Poor Hannah. Five bags at once - it’s a miracle she survived!
The Species of Supernatural Fans
Someone asked the fine folks at fandomnatural to describe the types of Supernatural fans. Okay, so I am new to all this and my picture of the SPN fandom is very warped and inaccurate, but this was my answer:
Naive Recruit (Casual version) - those mythical folks who idly watch the show but have never heard of shipping or cons, own no Supernatural stuff at all and are unaware a fandom exists. They don’t mind retcons and seem to like monster-of-the-week episodes.
Naive Recruit (Netflix version) - Have just watched 214 episodes in a row in the last 6.24 days and though they don’t even know the cast’s names, they have a better grasp on character history & canon than any of the show writers. They’re into the show enough to feel personally offended that reapers are now angels, but still haven’t found the fandom.
Truefanning Dudebros - a further developmental stage of some of the above; have found the fandom but had a violently allergic reaction, are personally offended by the existence of shippers, and live in constant dread of being infested with fangirl cooties.
Grizzled Wincestians - have been watching in real time for ten years, ship Dean with Sam, melt into a puddle of goo over brotherly hugs, used to walk uphill in the snow five miles both ways just to watch the season 1 premiere back in ought-four, and still are adjusting to the puzzling presence of that brand new whippersnapper Castiel.
Destielers - passionate fans of the Dean/Cas ship, fuzzily remember blazing through S1-S3 in about three days on Netflix and consider the show to have started with Lazarus Rising. Like magical goats they can devour any kind of garbage the show throws at them (“Dean picks up a beer bottle”) and transform it into Destiel gold (“Dean picks up a beer bottle… that says ‘Taste of Heaven’ and it’s SUPERIMPOSED ON CASTIEL FOR 1/10TH SECOND AND OMG THEY’RE SO IN LOOOOVE”). (edit: in case it wasn’t clear, this is me)
Rare Shippers - drink unique local microbrews, listen to obscure indie bands, and rather than the commoners’ Wincest and Destiel they go for the rare ships. From half-canon ships like Megstiel to the mysterious Crayowley (Crowley and his crayon) and things I’ve never even heard of like DonJodBriel.
Bromance Purists - take their coffee black, their burgers dry, their whiskey straight, and though they aren’t scared of fangirl cooties, they just happen to prefer the elegant simplicity of a Supernatural that has bromance but no romance. Gen fics only please!
The Sublime Exalted Fanon'ers - no longer watch the show because they have transformed into a state of pure energy and no longer need the crutch of petty mortal canon. They drift about in fanon Heaven thinking exalted thoughts and trading magnificent fics (typically Destiel A/U’s), which rain down on the rest of us like manna from above.
Cast Appreciation United - watch the show largely to study the cast’s eyebrows, hairstyle, and facial mannerisms; have articulate opinions about Jared’s hairline, Misha’s skin tone and the correct way to describe Jensen’s eye color; know the date of every con, have every possible cast t-shirt, and know every major cast member’s hometown, birthday, job history, wife’s name, wife’s birthday, wife’s job history, kids’ names, kids’ ages, kids’ birthdays, pets’ names and birthdays, probably the birthdays of the squirrels in their backyards too, and also have impressive knowledge about the cast’s favorite airlines and personal wardrobe. (“He really should’ve worn his leather jacket on that last American flight.”)
The Anthropologists - Are all busily finishing up their PhDs on the sociological implications of all the above.
SE Hinton - is a meanie.
Supernatural Statistics: Castiel Effect (S10 only) and Writer Effect (S8-S10) on Show Ratings
1. CASTIEL EFFECT. I’d previously noticed that episodes with Castiel tend to draw more viewers than average. I thought it’d be interesting to break out the data by whether or not Castiel was shown in the promo. (I focused on the 20-sec promos that most viewers see) Then while rewatching all the show promos I realized there are very few promos that show Castiel interacting with Dean at all. (Plenty of interactions with Sam, Hannah, etc., but very few with Dean.) So I split the promos into 3 categories: (1) No Cas, (2) Cas shown but no Castiel-Dean interactions, (3) Cas shown and interacting with Dean (whether the interaction was positive, negative or neutral).
