Issue 2

Salt & Burn Magazine

Supernatural and more with

Osric Chau Season 10 spec

Fic recommendations Cosplay tutorials Surviving the Hiatus: Avoiding Con Wank

Gabriel’s surprise return PR is Not Showrunning: Deconstructing Fandom Misconceptions

Carver era & the three-act structure

Issue 2 • June 8 2014

A supernatural Fanzine Issue 2 • June 8 2014 Editors in Chief:

Shayla J • Sarah DeBusk

Editor:

Jackie

Design:

Stiney

Cover: Tumblr:

Izzy Salt-and-burn-magazine.tumblr.com

Disclaimer: This is a magazine made by fans for fans and though we approve content for quality we do not sensor content to fit only our views. That being said, not all content or statements reflect the views of its creators or others who contribute to the magazine.

Contact us at saltandburnmagazine@gmail.com The following is a non-profit fan-based magazine. Supernatural, and all of its characters are owned by The CW, WB and executive producers Eric Kripke , McG, Robert Singer. Please support the official release. All works of art within this web site are protected under U.S. copyright laws and international conventions. No portion of the artists works or statements were used without prior written permissions granted from the creator or artist. All rights belong to the original creator and artists.

Contents “No One Makes Us Do Anything”

12

“Breaking Down Meta-Fiction: The Plot, Characters, Subtext

26

Untitled fanfiction-Destiel

30

8.17//9.18 Parallels

32

Gabriel’s Return

35

“I need You (I Love You) fanfiction-Destiel

36

Dean and Gadreel in 9.18

38

The Problem with Subtext

42

8.17//9.18 Song Choice

44

Season 9 Stats

46

Vampiric Stockhold Syndrome

50

What Jody Represents

54

Dean & Weapons

56

Untitled fanfiction-Jody & Sam

58

Interview with Osric Chau

60

Supernatural spinoff

64

Happy Birthday Sam

65

“Next Year” fanfiction-Sam & Dean

68

Musing on the Reality of Free Will & Destiny in Supernatural

74

Cas Never Asked the Winchesters to Torture

76

When Writers Talk Fandom

78

Dean on Cas’ Angel Status

80

Cas in Season 10

81

Blog Promo

82

Don’t Fear the Reaper

86

“Us Versus Them” fanfiction-Destiel

Meta Analysis

6

Fanfiction

Contributors

Features

5

W W =content warning; gore

Contents 88

We are the Masters of Unsaid Words

90 He Aimed Us Like an Arrow, the Destiel of Stairway to Heaven 94

The Grace of an Angel in Love with a Human

96 Stow the Baggage 98 102 104

Season 9 Finale & the Three Act Structure

Love and...Love The Inevitablility of Demon!Dean

108 Castiel’s Weakness 112 Gadreel Feature 116 Symbolism of Angel Tablet 118 Love is Not Enough 122 Untitled fanfiction-Sam 124 Echoes of Regret W 126 Surviving the Hellatus & Avoiding Wank 128 Fic Rec-Destiel 130 Fanfiction Feature-Bent 134 Supernatural Funnies 142 Cosplay Features 156 Issue 1 Poll Results 158 Best Season 9 Finale Spec 159 Issue 2 Poll Questions

W =content warning; gore

Features Fanfiction Meta Analysis

contributors Thank you to these wonderful people who contributed their art, meta, graphics, fanfiction, poetry, and more!

Cover: wyverncas (Izzy) Content: Osric Chau, neven-ebrez, Iisaninjette (dA), carrionofmywaywardson, heyheyassbutt, thimbling, Octopifer, robbiedraws, diminuel, fassyhiddles, mycolour, abaddonshark, shieldofeden, crackedchassis, my-wayward-son-carry-on, georginoschkavincen, themadknightuniverse, anobviousaside, unbefreakinlivable, snaperiebaperie, captainlafitte, joaellaine, kayaczek, deathbycoldopen, crossroadscastiel, fuckitykidneys, pondlifeforme, feandra, snowlantern, camacaileonne, apocalipskiss (LJ), dirtyovercoats, singerofsimplesongs, dudewheresmypie, yarnyfan, yaelstiel, dustydreamsanddirtyscars, drsilverfish, dumplingdean, hellredsky, gin-and-djinn, pirrofarfalla, yellow-turtle, sluttycas, obsessionisaperfume, proxy-1, unbearable-bear, sleepsintheimpala, supernaturalapocalypse, thorinn, michaelique, croatoansammy, whispersinpurgatory, katarinacosplay, mother-of-moths (dA), compassionatedragon, isaisanisa, destielsfluff, wormwoodworms, dahliasheng, tsuki-nekota, depraved-o, casfucker (heather), little knitting noodle (etsy), papyrusaurus (etsy), kasumi crafts (etsy), witchcraftsgifts (etsy)

*Unless otherwise noted, all names are from tumblr

“

No One Makes Us Do Anything “

What the hell are meta writers talking about when they say, ‘PR is not showrunning’?

By neven-ebrez

So, let’s talk about PR. What is PR? PR stands for Public Relations. This is the wikipedia opening statement on the subject: Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing the spread of information between an individual or an organization and the public. Public relations may include an organization or individual gaining exposure to their audiences using topics of public interest and news items that do not require direct payment. The aim of public relations by a company often is to persuade the public, investors, partners, employees, and other stakeholders to maintain a certain point of view concerning it’s leadership, products and political decisions. Common activities include speaking at conferences, winning industry awards, working with the press, and employee communication.

Basically, PR is how companies and people in power talk to the public. Usually, PR requires a whole lot of reading between the lines in order to get a good picture on what is going on behind the scenes. Sometimes, PR is used to pacify people, to “sugarcoat” the truth, this is called putting a “spin” on it. That’s usually for politics or when a business does something nasty.

What is PR in relation to Supernatural?

The term PR covers all interaction that ‘The Powers That Be’ have with the fandom.

They are the company and we are the consumer. This interaction equation includes Twitter, where TPTB are frequently bombarded with fans asking for spoilers and validation for their interpretations. It also includes cons and interviews, where the actors answer questions at either informal panels to the entertainment of the crowd or in more formal settings where practiced interviewers ask them one on one questions.

Normally, a company is cohesive in their PR and everything filters down from the head honcho. The main guy in charge usually hires professionals that help them brand the company’s image, to manage their “message” or whatever. When something bad happens, let’s use the BP oil disaster mess a few years ago, a company’s PR usually falls on the boss and his PR team. Part of PR is understanding who is upset, who is affected, and trying to get back to the business of making money ASAP. Now, normally in a bad PR situation, if the company screwed up, money is thrown at the situation and the people affected. If the screw

up is bad enough, as the person in charge, you’d have a team working to coach you on how you need to word things to the people affected. A professional at sucking up and managing crisis would basically be drafting scripts and putting elegant, educated opinions into your mouth for you.

PR in the entertainment business is slightly different. Everyone has their own opinion, which is why we get that little disclaimer before commentary, which doesn’t reflect the opinion of the show runner or parent company necessarily, in the case of Supernatural, the WB. Now, a lot of the time, companies include a PR clause within an actor’s contract. I think it is fairly obvious that Supernatural uses this. Jensen, Jared, Misha and Mark frequently must go to events such as Comic Con and “sell” the new season. This is called, “toeing the party line”.

What then of events like Creation and Rogue? These are not altogether the same. For Creation and Rogue, the actors are being paid by that company to be at the convention and speak. From everything that I can tell, this functions somewhat outside of their PR clause in their acting contract. This, however, doesn’t mean they can just say whatever. We’ve seen Misha frequently preface statements with, “I’m not sure I should be telling you this…,” followed by revealing something cut from the script. This means that at all times, some kind of PR clause is at play, if only in the capacity that they can’t bad talk certain writing decisions without facing “trouble”.

From what I’ve seen, Carver cannot force PR onto the actors beyond promoting new storylines and speaking well of the show.

So… what do we get? A whole range of opinions that don’t reflect the contracted boss’ thoughts or structure. PR that doesn’t, sometimes partially, sometimes fully, reflect the intent of either the showrunner or the text that the showrunner is responsible for, much less the parent company the showrunner is contracted to. Jared, for example, post season 8 PR season, has frequently said that he didn’t like the Sam and Amelia storyline. Jared thought that Sam was unhappy and that the storyline was “weak”, as per his JIBCON 2014 comments, yet to promote the new storyline he talked about it in a positive light, citing that Sam was happy. He does this in several interviews, yet later claims the storyline left much to be desired. One is obviously his opinion and the other is the “sell” the showrunner made him do. The storyline obviously played out only one way regardless of Jared’s thoughts on the matter. Sam found something hopeful, yet messy, with Amelia and was obviously upset to let “the woman he loves” go in order to close the Gates of Hell. There was nothing happy about the end of 8x10.

Let’s find another example, shall we?

Here’s a post by tumblr user crossroadscastiel because she beat me to this example: "The character (benny) itself i think was really cool, because dean’s never really had a relationship anywhere close to that. his relationship with his brother is what it is, and everybody

knows about that, then there’s the relationship with cas, which was strained and tattered and torn, and there was a whole bunch of stuff there. but to have somebody who was a war hero with you, to have a brother-in-arms kind of thing, was something that hadn’t really been explored.”

- crossroadscastiel I just wanted to point out that in this interview Jensen explicitly stated that the relationship with Benny was the first “brotherin-arms” relationship Dean has had, and that with Cas there was a “whole bunch of stuff there”. I know interviews are just PR, but statements such as this that may conflict with things that were said at a certain con over the weekend should let you know that sometimes when they say things, it’s not necessarily the whole truth, and it’s certainly not the only truth. Dean and Cas, in many ways, are brothers-in-arms, having bonded through shared trauma and tragedy, but this is one time where Jensen has acknowledged that it’s clearly a bit more complex and complicated than that. So you should literally take every statement, especially those that conflict with canon and/or the structure of the show, with a huge grain of salt. And especially those that conflict with statements made by the same person in the recent past.

Now, if we’ll recall, the Dean/Benny relationship was used to contrast the Dean/Cas one within the narrative. In fact, Benny basically was Cas, as far as narrative mirrors go; someone went against his kind for a human, had to struggle against his nature as a

By thimblings & heyheyassbutt

supernatural creature. Yet the actual Dean/ Benny relationship is not at all like the Dean/Cas one. That was reflected in the structure and the show-running. Again, there are two polarized pieces of PR with only ONE favoring what actually translated on-screen.

no reason not to believe this guy,” represent flat out misdirection. Why? Well… because fandom had already seen right through “Ezekiel” and Carver had to save a little face. For those good at reading between the lines, this statement instead read as a confirmation of “Ezekiel“‘s position within the narrative.

And one last example for the road.

Where does that leave us?

At SDCC 2012 Misha talked about the ending of season 7 and how season 8 began. He said that Cas leaving Dean could be for one of two reasons: To find provisions to help Dean or to simply save his own hide, leaving Dean to the wolves. We got neither of these. We learn that Cas did left Dean to the wolves, but he did it to save Dean, to protect him, and to also do penance. The pre-season PR revealed none of this and understandably so. To talk of Cas’ reason of leaving Dean would be to reveal important overarching season information. The showrunning in this case, did not match the PR at all.

This is what meta writers mean when they say “PR is not show-running”.

PR is, mostly, orchestrated to promote new lines, which makes us curious which is then used by actors once the storyline has passed to express what they really think, to a restricted degree obviously. In my opinion, only the “before the storyline airs” PR can be indicative of showrunner intent. The showrunner gives them the “party line” notes and explains what they need to “sell” before the season starts. On the other hand, statements from Carver like, "The trust and everything we saw in Tahmoh when he was playing him, I think we have

Tumblr user silvenhorror talked about this here. We need to stop fishing for validation and spoilers out of PR can #1, the only can we have access to, when it is not the same thing as show-running can #2, which has a tight lid on it. We simply watch the show and analyze. That’s the nature of the beast.

Does it suck for Destiel supporters that Jensen won’t even acknowledge what he puts on the screen? You betcha. But ultimately, it’s what is on the screen that is important, not what is said at a con, because the general audience doesn’t know anything about that stuff. Through structure, not PR, the bones of the story are exposed. Some bones are directly, immediately connected, while some we must follow for a while before we see where they go.

Now, I’ve been in the fandom for only a year and a half and during that time I’ve come to accept one truth and one truth only: Carver is never going to define Dean/Cas for you through PR, nor is he going to spoil the future of that plot point. He allows the text to simply speak for itself. When you ignore all PR, which isn’t 100% within Carver’s control, you see the show-running for what it really is. That’s what meta writers are talking about all the time. You can

never trust PR. It is teasing. It is frequently misdirection. There’s honestly no telling if the actors are telling you what Carver has told them to say or if they are giving you simply their opinions, which, while valid, do not cancel out other interpretations, much less structure. The show will always tell you everything you need to know and the PR will tell you nothing, unless you are very good at reading between the lines and even then you don’t know if you’re looking at misdirection or not.

Learn this and decide what you want to do with your hope for explicit canon Destiel. Think long and hard. Because Carver? He’s not going to tell you what you want to hear, and Jensen probably never will either. Yes, hope is scary, but it shouldn’t be frail. Not when it comes to show-running versus PR. Either decide to believe it’s a possibility, because it definitely is, or decide not to, but do so by looking at the proper deciding factor: the show. Because Supernatural’s PR? It leaves much to be desired and is indicative of exactly zilch.

“What makes a story work? Is it the plot, the characters, the text?

The subtext? And who gives a story meaning? Is it the writer? Or you? “

Breaking Down “Meta Fiction” The Plot, The Characters, and The Subtext By zerostumbleine33

The Plot In this episode, Dean and Cas carry the heavy part of the myth arc, each having to make choices after having their weaknesses exposed. Dean clearly begins to feel the burden of the Mark of Cain and must face his own anger and rage that has been internalized for years but largely kept at bay.

Now he struggles to control himself while simultaneously coming face to face with some of his deepest fears. The scene between Dean and Gadreel is one of the most interesting I have seen in a while. Castiel also must face what it means to be family, as he embraces support and guidance from Gabriel, only to have it be fictional. He must face his fear of failure, of screwing up everything again, and make a choice whether or not to lead.

As Gadreel is tied up to be tortured by Dean, Dean admits that he doesn’t care if Gadreel talks. He says he plans to make Gadreel pay for what he has done. Gadreel tells him, “I’ve been in your brother’s body, Dean, and he would not trade his life for yours”. Gadreel then hits him harder by bringing up his daddy issues, his neediness.

The parts that Dean is so ashamed of, that

are part of why he hates himself.

What I find interesting though, is that this is true. This is what Gadreel knows from being inside Sam, and somewhere in the recesses of Sam’s mind…he has had these thoughts. It hurts because it comes from somewhere real. I don’t think it makes Sam a bad person, but he’s critical of others and himself. He doesn’t give his thoughts a real voice, but he did say these things to Dean.

