#also magda lived and sam adopted them | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

initcne-arch · 4 years

Text

@consequntial asked : all of them :)

1. how does your character think of their father?? what do they hate and love about him?? what influence - literal or imagined - did the father have??

Darlene’s feelings towards her father are incredibly complicated. We all know that Edward Alderson is the scum of the earth, but pre-canon and during the timeline of the series, Darlene has no clue what he was doing to Elliot. She was four fucking years old when he died. So let’s start with her feelings towards Edward Alderson pre and during canon, yeah??

She has few memories of him, but they’re mostly positive memories. Darlene mentions a few times throughout the show that she misses him, she wishes she had gotten to know him better, “what happened to Dad fucked me up too”, etc. I’ve discussed this before--I think growing up Darlene really idolized her father. Again, because the few memories that she has of him are positive, she wasn’t aware of what he was doing to Elliot, and her mother was blatantly neglecting her and berating her and occasionally beating the shit out of her. In Darlene’s mind, Edward could have protected them from Magda. I don’t know if Darlene ever really loved her dad. I think she had an idealized image of him because her mother’s abuse was so much more apparent.

Which leads us into post canon, whenever Elliot decides to tell Darlene about the sexual abuse. Again, incredibly complicated. It doesn’t change the fact that for twenty-five years, Darlene wanted nothing more than for her father to be there protecting them, that for twenty-five years she had this idea that if he were still around, things would have been better. Not great, but maybe he could have saved them from Magda, who’s abuse is much rawer in her mind.

She’s furious with Edward. She hates the man. Despises him. She feels a tremendous amount of guilt for wanting him to be there. Realistically, she knows that she wasn’t aware of the abuse he was inflicting on Elliot, but she still feels guilty for wishing that he hadn’t died. She hates that their whole revolution was in his name. That they started all this to get back at the people who killed him. And those people needed to be taken down, just not for Edward Alderson’s sake. She hates that he had that influence on her. She wants nothing more than to beat him to death again with his own bones.

2. their mother?? how do they think of her?? what do they hate?? love?? what influence - literal or imagined - did the mother have??

Darlene hates Magda!! Hates the woman!! For all the shit Darlene has been through, she doesn’t think anything was worse than being in that house alone with Magda between the ages of fourteen and eighteen. She is, however, the only mother figure Darlene knows, and so she does regard Magda as her mother. Never mind the fact that Magda didn’t actually regard Darlene as her daughter. She loved to remind Darlene that they shared zero actual relation and the only reason Magda even “parents” Darlene is because she signed some paperwork claiming Darlene as her daughter. Darlene hates Magda for treating her and Elliot the way she did. She felt no guilt, no remorse over Magda’s death. It’s unclear exactly when Magda’s health started to deteriorate but Darlene sure as shit didn’t help out with getting her into memory care. Zero relation, remember, Magda??

As far as her biological mother goes, whoever she is, Darlene’s feelings about her are at a zero. Darlene doesn’t even know the woman’s name. Darlene was only a few months old when she dipped out of Darlene’s life. She does think about it from time to time--what is she like, what would have been different if she hadn’t left, does Darlene get her fire and anger from her or does nurture conquer nature??

3. brothers, sisters?? who do they like?? why?? what do they despise about their siblings??

Elliot!! Ultimately, Darlene loves him. They’ve been through thick and thin together. They work very well together. Both of them have a lot of their own unresolved shit that gets in the way of their relationship. Post canon they have a lot of work to do, both individually and between the two of them. Their relationship has ebbed and flowed over their lifetimes. Despite what canon says about them never being terribly close, I think they were close when they were younger, at least until Elliot was an older teenager. I seriously doubt that siblings who weren’t close would share the same bed or spend all day at the movies and arcade together or have goddamn code words with each other. Darlene was the only person who knew someone else was fronting from 2014-2015, the only person who knew her Elliot was gone. But they “were never close.” Bullshit.

I get the impression that Darlene used to take it upon herself to take care of Elliot, when she was younger. Make sure he was getting out of bed in the morning, making both of them breakfast, packing both of them lunches.

They grew up in an incredibly abusive and tumultuous household, each of them with their own unaddressed mental health concerns, and it doesn’t surprise me that they drifted apart as they grew older. Clearly, there was a period of time where Darlene attempted to rekindle their relationship, but it was too difficult and she ran away. It’s...a little more difficult to say if this rings true for Elliot as well, but Sam / the Mastermind blatantly admits that he’s treated Darlene like shit, that he’s been a shitty brother. I don’t think Darlene has always been the best sister, either. They’re never outright cruel to each other but again, lots of unresolved and unaddressed issues on individual levels. They aren’t always kind to each other. I do think Darlene idolizes Elliot to an extent as well, but considering he was the only person in their household who wasn’t absolutely awful, I can’t say that I blame her.

4. what type of discipline was your character subjected to at home?? strict?? lenient??

Inconsistent discipline. Depended on whether or not Magda wanted to deal with her on any given day. On Monday Darlene could get away with murder without Magda so much as glancing in her direction and by Tuesday, Magda would be slapping her for putting her dishes in the sink instead of the dishwasher. I’ve said before that based on Darlene’s behaviors as an adult, I’m pretty sure Magda was more emotionally / verbally / psychologically abusive and negligent towards Darlene than she was physically abusive but that didn’t stop Magda from smacking Darlene around from time to time. There was also a lot of restriction going on, like food restriction and medical restriction. For the most part, Magda just didn’t pay much attention to Darlene, and therefore, Darlene was not a well-disciplined child ( or adult, for that matter ).

5. were they overprotected as a child?? sheltered??

No. Again, Magda paid no mind to Darlene. She practically raised herself. Magda likely tried to shelter Darlene from things, given the woman was pretty staunchly religious, but since she didn’t want to be bothered with Darlene most days of the week, Darlene was free to do whatever she damn well pleased ( until those rare days Magda did pay attention. then there was hell to pay ).

6. did they feel rejection or affection as a child??

Big time rejection!! Starting with her biological mother leaving, someone who was supposedly genetically programmed to give a damn about Darlene. Then the woman who willingly married Darlene’s father and willingly adopted Darlene rejected her. Darlene was always kind of that weird, loud kid who no one really knew how to deal with, so a lot of her peers kind of left her alone, too. The only people Darlene really had were Elliot and Angela. They eventually had to grow up and start leading their own lives. As a young teenager, this certainly felt like they were cutting Darlene out of their lives. It was when those two went off to college that Darlene went really far off the deep end.

7. what was the economic status of their family??

Given the cozy little house the Aldersons lived in, they seemed to be upper-middle class. Edward obviously worked for e-corp for a time and I assume the pay there was decent. There’s no indication that the Aldersons moved somewhere else after he passed away. Perhaps the mortgage was already paid off. Who’s to say. Upper-middle class.

8. how does your character feel about religion??

Darlene hates religion as an organization--Magda was an Evangelical Christian and loved to shove that down her children's throats. Above all, religion was used to shame Darlene, and thus, she despises it, despises that people will blindly follow some invisible being in the sky and be so cruel to others on the basis of what their invisible friend in the sky allegedly tells them. Spiritulaity, she believes, is very individualized, and if people get some comfort from it, then good for them.

9. what about political beliefs??

Tag walls, punch fascists, eat the rich, fuck the GOP, ACAB, BLM, etc. etc. Money is the invisible hand puppeteering all of our politicians and influences just about everything. She’s one whole entire lef.tist-social.ist-anarchist. Next question.

10. is your character street-smart, book-smart, intelligent, intellectual, slow-witted??

Darlene is definitely street-smart. She has to be, given her lifestyle. She’s a hacker and a con-artist--she has to be a smooth talker and she has to know her way around. She’s a pick-pocket, a lock picker, a smooth talker. She’s incredibly intelligent and quick-witted. Look at everything she’s accomplished!! She took down the most powerful people in the world!! Good for her!! I think Darlene could be book smart if she wanted to be, and I think she is to an extent. She talks about politics freely and clearly knows what she’s talking about when she does discuss them. There’s a certain amount of math involved with coding but she’s definitely not the scholarly type.

11. how do they see themselves: as smart, as intelligent, uneducated??

“I happen to be really smart and good at things.” Yes you are, baby.

12. how does their education and intelligence – or lack thereof - reflect in their speech pattern, vocabulary, and pronunciations??

Darlene speaks very casually. She’s not peppering all these flowy, prosy words into her daily vocabulary, and god knows this woman has some colorful language and is an artist in profanity. She doesn’t speak like someone who’s uneducated nor someone who is educated. She says what’s on her mind. She is quite articulate and she can have quite the silver tongue when the situation calls for it. She scripted a handful of fsociety’s videos and completely adlibbed one in the span of ten minutes, for fucks sake.

