#drew this while I watched Meg 2 :P

[kuulpenguin]

Day 8: Blossom (Discovering the mysteries of alien life)

[period-dramallama]

Spanish Princess episode 6: my tired chronological thoughts

Say it with me now: “previously, on the Spanish Princess!”

-Is it just me or is tsp!koa sympathetic in this episode? 

-charlotte was actually acting really well in the first scenes. I really felt for her. Probably because she wasn’t spouting any stupid dialogue. 

-SO WE’RE JUST GOING TO FORGET ABOUT BABY STEALING HUH

-i wish i could forget

-”Cardinal Wolsey has been speaking with your daughter” if More and Maggie are now Mary’s adopted co-parents, can Wolsey please be the cool uncle?

-Please can we have wolsey speaking to mary in the fawning tone he uses with Henry and Mary’s just like...unimpressed.

-I will say this for tsp!koa, she does give good Hugs

-Yet again, Thomas More is babysitting the girls. While it’s good that Mary has adopted parents, it’s only sadder given her biological dad will execute both of them.

-it is actually historically accurate to have maggie p looking after Mary, she was Mary’s governess IRL, IIRC.

-also you wouldn’t leave the princess with just one person. She’d surely be supervised by at least 2 people, in case like one person had a heart attack or smth.

-PLEASE go back to calling her Lady Pole. AND GIVE THOMAS MORE TO DO

-”it will all come to nothing” sounds like something that WON’T come to nothing

-and now Henry and Wolsey have had a lover’s quarrel, they are such boyfriends they even quarrel like boyfriends.

-’summit’ sounds too modern

-Are Angus beefburgers named thus because of hard Meg roasted him this episode?

-”I wasn’t expecting to see you” yeah bc wasn’t the Field just F and H? 

-The cinematography was great last episode, and now we have weird close ups on the riot ringleader’s face. Why. I can practically see his saliva. Yum.

-Someone else got to the “Wolsey whispers like David Attenborough” joke first.

-What is that weird af flooring? It looks like they stole it from the set of Rivendell in LOTR.

-No dancing? No revels? No tongue in cheek allusions to Glastonbury or Woodstock? This Field feels more like parent’s evening at school.

-I’m now certain Flodden swallowed the budget whole and it was not worth it.

-”we are being threatened” “they drew a gallows in pig’s blood” This is so frustrating. You didn’t need Lina to spell it out for the audience. It would have been so much more suspenseful if you just saw the drawing, and then Lina’s terrified face, and we cut to the next scene. But you think the audience is so dumb we won’t realise a gallows drawn in blood is a threat? GTFO. And stop making Lina state the obvious!

-How good is Rosa’s hubby at his navigator job if they’re wearing brocade at a royal summit?

-To be fair to the show, “she’s only six years old,” is said by Rosa, not Catherine, and Rosa has been living outside England, so easy mistake.

-I like the compass gift, that was cute.

-Maggie watching the shadow play reminds me of the shadow puppets her mother and aunt played with in twq :’)

-THE WINE FOUNTAIN YES I CAN SEE THE WINE FOUNTAIN i was worried we wouldn’t see it

-I misheard Rosa and thought she called Buckingham Aardvark instead of Edward. I will now call him Aardvark. Yes I am very mature.

-I get that Wolsey is meant to be the Bad Guy, but he was literally just standing there with his wine, doing nothing. Stop shouting at him, Aardvark, YOU walked into HIM.

-”raise the price of ale” do you have any idea how much ale people were drinking in this period, Henry? That’s like the government putting up the price of water. You raise the price of ale and you’ll make the unrest worse. 

-People have been discussing Bessie’s behaviour, I think the issue is classism rather than xenophobia, cause she's worried for Lina and Oviedo and their kids but they’re servants of the crown, like she is, so they’re not ‘riff raff’, and she’s also dismissive of the rioters and wants “order restored” she said “heads on spikes” but I assume the heads are the rioters’ heads. Idk, either way the dialogue is clunky and stupid and this whole plotline is badly handled anyway and i do not care enough to rewatch that scene. 

-given how rude Francois was to Mary, IN PUBLIC, I kinda love the idea of her taking the mickey out of him. and look at that, Reggie Pole’s silence finally has a plot purpose! Given that Reggie was Mary Tudor’s archbishop and right hand man, it’s kind of touching that they’re connected in this way.

