#i don't post about spn often

[just-prime]

Here's the thing about the Castiel confession that I don't think people from the-fandom-not-to-be-named (lest they find this and start sending me death threats) understand...

No one knew it was coming. In no one's mind were we all going into Despair (15x18) thinking "Oh I know, Cas is going to confess his love to Dean." We never thought it because it was never something that was on the table to begin with. It was one of those things of where we knew that they loved each other, and honestly that was fine. After 11 years of dealing with those two dumbasses, this was nothing new. I didn't even watch it live because I was like "You know, it's election night, I need to get some sleep" and it wasn't until @sledgehamur called me and was like "you need to watch it now, and you need to not look at your phone until you are done" that I was like "Aw shit, something big happened. Cas probably died, that's probably it."

But then the speech happened and we were all gobsmacked. And again, 11 years...we are a monster of a fandom that has a variety of sleeper agents who hadn't watched the show in 8 years but tuned back in because of the immediate collective scream unleashed by the active fandom.

So this is all a really round about way of saying that it's really really adorable that fans think their little firefighters are going to 'outdo destiel' and therein lies the problem. All of them are going into the Nov 5th episode (titled Confessions) with expectations and entitlement to their two faves are going to start making out on screen. And I don't know if feels like the ST people screaming about queerbaiting again...

All in all, if your already canonically bi character dumps his canonically queer boyfriend just to be with a character that he's been shipped with more but has no actual set up with whatsoever...

That isn't Destiel 2 : Electric Boogaloo, that's just crap writing.

But then again, this is why I watch everything to do with this show from at least 4 miles away with a telescope and from behind an electrified fence with a lab coat on and a scientific notebook in hand.

Well, I hope this makes sense. It were very much shower thoughts I put down on the page as rambles and my one hope this validates someone with a buddie stan in their life who's going on and on and on about how it's going to be just like how it was in 2020 without actually understanding any of the context behind it.

[buckleydiazmp4]

ugh. once again. shut the fuck up

[dying-suffering-french-stalkers]

i fucking love your url

thank you, tumblr user supernatural season 16

[weidli]

nightmare really is like. guy A, who is at the least passively suicidal and probably thinks he deserves to die, suggests killing guy B, who was physically abused by two thirds of his family while the last third enabled it and snapped and killed two of them and wants to kill the third . guy A, who we know would rather die then contemplate hurting the remaining members of his family even when they're trying to kill him. guy A, who says but it doesn't justify murdering his entire family. guy A's brother says do you think i could end up like [guy B] and guy A says you won't. not as long as i'm here

[hashtagloveloses]

i don't think people understand the insane conditions i experienced november 5th 2020 under. it was an out of body experience for a lot of people but for me specifically:

i was working news, in the year 2020. i spent every day looking at the literal horrors and had become a hollowed out shell of myself by the time the election had came around

an early covid infection and probably that fuckshit job gave me a neurological condition where i was unknowingly put on a psychiatric medication without my consent that is jokingly often called DOPE-amax because of how it makes you zooted out. other than being in the hospital for said condition i kept working in said job the ENTIRE summer and fall of 2020, on this medication, ingesting the brunt of the world's news while numbed to the world, stuck in my house because of covid, protest street curfews, and a diuretic medication that made going in the sun difficult so i could barely even go on walks

because of sunk cost fallacy i was one of the few people still watching spn by the final season and actually was caught up and still watched it week to week so i had the CONTEXT when november 5th rolled around

the week BEFORE the election, i had been doxxed by jack posobiec the white supremacist and said news job tried to fire me for it, so i couldnt say anything political online, leading to my only outlet being TALKING ABOUT DESTIEL for days at a time to which said employer spying on my private social media accounts performed a WELLNESS CHECK on me because of the amount of destiel i was posting

the week of the election i was obviously working more than usual while being on call for the election results for days at a time so when a friend said "oh my god check tumblr" my first response was "theres no election results on tumblr"

i was taken off said medication that made me zooted out about a month or so before the election (and being doxxed), so i went into that fateful day with a clearheadedness i had not had in literal months

please imagine experiencing destiel putin election night under these conditions

[farenmaddox]

SPN wild theory time

I will just go ahead and start with my thesis statement: I don't think that Jack killed Mary.

With that out of the way, let's get into my warnings for this post: 1. There will be spoilers for Seasons 11-15 of Supernatural 2. I wasn't in this fandom 5-6 years ago when these episodes were coming out; maybe you guys already talked this all out and your entire response is going to be "we already went through this, dude." 3. This post is actually like 3-4 posts in a trenchcoat. I may have gone slightly overboard.

All that said, buckle up, here we go.

Chuck's "omniscience" is questionable. He has been surprised by Dean's decision-making and been upset about it, and has admitted that Castiel is someone whose actions often contradict Chuck's narrative. So, by his own admission, he doesn't/can't know everything.

