orintwos:

andythanfiction:

*puts on my official Destiel firefighting Wet Blanket and climbs up on my soapbox, copies of Poetics, On Writing, and Save The Cat in my hands* 

May I remind the dear ladies, gentleman, and persons of other variable and sundry genders of Tumblr that we have not been promised - and thus cannot have promises broken, betrayed, or baited regarding - any of the following in the season finale: 

• A Destiel kiss
• A Destiel declaration of love
• Destiel sex
• A Destiel kiss
• Castiel falling
• Castiel becoming human
• Castiel choosing Dean over heaven
• Castiel rescuing Dean
• A Destiel kiss
• Dean clarifying his bisexuality and/or “coming out”
• Dean choosing Castiel over Sam
• Dean rescuing Castiel
• A Destiel kiss
• The Hell Gates being closed
• Anyone having a happily ever after
• Gabriel, Benny, or anyone else coming back
• Anyone dying
• A Destiel kiss
• Anything clear really whatsover about anything

Things that we have been promised:

• That it will be exciting
• That it will be the best ever
• That things will change and never be the same
• That it will be epic
• That major characters will make big choices
• That Tumblr fans will explode with feels
• That it will be unlike any previous season finale
• That sacrifices will be made
• That it will hurt but basically be about love and a positive message

Things that showrunning-type and media-interactive people about serial television are pretty much obligated to say about season finales and which could be said about all previous seven season finales of Supernatural: 

• That they were exciting
• That they were the best ever
• That things changed and were never the same
• That they were epic
• That major characters made big choices
• That fans exploded with feels
• That they were unlike any previous season finales
• That sacrifices were made
• That it hurt but was basically about love and a positive message

Things that the show’s team is trying to do:

• Work us up into a tagging, tweeting frenzy
• Build our excitement for the season finale
• Make us drive up internet search results
• Make us drive up ratings
• Build “buzz” like a hive of kicked bees sucking the smoke of a burning meth lab
• Cause us a lot of cathartic emotion and even tears in the usual manner of a serial drama

Things that the show’s team is NOT trying to do:

• Cause us actual pain or harm of any kind

This is not to put a damper on anyone’s speculation, parsing of messages, enjoyment of the show, enjoyment of spoilers, excitement, or enthusiasm.  I love looking for clues and speculating and predicting too. I love it a lot.  It is a good and worthy thing to do and something that serial media encourages openly. 

This is to hopefully give a reminder and a caution to people who are starting to get themselves into or set themselves up for a bad, hurt, betrayed, or genuinely scared emotional place because they feel like they are being promised things regarding not only their ship, but the value of certain kinds of people in the world in general or the world of Supernatural.  I’m not even saying that it won’t be a huge Destiel moment.  In fact, I’ve written a lot of meta about why I think Destiel is going canon and the season finale of 8 is one of the five most valid times in the course of the series to do it.

 What I am saying is that you haven’t been promised a pony, only an awesome present - and yes, TPTB know you want a pony but there are a lot more factors than how much they love you involved in a pony - so if on Christmas morning there’s no pony, just a really cool bicycle, it doesn’t mean that your parents hate you and lied to you…or even that they’re never getting you a pony ever.  

I agree with you on the social media, read: twitter, front. We absolutely should not take any of that as more than generic hype generation. It’s vital that we reign in our overly high hopes and not get carried away with our expectations. The onus of responsibly is on us to keep our heads level and our feelings safe guarded, but TPTB are not absolved from the responsibility they have in making sure their interactions with us aren’t grossly being misunderstood because they are being obtuse and teasing.

There’s some flaw in the analogy of your last paragraph, though. If Mom knows that what I want more than anything is a pony and in the months leading up to Christmas she teases me about ponies even though we live in a studio on the 10th floor of a NY city apartment building, then I have to seriously question my mother’s sanity piss-poor sensibilities regarding her behavior toward me. 

“I know you hate taking the bus to school. I’m sure you’d like the commute better if you could take a pony instead.”

“I was always thought Robdam would be a great name for a pony. What do you think, sweetheart?”

“Ooh, this is the most adorable little riding cap, and it just goes so well with the boots we got at that equestrian store last week.” 

Hey, maybe the cap and boots aren’t meant to be used with an actual pony. Maybe Mom thinks they simply look cute and fashionable on her little child - and let’s be honest, I’d rather have them even if I’ll never actually get to use them while riding a pony - but when all of this starts to make my mind churn and I ask her “So, Mom, do you think I can really have a pony for X-mas?”, “Sorry, baby, no spoilers. It’s a surprise” is a really fucking shitty thing to say to me if she’s got a goddamn bicycle wrapped up with a neat bow in the storage unit downstairs.

So, no. No one promised me a pony and maybe someday we’ll move out of that apartment building and my folks will get me one for real but this Christmas, Mom still knew she was teasing about something important to me and did it anyway. Not cool, Mom.