As Osric said...

[ash48]

This may not be a "smart move".

But dang it, I'm home alone tonight and I've been wanting to chat about this so I'm posting it.



I am the kind of person who either likes to be blissfully unaware of anything controversial (which I have been in respect to the passion of destiel up until now) OR I want to be part of it so I can see and understand what's going on.

It's probably not fair that I post about destiel because I'm not a d/c shipper. Nor do I understand the full picture. But I am interested in it. Not just as a fan, but as a person trying to get to grips with perception, passion and why the hell someone from the Show won't settle this once and for all. This is the one thing that drives me nuts the most.

I have been reading the tweets and conversations surrounding the fall out from the last episode (seeming confirmation that destiel is not, and never has been, canon) and I keep coming back to the question of...Why doesn't someone (possibly Carver) make a statement about whether Dean and Cas are indeed being developed as a romantic couple or not?

I don't think it matters anymore about all the arguments surrounding destiel. This isn't about that. No matter what anyone says about it, it's opinion and perception and the chances are one will not persuade the other. But I don't think that matters. That's what fans do. We celebrate our show, ships and characters the way we want - we will disagree and all see different things. Whatever.

This is about Show people (Guy Bee, Chad Kennedy, Misha Collins, Ben Edlund, Osric Chau) making statements about it. (I find it absolutely fascinating that we now have a direct line to Show makers. We can, essentially, text them. We can rant and bitch and complain (even congratulate!) and they SEE that - and sometimes respond).

What seems to have been happening is that there has been a shit tonne of teasing, innuendo and suggestions that destiel does exist. Misha seems to be one of the biggest culprits. That's not an issue if everyone is one the same page about it. As in - that there's an understanding between fans, actors, producers and writers that they are all talking about the same thing.

A good example is the way they approach Wincest. With wincest BOTH the fans and the Show know it will never happen. The incest taboo is too huge a barrier to cross so everyone knows that's never going to happen on the show. Everyone is on the same page. Even the show itself mentions the subject - jokes about it and confirms it's "ewwww" (Monster at the End of This Book) and we can all get back to never having to worry about whether it will happen or not. We can ship it to our hearts content - WE know, and the Show has confirmed we'll never see Sam and Dean kiss. They can break forth walls, get them having meaningful hugs and have them declare never ending love to each other.

But destiel IS a possibility. There's no reason why Dean and Cas can't become a romantic couple (unless inter-species is a taboo) so the joking, teasing and innuendo doesn't work the same way. "Hints" become evidence. Putting in scenes where two men fall in love right before Cas and Dean's eyes (Sacrifice) is foreshadowing their future relationship. The only problem is the writers (et al) don't seem to be making the same connections that fans do - that every time they present a scene like that they are not enjoying it along with the destiel fans, but rather - taking them for a ride.

After 9.03 some destiel fans wanted to know what was going on and it seems (from what I've read) that people from the show have come out and said "what are you talking about?". Even..."what's a ship?". There seems to be some ignorance about the whole destiel thing. On the one hand it's absolutely no surprise but on the other hand it's...WTF?! I can only take a personal view on not seeing destiel (rather a loving friendship/male bond) and therefore not surprised but also...COME ON! Surely they can't be that ignorant of this ship? Surely they have to have known what they were playing with?

Or can they? They are not fans. They are writers, directors, producers and actors. They don't think like we do. They probably don't understand the utter passion that we feel for these characters. Osric is possibly the closest "fan", but even then I don't think he understands it on the same level. I particularly think this for directors - especially Guy. He comes in, directs an episode (and in his case very few with Cas) and goes off and directs another show).

Above all, what this has shown is that as much as Show (incorporating everyone involved in it) embraces fandom they don't really understand it. They are not fans. Personally I wouldn't understand it either if I hadn't fallen head over heals for this show. I don't understand other fandoms. I don't understand the Sterek ship for example. I can see it. I can imagine all the possibilities, but if I was a writer for the show I'd say - that's what the fans see, but this is what I am writing. Talk to anyone who isn't passionately involved with a fandom. You can't explain it. Even to yourself it doesn't make a whole heap of sense. People involved in this show aren't fans. They might love the show, but that's different to the way we completely wrap ourselves in it.

I'm not sure how much of an impact the destiel fans have on the show. It looks like the show might be attempting to make it obvious that d/c are not a romantic couple (Cas having sex with a woman, Dean being happy that Cas had sex with a woman and then Dean telling him he has to leave the bunker). But why won't someone have the balls to, once and for all, make it absolutely clear if they intend to make this couple a couple. Surely it will save a lot of pain in the future. It's a simple statement - "Yes, we are heading in that direction". Or "no, we are not". I'd like to see them stop the "it's a possibility". (Seriously!), And saying "it's obvious" (either way) doesn't work. I don't think it is obvious anymore.

(Answering my own question: As with Wincest, they are doing it through the show. Or maybe they just don't realise how much of an impact this is having on a lot of fans. Perhaps they actually do like teasing it out - having some fun, whilst thinking "they know it's never going to happen - so it's not hurting anyone").

The posts I have referenced in this:

The Daily Dot A good summary of the whole thing.

