(no subject)
Jun. 10th, 2010 06:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
liptonrm_backuppssst, I posted a vid yesterday which you should all totally go watch. I think you'd really like it.
Also, as I was putting the finishing touches on the season four updates over at![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
spretendn I realized that, for as much as I mention SuperPretendNatural I’ve never really explained it. It would be one thing if ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
baylorsr and I had written an epic story, or series of stories, that introduced all of our characters because then we would have shared them in a medium that would really allow everyone else to see what it is about these characters that we love. Instead we did it in a way that made total sense for us, because we live inside our own heads (and occasionally each other’s, it’s kinda creepy), but isn’t entirely accessible to the rest of the world.
Plus, we called it “SuperPretendNatural” which is one of the least sexy titles ever. Marketing gurus we are not.
So, here’s my attempt at making it all a little more accessible. And to show how seriously adorable we think we are.
The Background: Back in early/mid-season twobaylorsr and I started doing this thing that we always do, we began, independently and jointly, making up original characters in the SPN universe. ![[personal profile]](https://s.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
hiyacynth was doing the same, though she was able to turn her creativity into the amazing Mockingbird while baylorsr and I were still letting our characters evolve from original conception to finished product. Since we were both so involved in the Mockingbird writing process it was only natural that when we finally settled on a finished product a version of hiyacynth’s Jem had a place in our universe as well.
Then one day, during early season four,baylorsr and I were eating at a local Applebee’s (which I only mention because it has been a site of much creative inspiration, lackluster food notwithstanding) when everything suddenly came into focus. While we sat there and talked we discovered a way to really meld these characters that we’d been playing with for months into the canon of Supernatural in a way that didn’t change the canon or mytharc of what had originally aired on television. For weeks it was all we could talk about (to dodger_sister's increasing chagrin and annoyance, I’m sure). Hell, it’s still a lot of what we talk about as the thrill of working these characters into the established plot never ceases.
I’ll save you all from my semi-pretentious rambling about my “craft” but I will say that I think a lot of what we’ve done comes from both our deep love for the source material as well as our desire to put our own mark on it (you know, what we all do when we write fanfic). Just like slash can be said to be queering the narrative, I think what we do is a kind of equalizing of the narrative, broadening it while not losing the core of two guys, a car, and the family business.
The Characters:
The Mulvaneys: I don’t think words exist that could truly sum up the Mulvaneys. They’re siblings and fifth-generation hunters. Let that sink in for a second. We’ve all seen on Show how alienating the hunting life can be, no imagine if you came from a family that had been doing it for hundreds of years. Suffice it to say, none of the Mulvaneys are exactly connected with general society and they never have been. They were raised to be hunters and they love their job, they think it’s the best, most awesome, most righteous thing anyone could ever do. I mean, come on, the family mantra is “Cut off the head and burn everything,” what’s not to love about that?
The first Mulvaneys to whom we’re introduced are Frannie and Charlie in episode 1x13 Friend or Foe. Frannie, the oldest, is obviously the brains of the operation, though younger brother Charlie is no slouch as a hunter. They begin the episode competing with the Winchester boys in a cutthroat competition of “Who’s the better hunter” and end it with blowing up a castle. It really sets the stage for every other interaction the Winchesters and the Mulvaneys will ever have.
In season three (3x04 Sin City to be specific) we’re introduced to Chandler Mulvaney, Charlie’s twin brother. Chandler left the family business to join the one profession that his family would accept without too much fuss; he became a Catholic priest. After the Devil’s Gate opened in Wyoming Chandler left his official position to start hunting demons because, as he tells Dean in that episode, he felt that “there were more pressing matters than the Rosary Circle cake raffle.”
Like I said, the Mulvaneys are a trip and a half. And if you don’t believe me then, perhaps, the Zombie Handbook Promos might convince you.
Jem Manners: When we first see Jem in 2x02 Everybody Loves a Clown she’s waiting tables at the Roadhouse. The boys proceed to invite themselves on her hunt whereon, among other things, Jem does the noble thing by throwing Sam down on a bed and having her way with him.
