#and only then later reuniting with sam and jack

[zepskies]

In Bad Weather

Pairings: Dean Winchester x Plus-Sized/Latina!Reader || Sam Winchester x Eileen Leahy (background)

Summary: You and Dean tackle the biggest possible monkey wrench in your relationship yet: could Chuck have been manipulating you two all along?

[Set in S15 - "Fix It" for season finale]

AN: I had to finish the finale (maybe?) of this story verse before the end of Hispanic Heritage Month. 😘 This is the third installment of "Midnight Espresso!"

Song Inspo: “We Made It” by H.E.R. (<- On repeat. Seriously if you haven't heard this one, you'll thank me later.)

Word Count: 7,600

Tags/Warnings: 18+ only! Smutty smut, angst, hurt/comfort, body insecurity, body appreciation, heartache, followed by the fluffiest fluff…

☕ Midnight Espresso Masterlist

Al Mal Tiempo

Dean can’t remember the last time he woke up quite like this.

“Shit,” he grunts, clenching fists into the sheets.

He hears a muffled giggle underneath them.

He’s lying on his back, one knee starting to bend as he jolts on reflex. But familiar hands are holding down his thighs, as even more familiar lips caress him through his sweatpants.

Dean raises up the blankets and sheets to see your slightly frizzy-haired head pop up. Your playfully mischievous eyes meet his.

“Hey,” you greet him.

He raises a brow at you, smiling incredulously. “Hey.”

You then give him an annoyed look. “Do you mind? I was working on something.”

You try and cover yourself back up with the blankets, but Dean tosses them down your body. He wants to see you in that tank top and those little shorts. He's already getting a nice view of cleavage, no bra, and you’re straddling his thighs. His knees slide up to press against your ample behind.

“I do mind, actually.” His voice is still coarse with sleep. He clears it a little, and he smirks. “I was getting some good Zs in. You know, before I was interrupted.”

Your hands glide smoothly up his thighs, your nails catching on the fabric. You tilt your head at him.

“You really want me to stop?” you ask. Dean can’t readily respond, because he felt the shape of your words against his dick.

He moans, his eyes closing, fingers gripping the mattress under him when your mouth and tongue continue to outline the shape of his cock through his pants.

“I think I could finish you just like this,” you tell him, and still, your lips never leave him. “Or…maybe I’m feeling generous.”

Your nails hook on the waistband of his old sweatpants. The elastic has practically no give as you pull down the hem and expose his risen length. Shooting him one more smile, you let your hands glide across his sternum and hips before you finally take his waiting cock into your mouth.

You love the sound of Dean’s voice, especially when you have him like this. His hand buries in your hair, tangling in the curls.

“Fuck, baby…” he mutters.

That’s kinda the idea, you want to say, but your mouth is preoccupied. Your lips and tongue move over him slowly. And soon your hands join to wrap around the base of his cock, stroking whatever you can’t take fully in your mouth.

You know he’s enjoying himself when his hand tightens in your hair. His breathing becomes labored, but still too steady for your liking.

You decide to pick up the pace. In your mind you think of a song to keep a good rhythm.

Devórame otra vez, ven, devórame otra vez…

Que la boca me sabe a tu cuerpo. Desesperan mis ganas por ti…

“Wait, wait,” Dean says, guttural in his throat. He stops you for a moment with his hands on your shoulders. You look up at him in confusion, but you oblige him.

“What’s wrong?” you ask in concern.

“Nothin’.” He shoots you a weary, lopsided smile. “Just thinking I want to have enough mojo to give you a good morning too.”

You snort. Mojo. This man.

But you shake your head. “You’re the winner today, baby. I just wanna make you feel good.”

It’s been a long year. You all had dealt with Michael taking Dean from you, at least for a while. Now Michael is gone, thanks to Jack, and they’d managed to reunite Jack back with his soul…but there’s still Chuck to deal with. It hangs over you all like a malevolent cloud.

So you want to help Dean take his mind off all that, just for a little while. And maybe part of you thinks that if you love him that much more, he won’t despair as much over how Chuck has been manipulating the brothers Winchester…basically their entire lives.

You shouldn’t have been surprised, however, when Dean grasps your arms and tugs you up until you’re level with his chest. His hand finds your cheek, brushing his thumb there, then slides into your hair.

He smirks. “We can both be winners.”

A smile spreads across your lips, just before he pulls you into a kiss. Passion grows one into many, with hands disappearing under each other’s clothes to remove them.

Strong hands part your thick thighs further, and long fingers find their way down between them. First teasingly along the seam of your pussy, then slipping inside to get you ready for him.

Your face buries in his neck as you moan encouragements into his ear, not all of them in English. By now, he’s learned a lot of what you whisper in Spanish. It still makes electricity spark down his spine, no matter what language you’re speaking in.

He knows when it’s time when the warm inner walls of your core are slick and gripping his fingers tight. But when he removes them, you shudder.

Both of you are breathing hard by the time he actually lines himself up inside of you. You use his shoulders for leverage, and the pads of his fingers circle insistently around your clit as you slowly sink down on his cock.

A keening cry escapes from your throat, while his free hand grips hard on your ass.

“Ah, fuck,” he grunts. Your walls are already fluttering around him, squeezing him like a vice.

You pant for breath. Your loose hair falls around both of you, shielding you from all other thoughts and sensations other than this.

“You feel so good,” you breathe, shifting your hips experimentally. “Always so good.”

Dean nods, and you know what it means: For me too.

He sits up and crushes you against him, bare breasts against his chest. (He loves the feeling.) He wraps an arm around your back and twists, until you’re underneath him and laying against his pillows. He encourages your thighs to stay wrapped around his waist as he begins to pound into you.

You breathe a short laugh. “Can’t let me stay on top?”

Dean grins. He grabs your hand and manages to press a kiss to your palm in between strokes. He knew what you were trying to do earlier, by taking care of him, but he can’t help it. He’s a giver.

And he knows exactly how to give it to you, shifting the angle of his hips to have you arching underneath him, gasping, clinging to his arms.

Thanks to your earlier treatment, that about does it for him. He can’t stop himself from a shuddering release inside you (praise be for birth control, you think), but he still makes sure you come with him. He strokes your clit at the same time as his last deep strokes, and soon your voice washes over him as you call his name.

Afterwards, Dean rests his forehead against your shoulder, laying a kiss above your breast. He just woke up a few minutes ago, and he’s already tired.

“Okay. I need a damn nap,” he pants.

A giggle pours out of you. You rub his back soothingly.

“That’s what you get for doing all the work,” you tease. “I tried to help you.” 

“Help with what?”

Both you and Dean freeze at the sound of Jack’s voice. He’s just opened the door to your bedroom like you two hadn’t expressly reminded him about privacy.

You yelp in shock, and Dean’s face screws up in a glare as he reaches back fast for the closest blanket to yank over you both.

“What the hell!”

“Oh…sorry,” Jack says, shielding his own eyes. “Sam just wanted me to tell you that breakfast is ready.”

“You didn’t need to tell them right this second!” Sam calls from down the hall.  

“Knock, man! We knock on closed doors in this house!” Dean says. House. Bunker. Whatever.

He adds, “Or better yet, when my door’s closed, you give it a five-foot perimeter. Understand?”

Jack nods quickly and flees the room. “Sorry!”

The door slams shut behind him. Dean shakes his head. You can almost see the fumes coming out of his ears. You’re embarrassed and blushing, but you’re also biting your lower lip to stop yourself from laughing.

Dean looks down at you.

“It’s not funny. He needs to fuckin’ learn,” he says. His brows are still furrowed, but his mouth twitches upwards. “Should’ve locked that damn door.”

You reach up and twine your arms around his neck. Your lips get tantalizingly close to his.

“You’re still balls-deep inside me,” you remind him, pressing a sweet kiss to his lips. “It’s kinda funny.”

Dean’s lips purse. He doesn’t want to smile, but you’re making it difficult. Your hands slide down his chest, toying with his nipples as they go. You press a kiss to his throat. Meanwhile, your thighs squeeze his hips, reminding him of where he's still deeply buried. You smile when he utters a faltering sound.

"You tryin' to start something else I'll have to finish?" he teases. You give him a playfully narrowed look.

"Sure you got the mojo?" you toss back.

Raising a brow, Dean shifts out of you a few inches, just to push his half-hard cock back inside. You moan a bit, brows furrowed when the move stirs a tremor of arousal in your core. He hardens up fully at the sound, at the feeling of you clenching around him.

He smiles. “Well, well. I’m thinkin’ Round 2 after all.”

You smirk up at him and give his ass a nice little smack. “Then it's my turn for a ride.”

With a huff, he lets the twist of your hips and soft hands push him onto his back.

In the aftermath of Round 2, both of you are spent before you’ve even gotten out of bed. It’s a rare lazy morning where you don’t want to be bothered with another hunt, or even getting dressed just yet.

You have the cover of the warm sheets and blankets. Your back rests against Dean’s side, up against the headboard. His arm is wrapped around you, his hand intertwined with yours as you play with his fingers.

He’s catching up on Dr. Sexy MD, but you’re admittedly lost in thought. You bring his hand to your lips, and you just hold it there.

Dean glances at you and finally notices your contemplation. He strokes a thumb over your ring and pointer fingers.

“You okay?” he asks.

When you register his voice, you merely nod. But Dean isn’t convinced.

“Baby,” he presses.

It finally earns your attention. You look over at him, and you realize that he knows you too well to be fooled. You sigh, in a way that has Dean pausing his show and giving you his full attention.

“What’re you thinking about?” he asks.

With your free hand, you rub at your eyes and cheek. “Sam and Eileen. My heart just fucking breaks for them.”

You’re thinking about what happened a couple of weeks ago. After learning that Chuck manipulated Sam, who found the spell to bring Eileen back to life, she just…left.

Part of you wants to be angry with her; you love Sam like he’s your own brother. But you understand her as well. Being tied to Sam and Dean Winchester is like being tied to twin hurricanes. You’ve just been in this for far too long to let go of them now.

Dean nods at your admission, but he doesn’t have an answer for you. He hurts for his brother too. Part of him even feels a little guilty, having what he has with you, when Sam’s bit of happiness just keeps slipping out of his fingers.

“Maybe they just need some time to sort themselves out. Cooler heads and all that,” he says.

Time. You hope that’s all they need. However, it also makes you wonder about other things.

“That’s not it, is it?” Dean asks. He’s watching you shrewdly, and your lips thin into a line.

“Dean, what if…”

“Yeah?”

You hate yourself for even thinking it, let alone saying it. But you and Dean had survived this long on honesty, above all else. You can’t hide this from him anymore.

“What if Chuck manipulated us too?” you ask, in a small voice.

Dean’s face slackens. His hand releases yours, and he turns to face you more fully.

Emotion begins to clog in your throat and burn in your eyes.

“What if you and I would’ve never met if…” Your voice trembles, unshed tears clouding your vision. “And even if we did, would you still have kissed me that night? When we got back from that hunt—”

“Hey,” Dean protests, but now that you’ve begun, you can’t stop yourself from spilling your latest insecurities—the ones you’ve been holding onto ever since Chuck revealed himself as the villain of the whole world.

“I mean, what am I?” you ask. “Just the diversity casting in Chuck’s story?” 

“Don’t you say that shit to me,” Dean angrily snaps.

You gape incredulously. “Excuse me?”

“You fucking heard me.”

You feel how tense his body is, but your temper snaps just as well.

“Oye, mira ver,” you warn him.

You’ve levied that at him enough times that he knows all too well what it means. 

“Watch it, my ass,” he retorts. “You should know better than that.”

You frown at him, but he reads the thread of insecurity in the downturn of your lips, in your eyes that are starting to shine with tears. That always breaks him down.

Dean sighs and reaches for you then, cupping your cheek and brushing a thumb tenderly at the corner of your eye. He’s even angrier at Chuck for making you doubt yourself…and doubt him. 

“Come ‘ere,” Dean says.

You hesitate, but you go willingly back into his arms. You turn over and let him gather you against his chest. You rest against him. Your head tucks under his chin, and your leg slips between both of his.

“I love you,” he says, and his voice rumbles above your head. “That’s it. That’s all that matters.”

You bite your lip. “But—”

“No buts,” he says. Though his lips slowly tug at a smile. “Well, not that kind anyway.”

He gives your bare ass a playful squeeze under the sheets. You huff in amusement and swat him back.   

“Ya, coño. Enough,” you say with a laugh. “I probably have bruises back there.”

He just grins. “So you get what I’m saying?”

You let out a sigh. You push back enough to see his face, and you give him a soft smile.

“Yeah.”

Dean nods, but he still sees the worry in your eyes. He tries to stamp down the rest of your insecurities with a kiss, slow and deep.

You break away from him after a while to ask, “Ready for coffee?”

Dean sighs through his nose, but he hums in agreement.

“Will you make it how I like?” he asks.

A smile breaks across your face. 

“Café con leche?” you offer. 

He nods. “Yeah, please.” 

“So polite,” you remark with a raised brow. “What a change of pace.”

His mouth edges into a smirk. When you turn to get out of bed, he makes sure to give your ass one last smack. You jump a little with a yelp, but he catches your smile in the mirror above the dresser.  

Dean watches you shake out your curls and get ready for the day. You spend a lot of time blow-drying and straightening your hair, but he likes it like this too. Natural and wild. 

He likes that you wear the “dream catcher” (formerly known as your hole-ridden Journey shirt) a lot less. He likes that you’ve stopped feeling the need to wear anything to bed at all, if you don't feel like it; that you’re more comfortable with yourself. Comfortable with him.

But your smile drops. Dean sees the gears of your mind continuing to churn as you get dressed.

He has a feeling, despite his best efforts, that you’re still not convinced about the Chuck thing. And while Dean won’t admit it, that cuts him deep.   

Three years ago…

Las Cruces, New Mexico

The first time Dean met you was, of course, in a bar.

It didn’t take all that long for him to notice you, if he remembers right. 

You’d agreed to play pool with some guy who also speaks Spanish with you, and you seem genuinely into the game. So much so, that you don’t seem to notice how the guy is eyeing you. 

Dean doesn’t like the way the man’s gaze drags over your every abundant curve. Yeah, he’s been doing the same thing, but he likes to think he’s a little more classy about it.

He’s sitting at the bar with a half-drunk beer in his hand, watching the game out of the corner of his eye. He’s so invested that his beer is already flat and unpleasant, but when has that stopped him before?

…But then, Dean notices what you’re doing. You’re playing possum, making bad shots on purpose. His mouth curves behind his beer.

Little minx. 

Until you sweep the guy for all his money, that is. 

Dean watches the show in amusement. Secretly, he notes appreciation for the tight jeans, V-necked top and ankle boots. The red lipstick is the same shade as your manicured nails, and it all works well for you. The fullness of that pretty mouth would certainly work well for him.

