#did i do this right? i’ve never made a destiel meme before | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

erosia-rhodes · 4 years ago

Text

Top 9 Newbie thoughts on Supernatural after Six Months of Madness

I started watching Supernatural a week before the series finale, and full disclosure, it was only because I heard about the gay angel. I loved me some Good Omens, so I decided to check out a series my only previous thoughts about had been, "Is that show still on?" In the past six months, I've watched about fifty percent of the episodes scattered across all fifteen seasons. I've also spent time following the bonkers-in-the-best-way fandom on Tumblr, and here is what I have learned:

1) Everyone who loves Supernatural also hates Supernatural

No one is capable of praising this show without also trashing it. Supernatural is as awful as it is awesome. Watching Supernatural is like hate-fucking your nemesis against a wall; you're totally conflicted about it, but it's enormously pleasurable and you know you're going to do it over and over again. No one has a pure, untainted love for this show. They only have complicated emotions. This is because…

2) The fact that the show needs to be fixed is an essential part of its appeal

Strangely, if this show were better, it wouldn't be as popular. If you love a show that is perfect, you watch it once or twice or thrice, make a bunch of memes, and move on with your life two years later when you find something else to hyper-fixate on. If you love a show that's broken, you spend the rest of your life obsessed with fixing it. It's the crooked photo hanging on the wall that yearns to be straightened (because, you know, this show is bad at making things straight). It's the stray dog you know would be adoptable if you fattened it up and socialized it with your other dogs, and just like some people can't stop rescuing animals, Supernatural fans can't stop thinking about how to fix a show that isn't great, but could be with a flea bath and a trip to the groomers. Supernatural fans are not fans of the actual show, but of the show they imagine it could be, one that only exists in an alternate universe. They are in love with the Platonic ideal of Supernatural. That's also the reason why…

3) The fans understand the characters and themes better than 95% of the people who worked on the show

The people who watch Supernatural have thought about it way, way, way, more than anyone who produced it. I have read complex essays about what the color of people's clothing imply and how the state of the Impala reflects the state of Dean's mental health and other things I'm certain this show did not do intentionally. People can find depth in the shallowest aspects of this series. Any random fan could explain the complicated dynamics of the Winchester family and the overriding themes of the series better than most of the people who worked on it. That includes the LGBTQ stuff, which leads to the fact that…

4) The show is simultaneously too gay and not gay enough

On one end of the spectrum are fans who are offended you would dare to suggest one of the Winchesters might like kissing a boy and they'll shove you in a locker and duct tape your butt cheeks together for it. On the other end of the spectrum are fans who think it's odd that every episode doesn't end with two attractive men dry humping in a dark corner of the bunker library. No one is happy with the level of gayness on this show. It's always got too much "No Homo" or too much queer subtext, which is why I've concluded that…

5) The audience this show wanted is not the audience they got and they are resentful of it

The original pitch for this show targeted a male demographic who’s into toxic masculinity in a non-ironic way. It was about bros and beers and muscle cars and shotguns and hot chicks who will be killed to further the man's storyline. However, when making that show, they accidentally created a show that attracted female viewers who liked speculating about the queer subtext of each scene while looking at pretty men with traumatic backstories fight back their man tears. The show depends on the unintended audience segment to survive, but is bitter about it, which they remind you of time and time again by killing the female and non-white characters and toying with endless queer-baiting. It's like the writers got a plane to Rome, ended up in a gay nightclub in Amsterdam instead, and even though the canals and tulips make it a lovely city to visit, they wanted to go to Rome, damnit, and they'll never let you forget it! I also suspect that…

6) The people who made this show were at constant war with each other

This show has such a split personality. Sometimes it leans into the gay stuff and other times it makes fun of it outright. Sometimes they'll introduce an interesting side character that could make the show more diverse and then they'll slaughter that person for practically no reason. Sometimes they praise free will and other times they force people down pre-destined paths. The writers feel like a dysfunctional family stuck at Thanksgiving dinner endlessly squabbling with each other—who then had to write a TV show together over dessert. That's why it's such a weird hot mess. The show's unevenness makes me think that…

7) Some people's attachment to the show can only be explained by the fact that it imprinted on them when they were young

Some fans have mentioned they started watching Supernatural when they were kids. It's a pretty common experience to go back and watch things you loved when you were a kid and realize they were…not so good. Your memories of them are far better than the reality of them, but you cling to them anyway. The shows you watch when you're young imprint on you in a way you never forget. Supernatural fans are like a baby duck who looks up at a cat and assumes it’s their mother. Then that cat slices open their poor little hearts, leaving them wounded but not dead, forever be toyed with in agony. The only relief is that…

8) The fandom is batshit insane in the best way

I started following the Supernatural fandom on Tumblr in November of 2020 and OMG, it was AH-MAZE-ING. It was total insanity. I didn't understand half of what was going on, but it was more fun than a yard full of puppies doing zoomies. People were posting detailed PowerPoint presentations theorizing how the series would end, citing extensive physical evidence like the background in Misha's hotel room. People learned election results through Supernatural memes. Destiel went canon every other week. When the Spanish dub was released, Tumblr literally crashed! Obama's Twitter was following a Destiel account. There was a Twitter wedding for Destiel on Valentine's Day, which made the one-month anniversary on Pi Day.

It's been a ride, y'all. I have no idea how you guys survived fifteen years of this. The fandom has been so much fun that I actually sat down and watched more than 100 hours of this show so I could understand everything better. It's like the show is an extension of the fandom instead of vice versa. If anything sums up Supernatural for me, that's it. It's all about the fandom and the show is secondary to that. It's like the fans willed the show into existence as part of some partially botched spell. And part of that twisted spell is that…

9) The show will never die until someone finds its bones and burns them

This show has been off the air for more than six months now and it keeps trending on Tumblr consistently. Misha recently trended on Twitter simply because he was at the Oscars. That was it! He didn't even do anything there, he just attended, and some people figured it out by the reflection in a photo posted by someone else! And just as I was proofreading this post, Destiel started trending again because John Cena is a stan or something? This fandom is crazy and unpredictable and I love it like Dean loves pie! If there ever does come a time when this show stops trending, that will be the moment when they decide to reboot it or revisit it.

There is a lot more I could say about this show, but these were the elements that seemed most unique and bizarre about it. I wouldn't say Supernatural is a ride-or-die fandom for me, and I have no intention of watching another 100 hours of this series, but it's been hella' fun to drop in for a while. The show is just as much a dysfunctional mess as the Winchester family and I guess that's why people love it, right?

#supernatural #spn #dean winchester #sam winchester #castiel #jensen ackles #jared padalecki #misha collins #destiel #the cw #tv #television

145 notes · View notes

sidecarghost · 4 years ago

Text

Suptober Day 16: Switch It Up!

Destiel Chatfic - College!AU where Dean and Cas are both dating the same girl. Cas finds out and sends Dean an instagram direct message, and Dean gets an insta-crush on Cas.

Gabriel texts Cas - 11:19 am ~~ Gabriel: Yo little bro! Cas: Hello Gabriel. Gabriel: Are you and Tessa still dating? Because I just saw her kissing this guy in the campus parking lot next to what I assume was his car. Cas: Uh yeah, are you sure it's Tessa? Gabriel: Hold on a sec. Gabriel: Yes, I just walked over and said "Hi Tessa, do you remember me Cas's brother?", and she responded "Oh yeah, hi Gabriel, how is Cas doing?" Cas: That does sound like something she would say. Gabriel: I asked her to introduce me to her friend, and she said his name was Dean Winchester. Cas: what do you want me to do with that name? Gabriel: Hell if I know, I guess fight for fair Tessa's honor? Cas: I'm sure I won't do that, but thanks for letting me know Gabriel.

~~ Later that day, Cas looks up Dean Winchester on IG and finds a likely looking profile and sends DM - 5:48 pm ~~

Cas: Hello Dean, I know you don't know me, but I think we are both dating Tessa. Dean: Welp, that explains somethings. Have you been dating Tessa long? I wasn’t sure if she was playing the field still or not. Cas: Not very long, just a few weeks. Dean: I assumed we were exclusive when Tessa asked me to be her boyfriend, so I guess it's on me for assuming. Cas: Um ok, I just thought letting you know was the right thing. But if you’re upset I understand. Dean: S'okay Cas, you seem cool, and I'm happy I'm getting to know you. Cas: Um, thanks you seem cool too. Dean: Can I call you my boyfriend-in-law? Cas: Well, I was going to break up with Tessa after confirming this with you. Dean: If that is the case, can I call you my boyfriend? Cas: Huh? Dean: Confession time. Since you sent me a dm, I started stalking your IG account, and you look all kinds of hot. I kind of understand why I was being cheated on now. Cas: Uh, that is flattering... I think. Dean: Hold on, I'll break up with Tessa first. Cas: Wait, what? I just wanted to give you a heads up about Tessa, and I'm not sure what is going on in this convo anymore.

~~ Dean texts Tessa - 5:52 pm ~~ Dean: Sorry to break up with you over text, but this is a life & death emergency. Dean: Btw, the painting of Baby you made for your art course is awesome! I saw it in campus center. Tessa: Oh wow, I hope everything is okay or that it will be. Tessa: No worries about the break up, I think we are better as friends. Tessa: And I'm glad you like the Baby painting! ~~

Dean: Okay done, do you like pie? Cas: Um... pie is okay. Dean: Seriously? You like pie? I knew I was in love with you! Cas: I am not sure if you are kidding or serious. Dean: Sorry! I tend to ramble when I'm excited. Want me to pick you up for a date later? We can get pie at this diner I know. Cas: Sure, I'd like that Dean. Dean: Okay, text me where you want me to pick you up at 7pm. I'll be driving a black 67 Chevy Impala. Cas: Okay, I think I saw pics of that car on your feed when I was trying to find you on IG. Dean: What did you think of her? Cas: Her? Dean: Yeah, I tend to think of my Impala as female. Have you ever watched this really old tv show Knight Rider? Cas: Sorry, I don’t think I’ve heard of it. Dean: No worries, I have the box set on Blu Ray. We can watch together some time if you’d like. But I brought up because it’s about this guy that solves mysteries with his talking Pontiac Trans Am “KITT.” Cas: Oh, that’s an interesting premise for a tv show. Dean: Ikr! Anyway, so that’s me and my car, Baby, too. If she had a voice box, she would totally help me solve mysteries. Cas: Like the mystery machine? Dean: asdfasfasgwe You like Scooby doo?!? Cas: Well, I watched some when I was little. And I think I remember the gist of it. Dean: Scooby Doo was my show growing up!! And yeah, Baby is like that. A lot of things just get thrown away when they wear out. But some things transcend the mundane, and throwing them away would be like losing something divine. Cas: Uh, she sounds really special Dean. I’m looking forward to meeting you and her later then. Dean: Ok, Baby and I will show you a good time! Cas: Sounds good, bye Dean. Dean: ttyl Cas!

Cas texts Tessa - 6:13 pm ~~ Cas: Hello Tessa, I don't think we are right for each other, but I hope we can still be friends. Tessa: Oof, the other guy I was seeing just broke up with me over text too. I'm having a rough day. Cas: Was it Dean? Tessa: Yeah, he seemed nice. I wasn't sure how interested in me he was though, he mostly wanted to talk about his car, little brother, and classic movies. Cas: Actually, I met Dean because I found out we were both dating you. So I let him know, because it felt like the right thing to do. Tessa: Oh, it hadn't occurred to me that I was serious enough with either of you to talk about being exclusive. Sorry if I hurt you or Dean's feelings. Cas: I was a little hurt, but Dean seemed okay about it. Tessa: I'm sorry Cas! You are a very sweet guy, and I hope you find someone that doesn't hurt your heart. And I'd be happy to still be friends if the offer stands. Cas: Thanks I do want to be friends, and as for finding someone, well I actually have a date with Dean tonight. Tessa: Omg! I'm so excited for the two of you! My advice, wear your blue henley and skip the trench coat. Cas: I've never gone on a date with a guy before, so I'm feeling kind of nervous. And also, I’ve never gone a date with someone I hadn’t met in person already. This is definitely a little overwhelming. Tessa: I think you'll be fine Cas. Dean is a nice guy, and if things get too silent and awkward just ask him about his car, brother, or favorite movies. Cas: Dean did tell me about his car a bit already, and it was pretty touching how much she meant to him. Tessa: Yeah, Dean has a huge heart. I feel like once he loves someone, Dean would wage war against Heaven or Hell to protect them. Baby is definitely part of his family, and while a lot of people tend to take things for granted, Dean is more likely to show reverence for the things that have held him together. Cas: That sounds almost spiritual. Tessa: Spiritual is a good way to describe it. Also, Dean does tend to be all highs and lows, like he either loves something or he hates it. There is really not much middle ground. You seem a lot more level-headed Cas, tbh I think you and Dean are perfect complements for each other. Cas: Well, we haven’t even been on a date yet. Tessa: Haha, I know. I’m just being sap ig. But I have good feeling about you guys. Cas: Thanks Tessa, I appreciate it. Tessa: Anytime hun! And I have been seeing this girl, Charlie, maybe we can all go out on a double date sometime. Cas: You were seeing three people? Tessa: yeah, and I should tell Charlie I was seeing some other people, and I'd like to just commit to her. I really like her Cas, and I don't want to ruin it. I think she knows, but I also thought you and Dean knew so I should be more upfront. Cas: Yeah, that's a good idea. And maybe we can all go out some time in the future. Tessa: Yay! I'd like that. Let me know how DeanCas goes tonight. Cas: Ok, I've got to go get ready. Tessa: Later hun!

