#the fact that cas was written out of the show's finally

[televisionenjoyer]

Allow me to set the scene: it's 2026. Star Trek 4 (written by steve yockey) is finally out. There's a Shatner cameo as Kirk Prime. Against all odds, this is the movie where Spirk finally becomes canon. This is your dash on release week:

🤠destpirking follow

of course destiel is trending. steve yockey your impact.

🐶tonysopranosmallnaturals follow

ok let me see if i get this straight. In 1967 Theodore Sturgeon writes the Star Trek episode Amok Time, which introduces both the concept of Fuck or Die and of a humanoid species experiencing violent heat into the masses. Battle Angel Alita happens. Dark Angel happens. Jensen Ackles is in it. Supernatural happens. Some fan creates the omegaverse so that Jensen Ackles can experience misogyny. Supernatural keeps happening. Steve Yockey writes some notable Destiel episodes. Cas gay confesses to Dean and goes to superhell. Steve Yockey writes some other gay shit for dead boy detectives idk i havent watched that. Now in 2026 Steve Yockey has the honor to write the Star Trek that finally makes spirk canon and he somehow manages to invent a weird alien society in which there's misogyny for male vulcans also?? are we closing the portal?? is this what full circle looks like?? should we call kendall roy??

🧔jensenanklesofficial follow

ok so i've been watching the shatner interviews he's been doing lately regarding this movie and honestly it's time we cut him some slack. he shows sincere remorse for his previous actions and has shown clear support for the spirk ending and honestly how hard can we blame him for what he said as a guy who was brought up culturally homophobic and hit the prime of his fame in the sixties?? its enough that he's changed his mind at his age. what i'm saying essentially is i think it's time we forgive william shatner.

🐍ouroborosgaysex follow

OK WAS ANYONE GOING TO TELL ME THAT THEY SENT SPOCK TO THE NEXUS ON THE CHINESE RELEASE BECAUSE OF THE CENSORSHIP??? OR WAS I SUPPOSED TO FIND OUT FROM REDDIT??

👀spockstiels follow

say what you want about the admittedly shitty and predictable klingon genocide plot but i think i speak for all of us when i say 'billy shatner cameos as kirk prime to set up spirk in an attempt to redeem himself to the lgbt community' was on NO ONE'S 2026 bingo card

👨🏼startrekgaysex

no it was literally on my bingo card for years. i've made several posts about it in fact.

🌌thenexus follow

i DID NOT just read a post saying we have to forgive william shatner???😭😭😭😭 god i hate tumblr

📼deancasgenesis follow

"this was my nov 5th" shut up NOTHING will ever be like november fifth. you don't understand the impact of destiel.

🌟bisexualjimmykirk follow

you're joking right.

🖖🏼supersimplefeeling follow

congratulations jim kirk on becoming star trek's last first gay character.

[watching-sam-and-dean-again]

Confession Time!

A lot of people say they wouldn't have a problem with destiel if it wasn’t for how terribly the hellers (not the regular, unproblematic Destiel shippers) behave. I agree on the fact that the death-threat hurling, actor harassing, fandom toxifying, gaslighting asses make me actively hate the ship, too. But, even if all of its shippers were calm and lovely, I would STILL hate the idea of destiel. This is going to about the ship itself and why I don’t like it, not about criticizing the people who ship it (reasonably).

If anyone stumbles across this and wants to claim it’s because I’m homophoic or some dumb shit, feel free to show yourself out. And grow up. If you agree or are just curious as to why, feel free to read on.

The first reason I can’t get on board with destiel is Castiel himself:

I hate the ship because, if you look at it as Castiel having feeling for Dean from early on, he comes off as a creep. First, how many times has he invaded Dean's personal space or stared at him while he slept, even though Dean has repeatedly told him not to and indicated it made him uncomfortable? I can think of at least 4 off the top of my head, but I’m sure there are more. These moment are written as jokes, and to show Cas is a derpy weirdo, but if you want to read them as a biproduct of Castiel having feeling for Dean, it makes him a stalker.

Second, Castiel only caring about other people, including Sam and Jack, because of Dean makes him a s selfish and kind of shitty character to me. I like the idea of Castiel being a defective amgel, coming off the assembly line with a "crack in his chassy," meaning he was always inclined to question things too much, maybe have an natural affinity for humans, to rebel. The idea that our show's version of Sam, Dean and even Castiel were special because they always defied the story that was written for them is the ultimate demonstration of free will winning out, and it speaks to the uniqueness of "our versions" of their characters. But, when it’s framed as Castiel only rebelling because he has a boner for Dean (like the "confession" scene seems to retroactively suggest), only ever questioned anything because he had a boner for Dean, only went against his fellow angels because he was hot for Dean and not becuae Dean inspired him to do the right thing, and only cared about people he says he loves and calls family because of Dean … that makes Dean special, not Castiel. In fact, it makes Castiel a simp who can’t think for himself, and is anything but genuine in his claim of caring about anyone but Dean. It makes him bereft of his own agency.

Finally, I hate the idea of Dean and Castiel ever being in a romantic relationship because of Castiel's shitty behavior. Castiel essentially forced Jimmy Novak to become his vessel again by possessing his daughter and basically holding her ransom until he consented, and he still thinks he did the right thing into late seasons. Even when he finds Claire to sort of, kind of try make up for taking her dad away, he makes a feeble effort at best, and then basically just wonders off and forgets about her again after his momentary attack of conscious. For Dean, a character who fights to have free will, to shack-up with someone who took over a man's body and when he died (because Castiel took his boy into battle), he just sort of took over the body for himself and called it his, like a crab finding a new shell … is a would make Dean a bit gross, too. Hello, even depressed and desperate Sam wouldn’t bang Ruby until she found a braindead vessel, whose soul had likely departed already (and he’s the monster fucker). Castiel also broke Sam's hell wall leading to him going insane and nearly dying of insomnia, and he did it purposely just to hurt and worry Dean, distracting him from his plan to play god. This is inexcusable, and that fact that Dean even stays his friend feels like a betrayal to Sam, as well as out of character frankly, never mind going on to have a relationship with him. Finally, Castiel has threatened and beaten Dean when he doesn’t do what he wants more than once, when he is much more powerful than Dean (so it’s not even a fair fight) and despite what hellers seem to think, I don’t find abuse sexy.

The next reason I can’t get onboard with Destiel is Dean:

Dean laterallyliterally implies, out right says, and demonstrates multiple times throughout the show that he is straight. Thus, with the version of Castiel that Dean knows being in a male vessel, Dean just isn’t going to be interested in him that way. I’ve seen shippers argue that people sometimes fall in love with someone of the same sex despite identifying as straight, but come on, that is going to be a relatively small percentage of of people. But more than that, Dean isn’t a real person; he’s a character. If the writers were going to make his character have a change of sexuality, or make an exception for Castiel, they would have had to explicitly show it on screen, through words and actions, and not just drop "subtext hints" that never go anywhere, and are largely stupid or hinged on stereotypes. They never did, so Dean remained heterosexual to the end.

Even if his sexuality were not a barrier, Dean does not knowingly peruse monsters. Castiel despite how depowered and essentially useless he becomes over time, is not a human. Angels are essentially just another flavor of monster on Supernatural, thus Dean is not be interested in dating Castiel even if he were in a female vessel, despite what some shippers like to claim. The only times Dean has knowingly hooked up with a monster was with Anna, and that was before she got her grace back and was a true angel again. The other monster he slept with was the Amazon, or whatever she was, before she had a kid with him without his consent, and Dean didn’t know that she was a monster. He frequently criticized Sam for having been with monsters, and that criticism makes it pretty clear that he wouldn’t want to be with any himself. Finally, this is a bit of a side note, any many may not agree with me, but I don't think Dean sees any supernatural creatures as quite equal to humans, and that includes Castiel, Jack and Benny. If it weren’t enough that Dean isn’t into males, the fact that he also isn’t into monsters, pretty much makes the destiel ship dead in the water for me.

Finally, the way Dean treats Castiel is not conducive to friendship at times, never mind romance. Dean pretty frequently belittles Castiel, calling him essentially uselesess when he doesn’t have powers (baby in a trench coat), and he makes fun of Castiel working at the Gas 'n Sip to try sustain himself, after Dean kicked him out of the bunker powerless and penniless. If Dean loves Castiel, mocking him for working whatever job he can after he turned him away, is an interesting way to show it. He also lashes out at Castiel pretty harshly (I though often deservedly). He tells Castiel that "nobody cares that he’s broken," and he says "everything that goes wrong" seems to be because of Castiel, and he told him that if anything happened to his mother after Castiel failed to warn them about Jack' behavior, Castiel would be "dead" to him. Even when the show reminds us of Castiel's existence when he’s not in an episode by having Dean claim he’s worried about him, or having Sam reassure him they’ll find/help Castiel, when Castiel actually is back, Dean essentially goes back to ignoreimg him. Dean only seems to care about Castiel when he’s missing or when he can help them fight something. In down time, he’s usually pretty happy just to chill with Sam.

