Long ahhhh Destiel rant (regarding the treatment of queer fans)
This shi is wayyyy longer than I originally meant so if you want to skip my rambling scroll down to the pictures attached to see my actual point lol
Okay so regarding recent events, this whole ordeal has kind of emphasised something that's been irking me for a while now. I've shipped destiel for nearly a decade, and i'm gay, and I am pretty used to the weird way the show has handled queerness in general. I grew up in a very religious environment, and latched on to supernatural as a teen, using it as an escape from the world around me that constantly told me i was going to hell (how ironic) for something i couldn't control. I think that's why the show appealed to me so much, because it portrayed biblical stuff in a lighthearted way, encouraged you to question things and find your own free will. I never at any point expected destiel to be made canon in any way whatsoever, that it wasn't what the show was about, it was something for me to write and read about in secret and never ever talk about.
I lost interest for the show for a while after the hostility towards destiel fans started, it was hard to stay involved when it felt like the show hated me for shit i didn't do- sure, there are always gonna be crazy fans in any community, but it felt like everyone was being lumped together with the people who would send death threats and harass the actors at conventions. It was a pretty clear sign that I wasn't welcome in this space anymore.
So imagine my surprise when years later I decided to tune in to the last season out of morbid curiosity, only for November 5th to occur. Sure, it was comical, a character comes out and is immediately sent to super ultra hell, basically the thing i'd been scared would happen to me for most of my life, and sure the ambiguity of it and Deans lack of any kind of reply made it obvious that they wanted to make sure it could still be seen as an 'i love you, bro' sort of thing by any of the fans that would spontaniously combust if it was an explicitly gay thing.
(I mean, they literally spend most of the show trying to kill the Christian god, but heaven forbid they make one of the main characters gay)
The point is, as diabolical as it was, it was still far more than I ever expected. In fact, it blew my mind. After all of the religious trauma that had me balls deep in the closet for years, it was such a simple but reassuring concept- What if an angel was gay?
But then over the years, it feels like it's always been up in the air whether it was canon or not. I always tended not to really take anything the actors said to heart, as they were obviously entitled to their own opinions, but the way it was treated always felt kind of off to me.
Particularly when people dare to breathe the word 'destiel' at cons are still booed and mocked, and told to keep that shit to themselves. Now obviously I'm not defending people who are being freaks and making others uncomfortable, but it's like people who even acknowledge it or ask respectful questions about it are still shamed publicly because that's not actually part of the show- but the thing is, it IS part of the show now. They literally wrote it in. Even if it was one-sided, its still an actual plot point IN THE SHOW. So why are we shaming people for asking questions about the show????
My main issue comes from the fact that the show continues to this day to pat itself on the back for being so brave for what they did, yet at the same time, it constantly backpedals on itself. They parade around their queer confession, happily accepting the brownie points it scores them, but also ostracising their queer audience.
These are real videos uploaded to the official supernatural youtube channel. THEY ARE TAKING PART IN PRIDE MONTH. Oh, wow how wonderful, aren't they so accepting and brave?
I know it sounds silly, but as a gay person, it feels like a slap in the face.
I wouldn't care at all if it was canon, but the show/actors seem hell-bent on telling us it ISNT. Which is FINE, i don't care if it isn't either, but they need to pick a fucking side, it's either canon or it's not. Cas is queer, or he isn't. His relationship with Dean is romantic, or it's familial. Right now, it's like they're ping-ponging back and forth and still reaping all the rewards of having this awesome gay representation that they can show off like a badge of honour.
I'm not trying to start further discourse or anything by posting this. I'm aware that at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter, and I will happily continue to ship Destiel quietly in my own little corner of the internet. I just needed to word vomit this out of my brain because at the centre of it all, I'm not angry, I'm just disheartened.
Anyways, that's the end of my rant lol go forth and be kind, I'm a multishipper so pls i'm not trying to start shipping wars or anything.
really im gonna need hetero men to shut up forever about “the beauty in acceptance” and how platonic bro friendships are soooo important and underrepresented and need to be elevated and lifted up and queer requited romance would be sooo unbelievable and not what the story was not where it was going so shut the fuck up swallow your baitslop and be grateful. actually if you’ve never HAD to come out or navigate relationships as a queer person, you can simply stop speaking on how you think they should be represented in fiction! :)
The complex dynamic and queer characterization you see in him is so much better and meaningful than the straight bros that created him and to me that is part of what makes all of this so special. It is disappointing to have such a large part of a spn fan base to be repeatedly treated as a stain or embarrassment, but it’s been like this the whole time I have been a fan. I remember being a young queer fan in 2013 and viscerally feeling the taboo nature of destiel and how much they hated people who saw anything to it. It really was the prime era of fandom/shipping and the creators of these shows did not make light about how much they dismissed and demeaned queer romance while queerbaiting.
This is different to me now that the show has been over for so long. Destiel is the most massive missed opportunity, and is the lighting in a bottle, and created by a world and checkbook of people who wouldn’t have their Man’s Men ever be a fuckin fruit. Despite the canon narrative, despite the homoeroticism dangled like a carrot, despite the same homophobia I too had to navigate as a gay kid in a baptist texas town, I still love it. It’s special to me and so many people and that’s been a phenomena I’ve thoroughly enjoyed.
I keep getting notifications that things I’ve pinned on Pinterest have been removed for SH content violations and I’m so confused because I only use that app for fashion, typography and hair inspiration…. like I know for certain it can’t be correct and I can’t be bothered to appeal or whatever bc I really don’t use Pinterest that much. but I’m so curious what the auto-flagged content was bc it doesn’t show you. Hey little robots acting like dutiful little cyber cops, leave my letters boots and bangs alone lol 🥊
So hold on they decided they wanted MORE HEAT??? The aftermath from the entire season, the finale, and conformitygate not enough? No they needed to air their procrastination and FUCKING AI USAGE (I goddamn knew it, I told my friend as we were watching that I feared they phoned it in with chat gpt)???? What a bunch of chuckle fuck bozos
The year is 2055, stranger things season 8 has come out. It’s the finale episode and every plot line since the first season has been built up to be wrapped up in one goddamn episode. The duffers hate the actors at this point because they haven’t cryogenically frozen themselves as 8 years old. But no it could never be the writing…
Knowing now the spin off Tales from 85 is a cartoon of the og characters—- more vindicated than ever. Who wants to put money on it having AI animators, I’m feeling clairvoyant
The coming out scene felt like what straight people probably expect a coming out scene to be like, if I'm being honest. Impersonal and almost theatrical