Also, because ratings have dropped dramatically during S10, I decided to compare each episode’s ratings just to the average of the previous 2 episodes rather than to the overall season mean. (Otherwise, episodes in the 2nd half of the season would be at a disadvantage.) Bear in mind here that it is normal for ratings to drop compared to the previous couple weeks. (All seasons show a downward ratings trend across the season.) Anyway here’s what it looks like:
Result: Lot of noise in these data, but, episodes with promos that showed Castiel interacting with Dean in any way, even if it was a negative interaction, tend to have a jump in ratings compared to the previous couple episodes. (don’t know yet whether this is statistically significant - I’m waiting for the finale before I run final stats. So this is just a preliminary look). In contrast, episodes with promos that showed Castiel, but with no Castiel-Dean interaction visible in the promo, tended to have a drop in #viewers compared to the previous couple episodes. Episodes with promos that didn’t show Castiel at all had the lowest average #viewers of all.
Note: I also spilt the data by whether it was a mytharc episode vs. an MOTW - that had surprisingly little effect. I looked at Crowley presence and Rowena presence - no effect. I looked at Sam-Cas interactions - very little effect. As far as I can tell the ratings boost only happens if the promo shows, specifically, Castiel + Dean interacting.
2. WRITER EFFECT. After the awful ratings of Dark Dynasty (written by Buckner/Ross-Leming) I got curious about whether there’s any truth to the rumor that some fans actively avoid Buckner/Ross-Leming episodes. Does the episode writer actually have any impact? I looked at this partway through S10 too but here’s the updated graph:
…ton of noise in the data here, but Buckner/Ross-Leming do come out with lowest average # viewers of any writer. (Writers with <5 episodes are excluded. I also excluded premieres & finales because they are so heavily hyped, which is why Carver doesn’t show up on the chart - he only does premieres & finales these days.) There’s a lot of variables here that I need to control for, though - like which season they were writing in, which writers happen to be assigned heavily-hyped episodes or Castiel episodes, etc., and wildcard hype moments like Jared’s anti-Bieber tweets and Misha’s directorial debut. (Note to showrunners: please continue the show for 20 seasons so that I can get a sufficient dataset to analyze this properly. Thank you.) But at a first glance, Buckner/Ross-Leming are indeed the writers with the worst ratings.
More geekiness to come after the S10 finale! TEN SEASONS of ratings to analyze, boy oh boy. My little nerdy heart is going pitter-pat in anticipation.
WEEK OF 5/17/15
Rating: Mature Word Count: 8,485
Summary: Sam’s too busy to pick up Sarah’s engagement ring from the jeweler’s.
Enter Dean. He minds just a little, and then not at all.
Tumblr: paperclothesline
the knot. (part 1 of ?) (castiel, deancas, mythology, season 9 au)
Castiel’s employee discount means that he eats most of his meals from the Gas-N-Sip: packaged salads with rubbery cubes of ham and egg, protein bars, breakfast burritos that are close to freezing inside and scorching in his hands. Sometimes he walks all the way down to the tiny farm stand on route twenty and gets a whole ripe tomato or a cucumber. He eats those slowly while he heads back, salting them with packets from the gas station serve-yourself counter. Nobody has to pay for the salt, not even Castiel.
One of my favorite writers in the world.
The must-read SPN fanfiction list: Fandomnatural’s list of favorite Supernatural fics
I asked fandomnatural what their favorite Supernatural fics of all time are - the must-reads, the top 3 (or 5, or 10, or more…) that they would recommend to someone new to the fandom. OH MY GOD SO MANY GREAT FIC RECOMMENDATIONS! Lots of people wrote in with epic lists! I’ve sorted them all alphabetically here. Most are Destiel but there’s a smattering of Wincest, Wincestiel, gen fics, Sabriel and some rare ships as well. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it has a lot of the classics plus some lesser-known gems, and I thought maybe y’all would enjoy it as much as I did. Visit fandomnatural’s Friday fic recommendation threads, and the full fandomnatural fic-rec archive, for more!
How lucky we are to have such spectacular writers giving us all these wonderful stories for free. Remember, if you like a fic, please drop the author a comment and let them know you appreciate all their hard work!
Full list of the recommended fics follows. Happy reading. :) - sparrow
besthunters-deactivated20150506
attackofthekillermexisaurusrex
My question is why is the popcorn is right next to the only person in the room who doesn’t EAT?
