By now I think most of y’all follow me for my liveblogs, since that’s usually how I get most of my followers, but at any rate, here are the tags for your blacklisting pleasure!
Please note, I live in the Eastern timezone, so I liveblog at 8:00 PM EST.
This episode was chock full of, not just character relationship dynamics, but a place where they’re getting towards healthy ones. Not gonna say there ain’t a long road to go – because there is – but wow what a start.
MARY & JACK:
Jacks’s been through the wringer this episode. A bunch of people died, and he saved the one. He’s really coming to terms with “what’s the point of the fight and the powers if I can’t save everyone?” And Mary Winchester takes on mom and mentor. She calls him one of her boys, and Jack uses his body and his wings to save her, if there can only be one. He’s not comforted by what happened, but without Mary? He’d probably have been in a much darker “fuck it all” place than he is without her guiding him and advising him.
SAM & GABRIEL:
There were so many small, good moments here. The most jam-packed was the ending with Sam asking how Gabriel is doing now that he’s got his revenge. Gabriel says he’s great: a new man. And Sam smiles and shakes his head and says, “that’s what I thought.” Gabriel is saying that nothing’s really better, and Sam is saying he knows. And I think Gabriel honoring the deal is largely because of that. Because Sam understood what Gabriel was going through and even actively kept Dean from digging into Gabriel to force him to fight. He’s done a lot of bad to the Winchesters, but the appreciation he has for Sam’s ability to forgive, and even more so, console, went a long freaking way with his trauma.
DEAN & SAM:
I have talked a lot about how family ties are toxic in the SPN universe, but what we witnessed in this episode was the beginning (hopefully) of a change between Sam and Dean. Instead of deflecting or being passive-aggressive and manipulative to Sam’s feelings, Dean actually came out and told Sam what he was feeling and his motivations straight up, no chaser. That while Sam felt like he was being put at the kid’s table again, Dean was really rushing into the fire because he’s never cared what’s happened to him as long as Sam was safe.
AND THEN. Sam called bullshit. Hard. Says that they’ll face it all together because that’s the only way it’ll work. And he’s probably right. AND THEN. Dean didn’t brush him off or snark the comment away. He smiled. He nodded. He heard – and accepted – that this is an equal partnership in that family. And it made him happy. Probably proud to be a Winchester for the first time in a long time. I’m really rooting for that healthy note to keep growing for him because lord knows this show has had enough of dismissive Dean and Sam feeling inadequate.
We don’t get a whole lot of purely character relationship driven episodes, but this one shined in an already bright season.
Okay, I know this is hate, but Imma take a minute to rap on why I think it’s awesome! Because it’s AWESOME!
First of all, there are definitely similarities between Jack and Sam. It’s big and it’s deliberate. Lost mothers, potential for evil, powers they can’t always control or understand, blah blah, you get the idea.
Okay. Great. So, first of all, I’m glad this happened because we got to see Sam Winchester lose his fucking temper finally and for real at Dean. He never had the moment where he was able to say those things. Never able to tell his brother how badly it hurt him that both John and Dean kept a fucking bullet in their revolvers for him should he go darkside. And the thing that brought Dean back from the brink permanently, and not just until the dust had settled again?
Season 8, Episode 23:
Sam: “I mean, you think I screw up everything I try. You think
I need a chaperone, remember?“
Dean: “Come on, man, that’s not what I meant.”
Sam: “That’s exactly
what you meant. You wanna know what I confessed in there? What my greatest sin
was? It was how many times I let you down. I can’t do that again. What happens when you’ve decided I can’t be trusted again? And who are you gonna turn to
next time, instead of me? Another angel? Another… another vampire? Do you
have any idea what it feels like to watch your brother-”
Dean: "Just hold on.
You seriously think that? Because none of it – none of it – is true. Listen man, I know we’ve had our disagreements,
okay, hell, I know I’ve said some junk that’s set you back on your heels, but
Sam, come on. I killed Benny to save you. I’m willing to let this bastard, and
all the sons of bitches that killed mom walk
because of you! Don’t you dare think
that there is anything, past or
present that I would put in front of you. It’s never been like that, ever.
I need you to see that. I’m begging you.“
This was the turning point where Dean took his brother back. But, he’s not saying that Sam isn’t telling the truth. Because he is. Dean’s saying that he’ll take Sam over the other people/monsters he’s turned to. That he won’t become the things he hates because he can’t trust Sam.
And Sam felt, the whole time, like Dean would rather take any evil over Sam because Sam was the greater evil.
