#he did not deserve erasure of 15 years of character development

[destielwarmsthecocklesofmyheart]

clicked on the article ONLY to see if they included spn

glad they did

i dont really agree with the Lisa and Ben part but everything else is damn right

burns me up

[gracelesstars]

Complete 101 guide list: What to ask at a Supernatural Con?

(Click here for new updates)

*cracks knuckles* well, I guess it’s time to become that person WHO DOES ALL OF THE GROUP’S PROJECT BY THEMSELVES bc no one else seems to give a sh*t anymore. 

I mean, the gates were open, the ban-lists were lifted, vaccines distributed, gay marriage legalised and y’all still dared to stand on the holy ground of the con microphone (where fellow brave 2012-2019 Destiel comrades have laid their bodies beforehand - may their souls r.i.p.), and ask “do yo got allergies?”, “what’s your favourite candy”, “where’d you go if you stole impala”or some crap like that. And now we got thee “homo Qs scary” ban reinstated (thanks, jpeg!)...

Do not despair though, it's not to late - we can fix it! Copy these questions word for word, I don’t care about the credit, but if I hear you ask ONE MORE DAMN TIME “What was your favourite type of Cas to play? :)” - you’ll be finding a “lovely” surprise under your bed that night. :)

MISHA

You said numerous times before that you’re happy with Cas’ ending. Is it because of the homophobic environment you had to work in, which for so many years denied any sort of acknowledgement of Destiel? So getting something feels better than nothing? Or do you really think this is the best ending that Cas could’ve gotten and that Cas deserved? 

What happened that made network (and Jensen) finally approve of Destiel and let it go canon after years of denial, gaslighting, and homophobia?

You mentioned before that if Jensen did not agree, the confession scene would not have happened? Why is that so given that his character didn’t react much during it and was impacted very minimally by it afterwards?

What do you think Dean & Cas’ first kiss was like? Where and when did it happen?

How often do you check tumblr? (Not “if” - “how often”) (source)

Jensen said that he thinks Dean and Cas fuck all the time, your thoughts, Misha? (source: i think we should just lie for the drama and just to see what happens)

(PARTIALLY ANSWERED)You’ve always been a big ally of the LGBTQ+ community, so could you reiterate that Cas’ confession was romantic, Cas is gay, and that we’re still not crazy, for those, who have not heard it before or who want to strip Cas away from him homosexuality/queerness?

Follow up question: For many queer people allowing Cas’ confession to be left for interpretation is a form queer identity erasure, invalidation, and gaslighting. Now, you’ve dubbed it at first as a “homosexual declaration of love”, do you still think that? Or do you think that, because it is a form of art, it is valid to interpret it however one wants?

(ANSWERED)  You have said that you started playing Cas as canonically in love with Dean in s15 after you knew about the confession scene. Could you tell us more about what different acting choices have you decided to make in order to portray Cas’ feelings for Dean?

JENSEN

Questions about Dean/finale

You said that s15 was made with Dean’s death as a given. Why then have the whole season showing us Dean trying to heal his trauma, understand his anger issues, be better and less self-depreciating - all to revert to his early seasons’ suicidal ideation and wipe off 15 years of character development in the last 2 episodes, by portraying him as nothing more but a 15 year interruption to his brother’s life?

If Dean’s last season aspirations have been about getting free out of the maze, knowing what’s real, and having a choice, why kill him right after he supposedly have achieved them at last? Why not let him reap the rewards of his battles and sacrifices? Why not have him live and experience something good for all the times he bled and died for the world? Do you think Dean deserved to die then and like that?

The top ten men that Dean Winchester would like to fuck? (source: “if he refuses to answer i want “jomophobe” trending on every social media by noon”)

Questions about spin-off

When and why did you decided you wanted to get the rights to Supernatural and make a spin off? 

In the prequel is John going to be portrayed as the abusive parent and terrible person that he was? Or is it going to be another apologist show justifying, redeeming and validating the abusers (especially abusive parents’) wrongdoings? As that seems to be popular trope in Hollywood movies right now?

Questions about Dean & Cas' relationship

When did you start playing Dean as in love with Cas? (and watch his brain go ERROR404 trying not to answer this homophobic-ly)

If Dean had enough time to process and respond to Cas’ romantic love declaration, would he have reciprocated or would he have turned Cas down, because he’s straight (and/or homophobic)?

Why did you veto Dean saying “I love you” to Cas back in 8x17?

Do (did?) questions about Destiel make you uncomfortable?

In the past, you’ve said that “Destiel is not real” and that “Dean is not bisexual”, do you still hold these opinion?

Why Dean didn’t ask for Jack to bring Cas back in 15x19, especially, when he literally begged Chuck for it, even offering his or Sam’s lives earlier at the same episode?