“You’re afraid of being alone”. No wonder the, “I need you,” in the crypt scene was such a big deal; Dean doesn’t allow himself to show that side to others because of this very real fear of being told he’s just afraid to be alone.

Gadreel steels himself for his death and Dean lunges forward but Dean stops himself. Gadreel says “Do it, kill me”. He’s not afraid of being left to rot; he’s afraid of Metatron reclaiming him and forcing him to kill. Dean looks in the mirror at himself, at the mark, and makes a decision. After Sam finds him, collapsed from exhaustion and next to a knocked out angel, Dean says, “He wanted to die, and I was going to kill him”.

It’s important that we are not shown how Dean pulled himself back from the edge, or if he even did so. Was it worse that he denied Gadreel death? Was it worse that he kept him alive only to beat him to the point of unconsciousness; an angel beaten by a human through brute force? After an experience that made Dean so weak he was unable to stand, I am not sure he did pull himself back from the edge. The first time, Sam was barely able to get Dean to look at him.

are turning in his head, but he simply walks away. We have to wonder, is he a welldrawn character? And if so, how is he going to surprise us? He’s been given to us as a traditional bad guy, we have every reason to hate him; but whose story is this and who is writing it? I’m betting on him leaving that door wide open, and as Dean said, they’re looking for the “Stairway to Heaven”.

After the boys meet up with Metatron to trade Cas, and a very failed attempt to capture Metatron, we’re left to wonder how much of that was actually real? When Gabriel couldn’t break through holy fire, Metatron can? Despite him telling Gadreel that his capture was not part of the plan; was that the truth? It all felt very orchestrated and it put Cas right where Metatron wanted him.

Then Gadreel speaks with Metatron, inside heaven; thus Crowley was lying at the start of the season. Metatron asks him, “Is the door secure?” and Gadreel says, “The way home is safe”. This reminds us of 8.21 where Sam snuck into hell through a “backdoor” through purgatory. There is a backdoor to hell, and I have a feeling that Gadreel is going to leave it wide open.

As Metatron says, “The by-product of having well drawn characters is, they may surprise you”, Gadreel looks as if he has more to say, like the wheels

By thimblings

The Characters Metatron: The episode begins with a rather lengthy recap of the season, summarizing the season quite handily, before beginning in a rather unique intro, versus the traditional cold-open Supernatural tends to open with.

The music, Sinfonies de Fanfares: Rondeau, plays and the opening is an obvious allusion to Masterpiece Theatre, as Metatron types up a story on his typewriter.

Masterpiece Theatre was most notably known for its adaptations of novels, a theme perpetuated by shows recently premiered on the channel: Sherlock and Downton Abbey, which were referenced in this episode.

Upon re-watch of the episode, we can see that what Metatron is typing is the conversation Gabriel and Castiel are to have later in the episode. As the camera pans up, Metatron begins to address the audience, or as we will later see, addressing Castiel.

He asks a few questions, and the theme of the episode is obvious. While breaking the 4th wall, he first asks us, “What makes a story work?”

“Is it the plot, the characters, the text…” before he takes a drink, a long pause and the camera angle shifts to an up-close and intimate view, “the subtext?” He then asks, “Who gives a story meaning? Is it the writer, or you?”

The title card plays only to be disrupted by a new one displaying wings, a bright heavenly background and the words

“Metatron”. Ever the egotist, he’s writing this story with himself as the hero.

Throughout the episode, we see Metatron writing his story, giving tips on writing, noting, “never publish the first draft”.

Upon Cas discovering the flaw in the story, the continuity error, Metatron looks at the tear in Castiel’s coat, pulling off a stray string; an interesting allusion to the “Pull the String” trope, which results in the catastrophic collapse of a villain’s house-ofcards scheme. Pulling the string causes the whole sweater, or plan, to unravel, and Metatron’s downfall will likely be his own hubris.

He makes a reference to “Inspector Gregory” from the Sherlock Holmes series, which confuses Cas, of course. But this sort of reference kind of just misses the mark…like that one friend who says something that shouldn’t be obscure but it kind of is. Why doesn’t he just mention Sherlock, or even John Watson? No, he references Gregory Lestrade, who is indeed a detective but isn’t the series, “Sherlock Holmes: The Great Detective”. He mentions Sherlock second; Metatron must have something against main characters, clearly, spurred by both his interest and loathing of Castiel who is after all, a main character and a reluctant hero at this point.

Much like when Castiel is given the knowledge of pop culture, Metatron fails to really understand it. Interestingly enough, he mentions Cas having been around for millennia, a call-back to 6.20, and then says

By abaddonshark

almost verbatim what Meg said to Cas in 8.17, “Would it kill you to pick up a book?”

After giving Cas all his knowledge on stories, movies, books, etc., he asks if Cas understands now; which is interesting because Metatron still does not understand. You don’t absorb the knowledge to have it; you read a book to immerse yourself in the story, to sit in the theatre and cry as the superhero fails to save the city the first time. It’s why Metatron still does not understand it, and why Cas doesn’t understand the point of making a reference or the emotional attachment of knowing these things. Metatron’s that guy who reads the last page of book just to know how it ends but somehow misses all the middle bits.

He does it yet again, trying to make a play on the rules of “Fight Club”, but he misses the fact the first rule is always, “You don’t talk about fight club”. But he says, “Steal from the best”, and we again see that Metatron really just doesn’t get it, despite him saying that same thing to Castiel.

His true misunderstanding of the point of stories is why he cannot write a good one and why ultimately, his characters will defeat him despite all the power he wields as the writer. In fact, by doing so, the show is telling us and giving us the power by saying we make the story and take it places the author’s never saw coming. Now if all the writers would get on board with that, we’d probably have a different season without so many ‘continuity errors’.

Gabriel: A caricature of the actual Gabriel, we have ‘meta Gabriel’, get it…Metatron as well as meta, following a script written by Metatron. He’s full to brimming with pop culture quips and snarky humor. It’s almost unnoticeable in a close approximation of his character but just shy of the mark; it’s a fan -fiction, the kind that is almost great but then some lines just make you cringe.

Gabriel: “You weren’t let into Mensa while I was gone,” a line that reeks of Metraton’s influence.

Gabriel: “You and the other two stooges had to go and ruin Christmas.”

Interesting as we saw Metatron had the Supernatural Christmas book on his desk at the start of the episode.

Gabriel: “I want your help, Columbo,” Columbo, a homicide detective in a show of the same name, which was the canon inspiration for Castiel’s character.

In the car, meta!Gabriel tells Cas that the other angels can’t handle free will, “But us, we’re different”. This is Metatron speaking directly to Cas, particularly when Cas asks why he is doing this. Meta!Gabriel replies that he is tired of running and doesn’t want to run anymore; he wants to do what he was meant to do, which is lead. This sums up Metatron’s entire story, or what he believes to be his story, at least.

Maybe Metatron took some inspiration

from the Supernatural books, as he writes a scene where the big brother sacrifices himself for his younger brother and gives him encouraging words before sharing a hug.

Until Cas figures it all out. But we’re left still wondering, is Gabriel alive? I would put money on “yes”, he is. He broke character, the meta!Gabriel script thrown to the side at the end. I would guess that, yes he is alive and maybe we will see him again, another door left open.

Gadreel Gadreel is one of the most interesting characters in a while in my opinion. He’s being written like a red herring; we’re supposed to hate him. He kills Kevin, he kills an old friend, which makes us question his ideas of loyalty and he’s doing Metatron’s bidding in order to elevate his own status.

What is his deal? He goads Dean along to try to be killed, but why? In this episode we see him murder the friendly head shop guy, a chilling reminder of what he did to Kevin.

Why would he do that? Again, we aren’t being shown some parts of the story, so we’re left to assume the worst. Again we have to ask, whose truth is this and from what point of view?

I would venture to say that Gadreel has been less than happy with his choice to follow Metatron. He was hesitant to kill Kevin, and now slaughtering how many of his brethren? He has a part to play in the story and I don’t think it is as obvious as just a lackey to the “big bad”.

The Subtext Our attention was immediately drawn to the subtext of this episode as there was a definite emphasis around it during Metatron’s intro. It came from Metatron but it’s also an “author’s note” of sorts, a big arrow pointing to something that they acknowledge to play a part in a story and “what makes a story”. Any good writer knows this as well, and it certainly plays a large part of this episode. But let’s back up for just a moment. What is subtext?

“Subtext is content of a book, play, musical work, film, video game, or television series which is not announced explicitly by the characters, or author, but is implicit or becomes something understood by the observer of the work as the production unfolds.”

Subtext is content underneath the spoken dialogue. Subtext is the unspoken thoughts and motives of characters—what they really think and believe.

Three times in this episode, Dean is asked the question, “Are you ok?” in various forms. Sam asks twice, and Cas asks twice.

In the first scene with the brothers, Dean rubs at the mark, bringing attention to it, but refuses to open up to Sam, saying “Yeah, I’m fine”. Later, Cas calls with information about Gadreel working with Metatron, I’m surprised it took this long for them to find this out honestly. The conversation shifts away from being “all business” however when Cas absently mutters a question about the mini-bar.

By diminuel

By hellredsky

By snaperie-baperie

Cas: “What’s honorable about a miniature bar in a hotel room?”

Dean: “Everything” he says, with a small, sad grin; an allusion to his alcoholism, which is in full swing once again.

The tone shifts as we see Cas smile gently, and despite having already heard Dean speaking about the case, he addresses Dean singularly, rather than the general conversation occurring between the three of them.

“How are you Dean?” he asks, the second time someone asks Dean that in 8 minutes of screen time.

Dean flashes a look to Sam, hesitantly. It’s open to interpretation, the subtext you could say, but it looks as if Dean wants to open up but is reluctant to in front of Sam. He looks closed off once again as he responds saying.

Dean: “I’m fine, Cas. How ‘bout you?”

The camera pans to Sam watching this interaction, as the outsider. He’s an unwillingly audience to this conversation that sounds like it would have gone very differently, and probably helped Dean more, if he hadn’t been listening in. He looks at Dean and then down, awkwardly shifting in the frame as Cas responds.

Cas: “I miss my wings. Life on the road… smells.”

The camera returns to Dean, highlighting

his response. A sad smile crosses his face, one he doesn’t mean to show. Dean who just looks so sad and broken in this episode and he still can’t help that tiny bit of a smile, albeit bittersweet. He tilts his head to the side in agreement; as he is well accustomed to the smells of dirty hotel rooms with unwashed sheets and terrible water pressure. Dean knows it all too well and how much it sucks. Sam interrupts the conversation, steering the conversation back to ‘business’. ***

Cas calls Dean, on his other, other cell phone…Cas apparently has all the numbers, which goes to voicemail. Gabriel snatches the phone away telling Cas to keep his eyes on the road; a quiet nod to the fandom’s jokes that Dean and Sam will die in a car accident rather than by Supernatural causes, because Dean spends too much time looking at Sam and having “heartfelt” moments.

Gabriel: “Your boy-toy and I are rolling our way towards your top secret domicile”, after having referred to himself as the “hot one” who died for their sins.

Gabriel: “After it was raining winged men, hallelujah.”

Another gay reference and most likely another fandom reference to a meme the circulated after the S8 finale when the angels fell and Dean looked into the sky saying that. Again subtext is in inherent to understanding the episode.

The filming is meant to parallel the ‘brothers’ in the car bonding, with Cas in the driver’s seat, essentially playing Dean, and Gabriel in Sam’s seat. Once Gabriel is done with his long monologue rife with gay subtext and wordier than normal exposition, he turns the conversation back to their family.

He says that they are rebels, “One without a cause, one with”, and we have to wonder what is Cas’ cause? What is this cause that Metatron perceives Cas to have? These are interesting points for later.

After Cas figures out that Gabriel is not real, that the whole scenario is an alternate universe, Gabriel says “I really hate continuity errors”, a subtle knock at some of the writing in this season perhaps.

Gabriel: “None of it was real, but all of it was truth.”

Cas: “Whose truth?”

Again, we’re given that same question of what is real and what is truth, and from whose point of view? Whose interpretation is more valid? *** The final scene with Team Free Will has loads of interesting subtext and small allusions to other episodes. As Cas understands a Death Star reference, Dean looks like he’s at a loss for words before he asks, “Are you sure you’re alright?”

Cas responds that he is, and again asks Dean if he is alright, saying “There’s some-

thing different about you”, similar to the way 2014 End-verse Cas knew immediately that something was different about Dean.

Sam seems to look on awkwardly, again the outsider, as he says nothing but allows Dean to decide if he should tell Cas about the Mark of Cain.

Dean instead tells Cas he is fine and pats his shoulder in fake reassurance, but Cas grabs his wrist immediately and yanks up his sleeve to look at the Mark. Dean looks down at it in shame, but looks back at Cas with a challenging stare. It isn’t until Cas says “What have you done?” that Dean yanks his arm back and closes off again.

Dean tells him it is a means to an end, to which Cas says, “Dammit Dean”, a mimicry of the tell-tale Dean phrase whenever Cas has traditionally fucked up before. The camera pans to Sam who looks concerned but also awkward as he watches this conversation; another private one that should take place without him watching. The tension and unspoken words between Dean and Castiel are tangible and it only highlights the difference between Dean and Cas versus Dean and Sam. Paired with what might be some very truthful and painful feelings about how Sam views Dean, one can speculate on what that means about the show’s finale might include.

As the episode ends on with a poignant song choice, “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore”, we see Cas tear down his ‘hunters’ wall and cast off his coat, a symbol of his free will, while doing so.

The scene fades from Castiel, in a classically romantic scene as the impala drives by a sunset, panning back to a profile view of Castiel. He puts his coat back on as he decides to become a leader and we see Metatron typing out the scene. I’m wondering if this choice is entirely one Cas has made for himself with the drive to succeed this time, or if we’re going to get a reset button on this one? Either way, I eagerly await the final three episodes of this season.

5x04 | 9x18 It doesn’t matter what timeline or universe, whether he’s human or angel, or even stoned out of his mind…Cas knows Dean.

By pondlifeforme

By camacaileonne

Untitled

Words: 642

Pairing: Dean/Cas

Rating: PG

Genre: Canon-based post 9.18

Warnings: None

A few days later, after regrouping with his brethren, Castiel, while driving down the interstate, sees a road sign indicating the distance to Riverside, Iowa. He pulls the car over to the shoulder and quickly snaps a picture with his phone. Before he starts the car again, avoiding Hannah’s questioning look and obvious but unvoiced confusion from his passenger seat, he sends the picture off to Dean.

That night, after he checks into his hotel room, knowing Hannah is safe down the hall, he looks at his new messages. He has one from Dean. As he clicks it, he smiles at the dim, glowing light of the screen.

