#for the record I LOVE Castiel and the angels add a lot to plot

[ladylightning]

supernatural s2 is SO GOOD because every decision has more weight because the after life is still unknown to us. we know there is something after death but we don't know quite what that is. the season starts with tessa the reaper begging dean to come with her. to where? she cannot say. when john dies it’s devastating to the brothers that he’s no longer here but elsewhere. but it’s even more devastating as they come to the slow realization that elsewhere is probably hell, whatever that looks like. sam and dean don't know anything more than the audience does about hell.

there is an effort to exorcise the possessed and save them instead of letting them die because there is no promise of heaven to be made. the ghost in roadkill wants to know what happens when she crosses over and sam and dean just don’t know. where do the monsters go when they die? are there angels? is there a god? sam and dean don’t know. sam more than anything wants to believe. and secretly dean does too. but they just don’t know.

when sam dies where does he go? dean doesn’t know. we never get to see it. and more than that. does dean truly believe that he would be sent to the same hereafter as his brother after everything he has done? all dean knows is that there is a way to damn your eternal soul to hell and there is a way to bring his brother back from the unknown and he will choose that path without hesitation over and over and over again.

the second the angels are introduced we lose that sense of unknown. while the stakes are higher in seasons 4-5 the second we can see behind the curtain it’s over. yes you can damn the world and start the apocalypse but at least you KNOW. you know there is an afterlife. a heaven. a hell. a hereafter. and all the people who die will end up will end up where they belong so how guilty can you feel using a demon knife to kill an innocent? how wrong is it to drain the host for blood? they’ll end up in heaven after all. no more pain. and that is how only the winchester family drama becomes important to the brothers, because they KNOW the end is not the end. there’s more than just ghosts and demons and reapers. there is a heaven. and if there is a heaven every wrong bad thing in the narrative can be brushed away by the characters or the audience as “well at least they are at peace in heaven now.” they do this to jimmy novak and ash and pamela and lord knows who else.

season 2 sam and dean don’t have this opt out. every choice they make is so much heavier because they just. don’t. know.

#long post sorry #spn #supernatural #dean winchester #castiel #sam winchester #spn season 2 #supernatural season 2 #for the record I LOVE Castiel and the angels add a lot to plot #but undeniably it forever changes the show on a molecular level #sometimes good sometimes bad #but season 2 is one of my all time favorites #so many back to back banger episodes #great dean moments dealing with john dying and sams psychic stuff #GREAT sam moment holy shit an amazing sam season so many gems #also a ton of stupid little dean outfits this season

[jensenscomedyelbows]

SUPERNATUAL 21 QUESTIONS

(THE INCREDIBLE HEATHER, AKA @sammichgirl, did this and tagged me as one of her favorite blogs, so I’m giving it a go. Thanks, doll.)

1. When did you start watching Supernatural? 

On September 19, 2012. I was recovering from surgery and had binged all there was to binge on Netflix at that point, and I asked my BFF James what I should watch. He immediately said “Supernatural!” I was skeptical, and I asked him exactly what it was about. He told me brothers, Sam and Dean, who were “slayers,” probably because he knew I loved BtVS and that would interest me. I thought hmmm, maybe. That same day my other BFF, Angel, called to check on me, so I asked her if she had any recommendations—and she said the same thing! She, like James, had watched every episode live since day one. So I watched the pilot, and was immediately struck by the twin images of Mary and Jessica burning on the ceiling. I HAD TO KNOW WHY. Three weeks later, I finished season 6, just in time for Netflix to add season 7, and not long after I finished that, season 8 began airing live, with me right in front of my TV every Tuesday night, dying to see what would happen next. AND I’M STILL HERE (and have been to THREE conventions, lord have mercy!)

2. Who is your favorite in TFW?

Like Heather, I never really thought that was a thing. It was a line put in for a laugh in one episode that got blown up into a big deal, but I never felt invested in the concept. But if you’re asking me which character is my favorite among Sam, Dean, and Castiel, my favorite will always be Dean. You can’t love him without loving Sam too, however, and there are episodes in which my sympathies are more with Sam, and episodes in which I identify/sympathize more with Dean. I rarely sympathize with Castiel because he’s not human.

3. Who is your least favorite in TFW?

Castiel. I haven’t much liked his character since season 5, but I do recognize that’s entirely the writers’ fault.

4. Tag your top 5 Supernatural blogs.

The ones I turn to again and again for gifs (and which have been particularly useful in illustrating my 2019 rewatch) have been: @sensitivehandsomeactionman @secretsandgreeneyes @saucynewf @demondetoxmanual and @spn-idjits-guide-to-hunting. I also love @lipglosskaz @sammichgirl @lemondropsonice @whiskeycherrypie and @misswhizzy. I am a thousand percent sure I’m leaving out at least fifty I love and adore 🥰, and it will drive me nuts thinking about it!

