#that’s chuck amara au michael lucifer castiel

[shallowseeker]

mortals reach a pinnacle when they find something to live for, as they are already (constantly) dying

immortals reach a pinnacle when they find something to die for, as they are already chained to the torturous of cycle of meaningless repetition

[ananke-xiii]

Although I mainly see the first six episodes of s13 as an engaging portrayal of two grief-stricken people lacking the tools to deal with what has happened to them, I can also totally see them as the so-called "widower arc". Two things can be true at the same time because yes, Dean was totally grieving Cas' death. But I'll make it worse for you.

Maybe I'm biased by the many times I've read the term "widower arc" but Dean was 100% looking for a consort in Cas in s12 (yes, "consort", I'm tired of "partner" or "boy/girlfriend", they're weak terms, give me "sharing destiny" type of old words) so I think this interpretation is not so far-fetched.

We have a grieving widow(er), a desired consort who's dead and then resurrects and a son who's been defined as "the rising son". As I've already said these are some of the elements of one of the most ancient myths in Western culture, that is the myth of Isis and Osiris.

Now, of course it was not a retelling of that myth, I don't even think it was a conscious effort to shape the story that way but sometimes symbols will be symbols, what can you do?

First of all, two brothers: Set and Osiris and Lucifer and Cas. We know how it goes, one brother kills the other (As an aside in one version Set built a wooden chest and tricked Osiris to enter into it just to seal it and drown it in the Nile. We have totally NEVER seen this image in Supernatural. Not even ONCE).

Things get very interesting from here on because in the myth there's a lot of focus on the body of the deceased brother, Osiris/Cas. The most famous way Set disposed of his brother's corpse was to cut it into pieces, to... tear him apart if you will. It is then kinda WILD that AU!Michael kills "his" Lucifer the same way:

MIchael: I killed my Lucifer. Tore him apart in the skies over Abilene. But hey, can’t get enough of a good thing.

Apparently, the body must be somehow intact for resurrection to happen. In the myth Isis has to find his husband's bodyparts scattered all over Egypt in order to resurrect him. So we need to pay extra close attention to Cas' body which we are actually shown in that tragic scene where Dean prepares him for the pyre. So it's Dean who takes care of Cas' body, who "collects" it, just like Isis. Interesting.

In SPN "What gets burned stays dead", therefore Cas cannot resurrect, or so they think. The mantra is repeated by Jack in "Tombstone" when he first sees his father. To be honest, we don't really know how Cas resurrects. For the first time we see what happens to him between death and rebirth but we miss the technicalities. We can only assume that Cas' ashes were enough. Or maybe, just maybe, that's just a rule that applies in Chuck's story. Just saying.

I'm not sure if they try to discover how Jack managed to do that but the point remains: it was Jack who woke Cas up in the Empty.

And why did he do that? Well, because he can. The very first thing that Jack does is resurrecting Kelly in an episode aptly named "The Future", where Jack is sort of introduced via his mother's resurrection. He doesn't know how to use this power but he unconsciously does it again with his father. And I ask again: why?

Jack wakes Cas up in "The Big Empty", four episodes into the season. He could've done it sooner? No. Because what prompts him to unconsciously act is Dean's grief. And Dean reaches his boiling point when Sam finally provokes him. Osiris/Cas dies and his consort Isis/Dean is inconsolable. Other people like Sam can forget about it, but Dean can't in every sense of the verb.

In the myth it's Isis who resurrects Osiris and has a child, Horus, with him. But she got help. Dean's only human but there is a demi-god running around in his bunker so I think that helped. And Cas must be credited for the effort and the pushing.

Let's just say that resurrecting Castiel took three, actually four people okay? It required a team effort. Because none of them is a fully-fledged god like God or Amara or some Archangel who can just snap their fingers and boom welcome back to Life. Coaxing someone into resurrection (a resurrection with consent) takes a lot of willpower... and a lot of love.

I said four people because the last character in this little story is The Shadow. And we see this in the myth as well!

Isis doesn't "just" resurrect Osiris, she has to convince the motherfucker. Cause, you see, Osiris's heart was tired. A tired heart! Oh so beautiful! He didn't see the reason to go back to life. He was sooo tired. Isis has to literally seduce him back to life. And... this is kind of what The Shadow does, but in reverse? It tells Castiel to go back to sleep, to find peace, it's been in his mind and he wants to sleep, it knows!

The Shadow is Cas' tiredness, all his failures and regrets. But, as I said, it takes a lot of willpower and a lot of love to resurrect the dead, this is what Isis teaches us actually. To love more and then some more. And Cas loves back and he loves hard.

Castiel: You can prance and you can preen and you can scream and yell and remind me of my failings but somehow, I’m awake. And I will stay awake and I will keep you awake until we both go insane. I will fight you. Fight you and fight you for…ever. For eternity.

He didn't come back because he annoyed an ancient cosmic being. He came back because he loved.

So Osiris/Cas are back to life and that's good, right? Well... yeahhh. The thing is that Osiris will then live in the world of the dead so he kinda doesn't really really stay alive for long. And Isis will follow him. Things will likely go bad for Cas.

But the story continues!

Set/Lucifer and Horus/Jack engage in a rather disturbing (in the myth) struggle for power. The myth has different endings: in one they reconcile, in another they divide the realm, in yet another one Horus is the one true winner. So we don't really know (from this point in the narrative) how things will actually turn out for the two of them.

Isn't it interesting? Well, it's not surprising because there is a connection between christian stories and greek and egyptian ones but still? Kinda cool to see how myths keep repeating and repeating. As if we're still trying to understand them.

Anyway: yes to the widower arc, yes to love piercing through the veil of death. Both ways! It takes the love of two to resurrect.

[mothgardens]

i crave a sastiel royalty au.

cause like UGH it could go two ways:

It would be one of those stereotypical balls meant for the princes to meet a court-able companion:

1. Royal Angels!! Princes: Michael, Luke (called Lucifer behind his back for his cruelty), Gabriel, Raphael, and the youngest, Castiel. With unmarried egotistical narcissist King Chuck and his sister Amara in command of the Shurley Kingdom.

In this one, the Royal Family hold a ball for the nearest elite families to join in and mingle with the five heirs to the thrown. But, the Winchester boys, Sam and Dean, who come from a family living in poverty, sneak into the royal party in the fanciest attire they could scrounge up. Castiel takes a liking to the quiet and clumsy boy he finds in the crowd, Sam. Curious because the young prince should know all the families attending, and yet, he doesn’t recognize the handsome attendee in front of him.

Potential Characteristics and Tags: Not slow burn nor fast burn, a steady middle burn. Lots of Pining and Fluffy Flirting. Angst as well <3 Stereotypical Homophobia, Classism, and more :)

2. Royal Winchesters!! Tough and cunning Prince Dean, Knowledgeable and atypical Prince Samuel (commonly called crude names behind his back for his oddity and stubbornness), and youngest, admirable Prince Adam. With King John ruling the Winchester Kingdom.

Similar to the first idea, the Winchesters are also throwing a ball for their heirs to find a suitable girl to be their princess. The goal is to have elite and elegant attendees meet with the princes who are wondering the crowd. Samuel finds himself enthralled with a fellow in a long beige coat across the room. He has never seen this man and he knows better than to show interest in him. So he allows himself to watch the man move about the crowd. He notes his awkward yet endearing tendencies and the absolute pleasure that fills his face when he eats the party treats. Sam falls harder and harder until the man’s friend spots him staring and points straight at him. The beige coat spins as the man follows his friend’s finger and makes eye contact with Sam (oh no, he’s hot). As the two begin to trek through the crowd towards Samuel, he makes a run for it. Guilt and regret follows him through the next few weeks until the next ball where he sees the men again.

Potential Characteristics and Tags: Slow burn and angsty: John and Sam squabbles, Sam feeling outcasted and different. He wants a normal life, not to be royal. Internalized Homophobia, Stereotypical Homophobia (John), maybe some secret nonconformity from Sam gender wise.

[adreamoverlife]

Something about how for all the grief Michael gets about being "daddy’s little boy" and au!Michael gets for “throwing a tantrum” at the end of the day Michael was right. And like holy shit isn’t it insane. Michael was right that free will was an illusion Chucks plan worked so well down to the detail that it can’t be traced to him anymore. Sam and Dean and Cas think they’ve won. The way in 15x19 when Michael is curious about the perception of Heaven and reads up on how humanity views God he says "Amazingly the believers loved him." Au!Michael was right Chuck sees these worlds as nothing more than stories, things to be discarded once they don’t entertain him anymore. Something Castiel doesn’t accept even though he’s seen what Chucks done. Au!Michael gave them the answer, the last page of the book and no one listens.

Idk guys something about Michael being the eldest sibling, something about the quiet stillness of the universe when it was just Michael and God alone. About how we've seen the strange and obsessive way Chuck speaks and hovers around around Dean who for all purposes was supposed to be Michaels perfect reflection. Something about how we’ve seen how vile and enraged Chuck can be when he’s denied. Something about what kinda abuse Amara and God hurled at each other when He was trying to make the universe that must have impacted the way Michael saw his siblings. Something about how we’ve seen that Chucks more than willing to hurt angels, even the Archangels. Something about how Michael must’ve heard Amaras agonizing screams when her brother sealed her away and then went home to Heaven with the smell of the Mark radiating from Lucifer at all times. Something about how the spear Michael was gonna use against Lucifer had an off switch. About a Michael who knows what his father is but thinks they all deserve it anyway.

