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chaoticwistfulness · 5 months
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positivexcellence · 25 days
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Is there garlic on this pizza? An oral history of Supernatural's 'Monster Movie' episode
THE BEGINNING
What started as a simple enough idea — a black-and-white episode — was then put into the hands of writer Ben Edlund, who’d already crafted some of the show’s more creative hours, including “Hollywood Babylon,” which marked one of the series’ first meta episodes, and “Ghostfacers,” which was shot like a cheesy ghost-hunting reality show using handheld cameras. Alongside Edlund was director Robert Singer, an executive producer on the series and a massive movie fan himself.
ERIC KRIPKE (Creator): I was an obsessive fan of The X-Files and in their prime, they got really bold and adventurous with their format, and they had a black-and-white episode. I was always hoping that we could start taking those same kinds of swings. I remember saying, “I want to do a black-and-white episode where Sam and Dean are up against the classic movie monsters.” But I think Ben came up with the shapeshifter. We were trying to figure out: How do you get a mummy and a werewolf and a Frankenstein and a Dracula in the same episode? That makes no f---ing sense. So this idea of a shapeshifter who loved those movies and was ultimately just a fanboy was the secret to cracking that one open. 
ROBERT SINGER (Director): I think that script was Ben at his best. I was really happy that I was in line to direct because I really loved those old movies, so it was fortuitous that I got to do it. 
JENSEN ACKLES (Dean Winchester): It’s all just paying homage to the old-school ways of doing things, which having Bob at the helm, he’s seen all those movies time and time again, so he was the perfect guy to direct this episode. 
KRIPKE: Bob has an encyclopedic knowledge of movies, especially older films. He’s a classicist and his directing style is a lot of that kind of beautiful, elegant Hollywood style, and I think he just really relished it.
SINGER: I shot generally with wider lenses than I would normally do with Supernatural to try to give it some of that old-time feel. I really took pains to make it look as old fashioned as I possibly could. I’m a big fan of James Whale, who had done Frankenstein, and there are a lot of great crane shots in those movies, so I did a lot of crane work in this. We did a lot of shadow play. 
JARED PADALECKI (Sam Winchester): You put Ben Edlund on writing and Bob Singer on directing and magic is bound to happen.
But there was another piece of the puzzle that needed to come together for the magic to truly work: Who would play the shapeshifter (and therefore spend the episode doing their best Dracula)? The answer was Todd Stashwick.
TODD STASHWICK (Dracula): They wanted a full-on replication of Bela Lugosi’s performance. I had the DVD of the 1930’s Dracula, so I was watching that just to get the mannerisms and vocal intonation down so that I wasn’t doing a Xerox carbon copy but rather actually trying to get that Hungarian dialect that he has. I went in [to the audition] and just swung for the rafters.
SINGER: We had him do one of the Dracula scenes and then do the speech where he’s telling her how he became the way he became and Todd just killed it. That was an easy call to cast him.
STASHWICK: They wanted to know that you were going to be able to bring both sides to it, the full-on studied Dracula performance and then to let that mask drop and see the wounded man that is the monster. 
KRIPKE: We needed someone who could stick the landing on the Dracula part and that’s really hard. It’s hard to do it and have it not come off like a bit. Todd is a remarkable mimic of Bela Lugosi and brings humanity and soulfulness and depth to it. There’s something in his eyes that made it deeper and sadder than had you cast someone who was just going for an impersonation.
PADALECKI: That episode belongs to Todd Stashwick. He’s so damn good. 
Alongside Stashwick was Melinda Sward, whose character Jamie, a local waitress, caught Dean's eye and marked a first for the show. 
KRIPKE: At the time, there was a young female fan named Jamie. She and her mother would write us letters and they were super fans, and we were still early enough that we’re like, “I can’t believe there’s fans.” Jamie had medical issues, so when the season was coming up, I wrote her a response and said, “If you concentrate on getting better, we’ll name a character after you.” And she responded and said, “That’s amazing, but can you just do me a favor? Can you make sure it’s a character that doesn’t die?” So the female lead in this one we named Jamie. That was one of the only times we ever named a character after a real person and a fan. The happy ending is she was thrilled and she grew up healthy and now tours around with a replica of the Impala. 
ACKLES: Jamie was one of my favorite Dean Girls. Melinda was so good and so fun.
From the instant the episode began, fans knew they were in for something special as the old black-and-white WB logo kicked off a very old-school credits sequence.
SINGER: Right from the opening of the Warner Brothers shield, you know where you’re going. It set the tone perfectly.
KRIPKE: That and “Changing Channels” are the only two episodes where I’ll sit down and just watch the credit sequence. The font, the way you list every crew member, and it just goes on forever. And [composer Christopher] Lennertz wrote real orchestral music for it. I just love the opening of that episode and the way we did that title sequence. But changing subjects, what that reminds me of is the singular genius of Ben Edlund to set this episode during Oktoberfest. Suddenly everyone looks like European villagers and everything becomes a real monster movie.
SINGER: And that location was a party site, but it worked perfect for us. 
PADALECKI: It was like an amusement park in the outskirts of Vancouver that we rented out. It ended up unfortunately getting torn down and turned into condos or something.
THE MIDDLE
With the setting and the cast locked, the brothers set out on their hunt, arriving at Oktoberfest to help solve a murder. And when the investigation made Dean late to his first date with Jamie, he found himself face-to-face with Dracula. So naturally, Dean punched the shapeshifter in the face. A fight ensued, one that ended with Dean holding an ear and Dracula ... riding a vespa?
ACKLES: I believe one of the many reasons this show lasted as long as it did is because it can be scary but then at the same time, you throw something like the scooter in and it layers in comedy with horror, with drama, with romance. It touches it all. Bob said it early on and it became a mantra of ours: “No joke is too cheap.” 
STASHWICK: That’s the infamous assault scene. I’m in full crazy mode and I’m supposed to clock Jensen in his beautiful face with my elbow, and for whatever reason in that moment — I perhaps leaned in, he perhaps leaned in — we closed that gap and I clocked him. So what you see on the DVD extras is me being all Dracula and then me being mortified that I just hit their billion dollar baby in the face.
ACKLES: He caught me with an elbow but he probably thought he hit me harder than he did. It was a mix between a good shot and a graze, but he immediately broke character. He was like, “Are you good?” And I was like, “Yeah, that one woke me up.” [Laughs]
Dean made it through that fight, but the shapeshifter had already planned its next move: While Sam checked out an eccentric local that they thought was the killer, Dean and Jamie shared a drink back at the bar where she worked. Her friend Lucy (Holly Elissa) then showed up just in time to spike their drinks. By the time Dean woke up, he was wearing Lederhosen while strapped to a table in a dungeon.
SINGER: Jensen was like, “Oh god do I have to wear this?” So to make him feel better, I put on the Lederhosen top. I didn’t go with the full shorts but I did direct that day in the Lederhosen top to take the edge off it a little bit for him.
ACKLES: I remember that! He directed in that shirt. [Laughs] Those were authentic leather Lederhosen from Bavaria. Only the best for Dean.
PADALECKI: When Jensen’s first getting strapped to the table, cause he’s a big guy, I remember them talking about how for the visual's sake, they wanted it to be like he’s a quote-unquote damsel in distress, so if they used a normal-sized platform, it would’ve looked comical, but not in a good way. So they had to make it a little bigger cause he’s kind of big.
Dean wasn’t in the dungeon long before Dracula left him to go answer the doorbell. It seemed the shapeshifter ordered a pizza … and he had a coupon.
KRIPKE: I just love how there’s the monster lab in the basement but then you go upstairs and it’s this mid-century ranch house. That’s almost a direct ripoff of the Steve Martin movie The Man with Two Brains.
SINGER: [Set designer] Jerry [Wanek] did a great job in building the dungeon set, and then when the doorbell rings, you realize it’s in the bottom of a suburban house with a pizza guy showing up at the door. 
KRIPKE: When Ben wrote the script, we talked about that scene more than any other scene in the episode. We were so specific about how we wanted the Dracula shapeshifter to react to the pizza guy and the way he’s scared when he says, “Is there garlic on the pizza?” And then the way the pizza guy’s so bored and over it: “Did you order garlic?” And then he says, “No!” It’s the way that he’s so bored of this Dracula at the door.
PADALECKI: I think Jensen and I must’ve watched this episode together in 2008 because I remember us looking at each other and going like, ”Oh my god, [the pizza guy] is way better than he needs to be!”
ACKLES: That line, because of the way that Todd delivered it, we used that line on set many, many times. Whenever somebody asked a question that had an obvious “no” to it, it’d be like, “Hey, did you want the big light on in the distance?” And Bob would be like, “Is there garlic on it?” So that became a little ism on set.
STASHWICK: I’m a Second City guy, so “yes, and” is drilled into my head and yet the two memes I’m most known for, I’m saying the word “no,” and that is Supernatural and Star Trek. I have the no's that are heard around the world. 
In the end, the brothers came out victorious and another monster was dead, but not before this one made you feel a little something (and gave one heck of a final monologue quoting King Kong). 
KRIPKE: Ben gets all the credit, and rightfully so, for writing the crazy episodes, but where I don’t think he gets enough credit is what a disciplined screenwriter he is in terms of character consistency and rule consistency and just the emotion and pathos he brings to every single story he does. No matter how crazy, he always has such a talent for capturing humanity. I wasn’t counting on the shapeshifter to have pathos but when he gives that speech at the end, it’s so sad. I give him all the credit in the world for that.
SINGER: Eric used to say, “Every villain is a hero of his own story,” so we always tried, as best we could, to give the villains something to do and learn more about them and give them full characters. So even with all this fun, we managed to give him something a little more to do. 
PADALECKI: He becomes an almost sympathetic character — I stress almost because he did kill a couple people — but what a great character arc all inside of one episode.
STASHWICK: Because this character wasn’t just a cartoon Dracula and he had that human moment, I think it made him stick in people’s minds more. This monster just really loved the movies. He was the ultimate cosplayer. It might be the thing I’m most known for outside of Star Trek, that one episode of TV.
THE END...?
Although Dracula didn’t make it out alive, the episode seemed to breathe new life into the series, marking perhaps its biggest risk yet, though not the biggest risk the show would ever take. 
SINGER: It kind of laid a template for other big swings that we took that were out of the ordinary, whether it was “Changing Channels” or “The French Mistake.” This was the first of our big swings of being totally different than what the show was generally week to week.
KRIPKE: I remember it getting a positive reception. I think people appreciated the swings we were starting to take. I just love that this small little supernatural show that’s arguably a Buffy ripoff on The CW got so experimental. I am really proud that we were doing legit avant-garde stuff, really experimental filmmaking, of which this was one, and then we just kept pushing it. 
PADALECKI: It’s such a great episode of television and I think we have a few in our 15 years that could stand alone as something fun to watch and out of the box, and it's certainly easy to argue "Monster Movie" is at the top.
ACKLES: This was really when we were hitting our stride. We were in the pocket with these characters, with the storytelling, with the writing. The first year was really finding our feet, the second was like, "Okay we somehow survived a network merge, let’s not mess this up." And then third season we started playing a little bit. So by the fourth season, we’re like, "Now we know where we need to be." This was the perfect time to do one of these outside-the-box episodes. This is definitely one of my top 10.
SINGER: I directed 48 episodes and if somebody asked me which is my favorite, I would probably say this one. I just had the best time doing it. 
Entertainment Weekly
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zepskies · 5 months
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I'm very excited...
My early Christmas present to myself just came in! Thank you @kaleldobrev for the rec! 💚❤️
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It includes cast interviews from Jensen Ackles (SB), Jim Beaver (Robert Singer), Aya Cash (Stormfront), Nathan Mitchell (Black Noir), and I'm sure a lot more!
[Edit]:
My review on this is right here if you want to read!
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j2spntranscripts · 24 days
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☆ 2006 Paley Television Fest
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Official name: 23rd William S. Paley Television Festival Location: The Museum of Television & Radio (The Paley Media Center), John H. Mitchell Theatre, Los Angeles, California Time: Saturday, March 4, 2006, 7:00pm (GMT-7) Panelists: David Bushman, Peter Johnson, Kim Manners, John Shiban, Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Robert Singer, Eric Kripke Last episode: 1x16 “Shadow”- 2/28/2006 Next episode: 1x17 “Hell House”- 3/30/2006
Question Index: 1- (10:30) SPN Origins (Kripke) 2- (12:20) Sam and Dean Motivation (Kripke) 3- (14:10) Firsts Impressions "J2," Auditioning Sam and Dean (Kripke) 4A- (16:03) Auditioning for Sam and Dean (Jared) 4Aa- (16:53) SPN Appeal (Jared) 4B- (19:22) Auditioning for Sam and Dean (Jensen) 5A- (22:09) SPN Start (Manners) 5B- (26:04) SPN Start (Shiban) 5C- (27:34) SPN Start (Singer) 6- (31:04) SPN Mythology/Formula (Shiban, Kripke) 7- (34:18) Pre-Finale Thoughts (Kripke) 8A- (35:38) Location Significance- John in Sacramento (Shiban) 8B- (36:12) Location Significance- Lawrence Kansas (Kripke) 9- (36:58) Fear "Paranormal"- (Manners, Shiban, J2, Kripke) 10- (38:54) Continuity Mistake "4 years vs 2 years at Standford" (Kripke) 11- (40:39) Network Censorship "Gore"- (J2, Kripke, Singer) 12- (43:56) Paranormal on Set (J2) 13- (46:09) Network Censorship “Sex” (Kripke) 14- (47:19) Pre-series Sam and Dean (Kripke) 15- (49:06) Samulet (Jensen, Kripke) 16- (49:54) Special effects, Gag Reels (Jensen, Jared, Manners) 17- (53:15) Religion “Jensen,” Dean Winchester cellphone # (Jared, Jensen) 18- (55:39) Impala 67 (Jensen, Manners) 19- (56:15) SPN Music (Kripke, Singer) 20A- (58:41) Acting Advice “Start” (Jared) 20B- (1:00:08) Acting Advice “Start” (Jensen) 21- (1:01:02) Props "Alcohol" (Jared, Jensen) 22A- (1:02:14) Favorite Scene (Manners) 22Aa- (1:04:12) Acting Challenges “Shadow” (Jensen) 22B- (1:05:00) Favorite Scene (Shiban) 22C- (1:06:14) Favorite Scene (Jensen) 22D- (1:07:34) Favorite Scene (Jared) 22E- (1:09:18) Favorite Scene (Singer) 22F- (1:10:18) Favorite Scene (Kripke)
(transcript below the cut)
(*if you notice any mistakes in the video transcripts please point them out thanks*👍)
(0:00)
David Bushman is standing alone on stage in front of a mic reading off a script.
Bushman: Um, hi, everyone. My name is David Bushman. I'm television curator at the Museum of Television and Radio. And I want to welcome all of you to the museum's 23rd am-annual William Paley television festival. (thumbs to his right)
That clip that you just saw is from “Route 66,” which is one of the shows that, um, the creator Eric Kripke of, um, of “Supernatural,” um, often cites is one of his influences and that explains why we picked it. (thumbs to his right) That's part of our collection. We have 120,000 television and radio, uh, programs in our collection. And I would encourage all of you to visit the Museum in Beverly Hills, and in New York w-when you're there.
Um, tonight we're really excited to be honoring “Supernatural” which was named one of the top five new series of 2005 by Entertainment Weekly. “Supernatural” is aaa- a vibrant fresh exciting show that combines all sorts of genre elements: family drama, comedy, suspense, and on top of that it just scares the hell out of you. (audience laughs) I really want to thank Warner Brothers for all they did in helping make this night happen, particularly the PR department Holly Ollis and Winson Seto. Thank- thank you very much.
Um, what we're gonna do tonight is we're gonna, um, introduce right up front the cast and the creative team, our panels for the evening. Introduce them very briefly. Um, Eric is going to say a few words about what you're going to see. Then we're gonna.. watch an episode of the program, which Eric will talk about. Then we'll bring the panelists back up. I'll ask some questions and then you guys are on. So, start thinking of questions now. Okay?
(1:35)- first introductions
Bushman: Um, so, let me start with the panelists’ intros. First, uh, one of the producers of “Supernatural,” please welcome Peter Johnson.
Audience claps and cheers. Bushman looks to his left. Johnson walks on to the stage. Bushman meets him and shakes his hand. Johnson waves then goes down the stages stairs to sit in the front row. Bushman returns to the mic.
Bushman: Uh, next we have co-executive producer and director Kim Manners.
Audience claps and cheers. Bushman walks away from the mic. Manners enters on stage with his hands fiddling with his pants’ pockets and walks off the stages stairs to sit in the front row.
Bushman: Next we have co-executive producer and writer John Shiban.
Audience claps. Shiban walks out on stage waves to the audience and goes down the stairs to sit on the front row.
Bushman: Next, he plays Dean Winchester. Please welcome Jensen Ackles.
Audience screams and claps. Jensen walks out on stage and waves. He then jogs down the stage stairs to sit in the front row.
Bushman: Next, Sam Winchester. Please welcome Jared Padalecki.
Audience screams and claps. Jared speed walks out on stage, but walks passed the stairs a bit. He grimaces then bends down to look for the stairs while laughing a little, and then jogs down the stairs to sit in the front row.
Bushman: Next, the executive producer and director, Robert Singer.
Audience claps. Singer comes out on stage and waves to Bushman. Then he walks down the stairs to sit in the front row.
Bushman: Finally, the man whose vision, uh, created “Supernatural,” is the creator, executive producer, and writer. Please welcome Eric Kripke.
Audience cheers and claps. Kripke walks out on stage. He waves to the audience then walks to Bushman and shakes his hand. Bushman walks off stage and Kripke takes over the mic.
Kripke: Hey everybody. (audience responds back) Thank you so much, uh, for coming. Uhhh, it's a little, uh, overwhelming and- and amazing, uh, quite frankly.
This is to my knowledge, I mean, the first gathering of any “Supernatural” fans anywhere. So, thank you to you and give yourself (audience cheers and claps) a round of applause.
Uhm, just quick story from the set of “Supernatural” ‘cause it just happened last night. Uh, which is they were, uh, they shoot up in Vancouver. And, uh, they were shooting up at Stanley Park or about to begin production which is a-a public park up in Vancouver. Um, and, uh- uh, we're about to start filming when they got a call that, uh, there was a man about 100-200 yards from the film company, uh, with a handgun and, uh, they called, you know, Jared and Jensen. Said, you know, “Don't come to set. There's a man with a handgun.” And- and they shut down the whole production for two hours. They called in the police. They called in the SWAT team. Uh, they stormed-
This is all true. (laughs) (audience laughs) Very true. This all just happened last night. Uh, they all stormed Stanley- you know, SWAT teams storm Stanley Park, uh, looking for this man with a gun. Uh, and it turned out to be a, uh, member of our special-effects crew. (audience laughs) (laughs) So, good times from the set of “Supernatural.”
Ehahm, anyway. So, uh, I'm supposed to introduce the episode. So, let me- let me do that. Uh, the episode we're showing tonight is, uh, “Scarecrow.” Uum. (audience claps) (nods) All right, “Scarecrow” fans in the house. Uh, “Scarecrow,” uh, was written by the, uh, very brilliant, uh, John Shiban. Uh, (audience claps) so, round of applause for John. And it was directed by the very brilliant Kim Manners. (audience claps) (clears throat) Um, and so the reason, uh, we chose “Scarecrow” is we sort of felt it was, uh, just a good mix of sort of everything that the show is about.
Um, you know we think there's really some good drama between the brothers. We think there's some good comedy. Uh, we think there's, you know, good mythology about Dad and this is the char- is the episode that introduces Meg which people online had problems with (audience laughs) I seem to remember.
Um.. and, uh- And it's, you know, just, we think a-a scary, uh, damn good episode and- and- and based on a-a good series of, uh, you know, very fun urban legends about scarecrows. And so, I'll stop rattling on. Enjoy “Scarecrow.” We'll talk after. Thank you (audience claps)
Kripke goes off stage. Video fads to black.
(5:57)- second introductions
Visual comes back. Audience is clapping while Bushman walks on a lit stage with seven empty chairs and three round coffee tables each with bottle waters on top.
Bushman: Um, are there any “X-File”fans out there in the audience right now? (audience cheers and claps) It’s, uh- Every time I see this episode I feel like shaking Dean and saying, “What are you doing trusting the cigarette-smoking manager.” (audience laughs) (looks down to read his script)
Um, I'm going to bring our panelists back up on stage. Um, our first panelist is co-executive producer and director on “Supernatural.” He's directed nearly 300 hours of television, including 53 episodes of the “X-Files” which he also produced. Please welcome Kim Manners. (audience claps and cheers)
Manners walks on stage from the front row. Bushman shakes his hand and directs him to “move all the way down, please.” Manners follows the direction and sits on the farthest chair from the stairs.
Bushman: Our next panelist is a co-executive producer and writer on “Supernatural.” He began his career as a staff writer on the “X-files,” writing or co-writing over 20 episodes, and eventually serving as executive producer. He was also co-creator and executive producer of the “Lone Gunman” and supervising producer of “Harsh Realm” and is written for and produced “Star Trek Enterprise,” “Threat Matrix,” and “USA Network's Frankenstein.” Please welcome John Shiban. (audience claps)
Shiban walks on stage from the front row. He nods at Bushman and briefly holds a hand out to the audience and then walks to sit beside Manners. A stage assistant stands behind his chair to help Shiban with his clip-on mic. The footage then switches goes back to Bushman reading his script.
Bushman: Our next panelist portrays Dean, (audience squeals and claps) (laughs) wisecracking older Winchester brother. Before “Supernatural” (laughs at audience still chuckling) (one audience member briefly screams) Before- (laughs) Before “Supernatural” he was familiar to WB viewers is Jason Teague on “Smallville.” (audience squeals and claps) I don't know if I'm going to get through these intros. (audience laughs) He had a recurring role on “Dawson's Creek” and was a regular on “Dark Angel.” He- (audience claps and cheers) (smiles and laughs) He received three Daytime Emmy nominations for his role on Days- (audience cheer) (briefly laughs, lowers his script and then looks audience) Pl-please welcome Jensen Ackles. (Audience screams, cheers, and claps.)
