#party trick: i can connect anything back to supernatural's destiel

[mattzerella-sticks]

Thinking about one of the core themes of Everything, Everywhere, All At Once and - not to do this but since it's kind of 'my thing' lol - my mind wandered with strings to try and connect it to Supernatural and how the finale truly just - just dropped the ball because -

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Because the message of "there are an infinite amount of realities so nothing matters which is why everything matters" ties exactly to the struggle Dean was facing in the last season (though in the case of Supernatural there was someone to blame instead of the inherent randomness of the universe) and literally how both Dean and Evelyn spent most of the arc of the narrative fighting but in the end it wasn't fighting that saved the universe but love and kindness (and they were reminded by their loves who they just so happened to end up with due to the randomness of the universe - the thing that Chuck probably hates, it's his everything bagel lol). And the fact that Eveyln got to have that happiness in the ordinary and we’re left with the idea (or at least I was) that things are going to be okay and they’ll work out. Whereas in the finale Dean gets to that point of realization only for the ‘randomness’ of death to come and claim him or whatever in a way that kind of undercuts the journey (which we ALL have discussed to death lol). Like, we know Dean will die someday I think having it end like that, with the showing of it, was just meh. Even if they wanted to end it with a hunt and it’s the brothers sitting on the trunk of the Impala sharing a beer like “yeah we’re back to business even with Chuck gone”, it would have been a better button on the show then... that. Like maybe they will die during a hunt but that’s up to speculation.

And then there's the Cas and Wayden parallels, like the speech Wayden gave Evelyn in the alleyway when she was in the parallel universe where she was a famous movie star is a Cas thesis statement for sure. And also the reason why Cas's endgame should have been becoming human.

And like in Everything, Everywhere, All at Once, it starts with a divorce and ends with a reunion once Evelyn sees past her own stuff and sees Wayden for who and what he truly is and realizes she's been ignoring what's right in front of her, preoccupied with her own 'unhappiness' and 'unfulfillment' and -

I didn't expect this to be an essay but to any SPN fans go watch Everything, Everywhere, All at Once because it is not only a good movie it makes the DeanCas brainworms v v happy

[chaoticdean]

Supernatural and the topic of found family — family don’t end in blood… or does it?

I know I’ve talked a great deal about the way the complete erasure of both Cas and Eileen from the two final episodes of SPN made my blood boil, but after careful consideration and a lot of talking with several very clever people (you know who you are), I think what hurt me the most on top of it all is the way Supernatural decided to essentially throw away an entire section of what made the show what it was for the best part of the last decade and a half: the topic of found family, and how they’ve carefully crafted so many important side characters and relationships only to throw them all away for the sake of having one last episode essentially disconnected from the rest of the story. 

[Because I’ve talked about in great length over the course of the past week and a half, and although there are undoubtedly more issues with Supernatural’s series finale than just this (ie: the Destiel treatment and the queer erasure, along with the complete erasure of Eileen, the only disabled character this show has ever known), I’m going to concentrate solely on the treatment of found family, and why its erasure from the finale storyline is deeply upsetting on top of being utterly inexplicable. If you want to read an incredible article about this, I’d redirect you to @chill-legilimens article’s, The Trauma of Silence]

When Supernatural started airing in 2005, the show essentially focused on Sam and Dean and their relationship, with a dash of John Winchester and mending the broken pieces between a father and his sons into the mix. The first side character that gets introduced to the audience as some sort of surrogate father to both Winchesters is Bobby (1x22, Devil’s Trap), and he quickly became a fan favorite to the fandom. Interestingly enough, Bobby is also the one who comes up with the “Family don’t end with blood” line (if I’m not mistaken, the first time it’s said on the show is during 3x16, No Rest for the Wicked). Once this line gets said, it quickly became more than just a slogan within the fandom, and it’s often referenced as a motto for the show as well (Dean even uses it during his talk with Crowley in season 10 to explain what family means).

Over the years, so many characters got introduced and became fan favorites (off the top of my head, I can come up with half a dozen already) and have grown within the show, to the point where they’re introduced to the audience as some sort of found family to both Dean and Sam. The boys get invited to Jody Mills’ and her wayward daughter’s house for dinner, spend what can only be qualified as a slumber party watching Game of Thrones with Charlie Bradbury in the bunker, keep running around and bickering with Crowley, spends time in the bunker with Eileen (the margaritas and Sam and Eileen being hungover the morning after in the bunker’s kitchen lives rent-free in my head). Even the Ghostfacers keep popping in almost every season for a decade. The audience gets to learn who these characters are and connect with them on several levels, most of them also becoming fan favorites over time.