I believe it is because Dean made him popcorn in a cognitively dissonant act encompassing both fuck you and your disappearing-not-understanding-my-emotional-vulnerablity-in-that-crypt-not-eating-angel-bullshit and now you’re fucking back and I’m going to take care of you somehow so you don’t leave again you bastard.
And then Dean passively-aggressively plops this down in front of Cas with no explanation, so Cas is just sitting there being like why did Dean give me popcorn and then experimentally eating a few bites to see if that will make Dean stop frowning. But it doesn’t work.
I want to spread this… that popcorn, ya’all, that popcorn.
Tumblr: Myth vs Fact
People have been talking a lot about Tumblr on Twitter lately (for no reason whatsoever), but that also means a lot of misinformation is going around. So if you're coming from Twitter, I would like to clear up a few misconceptions, starting with:
Myth: Tumblr is dead. It died with the Dec 2017 porn ban and now it's a ghost town.
Fact
Well, okay, yes, it did die with the Dec 2017 porn ban. Mostly. But it got better! On November 5, 2020, Destielpocalypse happened and Tumblr rose from the grave. Since then it hasn't been as busy as in, say, 2015, but it's gotten over its death and has had a steady stream of traffic ever since.
See the rest below the cut!
Hey wait,who was it that use to run an aromatic dean account. I liked that blog ...wonder if I still follow them/are they still active
★ Your Soul is Beautiful by apokteino
This fic rings true for me, to Dean’s character a little darker then what I’d normally rec but it ends very sweetly, very honestly if I’m to label it some how. I really enjoyed this quick read, I hope you do too!
★ An Exploration of Habitat by aileenrose
A wonderful story that had be grinning like a dork throughout, Dean and cas have an immediate connection but it’s not over written or overly obvious- it reads and feels natural.
★ Grounds Hero by lastknownwriter
Lately I’ve really been getting into the quick 10K or less Destiel fanfic, and this one has everything I love, heart, little tiny plot and Dean and Cas written in character (in au) and also Dr. Cas . Definitely a good pick-me-up-fic.
★ Get the Words Out by relucant
Being dyslexic I really resonated with this fic, Cas’ struggles, Dean’s revealed mutism (a personal headcanon of mine too). This was a really thoughtful, cute read. For just a ficlet it reads as a complete and full story- which is something I really love about fanfic like this.
★ For All You Young Hockey Players Out There, Pay Attention by thursdaysfallenangel
Though this fic is long it’s not a complicated read/story. The pacing of the story is well throughout as well is Dean and Cas’ relationship- which coupled with their characterizations closely follows the show. Despite saying that it’s not complicated, it’s definitely unique, the story is gripped don’t be surprised if this isn’t one of those fics you end up binging all in one session late into the early hours.
*Fans self* there’s some smutty smut in this one guys, but really it’s a engaging plot and story well thought out. Serves as a Season 2 canon divergence (which I love!) yet mixes elements from different seasons in the best way. If you love canon divergence like I do, definitely give this fic a shot!
Dark angst guys read all the tags and authors notes before diving into this one- but if you can deal with some triggering themes and plot points then this is a really great fic, echoing is how I’d describe it. Like yelling out into a chasm and only hearing your voice echo back- that’s the kind of sensation/feeling I got from this fic. That’s not a bad thing by any means but it’s definitely a sensation not for everyone.
★ Three Funerals and a Wedding by Enlgandwouldfall
Read it. Read it and it’s mini follow up, bask in joy bask in brilliance and good writing. Enjoy. Read.
★ Say a Prayer and Light a Candle by tiptoe39
WHY IS THERE NOT MORE (well researched) JEWISH DESTIEL FANFIC LIKE THIS? WHY WHY?? I can gush forever about this well written, engaging and cute fic more, the relationship is ra and real between Cas and Dean and it is the best depiction of Cas having any religion in any fanfic I’ve read so far. Honest, researched, real.
★ Red Right Hand by Duckyboos
Give me all the murder husbands. Even though you know from the beginning where it’s heading and what is happening suspense coats every word in this fic building up to ‘that’ moment. You’ll know the one when you read it. Brilliant, really enjoyed this one.
