#i just think about the fact that we later find out that Azazel always had people watching Sam

[sharpbluejay]

Azazel should have kept John’s soul with him after he killed him and made him watch as he worked to open the gate of hell, should have shown John all his special children but been like “Sam’s always been my favorite, you know we've been watching him,” Azazel smiling as he tells him that Sam’s dead, that dean sold his soul, that this is all going according to the plan and John, losing his mind at this point because dean cannot make the same mistakes as him, never gets to tell his boys that's he knows! because they free his soul and kill Azazel

[commenter2]

"Dad Beat Dad" episode review

Charlie and the gang meet Lucifer. Spoilers!

It’s cute getting confirmation that Charlie and Vaggie sleep in the same bed. You think since this is Charlie, they’d sleep in separate rooms or beds…only for Charlie to feel lonely and ask Vaggie if she could sleep with her XD.

Though small, it’s nice to see Charlie admit that she isn’t okay with something, instead of trying to make it sound like she isn’t and everything is fine like she usually does.

The string on Charlie’s wall is shaped like a star. Fun symbolism or more?

He, Charlie drew Angel as an actual spider.

Another new power for Charlie, when she gets emotional she can make the ground shake. Could this be another thing related to that Hellquake Blitzo felt in the Cherub episode!

Fingers crossed that there is more to Lucifer allowing the Exterminations to happen.

Again fun to hear Charlie curse, and I think we saw a bit of her mom’s side there.

I’m liking Charlie’s thinking about asking the other higher ups of Heaven for a meeting. Shows she can find alternate ways to things and goes back to my thing about how Adam could do this so quickly and my “Charlie is being tested” theory.

I hope your right Charlie about angels wanting to help, or at least will LATER in the series. Again I think it be cool if Jesus Christ allied with Charlie later on.

On Charlie’s phone you can see several contacts like 2 demons like Amon (a marquis goetia of life and reproduction) and Azazel (which was a place people left scapegoats representing their sins before becoming a demon who gave humans forbidden knowledge) and Cyhyraeth, a thing from Welsh mythology, adding more to my “Heaven/Hell inspiring other myths” :)

Wait split? LIKE DIVORCED? DAMMMIT WHY WRITERS! Or by split could Charlie have meant Lilith’s 7 years of being missing? I’m kind of hoping that this isn’t the first time Lucifer and Lilith have gotten “divorced”, and it’s a healthy thing for their kind of relationship, and Charlie doesn’t realize this because she is still “young”.

So Charlie has daddy issues in that she just wants some actual father/daughter time with her father. Hopefully she does here.

Good call on taking away Niffty’s knife Angel.

CHARLIE HAD A GOTH PHASE! :3 XD

So it looked like Lucifer, Lilith, and Charlie were a happy family back then. I’m hoping Charlie wasn’t the reason her parents split, nor anything similar to what Stolas and Stella had.

I’ve talked about the VAs for the show previously, but it was only because it was the beginning of the show and I don’t usually mind such stuff (in fact Angel’s voice has gotten better since the first episode and I bet Jeremy Jordan will to) but out of all the thoughts I have about them, the biggest one that I will always defend is that Lucifer SHOULD have had a Mark Hamill’s Joker like voice. I mean that is PERFECT for this character as Lucifer looks both scary AND funny and who fits that more than the DCAU Joker. It likely would have helped with the fandom too as apparently a lot of people don’t like HH’s Lucifer because he is so goofy. What if as a compromise, Lucifer’s full demon form sounds Joker like? Would you have liked for him to have such a voice?

Baby pic of Charlie!

Also a pic of Fredrick von Eldritch, and you can see a glimpse of Charlie’s prom pic with Seviathan, likely hinting that we could see the von Eldritch family next season.

Lucifer got sad when looking at the pic, meaning he misses Lilith, Charlie, or both. Please let it be both. WAIT HE STILL HAS HIS WEDDING RING!

YES LUCIFER’S A GOOD DAD!

Though he’s probably doing it out of nervousness, I feel like Lucifer’s attitude about not wanting Charlie to see Heaven is a bit related to my headcanon of him not wanting his daughter to become a target.

I like how Angel smiled when Charlie said her redemption dream meant a lot to her, showing that he is valuing that she cares for him. Also points for Vaggie for comforting Charlie during the call :)

That look of pain Lucifer had when Charlie said Heaven would listen if she talked to them, reminds me of a thing I said in a previous review about how Lucifer was in Charlie shoes millennia ago and knowing what Heaven will do, doesn’t want Charlie to go through it.

Vaggie entering Exorcist Warrior mode!

Razzle and Dazzle cameo. I’m guessing the sign they’re carrying was made by Angel.

(See’s Alastor looking at sign) Uh oh trouble is here XD.

That scene of Niffty scaring Angel got me thinking, you think Angel ever gives her makeup tips? I could see that leading to them getting on friendlier terms.

Really glad to see Lucifer being a nice and supportive dad, even if he has no idea what Charlie is trying to do.

The fact Lucifer didn’t instantly destroy Alastor shows he has restraint, that or he is doing it for his daughter. Either way cool.

Oh Lucifer’s jealous XD. Alastor can't help but cause trouble, can he XD.

Someone pointed it out, but I am surprised that there haven’t been that many big moments between Charlie and Vaggie being a couple. At least there are to make it clear that they are together, and its better then how Helluva Boss hammers in the eventually Blitzo and Stolas relationship, no offense to Stolitz fans.

While the “not knowing Charlie’s bi” thing did worry me for a second, mostly because of what I said in my Charlie and Vaggie trailer breakdown, it would have been worse if Lucifer was a bad dad. Luckily he isn’t and it is great knowing that it didn’t affect how much he really loves Charlie, doesn’t hate humans/sinners, and instantly likes Vaggie.

Illusion of mini Lucifer’s. Chibi Lucifers? Does this mean my Chibi Lilith idea could happen!

Iconic Golden fiddACORDIAN!

MIMZY! YES WE WERE WAITING FOR YOU!

They got the voice of Spinel for her cool. It also sounds a lot like I was imagining, very DCAU Harley Quinn meets 1920sesque stereotypical voice. Small note but I hope we hear her call Alastor puddin one day XD.

It was always a known that she loved money and such, but the Mammon tattoo on her back is a bit concerning. Then there is that look Mimzy gave about “dropping by”.

For a minute there I thought Mimzy was going to try and flirt with Lucifer. That would have ended badly, though I would mind seeing someone else try and do it. A bit off topic but I’m kind of hoping such a thing happens when Lilith is also in the room and a jealous Lilith embarrasses the lady XD.

Got some interesting character designs in Mimzy’s story like a sinner as a couch, one with a mirror for a face (likely symbolizing she was a copycat or very vain about her looks, an Anubis guy (remind me of the female mummy/pharaoh from pilot) and one that looks like Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas. I also feel some of those Overlords Alastor took out are refences like that girl in the alleyway gives off Penumbra from “Villainous vibes, that one aquatic demon reminds me of the Von Eldritch family with a mix of Baxter/Glitz and Glam (maybe she was Fredrick or Bethesda’s great aunt), the doctor looking like Invader Zim’s Professor Membrane, and that long hair demon looks familiar too.

So Mimzy is there for selfish reasons.

“Guy showing a sample of how powerful he really is” trope.

In Charlie’s defense Lucifer, those are hellborn demons attacking so it is different. Again they really should consider not clumping sinners and hellborn demons together in the same category.

I think Lucifer’s speech to Charlie is also him complaining about something else.

Alastor is GIGANTIFIED! At least my idea of my OC Astro having a Megazord form isn’t as crazy as it sounds now.

I’m also surprised that Lucifer didn’t try fighting the Loan Sharks to impress Charlie.

Ooo I sense some big Charlie and Lucifer moments coming up.

I really hope the writers use Alastor’s offer of Mimzy returning to change as a way to make her a main character later on.

Heh look at Mimzy storming off, cute and hilarious.

Baby Charlie with baby crown :3

Lilith! Did they really have to not show her face at this point? Could it be related to the “Lilith imposter” theory?

Ugh it looks like Lilith and Lucifer ARE divorced and have been for a long time. Again WHY WRITERS. At least they seem to be on good terms. Plus again “Lilith imposter” theory.

It’s nice to know that Charlie did learn something from her father despite them not being so close.

This song, so pure, so beautiful!

Are they in an actual place in hell, or does Lucifer have access to small dimensions to do stuff like this?

Looks like Charlie no longer has daddy issues :)

WAIT so does this mean the popular fan theory of “Lucifer creating the Extermination so Heaven would be okay with him and Lilith having Charlie” is wrong? Knowing these kinds of shows, maybe Lucifer is hiding that info from Charlie and when she does find out, it makes her mad at him and strains their relationship once again…for a short time.

We’re going to see what Heaven is like! At least in ways not seen in those early released HH trading cards.

Okay Vaggie being nervous about going to Heaven definitely confirms that she is a former Exorcist.

THIS WAS THE BEST HAZBIN HOTEL EPISODE YET!

I’m SOOOO glad Lucifer while flawed, isn’t a bad father like those we’ve seen in Helluva Boss. I’d say he outranks them all. It’s also great to know that while he can be goofy, he can still have more personality and serious emotion, like not wanting Charlie to go through the same pain he went through with Heaven. Now let’s hope Lilith (the TRUE Lilith) is just as good as a parent too.

It was also great to see Mimzy in the episode, which I think we all expected since I recall Vivzie saying she was going to be in a big episode and I’m glad she was, especially before spoilers started appearing on YouTube. From the voice to her attitude, she is a lot like I was expecting and I hope she gets a bigger role in the future. I can also now work on posting this funny pic I’ve had related to her that I’ve been holding onto for some time so stay tuned for that.

Then there is, in my opinion, the episode's only but BIG FLAW of finding out that Lucifer and Lilith are no longer together. It’s another predictable plot point (at least to me), it’s another example of how Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss are TOO SIMILAR to each other, and just overall a really, REALLY big bummer to see and hear about, especially after all the pics and quotes from Vivziepop about how much Lucifer and Lilith love each other.

LUCKILY I have mentioned a dozen ideas in past works for how the writers could fix this/make this work AND be a good thing story wise, from how this is a natural cycle in Lucifer and Lilith's relationship to how it’s the equivalent of a night on the couch to Lucifer, my favorite so far would have to be the “Lilith imposter” theory that has been going around.

As the name implies, someone or something is pretending to be Lilith as part of an evil plan so what if to defend Charlie and Hell (also cause they feared the idea of Lucifer having a child with someone who isn’t his actual wife) Lilith (and maybe even Lucifer) got divorced so the imposter wouldn’t get their hands on some seriously big info about Hell and Heaven, and even though it PAINED BOTH OF THEM to do it, they realized it was the right call.

This could lead to a future story where when after the imposter is finally revealed and/or captured/killed, Lucifer and Lilith get REMARRIED! I have this idea somewhere about how Charlie always wanted to plan her parent’s wedding, and this could make such a thing happen. You have to agree that this would make for an awesome “just for fun” episode. Maybe one where they are safe enough to have another kid, THAT would be crazy and I LOVE IT! I’m hopeful that this could happen, and I hope there are other fans out there too. Until we find out more about what is going on, my only choice is to pull a Red vs. Blue Sarge and blame the few fans who liked the divorced idea before the episode came out XD.

Now we’re going to see Charlie and Vaggie go to Heaven. Let’s just hope they don’t screw things up too much then they could have.

What were your thoughts on the episode? I really want to know since this was a good episode to me.

[mittensmorgul]

Since the finale aired, I’ve been yammering on about how it would’ve only worked as a finale to s2, and now that I’m actually rewatching s2, I stand by that even more staunchly. The finale doesn’t work in a post-s2 supernatural universe.

This is the version of Dean we saw in the finale-- the one whose only mission in life was to Save Sammy, to help him get his revenge and allow him to go out and live a Normal Safe Life pretending that hunting and monsters don’t exist. The one who just wanted some pie, to drive his car, and had no real connections beyond Sam in the world outside of Bobby. Even Dean’s characterization in the finale is this far younger Dean who’d never allowed himself to crack open and truly understand love. It would take me years to plow through everything I’ve ever written about him as a character and his long struggle to emotional maturity we saw evolve over the next 13 years beyond this episode, but the tl;dr will always be “this s2 Dean is the same as the Dean in the finale.”

The goal of s2 was saving SAM from his “destiny,” too. In this era of the show, Dean didn’t have a “destiny” the same way Sam did. The ONLY thing that mattered was freeing Sam from “becoming evil,” and being manipulated into terrible things. What Dean wanted, what he was “destined” for by the narrative was irrelevant, because all of his choices and emotional burdens were tied only to saving Sam. To freeing Sam so he could safely return to his “normal life.” Go back to college, have a family and the white picket fence life.

This was before Dean truly began fighting for HIMSELF. Which only really and truly began after he sells his soul to resurrect Sam. That’s when Dean truly begins fighting for himself. Sure, he’s angry with John during s2 for trading his own life for Dean’s, for putting the burden of “if you can’t save Sam, you’ll have to kill him” on his shoulders with his dying breath, but Dean is still fighting against John’s authority and the complicated tangle of feelings of his own childhood and not actually coming to terms with his own wants and needs and wishes out beyond that yet. He’s still unwittingly confronting the “destiny” John had set up for him, and hasn’t moved beyond that yet. It’s only trading his soul for Sam’s that finally brings Dean into the cosmic narrative that will fuel his introspection and personal growth for the rest of the series.

And out beyond that point, his entire character arc explodes into orbit.

Dean’s entire character arc in s3 is confronting this very basic fact: he doesn’t deserve to have been sacrificed just to save Sam. He doesn’t deserve that burden, and he does deserve to live. This is the realization he comes to before eventually being dragged to Hell and then rescued by an angel, who literally tells him, “you don’t think you deserve to be saved” in the aftermath of that. From that point on, we have TWELVE SEASONS of Dean struggling with what he “deserves” versus what is “fate” and “destiny” and eventually confronting what he WANTS if he truly could choose his own destiny.

Plus, out beyond that point, he has Cas. And nothing changes Dean, pushes him to grow and understand himself, and accept himself-- all of himself, from the good to the horrific-- than the pure and unflinching acceptance of Castiel. Cas never looked at him and said “you are evil,” or “you are worthless.” (well, they’ve both said some pretty awful stuff to each other over the years, but there was either brainwashing or other deeper issues pushing those things on them, and they have ALWAYS eventually come back to one another, and the awful stuff was dealt with). Point is, Dean and Cas both began running these parallel arcs of duty versus desire, and for Dean, the duty was always framed around “taking care of Sam” versus pursuing any sort of ambition or goals for himself. They would fight for this for most of the rest of the series, until eventually the goal for ALL of them would be about discovering what they would want for themselves.

The show explicitly dealt with this, repeatedly, over later seasons, asking all of the characters the big questions: is this what you would choose for yourself? What WOULD you choose for yourself if you could?

And then they made the narrative of the final season, of the final Big Bad, the fact that they had NEVER had real freedom, and that their entire lives (and the entire history of not only this universe but every parallel universe) had been Chuck’s Puppet Theater, and true free will had been a lie all this time. Pushing all of the characters to confront their own choices and understand what about who they were as people was separate from what Chuck pushed them into choosing and doing all these years. The main thing that Dean (and also Cas, and to the extent she was included in the narrative this was Eileen’s issue as well) were being pushed to come to terms with what really was real, and were their feelings and choices their own or imposed on them for the furtherance of Chuck’s story.

At the end of the road, finally free and out from under Chuck’s control, they knew what was real. For Sam and Eileen, they had chosen each other. Cas had chosen Dean, but Dean hadn’t yet had a chance to reply, but anyone with two eyes and a brain knows what he would’ve said in return. It’s what Cas stopped him from saying even back in Purgatory in 15.09. And yet, for some reason Sam and Dean forgot all of that, as if none of it had ever even really happened at all, and we went right back to who they were right after they finally defeated the YED, before we even knew Azazel had a name, let alone the fact that the ultimate boogeyman of their entire lives to that point had been nothing more than a fanatic pawn in a much larger destiny for both of them.

The end of s2 was the last time Dean sacrificing himself so Sam could have a normal life, where Dean really felt there was nothing more for himself than fulfilling his father’s orders to save Sammy, even feels remotely plausible. It’s the last time we can feel like Dean might find peace and contentment in a Heaven where John is nearby to be proud of him, and where Dean would actually feel like that validation was even relevant to his own life.

And that finally brings me back to s2, where that was actually addressed through John’s self-sacrifice to save Dean, to serve Dean up to the narrative and provide a stage for this self-transformative journey INTO being a version of John himself. Only... Dean DOESN’T choose that. He fights to save Sam at all costs, even when it seems clear that the right answer would probably be to KILL Sam instead. When not only the ghost of John Winchester plaguing Dean’s mind would make him doubt his own drive to save his brother, but the John Winchester Insert Character of s2-- Gordon Walker-- basically put Dean’s own doubts out there in plain words in 2.10:

GORDON: I'm surprised at you, Dean. Getting all emotional. I'd heard you were more of a professional than this. Look, let's say you were cruising around in that car of yours and, uh, you had little Hitler riding shotgun, right? Back when he was just some goofy, crappy artist. But you knew what he was going to turn into someday. You'd take him out, no questions, am I right?

DEAN: That's not Sam.

GORDON: Yes it is. You just can't see it yet. Dean, it's his destiny. Look, I'm sympathetic. He's your brother, you love the guy. This has got to hurt like hell for you. But here's the thing. It would wreck him. But your dad? If it really came right down to it, he would have had the stones to do the right thing here. But you're telling me you're not the man he is?