Jensen waves at the audience as he walks on stage. He shakes Bushman’s hand and then goes to sit beside Shiban. He shrugs at Shiban and Manners. Before he sits down he takes off his leather jacket and says, “For you Jared.” The audience laughs. Bushman laughs and then looks back down at his script.
Bushman: Um, our next panelist portrays Sam, the rebellious- (audience screams) (Bushman and the audience laugh) rebellious younger Winchester brother. Before “Supernatural” he was best known as Rory's boyfriend Dean on Gilmore Girls. (audience screams) His- (laughs) His- (laughs) (audience laughs) His film credits include-
Audience member: I love you! (audience laughs and Bushman smiles)
Jared: (from his seat) I love you!
Bushman: (increases dialogue speed) His film credits include: “House of Wax,” “Cheaper by the Dozen,” “Flight of the Phoenix.” Please welcome Jared Padalecki.
Jared walks on stage and shakes Bushman’s hand. And goes to sit beside Jensen. Jensen holds out his hand to Jared, which claps it before he sits down. The audience laughs. Jensen shakes his head and then thumbs at Jared, who’s scratching his head. The camera goes back to Bushman.
Bushman: Our next panelist executive produces “Supernatural” and directs episodes of this series. Formerly- (audience laughs) (glances at the panelists) Uh, formerly vice president of NBC drama development. He later teamed with Daniel Blatt to produce films and TV series including “V the final battle” (audience woo’s) and Stephen King's “Cujo”. On his own, he has executive produced “Midnight Caller,” Lois Clark- “Lois & Clark the new Adventures of Superman” (audience claps and cheers) and “Reasonable Doubts” which he also created. Please welcome Robert Singer.
Audience (or possibly J2 screaming) screams, claps, and cheers. Singer walks up the stairs and shakes Bushman’s hand while walking to his seat beside Jared. Singer mimics a repetitive smacking motion with both hands towards Jared and Jensen. The audience laughs. Singer and Jared shakes hands before he sits down. The stage assistant gets Singer’s attention. J2 are smirking. The camera goes back to Bushman.
Bushman: Um, our final panelist today is the creator of “Supernatural,” in addition to executive producing and writing for the series. His previous TV credits include the WB series “Tarzan.” He also wrote and co- (Jared? woo’s) -produced (audience and Bushman laugh. The audience claps and cheers.) He also wrote and co-produced the feature film “Boogeyman.” (audience starts cheering) Please welcome Eric Kripke.
Kripke walks up stage and shakes Bushman’s hand. Then he walks to his seat beside Singer. Bushman then goes to the last seat at the end and waits for Kripke’s mic to be clipped on his jacket by the stage assistant.
Bushman: Okay. I'll start with a few questions before (gestures at audience) we open it to you guys. Eric the first one would be for you.
•(10:30)- PaleyFest06;Q1 – SPN Origins (Kripke)
Bushman: I'm just kind of curious how- how this the idea for this series, um, the genesis of it. And-and how it evolved from concept to, uh, what we see on the screen.
Kripke: Um, I, eh- For a really long time I wanted to do a show about, uh, American folklore and urban legends. (Bushman nods) Sort of (gestures) kind of a subject that, you know, even back to elementary school I've been, you know, kind of obsessed with.
As a matter of fact the very (bounces his pointer finger out) my very, very first TV pitch when I first started in town when I was 23- (shrugs) 24 was a-a-a (gestures) urban legend show and I kept (gestures) trying different versions of it and kept getting Smackdown. (audience giggles and Jared smiles) Um, I tried to do it as an anthology (taps his pointer) and then I had this idea of like a (gestures) bunch of reporters in a van, like “Scooby Doo” style. (audience laughs) A-all these sort of terrible ideas.
And then, uh- And then I was, you know, working with Warner Brothers and- and- and just come off of, uh- uh, (fake coughs) ”Tarzan.” And- (audience laughs. Jared laughs.) (Kripke laughs) And, uh- and they said, you know, “What do you- What- What show would you want to do?” And I said (gestures), “Well, an urban legend show.” And they said, “Well, what- what's the concept?”
And I had this (gestures) really long elaborate storyline that I'd spent weeks and weeks on, uh, on about (gestures) a reporter. Um, and it was almost exactly (laughs and gestures) “Night Stalker.” (audience laughs) which was hilarious. Um, and, uh- and, uh, they- they (tilts his head) kind of looked at me and they were like, (shrugs) “Nah.” (audience giggles) There’re like, you know, (shrugs) “Any other, you know?” (shrugs) “What else?” and I said, “Well” (mimics writing) Because I-I'd literally scribbled it my notebook the day before, which was- I said, “Well, you know, it could be like Route 66. Like two guys on a road trip.” And they're like, (stop gesture) “We love that do that.” (Jared and audience laugh) And I-I- So, just kind of came out of nowhere, and just sort of, uh, developed from there.
And- and it turned out to be just the- the right, uhh- You know, the right way into this show. Because they can just drive it- You know, the boys can just drive in and out of a different horror movie every week, so. (audience chuckles)
•(12:20)- PaleyFest06;Q2- Sam and Dean family motivation (Kripke)
Bushman: Did you- Did you, um, at that point know w-in terms of characters who those two guys were? I mean, how did the whole this whole family element, which is so important to the show. I mean even, you know, um, you know, Jared says to-to the girl in this episode, uh, “I've got to go back because it's my family.” How did that whole family aspect-
Kripke: Um, just you know you- you write what you know. And- and I'm from a very, uh, close-knit, (Bushman clears his throat) uh, family and I have a (gestures) big brother. Um, and, uh you know, and I have, you know, a lot of, you know, really great friends and s- and just you know sort (gestures) of the way guys talk and the way they communicate without (gestures) ever really communicating anything. And.. (audience laughs) (smiles)
Um, and, uh- So, (gestures) it just kind of- It- it kind of grew- grew out of that. And, uh, so I knew I wanted to do, you know, uh- You know, in terms of characters, I knew I wanted you know the- the little brother to, you know, (gestures) be conflicted and have a lot of, you know, a lot of the angst and problems which I (gestured to Jared) threw right to Jared. (audience laughs) (J2 smile. Jared nods and clears his throat)
Um, and I wanted a- and-and- I wanted a big brother just be a total smartass. (audience laughs) I mean, that's how I started you know? (Jensen smiles, chuckles and turns to his right. Jared nods and then claps Jensen’s knees. The audience laughs.) Um, and— (Bushman: mm) and so you know and-and-and- it's- and it's, you know, w-w-with a show like this it’s, you know, the, eh, with the genre and it's sort of out there it's-it's- it really needs like a grounding influence. And so, to ground the show into family and elements of family. Um, and that (gestures), you know, that care that these brothers have for each other, uh,  (Jared offers to pour Jensen water in his glass. Jensen gives him a go ahead gesture.) really helps us because these two guys. (audience giggles) (Kripke stops and looks at J2 and J2 are biting their lips)
Shiban: They hug. They hug.
Singer and Kripke look at Jared. Jared smiling makes to put the water bottle behind his chair, but then sets it on the table. The audience keeps giggling. Kripke: Oh. Bushman: He’s pouring him a glass of water. (Kripke looks at Bushman) (mimics pouring water) He’s pouring him a glass of water.
Kripke: Yeah. (gestures) Because these two guys, I mean, the- (J2 are silently laughing) the relationship they have. I mean sometimes we have, you know, (Jensen scratches behind his ear. Jared is biting his finger and silently laughing and then Jared slaps Singer’s thigh) good subject matter and sometimes, you know, we don't. Um, (laughs) (audience, J2, and Singer laugh) but the- but the- the relationship with the brothers- these two actors always sees us through, so.
•(14:10)- PaleyFest06;Q3 - first impressions “J2”, auditioning for Sam and Dean (Kripke)
Bushman: Did- Um, were you familiar with their work? Um, or did you just bring in a ton of actors to audition for the roles?
Kripke: Uh, we, uh, auditioned everybody in town. Um, as you always do kind of on these pilots. (Bushman: uh-huh) Um, my, uh, my wife was quite the “Gilmore Girls” fan. So, (audience laughs) (Kripke looks at Jared) I, uh, I knew, uh-
Jared looking around at the audience. Audience laughs and claps. Jared points around the audience. Then smiles and laughs.
Kripke: (laughs) So, uh, I knew, uh, I-I knew Jared's work. And Jensen, uh, our director David Nutter, (Bushman: uh-huh) who directed the pilot, um, knew Jensen from, uh, (looks over at Jensen) either- Was it “Dark Angel?” From.. (Jensen: mhm, yeah) And he knew him from “Dark Angel” and so, uh- (gestures to the audience) “Dark Angel!” (gestures to Jensen) Jensen in Dark Angel!  
The audience claps and cheers. Jared woo’s and claps. Jensen gives the audience two thumbs up. Jared then goes to drink his water. Jensen looks down chuckling.
Kripke: And, uh- So, when we were, you know. (Jensen scratches his forehead. Audience member laughs.) When we were casting the characters it was- it was David Nutter who said, you know, “We have to- we have to fly down Jensen.” Who was up shooting “Smallville” at the time. So, he wasn't really in the- in the- in the pilot pool. And, you know, (shakes head) thank God we did. Because he walked- eh-uh (holds up his hands) Actually the story, which was funny, is Jensen walked in the room and-and met with us and-and-and David and Peter Johnson and I. And-and we talked to him and talked to him and we walked out the door and we looked at each other we were so exciting we're like we found and we found Sam.
Audience ohs and laughs. Jensen raises his eyebrows and nods. Kripke looks over at the boys.
Jared: I didn't get flown down. I had to ride myself (Kripke laughs: Yeah. Yeah.) Soo. (Kripke: And, uh-) I just wanted that to be known. (laughs) (Jensen is looking down smirking)
Kripke:  And it- and it was- and so, you know, these things just kind of form as-as puzzle pieces come together. And it wasn't until we met Jared that we're like, “Well that's Sam!” And we're like, (Jared chuckles) “And then, you know, Jensen could be Dean!” And then, it all just kind of, you know, it all kind of came together from there.
Bushman: That’s real interesting. Well, how about you guys, Jared and Jensen? Can you tell the story of-  
Jared: (thumbs to Jensen) I’ll let Jensen take that one.
Bushman: from your, um-
Jensen: Uh (points to Jared) you go ahead. (scratches the bridge of his nose)
Jared: (swipes hand in the air) Oh, Jensen (laughs) (Jensen: Oh no) that’s- that’s totally you. (pets his pants leg) What was the- (Jensen: honestly.) (looks at Bushman) What’s the- What’s the exact question?
Bushman: the question is-
The audience laughs. Jared rolls his tongue laughing and then turns his head down to scratch his hair. Jensen is smiling.
Jared: W (laughs to Jensen) I can-
Jensen: (to Jared) Is it a (briefly throws his hand up) spelling Bee? (Jared laughs and looks back at Bushman)
Bushman: Can you, uh, Can-
Jared: Can you use the word in a sentence?
Kripke: Spell. Spell leopard.
Jensen: Yeah, can you use that in a sentence? (straightens his shirt)
Jared: Leper?
Kripke: Leopard.
Jared: Leopard.
•(16:03)- PaleyFest06;Q4A- Auditioning for Sam and Dean (Jared)
Bushman: No, no, no. The question was, uh, Can you talk about the audition process from y-your perspective.
Jared: Well, it’s interesting, actually for me, hearing it from Eric's perspective. Um. I, uh, I’ve obviously been working with Warner Brothers for “Gilmore Girls.” And, um, the five years prior to doing the show I worked on Gilmore Girls to sort of developed a relationship with, um, some of the people at the Warner Brothers offices.
And I had kind of heard about a few of the pilots coming out. And I read this one in particular and I really enjoy the- the characters. And it really struck me as something that- I remembered hearin’ sort of (gestures) once in its breakdown of like it's (gestures) kind of a supernatural. It’s called “Supernatural” (Kripke laughs). And I was thinking like great (briefly throws up hand) “Charmed” or “Buffy,” (audience laughs) which are all great shows, but not the show I wanted to be a part of, you know? I didn't want to do “Roswell” or “Charmed” or “Buffy.” And then, when I read it I was like wow this is- this is very interesting and- and so much more than just like, “Ooo, scary show.” So-
•(16:53)- PaleyFest06;Q4Aa- SPN Appeal (Jared)
Bushman: what- what, uh, appealed to you about it?
Jared: Well, I sort of, uh, I grew up son of an English teacher. So, she was always big- and she would actually taught heroes myths and legends. So, I was familiar with mythology and sort of, uh, the Joseph Campbell taught, teachings. (turns to audience) The taught-teachings of Joseph Campbell. (audience laughs) And, uh, (Kripke chuckles) (scratches head)
Singer: Didn’t- didn't rub off that she was an English teacher. (Jensen mimics closing a film clapperboard)
Jared: It didn’t rub off. (looks down smiling and claps) (Kripke laughs)
Shiban: Yes. (Singer clears throat)
Jared: Uh, yeah. It didn't. It didn’t. I just work till 4:30 this morning in Vancouver. So, I’m a little worse for ware.
Bushman: It’s kind of interesting that you mentioned Joseph Campbell, cuz there's a little bit of “The Reluctant Hero” in your character.
Jared: Very much. I mean there's more than- there's so much more than just the Reluctant Hero. I mean, when you get into the archetypes they're sort of- each script is just bursting at the seams with archetypes and (briefly throws his hand up), you know, last thing I think these people want to hear is me going to a (Bushman chuckles) explanation of- (Audience laughs. Jensen fakes snoring) (briefly throws his hand up) I love the script. (turns to Jensen) I love the character. (shakes Jensen’s leg)
Bushman: Did, uh, so- (Jensen mimics waking up with a shout)
Jared: (leans towards Jensen rotating his pointer finger in the air) We're doing a- we're doing, um, a answer-
Jensen: (shrugs and frowns) I’m awake (reaches for the water)(audience laughs)
Jared: Okay. (turns back to Bushman, smiling and scratching his head)
Bushman: So, uh- Well, so your agent sent you script and you were- you were auditioning for Sam all along?
Jared: Uhh, right. (hits his knee) Right. I guess- I guess w-where the- where the process.. or how the process- where it was when it reached me was: read the script, see if you like the character, see if you like the script. (gestures) It was sort of like do you, you know, do you mesh with this- (gestures) Do you feel you could mesh with this script. And I felt I could and so I went in (thumbs towards Kripke) and I- and I met some of the guys, and I re-met Nutter and.. you know, sat in an office with- Who was it Kripke? (Jared leans forward than back to see Kirpke)
Kripke: (leans forward than back, in response Jared starts rapidly leaning back and forth) It was, uh, Me, Nutter, Peter Johnson we were at the-
The audience laughs. Kripke then notices the movement and starts mimicking Jared. Singer hunches down. Jensen starts laughing to himself while looking away.
Kripke: Wonderland. Offices. (Jared and Kripke stop. Audience laughs) And, uh.. Uh, yeah. And he- he came in and he had at such energy and- and just so, uh, (gestures) lived the character. (gestures) Just so was the guy. You know, it's a (gestures) cliche to say that but he really was. So, it was- it was an easy choice.
Bushman: (to Jared) And did you feel real good about it coming out?
Jared: Uvh, well (push his hair behind his ear) yeah. I-I-it was- it was b-by no means that short process, you know? I mean, that was sort of the beginning of a week or two week long (gestures) finding of scripts and characters. And I think the scripts are still being rewritten. I remember I'd seen a script and they’re like, (gestures) “This is changing. You know. Read the script, but (gestures) that's nothing to do with this.”
Kripke: (laughs) Right. Yeah. (audience laughs)
Jared: “It’s gonna change so much.” (gestures towards Jensen)
Kripke: (nods) This is true.
Jared: Which is much like it- it is nowadays. You know, (Kripke: Yeah) we get a script and they're like, “Okay, we're shooting this in a week, but it'll be a completely-“ You know? (audience giggles) (gestures) It’s just like- it-it can always can get better. And- and everybody's always working hard (flings his hand) up to the very last second, you know? Till they call action. (points up) People are working here. People are working in Canada. Just, you know, sprinting.
•(19:22)- PaleyFest06;Q4B- Auditioning for Sam and Dean (Jensen)
Bushman: Okay. (Jared nods) Jensen, what was your experience?
Jensen: (resting his head on his fist, briefly points to Jared) Pretty much the same.
Jared immediately fake sleep-snores and leans his head on Jensen’s shoulder. Kripke and the audience laugh. Jensen smirks. Jared sits up, laughing, and reaches for his water.
Jensen: Uhhh
Jared: Well said Jensen.
Jensen: (rubs his chin, laughs, sits up) Yeah. (rubs his hands) Uh, w-well, (thumbs to Kripke) like-like Eric said, they- they had originally brought me in for, uh, for the role of Sam. And, uhm, I- I knew David Nutter very well. Uh, I-I worked on, uh, testing for some- a number of pilots, um, before that. So, I-I felt very comfortable with him and with his recommendation to me coming in. And he feel good about it. (gestures) And I had a conversation with him on the phone before I come- before I came in and just he kind of gave me a spiel about Sam and, uh, (rubs his mouth) and what he thought. And- and then I read the script. And-and I was just like, “W-what about Dean?” (audience laughs.) “I liked Dean.” (audience laughs) “He's funny.” (audience laughs)
And-and, uh, it's- but (gestures) I, you know, I study for Sam. And-and I went in there and I actually kind of studied for (rubs his tear duct) Dean a little bit too just in case. And, um, I went in there and I read for Sam. And-and, uh, like Eric said. And they were like, you know. They were pleased with it. And then.. went home that evening and got a phone call and he said, “Well, uh- uh, there's this guy, Jared, uh, Pada- Pada- something-” (audience laughs)
Jared: I said Pada-something.
Jensen: (nods) Pada-something. (Smiles)
Jared: Pada-something
Jensen: and uh (grins)
Jared: Pada-some- (laughs)
Jensen: “And-and-and they really ar-are liking him” (gestures) “for-for one of the brothers.” And I'm like, “Okay.” So, of course I look him up online (audience laughs) and I'm like (throws up his hand) “He’s- he’s-“
Jared: (to the audience) He thought I was hot. (audience laughs and claps)
Jensen: He’s- (Jared laughs and scratches his head) “This guy's smoking hot.” (Jared leans back and laughs clapping his hands) “I can't play his brother and-“ Uuum, no. And-and-and- and then they said- (Jared facepalms) they'd said, “But would they like to bring you back in for Dean.” And, I of course was.. very excited about it and I came back in. (Jared clears his throat) And-and I was thrilled. So, uh, (gestures) that's kind of how it all. (gestures)
Bushman: Sut- So by the time you guys actually performed together you had already had the parts. They weren't auditioning-
Jensen: Well, no. We hadn't- we didn't have it- we didn't have it (gestures), uhh, officially.
Jared: (leans forward, to Kripke) Did we? (Jensen leans forward)
Kripke: No. We had-
Jensen: We had to do the-
Kripke: We were the on- (nods his head towards J2) they were the only actors we brought in to network. Because we- (gestures) You have to have a network audition.
Jensen: Formality of the network.
Jared: It’s usually a really terrifying process of (Jensen: Yea.) sort of (Jensen: Yeah.) these guys and gals at you audition with all year long. And it's five people that you're very, very afraid of, sitting in the room with you going for the same part. (Looks at Jensen) And when we got there it was like, “Hey.” “Hey.” “Where's everybody?” “Uh, there is nobody.”
Jensen: “Just you and me pal.” (audience laughs)
Kripke: Right. (briefly turns to Bushman) Yeah.
Jensen: And, uh-
Jared: We started (mimics writing) typing numbers down on a page- (shakes his head) I’m just kidding.
Jensen: Yeah, well (gestures) we went in and-and-and (scratches tear duct) that was yeah that was the first time we actually met. (gestures) And then we (gestures) (Jared: mhm) did a scene together, uh, for a- a-a roomful of executives and, uh, that was that.
Bushman: Okay.
Jensen: (points at Jared) and we’ve hated each other ever since. (reaches for his water) (audience laughs)
Jared: (nods) Yeah. (turns to Jensen) I poisoned your water, so.
The audience laughs. Jensen pauses and stares at his cup. Audience laughs. Jensen inspects his cup by slightly tilting it. He shrugs, takes a drink, and then sets his cup back down on the table.
Kripke: It’s a little unnerving. (Jared laughs)
•(22:09)- PaleyFest06;Q5A- SPN Start (Kim Manners)
Bushman: How about everyone on the panel? Kim, we could start with you and Ben. Talk about how you became involved with, uh, Supernatural.
Manners: I read for Sam. (most of the panelist and the audience laugh)
Jared: (throws his hands up) did everybody read for Sam or?
Manners: Well, David Nutter, who directed the pilot, is a good friend. He did season 1 of “X-files” And, uh, he called and asked if I would do a favor and, uh, come in and do one episode. Because I was kind of semi-retired after X Files. Uh, (nodding) very semi-retired. (audience laughs) And I, uh, came in did a show, uh, called “Dead in the Water,” uuh, enjoyed myself fell in love with, uh, (points to J2) Jan and Dean or is it Sam and Dean? (Jared and audience laugh. Singer pours himself some water.) Uhm, and I was driving home to my home in Missouri and they called me and said, uh, “We want you to come on as a part of the team.” And I turned around and here I am. So.
Jensen: Thank God.
Manners: And I’m having a good time.
Jared: (nods) Yeah. Thank God.
Manners: Yeah.
Kripke: Yeah, I don't know what we’d do without Kim up there. He's unbelievable.
Shiban: (nods) Yeah.
Bushman: Kim, uh, John.
Manners: I know whatchu do, you get another guy. (most of the panelist and the audience laugh)
Shiban: No, there is no other guy.
Jensen: No.
Kripke: Not true. No other guy.
Jared: There's no other guy.. named Kim.
