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curioussubjects · 5 years ago

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come be a season 12 truther, baby, with me

In honor of tonight’s Berens/Glynn episode (!!!!), I’d like to take y’all on a magical journey in which I share why I think Dean and Cas got together in season 12.

Keep in mind that this post takes for granted that Dean and Cas are in love with each other and that their relationship has been increasingly coded as romantic with each passing season. Consequently, what this post does is point out some key moments in their relationship and argue why they don't get together before 12. I'll also go briefly over 13 and 14 for reasons I'll explain later in the post. First, though, let me go over seasons 4 through 11, with some pit stops along the way:

Seasons 4 & 5: this isn’t the destiel you are looking for. the ust is delicious, yes, and i, too, got sucked in posthaste immediately groped by an angel lj community style. At this point Cas is still too alien for anything beyond the development we see on screen happen. HOWEVER, season 5 is the first time we get to see Cas being human (The End) and Cas being less connected to heaven and how that affects his behavior. This will matter.

Seasons 6 & 7: the pining omg the pining. The notable things I want to point out with these seasons is a. this is the beginning of Cas doing things to spare Dean and it not ending well (Cas dies #1, soulless!Sam); b. Dean is v. sad; and c. we also start noticing the emotional toll of Cas’s divided loyalties and how human he has actually become since s4. Hurty feels all around.

Season 8: purgaytory babes aw yeah! Still lots of terrible awful pining. This is a turning point with the addition of the bunker as tfw hq: we have a home in play now, a static emotional center. Cas is still off doing his own thing, Dean still wishes Cas would just let him (+ Sam) help out. Cas going off on his own leads to disaster #2 (Angels fall, Cas loses his Grace). For all deliciously angsty get together purgatory fics and spec, there’s too much of a gap between Dean and Cas on Cas’s part due to his guilt over betraying the Winchesters in s6 & slaughtering angels & leviathan. On the other hand, we do see Dean being more emotionally open, but to no avail. Bad timing. This is a trend. [oop also worth noting we get Dean being kinda done with the one night stand thing because always with the adios and ahem also hint hint Cas refusing to stay put]

Seasons 9 & 10: aka Dean and Cas make bad decisions, but mostly Dean. The biggest turning point here is Cas being human for an extended period of time. There is still plenty of spec over the effects of being human on Cas’s Grace and his Soul. What we can say for sure, though, is that Cas is much more human once he becomes an angel again. In contrast to s8, s9 sees Cas being vulnerable and Dean pushing him away (first because of Gadreel, which he didn’t want to do really and that’s even sadder kdjfgksdfj & later because he was pushing everyone away due to the mark).

9.06 Heaven Can’t Wait: there’s been so much amazing fic and spec about this episode with its fanfiction gap, but I can’t see a deancas get together here, folks. I know, it’s terrible. The lying from Dean and the hurt from Cas, imo, make the distance between them quite insurmountable at this point. While the episode is amazing (Bobo’s debut, too! So ♥) and has some notorious subtext throughout, I just can’t see the character bridging that gap into anything physical, much less emotional. Nevertheless, this episode does show perhaps the first intentional romantic tableaux with Dean and Cas, and that’s not nothing.

10.16 Paint it Black: from the point Dean gets the mark of cain until the end of season 10, anything between him and Cas is quite impossible. But one of the reasons I’m bringing up this episode in particular is because of the confession scene. For one, it’s a rare bit of emotional honesty from Dean and for two, it tells me that while he and Cas may be well aware of the thing between them, it’s still uncharted waters. Makes sense, too, there’s been A LOT going on since s6. Anyway, he’s the full confession, so we can put a pin on it:

You know, the life I live, the work I do…I pretty much just figured that that was all there was to me, you know? Tear around and jam the key in the ignition and haul ass until I ran out of gas. I guess I just thought sooner or later, I’d go out the same way that I live – pedal to the metal, and that would be it. [...] Now, um… recent events, uh… make me think I might be closer to that than I really thought. And…I don’t know. I mean, you know, there’s – there’s things, there’s…people, feelings that I-I-I want to experience differently than I have before, or maybe even for the first time. [...] Yeah, I’m just starting to think that… maybe there’s more to it all than I thought.

Do you ever see a character having an epiphany and find yourself wanting to cry because this is it right here. Dean is just blatantly admitting he wants more, which all culminates in season 11, so...

Season 11: The pining is still here, but it’s worse now since it’s the whole plot? It’s been *checks calendar* 5 years of this. How are any of us still kicking I don’t know. Your slow burns could never. Cool worth noting points: Cas says yes to Luci (bad decision #2.5, lots of mitigating effects_I don’t actually hold it against him that much but Dean is another story & not entirely rational at this point); for the first time since the early days, Dean and Cas are on equal grounds: they’ve both fucked up a lot and have hurt each other. The issues this season are outside their dynamic. Amara and Lucifer here serve as externalizing forces for Dean and Cas’s problems and by the end of the season we’re getting a clean slate. We’re also getting a new showrunner, so. No wonder. What this season does that is also super important is that it sets up the stage for the possibility of an actual relationship between Dean and Cas, something that has, up until this point, been pretty much impossible.