Finally, I can’t ship destiel because of Sam, or more specially, Sam & Dean:

Sam and Dean have such a twisted-up, enmeshed, and all-consuming relationship with each other, that shipping either of them with characters outside of their relationship just isn’t interesting to me. I personally don’t ship them together, either. What they have goes beyind relationship categorization (brothers, friends, adversaries, parent/child, life partners, etc.), and I honesty think if the show had defied network parameters and actually had them hook up sexually, the relationship would have lost something. Sam and Dean are so unique and compelling in that their big love is a sibling and not a romantic parnptner, or even a parent/child relationship, that even as a fan of a good romantic pairing normally, I love that them exactly as they are. And their relationship is more meaningful to me than almost any other fictional one I’ve encountered. So frankly, shipping either with anyone long-term (I wouldn’t have hated seeing both of them have one more short romantic relationship in there somewhere) just feels pointless to me, and would just pale in comparison to what Sam and Dean are with to each other.

[cecilysass]

My (Late, Sorry) Perihelion Review

I’m late on this, but I wanted to offer my review of Perihelion, the official XF novel released this summer. I am going to aim this mostly at people who haven’t read it, so I will go for no spoilers (or minimal spoilers as when you typically read a review), but I will add a little spoilers section at the end for those who have read it.

First off, I really liked this novel. I'd recommend it, especially to those who have Feelings about the revival, which is almost everyone I know who has watched the revival. I think one’s reaction to this novel is going to relate a lot to one’s reaction to the series finale, as the plot here is inextricably tied to the events of that episode. I found this story very satisfying because of how it handled those events while still trying to respect the feel of the show.

To give my own bias: I am not a big revival fan, but neither am I someone who ignores its existence. I think it has many problems and some unwatchable moments. I loathed the twist about William’s parentage with every fiber of my being. But I also find some elements of the revival to be kind of interesting, and there are moments I actually like. I am not someone who is going to stick my fingers in my ears and sing loudly and pretend nothing happened in this universe after the 90s. I’d even go so far as to say I LIKE revival fix-it stories; I have even written some myself.

More coming clean of my perspective on this: I have read the work of the author of Perihelion, Claudia Gray, before, both her work as a YA novelist and as a OG X-Files MSR fanfic writer. In fact, true story—years before Perihelion, I saw her speak in person about her other novels and she mentioned in the Q&A that she once wrote X-Files fanfic. I raced to figure out who she was on Gossamer. (She was Amy Vincent.) So I am a fan of this author, and I like that she’s an old school fan. 

To sum up the story very briefly, we resume action some months after the events of My Struggle IV. Scully is further in her pregnancy (just barely showing). She and Mulder have moved to a DC townhouse together, but aren’t quite back together. They are suspended from the X-files due to the events of MSIV, and they are staggering a bit with dealing with the grief and trauma of the revelations of that episode. In this context, they’re approached with not one but two serial killer cases, one that involves pregnant women and one that involves what remains of the Syndicate.

Part of Gray’s mission is very clearly to do damage control for the revival’s most egregious offenses, and honestly, this might be my favorite aspect of the book. It’s just emotionally cathartic to see someone do that in a pseudo-canonical text. (I say “pseudo-canonical” because CC backed away from this book a little, but whatever.) Because this is a CC approved book, Gray can’t settle any dangling plot threads completely conclusively, but she offers many suggestions that take us in a more hopeful path.

For example, she does very, very well at providing narrative context for Scully’s behavior in the last scene of MSIV. I’m referring to when Scully—who we saw give birth to William, be his mother, give him up in heartbreak, and then pine and wonder about him for years—suddenly rejects the same child as an “experiment” that was never theirs. This abrupt U-turn always felt like it perhaps could be explained as her entering into some self protective state of denial and emotional shutdown, but the show itself didn’t explain or earn that moment. Gray gives us a whole arc for Scully around this, and she shows how it relates to Mulder, too. It’s much, much better.

Actually, if I am not mistaken, Gray has in mind some intentional fix-it for the show overall. There are more diverse characters in this novel, including a nonbinary nurse (Casey) who plays a pivotal role and an informant who breaks the old demographic patterns. There is a moment in which Scully writes in her journal that she wishes her career at the FBI had not become so defined by her maternity. And while Scully is (again) targeted by those who want to do her ill, Gray seems to really, really resist her being victimized, her being overwhelmed with fear, or Mulder coming to her rescue. Gray gives us a confident, action hero preggo Scully. 

This novel often reminded me of fanfic in the best possible way. It reads sometimes like OG classic XF fic along the lines of Syntax6, which is absolutely a compliment. Yet it also was spot-on at recreating the "feel" of the show sometimes, especially in the characters' journal entries. By the end of the revival I came to hate voiceover monologues on TXF, but Gray found a way to tap into the charm of how they used to be in earlier seasons.

Delightfully, there are MANY deep references to past events and episodes—again, like in fanfic in the best way.  You know how on the show they almost never reference Emily again, and they almost never mention Melissa? Gray doesn’t forget. She also references making tape Xs on windows, Modell, Scully shooting Mulder, running in cornfields, going to Antarctica, and every single tiny thing that happened with William. She’s got a serious fan’s attention to show canon, which I appreciate. 

The novel is mostly about the casefile and their work-related questions. That said, it does include details like that they trade off cooking and that they both hope to be sharing a bedroom some time soon and both agents’ feelings about parenting, both William and the new baby. I would not say MSR is the main focus, but I also would describe this as an MSR story. More than that, though, it is a story about how they recover individually and together from what happened during MSIV.

The actual plot—the casefile(s) starts out very scary, even disturbing, but does (in my opinion) never quite reach climactic stakes. In part I think this has to do with Gray not wanting Scully to be victimized, which I am not going to argue with her about. But I also wonder if it’s because there are limited revelations Gray can make. I would have dropped some more reveals if it were my post-revival fic and I had no limits imposed on me. But it’s not … and she no doubt does. I do have the vibe that we are set up for additional novels in the series, which I would happily read—although I’d say at some point she is going to have to be allowed to make some reveals if she is going to continue the story.

There is one aspect of this novel I did fixate on a little too much. The story takes place directly after MSIV, so … 2018, right? Yet there are some references to specific pop culture (Wandavision, Andor) and some cultural references (remote work, hybrid work) that place the events of the story after 2020. I can only assume this is intentional, maybe to make it not matter what year exactly the revival happened and just set it “present day.” But because we are all mentally dating these characters from the original series, and because the ages of say, William, or pregnant Scully, do arguably matter, it’s confusing. This is such a Cecily thing to perseverate on, but it is what it is.

That said, I would definitely recommend to all interested fans. I listened on audiobook, by the way, which was fun, although Mulder's voice sounds a little like Keanu Reeves. Spoilers section to follow.

SPOILERS SECTION FOLLOWING. STOP READING IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW. SPOILERS.

All things considered, Gray did a deft job of sort-of-kind-of-but-not-quite revealing information. She partially revealed to Scully that Jackson was alive, but she only gave that info to Scully through a source Scully wouldn’t entirely trust. She gave us a gender reveal but took pains to say “it wasn’t certain.” She hinted that Scully’s pregnancy (maybe even both of them?) was caused by her really young telomeres but didn’t confirm that either.

I found Scully’s tendency not to share info with Mulder in this novel to be very, very frustrating, although not entirely out of character. Failing to mention the telomere thing when he was theorizing about her newfound ability seemed really absurd. She didn’t even give it any consideration in her internal monologue, which was hard to understand. I know she doesn’t want to let him down or hurt him, but sometimes it’s just important, Scully.

The number one thing I kept thinking in the second half of the book—the thing that was never addressed, although perhaps it will if there are more books—is that there is a very possible explanation for Scully’s supposed abilities that nobody floated. Which is that it isn’t Scully who makes the electrical shit happen, but the fetus, picking up on Scully’s fear and adrenaline. I don’t see any reason why that couldn’t be true, but the exact mechanisms for these genetic abnormalities being spread were a little vague. I couldn’t figure out if this was just me thinking wild thoughts or if the book was really preserving room for this to be true.

Anyway, anyone else read it? What did y’all think? If you want to talk about it and discuss spoilers, mark them in case someone hasn’t read yet.