Manners: (nods) Yep. (audience laughs) (points towards Jared and then clears throat) You know if this whole thing fails you guys can go right into stand-up. (audience laughs)
Jensen: Yea. (nods) (Jared claps his hands laughing) (points at Jared) I don't want to stand up to him another time. (audience laughs) I got to stand up on apple boxes all the time. (audience laughs)
Jared: (scratches ear) I'm pretty lazy. I’d rather sit. (Manners and audience laugh)
Bushman: John how did you-
Jared: (points to Jensen) Meanwhile! What-what (Shiban: Meanwhile?) what he- want he- what he doesn't know- what he didn't know about this whole process is that after we had him direct, uh, the- I guess it was our fourth episode we had: (counts his fingers) “the Pilot” (Jensen: yep.) with David Nutter, “Wendigo” with David Nutter, “Hookman” with David Jackson, (Manners: and then) and then (points at Manners) Kim came in.
And immediately I think from day one we were on the phone with everybody. (Manners takes a drink) (gestures) We were on the phone with (thumbs to his left) Peter and (points to Eric) with Erik and saying, “This guy is incredible.” (gestures) “Sw-Who is this guy?” (Manners sets his glass back down) And David Nutter had sort of given him this very.. sort of mysterious.. “You'll love Kim,” kind of sentence (audience giggles) at the very beginning.
Because we were going over this list of seven dir-
Jensen: Yes, the Jedi (waves his hand)
Jared: Very Jedi. (audience laughs) Yeah it was like-
Jensen: You’ll love him.
Jared: (mimics reading a script) “Who is Kim- Who is this guy?” “Oh, (waves hand) I knew him from this.” (mimics reading a script) “Who is Kim Manners?” (nods and waves hand) “You'll love Kim Manners.” (audience laughs) And sure enough, we were like, (double takes) “What?” And, um and he- and he- (his mic clip falls off) came on. And he was just incredible. (picks up mic by hand and talks directly into it.) And he was just incredible. (Jensen takes off his mic and hands it to Jared) And um, (nods to Singer) Can I- (reaches for Singer’s mic) Can I borrow? (audience laughs)
Singer: Sure. Yeah (But Jared doesn't take it and takes back his hand)
Shiban: Wow.
Jared: And, uh, (hands Jensen back his mic) And so we- w-we, uh, we basically begged and pleaded (J2 attach their mics back on to their shirts) to get him, um-
Manners: (fake mourning voice) A job! (throws his hands up) (Shiban pats his back) Just a job. (Jared: A job.) It’s all I wanted. (audience laughs)
Jared: He was hungry. (Manners laughs while rubbing his brow) He was, you know. He kept trying to bite my arm. (audience laughs) I was really worried about him (laughs).
Bushman: Yeah, I don't want to embarrass Kim, but what was so incredible about him?
Manners: about- (Bushman: about-) Who?
Jensen: Well, I-I think that- I think that, uh-uh, Jared and I just- w-we just responded well to him. I mean, he-he directed in a fashion that-that, uh, we really liked. And, uhm.. You know, it was kind of a set where guys could be guys. (thumbs at Manners) And he wasn't someone who-who directed, you know, behind a (throws hands up) screen with a (makes a phone hand gesture) telephone somewhere in LA, and was like, you know, (gestures and mimics a LA director) “Do it over and over. And then a closed up and a close up and let's get out of here and move on in the next set.” He was- (Singer reaches for his water) he was in there.
And-and you know a-a story about another, uh, episode that he directed, “Bugs,” uh, (Manners shakes his head) this was a-a scene where we had to get in (Manners mimics putting a gun in his mouth. the audience laughs) to a room with-
Manners: (turns to Jensen and waves) s-sorry.
Jensen: Yeah, no that’s-
Jared: It’s alright.
Jensen: I mean, ah, you know we get in this-this tiny little room with 65,000 bees and, uh, (Jared: ?Billions?) (gestures) the whole camera crew and (gestures) the sound crew (Manners laughs. Shiban smiles) and (gestures) then everybody's got (gestures) full bee outfits on. (audience chuckles) Then they're like, “Alright, Jared, Jensen, hop on in.” (audience laughs) And, uh-
Jared: And don't swat them, ‘cuz it makes them angry.
Jensen: And, Yeah. And I'll-and I’ll give it to Kim. He said, “You know what? If-if you guys don't have bee suits on. I'm not either.” And he went in there with, uh, (Jared: Right.) shorts and a t-shirt and a monitor.
Kripke?: Wow.
Jensen: And sat down on a box and directed us from inside the room (Manners silently laughs) with bees crawling all over our faces. (Manners and Shiban nod)
Kripke: Woah.
Jensen: It's just- it's-it that- it's that kind of relationship with Kim.
Bushman: Okay.
The audience cheers and then claps. Shiban and Jared clap. Manners briefly salutes two fingers to the audience.
•(26:04)-PaleyFest06;Q5B- SPN Start (John Shiban)
Bushman: John, how'd you get involved?
Shiban: Uh, I was going through the, uh, annual ritual of staffing season. Uh, I had a-a pilot that didn't go. So, I was available and reading all the pilots and taking meetings. And.. and read the script. Aaand loved it. Uh, and met Eric and loved him.
Kripke: Awww. (audience aw’s)
Shiban: Annnd- (smiles) I know. Aaand-
Kripke: John’s my guy. (audience laughs, Shiban, Jared and Manners smile)
Shiban: Yeah, it’s that. It’s true. Um, and, uh-uh, eh- there are a lot of- Uh, you know, I spent a long time on the “X-Files” and, uh, (gestures) I’m-I'm offered a lot of.. (gestures) scary television shows every year. It's like, (gestures) “Will you do this. Will you-“(Bushman: Yeah) And this one just struck me right away. Ehh, especially (gestures) when I finally saw the- the-the cut of the pilot.
Because it had those two things that I think (briefly pets his beard) you need to have a successful show like this. One is a great franchise, (gestures) which is the engine that runs the show. The idea that the two brothers on the road trip with a very personal agenda, eh-uh, is just great. And you can imagine- I can see instantly five years of suffering for these guys-
Jared nods. The audience chuckles. Jensen dramatically throws his head back. Jared smirks and nods. Kripke?, and audience laugh.
Shiban: And, uhhh, episode after episode. Uhh, and the second thing honestly is- is, uhh, is casting.. and chemistry. And chemistry is something you can't (rubs his hand) manufacture. And these guys have it. And they're so great to write for and they're so fun to write for.
Jensen slowly looks at Jared. Jared with a pressed smile, looks back. Audience woo’s and laughs. Shiban shrugs. Jared moves his face closer and puckers his lips. Audience laughs. Jensen shakes his head no and points to the audience. Jared stops halfway and looks down laughing to himself, and then looks up scratching his nose with a big smile. The audience laugh and clap. Shiban and Manners are smiling.
Jared: Worth a try. Worth a try.
Shiban: Yeah. (Jared chuckles) So, I said, “Yeah. I'm coming up.”
•(27:34)- PaleyFest06;Q5C- SPN Start (Bob Singer)
Bushman: Okay. Bob, how about you?
Singer: (Jared laughs) (gestures to J2) I-Can I just watch them, I don’t. (J2, Manners, and Audience laugh) Uubm, t-they had actually made this pilot. And, uh, I saw the pilot and, uh, really liked it a lot. And I think, uh, what the studio wanted was, um- (gestures) After they saw it and I got picked up, and the studio one point probably said to themselves-
Singer holds up his hands but then stops when audience starts laughing, raising an eyebrow.
Jared: (laughs) Just keep it (unintelligible)
Kripke: (opens his hands) You can't get anything done.
Jared: I can’t- (sets down his glass and then repositions himself)
Singer: (gestures to J2) This is what it's like to direct them too. (audience and Kripke laugh) Uhh- uh, the studio said, “Well, we-we-we can't give ff-40-plus million dollars to Eric Kripke.” And-(shrugs)
Kripke: (laughs) Yeah. (Jared laughs and claps his hands) Very true. (laughs)
Singer: And let him run wild. So, they said, “What we need i-is” (shrugs) “You know, some-”
Audience laughs. Singer stops and briefly looks to his right and up. Audience laughs. Singer rubs his chin and closes his eye laughing to himself. Kripke scratches his lip, looks at Singer, and laughs.
Singer: (shakes his head and then looks up at Kripke) This is so hard. (rubs his brow) (Kripke, audience, and Jared laugh)
Singer leans and reaches over and briefly covers Jared’s face, then returns to his original position. Jared laughs. Jensen is holding a glass of water and reaching for another.
Shiban: These people are very tired.
Jared: Yeah. (laughs)
Singer: Um. So, they thought they needed some, uh, you know, uh, a-a-an experienced hand to guide the young man through these rocky waters. (Jared laughs) The young- the young man of course felt what do I need this old fart for. (Jared and audience laughs)
Kripke: No way. (Singer laughs) He-
Singer: Um, anyway (gestures) we met and we met a number of times. And, um, finally our-got comfortable enough with me for, uh, for us to join up and, uh-uh, partner on this thing. And, um, (shrugs) it-it's interesting because I mean we are sort of from different generations. (gestures) And we approach, uhm, (gestures back and forth) drama in kind of a different way.
Um, but (gestures) as we sort of work together we found (gestures) that we always we really arrived (Kripke nods) at the same place even though kind of the methods (gestures) are a little different of how we get there. And it's a-
Bushman: Can you explain what you mean when you say that (Singer sits up) coming from different generations you approach drama in different ways?
Singer: Well, I don't know if that's a generational thing but I'm very, eh..
Kripke: Sober. (audience and Singer laugh) (Shiban?: And uh) compared to the drunk.
Singer: (nods) There's that, yeah.
Shiban?: (?low court?)
Singer: Um…eh- t-t-this is so boring, but, um, (audience giggles) for, um- I-I-I kind of come in (waves his hand) everything from a character standpoint of view. It’s-it's all about character to me. And I'll kind of (gestures) let the plot work itself out  given (Kripke nods) what the characters are-are gonna do.
And what I'm interested in the scenes is how.. that, you know, it drives the plot. But I'm most interested in how the characters react to it. Umm (scratches brow) and-and-and so the (laughs) stories I do (wiggles his hands up in the air) to tend to get a little like-like this but (shrugs) the character stuff is probably interesting.
Eric really works very, very hard on the stories, um, and gets the plot down. And knows that once his plot is good the-the character stuff will come naturally to that. (Kripke nods) So, we sort of go-go like this (Kripke nods) when we're in the room together. And we’ll arrive at that place which both things are serviced. And-and-and I think you- we’re really sort of one voice now (Eric nodding: mhm) that we-we rarely disagree on stuff. And it's a- (shrugs) You know, I've worked alone for a long time, so it's kind of really cool to have a partner. (shrugs)
Eric: (looks at Bushman and nods) Yeah. And (points to Singer) tah-tah blow smoke up his ass for a minute. (audience laughs) He brings a depth, uh, and-and maturity of care- of character of just depth to the drama that I could not do, you know? It-Me on me alone like is “Boogieman.” (Bushman and audience laughs) And.. and.. and like all of a sudden with him like, you know, we have a-a show where you have these characters that are psychologically rich and true and-and-and- and Bob is-is behind huge amounts of that. So, uh, we- (shakes his head) this show would not succeed, uh, at all without him. So.
Singer: Aw.
Kripke: Aw.
Audience aw’s. Singer leans over and rests his head on Kripke’s chest. Kripke holds him for a sec.
Jared: Aw. (Audience claps)
Shiban: Come on give him a kiss, would yah?
Singer: (turns towards J2) You guys can do it. We can do it.
Jared: No, it’s alright like that.
Jensen: Hey. Hey.
Manners: You guys wanna mow the lawn?
Jensen: Yeah. Around the curtains?
•(31:04)- PaleyFest06;Q6- SPN Mythology + Formula (Shiban, Kirpke)
Bushman: Let me ask one more question before I- before I open this up. But this is for the writers mostly. Um, which I guess is Eric and John. But, um- you know, Eric, you've been quoted, um, as saying that, uh, you know this show differs from a lot of the other, uh, suspense or supernatural shows that you (Kripke nods) say there, because you don't want to get involved so much in those long drawn-out stories or-or the mythology so much as you just- I don't know whether these are accurate quotes but you want to, um, just focus on scaring people and on the- on the urban, uh, folklore and-and so on and just scaring people.
But, um, I think I-I- speaking for myself, and-and maybe some people out here too, I find the mythology, uh, with the-the kids with their mom.. (Kripke: mhm.) and their dad, and, uh- um, you know, one of the really compelling parts of this story. So, um, I'm wondering how you just- an-an-and, you know, you start to see even with the last episode that-that (Kripke nods) aired last Tuesday. You're starting to see you guys are coming back to that. (Kripke nods: mhm)
Um, and I'm wondering how do you decide when it's time to sort of veer away from what “X-Files” used to call the “monster of the week” story and come back to the.. mythology of the show. So it's really for John and Eric. How do you decide when it's time to do that or-
Kripke: John?
Shiban: Uh, two things I made a lot of painful, uh, hair-pulling discussions and arguments and when should we when shouldn't we. But part of it is driven to, by just the nature of television you want to save some of your big.. moments for sweeps. And so you kind of.. work the season around that. Works a actually a very nice five or six episodes that are.. (finger quotes) “non-mythology” and then you can- you can pull the Mythology back. And, uh, and, uhh, again do the nature television. You want to end the season with some- something astounding.
And, uh, (gestures to Singer) also going to back to what Bob was saying, eehh, the mythology is all about character. It's all about.. what the boys are going through and family. (shrugs) And, so that's where we are going to head when we want to do something spectacular. So. (Singer drinks his water)
Kripke: Yeah. we- we had a- we have. And surprisingly have stuck to it. We have a, uh, a-a m-mythology plan for season one. We also have, y-you know God willing a pickup, we have mythology plans for season two and season three. But.. we have this plan of where the story goes in-in- (audience starts cheering) Yeah!
Shiban: On the CW. (Jensen is holding out a hand)
Kripke: On the CW!
Jensen: (to Shiban) When do we get to see this? (Shiban whispers to Jensen)
Kripke: Um, and-and so, you know, it was sort of the plan, which is the first.. (Jensen elbows Shiban while laughing, then Shiban keeps whispering to Jensen) seven ur- sev- about, really, the first seven (Jensen throws his head back and softly laughs) episodes you wanted to be the self-enclosed stories so you could kind of pick up new viewers. And then you start threading in a little bit more mythology.
But I think it's a balance. Because, I mean, it's my own just, you know, kind of personal taste, which is- I mean, I like a- you know, I want a satisfying story every week too. And-and um, you know, I mean “Lost” is (waves hand) an untouchable show. I mean, it's an- it’s-it's a (waves hand) brilliant and unbelievable show, but I-I- I find the endless mystery, my own, taste frustrating.
Bushman: mhm
Kripke: And- and if you're going to give ongoing mystery- (audience claps) Alright, people who believe. And, if you're going to give ongoing mystery, at least give, like, a rollicking badass story… apart from it that can have a beginning middle and end. And you can be satisfied. And the good guys can win. And you and you can have the experience being told a story. (waves hand) And then, you know, thread in the ongoing mystery.
 So, I think it's-it's-it's keeping a lot of different plates spinning. And it's not- it shouldn't be any one thing er-or another.
•(34:18)- PaleyFest06;Q7- SPN Ending, Pre-finale thoughts (Kripke)
Bushman: Do you know where the story ends?
Kripke: Um, I do actually. Yeeeah.
Bushman: Does anyone else on this panel know where the story ends?
Singer: Yeah, but we tell you, we have to kill you.
Kripke: Yeahh. Yeah. (Audience and Bushman laugh. Jared smiles) I mean, it's hard it- because you never know when you're gonna get cancelled or if you're gonna go, you know, 37 years like “Gun Smokers” (audience laughs) Or something. (Jensen chuckles)
Shiban: Oh, god. Please.
Kripke: But, uh.. Yeah.
Jared: Oh no.
Manners: The boys are in walkers. (mimics walking in a walker)
Jensen: (gruff voice) Sam! (audience laughs)
Kripke: Yeah. (nods) Right. (Kim laughs) (laughs) They’ll finish up the season and then they'll slowly die.
Jensen: Yeah. (laughs)
Audience laughs. Jensen is scratching his forehead smiling. Jared is drinking his water.
Kripke: And, uh.. So but-but yes we have, you know, really a-a-a fi- if-if I could somehow find out what the last season was going to be, or-or a five, six year plan, I mean, I sort of know that, you know, the-the final, you know, battle as it were t-that all shapes up. And, uh- But yeah, you know, it’s sort of-
Bushman: We’re gonna have to wait.
Kripke: Yeah.
Bushman: Okay. Let's take some questions from the audience. (holds hand over eyes and looks at the audience) Um, I'm gonna.. to call on two people, um, first question, a second question. Please wait for the mic, because this event is being taped, so we need to be able to hear you.
Uh, (points to the back of the audience) okay there's one all the way in the back over there, and (points his other hand towards the left of the audience) then there's one in a green shirt right down here.
(points to the green shirt again) We can start down here with the green shirt and then go to the back question.
•(35:38)- PaleyFest06;Q8A- Location Significance: John Winchester in Sacramento (Shiban)
Fan: Sorry, I had to take out my gum. Hi, um, I'm- Let me just say, I'm originally from Sacramento so I w-I wanted to know if there's any significance with their dad, John, being in Sacramento twice or just random or.. spoilery or.. Shh
Manners?: Joohn.
Kripke: You wrote it, John. Why did you use Sacramento? (audience laughs)
Fan: It’s-
Shiban: I don't want to give it away, yet. (Kripke? laughs)
Jensen: So, yes there is.
Kripke: No there’s-
Shiban: (points at Jensen) I'm gonna tell you either. (Jensen throws his hands up)
Jensen: I want to know.
Kripke: Yeah. Why?
Shiban: After. After.
Jensen: Ah, thanks a lot.
Singer: Tickets for a Sacramento Kings (Jensen: Yes.) game. Eh. (shrugs) (J2 laugh)
Bushman: So, their-their- the answer is that there is, but you're not gonna say what it is.
Shiban: Exactly.
•(36:12)- PaleyFest06;Q8B- Location Significance: Lawrence Kansas (Kripke)
Bushman: Okay. And speaking of location is there any significance to Lawrence Kansas? That it started in Lawrence Kansas?
Kripke: Um-
Shiban: (points to Kripke).. I’d have to give that to him.
Kripke: Uh, I would say, well, uh-uh i-if anyone does a, uh-uh, w-
Jared: In other words, yes.
Kripke: Yes. (audience laughs. Jared and Manners laugh.) There-there is and-and the-and the one thing I'd say is, because we tend to be really research oriented in our show (Bushman: uh-huh) and about American urban legends and there's a- there's a very famous, uh, urban legend, uh, near Lawrence Kansas. Um, that, uh-
Bushman: That somehow factors?
Kripke: Yeah. (to the audience) You know, if you guys go home and do Google searches on Lawrence (Bushman: Right) Kansas and stuff will come up. (nods)
Bushman: Okay. (points to J2) Do you guys know what it is.. Jared and Jensen?
Kripke: I don't think I've ever told you.
Jared: (looks at Jensen) Y-yeah.
Jensen: Uh, yeah.
Jared: Good gosh. (blows)
Jensen: Yeah. Yeah. Of course. (nods and leans back to rub his chin) (Bushman, Kripke, and audience laugh)
Jared: I haven’t decided when I'm gonna tell Kripke what it is.
Jensen: Yeah. (audience and Kripke laugh)
Jared: I’m mean, honestly. Tell him, “Hey, uh-
Bushman: (laughs) Okay. In the back all the way.
•(36:58)- PaleyFest06;Q9- Fear “Paranormal” (Manners, Shiban, Jensen, Jared, Kripke)
Fan: Hi. Uh, I just want to say I'm from Texas too. So.
Kripke: Wooo!
Jensen?: (J2 raise their hands) woo! (audience laughs)
Fan: Anyway I had a question, um, for everybody. What urban legend or folklore really does scare you guys?
Kripke: (points to Manners) (Manners shrugs) Kim?
Manners: Um, mm- nothing scares me. (audience and Shiban laughs)
Jared: That's true.
Manners:  I direct television.
Jensen: Yeah, I believe it.
Manners: And I- so (shrugs) (audience laughs) You know, if-if you- if you can live through that nothing scares yah. (shrugs) Really.
Shiban: Good answer.
Manners: Yeah. Well, it’s true. (Shiban laughs) What scares you John? ..Late scripts? (laughs)
Shiban: You do- Yeah. (audience laughs) Yeah. You do. Yeah. When you call me and say, “Where's the damn script?” (audience chuckles) That's frightening. (audience chuckles. Shiban and Manners take a drink)
Bushman: Any-any urban-
Shiban: (bumps Jensen’s arm) What about you guys?
Jensen: (shrugs) I-d-I'm dealing with him all season man. (Kripke and audience laugh) I’m scared of them all. (Kripke: All of em.)
Shiban: What about those bees?
Jensen: Yeah, bees that’s what I’m s-
Jared: You know I have a c- I'll- I’ll say something. I- uh, my daddy used to make me watch a show called, “Shadow Man,” or something, when I was growing up. And it was about a shadow that lived under this kid's bed. And, uh, he was sort of- (audience giggles) What's that? (audience giggles) (Jared smiles) And anyways and, uh, (audience laughs) it was his buddy.
Shiban: And he’s here tonight.
Jared: he wasn’t very popular in school. And so the shadow man started kind of getting all the bullies for him. And then one day came another.. kid’s shadow man got- (sniffs) Yeah it’s probably not as scary as it seems. (laughs, ducks and scratches his head) (most of the panelist and the audience laugh) (hides face behind his jacket)
Kripke: (thumbs to Singer) You wanna? You?
Singer: (laughs) Go ahead. (audience aw’s)
Kripke: (gestures to the audience) Someone has to give her a straight answer. (Jared: Y-yeah.) Hook-Hookman freaked me out when I was a kid. The killer with the hook. All the different stories of the killer with the hook of, uh, you know, the-t-the “Aren't you glad-” “Aren't you glad you didn't turn on the light?” I thought was really cool. And there's, uh, (gestures) the licked hands. If you ever heard the licked hand, which is a really cool one. (briefly looks down) And um, so (gestures) like that- that was always, you know, really sort of- sort of freaky for me.