This, the episode where Dean finally confesses John’s final orders to Sam, where Dean has decided that saving Sam is all that matters, even when circumstance and everyone else is practically screaming at him that this could all be over if only he gave in-- be it his own self-sacrifice OR killing Sam. Six of one, half a dozen of the other, the universe doesn’t care (and neither does Chuck... especially at this point... and the proof of that is Sam’s s15 nightmares where one of Chuck’s alternate universe endings for Sam and Dean was Sam actually going Darkside on demon blood and killing Dean... any iteration of the old drama, Chuck has explored all potential endings-- oh, except the ending where TFW gets to just be happy and live... that’s the one ending they never get and the only one they deserved in the end).

also from 2.10... loads of chat about “destiny” and one of Dean’s first “we should just lay all this shit down and take a vacation” moments when he suggests they go to Amsterdam and enjoy some of the not-coffee-coffee-shops, which Sam counters by doubling down on the fact that Dean has a destiny in all this as much as Sam does:

SAM: Well, come on, dude, you're a hunter. I mean, it's what you were meant to do.

DEAN: Ah, I wasn't meant to do anything, I don't believe in that destiny crap.

SAM: You mean you don't believe in my destiny.

DEAN: Yeah, whatever.

SAM: Look, Dean, I've tried running before. I mean, I ran all the way to California and look what happened. You can't run from this. And you can't protect me.

DEAN: I can try.

And that’s it, right there. This is the “neither of you can try for a normal life outside of the other while the other is still alive.” This is Sam pinning a destiny to Dean that’s just as inescapable within Chuck’s narrative as Sam’s demon blood and psychic powers. 

This is the core essence of Chuck’s story about them. The sibling dynamic that Chuck failed to free himself from, and that Sam and Dean failed to free themselves from after Chuck’s demise in 15.19.

Destiny. One must die so the other can live.

And considering the next 13 seasons of the show and the long and emotionally grueling character arcs Sam and Dean proceed through where they truly confront the core of who they are as people-- as individuals outside of their duty and destiny-- the finale ceases to make any sense outside of Chuck’s narrative for them. If 15.20 really happened exactly as we saw it on screen, then Chuck still won.

And they had to loop Sam and Dean all the way back to where they were emotionally at the end of s2 in order to make it seem plausible. Which, for those of us who actually care about what they endured after s2, makes the finale entirely implausible as a whole.

[ruewrites]

Thrones are Built on Lies Chapter 8: Change of Heart

AO3

Ship: Solomon/Asmo, Diavolo/Lucifer

Word Count: 4550

Warnings: None

A/N: As always comments and feedback are appreciated! I hope you all are still enjoying the fic so far!

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Diavolo’s face was a welcoming sight to Solomon that morning as he left his room. He beamed the moment their eyes met and crossed the room in order to meet him. “Good morning! I trust you slept well last night?” his booming voice was almost too loud for Solomon, but it still brought a smile to his face.

“As well as a scholar can, yes.”

Well, books hadn’t been the only thing keeping him up last night. His dreams hadn't been too terribly helpful. If only he could have a little peace of mind while he slept. Maybe he’d crash tonight after his little outing. Asmo was rather high energy and Solomon had no doubt that he’d most likely be worn upon their return. Maybe he’d even sleep for a day. That would be rather nice the more he thought about it.

Diavolo nodded, “I will admit, it took me a while to get used to things here as well. It’s easy to become homesick, but Lucifer and I take visits back home every now and again. I promise it will get easier.”

“Were they all as welcoming to you as they are to me.”

“You’re lucky you weren’t here with the late king,” Diavolo shook his head, “Or maybe he would have liked you a little better than me. You aren’t the one who wanted to marry Lucifer.” That’s right, neither Azazel nor his brother had wanted Diavolo to marry the crown prince. From what he could gather, it sounded like Azazel still wasn’t fond of the union. “The point is, it takes them a while to warm up to people, but they will soon enough.”

Hopefully. Solomon seemed to be making way with the family, so he could only assume they’d start to like him soon even if just a little bit.

“In any case, how have things been with Asmodeus?”

Ah.

Oh.

“I know he was excited by the fact that you took the whole ‘Lilith’ thing well, a little melodramatic, but still happy,” Diavolo continued, “He’s been talking about how his eventual wedding would be the ball of the century ever since Lucifer and I got married.”

Solomon hadn’t even talked to him about the wedding. He’d been so caught up in learning about Arcadia that the wedding seemed more like a concept to him than an actual event that would occur soon. When was the coronation? How much time did he have left? Why had it not been more focused on his radar? Now that he thought about it more, he didn’t have a single clue about what any of his wedding plans were going to be. What food were they preparing? What times was everything occurring at? What was he supposed to wear? Were people going to witness their union? They were only a few of a long list of questions that Solomon should have known the answers to, and yet he didn’t.

It seemed like whenever Solomon solved one problem, another one arose. For whatever reason, it never occurred to him that their union would be a big event. Lucifer's would have been since he was the crown prince, but his? A small ceremony to seal them together would have sufficed. Did it really need to be big?

"He certainly has been dreaming for a while now hasn't he?"

"He certainly has," Diavolo nodded, “He has rather vivid dreams, they’re not always big in the grand scheme of things, but they’re very specific.”

So that probably meant that Asmo was hellbent on what he’d said to him last night. No matter how he tried to change the direction of his thoughts they always came back to the outing he was supposed to have today. Solomon knew love couldn’t be forced and that love was a rare thing to occur within an arranged marriage, but would Asmodeus accept that? Surely he had to know this small fact. Perhaps he was just in denial.

But why?

Why not just accept what life had given to them and be excited for the opportunities that it could provide?

“Has he talked to you about it?” Diavolo’s voice brought him out of his thoughts.

“About what?”

“His ideas. Surely you’ve heard some of them.

Solomon's blank expression must have said all that Diavolo needed to know. His face fell slightly. Solomon couldn't read the expression well. At first he thought that perhaps it was confusion. Disappointment? He couldn't place his finger on it. What he did know was that it made him feel uncomfortably guilty.

"Oh. I see," the pause between them was only a second too long, "You should spend more time with him. He's a kind person. Just a little-”

“High energy?” Solomon finished. Kind? Well if him ensuring Solomon that he’d fall head over heels for him was considered kind, Solomon would agree. This was the first positive thing he’d heard about his fiance the moment he’d stepped onto the grounds. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he really hadn’t heard too many good things about Asmo, only the things that he couldn’t do quite right. What could be the truth?

“Well yes, but I may have a soft spot for him,” Diavolo continued, “He was one of the few who made me feel welcomed here. ‘Anything for my big brother’s husband’ he’d say. We spent a lot of time chatting and sometimes he’d offer to take me to various places in Arcadia. All when Lucifer was busy of course.”

Maybe he had been a bit more well behaved because Diavolo was more than willing to spend time with him. Solomon was a busy man, he had research to do among other things. He couldn’t just drop his research at any time. Nonetheless, he could still contribute to the conversation. “Forgive me for saying so, but I find that a little hard to believe. Only because you seem to have a soft spot for most people you come into contact with.”

There was that booming laugh.

“Am I truly that easy to read?”

“Only a little.”

Diavolo was a genuine man. Solomon had to wonder if he had some sort of magic of his own to cause people to loosen up around him, or was he just that charismatic? Either way it made his marriage to Lucifer feel even stranger to him. How could there possibly be anything there deeper than the arrangement? Then again, according to Azazel, Diavolo seemed to have more of an influence of the crown prince.

What allowed someone to become that close?

Well, Simeon had some influence over his own decisions, but their relationship was different. Solomon would have had to been naive to think the two were equivalent. Diavolo and Lucifer had something beyond a close friendship and Solomon could see it even if he was rather confused by it.

“I think Lucifer might be your favorite person though,” he wanted to see what he said. He wanted to see how Diavolo talked about Lucifer. In a way, it was a roundabout way of him wanting to know more about the elusive eldest.

Diavolo seemed to melt right before him, his eyes turned gooey and warm and his body relaxed. “Perhaps, he’s a wonderful man and stunningly beautiful. The most ethereal being I’ve ever seen, sometimes I doubt that he’s human,” he sighed, “He’s intelligent too and an absolutely capable ruler.”

“You admire him.”

“I love him,” Diavolo corrected, “I’d do anything for him, I’d give my own life for him.”

Solomon didn’t know why those words threw him off. Giving up your life. Would Solomon do that for anyone? He wasn’t sure. He had people that he wanted to protect, yes. But giving up his own life? Thinking about that wasn’t something he wanted to do at the moment or later. It was a morbid concept.

“Asmo is quite smitten with you,” Solomon was vaguely aware that Diavolo was still talking, “He was completely fine when he left, but when he came back he was spellbound. I think it was good for him to have a little joy.”

It was easy to forget that the family was dealing with two deaths: the King and their sister. There had also been supposed assasination attempts. How much tragedy followed the family around?

It didn’t mean that he was going to give in to Asmodeus’ every demand, but he would try to keep those things in mind.

“It feels good to see him lively again, he was so anxious when it came to pretending, I know I was relieved that you took it all well.”

“I’m happy he’s not anxious anymore as well, I was worried I was doing something wrong. I’m glad to know that that wasn’t the case.”

Diavolo’s hand grabbed the handle to the door to the caverns as he turned back to Solomon, “We should talk more, I heard you’re going to have an outing today and I’d love to hear more.”

***

“Will you ever be on time for any meal?” Asmo huffed, crossing his arms.

“Maybe one day,” Solomon hummed, taking a seat, “But I did show up.”

“If you showed up early we could spend a little time together before everyone else got here.”

Solomon noticed that Asmodeus wasn’t looking at him. Following his gaze, Solomon saw that he was staring at Lucifer and Diavolo. Diavolo had his hand on the crown prince’s shoulder. He leaned down close to his ear and said something that made Lucifer smile ever so slightly and chuckle. He mouthed the word sit, and Diavolo took his place next to him. It was incredibly tender. No one else seemed to pay it any mind, but Asmo’s fingers gripped at the table.

“I might be able to come sooner if someone wouldn’t mind teaching me how to navigate the castle.”

He noticed Asmodeus nod slowly, but he didn’t look towards him. What had gotten into him? What about Lucifer and Diavolo had him so fixated? Unfortunately his little novice charm didn’t give him all of those answers. Did he dare reach up to see what he was feeling? It could give him an idea of how to steer the conversations.

His hand wandered towards his chest. But before his fingertips could brush against the pendant, Diavolo’s butler entered the room. “Breakfast will be out shortly, but I do have tea ready.”

Barbatos started at the head of the table, pouring tea for each member and setting out small biscuits. When had been the last time he came to breakfast? He came to other meals sure, but most of the time Simeon brought it back to him as he often slept through it.

“Welcome your majesty,” Barbatos said, pouring the steaming liquid into his cup, “It’s lovely to have you join us this morning.”

“Oh thank you.”

“Your scribe seemed to be getting tired of you missing meals.” Wasn’t he the bold one? “Anything in your tea?”

“No thank you.”

Barbatos nodded and moved on to Asmodeus.

“No cream or anything? Really?” Asmodeus leaned over to look at his cup.

“Really. I stay up rather late, and sugar makes you crash.”

“Then what about sugar rushes?”

“It’s a temporary rush. It won’t last in the long run.”

Lucifer had taken his tea black as well, so why was it so intriguing to Asmo that he might drink his own in a similar fashion? It was almost like it was some sort of secret or big surprise to his fiance.

“You really are a serious guy aren’t you.”

Now what was that supposed to mean?

“Does that mean you no longer want to go out?”

“No!” Asmo jumped in quickly, eyes going wide, “No we’re still going out. You can’t get away from me that easily.”

“I didn’t suspect that I would, You seemed rather determined.”

“Well good! You shouldn’t think that you could get away.”

Solomon snorted. He looked around the table to each of the members. Levi wasn’t fighting with Mammon like they’d been on the first day he got here. While the two of them weren’t talking, they seemed to be getting along better. Satan was focused on a book from his library, one that he’d have to remember to ask him about later. The twins sat silently. Well, Beel sat silently, Belphegor was asleep. Solomon also noticed that unlike the rest of his siblings, he was dressed in black. Had he been dressed in mourning attire when he arrived?

“Husband!” Asmo sang waving his hand in front of his face, “You should be paying attention to meee.”

“He ain’t your husband yet Asmo,” Mammon chuckled, before Solomon could even get a word in, “And he won’t be if you scare him away.”

“I won’t scare him away!”

A few of the other brothers snickered from around the table as Belphie opened one of his eyes. “Are you sure about that?” he asked, “When you met him you weren’t you.”

Solomon heard a bit of an edge to his voice. It wasn’t playful like Mammon’s had been.

“Enough,” Lucifer held up his hand, “It’s too early for this. We’re going to have a nice breakfast as a family or else I’ll banish you from Arcadia.”

“Aw come on Luci, you wouldn’t banish your baby brother would ya?” Mammon asked, leaning a little closer and batting his lashes.

Lucifer only narrowed his eyes, “Don’t test me.”

***

“Mammon runs the treasury, Levi is the head of the navy, Satan holds the records, and the twins split agriculture. Belphie takes care of the animals when it comes to stuff like milk and eggs and Beel takes care of crops and beef,” Asmo had been talking the entire ride down to his sector. He counted off each one of his siblings on his fingers as he named them off. He’d chosen to sit shoulder to shoulder with Solomon instead of across from him. Not that he was surprised. Asmodeus was rather clingy. “Lucifer as the head stays in the center and oversees all of Arcadia. He wasn’t always the welcome committee, but he had to take over. Luckily he has Diavolo for that now.”

Solomon shifted trying to give himself more room only for Asmo to follow him, “And what do you do?”

Asmo grinned, “Oh showing interest? Well, if you must know, my district takes care of little self care items. Lotions, perfumes, flowers, pretty things. Honestly mine is the best. Sure the other things are important I suppose, but what is life without beauty? My district is the most beautiful and therefore it's the best.”

Well, that seemed a bit shallow. Was looks the only thing he really cared about? All of the other things he had listed were equally important. How could he undermine them for the sake of his own? Every element came together to make a community. No one aspect held everything together alone.

“You’re going to love it. I can’t believe I haven’t taken you here sooner! Well I kind of can, after all I wouldn’t have been able to if- Well, you know.”

The carriage stopped and Asmodeus immediately seemed to perk up. The carriage bounced with him as he waited for the chauffeur. As soon as the door opened, he took Solomon’s hand and walked the two of them out. The first thing he noticed was a few timid townsfolk peeking out from behind their doors or windows or even stared from their stands.They seemed fixed on Asmo. Of course Solomon remembered that many of them most likely stayed hidden or on a low profile because of the death of the king along with the threats. It was nice to see some other life around. A royal being around probably put them at a higher risk.

“Hello my adoring darlings!” Asmo sang, “I’ve decided to treat you all with a visit today, and I’ve brought my soon to be husband to see all of you! Make sure you show him just how wonderful you all are!”

Solomon caught the sweet scent he usually associated with Asmo wafting from one of the shops. So, they did come from here. How frequently did Asmo visit? Slowly people emerged from their houses and stands and continued to go about their days. Asmo grinned at him and took his hand.

“Come on, I want to show you around.”

Asmo spent most of the time talking about himself. Asking if Solomon thought he looked pretty, if his town was the best one he'd ever seen. That was the last thing he really remembered as he started to tune Asmo out at that point. There was so much he could take of this man just talking about himself. He figured that he might learn something about his fiance, but it turns out he was wrong. Did Asmo seriously think that this would get Solomon to like him? He knew what Diavolo had said, but still.

Was he really that nice?

Or was he more like what he'd heard Azazel describe?

Whatever the case, he was trying too hard to impress him.

Asmo led him towards the center of the square and turned to face Solomon, “If I can get some musicians together, would you like to dance with me?”

“Oh, well, I’m not the best dancer,” he could at social events if he had to, but it wasn’t something that he would do in his free time. The idea of there being a possible audience also made him nervous. He stepped back and looked around, "Perhaps another time."

Asmo's face fell slightly, but he let Solomon step back. It almost seemed as if he was trying to think about what to say to convince Solomon to change his mind.

"I think I'd like to meet some of your people and to look at the products they create," Solomon continued, taking note of the plant life around him. Each of them seemed to have some sort of pink tint to them. At least the color themes seemed consistent.

"Of course."

The people were seemed rather intimidated by him. Not that he blamed him. He was an outsider king and a rather prominent figure at that. He was going to marry their prince. He took notes as they wandered. After all, he was going to have a say when it came to this place, he should know more about it.

Asmo’s chattering eventually dulled with each increasingly listless response Solomon gave and he scribbled away in his notes. Perhaps he finally understood that Solomon needed to focus, that he needed quiet if he was going to make any progress in his studies. He paused in his strides when he came to a patch of flowers surrounded by tiny metal arches.

They smelled impossibly sweet, almost as sweet as Asmo's perfumes. What were they? They weren't anything that Solomon was familiar with. He was certain they didn’t have them back at home. This was something he could ask his fiance about. It was only when he turned to ask him did he realize that Asmo wasn’t there. He wasn’t anywhere to be seen actually.

His eyes glanced around the area. Surely he couldn’t have gone that far? Was he really that upset by the fact that Solomon wouldn’t dance with him?

