#clueless Crowley is so important to me u don’t even know | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

awed-frog · 7 years

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Hi! How is your day? I have a cuestion if you have the time to answer: do you understand Crowley's sarcasm? I mean, in order to write a fanfiction in which he is important, I wanted to know how you do it, like, if you have some tips or something helpful Bye ❤ love your blog by the way

Hi! Thank you, you’re very kind. :)

That’s an interesting question. I think what I particularly like about Crowley’s brand of sarcasm is that, unlike what happens with other people for whom sarcasm is a ‘the world is fucked and fuck it’ expression of nihilism, Crowley actually cares. In fact, he cares so much he’s lowkey angry all the time, and that anger is always threatening to spill out of his careful insults and half smiles.

(Maybe that’s one of the reasons he likes Dean so much? Anger was one of the first things Cas picked up about Dean’s personality as well.)

In this sense - don’t laugh - Crowley sometimes reminds me of John Oliver, because that’s another perfect example of I don’t even care anymore sarcasm concealing some real indignation and outrage and HOW VERY DARE. I feel John hides it better, because it’s his job to do so, but some of his speeches are still a good inspiration to get that Crowley try plan D for dumbass impatience.

I don’t know how helpful this is going to be, but the way I do it is that I try to keep that anger (and, frankly, that hurt) simmering very close to the surface at all times - I find it makes for a more convincing Crowley, even if, let’s face it, without Mark’s masterful delivery and wry looks, this character is only half alive no matter how well you write it.

I went through my fics to find some examples of what I mean - I wish I had the time to give you examples form other writers, because there are some very talented people out there, but I’m in a rush, so it’s easier for me to quote my own lines. Sorry.

From Hotter Than You

“Your keen fashion sense tipped me off. And that glint of intelligence on Castiel’s face - that’s new, too.” - Here, Crowley is reacting to a Dean/Cas body swap. Again, on the surface he’s just insulting both of them, but what he’s really saying is that he’s noticed. He knows how Dean dresses, he knows Cas’ facial expressions - and sure, part of it is just his job and a necessary part of self-preservation, but that’s not all it is, and we all know that by now.

“Or maybe it wasn’t a matter of convenience,” Crowley says, at the exact wrong moment. “Love of your life, eh, Squirrel? The other half of your soul? And you never thought you’d have him, and you never knew how to even tell him, but when you found yourselves alone you could no longer resist this - this magic, this pull between you, this love story to end all -” - Again, this looks like taunting, but the fact Crowley goes there - it’s a combination of being well-informed and knowing how to read people (he is a crossroad demon, after all) and the wish to always inflict the worst hurt that he possibly can (a textbook defense of bullied victims: strike first, and strike hard) and, again, the inevitable bitterness, the disappointment about being left out (the pain that no one wants him).

“Cas, you mean. The seraph who can see through walls and into your BLOODY MIND.” - Sometimes I like to use capitals to replicate Mark’s sudden voice raises, which express exactly this anger I’ve been describing. God, I love his acting so much - he’ll start of with a mildly disparaging remark and he wants to show, really, that he doesn’t care because everything is fucked up and everyone is a moron, but then something snaps and HE RAISES HIS VOICE LIKE THIS and you can see he’s not indifferent - at all.

From Everything I Do (I Do It For You)

“Well, for what’s worth, I’m glad you didn’t hop the twig. That would have been a waste of a perfectly good -” - That’s another aspect of how Crowley speaks: understatements, indifference, randomly bringing up sex (which is, again, something Dean also does, for different reasons).

From Anything But Myself

“Yes, I know. I was in Japan by then. Kyoto is lovely this time of year.” - Dean just accused Crowley of bailing on them, and this, I think, is a classic Crowley answer: owning up to things as if he’s right all the time, and misdirection. Never back down, never apologize, never admit you were caught with your pants down.

“Someone must be the brains in this relationship.” - To Dean; again, dress for the job you want, not for the job you’ve got. Crowley always speaks as though reality is what he wants it to be. He and Dean are friends, he and Cas are allies, he’s generally in control of everything, and so on. It’s a difficult farce to maintain, even for a century-old monster, hence the creature comforts - the odd massage, the dubcon orgies, the occasional bouts of killing - all have the same goal: to help him keep up this façade (that he matters, that he’s loved, and that he knows what he’s doing).

From Bits and Pieces

“What are we walking into here? Give me something to work with, agent Beyoncé.” - I like Crowley’s pet names for people, because here you see it quite clearly - on the surface, they’re insults, but if you think about it, a pet name betrays the fact you’ve taken the time to come up with one - that, for better or worse, you think about that person.

From The Human Condition

“Look, do you want us to be girlfriends here or not? Because I’m getting a little tired of this Rainman attitude you’ve got going.” - Finally, if you can pull it off, Crowley also likes his quotes. I don’t often go there because I know next to nothing about old TV shows and stuff Crowley might be into, but if you’re familiar with American culture, go for it. Moose and Squirrel, Shirley and Laverne, The Golden Girls…Crowley is culturally voracious, and he will use cultural references to mock, insult, and get his point across.

In conclusion, yes, Crowley is a lot of fun to write but he’s not always an easy character to pin down. I find his speech pattern is, surprisingly, much too close to Dean’s for comfort, but I mostly try to include him because I love him, I think he makes for a useful character and the fact he speaks British English means I can relax my hunt for random us and bloodys for five minutes. All the kudos for including him and good luck with your fic! Happy writing!

(Bonus quote -

“You know, most of the time I am kind and loving and think you are faking this whole clueless, twatty look for some obscure strategic reason, but then you go and do something like this and I remember why I HATE ANGELS.”)

#ask #writing tips #crowley #spn meta #spn fanfiction #crowley meta #mark sheppard #john oliver #both GOOD and IMPORTANT #:)

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