Why Dean didn’t look for Cas in Heaven after he was told that he was alive?

In original ending Dean was supposed to come upon Jimmy in heaven? Could you tell more about that? Like, how Dean reacted? What did he say to Jimmy and what did he feel like when Jimmy said he’s not Cas?

Why do you think that Dean and we as humans cannot be sure if angels can experience romantic and/or sexual love, when we and Dean have seen archangel Gabriel who has had lots of sex in porn, seen Adam - the first man - have a long lasting relationship with an angel, knew about angels having sex with humans and creating nephilim, Lily Sunder and her angel romantic partner, and lastly Dean - having sex and brief romantic relationship with angel Anna himself?

In 15x09 after reuniting with Cas in purgatory Dean told him that he had “something to say” and after Cas cut him off and told him he didn’t need to say it, he didn’t look pleased about it. Was there something else that Dean wanted to tell that he didn’t in his prayer?

Another Dean actor - Guillermo Rojas - has said that his Dean’s reciprocation was indented and that “everybody says if you want to be a real man, you have to be like Dean Winchester, and Dean Winchester is in love with Castiel.” What are you thoughts on that? Do you agree? (insp.)

Given that Dean was shown to favour various fashionable attires throughout the seasons. What do you think he wore to his and Cas’ wedding?

Other

Jared said that Dean wouldn’t want for Sam to end up with Eileen. What are you thoughts on that?

JPAD

You’ve been a big advocate for mental health and had many themes about it incorporated into the show. This has attracted a lot of fans who could relate to it because of their personal experience. What are your thoughts about it given that, in the end, Supernatural decided to show that the only to get away from the trauma and suffering is through death? Do you agree with this message?

You have said that your tweets regarding not knowing about Jensen’s prequel have been misunderstood. So, could you tell what tone and message did you want to convey with “Et tu, Brute, what a truly awful thing you’ve done. #Bravo you coward” to Robbie Thompson then?

Have you apologised to Robbie Thompson for calling him a Shakespearean traitor and a coward for choosing to work with Jensen of the SPN prequel?

Why did you say that angels, and especially Cas, are “junkless” when we have seen many examples on the show of not only angels, and Cas, having sex but being in romantic relationships, too?

Is the reason you define Sam and Eileen as a pseudo romance because you can’t imagine a disabled person being in a romantic relationship? (source)

Do you wish you had more opportunities to explore and build upon Sam and Ruby's platonic relationship? I really liked how you portayed them like siblings!

J2

How do you respond to the fact that so many people use your words, actions, & your show & characters as justification for their bigotry? (source)

You gave this show 15 years of your life, given that Supernatural (especially in its last few episodes) promoted suicidal ideation - portraying dying as a best way to deal with trauma, villainized or killed its POC characters, failed to give any positive lgbtq+ representation, destroyed the “found family” trope by saying that only the blood relatives matter and so on... what do you think and hope it and Dean and Sam’s legacy is?

Why do you feel it’s okay to keep trying to make Cas’ canon romantic confession open to interpretation? Considering you say you’re allies & doing so is erasure of queer narratives, I’m curious as to why you made that choice. (source)

What was the point of quote “family don’t end in blood” and calling fandom a SPN “family”, when the show ended up saying that it’s always been about two blood-related codependent brothers only?

JENSEN / MISHA

We know that the CW netwrok conducted a market research back in 2016 on whether or not they should go full, on-screen, reciprocated Destiel. If they had decided to move forward with that story line, how do you think it would have been done? How do you think the story would have played out? (source)

Who would be the big and little spoon? (source)

Ignore Jensen and ask Misha “Since Dean didn’t even look for Cas in heaven and didn’t reciprocate anyways. Do you think there’s a chance Cas will move on with Mick Davies?” (source)

Ignore Jensen again lol and just spend a few minutes telling Misha how grateful you are for his LGBTQ+ support throughout the years and for fighting for LGBTQ+ representation.

SIGNING / PHOTO OPS

Give Jared a fanart picture of a Destiel sex/kissing scene to sign.

Wear a t-shirt with “Et tu, Brute, what a truly awful thing you’ve done. #Bravo you coward” tweet on it to jpad photo ops. Or have him sign a photocopy of that tweet.

Wear this costume to jpad panel.

Wear this t-shirt to a Jensen and/or Misha photo-op or get it signed.

Have J2/Jpad sign this picture.

Ask OP/artist’s permission to use their posts/art !!

BUT WHAT IF

If you ask Jensen a destiel question and he’s rude about it?

Just start crying, like full on blubbering (credit)

Straight out ask him if he doesn’t like Destiel because he’s homophobic?