-Twenty minutes left of episode and the Field is over. Le disappointment. 

-”he’s gone!” Oviedo, I get that you’re probably in shock but... are you honestly trying to do CPR on a man who’s been skewered with a sword. I love you, Oviedo, but you were holding the show’s single braincell and now you’ve dropped it. I’ll give you a pass if you genuinely panicked.

-wtf henry pole your mother will hear about this

-The climax was very emotional...but ruined by the fact it’s total nonsense. Everyone in this show continues to be a total idiot. FINALLY we can be finished with the “not loving Mary” BS that should have lasted no more than 1 ep, if you had to do it at all.

-To be fair to the show, Mary comes across to me at least as traumatised, not as a gleeful baby tyrant. She’s not happy about men getting executed

-”My father cuts their heads off” it would have been such black comedy if koa was like “No darling, he won’t cut their heads off. Beheading’s for rich people”.

-please tell me you’re not hanging them by trapdoor method. The trapdoor method was invented in the nineteenth century.

-”grant them mercy” dude you said “they can die without me watching” so they’re probably all dead by now. 

-”first time he’s agreed” I will give the show a tiny tiny benefit of doubt and say maybe they mean this particular pope?? Actually scrap that they probably mean all popes.

-This should have been Thomas More’s time to shine, IRL he was involved in the govt response to Evil May Day, (I think he even addressed the mob to get them to surrender to the king) which I assume this riot is based off of. But because he was also at the Field, and the showrunners forced these two events to happen simultaneously, the showrunners decided to keep him at the Field...doing nothing. 0/10. 

-some lovely choral singing this episode. 

[austennerdita2533]

What are your fave romcom movies? And any that you like and would recommend? Thank you!

What’s so great about this ask is that you’re about to witness how ridiculously vast my love of romcoms extends, because I have so many recs! You’ve unknowingly opened Pandora’s Romcom Box, nonnie. Anyone who knows me - either online or irl - has been subjected to my chick flick voraciousness which knows no bounds. (AKA I binge Hallmark Channel on the regular, too.) There’s a reason my friends jokingly call me Romcom Ashlee haha.

Anyway, here’s a list of a bunch of my favorite romcoms in no particular order. I included some old movies as well because they’re amazing and I have no chill:

-Any Jane Austen adaptation in existence (seriously, I have an Austen obsession problem)

-You’ve Got Mail 

“I love daisies. They’re so friendly. Don’t you think daisies are the friendliest flower?”

-When Harry Met Sally

FRIENDS TO LOVERS GOLD !!!!!!!

-Sleepless in Seattle

-French Kiss 

This stars Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline. It’s not as famous or well-known as her others, but I LOVE IT TO PIECES.

-Sweet Home Alabama

There’s a running joke about this movie in my family. I pretty much quote it from start to finish and drive everyone mad. I also went through a phase for a few years as a young teen where I’d watch it like once a week, and somehow every time my uncle would pop home for a visit over the holidays I’d have it on. So, now, almost 2 decades later, he still teases me with a “we’re not going to watch Sweet Home Alabama again, are we?” any time he visits. 

Considering I just wrote a Klaroline fusion for this movie it’s safe to say my obsession lives on! 😂

-10 Things I Hate About You

-While You Were Sleeping 

The cast for this movie is incredible. It’s one of my all-time faves. 

-Laws of Attraction

-She’s All That

-Fools Rush In

“You are everything I never knew I always wanted.” *over here crying about it*

-Ever After

-Sixteen Candles

-Crazy Stupid Love

-Clueless

-Austenland

-P.S. I Love You

I cry every time I watch this movie. Never fails.

-The Notebook

-He’s Just Not That Into You

-Pretty In Pink

-27 Dresses

-Never Been Kissed

Michael Vartan was one of my first celeb crushes and I REGRET NOTHING.

-Sabrina (with Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, and William Holden)

-Gidget (with Sandra Dee and James Darren)

-The Philadelphia Story (with Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, and Jimmy Stewart)

-It Happened One Night (with Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert)

-The Shop Around the Corner (with Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullivan)

You’ve Got Mail is loosely inspired/based off this film. It’s a modern adaptation of it with a P&P twist

-Where The Heart Is

-Much Ado About Nothing 

It’s a period Shakespeare adaptation but IDC IT’S GLORIOUS.

