Quick updates! Today is a good day to be bisexual and not die!

I have been less active because, in the wake of the ending of Supernatural (boo! and also hiss!) I have found that Tumblr fandom also kind of rose from its grave to have one last absurd hurrah, so I've been reblogging an absurd amount of stuff there.

Supernatural feels:
(relatively spoiler free) 

The ending was like the pilot run in reverse - they packed the boys up and put them on the shelf like toys they were finished playing with, instead of characters who'd had fifteen years of development.   The ending feels like a tragedy, but was portrayed as a happily ever after. 

In the end, the last three episodes and the story behind the vaunted love confession of 15X18 have convinced me that much of the elements of the show that I loved was created by accident. It was not written for me. The creators had absolutely no idea who their audience was, or what made their show great in the eyes of so many. 

I have been watching this show, on and off, for 11 years. I started watching in college, I know exactly which episode I saw first, I have felt joy and hope and despair and euphoria and righteous anger at this show for years. 

Going forward: Inspired by the podcast Still Pretty, a "fully spoiled Buffy podcast" that brings in analysis from all over the Buffy cinematic and comics universe, I have started a re-watch with my dear friend, and we are rewatching from Supernatural from the pilot onwards. It's deeply fun! My friend has never watched horror movies, so the elements of that genre in the early series are very much my area of expertise. I'm also reading a bunch of things that were inspirational for the show's creators. 


Real Life:
A birthday was had! It involved a surprise Zoom party, which, uh, was fine, because I was spoiled for it by the considerate people in my life who understand that I do not like surprises! But the main activity of the party was very fun. I got a lovely mug from my sister, as well as a NEW KINDLE from my dear husbeast. This one has the power to just download fic directly from AO3, a power which I have craved mightily in the past

Thanksgiving, which usually falls on the week of my birthday and is therefore My Holiday, was a bit sad. The parents rightfully had cancelled the family meal months ago and each of our little households cooked separate meals and chatted on a vidcall after. It was a lovely meal and we're still eating the leftovers, but. Well. A bit sad. 

I have not been sleeping super well recently, but I made some minor changes last night and I woke up not feeling groggy or gross or tired! It's a lovely change. 

I think I might go thru my recent reading history and pick a few fics to share. 

A Supernatural Rec List

Supernatural is dead! Long live Supernatural!

At long last, Supernatural, the show, has passed from this mortal veil.

The canon is closed - nothing more can be added, nor can anything be taken away.

The last queer has been baited, the last woman murdered for stupid reasons.

The power to change these characters has passed from the hands of their creators, into the hands of the fans.

My last word to the writers: Thank you. But also, fuck you. 

Let's have some fic recs!

***

Title: Nothing Is Left of My Voice in My Mouth by Iphys
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27511255
Author Summary: It would be weird, he decides. Kissing Cas. Post 15x18. Dean imagines what it would be like.

Why I Love It: I helped beta this! - it is a tight and deadly and lifegiving addendum to the post- 15X18 body of work. The post date is important! This was written before the series ended, before 15X19. It is heartbreaking and lovely and everything Iphys writes is worth a read.

***

Title: Cinderwings by bendingsignpost
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12847041
Author Summary: Under the cover of a masquerade ball, Castiel has five nights to recover the key to his people's freedom. The world has changed greatly in the six centuries since their banishment into the void, but the task isn't impossible. Unfortunately for Castiel, this is going to involve talking to people - especially the Knight Prince who has taken an interest in Castiel and his "costume" wings.(Destiel Cinderella AU)

Why I Love It: This is a mostly-Castiel POV fic, set in a fantasy world where Dean is a knight prince and angels were accidentally banished to a void world hundreds of years ago. Castiel is anxious and kind and goal-oriented while also being a bit swept off his feet with Dean's attentions. He's lying by omission, on a mission to save his people, but he's also met this person who has the power to give him what he needs to do that - and who is also just, a wonderful person who he's immediately attracted to. It's wonderful and interesting and the magical system is twisty and there is also a LOT of great plot that adds depth to the characters. Iphys rec'd this to me while we were waiting for Supernatural to air its final episodes and it is a wonderful comforting fic that I also think it just a great take on Cinderella. It's got some heft to it- highly, highly recommend.

***

Title: r/supernatural by renrub
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27626783
Author Summary:
whatbaby
[checks post history] uh… is this the m30s friend that everyone thought was your boyfriend?

LiketheGun79
Yes but that's not relevant

Dean's on Reddit.

Why I Love It: Supernatural is a world where the mundane world is portrayed as safe and ignorant of the monsters that could hurt them. To have knowledge of the monsters usually means trauma and suffering and sometimes death - almost all hunters in the show become hunters as revenge for the death of a family member. As a result of this, we get a lot of 'Hunters Idealizing Suburban Life,' and very little outside view of the Winchesters. This fic is 100% outside view of Dean's life, and everyone's just like, 'damn girl you live like this?" DEAN IS ON REDDIT. He is an INTERNET CRYPTID! He asks for family advice and people tell him to maybe consider whether his dad abused him! He asks about parenting! He asks about relationship advice! People think he's in the mob! They think that he should date Castiel! It's so good. It's so, so good.

***

Title: And This, Your Living Kiss by opal_bullets
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18083927
Author Summary: Only a very few people in the world know that the celebrated and reclusive poet Jack Allen is just Kansas mechanic Dean Winchester, a high school dropout with a few bucks to his name. Not that it matters anymore; life has left him so wrung out he never wants to pick up another pen.

Until, that is, a string of coincidences leads Dean to auditing a poetry course with one Dr. Castiel Novak. The professor is wildly intelligent, devastatingly handsome...and just so happens to be academia's foremost expert on the poetry of Jack Allen.

Why I Love It:This is a fic about poetry by someone who loves poetry, loves writing, loves the deep knowledge of the craft, and has NO PATIENCE AT ALL for assholes who want to gatekeep or make writing pretentious. It's so sweet and loving and about being a queer kid and how the kindness of a few people can be transformative when you have nothing to rely on. This fic was a gift. I learned so much about poetry, I think the characterization is spot on, the romance is slow and sweet and deft. Also, it includes a GREAT survey of the wonderful cast of minor characters that Supernatural has pulled together over the years, and it really does a wonderful job of giving them all personality and value and heft. I love Literature Professor Missouri Mosley, I love foster parent Sam Winchester... This fic was raft in a sea of sadness.

***

Title: Good One's Gonna Be by remmyme
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12127812
Author Summary: Castiel Novak receives a rather alarming text message from an unknown number, and what started as a simple misdial quickly turns into the greatest friendship Castiel has ever known. But Dean has many secrets, dangerous truths about the life he lives, and would like to tell Castiel exactly none of them.A (slightly) AU, (mostly) text fic, S3 fix-it romance (of sorts).

Why I Love It: This hits my delight in outsider POV's Supernatural, while also being a fun read, showing how Castiel, Normal Human, might encounter Dean Winchester (season 3 version), and how that might change his life. One thing I adore about this fic is that it takes Season Three and says, NOPE, FIXING THAT. This is the version of Dean who is facing down a year to live, and who never expected to fall in love over goddamn text with someone he's never actually met. But he does. And it's awful, because he expects to just be a scar in Castiel's life, a dead end that never got a chance, and Castiel is like - Yeah, fuck that.

***

Tiny note - I am also reading With Understanding by apokteino, but since I have not finished this truly massive fic, I am not going to rec it yet. It's 450K, and I have read 40% in 48 hours. God help me. It's so good.