Some of the Supernatural fans get mad me and some of the actors get uncomfortable or annoyed at my questions? :((

Well, first of all who cares what they think? You are paying to be there, so you have a right to be there just like anyone else. You are paying the actors!! If they get uncomfy with some questions - that’s a they problem. If worse comes to worse - what they can do? Fire you? You don’t work for them. Ban you from further cons - would you even want to go? I mean the shows over and idk why some people still pay hundreds of $$$ to go there and hear FOR THE 35th TIME what some actor’s fav episode was. 

They’re screening the questions/Destiel questions aren’t allowed?

Write down some stupid question like “What’s you fav type of pie?”

Give it the staff who’s screening the questions.

When it’s your turn to ask, just ask your real question.

Preferably pick as short question, so you can say it quickly before they try to stop you.

OR if they try to stop you ask into the mircophone “Are LGBTQ+ questions not allowed?”, so that everyone can hear it (just like this lady here did it in the previous con). They are less likely to stop you if you all out their homophobia publicly. 

If they try to harass you about it afterwards pretend that you don’t understand English very well and/or that you just changed your mind about the question and didn’t know it was not allowed. Speak with the fake accent the whole time to make it more believable (works like a charm every time).

Jared decides to interrupt a question that’s not for him/about him/his character?

Tell him or shout (if they don’t let you use the mic) “Jared, please, this question is not for or about you.”

J2/bibro/w*nc*sties keep hogging the question line?

Pretend to be one of them. Befriend them. Come up with some really good j2 questions and tell them that’s what you want to ask so they let you in line and then when you get the mic you just ask the real questions. (source)

[predisposed-performer]

Did anyone else really try to accept the finale at first?

For the first few weeks after 15x20 I was in such denial and I was so angry that I just forced myself to think that it was a fitting end.

Then I realised I don't have to settle for the blatant homophobia, the POC and Disabled erasure, the misogyny, the destruction of 15 years of character development, the devastation of the whole idea of Found Family.

They brutally murdered Dean, he was terrified. He deserved to live. They stopped Sam from being with Eileen (yeah she could have been the blurry wife on the porch, but who knows?), he deserved to be happy. They tore Cas away from us and erased him from the narrative completely, yeah they said he was in Heaven, but it doesn't feel like that at all.

Honestly, fuck the CW.

[friendofspidermannedleeds]

2020 overview: writing edition 

Tagged by the loveliest and kindest of friends, @momentofmemory​. 

I’m not tagging anyone because I’ve not been around and am sure most have done this by now, but if you’re reading this and you’ve not been tagged and would like to participate please say I tagged you! <3 

1. List of works published this year 

The Kid Really is Smitten (Peter & Happy, Peter/MJ. 233) Nightmares and New Beginnings (May & Peter. 733)  Normal Teenager Stuff (May & Peter. 5+1, 1.8k)  Breaking a Promise (May & Peter, May & Tony. 3.3k) Carry Me (Morgan & Happy. 1.2k)

Fictober 2020 Series  * Works around 1k+ include:  Somebody to Talk To (May & Karen. 1.8k) Fireproof (Happy & Peter. 904) Flight Conversation (MJ & Peter. 967) Incalculable Worth (Ben & Peter. 2.8k) Regrets (May & Peter. 1.2k) A Nice Peaceful Afternoon (Mr. Harrington and the AcaDec kids. 3k) 

Knowing (Peter/MJ, May & MJ. 2.5k)  Forever Ours (May & Peter, May/Ben. 3.8k)  2. Work you are most proud of (and why)

I think it would have to be Incalculable Worth from my Fictober series. I’m forever disappointed in the Ben Parker erasure of the MCU and had been wanting to give him the respect he deserves. Most of this fic came to me much more quickly than my typical writing inspo (that Fictober deadline magic!), and even though I still have things I might change about the final product, I’ve never been so pleased with a fic’s result and reception. Several lovely people stumbled across this fic on Ao3 and left kind comments about how moved they were, which makes me think that I did what I set out to do! 

3. Work you are least proud of (and why)

This would be Nightmares and New Beginnings. I just think it’s weird. I was so new to fic when I wrote it and was feeling experimental one night. I normally write quite slowly and edit a lot, but the idea for this one came to me after midnight and I published the fic before 2am. I hated it when I woke up and nearly deleted it. Two months later, as I was beginning to post Fictober on Ao3, I almost deleted it once again. The words of one extremely kind commenter saved it from destruction, however, so it’s still there! 

4. A favorite excerpt of your writing 

This is going to be hard for me because I don’t actually enjoy my writing for its composition! I like the concepts and character interactions a lot but I’m not terribly proud of my actual writing ability yet. 😬 

My favorite thing I’ve written lately is the ending to Forever Ours, my new fic about May and Ben adopting Peter, but I don’t want to put it here because it might be a very minor spoiler. 

