#i mean I guess Sam is doing kind of PI work in that episode so it would be appropriate to reference Veronica Mars? | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

spn-safeandsound · 4 years ago

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09. Hurt Feelings

Safe and Sound

Dean Winchester x Original Character

Episode: 1x13; Route 666

Word Count: 10,028

Warning(s): Mature language, canon violence and gore, arguing

Author’s Note: New chapter alert! Sam and Julia finally talk about her feelings for Dean? Hope you enjoy! Reblog and like!

Masterlist in Profile Description!

Julia paced up and down the candy aisle at some gas station that she hadn't bothered to learn the name of. Her sweet tooth was out of control so she wanted to stock up on sweets before they continued on their journey to Pennsylvania. She already had some chocolate bars, goldfish crackers, and a couple of mini pies for Dean in the basket she was carrying around but now she needed fruity candies.

She reached forward, picking out a bag of Air Heads and then hesitated, eyeing the Skittles and Starbursts. After a couple of seconds, she grabbed a bag of each and threw them in the basket with the other snacks. As she moved on to the drink coolers, she grabbed a bag of jerky for Sam.

Sam found her by the Gatorade, searching for her favorite blue flavor.

"Are you almost ready?" he asked as he searched the basket, clicking his tongue in disapproval when he saw all the sweets. "Dean wants to get going."

"Well, Dean can wait," Julia stated. "I need a drink."

Sam sighed and opened the cooler door, reaching above her head to grab the lighter of the blue Gatorades. "There you go, Glacier Freeze."

"Thanks!"

"You should get some water, too," Sam advised as he grabbed a couple water bottles from the cooler. "You're gonna need it if you're eating all that sugar."

"Sam, hasn't anyone told you never to comment on a girl's eating habits?" Julia pursed her lips at him; Sam sent her an apologetic smile. "Okay, so, did you find a way around that construction?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," they walked through the aisles and to the counter. "We're not going to Pennsylvania anymore."

She smiled at the worker as they put their things on the counter so they could pay. "What? Why not?"

"An old friend of Dean's called. Her name's Cassie," Sam informed her as she slid her card through the machine. "I guess she needs our help."

Julia wrinkled her nose, trying to figure out Cassie was familiar to her. "Wait, Cassie Robinson?"

"I guess so. Why?"

Julia took the plastic bag from the worker. "Thanks so much," she said before she and Sam started walking out of the gas station. "Dean called me, like, two years ago drunk out of his mind and—"

"What?" Sam interrupted her. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"That was after you two stopped talking, Sam," she reminded him; he nodded in realization. "Anyway, he was drunk and for some reason he called me."

"About Cassie," Sam assumed.

"Yep," Julia slowed down as they exited the building, her eyes on the Impala where Dean was waiting for them. "Did he say anything about her to you?"

Sam shook his head. "Not much. Just her name and that her father was killed in a car accident."

Julia hummed. When Dean had called her about Cassie, he was upset that she had dumped him. He had given her the ghosts-are-real-and-I-hunt-them speech and she had bolted, breaking up with him and calling him crazy. He had been in love with the girl, too. It was one of the only times that Dean had ever been truly honest with Julia about how he was feeling—though she was pretty sure it was because he was wasted.

Julia never mentioned it again and she didn't even know if Dean remembered calling her. She was just a little apprehensive about them going to see Cassie; she was protective of her boys and she didn't like when anyone hurt them.

"There you are," Dean sighed in aggravation as Julia and Sam slid into their respective seats, shutting their doors in unison. "What'd you need? A stockpile?"

"Well, I guess I can go return the pie I got..."

Dean eagerly turned around, an enthusiastic smile on my face. "Apple?"

"And cherry."

"Ooh, baby, you're so good to me," Dean playfully winked at her as she passed up two of the pies. Her cheeks flushed a dark pink as he turned back around and, when Sam gave her a small smirk, she practically threw his bag of jerky at him.

As Dean pulled out onto the road, a bite of pie already in his mouth, Julia spoke up, "Sam told me about Cassie," Dean paused mid-chew but he eventually he nodded. "Where does she live?"

"Cape Girardeau, Missouri."

Julia nodded and tore open the Almond Joy bar, ripping the almond off the top and throwing it into the garbage bag they kept so the Impala wouldn't get dirty. She stuffed the coconut and milk chocolate in her mouth, enjoying the sweetness on her tongue.

"So, this Cassie..." Sam looked over at his brother with a curious smile. "By old friend, do you mean...?"

"A friend that's not new."

"Wow, thanks for that," Sam rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean, Dean."

"Fine," Dean grunted in annoyance. "we went out."

"You mean you dated someone?" Sam seemed surprised. "For more than one night?"

"Am I speaking a language you're not getting here?" Dean snipped. "Dad and I were working a job in Athens, Ohio, she was finishing up college. We went out for a couple of weeks."

And fell in love, Julia supplied mentally, and then broke up because she thought you were crazy.

"And...?"

Dean shrugged in avoidance.

"Okay," Julia sighed and rested her chin on the back of their seat. "not to be negative here, because it's really sad that she lost her dad, but it sounds like a normal car wreck. I'm not seeing a connection to what we do."

"Which, by the way, how does she know what we do?" Sam added, both of them looking at the oldest Winchester for answers.

Dean licked his lips, like he was about to say something, but then pressed his mouth shut, thinking better of it. He avoided their eyes by keeping his right on the road, which was unusual for him. Julia was pretty sure that Dean was one of the most distracted drivers she had ever seen in her life but somehow he was still one of the best drivers.

Sam could connect the dots about Dean's awkward behavior. "You told her. You told her the secret," he proclaimed, voice completely shocked but a little angry, too. "Our big family rule number one: we do what we do and we shut up about it."

Dean sighed but Sam wasn't finished.

"For a year and a half, I do nothing but lie to Jessica and you go out with this chick in Ohio for a couple of weeks and you tell her everything?" he asked in disbelief. When Dean didn't answer, he raised his voice. "Dean!"

"Yeah," Dean finally spoke. "Looks like."

Sam gave his brother a bitch face but Dean pointedly ignored it.

"I know this isn't the best time but...Sam, why did you sound more upset about the fact they were Ohio than anything else?"

Sam gave Julia the bitch face, too.

The newspaper that Cassie worked for was squished into a small brick building in downtown Cape Girardeau. It was actually kind of cute, with small clusters of desks put together so that all of the workers were grouped with their own—the reporters with the reporters, the photographers with the photographers, the editors with the editors.

Julia, Sam, and Dean had been pointed in the direction of where Cassie would be by the receptionist. They made their way over to a gathering of three people conversing in the back corner of the office. Two of them were men and the woman had to be Cassie.

Cassie was beautiful with light brown skin and dark curls that seemed to lay perfectly. And, despite losing her father only days before, she looked well put together. It took Julia two weeks to even leave the house after Naomi died, so she knew Cassie had to be a strong woman. Dean wouldn't have fallen for her if she wasn't.

The man on Cassie's left was confronting the other man when the three of them walked over. "Two black people were killed on the same stretch of road in the same way in two weeks."

"Jimmy, you're too close for this. Those guys were friends of yours," the man tried to placate him before turning to Cassie. "Again, Cassie, I'm very sorry for your loss."

The second man turned and walked away and after a few seconds, so did Jimmy. Cassie was left alone but her eyes quickly fell upon Dean who was watching her with a small, if not awkward smile.

He nodded at her when her eyes widened.

"Dean," she sighed in relief, walking toward them. Her eyes were only for Dean, though. She hadn't even noticed Julia or Sam.

"Hey, Cassie."

Sam and Julia exchanged a small but amused smile when Dean and Cassie continued to silently stare at each other for around twenty seconds.

Finally, Dean cleared his throat. "This is my brother, Sam," he nodded at Sam and then at Julia. "and his friend, Julia."

Julia gave Cassie a quick smile in greeting but then it promptly fell. Why had he introduced her like that? First of all, she was Sam's best friend—as in, he was her brother and she was a sister to him. Second of all, she considered Dean to be her friend so did he not consider her as one?

"Sorry about your dad," Dean continued.

"Yeah," Cassie agreed sadly. "Me, too."

A half-hour later, Julia, Sam, and Dean were squished into a small couch with each other at Cassie's house. Cassie had made Julia and Sam some tea, with Dean declining the offer, and then sat on the seat across from them.

"My mother's in pretty bad shape," Cassie told them sadly. "I've been staying with her. I wish she wouldn't go off by herself, she's been so nervous and frightened. She was worried about Dad."

"Why?" Dean wondered as Julia and Sam sipped at their tea.

"He was scared," Cassie answered. "He was seeing things."

"Like what?"

"He swore he saw an awful-looking black truck following him. "

"A truck," Sam repeated, setting his teacup back on its saucer. "Who was the driver?"

"He didn't talk about a driver, just the truck," Cassie told him. "He said it would appear and disappear. In the accident, Dad's car was dented, like it had been slammed into by something big."

"Now, are you sure that this dent wasn't there before?"

Cassie shook her head. "He sold cars. Always drove a new one. There wasn't a scratch on that thing," she stated. "It was raining that night, there was mud everywhere. There was a distinct set of muddy tracks leading from Dad's car leading right..." her voice broke; Julia could feel her sadness and grief. "leading right to the edge, where he went over. One set of tracks—his."

"And the first victim was a friend of your father's?" Julia asked, taking another sip of her tea.

"Best friend. Clayton Soames," Cassie confirmed; at least she knew the difference between a friend and a best friend. "They owned the car dealership together."

Julia pressed her lips together thoughtfully. "The same thing?"

Cassie nodded. "Dent, no tracks, and the cops said exactly what they said about Dad. He lost control of his car."

Dean gave Sam a pointed look and then asked her, "Can you think of any reason why your father and his partner might be targets?"

"No."

"And you think this vanishing truck ran them off the road?"

Cassie laughed slightly at Sam's question, though it sounded bitter. "When you say it aloud like that..." she shook her head. "Listen, I'm a little skeptical about this...ghost stuff or whatever it is you guys are into."

Dean scoffed. "Skeptical," he repeated angrily. "If I remember, I think you said I was nuts."

Cassie pursed her lips. "That was then," Dean hummed sarcastically. "I just know that I can't explain what happened up there so I called you."

The front door opened and a woman walked in—well, stumbled in. Cassie jumped to her feet to rush over to her, while Julia, Sam, and Dean stood politely.

"Mom, where have you been?" Cassie steadied Mrs. Robinson. "I was so worried about you."

Mrs. Robinson waved her off, eyeing Julia, Dean, and Sam. "I had no idea you'd invited friends over."

"Mom, this is Dean, a..." Cassie hesitated before continuing. "friend of mine from college. This is his brother, Sam, and his friend, Julia."

Julia waved slightly, hiding her bitterness with a sympathetic smile.

She didn't even know why she was so bitter that Dean didn't consider her a friend. If he didn't, that was fine. They had only known each other for twenty years and spent almost everyday of the last seven months together in close corridors.

"Well, I, uh, I won't interrupt you," Mrs. Robinson went to walk out of the room but stopped when Dean spoke.

"Mrs. Robinson, we're sorry for your loss," he apologized. "We'd like to talk to you for a minute, if you don't mind?"

Mrs. Robinson looked at him wide, angry eyes. "I'm really not up for that right now."

As she walked out of the room, Cassie turned to them apologetically. "Sorry, she's having a rough time."

"It's no problem," Julia assured her. Grief effected everyone differently; Julia was rather avoidant and distant, herself, when she grieved. "It's late, we should get going..."

Dean nodded and stared at Cassie for a few seconds; she stared back, neither of them saying anything. It was incredibly awkward—for Julia, at least; Sam looked very amused at the situation Dean was in.

Julia was angry about something. Sam knew it from the moment he woke up to her shoving clothes back into her bag with quiet huffs that seemed to boom across the room. Dean was still dead to the world when she went to get ready for the day but now Sam was fully awake. He quickly got dressed and was pulling his toothbrush from the toiletry bag they shared when she came back out in spandex leggings and her Stanford crewneck, her hair pulled up into a high ponytail.

"I'm gonna go for a run," she informed him and it was only the second or third time in their life-long friendship that he heard her grumpy first thing in the morning. "Then I'm stopping at the diner for breakfast. Do you want me to bring you something?"

Sam shrugged. "I could eat."

"Then you will," Julia grabbed her debit card and license from her wallet and zipped them into the small pocket on her thigh. "See you in a bit."

"Be careful."

As Sam brushed his teeth and made sure his hair was neat, he wondered what Julia was angry about. The only thing he could think of is the fact that they were here on a case for Cassie. He wasn't sure if she knew about her feelings for Dean but he sure did.

His brother and Julia were both oblivious, though. It was concerning for both sides because Dean usually knew when women were attracted to him and Julia was pretty smart. How they couldn't see the feelings they had for each other was so frustrating, especially since Sam actually wanted it to happen so bad.

Dean was awake when Sam left the bathroom, his hair pointing in all directions like a hedgehog.

"Morning," he greeted his brother as he sat at the table to log into his laptop.

"Morning," Dean grumbled back, his eyes scanning the room. "Where's Jules?"

Sam hid his smile behind his laptop. "She went for a run. She's bringing back breakfast."

"Oh, good, I'm starving."

Twenty minutes later, Julia showed back up with breakfast. Sam watched his brother check her out—just like he knew he would because she was wearing those spandex leggings Dean loved—as she set the plastic bag and two coffees on the table.

"I got you a cheese and ham omelet," Julia said as she pulled a styrofoam container from the bag. "and toast with no butter."