He plucked one of the flowers and started to try to retrace his steps to find his fiance. This was supposed to be a date between the two of them. Of course he would lose his fiance here. Of course his fiance would run out without telling him. Of course. Of course it had to be this way. Of course his fiance couldn’t have been reasonable. Of course-

There were children laughing.

Children?

“You’re doing so well!” his fiance was standing among them, engaging in their little games. This was a different side of him. They were all in a little circle with their hands linked. Sometimes the children would break the chain and run around before finding new spots.

He wasn't striving to impress them, perhaps because they were children (and easy to impress).

He's a kind person.

Diavolo had said he was kind. Solomon had been skeptical. The more he watched, the more he realized that perhaps he’d been wrong. He’d judged him too harshly. Perhaps he hadn’t been as level headed as he thought.

Watching him laugh and play with the little ones was certainly an experience all on it’s own. He seemed like he didn’t have a care in the world.

Solomon also had another realization.

Asmo had a different type of worry plaguing his mind. He’d been nervous that Solomon would reject him because he wasn’t Lilith sure, but after he’d been worried that Solomon wouldn’t be impressed with him. His worries transformed and were presenting themselves through a different outlet. Solomon hadn’t been paying attention because Asmo was smitten with him, which was the minimum that he needed.

He could be good to him.

He could be kind to him.

It seemed like Solomon hadn’t been doing the best job at doing those things the more he dwelled on it. To put it frankly, he’d been ignorant. Solomon couldn’t even say that he wasn’t completely unaware of how he’d been acting. He hadn’t been terrible to Asmodeus, but he certainly hadn’t been good or kind either. He could have been better.

One of the kids must have tripped or something, because the next thing Solomon knew he heard sobbing.

“Oh darling, it’s alright, hush now. It’s only a scrape,” Asmo’s voice carried to Solomon’s ears. It was soothing, it felt safe. It lit something inside of him, a feeling that he couldn’t quite place his finger on. Whatever it was, Solomon knew he enjoyed it. His voice alone could convince the tension to leave his body and place his mind at ease. It felt like if Asmo said it was alright then everything had to be alright. Slowly the sobs settled and the child buried their head into Asmo’s shoulder. Slender fingers ran through their hair in an attempt to sooth them.

Solomon realized that this was a third face he had never seen from his fiance before. How many more could he possibly have? What more did Solomon have left to discover?

“I thought you didn’t like kids,” the words came out of his mouth before he could stop them. No thought ran through him, only an action that he chastised himself for.

Asmo jumped ever so slightly and turned to face him. He seemed surprised to see Solomon there, more surprised than Solomon thought he should be. “What brought you to that conclusion?” he asked.

“Your reaction to the rabbits.”

“Ah well,” Asmo laughed slightly, “You still thought I was someone else then, and I’m not exactly capable of giving you children in that sense. I do love the little ones though, they’re the cutest little things.” Asmo poked the child’s nose earning a soft little giggle, “Aren’t you all?”

He stopped for a moment, scrunching up his brow before turning to Solomon, “What brought you here? You seemed… busy in your own little world.”

Oh, so he’d been ignoring him, and unfortunately Solomon knew it wasn’t the first time he’d been aware of this. He was just more aware of it than he’d like to be at the moment.

He cleared his throat before holding up the flower, “I had been curious about some of your plants and wanted to ask you a few questions, but I see that you’re busy right now.”

Solomon glanced at the rest of the children standing behind him and thought. He was curious about the game, and he hadn’t been giving his fiance much mind as of late. “Would you mind if I watched your game?”he asked.

It was fun to watch them play. The way the children interacted with the fifth prince was adorable to say the least. At some point, they’d managed to talk Solomon into playing. There was no better way to learn than to participate. He wasn’t great at it, but the children seemed to enjoy him fumbling about squealing with absolute delight. Asmo had even joined in, and oh Solomon had almost forgotten how much he enjoyed his laugh.

When it came time for the children to return to their families for lunch, Asmo led him into town to meet more of the locals. They showed him their wears and how they went about making their soothing lotions and sweet perfumes. To his surprise a few of them had also been magic users. They didn’t have strong magic, but it did help with relaxation, recreation, and with what plants the little town did have. In other words, it seemed like it could also be utilized for healing in the form of muscle relaxants or even helping in the production of certain medicines.

They all also seemed to enjoy Asmo.

This hadn’t been what he thought it would be at all. In fact, Solomon was enjoying their little date. Watching Asmo interact with the people of his sector was certainly more enjoyable than him trying too hard to impress him. Solomon liked this side of Asmo. He was relaxed and his eyes were soft and tender. There was a beauty about him that was being reflected outward.

For the first time, Solomon truly felt like he was getting a glance at his soul.

“Your majesty?” a young woman approached Asmo, violin in her hand, “Would you like music?”

Solomon wasn’t sure what possessed him to look up in that moment, but he realized how many eyes were on them. No. How many eyes were on him. Then he remembered. Asmo would be giving up his position in marrying him. That meant that Solomon would now have say over anything that happened. For the first time what that really meant hit Solomon. Asmo would no longer have control over his sector, and his people were worried. They didn’t know anything about Solomon, and neither did Asmo.

He wanted him to love him.

He wanted him to respect him.

Asmo was just as scared, and Solomon had been stupid enough to miss it all.

“On any other day that would be lovely my dear, but I’m afraid my-”

“You mentioned wanting to dance earlier,” Solomon cut in, bowing ever so slightly, “Consider this my apology for being so rude and ignoring you.”

Joy radiated from the prince. Solomon could feel his warmth buzzing all around them as they headed back to the center of town.

This didn’t mean Solomon was in love.

But this did mean that he was going to try harder.

He was going to give the prince what he deserved and show him that he didn’t need to worry.

Solomon would take care of things.

The music started up, the woman with the violin leading in a few other instruments as they joined hands. Solomon wasn’t a fantastic dancer, but it didn’t seem to matter to Asmodeus. It was such a simple want.

Ah. Yet how quickly a fairytale-esque picture can shatter.

Solomon didn’t even register hearing the whistle of the arrow as he pulled Asmodeus in close and it scraped his sleeve, barely missing his fiance.

[ckneal]

I don’t like the ending of Michael’s story in Supernatural. The core idea fits, and I have nothing but respect for Jake Abel’s performance. That man was selling so hard, that I wouldn’t realize just how stupid some his lines were until after the second viewing, and even then, Jake needed to be off screen, because even when he wasn’t the focus, his body language and his expressions were all so on point. This man understood the assignment better than the people who wrote it, and you will not convince me otherwise. Because the thing about that last episode is that while the idea of Dean manipulating and sacrificing this fellow victim of the Good Son mentality to save the day may have been decent, the writing of this idea that should have tied off the dialogue about siblings and fathers and duty that we saw throughout the show, was lazy. When I look at it these days, all I can think is that they needed at least one more draft.

But I digress. Even knowing that Michael failing to overcome his trauma in the end was a perfectly serviceable ending to the series, there’s a part of me—the same part that looks at John Winchester and sees this tragic mess of a man—that really wishes it could have gone another way. Even though it would kind of mean John Winchester—Chuck’s representative in this little narrative he invented to amuse himself—stealing everyone’s thunder from off screen.

Because I fully believe that between John about everything relating to the apocalypse by the time of his death. And I’m not even linking that to the season 14 episode where he gets pulled forward in time and later wakes up thinking he had one crazy dream—I’m just looking at his dialogue with Azazel, the fact that he was looking into the demon kids, and his final order to Dean that he kill Sam if it become necessary. And the thing that I had always taken away from that, was that John knew what Azazel’s objective was, he knew what the demon children’s role would be, what Mary’s role had been, what Dean’s role would be—if Sam turned out to be the One for Lucifer, and I think that that was at the heart of his drinking. Yes, he was upset when he found out who Mary really was, and yeah, John had seen some stuff, but I think that what really, truly drove him to the bottle was the ongoing question in his head, “Could he fight destiny itself?” He was a mere man whose family was the cornerstone of the apocalypse—he wasn’t even important to the story, he was just a tragic background for the protagonists, and with Heaven and Hell both poised to wage war with his kids, John didn’t even know if he could fight it, but he couldn’t let himself not fight it either. That wasn’t in his character.

And while other things also played in, I’m sure, I really do think that being stuck in that position had a large part in what made John bitter. Because as he focused in on Azazel, Azazel being the biggest fish he knew of, he also had to continuous shutdown the alternate, unthinkable course of action: putting a bullet his son’s head. It was an impossible position for any decent father to be in, and we just happen to know that John, before his life went to hell, really did just want to be an average working class joe with a wife and kids, and have the kind of happy nuclear family that he was deprived of growing up, when Henry walked out one night and never came home.

And I have no doubt that if he could have gone after Michael, he would have. Hell, if he knew that Gabriel was running around on earth, John would have been on his trail every bit as relentlessly as he was Azazel’s, because he was desperate. 

I think that John spent the last few decades of his life raging against any every cosmic force he came across, trying to find some sort of wrench he could throw into this well-oiled machine that Chuck had set in place. And I really love the idea that in 1990, John could have thrown that wrench without even realizing it, when Adam Milligan came into existence with no cosmic planning whatsoever, and thirty odd years later it hit its mark when the archangel Michael turned on a spiteful god who had killed the love his life.

[kikikittykis]

You Belong in Your Universe

Summary: Eren, Mikasa and Armin get thrown into an alternate universe, when trying to find you, of course they find you, but both you and your brother have secrets.

Fandom: Supernatural and Attack on Titan

Pairing: Eren Yeager x Winchester! Reader

Characters: Eren Yeager, Mikasa Ackerman, Armin Arlert, Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester, (Y/N) Winchester, Crowley (Mentioned) and John Winchester (Mentioned)

Genre: Fluff maybe a bit of Angst I don’t really know

Warnings: mention of sex, nothing explicit

Wordcount: 1 947

Note: Comment or send an ask for a part two, follow for more

Masterlist

Eren, Mikasa and Armin fell through the puddle of smoke. Then landed on concrete with a hard oomph on. “Are you guys okay?” Eren asked his best friends as they sat up from falling.

“I think so, but where are we?” Mikasa said “What about you Armin are you okay” Mikasa asked

“I think I am okay,” Armin replied to Mikasa as he looked around at their surroundings. Eren could faintly hear something coming from somewhere near them. The three of them made their way toward the noise and they heard.

“Dean, are you kidding me, slow down” A very familiar voice said.

“Why (Y/N) this pie is just too good” Another voice replied to you

“(Y/N)” Eren said, looking at Mikasa and Armin and then following the rest of the way to the voice.

“Eren wait” Mikasa said “This might not be our (Y/N), something weird is going on here” she said and Eren slowed down

“You’re right,” Eren said, agreeing  with Mikasa that this might not be the (Y/N) that they know. The (Y/N) that Eren loves with all is being and would do anything for. She had gone missing without a trace and then they had fallen through that smoke and now they were stuck in this unfamiliar area.

“(Y/N) tell me about that boy that you met when you were missing” The one apparently named Dean said

“I don’t feel like talking about Eren Dean especially to you” you said

“Ooo so his name is Eren then, why won’t you tell me about your lovelife anymore”

“Hmm maybe it’s because you threatened to shoot my last boyfriend or the fact that he’s from another dimension”

“What do you mean, Where were you”

“I mean that I was thrown into an apocalyptic alternate universe, where humanity is just barely holding on” “I joined an army, well The Scouts actually”

“So your boyfriend is he a scout then”

“Yeah he is, he’s similar to you”

“How is he similar to me”

“Well he has a similar drive like you and dad”

“You mean he has a similar reason to hunt like dad’s then”

“Yeah his mum was killed by a titan, just like dear old yellow eyes killed mom, just less planned” you said

“Eren did (Y/N) ever tell you about that” Mikasa asked Eren

“No but did mention that her brothers would like me, and I never heard the name yellow eyes before, But I remember another. I think it was Azazel” Eren said. Armin accidentally made noise by stepping the wrong way. They heard footsteps and the cocking of something metal behind them

“Who the hell are you, do you work for Lucifer” you said to them and the three of them turned around slowly and then

“(Y/N)” Eren said and you threw your hand out signaling to Dean to put down his gun. Dean put away his gun, but never lost eye contact with the three of them. “Oh thank god you are okay (Y/N)” Eren said and engulfed you in a bone crushing hug. “Why did you leave like that and where are we”

“Eren the portal opened so quickly, it was either to leave for here or stay, I’m sorry I couldn’t say goodbye, But welcome to Kansas, Lebanon Kansas to be exact” you said

“I never heard about Kansas in any books” Armin said

“That’s because it’s not in your universe”

“Wait are you saying that were in an alternate universe”

“Yes that is exact”

“What about doppelgangers” Armin asked

“You don’t want to meet them” you replied

“So you’ve met them before” Armin said

“What are doppelgangers?” Eren asked you

“Doppelgangers are alternate versions of you and I in another reality then their own, I have met your doppelgangers before” you said

“So their just like us then”

“Yes but with differences to character or backstory even appearances”

“So what are our doppelgangers like then” Eren asked

“Your doppelgangers are actually quite interesting, Other Eren kills all the werewolves who eat humans, Armin is the resident researcher and helps Bobby out and Mikasa is one of the best fighters we have on our team” “I don’t work very often with you guys, I went to High School with you guys though” “I wasn’t the closest with version of you guys”

“Well that’s bullshit you were sleeping with-” Dean started but you cut him off by elbowing him in the chest. “Ouch that hurt (Y/N/N)”

“Don’t call me that Dean”

“So who were you sleeping with” Armin asked

“I don’t think I should answer that” you said

“Oh come on it can’t be that bad” Eren said

“Fine I slept with Eren’s doppelganger back when we were in High School, we were drinking and one thing led to another, then we woke up in bed together naked in his bed together with really bad headaches and just blurry memories of the night” “God is this ever an embarrassing story” you said

“So you’ve slept with my doppelganger and you’ve slept with me”

“Yes Eren but I barely remember what I did in High School” “So can we please just move on” You begged

“Can we talk about this later” Eren asked

“Of course Eren just maybe not in front of the others” you said and then you heard Armin’s stomach rumble “So you guys hungry?”

“Slightly” Mikasa answered

“Definitely” Armin said

“So what are we eating?” Eren asked

“How about burgers?” you said

“What are burgers?” Armin asked

“You guys will like them I promise” you said “Follow us” you said. They followed you and Dean to the Impala. Where Dean got into the front seat.

“Well are you guys getting in” Dean asked

“What is that” Armin asked questioning what the Impala

“This is baby she’s a 1967 Chevy Impala-” Dean said as you interrupted with

“You guys this is what you call a car” you explained to them what Baby is. You told them how to get in a car and buckle up for the drive. You got into the passenger seat after the three of them were sitting in the backseat of the Impala.

“Hold on, I drive fast” Dean said

“Dean don’t scare them” you said

“Fine but I don’t drive slow” Dean said and put the car into gear pulling out of the parking lot and driving to the diner with the best Burgers and Milkshakes in town. Eren, Mikasa and Armin all looked scared being in a car for the first time in their lives.

“Don’t worry you guys driving in this car won’t kill you” you said to reassure them. Dean coasted through the town and pulled into the parking lot of the diner. The diner was older themed, it even had a jukebox and everything. The three of got out of Baby and kind of wobbly.

“That was so cool” Eren said

“I feel like I’m gonna be sick” Armin said

“Just walk it off you’ll be fine Armin” you said walking up to the doors of the diner.

“Take a seat anywhere you’d like, I will be with you momentarily” the waitress said to you as you walked into the diner. The five of you sat down at a table and the waitress came over with her notepad. You ordered for the three of them and yourself and then Dean ordered his meal. You hoped that they would like what you had ordered for them, since their doppelgangers had also liked what you had ordered them when they were there with you previously. The five of you chatted comparing the differences in your universe to their universe.

The waitress soon brought you all your food. “How do we eat this?” Mikasa asked

“Like this” you said and picked up your burger showing them how to eat it properly. They ate their burgers slowly but still happily.

“Is this meat?” Armin asked

“Oh yeah” you said taking another bite of your burger “It’s not rare in my universe”

“Really is that true”

“Yeah but you guys belong in your universe not mine, and I belong in mine”

“But you belong with me” Eren said

“I know that Eren but my universe needs me to keep it from dying” you said “so let’s just have some fun now and when the time comes we will go our separate ways Eren”

“I love you (Y/N) and I can’t lose you not again, when you went missing I was in shambles and I can’t lose you again please (Y/N)”

“(Y/N) I know that you love him, This world has Sam and I to protect it, your my sister and I never want you to leave but I can see that you love him, so go with them to their universe”

“Dean I could never leave you and Sam this is my proper universe”

“No (Y/N) you belong with Eren, So I want you to leave with them when they go back to their home, you belong in their universe”

“You think so Dean” you said

“Yes (Y/N) I want the best for you, Just promise me something”

“I want some nieces or nephews from you, even if I may never meet them”

“You will meet them Dean” you said

“You know I won’t, I’ll before I’m forty and go down guns blazing, we always knew this was how I’d end” Dean said “So let’s make the best of the time left in this universe with pie and milkshakes, How about it” Dean said with a smile

“Let’s do it,” you said and waved the waitress over to take your order.

The three of you laughed and had fun until it was the day to leave for the right universe. “Are you ready?” Dean asked you as you got ready to leave for the other universe with Eren, Mikasa and Armin.

“I’m gonna miss you squirrel”

“You too Doe” Dean said using the matching nickname that Crowley had given you.