He catches the way you sweep your hair out of the way, and the deceptive concentration in your eyes when you line up a shot on the second round. Your first turn.  

You then sink each of your cue balls expertly, without missing one. 

The swindled man gets mad, shouting at you in Spanish. You reply to him calmly as you lean on your cue stick. He gets even louder and reaches for the money, but before Dean would’ve intervened, you stab at the man’s foot with the cue. 

Your quick and clever hand gathers the money that you won, but because you seem to be kind at your core, you leave him thirty bucks for “gasolina” while he holds his foot. 

You surprise Dean further by joining him at the bar.

“Good game,” he says, giving you props with a smile.

You give him a smile back. “Thank you. Want to join me for another one?”

Your English is smooth, and so is your voice. Dean raises a brow at you.

“Even though I saw your little takedown there?” he asks. “Think I just saw all your moves.”

You laugh a little. “Not all of them.”

Was that a bit of flirtation in your eyes? Dean’s smile deepens into a smirk.

“But don’t worry,” you say. “I know how to play fair.”

He hits you with a bit of charm, lowering his voice with (he thinks) just the right amount of flirtation back.

“Now where’s the fun in that?”

Your smile deepens too, despite your blush.

Cute, he thinks, before he follows you back to the scene of the crime. AKA: the nearest pool table.

Dean wracks up the billiards and sets up a new game. You hand him his cue, and he gestures at you.

“Winner goes first,” he says graciously.

“Hmm, thought you were gonna say ladies first,” you reply.

“That too,” Dean says. “I’m a gentleman, after all.”

You snort in response. “I’m sure you are…”

“Dean,” he supplies. He earns your name by the time he sinks four balls in a row.

You sigh as you level him with a look. You seem to realize that the two of you are more than evenly matched.

“Don’t worry,” he says, shooting you a grin. “I won’t take all your money.”

And yet, when it gets down to it, he misses his last shot by a hair.

You watch him suspiciously when you two make it back to the bar.

“You wouldn’t have thrown that last shot on purpose, would you?” you ask.

Dean ducks his head and smiles, somewhat liking the fact that you caught him red-handed. You’re smart. 

“Now, what kind of gentleman would I be to take your ‘hard-earned’ cash?” he asks. It earns a burst of laughter from you, with the shine of your teeth.

“You could buy me a beer though,” he shrugs.

“Wow. Okay, Señor Smooth,” you tease. Though you get the bartender’s attention and get him a fifth of whiskey instead, of the good stuff too.

Dean considers asking you out right there. Sam is waiting back at the motel, but Dean is willing to book another room just to get you to himself for the night. And if possible, for however long he’s in town. 

“You know,” you say after a while, halfway through your Long Island iced tea. “The thing you’re hunting? It’s not a garden variety spirit…it’s El Duende. Creepy hobgoblin, basically. I’ve been tracking it from three cities over.”

Dean is figuratively (and almost literally) set back on his heels. He tilts his head at you, furrowing his brows.

“You’re a hunter?” he asks.

You laugh at the look on his face. “I saw you and another mountain man at the police station earlier…though nice look on the FBI get up. Think your ID guy could hook me up with a new CIA badge?”

Dean smiles. This is gonna be fun. 

Now: 

People were starting to disappear.

Billie, the new Death, was doing this. Dean was convinced. And Sam thought everyone from the Apocalypse world (and others who shouldn’t exist in this world) would be on her list. Ultimately, you all couldn’t save anyone. Not even Eileen. 

You and Dean both comforted Sam on that terrible night. Though he was still distraught as he decided to organize the other refugees with Jack and Donna. 

You stuck with Dean in his plan to raid Death’s library for Chuck’s book; the only thing in the world that told the story of how he would meet his end. 

You chose to back up Dean in his plan, but really, neither you or Castiel thought it was a good idea to poke the bear known as Billie. Not for a book that none of you could read, except for Death herself.

But now here you are, in Death’s library, watching with worry as Dean holds Death’s own scythe against her.

“I didn’t hurt your friends,” Billie grits out.

“What?” Dean asks.

She laughs humorlessly. “You’re in the wrong place, Dean.”

“What’re you talking about?”

“People are gettin’ gone. I’m guessing it’s Chuck,” she says. “And that means, you’re just wasting time.”

Her hands are braced against the weapon poised at her throat. She already has a stab wound in her shoulder. She tells him that the earlier wound he gave her has festered. It’ll never heal. Eventually, it’ll kill her.

But she intends to take you, Dean, and Castiel with her.

Billie becomes the hunter, following the three of you back through the portal into the bunker. Dean’s hand is so tight around your arm, making sure you’re keeping up with him and never falter. Castiel does his best get you and Dean to safety. And after he wards it against her with his own blood, only the old dungeon is safe for you all.

For now.

Billie pounds on the door, over and over. She’ll break through the warding eventually.

You grab onto Dean’s sleeve, just to hold onto him. He brings you close to him in a protective embrace. You see the panic in his eyes as his mind scrambles to find a way out of here, knowing deep down that there’s nothing any of you can do. Castiel is nearly powerless. You’re all trapped. 

“That wound is killing her,” Cas says. “We might be able to wait her out.”

His gaze is on the floor, though he briefly looks up at Dean. He shakes his head.

“And if we can’t?”

“Then we fight.”

Dean shakes his head. He pulls away from you to lean against the wall.

“We’ll lose,” he says. Your heart breaks at the way he looks, shame-ridden and defeated. “I just led us into another trap…all because I couldn’t end Chuck. Because I was angry, and because I needed something to kill, and because that’s all I know how to do.”

His eyes are red and burning. Yours swim with tears of dismay. You want to correct him as he continues to vent, speaking with a certainty that it was Chuck all along.

Dean looks at you then, and at Cas. He’s close to tears when he says they should’ve stayed with Sam and Jack. That everyone was about to die. And he can’t stop it. And he can’t stop Billie when she breaks through that door.

You don’t know what to tell him to ease his guilt. All you know is that despite everything, you made your choice to support him in this. To stay with him. 

You made your choice a long time ago, you realize.

“Wait,” Cas says. His blue eyes burn with realization. “There’s one thing she’s afraid of. One thing…strong enough to stop her.”

Dean’s eyes widen. Cas uses what strength he has left to push you and Dean away, and he summons the Empty.

Dean pulls you further along with him as the formless void coils up like ink through the walls and cement floors. It drags Billie into its darkness, but it claims Castiel with it, as it once promised it would.

After the angel gives up his life, you and Dean are holding each other against the wall, on the ground, shaking and each rocked to the core.

You’re able to break out of your shock sooner than Dean, who just saw his best friend die.  

You kneel beside him while he sits, and you hold him to you while you cry. He can’t speak, but you know his guilt is eating at him.

His phone rings, startling you both, and it’s Sam. Dean can’t answer it. He covers his face, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes, as if that could stop the ache in his chest. You press a kiss to his hair, his temple.

“He saved us, Dean. It’s not your fault,” you tell him. He shakes his head. You know he doesn’t believe you, but when he grasps your arm, his hold is desperate. 

“It’s me,” he says. His voice is shaking and ragged. “Everything I do turns to shit. Everyone around me pays the price. That’s just how it is…if you were smart, you’d hightail it as far as fucking possible from me.”

Your breath gets trapped in your lungs. Your heart feels like it’s shattering.

“Dean…baby, look at me,” you say with a sniffle. You gently hold his face, and he lets you raise him up. Your eyes are bright with new conviction.

“No one," you tell him, "not even Chuck can force me to love you the way I do. And not a damn thing can stop me from staying with you.”

Dean has tears burgeoning in his eyes. You caress his cheek, rough with stubble he’s let go too long.

“There’s a saying. Al mal tiempo, buena cara,” you tell him. His face shows a glimmer of confusion. “At bad weather, put on a happy face. It means even in difficult times, there’s still a reason to keep going. Right now, you are my reason.”

Dean considers that. He squeezes your arms unconsciously, as if grounding himself in you.

At the very least, he’s grateful that he’s not alone. And after a moment, he nods. You press a kiss to his cheek, and then his forehead. His eyes close at your comfort, your affection. He doesn’t think he deserves it, but he accepts it anyway.

“Come on, let’s get you off the floor,” you say. You start to help him up…but your body stills. You feel a strange prickling across your skin. 

Dean notices the shift, with growing unease in his gut. He grips you tighter and calls your name in concern.

Your gasp is the last bit of your voice that Dean hears before he watches you turn to dust in his arms.  

Buena Cara

Last year…

It’s the morning after you and Dean shared a midnight espresso. The morning after your first kiss, your first confession, and your first time.

He wakes tangled up in you, and the sheets, which are somehow tied up in knots around his legs and yours.

“What’d you do here, woman?” he asks.

His voice is still gruff with sleep, and he lays on his stomach. You giggle almost silently next to him. You’re lying on your back with the sheets somehow covering up to your chest. One of your legs is tangled with his.

“Nothing,” you claim. He snorts and moves closer. His lips find your shoulder, lazily burning a path downwards. But when he grips the sheet and tries to expose more of you, you grasp his wrist on reflex.

Brows furrowing, Dean glances up at your face. You’re biting your lip, and he sees signs of insecurity in your eyes.

“You haven’t seen me in the daytime yet,” you joke. Yet another one that isn’t really a joke, Dean realizes.

He really wishes he could find your goddamn ex and bash his skull in. Because Dean would like nothing more than to just spend the rest of the day in this bed, mapping out the smooth expanse of your tan skin.

So he slips his arm underneath you. You utter a little squeal in protest, but he manhandles you until you’re resting on his chest, bare skin against bare skin. You look down at him with fondness, touching his cheek. Dean stares up at you with a reserved frown.

“What’s it gonna take, huh?” he asks. It’s like you don’t believe he wants you, even now.

You bite your lip as your fears creep in behind your eyes, like black ink coiling in your mind. That he just likes your personality. That maybe he just wanted to try something “different” with you, a thicc-thighed, fat-assed Latina, instead of the petite, slender girls you’ve seen him go after in bars.

“You could have anyone, Dean,” you point out.

Dean’s frown deepens, his brows furrowing. His hands lower on your back, squeezing the curve of your waist and soft hips.

“Anyone’s not naked in my bed,” he says. His voice is stern and matter-of-fact.

You attempt a smile, but he’s not convinced. He blows out a breath and tucks a strand of hair behind your ear. 

“Your ex sure did a number on you, didn’t he?” he remarks. 

Your eyes widen. The more you think about it, maybe he did.

But maybe it wasn’t just him…

You tear up and blink against them, trying not to let them fall. You had thought you were happy with your curves. You really did.

You didn’t realize you had internalized so many of these negative thoughts about yourself, but here Dean was, forcing you to confront them. You’re grateful, but you also don’t know what to say.

Dean’s brows draw together. He holds your cheek. 

“Okay. It’s all right. We’ll work on it.” He kisses your forehead. He also wipes a tear from your cheek. “Don’t cry, baby.”

A laugh gets choked in your throat. “You should know this about me by now. I’m a crier.”

“Yeah, you’re also rockin’ a bit of sex hair,” he says, tangling his fingers further in the wily strands. “My kinda woman.”

You sigh through your nose. This man.

You can’t help but smile softly. The tip of your finger traces his jawline, down to his chin.

“Want me to make some coffee?” you offer. “I can have you try a cortadito with breakfast.”

“What’s that?” Dean asks.

“Two shots of espresso, warm frothy milk on top,” you reply. 

“God, two shots? It’s a wonder you ever sleep,” he quips. “But I do like the sound of frothy. I’ll whip us up some eggs.”

“And bacon?” you ask.

“Of freakin’ course, bacon.”

With that agreement, you two slowly get out of bed, shower, and go to the kitchen, where Sam looks bleary-eyed and annoyed at the kitchen table with his coffee mug. But he doesn’t have it in his heart to truly be mad at you and Dean. 

“I’m happy for you guys,” Sam says wryly. “Just, next time, put a sock on the door or something. So I know when to break out the ear plugs.”

Now:

Sam finds Dean sprawled on the dining room floor the next morning after Castiel has died, and you have disappeared, along with everyone else on Earth. 

Dean is surrounded by empty beer and liquor bottles. Sam’s heart clenches as he starts to help his brother.

“All right, let’s get you off the floor,” he says. 

In his words, Dean only hears your voice. He shoves Sam off him and stumbles into the kitchen.

There Jack is starting to wash dishes. He takes your little cafetera coffee maker from the stove, preparing to dump the old grounds. Dean grabs it out of his hand.

“Leave it alone,” Dean snaps. He slams it back on the stove where you left it. 

Jack is wide-eyed, but Sam gives his brother a patient warning with his eyes. Dean ignores it and heads for his room.

“Sorry,” Sam says on behalf of his brother. 

Jack shakes his head with tears in his eyes. “It’s okay, I…I understand.” 

He already misses you too. You’d become a kind of older sister to him…and Castiel. Well. Cas was the father Jack will never have again.  

Sam agrees with a nod, clapping Jack comfortingly on the back. 

Sam ventures down the long halls of the bunker to Dean’s room. He pushes the cracked open door, and sees his brother sat hunched on the edge of his bed, hands bracing on his knees.

Sam walks in, swings Dean’s desk chair around, and sits down across from his brother. He rests his forearms on his knees and waits. 

When Dean eventually looks up with red-rimmed eyes, Sam’s heart breaks a little more. For Dean, and for himself.

“We’re going to end this,” Sam promises him.

“We tried to give Chuck what he fucking wanted,” Dean reminds. “We offered to end ourselves, man. He wouldn’t bite. He won’t bring ‘em back.”

Dean’s voice cracks at the end there. Sam takes a deep breath, and lets it out just as slowly.

“We’ll figure out a way,” he says. “We always do.”

“That’s just it,” Dean says, with tired, glassy eyes. “I don’t think we can do it this time.”

Sam’s throat tightens. “Then I’ll believe for both of us.” 

By the time Chuck is done snapping his fingers, Sam, Dean, and Jack are the only people left on Earth.

Until they encounter the Michael of this world, formerly trapped in the cage. They hatch a plan. And even though the angels don’t cooperate, they manage to play straight into the real plan.

Jack is the ace up Team Free Will’s sleeve, and as it turns out, that bomb inside the kid (made of the first Adam’s rib) was good for something. The nephilim absorbs the power of Lucifer, Michael, and ultimately Chuck himself. 

Jack is the one who saves the world. 

Before Dean leaves with his brother and Jack, away from that grassy cliffside in Lebanon, he turns to Chuck.

“Answer me this. Did you…” Dean says, struggling with how to formulate his question. “Meeting my girl. Was that us? Or was it just another manipulation?”

Sam watches his brother with concern. He sees the way Dean’s hand is already itching for his gun. Chuck is human now, and Sam knows how tempting it would be to truly end it.

Chuck himself is still prone on the ground, sitting up with wariness behind his eyes.

