#a sam-positive episode?? IMAGINE

[edelgarfield]

the soft tender way essek talks abt caleb like.

campaign 2 episode 90

when jester asks him about himself he takes a pause, seems to contemplate what to say, before shaking his head and answering:

There's a waver to his voice before he seems to harden and his facial expressions are very dismissive and a bit sarcastic.

The episode ends shortly after this, and at the start of the next one is when Essek comes over for dinner. So IMO this moment Essek is debating whether to open up to M9, initially brushes them off, then thinks about it & changes his mind.

episode 91 we have this exchange:

he doesn't elaborate. he's completely flat & unemotional. he changes the subject by asking to sit as soon as he can.

yasha asks abt him and he does the same thing

noteably there's a long pause after ashley's question, at which point sam & travis chime in where essek's eyes are literally darting around and he's clearly uncomfortable, and that's when caduceus interrupts.

deep breath, nervous chuckle, crosses his arms and looks down before answering

jester asks why he changed his mind

he's making eye contact during this part, casual, & expressing mild frustration but still calm

there's a pause between this line & the next where he looks down and does this:

at this part he doesn't make eye contact until halfway through and only maintains it for a few seconds as a time

deep breath, does this again:

then looks up and says as quickly as possible:

head bowed, speaks into his lap

another pause, a look of clear confusion on his face before shaking his head

after caleb gives him a dunamancy potion in repayment for his help:

same hands folded head bowed posture as before

the whole conversation, he DOES NOT offer up information without being asked directly, usually multiple times. he deflects by talking abt his position, and whenever he decides to be vulnerable or reference the actual reasons for his visit (his loneliness & feelings of kinship) he looks away & braces himself. imo any time he admits to his loneliness his posture reads "ashamed." particularly when jester asks if he lives alone; i don't see a reason for him to look down & hunch his shoulders if he didn't feel like he was admitting to some personal failure (either bc he lives alone, or bc it shouldn't bother him as much as it does). there's also, of course, his newfound guilt at having betrayed m9 and being unable to walk it back.

compare that with cr3; while in the smut shop he deflects BH's attempts to learn about him, but that night he not only answers their questions without resistance but actively offers up more information.

he tells them abt his connections to ludinus, he tells them he's partially responsible for the current state of the world despite having every reason not to, he tells them abt his friends & his partner. he admits to his past faults openly & with little hesitation. he breaks eye contact briefly when talking abt ludinus etc. but never for long, and never in the same way, shoulders hunched, head down, hiding behind his hands.

the only time he seems to experience anything resembling shame or embarrassment is when he gets flustered admitting to wanting to message his partner before he sleeps.

i didn't mean to go through every single part of cr2ep91 where m9 ask about essek's personal life, but i did bc it was fascinating. when essek spoke to m9, he very much does not want to talk abt himself. the few things he does share say that he's very solitary & the few relationships he mentions are not close. any time he feels pressed to admit his true feelings, he feels ashamed and struggles to do so.

i imagine to essek in cr2ep91, he couldn't even imagine having a partner that he'd want to speak abt the way he speaks abt caleb. the idea of a version of him who has a life he wants to talk abt and share is absurd. but in cr3, for all his faults & mistakes he's made, he does, he wants to talk abt his partner & friends & the things he's learned. he has a life he wants to share bc it brings him joy.

[arjwrites]

— Guess who's back with another request.....‼️‼️‼️

A fluff Castiel x Winchester!Reader where she helps Cas with his wings after a hunt please 😘😻 (I imagine them being dark, HUGE and MEGA soft and she goes like "Woah" (completely distracted for a moment))

Saving Grace- Castiel x GN!Reader

Summary: Cas is hurt after a hunt, and when he's hurting, you're hurting. Sometimes even an angel needs a helping hand. PART TWO HERE! Warnings: None! A/N: WELCOME BACK ANON! Sorry this took me a couple of days- for some reason I was really struggling to get Cas's character right here. I really wanted to do him justice for my loyal requester!!! A bit of context for this one- Cas is able to reveal a physical form of his wings if he chooses. All of the logistics of angel wings are pretty much made up. Good thing I view canon as more of a… rough suggestion! It’s right there in my bio, people. Have a little bit of suspension of belief for a few of the details!!!! Also- this doesn't quite make it to outright romantic territory- it felt to me like a buildup to something bigger in the future! Maybe I'll write a part 2 at some point, who knows... It had been a few hours since you had finished up the day’s hunt. Upon your return to the motel, Sam had instantly run out the door to the local library in search of a better wifi connection to research for the next case, while Dean had followed him into town to grab some supplies. This left you and Castiel, perched in your usual positions on opposite sides of the bed in your separate room. It was common for you and the angel to spend some quiet time together after a hunt- you both often found an unspoken comfort in each other’s simple presence. While you were leaned back, propped up with pillows and dialed into whatever was on TV, Cas held his usual stiff posture, but something seemed off about him. His eyes were glued to the ceiling, and every so often, he would shift in his seat and his whole body would tighten and cringe. You knew he had taken a few pretty serious blows during this hunt, but the fact that he let himself continue to hurt, rather than quickly healing himself, was concerning to you. Usually, this time spent together was silent, enjoying a moment of peace while you each lost yourself in your own thoughts. But after a few episodes and many stolen, worried glances, you felt you had to speak up.

“Cas, what’s wrong? It’s obvious you’re still hurting. Why haven’t you healed yourself?” 

“I’m fine. I just need to figure a few things out.” He continued to avoid your gaze, rising from the bed and pacing across the room to distance himself from you. 

“If you don’t tell me, I can’t help you.” Your level of concern forced you to cut right to the chase. 

Cas pondered this for a second. Could you really help him? Was it even okay for him to ask? Humans certainly hadn’t taken very well to an angel’s true form in the past… But that was a couple thousand years ago, and those humans hadn’t known what you know. If anyone could handle this, it was you. If he could trust anyone, it was you. And it was only his wings- just a sliver of his full form. But still, Cas was hesitant. This was unfamiliar territory for him. 

You watched from across the room as the wheels turned in his mind. His expression was pained, and it seemed like he was wrestling with a hard decision. As much as you wanted to close the gap between you, to comfort him, you knew the best thing to do was to give him his space. You were glad you did, because after a moment, his gaze rose from the floor, settled on you, and he opened his mouth to speak. 

“There’s something wrong with my wings. It’s blocking my grace and I can’t heal myself.” His expression was solemn and his tone direct. Clearly, he wasn’t happy to have to bring this up with you.  

“Your wings?” The mention of the most angelic part of your dear angel sent your heart aflutter (no pun intended). For the most part, Cas’s wings were out of sight, out of mind. Usually he was just the dorky man in a trench coat who just so happened to have some pretty crazy powers. But when you thought about his wings, the parts of him that were so divine and otherworldly, your cheeks burned scarlet. It was a reminder of just how different Cas was from you. 

“Yes. I might need you to… Inspect them. Figure out what is wrong and remove whatever is blocking my grace. I can’t heal myself, Sam, Dean, or you until it’s gone.”

You sucked in a sharp, full breath, your lungs holding tightly to the air for just a moment before slowly pushing it back out of you. 

“Okay. I can do that.” Why were you nervous? It was just Cas. You were just helping out a… friend. 

“It’s very… personal. This vessel you see isn’t really me, but my wings? That is as close as you can get to seeing my true form. I’m… not sure how you would react. It’s not something meant for human eyes. Not here on Earth, anyways. It might upset you or-” 

“If it means helping you, I’m sure I can handle it.” 