Sam grinned as he took the coffee and food from her. "Thanks, J."

"No problem, Sam, that's what friends do."

"What'd you get me?" Dean bounded over to the table with a look of anticipation.

"Oh," she said flatly. "I didn't know you wanted anything."

Okay, this wasn't good. There were three different channels Julia would take when she was angry. There were the tears—which was her most usual one—the silent treatment—when she was so angry she didn't want to say anything to make it worse—and when she was petty, it meant that she was hurt and angry.

Not getting Dean food in the morning and then claiming she didn't know he wanted some was petty. Julia knew full well that Dean was hungry from the second he got up, sometimes even sooner. There had been numerous occasions the past few months the three of them spent together that Julia would pick up food early just so Dean could eat as soon as he got up.

So, she's hurt, too, Sam assumed to himself.

Dean gave her a horrified look. "You got Sam food."

"We're best friends."

"We're friends!" Dean exclaimed.

"Are we?" Julia's voice was dead calm and a lightbulb went off above Sam's head. "I hadn't known."

Julia was mad that Dean introduced her to Cassie as only Sam's friend and not their friend. Her friendships were important to her—Sam was pretty sure it stemmed from the fact that she didn't have many friends while growing up because she was from a prestigious family and she skipped a couple of grades, which freaked her classmates out. She was possessive and protective of her friendships and when Dean hadn't called her a friend, her feelings had been hurt.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Dean raised his eyebrows at her. "Of course we are. I've known you your whole life!"

Julia pressed her lips together in an even line and hummed before walking over to her bag and pulling out normal day clothes. She told them she was taking a shower before walking out of the room and slamming the door shut behind her.

Dean waited until he heard the water start before he looked over at Sam for answers.

"I think you hurt her feelings," Sam said quietly as he opened up his food container; Dean eyed it enviously.

"What'd I do?"

"You introduced her to Cassie as my friend."

"She is your friend."

"No, you made it sound like she was only my friend and not yours, too," Sam explained patiently; Dean wasn't the best with emotions.

Dean raised his eyebrows incredulously. "I didn't mean it like that," he defended himself. "That's really what she's hurt about?"

Sam nodded. "Well, and angry."

Dean huffed, pressing his lips together. "How'd you know that?"

"She didn't bring you breakfast," Sam pointed out and Dean frowned at the reminder. "She's being petty."

"Petty?"

"Yep," Sam confirmed and went on to explain as if he was a Julia-whisperer. "See, Dean, there are three channels of anger Julia takes. Tears, silent treatment, and pettiness. You've seen the first two before and now you're seeing the pettiness."

"So, when she's petty, she's angry and hurt?" Dean's voice was flat, like he couldn't believe that Julia could react that way. It was surprising to Sam since Dean could be pretty petty himself.

"Yeah."

"Well, she's a grown ass woman, it's not my fault her feelings were hurt," Dean huffed and reached for the second coffee Julia brought. His eyes softened when he saw his own name on it. "Damn it."

Sam's lips quirked at the look of regret on Dean's face.

It was quiet until Julia came out of the bathroom dressed in skinny jeans, a gray sleeveless blouse, and a black cardigan. "I need to do laundry tonight," she informed them, shoving her running clothes into her laundry bag. "What about you, Sam?"

"Yeah," Sam said thoughtfully. "I could."

"Good, I saw a laundry mat a block or so from the diner," Julia slipped on her gray ankle boots. "We'll hit it after dinner."

Sam nodded and Dean took the chance to try to get her attention. "Shortcake—"

"I also need more shampoo and conditioner," Julia interrupted like she hadn't heard him say her name. "I saw a Target in town, so maybe we can go there."

"Okay," Sam agreed.

"We can get you guys some more undershirts and things while we're there, too," Julia went on. "And I'm pretty sure you guys need shaving cream."

"Yeah, I think we're out."

Julia nodded and grabbed the notepad that the motel provided from the nightstand. She sat at the table and wrote down a list of things they needed; Sam smiled when he saw her include cooling and windshield wiper fluid for the Impala.

Dean finally had enough of her ignoring him. Maybe he realized just how much the two of them usually interacted compared to the silence she was giving him now.

"Julia, I'm sorry for telling Cassie you were only Sam's friend," he apologized quickly.

Both Sam and Dean looked at her expectantly. Julia just waved a hand at him. "It's fine."

Dean looked to Sam, perplexed, but Sam just shook his head. It wasn't fine.

And now Dean was getting mad. Sam could see the stormy look growing in his eyes. He knew he was in for a day of tense silence and angry looks. He was just grateful it wasn't as bad as their last argument; Dean probably wouldn't let their anger get that far again, though, since he still felt guilty about her getting injured while he was supposed to be her backup.

Two hours later, after getting a call from Cassie to tell them about her another death, they headed to the scene of the accident. Her boss, Jimmy, had crashed on the same stretch of road that Mr. Robinson and his business partner had died on.

When they arrived, Cassie was already talking with the man they saw her and Jimmy with the day before.

"Jimmy meant something to this town," the man said solemnly. "He was one of our best. We won't be the same without him."

"Our best seem to be dropping like flies," Cassie retorted angrily. "Clayton, my father, Jimmy..."

The man gave her an exasperated look. "What is it exactly you want me to do?"

"How about closing this section of road, for starters?"

"Close the main road," the man scoffed. "The only road in and out of town? Accidents do happen, Cassie, and that's what they are—accidents."

Dean stepped in then, probably sensing that Cassie was about to blow a gasket. "Did the cops check for additional denting on Jimmy's car to see if it was pushed?"

The man looked to Cassie. "Who is this?"

"I'm Dean Potter, private investigator," Dean informed him before Cassie could answer. "This is my partner, Sam Granger—" he gestured to Sam and then Julia. "and our assistant, Julia Weasley."

"They're family friends," Cassie added to the man, before introducing him. "This is Mayor Harold Todd."

"There was one set of tire tracks," Mayor Todd said matter-of-factly. "One. That doesn't point to foul play."

"Mayor, the police and town officials take their cues from you. If you're indifferent about—"

Mayor Todd cut her off indignantly. "Indifferent!"

"Would you close the road if the victims were white?" Cassie demanded.

Julia, Sam, and Dean's eyes all went to the mayor, waiting for an answer.

The mayor looked at her in shock. "You're suggesting I'm racist, Cassie?" he asked her and went on without an answer. "I'm the last person you should talk to like that."

Cassie pursed her lips. "And why is that?"

"Why don't you ask your mother?"

The mayor walked away without a word, leaving Cassie severely frustrated and confused.

"Uh, Jules and I are gonna go talk to some people, see if we can find out some more information," Dean said awkwardly; Julia pursed her lips, unhappy that she was paired up with the brother she was fighting with. "Sam, you stay with Cassie."

Sam nodded and stepped closer to Cassie as Dean and Julia walked away to question some of the police.

"So," Cassie started; Sam turned to her to see that she was looking over at Dean and Julia, who seemed to be arguing more than trying to find a person they could talk to. "How'd you and Dean meet Julia?"

"She's family friend, my best friend," Sam told her. "We've known her almost all our lives."

Cassie hummed and crossed her arms over her chest. Her gaze was still on the pair and he looked to see that Julia was playfully pushing Dean, a suddenly amused look on her face. He must have told her a corny joke or something because Dean was laughing too.

That was how a lot of their arguments ended. Dean would tell a joke that wasn't really funny—Julia was a huge fan of dad jokes—and she would get distracted. They laughed together and then they'd get over whatever they were squabbling about. Sam much preferred those arguments than the ones that ended with Dean storming out of the room to cool off or Julia bursting into tears and hiding in the bathroom only for Dean to lure her out with a candy bar or cookies a half-hour later.

"He looks happy with her," Cassie commented softly. Her tone wasn't jealous or even bitter. It was simple and to the point like she was stating a universal truth.

Sam smiled softly as he continued watching his brother and best friend. Julia had gestured over to one of the coroner's employees and, when Dean nodded, she started toward the woman. Dean's eyes followed her for a few seconds before walking after her.

"Yeah, he does."

Sam walked out of the bathroom, shrugging on his suit jacket as he went. Julia was already dressed in a casual work-dress and black heels as she stood in front of Dean, reaching up to straighten his tie for him.

"Well," he spoke up, earning a brief glance from Julia. "Cassie sure is fearless."

"Mmhm," Dean hummed, keeping his eyes on Julia's face.

"I bet she kicked your ass a couple of times."

Dean finally turned away from Julia as she finished with his tie and gave Sam an annoyed look.

"What I think is interesting is the fact that you two never look at each other at the same time," Julia spoke up as she went to sit at the foot of Dean's bed, crossing her leg over the over; Dean's eyes followed the movement. "You look at her when she's not looking and she looks at you when you look away."

"That's true," Sam agreed. He had noticed that as well but he also noticed that the same thing applied to Adrian and Julia, too.

Dean gave them both annoyed looks now. "You think we might have more pressing issues here?"

"Ooh, Sam, I think we hit a nerve," Julia cooed teasingly.

Dean pressed his lips together. "Oh," he complained, turning away from them to leave the room. "Let's go."

Julia smiled and raised her eyebrows at Sam, earning an amused grin in return.

The three of them went down to the docks by the river, looking for friends of Jimmy's that were both his next of kin. They were posing as insurance agents who needed to investigate the matter of Jimmy's death. Sam and a reluctant Dean let Julia take the lead on the questioning since she had a better track of getting old men to answer her questions.

"Excuse me," Julia walked over to a table where two men who matched the description of who they were looking for sat. "Are you Ron Stubbins and Clarence Thomas?"

Both men nodded.

"And you were friends with Jimmy Anderson?"

"Yeah," Ron confirmed when Julia smiled charmingly. "Whatcha need, girly?"

"Me and my partners, here, are from Mr. Anderson's insurance company, All National Mutual," Julia informed the men. "We just need to ask you a few questions to make sure our report is correct. Is that okay?"

"Sure thing, sweetheart."

Sam saw Julia flinch only slightly—a left over response from her run-in with the shapeshifter—and then cover it up with a smile. "We were just wondering, had Mr. Anderson mentioned any unusual recent experiences?"

Ron furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean, unusual?"

"Well, visions, hallucinations," Sam listed helpfully.

Ron and Clarence gave him a weird look.

"It's part of the medical report, Mr. Stubbins and Mr. Thomas," Julia assured them kindly. "It's just standard questioning with car accidents."

"Right," Ron nodded. "Well, no, he wasn't."

"Had he mentioned seeing a big black truck?" she continued to dazzle them. "We've got some local reports so wewant to make sure there's no correlation to Mr. Anderson's accident."

"He didn't say anything to me," Ron denied.

"Was this truck a big scary monster-looking thing?" Clarence asked.

"Yes, sir."

Dean and Sam gave each other impressed looks. Julia was crushing this.

"I've heard of a truck like that," Clarence said. "but it's been years."

Julia raised her eyebrows curiously. "Years?"

Clarence nodded. "Back in the sixties, there was a string of deaths—black men," he informed them. "Story goes, they'd disappeared in a big, nasty, black truck."

"Did they ever catch the person who did it?"

"Never found him," Clarence shook his head and scoffed. "Hell, I'm not sure they even really looked. See, there was a time this town wasn't too friendly too all of its citizens."

Julia gave him a sympathetic smile and reached out to shake both of their hands. "Well, thank you for answering our questions, gentlemen," she said sweetly. "You two enjoy the rest of your day."

"You too, honey," Clarence grinned at her while Ron smiled gratefully.

Sam and Dean each shook Ron and Clarence's hands before they left the dock.

"The truck," Dean spoke up when they were far enough away from the dock so they weren't overheard.

Sam nodded. "Keeps coming up, doesn't it?"

Dean hummed. "You know, I was thinking...you ever heard of the Flying Dutchman?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "a ghost ship infused with the captain's evil spirit. It was basically a part of him."

"Yeah, so, what if we're dealing with the same thing?" Dean theorized. "You know, a phantom truck, an extension of some bastard's ghost, reenacting past crimes."

"The victims have all been black men," Julia said thoughtfully. "but they're also connected to Cassie's family in some way."

"I was thinking the same thing," Dean agreed with her.

"All right," Sam nodded. "Dean, you work the Cassie angle and go talk to her."

"Yeah, I will."

"Oh, and you might also want to mention that other thing," Sam suggested.

Dean gave him a confused look as they approached the Impala. "What other thing?"

"The serious unfinished business," Sam reminded him. "Dean, what is going on between you two?"

"All right, so maybe we were a little bit more involved than I said," Dean admitted.

Sam nodded skeptically. "Oh, okay."

"Okay, a lot more, maybe," Dean sighed. "And I told her our secret, about what we do, and I shouldn't have."

"Look, man, everybody's gotta open up to someone sometime," Sam told his brother, his eyes darting to behind Dean, where Julia was leaning against the Impala and staring at the river with an impassive glare.

"Yeah, I don't," Dean stated as if he didn't already know that. "It was stupid to get that close. I mean, look how it ended."

Sam smiled at him.

"Would you stop?" Dean gave him an uncomfortable look. "Blink or something!"

"Dean," it was Julia who spoke this time, getting both brothers' attention. "you loved her."

"Oh, God," Dean groaned in disgust.

Sam raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You loved her but you dumped her?"

"No, she dumped him," Julia corrected him absentmindedly.

"She dumped you?"

Dean shot her an annoyed look. "Julia, what the hell?"

Julia gave him an innocent smile but it didn't seem to work.