11.04 Baby: Y’all know what I’m about to quote here, right? The convo between Dean and Sam about having something with someone who understands the life. Here we still have Dean reverting to the idea that it’s impossible, which is a direct contrast to the openness in 10.16. It’s understandable, though, considering there’s been little reason to think anything like that would be possible (see all the mess and poor timing from seasons past). The quote in question, though, marks a continuing development in on of the things Dean is struggling with this season:

DEAN: Piper? That's awesome. Heather. One-night wonders, man. Shoot, we're lucky we still get that at all. SAM: Really? You don't . . . Ever want something more? DEAN: I'm sorry, have you met us? We're batting a whopping zero in domestic life, man. Goose eggs. SAM: You don't ever think about something? Not marriage or whatever. But . . . Something? You know, with a hunter? Somebody who understands the life?

Compare this exchange with what we get from 11.11 and 11.19:

11.11 Into the Mystic: I’m bringing this episode as a crossreference to 10.16 and to show again that for all the closeness between Dean and Cas there’s still a marked distance they haven’t yet bridged. Thanks Mildred for the delicious exposition:

Darlin'...If there's one thing I've learned in all my years on the road, it's when somebody's pining for somebody else. [...] Oh, don't try and hide it now. Follow your heart. Remember?

11.19 The Chitters: Continuing our trek regarding Dean wanting certain things we have this gift of an episode with Jesse and Cesar, and this exchange:

Dean: [with realization] Oh, so … [points back and forth to Jesse and Cesar] Cesar: Yeah. Dean: Okay, that’s… Cesar puts his beer bottle on the table and looks at Dean, while Jesse is being silent. Dean: What’s it like, settling down with a hunter? Cesar: Smelly, dirty. [turns to Jesse] Twice the worrying about getting ganked.

I’d like to point out, too that the fear of getting ganked is thematic when it comes to the tension between Dean and Cas. More on this when we hit s13.

Alright, now having said that, let’s take a look at season 12. Bear in mind, this is the official start of Dabb’s era, even if he kinda began taking over in 11, and the change in vibes is obvious. In fact, 12 jumped out at me as a turning point in retrospect, after getting smacked by the domesticity of 13 and 14. Under the cut because I can’t shut up, and things are long enough as is.

Season 12: Finally, the promise land, y’all. So, what s11 was for Dean in terms of setting up the relationship stage, s12 was for Cas. In its initial beats, any way. Important to keep in mind that until the Kelly debacle, this was the longest Cas has been around the bunker. Things seem remarkably chill. Of course, we’ll notice that there’s still a lot of baggage hanging around because despite Dean and Cas being in a more stable place, they haven’t actually dealt with their interpersonal problems. I didn’t single out directly this episode, but do keep in mind Cas’s declaration in 12.09 First Blood as far as how much the Winchesters matter to Cas & how we also see Dean and Cas be particularly singled out with them seating together in the backseat of the Impala.

12.10 Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets: This episode, oh my god, the goodness. In the wake of 12.09 we have Dean and Cas in a tiff because Cas mistake #3 (killing Billie and “cosmic consequences”), this is a pattern. Twice the worry of getting ganked, etc etc. But where this episode really shines is through the contrast between Ishim’s obsession with Lily and Cas & Dean’s mutual affection for each other. Ishim sees no difference here and, to him, Cas’s feelings for Dean are a human weakness. Returning to my point about human!Cas, this episode underscores that Cas’s increasing humanity is what puts him in the place where he can want what Dean wants instead of either being too alien to get it (see s4 & 5) or unable to experience it properly (Ishim).

12.12 Stuck in the Middle (With You): Cas’s trajectory culminates here with the whole I love you (@ Dean), I love all of you (@ Winchesters). Let’s note too that Cas is dying here, in a way that is much more human than going up in light. This declaration of different types of love is entirely human. It’s also a definitive step wrt to Cas and Dean’s relationship because of what happens in 12.19. This. is. it.

Offscreen happenings: Mixtape, how Cas knows the Colt is under Dean’s pillow. This is hella suspicious.

12.19 The Future: This episode changes everything, y’all (bobo and meredith, folks, bobo and meredith ksjdhfakjshlfksd). Consider watching this episode again and pay attention to some weird things: 1. Dean’s reaction to Cas going awol. Compare it to Sam’s, who is like whoa Dean chill. Now, thought experiment, imagine something happened between Dean and Cas, and then just radio silence from Cas. Imagine how Dean would react with getting ghosted by Cas specifically after something happened between them. 2. Cas comes back to the bunker with the specific goal of stealing the Colt, which he already knew was under Dean’s pillow -- something Sam didn’t even know. 3. “He came into my room and he played me.” So, this quote right there, makes it seem like some seduction for personal gain, right? But Cas clearly knew where the Colt was already, which means something happened before Cas came back to the bunker. Cas played Dean in seeming to have reconsidered not working with Sam and Dean wrt Kelly. This is still a point of drama, but it leads somewhere else (see s13 & s15). 4. WHEN DID DEAN GIVE CAS THAT MIXTAPE OMG 5. Dean and Cas’s brief convo in Dean’s room is clearly Dean just wanting Cas to stay, so they can work (and be) together -- because they’re better that way. Which, yeah, truth.

