#but there's an awful lot of other stuff there too

[lightofraye]

Hi there!

Well, I try, anyway. It's studying body language and listening to people, to the point of doing it on repeat and driving myself up a wall. Ahem. Anyway….

To your question!

So… yes. A lot of Cockles fanatics like to reference the older convention videos because, well, there was more for them to draw on. It's also due to the fact that Misha wasn't that BAD. He'd make an off-color statement or two, drop teasers that he and Jensen were more when it wasn't true.

I think Jensen just brushed it off, if he was even aware of this stuff being said in Misha's panels. I honestly don't think he's aware unless someone told him. In fact, Jensen didn't know Misha tweeted that awful photo manipulated photo of him as a young model until someone showed him in a panel! In a more recent panel with JDM, Jensen was told of Misha fat shaming him and JDM just brushed it off as Misha saying shit. Jensen wasn't aware of that either.

He's honestly too busy, Jensen, to pay attention to half the stuff Misha says. And it's a good thing that he doesn't, because it's just so full of toxicity, bullshit lies, and pandering.

Anyway, sorry. Jensen and Jared were decent work friends with Misha. I think a lot of times, Jared and Jensen had to put up with it precisely because they were working with Misha. But as Misha's hours got cut more and more, his scenes fewer, I think was a relief for J2. Especially for Jared, given how Misha clearly hates him and is jealous of Jared's success.

As for Jensen….

This will be a hit and miss for some. I know some will disagree. This is my opinion.

Like @go-diane-winchester once speculated, Jensen is timid. He doesn't do well with standing up to others--I've mentioned this before. He failed to stand up for Mark Sheppard when CW decided to be an asshole. (Misha caved too. The only one who didn't was Jared). It also doesn't help that a lot of stans don't listen to him. When it comes to Destiel and Cockles, it doesn't seem to matter what Jensen says--they're not listening. And Misha seems to know that; depends on it; grifts on it.

Maybe once upon a time Jensen was a friend to Misha, but Jared? I think Jared saw him as the snake he was and made sure to set down boundaries that Misha couldn't break. Then Jensen began to rail against Destiel hard and it nearly destroyed his reputation. Misha saw that, knows that that's his money ticket.

The nonsense about the ring? Misha wasn't gifted that ring by Jensen. Misha just bought it, a fan noted it was similar to Jensen's and decided that yeah, it was that. That's all it took.

In fact, I don't think Misha and Jensen have hung out together outside conventions in years and the few times they were seemingly seen outside of conventions--such as having a snack in Jensen's trailer with Danneel during filming--were just that, filming. Misha himself said he had never been in Austin before the convention last year. Jensen himself said Jared was the only one his kids call uncle.

Why are the Cockles fanatics so desperate for that ship? I have no idea. Jensen and Misha have zero chemistry and Jensen is frequently seen sitting far away (and that "cute" thing of how personal space is overrated was quickly negated by Jensen immediately pulling away) from Misha, will try to move away from Misha…. While J2 are like damned puppies.

I think they want to believe it because Misha is feeding it. It's a fetish, not an actual "Aww, they're so cute together!" It's a desperate "I have to believe they're together because it's an obsession!"

Your ask was not long at all! In fact, I think my answer is longer than the ask, haha! No worries. Feel free to ask me more.

Keep in mind this is just based on observations of panels, a study of their social media, and other aspects. Not an expert. Just a layperson with a history of body language thanks to my upbringing.

I also decided to crop and answer, just to keep you safe.

[herearedragons]

✨Let's talk about OCs!✨ How would you describe your OC's personality/aesthetic? What's your favourite thing about them? Tell us a fun fact(s) about your OC or their creation!❤️ Send this to at least 3 people to spread some OC appreciation!❤️

HI HELLO I JUST did a Dragon Age Blorbos appreciation post so now I get to talk about my Watchers also, HECK YES.

I talk about their angsty lore a lot so for a change of pace, going to share my favorite silly things about them

Selene Moonborn:

goes ham for good paper and ink. she used to be a scribe in her acolyte of Ondra years and she doesn't really get to do calligraphy or illustrations anymore (she picks it back up as a little hobby in the timeskip between POE1 and POE2, she doesn't have THAT much time for it though), but she'll still buy the really good stuff if she sees it in the wild. the absolute best thing you can buy for her is a bottle of that shimmery blue ink her temple used, which is nefariously hard to track down, but it's her absolute favorite

incredibly bad at flirting. she's a literal telepath and she still can't do it. her charm works only on Edér and only when she's not doing it on purpose, in every other situation she'll just stand there like 🧍🏻

perpetual :/ face. woman who is too busy holding back The Voices to emote

her cipher brainwaves will sometimes cause wild animals to follow her around for a while (ranger Selene foreshadowing)