13. did they like school?? teachers?? schoolmates??

Darlene only enjoyed school when it was an excuse to get out her house. As I previously mentioned, Darlene was always kind of the loud, weird kid that no one really knew what to do with. She liked to be around her schoolmates but she didn’t like to get too close to them. Her teachers were fine. Her schoolmates were fine. None of them were influential enough for her to remember particularly well.

14. were they involved at school?? sports?? clubs?? debate?? were they unconnected??

Darlene was largely disconnected from school. She showed up often enough to pass her classes and graduate. Her after school activities consisted of ballet and getting high with others.

15. did they graduate?? high-school?? college?? do they have a PHD?? a GED??

She did graduate from high school. She completed exactly one semester of community college when she was nineteen, decided academia was absolutely not calling her name, and promptly dropped out.

16. what does your character do for a living?? how do they see their profession?? what do they like about it?? dislike??

Hacking and con-work. Darlene likes it well enough. She’s dead set on sticking it to the man. It’s also what she’s comfortable with. Darlene doesn’t like staying in one spot or doing one thing for too long. Maybe one day she’ll settle down and do some sort of freelance work--she did have a brief stint with freelance graphic design and she did enjoy doing that. She does desire some sort of stability. WIth how turbulent her life has been thus far, stability isn’t something she’s familiar with or comfortable with. So be gay, do crime.

17. did they travel?? where?? why?? when??

She skipped around the east coast when she was with [ REDACTED ]. That was mostly their decision, though. Running from whoever or whatever. Darlene won’t get into it.

18. what did they find abroad, and what did they remember??

If you ask her, she’ll say nothing. Darlene doesn’t run for the sight seeing. She remembers many nights in shady motel rooms and countless fights with her own personal Humbert followed by her running away from them again until they either found her or she either came back because she had no where else to go. Rinse, lather, repeat. That’s what Darlene saw while she was “abroad.”

19. what were your character’s deepest disillusions?? in life?? what are they now??

That everything would magically be better once she turned eighteen. Darlene was fourteen years old when Elliot and Angela exited stage left. At that point, she had this fantasy that when she turned eighteen, she too would go to college, maybe live with Elliot or Angela again, and everything would go back to the way things were when they were kids. Her brother would be okay. There would be zero strain on their relationship. Elliot would be the same person he was in when he was fourteen / when he was fifteen / when he was sixteen / before he quietly started to remove himself from the home more often and gently distanced himself from Darlene, perhaps for his own sake, because he couldn’t take her with him. That she would be the same person, that she wouldn’t be this jaded, cynical adult who quakes at the thought of someone getting to know her too personally. That Angela would be the same person.

Darlene is pretty grounded in reality. She fantasizes of a better world, certainly, but she did create some change in the world. Is that really disillusionment??

20. what were the most deeply impressive political or social, national or international, events that they experienced??

Repping the entire millennial generation here--Darlene has lived through a number of political catastrophes. 9/11, pandemics, the 2008 recession, and then she helped drive one of the biggest economic downfalls of them all with 5/9.

21. what are your character’s manners like?? what is their type of hero?? whom do they hate??

Darlene is like...make rude gestures at authority figures but tip your barista 20% every time and it’s not the end of the world if you have to wait 10 minutes for your food to come out. That pretty much sums up how she treats other people.

As for the second part of this question...it’s hard to say. She didn’t have a lot of great influences in her life. Her brother, certainly. Pre-canon and during canon, her father, but he has absolutely zero rights now. People who can look injustice in the eye and do something about it. The anarchists and the socialists. She definitely opposes celebrity culture and putting strangers on pedestals based on a public persona. So it’s hard to say.

22. who are their friends?? lovers?? ‘type’ or ‘ideal’ partner??

So Darlene very much needs people around her, because focusing on others is easier than focusing on herself, but when they get too close, she pushes them away. She doesn’t have many “friends”. She has acquaintances. She has people she sees from time to time in the same spaces. I think about the girls at the party she threw at Angela’s old place in 4x1. They’re not really friends, they clearly don’t know each other very well, but they know of each other and seem to hang out with the same circles.

And she doesn’t have the most stable romantic relationships, either. Canonically we see her with Cisco. We know she breaks up with him when he makes her mad and then she goes back to him. She hit him with a fucking baseball bat when he was sending her photos to Dark Army. Before Cisco there was humbert, an awful and traumatic endeavor for her. I adore dom.lene but that wasn’t a relationship, and they both have a lot of their own personal shit to work on before they could even play with the idea of a relationship.

I think Darlene’s ideal partner is someone who can match her intensity but has the ability to bring her down when she’s too intense. Someone who will call her out on her bullshit, but do it gently. Someone who brings out the best sides of her while also embracing her bad sides. Someone patient but firm. That’s a lot to ask for but Darlene is complicated and deeply flawed. At the present time, what Darlene really needs is to take a step back from everyone and focus on herself, because she is incredibly unstable in relationships and that’s simply not fair to the other person.

23. what do they want from a partner?? what do they think and feel of sex??

Again, Darlene doesn’t have the healthiest romantic relationships. She thinks she needs someone to take care of her so that’s what romantic partners are at her beck and call for. She wants someone around but only on her terms. As previously mentioned, what she really needs to do right now is take a step back and focus on herself. Go to therapy and what have you.

She enjoys sex for the most part, though obviously, that’s partner dependent. Her relationship with sex isn’t the healthiest either. It’s often used as a distraction or as a means to get her way.

24. what social groups and activities does your character attend?? what role do they like to play?? what role do they actually play, usually??

For the lack of close friends, Darlene is a social butterfly. She enjoys clubs, parties, hackerspaces, etc. She can often be found in the center of the room dancing with a drink in hand, until she’s completely overwhelmed and screaming at everyone to get out or hiding in an empty room until she calms down. Aside from these spaces, Darlene doesn’t really have any other social groups.

As a sidenote, I thoroughly enjoy that mid-credit scene during the season 3 finale where she apparently just strikes up a conversation with a random sex worker and they have a full blown conversation about politics and money while walking back to Elliot’s apartment. Darlene is very social, she does enjoy talking to people. She simply is not comfortable with people Knowing her.

25. what are their hobbies and interests??

I was joking the other day about how Darlene needs to get more hobbies and I still stand by that. She has ballet, and she still greatly enjoys that. It’s very controlled. It forces her to focus on one thing at a time. She likes that. She’s good at it. She does enjoy gaming to an extent, though she mostly sticks to Nintendo and portable gaming because she’s constantly on the move and simply cannot be expected to carry a PlayStation in her backpack. She would probably jive with some multiplayer online games. She had a brief stint with freelance graphic design and she still enjoys graphic design.

Darlene is big on the classic horror and sci-fi films and media. I do not think she has seen a single movie that has come out since 2005. She likes going to the movies, though. The movie theater was a comfort zone for her at one point and it still is.

26. what does your character’s home look like?? personal taste?? clothing?? hair?? appearance??

Darlene does not have a steady place to live. She couch surfs and crashes at different friend’s places. Thinking about her apartment that she was staying in during season 3 when the FBI had eyes on her, it was...deeply depersonalized. There were no touches of Darlene in there. Even with a semi-stable place to stay, she couldn’t be bothered to decorate the place, add some of her own touches. She left Angela’s apartment as is in season 4. She has zero attachment to the spaces she stays in and treats them as temporary, just like she treats most things in life.

Darlene’s sense of style, though?? Absolutely impeccable. There is so much of Darlene in her clothing, hair, and makeup. She’s got the cool grunge look going on for her. Thrifted clothes that she alters and upcycles, boots for stomping, tastefully wild hair, and dark makeup. Darlene takes great care of her appearance. It’s the one thing she does have, the one aspect of her life that she can control. When everything else is out of her hands, at least she can have kickass winged eyeliner.

27. how do they relate to their appearance?? how do they wear their clothing?? style?? quality??

Literally just said it--Darlene’s appearance is one thing she can control and she puts quite a bit of effort into her appearance. She’s very eclectic with her clothing!! She pulls off so many looks!! I love in 1x2 where she makes a whole outfit out of clothes from Elliot’s closet and it’s probably her most iconic look to date. She rocks that old, musty looking jacket that belonged to Magda. Darlene’s clothing is largely thrifted, partly because fuck fast fashion, partly because she doesn’t have a ton of money, partly because she tends to leave clothes behind when she moves and doesn’t want to waste money on anything crazy expensive when she knows it will likely get lost in one of her many moves. She largely wears dark and neutral colors but we see her in a few bright colors. I, for one, adore that cozy looking colorful sweater she wears after the heist episode. Goes to show how she can pull off pretty much any look.