Something about how Michael was the first to see God before he learned to put on a pretty face and strum an off key guitar like he was anything close to kind. He knows what he is. The All-seeing All-knowing, All-caring God.

[ao3feed-destiel-02]

Spn Hs AU?!?! (Bare with me while i come up with a creative title)

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/vWos074 by Starvenluss Supernatural Highschool Au in which 1.everyone is gay (Joking?!?! maybe?!?!) 2.I havnt written in a while and have no clue how to write the characters so im just rolling with it and this is probably horrifically garbage 3.i have NOT figured out my story at all and im just going with the flow!! 4.writing upsets me and i dont like describing stuff unless i gotta :( (i no no wannaaaa) hence why im a chatfic writer 3 Words: 699, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Supernatural (TV 2005), Supernatural (TV 2005) RPF Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Other Characters: Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Castiel (Supernatural), Gabriel (Supernatural), Adam Milligan, Michael (Supernatural), Lucifer (Supernatural), John Winchester, Mary Winchester, Bobby Singer (Supernatural), Anna Milton, Charlie Bradbury, Balthazar (Supernatural), Jack Kline, Kevin Tran (Supernatural), Crowley (Supernatural), Samandriel (Supernatural), Benny Lafitte, Rowena MacLeod, God | Chuck Shurley, Amara (Supernatural), Other Character Tags to Be Added Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Gabriel/Sam Winchester, Michael/Adam Milligan, God | Chuck Shurley/Rowena MacLeod, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added Additional Tags: Fluff, Humor, Angst, Fluff and Angst, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe, Crack, Chatting & Messaging, Texting, chatfic read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/vWos074

[soullessjack]

and I’ll yell with you 🫶🫶

my thing is, the specific cycle of abuse in Supernatural is fathers using their sons as tools for personal means, making them into weapons and all that. John did it to Sam and Dean, Chuck did it to Lucifer and Michael and Castiel and every other angel, and it’s repeated in the similar vein of Sam and Dean being vessels. Sam and Dean also incidentally did it to Jack by way of the “inter-dimensional can opener” thing and even AU Bobby has a turn when he only accepts Jack into the camp after seeing the kid’s firepower against other angels.

but on Jack’s paternal side specifically, the cycle seems to not only be one of weaponization, but of usurpation and power hunger as well. Chuck uses Lucifer as a tool to seal away Amara and assume total omniscient authority, then uses Michael as a tool to seal away Lucifer (again, for authority). Lucifer then uses both Sam and Jack as tools for his own grabs at power, via a vessel for the apocalypse and consuming Jack’s grace, and without going into the absolute depths of it for the sake of time and an ongoing headache, Sam and Dean repeat the cycle again when using Jack as a weapon to free themselves from Chuck via the cosmic kamikaze plan (which fails in the initial sense, but Jack does go on to then usurp Chuck and his power).

And then there’s the free will part of it all. Sam and Dean didn’t want to be hunters avenging their mother or vessels to start the Apocalypse. Cas doesn’t want to be a blind soldier aiding in the start of the Apocalypse, and Jack didn’t want to be an all-powerful messiah figure; his arc very much focuses on identity, as he’s naturally more human and like his mother than was expected, but still retains archangelic traits from Lucifer because that’s just how genetics work, even with biblical abominations. I know it’s already in the tags but Jack is shown numerous times to want to be more human; when Lucifer insults humans, he very agitatedly responds “My mother was human,” and later on says “I’m human, too.”

And when he’s dying, he says “Since I’ve been born, everyone’s assumed I’d be this special person that goes on forever. Only now it looks like it might be a couple of weeks. What I know is I’m done being special, and before my life is over, I wanna actually live it.” And then his idea of actually living is a rattle-off of mundane human experiences, like getting bored and going to hockey games. And how does his story end? He becomes a special person that goes on forever. He’s not living as he wanted to. And to make it all the worse, the entire plot leading up to him becoming God is driven by his own suicidal ideation and guilt.

Jack was never supposed to replace Chuck in Billie’s plan. He was turned into a bomb to detonate and kill the three of them, and when it goes wrong as it always does, when he detonates in the Empty instead of his ancient relatives’ faces, he’s completely lost. He tells Cas he was ready to die and that he wanted to die as atonement for everything he’s done. Cas tells him he doesn’t need absolution or a purpose to be loved, but that is rendered entirely null by him being weaponized against Chuck yet again in 15x19.

And that’s not even going into the whole destiny thing of it all. Team Free Will is explicitly founded on the rejection of destiny, and as the 2.0 addition to it, Jack tracks with his rejection of Lucifer’s purpose for him and the rejection of being a “special person” coveted by Heaven and Hell. But then in S15 Cas is weirdly adamant that Jack follow his destiny of becoming the second plane to hit the cosmic sibling towers, and as we know Jack fulfills it, which renders it null again because this is another cycle left perpetuated.

I don’t fully keep up with the Orphic egg theory mainly because it’s difficult to process for some reason, but whatever it entails about destiny and free will and cycles just falls short to me because of the show’s canon and my own feelings about Jack in general, so I can’t agree that this was a good ending for him even out of courtesy, but despite my vehement essay I do respect your outlook :D

Jack is fine. Not a damn thing wrong with him. Only people too attached to tragedy, or not understanding his arc. Sweetpea is SPN’s version of Phanes.

Learning is fun!

[theficvault]

It’s the great pumpkin, chuck shurley

now presenting: halloween human!angels :D

I’m well aware there isn’t any (mentioned by name) Cas but he’ll be in the next one I promise

It’s just setup for a more fun trick or treating ficlet,

Word count: 751

Warnings: mention of a corpse

Enjoy!

Lucifer was adjusting his horns when  younger brothers burst into the room in a flurry of colorful fabric and fake blood. “What do you gremlins want?” he sighed as he turned away from the mirror

“Dad’s working” Gabriel started

“And michael’s busy” Raphael continued

“And Anna doesn’t like us” Uriel finished 

“So?” Lucifer gestured towards the door “how is that my problem?” “We have to set up the haunted house!” Gabriel announced “I want to scare people this year!” “No” Lucifer got up and shooed his siblings out of the room “no way, I am not getting involved in that again.” “Please?” Three sets of pleading eyes stared back at him “we won’t ask you for anything again ever”

“That won’t last” Their older brother muttered, following them out to the yard

Lucifer ducked his head into his dad’s office on the way outside “you better get in costume, we’ve got to leave in about an hour if you want to pass the kid off to his friends” “Mhm” chuck replied, engrossed in his writing

“Dad” Lucifer repeated “Costume. One Hour” “Okay. Okay!” Chuck lifted his head “one hour, costume, will do” “Hi kiddos” A tall, slender, woman in black stood at the door with two shopping bags in her hands “where’s your dad?” “Hi auntie amaraaaaaa” A chorus of children swarmed her

“He’s working” Michael smiled, waiting until the smaller ones had left before giving his aunt a hug “But he’ll be done soon.” “He better be” lucifer added “you don’t look busy” He shot his brother a look

“I am, I swear” he put his hands up “I was just on my way out the door” “Uh huh” Lucifer smirked “sure.”

“Seriously!” Michael pushed past his aunt and stepped out of the house “I’m leaving” “I’m gonna go get your father off that damn typewriter” Amara stated, giving her oldest nephew a pat on the back “give the little guys that white bag and tell them to go nuts” Lucifer obliged and soon all talk of the haunted house was gone.

Or, at least, that’s what he thought.

“I’ve got some fake blood and a few really creepy spiders” Gabriel showed off his rubber insect collection with a gap-toothed grin “oh, and a corpse” “I’m sure you do” Lucifer sighed and stepped out into the maze of fake spiderwebs that had been set up days earlier “Let’s just get this set up, shall we?” “Yeah!” “It’s not even scary” Anna looked at the haphazard mess of fog machines, strobe lights, and black sheets with disdain 

“If you don’t think it’s scary, why don’t you just go through it already” Gabriel nudged her towards the entrance “baby” “I AM NOT A BABY” she stepped back a little bit

“Prove it” Raphael popped up from behind a spiderweb-encased bush “go in” “Fine, maybe I will”

Gabriel and Raphael shared a grin before ducking inside the makeshift haunted house to take their places.

Lucifer had his youngest brother next to him on the couch, watching E.T, when he heard it. The distinct sound of his little sister screaming. He considered his options. On one hand, he could go outside and check on them, or on the other hand, he could drop his brothers off with their group and go hang out with his friends.