However, he always thinks ahead and always has multiple ideas on how to solve a situation, and he always has a contingency plan.

First, let's look at how he handled the Amara situation. I would characterize Chuck's behavior in Season 11 as writing a self-insert fic. Chuck is a writer, after all. He knew that Dean taking the Mark of Cain would either lead to Dean's destruction or to Amara being released, so he would have been ready for Amara to appear well before she actually did. But it's only in episode 11x20 that he chooses to do anything about it, ostensibly because Metatron talks him into it. We already see signs that he's kind of "done" with the prime world and the Winchesters here, but then Metratron convinces him to give it another go, and that's when it becomes self-insert fic.

He displays the ability to absorb Amara into himself in episode 15x17, so I think this was always the contingency plan if all else failed. But he wanted to be in the story. He wanted to be on the team and be a hero, so he joins up to do the big assault on Amara plan that is carried out in 11x22. I truly do not think he foresaw that Amara would win that fight. And with how badly wounded he is, the contingency plan is no longer viable. So he has to go with the Dean-as-a-bomb plan. He was already thinking about letting it all go to shit, so this is fine. But then Dean wants to save the day with his faith in familial love, which Chuck definitely didn't see coming. I think Chuck lets it happen despite the fact that he doesn't actually give two shits about Amara just because Dean is his favorite and has managed to surprise him so maybe the world should go on a little longer.

All of this is just establishing a baseline of Chuck-ness. Now we're going to talk about Jack.

See, I don't think Chuck ever planned on Jack actually being carried to term and surviving. The wild card, as always, is Cas. Who, when he had a chance to kill a nephilim (a thing he has done before! a thing he has assisted in doing in the past! it's a sure bet for Chuck!)...doesn't do that. But that's okay (Chuck thinks)! The Winchesters will probably kill the kid! And if they don't, and Lucifer wins, then Chuck can swoop in and be like "my beautiful son and my beautiful grandson, oh my me, this is delightful, we should be a family" and then kill them both.

Dean hating Jack was absolutely Chuck's first choice of potential plots for how to take care of the Jack problem when it turns out that there is going to be a Jack. He likes that story. It surely fills him with glee that Sam doesn't hate Jack and Dean does. But then... fuck, it's Castiel, again! Chuck had no involvement in Cas being resurrected, for once. No way to predict that one. And Cas being back means that Dean doesn't hate Jack and isn't going to kill him, especially since Jack helps them get Mary back, which sucks for Chuck, who is now very committed to this storyline of Dean killing Jack. Don't forget, Chuck can kill Jack whenever he wants. But he wants Dean to do it. He's bored and done with Dean and is ready for Dean to be dead.

So, how do we get Dean to kill Jack? Well, obviously Cas's death doesn't goad him to do it because the fucker just can't stay dead, so it has to be Sam or Mary. And it can't be Sam, because Sam has to watch Dean kill Jack and himself. That's the story. So it has to be Mary, right?

Chuck just has to wait for the right moment.

Jack has a strong sense of fear about hurting people by the time of Mary's death. 13x06 and 14x16 are some critical episodes where we see how he feels and reacts to hurting innocent people. And he seems to have pretty good control over his powers as well. He had just recently had a conversation with Donatello (in 14x15) about how easy it is to continue doing the right thing without a soul. His decision to kill Felix the snake was very much on purpose and very controlled, and honestly can everyone shut up about the snake. Jack fucking loved that snake. It was sick and nobody else knew how to help Felix either. He euthanized a sick pet.

So it is hard to believe that Jack just randomly lost control of his powers and killed someone whom he had no reason to kill. That's not really consistent with Jack's behavior. Even when he's in a complete rage in 14x20 after what Sam and Dean did to him, he doesn't kill them. At his most angry and while experiencing a huge surge in power, he somehow doesn't kill Sam and Dean. But we're expected to believe that in 14x17, he just "accidentally" flies off the handle and kills Mary.

The thing that is genuinely so crucial is that we do not see Mary's death in 14x17. It does not happen on screen. Deaths in this show always happen on screen, and it's not on screen. All we see is her face near Jack's, and the next episode all we see is the blast site. I think that the reason we don't get to see it is because it didn't actually happen the way we're told it did.

The fact that Mary can't be resurrected? That's weird, and new. That literally never happens. Everyone can be resurrected. People who were turned into paste by archangels can be resurrected. People who have been cremated can be resurrected. But Mary can't be? That's got Chuck's smell all over it.

Jack thinks he killed Mary, but he fucking didn't. Chuck did it. Chuck smote the shit out of that woman and Jack doesn't have any other explanation for what happened. I don't even think he is actually hallucinating Lucifer. Soulless guy who "doesn't feel guilt" and doesn't want Lucifer in his subconscious but somehow can't get rid of him? It's Chuck. It's Chuck dressed up as Lucifer to keep Jack on the edge and convince him it was his fault so he can lead everybody to the grand finale.