5. Who is your favorite character (not including TFW)?

Bobby Singer, no contest, hands down.

6. Who is your favorite woman in Supernatural?

Ellen Harvelle. A calm, steadying presence with the knowledge and skill to back up her formidable courage. Tough when she needed to be, loving when the people she cared about were in trouble. Heroic.

7. John or Mary?

Neither or both. If you erase the Dabb era resurrection of Mary, then both. Both John and Mary had profound impacts on Sam and Dean’s personalities and views of the world—John’s by his presence and Mary’s by her absence. They made our boys who they are. But if you count Mary’s resurrection and terrible new character arc, then John of course.

8. What were your first opinions of Sam, Dean, Cas, and Jack?

I thought it was commendable for Sam to want to go to law school, and tragic what happened to Jessica and his plans for the future. I loved how open he was with Dean (early days!), how much trust he had in him, and how easily victims responded to him. Also: book smarts are a turn-on of mine.

I fell in love with Dean’s beauty by Wendigo, and his everything else by Home. The brave face, the stiff upper lip hiding the vulnerability and insecurity from his little brother because he feels he has to be strong for him—all that just made me love him more. Also: a wicked sense of humor is a huge turn-on of mine.

Castiel has a great character entrance. Emotionless. He burned out Pamela’s eyes. I thought that was unnecessary. He and Uriel were alien beings whose motives were the opposite of pure, so I feared his power and questioned his interaction with Sam and Dean.

Jack: Oh, I get it—the CW needs to compete with Riverdale and its other shows featuring teenagers, so they invented Lucifer’s son to boost ratings. *shrug*

9. What’s your favorite season?

2, 4, and 5–there are just too many good ones to have just one favorite. I also love 1 and 3. LOL.

10. What’s your least favorite season?

Season 12 just about broke me. Let me count the ways: Lucifer possessing the President of the United States (oh please, I watch this show to ESCAPE real life, tyvm), Sam and Dean MURDERING him in yet another failed attempt to kill Lucifer, being sent to “Supermax” which, again, PLEASE, do you even know what would happen to the assassins responsible for killing the POTUS? Not even Sam and Dean would be able to bust out of that lockup—no effing way—yet they did. And how did they do it? By murdering a shitload of HUMAN BEINGS just doing their jobs, running around with AK-47s while yelling how they’re the guys who saved the world 🙄 I can’t see either Sam or Dean EVER bragging about that, and since then, they have, many times, and it always sets my teeth on edge. SEASON TWELVE DOESN’T EXIST TO ME.

11. What’s your opinion on Destiel?

It’s a fan ship that is popular among the younger, less experienced viewers of our show (many of whom haven’t even seen any seasons/episodes without Castiel in them), so my opinion isn’t very high. It’s like Dean and Cas are two dolls, and the Destiel fandom’s chief delight is mashing them together any way they can. And forcing the rest of us to hear them lecture us on how it’s “real,” how it’s “going to be canon,” and generally alienating everyone who doesn’t ship those two characters. I ignore anything to do with it.

12. Do you believe Supernatural queerbaits?

I’m not queer, so bearing in mind that I wouldn’t necessarily see it if it did, I’ve tried to look at it as impartially and dispassionately as possible, and I believe that Misha has been guilty of it, on occasion. (Sure, it’s all in good fun, he’s only kidding, he’s having a laugh, etc.) Ben Edlund has as well. Robbie Thompson was perhaps guilty of it a time or two. But this is all supposing that it is impossible for A TRUE PLATONIC LOVING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TWO MEN to be portrayed on television. I mean, Dean/Castiel is the only “baiting” I’ve ever heard people yell about, so I’m sticking to this one possible pairing as the one responsible for this question. I personally have no trouble accepting a platonic same-sex relationship...but queer fandom seems to have a lot of trouble with this concept?

13. Seasons 1-7 or 8-14?

Hahahaha, obviously 1-7. KEEP 12 AWAY FROM ME.

14. Who’s your favorite villain?

CROWLEY. He was so awful before his redemptive stuff at the end. Never forget that as of the end of season 8, he was murdering all the innocent people Sam and Dean had saved (including Sarah Blake!), then in season 9, he was the one responsible for getting Gadreel out of Sam. After that, he wasn’t really a villain anymore. But he was so irredeemably evil for four seasons!

15. Do you think they should end the Lucifer plot line?

THEY HAVE!  Now they just need to end the NICK plot line.

