Supernatural is about everything and nothing all at once.
EDIT:
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Episode opinions: #spn rewatch diaries
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Personal stuffs also here and there
POLITICALLY: Due to some real life events, lemme clarify: DNI if you have any sympathies for any kinda fascism (Zionism, Hindutva, Nazi shit, etc etc.). Miss me with that shit. I'm on the side of anti colonialism everywhere. Also, I love every kind of queer person, idc abt the labels like at all. Peace and love. But if you bring racism to my door, I will block immediately. Mwah💕
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EDIT #2:
Alright, my adhd is getting out of control and I'm cluttering more than usual. So, here's the side blog about danmei/mxtx/yaoi. jasmine-in-the-danmei-zone.
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Okay something I noticed in the Dean/Cas scene in 4x21 is that they're being visually paralleled with each other;
Which is happening because they're circling each other, physically yes, but conversationally too. Dean is chasing answers and Cas is evading him, but at the crux of it, they're both participating in a conversation they do not want to be having but see as their only choice. Dean doesn't want to hand over allegiance to heaven but in order to keep Sam from destroying himself, the angels are his only effective 'ally' left. Cas doesn't like having to withhold information from Dean, he already knows that they cannot stop the apocalypse, that he will free Sam shortly after this conversation, that this is essentially coercion, but he cannot defy his superiors because he's afraid (very recently tortured back into submission). They're both pawns being played in the grand scheme of the apocalypse, the difference being that Cas has a better idea of the picture than Dean, he has more power, that's why it's almost as if Cas is leading while Dean follows, like he's the dominant partner in their dance, because he is essentially leading Dean on.
Watching Tombstone, and sure, Jack tolerates Cas’s speech. But every time Sam in particular starts talking, Jack shuts down so haaard, “Don’t. Just don’t.” It’s so. It happens twice!
And also, Jack’s, “I have to go. I’m sorry,” is I believe what Mary says too when she leaves in season 12. 🥹
Like I promised, here's the play-by-play of Jack's Tombstone reactions.
Before I begin, ultimately, Jack is running away. That means that, ultimately, none of TFW gets through to him in a way that changes his course of action.
I'm picking on Sam a little bit, but I don't actually think it's a major flaw or a moral failing that talking about emotions doesn't come as easily to him. The fact that he keeps trying counts for something, even as unaware of his own clumsiness as he is.
== Jack + his own heart-to-heart attempts ==
First, despite his similarity to Sam, Jack doesn't appear to have the same issue as Sam when it comes to picking out words to comfort others. We see him try it in Optimism with Dean. Jack feels that Michael was his enemy, his responsibility. That Dean stepped in weighs on Jack. In Jack's mind, it wasn't Dean's job to take on Michael; it was Jack's war.
Unlike with Sam, Dean opens up to Jack. This seems to suggest that it's not just Dean's parent-like relationship to Sam that precludes their difficulty in seeing eye-to-eye on their heart-to-hearts--it's a major personality difference between them. Jack kinda gets Dean.
JACK (frankly): Dean, what happened with Michael, no one blames you.
DEAN: Cool, well I blame me, so...
(Jack coughs)
DEAN: Still with that cough, huh?
JACK (moving on to another topic): Maybe I'm allergic to sitting around doing nothing
LATER...
DEAN: Okay, alright. It's not about being right. Kay? You're gonna make mistakes, hell, I make them all the time. But it's how you handle yourself once you've made those mistakes and you've learned from them.
JACK (knowingly, directed at Dean re:Michael): And, how to not beat yourself up over them. (starts coughing)
DEAN (fondly): You know Jack, you're pretty smart sometimes. I'll tell you what--when Sam gets back I'll talk to him about getting you out on more hunts. In the meantime, we'll get you a crate of cough drops.
Jack doesn't pull out a "therapy voice." He doesn't push endlessly in the same session, trying to wear Dean down and drag his feelings out of him. Jack's frank about it, with a touch of humor, returning Dean's words at him at a cleverly timed moment. His humorous, sarcastic emotional style is more like Dean's, and even a little bit like Cas's. I recall Cas's wry ("I prefer the word trusting. Less dumb. Less ass.")
///
== Jack + manslaughter, 13x06 ==
Jack is about a month old, probably less than.
