babblegirl:

Hey guys I was thinking.

Wouldn’t the “gayest moment” in Supernatural be more like

The Sam and Dean cosplayer dudes in “The Real Ghostbusters” holding hands/snuggling at the end of the episode when canon says that they are together

or those two dudes kissing in that goffik…

I don’t know if this is triggering for anyone, but I do talk about abuse, alcoholism, and there are mentions of rape. So if any of these things have a significant emotional impact on you (apart from the decent, human level impact) I’d urge you not to read it.

I was on youtube recently and I stumbled across a video of Cas beating up Dean and, frankly, all the comments were some variation of “Go Cas! Dean totally deserved it.” And, I can’t help but wonder why? Because Dean was about to say yes to Michael? I get why Cas is angry and I certainly think he’s justified, but does that really give him the right to forcibly take away Dean’s agency? Does that give him the right to actually attack Dean? And you know what, it doesn’t. I don’t think that’s why people feel so vindicated when they see Dean beat up like that. I think the reason that people are so happy to see Dean get beat is because, frankly, it’s nice to see him get a little of his own medicine.

Dean’s a violent person that much is obvious. It pervades his actions, his words, what he likes, and even his sexuality. I’m not talking about when he actually has sex with people, since we aren’t privy to that, but the type of porn he likes.

Now, while I understand that the anime was more of a wink-and-nudge reference to the recently released Supernatural anime series, anyone who has seen anime and, more specifically, anime porn, will tell you that it’s usually very violent. I honestly haven’t seen, and I’ve watched my fair share, a single anime porn/hentai that isn’t at least a little violent. The sex, too, is often very inappropriate. And I don’t mean in the traditional beware-nudity sense, but in the dubious consent/rape/bizarre kink sense.

Of all the different types of porn, anime porn tends to be the worst in terms of violence, sexism, and bizarre kink/fetishism. And that’s because, quite simply, you can get away with more in anime porn. Without being tied down to the limitations of actual human bodies, this type of pornography can put its characters (primarily women) through the ringer in the worst way – sometimes even involving death/murder/gore. There’s also another trend in anime pornography that ties in almost directly with the SPN theme – mythological creatures.

There tends to be a lot of supernatural anime porn (not to be confused with Supernatural anime porn.) A good maturity of the anime porn I’ve come across involves mythological creatures. So you have to wonder how Dean, a hunter, would deal with the fetishism of supernatural creatures in animated porn and, more importantly, how that reflects on him as a character – especially when you consider his experiences in hell (where he himself became a supernatural creature) and the fact that a lot of people have theorized that some sort of rape/sex went on.  

And I get that this was an offhand reference. I get that Dean’s little anime thing wasn’t meant to be taken seriously (despite that fact that it was mentioned several times.) And I wouldn’t mention it; I wouldn’t read into it, if anime porn didn’t speak to Dean’s character so completely. (Also, guys, this is the perfect example of why you should research your shit before you include it in canon.) Because, let’s face it, Dean’s that same twist of violence and sexuality rolled into one package. Sexuality because he can’t carry on a real relationship and I think sex is the only intimacy he can handle, and violence, quite simply put, because of John Winchester.

Look, I don’t like John and I have a hard time watching episodes that involve him. John freaks me out. John is disgusting. John makes me uncomfortable. And I’ll tell you why right now – John’s abusive. Barring physical harm, we know for a fact that John was, at best, neglectful and neglect is a form of abuse. John was also noted to be “a mean drunk.” And I really have a hard time imagining just exactly what that means without ever thinking of the potential consequences for Dean, who you know protected Sam and kept him away from John when he was in a “mood.”

And, just for the record, you can’t drink and be a good parent at the same time. And I’m not talking about a glass of wine with dinner or the occasional sip or alcohol or even Holiday drinking. I’m talking about habitual drinking. I’m talking about being a drunk. And I’m not going to say alcoholic because that implies that you’re only an alcoholic when you’re drinking. You don’t recover from alcoholism – being an alcoholic means that you have an addiction to alcohol and that doesn’t go away and if you’re an alcoholic, it means you can’t ever drink alcohol again because the behavior will start back up. And John is an alcoholic but, more importantly, John’s a drunk.

