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Hello everyone, and I hope you enjoyed the latest installment of weird! These are always so much fun to write and go off the rails fairly frequently.
Castiel gets the experience of having something unknowable and ancient falling in love with him, this time.
On to this very long note!
First off, I had a question for you. I've noticed in various stories when people use British words and phrases it completely takes me out of the story itself, given the Americanness of it all. I've seen that people care a great deal when it's going the other way (Americans writing about the UK) but not so much this, which is odd since it is actually something that doesn't work well for readers. So I thought about possibly writing up some kind of US-UK word-and-phrase guide, which would include some drifter terminology and information about road life, to inject some realism for writers unfamiliar with these things. It's something I'd have to work on so it would be a little time before I could post it, but I wanted to ask whether that seemed like something people would be interested in or not?
A few things:
Recently I saw an episode of Riverdale in which they actually addressed the 'drifter serial killer' narrative and refuted it! Thank you Riverdale for being just unfailingly weird and also for facing that particular stereotype head-on. I've read that the writers for that show are fans of destiel so maybe they have read some of my stories and my words on the drifter serial killer topic. If so, thanks, and if there's a paid writing gig going, let me know!
The following are the various pieces of drifter's advice I wanted to impart in this story:
Once, many years ago in Lisbon, Portugal, I met a young American man named Michael. He was drinking at one of the more expensive bars and I thought to show him a cheaper one I knew. I took him there; a little bar near the gay sauna. The beers are cheaper than where he was drinking; we're talking 5 E down to 1 E. However, I hadn't factored in that he probably thought I was up to something because there are scams aplenty all over this world. I bought him a drink and when I returned from the bathroom he had decided to take his leave. I realized suddenly how it must have looked on the face of it, leading the poor guy down Bairro Alto in the wee hours of the morning, but in this case it was completely genuine. Michael, if you're out there, and the type of person to read these stories, it was the real deal. I had been living in Lisbon at the time and wanted to help out a young American overspending at an Irish bar. However, I commend you on doing the right thing in those circumstances, which I would not have put you in had I been thinking of the way it would look to someone else. Here's why: a lot of this kind of thing is a setup to get you into a bar where you are unfamiliar with everything and they end up charging you an unbelievable amount of money. I see this particular grift mostly in Europe but it does exist elsewhere. Wits about you, everyone.
Another piece of wisdom I have for you today: go to the dentist! Yes, they are extortionate in America, but there are also free dental clinics or sliding-scale. For some bizarre reason, dental work has been decoupled from medical healthcare but boy howdy is it definitely medicine! Look up some of the problems that neglecting your teeth can cause, everything from gallstones to needing your jaw cut out of your face. Anyway. I have learned over the years that ignoring this stuff just makes it worse, and have only recently learned how intensely important dental work can be for your health and well being. Also, it's scary. They no longer use the silver filling stuff which was another surprise after being unable to go to the dentist for 20 years. Anyway you don't want them drilling your teeth away and replacing them with fillings because you couldn't afford it. Ask me how I know. :'(
There's a sad issue now when it comes to those of us who need to work together. I feel there is as much prejudice within LGBTQ circles as there is without them. No tolerance for nuance or outside insights. Now, of course there are bad actors out there who are just bastards with their little play-pretend games 'just asking questions' I am not referring to these assholes. I am referring to the fact that everyone immediately assumes that all people, including those within the community or allies, are exactly the same as these assholes. Hostility, intolerance, judgement, etc. getting screamed at/shouted down. Now here's the thing. These days we are all accepting and understanding the concept of neurodivergence. Those who are neurodivergent may also be asking questions, confused - and if everyone expects all the people around them to do and say exactly whatever the Internet says the Currently Correct Phrasing might be, they are going to be sorely disappointed. Not only with the neurodivergent, but with those who are not online as much, or not in the same online spaces, where much of these conversations seem to be taking place. On a final note: I am an example of a person who is not neurodivergent in a chemical sense, but growing up feral and learning society's weirdnesses by aping and never understanding, well. There's a lot of assumption going on with this community and I think you're breaking a lot of hearts as well as doing a disservice to the overall cause. There's also a touch of narcissistic me-first involved, self importance and a real problem we see reflected in many other aspects of society, namely the 'I got mine' thing. Pulling up the ladder behind you is never a good look.
Likewise, suddenly bleating this isn't a safe space! or this is unhealthy for me! when people are rightfully pulling you up for your behavior...again narcissistic and just plain old tryin' to get out of things. Making everyone else out to be the villain when you are being justifiably asked to treat other people better doesn't make you the good guy here.
That's not what heroes do. It's what cowards do.
I think my point here is, compassion and respect go both ways.
This leads me to:
Accountability. Responsibility. These days outrage is all the rage, it seems. Everyone's angry about someone or something, and I don't mean in the normal 'hell no, we won't go' protesting sense. I mean I see so, so many people want to be furious about everything, and never once apologize for the damage they themselves are doing. Someone gets called out on the carpet, it's Excuse Number Whatever, a kind of odd modern 'you wouldn't hit a guy with glasses, would you?' I've seen in real time people get fairly chided for doing a kind of shitty thing, and instead of apologizing and going my bad! they immediately grasp at the very first Minority Straw they can find. Whether it's their mental illness or their LBTQ status or whatever it is, again a narcissistic reaction and view of the world, it's not my fault and if it is you deserved it. Guys. Mental illness or LGBTQ or color or religion or anything, you can still be a dick! Learn to both apologize and also to accept genuine apology with an aim to change. People are treating friends and lovers like they are disposable, you can just go get another one at the online friend store. Well that leads to some shallow life experiences and frankly some of the behavior I've seen has reminded me of the mean girl drama in tv shows. There's a reason it's called the Golden Rule, everyone, and it's not just 'treat people like you want to be treated', it's 'do unto others as you would have done unto you.' Think about your actions: how would it feel if the roles were reversed? We are a better and more friendly society when we recognize the wrong we've done. We are also a better society when we accept those sincere apologies and don't just want an excuse to feel outrage, which seems to have become something of an addiction. That addictive sense of righteousness? It's not real, first of all, but secondly, is the reason for some of the most terrible things in our history. Don't listen to it.
And finally:
Florida. Please go back to being Florida Man weird or Jimmy Buffett weird and stop...doing whatever...this is. Additionally it's strange to me that a place including South Beach and every one of the Florida Keys but particularly Key West, which is as bright and colorful as a rainbow flag and as diverse as one, would have these types of policies. Key West was, in fact, the first place I ever visited that taught me about the incredible diversity of sexuality and gender available.
America on the whole is really worrying me right now. Florida in particular is worrying me more. It is genuinely one of the most beautiful places on earth and once upon a time a haven for the rainbow, so to speak. I'd like to see a return to the weird version of Florida which is about waging wars with stale bread and drag shows and pirate festivals. Once upon a time the Keys were my favorite place in the world. Here's hoping for a return to those days.
The thing about the fight is...well, my friends, it's never over. We cannot grow complacent, or allow our heads to be turned by propaganda. Those who thought nothing would change I hope now understand the value of a vote, and of their voice.
Petty infighting among the left is its greatest weakness.
Let's all look out for each other out there.
I don't know when I will next have a story for you, as I am still writing the official stuff, but there's no telling when weird inspiration will strike.
For now, I hope you are all hale and hearty, and doing well on your own roads.
All the best, from my road to yours.
And to my fellow Americans:
Happy Independence Day!
-Dean