But the thing about Jem is that she’s so much more than “that hot chick who got to bang Sam Winchester.” She’s a hunter who’s had her fair share of heartache and tragedy who, most importantly, knows and is comfortable with herself and the job she does. One of the things I love about her is that she’s wise and empathetic while still kicking ass and doing the job as well, or better, than most of the other people out there. She’s a shining example that you don’t have to let the hunting life beat you down, that you can still have hope and be happy, even with all of the horrible things that you see all around you. And it’s not that she Pollyannas around the place but rather she knows and has experienced all of the truly awful things that life could throw her way and she doesn’t let it wear her down. She’s still willing to build relationships with people even though she knows better than most how quickly life can take them away from you.
If you can’t tell, I really kind of love her.
Rachel Nieland: In Rachel’s first episode (2x06 No Exit) we don’t know a lot about her. We know that she knew the Winchester boys before she appeared on the show, we know that she and Jem hunt together, and we know that she and Dean have something in their past that makes them deeply uncomfortable whenever they have to spend more than a couple seconds in each other’s company. Which is not, really, a lot to go on.
It’s in 2x12 Once Upon a Time where we learn the sordid details of Rachel’s past; that her family was killed in a housefire when she was young, a fire caused by her grandmother’s dabbling in witchcraft. We also learn how this lead her both to hunting and to forming a family-of-choice with Bobby Singer. Rachel is a survivor and, in her own way, a crusader; her life is dedicated to helping insure that other people don’t have to endure the things that she’s had to. Hunting was her choice and her calling and even on the days that she regrets her job she knows that she’s never going to stop.
The Effect
It’s true, I’ll admit it,baylorsr and I got rid of our least favorite episodes to insert our own characters and stories. That’s the beauty of 20/20 hindsight, you can tell what doesn’t work and just, kind of, erase it from existence. So instead of an episode about a racist monster truck we got an introduction to the Mulvaneys (and a later episode that, in our humble opinion, handled issues of race in a much more intelligent manner). We also weren’t hampered by the Writer’s Strike so we were able to expand season three and add excellent episodes that increased the cohesion of season three as a whole. And, yes, in season four I was able to put my foot down and throw out Yellow Fever, an episode I will hate for so many reasons forever and ever.
The thing is, we were both very careful to not dramatically change the overall plot of the show or the Winchesters’ path. So, sometimes we had to make hard choices and even kill characters we loved in order to continue leading Sam and Dean down the trail with which we’re all so very familiar. And we never forgot that, even though we were adding our own characters, this is still a show about the Winchester family, it is and always will be Sam and Dean’s show; it should be, and is, All About the Winchesters. Our purpose has never been to replace the boys with characters of our own, but rather to better reveal both Sam and Dean and the world they live in through the use of these characters. And I think we’ve done a pretty good job of doing exactly that.
My biggest regret is that Jo Harvelle doesn’t exist in SuperPretendNatural, or, at least, we never get to see her onscreen. We love her and we tried to make her work, but it was one of the times where inserting our own characters meant not having enough room in the arc of any one season to include Jo’s story as well. I console myself with the idea that she’s out there hunting, somewhere, and since she never met the Winchesters she never had to suffer the consequences of knowing them.
So there you have it, a more coherent introduction to our magnum opus. If we had the freedom and the leisure we might write all of this up in handy prose or script forms. But since our lives aren’t nearly so accommodating we have to settle for talking on top of each other and mocking up faux-Supernatural Wiki articles. But either way, it’s a labor of love and one of the methods we use to get through our dull and aggravating lives. We love you SPretendN!
And, really, we think we're adorable.
comments at http://liptonrm.dreamwidth.org/11524.html.
Also, as I was putting the finishing touches on the season four updates over at
spretendn I realized that, for as much as I mention SuperPretendNatural I’ve never really explained it. It would be one thing if baylorsr and I had written an epic story, or series of stories, that introduced all of our characters because then we would have shared them in a medium that would really allow everyone else to see what it is about these characters that we love. Instead we did it in a way that made total sense for us, because we live inside our own heads (and occasionally each other’s, it’s kinda creepy), but isn’t entirely accessible to the rest of the world.Plus, we called it “SuperPretendNatural” which is one of the least sexy titles ever. Marketing gurus we are not.