Bushman: Okay, let's take two more questions. (points to the audience) Um, we'll get this one down here and there's one all the way in the back. Right- right next to you. Right… (points) Go ahead.
•(38:54)- PaleyFest06;Q10- Continuity Mistake “4 years vs 2 years at Stanford”
Fan: Um, in the pilot we know that, uh, when Sam wanted to go to college John told him to get lost. And he's in as presumably his fourth year because he's interviewing for Law School. Um, but d-he says that he hasn't talked to Dean in two years. Is there an answer to what happened two years ago? (Kripke is smiling and looking down at the other panelists)
Jared: Uhhh, y-you mean does that-
Kripke: I-I actually-
Shiban: Eric.
Kripke: (looking down at his lap) I have an answer to that. (nods) (audience laughs)
Fan: Do we get to know?
Kripke: Well, I know you're supposed to.. You know, (gestures to Shiban) do what Shiban does (Shiban nods) which is kind of go, “you'll find out.” (audience laughs. Shiban smiles and nods) But, uh, fact of the matter was is, uh, it-ii- (gestures) you know, these things happen so fast and furious. (mimics writing) And you’re- and- and that it was actually a mistake. (audience giggles)
Shiban: Oh no. (Shiban whispers to Jensen and then Manners)
Kripke: We-we wanted it-d.. Jared is or Sam's character supposed to be a junior in college and starting the interviewing process for, uh, the interviewing process for law school. (Jensen whispers to Shiban) And, uh, so hasn't seen him since he left- So he spent his freshman year and his sophomore year away from Dean and hasn't seen Dean. Then this is beginning of junior year. (briefly looks at the panelists)  This is.. fall of junior year.
So, it's been technically two years as he's beginning (gestures) th-the process. But, because, I think.. Because what happens, eh.. You know, you guys, you know, the-the you know- (gestures) I’m-I'm-I’m lying, (audience chuckles) like, sort of putting it all- Eh, because what happened 22 years ago he-he was slightly older than a junior should be. So, no one sort of bought that he was a junior and, uh, (Jared smiles. Audience giggles) so there's a (gestures) lot of discussion of these two “lost years.” And you’re just- and I just like, (hunches down covering his mouth) “he he.” (shrugs) “Like, just a mistake.” (panelists and audience laughs)  
Jensen: (?Hey, uh, I really wanna back this.?)
Shiban: That’s right (unintelligible) (Jensen laughs)
Kripke: But hold on let me give the real answer. “You'll find ouut.” (Jared and audience laugh)
Shiban: (gives him a thumbs up) Now you're talking.
Bushman: Okay. In the back.
•(40:39)- PaleyFest06;Q11- Network Censorship “Gore” (J2, Kripke, Singer)
Fan: Are there any stories about, uh, t-the show being too scary. Like, do you do trade-offs with the network? Like, they say, “Well, you can have two seconds of this, you know, bloody face, if you do this or that.” (?:mhm)
Jared: Yeah.
Jensen: Yeah, we’ve run into a few-few times that season- this season. (looks at Kripke) Haven’t we?
Kripke: You talking about Night- The Night- the.. On Nightmare was the first time.
Singer: (looks at Kripke) Oh right. Yeah. Yeah, you get into strange dis-discussions of, um, “Can we not see the decapitated- decapitated head (rolling gesture) roll?” (audience and Kripke laugh) And then you start arguing about, “Well.. can it do a half a turn?” (audience and Kripke laugh) Then say, “Okay. You can do a half a turn but the blood gush can't be for two seconds. It has to be for once sec-” Uh- um, so those are ongoing discussions, but a-a-actually the network's been great. We really push the envelope (Kripke: Yeah) in-in every sense. And, uh, they let us get away with more than I thought they would.
Jensen: There was also the, uh, when-
Jared: The gun rig.
Jensen: Yeah, the gun rig with me when I- uh, when Dean was shot in the head.
Kripke: Yeah. The- Night-Nightmare- The episode “Nightmare” was the first and only time that we’ve ever had issues with standards and practices. And so, everything else they just were like, “Give us more.” And we- again we were shocked by that. But there-the-the- there's a scene where, it's a- it's a vision it doesn't really happen, but where Dean gets his brains blown out (gestures brain splat) (audience giggles) in “Nightmare” (audience laughs) and-and… (Kripke briefly looks to his left) And we actually rigged it. And we thought, like, you know- We rigged it so-
Jensen: Yeah, the rig was awesome.
Kripke: Yeah. You-you rigged it so (mimics the shot going through his forehead) the shot actually goes into his forehead and-and the blood explodes out the back (laughs) (audience laughs) on to the wall. And we're like, (makes an excited gesture) “Haha, this is our lead and we're just, you know.”  But and-and-and- and network was like, “No way.”
Jensen: Yeah, this giant- this giant backpack filled with, like, grapes and-and corn syrup (audience ughs) and, uh, and- and it was this tube (partial turns and gestures at the curve of the back of his head) just kind of coming right- right out of the back and, uh, from the head on. And I had a little button in my hand. And they just yelled action. (mimics the scene) And, we timed it with a gunshot, and I hit the button, and gave reaction, and the whole wall went splatium.
Shiban: Yeah.
Kripke: Heheh
Singer: By the way-
Jensen: It was an awesome rig, but then they ended up having to cut to (box gesture) just the splat (Kripke nods) and then back to me with the hole in the head.
Singer: (point to his center forehead) Back to him with a hole. (Jensen: Yeah) But, the, uh, the director of that episode is here tonight, (pointing at the left side of the audience) sitting next to my wife as it is.
Jared: Where is he?
Kripke: Phil Sgriccia.
Singer: And- Phil Sgriccia.
Jared: Phil! (claps)
Kripke: Really good job. (audience claps)
Jared: Wooo!
Kripke: Stand up!
Singer: And, uh, when I looked at those dailies, uh, and I called Phil and I said- he said, “How are they? How are they? Is-” You know, because (swipes at Manners) Kim can tell you all us directors are.. so self-confident (Manners laughs) that we don't need constant approval or anything. (audience chuckles) Um- uh, he said- I said, “They're great, Phil. But what the hell are you doing?” (audience chuckles) And he said, “Well, you know, they look at that and they'll give me all the rest of the stuff.” So (gestures) (J2 and audience laugh)
Manners: We actually play a game with BSP broad-broadcast standards and practice where we cut the show and we cut it way too violent. (Kripke chuckles) So then they come in they go, “Well, you have to take out four frames of that shot.” And you go, “Oh god, not four frames.” “Yes, four frames.” So you take it out, but you always knew that you didn't need those four frames. (laughs) (audience laughs) So, we kind of stack the deck. (audience chuckles)
Bushman: (points) Okay, there's a question over there in the corner. (points) And there's one back there. Over there too.
•(43:56)- PaleyFest06;Q12- Paranormal on Set (J2)
Fan: Oh, okay. Um, well, we've had the question about what urban myths scare you. But for those of you who are actually on set regularly, has there ever been… you know, a blood splatter or that freaky scarecrow or anything that just really creeped you out just to be around on set even though you knew it was plastic or, you know, karo syrup or something?
Jared: I know one- and just one time randomly we're, uh, we're filming “Skin” the episode where (points at Jensen) he's a shapeshifter. (audience giggles) And we're inside this house- this brilliant house. (audience claps) Yeah. (Jared looks at Jensen and claps) It was a great episode. And, um, we were inside this house. And just this clock on the wall just up and leaned over and fell off. Just this round clock no one was near it. No one was (mimics hammer) hammering on the wall outside. It just kind of fell off and everybody sort of looked around. But instead of kind of going, “Who did that?” we're all just were like, (mimics scene) “Ignore it and go back doing business.” (audience laughs) Just tried- decided to not look into it any further. (audience chuckles) The way real brave people do it (audience laughs) this round.
Jensen: So, the, um, the show “Asylum,” uh, was.. (Jared: Oh, yeah.) Um. (Audience claps) (nods) Yeah. (claps) that was- that was shot in an actual abandoned, uh, mental institute and so.. Uh, the-the halls and the rooms and-and we're all very used at one point. (audience giggles) And-and, uh, you know, it said that-that-that- (gestures) the crew says not to go up to the fourth floor (?entrance?). (audience giggles) And, you know, don't-
And-and I remember we broke for lunch. And, uh, I thought I'd be (gestures), you know, clever and take a shortcut (nods then shakes his head) (audience laughs) I’d-I came down a stairwell and went into one door and it was just a (gestures) long dark hallway, because the-there's (Jared chuckles) no lights on. The only lights on it are what the-the film crew puts out. And, uh, that- I was like, (mimics looking back and forth in the hallway) “Well, it's not that long.” (audience laughs) “I can make it.” (audience laughs)
That freaked me out. (nods) (audience laughs)  
Bushman: Okay.
Manners: (points at Jensen) Dean W-Winchester, ladies and gentleman.
Jensen: Yeah. Thank you. (Jared and Shiban clap. Audience claps and cheers)
Kripke: Goodnight. (Jensen bows) Afraid of nothing. (Shiban takes a drink. Jensen laughs)
Bushman: In the back over there. Yeah.
•(46:09)- PaleyFest06;Q13- Network Censorship “Sex” (Kripke)
Fan: Now that there's a new network that you're probably going to be moving to, the CW, are they gonna and loosen up and give us a little more NC-17 like we got the Jensen storyline the other week. (audience giggles and some woo)
Shiban: Bob? (Jared chuckles)
Jensen: I'm confused. (audience laughs)
Audience member: Next episode!
Fan: Sex.
Audience member: Sex.
Jensen: What?
Fan: Sex.
Audience member: The sex.
Jared: Oh right.
Jensen: Aaahh. (audience laughs) (adjusts his position, shrugs) How can I forget. (audience laughs) (leans forward to look at Kripke) Thank you for that, man. (audience laughs) (Jensen shakes his head, leans back and hides a laugh behind his hand)
Kripke: (briefly holds his hands up) Sure… Happy birthday Jensen.
Jensen: Yes. (nods)
Jared: (laughs) Happy birth-
Kripke: Um, yyou know, I mean, CW is huge on full frontal male nudity. (Jensen is looking down hiding his mouth behind his fist. Jared chuckles into a laugh and then claps and goes to take another drink. The audience screams and cheers.) Well, uh, I think there's a lot in store. (gestures) Stay tuned! (Jared laughs while drinking his water. Jensen laughs) (shrugs) You know, I mean, we'll give ‘em- you know, we'll give ‘em love interests and (Jared coughs) love stories as it's appropriate.
Jared curls up and coughs behind his arm. Jensen reaches over and pats Jared’s back. Audience laughs. Jared folds over and continues coughing. Jensen with his arm on Jared’s back, makes a “come here” motion towards the audience.  
Jensen: We're gonna need it. (Kripke laughs)
Jensen continues to pat Jared’s back. Jared sits up, looks around and coughs one last time behind his fist.
Bushman: Um, okay. Uh, we’ll (points) take one there and one in the middle.
Jared: (wipes his eye and then his forehead) Oh jeez.
Bushman: (points) One down here and one in the middle. (nods) Yeah. Yeah. You just-
•(47:19)- PaleyFest06;Q14- Sam and Dean pre-series (Kripke)
Fan: Hi. Um, first of all thanks so much for being here. Um, if you guys are always like this, can I come work on your set? (laughs) (Manners laughs. Audience chuckles)
Jared: (throws his hands up) Yeah.
Fan: uh-
Jared: Thank y'all guys for being here. This is-
Jensen: Yeah. Thank you. (claps)
Jared: Yeah.
Manners: Thank you! (panelists clap)
Fan: No bother.
Jared: Honestly.
Fan: Um, so we came into this story, uh, when the boys are already adults. And I know there's a lot to explore in the future, but I was wondering about the past. Um, because I know that.. there's a lot of speculation about what their childhood (Jensen nods) was like growing up, (Jared nods) moving around. How much Miller time dad was doing. (Jensen nods: mhm) (Jared smiles. and audience chuckles) And how Sam and Jess met. Stuff like that. So, I was just wondering, um, if you were gonna explore that aspect of their lives?
Kripke: We just- Uh, it's funny you say that. We just yesterday, uhh.. Actually (points to the front row) I think, uh, I'm talking to Brad, who's at the network. I think you're getting a cut on Monday. (audience giggles) Um, of-of an episode that, uh, not only do the boys in-in present day, you know, deal with a creature, but, uh, (gestures) it's a creature they dealt with in the past. (gestures) And there's extensive flashbacks to, uh-uh, Sam and Dean. And John is there, you know, as the boys (•video skips•) children and dad and you get to see a, uh, an element of-of what their past was like or what their childhood was like. (Jensen nods)
Um, and it was- I really happy with how it turned out. And it- You know we won’t- We wanted to try it once. And I think it'll be happening a lot more. (gestures) Because there's this great (Manners and Jensen are leaning forward, looking at Kripke) 22 year window of-of what happened. And-and-and that's- there's a lot of story there that you can- you can flesh out. (nods then shakes his head) So, I think we're definitely to go there.
(nods and gestures) Because it's coming up in, uh, (briefly looks up) I think, uh, April, that episode. And it- I was really pleased with how it turned out. So, yeah. We’re really doing it-
Jared: Another positive is that if little Sam and little Dean filming, big Sam and big Dean are sleeping
Kripke: (laughs) Yeah. Right. (Jensen smirks. Audience laughs. Jensen holds up two thumbs.)  (Jared: Soo-) So, there's that.
Jensen: This is good. This is good.
Jared: So, keep pushing yeah (rocks fist)
Jensen: Yeah, keep pushing.
Jared: Keep pushing.
Kripke: Yeah.
Jensen: (nods and raises eyebrows) Flashbacks.
Jared: Very important. (laughs and scratches back of his head) (audience chuckles)
Bushman: Okay. (points) There was a question there in the middle.
Fan: (off mic) Um, Dean always wears this like- (audience giggles) 
Kripke: Aw.
Audience member: What?
•(49:06)- PaleyFest06;Q15- Samulet (Jensen, Kripke)
Fan: Oh, okay. (voice cracked giggle) (Manners laughs. Kripke smiles) Dean always (laughs)- Dean always wears a certain necklace does it mean anything?
Kripke looks down at Jensen. Jensen is leaning on his knees looking back.
Jensen: (to Kripke) You gonna hang me out to dry on this?
Singer: Oh yeah. (Jensen looks down. Jared laughs. Audience laughs.)
Kripke: I mean we can’t s- I mean it does but we can't…say.
Jensen: (looks at fan) Yeah. It-it-it does have significance and it- it’ll..(rubs his brow) it- but it we can't talk about it.
Kripke: Yeah. (laughs) (audience laughs) (Jensen rests his head on his hand)
Shiban: It's from Sacramento.
Jensen, Kripke, and the audience laugh. Jensen pats Shiban’s shoulder.
Bushman: That's a great question, though, that you picked up on that necklace. So. (Kripke: Yeah.) (Jensen nods. A few of the audience give woo’s.) Um-
Fan: (off mic) I always notice weird stuff. (audience giggles)
Bushman: Okay. I'm trying to spread ‘em out. Uhh. (points) You got somebody back there? Okay. (Points) And then this woman down here in the red shirt… (points) But go ahead in the back first.
•(49:54)- PaleyFest06;Q16- Special effects, Gag Reels (Jensen, Jared, Manners)
Fan: Um, I thought I heard you guys m-mention on a show one time you guys do green screen, blue screen, that kind of thing for special effects. Is that gotten a lot easier for you to do and kind of.. You know… fake it? (laughs) (audience laughs)
Jared: Yeah.
Fan: And, um, and the second part to the question was, uh, when the DVD set comes out are you guys gonna have a lot of.. behind the scenes jokes, cuz yeah this is funny. (audience laughs)
Jensen: We, uh, we-we actually just had a film crew on set with us, uh, this past week doing behind the scenes stuff for the DVD. (nods) So. (audience cheers and claps)
Um. (gestures) Going back to your first question the green screen and, uh, and stuff, we.. we do, do a lot of-
Jared: You-
Jensen: (leans back and looks at Jared) I said doo-doo. (Jared presses his lips. Audience laughs.)
Manners: He said doo-doo. (Jared smiles and shrugs)
Jared: He said doo-doo. (shrugs) (Jensen looks at the audience and briefly raises his eyebrows) (chuckles)
Jensen: (licks his lips and leans forward on his knees) Uumm.
Jared laughs. Manners laughs. Jared then throws his head back, laughing, and claps. Jensen closes his eyes and bits his lips. The audience laughs.
Jensen: We do (gestures) work a lot with- (Jared snorts)
Manners: Doo-doo. (Jensen looks over) (shrugs) (J2 laugh)
Jensen: (quickly sits back and points at Jared) Jared you can take this one. (Jensen stares at Jared with a smirk)
Jared: (laughing) Yeah. (sits up with his feet on the table) Uumm.. (claps his knee) as Kim and Jensen were saying, we doo-doo. (audience laughs) And, uh- No. We do- it was- it was- (puts his feet back on the floor) I guess it was a big learning process for everybody. Just- You know, it's-it’s a very interesting.. sort of task to be given to- Especially these kind of crazy either emotional sequences or these crazy physical sequences when they're like, “Alright. Now, um, you're in the woods.”(Jensen nods) “And, uh, you know, it's dark, and it's scary, and you're hearing things.”And then you look behind you and there's just this (gestures) big blue wall with (gestures) tape (audience chuckles) And, you know, a couple crew guys standing back there smoking cigarettes. (audience laughs) You know, cursing and.. showing off tattoos (audience giggles) And so it's-it's- it's, uh, I think I've- (briefly looks to his right, then gestures to the audience) speaking for myself, I-I hope I've gotten more of a hang of it.
Jensen: Aside from just the actual green-screen of it that w-we can just be in a normal set and-and they're going to, um- visual effects will-will then put in something (Jared: Right.) like, uh, “Phantom Traveler” with the, uh, (gestures) the smoke that would come out of the vents (Jared: Right.) and-and stuff like that. That's not something that we obviously see. Um.. so we have to pretend that it's there. And that there's no real green screen work going on there.
But, uh, there's also an episode coming up (thumbs to Manners) that Kim directed called, uh, “Shadows.” And we deal with, uh- (audience starts murmuring)
Kripke: Yeah, it just aired.
Shiban: It aired (?)
Manners: (to the audience) Well, what happened in “Shadow-” Did you see-
Jensen: (adjusts his seating position) I haven’t seen it. (audience and Kripke laughs)
Manners: (points to Jensen) He loves my work.
Jensen: Yeah. That’s right. And we hadn’t- (nods)
Manners: Uhh, If you remember the shot wheree Meg did the high fall (gestures)… (audience’s says yes) (shakes his head) they hung her six feet off the ground. And she was.. (gestures to his belt. Clip on mic falls in his lap) picked-  Wah- we call it picked, with two wires on her hips. And she was looking up at the cabin or doing this (looks up and clawing at the sky).  (looks down and pats for his mic.) Hello. (audience chuckles) (picks up mic from his lap) She was looking up at the camera doing this. (claws at the air with one hand) (audience laughs) And she just laid back and (leans back) she just laid out and flattened out. And they dropped her visually w-, uh, with the computer seven stories. She never went anywhere. That was all just.. in one place, I guess. True story. (clips mic to his jacket)
Jensen: And then when we ran up to the window.. she wasn't even there and we were actually staring at a.. a big.. red X.
Manners: yeah. (audience laughs)
Kripke: So, Jensen, does that mean that you guys actually have to act? (audience gives mixed reaction)
Jared: No, no, no. I'm actually not here right now.
Kripke: (chuckles and then to the audience) Oh, I’m kidding.
Jared: We're actually in Canada. (gestures) This is- this is-
Jensen: These are our body doubles (Jared and Singer chuckle)
Kripke?: yeah. (Jensen nods)
Bushman: Yeah, over here.
•(53:15)- PaleyFest06;Q17- Religion “Jensen,” Dean Winchester cellphone # (Jared, Jensen)
Fan: Um, actually I have two questions. The first one is, Jensen in a past interview he said you were a Christian. I was wondering is it hard to do this kind of show like.. having that background?
And the other question is in an episode, I don't remember which one it was, you gave the phone number what you're trying to reach your dad you're like, “Give me a call this is my number.” But whenever you call you can- you- y- it says, “This is Dean Winchester.” And it says, “Leave your coordinates.” Did you ever hear- like, you- Can you actually voice ‘em on there? Did you hear like- Did you have a lot of fans leaving messages at that number? (Jensen points to Kripke) Because it wasn't a five, five, five number.
It was very small to pick up on, because my sister and I we watch it- She watches it her place. I watch it at mine. (audience giggles. J2 smile.) And I was like “Did you see the number?” She's like, “Was it a real number?” And so anyway that was my question. (Jensen gives a one-handed shrug and then looks at Kripke. audience laughs)
Jared: If you want to actually call him it's 800-Wet-Legs. (Kripke laughs and audience laughs) So, that’s- this is- (Jensen leans over to talk in Jared’s ear)
Kripke: Don’t- don’t give out his number. (Manners laughs)
Jared: Oh, he changed- Oh, you changed it. (audience chuckles) Oh, scratch that. Scratch that. (scratches his head)
Jensen: Um, (readjusts his position) I’m lost.
Shiban: What was the question?
Jensen: What was the- what was the question? (picks up mic from lap) Wha?
Jared: Something about-
Manners: (leans over) You're a Christian!
Jared: (?subliminal worshiping?)
Jensen: (clips his mic back on his shirt) Uh, Yes. Okay. Uhhh, (gestures) Your first question. Uh, y-yes I-I was raised, uh-um, with a very religious family. (gesture) And-and in that, uh-um.. I mean, (open hands) what I do this is, you know.. W-we.. This is acting. (gestures) We're telling stories. I’m-I'm- I portray a character. Um, you know, does my grandmother cringe sometimes? (nods) Yeah. (smiles) (audience giggles) Um, but at the end of the day I'm-I'm, you know, it's- it's something that I'm cool with.