-Chasing Liberty

It’s with Mandy Moore and Matthew Goode and MORE PEOPLE NEED TO SEE IT because it’s adorable. I convinced @klarolinekolvina to watch it the other day. I’m so bummed the rarely play it on TV anymore.

-Bridget Jones’s Diary and Bridget Jones’s Baby (those are my 2 favorite movies even though it’s a trilogy)

-Runaway Bride and Pretty Woman (aka it’s impossible to go wrong with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere)

-Notting Hill

-Love Actually

-The Holiday

-Forgetting Sarah Marshall 

-13 Going On 30

-How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days

-Lucky 7

-Something’s Gotta Give

-My Big Fat Greek Wedding

It’s so cute, plus Gus is a delight:

-My Best Friend’s Wedding

-The Wedding Singer and 50 First Dates (with Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler)

-The Princess Diaries 1 & 2

-The Princess Bride

-Four Weddings and a Funeral

-Along Came Polly

-500 Days of Summer

-Silver Lining’s Playbook

-Two Week’s Notice

-Letters to Juliet

-Sliding Doors

-Only You

It’s with Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr. I feel like it gets swept under the rug a lot, but I love it.

So I love the fake dating/relationship trope. Here are a few of those…

-To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before

This has been all over my blog since I first watched it over the weekend. It’s a trend which will continue because it’s beyond precious. 

-Drive Me Crazy

-One Small Hitch

This used to be on Netflix and I rewatched it so many times that were somebody tracking my viewing history he/she’d be all, “Girl, do you want anything else? Ever?”

-My Fake Fiancé

-Can’t Buy Me Love

-Just Go With It

Honestly, I never would’ve thought to pair Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston together but they have good chemistry.

-The Wedding Date

-The Proposal

…Okay, I will stop inundating you now. *angel halo* Rest assured I could go on for ages. I’m probably going to kick myself for forgetting something huge but this is a pretty good list. 

[luciisthebest]

Traitor

Pairing: Eventual Gangster!Dean x Reader

Summary: The reader begins to infiltrate the Winchester family and gain their trust.   

Warnings: Mentions of past sexual assault, some sexual harassment.

Word Count: 2,037

A/N: A new part yay! The next part is going to be a doozy. Anyways hope you like it and feedback is appreciated.

Catch Up Here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

The jaunty sounds of jazz drifted down the boulevard. The night was just beginning, couples strolled by arm in arm ready for a night of partying. Cars roared by, horns honking. New York City was truly a city that never slept. Speakeasies were the heartbeat of New York, they were a place where individuals of every race or gender could go and have fun. And on this night, you would begin your work. Eyes were watching you, making sure you did as you were told. Alistair had you trapped and he knew it, and as you stood in front of Infernum you could feel his noose tightening around your neck.

You stood idly in front of the speakeasy. You had asked Jordan to meet you there but so far she hadn't shown up. She was your ticket into the bar, her connections allowed her easy access and that's exactly what you needed.

“There you are!” Jordan came waltzing over to you pecking you on the cheek. “You look ravishing tonight.” She gave you a cheeky smile.

“Thank you. As do you. You ready to head in?” You joined arms with her, tilting your head towards the entrance of Infernum.

“Of course! I was surprised when you asked me to meet up here. I know you're not much for partying. It must have been a certain someone you met that has brought this mysterious change about.”

You ducked your head feeling a blush spread up your neck. “Yeah not likely.”

“Uh huh.” Jordan didn't sound convinced.

“Oh come on.” You turned to her. “Do I…” A gasp emanated from Jordan making you trail off. “What?”

“Your face. What happened?” She stared right at the dark bruise that had bloomed after your confrontation with Alistair.

“Oh that?” You became flustered. “I uh tripped and fell while I was walking to the bathroom. I tried to cover it up but I guess I didn't do a good job.” You laughed but even to your ears it sounded false. Jordan continued to watch you. You could tell she didn't believe you but wasn't going to push you either. “Come on. Don't want to miss all the fun.” You grabbed her arm and dragged her closer to the entrance.

“You know he's trouble?” Jordan knocked three times on the door to Infernum.

“Who?”

“Dean Winchester.”

“Oh please.” You rolled your eyes. “I have no interest in him.”

“So then it must be Sam?”

Your laugh filled the air as the door opened. “Not likely.”