28. who is your character’s mate?? how do they relate to him or her?? how did they make their choice??

She doesn’t have one. Maybe one day Darlene will settle down but I’ve said it several times already and I will say it many more times, she is taking the time now to focus on herself. She needs to.

29. what is your character’s weaknesses?? hubris?? pride?? controlling??

Yes.

Darlene has a weird dichotomy going on, where she’s both very confident in herself while also constantly seeking validation from others. She knows what she’s doing, she knows what she needs to do, but she thinks she needs approval from others before going forward with it. She is prideful. She is controlling. She desperately needs someone else to tell her it’s okay before she will do something.

30. are they holding on to something in the past?? can he or she forgive??

The great thing about Mr. Robot (2015-2019) is that it says you don’t have to forgive your abusers. You do not owe them shit. Darlene holds onto a ton of resentment for her mother, for humbert, for her father, for many other people who have wronged her. Maybe one day she’ll be able to let go, but she sure as hell doesn’t have to forgive them for what they did and how they treated her.

31. does your character have children?? how do they feel about their parental role?? about the children?? how do the children relate??

Nope, nope, nope, nope.

32. how does your character react to stress situations?? defensively?? aggressively?? evasively??

All of the above. It depends on the situation, who’s involved, and she tends to cycle through all three. In 4x6, I think, whenever Dom has Darlene at gunpoint in the bathtub, I think about how Darlene kind of cycles through defense and aggression and evasion. She screams at Dom, tells her where to stick it, but then she cowers and cries and says, “you don’t have to do this, it’s okay, you don’t have to do this, it’s okay, it’s okay, Dom.” It’s an incredibly interesting cycle to watch. Hell, even clear back in season one, when Vera’s brother and his other goon have Darlene in their clutches. She’s very loud and aggressive until they actually have her, at which point she falls silent. Yet when Janice has her and Dom, she’s pretty openly defiant. Calls Janice a cuntstick and, once again, tells her where to stick it.

33. do they drink?? take drugs?? what about their health??

Haha yeah!! As far as drinking goes, she’s more of a social drinker than anything ( although her little flask in season one absolutely kills me, what a legend--we don’t see her drink in private after that, though ). She does use party drugs ( ecstasy, acid, etc. ) but again, only socially. I don’t think she’s dependent on cocaine in the same way Sam / the Mastermind was dependent on opiates, but it seems to be her drug of choice. She’s strung out on it a few times through the series. She likes to smoke weed, and she’s a heavy cigarette smoker.

Despite all this, Darlene’s health is weirdly pretty stable. She has awful sleeping habits and nutritional habits. She smokes cigarettes like her life depends on it. She’s definitely at least a little underweight and could stand to gain a few pounds. She catches an occasional cold and she’s maybe had the flu two or three times during her life. She doesn’t have any chronic conditions though.

34. does your character feel self-righteous?? revengeful?? contemptuous??

She sure does!! When Trenton said, “You want momentary anarchy,” she was 100% correct. Darlene is incredibly vengeful and contemptuous. Her entire reason behind fsociety and 5/9 was to get revenge on the people who killed her dad and therefore made her life a living hell. She specifically sought out Susan Jacobs’ home because Susan Jacobs was the lawyer who destroyed her family’s case against e-corp. There’s another meta here somewhere about the absolute whirlwind of emotions Darlene goes through when she learns about what an absolute scumball Edward Alderson actually was but the fact of the matter is, it was retribution for his death that she initially wanted and that’s what drove initially drove her.

35. do they always rationalize errors?? how do they accept disasters and failures??

Yes. For her sake, I think she has to. She would absolutely spiral if she couldn’t rationalize errors. Again, Darlene doesn’t have a ton of control in the things in her life, and she has to be able to rationalize that.

When thinking about the second part of this question, I think about the buildings blowing up, and I think about Elliot’s reaction to that vs. Angela’s reaction to that vs. Darlene’s reaction, or rather her lack of reaction, to that. Elliot and Angela were absolutely broken up over it and Darlene was...not. This is a revolution and sometimes people die and it’s for the greater good. It’s not ideal, but shit happens.

36. do they like to suffer?? like to see other people suffering??

Hell no, but she doesn’t really know any other way of living. She’s not always having fun but she doesn’t know what else to do with herself.

Darlene does not like to see other people suffer. That’s precisely why she brought down ecorp, Whiterose, and the Deus group. Humanity doesn’t deserve to live in the shadows of evil rich corporations and to be controlled by a handful of the most powerful people alive. Darlene enjoys seeing those people suffer. Lowkey she had a blast fucking over Susan Jacobs the way she did. She straight up said so to Susan Jacobs’ face.

37. how is your character’s imagination?? daydreaming a lot?? worried most of the time?? living in memories??

Darlene is clearly very creative and quick-witted, which leads me to believe she does do a lot of daydreaming. She has the drive to make those daydreams a reality, though. She desires a better world for herself and for other people, so what does she do?? Co-founds a hacktivist group, crashes the economy, and then doxxes and redistributes the wealth of the most powerful people on the planet. With that being said, she is very grounded and present. She does have one foot in the past, but most of her energy is in the now.

38. are they basically negative when facing new things?? suspicious?? hostile?? scared?? enthusiastic??

Once again, for her own sake, she has to be enthusiastic about change. Darlene’s life is constantly in motion. She’s constantly on the move, jumping from one thing to the next. Things aren’t working in the world, things need to change with the world. For as cynical as she is, Darlene does enjoy experiencing new things and she is often hopeful that things will be better this time around.

39. what do they like to ridicule?? what do they find stupid??

Anything, everything, most things. She’s mean. Big April Ludgate energy over here, honestly. Darlene never hesitates at the opportunity to absolutely decimate someone or something.

40. how is their sense of humor?? do they have one??

Very dry and deadpan and sarcastic. Sometimes it’s hard to tell when she’s joking or being serious. She’s always saying something about eating the rich and guillotining the president and she’s both joking and being very serious. I have absolutely referenced this tik tok before, spammed everyone I know with it, and I will post it again because it is pretty much PEAK Darlene’s sense of humor. She absolutely has a spoof twitter account where she just @ Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Zuckie 24/7, I do not make the rules.

41. is your character aware of who they are?? strengths?? weaknesses?? idiosyncrasies?? capable of self-irony??

Darlene has a lot of self-awareness but she lacks the ability to make much change. She knows what her strengths are and she knows what her weaknesses are. She’s confident, but she’s prideful. She’s very sure of herself, but she craves validation from others. She makes jokes about all of her psychological dysfunction but she has very little insight into how off the rails she actually is. She knows she’s a bitch but she doesn’t care and she will remain that way, thank you very much.

42. what does your character want most?? what do they need really badly, compulsively?? what are they willing to do, to sacrifice, to obtain??

It’s hard to say what she wants most. I do think Darlene craves stability. She’s not a stable person in really any sense of the word. At the same time, she enjoys the freedom of drifting from one place to the next. I think she wants a balance of that. The ability to do as she pleases while maintaining relationships with the people she loves. She’s only barely figuring out what she needs to do to obtain that. Therapy, for one, and actively working on her own shit, actively utilizing whatever coping mechanisms she’s taught, actively making changes to her lifestyle. She’ll eventually fall back into her ways of petty crime because she enjoys it and would rather perish than work for the man. But she wants to be able to do so without compromising her relationships anymore.

43. does your character have any secrets?? if so, are they holding them back??

Darlene keeps most things in her life a secret from others. You don’t ask, she doesn’t tell. Even if you do ask, she might not tell. It might not be as surfaced as Elliot, but Darlene is fairly paranoid herself and reveals very little about herself to others. She doesn’t own any credit cards and aside from her SSN and a driver's license, there’s little documented information on Darlene. Lord knows she’ll try and wipe her information from whatever database the FBI has.

44. how badly do they want to obtain their life objectives?? how do they pursue them??

She doesn’t have any life objectives, really. Traumatized individuals have difficulty comprehending the future and Darlene is certainly one of those people. She can’t make herself see anything more than a few weeks into the future because who knows where she’ll be in the next hour?? She very much lives in the present and takes things one day at a time. She doesn’t plan for the future, she doesn’t have any life objectives. Whatever happens happens and she doesn’t necessarily like that but again, she can’t make herself future trip.

45. is your character pragmatic?? think first?? responsible?? all action?? a visionary?? passionate?? quixotic??