Uhh and, uh- and then as far as the- the-the phone numbers (gestures and looks at Kripke) and I think there’s even websites- there's a-a-
Kripke: Yeah. Yeah. When they called-
Jensen: (looks at fan) Email.
Kripke: Yeah, every so often.
Jensen: There’s actually been a (looks at Kripke) huge response to it.. from what I know.
Kripke: Yeah. Yeah. We got a couple. Wuh-uh- I listened- I mean we couldn't listen all of them, but there’s was a couple thousand voicemail messages. (audience chuckles) (Jensen: Yeah.) of people who called. And-and, uh, I mean I listen to you know maybe, you know, thirt- twenty or thirty of them.
Jared: (to Jensen) Two thousand (Jensen smiles)
Kripke: But some of our hilari- They're like, you know, (dramatic voice) “Sam and Dean! There- there's a ghost in my attic!” (audience and Jared laugh) “You have to come quick!” (Shiban coughs) Those are- those are my favorites.
Jared: (laughs) That’s funny.
Jensen: (scratches head) That's awesome. (audience giggles. Jared laughs)
Bushman: Alright, uh- (more hands in the audience are raised)
Jared: Woah.
Jensen: Woah.
Jared: Wow. (audience chuckles)
Jensen: Yes.
Jared: Can you do that again? (Jensen and audience laugh)
Bushman: Um, take one all the way in the back up there. And one right here in the front.
•(55:39)- PaleyFest06;Q18- Impala 67 (Jensen, Manners)
Fan: Hi. (Bushman: ?second?) My son and I are really big fans. And you guys are great. And I want to know what kind of car it is you drive. It's- it's great.
Jensen: It's a, uh, 67 (Jared?: Impala) Chevy Impala. (J2 nod. Audience cheers and claps)
The audience starts yelling out, “Metallicar!” Jensen smiles. Kripke laughs. Jensen laughs. A few more Meallicar response are said.
Jensen: The Metallicar.
Manners: They’re gonna sell well.
Jensen: Yeah. (shrugs) There it is. And we've got about- (looks around)
Manners: We've just bought our fifth one.
Jensen: (nods) Fifth one. We got about five of them. Yeah.
Jared: that's why you can't find him on eBay. Cuz we’ve been buying- (audience laughs) (Jared takes a drink)
Jensen: Yeah. We have them all. (nods)
Jared: (while drinking) mhm (sets down glass)
Bushman: Right there.
•(56:15)- PaleyFest06;Q19- SPN Music (Kripke, Singer)
Fan: Okay so let's talk about the music.
Jensen: Yeeesss. (audience and Jared clap)
Fan: Yes. Yes. Alright, I grew up in the 70s. I grew up on the mullet rocks. So, yeah. Let's talk about where the inspiration.. came from with that.
Kripke: That.. That was something that was r-really important to me, uh, coming into the show, coming into the pilot. Um, you know, I'm from a small town in Ohio and (gestures) this is the music I listen to. And I was a huge, huge Zeppelin fan. And.. and-and so, ehhh- You know, and so, uh, (gestures) when it came time to write the pilot I-I- and-and produced it, it was- it was so important to me that it had that music. And- and not have, you know, (gestures) all-all due respect to my beloved Network, not half the music that's usually on that network. (audience chuckles)
Um, and-and it was so important to me. (gestures) I was so like rabid about it that in the original draft of the pilot I even wrote in the- in the script. (mimics writing) I wrote, “Cue music. And you can take your anemic alternative pop and shove it up your ass.” (audience laughs, claps and cheers. Manners and Shiban laugh)
And, uh.. and the r- and the reason I wrote the scene when they're in the-in the pilot
Jensen: (? It’s how I knew??) (Jared nods and laughs) (briefly raises his eyebrows)
Kripke: they have the scene where they're talking about tapes and he's like, you know; ac/dc, you know, uh, Motorhead, Metallica. And the reason I wrote that in is I said, “Well, if we shoot that and it gets from the pilot then we have to use my music.” (audience laughs) (frantically gestures) “Because it's already in the- it's already in the sh- it’s in the show and they can't, you know. They can't put in some, you know, Sarah McLaughlin in the- in the- in post.” (Manners laughs)
So, uh- So I- You know, this is- y-you know- (turns to Singer) And we’ve-we've had a great time I mean in-in- with, you know, Phil also in post-production and with Bob (gestures) of figuring out these songs. And coming in one morning and being like, “Oh! Billy Squier! What about Billy Squier?” (Singer chuckles. The audience laughs.)
And, uh- and I think it's like a real signature to the show. And-and is-is the real- (gestures) plus it's Midwestern. You know, it's like two guys in- (thumbs to J2) from Kansas in a muscle car. (shrugs) And this is the music they listen to. So, um, but it's- I- I mean I- I love it. There-there was- The other night was Joe Walsh “Rocky Mountain Way” (Jensen nods) and I'm just laughing my ass off. (audience laughs) “Yeah! I Rocky Mountain Way on The WB! It’s-“ (Jensen and audience laugh)
Singer: It also, uh- It also spreads. Because one of the editors, uh, said to me- And he's a very hip guy and really good musically. (laughs) He- I walk into his room. We were going through songs. I said, “Well, do this song. Do this song.” (unintelligible) Two days there I walk in, he goes, “Do you know Bad Company's really good.”
The audience cheers and claps. Kripke laughs. Jensen nods and smirks.
Bushman: Okay. Let's take two questions from the middle. One- (points) One over there and (points) one on the other side. (points) O-on this side and then (laughs) one on that side.
•(58:41)- PaleyFest06;Q20A- Acting Advice “Start” (Jared)
Fan: Hi, I'm an inspiring actor. And (giggles) I wanted to know-
Singer: We’re sorry. (The audience laughs. Kripke laughs then aw’s)
Fan: I wanted to know, um, how hard was it for you two to get started acting? (Jared looks at Jensen)
Jensen: (gestures to Jared) Go ahead. (audience giggles)
Jared: Uuh. Alright, I'll feel this. I-It’s a it's not the first time I've actually heard that question and I'm- I'm so at a loss for what to tell you. (scratches knee) I have a very interesting story. When I was in high school I won a contest to being on the Teen Choice Awards. (some of the audience laughs) And hold trophies and give them to Freddie Prinze Jr. when he got (audience laughs) “Best Hottie of.. the World”
Jensen: Pretty much went downhill since then. (audience laughs)
Jared: It’s basically gone down, yeah. (Kripke laughs) Yeah, and I just- (laughs) I rode on Freddie Prinze's coattails. (audience giggles. Jensen smirks) No. Um, and I- and I met an agent at the, uh, at the show. I met a manager actually. And-and, Dan Spilo, I'm still with to this day, sitting with my girl Sandy over there. Um, he- we- (gestures) We started kind of talking over the phone with sides. And he had faith in me and I was going back to high school. And I've mommy that's a teacher and a daddy that was an accountant. (audience giggles) And they were like, “He's finishing high school. He's finishing high school.” And I was like, “Why can’t I go act? Why can’t I go act?”
And anyways, I flew out for about a week during pilot season. And I booked a pilot and then I used that money to go out during the summer. So, I had a really kind of crazy interesting story, but I have a lot of buddies who are, you know, much more talented and-and more committed than I am that are still struggling to make it. So, uh- It's a- It's a.. tough, tough industry but just, you know, keep working hard and keep making yourself better. (nods)
•(1:00:08)- PaleyFest06;Q20B- Acting Advice “Start” (Jensen)
Bushman: Jensen how did you get started?
Jensen: Um. Well, I mean like Jared said there's- there's really no set formula, uh, for- for.. how we, you know, we've gotten to where we've got. Um, mine was kind of a (throws up hand and shakes his head), um, sheer luck thing as-as well.
I was, uh, doing theater in Dallas and I happen to have a-a (throws up hand) talent agent from- from LA sitting in and came up to me afterwards and gave me his-his.. (throws up hand) pitch and I said, “Nah, you're full crap.” (Bushman and audience laugh. Jared smiles.) I told him to bugger off. (audience chuckles) And, uh, h- And then he went up to my-my folks and kind of gave him their pitch as well. And I guess they seemed a little bit more interested in a-
And so a few years later after his, um, persistence I-I finally said, “Ah, maybe I'll go out there for a couple of months and check it out. See if he's, uh- See if he'll talk the talk.” And, uh, I came out. And-and started working right away and that was about eight or nine years ago.
Bushman: Mm. Okay. So, question on that side.
•(1:01:02)- PaleyFest06;Q21- Props “Alcohol” (Jared, Jensen)
Fan: First of all, um, “Shadow” was a kick-ass episode. (audience claps followed by J2 and Shiban clapping) And I want to thank you all for that one, cuz it's awesome.
But let's get down to, like, what really matters. What alcohol do you guys like to drink? (audience laughs. Kripke and Singer look at J2.)
Jared: What alcohol do you got? (Kripke shakes his head with opens his hands at the audience, and then laughs with the audience)
Fan: Because I see a lot of beers and stuff in the episode. And it's always my thing to place what y'all are drinking. So, I was just wonderin,’ you hard guys? You light guys?
Jared: (laughs and then claps. Jensen smiles at Jared) Uh, my mom would kill me. (audience laughs) Umm-
Jensen: Yeah, can we cut the tape like right now? (audience laughs)
Jared: Yeah, could we? We were rolling. Check. Check. Actually (Jensen adjusts his position) one of the funny things about the, uh, about the beers is our-our prop master, Chris Cooper, um, he's.. some of the (gestures) (a clicking noise is made) beer labels they're always fake labels. (audience laughs) (Jared looks up) God?
Jensen: (?somebody get?) a staple gun. (audience laughs)
Shiban: (?Give me a minute.?)
Jared: And, uh, (chuckles) They're always fake labels and it usually have some do with the city that we're filming that episode in. You know like if we’re in Texas it'll be like, “Lone Star Logger,” or if we’re in.. (one person laughs) Minnesota it'll be like, “Timber Wolf Ale” or something (audience chuckles) like that.
But, you know, (looks at Jensen) we’re Texas boys. I- I think-
Jensen: Yeah, we, you know, would probably drink what you imagine a couple Texas boys drink. (J2 smirk. Audience giggles)
Jared: Put in a cup. (audience laughs. Jensen nods)
Jensen: That’s right. (Jared rubs his hand over his face and laughs. The Audience laughs)
•(1:02:14)- PaleyFest06;Q22A- Favorite SPN Scene (Manners)
Bushman: I have a question for you guys. (audience laughs. Jared nods while pressing his lips together. Jensen scratches his ear) Um, I'm curious if, ueh, this is possible to answer this question, if you could pick a scene that you either wrote or acted in or directed that's probably like your favorite scene that you've worked on since this show started and if you tell me why. Um, (Jared?: mm) anybody want to.. take. (Manners gestures at Bushman) Kim go ahead.
Manners: I'll take that, um. (rubs his tear duct) “Shadow,” where the boys finally f- saw their father. Uhh d- (audience claps and cheers) (shakes his head and clears throat) “Shadow” was- u-uh, I'm incredibly proud of because there were four great scenes. The scene where the boys were arming up and, uh, Dean blows at Sam and says, “Why do you think I-I got you out of Stanford in the first place?” “Why do you think I came to get you? Because I want us to be family again.”
And, uh, (Jensen dramatically wipes his eyes with the back of his hand. Audience laughs) I'll tell you Jensen had a tough time with that and we kind of arm wrestled over it. And he- and, uh- (Jensen nods) tooo get him there and, you know, because- because Dean is, uhh, you know, he's got his walls up. And-and to break down that wall for (gestures) just a minute to look in the Dean’s heart was- was magical for me.
And then when they met dad in the apartment, uh, and in the alley it was just- (nods) We worked very hard. (Jensen nods: mhm) (Jared nods) The boys- they- their game of tennis improves 2000% when they work with Jeffrey Dean or somebody like Niki.. (audience woo’s and claps. Jared claps) Aycox. (shakes head and then scratches nose)
You know, we find the nuances and, uh, it-it- in acting i-it becomes the crap that it is and it becomes real (Jensen nods), uh, life. And the words become (points at J2) their own and the emotions become their own and that's special, for me. (Jensen nods then looks at Manners. Manners looks back)
Jared: And not just to say this, but having a great director to.. tell you exactly what to do doesn't.. make it hard. (briefly looks at Manners) So you know (Manners: Thank you.) I think (tilts his head at Jensen) Jensen and I would tell you.. a thousand times every day like.. you know.. “Kim got it out in that episode.”
Jensen: (scratches head) (unintelligible) Yeah. (?That happened?)
•(1:04:12)- PaleyFest06;Q22Aa- Acting Challenges “Shadow” (Jensen)
Bushman: Hey, Jensen. Did you not want to do that scene because you thought that Dean wouldn't.. say that?
Jensen: Umm, yeah. Sometimes I-I- I guess I can be a little protective of just of-of Dean and-and him (open hands) showing emotions. And I, you know, I always, um… A-and as an actor as you grow with a character on the series you- you really- you really kind of become close to it. (gestures) And You- you protect it. (Bushman: mhm) Em, you protect that character.
And, um, I guess that, that was probably what-what- what that was. And, uh, I just didn't- I wasn't (gestures) real sure how.. uh, how much of the layers, uh, to peel away (gestures) in that scene. And I guess in that confusion I just- I-I kind of put up my own barrier. (Thumbs to Manners) But, uh, if there was anybody to get me through it, it was Kim. So, I'm glad he was there.
Bushman: Great.
Jensen: Yeah.
•(1:05:00)- PaleyFest06;Q22B- Favorite SPN Scene (Shiban)
Bushman: John you have a favorite scene?
Shiban: Uuuh, there was a moment in “Skin” that-that I'm.. proud of. And actually it- in the- it sort of says something about how we (sniffs) tell our stories because we're always saying, “Okay, we want to do this type of episode. We want to do this monster. But how would Supernatural do it? How is it special for our show?” And I rremember being in- in Kripke’s palatial office of Warner Bros. (audience and Manners? chuckle)
Kripke: Not so fam- fountains and- (Jared smiles)
Shiban: Yeah. And uh- uh- (The audience, Jensen, and Manners chuckle.) We're (gestures) talking through the story of “Skin,” and the shapeshifter and obviously, you know, there's all kinds of (gestures) shape-shifting that's been done on television and movies etc. And he said, “We got to find our own.” And, uh, we kicked it around and came up with that scene, uuh, where Shapeshifter Dean goes down in the sewer.
 And.. and I remember reading a, um- uhh, some online posts some friends send me that someone else (mimics writing) -a fan was watching the show and giving her impressions as she watched it, (mimics typing) “Oh my god! Dean's taking his shirt off!” (audience laughs. Kripke smirks) and then followed immediately- followed immediately by, “Oh my god! He's taking his skin off.” (Jensen and the audience laugh) I knew then that we, you know, we had it. (Jensen takes a drink) And I was very-  I was very pleased with that.
Jensen: (places his glass down on the table) Oh, the things we do.
•(1:06:14)- PaleyFest06;Q22C- Favorite SPN Scene (Jensen)
Bushman: Jensen, you have a scene?
Jensen: Uuum.. (smacks lips) Yeah. I-I- one of my favorite, uh- um, it's not really a-a- a full scene but it's-it’s more of a shot. Um, and it was in, uh, it was in “Dead in the Water” (scratches arm) with, um- (points at Manners) Kim directed. Um, where I-I saved the little boy out of the lake. (nods) Uuh (some of the audience aw’s and then giggling) and coming- coming up out of the water. Uhm, and that was- It was just- It was, you know, slow-motion shot. It was very emotional, coming out with water and it was- That was really neat, um, but the build-up to that shooting it was, uh, (Manners chuckles) was really- (chuckles) (audience chuckles)
Uhhh, I had this 10 year-old boy in my hand and I'm keeping both of us (mimics holding the boy while swimming with one arm) afloat with one- one arm, uum, (rubs his chin) because I came with my feet (mimics holding a foot) because I got two divers holding my feet below me who were about to pull me under. And-d (one hand shrug) , you know, I-I'm fine. I grew up swimming in lakes and j- and all my life. But tah.. to have that sensation of somebody pulling you under water, um, especially when you've got the life of a-a 10 year old, you know, little actor in your hand and-and you're trying to keep him afloat. And he's got to play dead it was just- (shakes his head and rubs forehead) (audience murmurs) It was, uh- (looks up at Bushman) it was a little overwhelming.  And.. and it was definitely unforgettable.
But, uh, we got through it. (throws up hand) We get- and it turned out to be an awesome shot. (thumbs at Manners)
Bushman: That's a great story.
Jensen: Yeah.
•(1:07:34)- PaleyFest06;Q22D- Favorite SPN Scene (Jared)
Bushman: Jared?
Jared: uhh, you know what? I've had some time to think while.. (Kripke chuckles) (scratches head) (audience chuckles) they've answered their questions. And I'm gonna go back to, uh, a scene in “Wendigo” that we did at the very, you know, (throws hand up) second episode of the year and I member there was just such (gestures) a long period of time between the “Pilot” and “Wendigo.” It was.. What? From m-March-April till July. (Kripke: mhm)
And, uh, there were so many (gestures) questions in my head when I found that we were getting picked up. Like, what's gonna happen? Where are we gonna start? Like, how do we.. start? How do we finish? How do we continue this story that we started a pilot with so many things going down? How do we.. keep the momentum going?
And there was this one particular scene that, uh, (points at Jensen) Jensen and I did on stage where he's got (gestures) dad's journal he's saying this is what it's about (Kripke nods) and Sam is saying, “I got to find Dad.” And I remember we, uh- We had a huge day that day. We had like eight or nine (turns his head towards Jensen) pages of dialogue. (Jensen nods) And, uh, Jensen and I realized we had to do the scene. We're like, “Oh, crap.” (J2 turn towards each other) Like, (laughs) “W-what? Let’s go memorize this in my trailer.” (gestures) We sat down in my trailer. And there was an acting coach that I-I work with whenever I can, named Karen Thorpe, up there with us. (Kripke nods)
And, uh, you know he kind of pushed and prodded me a little bit. (throws up hand) And I don't know what he did to Jensen. (audience laughs) But, uh..
Jensen shakes his head. Jared makes a grimace. Kripke? Giggles. The audience laughs. Jensen smiles into his hands. Jared smiles and scratches his head.
Jensen: I don’t want to talk about it.
Jared: It was noisy.
Jared and the audience laugh. Kripke laughs. Jared claps and then looks down, hiding his face behind his arm and scratches and combs his hair.
Jensen: Never again.
Jared: That’s between y’all and the wall. (audience laugher and ughs?) But, anyways we ended up- we ended up kind of getting the scene and-and putting something there. (scratches leg) And I think, um, it was one of the first times I ever felt like (throws up hand)… um, I was- I was hopefully doing what Kripke wanted, you know? Like, I think, like, I felt like, “You know, I think this is what Eric was envisioning.” Like, I really felt, for some reason, there's one of those times when you finish a scene and you're like, “Wow. I don't know where that came from but.” (shrugs) “I don't know.” (Kripke nods) “Whatever.”
Kripke: I remember seeing the dailies on that too. Uh, we were just through the roof. It was incredible. (Jared pats his knees with his fingers)
•(1:09:18)- PaleyFest06;Q22E- Favorite SPN Scene (Singer)
Bushman: Bob?
Singer: Um, I think, um, my favorite scene is a really quiet scene. And It's at, um, is at the end of the “Faith” episode. And-and (gestures) that whole episode was really about (Kripke nods) (gestures) I think, very… topical for today about what's.. what's real faith. And, uh, Julie Benz comes in has a, uh, scene with Jensen. And, uh, Jensen says to her, um, “I-I'm not much for praying, but I-I'll pray for you.” (Jensen nodding: mhm) And (gestures) she said, “Well, that's a miracle right there.”
And, uh, (gestures) I-I thought that, that kind of- I-I thought that was really sweet. I thought it was incredibly well acted, um, with both Julie and Jensen. And-and I thought that, um, I probably.. If people were listening, I think that probably was our.. You know, our finest moment to, uh, say something semi political and-and be, um, on the right side of that. (shrugs) I just hope it affected people the way it affected me. (audience claps. J2 and Shiban clap.)
•(1:10:18)- PaleyFest06;Q22F- Favorite SPN Scene (Kripke)
Kripke: Um, I-I (slice gestures) agree with.. all of those. All those are incredible scenes I would also add, uh, the scene when, uh-uh, Dean first calls his father in “Home” and tells him that “Come to Lawrence” and just the way that Jensen was able to try (gestures) to put up those walls, but the walls kept breaking down and that was amazing. (gestures)
But all those amazing scenes aside, (gestures) everyone's given such classy answers. (audience giggles) I have to say that when the when the dude stuck his hand the disposal in-in “Home”. (j2 and audience laugh. Jensen claps) And-and then the monkey starts clapping and- and (mimics camera) we had that shot beneath the sink and you could actually see all the goo come out. (audience ew’s) And I said I- and we shot it in dailies. I said, “They'll never let us use that.” And we used it. And, uh, it's- it's more probably- than any other scare sequence in the show. (Manners laughs) It's the one that people watch (Jensen: Yeah) (mimics viewers cringing and blocking the scene from their eyes) And they just- they can't even, you know, keep their eyes on the screen. (gestures to himself) And, you know, to me that's sort of the fun at getting the effect out of the audience. (to Bushman) So, I'm going to say the (gestures) garbage disposal scene in the “Home.” (audience laughs and claps)
Bushman: It's great because that explains what Bob was talking about before with the two different approaches to dra-
Kripke: See. (gestures) There you go.
(1:11:24)- closing
Bushman: Alright. (to audience) Okay, I want to thank you guys. You guys have been a great audience. (audience, Manners, Singer, and J2 clap)
Kripke: Can I say-
Bushman: Uh, also, uh, Before you go! Before you go! Don't go yet. I also (two security personnel walk on stage) want to thank Er- First of all Erik's got something to say.
Kripke: (holds up hand) Well, I just wanted to say, uh, we have a lot of, uh, the people who work in- on “Supernatural” in the audience. And I want a round of applause for them for this unbelievable season. (audience and panelists cheer and clap) All of them have done such a- They’ve all.. (gestures) They’ve all murder themselves to-to (gestures) bring you this show. And-and we couldn't do it without any of them. So- so, thank you to them. We-(gestures) it's-
Audience member: Are we getting (?pics off?)