“Dean, can you give this to our version of Eren” you said and handed Dean an envelope with Eren written in your handwriting on the front of it. You pulled your backpack over your shoulder and you walked into the war room of the bunker. Where the others were waiting. Sam had on his favorite flannel and was standing in front of Bobby’s old camera.

“Come on one last memory, before you leave” Sam said

“You got it Moose” you said and gathered everybody in front of the camera. Sam turned on the timer. Then quickly rushed to stand next to you with his hand on your shoulder. The camera flashed and took two photos, which printed out and Sam went and got them and handed one to you with the leather bound book from your childhood. “Sam is that Dads journal?” you asked

“We made a copy for Dean and I, but we want you to have the original, So you remember us”

“Sam, Dean I will always remember you” you said and you took the book and then broke out crying you engulfed Sam in a hug.

“We’ll miss you Doe” Sam said

“I’ll miss you too Moose and you Squirrel” you said and opened the portal. “When we win the war and beat the titans, I will see you again and just as I promised you Dean you will get a niece or nephew from me one day” you said and the four of you left for Eren, Mikasa and Armin’s universe. Knowing that there was a war that you needed to fight in and win.

[honeykept]

Catalysts & Changes: a 15x16 Meta

I wanted to talk really quickly about Dean’s change this season, especially regarding 15x16.

My main focus of this meta is to talk about Mary’s impact on Dean being the catalyst for this change we’ve been seeing, but I’m also going to be mentioning some Cas/destiel things to tie into this. So, here we go:

I. Mary as Catalyst & Myth

Mary is Dean’s reason. By that I mean that literally the whole reason Dean hunts--or, rather, continues to hunt, since John honestly forced it on him--was all in the hopes of catching what killed Mary. That was the main purpose of season 1, other than finding John. This is Dean’s motivation, his basis as a character. 

Dean has also mentioned on multiple occasions that Mary was why he was brave, why he kept fighting, and that he often thought about her. 

Dean: I was scared, too. I didn’t feel like talking, just like you. But see, my mom...I know she wanted me to be brave. I think about that every day (1.03 Dead in the Water)

Remember this quote, because I think it’s eerily similar to the one in 15.16 that I’ll talk about later in this post.

This makes sense--she’s his mom, he should be affected in some way about her death. But Dean takes it to the extreme, based his life around it, held on to it for far too long. Sam was different, because he never actually knew Mary, and we know from earlier seasons that their feelings about her are pretty different. 

Meanwhile, almost any time Dean has dreamt of something ideal, Mary was there (think of his djinn dream in 2.20 where Mary never died, and in heaven in 5.16). We can especially see that this is true because of what Amara said in Gimme Shelter:

Dean: What was the point?

Amara: I wanted two things for you, Dean. I wanted you to see that your mother was just a person. That the myth you’d held onto for so long of a better life, a life where she’d lived, was just that: a myth. I wanted you to see that the real, complicated Mary, was better than your childhood dream because she was real. That now is always better than then. That you could finally start to accept your life. (15.15 Gimme Shelter)

Here, Amara was anticipating a turning point. She had wanted Dean to be “released” by having Mary back, but obviously this didn’t happen. Instead, Mary’s death was once again the catalyst for Dean’s change, just like it was the first time when Azazel killed her. We can also see from this that Dean has always been stuck in the past, hence Amara telling him that he should be focusing on now, instead. Another thing to note for future reference is the “real” line. Remember Cas saying “we are” when Dean asks him what is real.

Mary was also not exactly what Sam or Dean--hell, not even the viewers--had been expecting when she returned. She was scared, alone, and had trouble dealing with being back in a new century with her little boys all grown up and even worse-- hunting. But Dean eventually accepted this. He accepted the real version of Mary, but continued to idolize her and bring up the past.

II. Mary’s Death

Now let’s take a look at what’s happened since Mary’s second death:

Denial. Dean hopes Mary isn’t actually dead, even though all signs point to this.

Grief. Dean cries alone at the site of her death.

Blame. Dean blames Jack and Cas for what happened. 

During and after the funeral, Dean avoids talking about it with anyone. However, he is obviously affected by her death. Sam even holds Cas back from going to Dean while burning the pyre. Bobby makes a comment about Dean being a lot like him and not wanting to show his feelings to others.

These all sound like the Dean that’s been built up since season 1. Not dealing with his feelings properly at all, pushing people away, denial. The one thing that makes this time different from other deaths, though, is that--just like the first time Mary died--there's no body to bring back. It's implied in 14.19 that if there had been, Dean would have tried, because he even tells Sam:

Note: This is also an episode where we see Jack being a mirror for Dean by doing exactly that--doing everything in his power to try to bring Mary back by himself. It doesn’t work; Mary’s gone for good. And she’s happy--she’s in heaven! 

In addition to there not being a body, Dean also knows who did it. It's not some unidentifiable yellow-eyed demon that he can spend years tracking down, it's Jack. It's his son, it's someone he can't and won't kill, because he's family, even if he’s guilty. So Dean has no outlet for his rage except to put blame on not only Jack, but Cas (specifically in 15.03 The Rupture, Jack is dead at this point and he pushes Cas away for several episodes). And here is where Dean begins to change.

III. The Shift: Anger, Apologies, and Forgiveness

Because then, in 15.09 The Trap, there is a big, significant shift. Dean forgives Cas:

Dean: You’re my best friend, but I just let you go. ‘Cause it was easier than admitting I was wrong. 

He cries, looks around, and gets on his knees.

Dean: I don’t know why I get so angry. I just know-I just know that it’s just always been there. And when things go bad, it just-it comes out. And I can’t- I can’t stop it. No matter how--how bad I want to, I just can’t stop it. And I forgive you, of course I forgive you. I’m sorry it took me so long to...I’m sorry it took me ‘til now to say it.  (15.09 The Trap)

This is an incredibly important scene because it shows that Dean knows about his anger--the anger that Amara talks about in 15x15, and he wants to stop it. 

Amara: I thought having [Mary] back would release you...put that fire out. Your anger. But I guess we both know I failed at that.

Dean: You’re damn right.  (15.15 Gimme Shelter)

After this, Dean clarifies that he’s not only angry, but furious. This is change, this is change caused directly by Mary’s death--by Amara bringing her back again. Dean might say he is furious, but he has also said before that he wants to stop his anger. And, in many ways, he’s been taking steps towards doing that: 

For example, here in 15.09 when Dean forgives Cas, (gif credit)

and here in 15.14 when he tells Jack he’s trying to forgive him for killing Mary, (gif credit)

and again in 15.16 for not telling Sam and Caitlin about the dead bodies when they were younger (gif credit)

and most recently, at the end of 15.16, when he didn’t tell Sam about Jack dying. (gif credit)

So now we’ve taken the turn towards forgiveness. Dean has been handing out apologies and forgiveness like never before this season, which is a definite change to how it used to be with him. He’s opening up, and he is trying to do better and be better than before. Billie also tells him this at the diner:

(gif credit)

I’m inclined here to believe that Dean is on that road to forgiveness with Jack. I mean, he said it himself in 15.14 that he’s trying, and Cas also vouched for him when Jack asked if forgiveness from Dean was a possibility. So in 15.16, when Dean says they have “no choice” but to let Jack die, it’s not because it doesn’t haunt him. It clearly does, with the entire episode dealing with Dean coping with the deaths of children, even his brother. He doesn’t want Jack to die, but his anger, his fury towards Chuck is taking precedence over that. It’s something he wants to change, but feels like he has no choice in the matter.

To add on to this, Jack has been a clear mirror for Dean this entire season. Dean’s argument with Sam about them having no choice is an indication of this. Just an episode prior in 15.15, Jack told Cas that the choice wasn’t his whether or not Jack died. So the pair ups in 15.17 aren’t all that surprising. With the episode being titled “Unity,” I think that the four of them will reach an agreement by the end of the episode (I keep mentioning agreements in all of my metas, because I think Chuck/Amara and Sam/Eileen’s agreement had important implications, but alas...), and be unified in a new plan to defeat Chuck. 

As for Dean? I don’t think his ending is going to be expected. He is changing--he won’t be making the same decisions he used to make in earlier seasons. 

I also find it fascinating that they made 15.16 a flashback episode to their past as children. Not only did 15.16 show us Dean being annoyed by sex, ignoring a possible love interest (which we were right as an audience to assume it would be written that way, because it has been so many times before), and how he’s dealing with the prospect of Jack’s death (with all of the imagery of dead children), but it really brought to light how much Dean has changed. 

The most obvious way they showed us this was through this scene with Caitlin (who looks eerily like a young Mary...interesting), who says this:

(gif credit)

Dean: Always am.

Caitlin: You have changed. The old you never would have admitted that.

Dean: Well, I’m not sure that’s a good thing.

Caitlin: I think so. What do they say about getting older? You tell the truth more because lies...they don’t make anything better. (15.16 Drag Me Away (From You)) 

Now, ignoring the fact that Dean has admitted this (in 1.03), we know that the only time he has admitted to being scared before was in relation to Mary. But I think what the writers were going for here was not only to highlight Dean’s recent character growth by admitting to Caitlin that he’s changed, but also the running theme of lying this season. I’ve said it before that Sam has been the only one telling the truth in s15, and I think it’ll eventually come into play during the final episodes. The truth/lies aspect will become a central plot point--I mean, it already is. But I think it’ll factor into how the show will end as a whole, especially with this episode and previous ones alluding to normalcy and the possibility of it for Sam. 

I’m going to finish this here, because I’ve dragged on too long, but some other (destiel) things to note are:

Dean falling to his knees in the hallway as a parallel to falling on his knees in Purgatory, praying to Cas, apologizing.

Dean cutting off Baba Yaga’s fingers, whereas Cas restored a woman’s fingers in 15x15. The pastor telling Cas that people are god’s hands; they lift each other up with each finger. The implications of Dean cutting people off, and Cas bringing people together.

another amazing meta regarding 15.16 and another about dean changing + 15.16

[ms-rampage]

Eden’s Gate: Aftermath Chapter 5 - The Growing Family of Hunters

Warnings: Swearing.

Word count: 2.9k

This is a short follow up series to Kidnapped leading up to the nuclear holcaust, and the beginning of New Dawn. 

Summary: Kate recovers from her Bliss hallucination after being forced out by her Archangel, Paige gets a new lead on Joseph, and the guys' families come by.

Guest OCs: Too many at this point. FML. 

Guest Characters: Gabriel [mentioned], God/Chuck [mentioned], Sam and Dean Winchester [in flashback]. Too many FML. 

**********

Flashback 

One year earlier

Toledo, Ohio 

"So you sure you're not mad at her anymore?" Dean asks Paige. 

She sighs, "Yes Dean, I'm no longer mad at Kate". 

Sam, Dean, Paige and Kate are tracking down a nest of vampires in the Ohio woods. 

"Okay but from what Brent told me. You were very upset because she wanted out of this life" he tells her. 

She sighs again, "Yeah, yeah I know I was, but I got over it". 

10 feet behind them, Sam and Kate have their conversation on the whole "leaving the hunter life behind". 

"You know I wanted to stop hunting as well" Sam tells Kate. 

She looks up at her tall cousin, "Really?". 

He nods, "Yeah I went off to college at Stanford. Studying to be a lawyer". 

"What happened?!" she asks. 

"Our dad went missing, and Dean went by my dorm. I helped him out on one hunt then that night I went back to my room" he takes a deep breath, "Then the demon that killed our mom killed my girlfriend Jess". 

She looks up at him once more with sad eyes, "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that" she tells him. 

He exhales, "It's fine. We were able to kill him". 

"What demon?" she asks. 

"Azazel. Yellow eyes" he tells her. 

She looks up at him again, "Azazel?. He killed our dad". 

Dean and Paige look back at them. 

"What happened?" Dean asks. 

"Paige the demon that killed dad, what was his name?!" she asks.

"Azazel" she responds. 

Kate scoffs, "What is up with that bastard killing our parents?!?"

"We're Winchesters" Dean replies, "That's what happens to us". 

*******

Trying to recover from her hallucination trip. Fucking Gabriel pushed her out. Forcing her ass to wake up. Dealing with the withdrawals of the Bliss.

The sun shining in her face, making her go blind for a brief moment. 

“It’s morning already?!” Kate thinks to herself. 

She stares off into space, staring up at the ceiling. “What the hell Gabe?!”. She gets startled by a knock at her bedroom door, followed by the knob jiggling.

“Kate!!” Paige calls out, “We got a lead on Joseph come down and we’ll talk about it”.

She gets out of bed, and looks in the mirror.

Her eyes aren’t as white as she thought they would be.

Unlocking her door, and going downstairs with the others.

Everyone including Rachel are sitting at the kitchen table.

“Okay so now that we’re all here” Paige says, “I finally got the lead on Joseph’s whereabouts”.

“So where could he be hiding out?!?” Cody asks.

“It could be anywhere in Hope County” Marty says.

“True!!” Paige says, pointing a pointer at them like she were a teacher, “But I got an exact location, and its pretty fucking obvious”. 

Waiting and already knowing of his whereabouts. They all just want to see Paige look like an idiot, or more like an idjit.

“Where is he hiding?!” Kenny asks in a smartass kind of way.

“His fucking church” she mutters angrily, “Please fucking kill me!!”.

Everyone stares at her as if she were a fucking dumbass.

“I could’ve fucking guess he was there!!!” Adrian yells.

“Well he wasn’t there before” Paige says in her defense, “He wasn’t anywhere near the statue. Or Teller Ranch which is a real location in a different part of Hope County that I didn’t even know existed!!”.

“So now what?!?” Mandy asks.

“Well we go there, we get him, and we fucking kill him” Paige answers as if it were a dumb question. 

“Is killing Joseph Seed really a necessary thing?!?” she asks.

Paige glares at her mother with furrowed eyebrows, “Is that a real, serious question?!. Of fucking course killing him is necessary”. 

“I mean we don’t have to kill him though. Maybe have him arrested? Maybe?” she says. 

Paige scoffs, “Mom I get you were the “Mother of Eden’s Gate” for a few months, but come fucking on. This man fucking tortures, and manipulates people. Rachel is a good fucking example of that”.

“You’re not going soft for this man are you Mandy?!” Kenny asks in a calm voice. 

“I feel like he needs to be protected” Mandy says, shrugging.

“Protected?!?! What the fuck?!?” Paige blurs out, “He doesn't need to be protected. If God, or Chuck wants Joseph to be protected he would’ve shown himself to him. Like he has with us in the past. Like he has with Sam and Dean”. 

Barbara steps in and defends Mandy, “Paige you shouldn’t talk to your mother like that. If she says Joseph needs to be protected then he needs to be protected”.

Paige sighs, and says “Barb I know you and my mom are close. But this man, he doesn’t deserve to be protected. Not by my mom, not by my family, not by his followers, and definitely not by Chuck”.

Barbara and Paige stare at each other for a moment, then Rachel clears her throat and speaks up. Everyone looks over at her. 

“Joseph, he may seem like a good person to his followers. But he’s a monster. I was afraid of him, and so was John. Jacob not so much. I’m still afraid of him. Joseph, he drugged, manipulated, and threatened me. I was only 17, he took advantage of me. He helped me find my purpose but I was still scared of him.”

Mandy speaks up, “Is that why you were always around me when I was The Mother?”

Rachel nods, “Yes because I felt safe around you. Joseph wouldn’t hurt you because you were The Mother. He wanted to keep you safe, protected and to guide us to New Eden”. 

“Mom did Joseph ever try to do anything harmful to you?” Kate asks, still recovering from the Bliss trip.

“No, he didn’t try to do anything that’ll cause me harm” she says, shaking her head.

Mark clears his throat, and awkwardly says “Very bad timing, but our families are coming over to live with us. They’ll be over around 1pm”. 

“Alright good, but where are they gonna stay?!?” Kate asks.

“Well my wife and kids can sleep in my room” Nate says, “Since the extra houses are still being put up”.

“My family can do the same” Mark says.

“My wife Brandi is gonna live with us as well” Cody adds.

“So is my wife” Adrian says as well.

“And my fiance as well” Martin says.

“Okay!!” Paige says loudly, “So we’re gonna have Nate, Ellen and your guys 3 kids, Mark, Dana and your guys 2 kids, Cody and Brandi, Martin and Megan, Adrian and Amanda. As well as Kenny, myself, Cristina and baby number 2. Rachel, Kate and the Seed spawn, mom, and Barb”. 

She lets out an exaggerated exhale after saying the names of all the people that are gonna live with them in the one huge soon to be 3 house.

“Are we gonna ignore the fact that we’re gonna have more people living here with small children. When we have a bunch of crazy Cultist fuckers running around and trying to kill us?!?” Kenny asking the real questions. 

They all exchange looks for a bit, and Paige speaks up.

“I mean Kenneth. We all hunt demons, ghosts and monsters for a living. We all have died at least 3-6 times at some point, and came back. Who wins? A bunch of human cultists? Or a bunch of demon boys with powers?”.

They all once again exchange looks. “She has a point, Kenny” Mark tells him. 

They all agree with Paige’s analogy. They’ve all died several times in their lives, were brought back and continued their lives as hunters. Them being hunters is how they all met. It’s how Paige and Kenneth met. It’s quite a romantic story. How they met. 

“Well, thank Chuck we’re putting up 2 more houses” Kenny chuckles. 

“Speaking of that!” Adrian speaks out, “We should get going with that”.

“Agree” Cody says, getting up from his seat. 

The guys all go upstairs and change into their construction gear. They spent the next several hours putting up the houses with the help of 8 Holland Valley locals.

******

1pm arrives, and the guys families, and significant others arrive.