“Are you sure-” 

“Cas. Are you in pain?” 

He hesitated for a moment before conceding the truth. “Yes.” 

“Then let me help.”

Castiel sighed, his body tightening in a way that seemed like he was bracing himself. A terse “Alright” escaped his lips, and then the whole room shifted. 

There was no earthly way to describe the sight that unfurled before you. Castiel’s wings were dark, so dark they held no color or shine or reflection- just a void, deep, black nothingness. And yet, they almost glowed. There was some sort of aura that radiated off of them, just as dark as the wings themselves yet tinged ever so slightly blue. It must have been his grace. The aura wrapped around the perimeter of each wing and hugged each individual feather, defining them just enough so you could barely distinguish one from another. Somehow, his wings were dark and light and everything in between- you had never seen anything like it. Cas was right- it was hard to wrap your head around it. You reached down to grasp the surface you were sitting on, half to ground yourself in the moment to believe what you were seeing, and half to make sure you didn’t jump right up to inspect his wings closer. You knew this was hard for poor Castiel- your greatest fear was making him uncomfortable.

“Wow, Cas,” was all you could say. You were completely entranced, absolutely at a loss. It took everything in you not to burst into tears- he was definitely right. This was not a sight for just any human to see. He started to shift underneath your gaze, each movement triggering his wings to follow in a parallel movement. He looked uncomfortable. Gathering your composure, you rose to your feet. It was just Cas, the same Cas you’ve known all along. As nervous as his wings made you feel, you knew he was just as nervous, so you pushed yourself to help him feel at ease. 

“Okay. How do you want me to do this?”

“You can touch them. See if you notice anything that doesn’t look like it should be there.” 

Touch them. Just the thought sent another jolt of electricity through your body. Touching Cas’s wings? He was asking you to touch his wings. There was no stopping the thoughts racing into your mind- How would they feel? How would it make Cas feel? How would it make you feel?

Pushing the worries aside, you crossed over to Cas. Mid-step, your gaze grabbed on to the angel’s and wouldn’t let go. As you inched closer, you were less and less inclined to look away. Because once you did, you knew you would be face to face in the task at hand.

It’s not that you didn’t want to look at Cas’s wings. They were the most beautiful, ethereal things you had ever seen. They just made you so nervous. For the first time since knowing Cas, it truly registered to you- he was an angel, a heavenly creature, so powerful and beautiful that even this small glimpse of his true form had you weak in the knees. But beyond being just an angel, he was a teammate, a friend, and to you, something far more. All you wanted to do was take his pain away.

Finally, your eyes were forced to stray from the angel’s as your feet led you behind him, ducking under his left wing and settling yourself square between them. There was a physical sensation radiating off of them- a warm, low buzz that made your whole body tingle. 

“One more thing.” Cas’s voice stepped in to break what felt like an age-long silence. 

“Yes?” You whispered.

“It will be a bit… sensitive. Please be gentle.” 

“Of course, Cas.” 

And so you were. With the softest touch you could muster up, you reached out and made contact with his right wing, settling your fingers amongst the feathers. You felt Cas’s body shudder underneath your touch, but his low voice mumbled that all was well, to carry on. So you did.

For nearly thirty minutes, your fingers worked through the wings. Touching them was like weaving your hands through silk, sifting through layer upon layer. The feathers were so light and delicate that they almost felt like nothing at all, and the way they kissed your skin was without a doubt the most beautiful sensation you had ever experienced.

Your hands zoned into their task, sifting through the wings to remove all of the debris leftover from the day’s hunt. Cas spoke to you as you worked, teaching you about their anatomy, their capabilities, and everything else. You listened intently, fascinated by this intimate insight, but you weren’t sure if he was speaking with the pure intention of teaching you or simply to distract himself from the feeling of what was going on behind him. Every so often, his voice wavered or his back pulled away, and in response, you would stall your hands, giving him a moment to adjust. 

The process was long and tedious, but you took the liberty of enjoying every second of it. Watching the ripple of the feathers beneath your fingers, the way your hands seemed to disappear as they bobbed in and out, eventually you dropped the last piece of shrapnel into the empty box you had been using to collect it all. 

“There. All done. Is that… any better?” 

Cas didn’t vocalize a response, but your question was answered when his entire form shone with the familiar blue glow of his grace. And when the glow subsided, his wings were tucked away yet again, leaving behind his unadorned trenchcoated vessel. He turned to you with a face of gentle features. 

“Thank you,” was all he could express in his low timbre. It seemed as though every trace of worry had melted away, and everything about Cas’s presence had softened. But if you hadn’t been completely sure of his newfound comfort and ease, the angel confirmed it when he took a long stride closer, halving the distance that had served as the buffer between you.

“Thank you for trusting me to do that,” you breathed through a slight daze, both lingering from the experience and sparked anew from his rapidly increasing proximity. 

“There is no one else I trust as much as you.” Now he was merely inches away, hovering closer to you than he ever had been before. Here you froze, both sinking into the feeling, until the magnetism that emanated off of him grew to be too much. Just as you took the leap of faith to close the gap, you were interrupted by the crash of the front door flying open. You jerked backwards on instinct, reinstating the safe buffer space. 

In strode Sam and Dean, oblivious as ever. Stopped just inside the doorframe, and in complete unison, the brothers tilted their heads in confusion.

Gesturing between the two of you, Dean spoke. “Hey. We interrupting something?”

[laora-ryn]

Chester, [ERROR], and Jonathan Sims: The Anthill Theory

Hello Tumblr, may I present a follow up to my initial thesis that [ERROR] is Jon? As well as a rebuttal to the argument I've seen floating around:

"[ERROR] can't be Jon! Jon is in the computers!"

Why are you treating these like two distinct eventualities?

Jon died as an omniscient, omnipotent demi-god half a step down from The Eye itself. Jon died at the exact moment that he was pulled through a rift in space-time. If Jon survived that, I doubt he'd end up human on the other side. He'd probably end up as something else entirely.

Something none of us, and none of the Protocol-universe characters, have ever seen before.

"Imagine you are an ant, and you have never before seen a human - "

1. We have Chester, who has Jon's voice, and has shown signs of autonomy and a personality where Norris and Augustus have not.

I have another meta post picking apart the fr3-d1 stuff, but for the sake of staying on topic, I will show an abbreviated, summarized list from that post below:

Mystery emails sent to various OIAR employees:

Episode 4: Gwen receives an email from an unknown source showing Lena trying to kill Klaus

Episode 4: "the system" sends Alice a notification that Sam searched for "Magnus" and "protocol"

Episode 7: Sam receives an email from a "John" with an internal email address, with Gerry's name and address

Episode 20: Sam receives an email from a garbled email address, with documents from 1999 regarding Starkwall and TMI

Error messages:

Episode 3: Alice receives a jmj error that Colin troubleshoots. Freddy snarks back at both of them

Episode 17: Alice receives a jmj error that Gwen troubleshoots. There are plenty of error noises, but imo it comes across less snarky than it did in episode 3

Other miscellaneous interactions:

Episode 5: Alice: "what the hell is wrong with everyone today?" OIAR computer, not having been touched or interacted with: [error noise]

Episode 17: Chester reads a universe-hopping statement to Celia

Episode 19: Sam asks Alice to talk with him about the Magnus Institute. Immediately, Alice's computer throws an error, like it wants her to stop working and talk with Sam

Magnus Institute Statements read to Sam:

All of the below statements are read out by Chester, and are (meant to be, in 21) read out to Sam specifically:

Episode 1: RedCanary

Episode 9: the cursed dice Magnus statement. This one starts on its own, while Sam is doing the Response Dept paperwork

Episode 14: the snake emporium. I'd almost mark this one as too much of a stretch, but Sam himself caught the Institute mention and was bothered by it

Episode 19: the one with Newton's alchemical tree that talks about the Protocol

Episode 21: the one about the Dome construction in the 90s, which Alice intercepts on Sam's computer

As far as I can see, the only statement that mentions the Magnus Institute that isn't read by Chester to Sam is the one that is read by Chester to Celia, as mentioned above

In terms of Norris and Augustus:

Martin was pulled through the rift at the exact same time as Jon, except as someone mostly human. Relatively human.

