#I didnt come back because of destiel

[orionsangel86]

I have been doing this meta analysis thing for a long time now and one thing that I have always tried to make clear in meta analysis is that for it to be taken seriously you must keep your personal biases out of it. You must come at it as objective as possible.

Rant under the cut

Its not always easy to do when you are dealing with difficult topics, or shining unfavourable lights on characters you love, or coming to conclusions that you werent expecting (recent meta discussions about Morpheus in the Sandman comics would fall into these categories).

What meta analysis should never be used for is to back up ship wars or specifically to shame fandoms for liking certain characters. If the meta isnt providing valid evidence to support the interpretations, and instead has fallen into name calling and mockery of fandom, its no longer valid meta.

I got this ALL the time in SPN fandom. Destiel was a huge fandom but as meta writers we stuck with what we were given by the source material and interpreted it with valid evidence. We understood that multiple interpretations were possible but we made sure that whatever we were analysing made sense and had some source backing. This wasnt always the case because meta writers are not a monolith, but the bigger blogs who wrote meta frequently at least understood this and would not be stretching to support their own claims if canon didnt back it up. Now no one is perfect of course, but the point is, proper meta writers understand that where they make a claim or interpretation of the source material, they have to site examples and evidence to back up their claims and also take into consideration any evidence to the contrary.

The people who hated destiel and made that their entire personalities didnt do that so much. I read a lot of their meta out of curiosity and every time I was baffled by where they were getting their claims. 'Destiel is necrophilia" was a big one which canon disproved almost straight away in season 5. "Destiel is rape" was another because Cas was using Jimmy as a vessel and yet canon confirmed Jimmy died at the end of season 4. Cas' body was remade by God in season 5 and has remained his own ever since. These are just two of the ridiculous examples supposed "meta writers" among the destiel hater communities would come up with and still use today.

I find it extremely infuriating when I see character/ship hate loosely disguised as meta analysis. I can give people the benefit of the doubt a lot of the time, as fandoms are usually highly emotional spaces, but when there is zero canon evidence to support the claims, when connections are being made on the absolute thinnest of threads, and when far more obvious interpretations are being clearly ignored to support certain viewpoints in such a stunningly obvious case of confirmation bias I have to throw in the towel and stop taking said meta seriously.

One thing I have loved about Sandman fandom so far is the meta. It's such a rich text to analyse, and the show adds an entirely new level to it which makes it all the more enjoyable. I've made no secret of my support for Dreamling and I wrote a very long meta series on Dreamling and how the show in particular uses certain tropes, symbolism, visual storytelling cues, and music, to name a few, to overload a 25 minute sequence with queer coding. It is completely understandable to me why anyone going into the show even without thinking about shipping, would feel like Dreamling hit them like a brick to the face. The creators weren't subtle with it.

Its also totally valid to find romantic interpretations of other pairings within the Sandman. I personally think Morpheus x Johanna was laid on pretty thickly. Morpheus x Lucienne is equally an interesting ship to analyse. But heres the thing, if you ship these other ships and are frustrated that Dreamling has "taken over" thats valid. I get it. I would like more focus on the other characters too. I would particularly like to talk about Lucienne x Gault and have a meta piece in progress about them.

Whats not okay however is for other shippers and people frustrated with Dreamling to go the way of the Destiel antis. Dont make shit up that has no basis in canon just because you need some moral high ground to shit all over the ship you hate. Don't call fans that see Dreamling "deluded" for seeing it. They aren't deluded. It's right there in the subtext. Dont resort to name calling and "gotchas" and use inflammatory language to bait people. And please, I'm begging you, stop claiming that people who ship Dreamling are somehow all overly fragile white racists. You're wrong.

The racism discussions about Hob's past have their place, but these things ARE being discussed, if anything I feel this fandom has done a far better job of handling the issues of slavery than another popular fandom has (looking at you OFMD). No one is forgiving Hob for his slaver past. But you have to acknowledge that the entire point of the story in The Sandman is about change, and growth, and how we can become better people. As another excellent short meta post stated recently "we are more than the sum of our transgressions". The Sandman is all about the shades of grey. No one is morally righteous, but most characters are not completely morally bankrupt either.

Hob Gadling is a controversial character who is often misunderstood by fandom but anyone with proper critical thinking skills and a decent understanding of what meta analysis is, should understand that Hob is a metaphor for humanity first and foremost. He is the average everyman from the perspective of an Englishman and therefore above all else to understand Hob you have to look to England, to Englands history, and to its current status in the world. A lot of blood on its hands yes, but also at least a century of trying to make up for it, a leader in the world in human rights and trying to do better. I have to believe that about this country, so I believe it about Hob too. Whilst I'm not interesting in getting into huge geopolitical debates about England, I hope that we can all agree that the average Englishman today is not a blood thirsty evil slaver/rapist/murderer or whatever else ive seen people accuse Hob of being even in his modern era.

We can argue the faults of the show downplaying slavery for sure. Its a valid criticsm. We can argue that not enough time was given in the show to show that Hob had changed and regretted his former actions. We can critique these things based on what the show has and has not told us, and also pepper in information provided in the comics and what we know about future Hob panels as well.

But when it comes to the blank spaces in between frames, in between cut screens, we can do whatever we like. Because that is where meta analysis ends and fanfiction begins. You wanna write about Hob joining the abolitionist movement and fighting hard to end slavery? You can. You wanna write about him ignoring Dreams advice and continuing to be a brutal slaver right up until slavery was ended in England sure, you go for it. But don't call either of these "headcanons" meta analysis.

Dont use meta analysis as a cover to shit on fandom. The minute you resort to name calling and mockery its no longer meta. No matter how frustrated or upset you are with the current fandom situation. There is always space to criticise fandom. But ask yourself what your end goal is here? What are you trying to achieve? Is it truly because you are on a righteous path to end fandom racism? Or do you just really hate a popular ship and want people to stop shipping it? If it's the former, then focus on that, ask what solutions we can put in place? Where we can truly tackle it on a larger scale, raising awareness of things that people may not realise are racist but are common tropes in fandom (like how making female characters all mothers or sassy gay best friends is misogynistic or how certain stereotypes in fantasy creatures are anti semitic) but if its the latter, then its disingenuous to use racism in fandom as a shield to hide your ship hate. It reduces an important topic to something shallow and irrelevant.