~~ Tessa texts Charlie - 6:26 pm ~~

Tessa: I really like you, do you want to be exclusive? Charlie: Did the guys you were dating break up with you? Tessa: Lol yes, but it saved me trouble of breaking up with them. And actually they kind of found each other through me, so I'm feeling like their fairy godmother or something. Charlie: omfg! I'm imagining you as a fairy godmother now, and that image is burned in my brain. Tessa: Lol it is pretty funny, and I think Dean and Cas would hate me forever for even saying that. Charlie: Don’t worry I will keep your role as their fairy godmother secret. Tessa: So, you didn't answer my question... Charlie: Sorry, Tessa. I really like you too. But I'm not ready to commit to a serious relationship yet. Can we keep dating each other and other people for a little longer and keep it casual? Tessa: Sure, but when you are ready let me know! Charlie: Ofc, darling! Tessa: Also, Cas and I chatted about four of us going on double date in future. They are both nice guys, what do you think? Charlie: Sure, maybe we can recruit them for LARP. Tessa: Don't worry my queen. I will get them recruited to follow your flag. Charlie: I knew my fairy godmother wouldn't let me down. Tessa: Ofc, not even remotely possible for me to ever let you down, my queen.

~~ Dean texts Sam 6:35pm ~~

Dean: Sammy, remember the girl Tessa I was dating? Sam: yeah, you were forcing her to watch an Indiana Jones marathon with you last weekend. Dean: "forcing" seems like a strong word, everyone loves Indiana Jones. Sam: sure they do Dean. Dean: Anyway, we broke up. Sam: oh, sorry man Dean: No worries Samantha, I've got a date with her other boyfriend, Cas. I’m actually getting ready to pick him up in just a minute. Sam: oh, good for you then Dean: I'm kind of nervous tho, I was stalking his ig, and even though he's really hot I don't think we have much in common. Sam: well, they say opposites attract. Dean: He posts math and physics joke memes. Sam: so what? Dean: I don't know any good math or physics jokes. Sam: Don't bother picking up a bunch of lame jokes. I think this guy would rather get to know the real you. Dean: Well, I did ramble a bit about Baby earlier when we started messaging. Sam: And he still wants a date with you? He sounds like a keeper Dean. Dean: What do you mean? Everyone loves Baby. I gotta text you a pic of this painting Tessa made. Baby looks so badass. Sam: Okay, well try not to only talk about Baby with Cas. Try to learn about him and open up about yourself too. You keep saying your tired of casual flings, but if you don’t let people in that will be all you ever get. Dean: Ugh, I'm a mess. Getting to know the real me is a really great way to scare anyone off. Sam: hey, I'm still here. Dean: yeah, you're my brother. You are stuck with me no matter how much of a dumpster fire I become. Sam: you're not a dumpster fire. just don't overthink it. do you want me to ask Jess out tonight so we can double date? Dean: no, I can do this, showing up to a first date with my little brother as chaperone would be weird. Sam: it's only weird if you let it be Dean: well, I'm not letting it be Sam: ok, whatever Dean: later moose Sam: drop dead squirrel

#destiel #destiel fic #suptober20 #chatfic #gum writes

43 notes · View notes

sortasirius · 4 years ago

Text

I know we’re all going to be making these posts for an extended period of time so anyway I’m emo.

I don’t know who I’d be without SPN. Every time I say this to someone in my real life, someone who doesn’t know the show beyond jokes and memes, they say I’m being hyperbolic, that I’m exaggerating, which, yeah, I’ve been known to do. But I am 100% serious about this.

I came into SPN when I was 17, I couldn’t even sit through a scary movie trailer, but for some reason thought a show about monsters that tumblr loved would be a great idea. Back then there wasn’t any online Netflix, so my parents bought me all the DVDs for Christmas, and I binged them, falling so completely in love I didn’t think anything could tear me away. I watched season 8 live, standing in my living room screaming while my family just shook their heads.

And then, halfway through season 9, I felt myself slipping away. I had just started college, was trying to manage making friends coming from a tiny high school, essentially being properly socialized at the age of 18. I quit SPN cold turkey after “The Purge,” refusing to believe that they would write Dean as a fat shamer who would hate people that looked like me.

I watched episodes here and there over the years, tried to feel the same way I did before, but I couldn’t do it.

Then, as a joke, I decided to watch the 300th episode and liveblog it. One last time, I thought, for old time’s sake.

I still don’t know why, I don’t know why Lebanon got me the way it did. Maybe it was the way Dean was finally able to stand up to the father that abused him, tell him that he had a real family. Maybe it was just the nostalgia, maybe it was being back on tumblr with it, I don’t know, but I got sucked back in right after the episode ended.

I thought hey, I’ll watch some of the older episodes, just as a reminder, and then smash cut to a month and a half later, and I’m completely caught up with 14 seasons and ready to start watching live again. I somehow fell in love even harder than before, which I didn’t think was possible.

I started writing fic and meta again, found some truly incredible friends, and was reminded why I loved this community in the first place.

And right before I fully caught up, a tearful goodbye from Jensen, Jared, and Misha, with the announcement that 15 would be the last season. And I remember thinking about how glad I was I got back into it before the announcement, because it felt more organic, you know?

And here we are, at the end of the show that has, whether I liked it or not, been a part of me for the better part of a decade. The jokes my friends make roll off my back now, I don’t take them so seriously, but I am eternally grateful for this silly, ancient show on the CW. It came back to me when I was at very low point in life, looking for something to be passionate about while working a dead end desk job that I’ve never liked. I’ve still got that job, it pays the bills, but I also have had this community, this show, to come home to at the end of a bad day.

I’m so grateful for Sam, Cas, and Jack. I am so fucking grateful for Dean. I’ve cried over them and cried over life while curled up in a blanket watching the show. I’m grateful for the writers, especially Dabb and co, for reminding me how much I loved the show, and how happy I am when I’m passionate about something. I think, in a lot of ways, the show has made me a better writer, and I am so grateful for that.

This reads like a goodbye letter and it’s not meant to. Y’all are stuck with me for years to come, but I wanted to thank the show, thank y’all, for letting me back into the community with open arms, with love and laughter and tears and memes. With canon Destiel jokes and crack posts about Sam’s hair. Thank you for letting me write an 80k tattoo AU, and first kiss prompts. Thank you for letting me cry over Dean and how much I love him.

I love you and our show so much, here’s to one last ride.

#spn #supernatural #my writing #spn finale

28 notes · View notes

thehollowprince · 4 years ago

Note

1.Hey just want to let you know that I am the first anon who asked about Jensen Ackles and Tyler Posey - I don't know which teen wolf anon you assumed I was, but that was the first time I send you an ask. I am a TP fan and check your blog for TP stuff and was surprised to see you reblogging jokes about Ackles being homophobic - since I see him facing the same issues that Posey did - a toxic fandom that bullies actors just because they don't subscribe to wanting two hot white men to get together.

2. Same anon. I don't think we should be throwing around words like homophobia lightly or based on rumors about how Ackles made a showrunner change the character based on his preferences etc. Ackles maybe homophobic - we don't know for sure. All I know is that from my experience, the Destiel fandom is as toxic as the Sterek fandom. Sure, Ackles shares part of the blame as he makes hundreds of thousands of dollars off these fans at the various cons - ( contd. in part 3)

3. But that does not mean that actors or their family should be subject to cyber bullying and online hate or that the showrunners should pander to this toxic fanbase. Scott would have been and was sidelined to pander to and queerbait Sterek fans and he was called homophobic when he pointed out how nonsensical the ship was. Destiel is the same and I don't mind Ackles not giving two shits about acting out a badly written scene pushed in to appease a toxic fanbase. Just my two cents.

Okay, first off, I want to say the only anon I've ever gotten that used Tyler Posey and "double-standards" in the same sentence has been the Asshole Anon I tagged. And given the fact that this anon was in my inbox within an hour of posting that ask, it stands to reason that my paranoia is well founded. This would not be the first time they've tried to trick anyone into a "Gotcha!" moment, and I was the next on the rotation of people they harass.

That being said and out of the way, let's get into this.

Starting off, you're right. Claims of homophobia shouldn't be a joke. Homophobia is a very real thing that affects many people around the world. And given the shipping fandoms that habe arisen in the past decade, along with thr use of social media by celebrities, it allows these fans to harass and belittle them from the comfort of their homes, no matter where said celebrity is. I would never make jokes regarding how fans treat the loved ones of their favorite celebrities, because I find it abhorrent. We saw something similar to his happen with the Star Wars fandom, particularly the R*ylos, when they doxxed and harassed Adam Driver's wife in the hopes that he and Daisy Ridley would get together, thus fulfilling the fantasy they have about their ship.

I don't keep up with the actors of Supernatural because I don't watch it anymore, but I imagine that's the case with Jensen's wife. Fans harassing her because she married him and they've based their entire personality and fandom experience around a ship between two fictional characters and the actor's personal life interferes with that fantasy. The fans that are harassing Jensen and his family aren't doing it out of any sense of morality in their efforts to fight homophobia, but because they want to see Dean and Cas together, and can't (or won't) accept that they're fictional characters played by two actors that have their own private lives.

Something similar happened with the Sherlock fandom, when they decided to cancel Martin Freeman and his wife because they asked fans to stop sending them NSFW fanart or J*hnl*ck, especially when they were with their children. I'll admit I'm a little fuzzy on that one, because I've never watched BBC Sherlock, but I did follow a few blogs that did so I remember the discourse. This all just feeds into the idea that shipping fandoms "own" the actors that play their favorite characters and has made for quite a toxic environment on most social media.

If the D*stiel fandom is anything like the St*r*k fandom or the J*hnl*ck fandom , than I applaud Jensen for standing his ground in the face of what I'm sure is countless inappropriate fics and art that are constantly thrown at him.

Now, there are a few differences between how Jensen is being accused of being homophobic and how Tyler was accused of being homophobic. The first major difference is something you said in this ask. They're jokes. Keeping in mind that, yes, I did say we shouldn't joke about homophobia, all the "discourse" around D*stiel has been jokes due to a variety of reasons. From how uncomfortable Jensen looked in that scene (leading some to think they were filmed separately and not told how the other was reacting) to the fact that it was happening during election week before the election was called. The fact that the rumors that Putin was stepping down came out at the same time and the whole situation took on this hysterical, otherworldly quality, like this was a collective fever dream we couldn't wake up from. The jokes came about, breaking the tension that had consumed Tumblr and uniting a large number of people in the absurdity of everything.

There's also the fact that the jokes about Jensen being homophobic were just that - jokes! I'll admit that I haven't gone looking, but I haven't seen anyone calling for Jensen to be cancelled or for his career to be derailed or his life to be ruined because of that scene. No, I've seen countless jokes about how Dean looked constipated or memes of random images found on people's phones used to "recreate" that scene. The fact that Jensen apparently wrote into his contract that his character in The Boys wasn't to have a gay sex scene just added to the satirical nature of everything.

Now let's compare that to Tyler Posey. When asked about a crack ship (that had nothing to do with his character) for the umpteenth time, he said that, if that's what fans were watching for, they're probably watching for the wrong reasons. It never condemned the ship or mocked its fans, he simply said that they were watching for the wrong reasons. And given how this interview took place after filming was done for that season, that could be interpreted as him saving people from wasting their time on something that wasn't going to happen. Personally, I just think he was fed up and frustrated about being asked about a crack ship that had nothing to do with him.

And for that one simple sentence, he was (and still is) deluged with hate. He received death threats and threats against his mother while she was battling cancer, all because he said something that wasn't a glowing appraisal of a ship that the fandom made up. To this day, there are people hell bent on proving how Scott was the true villain of the Teen Wolf series, and how Tyler Posey is just an awful human being.

Did any of those things happen to Jensen? No.

Would those things have probably happened to Jared if he'd said something negative about D*stiel? Probably.

Would the Teen Wolf fandom have acted the way it did if it had been Hoechlin or O'Brien who shot down St*r*k? Definitely not. We know that because they both did say something against St*r*k and the fandom at large likes to pretend that it never happened.

So, as we can see, there is a very clear difference between how Jensen was treated and how Tyler was treated. Could racism play a part in that treatment? Most likely, though, many would never admit to that. But, at the end of the day, its important to look at the differences between these two actors and how they were treated by their respective fandoms for what they said in regards to ships that fans have based their entire fandom experience around.