And that’s what’s happening with Jack. Or, that’s what could happen. Sam sees Dean treating Jack the same exact way that Dean treated him, only much more obviously and less passive-aggressively, and is telling Dean in no unclear terms that it’s not okay.
That Jack isn’t any more evil because of who he is than Sam was. That nature doesn’t determine nurture, because it didn’t for Sam. But Dean’s shut down completely, and won’t take the hard road while he’s unable and/or unwilling to start processing his grief. We may have seen him strike back at Sam with more emotion than he’s had the last 2 episodes, but he wasn’t angry in grief. He was simply reiterating the reasons he blamed Jack and was tired of telling Sam that. And probably also doesn’t understand why Sam doesn’t agree.
Now, Jack is going to bring back Castiel, not because Dean misses him, and not only because it’ll help clean the ledger a little bit so Dean won’t be so hostile towards him; he’s bringing back Castiel because that dead angel is the link to all of them, and the way that Sam and Dean talk about him, Castiel is the family’s mediator. The one who helps most resolve the conflict. Whether or not that’s actually true is beside the point right now, because Jack’s eked out that conclusion from how the brother’s have talked. Castiel is the one with the answers. The chips on the scale that will tip whether Jack will think of himself as evil or not.
So, do I think Jack is a Sam clone? No, I do not. But their similar stories are getting Sam the catharsis he’s been looking for the past five seasons, and Jack his place in existence.
Dramatic title, but this rant has been building for some time and I need to get it off my chest. Friends, fellows, lovely fic writers: kink fic in fandom lately sounds like someone is reciting a How To BDSM 101 manual and it’s really starting to grind my gears.
It seems lately that, more often than not, any fic I open with even the teeniest bit of kink spends about half the fic being excruciatingly boring and samey about making sure everyone is on the same page when it comes to consent and who is spanking who in bed. As an Actual Real Live Kinky Person, let me tell you about some things that are seriously pissing me off.
I do agree with a lot of this, but some of it has me so-so. Like, in my area, negotiation/contracts are actually a pretty big thing. If you’re looking for someone for private play, chances are you’ve talked to them online and got the basics of whether your kinks are compatible or not. As for me and pretty much everyone I’ve been with (I’m a switch)? Every last one of them has preferred some level of negotiation at the outset, even if it was brief, and sometimes just the “big” stuff, like, “no watersports, fluid play, or permanent marking.”
However, at public events and stuff, I’ve been to ones that require a (admittedly) brief consent contract, a signed waiver about what is allowed and not allowed at the party, and since there’s a time limit to the space, most people negotiate what they want to do with their potential play partner, or at least the high points they want to experience at the event. Many of the events also had mandatory safewords beyond “no, stop,” usually as a fallback. Frankly, no one I know DOESN’T have a fallback safeword for when it’s appropriate or when they simply prefer it.
In the end, I have found in my experience that it’s all about the individual person. Some people are EXTREMELY uncomfortable with the idea of practicing any sort of kink with someone who doesn’t know CLEARLY the kind of things the prefer, unless it’s someone they’ve played a lot with. They’ll sit down at a coffee shop or wherever and talk at length about it because there are times when the middle of a scene is NOT the time to just see if the sub is up for something. And this is even more true when they’re looking for a more long-term arrangement than just a romp or two. Especially when more dangerous kinks are involved. However, I do concur that the more “mild” stuff like cuffing, tying, spanking, usually doesn’t need to be laid out in writing. And even the bigger stuff doesn’t need a paper contract. Just a simple, “I’m cool with that,” or not.
However, yes, I DO VERY MUCH AGREE that the stoplight system is often misused in fics. OP is right, it’s not usually used for a check in. That’s normally just, “okay?” “Yeah.” when you’re checking bindings, circulation, whatever. The stoplight system is for when something changes in the scene that seems like it could be a problem.
When you write these sorts of things, I personally would think of the character and how much spontaneity they have. That being said, an all-out kink negotiation that lasts like, an hour and covers everything, won’t happen with really anyone unless they’re either SUPER anal, or going full time. The only time I think it’s fine is when you’ve got a fic where one character is paying the other character to be their dom/sub. Most likely, they’d consider that getting their money’s worth.
Otherwise, yes, it’s much more realistic to take an organic approach and layoff the stoplights unless something’s going south in your fic.
Unsure how to incorporate BDSM into your canon setting fanfic? Or into an AU? jupiterjames offers up some advice on how to bring some kink to your fic. Read on under the cut.
BDSM isn’t all fun and spankings. There’s a lot happening below the surface. Here, jupiterjames examines what happens when subs and doms experience “drop”.