When Cas returns, with regards to Bunker life, Jack seems settled in. He's happily practicing and researching on his own. He seems more confident that he belongs here. He calls out to Dean on entry, "How was the case?" and Dean answers.
When Jack sees Cas, he is so, so excited. He immediately moves to try to show off to him. He excitedly shows Cas how he can control the pencil, and he wants to prove how much he's learned about casework. Jack enjoys the roadtrip. It's one of his best Heaven memories.
Then, it all goes wrong. His exuberance turns to shame. Not only is Jack horrified at the first real taste of what his powers can do to innocent human bystanders, he's probably a little embarrassed, too. Here was trying to show off to his Heaven-Father, who per the script, came back "like a long-lost father returning home from war," and he failed utterly.
///
TFW huddles together, discussing what to do about Jack's manslaughter. CAS: "Is this the first time he's hurt anyone?"
This framing, oof.
Jack sits on the couch.
Sam sits on his own hotel bed.
Dean and Cas stand as a grim unit on Dean's side.
Cas asks, "Is this the first time he's hurt anyone?" Blunt as ever. But it is painful for them to face, and it's painful for Jack to hear.
Arguably, it was Cas who pushed for Jack to be born with full power...to be an angel, like him. This is (partially, symbolically) about Cas's legacy, about something angelic being born into the world that can be Good rather than an emanation of war & violence. Cas "wants to believe that. He has to."
It's...a very tough conversation.
///
Dean makes the decision to prioritize Jack's well-being over his culpability for the crime, a la the parents in season 15's Atomic Monsters. (Also, that one time in vintage SPN that he considered that Sam may have murdered people in town.)
He pushes to get Jack back safely to the bunker. Sam seems surprised by this, straightening up, but Dean and Cas are on the same page.
Cas starts in, joining the pragmatism, "What about the ghoul? I can stay here..." Dean cuts him off, "I'll handle it." Handling it, of course, means solving the case, but it also means covering up Jack's manslaughter. Dean is frank about the superior danger Jack's powers pose: "Plus, you need to be with the kid, in case he, you know." Cas says, "Alright. Okay."
They're in agreement.
Cas is the strongest; ergo, he gets to deal with the bigger threat, a potentially out-of-control Jack. (Dean may also instinctually know that Cas is a slightly better fit for dealing with Jack's emotions than Sam is.)
///
== Sam + awkward attempt #1 ==
Later, in the car, Sam is floundering.
SAM: Jack, you, uh… you okay?
JACK: ...
(Of course he's not okay, Sam, but you are precious for trying to break the tense silence.)
///
== Cas is a little more successful in his attempt ==
Then, Cas tries his hand at talking to Jack, opening with his own mistakes. It's a reciprocal style of empathy, like Cas will later employ in 14x01. Cas instinctually reaches to reveal a specific wrongdoing of his own, showing that weakness to Jack.
CASTIEL: Jack, I've killed people who didn't deserve it… my friends– I've killed people I loved. I wish I could tell you that it– that it gets easier, that with time, it hurts less, but that would be a lie because it– it never gets easier.
And those moments, they never stop hurting. But that doesn't mean that you should stop fighting. Doesn't mean that just because you made a mistake – and that's what this is, Jack. It's a mistake.
That doesn't mean that you can't– can't be better, do better. I believe that. I have to believe that.
Cas forgives others because he struggles to forgive himself. Cas killed people he loved: Balthazar, Samandriel, and countless others. He wants to believe that Jack can be better, do better. Because, as I said above, he wants to see something Angelic being a Good force for the world. Jack barely knows Cas, but he tolerates the speech.
Interestingly, Sam and Jack are both listening to Cas here, considering his words very carefully. Because when Cas admits to guilt and wrongdoing, they are able to look more clearly at their own mistakes. (This is especially true for Sam. You see his eyes start to track back and forth, thinking of his own actions.)
The effect is this: "If someone so strong like Cas can mess up, maybe it's okay when I mess up."
Ultimately, although none of TFW will get through to Jack enough to keep him home, Cas (and later Dean) certainly get through his armor more effectively.
///
== Sam + awkward attempt #2 ==
Uncomfortable and floundering once more, Sam tries to chime in--tries to follow up Cas's wisdom with wisdom of his own. He tries something similar to what he does in 14x01. It's a focus on having faith and believing in Jack. (But that isn't what Jack needs to hear. He'd much rather sit with Cas in mutual misery.)