Osric's Tweet

Guy Bee's tweet

Misha's stuff

A case for destiel (opened my eyes. Don't ship it, but I can see why some do).


Can I just emphasise that this is not about whether destiel exists, or what the arguments are for it existing or not. I've read quite a bit and I can clearly see arguments for both (and the more involved I get the more I see "profound bond" meaning EXACTLY that. A bond that transcends sex and friendship. It's complex and meaningful and still on it's journey - it's quite possibly a reinvention of a male relationship). I'm just curious why TPTB are playing (or probably not playing ) this game. I'm wondering if this is as close as we'll get to confirmation that it's not and will never be canon (personally....pleeeease, I want this to stop being an issue) and I wonder if any other show (Haven and Teen Wolf come to mind) where fans are so, um, vocal in their ship to The Powers That Be. Or do they just accept that even though the homoerotic text can be seen, it's understood that that's all it is.

Comments

[mithborien.livejournal.com]

Well this is definitely confirmation I am on the outskirts of fandom! I had nooooo idea all this was going on.

[niennah.livejournal.com]

Oh man, I agree so much. Well, you know I ship Destiel, but this whole idea that it's time for tptb to say if it's not going to happen.

My brain keeps saying, it's gone so far now that the only rational reason they wouldn't say anything for sure is if they are going that way and don't want to spoil it. Yay, my shipper brain thinks.

Then these asses come on twitter and are all like, "huh? Where's this all coming from? Never heard of it! What's a ship?" F*ck, my shipper brain thinks. That's that, then. Meanwhile, in the episode itself, Dean is touching Castiel like this and the fandom gets whiplash.

Then Osric & Misha chime in with thoughtful if still far from definitive statements. Misha's "You're not crazy" is actually slightly hopeful but possibly not. It's vague enough to be reassuring but not actually an indication of canon intentions.

People point out that Guy Norman Bee and Chad Kennedy need not know anything about the story or where it's going. Okay, some hope again. But throughout all this there's a resounding silence from Carver or anyone with real authority to say yes or no.

So we're back where we started wondering what the hell is going on.

I think it's interesting that even people outside Destiel fandom, like yourself, are saying it's time for tptb to commit either way. It's wrecking the experience of fandom and the show for so many people. They need to go one way or the other and stop f*cking people around, basically.

[tebtosca.livejournal.com]

I am going to preface this by saying that I am not only someone that works in the television industry, but also that my best work friend is the head of PR for the network(s), so I can be a bit frank on the behind the scenes aspect of it.

First of all, set aside the notion that making a TV show is some selfless artistic endeavor--it's not. It's a business. And like any business, selling the product to your consumer is a dance that is considered and oft-shifted daily. That being said, the best thing that can happen to a business is people talking about that business. In TV, that's even more so. So any faction that is loud and semi-organized and willing to pimp, talk, complain about, or idolize your show in the public sphere is going to be pandered to in some way. Why? Because these things are cylindrical and the day they hate something will turn into the next day when they love something.

So why does Carver/Singer/Glass not come right out and say "lolno"? Because they don't have to. Because even the inkling of "hope" from a carefully worded tweet from Misha or a nod thrown into a scene is going to be enough to keep most of the overly invested going. The day you say "never" is the day that hope dies.

Another reason why they don't come right out and put a stop to it? Because of the exact reaction that happened the other night. Finally, there was a high level exec with the balls (or stupid enough) to be honest with the intentions (or lack thereof) of the show, and these people almost committed mass hara-kiri. The savvier people that run the show knew a reaction like that is imminent, so they stay quiet and play the game that is the show in show business.

And finally, no matter what your headcanon or my fanfic says, Dean Winchester is canonically straight, something that could have so easily been changed in a season like S3 if Kripke had intended him that way. He's said it before that he "doesn't swing that way" and has never given a serious inkling that he's anything other than straight. Does that upset some people because they want to claim Dean for themselves? Sure, but that's not Dean's or the writers' fault. And frankly? The things that people use as "proof" of Dean's bisexuality (fangirling Dr. Sexy, not screaming "HOW DARE YOU!" at someone hitting on him, having a deep friendship with a guy, ~looking at Cas like that --ignoring the same way he looks at Sam) are on the verge of insulting and, if we're being honest here, the same kind of "proof" used by tinhats to claim J2 are/were fucking. They say they don't want to be queer-baited, but when Jensen calls Dean a "heterosexual" at a convention, suddenly he doesn't know what he's talking about. The martyrdom has selective hearing, I suppose.

Moral of the story--ship whoever you want! Fandom is awesome most of the time and an outlet that people don't get in their normal lives. Embrace it, enjoy it, let it be fun! But remember that, in the end, tumblr is not a Nielsen box, and as long as those 2.3 million regular viewers who are like my boyfriend and watch it for the hot car and action and nonsensical plot keep watching (and Smallville was strong until the end, so there's no reason to think they won't), then Carver and Singer are going to do what they've been doing, and write whatever the fuck they want.

Sorry this is long. Now I'm off to my baby niece's birthday party and forgetting fandom and this show exists for the day lol

[linda3m.livejournal.com]

I was aware this was happening, but not how far it had gone. When I found out it made me long for the days when slash and fanfic were kept secret.