Dean [5:37]: do u even know what that is?

Castiel [23:06]: It’s James T. Kirk’s future birthplace I believe. From Star Trek and its ensuing sequels, Castiel writes back, hoping this will all sound very impressive to Dean. He doesn’t know what to make of the knowledge himself.

Dean’s reply is quick.

Dean [23:06]: god u sound like memory alpha Castiel frowns down at the phone in his hand, as he takes a seat on the still-made bed. It’s no matter; he won’t be sleeping in it tonight.

Castiel [23:07]: I don’t know what that is.

Dean [23:07]: ah, there’s the old Cas By dirtovercoats

By robbiedraws

Castiel can’t see it, obviously, but something in him tells him that Dean was smiling as he wrote that, and suddenly, a strange, swelling sensation bubbles within the cavity of his chest.

Before he knows it, he’s pressing the button to call Dean.

"I’ve still never seen it, you know," he says into the receiver as soon as he hears Dean pick up.

He wonders, idly, if his voice sounds panicked, desperate. He feels too much these days to always be able to parse out individual emotions, himself. His lungs feel tense in a way that he knows cerebrally is not from a lack of oxygen, but they feel oddly winded and full all at once.

"I know it,” he continues, “but I’ve never seen it. I don’t—” he huff, cuts himself off, trying to find the right words. On the other end of the line, Dean’s steady breathing comforts him.

"It’s strange," he finally says, voice quieter. "I feel like Jack O’Neill in Stargate SG-1 after he downloaded the Ancient’s repository of knowledge into his brain, but still couldn’t make sense of any of it. I can’t make sense of that fact that I know that reference, even,” he adds as an afterthought.

He feels a twinge of guilt over unloading all this on Dean, whom he knows now must be dealing with far more than he can bear alone. But Dean has his number, and so Castiel consoles himself with the thought that if Dean wants to talk, he will talk. He has to tell himself this, otherwise he would never make it anywhere at all with his brothers and sisters because he’d be turning straight back around to Kansas. Castiel feels guilt over that, too.

So much about humanity is also about guilt these days that Castiel wonders ruefully if that is not one of the key things humans and angels have in common.

"You know, when all this is over…" Dean voice breaks the silence. "When you come back home we’ll marathon it okay, buddy? Both. Star Trek, Star Wars, Star-gate… Starship Troopers," Dean laughs into the phone at his own joke. It sounds oddly hollow, like he wants to be happy, but isn’t. Castiel knows how that feels.

His chest aches a little tighter, but Castiel smiles, a sweet, small thing. Dean says home and it is pure onomatopoeia to Castiel’s ears: for there is nothing like home than the rough, tender edges of Dean’s voice.

"I’d like that, Dean," he says.

He thinks he hears Dean smile wistfully. “Me too.”

8x17 // 9x18

This is interesting, this parallel.

Because it’s very, very obvious if you remember the scene with Meg at all, so it should pop out to, well, pretty much anybody. So why is it here? As a cute little reference? Yeah, in an episode that’s about storytelling and subtext and all of that juicy stuff, sure.

We could probably look at it as just a nice callback to Meg, the demon who bonded with Cas, even called him her unicorn. We could remember how their relationship was interesting and dynamic, and how it had definite and pretty undeniable sexual and maybe even romantic undertones, maybe one sided, maybe not. We could think about Meg/Castiel, and maybe look at it as a reminder about this borderline romantic relationship Cas had before he was even human.

By deathbycoldopen

But, I keep thinking about what Robbie Thompson said at Burcon, about how he didn’t think Meg and Cas were soulmates, that he didn’t know if Meg was even capable of love. How during 8x17 he watched everyone blow up over that scene and wanted to tell them all to just wait for it, get ready for the crypt scene between Dean and Cas. And I can’t help but think that maybe the fact that Metatron says the line is a little bit significant. Because Metatron is the villain, paralleling a line said by a morally, dark, grey demon who dies later on in that same episode. Because a few seconds later, Metatron reaches into Cas’ mind and dumps thousands of years of culture into his head without permission or understanding that just the history of human stories isn’t enough to convert Cas to his cause.

So maybe this was a reference not to a sweet moment in an episode filled with angst, but rather to a relationship that seemed to spell doom to the tension that had been building up between Dean and Cas and yet died while Dean and Cas had one of the most romantic scenes they’d had yet. Maybe having Metatron say the same words that Meg did is there to remind us that Dean was right in 8x17, we can’t really trust Megstiel over there to be endgame or anything close to it.

Or, maybe it’s just telling us that Metatron is going to die really, really soon. Who knows?

By fassyhiddles

Gabriel’s Return “ B i t c h , p l e a s e . Yo u ' v e been God more of ten than Dad has. “

“ H e y, w h a t ' s u p , s h o r t i e s ?

Remember me, the guy who died for your sins? “

I Need You (I Love You)

It doesn’t hit him until later. Much later. In fact, he doesn’t even remember it until he stops at a Gas-n-Sip for some extra supplies.

The cashier’s name is Louise. And suddenly Cas remembers a hotel room and not enough personal space.

“So, what — I’m Thelma and you’re Louise, and we’re just gonna hold hands and sail off this cliff together?" Dean had asked.

Cas suddenly has a vague picture of two women in a car as they kiss. Cas smiles. The cashier probably looks at him funny.

By singerofsimplesongs

By thimblings & heyheyassbutt

Dean took the angel who he’d allowed to possess his brother, because he couldn’t fathom a world where Sam was dead, and tortured that angel until Gadreel was unconscious.

Unconscious. What kind of trauma would an angel have to endure before they blacked out? Especially considering that in the past we’ve seen that hitting an angel causes more pain to the fist than the angel. Can Dean cause that kind of damage because of the Mark, because somehow it burns strength into his arm? Or is his pain, his anger, his addiction so strong that he has to let it out in a violent, bloody outburst?

abandonment, scared of doing the wrong thing and facing Dad’s retribution, scared of losing his place in the world and so he possesses Sam against his will; he took that angel and tortured him, and when that angel begged to die, Dean didn’t let him.

Dean didn’t kill Gadreel because he wanted to punish the angel, punish himself, punish them both. Gadreel tells him all the things that he’s already telling himself, that Sam doesn’t love him, has never loved him, that he isn’t worth loving, and Dean uses the wrath of Cain to torture him until they’re both lying on the ground, beaten into shells of what they were just a few hours before. Dean doesn’t kill Gadreel because Gadreel wants to die. What he fears is living trapped for an eternity in chains.

Dean took the angel who possessed his brother, chained him up, tortured him, and Dean wants to die, but what he’s done to listened to him beg to die. He took the anhimself instead has condemned him to an gel who reflected back to him all the worst eternity trapped in Hell. parts of himself, the parts that are scared of By deathbycoldopen

9.18 | Meta Fiction He reminded me so much of a lost kid in that scene. The way he was crouching against the wall, exhausted and horrified. He’s talking to Sam as if he was trying to convince himself that this is what actually happened… that the ‘bad’ thing he did was almost killing Gadreel when in reality the truly horrible thing was that he didn’t kill him: not because ‘they needed him to talk’ but because Gadreel wanted to be killed.

By snowlantern & feandra

The Problem with

SUBTEXT Season 9, while not the first season of Supernatural to draw question from the audience about the subtext, has been arguably one of the most contradictory seasons within itself.

While some episodes seem to pander to homosexual subtext, others completely defy it and, in fact, sometimes poke fun at the audience for any other reading than a ‘hetero-normative’ one. This is an inherent problem within Supernatural, particularly due to its long running nature, which causes the audience to ask, “Where is this going?”

However, I think even more telling than the authors wrestling with the use of subtext within the show, is the disparity between how each writer uses it. This was clearly a very ‘meta’ episode with a lot of side commentary about the season interwoven with the story. The quip about continuity errors may have made a casual fan chuckle but it was quite literally a minor jab at some of the writing, especially this season, from other writers.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Robbie Thompson, this episode’s writer, was interested in bringing the story out of just the subtextual hints. Whereas other writers opt to be more conservative, and instead wish to remove the subtext and thus remove the ‘evidence’ that the story is being written with any queer subtext at all. This episode was Robbie largely suggesting that how we interpret and read the story is what makes the story, not the author’s intention. As we all know though, that’s not really enough in terms of representation and the ‘straight reading’ is still given precedence and weight over the ‘subtext’ that a ‘queer reading’ is afforded. So it’s not just enough to say ‘interpret how you will’.

As Robbie pointed out in this episode, writer’s errors, continuity errors, can bring the whole story down. By refusing to embrace the slight surprises your characters and story bring despite it not being part of the original plan, you fail as a writer. The commentary on this episode applies to the entire season’s writing, as especially in this season, so many episodes have featured errors with the Supernatural storyline and mythos, ones that fans have been quick to pick up on and call out.

Will Destiel become textually canon? Who knows at this point, but we have at least one writer on our side, who says that reading is a valid interpretation and that to avoid utilizing it would be the writer’s mistake.

By zerostumbleine33

By crackedchassis

By apocalipskiss

By fuckitykidneys

8x17 // 9x18 Both “Goodbye Stranger” and “Meta Fiction” were written by Robbie Thompson, and directed

by Thomas J. Wright. It’s no coincidence then that were several common themes shared by these two episodes.

They were stark contrasts to one another in many ways, with Dean and Cas seemingly having switched places. In “Goodbye Stranger”, it is Cas who is being controlled by Naomi; in “Meta Fiction”, Dean is being changed by the Mark of Cain. In “Goodbye Stranger”, Cas leaves Dean standing in a crypt; in “Meta Fiction”, Dean leaves Cas standing in a parking lot.

Throughout season 8, and the first half of season 9, it was Dean who showed great concern for Cas and his wellbeing. Now, it is Cas who is showing great concern for Dean. They know each other so well, and they can sense when something is not right. Dean knew Cas wasn’t right when he got back from Purgatory, and Cas sensed right away that there was something different about Dean after seeing him for the first time since he took on the Mark of Cain.

Both episodes end with music being switched on, followed by somber car rides with Sam looking concerned, as he knows Dean has just had incredibly emotionally draining moments with Cas. The song that plays at the end of “Goodbye Stranger” is the episode’s namesake: “Goodbye stranger it’s been nice Hope you find your paradise Tried to see your point of view Hope your dreams will all come true Goodbye Mary, Goodbye Jane Will we ever meet again Feel no sorrow, feel no shame Come tomorrow, feel no pain” In “Meta Fiction”, the song, “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore”, plays as the episode comes to a conclusion: “Loneliness is the coat you wear A deep shade of blue is always there The sun ain’t gonna shine anymore The moon ain’t gonna rise in the sky Tears are always clouding your eyes When you’re without love” Both are incredibly fitting songs; the first about a wayward lover, the second about deep abiding loneliness. It’s also interesting that the song playing in “Meta Fiction” contains the lyrics “I need you”, which as we all know is something Dean said to Cas in “Goodbye Stranger”. I know many of us have been waiting for a reverse crypt scene, and I think last night we at least got part of one, in a way. Only this time, with a lot less violence, and far more love and concern on Cas’ part. Perhaps this is an indicator of things to come. Perhaps this is an indication that the angel who knows Dean so well will be the one to break the connection next time.

By crossroadscastiel

Supernatural S9 Viewership 3.00

U.S. VIEWERS IN MILLIONS

S9 STATISTICS

2.50

2.00

1.50

1.00

0.50

0.00

0

5

10

15 SEASON 9 EPISODES

Data from wikipedia

20

25

Alex Annie Alexis Anne

By hellredsky

Vampiric Stockholm Syndrome By drsilverfish

B

erens’ third episode for Supernatu-

ral, after “Heaven Can’t Wait” and “Captives”, brought us a dark psychodrama about grief and what it does to you and the people around you, when you bury it deep, let it fester and can’t move on.

Owing much to the horror genre, the episode played with the hearts of Jody Mills fans, offering us suspense scene after suspense scene in which Jody, alone in a cabin in the woods, nearly got slaughtered by the killers. But Sheriff Mills was the “final girl”, just like Jaime Lee Curtis in Halloween (1978). She survived, and more than that, she found the psycho-dramatic key to freedom for herself and Alex… She killed her dark mirror, the grieving vamp mother who, just like her, had lost a child but who had chosen to chain Alex to her as a replacement object. And then she offered Alex a choice – stay with me if you want and I will love you, but it’s your choice.

Speaking of mirrors, the narrative mirroring

structure in this episode rather resembles the circular story-telling in the Arabian Nights, because all the main characters mirror one another at various points.

Jody and Alex’s solution is the solution Dean and Sam need. Dean needs to slay his dark-mirror self, the one who buries his grief and who treats Sam as his child-object (the one who emulates John Winchester, a parent who did the same to both his boys).

Dean finally needs to give Sam a choice – stay with me if you want to and I will love you, but it’s your choice; if you leave, it is not (as John Winchester saw it) a betrayal, I will love you anyway.

It is no accident that Dean’s mirrors are mothers, not fathers (Jody and vamp foster mother). As much discussed in Tumblr fandom, Dean was forced into the role of primary care-giver for Sam (a Mary replacement) by his father’s grief-and-revenge driven emotional absenteeism (passing out drunk on the couch at Christmas, leaving his young boys alone in motel rooms whilst he was off hunting Shtriga).

Oh yes, John Winchester hangs very heavily over the S9 narrative. “Look at me, bitch!”

Dean yells at the young vamp-bro as he decapitates him. And we just know Dean is killing all the things he hates about himself (and has been taught to hate about himself) in that moment (including, the term “bitch” suggests, his sensitive, socially coded “feminine” side, which we all know he keeps in there, behind a front of macho bravado). Dean is still trapped in the “Daddy’s little soldier” script John Winchester imprinted on him from the day he ran out of a burning building with his baby brother in his arms.

It’s a bit of an understatement to say the Mark of Cain is not helping.

Alex mirrors both Sam and Dean as children. Their father buried his grief over Mary Winchester’s death in a driven quest for revenge which led him to do the one thing she would never have wanted, to raise them as killers (hunters) just as Alex was raised as a killer (lure for vamp food).

Sam and Dean buy vamp-bro’s line that Alex is complicit, because a violent childhood has been normalized for them, but Jody Mills is clear - Alex is a child in an abusive situation and she is not responsible for that. That’s too painful for Sam and Dean to look at straight up, because they have still not been able to acknowledge to one another (although at points they have done so individually) that their childhood was abusive. Sure John loved them, just as the vamp mother loved Alex, but love does not preclude abuse.

On another level, in keeping with the

(sometimes very poorly handled) overarching S9 theme of consent and violation, “Alex, Annie, Alexis, Ann” was about violation and victim-blaming. According to her vamp brothers, Alex was thoughtless, whiny and secretly enjoyed it (luring men to their deaths). Sam and Dean (and probably a bunch of viewers) were ready to buy that, until Jody stood up and said “No”.