Pragmatic, visionary, and passionate, yes, very much so. Think first, sometimes--there is a lot of thought, tact, and planning that has to go into programming and con work, but one has to be prepared for everything to wrong at the same time. All action?? Absolutely!! Responsible?? Fuck no. Quixotic, from time to time. Darlene’s a thinker and then she runs with what she has.

46. is your character tall?? short?? what about size?? weight?? posture?? how do they feel about their physical body??

Darlene is 5′5″ and weighs in at about 125 lbs. Average height but somewhat underweight. She’s quite petite and thin--if she wraps her hand around her wrist, she can touch her thumb to her pinky. She doesn’t have a lot of curves. She definitely has the posture of a ballerina. She holds herself very upright and the way she walks is very calculated. Her feet turn outwards slightly when she’s standing and when she walks, her steps are nearly parallel to each other.

47. do they want to project an image of a younger, older, more important person?? does they want to be visible or invisible??

I wouldn’t say Darlene wants to project an image as being younger or older or more important. She definitely wants to come off as powerful and intelligent. Frankly, she achieves that. But she does like to remain anonymous. She doesn’t need people knowing what she’s all about. She’s fine with being underestimated because it means people are in for an even ruder surprise when she completely destroys them, and she gets a lot of satisfaction from that.

48. how are your character’s gestures?? vigorous?? weak?? controlled?? compulsive?? energetic?? sluggish?

Definitely very energetic and grand, often times erring on the side of aggressive. That’s simply a condition of Darlene’s existence.

49. what about voice?? pitch?? strength?? tempo and rhythm of speech?? pronunciation?? accent??

Darlene is loud as fuck and good for her, honestly. She has very little volume control. Her voice can be shrill and it has the tendency to break when she’s overwhelmed or excited. She has a bit of that smoker's rasp, too. Her tempo is very controlled, though. She speaks at a pretty average pace, though she slows her speech when she’s being deliberate. There isn’t much to say in terms of an accent, though I still think it would be hilarious if she had a strong Jersey accent. There’s a lot of emotion in her voice and it fluctuates greatly.

50. what are the prevailing facial expressions?? sour?? cheerful?? dominating??

For as much as she emotes in the way she speaks, Darlene’s facial expressions are rather constricted, which is very interesting. She has a chronic case of resting bitch face and her facial expressions are rather subtle.

#Good GOD #┆❛ OUTGOING. / answered.rar #┆❛ SHE SAYS YOU DON’T WANT TO BE LIKE ME. / abt.doc #consequntial #y'all better read every single one of these this took forever #also u can tell i said massive 'fuck it' around question 45 and gave up

2 notes · View notes

prodigil · 6 years

Text

CHARACTER STATS FRAMEWORK. please repost don’t reblog !

stats.

full name: samuel henry winchester

nickname(s): sam, sammy (dean only), moose

age: 22-27, generally

birthday: may 2nd, 1983

species: demon blooded human

nationality: american

gender: transgender male

preferred pronoun(s): he/him/his

romantic orientation: panromantic

sexual orientation: pansexual

religion: belief in a higher power

occupation: hunter, occasional bartender

status: active

fandom: supernatural based but very much cross/multi fandom, i trust like 6 people in this fandom

face claim(s): colin ford, jared padalecki

relationships

parents: john winchester, father, deceased; mary winchester nee campbell, mother, deceased

siblings: dean winchester, brother; adam milligan, brother, deceased

family: sam and deanna campbell, grandfather and grandmother, deceased; emma, niece, deceased; an unnamed uncle on mary’s side, deceased

significant other(s): dependent on time period. known love interests include jess, madi, brady, max, and ruby

children: none by birth, later adopts magda peterson

closest friends: castiel

rivals: sam doesn’t really maintain rivalries

enemies: above

physical traits

eye color(s): hazel

hair color(s): brown

height: 6 ft 5

body build: athletic, muscular but not incredibly muscular, bony, slim. sorta gangly. very lanky in youth

notable physical traits: sam doesn’t think theres anything very special about him physically. his height is often pointed out. he also has very emotive eyes

phobias and diseases

phobia(s): clowns, literally anything regarding lucifer

mental disease(s): diseases?? disorders. he has ptsd, social and general anxiety, depression, and possible avpd

when and how was this diagnosed? none of them have been diagnosed professionally

physical disease(s): permanent brain damage, possibly type 2 diabetes

when was this diagnosed and/or how did it happen? brain damage has been a result of repetitive constant physical trauma on the job, type 2 diabetes is congenital

personality

usual mood/expression: calm, slightly flat, a little anxious maybe

moral alignment: between neutral good and true neutral

jung: infj, the advocate.

enneagram: 6 9 2 / the loyalist, the peacemaker, the helper

four temperaments: a mix of melancholic and phlegmatic

hogwarts house: ravenclaw with a touch of all the other houses

top five tropes: oh do i have some fucking tropes for you my dude. action dad, action survivor, adorkable, all loving hero, all of the other raindeer, always second best, and i must scream, anti anti christ, apocalypse maiden, apologizes a lot, the atoner, badass adorable, badass bookworm, badass pacifist, badass gay, bad dreams, bad powers good people, bash brothers, became their own antithesis, because destiny says so, being good sucks, berserk button, beware the nice ones, big little brother, black sheep, brains and brawn, bratty teenage son, broken bird, brutal honesty, can’t stay normal, cartwright curse, the chewtoy, child prodigy, the chosen one, cosmic plaything, crouching scholar hidden badass, daddy had a good reason to abandon you, deadpan snarker, defeating the undefeatable, demonic possession, death seeker, despair event horizon, determined defeatist, doom magnet, driven to suicide, face death with dignity, fanboy, friend to all children, generation xerox, good is not soft, he who fights monsters, heroism wont pay the bills, hot blooded, i am a monster, i am not left handed, i can still fight!, i just want to be normal, in the blood, knight templar little brother, little miss badass, living emotional crutch, love martyr, nerves of steel, the only one, parental abandonment, puppy dog eyes, rape as drama, red oni blue oni, refusal of the call, reassigned to the call, screw destiny, shell shocked veteran, submissive badass, survivor guilt, teens are short, thicker than water, thousand yard stare, tragic hero, undying loyalty,

five prominent traits: adaptable, defiant, adventurous, clever, creative, daring, energetic, free-thinking, open, observant, skillful, deceptive, neutral, sarcastic, blunt, stubborn, compassionate, tough, (self)-destructive, addictive, protective, good-natured, independent, enthusiastic, brutal, calculating, criminal, clean, sensitive, gentle, considerate, meddlesome, neurotic, moody.

misc

skills: most of this is related to hunting. excellent shot, can hotwire cars, can create makeshift EMFS. good at lockpicking, computer hacking. intelligent, academically learned. also capable of exorcising demons with his mind at certain points in his life.

hobbies: used to enjoy playing soccer, attending community theater (both as an actor and as audience),

element: both fire and earth.

animal: everyone calls sam ‘moose’, but i associate him with a work ox. yknow. steady, reliable, big.

plant: i don’t know enough about plants to answer this.

anything else you want to add: sam is a demon blooded human, and as a result, developed demon-aligned abilities as he aged. this is mostly limited to visions and minor telekinesis, but has the capability to expand tremendously.

stats

compassion: 7/10.

empathy: 9/10.

creativity: 6/10.

mental flexibility: 7/10 .

passion / motivation: 8/10.

education: 8/10.

stamina: 8/10.

physical strength: 7/10.

battle skill: 9/10.

initiative: 7/10.

restraint: 5/10.

agility: 6/10.

strategy: 7/10.

teamwork: 6/10.

musical-rhythmic intelligence: 0/10.

visual-spatial intelligence: 8/10.

verbal-linguistic intelligence: 6/10.

logical-mathematical intelligence: 9/10.

bodily-kinesthetic intelligence: 7/10.

interpersonal intelligence: 8/10.

intrapersonal intelligence: 6/10.

existential intelligence: 6/10.

naturalistic intelligence: 4/10.

#i love a boy ..#HEADCANON.#long post /

5 notes · View notes

drsilverfish · 8 years

Text

John Winchester’s Ghost and the Haunting of S12 cont...

The resurrection of Mary Winchester has brought with it the ghost of John Winchester, as the S12 writers’ room snakes the narrative back on itself to disinter its origins.

Here is his journal, as Mary reads its pages in The Foundry (12x03)

And here is his wire-wrapped baseball bat, which Dean had apparently been using in 12x15 Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell - ”Man! Dad loved that thing.” (Also, apparently, a reference to Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s character on The Walking Dead).