1 - This is not HBO, it's the CW. They are not the Network that is going to break new ground by airing a show with a gay couple as action heroes.

2 - Even considering that the CW is the same Network that airs such crap-fests as Next Top Model, Supernatural has been amazingly successful in introducing gay characters that are positive representations. Charlie is awesome, reoccurring and not dead yet. Which around here is pretty damn impressive.

3 - Gay characters that are positive representations - Dean Winchester ain't it. I adore him, but Seriously??? Does anyone thing it's going to help the LGBT community to have a previously straight, heavily-armed, chronically depressed, alcoholic representing them?

[secretlytodream.livejournal.com]

After 9.03 some destiel fans wanted to know what was going on and it seems (from what I've read) that people from the show have come out and said "what are you talking about?". Even..."what's a ship?". There seems to be some ignorance about the whole destiel thing. On the one hand it's absolutely no surprise but on the other hand it's...WTF?! I can only take a personal view on not seeing destiel (rather a loving friendship/male bond) and therefore not surprised but also...COME ON! Surely they can't be that ignorant of this ship? Surely they have to have known what they were playing with?
Maybe it's because I'm not a Dean/Cas fan and never have been but I'm 100% with the writers there. TBH I can't see where this whole destiel movement came from, like, really, people? How is it there are so many of you? D: And in the beginning I thought wincest shippers were crazy. I just don't see the character of Cas, I don't see where the writers can go with the angel, especially now that Castiel isn't an angel anymore. I think it is actually obvious that there's no future for Dean/Cas as a romantic couple or whatever (or yeah, maybe it's cause I'm not a fan). I think the writers just genuinely don't see it either and that's why there's no statements on that. Plus I'm 100% sure the creators of The Show won't cross this line, not in this life and not in this century.

Or maybe it's because after the writers started to make Castiel more human the character was lost to me - I liked the idea of an angel on Dean's shoulder, but now I can't even sit through one whole scene with only Castiel :\ Plus there's never been precedents before, like, it's not like Dean to have someone - except for Sam - he opened up to. Even Kevin, family, as we saw - I can't picture Dean telling Kevin what's on his mind. But then again Dean and Cas do share this profound bond.

I guess I can understand why people ship it, or at least try - I mean everyone has their ships right? I know someone who shipped Jo and Kat from 1x10 - but personally? Never have I seen it on the show and not sure if I ever will :\ I'm not against it, ship what you like, I'm just always dumfounded when I cross paths with destiel fans *shrugs*

[laurificus.livejournal.com]

Ahem. I will preface this by saying I don't like Cas most of the time, and I really don't ship Dean/Cas. I also think the behaviour of some (not all by any means; probably only a small minority) of the D/C shippers is pretty appalling. Like you, I only really started paying attention recently, and the level of entitlement and anger on display (and particularly being directed towards the writers/directors) is incomprehensible to me, and I say that as someone who is absolutely crazy about this show.

And with that out of the way...I agree entirely with tebtosca. Of course the PTB aren't going to actively kill off the dedication of such vocal proponents of the show. And even if they were so inclined, seriously, after the backlash they've experienced just because an *episode* of the show didn't go the way the D/C fans wanted? Can you imagine what would blow up if they actually confirmed it wasn't going to be canon?

I also suspect that the show runners (and Misha, possibly) have been under the same impression that it's no different from wincest -- something they tease us about, but that's never going to happen. And I don't know that that's an unreasonable baseline to be working from. Dean's had two romantic relationships that canonically meant something to him, and both have been with women. He routinely flirts with and comments on the attractiveness of women, and every sexual encounter he's had on show has been with a woman. That's pretty strong confirmation of his canonical preferences. The hints for his bisexuality are reader interpretation only, and they're really not all that obvious -- I doubt they're obvious *at all* to people who aren't looking for them. The weird thing here would be if he suddenly ended up in a relationship with Cas. I guarantee 90% of the viewership would be absolutely blindsided if that happened, and not without cause.

Even taking sex out of it, in interviews, most people emphasise that the show is about Sam and Dean. Jensen, in particular, routinely mentions that the show is about their relationship, that Dean's happiest when he's got a hunt and Sam at his side, etc., etc. And the show sells that narrative too -- Dean's stupid and self-destructive acts have almost always been in service of Sam. Around the edges of that, there's stuff for fandom to have fun with and take further, but again, like tebtosca says, the people who want to feel victimised and oppressed are viewing things through a very, very selective lens.

[lyryk.livejournal.com]

Thank you for making this post and for attempting to be objective about the issue. Thanks for the links, too. IMO, though, there can be a case made for any ship on any show. It doesn't mean that it's going to happen on the show.

As tebtosca said, Dean is not canonically queer and TPTB are not suddenly going to make him gay after nine years. I ship Sam/Dean so obviously my opinion on the issue isn't going to be objective, and like you, I don't think it's fair of me to even really talk about a part of fandom that I'm not familiar with. But from what I've seen of the argument for D/C becoming canon, what makes me the most uncomfortable is the accusation that if the writers don't make D/C canon, they're somehow homophobic. I don't think the showrunners are required in any way to respond to what some fans think should happen on the show.

pleeeease, I want this to stop being an issue

This, so much. I just want to go back to enjoying my show without having to fear what I'm going to find if I check the SPN tag on tumblr.