So here’s a little section of Trust, my last Fictober ficlet. I liked it because May’s inner turmoil over Peter’s Spider-Man life is one of my absolute favorite things to write about. 

What troubles her most is this: whatever is out there, whoever he’s fighting—they won’t know he is fifteen. That he’s a child. That he loves Legos, and Star Wars, and science puns, and Mathletes. But what can she say? 

He’s not asking for permission. He’ll do this no matter what she says, and they both know it. 

He is asking for her blessing.

5. Share or describe a favourite review you received

This review meant so much to me! This lovely commenter read multiple May and Ben Parker fics and it was so nice to find that I’m not the only one who wants more of the Parker family than what we get in the MCU. It made me feel like my niche writing wasn’t of interest to me and me alone after all. :) 

6. A time when writing was really, really hard

Halfway through Fictober, I lost one of the most important people in my life. It was devastating. Writing was nice about 90% of the time, and actually a nice distraction that helped me take a break from the grief. But sometimes it wasn’t, sometimes it felt impossible, and that was when I’d just skip writing or posting and wait until it would serve me again. (So I finished Fictober a little later than I wanted to, but I have 0 regrets about that.) 

7. A scene of characters you wrote that surprised you

I only wrote one thing that wasn’t an MCU Spidey fic, and that was Carry Me with Morgan and Happy. I wasn’t expecting to write it at all, and it’s not one of my favorite finished fics, but I really enjoyed the process. 

8. How did you grow as a writer this year

I grew by writing fic for the first time! My job for the majority of this year involved a lot of nonfiction copywriting, so I’m an experienced writer, but I had no idea what writing would be like outside my “professional life.” I’m glad I tried it! 

9. How do you hope to grow next year

I’m hoping to finish and publish a longer (for me) fic! I’m currently working on Penance, a fic about MCU Spidey’s origins and Uncle Ben’s influence. It should be at least 6-7k by the time I’m finished. I know that is actually short, but I haven’t even cracked 4k yet 😂 Longer fics stress me out because I don’t feel confident enough in my ability to tie together so many words, and I also can’t come up with plots to save my life. So this will be a stretch for me and I am looking forward to it! 

10. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta of cheerleader or muse etc. etc.)

This is, without question, @momentofmemory​. For so many reasons. (Sorry in advance for how rambly this will get, my friend.) 

Mem’s writing (particularly this May fic that is perfection and no I will never stop rec’ing it til the day I die thank you) is to blame/thank for getting me into fic in the first place. I’d been here in the Spidey fandom on Tumblr but I didn’t trust fanfic because I’d seen my most beloved characters shoved to the side/killed off in too many stories. I began 2020 hating all fanfic tbh. But then I read Mem’s captivating masterpieces (like this, the greatest one-shot!) and opened my heart to fic that celebrates the worlds I love! 

Mem is the kindest human ever. She read ALL of my Fictober works and left the kindest comments that made my heart soar. Knowing that my favorite author had taken the time to read all of that motivated me to write more than anything else has this year! 

Sometimes, when I was trying to write fic but felt burned out or uninspired, I’d go and read Mem’s writing. Her prose is divine, her dialogue is realistic, her characters and their relationships are so well thought-out--her work inspires me! I’d read it and feel excited by the ways that we can use our words to create beautiful things, and though I’m not anywhere near her level, I do think that reading her work has made me a better writer. 

Bonus positive influence: @i-lovethatforme​! Jess, thank you for being the world’s best cheerleader, for being endlessly kind and supportive, and for being my first ever beta in November. I go back and read your wonderful comments whenever I’m doubting myself. You’re an absolute gem and ilysm ❤

11. Anything from real life show up in your writing this year?

Yep. Regrets is about grief, and I was grieving pretty heavily when I wrote it. Peter’s regrets didn’t necessarily mirror mine, but writing it was still a cathartic experience. 

12. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers

Write what you want to write! Since I don’t do IronDad or smut, I wasn’t sure if anyone in the MCU Spidey fandom would be interested in my work. I thought briefly about trying to write based on what I thought people would read, but I decided against it. I enjoy writing platonic friendships and family fic more than anything else, so that’s what I publish most. I write what I want to write, and it’s made me so happy! 

13. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year?

I have a few things I’m excited about! I’ve got some Spideychelle ficlets that might be a series. They’ll focus on Peter and MJ after coming back from The Blip, featuring MJ trying to ignore her crush and Peter developing a crush. The other is Penance, the MCU Spidey origins/Ben Parker story. 