In ending this rant I will just say this. I'm not interested in engaging further on this topic. I'm legit gonna start blocking if anyone attempts to twist my words here. The civil discussions on this matter ended when people started name calling and flinging around accusations without basis. I am more than happy to engage separately in ways to improve fandom spaces for poc, because thats important, but ship hating has no place in that discussion. Drop that aspect, and there'll be less resistance in these topics.

[lover-of-mine]

On the question of the new viewers. Let me preface with after getting burned bad I made a promise I would never ship Canon straight characters as queer ships ever again. It just comes into play to understand the readers digest version of this. Yes I was always aware of the Buddie ship and the actors but that was it

I accidentally started season 6. It just came on, and I just didnt look away. Here's how it went.

I actually saw the lasagna dinner scene and thought wait they went Canon? That's them right? Then quickly realized. Nope 2 straight besties. Bucks a cool uncle (didn't know about will scene forgive me). And proceeded to not get attached.

Actually easy because they separated them a bit. But then there was the lightening strike and poker date and I was like oh somethings happening. I was wrong they had the dopey ass ending and I was like bless me for not getting invested.

Then.... It was a year wait!!!!!! So it was a boredom tune back in. I was pleased to see Bucks bi story. I thought the first kiss was charming. Then he was just there. I left the season thinking Eddie was tragically in love with his dead wife and Buck was experimenting.

If I didn't go back to binge I would have gone into 8 with these expectations. Eddie either excepting he was a tragic single father forever. Buck, yes probably seeing Tommy, but no I was not a shipper. Firstly because of appearance. I have no problem with age difference but with them I just don't like it. Tommy seems older and rougher. On the flip side personality. That Tommy wasn't what I pictured Bucks end game as like at all. I wanted someone like Spencer Reid if it wasn't Eddie.

But... . I did go back and binge. S1 was a trip. Got to S2. Saw the opening. Went duh I get why they ship them, but you ain't getting me. Until the elf scene. I really was good. But right after the elf scene I remembered hearing how Tim wrote it as a nod and double checked.. Remember, it would be weird to see the scene and know Tim knows after knowing full well yes Buck would come out queer. So it really was a no brainer after that. No way Tim created this in S2 if they weren't end game if there was ever a chance.

Then came the well, tsunami, shooting, will reveal, break ups, co dependant idiots and finally caught back to the lasagna and lightening. Also seeing how much Eddie isn't a reliable narrator about his relationship with Shannon. The version I got at the end of 7 is not what was happening on my screen in 2. I would almost label it a red herring depending on how this plays out in 8. Also after watching the begin episodes I understood anyone's frustration that Tommy was just white washed.

Final conclusion. Not even trying to sound condescending but I don't know why the other side even thinks this is a "ship war". I was late and I never hated Tommy but I would have never shipped them as end game. I couldn't even tell if Tommy actually liked Buck. I was left with the ick of Buck was a consolation prize or second choice and Buck was trying way to hard. Taking scraps and being grateful. Maybe because I binged it was more fresh but it was more of how little self respect Buck had for himself in trying to be in a relationship.

And if anyone finished reading that you deserve an award.

This is an interesting view of things, I think if you only have the s7 context, you will see them differently because the whole Kim thing really messes with the perception of Eddie and love, thank you for coming and telling me this, really.

But this kinda made me talk about my experience with buddie, so I'm gonna do that, because I think it's funny. I didn't know much about the show, but I knew of buddie, I started watching during the hiatus between 5a and 5b and during that time there was some big talk about queerbaiting going around and I know of them next to ships like destiel and stucky and destiel, I had just read an article on queerbaiting that had a section talking about them, so I kinda assumed buddie would be the same as they had enough context to create a ship but not enough for it to have a real chance of going canon, so I was set on not shipping them. Like, I was legit ready to roll my eyes and see that Buck and Eddie with their respective female love interests and be like "okay they are never going anywhere" but then an elf pretty much calls them gay as Eddie justifies sleeping with his wife 10 episodes in and I was like "oh oh" because they have a compelling friendship and I'm a sucker for best friends to lovers, but I was fighting it, until the tsunami, because seriously, I watched Eddie go "there's nobody in this world I trust with my son more than you" after a situation where no one would blame Eddie if he needed time and I was done for. Then they just kept getting more insane about each other. I remember watching the will reveal and being like "wait, fuck me, are they gonna go there?" because they follow all the basic procedural slowburn tropes, and I started s5 being like 👀 about everything that was happening to them. Now that Buck is bi, I'm seriously 95% sure buddie is happening because all the elements are there. There is something very compelling about Buck and Eddie together when you look at the whole show and s7 really added to that. Settling for Buck in a relationship with someone who's clearly not that into him just because it's a queer relationship doesn't feel right when Eddie is right there.

[fanonsupremecy]

RomCom Movie Idea: Widower Actor Dads (played by Jensen Ackles and Misha Collins) that have been best friends forever that when their wives die in a horrible accident help eachother through the grief and eventually find out they're in love with eachother. But thats not the plot of the movie. The actual plot is that their daughters are getting lesbian married and they've been in the closet the whole time because they've been putting it off until the kids were ready which ok kinda makes sense I guess but even when the daughters came out they didnt want to steal their moment but they kept putting it off until one day the daughters come home from college to announce their wedding and so dad a is like "nows the time" and dad b agrees but then daughter a anounces that shes marrying daughter b before the dads get the chance to come clean and again they dont wanna steal their moment once again so they resign to wait until after the wedding but dad b is basically living with dad a now and so until they come out its a minor problem but dad b decides he wants to give the daughters his house as a wedding present when they finally do but until then they are in a pickly wickly predicament. So its really just wedding shenanigans and trying to keep The Secret (that could the the title of the movie; also maybe its too long for a movie and should be a show instead) and occasional flash backs to their relationship throughout the years until everything comes to a screeching halt on the wedding night at the reception cuz the dads sneak away and the daughters go looking for them and come across a couple getting hot and heavy in a closet only to open to tell them to move it along ("this is a wedding not a porn set") only to find out its their dads so its a big thing that the daughters are mad cuz the dads never told them but its quickly resolved (and maybe the daughters feel bad that the dads were gonna come out to them but didnt want to dim the daughters spotlight and resigned to waiting again and when the daughters hear the dads say that the daughters feel sad but really loved because of course their dads would sacrifice their own happiness for theirs, they always have) in time for a tabloid to come out with the scandal and for them to all hold a united front and the dads to say in an interview that they're not ashamed to be together (just a little embarrassed about the incident and wished it wasnt publicized, "it was probably Rhonda" "I never liked her") and when asked why they were in the closet so long "we said for the kids and we believed that excuse for a while -and also the excuse that we just kept putting it off for a more convenient time or when we wouldn't be taking the spotlight off the girls- but really we were just scared" and things die down eventually and they decide to get married too and their daughters walk them down the aisle (going full circle). And then their daughters adopt and they get to be gay grandpas together.

