know that there are other people out there that share their experience. It isn’t always easy to find deaf communities around you. You have to really seek them out. Sometimes that means leaving home, and not everyone has the resources to do that. So after I saw how many members of the SPNFamily reached out to me with questions about how to embrace that specific part of themselves, I just wanted to try to see if I could help do that for one of them. I hope that I can. Lynn: I hope so too. And I'm hoping the big news you mentioned to me is about your new project, The Chances?? I wrote about Fridays, as it was called at the time, quite excitedly in our first interview, so I was thrilled to hear the updates. If there's anything you can share, please do! Shoshannah: I feel like creative things tend to happen in clumps, and so all the stuff that I’ve had happen with The Chances has been weirdly integrated with the stuff I’ve had happen with Supernatural. I feel like they have both fed off the other in some way. I wrote the first episode of The Chances in my trailer when I was shooting Into the Mystic, and I did The British Invasion almost right after it premiered at Sundance. I feel like playing Eileen had a lot to do with that. I kind of had to tap into a side of me that I didn’t really know I had, and because of that, I feel like I need to thank Supernatural and the SPNFamily for helping me make The Chances. I can’t wait to share it with you as soon as I’m able! It’s all very exciting and very cool. Lynn: Something to look forward to. I had also invited Shoshannah and some other SPN actors to the book release party for my new book, Family Don’t End With Blood: Cast and Fans on How Supernatural Has Changed Lives. If any SPNFamily would like to join us, info and tickets are at familydontendwithblood.com. Lynn: And I’m hoping you’ll still be able to come to the book release party for Family Don’t End With Blood on May 10 in LA too. Fingers crossed! Shoshannah: Oh I do too! Keeping my fingers crossed for the return of Eileen to the show too. Who’s with me? More information on The Eileen Leahy Scholarship: http://www.shoshannah-stern.com/blog/?page_id=457 More information about The Chances: http://series.superdeluxe.com/thechances/

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The trouble with twelfth season?

Under a cut for length and because it gets critical. I’m not hating this season by any means...but I haven’t been loving it, either, and the reason why might be a fundamental shift in the show’s format. To wit -- Sam & Dean are basically being used as supporting characters.

I was one of the many fans who were really excited when Andrew Dabb was handed the showrunning reins. While he’s not my favorite writer on the show (Robbie Thompson vs Ben Edlund in a steel cage match, to the last feel?) he’s been consistently one of the best, with a lot of episodes I’ve loved and a strong sense of the characters that I really enjoy. His characterizations have always been somewhat counter to standard expectations -- from his very first ep with Daniel Loflin, “Yellow Fever,” he likes Sam being a badass and Dean being vulnerable. Which is the polar opposite of the most basic reading, and very much how I see them myself.

Actually, my one fear of Dabb taking over was that he’s take this too far and Dean wouldn’t get to kick ass anymore. Which hasn't been the case at all; instead it's an issue I didn't see coming.

For the entire run of the show, Sam and Dean have always been at center, both in terms of the story and the emotional involvement. This has its strengths and weaknesses -- the show struggles to do truly epic plots, because those require the audience to care about the fate of the world, while in SPN, whatever is happening to the universe, we tend to be more concerned about whether the Winchesters (and friends) make it out of it, because that's where our major emotional investment is. Likewise if you stop caring about Sam and Dean and their relationship, the whole show falls apart, because they, their emotional states and their interactions, are the keystone.

Every showrunner has been aware of this, but all of them handled it differently. Kripke liked to explore slowly building scenarios, in which the audience was kept in the dark as much or more than the boys themselves, being shown graphic evidence of their emotional turmoil but not understanding its source, until the dramatic reveal. From Sam not confessing the source of his nightmares in season 1, to Dean struggling with John's last order, to the demon blood and Dean's memories of hell, to them both being the chosen vessels -- the stories changed but kept you interested, because you wanted to know what was going on with the Winchesters.

Gamble kept up some of this, such as playing out soulless Sam as long as it did. This era also added in an element of dealing with more real-life issues, especially with Dean, between the Lisa story arc of season 6 and his alcoholism in season 7. But the story struggled with resolution, dropping the plot threads and then drop-kicking them far away (especially in season 7), so there wasn't as much of the eventual reveals and emotional catharsis as we'd come to expect from Kripke's run. Season 7 also has a plot that's about as far removed from the Winchesters as it gets; they have less personal stake with the Leviathans than any other big bad, as they aren't responsible for releasing them (and Cas is MIA for most of it) and don't have any special reason to be the only ones who can fight them (why they don't spend the season building a hunter army is anyone's guess.)

Then Carver went in the opposite direction -- his plots are entirely centered on testing the Winchesters and their bond. He was all about the catharsis, but less willing to do the work to build to it; instead he set them at odds from the start. Unlike Kripke, who liked to play out the 'what is really going on in their heads?', with eventual (and generally satisfying) reveals, in Carver's high-conflict era it's either clear to the audience what's up with the boys (if not to the characters themselves, who got significantly worse at communication to keep the contentious tension going as long as possible, such as with Gadreel) or else the emotional ramifications are implied but never fully explored (whether it's hashing out why Sam didn't look for Dean in Purgatory, or how Dean feels once off the Mark). In some ways this is delicious for fans, because there is so much fertile room for speculation; but it's also frustrating because it leaves space for polarized views of the characters that canon doesn't deny, even it doesn't support.