He chose the latter, but not before yelling for his dad to come down and check on the small ones

“Seriously?” Chuck pinched the bridge of his nose “I leave you alone for an hour and you spend that time terrorizing your sister?” “Sorry” replied Gabriel, who was not sorry

“Punish him! So he can’t go out trick or treating tonight!” Anna exclaimed, enjoying this a little too much 

“I’m not going to do that” Chuck adjusted his daughter’s crown “but I will make sure he doesn’t do it again, will you Gabriel”

“Noooooo” Gabe lied “I won’t” “Off you go then” 

The two of them ran off into the almost dark neighborhood, joining the hoard of children already out

“This is why I never had kids” Amara giggled from behind her brother 

“Aww, shut up” 

Part 1/2

[princesscas]

Here’s a catch-up for non-spn watchers or for those who are not caught up since Season 11: 

Sam and Dean go to jail after saving the president of the United States (and no, not orange cheeto) who was being possessed by Lucifer himself. Lucifer, disguised as the president, slept with the president’s girlfriend/sectary named Kelly Kline. 

Kelly’s soon to be born child took interest with Castiel and decided he was his father instead of Lucifer. Kelly named her son Jack, who is born as a half human, half angel. A Nephilim. We call him a ‘half angel kid’ because he’s not a baby, but looks like a 20 something.  

So later on, Jack’s power is weakened (Nephilim's are powerful btw) around Season 14 and to save him, Castiel makes a deal with the Empty. The Empty being, a void that existed before God (Chuck, you heard me right) and the Darkness (Amara, God/Chuck’s sister) and it serves as an afterlife for angels and demons. They sleep for eternity basically. 

BUT HERE’S A KEY ROLE ABOUT THE SCENE™: Castiel died at the end of Season 12 and Jack used his powers to wake him up. Castiel annoyed the Shadow (the black goo) enough to bring him back to life. No angel has ever done that prior. 

Anyways, in the scene™ Castiel hadn’t told Dean about his deal AT ALL. Mind you, Dean has also had his fair share of deals to trade his life with someone he loves. Say, Season 3 when he sold his soul to bring Sam back. (And then went to hell, where Castiel ‘gripped him tight and raised him from perdition’) 

So Cas’ deal was in 14x08, and this now has come back at 15x18. Pretty long time since initially, it was suppose to happen in season 14 but they had to wrap up another storyline (An AU version of Michael the archangel...bla, bla, bla, we know, it’s crazy up in here) toward the middle/end since the news about the show ending came up. 

In the entirety of Season 15, Cas and Dean’s relationship has been developing overtime. In 15x03, Castiel leaves or, breaks up with Dean after having a domestic dispute about saving the world/Cas’ powers, etc. But episodes later, Dean prays to Cas and forgives him and they have a sappy get back together hug. 

THE SCENE™: When Cas made the deal, the only way the Empty would take him is when he experiences a moment of true happiness. Billie is about to reap them both. So either either A) Get axed by a reaper. Or B) Save Dean Winchester once more by telling him the truth about how much he goddamn means to him. 

Now Cas is taking a little angel nap at the moment but he’ll be back. Good luck to the Shadow having to deal with the funniest gay angel in the garrison who is deeply in love with a human meat man who killed Hitler hunter. 

[hen-of-letters]

Series 15 gives all of the characters you could ever care about their worst possible endings, but presents these endings as somehow good or satisfying or acceptable.  Here's a list.

The short version: they're Chuck's endings, and Chuck is a bad writer.  

None of the characters can escape the fate set out for them or break the cycle of trauma begun by Chuck.  The show itself doesn't even realise how truly awful these endings are - it dresses up a tragedy in pie gags and pretty colours and calls it a happy ending.  And in order to inflict these worst possible endings on its characters, the narrative has to be twisted and contorted in the most absurd of ways.

So, onto the list:

Adam: Forgotten and left to languish in the pit, he's finally freed, only to suffer an anticlimactic offscreen death and be forgotten again.  Michael, his only companion for so long, is also killed off.  In the finale, blood family seems to be all that matters - and yet he isn't mentioned.

Alternate Kaia: She helps rescue Kaia from the Bad Place, but chooses to remain there to face certain destruction rather than return to earth with Kaia, Dean and Sam.  This world is so hostile to her that death is preferable.  Her horrible, pointless death stands as a powerful statement about the real harm caused by exclusion, but the text doesn't seem to acknowledge the full horror of this.  Her death isn't remarked upon; it seems to suggest that both Kaia and her double are returned to their rightful places.  It's just one example of the show creating awful endings without seeming to understand how awful they truly are.  (I rant a lot more about Alternate Kaia here.)

Amara: After being betrayed and locked away for millennia, we see Amara's initial impulse for revenge and destruction transform into an admiration for creation.  She becomes an advocate for humanity and the world.  And yet she ends up being betrayed (by both the Winchesters and Chuck) and locked away again.  She's absorbed by Chuck in a way that doesn't fit within the logic of the show.  Chuck and Amara are equals - it doesn't make any sense that Chuck could overpower her.  Wouldn't they become a blend of the two of them?  And, since their separation caused the Big Bang, wouldn't their unity end the world?  Anyway, having the cosmic feminine be voiceless and invisible is the worst way for Amara's story to end.  Having Jack speak for her, saying that they are 'in harmony' tries to make this an acceptable fate for her, but only makes it worse.

Benny:  Another offscreen death, and this one feels particularly spiteful.  It really seems like he was killed just to be a conversation-starter for Cas and Dean.  However, if his fate can be sealed by a line of dialogue, then it only proves that confirmation of the fates of Eileen, AU Charlie and the other hunters could have been given in the same way.  Just one line could have done it - "I just spoke to Eileen, everyone's back."  Instead, at the end of 15.19 we're in the absurd position of having Sam and Dean toast the people they've lost without them even bothering to check who that may or not be.

Billie: The bizarre thing about Billie being revealed as a villain at the end of Season 15 was that she was supposed to be acting in self-interest - that she wanted to be the new God.  It made no sense.  What would make sense to me, though, would be if Chuck was controlling her (as Lucifer bound Death in Season 5).  Season 15 has strong echoes of Season 4 - and Billie took on both the role of Ruby (feeding Jack hearts rather than demon blood, but nevertheless making him into a weapon, with the price being the loss of his sense of self and ultimately his life) and Heaven (persuading Dean that it had to be this way, and telling him to go along with the plan).  We only have the Shadow's word for Billie's motivation, and we know she wasn't responsible for the deaths of the AU hunters, so in the end her status is ambiguous - she really seems to be a victim of Chuck's bad writing.  She's erased from the narrative along with Castiel, when really she should have been freed from Chuck's control and fighting on the side of nature and free will alongside the Winchesters.  Supernatural also concludes with nobody in the role of Death, which is a crazy loose thread left dangling.

Castiel: His confession was a thing of beauty, perfectly summing up the truth of both his and Dean's characters.  Both of them are made of and motivated by love.  And yet after speaking his truth, he is silenced.  He never gets to hear that he is loved in return (when the previous twelve seasons have made it abundantly clear to the audience that Dean loves Cas just as much as Cas loves Dean).  His capacity for love made him the only thing that Chuck could not control; as an agent of free will, he should have had a central role in Chuck's defeat.  

In 15x13, when Cas is in the Empty to see Ruby, the Shadow says: "funny thing about [Death's] plan, though... she didn't say anything about needing you. Baby, you can't just traipse in and out of here. It upsets the order of things."  To me, this sounded so much like 4x22's "you're not in this story" that I saw it as a pretty clear indication that Cas would play an important part in Chuck's defeat.  Because Team Free Will wouldn't follow the plan, would they?  They would find another way, wouldn't they?  Wouldn't they?

However, after the confession, he's never seen on screen again.  He's barely mentioned.  Eventually we're told he "helped" Jack, so he ends up where he started: as a servant of heaven.  He deserved to complete his fall, to become human, to live as well as speak his truth.  Making him a silent, unseen instrument of heaven undoes his entire arc.  Erasing him from the narrative requires the extraordinary warping of that narrative: nothing about his death suggests that it should be accepted as a permanent 'sacrifice', when we know that there is a spell that can return angels from the Empty (and, thanks to the handprint, we have his blood for it) and that Lucifer was brought back by Chuck in 15x19.  And the idea that Sam, Jack and Dean wouldn't try everything in their power to bring him back is utterly ludicrous.

Cas' confession scene to so closely mirrors 4x01's barn scene that the narrative is crying out for the parallel to be completed by Dean rescuing Cas from the Empty just as Cas rescued Dean from hell.  However, we're never given that narrative closure - just like we are never given the reunions demanded by the scenes of Sam losing Eileen and Charlie losing Stevie.

Chuck:  Okay, so he might not make your list of characters you could ever care about, but my point about his ending is that while it's fitting, for it to really work we also needed Cas to become human, too.  For Chuck, being human is a punishment, but for Cas it would be a reward.  We really needed this balance, otherwise all we have is humanity as the worst thing that could happen to you, which is not exactly a great parting message for the show.  (Also, how precisely is it possible to make him human?)  Not only is being human the worst fate possible, but, specifically, so is growing old and being forgotten.  Again, this is a punishment for Chuck, but it would have been a reward for Dean: growing old when the story (and his own self-loathing) constantly told him that he would die young; and being forgotten, not in a negative sense, but in terms of not being a character in a story any more: remembered fondly by his friends but no longer a legend, just a man living an insignificant little life exactly the way he chooses.  

Dean: Where do I even start.  Let's be clear: ending the story with his death (by any means and in any scenario) was always going to be the absolute worst possible ending for him and for the show.