It’s interesting, and deliberate on the part of the writers’ room, that Dean name-checks one of his father’s favorite weapons at a point in the story when, in working with the BMOL, Sam and Dean are taking a step backwards towards their father’s black and white view of the supernatural. A view which they have themselves evolved away from over the years, thanks to friendships and alliances with supernatural beings, from Amy the Kitsune (Sam was always ahead of the game in this regard) to Benny the Vampire.

As well as John’s diary and John’s baseball bat, we’ve also had Mary’s silent recollection of making out with John in Baby in 12x01 Keep Calm and Carry On.

If John has been physically manifest in objects imbued with his memory - journal, base-ball bat, Baby; Dean and Mary’s confrontation in 12x14 The Raid brings his less than stellar parenting close to being named in an actual conversation:

Mary: “I am your mother but I am not ‘just a mom’. And you are not a child.”

Dean: “I never was...”

Meanwhile in the mirrors and parallels of S12, John’s ghost is everywhere.

In The Foundry (my favourite episode of the season to date) we meet Lucas, the ghost boy murdered by and tethered to vengeful spirit Hugo Moriarty. The name Lucas recalls the kid Lucas from 1x03 Dead in the Water whom Dean had a special affinity for. Lucas was mute with grief after losing his Dad and Dean tells him that he was that way himself for a while after his own Mum died (Mary).

Hugo Moriarty is (in part) a mirror for John. Hugo lost his daughter in a car accident and went mad with grief, walling himself up in the house and starving to death then murdering children and tethering them to him. John lost Mary to Azaezel and he also went “mad” with grief, walling up himself, and his kids, in his obsessive revenge quest.

In 12x04 American Nightmare (with its deliberate callback to 1x14 Nightmare, as signalled by Sam and Dean disguising themselves as priests on both occasions), Magda’s parents, fanatically religious and living off the grid, also mirror John Winchester (likewise fanatical, about revenge, and living off the grid with his kids, raising them as hunters on the road).

Magda is both a mirror for Sam, as a kid with special, supernatural powers (just as Max Miller mirrored Sam in 1x14 Nightmare) and for Dean (another layer of subtext down) as an abused queer kid. This second parallel is invoked by depicting Magda as a kid being punished by religious parents attempting to “cure” her (read “conversion” therapy). Like Sam’s parallel, this Dean mirroring in American Nightmare also invokes the old parallel from its twin episode, Nightmare, of Dean with Max Miller, whom we find out was beaten regularly throughout his childhood by his father and uncle. Remember that this (1x14) is the episode, where we get a hint that Dean may have protected Sam from a lot more than Sam knows regarding John’s drinking and (possible) violence.

Back in our present, Sam and Dean set Magda free (a giant metaphor for being, or needing to be, on a path towards setting themselves free of some of the psychic baggage of their childhood) but, and here comes another John mirror, Mr. Ketch swoops in and murders her.

Mr. Ketch is a John mirror (although that’s not his only function in the narrative) in that we have seen him seduce Mary to the BMOL and attempt (and partially succeed for now) to seduce Dean likewise (12x14 The Raid). That’s partly why there have been two references to Sirens this season, because that particular supernatural creature works by seduction and thus provides an excellent metaphor for the BMOL and their seduction of the WInchesters.

Dean hero-worshipped his Dad when he was younger, Sam never did (which is partly why Ketch (semi) works on Dean, but not on Sam - his bike evoking the Easy Riders soundtrack Dean and Mary both share a love for, for instance.

Moreover, we learn Mr. Ketch used to date Lady Toni Bevell in 12x14 The Raid, so, as others have pointed out, her kid might be his. Another neglectful / monstrous parent this season? Hmmmn.... hello John Winchester.

Demonic father-to-be Lucifer is also, this season, paralleled with John. Not only is he on his way to becoming a Bad Daddy, but his minions want to “Make Hell Great Again”. He is an authoritarian and he is a purist (he hates humans) in the same way that the BMOL are (they hate the supernatural). Both mirror John’s black and white perspective, the one he raised his boys in, and against which they have come to rebel (Sam before Dean).

Here is Lucifer looking all corpsified and gross in 12x07 Rock Never Dies (hello corpse ghost of John Winchester:

In 12x05, The One You’ve Been Waiting For, we meet Nazi necromancer Nauhaus and his son Christoph, who have the following exchange:

NAUHAUS: “You were supposed to be my heir. Instead, you're an inconceivable disappointment.” CHRISTOPH: “You know, I used to look up to you. You conquered death. You did so many things. But now? (Sighs) Now all you wanna do is relive your glory days with Hitler.” NAUHAUS: (scoffs) “Your generation – you millennials – are too weak to steward the future. It needs a stronger hand. The world is divided and inflamed....”

This mirrors something of the history of Sam and Dean with their father - his insistence they call him “Sir” from the early seasons, Dean’s anxiety about living up to his father’s expectations, Sam’s rebellion and John’s anger (because Sam wanted to go to college), the way Dean used to look up to his father. Additionally, once again, we see a father-figure with an absolutist view of the world. What would John make of the grey area Sam and Dean now inhabit? Dean’s relationships with Benny, Cas, Crowley??

Nauhaus tries to have his son killed (remember when Dean was dying in 1x12 Faith and John didn’t show up?) and Dean actually refers to Nauhaus sarcastically as “Father of the Year”.

Here is “Father of the Year” Nauhaus-Hitler.

Nauhaus donates his body to Hitler (there’s a sentence) re-animated by Thule blood magic and Dean (it’s important it’s Dean) kills him.

From a Winchester family psycho-drama perspective (the underlying theme of S12) Dean needs to kill the ghost of his father in his psyche. Particularly Dean, because Dean was the “good son” who repressed so much of who he was in order to be a care-taker to Sammy (a role his father persistently neglected as part of his obsession with hunting and revenge for Mary’s death).

Sadly, Hugo Moriarty is also a Dean mirror, because Dean’s co-dependency (the lesson he learned in childhood that his self-worth comes mostly from his role as family caretaker) means that he has some unhealthy patterns around trying to tether the people he loves too tightly to him and then watching them endlessly slip away.

Dean lost his childhood and he adopted a bravado, a machismo, in imitation of his father, which closeted his own more complex self (signalled by, for example, his secret love for soap operas like Dr. Sexy MD and for chick flicks). Dean felt the need to hide his appreciation for “feminine” coded thngs, that his Dad would likely disapprove of. Hence his continued anxiety about openly liking things like the fancy cucumber water in 12x07 Rock Never Dies.

This is why we get an episode titled Regarding Dean (12x11) which strips away what SPN meta fandom calls “performing Dean”. Memory-wiped Dean (regressed Dean, psychoanalytically) is soft with bunnies, exhibits a child-like quality and wants desperately to ride Larry the bull (in subtext - dick - i.e one of Dean’s represssions as a result of his father’s macho hunter upbringing is the repression of his bisexuality).

Here is Dean free of his father’s repression....

Another deadbeat Dad lurks at the edges of the narrative - namely Chuck - as Cas returns to Heaven with Kelvin on a promise to speak to Joshua in 12x15 Somewhere Bewteen Heaven and Hell. This reminds us that Joshua was the gardener angel Sam and Dean met in 5x16 Dark Side of the Moon, back when they all hoped that if they could just reach God he would intervene to stop the apocalypse.

That’s an interesting reference, Dark Side of the Moon, at this point, given that Dean’s Heaven back then contained an idealised vision of his mother feeding him pie, one he is now having to painfully deconstruct as he meets the real Mary, a woman who reveals she didn’t cook and who is all too ready to become obsessed with hunting in the way John was.

We can now, looking back, explicitly parallel the BMOL’s supernatural genocide plan with the revived Nazism we revisited in The One You’ve Been Waiting For (Dabb’s political parallel to contemporary America also being at work this season).

As Sam and Dean and Mary continue to work with the BMOL, eventually a clash of values will come to a head, between the old Winchester way (John’s) and the new one (that of his sons).

In facing this conflict, the ghost of John Winchester, still lying mostly unspoken between Mary and her sons, will certainly manifest (whether spoken out loud or continuing to haunt the narrative in a variety of mirror guises).

We’ve had the return of demons with yellow eyes like Azaezel, namely the other Princes of Hell - Ramiel, Dagon and Asmodeus.

This can’t help but (deliberately) remind us of Azaezel’s narrative in the early seasons. Remember his possession of John in 1x22 Devil’s Trap, and how Dean figured out that his Dad wasn’t in the driver’s seat, because the demon said “I’m proud of you”?

John was a flawed man - he wasn’t literally Hugo Moriarty or Nauhaus or Hitler or Lucifer or even Mr. Ketch. However, this haunting of the S12 narrative by his ghost, in a plethora of dark mirrors, is about his effects on the psyches of his children. What a dark lake of unspoken things lies between the resurrected Mary and her sons in that regard.