Bushman: I- I also want to thank (gestures to panelists)-
Kripke: Hope so.
Bushman: I want to thank you guys, all of you, for.. not just being here tonight, but also for the great work that you're doing.
Jensen: (bows head) Thank you. (audience claps and cheers)
Bushman: And you’re obviously touching our cords. Thank you very much.
Singer: (nods) Thank you.
Kripke: Thank you. (audio cuts)
Jared’s clapping. Jensen is taking off his mic. Shiban is clapping. Manners is sitting up. Four security personnel walk and stand in front of the panelists, along with a woman and two stage assistants. The panelists all take off their mics and stand and mingle with the people on stage. The audience is also standing and exiting. Video fades to black.
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winchestress · 1 year
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unexpected ally Singer
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peach-coke · 2 years
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➤ The Boys || 3.01 - Payback June 3, 2022
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velveteencryptid · 4 months
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My first meme? Damn I'm old 😂🤷‍♀️
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lol-jackles · 9 months
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I know from reading your blog that Jared wanted to end the show several times. A huge mythology around how/why he didn't for a long time.// But at that last SDCC, Singer said he'd talked to Jensen, Jensen agreed, and then talked to Jared. Also, at one con when asked who would decide when to end it, both guys pointed to Jensen (prob because it would be when he stopped talking Jared in, but that's still him ending it.)//I guess my comment is just that the cast SHOULD be angry at Jensen or neither.
But they're not angry at Jensen because they know it was Jared who indirectly ended SPN.
First, Singer sucks at being coherent at interviews. Here is what Singer said at SDCC:
Interviewer: When were the first inklings the season 15 would be the last?
Singer: I think Jensen and I had sort of talked in general terms about what– you know, what’s the end. I said to them, I said, “Look, and I don’t know how this sounds, if this gonna have any effect on you guys, but if it seems indefinite, I don’t think I could do it much longer.” Once I knew there was the final thing, you know, it was easy for me to sign on and say, “Yeah, I’m gonna do it.” But then we talked a little more, and I think Jensen sort of got on board more quickly than Jared. But I think once Jensen sort of said this is what he wanted to do, Jared, you know, was in total agreement. I think once we made this decision, everybody was happy with it.
See where I highlighted? Robert said once he knew that season 15 was the last season, then he talked to Jensen. About what? The Road house party scene? Just minutes earlier, Singer was talking about getting as many “fan favorites” as possible back on the show. Whatever Singer said to Jensen, he “got on board” and so did Jared (J2 not going to say no to their boss).
So Singer was talking about Jensen and Jared being “in total agreement” AFTER season 15 was already decided it was going to be the last.
Second, Singer was trying to toe the WB's narrative about Jared and Jensen ending SPN together, not because Jared was leaving the show. Only WB can end SPN, Singer can’t.  Jensen can’t.  Jared can’t either but once he decided to leave, then WB ended SPN.
Third, in trying to toe the line, Singer was deflecting the interviewer’s questions because remember kids, this interview took place on July 2019. Jared’s Walker project would not be announced for another 2 months until September and Singer was not allowed to leak the Walker news because that would just be unprofessional bad manners.
"A huge mythology around how/why he didn't for a long time."
I don't know why that myth still exist when Jared mentioned al least twice at cons that he looked for a lawyer to help him break his contract. On the other hand, Jared had joked about SPN breaking Gunsmoke's record.
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clairedelune-13 · 1 year
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Does anyone else remember that weird moment in time when Singer acted as...a Cockles supervisor? Like he was always there, usually sitting behind them.
Like, dafuq was that?
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cas-dyke · 3 months
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had to watch “adaptation” for my screenwriting class. like 20 minutes into the movie a cop is in ONE SCENE and i know him IMMEDIATELY. BOBBY FUCKIN SINGER OF SINGER SALVAGE YARD
i cant escape.
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sexyvixen7 · 1 year
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Look at these gems!
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samsrowena · 5 months
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robert singer laughing in the background while dean gets pie faced. right before they fucking kill him. hey bob what if i ripped you apart with my teeth
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pssy-wagn · 2 years
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Day 17: Muse
Without our beloved Kripke, we wouldn't have anything. No Supernatural, Fanfics, suptober, so yeah, he's my little muse. He even died badass in The French Mistake (yes, I know that's not really him).
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zepskies · 5 months
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Why We Love the Boys
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As promised, here is my review of Supes Ain’t Always Heroes. I actually used to write book reviews in my high school journalism days, so here we go!  
What this book is: A masterful deep dive. A study on character psychology, the source of the comic and show’s inspiration, and the narrative themes illustrated in The Boys that parallel American culture and our real lives.
It includes interviews from one of the comic’s creators, Darick Robertson, The Krip himself (Eric Kripke), and actors Jim Beaver (Robert Singer), Aya Cash (Stormfront), Chace Crawford (The Deep), Jessie T. Usher (A-Train), Nathan Mitchell (Black Noir), and of course, Jensen Ackles (Soldier Boy).
It also includes a small but significant ode to the creativity of fans and fandom (with a mention of fanfic writers)!
I’ll admit, I felt seen. 😊
Who wrote it: Psychologists Lynn S. Zubernis and Matthew Snyder. Zubernis is a self-proclaimed fangirl of not only this show, but Supernatural and Eric Kripke in general. (That aspect definitely comes through in her writing.)
She is also editor of Family Don’t End with Blood: Cast and Fans on How Supernatural Changes Lives and There’ll Be Peace When you Are Done: Actors and Fans Celebrate the Legacy of Supernatural. Both of which I now want to read.
Several other authors also contributed to this book, as their expertise and backgrounds lend to the subjects they’re covering, such as racism, sexism, the entertainment industry, the comic’s inception, and more.
Who wants to read this book: Anyone who enjoys learning about what makes characters tick. What drives their choices, their sense of morality and justice, and their trauma and strife that lead them to do heinous things. This book will help you better understand your favorite characters (and how to write about them).
Perhaps most importantly, this book is for anyone who wants to read it put into words, why many of us love The Boys, as well as Supernatural.
In a way, the latter is more escapism entertainment than The Boys. Because in this show, there isn’t much, if any escape.
Despite this being a “superhero show,” as we all know, it’s so much more than that. It’s a mirror held directly into our own faces: about why we enjoy heroes and antiheroes, and excuse the “bad behavior” of the ones we like.
About mental health, grief and loss, nature and nurture, coping mechanisms and the importance of choice in dealing with trauma; of racism, sexism, misogyny, weaponized social media, politics, corporate greed, and the power (and cruelty) of good marketing.
This book explores the true villain of the story (and it ain’t Homelander).
I’m going to get into my favorite aspects of this book—as well as an amazing chapter on Soldier Boy’s character study (and why we love him, perhaps too much).
Though in my opinion, it was missing one small, but key thing…
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The Mirror of The Boys on Screen
This world is a gritty, bloody, and at times all-too realistic take on how superheroes would be if they lived in our world.
They are the worst of celebrities, professional athletes, and politicians all rolled into one. They are the shiny products of a company and are marketed as such. And they often buy into their own hype.
Some of my favorite quotes on this topic:
“The Boys often reflects darkness in our real world that is uncomfortable to watch. While we go through the tedium of our daily lives, trying to get by and using television or comics as an escape, it can feel difficult and overwhelming to confront the very real and insidious sources of authoritarianism, nationalism, and corporatism that are not just part of a story. “This show holds up a mirror and forces us to catch a glimpse of things we need to question, and asks us why we so easily believe the talking points of systems with marketing departments and press flacks behind them that carefully massage every word in order to get us to feel enamored with their product or policy.” (p. 227-228)
“The Boys works to reveal the nonaltruistic, sociopathic nature of contemporary US corporate culture. In a sense, The Boys uses the behavior of its characters to diagnose not an individual, but a culture.” (255)
In studying narrative I’ve learned that the best fiction and art serve to reflect the human experience. In this case, it’s something The Boys does expertly, even though it’s packaged in extreme, shocking, and often uncomfortable ways. But also in brutal, hilarious satire that’s fun to watch.
It “exposes real-world abuses, revealing many” of our own frustrations in American culture and in life in general (267).
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Major Themes & Questions Explored
Several Boys themes are explored from a psychological, cultural, and narrative point of view, as I mentioned earlier. These are some of my favorite segments:
Toxic Masculinity & Narcissism
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A whopper in The Boys, and the main theme of season 3. This book defines clearly what both of these words actually mean from a psychological point of view.
It also takes the bad taste out of your mouth that you might get from just hearing the words “toxic masculinity,” as it’s a phrase that can be carelessly thrown around to describe men and character traits that aren’t truly toxic.
How being emotionally available to your loved ones and not repressive of your feelings doesn’t make you weak, or less of a man. And how “being strong” doesn’t mean being physically violent and domineering. (AKA: the Big Swinging Dick™️ in the room.)
Narcissism is explored in a very interesting way. The book gives a diagram of different aspects of narcissists and how each character (Soldier Boy, Homelander, Butcher, and the Deep) falls into them.
Soldier Boy, for example, is classified as a “Classic Narcissist,” while Homelander a “Malignant Narcissist.” <- This will play into SB’s character study, and the main difference between SB and Homelander.
Butcher, however, displays narcissistic tendencies but is not, in fact, a narcissist. (More of an antisocial sociopath. Yay for him.)
Misogyny & Sexism
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The classic superhero world of comics dates back to the 1930s and ‘40s. It has been, and in many respects still is a (White) male-dominated industry, where in narrative, female superheroes typically work under a male leading the team, as in Justice League, Teen Titans, and the Avengers.
As much as I love DC and Marvel comics, female characters have also been drawn wildly sexual for male readers and the male gaze, and non-supe characters have been written primarily as love interests and damsels for the hero to save. (Think Lois Lane, Lana Lang, and Mary Jane.)
Modern adaptions have given female characters more agency, but their foundations were rooted in underlying sexism and the mythic hero—an Odysseus-type with certain characteristics of male strength and heroism. And that goes all the way back to classic literature, like The Odyssey, Beowulf, and the Epic of Gilgamesh.
In The Boys, the female supes go through the same issues as their comic counterparts. And they are treated how women are treated in the real world—marketable as sexual objects. (Starlight’s forced costume change is a prime example.)
Author Danielle Turchiano argues in the book that the women in power at Vought (Madelyn Stillwell, later Ashley) are given only so much power as men like Stan Edgar and Homelander give to them.
Stillwell, Ashley, and even Stormfront “drink the Kool Aid” of the misogynistic infrastructure of Vought, but they’re not truly “powerful” in and of themselves. (112)
And I would add that the only female characters that have or find true agency are Grace Mallory, Annie January/Starlight, and Maggie Shaw/Queen Maeve. Even Victoria Neuman is trying to work the political schematic and Vought by operating “within the system” Vought has created.
Mental Health, Trauma & Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
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This is a huge section, and rightly so. It kind of spans throughout the book, really, because all of these characters have traumas that inform who they are as adults making the (often grotesque) choices they make.
For many of these characters, it stems from their upbringing and fraught relationships with their parents, whether explicitly or implicitly explored in the show.
Butcher: Is an antisocial sociopath with narcissistic tendencies. Arrogant, emotionally manipulative, violent, and obsessive. He was also physically and emotionally abused by his father, led to use drinking and violence as a means to cope and express himself. His rage is so deep under his skin—he loathes himself for it (and his father), but struggles immensely to escape it.
Homelander: A malignant narcissist, the height of arrogance, and emotionally manipulative. He lacks empathy for others' pain, and in fact enjoys inflicting it. Yet he was a sensitive, gentle child who only wanted connection and love. Vogelbaum raised him like a lab rat and fostered him in a cold, detached cell. He was raised to be entitled and to believe he was an all-powerful god, the lord of his own kingdom within his mind, excused from the responsibility of his actions.
Soldier Boy: Also a narcissist; violent, arrogant, misogynistic, and often indifferent to the damage he causes, emotional or physical. Yet he was also emotionally abused by his father, who set impossible standards for what it meant to be a man. It drives Ben to try and prove his worth to his father, though he’s never able to. It fosters the lack of self-worth he feels as he seeks validation through fame and what he believes power to be.
These three characters have many similarities, but also notable differences that set them apart from one another. And both Butcher and Soldier Boy use substances like drugs and alcohol to cope with their traumas—ones that their forced stoicism and sense of manhood won’t allow them to easily express.
“We see Soldier Boy use substances almost continuously in season three to deal with his PTSD from the childhood emotional abuse he received from his father, the betrayal and assault from his team, and the torture he endured from the Russian scientists.
“In the short term, the use of drugs and alcohol to avoid thoughts and feelings about traumatic experiences can be felt as helpful, but in the long term, it hinders one’s ability to process emotions and can cause a deeper depression from the guilt and shame of both avoidance and substance abuse.” (27)
Heroes, Antiheroes & Villains
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This book explores two key questions that the show encourages you to think about:
Who the hell is the hero of this story?
And who is the villain?
The surface-level answer is that Homelander and other supes like him are the villains, and Butcher and his band of bros are the heroes (or antiheroes). But they commit just as questionable, sketchy, and downright murderous acts as the supes they’re trying to take down.
“Butcher is not really a good guy. He’s manipulative and self-centered. His reasons for wanting to take down Homelander are utterly personal. That it serves the greater good is almost a coincidence.” (9)
And if Butcher is not a hero, but a vengeful vigilante, then why do we root for him so much?
Well, we see his incredible flaws. But I sympathize with his struggle in losing his wife and the life he could've continued to have with her. I root for the underdog going against the hydra head of Vought and the psychopathic Homelander.
And I see in Butcher, as I also do with Homelander and Soldier Boy, their traumas and their internal conflicts, their deep-rooted self-loathing, and a desire, deep, deep down…to be loved.
(And to foster connection with others, even if they’re unable to sustain them.)
On the flipside, we have antagonists in this show who do truly heinous things. What makes them compelling and even sympathetic, yet again, are their painful upbringings that have shaped them to be who they are. The supes of this show are byproducts of being treated like products.
Like the saying goes: Villains aren’t born, they’re made.
That’s why the real villain of this story is Vought International. It’s an allegory, and an indictment of the ruthless corporate greed that pervades American culture—and much of the world.
It’s why Stan Edgar is sometimes scarier to me than even Homelander (and was the true villain of my story, Break Me Down), if far more insidious.
Speaking of BMD, let’s get to it, shall we?
Here’s a (lot) bit about the Soldier Boy section of the book.
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Soldier Boy: Why We Can’t Hate Him
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I had to laugh out loud at the title of Soldier Boy’s chapter:
Loving the Villain: The Confusing Case of Soldier Boy
I’m not gonna lie. I felt called out. 😂
It is a confusing dichotomy. Soldier Boy is an absolute asshole. Misogynistic, narcissistic, arrogant, callous, violent…
But also deeply traumatized, a man-out-of-time, emotionally abused, byproduct of the historically and culturally different time he was raised in, a man who just doesn’t get it…
And also charming, adorably grumpy, and undoubtedly attractive.
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It’s hard to indict “Ben” as an unredeemable villain in the same way I do Homelander, the psychologist-labelled Malignant Narcissist.
Therein lies the main difference between Soldier Boy and Homelander: Soldier Boy doesn’t take joy in harming others the way Homelander does. But he still harms people, whether he means to or not.
Zubernis confirms many of my own conclusions and ideas about Soldier Boy, and why I still rooted for him to be better, and didn’t want him to die at the end of season 3.
As Zubernis rightly exclaimed during her own watch of the finale: “Noooo, don’t kill the Danger Grandpa Baby Murder Kitten!” (175)
Because Jensen did what he does best in his roles: He made us feel Ben’s pain.
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“What’s funny is, in regard to Jensen playing Soldier Boy, you know he’s fucking fantastic, he’s just so good at bringing the audience, and it’s almost like—what I laugh about is, he was probably a little too good at his job!” Kripke said. (180)
And he continues, “In part it’s because of the fandom. So many people took his side in the finale, they’re like, Were’s on his side, fuck everyone! And you’re like, but he’s the bad guy and he’s trying to kill a ten-year-old.”
Were there fans who held this viewpoint? I’m sure. There are some radicals who don’t give a fuck and will side with their favorite character, come whatever. But while I can’t speak for others, that’s not how I interpreted that moment in the season 3 finale.
Yes, I think Soldier Boy was (wrongfully) willing to fight Ryan. Do I think he would’ve killed him? I’m not sure. I think he would’ve done what he had to do to get Ryan out of his way in his fight with Homelander. Maybe he would’ve been more violent than he intended, in the callous collateral damage he’d shown throughout the season, or maybe he would’ve gone that far, if provoked.
It’s a tough call, as I think this character can go one way or the other in terms of his “villain” nature. We just haven’t seen enough of him in the series yet for me to make that conclusion on the canon-version of Soldier Boy. (In fanfic, I’ve explored my own interpretation.)
But overall, I think The Krip once again underestimated the power of Jensen’s acting.
…And the ardent nature of his mostly female fanbase. 😂
Why We Love Soldier Boy
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The author cites multiple reasons for why we love Ben more than we probably should:
It’s Jensen Ackles. Fair enough. His talent speaks for itself.
Soldier Boy’s backstory: He was emotionally abused by his father and as a result, he has a complex regarding his self-worth, “something to prove,” and a secret need for attention, validation, and praise.
He has trauma and PTSD: He is displaced from what is familiar to him and confused when the boys find him, and that is the least of it. He’s been tortured for 40 years. Can you even conceive of that?
He’s charming: in a sexy grandpa, adorably grumpy, lovable asshole kind of way.
We’re drawn to danger: dangerous “edgy” types are fun, especially when you’re physically attracted to the character.
He has his moments of vulnerability: Jensen’s ability to play the nuance in the character is the ultimate draw. I felt his pain, could see his torture, and his resulting PTSD. He longs for a family, even if his ability to bring up those children is questionable at best. 😅
But I think the one aspect the author doesn’t consider is the character’s capacity for change.
Soldier Boy’s Potential
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Again, I don’t think you can write off Soldier Boy’s potential for positive character development the same way you can Homelander, or even Butcher.
For one thing, we just haven’t spent enough time with the character. A lot of his collateral damage after he escapes imprisonment has been accidental, or PTSD-induced. Though we can’t discount how he murdered M.M.’s grandfather via collateral damage (and was callous about it).
I think this is what drew me to write about Soldier Boy. “For all his arrogance, his chauvinism, his massive ego and general bastardry, there’s still humanity in Ben.”
In the book, Nathan Mitchell also says something amazing about his own character (Black Noir) that resonated with me about Soldier Boy as well:
"One of the ingredients of a compelling character is contradiction. How does one aspect of our personality contradict with one another? [...] Who is he underneath? How might his true nature contrast with the demands of his job?"
Or coded for Soldier Boy/Ben: The pressures he puts on himself to be the type of man he thought his father wanted him to be.
Again, his sexist, misogynistic ideals are shaped by the time he was raised in, by being a product of Vought, and of his father’s emotionally abusive upbringing. Does this excuse or justify all of his behavior? Of course not.
But I think those 40 years in captivity changed him from the careless alpha dog we saw in 1984 Nicaragua…
He admits to Crimson Countess, with tears in his eyes, that he’d loved her. That he waited for her and his team—arguably the only social system he has in his life—to save him. He’s gutted to realize that not only did she and the rest of the team never love him, they hated him. They traded him for nothing. Just to get him out of their lives.
For all he claims to be afraid of nothing, tough as shit, he is afraid when he goes to face Mindstorm. He knows what the supe is capable of, and he visibly takes a shaky breath and tries to steel himself.
For a moment, he drops the “Soldier Boy” persona that he wears like a fine tailored suit. And he tells Butcher that the backstory Vought created for him was a lie; he grew up a rich kid who got sent to boarding school, but flunked out, because "he was a fuck up." And his father couldn’t be bothered to discipline him, implying he didn’t care enough about his own son to even lay a hand on him.
He is reluctant to kill Homelander when he finds out he’s Ben’s son (sort of). He even claims that he would’ve been willing to share the spotlight “with his own son.” — Something I doubt even Homelander would do.
Ben even seems to be fighting tears when he levies the same vitriol at Homelander that his own father did at him:
Homelander: “Weak? I’m you.”
Soldier Boy: “I know. You’re a fucking disappointment.”
Let me be clear. I don’t think it’s up to someone to change him (like a love interest). I don’t subscribe to that thinking, that a woman can “change” a man.
For example: In season 2, Butcher tells Becca, “Who was I before you? Nothing.”
And yet, she tells him that he put her on an unrealistic and unsustainable pedestal, in which she felt like she wasn’t allowed to fully be herself, unable to keep him from flying off the handle in rage. That kind of relationship (where one is dependent on the other to “keep them in check”) doesn’t work as a lasting, satisfying redemption arc, and it doesn’t work in real life either.
I do think, however, that a person is capable of change if they’re broken down enough (pun intended), and if they themselves have a desire to change. Someone they encounter can inspire them to be better, like Butcher with Hughie. That person can help support the other.
At the end of the day, however, it’s Ben that has to want to change.
If he wants love and connection, he’ll have to somehow want it, and try (and sometimes fail) to get it, thereby giving him agency and a redemptive character arc.
Now, obviously, it’s up to The Krip where Ben goes from here. He seems to have a more indicting vision of the character than I do (at least, so far). But we’ll see! The fan demand to bring back the character has already had Kripke confirming that Soldier Boy will be back.
Maybe it will encourage him to give the character a more satisfying ending than Dean Winchester got in Supernatural. Though granted, that one wasn’t his doing, apparently he was in favor of the ending the writers came up with.
Comparing Dean & Ben
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In his interview segment, Jensen talks about what, if any, are the comparisons between Dean Winchester and Soldier Boy. AKA: Wanting a father’s approval, and an undercurrent of “John Wayne”-esque masculinity in John Winchester that Dean sought to emulate.
Jensen also talks about where he drew from to not only embody the character of Soldier Boy, but bring nuance to him—and show the peeks of vulnerability under the bravado and stoicism.