Jonah was too, but Jonah was already a static dead body at the moment of the rift - it wasn't the released potential energy of his death that catalyzed and pulled everything through the rift.

It makes sense, to me, that if all three of them are here, Jon is in a uniquely powerful/sentient position in comparison to the other two. Which leads us to point 2:

2. We have [ERROR], exhibiting characteristics that are indicative of Jon and no one else

See my other meta post for more info, but in summary:

The tape recorders spawned specifically for Jon in TMA, via the Web

Did even Elias show abilities to compel people to give their statement? He could tell people their statement, and force images into their heads, but could he force it out of their mouths? I don't remember seeing that

Along with the other evidence that isn't Jon-specific but is indicative of a TMA character:

They were initially trapped underneath the Magnus Institute - which could also be Jonah, or Martin

Their apparent desire to protect Gwen and "all of them" - which could also be Martin, or some non-familiar benevolent being

Jon being Chester and Jon being [ERROR] are not mutually exclusive.

Who's to say Jon, the Archivist, or what's become of him, or what's left of him, isn't the fingernail, and the boot, and the eye? Maybe he's even something else we, the ant, never live to see, or don't have the senses to perceive at all!

Additionally!

I think this might even tentatively explain why [ERROR] is voiced by Beth Eyre instead of Jonny - beyond "it would be way too obvious if they want it to be a plot twist"

If Jon/the Archivist is split into multiple parts of the same whole, in this universe. If, in the chaos of interdimensional travel, traits/attributes/parts of Jon were not distributed equally or correctly. For our anthill example, perhaps the color of our gazing eye, or the rubber material of our stomping boot, was applied to our fingernail instead. Maybe [ERROR] should have Jon's voice, but they don't. Maybe they didn't have a voice at all. We didn't hear them say anything at all in episode 10, only take a deep breath

Maybe they had to take a voice from one of their victims. Do you think there was a reason that we heard the autopsy statement secondhand, after the doctor transcribed it, rather than the victim's voice herself?

(When, as far as I know, the common ways to record information during autopsies is either with a voice recorder, or dictating to a secondary person to write, who was demonstrably not present? When, by all rights, there should have been a voice recorder present?)

I'm currently working on a master TMAGP timeline (and a TMA one otl), but an extremely abbreviated, specific version of it is as follows:

9 March: Sam and Alice visit the Magnus Institute and release [ERROR]

20 March: the autopsy victim is found dead in a park

22 March: Alice encounters the drowning woman

12 April: [ERROR] appears during Ink5oul's attack on Gwen

How many victims do they have, since Sam let them loose? Is it just the ones we've already seen, or were there others too?

This could go off in about 5000 different directions so I'm going to cut it here, but what I'm getting at here is - it makes a LOT of sense to me that we might be looking at another "creatures far beyond our comprehension" here; it'd make a lot of sense thematically; and it's just really freaking cool, if I'm being honest!!

[aliusfrater]

the way sam talks about himself in season nine makes my skin crawl because it sounds like he's referring to the state of his health from season seven whenever he talks about losing time, feeling tired all the time, and says, "sometimes, i feel like maybe i'm never gonna actually be all right," which is a harsh, contrasted reference to his adamance of being 'okay' for the sake of others while struggling with (what can only be described as) schizophrenia until his inevitable resignation during his psychotic episode. he's physically and mentally at his lowest, or at least as close as you can get while being able to stand and speak, when gadreel leaves his body and the first thing that he encounters afterwards, when fully lucid for the first time in months, is dean's self pity in a way that both echoes and literally sounds like an extension of the same gaslighting dean's been doing for the rest of the season except instead of it being about the angel possessing sam's body, it's about his reaction to it. and think about it. the last real entirely unaltered memory sam has of dean is dean standing in front of sam in that church professing his love and trust. imagining remembering that while that love and trust is actively being shattered right in front of your eyes. positively horrifying

[taytayheyhey]

Magnus Protocol Theory Time

***Spoilers within, you have been warned.***

I have a theory regarding what is going on in The Magnus Protocol universe, and figured I'd share it on the slim chance I'm right and can reblog this months or years from now.

Season 5 of The Magnus Archives proved that a Fearpocalypse is an unsustainable end state for The Fears. Whether it takes a year or a century, the world will eventually be burnt out and all living things will meet The End.

If we're to assume that The Magnus Protocol is a continuation of The Magnus Archives, and is set in the new world which The Fears escaped to at the end of the main series, it stands to reason that The Web would have learned from its past mistake.

I posit to you all that, in this world, The Web has established a (perhaps tense) truce between The Fears. No more in-fighting. No more rituals. In exchange, they share the world and a steady flow of fear is guaranteed for all parties.

A coalition of this magnitude would require a bookkeeping department. A group dedicated to tracking the flow of fear. Thoroughly categorizing what fears are being generated.

I believe that the OIAR is this department.

It would explain why there is such an emphasis on categorizing each case, yet no care to respond or follow up. All that matters is a meticulous log of which Fears are being elicited.

Just imagine CEO Annabelle Cane and a board of directors comprised of avatars from each fear. The opportunity for bureaucratic satire knows no bounds. And this may be why Lena makes the comments she does regarding upper management, assuming she is somewhat in the loop.

Other small theories I have: - Sam checking off the "Response 121" box in the first episode will have dire consequences. - Episode 3 has me wondering if TTS Jon/Martin are trying to break the system from within (causing those .jmj errors) but Colin keeps repairing things and they're Compelled to read cases.

Anywho, that's all I've got! Can't wait to see what unfolds.

[cupcraft]

Okay but what really guts me about S6E21 the therapy episode is the moment where I think House really feels like Dr. Nolan's not hearing him or getting him which contributes to his feelings of distrust to um gtfo of therapy 5ever. Which this is not to say House should've done that or that Dr. Nolan is bad, it's more like this contributed quite a lot because well I'm making 0 sense let me explain.

So, I'm thinking about the scene where Dr. Nolan was like "what do you think Cuddy & Wilson talked about together. Walk me through the conversation?" House does and he basically concludes to his therapist that his interpretation of his friends is that they view him as the "House Problem" that they're more worried he's going to do something "bad" or "attention seeking" or "[insert anti-addict recovery rhetoric/ablelism/etc thing] here" because of Wilson kicking House out, out of the blue. And in a way, this is truthful and from an audience's perspective it is a believable interpretation. House is generally pretty perceptive about the people around him and their impression of him given that he does purposefully construct a certain impression of himself (so that he is not harmed by people by allowing himself to be genuine). And even though Cuddy and Wilson are the people he's the most genuine to, he still self-destructs around them and struggles with trust. Anyway, based on how Wilson and Cuddy have handled a lot of things in the past (not everything) such as the Morphine/saline thing, the first time he went cold-turkey on opiates, the tritter situation, forcing him to go to his abusive father's funeral, etc. it really does seem believable they'd view him as the House Problem, or in a way it makes sense House thinks that way overall.