But if I had to pick only one side character to make a point, Castiel is undoubtedly the one that comes to mind first.

When Misha Collins came along during season 4, he was only supposed to be in for a couple of episodes and be done with it. But because of his masterful performance (and because the character of Anna, who gets introduced around the same time as Castiel, doesn’t seem to work as well as the writers thought it would), Misha stayed along for the whole ride, and ended his run on Supernatural 12 years and 144 episodes later, with a character that is so beloved by the fandom that it elevated him to the rank of third lead. Castiel is not only an angel of the Lord, he’s also Sam and Dean’s best friend who would do anything to protect them (and, well, has done so, multiple times). He’s grown within the show to the point where the audience directly refers to him as being one of the family, even though he’s not blood, because “Family don’t end with blood” after all.

Another example that is particularly telling over the course of the last couple of seasons is the treatment of Jack’s character, who’s quickly adopted by the boys and referred to as “their kid”, the three of them acting like surrogate dads even though in the end, Jack is Lucifer’s son. Once again, the show makes a point of showing the audience that although Jack is not related to Sam and Dean in any way (I’m guessing since Lucifer is basically Castiel’s brother, he is somewhat related to Cas, but since I don’t have a degree in angel DNA, I can’t 100% be sure), he’s still family, he still matters.

The story basically tells the audience that even though you might not have a blood-related family, that doesn’t prevent you to find people along your life’s journey that becomes intrinsically connected to your story, both on a deeply emotional and practical level. It tells you that you’re not required to have a blood family to be someone’s kid, or sister, or brother. It tells you that blood doesn’t define who you choose to share your life with, and most importantly, it tells you that you’re allowed to choose.

So why on Earth did anyone think that ending Supernatural’s 15-year run with an episode that essentially showcases Sam and Dean and sidelines the wide majority of the family they found along the way (with the exception of OG Bobby showing up in Heaven) was a good idea?

Don’t get me wrong, I love Bobby, I really do… But what was the excuse for not having either Misha back (the literal third lead of the show, who confessed to being in love with Dean, the second lead of the show, two episodes prior), or Alex (Jack being one of the main focus of the past two seasons at least)? I get that Covid made all of this difficult, but you can’t tell me you’ve been able to bring back Mark Pellegrino’s Lucifer for a two minutes and a half cameo in 15x19, but not Misha fucking Collins to end his character’s arc (and Dean’s, who’s arc is deeply wired with Castiel’s) after 12 years. 

I’m gonna say it again, because I feel like it’s been used as an excuse for everything ever since the finale aired: Covid cannot be the sole excuse for everything. It cannot account for the absence of literally EVERYONE around the Winchesters.

At that point, I should probably add that although I was incredible baffled by the one-off mention of Cas (well, two, if you count Sam saying he misses him and Dean deflecting during the Pie Fest at the beginning of the episode), what probably set me off the most is the part of Dean’s death speech where he says “when it all came down to it, it was always you and me, it’s always been you and me”. 

I’m sorry Dean, you know I love you to pieces, but what the actual fuck was that? What does it even mean? That single line essentially strips away any kind of meaningful contribution of any side characters… Including Castiel “always happy to bleed for the Winchesters”’s, and Jack’s who quite literally saved the whole world ONE EPISODE PRIOR.

Not to mention that the fact we don’t get to see Cas again leave Dean’s entire character’s arc incomplete. What was the point of season 15, which focused so deeply on Dean and Cas’ relationship, if in the end the entire character’s arc gets dropped?

So what’s the message being sent here? 

“Found family was a myth, it’s always been sorely about the Winchesters”? 

“Ha! Tricked ya!”?

Why did Supernatural, after a decade and a half spent consolidating the contribution of side characters, decided to essentially throw it all away?

Why did Supernatural, after a decade spent crafting meaningful relationships within the show, decided to light it all up on fire and end its run with an episode that basically tells the audience that none of it really mattered, it’s always been sorely about Dean and Sam.

I would’ve been fine with a Sam and Dean episode if Castiel had more than a one-off mention, if they didn’t give Sam a blurry wife, if Dean had the funeral he deserved (with a rock band, whisky, and all the fellow hunters and family he found along the way), if Sam didn’t spend the rest of his life mourning his brother. I would’ve been fine with only getting Jim Beaver on screen (because Covid) if we had been given something more than just Dean driving for his last 5 minutes on screen. It would have been FINE, if Supernatural hadn’t essentially forgotten about what made Supernatural, well, Supernatural.