[acochleola]

so i guess i'm at this stage i came up with an idea for a comic, but it would take a very long time to draw it, like, a VERY long time so I wrote a liiiittle fanfic

about the similarities between Anna and Castiel.

english is obviously not my native language and it stiched together from pieces from few translators and my feelings how thing should sound so sorry for mistakes i also hadn't written anything for a veeeery long time but i really needed to get it out of my head

Dean opened the door to the room and immediately froze. Someone was sitting on his bed. But his hand didn't reach for the gun. That silhouette was familiar.

It was strange seeing Cas like this. He's been too busy searching for God, and he hasn't been around much lately. Not that he used to spend more than a couple hours in their company before either.

"Cas, which wind blew you here?" Dean put the cardboard takeout boxes (their dinner) on the table and walked over to the bed with wide strides.

Cas was silent and unmoving. "Ah," Dean thought, "so today is one of those days." He sat down next to him and looked at the angel's profile. Cas didn't take his eyes off the window.

They sat like that for about ten minutes. Dean seriously considered getting the food. Yes, maybe it would ruin the atmosphere of "I'm here and waiting for you to shape your four-dimensional thoughts into our silly human words" a little bit, but, listen, he was hungry. And his back ached after a long day circling the town.

Cas finally spoke, still keeping his eyes on the window. His voice was very quiet:

"I miss Anna."

Okay, you know what? Dean appreciated it — he really did – that Cas trusted him. That the angel, in his moments of weakness, came for support to him, to man who wasn't even good, honestly. Dean even swallowed the fact that Cas had shown up when Sam wasn't around. Because he understands, okay? Maybe having demon blood, drinking it by the gallon and being Lucifer's vessel wasn't the best start to a friendship with an angel. But Cas was tried. He smoothed out the sharp edges in his voice and he cared about Sam. In his own way, of course. So, okay, in a moment of weakness he chose only Dean, not the Winchesters, and Dean accepted it.

But this?

Cas spoke again before Dean could he thinks about that:

"She always knew better what to do. She loved humans more. She was smarter," he paused, "just better than me".

"You're overestimating her," anger clenched at his throat, but Dean kept it under control. For now.

"You didn't know her"

"Oh, I knew"

"Just because you knew her in the biblical sense doesn't mean you knew Anna," Castiel finally turned his head, his eyes cold. "She loved humanity so much. In ancient times, she would sneak down to the earth to make sure the fires in the caves of the first humans didn't go out. She walked the earth more than any of us. She kept doctors from falling ill during the plague. She put the first words of exorcism in human mouths and a silver knife in their hands. She couldn't save everyone, but she did so much for humanity. So, so much. She brought me to a human's heaven and showed me what the happiness of a mortal soul looked like." The last sentence was barely audible.

It was probably the longest things Dean had ever heard Castiel say, but he didn't care.

"She was our friend, we trusted her. And she tried to kill us," the anger had broken through and now filled every word. "She tried to kill Sam! Father! Mother!" His voice cracked. "You!" He jabbed his finger into the angel’s shoulder with great force. As expected, Castiel didn’t even flinch.

"Today I met an angel, Dean," Castiel said calmly. Dean didn't care. He didn't want to hear about some angel, he wanted to scream. But he couldn't, because Castiel's tone was like that again. He rarely used it, but Winchester hated that tone. It's calm, but it makes you stop and listen.  Like every word is a command to obey, like it held something big and incomprehensible, like an abyss is hidden behind simple sounds, making everything human inside you shrink in either fear or worship. "He saw me and there was pity and fear in his eyes. Because he saw me differently than you do," the pressure in Castiel’s voice gone, and Dean finally exhaled (he hadn't realized he’d been holding his breath). The urge to scream disappeared. Now, that his every cell was no longer under pressure, he just felt tired. He was still angry, but he didn't have the energy to act.

"He saw," Castiel paused and shrugged. After a second's delay, Dean realized he had moved his wings, "me. He said, 'Once you were the brightest of us, but now I can hardly see you behind your human body.'"

Castiel turned back to the window, his face still calm. Dean wasn't sure about his own.

"I killed him." The words were said plainly. "He was from my garrison. He was my friend. We watched mountains grow together. He covered my back in battles. We stepped on the earth together and felt the first drops of rain together. He trusted me with his life. We learned to fight side by side. We saw at the first rainbow on earth together. He was kind, kind to me. I've known him since the day I came into existence. He was my friend. And I killed him because he got too close to you."

Cas turned to face Dean again. He looked calm, but his eyes seemed to be burn from within:

"So tell me, Dean, am I any different from Anna?"

He didn't answer. He didn't know how. Apologize? Say he was sorry? Say that Cas wasn't like Anna because he chose the right side?

The key turned in the lock.

For a moment, Dean's eyes flicked toward the sound and when he looked back, sure enough, the bed was empty.

[locke-esque-monster]

I feel like we don't talk nearly enough about how interesting "Houses of the Holy" is as a Supernatural episode. Because a lot of it is a template to where the show will be in a couple seasons, when at the time it was written, angels weren't in the show's plans.

And sure, this is the episode that foreshadows Sam pointing at something just behind Dean and confirming it's Michael. And that alone is a delight.

But let's talk about other interesting aspects of the episode:

The origin of Dean's skepticism of faith from all the evil he's seen from the age of 4 on, contrasted with Sam's desire to hold onto faith so he can be saved due to his link to the YED.

Dean and Sam's argument about faith and things you can see and believe in that has a lot in common with the one in 4x2.

Sam desperately wanting angels to fix problems or redeem him. And him being disappointed in the reality of that, a lot like 4x7.

Dean's argument of how he knows nothing is watching over them because all you can count on is evil and chaos is the root of his fight with Cas in 4x2.

Then there's the fact that Sam is judging Dean for his pursuit of pleasure. Despite that, Sam feels he's the one that needs saving. And Dean despite his love of vice, is the stand-in for the angels. He's the avenging angel of this episode, making sure the woman is okay and chasing after the bad buy. And he literally says he's watching over Sam at the end to reassure him when Sam is hurt because this wasn't an angel case. Dean doesn't think there are real angels around, but he's determined to be the angel in someone else's life - whether it be Sam's or someone else's.

And then there's the way the bad guy is killed with a pole at the end, "Final Destination" style. I can't help but wonder, did the angels do that? We spent a whole episode talking about faith. Was this to test the boys and see how they'd react to angels a little before they gear up for Sam's death at season's end? And long term, feel them out before they put their plan into action for the apocalypse? Was Father Gregory something they "helped along" somehow to lure the boys to town? There's a theory Gabriel lured them to scope them out in "Tall Tales" a couple episodes later. Who's to say the angels didn't do the same thing (maybe even inspiring Gabe)? Or perhaps the angels just take advantage of the situation since they were already watching the boys long-term? And moving the pole was as much to protect Dean as it was to see his reaction and if that would sway his lack of faith? Or was an angel (like Cas) watching over Dean and interfered to ensure his safety in the car chase? And maybe even wanted to show off a little?

I don't know. But it sure is fun to contemplate.

[cringefiend]

Ive been rewatching hunter x hunter lately bc for some reason I’ve been going back to all the fandoms i was in in 2020. I love meruem sm that hasn’t changed in almost 5 years. Fav character ever.

I forgot most of the specific plot points so it was kinda like rewatching it for the first time again. *spoilers and straight corn ahead* his final scene w komugi actually got me so bad. It was so well written and when he kept asking if she was there it took me out. Also the fact that he knelt infront of palm. So good. I saw someone say that Netero died like an ant (for the good of the species) and Meruem died like a human (w/ the person he loves). Idk I just love the ship and his character development sm. The design is fire too. I can’t lie the snot dripping pisses me off tho.

Another thing is that on the most recent rewatch I found that I love Pitou. Last time i and most people still despised them. Theyre just such an interesting character with a cool design. Every time Pitou was on screen it was interesting asf, their nen is fire too.

The Komugi and meruem scene made me tear up a little but what actually ruined my makeup was the scene where Reina comes back and her mom recognizes her even though she’s a literal ant head now. Just so much good writing in this arc I don’t get how ppl hate on it. the soundtrack was so good too. At the beginning of the show (idk if y’all will agree) I found the way the background music was implemented was super clunky and awkward but by the CA arc they clutched up and it was fire. Lmk if y’all agree I’m actually very curious.

pls ignore how my writings a bit more brainead than usual bc im in the middle of finals but i needed to yap

TLDR: Meruem cured my art block

[seeminglyranch87]

Taylor & Travis Timeline

October 2024 - Part 3

October 17 - Travis at training

October 18 - Taylor releases a video pre-show with her cat Olivia (x)

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The Eras Tour, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, FL N1. Rain show & the beginning of the final leg of the Era's Tour. Just 18 shows remain.