Though this is not to say House is right. He is right and valid to think that they'd be worry he'd relapse/etc. and he is right to have trauma from previous horrible responses done to him and thus not have faith in any different. But House is in fact wrong because Cuddy and Wilson do genuinely care about him and do not actually see him at this current stage in the show as the "House Problem". Especially Wilson, which it was clear Wilson later realized his actions were impulsiveness and fucked up and not at all recovery informed (especially as the person of stability he agreed to be for House's recovery) since House felt forced to go back home. There's also the issue that Wilson created a home for him and House (as reiterated by Dr. Nolan and the fact the thing Wilson chose for himself was the organ, solidifying House's permanency in that home) only for him to be like jk i dont see a future for you here even though Sam who hates you doesnt mind. House doesn't realize that a Cuddy/Wilson conversation would be done out of care and guilt of an impulsive mistake and not because they just keep him around to stop him from being a "Problem".

SO, Dr. Nolan does challenge this rightfully so but he doesn't do it in the right way which contributes to House feeling unheard and stuck and realizing god I am miserable and i distrust this. Dr. Nolan challenges it by imagining the conversation in a way we the audience knows would not be how at the very least Wilson would talk. He posits Wilson as a very rational person to the point it is comical because Wilson is also toxic and irrational (again the very thing that Nolan says it was a home for you both and then he kicked House out!). I think even House recognizes this because he looks as though Nolan grew a second head like what on earth Wilson would never say that which I think really in the end makes House feel unheard. Because the message "Hey Wilson and Cuddy do in fact love and care about you" didn't come across. The "I think wilson is being rational" is what actually comes across, when House feels hurt by Wilson over what is an irrational reaction (especially given Wilson's apology to house goes poorly and comes off as more guilt than accountability, see the apartment scene).

So it guts me. it guts me that their communication got crossed and the outcome didn't work out. That House felt unheard and that Nolan wasn't able to reach him. Because it does bode poorly for House to leave therapy right now as he is at a point of crisis in his support network and he's returned home to the place that is triggering to him for a lot of reasons (hallucination/relapse/etc).

and as always for my ramblings feel free to add on/send asks/etc. :)

[vestaclinicpod]

Audio Drama Sunday - 21st July ✨

This week was very very much girlbeingfedpancakes.jpg with so many of my favourite shows coming back from hiatus!! 🥞

👻 @tellnotalespod (S2E13) Here’s the thing: I had the absolute pleasure of meeting Leanne a few weeks ago and took the opportunity to ask when Louisa was going to gtfo of the narrative. I now see why they laughed 😭 While I am happy that Julia has pretty much forgiven Leo, I think she should take a few more mins to realise why she can’t stay mad!! And oh my god, RILEY. I’m joining the crowd of ‘I knew it!!’ screamers! If anyone can shake off a possession it’s Riley fucking Matkins but I am terrified that Leo is going to be put in a position where they have to choose between Riley and Frank. I’m worried it won’t be such a straightforward decision for them… 

🌲 @hellofromthehallowoods (159) The assumption at the start of this episode was entirely correct. I also LOVED the little extended metaphor about The Auditor being a scalpel, imagine dropping a line like that in a real confrontation 🥵 I’m so glad to have my beloved hallowoods back, even if a few of the twists in this episode made my stomach twist also (seriously, Marco!!! You have a child!!!!!). 

🧳 Travelling Light @monstrousproductions (27) I loved the depiction of alien technology in this episode, I really just want to visit this fish market and take everything in!! Very exciting to hear also that a deal might be coming soon. I have been missing my favourite little Óli these last few eps . . . I hope they haven’t been distancing themself from the Traveller :( 

🖥️ The Magnus Protocol (22) okay, so I really love neuroscience and listening to the experiment in this episode was too funny to be scary but what did make me nervous was Sam finally being driven firmly towards investigating the Institute further. I’m sure it’s going to end well. And those names at the end… why are they so familiar…? 

🧋I finished E12 of @hinaypod - what a cliffhanger!! I’m disconcerted by this CJ person even if she does seem to be protecting Laura. 

🦋 I started @remnantspod this week! I’ve only listened to the first episode so far but, my god, Eira knows how to tell a story. I’m so intrigued and excited to see where this show leads!  

🗺 So lovely to have @tales-from-the-low-city back in my ears! It remains one of the most soothing things I have ever listened to, but the music in this episode did a great job of building tension while waiting for the all clear! 

I have not yet been brave enough to listen to the first part of The Silt Verses Finale this week, but I am post-nights tomorrow and plan to spend all day listening to both parts and crying 🦀 

Also, as a special mention, it’s not really audio drama, but it is: I finished Tell No Tales creator Leanne Egan's book Lover Birds this morning. It is SO cute and so wonderfully nostalgic as I got together with my now wife at around the same age as the girls in the book 🥹 I’m filled with queer, Northern pride after reading it and if you’re looking for a summer read that will pull on your heart strings just the right amount, PLEASE support Leanne and grab a copy!! 🌈

[seahorsepencils]

Further proof that the end montage is at least partially a Ted hallucination or dream: it takes place after Ted looks at the snow globe, which is likely a reference to the ending of St. Elsewhere (i.e. where it's implied the show was actually all something an autistic kid imagined while looking in a snow globe, a.k.a. the Tommy Westphall universe).

This is not to say that the whole show is in Ted's head - only what happens from when he shakes the snow globe to when he wakes up on the plane (holding the copy of How to Change Your Mind: The New Science of Psychedelics). For example:

Roy becoming the football team manager. Ted is the one who wanted Roy to be a coach in the first place, and I'm not convinced Roy would want to be a manager, or at least not so soon - this seems more like Ted is imagining someone stepping into his place.

Nate and Jamie having very positively framed moments with their dads. Both of those storylines were left in a gray area; the level of positivity in those interactions seems more a representation of what Ted wants with his father. Also, if we think of Ted as a quasi-father figure for both characters, this is another replacement narrative showing how he isn't needed.

Sam playing for the Nigerian team. We know this is a goal for him, but it's likely not something that would happen so soon. And probably something that Edwin Akufo would block from happening for the next few years. But the image supports Ted's own personal decision to identify his original country as "home" and to go back.

Trent changing the title of the book. It's not the Richmond way. It's the Lasso way; and Trent knows that more than anyone, so it's very unlikely he would take Ted's suggestion and change the title in real life. This is just Ted minimizing himself and what he was able to uniquely offer the team.

Roy starting therapy with Sharon at the football club. It seems unlikely that Sharon would settle down with a job in one place, when we've been told her tendency has been to jump from job to job. (Again, this might happen eventually, but not so soon.) The function of this scene in Ted's mind would be a further stretch of Roy becoming manager - replacing Ted in his job and then beginning a similar therapy journey with Sharon. (Also, Sharon is wearing the same shirt she wore when she first met Ted.)

The Stonehenge Beard wedding. Insane for all the reasons people have suggested, and specifically, Roy as Beard's best man. Another image of Ted being replaced by Roy.