They hug and greet each other. Catch up on life.

Introduce each other to their families. 

The children go, and explore the huge 11 bedroom house.

All of them sitting at the kitchen table. 

“How was the drive?” Paige asks Cody’s wife Brandi.

She groans, “Hell. Complete Hell”.

Paige laughs softly, “Sounds about right”.

“This house is huge!!!” Dana says, looking around.

“Yep, when Kenneth and I bought it last year after we got married. It had 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, the living room was 450 square feet I think. The kitchen was 450 as well, but with the dining room it’s 780 square feet. The backyard was 2 acres. After a few months we remodel the entire house. It took 7-9 months, we finished back in April of this year. We added 6 more bedrooms, 6 more bathrooms, the living room is now 690 square feet, we purchased 2 more acres of land, so we now have 4 acres of land. We have a bunker that I didn’t had until we’re half way through remodeling the house.”

“It’s huge!” Kate says, “The bunker. It has a full kitchen, a library, a medical room, I think like 10-12 rooms, 6 bathrooms. I think it was a hidden military bunker because we found a lot of Army paraphernalia, old weapons and shit. There’s beds, it’s all stocked up with canned foods, pasta, water, toilet paper and all that shit”.

“I really like the garage that leads down to the bunker” Mandy adds.

Paige says, “Oh yeah the garage we have has a secret entrance inside. That’s why we park our cars in the driveway because we often go down there. The floor lifts up and leads underground. Very Batman-like. My cousin Dean would be very jealous”. 

*****

Later that evening they all sit outside, and have dinner.

Mandy, Paige and Kenny made some burgers, fries and a bunch of other meats for them, and their guests. Celebrating the freedom from 2 of the 3 Seeds. Since Faith/Rachel has a change of heart and she’s proving everyday that she has. 

Kate invited Wheaty because she’s dating him, as well as all her friends Morgan, Alissa, Sarah, Ryan, Dylan, Kevin the twins Ivan and Isaiah. She really needed to get John off her damn mind and having all her friends around will help with that. 

Hoping they’ll give her some comfort. Paige also invited the Rye’s, Mary May, Pastor Jerome, Grace, Sharky, Hurk Jr, Eli, Tammy, and Jess Black. Amongst others.

Kate hugs Wheaty tightly, sinking into his arms, forgetting all about John, and actually listening to Gabriel’s advice. 

“I missed you” she says into his shoulder.

He chuckles, “I missed you too”, and kisses the side of her head. 

Everyone has a great time, eating, talking and either getting to know each other, or catching up. Paige and Jess finally caught and set up a day for them to go hunting. Seeing her goddaughter Cristina for the first time in several months.

Kate goes the rest of the evening not thinking about John, or even having any memories of him, or his existence in her life. Doing what her Guardian Archangel told her to do and forget about him. Thinking about the good things happening in life. 

The tiny human that's growing inside her, she’s with someone that makes her happy. She has her family, and friends. 

"So what do you wanna do on Halloween?" Wheaty asks her. 

Paige gives Kate a narrow eyed look, "Tell him" she nudges her sister's arm. 

She stumbles and tells him, "To, to uh. To be 100% honest Wheat, I don't like Halloween". 

He raises his eyebrows at her, "Really? I figured you would love Halloween!". 

Paige looks over at her little sister, "Kate tell him why you don't like Halloween!". 

She shakes her head, "Uhh no I don't want to". 

"I'll tell him if you don't" she playfully threatens. 

She groans, rolling her eyes, giving in to tell them "Okay fine!. One time when I was 11-12 before we were taken away from our mom. We were living in Louisiana at the time, and I was invited by one of my classmates to go to her Halloween party. She invited one of our classmates that I had a huge crush on". 

"It gets better!!" Paige interrupts, telling Sharky, Jess, Eli and Wheaty. 

Kate rolls her eyes, "Anyway. She had a bobbing for apples game thing, and I for some fucking reason wanted to impress that boy in my class. So I bobbed for the apples, but when I’m around someone I like, I tend to get a little queasy. When it was my turn, I went to grab an apple and I threw up in the water”. 

Paige bursts into laughter, while everyone at the table looks over at Kate either trying to hold back laughter, or gasping dramatically. Wheaty puts his arm around Kate as a sign of comfort, kissing the side of her head. 

“But wait!. It gets better!!’ she tells them, “Everyone saw that I threw up in the apple bucket. Some laughed, some gasp in shock. The boy that I liked saw everything, I went to run away, but I slipped, I stupidly grabbed the bucket and the water along with my vomit and the apples spilled all over me”. 

Paige continues to laugh hysterically. “What happened afterwards?!?” Sharky asks. 

“I ran out the house and hid in the woods behind her house until my mom came to pick me up”.  

Wheaty kisses the side of her head again, comforting her. 

“Ya know the same thing happened to me when I was a kid” Sharky tells her. 

“Really? What did you do?” she asks. 

“I don’t know. I don’t remember much from that” he tells her, and walks away to the other guests. 

“Anyway, we can still do something for Halloween. It doesn’t have to be Halloween related” Wheaty tells her. 

She’s hesitant about answering him. “C’mon Kate that was 10 years ago. Get over it!” Paige tells her. 

“Paige that was humiliating” she tells her, “It all happened in front of a guy I liked”.

“Well what if I told you we can hang out and it won’t involve bobbing for apples or any Halloween related games” he tells his girlfriend. 

“Come on Kate spend some time with your boyfriend” Morgan tells her, “Who cares if it's on Halloween”. 

“Just pretend it’s another day” Sarah tells her. 

She finally gives in after all her friends and sister convince her after 10 minutes “Okay we can do something for October 31st” she finally gives in and gives him an answer. 

“Don’t dress as a clown” Morgan tells them, “Kate hates clowns”.

“More like is afraid of clowns” Alissa adds. 

They all laugh and have a great night together. Celebrating their freedom from the Seeds with only 1 more to go. With the Winchesters around they’ll all be gone before Halloween. 

Joseph’s days are numbered. 

******

Later that night when all the guests leave and everyone goes to sleep, Paige and Kate are down stairs putting leftovers away. Once they're done, Paige goes upstairs to her bedroom.

“Welp I’m gonna get some shut eye” she tells her, “You coming up?”.

Kate who is distracted by her thoughts, snaps her head up to look at her sister, “Uhh yeah, yeah I’ll be up in a bit. I just need to do something first”. 

Once she leaves upstairs, Kate goes to the backdoor and steps outside into the backyard out into the cool Montana night. 

She walks 20 feet away from the house, far enough where the others won’t be able to hear her. Looks up into the sky, looking at the stars, moon, thick clouds covering the moon, the visible galaxies from Earth and prays. 

Taking a deep breath, “Hey Gabriel” she starts, “It’s me. Ya girl”. She lets out a short laugh before continuing. 

“I just. I just wanted to say” trying to keep her breath steady, “I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for getting me over John. For getting me out of Hell, protecting me from Lilith. Everything. I don’t. I don't think I ever thanked you for all that". 

The night goes completely silent, the crickets go silent, “If you can show me a sign that you heard me that would be great”.

She looks around the property to see if anything changed, she looks up at the moon and sees the clouds surrounding it disperse. Moving away from the glowing rock in the sky.

She chuckles softly to herself, looking up “Is that you?”. A shooting star flies past the moon confirming that her Archangel heard her and is giving her a sign that he heard everything she said. Followed by a cool gust of wind, making her hair dance in the breeze.

Smiling up at the sky, “You heard” she mutters and goes back inside the house. 

[1337wtfomgbbq]

I gotta rant for a second here. I hate this app. Okay maybe not this whole app, more the people on here. Specifically the people in the supernatural community. Yes talking to you. I can’t believe I’m even back into this with you guys.

I know people can pick and chose which characters they like and which they dislike. I know, for some trauma and whathaveyou also plays into what they feel towards a character.

But I am just so mad. I’m on a little bit of a rewatch, as you are, of season 1 to 3 (maybe some episodes of 4 and 5) because those are the only good seasons, and I just wanna look at some posts of my favorite character.

But my favorite character happens to be John.

TLDR: John's character is complex as fuck and people like to oversimplify and villify him, for no reason other than „BuT My DaAAadYY WaS ShiTTy!!!!“

And I get it. People on here disregard season 1-3, even the writers disregarded what JDM wanted John to be: “I don’t think he’s as screwed-up as other people do,” Morgan told EW. “I think he is a guy who’s got a tremendous amount of love for his family. He was willing to die for his sons, willing to put himself in a place to where he could lose his life for revenge on what killed his wife. So as much has been said about John or that I’ve heard about John, I think what is missing is that he shows love in different ways. Maybe he wasn’t a big hugger and he didn’t say the right things when he should’ve — and there’s a bigger picture about getting your kids into hunting ghosts that I should acknowledge — but I think at his core he really loved his family and was willing to sacrifice everything. So I never looked or played John in a way that there was any malice toward his sons.”

People project what went wrong in their lifes and with their fathers on this app SO HARD. To be fair they do that everywhere. But it's so infuriating when it's done to a character you love so much.

And as much as I wanna be understanding I am just so pissed.

Hear me out: Back when I first started watching supernatural (I was fucking 12 back then, can you believe that) and my friend was all „OMG Sam is such a treat. He's mine!“ I thought, okay I'm gonna take Dean then.

The coin finally dropped on me in 'Shadow' and I realized „Heck, screw Dean, I'm taking John!“ (Not that I told my friend that, LOL. I hadn't realized just then that I prefer older guys)

And attraction is one thing, but the character spoke to me on such a deep level too. I mean, you got a dude whos wife died in a way that he cannot explain in a rational way, only to have his eyes opened to the supernatural by Missouri. And it turns out whatever killed his wife also did some fucked up shit to his kid and is after, not only his youngest but, all of them.

So he's forced to take his kids on the run. But, he's also an ex-marine, he's a soldier and he can't leave other people to die at the hands and claws and teeth of monsters and ghosts and strigas and whathaveyou. Which leaves him struggling to ballance protecting and caring for his kids and saving people and hunting things, AND finding the thing that killed his wife.

The way John's situation was set up (ignoring for a second what we learn in later seasons) and the way Sam was brought up by him created a relationship that was bound to escalate; it was only a matter of time.

Season 1 to 3 we got a John that was distant and rough, but a John that recognized he fucked up along the way and who saught to rectify where he went wrong with his boys.

Season 1 episode 20: „You gotta understand something. After your mother passed all I saw was evil, everywhere. And all I cared about was keeping you boys alive. I wanted you...prepared. Ready. Except somewhere along the line I ... uh ... I stopped being your father and I ... I became your, your drill sergeant. So when you said that you wanted to go away to school, all I could think about, my only thought was, that you were gonna be alone. Vulnerable. Sammy, it just... it never occurred to me what you wanted. I just couldn't accept the fact that you and me -- We're just different.“

And guess what, Sam admits seconds later: „We're not different. Not anymore. With what happened to Mom and Jess... Well we probably have a lot more in common than just about anyone.“

Season 1 episode 21: „I want to stop losing people we love. I want you to go to school, I want Dean to have a home. I want....I want Mary alive. It's just....I just want this to be over.“

John literally on the show in person, Jeffrey Dean Morgan Season 1, admits that he didn't want ANYTHING OF WHAT HAPPENED, AND WHAT HE HAD TO DO TO HAPPEN!!!!

Sure, Sam suggested to Dean that John's just „working overtime on Miller Time shift. He'll stumble back in sooner or later“ in the very first episode but we never see John drink alcohol, for all he's on screen in season one, ONCE. (1x1) Suggesting that John did have a drinking problem but somewhere between Sam going off to college and the pilot he kicked that habit.

Sure, Sam is clearly vindictive BUT, when faced with a kid with a clearly abusive father, he also says that, „Well, it coulda gone a whole other way after Mom. A little more tequila and a little less demon hunting and we coulda had Max' childhood. All things considered, we turned out okay. Thanks to him.“ (1x14)

We see him cry on multible occasions in season one and two, we see him hug both Sam and Dean and tell BOTH OF THEM that he is proud of them. Heck, he couldn't shut up about how proud he was of them. Like Jerry told Sam in 1x4 „Well, he was real proud of you. I could tell, He talked about you all the time.“ He kept Sam's soccer trophie, and Dean's first sawed off. He fucking died to safe Dean.

Yeah, he told Dean that he'd have to kill Sam if he goes evil but...

Let's take into consideration season 4 and 5, and John wasn't all too wrong for telling Dean this. Even if we ignore all that, as John probably didn't have the full picture, John didn't knew the extend of Sam's powers. As is always said, „With great power comes great responsibility“. We have seen in comics, shows, movies, all over pop culture and history, how easily great power can corrupt, don't matter how nice and righteous that person is.

Let's take into consideration what was added in season 4 and 5: Like John having another family, the fact that cupid had to get him and Mary together, Mary making a deal with Azazel, the few demons (not even all of them) Lucifer showed Sam who had been put into his life by yellow eyes; even that just adds more credence to the already established character.

Of course John was bound to have flings after Mary, you can't expect a widower to just be celibate forever. And it wasn't even that he bailed on her, he literally didn't know there was a child until twelve years later.

And considering John's erratic 'work schedule' and how little we know of Kate, maybe it was her that wanted John not to have much contact to her son. The whole situation with Adam isn't exactly clear, and told through the eyes of a ghoul. Plus, we all saw where John's decision to leave Adam in the dark about the supernatural had him end up (namely killed by a ghoul).

The fact that cupid had to get John and Mary together only gives more ammunition for my argument that John was only working with what was given to him. Pretty much everyone from hell to heaven was meddling in his life.

Getting ahead with headcanons here but, for all we know John and Mary would've never ended up together; for all we know Mary was a lesbian and John was bi; for all we know they could've still worked out without cupid's help. Who knows? We don't because heaven took that decision away from both John and Mary.

The fact that Mary made a deal with Azazel to safe John's life in exchange for Azazel to be able to enter her home in ten years time, again, caused something to happen down the line that affected John and the boys that John had no control over.

And I gotta thank Lucifer for his part, because it gives EVEN MORE credence as to why John couldn't give Dean and Sam a normal life. He reveals SOME of the people Azazel planted into Sam's life that were actually possessed by demons.

„LUCIFER: Look closely. None of these little devils look familiar to you? SAM: That's Mr. Bensman... One of my grade-school teachers. LUCIFER: And that's your friend Doug from that time in East Lansing. And Rachel... your prom date. Sam Winchester, this is your life. Azazel's gang – watching you since you were a rugrat, jerking you around like a dog on a leash. I know how you feel about them. Me too. So, what do you say you and I blow off a little steam?“ (5x22)

A few episodes earlier we found out that his friend Brady, the one that introduced him to Jess, was actually possessed by a demon, and the one that fucking killed her.

„BRADY (chuckles): Brady hasn't been Brady in years. Not since, oh... middle of our sophomore year?

SAM: What?

BRADY: That's right. You had a devil on your shoulder even back then. All right, now, let it all sink in.

SAM: You son of a bitch. You son of a bitch! (Sam approaches Brady, Dean holds him back) You introduced me to Jess!

BRADY: Ding, ding! I think he's got it!“ (5x20)

All of this paints a clear picture for me, of a man that got played by fate and heaven and hell and was only trying to play the cards all of them dealt him to the best of his ability. Did he fuck up along the way, yes, did he show remorse for that and did he wish he could've given Sam and Dean a better life, Yes.

I completely understand people liking one character and disliking another, even projecting onto characters I get. And I get that people's life experiances lead them to different conclusions.

But it pisses me off so much that I can't go into the 'John Winchester' tag without having to read some shit as fuck take on John.

I have to read people saying that he never told Dean he was proud of him and that the only time he did so he was possessed by Azazel. Which isn't even true, but a motherfucking lie.

Season 2, episode 1; when John WASN'T POSSESSED ANYMORE he said to Dean: „You know, when you were a kid... I'd come home from a hunt. And after what I'd seen... I'd be wrecked. And you... You'd come up to me... you'd put your hand on my shoulder, and you'd look me in the eye. You'd say, "It's okay, Dad." Dean. I'm sorry. You shouldn't have to say that to me. I should've been saying that to you. You know, I put... I put too much on your shoulders. I made you grow up too fast. You took care of Sam, and you took care of me. You did that. And you didn't complain, not once. I just want you to know... that I am so proud of you.“

I have to read people forget or disregard that John was literally a righteous man. Alastair tried to break John and John didn't break for a century and then clawed his way OUT OF HELL TO SAFE HIS SONS IN 2x22. John must've had righteousness in heaven (which would come through faith in Jesus) and righteousness on earth (which would come through living through the commandments) as long as that's what the writers meant with 'righteous man'.

I have to read stuff John would apparently do only because we learn in 'Dark side of the Moon' that John and Mary's marriage wasn't all sunshine and rainbows and that John even moved out for a period. Even though we don't know who caused that fight and what it was about, literally it could've been Mary's fault and John only left to cool off. And even if not, marriages aren't just sunshines and rainbows. Fights happen, bad stuff is worked out. That would be true even without the cupid spell.

I have to read someone projecting their experiance with their father onto John. I have to read about someone saying John would've been such a dick because he was in the military and fought in the vietnam war, and we all know that's what all sodiers back then were (dicks). I have to read about how homophobic and transphobic John obviously was. I have to read about how much John would've been racist to Sam and Dean if they'd been mixed.