In 15x19 we have the glorious moment when Chuck calls him the ultimate killer, and Dean (heeding Cas' words from 15x18) says "that's not who I am".  Now, I mean no disrespect to Dean here (because he is, canonically, a genius) but I don't think that he was in any way necessary to the Michael double-cross plot that eventually saw the defeat of Chuck.  Honestly, if he had died in 15x18, then 15x19 could still have played out in exactly the same way.  It's as if he wasn't saved so that he could save the world - he was saved so that he could have this moment of self-realisation.  He was saved so that he could stand up to Chuck (God, and the author, and parallelled with John) and tell him that he's not the person that he tried to force him to be.  

And yet by the next episode, this revelation is entirely forgotten.  He doesn't get to continue his self-actualisation by speaking his truth to Cas.  Instead, 15x20 presents Dean as almost a caricature of himself.  Dean loves pie.  Dean loves his brother.  Dean loves his car.  All of his complexity (present right from Season 1) is stripped away.

Finally free to write his own story, he ends up giving Chuck the ending he always wanted: one dead Winchester - killed, you could argue, by his brother (Sam fails to call for help and instead tells Dean to "go".)  Told by Cas that he's not "Daddy's blunt instrument" and accepting that he's not "the ultimate killer", Dean goes right back to killing (even threatening torture) and following his father's words (in the form of the journal).  

For Dean to die exactly as the story has always told him, and as he's always told himself in his worst moments of self loathing, is brutal and tragic.  What makes it truly appalling is the way in which both Dean and Sam accept his death and say it's "okay".  For Dean to say "always keep fighting" at the very moment when he gives up and when Sam gives up on him is bitterly ironic.  (Interestingly, when Cas said "you have to keep fighting" in his 12x12 death speech, exhorting Sam and Dean to save themselves and leave him behind, Sam replied with "we are fighting.  We're fighting for you, Cas" and Dean followed with "and like you said, you're family.  And we don't leave family behind".)   

Dean has always been the symbol of humanity in Supernatural: he stood for earth against the forces of heaven and hell.  He'd rather live with pain and guilt than exist as a "Stepford bitch in paradise", and yet that's exactly what he becomes, driving mindlessly through Jack's new heaven where everyone is "happy".  Dean previously dismissed heaven's happiness as "Memorex", and after Mary's death he was the only one not consoled by the confirmation that she was in heaven and happy.  Having Dean being content in heaven is utterly out of character.  He's always fought for free will, and in heaven - where there's no agency, where he's cut off from the world - this is the one thing that he does not have.

Eileen: An interesting, complex, kickass character, Eileen deserved so much better than being erased from the storyline.  A Men of Letters legacy, I imagine her working with Sam to share the knowledge contained within the bunker whilst also dismantling the patriarchy, elitism and colonialism of its past.  Her disappearance from the narrative makes absolutely no sense - 15x09, 15x17 and 15x18 confirm just how significant she is to Sam, and yet we never see them reunited or see Sam mourning her death.  The audience's love for Eileen is totally disregarded, too - she's ripped away from us with no further explanation.

Emma: Okay, so she wasn't actually in season 15, but that's sort of my point.  I have a lot to say about Emma, but here I'll just say that her significance has grown massively since Season 7.  The narrative has shifted from Team Free Will being sons to being fathers.  Even if she wasn't brought back, just a mention of her would have been significant.  (I can't stop thinking about the massive potential of a conversation about Emma between Dean and Jack.)  She didn't deserve to be forgotten.  

Season 15 was Supernatural's last opportunity to bring back characters from the past - such as Meg, original Charlie, Crowley, and Bela Talbot - and give them better endings.  Sadly this opportunity was wasted.

Garth: He actually seems to get his happy ending, on several levels.  He finds a family; he finds happiness; he's acknowledged as a hero by the Winchesters, who had previously mocked him.  Dean's words to him about embracing happiness are powerful.  Garth lives as his full, authentic self - monstrosity now included.  It's that monstrosity that's the issue here, though - as werewolves, Garth, Bess and little Sam and Castiel are doomed to go to purgatory when they die.  Mia Vallens said to Jack that "it doesn't matter what you are - it matters what you do", but in this case the opposite is true.  It's hideously unfair, but again the show never acknowledges this.  It would have been simple to change in a line or two - just a quick mention about how purgatory has been fixed, so that only truly monstrous beasts like the leviathan are kept trapped there - but the injustice remains.

Jack:  From his birth, his destiny was either to be the monstrous destroyer or the divine saviour of the world, which is precisely why he should have side-stepped it and found another way.  He deserved to live without the weight of the world on his shoulders.  Instead, he was forced to take on the power of God - and since when has someone suddenly taking on a huge amount of power ever ended well for Team Free Will?  Then, he repeats the exact same pattern set up by Chuck.  First, he abandons his creation by walking away and disappearing off to, in the words of Bobby, "wherever he went".  Like Chuck, he ignores earthly suffering: if he's now omniscient and omnipotent, is he in fact complicit in Dean's death?  Secondly, he's controlling: he remodels Heaven as he sees fit, making it a place where everyone's together and everyone's happy, with its inhabitants given absolutely no choice in the matter.  There's also no reason why Jack had to vanish from the story - Chuck was capable of spending time on Earth.

The mechanics of the bomb plot also irks me no end.  We're told by Death that the bomb will kill Jack.  However, their plan fails, and Jack survives the blast.  In 15x19, Dean tells Chuck that all the work done to turn Jack into a "cosmic bomb" has turned him instead into a "power vacuum."  It makes it seem like a side-effect, and also that "sucking up bits of power" has been charging him up to the point where he's "unstoppable".  He's able to both absorb and appropriate Chuck's power.  However, in 15x17 Adam and Serafina explain that the bomb will create a "metaphysical supernova" that will make Jack into "a living black hole for divine energy" - which suggests that, actually, the bomb worked as intended.  

But if the plan worked, why is Jack still alive?  Billie made it clear that Jack wouldn't survive.  And "nothing can escape" a black hole - so how is Jack able to use Chuck's powers to bring back Earth's population? Besides which, didn't 15x17 reveal that Chuck himself had "orchestrated" the entire thing?  Which makes the theory that Chuck possessed Jack really the only outcome that makes sense.  (Particularly as Serafina talks about Jack making his "vessel" strong.  Jack is a nephil, not an angel - he has a body, not a vessel.  Also, the bomb is made by fusing his soul with his grace - so, the two things that make up Jack, his humanity and his divinity, are annihilated.)  Deliberately making Chuck win, however (with no tease at the end that this might be the case), makes no sense either.  My head hurts.

Kevin: As if he hadn't been treated badly enough by the story already, we find that Kevin hasn't been in Heaven since we last saw him, but rather hell.  He ends up as an untethered ghost, presumably just wandering about for all eternity.  His fate comes courtesy of a bizarre new rule that souls from hell can't go to heaven - when previously both Bobby and John have done exactly that.  Again, just one line telling us that he's now in heaven could have changed his ending.

Michael: Bringing back Adam and Michael was a brilliant move, and this version of Michael was utterly compelling - struggling with his faith in his father after being abandoned, torn between his loyalty to Heaven and his relationship with Adam.  I thought that his handing over of the spell was very similar to Cas' "just so you understand … why I can't help" moment, and it seemed the precursor to Michael becoming an advocate for humanity, even a member of Team Free Will.  However, instead Michael was doomed to play out his father's narrative: killing his brother and repeating the cycle of sibling conflict and trauma that Chuck began when he betrayed Amara.  (And we'll credit Chuck's bad writing with the fact that the battle between Michael and Lucifer that was once predicted to wipe out millions and scorch the globe can now happen in the bunker without so much as a chair being knocked over - and without wires as well.)

Rowena: She seems to be relishing her reign as Queen of Hell, but the way she's so casually condemned is jarring.  Surely her previous good deeds and her final act of self sacrifice would be enough to tip the scales in a heavenly direction?  (It worked for Lily Sunder - another woman who vowed never to be powerless again.)  They could easily have said it was Chuck's fault that she had to remain in hell - but instead it just seems like a foregone conclusion.  She deserved better.

Sam: If we're supposed to believe that having a "normal" life is Sam's idea of writing his own story, why doesn't he do it as soon as Chuck is defeated?   Instead, his suburban "apple pie" life only happens after Dean dies, which makes it seem more of a grief arc than a happy ending.  (Just as he escaped into a self-professed "fantasy" life with Amelia after Dean's death, or when he succumbed to the comfort of a fake married life in Charming Acres after the trauma of losing all the AU hunters).  

The idea that he'd keep hunting for Dean doesn't ring true - Dean had been the one openly craving retirement and domesticity for several seasons.  After all, the idea of Dean as a hunter and Sam as the brother who wants to be normal is Chuck's story.  Dean wasn't the "ultimate killer" that Chuck wanted him to be, and Sam too had been forging his own identity as a leader, a Man of Letters, and a powerful witch.  He'd also found love - and with Eileen, he could be his full, authentic self.  The idea that he would leave her is absurd, as is the idea that he would abandon his entire extended found family, who seem to have no part in his new life.  When Dean returned from purgatory, he was furious that Sam had failed to help Kevin.  Would Sam really do the exact same thing again - walk away from Jody and the girls when they are mourning both Cas and Dean and need his support?  Would he just abandon Rowena's entire witchy collection and leave the huge store of knowledge in the Bunker locked up in the dark?