So, here’s my attempt at making it all a little more accessible. And to show how seriously adorable we think we are.
The Background: Back in early/mid-season two
baylorsr and I started doing this thing that we always do, we began, independently and jointly, making up original characters in the SPN universe. hiyacynth was doing the same, though she was able to turn her creativity into the amazing Mockingbird while baylorsr and I were still letting our characters evolve from original conception to finished product. Since we were both so involved in the Mockingbird writing process it was only natural that when we finally settled on a finished product a version of hiyacynth’s Jem had a place in our universe as well.Then one day, during early season four,
baylorsr and I were eating at a local Applebee’s (which I only mention because it has been a site of much creative inspiration, lackluster food notwithstanding) when everything suddenly came into focus. While we sat there and talked we discovered a way to really meld these characters that we’d been playing with for months into the canon of Supernatural in a way that didn’t change the canon or mytharc of what had originally aired on television. For weeks it was all we could talk about (to dodger_sister's increasing chagrin and annoyance, I’m sure). Hell, it’s still a lot of what we talk about as the thrill of working these characters into the established plot never ceases.I’ll save you all from my semi-pretentious rambling about my “craft” but I will say that I think a lot of what we’ve done comes from both our deep love for the source material as well as our desire to put our own mark on it (you know, what we all do when we write fanfic). Just like slash can be said to be queering the narrative, I think what we do is a kind of equalizing of the narrative, broadening it while not losing the core of two guys, a car, and the family business.
The Characters:
The Mulvaneys: I don’t think words exist that could truly sum up the Mulvaneys. They’re siblings and fifth-generation hunters. Let that sink in for a second. We’ve all seen on Show how alienating the hunting life can be, no imagine if you came from a family that had been doing it for hundreds of years. Suffice it to say, none of the Mulvaneys are exactly connected with general society and they never have been. They were raised to be hunters and they love their job, they think it’s the best, most awesome, most righteous thing anyone could ever do. I mean, come on, the family mantra is “Cut off the head and burn everything,” what’s not to love about that?
The first Mulvaneys to whom we’re introduced are Frannie and Charlie in episode 1x13 Friend or Foe. Frannie, the oldest, is obviously the brains of the operation, though younger brother Charlie is no slouch as a hunter. They begin the episode competing with the Winchester boys in a cutthroat competition of “Who’s the better hunter” and end it with blowing up a castle. It really sets the stage for every other interaction the Winchesters and the Mulvaneys will ever have.
In season three (3x04 Sin City to be specific) we’re introduced to Chandler Mulvaney, Charlie’s twin brother. Chandler left the family business to join the one profession that his family would accept without too much fuss; he became a Catholic priest. After the Devil’s Gate opened in Wyoming Chandler left his official position to start hunting demons because, as he tells Dean in that episode, he felt that “there were more pressing matters than the Rosary Circle cake raffle.”
Like I said, the Mulvaneys are a trip and a half. And if you don’t believe me then, perhaps, the Zombie Handbook Promos might convince you.
Jem Manners: When we first see Jem in 2x02 Everybody Loves a Clown she’s waiting tables at the Roadhouse. The boys proceed to invite themselves on her hunt whereon, among other things, Jem does the noble thing by throwing Sam down on a bed and having her way with him.
But the thing about Jem is that she’s so much more than “that hot chick who got to bang Sam Winchester.” She’s a hunter who’s had her fair share of heartache and tragedy who, most importantly, knows and is comfortable with herself and the job she does. One of the things I love about her is that she’s wise and empathetic while still kicking ass and doing the job as well, or better, than most of the other people out there. She’s a shining example that you don’t have to let the hunting life beat you down, that you can still have hope and be happy, even with all of the horrible things that you see all around you. And it’s not that she Pollyannas around the place but rather she knows and has experienced all of the truly awful things that life could throw her way and she doesn’t let it wear her down. She’s still willing to build relationships with people even though she knows better than most how quickly life can take them away from you.
If you can’t tell, I really kind of love her.