★ Dream and Now by Sass_Master
Sometimes you just need some fluffy/smutty Established Destiel fanfic, little plot but a lot of love. This fic delivers all that is promised and a little bit more.
★ Handle with care. by outpastthemoat
This one hit me like a punch in the face. HA! Ouch.
★ Saint Dean and the Monster by Aerlalaith
The best kind of crack fic is the kind where when you’re reading it in all it’s beauty you’re not entirely sure whether it actually *is* a crack fic or not.
★ Qualia by imogenbynight
This fic is my weakness, A.I Cas- fuck guys, it gets me *every* time. Every damn time. Goodlord
★ Happily Alone by violue
An incredibly satisfying and short read, I am not the only one who wishes for more of this fic.
★ Friggen Festivities by englandwouldfall
This entire verse is a gem of writing. A real stand out for Destiel ‘holiday’ fics. Note that is contains some angst, some potentially triggering themes, but overall the story is about Dean and Cas and contains one of my fav au tropes, Nurse Dean! Definite read for the true Destiel junkies.
★ The View from Here isn’t Better by @rabidbinbadger
Okay I know I don’t usually rec WIPs but I’ve gotta get the word out about this under appreciated canon divergence cos seriously it has be by its plot-bunny-angst-driven claws. A story told from multiple povs with Lucifer still inhabiting Castiel’s vessel with Castiel along for the ride. If you wished for more Lustiel/Casifer thrown in with a destiel twist this is the fic for you.
★ Sight of the sun by mishcollin
These sorts of random-prompt au fics really showcase the beauty of the Destiel fandom and the talent of it’s writers. Cute, sweet, quick, excellent bed time story put a smile on my face.
★ Useful by mnwood
I really needed a fic to come out of this season that just cuddles my little Cas-Stan heart and makes everything all better, this is one of those fics’.
★ Never See it Coming by kototyph
I just found this fic series increasingly fun. I hope they add more to it, I really really do.
★ Settle by burningtea
Another WIP fic, I know I’m reading a lot of WIP recently that I need to rec damn. Anyway- this fic is beautiful. The plot is so well-realised in this fic, and the prose though simple is effective. I admit I’m frustrated with this fic a bit but in the good way- the best way as it’s all plot related. Bonus- I can’t see how this fic is going to end which is always a bonus in regards to fanfic- especially when you’ve read as much as I have (a lot).
★ The Bullring by masked
I have a soft spot in my uni-student heart for college au’s. This is a smile inducing fluff fest- read it on a bad day.
★ I Can Make You Scared by Dagerousnotbroken
Team Dean’s Red Ass!! :D Though I have a problem with overly large paragraph and some of the formatting of this fic I rally enjoyed this story, a pretty good interpretation of BDSM, some really enjoyable smut.
★ Unpresented by pm_lo
Alpha!Cas, Omega!Dean, secret ops, guns, fights, fists, spys- this verse has it all and takes a really unique and well thought out twist on the ABO mates trope.
★ He Can’t Sleep by 60r3d0m
Cas is hurt and I am sad and eventually after reading this fic both I and Dean and Cas feel a little better.
★ Evil Angel by shayunknown
I admit, I teared up at the end of this.
★ East of the Sun, West of the Moon by @riseofthefallenone
I was so excited to see one of my favourite fairy tale stories inspiring fanfic, especially Destiel fanfic- that was cause enough for me to fangirl all on its own but then I saw It was written by one of my fanfic crushes? Well- you could scoop me up off the floor in that moment and pour me into a teacup. Bliss.
★ Wrong Place, Right Time by palominopup
Just reading the summary alone should hook you, and if that’s not enough how about some dynamic word play? Throbbing, Switch Destiel, Less-meet-cute-and-more-meet-awkward, funny, heartwarming, smut, and domestic parents. Enjoy.
★ Be Mine by tatterwitch
Two of my favourite Au tropes mashed together, there is nothing about this fic that doesn’t make me *squee. Also some absolutely stunning accompanying art, make sure to check it out!
★ 67 Records by viviansface
This is a really sweet lovely fic that DEFINITELY needs more love then it’s getting!! Honestly it’d adorable and fun and just a generally feel-good read. Dean is such a dork in this which I love and best of all Eileen is in this fic and it is such a true and honest portrayal of her- seriously if you’re gonna read anything on this list make sure this fic is a serious contender!!