Sequence of events: Cas tells Dean he loves him -- Dean is clearly shook by it -- Dean gives Cas a mixtape (romantic gesture, often a declaration of feelings; in true Dean speak too lolsobs) -- Cas somehow knows the Colt is under Dean’s pillow -- ???? -- Cas goes awol -- Dean acts like he got ghosted by his partner.

Like. Y’all realize they probably had some emotionally constipated getting together moment, right? Something that Dean clearly initially thought meant things were gonna change, now. Something that Cas couldn’t allow to happen until he could give Dean a win. Y’all are seeing this, yeah? I’m not saying they slept together and were full of feelings, except that’s kind of what I’m saying. But ymmv, there are other possibilities beyond sex. The full of feelings isn’t up for debate, though, even if the whole thing is informed by ridiculous amounts of miscommunication.

Ok, maybe the narrative is still too subtle (?????), but as I said before, looking at 12 with the knowledge of 13 and 14 does offer a new perspective because of the difference in dynamic between Dean and Cas. I know lots of people look at 14, mainly, as having dialed back on the destiel side of things, but I always thought that was a strange take. Largely because they’re so domestic and their dynamic, ie, the lack of tension, reads like an established relationship. It’s a different kind of beast than we have been used to so far, so it does look alien on screen, especially since we “skipped” the conventional getting together cue that would let us change gears. Let’s take a look at 13 and 14, then.

Season 13: Ah, yes, the season of shit gets domestic. The pining? Gone? What? Deancas now reading like an established couple? It’s more likely than you think.

13.1-13.5: Dean’s grief mini-arc. Dude’s acting like a widower. We all know this. I want to gesture towards the reunion moment though with “it’s never too late to start all over again.” To. Start. All. Over. Again. I’m just saying.

13.6 Tombstone: hi this episode is pure love and Dean is so happy his sweetheart is back from the dead? He’s even ok being Jack’s third dad now? What a time to be alive. Also? apparently Dean and Cas were just having movie night together? Dates? Mutual Pining dates prior to shit going to hell in 12? Do you ever cry? What else are they getting up to offscreen? What else will they get up to off screen? MUCH TO THINK ABOUT.

Season 14: MORE DOMESTICITY. With some pining because Michael. But...heart eyes when Dean comes back? Watch that scene again with Dean going off to shower. Suspicious. But then shit hits the fan and we’re all sad again. boo.

14.15 Peace of Mind: Look me in the eye and tell me Dean and Cas talking in the kitchen about Jack doesn’t read like husbands talking about their child. Look me in the eye and tell me Cas just texting Dean to gossip about Sam isn’t coupley asf.

14.18-14.20: Ah, yes, the divorce arc. Awful. Terrible. The culmination of Dean’s problem in all this: he lashes out, he pushes Cas away, his anger is alienating. Cue all of us suffering. But while Dean is clearly in the wrong in how the deals with his feelings, let’s not pretend some of his anger doesn’t come from a long established issue between him and Cas, which had its last traumatic turn when Cas died in s12. Dean isn’t being rational here; he saw Cas doing something on his own, and he saw that his mother is dead. What else could happen? Why won’t Cas just trust they can work as a team? Divorce arc was entirely too literal.

But what about what we’re building up in 15? That seems like it could be a getting together plot, too, right? Well, yeah. It could very well be. But I’d argue the tension we’re seeing isn’t a will they or won’t they because they already have. The tension is instead will they or won’t they use their words to talk about the baggage that has kept them from truly being confident about their relationship. There’s a crucial step in their togetherness that they’re still missing, which is also the bedrock of the divorce arc that spanned TWELVE FRIGGIN’ EPISODES. Y’all. Y’all that’s half a season. And we’re not even entirely done with it yet because Dean was cut short in purgatory, and they haven’t dealt with Cas’s side of blame in this mess yet either -- that Cas keeps going off on his own and getting hurt (and getting other people hurt), and Dean has to deal with the fallout. The deep emotional understanding, the truly being on the same page is what we’re on the edge of our seats for. And, you know, that’s a whole lot more exciting than witnessing their for realsies first kiss. I’m also confident Dabb & co will deliver the conclusion to this emotional arc and it will be a whole mess of feelings on all our parts.

For the moment, though, it’s looking a lot like Dean and Cas had a rocky start to their ~involvement, then DEATH, then they got together feat. sweet sweet domestic fluff, then DIVORCE. So, yeah. Season 12, guys; it’s where it’s at.