Mae Briarheart:

as a Goldpact Knight she is an Efficient and Practical Professional. she is also a show-off. if there's an opportunity to do a sick trick while in combat she WILL take it. also has a flair for the dramatic/intense in general, which she tries to curb but she doesn't always succeed

always has a book in her pack because you never know when you need to kill some time, and they're always the Eoran equivalent of like. Jane Austen. convoluted romances with Social Dynamics are her favorite genre of fiction even though actually being in this kind of situation would drive her up the wall

after POE1 she and Hiravias keep rescheduling their duel where he's supposed to kill her for trespassing on his people's sacred sites and she's supposed to kill him for (checks notes) "being annoying". he keeps showing up like an hour late and going "aw, rats, I missed it" and Mae goes "guess we'll have to reschedule" and then they just hang out. world's normalest friendship

Lorenzo Ciro:

he's shy, but if you give him the space to express himself he WILL. between the events of POE1 and Deadfire he discovers that actually he likes bright clothes and loud singing and maybe the whole death omen branding is not ALL there is to him

in a weird relationship with his summoned phantoms because many of them are people he killed, but also he definitely did conjure a phantom just to have someone to talk to once or twice

kisses Aloth at the end of POE1 and then they don't talk about it for five years (well they do, but basically it boils down to Aloth feeling that he's not ready to be in a relationship and that he needs to take care of other things first, so they wait)

[chocodile]

Hi ! I’ve been a massive fan through the years, seeing you develop Hyden and his world and how full of life and wonder and details is so awe inspiring and cool! I really love your work and your style is so vibrant and electric! It always makes me happy when I see your posts pass by

I wanted to ask if you had any advice about wanting to share your stories with the world. I get so anxious that no one will care and I’ll just be posting to no one. I don’t want fame , just mutual interaction or have people genuinely curious , hear about others stories and be able to tell my own

How did you start? I don’t want to assume , but you do have so much confidence and are very well spoken in the way you explain your lore, what helped you get over any fears or worries?

Gosh, thank you so much for the compliments! That's so sweet of you to say… it means a lot to me that people enjoy my stuff.

My thoughts on your other questions about sharing stories are long, rambling, and disjointed… apologies in advance for the length, I swear I tried to edit this down:

Regarding sharing stories, I'd say the most useful thing you can possibly have is to have at least one friend you share story stuff with who is totally on board with it and having fun too. I've been coming up with stories and characters my entire life, and only twice have I really had an audience for it. Every other time it was just me and my sister, or me and a couple friends, or me and my wife doing creative stuff semi-privately just for the joy of the craft.

(Of course, I know that's easier said than done… but if you do have creative friends, organizing some plans to share stories with each other, ask questions, create AUs where your OCs from different stories interact with each other, etc can be very psychologically nutritious.)

Regarding feeling anxious, I suppose I never felt much anxiety about it myself, so I'm not sure how to advise there… I was a teenager on Neopets where putting massive amounts of work into character stories that nobody might ever read was the norm… unless you were astronomically popular, it was expected that you would probably never hear from your audience and would never know how many people read your stories. Everything was primarily for your own entertainment, and I carried that approach forward into other creative works. Of course, it's hard not to feel a little self-conscious these days, when you can easily see what people are saying and see who is getting "engagement" and who is not... but I do think that aiming to entertain yourself (and perhaps one or two friends) first and foremost is the healthiest approach. Plus, if you are really invested in something and constantly producing lots of art and info about it, people tend to pick up on that positive energy.

Apologies if this isn't super useful... I know "just don't care and also happen to have a bunch of friends with very specific interests!" is not very helpful advice in itself.

I have many other thoughts on "launching" a story, how to meet other OC creators, and trying to build an audience who interacts with your characters... it's something I've thought about a lot. I can share my insights for others in this boat, if anyone's interested? I'm unsure if I should include them here since it might feel lecture-y to Anon (and also this post is long enough, PHEW). Let me know if you're interested in hearing them though!

[marlynnofmany]

Someday I'll illustrate the kids' book I wrote as a prequel to Spectacular Silver Earthling. I think kids would like it (and adults too). There will be robots in the background doing amusing things, and a main kid character you can care about.

Someday I'll look into indie publishing it, and see what options are there for fully illustrated kids' books, instead of just the text-only adult novels I'm familiar with. Someday.

(Until someday comes, it'll be a Patreon exclusive for the higher tiers. Ooh, exciting!)