[growyourwings.livejournal.com]

I'm going to respond before I read all the comments; which I will! and THANK you for yet again daring to host a conversation that has wank potention-which likely won't go there because, yeah, it's *here!. I almost posted about this myself yesterday, but chickened out. I've read through all the links yesterday after I first learned this had exploded. And I need coffee. And I have photos to develop from a shoot that are overdue, yada, yada, yada.

First "reinvention of a male relationship" <-- I like this. Maybe tweeking it to something like a resurrection of what a male relationship may have been before the 1950s (or before???) when things got all squirrelly around Males NOT HAVING FEELINGS.

For me the following are my thoughts on this (not necessarily in particular order).

- Regardless of the question of is there subtext for Destiel or not (which I know is not what you are addressing), I think for any two (or more?? hee) people on any show that have some form of intense relationship, there is *always* subtext for more for fans to explore. And for me that's what this really boils down to it's for fans to explore. Someone elsewhere I read yesterday pointed out that usually relationships on other shows that become canon - more or less ruin that pair on that show (x-files, cheers, etc.) Anyway I know that's not your point with this post, but I feel kinda strongly about it. I'd always been very meh before about arguments regarding whether the writers/etc should be influenced by fans to change the story. It just wasn't something I had a real opinion on. Until now. And not because of Destiel itself, but because the passionate discussions are happening in *my* fandom that I'm a bit obsessed with, so I care enough to read through all the stuff and I begin to see/understand how TPTB and fan interactions might actually have a downside. I think I'm beginning to come down into the camp of let TPTB tell their story and let fandom play with it within our own playground. A few hints and break-4th-wall nods are okay, on occasion, but not too much.

- As to what I think you are really posting about, whether TBTB should make some *statement* because whether intentionally or not, there is a part of fandom that are interpreting items as going in a certain direction.... Man, I thought I knew what I was going to say here. But it's tough! Which is partly why I started with my first point. Part of me thinks that no, TPTB, should not make any statements because: see first point. But then I find myself wondering. If this was say a male/female dynamic, would TPTB make some strong hints or other statements? And you know? I think they would. So perhaps they should here.

(omigosh I've NEVER had to break a comment into two parts, wow!)

[counteragent.livejournal.com]

Obviously I can't speak for queer fans, but I think that the conflation of ACTUAL queer representation issues with SHIPPING preferences by straight people is tacky verging on disgusting.

Simply imagine if the genders of all this were switched, and it was a bunch of straight men urging TV executives to make a so-called lesbian ship canon (one that involved a self-proclaimed heterosexual character) and then claiming that they wanted to see it on screen so that their queer friends were well-represented? Who in the world would believe them?

(Haha, actually, that might work. Huge groups of dudes are traditionally hard to dismiss. Maybe we can start a kickstarter to pay guys to advocate for our ships.)

Of course, that all being said, I kind of wish they'd make Destiel canon just so we could validate the power of the female consumer. Also because it would be hot. But I'm not going to try and represent my desire as a social justice move. It would be simply because I like getting what I want.

[galwithglasses.livejournal.com]

I don't have much to add to the whole discussion that hasn't already been more eloquently added in the comments above. I'm glad that Jensen isn't available on twitter. Twitter is that two-edged sword that people with a public persona carry very carefully and try hard not to fall on. Like I'm figuring out about myself this last week, it's really easy to put your foot in it when you're cranked up about something or having a bad day. When you're being followed by 10,000 people who also have days like that, it's bound to get messy. Add to that people that like to stir the pot for whatever reason and it can get really ugly. I'm sorry people on both sides are ending up feeling hurt. I don't think this topic is going to go away though. I hope things are civil at the con this weekend.

On a much lighter note, I'm glad Osric gave us the visual of Jensen shouting thank you at the router.

[antrazi.livejournal.com]

I think it's been too long that I've followed fandom to really react anymore, from way before SPN. I saw the episode, I knew something would be happening and went on tumblr. It felt a bit like being a scientist and studying a strange culture in their native environment. A strange culture currently engaged in a civil war.
Clearing that up from the start, if the fans really could decide who would end up with whom, I wouldn't want canon Destiel for a number of reasons. And none of them have anything to do with the fact that I'm not a shipper.
In no particular order
1. Trying to force a couple to happen just because you ship it is one of the most imature things I've ever seen in Fandom. And I hang around the Harry Potter fandom
2. Reasoning about LGBT representation. Yes, Dean would be a great bi character. I won't say anything about Castiel because despite his form, he doesn't actually have a gender and just identifies his pronouns according to his vessel. I'm all for a better LGBT representation in media, but the vast majority of destiel shippers who bring this argument don't care for LGBT representation, they just think they would be hot together. Own up to your motivations. Would you still be onboard with this ship if the people in question looked like Marty Feldman and Clint Howard?
And even if they made Dean bi, why would it have to be Castiel?
3. This idea that a deep meaningful relationship has to be sexual. Cas held Deans soul. Literally. Sure trumps sex
4. But the Show did this/the actor told that: doesn't matter. Live with it. That's what fanfiction is for.
5. Their canon relationship is both one of family as of Dean being a teacher to Cas. Throwing a romantic angle into it would seriously mess that up
6. The show writers are great at varying types of genre, which makes the show so interesting. Believable and realistic romance is not one of them

[cordelia-gray.livejournal.com]

I've been following this all somewhat distantly, and finding myself a bit bemused. I'm reminded of a quote from one of my favourite stories, James Thurber's The Thirteen Clock. The hero of the story is a Prince who wants to rescue a maiden from the clutches of an evil Duke, and he is assisted in this quest by the Golux - "The only Golux in the world, and not a mere device!" They have this conversation:

"When I was young I told a tale of buried gold, and men from leagues around dug in the woods. I dug myself."