A mean drunk is someone who, when intoxicated, is prone to antisocial and aggressive behavior. A mean drunk is a dangerous drunk, not only because he’s aggressive when intoxicated, but because of the reason that he’s aggressive when intoxicated. Alcohol lowers your inhibitions, meaning that when someone’s a mean drunk, it’s not because it’s just something the alcohol brings out in them and ordinarily they’re so sweet, it’s because their inhibitions have been lowered and they’re finally showing you how they really feel. And under the surface, they’re angry and aggressive. And imagine what John - Hunter John; Paramilitary John; Neglectful John – would have to do to be considered mean.

Also, look at Dean. Dean uses violence as a salve to most problems, mostly emotional – Sam steals the impala, punch him in the face; Sam runs away, punch him in the face; After his dad’s death, he beheads a vampire with a saw and enjoys it; He punches Cupid in the face for reasons I still don’t understand (after Cupid says his parents were a match made in heaven); Dean punches a kid in the face in Season 5 (the kid had a gun and Dean’s less creative with males I guess) – frankly, there are many, many more examples, but listing each one and explaining how they demonstrate Dean’s violence is a bit tiring, but suffice it to say that Dean uses violence as his go to solution.

And I just want to take a moment to stress that that’s a learned behavior.

Using violence like that, especially at Dean’s age, is something he’s learned, most likely from John. But if you look at Sam, Sam doesn’t do the same thing unless he’s possessed/under-the-influence-of-demon-blood, either way, it’s always someone else’s fault, this isn’t an ingrained behavior for Sam. So that makes me think that Dean and Dean alone was witness to John being violent or, on the odd occasion, John would get violent with Dean to keep him in check. And that leads me to something that’s been bugging me for a while.  

I want to talk a little bit about abuse and I want to talk a little bit about Ben. There’s nothing to indicate that Dean was outright abusive to Ben or had hurt Ben at any point before the sixth season, but during the sixth season? I’d hesitate to say that Dean was entirely abusive, but there’s certainly something to be said for the fact that whenever Lisa and Ben were in a plot point, Dean ended up shoving/manhandling/or-physically-harming Ben. And there’s more to be said for the fact that Dean didn’t face any repercussions for it (Lisa telling him not to hurt her son doesn’t exactly count.)  

Physical violence amongst men has been normalized on the show. Between Dean and Sam and Cas beating up Dean, physical violence is accepted as a norm in the universe of SPN. And I don’t like it and I think it’s a problem, but at least it used to be between adults. And there is a difference, a significant difference, between harming a child and harming an adult. And the fact that Dean’s actions didn’t have consequences, weren’t addressed on the show, and didn’t actually lead to any sort of character development, just goes to show how intrinsically violence is ingrained into his character.

The characters of SPN and the writers of SPN are so used to Dean shoving and hitting and punching and pushing that, when it happens, it barely causes a stir. It’s such a natural salve to any of the problems the characters are facing to react violently that everyone just gets used to it.

And, on that note, I want to talk about a little scene in Death’s Door, a scene where a man from the hospital pulls Dean aside to talk about organ donations in case Bobby doesn’t make it, a scene in which Dean uses violence (punching and breaking the glass behind the man) to physically intimidate someone. A lot of people enjoyed that scene and claimed that man deserved it, but you know what, he didn’t. It was a perfectly valid circumstance. And the fact that not only is Dean allowed to get away with that behavior (because let’s face it, there’s a specific lack of consequences here,) but the writing seems to lean in his favour is unhealthy.

Ignoring the fact that this is unrealistic (because you don’t go around breaking shit in a hospital and get away with it,) it’s unnecessary and disgusting. Unnecessary because we know Dean’s going to be mad, who wouldn’t, and disgusting because that’s not how a decent person behaves and, furthermore, intimidating someone with physical violence strips them of their agency and basic human rights. Which is, of course, exactly what Cas did when he beat Dean up.

When Cas backs Dean into the alley and attacks him, understandably angry that Dean was going to say yes to Michael and undermine the sacrifices Cas made for him, Cas stripped Dean of his rights. Cas took away Dean’s ability to make choices and basically said “I know better than you.” And, just like Dean’s inherent violence, that was never dealt with. That was passed off and glorified, just as Dean’s violence is, and I think that’s the reason people are so okay with it. In fact, I think that’s the reason people downright enjoyed.

The sad thing is, that the only reason Dean’s actually like that is because of his background. Dean didn’t just get this way out of nowhere, it was something instilled in him by John and Cas beating Dean up only serves to enforce this behavior.

Thoughts on Supernatural: Are Cas and Dean in Love?