Rachel Nieland: In Rachel’s first episode (2x06 No Exit) we don’t know a lot about her. We know that she knew the Winchester boys before she appeared on the show, we know that she and Jem hunt together, and we know that she and Dean have something in their past that makes them deeply uncomfortable whenever they have to spend more than a couple seconds in each other’s company. Which is not, really, a lot to go on.
It’s in 2x12 Once Upon a Time where we learn the sordid details of Rachel’s past; that her family was killed in a housefire when she was young, a fire caused by her grandmother’s dabbling in witchcraft. We also learn how this lead her both to hunting and to forming a family-of-choice with Bobby Singer. Rachel is a survivor and, in her own way, a crusader; her life is dedicated to helping insure that other people don’t have to endure the things that she’s had to. Hunting was her choice and her calling and even on the days that she regrets her job she knows that she’s never going to stop.
The Effect
It’s true, I’ll admit it,
baylorsr and I got rid of our least favorite episodes to insert our own characters and stories. That’s the beauty of 20/20 hindsight, you can tell what doesn’t work and just, kind of, erase it from existence. So instead of an episode about a racist monster truck we got an introduction to the Mulvaneys (and a later episode that, in our humble opinion, handled issues of race in a much more intelligent manner). We also weren’t hampered by the Writer’s Strike so we were able to expand season three and add excellent episodes that increased the cohesion of season three as a whole. And, yes, in season four I was able to put my foot down and throw out Yellow Fever, an episode I will hate for so many reasons forever and ever.The thing is, we were both very careful to not dramatically change the overall plot of the show or the Winchesters’ path. So, sometimes we had to make hard choices and even kill characters we loved in order to continue leading Sam and Dean down the trail with which we’re all so very familiar. And we never forgot that, even though we were adding our own characters, this is still a show about the Winchester family, it is and always will be Sam and Dean’s show; it should be, and is, All About the Winchesters. Our purpose has never been to replace the boys with characters of our own, but rather to better reveal both Sam and Dean and the world they live in through the use of these characters. And I think we’ve done a pretty good job of doing exactly that.
My biggest regret is that Jo Harvelle doesn’t exist in SuperPretendNatural, or, at least, we never get to see her onscreen. We love her and we tried to make her work, but it was one of the times where inserting our own characters meant not having enough room in the arc of any one season to include Jo’s story as well. I console myself with the idea that she’s out there hunting, somewhere, and since she never met the Winchesters she never had to suffer the consequences of knowing them.
So there you have it, a more coherent introduction to our magnum opus. If we had the freedom and the leisure we might write all of this up in handy prose or script forms. But since our lives aren’t nearly so accommodating we have to settle for talking on top of each other and mocking up faux-Supernatural Wiki articles. But either way, it’s a labor of love and one of the methods we use to get through our dull and aggravating lives. We love you SPretendN!
And, really, we think we're adorable.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-06-11 04:13 pm (UTC)You know what I love best about Jem in SPretendN? That her dad the Tinker taught her to hunt and to tinker. (Also all the sex she has with Sam, and that time in Alt World when she was there again and they had all the sex and then it was sad, sad, sad.)
Sigh. I have to get you guys to tell me that one again. I love that one.
Also: Hey, Singer, watch this!
no subject
Date: 2010-06-13 08:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-16 02:45 am (UTC)Is it weird how hard I crush these people? I mean - the London Brothers! And Valarie Rae (I mean I totally crushed on her on Dark Alec, but dude Rachel is delicious!) OMFG. You know what's hot? Jem and Rachel hunting together. I can't imagine what the visual does to Dean and Sam. And how I want to burn things and hunt zombies with Frannie.
I too am sorry about Jo having got the cut because it ruins the Charlie/Jo 4evah I have in my head (Don't Stop Believin' is such a great song for their epic love music video). Oh well, guess I'll have to resign myself to making the epic love music video of Chandler/Charlie 4evah! That's right - I twin-cest-ed up the priest!
You people are pure and utter geniuses. I am pimping later this week. People must know. Now, what are the community rules on posting fic?
no subject
Date: 2010-06-16 06:15 am (UTC)