“You do know he's married right?” Jordan grabbed your arm and dragged you into the darkened room.

“I saw his ring. Who's the lucky dame?” You muttered sarcastically.

“I don't know. Eileen something. She's Deaf but I guess they met, fell in love, and that was that.”

“Huh. How romantic.” As you made your way deeper into the crowd you noted a sultry brunette on the stage. She was extremely beautiful, with dark eyes and red lips. Her smokey voice filled the room as she swayed to the music. “Who’s that?” You nodded your head towards the woman.

Jordan glanced her way, her eyes narrowing as they settled on the woman. “That's Ruby.” Jordan spit her name with disgust.

“Oh do tell.”

“She works for the owner.” She replied shortly.

“And?” You drew the word out knowing it would annoy your friend.

“And she's been after Sam Winchester since they broke up. She's an evil conniving woman.” Jordan turned away obviously done with the conversation.

Swiftly you walked after her, but froze mid step when you spotted Dean sitting in a booth. It appeared he was all alone and he's deep green eyes were on you. A shiver raced up your spine, there was a storm raging in his eyes, a barely contained rage.

Your heart was racing and your chest rose frantically as you tried to catch your breath. All you could do was stand there and stare. It didn't matter to you that people were beginning to stare, all that mattered was the very angry man sitting across the room. Then that very angry man stood up and began walking towards you. His movements were stiff as he swiftly moved in front of you.

The moment he was close enough for you to hear he spoke. “Who did that to your face?” His voice was tight.

“Wha-what?” You stammered stupidly.

He reached out and gently touched your cheek, making you flinch. “Who did this?” He growled.

“No one. I tripped and fell.”

Dean’s eyes bore into yours. “You're a terrible liar.”

“I'm not lying!” You snapped taking a step away from him.

“Just tell me who did it.”

“Why? So you can send one of your men after them. Wait what's the proper terminology when it comes to Mafia families? Oh that's right, soldier.” Dean grabbed your hand and began dragging you over to his table. “What are you doing?” You yelped.

Dean didn't respond, he just continued pulling you to the table. When you got there you realized another man was sitting in the shadows. He had dark hair and bright blue eyes that seemed to glow with knowledge.

“Sit.” Dean ordered glaring at you.

“Fine.” You huffed making a big show of sitting down. As Dean sat across from you intimidation filled you. You really wished Jordan was at your side but she had of course run off.

“Y/N this is Cas. Cas this is Y/N.” Dean offered a brief introduction.

“So who's he in your little family drama?”

Cas looked at you in amusement. “I see she knows who you are.”

“Apparently.” Dean muttered.

“If you must know. I'm known as the underboss.”

“Hey at least you get boss in your title.”

Dean glared at you. “Why are you here Y/N?”

“Why shouldn't I be? I like to go out and party just like any other girl.”

Dean laughed but it was cold and lacked all humor. “Doubtful. You're here for something.”

You sighed dramatically. “I'm here to get as much information from you as I can and then I plan on murdering you in your sleep.”

“I think you've met you match Dean.” Cas chuckled giving his friend a nudge.

“Look I'm just curious okay? I know that you and the Novak family have some bad blood and I wanted to know about it. And before you ask, it wasn't hard to connect the dots. Once I realized who you were it didn't take me long to figure some things out.”

Dean sighed as he ran a hand though his hair giving him a devilishly disheveled look. “Short story, the Novak family is responsible for both of my parents deaths. That's what started the feud.”

“My brother lusts for power.” Cas continued.

“Wait, brother?” You interrupted.

Cas nodded. “Luce is my older brother and the head of the Novak family.”

You stared at him, your mouth hanging open in shock. “Wow…”

Dean gave Cas a knowing look. “Ever since my parents death it's been an all out war between the two families. Your Alastair is the captain of the Novak family.”

You felt yourself pale at the mention of your tormentor’s name. Nausea filled you and the world did a whirling tilt making you feel unsteady.

“Are you alright?” Cas looked at you in concern.

“Yes.” You choked out. “He's not my Alistair. He's a monster.” Your hands griped the edge of the table as you tried to remain upright.

“Well if you know he's a monster why were you with him.” Dean looked at you in disgust.