1. About Writing and Dean’s sexuality:

Usually when I’m exploring whether two characters are in love or not, their gender and sexuality hardly ever matter. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: You can’t bog your characters down with labels.

Fictional characters are people and, like people, they never turn out the way you want them to. Characters change and develop in ways you can’t possibly imagine and, as a writer, you have to let that happen. So, unless you’re writing something along the lines of BrokebackMountain, The L Word, or a Romance novel, there’s strong possibility that your characters sexuality will shift or develop from what you originally expected it to be. And I think this happened with Dean.

Now, I don’t think Dean’s gay, but I don’t know if he’s bi or heterosexual either. Dean’s sexuality is a pretty big question mark and I’d like to think it’s fluid. I think Dean could be attracted to pretty much anyone who catches his fancy. Do I think he acts on it? Probably not.

I think Dean’s homophobic. Actually, that’s not quite true; I think he’s perfectly fine with lesbians. I think Dean’s afraid of male intimacy, so he’s uncomfortable with male/male relationships. Dean views two men in a gay relationship as emasculating.

Dean has a complex. He needs to be seen as a ‘manly’ man at all times. So, regardless of whatever feelings he may have, sexual or romantic, for the men around him (even if it is a genderless angel who just happens to be in a man-suit) he wouldn’t, ever, act on it.

2. Cas’ Sexuality:

I don’t think Cas has a sexuality. I, personally, don’t think that Cas is physically attracted to anybody. I won’t say he’s asexual though, because I don’t know how angels/if angels reproduce and, more so, the other angels appear to be sexual. Without exploring angel sexuality in depth, it’s difficult to say what sort of sexualities exists in angel culture and whether or not they exist in angel culture sans vessels. So, I can’t really think of a proper way to describe Cas except to say that I think he’s absent of a sexuality.   

When Cas reacts to sex (after watching porn or in 2014) it’s purely physiological. It’s because he’s in a human body that reacts to physical pleasure or the perceived notion of physical pleasure. That doesn’t mean that Cas can’t have sex and enjoy it or appreciate the act of having sex, that just means that he doesn’t feel the drive to do it. Even when he kissed Meg.

Meg and Cas kissing seemed more or less like an experiment. It’s not coincidental that it happened just after Cas was watching porn. It’s also not coincidental that Cas saw it, tried it once, and then never did it again. That says a lot about Cas’ character and his personal sexual drive.

Bearing in mind that Cas lacks a sexuality, I’m not certain that he is or can be sexually attracted to Dean. So, whatever’s driving his relationship with Dean isn’t sexual.

3. How do Cas and Dean feel about each other?

Cas loves Dean. I have no doubt in my mind that Cas could spend the rest of his life with Dean and still be happy. They could be friends, family, boyfriends, or whatever type of relationship you want to apply, as long as they’re together, Cas would be happy. That, to me, is love. I think that Cas is in love with Dean, I just think he doesn’t quite understand it. Which is why Cas doesn’t go to Dean without good reason or unless called by him. And this brings me to Dean.

Dean loves Cas. That much is obvious in the way he opens up to him, depends on him, and reaches out to him. But, there’s something about their relationship that’s a little off.

Dean tends to switch around a lot when it comes to Cas – especially in season 6. I think that as long as the apocalypse was an issue and Cas was useful, it’s easier for Dean to be around and open with Cas. But once the apocalypse passed, Cas, in Dean’s mind, had little to no reason for being around Dean so often. But, I also think that Dean wanted him around and that confused him and made him uncomfortable.

Dean, I think, is not only in love with Cas, but sexually attracted to him. And I think that scares the shit out of Dean, because his relationship with Cas is so intimate. Not only because Cas saved him from hell, not only because Cas’ has essentially marked him, but because he can have conversations with Cas; because he is favoured by Cas; because he understands Cas; because Cas understands him; because even when he doesn’t need Cas around he wants him around; and because, lastly, and most importantly of all, Cas makes Dean happy. For some inexplicable reason, Cas makes Dean happy. And in Dean’s mind, that puts Dean at a disadvantage. Dean has very specific ideas of what should and shouldn’t make a man happy.

In Dean’s mind, there are only two ways of living: Apple pie lifestyle or Hunting. Apple pie life makes you happy whereas hunting ends with bloody death and destruction. Dean is a hunter. Dean can’t contemplate any other type of lifestyle. And because of this, Dean’s pretty much surrendered to the fact that he’ll never be happy. So when things come along that make Dean happy, aside from the three vices he’s adopted (drinking, porn, and sex) it confuses him and makes him uncomfortable. Cas confuses Dean and makes him uncomfortable.