The Shadow: again, dubious on a list of characters you care about, but hey - all they ever really wanted was to go back to sleep, and can't we all relate to that?  Anyway, they made the list for being one of the most frustrating open endings of the show.  What did it mean for the Empty to be "loud"?  Who is the Shadow, anyway?  Just how did this cosmic entity fit in with the mythology of Chuck and Amara?  It's maddening that the Shadow and the Empty were made central to several seasons only to be suddenly dropped.

The Wayward Sisters: my beloveds. Such a brilliant cast of characters and such wasted potential.  They're an important part of the Winchesters' family and Team Free Will, but, in the end, they're forgotten.  Claire may have gotten her happy ending with the return of Kaia, but this happens off screen.  We never see her reaction to the deaths of Castiel or Dean.

The final few episodes seem to be about stripping away all of the characters except Sam and Dean, so they are completely alone by 15x20. Phrases such as "just us" and "just you and me" and "it's always been you and me" seem to suggest that this is a good thing, but previously the idea of them being isolated and alone has seemed like the worst case scenario (for example in Season 8, when Sam and Dean are forced to give up Amelia and Benny, respectively, or in Chuck's vision of a future in which the brothers lose Eileen and Cas along with Jody and the girls, give up hope, and end up as vampires, killed by their remaining friends). 

Anyway, the whole idea of just Sam and Dean going wherever the road takes them is Chuck's story.  It's on the cover of his books.  By making Chuck the villain, Season 15 itself makes it impossible for a return to this idea to be a satisfying conclusion to the story.

In fact, Supernatural was never about just Sam and Dean.  It was always about family.  Season 1 was about Sam, Dean and John.  Bobby introduced the phrase "family don't end with blood" in Season 3 and Dean coined the phrase "Team Free Will" in Season 4.  It's an ethos that has spread into the fandom, too.  Didn't the SPN Family deserve a finale that celebrated that idea, of banding together, of caring about the whole world, of love being the ultimate expression of free will?

You can't help but pick up on a theme: characters that were forgotten are forgotten again.  Characters who were locked away are locked away again.  The same narratives and the same traumas play out again and again.  No-one escapes their miserable, predestined fate.  It's Chuck's ending.  And it's Chuck's spiteful ending.

It's the ending that kills off its beloved characters, and also destroys their whole world.  The bunker is left in darkness.  Time has moved forward by so much in order to accommodate Sam's natural death that we can't even imagine the ongoing stories of other characters like Garth or the Sioux Falls family (ironic, given the episode's title).

It's the kind of ending you get when a show is cancelled and the writer decides to kill off their characters and wreck their world so that there's no possibility of another network or another writer taking over their story.  (And yet outside of the show, there's no evidence to suggest this - you would think that the ending had been designed to make a reboot impossible, but it has already been talked about.)

If we were not going to get a sense of the world continuing, then we could have been given a more radical and satisfying ending.  We could have had Death collect on their promise to one day reap God.  We could have had a world freed from the supernatural entirely: heaven, hell and purgatory obliterated, and Team Free Will finding peace in life on earth.

Because Chuck has been the author and the narrator the entire time, it makes no sense for the story to continue past the point of his defeat.  (It makes even less sense for that story to revert back to Chuck's ideal narrative.)  So, really we should have been given a more open ending: Team Free Will triumphant over Chuck and their future left open, the author dead and the characters' stories entrusted to the audience.

Instead, in the end, it's a bizarre mix of needlessly closed-down endings (killing off Cas, Sam and Dean, and vanishing Jack) and frustrating open ones (the loud Empty, there being no Death, Kevin wandering, the ambiguous fate of Eileen, Adam, Donna and the AU hunters).  

And the final two episodes are also objectively bad.  The double-cross plot in 15x19 is lame when the resolution of the Chuck storyline should have been profound. (It invites comparisons with the Season 11 finale, which was excellent.) 15x20 feels weirdly empty and flat.  Dean's death is unrealistic; it echoes Sam's death in Season 2 and Dean's in Season 9 (which, if you think about it, would only be possible if Chuck was still writing it), but lacks the emotional punch of either.  Dean's "I'm proud of us," in his Season 9 death scene is so much more powerful than his "I'm proud of you" in the finale.  And let's not even mention that wig.

In conclusion: every single character deserved better.  The actors deserved better.  The audience deserved better.  Because the ending we were given was not the ending that the season, or the entire series, had been building towards.

The ending tries to destroy every good thing that Supernatural has ever given us - vibrant characters, the fight for free will, the value of found family, the power of love - but it fails. Ultimately the characters and themes are too powerful to be contained by that terrible, flimsy ending. So now I've gotten all of that off my chest, I'm going right back to finale denialism.

[deans-haunted-baby]

Dadstiel & Midam Parallels

I never realized just how much these two have in common:

Both are human/angel based relationships

Both are canonically the most healthy relationships on Supernatural

Both dynamics are based on a powerful emotional connection

Castiel is a solider and a healer. Adam is a pre-med student and the son of an ex-marine/hunter

Michael and Jack are both royalty. Michael is son of God and the Prince of Heaven. Jack is the son of Lucifer (Michael’s younger brother) aka the Prince of Darkness

Adam and Castiel were both rebellious spitfires turned gentle souls 

Jack and Michael are two of the most powerful celestial beings in the universe with higher callings. Michael is the protector of humanity/guardian of Heaven and Earth while Jack is destined to bring paradise to the world

Adam and Jack were both born to single mothers (Kate Milligan & Kelly Kline) and orphaned at a young age

Michael took Adam under his wing while they were imprisoned in Hell together. Castiel adopted Jack to be his son while he was on the run with his mother Kelly

Adam and Castiel are considered the voice of reason to Michael and Jack as well as their guides

 Castiel and Michael are ancient celestial warriors while Adam and Jack are young, innocent, kids 

Adam and Jack are both born special from powerful bloodlines. Adam is the only one in his family with the ability to see Michael’s true form and is a direct descendant of Cain & Abel. And Jack is the grandson of God and has the ability to resurrect anyone from the Empty at will

Castiel and Michael are basically guardian angels to Jack and Adam

Michael chose Adam to be his vessel. Jack chose Castiel to be his father

Adam and Jack have both died twice on the show

Sam and Dean left Adam in a Hell cage. Sam and Dean trapped Jack in a special coffin

 Castiel was resurrected by God while Michael was killed by God

Jack and Adam are both foodies 

Adam is a half-sibling. Jack is half-human

Both Jack and Michael were double-crossed by the Winchesters. Sam and Dean tricked Jack into a box to kill him later. And they used Michael in their plan without his knowledge to stop Chuck

Adam and Jack are both indifferent to their biological fathers

Castiel and Michael were both created to be dutiful soldiers of Heaven and both jump-started an apocalypse 

Jack was trapped in a mystical box. Adam was trapped in a mystical cage along with Michael

Castiel is a Seraph (angel). Michael is an Archangel. And Jack is a Nephilim (human/angel hybrid)

 Adam is Sam and Dean’s biological brother. Jack is Michael’s biological nephew; and Sam, Dean and Castiel’s adopted son

Chuck killed both Jack and Adam 

Michael and Castiel were both messed up after Jack and Adam’s deaths in season 15

Castiel and Michael are both angels who worked with demons. Castiel was closely associated with Meg and Crowley. Michael teamed up with Lilith 

Both Michael and Castiel never got to say “goodbye” to Adam and Jack before Supernatural ended

Jack was raised by hunters. Adam is from a family of hunters

Michael and Castiel are both fiercely protective of Adam and Jack

Adam was manipulated by angels as a tool in the apocalypse. Jack was manipulated by Death as a tool to take over Heaven

Castiel and Michael are two celestial beings who bonded closely with/developed affection for humans

Adam was eaten by ghouls. Jack hunted a ghoul 

Castiel and Adam are both Jack and Michael’s impulse control

Castiel and Michael both defended Jack and Adam to the Winchesters

Michael and Adam were living in a church. Castiel and Jack reunited in a church

Michael killed Castiel and Lucifer. Jack killed AU!Michael and absorbed original Michael and Lucifer’s power

Jack and Adam never met. But Castiel and Michael had history

Michael and Castiel both chose to stay on Earth instead of returning to Heaven

Adam and Jack are both considered book-smart

Michael and Adam shared a vessel. Castiel and Jack shared juiced-up grace. And Castiel shared his memories with Michael and Adam

Castiel and Michael are considered pariah’s in their family. And both were abandoned/betrayed by Chuck

 Castiel and Michael share a mutual distaste for Lucifer

Adam and Jack both crave normalcy 

Castiel is Jack’s chosen father and best friend. Michael and Adam are best friends

Aside from 5x18, Adam and Castiel wear exactly 1 main outfit on the show. Adam wears a grey cargo jacket and Castiel wears his infamous beige trench-coat 

Ghoul!Adam and Jack both wore yellow cargo jackets

Jack has no siblings. Adam has two older siblings

Castiel and Michael are highly intelligent and skilled fighters

Adam and Jack are both strongly attached to their mothers and greatly affected by their deaths

Adam was abandoned by his family (the Winchesters). Jack’s family (minus Castiel, Amara and Gabriel) turned against him

Adam and Jack have both been to Heaven. Jack has also been to the Empty and Adam has been to Hell. And now Jack has fixed Heaven

Before 15x20 aired, Castiel and Michael were both stuck in the Empty after being killed off the show

Michael and Castiel’s lives and worldviews changed from knowing Adam and Jack

Jack’s body was possessed by a demon after his death. Adam was impersonated by the ghoul who ate him

Castiel and Jack are socially awkward, stoic-faced angelic beings who look alike. Adam and Michael are chatty, bitter, sassy mirror images of one another because they shared the same body

Adam and Jack are both compassionate types who want to help people

Michael and Castiel are grouchy and very old

Jack and Castiel were both made human after losing their grace. Adam is a human whom Michael lived with for thousands of years

Note: If I think of any more I’ll add to the list.