“I didn’t tug on that thread, actually,” he admits. “Made sense to let you have a glimmer of happiness, something to hold onto. To fight for.”

Then he looks up at Dean with a tremulous smirk pulling at his lips.

“But I did wait for the perfect moment to dust her, didn’t I?”

Within seconds, Dean’s gun is slipping into his hands with the safety cocked back, the barrel lined up for a straight shot between Chuck’s eyes. Sam barks a warning, but Dean doesn’t altogether care. He’s furious, sneering at the former god who cowers like the coward he is.

“Dean?” Sam calls to him. It’s a question and a warning all at once.

Dean’s mouth works, quirking at a humorless smile. He cocks the safety back in place and lowers his gun with a shaking hand.

He stalks back to the Impala and doesn’t look at his brother.

The only three people left alive in the world ride back into the empty streets of Lebanon, Kansas.

When Jack snaps his fingers, it’s like this little planet is reborn. 

Suddenly, it’s filled with life. People walking their dogs, their kids, hailing cabs, nearly rear-ending each other’s cars in traffic while texting. It’s like the chaos never happened, and equilibrium is restored.

Even the shaggy dog Dean found last week bounds up to him. He bends down to pet the dog’s furry head, scratching behind his ears. Dean’s going to actually have to come up with a name for this thing now. 

And yet…

In a world full of color, Dean still just sees gray. 

He and Sam say a bittersweet goodbye to Jack, who ascends into Heaven. Dean can only hope the kid has a good WiFi signal if they ever need him again, like if he can’t find…

The forgotten cell phone in his pocket buzzes on a ring. He shares a wide-eyed look with Sam, licking his dry lips before he reaches into his jean pocket. He flips the phone over and finds your name across his caller ID.

With a shaking hand, he swipes his thumb across the green button and raises the phone up to his ear. He can’t even make his voice work right away. 

Thankfully, he doesn’t have to.

“Dean?” your beautiful voice greets him. 

His lips pull at a tremulous smile. “Hey, sweetheart.”

You let out a relieved breath. 

“Oh, thank God. I’m here at the bunker. Where are you?”

Dean wants to quip that Chuck had nothing to do with it, but he humors you. 

“Not too far,” he says. He gestures to a smiling Sam, and together they haul ass back to the Impala. 

“Promise?” you ask. Dean grins.

“I’ll be home before you know it.”

Once again, you’re tangled up in the bed you share with Dean. Almost every morning without fail, he teasingly grumbles as he tries to free his legs from the knotted sheets. 

“What the hell did you do here, woman?” 

“I didn’t do anything,” you refute. Though your giggle betrays your guilt while he continues to struggle. “You’ll just have to stay in bed then.”

You drag him back to you, and it’s not unpleasant to be welcomed back to the soft warmth of your body. 

“We’ve got some monsters waiting,” he reminds you. 

“They can wait,” you say, and ply him with a lazy morning kiss. It heats up in passion as your hands slide under his shirt… 

But of course, one of said “monsters” predictably starts banging at the bedroom door. It opens a crack, revealing a head of light brown hair and tearful hazel eyes. 

“Mo-oooom! Cari keeps hitting me after you told her not to,” cries your son. 

His older sister stomps behind him, so he ducks into the room to flee from her, heading for the bed and jumping into your arms. 

Dean sighs, hiding his disappointment. You give him a secret smile while brushing back your son’s hair, pressing a kiss to his forehead. To Dean, you gesture with your eyes at the doorway, where your nine-year-old daughter peeks in. She eyes her little brother in annoyance. 

Tattletale, her face says. 

“Caridad,” you call to her in your sterner mom voice. “Come here, please.” 

Cari is most definitely a daddy’s girl, and she beelines for her father. He picks up the nine year old and settles her on the bed, tucked into his side. 

“Robbie’s a crybaby,” she says. 

“No, you are!” Robbie cries indignantly. He tries to push her, but you grab his hand and push it down to the bed. Dean has to do the same with Cari when she tries to pinch her brother.

“All right, all right, enough,” Dean says, with all the authority his own father once had. “Can’t we all just have one morning in peace?”

That’s when Dean’s phone rings on his nightstand. He sighs and answers it, and it’s Sam, asking what time you and Dean plan to come over his house today for the Fourth of July barbecue.

“Give me a couple hours to wrangle the kids,” Dean replies. He has to curl an arm around Cari so she won’t throw another pillow at her brother. 

“Tell Eileen I’m bringing the dessert,” you chime in, calling to Sam in the phone. 

“You got that?” Dean asks his brother. A moment later, he reports back to you with a nod.

“He’s wanting the fluffy cake thing,” Dean says. “The sweet one with the lil’ cherries on top.”

“Tres leches?” you supply with a smile. 

He nods again. “Yeah, that one.” 

“Not a problem, but let’s get them cleaned up so I can start baking,” you say. Though you grunt as a small bare foot kicks at your side.

“Hey!” you reach for your daughter’s arm. “Ya, that’s enough. Te calmas, o te calmo. Los dos, coño.” 

Dean snorts, watching his children now wrestling each other in the middle of the bed despite your best efforts to keep them apart. 

“Easier said than done,” he mutters. He hangs up with Sam and then surveys the familiar chaos in front of him. 

“All right, you guys want to see your cousins?” Dean bribes. The kids actually pause and perk up at that. 

“We’re going to Uncle Sammy’s house?” Cari asks.

“Yep, so quit screwin’ around. Let’s up and at ‘em,” Dean says. “Brush your teeth and wash your face, then meet me downstairs for breakfast.”

“Can we have Cap’n Crunch?” Robbie asks.  

“No, Raisin Bran,” Cari insists. You have to laugh a little, reaching out to stroke her cheek. Your daughter surely is a special sort of child for genuinely liking Raisin Bran. 

“Fine,” Dean agrees to both with a nod. “Get to it. Come on, let’s go!”

He claps his hands until the kids are up and out of his bed, running to the door. 

“Don’t run!” you warn them. “Caridad Marie Winchester, stop pushing your brother, or you’re not going anywhere.”

The door hangs open as the sounds of small feet patter down the hall, accompanied by childish giggling and yelling. You sigh and lean back into the pillows, closing your eyes. 

“I’m already tired. Why did we have two of those?” 

Dean smirks and leans over to press a kiss to your forehead. You keep him close with a hand in his shirt. 

“If I remember right, having the first one was so much fun, you just couldn’t keep your hands off me,” he teases.

“Is that what happened? I seem to remember some tequila and cajoling involved,” you smirk, cracking your eyes open. You pull him to you and kiss him thoroughly. 

Both of you try not to lose track of time, but in the ten years since retiring from hunting, learning how to be civilians, true partners, and parents, you’ve become pros at stealing the small moments for yourselves. 

“Come on, babe. Don’t you want Cari to have a little bro?” you mock in his deeper voice. “They’ll protect each other, be each other’s best friends.”

Dean chuckles at your interpretation of him, giving a teasing yank to one of your stray curls. 

“They will, one day. Sam and I didn’t really get each other until later on.”

You smile at that and raise your hand to the beard he’s trying to grow out. You remember him teasing Sam for sporting a “ferret” on his face, once upon a time. But it seems that both Winchester brothers are well-suited to the lumberjack look. 

“Maybe we can get Sam and Eileen to keep the kids tonight,” Dean suggests.

You like the sound of that. Cari and Robbie take any chance for a sleepover with their cousins.

You run a hand down his chest. “You’re saying I’m going to get all this to myself tonight?”

He grabs your hand and kisses it. His gaze holds a familiar heat that makes you smile. Your fingers wiggle teasingly in his grip, which curves his lips as well. Your wedding rings gleam in the lamplight.

We don’t have time now, but we will later, his gaze promises. 

So with a sigh, he releases your hand. 

“All right, lazy. Time to get a move on,” he teases. He then points at you. “Good face.”

Buena cara. Your smile deepens as you start to rise out of bed. It’s become his thing with you, starting the day with a good face. 

Nowadays, you don’t often have a reason not to. 

“I’ll make coffee,” you offer, as you do most mornings. The one time Dean tried to make it your way, he burned the bottom of your coffee press. 

He tosses you a smirk as he pulls on a new shirt. He then digs in his side of the dresser for a pair of jeans that don’t have jelly stains, imprinted on with small fingers. 

“Yeah, that’s probably for the best,” he agrees. “I think today’s a two-shot kinda morning. What do you think?”

You sidle up behind him at the dresser and swat him on the ass. He jolts a little, making a rumbling sound as he eyes you in your little black nightgown. It’s a warning, not to start something you two won’t have time to finish.

“Sounds about right.” Bracing your hands on his hips, you lean up on your toes so you can rest your chin on his shoulder, meeting his eyes in the mirror. You smile.

“Two cortaditos coming up.”

AN: Aaaand I am soft. 🥹 I've been wanting to get to this for a while now. If you like it, let me know! ❤️

Some more Spanish translations for ya:

This is a callback from "Devour Me" with “Ven Devórame Otra Ves” by Lalo Rodriguez.

Devórame otra vez, ven, devórame otra vez… Que la boca me sabe a tu cuerpo. Desesperan mis ganas por ti…

Translation:

"Devour me again. Come, devour me again…

Because my mouth has the taste of your body. My lust for you is exasperating."

“Te calmas, o te calmo. Los dos, coño.”

Translation:

“Calm down, or I’ll calm you down. Both of you, damn it.” [😂 I think every Latina mom has spouted this at least once lol.]

Read From the Beginning:

Want to go back to the beginning of this series? Start with "Midnight Espresso":

Summary: You’ve never taken Dean’s flirting seriously…until he asks you for an impromptu Spanish lesson.

▶️ First Story: Midnight Espresso

Series Masterlist

Dean Winchester Masterlist

Main Masterlist

@hobby27 @kazsrm67 @letheatheodore @agothwithheavysetmakeup @jacklesbrainworms @foxyjwls007 @wincastifer @iamsapphine @simpforbuckyb @vanillawhiskeyflavoredkisses @roseblue373 @this-is-me19 @emily-winchester @spnexploration @deans-spinster-witch @deans-baby-momma @iprobablyshipit91

@melancholictearz @nic-kolas @sleepyqueerenergy @wayward-lost-and-never-found @thewritersaddictions @just-levyy @samanddeaninatrenchcoat @deanwanddamons @antisocialcorrupt @lacilou @adoringanakin @theonlymaninthesky @teehxk @midnightmadwoman @brianochka @branj19

@agalliasi @venicesem @chriszgirl92 @lyarr24 @ladysparkles78 @solariklees @xsophianicolex @deansbbyx @candy-coated-misery0731 @curlycarley @sarahgracej @bagpussjocken @ultrahviolentart @chernayawidow @beskarfilms @mimaria420

#In Bad Weather #dean winchester #dean winchester x reader #dean winchester x female reader #dean x you #dean winchester x latina!reader #dean winchester x plus sized!reader #dean winchester x plus size!reader #dean winchester x you #spn #supernatural #dean x reader #dean winchester x poc!reader #dean winchester smut #poc!reader #latina!reader #plus sized reader #sam winchester #jack kline #castiel #midnight espresso verse #zepskies writes

[shallowseeker]

Dean’s grief on speedrun

How long was Cas dead, anyway?

I think they reunited around day 18-24 days ish. The scripts give us some clues. (Based on this post)

==Dean is grieving hard==

He’s not in denial, like Sam seems to be -> “Is he really dead?” “You know he is.”

And because Dean now knows Chuck & Amara, he’s not getting stuck in bargaining stage (his usual MO). There is no door of hope to leave ajar after the cosmic consequences are rendered. (Not even the symbolic going-through-the-motions kind that he never intends to open again.)

No, this time, Dean’s in the throes of an incredibly frightening, paralyzing despair (images).

This is partially due to the fact that he saw it coming, and he fought so hard. He resolved to avoid the looming, cosmic consequences, to “not let Cas walk away, not again (script).” Dean made up his mind to act to protect the, “everything he’s ever wanted (script).”

And still, everything went so wrong.

///

The grief, then, is different. It’s a despair born of crushed hopes and dreams. Not to mention, forgiveness and acceptance—as Dean got onboard to help Cas, regardless of his own misgivings, because Cas “had faith in the kid.”

After everyone dies, Dean pleads with God/Chuck. Chuck is the one who brought Cas back before and the only one who seems able to rebuild angels. He doesn’t answer.

Even though Dean had a special connection to Amara, the one who resurrected his burned-up, supposed-to-stay-dead mother, she doesn’t answer either.

This time, he knows they’re out there, perhaps even listening. And they’re not answering because Dean’s run out of free passes and miracles.

This time, that knowledge crushes him where he stands.

///

DAY 1-2 (Lost and Found)

13x01 starts in the twilight hours after the big Lucifer fight.

Dean takes a shot at Jack, and Jack flees.

Heaven and Hell hunt them relentlessly.

They retrieve Jack from North Cove police station.

An angel stabs Jack in the chest with an angel blade, and he seems astonished to be “fine.”

Sam and Dean take time to grieve and scatter ashes.

The funeral occurs that evening, and they quickly get on the road.

///

DAY 3 ish (The Rising Son)

In 13x02, they're still driving home from the funeral towards the bunker, "12 hours till we get home," and Sam convinces Dean to stop at a motel.

Addition: When they eat, Jack remarks that he's 3 days old. "3 days, 17 hours, and 42 minutes."

Over the course of this episode, per the script, 2 days pass.

They eat dinner, go to a tattoo parlor, meet up with Donatello, and stay overnight in the motel.

Heaven and Hell continue to hunt them relentlessly.

Sam, Dean, and Donatello debate nature vs nurture, with Dean and Donatello leaning towards nature.

Sam psycho-analyzes Dean and delivers euphemisms to Jack about Dean “wanting to protect everyone and getting his wires crossed,” but ultimately, he isn’t forthcoming to Jack about the reality of the situation. (That is, it was Lucifer that killed Cas, and Lucifer who pulled Mary into another world--that Dean's grieving!) These important details might've helped Jack to understand his situation with a lot more clarity and grace. This will cause Jack to cool towards Sam when Dean reveals the truth during an argument.

Demons find them the next morning.

In fact, Dean nearly dies against a common demon, getting cornered on a hotel bed, but he is saved at the last minute by Sam’s interference.

Jack, tricked by Asmodeus, nearly releases the Shadim.

They drive home.

Later, Jack freaks out about being impervious to stabbing. In his new bunker room, he laments, “What the hell am I? I can’t control… whatever this is. I will hurt someone.”

Dean tells him he will be Jack's executioner if Jack loses control.

At most, it's been only 5 days since everyone died.

///

DAY 5 ish (Patience)

13x03 picks up mere hours after they get home, and it covers 5 days total. So, that brings us to a decently solid total of 10-ish days when this episode finishes.

Dean can't bear to be in the bunker with mission-mode Sam and Jack, so he takes off on a hunt.