Kim Rhodes gave Jody’s integrity, backbone and painful emotional honesty all the punch it deserved this week, whilst Jensen is taking Dean down into the self-loathing depths of himself, dark step by dark step, with a commitment that is physically painful to watch. Jared, meanwhile, is giving us a Sam trying to be stoic in the most terrible situation. Having been violated by Dean (via the Gadreel possession) he is now helplessly watching his brother-parent deteriorate.

Just like Alex, he loves someone who has cared for him but who has also wronged him terribly and who is in a very toxic state.

Berens is definitely one of my favorite writers of the season.

The episode’s title references the film Martha, Marcy, May, Marlene (2011) about a woman escaping from an abusive cult.

Can Dean escape from the abusive cult of his father’s legacy (the one that told him revenge came before everything else) or will “vampiric Stockholm syndrome” take him all the way into the dark?

By ginn-and-djinn

By crossroadscastiel

What Jody Represents By crossroadscastiel

W

hat Jody represented in 9x19 was a person devastated by grief and loss coming to

terms with the fact that sometimes you cannot fill the hole in your life with outside forces or with other people. She knows she has things she needs to deal with, but she’s not hiding from them anymore. She’s not going to depend on someone else to be the thing that dulls the ache. She’s going to feel the ache because sometimes that’s all you can do. But she is going to live because she is strong, and so is Dean. What she realized in the end is something he will come to know as well.

While Jody represented this grief-stricken but hopeful future, Mama Vamp represented the dark co-dependency that lives inside Dean. She also represented John and all of the things he placed on his boys. She is the thing inside his head telling him he can’t change, that this is all there is, that duty and family are everything. She manipulated Alex into doing what she wanted, convinced her it was all there was, that she had to stay. Alex was terrified of letting her Mama down, and I was reminded of Sam’s confession to Dean in that church. That his greatest sin was all the times he felt he let Dean down.

Dean is co-dependent, but so is Sam, and he wants out. He wants out, but the hope, manifested by Jody that lives inside Dean, wants out as well. He just doesn’t know how to do it yet.

When Jody killed Mama Vamp that said to me that no matter how dark things are about to get, in the end Dean will claw his way out of the darkness. Dean will let go. He has to let go.

He wants to let go, he just doesn’t know how to yet.

What Jody and Alex had in the end wasn’t a bond that was dependent on one another for survival, but one that acknowledged they can still lean on each other for love and support. This is what Sam and Dean need. Neither of them are ever going to be okay in the traditional sense, not with what they have come to know, and all the grief they have suffered. But what they can have is hope, and a relationship built on shared grief and love that isn’t toxic or suffocating. There is a light at the end of that tunnel, for both Sam and Dean, but in the end they will not choose each other. They will choose themselves, and then the healing can begin.

“Let me guess. You never had a teenage sister.

Dragging her heels, whining, near constant, about everything, but more and more about the blood, like she's somehow above it, like she's better than us 'cause she don't feed on people.”

“Her moping? That teenage crisis-ofconscience crap? It's annoying as hell, but it's just an act. When the chips are down, she'll always choose us over humans.”

Let me guess, you never had a teenage sister?

No, but he sure as hell had a teenage brother that matched those descriptions near perfectly.

One that, when the chips were down, would always choose family. What happened to that boy? Somewhere along the way he was lost, and it’s in the last shot that you see it.

See them both realizing how far they’ve come, and how different they used to be. Yeah, you could see it that way. But maybe that’s not it at all. Maybe what’s really being said is that Sam is still the same.

And when the chips are down and time is running out, when they’re scraping the bottom of the barrel in the battle against heaven and hell, he’ll make the right choice, and choose family.

And well, in the end, isn’t that kinda the whole point?

By dudewheresmypie

By mycolour

Dean and Weapons By dustydreamsanddirtyscars, yaelstiel, yarnyfan In the last few episodes we saw Dean turning a weapon towards himself three times. I am starting to think this is a pattern they are using consciously. Especially because every time the kill happens with a blade. But all of these instances truly make me much more certain that Dean stabbing himself with the first blade, maybe because Abbadon possesses him or maybe because he thinks it’s the only way to keep his loved ones safe from himself, is a possibility to how the season might end.

He is taking himself to the edge, pushing the act of the kill into the most satisfying violent way, to see what brings him most pleasure. He doesn’t care that the blade is pointing toward him, he doesn’t care if he’ll die. More than that, he craves the near-death feeling, he wants to experience death.

It’s all getting darker and darker. In,‘#Thinman,’ he kills with the ‘victim’s’ body pressed to him, feeling the life go out, kind of killing both of them. He is expe9x15 “#Thinman” , 9x18 “Meta Ficriencing death through another’s body. tion” , 9x19 “Alex Annie Alexis Ann” In ‘Alex Annie,’ that’s not enough for him. He is standing there, but he wants to feel more, he wants the ‘victim’ to look him in the eyes. Then he kills him, slowly, deliberately, yet again, when the ‘pointy end’ is pointed toward himself. He is experiencing death through their eyes, looking into the soul’s of his victims. He is looking for the satisfaction of death, the pleasure of oblivion.

Also, he had knives held to his own throat in both “Captives” and in “#THINMAN”, and was remarkably blasé about it - some people thought that in “Captives” he almost leaned into the knife a little. Does he suspect - or know? - that immortality is part of the Mark of Cain’s cost?

So that however much he craves his own death, he knows the only way he’ll ever experience it is vicariously?

4.11 & 9.19 By crossroadscastiel

Untitled Pairing: Sam/Jody

Sam

stared wistfully at Jody as she smeared mayo on a slice of bread.

Genre: Canon-based Words: 569

Rating: PG Warnings: None Author: dumplingdean

“Is there something you want to say, Sam?” she asked without looking up.

Sam felt his face burn with embarrassment and he shook his head. “No,” he said quickly.

Jody looked up at him and grinned, wincing as a sharp pain shot through her cheek. She let

out a little gasp and gritted her teeth.

“You alright?” Sam asked getting up and walking over to her.

She waved him away and smiled. “I’ll live,” she said quietly. She looked up at him, into his eyes and she suddenly felt a wave of emotion rise in her chest. Sam was looking down at her with the most curious expression on his face, as though he were seeing her for the first time.

He lifted his hand and cupped her cheek, the unhurt side and brushed his thumb against her skin.

“Sam…” her voice trailed off, soft and hoarse. She swallowed against the knot forming in her throat and blinked back at the tears that were prickling at her eyes.

Slowly, Sam leaned over and pressed his lips against her own. He was gentle, his lips feather light against hers.

His hand reached up and lightly curled his fingers around the base of her head, brushing his fingers against her pulse.

She closed her eyes and drew in a strangled breath, unable to think of anything else except the warmth and softness of Sam’s lips. She opened her mouth and Sam quickly darted his tongue inside, meeting her own, kissing her deeply. His other hand crept around her waist and he held onto her, the two of them lost in another world.

When Sam finally pulled back, Jody’s heart was racing in her chest. She felt a blush creep into her cheeks and she reached up to brush something off his chin. “What in the name of everything holy was that, Sam Winchester?” she asked softly, her head still partly in the clouds, her lips, tingling pleasantly.

Sam grinned and ran a hand through his hair. His other arm was still protectively wrapped around her waist, holding her close. “I’ve wanted to do that for a long, long time,” he said.

Jody scoffed at him. “And so you wait till I

look like the human lasagna to do it?” she teased.

Sam laughed and shook his head. “I don’t care what you look like, Jody, I just…seeing you like this…made me realize how much I would hate myself if…if I never got to kiss you at least once,” he stuttered.

Jody hummed and smiled. “Well…Dean won’t be back for another hour or so, right?” she asked.

Sam flushed but nodded. “Yeah.”

She smiled. “Well then, you know what they say, better late than never,” she said with a soft laugh.

Sam grinned and leaned over to kiss her again.

“Wait,” she said suddenly.

Sam pulled back and frowned. “Everything okay?” he asked looking around.

She pressed her hands against his chest and nodded. “Yeah, do you think we can move to the couch, it’s kinda hard standing on my tip toes,” she said with a little blush.

Sam grinned and nodded. He took her hand and pulled her over to the couch. He smiled when she leaned in for a kiss and he pulled her close.

Better late than never, he thought with a happy sigh.

By dumplingdean

Salt & Burn Magazine Talks with Osric Chau

Cast Interview

Warnings: S9 spoilers

With ssjdebusk and zerostumbleine33

By hellredsky

Supernatural Spinoff

Taking place in Chicago, Bloodlines utilizes their setting’s rich history and politics to set up what could potentially be a very interesting show (if it strays from following The Originals which it is dangerously too similar to currently). The city of Chicago is run by 5 main “monster� families; werewolves, shifters, djinn, sirens, and ghouls. In a delicate balance of set territories (djinn have the Southside for example), the families co-exist and are able to live relatively normal and free lives due to some ties with the Chicago PD, allowing monsters to hunt without fear of getting caught.

By pondlifeforme

By pondlifeforme

Kevin & Linda Tran

Charlie and Dorothy in Oz Jody Mills and Junior Hunters -In-Training

The story of Mary Winchester

The Men of Letters in the 1940’s

Born: May 2nd, 1983 Born in: Lawrence, Kansas Current age: 31

Named: After his grandfather, Samuel Campbell Death toll: Sam has died and come back 6 times

By kayaczek

Next Year By ssjdebusk

Dean padded into the kitchen, trying to decide between barbeque chips or a ho-ho for a midnight snack when he saw a lamp lightly glowing from the study. Slowly he made his way down the hall, checking behind a corner before seeing Sam, covering a six hundred year old text with his drool. Dean smiled, checking his watch. 2:43AM. He grabbed an old blanket from the arm chair and wrapped it around his brother.

“Happy Birthday Sammy” he whispered. Sam had probably forgotten, caught up in the world falling to shit around them, but Dean remembered. He took Sam’s cold cup of coffee and shut off the lamp.

“Next year we’ll get you a dog Sam,” he said, mostly to himself, “Next year’ll be different” But he said that every year.

By abaddonshark

By joaellaine

By themadknightuniverse

Musings on the Reality of Free Will and Destiny in

Super natural By pirrofarfalla

I

have been doing bit of thinking lately about how intertwined destiny and free will are in regards to the Supernatural world.

The evidence that demon!Dean is in our very near future is absolutely overwhelming, but after taking some time to re-watch a few episodes from seasons 1-3, specifically Dream a Little Dream of Me, I am actually beginning to question absolutely everything that we know about our story thus far.

This was the episode in which we first met demon!Dean, and at the time, it seemed like this would be Dean’s future once his soul was dragged to Hell at the end of the season. I was not watching the show live back then, but I imagine there was a great deal of speculation going around that Dean could possibly come back “wrong,” and that would have been a hell of a storyline had Castiel not made his grand entrance.

But the possibilities of Dean giving in to the

darkness that his shadow-self spoke of, the knowledge that Ruby gave us about what happens to souls in Hell, was brushed aside. There was an opportunity here for a grand storyline about the Righteous Man corrupted by Hellfire, ruined for Michael, completely altering the trajectory of the Universe because the Son of Man. the Champion of Humanity fell further than was redeemable and thus tore up the script of the great foretold Prophecy.

Curious, considering we are headed down a similar road of biblical prophecy with a new script and a new author.

After re-watching Dream a Little Dream of Me, I admit to being shocked by the amount of foreshadowing present in the episode relevant to this season. From the THEN scenes to the very end, this episode was its own form of divine prophecy.

I don’t want you to worry about me, Dean. I want you to worry about you. I want you to give a crap that you’re dying.

Same stuff different year. Sam is still repeating his mantra to his brother, and he is still talking to a brick wall of delusional intent. Back then, Dean believed he deserved to die because the price was worth saving Sam. Now, Dean believes he deserves to die because of all of the people he has killed, metaphorically or not, including Sammy, and that the infection he leaves upon the Earth would be cured by his demise. He is hapless, hopeless, and his one driving force is vengeance for everything he’s lost. Dean is currently lost in limbo between his ingrained instincts to protect his brother and his new animalistic instincts to protect his sense of control, to protect his addiction, and to protect his ability to choose death.

him for what he’s done, he is poison and he destroys everything he lays a hand on.

There is nothing left for him but his mission for revenge and the light at the end of that long, dark tunnel that spells out his death.

What’s wrong with you?

I’m starting to think maybe even Ruby can’t stop it. But really, the thing is, no one can save you.

No one can save you, because you don’t wanna be saved. I mean, how can you care so little about yourself?

Because what does Dean have to live for?

From his perspective, Dean has lost everything worth living for. Charlie is in Oz and Garth is a werewolf and they’re both happy being far, far away from him. Dean chopped off his best friend’s head to save Sam’s life, Dean let an angel possess his brother to save his life, allowed that angel to force him to separate from Castiel, and then the angel murdered Kevin. Sam will never forgive

By my-wayward-son-carry-on The truth is, the list of things that are wrong with Dean is endless. Abuse, torture, murder, neglect, codependence, mental illness, addiction, guilt, depression, bereavement – with all of these things and more playing on a constant loop inside one person’s head, what part of the soul is left to just live? What piece of the human mind can still truly cling to transient things like hope and love and an actual future? What is the point of living when you’re already half dead?

Bobby: I’d rather died myself than hurt you.

Karen: But you did hurt me. You shoved that knife into me. Again and again. You watched me bleed. Watched me die.

This scene gave me chills in a way that it never had before King of the Damned. We just witnessed Dean killing Abaddon and losing control, stabbing her repeatedly with the Blade and watching the blood pour out of Josie’s corpse. This was Dean’s starvation. He killed Abaddon, but it did not sate his hunger. Now, he is starving for more and more, and it will never stop, it cannot be controlled.

I believe there is an important point to be made here about the perception of calm and control. In 3x10, Bobby had the ability to control his dreams, even though he perceived himself as being completely out of control. Dean was able to walk into Bobby’s dream and be a voice of reason, to calm Bobby down enough to take back control.

This has always been Dean’s role when someone he loves is not in control of themselves. He’ll take their venomous words, he’ll take their punches, and he’ll take them with calm acceptance, praying that they can still hear him. And it has always worked.

The tables turned once Dean was faced with demon!Dean later on. Dean was unable to snap himself out of it, to take back control from the force that was more or less possessing his dream-state mind. Demon!Dean held all of the power, all of the cool control. Demon!Dean was able to say just the right words to cut Dean down into

nothing but a meaningless carbon copy of the father that never loved him. It wasn’t until Dean completely lost his calm and attacked Demon!Dean that he was able to regain control and kill his mirror image. Two shots to the sternum, and Dean was able to conquer his darkness.