14. If you could recommend only one work from yourself published this year

I think I’d say Knowing, my fic about Peter/MJ that’s more about MJ & May bonding. I just love these two women with all my heart, and I’m proud of the way this one turned out because I think it honors both of them pretty solidly.  

15. End of Year word count

36,625 words! It’s not a lot in comparison to other writers but it’s a huge accomplishment for me! 

[celticheartedfangirl]

25 Fucking Stupid Writing Choices OUAT Made

This post is a snarky response to Adam and Eddy’s little humble brag article that came out today:

http://ew.com/tv/2018/05/14/once-upon-time-crazy-storylines/

This is meant to be snarky and critical and if you don’t like that -- don’t read it.  (MY post, not the link above.)  

Look, I am a OUAT fan an there are many things I love about the show.  But there are many I just DON’T LOVE and I think they’re worth discussing.  If you don’t like criticism, you won’t like this post.  That’s fine.  

Thank you for all the suggestions!  I think I got quite a bit crammed in here.  

Under the cut for length and so as not to upset those who only want to ‘think lovely thoughts’ . . . . . 

25. Here’s a magic doohickey thingy we’ve never heard of before but NOW we’re using this thing.

Look, I’m not gonna list all the MacGuffins this show has used, I’d be here all day and there are worse things they’ve done, and this IS a show about magic after all.  

But there’s also such a thing as overkill.  And there was too much MacGuffin use that we didn’t know about before in this show. It was far too convenient and usually used as a cop out in lieu of – you know – actual STORY TELLING. THAT is my MacGuffin issue.  Don’t use it to replace character development.  We’re not here for that.  

24.  The Lost Boys/The Untold Stories and Other Dropped Plots

So the Lost Boys -- Did they get homes? Did they grow up?  I don’t know!  Do you?  Of course not – we’ll never know!

What about all those Untold Stories folks?  Weren’t there a bunch of them?  Are they still meandering around in Storybrooke?

Edited to add:  Maleficent and Lily.  SO SORRY I forgot to initially include you in this one.  My bad.  You are missed, ladies!  

Edited once more to add:  Poor Gideon.  Both parents dead and his extended family doesn’t give a shit about him.  Or at least I assume so because we don’t know where he is.  The child of Beauty and the Beast -- treated like a disposable plot device.  Nice.

OUAT is great with creating and LOUSY with follow through.  I know there are many others.  But there shouldn’t be.  There shouldn’t be that many dropped plots on this show.  If you’re not going to follow through with a story line, why add the characters AT ALL?  Speaking of that . . .

23.  JFC, how many new characters do we NEED on this show???

Especially since you still haven’t figured out what to do with some of the ones that are CONTRACT PLAYERS on your show!  Hey, didn’t Archie and Ruby used to be those?  (Waves hi to Belle!  Also the Charmings post S4.  More on that later.)

22.  You know – Rumple is Henry’s GRANDFATHER

He is!  Really!  

You’d never fucking KNOW IT, would you?  The erasure of any sort of familial relationship with Henry/Rumple was a damned shame.  And much of that, I believe, was because if they acknowledged THAT, they’d have to mention the character they want us to forget.  More on that later.

21.  The Shattered Sight Hype

Remember what a BIG DEAL the whole Shattered Sight thing was gonna be in S4?  OMG people say what they REALLY FEEL about each other!  It’s gonna be EPIC!!!

And then it – wasn’t. We basically got some Snowing/Evil Queen snark, Henry bitching at Hook, and Belle – well, Belle was asleep – what else is new?  

I think of all the things that were PROMOTED as something amazing for this show – this is the one that was a big old dud and a whole lot of NOTHING.

20.  Belle’s mom/Belle is written out of her own storyline in S6

In Family Business we met Belle’s Mom for about two minutes.  Then she was dead.  And Belle didn’t remember what happened.  And then – we never heard about it again.

I don’t know about you, but I wanted to know what happened there.  Why didn’t Belle remember?  Did Moe get a roofie magic thingy from Arthur?  Did Belle’s mom turn into an ogre and she killed her and blocked it out?

SO MANY possibilities there. But hey – it’s just Belle.  Why write a story for HER?  

In the same regard -- whatever your thoughts are on Rumbelle in S6 (MHO – it was garbage and an OOC shit fest, but that’s just me) – what happened with Gideon – Belle’s SON – was because of HER CHOICE.  Choices have consequences.  And in GOOD WRITING – the person that MADE the choice that caused the mess is supposed to be the person to help CLEAN IT UP.

But apparently – it was a better thing for ZELENA of all people to be the one to do that.  And Emma and Hook too.  Because why the hell not, right?  That makes all the sense.  