"But why?"

"I thought the tale of treasure might be true."

"You said you made it up."

"I know I did, but then I didn't know I had."

It's fine to engage in lit-crit analyses of shows to prove whatever points make one happy, but there is a difference between that and believing the showrunners are sending you coded messages.

[stormcloude]

Why doesn't someone (possibly Carver) make a statement about whether Dean and Cas are indeed being developed as a romantic couple or not?

IMO they don't want to piss off a large, VOCAL segment of their fans who talk about the show a lot. Call it buzz, call it controversy, call it what ever you want, but a lot of the crew, writers, etc from the show actually string these fans along with "be patient," "their relationship is more than friends," favoriting Destiel tweets, "you can see whatever you want and it's not my job to tell you what to feel." One of them was even soliciting Destiel fanfic to read.

They want the buzz and the polls and magazine articles. If and when those Destiel fans turn on the show, those things will get really nasty and ugly. So they string them along and will do it till the show is cold and dead in syndication. I don't think Carver et al are brave enough, to be honest.

[el1ie.livejournal.com]

I've watched the show since the beginning, I don't ship anything or anyone on the show. Honestly, I don't see any queerbaiting either - questionably distasteful gay innuendo for cheap jokes? Yep, they've always been a bit guilty about that, but nothing to me has ever indicated the possibility that Dean and Castiel are interested in each other romantically. No amount of meta or interpretation of the text will ever convince me it's there, but if you have the tendency to wonder 'what if' or are attracted to those two characters on the show, then, yeah, you will agree with the meta and add you're own interpretation to the show as you watch. Some see Wincest, some see Destiel and some lucky buggers can see the romance ship of both relationships and more, it's just how we are, we're different, we see things or we don't.

I don't think TPTB should make a statement, I don't think they owe any particular group an explanation or a projection of where their characters are going. It's not in their interests to basically shut down the fantasies of a portion of their fan base, not all Dean/Cas shippers think they are owed an explanation and are happy with their ship in fandom. Is it fair that Wincesters know their ship won't become canon and the Destiel crowd don't? Well, I don't see the Wincesters campaigning to have Sam or Dean become an adopted child so their ship can come true as it would twist the whole foundations of the show. For those of us who don't see Destiel and have no interest in it whatsoever (yes, we're obviously blind or something) making it canon would be the same shocking whiplash and fundamental change to well known characters.

Basically I see fandom as one huge game of "The Emperor's Clothes meets Chinese Whispers" - the more you talk about it, the clearer it gets and more fans will see it, but often the further away from the actual show roots and canon it gets Never underestimate the willingness to be convinced of evidence if it's presented in a way that strikes deeply into our hearts. I know of many Wincesters that came to the show never, ever intending to ship two brothers and now are deeply immersed and happy with their incest ship. Fan works and metas are that good. It doesn't and shouldn't matter if TPTB agree, disagree or are horrified by fandom because basically they aren't in fandom. The show to them is business, their work, their insight is not the same, as insiders it's impossible to block out their knowledge of the show to see it as we do.

With social media though, we now have common play grounds, it's new and sometimes great and sometimes bloody awful, but we're not on the same teams. A little more respect from both sides would go a long way, but like everything that's new, we're struggling to find rules we can all live with and boundaries are never very clear at times like this, feelings run high and fingers type faster than our common sense can reel us in. But such is the nature of fandom, we feel, we love, we care, we get angry and we get hurt,. Yes, and so do TPTB,(actors, writers, crew) but it's like communicating in different languages. They are not us, don't presume they understand the nuances of fandom and how fandom in turn interprets their show.

[hugemind.livejournal.com]

Above all, what this has shown is that as much as Show (incorporating everyone involved in it) embraces fandom they don't really understand it. They are not fans. Personally I wouldn't understand it either if I hadn't fallen head over heals for this show. I don't understand other fandoms.

I don't think that anyone understands Destielers except for other Destielers. ;) But seriously, it's the same with shippers of any pair or people outside a certain fandom, not to mention that fans see the end result on our screens differently than the people who worked on it. I'm not a Cas/Dean fan and I just can't see it in Show. I mean, I can understand how some people would be drawn to that pairing, but personally, I can't see any canon evidence for it no matter how I try. I didn't even realize that the events in 9x03 would cause the kind of stir that they apparently did, because I saw nothing to warrant something like what happened. Actually, I still don't know the full extent of what happened because I like my little corner of the fandom to be peaceful.