“He’s so fragile and his ego is fragile. Just like Homelander. These bigger-than-life powerful heroes really have a glass jaw… “And everyone walks on eggshells around him [Soldier Boy], and they tell him that they love him, and it’s the same with Homelander. Then when all of a sudden he faces his old team and Crimson Countess says we never loved you, we hated you—that’s a gut punch for him. Because even though on some level he may have known that, he never thought he would hear it. “And he probably propped himself up around trying to believe otherwise, because how can you walk around knowing everyone you’ve ever cared about hates you? It’s too painful.” (191)
It really is. And I inherently felt this about Soldier Boy/Ben when I watched season 3 for the first time. That’s exactly what I got from his performance and thought, there’s more to this guy than the toxic masculinity he represents.
This guy just wants to be loved, like everyone else. He wants to feel important, and even after his father’s dead, “show him” that Ben is the man his father wanted him to be. And so, he bought into the illusion Vought painstakingly crafted for him.
Whether he can come back from that remains to be seen. But I choose to be optimistic until evidence points to the contrary. 😅 (We’ll see in season 4!)
So that’s my personal take on Soldier Boy and this awesome book. 💚 Thank you again @kaleldobrev for recommending it to me! I hope you all enjoyed my long-winded review and want to check this out.
And if you do read it, I hope to read your thoughts as well!
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Tagging people who said they wanted to read my review on this book: @venus-haze @jessjad @kristophalis @sl33pylilbunny
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amberjazmyn · 19 days
Text
redamancy
𝓲𝓶𝓪𝓰𝓲𝓷𝓮 - redamancy
𝔀𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼 - legit none, it's pretty much just fluff upon fluff since i know how mean i am in general when writing.
𝓭𝓮𝓼𝓬𝓻𝓲𝓹𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷 - pivotal moments in the story of how acting legend jared padalecki and his wife juliannah fell in love.
𝓪𝓾𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓻'𝓼 𝓷𝓸𝓽𝓮 - i loved the first time i wrote this so i'm happy to be writing it again but with jared padalecki instead! and because this is a jared one-shot, unfortunately it means that genevieve and their beautiful kids do not exist. and because of that, i'm going to make jared and juliannah have twins. flashbacks, if included will be in italics like always and even though it's a happy one-shot, i feel like writing it in lowercase will be a lot more aesthetic and make more sense. 
masterlist
- - - 
redamancy (n.): the act of loving the one who loves you; a love returned in full 
supernatural actor jared padalecki and his childhood sweetheart and fellow actress juliannah castellano were best friends, they were a tag team that could really be defined as soulmates. they had been best friends since they were literal kids, the both of them growing up next door to each other in san antonio, texas before (properly) reuniting in 1999 when they both started acting together in los angeles, california. 
however, another thing that was kind of obvious to everyone else but completely invisible to the young actors was that they were in love with each other. everyone noticed how flirtatious their friendship was. which always called the two youngings to also point at their older best friends, jensen ackles and his best friend danneel harris; for those two also had a similar, flirtatious friendship. the argument from there always turned out as that jensen and danneel were just at this point best friends and didn't have the intention of putting a label on it just yet, whereas everyone else argued in regards to jared and juliannah's "relationship" as something that could and very well should be labelled soon. 
whilst the two best friends tried to deny it, it seemed as if this one night, they could no longer deny it after the best friends were caught at the 2009 people's choice awards after season four had been released the previous year in 2008. this meant that the best friends had to somewhat dress up to the nines and see who out of the cw shows was going to win the big people's choice awards at the end of the evening. and, this award show was supernatural's third time at the award show since they had been nominated since 2005 when they first arrived as a tv show. and because this was the first time that juliannah was nominated individually as well as with the ensemble cast, it would be the first time that jared and juliannah had seen each other looking so dressed up for an event.
2009 people's choice awards
for the award ceremony being somewhat fancy with their dress code, meant that juliannah wanted to look somewhat better than half decent, which meant a lovely-looking dress that would then make the young actress feel like royalty and that possibly, jared and the rest of the cast would be also dressed up in a possible suit or something in that vein. and that did excite her since in all honesty, whatever her best friend was wearing, she always thought he looked amazing so, to her, seeing jared in a suit would be the best thing in the world for her. 
jared could also be seen as looking excited for another people's choice awards since it was their first nomination properly. wearing an all-white suit, jared clipped in his cufflinks as he didn't shy away from the life-size mirror in front of him. giving himself a small smile, he stepped back slightly, turning a little to the right and cocking his head slightly to the side, seeming impressed at how good he looked. 
"hey, damn, jared padalecki, you look good!" jensen complimented, before a wolf whistle followed afterwards, making both of the young men giggle, eric kripke, the creator of supernatural walked in at the sound of the chuckles 
"thanks, jay!" jared bit his lip as he couldn't hide the picture in his head of what juliannah was going to look like in her ankle-length dress, with all her makeup and hair done up. it made butterflies flutter in his stomach and his cheeks blushed a light pink whenever he thought of it 
"wow, my boys really do clean up well!" eric compliments as jared chuckles shyly as he straightens himself straight again as he gave a head nod
"thank you, eric...now i'm just wondering as to what juliannah looks like..." he shyly trailed off as jensen and eric smiled at each other before small gasps left their mouths, noticing that she was standing behind jared, the two men noticing the girl in the mirror 
juliannah was smiling softly as she waited for jared to take a second look at himself in the mirror to then notice her. juliannah was in a velvet, black slit dress that had a halter neck, the slit showed off the entirety of her right left, whilst the left leg was completely covered. her hair was in soft curls which were then brought up into a high ponytail which, when juliannah turned to look at herself in the mirror, had revealed to the now three men (jared had finally caught eyes with her) the backless detail of the black velvet halter dress. and she was wearing silver block heels that weren't too flashy but did have a couple of lines of sparkling jewel detailing around the toe area and the blocked heels. 
jared was taken aback, as were jensen and eric, for it was the first time they had ever really seen juliannah in anything that wasn't converse all-stars or jeans and a cute crop top or her supernatural costume. juliannah was smiling shyly as she placed her hands behind her back, lightly resting on her bum as she kinda waited for one of the guys to say something, anything. yet, it seemed as if they couldn't because they were too enthralled by how gorgeous she looked, they were distracted. however, jared could finally say something, albeit he stammered through the entire thing. 
"you...you look stunning jules. wow...i...yeah...you look gorgeous!" jared, the normally confident guy spoke shyly as he stammered which made juliannah smile brighter and a small giggle leave her lips - jensen and eric - once again indulging in the fact that juliannah always manages to make jared a stammering blob that reduces that confidence of his. 
"aw, thanks jar. you...you look very handsome...are misha, rob and rich ready yet?" juliannah smiles, a small cheeky wink thrown in jared's direction, once again making him turn into mush as jensen and eric try to hide their chuckles 
"not yet babe but, they should be soon," jensen smiled as he pulled his best friend and fellow actor buddy in for a hug as jared couldn't stop staring at the girl he grew up next door to
which, of course, didn't take jensen nor eric that long to realise or call out as eric rolled his eyes, leaving the room to see if the rest of his cast had gotten dressed. 
"cat got your tongue, jar?" jensen teased, noticing that jared hadn't stopped staring at juliannah
"shut up, jensen," jared whispered with a shy smile before he noticed that jensen was no longer paying attention to him and juliannah, he shot her another look at her dress and outfit 
the green-eyed, brunette actor was very quick to call out his fellow costar and best friend at his behaviour but of course, once the guy had finished blushing, alongside juliannah, that didn't stop him from his eyesight going back up and down for just one last full look before he looked back up to see the rest of his cast so they could leave for the award show. 
when it came to going into the award show and being sat at the same table for the results of who had won the award, it didn't seem too stressful for the lads and juliannah but, i think it was obvious as to why it wasn't so stressful. because they were given the opportunity to sit together whilst they were getting the results and votes now that all the "lesser awards" were done and dusted. otherwise, if they had been asked to be seated at separate tables, both jared and juliannah would have been mortified and stressed out to the ends of the earth. 
the entire award show, it had been a battle between eric kripke's sci-fi show supernatural and tim kring's heroes for people's choice favourite sci-fi show. and, unfortunately, when it came to the winner, supernatural didn't win. but, that didn't worry the cast of supernatural since jared was nominated for favourite sci-fi actor. then, it had come to jared's individual nomination when it had been announced that for the first time, jared had won the people's choice award 2009 for favourite sci-fi actor for his performance as sam winchester in cw's supernatural.
screaming in excitement, juliannah had no care in the world that she had just missed out on winning a people's choice award, she was just so proud of her boy, jared. after hugging all of her spn cast, she left the last hug to the most important person, her childhood best friend jared padalecki and the one who had won best sci-fi actor. then, with a little push and shove, she watched excitedly as the hazel-eyed boy rushed to the stage to grab his first-ever people's choice award.
after some cheeky banter about how it felt weird for jared to be up on the stage alone without his fellow cast members and said his thank-yous, a very emotional and sweet one given to juliannah, he walked off the stage.
"--thank you, guys, so much for my first ever people's choice award! it's absolutely insane but umm, i just wanna give a big shoutout and thank you to my best friend and fellow people's choice nominee, juliannah castellano, i love you loads and, thank you so much for sharing this journey with me and the rest of our spnfamily!" jared thanked as juliannah smiled, tears rising in her eyes at her best friend's words as eric hugged her sweetly as she shook her head with a giggle 
after yet another successful people's choice award show and afterparty, it was hometime for juliannah and the spn lads. when jared just stood in front of his best friend with his mouth slightly open and eyes that looked as though he was holding back tears. 
"...close your mouth jared, don't want you catching flies," juliannah smiled softly, her pointer finger barely grazing her best friend's chin before pushing it upwards, to close jared's mouth as he smiled, pulling her in for a hug as the girl smiled and accepted it straight away 
this was the moment in which jared knew he was head over heels in love with his best friend and nothing would ever change that and it was now forever engrained in his memory. falling in love with his best friend during the people's choice awards 2009. 
first date
after the 2009 people's choice awards, jared didn't waste a second longer before telling juliannah how he really felt about her. he couldn't fathom in his head why it had taken him this long but, he was more than happy that at the same time, he couldn't wait any longer before it just came out in a stammering yet with a small ounce of confidence mess that was jared's attempt to ask his best friend out on a "romantic date". the two had been on many dates before but they were what the two called "best friend dates" which was always looked at with the cheeky eyebrow wiggle and a slight sexual innuendo by the rest of the spn cast but, the two always ignored them. that was until, they could no longer ignore them and, the two actors finally revealed their feelings for each other which, like thought out, made the rest of the supernatural cast cheer, including creator eric kripke. 
for the first romantic date, jared wanted it to be memorable. of course, he did, he was that type of person. anything that he did with juliannah, he made unforgettable even though neither jared nor jared had photographic memories. even though they didn't have the most ground-breaking memories to remember everything, a simple polaroid photo made every single memory and feeling from their time together was what became the most important thing for the two of them. even though jared never forgot anything about his best friend and lover, having the polaroid photos were something he treasured. 
dressed in an off-the-shoulder maxi sunflower dress, her hair curled with white converse high tops, juliannah couldn't hide the smile on her face when jared dragged her through the art gallery. in a pair of distressed jeans and rolled up button-down shirt, jared couldn't hide the butterflies in his tummy as he held onto juliannah's hand as they looked intently at all of the artwork pieces whilst they'd occasionally stop to take polaroids of each other. 
it was during this exact date that jared knew he couldn't wait a moment longer before he kissed her on the lips. in all honesty, that was something he wanted to do back at the people's choice awards when they went as nominees and then later winners for best sci-fi actor with jared but, he, unfortunately, chickened out due to all the press and people around, the guests would then make up rumours and it could have then potentially caused a whole lot of mess that wasn't needed. that didn't stop his mind though from spinning in imagination as many a scenario played out in the brunette's head as to how, when, where and all the other bits and bobs of kissing juliannah. however, this moment right here, at the art gallery in san antonio, texas, where there were only a small handful of other patrons walking around in admiration for the pieces that jared knew he could do it and get away with it, for it was no longer a work matter, supernatural or juliannah, that it would be considered as "unprofessional" or "rumour central" if someone saw. 
carefully moving a piece of hair that was covering juliannah's forehead, "would it be absolutely ludicrous right now if i just kissed you?" jared smiled with confidence as juliannah smiled brightly, biting her lip slightly 
"not at all, jared padalecki, not ludicrous at all," she smiled, her heart racing as butterflies flew all over her body as the excitement truly started, her breathing becoming heavy and slightly loud 
the two inched closer and closer together before jared took control, his hand resting against juliannah's chin, slightly lifting it up as he then moved his mouth closer to juliannah's before his lips then encapsulated hers. it was like their bodies moulded together whilst they kissed and, it felt like it was perfect in that they were truly made to fit each other and be each other's twin flames or even soulmates. 
pulling back, the two actors started giggling, "that was fucking amazing!" jared whispered, juliannah couldn't have agreed more as she nodded her head 
"it really was. wow. can we do that again?" juliannah huffed out with the biggest smile she had ever smiled as jared happily nodded again as they kissed again and, it was a lot more passionate  
who knew the shy (in front of juliannah) jared padalecki and juliannah castellano would be caught making out in the art gallery in san antonio for their first date? clearly the rest of the supernatural cast, for they had been stalking the couple and watching their entire first date. yeah, that was a lot of explaining to do once jared and juliannah found out...
proposal
jared and juliannah dated for around one or two years before the supernatural actor went down on one knee to propose to her. it was a very sweet proposal that was very much like everything that juliannah dreamed of having her proposal as. whilst both jared and juliannah, mostly juliannah, were shy people, juliannah had always dreamt of jared proposing to her in front of the rest of the supernatural cast and their partners in a setting that called them to be all dressed up. so, after juliannah had given out that information for her dream proposal, that was when the supernatural cast, eric and jared went to work to plan it out to a perfect "t". and, they did. 
jared proposed to juliannah at an event that was disguised as her new promotion from guest star on supernatural to reccuring character all for the purpose of the engagement of jared and juliannah. so, whilst it was "advertised" to the group as the new promotion from guest star to recurring star to juliannah, to everyone else, it had been told that it was her and jared's engagement party. eric was going to make a speech which would then turn into jared being brought up to speak when he would then go down on one knee and proceed to propose to juliannah. 
looking like she was dressed to the nines, juliannah was wearing a red velvet halter dress, which jared had since become obsessed with after the people's choice awards, with some sparkly heels, her hair curled and her nails done up with a matching acrylic set. jared, also dressed up to perfection, was wearing dress pants, a buttoned-down shirt with his sleeves rolled up and his hair nicely styled with some shiny dress shoes. the couple then made their way to eric's fancy mansion for the "promotion celebration", the marquise engagement ring sitting in a red velvet box that sat in jared's back pant pocket. 
smiling and giving hugs to everyone who was at the party, juliannah couldn't hide away her smile and, it seemed as if jared couldn't either considering what he was minutes away from doing. then, with a small moment of eye contact between eric and jared, eric got his cue to tap his finger on the mic, his champagne flute glass in the other, catching everyone's attention. 
as soon as everyone's attention was caught, that was when jared, with juliannah, moved to the front where eric had just left as juliannah gave her boyfriend a strange look. taking a deep breath in, jared smiled shyly as juliannah couldn't seem to know what was happening and why her boyfriend was acting so strangely. 
"juliannah, we have been best friends ever since we were young cherubs learning how to walk. we were the two annoying brunette's and light blondes*laughter* that would lovingly terrorise our neighbourhood by constantly acting and playing basketball together every single day. so, i guess you could say we were dramatic..." jared paused which caused some laughter as juliannah watched on in awe as she couldn't tear her eyes away from her boyfriend
"...but, we've been dating for around two years and let me tell you, these last two years have been some of the best of my entire life. you make me forget that we're on a tv show about the supernatural. and since that's our job, it's kind of hard to forget that *giggles*. but, as everyone possibly knows by now, whenever i'm around you, i just stop everything i'm doing because you are the top priority over everything else. you force me to calm down and take care of myself because you know if i don't do it then i'll get too in my head and it'll cause me more stress and panic later on. you are my sun, moon and stars, juliannah and, i cannot believe i have the absolute pleasure to be your best friend and boyfriend but, i was just hoping that pleasure could extend to being your husband?" jared was near tears at this point as he slowly moved down to his knee, the red velvet box opening to reveal the marquise diamond ring and suddenly juliannah was at a loss for words whilst everyone else was nearly jumping in excitement  
"jared, what the fuck?" juliannah whispered, not expecting to be heard which causes the group to tearfully chuckle, jared included as he clenched his jaw and juliannah smiled brightly as she began to nod her head "yes" 
"oh my god, jared! yes, i'll marry you! of course, i will!" juliannah squeaked out as she flexed out her left hand, jared almost let out a sob of happiness, quickly and elegantly sliding the ring on juliannah's finger as he then came back up and picked juliannah up, causing her to squeal 
whilst the now engaged couple were celebrating privately, eric and the rest of the spn cast and other distinguished guests invited raised a toast for the couple who had rushed off into one of eric's rooms so they could have a moment together to compose themselves without everyone around them. knowing that the couple would need some alone time to let out their happy tears, shrieks of excitement and even phone their families, eric had in advance provided one for jared and juliannah so they could use it. 
"i love you so much, jar!" juliannah whispered, the couple sitting together on the bed, holding hands as jared smiled tearfully the biggest grin on his face 
"i love you too, jules!" jared whispered back, a small sniffle heard next as he chuckled at how emotional he had gotten, after promising he wouldn't 
"this ring is utterly gorgeous, jar, you didn't need to buy it, i would have happily flexed a paper ring or a ring pop. who helped you buy it? or did you get it yourself?" juliannah couldn't take her eyes off of the marquise diamond ring that was now resting on her ring finger that was the exact engagement ring she had dreamt of getting engaged with as jared smiled, a small giggle leaving his throat 
"that's exactly why i got the marquise. i knew it was your favourite but that you also wouldn't have expected it. i'd also marry you with a paper ring or ring pop but, i knew it had to be as extravagant as possible because it's what you deserve," jared smiled, his eyes sparkling as juliannah squealed softly, pulling her fiancé in for a hug 
"we're actually going to get married, jar! i can't believe it!" juliannah's voice went back down to a whisper as she shook her head in disbelief 
"i know! it's actually happening! we're getting married!" jared whispered back as he wiped a tear away with his sleeve that he had pulled down as he gave his fiancée a kiss on the nose, making her giggle 
then, after another five minutes of the couple having their alone time in the room whilst everyone outside was still celebrating and partying, the couple talked about possible suggestions of where and when they'd have the wedding just so they had some form of foundation.
that was when they decided they'd have a civil ceremony in san antonio, texas before getting their big fairytale "celeb" wedding in france. they later discussed having jared's dad, gerald walk juliannah down the aisle as unfortunately, her father was bedridden at a cancer centre that would refuse him to leave the hospital let alone the country for the wedding and then come back. the spn girlfriends, danneel, vicki and mollie as her bridesmaids with her sister odette as her maid of honour and the rest of the spn guys, jensen, misha, rob and rich as jared's groomsmen (who he called his bestest men) with his brother jeff as his best man. 
wedding
juliannah felt as if she was having a fever dream. she found it hard to believe that right now, she was staring back at herself in her dream wedding dress, hair done, makeup down, high heels on and was just about to have a first look with her husband and her soon-to-be father-in-law, gerald (who would later walk her down the aisle)
taking a deep breath in, juliannah fought so hard to keep her tears away as she stepped out into the foyer of the church in france, chateau d'esclimont for her first look with her almost-husband, jared. she could tell that jared was emotional and he had his back turned away from her. the way that juliannah could tell that jared had either been crying previously or even right now before their first look was how he was standing. he was constantly moving and trying to adjust into a more straightened position and she could tell from the way his head twitched that he was trying to do everything in his willpower to fight off the tears. it sent butterflies into juliannah's tummy whenever she saw her fiancé emotional, especially because he did say he was an emotional guy, especially when he was crying for a reason that wasn't sad (because that then twisted and pulled at her heart for in all the wrong ways), it was always something that juliannah found sweet about him. she had always mentioned to jared how emotional he was in regards to her and their relationship and how he couldn't hide that from her no matter what he tried. 
even though jared couldn't hide his emotions today, juliannah could which meant that she could easily distract her tear ducts from forming tears which worked wonders when you were in such a career like the entertainment industry as an actress. and, she loved that she could also use this distraction for her wedding day because, whilst it was obvious she didn't want to cry for the purpose of her makeup and the bet she made with the groomsmen on who would cry first out of the maid of honour, best man, bride and groom (juliannah had bet on everyone else but her that they were going to cry). she also didn't want to cry because she knew that would then make jared cry loads more which, she didn't want. she knew that even though jared was an emotional mess when it came to her, she knew that he still got very embarrassed when he did cry in a public setting, especially when they were people in the industry around him (hence why the whisked away into the room at eric's after the proposal) so, she made him and herself a promise that she wouldn't cry because she knew that if she started crying, he'd be a blubbering mess by tenfold and then that would have just been very embarrassing and anxiety-inducing for the normally confident actor. 
after getting the signal from one of the magazine photographers, juliannah started making her way towards her fiancé when she had come to realise that maybe, jared was once again crying. with a small smile on her face, she started walking slightly faster, which jared could hear which caused his loud, shaky breaths to become more frequent. 
"shit, i am scared!" jared whispered, his voice cracking slightly, his texan accent coming out strong as juliannah felt the butterflies in her tummy as she inched one step closer before her hand could reach jared's shoulder 
"hey darling, you can turn around now," juliannah's voice was soft, calm and so filled with love as she waited eagerly for jared to turn around to see her for the first time 
turning around, jared was in absolute awe of his to-be-wife as tears spilt down his cheeks as he chuckled, trying to distract the photographers from all the tears. pulling his girl in for a hug, jared felt his entire body shake. he still couldn't fathom that he was getting married to the girl he grew up with and has also worked with since they were teenagers. however, it was his favourite thing to think about, talk about and dream about, he was just always in his head about him and his almost-wife because it had been forever since he had felt this happy. 