Yes, Rumple played his part too in the whole Gideon mess.  And he did get to take part in the resolution.  But that was something they should have done TOGETHER (what a concept!), and overall Belle was just – not part of it.  Even in the last two minutes they sidelined her with a sprained ankle.  Absolutely ridiculous.    Which leads me to . . . .

19.  Belle being sidelined since Season Two.

OUAT brought the lovely Emilie de Ravin onto the show as a regular cast member in Season Two, and had no fucking idea what to do with her character.  So she gets fridged.  She gets stuck in the hospital, left behind while the rest go to Neverland, she’s very fond of naps, she’s forgotten about in Camelot, not cared about while in a sleeping curse because the “heroes” care more about “stopping” her “evil” hubby (see #17) and written out of her own damn storyline in 6B (see #20) – and then she’s dead. (More on that later.)

I love Belle.  I love Rumbelle.  And I will forever be resentful that for the bulk of her time on the show, the character of Belle, one of my fictional heroes, was written as nothing but a plot device.  She deserved so much better.  

18.  The Musical Episode

I mean – if this nonsense (and it WAS nonsense) had moved the story forward, I could maybe – MAYBE – let this one slide.  But it didn’t.  It just rehashed the same shit that we had been talking about for 6 seasons.  And then Hook married Emma and her Stepford Wife conversion therapy was complete.  (More on that later.)  This episode WILL NOT HOLD UP in the future.  Future generations will be “WTF-ing” all over the place with this one, mark my words.  

17.  Rumple is a Hero – no he’s a Villain – No wait he’s a hero, nope a villain, make up your DAMN MIND WRITERS!!!!!

I got whiplash trying to follow the trajectory of Rumple’s story, as many times as they changed his characterization.  He’s a villain – then in 3A he’s a hero.  Then he’s the victim of a molester and kidnapper and show doesn’t address that AT ALL. Oops he’s evil again.  Except now he’s not – his heart is PURE!  He pulled Excalibur out of the rock, he’s a HERO! Nah – he’s dark again.  Bad Rumple!  Oooh now he’s REALLY DARK and his fetus with no brain stem hates him and his wife is living on a boat with his sworn ENEMY while pregnant, so he traps here there (!!!!!) and he’s macking on the Evil Queen . . . come ON.  Enough already.

Rumple is a complex character.  You can’t just flip/flop willy nilly with a complex character.  You have to know how to write them as nuanced, and CONSISTENLY complex but never falling fully into one camp or the other of ‘good’ or ‘evil.’

Rumple is played by Robert Carlyle, one of the best actors around.  And the ONLY saving grace from the horrible writing of this character over the years is the fact that Bobby knew how to play him most of the time – even when the writers didn’t know how to WRITE HIM.  Which was almost ALL the time.  

16.  Hook is a Dark One/Resurrecting Dead Hook/Hook the Gary Stu

I toyed with ranking the dark one higher on the list and as its own thing because really, this reveal caused the biggest MID EPISODE ratings drop in the history of the show up to that point.  Nobody liked it.  Nobody wanted it. And it ended up being a setup to the ‘Save Hook’ trajectory because of COURSE of all the characters in the history of the show, HE was the one that deserved saving THE MOST.  But I think all of these things tie together.  

What this moment did was solidify the fact that Hook was officially a “Stu” character.  He definitely had Gary Stu tendencies up to this point, and was basically an irritant to anyone but CS/Hook fans, but from here on?  That’s pretty much all he was and all he’d ever be until he was replaced (or should I say upgraded?) by his doppelganger.  

I combined the DO/Save Hook/Stu thing because it was in the Underworld that Hook’s full Stu-pification took place.  There wasn’t a line of people he had murdered wanting a word with him – as there SHOULD HAVE BEEN.  

And Hook still got to keep all his murder trinkets when he got resurrected and made out with his girlfriend over Robin’s grave.  What a guy.

15.  Regina/The Evil Queen Stay Split

I’m just saying – wouldn’t it have been better character growth for Regina to have to live with her ‘evil’ half than to split it off?  And no, the ‘heart mixing’ thing doesn’t count.  I get that the whole thing was really fan service to the Outlaw Queen fandom.  But that doesn’t make it good writing.  

14.  The Wish Realm

Oh, I could write a whole post about this (and I may do that at some point) but there are so many damn holes in the whole Wish Realm mess I wouldn’t even know where to start.  But so many things about it just DO NOT line up in a sensible way.  And even if you find one that DOES, it’ll create three things that DON’T line up.  

I’d have bought a ‘parallel universe’ over the ‘wish realm’ stuff.  They could have gone with that and it would have made much more sense. But you know – they wanted dead Belle, dead Baelfire, dead Snowing, no Emma and old Hook so – Wish realm it was. I just got to a point where I didn’t care anymore.  But that doesn’t negate the stupid.  