4. So, what’s the verdict, they in love or not?

You know what? I’ve said all this stuff and I’ve explored their relationship and I’m still confused. Because, yeah, they’re in love with each other, but it’s not as simple as that. It’s not as simple as saying they’re in love with each other, because they’re not in the same kind of love.

Cas loves Dean. Cas is in love with Dean. But Cas is in love with Dean in a way that neither he nor anybody else can really understand. I think it’s a sort of pure, unconditional love, that far surpasses the romantic and delves into the fact that Cas doesn’t need anymore from Dean then just for him to be by Cas’ side. Cas doesn’t need romance or sex or anything more from Dean other than for Dean to be there, and to acknowledge him.

Dean’s in love with Cas. I firmly believe that Dean is drawn to Cas physically and romantically and that’s why he treats Cas the way he does. And I think, if Dean admitted to himself and Cas how he felt, than he’d have to face the fact that Cas is (most likely) incapable of feeling the same way. And that would be, at best, heartbreaking.

Are Arthur and Merlin in love?

I thought I’d throw my hat into the ring on the Arthur and Merlin relationship. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while now and, though it may offend some, I really felt the urge to post it.

1. Why is this even a question?

Before I talk about any other aspect of their relationship, I want to discuss why this is even a debate in the fandom and where that comes from. Quite simply, it comes from the fact the type of story that Arthur and Merlin are involved in.

Let’s just take a moment to pretend that we don’t know who these characters are. Instead, you have Character A and Character B. A is a mysterious stranger, just arriving in town and taking a job at a local establishment. A has a big secret, but not a bad one.

B is the offspring of the establishment’s owner. A and B, upon meeting, hate each other almost immediately. They don’t get along, but through a series of circumstances, they’re forced to be around each other constantly. Slowly, they grow to appreciate each other and care for each other deeply.

The main complication in this storyline derives from the fact that A wants to tell B his/her secret, but A can’t, because of what it might mean for their relationship and A’s future. And when/if B finally finds out about what A’s been keeping from him/her, then both will have to go through drama and a mild separation before B finally realizes how important A is to him/her, and then they’ll finally be together again (because Arthur will have to be the one to go after Merlin. From a narrative standpoint, Merlin’s gone through too much and sacrificed too much for Arthur to have to prove himself to him.)

You know what that sounds like to me - a romantic comedy. And that’s just it, isn’t it? Merlin has all the archetypes of a romantic comedy. Throw in the complication of the Gwen/Arthur storyline and it takes on the role of a Korean Drama. Frankly, it reminds me of Coffee Prince and I’m just waiting for Arthur to kiss Merlin and say “I don’t care if you’re a man or alien, I love you.”

2. But they’re not gay!

A small response to that statement, which I see used a lot: There are a bunch of different sexualities (more than I thought possible.) Also, just because 1 in 10 people are gay doesn’t mean that 9 in 10 people are straight. Lastly, you can’t do that to fictional characters. Good fictional characters are people as well with ideas, habits, and personality traits that it takes a ridiculous amount of writing to reach, so you can’t bog them down with labels and then act like they’re not allowed to change because of some preconceived notion. But, back to my point.

In Merlin’s case, the show has made it clear that Merlin does like women and you know what, I believe it. Though, this doesn’t mean he doesn’t like men. He could be bi.  Honestly, all of Merlin’s relationships have erotic subtext, so it’s hard to say for certain whom he does and doesn’t like. Colin Morgan just emits a lot of pheromones, I guess.

In Arthur’s case, the show’s only made it clear that he “loves” Gwen and, though it’s convinced itself of that, the show’s only managed to convince me that Arthur’s deep in the closet and scared of his homosexuality. I only say this because Gwen’s the only woman he’s ever paid any attention to and I strongly doubt his motives.

I said before that I think Arthur loves Gwen but, in all honesty, I think he more or less loves the idea of Gwen. Because, let’s face it, he doesn’t actually know her.  And his image of her has been heavily romanticized.

Gwen’s innocent and wise. That’s really all I think Arthur sees, is Gwen’s motherly side (Oedipus complex!) But, from the audience perspective, Gwen’s clumsy, sweet, inexperienced, easy to fall in love, easy to express herself, and a little bit sexy. And that’s the sad thing, is she’s been sanitized because Arthur sees her as perfect. And that’s why, when she kissed Lancelot, Arthur was so mad. Regardless of her being enchanted or not, it broke Arthur’s ideal image of her and he had to face the fact that she’s actually human. And I think that’s why he showed so much disdain for her later on, even after she apologized and pretty much begged for mercy, because she wasn’t his ideal queen anymore and he had no use for her. And yeah, that reflects badly on Arthur, but it’s not out of character.