However, I definitely understand TPTBs not making a statement because--like comments above this say--it would alienate a part of the fans, and also because a statement like that would possibly cause more stir in ways that they never meant to. Like, maybe someone would tell the destielers then 'I told you so' and they would feel the need to defend themselves and then the in-house fighting would start and no one would be happy anymore. And I sort of dislike the idea that the people working on the show would have to make a statement just because some people can't behave. Rude, entitled behavior should be called out, not indulged, even though in this case it could save writers, directors etc. from comments that they really don't deserve. However, it's hard for TPTBs to directly call out fans' bad behavior because that would cause another kind of stir, so understandably they opt for not saying anything.

Destielers are free to ship Dean/Cas, but acting rude towards the crew when their demands for making it canon are not met crosses the line. Ship and let ship. (I know that it's probably a vocal minority of Dean/Cas shippers who are acting badly towards the crew and I'm sad for the destielers who do know how to act.)

[bittersweettwit.livejournal.com]

Oh boy I admire you for bring this into your blog...

As a Destiel shipper (or maybe I should say former Destiel shipper I really don't know how to feel right now) I want to start off by saying I feel nothing but disgust and contempt for the quite frankly trolls who have been bombarding Guy Bee, Chad Kennedy and possibly others with hate. No matter how disappointed a fan might be and even as someone who was always realistic about the chances of canon Destiel (i.e none) I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Regardless no matter how disappointed one may be it is absolutely not OK for them to behave hatefully towards any member of the cast and crew. Especially the likes of Guy Bee who only guest directs on the show and has absolutely no control over such content making their vitrol utterly pointless. Sorry if I come across overly hostile here but I need to get that off my chest.

That said like many Dean&Cas fans I too feel very disappointed right now and as though I have been manipulated and strung along. Not in a "Oh my God Castiel had sex with a girl and that's meant to be Dean" type of way, but rather it is due to the fact that the show has been sending such mixed signals lately on the existence of a very friendship between Dean and Castiel.

In a recent interview Jensen Ackles openly described Castiel as being nothing but a 'tool' to Dean and discussed their relationship in terms of Castiel no longer being useful to Dean and that was all to them. After years of being told that Dean and Castiel are friends, that Dean considers Castiel 'family' how else am I meant to feel but strung along if it is indeed true Dean just views him as a tool? But then at a recent con it has been reported that Jensen verified that Dean was originally supposed to say "I love you" to Castiel in the crypt scene in Goodbye Stranger. Being realistic and setting aside shipper goggles I'm sure Robbie Thompsons intention when he considered putting it in was to highlight a friendship / familal bond between the two. I actually agree with the decision to take the line out as I don't think Dean would have said 'I love you' even in a familial sense as he highlights in Devil May Care that is just not who Dean is. But which exactly am I meant to take as true Jensen's description of it being an abusive relationship where Dean manipulates Castiel pretending to care for his 'tool' to get what he wants from him? Or does Dean genuinely care for Castiel as pseudo family in the way he cared for Bobby for instance?

Then there is in the show itself which is just as bad. On the one hand we are shown scenes where Dean's supposed to truly care for Castiel like him encouraging him to put himself first and get to safety during their phone conversation in I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here, he describes Castiel as apart of their surrogate family in Devil May Care, or even in the most recent episode his determination to hunt down Castiel when he's in danger or the genuine distress he felt when Cas 'died' and the worried 'Never do that again'. On the other hand we are treated to scenes like those in LARP and the Real Girl where Dean is content to just have fun and games while his friend is genuinely in trouble and unless I'm pleasantly surprised the final scene of this weeks episode where Dean cruelly kicks Castiel to the curb without any money or support.

Rightly or wrongly I'm utterly convinced that these discrepancies point to the fact that the higher ups of the show itself are much like the fanbase itself. That there are some such as Bob Singer who want the show to be just the brothers and see Castiel as nothing more than a tool, while others like Jeremy Carver value Cas as a character in his own right and feel he can add new depth through his interaction with the brothers.

[missyjack.livejournal.com]

idk if this adds some insight, but in talking to Adam Glass and Robbie Thompson, they asked me about what i'd like to see on the show. And I said that i was happy to go on whatever journey they wanted to take me. And Adam replied that he saw that while the writers told a story, he wanted us fans to go on our own journey with it, whatever that is. As a fan, i think thats a great attitude from any writer* God remember there are fandoms (hello GRR Martin) where writers think the existence of any fanon or fanworks at all is abhorent!

remember also that Adam and Robbie also slash themselves on twitter - i think they realise that most fans can accommodate canon, and subtext and fanon and fantasy without our heads exploding.

(* i also recognize that having met these guys a couple of times, they stop being "TPTB" for me and start being people who create something i like who i know have good intentions towards the story and characters and fandom. So when people start tweeting hate and accusations of homophobia at them i get a bit upset. )

[fourtenpm.livejournal.com]

I think people from production have been saying that they are not heading toward that direction and got chewed out?

[raloria.livejournal.com]

People involved in this show aren't fans. They might love the show, but that's different to the way we completely wrap ourselves in it.