And then stupid Dean ruins the story and doesn't kill Jack. Which Chuck should have seen coming, because this is what happened with Amara! But he didn't, because sometimes Chuck actually doesn't know things! It's okay though (Chuck thinks), because Chuck always has a contingency plan. He has always been able to kill Jack whenever he wanted, and if Dean's not going to do it, Chuck might as well. So he does.

I'm telling you. Chuck killed Mary. Jack didn't do it.

[runawaydr3amerao3]

Supernatural Poll: Cigarette Smoking

I often see headcanon posts about SPN characters, mostly Dean, being cigarette smokers. It made me wonder if there's a correlation.

The poll isn't about casting judgement on smokers or non-smokers, so no getting personal, please. I'll share my opinion in a separate post so that if you want to reblog the poll alone (please reblog for a larger sample size!), you can.

Thanks!

[dotthings]

Thinking over some things I've seen over time from spn fans: the anti-lit crit takes in spn fandom are in fact classist, elitist, and pretentious.

a) pretentiousness against spn which is a shoestring budget genre horror series that aired on a bottom-rung network. There is an assumption it couldn't possibly good, and assumption the writing team couldn't possibly know what they're doing. (Have to wonder if people have seen any of their post-spn work...then come tell me the network wasn't a problem, that these writers weren't doing amazing work inside the imposed fencing of spn on cw. Or even a later show on cw itself, which proves how much spn had extra fencing). People who genuinely appreciate spn (even if we criticize sometimes or have gotten mad at it as people do, because nobody is claiming it's a perfect piece of media, it's a flawed media, and I've never denied that) are assumed to be stupid, lacking in good judgment on what good writing is, low in taste, and if we appreciate anything about modern spn, assumed to be too dumb to comprehend spn.

b) anti-genre bias. These elitist viewpoints toward a horror genre tv show often goes hand-in-hand with anti-genre biases, not always, but often. In my direct experience, people who watch a lot of genre tv are less likely to do this to spn. They are also far more familiar with genre tv's uses of symbolism and literary devices and how genre tv conveys its narratives and so are more facile at picking up on what spn is doing. spn fandom has a certain number of fans who seem like they'd really be happier not watching genre tv. I'm not knocking things that aren't genre tv, but mainstream dramas have different kinds of rules. I do watch and appreciate some mainstream dramas, I'm not dissing mainstream drama, but mostly I watch genre tv and I like it like that. What I have noticed though is systemic biases against genre, and ironically it affects spn fandom. There is a societal assumption that "mainstream drama" is superior to genre tv. Lingering biases that say fantasy and horror and SF are silly. And therefore not worthy of close media analysis.

c) assumptions, even aggressive assertions, that academic degrees are what make people the superior, more reliable narrators on the canon. Even attempts at gatekeeping and attempts at fencing--that only the academics know what they're talking about. (Not a knock on the academics who write enjoyable commentary on spn, not everyone weaponizes it to be elitist).

anti-lit crit, anti-intellectualism that keeps collectively bashing spn's writers and collectively attacking spn meta writers, is actually elitist, or it's driven by chronically bitter lenses, people with their own agendas.

The spn meta community is in fact more egalitarian in its approaches, posting in an accessible style, asserting that media literacy is open to all, and you don't need degrees to get it, that fiction is powerful and instinctively understood by human beings. It's just a matter of people figuring out how to talk about what's in their heads.

So pretty much it's the people who default look down on spn who think they're the smartest in the land, as opposed us fools who actually take the canon seriously and enjoy talking about it with good faith approaches.

[lol-jackles]

Hello! I read a great deal of your posts and found all of them interesting. The ones analysing spn, Walker, The Boys, etc. Some about Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki caught my attention, as you talked about being a character actor or a personality actor (did I get it right?)

Could you please expand a little more about these kind of actors and their features?

Thank You so much!

A character actor turns himself into the character. 

A personality actor turns the character into himself. 

Think of the difference between Daniel Day Lewis and Tom Cruise.   Daniel Day Lewis has created a diverse range of distinct characters.  Tom Cruise is Tom Cruise in most of his movie roles.

I've said Jared is a character actor trapped in a leading man role because traditionally "character actor" and "supporting actor" were seen as interchangeable.  A leading man is supported by a cast of colorful characters often performed by character actors who have skills to play almost any role due to their ability to transform into variety of characters.  It's the character in each film or tv show that predominates, not the actor or the actor's own personality. That's why audiences often recognize character actors without being able to name them.