13.  The Timeline

The timeline in OUAT made sense – and then it didn’t.  And then they just stopped trying.  And I stopped caring.  But for paid, professional writers – just not cool.  DO YOUR JOB!!!!!

12.  Will Scarlett

Do I really need to say any more here?  No? Didn’t think so.  Moving on.  

11.  Neal’s Apartment in New York City

Have you ever been to NYC? Places of residence are at a premium there.  There is no way in hell that an abandoned apartment wouldn’t have been emptied and taken over by a new resident in that much time.  And I’m sorry, but odds are Neal did NOT pre-pay his rent for TWO YEARS out.  

10.  Belle and Hook – Best Friends Forever!*

You know – no woman with a brain in her head would befriend a man who straight up tried to murder her FOUR TIMES.  So, either Belle doesn’t have a brain in her head, or that’s some crap writing right there. (My vote is with the latter if you’re wondering.)

It was bad enough when Belle was just handing over the dagger to “Hook” in S4 (yes, I know it was Rumple but details shmetails, Belle didn’t know that), but a PREGNANT BELLE going to live on a boat with Hook to be ‘safe’ – come on. Who does that?  I get that Adam and Eddy wanted to wave the middle finger at the Rumbelle fandom, but they could have found a way to do that without making Belle look STUPID.  

*Honorable mention to Belle/Zelena being friends which was equally as stupid

9.  Zelena is Marian

Come ON – they pulled that one out of their asses halfway through S4 because they wanted to find a way to bring back Bex.  There was NO INDICATION of that until the reveal.  Because it didn’t EXIST until the reveal.  Ridiculous.  

8.  Making the Charmings Supporting Players

Starting with S4, Snow and David basically became secondary characters.  They had MOMENTS, but overall they were on the backburner and if they left the show at any point – would it have made a difference to ANY of the trajectory they were playing out?  I’d say no.  

I mean – how the hell did that happen?  How do you run out of ideas with the couple that you touted as THE ‘main couple’ after only three seasons?  I don’t get it.  

7.  Golden Queen

Just no.  There was never anything romantic between these two characters.  It was stupid and out of character for both of them.  No.  

6.  Queer baiting 101

If you gender-swapped either Emma or Regina – made one of them a man – they’d be banging by S2 and by the end of the series they’d be married with at least two more kids and three break-ups/reunions between them.  (Hey, I watch soaps, I know how this shit works.)

The chemistry between the actors is there.  They share a kid.  But they’re both women.  And you know – family show -- #nohomo and all.   Sure.  

The writers KNEW that Swan Queen was popular.  Now okay – if ABC didn’t want to go there, fine.  I don’t agree with that, but fine.

But don’t keep freaking queer baiting your fans every chance you get!  It never stopped.  In fact, it got progressively WORSE as the show went on!  That’s just bullshit right there.  Either do it or drop it.  Because what OUAT did with Emma and Regina and the baiting of their fans was just flat out shitty.  

And if that weren’t bad enough, we got the whole queer baiting with Mulan/Aurora, and THEN in S5 we’re handed Dorothy/Ruby as a token olive branch to the LGBT community and then – we never see them again!  

Okay, in S7 they got on the right track with Alice and Robin.  I will give them that.  But after six years of baiting, it kind of rang hollow for many, and rightly so.

5.  Hey, Here’s a Person of Color – Let’s Kill Them!

One of the first warnings I give to any new OUAT is ‘don’t get attached to any POC’ and with good reason. They don’t last long on OUAT.

Now I don’t want to assume or accuse any of the OUAT writers of flat out racism but . . .. . you’ve gotta admit – they don’t have the best track record there.  

It’s especially obvious when they bring on a character that is compelling and portrayed by a charismatic actor that the audience enjoys.  Lancelot, Merlin, and Facilier are the three best examples of that. Okay, so Lance was resurrected but – where’d he go?  Is he still trying to undo dead-Arthur’s roofie on Guinevere?  

And then we have an amazing hero and a compelling villain in Merlin and Facilier, respectively.  Both of these characters – and their actors – were bright spots in the show.  So naturally – they needed to die.  Without their storylines resolved.  

But it was just a coincidence that they weren’t white.  Of course it was.  

4.  The Death of Belle

Yeah, yeah, I know, Beauty was a beautifully written episode and Bobby and Emilie loved it and we got some great moments, blah blah blah . . . . . . but was it NECESSARY?  Did they REALLY NEED to kill off Belle?  You’re telling me that there’s absolutely, positively, not one plausible scenario for S7 wherein Belle is in Hyperion Heights and Rumple can find a way to rid himself of the darkness WITH HER THERE???? Really?  They couldn’t write even one lousy full season of Rumbelle (hello BEAUTY AND THE BEAST) happy and in love with struggles but still beating the darkness in the end?  Really??? There weren’t any options for that scenario AT ALL????  Give me a break.  