#anon #fandom homophobia #double-standards #jensen ackles #anti destiel #(just in case)#tyler posey #anti sterek

27 notes · View notes

bettsfic · 5 years ago

Note

do you know anything about like, the development of the purity rhetoric that now seems to be ubiquitous in fandom and how it got there? i used to be on tumblr in like, 2014 and only recently came back to fandom and i remember everyone being generally kind of cool with things like incest ships and morally grey characters (speaking specifically re the frozen fandom and elsa/anna here lmao) whereas now it seems like the conversation about those things has drastically shifted and i am..puzzled by it

this is what i imagine that experience was like for you:

according to fanlore, purity culture started in the homestuck fandom which. based on what i know of homestuck, that tracks. however i’ve never been in homestuck so i’m not sure what that transformation was like. all i know is my personal experience with the disk horse. afaik there’s no cohesive timeline of events across fandom, and i lack the time and resources to be able to make one myself. if anyone knows of one, or wants to make one, please let me know.

i do know that purity culture is a movement started by very young teenagers, who were maybe 13-15 in 2014 and are now 18-20. they were 8-10 when ao3 was founded, and therefore seem to have a limited knowledge of fan history, censorship, and critical thinking. i’m hoping that since they’re now entering college, they’ll get some insight and broader social awareness, and this movement will finally die out in the next few years.

on any other platform, at any other time, their toxic rhetoric would not have gained traction. but here and now, on tunglr dot com where anyone can gain a platform, where mob mentality thrives and inciting an anonymous dogpile is as easy as hitting Post, where the brokenness of this place makes it difficult to control the content you’re exposed to -- it’s the perfect storm. we live in an age of hopelessness. young people grow up with social media as an extension of their identities, tethered to devices that hold all the information in the world. i think it’s fair for them to be afraid of their futures, and i can understand the desire to control the online spaces where they have the most agency, where their voices are the loudest.

that may explain why, but not how. as in, where did they pick up this mentality at all? @freedom-of-fanfic (whose work is a necessity in understanding the disk horse) connected anti-shipping to TERF rhetoric. i’ve linked the fanlore page because it has all of the links and some of the responses. i honestly do believe that the language surrounding purity culture has its ugly roots in TERFdom. at its core, purity culture -- the policing of female and queer sexuality -- is misogyny.

when i started writing destiel circa 2014, fandom was as you described. wincest was a juggernaut on par with destiel. teen wolf was full of underage and noncon. a/b/o was on the rise. it seemed like fandom was a genre without restraint -- anything you wrote, if it found the right audience, would be celebrated unabashedly. people who have been following me for a long time know that i was addicted to adderall at the time and pounding out all sorts of manic nonsense. i remember living on the validation of comments (and at the time, there were lots of comments. not so much anymore, but that’s another story). i got critical comments only rarely, and they were the type that i admired -- readers without judgment thinking through the story, reacting to it earnestly. i made some of my best friends because they left long, critical comments on my work. sometimes they didn’t like it, sometimes they did, but ultimately, they were engaged, and that’s what counted.

i remember my first policing-type comment, i think at the start of all the purity nonsense. it was a destiel fic, and someone very angrily told me i should tag my bottom!cas because it was triggering. i’ve thought about that comment a lot over the years. top/bottom discourse is nothing new, but to say that bottom castiel is triggering? that was ridiculous. but then i realized -- there was a writer in fandom at the time i won’t name, who was known for being extremely sensitive (for bottom!cas especially, which they found triggering), and their very dedicated following offered fic that was safe for their fave to read. i have nothing against this person at all. they were not part of the purity discourse, they were up front about their sensitive nature, and as far as i knew (i believe i met them at a con once?) they were very kind.

but that commenter had been clearly influenced by this person and believed that a specific fictional character receiving anal sex from another specific fictional character was actual, real triggering content, and it was my obligation as a writer to tag for it. which i did, because i felt bad, and i was baffled by that request. at the time, i wanted more than anything to be liked, and conformed wherever i could. if i got such a request now, i would ignore it because it was rudely written and honestly kind of bonkers. i’d happily add a tag for something i may have missed, or even something i’d never considered before, but there’s no reason a person can’t make that request politely.

this situation isn’t about purity discourse proper (the commenter didn’t tell me not to write the fic, and it had nothing to do with morality), but it’s the earliest example i can think of where the process of policing had occurred: a person of influence on tumblr affected their follower’s thinking, and that follower felt entitled to command another writer to conform to that ideology.

i could be completely wrong about making these connections. maybe that commenter truly believed bottom!cas was a legitimate widespread trauma. they did not say the fic was triggering to them, but that it might be to some other people, in the same way purity police say “think of the CHILDREN” when in fact they don’t give a fuck about children at all.

after destiel i moved to stucky, which was, at the time, a juggernaut ship where anyone could write anything. this was also the time when the term “cinnamon roll” became incredibly popular, circa 2015. it was a fun and seemingly innocuous meme, but it positioned the ideas of “purity” and “wholesomeness” in sharp relief, and cemented these ideas by beginning to give it a distinct vocabulary. “trash” was pitched as its opposite. stucky is where i first came into contact with “antis.” in destiel, there had been ship wars, sure, but it was of a different flavor than antis. destiel vs wincest wasn’t about morality in 2014. it was about everything but.

in stucky in 2015, however, the disk horse was running rampant. the MCU had a sub-section of fandom called HTP (hydra trash party) in which steve and/or bucky have dubious or nonconsensual relations with various or many members of hydra. this is the first time i remember being aware of morality becoming a cornerstone of shipping. HTP was loathed by purity police. by the time i wrote a stucky bdsm au, i’d accumulated multiple nasty anons, rude comments from entitled readers, and other nonsense that all said the same thing: your filth is not welcome here in our space of purity. go away.

but the release of the force awakens is what really turned the tide. TFA offered three major ships: stormpilot (as it was called at the time, now finnpoe), reylo, and kylux. the fandom that developed around the sequels was firmly divided. franzeska wrote an amazing meta about this phenomenon which gives some insight into the seeds of purity policing. in short, stormpilot should have been the primary pairing of the sequels, but instead many of the badwrong writers from other fandoms (and HTP specifically, which was how i entered the fandom) flocked to the blank slate of kylux.

it took a long time for the ship to gain traction. a friend told me that kylux had started with angry star wars racists who hated that there was diversity in the sequel trilogy. and i told them no, i was there, there were twelve of us and a cornchip, and all we cared about was the dirty/darkly comedic potential of these two ridiculous villain characters in one of the biggest franchises of all time. it wasn’t that complicated. i don’t mean to dismiss the discussion of race in fandom; i think it’s important to acknowledge that racism, as franzeska describes far better than i can, plays a huge part in fandom, particularly in star wars, and it’s an important and ongoing discussion to be having, especially given what kelly marie tran has gone through, and how it affected (presumably) rose tico’s extremely limited presence in TROS.

the early fics of kylux weren’t particularly taboo. they were post-TFA hurt/comfort mostly, then slowly the bdsm and power dynamics crept in. those of us who wanted to get away from purity discourse had finally found a new home. for a while. 2016 was the golden era of kylux. we were all very happy.

i remember talking to a friend about how there were certain things i couldn’t write in certain ships. being from ye olden days of fandom, she was appalled by this idea, and told me i could write anything for any ship i wanted, wasn’t that was the whole point of transformative works? and i agreed! but i tried to explain, if you post badwrong for a fandom of purity police, you’re going to, at best, get dogpiled in your comments/inbox. at worse they will find you, call your employer, and try to ruin your life. people will tell you to kill yourself. they’ll report your tumblr and try to get your blog shut down. there are real-life, harrowing consequences to writing taboo fic, and many who write fic as a hobby don’t have the emotional energy to field these risks.

around this time, discord became popular, which offered a private space for badwrong writers to congregate. i had started grad school and didn’t have much time to write fic. metoo was happening. tromp got elected. kylux was slowly turning mainstream so a lot of us turned our attention to gradence in fantastic beasts. some went on to hannibal and other fandoms that hadn’t yet caught the attention of purity police (but it was, as it is now, just a matter of time). kylux, i feel, was specifically decimated by a single fan creator, who was like a police chief. they would get wind of someone writing underage or noncon and write a call-out post about them, and that writer/artist would get pitchforked. a few times, my comments or posts got screencapped, and posts were written urging people to stop reading my works because of how heinously immoral i was. this happened to several of my friends too.

the great tumblr tittyban of 2017 happened, which only added fuel to the fire and further legitimized the purity movement. i shifted hesitantly to the 100 fandom, which seemed small in comparison to supernatural, marvel, and star wars. i thought it was a chill place. i was wrong; it was just as toxic as other fandoms. but i also didn’t care anymore, and i appreciated that i was mostly left alone. more importantly, i found a lot of support from other people who were as tired of the purity as i was, and @the100kinkmeme was reborn.

the state of things is pretty abysmal. there are some really amazing writers out there writing under multiple sock accounts, keeping their fandom identities shattered so as not to call attention to themselves. as much as i understand why writers do that, and i respect that decision, i also think it’s sad. it deprives readers the chance to read that author’s other works. it limits the sense of community and our ability to make friends. it fractures the future of the genre.

what’s most important to acknowledge is that none of this is happening solely in fandom. i went to a writers’ conference where 2 of 3 panels were about the history of moral policing and censorship in art. it is worth noting that of the 40-ish visiting writers on faculty, only one (1) was a woman of color (jaimaica kincaid). naturally, older rich white people who have spent their life in the arts are all about death of the author, separation of art and artist. they’re on the total opposite side of purity police, and they won’t acknowledge at all that racism and sexism are a problem in the creative world. they don’t have any nuance on the discussion, or modern perspectives in light of metoo or popular culture.

this went on longer than i anticipated. i neglected to mention YFIP (your fave is problematic) an old blog that started the idea of call-out culture by pulling receipts on celebrities, and how call-out culture led to cancel culture, which also aided in the purity disk horse. i think a lot can be said about how some of this stuff is genuinely good (metoo and holding men accountable for their bullshit) while also being profoundly toxic (punishing criminals via mob mentality, ruining their careers and livelihoods through social media, rather than giving them their due process in court. i understand it -- the judicial system is built by the hands of the very predators we seek to condemn, but still. the jury of the internet is never a fair trial).

if you want to read more, my tag is tsatp (the sacred and the profane). i’m sure i’ve left out a lot, but i can only speak to my experience. i think it would be good if people would share their experience dealing with purity policing, too, so we might get a cohesive timeline in place. feel free to reblog and add your story.

#tsatp #my fic #Anonymous

510 notes · View notes

phynali · 4 years ago

Note

I just wanted to say that I really appreciate how positive you've been about the SPN finale. You're probably the ONLY person I follow who has not been making fun of it. I confess I became super disenchanted with the show a long time ago, and definitely fell into the "mocking the ending" hole because of all the frustrations I'd had with it over the years. THAT BEING SAID I'm really glad that there are fans like you who really liked the ending. Thanks for helping me remember why I loved the show

<3333333

The finale had a lot of emotions. and I think I get why people are upset about some of the things.

It’s hard to watch Dean die so unceremoniously, impaled on rebar (which - I don’t know why people are making tetanus and rusty nail jokes. rebar is what they build bridges and building foundations on, that shit isn’t moving and will and does impale people). But I think an extreme emotional response to that, with frustration and anger, is totally warranted. Except to me, that’s the whole point? It’s frustrating and upsetting to be human. It’s frustrating and tragic that people die in such inglorious and messy ways. That our mortality is so present. And Dean wanted to be human, to exist outside of god’s story, to write his own narrative. And he got that, messy as is it. He got the ending he always knew he would (and wanted), dying while saving others (children, specifically). And got the ending he always wanted for Sam, with his brother having a long life and a family.

Maybe it helps that before watching the last 5 episodes, I most recently watched 1x12 Faith, where Dean is heading toward his first death and gets saved by someone else dying. And what’s always struck me about that episode is how inglorious his death would have been there as well. He was saving children and got electrocuted on a routine hunt. If it weren’t for magic, Dean would be dead at 26 in a parallel way to how he actually finally died at 41.

And I can get people being disappointed we didn’t see Cas. Tbh I am too, because I do like his character, even if his solo storylines don’t tend to excite me.

But I’m pretty sure that without covid, Dean’s pyre would have been surrounded by all the surviving hunters and friends they’ve made along the way (alt universe hunters, Garth’s family, Jodi and Donna and the girls, etc), whereas in heaven he would have been greeted by not just Bobby but the rest of the friends and family he’d lost along the way (parents, Ellen and Jo, others), including Cas. And then he’d have driven off on his own only after that welcome. And the message would have been that each of them were supported, in both death (for Dean) and life (for Sam) by others until they could return to one another.

Alas, we never got that, which made it all feel even more tragic because Sam seemed so goddamn alone and I was gutted by that.

But I also really liked Cas’s ending too?