Clearly in no shape to hunt, Dean dies at the hands of a wraith (and so does Jody). They are both saved by Patience’s interference.

Dean tells Patience there’s no joy in this life. Only pain and death.

Sam and Dean have a huge fight about Jack, during which Dean accidentally gives Jack context to the situation (re: Cas’s death, Mary’s plight). This causes Jack, already exhausted by Sam’s well-meaning training regimen, to cool towards Sam the next morning.

Cas appears to awaken in The Empty on day 9 or 10.

///

DAY 10-11 ish (The Big Empty)

13x04 SEEMS like the very next morning, because Dean AND Jack are both still chilly towards Sam. The air is described as arctic, with Dean giving Sam a, "don't even try it, motherfucker," face. Jack accuses Sam of wanting to use him as an interdimensional can opener and "being just like Asmodeus," and Sam comes clean about the truth.

Sam pushes them all to go on a case together. Jack says he doesn’t want to go at first. Sam wants Jack to go with them for the express purpose of forcing Dean to be around him and warm up to him, which isn’t fair to Dean or Jack…not really.

This storyline covers the family therapy scene (great analysis), wherein an interesting attempt at therapy is made under dishonest constraints.

Dean, still clearly in no shape to hunt, is easily overtaken by the shifter and nearly dies. He is saved by Jack’s interference.

According to the script, 13x04 occurs over 4 days. Commentary//

That means that Dean thawed to Jack, after our total of a mere 14 days. By the end of this episode, they're on shaky terms, and by the beginning of 13x06, calling out to each other in a friendly manner, "How was the case?"

Jack "puts a dent in Dean's armor," per the script, even before he saves them with his powers. Dean is doing everything he can not to like Jack, and it’s clear from the script that he’s failing.

At the end of the episode, Dean tells Sam to absorb the weight of the hunting burden, because he’s got no hope left.

Cas appears to awaken in a field on day 14. Presumably, his ashes are in the middle of nowhere, and he starts walking.

///

DAY 14-20 ish? (Advanced Thanatology)

Here’s where it gets foggier.

I can't tell exactly when 13x05 picks up with respect to the previous episode, but it seems like only a little bit of time has passed.

I would say a week at most has passed, but possibly as little as a day or two, and the case itself, per the script, covers another 4 days.

However, if Cas awoke in The Empty on day 10, and woke in the field around day 14, I think I favor a shorter timeline here with some of the “days” being overlapping back story from the case itself.

Anyway, Jack has been making his way through Sam's DVDs, "Red Sonja, Beast Master, Beast Master II." Commentary//

Sam does not intuit why Dean is up late at night/early twilight hours, making a PB & J (analysis).

Sam tries to remedy Dean’s overwhelming grief by pushing breakfast beer and strip clubs toward him. Alcohol to numb the pain + sexy stuff as a distraction. Now more than ever, Dean seems to perform those only for Sam’s benefit. (It seems Sam did not pay attention to Mia Vallens's therapy, except as a means to validate his own motives for trying to save Mary. Ouch! Poor Sam!)

Sam is not great with empathy here, bless my neuroatypical man-child. He’s dealing with a loss of his own, of course, and he’s been shown to be an impatient, mission-motivated griever (analysis).

Anyway, he’s completely at sea with Dean’s powerful grief, and he seems tragically unaware of Dean's close calls/being off his game over the course of the last few hunts.

Sam, perhaps understandably, wants Dean to be there for him n’ Jack, as caretaker and comrade, but Dean is too mentally wounded to bear the weight of that expectation. (Btw, I don’t think Sam really “gets” the Cas thing till 15x09 The Trap: Sam’s future is symbolized by Eileen-as-hope (analysis) and Sam realizes Dean’s future is built around Cas-as-foundation.) Dean dies...again//

Dean attempts suicide.

He tells Billie he doesn’t matter.

After he revives, Dean tells Sam, “No. Sam, I’m not okay. I’m pretty far from okay… And I would take the hit… And now Mom and Cas… And I – I don’t know. I don’t know.”

This is an elegant parallel to season 7’s grieving Dean, about his not being able to “shake” what happened with Cas, and admitting, “he doesn’t know why.” (Cas is different. Cas has always been different.) In season 7, he also says, “I’ll do what I can,” in response to Sam telling him to get his head in the game and stay alive. Cas is a core wound in both scenarios.

///

==Death & resurrection==

So, that would bring our guesstimate to Cas reuniting with the boys around 20-24 days. So, at most a little over 3 weeks but possibly closer to 4, especially if the backstory timelines of actual “case days” overlap, like 13x05 potentially does.

I am reasonably certain Cas awakened in the field near day 14. I’d personally put the actual reunion at 18-20 ish days, and certainly not longer than a month. They reunite in early June, I think. Blackberries are a summer fruit, and there are wild blackberries in the field where Cas awakens.

Dean drives to Cas and meets up with him, "in the middle of nowhere," so it seems Cas's grave and subsequent walk to civilization was in quite a remote area.

///

Going back through this, I was pretty astounded how Dean kept dying or nearly dying in those days following Cas’s death. He was definitely in no state to be hunting.

(images from CSN, SPN wiki, fangirlism.com)

#shal meta #dean/cas #tfw + grieving #dean + grief #spn season 13 #jack kline #the don't talk about cas sam wont' touch the cas thing with a ten-foot pole and i love that about him so much #saaaaam you are so focused on things that are ACTIONABLE like saving mom

[velvet4510]

Picture this:

Two people, Person A and Person B, are members of different social classes. This class barrier makes a potential relationship forbidden and impossible.

Unusual circumstances throw these two people together and a series of events lead them away from the social barrier and enable them to just see each other. Consequently, they develop an all-encompassing, earth-shattering, soulmate bond of unconditional love.

They find themselves in incredible peril and almost die several times in their effort to survive and protect each other.

Person A gets captured and imprisoned. Person B has to summon incredible courage to rescue Person A all alone with no help and, despite the odds, manages to do so.

Person A tries to separate from Person B for the sake of Person B’s safety. Person B runs back to Person A, and almost drowns in the effort to stay with Person A.

They wind up in possession of a piece of jewelry that a crazy, vicious, greedy person covets.

Said crazy, vicious, greedy person tries to murder them both.

They overcome several hurdles through incredible teamwork, and for a moment, it looks like they’ll make it through and share a life.

But ultimately, they are star-crossed lovers. The circumstances in the aftermath of their ordeal prevent them from being together; Person A is too wounded by their ordeal to stay in Person B’s world. Person A encourages Person B to live a long, full life without him, and Person B promises to do so. Person A then departs for another realm and the couple are separated for many long decades.

Despite losing their soulmate, Person B honors the promise to Person A by living life to the fullest, marrying and having children with someone else, and going on to do all the incredible things that Person A said they would do. Yet Person B never forgets or stops loving Person A in all that time.

Later, Person B is widowed in old age, left with beautiful and satisfactory memories of a full lifetime, only made possible by Person A’s love and sacrifice so long ago.

Person B, now over 100 years old, passes on Person A’s story, and thus the story of their love, to the next generation.

Person B then leaves the regular Earth and reunites with Person A in the other realm. They are finally together, forever.

Am I talking about Frodo & Sam from The Lord of the Rings or Jack & Rose from Titanic?

#lotr #samfro #titanic #jack x rose #frodo x sam #rose x jack #sam x frodo #lord of the rings #titanic 1997 #titanic movie #lotr books #lotr movies

[sssammich]

hello i wrote some fics

my writing shenanigans. links default to ao3 for most of them, with some tumblr posts sprinkled in (like, if i haven't gotten around to posting on ao3, for example).

supergirl: not for nothing, 4/4 complete. kara/lena. lena finds out kara is supergirl, they have a fall out, and then kara loses her powers indefinitely.

one way or another, oneshot, complete. kara/lena; kara and lena meet on the subway

evergreen, oneshot, complete. kara/lena; lena meets kara later in life

snapshots of superreigncorp, ongoing. kara/lena/sam; in collaboration with chaoticsuper; all three women go on a date

sam's supercorptober 2023 entries, 7/7 complete. kara/lena; for supercorptober 2023

tumblr post roundup crepe AU: part 1 | part 2 | part 3 day 19: hazy, day 22: art, day 24: enchanted, day 30: magic

collateral; ongoing. kara/lena, kara/andrea, lena/jack; kara is in love with lena, lena got married to jack, and andrea somehow clocks kara's feelings from the jump. then, you know, life happens.

samfic: collateral (main tag); part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 | part 6

samficlet: in pursuit of calm. oneshot. lena/kelly; kelly is in town and back from her deployment. lena processes. (tumblr post)

you've got mail; oneshot, complete. kara/lena; lena and kara are neighbors and someone's mail gets delivered to the wrong apartment NSFW

come what may. 3/3 complete. kara/lena; post-rift healing times or something like that. there's dancing. part 1 | part 2 (tumblr post)

let there be another day: oneshot, complete. kara/lena; 6 months after lena breaks up with kara to keep her safe. (tumblr post)

there's a human in the storeroom; ongoing. kara/lena and lena's friendgroup shenanigans; in collaboration with sideguitars. fae!au, basically. post 1 | post 2 (tumblr post)

samficlet: soak up the warmth. oneshot. kara/lena. lena luthor and her sad yet hopeful introspective vibes while kara is in the phantom zone (tumblr post)

--

bumbleby: homecoming; 3/3 complete. blake/yang. blake and yang reunite after ten years.

heart's devastation; oneshot, complete. 4+1 airport fic

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swan queen: it ends or it doesn't; 3/3 complete. emma/regina. emma and regina drive to new york to retrieve henry's passport. and then truths are revealed.

rituals; ongoing. emma/regina. emma stays at regina's house for a time and a breakfast routine is established ch 1 | ch 2 | ch 3

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feel free to send me prompts, but i make no promises only so that i don't let you down lol but if it strikes my fancy, i usually try to fill it! thanks in advance for those.

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link to my other fics (of which there are plenty and span many years and random fandoms, if you so wished to explore.)

thanks again x

#samfic #supercorp #swan queen #bumbleby #my fanfiction #i'm literally just doing this so i can pin this post #but also it doesn't hurt to advertise LOL #ok thats all thank you for reading and leaving nice comments and all that stuff #yall have been very nice to me #the superior guardiancorp

[tinyagitator]

Okay so @scordoesart posted a lovely Bellhands thing the other day and I got thinking again, which can either be fun, or lead to sheer madness and brainrot and this is the brainrot kind of thinking apparently. So I had to write it down and regain some semblance of sanity again.

So, Bellhands is all well and good (and honestly, probably the most likely option for Izzy's long lost boyfriend please cast Matt Berry as Sam, he is so perfect), but then I doodled a little piratey dude the other day, thought he looked like he could be a good boyfriend for Izzy, but he didn't feel like Bellamy to me, and then I thought

Blackbeard is a pirate with a bloody reputation, but a soft side for his beloved.

You know you else had a big, nasty, bloodthirsty reputation?

Charles Vane

Hear me out:

In history, Vane got started sailing around the same time as Stede and Blackbeard under Henry Jennings, and pretty quickly made a name for himself and gained a reputation for like, torturing captured crews, and being the "leave none alive, show no mercy" sort of pirate captain.

So if Vane is a big name in the pirate world, why wouldn't Izzy hear that name and go "that's my boyfriend! He's alive!"

Some pirates likely changed their names to protect their family's reputation, so maybe when they were younger, Izzy didn't know him as Charles Vane?

From what I skimmed on Wikipedia, Vane didn't sail with Hornigold, but we're history inspired here, not completely accurate. I read somewhere that Taika said he read like 4 sentences of the Blackbeard Wikipedia page and decided to just wing it from there, so if it's good enough for Taika, it's good enough for me

So, what if he did? What if he sailed with Hornigold and company under his legal name, and then later changed it to Vane when he started building his own piratey reputation?

Some time after Blackbeard gets to captain his own ship, something happens and Charles gets separated from the crew (arrested? Falls overboard and picked up by a different ship? Idk, something) and Izzy thinks his boyfriend is dead

Maybe Charles has some connections somewhere and talks his way out of being hanged for crimes of piracy, but has a hard time getting back out to sea for some reason. Eventually he does get away and back out to sea where he meets Jennings, and somewhere down the road, he gets to captain his own ship and goes off to try to reunite with Izzy and company.

(side note: at least according to Wikipedia, he sailed on The Lark, The Ranger, The Katherine, and a different ship called The Ranger. Hornigold also had a ship called the Ranger, so there's the basis for my half-assed 'Vane used to sail with Hornigold' theory. I’ve also decided that his ship the Katherine is named after someone he knows. A beloved little sister, maybe?)

Historically, Vane and Calico Jack sailed together for a time. Per Wikipedia, Jack was Vane's quartermaster, and later became captain after voting Vane out of his captaincy. Again, vaguely historically inspired, my vision of Vane (fairly level-headed and laid back, but prone to bursts of anger and murder) probably doesn't like wild, rambunctious Jack too much, and maybe only briefly reunited with him prior to ep 8. So maybe when Charles reunites with Blackbeard and Izzy, there can be a "why the FUCK didn't Jack tell you I've been looking for you, I'm gonna fuckin kill him" moment

Maybe Vane got his violent reputation while looking for Izzy. I'm picturing like, Vane shows up in the republic of pirates, asks about Blackbeard, and the guys there are like "oh yeah he was here like a week ago, you just missed him. No idea where he fucked off to this time", and he starts taking out his frustration on captured ships because his former shipmates are just always slightly out of reach. Or maybe gossip spreads about Ed and Stede taking the act of grace, and Vane starts getting extra passionate about hunting English ships, hoping to find Blackbeard on one of them and reunite with his old friend?

how did Izzy and Charles end up together in the first place? Still working out the details on that one, but it's coming together, just slowly

This may turn into a actual fic some day (probably not, I have no time, nor am I good with words) but for now it's just a jumbly, scrambly list of half-formed ideas that need to be dealt with eventually

#our flag means death #ofmd #Izzy Hands #give this sad little man a boyfriend please #historical accuracy? what historical accuracy? we don't do that here #its pirate party time at all fuckin hours in my brain lately

[dasmuggler]

On this date in 1990 “The Hunt For Red October” was released!

Capt. Borodin: “The crew know about the saboteur. They are afraid.”

Marko Ramius: “Well, that could be useful when the time comes.”

Director:John McTiernan

1st AD:Jerry Ballew

Cinematographer:Jan de Bont

Camera operator:Roger Gebhard

1st AC:Cal Roberts

Production Designer:Terence Marsh

Gaffer:Ed Ayer

Key grip:Larry J. Aube

Dolly grip: Michael J. Coo

This is one of my favorite movies so today we’re going on a deep Dive! Dive! Dive! on how this group of dedicated filmmakers brought this movie to life.