3.  The Stepford Swan

Over the course of seven years, many of the OUAT characters suffered with out- of-character moments. It’s not uncommon and I would even venture to say that this happens on occasion on MOST television shows.  But on OUAT, it was a common occurrence from Season Four onward.  And NONE of the characters experienced as much of an out of character de-evolution as Emma Swan.

When we first met Emma Swan she was a badass, intelligent, independent woman.  Yes, she had her issues and her inner demons and we saw her work past those as the series progressed.  

And then . . . . she got a boyfriend.  And he became the center of her universe.  And Emma – changed.  The writers (and Jennifer Morrison) will swear up and down that it was an ‘evolution’ but I’m sorry – a character that starts OUT like this:

Does not END UP like this:

That’s not evolution. That’s a shell of a woman dependent on a man for her self-worth.  That’s NOT who Emma Swan is.  This was THE worst character assassination on the show, and I’d say it’d be up (down?) there in the top 10 (er, bottom 10?) of worst character assassinations in all of television. What a shame.  

2.  Rapists – rapists everywhere!

Once Upon a Time has always been marketed as a family show.  For a family show – there’s sure a heck of a lot of rape in it.  

The first CANON rapist we have is Regina and her 28+ year imprisonment and repeated sexual assault of Graham.  Regina came a long way as a character in the show’s 7-year run – but it would have done great service to her if this had been addressed somehow.  Now, I know that Jamie Dornan is all famous and off making money playing Christian Grey but – you know, in this particular case – I’d have been good with either a recast or at the VERY least an apologetic mention.  But we never got that.

And that’s the problem with every rapey issue on this show – it’s never addressed for what it is. In fact – it’s really not addressed at all.  Hook’s rape jokes in S2 are treated like ‘playful banter’ by the writers, cast, and viewers alike.  Zelena’s ‘Hester the Molester’ stuff with Rumple in S3 doesn’t even warrant a discussion. Hook’s rapey innuendo in the CS movie is also waved off.  Then we have Zelena raping Robin in S4, Arthur magic roofie-ing Guinevere and probably raping her in S5 (Is she still roofied?  Who knows!), and Mother Gothel raping Nook in S7.

That’s a hell of a lot of rape for a “family show.”  And aside from the off-handed comment from Robin about lack of consent with Zelena, none of it is addressed for what it is – RAPE.  

1.  The Death of Baelfire/Neal Cassidy

In Season One there were three main story line arcs driving the series:  Regina’s war with Snow White, Emma as The Savior, and Rumpelstiltskin’s quest to reunite with his son, Baelfire.  All three stories intertwined, and it only made sense that the trajectory of the show would be that in the end, all of these characters would somehow come together, as they all were tied to one character:  Henry.

Unfortunately, the writers made the foolish decision in Season Three to execute one of the main (if not THE main) driving forces on the show.  Baelfire/Neal was connected to all of the aforementioned people, and his loss was a blow to everyone.  At least it should have been. But that’s not what we saw.

Not only was Neal/Baelfire killed off – he was flat out ERASED from the show.  His name from the point of his death on was rarely brought up. We didn’t get to see anyone truly mourn or grieve him.  (Okay Rumple, but BARELY – and anyone who has lost a child understands that it’s quite possibly the deepest type of grief imaginable.  I’m told you never get over it.)  As the show moved forward, you could literally spot the times when the writers made deliberate dialogue choices to avoid saying the name Neal/Baelfire in places where it not only made sense, it was WARRANTED.  

Let’s be REAL here – we all know the “reason” Bae/Neal was written off the show.  I don’t care what the writers say.  I’m not an idiot and neither are you.  And I’m sorry, but if the ONLY WAY you can think of to make a “romance” happen on a show is to kill off a character that would be forever “in the way” of said romance – you’re not a skilled enough writer to be writing a television show for a major network.  I mean – it works in spiteful fanfic (which I am more than guilty of writing).  But for a television show?  The viewers deserve better than that.  NEAL/BAELFIRE and every character that ever loved him deserved better than that.  

I know I probably missed a bunch but I really did try to hit the highlights and put them in the order they deserved.

Thoughts?  Comments?  If you think I’m missing a tag for this (I’m doing my best) let me know and I’ll add it.  

[destielwarmsthecocklesofmyheart]

why was he screaming cas’s name… why was misha in a field… 14 cut scenes… the weird ass fall to the dungeon floor… the cut from carry on to carry on…

*im going insane*