As for the more performative aspect of Dean and Cas’s relationship…that’s a whole other thing and all I can say is they got the green light for something, but I don’t know what it is and it’s driving me bananas, but it’s definitely something and we can talk about that, too. Place your bets, etc. I’m clowning on the “I love you” pay off because it’s a glaring missing piece in this whole story. See also: holding hands? Carving Cas’s initials on the table? Saileen endgame parallels? All supported by the narrative. Like a lot. So. *finger guns*

#destiel #deancas #supernatural #dean winchester #castiel #spn #spn meta #my writing #one day i'll title my posts after things that aren't questionable songs #but today is not that day #this post has strong ship manifesto from the late 00's vibes #i miss those things they were handy

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ourmrsreynolds · 5 years ago

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stuff i read october 2019

Georgette Heyer, Arabella (1949) Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for a bubbly Regency? Idk I felt like this one didn’t sparkle the way I expect Heyers to. There weren’t any urchins underfoot for either of the romantic leads to step in and surrogate-parent; there wasn’t even a B-couple (that I recall? I breezed thru this ngl). The whole conceit of the Big Lie that Arabella tells, that launches the plot, is just not quite enough to keep said plot humming. She tells the lie out of pride, is the thing; and her lil bro digs himself into debt out of pride; and while they are brought face to face with the consequences of that pride the hero, who is the rudest most arrogant sonovabitch you ever saw, somehow never is??? there’s this whole pivotal sequence that occurs offstage, when the hero leaves town for a few days, and it’s just not as good as the analogous sequence in Black Sheep when the hero leaves town and sets certain wheels in motion. I will not be rereading this one.

Patrick O’Brian, Master and Commander (1970) (Aubreyad #1) “Dr. Maturin, please take your friend away … Tell him his ship is on fire – tell him anything. Only get him away – he will do himself such damage.” Lmfao i love how Stephen has known Jack for like, a month at this point? And people take one look at the situation and go yup, you must be the man in charge of this fool. I mean ofc I ship it. That’s why I read the damn book, bc everyone and their grandma ships it. O’Brian can certainly write; the trouble is that the ratio of scenes that delighted/wrecked me to scenes that bored me was not as high as I would have liked (40/60 if I had to estimate). On the plus side I acquired (a) a much deeper appreciation for Will Laurence’s conflict between duty and honor (Temeraire is an Age of Sail fandom, just like Jane Austen!! so you see i had no choice i had to read the damn Aubreyad) and (b) a great deal of useful nautical knowledge which came in handy when I went on to binge all 4 seasons of Black Sails.

Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings (2010) (Stormlight Archive #1) This book took me 9 months to finish because of the three main POV characters I only gave a fuck about one of them. Also bc it’s 450k words, which is not as long as A Storm of Swords (480k) but longer than p much every other book in existence. The pov i cared about was Kaladin, who def has the clearest, most powerful arc in this book, and a very Gladiator arc it is too: The surgeon who became a soldier. The soldier who became a slave. The slave who became a bridgeman (ie. cannon fodder). The bridgeman who became … a demigod?? Basically. Like, I slog through this whole book and in the home stretch Brandon Sanderson comes out like GANGBUSTERS i’m telling you when Dalinar gave up that Shardblade my soul actually ascended.

Vernor Vinge, A Deepness in the Sky (2000) (Zones of Thought #2) It’s all pedal to the metal hard scifi until he slaps you in the face with poetry, isn’t it. The passage that the title of the book is taken from is like that. This is a classic space opera, the clash of 3 civilizations at different levels of technological development, two humanoid and one arachnid. What blows my mind is that the natural orientation of Spiderkind is downward – their sun goes supernova every couple of decades and they all gotta hunker down and hibernate in the deepest fastnesses they can fashion and wait it out. For Spiders, astronomy is a marginal field and its practitioners carry little prestige. Then a whole clutch of ALIENS show up in the neighborhood. The denouement of this novel is a great example of manipulating the audience in a way that doesn’t make them cry foul à la GoT S8. Yes, Vinge withholds knowledge from the reader, but if you go back to that pivotal debate scene and you reread the rest of the book, everything slots into place in a way that makes sense. And nobody is better than Vernor Vinge at depicting a gaslighting abuser from the inside (I don’t remember much from the previous Book 1 but I do remember that). The technology at the center of this book is Focus, which is a kind of enslavement of the mind: “With Focus you got the capabilities of the subject without the humanity.” And the people who inflict this abhorrent technology on their own populace are the same people who repeatedly mind-rape one of the main characters. It made me see that the cardinal violation committed by the rapist is of the victim’s autonomy; it just so happens that we are corporal creatures, and that assault assumes a physical dimension. For me at least Tomas’s mental violation overshadows his physical violation of Qiwi. 5/5 will def reread

#stuff i read

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wikitopx · 5 years ago

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This small town in central France’s Cher department is embedded in a pastoral landscape of vineyards, marshes, and lakes.

Vierzon was a railroad town with an equitable industrial market share in the 19th and 20th centuries, like Société Française de Vierzon, which produced tractors and farming equipment. Vierzon is now quaint and rural and will draw you into traditional ways of life, whether that’s steam trains, old porcelain trade or ochre mining. Outdoor fun is on the menu at the Canal de Berry, a picturesque 19th-century waterway for walks and boat trips, while the marvelous city of Bourges is only half an hour by car. Discover the best things to do in Vierzon.