And in that sense, we can understand why John’s ghost looms so monstrously at the heart of the Winchester family psycho-drama this season, in tandem with the resurrection of “Mother Mary”.

Thanks to Supernatural’s SuperWiki and to Home of the Nutty for most of the screen-caps.

www.homeofthenutty.com and www.supernaturalwiki.com

#Supernatural #SPN meta #Meta #S12 #John Winchester #John Winchester's Ghost #Wincheter Family Psychodrama #Winchester Family Dynamics

213 notes · View notes

movietvtechgeeks · 7 years

Photo

Latest story from https://movietvtechgeeks.com/supernatural-returns-12-16-ladies-drink-free/

'Supernatural' Returns With 12.16 Ladies Drink Free

This week’s Supernatural "Ladies Drink Free" episode saw the return of Claire Novak (Kathryn Newton), who is a controversial character for the fandom. I was excited just to have the Show back on the air after a mini hiatus, so my expectations were somewhere in the middle -- but I was in a good mood just to be able to watch. I ended up enjoying the episode, though it won’t go down in history as one of my all time favorites. The opening scene was notable for its scariness factor, and also for the acknowledgment of what everyone is asking the characters in every single horror movie. That, of course, didn’t keep the brother and sister from being attacked by the creepy mask-wearing werewolf. That’s a new one, werewolves in masks! I guess that’s a smarter than average werewolf. Soon Sam and Dean are summoned to the Men of Letters headquarters, and I may have squealed a little bit just to have Ackles and Padalecki back on my tv screen, looking mighty fine. Dean is still clearly not really on board, especially not with the whole ‘reporting for duty’ thing. And especially if they keep him waiting! I was glad to hear Dean say that out loud because we all knew that wouldn’t sit well with Dean. Thanks, Meredith Glynn, for putting it in words. I was also very glad to hear Mick admit that if Mary and Sam hadn’t been there, he would be dead too – finally, someone admitting that SAM saved the day and killed the alpha vampire! More thanks to the writer. Dean is also not down with Mick wanting to come along on the hunt, claiming that you can’t learn to hunt from reading a book. This has been the season of Sam prevailing, though, and once again Dean goes along with what his brother wants. I know some fans have been clamoring for a more equal partnership between the brothers for a long time, but I think it’s certainly there now. I like to think that Dean will still struggle with it from time to time, because being the big brother is ingrained in him (and I don’t ever want him to lose that, it’s a big part of why I watch the show) – but he absolutely respects Sam as an equal. They’re at a good place this season – they trust each other, respect each other, value each other’s intellect and strength. Would I like a little more emotion shown between them? Absolutely. But they are definitely a team, often speaking for each other with ‘we’ instead of ‘I’. Dean isn’t amused that Sam finds some things to like about the BMoL, and I find that amusing. Mick: Kendrick’s is the largest collection of occult lore in the world. Sam: Cool! (Turning to Dean to share his glee) Dean: (glares) If words could kill, seriously. Sam: O—o. I laughed out loud. Sometimes I almost forget what a treasure it is having Ackles and Padalecki on this show – they can take a small scene like this one and make it into something hysterically funny, or heartbreakingly sad. Sometimes just with a look. This was one of those moments. In fact, Dean is not amused at all every time Sam shows any enthusiasm for the way the BMoL do things. It’s endearingly like Dean and Mick are fighting over Sam’s loyalties, which warms my heart. I need to see more emotion between the brothers, Show, but this will suffice for now. Sam gets to do a lot of shaking his head, but there’s a fondness to it that I also appreciate. Dean has to endure podcasts in the Impala and Mick in the backseat, and it’s during the drive that Sam and Dean learn that the BMoL have been killing whatever they deem as monsters indiscriminately, even ones who might not have done anything bad. Sam and Dean protest, citing Garth as an example of a so-called monster who can keep it in check, but Mick is not convinced. They are then conveniently distracted by arriving at their destination, but the conversation seems to foreshadow what fandom has been expecting for some time – the Winchesters will eventually part ways with the BMoL over this very issue. Sam and Dean started out also thinking in black and white, but over the years they’ve realized that not all monsters hurt people. I actually tweeted #alwaysshadeesofgray after that conversation, before Dean makes it explicit a bit later in the episode. I love that about Supernatural and am once again thrilled to have it acknowledged in actual dialogue (and without the help of anvils either). Thank you once again, Meredith! The “3-star hotel” scene was also glorious. Dean’s glee about the “little shampoo bottles” was so very Dean – it always makes him look like a five-year-old no matter how old either he or Ackles get. I also love that neither of the Winchesters was all that thrilled about the separate rooms, though – they do their best work in their shared hotel rooms! Has Ackles already said that Dean grabbing a fist full of the free hotel mints and trying to shove them in his jacket was an ad lib? My money is on it if not. Never change, Dean. I love all those little reminders of the sort of life the Winchesters have to live off the grid. They don’t allow themselves luxuries, but on those rare occasions when they can have a taste of some “luxury”, Dean grabs for it with both hands. That also explains his dip in the pool, sans bathing suit. FAIL, SHOW, FAIL! Where is this footage??? Sam’s face was pretty priceless though as he contemplates the image. Which Dean clearly enjoys way too much. The Winchesters and Mick visit the surviving werewolf attack victim in the hospital, getting competitive about who gets to talk to her and her distraught mom. Mick wins out by pretending to be a doctor – he is a rather quick study, even adopting a Fleetwood Mac alias himself. But then he flat out lies to Sam and Dean about the girl being bitten, and uh oh. We can see where this is going. Sure enough, Mick goes back and kills her, but Adam Fergus does a good job of foreshadowing the not black and white speech Dean’s going to end up giving him. It’s his first kill by his own hand, and it’s clearly not as easy as he thought it was going to be. Meanwhile, Claire has been working the same werewolf case. And she’s also lying – to Jody. There are so many lies in this season it makes my head spin! Dean calls her on the phone she’s using for cases, doing his best impression of Yogi Bear, which cracked me up (and was probably a lot of fun for Ackles). They meet up and catch up over a beer (which Dean won’t let Claire drink). Claire insists Jody is fine with her hunting alone and too busy anyway, which clearly neither of the Winchesters are buying. Dean’s still pissed about Sam’s enthusiasm for Mick and the BMoL too, much to my continued amusement. Dean: Oh he’s Sam’s best friend. They’re like nerd soulmates. Me: Soulmates! Nope. That’s already been settled on Supernatural. Sam just rolls his eyes at his brother. Mick lies again to Sam and Dean the next day, but that’s okay because we get a treat – we get Smart!Dean, my absolute favorite flavor! I adored Dean interrogating Mick as they’re supposed to be interrogating the bartender with the tattoos, clearly knowing he’s lying. And then grabbing him by the hurt shoulder he’s trying to hide and slamming him up against the wall. Damn! Badass!Dean, wait, that’s my favorite flavor! This episode kept reminding me of early Supernatural episodes, almost like I was having flashbacks. That pinch to the wounded shoulder threw me back to Born Under A Bad Sign, when possessed Sam does the same thing to Dean (who has been shot in the shoulder). That was one of the episodes that sold me on this show, so intense and so superbly acted. Like I said, I loved Dean letting Mick know in no uncertain terms that this is NOT black and white, and not letting him off the hook. He tells it like it is: you killed that girl. That mother lost two children. Dean: All you have is a case in front of you. But here’s a little tip – things aren’t just black and white out here. Dean brings up Magda too, who Sam and Dean think they spared to go live her life. Mick, of course, knows that Mr. Ketch executed her. I wonder when the Winchesters will find out about that?? We also get some Badass!Dean dealing with the jerk of a bartender guy, who seems to think it’s perfectly fine to be grabby and disrespectful to “girls like that”. Dean getting in his face and warning him never to touch Claire again or “I’ll break your face!” was not only hot has hell, but made me want to jump up and yell YES! You tell him, Dean! Dean has come a long way in more ways than one. Sam, meanwhile, is attempting a heart to heart with Claire, where he sounds oh so reasonable, and she isn’t having it. Calling Sam an old skeezer seemed like a low blow (and didn’t endear the character to Sam fans…), but nobody who’s struggling to be seen as an adult likes being called childish I suppose. Sam nevertheless tries to convince Claire to tell Jody the truth. Claire: Stop treating me like a stupid kid! Sam: Then stop acting like one! Predictably, Claire has a tantrum and runs off (with headphones on….definitely a rookie hunter move, Claire) and, as we suspected would happen, gets bitten by the werewolf. Sam comes running just a moment too late and drops to his knees to gather Claire into