John was born in 1954, he has to be homophobic and transphobic and racist and bigoted and everthing you can think of. It can't be possible for someone to be born during that time and not be, right. (I hope you recognize the sarcasm)

Everybody is screaming 'child abuse' as loud as they can without taking into account the unique world those characters inhabit and the situation fate, heaven and hell put John and the boys into.

Dean could dig himself out of his grave because John used to bury them alive and had them dig their way out of a coffin as training!!!? Are yall good?? Literally what did your parents do to you, what went wront in your life that you think shit like this?!

And I get it, you can headcanon all you want. I myself headcanon John as bi and that Azazel knew and used this fact.

The writers did John so dirty in later seasons, and I'm not even alone in this, JDM agrees with me.

„But it always bugged me that the John that I played is different than the John that has been portrayed since I haven't been around. I really wanted the opportunity to be able to come back and make amends in a way and try to fix the sullied name of this character. But more than that, it's three friends, life lived. It feels like we've been friends for a lifetime now, getting to reunite in a place that we love and that we met and do what we do and I think that is super cool. So not only does John win in getting to come back and see his boys and Mary again and hopefully make some amends, it's just as cool for me, the actor, to be able to come back and see everybody.“

I'm sorry, but if Snape fans are allowed to be pissed about people suggesting Snape would've been creeping on Harry if he had been female and looked like Lilly, I can be pissed about everybody and their grandma in this fucking fandom painting John in the worst light possible.

JDM created such a great character with depth and who was interesting, even in season 4 and 5 they were still respectfull to his character, but the later seasons were just *throws up *

And I mean, I get it, I disregard canon too. Like, I disregard everything after season 5, that's Sam hallucinating in hell to me. Sometimes even after season 3, cause I don't feel like dealing with the angels, and cas and destiel and all that.

I get it, I get it, I get it.

But I too have the right to be pissed off about the way people like to shit on my fav.

Long story short, I love John and how complex and grey his character is and I HATE IT how simple and 'black and white' people wanna make him out to be. I wanna punch a bitch. I wanna throw hands right now.

[sam-blackbird]

So I’ve watched SPN 15x20 four days ago...

... And I want to share my opinion. And, it seems logical, but this will contain spoilers. And maybe some anger. 

 So, four days ago, I’ve watched the last episode of Supernatural. And I take some notes. I think I’ll begin with the positives points. It’s going to be quick. 

 Positives points : 

 - the agent’s names are the producer’s and director’s name (? I’m not sure about this one) 

 - The pie festival :D (When Dean talk about facing his destiny, I thought he was going to go to a Supernatural convention ! xD) 

 - Miracle (the dog) 

 - Dean who shows that is ok for a man to have feelings 

Well, and now, be ready for the negatives points. It's going to be a bit longer. Sooo. Here they are.  The Negatives points. In the order of the episode. 

 - Where is the f*cking “Carry On My Wayward Son” at the beginning ?! Where it is ? With Sam’s lost shoe ?! It’s unacceptable ! 

 - The case is... well, vampires. Wow. So smart. (I don’t like it) (It’s like “hey, do you want to see a case with new ennemis but not so new because in fact John Winchester fought against them ? No ? Any way, you’ll watch it.”) 

 - The nail in the wooden pillar (who let this here ?!) 

 - Dean died. After a tearful speech, he died after 25 minutes (out of 43...) ! I don’t want him to die ! Where is Jack when we need him ?! He can’t ended like this ! Well, in fact, I understand but... no I still don't accept it. 

 - Where is the Saileen ? Sam love Eileen so why, in the fandom name, he don’t care about her after the episode 15x19 ?! Like hey, all the people who had disappeared have reappeared, but Sam don’t care about find her ? Can you just imagine her, lost in the middle of nowhere without her car or her phone (because Sam took it) ?! Poor Eileen ! She didn’t deserved that !  

 - Sam also didn’t care about Bobby and/or Charlie (and Stevie -Charlie’s girlfriend). Like, hey, you don’t want to know how are they ? You don’t care about them ? Well, I do ! (Later, we know for Bobby -he’s in Heaven- and that’s all. The scenarists be like : “Charlie ? Who the Hell is Charlie ?!”) 

 - Dean who said “It’s ok.”. Spoilers : No. No it’s not ok Dean ! You don’t deserved that ! You deserved an happy live with Castiel on Earth or at least in Heaven. Did he have that ? Nope ! Because ... Well, I don’t actually know. Maybe because it was too gay for the screen. But hey, we exist and we're valid you moron !

 - Bobby said that John Winchester is in Heaven. Am I the only who think he didn’t deserve to be there ? Ok, he is not the worst father in the Universe ('coz be worst than Chuck is not so easy), but he is clearly one of the worst of this universe in my opinion. Maybe it’s just me and maybe I’ve lost an episode, but well, if a f*cking demon (Azazel) is better and more nice than him, maybe he didn’t deserve his place in Heaven, didn’t he ? 

- Not really negatives points but points who made me cry : “Sammy”, “I love you so much my baby brother”, “At least, it was always you and me” and the famous “it’s ok”. 

 - Also not a really negative point but when Sam... I mean Jared Padalecki made his little final speech (when he thank us all), am I the only one to yelling to my phone screen ? Like “LoL Sam what are U saying ? Put your ass in the Impala (Love U Baby) and go in a Family trip with your big bro (and maybe your mom ?) and let me cry because the show is ending.”. 

(Me, literally 30 secondes later : “Ok, let’s rewatched all the Trickster episodes because I need it. I DON’T CARE IT’S 2 F*CKING A.M., I DON’T NEED SLEEP, SLEEP IS FOR HUMANS AND I’M NOT, ‘COZ I’M A FANENBY AND I NEED SOME GABRIEL’S SASS ! It’s for... my personal... mental health...”).

To conclude my essay, I will say that maybe it was me who had too high expectations for this final episode, but I'm still disappointed with this ending. What do you think about this ?

[babygirl06301]

SPN S1 Review

I honestly have no idea if this post is about to be hella long or moderate, but I feel like a lot of my feelings got aired out when I was reviewing each individual episode, so I’m just gonna dump the rest of my thoughts that I’ve jotted down while watching this season here. This is basically gonna be me saying, “Wow, this was interesting,” or, “This is similar to/different from later seasons because…” These are all coming from notes on my computer, so they’re half-baked. Nothing too fancy or analytical, but I’ll be doing one of these for every season.

Random thoughts:

I don’t like the monster-of-the-week, episodic format that much, and a lot of those episodes this season felt average in quality for me. However, when you don’t have much else to focus on besides an arbitrary goal of the boys finding John to kill something they know nothing about, it isn’t so bad. Filler episodes suck more later because they’re often completely disconnected from the main story, which isn’t the case for most filler episodes in this season. Plus, the main stories later have more involved goals for the season than this one did, which made the filler episodes later more annoying. For example, if Sam and Dean want to hunt a Tulpa at a haunted house because John is off doing something somewhere, that’s fine. Kill the time. But if Sam and Dean really need to figure out a way to kill God, like, now before Chuck decimates every fleck of existence he’s ever created, maybe don’t waste my time with an episode about a wood nymph, you know? If the stakes are higher, then the quality episodes shouldn’t appear with less frequency. All I’m saying.

The tone, acting, and writing of these characters is so different. Like, when you know a show intimately, these kinds of differences between one season and the next are natural to you. It’s not like I wasn’t aware that the boys looking for their father feels a lot fucking different than the boys having a kid, but when you actually let yourself be aware of how much the show has changed, it’s kind of crazy. Like, if I just think about it offhand, I’m like, “Yeah, this is Supernatural.” But if I break the fourth wall a bit in my mind, it’s like, “Damn, I really did watch these characters and their actors mature for fifteen years, didn’t I?” Crazy.

There are so many episodes that end with the Impala driving down the road. Like, an aerial shot of it. And if the very last scene isn’t that, then it’s probably the scene right before the last scene. Until the last few episodes, that is.

I don’t know why I’ve written this down, but it’s easier to remember episode titles in season one because you can match it to the creature without having to remember the plot. Like, “Oh, the Wendigo episode.” I’ve also said in this same note that the folklore plots died out later on in the series, which is true.

A quote from my notes: “The show really does feel better with Cas, huh?” Look, I’m not gonna say that the S1 finale didn’t slap, because it did. However, I will say that Cas can brighten any episode up, so, had he been in the series from the beginning, the season finale may not have been the only S1 episode to slap. Not that there weren’t other episodes that were good, but you know. Also, this isn’t to say that Cas should’ve been around the whole time because him coming into Dean’s life when he did was exactly perfect.

They do this later, too, but a handful of episodes in the early seasons will be like, “Here’s a girl. Now, one of you Winchesters, go bond with her this instant.” And it’s weird? You don’t need to bring a girl in just to make googly eyes at one of the boys? You could just give her the story she was supposed to have but minus all the flirting?

So, Sam is meant to be the central character for the first five seasons, right? Yes, Dean is supposed to be his equal; yes, he went to Hell and had that whole storyline; yes, he’s Michael’s vessel, but it was always really about Sam, you know? Sam was the one who had the connection to the biggest, baddest thing imaginable (at the time), that being Lucifer. Sam was the one chosen for Lucifer. Sam was the one with the psychic abilities and the one to drink demon blood and the reason Dean sold his soul. Dean is obviously a main character with his own story, but Sam was meant to be the special one, yeah? But even so, Dean is such a beautifully complex character because he wasn’t special. You can see that, even in S1—that his specialness came from his lack of central focus. It’s almost like the plot was saying, “Sam,” and Dean went, “I’m gonna cause problems anyway,” and that’s awesome. I don’t know if that makes sense, but I just feel like Dean is the most interesting character in the entire series, and he wasn’t even the one S1 picked out as special.

Sam’s psychic abilities seemed a lot cooler when you didn’t know as much about them. Like, yes, Sam having those abilities for the purpose of housing Lucifer is cool and all, but it felt so much more mystical when it just seemed like something Sam could do for some reason. Not that that would’ve been a better payoff than what we get—it’d be stupid for the story to say, “I know a demon chose you to be the vessel of Lucifer himself, but the psychic thing you can do? Just a coincidence”—but it’s some food for thought.

John is barely fucking there even though his existence permeates the entire fucking season. I thought he was so much more present than he was in this series. They treated him like they treated Cas. “We said his name a few times, that’s good right?” No. No, it isn’t.

I hate the pattern the episodes have in S1. It goes: location name, bad thing happens in said location, Sam and Dean talk about said thing, they go to said location, they research and maybe flirt with some random girl, they fight, they drive away in the Impala. Like, nearly every episode is like that.

Without demons in the mix that often, the tone of S1 is really different when you compare it to every other season.

Dean is a lot more emotionally vulnerable in this season. I mean, he’s not sitting down with Sam to talk about his feelings all the time, but his emotions are definitely closer to the surface. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that he hasn’t had to emotionally shut down to protect Sam yet. Obviously, he represses things because of the way he was raised, and because he had to raise Sam; however, he still had John to lean on at this point. So, he hadn’t developed that habit of hiding his feelings and leaning on no one but himself yet as he did when he lost John. Because of that, he was able to be scared and tell Sam that he was afraid of losing his family and stuff like that. He becomes a way darker character in after John dies, and he more or less only leans fully on one other person for the rest of the series, albeit in a different way.

John saying in 1x21 that he wants Dean to have a home after Azazel is killed is the saddest thing I’ve ever heard. For one, because John is aware that he deprived Dean of a real home, and by extension, is aware that Dean is damaged because of that. But also, it’s sad because Dean has lived 26 years of his life up until now without ever having a home he felt safe and loved in.

Dean running from a potential fight with Azazel in 1x22 is super interesting because he’s fighting to be a part of his family rather than simply fighting for them to be saved. Dean doesn’t want to die, isn’t willing to die. That’s something that definitely changes later. Big time.

Filler episode rate:

By my count, which admittedly might be wrong, there were 7 episodes that were primarily main story episodes this season and 15 monster-of-the-week/filler episodes. 

Now, in the early seasons, it isn’t as easy to separate the filler from the main story because almost every episode will deal with character conflict that’s tied to what’s going on with the main story. However, I called it a filler if the primary plot was just a random hunt. For example, I called “Scarecrow” a filler because, even though Meg was introduced after Sam and Dean have a big fight, the main plot is hunting a god.

My bottom 5 episodes in order:

These next two sections are based on my ratings of these episodes from my reviews of every episode. I’ve just ordered them, with one being my least favorite/favorite episode this season.

5.) 1x07: Hook Man

4.) 1x03: Dead in the Water

3.) 1x02: Wendigo

2.) 1x13: Route 666

1.) 1x08: Bugs

My top 5 episodes in order:

5.) 1x14: Nightmare

4.) 1x06: Skin

3.) 1x15: The Benders

2.) 1x21: Salvation

1.) 1x22: Devil’s Trap

My top episodes for Sam:

This section and the next will just be me bringing up some good points of development for Sam and Dean throughout this season. I mean, of course they develop almost all the time, but these episodes are some of the best/most interesting. At least, in my opinion. If you want to read more about my reasons, check out my reviews. Just search for “spn s1 reviews” on my blog.

1x05: Bloody Mary - Sam’s psychic abilities got alluded to for the first time during this episode, but it also told us how much Sam blamed himself for Jessica’s death.

1x10: Asylum - Sam’s resentment for Dean is voiced, and though he’s under the influence of a ghost while he talks about Dean, some of it is supported by development in other episodes this season.

1x14: Nightmare - Sam bonds with Max over their shared abilities and pasts. We also get to see that Sam initially related his own trauma when growing up to Max’s, even though he acknowledged that Max had it worse at the end. It’s an interesting point of development that Sam saw his upbringing that way.

1x19: Provenance - Through Sarah being a part of this episode, Sam reveals that he sees himself as dangerous because the abilities he has has put the people he loves in danger in the past.

1x21: Salvation - Sam reveals that he’s willing to die, and by extension, risk his family to get the job of killing Azazel done.

1x22: Devil’s Trap - Sam has to choose between losing his family through getting his revenge or losing his chance at revenge to save his family.

My top episodes for Dean:

1x06: Skin - Dean’s abandonment issues are touched on for the first time.

1x09: Home - Dean shows fear when faced with returning home and dealing with the trauma of what he went through the night Mary died.

1x12: Faith - This is the first episode that we see a serious internal conflict in Dean about the worth of his life, which is interesting, because we can see in later episodes that he doesn’t want to die. However, his attitude in this episode seems to suggest that he doesn’t see his life as valuable.

1x18: Something Wicked - Honestly, this isn’t my favorite episode in the world, but it’s the first flashback episode of the series; in it, you’ll see the reason behind Dean’s feelings of responsibility regarding Sam.

1x21: Salvation - Dean insists that nobody will die to kill Azazel, showing that he wants to be a part of his family rather than just saving them.

1x22: Devil’s Trap - Dean shows a darker side of himself in an attempt to get John back, and his fears of being unneeded by his family are revealed as well as his fears of losing his family.

Well, that’s all I’ve got for this season’s review. I’ll rate this season in my series review that I’ll write once all this is over, but my impressions right now are that the first season of Supernatural was all right. It didn’t necessarily walk in a straight line, but it still felt like there was a definite destination. And, on top of that, the season ended in one of the most banger ways an SPN season has ever ended. The monster-of-the-week stuff has made most of the episodes this season ones I would probably not revisit, but S1 is definitely still special. 

We’ll see if this changes later, but for now, my rating (and average, based on my ratings in my reviews) for S1 is ★★★☆☆.

[spaceorphan18]

Marvel Movie Nights: X-Men First Class

And... back to X-Men! At the time (my god has it been ten years?!) this film was such a breath of fresh air, and the 2010s were such a revamp of this genre.  The MCU was, of course, leading the way, (along with the Dark Knight trilogy for DC) but it made way for films of other franchises to be taken more seriously within the craft.  I genuinely liked this movie a lot more than the previous couple of times I’ve watched it (I swear -- seeing these in order makes me appreciate functional movie/story telling).  However, that doesn’t mean that I don’t have some serious issues with it. 

So, let’s start with what I did like about it... 

Xavier and Magneto.  The original trilogy perfectly cast Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen.  And these films perfectly cast James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender.  Their paralleling stories, their dueling philosophies, everything about how they laid out these arcs in this film really works -- not just as a good origin film, but as a good character study, too.  I kind of wish the movie was just about the two of them, but apparently, this is still a superhero film I suppose. 

I also want to add intentionally or not, there’s a fair bit of queer undertones to this relationship. It’s definitely there in the comics.  And I can’t help but notice it throughout the film.  Idk - just stood out to me more this time.  

The first class grew on me, too.  Look, I’m a comic nerd, it feels weird that we didn’t have a reboot and get the actual first class.  But most of this works for me (with a few exceptions I’ll state later), especially since these kids are going to be mostly background players in a film that’s truly about Xavier and Magneto.  

Also, shout out to Nicholas Hoult as Beast.  It’s a fantastic interpretation, and a nice nod to his origins from the comics.  

So... before I get to my did not like list, I want to point out that the majority of the above takes up most of the film.  When the film focuses on Xavier and Magneto, it really shines, and it’s really what kept my attention this time around. 

Anyway, some indifferences first! 

The 60s backdrop.  It’s kinda fun when they actually stick to it.  Sometimes it feels in a nondescript time.  It works since the X-Men premiered in the 60s, and I did enjoy the subtle nods to the comics in the little things like that.  But there were times when the literal usage of 60s footage felt maybe a bit much.  