[toc]

1. Musée de Vierzon

Complimented with the “Musée de France”, the town museum of Vierzon, handle some strings from its past. One of these is Vierzon’s evolution as a railway town after 1847, so there are tools, lamps, posters and models from the old Vierzon depot.

The town also had a booming porcelain industry in the early 20th century and has several display cabinets with elegant ornaments. And then there’s Vierzon’s role in manufacturing farming equipment, so you can inspect a small fleet of tractors, plows, and threshers made by the Société Française de Vierzon.

2. Square Lucien Beaufrère

One of the most special things in Vierzon is that this garden is located on a small island between the Yèvre and Canal de Berry. The plot was bought by the town from the Abbey of Saint-Pierre in the 20s and was landscaped in a methodical Art Deco style by the architect Eugène-Henry Karcher.

He went as far as determining the colors of the plants and trees, and almost every piece of flora is sculpted in some way. The garden centers on a pacifist monument to the First World War dead sculpted from Lavoux stone, with reliefs depicting the town’s different trades.

3. Beffroi de Vierzon

The venerable temperature Vierzon is actually an old port, called Porte Banier, which is the main entrance to the lost Château de Vierzon. It is the last remaining fragment of this castle and was built in the 1200s.

But much later, when Vierzon’s town defenses were all pulled down in the 1800s, they were capped with a clock and bell. They came from Porte aux Boeufs, one of the Vierzon gates, which were leveled to allow the town to grow beyond the old walls. Contact the Vierzon tourism office, for instructions.

4. Église Notre-Dame

Vierzon’s main church first went up in the 1100s before being remodeled a few times since. Come and whip a little bit because there are so many historical traces from many ages left. The bell-tower dates to the 1200s, while there’s a fine organ inside from the 1600s.

Also worth your attention is a Romanesque sculpted holy water as old as the 1000s, various medieval chapels and a painting of St John the Baptist by the 17th-century painter Jean Boucher and a carved pulpit from the 18th century.

But the standout has to be the exquisite stained glass window of the Crucifixion from the 1400s.

5. Musée des Fours Banaux

This cute little museum reveals an aspect of the daily French medieval life that you don't often see. It contains two 15th-century ovens, unique to the entire area, where townspeople can bake their own bread.

These stone kilns are the center of social life in Vierzon and the place where the town will meet and chat. There’s also a small collection of artifacts, including two statues from the 1400s, and a small set of everyday items unearthed during excavations.

You can also see two former town clocks, one from the 15th century and the other retired in the 1800s.

6. Esplanade la Française

Right next to the Museum is the old factory of Société Française, where the Vierzonùi tractors were manufactured in the early 20th century. It’s an atmospheric site that has recently been regenerated.

The factory is listed as a monument to French history, and you can see why with its Eiffel-style metal and glass façade. You can admire this charming old structure from the Esplanade la Française in the front.

And in the evening, the factory is still an important part of the city when a movie theater and bowling alley are opened in the newer concrete block of the building.

7. Canal de Berry

The Vierzon crossing was built using Spanish POWs in the first decades of the 19th century. It was part of a network of waterways that connected the Canal Latéral à la Loire with the Cher River.

The canal has been disused since the 1950s, but a 12-kilometer section has been made navigable again and there are plans to reopen more in the future. The waterfront comes alive in July and August for the Les Estivales du Canal when there is a water-season concert at Lucien Beaufrère Square.

The poplar-lined towpaths offer a restful walking trail, and you can hire a motorboat or pedal-boat at the Quai du Bassin for a brief voyage through the countryside.

8. Site de la Maison de l’Eau

In Neuvy-Sur-Barangeon a 15th-century watermill and its surrounding parkland have been turned into a kind of discovery center for the Sologne.

In the mill, you can learn about how this old slice of medieval history worked, but there are also displays about the local wetlands and the weird carnivorous plants that have evolved here.

Outside there’s a landscaped park with a bamboo plantation and a large lake where fishing is permitted. You can also check out the Tourbière de la Guette, a peat bog with lots of wildlife you can see from an elevated wooden walkway.

9. Villa de Quincy

Just the ticket if you’d like to uncover the region’s rich wine heritage: The Villa de Quincy is a small exhibition in the nearby village of the same name, using multimedia to recount the history of the Quincy/Reuilly AOC. There’s also a display charting the spread of sauvignon grapes around the world.

The exhibition is light-hearted and interactive, often asking you to use your sense of smell. At the shop, you’ll be able to buy a bottle or two, together with all sorts of oenological accessories.

10. Abbaye Saint-Martin de Massay

This abbey church has its roots in the 8th century, and the legendary Charlemagne is known to have visited in the earliest years. Fast forward to the Hundred Years’ War in the 14th century and a lot of the Romanesque complex was destroyed to be rebuilt in the Gothic style.