Because Cas was explicitly stated to be in heaven, to be rebuilding it to be better alongside his son. And that parallels the Season 5 Swan Song finale ending but in a more uplifting way? Because in Swan Song, heaven was in disarray and he left earth to go try and help fix that shit, facing an uphill battle to do so. And in Season 15 Carry On, heaven was in disarray and he was plucked from the Empty by his son to help fix that, facing an easy path forward because he’s doing it with family.

Also -- this completes his story. Cas is restoring the order he’s always wanted/needed to restore, pretty much since the start of his narrative (from season 4, when he first has doubts and rebelled, to season 6-7 when he wages war and tries to become god, to trying to fix it again and getting played by Metatron to staying out of it to being brought back into it all, to taking on Lucifer to beyond). If you zoom out, his full arc involves destroying/dismantling all that is wrong about heaven and the angels, then ultimately helping rebuild it right, now with Jack (God) finally at his side.

Cas did it -- the thing he set out to do in Season 5: he found (a loving) God.

(As an aside I’ve seen a lot of memes about how Cas went to superhell but the Impala went to heaven, and I get the joke but I think a lot of people who don’t watch the show now think Cas really stayed in the Empty when he was legit in heaven even before Dean was, probably from the second Jack disappeared in ep 19.)

But all that being said, my strong impression is that a lot of people expressly and vehemently hated the finale specifically due to destiel not having any screentime and not being interpretable as endgame.

And I know how upsetting it is to get your hopes dashed, but I really wish people could allow themselves to watch the finale outside of that bitterness. Because the show writers and cast and the narrative itself really has not, in the past 6-7 years, so much as hinted it’s ever going to happen. I’ve looked for it, I’ve analyzed it, and I’ve read the shipper analyses out of curiosity. And as a writer and avid fan and person who analyzes media a lot, it wasn’t heading there except that people really really really wanted to convince themselves the story was going to do that.

I think people built themselves up for something that wasn’t going to happen by feeding off each other and buying into the new-fangled idea that it has to be ‘canon’ to be valid. This made them disengage from or distort what was being said in the text and caused them to ignore or dismiss what was being said by the people creating it. And now they’re mad and “betrayed” because what they read was not actualized, but I fundamentally believe they betrayed each other by creating false expectations and hopes where none were ever promised nor written in.

Not that there’s any issue at all with shipping it! I always give full support to all shipping. Just that it makes me sad that so much of the ire I’m seeing directed toward the finale and show now is about that, about bitterness of false expectations, rather than it being about engaging with the actual storytelling.

All feelings toward the finale are valid (though hate and mean messages being sent to the cast and crew really isn’t), and I get being sad and bitter. But yeah, I really really loved it, and reflecting on it as a writer has just made me love it more and more each time I dig deeper into some aspect of it. Whether you loved it or hated it, it was thought out and considered and carefully plotted and beautifully acted.

#i hope it's okay that i posted this publicly #i just discovered i had a lot to say on the subject #carry on #supernatural #supernatural finale #spn meta #spn #thanks for your message #always appreciate chatting with you #strikercorbie

17 notes · View notes

aceandart · 4 years ago

Note

Hey! I read your recent post and it read differently to a lot of posts under the destiel tag as of now. Personally, I’ve seen the first 5 seasons (watched it about 5 yrs ago), but haven’t been caught up to date on any of the recent stuff other than the Destiel apocalypse that’s happening right now. Could you explain the following?

“...mostly being this show is a misogynistic racist homophobic consent issue-ridden pile of bad writing “.

I was contemplating returning to the show and tuning in for the missing seasons, but what you said about it has now placed me on the fence. Could you elaborate and advise?

Thank you so much! I appreciate seeing an honest post that doesn’t sugar-coat or overlook bad writing/negative characteristics of a show!! :)

[re this]

Hi!

Well, I feel like the finale probably took care of any fence-sitting you were doing (and sorry I couldn't reply sooner), but actually my answer wasn't going to change even if the finale was okay (good, imo, was always a stretch): No, I personally would not recommend watching this show. and while my answer is mostly because of the things I am going to list to answer the rest of this question, I was also going to say - you dropped the show in s5 and that was five years ago? Whatever caused you to drop it in the first place, it probably got a lot worse. (It literally doesn't even matter what your major grievance was, they have since doubled, tripled down in terms of how bad it was.) Trying to marathon through ten seasons (20-23 episodes long each) is hard; trying to marathon through all of that to get something without a satisfactory ending is a lot of emotional labor for no payout. It's not just that this is a bad show (though it really, really is, on every level); it's that you have already tried it, you tried arguably the better seasons of it, and you still didn't want to stick to it. By the nature of how tumblr works, it can make anything look so much better than it is, just because in general the people you see hyping it up *like* the product, have decided to devote their fandom time to it, are highlighting the choicest parts of it. spn was always about the potential around the edges, the story fans made of it; the actual product was always secondary to the could have, should have beens, and this gets truer the later into the show you get. I'm not saying there weren't some great episodes, some great scenes, and even some great mini-arcs, but it was a drop in the bucket to everything else. and I'm positing this answer on the idea that you are asking because you want to watch the show, and not because you want to use the show as a supplemental for your fandom experience, but if it is the latter, I'll just say I'm currently heavily involved in reading fanfic for a fandom I've never actually watched a whole episode for, and while I'm probably missing some context I'm still highly enjoying it. fandom, honestly, so often becomes so much more than the bones we build it on. and if you want a little more, catch some "greatest hits" videos or catch up on just some of the “must-see” episodes and save yourself from having to watch all the moments in-between, because there are a lot more of them than the good parts. very few shows improve as they age out, and before the nov 5th resurgence if you weren't already following spn blogs, likely the main spn meme you were coming across was the annual 'salt and burn this dead horse' that went out after each season renewal. the tl;dr answer is really, it's not worth it. (to be honest, at the end of the day, despite the sheer amount of time, energy, and words I've put into this fandom over the years, and I put in a lot, I didn't actually like the majority of the show. so, you know, grain of salt on my opinion. then again, you left it seasons before I did.) That said, buckle up, cause now I'm gonna tell you why:

Literally, The Shitty Writing

I feel like the finale speaks for this point by itself, but before I get into all the "problematic" bad writing spn does, I want to talk about the fact that the writers are also just fundamentally bad at the craft of writing.

continuity errors. they’d change their lore/creature ability to fit their plot. (the reapers esp got the end of that bad stick.) the characters will often forget (monster-slaying) solutions that worked before (holy wood, yarrow, christo, creative approaches like exorcisms on recording, spells to remove angels from their vessels, bullet with a devil’s trap, etc). the writers forgot their own timeline more than once. the random retcons they'd do. sometimes it would also lead to plot holes.

which, speaking of, they had plenty of

there's also things that don't count as plot holes but are very large missed opportunities (ex: Dean spends a year in Purgatory and no one recognizes him? he doesn't bring up his daughter?)

I don't even know what this one would fall under, but if a character wasn't right in front of them, they would forget that character's existence. not just Adam (though that was a big one), but there were so many secondary characters that even in places it would make sense to mention them, much less bring them around, they didn't. or because they would not expand their main character list, characters who should have been around a lot more than they were (*cough* Cas, but that's an easy one, I'm also talking about characters like Kevin) would have these huge gaps between episodes that didn't make sense

they don't really have character development. this isn't to say the brothers don't change, they do, but at the same time the characters face the exact same (internal) arguments over and over again, never resolving or growing from them; they just have more examples when they think about them and it gets worse and more unhealthy because of the new weight added to it. the problem with their brothers only format, and the problem with their biphobia but more on that later, is that Dean wasn't actually allowed to grow out of his John Winchester's son role, to let himself be comfortable (and dare to be happy) with himself because that meant changing the story into something they didn't like and/or didn't know how to do. at the same time, allowing Sam to grow meant breaking the Brothers Only format, because as the show stated multiple times, Sam's happy ending did not involve hunting.

and with that, they sometimes flattened the characters so badly they became caricatures more than anything else. hell there's a whole season where Dean goes evil, and people had a hard time realizing it, which was not because it was a subtle slow descent but because shitty pacing, uneven (and contradictory) episodes, previous actions that weren't written as being evil but were the the exact same thing as when he was evil that were supposed to be "signs", and how they chose to represent that evil meant it was really hard to figure out that was what they were doing and not just writing Dean as more of an asshole than they previously were. (he's not evil, he's just a prick.) and I don't mean I had trouble telling, I mean fandom as a whole had major arguments about it, much less the general viewing public.

the series finale put a definite end to the idea they would follow through on even one of their main series themes (family don't end in blood, free will vs destiny, always keep fighting, etc), but this was something they would build up to addressing and then just anti-climatically let fizzle out in multiple seasons. character and relationship themes (not just destiel but the brothers co/counter-dependency, the importance of found family, Dean's growth from Daddy's Blunt Little Instrument and Sam's acceptance that he deserves better/agency in his own life, etc) would be built and broken down in an effort to drag the question out into another season. it wasn't two steps forward, one step back, it was a reboot.

their filler vs arc episode ratios: there's nothing wrong with the Monster of the Week format as a stylistic choice, but this show

a) would kill its own plot momentum to focus on MotW episodes. [part of this is the general spn problem they created of constantly trying to one-up their season's Big Bad, which I understand but also means one episode they are going against The Most Powerful Being in Existence (for the Fifth Time) and then rather than focus on that world-ending threat, they hunt vampires for like six episodes straight. they had a very bad balance where rather than continuously weave the larger arc into the season, or at least build characters and relationships, they'd jam it all around the season premiere, finale, and mid-season finale/premiere episodes, and then all the rest was just, bullshit cases where nothing got resolved or had a lesson stick around for the next episode, making them very skippable. also more on this under the homophobia section]

b) the filler episodes contradicted themselves and the main plot all the time.

c) sometimes they focused so much on making the b-plot a mirror they forgot to write a coherent a-plot. also: sometimes they focused so much on making the b-plot a mirror they forgot to write a coherent b-plot.

I cringed my way through more than one episode of dialogue

the recycled plots

more on this in the next sections, but either they didn't notice, actively didn't care, or purposefully chose to overtly and subtly imply or state a bunch of really fucked up things, and then never address them at all

speaking of never addressing anything, I realize this is a fandom vs canon battle in general, but so many things get swept under the rug as they move on to the next issue (ex: Dean put an angel in Sam's body to "heal him", violating his consent and exasperating his issue with telling what reality is - a huge issue from previous season - and once the Mark of Cain story really took over the subject gets dropped.)

death is so cheap on this show. and I don't just mean that the revolving doorway of resurrections means it's hard to get worked up about a death because (as long as the character was a white man and especially the brothers) there was a high chance they'd be back, and I don't just mean that their Murder Is the First, Last, and Best Solution to Any Issue, Ever means the faceless and not so faceless hoards of villains, monsters, and humans who get caught up in it are just hand waved as one of those things (they have ways of saving vessels and the later into the show the less likely they are to even try), but that there was no point in investing in (esp non-white, male) secondary characters because chances were they'd be dead pretty fast. I'm honestly shocked characters like Jody (who actually at one point was in the middle of being killed off on-screen and then we didn't see her for eight episodes, so we assumed she was dead) made it until the end.

(speaking of dead characters though, what was with the habit of bringing them back constantly? just don't kill them in the first place! create new ones and let those ones stick around instead!)

when they can't use death as their solution, the other answer the writers fall back on is Deus Ex Machina

buckleming were a writing duo who had their own bingo cards that included things like shitty pacing, OOC-ness, flat one-liners, etc, and the question wasn't if you'd get bingo, it was a question of how often you got it during their episodes. at some point throughout the show, it became hard to tell what was a buckleming episode and what was just another episode in the season. aka the writing quality went WAY DOWN as a whole

you know the tv trope Idiot Ball? or Idiot Plot? spn should have it's own page for both.

they constantly break viewer's trust, which is the basic tenet of what not to do when it comes to telling a story. (again, not just destiel, though the queerbaiting is a major part of it because it happened all the time to avoid actually answering that question.) when a writer violates their character's or story's core identity for a 'twist', it needs to have been carefully built so that it's a surprise to the viewer, not a betrayal. (you may not have seen it coming, but when you look back you can see the groundwork.) these writers, every time, chose the "shocking" choice regardless of how much they need to break canon or character to do so. their twists are either obvious, and/or they don't make sense with the rest of their story/lore of the show, and the viewer is left feeling stupid for believing they have more respect for the audience/characters than they do.

I realize this is pretty subjective, but huge swaths of it are just boring. fandom made the experience of watching it interesting, not the show itself.

and yet, for all of that, the quality of writing (while painful to have to sit through) was not the worst thing about it.