The producers originally wanted Kevin Costner for the lead, but Costner had other ideas.

As producer Mace Neufeld explained in a behind-the-scenes DVD feature, "I'd gotten quite friendly with Kevin Costner, and I went to Kevin about playing Jack Ryan. But Kevin was up to his neck, and very enthusiastic, about doing this ... this buffalo movie. And I said, 'You'd rather do a buffalo movie?'".

This was Alec Baldwin’s first big budget starring role throwing himself face first into the role spending time with C.I.A agents and spending the night 600’ underwater in a submarine. He also recommended he personally do the helicopter drop into the ocean. Baldwin accepted the role of Jack Ryan because Harrison Ford turned it down. Cast member Sam Neill also benefited from Ford's refusal three years later by being cast in the lead role of Jurassic Park (1993). Interestingly, Baldwin asked for a big pay increase for the sequel, to which the producers allegedly replied, "For that price, we could get Harrison Ford." Baldwin held his ground and the studio agreed to the fee, but for Ford instead of Baldwin for “clear and present danger”

Sean Connery was a last-minute replacement. The film had been in production for two weeks when word came that Klaus Maria Brandauer (Out of Africa), the Austrian actor who'd been signed to play the rogue Soviet sub commander Marko Ramius, couldn't do it after all because of a prior commitment. Connery took the part instead, needing only one day for rehearsal. Coincidentally, he and Brandauer had acted together in 1983's “Never Say Never Again” and would reunite again for 1990's “The Russia House”, which was shot shortly after The Hunt for Red October.

Mancuso: The hard part about playing chicken is knowin' when to flinch.

"I had reservations about it," Connery told an Associated Press reporter upon the film's release. "I thought this kind of Cold War intrigue might be dated because of recent events(the fall of the U.S.S.R). It turned out that the studio had failed to fax the first page of the script, which explained that it took place before Gorbachev." This is probably why no one ever uses fax machines anymore. After being faxed the script, Sir Sean Connery initially turned the role down on the basis of the plot being unrealistic for the post-Cold War era. Whoever sent the fax neglected to include the foreword, explaining the movie as historical. Once he received the foreword, Connery accepted the role.

After consulting with the hair department behind director John McTiernan's back, Sir Sean Connery arrived on-set for his first day of principal photography with his hairpiece incorporating a ponytail. Several years later, once Connery's potential influence had greatly waned, McTiernan stated in an interview with Sight & Sound Magazine that he was "f---ing livid" with Connery, and that the Scottish actor tried to use his considerable heft with the studio, going over the director's head to pass the alteration with producers. It seemed as though Connery was to get his way until midway through the second day's shooting, when director of photography Jan De Bont started laughing while reviewing the dailies, remarking to Connery that his ponytail looked like "a limp, swinging d--k." This soon became a meme among the crew, and by the end of the second day, Connery was so upset at the mockery, he relented, having the hair department remove the alteration and forcing the re-shoot of a key scene. McTiernan joked that the reported cost of the hairpiece, approximately $20,000, was mainly down to the cost of those subsequent re-shoots.

Jeffrey Pelt: “Listen, I'm a politician, which means I'm a cheat and a liar, and when I'm not kissing babies, I'm stealing their lollipops, but it also means that I keep my options open.”

Screenwriter Larry Ferguson played the role of C.O.B. [Chief (Petty Officer) of the Boat] on the U.S.S. Dallas. He didn’t know he had been cast till he saw his name on the cast list and quickly hired an acting coach having not acted in over 16 years, he quickly started rewrites giving his character more screen time.

The film got an uncredited rewrite—including all of the Russian dialogue—from veteran filmmaker John Milius. The writer of “Apocalypse Now”, and director of “Conan the Barbarian”, and “Red Dawn”—who had directed Connery in 1975's “The Wind and the Lion”—told an interviewer in 2003 that the rumors of his involvement with The Hunt for Red October were true. He said he added speeches for Connery's character ("Make it about me," the actor supposedly told him), and that he "wrote all of the Russian stuff—everything that's Russian in that movie."

In one of the most clever ways I’ve seen a movie ditch the subtitles, this film begins with the actors speaking Russian with English subtitles. As the camera slowly dollies to the mouth of actor Peter Firth he casually switches in mid-sentence from Russian to English on the word "Armageddon", which is the same spoken word in both languages. After that point, the Soviets' dialogue is communicated in English.

During filming, several of the actors portraying U.S.S. Dallas crewmen took a cruise off the coast of San Diego on the USS Salt Lake City (SSN-716) a real Los Angeles-class submarine. To train for his role as the Dallas' commander, Scott Glenn. The real commander Thomas Fargo of the Salt Lake City ordered his crew to treat Glenn as equal rank, first giving reports to him, then give the same report to Glenn. Glenn based his performance of Mancuso on Commander Fargo, giving orders in a calm even voice, even in tense situations, saying "whatever good happened in the performance, basically I owe to now Admiral Fargo, thank you sir."

Made before sophisticated CGI became the norm in filmmaking, the film's opening sequence featured a long pull-out reveal of the immense titular Typhoon-class sub. It included a nearly full-scale, above-the-water-line mockup of the sub, constructed from two barges welded together. Since they didn’t have permission to go out to open ocean they were forced to shoot in Long Beach harbor to create the wake of the open ocean they had boats circling the barge to create waves.

Production designer Terence Marsh and Cinematographer Jan de Bont didn’t want to confuse the audience so they gave each country's submarine its own background color: Soviet submarines, such as Red October and V.K. Konovalov, had interiors in black with chrome trim. American ships, such as Dallas and Enterprise, had grey interiors. To help the audience quickly grasp which sub's interior they were seeing as the movie jumped from scene to scene and sub to sub, the filmmakers also created a subtle lighting scheme: blue for Red October, green for the Alfa class "V.K. Konovalov", and red for Dallas.

During filming in 1989, the U.S.S. Houston, which doubled for the U.S.S. Dallas in the movie, snagged the tow cable between the commercial tugboat Barcona and a barge, sinking the tugboat ten miles off Long Beach, California. One crewman unfortunately drowned, and two more were rescued.

On stage for the sub interiors two 50-square-foot (4.6 m2) platforms housing mock-ups of Red October and Dallas were built, standing on hydraulic gimbals that simulated the sub's movements. Connery recalled, "It was very claustrophobic. There were 62 people in a very confined space, 45 feet above the stage floor. It got very hot on the sets, and I'm also prone to sea sickness. The set would tilt to 45 degrees.

I asked the Dollygrip on the film and crew stories member Micheal Coo about his experience on the and he shared this with us.

“ I’ve got a story for you...

We were shooting in a real submarine and doing a tracking shot down a long corridor. Now about every 15 feet is a bulkhead that you have to step over and make sure you don’t hit your head on the top. We are tracking on a peewee dolly, raised up on track to clear the bulkheads, chasing Sean Connery down the corridor. While chasing Sean, Jan Debont yells cut cut cut, and stands up. There’s no way I could stop on a dime and Jan stood up right before one of the bulkheads. He hit his head so hard he flew over the top of me and I went under him with the dolly. His head sounded like a church bell ringing in the submarine. Since Jan Debont and Sean Connery didn’t get a long so well Sean laughed his ass off at Jan laying there on the floor saying “Fucking Hell Shit Michael, I said cut!!!”

The miniature “underwater” scenes were shot and built by I.L.M and the talented model makers from BOSS films Gregory Jein, John Eaves, Ron Gress and Alan McFarland, they filmed using smoke to simulate underwater with a model sub connected to a 12 cable marionette style frame, giving precise, smooth control for turns the same technique was used for the robot aliens in the film “Batteries not included”. To get the lens to “scrape the paint” of the model to make it feel life sized the crew used mirrors lined up perfectly and the camera lens shoot into the mirror getting the image much closer then it would have been possible for the camera. With Computer generated effects, in their infancy, cgi was used for creating bubbles and other effects such as particulates in the water.

Navy recruiters set up booths in some theater lobbies for people to sign up to join the service, or to at least look into it. The Pentagon hoped that this movie would do for the submarine service what Top Gun (1986) did for Naval aviation.

When the movie was first released on VHS in 1991, the tapes were red.

Capt. Marko Ramius: I'm reminded of the heady days of Sputnik and Yuri Gagarin when the world trembled at the sound of our rockets. They will tremble again at the sound of our silence. The order is engage the silent drive.

If you can help identify any crew members please comment, thanks for reading

Via Diego,IMDb, YouTube,MCGA. Special thanks to Dolly Grip on the film Michael Coo and miniatures paint expert Bruce Hazumi

[manogirl]

Why I Hated the Ted Lasso Finale

THERE WILL BE SPOILERS

The word I'm going to use a lot in this post is 'unearned'. After a solid couple of seasons, the writer's room lost their way through the second half of this last season, and the ending was an absolute travesty. I'm going to explain why each character arc failed, and then give a couple general thoughts.

Nathan. Actually, this is the only arc that I thought earned out its contract. Nathan and Jade's relationship wasn't...good, but I think that's the fault of the chemistry between the actors being off, and not because of the writing. The only character arc I actually was left comfortable with.

Trent. Just kidding! Trent's character arc was perfection and I loved every minute.

Colin. Okay, I think adding Colin being gay as a storyline was a good idea, but they just went one step too fucking far. And I'm saying this as someone who regularly watches BL shows where homophobia doesn't exist and/or all kinds of unrealistic things happen with gay men. THAT SAID, you can't just suddenly have Colin on the pitch kissing his man, after the discussion with Trent. I'm sorry! It was unearned. His boyfie coming to the game? Earned.

Dani. Are you. fucking. kidding me. with that last bit? There was no moment in the show that would lead you to believe Dani Rojas should be in a throuple. Just blatant laugh pandering.

Beard. Did the writers forget that Jane was HORRIBLE to Beard for 2 seasons? And then she just wasn't in season 3 very much. I am fine with Beard staying in England, but I don't like it.

Rebecca. Holy shit. No. Just no. FWIW, I am not a TedRebecca shipper, but also no to the Dutch man. UNEARNED. The moments with Rupert, with her mother, with Keeley, with Leslie...that all felt true to the character. It felt true to the arc of the show. But the Dutch man and his daughter? No. Sorry, no. The show just did a beautiful thing where Rebecca realized you don't have to be a mother to be nurturing and to create a family, and just fucking BURNED that lesson to the ground with the Dutch man and his kid. Way to ruin a super tight feminist arc.

Ted. I am super irritated by his mother's appearance in the show, and by her being the one to tell him to go home to his kid. It wasn't right. UNEARNED. I don't think Ted going home was the wrong thing, but could you at least resolve the motherfucking story of his marriage and Dr. Jacob? PLEASE. For the love of god. Resolve something. (More on this later.)

Sam. No. Fuck the writers for this.

Jamie. That stupid shot of him reuniting with his dad was unearned. Sorry. He should have been celebrating with his weird mom. (By the way, what the fuck was that.) Also, while I loved his friendship with Roy, I just don't even know how to express my contempt for the writers re-kindling Jamie + Keeley. And that comment at the bar that Jamie made to get Roy riled up was fucking...are you kidding? You just had Jamie go through an enormous arc of growth, where he apologizes to her for it, and then he USES IT like that? No. Hated it.

Keeley. Okay, she's a success and Babs (Barbara) is her friend. But the Jack storyline was fucking SHOEHORNED IN and I think I know why except then. Then. They just.

Roy. Oh god.

Here's the thing: this show left almost every single character arc unresolved. And that's not bravery for a show like this; it's not artistry. It's actually quite the opposite. This show is the television equivalent of genre fiction. You can't set up a television show as a piece of genre fiction and then end it like literary fiction. You betray your audience when you do that. Genre fiction ends. There are endings. There is resolution. Suddenly deciding that you've backed yourself into a corner with a love triangle (or two) and you don't know how to fix it doesn't absolve you from having to figure out the end. You have to resolve the stories.

The show also became too self-aware. All the little nods to the Rebecca-Ted shippers outside the show were cloying. Also, all the stupid fake-outs with Rebecca's being pregnant were just ridiculous. Absolutely fucked with the tone of the show.

Anyway. This shit absolutely killed the show for me, and I'll never rewatch, and I probably won't even recommend it to people. They just biffed this so hard.

#ted lasso #sometimes i feel like ranting

[daandyli0n]

so i’ve got an interesting dsmp au

i’ve called it “limbo’s exit.” the basic premise of the au is that ghostbur and phantommy leave limbo through one of the trains and we then see the utter chaos that follows.

(this is about the characters)

some info on phantommy to note before i actually go into the au:

he’s almost nothing like ghostbur personality-wise; he’s actually quite a vengeful spirit. he’s basically just fueled by anger and fear. the anger is far more evident, however.

appearance-wise, he’s wearing a very torn up l’manburg uniform, with a boot missing. that foot is wrapped in bandages. he really does look like a child soldier forced into a war. he’s got gray skin, white hair, and blank, white eyes. he also appears to be crying tears of either black ooze or blood.

he’s based around fire. he can burn things when he’s very angry. which is often.

y’know how tommy is a lot more chill with certain people who’ve wronged him? phantommy is the EXACT opposite. if you’ve done something to wrong tommy in the past, trust me; phantommy WILL make you aware of the fact that you’ve wronged him.

he completely and utterly despises dream with a passion. while he doesn’t hesitate to be hostile with other people he harbors rage towards, dream is quite literally the only person on the server who he will attack on sight.

when he first manifested in the prison with dream, he actually tried to kill him. dream only managed to stop him by promising that he’d bring tommy back in a couple of days, claiming that it’d take a few days for the revival to work (which is a lie, he could’ve done it immediately). phantommy attempted to contain his rage for the following days. the fact that dream was obviously not doing anything to “prepare for the revival” didn’t soothe phantommy in the slightest; if anything, it only made him angrier.

when glatt mentioned seeing “tommy” crying in the afterlife about dream killing him, he forgot to mention that phantommy was crying out in rage. he thought that it wasn’t important to mention.

now, onto the actual au itself:

-ghostbur arrives in limbo, like in canon.

-three days real time, three limbo months later, phantommy appears in the train station. completely unsure off whether or not he’s seeing things right, ghostbur asks if phantommy is really there. he is.

-sensing phantommy’s negative emotional vibes, ghostbur summons some blue (much to his own shock) and gives it to phantommy. instead of turning completely blue, it gains a red spiral within it. which implies that the blue also absorbed some of phantommy’s anger as well as his sadness. this also somehow fully pulls phantommy into the train station limbo, and out of the void limbo.

-the two talk a little about their existences and formulate a plan to escape limbo, using the trains passing through wilbur/ghostbur’s limbo as their exit. as phantommy puts it, “If Jack Manifold can do it, so can we!”

-the two want to accomplish their own goals upon returning to the living world: ghostbur, to reunite with his friends and family, as well as try to build a positive relationship with his living equivalent. phantommy, and i quote, “To finish what you and Alive Me started in that prison. Even if Sam tries to stop me.”