Dean huffed and opened his door. "Get in the car," he ordered, sliding into his seat. When neither Sam nor Julia moved, he repeated himself, "Get in the fucking car!"

Julia and Sam exchanged another amused look before getting in their respective seats.

"Got any fours?"

"Nope," Sam replied. Julia sighed and leaned forward, picking a new card up out of the deck.

The twenty-four-hour laundry mat was empty except for them, though it was because it was close to midnight. The air was cold and Sam was chilled but Julia sat on the counter in just pajama shorts and a tank-top, unbothered by the temperature. The girl had fire in her veins, she was never cold.

They broke out the deck of cards as they washed all the dirty clothes they had, taking up four of the washers and dryers. Luckily, they were almost done. They had one last load of Julia's clothes in the dryer that had to finish and then be folded, but other than that, they were pretty much finished.

They'd gone through two games of rummy, one game of war, and one game of slapjack by the time they settled on go-fish. It was child's play but it was better than doing nothing. Julia's iPod was turned on and they were able to listen to music that didn't have an insane drumbeat.

"Do you have any nines?" Sam asked as Yellow by Coldplay started playing.

Look at the stars, look how they shine for you...

Julia pouted and pulled a nine from her hand, passing it over to him. "Why are you so good at this?"

Sam chuckled. "It's just luck, J."

In truth, it was because he could see her cards. She wasn't the best at hiding them but he didn't say anything because it amused him. It was like with Dean when he only picked scissors when they did rock-paper-scissors.

And everything you do. Yeah, they were all yellow...

Julia hummed doubtfully. "Okay, go again."

"Um, two?"

Julia's face lit up. "Ha! Go fish!"

Sam made a show of rolling his eyes while he grabbed a new card.

"Do you have an eight?"

Sam silently handed over the card to her, making her pump her fist excitedly as the chorus of the song played.

"Okay, what about a five?"

"Go fish."

"No!" Julia sighed dramatically, picking up a card. "Your turn, S."

"Ones?"

"Go fish."

"Tens?"

"Go fish."

"Fives?"

Julia gaped at him in disbelief. "You said you didn't have any fives, Samuel!"

"And then I picked one up," Sam defended himself with a slight smirk. "So, do you have a five?"

"I hate you!" Julia threw the card at him.

"No, you don't," Sam put down his pair. "Okay, ones?"

"Go fish."

I swam across, I jumped across for you. Oh, what a thing to have done and it was all yellow...

"This is a good song," Sam commented as he grabbed a card from the deck.

Julia nodded. "Yeah, it reminds me of someone."

Oh, really? He thought to himself. Someone, whose name rhymes with Wean Dinchester?

He decided to just bite the bullet. "Someone like Dean?"

Julia's eyes immediately darted up to his. "What?" she shook her head in denial. "No, of course not."

"Right," he nodded in agreement. "Of course, not."

And you know, for you I'd bleed myself dry...

As the guitar solo started, Julia blurted, "Yes, it's someone like Dean."

"I knew it!" Sam grinned. "I knew you liked him."

Julia rolled her eyes. "God, I never thought I'd be having girl-talk with you, S."

"Yeah, well, how many times did you listen to me yearn over Jess?"

Julia chuckled. "For about a year," she grinned fondly. "and then, when I got back to the dorm, she'd talk about you."

Sam changed the subject before the grief could start in. "You should tell Dean."

Julia raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "You're kidding, right?"

"...No."

"Sam, Dean isn't the love type of guy," she reminded him. "He doesn't do relationships."

"He loved Cassie and he dated her a couple of weeks."

"Yeah, well, obviously, that's different."

"Yeah, you have more history and chemistry with him," Sam pointed out. "You've known him your whole life."

"Exactly!" she pointed at him. "He still sees me as a kid—do you have a two?"

"Go fish," Sam answered. "and trust me, J, he doesn't see you as a kid."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean that he'd be in jail if he looked at a kid like he looked at you."

Julia scoffed and reached forward, slapping his thigh. "Samuel William!"

"What, it's true!" Sam rubbed the spot where she hit him. "You should see the looks he gives you. You look at him like that, too."

"I don't leer at him!"

"I didn't say anything about leering, you said that on your own. Do you have a one?"

"I don't have any ones, Sam, God!"

"It's the only card I have left."

"Well, now you have another one."

Sam reached for a card from the deck. It was a one. He chuckled and set down his last pair, grinning triumphantly at Julia's disappointed pout.

"Why do you have to win every game?"

"Because I'm awesome," Sam said quickly. "Now, back to Dean..."

"Okay, first of all, you're way too excited about this," Julia jumped off the counter as Sam started picking up the deck. "Secondly, Dean and I aren't gonna happen."

Sam closed the deck and slipped it back into Julia's purse. "You don't know that."

"Why hasn't he called us yet?" Julia asked pointedly. "He never goes over an hour to check in if we're by ourselves. It's been six hours since he went to Cassie's and there's been no word."

"So?"

"So, obviously something is going on over there and I don't think it's because he's in danger."

"Okay," Sam had to admit that she was probably right. "but that doesn't mean they're together. Dean's had one-night-stands before."

"Not with someone he loved."

Sam sighed. "Look, Dean may have had feelings for Cassie but I doubt it was love."

"Oh?"

"When Dean loves someone he fights for them," Sam declared and Julia's lips twisted thoughtfully. "He fought to find our dad. He's fought for me so many damn times that I've lost count. So, if he really loved Cassie as much as you think he did, he would have stayed and changed her mind."

The Coldplay song ended and one by Britney Spears started up. The last dryer beeped, signaling that Julia's clothes were done.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore, Sam," Julia sighed as she brought the laundry cart over to the dryer to take out her clothes. "It just gets my hopes up and I don't want to deal with the fallout when Dean inevitably rejects me."

"Julia..."

"Seriously, Sam."

"Okay, fine," Sam gave in and walked over to the table where the rest of their clothes were, already folded. He picked up one of her t-shirts and folded it, putting it in her pile. "You know, we should go see a movie soon."

"Yeah?" Julia raised an eyebrow at him, approving of the subject change. "Which one?"

"I saw that Stick It is getting good reviews."

"We'll go for your birthday," Julia promised. "The lucky twenty-three. God, you're so old."

"Shut up."

Julia acted like the conversation she and Sam had the night before hadn't happened. Sam didn't bring it up, either, especially since Dean never came back to the motel room. She seemed okay, though, she didn't seem jealous or bitter like other twenty-year-old women might have been when the guy they had feelings for met up with an old flame and spent the night with them. There were moments where Julia could be a little brat—like most younger sisters—but the older she got the more mature she was getting.

And, when they got a call about the mayor's death, she was the one to call Dean to tell him about it.

It was way too cold for mid-April, so Sam and Julia were bundled up in their warmest jackets—which, really, was just Sam's usual canvas jacket and one of Julia's crewnecks—as they went to see what had happened to the mayor. They questioned the police, using the same private investigator alias that Dean brought up the day before, and waited for Dean to meet up with them.

Just as they were finishing up with one of the police officers, the man's eyes flickered behind them. Julia and Sam turned slightly and noticed that Dean was approaching them.

"He's with us," Sam informed the police officer. The man walked away and Sam expectantly turned to Dean. "Where were you last night? You didn't make it back to the hotel."

Dean turned away from Sam and Julia, watching the mayor's body bag being carted by. "Nope."

"I'm guessing you guys worked things out?"

"We'll be working things out while we're ninety," Dean grumbled. "So, what happened?"

"Every bone in the mayor's body was crushed," Julia spoke up, curling her hand into the sleeves of her sweatshirt. "Internal bleeding all over the place...none of the cops know what happened."

"It was like something ran him over," Sam finished.

"Something like a truck?"

"Yep."

"Tracks?"

"What was the mayor doing here, anyway?" Dean wondered.

"He owned the property," Julia informed him. "Bought it a few weeks ago."

"Yeah, but he's white," Dean pointed out. "He doesn't fit the pattern."

"And the killing didn't happen up on the road, so that doesn't fit, either," Sam stated.

"Okay," Dean sighed, running a hand down his face. "I'll go see if Cassie can help me get access to whatever happened in the sixties. You two go to the courthouse to see what you can find out about the mayor and why the truck came to this place."

The three of them split up again, Julia and Sam teaming up once more to form their dynamic duo. With two of them being able to research without Dean distracting Julia—who was already prone to being distracted—they easily found the property records that the mayor just purchased.

They called Dean when they got back to the motel with lunch.

"Yeah?" Dean answered.

"Okay, the courthouse records show that Mr. and Mrs. Mayor bought an abandoned property," Sam informed his brother while Julia munched on her lunch of grilled cheese and fries. "The previous owner was the Dorian family, for, like a hundred and fifty years."

"Dorian?"

"Yeah."

"Didn't you say that Dorian family used to own this paper?" they heard Dean ask Cassie.

"Yeah," Cassie confirmed. "Along with everything else around here. Real pillars of the town."

"Right, right," Dean hummed; Julia and Sam heard the light clicks of a computer mouse. "That's interesting."

"What?" Julia wondered, popping a fry in her mouth.

"This Cyrus Dorian, he vanished in April of sixty-three," Dean told them. "The case was investigated but never solved. It was right around the time the string of murders going on back then."

"Well, we pulled a bunch of papers up on the Dorian place," Julia sighed. "It must have been in bad shape when the mayor bought it."

"Why's that?"

"The first thing he did was bulldoze the house."

"Mayor Todd knocked down the Dorian place?" Dean asked Cassie.

"It was a big deal," Cassie told him. "One of the oldest houses left. He made the front page."

Dean clicked his tongue. "You got a date, shortcake?"

"The third of last month."

There was more clicking on the other line. "Mayor Todd bulldozed the Dorian family home on the third," Dean declared. "The first killing was the very next day."

Julia passed the cup of tea to Cassie with a small smile, making sure she wouldn't burn herself.

Cassie sighed heavily. "Maybe you could throw a couple of shots in that."

Julia just gave her another smile and sat down on the couch next to her. Cassie had called Dean an hour after they had eaten dinner, frantically telling him that she had seen the scary black truck that had been killing people. The three of them rushed over to her house to keep her safe and comfort her.

"You didn't see who was driving the truck?" Dean asked from Cassie's other side.

Cassie shook her head. "It seemed to be no one. Everything was moving so fast and then it was just gone," she gave him a frightened look. "Why didn't it kill us?"

"Whoever was controlling the truck wants you afraid first," Dean told her.

Sam, who was sitting in one of the chairs across from the couch, turned to Mrs. Robinson, who was sitting next to him. "Mrs. Robinson, Cassie said that your husband saw the truck before he died."

Mrs. Robinson stared at him, the teacup in her hands shaking.

"Mom?" Cassie prompted.

"Oh, Martin was under a lot of stress," Mrs. Robinson said. "You can't be sure about what he was seeing."

"Well, after tonight, I think we can be reasonably sure he was seeing a truck," Dean bristled, his voice growing firm. "What happened tonight, you and Cassie are marked, okay? Your daughter could die so if you know something, now would be a really good time to tell us about it."

Cassie gave him a warning look. "Dean."

Dean didn't back down, staring at Mrs. Robinson expectantly.

"Yes," Mrs. Robinson answered. "Yes, he said he saw a truck."

"Did he know who it belonged to?" Julia asked.

"He thought he did."

"Who was that?"

"Cyrus," Mrs. Robinson answered Dean, her lips pressed together emotionally. "A man named Cyrus."

Julia turned to Dean and Sam with raised eyebrows, getting similar looks back from both of them. She pulled the newspaper article that Dean had printed about Cyrus Dorian from her purse and showed it to Mrs. Robinson.

"Is this Cyrus?"

Tears filled Mrs. Robinson's eyes. "Cyrus Dorian died more than forty years ago."

"How do you know he died, Mrs. Robinson? The paper said he went missing," Dean asked, his face falling in realization. "How do you know he died?"

"We were all very young," Mrs. Robinson started to explain, her voice trembling. "I dated Cyrus for a while and I was also seeing Martin—in secret, of course. Inter-racial couples didn't go over too well back then. When I broke it off with Cyrus and he found out about Martin..." she paused and shook her head before quietly continuing. "I don't know, he changed. His hatred—his hatred was frightening."

"The string of murders," Sam assumed.

"There were rumors, people of color disappearing into some kind of truck," Mrs. Robinson confirmed. "Nothing was ever done."

Julia frowned, angry that the people who were killed by Cyrus didn't get justice for what happened to them.

"Martin and...Martin and I, we were gonna be married in that little church near here but last minute we decided to elope because we didn't want the attention," Mrs. Robinson went on, sniffing back tears.

"And Cyrus?"

Mrs. Robinson's face contorted as a sob escaped her throat. "The day we set for the wedding was the day someone set fire to the church," she cried; Julia inhaled sharply, her own tears filling her eyes. "There was a children's choir practicing in there. They all died."

"Did the attacks stop after that?" Julia whispered shakily.

"No, there was one more," Mrs. Robinson told them through her sobs. "One night that truck came for Martin. Cyrus beat him something terrible but Martin, you see, Martin got loose...and he started hitting Cyrus and he just kept hitting him and hitting him."

Dean raised his eyebrows. "Why didn't you call the cops?"

Julia gave Dean a pointed look; he knew damn well why they didn't call the cops. She didn't blame them; Cyrus deserved what he got.

"This was forty years ago," Mrs. Robinson cried. "He called on his friend, Clayton Soames and Jimmy Anderson, and they put Cyrus' body in the truck and they rolled it into the swamp at the end of his land. All three of them kept that secret all of these years."

