#14x07 meta

[verobatto]

Destiel Chronicles

Vol. CXIII

It was a love story from the very beginning.

It's About Romance

(14x07/14x08)

Hello! We are going to talk about Castiel's deal with the Empty and Jack again, as the catalyzer of Destiel.

I will talk a few words about episode 14x07 and then will jump to Castiel in 14x08. As you already know, season 14 it the season where I started to write metas so this observation will be based on them.

You can check my metas from these episodes following the links: X - X- X - X.

Melancholy

Episode 14:07 had a lot of melancholy on it. Mostly about Destiel first encounter in the barn.

Dean and CAS were shown as in different pages in these episode, as a preamble to their break up.

Gif credit @deanwinchsteir

Ok... Yeah. Again... Trying to know how is Dean doing through Sammy. This is the kind of stuffs you do when you are mad at someone but still want to know how is he going? Yeah, you ask his brothers or friends.

I wrote all this lines when I watched the episode the first time. So, the writers were showing us Dean and Castiel this way for some reason. Because they were foreshadowing their big fight.

But also, 14x06 and 14x07 sowed us Dean with a clueless Jack (a reminder of Castiel) with barns. These scenes and Dean rembering 'love at first stab' at the end of episode 14x06, was why I immediately connected it with Destiel first meeting.

Gif credit @magnificent-winged-beast

Again, the melancholy presaging the Destiel break up. And also, the foreshadow of episode 300. In which Dean will lose Castiel. He will face an angel that never saved him from Hell.

Castiel's happiness

When the episode of Castiel's deal with the Empty was aired, I asked myself what would make Castiel happy? And also, why was the Empty so focused on that?

Then I presumed the Empty always wanted Castiel. Even when he invaded Heaven to find Jack, he was pointing at Castiel.

Gif set credit @angvlicmish

Because happiness had a lot of artists, we could think about Castiel, what else is inside of him? What's he yearning for?

We all know now, it was Dean.

I can answer this question I made to myself when I wrote this: CASTIEL'S HAPPINESS IS DEAN WINCHESTER.

The sole introduction of this deal with the Empty plot, gave the show the romantic Destiel development it had from now on. Writers will focus the storyline between Chuck and Destiel. And this will follow Castiel until the closure of his character in episode 15x18 (sadly... Because Castiel deserves better, and it wasn't the closure we expected.)

To Conclude:

The melancholic scenes played in episode 14x06 and 14x07 and I want to add 14x04, were linked to Destiel break up plot.

The introduction of Castiel's deal with the Empty gave the plot the romanticism in which the writers would focus the entire a season 15.

Hope you like this meta, see you in the next one.

Tagging @magnificent-winged-beast @emblue-sparks @weird-dorky-little-d @michyribeiro @whyjm @legendary-destiel @a-bit-of-influence @thatwitchydestielfan @misha-moose-dean-burger-lover @lykanyouko @evvvissticante @savannadarkbaby @dea-stiel @poorreputation @bre95611 @thewolfathedoor @charlottemanchmal @neii3n @deathswaywardson @followyourenergy @dean-is-bi-till-i-die @hekatelilith-blog @avidbkwrm @anarchiana @dickpuncher365 @vampyrosa @authorsararayne @mybonsai1976 @love-neve-dies @dustythewind @wayward-winchester67 @angelwithashotgunandtrenchcoat @trashblackrainbow @deeutdutdutdoh @destiel-shipper-11 @larrem88 @charmedbycastiel @ran-savant @little-crazy-misha-minion @samoosetheshipper

@shadows-and-padlocked-hearts @mishtho @dancingtuesdaymorning @nerditoutwithbooks @mikennacac73 @justmeand-myinsight @idontwantpeopletoknowmyname @teddybeardoctor @pepevons @helevetica @dizzypinwheel @horsez2002 @qanelyytha

@destielle @spnsmile @shippsblog @robot-feels @superlock-in-the-tardis @superduckbatrebel @belacoded @madronasky @anon-non2 @cea1996 @lisafu02 @asphodelesauvage @deancasgirl777

If you want to be added or removed from this list just let me know.

If you wanna read the previous metas from season 14 here you have the links:

Vol. CIX, CX, CXI, CXII

Buenos Aires, May 17th 2021 1:22 PM

[7faerielights]

Perhaps whatever Michael left inside Dean runs on his grace? If that really is the spell Michael used to make his fancy monsters and he used his grace to make them, maybe being exposed to the spell stirred up that grace and whatever is lying dormant inside Dean. Recognizing the spell that created it.

Wait! Archangel grace! I’ll bet there’s archangel grace left in Dean! And Rowena just woke it up!

[orionsangel86]

Cas and his Grace

Ok so shoving down my bitterness for a second for some actual meta. I actually think this was my favourite moment from the episode:

"If grace is what he needs he can have mine."

It's no secret I have been advocating human!Cas for YEARS now, but it seems that it is one thing this season is truly exploring in force.

No hesitation, no contemplation or consideration of the consequences of such a huge gesture. The way the line was delivered was like "oh he needs grace? I've got some lying around that I don't really need". He could have been talking about an old coat in all honesty.