"you...you look stunning, babe!" jared cried out as a laugh was mixed in, juliannah biting her lip to conceal her crazy smile as she lightly pressed on jared's hands to calm him down 
"thanks, darling! you look so good! you wanna see the back of my dress? it's backless, just like all the other dresses i've worn since we started dating!" juliannah was so excited to show jared her wedding dress purely for the fact that it was silk, halter and backless, just like the dress that she wore to the 2009 people's choice awards that she attended with jared and the rest of their spn family 
jared's eyes lit up at hearing that he was allowed to look at the back of his wife's dress. as he twirled his fiancée around so he could see the backlessness of the dress, he was once again in a state of shock at how well the dress hugged every single curve of his baby girl's body.
"it's gorgeous, jules! i love it, i really do!" jared smiled as he gulped down his tears as he chuckled at himself before turning juliannah back around
"i do too. so, you ready to do this thing? are you ready to get married darlin'?" juliannah asks in excitement, her own texan accent coming out strong as jared nods his in excitement as he giggles, wiping one of his tears away with the back of his finger whilst juliannah wiped away all the other ones 
"let's do it! i wanna get married!" jared had never been more ready for anything else like he had been ready for the day he'd marry his best friend 
juliannah nodded her head as the couple then went their separate ways so they could then do the procession into the wedding. 
waiting at the backdoor of the chateau d'esclimont that then led into the prettiest french wedding venues ever seen, juliannah was patient and didn't seem to be as anxious as she thought she'd be. she refused to see her mom and other siblings beforehand, fearing it would throw her off course and that have her panicking. she had only allowed her bride squad, including her sister odette and jared to see her. the first time the groomsmen and everyone else would see her is when she walks down the aisle alongside jared's dad. 
speaking of jared's dad, gerald, he had now come up from behind juliannah, a soft touch to her exposed back, letting her know that he was there. turning around with a shy smile on her face, she couldn't believe the look of pride in her to-be father-in-law's eyes as they also fought back tears. it was a rarity that gerald would let someone see him cry but, due to this being his youngest boy and daughter-in-law (to be) getting married, it was obvious that he'd be getting emotional. 
"hey darlin', you ready?"gerald whispered as he looked in awe at his to-be daughter-in-law, tears building in his eyes 
"hey gerald, yeah, i am!" juliannah's smile grew tenfold as she saw her to-be husband's father as the man who'd lead her down the aisle to her husband in place of her ill father 
"well then, let's go, shall we?" gerald spoke with a smile that made all of his wrinkles and tanned skin extra defined as juliannah nodded her head, immediately grabbing her father-in-law's hand as he then tucked it in between the both of them, his other hand over the top of the encapsulated hands 
with the doors opened and the processional music as the classic "here comes the bride", gerald and juliannah started their walk down the aisle. keeping her eyes ahead of her, she never could have missed the looks of the rest of the spnfamily and her bridal party as they all looked at their best friend and sister in all her wedding day glow. 
like bet on and now won, jared was teary as he kept on looking up at the ceiling. the rest of the groomsmen and bridal party were also teary-eyed as they watched the girl and her father-in-law ascend down the aisle. it also seemed as if, when gerald took a quick look out of his peripherals, juliannah's siblings were crying as well as her mom. gerald, however, whilst also struggling to keep his tears at bay, was doing a better job than juliannah's mum was 
as they finally reached the end of the aisle, jared and the officiant in front of them, gerald gave his daughter-in-law the sweetest forehead kiss before a small whisper of "congratulations and take care of each other, please" to his son, juliannah was finally given away to her husband. looking at each other in excitement and astoundment, the officiant had gotten the patrons to sit back down so he could start officiating the wedding. 
"welcome to all family, friends, loved ones and ones that unfortunately could not attend, we are all gathered here today to celebrate the love and union of jared padalecki and juliannah castellano. all of us are here to support this commitment of love and to share the joy of the life of jared and juliannah as they choose to spend their lives together," the officiant introduced, everyone sitting back down in their seats 
"jared and juliannah, your marriage will be a lifelong promise to love, respect, trust and honour one another through the good, the bad, the unexpected and the expected. this union represents your commitment to support one another as individual persons but share your joys, sorrows, trials, tribulations and dreams as one. a strong bond works in unison not only to nurture the best parts of your personalities but to understand each other's differences and flaws, not that you two really have any *giggles*. you are committing to learn how to grow alongside each other whilst remembering to keep an open mind throughout your journey together," 
"today, you gain an equal partner that will be your confidant, your defender, your protector and your motivator through every aspiration, goal and success. you will celebrate each accomplishment, provide peace through every setback and most importantly, give love in life's both big and little moments," 
"you two are creating a new home together, where love, trust and loyalty are the foundations. no matter what the future throws your way, rely on those foundations and you shall only see your bond grow stronger and your souls grow even wiser because you two are already so wise."
"marriage is not easy, trust me, i mean it, but from what i've seen in you two, i know your relationship will be an example to follow. you two show care, compassion and empathy, you trust one another, and most importantly, you are each other's best friend."
"now, jared and juliannah, please join hands and face each other," chuckling and momentarily closing his eyes, jared grabbed juliannah's hands and faced each other, opening his eyes instantly. "jared, do you take juliannah to be your wife?"
"i do," he smiled, softly biting his lip as he caressed juliannah's hand to ground him
"juliannah, do you take jared to be your husband?"
"i do," juliannah hadn't ever been so sure of anything other than when she first got her role in supernatural as she smiled, nodding eagerly 
"the couple will now do their personal vows," the officiant announced, jared unlatching his hands out of juliannah's quickly to wipe away the sweat that had been building up, juliannah giggling slightly before holding them tightly again as he had memorised his vows 
"juliannah elaine castellano, you were my very first best friend from when we were kids and we did up to everything together. you refused to leave my side even when we were sixteen and i packed my stuff and moved to dallas to become a basketballer. you were my biggest supporter during that time, especially when it all fell apart and i was kicked off because of my height. you knew how depressed i would get over that, how much i'd cry but you never supported me less or told me to just "get over it". thank you for then giving me the confidence to go for that tv show audition in la because i don't think i would have ended up meeting my best friends in the whole entire world in our show supernatural," choking back a sob, he took a deep breath in, his eyes momentarily moving to see that juliannah's mom had rushed out, her phone nearly fumbling in her hand before he continued. "i always loved you, juliannah, we told each other that every single day, even during the days when we were supposed to be filming or at interviews. now i know why jensen and danneel loved to tease us so much about our flirty friendship, it wasn't at all, it was us dating without us putting a label on it other than us being "best friends" *giggles*. however, it wasn't until the 2009 people's choice awards that i truly fell in love with everything that is you, juliannah. seeing you in that dress that i had never seen you wear before, after seeing you wear everything else, it never matters to me what you look like because, in my mind, i'm always going to see you in that velvet, halter, backless black dress and it brings me to my knees every single time. even when you are wearing one of the spn shirts or my dallas cowboys jersey and wearing fluffy pyjama shorts with your hair tied back in the messiest bun *giggles*. you are my sun, moon and stars, juliannah. if i thought little jared couldn't live without you, he was batshit insane because he wasn't at all prepared for 27-year-old jared who wouldn't even be able to function like a normal human being when you're just making us breakfast or coffee before work *giggles*. i will love you with all parts of my attention and care for you and our future children. i couldn't ever imagine leaving you alone, even for a moment, when you feel like you need someone to hold you up. i love you so strongly that i couldn't even plan on doing anything else for the rest of my life. i also need to thank you for allowing me to love you every day," he concluded with a sweet smile and teary eyes as a small kiss was placed on juliannah's palm 
juliannah never usually got nervous but, that all changed now because how on earth was she going to follow up jared's vows? everything that she thought she had remembered was now gone out of her brain with a small "poof" sound effect. noticing the look in her eyes, jared chuckled softly, providing her with another kiss to calm her down. 
"you're seriously asking me to follow that? why didn't i win the rock, paper, scissors game?  i can't top that!" everyone died of laughter after that as everyone could see how nervous juliannah was as she then truly started her vows. "redamancy. a noun which is the act of loving the one who loves you; a love returned in full. that's jared and i's love in a single word from the english dictionary and for the longest time because i thought our love was so special, i didn't think there was a word in any dictionary, english or not, that i'd be able to find that could accurately describe the love that jared and i have for each other. however, i was proven wrong when i realised that, after looking back through memories in preparation for today, jared and i always use redamancy to show our love for one another. we actively love the one who loves us back. whilst we do it in ways that may seem subtle to everyone else, they are anything but subtle to jared and me. a memory of jared and i that i don't think i'll ever be able to forget, even if i tried. we were around sixteen and jared was about to leave for dallas since this was around the time he had been drafted by their colliegate basketball squad. i could tell he didn't want to leave because he didn't want to leave me or his family behind. it was the first time i had ever seen him cry in our entire friendship but it was at that moment that i truly realised i wanted to marry this man *tearful giggles*. he then told me that the reason why he was crying was that he was scared that something bad was going to happen to someone he loved when he then had a conversation with his dad where he was reassured that if something like that was to ever happen, he would be called and brought back home to san antonio. thankfully that brought him the comfort he needed and off he went to dallas to play basketball for the next two years." juliannah paused as jared tightened his grip. "i also remember seeing jared cry loads when he was sent home from dallas due to his height which made him so sad that i truly never thought he'd have the confidence to do anything else that he loved ever again. that was until i encouraged him to audition for a tv show in los angeles but, we all know that story so i won't bother telling it *giggles*. ever since i could remember, but most especially since we were told the devastating news about my dad's illness, you have always been by my side. jared, you ground me in so many ways, you keep my head above water, you allow me to be fearful when we're alone because you know i hate showing fear in front of people and during interviews, you allow me to have moments where i have my head fully in the clouds and look like a fangirling teenage girl because my bloody husband to be is in a fucking tv show called supernatural *tearful laughter* and you provide me with a flashlight when i can't see two feet in front of me. i can only try with every ounce of my being to do what you've always done for me since childhood. i promise to guide you through the rest of our lives together. i promise to care for you every single day, through your laughter, whines, headaches and tears. and, i will always, and i mean always love you as i have since i was that young blond girl wearing pigtails watching you leave me for dallas. redamancy, a noun which is the act of loving the one who loves you; a love returned in full, this love that is only ours," after a few swipes from jared and juliannah's fingers, jared's tears were put on hold as they giggled and held hands again 
the rings were then handed over as the officiant then started talking again. 
"your rings represent this promise to one another. the never-ending circle is a symbol of infinite, unbreakable love," the officiant began, a small smile on his lips. "jared, take this ring and place it on juliannah's finger. repeat after me: juliannah, i give you this ring as a symbol of the promise i made to you today," grabbing juliannah's hand, jared effortlessly slid the wedding ring onto her finger
"juliannah, i give you this ring as a symbol of the promise i made to you today." the supernatural actor smiled
"juliannah, take this ring and place it on jared's finger. repeat after me: jared, i give you this ring as a symbol of the promise i made to you today," her smaller hand grasped the larger one of jared's as she effortlessly slid his wedding ring onto his finger
"jared, i give you this ring as a symbol of the promise i made to you today," juliannah smiled as she then squeezed his fingers before grabbing ahold of his hands normally
"having pledged your love and promise to one another today in front of all your friends and family and by the power vested in me, i now pronounce you husband and wife. you may now kiss the bride!" the officiant exclaimed, stepping out of the way momentarily so the photographer could take a photo before he was ushered back in for a couple more
this was when jared decided to surprise everyone and juliannah. with one hand on her waist and the other on her back, he pulled his wife closer as they attached their lips he then bent down to kiss her even deeper. squealing, juliannah held jared as tightly as she had ever held him.
"jared!" juliannah squealed into the kiss and everyone giggled as juliannah was inches away from the ground before being brought back up to continue the kiss
the now-married couple after having their first kiss as mr and mrs padalecki, smiled into the kiss as they heard the officiant announce:
"congratulations! friends and family, it is my absolute honour to introduce to you: mr and mrs padalecki!" followed by uproarious applause which alerted the couple to move out of the kiss, fingers were interwoven as the couple waved to the crowd before almost running down the aisle 
later in the night during the reception, odette, the other maid of honour and jensen, the other best man, got everyone's attention for the speeches. 
the look of fear in the newlyweds' eyes was pure hilarity for the guests, "okay, so, odette and i both know that we promised the mr and missus that we'd save these speeches for afterwards when it was just the bridal party that was along but, just for payback after making us all cry, we're going to do it now!" jensen announced, making everyone giggle, jared shied away into his wife's shoulder as she giggled, patting her husband's hair lovingly - her sister odette now grabbing the microphone 
"so, for some context, if anyone didn't know, i am juliannah's older sister odette and that is jensen ackles, jared's partner in crime in supernatural," odette pauses with a giggle as everyone watches in intent 
"and ever since the day i first met jared when he first moved in next door, i just knew that he'd fall in love with my younger sister *giggles* or maybe i didn't and i just wished that my sister would find her one true love *sniffle and tearful giggle*. but she did and i am always going to be forever grateful that it was you, jared. if i wasn't literally bawling my eyes out, i'd be saying so many embarrassing stories of how they tried so hard to downplay their flirtatious ways and how they had been pretty much dating the entire time since they were sixteen, i just can't do that. not today anyway..." odette pauses as she tearfully smiles at her sister and brother-in-law as the happy couple stood together, holding hands and a champagne flute in the other 
"...and it's not my place and it never has been my place to share those embarrassing stories. it makes my heart soar to the highest of heights when i see these two together. they are both extremely talented singers but are just as better human beings then they are famous actors. ever since i could remember, all i wanted to be was just like my younger sister and find the love of my life even if i was modelling that on my sister and her boy best friend at the time since they didn't even date until 2009 *tearful giggles*. and because i'm only just going to start crying even more and it'll become embarrassing for me, i'm just going to end it here and say that, all i have ever wanted is for them to be happy together and it makes me so happy that they are finally united in their love together forever. juliannah is the best younger sister in the world and i adore you to the milky way, jared. to jared and juliannah!" 
the room roared with cheers and applause, and juliannah quickly moved to give her sister a hug whilst jared then rushed over and gave his new sister-in-law a hug. jensen then got the microphone for his speech. 
"hi everyone," jensen smiled sweetly. "i have worked with both jared and juliannah since they were twenty-two and i was twenty-five and i have had the pleasure of being in supernatural alongside them as well. it has been a pleasure to be their best friend and have the honour to give this speech today. even though i have literally only seen this friendship since the inception of their relationship, only knowing them as a couple, it has been one of the biggest joys in my life to see the way that jared has fallen in love with the girl that he grew up right next to and now works alongside as a fellow actor. in the entire time, i have known these two, i have never once seen them get mad at each other, argue with each other or even sit away from each other. and i think that's because of their history as best friends before dating, they never get to the point of finding something to argue about. they are always so forgiving to one another and are always willing to own up to their mistakes and fix them so it doesn't happen again. getting to watch the way these two care for each other when one of them isn't happy or when they feel scared is so heartwarming and really lets you know what amazing human beings these two are and how made for each other they are. being able to watch jared and juliannah's love blossom has truly made so many hard days, boring days, long days and just the regular "meh" days that much brighter and happier because they were just being themselves and were just in love with each other that it didn't matter that the supernatural cast were supposed to be doing tv interviews the whole day instead of drooling over each other *giggles*. it truly makes me happy every day now that you two are married and will be for the rest of your lives in this beautiful union you two have created! jared is truly the best man i know and i am so honoured i was given the privilege after his brother to be his best man!" jensen nods off to jared, "just like odette said, here's to the happy couple!" 
after all the speeches had finished, it was now the time that secretly, juliannah had been dreading, the father/daughter dance. which, in the sweetest turn of events, all of the men in the wedding party, including gerald, all took turns in dancing with her in the placement of her father. before juliannah then transitioned into her first dance with her now husband. the couple gently swayed back and forth until the song cut, jared spinning juliannah away from him and then the bridal party joined in for a surprise flashmob. 
now that the wedding was finished, jared and juliannah sat on the floor of the hotel they were staying at in france when jared got all teary-eyed and emotional. 
happy tears in his eyes, jared rested his head on his wife's shoulder, "thank you for giving me everything i could have ever possibly needed," he sniffled softly, the tears silently slipping down his cheek as juliannah rubbed her husband's back, soothing him and his emotions 
"thank you for giving me the permission to do so," juliannah responded back as she softly kissed the head of blonde hair that covered jared's head and face 
"i love you, mrs padalecki, for today and forever," he tearfully and tiredly murmured into his wife's silk pyjama spaghetti strap - the only other noises being the already asleep wedding party around the room
"and i, you, mr padalecki, for today and forever," juliannah spoke lovingly as the couple then fell asleep as they dreamt about their love for each other and their future children 
pregnancy
the padalecki's hadn't even been married for a full year ( eight months to be exact) before they actively started to try for a baby. after being told about an incorrect endometriosis diagnosis as a teenager, juliannah fought herself daily as to whether or not she wanted to try for a baby after everything she had gone through. so, when juliannah, alongside her sister-in-law megan and sister odette, took a pregnancy test in the entertainment tonight bathrooms, her eyes lit up in excitement at the findings of her being pregnant with her and jared's first baby. megan and odette had to fight off squealing their lungs considering the toilets at the entertainment tonight studios weren't ultimately soundproof, unfortunately. they had all known how worried juliannah was about the possibility of now being able to fulfil jared's biggest dream of being a father but, now, it seemed as if she was going to get that dream! 
rushing back out of the bathroom, to avoid suspicion, megan and odette waited out in the hallway whilst, in a slit decision, juliannah thought to just chuck the positive pregnancy test onto the table in jared's dressing room, just to see how he'd react and if he'd get it. 
looking out of the dressing room door slightly at her sister-in-law and sister, the younger girl smirked, just hoping her husband would get it. and, he did? or maybe he was just slightly grossed out that an already-used positive pregnancy stick had been thrown onto his dressing room table...wait. his eyes flicked back to the test to see that it had two lines, meaning that it was positive, meaning that the person who threw this onto the table was pregnant and, the only person he knew that always threw things in his dressing room was his wife...no way! 
"jules, are you serious?" a small, hushed voice filled the hallway, juliannah moved over to her husband's dressing room door where only their sisters-in-law were waiting 
"you...you're pregnant?" jared's voice had never been so quiet after juliannah hadn't responded the first time as the girl nodded her head, jared almost collapsed against the door before standing up and pulling his wife into his arms for a hug 
"surprise, jar!" juliannah whispered as she rubbed her husband's back, comforting him as his tears started to roll down his cheeks and onto his wife's partially exposed shoulder 
 °∘❉∘°
throughout the entire pregnancy, jared refused to take his eyes away from his wife, even if it was just for a millisecond - he'd get a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach, causing him to give himself whiplash due to him throwing his head back into the direction of his wife to make sure she was still safe. since she was towards the end of the first trimester when she found out, she didn't need to wait that long before it was safe enough to tell everyone else, including her boss, robert singer and the rest of her family and friends at supernatural. 
whilst jared was already protective over his wife, he did tone it down throughout the second trimester because he knew it would become too overwhelming for her if her personal space wasn't respected. thankfully, nothing bad happened where jared had to scream at anyone and everything was smooth sailing until the end when juliannah unexpectedly went into early labour. since juliannah and jared were having twins, it became extra anxiety-inducing that she was going into very early labour when she had to have an emergency c-section due to the twins being premature. 
"we're going to be parents," juliannah whispered as they made it to the hospital, finally in record time as they walked in together as husband and wife, with their parents 
throughout the entire process of the c-section, jared held juliannah's hand, allowing her to squeeze the shit out of it. jared allowed his wife to scream the entire hospital room down, cursing at him for knocking her up less than a year after getting married. which was then quickly followed by "thank yous" and "let's get pregnant again soon" which caused way too much laughter between the midwives, jared, juliannah and their parents. jared had also allowed juliannah to nearly dislocate his arm and shoulder due to the force she had placed on it as the tail end of the c-section was happening. but, the biggest thank you was that he had given juliannah the beautiful creation that was their twins, a girl aurelia and a boy noah.
then, in an emotional rush of rushing the twins into incubators and to the neonatal intensive care unit, jared and juliannah cried over their twins. however, in some strange rush of relief, jared and juliannah just sat in silence as they thanked every and any god that their twins were going to be okay and that soon, they'd see them again and get to bring them home. 
present time
a couple of months after giving birth to their twins, aurelia and noah padalecki, jared returned to work in vancouver for supernatural and juliannah started working from home (when she could) by reading through scripts for when she would be needed back in vancouver and just being a stay-at-home mom since she didn't really need to rely on her own acting career anymore. 
watching her precious twins sleep together, juliannah felt herself becoming emotional as she still couldn't believe that she and jared's little ones were home with them. remembering the emotions and fear that went through them having to watch their beautiful twins be whisked away basically moments after being delivered was a heart-wrenching memory for the husband and wife. however, it was still an amazing time because they got to watch their little girl and boy grow every single day until they were five pounds before they could leave the hospital. 
by the time jared arrived home to their vancouver apartment from a filming day, he saw his wife and twins sound asleep altogether, the twins in their cribs and juliannah on the floor, "...i love you mrs padalecki, i love you aurelia and i love you noah," jared whispered, kissing his wife and then his twins before placing a blanket over his wife and walking the short distance to the kitchen to fix his family some dinner whilst his wife rested for the first proper time in three months. 
- - - 
i love this and i am so glad i got to rewrite it. sorry that the ending was so short but, i didn't know what else to add lol 
ok ily all xx
wc; 9781
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youreverydaygae · 2 years
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IM SO MAD BC I JUST NOW REMEMBERED THIS REALLY GOOD SPN CROBBY FANFIC I READ ONCE, BUT I'VE LOOKED FOREVER AND I CAN'T FUCKING FIND IT. (It was about after Bobby died, he ended up living in this house that Crowley made for him, and they end up falling in love and figuring things out between them and yadda yadda) BUT I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT THE TITLE WAS AND I CAN'T FIND IT HELP
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