This is not to say that some of the things can't have happened - it wouldn't be the first time the show has blurred the line between fact and reality, and "Beard After Hours" did this with some very heavy blurring. The final shot in the montage calls back to that episode, with the woman who gave Beard the pants and her partner appearing as two of the wedding guests.

I think Ted wants to stay - not only is he reading a book with the title How to Change Your Mind, but he literally asked Beard if they were making the wrong decision - giving Beard a clear opening to weigh in and say they should stay. He wanted to be convinced. But Beard, in his sleep-deprived state, shifted the focus of the conversation and made it about him leaving Ted, changing the "we" into a "me." So Ted went home by himself. But he still wants to change his mind (hopefully with some psychedelics), and deep down, he has to know that he's wrong and that everyone from Richmond loves him and wants him around. Or if he doesn't, Rebecca and Diamond Dogs are gonna show up in Kansas on her private plane a year later and ask him what the hell he's doing and when he's coming back.

[newlacesleeves]

okay fine fine i'll take the silly karate show seriously for a second.

i have spent most of the day talking about what i liked about it because, well, there was a lot i did like. remember, the bar wasn't just on the floor. it was buried in mariana's trench. but to say it exceeded my expectations is still an understatement. i really did like it.

putting this under a cut. spoiler warning obv. (also me talking in stream of consciousness.)

as for criticisms, yeah i have some. the first being the same one everyone else has: there were almost no johnny & robby moments. robby beats miguel for captain and johnny chooses to comfort miguel for his loss. he gives them both the exact same speech before they fight. literally word for word. now, sure, we can imagine their relationship is still pretty fraught but this would have been a good opportunity for johnny to show how proud he is of robby and instead we got...nothing. huh. okay then.

the next would be tory. i cannot fucking fathom why they set up this friendship between sam and tory and everyone only for NONE OF HER FRIENDS to comfort her or go to her when her fucking mom dies. (on a positive note, that episode won the whole season for me. more on that later.) obviously the idea is to set up tory running straight into kreese's arms but also we could have had that set up and still shown some fucking sympathy for her. (another positive: peyton list can act her ass off.) it felt out of character for all of them. sam spends all of the third episode befriending tory. they have that million minute hug. what do you mean sam didn't run after her and instead just accepted her captain position?

also. samtory. i kinda wish they dragged it out just a little longer. especially considering what transpires in ep. 5 (or doesn't?)

devon and kenny. what devon did to kenny was fucked up and just. wow not okay. i didn't like it. i didn't find it funny. again, it's a set up for conflict between kenny and anthony but 1. is that really necessary at this point? and 2. why THAT? it was cruel and unnecessary. devon trained for like 6 weeks she's not as good as the others use that as a character development tool instead of her cheating to win. i liked devon when she was introduced. i don't know if i like her at all now. she came off as petulant and entitled and it left me feeling so disappointed in her.

and the miyagi secret. look, i think it's ridiculous that they added this plotline in the first place but besides that, what exactly did we learn? he may have robbed a guy and he was a boxer? and he fought in the sekai talkai? (that part might be intersting let's see where that goes.) it just didn't really land for me personally. we could probably do without it entirely and the season wouldn't change.

okay some positives now. guess what they're almost all about johnny i'm not even sorry if you're following me you should be expecting this from me.

from the fucking beginning we get to see some actual growth from him. the whole naming the dojo thing in previous seasons would have been the cause for the dojo divorce but johnny and daniel both handled it so well and so mature i could cry.

the fact that they made him a car salesman and not like a mechanic or a janitor was also great. i feel like this season they really gave johnny some positive pride in himself. the way he talks about eagle fang and how he built it himself. how he learns from chozen when they go house hunting. and him being a GOOD car salesman not just pretending to do it for laughs. i loved that. i loved it so fucking much. that's what i want to see going forward. to that end, they finally eased up on the "johnny is a moron" shtick. thank god. because he's actually not a moron, he's not a complete idiot he has thoughtful ideas and can create lesson plans that have deeper meanings and all of that is innate in his character and should be played up more rather than "here's the himbo from the 80s who doesn't know what pandora's box is or how public parks work."

episode 5 really nailed it for me. tory's grief is palpable. her fighting through it literally is beautiful to me. and yes, YES, it was the right thing to do to stop the fight okay i'm not saying they shouldn't have. but what we get out of that is a real and emotional and RAW fight between daniel and johnny. not about fighting styles or who has the better dojo. they are both coming at this situation from their own trauma and past and johnny explains that (bonus points for the laura mention THANK YOU WRITERS) and daniel isn't hearing him so he goes for the jugular and daniel reacts in the MOST DANIEL LARUSSO WAY I HAVE SEEN SINCE SEASON 3. he punches johnny right there and doesn't hold back even if you can see the regret on his face a moment later. and johnny -- the GROWTH is in the way he doesn't react. he doesn't punch back. it's a real fucking moment for the two of them. we aren't talking about defense vs. offense. we're talking about GRIEF and all of johnny's bottled rage about feeling sidelined by daniel this whole time (which has been sort of daniel's default stage for the last few seasons) comes spilling over the top and it was such a good moment of catharsis i will be thinking about it forever.

there were other things i liked: johnny leaning into his girl dad-ness, the fights (always the fights!!), the return of shawn, sleeveless gi my beloved, johnny prom king confirmation (never ever getting over it). but these were the stand out moments for me on my first watch.

and look. these were the first FIVE of FIFTEEN episodes for this season. a lot of y'all are acting like this is the whole thing when this is literally just the beginning. so i understand what you're saying about what the show lacked but it's not like they're ending it here. we have ten more episodes to go let's hope they continue the trajectory they're on in the next drop.

TL/DR: I LIKED IT A LOT.

[theresattrpgforthat]

I’m probably gonna sound very disjointed. But I have an idea for a superhero campaign where all the P.Cs are kids cause all adults have disappeared.

I thought MASKS would be a good system for this but my friend informed me that in order for MASKS to work you kinda need mentor characters.

So in your opinion, what would be a good, easy to learn superhero based system to run this game.

THEME: Superheros, Kids - Only

Henshin, by Cave of Monsters Games.

Henshin A Sentai RPG is a storytelling tabletop game about young heroes with transformative powers who battle both monsters and personal problems. It borrows from a Japanese superhero culture of color-coded masked teams, giant robots, and over-the-top special effects. Anyone can tell fun, collaborative stories in Henshin!, regardless of familiarity with the tropes, and the game showcases a diversity of settings and characters for every player.

This book includes instructions and actual play examples for everything needed to start playing Henshin! right away. Also included are the eleven Color playbooks, seven ready-to-play settings, original exclusive art, and references to digital downloads. Resources and information can be found at henshingame.com. Let’s Henshin!

Henshin is inspired by the Tokusatsu genre of superhero media, and reminds me intensely of Power Rangers. Your characters will wrestle with personal obstacles such as dealing with their temper, their failures, and the way they are seen by their peers. The system is inspired by No Dice, No Masters but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily GM-less, just that it doesn’t use dice. Henshin’s settings are also very flexible, so you should be able to write your own custom setting in which the kids have taken on super-powered relics in order to survive in a world without adults.

Masks: Retconned, by Sam Roberts.

You’re like most teenagers, with one small difference: You’re a superhero. Fight villains, be part of a team, save the day, and maybe, slowly figure out who you are.