Looking at what just transpired in 9x21, it’s obvious that Dean’s perception of what he is and isn’t able to control is seriously skewed. He thinks that he can master the force inside of him by approaching it with calm acceptance, but in reality, he has absolutely no ability to reign in his power once he lets it seep out. What Dean perceives as calm is silent rage that he channels and unleashes without a way to stem the flow. As we learned from 3x10, the only way Dean can take back control is to attack and put himself down.

“That calm that Dean feels… that calm is acceptance.”

That calm that Dean feels…that calm is acceptance. That’s what he realized while looking in the bathroom mirror in 9x18 – He is going to die because he’s going to have to take back control and stop himself. He has accepted his death by his own hands because if he could do anything to spare the people he loves, it would be to not make them have to kill him.

I find it interesting that when we first lay eyes on demon!Dean, he’s sitting with his back to us, turned away from the world, flicking a lamp on and off. Light and dark.

Hope and despair.

A demonic Dean Winchester is someone completely devoid of faith, hope, and love…or is he?

I would venture to say that the fact that demon!Dean has the power to turn any light on in the midst of his consuming darkness means that there is some hope left that cannot be muted.

I really could go into a whole spiel about the dialogue between Dean and demon!

Dean in this scene because there is so much there that is relevant to where we are now. But textual interpretation gets tired and that wasn’t even the most fascinating thing that I found in the re-watch.

This scene actually distracted me away from listening to the dialogue because I could not get over the light. Why have demon!Dean clicking a light on and off? Why leave it on? Demon!Dean flicked the light on and off seven times, leaving it on the last time. Seven times. Seven times the Winchesters have cheated death and altered the trajectory of the Universe. Seven times the script was torn up to follow God’s true plan.

1. John made a deal with Azazel to save 2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Dean’s life.

Dean sold his soul to save Sam. Dean’s soul was taken when his year was up, but it was saved by Castiel so that the brothers could carry out the Prophecy.

Sam and Dean averted the Apocalypse.

Dean was never taken as Michael’s vessel, and Sam died to trap Lucifer in his case.

Sam was raised from Hell by Castiel.

Dean saved Sam’s life by allowing an an-

gel to possess him.

7. The last is still to be determined.

Destiny is a tricky thing. We all want to be self-determinate creatures, to be the masters of our own free will, but how much power do we truly have over our purpose for existence? Why did the Universe go through such great lengths to ensure the birth of Sam and Dean Winchester? To lead Azazel’s army? To let Lucifer out of his cage? To start the Apocalypse? Perhaps the prophecy of the Winchester Gospels was just another story, penned by the archangels, and the true prophecy has yet to come to pass, has yet to even be realized.

There is still another sacrifice to be made which will result in yet another universal shift. Sam and Dean Winchester should not be alive. Their presence on the Earth far defies the will of the Universe. It means that God wants them to be alive, to fulfill the work that he has for them. Their destinies thus far have revolved around death and apocalyptic destruction. Wherever Metatron is leading them now is certain to have a similar outcome, whether his endgame is to bring Paradise to Earth or he is working with Crowley to raise a little Hell.

What is most interesting to me, out of anything that happens in this show, is what I just mentioned about the Universe ensuring the birth of Sam and Dean. Sam was meant to lead Azazel’s army. Sam was meant to let Lucifer out of his cage, Sam was meant to be Lucifer’s vessel, Sam was meant to start the Apocalypse.

Sure, Dean was Michael’s one true vessel and he was needed to wipe out half the population by fighting and killing his brother. Yes, Dean is the Righteous Man, but what does that even actually mean? He was all but useless throughout the Apocalypse storyline. Why build it up at all if there isn’t a greater purpose? Sam’s destiny was essential crafted by Hell. But Dean’s…

The Lord guides me. I looked into your heart, and you stood out from all the rest.

A young man with an important purpose. A job to do. And it isn’t finished.

God is still at work here. Metatron is just another villain in a long line of villains who think that they can play God because He’s not sitting in the big Throne upstairs. But they’re not Him. I think He is perfectly capable of recognizing the evil in His creations and I think He is intelligent enough to not tell the actual Word of God to a little minion who is going to stab Him in the back a couple of millennia down the road. That is why, when it comes down to it, Dean’s loss of control, loss of self – his descent – are going to spell out his rebirth and transformation. The Mark of Cain is drawing upon his darkness to unleash a fury, but it’s also drawing upon latent power that Dean already has. Dean’s destiny was crafted by God and his true purpose for existing has yet to be revealed.

A job to do. And it isn’t finished.

Meaning that it had already begun. Dean’s job began the day he was born – protect and serve humanity. The guard dog of humanity. The Champion of humanity. That is Dean’s purpose, and his work is far from over.

Perhaps demon!Dean will come to pass within the next two episodes, but Dean will rise again because his work isn’t done.

Metatron and Crowley wish to see Dean turned into a murderous slave via the Mark of Cain. God is aiming a little bit higher, allowing the suffering and the descent in order to see Dean rise, to unleash that latent power, to allow Dean’s rebirth as the Son of Man with the power to pass judgment upon humanity and those who are a threat to it.

The light stayed on with the seventh click, and there is hope for Dean Winchester.

There is purpose beyond what he knows now, but it will most likely take death and rebirth to bring him back to himself, for him to take back control and continue on his path. God’s Will is still at work, guiding Sam and Dean despite every other force tearing them in different directions. We may end this season with hope, but there is something bigger coming. Something bigger than demon!Dean, or Crowley, or Metatron. And I can’t wait to see it.

By georginoschkavincen

Cas Never Asked the Winchesters to Torture By yellow-turtle

Castiel

wouldn’t need the Winchesters to torture his prisoner. Cas knows plenty about torturing things and has shown evidence of this repeatedly. And wouldn’t any of the angels strolling around their base have much more experience on how to make an angel talk than two humans? Besides, Show-Off Guy appears completely unscathed when the Winchesters see him for the first time, even bragging about his resistance to torture. If Castiel had already tortured him, they would already have evidence of his resilience, and he wouldn’t need to say that. He would say something like: “Your boyfriend already poked me before, what makes you think you mudmonkeys can make me talk?” More likely that nobody actually hurt him at all, which is in line with Castiel’s rhetoric about ending angel on angel violence. Castiel isn’t a hypocrite. He wants his operation to follow his humane ways. He even seemed upset when their prisoner was killed. However, angels are stuffy creatures, and while there’s plenty of blunt force to go around, their lack of imagination is a hole that only humans can fill. So Cas figured that his friends could probably think of an unconventional way to crack that nut, and he was completely right.

I think the problem here is that to Castiel, Dean is still this guy:

Dean is the one who keeps Cas in check, who pulls him back when he goes too far, who gets outraged when he kills strangehaired demons or threatens to wipe out small cities. This is the Dean that Cas is thinking of when he asks the Winchesters to interrogate Show-Off Guy, while Dean, Sam, and the audience immediately remember Dean utterly losing his shit back when he bashed Gadreel’s face in. And compared to Sam’s point of view (and ours) Dean probably doesn’t seem that bad.

Dean’s still cracking jokes. He’s still smiling.

Lately he pretty much only smiles when he’s around Cas, but how the hell would Castiel know that?

And lastly, Dean is the one who brings up any possibility of violence. “So you’re done with the rough stuff and you want us to be your goons?” Castiel relents, clarifies that they don’t have to do anything they don’t want to, probably under some sweet but misguided notion of, “No you’re not my goons. You’re my best friends and I love you.” And like Sam and Dean, we assume that Dean is going to rip that angel to shreds because he doesn’t seem capable of doing it any other way right now.

When Writers Talk Fandom By ssjdebusk

I wish that Jenny Klein, in #Thinman, and Eugenie RossLeming & Brad Buckner, in King of the Damned, would stop making these not so subtle digs at people who are fans of shows. It’s no secret that Klein and the Dreadful Duo are pretty much universally disliked for a great number of different reasons, or at the very least they’re nobody’s favorite. Whether you’re a diehard Brothers fan, general fan, Destiel fan or anywhere in between, it’s something that we all kind of come together on, in a way.

I loved last night’s episode, but I do have to spend extra time not allowing myself to think too deeply about the hurtful, and incorrect, undertones of certain scenes and what the show is allowing certain writers to say about fans. With a show like Supernatural, that literally would not be on the air if it were not for its die-hard fans, it seems a little counter-intuitive to then turn around and come out with episodes like #Thinman, which are incredibly amusing but also pack a pretty hefty sub-textual punch straight to the nads, if you think too hard on what they’re saying about you personally. The same goes for the interrogation scene in King of the Damned and quite possibly Castiel’s cult in the next episode, Stairway to Heaven, though I trust Dabb a lot more than the Dreadful Duo or Klein, to be respectful in his handling of the parallels.

The point is that I don’t consider myself to be an overly sensitive person when it comes to this kind of thing, I think we can all say with a few notches on our belt that we’ve put up with something on this show that has rubbed us the wrong way, especially given the cornucopia of choices taken by season 9. We shouldn’t then, after struggling through I’m No Angel and Rock and a Hard Place have to then, from the same writers, have to fear that they’re coming after us personally next.

To be honest, looking at the horrible reception both those episodes received, the ‘wank’ storm that followed I’m No Angel, and the huge drop in viewership in the middle of Rock and a Hard Place because of its quality, that, when given the chance, this is how they chose to respond in their writing is laughably petty.

When met with criticism the commentary on fans is that we are desperate, delusional, wrong, and/or just plain stupid. I mean it would be easier to ignore but they are literally using the main characters as mouth pieces as they stare directly into the camera, saying this.

Of course I could go into how incorrect that is and how harmless it is because overall that’s, I’m sure, what they think it is, harmless. Harmless to compare #Thinman to queerness and say they made it up, harmless to say you don’t really know these characters and that they don’t really know or care about you. That that makes you pathetic or whatever disgusting underhanded point that gay joke was supposed to be making.

By georginoschkavincen

But truly, honestly, deeply, it’s not harmless. And it shows a fundamental misunderstanding of a culture, our culture, that I recognize because I meet that same misunderstanding daily in my day to day life. But we shouldn’t have to come home, to our own people, to our safe place of acceptance in the SPN family and worry about what nasty thing our show is going say about us this week.

It’s not how it should be. And they should be ashamed of themselves for making that implication in any form because it is purely out of ignorance. No matter how funny the episode is, because both 9x15 and 9x21 were in my opinion very funny episodes, that laughter does stop and turns to disgust when you realize the joke is on you, that you’re enjoying someone make fun of you, that you are ridiculous for loving something.

Dean on Cas’ Angel Status By crossroadscastiel

Dean isn’t happy that Cas is an angel again, not at all.

Last season, Cas got played, hard, by multiple angels. First there was Naomi, who mind-controlled him and came very close to having him kill Dean. Then there was Metatron, who tricked him into helping with the ‘angel fall’ spell. Those alone are bad enough, but when you consider how much trouble Cas has had with Heaven and angels over the years, it should come as no surprise that Dean is not a happy camper about Cas rejoining the fray.

The season opened with Dean begging Cas to not get involved in angelic business again. He was worried about him, and rightfully so. He had pretty much accepted the fact that Cas was leaving him at the end of season 8. Dean understands all about letting duty win out over desire in the end, and Cas was an angel after all. He accepted the fact that no matter how badly he had pined away for him to return to him all season long, they just couldn’t be together.

But then suddenly, Cas was human. He was human and Dean wanted to protect him. He told him to get to the bunker, but things didn’t quite go as planned. When he finally thought Cas was safe, that things would be okay, Dean was forced to send him off into the world all alone when Cas needed him the most. In a cruel twist of fate, it was Dean’s duty to his brother, instead of Cas’ duty to heaven, that ripped them apart once again.

But then he gets a call one night, after shoving him away once more in 9x09, and Cas lets him know he’s an angel again. I have to imagine that look of devastation on his face was not only because he was worried about him, but because of the guilt that had been tearing him apart since he kicked Cas out of the bunker.

The way Dean sees it, Cas was only captured and tortured and forced to steal another angel’s grace because he wasn’t there for him. Cas wasn’t happy about having to do such a thing, but he did what he perceived to be the only necessary option at the time. He was alone; Dean clearly didn’t want him in his life, so he would become an angel again and fight this war alone if he had to.

When he saw Cas all ‘suited up and back in the game’ in 9x10, I don’t think that smile was necessarily a happy one. It was also a twinge of bitterness, and although he was certainly happy to see Cas, he wasn’t happy that it had come to that. And this attitude has been evident all throughout the second half of the season. “Are you okay with that? Oh look at you, all suited up again. So you just recharged your batteries and that’s it? You’re an angel again? No I get it, you’re a rock star.” You’re a rock star who doesn’t have any need for me in his life any longer.

The rock star comment in 9x21, in my eyes, is the most telling comment of them all. This is what has solidified for me that Dean absolutely hates that Cas is an angel again. He understands duty taking precedence over desire, after all he has always had the same struggle, but it doesn’t mean he’s happy about it.

And I think adding to his unhappiness is the guilt, the guilt that he is part of the reason Cas had to steal grace, had to throw himself headlong into a war he doesn’t want to be fighting any longer. He pushed him away, and now he’s doing what he has to.

And in the end, it isn’t so much about Cas being an angel, but about what Cas does and is forced to do when he is. Most angels, according to Dean, are dicks with wings. Cas has, for the most part, been the exception for him, especially in recent years. But Cas being an angel means that Cas is working for heaven, which means being away from him and being mind-controlled, tricked and manipulated.

Cas being an angel means they can never be equals because Heaven will always take precedence over all.

I guess in that way, it’s not going to be about whether Cas becomes human again or not, but rather, if he decides once and for all to cut ties with Heaven. In a sense, it’s the same decision Dean has to make with regards to Sam, only in a far less extreme fashion. Obviously, Dean doesn’t need to shove his brother out of his life, but what he does need to shove out are the toxic elements of their relationship. If they are going to be together, romantically or otherwise, Cas will have to sever his toxic bond with Heaven, and Dean will have to sever his toxic bond with Sam. Cas can still be an angel, honestly, at this point, I have no preference, because Cas has learned enough about human emotion and experience to finally relate to Dean regardless, but he has to redefine what that means. Dean and Sam can still be brothers, but they have to redefine what that means. Once that happens, then maybe, just maybe, desire will win out over duty for once.

BLOG PROMO WINNER! REVENGINGCAS

MEET THE BLOGGER My name is Liesl. I’m a 20 year old redhead who spends most of her time fangirling over my OTP to end all OTPs, Destiel, when I’m not pouring over obscure Latin chronicles for my History degree. I first became addicted to Supernatural when someone recommended the Destiel fanfic “Ad Astra” on my tumblr and I decided to read it not knowing what it was. Several hours and much crying later, I was determined to watch the show and marathoned the first 8 series when I should have been studying for my finals. My favorite series is probably Season 6 as Cas’s story arch is so heart-breakingly sad and “The Man Who Would Be King” destroyed me emotionally. Castiel is probably my favorite character because he’s the character I’m probably most like in personality.