“It wasn't by choice.” You whispered looking down at the table. Silence feel over the table. Glancing back up at both men, you noted they both looked at you with mistrust in their eyes. “I swear I never wanted to be anywhere near him. And if I can help take him down I will. I heard some names when I was with him. Perhaps they may be of some help.” Dean and Cas exchanged looks. “I can clearly recall three names. Arthur Ketch, Samuel, and a woman going by the name of Meg Masters. I don't know if that means anything to you but that's all I know.”

Dean's jaw clenched as you listed the names, the look on his face becoming harder and harder. Turning to his second in command his voice was harsh. “Did you know anything about this?”

“About what?” You interrupted.

Cas frowned. “Meg is my fiancé.”

“Did. You. Know?” Dean growled.

“No.” Cas answered with a pained face. “She is a traitor.”

“Go. Break the news to the family, make sure all plans she may know about are changed. I'll join you once I'm finished up here.” Dean waved him off.

“I really should be going.” You began to stand up as Cas exited the booth.

“Stay a moment, I have something I’d like to discuss with you.” Dean casually lifted his glass to his lips.

“Alright.” You murmured sitting back down. “It was nice to meet you Cas and I'm so sorry about your fiancé.” Cas only gave a sad smile before he turned and disappeared into the crowd. When you turned your gaze back to Dean you found him watching you as he absently swirled the liquid in his drink round and round.

“You must know more about Alistair and the Novak family.”

You shifted uncomfortably. “Not really. I didn't know he was associated with a family and I was never made privy to their plans.”

“He's the one who gave you that bruise isn't he?” Dean suddenly switched subjects.

“What? No! I told you I-”

“You slipped and fell you told me. But I know he was in your apartment last night.”

Your eyes widened in shock. So much for keeping that secret. “And what if he was? Why do you care? All I am to you is a means to an end.” You hissed as you stood up.

“That's not true!” Dean slammed his glass on the table.

“Don't lie to me Dean. I already have enough people in my life who do that.” You glared down at him fed up with his confusing behavior. One moment he was caring and almost sweet then the next he was cold and rude. “Thank you for the oh so wonderful night. And on that note this is where I bid you farewell.” You huffed then turned on your heel and walked into the swaying crowd.

As you pushed your way through the crowd an upbeat jazz song began. Couples spun around you but you ignored them, intent on leaving the bar. Behind you, a hand grabbed your elbow and spun you around into the arms of the very person you were hoping not to see. “What are you doing here?” You hissed as Alistair lead you into the quickstep.

“Just wanted to see if you were doing as I asked. That was quite the lovely performance I do have to say.” He leered at you. “There's just one little problem.” He spun you around in time with the music. “We just lost a valuable source of intel because of you.”

“I thought they already knew.” You cringed waiting for his wraith.

“This is your only warning little bird. No more slip ups.”

“There won't be I promise.” You felt his grip tighten on your waist as he tugged you closer to him.

“Good.” He nipped at the edge of your ear making you feel the urge to hurl. “Now I have a little information gathering mission for you.” He pulled you towards the door away from the music and the dancing crowd. “It shouldn't be to difficult all you have to do is show up.” He handed you a slip of paper with an address, date, and time. “Don't disappoint me again.” With those words Alistair again faded into the shadows.

His scent still swirled around you as you exited the bar. All around you people went about their business but all the activity was lost to you. All you could do was stare at the words writtten on the paper and think of Alistair's parting words. One more mistake and you were dead.

Part 6  

Tags:

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[elizabethrobertajones]

Kinda fell off the grid with Crippling Arm Pain for a couple of days and watched Asylum, Scarecrow, Faith, Route 666 and the first half of Nightmare in a haze of "ow ow ow ow" and I don't have a whole lot to say about them and their individual moments that relates to season 12 that we haven't already said when anything relevant happened at the time IN season 12 while it was airing...

This whole section of season 1 though, makes a shift in Dean and Sam's dynamic which I think is where they drew most of the angst from for like, the rest of the show, and as usual I'm still obsessed with 12x22 and that very specific message of Sam leading and Dean stepping back and letting him do it. And very specifically where that came from and how as a reversal of season 1 in some ways back to the pilot, Sam gets walked back out of what he gets walked into over these episodes.