(Honestly its really just a cockles/destiel au fanfic and to be on the nose Jensen's character is named Misha Ackles and Misha's is Jensen Collins, or more subtly Jensen's is Ross Collins and Misha's is Nic Ackles.)

[ididit-allofit-foryou]

RIP to my friend nixie. they stopped watching SPN after season 11. and asked about the finale. i wanted to immortalize what i sent (which includes a recap of seasons 12-15 so they would Understand.) so. read on if you wish, this monstrosity is going under the cut lol

so. in season 12 lucifer possesses the president of the united states (dont worry about it) & impregnates one of the president's staff members who was banging the president behind closed doors, republican Kelly Kline. through a series of events, cas winds up being the Adoptive Father. kid is born, but he had opened a rift to a different alternate universe the show so eloquently named 'apocalypse world'. it is a world where sam & dean were never born. through Another series of events, team free will PLUS mary winchester (yeah shes back from the dead, amara brought her back, dont worry about it lol) & cas tries to kill lucifer. he thinks he did, comes back through , and hes like there for .02 seconds before lucifer pops through & stabs cas. cas dies. mary beats up lucifer with angel brass knuckles or whatever & they fall through the rift & it closes. they are trapped there. at this exact moment, jack kline (kelly kline & lucifer/mr. president's baby) is being born. sam runs into the house to Check On That. dean however, falls to his knees next to cas's body & looks up desperately to the sky. (the cw said Not to read into this. it means Nothing. destiel who?!) also kelly died in child birth. bc spn Hates women.

thats the end of season 12.

season 13, we have jack. he popped out a fully fledged like. 19? 20? 21 year old?? bc his mom said he would have to Grow Up Fast. dean wraps cas's body in a curtain. alone. and is like crying & devastated. the bois and jack burn cas's body & dean looks like he wants to off himself (& he tries to in like. the next episode but Death brings him back). (also sorry im sooo bad at summary lol). we have the Widower Arc where dean bargains with a silent god to bring back cas, but Nothing. and dean is just fucking depressed as all shit. suddenly! cas is back!! BECAUSE jack heard dean yelling at sam about how its jacks fault cas is dead bc when jack was a fetus he showed cas a Vision of how he could bring Paradise On Earth if they allowed him to live (they wanted to kill him bc. like. Spawn Of Satan & all that). so jack uses his Powers™️ & brings cas back from the dead! yay!! a lot of other shit happens & the Empty (which is like. the Entity that encases all the angels & demons when they die, & where cas was when he was dead) Does Not Like that cas escaped. so, it wants to take jack to get back at cas. cas is like 'no fuck off thats my son lets make a deal. take me back instead' & the empty is like 'ok bitch 2 can play that game. i WILL take you. but ONLY when you experience a Moment Of True Happiness™️'. & cas is like 'bet.' bc! hes a depressed mf & figures it would take a Miracle to make him Truly Happy. (pls keep this in mind, its a surprise tool for later). ummm so yeah season 13.

season 14 had like. ANOTHER fucking michael/lucifer arc but it was Stupid. dean said yes to michael like the angels wanted in season fucking 4 & 5. & i dont Totally remember the plot but like. dean has michael trapped in a box in his mind & wants them to?? fucking?? put him in a warded coffin & chunk it in the ocean?? so michael will never hurt the world again?? also--its like. AU michael. and also mary is okay, & we get AU bobby & AU charlie & a lot of shit happens. anyway.

season 15: we get the Divorcr Arc™️!! dean & cas fight!! bc guess what? jack accidentally killed mary!! (yes! she died AGAIN!!) bc! he didnt know how to control his powers! & dean blames cas! so cas Leaves in a big dramatic breakup scene. we also find out that god (aka chuck) has been like. controlling Everything?? & free will Doesnt Exist?? & dean has a crisis & we get cas saying 'dean, you asked what about all of this is real. We Are.' (which we were apparently sooo crazy to read into!!) & also!? chuck brings back ALL the monsters salmon dean ever killed?? and rowena sacrifices herself to save the world! but! dont worry! she is now thenQueen Of Hell™️ & fucking THRIVING! anyway, season progresses, we get purgatory 2.0 and dean & cas are separated & dean lITERALLY GETS DOWN ON HIS OLD MAN KNEES TO PRAY TO CAS AND APOLOGIZE AND SAY HE FORGIVES HIM!! & then. a bit later. chuck starts poofing away Everyone On Earth bc he wants to destroy the multiverse. and also? death wants to kill dean i forget why. oh yeah! i think he stole her Death Book or whatever to try and see how to kill god. anyway. we have episode 15x18. Thee Episode of All Time. it starts with AU charlie and her gf. they are making eggs and vibing and all of a sudden her gf goes Poof. then sams gf Eileen goes Poof. so they round up as many friends as they can & put them in a warded place but they all go Poof. so sam is with the friends when this happens & also jack. and dean & cas have gone to the bunker to Fight Death. and. so. get ready for this. death shows up. she (yeah billie the reaper became death btw. long story) she starts to like. squeeze deans heart to kill him with magic. cas helps dean run through the bunker away from her. they get to the dungeon. death is literally banging on the door which cas had cut his palm to ward with a sigil of his blood with a knife he pulled from deans back pocket. (again: he cut his palm--another Surprise Tool For Later). deans like 'im so sorry man, we should have stayed with sam. shes gonna get in here, and shes gonna kill you, then shes gonna kill me' & cas is like 'well theres one thing strong enough to stop her' & he starts telling dean about the deal he made to save jack (yep, he never told him). and he says 'i always wondered what would break that curse. but i think i know now' & he. he fucking. he starts a speech about how he knows how dean sees himself, as a killer, a monster, daddys blunt instrument driven by anger, just like his enemies see him. BUT cas says dean is Not that. he says dean is 'the most caring man, the most loving man on earth' & deans like freaking out & is like 'why are you telling me all this? why does this sound like a goodbye??' & cas says, crying, but smiling, 'because it is' & then!! cas!! says !! 'i love you' !!!!!!!!! &&&&& death breaks down the door!! && the empty is materializing behind dean! & dean says 'dont do this cas!' & cas grabs deans LEFT SHOULDER WITH HIS BLOODY PALM! & says 'goodbye dean' & shoves him out of the way!! & the empty grabs cas!! && death!! & takes them away!!!!!! && dean is like!! freaking the fuck out sitting on the flooor with tears in his eyes!! && we cut to like. a bit later. hes Still there, crying, head in his hands, as his phone rings on the floor--its sam. end of the world, sam is calling, & he doesnt answer. we end the episode to deans crying. LIKE FUCK!!!!