The fact that it was darker! The first twenty minutes of this film are super dark, and throughout there are times when it pushes just a little bit farther than regular superhero genre grittiness.  At times, it made the tone of the film feel uneven -- especially when the third act is less philosophy and more about punchy-punchy comic book stuff.  It would have been interesting if they had kept that tone throughout. 

Also, speaking of things from the comics -- I appreciate the that the whole driving conflict was a nod to X-Men issue 1 when Magneto threatens the world using missiles.  Nice touch. 

And... Moira MacTaggart.  I liked the actress.  I eye-rolled that she had to get into her underwear at one point. And eesh the fact that Xavier takes her memories.  I don’t think this film does women all that well.  

Alright, things and for the bad... 

So, ironically (?) one of X-Men’s main themes has always revolved around a group of marginalized people being oppressed and persecuted by the majority.  Hmmm.  And yet, for a film that wants us to take these themes seriously, does a great disservice to POCs.  There are only two in the film (that I can remember).  One is blown up maybe ten minutes after he’s introduced having no purpose other than to be a casualty, and the other is whisked away to be a villain because she doesn’t have much purpose being in the film.  The film spends so much time debating whether or not blue skin is acceptable, but does nearly nothing to promote that brown and black skin is, too.  

Meanwhile, the villains... Kevin Bacon is fine as Sebastian Shaw (though I have a hard time believing him as the scientist from the beginning of the film).  And I get why The Hellfire Club would be a good fit for the 60s, I can’t help but feel that it’s just conceived of poorly in this film.  There are a lot of cool things you can doo with the Hellfire Club -- and instead they use it to, really, booster the idea of missiles and government stuff so that they could pay homage to X-Men #1.  And as usual in these films, the surrounding villains are kind of lame.  Riptide is boring.  Azazel is perplexing (this dude is canonically Nightcrawler’s dad -- guess who his mom is...)  

But most egregious is January Jones’s dull Emma Frost.  This character is incredibly complex and vastly interesting in the comics, and she’s just a piece of diamond cardboard in this film.  I won’t completely fault Jones’s terrible acting -- I think the writing and directing of the character completely misses the mark, and it’s a shame they wasted her and the Hellfire Club here when they could have saved it to have a really good Dark Phoenix Saga.  

And then there’s Mystique.  This is, perhaps, the best of the Jennifer Lawrence outing as the character (or maybe the next one - it’s been a long time), and still I often find myself wanting to throw things at her.  Mystique is another character, who, when done well, is incredibly compelling.  But I think the Jennifer Lawrence pouting about things seems to overshadow actual nuance with the character.  

Lastly, there’s the problem that seems to plague a majority of these superhero films.  The drawn out and somewhat predictable and dull third act.  The thing that gets me about these X-Men films, though, is that they hardly do what the comics are best known for -- giving action sequences where they get to play all their powers off each other.  This film just doesn’t do it, and while I did like the final Magneto/Xavier showdown, a lot of the action up until that point felt standard issue, thus dragging an otherwise smarter film down.  

Final Verdict: Is this movie better than X2? It might be! 

Next Up: Captain America!!! Whoo! 

[knives-out20]

Magnetic Push - Erik Lehnsherr x Male!OC - Part 4

Fandom: X-Men: Days Of Future Past (2014)

Pairing: Karmel Rosenstein (OC) x Erik Lehnsherr

Warnings: Swearing, Gay, SELF HARM, Spoilers for X-Men: Days Of Future Past,

Notes: Welcome to Part 4! The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) references ahead. Karmel’s hair tied up looks like this, for future reference:

Karmel adjusted his tie as he walked down the plane aisle, Erik in front of him, buttoning up a blue shirt. "I always knew I left a tie at Charles' mansion" he groaned, flattening it down. Karmel pulled his suspenders up and over his shoulders, Erik reaching for a newspaper on the table in front of Logan.

Logan's claws shot out, landing on the newspaper so that Erik wouldn't read it.

Karmel instantly grew his thorny vines out, aimed at Logan.

"Karmel." Erik softly called.

Karmel groaned, reeling his vines back into his body- but slowly. He followed Erik further down the plane, the man calling "imagine if they were metal" over to Logan.

Erik sat down on a long seat that had its back against the side of the plane. He pulled Karmel down to sit beside him, draping an arm around the blond's shoulders.

Karmel leaned his head on his hand, glancing over at Logan when Erik asked him a question.

"Where did they dig you up?" Erik asked, not looking over at Logan, but clearly aiming the question over at him.

"You're gonna find this hard to believe, but, uh..." Logan started, leaning forward in his seat. "You sent me. You and Charles, from the future."

Erik looked over at Logan, clearly confused. He crossed one leg over the other.

Before Karmel could ask about his own whereabouts, the plane took off. He leaned his head on Erik's shoulder, who only pulled him closer. To Karmel, one of the best feelings in the world was having Erik's arm around him. Or both of Erik's arms. Either way made him just as content.

Erik and Karmel felt Charles' eyes on them, but took on the responsibility of not giving Charles the satisfaction of looking right back at him. 

Erik leaned down, to whisper to Karmel. "You feel him, too?"

Karmel nodded slightly. "It's fuckin’ weird. Can you say something-?"

Erik nodded back. "How did you lose them?" He asked Charles, still not making eye contact.

"The treatment for my spine affects my DNA" Charles answered, Karmel being the first to look at him.

"You sacrificed your powers so you could walk?" Karmel questioned.

"I sacrificed my powers so that I could sleep."

Karmel sat up straight, reaching a hand up to hold Erik's fingers. He did so in a way where two fingers gripped Erik’s, the others holding onto the cuff of his sleeve. This way, Karmel’s wrapped-up arm wouldn’t be exposed and questioned. He didn’t wanna talk about that right now. Or ever, if possible.

"What do you two know about it?"

"We've lost my fair share" Erik admitted.

"Ha" Charles sarcastically laughed. "Dry your eyes, you two. It doesn't justify what you've done" he shook his head.

Erik shook his head in return. "You have no idea what we've done."

"I know that you've took the things that mean the most to me" Charles raised his eyebrows.

"Well maybe you should've fought harder for them."

"If you want a fight, Erik, I will give you a fight!" Charles exclaimed, Erik and him standing up in unison.

"Sit down!" Logan called.

Karmel gestured a hand at Logan, "let him come" he muttered.

Charles gripped Erik's shirt. "You abandoned me, both Karmel and you! You took her away, and you abandoned me!"

"Abandoned you?" Karmel snapped, glaring at Charles. "You TOLD me to go with Erik, remember, numb-nuts? You gave me that 'go, it's what you want' bullshit that nudged me over the edge, to Erik!"

"Angel," Erik started to list off. "Azazel. Emma." He continued, everyone on board noticing how the plane started to rock a bit. 

"Erik..." Karmel softly called, gaze melting down when it landed on him.

"Banshee. Mutant brothers and sisters, all dead! Do you know how many times I almost lost K-Karmel, too?" Erik's voice rose, Charles letting go of him as the plane started to dip. "Countless others, experimented on" he added, cups and plates crashing to the ground when the plane tilted."Butchered!"

"Erik!" Hank called from the cockpit, Karmel steadily standing up.

"Where were you, Charles? We were supposed to protect them! Where were you when your own people needed you? Hiding, you and Hank! Pretending to be something you're not!" Erik went off, Karmel catching himself onto the first thing he could grab, to keep standing.

"Erik-" Karmel called, placing his hand on Erik's shoulder. "Erik, please" he pleaded, grip tightening a bit. 

And that's what shut him off. Hearing Karmel's voice, feeling Karmel's touch, that's what calmed him down. "You...Abandoned us all, Karmel and myself included" he exhaled, the plane wobbling back to normal. Erik looked down, panting gently before locking eyes with Karmel.

Karmel cupped his cheeks, Erik’s entire body facing him. "Focus on me, okay? Focus on me, my eyes, my voice, okay, Erik?" He quietly instructed, looking Erik up and down. "Deep breaths, alright, honey? In...and out...In...and out, just like you told me" Karmel repeated, watching Charles retreat into the cockpit. "I'm here, Erik. I'm alive. I'm still with you" he mumbled, patting Erik's cheek.

Erik softened into the touch, taking the deep breaths Karmel told him to do.

"So you were always an asshole" Logan noted, the comment directed at Erik. ”And you were always...quirky” he added, a lost gaze caught onto Karmel.

“I wouldn’t call myself ‘quirky’, but there is definitely something wrong with me” Karmel agreed.

Erik's eyes left Karmel's and locked with Logan's. "I take it we're best buddies in the future" he scoffed, sarcasm dripping with every word.

Logan grinned, looking up at the pair. "I spent a lot of years trying to bring you down, bub."

"How does that work out for you?" Karmel egged Logan on, arms wrapping around Erik in a tight, loving hug. 

"You're like me, both of you. You're survivors" Logan tilted his head, looking at the mess Erik made. "You wanna pick all that shit up?"

Erik raised his eyebrows, turning around to look at what he had done.

Karmel pulled away from Erik, balling his hands into fists. Vines shot out from his body and wrapping around every discarded piece of furniture he saw. Karmel lifted them all up and put them back where they originally were. He was desperate to ask Logan about himself, but held off from it. The idea of the future being a surprise felt fun. And normal.

***

It was night time. Charles was back where he was seated earlier, and Karmel lay across where Erik and him sat earlier.

Only this time, Karmel was fast asleep. A gin bottle was loosely gripped in his hand, thankfully closed so that it didn't spill anywhere. Erik tied up Karmel’s hair earlier, so it wouldn’t disrupt him in his sleep.

Logan hadn't moved an inch. He stared down at Karmel; so this is the esteemed Karmel J. Rosenstein, huh? Erik's one and only, Erik's ride or die, Magneto's dearest Climber. 

An alcoholic, orphaned bisexual with unapologetic anger issues and daddy’s ugly ties. What a guy.

Logan listened to Karmel's soft snores, wondering what it was that Erik saw in this guy. He took in the fact that first impressions happened to be rough. Maybe later on, he'll catch a glimpse of what Erik sees.

Erik walked down the aisle, holding a chess board in his hands. He stopped in front of Charles, putting it down on the table in front of him. "Fancy a game? It's been a while."

Charles drank from his glass, looking up at Erik. "I'm not in the mood for games, thank you."

Erik poured himself a glass. "I haven't had a real sip in ten years...neither has Karmel. Coincidence you had some gin lying around, hmm?" He inquired, eyebrows raising.

Charles gulped. "I like gin."

"Certainly not enough to keep a bottle of it on a plane, yea? Unopened, at that" Erik pointed out, turning to look at Karmel.

Logan caught the smile Erik grew when his eyes landed on Karmel. It's how Logan himself looked at Jean...No, it wasn't even close to that. It was far from that. Man, Erik is whipped. Logan held back a chuckle- the Erik in his future still smiles like that when Karmel's the center of attention in any way, shape, or form.

Charles followed Erik's gaze. "I see your feelings haven't changed, hmm?"

"Haven't budged a bit" Erik nodded, turning back to Charles. He sat on the arm of the long seat Karmel slept on, slowly drinking from his glass.

“His hair’s grown.”

“Karmel having longer hair than you, that’s a sight I never thought I’d see” Erik exhaled through his nose. ”Looks quite nice though, doesn’t it?”

“Not what I’m used to...” Charles shrugged, eyes falling on Karmel’s arms. ”What happened to his arms?” He asked stiffly. 

Erik set his jaw. ”That...” He started, a helpless look overtaking those beautiful eyes of his. ”I’ve had the misfortune of being asleep in our cell, while Karmel was wide awake. Left alone to his devices.”

Charles gulped, nodding.

"Karmel has secrets he doesn’t want to tell me. And I wish he would.” Erik’s tone was low, gentle. It was as if Karmel was still awake and he didn’t want Karmel to hear him.

Charles’ gaze diverged over to Karmel. He still didn’t want to get inside Karmel’s head, never again, at that.

“We didn't kill the President" Erik confessed, reaching a hand down and curling his fingers around Karmel's; like a baby, Karmel's grip on Erik's fingers automatically tightened.

"The bullet curved, Erik."

"Because we were trying to save him. Karmel volunteered to use his vines to grab it, but...that would've exposed us" he corrected. "They took us out before either of us could save him."

"Why would you try and save him?"

"Because he was one of us."

Charles' expression changed for a second, before he coldly scoffed, looking up.

Erik's expression didn't change. He was dead serious.

Charles shook his head, "you must think me so foolish. We've always said they would come after us."

"I never imagined they'd use Raven's DNA to do it."

"When did you last see her?"

Erik clicked his tongue, standing back up and moving to sit in front of Charles. "The day Karmel and I left for Dallas."

"How was she?"

"Strong, driven."

"How was...he?" Charles inquired, eyes trailing over to Karmel.

"Protective, actually. Karmel is tender...Karmel is beautiful. Though if I tell him, he’d say I’m such a liar. Karmel is...Karmel is a mystery- Kamel is not a nobody, though.” Erik shook his head.

"Erik. How was he?"

Erik opened his mouth, thinking. "He was...we are..." He shook his head, smiling. "I love him, Charles. I really don’t know what else you want me to say, or expect me to say. You watched me slowly fall for him, all those years ago, and I still am, to this day. You should be proud of Raven, though, Charles. She's out there fighting for our cause-"

"Your, cause" Charles cute him off. "The girl I raised, she was not capable of killing-"

"You didn't raise her, you grew up with her. She couldn't stay a little girl forever, that's why she left."

"Karmel and her left because you got inside their heads."

"Don't bring Karmel into this. You know as well as I do that his morals struck closer to mine than yours, from the moment you met him" Erik pointed a finger at Charles. "And besides, that's not my power. Karmel made a choice, she made a choice."

"But now we know where Raven’s choice leads, don't we?" Charles inquired. "She's going to murder Trask, they're going to capture her, and then they're going to wipe us out."

"Not if we get to her first" Erik claimed. "Not if we change history tomorrow..."

Charles stayed silent.

"I'm sorry, Charles...For what happened, I..." Erik looked down at the table. "I truly am." He apologized, looking up at Charles with puppy dog eyes he copied off of Karmel.

Charles threw back the rest of his drink. "It's been a while since I've played" he cleared his throat, adjusting himself in his seat.

Erik sighed silently. "I'll go easy on you. Might finally be a fair fight" he chuckled.

"You have the first move."

Erik looked down at the board, moving his first piece with his mutation. He kept his eyes on Charles, immediately standing up and turning to face Logan. Erik used his mutation to point a fork at Logan, "what do you think you're doing?" He hissed.

Logan was knelt down by Karmel, dangerously close to his arm. He raised an eyebrow and froze, looking up at Erik. "I got...instructed, by you in the future. To go see a friend of Karmel's and grab something for him."

"Grab what?" Erik pressed.

Logan gestured down to his hands. He held a brown, braided leather bracelet with a silver, metal clasp.

Erik's breathing calmed. "His bracelet...We haven't seen it in ten years."

"Or those?" Logan asked, gesturing to an old belt that lay across Karmel's waist, along with a black leather jacket he had draped over Karmel, as a makeshift blanket. "Some blue-haired kid, he's kickin' it at Karmel's place. Kept this stuff for him while you and Karmel were locked up. Future-you demanded for me to get these for him, both of these" he explained, clasping the bracelet around Karmel's left wrist. "What's with the hissy-fit, huh? They're clothing accessories."

Erik licked his lips. "I gave him that bracelet shortly after I met him, it was a gift. That belt belonged to Karmel's uncle. It's a long story, but, uh..." he rubbed the back of his neck. "Thank you for listening to me. These mean a lot to Karmel."

Logan nodded, "you can fix up Karmel's belt. Future-you would've killed me for so much as looking at him the wrong way" he joked.

Erik nodded, walking over and sliding the belt onto Karmel's pants. "Blue hair, blue hair...Grimm" he quickly connected.

"Grimm" Charles repeated from behind Erik, in an airy tone. "What a wonder."

"Hey, didn't you-" Erik turned back around once the belt was successfully on, but he quickly caught the 'don't' look that flashed across Charles' face. He nodded. "Sorry."

Charles waved his hand dismissively. "No, that's alright. It was for the best, for him."

Erik nodded, looking down at Karmel. His knuckles grazed Karmel's cheek, the blond shifting where he lay. Erik couldn't imagine breaking up with Karmel- it was unheard of.

[the-trashy-phoenix]

Supernatural season 2 review (part 2)

Link to part 1:

Irene and I have finished watching Supernatural season 2 (we're already on season 3), so here it comes my review on it. I like this season more than the first one: we already know this supernatural world and have learnt to love the brothers, and since the big bad guy isn't dead yet we want to see what happens next. The plot evolves from the first season, we understand many things we didn't before and it is all suddenly way more interesting (meanwhile I feel like the most interesting thing in the first season were the single episodes). Sam's psychics abilities have a purpose and we learn there's sort of a pattern involving other people, the same age as Sam, who have all the same destiny: to become warriors for an upcoming war. In this season we have the chance to see more of Azazel (the yellow-eyed demon), what he's capable of and what he has done to Sam (and the consequences of it, including how Dean has to deal with all of this, meanwhile being in a terrible position). At the end of the season, even if he's been defeated by John himself, we know Sam is not back to normal (and we also know the truth about Azazel is not totally revealed, since we now know Mary had already met the demon before the night she died).