I’m not in any way trying to down play the enormity of Cas's offer and what it means in terms of Cas's love for Jack, but even a human considering donating a kidney to a loved one would probably still at least offer in a way that indicated the huge sacrifice that human is making. This delivery made it seem like Cas's grace is something sitting in a corner somewhere gathering dust.

It IS an enormous gesture though, and it DOES prove just how important Jack is to Cas. He is truly Cas's son. But it is also a huge indication of just how disposable Cas views his own grace in terms of his own being.

His grace is not his soul. It is not a fundamental part of him that he would be lost without. It's a battery pack, and one that is useful sure, but not something Cas is going to fight life and limb to keep hold of. This line delivered in this specific way tells us so much about how Cas views his own angelhood.

That it is not as important as his family.

Earlier in the episode we had this moment:

Another seemingly small gesture from Cas that is symbolically HUGE. Cas's trenchcoat has always symbolised his angelhood and his grace. The only time Cas has been seen without it is either during intimate family moments, times when he has actively hidden himself away due to PTSD, and when it has been forcibly removed by foes for torture purposes symbolizing Cas's powerless status.

The act of Cas removing the symbol of his angelhood at this point and draping it on his currently human child invokes the idea of passing on the torch. It foreshadows a future in which Jack regains power, whilst Cas chooses to let his go.

This plus a wealth of other small indicators throughout season 14 are foreshadowing Cas choosing to give up his grace to be a human on earth with his human family. That is one thing I will continue to be happy about.

[postmodernmulticoloredcloak]

From what I’ve seen of my dash, there’s this theory that the grace Sergei gave to Cas wasn’t Gabriel’s but Michael’s, and that the whole thing is something on the same lines as the enhancements Michael has been doing to various monsters. Being Michael’s protegé would also explain Sergei’s confidence that Cas can’t really do anything to him, I suppose.

What I found most compelling for this kind of direction is the language Sergei uses to refer to the spell and grace ingestion:

Science is sometimes trial and error. Victory through experimentation.

This was an experiment?

It reminds me of the way Michael has been referring to his own operations:

A little of this... a little of that... and... [...] Hmm. Too much “that”. How disappointing.

There are ways to enhance your... let’s call them talents.

And these ways are...

Fully tested. There were some misfires early, I will admit to that. But I have cracked the code. 

Michael has been doing experiments which have become successful after a period of trial and error. He talks about his work sort of in terms of a scientific operation, and it’s curious that Sergei - who identifies as a shaman - refers to a spell and ingestion of archangel grace in terms of science. You wouldn’t expect a person with the lifestyle (and aesthetic) of Sergei to talk in terms of scientific method, would you? But he does, and I think it’s relevant.

In 14x02 it had also struck me as peculiar that Michael’s language focused on a sort of scientific quality of his experiments. Of course, in the Supernatural universe  the ~supernatural~ is part of the observable world and all, so the term science can apply to things involving angel grace and spells, but still... spells are magic, and this very episode emphasizes that medicine (science) can’t help with Jack’s situation so they resort to magic instead.

Of course, it’s possible that Sergei’s language is used for purposes of parallels and is supposed to be evocative of Michael’s without an actual plot connection, but it wouldn’t be so surprising to learn that Sergei was one of the people visited by Michael in his trips “traveling around this world asking all sorts of people - holy men, leaders, killers”.

[heavnofhell]

Alright, I'm a touch under the weather and should really be in bed, and imma go, but just one quick thing bc Lucifer feelings are strong.

When was likely the last time someone actually prayed to Lucifer? Really, really prayed? Tears in their eyes, heartbrokenly pleading for him to save them? Telling him they were devoted to him? That they needed him?? That they would only be *complete* with him at their side????

When was the last time someone prayed to Lucifer in the same way that he prayed to his Father? In the same way, caged and beaten, suffering and alone, he had prayed to Sam?

Nick believes in Lucifer. And just look at what that one, single, genuine and desperate prayer did.

It brought an Archangel back from the goddamn dead. Imagine what a little love thrown his way could have done.

[verobatto]

Thanks @gneisscastiel for the tag!

I was waiting for this post, this is such an accurate comparison between grace and blood as vital factor for angels and Nephilim, it helps us to understand a lot of things about this celestials creatures and how their organisms react to the insufficiency of grace. Thanks for sharing!! This was one of the most interesting metas i've readed.

😍

un·hu·man

t/ˌənˈ(h)yo͞omən/ not resembling or having the qualities of a human being.

Angels and Nephilim are not human. I see more and more evidence of this as the series goes on. They aren’t human and even when they lose their grace they still aren’t human. The latest example of this is Jack and his struggles since Lucifer stole his grace. Even when Cas became “human” in season 9 he still wasn’t completely human he was able to steal another angel’s grace and power back up. This is something humans cannot do. A human cannot just take an angel’s grace and become an angel, but an angel can. We even have an example of a human attempting to become an angel or angel-like with Lily Sunder. Lily Sunder tried very hard to gain the powers of an angel so she could seek revenge. This came at a high cost (burning away parts of her soul) and she was still not able to make herself completely angelic. 