Jack, already vaguely irritated by Cas's speech, explodes at Sam:
SAM: And we still believe in you, Jack. We, uh–
JACK: Stop. Just… (gritting his teeth) Please stop.
///
== Dean, tell me the truth ==
When Dean gets home, the mood is miserable. Since Jack exploded at Sam in the car, it seems they've taken to sitting in silence. Cas has completely de-escalated his stance, taking a seat to wait Jack out.
SAM: How'd it go?
DEAN: Usual. Killed the bad guy, saved the girl.
SAM: What about the, uh…
DEAN: Took care of it.
SAM: Good.
Jack explodes again, more willing to sling his rawest emotions at Dean, despite their half-month of horrible interactions. (Jack will also show a willingness to sling his raw emotions at Cas, in 14x01, exploding with emotion when Cas enters, in a way he did not with Sam.)
I suspect this is because, although Dean was knee-deep in grief and spewing toxic death threats to Jack during their first half-month together, Dean was exhibiting and expressing emotions over Jack's birth, Mary's abduction, and Cas's death. Sam, on the other hand, even in Mia Vallen's therapy session, kept his emotions pretty deeply under wraps.
JACK: Good? How is that good? I killed someone. (he gets up, and approaches Dean, seeming to plead with him directly) What was his name? The guard? Did he have a family?
CASTIEL (warningly): Jack, don't do this to yourself.
It's, as Sam so eloquently put it earlier, the first time that Jack hurt somebody and they didn't get back up. It's his first taste of how dominating his power is compared to humans. Suddenly, he's seeing Dean's perspective on his own powers.
When he rises and walks to Dean, we see a mated shot of the hotel scene, but instead of being seated away, Jack is approaching the group to join the conversation.
It's also another painful echo of Jimmy Novak, who is undoubtedly on Cas’s mind. The case was a dark mirror of Jimmy. The Jimmy issue is something Jack will be outlined/scripted to yell at Cas about in 14x02 Gods and Monsters. (Tombstone features a case about a ghoul who inhabits the attractive, hot bod of a dead man. It's a ghost: "Your boyfriend's not exactly human.")
We recall Jimmy when Jack pleads, "Did he have a family, did he?" It's the specter of guilt and shame that permeates their family unit; to be alive and working (and loving) at the expense of others.
JACK: No, did he?
DEAN (even, measured): Yes. He did.
///
== Sam + awkward attempt #3 ==
Bless him. After that heavy moment, Sam tries again.
Sam takes a deep breath, trying to follow up all that heavy honesty with his own wisdom. This time, he tries mimicking Cas's earlier words, which seemed to work in the car. (Notably, he's not specific, like Cas was. Cas underlines that he's killed people he loves, but Sam keeps it vaguer. "Things we regret.")
With Sam, Jack shuts down again. He's sharp about it. Jack's body language has Sam reeling back, hands up.
SAM: Jack, look, this life, what we do, it's… it's not easy. And we've all done things we regret.
JACK: Just don't.
Dean, on the other hand, is assessing Jack's mood, circling the table to approach him.
Dean gets it.
Jack barrels on, rightfully assessing that TFW is afraid of him. Cas tries to tell him, that no, they're not afraid of him (just his powers).
JACK: No, maybe you're right. Maybe I'm just another monster.
Enter Dean. He does something interesting. As Sam was moving backward, away from Jack, Dean moves forward, towards Jack. Like Cas, Dean begins by acknowledging his own mistakes. (Dean uses this approach with Claire, too, telling her she was right and he was wrong.)
DEAN: No, you're not. I thought you were. I did.
Then, Dean waves his arms and kindly makes to include Sam in the conversation, because Sam has been iced out. Dean is a little more specific about his wrongdoings, like Cas was. "We all have blood on our hands."
DEAN: But… Like Sam said, we've all done bad. We all have blood on our hands. (with a little smile) So if you're a monster, we're all monsters.
///
== I don't want to hurt you ==
Dean gets through Jack's armor with more effectiveness, and Jack's heart squeezes. Then, Jack realizes that it's not just about doing Good or Bad. He's afraid he'll hurt his own family. That's the root of the Fear. (That he's poison, that he'll break what he touches.)