his arms, frantically checking to see if she was bitten. Jared did an amazing job in this scene, conveying Sam’s desperate hope and then the moment he realizes with horror and despair that she was. I guess I’m thinking a lot about early SPN recently, because this scene reminded me of another of my most unforgettable scenes – when Dean arrives similarly a moment too late to save Sam in AHBL, gathering him up and having a similar crushing realization as he checks Sam’s injuries and feels all the blood. They even say the same things, murmuring “I gotcha, I gotcha”. Ouch. My flashback invested the scene with even more emotion. [caption id="attachment_44406" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Caps by: jarpadprincess[/caption] The next scene was one of the strongest, as Claire begs to be killed, saying she knows she won’t be able to keep from hurting someone and she refuses to take that chance. I liked Claire more than ever in this scene, and Kathryn Newton did a great job – Claire demonstrates that maturity that she’s been struggling with, along with palpable emotion. Some of my own emotional reaction is also due to Padalecki and Ackles, who look absolutely devastated about what has happened. They’re both such good actors that the pain on those handsome faces just seeps right into me – pretty sure I had a similarly pained expression in empathy. Dean: (desperately) You can live with this. Claire: No, I can’t. Cue the sad sad music, and me fumbling for the tissues. Sam and Dean are a united front against Mick at this point, nearly speaking in unison. Dean: Back off! Sam: Shut up! Sam: (steely) You killed a kid. We’re not angry; we’re done. Damn boys. Sam, super smart geeky research boy that he is, makes all that staying up reading pay off – the BMoL did have a cure for this, at least in mice. It killed 9 out of 10, in agony, but at least there’s a chance. My twitter timeline always adds to the fun. Astroglide: (who often wins the best tweet contest hands down): You know what sounds like a terrible idea? Were-mice. Anyway, Dean says absolutely not, it’s too risky (though really Dean, how risky are the other options?) But Claire wants to do it. Kudos to Meredith Glynn for the next little interchange, as they try to decide whether to risk it. Dean to Claire: You don’t get a vote in this. Claire: It’s my life. I get ALL the votes. Damn right. And another thank you to Glynn. Dean wants to disagree, but Sam backs Claire up, and Dean reluctantly goes along. (Once again, that’s a theme this season. Dean is as emotional and passionate as ever, but he can also listen to other viewpoints and hear them. And he’s capable of understanding when his knee-jerk reaction, his long ingrained need to protect those he loves, is not the right way to go. That, right there, is character growth. Character growth that’s realistic and not superhuman miraculous) Adam Fergus also did a great job in this scene of showing us Mick’s in-episode evolution. He’s still torn between what his orders are and the way the BMoL have always done things, but the Winchesters are already teaching him. Dean leaves Claire with Mick along with a threat that nobody has any doubt he’ll carry out if needed, but you get the feeling that Mick is also rooting for Claire at this point. He killed one young girl; I don’t think he wants to do that again. Sam and Dean head out to find the werewolf sire. I love that at first they rough up the wrong guy – just because he has tats doesn’t mean he’s the bad guy! (Also, that guy’s gonna have some gigantic therapy bills after this.) Unfortunately, that means the real bad guy is grabbing Claire out from under the hapless Mick and taking her back to his place to turn her. She manages not to gulp down the nice juicy fresh heart he tries to force on her (ewww, Kathryn Newton you’re a brave soul…) and while the dialogue in this scene didn’t ring true to me (really? Claire takes the time to wittily call the bad guy ‘Teen Wolf’ in the middle of all this?) I was intrigued with what we learned. The werewolf and his pack were peaceful until the BMoL started wholesale killing them. How much worse are they making things in the US? This is a lesson the Winchesters learned a long time ago, but I wonder if this will poke a substantial hole in Mary’s argument that they’re “doing so much good.” Maybe not. The Winchesters and Mick track Claire down thanks to a bug in her pocket, there’s a fight scene that’s as well choreographed as all the fight scenes in Supernatural, Dean defends himself from were!Claire with pots and pans and Mick manages to help save the day (and Dean). They have the means to inject Claire with her sire’s blood now, but how much do I love that Dean pauses before he plunges the needle in, looking to Sam. Dean has learned some hard lessons about consent. So has Sam. Dean: She wanted this, right? Sam: Oh yeah. There are a lot of messages in here about autonomy that are right on point, can I just say? One more thank you to Glynn. And then they wait. Wait to see if Claire will live and get better or die in agony. She definitely experiences the agony part – once again, the worst of that was watching the pain on Dean and Sam’s faces as they have to watch. Dean eventually can’t take it and goes out to get some air, reminding me of that time Sam was detoxing in the panic room and Dean couldn’t stand to listen. Dean can be ruthless and fearless, but he takes no pleasure in hearing someone else in pain – if it’s someone he cares about, his empathy literally won’t allow him to bear it. (And yes, I love that about him). Sam calls his brother back inside when they think Claire has died, but I’m guessing none of the viewers fell for that. I wish I had, because then it would have had more impact when she opened her (human looking again) eyes, but the relief on Sam and Dean’s faces feels really good anyway. Of course, that scene and this episode, in general, reminded most of us of the classic episode ‘Heart’, where a heartbroken Sam has to kill Madison and an equally heartbroken Dean has to let him. Who will ever forget Dean’s flinch when the gun shot ran out, or the single tear that overflowed when it did, knowing how much it cost his little brother? Some fans felt that finding this new werewolf cure negated the intensity of that episode, but it wasn’t truly a retcon. They couldn’t have cured Madison back then; they had no way of knowing that the BMoL had been working on a cure. So for me, that episode remains just as tragic and just as emotional. I’m sure poor Sam and Dean are going to think about Madison sooner or later, though, and find it even more heartbreaking. Claire shows her newfound maturity again by thanking the Winchesters, gets some hugs, and heads to her car. Sam and Dean, showing their respect for the fact that she is an adult (I’m assuming she’s over 18, and to the Winchesters, that would certainly rate being old enough considering their own hunting history), leave the decision to call Jody to her. Claire actually did hear Sam though, even if she pretended she didn’t – she calls and leaves a message, acknowledging Jody’s impact on her as ‘her mother’. I might have sniffled a little. Also anytime we’re reminded that Kim Rhodes will eventually be back, I’m a happy camper. Sam and Dean decide to give Mick one more chance, presumably because he came through in the end, but that doesn’t seem like the best choice to me. They said one chance! Hmmm. I have to quibble a bit with the end too. Claire drives off, on the nose rock music playing (Wild Child). That parallel was a bit too heavy-handed for me – yes, we get it, she’s a hunter. But only the Impala gets to drive offscreen at the end of an episode, Show. Got it? The ending had Wayward Daughters spin-off feels all over it, which would be very welcomed by the fandom. If that was the intention, I’ll forgive that error this once. But don’t let it happen again. I like my endings with Sam, Dean and Baby driving off up the road. While this won’t go down in history as one of my favorite episodes, I like how much evolution occurred for both Claire and Mick, and I like that we’re finding out more about the BMoL little by little. The theme of lies and deception continues, but I’m at least hoping that none of that will be between Sam and Dean. It was difficult to watch Sam not tell Dean about working with the BMoL, essentially telling him after they’d already been taking their cases. Not cool, Sam. No more of that. Some of the cast live-tweeted the episode, so we got a few behind the scenes pictures. Kathryn has to deal with plenty of big brother shenanigans, clearly – Jensen tied her shoe laces together in the scene where Claire is crying. [caption id="attachment_44420" align="aligncenter" width="533"] Photo: Kathyrn Newton Twitter[/caption] And even William Shatner was a bit put off by Claire’s insult to Sam. Shatner: hey @jarpad, Skeezer?? Exactly. One more little thing. Claire reads Batgirl. Nice touch, Supernatural. Glad you’re back! Check out next week's Supernatural episode 1217 The British Invasion.

Movie TV Tech Geeks News

#Featured #Jared Padalecki #Jensen Ackles #Kathyrn Newton #Supernatural #TV Recaps

2 notes · View notes

seenashwrite · 8 years

Text

Conversations with The Commissioner: Canon Fodder, Round 1

Originally posted on that blog we ditched ‘cause we liked y’all better. And listen, straight up skip this if you (A) don’t give a rip about the story and/or (B) don’t give a crap about a painfully detailed assessment of Azazel & the Special Children. We’re just cleaning out folders here, folks.

Carry on - Nash.

Wednesday, December 7, 2016 A Very Special Canon Fodder Post: The Special Children of SPN

The Commissioner: I found a canon mistake. Well, two actually.

Me: Hit me.