16. Who do you think has been through more trauma—Sam, Dean or Cas?

Sam and Dean have been through the SAME traumas, almost exactly, so I call theirs dead even. I wouldn’t want to measure or quantify “trauma” in any case. Castiel isn’t human, so I never thought of him as undergoing any trauma.

17. What’s your favorite Supernatural episode?

Mystery Spot, 3x11. It’s the one I would show someone new to the show. It’s the one I watch when I’m down. I LOVE stories with the time-loop trope ❤️ The acting is phenomenal. It’s funny, it’s tragic, it’s everything.

18. Do you like the case episodes?

All of season 1 is comprised of “case” episodes. Looking for John and Sam’s connection to “the demon” are secondary in that season, and I loved it enough to fall in love with the entire series, so YES. I’m a horror/mystery buff at heart.

19. Who do you relate most to in TFW?

It will come as no surprise to anyone reading this that my answer is Dean.

20. Why do you like Supernatural?

Honestly, it’s the only place I can see the Winchesters do their thing—make their choices, fight their battles, and live their lives. They DO lead eventful lives!

21. If you could bring back one character and kill another off, who would they be?

I’m gonna interpret “bring back” as “never killed off” and go with Bobby—the Bobby we knew and loved, the Bobby who had the boys’ backs and was always there, dispensing wisdom and advice. “Bring back” means an entirely different thing now that there’s an AU—they can (and have) brought back EVERYBODY in an effort to appease fans and boost ratings. I think it’s a failure of imagination, personally, and I’ll give that version of bringing back a hard pass.

I would definitely kill Castiel off, or send him to Heaven for good. And then I don’t want to hear another word about Heaven or Hell again, the end. He hasn’t done anything but give pep talks and occasionally perform a miraculous task when the writers need him to. His character has already been killed, and it was a slow death by a thousand cuts. Very sad.

OKAY. I’m not tagging anybody either, but here’s your chance to get your opinions out there and on the record, so do it! (if you do it, please tag me!)

#supernatural opinions #degree of difficulty: expert #sammichgirl

[ladylilithprime]

Sastiel Creations Challenge | @ladylilithprime

↳ Theme: Monsters | Prompt: Djinn

=A Wish Your Heart Makes=

IT WAS THE perfect life.

Not many would agree, of course; everyone's definition of "perfect" was unique to the individual and, while there might frequently be some overlap, it was very rare that two or more people might have truly matching definitions. Add to that the sort of changes a "non-standard" upbringing might create in a person's priorities for happiness... Well, as Dean had once remarked, a lot of people took having a stable address and place of residence for granted, so having a home - a real home, not just a base of operations out of which the Winchesters worked and in which they occasionally slept - might seem to an outsider like a low bar, never realizing just how high a bar it really was. Sam in particular had not had much luck with having a stable and stationary home, despite repeated efforts to change that over the years. An old bunker originally belonging to a now-defunct secret society of supernatural researchers might not be the most traditional of homes, but it was theirs and that was the important thing.

Charlie, the hacker who had helped them against the Leviathans, had worked a minor miracle in the eyes of the humans and completely eradicated Sam and Dean's criminal records from any and all digital archives, and had set up a watch to ensure the records couldn't be retrieved without pulling up all sorts of warnings with labels like "classified" and "secured data" and "authorization required". Neither Dean nor Castiel knew exactly what that meant, but Sam was happy and so that was enough for them. Moreover, Charlie had unlocked accounting and payroll information from the Men of Letters computers and dusty files. For the first time ever, there were actual legitimate bank accounts for "Samuel Alexander Winchester", "Dean Michael Winchester", and even "James Castiel Winchester". Castiel had been shocked that they would include him so thoroughly in their family when he had been turned away before, and had very nearly protested until Sam had reached out and pulled him into a hug, the first real and voluntary hug Sam had given him when Castiel was in his right mind.

"You belong with us, Cas," he'd said. "Me and Dean, we're not all that great at emotions and healthy communication, but you gotta know... You're family. And I - we - love you."

"Do you?" Castiel had dared to ask, having caught the slip and very nearly held his breath as he had waited for the response.

"Yeah, I... I do," Sam had admitted, dropping his eyes and ducking his head to hide his sudden blush. He hadn't pulled away from Castiel's touch when he had reached up to brush aside the soft fall of hair, and he had been more than agreeable to Castiel's request for a kiss.

