Endverse

Endverse is a canon alternative universe shown in episode 5x04, The End, of Supernatural, taking place five years into the future of the series' canon. This universe has several elements, the most prominent being that Sam Winchester accepted Lucifer and became his vessel, Castiel is no longer an angel, Dean is the leader of a resistance group fighting against Lucifer's forces, and the world has been ravaged by the Croatoan virus.
The Endverse has proved enduringly popular with fans, even more than a decade after the episode aired, due to the many possibilities presented by the episode's post-apocalyptic setting (particularly for angsty and dark fanworks) and the alternate versions of the characters found there.
==Fandom==
Fan creators like to explore the Endverse in fanworks because of the vastly different characterizations of the show's main characters, especially Castiel, who is shown to be using drugs and participating in orgies, this being very different from the staid and righteous Cas shown in early canon. It is also fertile ground for the Evil!Sam trope, and potential angst between the Winchester brothers, who in the Endverse hadn't spoken to each other in five years. Fans also enjoy exploring what life may have been like for characters not shown in the episode.
The Endverse is particularly popular with Destiel fans as Dean and Cas are shown to still be by each other's side after everything, which to shippers is a powerful statement about the strength of their bond. A majority of fanworks set in the Endverse are thus focused on the Dean Winchester/Castiel pairing, although there is also a fair-sized body of gen fanworks.
The vision of a virus-ravaged world depicted in the episode also found a new resonance with fans in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, particularly Chuck's instruction to Dean to "Hoard toilet paper like it's made of gold", which turned out to be eerily prescient.How Supernatural Predicted Our Toilet Paper Hoarding in Crisis, The Mary Sue. Published March 16, 2020 (Accessed February 13, 2021).
===Common Tropes in Fanworks===
* Apocafic: a lot of fanworks explore dark themes, because of the post-apocalyptic nature of the universe
* Everybody Lives: Dean or Castiel, or both, survive their demise at the end of the episode, stories often focus on their continuing struggle to survive in this universe
* Lucifer is Killed: Lucifer is killed by Dean, and Sam as his vessel also dies, often focusing on the trauma associated with Dean having to kill his brother. There are some stories where Sam survives the death of Lucifer, usually explained away by magic or divine intervention
* Sam is free from Lucifer: Sam somehow is freed from being Lucifer's vessel, either he survives Lucifer's death, or is somehow released from Lucifer's hold, but he is often deeply disturbed after being Lucifer's vessel for so many years
* PTSD: how disturbing to the characters mental health it is to live in such a post-apocalyptic universe
* Substance Abuse: a large portion of fanworks feature Castiel's issues with drug use, sometimes it is directly addressed, and other times it is just a background issue in the greater story.
* Castiel and sex with women: some fanworks explore Castiel's sex life with women in the endverse, characterizing it anywhere from Castiel using it as a distraction, usually distracting himself from the fact he is no longer an angel or his relationship issues with Dean, to Castiel possibly having sex addiction issues. There are also a few fans that dislike that Castiel uses this influence as a former angel to convince women to have sex with him,aside from the uncanny covid parallels what did you think of the endverse episode? so it helps to explore his motivations
* Time Skip Fic: trying to fill in the gaps of what happened to the characters during the five-year period prior to this time jump, this usually focuses on Dean and Cas and their changing relationship over time, although there are some fics that also focus on Sam and explore what could have made him say yes to Lucifer
* Crossover: characters from the alternative timeline are somehow brought into the main storyline
==Fan Commentary==
==Example Fanworks==
===Fanfiction===
* Down to Agincourt series by Seperis, probably the best known series that takes place in this universe
* Thursday’s Child by strangeandcharm, another widely-recced Endverse fic
* Epilogue by Jayne L
* One, Two, Three, Repeat by mnwood
* Whatever It Is by theproblematique, focused on the wincest pairing
* Wipe the Clock by rikyu, a Sam/Dean fic with amnesiac!Sam, written for the 2012 Sam & Dean Minibang challenge
* Long I Stood by Semira, a gen story
* After the End by ratherastory, a rare example of a series set in this universe and focused on the Castiel/Sam Winchester pairing
* the unlit room by flightagain, a story focusing on canon characters, Jo and Kevin, who were not in the episode
===Fan Vids===
* same destination by Snooglyshnork/kaiyote
* This is the End by ash4897
* the apocalypse by Deductism, focuses on all of season 5, but includes clips from The End
===Graphics and Gif Sets===
* by pleasedtomeetyouimawhale
* graphics by valyhrian
* graphics by eliosbike
===Fanmixes===
* If I Kiss You Where It's Sore // An Endverse Post-Apocamix by wormstaches
===Meta===
* by princesshamlet
* by outpastthemoat
* by thetwistedwillow
* by rorycas
* by lurea
* episode review and meta analysis by bardicvoice
===Podcast===
* Track 12: Endverse episode twelve of the Mixtape Book Club Podcast
==Example Art Gallery==
File:Endverse Castiel.png|Endverse Castiel by bamf-castiel created for Down to Agincourt (2017)
File:Thursday's Child Moive Poster.png|Poster art by skywalkersays for Thursday’s Child (2012)
File:All Worlds Converge.jpg|Cover art by davincis_girl for All Worlds Converge To Where You Are, created as part of the 2010 Apocabigbang (Crossover SPN/SGA)
File:Boy King by ellaine.jpg|Boy-King by ellaine, showing Sam as Lucifer's vessel, this piece was posted the day after the episode aired (2009)
==Resources==
* Alternate Universe - Croatoan/Endverse (Supernatural) tag at Archive of Our Own
* 5.04 The End at the Supernatural Wiki
* spn-the-end (LiveJournal community, dedicated to the Endverse)
==References==
Category:Glossary
Category:Supernatural Fandom Glossary
Category:2021 Featured Articles
Category:Supernatural Tropes & Genres