Masks: Retconned is a game of teen superhero adventures, designed for 3+ players. Most of the players will take on the role of individual Heroes on a Team. Imagine these as the protagonists of your new comic book series. One player takes on the role of GM, embodying the superheroic setting, supporting characters, and villains.

If you like the basic premise of Masks but you don’t want to deal with the adult entanglements, you might want to take a look at Masks: Retconned. The game is very bare-bones, and only has the basic mechanics - your stats, your emotions, and the graded success scale and what it means for moves. The rest is meant to be designed as you need it. So if you don’t mind doing a little bit of game design before you sit down to play, you might want to check this out!

Powered by Cereal, by bismuth.

Become the Teen With Attitude you always wanted to be Inspired by tokusatsu hero teams and magical girl squads, PbC is a game about building a brightly-coloured Hero team and playing their adventures across a Series, fighting to save the world from evil!

PbC brings all players together to collaborate on crafting a Series, with its own aesthetics for heroes and villains, its own setting, and unique qualities for each hero. Play comprises the Episodes of the Series: both the Heroes' lives, and fights against Boss characters. It uses a relatively straightforward d6 system and encourages the Hero players to think about how their individual actions work towards a team strategy, bolstering allies and keeping momentum!

Characters in PbC are embodiments of different virtues, and these virtues will define your personal strengths, as represented in the Verbs and Adjectives assigned to your character. Relationships are also important in this game, and this is represented by connections that each player will have with side characters, whether that be positive or negative. Overall the game is still very lighthearted, as it’s inspired by Saturday morning cartoons.

When you try to do something in PbC, you roll a number of d6’s, and check to see how many results were unique. The more unique results you have, the more successes! This means that there’s a cap on how successful your character ca be, but I think the fact that any roll is going to have at least one success really communicates the tone of this game. This another game where the setting is build-your-own, and I don’t see any mechanics that require adults to be part of the setting.

Teens With Powers, by Unknown Dungeon.

Teens with Powers is a one-page roleplaying game about extraordinary young people, inspired by TV shows like Teen Titans and Avatar the Last Airbender, and shonen manga.  As a group, the players and GM come up with the setting, themes, and age-range of the characters. Then each player creates a character with a singular power that they can use to help solve problems and fight evil, while also traversing the trials of being young adults.

Teens with Powers uses a dice-pool system to resolve risky actions, and a back-and-forth combat system to allow of maximum expression and excitement. Also included is a back-page with GM advice and rules.

Teens with Power is a stripped-down Forged in the Dark game. There isn’t much of a setting involved in the first place, so you should be able to build your own setting to fit your preferences. The downside is that there isn’t much guidance or inspiration for powers, so it might be worth it to check out something like Supertables to help you come up with your powers.

This ruleset has a mechanic called Limit, which tracks how close your character is coming to breaking down - push too far, and you lose control of your powers, likely causing damage and hurting something or someone you care about. This might be also good for a high-tension game where the disappearance of adults is the cause of a lot of stress and fear for your characters.

Super City, by David Garrett.

One in every one hundred children in Super City is born with super powers. You are one of those children. Together with your classmates at Super City Elementary, you save helpless citizens, rescue lost pets, and eat delicious ice cream.

Utilizing the ultralight VRBS system, Super City is easy enough for a six year-old to master, but also provides the structure for anyone to generate a superhero story of their own.

Super City was designed to be able to run for small kids, so the rule-set is definitely very light. Your powers will be represented as verbs, and you’ll gain better control over your powers as you progress. The game is organized over a series of scenes, which will present you with a number of problems that you’ll have to solve. You also have a collective pool of Energy, which is meant to track how close your characters are to running out of steam. The goal is to get through the mission without running out of Energy, which depletes when you fail a roll.

This is a game without a setting or history, which means you can backfill whatever lore makes sense for your characters.

Cosmic Ray Kids, by Hedgemaze Press.

Cosmic Ray Kids is a single-page (front and back) atomic-age adventure roleplaying game for all ages. Play as superpowered youngsters who fight the forces of evil with heroics and heart!

Cosmic Ray Kids uses a push-your-luck style of gameplay, that looks very much like the PUSH system by Cezar Capacle. Rolling a 6 is the best possible result. If you roll a 4 or lower, you can choose to roll again - but roll higher than a 7 and you’ve gone too far!

This game also has a Boost resource that is communal, and can be spent to improve a roll up to a certain point. This gives the players an option in case there is something that they can’t risk a re-roll for but still need a success, and also encourages the group to work together to figure out how to solve problems. If you want a game that has a retro-cartoon feel that encourages the characters to work together, Cosmic Ray Kids might be worth checking out!

A Special Extra:

It’s not a superhero game, but Children of the Fall is a GM-less game that takes place in an apocalypse that has turned adults into bloodthirsty monsters. It’s very gritty and dark, but an interesting premise.

[starheirxero]

XERO, I JUST WATCHED THE NEW LAES AND SAMS EPISODES-

I FEEL SO FED- OH MY GOODNESS, I KNEW, THE PEACE WOULDN'T LAST-

The creator is officially making his move!!!👀 I smell the Lunar Angst already-

It also opened up the interesting question of limits! How far can Lunar go? They seem to think, only a bigger wave of electricity is taboo, with wind and light zaps being fine, but are they correct?

Earth's security protocol is honestly terrifying, hearing her talking so sweetly while beating someone up- I'm honestly so happy, that they're focusing a little more on their robotic sides, it's so interesting!!! You have infected me with robotic brainrot👍

AND MOON, OH GOD, MOON- He's losing it!!!

I've seen people think he dreamed, which is likely! Personally, I Interpretated his actions as hallucinations! Walking around and yelling at air, punching the ground!

Either way, he's going through pure psychological torment, the poor guy, and I'm honestly afraid for him!

On a more positive note: the Ultrakill crossover cracked me up- Imagine Gabriel losing to fingerguns- I adored the art you did for it even more!

-Stardust

RIGHTTT!!!! It's been a long time comin' honestly, and he said he'd take what he wants the hard way if he has to!! And with the limits on top of it all, yea!!! I can see their reasoning for how they're working with stuff right now but I can't help but think about how explicit Gemini was about no powers and it's like bwah!! nervousness forever!!!!

AND THE SECURITY PROTOCOLS IKRRR the joyful tone vs the fact she was beating the shit outta that thang.... AND YEAHAHGDE THE ROBOTNESS !!! I love it when they are machines hooray!!!! ^_^

AND MOON YEAH OMS THAT'S BEEN TRIPPING ME UP FER A MINUTE NOW.

I've both seen theories it was a dream(< what I assumed too), a hallucination, or maybe even some Forkface fuckery! I feel like, knowing the shows, any of the above could be the reason so ultimately yeah, whatever it is? it is fucking him UP!!! Whenever Moon gets choked up it's like an immediate +50 emotional hit to my heart HDKSJDK

AND GABRIELEJAOXJD I KNOW I'M STILL NOT OVER IT. The way he turned his back on Lunar like he was pouting fuckinf KILLED MEEEJAKAJDKD

[lesbiandanhowell]

Special episode of Sam reacts!

Sam reacts to: We're All Doomed Movie

Since this is long, little summary of thoughts at the beginning. I didn't love the editing at the beginning, because it felt too fast paced/ too jumpy? But it changed in the second half and seeing the contrast in the editing of it being much slower during the emotional bit, it does make sense. I think the movie for sure did the performance justice and showing the audience interactions added a lot for me.

Also this show is so important on every level and I adore Dan so much for making it and being so proud of it.