"And now all three are gone," Sam said quietly. "and so is Mayor Todd."

"He said that you, of all people, would know he is not a racist," Dean looked to Mrs. Robinson. "Why would he say that?"

"He was a good man," Mrs. Robinson's cries calmed as she placed her hands on her neck. "He was a young deputy back then, investigating Cyrus' disappearance. Once he figured out what Martin and the other had done, he...he did nothing...because he also knew what Cyrus had done."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Cassie asked her mother, her voice breaking.

"I thought I was protecting them," Mrs. Robinson's sobs started up again. "and now there's no one to protect."

That's not true, Julia thought to herself. She has Cassie.

Dean had the same idea. "Yes, there is," he told her before looking over at Cassie. Mrs. Robinson did, too, her face falling in realization.

Julia, Sam, and Dean reconvened out by the Impala to discuss what they found out.

"Ah, my life was so simple," Sam sighed playfully as he and Julia leaned against the car and Dean paced back and forth in front of them. "Just school, exams, papers on polycentric cultural norms..."

"Translating old Hebrew proverbs, comparing and contrasting Islam and Christianity, trying to tell the difference between classical Latin and archaic Latin..." Julia added wistfully.

"Well, I guess I saved you two from a boring existence," Dean stopped pacing to lean against the car, too.

"Ah, occasionally I miss boring," Sam sighed heavily.

"So, this killer truck—"

"I miss conversations that didn't start with this killer truck," Sam added, more playfully.

Dean chuckled a little. "Well, this Cyrus guy. Evil on a level that infected even his truck," he stated. "When he died, the swamp became his tomb and his spirit was dormant for forty years."

"So what woke it up?" Julia asked,

"The construction on his house," Dean told her. "or the destruction."

"Right," Sam nodded. "Demolition or re-modeling can awaken spirits, make them restless. Like that theatre in Illinois, you know?"

"And the guy that tore down the family homestead, Harold Todd, is the same guy that kept Cyrus' murder quiet and unsolved."

"So, now his spirit is awakened and out for blood."

"Yeah, I guess," Dean shrugged. "Who knows what ghosts are thinking, anyway?"

"You know we're going to have to dredge that body up from the swamp, right?" Sam pointed out.

Dean smirked at him, causing Sam to let out a groan. "What?" Dean asked innocently. "You said it."

"Yeah."

Dean shook his head and looked toward the house, straightening up when he saw Cassie walking toward them. "Hey."

"Hey," Cassie smiled at him. "She's asleep. Now what?"

"Well, you should stay put and look after her," Dean told her. "and we'll be back. Don't leave the house."

"Don't go getting all authoritative on me," Cassie shook her head with a small smile. "I hate it."

Julia wrinkled her nose as they flirted, looking over at Sam to see that he was already smiling at her. She smoothed out her face and tried not to react as Dean apologized to Cassie and they started making out right in of them.

This is so incredibly awkward, she mused.

Sam cleared his throat and Dean reached behind his back to give him the finger.

When Dean pulled away from the kiss, he told Cassie, "Julia's gonna stay with you, all right?"

"What?" Julia spoke up, unpleased. "I'm going with you and Sam."

"No, you're staying with Cassie," Dean's tone was authoritative and it made her bristle. "I don't need to babysit you while this is going on."

"Dean."

Sam winced as Julia's eyes started to water. "Babysit me?" she scoffed. "How many times have I saved your ass since I started hunting with you?"

"Don't change the subject," Dean almost barked. "Do what I said and stay by Cassie's side."

Julia angrily pressed her lips together and grabbed her laptop from the backseat of the Impala. "You're a dick," she spat at Dean as she stormed past him, Sam, and Cassie back up to the house. "Don't come crying to me when you need my help!"

It was awkward and quiet when Cassie came back into the house and sat with her in the living room. Julia had already booted up her computer to work on an upcoming essay in her Hebrew class when Cassie spoke up.

"I'm sorry you had to stay with me," she apologized.

"It's not that I have to stay with you," Julia assured her with an apologetic smile. "It's that Dean treats me like I'm a kid and I can't make my own choices."

Cassie hummed knowingly. "I know what that feels like," she shared. "If it makes you feel any better, though, I think he's doing it to look out for you."

No, Julia thought, he wanted me to look after you.

She just gave Cassie a small smile, deciding that if Dean wanted her to be with Cassie, it was because he trusted her. Either way, she was still irritated. She didn't like being bossed around; if he just asked her to stay instead of commanding it like she was his assistant, it would have been fine.

It was another hour later that Sam called Julia, asking for information about the church so they could get rid of the spirit truck which was now following Dean around the back roads. Cassie gave Julia the information and she called Dean right away.

"What?" Dean snapped, the engine revving in the background. "This better be good."

"Where are you?" Julia asked as she looked down at the map Cassie had pulled out for her.

"In the middle of fucking nowhere with a killer truck on my ass!" he shouted, causing her to wince from the volume. "It's like it knows I put the torch to Cyrus."

"Listen to me, this is important so I have to know exactly where you are."

"Decatur Road, about two miles off the highway."

Julia scanned the map, easily finding the road. "Okay. Are you headed east?"

"Yes!" there was a loud crash of metal and then, "You son of a fucking bitch!"

"Okay, turn right," Julia said hurriedly. "Up ahead, turn right."

The squeal of tires met Julia's ears. "Did you turn?"

"Yeah, I made the turn!" Dean shouted. "You're gonna need to move this thing along a little faster."

"Do you see a road up ahead?" Julia consulted the map, biting her lib anxiously.

"No—wait, yes, I see it."

"Okay, turn left."

"Okay, now what?"

"You need to go exactly seven-tenths of a mile and then stop," she advised him.

"Stop?" Dean asked in disbelief.

"Exactly seven-tenths, Dean."

"Seven-tenths, seven-tenths..."

More tire squealing and then just the engine of the Impala as it idled.

"Dean, are you still there?"

"Yeah."

"What's going on?"

"It's just staring at me," Dean reported. "What do I do?"

"Just keep doing what you're doing. Stay still and bring it to you."

"Wha—?" Dean stammered. "Come on, come on, come on..."

There was a loud roar of an engine, much different than the Impala's, and then it disappeared. Julia looked up at Cassie, who was looking at the phone with an anxious expression.

"Dean, are you okay?" Julia called, knowing that he was probably okay. There would have been a loud crash, otherwise.

"Where'd it go?"

"Dean, you're where the church was."

"What church?"

"The place that Cyrus burned down and killed all those kids," Julia informed him. "Even if it's not still standing, it's hallowed ground. Evil spirits cross over hallowed ground and sometimes they get destroyed. Sam figured it out and I had to find the location."

"Well, what if it hadn't of worked?" Dean almost yelled.

Julia frowned. Even when she and Sam saved his ass, he was still a dick. "Hey, I was just following orders," she snapped at him. "I guess that's all I'm good for."

She snapped the phone shut and threw it in her laptop case. "The spirit's gone," she told Cassie, a little snippily. "If you want to talk to Dean, you'll have to call him from your phone."

"Yeah, no problem," Cassie nodded. "Thanks for your help, Julia."

"I didn't do much of anything," Julia sighed and gave her an apologetic smile. "I'm really sorry about your dad, Cassie."

Cassie smiled sadly. "Me too."

It was silent in the motel room that night. Dean had gone to town as soon as he dropped Julia and Sam off at the room and, an hour and a half later, he still wasn't back. Sam had started reading a book that Julia told him about and she watched America's Next Top Model re-runs next to him on the bed.

Sam looked away from his book every so often, seeing that Julia's nose was still wrinkled in displeasure. From what Sam understood, it was because Dean had yelled at her on the phone after the two of them saved his ass

"You okay?" he asked her, slipping his bookmark into the book where he left off.

Julia turned her head away from the television. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"I dunno," he shrugged. "You just seem sad."

"Oh..."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Julia's eyes stung as she practically lunged at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Sam, you are the bestest friend ever. I don't deserve you. Seriously, I love you so much. You know that, right?"

"Yeah," Sam chuckled into her hair. "You tell me every day, J."

"You deserve to hear it every day, S," Julia declared as tears leaked from her eyes. "You're a good man."

Sam felt her body shake with her cries. "Why are you crying?"

"Cause I'm just happy to have you in my life."

"I'm happy to have you in my life, too," Sam forcefully unwrapped her arms from him and gave her an amused smile as she pulled back. "but you were choking me."

Julia frowned and gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry."

"It's okay."

The motel door opened and Dean walked into the room, carrying a couple of plastic bags. One of them was from a local Chinese restaurant, while the other two were from stores in the mall.

"Hey," Sam greeted him as he got off the bed. "Where'd you go."

"I got a peace offering," Dean proclaimed, walking over to Julia's side of the bed. "Junior, I'm sorry for everything, okay? You are my friend and you did save my ass tonight. I'm sorry I wasn't more appreciative."

Julia's lips quirked a hint.

"So," Dean pulled a Converse box from the larger of the bags in his hand. "I got you these to replace the ones that were ruined at Roy's place."

"Thanks, Dean," Julia whispered, opening the box to see the low-top white Converse. They were the exact ones she had been looking at recently. "These are great."

"And," Dean gave her the other bag, which was smaller. "This is because you've been kicking ass lately."

Julia gave him a curious look as she pulled out a small rectangle box. She gasped when she opened it to reveal her own switchblade with a design on the handle and 'Shortcake' engraved on the blade.

"Dean!" she squeaked, tears coming to her eyes again. "Thank you so much, oh my God!"

Sam grinned as Julia jumped up and pulled Dean into a tight hug, crying into his shoulder. It was already a cute situation but damn it if Sam's heart didn't melt when Dean kissed her on the forehead in return.

(Gif is not mine)

#supernatural rewrite #dean winchester x oc #dean winchester x reader #supernatural #dean winchester #Sam Winchester #dean winchester fanfiction #supernatural fanfiction #dean winchester x original character

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blackmissfrizzle · 6 years ago

Text

Lazy Days and Dumb Bets

Title: Lazy Days and Dumb Bets

Pairing: Dean x black!reader

Other Characters: Sam, Jack, Castiel

Summary: Its just another lazy day at the bunker and Dean believes that one of the reader’s favorite movies can’t make him cry, so he agrees to a bet.

WC: 1,524

A/N: For all the black girls who love Supernatural, but don’t get a chance to see themselves in the show or in fanfic.

Today was a rarity, surprisingly, there was nothing to hunt, no archiving to do, or any cleaning to be done around the bunker. So, everyone was having their lazy day in the bunker. Sam was rereading Game of Thrones, Cas was doing whatever he does in his free time, Jack was playing on the Xbox you gifted him for Christmas, and Dean was watching Dr. Sexy, M.D.

And, you were in your room watching tv and doing your hair. You finally had the chance to take your raggedy ass box braids down. Like, it should be a crime for how long you kept those things in, but hey when did you have the time to take them down. You were a little over halfway done with taking down the monstrosity of your hair when Dean came in. He was wearing his signature lounging about outfit: long, grey robe with a pair of black sleeping shorts and shirt that fit just right, and house slippers, just looking every part of a DILF.

Dean was leaning against the door with his legs crossed and pointed at your hair, “You know you could’ve done that in our room. I wouldn’t have mind.” Looking up at him you replied, “I know. I just didn’t want to get hair everywhere and I really didn’t feel like watching another boring episode of Dr. Sexy.” Feigning anger, Dean said, “Hey! You respect Dr. Sexy!” Chuckling to yourself, “Ok Whatever you say. What did you need anyway?” Dean made his way to your bed, pulled you closer to him and placed a sweet kiss on your cheek, “I just missed my favorite girl and I wanted to spend some time with her.” “Well, I guess I don’t mind, since you miss me so much, but you can only stay on two conditions,” you said as you held two fingers. “Ok, shoot,” Dean replied as he made himself comfortable. “One, you help me with my hair and two, we’re watching what I want to watch.”

“You got yourself a deal, sweetheart.” Dean was reaching for the scissors and extra comb when you grabbed his wrist and faced him menacingly, “Don’t fuck up my hair, Winchester! If you do, Baby will be sporting some new scratches.” Dean just moved your hand and turned your head straight, getting ready to start, “I don’t know why you always have to threaten Baby every time I help. I only messed up that one time and it wasn’t even noticeable!” “It was one time too many. Now hush- “you turned around to shush him, “I’m about to start the movie.”

“Yes ma’am,” he gave his best salute, “What are we watching?” Giddily rocking side to side, you answered, “Coco.” Dean stopped taking down the braid he was working on and turned you to face him, “A cartoon? Are you serious, Y/N?” Jumping up from your seat, you yelled, “Hell yeah!” “First of all, its such an amazing movie, that it’ll even make you cry, Dean Winchester! It even won Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards. And, second of all, you’re one to talk!” “What the hell do you mean by that?” Doing your best Spongebob meme impression, you bent over and looked at Dean, “Oh. Mr., I watched every episode of Scooby-Doo and always wanted to be in the gang, and Daphne is settling for Fred. Headass!”

Dean actually blushed at the mention of his childhood cartoon crush, “Alright, alright, alright. I can see your point, but ain’t no damn cartoon is gonna make me cry.”