And so the unconventional Winchester family built their unconventional home together with Charlie and Kevin coming and going as they wished. Sam was happy to delve into the Men of Letters library, sorting and cataloging the books, working with Charlie to preserve older texts and with Castiel to translate others. Dean nested happily, eager to finally be providing the home he had always felt Sam had been robbed of by Azazel's plots to further the early Apocalypse, and while he would find hunts occasionally they were sparse and rarely required the Winchesters to leave home for more than a day or two. And Castiel divided his days between helping Sam with the library, or allowing Dean to instruct him in "the human condition" since he now lived among them as one of them. At night, Castiel shared Sam's room and Sam's bed - their bed, Sam insisted - and would fall asleep held securely in Sam's arms, feeling safe in a way he could not remember ever feeling even in Heaven. It really was a perfect life.

So it was perhaps a cause for concern when Sam entered the lit library after dinner to find Castiel sitting at the long table staring at the cover of a book of Middle Eastern legends with a pensive expression on his face. "Cas? Everything okay?"

"Sam." The former angel looked up, blue eyes dark with the heaviness of an inexplicable sadness. "Are you happy? Living here, being... being with me.... This makes you happy?"

"Well, yeah," Sam said, sounding puzzled but at least willing to take the question seriously. He came around to sit on the edge of the table next to where Castiel was sitting, facing him. "I mean, sure, it's been an adjustment, getting used to having a home and... I'm sorry, but there's probably always going to be a little voice in the back of my head worrying about the next big threat coming along and killing you like everyone else I've loved--"

"One might argue that I have already fulfilled that requirement and 'gotten better'," Castiel broke in gently, making air quotes because he knew it would make Sam smile.

"There's a thought," Sam conceded with the expected fond smile. He sighed. "I get that it's not ideal, but our lives have never been what the majority of Americans consider normal. That doesn't make it any less amazing and perfect, just different." He huffed a low laugh. "Honestly, if I didn't still wanna kick His ass, I'd probably thank God repeatedly every night that this is my life, because as weird as it is... I have you. I have Dean and I have you, and that makes all the weirdness more than worth it."

"I see," Castiel said, looking down at the book, then back up at Sam with a soft smile that belied the serious expression in his eyes. "I love you, Sam Winchester."

"I love you, too, Castiel Winchester," Sam answered solemnly. He bent forward, and Castiel tilted his head back to accept and return the offered kiss from his beloved, lingering on the feeling even as Sam slowly pulled away and straightened up. "It's getting late. Come to bed?"

"I will be along soon," Castiel assured him as he straightened up out of the embrace of the chair and reached for the book. "This is the last of it for today."

"Okay," Sam agreed, getting up and dropping one last kiss on the top of Castiel's head. "I'll be waiting for you."

"I shall not keep you waiting long," Castiel promised, watching as Sam left the library before turning back to the table. The book was regarded with that same pensive expression from earlier, then set aside with a sigh. Instead, Castiel reached for the silver letter opener resting against the base of the small lamp and, with a last glance towards the door, plunged the blade into his chest.

CASTIEL JOLTED UPRIGHT from the floor of the broken-down cabin, his hand seeking and mercifully finding the hilt of his borrowed angel blade which he had painstakingly coated in lamb's blood from the butcher before coming out to the abandoned property. The djinn's power was not supposed to be able to affect an Angel of the Lord, but it seemed without his Grace he was more susceptible to the Supernatural. It was as disconcerting as it was irritating, and Castiel supposed that he would have to find some way to cope with this new facet of his disgraced and diminished state... after he dealt with the djinn.

Grace or no Grace, the former Angel still had his combat training and exceptional reflexes, a fact he was grateful to learn when the djinn attacked and he managed to dodge out of the way and get the blade up between them before she could lunge again. It struck home, and Castiel slid to the floor, his malnourished body having less energy than needed to remain standing just at that moment. At least the djinn was dead, and all that was left was to burn the body.

With a stifled sigh and a grunt of effort, Castiel heaved himself up off the floor and began dragging the djinn's corpse out of the ruined cabin so as not to set the whole dilapidated structure ablaze with the body. It would make a decent shelter for the night, allowing him to make his way back to Lebanon proper tomorrow during daylight, one more threat to the people he loved eliminated.

He refused to allow himself to dwell on the impossible scenario the djinn's power had conjured.

ONLY THREE MILES away in an old bunker, Sam Winchester frowned and reached for his cell phone. Before his fingers even touched the casing, his body stilled as his eyes flared blue with the light of Grace. His hand dropped away from the phone, the number for the intended call to an absent angel who should have been there with him left undialed outside of his own mind.

If you need cheering up after reading this, please proceed to AO3 and read Better In Person, which can be taken as an unofficial sequel to this story.

#supernatural fanfic #sastiel #sastielcc #sastiel creations challenge round 4 #djinn venom doesn't effect angels #unless the angel is now human