Exactly! They're busy making a show week to week and month to month. I highly doubt that they're even thinking of half of the things that fans are about the episodes. They're seeing it from a whole different vantage point. When they watch an episode, they're remembering how the weather was bad that day out on location, how they had this sort of problem, or this scene was captured and acted amazingly. They're not thinking about ships at all.

As a person who's worked on films, I can tell you it's tough to turn off your production mindset. Once you've seen a scene from beginning to end, in all the many stages of production...you're almost sick of it. You know it by heart and can no longer see it with fresh eyes.

The people who make SPN have their own game plan for the show. They know where it's going, we fans do not. We can guess and speculate and dream all we want - doesn't mean it's going to happen. Now as a fan who isn't a Destiel shipper I can see I've never seen it as a possibility. To me, when the show hints at it at all, it's more a playful "hey, we know you guys like this sort of thing so we'll toss you a little line now and then" thing from the show. Heck, even Misha plays around with it at conventions. Again, this doesn't mean it's going to happen. People need to stop mixing reality with fantasy.

Do you read a fanfic and decide you want 2 characters to do something that wasn't in the story? Do you then badger and threaten the author that they should change their story to fit your ideas? No, of course not. Yet this is what a certain faction of fandom is doing to the writers/producers/directors of SPN. It's the same thing, just a different platform. Either way it's wrong.

Fandom creations are where we should exercise our ideas and fantasies. Write fic, make fanart, ship whoever you want. Where it crosses the line is imposing your ideas onto the creators of the show. You want to see a different show? Hire your own production team and some actors and make your own TV show.

Me? I'm perfectly happy with what we've got. :)

[blackjedii.livejournal.com]

I'm officially (unofficially) out of the fandom but:

1) What another poster said -the show is a business and one that has run for the past several seasons via word of mouth and internet popularity. They are going to pander as hard as they can to whoever they can to keep the buzz going. I don't see it as queerbaiting exactly, but I do see it as fanservice.

2) In all honesty - Destiel is a minority. They are a minority of viewers; they are a minority of bloggers; the whole "shipping" side is still not mainstream. That said, they are a very vocal minority that with he advent of Twitter and blogging has a direct connection to the show. Kripke and Gamble could by and large dance around the issue by feigning ignorance (outside of "we heard of Wincest lol") because they didn't have Twitters or anything of the sort. So the question isn't "will they confirm or won't they", it needs to be "will they acknowledge the fandom at large or avoid it entirely" I think.

3) Keep in mind that even though they do have a direct connection, the writers and producers can't go deep down the rabbit hole of fandom. There's always the off chance that they could run into fanart or fanfiction or something someone else created and whether intentionally or not, this could show up on the show. Which would lead to all sorts of copyright infringement if the creator of said product decided to press charges or raise a hubbub. Notice that for any creator / writer they specifically tell their fans NOT to send in stories.

4) I wouldn't trust Misha's word on anything. Whether you like him or not (I'm indifferent) - he's a troll. A popular one but Misha knows how to stir up a hornet's nest.

5) Honestly, do you really think a show that's killed off everyone except the main white dudes in gruesome ways, had the line "every once in a while you get to kill a whore" and has very little positive PoC representation is going to make the two main (unreleated) male/male ship canon? I liked a lot of early Supernatural but... a progressive show it ain't.

6) So really - it's damned if they do, damned if they don't. They definitely aren't going to make the pairing canon (and SPN has never been a romance) but if they affirm it they will have a civil war with the blogosphere on their hands.

[casey28.livejournal.com]

A good example is the way they approach Wincest. With wincest BOTH the fans and the Show know it will never happen. The incest taboo is too huge a barrier to cross so everyone knows that's never going to happen on the show.

Yes, incest isn't going to happen on the show, but it doesn't make the relationship between Sam and Dean any less meaningful. It's still the epic love story of Sam and Dean, and they're still soul mates. What they have is never going to be replaced by a long term romantic relationship with someone else.

Destiel isn't a possiblity. Dean is canonically straight, and fangirling over Dr. Sexy doesn't mean that Dean is bi. Also, Dean will always put Sam first.

I'm sure Carver doesn't intend to make Dean and Cas a couple. But he has said this "I guess the secret to the show is to keep it very grounded and very, very much based in the relationship between these two brothers."

[scarletscarlet.livejournal.com]

I feel like vocal fans arguing for a ship is not a new thing - Harry/Hermione comes to mind, and I'm sure there are older examples, but I've only been in fandom (any fandom) since about '06.

But the level of interaction with the creators etc, that does seem to be building. It now seems to be, even as of the last couple of years, an essential thing for the smaller shows, and the genre shows, to have engagement on twitter, definitely, and more and more, tumblr - and to have a kind of online personality, in a way. They get instant feedback, the fandom gets to feel heard and like we matter, perhaps, more than just being numbers in the ratings. Hannibal, Elementary, Teen Wolf, Sleepy Hollow - I don't do twitter, myself, but I do follow Orlando Jones (from Sleepy Hollow) on tumblr, and the guy is engaging with the fandom at a level that makes Misha seem standoffish.

