Goodbye, Charlie Bradbury.
When you were first introduced to us as the Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo, we knew you were one of us. Your carefree—yet clandestine—dance to “Walking on Sunshine” had us fall head over heels for you. The way you referenced all the nerdy things you loved from Harry Potter to Star Wars to the Hobbit—reminded us so much of ourselves. You were the fangirl we all dreamed about being—the one that wasn’t ashamed of who she was or what she was. You were the fangirl we all knew was trapped inside ourselves waiting to burst upon the world. You made what we loved and how we loved it not only acceptable but cool—and made it easy for us to embrace that part of ourselves in ways we never expected. You didn’t just reference these things, you loved these things so deeply and purely that it made it easy to do the same. And none of us can ever thank you enough for how effortless you made it seem.
Your apprehension to join the Winchester fight—but doing it anyways—made us extremely proud. We wanted to believe that if we, too, were ever given the chance to help Sam and Dean that we would follow your example and find our courage to tackling saving the world. The way you threw yourself so totally into their world and causes, the way you gave them chances to have fun—who could ever forget the epic Battle for Moondoor—and the way you inspired them to see the brighter side of life is the pure sunshine you brought to their otherwise dark lives.
Charlie, your story was our story. Like you, some of us have had difficult pasts we’d like to forget. And yet, like you, we are all Celeste, too. When you finally had to say goodbye to your mother and re-experience some of the darker moments of your life, we felt deeply for you and understood. It made you real and human and someone we could only relate to all the more. And in that, you became even more beautiful. We could see how these things had shaped you, had made you into the strong woman we had come to know so well—and see in ourselves so well.
Yet, it was your steadfast love and loyalty to two brothers that we recognized the most in ourselves. Your devotion, your strength, and your sheer unwavering support for them was exactly how we saw ourselves standing with Sam and Dean. We, too, love Sam and Dean as if they were our brothers. We, too, feel their pain and want them to find a way to save each other again and again. We know that you didn’t go quietly. We know that you went down the way your brothers taught you to do—to go down swinging and without regrets. Your sheer courage in you final moments made your loss all the sharper. Even when you knew you were facing certain death, you made certain that they got what they needed. You did your part to help save Dean. Yet, this doesn’t make saying goodbye any easier.
And yet we can’t help but remember Sam’s words— “Death isn’t always goodbye.” Somehow, someday, we hope that we’ll meet again—and like Gandalf the Grey becoming Gandalf the White, you, Charlie, will reemerge once more to stand by the Winchesters to face down the world’s evil—as the sister we always wanted to be.
Goodbye, Charlie Bradbury. May you always get to walk on sunshine.
Peace Out, Bitch 🙂
Thanks so much for the comment. Glad you liked it, and yes, Peace out, Bitch! Loved that Charlie always said that in her farewells.
*salutes* Farewell Charlie. You had a good run and I enjoyed you on the show 🙂
Thanks for the comment. It was a fantastic run. May she always live on in all of our hearts.
So sad. 🙁
– Lilah
Thanks for the comment.
Yes. I concur totally.
I liked Charlie in the first episode she was in. I really did. She was funny and smart and a great little computer hacker, and likable. And I don’t entirely believe she is gone yet.
I like Felicia (she is great in Eureka if you haven’t seen that) so here’s a picture celebrating how beloved she is around the interwebs (also I love that dress):
[img]https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CDm7evdWAAA9MDN.jpg:large[/img]
[img]https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSX6Rg8hxLsn9Gx3iO-KCxfLXDU6gCUIj14FbpO_1G8BA5hXYzOxA[/img]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/b5Zupcv.jpg[/img]
Thanks for the comment.
And thank you so much for sharing these pictures. Felicia is such a great person and I can’t wait for her book.
Thanks again.
You know, two things stuck with me when I saw Book Of The Dammed episode, one was the fact that. She said merry Christmas when the boys walked in and second was Sam making a point of saying that in this line of work death isn’t always goodbye. Those things struck me as odd but I should’ve realized it wasn’t an accident.
Sam and Dean finding Charlie dead really shocked me . curveball out of left field and it’s hurt more than I thought possible. It’s hurting more each day as the realization sinks in.
Bye bye Charlie. And merry Christmas with your mom and dad.
Tears.
And now, I’m scared. I’m really, really scared for BOTH Sam and Dean.
Thanks for the comment.
Yes. I was struck by that comment from Charlie when they arrived and woke her up, too. I’m not sure if it was intentional, but in hindsight it sure seems like a sad foreshadow. I also hope this isn’t goodbye. It was such a shocking curveball and I didn’t cry until my second viewing because I was so stunned.
Thanks again.
I loved Charlie from the moment we met her and that never changed for me. I am hoping for “this is all a dream” and tomorrow she will be back as “sparkly” as ever. She really was the little sister Sam and Dean always wanted.
That was lovely FAE’s thank you.
Thanks for the comment.
I, too, want her to come back as sparkly as we’ve always known her. I’m glad you enjoyed this eulogy. May we get to see her again someday.
Thanks again.
Beautiul & Thank You. You expressed many fan thoughts I was Charlie thats what I dreamed. I was their little sis, their nerd, their friend, I’m dead now and very very sad. Go in Peace Charlie you will always be in my heart. Thank You Felicia for bringing us Charlie. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxooooooooooooooooo
Thanks for the comment.
I’m glad I could capture some of the same thoughts you had. It struck me and I just had to write it up. Charlie was so special to me and I just hope this isn’t truly the end for her. I also agree whole heartedly—Thank you, Felicia AND Robbie for bringing us Charlie.
Thanks again.
Je suis Charlie
Thanks for the comment. Yes, we were all very much Charlie Bradbury. I think we always will be.
RIP Charlie Bradbury, I will miss you. 🙁 And thank you FarAwayEyes, that was a beautiful tribute.
Thanks for the comment. I will miss Charlie forever, too. And I’m glad you thought it was a good tribute. I just felt it needed to be said.
Thank you for this beautiful and heartfelt tribute, farawayeyes.
Thanks for the comment. I’m glad you found it so beautiful. It means so much to hear that from all of you.