Okay, as I’ve embraced being a Fandom Old Person ™, I’m tired of seeing all the cute, domestic OTP scenarios written by people who probably haven’t lived with a significant other before, except for maybe a romantic weekend where all the “sleepy good morning kisses” and “dancing in their underwear at midnight” happen. I want to see them after a few years like:
A sleepy good morning kiss that ends up with a palm in the face and a muttered, “brush your damn teeth first.”
A sleepy good morning kiss that ends up with a palm in the face and a muttered, “I will push you off the fucking bed if you don’t let me sleep.”
Watching scary movies on the couch and one of them falls asleep, head tilted back, mouth open, snoring loud enough to wake the neighbors.
“You unclog the toilet.” “No you unclog the toilet!” “Don’t you love me anymore?” “Only if you unclog the toilet.”
“Are those my jeans?” *shrug* “Does it matter anymore?”
Stealing a kiss while one is making dinner and getting smacked in the ear with the spatula.
Person A: “Can you pass me the oregano?” Person B: “I need payment first.” *puckers lips* Person A: *holds out a dollar*
Getting snowed in and arguing for an hour about whether to make the hot chocolate with milk or water until one of them just dumps the packet over the other’s head.
After having long, languid sex with strawberries and whipped cream, both of them laying in the wreckage of the bed, sheets, towels. Both: “that was such a bad idea. We’ll never get this all cleaned up.”
Holding hands after a date, wandering through the romantic twilight, so in love, and one says, “shit, it’s getting late and we haven’t gone grocery shopping yet.”
Person A coming up behind Person B, wrapping their arms around their waist, gently kissing the back of their neck and murmuring, “you’ve got more gray hair back here.”
Renewing their wedding vows 10, 20, 30 years later and still crying like they did when they were young and youthfully in love and said “I do” for the first time.
So, I got some asks and submission about this yesterday after my rant about the Bucklemming episode. I have returned with information for those of you who wish to complain like me.
Snail Mail: The CW Television Network 3300 W. Olive Avenue, Burbank, CA 91505 Email: feedback@CWTV.com
There are also addresses for local CW stations in most cities, but I’m not sure sending letters to them would have any impact, as they don’t really impact what programming happens. Please consider this option as the network doesn’t necessarily read your tagged tweets or Tumblr complaints. We need to contact them directly at their office if we have any hope of righting the wrongs done to the show.
In your letters, I suggest directing complaints to Robert Singer, Brad Buckner, and Eugenie Ross-Leming.
I do not suggest writing a novel for your complaint, either. They won’t read it. Be succinct, direct, and polite. Treat it like a business letter. Send lots of complaints. Get everyone you know to send complaints. And keep sending them as often as you can until we get answers. If you’d like help, here’s an example of the complaint I wrote. Feel free to use and modify it at your discretion:
I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with how the producers and writers of Supernatural, most specifically the writing duo Brad Buckner and Eugenie Ross-Leming, are handling the show. Many long-time fans, such as myself, are becoming increasingly disgusted with how these two writers are, frankly, interfering with the show’s success. Buckner and Ross-Leming continually pen offensive themes such as needless rape mentions and female degradation and call it “plot.” They have also gone as far as to kill off beloved characters for no discernible reason. Examples include Kevin (POC), Charlie (LGBTQ+), and most recently Eileen (deaf). A large portion of the fandom finds these actions to be harmful to the show as a whole. We are aware that Supernatural is a horror show, and also that character death is a given. However, these characters are important for minorities and those of us who identify with their strength and dignity. Buckner and Ross-Leming not only consistently undermine the fans and the characters, they disregard fan concerns and take pleasure in angering us. For such a prolific show, writers should do better than this. I am not suggesting that fans should have creative control over a show, but that the writers should understand the show and its important themes and characters. Buckner and Ross-Leming most certainly do not. A show such as Supernatural should not have to succeed in spite of its writers, but in the case of Buckner and Ross-Leming, that is exactly what it’s doing. Viewership numbers, episode rankings, and social media trends support the claim that Buckner and Ross-Leming are negatively impacting an otherwise fantastic show. Therefore, it seems reasonable that they should be replaced by writers who understand and love the show as much as the rest of the crew. Please consider this going forward. Supernatural is a TV phenomenon that deserves better than what it’s getting from two writers who appear determined to ruin it.
Well, you know, I’ve actually been thinking about that a lot. Short answer? I actually wouldn’t be surprised either way at this point.