15x19: they defeat god. jack like. absorbed him?? & he became god?? & then fucked off to do godly duties!? and did Not bring cas back????

(there are Theories that Chuck Won &thats why the next episode is so fucked and i Have To Agree)

15x20: okok. i fucking HATE THIS FUCKINGEPISDORNFMDNFNDNFNDBDND

anyway. so. cas is Not in the episode. at All. we have sam & dean? driving??? & there are like at LEAST 2 very Bad montages of random scenes that dont even make sense. sam & dean go to a pie eating festival. sam shoves pie in deans face. they Thengo on a case. its vampires. theres a vamp from like. season 2?? who was a minor charachter?? but they brought her back?? why??? idk. and. so. dean gets impaled on a rusty rebar nail during the fight scene in thr barn. he gives sam a long ass speech. they ?? touch foreheads for some reason??? && dean wont let sam get help??? & sam is like 'if cas were here...' & deans like 'yeah well he isnt.' like??? && then deAN FUCKING DIES??? && GOES TO HEAVEN??? && BOBBY IS THERE??? AND APPARENLY FUCKING ABUSIVE ASS JOHN LIVES DOWN THE ROAD??? && dean asks bobby 'so jack did all this?' (as in revamping heaven so people can be all together instead of separate like it used to be) & bobbys like 'well, cas helped' & then dean smiles, then goes?? & rides his car!?? bc his car is in heaven????? && we just see him driving interspersed with clips of sam on earth, burning deans body, and grieving dean, and later sam gets a blurry wife, we dont see who she is, and he has a son?? and he named him dean!? whixh we know bc the kid has on overalls that say 'dean' on them??? & then sam gets old and sits in the impala & cries while wearing a wig that looks like its from fucking party city?? then sam is on his death bed and his son is there?? && theres all these pictures around him of himsefl and dean & mary & john but?? no wife!? ans also!!? noone else like their friends?? & then sam dies & carry on my wayward son plays for like the second time in the episode. and we see dean on a bridge in heaven, he finally stopped driving & is staring off into the distance. and then he hears something behind him & smiles & we all thought 'CAS???' but NO its fuckingSAM somehow young again like whendean died?? & theylike. hug. and then it pans out & all the cast & crew are there?? and they say thank you to us for watching?? and then ?? its over?????? like Awhta thWHAT THE FUCK

[lordstormageddidnt]

@cha0ticlesbian had this question on my last post:

Hi! Genuine question, I’m new to supernatural (I’m on season 4) and I can definitely see what people mean about dean and cas and obviously I know about the confession scene but I’m confused if it’s true that deans feeling are “up to interruption” or if he just doesn’t like him back? Also I’ve seen some people saying he’s like homophobic? Ive just really confused and dean is my favorite so I wanna know lol

So let's talk about that. Are Dean's feelings up to interpretation?

Simply put, yes.

Basically, in s15e18 "Despair", when Cas is giving his whole "I love you" speech, Dean doesn't say very much. At random intervals, he gives NPC-type comments* like "Why does this sound like a goodbye?" and "Don't do this, Cas". He does not ever say "I love you too" (unless you're watching the Spanish dubbed version, where he says exactly that).

On the surface, I know my friends (who only get their spn info from me holding them hostage in my discord server), took issue with the line "don't do this". They kind of read it as Dean not respecting Cas in Cas's final moments-- in their eyes, Dean didnt want Cas to confess because he's uncomfortable with Cas's feelings. But the speech isn't about Dean-- it's about Cas giving himself permission to be happy.

That line of thinking plus the past allegations of Jensen Ackles being homophobic is usually where people get the idea that Dean is homophobic. From what I can see, the "Dean is homophobic" is mostly part of the meme of the scene in general, and not something most people actually believe, but some people do genuinely believe he is homophobic. This belief is also supported by Dean's hypermasculine personality in general and the comments he makes; we never once see him outwardly homophobic to any of the openly queer SPN characters, but especially in earlier seasons, he makes jokes (like Sam being a girl because he has long hair) that you would expect someone homophobic to say.

I do think homophobic Dean a valid interpretation, but the logic kind of ignores some of the context of the scene.

For one, there's a moment after the confession where Dean gets a call from "Cas" (it's Lucifer) telling him that Cas is outside the Bunker and needs to be let out. Dean breaks into a sprint to get to the door, and I think this action speaks louder than words (or, lack thereof). Whether or not Dean reciprocates, he cares about Cas as a friend and he wants Cas to be alive again.

For two, when it comes to "don't do this", the more common interpretation is that Dean doesn't want Cas to sacrifice himself. Again, Cas starts the speech by explaning that he will die during his happiest moment, and then transitions into saying that confessing his love to Dean is his happiest moment. Dean doesn't want Castiel to defeat Billie by sacrificing himself.

As a destiel shipper, my interpretation of this scene is a slight variation of the previous one. In my general view of SPN, Dean has known he's in love with Cas since at least s11, and he's known Cas has loved him back for a while, but he's just never felt like it was the right time to start a relationship (constant apocalypses and everything) and he's worried that he'll screw it up. In my head, when he says "don't do this", it means more like "don't do this [love confession like this]". Like, Dean doesn't want their first ILYs* to be marred by the fact that Cas is sacrificing himself.