Arthur’s conflicted. Throughout the last three seasons he’s been switching from raging asshole to noble sweetheart and you don’t do that unless there’s something deep down that’s actually troubling you. And I don’t mean his struggle with becoming king, I mean the kind of deep down personal struggle the strikes at the very heart of who you are. And, as far as I can see, that didn’t really start until his relationship with Merlin deepened. Merlin sparked change in Camelot, for everyone, but namely for Arthur. And if Arthur doesn’t know about Merlin’s magic, you have to wonder what he’s been struggling with for the last several seasons.

This struggle combined with his lack of interest in women (dating, sexual, romantic) and his lack of interest in almost anyone outside of his knights and Merlin, makes me think that Arthur’s gay.

3. So, what’s the verdict? Are they in love?

When it comes to Arthur and Merlin’s relationship, I kind of think, from Merlin’s perspective, it’s sort of like an arranged marriage. Merlin’s with Arthur because he has to be. Later, he finds a way to begrudgingly handle the situation and then, around the end of season 1, he starts to like Arthur, at least a little bit. But that doesn’t change the fact that he still feels obligated to Arthur (much the way I believe Gwen does.) Arthur, on the other hand, was attracted to Merlin right away.

“There’s something about you, Merlin…”

From the first episode, Arthur was drawn in by Merlin. By the fourth episode, he’s sacrificing himself for Merlin. However, unlike Merlin, he’s not doing it because a dragon told him to. And that’s where it kind of gets tragic for me.

Arthur sacrifices himself because he likes Merlin. As a viewer that’s privy to Merlin’s toils, it’s easy to forget the fact that Arthur doesn’t know about Merlin and, furthermore, it’s easy to forget the fact that Merlin’s taking Arthur for granted. Merlin’s so busy saving Arthur, hiding his magic, and feeling bad about the fact that Arthur doesn’t realize how much he does for him, that he forgets the fact that Arthur doesn’t actually realize how much he does for him. Arthur doesn’t keep him around because he’s useful, he keeps him around, sacrifices himself for him, and treats him as equal as he can, not because Merlin’s of any use to him, but because Arthur genuinely likes Merlin. For some inexplicable reason he cares for Merlin.  

Because, let’s face it, from Arthur’s perspective, Merlin really is a shitty servant. He’s always off in the taverns, he’s unorganized, he’s bossy, he’s a smart aleck, he shows nearly no respect for Arthur, he’s clumsy, and he’s constantly getting into trouble. So what does Arthur see in him, what does Arthur like about him?

Arthur, initially, saw a bumbling servant who happened to save his life. And later, I think he sees someone who looks out for him, cares about him, treats him like he’s an equal, and tries to protect him every chance he gets. And the sad thing is that behind all this, despite the fact that Merlin really does care for Arthur, Merlin’s main motivation is Albion, destiny, and making sure Arthur becomes “The Once and Future King.” That’s Merlin’s motive for nearly everything, even rooting so hard for Gwen and Arthur’s relationship.  

So you know what, I don’t think they’re in love with each other. I think, as much as he can be without knowing about Merlin’s magic, that Arthur is in love with Merlin.  

ladyofthesilent:

The following has heavily been inspired by an askbox-conversation I had with the lovely mschignon, who happens to challenge my take on Destiel and the characters of Dean and Castiel in a good way.

So I am a Destiel shipper, but I often feel that hardly anyone shares my reasons for loving them together (besides the obvious fact they look like Misha and Jensen ;) ).

A lot of fanfictions are about a helpless Castiel being completely dependent on Dean who steers him through all the trials and tribulations that come with love, humanity and life on earth. While I love socially awkward Cas as much as anyone else, I still think it’s often forgotten that he’s an age-old, powerful being who, by his own free will, chose to give it all up for someone who doesn’t even feel he’s worth being saved.

(Mind you, the following is more about Destiel-fanfiction than it is about what I expect from canon, so if that’s not your cup of tea, just ignore it.)

Read More

This is exactly how I feel about Destiel,  Destiel fanfiction, and Dean in general. It’s perfectly summed up and I love it.