It has been suggested that the only thing separating angels from being human is their grace. I don’t think this is true because it implies that angels can completely get rid of their grace. I have recently been rewatching season 4 of Supernatural. My goal is to rediscover my love for the series but along the way, I noticed something interesting. Anna is our very first example of an angel becoming “human.” Unlike the other examples, we have gotten over the course of the series, she was born into a human vessel. Unlike Cas who fell in the same vessel, he was in. I think this is an important distinction to make because this means that Anna gained a vessel AFTER she cut out her grace. Grace as we learned in 9.11 “First Born” doesn’t completely leave a vessel after an angel leaves but Anna gained a vessel without grace.  So when Pamala forces Anna to confront her memories of being angel Anna should have no grace, none should be left over in her vessel because she gained it after she cut out her grace. Yet something interesting happens when Anna remembers who she is she makes the lights blow out and pushes Pamala across the room. How would this happen if she had no grace? How would this happen if she was truly human? 

I think that grace is somehow intrinsic to an angel’s being. An elemental part of them that while part of it can be removed not all of it can be, at least without killing the angel. I think an angel’s grace is a lot like our blood. I think what we are getting when angels lose their grace are not humans but grace-anemic angels. These angels lose most of their abilities because the remaining grace is what is keeping the angel alive. Just like how someone with a low blood cell count feels fatigue, loss of energy and is not able to function as normal. 

This comparison of grace to blood continues when an angel tries to regain grace. We have been given several examples of grace replenishing itself such as Lucifer and Gabriel during season 13. This process, however, takes time. Castiel said in episode 14.02 that it could take a month to a century for Jack’s grace to replenish. This is probably dependent on how much grace exactly was lost. Just like someone recovering from blood loss. Humans have about 10 pints of blood. When we donate blood about 1 of those pints is lost. It is then recommended that you wait about 16 weeks before making another whole blood donation. This is so you can recover that pint that you lost.  Also just like in humans, this recovery time can be shortened by giving that person blood or giving an angel grace. This is what Cas was doing by stealing grace from Theo. He would have eventually regained his grace over time but he needed to shorten that time to be able to escape from the angels that captured him. This is why Anna has grace in 4.10 before she gets her grace from Uriel. Part of Anna’s grace replenished over her time living as a “human.”

Total Systemic Failure. This is how Jack’s condition was described at the hospital basically this means that Jack is experiencing organ failure. I earlier compared Jack’s and any graceless angel to being anemic. Anemia if left untreated can lead to damage of major organs because they rely on your blood for oxygen. Jack is dying because he doesn’t have enough grace. It is possible to live with some forms of anemia it’s not always fatal it just depends on how severe it is. Jack’s condition is a lot more severe then Anna’s or Castiel. He is experiencing organ failure. He is having trouble with his blood coagulating and that is why he is coughing up blood. Anna and Cas did not experience these symptoms. Perhaps it is something unique to Nephilim or maybe there was something wrong with Jack’s vessel, to begin with.

Cas quickly offers up his grace for Jack. This really reminded me of family members who offer up their blood or organs for a loved one. But just like in Castiel’s case just because you are family with someone doesn’t always mean that you are a compatible donor. This is also why Jack’s symptoms got worse after trying to use Gabriel’s grace. He is experiencing incompatibility and his body is rejecting this foreign grace. We already had an example of this with Castiel. It’s the whole reason why Cas had to get his grace back. It’s because the stolen grace was making him sick. 

 It appears that Lucifer is returning from the empty. This is very convenient because he is in possession of Jack’s grace and I think the way to save Jack will be getting Jack’s own grace back. Angels and Nephilim are not human. Where in humans there are several different options for compatible donors maybe in angels/Nephilim their grace is unique to them. Making it so that there aren’t any compatible donors.  

As usual, I would love to know Your thoughts. -Gerianne

Below are people tagged from my tag list. Want to join?  Thank You to @verobatto-angelxhunter for your help with this. <3

Seguir leyendo

[casgirlsam]

“the sharp knife of a short life”

yeah it’s the lyrics to if i die young SHUT UP

(analysis behind the cut)

they’re not just talking about dean. they’re talking about each other. they’re talking about sam.

you know, honestly i don’t think sam really thought that was going to happen when they took jack in. he’d be a good mentor, a good role model, maybe be like an uncle figure. he knew he would teach him and guide him as well as keep him safe, but i think he thought it’d be like when he helps out claire.

somewhere along the way, jack became not just cas’s son. he became his, too. he became a son to all of team free will.

sam talking to cas about them having lost people before.... he wasn’t just talking about dean. he’s also talking about himself. “why does this hurt more than when everyone else died? why can’t i compartmentalize my emotions like the other times?” sam is trying to understand why he’s hurting this much as well.

as cas points out, losing your child suddenly is vastly different than losing a parent or a close friend. it’s unnatural. especially when that child has only been alive for such a short time.

so yeah i know some people choose to call sam jack’s uncle and i know they don’t mean anything by it (some have a reason i can empathize with), but i really think personally that “uncle” really doesn’t describe sam and jack’s relationship. it doesn’t really feel like it adequetely covers the depths of sam’s love for jack.

(on a side note, this whole episode made me think of a line from john q)

[nerdylittleshit]

Thoughts about Spn 14x07

BEWARE! SPOILERS AHEAD!