Donna, Jason, Kylie, Wyatt & Elliotte Kelce attend the Eras tour.

Juno by Sabrina Carpenter is added to the pre-show playlist - getting spicy Tay ;)

Taylor debuted new Fearless, Reputation, acoustic section & Midnights T-shirt dress costumes. as Taylor said:

''I got a new dress and everything.''

Florence & the Machine joined Taylor to perform Florida during the TTPD set.

Tim McGraw x Timeless (x guitar) & This Is Me Trying x Daylight (x piano)

I just wanted you to know that this is me trying and trying and trying… I wanted you to know this is me trying, I just wanted you to know this is me trying. You gotta step into the daylight and let it go, let it go, let it go. And I just wanted you to know that this is me trying to let it go.. LET IT GO (x)

October 19 - Travis arrives in California ahead of game.

The Eras Tour, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, FL. Night 2

Taylor wore a new dress for Speak Now, Acoustic section & Midnights

Florence & the Machine guest appeared to perform Florida!!! with Taylor.

Should've Said No x I Did Something Bad* (x guitar) & LOML x White Horse (piano)

*The version where Taylor screams viciously "light me up!"

Your'e the loss of my life... but I'm not your princess, this ain't a fairytale I'm gonna find someone someday who actually might treat me well

October 20 - Chiefs v SF 49ers, Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, CA

Chiefs defeat 49ers 28 - 18. The Chiefs remain undefeated 6-0

The Eras Tour, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, FL Night 3. Rain show.

Chiefs game on screens in the Hard Rock Stadium prior to The Eras Tour starting.

Notable events at the final Miami show:

Taylor notes this is the final rain show for the Era's Tour as all other shows are indoors.

during the Betty speech, Taylor shares that these songs were written from a narrators perspective but “it reflected my own personal experience through these characters”

Florence and the Machine performs Florida!!! with Taylor for the 4th time during the TTPD era.

Taylor wears a new dress for the acoustic section.

Taylor sings "Karma is the guy on the Chiefs coming straight home to me" in celebration of the Chiefs 6th consecutive win today.

Out Of The Woods x All You Had To Do Was Stay (guitar) & Mirrorball x Guilty As Ain (piano)

October 23 - Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity? airs new episode with a reference to Taylor (x)

Natasha Leggero “We love Lady Gaga, but we don’t love her as much as any other blonde singers. There are some other blonde singers that we like more than Lady Gaga. Nikki Glaser "Not even close" Travis Kelce “I will have to agree with you on that. I do concur.”

New Heights Ep. 106 posted (x). The Kelce brothers discuss Jason's attendance at The Era's Tour in Miami

Addressing the photo (x)(x 12:50) that bestie Beau Allen posted to X, Jason fights back that he was not asleep but vibing and Travis wishes he was there (he had a game so could not attend).

Travis "we got to talk about it, you took a nap at The Eras Tour?" Jason "I did not take a nap" Travis "what is that all about" Jason "Travis you know I didn't take a nap I did not take a nap" Travis "how are you? This show is absolutely electric it's the greatest show that's ever been on stage and you're over here falling asleep!" Jason "Not only was it the greatest show but um obviously I went to the two London shows this Miami show was incredible and I think part of it's like I don't know if it's back the fact that we're back in the US because I think the London uh crowd was incredible but the rain and, dude it was like on another level I texted you halfway through it" Travis "You did" Jason "Like dude this rain, Tay is killing it, dude when reputation came on and she came out in the new outfit" Travis "was it gold?" Jason "and the rain was coming down and the the place could have [f**] erupted I mean it did like it was the amount of energy was insane, it was so exciting"

Travis "Well I had all the fomo in the world…. I wish i was there." (x) Travis “Shout out to Tay Tay for powering through a few rain shows”

A little lyric battle between Beau Allen and Jason Kelce on X ...

October 24 - Stevie Nicks interview with Rolling Stone

Taylor Nation post in celebration of 18 years of Taylor's music (x)....

LISTEN!!!!! Don't we know it @taylornation

Taylor sings "Everything has changed.... in the blink of a crinkling eye... I'll be eighty-seven you'll be eighty-nine, I'll still look at you like the stars that shine in the sky oh my my my" "dude this girl's in love! She is in LOVE!"

** sound up

Go to previous update -> October 2024 part 2

Go to next update -> October 2024 part 3

Return to the timeline

[maliciousmagpie]

Not to be sappy on main but it’s genuinely really nice seeing people having so much love for Supernatural on this site.

Like, I know it’s terribly written, and omg some of the bullshit it pulls but that’s part of its charm, it’s pulled so much goddamn bullshit that I can’t even predict it anymore, which, idk the pattern recognition in my autism loves to predict everything (and it’s right a good chunk of the time too) so the fact it’s managed to break it is damn impressive in my book.

And the characters omg the characters, they’re so messy and so dramatic and they’re all so sad and I love them and it’s so nice to see other people also love them and see similar or even new things in characters I also love!

Idk, it’s just something I feel is missing from my main socials (that being instagram) and unfortunately none of my friends have watched Supernatural (Yet. It’s going to happen.) so I’m sort of missing that connection I suppose. It’s been a real long time for me since I was really this into something, arguably I haven’t been this into a piece of media since FNAF 1 came out, since that was what pushed me to start drawing and making ocs in the first place and now here I am planning a whole 7 season comic (I’m incapable of taking things slowly) just because of this damn show and because of how much I genuinely love Dean and Castiel and because I wanted so much more for them.

It’s unfortunate I feel a bit cringe unironically saying Supernatural is one of my favourite shows now, but it is! What started as just picking a long ass show I had some morbid curiosity about because of one of the characters getting sent to superhell for being gay where I couldn’t even remember the characters name but somehow remember he was played by Misha Collins has now basically become a cornerstone of my journey as an artist and the thing that pushed me to finally start seriously pursuing writing!

Saying all this I haven’t actually finished the show yet, I’m currently on S12 and no doubt I will continue to be angry at the absolute shenanigans this show will pull, but honestly if I’ve stuck around for 12 already, what’s another three?

And when the writers do something I really hate? Well I have my lovely ocs who are totally not based on Dean and Cas and are definitely not just so I can live in the delusion that in some universe destiel is real.

Tldr: I am cringe but I am free, I unironically love destiel and I love looking at posts related to it specifically on tumblr, good shit.

[deanstudies101]

5x10, Abandon All Hope

[mid-season finale]

Critical theory: Sacrifice. Family. Fathers. Inevitability. 

Discussion point/question(s): Cas in holy fire as a genre of images. 

Key quotes: (2x06, Ellen “Joanna Beth, this family has lost enough. I won't lose you too.”); Dean, “Bobby, it’s Dean. We got problems.” Bobby, “It’s okay boy, that’s why I’m here.”; Lucifer, “What a peculiar thing you are.” 

Further reading: 

“Last night on earth” is Dean’s pick up line. And he used it on Cas (@drulalovescas)

Discussion: 

Quite sad innit. 

Not exactly a surprise. They are women. It was a more classy death than most women on the show. Well written. Jo’s dad comes to mind—he died because John used him as bait, and John failed whatever he was trying. They both died as bait. But this was an active choice that they made. Dean was really trying to avoid the reality, didn’t want to face it, couldn’t look at her. He didn’t want to cope with that particular loss. And the fact 'hat it was hell hounds, that he’s well acquainted with and has trauma over. [The thing that always gets me. Ellen stays so that she doesn't have to live after Jo dies. And she still does.] But there was no way she was going to abandon her daughter. That would never happen. And good thing she did stay, because Jo wouldn’t have managed it alone. [Actually, I think Jo died because her mum hugged her. She felt safe to let go, maybe?] Yeah, maybe she would’ve held on otherwise.

It’s sad because it’s pointless death. And like, obviously they’re not going to kill Lucifer halfway through the season, you know that they’re going to fail. Obviously they’re going to fail. [It hurts because they don’t know they’re in the mid-season finale.]

[Mid-season finale moment.][When I came up with the theory, this was the season that I remembered the easiest. It has two parts. I have written a little note to myself that one is more important than the other to me, and it’s not the one you think.] Kai, Cas and Lucifer have a conversation about God. Iga, a theme of sacrifice and failure, but need some time to digest the episode. Kai, yeah, a vibe of pointlessness, it’s so big it’s out of their hands. 

Iga, I think I said a while ago that it would be funny if Lucifer came out and he doesn’t even like the demons. [Possibly. But. You did say. After 4x22; “It would be funny if Lucifer and Cas have a conversation, and Lucifer goes ‘you’re just like me bro.’” And I just put in brackets. [Damn that would be funny.]] Oh damn. Called it. 