Personality actors are usually (not always but usually) the leading man because they are playing to a type that has been established as the thing that they can do and only they can do in their way.    While it may or may not be like their private personality, that's what it appears to be to the general audience and why they get labeled as “personality actors" or "typecasted".  None of us expect Dwayne the Rock Johnson to do any character acting, we just pay to watch him to do stuff that's exciting or funny.   At the same time Dwayne has a compelling personal style that audiences love to watch on screen. It’s one of the reasons why people tend to enjoy personality actors because they’re not subtle.  Tom Cruise’s characters’ meltdowns arem,always just as enjoyable as the film itself.  Jensen’s acting is not subtle and that’s okay.

In contrast the character actors are creating a personality for the role rather than slotting their own personality into a role.  It's why Jared was usually tasked with playing not!Sam characters on Supernatural because he can excise his own and Sam's personality out of Meg, Lucifer, Soulless, Ezekiel, Gadreel, and Justin and give them different personalities.  For example, in the beginning of season 6, Jared wasn't just acting as a Soulless Sam, he's acting as Soulless Sam faking being the real Sam for Dean and there were several times when Soulless Sam almost, but not quite convincingly pulled it off for Dean and the audience.  As someone who did theater arts during my misspent youth, I don't even know how I would approach that kind role.

Jensen is a personality actor, he's been successfully playing Dean Winchester since Days of Our Lives and it made him a multimillionaire in his 30s, so I never begrudge him for sticking to the archetype.  Nonetheless this style of acting was meant for lead roles and I believe this was the main reason why his fans are such unmitigated assholes for 20 years because he was stuck in supporting roles (even on Supernatural) until The Countdown, which they celebrated as Jensen's “employment era" at age 46.

You can read more about the acting stuff here and here.

[autisticandroids]

Hey ur my fave spn blogger by far (heavy is the head that has the crown etc etc) it occurred to me I've never heard u talk in Bobby? Any thoughts? Id love to hear em.

hey! so this is an interesting question. probably the reason i don't post much about bobby has to do with the fact that... well... i actually broadly enjoy bobby, and i enjoy him for exactly the same basic, surface level reasons as the show expects me to.

like, normally, if i'm watching supernatural, i am at least somewhat in conflict with the text. it expects me to like things i don't like (these are called "dogshit episodes" and they're a common hazard), and when i do like it it's often not really for the reasons that the show is expecting me to like it.

like... if you really want to see me shout and cheer, you should see what it looks like when i rewatch exile on main st., but neither a randomly selected mainstream audience nor miss gamble herself would necessarily agree with or even understand why i was doing so. like my enjoyment of that episode requires a lot of interpretive effort.

but fast forward three episodes to weekend at bobby's, and i could sit in a room with a general audience person, a reddit bro, a wincestie, and dabb/lofflin themselves and we would all basically have the same watch experience. i might be critical of the treatment of japanese culture, or annoyed by the way crowley's heel turn was handled, or something else, some specific element. but in terms of the broad strokes - bobby going around doing things, hunting a case, existing in relationships with a series of other characters - i like it for exactly the reason i'm meant to.

and that's kind of how bobby as a character is for me. there just isn't a lot of distance between what i'm supposed to enjoy and what i do enjoy. and it's that distance, and the interpretive labor required to close it, that generates thoughts, and thoughts are what generates posts. which means i don't really have a ton of posts about bobby.

i guess i will say... i used to be cautiously pro-killing-bobby-off in s7, definitely more than other characters who died in gamble era. because i was like "man, you gotta kill the father figure." that's the nature of these things. but upon rewatch, i actually think bobby's role as father figure is overstated. certainly it's overstated by the fandom, but even in the show to an extent. although i will concede a bit because i love when soulless sam tries to kill him. only good thing that happens in appointment in samarra. but overall bobby is as much just a friend as he is a father, you know? he engages with the boys on much more equal terms than a parent does.

but anyway. i don't like that they killed him because 1) they kept bringing him back, frequently stupidly. i liked safe house, but otherwise i am against basically all of bobby's appearances post-s7. i guess inside man was fine, but like. that's just the thing. it was fine. resoundingly okay. and safe house could easily have happened with bobby alive, just like. have him having the flashback. and 2) i think it has a bad effect on the show because like... after bobby died, the interpersonal conflict became even more dour. and it's already so fucking dour. there are no outside characters whatsoever to observe when things happen and so stuff spirals into madness even more and worse than it used to. no one is there to yell at dean the way bobby did in season four, you know? and then 3) i just enjoy bobby a lot i'm an enjoyer. i would have liked the show more if he stuck around in a meaningful way (and not just as a constantly recurring oh he's back from the dead for an episode plot).

[themoodyestj]

Hello, my beloved.

today i bring you a list of stuff you can try to not be so bitter and miserable all the time.

1. breath slowly, in and out, relax.