Ugh, what an episode. Alternative title: Tears in my porridge (I was watching it during breakfast). There was a lot going on, in both storylines, though my brief interest in Nick that I had in 14x02 vanished again. There were again lots of parallels, and lots to speculate about regarding future storylines. The character moments were again the strength of the episode, whereas the actual plot unfortunately follows well known pattern.

But, as always, let’s take a closer look.

“And even if it wasn't you it was still you.”

So Nick. This is basically a continuation of where 14x02 ended, making his storyline this season so far entirely BuckLemming’s toy, who seem also the only ones enjoying still writing about him. Nick is still obsessed with the murder of his family and by now he has developed an actual need to kill. The murder of the padre in the teaser didn’t happen in affect, not the way the victim was arranged. The encounter with the young woman was only there to remind us of Nick’s new taste for blood. Unlike his other victims she was in no way related to his family and that was the only thing that saved her in the end. Frank Kellog was always going to die, even though Nick understood that he wasn’t to blame. But we learn who had killed Nick’s family, destroying the theory Nick had done it himself, and that he was already a monster before Lucifer made him one. And with this everything that he is doing now is painted as an after-effect of Lucifer’s possession. But also as Lucifer being the one who set him free, and the believe that they are bonded. So even if Nick didn’t kill his own family, it suggests that he had the potential to become a killer all along, and that that might be the reason Lucifer chose him. Which is a big parallel to 7x15 and Jeffrey and his demon. (Which back then was a dark mirror to Dean & Cas, who of course have their very own bond)

There were some heavy parallels to John as well. Nick admits that he was drunk the night his family was murdered; John had passed out (assumingly drunk) on the sofa the night Mary died. Both got obsessed with the murder of their loved ones and getting revenge, believing that once their families get justice their personal demons will disappear. Echoes of John had been all over the season so far, and we see them as well in the Dean & Jack storyline of this episode. Which makes me quite sure we will see John return in one way or another (maybe episode 300). Not that I’m looking forward to it, because as by now you should all know my feelings about John.

We also learn about Abraxas, who apparently had killed Nick’s family. Which would lead to the question: Why? To get Nick to the point where he would say “yes” to Lucifer? Was he acting on Lucifer’s orders?

And again the nature between angel and vessel is questioned. Nick still kills Kellog, because even it wasn’t him it was still him. He still remembers what Lucifer did with his body and feels bonded to him. And Dean still blames himself for everything Michael did.

I am not very pleased to see Lucifer potentially resurrected. I am more than done with his storyline, and the only way it would make sense is if they tie it together with Jack’s storyline, with Lucifer’s grace being what he needs to get cured. But really, I don’t want to. I am so, so, so, sooooooooooooooo tired of Lucifer.

“What did you say your relationship is to the patient?”

And now to a lot of heartbreak. And sadness. Welcome to Supernatural.

I found their trip to the hospital so interesting because we hardly ever see them there. Ever since Cas became part of the family he usually heals them, but Cas can’t help this time and it shows their desperation when they think human doctors can. And then it is a visit to reality from their own little universe, because both Sam and Dean are legally dead and Cas and Jack aren’t even human. A place like a hospital seems so strange because they don’t belong in it. And then it is mostly Sam who answers the questions, Dean being to shocked. Sam who gives Jack his family name (and for a moment I thought Dean would say “Winchester”), who remembers his date of birth (which was also the day they lost Mary and Cas). Sam remains cool in a way Dean can’t, which reminds me also of the time Bobby was in a hospital (and then he died).

They soon realize that nobody there can help Jack and they return to their world and Dean admits that he had been worried about Jack ever since he became human, but that he also thought Jack might get hurt/killed during a hunt. He didn’t consider that Jack could get ill, because that is not how hunters usually die. Which reminded me a bit of Buffy and how her mother died, because in a world full of mothers it had seem utterly mundane, and left her so helpless, because it wasn’t just another monster she could kill.

I love that Rowena immediately came when she thought Dean was in danger, which tells a lot about her relationship with him and the Winchesters in general. And yeah, Rowena did know before about Jack, but she never met him and nobody can blame her for suspecting he is just like his father. And it takes one minute of Jack talking to her and she melts. The Nougat-effect.

I also found it interesting what Rowena told us about Jack – that, as a Nephilim, he is an unnatural thing. He wasn’t meant to be and yet he is still here. And what makes him special is in the end necessary for his survival. Kelly was instinctively right about her son – without his grace he is no longer himself. Which could be read as a metaphor for other “special” children – that if you take away from them what makes them special or to some maybe unnatural they are no longer themselves – or in Jack’s case they even start to die. There are some who read Jack as autistic, and he has always been labelled as other, from both humans and angels.

Cas on the other hand is willing to give up his grace in a heartbeat if it could save Jack. Cas no longer cares about his grace or his angelhood. He is ready to give it up to save his newfound family.