Warning: This is an opinion piece which I’m sure will offend/disconcert a lot of people. So, fair warning. 

I’ve been mulling over something for a while now. While I’ve discussed the Gwen/Arthur relationship in two posts already, there’s something about it that’s still been bugging me. Not about the relationship in general, not about Gwen, but something I couldn’t touch on, and that is: Arthur. Arthur’s been bugging me and I finally figured out why:

I don’t think Arthur’s straight.

Now, some of you probably think that means I automatically think he’s gay. But that’s not quite it either. Honestly, I’m not sure what Arthur is. I’ve always been conflicted about him sexually but one thing’s for sure – I don’t think he likes girls. There’s a part of me that’s always thought Arthur’s gay and in love with Merlin, and I’ll write about that later. But there’s another part of me that has the distinct impression that Arthur’s asexual. Or, possibly, aromantic.

Asexuality essentially means that you don’t feel sexual attraction towards other people. It doesn’t mean that you don’t find them attractive or can’t feel feelings for them, it just means that you don’t have the desire to lick whipped cream off their chest while they spank you.

Aromanticism means that you may find people sexually attractive or have feelings for them, but you, in no circumstances, have the desire to date, hold hands, or stay in a committed romantic relationship. Friends? Great. Sex? Sure. Marriage? Fuck off.

Someone can be both asexual and aromantic, one of each, or neither. So, what about Arthur? Honestly, I have no freaking clue. Maybe he’s both, maybe he’s one, and, quite possibly, maybe he’s neither.

The thing that gets me is how Arthur’s been represented so far. The only times I can think of in which he actually found someone attractive was when he’d been enchanted. There is that moment at the ball with Morgana, of course, but I always got the impression that he was surprised and admiring of her appearance, not explicitly attracted to it. Arthur’s never shot passing looks at females; he’s never seemed to pay any mind to anyone else, and the only times he looks like he’s checking someone out is when he’s in front of a mirror. This isn’t reflective of Bradley James’ acting, which is phenomenal, it’s reflective of the writing and the universe created. Arthur’s never been given a chance to be attracted to anyone and, at his age, that’s telling.

Now, this could just be because the writing on the show’s a bit shoddy and no one probably considered this, but it seems like there might be more to it. After all, when Gwen or Lancelot or any other character shows interest, romantic or sexual (at least sexual to the extent a family show will allow,) it’s never seemed out of place to me. Even Morgana, if she showed interest in someone else, wouldn’t surprise me. But with Arthur, whenever it seemed like he was heading towards any sort of relationship (chosen or arranged) it was out of place. 

One could say this is due to the fact that Arthur’s immature, selfish, and just not emotionally ready for a relationship, of course. But, frankly, even just plain sex is, well, weird. This isn’t because I’m squeamish about sex or anything like that, but if Arthur just wanted to fool around with a servant, even if it’s just kissing, it seems out of character. Not because he’s supposed to be “noble.” Nobility doesn’t discount physical desire or mean that you can’t have sex because, one thing straight, sex isn’t dirty. Sex isn’t wrong or ugly and doesn’t leave a moral stain, because it’s perfectly natural and okay. As long as it’s consensual and between mature parties, it’s fine. So I, personally, see no reason why Merlin or Gwen or any other character couldn’t have a casual fling. And, frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if any of them did, it wasn’t entirely uncommon in that era – if you read the legends, all the characters were fairly sexual and/or romantic. Except in Merlin, and I can’t say why, Arthur just doesn’t seem like he’d be interested in that.

To start with, Arthur doesn’t notice people. Arthur only notices people who are either a) family/like family, b) knights, c) Merlin, or d) in distress. Unless Arthur’s in love with Merlin, this isn’t the average behavior of a sexual person. And it wouldn’t be such a big deal if the show didn’t have to enchant him in order to get him to notice/be attracted to someone else. That’s the element that makes me suspect that he’s asexual. I’m tempted to explain his behavior by saying it’s because he’s selfish, but looking at his character, that’s just not true.

Arthur’s been shown to have compassion and he wants to help people, so he’s not completely selfish. It’s not that he’s too self-involved to be attracted to anybody else (Narcissus complex.) He just simply doesn’t seem to be attracted to anyone. Merlin’s been given his moments of attraction through Nimueh, Freya, and Morgana. In fact, Merlin even has a type – brunettes. Arthur, on the other hand? Merlin hasn’t allowed Arthur to develop in the relationship/sexuality spectrum. And the fact that Arthur couldn’t even develop a relationship with Gwen and still be in character indicates to me that the character the show was writing was asexual and/or aromantic.