So, last question-- how do people read the scene as Dean liking Cas back when he never verbally reciprocates?

Some people see Dean's silence as him either not liking Cas back or not realizing he likes Cas back yet, but there's another option here. The reason Cas is dying is because he believes this is his happiest moment. His speech outright states that he believes Dean does not love him back ("the one thing I want is the thing I cannot have"). It's totally possible that Dean reciprocates, but in his mind, saying that really would trigger Cas's happiest moment. There are some great fix-it fics built on the premise of "Dean insults the sht outta Cas to spoil Cas's happiest moment and stop him from being taken by the Empty".

* okay last point. I wasn't sure where to insert this but I think it's insanely interesting. The scene in s15e18 is not actually the first time Cas tells Dean he loves him. In s12, there is an episode where Cas believes he is dying, and he says the line "I love you. I love all of you" to the small crowd of Dean, Sam, and Mary. NPC behavior from Dean ensues as he insists Cas isn't going to die without ever acknowledging the "I love you". The common interpretation is that the first ILY is for Dean, and the second ILY is Cas speaking to the Winchesters as a whole. Do with that as you will lol

Anyway, that's all I got :D thank you for the opportunity to rant about supernatural and feel free to ask me if you have any other questions!

[proteus-no]

Actually wait no I'm going feral over destiel again.

He LOVED him. Cas LOVED Dean, and Dean loved Cas back and never got the chance to say it (and Jensen said in his head Dean DID want to say I Love You back!!!!) . AND DEAN NEVER GOT TO SEE CAS AGAIN!!!!!!!!!! DEAN KNOWS CAS IS ALIVE AND THEY DIDNT FILM A REUNION!!!!!!!!

And you want to know what would have been poetic and worked within CWs arbitrary COVID restraints? Dean finally being able to hear Cas' true voice, to at thee very least say Jack rescued him, but he can't come to Earth right now because he's helping Jack.

Winchesters,, I'm not expecting much bit P L E A S E. Jensen you can do it, you can reconn the shitty ending, somehow, someway.

[hunters-and-reapers]

I dont do drugs

I get my high off of standing up too fast but refusing to stand still to let the dizziness pass and instead just stumble around confused and almost falling down the stairs

[mattzerella-sticks]

Honestly I wanted to write something about what S*mantha F*rris's recent tweet might mean about being back on the SPN studio lots but it's honestly meaningless like - maybe they're gonna ADR her calling out to Bobby for the DVDs in the last ep like we didn't watch the live version that was CHOSEN to be PRESENTED as the END. Or maybe they're calling her in about not profiting off the Roadhouse. Or, perhaps, she's there to do 'Roadhouse Recaps' about W*lker (even though she and Ch*d were not the reason why people got excited on V-Day). Or, as I'm thinking, it's ultimately nothing and she just posted a sign from the studio.

I can tell you one thing - whatever she's doing there will ultimately mean nothing for the people who were mad with the finale. They aren't going to be reshooting it without Jensen, J*red, and MISHA (since, y'know... a fix-it would HAVE to include him). And given the trajectory of their careers (Jensen will begin filming soon, Misha has his own projects + his hip, J*red is dumping water out of his sinking ship), the current state of things in the world, and what she's prone to doing (with baiting)... whatever she's doing I'm very doubtful of it being big, meaningful, or anything that will course correct from what has been done. Besides, I will only take a SPN alternate ending/movie/miniseries if it's produced ELSEWHERE. You won't get more of my money! I'm giving it to people who actually care about how they queerbait.

[omniscientoranges]

What if Dean had actually killed Cas in the reverse crypt scene though

[cursedconstellation]

I think coming back to the fandom rewired my brain in ways I will never recover from. I mean, seriously, suddenly every song that I listen to fits "perfectly" with Dean and Cas.

"You are my favorite 'what if', you are my best 'I'll never know'" ????????

"I wish I'd known how much you loved me, I wish I cared enough to know" ??????

"And all my thoughts of you, they could heat or cool the room, and now don't tell me you're fine, oh, honey, you don't have to lie" ???????

Years ago I said Destiel will be the death of me and turns out I was right.

[neven-ebrez]

Are you on anti-Dean train too? :(

Well, I’m a Cas fan and when Dean treats Cas badly by projecting his own self disappointment/anger onto him and treating him like a tool instead of a person it upsets me. If I were Cas I wouldn’t want to be around someone I love that treats me like this. Imo that doesn’t really make me anti-Dean in the way that I think of the term. I don’t think Dean is a bad person, obviously. I love who Dean is. He’s had so much trauma and still tries so hard. Dean knows he’s not being fair. He knows. If he didn’t understand this would be something different. I’d feel differently here. But it’s not. So I don’t. But also Cas doesn’t understand the difference here. Not really. It’s Dean’s particular behavior that is wrong here and the behavior is what I specifically take issue with is all. And we’ve been here with these two like this for a long, long time, after all. It’s never addressed for various in-story reasons (that are mostly tied up in renewal problems vs spiraling storytelling design) .

And it’s been building up for a while on Cas. A long while. It’s a clear, CLEAR constructed point of contention between them. And I think the show is making this all very, very obvious. Both in the text and within the PR around the final season. And Cas is about to leave like I said I would if I were him. That’s me simply understanding and reacting to the writing from a place of empathy for my favorite character. If you aren’t anti-this behavior from Dean then you aren’t paying attention imo. I say this kindly. Acknowledging this behavior as bad is not being anti-Dean. It’s being pro-Cas being treated like a person. Dean -vs- this wrong behavior (but Dean realizing it’s wrong). You gotta be able to separate the two.

[orionsangel86]

I promise my tone is not malicious and I come in peace. This is in regards to the likes/reblogs situation. One of the issues that gets lost in the arguments for why reblogs died down is because, when this site was crawling with over zealous individuals who thought they were fighting the crusades, many people would get attacked over art or a post they didn’t tolerate. And no I’m not talking about actual bad stuff but like dumb things like not necessarily shipping a fandom’s main ship or adult content for actual adult ships and so on. God forbid some of us don’t follow the made up fandom rules. Some of us aren’t even trying to be an active part of those circles, we just wanted to reblog pretty pictures, cool art styles, or neat short fics. Like it was never that deep or real for some of us, it was just a little hit of dopamine, ya know? I’ve since removed myself from all fandom experiences as it’s just less hurtful that way. The other issue that also contributed greatly was the purge. So many artists had to abandon this sinking ship and I don’t blame them. So many of them relied on commissions and stuff and it sucked that they got hurt more than one way. The whole situation sucks, I’m sorry 😞

Hey, im sorry you had such a bad experience with fandom. I recall those days. I didnt spend 8 years in SPN fandom to not come out with some battle scars from all the nonsense! I remember vividly following an artist who posted amazing destiel art, but who was a multishipper who also posted w*ncest art and I remember getting angry anons being like *how DARE you reblog art from someone who ships w*ncest!!!* it was dumb and I ignored it. I always ignored all that crap.