So, let’s talk a bit about Dean and Jack. Dean, on some level, understands what Jack is going through. He remembers that many moons ago he had only one year left to live and that he wanted to make the most out of it, so he doesn’t argue with Jack there. He understands that Jack needs this. But of course he also looks at Jack from a father’s perspective, because that is closest to describe their relationship. And Dean knows about losing a child – he had raised Sam after all, who nearly died while doing the trials to close hell. So Dean gets it, from every angle, but it is still different, perhaps in the way Jack responds to Dean. Because Sam never saw Dean as his father and only realized as an adult how much Dean had done for him. But Jack adores Dean, he wants his approval, he wants to be like Dean. And so Dean does what he wanted his father to do with him: he lets Jack drive, gives him the responsibility for his most treasured possession, and with that he marks him as a man, as an equal. But Jack shows that he does understand Dean as well – Dean might never said that the memory of his father fishing with him was his happiest memory of him, but Jack understood it anyway. That life is about the time you spend together, something John so rarely did with his sons, but that Dean gets. As I said the echo of John is all over the season, but it is interesting to see how the villain of the episode (Nick) resembles John so much, whereas John’s own son tries to become a better father than him.

I don’t know what to make of Sergei and if we ever see him again (trying to collect his favour?), but the cure felt too easy (he coincidentally had some archangel grace) to work (also, there were still 4 minutes left of the episode). So does Jack need different archangel grace? That of Lucifer? Or his own grace? The fact that his life is at risk is a huge potential for one or all Winchester to make a dumb decision to save him.

And then of course there is Dean zoning out twice, and I think both times were when they talked about Jack and a cure for him. Was Michael able to listen through him? How is he connected to Jack?

Only time can tell. Until then <3

[amwritingmeta]

14x07

Okay, so this was a good ep with lots of nice moments, right? We got loads of TFW 2.0 and Rowena being deliciously Rowena and then Nick thank-the-fuck not having killed his family (ugh it would’ve been so dull) and ending up praying to the thing that actually is responsible for their murders to come save him from himself, which is a nice emotional addition to the idea of who Nick is. As a Man Monster. And... I guess Lucifer is... back? 

I mean, Nick prayed with a genuine “this is what I want” and he was heard - just like Jack was, when he reached out to Cas in the Empty. I find this intriguing, the whole bondage we’ve got going between characters and, of course, the plant of how Dean is still bonded to Mikey. Is it Michael outside of Dean, or inside? Is it Michael from afar viewing things through Dean’s eyes, or... Yeah, I’ve no idea, tbh.

There were just a lot of sweet moments in here like -->

Cas’ hand over Jack’s heart triggers Jack coughing blood! It’s always the heart! *oh no!*

And

All

This

Shit

Right

Here

Just provocative fucking visual story telling that is so simplistic and yet so in your face. I mean, personally I’ve always seen that trench as Cas’ armour so for him to transfer it to Jack - who’s in need of protection - is just kind of hit-you-in-the-gut telling of how helpless Cas is feeling, yeah? It’s like, here, wear my skin, take it, I don’t care, I don’t need it, just be ok.

And Sam and his “I lost my shoe” and now he’s handing over shoes and making sure Jack has everything he needs and then later on we get Dean throwing Jack the keys to the Impala like jfc with the feels already. *mh good*

And then, of course, we get Cas later in the episode literally throwing out the option of taking his grace and putting it in Jack and Cas does it without blinking, which just blew my mind, because it tells us even more about where he’s at mentally and how little he actually feels any lingering tie to Heaven.

Of course, Cas being non-blinking about giving up his grace has everything to do with his self-sacrificial bubble of acting the Shield, yeah, so I would love for him to come face to face with a situation where he realises for himself the reasons why he doesn’t want to retain his grace anymore. Like a challenge for him to wake up to who he truly wants to be. (and always has been, deep down)

And look, here’s the thing with Jack, okay - he’s a guide and he’s a guide for all of TFW. Way I see it, here, he’s representative of Dean’s inner child, the part that Dean needs to connect with, Dean’s childhood, if you will, the neglected little boy who doesn’t understand why his father wouldn’t just love him, and why that couldn’t be enough. 

Dean needs to embrace this little boy and make peace with the past - the way he forgave Mary, he now needs to truly forgive John for all of his mistakes and bad choices - so that he can truly let go and move forward. And oh my god is he in the process of doing this.

Dean suggests a not-so-classy place that’s good for hooking up. He’s thinking Jack wants to get laid, because why wouldn’t he? He’s about to die - and we know that Dean Winchester doesn’t believe in anyone dying a virgin. 

But.

Dean has also changed. And Jack is here to remind Dean of this, to remind Dean of what’s actually important, rather than disappear down a road of coping mechanisms, Jack brings Dean back into a memory that is all about John spending quality time with Dean, because John wanted to. And it’s Dean’s happiest memory of his dad. The mirroring with Jack reminding Dean that there were moments like that, too. Soldier mode John wasn’t all there was to John. And it’s not all there is to Dean. And not only does Dean need to remember the truly good in John, in this mirror he’s also shown that Jack sees and acknowledges all the good in Dean. 

Dean’s John mirrored fury and need for revenge at the start of S1, his soldier mode treatment of Jack even when he reluctantly began to accept him as more than just the Devil’s child, is being actively forgiven by Jack in this scene, underlining the emotional journey Dean needs to go on within himself.

