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[aloido]

If there is a destiel faction with the slogan "I accept that Castiel's feelings are unrequited, and fine with it" it's extremely well-hidden. Mainstream indignantly rejects such a conciliatory position. I think major reason for it is a pain of under-achievement. Castiel couldn't really save Sam from the Cage, didn't become God, was unable to diplomatically resolve the division between angels and their personal distrust, failed to take revenge on Lucifer (all perfectly objective, because of his inability to make well-thought alliances and use well-designed plans) and didn't get Dean's reciprocal declaration (entirely subjective failure which exists only in destiel hive-mind). Maybe Castiel is unhappy with the way his relationship with Dean is, but he's FINE. But of course, it's the main offense in SPN lore, and fandom ISN'T FINE with it. The pain is so great that it prevents the simplest thought from coming through: even if Dean was statistically consistent in choosing men over or alongside women, he DOESN'T HAVE TO reciprocate Castiel's feelings.

[aloido]

[aloido]

Funny. I nosedived into SPN first time fifteen years ago, but in all that time, I've read fewer Supernatural fanfictions than, say, Harry Potter fanfictions, even though I haven't read a single book or even seen a single movie through. Part of the reason, of course, is that Supernatural is sufficient, completely sufficient. Another reason is the approach bequeathed to us by Becky Rosen and widely adopted by many, many authors. The recipe for transferring Dean's character to paper is to find the keys on keyboard: "self-deprecating", "guilt-ridden", "bad humor", "impatient", "reckless", "not having access to his own emotions" and punch them with the fist. I'm not even mentioning the intentions of the authors, for whom Dean is not a standalone character, but a cloth for polishing the Sam/Castiel shining. But, God, he's so nuanced, so difficult to capture in precise terms.

What is Dean's main conflict? I think, not the fact that he made not good enough work of parenting/protecting/respecting Sam. He's conflicted because he LOVES violence. Not just hunting - violence. He loves killing, he mastered this art; you can't become such an effective, elegant killer without loving what you do. He had first tasted this poison after father's death; Alastair had exposed and sharpened this need in hell, and this love had lasted Dean's entire life. His kindness prevents him from seeing that his entire family's infected with this disease - and he wants to protect them from himself.

I think his main trait is a dignity, the most ordinary dignity that is so often and willingly forgotten.

[aloido]

While destielers may be a main force in contemporary SPN fandom, its kind of scary on two levels. First is the fact that the destiel faction envelops the fandom like oil, preventing it from breathing and making it difficult for Dean-centrists to find anything entertaining. This is a less important concern. What more important - the persisting idea that this shipping holds the quintessence of Dean's character and the inevitability that awaits him. As if Castiel is EXACTLY what Dean needs in partner. From this representation, by reverse engineering being extracted the idea of what Dean Winchester is.

Lets not.

Castiel may be a touching and entertaining guy in his own way, but he's a gloomy, introverted stoic who ignores or is genuinely blind to the nuances of human relationships, someone who needs to be taught to be human at every turn, in every little detail. Even friendship with him is a hard task, because it lacks of the most essential qualities: perseverance, consistency, and the willingness to face the consequences. Dean (who's gloomy stoic himself) NEEDS someone who can meet him halfway, not someone who cannot do his own work.

[rincewinds-hat]

not trying to argue here (okay maybe) but i think Cas is more then that

Yes, he IS a gloomy stoic. And yes, in his first few seasons he need to be taught human interaction.

But i think after that, he's DOES have what it takes, and he DOES understand human to at least some extent. He's not a human, but a lot of times he's more human then actual people.

Im gonna bring up the finale here (cardinal sin, ik, but bear with me). Cas says "i cared about the world because of you. You changed me, Dean" which highlights the fact that he can, infact, do his own work, he just needed a little nudge.

Im not saying Dean and Cas are perfect. Far from. They're actually toxic at times, and BOTH need a lot of improvement before they're even semi normal.

The fact that most fanfics are just ships is a problem, but it's a popular ship in a big fandom, so of course there's going to be a lot of it. Small fandoms also struggle with barely any fanfics, or ships they don't like. At the end of the day, people read and write what they like, and as you said it's not a problem.

Also, the characters are just dolls we play with and it's not quite important what we do with them.

Again, im not trying to argue (sorry if it came out weird idk) but i just wanted to add this

[aloido]

Well, in fact, this can be a problem. The characters and the story are much more than what can be seen through the shipping lens. However, when the echo-chamber chants drown out the canon text, it can affect the influx of new viewers who may not be drawn to the "Supernatural is a great, multifaceted show" ad, but rather be discouraged by the context-distorting shipping mantras. I've come across numerous appeals similar to "You don't have to watch the first three seasons, the shipping material starts from the fourth one."

[aloido]

[aloido]

While destielers may be a main force in contemporary SPN fandom, its kind of scary on two levels. First is the fact that the destiel faction envelops the fandom like oil, preventing it from breathing and making it difficult for Dean-centrists to find anything entertaining. This is a less important concern. What more important - the persisting idea that this shipping holds the quintessence of Dean's character and the inevitability that awaits him. As if Castiel is EXACTLY what Dean needs in partner. From this representation, by reverse engineering being extracted the idea of what Dean Winchester is.

Lets not.

Castiel may be a touching and entertaining guy in his own way, but he's a gloomy, introverted stoic who ignores or is genuinely blind to the nuances of human relationships, someone who needs to be taught to be human at every turn, in every little detail. Even friendship with him is a hard task, because it lacks of the most essential qualities: perseverance, consistency, and the willingness to face the consequences. Dean (who's gloomy stoic himself) NEEDS someone who can meet him halfway, not someone who cannot do his own work.