The Commissioner: First chapter - Sam's loading dishes into the dishwasher. A non-existent dishwasher.

Me: [stares] You don't think that they'll have gotten a dishwasher by season whatever-the-hell we're idealizing this to be?

The Commissioner: .....

Me: Noted. Next?

The Commissioner: Also chapter one, you have Sam saying if Jane were a Special Child, it'd be the first time there was two in one family. There were those twins.

Me: Hell's bells, I cannot believe I'm having to explain this.

The Commissioner: You can just edit the chapter.

Me: No. I'm not wrong.

The Commissioner: You're wrong, I re-watched the episode.

Me: I'm not wrong.

The Commissioner: You're a mule.

Me: [sigh] Pull up the notes file.

The Commissioner: You have ten thousand, what's it called?

Me: "Plot Hole Dumpster Fires"

The Commissioner: Wow.

Me: I'm subtle, it's why you adore me.

In the spirit of pushing daisies, the facts are these:

(A) We get hip to Azazel making pacts with randos that if he can show up to their homes in ten years without them freaking out, then he won't do fill-in-the-blank to them now.

Why he assumes that any of these people will definitely have a baby old enough to get the dose - because for whatever the hell reason they can't be a newborn but can't be like, a year old - in exactly ten years is beyond me.

Why demons can leap into a person without consent and he can't zip into a baby's room is way beyond me.

Why he thinks it's going to take more than ten seconds to rub a toothless infant's gums with his bloody finger is also really, really beyond me.

Why he thinks the parents or siblings or meemaw or whoever's there pose any sort of threat to him that requires the use of fireballs is, you guessed it, so far the hell beyond me that I can't even.

.......

The Commissioner: But they apparently did and that's why some of the parents died.

Me: Yeah, some - not all. So he's capable of somehow managing to not be Inspector Clouseau'ing the bejeezus out of it.

You're busting into my next point.

The Commissioner: Continue.

.......

(B) At some point Zaza tells Dean that his purpose for going into the homes is giving the babies the blood and alludes to having something bigger in mind than just having a demon army or whatever. We, of course, come to learn it's because Lucy's in the cage with kaleidoscope eyes, dreaming for freedom, waiting for his vessel.

Which, P.S.?

No way has Azkaban only been at this in the past decade. That would make him the shittiest henchman ever, if he's not been pounding the pavement and getting after it hardcore since the moment our favorite morningstar got wrecked.

And this is proven, we'll get to that in a minute.

.......

The Commissioner: Wait. All the special kids were around the same age, that's part of the reason I think -

Me: Nope.

The Commissioner: Not just the twins, though, that's the other -

Me: Nope.

The Commissioner: FINE. Go ahead.

.......

( C ) And bless my heart, I actually looked this up: it's in season five, ep #21 - Castiel says specifically that Lou-Lou's vessel has to be prepped with demon blood. Otherwise it'll just... I don't know.

I don't know.

Implode if they're on a Nickelback level? Last as long as Rick Springfield if they're kinda up for it, then sort've dissolve? Kick it into the next century if they're of Willie Nelson caliber and seem to not have aged since, oh, 1970?

.......

The Commissioner: You're digressing.

Me: It's so, so annoying.

The Commissioner: Maybe. I still think you're wrong.

.......

(D) The backdraft nursery side show featuring your dead mom wasn't routine across the board.

Here's that breakdown:

The Kids & the Blood / Extreme Makeover: Nursery Edition

Sam - y/y

Andy - probably/y

Ava - ?/?

Jake - ?/?

Lily, a.k.a."Hey writers, that's just blonde Rogue" - ?/?

Max - y/y

Scott - y/y

Baby Rosie - it's a toss-up/y *

Magda - ?/? *

* Those two are proof Hepatitis Az was for sure monkeying around with this routine up til around the time he died, cause, you know, Baby Rosie. Which, again, good on ya - don't blow your wad on one group of kids.

My guess? He was going through at least one group of kids per year, likely more than one group, and they always turned out to be duds.

.......

The Commissioner: But what would he do with them? Death match them?

Me: Who cares?

The Commissioner: But their families and their jobs... I mean, they'd be missed.

Me: Who cares?

The Commissioner: Do you think maybe he just gave them over to his demon friends to use as meat suits once they didn't work out?

Me: WHO CARES?!

The Commissioner: This is one of those times I wish you were a fan.

.......

(E) Now we get to-----

.......

The Commissioner: Wait.

Me: I'm going to have a stroke.

The Commissioner: Why'd you list Magda?

Me: Because the "THEN" on that ep was all heavy with the special snowflake Sam blah-blah.

The Commissioner: Hold on, I'm going to look for a transcript.

Me: [goes to get snack, possibly vodka]

The Commissioner: [reads] Okay.

Me: Okay, what?

The Commissioner: Okay, you were... right. About that. The line about more than one in a family, you're still wrong.

Me: [sighs, again]

The Commissioner: Go ahead.

.......

(E) Now we get to the twins, specifically Ansem Weems / Weber, a.k.a. All My Names Are Garbage. He and his twin brother (Andy) were adopted as babies. Andy got the full Zuzu's petals midnight special.

There is *zero* indication to think that Weemie did.

There is, however, *every* indication to think the Weemster is an effing psychopath. Ol' Azzie visited him in his dreams, we know that, and we know the kid legit had the psychic thing going on.

None of the other kids (well, technically, jury's still out on the baby) show indications of not playing with a full deck - the abused kid had every reason to be messed up, but that's not what I mean.

I'm talking about Weem-dog's blatant sociopathy. You know, has to fake basic emotions, shows lack of remorse, has inflated ego, wouldn't know empathy if it walked up and bit him in the ass.

And while I think Uncle Zaz was manipulating him, I have no idea why exactly. Best I can tell, it was to light a fire under Andy, a.k.a. live action Shaggy doll, Mystery Machine van and weed sold separately.

Because Andy's the kid he wanted.

.......

The Commissioner: Wait. How do you know that?

Me: Because that's the twin that didn't get dead.

The Commissioner: But-

Me: Lookit, if he wanted Weem-a-licious, that's who would've ended up at B-list hunger games. He didn't. He wanted Andy. Because Andy wasn't a g.d. sociopath, and because Lucifer is, and Lu's not going to be stuck in the same body with someone just like him.

The Commissioner: How do you-

Me: Think about the personalities of the vessels he's chosen thus far. I mean, the ones he didn't just essentially in-and-out. They're all actually fairly mellow people.

The Commissioner: Hmmmm....

.......

To sum up:

I think all the kids on that list (except the baby, because they might have saved her in time) got the blood. Period. It's a moot point if they didn't, because they wouldn't be prepped to be the host.

I think all these kids had something dormant in them. I don't know how he knew. I speculate in the story in later chapters, but we just don't know.

We do know it's not like he's making the rounds like Santa Claus and visiting every house with a baby. There has to be some sort of screening process, beyond just him thinking the parents are cool enough to let him in the house, or whatever b.s. reasoning they give.

.......

The Commissioner: Deep breath.

Me: I know.

.......

And just because siblings are twins, that doesn't mean a damn thing when it comes to their every tendency. Then when it comes to fraternal twins, well, they're just siblings who were born at the same time. That's it. They have no more in common genetically than, oh I dunno, an older brother and a younger brother by about, say, four years. I'd have bought into it more if they were identical twins because there, you have a genetic mirror image.

I also submit that those two were no more family than you and I are; they did not grow up in the same house, with the same parents and cousins and siblings and schoolmates and blah blah blah blah. To say that adopted children's biological ties are by default stronger than the bonds they have with the people who wanted them and took them in and loved them as if they'd given birth to them? That's pretty effin' reductive.

I stand by my statement - We haven't seen 2 special children in the same family.

Because having "gifts" does not equate to receiving demon blood - the first administration of which had to be as a baby - and that's the primary qualifier for the special children. Wee-Wee had a gift, so have probably eight thousand other characters we've seen, but he doesn't meet Special Child criteria for me any more than they would. Being a gifted person and being a sibling to a special child just isn't making a strong enough case.

.......

The Commissioner: What if the showrunner or whoever said that yes, Weems was a special child?

Me: Then they need to hire better writers, turn back time and be clearer.

The Commissioner: Dude.

Me: And give him a new name.

The Commissioner: Dude.

Me: I'm cranky.

The Commissioner: Well, for what it's worth, you sold me.

Me: Aw. Good. Now I need to not think about the story or this show for at least a day.

The Commissioner: That's perfect! Because---

Me: Don't. Don't say it.

The Commissioner: ---it's WEDNESDAY!

#canon fodder #The Commissioner #Special Child #That Supernatural Story #Top of the World

0 notes