- Immediately started looking for myself but I don't think you can see us, cause we sat on the balcony. I have however already spotted @energeticwarrior and @danrifics like less than a minute in lmao

- I love seeing how many of the camera positions I identified correctly.

- I wish they would let shots linger more, the cuts are quite jumpy.

- Oh this brings me back so much. Hearing the audience laugh at certain moments I remember laughing in that moment. I get the same excitement and urge to clap and cheer.

- I love seeing his expressions, cause I didn't get to see those up from the balcony!

- The person with the boob hair sweater in the first row, I love you!

- "Believably sad, lonely and horny. Dan Howell!"

- Okay they somehow really managed to capture the energy of the room which I was worried about. The sound leveling between audience and Dan is really well matched imo.

- He is SO SWEATY what the fuck how stressed was he because the venue really wasn't too hot honestly.

- My attention span is so much worse than when I was there in person holy shit.

- "After the show talking about what a good time you've had" and none of us have been able to shut up about just how much we loved it since 🥹

- The overalls are so bad for Dan, he has like no ass in them.

- Okay admission that @personthattoleratesme made fun of me for: during the YouTube swipe Montage I didn't realize all the other like Crafting, Baking, Shipping Container YouTubers was Dan the first time I saw the show...

- I am SO GLAD Froot Loops Tucan made it and the persons reaction and confidence is incredible.

- Dan's ability to go between talking about wanting to fuxk the Duolingo owl to the very real danger of social media influencing political elections is unparalleled.

- "Human communication. We want to come together with real people. Share stories, move each other emotionally with our words about depression and pensis."

- Imagine Dan Howell calling you hoe...

- Something about Dan calling himself a ditzy bitch gets me so bad every time.

- "Miscellaneous mentally ill nerds of London" best title I have ever been given.

- I liked Sundays madlips better :(( But wasn't faggots Sunday I am so confused now

- The screams for every Phil mention, we love him so much.

- I love Blame Game so much, some of my favourite parts from the whole show because the energy is unmatched. The fact that JKR gets a more severe reaction than Musk is actually so funny.

- Sunday crowd was the best, you can so clearly hear that the majority of people is calling freedom for Dan at the end aww.

- I need more bravery to fuck shit up, to not be so agreeable and complacent and be more disruptive honestly.

- After the calender bit his voice is so shakey and broken, I didn't hear that at all in person but fuck that just broke me.

- Yeah the last few minutes always get me so not much of a reaction to those other than I cried, again.

- What I found interesting was the parts that were left out? Cause I definitely noticed a few moments that didn't make the cut which I find surprising! Moments I noticed were the first mention of him only using two emojis, that's referenced again with the cowboy hat emoji and also he didn't include the iconic "Because time changes everything".

- I am so glad they managed to get All Star because it is simply part of the experience honestly. Nothing hit's quite like sobbing and then being hit with that song.

EDIT:

- I remembered something else I really loved: the music, I really think they choose such a good score, made such good little sound effects and the reaction I had to hearing it all live was amazing.

[ghost-nunya]

look: sam's power trips on game changer are occasionally balanced out by grant being devious towards him on breaking news (or no laugh news room, it's like they're trying to make it hard to search /ref) which is a genuinely hilarious dynamic almost as iconic as brennan lee mulligan and sam

this, of course, makes me wish i could get a glimpse into the alternate timeline where grant DIDN'T have covid and was able to do the bingo episode, just to see how he'd react to getting a fast one pulled on him. I like to imagine in this universe there's a dropout america 4 and 5 in the new season just to keep fucking with sam as revenge

also i would have loved to hear yet another "say- sam, where are you from?" with rekah and trapp also being present i would be positively filled with glee (sam i am so sorry)

[vocallywritten]

Season 2 of Play It By Ear is even better than the first season, and I will stand by that.

I liked the first season, but it honestly didn't have the same magic as the Mountport episode. That's not super surprising, since Welcome to Mountport was a lightning in a bottle kind of success and that's really hard to reproduce.

None of this to say that the first season wasn't good. It absolutely was. But you could tell they hadn't quite figured out the best format yet. Since Jess and Zach had their podcast with the same conceite as Play It By Ear, I'm sure that the folks at Dropout wanted to differentiate their own show from the podcast in some way. It seems like in the first season, they did that by having a more rigid set of prompts.

The prompts in the first season were a lot like the Mountport episode in that they were designed to guide the story. And of course they upped the ante by asking the actors to include certain changes to the music, or funny choices, which is kind of a natural progression from the "include this phrase" that Game Changer did.

But they also seemed to want to let the actors have more freedom to improv on Play It By Ear as well, which would sometimes clash with the more rigid directions Mano was given.

I imagine Sam decided not to host this show even though he did chose to host Game Changer's other spin off, Make Some Noise, in part because he wanted to make room for other talent on the dropout platform. (And also because hosting three shows is a lot.) But that's also a tricky situation because I think part of the appeal of the Welcome to Mountport episode WAS Sam's presence. His enthusiasm and the way he hyped up the cast was part of the charm of the episode.

So when Play It By Ear premiered, I'm sure there were people who were disappointed Sam wasn't there. However I think Mano was an excellent choice for host. He has a very similar energy to Sam's (in that he seems super happy to be there and hypes up his fellow cast members) without needing to act like Sam. They didn't get a Dollar Store Sam Reich to host this show, but found someone who brought the appropriate energy to the hosting role, is what I'm saying.

In season one, I kinda got the sense that Mano, on occasion, struggled with how rigid the format was because it put him in the position of needing to police the narrative a little bit. And it kinda sucks that him just doing his job and trying to keep things on track also kind of detracted from the quality of the show a little bit. I maintain that this was not his fault, or anyone's really. Again, I think the show just needed time to find it's footing and get the format down.

Which brings me to season two. This season it looks like the prompts are a little more general, or will suggest styles of music, rather than dictating a lot of story beats. I think this was absolutely 100% the right move.

Jess, Zach, and their costars all have a lot of experience doing exactly this, so giving them more freedom to take the story where ever they want is the best direction to take the show.

I think that this slight change to the format has also done wonders for Mano's dynamic with the rest of the cast.

Again, I think a huge part of the appeal of Mountport was how genuinely wholesome it was. Like everyone seemed very supportive of each other and like they were all having a blast being there. So I think Play It By Ear should have a similar, wholesome dynamic to be a true spin off. Last season, though it wasn't /too/ often, there were moments when Mano, as host, had to play up a little playful antagonism with the cast. But the whole cast vs host, Drew Carey-esque dynamic is already pretty well represented by Sam and his collegehumor cast. Dropout didn't need another, similar situation there, especially when the pilot episode very much did not feature that cast vs host relationship at all.

I think season two lends itself to a much more natural dynamic. One where Mano is guiding the story, rather than dictating it.

I did genuinely enjoy season one, but this season has really had a consistent spark that I haven't really seen since that first game changer episode.

The cast, crew, and of course the band are all doing such a marvelous job and I can't wait to see what happens next!

[chuckwon]

I find it hard to imagine an emotionally satisfying and compelling plotline for an SPN sequel/revival that isn’t “Chuck won” related.

Here’s my logic:

-What reason would there be for Sam and Dean to push to ~leave Heaven~ if they’re supposedly content? (The Winchesters also showed us exactly why Dean ISNT content, at length, and that’s still true for his character whether or not the sequel/revival will reference any of its plot and events directly.)