-the two of them vibe in limbo for one real time week, seven limbo months; missing many trains, playing cards, chatting, dealing with the other spirits in limbo, and waiting.

-the two met schlatt one day while playing cards. schlatt also semi-unintentionally angered phantommy, due to tubbo eventually being brought up in the conversation. obviously, to put it one way, schlatt...didn’t say the best things about tubbo at some points in the conversation. ghostbur had to hold phantommy back at one point, and phantommy accidently burnt the cards he was holding.

-finally, after ten months limbo time for ghostbur, who even knows how long for phantommy, the two manage to jump on a train, eventually making their way back to the living world.

-understandably, chaos soon ensues.

if y’all have any questions, feel free to ask!

#dsmp au #dsmp #limbo's exit au #ghostbur #phantommy

[allthewritem0ves]

Reunited Dynasty

Previously…

Now back in the car, after telling Melanie that she, Terry and Jack were welcome to visit everyone else if they so pleased, Sam had just ignited the engine and his head was resting on the steering wheel, looking to the side at his two special girls. Molly was snoozing in Gluntz’s arms, exhausted from the long day.

This very thought was running through Sam’s mind after seeing Mel’s wedding photo. In fact, to be honest, it sat in the back of his mind since he found out he was gonna be a dad: Should Gluntz and I tie the knot? As he said back in Madame Vaneau’s house during circle time, “At least Guy and Michellee got married before having Junior”, that’s when he figured he was at least ninety-five percent sure he should go for it.

However, that remaining five percent was quite the vocal minority. But he had to realize that the only thing truly holding him back from popping the question was himself.

Then again, you never know until you try…

“What’re you thinking about, Sam?”, Gluntz asked, interrupting his train of thought.

“Huh? Just about…how much I love you. And how much I love being a dad.” He smiled. “Come on, let’s go home.”

And he backed out of the driveway, with Melanie waving goodbye from the front porch.

——

A week later, when Jack returned from Da-Dake, Melanie was going to bring him and Terry to the Weebie-Am-I house to officially meet everyone else.

Sam had driven himself, Gluntz, Molly, Pam and Grinch to the house. There they all made small talk with each other. Guy Jr. waved to Molly from his mother’s arms. Molly, in the meantime, was too little to know what waving was. She just looked on with curiosity.

When Pam called Melanie a while back, she mostly asked standard questions like “How���s life?” and “Everything’s alright?”; they hadn’t really talked since their forceful parting all those years ago. But one thing for certain: Pam was going to be surprised to find out that her stepdaughter is married and a mother. So far, Sam and Gluntz had been tight-lipped on the fact.

E.B. helped Guy make cookies in the kitchen for their guests. Thankfully, they were the soft, gooey kind and not the overly crispy ones. And they may or may not have left some for everybody else.

Just like a few weeks ago when she was waiting for Molly to be born, Pam anxiously drummed her fingers on the arm of the couch and tapped her foot. Grinch sat beside her with his arm draped over her shoulder.

“Everything all right?”, he asked.

“Mm-hm”, Pam mumbled and nodded. She took his hand that was around her shoulder into her own, rubbing his knuckles with her thumb. “It’s just…talking on the phone is one thing. Actually seeing my stepdaughter in person is another.”

“But you are still excited to see her, right?”

“Oh, of course! It’s been so long.” Pam remembered the last time she saw Melanie, and to say they parted on bad terms would be an understatement. She tried to explain why things were the way they were and even knowing how perceptive the little girl was, Pam had a bad feeling that the reason was lost on her. But Melanie seemed okay while talking on the phone. Maybe she let bygones be bygones. “I loved Mel like she was my own. Pretty much the same way Guy treats E.B.”

“Plus, she wouldn’t have agreed to meet the rest of us if she was still angry.”

“No, I guess not.” Pam looks behind herself, out the living room window, hoping to see a car pull up.

Over at the other side of the living room, Michellee and Gluntz were chatting with each other, their own babies cradled in their respective arms. Guy and E.B. came out of the kitchen, plates of freshly baked cookies in their hands.

Sam, however, was sitting at the dining table, away from everyone else. He wasn’t feeling depressed or wanted to be alone, nothing like that. Instead, he was examining a ring he held in his palm. He hadn’t told anyone beforehand, but he was ready to finally act on the idea that he had contemplated since Gluntz said that she was pregnant. The thing was that he kept everyone in the dark about it; he wanted them all to be surprised along with Gluntz.

“Hey, Sam!”

In his shock, he almost flung the ring in the air. “E.B.! You scared me!”

“Sorry. Was just checking on you. Wanna cookie?” She offers him one wrapped in a napkin. It was still warm.

“Okay.” He slips the ring in his pocket and takes the confection.

——

Junior was showing Molly all his toys that were strewn on the floor. He handed her a plush penguin that squeaked when squeezed. The girl laughed every time the sound emanated from within the toy.

Gluntz squealed, “Awwww!”, her eyes glistening.

Pam leaned her head to the side watching her granddaughter have fun. It seemed everyone in fact was more interested in watching the children than the TV.

A slamming of car doors got their attention.

Guy walked to the door and looked through the peephole. “It’s them!”, he said.

He opened the door and in walked Melanie, with Terry in her arms, her husband Jack and his father McWinkle.

“Hello there”, Guy greeted.

“Melanie!”, Sam exclaimed, charging to the door. He hugs his sister with gusto. “So happy you could meet everyone!”

“Me too, Sam”, she answers. Then she looks at the others, waves and says, “Hello!”

——

With the majority of the house, reintroductions were made with McWinkle, who was looking pretty good with a few years of retirement under his belt.

And then everyone met his son and grandson.

Jack bore a strong resemblance to his father, although the major differences between them was that Jack was much thinner, not as tall and had indigo fur instead of blue. Terry had lilac fur, a trait he picked up from his paternal grandmother, and brown hair, which he got from his mother, and this time was dressed in a tawny sweater and jeans.

Pam was entranced. Now she finds out her stepdaughter is married and has a child too? Wonders never seem to end with the I-Am’s.

While all the hubbub was going on with the others, Pam had a little talk with Melanie.

“Hi, Mel”, the spy said, almost saying ‘Mellie’ instead.

“Pam”, her stepdaughter replied with a small nod.

“Is…everything alright?”

“It’s going pretty good.”

“That’s nice.”

They really didn’t want this conversation to be so sterile. Little did the other know, Pam and Melanie were actually thrilled to see each other again, but more than twenty years of separation needed an easy transition to a happy reunion. The memory of Melanie being taken away and Pam being unable to do anything about it lingered in both of their minds.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t stop them”, Pam finally said at last. “You were my little girl, you know that? I just wish the court could’ve let me keep you. Please forgive me.” Her voice was cracking from all those pent up tears. Guess some wounds never truly heal.

But to her surprise, Melanie smiled. “That’s all I ever wanted to hear.” She hugs her stepmother the way a child would. “I really missed you, Mommy.”

I’m not gonna cry. I’m not gonna cry, Pam tried to tell herself. But her heart overruled her mind and she sobbed out loud. “You don’t know how much I missed when you called me that!”

Melanie turned her head and called out, “Sam! Come here!” He hands Terry over to E.B. and joins his mother and sister. “Get in this hug, little brother.”

Sam throws his arms around the two.

——

Pretty soon, Jack introduced himself to Pam.

“Glad to finally meet you at last, Ms. I-Am.”

She was surprised by how his voice sounded. Even though he was a grown man in his early thirties, his voice seemed to be stuck at fifteen. But Pam figured that’d be rude to acknowledge.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Jack.” The two shake hands. “So you’re the one who swept my little Mellie off her feet.”

He laughs. “Yes I did”, he says proudly.

“How’s you two meet? Tell me everything!”

Jack pulled the footrest closer so he could sit on it. “Well, it was about three years ago. I was flying the plane that brought her home after she was studying abroad. When I saw her, I was just…smitten. Against my better judgment, I went up to her after the flight and began talking to her. Pretty soon, we dated on a regular basis and Dad liked her a lot too. But then about a year ago, she became pregnant and we tied the knot before Terry was born.”

“It’s all true. Even before Terry was born, I couldn’t imagine my life without Jack”, Melanie added in.

The two lace their fingers together, smiling.

“You’re each other’s missing half”, Pam noted. “I never thought I’d love again until I met Grinch.”

Grinch, who was in a conversation with McWinkle, turns around when his name was mentioned. “What was that, hon?”

“Nothing. Just sharing stories.”

He nods and returns to his visit.

“But I still miss your father terribly.” She slumps back on the couch. “I never really got closure with him. Never went to pay him a visit; it was just too painful.”

Both Sam and Melanie tried to console Pam, the two of them sharing a mutual feeling of grief for their late father.

“But let’s not spend too much time wallowing. I wanna see Terry.”

——

Terry, in the meantime, was being watched over by E.B. He was slightly bigger than Guy Jr. and even more so compared to Molly, so E.B. sat him on her lap. The toddler looked at her curiously.

Guy and Michellee smiled at the girl’s affinity for children. Junior, however, sassily crossed his arms watching his sister. That is until Molly distracted him by shrieking.

Melanie stepped around the duo trying to get to her own son. “Excuse me,… what’s your name again, kid?”

“E.B.”

“E.B., could I see Terry really quick? Pam wants to see him.”

“‘Course.”

Melanie returned to the couch, her baby boy in tow. “Here he is.”

She eased him into Pam’s arms. Terry looked on with his trademark curiosity. He reached out toward her.

Pam smiled. “Aren’t you so cute?”, she said in baby-talk. Who knew a hardened spy could be so loving?

“Ma ma ma”, Terry babbled. Since his own mom was sitting next to Pam, it was a bit ambiguous whom he was referring to.

“Awww…” Pam brought Terry closer to her so she could hug him.

A flash of light came from in front as Jack snapped a picture of them.

“That’s going in the album”, he says. “It’s funny. Terry usually doesn’t like meeting new people, but he seems to have warmed up to all of you pretty easily.”

“Oh, Jack’s just being hyperbolic. He only misbehaved one time.” Melanie laughed. “But it’s interesting that he’s so calm around all of you. It’s like he sees you all as family already.”

Family. That word shot around in Sam’s head like a pinball. He felt the jutting out circle of the ring in his pocket. Thankfully, no one saw it. Gluntz had joined in McWinkle and Grinch’s conversation. Guy Jr. and Molly had been brought onto the couch with E.B., Guy and Michellee sitting on opposite sides of them. He turned to look at his mom playing peekaboo with his nephew, Melanie and Jack watching with affectionate smiles.

Then Sam remembered thinking nephew. Even though Mel didn’t have the same mother as him, Pam could still be a grandmother to Terry. She was doing a good job at it so far. Maybe Molly gave her sufficient practice.

Finally, Sam stood up and cleared his throat. “Excuse me, everyone! There’s…something I have to do.” He made eye contact with Gluntz. “Something huge.”

He walks over to Gluntz and pulls her into the center of the room. Still holding her hand in his and eyes locked together, he begins to say, “Gluntz, you…” He had to pause, not to think of the right words to say, but to keep his voice level. “You are the…smartest, kindest, most headstrong, most extraordinary person I’ve ever met and I love you more than all the green eggs and ham in all the world.”

“Wow! You know he’s serious”, Guy whispered. His wife giggled.

Off to the side, Pam had a huge smile on her face. She knew exactly what was going on despite this being a surprise to them all. Grinch whispers to her, “Is he doing what I think he’s doing?”

“Oh, yes he is!” She sniffles. “They grow up so fast!” Pam had to take a deep breath, refusing to let her tears fall.

Sam drops to one knee. Gluntz puts her hand over her mouth. Molly let out a shriek behind her.

“Gluntz, will you…” He had a little trouble pulling the ring out of his pocket. Things just weren’t the same now that he was short a digit. At last he pulled it out. “Will you marry me?”

“YES! YES! I WILL!” She leaps forward and hugs him, sending him falling on his back. The sound of clapping erupted around them.

“Didn’t see that coming!”, Melanie interjected. She leapt up and yelled out, “I’m gonna have a sister! Jack, let me see the camera.”

Her husband gives it to her. Now that the newly engaged couple had gotten back up, Melanie put an arm around the two of them and snapped a picture, holding Gluntz’s hand up to show off the ring.

“I’m so happy!”, Mel added, with a tight embrace. “I’m gonna have a sister”, she repeated in a softer voice.

——

Pam couldn’t have been more thrilled. She got to see her stepdaughter face to face after so long (with no hostility), her step-son-in-law and their child, and finally, got to see her son get engaged all in one day.

Dinner that night was as rambunctious as it could get when new family members were making sure they’d be remembered. Even with all the cookies from earlier, they enjoyed plate after plate of green eggs and ham. Sam knew it’d be best to have them on this momentous occasion.

He got pats on the back from Guy, Jack, Grinch and McWinkle.

“Welcome to the club, DB”, said Guy.

“Hey, that’s my thing”, Sam laughed, remembering he called his best friend that same acronym.

E.B., Michellee, Pam and Melanie gave their congratulations to Gluntz as well.

“You gotta let me organize the bachelorette party!”, Michellee said with zeal.

“I know some great spots!”, Melanie added in.

“Perfect!”

——

After dinner, the troupe parted ways, Pam giving her stepdaughter an extended hug.

“I really missed you, Mellie. I promise I’ll never lose you again.”

“I missed you too, Mom. And don’t you worry. I won’t be going anywhere ever again. Especially not when the family’s gotten so much bigger.”

#green eggs and ham #sam i am #gluntz #sam x gluntz #melanie driscoll #jack mcwinkle #terry mcwinkle #molly i am #oc #pam i am #grinch #guy am i #eb #michellee #mcwinkle #guy jr #fanfic #family

[nikadd]

why montage in 15x19 but no the road so far in 15x20. and i don’t mean on a meta, “they defeated chuck so everything is different now” level. i mean just literally from the format of the series standpoint. why do this.