By unbearable-bear

Don’t Fear the Reaper By deathbycoldopen

D

ean and Tessa, they have history, don’t

they?

Dean was dying, lying in a hospital bed in a coma, his spirit wandering the halls and running from the angel that had come to take him away. Tessa called it a “meet cute” but the first time Dean saw her she was screaming in panic, asking for someone to notice her the way that Dean was desperately hoping his family would see him. Or rather, the first time Dean saw her, he saw a shadowy form taking a soul away from its body, a monstrous sight that filled him with terror; the other meeting was the costume that Tessa put on, the mirror for Dean to show him where he really needed to go. Not clinging to what life he had left, but moving forward, moving on.

The second time they met, Dean saved her life. The second time they met, Dean told her that he felt like he had been given a second chance, after missing her, missing his own death, for so long. The second time they met, Tessa told him that he was just lying to himself.

The third time they met, Tessa taught Dean about the balance of the world. It’s not a lesson he’s remembered particularly well.

And now they’re here, meeting in the entryway of a theater. Both of them lying, this time, both of them playing pretend. Lying to themselves, lying to each other. This is a means to an end, they say. This is restoring the balance of the world. This is for the greater good.

You have to give it to them; they’re both damn good liars.

Tessa cuts into her skin and makes her way to kill herself, kill innocents, just to destroy one or two of Metatron’s angels. She says that she’s strong, that Castiel asked her to, and that the innocents she kills aren’t important. She says that it’s the right thing. But Castiel never asked any of his followers to kill themselves, would never do something like that; her very orders were a lie, designed to turn Castiel’s

followers against him. She claims that she’s stronger than the others, but when she’s alone with Dean, alone with her mirror, she tells the truth. She couldn’t kill herself because she was weak. She needed to lie to herself, because even reapers can be afraid of death, and even reapers need to lie in order to comfort themselves in their last moments.

She needed to believe that the good of the many she’d be helping in the veil, outweighs the good of the few that she would kill in the process. She needed to believe that she was helping her cause, rather than hurting it.

She needed to make the screaming stop.

Dean first took up the blade to kill Abaddon; but Abaddon is dead and still he soldiers on. Now he says he needs it for Metatron, when a simple angel blade would do; if he killed Metatron with it, who would be next? Because he can’t put the blade down, can’t stop once he’s started down this path, and all these names are just excuses to keep going. They’re just lies that he’s told himself to help him not be afraid.

The reality is, Dean took up the blade not because he needed to, but because the blade is death and that is what Dean craves for himself. Because Sam hated him and Cas was an angel again and he was poison, dragging down all the people he loved. The blade was a suicide mission right from the start, and the lie of it all was that he was going out with a bang that meant something.

Just like Tessa.

He needed the calm of the blade: the silence, the peace, the certainty. He needed to make his own screaming stop.

He needed to believe that his life would finally be worth something.

In the end, Dean is the one who takes out the blade, and Tessa is the one who reaches forward and pulls it into her body. A suicide mission after all; without it, she had nothing left to even live for.

So what will become of Dean without her?

8x22 // 9x22

A very important thing happened in 9x22.

While these two scenes echo one another, the outcomes were very different. While Dean and Cas seemed to be at peace with one another at the end of season 8, really they have never had time to overcome and deal with this lack of trust and the feelings of betrayal that came about after Cas left Dean standing alone in that crypt. So at the end of the episode, when Dean essentially tells Cas that he does trust him, that was a big step forward for these two.

They are in a position now to not only be there for one another, but to help one another back from the brink. Even if things seem like they will never get better again‌they will. Because they have each other, and they have trust, now more than ever.

By crossroadscastiel

I’ve been thinking about 9x22, and the scene where Cas chooses Dean over the army of angels.

This isn’t the first time Cas has chosen Dean. But it is the first time Cas has chosen Dean selfishly. Choosing Dean this time around did not mean the end of the apocalypse, or the safety of mankind, or even the safety of Sam Winchester.

This time, it wasn’t “us or them” …it was “us or him.”

And not only that, this was also the first time Dean saw Cas’ choice. Before, it was always “I gave everything for you.” Or “I’m doing this for you, Dean. I’m doing this because of you. You’re the one who taught me that freedom and free will…”

But Dean never truly understood “you” to mean him. Singular: just him, just Dean. He always thought it meant, “Dean and Sam” or “Dean and humanity” or just “humanity.” That was, after all what had captivated Cas on that bench all those years ago wasn’t it? Humanity: plain and simple and endearingly flawed.

But then, this happens. Cas gives up all of heaven “for one guy.” And Dean can’t bear to say it aloud, to make it that much more real. Because he knows now, that “one guy” has always been, will always be him.

How can he stand it really? An entire wavelength of light and unfathomable energy and astoundingly vast knowledge, is wholly and truly devoted to him above heaven, above earth, above humanity, above everything. It’s impossibly overwhelming.

By sluttycas

By thimblings & heyheyassbutt

By captainlafitte

“We are masters of the unsaid words, but slaves of those we let slip out.”

-Winston Churchill Sometimes I think it’s the small scenes in the episodes that I might love, maybe even more than the big and important scenes. I love those as well, but scenes like this one are the scenes that say so much without any words, without any flashy fight scenes, without any cool special effects.

It’s just three guys in a car. The silence is so thick you can practically cut it with a kitchen knife, the air so heavy with unspoken words that it feels like all of the characters have trouble breathing.

Team Free Will, united and yet not really together. And maybe no team at all, if you want to keep Dean’s comment in mind about this being a dictatorship. All of them are looking forward. I wonder what each of them sees the road ahead, for himself, as well as for the others.

I think this shot did an excellent job at showcasing how Sam, Dean and Cas are in this together, in the same car, but at the same time still captives of their own heads, unable to break free and connect. The camera movement in my opinion really emphasizes the space and the distance between the characters. They should be able to touch one another simply by leaning forward and yet they are unable to reach one another. It’s tragic. It’s sad. Because this kind of silence is not the comforting kind of silence, the kind of silence you can enjoy, because you are understood anyway. This is the kind of silence that swallows you whole and makes it ever harder to escape. Yeah, this is the calm, the silence before the storm…

By dustrydreamsanddirtyscars

By anobviousaside

We’ve all been excited about Metatron’s line, because, as tumblr user amagicbeyond says in this post, now it is irrevocably out there, where the Average Viewer cannot ignore it. Andrew Dabb knocked that one out of the park.

Putting in that beat between phrases is the exact tactic they used in Goodbye Stranger’s crypt scene. The important information in both scenes is in the caesura between question and answer (in Goodbye Stranger) and statement and clarification (in Stairway to Heaven). The entire point of both of those scenes is to make the audience fill in the blank. And they will, because incomplete patterns bother us.

There’s a scene in Who Framed Roger Rabbit where the bad guy finds Roger by tapping “shave and a haircut,” which is the first part of a call-and-response. Roger,

even knowing that tapping out the answering “two bits” will put him in mortal peril, is literally unable to stop himself from making the response, from completing the pattern.

If you’ve ever asked someone a question that they clearly heard but don’t respond to within a couple of seconds, you know how frustrating that pause is. ”What stopped you?” demands an answer. Don’t provide it in the dialog fast enough, and the audience will provide their own answer because it just makes their brain itch not to.

Likewise, “He’s in love,” though not technically a question, functions as one, because it makes the audience ask a question, “With whom?” since the pattern is most often completed by naming the person ‘he’s’ in love with.

And this one is a double whammy; not providing that information in the first place is an incomplete pattern, and if that question in the audience’s minds also has a delayed answer, you have the frustration of one incomplete pattern compounded by a second incomplete pattern, and the audience will experience an even stronger impulse to complete the pattern by providing their own answer, as they did in Goodbye Stranger. Who didn’t at least think, “You!” when Dean asked that? Nobody, that’s who.

When Metatron does supply an answer to the audience’s unasked question, it immediately strikes the audience as wrong, because the proper answer to, “With whom?” is a name. One particular person. And if they’re not Destiel shippers, who didn’t even have to ask the question because we just knew, okay, they’re scanning mental files for likely candidates.

And this is why I could just kiss Andrew Dabb, because there is only one possible candidate. Even if you’d never seen another episode of Supernatural and didn’t know Castiel from Adam’s off ox, there’s only one answer.

The expected answer to, “With whom?” is the name of a single person.

When Dabb had Hannah say, “Don’t give that up for one man,” to Cas in the previous scene, he’s doing what Sophie and the gang do in the Leverage episode The Reunion Job, he’s employing particular words or phrases to plant subconscious suggestions that lead to constructing a specific answer to a question he’ll ask, or force the audience to ask, later.

That subconscious suggestion is reinforced by Misha’s facial expressions as Cas struggles with the problem Hannah has set before him and by the situation itself, the resolution of which marks Dean out as more important to Cas than anything else.

So when Metatron says, “He’s in love,” and triggers the audience’s compulsion to complete the pattern, Dabb has already aimed us at the answer he wants us to supply.

This is a beautiful, beautiful thing, because he didn’t tell us that Cas is in love with Dean, thus providing us with a chance to dispute him, he made us tell ourselves. And once you’ve done that, it’s a lot harder to ignore or deny than if it came from someone else. Because who do you trust the most, really?

Yourself, that’s who.

Dean is putting on a show here. He just told Sam literally a minute ago that they aren’t a team, that this is a dictatorship. He turns around and says this to Cas though, and I think it’s because of what Cas did for him, what Cas gave up for him. In that moment, Dean was reminded that Cas has been there for him almost every step of the way, that Cas will do anything for him, that Cas loves him. And so I think that for Cas, Dean was able to bring back the act, just a little bit. The act that he hadn’t been holding up so well with Cas earlier in the episode. The act that he’s still himself, that he hasn’t been taken over completely by his addiction to the First Blade.

We saw just how much of an act that is, though. We saw that he almost killed an angel loyal to Cas, that he was unable to leave the First Blade at the bunker, that he didn’t trust Cas, didn’t trust Sam and tried to kill Gadreel the moment he had the chance. This scene was one last hurrah for his lie that he’s fine, that they’re in this together, that he’s fine, dammit. One last moment of humanity before the darkness swallows him whole.

By deathbycoldopen

THE OF AN

GRACE ANGEL WITH A HUMAN How did Metatron know Cas was in Love with Dean?

By proxy-1

That’s sort of the point here, though, isn’t it? Metatron doesn’t know that Cas is in love with Dean. He’s made that perfectly clear over and over, not only in this week’s episode where he’s misinterpreted Cas’ love as being for humanity, but also when he first took Cas’ grace and told him to go settle down, get a wife and have babies.

So let’s go back to the start.

Metatron knows Cas is in love, that much is established. But Metatron is an awful story teller who has no idea how to actually understand. He has all this objective knowledge of pretty much all the stories that humans have come up with, but he

doesn’t know what they mean. He doesn’t know how to recognize what all the little clues mean, what structures mean, what subtext is actually hinting at. And he certainly has no idea about the rules of story vs. the rules of real life, he thinks they’re interchangeable.

So, as for the grace and how it ties in with Cas? Let’s start by having a look at the other ingredients.

1. The heart of a nephilim. So the heart part is pretty self-explanatory, it is generally regarded as the seat of emotion: of feelings, of love. And a nephilim is the product of love, specifically that of romantic love between an angel and a human.

So we’ve got angel/human, and love, specifically romantic love, twice in that ingredient.

2. Cupid’s Bow. Again, this is heavily associated with romantic love, this time, caused by an angel, towards humans. So again, we have an ingredient that revolves around romantic love.

3. The Grace of an Angel. So we’ve had two of three ingredients that are establishing a pattern. Now, there’s no reason it couldn’t just be a coincidence, but I find that highly unlikely. They’ve chosen those ingredients for a reason. Then we have Metatron saying it had to be Cas. And that was proven when he killed Naomi, if it could be any angel’s grace, why didn’t he take hers? Why didn’t he take any other random old angel that happened to come stumbling along & use their grace? Because no other angel’s grace would work, there had to be something special about the grace in order for the spell to be effective. So that forces us to look back at the pattern. And the thing that the other two have in common is love: romantic love. To extend the pattern to all three, it would seem that romantic love has to be involved. And the other two involve romantic love, humans and angels. So the third ingredient must as well. There must be something about being in love with a human that somehow changes an angel’s grace, which made it stand out to Metatron.

Now, back to Metatron himself; he knows a lot, but he understands nothing. He’s shown that he doesn’t understand the different types of love that people are capable of. He knows that they exist, but he doesn’t understand. I know I keep repeating that, but that’s because it’s important. Knowledge and understanding do not always go together. They certainly don’t in his case. So Metatron gets his an-

gel in love, but has no idea who it is that Cas is in love with. He just assumes that because Cas is in a male vessel, there must be a woman somewhere. And to be honest, as far as Metatron is concerned, it doesn’t really matter. All that matters is that he has the right grace, and he does. Job done, he continues in this fashion. By now he knows that actually, there is no woman, but he still can’t read all the cues that are standing out around Dean and Cas. He knows that Cas must still be in love, he can see it. He is manipulating that fact.

However, he doesn’t realize that this love is very specific.

He thinks that Cas is in love with humanity, and this shows that he still hasn’t grasped the different types of love, and how they apply to different situations. Saying that someone is in love is very different from just saying that they love. Cas isn’t in love with humanity. Yeah, he loves humans, but he isn’t in love. Being in love is reserved for one person, and the framing of Metatron’s erroneous statement is what tells us, the audience, who that person is. Either side of Metatron’s little speech was someone saying that Cas gave up his army for one man. That man was Dean. It wasn’t Sam. It wasn’t the Winchesters. It wasn’t any other human. It was Dean. And it was further reinforced by the pause, and that pause would have been scripted. That pause was there for us to fill in the gap ourselves, just like with every other unanswered question under Carver.

“Stow the baggage?”

If you’re wondering where you might have heard that before, it’s a commonly used phrase when speaking about relationships. It means, forget about what happened in the past, let’s deal with the present and not bring prior arguments or fights into the present. How can you watch this and not see Dean and Cas as a couple? They’re arguing, avoiding eye contact, and remaining turned away from each other until Sam tries to talk some sense into them. Still not sold? Then watch Cas’s eyes in this scene. He looks Dean up and down in frustration and then turns away, blinking in disappointment and annoyance. And then he refuses to turn around and look Dean in the eye until the very last moment. And look how done Sam is with the two of them! Literally what he’s saying here is “I know you have a lot of things you need to work out. And you’re both angry, but can you forget about your relationship problems for two minutes so we can solve this case?”