[shallowseeker]

His humor and dramatics. He’s an ass but he’s also annoying but in a funny way. And he’s hot so… and I don’t love it but his victim complex is interesting as a psychology student because on the one hand he is a victim but he’s also a perpetrator of great hurt to others. He’s a sociopath but he was made that way by his treatment by Chuck. We know the dangers of solitary confinement and the UN calls it inhumane in excess, and millennia of it would definitely be excessive.

Thank you for the input! 👍👍👍👍

It's interesting to me that Lucifer and Amara are the two characters shown being put in solitary, mm?

I know you didn't ask, but these two snippets come to mind:

12x09

DEAN: Being locked in that cell with nothing… I’ve been to Hell. This was worse.

And how long was this?

CAS: Six weeks, two days, and ten hours.

Add to this, the Empty's words from 14x08:

COSMIC ENTITY: Castiel, you know how this goes-- the good souls here, the bad souls there. The angels are mine. CAS: Enough. COSMIC ENTITY: Stop interrupting! Start paying attention. I'm taking him. And where I'm taking you is worse than Hell… because at least Hell is something. Ohh. Ohh, God, they look scared. Does that hurt you? Good… because I want it to.

I just think it's interesting, that's all!

Lucifer: You hadn't considered? We both have an axe to grind with God. I know his soft spots. He can't handle us both. Amara: Do you, for one moment, think that I would actually consider trusting you for anything? I did trust you once. You and my brother conspired to seal me away for eons. But you're right. You might be of some use to me. Amara turns and points at Lucifer to torture him. Lucifer is enveloped in a white light and he screams in terrible agony.

She tortures him, as AU Michael will later torture him.

And what does Chuck say of Lucifer post-prison break? Well, he's mostly afraid of him taking Amara's side 11x21:

Chuck: Lucifer was perhaps my greatest hope and my bitterest disappointment. Do you think if I could have trusted him for a moment, I would have put him in the Cage? And I wasn't gonna mention this, (angrily, sarcastically) but thank you so much for springing him. Sam: That wasn't really the plan, um... Chuck: Now, as bad as he was, after all this time in prison, he's probably worse. And by now, he could have formed an alliance with Amara. Not walking into that trap, guys. So, no. Thus spake the Lord.

[ckneal]

So, I’ve covered in an earlier post why I think Castiel was not particularly close to Michael and Lucifer in the time before Lucifer fell, and Chuck went and told everyone that it was Michael’s destiny to one day tear their evil brother limb from limb. Lucifer’s first interaction with Castiel in season 5 and Castiel’s one-on-one conversation with Michael in the bunker in season 15 both support this. 

But curiously enough, you know who I think may have actually been close to Michael, potentially, before Lucifer went bad, Chuck went away, and Michael turned himself into a monster to keep everyone in line? 

Uriel.

And I’ve already written a whole thing about how Michael twisted himself around in order to do what he thought was the right thing, through his demented lens, where I suggest that when Michael killed Anna, he was actually trying to scare Uriel back onto the straight and narrow, knowing that Uriel was questioning their father’s Plan, but what I’m getting at with my assertion that Michael may have been looking out for Uriel a bit more than the rest his siblings, is actually rooted in three instances across the series. 

They are as follows.

In season four, we are introduced to Uriel as a specialist, who, in the past, has “purified a city.” Supposedly, on God’s command. And there is certainly room to speculate that he’s referring to Sodom, where Lot and his family were chosen to be saved, but his wife looked back at the destruction and was turned to salt. 

Later, in season 11, Chuck makes his return to the series and reveals himself as God, which leads Dean to some very complicated feelings, because he has thoughts about Chuck, and thoughts about God, and the world, and he doesn’t really know how to say any of these things because he doesn’t want to “turn into a pillar of salt.” A sentiment that when shared, Chuck interrupts to specifically say “I didn’t do that.”

Chuck didn’t order Sodom’s destruction. Who did? You can make an argument for Michael. He was in charge after Chuck left, but--and just saying, personal interpretation--Michael’s not really a think-for-yourself type. And we don’t really know how extensive of instructions Chuck left Michael with, if any, but Chuck said he didn’t ask for this. And if Michael thought whatever was going on in the city was worth obliterating it, why didn’t he ever make that call again? Unless. . .well, we know Uriel did it. And we know how he feels towards humans. And hell, we know he wasn’t alone in feeling that way. Zachariah and Ishim are both shown to express similarly disparaging sentiments about humans over the course of the series. 

What if what we had here was a case of restless angels sitting around, shooting the shit, working each other up like, I don’t know, a bunch of adolescents from broken homes, who lacked the guidance of caring a parent, primed to act out with wanton destruction, not unlike what Lucifer, Amara, and AU Michael all dish out when they one by one hunted down specific individuals they thought Chuck would care about--but on a much less laser-focused scale. What I’m getting at is, what if Uriel, in the heat of the moment, talking about the unfairness of God seeming to prefer humans to angels, with some like minded individuals on sight to goad him along, took things too far, and destroyed a city. No warning, no set up, it just happened. Maybe Lot and his family were already on the road somewhere when it happened, or. . .

Heaven had a weapon capable of turning an angel’s vessel to salt. We see Balthazar use it on Raphael in season 6. And isn’t it interesting that, as the story goes, Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of that very mineral for disobeying orders by looking back at the city. But what if Lot’s wife wasn’t actually the one being punished for acting out? 

And I want to make sure emphasize this is just my personal headcanon, cooked up just for fun. I feel weird even nodding to an actual bible story since I usually try to look exclusively at the Supernatural canon, but. . .What if that particular story, in Supernatural, about a city that was so bad it had to go, where a woman was seen killed (or at least, the witnesses thought was killed, the witnesses being mere humans) and assumed to be another survivor fleeing for her life. . .was a cover up? Michael hints in season 15 that he had a hand in crafting the stories that eventually went into the bible. He knew about Sodom, his position in Heaven means that he definitely knew that Chuck didn’t order it, and the fact that Michael was known to take a very terrifying position when it came to siblings stepping out of line (see Anna here). . . I personally see some question marks hanging around this particular event. And I wonder if maybe it might have been an instance in which an older brother caught his younger one red handed doing something awful, his cohorts having run off, and recognized what had happened. And maybe made the mistake of thinking that he could just reframe it all and make all the negative aspects of the situation go away, not knowing that to those cohorts, it would look like he was condoning their actions, on the DL?   

I don’t know. It’s just a thought.

[sidecarghost]

15x18+ Spn Coda Happy Destiel Ending Fic

Dean was in a hospital bed. His eyes stared blankly at the ceiling. There were no doctors, but Sam brought him here to take advantage of the medical equipment. He found his brother like a corpse with his eyes open sitting with his back against the wall of the bunker’s dungeon.

Chuck stopped by now and then to make sure Sam and Jack still looked miserable. They had not disappointed Chuck yet.

Jack could visit Dean’s dreams, and he brought Sam too in an attempt to awaken Dean. But Dean was blind to their presence. No matter how loud they screamed, Dean couldn’t hear them. And Dean couldn’t feel them, no matter how violently they hit him.

From what Sam could tell Dean was dreaming they were working with Michael to take Chuck down. And that Jack had some kind of power vacuum ability. Michael and Lucifer were throwing fireballs at eachother like a couple kids having a snowball fight. Lucifer somehow snapped Death out of existence, and now they had a pet dog running around the Bunker.

“It’s not supernatural, Sam,” Jack said. “I can’t fix him.”

“I know,” Sam held his brother’s hand and watched the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest. “That Heaven he is stuck in is so depressing though Jack. Jeez I can’t believe our dad is there with him. John definitely didn’t deserve to go to Heaven after the shit he pulled. Then Dean was talking like he was an actor from the AU where our lives were a tv show on that bridge. It’s just so bizarre I wish we could ease his mind.”

“Me too, but what can we do?” Jack asks.

“Something must have happened to Cas,” Sam says, “Dean keeps starting the same dream over and over telling the dream us that Cas saved him. By summoning the Empty somehow.”

“Cas had made a deal with the Empty. Maybe that let him summon the Empty here,” Jack said. Sam raised an eyebrow in question, so Jack explained the terms of the deal to Sam. The deal was a contract to save Jack’s soul, and the Empty would wait until Cas was happy and then strike him down and drag him away.