Of course, the fact that Jack could read Dean so easily that he knew that memory meant that much to him throws Dean and he tries to recover, saying that he didn’t put it exactly like that, but he can’t recover, because Jack’s seen the truth on Dean’s face and Dean can’t undo that. So yes, Jack calling Dean out like that, reminding Dean of the good in John, is fucking gorgeous.

And it’s not the big, crazy moments that matter, Jack says, it’s being together.

It’s not the saving or the hunting or the business - it’s always been the word family that is at the heart of that John anchored motto we all know, yeah?

It’s the people you love, near you. 

You just need to find the internal balance where keeping them near you doesn’t mean controlling them to the point of pushing them into a box that you need them to occupy, rather than allowing them the space they choose for themselves.

I’m going to finish my brief observations with this -->

Has any image ever brought more joy to the heart than Cas in his hyper-functional blue carbuncle? Omfg I think not.

[sissa-arrows]

Jack has some of Gabriel’s grace inside him now, right?

If Jack survive and if the entity we saw at the end of the episode was the Empty and not Lucifer (I really think it’s the Empty cause I don’t want it to be Lucifer) then Jack has a link with Gabriel now and he could bring him back. I mean I still think Gabriel’s death makes no sense but was needed to show he REALLY changed so I expect him to come back. Not because he tricked AU!Michael but because someone would bring him back to life.

[shallowseeker]

via @bogwitchatrois - #both jack and dean spent their early lives being treated like a weapon/tool by a father figure (john/sam)#tho he's less overt abt it cas also treats jack as a tool (one that will eventually bring abt paradise on earth)#neither jack nor dean has been allowed much agency#dean/jack parallels#blunt instruments and absent fathers#spn meta

Awww. Yes. These two. Just--*sighs* They both tend towards rumination, too.

14x06:

JACK (frustrated): Dean, I need to do something. You don't understand. I could have killed Michael. Here, when I was strong enough, I could have. But there was so much going on and then everything else happened because I was distracted and stupid and-- DEAN (stern): Hey! You didn't do anything wrong. JACK (emotional): And neither did you! But that doesn't make it any easier does it? So I can't just sit here in the bunker thinking about it all day. What I could have done differently, how I can't do anything about it now. But I can do this. I can hunt. Give me a chance.

//

JACK (self-satisfied): I was right and you should be letting me go out on hunts. DEAN (gently): Okay, alright. It's not about being right. Kay? You're gonna make mistakes, hell, I make them all the time. But it's how you handle yourself once you've made those mistakes and you've learned from them. JACK (wry): ---and, how to not beat yourself up over them. (starts coughing) DEAN (hiding a smile): You know Jack, you're pretty smart sometimes. I'll tell you what--when Sam gets back I'll talk to him about getting you out on more hunts. In the meantime we'll get you a crate of cough drops.

//

14x07:

DEAN: I didn't say that. JACK: It was how you said it. I could tell. I guess my point is that… if I don't make it... The stuff I'd miss -- it wouldn't be things like Tahiti. Or the Taj Mahal. I'd miss more time with you. I'm getting that life isn't all these big, amazing moments. It's time together that matters. Like this. DEAN: Well, who'd have thought hanging out with me would make you sentimental? JACK: I've had a good life, Dean.

///

There's a wonderful, terrible honesty and understanding between them. And the funny thing is, it's not ALL TFW's "parenting." Part of it comes directly from Jack's combat experiences in AU Earth, as we see here:

14x02:

JACK: Cas, Michael has to be stopped. CAS: I know, and he will be - after Dean is- JACK: No, Dean doesn’t matter. You’re all so focused on trying to save Dean and I get it, I understand, but - if he can’t be saved, if it comes down to him or Michael - Michael has to be stopped. Caged, or killed- CAS, shouting: And if that means that Dean dies too? JACK: Then Dean dies. I know this Michael. I’ve seen what he’s done to an entire world, and so have you. If stopping that from happening here means that Dean has to die, then …. Do you think he’d want it any other way? [JACK leaves]

Jack too would try to cage or kill Dean if he felt he was too far-gone.

You deserve to be punished!

Jack & early simmerings of revenge:

13x22

JACK (angrily): No! Look, I’ve seen what (Michael's) done, the people he’s killed. He deserves to be punished.

&

14x09

DEAN: [ Dean stands with the spear pointed at Alternate Michael’s throat ] JACK (desperately): Kill him!

[verobatto]

Hands and Foreshadow

An Important addition for the Destiel Holding Hands theory.

Destiel Meta. Collecting evidences from first half of season 15.

Hello my friends, if you know me already, you know about my quantum theory and the hands foreshadow, but if you don't... Please check the first two parts of this amazing journey and the meta from 14x13...

Dabb's era and quantum theory

Hands and foreshadow, Destiel addition

Hold my Hand (14x13 Destiel meta)

Okay, now that we are ready, let's start...

Like in 14x13, s15 is very holding hands season...

I started to notice a patron with hands as I explained in the metas I put here, and suspecting about a Destiel Holding Hands way time ago before this holding hands fever. I was afraid to write my theory because it could sound like a very positive thought about Destiel becoming canon, without having the certain. But, and because I have a clinical eye and a scientific heart, I collected a lot of evidence this season that now is screaming to loud these two could be holding hands anytime.