[Lucifer, “What a peculiar thing you are.” He's the devil. The devil just looked Cas in the face and said “you’re different.”] He doesn’t fit anywhere but with these weird hunters. [It is tism. But also for me. How world shattering. You’re a rebellious fallen angel, and thee rebellious fallen angel is like, yeah you’re like me, but no you’re not.] But it’s like, there’s that sense when you’re around people that you’re just. Different. There is something different about you. [I think for me it’s like. Cas doesn’t fit on either side. He’s on people's side.]

Iga, “Crowley is the only one with a brain.” Lucifer made demons to prove that humans aint shit. To corrupt them and bring out their worst. Or course he won’t like them. He hates everything they came from. Of course he’s not going to take them to heaven. [I love Crowly.][[What follows are all direct quotes.]] Iga, he’s hot. Kai, yeah he’s hot. Iga, I’d fuck him. [Okay.] Iga, is that not allowed? [[the truth is this is too funny to me. I’m saying nothing.]] Iga, Dean and Crowly fuck, right? [[oh drowley summer of love.]] Iga, Cas, Dean, and Crowly are like, dream threesome, and ideal blunt rotation. I don’t smoke weed. But I’d watch them. Kai, like yes, it would be a great threesome, but Cas and Crowley would both get crazy possessive over Dean. Iga, no, they’d fuck each other. It’d be hate fucking, but they would. 

After this they both apologised for derailing the discussion after a very serious episode where Jo and Ellen died, but they like Crowly. [No no. We’ll circle back.] … Do Cas and Crowly fuck? [We’ll circle back.]

What gets people into hell or into heaven? At least for people who don’t make demon deals. Good Place situation. What’s the point system? We haven’t heard of anyone getting to heaven. Like, what happened to John? He escaped hell. [So. He escaped hell, through the devil’s gate. I think the implication is that he goes to heaven, but it’s unclear. And ? The ghost in Roadkill? Does she go to heaven?] She like looks at the sun and fizzles out. They always talk about peace, like finding peace. [We’ll circle back. But I honestly don’t know how clear they ever make it.] It’s just general questions about the lore. If someone stays behind as a spirit, they’re not in heaven or in hell, but then do shitty things as a spirit? [I don’t know. It’s a good question. I feel like they frame the spirits as evil most of the time, but I don't know? They kinda just… stop existing.] And we know the spirits aren’t evil, they’ve just been here too long, and they don’t really know what they're doing, a lot of times they were victims. 

Sam is no longer the main character. Dean got a goodbye with Jo. Ellen got a goodbye with Jo. Sam didn’t go anywhere near Jo. His only job was getting Dean to realise Jo was dying and to go say bye to her. [And like, I’d sat the two have equal history with her. Obviously Jo was attached to Dean…] And it was a soft crush, a bit of tension both ways, but very innocent, which makes the kiss very sad. [But there was that whole thing with Sam and Jo with the possession episode… equal interaction. Also. The scene with just Sam and Lucifer? Jared’s acting lets it down.] Kai, knowing how Jared was on set, maybe they did write a goodbye with Jo, but he was goofing too much they they didn’t get anything good. [Or maybe it was the bad acting.] He can’t do serious episodes. But by God can he goof. [I wish I was still 16 and didn’t care about bad acting.]

[I loved watching them watch this. Because, it’s so ingrained that like, yeah, there are things the Colt can’t kill, but this is the first time we see that! I don’t remember my reaction to finding out the Colt can’t kill Lucifer. And they were shocked. It was all “That’s not really Lucifer. It’s not the real Colt. Someone fucked with the Colt.” But no, that’s Lucifer, that’s the Colt, it just doesn’t work. It’s so beautiful.]

Who are the five beings? God? Michael, probably for balance? Lucifer and the four horsemen? God, Lucifer, Michael. Maybe Death? Death. [theories on this, with spoilers for seasons 6 onwards; https://www.reddit.com/r/Supernatural/comments/3kp9g9/figured_it_out_5_things_the_colt_cant_kill/ ]

The Colt was clearly made by a hunter who was autistic and hyper fixated on killing demons/hunting etc. So, did God make these beings immune to the Colt before it was created? How do the gun mechanics work? Need to know more about this gun. 

Notes: Iga, 4x22; “It would be funny if Lucifer and Cas have a conversation, and Lucifer goes ‘you’re just like me bro.’” [Damn that would be funny.]

mid-season finale moment under the cut

Lucifer does tell Sam exactly what will happen; Sam will say yes, it will be within six months, and it will happen in Detroit. However, for me, the more important one is

5x10 Ellen’s “I will not leave you here alone.” to 5x22 Dean’s “I’m not gonna let him die alone.” It's about saying 'even if there's nothing I can do to change it, I'm going to be there anyway.' And in the end, that is what changes things

[needlesandnilbogs]

Known Facts About City Spies Book 6 and Beyond

collated at the Avid Reader bookstore event/signing in Davis, CA, on 6/23/24

On future books:

City Spies book 6 is finished and in the proofreading stage. It will probably be released in February 2025, he's allowed to share the title and cover as of this week.

City Spies 6 is called "London Calling" and the cover (which I briefly saw on his phone screen) is predominantly yellow and green

Robert is the protagonist and the Mother/Clementine/Robert/Annie larger plot will be completely resolved in book 6

There will be at least 8 total city spies books, likely 10

Sherlock society 1 is coming out in September

He's going to be on a two book a year release schedule -- February city spies and September Sherlock society

On research/past books/writing

he writes the first draft then goes to the places to research them

he talks to a lot of experts -- for city spies this includes a bookseller's husband who's ex-cia and planned the mission in forbidden city for him, for Sherlock society he got to go on a Miami marine patrol police boat

the city spies books work best with three cities they go to, boat being hostage in the first paragraph of golden gate is based on kid saying plot took ages to get to Big Thing in book 1 so now every book starts with a big thing happening. The middle city is the city of adventure and city alluded to in the title.

He did not get to physically go to Russia or China or Egypt but he did go to Venice after first draft of mission manhattan, went to every location in the book, then used pictures he took there

Washington he got a friend to show him the abandoned spots very unsafely, including embassy row and the empty Iranian embassy which fascinated him

He walked around Iranian embassy and the United Kingdom and Brazil embassies are actually across from it, the security didn't like him taking those pictures as much but it inspired him

If he could choose one song that best represents mission manhattan/city spies: We are family

when he writes a series he's trying to answer a single question and the books are all different variants on the answer. For city spies it's "what is a family"

he puts his life into the books, especially with a parent being missing and trying to find that connection

Middle grade advice: Write from the pain of when you're thirteen

"As a consumer of art we still believe in magic, but there is no magic […] we're faking the magic, it's just sweat. You forget what they're doing is sweat too."

he and his writing friends all feel like imposters. He talks to ppl who've won newberries and still feel like imposters and then they finally have little clicks that say maybe they can do this, like when his publisher said maybe he didn't need blurbs on his books anymore

Research is for accuracy and he hates being wrong and sometimes he hand waves but it gives him inspiration

real life is better than fiction

On Clementine, Mother, their kids:

book 6 resolves all the issues with clemmie and mother and the kids but not all the series's problems

"In the end as I wrote Clementine I wasn't sure how she was going to end up," he "wrestled writing her every time"

"Clementine is a puzzle" kat says, based on a thing a fan said

Good or bad, accidental or not, Clementine is the most interesting character bc you don't know what side she's on

On public libraries and independent bookstores:

About the nypl: "it's the most fascinating thing to me, this library. It's the Vatican of American books."

There aren't easy answers to the problem of cutting funding for libraries, there's a reason independent bookstores and libraries are valuable and it's bc this type of event matters and they have so many services

"Public libraries are one of the greatest things, as far as altruism, our society has ever created"

When it becomes an issue of books being banned it's not good, it's not okay

These are important issues and it's not simple but access to books written by "not just middle aged white guys like me" is really important

what gets lost is book recs and new authors

"the power we have in the exchange of ideas is valuable"

it's stuff that's been sitting there for a while and failed miserably and then gets popular, libraries and independent bookstores are part of that

TikTok is the single largest driving force in youth literature and it may not exist in a year

On the potential City Spies movie:

MGM studios bought the right to city spies film series before they were bought by Amazon

This happened because there's a Guatemalan woman who's the head of development at mgm, and she has twelve year old twin brothers who are reading city spies, she hears the story and says that sounds like a movie, reads the first page and is hooked, reached out and acquired the rights and then he heard nothing for ages

Amazon bought mgm and he thought it was done but they liked city spies, they hired a producer and then writers strike blocked any development but they now have a writer

He's staying out of the writing process, his background in film is making a lot of connections but also means he knows to stay out of it (though if he's asked he'd be enthusiastic to help)

he gets on set one day and gets two tickets to premiere

Movie in theaters not tv show

doesn't really believe it will happen yet because spy school was gonna be a movie then it wasn't

"I would wait to start worrying about following it till later", he doesn't talk about it really even to friends

MGM made an announcement to variety and so everyone found out

He and his wife hope it will happen (cause it's cutting down time till she can retire), she's his health insurance and it's why it seems a lot of writers end up married to teachers and have insurance through them

tagging @fishyupmywishy also

[super-sootica]

I’m still thinking about our discussion yesterday about Chuck basically ignoring Cas, and being stuck in a writing rut, 1000s of versions of Sam or Dean killing the other. 

