Tag: Gishwhes

Savoring Supernatural

Savoring Supernatural

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I told myself that I would work really hard to savor every moment of Supernatural’s last season, and today I feel like I’m keeping that promise.  I’m going to try to document these last months with the show that has been so important to me, because I want to remember every moment.

Today is a good day.

It’s been a week of being immersed in the show and the fandom and the fandom-adjacent things that have made this wild ride so special. A week of doing GISH (a charity scavenger hunt challenge sort of game spearheaded by Misha Collins) with the team I’ve been on for six years, which will never be in the running for actual winning but which always manages to be silly, have fun, spread some kindness and do some good in the world. My team is full of spectacular cheerleaders who applaud even my most not-quite-masterpiece-level attempts and somehow inspire more creativity than anything else I do all year long. Credit for that also goes to Misha Collins and company’s think-outside-the-box challenges that I always think nah, I can’t do that, and then the damn item will not let me forget about it!

GISH always makes me feel close not only to my team but to the SPN Family at large, knowing many people are out there doing the same silly things I am all for a good cause. This year, because of the pandemic, there were lots of zoom panels too, some of which were informative and some of which were just good old (chaotic) fun. It was so nice to see the faces of some of my favorite Supernatural actors and also some fans who I miss seeing! Having a zoom panel each day made it feel almost like a convention weekend, and made me feel immersed in the Supernatural fandom in a more immediate and consistent way than I’ve felt for a while. We even joined Kansas for a ‘Carry On’ singalong over zoom, which I’m not ashamed to say made me all kinds of emotional. And yes, I savored it.

This weekend Creation had a virtual mini con, so as GISH was ending, the fandom gathered around their screens once again, this time to watch Stage It panels of Kim and Briana, then Misha, then today Jared and Jensen. I had to work during Kim and Briana’s, but I bought a ticket for Misha’s and for Jared and Jensen’s and then live tweeted the panels because apparently I just wanted it to feel as much like a con as possible! We have been lucky as a fandom to have been able to see Misha quite a bit online over this quarantine, and I’m so grateful. I would have felt so much more cut off without his zoom chats and panels pulling together all sorts of fascinating people – and I would have been a lot less informed and able to help make change too.

Also, as shallow as this may be, quarantine has agreed with Misha. He looks GOOD.

We haven’t seen as much of Jared and Jensen, however. Last week there was a little interview from Australian tv, which was wonderful. Then today they did some meet and greets and a joint virtual Stage It panel for a mini Creation con, live from their respective quarantines in Vancouver (they’re back in their apartments that they’ve had there for many years – and now having to start cleaning out soon…)

I’m not sure I realized how much I missed them until today. Conventions, whether you’re there or you’re watching a video kindly recorded by fellow fans, are a way of feeling close to the cast of our favorite show. That near constant contact is what has made this fandom feel so much like a family, and part of why we all feel so close to the actors who bring our favorite characters to life. I said to someone tonight, it actually felt “healing” to be able to “spend time” with them, even though we could see them and they couldn’t see us. Nevertheless, it was a connection. We got to see them smile and tease each other and throw their heads back and laugh, and I found myself grinning like a fool and kinda glad nobody could see me! I’m so glad they’re happy to be back and still in love with this show and these characters just like we are.

Jared and Jensen on the possibility of having more Supernatural in some form one day: Spinoff? Special feature? Hmmm….

Hmmmm

That constant interaction that we usually have through conventions and interviews etc also makes me feel close to the show itself. My questions are always about the show, and I’m used to regularly hearing Jared and Jensen and Misha’s thoughts on what their characters are experiencing, and little clues about where the show might be going. We haven’t had that in a long time, and it was so good to hear them talk about the show again. It made me feel so much more immersed in the fandom and the show, and so grateful that Supernatural is still on the air and is not over yet.  My social media was overflowing with Supernatural content, which felt so good – with joyous posts and a million screencaps and fans who are so grateful for something good and fun and pretty in the midst of such a dark and difficult time.

Also, how do they look like this just hanging out on a zoom call???

Cap jaredwalkersam
cap acklespower

I might have stared at those last two for a while. Pretty sure I’m not alone.

Jared and Jensen both have their dogs with them in quarantine, which melted at least half the fandom. (Icarus waved hello on his way to greet dog walker Maisie). Also speaking of melting, in his meet and greet, Jensen wore a white Henley sans hoodie. Anyway…

From rainbow-motors gif

It was a good day, and that’s not something you hear all that often right now.

I’m so grateful that Supernatural is still here, and that it can still make me this happy. A day like this, it’s easy to keep that promise. I’m savoring it! Meet you back here for the next moments I want to remember – you can follow updates on twitter @FangasmSPN.

Panel videos below – enjoy!

–Lynn

You can always remember and celebrate

Supernatural with the new book There’ll Be

Peace When You Are Done: Actors and Fans

Celebrate the Legacy of Supernatural. Links

above or at peacewhenyouaredone.com

 

 

Shining A Spotlight on Misha Collins

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I was going to post my Vancon report this morning, but there’s something I want to talk about first. That something is Misha Collins. Partly because the events of the past week are so upsetting, which makes me long for a leader whose moral conviction and willingness to stand up for what he believes in can actually make change in this world that needs it so badly. Partly because I just finished my third Gishwhes, and watched Misha’s genuine and emotional reaction to the change we were all able to make together — I can’t think of ‘leader’ without thinking of Misha. Partly because Misha got some criticism for something he posted online, which I read as supportive but some read as the opposite – which can happen on the internet, no matter how good your intentions. Partly because I got some criticism too – which happens every time I try to share what’s happening at a con in live tweets, because LIVE tweets – but this time it struck me as so ironic, because I was sitting there thinking so much about Misha and the accusation was of ‘erasing’ him. (I had virtually no data service all day Saturday, so there were very few tweets that went through of those panels, including Misha’s, so that was probably part of the problem). But erasing?

That would be such a tragedy, it made me sick to my stomach. So I tried to think of something that could prevent it. All I have is my voice, but Misha has taught me my voice is important to use. So here goes.

The world would be a much less hopeful place without Misha Collins in it, and right now that is extremely important to me. I’m hanging onto hope wherever I can find it, and I’m unspeakably glad that one of the many wonderful things that SPN has brought me is my acquaintance with Misha Collins. He was the first of the cast to figure out how he could use his position and popularity for good, and he wasted no time doing so. Jared and Jensen have both given Misha credit for inspiring their own determination to make change through their charity campaigns. Together, the three of them – and just about all of their castmates – have done incredible work toward the kind of change we desperately need. The thing about Misha is, he’s not afraid to put himself out there, even when he’s standing out there initially alone. I admire that about him more than I can say, because that scares the hell out of me. Misha sees something that’s hurtful, and he immediately speaks up. And he doesn’t stop there – somehow he never got the discouraging message that most of us get, the ‘you’re one person, you can’t make a difference’ message that we let stop us far too often. Misha sees a problem and jumps in with both feet, uncaring of whether some people will disapprove. He doesn’t see impossible, no matter how unlikely the change that needs to happen – he sees possible. That kind of strength and courage is unusual, perhaps especially in the world of ‘celebrity’.

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