Season 1 ends with the car accident, so the first thing we see in the first episode of the second season is the brothers and John in the hospital. Dean is almost dead and has no chance of surviving, but John makes a deal with Azazel and dies instead of Dean (sacrificing the colt too). I understand why John would do that (one of the not-many-things I understand about his behaviour), but I also think this is one of the many things he has done that leads to Dean suffering and blaming it all over himself. No wonder why this boy behaves the way he behaves: he has all of this emotional pain he carries with him since he was basically four years old. Of course Dean doesn't talk about his father's death and acts like it's not affecting him, although it does, a lot. Sam's reaction is different, but I think it was very appropriate: the thing is most upset about is the fact that he and his father had never actually gotten along very well and that they had a fight right before John's death. I also think that both brothers haven't had quite the opportunity to grief from their father's death (just be sad for his absence and think about their true feelings for him), because they were to focus on bigger events involving John's last moments with them. Another thing that keeps them occupied is the main problem in this season, Azazel and all that he causes.

There's a thing I forgot about and that, as I rewatched the season, surprised me: Dean already wants to quit hunting. The fact that he is even more fed up than Sam shows us that in reality, as much as he wanted to be like his father and behave like John told him to, he doesn't want to live the life he is supposed to live (and we can also see it in episode 02x20, in which Dean sees what his life could have been without the death of his mother and demonstrates lots of courage by choosing to return to his normal life anyway). Knowing both what Dean wants and all that things that happen later in the other seasons, this makes me very sad.

Since we're speaking of Dean, I was left a bit shocked by his lack of hesitance on killing the people with the Croatoan virus (02x09). I get that he wanted to stop the virus, but they remained people, and of course when Sam gets the virus he doesn't kill him, which is more than understandable, but it also means that he could've at least waited a bit more before killing the others.

Since I've seen all of the other seasons rewatching 02x13 has been pretty funny, especially because of Dean. He keeps telling he doesn't believe in the angels’ crap and, well, we all know he's gonna change his mind. I also like that Sam is still faithful after all he's been through and especially since he's in this position of supernatural-slightly-demonic powers.

Speaking of which, John leaves a message to Dean before dying: if he can't save Sam from his powers he has to kill him instead of letting him become evil. This leads Dean to have two big thoughts hunting him, his supposed duty to kill his brother and his guilt for his father's death. I always feel like all the responsibilities grow on him and I would love it if he could have a way to release these feelings in some ways, but of course he never does it properly. It turns out Sam agrees with his father and tells Dean to kill him, but Dean has no intention of doing it (reasonably). In this season we can see how much Sam is scared of his psychic abilities, almost as if he's scared of turning in a monster (and we can see it clearly in what I think is the saddest episode of the season, 02x17, in which Sam has to kill the girl who turned out to be a werewolf).

I like how the writers have developed the jail theme, having episodes 02x07, 02x12, 02x19, in which the brothers have to face justice for what they've apparently done. The thing I like the most about these episodes is the fact that we know the Winchester have been in trouble with the law for good reasons, it is frustrating (but in a good way) to see the other people mistaking them for the bad guys (till a point they're even called monsters) and we can't even be mad at the cops, because they don't know the truth.

In this season there are introduced some new characters. First of all, I have to mention the trickster, not just because he provides the most senseless episode of the season (02x15, which I love), but also because I know his time on Supernatural is not over yet, fortunately. We also meet Ellen and Jo Harvelle, a mother and her daughter who own and manage the Roadhouse, a bar attended mostly by hunters, in which we find another character, Ash. I like all three of them for different reasons. Ash, the one with less screen time, is not as important as the other two, but he gives some funny moments and he's a smart guy (and I like the scene where Dean compliments his hairstyle). Ellen is a sweet and strong woman hurt by the death of her husband and a caring mother who doesn't want her daughter to have the same faith as her father. Jo, my favourite, is a passionate young girl who wants to follow her father's footprints and become a hunter. I honestly like her character a lot and the dynamic she has with dean in season two (end especially how they don't make out the second Dean enter the bar), they care about each other (Jo probably more than Dean does for now) and I love the fact that he has a girl in his life he doesn't just want to fuck (or viceversa), but who he can also kinda rely on. The only thing I don’t really get is the way she treats him after she finds out her father was with John when he died during a hunt (and that John was probably a part of what caused his death). I understand that she probably thinks (like her mother) that Dean would do the same thing with her, but it’s not like he has already done it, and he actually doesn’t know anything about what happened to her father.

There is also another character who's introduced in the first seasons but who has much more screen time in this one: Bobby Singer. He's one of my favourite characters on Supernatural ever and, I mean, who doesn't think it the same way? He's a loving, but also grumpy, old man who can perfectly sostituite John in his father role, indeed he's much better than him. He doesn't treat Sam and Dean as soldiers, but as his children first, and he cares about what troubles them and what inner thoughts they're facing. And that leads us at the end of the season, when Dean has already made the deal with a demon to bring his brother back to life (a thing Dean has condemned before, especially because his father did the same for him, which demonstrated a bit of hypocrisy, even if it's comprehensible). Bobby is mad at him and for good reasons: he understands Dean wanting Sam back and doesn't blame him for it, but what worries Bobby the most is the little (almost non-existent) care Dean reserves for himself. His self esteem (which is talked about more in the third season) seems so low he doesn't even care if he ends up in hell (and that he will in about a year). All he's been good at is being a good soldier and keeping his brother safe, protecting him, so when he faces the fact he hasn't saved Sam he can't live without bringing him back to life, even if that means sacrificing himself in the most terrible way. Sam now has to live with the weight of his brother's death and trip to hell (beside worrying about the upcoming war with the demons who escaped hell), but these are the main themes of season 3.

- Carly 💚

[shirtlesssammy]

6x01: Exile on Main St.

Then:

The Apocalypse that didn’t stick

Now:

One year later, Dean’s living his apple pie life. 

We get a glimpse into that life: Cut with memories of Dean’s former life, we see Dean make breakfast for Ben, work construction, share brewskies with neighbors, show Ben the ropes of car maintenance, and check the perimeter of his home (because that’s what war veterans do when they have severe and unchecked PTSD.) He’s got a very soft life, but he still keeps a shotgun and holy water under his bed. 

He’s out having a beer with his neighbor, and his neighbor wants all the details of his life before suburbia. Dean gives a cover story of “Pest control.” 

The waitress gives Dean her number (and who can blame a girl for trying?), but Dean’s taken and he tears the number up. Later, when leaving the bar, Dean hears a scream in the distance. With a flashlight in hand, he goes to investigate. 

It’s pigeons! No, wait, there are claw marks and blood on the wall.

Later, he’s scanning the police dispatches and on the phone with the cops. Lisa walks in and Dean covers by saying he’s setting up a poker game. At 11:30pm.

Dean checks the perimeter before going to bed.

While driving the next day, he sees claw marks on a telephone pole. He pulls over and finds shredded sheets in someone’s backyard. He heads for the garden shed, gun drawn. It also has claw marks, and something is inside.

It’s Dean’s #1 Nemesis, a Yorkie!

The dog takes off, and Dean’s neighbor sees Dean with a gun. His cover this time: “Possums kill.” Good one, Dean! Dean then sees sulfur on the shed floor. 

He rushes home to load up on supplies. Lisa walks into the garage, and Dean acts like he’s just grabbing a hammer. She asks about the dog, and then asks if he’s hunting something. He admits to his OCD about this situation, asks her to go to the movies with Ben, and he’ll do one final check in the area. He’s definitely downplaying what he thinks is happening. 

After Lisa leaves, he starts looking through his dad’s journal, but stops when the lights start to flicker and he hears a noise. He turns to see Azazel right beside him. Azazel mocks Dean and tells him that God brought Cas back, why not him? “Add a little spice to all that sugar.” Wow, never paid attention to that line before. Dean shoots him but it does nothing. Azazel puts Dean in a choke hold. “You can’t outrun your past,” he tells Dean. And just before he passes out, Sam (!) comes behind Azazel and stabs him with a syringe of something. 

Dean comes to in a derelict building and Sam, or something looking like Sam is with him. 

Sam tells Dean that he was poisoned and what he’s been seeing isn’t real. He’s real though. Of course! He goes through the silver/holy water/salt routine and passes with flying colors. 

Dean hugs his brother. He doesn’t quite believe it though. Sam has no clue how he’s back. “Was it God, or Cas?” Dean wonders. Yes. 

Cas isn’t answering Sam’s prayers. 

Sam then admits to being back about a year. EEESH. Something seems off about our Moose. Ahem. He tells Dean that he deserves a regular life (YOU BOTH DO.) and that he’s been hunting this whole time with --family. Dean meets Gwen, Parker Lewis Christian, and Mark...Campbell. They’re all distant cousins of Mary’s. And then the real surprise walks in: Samual Campbell, Mary’s long dead father. 

Every now and again, I have to stop and take a moment to think about the fact that Walter Skinner is Sam and Dean’s grandfather and my little fandom mind just explodes. It’s like that time that Sam Beckett dated Murphy Brown. I swear. 

Dean needs a moment too, because multiple unexplained resurrections in one day is A LOT. 

Dean is 100% freaked out by all the revelations. Sam adds one more to the pile. A few days prior, he was attacked by a djinn and they think the same djinn is after Dean. Oh, and djinn totally blend into all of humankind now - visible markings are now optional. Samuel happens to know a cure for djinn poison. “Stick around and I’ll show you tricks your daddy never dreamed of!” Samuel promises chirpily. Aaaaand suddenly I gain a greater understanding of the kind of bullshit posturing Mary put up with from the men in her life. Dean realizes that djinn gunning for him means that Lisa and Ben are also in the crosshairs. He and Sam race back to Lisa’s house. 

Outside the house, Campbell cousin #??? sits dead in his car. The door to the house stands open and nobody answers Dean’s calls. Dean’s busy ascending to the ninth plane of freaked out when Lisa returns. Dean gives her a MEGA hug and then orders everyone to pack their bags for a little trip. Lisa is shocked to see Not-At-All-Dead Sam. Welcome to the supernatural, Lisa!

Bobby answers his door with a soft “damn it” because he knows that Dean’s presence means things have gone cockeyed.

Bobby shoos them upstairs where they have “plenty of Reader’s Digests” on hand to entertain them. JUST LIKE THAT I am transported to my grandma’s farmhouse and the stacks of Reader’s Digests we’d go through during our visits. Thanks for being so goddamn old, Bobby!

Bobby and Sam greet each other casually and Dean realizes that those two yahoos have been keeping the truth of Sam’s resurrection from him for...A YEAR. A yeAr. 

Bobby explains that he was thrilled that Dean escaped the life and tried to do whatever he could to let Dean keep that. (Crying noise crying noise) Dean reveals that his apple pie life was anything but...he drank too much, had nightmares, and researched lore like crazy to find a way to spring Sam from the cage. 

Lisa heads downstairs and Dean tells her he’s headed back to the house with Sam to hunt the djinn that attacked him. He apologizes to Lisa for bringing monsters back into her life. “You can’t outrun your past,” he says and she immediately sees through the lines. 

“You’re saying goodbye,” Lisa surmises. 

Readers of this blog know that I am TEAM LISA, which means that I love her very much and wish her every happiness in life. She stands up for what she wants. “You're always so amazing with Ben. You know what I wanted more than anything was a guy that Ben could look up to...like a dad. So, you're saying it's all bad, Dean? 'Cause it was the best year of my life.” Oof.

Sam and Dean return to Campbell headquarters and the Campbells are just a tiny sea of smug assholes. They needle Dean about his time away from hunting. Dean takes this needling EXTREMELY WELL, and offers himself up as bait for the hunt. 

At Lisa’s house, the Campbells scoff and smirk at their various belongings. A magazine! A framed photograph! What frivolity! Such decadence! Sam discovers golf clubs though, and even I have to take a moment to drink in the image of Dean on a golf course. 

Samuel approaches Dean (who is very much on guard at this point) and tells him that Dean reminds him of Mary. She wanted a normal life too. Excuse me while I cry in your FACES. Samuel also drops that the supernatural world has been going bonkers lately. It’s keeping hunters busier than ever. If Dean joined the hunt again he could really make a difference.

Dean heads outside for a status check with Campbell cousin #?!? and learns that there are three djinn lurking in the distance. They won’t approach until Sam and Dean are alone, so Dean orders the Campbells to clear out. 

Sam uses the wait to ask Dean how he’s doing.

Dean’s NOT GREAT but he still asks Sam how Hell was and if he wants to talk. Great idea! Keep the conversation light and nontraumatic for both of you! Sam pushes away those concerns - he’s FINE. Just then, Dean happens to glance out the window and sees djinn attacking his neighbors. Dean rushes the antidote over to Sid and his wife, but two djinn grab ahold of him, smash the antidote, and start to poison him. Dean falls to their thrall.

Sam beats the stuffing out of another djinn with a golf club only to find himself confronted with the other two who’d attacked Dean. 

Meanwhile, Dean’s busy trying to sort out reality from djinn-soaked fiction. He sees the djinn confronting Sam in the house next door and outside he spots Lisa and Ben. Azazel suddenly appears to spice up the pot. 

Dean “wakes up” in Ben’s room. Lisa gets drawn to the ceiling to suffer Azazel’s favorite kill while Ben drinks his blood. The room explodes in fire. 

Dean continues to do VERY POORLY while Sam works to fight off the last two djinn. Samuel arrives and kills a djinn. He shoos Sam off to help Dean and he and another Campbell capture (but don’t kill) the last djinn. We’ll see her again near the end of the season!

Later, Dean tells Sam that he’s going to head back to collect Lisa and Ben. Sam’s doubtful about this plan. He tells Dean that he’ll put them in danger if he stays with them. Besides, Sam wants Dean hunting by his side again. Dean “cares” about helping the victims and Sam “wouldn’t even think to try.” This makes ZERO sense to Dean, but Sam insists that it’s true. Dean shakes it off and hands Sam the keys to the Impala. “She should be hunting. Take her.” Sam turns it down. OUCH.

Sam heads out to hunt with his band of merry Campbells, and Dean is FINE with it.

I’m Still Hallucinating These Quotes:

Did you almost shoot a Yorkie?

Careful's my middle name

If you're here, something's wrong

You can't outrun your past

The guy that basically just saved the world shows up at your door? You expect him to have a couple of issues

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[isaacs-greed]

Hey, Greed? Do you like basement kids such as Isaac, Lazarus, Eve, Azazel?

“Ah, the kids. Why yes, of course I like them! They ARE my main source of income after all.”

“It might be a little too long to go through all of them and my opinion on them. So let us stick for now to the ones you mentioned, shall we? You can ask about the others later.”

“Isaac is... complicated. I may stay quiet about him. I do not like to speak about people I am not sure are even still around. So forgive me on that. Do know however that I worry for him.” He paused. “... what that says about me is for you to deicde. Anyhow.”

Swifly he moved on from that topic. “Lazarus. He is one of the first I got to meet down here, surprisingly enough.”

“Sickly and lacking confidence, he is the person who donates the second most to me... the first one would have been Isaac. He says it’s because he doesn’t think he’ll survive the next floor anyways, but I know he’s simply a very generous guy.”

“If you want to know something, ask Lazarus. He is quiet and listens, that makes him one of the few who get to witness things like I do- secretly, without anyone noticing. But that knowledge is not quite the best for his already fragile mental state. He lacks confidence, but carries a lot of wisdom. I hope one day he can forgive himself for what his second life had cost others... until then he will always be willing to give, more than he should at times.”

-

“Who next. Eve? Oh, Eve is... interesting.”

“She did what was needed to be done and she carries her burden as her strength. I can respect that. While she prefers to work alone, she often cannot escape the sociable Maggie- but really, that is the only one who ever managed to get her to tolerate them. Not even the endlessly trying Samson managed to get into her good graces (so far). Judas may claim it is just because she is a bitch- but really, she is not.”

“The one thing she would hate more than going back, is to burden someone else with what she carries. Even her bird does NOT seem like a friend to her. Cain claims she herself killed the bird, and while Cain is pretty paranoid all things considered, I can believe this. And yet, the bird whispers and starts to flip its wings excitedly when it smells her blood.”

“I can appreciate her reasonable approach and her generally controlled behavior, but I hate that she keeps her coins and rather gives it to beggars or keeps it in case that she finds an item benefitting from it. How often does that happen? Oh, little fun fact, she has no belly button. Instead, there is her star. Her sign is not the same as everyone else carries. But that aside, if you ever need someone to show you around, then Eve is the right choice.”

-

“Now... Azazel... what can I tell you about him...?”

“He would WANT me to tell you about what a smooth, scary demon he is. He would want me to tell you about his many crazy fights, how he is the strongest by far. How nobody can hurt him. How he fears nothing.”

“... but that wouldn’t be true, would it? It might be what he wants others to think of him, how he acts- feral, a monster, a demon, someone you will cross once and then never again, someone immortal, invincible, unstoppable... but the more he cries out for others to try him, to punch the wallls he has created around himself...”

“... the more he crumbles on the inside. He needs people to fear him, to hate him.

Because then, he can defend himself

Because whatever THEY say is much better than what he says to himself when it all hurts too much.

Because being angry is so much better than being full of agony and guilt.”

-

Greed stopped at that. “Don’t let them know I talked about them. Especially Azazel. I would like to avoid to be bombed out of petty revenge. Not to mention, it is not as though he is... always like that. I think he could be a good friend if he weren’t so scared. But... how are you supposed to make someone like him understand that?”

“Either way, I hope you found this answer to be satisfying. You are welcome to come back for more if so.”

Shortly he paused, realizing something. “Oh, and before you go, mind that these are the ones I know. Sometimes... rarely... I see people walk around who seem similar to the kids I deal with... but different.

I’m not sure what it means. But I thought I might mention it.”