(note for the following: I stopped watching after s11, but I'm sure some if not all of these are still relevant until the very end)

Misogyny and Consent Issues: Is There a Limit? Signs Point to No

there is honestly so much under this topic I don't even know where to start. i'm going to focus on patterns rather than specific incidences, because otherwise I'll be writing this for a week, but just know I can easily provide examples of all of these because this is literally what I spent years writing meta on.

female characters were more likely to die quicker/earlier (esp vs other other male characters with similar reoccurring roles/characterizations), stay dead, and die often at the hands of their loved ones and/or in Stranger Danger situations. they died for man!pain. they died for fodder. they died as a sacrifice. they were turned into love interests (whether that was their original role or not) and then killed. they were put in mortal danger and then not given resolution for several episodes (Schrödinger's death.) they died in ways we've seen male characters survive. their deaths - the violence enacted on them - was constantly, consistently sexualized, and the camera lingered.

when it came to villains the show would go out of its way to kill the female one first, or act like she's the more pressing issue so that the male character could hang around longer (and honestly by male character I often mean specifically Crowley and the season's female villain. not only that but they'd often break canon to kill off a female character, and break canon to save Crowley/a male character)

when you compare the treatment of reoccurring female characters vs male characters who occupied either similar roles or characterizations, female characters were often punished and/or treated poorly for the same attitude and/or actions of their compared male character, who often got not just a (free) pass, but more screen time, dialogue, and development

they have more than once used the story line of underage girl seducing a grown man. (it was a whole season arc even.) this is esp galling when you find out about crew member Jim Michaels, who sexually harassed and assaulted (minor) fans

(btw, not the only crew/cast member to do so! and still be invited to cons!)

Dean Winchester (who is narratively treated as the moral judgement for the show) has blamed more than one rape victim for their assault/trauma. they often get abused (or outright killed) for stopping their abuser.

Dean is ok with flirting with/leering at barely legal teenage girls. already sketchy when he's 26, really gross when he's in his mid/late thirties

speaking of Dean. based on past personal experience I'm going to say up front people do not like me saying this, but that doesn't mean what I'm saying is wrong or even based on interpretations: Dean has more than one relationship that if it isn't rape, falls under extreme dubious consent.

there's actually a lot of rape (or "extreme dubious consent") and assault/molestation, both shown and mentioned: Cas and April, the cases were men take away free will and then have sex with the women (Ben Edlund was one of the better writers of series and even he did this a couple of times), Crowley orgy (and demon sex in general), random women in some episodes, Sam and meta!Gen, Becky and Sam, Sam and Lucifer, Dean and Alastair, several monsters (like the siren) and their victims, male characters secretly watching female characters undress/be naked, and so on. Dean was often attacked sexually by men, Sam by women. most of this is never addressed, never treated like what it is, and/or is made into a joke

and there's even more rape jokes beyond that, sub-sections: prison, vessels/demons, angel possession, sex work, childhood abuse, monster of the week, sexuality, etc. huge chunks if not whole episodes were devoted to making what amounted to a rape joke.

often ignored non-sexual consent (esp Dean’s actions, including a lot of mind-wiping and violations of body autonomy)

everything about Sam and body autonomy - he is frequently violated (multiple characters have possessed him; he is fed demon blood); how he feels unclean, how he feels disconnected from his own body, how he often is forced to act outside of his control and then blamed for those decisions

actually, Cas goes through that a lot too; he is trained, brainwashed, and forced to do things without his consent, and goes through major depressive episodes because of it

this show has a pattern of girls who are kidnapped, (sexually abused), raised in isolation, and expected to develop some perfect moral compass of acceptable behavior and were then killed off when they didn't. meanwhile, male characters get fourth, fifth chances.

female characters (and I'm talking about ones with speaking roles, who play an actual part in the plot, who are sometimes in multiple episodes) are more likely to be unnamed or given no last name

are you a Mother on spn (as in, that's your role)? you're either fridged for man!pain or abusive or both

it rarely could pass the bechdel test (including in s9 don't believe those fandom lies), and that's including episodes that focused on female characters. if the test included that the characters have to be named, that (small) number probably gets cut in half. if that test included both women are alive at the end...

female monsters prove they deserve to live by killing off their family to prove they're the "good kind" (this is not necessary for male monster characters)

female characters are not allowed to get vengeance

they took the Virgin vs Whore dynamic (and that that's all women are), and devoted a whole episode to it, but in general it underlines of ton of interactions, esp with regards to Dean and women. {I actually never got around to writing it, but women tended to fall into four main classifications on this show, though overlap definitely allowed: Victim [sub-categories: Fodder, (Dean) Mirror, Mother], Love Interest, Sex Object, and Villain/Obstacle. very few female characters were either allowed to outgrow their category or didn't start in one.}

we see the male characters assault female characters but it's okay because [insert supernatural reason here], ignoring that whatever explanations for why it's being allowed, we are still visually being shown this violence against women, and often from our "heroes" (the women are then tossed away from the narrative after the violence and again, their aftermath gets regulated to off-screen who cares)

female characters were only allowed to be "so badass"; female hunters often fought female monsters or they lost/got regulated to the sidelines in battles. this gets even more contrasted as a male character/hunter will often do a nod about how "badass" she is, even as she is very easily beaten.

the whorepobia of this show

had a tendency to strip female characters down to their underwear/make them nude before torturing them, and then adding sexualized torture on top of that

outside of actor injuries affecting this (like one of them broke his arm so he had a sling for a few episodes), female characters are often more likely to visually carry the bruises/violence of violent incidences much longer than male characters

gratuitous filming shots of breasts, asses

the use of the words: bitch, skank, whore, slut; the play on words they do so they can say "pussy"

taking female myths/figures and reducing them to a cheap, sexist storyline (Amazons, Artemis, Lilith, Eve, witches - who are only allowed to live/be "good" if they're men, and are otherwise in league with demons/are evil and lose)

they often kept a character but switched out her actress; helps with the disposable feeling

how they treat women's ages (ex: Jody is not allowed to be a love interest to Sam because she's older than him/calling Dean 'kiddo'. ex: Rowena is played by a woman fifteen years younger than Crowley's actor. ex: Amara being one of the oldest things in existence but still having to age her way up.)

their treatment of teenage girls, ranging from how they sexualized them to expecting them to save themselves to treating them like they are grown adults and not children to the way they kept killing the ones who posted selfies to the fact the pr more than once used the tag "teenage girls - the scariest thing ever" for Claire's episodes

actions and lasting legacies by female characters often got erased or passed on to male characters instead

it's a time honored tradition to treat certain monsters as metaphors for things. specifically for spn, they often use werewolves and vampires for sexual assault. (not the first to do so, not the last to do so.) however, that part of it gets textually glossed over, or treated as a joke, more often than not

and for all the patterns I talk about above, there's plenty of other one-off examples of misogyny/sexism or consent issues/rape culture this show did. like that time a grown man sniffed the bra of a dead teenage girl. not for any reason, just because it was there and that's what dudes do, apparently.

Racism: All the Flavors(+ Bonus Sexism)

when you compare the treatment of reoccurring white characters vs characters of color who occupied either similar roles or characterizations, characters of color were often punished and/or treated poorly for the same attitude and/or actions of their compared white character, who often got not just a (free) pass, but more screen time, dialogue, and development.

usually Black men but in general men of color:

a) got humiliated (often using feminization or infantilization) before their death

b) had a more violent death; had a death that visually echoed racism (lynching, shot in the back, etc)

c) often used (racialized) rhetoric that in the real world is used against them

d) often filmed in ways to highlight their physicality, to portray them animalistically, to dehumanize them

e) even when victims, will add context to make them partially responsible for their death

characters of color were the villains or antagonists, very rarely "good guys"

this was a very white show, and while I'm speaking about speaking roles, reoccurring characters, and characters who get their own arcs, I'm also talking about background characters

using lore from groups they should not have and/or turned creatures into racist caricatures

having white actors play characters they shouldn't have

heavily depended on stereotypes for their characters of color

the treatment (esp narrative empathy level) of white angels vs angels of color. again, screen time and character development differences between the two

a summary of (East) Asian woman on this show: fetishized porn/sexualized, “tiger mom”, Yoko Ono/The Girlfriend, monster. they were often silent or had no dialogue. microaggressions (usually spoken by Dean) were leveled at them.

antisemitism (styne issue, erasure of the Judah Initiative, Lilith, the golem)

like the sexism, just had random racist lines or visuals throughout the show (and sometimes those came in the absence of who should be there); some groups literally did not have enough characters to make a pattern, which is why this section looks a lot shorter than it really is

like for ex, I'm trying to stick with patterns but seriously, they put a Black woman in a dog collar and said her white boyfriend was her master/that she belonged to him

the ignorance of how white privilege worked to make them palatable

the replacement and/or elevation of a white character over a character of color (Lisa over Cassie, Bobby over Missouri, Charlie over Kevin in terms of how they were treated under Found Family, etc)

how they treated non-Christian Gods: easily killed, evil, weak. they often repackaged them into a Christian framework and made them lesser than.

Bi/Homophobia, Queerbaiting, and Using Fans

they butchered Charlie. they killed her, they killed her in a way that involved leaving behind plot, characters, and logic to do so, they killed her and used the violence of it for "shock," they butchered her and stuck her in a bathtub. the guy who wrote Charlie in every other episode (Robbie Thompson, one of the better writers of the show) didn't write her last episode (assumption: because he wouldn't) and then he arguably left the show over her death. at one of the cons (comic-con?) the cast literally turned their backs when a fan questioned Carver (the showrunner) about what he did because they wanted no part of it. there was a mass exodus of fandom after they killed her (and another portion actually hung around because they got destiel queerbaited to stick out the rest of the season, and then they left.) she was un-apologetically queer, she was found family, she was widely popular, and they killed her for no reason at all. they didn't just Bury The Gay (their only reoccurring one), they salted and burnt the ground

they spent over a decade queerbaiting Destiel. they built queerbaiting destiel into the structure of the show: season opening/first couple of episodes whetted the appetite, which they then backed away from (usually removing Cas from Dean's physical area) and around this time they'd usually have some kind of heterosexual love interest, then mid-season they'd have some room to be together and share feelings, Cas would again disappear but this time they'd have some bi!Dean thrown in to keep you going, a few episodes before the end they'd have a major connection moment (I need you, I love you), and then the season would end with something to keep destiel fans occupied with during summer. it was never a trajectory, it was a cycle; just enough for plausible deniability but more than enough for fans to believe in. they had whole seasons where the b-plot were mirrors for destiel. they tried to sell DVDs by promising destiel cut scenes. they'd remove Cas from huge chunks of episodes just because they didn't want destiel interacting in the same physical space. they filmed them (I'm talking camera angles, physical positioning, etc) romantically. (and sometimes, someone on crew/the network would accidentally reveal how not-fucking-happening destiel would be, and then backtrack when they realized fandom’s uproar.)

a) Dean was only allowed to care so much for Cas, the narrative would only give him so much room to mourn/miss him. (Sam too.) it's beyond my general complaint that the writers/bros lose all interest in a character if they are not right in front of them (if they even cared when they were), but specifically they will spend episodes talking about how Cas is family, how much they care, and then because Dean and Cas cannot share the screen they come up with asinine reasons to remove Cas, which means Dean/the bros do not help him on his issues, and he is cast adrift until they need him, a push/pull of show vs tell with contradictory answers but made a lot of Cas/Destiel fans argue Cas deserved better.

b) they also devoted seasons to the (subtextual) love triangle of Dean/Cas/Crowley. (I wish I was fucking kidding)

c) "you construct intricate rituals which allow you to touch the skin of other men": the way they use violence to supplement affection (which is actually a larger pattern with Dean and his loved ones in general, but specifically the show is willing to show - multiple times - Dean and Cas being violent (often with an arguably sexualized filming to it) in conjunction with or as replacement for expressing their care.) other side of this: hugging/physical affection outside of the shoulder/hand thing is reserved for escaping or coming back from death, if then (and it took seasons and a few deaths to even get that.)

d) "buddy"

that time Dean was allowed to be textually attracted to his mother and a literal dog (who was visually made to be very clearly a girl dog), but his attraction to men always stays subtextual and/or treated as a joke

they spent the whole show queerbaiting bi!Dean. aside comments, checking out other guys, getting flustered by men he finds attractive, metaphors, mirror characters, the heterosexual overcompensation [which is different from but comes from a similar place of the macho compensation to counteract how he gets sexualized/feminized], everything with Cas and how they play that relationship romantically and with sexual attraction, the character development that led to his relaxation of his macho compensation coinciding with increasing subtextual readings of his bisexuality (and domesticity), the inspiration for his name/character is bi, his relationship to Charlie and the pattern of fictive kinship, etc etc.

why are angels straight???? why do they have gender???? (why are they interested in sex???) minus the queerbaiting of destiel, they spent a lot of seasons pushing Cas into a heterosexual box. other angels were often pushed into heterosexual boxes too. (or left in subtext and then killed.) closest we got to playing with gender was Raphael and maybe Hannah, and at least with Raphael it was not without its issues. (also: both dead.)

random transphobic lines

homosexuality was often treated like a joke/punchline. queer characters/scenes were often treated like a joke/punchline.

outside of Charlie, queer characters were small, two-bit roles, extremely rare, and often killed

how they treated and showcased fandom space and esp queer fans in-show (much less how they treated them in real life), comes from a deeply sexist and homophobic place

The Show Was 328 Episodes Long And the thing is, these are the four big categories, but it's not like this is it. The show flip-flops on calling John an abusive parent/that the bros are childhood abuse survivors. The show doesn't even really call out when Dean is being abusive to Sam, and the way they always, always go back to the Brothers Only format means they are often ignoring or straight-up forgetting the unhealthy aspects of their relationship. The show ignores how their trauma builds (and all the things that happen because of it), disconnecting the current issues with the ones that came before. The way they flip flop on monster morality and never address what the winchester bros do to people who happen to be monsters but aren't evil (or definitely aren't as evil as they are). How violence is always the answer. How the "saving people'' part of hunting got dropped the later the show goes on, and red shirt vessels/hosts die in droves. Depending on how you view it, the way they treat alcoholism and addiction. The ableism. The line between the narrative's opinion on acceptable violence and not is inconsistent and dependent on how much they like the character doing the violence vs who the violence is being done to. Etc.