The monastery was closed in the 18th century but there is still plenty to see. The church’s 42-meter tower, designed for defense, will catch your eye thanks to its formidable buttresses that culminate with pinnacles at the top.

You can explore the church, with wooden choir stalls dating back to the 16th century and into the arched Hall, where there is a monastic dorm on the first floor. If you want to leave no stone unturned you can arrange an hour-long guided visit in advance.

More ideals for you: Top 10 things to do in Bourg en Bresse

From : https://wikitopx.com/travel/top-10-things-to-do-in-vierzon-707952.html

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wxat · 7 years ago

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S12E41 - Raising the Stakes

Mary: This episode of writing excuses has been brought to you by our listeners, patrons, and friends. If you would like to learn how to support this podcast, visit www.Patreon.com/WritingExcuses.

Season 12, Episode 41.

Brandon: This is Writing Excuses—raising the stakes. Mary: 15 minutes long, Mary Anne: because you’re in a hurry, Wesley: And we’re not that smart.

Brandon: I’m Brandon. Mary: I’m Mary. Mary Anne: I’m Mary Anne. Wesley: And I’m Wesley.

Brandon: And we’re going to talk about raising the stakes and making it more personal. In the “Novel” month, we want to specifically talk about how you can continue to raise stakes for a story across a long period of time. So I’m going to ask you that.

How do you keep readers’ interest through the longform?

How do you get them to keep reading something so long?

Wesley: Really, for a novel-length piece we’re talking about an overall plot that will span the 100,000 words that encompasses the novel. Brandon: 100,000. Mm. Mary: [laughs] Wesley: Or half a novel, or act one of a Brandon book.

But then also within that 100,000 words of the main plot are a bunch of smaller plots—smaller scenes that are continually raising the stakes in different ways. Brandon: Okay. What are some of those ways?

Wesley: So for example, in The Rise of IO there’s the main plot for the character who is a person inhabited by an alien and she’s trying to not only survive the whole encounter but she’s also trying to figure out who she is. But on top of that she’s also a conwoman who is on the run from gangsters, and she is dealing with the fact that she lives in the slum.

Brandon: So you’re talking about adding some subplots and things like this to raise the stakes? Wesley: Subplots that help build environment, to develop the character... and you’re ratcheting things up slowly.

Mary: Yeah. When we’re talking about raising the stakes, what we’re looking for are things that make things worse for the character. And I’m going to talk about 2 basic paths that you can take.

One is that you can still have the same thing that can go wrong but you can...

Make the failure point of that worse.

So if, for instance, the popular kid is afraid that people are going to discover that they are homeless. That’s a bad failure point. But the failure point can become worse if as a consequence to that, that could lead to them being put into foster care and being taken away from their family.

The same thing is at stake: “I don’t want people to find out that I’m homeless.” But the failure point can become worse and worse and worse and worse.

Brandon: Right. I had this in college when I was a professor. Actually I still am. But it happened a lot more when I was teaching freshman-comp. If somebody failed, that was bad.

But if a student from another country failed, that could be even worse. It could mean they didn’t meet their credit requirements and they could get shipped home. Your parents angry at you is one thing. Getting shipped back if you’re doing study abroad and losing your ability to continue at school is even worse.

So yeah. You can make the failure more drastic. Wesley: The consequences of everything that happens.

Mary Anne: It’s funny—I was also thinking about parent-child conflicts and school. But I want to take a step back, because when I’m trying to figure out what the stakes of my story are, and the stakes for the characters... I tend to go back to “What do I care about? What is frightening to me? What is at stake for me? What am I emotionally invested in?” Because I feel I write that more convincingly.

For example, when I was in college we had this South-Asian students group meeting where we all sat around in a circle and it was this encounter session kind of thing. And we were talking about “What are we afraid of?” and “What it’s like being here in college?”

And 95% of us wanted to talk about dating and how we were terrified that our parents would find out. And we were really really scared of that. Because it was a huge deal! And there was one girl whose parents found out that she was dating a white boy and they cut her off, and she had to drop out of college for 2 years until she could re-apply independently for financial aid... and it is potentially your whole family on the line.

And then there were a couple of people who were like, “Oh, wow. My parents are totally cool. This is just not an issue for me.”

So that’s always made me think on that when I’m setting the story...

“What are the issues for my character?”

And there’s not necessarily going to be universal issues.

Wesley: That’s a really good point. So for example, “The world is ending.” Well, that sucks. But then for the character what does that mean, that the world is ending? “Suddenly my child will never grow up and experience a full life.” Mary: “I’ll never finish this novel!” Wesley: [laughs] I’m at 90% of the novel and I’ll never finish...

Brandon: Two general themes, here. One is what Mary was saying earlier, which is “Make it more specific.” Make the consequence a little rougher by making more specificity in their life. And the other one’s a take on the same thing, but you’re saying “Make it more personal.” Let us know the personal consequences of this failure.

Mary: And a lot of times that’s the thing that makes the failure point worse. “Oh, if we don’t do this the drinking water could become contaminated.” And everyone agrees that’s a bad idea.