“Wanna bet,” you asked with a smirk and raising one eyebrow. “Yeah, what do I get when I win?” Scoffing and rolling your eyes, “If you win, which means you have no soul, I’ll bake you any three pies you want and won’t complain about how unhealthy it is. But, if I win, you’ll let me drive Baby whenever I want to for a week.” Dean didn’t even think about and quickly gave his answer, “Deal.” You went to shake his hand to seal the deal, but he shook his head no and pulled you into his lap, “Uh huh, sweetheart. We don’t seal deals with handshakes, we seal them with kisses.” Dean’s hands started to leisurely roam your body starting from your thighs to your ass, hips, stomach, breasts, and eventually caressing you around your neck, while he kissed you. Regrettably, you pulled away from the kiss, tugging Dean’s bottom lip with your teeth as an end to the kiss. Just above a whisper with your forehead leaning against Dean’s you replied, “Deal.”

It was 90 minutes later, and the movie was almost over, which usually meant that you were in your bed bawling your eyes out, but this wasn’t the case today. You knew without having to look at Dean, that you won the bet and you were smiling from ear to ear. You heard him sniffling when Miguel tried to get Mamá Coco to remember her father, but by the time they were singing Remember Me, Dean was rocking more than a single man tear. You had enough decency not to poke fun at his vulnerable state, but you knew once the credits started rolling you would be getting on that ass.

Miguel and Natalia Lafourcade had just begun singing the pop version of Remember Me, when Dean just blurted out, “Fuck Ernesto De La Cruz!” You tried your hardest not to laugh, but some of your laughs did spill out. Mocking Dean, you replied, “Hey, what happen to, ‘Ain’t no damn cartoon gonna make me cry?’” Dean didn’t answer you and just walked out the room instead. For a tiny bit, you thought you really hurt his feelings, until he came back into your room and threw the car keys to you, “Here. You won. Be careful with her,” Dean mumbled. You caught the keys with one hand, tossed them on your bed, and then spider monkey jumped Dean, wrapping your arms around his neck and your legs around his waist, “Aw thanks babe. I promise I’ll take good care of her just like her owner. And since, you’re being such a good sport about this, I’ll still bake you those pies while I deep condition my hair” And just like that Dean Winchester turned from a sourpuss to a kid in the candy store. “Did I ever tell you, you’re the best girlfriend ever,” he asked with a low growl. Tilting your head up to think you answered, “I think so, but I wouldn’t mind hearing it again.” Dean gave you the kind of kiss that you felt all the way from your fingertips down to your tippy toes and answered against your lips, “You’re the best girlfriend ever.”

A couple of hours later, Dean was stabbing into his cherry pie like he wields an angel blade and was muttering ‘Fuck Ernesto De La Cruz.’ Sam was making his way through the kitchen when he stopped and asked, “Who the hell is Ernesto De La Cruz?” Before you could even laugh at Dean, he answered, “An evil motherfucker! He gives Lucifer a run for his money!” By this time, Castiel and Jack made their way into the kitchen to inspect all the commotion. Tilting his head in a Cas-like manner, Jack asked, “Who’s eviler than my father?”

Between chuckles you grabbed Jack’s shoulder and looked up at him, “A cartoon character.” Sam raised his eyebrows at Dean, “Seriously, dude? A cartoon?” Even Cas decided to put is two cents in, “Come on, Dean. I seriously doubt a cartoon can evoke that kind of emotion.” Dean pointed his cherry covered forked at the taller Winchester and his angelic best friend, “Coco is a masterpiece! I bet you can’t watch it without getting attached.” Smugly smiling, Sam answered, “I betcha we can. And if we can, you have to eat my so called ‘rabbit food’ for a month and if we don’t, we’ll take over your chores for a month.” Not skipping a beat Dean replied, “Deal,” and he started walking towards to the Dean of Fortitude to begin an impromptu Winchester Movie Night. Watching all your favorite men walk away, you thought to yourself, this is gonna be awesome.

Another 90 minutes later and you had two badass hunters, one angel, and one nephilim all crying to Miguel and Mamá Coco singing together. All of them were so focused on the tv screen that they didn’t notice you holding your phone, recording them. As their tears dried up, you heard a choral of “Fuck Ernesto De La Cruz!” and ended the video. Not wanting to miss an opportunity to make fun of the boys, you went into your messages, looking for the group chat you had with Jody, Donna, Alex, and Claire to send them the video. With the video you captioned it, Look at these big ass babies lol! Not even 5 minutes after you sent the video, you saw the three little dots forming and you knew you were gonna have a hilarious night with the ladies. Thank Chuck for lazy days and dumb bets.

#dean winchester #dean x black!reader #dean winchester x black!reader #black!reader #spn #supernatural #supernatural fanfiction #supernatural fandom #spn fanfic #sam winchester #castiel #jack kline

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amylillian22 · 7 years ago

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Like Father, Like Son - Part 5 (Final Chapter) – Theo and Dean Crossover

Based on the request and headcannon by @theoraekendeserveslove

Word Count: 3,154

Warnings: None really.

Author’s Note: There are a lot of changes. So, consider this an Alternate Universe/Ending from the Series Finale episode.

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4]

[My Teen Wolf Master List]

Dean slowly put his jacket on and groaned as he, Sam, Castiel, Theo, and Y/N walked out of Deaton’s animal clinic. Theo and Y/N had taken Dean to get the bullet out, clean his wound, and stitch him up after leaving the hospital. Y/N held Theo’s hand as they walked to his truck. She could sense his nervousness, but she didn’t understand why. Everything was okay. They survived and Monroe lost. What did Theo have to be worried about?

“Well, that’s definitely one for the books,” Dean said as he and Sam turned around to see Theo.

Theo chuckled and nodded. “Yeah. I guess so.”

“I think he means literally since there are books based on their lives,” Castiel admitted. Theo and Y/N gave the brothers a quizzical look, wondering what Castiel meant.

“That’s a story for another time,” Dean brushed off the topic.

Theo nodded as he began to shift his weight from one foot to the other. Y/N looked at him with a raised eyebrow, wondering why he was on the edge, but Theo said nothing.

“I guess it’s time to go,” Sam said as he patted Dean’s shoulder.

“Ready whenever you are,” Castiel said as he looked at Dean. Castiel could tell Dean wasn’t ready to leave. If anything, he wished he could stay a bit longer and get to know Theo more, but he didn’t want to push if Theo wasn’t ready.

“Umm,” Theo cleared his throat. “If you have some time, there’s this diner close by that makes the best pies-” Dean groaned as his mouth watered at the thought of having some delicious pie right now.

Sam chuckled as he shook his head. “You are your father’s son.”

“Pie is the way to my heart, son,” Dean confessed.

“Funny,” Y/N smiled as she leaned towards Theo. “It’s his too. If Theo could, he would eat pie everyday.”

“Like father, like son,” Sam chuckled again, making everyone laugh.

“I can get us there in seconds.”

Theo immediately shook his head as his stomach turned at the idea of traveling with Castiel again. “I think we’ll take my truck.” Y/N gave him a confused look, knowing she was clearly missing something. “Trust me babe, you don’t want to travel with an angel,” Theo said as he tugged her hand and walked her to the passenger door to open it for her.

Dean, Sam, Castiel got into the backseat of the truck. Theo started the truck and drove to the diner. Dean smiled as he saw Theo reach for Y/N’s hand and held it over the middle console, both completely happy and content with each other. He began to wonder how his life might have been if he hadn’t gone into the family hunting business. Maybe he would have met a girl, fell in love, got married, and have kids running around a beautiful house in the suburbs. Maybe he would have had that with Theo’s mom. He knew that’s what Sam wanted in the first place, which is why he left to college. Convincing Sam to go on the road to find dad after Jessica died is something he regretted. If he hadn’t shown up, maybe Sam would have had his perfect love story right now with Jessica.

Theo pulled into a parking space at the diner, making Dean snap back into reality. Everyone got out of the truck and walked into the diner. Theo picked a booth in the back corner that sits 6 people. Y/N slid in first, before Theo followed and made room for Dean to sit next to him while Sam and Castiel sat across from them.

The place was dead. The only waitress working walked up to their table. “Good evening,” she looked at her watched and noticed it was way past midnight. ��Or should I say good morning?” She chuckled to herself. “What can I get y'all?”

“I’ll have a coffee,” Sam said.

“Make that two,” Castiel gave at the waitress a warm smile.

“What pie do you have?” Theo and Dean asked in unison, making everyone laugh.

“I have apple and peach pie,” the waitress answered.

“I’ll have one of each,” Theo said before he causally placed his hand on Y/N’s thigh.

Dean turned around with a huge smile on his face. At first, Dean was surprised to learn Theo was his son. Now, he couldn’t be happier to know his son enjoys pies as much as he does.

“I’ll have the same and a cup of coffee,” Dean smile as he looked back at the waitress.

“What about you, darling?” She asked Y/N.

“I’ll have some apple pie with a milkshake.”

“With two straws,” Theo added.

“I’ll be right back with your order.” The waitress walked away from the table, leaving the five of them to themselves.

Everyone just stayed quiet and looked at each other. Truthfully, it was a little bit awkward. No one knew what to say or do. They’ve never experienced having to sit together and talk amongst each other like most families do.

“So…” Castiel trailed, trying to cut the tension.

“Can I ask you a question?” Dean turned to look at Theo. Theo nodded his head, giving Dean permission to proceed. “That thing you did back there at the hospital. How did you do that?”

“And what exactly was that?” Sam added.

“Well, we can take people’s pain away,” Theo answered.

“And you’ve done that before?” Dean asked.

“I have. Theo, however,” Y/N smiled as she wrapped her hand around Theo’s bicep and leaned towards him. “Did it for the first time tonight.” Everyone heard how proud she was.

“You had never done it before?” Sam asked a bit surprised. Theo shook his head.

“You’ve never done it on Y/N before?” Dean followed up.

Y/N rolled her eyes at him. “Please. I can take care of myself. I’m tougher than I look.” Theo smiled at how confident and strong his girl was. He couldn’t help but lean in and kiss her cheek.

“No,” Theo finally answered after he turned to face Dean. “Umm, I tried to take away Mason’s pain the other day when he got hurt, but it didn’t work. I mean I tried so hard. I wanted to help him, but Mason said I probably couldn’t do it because I didn’t care. He’s not exactly my favorite person. So, I thought maybe he was right.”

“Except you do care,” Y/N squeezed his arm. “You saw Dean hurt. You wanted to help him because I know deep down you care about your father. You have from the moment you found out, but you kept your guard up because you were too afraid to care about someone who you might lose someday. I know you were protecting yourself and Dean by not getting close. Not getting close to him protects him from the crazy life we live. Also, I know you pushed him away because you believed he wouldn’t accept you after everything you’ve done in the past, but that’s not the case. You realized that when he came here to help you.”

Everyone was silent as Y/N nailed Theo’s feelings. He hadn’t talked to her about how he felt about Dean. She just knew. No one knew him better than she did, and he still wonders how in the world he ever got so lucky with an amazing woman as her.

Dean cleared his throat. “Is she right?”

Theo swallowed hard. “Yeah.”

Dean smiled at Theo. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Theo asked surprised.

“For letting me help you, for taking my pain away…” Dean trailed. “For caring back.” Theo smiled at Dean.

“Alright, here we go,” the waitress said as she brought a tray with their orders. She passed out their drinks and pies. When she left, everyone talked about different things and shared supernatural stories. They laughed, they joked, and they even teased each other a little bit. Theo paused for a second and looked around.

This is what it must feel like to have a family, he thought to himself.

It was nearly 3am when they walked out of the diner. They stood in front of Theo’s truck, not ready to say goodbye.

“It was great meeting you two,” Castiel said as he shook Theo and Y/N’s hands, who also said goodbye to him. He turned around to face Sam and Dean, who looked sad. “Take as long as you like. I’ll wait for you by the dumpster,” Castiel said before walking away.

Dean let out a heavy sigh and took a step forward towards Theo. “You know, for years I believed I wasn’t meant to have everything; the girl and some kids. Ya know, the whole white picket fence house and homemade pie lifestyle. It’s hard to have that with the kind of business I do.” Theo and Y/N sensed the sadness radiating off Sam. If they only knew how much Sam wanted Dean to have everything he wanted and deserved.

“But then I met you,” Dean let out a small chuckle. “And you couldn’t be more like me, son. Look, I know we just met and I know you have a life here, while mine is out on the road, but just know you can call me anytime and I’ll be there, Theo. If you need my help or you’re in some sort of trouble, don’t hesitate to call me. If you just want to see what I’m doing and, uh, I don’t know maybe go get some pie sometime, I can do that too, kid. You can call me for anything. Day or night, okay?”

Theo nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Just know, you have us, okay?” Dean said as he also pointed back at Sam with his thumb.

“We’re family. We’ll always be there for you,” Sam added with a smile.

“I really appreciate that,” Theo said before he leaned in and hugged Dean, who didn’t waste a second to hug him back. “Thank you for coming,” he whispered.

“Anytime, son,” Dean whispered back before he pulled back.

“I’ve always wanted to be an uncle,” Sam smiled before he leaned in and hugged Theo goodbye. “Don’t be a stranger, okay?”

“You got it,” Theo chuckled as he hugged Sam back.

Dean looked at Y/N. “If he gives you any trouble or is just being a pain in the ass, don’t hesitate to call me.”

Y/N couldn’t help but laugh. “You got it, Dean.” She hugged him and Sam goodbye. She reached for Theo’s hand to hold, knowing how much he was hurting at the moment. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in tight as they watched Dean and Sam walk towards Castiel and disappeared in a matter of seconds.

“Let’s go,” she whispered. Theo kissed her forehead before they got into his truck and went to Liam’s house, who had offered his guest bedroom to them for as long as they needed a place to stay.