And what @mittensmorgul Had said about Becky, and the world of fandom:

‘What if Chuck is “written out of the universe” through the power of that collective fanfic, if his creative force holding the universe together is replaced by the entire fandom circling wagons to write OUR ending, the happy ending where Chuck is rendered irrelevant? Where Cas is Essential, where TFW finally gets the peace the show has been promising since s1? Where all the “alternate universes” that spin off are equally satisfying and filled with love?’

Like...that would be a cool ending.

Chuck:  And then they all, died

Fan:  No they didn’t

Chuck:  Cas didn’t matter

Fan:  Don’t be stupid, of course he does

Chuck:  They all went to hell

Fan:  No, they went to the beach

Chuck cares what people think, as seen by his getting Metatron and Becky to help him write.  When he releases his final book, and his fans at large reject it, and write their own endings.  It’s really gonna mess up his head and reality.  If anyone can reject the word and reality of ‘God’.  Then is he in fact God anymore?  He’s said several times that as he is God he is always right and cannot admit fault (to Lucifer, and Dean, and I believe through another angel speak to the brothers).  His little

Huh...a post I started writing but never finished in June 2020

[theurbansombrero97]

As for my Comms. class, I need to look for any seemingly sensationalized news and fact check whether the claim on the news is either factual or exaggerated.

I found one such post while I was scrolling through Instagram. A page I follow called "TheOther98". While this page does post mostly left winged news, it often posts memes and content far left that even some of their followers' base do not agree with. The post in question is two Twitter accounts making 2 different claims on the state of Fast-food chains in a state where the minimum wage is quite high ($20/hr) "Shake Shack to shut 6 California locations, including 5 in LA, after state's $20/hr minimum wage hike" according to the NYPost.

The article: https://nypost.com/2024/08/28/business/shake-shack-to-shut-6-california-locations-after-states-20-minimum-wage-hike/

An individual with the handle JdcMedlock states "California's Minimum wage is so powerful it even compelled Shake Shake (Shack) to close locations in Houston and Ohio." The post from Medlock seems to be sarcastic, claiming that the minimum wage hike does not correlate with multiple closures in other states.

The initial post from the NYPost did give me a knee jerk reaction at the state of California, but then the subsequent post had me question whether or not NYPost is telling the truth. To get a better understanding of the situation, I searched for the original article made by the NYPost to understand what the title might not have covered entirely. First, the article was written by Taylor Herzlich, a Fordham College graduate with a degree in Journalism and English. The other collaborator of the post is Josh Kosman, a long time NYPost Journalist covering Financial and Business news. While reading the article, it claims many other fast-food chains have been pulling out of California as well, though as I read the article further it seems that it is using claims from these other fast-food chains to make the same statement for Shake Shack. For example, "Rubio’s California Grill closed 48 of its nearly 134 locations at the end of May, citing the “rising cost of doing business” in the state for the closures and filed for bankruptcy in June." When it came to Shake Shack making a statement about their closures, they simply stated the decision was based “in part due to changes in the trade area,” and refused to comment on the minimum wage hike in CA. Lastly, in the same article, it shows California’s fast-food industry has added jobs every month this year, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics. This statistic is not indicative of economic downturn and major fast-food closures.

The final nail in the coffin is James Medlock himself. Researching Medlock, a self-proclaimed social democrat who often discusses about wages and labor. This tells me he has some stake in the game when it comes to economics, despite what political view he carries. Medlock's post states other closing locations, 2 in Houston and 1 in Ohio. Minimum wage in Texas is $7.25/hr while Ohio's minimum wage is $10.45/hr. This information I found has brought me to the conclusion that the title does not at all tell the full story and even the context of the article does not back up what the title indicates. It is simply an exaggerated headline to attract more clicks. It got me!

[ltleflrt]

oh lol, I finished watching HB like last week, but i haven't dipped into fandom yet so i didn't realize this comparison was something being done elsewhere as well! Mostly im rewatching the episodes. Honestly to me, the comparison is a bit superficial and has more in common with earlier/mid-season canon trope buckets and how the characters are written in AU fics, rather than how they are like in later seasons of SPN. (the DeanCas dynamic shifted a lot over 12 yrs imo!)

Most superficial thing - the Stolas-Cas owl /headtilt connection. 🦉😂 But Stolas is also a deeply lonely but repressed and dutiful member of a provileged higher class / 'better' group of beings, where he never quite fit in despite being well-placed. It was a meeting with Blitz that put his entire life into a different trajectory, where he finally started to feel things and question his previous life, and ended up forsaking that old perfect life for associating with a guy from a 'lower' class of beings, that he faces derision from his peers for. He is naive to the ways of the world, but willing to learn, even as he is often quite unintentionally derogatory about imps. (this often happened with early Cas) He also has a strong love for his child and a strong connection to the identity of being a father, even though that journey is rocky. He seems to have grown up alone and yet part of a innumerable nameless horde of siblings with a largely absent father, and it is later revealed that the fascination of Blitz and his doubts and unhappiness actually predates the supposedly "first" meeting when they started associating.

The relationship in the beginning is transactional (though in very different ways for both ships), but slowly and surely evolves beyond that. Stolas, despite being much for powerful in supernatural ways, Blitz's is often the one taking the lead and Stolas let's him. Even as Blitz secretely actually thinks Stolas is completely out-of-his-league and is just putting up with him, because he's the toxic guy who everyone leaves if they have a choice and only puts up with if they have to. Then there's the growing up in a nomadic lifestyle with a not-so-great dad, and dead mom in a fire! Right now you could consider the Barbie Wire and Blitz relationship in the Stanford-era!Sam and Dean zone, but clearly Blitz has very strong feelings about his sibling with whom he was close growing up.

lol I was in the tags 5 minutes after the last episode, looking for fanart to reblog. If you want to dip your toes in, I recommend blocking some tags, because the fandom and ship tags are full of antis who need to go watch a different show because they really hate this one and I don't understand why they're still here? Go touch grass, folks. But at least they're pretty good at tagging their hate. I've blocked "anti stolitz", "stolitz critical", "anti vivziepop", and "vivziepop critical" and that seems to have caught most of it.

Thanks for coming back with an explanation! That's way better than the posts I'd seen about it, and I think you're right about the parallels. I think my mental block on it comes from the fact that I ship them for different reasons.

Dean and Cas are reluctant allies at first who become close friends, and there are things keeping them from moving past that. They're always dealing with world ending events that take priority over their own personal drama, and they both fundamentally misunderstand each other's love languages and think things are one sided. I ship them in a star crossed lovers kinda way.

Blitz and Stolas are interesting to me specifically because it started out as a fucked up bargain where Stolas was using Blitz for kinky sex, and Blitz was Not Into It. The power imbalance and dubcon was HOT. And when I found out that Stolas was married too, I was like aw yeah, this guy's a bag of dicks, and he's shoving them into all of Blitz' holes.

Delicious toxicity mmmm.... And then...AND THEN...it's slowly revealed that they both want something more, and Stolas only made the deal because he thought that was the only way he could get Blitz to come back. And it didn't even occur to Blitz that Stolas could feel anything for him because of their class differences.

In the episode that ends with Blitz going "he can get hurt?" with shock and confusion, omg I about fell off the couch. Because on the surface he's talking about physical injuries, but in subtext he's talking about Stolas getting his feelings hurt too. *chef's kiss* ugh it's so fucking good.