2. take a nap

3. eat a cookie

4. listen to some music

5. touch some grass

6. get laid ( if no one wants you, hands and a picture of Dee are valid too!)

7. hug your pet ( or a cactus if you don't have a pet)

8. practice acceptance (Dee is the Queen and you're never going to be her and Jensen is never going to fuck you)

9. find someone you actually like and admire, and fan over that person (not some guy you think is a mediocre actor and a pushover who can't stand for himself and needs idiots from the internet to defend him from his wife)

10. remember that i love you, and this is not hate, just constructive criticism because i want you to be better.

❤️ your secret admirer

Awww, my secret admirer again. :D Does that mean I'm getting flowers everyday now? So happy to see you, honey. Thanks for all the advice, I take them to heart. Although, sadly, I have to say I'm not as bitter or as miserable as you may want me to be. I do have a family, two cats and a dog, and a career. I do get laid quite often and im a fierce advocate of lone intimacy. Super healthy, I do it all. But also, I have an opinion. One that ruffles many many feathers, but in case you didnt notice, I don't quite care. But hey, if it feeds your delusion that all people who disagree with you are sad and lonely, by all means, stick to it. We dont want you having a psychotic breakdown, do we? Lets try to avoid that at all costs. I gotta say, number 8 sent me. We don't all have the same aspirations in life. Perhaps you'd like to sleep with Jensen (cause honey, the projection is strong here) and you use Dee as a heavy self insert, but I honestly dont want to. It is perfectly ok to like someone (and at the same time critique someone) and not want to sleep with them. I know, mindblowing, right? Such a complex concept, Im sure you find it hard to grasp. But just because its hard for you to understand, it doesnt make it less real. I bet a lot is really hard for you to understand, so...

Danneel being a queen? Of what exactly? Honey, I don't want to be her, I wanna be me. Should i aspire to be someone, it would be a woman who in fact has a flourishing career, and not someone whose assets are basically marrying someone. I'd aspire to be someone with talent, inteligence, gumption. Not someone who still rides on the small parts she played in the past because she knows there isnt much really going on for her. Someone who overpriced her pictures at Wales Con expecting to have a great reception only to find a very small line for her and feeling desperate enough to take pics with her kids insteadto feel relevant. You know, Id actually be less critic of her if she was more honest about herself. If she wasnt so fast to take jabs at her own husband when she herself has very little to offer. But hey, if thats your Queen... By all means. She definitely isnt mine. I dont think Jensen is mediocre. I think he let himself go a little. I think he was happier in SPN days and I miss that light, to be honest. Maybe ill see him improve in his next projects and ill be the first to applaud him for that (and ill post about it too, so stay tuned). As of lately... Ive seen a man who plans a concert with no AC, struggling to sing, I see a man who's tense next to his wife, I see a man who seems to be self medicating to cope and that worries me. I do hope he improves, I wish him no harm. But of course this doesnt help your delulu, so i know your brain will totally ommit what i just wrote. Ok, this is all the attention youre getting now. Im starting to think you do actually love me, cause this was fun! You delulus never fail in giving me a good hearted laugh! See you soon, secret admirer!

[kaleldobrev]

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Fem!Reader

Summary: A poem about dating Dean

Word Count: 147

Warnings: None

Authors Note: So this is something a little different as I don't think I've ever posted a SPN related poem before, but I hope you all enjoy it nonetheless | I made this moodboard along with it as well | Please do not delete the poem if you just want the moodboard. The moodboard and poem are meant to be enjoyed as a whole | If you liked this, don’t forget to like & reblog. I really appreciate it! Feedback is always welcome ♡

I’ve never met a man like you,

Nor will I ever again.

You are perfect in every way,

But flawed in many.

You often smell of gunpowder, whiskey, and blood,

Some of which you can never wash off.

Your mind is often filled with regrets,

Constant “What if’s?”

“You’ve saved me,”

“I can’t live without you,”

“Please don’t leave,”

“You’re honestly the best thing,”

Are things you tell me on repeat.

Constant reassurance is what I always give you,

And you always do the same.

We tell each other “I love you,”

And it’s not always easy.

The two of us have been through it,

More bad times than good.

People call us crazy for being together,

But they’ve never had a love like ours.

Despite the pain,

Despite the anger,

Despite the loss,

Despite everything,

You’re the one for me,

And I’m the one for you.

Tag List: @roseblue373 @beansproutmafia @queenie32 @deanwanddamons @missy420-0 @jackles010378 @mrsjenniferwinchester @syrma-sensei @k-slla @justletmereadfanfic If you want to be added to a tag list, let me know!

[geekthefreakout]

So, I've been having this thought.

Crowley, perhaps post-bookshop divorce, is sitting in a pub or a coffee shop and the server calls his name, but they say it wrong.

They pronounce it like with the "ow" sound, like in Supernatural. And Crowley, mildly miffed, is like "where did you get that from?"