The Next Morning

Everyone sat in Scott’s living room as they waited for Mason and Corey to arrive. Scott had called an emergency pack meeting, but Theo, Y/N, and Liam were clueless to what the meeting was about. Monroe and her minions had left Beacon Hills and the rest of the city wasn’t scared of them anymore now that the Anuk-ite was gone. No one knew exactly what was going to happen in the meeting, with the exception of Scott, Stiles, Lydia, Malia, and Derek who were patiently waiting on Mason and Corey.

“Finally!” Stiles said as Mason and Corey walked in. “What took you two so long?”

“Traffic,” Mason said. “What’s the emergency?”

“Well…” Scott trailed as he stood up from the sofa. Malia, Stiles, Lydia and Derek got up and stood behind Scott. “We couldn’t leave without saying goodbye.”

“What?” Liam said nervously before shooting up from his seat.

“Liam, I know you’re scared, but you’re ready. I believe in you. I know you can take care of Beacon Hills while we’re in college, with the FBI, or somewhere in South America.”

“Just know, we’re all a phone call away if you ever need us, you little runt,” Stiles said as he ruffled Liam’s hair. He looked at Mason. “You still got that bat?” Mason nodded. “Don’t lose it. It’s going to save your life more than once.”

“And remember I’m your girl if you ever need advice on girls or picking out clothes for your dates,” Lydia smiled before she leaned in and hugged Liam. “Don’t worry about Hayden. If it’s meant to be, you two will find your way back together,” she whispered.

“I’m sorry,” Malia apologized to Liam. He gave her a confused look, wondering what she was sorry about. “I didn’t mean it when I said your plans were stupid. You’re actually a pretty good beta and I know you’ll do great here.”

“Thanks, Malia,” Liam said before hugging Malia.

Scott looked at Theo. “You’ve come a long way, you know that?”

“Yeah,” Theo let out a small chuckle. “I don’t expect you guys wanting me to stay here and I appreciate you calling me when you needed help, but just know you can always call me if you need help. Either one of you,” he said looking between Scott and Liam.

“Same goes for you,” Scott smiled at Theo.

“Same here,” Liam added.

Everyone hugged each other goodbye before Stiles and Derek helped take Scott and Malia’s bags to Stiles’ old Jeep. Liam, Mason, Corey, Theo, and Y/N watched Scott and Malia drive off in Stiles’ Jeep, Derek in his new black Mustang, Lydia and Stiles in her car.

Liam turned to face Theo and Y/N. “What’s the plan for you guys? I mean you’re not in high school anymore and you’re not going to college. Beacon Hills is safe as of right now. You have too much free time, what are you going to next?”

Only one thing crossed Theo’s mind, rather one person, Dean. This was the time to finally give Dean a chance and get to know his father. It would give Theo a chance to finally experience being around family with his dad and his uncle. Maybe he would stay for as long as he wanted, maybe even help them with their family business. He didn’t know what the future held. He just knew he wanted Dean in it.

Right before he was about to answer with a smile on his face, he turned to look at Y/N. His smile slowly vanished as he realized he didn’t even consider what Y/N might have wanted. He was being completely selfish, but he didn’t want to leave her behind. He had wanted her to go with him, but he didn’t want to hold her back from her dreams. He was torn.

Y/N wrapped her hand around their locked hands and bumped his hips with hers. She could see what running through his worried mind. “I go wherever you go. Your dreams are my dreams. My dreams are your dreams. We’re in this together for the long haul,” she smiled at him.

His muscles instantly relaxed. He had never been this lucky to have someone as amazing, caring, and understanding as Y/N. Theo cupped her cheeks and pulled her in for a kiss, one that expressed how much he genuinely and deeply loved her. “I love you, you know that, right?”

“I love you too,” she said breathlessly.

Theo turned around to finally answer Liam’s question. “I’m going to get to know my father.”

The three boys smiled at Theo, happy to see how far he’s come since they first met him. They said their goodbyes, promising each other they’re only a phone call away if they ever need anything. As the seniors headed to school, Theo and Y/N went back to Liam’s house to pack their stuff before going on their mini-road trip.

A day and a half later

With their backpacks strapped to their backs, a duffle bag in each hand, and their other hands intertwined, Theo and Y/N made their way to the front door of the bunker. Neither of them was worried. Not that Y/N had any reason to be, but she was surprised Theo wasn’t as nervous as she thought maybe he would be. Truth be told, he wasn’t nervous because this felt right. He believed nothing bad would come from this. Things would finally be whole for Theo.

Y/N squeezed his hand before he let it go. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door hard. He quickly grabbed her hand. They waited a few seconds knowing it was a long walk across the bunker and up the stairs before getting to the front door.

Two pairs of footsteps grew louder by the second before the sounds of locks being unlocked reached the chimeras’ ears. The door opened only to be greeted by a surprised Dean and Sam.

“Theo, is everything okay? Are you alright, son?” Dean immediately panicked with worry.

Sam’s eyes flickered to the young couple’s bags. A smile reached the corner of his eyes realizing what this meant and he was thrilled his older brother was finally going to have a piece of that dream he’s always wanted.

Y/N smiled as Theo spoke. “Everything is fine. Great actually. Beacon Hills is okay and safe for now. It’s kind of pointless to be there. So, now I have all this free time and I was kind of hoping- if it’s alright with you, if we can kind of stay here with you. What do you say…” he trailed for a second before saying the next word. “Dad?” The world felt so natural and comfortable. Theo no longer struggled to call Dean what he was and he was hoping Dean didn’t mind.

Y/N couldn’t help the tears forming in her eyes. Neither could Sam. They both knew how hard this moment was and it was great to finally see it happen.

Dean’s eyes filled with warm tears before he leaned in and hugged Theo. “Welcome home, son.”

Sam offered to help with the bags as he welcomed Y/N inside. Dean and Theo pulled away. “You must be exhausted from the long drive. Are you two hungry? I can make something really quick,” Dean said.

“We’re starving,” Theo answered as Dean took one of his bags.

“I could make some pie for dessert,” Y/N smiled knowing it would be the perfect way to end this day.

Dean looked at his son. “Marry her.”

Everyone laughed as Sam closed the front door and locked it. He stayed behind and watched them walk down the stairs, talking about the drive, the junk food they got when they made stops at gas stations, and all the pies they ate at diners along the way.

Sam’s heart was full and couldn’t help the smile and tears in his eyes. “Like father, like son,” he whispered to himself.

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marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer · 7 years ago

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MTVS Epic Rewatch #175

VM 3x10 Show Me the Monkey

Stray thoughts

1) A fact which I think is important to remember and that people watching the show years after it first aired might not be aware of: Show Me the Monkey aired almost two months after Spit and Eggs, and it seems that the same amount time went by in the narrative. That means it’s been two months since the dean died and Veronica and Logan broke up.

2) “ Who do you go to, to find a stolen monkey and twenty control-group rats?”

3) Veronica staring at Logan while “having” lunch is sort of a staple in the show, isn’t it?

4) And I love Veronica’s voiceover here:

VERONICA VOICEOVER: Logan Echolls, don't you get it? Ex-boyfriend. That's your new title. It comes with certain restrictions. This is my Food Court time. You're not a breakfast person. You're not even an early-lunch kind of guy. Can't we just agree this is Veronica time?

Veronica’s voiceovers always give us an insight into her mind and thought process. But she seems to go speechless whenever it comes to Logan Echolls (think of The Kiss or any of their breakups.) So it’s kind of refreshing to actually have her voicing how hard the breakup is for her. It’s been almost two months, and she still can’t look at him without feeling hurt.

5) Big Lebowski reference!

PAULINE: It's not a pet. We don't name them or wrap squeaky toys up for Christmas. His research ID number is twenty-five. Yes, I know exactly who stole him. It was those damn Phat kids. VERONICA: Because, I take it, monkeys are delicious? And, dude, "girth-challenged" is the preferred nomenclature.

6) If anything, you should offer a discount for hilarity...

MAC: I just can't wait for that moment when you're in a tree, going, "here, monkey, monkey," and holding out a banana, and then the branch breaks and hilarity ensues. VERONICA: Ah, if there's hilarity, I charge extra.

7) And this is why I love Parker…

PARKER: Just so you know, we're approaching critical, pathetic mass if the girl who most wants to host gentlemen callers is the most recent victim of a sexual assault. We should be out there! Or, at the very least, not barring them from coming to us.

I think it was very important for a show that dealt with sexual assault on a regular basis to acknowledge that there are different ways to deal with trauma, and Parker offered a striking contrast to Veronica in their way of dealing with trauma. While Veronica mostly kept it to herself and chose revenge instead of justice, Parker was outspoken about her trauma and didn’t shy away from talking and joking about it.

8) Oh, Dick…

9) But I do love how he boils down the most complex human emotions to the most basic grossness.

DICK: But if this were a book, the theme of my essay would be the symbolism of how your character had his man parts ripped off by the Veronica Mars character. LOGAN: My man parts are intact. DICK: Show me. LOGAN: Well, you'll have to take my word for it. DICK: I mean, symbolically. We're young, single men in our sexual prime, and the only reason why we're not out there going hog-wild is because of your feelings?

I do appreciate that he was trying to help out his best friend, in his own Dickish way.

10)

VERONICA: You look sad. You and your friend Weevil have a fight or something? KEITH: Just thinking, if I was going to get drunk and shoot myself, I'd probably drink the good stuff first. VERONICA: Sheesh. Good thing we don't have any good stuff.

11) How didn’t this raise Veronica’s alarms?

VERONICA: What did the note say? KEITH: "Goodbye, cruel world," typed as a memo. VERONICA: Like on the computer screen? KEITH: Yeah, why? VERONICA: Just... we had to do these papers for Landry's class, like plan the perfect murder. I got an A, just in case you were wondering. KEITH: And what does this- VERONICA: Mine was a fake suicide, where you leave a note on the computer, so you can't check the handwriting, and write something clichéd so you don't study the message. My example was, "Goodbye, cruel world."

12)

DARLA: We have a lot of work to do, so just go ahead and take 'em off. VERONICA: Uh, take what off? SAM: Your clothes...for the calendar. You are committed, right?

13) I’m Mac.

BRONSON: So, um...some of us are going to grab a bite, if you want to come along. MAC: I'm good. I had some mints.

14) And I love this…

What about this is Canada?

Canadians, tell me, how accurate is this portrayal of Canada?

15) I dare you to tell me Parker sucks. I DOUBLE DARE YOU.

PARKER: It's a new day. No more games, no more waiting around. I'm ready to be wooed! VERONICA: Amen, sister! That was supporting, not joining. I do not want to be wooed. PARKER: Don't you want to hear all about how great you are? I mean, don't you want to see the look on some cute guy's face when he realizes that you're not only smokin'-hot but funny and smart? Why, you're the catch of the century, Veronica Mars... And so are you.

16)

BRONSON: You're pretty dressed up. Where you guys off to? MAC: Uh...Club...Club. It's new.

17) Girl, you should feel insulted, not flattered…

TAYLOR: Hmm. What have you got? LOGAN: Apparently, we're into the cheap stuff. TAYLOR: Hmm.

18)

TAYLOR: Boy, oh, boy. You are bad. Man, I can't believe I just did that with Aaron Echolls' son.

As if he needed any more reasons to feel disgusted about this, right? I get why he slept with this girl, in spite his every instinct probably telling him otherwise. On the one hand, he wanted to get over Veronica badly. I think that’s why he agreed to follow Dick’s lead. He was tired of moping around. On the other hand, this is the only way Logan has always felt validated: his sexual prowess. And I guess he was truly in need of some validation.

19) I love this conversation between Veronica and Piz because it clearly shows how two people can have completely opposite readings of the same moment… Piz thinks they’re flirting and talking about how they feel about each other, like they’re talking in metaphors, while Veronica is only thinking of Logan and how he makes her feel. It also proves how deluded Piz actually was. Veronica had given him zero hints that she was interested in him. And he had witnessed on more than one occasion how into each other Veronica and Logan were. Yet, he deluded himself into believing that Veronica was talking about him.

PIZ: I figure, you know, I mean, I know what I like. Why waste my time? VERONICA: Like, why bother with something not good just because it's something? PIZ: Especially when you know the difference, which not many people do. I mean, do you? VERONICA: I...I think I do. PIZ: You see, I think that's like ninety percent of life, just knowing the difference.

Like, he actually believed he was the something good instead of the something not good when it was the other way around, which makes sense for Piz as a character. I mean, this sense of entitlement is probably one of his defining traits. From day one, he set his eyes on Veronica and truly believed she ought to be his. It was literally impossible for him to believe otherwise.

20) And of course, there’s the Something Good...

I think this is probably my second favorite LoVe kiss right after The Kiss. There’s just something about the way they stare at each other and seem to be communicating without actually uttering a single word, and then the sheer desperation and passion when they finally kiss. It’s just kind of breathtaking.

21) Look how content and pensive Veronica looks after a night of LoVemaking…

22) And then, all the awkwardness just because white CIS guy deluded himself into believing a girl was his. He seems to be actually offended by Veronica being with whoever she wants to be, who was, by the way, the same guy she’d been with since the very first date Pi met her? How is this shocking? How is this brand new information for Piz?

It wouldn’t be a Rob Thomas show without a contrived and unnecessary love triangle, would it? Anywho, at least our kids are back together. For like two episodes.