Come to think of it, you could make that another Destiel parallel, since Dean doesn't think Cas is capable of feeling romantic love. Now that you've given me a few points of entry, I'm going to start connecting dots all over the place lol

[dothwrites]

dean praying to cas will never be something that i don't go absolutely feral over. (alternatively, dean can only voice his forgiveness to cas via prayer. he can never forgive cas to his face. and cas hardly ever hears his forgiveness, so cas is consistently trying to prove himself to dean and prove that he's worthy)

i also love farmer!angel just... getting on the tractor and starting to truck towards dean. considering that tractor probably has max speed of 25 mph, the mental image of that angel just puttering down the road is HILARIOUS

this random truck driver is THEE unsung hero of spn. it's so rare that we see genuinely kind people in this show, and here he is! i love him. i hope that he had a good life.

awwwwww, ezekiel/gadreel. i always thought gadreel got a bad run of things. (though he did kill kevin and that is something that we do NOT condone!)

cas still trying to preach free will to angels... it's so disheartening to see him still trying the same things when it's clear that the angels CAN'T understand it. or just use free will to do WHATEVER they want to do (cas included).

cas really does meet an angel and say "heyyyyyy road trip" and then thirty seconds later say "my repressed love interest called and said he needs me, peace out girl scout". if i were hael i think i would have hit him too

dean not being willing to give up cas! even though he's still mad, even though cas messed up, he's STILL not willing to tell the angels where cas is. cas is family, and there's no way that cas ever gives up on family

there's a lot to say about dean's guilt and culpability about allowing gadreel to possess sam. i do think that dean is in the wrong--sam's decision to say yes is definitely coerced, and sam doesn't know what, exactly, he's agreeing to, but sam DOES agree to follow dean's plan to save his life. but again, that decision is made under duress and without having all the facts, so sam definitely can't consent. dean feels guilty and he SHOULD because he did take some manner of sam's choice away from him. that being said... dean is very much NOT well. sam is his child, and i know of no worthy parent who wouldn't do whatever it took, even lying to their child, to help save their life.

dean's original decision is flawed, but after gadreel is inside sam, it really does become a hostage situation. dean can't tell sam about gadreel without gadreel killing sam, so i have some sympathy for dean in that regard.

this final scene is written for ME specifically. jeremy carver, i am shaking your hand right now because we are united in our thirstiness over misha's body. carver DOES always write the best shirtless misha scenes. the inherent symbolism of a trenchcoat... castiel abandoning the coat which is representative of his wings as a sign that he is abandoning his angelic self and starting to accept his newfound humanity... which includes the pitfalls of having to eat and sleep...

[scienter]

Skipped from TVD S3 straight to s6 & Holy shit! That was the Renaissance of TVD.I don't think I have enjoyed any season of Vampire Diaries like I did s6 after s2 and in my mind,they both get the top rank in the list of best to worst.Then,I thought why not give season s7 a chance.This was the first time I rewatched this season since it aired back when TVD was on and now I am most certainly questioning my life choices.🥲Honestly,how did we sit through such abysmal writing for 8 months or so?Were we sired?After the first episode,it felt like someone made me shut my eyes with the promise of feeding oysters only to point and scream "I just ejaculated in your mouth! HA! HA!" Anyway,there are a few things,specific to Caroline Forbes, that I picked up along the way:

1.Candice (& real life pregnancy)and Caroline Forbes-surrogacy: Keeping the non-consensual,gross aspect of the otherwise outlandish plot aside,I do believe with right motivation and willingness,writers could have easily worked around CA's pregnancy and given emotionally intimate scenes to SC that would have made their relationship layered and deeper.They simply chose NOT to. In fact, I noticed how they didn't use Candice at all not just in terms of her relation with Stefan but with regards to the whole Al**ick thing.Writers simply didn't create any compelling narrative that could convince anyone that Caroline was at all interested in pursuing anything with Ric that eventually led to an engagement. In fact, their sloppy attempt to sell motherhood and biology by giving two glimpses of Caroline's apparent growing attachment with the kids implied she saw the twins as an obligation in addition to her considering Ric as incapable of handling two newborns, leading her to Dallas, which basically served the bigger purpose:write CA out for her Maternity Leave. Post time jump,they could have easily removed her from this dynamic and put her with Liam or me and that wouldn't have changed nothing.Once again, they chose not to SHOW and simply explained the engagement as a decision of a heartbroken,abandoned woman by TELLING.I wonder what they would have done with her if TVD hadn't been renewed.Crossover to TO for ratings ploy?

2.Flash Forwards: I have nothing to say about this narrative disaster but I do think they changed their initial plans with respect to the FFs because CA did an interview where she said writers told her they were going three years in the future,right before she left for her ML,so that Caroline wouldn't have to be pregnant anymore AFTER candice came back from her leave.Does that mean they were originally going to go only a few months ahead in time but cancellation jitters made them change track?Guess,we will never know.

3.Future-Caroline character assessment : Plot contrivance aside, Caroline role-playing a doting mother and devoted wife-to-be & her happiness in the seemingly new life she built for herself is a metaphor for her being a victim of prolonged violence(physical and psychological).She was incapable of feeling anything anymore.She was in a wild state of depersonalisation and derealisation.She was an absolute victim.She just didn't care.She was putting up a class-act in that creepy arrangement but hey,as long as Caroline's "bold decision"(in JP's book) ensured M.Davis's employment,we are all good.

LMAO. Oh, yeah, I remember the whiplash of watching season 7 after season 6. Season 6 was one of the strongest seasons. Steroline was written well, we finally got Bamon, and Caroline had a touching story arc having to deal with her mother’s death. Season 7 on the other hand is in the running as the worst seasons.

I agree with your assessment of Ric and Caroline's relationship in season 7. It was awful. Having Caroline become the twins' surrogate is one thing – having her become their primary caregiver BECAUSE Caroline didn’t trust Ric to parent the twins himself . . . that wasn’t Caroline being a control freak – RIC ALLOWED CAROLINE TO TAKE OVER HIS DUTIES AS A PARENT BECAUSE HE DIDN’T WANT TO DO IT HIMSELF*.  There’s a name for this phenomenon: weaponized incompetence*

I don’t buy any defense of Ric’s actions here. Ric needed Caroline’s help! He was overwhelmed and didn’t know what he was doing! (1) Most first-time parents are overwhelmed because they lack experience. Parenting is on-the-job training. (2) Ric could have hired a professional nanny or an au pair to help take care of his kids. You know – paid someone to help take care of his kids. He didn’t. He was a selfish prick who took advantage of Caroline’s selfless and caring nature. He got a live-in nanny for free!

I hate that they turned Caroline – one of the strongest characters on the show – into Ric’s unpaid nanny. Ric and Caroline’s engagement was adding insult to injury.

I was so disappointed by the flash-forwards on TVD because I’d seen it done so well on The West Wing. Not that I was expecting TWW-level writing on TVD, but I did expect some level of competence.

*“Weaponized incompetence, also called strategic incompetence, is when someone knowingly or unknowingly demonstrates an inability to perform or master certain tasks, thereby leading others to take on more work.” [Psychology Today]

[snarkformysanity]

House of Earth and Blood Chapter 35

We join Bryce and Hunt as they go to visit Briggs, who has been relocated to beneath the Comitium (government building) for their convenience.

A step behind him, Bryce simply watched Hunt move—the way he cut through the world, the way the guards in the entry room hadn’t so much as checked his ID before waving them through.

Those are really terrible guards, then. I mean, yes, I know it's once again done to try and show how widely-known Hunt's badassery is. But come on. You live in a world with magic shapeshifters. 100% you insist on seeing official ID. That way any would-be intruders need to steal it from Mr Baddest of all Asses first, instead of just waltzing through in their Hunt disguise.

In an interesting turn for the book, Bryce refuses to describe the place to us:

She tried not to think about what this place was for. What laws stopped applying once one crossed over the threshold. [...] The drains she noted every few feet suggested— She didn’t want to know what the drains suggested.

It's very annoying. Again, I know it's because it's meant to be so scawy scawy that she doesn't want to think about it, but this is just lazy. Tell me about the drains, Bryce. Stop making your book all boring and samey.

Hunt opens the door to a cell, and Bryce... randomly thinks about firstlights, how powerful Hunt's must have been and wondering what hers might power, and whose might power her phone. I mean, it's a neat little detail (apart from the eye-rolling-ly predictable bit about Hunt's), but, uh... time and a place? She even chastises herself for thinking about random shit before finally paying attention to this man she's so afraid of/angry at. Book, pointing out that your random infodumping tangents are, in fact, random tangents does not make them better. It just makes us read even more words before we get to the point.

Speaking of the point, Bryce notes that though Briggs appears unharmed, he looks haunted. Presumably any injuries have either been healed and/or they're psychologically torturing him instead. She prepares to ask a question, but Briggs jumps in first, asking for the date.

“It’s the twelfth of April,” Hunt said, his voice low, “in the year 15035.”