Here’s why I think they might not:
1. The showrunners go through an awful lot of trouble to show how heterosexual Dean is. It seems that every time we get an inkling of Dean being anything other than a straight dude, an episode or two later, we’re treated with an unrelated scene of Dean reinforcing his heterosexual nature.
2. The show has a few… let’s call them “problematic at best” writers. A couple people who pen episodes that do a lot to reinforce harmful themes and horrible stereotypes. I’m not sure they’d let Destiel happen without at worst: ruining it. At best: making it tragic.
3. They’ve already gone 12 seasons without it. This isn’t a be-all, end-all thing. There have been shows that have dragged on romantic tension for ages. It’s not an impossible thing, but the longer we go without, the more difficult it is to write in.
Here’s why I think they might:
1. The showrunners are very aware of the fandom. Thanks to Creation cons and the like, the actors, producers, and writers are very aware of the fandom and how many of us feel. They know how popular Destiel is, to the point they refuse to answer questions about it, anymore. They absolutely realize what they’ve been doing with the show and how numerous their numbers of queer fans, and others who would adore seeing such a relationship happen between two main characters on a popular show. The meaningfulness of it would be extremely widespread.
2. The writers have written very good queer characters already and shown that their sexuality isn’t the main focus. In most media these days, the issue with LGBTQ+ characters is that it’s all they are. SPN has shown that they can get beyond that, and in fact, make it interesting. Or a non-issue. In “Safe House,” Naoki Himura makes a passing reference to her wife being out of town when her daughter is in a coma. That’s it. Aaron is gay, and at first, his sexuality is used as a tool to make Dean think he’s actually being tailed rather than flirted with. Charlie almost ruins breaking into Dick Roman’s office because it’s impossible for her to flirt with the male security guard. That’s good stuff! As a queer person myself, I found all of that delightful!
3. All of the queer characters in the show have been received by the fandom in an overwhelmingly positive way. Aaron, Charlie, Crowley, etc. are favorites in a lot of places in the fandom. And whether or not Dean and Castiel get together in the end, there will be cheers and boos either way. But that’s typical on any show with any romantic arc. Some people will like it, and some people won’t.
4. Everyone knows what’s going on, and they weren’t stupid about the mix tape. Jensen has said that what he likes about SPN is that the writers and actors have a sort of symbiotic relationship. That the actors take the lines, ad lib some things, and the writers watch the show and inform their choices from what the actors are doing and around and around. Which brings us back to the mix tape. That scene did not, in any way, get to final cut without someone in the writer’s room and/or the cast going, “you know what this is going to look like, right?” It was a willful decision. And frankly, Destiel shipper or not, Season 12 has been much more overt with the Destiel undertones than any other season. I have friends and family outside the fandom who watch the show and also think Dean and Castiel are without a doubt, in love. Because, yes. If they were a male and female pair, they would have been getting down and dirty like, seven seasons ago.
This is my blog, and I’m going to just say a little thing about Destiel because I want to, and I can. Especially because this is the least amount of queerbaiting we’ve ever seen in this show thus far. Why? Because there’s a lot of nuance for those of us who grew up in the Mix Tape Generation, and to us, there’s absolutely no way to misinterpret this scene.
Here’s why I liked it, and found it so wonderful.
There was no reason for this scene. None. It did not play to the overall narrative of the episode, or even, the show in general, which is how a lot of the queerbaiting on the show is done. And you can go ahead and say that it’s just showing that Dean thinks Castiel is a part of the family now and that’s how he’s showing it, but Dean doesn’t make mix tapes for Sam. Or anyone that we know of. It was a small scene. Castiel means to return the tape and Dean gives it back. He says, “it’s a gift. You keep those.”
Now, this is a significant scene for being so brief.
Dean Winchester was born January 24, 1979. Which makes him about my age. And here’s what I remember about people giving other people mix tapes:
You gave your crush a mix tape to say your feelings and hopefully end up macking in the janitor’s closet after fourth period in middle/high school.
If you weren’t making that mix tape for yourself, you were making it for your crush.
Also, the most meaningful band in existence to Dean Winchester, born January 24, 1979 is Led Zeppelin.
So. He didn’t just make a mix tape to give to Castiel. He made a mix tape of HIS favorite music to give to Castiel. That’s Level 2 flirting through mix tape sociology. And we already know how much Dean treasures his music. How meaningful it is to him. One of the most popular lines from the show, to this day, is: “driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole.”
This small, insignificant scene is probably lost on the younger viewers who didn’t grow up in a mix tape generation, but let me say this: for any of us who were born circa January 24, 1979, knows that this small, insignificant scene is anything but.
Jupiter Astrid James 