#it's valeriia talking #some things are smart masquerading as stupid but this was just stupid #literally no one asked for that weird montage in 15x19 #the entire episode could have slowed down just a little bit #start with a nice 5 minute sequence of dean grieving for cas #walking around the bunker #going to cas's room. saying something maybe. #finding the mixtape and taking it with him to the car #calling sam back and finding out abt the thanos snap #getting into the car and playing the mixtape #and the eerily fitting song playing #him driving for a bit and then stopping in the middle of the road somewhere to just. get out of the car and scream or cry or both #and only then later reuniting with sam and jack #cut the montage. cut the scene of them getting to michael.... make michael be already near the bunker or just come to them #cut the lucifer parts #im just. im just upset #spn #spn s15 #spn 15x19

[what-do-1000-swords-look-like]

A study of Dean's family in camera/framing shots

It was always:

Supposed:

To:

Go:

Like:

This:

⬇️

Plus:

Dean: "We're stronger together as a family, Dad. We are. You just know it." -> This was John's greatest failure (among his raising/treatment of his boys), he never learned this; Dean thankfully did learn this in the end of the series (speaking of 15x19 specifically), becoming one of the many differences between him and John

#dean's family #the winchesters 2.0 #dean and sam deserved that family #and it's a crime that they weren't actually reunited in the series finale #or at the very least the end of 15x19 #which would have left 15x20 and their whole brothers only story line to be wrapped up #a year and a half later and i still don't get it #sadly 15x14 holiday scenes minus Cas mirrored 15x19 #aka what was left of dean's family #until jack left #spn #spnposts #dean winchester

[featherthiefdean]

Hellooooo, so I follow your fic "Small Everyday Deeds" and I just love it. So I came looking for your tumblr, and I would like to know if you have any indication of Destiel fics? It could be canonverse, or retired Dean and Cas, whatever. I don't care if it's big fanfics (holidays so I'll have time to read a lot and immerse myself in fanfictions), could you direct me to what you consider to be must-read destiel fics?

Thank you so much for reading Small Everyday Deeds and sending this ask! I'm blushing at how nice you are!

I have been reading Destiel fanfic for a long time so most of these are older but many are must reads that are either canonverse-ish/retired. Found out while making this I really like time-travel fics and suck at summaries. Also, I may have gone a little over board so sorry...

The Classic Destiel Canonverse Must Reads

The Cost of a Thing- Cas becomes human, leaves the bunker broken, and doesn't reunite with Dean until a hunt of monsters killing couples pushes them back together. Set around season 10. Rated M. 74k words. Buckets if angst.

Professional Couple Only- Cute case fic where Dean and Cas go undercover and need to pretend to be a couple. Unsure season but written in 2015. Rated M. 37k words.

The Purple Shield- A case involving a witch traps Dean and Cas in a small town unable to escape. And there was only one bed. You get the drift. Post Series. Rated E. 69k words.

Smells Like Roses Dean lives a perfect life with the man he loves. Then, he wakes up. This is from 2014 and let me say when I read this in 2015 the end of the second chapter hit me like a freight train. Season 5ish. Rated E. 55k words.

A Turn of the Earth- Cas is on the run and ends up meeting young Dean. It changes everything and nothing at the same time. Season 10/Pre-series. Rated M. 95k words.

Crazy Diamonds- Fresh-out-of-Hell Dean and 2018 Dean get time-swapped. Why is the guy who threatened to throw Dean back into Hell wearing his shirt? They both struggle. Rate E. 25k words.

Any Port in a Storm- Fallen and grace-less Cas and Dean investigate couples that are being killed on a couples cruise. Season 8-ish from 2014. Rated M. 52k words.

Teaching Poetry to Fish- One of the must reads. Set in Cas's POV and follows him throughout the series. Beautiful. Simply beautiful. Divergent starting at Season 14 (written before then). Rate M. 52k words.

My Fave Canonish Works

The Path of Fireflies- Dean wakes up with no memory after getting his humanity back from the Mark of Cain. He doesn't expect for him and Cas to be sharing a bed in the B&B the own together twelve years later without a single memory. They have to work it out. A classic and personal fave from 2014. I read this fic in 2015 and it still gives me heartache to this day. Post Canon/Post Season 10. Rated M. 63k words.

Search for Tomorrow on Every Shore- An angel mad at Jack and Cas for changing things throws Dean out of Heaven. Young Dean and Old Dean collide. This is one of my favorite fics ever. Post-canon. Rated T. 11k words.

Along My Restless Palms- When Cas starts staying in the bunker, Dean has increasingly inventive dreams of him and Cas... in "situations". Post- Canon. Rated E. 23k words.

Ascend- Mysterious black ooze is causing problems and a struggling Dean looks for answers. Season 15 fix-it. Rated M. 53k words.

Of Future Plans and Paradoxes- Gabriel is fed up with Dean being an idiot so he sends him to the future. Shenanigans ensue. Set after season 13. Rated E. 12k words.

Although we are faithless- Dean is in Heaven and driving with Sam but something seems off. Season 15 fix-it. Rated M. 32k words.

Because it is- Dean must deal with losing Cas... and getting him back. Season 15 fix-it. Rated M. 6k words

Out on the Edge- Cas is working on fixing Heaven when Dean enters earlier than anticipated. As he tries to set up the perfect Heaven for Dean, his dumb butt misses something important according to their friends. Season 15 Fix-it. Rated T. 14k words.

Break the Skin (to break the barriers)- Losing Cas causes Dean to finally go to therapy. Tattoo therapy. Where he tells the artist his (and their) story. Season 15 fix-it. Rated 7. 29k words.

Other faves to consider that are AUs that you didn't ask for:

And This, Your Living Kiss- Dean is a simple mechanic in Kansas. He is also secretly a renowned poet with the Penn name Jack Allen. Cas is a poetry professor who is also the expert of Jack Allen. Things happen when Dean audits the poetry course Cas teaches. Destiel Classic Must-read. Rated M. 57k words.

Something to Want- In order to take over the family company and prove to his father wrong, Dean must show he's ready to settle down. Cas is just trying to keep his little found family at their little shopping center afloat and needs to keep the contract with the property owners (Winchester Motors) the same. Maybe Cas and Dean can find middle ground and solve both their problems in an unconventional arrangement. Rate E. 37k Words. Tooth-rotting fluff, very soft Dean and Cas, and one of my all time favorite fics.

Try to read:

Where the Weeds Take Root- One of THEE destiel must reads. It's no longer available on AO3 but this classic is a beautiful, poetic work that follows a retired Dean and Cas (and Sam) after they are kicked out of the bunker by the British Men of Letters. They live on a farm, raise chickens, plant a garden, and adapt to a new life. It is a huge inspiration to Small Everyday Deeds but you'll have to find someone authorized to hand out the pdf copy of this work since the author deleted it.

#destiel fic rec #fic rec #destiel fanfiction #destiel #deancas #destiel fic #spn #supernatural #dean winchester #castiel

[orionsangel86]

I’ve been thinking a LOT this morning about this comparison that keeps getting drawn between what meta writers are saying now about 15x20 and Destiel and the JohnLock Conspiracy(TM) and aside from just linking you all back to THIS POST by @winchestersingerautorepair which explains it all perfectly anyway, I do feel the need to stress some very clear and very glaringly different points that basically prove outright that this situation is Not That.

1. We already have confirmed Canon Destiel. The romantic feelings are confirmed in text. Destiel is canon. Arguably currently textually unrequited canon (yeah right) but it IS canon. It’s also Word of God canon. Basically, where we currently are is actually more canon than even Aziraphale and Crowley ever were. You can NOT say the same for JohnLock.

2. The JohnLock Conspiracy was all about how the actual final episode of the show was a “fake” bad finale, and how they would release a secret finale which would fix everything and make JohnLock canon a few weeks later. There was zero actual evidence of this anywhere. (Sorry JohnLock shippers, I feel for you I really do, but I just couldn’t ever see any evidence that the secret good finale was ever gonna happen.)

In contrast, we haven’t seen the Supernatural finale yet. It actually is next week. This is FACT. 15x20 is not a figment of Destiel shippers imaginations. We really do have one episode left which hopefully will give us everything we wish for.

3. All of this comparison has come out of meta writers saying 15x19 was written like a finale. We are calling it a finale and that’s why for some reason we are being mocked and compared to the JohnLock conspiracy... but... did those people who mock us not watch 15x19?!? (or at least get a plot summary and watch the final 10 minutes like me).

I can’t speak for my own opinion on the episode being bad, as I haven’t watched it. I have seen reactions both saying it was bad, and others saying it was good, or funny, or “so bad it’s good” but like, whatever. The point is, it WAS a finale. It was the episode that wrapped up the mytharc plot, had a callback montage to brother best moments and had them driving off into the sunset together now they are finally free. Like??? Call it whatever you want, but that was a finale.

Which is WHHHYYYY its SO WEIRD that there is still one episode left. What could POSSIBLY BE OUTSTANDING?

4. So yes. the FACTS are that UNLIKE Sherlock, Supernatural DOES have two finales. This isn’t some conspiracy. It’s a fact. We can joke that 15x19 was the “bronly” finale, but however you wanna see it, that was a finale. 15x20 can only be the long epilogue. The episode that wraps up the entire show. The episode JohnLock shippers dreamed about.

I really don’t mean to rub salt in the wound either. I don’t wanna insult anyone who believed in the conspiracy at the time, because hope is a funny thing that can have devastating effects - believe me, I know. But mocking us and trying to say the two are the same thing is just... wrong.

We don’t know how 15x20 will play out. But we do know the following FACTS:

Chuck is defeated. The big bad is gone.

There are no raised stakes anymore

the brothers are free (textually they confirmed this)

Jack as the new God, has fulfilled Castiel’s prophecy that he would bring about peace and balance to the universe. It’s done.

There is no story left concerning any of these big plot points.

BUT

Castiel is still in the Empty

Sam didn’t reunite with Eileen

Dean hasn’t said a damn thing about Castiel’s textually explicity confession of homosexual love for him

These are literally the ONLY things left to wrap up. There is NO WAY that the finale is going to be just a brothers road trip, growing old together, meeting random women, having kids and saying “Castiel Adam Jack Winchester you are named after the bravest men I know” kind of ending! It would be UNTHINKABLE for Dabb to do that.

I am seriously rubbing my temples on this whole thing because there are still so many naysayers that are pissing me off - particularly certain wannabe SPN writer BBFs who steal meta from Tumblr and pawn it off as their own “journalism” spewing crap all over Twitter about the matter because they have super secret insider knowledge from people who worked on the show that confirmed Misha isn’t back.

Oh Misha’s not back you say? Fuck you. Seriously. Fuck you. Everyone knows he went back to filming. He confirmed it himself over and over again until the CW finally panicked and told him to shut his damn mouth and change his story. These are the same people who have been feeding rumours into fandom for years to misdirect us. The same people who probably convinced KNOWN DESTIEL SHIPPER and SPN writer Meghan Fiztmartin to laugh at, deny, and mock Destiel shippers on Twitter literally only a few weeks before IT WENT CANON. They are doing everything in their power to put us off the scent. They don’t want us to know Cas is back because the ENTIRE ENDING RESTS ON CAS COMING BACK AND IF WE ALL KNEW IT WOULD BE SPOILED. DESTIEL IS THE ENDGAME THEY DON’T WANT SPOILED.

This is not anything like the JohnLock conspiracy because we have actual facts to back it up. We have all the evidence, we have all the logic, the narrative is BEGGING for the love story to be wrapped up. Dean MUST use his words and tell Castiel he loves him. Even the General Audience at this point can see that. So I beg you, stop mocking us for something you don’t know anything about.

If there is ONE THING you should trust right now. It’s the meta writers. We are the ones who have been telling you for YEARS that Destiel is a thing. That there was writer intent. Hell, we even predicted Jack would become God in the end (like seriously anyone with any understanding of literary analysis could see it was going that way). Mocking us after we have already been validated by canon confirmation of the DeanCas romance is just idiotic at this point.

#breaths #okay that became a rant #destiel #supernatural #spn endgame #15x20 #15x19 #the johnlock conspiracy #wank for ts #fucking twitter #im not even on it right now and im still getting drip fed

[dasmuggler]

On this date in 1990 “The Hunt For Red October” was released!

Capt. Borodin: “The crew know about the saboteur. They are afraid.”

Marko Ramius: “Well, that could be useful when the time comes.”

Director:John McTiernan

1st AD:Jerry Ballew

Cinematographer:Jan de Bont

Camera operator:Roger Gebhard

1st AC:Cal Roberts

Production Designer:Terence Marsh

Gaffer:Ed Ayer

Key grip:Larry J. Aube

Dolly grip: Michael J. Coo

This is one of my favorite movies so today we’re going on a deep Dive! Dive! Dive! on how this group of dedicated filmmakers brought this movie to life.

The producers originally wanted Kevin Costner for the lead, but Costner had other ideas.

As producer Mace Neufeld explained in a behind-the-scenes DVD feature, "I'd gotten quite friendly with Kevin Costner, and I went to Kevin about playing Jack Ryan. But Kevin was up to his neck, and very enthusiastic, about doing this ... this buffalo movie. And I said, 'You'd rather do a buffalo movie?'".

This was Alec Baldwin’s first big budget starring role throwing himself face first into the role spending time with C.I.A agents and spending the night 600’ underwater in a submarine. He also recommended he personally do the helicopter drop into the ocean. Baldwin accepted the role of Jack Ryan because Harrison Ford turned it down. Cast member Sam Neill also benefited from Ford's refusal three years later by being cast in the lead role of Jurassic Park (1993). Interestingly, Baldwin asked for a big pay increase for the sequel, to which the producers allegedly replied, "For that price, we could get Harrison Ford." Baldwin held his ground and the studio agreed to the fee, but for Ford instead of Baldwin for “clear and present danger”

Sean Connery was a last-minute replacement. The film had been in production for two weeks when word came that Klaus Maria Brandauer (Out of Africa), the Austrian actor who'd been signed to play the rogue Soviet sub commander Marko Ramius, couldn't do it after all because of a prior commitment. Connery took the part instead, needing only one day for rehearsal. Coincidentally, he and Brandauer had acted together in 1983's “Never Say Never Again” and would reunite again for 1990's “The Russia House”, which was shot shortly after The Hunt for Red October.

Mancuso: The hard part about playing chicken is knowin' when to flinch.

"I had reservations about it," Connery told an Associated Press reporter upon the film's release. "I thought this kind of Cold War intrigue might be dated because of recent events(the fall of the U.S.S.R). It turned out that the studio had failed to fax the first page of the script, which explained that it took place before Gorbachev." This is probably why no one ever uses fax machines anymore. After being faxed the script, Sir Sean Connery initially turned the role down on the basis of the plot being unrealistic for the post-Cold War era. Whoever sent the fax neglected to include the foreword, explaining the movie as historical. Once he received the foreword, Connery accepted the role.

After consulting with the hair department behind director John McTiernan's back, Sir Sean Connery arrived on-set for his first day of principal photography with his hairpiece incorporating a ponytail. Several years later, once Connery's potential influence had greatly waned, McTiernan stated in an interview with Sight & Sound Magazine that he was "f---ing livid" with Connery, and that the Scottish actor tried to use his considerable heft with the studio, going over the director's head to pass the alteration with producers. It seemed as though Connery was to get his way until midway through the second day's shooting, when director of photography Jan De Bont started laughing while reviewing the dailies, remarking to Connery that his ponytail looked like "a limp, swinging d--k." This soon became a meme among the crew, and by the end of the second day, Connery was so upset at the mockery, he relented, having the hair department remove the alteration and forcing the re-shoot of a key scene. McTiernan joked that the reported cost of the hairpiece, approximately $20,000, was mainly down to the cost of those subsequent re-shoots.