Another possibility is that he’s supposed to be royal and noble and there’s no room for sexuality in that. But, Uther’s royalty. Yeah, he’s an ass, but he’s not evil. Uther’s been shown repeatedly to be sympathetic and as royal and deserving of respect as anyone. And, frankly, I’d buy him in a relationship – I can see him falling in love sans enchantment and being sexual. Lancelot, too, is just as, if not more, noble than Arthur and I can definitely see him in a relationship/having sex. There’s just something about the character of Arthur.

From what I can see of him, Arthur’s sort of like Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory, but normal. He’s got his hobbies and interests and he’s good at what he does, none of this just happens to correspond with sex or dating. He already seems pretty fulfilled without sexual/romantic companionship.

None if this is to say that Arthur is asexual or aromantic, and it’s certainly not an “If he isn’t in love with Merlin than he’s asexual or aromantic” situation. It’s just to say that, in my opinion, there’s something decidedly wrong with Arthur being in a relationship. Maybe this is because of bad writing/development or maybe I’m just missing something, but Arthur being with anyone just doesn’t make sense to me. Well, part of me. The rest of me wants Arthur to lick whipped cream off of Merlin’s chest while Merlin spanks him. But that’s for a different post.

Friend: What’s a meta?

Me: I don’t know. What’s a meta with you?

Foreword: Honestly, I’m not sure what this post was intended to be, but it’s more or less turned into my thoughts throughout “Time after Time.” I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily a review of “Time after Time”, but it’s as close as I can get since this episode made me more pensive than anything else. So, I guess you should consider this more of a reflection.   

One thing that’s important to note about this episode is that Dean has been shown, yet again, to be incapable of defeating the bad guy. Much like last week’s episode, in which we saw Chrissie and Sam kill off the villains with an ineffective Dean watching, Sam stabbed Kronos through the heart – either he somehow inexplicably knew how to do it or it was thrown in amongst all the information – and defeated the villain while Dean lay impotent on the ground. I also think there may be some unintentional/intentional symbolism in the fact that Dean was being asphyxiated by Time.

There have been strong links between Dean and time throughout the series of Supernatural. It almost seems like his life has been scheduled very specifically – specific, significant events happening to him at specific, significant times. Honestly, thinking back on it, if anything had been even somewhat off (if he’d made his deal for two years instead of one, if Cas hadn’t gotten him after 4 months, if their mother had died when Dean was older) the whole timeline may have been thrown off. I realize that the story’s written so everything is, for the most part, intentional, but Dean’s always seemed to me to be more so. I feel like Sam’s storyline is flexible, but Dean has a very precise function and a very important role to fulfill. I think as a writer it would be fascinating to toy with that.

Both Sam and Dean have specific elements I feel they’re linked to as characters. Sam has a strong connection with blood – ingesting it as a baby, ingesting it as an adult, having Dean turned into a vampire on purpose, and now, bleeding from his hand wound as though to purge himself of Satan. Even more so, in recent seasons, he’s been consistently responsible for spilling more blood than Dean has. This is common in Supernatural that before the boys have a major story arc, personal loss, or go through some sort of emotional crisis, they spill a lot of blood. Right before Dean’s major story arc started in Season two, he became a blood-thirsty hunter. When Sam was trying to find a way to bring Dean back, he began drinking demon blood. The difference between Sam and Dean though, is that Sam is linked with the blood itself whereas, for Dean, the blood is more reflective of the immense violence that Dean is linked to.

In Sam’s case, I think his link to blood has to do with “bad blood.”  His spilling of blood has to do with him trying to purge himself of who he is – this seems to coincide directly with his emotional state at the moment. The worse his emotional state, the more his storyline and blood seem to coincide. Of course, this could just be reaching since blood is a common theme in Supernatural, but Sam and blood have always seemed to be significantly connected throughout the series. At least, it always struck me as such.

In a similar vein, Dean’s connected with time. That probably has to do with the fact that he’s died so very often and is, frankly, living on borrowed time at this point. After the reaper episode, in which his dad sacrificed himself and gave Dean the rest of his years, Dean’s consistently been linked to measurements of time. 1 year to live, 4 months in hell, 40 years in hell, traveling back in time on multiple occasions (both solo and with Sam,) traveling forward in time, 1 year without Sam, sleeping 36 hours, and probably a lot more that I can’t even remember. I do, however, remember noting on more than one occasion how often time seems to come up in relation to Dean. That’s why I’m a little confused at Kronos being a one off character.