And the server is a Supernatural fan and explains that there's a demon named Crowley-like-owl-not-crow who helps stop the apocalypse.

And Crowley is like "imagine that. That's weird. Say more."

And the server explains a bit. How SPN!Crowley is this demon who is aware that should the big fight happen, he won't be counted among the winners regardless of which way it goes, and he just wants the world to keep on as it is, so he joins forces with the Winchesters and their renegade angel to stop it. He becomes King of Hell after to fill the power vacuum (and here GO!Crowley gives a bitter scoff) and he is both a villain and a hero and sometimes neither of those things.

Crowley inquires more about the angel, Castiel, and the server enthusiastically describes him. They remark that Crowley(spn) and Castiel have a fun dynamic, because they hate each other but also have to work together, because they're in love.

Crowley looks dumbfounded, and of course the server can't know why, but they do clarify that they are in love with Dean, not each other. Dean being a stand-in for humanity, of course, which is how the show runners wanted you to see it.

"But then at the end they FINALLY let Cas be all the way gay for Dean. Like, a decade of subtext and queer baiting denial, and FINALLY with 2 episodes left in the whole show, they let Cas tell Dean that he cares about humanity because he cares about Dean. Like, he actually gets to tell him he's in love with him."

A pause.

"Well, and then he gets sucked directly to Turbo Hell, so. That sucked. It went canon in THE most homophobic way possible, which is kind of on brand for the show--"

"Turbo hell?????? What is that, the tenth circle?"

"Oh, the place that angels and demons go when they die. The Empty. They don't get an afterlife, they just sleep forever and dream about the bad stuff. It's pretty awful, but Cas gets rescued from their off screen by the end so at least that's something-"

"What about the demon?"

"Oh, Crowley-like-owl? He got killed off for good at the end of season 12."

Crowley-like-crow stares through his sunglasses and the server elaborates again. For some reason, they haven't been called to other tables for anything the entire time they've been speaking.

"It was a good death, I think. He died to save the boys and trap Lucifer in another dimension- it's complicated. But he got to say that he actually hated being King of Hell, and he hated Lucifer, and he got to go out on a good deed. I think the actor was tired of the writers playing around with the character's arc. Walking back development, never committing to what they wanted to do with him... And that led to Crowley being kinda inconsistent and underappreciated. So he asked to be killed off and he walked away from the show."

"Huh. Shame, that."

"Yeah, everyone missed him. There are some characters that I REALLY wish he'd gotten to meet. And I also wish that he got a little more love."

"He was a demon. Love's not exactly in their repertoire."

"It's not supposed to be. It was, though. Cas practically invented free will because he loved Dean. And I guess Crowley also didn't fit into the mold God had set for him, either."

"I suppose God's Plan is... Ineffable in the show."

"I mean. Kinda at first? But the last season God is fully the bad guy."

"WHAT??"

Anyway, Crowley watches Supernatural and has no idea if he hates it or not. He probably does. But somehow, Crowley-like-owl and Castiel and their often unappreciative charges make his heart ache. He deliberately notes all the ways that Castiel is nothing like Aziraphale, thank you very much. He supposes he's glad that Adam never turned either of them into action figures.

He watches and he tries not to wish Aziraphale was watching with him.

[littlethingwithfeathers]

How to Use A03 if you're used to Algorithm Fed Content: A kind primer.

There's a post making the rounds where someone, I'm going to assume earnestly, asks the question, "How do people figure out what's good to read on AO3?" And predictably, while there have been some people trying to answer that question assuming that it's being asked in good faith, there have been some people ridiculing this person. Basically, spewing out the fandom equivalent of "git gud noob." Like I said... I'm assuming this person was asking out of actual ignorance and curiosity, mostly because I see a lot of people also lamenting the fact that algorithm-fed apps and fandom spaces are creating a generation of fans who don't know how to actively search for and curate the content they consume. So when they get on a place like AO3 or even Tumblr to an extent, they don't know how to find the things they want and how to curate their experience. And so I guess that's why I pulled up short when this person's question has been getting so much snark. Here's a teachable moment. Even if they are being a troll in this case (which I doubt) here's the chance to give the facts on how AO3 works so they can use this amazing archive themselves. And not just them but anyone who happens upon the post. So... I'm not an AO3 whiz by any means. I don't spend a lot of time digging around in the tags and tools and bells and whistles of the search engine. If someone else wants to reblog with some tips there, go for it. It's the best thing about AO3 in my opinion... other than the lack of censorship. But here's my tips on how to find something you'll like. This is pretty much what I do.