At the end of season 11, it looked like Dabb might be able to strike a balance -- while Carver was all about the interpersonal conflict (for the emotional catharsis of getting over it), Dabb seemed more interested in having the boys get along, working as partners, communicating better. Not caring about each other less, but more healthily; not demanding as dramatic tests of their relationship, but showing them working together to save the world.

Which has kept up -- and this is great for people in reality; but less great for TV show characters. We're watching for drama, and the reason why romances and all other kinds of relationships on TV tend to be so fraught is because it makes things more interesting. It's partly show vs tell -- characters who honestly say how they feel about each other can be sweet, but it doesn't pull you in as much as those who can't bring themselves to say it, but prove it in huge dramatic actions (like selling their soul, or starting an apocalypse...)

But I think this could work, due to SPN's nature -- season 11 was so satisfying because after so long of the boys so often at odds, it was great to see them finally getting along. And that still holds true -- it is a lot of fun to see them working so smoothly and effectively together, and after this many years establishing their characters, there's a lot between them that can simply be taken as a given. In 12x09 we don't need to see both Sam & Dean volunteer themselves, because we know for sure that they would, that they would never accept their brother dying for their freedom, but both would be willing to sacrifice themselves to get their brother out.

The problem the show is having now, though, is that in cutting out the conflict between the brothers, it also seems to have cut out the main part of their other emotions -- and largely cut them out of the story as well.

In the first ten eps of season 12, there are only two episodes (12x04 and 12x05) that Sam & Dean are actually proactive with the plot -- in both cases, by finding a hunt and going on it. Every other episode they are either reacting to what's happening to them, or they are pulled into a situation by another character (the BriMoL, Mary, Cas, Jody.) Even in those two eps (also the only two eps that have no other recurring characters besides Sam & Dean), a large part of both the plot and the emotional weight of the story is on the person they're helping (Magda and Ellie). Likewise in the other eps, it's often other characters who are getting the emotional storylines, especially Cas and Mary, while Sam & Dean are acting more as observers and assistants. They get stuff done, but they're not the ones making the sacrifices or other dramatic choices to do it.

Relatedly, this might be the longest period the show has ever gone that neither Sam nor Dean are being directly affected by something supernatural. (The only other time is possibly the first half of season 8, before the Trials, and that's arguable because Dean's having Purgatory flashbacks for much of it.) Usually, as well as hunting being their job, they are personally involved, with the supernatural and usually with the arc, whether it's having psychic visions or bearing the Mark of Cain.  Without that connection, they're acting more as bystanders than we're used to.

But it's more than that. Even if they aren't supernaturally compromised, it's not like the show is lacking in opportunity for personal drama now. While Sam & Dean are not at odds with each other, there is a ton going on that should impact them emotionally, both individually and together. Mary coming back, the BriMoL, Lucifer -- unlike season 7, these are all stories they should be intimately involved with. But the only one of these threads that's really been emotionally explored at all is Mary, and even that's been restricted to the single question of whether she’ll go or will hunt with them. The brothers haven't had a single conversation about what it means to them that their mother is alive again -- or how Mary feels about them; putting aside that they're hunters, does she know how many times they've saved the world, or nearly ended it? Does she know that they've both died and come back themselves? It hasn’t come up, nor have the boys shown much motivation in helping Mary find whatever it is she’s seeking on the road.

With Lucifer, Sam & Dean have seemingly been content to let Cas take point; they offer help when needed, but haven’t been doing the research themselves. And the BriMoL who tortured them and are invading their territory, are getting treated like an entirely logistical issue; the boys aren’t acting like they have any personal stake in the matter, though they've been proud to be legacies for years. Even when Sam started to call in the BriMoL in 12x08, we saw it happen, but with no exploration of Sam's feelings to explain why he thought it was a necessary step (or why he stopped) or how Dean felt about it. And he didn't actually go through with it, so them turning up was more the BriMoL's choice than Sam's -- he basically summoned them accidentally.

Some Sam fans have noted that Sam seems unusually detached these days -- the end of last season, he never was as disturbed by working with Lucifer as one might expect given their history, and likewise in this season he hasn't seemed overly bothered by that or anything else. But Dean's been almost as muted -- he still expresses some feeling (he's be wildly OOC if he didn't), but not nearly as intensely as usual. While for Dean this can be seen as character development -- he hasn't been drinking that much, he's been cranky but not violent -- for Sam, who is given to keeping calm and carrying on in dire circumstances, it comes across as an unhealthy amount of repression.

And even with Dean, his emotions have pretty much been limited to worry (expressed as grouchy anger, because Dean) for Mary and for Cas; it's as much about their stories as Sam & Dean's. The question isn't what Dean's going to do, it's what Mary or Cas are going to do, while Dean's only story arc is learning to accept it. It's more than Sam's getting, but not by much.