Sam perpetually comes back to the sort of "you have to let me grow up" thought like in season 5 & 8 ESPECIALLY off the top of my head before 12, although I think 3 was as well in response to knowing Dean would die, and tbh kicked off the entire arc from 3-5. So yeah, it's been a lot of Sam's lingering feeling about Dean and their dynamic and in 12x22 we see another gesture which I don't think (apart from the endless IMPLICIT trust of just working with Sam every friggin' NORMAL day of the week treating him like an equal when this ISN'T a plot thing) we've had aside from Swan Song, in terms of Big Symbolic Okay You Are An Adult Now Seriously How Are We Still Doing This Plot Oh Right Season 8 Needed Old Angst Warmed Up On All Fronts moments.

(Uh, sorry, I'll pick a fight with Carver about the laziness of season 8 character arcs on my own time because everyone else likes that season and generally it seems the show did well re: audience response to going back to basics and rehashing multiple seemingly resolved character arc things instead of going somewhere new :P Long post 99.9% not about that last thought AT ALL under the cut)

Anyway! In the first part of season 1, Sam is with Dean to find John. And he passes it off as a road trip to anyone who asks, and John is the thing keeping Sam from just meeting up with him and they charge off father & son guns blazing revenge mission - he's disappeared, and then sends them on another hunt when they catch up to where they lost him, also on a hunt he makes them take on his behalf.

For a few episodes Dean can fob Sam off about going to work cases while they look for John but he already kinda knows, then at the end of Phantom Traveller it's confirmed for them that John changed his answer phone to redirect to Dean, and the family business is now his. For Dean that's just like, welp, I'll shoulder THAT burden for my family too, no problem, already got a whole crushing weight there anyway hahaha. 

For Sam that makes it a lot more complicated, that John doesn't WANT to be found and he's now effectively trapped with Dean working the job while trying to convince him John is more important, and Dean is convinced John’s orders are more important.

Bloody Mary doesn't have any real resistance to doing the case, and Sam's preoccupied with visions & Jess's death still, so I think his head is still spinning about what he's actually doing and the case doesn't help settle him AT ALL. In Skin, he's the one who makes them backtrack for a personal thing which turns into a case, and he learns the crappy lesson that he can't have normal friends and essentially sees that Dean feels like a friendless freak even if he pretends this is all cool and part of the job, but rather more focus on Sam as the rebellious child being dragged back into the awful family and his own sense of sacrificing normality for the job & revenge from his perspective (looking ahead to how this bubbles over). Hook Man, he offers token protests to doing the case while we start with him obsessing over finding John, and in Bugs it starts with Sam checking for cases in the newspaper while Dean hustles - we know from Bloody Mary Sam has Dean's money and he really is freeloading as a road trip not just in what he keeps telling everyone, but that Dean is allowing him to stay at a careful remove from feeling like he's actually just doing the job again.

Bugs also has all the good family stuff where we finally have Sam and Dean rehash the trauma of Sam leaving, as of course this is all open wounds to them because Sam left and they don't see each other again until the Pilot, so this is a needed and much-delayed conversation directly addressing for the first time not just on screen but ever, between them about Sam going to college and how HE felt in the family, like the outcast who wanted to be normal, and he gloms onto Matt who is having similar issues with his dad that baffles Dean about why Sam relates to it so much. 

They're still going over early childhood > Sam leaving stuff in their dynamic and Sam really IS the kid brother on a road trip, and he is treated that way by the narrative in a lot of ways like this (also as in Sam sees this as a distraction and John and revenge is the real story/job/mission so hanging with Dean is as useful as road tripping :P I don’t think it’s just a cute excuse he uses over and over), probably up to Home, where it all starts getting more personal and real. 

Sam gets to see Mary with his own eyes for the first time, and they have a bit more of a sense of being in it together and Sam being inducted into the family mythos, revisiting stuff that was very very abstract to him, and for a multitude of intents - writerly from the show and from Chuck and his "narrative symmetry" and the motives from the demons who conspired to kill Jess, that needed to happen to Sam to make it more real to him (in the same way Dean felt all along about Mary dying because that pain didn't go away just because it had been a long time. The point is NOT what Sam says that Dean doesn’t know how it feels - it’s that SAM didn’t but it’s fresh and awful and despite growing up surrounded by grief, fancy learning coping mechanisms from John? Hence, follows in his footsteps, revenge-obsessed).

Anyway! Asylum changes their dynamic now - Sam is beginning to be openly frustrated even before John sends them a case that Dean's dragging him around on the job when they should be getting revenge, and I think he's now still sort of road tripping until the end of the season because of his speech in Shadow about being a person again, and the flip only being demonstrated in 2x02 that he now is the one more dedicated to hunting and doing the job. 