-Go to your fandom of choice's tag. Filter for the rating you want (Teen, Explicit, etc), and then just start scrolling. Take a peek at things that sound interesting from the tags or summaries. You might have to scroll for a bit, and you might hit some stuff that's not for you, but you'll find something eventually. Especially if it's a bigger fandom like SPN, MCU, Hannibal, or Critical Role. -If you discover/know that there's something that bothers you (unfinished work, ABO dynamics, whatever) you can filter for those tags! This is how you curate your experience. It's an active process and there are no shadow-bans or anything in place to keep sensitive content corralled into a certain area. There's a rating system, and there's tags, but nothing to actually make those mean anything unless the user blocks them. While it takes more thought than mindless scrolling, you get to play a role in actively searching out new things for yourself that an algorithm might gloss over. -Likewise, if there's something you really like or are in the mood for, search for that tag in particular. Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Coffee Shop AU... whatever your jam is. -Be careful using metrics like views, comments, and kudos as benchmarks. They fluctuate wildly by pairing, and from fandom to fandom, and are heavily influenced by date of publishing. And just because the majority of people like something, doesn't mean it's for you. If something sounds interesting... read a few paragraphs and see what's up! -Check out the Collections page under the "Browse" tabs. Often these are curated lists either from individual fans or from fanfic writing events like Big Bangs, Zines, and gift exchanges. Fanfic events like these often attract pretty experienced writers so not only is the quality likely to be very good, it's also likely to have some pretty prolific authors -When you find an author you like, and have read your fill of their offerings, see what they have bookmarked or what collections their works are in. You might find some similarly interesting stuff. It's also worth seeing if they have a blog or other social media listed on their about page. They might post some links there or be part of communities elsewhere on the internet that can open up new search avenues for you. -Don't be afraid to read old stuff. Fandoms change and evolve. There's a golden age of MCU fanfic in the 2010s that's just unlike anything else. And the Hannibal fandom has been and always will be a trip, but man it's been a wild ride through some interesting places and obsessions. -And lastly... for the love of god, comment on old stuff. It's not creepy or weird. In fact, if you like someone's writing who hasn't written in a bit, leave them a nice comment. There's this magical thing that happens when you do. Sometimes... THEY START WRITING AGAIN! (saying this from experience here.) Remember... the A in AO3 stands for Archive. It's not a social media platform. It's a library. There is -supposed- to be old stuff there. And you are absolutely allowed to read it and enjoy it and tell the author that. In fact... please do. As I said, feel free to add on if you want to give tips of your own. But be kind. I see a lot of talk about how algorithms are changing the face of fandom and how people interact with fan made content. Let's reach out and educate instead of ridicule.

[monstermoviedean]

regarding your post about 13x13 dean and cas’s interactions after they get cas back from asmodeus and what you said about cas changing the topic and apologizing for smth he’s inevitably gonna do again: i genuinely have no idea how people think dean sabotages their friendship/romance more than cas does?! cause like, yeah dean may have a hard time asking people to stay, but cas is the one often actively lying about his plans and ghosting dean 😭😭

like genuinely i’m so confused where it came from cause i was not in the fandom when the show was airing, so idk how people’s opinions developed. does this go back to the general “womanizer dean can’t have healthy relationships” idea that’s just such an overall misunderstanding of his character but has been here for so long?? is it because dean blames himself for everything in dialogue and people assume that’s the contextual truth? OR was there a specific season/episode that kinda cemented the idea in the wider fandom that dean is the bigger saboteur in their relationship specifically?? a combination???

i have theories but they're overlapping and i don't have full context since i'm still missing about two seasons. however. what i have generally seen:

this particular combination of assumptions (origin unknown): dean is repressed whereas cas is completely emotionally aware. dean does not know how he feels about cas and doesn't care to figure it out. cas is in love with dean, always has been, and has always known it. dean bad cas good. (this works with, as you mentioned, "womanizer dean can't have healthy relationships")

dean tends to be more outwardly emotional, including expressing upset with cas. because cas tends not to be as outwardly emotional, i think this becomes read as like...cas never getting a chance to stick up for himself? cas just taking it and never complaining? of the examples i can think of off the top of my head (dean giving cas the cold shoulder in 08x22, dean being upset with cas for running in 12x19), dean has legitimate reasons to feel hurt by cas' actions. the problem is sometimes that those actions are far removed from dean's reaction (...because cas literally hasn't been there to react to!) so it could feel like it's coming out of nowhere.

the widespread belief that dean makes cas feel unwelcome/uncared for. mostly predicated on dean "kicking cas out of the bunker with nothing" in 09x03. sigh. i understand why people get mad about this one, i really do. but even if i take my deangirl glasses off i think 'wow, dean was in a tough spot and made an awful choice that he thought would keep sam and cas both alive.' i see why he did it even though i don't like it, obviously. i simply do not believe there is any evidence to support 'dean kicked him out with nothing,' however.