★ Trefoil and Hyacinth by Unforth
Sometimes you just need some fluff, sometimes you just need some love and Dean Winchester director of the Campbell Historic Home in Lawrence needs just those things, we all have to thank Unforth with hugs and platonic kisses (if accepted) for bringing this cutie-fic into the world.
★ Deeper and Deeper into the World by peridium
This fic is subtle in parts, this fic is beautiful, this fic is really well written. I loved the character voices, how the relationship between Dean and Castiel progressed, the road trip feel to the whole story. Funny, touching, sexy, thrilling, sad, heartwarming- I enjoyed the event that was this fic, and I highly encourage all of you to try it out for yourself too.
good job everyone
we’re doing great guys keep it up
Society: Capitalism and the free market is great because it lets customers CHOOSE who’s the best company and then that company makes all the money while lesser companies have to improve or die.
Millenials: *boycott companies that benefit off exploitation of people and natural resources*
Society: WAIT NO NOT LIKE THAT
Conservatives: Let the free market decide!
Millenials:
When i first found A/B/O fics I was like :
And now im like:
Saddest realization ever
This sweet man, Garth Fitzgerald IV,
Will go to Purgatory when he dies.
Some facts about Hillary Clinton
- In one of her FOIA’d emails, she refers to Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich as “mittens” and “grinch”
- in another, she asked an aide to remind her to bring more teacups from home
- and also please tell her what time parks and rec is on.
- She calls some of her most loyal supporters her “sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits”
- She nicknamed her secret service van the Scooby Van
everyone’s like “oh she’s a robot” no she’s a GIANT DORK please vote for Madame Dork in Chief 2016
WHAT IN THE EVIL PUPPET HELL ARE THESE, HOT TOPIC????!
Here’s a link, for anyone that wants to give nightmares to that special Supernatural fan in their life. [[link]]
Nine questions with NorthernSparrow
This week: @northern-sparrow talks keeping on top of canon; letting go of negative comments and being disciplined about writing.
ASS: What do you most enjoy about writing fanfiction?
NorthernSparrow: The feedback! Comments from the readers. Comments every chapter. The ability to plug into such a vast readership who all have a shared vocabulary of plots, canon, character knowledge & tropes. And the support & encouragement.
What aspects of writing do you find difficult when you write fanfiction?
- Keeping characters true to their canon selves, keeping them from going OOC. I have to rewatch show eps as I write to re-center my sense of the characters, of their voices and mannerisms and style. Otherwise they start to drift and evolve.
- Staying true to canon! After 11 seasons there’s so much backstory, so many details… and there’s always some reader who will remember something I didn’t. As the seasons pile up it gets harder and harder to do a quick rewatch & refresh my memory.
- The weekly posting cycle. This is self-inflicted but I always feel a great deal of responsibility to keep it going.
- And then all the things that are difficult in non-fanfic as well, all the million challenges of technique, pacing, flow, believable emotional arcs, believable character growth, story structure.
Have you ever received hateful comments on your fic and how do you deal with it?
Only once did I get “hateful” comments, from a (I think) single reader who started spamming the fic with very-similarly-written, very critical comments that all came in over two days. That was a weird case though. More often it’s just a comment that just includes a bit of a critique. But no matter how mild the critique it always hits me really hard. (Even this type: “I loved this chapter! But I just have to mention this 1 tiny little thing that bugged me a a little. [mentions tiny little thing] But other than that I loved it!” In my brain that becomes “THEY HATED IT, IT SUCKS”, lol.) Even the most mild criticism always just knocks the wind out of me and even makes me want to quit writing the fic, like, I often have to talk myself down from quitting. It’s amazing what a blow even the tiniest critique can feel like. The more critiques I get the more I can let it roll off, but I don’t think it’ll ever not hurt.
What I do: In the early days when I was a baby fanfic writer, I wrote back to readers a few times to ask basically “WHY did you send me that comment? What were you hoping to accomplish? ” - because, I still don’t understand why people send critical comments to fanfic writers. What’s the urge behind that, what outcome are they hoping for? These days I never write back and instead I just delete those comments right away when they come in. I delete them very very fast, the second they arrive. Afterwards, I’ve perfected this mental trick of not thinking about it for the rest of the day and not letting my mind circle back to it. With any luck it then fades from memory entirely. I always feel bad about it because I know the person put some thought into the comment, and took the time to read the fic, but this is what I have to do to be able to keep writing; otherwise, negative comments can completely destroy my motivation & my ability to get the next chapter written.