By dudewheresmypie

By mycolour

Season

I’ve seen a good numb

upset about the finale, o then let down. I admit little let down myself. anything I didn’t already pect. Cas loves Dean, De to turn into a demon, a cares for Dean. None shocking turns of events shown this all season an the entire show itself.

But it’s important to k that this is the second a act structure. It’s the act toughest road ahead that’s easy: you introduc Act III: you get to end t II: what the hell is this?

I thought I’d make a p plains the second act, expect from it, and why finale was never going to blowing and unexpected likely hoped. Of course, ion, there were more e to write but they still same conclusion so it’ verging ideas to the sam "The second act, By thimblings & heyheyassbutt

n 9 Finale & The Three Act Structure By zerostumbleine33

ber of people or if not upset t to feeling a I wasn’t told y know or exean was going and Sam still of these are s; we’ve been nd throughout

keep in mind act of a three t that has the of it. Act I, ce your story. the story. Act

post that exand what to y this season o be as mindd as we most , in my opinexciting ways arrive at the ’s all just dime point. also referred

the plot along and to give our characters the knowledge of how to deal with their antagonist. Do we know who our antagonist is at this point?

No, that’s for Act III and that’s part of the inherent frustration of an Act II finale! Is it Metatron, who is locked up and safely guarded while heaven gets put back together? Is it Crowley? Is it Dean himself?

to as "rising action", typically depicts the protagonist’s attempt to resolve the problem initiated by the first turning point, only to find him or herself in ever worsening situations. Part of the reason protagonists seem unable to resolve their problems is because they do not yet have the skills to deal with the forces of antagonism that confront them. They must not only learn new skills but arrive at a higher sense of awareness of who they are and what they are capable of, in order to deal with their predicament, which in turn changes who they are." [x]

Where we are in the Three Act Structure is in the “Confrontation” stage, where the stakes are raised and nothing is resolved. Metatron and Crowley both have to be dealt with still, but the stakes are raised because instead of having Team Free Will, we’ve got Cas in heaven trying not to burn away his grace, Sam in the bunker with a presumably dead brother, who is suddenly a demon, and we have no idea what any of that means yet.

This is Dean and his season journey in a nutshell. He’s tried to solve the problem, only creating a bigger problem and now what? This was no secret, it’s been happening all season and the consequences were fairly obvious. But it’s necessary to move

So what did we get in Act II? We got the elevation of stakes, but we also got the exploration of the subplot: Dean and Cas, or well more specifically, Cas’ love for Dean.

If season 8 was about proving how Dean loved Cas, needed him, etc., then season 9 has done the same for Cas about Dean.

And that fits in perfectly with what Act II should do.

Everyone rejoicing about destiel in this episode, it’s for a reason. It’s the main subplot of the season and it’s been brought to a head very prominently in the last two episodes in particular.

"One device to accomplish this feat is the elaboration of subplot. The subplot is a minor story layered under the main narrative. It often adds a three-dimensionality aspect to the characters by allowing them to engage in a behavior that is not pertinent to the main plot, but still relevant in the overall narrative and often connected to a central theme.” [x]

Does this sound anything like season 9? About Metatron telling Cas that he did everything for Dean? It gives our characters purpose, “A cause, you know…a reason to get up in the morning”. Dean’s death is a cause of confrontation between Cas and Metatron; and while Cas seems to have won, that’s only for now. The subplot is there; it’s been given textual confirmation and was cited as the motivation for Cas to regain control of heaven.

Of course, Dean and Cas’ relationship is just one of the subplots this season. The other one being the subplot of the fractured relationship between the brothers also was not resolved.

In fact, we see Sam hit his own low when he loses Dean and reacts in a similar way to what we see in season 3. Its regression, its Sam’s “midpoint”, and we don’t get know if he was going to make a demon deal or not; that’s open ended.

To break it down a little more and use another handy graph: "What happens in Act II (Confrontation)?

First Culmination: a point just before the halfway point of the film where the main character seems close to achieving his or her goal/objective. Then, everything falls apart, leading to the midpoint.

Midpoint: a point approximately halfway through the film where the main character reaches his/her lowest point and seems farthest from fulfilling the dramatic need or objective.

The "Plot Point": According to Field, the three acts are separated by two plot points. A plot point, often called a reversal, is an event that thrusts the plot in a new direction, leading into a new act of the screenplay.” [x]

So looking at season 9: First Culmination: Dean killed Abaddon, a major part of the season quest which leads to Dean feeling as if only he can be the one to defeat the “big bosses” with his newfound power.

Midpoint: The character reaches their lowest point, Dean is killed by Metatron. They are farthest from fulfilling their objective; in fact they are flat-out failing it at this point in time.

"Plot Point": The event that thrusts the plot in a new direction? Easy, Dean becomes a demon.

"Plot Point II also affects the main character by changing the direction he’s headed. The difference is that the stakes are much higher. This is often a moment of crisis, in which all hope seems lost." [x] That sounds right about where we are now. But you’ll notice that the thing Act II is missing, the climax; and that’s not until Act III. This was never going to be the most exciting finale or give us any closure on the story. It was meant to throw a wrench in the plans and cause more problems for our protagonists. We got our plot point, exciting but not unexpected, and we’ve had our subplot adequately established, Dean and Cas, but we’ve got one more Act to go.

Bringing

this back from 9x02 now that we’re almost at the end of the season.

"Love and… love…"

Narratively speaking, if the writers are doing their jobs, the two kinds of love which have been painfully occupying Dean’s insides all season, are going to come to a head in 9x23.

Dean’s love for Sam, which has broken him this year, the toxic, substitute-parent, controlling part of that love which has caused him to violate By thorinn Sam’s trust and boundaries via the Gadreel possession. Sam’s understandable anger, which has kicked in all Dean’s self-worth complexes, has led Dean, believing Sam doesn’t love him back, to take up the Mark of Cain.

And Dean’s love for Cas; Cas whom his Gadreel-possession choice forced him to throw out of the Men of Letters Bat Cave just when Cas was newly human, and vulnerable, and needed him most. Cas, whom Dean drove all the way to Rexford, Ohio, to stare longingly at outside the Gas-n-Sip where “Steve” was struggling to make his way in the world. Cas, who just chose Dean over his own people, his angel-kin.

It is Dean’s first love, for Sam, in its toxic form, which has denied Dean his second love, the ability to be with Cas. Now, Dean, off the rails on First Blade addiction, somehow needs to reconnect, and find a better way of understanding the heart of himself and his two loves, a healthier way of loving Sam and, that ever present sub-textual pause, his love for Cas. By drsilverfish By thimblings & heyheyassbutt

By michaelique

The Inevitability of

Demon!Dean Where 9x23 is a Masterpiece of Foreshadowing By sleepsintheimpala

We’ve all been hunting for Demon Dean since Abaddon called him the ‘perfect Vessel’ in 9x02, but re-watching the episode, I am truly in awe with how Do You Believe in Miracles wrapped this up in its use of foreshadowing.

Dean stops just short of the devil’s trap, here. As carefully positioned as a demon avoiding the trap would be, in fact, will be.

The bright light of the lamp not only contrasts with the shadow that Dean casts, but the very fact that Dean is turned to align with that shadow and looks away from the main light source is a major clue as well. Also, his back is half turned away from the light, his whole posture angled as if turning even further away from it. And not ten

minutes later, we see this:

The second picture shows Crowley just having been summoned. The camera is at a slightly different angle, but it is the exact same spot Dean was in earlier. We see Crowley here as if he has completed the motion Dean seems to be making in the first picture. Crowley, the demon, is fully turned away from the light, with only a faint outline around him. This is where Dean is heading as well.

Speaking of the summoning scene, lots of people have already commented on, “What’s that smell,” as perhaps being Crowley smelling the particular Mark of Cain brand of sulfur, but actually that’s just

one part of the puzzle, because right after, Gadreel says the same thing. Two supernatural creatures, an angel and a demon, being unfamiliar with a particular scent; whatever it is, it is certainly not a scent either one, in years of torture in Heaven or residing in Hell, have come across. It is certainly not human.

Then there is the box Sam ‘hid’ the blade in you see this:

Now I cannot imagine it wasn’t Dean who took the blade. What is left behind is a torn piece of text. In Swan Song, Team Free Will ripped up the manuscript dictated by angels and demons. Here the show foreshadows Crowley’s “It’s all become so expected. “ In one last glorious meta image, the show shows us that they are about to rip up their own script. And they do so with text that looks like claws raked through it as they grabbed the object that rested on it.

Then there is this heart-breaking shot:

Like most of the second half of the season, Dean’s face is cast in light and dark, but it is significant that the light in this image only serves to emphasize that Dean’s face is framed by inverted pentagrams, traditionally seen as the mark of the devil, linked together by a chain pattern. So, even the part of Dean that is still in the light is already bound in the shackles the Mark has put on him.

Next up is the miracle Metatron performs on the woman hit by a truck, and I will laugh forever this was outside a chiropractors’. A woman who is resurrected through supernatural means; a woman wearing a shirt-jacket combo we have seen Dean wear a lot in season 9, most significantly in Devil May Care.

And the closer we get to the end of the episode the more explicit the foreshadowing becomes. First we go back to the image of Purgatory Dean as the creature hunting others: the creature obscured in darkness, the creature stalking the shadows, the creature almost completely devoid of light. A creature lit exactly like Crowley was earlier: dark with a faint outline of light.

And to make sure we understand what creature, Dean takes a few steps forward to this:

The final caught behind bars image of the season.

Dean looking up, bathed in a fiery red, with the shadow of a cage covering him completely. Like Lucifer looking up to the Heavens where he once shone brightest.

And what light does Dean get?

A sulfuric yellow from below. And for the first time Dean stands in front of bars, bars with the same sickly yellow. Visually, this is the point of no return for Demon Dean to happen. It is no longer a matter of Dean obscured in shadows, or eyes hooded in black. His entire face is lit by the color of demons. The color denoting where his resurrection will come from:

Season Divine, truly, ending on a fantastically written and directed episode. Kudos show, kudos.

It wasn’t that Metatron was too dumb to understand who Cas is in love with, it’s that he needed Gadreel to turn against him. He knew what Gadreel’s true weakness was, and exactly what he needed to say to get him to go to Cas. But why? Why did he want Gadreel to turn against him? Making Cas choose between his angel army and Dean was a test, and when he was finally certain what his true weakness was, that’s when he knew he needed Gadreel to lead him into Heaven in order to break him once and for all. Cas had to be away from Dean, locked away, in order for this to work.

So Gadreel tells Cas that Metatron is going after humanity, making matters even more urgent, even more pressing, distracting them from the fact that he’s luring Dean right into a trap the entire time. What he said to Cas, just before he waved that blade dripping with Dean’s blood in front of his face, wasn’t some new revelation. It was something he knew all along.

The story he was writing the entire time was a tragedy, a story about heartbreak and love.

And also Metatron is petty. He was jealous of Cas, as we saw in Stairway to Heaven, and maybe in the end this became more about proving he was better, stronger, smarter. That Cas was incapable of stopping him from killing the one man who is more precious to him than anything in existence. I do believe humanity was his next goal, but first he wanted to destroy Castiel. Basically…Metatron may not be as dumb as we initially thought, but he sure is an ass.

So I can’t stop thinking about this…and when you take all of this into consideration, the original script having Dean all over Cas’ fake Heaven makes a whole hell of a lot more sense if Metatron already knew then, and only said “humanity” to manipulate Gadreel.

By crossroadscastiel

By destielsfluff

Work in Progress by shieldofeden

9x03 - I'm No Angel || 9x23 - Do you Believe in Miracles?

By supernaturalapocalypse

G A D R E E L

By iisaninjette

By shieldofeden

Metatron calls the angel tablet the most powerful instrument in the history of the universe.

But is it really? I will never be over the powerful symbolism of it shattering to pieces just as Dean’s dying body falls over in defeat. The pieces lay at Castiel’s feet, as Metatron enters the room, which is exactly where his heart would also end up moments later when Metatron reveals that Dean is dead.

What the angel tablet truly represents is Heaven, in all its complexities; all that power, granting the one who possesses it with the power of God. When Cas pulled the tablet from Metatron’s typewriter, and dropped it to the ground to shatter, without a moment’s hesitation, this was him once and for all making his choice. This was him, as tumblr user persephoneshadow said earlier, tearing up the pages of the story once again.

Dean’s existence is more essential to Cas than Heaven or angelic duties, his existence more profound than the word of God. They shattered together, but one was always more important than the other. Because to Cas, Dean has been the most important thing to ever happen: his father’s most important creation.

Dean was where it all began: his fall, his rebellion, his ability to embrace and understand free will. It was not the word of God that showed him the way, it was Dean Winchester; one human, one man, for whom he would shatter God’s word again and again for the slightest chance that it would save his life.

So what is the most powerful instrument in the history of the universe? It is a word, but not one written down on any tablet. It is simply…love. Love that causes one to fall, to grow, to gain knowledge and sacrifice everything for something, or someone, they believe in. Love that has the ability to make an angel feel, cry, grieve; love that is cosmic and transformative.

Dean may have shattered right along with the tablet, but Castiel will only be interested in piecing one of them back together again. Love, the most powerful instrument in the history of the universe, is what will bring Dean Winchester back to himself once again.

By crossroadscastiel

By unbefreakinlivable

Love is Not Enough 2. Gun I was everything you told me to be to the best of my capacity but no, it was never enough to make you pleased, to make you proud, to make you stay. I was never enough for you; that's how I know I'll never be enough for him.

It was always Yes sir, No sir, Jump? How high, sir? with my heart between your fists, hanging on your every word while you squeezed me dry of tears and blood.

You loved me like a gun against my chin and you want my finger on the trigger and I loved you so much I pulled until it clicked.

We died for your sins. All that and you still left me behind no matter how hard I tried to follow – just like you raised me to.

Now that I've given you everything I had and turned my remains inside-out for him there's nothing left in here for me– no hope, no dreams, no original thoughts– just your shadow and the ashes of your love.

Your gunmetal smile has left me cold: addicted to the trigger's bite and the barrel digging into the soft part of my throat where your teeth belong, shivering as if your hands were still crushing my heart, or still turning my skin the same old black and blue.

By defilerwyrm

Part 3 to come in the next issue

By supernaturalapocalypse

By thimblings & heyheyassbutt

By croatoansammy

The weight of Dean’s absence hung heavy in the air, pressing down on the shoulder’s over which Sam had slung his brother’s body as he carried him back into the bunker. Dean’s words echoed in Sam’s head the entire drive back, a blur of asphalt and blinking lights. “I’m proud of us,” played on repeat through the endless silence. Even as Sam had carried Dean’s body and laid him down to rest in the one place Dean had ever considered home, he couldn’t shake the feeling of incompletion. Sam doesn’t both to wash his hands, stained with the blood of his brother. He poured himself a drink, and then another few; for Dean. The darkness of the bunker was stifling and Sam realized how much of a home it truly was before. Now, the empty shadows and dim lighting served only to remind him of the family he’d lost somehow in this place. Sam grimaced as he choked back tears, the amber liquid in his glass cup nearly gone.