With all the hype surrounding Kronos and Dean’s continual link with time, I’d hoped that Kronos would play a more significant role. Furthermore, as a God, I’d hoped that Kronos would be a little more impressive.

Kronos was interesting and sympathetic and, even though I felt he could be a little more involved in the episode, a satisfactory villain. And then he died and I won’t deny being confused at that. Kronos is, after all, a Greek God and I can’t help but wonder why Gods on Supernatural have been so easy to defeat.  

Comparatively, angels, who have the power to travel through time, are perfectly capable of traveling without consuming human souls and seem, overall, far more powerful than Gods themselves. This makes me suspect that Gods, or at least the old-religion gods, are namely Supernatural creatures that were worshipped by citizens and given the title of God. Otherwise, what about Mt. Olympus? What about the traditional Greek Legends and the Titans? We’ve yet to Zeus (that I’m aware of) Hera or any of the other Greek Gods. We did get to see Mercury, the Romanized version of Hermes, which was interesting, but as a whole most of the Gods have had a lack of significant development. This also makes me curious how the traditional Judeo-Christian God relates to the other Gods who have been represented. Is he more powerful, authoritative, and harder to kill? So far, he’s been given the air of mystery, having not appeared yet – and I suspect he never will since, bizarrely, that may be considered too controversial. Yet the show’s represented Ganesh, who’s a significant part of Hinduism and, as far as I know, is still a revered God. I’d be interested to know how Hindu practitioners feel about that, especially considering how the Judeo-Christian God has been given a far more respectable role.

That’s not to say that I think Supernatural is ranking Judeo-Christianity as being more “right” or having precedent over other religions, but it’s certainly been given a different sort of treatment. Even with Judeo-Christian angels, who covered a whole 2 season story arc and were given particularly powerful positions.

Also, coinciding with the structure of the Supernatural world, there seems to be the main set up of Heaven, Earth, Purgatory, and Hell. All of this is very Judeo-Christian, so I can’t help but wonder how the other religions play into this. For instance, if there are Egyptian Gods, then does the Egyptian idea of the afterlife exist? Are Buddhists reborn until they reach enlightenment? What about the Greek vision of the Underworld – does that exist? These are all very heavy questions which I don’t expect to be answered, but they are thoughts that pervade my mind when gods like Kronos pop up and are snuffed out so easily. There’s a lot of Deus ex machina involved in the process as well – everything coming together in just the right, convenient way for the boys to defeat these religious figures, so I’m curious whether these creatures really are so easy to defeat or if the Winchesters are just lucky/special and, furthermore, am curious how these same scenarios would play out with Judeo-Christian figures.

It’s particularly interesting that in order to defeat the Scarecrow (I’ve yet to learn which god he actually represents) all the boys needed to do was cut down a sacred tree. Considering he was a pagan god, that was a fascinating connection that I quite enjoyed. To defeat Kronos, he was stabbed through the heart with an olive branch – also interesting, not so much because he was Greek, but because an olive branch usually symbolizes peace or victory. Yet, there’s no definable way to defeat Lucifer. Myriads of research will tell the brothers how to defeat Gods, but when it comes to Satan, all they can do is cage him. This sends the message that, despite the fact that angels can be defeated via the knife, Lucifer is eternal and a creature of powers unimaginable. If I were to talk to the Supernatural writers about anything, it would be about the differences between Lucifer and the other creatures, religious or otherwise, that the boys faced. I would also want to know how Lucifer is comparable to his father. Since other Gods can be defeated, can the Judeo-Christian God? And if so, what makes Lucifer so unique in nature?

Another thing I’d be particularly interested in knowing is how Lucifer would fare against the leviathan – could he defeat them and would he want to. Also, since the show’s began to represent Gods from older religions, Poseidon, God of the Sea - how would he fare against a battle with the Leviathan (sea monsters)?

I don’t suspect that either of them will play a role in the Leviathan arc now that Castiel has been linked with water (fascinating since water represents rebirth.) I’d be curious to know if that symbolism is going to stay with him throughout the rest of the series, how that manifests itself, and whether or not that means Cas will be crucial in defeating the leviathan. Although the show does appear to have a rather nihilistic attitude this season, especially when one considers Kronos’ last words, so I don’t suspect we’re in for a happy ending.