(The above lists are definitely missing stuff. I haven't done anything in this fandom in like four years, I've forgotten a lot.) I'm not saying people didn't enjoy this show. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy (parts of) this show. I'm saying whether you are basing it on things like writing craft or things like 'social justice issues', this show is bad. It is of poor quality. I really don't know how to explain the hold it has on people, how a show can be charismatic, how fandom was able to squeeze so much out of so little, but that's probably what's got you attracted into the idea of watching it again. If you're thinking of watching it because you want a coherent, well done story, look elsewhere. The finale was the literal last straw, not the only one.

#spn #fandom stuff #inbox and admin stuff #//#also this focuses on canon #(and ok a little abt the cast/crew)#(though among other things not mentioned is how actors of color and actresses got treated re cons & crew demographics)#however fandom has it's own fucking list and I can come for them at any time too #anyway that was a very nice ask #and if you want actual details about any of these I could provide #but I wanted to stick with patterns because I feel like that says more than the individual things they do #of which there are legion #anyway a summary of what I and many other people have discussed over the years about how much this show sucks #////#i really do get the urge though #one of my mutuals makes s15 destiel sound good #but fool me once shame on you and fool me 50x fuck you spn #//////#this is long (you asked a very wordy person) but tbh I've written longer meta #and oh man back in the day this thing would have been full of links that would have taken you to other metas #///////#eta: fucked up my formatting I had to add a) because bullet points wont indent

16 notes · View notes

found--family · 4 years ago

Text

@ Blue Heart Nonny in my inbox (yes, i can answer your ask without posting it. no worries 💙)

here are the cliff-notes for everyone else:

there ARE Bronly blogs that are unhappy with Dean's ending because it wasn't fulfilling/he didn't get happiness/was killed off/the narrative undid years worth of character growth

those same blogs as well as others think Sam's ending was lacklustre

okay. so because i don't interact with such blogs i wasn't aware of this, but after a quick inspection thanks to Nonny, i find that it's true.

I'm not surprised, exactly. most of the Bronly blogs I've come across over the years have been vocal about Dean as an individual, a character who deserves his own narrative journey separate from Sam as well as Cas (of course 99% of them were anti-Cas so ofc i skiddadled out of there). And Sam Stans wanted a happy ending (domestic or otherwise) for him, one that's full of sunshine and smiles and yes, Found Family (the members of which do change from blog to blog).

all ships and Cas-hate aside, it was reassuring to see these bloggers recognise the endgame narrative as lacking, regressive, depressing and OOC for both Sam and Dean.

they didn't like the ending.

*cue solidarity meme*

this is important to note because what makes this fandom so special is our love for these characters and the complexity of the characters themselves (as has been mentioned on a fair few reaction posts already). we all want them to be happy, but we also want their journey not to have been for naught, we want their individual endings and the narrative as a whole to make sense because we've been with them through all of their struggles to learn and grow and try to find some peace and their own sense of purpose and meaning.

what I'm trying to say, is that while I'm a Destiel shipper I am first and foremost a fan of the characters - Dean and Cas, and Sam and Jack and all members of the collective Found Family the boys have met and embraced along the way.

I've shared a LOT of anti-Bronly content over the past 24hrs, but i'm not just angry that the bros-only ending pushed Cas and Destiel out of the narrative, I'm angry because that ending also did a disservice to these beloved characters as individuals. it brought back the toxic codependency after 15 seasons of the brothers fighting to be their own people, to be in each other's lives but not have their happiness dependant solely on each other.

Dean didn't get to live his own life and he died laughably, pitifully. His Heaven wasn't even his own and he ended up right back where he started: on a roadtrip to nowhere, alone. And in the end (Heaven) Dean was denied being allowed to embrace the self-love he'd learned on his journey and discover a life of his own and happiness that he deserved, /before/ reuniting with Sam. Sam got a liftime, Dean deserved the same, especially considering Dean's the one who never really believed that he deserved such a thing (but was recently convinced he was worth saving, worth happiness, worthy of giving and receiving love - yes, thanks largely to Cas) and canon chose to hammer home that idea like the nail in Dean's back, like the blunt little instrument Dean thought he was (but isn't).

Sam's domestic montage was lacking substance and emotion and the overall vibe was wholly depressing, sending the message that he couldn't live a happy life without his brother when we know he has managed that/wanted that through the seasons. It was like he was just going through the motions for Dean's sake until they could be reunited by death.

Frankly, Sam's montage would've been a LOT more heart-warming if his Found Family was present, or at least if Eileen was his wife (we still don't know) and they shared smiles/kisses/dancing in the living room. Maybe the Found Family thing was Covid, but for Eileen i call bullshit on the account of Jenny's presence and the fact that Shoshannah is also one person, not a bridge-full. Worst case scenario they could've shot her scenes separate and blended them with body doubles etc. Hell, i would've accepted a video call presence as a last resort. It would've made for an ending I was emotionally connected to. Instead we got strangers, a swiss-cheese life (missing pieces), and a depressing oldman!Sam. I could've bought the oldman!Sam dying after a long full life - but the montage left me (and Sam) unsatisfied with that Life. I mean, 15 years worth of content took.. 15 years to go through and emotionally invest in, so you really have to bring your A game to condense 50-odd years into a minute or two - and they didn't. That was some C-minus bullshit.

And then there's the Heaven thing.

Sam pretty much shows up in Heaven right after Dean dies. I reiterate, Dean didn't get to live his own Life nor his own Afterlife. Sam had the chance at a Life, and Dean could've easily had his own Afterlife if the writers had allowed it: a montage of Dean fishing in Heaven, sharing drinks with Bobby, Miracle the dog showing up, Dean working or karaokeung in the Roadhouse (an improvement on the Rocky's bar fantasy) Dean experiencing all kinds of happy and domestic things - and it should've been with Found Family, but again if Covid is to blame there were ways to work around that with blurred background people and body doubles and voices off-screen.

Instead, Dean's individual storyline is erased as he's reduced to a footnote in Sam's afterlife. No happiness in life and no meaningful afterlife he can call his own. Sam's family will eventually join him in Heaven, but Dean is left lacking in friendships as well as a romantic partner. The real Sam's heart would've broken at that, and the real Dean would've been unhappy and would've sought out people and meaningful relationships (again, Found Family).

BTW: i saw mention that the lack of Found Family in Heaven is because they're not dead yet.. *cough* let's recap some dead loved ones who could've made an appearance shall we: Jo, Ash, Ellen, Rufus + Mary + John (all mentioned but none shown), Pamela, Kevin, Adam, OG!Charlie, Missouri.. hell, even Henry or Ketch or Frank.. i would've been overjoyed at seeing Cassie again, because we don't know who's dead or not. Krissy, Cesar, Jesse - they could've died, especially since in the time it took for Dean to take his little roadtrip, Sam lived 50-odd years on earth. So, if we're going by canon's timey-wimey rules they could've easily brought back any Found Family member they wanted.

but, again, we got random vamp Jenny.

simply put, Covid is not to blame and there were many simple tweaks that could've made the finally on some level. instead the characters and the audience are left devastated and wanting.

i know we don't see heart-to-heart on shipping matters, but even Destiel shippers and Bronlies can agree Sam and Dean didn't get the happy, satisfying endings their characters and 15 years worth of narrative deserved.

* note: Bronlies (not Bibros) are invited to share their thoughts on this post about Sam and Dean's individual endings, but please avoid negative Destiel talk, negative Cas talk, and any wincest talk.

#q and a #spn spoilers #spn 15x20 #dean deserved better #sam deserved better #thoughts #Bad Writing #meta #ooc writing #this is probably a bad idea.. *shrug* we shall see..

11 notes · View notes

chaos-and-recover · 4 years ago

Note

Trust me, we have all noticed you are a catty bitch like 90% to the time to almost all your anons, we read your tags we know you've made being a haughty superior bitch your tumblr persona, and it is usually mildly chuckle inducing, but this time it just kinda seems less snarky and more bully. The difference now is you are just wrong. We all get it, your ships never went canon and you are fine with that but theirs did, and their movement isn't about the ship so much as the repeated history of treating queer representation like garbage. This was the straw, is all. Also yeah Jensen isn't great but the scene would not have happened without his permission and he himself has been hyping that scene more than the finale and has it filmed on his phone. We all know he isnt destiel's biggest fan but over the past year his attitude changed to admitting it was ambiguous. So just give it a rest and stop the martyr act. When someone tried to explain, you lashed out and you know you did. Stop acting dumb. It isn't that you disagree, it is how you do it, and your repeated mocking in your tags. Obviously I follow you and like your content enough to keep following you but how many times do you have to get anons from various fandoms telling you that you're rude before you give up the "but I'm not rude????" act. Every few weeks someone sends you an anon calling you out and you do this every time, the only difference is now it isn't a difference in opinion so much as you arguing against actual evidence that really happened and went viral. It isn't difficult. I already know how your response is gonna be but sometimes you have to just take the L and move on. I feel sorry for the dub person. Just hoping this gave you some clarification, even if you might just double down on how not wrong you are and unfair you're being treated. Which is fine because that is always my first reaction too.

Okay. I hear you. Can I sincerely ask where I went wrong in my replies to dub anon? I know I upset them but I genuinely thought I was giving a differing point of view on the whole thing so I'm not sure WHAT did it, you know? Like I truly do not know.

I think what we're disagreeing on isn't that evidence like the Spanish dub exists, because obviously it does, but the intention of the network and the show. Because I still find it hard to believe that if they wanted to erase all signs of Dean's reciprocation that they would've let the Spanish dub go to air like that, and I also do not believe they would've backed down to protect some mythical straight adult male demo who has never been a target of the CW, or the conservative Christian demo who would be fine with killing the literal Christian God but not two men confessing feelings for each other.

I think they wanted to leave it one-sided, or ambiguous, because that's what they've ALWAYS done with destiel shippers, and I'm sure I mentioned somewhere in another post that it isn't the fans who are the bad guys here, you've been jerked around by this show for 15 years. They ALWAYS do this. They wink and nod to the fandom, they know the shippers are out there, but then they mock them in text. I never thought the introduction of Chuck and then the fandom surrounding his books and the musical and all that was a friendly wink wink nudge nudge to real life spn fandom, I always thought it was a little mocking, so I guess I'm surprised everyone is in fact happy about canon destiel, and why I've reblogged the memes and shit making fun of how stupid it all was. A sincere "you were right all along" doesn't fit the tone I got from the way the show has dealt with this stuff in the past. That's it. That's what I was getting at.

1 note · View note

seven-oomen · 4 years ago

Text

Hi, Ben! I’m sorry you aren’t feeling well today, and that people are being assholes. Hopefully they’ll get bored and go away.

Wow, am I glad I didn’t cave to the urge to watch the finale despite being WAY behind. That sounds so incredibly beyond ridiculous. Like, what the actual fuck? I’m used to show writers shitting on fans, but damn. It definitely feels like one of those “should I laugh or should I cry?” moments. I just. Wow…

For your list of shows; I never actually watched How I Met Your Mother, but I do recall the outcry at its ending. From what I can tell it pulled the same sort of “let’s discard literal YEARS of character development for traditional heteronormative crap” type thing that SPN did.

And whether you consider the ending of Torchwood to be Season 2, the Children of Earth miniseries, or the Miracle Day miniseries, pretty much all of them had horrifying finales. Fun fact: when questioned about all the fan uproar and outcry over the ending of COE, showrunner Russell Davies said “[…]a few hysterical women? Let them go watch Supernatural instead.”, or something very similar.

On a brighter note, I loved the new chapter, and may have…rambled on a bit about that… Also, I would now like to double down on my suggestion of them singing that to Peter at the wedding, because OMG, just imagine his face. I just. My heart… Also, I’m still laughing about the sloth image. I don’t know why it amuses me so much, but it really does. And if you need a pick-me-up, may I suggest revisiting the alpha-shift Peter doesn’t understand/care that he isn’t a lapdog visual. Because those two images are the main ones helping me look forward to the long shift ahead of me. XD

Speaking of I need to leave soon, so I just want to say that I hope your day improves, and you start feeling better. (Oh, also, awesome cabinet! And as someone who also has a lot of similar pieces, I empathise with trying to assemble that crap by yourself. XD ) Take care! *Hugs!*

Oh thank god you can still talk to me, B. I was a little worried since I had to turn anon off for a few hours (I’ll turn it back on tonight before bed) and make a post to hopefully make people stop messaging me about Hannibal.