-To position Sam and Dean as compelled to leave Heaven for ANY reason unavoidably highlights the original finale wasn’t a good ending. (Which, again, The Winchesters has already elaborated upon for 13 episodes.) That necessitates answering why and how that ending happened at all.

-They can go with some kind of general “Well life is life. Sometimes you die. True free will is that everything can’t be perfect :/ They just want a second chance“ but that WOULD be a cop out. Not compelling at all and blatantly hollow reasoning to just make more of the show.

-If Jack’s truly the new God, and that’s supposedly good and fine, what reason would HE have for resurrecting Sam and Dean? What could he ~need~? There’s no POV where Sam and Dean having more “work to do” isn’t tragic, and no compelling sense to it if it’s not about the obvious: Jack’s the problem.

-How’s Jack the problem? However you slice it, he’s been corrupted by God power. That routes back to Chuck because he orchestrated this outcome, as well as cycles of violence.

-Any SPN sequel requires reciprocal Destiel. It simply does. And the original silence—Dean and Cas being kept apart at the end of season 15—is thematically connected to all this.

-If Jack was corrupted by God power and that was Chuck’s plan all along, things have then been “fake” and called into question just like throughout s15; so, what’s real? Unavoidably there’d have to be emphasis on that. And what’s “real” still includes, purposefully, Destiel. They’re a hallmark of reality and their love is part of the key to their collective freedom.

It’s just math to me!! All the threads tie together!!!!

They could do something else, of course. But if they just pull some random big bad out that the gang needs to fight (that Good Jack can’t handle?? A BIGGER God??) it’ll be laughably transparent and hard to care.

That’s why the Akrida were even connected to Chuck in The Winchesters. They know this. They’re in a corner. They could resurrect Sam and Dean to do small cases again, but… again, to what purpose?

If they resurrect Supernatural, they’d better have a damn good premise.

There’s no Bigger Bad than the Big Bad they already fought and supposedly defeated…unless they didn’t win.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The brothers and the gay angel need to free their son. And themselves in the process.

[noxemma]

Chapter two for my Hot Summer Art fic is up!

I might actually get to posting all of these before the end of the month if I can keep up this pace 😂

Tags, Rating, Word Count, AO3 link, etc. at the bottom

Beside Your Side

Fic Summary: Dean convinces Sam to look into a potential case where people are going missing from a New Jersey beach town. Of course, they have to bring Cas and Eileen along, just in case it's not a monster. Dean is excited to get the case over quickly and enjoy a well-earned vacation with the people he loves the most. Nothing ever seems to go the way Dean plans it though, and this case is no exception.

Chapter 2: Nothing Wrong with Floral

Dean

Dean starts to relax and enjoy himself as Baby cruises through the downtown area. The windows are down, his rock mix is blasting, and Cas in his old AC/DC shirt leaning toward the open window with the sun on his face looking gorgeous.

I guess I should have expected he wouldn’t have much in the way of casual clothes. It’s not like we’ve ever taken a vacation before, and his standard suit and trench coat usually suffice for any government position we impersonate.

Dean glances over at Cas again and tries to ignore the way his heart feels like it’s been replaced with warm goo. Cas is resplendent in the early evening glow, the light emphasizing his high cheekbones and contrasting against the scruff that’s grown over the last few days. Sunbeams and wind play through his hair and Dean can see the glint of grey that’s started to sprout ever since he’s become nearly human.

God, it only makes him more attractive though, Dean thinks, running a hand through his own hair self-consciously. Don’t know if I quite pull it off the way that he does.

“Dean?”

Dean suddenly finds blue eyes staring back at him quizzically. One brow arches and Dean gulps at the way his stomach tries to take up residence in his throat.

“Wha-what?”

“I believe a green light indicates that it is your turn to go, correct?” Cas snarks and Dean is so tempted to lean in and kiss the smile off his face.

Thankfully a car horn saves him from himself, prompting him to hit the gas and speed through the intersection. Cas goes back to enjoying the sun and Dean resolutely focuses on finding a parking space near the address Sam gave him. He ends up getting lucky with a spot in the shade and they don’t even have to walk that far to the pretty townhouse belonging to Bradley's sister. Cas stops Dean just before he knocks on the door.

“Dean, are you sure I shouldn’t just wait in the car? I was pretty useless at this the last time I tried to help, and I can’t imagine I’ve gotten much better. I don't have 'people skills' like you and Sam." Cas actually uses air quotes, but the insecurity in his voice sucks all the humor out of the idiosyncrasy.  

“You weren’t useless, you were just … awkward. You were trying to be too much like me and Sam; do it exactly how we do it. Just be yourself and I’m sure you’ll be alright.” Dean winks at him, immediately regrets the action when Cas’ brows pinch together, and spins around to knock on the door before he can stick his foot further into his mouth.

The door swings inward to reveal an attractive woman in her mid-twenties.

“Um, can I help you?” The woman crosses her arms and stares defiantly as if she can’t think of any greater inconvenience than two strangers showing up on her doorstep. “Hello, I'm Dean and this is Castiel,” Dean introduces them, completely unfazed by her attitude and laying on the charm thick. “We’re podcasters and we were hoping to interview you for an episode on-"

“You two, podcasters? Yeah, sure and I’m a mermaid on the full moon. Get off my porch before I call the cops,” she rolls her eyes and retreats into the house.

“Wait, please,” Cas calls out before she can fully slam the door. When she opens the door a few inches, he steps in front of Dean to address her. “I apologize for him. He doesn’t think people will talk to us if we tell them the truth. You see, we’re both actually really into true crime and missing people. It all started when his father went missing, and it’s become somewhat of a hobby and an obsession since then. Helping others find their loved ones gives him a bit of the closure he never got.”

Dean’s pretty sure his jaw is on the floor, and it stays there as the woman eyes them up and down before sighing and opening the door fully.

“Ugh, fine. Come in. You get three minutes.”

“Thank you,” Cas responds graciously, leaving Dean standing dumbstruck on the porch.

“God, I’m such a sucker for sad blue eyes,” the woman says to Cas’ retreating form. She turns a calculating gaze onto Dean, eyeing him up and down before carefully saying, “Your boyfriend gets you to do whatever he wants with those things, doesn’t he?”

What? He’s not actually-,” Dean stops himself because it feels like a trap. Plus, he doesn’t want this woman to know that Cas isn’t actually dating him. Not when she’s staring at his backside appreciatively. “Uh, yeah, but don’t tell him that. I don’t think he’s figured out what a sucker I am yet.”

Like what you read? You can find the rest of the chapter here on AO3

Rating: Explicit

Chapters: 2/? (hopefully 9 😂)

Chapter Word Count: ~8,400

Tags: No Archive Warnings Apply, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester, Case Fic, Established Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester, Beach Case, Cannon when convenient, Mutual Pining, Idiots in Love, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con (Dean and background characters), Non-Consensual Touching (Not between Dean and Cas), Hurt/Comfort, I promise it's not as dark as it sounds, Fluff, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, clueless Sam Winchester, Chick-Flick Moments, Cannon typical misunderstandings, Angst?, One day I'll learn how to tag, WIP, JackieDeeArt's Hot Summer Art 2024 (Supernatural), Hot Summer Art, Greek Mythology if you Squint, No Beta, Everyone is bad with words, Except Eileen who is the only emotionally stable person for miles, Dean Winchester Loves Castiel, Castiel Loves Dean Winchester, Angel Grace Dysfunction