I can understand not wanting to reblog for fear of getting stuck in some discourse and I was very saddened by the purge when so many great creative blogs quit tumblr for good.

I totally get having anxiety about reblogging as well. Its a stronger commitment to just liking something. But you can set up as many anonymous side blogs as you want and reblog stuff on there if it helps with the anxiety, and as always just ignore the discourse. Ive had 2 posts "breach containment" and some of the absolutely brainless comments i get on those posts are enough to set my blood pressure rising... but I ignore them because its not worth the effort to argue with a stranger on the internet imo. Nowadays idgaf about fandom discourse. Im just here vibing in my own little world and I'll be having as much fun here as possible. I just get a bit sad when i see no one is reblogging the awesome art i reblog or the gifsets someone spent so much time on. I wish more people would interact.

So when I see a backlash to posts begging people to keep the site alive by reblogging, it does get my hackles rising and I wanna shake those smug people who are like "oh you just want clout dont tell me what to do" because im like "well why the fuck are you even on tumblr then? Go back to twitter or instagram since that attitude is more suited to those places".

I want tumblr to succeed. I want it to gain more popularity and continue to be a hub for art and creativity and fun. There are so few places left on the internet for these kind of things. But we are a community, and communities only thrive with regular interaction, and interaction on tumblr starts with a reblog.

[qwertyfingers]

this scene makes me feel like caveman spongebob

[vminvisiblestring]

How Robert Berens Made Destiel Canon

or The Beautifully Tragic Road to Destiel

in honor of their one month anniversary, i want to talk about robert berens and how he made it his mission to make destiel canon and the care he took approaching their relationship...

i dont know if this has been pointed out before, but i was looking at the episodes bobo berens wrote when i realized something: he wrote all the significant destiel episodes in s15. i think that means he probably planned to make destiel canon long before s15 started:

he hid a love story inside the monster story. a love story told in five parts:

• initiating event

• rising action

• climax (first twist)

• falling action

• second twist (no resolution)

14x18: absence - “initiating event”

the initiating event introduces the conflict and sets events into motion in a story.

in absence, cas reveals to dean that jack might not have a soul and therefore might not know that hurting his mother was wrong. this angers dean and results in dean telling cas “youre dead to me”. this initiates a chain of events that lead their relationship to experience a tear (or rupture).

15x03: the rupture - “rising action”

the rising action is the result of a character trying to (in this case) solve a problem but a force is at conflict with the character. for every step taken, there is either a successful or failed outcome; this pattern continues all the way to the climax.

complications in dean and cas’s relationship continue to widen the distance between them into the start of season 15 with the deaths of rowena and belphagor (for which dean blames cas) culminating in the infamous “breakup” scene. cas said there was nothing left for him anymore and leaves dean.

15x08: our father who arent in heaven - “rising action”

bobo didnt write this episode but its important to the path because rowena tells dean and cas to fix their relationship in the same episode that michael sends them to purgatory (aka the place dean realized he was in love with cas all those years ago and where they fixed their relationship the first time)

15x09: the trap - ‘climax & first twist”

the climax is the most emotional part of the story and is reached when the character takes the final step to resolve their problem. this is also where the turning point of the story begins and descends to the falling action (and if there is a plot twist, it happens here).

the first twist: dean confesses first. this scene is deans confession disguised as an apology. he might lose cas and needed him to know hes sorry. the prayer scene is so important because, if we read the scene, this is in fact, an apology, but its so much more than that. dean responds to cas’s “i left but you didnt stop me” with “i should have stopped you”. this scene showed just how much dean has grown, how much he’s trying and how much he wants to be free of the anger he feels because he realized it was what separated him from the man he loves on multiple occasions. this is deans way of saying “im sorry. i didnt mean anything i said. you are the most important person in my life and i let you leave. i shouldnt have let you leave. thats my fault. im trying to get better. please tell me you’re gonna be okay. tell me this isnt the last time i’ll ever see you. please. i love you”.

dean and cas reunite near the rift but dean doesnt want to leave before telling cas something. we know it cant be the prayer because its obvious cas heard that; this is something else, but cas stops him. this scene is them making amends with each other the best way they know how: a silent knowing. the conflict has finally been resolved.

15x12: galaxy brain - “falling action”

the falling action consists of the after-effects of the climax and every event from here onward should lead to a logical conclusion.

dean and cas’s relationship is better, they seem at peace. the silent knowing is definitely there, and they both seem comfortable the way they left things. the way things are going, they’ll likely have as much a “happy” ending as a fallen angel and a hunter can have without talking about this silent knowing. we cant forget about the looming empty deal, but knowing cas will never be truly happy, it seems like dean and cas are going to be friends for a long time...

15x18: despair - “second twist”

after the falling action comes the resolution. sometimes in film and television, a surprise second twist will occur after the climax and toss the characters into another fight. the second twist is resolved quicker than the first and leads to a speedy resolution.

the second twist here, however, replaces the resolution because the story of destiel sadly and infuriatingly, never got its resolution.

i feel like bobo was told cas was going to get killed off and thats why he knew there was no way the network would allow dean to reciprocate so he did the best he could to work around the homophobia and make destiel canon as much as possible for us.

this is the most “resolution” we were given by a show we spent years watching and loving. we rooted for the characters, we fought as much for their happiness as they did themselves. and it ended up stabbing jensen, misha, bobo, other cast members, some writers and the fans in the back.

deans face here is all i have left to hold on to and thats not fair. and its not fair that after all these years this is what they did to one of the most complex love stories ever told. not only that, but dean and cas were also some of the complex characters ever put to screen. this is not a good ending for them and it never will be. not until they both get the endings they deserve, as individuals and as one. and im sorry for the pain all this mess has caused and would like nothing more than to squeeze everyone really tight and tell you it’ll be okay.