“So maybe the Empty has something to do with Dean going catatonic,” Sam says.

Sam and Jack watch the still body of Dean in the hospital bed.

They were the last three souls on an empty planet.

~~

Jack started performing the ritual he had seen Nick do to summon Lucifer from the Empty.

As the spell finished, Cas and Billie, emerged through a portal from the Empty.

Sam was surprised to see Billie and after glancing towards Jack it looked like he was too.

“Jack!” Cas hugged Jack and then Sam. “Hello Sam, where’s Dean?”

“He’s gone into a coma Cas,” Sam tells Cas. “We found him sitting against the bunker’s dungeon wall, and he hasn’t been responsive since then.”

“We have business Castiel,” Billie tells the angel.

“Billie, the CE, and I have decided Chuck needs to be stopped, and we have put aside our differences for the time being,” Cas says. “Jack can you help Billie with whatever she needs. Sam, show me where Dean is.”

Jack and Billie find Chuck and use a powerful spell that Billie learned from the CE to free Amara so she becomes the dominant form and Chuck is left trapped inside her mind for safe keeping. Amara snaps her fingers and the Rapture is undone. The world is full of noise once more as people and animals once again appear as though they had never left.

Amara tells Billie and Jack that she needs to leave and work to get Heaven fixed. Now that she understands light and darkness she is confident she can restore what her brother left broken. And she has ideas that may help the CE in the Empty too.

Billie thanks Jack for his help and leaves to restore order to her library and her reapers.

~~

Meanwhile, Sam took Cas to the hospital room. Dean was still staring at the ceiling. Cas walked up and cupped Dean’s face in his hand.

“Hello Dean,” Cas says softly staring down into the blank eyes of the man he loves.

Dean remained motionless. And a moment later Cas appeared in Dean’s dream.

Cas looked around and saw he was at a gas station. Dean was carrying a dog towards the Impala.

“Who would think finding a dog would be a miracle?” Cas overhears Dean tell the canine.

“Dean!” Cas yells.

Dean looks up, but he doesn’t see Cas. He looks right through Cas to something across the street. Cas turns and sees Chuck standing there laughing like a lunatic. The dog disappears in a puff of smoke.

Cas can’t get Dean’s attention. He runs up to Dean, but Dean can’t see him. He yells at Dean, but Dean can’t hear him. He punches Dean, but Dean can’t feel him.

Cas attempts to burn down the church where Michael is hiding but no one reacts to the raging inferno. They keep talking about some plan to defeat Chuck.

“Stop Dean!” Cas yells “Its not Chuck. Michael would be dead Chuck isn’t going to be fooled by some human house of worship.”

Dean is in the bunker, and Cas follows him through his dream never leaving his side. Dean hears the phone ring and answers “Cas!”

Cas wonders if he’s about to meet his dream self. He wonders if dream Cas is going to be taller. Cas watched Dean sprint up the stairs to meet him at the bunker door. And he sees Lucifer?

Well at least Lucifer is an enemy they have confidently beaten before. Cas ignores dream Lucifer and starts looking through the lore while dream Michael and dream Lucifer engage in some embarrassing snowball fight. Cas tries to tune it out while he searching desperately for something in the library that could help Dean’s condition.

Suddenly they are all at the side of a lake. Chuck killed Michael. And now he was beating the snot out of Sam and Dean. Cas tried to put his body as a shield between Chuck and the Winchester’s but no one was affected by his presence. Cas screamed in bitterness and frustration, but no one paid attention to him. Jack walked over and knocked Chuck down. Cas was relieved that Dean wasn’t getting hit anymore.

They got into the Impala and drove to some town. Jack made people appear and then Jack disappeared. Sam and Dean drove to the bunker. Dean drank himself to sleep and Cas watched over him.

The brothers started working a case and Cas watched in horror as a vampire in a mask pushed Dean into a spike.

Cas couldn’t watch Dean die not even in a dream. Cas grabbed his angel blade and slit his own throat. Cas was cutting his grace out. He hoped that if Dean had angel grace he’d snap out of it. Cas began to feel light headed from the quick drop in power.

Cas knelt down on the barn floor. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Dean smiling at him. The dream vampires and dream Sam all had disappeared. Cas and Dean were alone in the dark barn. Dean looked unhurt to Cas.

“Cas, why are you hurt?” Dean asked.

“You are in a coma Dean. I couldn’t wake you, and I thought angels don’t sleep. So I wanted to give you my grace,” Cas said.

Dean knelt down beside Cas, and put Cas’s hand to his own neck. “Heal yourself Cas!” Dean said with worry furrowed on his brow.

“I can’t Dean. I gave it all. I’m human now.” Cas smiled. Cas knew his situation was dire and now he’d bleed out. But he got to see his Dean again, and he couldn’t help from smiling. “I thought I lost you. Dean, does this barn remind you of the night we met?”

“Forget about the memories Cas. I want the real you. I’ve been stuck in this dream over and over. And I knew if I could just find you I’d snap out of it. You can’t leave buddy. We just found each other again. I thought you were gone forever. Because you never told me goodbye before,” Dean whispers to Cas. Dean puts his own hand over Cas’s throat and to his surprise his hand glows and Cas’s throat is healed.

“Cas, what the fuck?” Dean asks Cas.

“Uhh, you have my grace so now you have angelic powers.” Cas tells Dean.

“I don’t want them, Cas. Can I give them back? How do I fix this?” Dean asks. Dean stands up and offers Cas his hand to help him up.

“There is nothing to fix, Dean. I don’t need those powers anymore. I’d like to live a human life.” Cas looks at Dean.

“Cas, I think losing you. It broke something inside me. Everytime I lose you it gets harder for me to recover. When you pulled me out of Hell, I was torturing souls and I enjoyed it. Ever since then I’ve been barely keeping it together. I close my eyes and see myself ripping limbs off of humans with a smile on my face. Cas, you are the only one that knows that and still loves me. You have seen me at my worst and love me for me.” Dean tells Cas.

“Who you were then, that’s not who you are now. That doesn’t define you,” Cas says. “You—” Dean leans in to kiss Cas on the lips. Then Dean pulls back and looks at Cas. Cas appears totally astonished, and Dean smiles at Cas because he’s beautiful and amazing.

“I love you, Cas. I never believed in angels or a greater power before we met. I only believed in the things I could see. But then I met you Cas. You gave up Heaven, and everything you had ever known because you believed in doing the right thing. You believed in us. You fought for us.” Dean said, “You are more than an angel to me. You are my Cas.” Dean wraps his arms around Cas. “Cas, can we get out of here?”

“Yes Dean, you just need to wake up,” Cas says.

~~

Cas blinks and is back in the hospital with Dean and Sam. The hospital also has nurses and technicians walking along the hallways.

“Hey Cas! It looks like the Rapture got reversed.” Sam looks at Cas. “Um... any luck with Dean?”

“Yes Sam, actually Dean was the one that pulled me out of the dream,” Cas said.

“Oh wow really?” Sam walked over to the side of Dean’s bed and leaned over to see if there was any change in Dean. Dean’s eyes were still open and looking on the ceiling. Then Sam felt an arm grab his shoulder and shake him, and Sam found himself flinching involuntarily.

“Got you!” Dean laughed.

“Go to hell,” Sam rolled his eyes and then leaned in to hug his brother.

Dean hopped out of bed, and asked Sam if he could borrow his knife. Sam nods and hands his brother his blade. Then Sam announces he has a text from Eileen, and he’ll be back in a bit.

“Where’s Jack?” Dean asks.

“Here I am,” Jack appears in the room. An orderly screams. “Oh don’t worry I’m a magician, and that was part of my magic act,” Jack tells the frightened orderly.

Dean grabs a specimen cup out of a drawer and slices his neck. The grace drips into the specimen cup. After it’s filled Dean replaces the lid on the jar.

“Dean, I meant it before I don’t want my grace back,” Cas says.

Jack reaches out to heal Dean’s neck. “Here Jack can you keep this in a pocket dimension for safe keeping?” Dean hands Jack the jar.

Jack nods his head and disappears. Another orderly screams but the first orderly explains it’s part of a magic act.

“I’m glad you still don’t want your grace,” Dean walks over to Cas and reaches out to hold his hands. “I’m ready to try new things. The stress of hunting has been wearing me down. I’m running on adrenaline and I am barely coping anymore. I’m too tired to feel anything but anger most of the time. I want to find some peace, and I’d like to grow old with you Cas.”

“And I’d like to grow old with you, Dean Winchester.” Cas says.

They share a kiss and then another. “Dean if we’re still in your coma, I don’t want to wake up,” Cas says.

“No Cas, we’re not dreaming. This is real. We’re real,” Dean tells Cas while punctuating the answer with kisses under his jawline. “And now that we have each other, nothing can drag us apart.”

[type40thiefoflight]

In honor of whatever the heck that sad excuse of a finale was, here’s a list of all the things I wish had/hadn’t happened over the course of the series:

Elaboration the Bloody Mary plot-line. Dean’s eyes bled when she appeared, meaning he felt guilty over someone’s death, but we never got to see whose.

Remember the one and only time they used “Christo” to identify a demon? Why didn’t they keep that up?

Rendering three of the horsemen powerless. Did they get replaced after Dean took their rings or are they still around and just less powerful?