And during Asylum Sam vents to the psychiatrist under the guise of complaining about his road trip, presumably similar stuff but less murdery to what he yells at the end, and there's a whole thing with him being annoyed the kids think Dean is his boss. The fight continues in Scarecrow with Dean standing up for being a good soldier - I mean son - and Sam stomps off to find John. 2 episodes in a row he uses the road tripping excuse to vent about being stuck in close quarters with Dean bossing him around when he meets Meg and vents to her as well, but he has his realisation about family when Dean is in trouble and goes back.

After that he's immediately smacked with Faith, which is the first challenge one of them has of the other dying, and to which Sam has to save Dean at any close. His characterisation in this whole first chunk reminds me of season 10 Sam a great deal as I’ve recently rewatched it too (he has a "where's my brother!?" line in Skin which has like, the exact same delivery as 10x01's opening, among other little things which stood out to me) but this one episode in particular... Because he does save Dean, at a great cost, even having some very ominous-for-season 10 discussion about the evil black magic spell book and the desperation of Sue-Ann to bring Roy back, all of which made me laugh bitterly when I came through here on my post-season 10 rewatch, because it was pretty much word-for-word Sam's season 10 all in one episode, right down to the freakin pothole in Nebraska.

I think it's interesting Sam is the first one to make an ethically dubious/bad choice to save Dean (dubious since he didn't know it was bad, bad because he doubled down on it after - also looks much worse with at least 10 more years of canon rather than in the immediate moment it's just a bit edgy :P) while in season 2 Dean saves Sam selflessly and after a whole season of feeling brought back against the natural order (something I think is only exacerbating how he already felt since Faith and finding out what Sam did for him). 

I think this is a way to tie Sam deeply into the family and make him prove he'd go so far for Dean after all his rebellion and anger at Dean, with Dean represented as the boss and the good son/older brother, that Sam isn't actually going to really stomp off any time soon. He takes several strong lessons in a row about family and reconciliation, starting with the mirror family in Bugs and like, every episode after that except in Asylum because it abuts Scarecrow and is an ongoing emotional arc one starts and the other resolves, again proving to Sam he was wrong and being with Dean and doing the job is more important than revenge. (For now - he still has this choice all season and makes a false analysis for easy conclusion to the story by the writers that Dean's all he has left and he doesn't know where John is, even though they only just talked to John for the first time to get solid proof he's alive, AND Sam thought he knew where he was for the first time as well and only didn't go there because of going back to help Dean).

That all shifts Sam's dynamic from a fairly equal partnership, where Sam was kind of along for the ride, but without being strictly tied into the family business because he was road tripping, he was basically like... a support hunter Dean took with him to not work alone, just, you know, the best hunter Dean knew for the job :P And that changes after the midseason to really make Sam ductaped firmly back into the family business. But once he's there, Dean goes from equal partner to older brother who is ALSO his boss in Sam's eyes (even though Dean's really just desperately following John's orders, and is the one fighting in general for the family business to continue, in an a-political way about Sam's role in it, just that Sam sees him deciding things and feels like it is Dean ordering him around... They have issues about it, basically :P), and once Sam reconciles with THAT he does ethically sketchy stuff to save Dean and doesn't regret it, which is more of a blood pact thing to reaffirm commitment and loyalty.

In Route 666 Dean calls the shots, and Sam plays a trust game with the church thing so they both get in a power play of sorts and Sam teases Dean the entire time about Cassie...

(But this is all Buckleming characterisation, which I tend to find completely backwards, and thanks to watching with my mum, I went from 1x13 to 10x03, and remembered I still want to write a tooth-grinding post about their characterisation because something about it really sets my teeth on edge specifically about Sam and it just occurred to me watching 10x03 that that was how they wrote him in 1x13 and it was vaguely justified there because specific scenario but like... is that just their impression of who Sam is? Anyway in 10x03 there's lines he could have said seriously or whatever but there's like, a Buckleming Face Sam has/Jared uses and it makes me massively intrigued to know wtf tone suggestions they put in their scripts because almost without fail Sam only acts like this in their episodes and the grimace Jared uses delivering their Sam dialogue, even relatively inoffensive lines, is like at least a full 30% of why their episodes make my teeth grind because wtf he never does it in any other episodes with any other writers, it's like he has a separate personality to play Buckleming!Sam?? This is all massively beside the point except to say on realising that I decided that I just cba to analyse that one for personal arc stuff :P)