[not-quite-girl-nor-quite-boy]

I cant promise any sort of consintancy between length of things but idk man lets just go with it. I enjoy writing so im just gonna do it to any extent i please. I am probably going to make most of it whumpy because thats what i enjoy but feel free to request anything youd like. Of course there will be some absolute tooth rotting fluff here and there, like today's :) ((whopsy almost forgot my possesive apostrophe, my englishe teacher mother would have my kneecaps let me tell you(((speaking of which i have not proofread and have not checked any of the grammar or spelling, so sorry xxx)))

Have fun <3

Suptober promt #1: maze/maize.

~Destiel~(Cass and the Winchesters are buddies but cass isnt exactly clear on feelings and how feelings work.)

"CAS!" Dean called as suddenly cass appeared in front of him.

"Yes, dean what is it! What happened!" Cass questioned concerned and alert, ready for any threat that affronts him. His eyes shooting from sam to dean sitting in opposite chairs at the little table in the motel room trying to find the threat in need of defeating.

"What? Nothing, why?" Dean asked in response.

"You called for me?" He asked his voice dripping with confusion, his head turned to a tilt.

"Yes..." Sam inquired.

"You only call for me when you need something. Is something happening?" Cass asked. Sam and dean locked eyes guiltily realising only in that moment how true that statement really was. Sam decided to try and stear the conversation away from that point while dean was peicing himself together.

"Yeah buddy, everythings fine. We- we just-" sam started. Dean redonned his mask and jumped back into the conversation.

"Sam youre butchuring it." He said looking at sam before standing and making intense eye contact with cass. He put his hands on his shoulders and locked eyes eliciting a slight blush from cass who had been developing feelings for dean as much as it defied his angel wiring. He had come to terms that feelings were ok and that they were acceptable but he didnt come accross them naturally nor did he understand how they worked. Dean continued his thought with the same intensity "there is a very important event happening right here in town. There is nothing else on for a while so... will you, castiel, angel of the lord, come with us to... the MAZE MAIZE!?!?"

If anything Castiel's confused face intensified as his crinkled crows feet continued to develop.

"Its a corn maze they make em some times dean really made it sound much bigger than it is. Its fun though and we havent been to one since we were kids and hey, its nebraska there isnt a lot of places here where corn isnt. Its pretty much just a laugh but its a good part of human culture education so we thought why not? Deans pretty excited as you can see." Sam explained gesturing to dean who had not let go of cass nor broken eye contact.

"Yes i can see that. But to reiterate, why am i here?" Cass asked.

"Come with us man." Dean joked clapping him on the shoulder.

"Why?" Cass asked.

"Its fun cass! Come on, please, come with us?" Dean asked.

"Of course. Anything for Dean Winchester." He nodded not realising how flustered that made him.

"All right then." Sam clapped trying to cut through the sexual tension in the air with the sound. "We gonna go?" He asked standing and pushing the chair out from under him as he stood. Dean looked around at him.

"Yup, yup. Lets get going! Man i cant wait!" Dean said trying to distract himself from feelings he knew he shouldnt have. 'Hes an angel, he probably cant even feel love,' He told himself. 'And even if he could why would he love me im just an emotionally fucked human. He could totally fo better. And it wouldnt take much.' Dean told himself. He swiflty walked out the door holding it open for sam, who nodded his thanks, and cass who said, "thank you dean." Damn, holy, angel manners making him blush.

When they arrived at the corn feild cass looked at the sign,

"I dont understand the purpose of this." Cass said.

"Its just for fun, it dosent have a purpose is just something to do." Sam said. "Lets split up. Ill race ya!" Sam said before running off giggling. Dean thoigh it was him embracing the childishness of the activity and not allowing himself feel shame. Little did he know sam had expertly engineered the scenario to enable them to embrace each others feelings.

"Man, i love it when he gets to be a kid. No monsters, no responsibility just messin' around." He smiled before startling at what he had jusg said. "Sorry dude, you didnt want to hear that." He apologised looking sheepishly down at the autumnal floor. He heard footsteps crunching towards him the brown and orange leaves russtling, crushed by familiar black shoes.

Cass put a finger beaneath his chin lifting his head up with his hand.

"I like it when you are honest Dean. When you speak your mind. You dont get to enough." He smiled. Deans breath hitched, his eyelashes fluttered as he threw out a not even half confident,

"come on cass, personal space." As much as it killed him to say so. He knew he had to though, if he allowed himself truely admit these feelings he might never be able to close the flood gates.

Sheepishly cass stepped back hooping dean wouldnt notice his blush only to be releived when he found that deans matched his own.

"Come on," dean said suddenly, "or sam'll beat us with no competition!" He said trying to distract himself. He took his hand and lead him away from the sign,

"Wait, dean shouldnt we memorise the map?" Cass asked.

"No! Thats takes all the fun out of it!" Dean kidded dragging cass behind him, smile beaming, gleeful from the feeling of cass' hand in his. At a certain point following dean grew to meant running after him at full speed just to keep up but cass didnt mind honestly he was quite enjoying himself, just spending time with dean uninterupted. And he enjoyed the colours that came with autumn. The hundreds of shades of browns, oranges and greens each cruching beneath his feet, each one a sacrifice dawning space for next years yeild of leaves only for the process to repeat, to do itself over and over. The certainty of it seemed to minimise his problems, no matter what happens, no matter his own issues be himself alive or dead the seasons would continue and the leaves would fall only to begin again. Whatever thoughts cass had immediately exited his brain the second he saw deans giddy smile. In the golden light of the autumn sun catching deans grass green eyes, and illuminating his already shining smile. Cass was lost in his face with his gilded smile. Time slowed down as he examined the perfect freckles dotting his face, the pinkish blush dusting his cheeks in a child like joy. Dean had a kind of smile that was contagious in a way that lead to cass smiling too.

All too soon cass was brought out of the moment by deans sudden change is stature. He looked around to find whatever had rudely torn him from his perfect moment before noticing. They had reached the center. Dean had been happy, he had beaten sam in the race. Cass was happy too, not only had he tried something and won on the first time but dean looked ecstatic in that moment and that contagious smile infected him again. Infatuated with that perfect grin cass failed to notice that dean seemed equally infatuated by him.