a pattern many others have pointed out: dean tends to apologize more. the apologies stick out in people's minds, so it feels like dean has done more wrong because he's saying sorry more often. (this aligns well with what you said about dean blaming himself for everything)

this is just a suspicion because i haven't seen all of s15 and cannot be sure. however, the way i've seen people talk about "divorce arc" tends to suggest that the show places blame on this rupture on dean, and fans followed that blame. it also may be that this happened more recently so people remember it better than, say, cas breaking sam's wall in s6.

just a side note. i was here and active in the spn fandom 2011-2015, give or take. and while it is fully and entirely possible that this happened and i just don't remember it...i don't remember this kind of moral accounting, which one of them is the good one and which is the bad one, ledger of outstanding crimes which need to be addressed thing. i remember it being more balanced and a lot more "yay dean! yay cas! yay dean and cas together!" and less "who is ruining everything."

[zepskies]

Writer Tag

Thank you so much for tagging me @venus-haze! As always, your responses on this were really interesting and got me thinking about my answers. (Here's the original post.)

So these first questions are geared toward Ao3 stories.

How many works do you have on AO3? 48 and counting.

What's your total AO3 word count? Aw geez. According to the statistics page, 1,022,400.

(But I have more fics listed in Tumblr thanks to headcanons and things not yet posted in Ao3.)

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Every Loyalty - (Jon Snow x OC)

And So It Goes - (Butcher x OC)

Never Say Goodbye - (Dean Winchester x Reader)

Break Me Down - (OC Version | Soldier Boy x OC)

Checkerboard - (Soldier Boy x Reader)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Yes! Always. I love getting feedback and engaging with the people who take the time to read my work. 💜

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending? Ooh, it's gotta be this imagine in SPN fandom: "Sam crosses the line." In which he's in love with Dean's girlfriend.

(Sequel to "You are Dean's one exception.")

What the fic you've written with the happiest ending? Well, most of my stories have happy endings. But probably Never Say Goodbye (Dean W. x Reader). It's a soulmate AU, so very rom-com and fluffy, despite all the drama they went through.

Though I could also say the same of the last story in the Midnight Espresso-verse: In Bad Weather.

Do you write crossovers? No, I don't. I've enjoyed reading a few though.

Have you ever received hate on a fic? Yes, unfortunately lol. It's inevitable for as long as I've been writing though.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Oh yes lol. I'm a romantic though, so it's often a mix of fluff, straight up romance, occasionally dashed with angst and/or hurt/comfort.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not to my knowledge. (I hope not!)

Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope, but I've received solicitations lol.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Yeah, when I was a teenager just starting out writing, I used to write with one of my best friends growing up. (We're still good friends to this day.)

What's your all-time favorite ship? That's pretty much impossible. 🤣 It depends on the fandom! Nowadays I tend to write for OCs or reader inserts though.

What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will? Ooof, nothing recent. But I finally finished And So It Goes, which took me 3 years for some reason. 🙃

Though I do have both a Jason Teague x OC series and a Smallville Clark Kent x OC series outlined that realistically, I probably won't get to. 💔

What are your writing strengths? I've been told I'm good at dialogue and keeping canon characters in character, which is always amazing to hear! I try my best.

What are your writing weaknesses? Action scenes and smut scenes are my biggest writing challenges, though I've been told I do a decent job at them. I know I tend to use adverbs a lot lol (I'm trying to curb that).

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? So I try to minimize use of this, but, I've gotten critiqued (putting it mildly) on this before for two reasons. Admittedly, I've had to revise myself in certain use cases, but also, there are slang words and phrases in certain Spanish cultures that wouldn't make sense to another Hispanic/Latino culture that doesn't use the word/phrase. So sometimes, it's not that it's wrong grammatically, but that it's slang.

What was the first fandom you wrote for? Oh jeezus, probably Chronicles of Narnia fandom when I was like, 10 and brand new to writing. 😂

What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to? Ooh a tough one. I feel like there are so many! I do have a story I had outline years ago now for Steve Rogers/Captain America back in the MCU fandom (which I've written in before). But that fandom is a bit intimidating. 😂

What's your favorite fic you've written? Also really tough for me. I think it's a tie between two series:

Break Me Down (Soldier Boy x Reader)

Midnight Espresso (Dean W. x Plus-Sized Latina!Reader)

One totally took me by surprise by how much I enjoyed writing the series and the characters (and figuring out how to write Soldier Boy/Ben 😂).

While the other allowed me to be a little more indulgent with myself, writing from my personal experience and my culture.

The responses on both stories have been amazing and incredibly heartwarming. 💗

No pressure tags:

@thatonewriter15 @waywardxwords @impala-dreamer @dean-winchester-is-a-warrior @deanwritings @deanwinchesterswitch @deanbrainrotwritings @kaleldobrev -- and whoever else wants to join! 💜