JACK: No, you don't (understand)...Every time I try and do something good, people get hurt. I thought I was getting better. I'm not… I don't know what I am, but I know I can't make the world a better place, not like this. I can't even do one good thing. And I know that if I stay, I'm gonna hurt you. All of you. And… I can't. You're all I have.
...
JACK: I have to go.
...
JACK: I'm sorry.
He put his hand up, in a mimic of his trademark, "Hello." But here, it's goodbye.
JACK: I'm so sorry.
///
BONUS: This goodbye is similar to what Mary says in 12x03 The Foundry when she leaves:
SAM: Mom...w-what are you trying to say?
MARY: I have to go.
THE BOYS LOOK HEART-BROKEN BY THIS NEWS.
MARY: I'm sorry. I'm so...so sorry. I just need a little time.
///
Last note: Sometimes, when Jack gets hurt, he becomes defensive with everyone. Cas and Dean do see this as they get to know him, which is why they tread carefully, both using snake metaphor in 14x13.
///////////////
(Text Attributions// Supernatural scripts here via @spnscripthunt. Transcripts are located here via SPNWiki. Visit their Tumblr to donate.)
#both he and Sam reassure Jack that he’s Not dangerous#but cas in particular puts emphasis on jacks powers still being a force for good#dean focuses on separating jacks personhood from his potential danger and Sam focuses on..#roughly the same thing. but with the same force of good emphasis bc of how he particularly relates to jack via @optimismjack
Yes, it's about their respective soldierly relationships with Cause. They all know Jack's "dangerous," and they all vocalize it in different way. Cas leans on using Power for Good, as does Sam somewhat. But Dean tends to *more often* favor Power as tied up with Altruism, because it's the way to solve the pesky problems associated with too much power. They're such messy War Parents, I love it.
I still occasionally see Jack’s frustrations with Sam get ignored, but in the show, he actually gets frustrated with Sam as early as “you wanna use me as your interdimensional can-opener” in 13x04.
And it’s not without humanity! Jack then talks with and understands how desperate Sam is to get Mary back, but the flashes of irritation are also so so important to me.
I am writing this because my 6 children and I have lost everything in this devastating.
We are now living in a small fragile tent that offers no protection from the scorching sun or the freezing cold .We are essentially living on the street with nothing to our name Diseases are spreading through our bodies clean water is nearly impossible to find and we have no food to eat. Life has become unbearably bitter.
I am reaching out to you as a sister seeking help for her family. Ple-ase do not ignore my plea. Even the smallest amount of sup-port could protect my children from hunger and the cold. We are desperate and we truly need you to stand by us
,Thank you for your humanity.
vetted by @ga-za-evacuation-fund
m sorry to bother you. but hunger is eating us up. My child is of diapers. The prices are outrageous. Abag of flour costs $460. Mlilk is $170 Diapers are $230. Please don't let us down. Any donation you make will give us new hope for survival. If we don't die from the boombing, we will die of hunger.
love it when people are acting naive/obtuse, like i just saw popular tweet "why s1 of iwtv is the only one that doesn't have perfect rating on rotten tomatoes, i felt like it was the best one?". like, dude, the answer is anti-black racism. the show was review bombed. look at the comments under the trailer for s1, it's mostly racists hating on jacob. obviously reviews for s2 & s3 are mostly from the fans of the show! how long people can play ignorant and ask these questions, we all know why & we need to call it out instead.
I'm really impressed by how Mei Kinosaki—a queer, female-presenting man—is treated as one of the main characters of Marriagetoxin. He's portrayed over and over as a paragon of sex appeal, of desire, of feminine charm, of what many shonen viewers expect a female romantic lead to look, act, and sound like. He is shown as irresistible to both sexes, and in the openings and ending sequences, he's sexualized, romanticized, and adored for his personality in equal measure. His cross-dressing isn't used for cheap comic relief jokes (outside of the initial reveal). Instead, our main character doesn't question Kinosaki's choice to present as a woman, and just fucking rolls with it.
And this is a shonen anime. A harem shonen anime. They not only made one of their two main characters unabashedly queer, but the series depicts him as the exact person we're meant to see as Gero's romance interest. We are meant to view him as the ideal partner, the beautiful, alluring, kind, good person who we want our protagonist to end up with in the end.
To put it simply, we, the audience, are meant to love him. And I can't emphasize enough how fucking refreshing that is.