Walking through the first half season, we had had the following evidences of holding hands...

This was Dean and Lilith, from episode 15x05

Both of theses from 15x07

And this from 15x08

(thanks @agusvedder for all the gifs in this meta!!💞)

Just like in 14x13 we had a huge amount of holding hands, that could meant nothing if we don't have previous evidences of how hands in Dabb era are telling us that something bis gonna happen...

Let's jump to the next part...

Again... The rubbing hands

Well my dears, if you recall the meta about hands foreshadow Destiel, we had these rubbing hands in two consecutives episodes...

Castiel in 14x07...

And Dean in 14x08...

In which I predicted a holding hands...

Okay now... I think we are in a good path over here because... Look what Dean did after being healed by Castiel... 15x08

Again, the rubbing hands.... My dears... That's a good sign.

We didn't find Castiel doing the same in 15x07, but I presume it could be find or not in episode 15x09...

And I just can think about Purgatory and one angsty holding hands we had... I recall my friend @weirddorkylittlediana pointing me this...

Is dramatic, I know. I'm sorry...

And in this same episode, 15x08, we had this frame too... (Thanks Richard...)

Again reading us, I know, they did the same in episode 14x09, directed by Singer, but with the ugly addition that not just was a one with Dean and Cas frame, but also there was one with Dean and Sam (🤢).

But that didn't happen this episode, we had just Dean and Cas in that frame, and I will take it like another evidence for this spec.

To Conclude:

This was an addition to my quantum theory and hands foreshadow in Dabb's era.

This season is showing us a lot of holding hands clues to suspect maybe we will have a Destiel holding hands.

The rubbing hands, as it happened with the rubbing lips, is a very interesting clue to add to this spec. And counting with Dean doing it too in the same number of episode (14x08 and 15x08) this season, is a positive marker.

We just need to wait and see what happens.

Kisses my dears!

Tagging @metafest @gneisscastiel @emblue-sparks @magnificent-winged-beast @agusvedder @weirddorkylittlediana @michyribeiro @whyjm @legendary-destiel @a-bit-of-influence @thatwitchydestielfan @misha-moose-dean-burger-lover @lykanyouko @evvvissticante @savannadarkbaby @trickster-archangel @dea-stiel @mybonsai1976 @anarchiana @angelwithashotgunandtrenchcoat @trashblackrainbow @destielshipper221b @mishtho @dancingtuesdaymorning @feathered-castiel @bre95611 @zoerayne2426 @justmeand-myinsight @that-one-fandom-chick @proccastinate @studio-hatter @pepevons @liwopanyaasss @poorreputation @mrsaquaman187 @staycejo1

Bueno Aires, December 16th 2019 3:16 PM

[norahastuff]

Can’t say I’m the biggest fan of the Nick/Lucifer storyline, but at least Bucklemming made use of Nick as an effective dark mirror to Dean. It’s a way to further highlight Dean’s sense of guilt for things he did when Michael was parading around in his body.

In 14x05, Dean was struggling with the responsibility he felt, but he was trying to get the words right:

‘‘from what I…from what we…from what he did‘‘

Yes, part of him felt, as per usual, that it was his fault, but he also acknowledged that it was ultimately Michael who was in control.

Nick on the other hand, took a different approach. He realised that Frank Kellog had been possessed, and that his actions were not his own:

‘‘You were possessed. Yeah, this...this, all of this, it’s not your fault’‘

and yet 

‘‘but this was the hand that murdered my family. And even if it wasn’t you...it was still you.’‘

Nick feels this way because of the connection he shared with the archangel that possessed him. Even if it was Lucifer and not him, they were kindred spirits and as his last scene in the episode proved, he still felt bound to him and wanted him back. He didn’t feel guilt for the things they did together.

The question now is, how much does Dean identify with Michael. He was his perfect vessel, the dutiful son, the warrior who never questioned his father’s orders, but their paths diverged when ordered to kill their younger brother. Dean could never bring himself to kill Sam, and that’s the difference between him and Nick. Nick is alone, with no one he feels close to other than his archangel. Dean has his family. They remind him, like Sam did, that he is not Michael, they are not interchangeable. He is not responsible for the actions of the angel that possessed him.

Will this be enough to alleviate Dean’s guilt? Particularly when Michael resurfaces in some way, and things go to hell, like I’m sure they will at some point? Probably not, this is Dean Winchester. But he has people that love him that will do everything in their power to remind him of who he is, and that who he is will never truly be, anything like Michael.

[amym30]

What if the grace that Shaman Sergei gave Jack was actually Michael's?

So we know that Michael has been making supermonsters using his grace. He is also very great at planning ahead it seems with the whole catch and release of the vamp girl and possibly Dean. (Especially the hunter trap he set up with Neil the Djinn) He probably figured that Jack would be in desperate need of archangel grace since he saw Lucifer take it from him. The spell is also the same that Michael uses. The purpose for giving his grace to Jack is still beyond me, tho. Then again anything that Michael does is so finely planned it seems.