Jeffrey Pelt: “Listen, I'm a politician, which means I'm a cheat and a liar, and when I'm not kissing babies, I'm stealing their lollipops, but it also means that I keep my options open.”

Screenwriter Larry Ferguson played the role of C.O.B. [Chief (Petty Officer) of the Boat] on the U.S.S. Dallas. He didn’t know he had been cast till he saw his name on the cast list and quickly hired an acting coach having not acted in over 16 years, he quickly started rewrites giving his character more screen time.

The film got an uncredited rewrite—including all of the Russian dialogue—from veteran filmmaker John Milius. The writer of “Apocalypse Now”, and director of “Conan the Barbarian”, and “Red Dawn”—who had directed Connery in 1975's “The Wind and the Lion”—told an interviewer in 2003 that the rumors of his involvement with The Hunt for Red October were true. He said he added speeches for Connery's character ("Make it about me," the actor supposedly told him), and that he "wrote all of the Russian stuff—everything that's Russian in that movie."

In one of the most clever ways I’ve seen a movie ditch the subtitles, this film begins with the actors speaking Russian with English subtitles. As the camera slowly dollies to the mouth of actor Peter Firth he casually switches in mid-sentence from Russian to English on the word "Armageddon", which is the same spoken word in both languages. After that point, the Soviets' dialogue is communicated in English.

During filming, several of the actors portraying U.S.S. Dallas crewmen took a cruise off the coast of San Diego on the USS Salt Lake City (SSN-716) a real Los Angeles-class submarine. To train for his role as the Dallas' commander, Scott Glenn. The real commander Thomas Fargo of the Salt Lake City ordered his crew to treat Glenn as equal rank, first giving reports to him, then give the same report to Glenn. Glenn based his performance of Mancuso on Commander Fargo, giving orders in a calm even voice, even in tense situations, saying "whatever good happened in the performance, basically I owe to now Admiral Fargo, thank you sir."

Made before sophisticated CGI became the norm in filmmaking, the film's opening sequence featured a long pull-out reveal of the immense titular Typhoon-class sub. It included a nearly full-scale, above-the-water-line mockup of the sub, constructed from two barges welded together. Since they didn’t have permission to go out to open ocean they were forced to shoot in Long Beach harbor to create the wake of the open ocean they had boats circling the barge to create waves.

Production designer Terence Marsh and Cinematographer Jan de Bont didn’t want to confuse the audience so they gave each country's submarine its own background color: Soviet submarines, such as Red October and V.K. Konovalov, had interiors in black with chrome trim. American ships, such as Dallas and Enterprise, had grey interiors. To help the audience quickly grasp which sub's interior they were seeing as the movie jumped from scene to scene and sub to sub, the filmmakers also created a subtle lighting scheme: blue for Red October, green for the Alfa class "V.K. Konovalov", and red for Dallas.

During filming in 1989, the U.S.S. Houston, which doubled for the U.S.S. Dallas in the movie, snagged the tow cable between the commercial tugboat Barcona and a barge, sinking the tugboat ten miles off Long Beach, California. One crewman unfortunately drowned, and two more were rescued.

On stage for the sub interiors two 50-square-foot (4.6 m2) platforms housing mock-ups of Red October and Dallas were built, standing on hydraulic gimbals that simulated the sub's movements. Connery recalled, "It was very claustrophobic. There were 62 people in a very confined space, 45 feet above the stage floor. It got very hot on the sets, and I'm also prone to sea sickness. The set would tilt to 45 degrees.

I asked the Dollygrip on the film and crew stories member Micheal Coo about his experience on the and he shared this with us.

“ I’ve got a story for you...

We were shooting in a real submarine and doing a tracking shot down a long corridor. Now about every 15 feet is a bulkhead that you have to step over and make sure you don’t hit your head on the top. We are tracking on a peewee dolly, raised up on track to clear the bulkheads, chasing Sean Connery down the corridor. While chasing Sean, Jan Debont yells cut cut cut, and stands up. There’s no way I could stop on a dime and Jan stood up right before one of the bulkheads. He hit his head so hard he flew over the top of me and I went under him with the dolly. His head sounded like a church bell ringing in the submarine. Since Jan Debont and Sean Connery didn’t get a long so well Sean laughed his ass off at Jan laying there on the floor saying “Fucking Hell Shit Michael, I said cut!!!”

The miniature “underwater” scenes were shot and built by I.L.M and the talented model makers from BOSS films Gregory Jein, John Eaves, Ron Gress and Alan McFarland, they filmed using smoke to simulate underwater with a model sub connected to a 12 cable marionette style frame, giving precise, smooth control for turns the same technique was used for the robot aliens in the film “Batteries not included”. To get the lens to “scrape the paint” of the model to make it feel life sized the crew used mirrors lined up perfectly and the camera lens shoot into the mirror getting the image much closer then it would have been possible for the camera. With Computer generated effects, in their infancy, cgi was used for creating bubbles and other effects such as particulates in the water.

Navy recruiters set up booths in some theater lobbies for people to sign up to join the service, or to at least look into it. The Pentagon hoped that this movie would do for the submarine service what Top Gun (1986) did for Naval aviation.

When the movie was first released on VHS in 1991, the tapes were red.

Capt. Marko Ramius: I'm reminded of the heady days of Sputnik and Yuri Gagarin when the world trembled at the sound of our rockets. They will tremble again at the sound of our silence. The order is engage the silent drive.

If you can help identify any crew members please comment, thanks for reading

Via Diego,IMDb, YouTube,MCGA. Special thanks to Dolly Grip on the film Michael Coo and miniatures paint expert Bruce Hazumi

[billiewena]

season 6       🤝        season 12

first season to happen after another era’s much more climatic finish, sam starts the season separated from dean and being tortured, a long-dead family member is resurrected, tries to do something with evil/bad hunters but it falls flat, saved by its castiel and angel-centric episodes

season 7        🤝        season 11

end of a showrunner era, weird plot / big bad that leads to season-long jokes about it (dicks, “god has a sister?"), lucifer spends most of the season emotionally manipulating sam, castiel is not himself for most of it, a prophet and fan favorite female character is introduced, ends with dean presumed dead but not really dead

season 4       🤝        season 8

compelling plotlines for all three main characters, the brothers spend most of the season at odds but reunite at the very end, big bads that actually mean business but end up not being the real threat in the end, parallels for daysssss (ruby vs. cas, amelia vs. benny, etc), dean is adjusting to no longer being in hell/purgatory, sam is just trying to save the entire world but is slowly killing himself in the process, ends with a fun twist where it turns out a character was lied to/manipulated and everything going wrong, final scene is the brothers in a church as something angelic and dangerous is released into the world

season 10     🤝        season 14

season-long buildup to a dean vs. family member confrontation with biblical parallels where he has to kill them but ultimately can't go through with it, starts with dean gone and them having to find him, sam and rowena spend a lot of time working together, dean uses a lunch date to ask cas to kill him if things go wrong, castiel is nearly killed by one of the brothers in an intense floor fight, they only temporarily fix dean/jack's problem and it comes back to haunt them later on when a major female character is killed

#wait why did I leave this in drafts #I was onto something here #'can I copy your homework?' 'yeah just change it up a little bit so one knows you did' #am I missing anything I feel like there's more #spn meta #I guess???? #ntjdmakesthings

[carry-on-every-neverland-magic]

Monday Prompt

#CarryOnAnniversary Week: What 'Carry On' means to you

It's been almost a year since the beautiful finale aired last November. I wrote about it then in this post here.

Now, a year on, it has the same impact and power, if not more than it ever did because of all the beautiful insights we have had from Jared and Jensen and all the fan creations and head canons. It's why I want to celebrate this week because the ending of one of the most important shows and characters in my life was so perfect and fitting and heartbreaking, it surpassed all my expectations, exceeded them and I still can't believe we got something so beautiful.

I still have been unable to watch the transcendent Barn Scene again in it's entirety (though I made an entire blog just purely for it asfghjk I am insane) and haven't rewatched even the finale itself, because just seeing fanvids with it makes my heart ache. It is the ending I feared for the brothers to be separated as originally I hoped they would die together but I love angst and sad stories and pain that lingers and Carry On not only gave me that heartbreak, it gave me that heart soaring too, with Sam and Dean being reunited in heaven.

Knowing we were all correct that Sam was living to honour Dean and he grieved and missed him so much and that Sam's selfish wish was just to be with him again, the fact we knew this and it just got confirmed proves how much we deeply care and understand these characters. I never thought Supernatural would have a happy ending. It ends bloody. That's why I think Carry On perfectly stayed true to Sam and Dean, to hunting, to the utter pain and sorrow but also tiny rays of light the show always gave me. Because within a nightmare there is still light.

Sam had DJ, he made something of his life despite wanting to be beside his brother, he loved DJ and could be free of monsters at last. I'm sure he prayed to Jack, spoke to Dean, ached for him in a way he wouldn't be able to put into words but DJ would know, he would hear all about his Uncle and understand what he and his father had went beyond anything, their love literally ended and saved the world and each other.

There will never be a show like Supernatural that showcased such a deep, unfathomable platonic love between two people. Dean put it best once by saying “whatever we have between us” because neither of them could ever truly put it into words. And I cherish that Supernatural gave me this, showed me a love like no other and when Dean finally said the words, “I love you so much....” the power and weight they hold makes me ache to this day. I first watched the show in 2006 and this moment was what it was always building to because I listened to the show, to Sam and Dean, and when those words left him, Dean was so content, to finally lift those secrets from him, show Sam he was vulnerable, scared, try and convey this love in his gut he has for him. And no other “I love you” compares to his.

I stayed up to watch the last episode live, knowing Jared was and other fans were and being in the UK it was 2am I think when it started (after that beautiful documentary) My livestream was blessed by the Gods too because it didn't falter once in those two hours. It's like the universe was on my side because it knew how important this was to me, especially since Inherit the Earth had been such a fantastic penultimate episode, my hopes were raised. And I just felt it in my heart and soul that Carry On would be beautiful.

The moment it started, them living together, happy, free, writing the story they wanted which was to be by each other's side, always, because after all “Sam's heaven is mostly Dean” but then the barn struck....I remember seeing the rebar and my heart lurched. I knew then they would kill one of them. I knew a few seconds later once Sam got up that it would be Dean. And from that moment until the end (until now tbh because the emotion this gives me is unsurpassed) I was shaking and crying and could barely watch as Dean, choosing time with his brother over everything, told him all the most beautiful things from his heart, straightforward and true and someone once said why didn't Sam say I love you back but he was 1 second away from falling apart, collapsing, body and soul into a million pieces. He could barely get the words out to say Dean could go (because he obviously didn't mean them or want him to) but his love for his brother, to honour his promise, to stop the cycle of destruction, Sam did it, and it was the hardest thing he ever had to do, let him go. It hurts even more because they had found their peace and happiness with each other, at last, with no outside influences or manipulation (even though they were always the truest things in each other's lives) they had their peace, only for it to be ripped so cruelly away too soon, far too soon. Dean's lament that he didn't think it would be this day is gut wrenching. Every perfect heartbreaking second of the Barn Scene is unmatched.

Carry On so beautifully paralleled and highlighted their bond, their struggles, their fears, their dreams, the full circle aspect was truly breathtaking and for a 15 year show (albeit it had some ups and downs especially in late seasons) but to pull off a finale as exquisite and powerful as this is something to be celebrated as it has only elevated every episode now. And no matter what, I always loved Sam and Dean, even when I fell out of the show around s12 I kept up to date because I cared about them so much (and have now done numerous rewatches not just of s1-5 now) and the fact these beloved characters of mine got my dream ending, got an ending that I only ever wished for, I still pinch myself. Carry On utilised 'Carry On my Wayward Son' in the most perfect way too, highlighting Sam and Dean's heartbreaking separate moments on Earth and Heaven yet also at the same time bonding them together with Sam, older, in Baby and Dean waiting for him.

Of course I didn't want Dean to die but this was his ending that he wanted and I respect that and would have equally hated to see him waste away in the back of a pool hall if he had lost Sam. Sam also got to raise a son, like he had Jack, and DJ is a person that I immediately loved and I remember a fan describing him as 'doe eyed' and that has stayed with me ever since. Sam needed a Dean in his life. So even though I don't allow myself to think of Sam living all those years without his brother (it's too painful but my angsty heart eats it up) I know and will always know they meet again, they choose each other (again) and live forever with each other. They would have on Earth as well and my show that I love and miss so much did that, it gave me that ace/queerplatonic bond. Not that I was ever looking for rep, but the fact it gave me it naturally means so much and now I'm typing all this I think again about how much I want to see those 6 months (cough years cough) they had together, “Just us” hunts, domesticity, love and Miracle. Carry On, and the year it has given me since, has been magical and I will always hold onto that and hope for more.

I'm so thankful to Jared and Jensen for giving every bit of themselves to Sam and Dean, right until the last second and although this is the best closure for me, I do hope to see them play Sam and Dean again, particularly if it follows their ideas such as episodes in heaven. The way the boys spoke about them just elevated that perfect finale even more and the love they have for Sam and Dean is truly unique. Even writing this I'm holding back because I feel like crying just thinking about the finale and how beautiful and struck I am and always will be by it. It is an endless source of inspiration to me, an endless well of emotion, much like the Merlin finale which 9 years later holds the same power for me (plus Carry On had so many parallels to Diamond of the Day I am never recovering)

So this is my rambling mess. Carry On means so much to me, more than I can express. I started blogging again about Supernatural after a few years of barely doing so and changed my url to what it is now because of that finale (rip this multi-fandom blog) I got to tell Jared I loved it which is a dream come true <3 And I will continue to mine emotion, creativity and love from one of the finest finales one of my very favourite shows could have given me. Not only inspiring in a fantasy and creative sense, but for me, personally, Carry On has done exactly that, helped me Carry On, given me something to focus on, to dream for, to hope for and to make things for.

I can truly say it is one of the most beautiful finales I have ever seen and I don't have many as most shows go on too long, become ooc or just ruin every aspect that made it special. Supernatural's finale made everything before MORE special now, more impactful and beautiful because stayed true to Sam and Dean, no matter what, they remained the heart and soul and that was what was celebrated so exquisitely throughout the entire run and Carry On just cemented in my heart Sam and Dean, left me wanting more, to see them on their dreamy days in Heaven, on endless tree-lined highways driving in Baby, music blaring, smiles soaring, open and true and together, always. 

There will never be another Sam and Dean. And although that makes me kinda sad, the fact I got to experience a 15 year journey with them is so special, I am never letting them go because Sam and Dean are forever saving people, saving me and I love them....so much.

#carry on #carryonanniversaryweek #samdean #sam winchester #dean winchester #supernatural #J2 #Jared Padalecki #Jensen Ackles