Maybe it's as simple as just not wanting to alienate/lose any viewer at all; maybe there's a broader notion of not wanting to come across as dictatorial with regard to how people enjoy the show; hell, maybe, as far as twitter goes, it's just that the people you see talking all the time are the ones that seem important to you, maybe even emotionally speaking - it's probably nice to have fans, right? To have people say nice things to you? And if a staffer with a twitter account finds they get more nice things said when they're vague and conciliatory than when they shut people down, no matter what's ~true~, I can see there'd be an appeal in saying, well, we write what we write but personal interpretations aren't invalid, what you personally gain from a show isn't meaningless. Which is not the same thing as saying "accurate and intended", I note ;).

Also, ah. Man. That gif-heavy tumblr post. Speaking as someone who is an omni-shipper, but who counts D/C as a major ship, that was... not something I found appealing as a ship manifesto. Though I suppose I can see, if someone is interpreting scenes with that strict a filter, that they might come to a conclusion about how it must-surely-be-so.

[dear-tiger.livejournal.com]

Awesome post is awesome :D

It looks like in the comments we're talking a lot about how the showrunners/writers/actors don't really understand the fans or shipping, which is certainly true, but I want to add to what tebtosca said. We don't understand them either. We might think that we do but we don't, not in a way tebtosca and other people in the industry do. It's a narrow, highly specialized field, a whole different branch of business that has a shiny public face that perhaps makes us feel like we understand what they're all about. We don't. I strongly suspect that they don't deny or confirm the rumors because it doesn't even occur to them that such discussion might be important.

Example. My background is in sciences and medicine, and 95% of my friends are in the medical field. This often makes me forget that there is a big wide world out there, in which people have maybe taken a high school biology course, if even that. So despite the fact that non-medical folk often have an ass-backward idea about the field, it is intimate and important to them because we all have bodies and those bodies get sick. It's important to have discussion about one's health, to find answers, to get to the truth - the same way that we want to discuss the politics of running the show, the writing, the characterization, the PR. But every time I stumble across some laymen discussion of health, I am stunned by the gaping pit of ignorance. Usually, when I come across these laymen discussions, it's not even a question of whether they're getting something right or wrong. It's the question of, on what fucking planet does this thing you're talking about make sense? People would have zero understanding of scientific research, would be ignorant of the most basic principles of epidemiology, would hardly know what genes are (as demonstrated by anyone who ever talked about having "the fat gene"), but they will have these discussions. Unsurprisingly, because the things are important.

My point here is that our bewilderment over the handling of this ship might possibly stem from deep, deep ignorance about the industry that we imagine we know at least somewhat. These questions that are definitely important to us might be, to say the least, idiotic from their perspective.

[mollyamory.livejournal.com]

I... had no idea any of this was going on. Wow.

Honestly, I'm still back in first gear, wondering how and when we got to a point where fans actually want their 'ships to be canon, and get upset when they're not. This need has never been part of my fannish make-up. I get that everybody fans differently, though. Me, I want my shows to give me a foundation I can build my slash on; I don't want or need my shows to do my slashing for me.

I wonder how much of the outrage of destiel fans stems from the illusion of intimacy we get from seeing the writers, directors, execs and actors of our show on twitter, tumblr, facebook, at so many cons, etc. There's so much more interaction with TPTB these days that it's got to be really easy to start feeling like they "get" you and want to make you happy. If there's something you want from TPTB, and they're in your face all the time talking about how much they love and appreciate you, why wouldn't you think they'd give you something you clearly want very badly? And if they're in your face all the time teasing you about will you get it/won't you get it, why wouldn't you feel jerked around?

The problem is, fandom is still tiny compared to the show's overall viewership, and even fandom is a hydra. Try to please one of our heads, and another will rise up and bite your face off. The only safe option is to smile a lot, and back away slowly. Which is what I think most of TPTB do most of the time, actually - they're just not doing it very well in this instance.

So, I can see why destiel fans are upset, and I feel bad for them. But I think there was never even the remotest chance destiel was going to become canon, any more than Sam/Dean was ever going to become canon. Plus, given the way Sam and Dean's relationships generally turn out, I can't imagine Destiel becoming canon would be at all good for Cas's life expectancy anyway. Even being friends with them isn't particularly safe. The idea that Charlie and Kevin are considered almost family by them keeps me up at night (RUN, KIDS! ILU. JUST RUN!)

Finally, I just want to say thanks for bringing Osric's mental image into my life, because it is amazing and I will cherish it always:

Except Jensen that is, who lives under a rock. Every day he yells "Thank you so much! I-I just.. thank you!" at the router on set because Jared explained to him that's where the SPNFamily hangs out.

[percysowner.livejournal.com]

I think one of the facets of this that people don't talk about is the brief time Cas inhabited Claire. Realistically Claire could never have been a vessel for Cas, because the show couldn't keep the actress 12. But I don't imagine shippers would have been comfortable with the profound bond turning sexual if it meant Dean with a 12 year old girl. A lot of the D/C shipping rests on the chemistry between Jensen and Misha, not Dean and an angel who can inhabit other vessels. Would we even be talking about this if the same scenes had been played the same way, but the actor was Danny DeVito or Mitch Peliggi (Samuel Campbell) or the girl who played Cassie in Route 666? That is one reason why I have a problem not with Destiel, but with those who try to use it as a blow for LGBT rights. What Cas was, didn't necessarily correspond with being male.