But as soon as the main character meets one of the kids who’s drinking that water, that is actually—all by itself—making the failure point worse. Because it has become personal for the main character, even without adding any complications to it. So that’s one way that you can actually raise the stakes without adding plot points.

Mary Anne: And I think you can keep interrogating yourself, as a writer. My awareness of consequence changes every year.

Last year I was diagnosed with breast cancer—and I’m fine now—but one thing I realised the day I was diagnosed is that I suddenly had this terror that I was not going to be around long enough to tell my kids everything they would need to know. And I wanted to go and record video messages to them for hours. “Here’s all the wisdom I have!” just in case. It would not have occurred to me a week beforehand that that would be the biggest issue in my life.

Mary: And I think when we talk about “Write what you know,” that’s the kind of thing people are talking about. It’s not “Oh, you must write your life experience.”

It’s that you can take things that you know—the deep emotions—and extrapolate from them into things that your characters are experiencing.

And a thing that happens a lot with try-fail cycles, is that you can...

Introduce a new problem that has been caused by a previous solution

For example, in the southern United States they were having problems with soil erosion so they introduced this plant called Kudzu. And if you’ve ever been to the South... Brandon: It looks so cool! Mary: It’s this great ecological faux pas.

Brandon: It’s a disaster, but it looks so cool! Wesley: Why does it look cool? Now you’ve got me curious. Brandon: It looks like the Zerg arrived and they’re taking over the ecology with this alien creature... Mary Anne: What?! Brandon: You drive along the road and you just see vines covering everything and turning it into an alien landscape. Mary: And they’ll just go over houses, and... it is a disaster.

Mary: And it’s this thing where a new problem has arisen. They solved the erosion problem. That problem has been solved! Brandon: That goes back to one of the plotting methods you taught us a few years ago which is the “Yes But, No And,” where it’s always make it worse. I’ll have a question for you guys after the Book of the Week. But let’s stop of the Book of the Week because you’re going to tell us about “The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl”?

Book of the Week

Mary: Yes! “The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl”! This is a book that I picked up when I was in Australia. And I was “I want to read an Australian author that I am not familiar with.” I picked this up on the recommendation of a bookstore owner, which is why we support local bookstores. And it’s amazing!

It’s a Young Adult novel, and it begins with signs of the end of the world. There are legitimate signs that the apocalypse is coming, and specifically the focal point of the apocalypse is going to be this small town in Australia. So it is totally this “End of the World” novel, but the author pulls out some incredibly surprising things. It’s hard to talk about without spoiling one of the fun things. But you spend a lot of the novel going, “Wait— Is the world actually going to end, or is it not?”

And she manages to raise the stakes for the characters, which you wouldn’t think was possible when the book begins with “The world is about to end.” But she does it by getting more specific and more personal.

The characterisation is great. It’s also a very body-positive novel. And it’s just fantastic. I loved the heck out of it. Wesley: The author is Melissa Keil. Brandon: Excellent! That sound really cool. Mary: It is a fantastic book.

Brandon: So, back on the topic. Let me as you guys... we have this raise the stakes “Yes But, No And.” All of this stuff that keeps us tense and on the edge of our seats...

Doesn’t this just get old across the course of a long story?

Doesn’t it just get frustrating for the reader? How do you not have that illusion break down?

Wesley: I feel like you can’t write an entire novel pedal-to-the-metal. There’s got to be times you pull back a little, let the reader catch their breath... Brandon: So occasionally do you need to have a, “We fixed this one. We’re okay”?

Brandon: For those who don’t know “Yes But, No And,” you plot by saying:

“What is our conflict?” “They try something and solve it.”

“Does it work?” “Yes. But it causes a bigger problem.”

No, Kudzu is taking over. And, we have the original problem. That sort of thing.

Can we have a “Yes, period”?

Mary Anne: As a reader I really appreciate rest points. I like a chance to breathe, a chance to just delight in, “Oh, these characters are having a small, intimate/funny/romantic/whatever moment that’s just enjoyable.” And you can lean on the structure of the book. If there are 200, 300 pages left... as a reader you know something else bad is coming. We’re not at the happily ever after. So we’ll just enjoy the little rest. [sigh] And then we turn the page and we’re going to be plunged into it again.

Wesley: There’s different formats. There are a lot of thriller movies where you are on the run the entire time. Any time you solve something it gets even worse.

Brandon: Lots of them do that. But I will say part of the reason I’m asking this question is because occasionally in thrillers, about halfway through I’m emotionally done. I’m not invested anymore. You’ve lost me. The first half was super-gripping... Wesley: You’re exhausted. Brandon: Oh, of course it’s going to go wrong in some ridiculously over-the-top way. Of course there’s going to be, “Yeah, we fixed this but now there’s scorpions in my shoes.” That sort of thing breaks down for me eventually.

Mary: Yeah, I would agree with that. One of the mental metaphors that I think about is constructing a story is much like constructing a stairway, where things are going up for the character, but at a certain point you have to have plateaus—you have to have a level spot so you can catch your breath and continue forward. But those still are always forward. There’s a sense of progression.