Dean making Castiel erase Lisa’s and Ben’s memories.

Ben is Dean’s son and you can’t convince me otherwise.

Dean finally got the amulet back after Chuck appeared to him and Sam as God. Why didn’t he start wearing it again?

Chuck should have started out as a normal prophet that eventually became God’s vessel. This would explain his total behavioral shift from mousey to  arrogant and cocky. I think the possession would have happened after Raphael destroyed him and Castiel. Did Raphael really strike you as the kind of guy to have mercy on a human, even if he was a prophet of the lord? Chuck didn’t miraculously survive the attack. He was wiped out like Castiel was and God reconstructed his body like he did with Castiel in Stull Cemetery, then took Chuck’s place.

People who shouldn’t have been introduced/brought back:

The Campbells. The whole point is that it’s just the brothers and Castiel against the world. Sometimes their friends are there. We already knew from the flashback that Mary’s family behaved similarly to how John got after her death. There didn’t need to be more of that.

Bobby Singer. He died for Sam and Dean and even in death they still dragged him into their problems. Let the man rest already.

Gavin MacLeod: Didn’t need to be there. He showed up as a ghost once and his story-line seemed pointless.

Mary Winchester. Her story-line ended when she, as a ghost, sacrificed herself to fight off a poltergeist terrorizing the Winchesters’ old house.

Lucifer. His characterization post-Hallucifer was completely different and felt like watching a totally different character.

John Winchester: Should have stayed in Hell. He was an abusive father and didn’t deserve the reunion brought on by Dean wishing on the pearl.

People who should have been brought back/shouldn’t have died at all:

Bela Talbot: She wasn’t the nicest but she didn’t deserve that, Dean.

Ash: Just because his name is Ash doesn’t mean he had to become it.

Pamela Barnes: Cool characters with cool powers and actual personalities aren’t allowed to live.

Ellen and Jo Harvelle: Fans were so mean they got killed off to protect them from potential future bad writing and hate.

Balthazar: I really don’t remember why Castiel killed him but I liked him.

Rufus Turner: Did Bobby really have to get possessed by the Khan worm?

Bobby Singer: Couldn’t they have parked that van a little closer so he could have time to close the van door?

Amy Pond: Needing extra fresh food (human organs) for her sick son isn’t a good reason to kill her, Dean. It was a one-time thing.

Emma: Why couldn’t they have taken more time talking her down and gotten her away from the Amazonians? Sam, that is your NIECE!

Charlie Bradbury: Burying your gays isn’t cool, you guys.

Benny Lafite: Dean or Benny could have used dream root to contact Sam or Bobby and tell them the way out.

Kevin Tran: The whole Gadreel thing was dumb anyway but did he really think killing one human would impress Metatron?

Linda Tran: Not dead, just disappeared. What happened to her?

Krissy Chambers: Also not dead, but where did she go?

Tessa the reaper: Since when are reapers angels? There’s a specific way to kill them and it’s not angel blades.

Death: If Gabriel’s smart enough not to let someone get a hold of his real weapon then the horseman of death certainly is.

Gabriel: There’s no way he’s really dead. His second death was exactly like the first one and I believe Lucifer knew that when he saw AU Michael “kill” him. He waited until the coast was clear then got away.

Meg: Lead characters’ romantic interests aren’t allowed to live I guess.

Joshua: He and the Garden of Eden should have played a bigger role, maybe when they had to deal with Eve in season 6.

Crowley: They should have found another way to complete the ritual. Actually, weren’t they by a lake? They could have just stabbed a fish.

Missouri Moseley: Stop bringing back cool characters just to immediately kill them off.

Rowena MacLeod: Terrible mother, wonderful character.

Donatello Redfield: Not dead, just vanished. Where did he go?

Amara: Not really “killed” but absorbed even though that didn’t really give Chuck as much of a power boost as it should have. Adam Milligan: You’ll move Heaven and Hell for Sam but forget about your other brother? I get you’re jealous that he had a real relationship with John, but come on Dean.

Michael: The relationship between him and Adam was cool and I wanted to see it expanded on.

Donna Hanscum and Eileen Leahy: I would have liked confirmation that they were brought back when Jack reversed Chuck’s Thanos snap.

Castiel: I repeat: burying your gays bisexuals isn’t cool. (I say bisexual because remember Meg?)

Dean: His Mystery Spot deaths were sadder than that. For the third time: Burying Your Gays Bisexuals Isn’t Cool.

[ao3feed-destiel-02]

Spn Hs AU?!?! (Bare with me while i come up with a creative title)

Spn Hs AU?!?! (Bare with me while i come up with a creative title) https://ift.tt/SmahvrO by Starvenluss Supernatural Highschool Au in which 1.everyone is gay (Joking?!?! maybe?!?!) 2.I havnt written in a while and have no clue how to write the characters so im just rolling with it and this is probably horrifically garbage 3.i have NOT figured out my story at all and im just going with the flow!! 4.writing upsets me and i dont like describing stuff unless i gotta :( (i no no wannaaaa) hence why im a chatfic writer 3 Words: 699, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Supernatural (TV 2005), Supernatural (TV 2005) RPF Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Other Characters: Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Castiel (Supernatural), Gabriel (Supernatural), Adam Milligan, Michael (Supernatural), Lucifer (Supernatural), John Winchester, Mary Winchester, Bobby Singer (Supernatural), Anna Milton, Charlie Bradbury, Balthazar (Supernatural), Jack Kline, Kevin Tran (Supernatural), Crowley (Supernatural), Samandriel (Supernatural), Benny Lafitte, Rowena MacLeod, God | Chuck Shurley, Amara (Supernatural), Other Character Tags to Be Added Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Gabriel/Sam Winchester, Michael/Adam Milligan, God | Chuck Shurley/Rowena MacLeod, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added Additional Tags: Fluff, Humor, Angst, Fluff and Angst, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe, Crack, Chatting & Messaging, Texting, chatfic via AO3 works tagged 'Castiel/Dean Winchester' https://ift.tt/4079szF February 24, 2024 at 06:25AM

[postmodernmulticoloredcloak]

The whole multiverse idea really went nowhere in the end. Maybe they should've just taken an example from previous writers and pull the usual ~angelic/magic shenanigans~ explanation instead of the portals and all that bullshit if they wanted AUs that much.

There were interesting theories after the s12 finale, such as that maybe Cas had gotten it wrong, and the nephilim’s power had somewhat created a sort of world of the dead, not really a parallel universe but something kind of different. That Jack’s power had not actually just caused a tear in reality, but had created this whole thing. So “apocalypse world” (terrible name, really, especially without an article like they called it in the show) wasn’t actually a parallel universe that existed before that time, but the nephilim’s power made it. Or something like that. That would have been cool.

The idea of God as a writer having multiple “drafts” and versions of the story was actually pretty cool, but it did go not really anywhere. Michael’s possession arc had its moments but the concept itself was kind of anticlimatic and the Lucifer/MichaelDean fight ruined the experience for everyone. The fact that Jack caused the rift didn’t really have a followup, he was involved in the arc in the sense that he was in the other world for a while but there was no real deep connection between Jack and the other universes, so the tear in reality caused by his imminent birth was just a coincidental plot device.

Chuck “destroying worlds” was thrown out there as a warning that he would get in our world soon but only in the Kaia episode we ever conveyed a sense that these world had people and/or creatures in them that were dying. The scene in the Radio Shack in the earth with two moons is treated as comedic. The “HunterCorp” Winchesters thing is treated as comedic, no real weight to the fact that those guys’ entire world had been destroyed and everyone they knew had died. But there is a huge element of fridge horror there.

(Or did Jack bring back all the worlds? But we’re never told. We’re only shown him bringing back the people in ours.)

And then there are inconsistencies. The very fact that this world is more special than others doesn’t really hold up. It’s supposed to be more important because it’s Chuck’s favorite, but why? It seems to be because the Winchesters made it more entertaining, but it was the world where he’d put the lock to Amara’s imprisonment. Hadn’t Amara destroyed his previous worlds he’s made before he imprisoned her? So previous worlds-worlds had been destroyed and the alternate universes we saw were just drafts for the new one, or what? Also: if there are alternate versions of angels, it means there are multiple heavens. Did Chuck destroy the heavens too? Where do souls go when a universe’s afterlife gets destroyed? They stop existing? Where do the angels from those universes go? In the Empty full of multiple versions of the same angels and demons? The humans that moved into this world, which heaven do they go to? Ours? There will be two Bobbies and two Charlies etc when they die? Since they’re different people, I suppose that’s how it works, but there’s something about this that feels wrong.

Also why that one world where Mary hadn’t made the deal? Why was that one connected to ours by the first portal? What was so special about it? Why does that one get an entire arc? And why narratively? I mean, sure, it was about easing Mary’s guilt for the deal, but that felt to me like missing the point.

Everyone was like... triumphant about Chuck’s line that all the others iterations of Castiel fell back in line (even others who had saved Dean from hell and consequently had had contact with Dean) but only this one rebelled “successfully”, but it just seemed really sad to me?

So yeah, I just feel that the show bit more than it could chew with the multiple universes. It wasn’t necessarily a bad idea but the execution had issues.