Honestly, most people were really polite and trying to give me bookworks of why I am wrong (but they were polite about it) but a few- yeah, I’m an adult and I’m not doing this.

So hopefully people will have forgotten about it in a few hours. It’s also been reblogged so I can’t delete it anymore either.

I don’t think it was that controversial what I said and was merely an opinion but they are persistent and very defensive it seems.

Combined with everything I’ve been through in the last few days and well, my thoughts are very, very dark.

And I’m very, very happy to see your message. It’s honestly a light today and thank you, thank you, thank you, for your absolutely amazing review. It makes me smile non stop and it makes me so happy. And I know I can’t say anything but a few comments made me go: YES!!! DING DING WINNER! (When you guessed something right) which means I’m doing something right for you to guess that. But also just yes on the thought of massive wolf Peter Hale acting like a giant lap dog.

Also in the upcoming chapter, Melissa talks about her previous relationships with Scott. Melissa & Claudia?????

Wolf shenanigans!

Wolf Ben being absolutely adorable and getting all the cuddles from the non wolves because PUPPY!!!!

Massive wolf turned lapdop Peter.

Peter & Malia bonding again.

Jackson has wolf jealousy.

Scott transforms for the first time and gets into an awkward situation.

Derek being way too tired and grumpy for all this bullshit.

Cuteness to balance out the darkness of the last few chapters.

And yeah this sentence?

I'm pretty sure the phrase "pin them down like an overly affectionate sloth" and it's accompanying mental image will be living rent-free in my head for the next week at least

That made my entire week <3

I was giggling so much when I wrote that scene and so hyped up and I’m so glad you liked it too!

As for the SPN thing, HOLY SHIT! Like I didn’t see it, I read about it, saw all the memes and have now seen a few clips. But WTF??

Yeah my SPN/Destiel heart is just broken. So much potential for a finale, 15x19 would have been a good one. But then...

jfc.

I was never much into How I met your mother, but I do vaguely recall what happened and yeah that one was pretty bad too. Also star wars should go on that list I feel like, especially with EP9.

I have good hopes for The Mandalorian though, so far so good.

#my convos with anon #B #ben says stuff #once upon a time comments #submission

1 note · View note

hi-im-dazey · 5 years ago

Text

I have thoughts about 15x03

I see a lot of people mad at Dean. Honestly if you are going to go through the entire series and look at each interaction between Dean and Cass with an honest eye and an understanding of canon, then Dean snapping and pushing Cass away is not that surprising. Cass actually leaving is, because none of the information he realized before he left was new information, and he’s not gone off in a huff before.

I don’t know how they are gonna resolve that, but I am 99% sure it’ll be some variation of Dean reaching out because he wants Cass’ help to fix something wrong with Sam. (I do not refer to this show as the “My Emotional Support Narrative Spiral” for no reason.)

Here, in case you missed it, are the straws the broke Dean’s camel’s back. (and it seems like there are a lot of people who missed these important plot points)

Sam had to kill the closest thing he had to a best friend outside of Dean, and to some extent Cass, himself, (I admit that I ship samwena, and I think sastiel is a much healthier concept than destiel, but I am talking about canon here, not something I write and read fanfiction about for entertainment on the side. In canon Sam and Rowena are friends and probably, by now, feeling pretty “best friend” or as close as either of them can get to it. Rowena is well written and has an internal life and motivations of her own, remember? Sam was probably as close to a best friend as she felt comfortable letting herself have.)

Because of this Sam is hurting, he is heartbroken, he had promised himself and her that they would change their fate. He did not want to be the person who killed her. He’s come to care for and respect her.

This is not the same relationship they had leading up to him pulling that trigger in Funeralia. This was the relationship that built on the shock of that moment. When he realised he did not want to be what kills her as the bullet left the chamber, and his relief when she stopped it.

This was the relationship that grew when she stopped that bullet and realised he could kill her if it came down to it, but he did not want to, and her knowledge that fate cannot be changed, so when he did kill her, her death would have to mean something.

So Cass interrupts Bel, the spell stops, and the only alternative (insert poorly written plot monkey and spn’s standard lazy fridging) is Sam killing Rowena.

Ok, so in that moment here’s what happens:

Cass could have incapacitated Bel and blown the horn himself. (interesting plot possibility, Cass being the king of Hell briefly, because you know he’d go all in on fixing that shit so it would have been the better choice than letting Bel continue)

Cass could have fled topside and let Dean know what was happening, reporting back. Cass can’t be expected to anticipate and react well to every contingency. Dean knows this. One of Dean’s skills is that he is a freaking genius at maneuvering around curve balls. Shit happens, Dean knows this and is a master at adjusting on the fly. The correct thing to do would have been to let Dean know what was happening and adjust as a team. Cass failed to trust Dean’s proven skill, again.

Dean is not “Only mad cause Cass should have told him about Jack and now Mary is dead” (in the reductive language I’ve seen people using to make it seem like Mary’s death was nothing compared to Cass being sad) Dean is Mad because:

- all of the things Cass fucked up and never fixed or made better or amends for up until the point where his refusal to learn from his mistakes and adjust his course of actions accordingly killed Mary. Cass’ path is continually not communicating with the Winchesters when he should about things he should. That is basically his entire arc. “Bad thing happens, Cass tries to fix it, on his own, without a solid plan, thing gets worse, rinse and repeat”

-Sam, his little brother, is devastated and heartbroken because he had to kill his friend. His little brother who has fought his entire life to overcome an evil that was forced into his system, HAD TO KILL HIS FRIEND. His little brother who has been his to protect and take care of his entire life, is now sitting in his room crying and hurting because of a preventable tragedy. Because of a decision that Cass made.

-Cass NUKED Jack’s body. Now that the immediate threat of the ghosts is over, don’t you think the next order of business was going to be to try and get Jack back into his... oh wait, Cass charbroiled their son’s body so now they can’t even try to fix that, Plus Rowena is gone, and she was probably needed to help with that. Cass just made sure Jack stays dead. (In Dean’s thinking right now. Please note, I don’t think we’ve seen the last of either Rowena or Jack)

****

Now I am not saying Dean is the innocent victim here, He could have used his words better, but honestly, he never really has, so this is not a surprise.

And I don’t know if Sam will be “Okay with Cass.” or “Mad that Dean made him leave.” I think Sam would rub along with Cass still if he were there, because he’s Sam. But I would wonder if Sam, internally, doesn’t start thinking about the things in his life that got fucked and were Cass’s doing, and how he lost someone he shared a unique bond with because of Cass’ poor decision making skills.

Also I think Sam has a long history of championing people making their own choices and if Cass felt leaving was the thing to do, Sam, above everyone else on this show, will be the first to say “If that’s your choice, it’s your choice.”

***

I know you probably have all seen that meme/quote that makes the rounds occasionally “The best apology is changed behaviour”

Sam practices this. When he does wrong or makes a mistake he makes a conscious effort to change his behaviour, and he’s usually pretty good at it. Sam is also the voice of reason when he realises things are going in circles or stuck in a rut he speaks out and says “We can’t go on like this.” He has grown as a person and become a better man than he thought he would because of it. (Although whether or not he realises that is up for debate, I think he still beats himself up too much)

Rowena’s entire arc was this. She came to realise she’d made choices that had destroyed her son and her relationship with him and made a conscious and concerted effort to do and be better. EVEN AFTER SHE CAME TO UNDERSTAND SHE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO GET FERGUS BACK, she still acknowledged her failing and made changes to her life.

Dean has, with much conscious effort done this to an extent, too. When the penny finally drops and he understands he did wrong, he does try and change his behaviour. He is not as good at it as Sam, but he tries and sometimes succeeds. It just takes him longer to accept that he should be changing behaviour.

Cass apologises and then turns around and does the exact same thing over and over again, sometimes on a small scale, sometimes on a grand scale.

Honestly, given what we know about Dean’s patience level and anger issues, it is actually kind of amazing that it took Dean this long to snap at Cass big enough that Cass left.

#spn #spn 15x03 #spn spoilers #spn season 15 spoilers #changed behaviour #Sam Winchester #Dean Winchester #Rowena #Spelling it Cass is screen reader friendly #Spelling is Cas makes screenreaders say KAH #canon discussion #why hasn't anyone else brought up that Jack's body being a pile of dust #is also on the pile of things that Dean is pissed about right now #Cass made sure Jack no longer has a body to come back to #emotional support narrative spiral #she did everything they did only backwards and in high heels

19 notes · View notes

angelcatsiel · 5 years ago

Text

I reblogged an ask game thing the other day but no one sent any asks so I just fuckin answered them all because I was bored and I am learning to not give a fuck what anyone thinks of me and it was fun

1. What is your favorite childhood story of yourself?

This is a hard one. I want to think of a funny one but my childhood wasn’t great. My dad has told me that when I was a toddler, before I can remember, he used to play AC/DC and I used to put clothes pegs in my hair for some unknown reason, stand on the sofa and violently headbang.

2. What is the stupidest way you have ever gotten hurt?

When I was about 11, I was swinging on a swing in the garden, and got curious about what would happen if I put my hands right at the very bottom of the chains while I was swinging. The answer was that I fell off backwards and hit my head. I went in to my dad crying, calmed down, and went back on the swing again. I tried to work out what exactly I had done to cause myself to fall off. I remember thinking, I think I held the chains near the bottom like this... and tested the theory, and fell off again, and hit my head again.

This is one of many stupid injuries. Other considerations were the time I climbed up a slide and hit my head on the bar at the top and knocked myself out, or the time I got kicked by a horse in a field and grabbed onto the electric fence to hold myself up.

3. What was the first PG-13 movie you watched?

Literally no idea.

4. What was the first R rated movie you watched?

I think it may have been the first Deadpool? Haven’t seen that many tbh

5. When was the moment you felt most badass?

When I was about 8, I was at the park with my brother, and this much older kid (maybe about 16 or 17, hardly a kid) with an aggressive dog stole my brother’s ice cream money. I marched up to him and demanded he give it back. He let his dog off the lead and it sniffed around my ankles and growled, and he told me it would bite me if I ran. I stood there and stared him down for a good 20 seconds or so before he called back the dog and walked away. I didn’t get the money back.

6. What is a band you can reliably always love?

Marillion. Favourite band, always.

7. What is your favorite form of self expression?

Probably singing even though I’m very bad at it.

8. What is something from your childhood you wish you still had?

My stuffed rabbit Hoppy. I haven’t been able to find him in several years. Can’t think about it too hard or I’ll cry.

9. Where is your favorite place on earth?

The Isle of Wight. My dad used to take me and my brother there for holidays every few years. It’s beautiful and full of memories, the most precious memories being the time we saved up vouchers in the newspaper to go the year after my dad left his abusive wife and ended up homeless. We were so poor but with the vouchers we could just afford to go, and it was the first time I saw my dad happy in a long time.

10. What is the longest friendship you have ever had?

My best friend @van-helsa124 who I have known since literally nursery and I love her so much.

11. Is there anyone is your life you wish you had met sooner than you did?

Maybe my friend Luce who I only met a couple of years ago, but we’ve grown close pretty quick.

12. Do you believe in ghosts?

Yep definitely. Pretty sure I was visited by my gran after she died and I’ve had a few creepy experiences.

13. What is the coldest water you have ever swam in?

No idea tbh, I don’t swim much

14. How old were you when you learned how to swim?

Maybe 8 or 9? I had lessons in primary school.

15. What song do you listen to when you’re sad?

Never Grow Up by Taylor Swift. It’s my cry song.

16. Are you an adrenaline junky?

Yep! Love roller coasters and stuff like that, and would love to do something extreme like jump out of a plane or something.

17. What is a song that takes you back to childhood?

I have a few but the main ones are probably Man on the Moon by REM, and You Were Right by Badly Drawn Boy.

18. What is your favorite word?

Not sure I have one. For some reason the only one coming to mind is a place not too far from where my family live called Biggleswade, and I have to say it every time we drive past because I love saying it. I also love saying tiddies at every opportunity.

19. What is your least favorite word?

Don’t think I have a least favourite either, the usual infamous ones (e.g. moist) don’t really bother me.

20. What scent reminds you of childhood?

Cherryade. I drank some several years ago and the smell before I tasted it transported me immediately back to my childhood and a memory I’d completely forgotten, which was my gran constantly buying me a shit ton of cherryade every time I stayed over her house.

21. Were you sad when you found out clouds weren’t like pillows, or did you never think that?

I don’t think I was sad, I think I was just curious and interested to learn, and I tried to come up with new interesting ways of describing the feeling of clouds in my head, since even as a kid I loved to write.