Conversely: what’s been some of your favorite feedback on your fanfic?
I’m always a sucker for “you keep them so in-character.” :) Characterization comments in general. Someone wrote recently and said something like “you manage to keep Cas and Dean masculine, acting like mature men would actually act, but it’s not toxic masculinity, it’s believable and sweet” - I still can’t figure out quite what they were picking up on but I felt really flattered by that. Because it can be tricky to write the opposite sex, especially in a romance.
I love taking readers by surprise! When I was younger I used to want to write mysteries, and I still seem to keep instinctively tucking a mystery story structure into most of my fanfics. Almost all of them, now that I think about it, have a puzzle or something hidden that I keep dropping clues about. Anyway I love getting commetns where readers start putting the clues together, or start coming up with their own theories.
I ADORE the kind of comment that’s a detailed list of quotes and technique, where it’s apparent a reader really noticed all the little details that you as a writer spend so much time crafting.
All time favorite type of comment though - when it turns out I affected the reader’s real life. Examples:
- A couple readers have said my fics helped distract them when times were really bad and, in one case, when they were in the hospital. Aww. I feel honored to be able to just brighten someone’s day at all.
- A girl wrote to tell me she’d just called up her father to tell him she loved him (this after reading a fic of mine where Cas is trying to fill a father’s role for Claire and he’s trying really hard at it but Claire is being a brat)
- A reader wrote once to tell me she’d donated a whole pile of food & supplies to a homeless shelter because of a fic I wrote about Cas being homeless. That floored me.
- A couple readers said they’ve become birdwatchers because of some stuff about wings and feathers that I put in several fics. Several have said they notice birds more and I think that’s amazing!
How do you handle writer’s block?
My instant reaction to this question was actually “I don’t get writer’s block” but on thinking about it, I guess I do have times like that but it only lasts about 30 seconds. I have pretty good discipline for just making myself sit down and pound out some kind of words on a page - I have to do that with nonfiction writing for work, so usually the fiction feels like such a relief in contrast that it’s relatively easy to get something down.
Generally I’m a fan of “the first draft’s job is to suck” and also the classic “write drunk, edit sober.”
If nothing else, I just start a movie playing in my head (Dean comes walking into the bunker and… what?) and start just narrating the everyday movements of the characters, get some dialogue or scene-setting down. Sometimes I start making a bulleted plot outline and inevitably the outline starts to expand and then it turns into real text halfway through (I have never not had this happen when trying to make an outline).
If a certain scene isn’t instantly flowing what I often do is switch to writing a scene I really do want to write. And, if there is a scene that I persistently have trouble getting going, something is wrong with that scene. Usually the plot threads there need to be tweaked till the scene is more compelling or has some more emotional tension, at which point, then I want to write it. Another way to think of it: there should be no boring parts. Any part that feels boring to write will be boring to read.
Which Supernatural fanfic of yours are you most proud of and why?
Oof. That’s like asking me to choose my favorite child! Honestly I can’t choose. They’ve all had such different challenges. Each one, at the time I’m writing it, feels like the toughest thing I’ve ever done.
What/who has had the biggest influence on your writing?
There’s such a vast pool of fantasy & sf informing a lot of my writing that it’s hard to pick out any one particular influence.
I guess in general though, that means that my biggest influence in writing fanfic is non-fanfic.
What are you currently working on?
A Destiel fic called “You Can Keep Holding On”. It’s being posted right now as a WIP.
If you could give one piece of advice to a new and/or struggling writer, what would it be?
Pick your favorite books, the books you want to write like, and go through them with a fine-tooth comb analyzing the structure and technique. Right down to the sentence level; and all the way up to the overall plot structure.
Here be awesome…
Did you know that the Fandomnatural subreddit runs weekly Supernatural fanfic rec posts where you can rec your fave fanfics or your own fanfic?
Well they do.
With over 4500 subscribers on the sub, and a genuine enthusiasm for all ships and gen, it’s definitely a great place to highlight SPN fic.
~ dreamsfromthebunker