#Veronica Mars #VM #Kristen Bell #Logan Echolls #Rob Thomas #LoVe #MTVSepicrewatch #VMrewatch2015 #mine #recap #Show Me the Monkey #vmrecap

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dachi-chan25 · 7 years ago

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Game of Thornes- Season 7 episode 2 Recap (Pt.2)

Warnings: Spooooooilers; not a D@nee fan my dude, no hate either just critizism; Jonsa shipper so most of the fandom thinks I’m delusional.

————-

6.- Dat raven from Oldwarts reaches WF (OK but like where is Edd’s raven about Bran???) and Jonny boy is in Brooding mode, he calls for the Lords to tell them the situation, they are not happy at all about being all buddy-buddy with a Targ (and rightfully so) but Jon has a good reasons for going himself (even if I don’t like it):

- He is KitN and unlike other rulers J0n has already proven (remember when he wanted to have a 1 on 1 fight with Ramsey so no one else would die??) he takes responsability over his people and if it’s a trap he’ll rather sacrifize himself than an innocent.

- He is the only one who saw and fought a WW and the only one who can explain how much of a threat they are.

-The raven asked specifically for his presence, and to be allies (they both seek that) there should be some amount of trust, he NEEDS their help after all.

Of course it’s not so simple, because D@nyy has Melissandre with her (you know the same J0n exiled) and she wants him to surrender the North to her (which wasn’t mentioned in the raven and OH!! That if we believe the leaks she is gonna send him on a pointless stupid hunt to prove he says the truth (so no trust on her part I see)

Also, Sansa speaks up to remind him about their grandfather and how he was invited and then killed by a Targ (very fair point) and of course she doesn’t want him to leave!!!

“You’re abandoning your people! you’re abandoning your home!”

Some fellow shippers (I’m not saying your feelings/thoughts aren’t valid guys you are allowed to have your own reading and I am in no way trying to impose my view) mentioned they were wating for her to include ‘you’re abandoning me!’ but she already did in adding home, what makes WF his home is not the fact that he was raised there but that his family is! So in a subtle way she did acuse him of abandoning her.

And can you all blame her??? Sansa already lost so much, and wheter you ship them or not, it’s clear she loves him and doesn’t wanna loose him.

Problem is Jon is the same, y'all remember he wanted to fuck off to Essos after being brought back?? He had nothing left to loose and no fucks to give anymore, Enters Sansa giving him a purpose to live and someone to give a fuck about so of course he is gonna do anything in his power to protect her and the home she fought so hard for!! He is once again gonna fight for her now on the political side and honestly I dig so much this ship!!!

Anyway Jon is not getting much support (even Little Lyanna doesn’t want him to go) but he already made up his mind, Sansa is worried about who the fuck is gonna run the place in his absence and, be still my heart, because he says the North is hers (my shipper heart!!!!) and she is sooooo touched. Also that Jaime/ Brienne parallel.

Creepyfinger is pleased and honestly I can’t wait for Jon to choke the slimy bitch.

7.- Back in the Citadel, Sam says to Slughorn (I can’t remember his actual name, sorry) he knows how to cure greyscale (how very convinient) but hold your horses Potter!!! the thing is dangerous and you really shouldn’t do it. But of course he is gonna do it anyway, because I guess it’s more important to cure his ex-Lord Commander’s son than keeping his place on the Citadel (Slughorn said the procedure was forbbiden so I’m guessing they could expell him for this) to become a Maester for the NW like he was supposed to. Honestly this is all so convinient to have one of D@€nerys stans out and about again *sigh* Also the dialogue was like a porn and I was laughing way to hard even though the scene was disgusting.

8.- Eww that transition was just ewwww I’m glad I wasn’t eating when I watched it, so now we have Arya on her way to KL, and Yay! Hot Pie, I Love him so much, and LMAO Arya and her pies.

So at last Arya hears about the BoB and in that moment she forsakes her revenge to go home (Imma cry again) I think that’s the best damn decision because things are going to be ugly in the south.

9.- Jon in the crypts!!! (It’s happening y'all!!!) I must say that’s a pretty good looking statue of Ned tho. So LF is supposedly trying to get in his good graces but is he really??? I mean his words and tone are polite, he talks about how HE was the one who sent Ned’s bones back to WF (ya you trick ass bitch but you got him killed!!!) and wistully talks about how despite their differences they both loved Cat, and then smoothly reminds Jon about how Cat didn’t care about him and even says she was wrong (I called it!!! That LF was gonna say the last best chance quote from the trailer to Jon) but why was he talking about such a thing, we know Cat (and his bastard status) is a very touchy subject for Jon, as a matter of fact on a deeper level one starts to think maybe he was trying to provoke Jon (Starks. Quick tempers, slow minds is his motto afterall) and even I was surprised by how calm he acted when LF wanted a thank you for saving my life (that FUCKING creep). Until we get the ‘I Love Sansa, like I loved her mother’ it’s such an intresting way of phrasing it, isn’t it?? Because moments before LF states he loved Cat in a romantic way, and when he says he loves Sansa adds the last sentence to leave no room of doubt about what kind of Love is it and what his intentions are. What shaked me was Jon’s expression, he was furious, while moments ago he let LF words slide, a single mention of Sansa and he wants to kill the creeper. Jon’s threat is both terrifying and unexpected ( also I know everyone was freacking out about the sister but Jaime also called Cersei that and they had like 3 children together, same applies to but J0n said D@ny’s name OMG twu wuv, like LMAO Qyburn also said her name and I don’t see anyone shipping them) if LF wanted to provoke a reaction out of him it wasn’t that one definitely. Far to raw and protective to be brotherly.

Jon’s anger doesn’t fade even when he let’s the little creeper go!! He is downright murderous. But then he looks at Sansa and it’s like his whole demeanour changes, I was like what in the Seven hells is this!!!! And the little wave gives me hope they’ll see one another again in this season.

Now what I find real intresting is that last bit with LF. He gets outta those crypts, baffled and massaging his neck, when suddenly he seems to figure something out (you can see it in his eyes) and his first reaction to whatever he was thinking was looking at Sansa (she is looking at the spot Jon just left in such a wistfull and sad manner) and I think he knows something is happening there… Or maybe I’m delusional.

10.- Arya and Nymeria reunite and all is sad, but I think it linda makes sense, Nymeria is not her because Arya herself is not her fully, she had to strip from her identity to become a faceless man, and was using that to take revenge, but now she is stepping back from that destructive path because she has the option to come back home and it’s beginning to be herself again. maybe when she finally does Nymeria will come to her.

11.- I totally lost my shit in here, so Yara and Ellaria are flirting and drinking (so much for this is a war!! ) and far to relaxed and distracted to be part of a group that wants to take the Iron Throne, (Theon is super done with them btw) suddenly all hell breaks loose and Euron’s armada is on da house (he got to get that gift for his Lady) everyone gets crushed, the snakes are murdered and Ellaria/Yara taken prisioners. Also Theon is like LOL no I’m out. But are we supposed to think OMG Euron is totally GOT’s Jack Sparrow!! Cuz I think Ellaria and Yara (also Varys and Theon) were total dumbasses. In being sneaky 101 we learnt that if you wanna smuggle someone somewhere you gotta be disguised (see: LF getting Sansa on the Eyre and Varys taking Tyrion to Essos) Ellaria and Yara had those huge Greyjoy banners like 'here we are!!! The enemy!!!) and they also already knew about Euron’s armada but they choose to believe he was just gonna stay in Pyke pouting.

Like I said totally moronic!!! They could have disguised the ships and the people, traveling in broad daylight and maybe then they could have succeded.

Problem is everyone underestimating Cersei (except Sansa) even when they worked for her (Varys) and lived with her (Tyrion) and that’s what is allowing her to gain footing. As of now D@nys lost her armada and Dorne, her only allies are the Tyrell and with the Unsullied gone her only option is to go dracarys on KL (fuck the writers for this tho, she was actually making a good decision and you force her to hurt people, but maybe it’s intentional)

Also Sam is helping Jorah, but the leaks said the Tarly were going to die by D@nys hands. Looks like someone is gonna regret his decisions.

Anyway, leaving out the Stark bit I wasn’t very happy with this episode because the leaks keep being confirmed and they are still such bullshit (still I’m hoping some or most are fake)

That’s it. And yup I know I didn’t mentioned Greyworm/Missandei sexy time but I am very meh about it, yes it was tender and all but kinda pointless to me even if I like these two a lot.

#GOT season 7 #game of thrones #7x02 recap #dachi rambles #jonsa

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mittensmorgul · 8 years ago

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So hi I'm not at all involved in spn meta world but I saw a post or two about the horseman famine episode with the sex and burger and how Dean claimed when he was hungry for something he'd feed himself and here he is now feeding himself multiple things. Work, weapons, sex, food. He even grosses himself out when the food is wrong. He's craving something or his worry for Cas and he's trying to fill the empty. Right? His behavior is 100% understandable and explainable.

Yeah, the most recent four posts in my tag for 5.14 (My Bloody Valentine, the episode with Famine) are all about 12.18.

(I guess once this posts, it’ll be five...)

SAM I thought famine meant starvation, like as in, you know, food.CASTIEL Yes. Absolutely. But not just food. I mean, everyone seems to be starving for something--Sex, attention, drugs, love...

I don’t think that’s meant to be an exhaustive list of the things people might be “starving” for, either, just like the list of “human things” he gave Hannah in 10.01 wasn’t meant to be the entirety of human things that angels don’t understand (art, hope, love, dreams).

This time there was no magical outside force at work on Dean, just his own internal issues. I already wrote about that some in this post.

This struck me equally hard as a parallel for Dean’s tendency to self-medicate his problems. Sometimes it’s through actual medication (like the time he offered Sam a bottle of random pills and when questioned what they are Dean only replies, “effective.”) He’s long ago learned how to manage these sorts of problems for himself. His whole life, he really didn’t have the time or space (heh) to have the same sort of extreme reaction to his situation that Sam did in running away from hunting and going to college.

And heck, this strikes me as both a “parental” thing and a depression/anxiety/insert the mental health issue of your choice here coping method. And it’s ALSO part of the reason why sublimation has been one of his go-to coping strategies. He couldn’t usually show any of this “weakness” to Sam, as the most consistent parental figure in Sam’s life. It was easier to just play off a lot of his coping strategies as who he was as a person instead of admitting that they WERE coping strategies.

And heck now I’m sadly thinking of 4.13 again, where we see Dean’s difficulties. John has abandoned them for a much longer time than normal, Dean’s stuck in this school watching over Sam while also worried about John and angry about having been left behind again, and he plays it all off as this “bad boy” character who doesn’t care about anything. The other students, like Sam’s friend Paul and initially the girl Dean is interested in, think he’s “cool,” but we eventually see through it here.

Amanda calls him out, saying she thought there was something more to Dean because of how he relates to his brother (kind, caring, gentle, etc.), but he enacts his womanizing persona and goes after another girl because things were actually getting too serious with her. He wasn’t allowed to have a serious relationship with anyone, but he was never going to stick around long enough for that. John would come back, and he’d have to drop everything and disappear again. Just like with Robin in 9.07. It was a self defense mechanism against being hurt again, but he still needed that kind of comfort and reassurance that comes from human touch, you know? So he got really good at satisfying that need.

And it’s part of his self-medication arsenal, along with drugs, with fighting, with using food this way, along with hustling pool (because hey it not only satisfies that need to be good at something and score a win, but also keep the family afloat), with hunting in general. We often see him trying to work out a problem or distract himself from a problem he can’t solve by maintaining his weapons (sharpening a knife, cleaning a gun, or a whole arsenal of guns) like at the beginning of 12.18.

But because these are coping strategies he uses in order to avoid having “chick flick moments,” (and yes, we know he loves chick flicks and so does Sam), the only way he can avoid a chick flick moment of his own with Sam (who is always pushing him to talk about his issues rather than act out), is to have made his coping strategies seem like another normal part of his personality.

This goes to the foundations of “Performing Dean.” He is absolutely not that jerk Sam has laughed about who gets weird about food or sex or whatever coping strategy he’s employing at the time. I mean, going all the way back to 1.03 Sam didn’t get that Dean WASN’T just being Dean and creepily hitting on Andrea like he’d been ogling their waitress at the beginning of the episode. Seeing the way Dean treated Lucas was shocking to him, and showed him a side of Dean that Dean largely kept hidden from Sam... because it was a side that had RAISED Sam, essentially.

But now in s12, Sam is finally seeing Dean drop that performance a little bit. He only seems to haul it out when he’s seeking out one of his go-to coping tools. In 12.18 it was almost like watching two different Deans. The worried, meticulously cleaning all the guns while getting frustrated about a lack of communication from Cas version, which led directly to his abrupt dropping of everything related to researching the case to get his fix (sleeping with Carmen, then having his weird food battle with Sam, finally ending when all his needs were satisfied when he got that burger), and then everything that happened after that. And it all hinged on what he said to Sam in the conversation at the lunch counter right after visiting the meat factory:

Sam: Seriously, Dean? After what we just saw? How-- how can you eat?Dean: Grow up, Sam, okay? Burger's beef, bacon's pig, Soylent Green's people. But this -- this... This is Heaven.Sam: (going on a face journey of ew) Wow... right...Um, so... uh, What’s the word, you find anything?

All while “Burgers and Fries” plays in the background: “Burgers and fries, cherry pies, it was simple and good back then.”

And Sam’s a bit shocked not only at Dean’s words and his ability to keep eating when he “should’ve been” grossed out, but at Dean’s tone of voice. At first with the “Grow up, Sam, okay?” he sounds at the very least frustrated that Sam doesn’t get the nuances of Dean’s performance yet. Because part of that performance has always been Sam openly joking about what a jerk Dean can be, or how gross he is sometimes, and Dean is normally content to play along and joke right back. Like, haha yeah I’m just a walking stereotype nothing to see here just keep moving along as you were people just Dean being Dean.