22. When in life did you laugh the hardest?

A few times come to mind and they all involve @van-helsa124. A lot would make absolutely no sense, no matter how much I tried to explain. They’re now ‘friendship memes’. The only one that might be explainable is the first time we ever got drunk, to celebrate achieving ultimate friendship, after we found out that her mum had believed me and her were in a relationship for a year and a half. We even created our own drink, named the year and a half, which was literally just a mix of vodka, koppaberg, rose wine and cloudy lemonade. Tasted better than it sounds. Got me drunk in about 0.5 seconds. Ended the night hugging her trash can trying not to throw up while she read me a destiel fanfic to take my mind off feeling sick

23. What makes you laugh when you don’t feel like laughing?

Old yogscast videos.

24. Do you come from a big family?

Fairly big, lots of aunts and uncles and cousins.

25. What is your favorite part of yourself?

My positivity and the inner strength that I have, that helps me find happiness and courage even when my mental health is low.

26. What is the worst pain you have ever felt?

Trigeminal neuralgia pain (facial nerve pain). Spent 90% of January this year constantly crying and even screaming in pain. Hospital couldn’t do anything for me. I get occasional flare ups now but nothing that severe, but it’s probably going to come back. Feels like someone trying to rip out my cheekbone and jawbone or like someone is literally drilling into the bones in my face, and that’s the milder part. Every so often that pain is interrupted by stabs of sharper pain like electric shocks which have caused me to collapse to the floor screaming. 0/10 do not recommend

27. Do you swear often?

Not super often out loud but very often in my head.

28. Do you get confused for being older or younger than you are?

People always assume I’m younger than I am. I get asked for ID for everything.

29. What is your favorite way to eat a potato?

Probably roast potatoes, but they’ve gotta be done right. Soft inside, crispy outside, and obviously with herbs and spices.

30. What is the best compliment you have ever received?

Honestly no idea.

31. Describe yourself in 6 words?

Slightly unstable yet somehow happy weirdo

32. What is the worst insult you have ever received?

Can’t think of any major insults either lmao no one talks to me apparently

33. Have you ever taken in any media that changed your life?

The Good Place and Supernatural. With supernatural it wasn’t the actual show so much as the friendships it made me and the confidence and happiness the conventions gave me, at a time when my mental health was at its worst, although the show helped massively too. Idc if it’s cringey, it kept me alive. The Good Place changed my entire worldview and actually made me less afraid of death.

34. Have you ever collected anything?

My model horses! I have at least 10 at this point

35. Strangest thing you have ever broken?

As in bones or objects? Can’t think of any objects and the only time I ever broke a bone was when I broke my toe at like 12:01am on new year’s day when I got up to pour myself another drink and tripped over the table

36. Weirdest food you have ever eaten?

I’m not that adventurous with food so nothing that weird

37. Childhood nickname?

My dad would call me Flo. Not sure why.

38. Most people you have shared a bed with in a non sexual manner?

Two. Shared a bed with my best friend and my other friend Josh, once at a convention, once at Josh’s birthday. Birthday one is a bit blurry as I was drunk but at the convention I got to be in the middle and spooned Josh while my best friend spooned me and it was very cosy

39. What is something that makes you fall asleep?

The Marillion song Angelina, or this one ASMR video that’s supposed to be the sound of being in the Impala with the Winchesters. Laugh all you want, I like it.

40. Did your parents ever accidentally lose or forget you?

No but my teacher did once, can’t remember the context, I think she had to drive me and some other girls somewhere for some club event and when we got back to the school she forgot me in the car because I was so quiet lmao

41. If you were a superhero what would your weakness be?

I would be a terrible superhero and have many weaknesses. Loud noises would immediately put me out of action. Someone makes eye contact with me and I disintegrate immediately

42. What food reminds you of home?

Tuna pasta! With this one specific sauce that my mum used to make it with

43. What is your comfort food?

Probably also that tuna pasta. And chocolate. A shit ton of chocolate.

44. Cold room with lots of blankets or hot room with no blankets?

Cold room with lots of blankets, no question.

45. No shoes without socks or no shoes with socks?

No shoes without socks

46. Do you run hot your cold?

I am presuming this means ‘do you run hot or cold’ and the answer is, usually, both simultaneously. My body has no idea what temperature regulation is. Catch me out for a walk in short sleeves in the snow, sweating profusely while violently shivering bc I’m feeling extremely hot internally but my skin is freezing (and yes, I have actually done this). Do I have some sort of legit medical issue? No one knows, least of all my doctors!

47. Favorite condiment?

Probably ketchup. Though I also love garlic dip. Does that count as a condiment?

48. What utensil do you use the most?

Probably my tongs for turning chicken and stuff

49. When are you most comfortable?

Any time I’m home alone, just doing my own thing

50. If you could be really good at one thing, what would it be?

Singing! I would love to be an amazing singer but sadly I am a terrible singer though I do practice every day in the vain hope that maybe my voice will improve. If the neighbours could hear me they would have killed me by now

#personal

2 notes · View notes

locke-writes · 7 years ago

Text

Shows First, Fandoms Later

Tagging: @ghostofachancewithyou (hope you don’t mind. I saw your comment and thought you might want to read.

AN: There might be fandoms mentioned as examples but this is not targeted towards any specific fandoms/shows or people in particular. This is solely my experience and opinion based on what I’ve seen in my time on tumblr. You have every right to disagree and if you have any opinions or questions at the end of this monstrosity please don’t hesitate to share/ask. I’m sorry for the length in advance

I’ve been on tumblr a long ass time. Six years to be exact (now don’t go fact checking because this blog is newer than my personal so it won’t actually reflect my tumblr age). But being on tumblr for so long had taught me a lot and made me observant of a lot of trends. Now most trends come and go but the one that I’ve seen remained is people gravitating to the fandom of a show before getting into the show itself.

Now I want to say before launching into why this isn’t a good choice that I don’t mean people who start watching a show based on gifs they’ve seen. I’ve been one of those people who thought something looked interesting because someone reblogged a gifset. This is a perfectly fine way of expanding your interests and I by no means discourage you from partaking in media because you saw something about it on your dash.

No what I’m referring to is getting into a show because you follow someone who began watching something and now they’re posting longwinded posts about why ______ shouldn't have happened or how could _______ have done that thing. I’m talking about people getting into shows because they might be drawn to a certain ship based solely on the reblogged or created content of someone they follow. No context, no character backstory, no nothing. You just base your own opinion off the opinions of others and as such these become your only opinions when partaking in the show.

That’s the kind of problems I’m talking about.

Now Noah, you might ask,

1. Why is this such a bad thing?

2. What if I’ve done this before and haven’t changed my mind?

3. Or what if I haven’t stepped into the problematic side of a fandom because of this?

Well then I say to you.

1. It isn’t a bad thing. At least not necessarily. Stepping into a fandom based on analytical posts can be perfectly fine so long as the analytical posts are about content rather than a ship. Getting into a fandom or a show specifically because of posts you’ve seen about the representation it has or the feminism in it is all perfectly fine. Getting into a show based on posts solely based on why one ship is superior than another. Bad. Harmful. Can be more hurtful to you in the long run than helpful.

Let’s look at Superwholock as a whole to examine this as these three fandoms were once some of the largest and some of the largest proprietors of ship war content. For those unaware of how Superwholock came to be or why these three shows with little to nothing in common are always grouped together allow an ancient of tumblr to explain.

When you first joined tumblr in 2012 it was a desolate place. Barely any content for any fandoms at all. Memes were abundant yet scarce at the same time. There were no fights between fandoms and the anonymous hate was there but rare and usually by someone who would slip up and send a hate message off anon only then to be exposed to the world. It was the reign of tumblr user pizza before she got her blog deleted for promoting diet pills and it was the days of either hating John Green for no reason or playing the “is that John Green” game. Now Superwholock got combined because at the time these were the main three fandoms people were in. The main three highjacking posts with their comments or gifs, and the main three fandoms that everyone was in. If you were into Supernatural or Sherlock or Doctor Who, then you were bound to be in one of the other two, both of them, or know someone who was.

Tumblr history lesson over we’ll get back to why watching a show based on analytical content of gifs and character actions isn’t helpful to you as a viewer. And we're going from firsthand experience here. I’m baring it all to you embarrassment be damned. Supernatural was my first tumblr fandom and I got into that fandom based on gifs that seemed interesting and the main ship that got tumblr either joyful or upset, Destiel. That’s Dean Winchester and Castiel if you’re out of the loop.

Now there's absolutely nothing wrong with the ship and good for you if you ship it. I’m just going off why you shouldn’t watch a show because of ship content or other non-critical content. (and yes I know ship content/queerbaiting content can be critical content but a lot of the time those critics are based on nothing at all and can be debunked by rewatching a scene. But that’s another post and argument for another day).

Seeing all the Destiel content on tumblr I was absolutely one hundred percent sure that I would ship them. That if I watched the show not only would I enjoy it but now I would 100% understand why everyone shipped them and what everyone was talking about when they talked about certain Destiel related scenes. But the problem was that when I began watching the show and getting to the seasons with Castiel, I didn’t see it. I didn’t get any romantic attraction between the two, in fact the ship began to not make sense at all. I couldn’t understand what people saw or where they saw it. Destiel scenes on tumblr made no more sense with context because now that I knew the context I didn't find anything ship worthy about them. For awhile I kept watching because I wanted to see it, eventually I thought I would gain shipping goggles, that something would happen. But the only thing that happened is that I began hating the fandom because it bothered me that what I saw wasn’t what they seemed to see, I felt that I was in the wrong. I began stumbling across shipping wars and seeing just how hateful a fandom could become, bashing the actors for not acknowledging a ship, bashing the writers for not making it canon. Fighting amongst themselves and sending death threats to people who didn’t ship what they did who might ship Castiel with Sam or someone else but not Dean. And because I got into the fandom first I was blinded to the true hatred. I had seen all this at the start but I had already bought into the fact these ship wars weren't hateful because I was on the right side, I had bought into the idea that the show I had yet to begun to watch was only what I had seen on tumblr and only what everyone seemed to see rather than gather my own opinion of it.

I had stumbled across a fandom in which everyone seemed to be creating something so wholly separate from the show that I believed it was the show. The content I consumed by the fandom was what I imagined the true content to be and then when I began the show on my own it crumbled and I became disillusioned. Burnt out on the thing that had first brought me joy.

Fandoms can be fantastic places but getting into them first can mean that you are getting into a fans perception of the show rather than the show itself rather than formulate an opinion of your own based on the content you choose to consume. Watch what you want and if you chose it based on tumblr content like gifs than good for you, but formulate your own opinion rather than base it off of argumentative posts one of your friends made.

2. If you’ve began watching a show because of these analytical posts and possible ideologies about certain ships and haven’t changed your mind than good for you. Maybe you separated the content from the posting on your own or maybe that content influenced your viewing habits but that ship or that character or whatever does make sense to you. I'm not saying that getting into a fandom first is 100% inherently bad, I’m just saying that it can be. If you enjoy someones content on here and their opinions and consume the media for yourself finding that your opinions do end up aligning for the most part with that other persons, there’s nothing wrong with it. You just happen to share a similar opinion with someone.

Fandoms are great and so are the people in them. Just be sure to formulate your own opinions about the content. If it aligns with some of the things you saw before you began watching, well alright then there’s nothing wrong with that.

3. Every side of a fandom can be problematic in some way. If by some miracle you’ve found other like minded individuals who understand that ship wars are petty and childish and blaming show runners and writers for things that you wanted to happen but didn’t than stay there and never leave. Stay in that miracle bubble. I’m not saying don’t hold up the writers and show runners up to certain standards. Of course do that, of course argue for representation and the like. Just don’t be a dick about it, do some research on who controls what aspect of a tv show, don’t attack people who work on the show, don’t claim to own the actors. And most importantly, treat them with respect. They are humans too yknow. Be upset with the turn out of something, you’ve every right to be, but don’t be upset that someone else didn’t get offended at the same thing you did. TV shows aren’t like real life. If you don’t get offended that this ship didn’t become canon you aren’t racist or sexist or homophobic, you simply just are looking at it in a different light. Unless of course you didn't like the thing because you are racist, sexist, or homophobic.

Basically. All fandoms are problematic in one way or another whether you see it or not. Reexamine yourself and the way you consume your content, the way you talk about it as well. Enjoy content for yourself.

All in all, watching a show because you liked something that happened in a gifset is completely fine. I’ve done it, plenty of people have done it, it’s a great way to find that new favorite character or thing. Just be sure that if you get into something because you saw some detailed post about why _______ should happen or ________ should become canon, don’t base your entire show watching experience on that. Base your experience with media off of what you want and are looking for. Don't be afraid to disagree with those old posts you thought you were going to identify with after watching and don’t be afraid to unfollow people who communicate only through hate or who’s opinions you find yourself disagreeing with. The shows you watch and the posts you look at should be ones you enjoy. If you don't enjoy the content then something might be wrong.

TL;DR: Getting into a show and watching it for yourself is great. Getting into a show because of gifs is great. Getting into a show because of analysis based posts can be harmful if you don’t step back and consume the media while formulating your own opinion.

#locke rambles #this is just an opinion piece #i did not proofread

5 notes · View notes