[postmodernmulticoloredcloak]

You ever started a post about Nick and Lucifer and the post escaped your control and went into the Destiel direction? Well, I guess it happens sometimes. Here’s the post. Give it a try.

It makes sense that the reason Nick is able to wake up Lucifer from the Empty is that the two of them acquired Jack’s grace. Jack is already one of a kind because while various nephilim have existed, he has been sired by an archangel instead of a regular angel. An archangel powered up with his own nephilim’s grace is a situation that has never happened before. Archangel with arch-nephilim’s grace, so to speak.

It’s not a plot hole that things that have never occurred before now are occurring around Lucifer. It’s not even really extreme mental acrobatics. From the moment Lucifer ingests Jack’s grace (thus Nick becomes a vessel for that), it’s new territory. It’s a situation we haven’t seen in the story before, because it has never happened before. It can’t contradict ‘past canon’ because there’s no past canon on that specific situation. Of course, it has to be within reasonableness in some extent but I don’t think that what we’ve seen are outside reasonableness. Nick surviving, Nick being able to connect with Lucifer in the Empty - are those really absurd occurrences for a being that has acquired the grace of the most powerful being that’s existed in creation, a being that has connected with an angel in the Empty before?

I don’t know if the show will make this explicit, maybe it’ll be revealed that it’s something else entirely and you can throw tomatoes at me, but with the puzzle pieces we have right now, why wouldn’t this not be the case? The storyline around Jack is all about his grace - well, lack thereof - so Jack’s grace is still the elephant in the room. The ‘then’ segment reminds us of Lucifer stealing it (“I need your power”)... Heck, the Michael plot is about his grace, used to power up monsters. It’s all about the grace, you know?

And it’s all about new things. We’re reminded again that Jack was supposed to be ‘special’ because he was one of a kind. Michael tells Kaia that they both bleed new energy, as they come from other worlds. Archangels have never made plans with monsters before, and the powered-up monsters have new powers they have never had before. There are many things that are being experienced for the first time.

(Buckner and Ross-Leming also wrote this:

What if I said I... I didn’t want to die... yet, you know, that I wasn’t ready? Are you expecting to? Always. You know, the life I live, the work I do... I pretty much just figured that that was all there was to me, you know? Tear around and jam the key in the ignition and haul ass until I ran out of gas. I guess I just thought sooner or later, I’d go out the same way that I live – pedal to the metal, and that would be it. But now? Now, um... recent events, uh... make me think I might be closer to that than I really thought. And... I don’t know. I mean, you know, there’s – there’s things, there’s... people, feelings that I... I want to experience differently than I have before, or maybe even for the first time.

I’ll just leave this here.)

I might be wrong, but I think that there is a pattern of things that have not happened before, that are happening for the first time. Beings who have acquired powers they never had before. Experiences that are being done for the first time (including Jack’s “non special” activities he wants to try before he dies). Hunters who are doing things for the first time, like Maggie on her ‘first solo hunt’.

And of course, Jody reminds us that Kaia was Claire’s “first love”. Vince was Harper’s first love and that’s what made it special (“It’s first love, Jack. The best kind. Without baggage or compromise”). Can’t be a coincidence.

It seems that everything just brings us back to the things, people and feelings that Dean wanted to experience for the first time, and for which he needed to ~go deeper than with Gina~, you know? (While calling himself Agent Allman. 10x16 was a fucking gem.) “Before my life is over, I want to live it” says Jack. He thought that being the super special nephilim was “all there was” to him, but recent events makes him think that he’s closer to dying than he thought, and he wants to experience getting a tan or a parking ticket for the first time. Experience things and feelings like spending quality time with his dad.

Not a coincidence that Dean suggests going to the bar to find a hookup (Gina) but Jack picks father-son quality time instead (going deeper than random fleeting connections with the inevitable adiós afterwards).

Oh boi. I intended this to be a ‘don’t call plot hole if it doesn’t have to be’ and turned into... this. I love when 10x16 just bursts into a post. Burn the tethers to the toxic relationships that keep you chained to unhealthy mechanisms!

(Random screencaps for no reasons)

[naruhearts]

Hello loves!

Due to some wacky personal stuff, I’m too tired to watch 14x07 tonight.

Hopefully once I recuperate I can watch it tomorrow (if my TV records it, or else I’m gonna have to find a link sigh), then write meta if I’m feeling up to it, though unsurprisingly, I’ve heard BL already hit the mark on some retcon and weird pacing and missed potential, although not AS BAD (aka pretty solid for BL), which we’ve observed this season so far.

I can’t wait to comment on the Dean-Jack paternal/familial relationship and how it’s evolved though, especially in terms of Jack re: Sam vs Dean vs Cas vs Destiel (different interpersonal familial relationships with them to varying degrees of emotional significance in TFW mirror Jack’s arc) and Dean’s John-subverted position!! Jack as Dean’s son was even confirmed with “Losing a son”. BEAUTIFUL STUFF :’)

Also recall that in 14x03, Cas was addressed as “one of them [Jack’s dads]”, so it’s peculiar that this narrative dialogue symmetry actually seems to [sub]textualize who Jack’s immediate dads are. We obviously know that Sam is 1/3 dads, but one dad is...not like the other two, in a myriad of ways.