It didn’t take him long, but longer than it should have. Through his pain and shock, he’d ignored the one possible solution to the problem; Crowley. Sam set his glass aside and squared his shoulders with a large sigh. He’d never make a demon deal to bring his brother back, he’d promised that much. That didn’t mean there weren’t other ways, and Sam was sure Crowley knew how. At least, Sam had someone to blame for this, someone other than himself.

As he stood above the contents for a demon-summoning ritual, Sam grit his teeth in determination. “You got him into this mess, you will get him out, or so help me god”.

By zerostumbleine33

By octopifer

Echoes of Regret Do you hear the echoes of my regret?

In the cavern of the past…

Or do you see the helpless child, Who had to grow up way too fast?

In the oceans of my self doubt, You were the lifeboat in that raging sea In the midst of my desperation Brother mine, you saved me…

Helpless - lost - without a clue There ain’t no me if there ain’t no you Right beside me, brother, wont you?

Don’t leave me lonely in this fog of gloom…

Were I to die, would you not shed, a single tear? No silent cry?

Or would be glad To rid of this burden Anxious to say goodbye?

Or would you do What I did for you Or would I hate you just the same Or would we fight like in those old days so bright and hold up the family name?

- AALIA WAQAS

Surviving the Hellatus & Avoiding Wank

Audio Meta

Warnings: Profanity & S9 spoilers

By ssjdebusk and zerostumbleine33 Sarah: So this is Salt & Burn, second edition of our audio meta. This is "Surviving the Hellatus and Avoiding Wank". So, season 9 ended, and we're going to do where the finale left us and then kind of season 10 speculations.

Shayla: At the end of season 9, Dean became a demon, so I'm not sure if season 10 is going ot pick up right where we left off or if maybe there will be a time skip. I'm hoping it's immediate. We know that Crowley is going to be in season 10 a good amount because Mark Sheppard is a season regular. So we can expect him to play a big part, I would assume, in at least the first half of the season. That's one of my speculations, it's not anything complicated, but we will see a lot of Mark Sheppard and dealing with the demon!dean stuff.

Sarah: I know you're fantastically excited about that. I truly hope, and I still hope, even though I am sure now it's gonna be one half of the season taken up with this, that they kind of do the same stuff they did with Godstiel. Where he was totally off the deep end, it shows up right where we were, and then he kind of goes off the deep end and there's some sort of a time skip while he goes off and is not in the bunker, and then they kind of fix it. I just don't want it to be 9 episodes of this.

Shayla: Yeah, I don't really want it either because I think with the format of the show, either way, they are always going to have fillers by episode 3 usually.

So it's hard to assume we are going to get a lot of demon!dean for a long period of time unless demon!dean is not that different.

By joaellaine

Fic Rec: destiel Dark Angst

By Heather

To Reign in Hell ‘Verse by: Whreflections Rating: Mature - Explicit Castiel becomes human to be with Dean and ends up going to hell when his human life comes to an end. A whole lot of angst, gore and demon!cas.

As Cold As Ice by: Balder12 Rating: Explicit A PWP(Porn Without Plot) featuring painplay, dom/sub undertones and of course, angst. And it’s end!verse which is one of my personal favorites.

But Tonight by: wishesgoverybad Rating: Explicit One of my favorite end!verse fics. It helps that it includes hurt/comfort and blood!kink (two of my favorite kinks.)

Rivers of Babylon by: seraphim_grace Rating: Explicit A whole lot of angst. Sam is dead. He died at Cold Oak and Dean wasn’t able to make a deal to bring him back. And it just gets darker from that point forward.

Sociopaths in Love by: Annie D Rating: Explicit I gotta be honest, I fell in love with this fic immediately. I’m not sure what that says about me as a person but whatever it is I must not care too much.

Painplay, bloodplay, knifeplay, unsafe sex… Perfect for a dark fic list.

A Valuable Commodity by: rockstarpeach Rating: Explicit An end!verse fic where Cas finds a way to help the camp. Unfortunately that way involves selling his body. Dean finds out and he’s not happy. Angst!

In Deed and In Truth by: KatrinaKay Rating: Explicit Demon!dean and angel!cas fall in love throughbrief meetings on Earth. It takes centuries.

It’s actually not all that dark, in my opinion, but it has demon!dean, so…

Fluffy Goodness Convenient Husbands by: Annie D Rating: Explicit This is my ultimate go-to fic when I need a little pick me up. It has the kind of cute bickering you’d find in a rom-com set in the Supernatural universe.

There’s Only One Sure Thing That I Know By: leah k Rating: Explicit A Curse traps Dean and Castiel in the Midwest. Romantic and Comedic hijinks ensue.

Pies and Prejudice by: linoresearch Rating: Explicit A cooking competition and a Pride and Prejudice mash-up. I dare you to read this and not dreamy sigh all over the damn place. If you’re unfamiliar with Pride and Prejudice, treat yourself to a plot summary of that before reading this fic. It’ll make it all the more sweet.

Ancillary Stoke by: orphan_account Rating: Mature This fic is short and super sweet. Dean’s a pro-snowboarder who gets dumped before Valentine’s Day. He had this awesome get-away planned, too. Thank goodness for Castiel, the resort hotel’s charming chef.

Adventures in the Batcave by: anythingtoasted Rating: General to Explicit A super fluffy series that takes place in the Men of Letters bunker. Basically a “must read.”

Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives by: cymbalism Rating: Explicit There’s cute conversations and sex in kitchens and if that wasn’t enough there’s also Dean dreaming of Cas. So domestic and fluffy!

We Come Running by: mcpadalackles Rating: Mature Dean is a Police Officer and he needs a Personal Trainer. Enter: Castiel who is very devoted to getting Dean in shape.

Their banter in this story is really cute.

By thimblings & heyheyassbutt

Destiel Fic Recommendation

Fandom/Genre: Supernatural/ endverse Pairing(s): Dean/Castiel

Rating: R Word Count: 41,557 Summary: It’s the year 2012 and Dean and Cas have finally started to pick up the pieces of their lives. After losing Sam in Detroit when he said “yes” to the devil, the world began to crumble. Croats now run the streets and resources are scarce but at least Dean and Cas have one another. In a world with so much gone wrong, they remain two people who aren’t broken; just bent.

by depraved-o

SUPERNATURAL

FUNNIES

By crossroadscastiel

By zerostumbleine33

By tsuki-nekota

By consulting-cannibal

By zerostumbleine33 & ssjdebusk

By destielsfluff

Things that totally happened ON SUPERNATURAL By dahliasheng

9X21 “KING OF THE DAMNED”

Ruby’s Knife Aby Mother-Of-Moths Tutorial

This is a really simple and easy way to make an effective looking knife for your Supernatural cosplay.

Equipment and supplies - 22mm width pipe - newspaper and tape - paint and silver spray paint - sand paper - a glue gun

- 3mm thick card (or the back of a sketch pad) - a craft knife - pencil and biro (black) - PVA (preferably a weather resistant one)

step 1: Draw out the blade on to the card, and the symbols, you can find close up images on google of them. step 2: Once you have the symbols drawn out with pencil, use the Biro pen & press down hard to create indents in the card. step 3: Carefully cut out the blade with the craft knife (i almost cut myself multiple times, please be careful!) It won’t slice all the way through at first, so do it twice. make sure to have something underneath it so you don’t ruin the surface you are working on. step 4: Sand down the areas that are a little rusty and then start priming it for the spray paint, use the pva glue and give it multiple coats until it feels and looks pretty solid step 5: Get the pvc pipe and put it over a source of heat (i used the hob) use a pair of tongs so you don’t burn yourself. and then put it down on a surface and press down with a cloth over it. After that, it should be a squashed pipe step 6: Build up the shape using newspaper and tape. step 7: After the shape has been built up, do a layer of paper mache. After that has dried, paint it and then put another layer of pva on that so the paint doesn’t ware off. step 8: For the part that connects the blade and the handle, i just cut out three pieces of the card with a slit in it to fit the blade and stuck them together, sanded, primed and spray painted step 9: Using the glue gun, stick the blade, the handle and that little bit..thing, all together. step 10: My blade was pretty floppy, so i added a kebab stick up the straight side of the blade and sprayed it before sticking it on step 11 (FINAL): Use a black Biro and just go over the details on the actual blade

Hi. I’m Meg. I’m a demon.

Cosplay by whispersinpurgatory

Cosplay by whispersinpurgatory

Knights of Hell are hand-picked by Lucifer himself.

They are of the first-fallen, first-born demons.

Cosplay by Saimisha and artisinaljesus

Angel Blade A Tutorial by compassionatedragon

Need to defend yourself against malicious supernatural creatures or hostile heavenfolk?

Don’t fret—this tutorial will show you how to craft your very own angel blade!

Equipment and supplies - a cylindrical piece of light, soft wood, preferably balsa, 44cm (17.3”) in length & 3cm (1.2”) in diameter

- acrylic paints in the following colours: opaque white, metallic pewter grey, metallic light silver, and semi-opaque black

- an x-acto knife or similar utility blade

- a clear top coat/varnish

- a couple different grains of sandpaper, ranging from relatively coarse to very fine First, here’s a schematic overview of an angel blade and its dimensions. It has a relatively long, slightly tapered cylindrical hilt with thin rings on either end. The blade itself is trilateral rather than flat (i.e. effectively a very elongated pyramid shape) and sits on a sloped base connecting it to the hilt. To start off, you’ll want to mark off the length of each section on the side of your wooden stick.

Next comes the fun part: carving and sanding the actual shape out of your piece of wood. This might take a bit of practice to get it perfect, so be prepared to perhaps have to create a prototype before making yourself the real deal! It’s easiest to start off with the hilt section before moving onto the blade half. Since you can’t exactly add wood, only remove it, you’ll need to make the rings at the ends of the hilt stand out by slimming the hilt itself down a bit. So, start sanding off layers of wood until the main part of the hilt is only around 1” in diameter, tapering down from the rings. If you want to get this part of the process done a little more quickly, you can get the rough shape down using a woodworking file instead, and then moving onto the sandpaper as you get closer to your preferred thickness. In either case, you ultimately want to progress from your most coarse sandpaper to your finest, until the wood is as smoothly polished as you can get it by the time you create the correct shape. Next, you’ll want to create the rounded “ball” shape at the very end of the sword by rounding it off with your sandpaper (and optional file) in a similar fashion.

It’s time to carve the blade, now, which means you’ll need to transform a cylinder into a pyramid. Unless you’re feeling confident in your transfiguration skills, get out your utility knife and start cutting down the top half of your wooden stick. I find it easiest to slice off slivers of wood (lengthwise) at a time until I reach the proper tapered trilateral shape, rather than trying to carve out the finished shape in one go, but your mileage may vary. However you reach the correct shape, make sure to sand it down nice and smooth again once you do, and also carve a little groove down the center of each side of the blade while you’re at it. You can do this pretty easily by using the edge of a folded-over piece of sandpaper.

To create the sloped half-moon edges of the blade’s base, take your sandpaper, hold it at about a 45° angle to your stick, and just sand away the excess wood you’ll have left at the base of the blade once you finish carving it. You should find this ends up forming the half-circle at the base of each side of the blade more or less automatically. Finally, smooth out the edges of the rings left between the blade and the hilt as well as the hilt and the little rounded end, and then your wooden angel blade is done!

Of course, a wooden angel blade probably wasn’t what you were after, so let’s apply a little alchemy next. Or, if that’s more practical for you, a little old-fashioned paint. Cover the entire sword in a layer or two of white acrylic paint, as a base coat. This will smooth out its surface even more and prevent the relatively porous wood from soaking up the coloured paints as much.

Once this base coat is completely dry, apply an opaque layer of the metallic pewter-coloured paint.

At this stage, if you prefer, you can leave the paint job as-is and move straight on to applying the finishing varnish. I personally like to add a little bit more detail to give it a more convincing metal-notwood look, which gives it an appearance of brushed/aged metal… which is technically less screen-accurate. (But prettier, in my opinion.) So, it’s up to you. If you want to go for it, what you want to do is dilute your black acrylic with a few drops of water until it’s very transparent. Using a small brush, you then very lightly apply this paint in any place you’d expect to find natural shadows; at the base of the blade, in that little groove you made, along the edges of the rings, etc. Apply additional coats of this very transparent black as needed to deepen the shadows further. Next, grab a light metallic silver and use it to paint on highlights in a similar fashion.

Once you’re satisfied with your paint job, leave it to dry completely. A couple hours at least, preferably overnight, or if necessary, you can speed up the process with a hair dryer set on low. Once the paint is completely dry, apply some kind of clear, glossy coating. There are probably special varnishes intended for this exact purpose, but I personally just use a decent coat of clear nail polish. The shine and smoothness helps to further sell the metal look, and it makes the blade relatively waterproof (in case you want to, say, take pictures with it in the rain, or clean the blood of your enemies off of it without ruining the paint job).

Once the top coat has dried as well, you’re all set. Happy stabbing!

(Don’t go stabbing yourself in the chest, though. Cas never actually wanted that.)

You said you were looking for adventure.

Well, here it is, Red.

Dorothy: katarinacosplay - Charlie: katybeth Photos: Short Fuse Pinups

Garth and Jo cosplays by isaisanisa

Cosplay by isaisanisa

dustydreamsanddirtyscars and Tahmoh Penikett

Cosplay by isaisanisa

Cosplay by isaisanisa

1

Issue

Poll Results

Best S9 Finale Spec

By Emma (returnfrom-86) A reverse crypt scene would be just perfect. To get there I think Abaddon, who has shown such an interest in Dean, will try to manipulate him into a sort of a deputy (or prince of hell?) or an ally, to use his power. Either way I don't see Abaddon willing to share her power. This is how they end up in a fight and Dean kills Abaddon, turning him fully dark side.

My thinking is that most of the power lies within the blade‌ not the mark. So destroy the blade, destroy the power. I think Sam and Cas will figure this out and find some special magic to destroy the blade and set off to try and save Dean.

Reverse crypt scene ensues, Sam is waiting by the side for Cas to throw him the blade once he's wrestled it from Dean's hand, some pleading, some punches, a hell of a lot of pain, maybe the infamous "I love you" line will see the light of day‌ anyway, Dean comes back to himself (all angsty and angry at hurting Cas), relinquishes the blade to Cas who lets Sam destroy it! Crowley swoops in, "knew you could do it boys. Had every faith in you, blah blah blah," and takes his place as King of Hell so TFW can focus on all the other plot arcs which lie ahead them in S10.

By destielsfluff

Issue 3 Reader Poll

Vote here!

By joaellaine