Their calendar stretches back 15000 years. Good to know. For reference, in our world, humans were just starting to figure out agriculture ~8000-10000 years ago, and the earliest "civilisations" (according to the common archeological definition of the word - apparently it's controversial) began appearing ~6000 years ago (ca 4000 BCE), in Mesopotamia. We don't really know enough of Crescent City's world to say whether their 15000 year timeline is plausible or not, but even so, I'm side-eying it a bit. The scale of time is a common thing that goes wacky in books, after all, and this book hardly fills me with confidence.

Anyway, back to the book.

Hunt leaned back, a silent indication that this was now her show to run. “The White Raven nightclub was bombed a few days ago. Considering that it was one of your prime targets a few years ago, evidence points toward Keres being active again.”

Yes, this is all one paragraph in the text. And, technically speaking, it contradicts itself, because Hunt's action (leaning back) is part of the same paragraph as the dialogue, which means, grammatically speaking, that the dialogue is his. I think the dialogue is meant to be Bryce's, but that's not what the author has written - if Bryce is meant to be speaking, the dialogue should be on a new line. This image is not helped by the fact that Hunt is the one who responds to Briggs's answer.

"Her show to run," my eye. Man can't butt out to save his life.

Anyway, we spend a lot of words on Briggs saying he didn't do it. He also tries to sway Bryce to his cause somewhat, given she's half-human, despite her protests that she abhors what he does.

Briggs laughed, a broken rasp. “When the Vanir tell you you’re not good enough for any job because of your human blood, when males like this asshole next to you just see you as a piece of ass to be fucked and then discarded, when you see your mother—it is a human mother for you, isn’t it? It always is—being treated like trash … You’ll find those self-righteous feelings fading real fast.” She refused to reply. To think about the times she’d seen her mother ignored or sneered at—

You have my attention, book. This has potential to be an interesting and complex issue - how far is too far to fight oppression? Where does the line get drawn? This could be a good topic to explore from lots of different angles. Unfortunately, I don't have the confidence that this book will do it well. But, I'm happy to be proven wrong. We'll see.

Anyway, Briggs said he liked Danika, and we then randomly POV switch to Hunt, in the middle of the conversation. No, I don't know why we do this. It's annoying.

Ohhh, wait, I know why we shifted now.

Hunt could take a few guesses about the manner of torture [inflicted on Briggs]. The memories of it being inflicted upon him still dragged him from sleep.

The book was worried we might start feeling sorry for someone other than Hunt, so naturally that had to be corrected right away. Ugh.

Bryce is surprised that Briggs liked Danika. Briggs explains how Danika basically gave him a chance to stop, then to surrender - he figured she might have been sympathetic to his cause, if not his methods. Not that Hunt cares about any of this.

[Briggs] surveyed Bryce again with a starkness that had Hunt’s hackles rising.

No, he's too busy being a possessive, growly jerk. Why do we have to be in his head again? I'd much rather be in Bryce's head.

“Danika wasn’t a rebel sympathizer,” Bryce hissed.

See? She's clearly experiencing internal conflict and is having her worldview challenged. Much more interesting than "grr, mine."

Briggs tells us that Danika and the pack were actually pretty fair on them during the raid (with a random aside to remind us that Bryce and Connor were a thing, because of course). Hunt asks why he didn't say any of this when he was arrested.

Briggs spat, “Why the fuck would I ever rat out a potentially sympathetic, incredibly powerful Vanir like Danika Fendyr? I might have been headed for this”—he gestured to the cell around them—“but the cause would live on. It had to live on, and I knew that someone like Danika could be a mighty ally to have on our side.”

Fair enough. Hunt apparently wasn't listening, though, because he then asks why Briggs didn't say anything at the trial. Briggs insists that he and his people (the Keres) didn't kill Danika and co, but admits they might have done the White Raven bombing (he doesn't know, just posits it's something that would track), and "good for them" if they did.

But Hunt must have smelled some new angst to add to his collection, because now he's trying to one-up Briggs's fanaticism, too.

Had [Hunt] been this out of touch with reality when he’d followed Shahar? Had it been this level of fanaticism that prompted him to lead the angels of the 18th to Mount Hermon? In those last days, would he have even listened to anyone if they’d advised against it? A hazy memory surfaced, of Isaiah doing just that, screaming in Hunt’s war tent. Fuck.

Admittedly I don't remember and could be wrong, but wasn't Isaiah part of the rebellion too?

Bryce and Briggs are trying to demonstrate some actual fanaticism in the background, with Briggs doing stuff like asking how many Vanir died, but Hunt is too busy angsting over how he himself might be a fanatic to care. Fuck I hate this guy. Get me out of his head, please.

Ugh, it's leaking out of his head now, because as he and Bryce go to leave, Briggs notes that Hunt is one of the Fallen and starts fanboying and calling him brother. Briggs, please don't reaffirm his angsting. He really doesn't need the help.

And the kill he’d made last night … It had lingered.

Coulda fooled me. It hasn't been mentioned even once since it happened, until now.

Anyway, scene change to back in Bryce's apartment. And Bryce's POV, though it took me a few paragraphs to work it out. The actual narration of this book is just so... bland and same-y, it really is hard to work out who we're reading about sometimes. She spends like a page checking Hunt out.

Bryce reached forward, her long braid slipping over a shoulder, and grabbed his phone from the coffee table. She snapped a photo of him and sent a copy to herself, mostly because she doubted anyone would believe her that Hunt fucking Athalar was sitting on her couch in casual clothes, sunball hat on backward, watching TV and drinking a beer. The Shadow of Death, everyone.

See, this is what makes all the titles cringey instead of scary. Even the characters don't take them seriously, so how the fuck is the audience meant to? If our POV character is saying "look how ridiculous it is that this guy is called that," I'm going to have no choice but to agree with them.

Anyway, turns out the purpose of this scene is for an angst-fest. Hunt tells Bryce all about how he thinks he's like Briggs, and how he was tortured for like seven years, and then went to his first master, who kept torturing him, so it was like nine years since he saw the sun and smelled the rain... how hatred is the only thing that gets him through the day. It's all very dramatic, I assure you.

And once again, Bryce apparently isn't acting right.

“You have nothing else to say?” Hunt’s mouth twisted to the side. “You, the person who has an opinion on everything and everyone, have nothing else to say about what I just told you?”

I know, I know, it's meant to show he's surprised at how accepting she is and etc. But it still sounds like someone who is disappointed that no one else cares about their angsty backstory as much as they do.

So, she indulges him.

Bryce clamped her fingers around his. “You might see yourself that way, but I see you, too, Athalar. I see your kindness and your … whatever.”

She has to say "whatever", because she just realised she was lying through her teeth. That's my headcanon, and Bryce says nothing in her narration to contradict it. Anyway, she (mistakenly) assures him he's not a bad person.

But she leaned forward, stretching out her arm, and flicked his hat. “What’s up with this, by the way?” He batted her away. “It’s a hat.” “It doesn’t fit with your whole predator-in-the-night image.”

Yes, I know you are bafflingly proud of this "mismatch", book. Stop preening. You already pointed it out once this chapter.

Anyway, they're looking over Danika's locations again, when Hunt suddenly realises that the temple has exterior cameras.

“You make it sound as if the 33rd didn’t check that two years ago. They said the blackout rendered any footage essentially useless.” “Maybe we didn’t run the right tests on the footage. Look at the right fields. Ask the right people to examine it..."

I mean. If the blackout rendered the footage useless, it's probably because the cameras lost power. Which means they weren't recording. Yes, there are battery-powered cameras, but the ones installed in buildings generally aren't battery-powered, because they don't need to go anywhere, so why not plug them in and save the bother of changing batteries all the time? Now, it's possible that the cameras were wall-powered with a battery backup, in which case... the blackout shouldn't have had any effect on the footage at all. The camera would simply have switched to battery power when the wall power died and kept recording. Unless there was a power surge or something? Maybe that would affect it, but then again, maybe not. Regardless, no amount of running the right tests or looking at the right fields would make a difference in that case, because the footage would be fried.

Then again, I suppose it could just be referring to how dark the footage is. Sometimes you can recover things, sometimes you can't. But even that's not a case of running "tests" or looking at "fields..." ...anyway.

Hunt does have some non-stupid things to say, though, wondering why Danika herself didn't come forward about being at the temple, or why the acolytes didn't say anything.

Bryce chewed on her lip. Hunt’s eyes dipped to it. She could have sworn they darkened. That his thigh pressed harder into hers.

You sure it's his thigh?

Anyway, they decide to get someone (we aren't told who, even though Bryce asks, so I'm sure it'll be a Dramatic Reveal next chapter) to look at the footage.