Dean POV

Looking at cass in that moment dean could barely manage that perfect smile on that perfect face. The grin plastered onto his face from just winning some stupid game with sam, some stupid activity for kids but that angelic face and those bluer than blue eyes dean couldnt seem to stop himself. He leaned in and pressed his lips against castiel's who, to his surprise, kissed him back with the same passion and viguor. Equally if not more surprisingly cass was amazing at kissing he licked deans lips asking for entrance which he gladly gave, parting his lips slightly dean felt cass reach in with his tongue and sliding it accross his teeth like he was painting them. Dean locked his fingers in cass' hair running his fingertips along his scalp before promtly gripping his hair tightly between his fingers.

Suddenly cass split from dean roused from the moment by approaching footsteps but refusing to remove his hands from deans waist. He saw a familiar red and black plaid shirt approaching walking backwards. He tilted his head again in confusion.

"HA! TAKE THAT DEAN. I BEAT YOU! JUST LIKE I DID WHEN WE WERE-" at that point he had turned around revealing a very flushed dean and cass whose hands were stol wrapped around each other.

"YES!" He bellowed. "Even though i lost i still won!" He shouted and proceded to immediately whip out his phone dialing a number at incredible speeds.

"Charlie?"

...

"Yeah. I did it! It happened! And you know what that means!"

...

"Yes you owe me $20 and your 11th doctor original sonic screwdriver. Haha!" He said his voice slowly becoming quieter as he walked away. At which point deans chuckled became audible as he failed to tame them by biting his lip any longer. He leaned forward letting his forehead rest on castiel's chest as his shook with the laughter that reverberated through him and through cass' chest.

"What is it?" Cass inquired.

"Its nothing, it-- its the moracle of the maize maze." Dean chuckled as he looked up smiling at him again.

Cass leaned in again kissing him once more.

"Youre smile is the reson i rebelled." He said smiling.

"I could say the same." Dean said before leaning in once more.

(A year later because its alredy 00:01 at this point so why not take the story further?)

"I love you." Dean said. Kneeling down and pulling a box from his pocket. "Will you marry me?" Dean asked smilling.

Cass smilled a beaming smile looking at dean kneeling down on the crisp autumn leaves holdning the velvet box in his fingers, focusing mostly on that magical smile.

"Anything for that smile. Of course." He said gleefully. Dean stood up and kissed cass hard smilling happily.

"Just another miracle of the maize mase." Dean smiled.

(Another year later because again why not?)

"I do." Cass grinned happily blushing with pride and joy for dean standing opposite them. They had arranged a sort of wedding like thing given that castiel wasnt an actual person according to the law and dean had died a few times over according to the government, sam was officiating.

"Then i now pronounce you, human and angel, man and husband, hunter and etherial being." Sam said. They leaned in again and kissed each other hard before pulling away only slightly. And mumbling into each others lips,

"Just another miracle of the maize mase." They joked. Dean seemingly never removed his fingers from Cass' hair and cass holding onto his shirt tight. They smilled.

"Yeah, yeah. One more miracle of the maize mase and one of you is gonna end up pregnant." Sam joked from just behind them.

They chuckled together hugging each other tight and wrapping their arms around each other"s necks.

"I love you." They said at the same time. Eliciting one more smile from each of them. Before the story ended and the writer didnt know how to phrase it.

~I really didnt know what to do with this promt honestly and i woukd never have done anything like this otherwise. Also sorry its 00:21 and so technically not the fisrt of october. And i literally just fuckin noticed that its the second not the first so i was a day late anyway so fuck me but never mind i will catch up! Anyway hope you had fun <3 ~

[wanderingcas]

How I think supernatural should have ended

15x18 was fine - I mean pain but fixable

Somewhere in 15x19 dean cries and Sam consoles him and dean just SOBS “I LOVED HIM AND HE DIDNT KNOW AND NOW HES GONE”

And Sam is just patient and hugging his crying brother and understanding the same pain he felt with Jess, but dean never got to say he loved cas.

Then at the end of 15x19 they go back to the bunker but SUPRISE, jack put a bar as the entrance to the bunker and Eileen is in the bunker waiting for them.

15x20

Starts with the empty and cas having a conversation although it’s more cas saying I’ll make your life hell and the empty being like I will ruin you

Then jack comes in

Cut to the Sam and Eileen proposal- super romantic and dean is daydrinking in the background staring at pictures of his dead loved ones (cas) also this is the bar above the bunker that I decided existed (they have the picture with jo Ellen Bobby cas dean and Sam hanging up btw)

Anyways back to the empty - jack is trying to get cas out and the empty’s all like bitch no this angel is dead, dead angels come to me

And then cas says he’ll give up his grace, become fully human

And the empty just laughs and says deal “because when you go back as a human they will never want you and you will know a greater pain that I could ever make you feel in here.”

Cut back to dean in the bar staring at pictures of cas drinking whiskey

The bell on the door rings and without looking up dean says “we’re closed”

“Dean”

Dean looks up, cas is there, alive. Trench coat and all.

Dean runs and hugs him saying “how could you think you couldn’t have me” and “I love you”

Cas gently pushes dean away, “I don’t have my grace anymore, I’m just a human” and looks at dean with those eyes

And dean just kisses him

Sam and Eileen walk in and smile; they’re happy for dean and cas

WEDDING TIME - destiel isn’t getting married (no chick flick moments)

But Sam and Eileen have an adorable wedding with Garth and Donna and Jody and her girls all in attendance (dean and cas are there too - dean is the best man)

ROMANCE

Flash forward to 5 years later

Dean and cas are running the bar together and being cute and mushy (they don’t go out for hunts anymore except within 1 or 2 hours aways and they always go together sometimes with Sam and/or Eileen)

Sam and Eileen have a very adorable toddler named Charlie

They help hunters get information and they are the new Bobby

Show ends with Sam and Eileen (Charlie on their lap) and Dean and Cas sitting at a table smiling as carry on my wayward son comes on the radio and they start dancing to the music

Then the camera moves to an outside location where the cast and crew HAS ON MASKS AND IS SOCIALLY DISTANCED and waves goodbye to the fans

anon your galaxy brain just single handedly wrote a better finale than the showrunners could ever dream of i shake your hand