Long story short, I feel tricked. And I know a lot of you feel tricked too, because this isn’t what we’ve been fed for the past 15 years. Supernatural was a show about finding your way through life and death and horror and trauma, with help from people you found along the way who became linked to your story because you cared for each other. And Supernatural ended by telling us that found family didn’t really matter, that Dean was always going to die on a random hunt, that Sam could never be truly happy without his brother by his side. Talk about a downgrade, uh?

I don’t know why they decided to throw their entire legacy to the wind. Truth be told, I don’t think we’ll ever get to know. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to stay pissed about it. That doesn’t mean I’m going to ever be okay with my favorite show deciding to end its run with a finale episode so deeply disconnected from their 15-year story that it felt utterly shallow.

They said “Family don’t end with blood”… But after all of this, doesn’t it, though?

[destielfanfic]

Group Ask #165 part 3

Relevant links to find lost fic

previous group asks

spnstoryfinders

Guide to Finding Fic

Guide to Finding Lost Fic

Try this great trick to finding fic

Ask #17 ( @clairethereader): there’s this fic…#17

I️ am trying to find this fanfiction I️ read more than two years ago. Dean and Castiel go to school together but eventually Castiel transfers to a private school, dean wants to fit in with his friend’s new friends, but throws up at a party, I️ forget the middle part but they get together and the final chapter is the two of them in their own apartment celebrating the holidays, possible proposal or pet Thank you so much!!! You are awesome!

Found by @aliviacarroll: Then and Now by komodobits [T, 23,800 word count] On Christmas Eve, 1988, Mrs. Novak's car stalled on an intersection and was hit by a truck. Her son, Castiel, was nine years old when he woke up the next day and realised that he wasn't going to have a Christmas anymore. Luckily for him, however, Mary Winchester across the road invited him over to have Christmas with them that year - and every year after. Traditions were formed, friendships were built, and Christmas would always be a time for love, even if life sometimes happened along the way.

Ask #18 ( @misspriss7712​ ): there’s this fic…#18

Ok. So I lost some of my fics when I got my new phone. Does anyone know the name of a fic where Dean gets turned into a girl for a short time, something happens to Cas and Crowley says in order to save him they have to stay pressed together. Later on they visit an angel in college and a high level demon with a kid (the kid thinks Dean is Superman/Clark Kent). I may be mixing 2 different fics, but I'm not completely sure. Thank you and you rock my socks!

We are pretty sure the OP did mix up two classic fics.  Found by @shreestudies and @libertyisthyname: Defy Any And All Expectation and Named

Ask #19 ( @grippedbydestielfever): there’s this fic…#19

Hi, I'm searching for a story, and after looking on the Supernatural Story Finder community, and the tags and the search box here, without success, so... It was a guardian Angel Cas destiel fic, but with a twist. It starts when the boys are kids, Gabriel is Mary's guardian angel(or possibly Sam's?), but John blames him and cuts the boys off from him for years. Cas is the supposed demon child who is actually a guardian angel who has lost his memory and pops in and out of their lives. Help? Thanks

Ask #20 ( @anupalya ): there’s this fic…#20

Hey, I love this blog so much!! Thank you for doing the hard work you do! I read a fic, a long, loooong time ago, and I completely get it if you can't find it based on the little info I can give -- I have no idea what the main plotline was, but all I remember is that Becky found out that Chuck is God and that he essentially "wrote her" to magical-roofie Sam in the wedding episode because he thought it was a funny storyline. She was furious and beat him with the waffle iron Dean gave her.

Ask #21 ( anon/private ): lost fic

First off, thanks for this site, it's been a life-saver. I was wondering though if anyone knows where it is/has a copy of Alternaurora's 'Ab Insidiis Diaboli'? They seemed to have deleted all of their online stuff in the last month (are they ok?) I've been really wanting to re-read that though, and hadn't downloaded a copy myself. It was on Ao3, and dead links still exist, but nothing else. I've exhausted almost all other avenues. Regardless, thanks!

If any of our followers have a copy, let us know and we will connect you!

Ask #22 (@chewbaccaaah): there’s this fic...#22

There’s a story where the three go to heaven, Megatron is a duche, Jimmy finds some flowers that's kinda Castiel grace and it gets absorbed back in to cas at dad the end of the story and Jimmy and Dean have a I love John Wayne more than you fight BC Megatron used johnn wayne to capture them and then at the end Castiel makes heaven his 9-5 job 1/2 Oops, misunderstanding. When i said the 3 go to heaven I meant Dean SAM and cas. In the story I was talking about (dead) Jimmy is a main charechter, it's destiel, not a 3some. Cas starts as human and ends the story full 'o grace

If any of our followers have anything to suggest, drop it in our ask box (mention which ask you are talking about by number or bolded title). If you don’t see your ask here, it is because we have quite a few in the inbox. Thanks!!