And right here, Dean’s trying to show Sam that it’s not always or entirely something to joke about. It might have been simple and good back then, but it’s not anymore.

I think this is just another instance of Dean showing Sam something more truthful about himself, and he doesn’t appreciate being teased about it as if it was just another “Dean being gross and weird” sort of thing.

At the beginning of 12.18 while he was cleaning the Colt, Sam had been responding to Dean’s concern about Cas with reassurances, and the “he’ll be fine, he always is,” sort of thing before Dean changed the subject to finding Dagon.

Sam says he’s been up all night looking at books on demons, while we’re left to wonder what DEAN was doing all night if he wasn’t looking at books on demons. But he just TOLD us what he’s been doing... he’s been looking for Cas (well, with the limited tools available to human beings looking for angels who don’t seem to want to be found and might not even be alive if they were hunting Dagon who seems to be able to vaporize angels with her mind...)

And we see that worry play out in his behavior, getting antsier and more distracted from the case, relying on his Kill Everything (but five things) Gun to take care of the case for him, and seeking out his drug of choice to help him deal with his worry.

Just like he said in 5.14, when he wants something, he gets it. When he has a need, he fills it. Maybe not with the right thing to take care of the underlying problem that’s causing the need, but with the sort of temporary fix that he’s learned will help him cope.

And whoa yeah that’s no way to live, but Dean seems to recognize this too. It’s just he doesn’t really have a way to solve that underlying problem right now in the middle of this other case, but even with the Colt, hunting gods can get you real dead real fast if you’re too distracted by those problems to do the job properly.

I don’t even remember what the question was at this point. But here have a patented Mittens Rambling Mess Of Tangents. :P

#spn 5.14 #spn 12.18 #spn 1.03 #spn 4.13 #spn 9.07 #performing dean #sanitized for sammy #the story became the story #breaking the codependency #Anonymous

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awed-frog · 8 years ago

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The Raid/One More Time, With Feeling

So, it’s official: Supernatural continues to be outstanding. I liked this episode a lot, and I like how they keep doing this - acknowledging there is a past in this show while developing new storylines and confirming stuff we’ve been saying for years. Because subtext - turns out it matters. Who knew.

Since I haven’t seen a lot of people talk about this, first things first: the BMoL’s (and Mary’s, and Sam’s) plan to eradicate and destroy all monsters - jolly good, but what does it mean for Cas? For Crowley? For Garth? Apparently they’re not working on a nuclear explosion spell or anything, and instead they’re going after specific groups of monsters one by one. And the thing is, they’ve got no reason to stop and ascertain who are the good guys and who are the bad guys, right? If they find Garth, Garth is dead.

(Is Sam okay with this? Mr Head Choice?)

And what about demons? I doubt you can kill every demon in existence, so the solution, surely, is shutting the Gates of Hell? And we know how Crowley feels about that, at least. As for the angels, again - seems unpractical and unfeasible to eliminate them, not to mention the cosmic consequences there would likely be if it could be done, so, again, is the idea to confine them all in Heaven? Mh.

As for the rest of it, here we go.

Family Matters

Jesus Christ, what a mess. I know we talk a lot about how these characters have evolved so much they are almost verbatim the opposite of who they were twelve years ago (and how this was done so skillfully we barely even noticed), but with Mary back in the equation, you really see it. The alliances have now shifted. Where once we had John (emotional and barely hanging on and yet terrifyingly in control) clashing with his younger son who wanted a way out and a better life, and Dean was in the middle, trying to keep both of them happy, now we’ve got Mary pursuing a colder, more rational obsession, Dean who’s so done with all of it, and Sam acting as a mediator. Uh.

Now, it’s true we don’t know exactly what happened when Sam and Dean were teens (#season12wishlist). It’s likely Dean took John’s side out of some demented desire to be recognized and loved, and also so that Sam wouldn’t get hurt, but he believed enough in hunting that his brother getting out - that was a major falling out between them.

But, well - the situation is hardly the same now. Sam isn't a brainwashed, terrified teenager. He's an adult, and, okay, there are rational reasons for the choices he's making. At the same time, though, what’s going on is too close to whatever madness went down in their childhood for me to look with any sympathy upon any of it. Because at this point, Mary honestly scares me, and so does Sam. Him huddling with Mick at the end, saying those things about Dean - that was legit creepy, and more on this later.

Dean 2.0

Just as an aside, I was very happy to see Mr Ketch doubling back to seduce Dean, because I’ve been saying this would happen for weeks and weeks. And if you write it down, just like that, what went down between them sounds very ambiguous: Ketch showed up with a bottle of scotch, they had a drink together, and then went to a hotel - a fancy place with a pool and a spa.

The whole thing was coded like a courtship, because that’s exactly what it was (to the point they had to establish Ketch’s sexuality as a preventive #no homo); what made it uncomfortable is the fact Ketch didn’t really want to be there, and Dean - again, the woman in this scenario, as he so often is - was not the right fit for him.

Because, well, the show’s been playing with this for a while now - the superficial similarities between Ketch and Dean, and how they sort of begrudgingly like each other; we’ve seen Dean drooling over Ketch’s motorbike, and I’m sure that’s not the only thing about Ketch he finds attractive - when he opens the door to find the man grinning at him, Dean does what he usually does when he’s flustered: he gets stupid (“How’d you find us?”). So this was incredibly well done: we got someone who, on paper, is the perfect match for Dean, just like that siren promised to be; but the problem is, of course, Dean’s heart - not only that it’s taken, but that Dean is not who everyone assumes he is. People have been telling him he’s a killer for years and years, and this season has brought that up in sharp relief, again -

- but for Dean himself, killing things, like drinking, is more of a coping mechanism than something he actively enjoys (and we know neither is good for him: look at how the bottles are framed, right underneath the blade of a huge-ass sword). He might have been more into it when he was a kid - before he went to Hell, before it all got complicated - but now? Now it’s just a job, and it certainly doesn’t give him any joy to torture young vampires. In fact, he finds it positively disturbing.

(I know we were all thinking of Benny at some point during this episode, by the way, and my guess is, so was Dean.)

The new thing about Dean, though, is that he uses his words and indoor voice even when he’s not dying on the floor of some dirty warehouse. In this episode alone, he made his feelings clear a record number of times, both with Mary and with other people. As he told his mother, he’s an adult now. The need to put on a performance for others is fading, and Dean is - finally - accepting that he’s allowed to have and express feelings about what happens around him. And that’s a momentous step forward for him. We’ve now seen him not only defend a monster in front of a hunter, but also talk about his childhood in a clean, unfiltered way, without the usual ‘it was the best of times’ bullshit he recites for other people, or the automatic ‘I walked it off’ reaction he displays at other times; and we’ve seen him acknowledge that he doesn’t have control over what his family members do or think - which is scary, especially for Dean, but also liberating: accepting this means understanding you don’t have to carry other people’s responsibilities either.

(Additionally, the fun thing about all this is that now we know Ketch used to date Toni, his mirror has shifted, and, to me, there’s now yet another element highlighting a kinship between Ketch and Sam, not Dean.)

The British Men of Letters

I had a feeling things would be framed this way, so I’m not disappointed, exactly, but it’s still annoying - this continual understanding of science and scientists as people who don’t know how the real world works, and are completely useless in real life situations.

The BMoL’s HQ was clearly meant to contrast with the Bunker - science vs magic, future vs past, an efficient, diverse team of coworkers vs two brothers who’d die for each other (and have) - and, look - it worked. It’s not that it didn’t work. It’s just - in real life, you need these things, and they’re generally the best option. Sure, mistakes can be made, and someone who’s good in a lab isn’t necessarily good at everything else in life as well, but this idea we’d be better off living miles from each other and providing for ourselves and dishing out our own justice is incredibly American, and, from my perspective, absolutely untenable.

(It’s also an illusion, both in real life and on Supernatural because, current events aside, governments, the rule of law and all those other things - they actually do work, even in the US.)

The main problem I see with the BMoL is that it seems to be made up of people who don’t like, understand, or respect each other. Mitch clearly disagrees both with his orders and with his subordinates, and there’s nothing he can do about it. Ketch was incredibly rude and dismissive with not only with the scientists (apparently his underlying misogyny gets deactivated only by women who can shoot and haven’t slept with him) but also with Mitch himself. The hired guns outside probably have no idea what even happens inside the compound. And so on, and so forth. No, if there’s one thing this organization is highlighting, is how stupid and dangerous it is to work together while not trusting each other, or while keeping secrets from each other, which makes the ending of this episode even more troubling.

That said, the way they approach things and the distinction they make between criminals and terrorists is downright scary, and the fact Sam ends up agreeing with them really shows volumes about his character development over the years. See, criminals are people. They chose to commit crimes, sure, but their reasons are rarely evil; also, they can be reformed. That’s what a good prison system is supposed to be about. But terrorists, in the current understanding of the word - that’s different. Terrorists are no longer humans beings - apparently, they lose their human rights, can be held without trial, executed with a jury order. Terrorists are out to destroy everything we care about, and as such, there is no grey line there: they must all be stomped out (hence the famous “We do not negotiate with terrorists” thing, and everything else). So that’s quite a definitive thing to say, and perhaps it should surprise us that Sam, the ‘our birth doesn’t determine our destiny’ kid, the one who had all those fights with Dean and John about the core nature of hunting, should support this world view.

Or perhaps not. Sam has changed, after all.

(Also, being called a ‘top shelf’ anything after all those years of penance and guilt and self-hatred - yeah. That’s bound to speed things along.)

So maybe when Dean told Sam to pick a side, he should have been a bit more specific.

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe

As a last point, speaking of sides I continue to be on Dean’s in all this. I know some people will roll their eyes at him saying How about for once, you just try to be a mom? but I don’t feel like rolling my eyes at all. Dean doesn’t want someone to pick him up for baseball practice and bake him pies; that’s not what he meant. What he does want is some kind of recognition that they are, in fact, family. That Mary gives a damn about either of them.

(This, after all, is what’s given Mary an in in the first place: as Sam says, “She’s Mom”. The fact she is their mother is why she got access to them and the BMoL, why she was brought back, why she’s wormed her way back in after almost killing Cas - and also Sam and Dean themselves. If that had been any other hunter, it’s likely Dean would have killed him just out of anger and spite, so it’s a bit convenient for her to pick and mix when she wants to be their mom and when she doesn’t.

Also, let’s stop and think for a moment - what is it that Ketch was saying again Who’s a good fit for the BMoL? People like him. Psychopaths who don’t see shades of grey and actively enjoy killing things. Ketch assumes Dean is like that, but we know, and Dean knows, that he’s not.

Guess who might very well be, though.

(Hint: not this guy. Or, well: not only this guy.)

I mean, have you noticed how Mary - and Sam - relished the prospect of Pierce getting tortured to death? And how uncomfortable Dean was with that idea?)

No, Mary’s been incredibly distant since she’s been back, and, as it now turns out, her only problem is with them. She’s okay working with other hunters, she’s a perfectly functioning member of the BMoL, she’s got no issue with mobile phones and HBO and whatever - the problem is them. And that hurts, and I understand that it does. A mother is someone who should love her kids no matter what, and I think this is what Dean is saying here: that Mary apparently never stopped for a second to think what they may need from her - she just decided what she needed and went with it. She doesn’t care whether her sons like hunting or not. She doesn’t care if Dean has a complicated relationship with monsters, if he’s in love with Cas, if he doesn’t particularly want Crowley hurt. She’s never stopped and asked what they think about things, what’s going on in their lives. She just - went ahead and did her own thing, and that’s it.

And don’t get me wrong - I like how they’re doing this, because it makes the character interesting and subverts traditional ideas of motherhood and whatever, but if we’re talking character POV, I’m still on Dean’s side. Considering how broken they both are, how unusual their upbringing was, how badly they manage to truly interact with people as a result of all that, Sam and Dean have really done their best here. And Mary - I think Mary hasn’t. It’s not even a question of being a mom - it’s about being a normal human being instead of a weirdly obsessed soldier type. So as I said, Dean forgiving her at the end - that was a huge step for him, and I’m glad he went there, but there’s still a difference between not knowing how to talk to your adult sons you’ve never seen before and deliberately lying to them and putting them and their friends in danger in name of some quest which may very well be a pipe dream, or even make things worse. And, Jesus - consciously or not, it’s a fact that Mary approaches this relationship with Sam and Dean as she would a hunt. Look at how she (correctly) identified Sam as ‘weakest’ link (the one more likely to talk to her, that is; to be willing to work it out), how she lured him to the BMoL’s HQ under false pretenses (there was nothing urgent about it - Sam only came there because he assumed she was in trouble).

In fact, the more we learn about Mary, the more it looks like she and John were a better match than anybody had imagined, which, considering all that happened while Sam and Dean were growing up, is truly heartbreaking.

And even more than that: in a way, this whole thing about Mary being unconditionally on the BMoL’s side and Sam being sucked in because of his good nature and his desire to do good is very reminiscent of that whole mess with Ruby. Dean, like the last time, is following his own heart on the matter. Now the question is, will Sam be right this time? Or will it all blow up in his face, again?

Well. It will blow up in someone’s face for sure. This is Supernatural, after all.

#spn 12x14 #the raid #spn meta #dean win #mary winchester #sam winchester #bmol #loved this episode #not a fan of what's going on #team dean

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