And in Nightmare, Sam's back to a sort of subordinate role in the power dynamic because he has to prove to Dean his visions are real (I think Dean totally believes him he just really really badly doesn't WANT them to be real but it means Sam spends the first 10 minutes needlessly arguing his case wanting to be believed) and then at the end Dean coddles him with a protective you've got me you'll be fine speech, which again puts himself in the role of protector to Sam.

I feel like from here on out their dynamic is hashed out a bit more firmly with all these specific things having happened in relation to all the main arcs - Sam's powers, the family business, John, Sam n Dean, saving each other from death, the whole lot, which as I said up the top, OBVIOUSLY day-to-day they still act very equally and usually, unless plot reasons, have 100% equal trust on cases and work side by side very well. But long-term, I can see a LOT of character stuff settling on Sam that becomes his pattern of thinking (e.g. the stuff in Asylum & Scarecrow especially betraying how he feels as the younger brother being bossed around) that in the first handful of episodes at least up to Home wasn't an issue or a part of their dynamic and they were going for a brothers on a roadtrip vibe without a lot of these Dire Obligations or Life And Death Pacts and so on.

I think Sam hasn't really been able to get out of this because season 5 was supposed to resolve it, but season 6 and 7 have something constantly wrong with him until Cas fixes him for good, so Dean spends a great deal of Gamble era having to deal with each new thing that happens to Sam, frequently acting with power of attorney to fix him and get his soul back etc for his own good. Sam has a blissful free space in his life from 7x17-7x23 and got to work equally and fairly and without any massive interpersonal drama or whatever with Dean (though for most of season 7 after they reconcile say from 7x09 onwards they have one of their best dynamics with the least interpersonal drama once they let go the Amy fight), and then Carver takes over and gives Sam 1 more year or so of recovery off-screen only to smash it all up with a sledgehammer and regress him all the way back to how bad he was in 8x23... Which we’ve been recovering from for all the characters ever since.

Anywho I said I wasn't going to get all obsessed about that, but the point is that watching season 1 and knowing where Sam is going to be coming from in season 12 about his own personal growth and how HE views it, I can see some interesting stuff because a lot of season 1 is Sam VOICING how he feels about their dynamic, job and lives, because it's the exposition season to get us involved in their lives and there's a lot of telling and explaining hot they feel about this that and the other. Knowing how Sam says he didn't want to lead and so on, his original issues with leadership was that he felt he had a mind of his own and Dean didn't and he didn't WANT to be bossed around by Dean, and to do his own thing. And season 1 subsumes him into the family business, and it leaves me thinking about the ever-relevant 10x05, and how the line about John in "The Road So Far" was that he took away their free will.

I sort of feel like watching season 1, you can see Sam giving ground over and over again in these fights. I know there's more to come, but the important flip next is in 1x16 where it stops being Sam swinging against Dean's position in the family, and goes back to Sam vs John, where it stays for the rest of the season and of course ending in 2x01 with John leaving them on a fight and 2x02 Sam having given himself over to the job and not really getting a break from then on to even dream of something normal until he hit a dog... 

So that's all totally different territory in season 1 because there wasn’t much/any Sam vs John stuff in season 12 that I can think of (idk if sharp-eyed Sam fans caught a narrative about it I didn’t see making its way onto my dash), so I think I've watched the parts now which exposition most clearly how Sam ends up essentially following Dean into the family business and in the main arc stuff seeing himself as still being the kid brother being bossed around and made to do it somewhat against his will to have a normal life even if as I say, in general unless this point is being made, Dean rarely if ever acts like this towards Sam and Sam seems to have all the freedom he likes to call the shots in their dynamic because Dean will totally trust him with all the normal parts of their job without being precious about taking his lil brother into fights...

Obviously there’s a hell of a lot more intervening trauma and I think Carver era does a LOT to Sam to beat him down from a relatively balanced, happy-with-himself-and-the-universe place so to actually trace WHY Sam felt like he did in 12x22 you’d start at 8x01 and begin counting THERE, but looking at season 12 through a season 1 lens is really interesting to me.