You see this done badly where things are going wrong, things are going wrong... and then we have the seemingly unrelated happy scene in the cafeteria where everyone seems fine. And then you know, “Oh, everyone is happy right now. Something bad is about to happen.”

So the challenge is to provide that sense of rest while giving that sense of, “This rest moment is serving a function.” Otherwise people are like, “All this rest moment is doing is setting me up for the next thing.” Brandon: Yeah, I can’t enjoy it because I’m too tense for what’s coming next.

Mary Anne: I enjoy reading cosy mysteries. I enjoy reading funny romances. These do not have thriller pacing to them.

And there is a tension, but it’s...

A quiet tension

There’s a lot of people sitting around and having conversations and knitting, etc... But nonetheless it’s gripping because there is a question that was raised at the beginning, and it’s a question that matters. The stakes are high for the reader. I mean, what’s more important than love? It’s a big deal. So that can be enough to carry you through.

In genre Nicola Griffith’s “Hild” is a really interesting book. It’s told very quietly. It’s a brilliant Norse-type story with a young girl as the protagonist. And Griffith is a beautiful writer. There is a tension that grows incrementally over the course of the book, and she turns it up a tiny bit in every chapter.

Mostly it’s very domestic. It’s this little girl learning how to navigate her world, and she’s doing handiwork and cooking and whatever else. But you can feel the looming disaster.

Mary: This is a really good point that a lot of times early-career writers will raise the stakes too fast and too high. And that’s the thing that’s hard to sustain.

When I was writing “Shades of Milk and Honey,” my instinct was to put in evil overlords, to have... Brandon: Wow! Mary: It was so hard not to do that, because that’s what I read. And it would’ve been a disservice to the novel. Mary Anne: Because it’s based on a Austenian kind of model, right? It is a complete disaster if someone turns away from you instead of speaking to you when you walk into the room, right? That’s enough.

Brandon: This is a really good point. Spacing out how you raise the stakes—even backing up on the stakes for your beginning. Despite our discussion of “You need to start strong.” Well, starting strong can be, “I’ve just broken up with someone, I’m looking for someone else. Hey, I’ve got a nice fling. Hey, I’m getting attached. Hey, I’ve found this person I’ve been looking for forever, and now they’re moving to Australia!” Mary Anne: Aww~! Brandon: That is a raising of stakes that’s very personal to someone but also has an escalation.

(SPOILER ALERT for JESSICA JONES: Skip the indented block below if you don’t want to see any spoilers.)

Wesley: One example that clearly illustrates what Mary’s talking about is Jessica Jones. It’s 10 episodes of Jessica fighting Kilgrave. In the middle, they raise the stakes right away: they caught him by episode 5. But they’re like, “We’ve got 5 more episodes; what do we do with him?” So then they let him go. Brandon: [laughs] Wesley: And they catch him again. Wesley: And for 3 or 4 episodes that’s all they do, because they’ve already gotten to the very end and they have time to spare.

Mary: This is a fine example of you’ve got this really epic finishing shot, you don’t want to throw away your shot really early.

The other thing that I think that you can do is...

Delayed consequences.

These are sometimes a way to keep the stakes raised.

Going back to the question that you’d asked earlier Brandon about whether or not you can ever just close an arc... I think that if you ever just have a “Yes,” that does close that question. But you can have a “Yes dot-dot-dot, but.” And have the “but” come later.

Brandon: Right. “We’ve delayed this.” I think you’re right; that happens a lot in epic fantasy. We say, “This is a big problem. We have put a band-aid on it. This will be a dangerous thing later on.” You see it all the time in films that are planning a sequel as well, though. “Now we have to deal with this other evil...” I think this is a good way.

Mary Anne: I have a story, Seven Cups of Water (erotica), where it has escalation and every night it escalates a little bit more. And one of the things that worked really well in that story is the next-to-last night, it de-escalates suddenly. And you’re like, “Wait— We’re not on that track anymore. We’re going somewhere else. We’re no longer engaged in that.” And then it comes back. And you’re like “Oh no! We did not actually solve this. We’re right back in the midst of it. And now it’s really bad.”

Brandon: This has been a great discussion. I’m going to have to call it here.

Homework

But I do have some homework for you guys. I want you to try a few of the things that we’ve talked about in this episode. Number 1, specifically raising the stakes by taking a side character from a story you’re working on and raise the stakes for what’s going on for them. Try making it more personal first. But I’m not going to let you use the crutch that a lot of us use, that they have lost someone in their past, or that it’s personal because this is the person that killed their mentor or something like that. It can’t be related to the loss of a loved one. Mary: No fridging! Brandon: Yeah, let’s make that one not on the table, and just see what you can do with that, then.

And then make it more specific. Try to make it a little less epic but more specific to the person. Try that instead. And see if this raises the stakes in interesting ways for your story.

This has been Writing Excuses. You’re out of excuses; now go write.

Mary: Writing Excuses is a Dragonsteel production, jointly hosted by Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Howard Taylor. This episode was mastered by Alex Jackson.

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