(Meanwhile, while the show is allowing Dean emotions, Sam is the only one with history -- there’s been mention his psychic powers, being Lucifer's vessel, oblique references to him being soulless in 12x10; while there's been almost no mention of Dean’s past (Toni did mention Benny -- but when she's describing torture techniques there's no mention that Dean 'trained' under Alistair.) This is partly because Dean hasn’t had much time to talk about himself; Sam's been the one to connect with all the people they've helped on hunts, never Dean, though usually they rotate that position.)

But maybe it's not that they're not feeling anything, but just that we haven't been shown their reactions. A major reason the boys seem so uninvolved is because one of the staples of Supernatural has always been the dramatic conversations between Sam & Dean (as the show itself references several times in the meta episodes.) Sometimes these are used to explore their relationship, other times to explore one or the other's current character arc. But while they're still talking, we haven't had a classic "boy melodrama" scene -- with Baby, talking about their feelings -- since 12x04, and that was pretty underplayed.

They haven't had a chance to express anything with other characters, either. While Mary and Cas both have had opportunities to share their feelings and emotional struggles, Sam or Dean's stay untouched. After two episodes of intense torture, not a single person asks Sam if he's okay, physically or mentally. More recently, Sam & Dean were imprisoned for weeks in solitary, an experience apparently so terrible that they were both willing to DIE to escape it...but it's not mentioned at all in the next episode. They're not asking each other about it (which is somewhat in keeping with their style, though one would hope they'd have gotten better about talking?) but neither Mary nor Cas are concerned about it, either, at least not on-screen.

Before the second half started, I blamed most of the season's issues on Bucklemming getting the episodes that should have had the most emotion and drama, as they handle resolution as well as they handle the show mythology (to the point that I wonder if they even read any other writers' scripts, or let the others read theirs). But after "First Blood" it's starting to look like Dabb is deliberately trying to avoid writing emotional moments with Sam & Dean -- that entire episode was structured such that Cas and Mary bore the dramatic weight; in order to leave the audience in the dark about the deal until the end, we couldn't see Sam & Dean talking about anything important. Even in the final confrontation with Billie, it's Mary and Cas who act, while the brothers do nothing except explain what's happened, with little emphasis on why they took such a terrible deal. (Compare to the emotional buildup of, say, Dean trading his soul to bring Sam back, or Sam deciding to use the Book of the Damned to remove the Mark from Dean.)

We'll see how this plays out as the season continues, but it's getting frustrating. The brotherly melodrama is one of the biggest draws of Supernatural for me -- it's a genre show that gives me the emotional buildup and catharsis of more classically character-oriented dramas (except non-romantic, which is the best part, for me!) I like badass action as much as the next fangirl, but my favorite part of fanning is the feels, and I've always been able to count on SPN to provide them -- maybe not realistically or healthily or logically; but for all its many flaws, it's always delivered on the emotional front with regards to the brothers. The only real exception is season 7 (and that's inconsistent, there is some great stuff.) But season 12 is sorely lacking in that element so far -- and being nearly halfway through, it seems like this might be the way Dabb wants it to be?

(I also suspect that next episode, 12x11, which has the set-up be a veritable orgy of brother feels to match "Mystery Spot," is going to skip most of them in favor of comedy -- which I'm looking forward to, we haven't had a good humor ep in a while; but I also want to see beautiful Dean angst and Sam falling apart, and given this season's track record I doubt it's going to happen.)

What I'm curious about is whether this is an intentional change, or just how it's turning out due to other decisions. I'm wondering if Dabb is deliberately trying to shift the focus of the show somewhat off Sam & Dean (because they've had the spotlight for so long he thinks it's time to shake things up, as showrunners sometimes are wont to do? Or is it possible that J2 requested some easier stuff, given their years of commitment and expanding families?) If it is purposeful, are they trying to disengage Sam & Dean from the plot and that's separated them from emotional development as well; or is the show trying to tone down their emotional involvement, and that's more easily done by reducing their role in the plot? As mentioned, Cas and Mary have been getting the more emotional storylines -- and I don't mind having them developed (am looking forward to Cas's arc especially -- a lot of his storylines before, he was off doing his own thing with angels; having him at the center of a story but with Sam & Dean along to worry about him, like in 12x10, can be a lot of fun!) But they're still supporting characters; Sam & Dean are the leads, the only ones in every episode, and if they're not as involved with the stories, it makes both the plotty and the monster of the week eps less compelling.

Which isn't to say all is lost, or even that the show is losing my interest. I've still enjoyed the majority of the episodes this season. And I've enjoyed Sam & Dean in them -- I do love to see the brothers getting along; they've been working together so well, and if Jared & Jensen did want a break, they're generally still giving it their all when they are on. And every season has its strengths and weaknesses. I just hope Sam & Dean get more involved in the arcs, both emotionally and in their impact on the plot, as the season continues. There's a lot here for them to care about and angst over and make bad decisions (or good ones!); I want to see it!