#15x02 meta

[deanwasalwaysbi]

Dean's nothing about our lives is real speech? When he says "everything we are is because of chuck"? He was speaking privately & directly to Castiel when he said that.

Not to Sam. Not everything I am. Everything we are. Dean was having a full on crisis.

"You asked, 'What about all of this is real?' We are." Dean didn't know how right Cas was.

Like no baybee. It'll take 15 episodes, but god himself will tell you Cas defied him and his plan to love you, actually.

[antlertree]

a list of sastiel significant episodes in supernatural

every episode that sam and castiel interact in (+ a FEW mentions) this literally has no purpose i just made it cause like why not

season 4

4x07 It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester

4x10 Heaven and Hell

4x16 On the Head of a Pin

4x21 When the Levee Breaks

season 5

5x01 Sympathy for the Devil

5x06 I believe the Children Are Our Future

5x10 Abandon All Hope…

5x13 The Song Remains the Same

5x14 My Bloody Valentine

5x16 Dark Side of the Moon

5x17 99 Problems

5x18 Point of No Return

5x21 Two Minutes to Midnight

5x22 Swan Song

season 6

6x03 The Third Man

6x07 Family Matters

6x10 Caged Heat

6x11 Appointment in Samarra

(balthazar refers to castiel as sam’s boyfriend. so)

6x12 Like A Virgin

6x15 The French Mistake

6x17 My Heart Will Go On

6x18 Frontierland

6x19 Mommy Dearest

6x20 The Man Who Would Be King

6x21 Let It Bleed

6x22 The Man Who Knew Too Much

season 7

7x01 Meet the New Boss

7x17 The Born-Again Identity

7x21 Reading is Fundamental

7x23 Survival of the Fittest

season 8

8x07 A Little Slice of Kevin

8x08 Hunteri Heroici

8x10 Torn and Frayed

8x17 Goodbye, Stranger

8x21 The Great Escapist

8x22 Clip Show

8x23 Sacrifice

season 9

9x03 I’m No Angel

9x09 Holy Terror

9x10 Road Trip

9x11 First Born

9x18 Meta Fiction

9x21 King of the Damned

9x22 Stairway to Heaven

9x23 Do You Believe in Miracles

season 10

10x01 Black

10x02 Reichenbach

10x03 Soul Survivor

10x05 Fan Fiction

(sam literally mentioning “sastiel”)

10x09 The Things We Left Behind

10x10 The Hunter Games

10x14 The Executioner’s Song

10x17 Inside Man

10x18 Book of the Damned

10x20 Angel Heart

10x21 Dark Dynasty

10x22 The Prisoner

10x23 Brother’s Keeper

season 11

11x01 Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire

11x03 The Bad Seed

11x04 Baby

11x06 Our Little World

11x10 The Devil in the Details

11x14 The Vessel

11x18 Hell’s Angel

(any other episodes i missed are because it’s only lucifer/casifier)

season 12

12x02 Mamma Mia

12x03 The Foundry

12x07 Rock Never Dies

12x08 LOTUS

12x09 First Blood

12x10 Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets

12x12 Stuck in the Middle (With You)

12x19 The Future

12x23 All Along the Watchtower

season 13

13x01 Lost and Found

13x05 Advanced Thanatology

13x06 Tombstone

13x07 War of the Worlds

13x13 Devil’s Bargain

13x14 Good Intentions

13x16 Scoobynatural

13x18 Bring ‘em Back Alive

13x19 Funeralia

13x21 Beat the Devil

13x22 Exodus

13x23 Let the Good Times Roll

season 14

14x01 Stranger in a Strange Land

14x02 Gods and Monsters

14x03 The Scar

14x07 Unhuman Nature

14x08 Byzantium

14x09 The Spear

14x10 Nihilism

14x12 Prophet and Loss

14x13 Lebanon

14x14 Ouroboros

14x15 Piece of Mind

14x18 Absence

14x19 Jack in the Box

14x20 Moriah

season 15

15x01 Back to the Future

15x02 Raising Hell

15x03 The Rupture

15x05 Proverbs 17:3

(sam texting cas)

15x07 Last Call

15x08 Our Father, Who Aren’t in Heaven

15x09 The Trap

15x11 The Gamblers

15x12 Galaxy Brain

15x13 Destiny’s Child

15x15 Gimme Shelter

15x17 Unity

15x18 Despair

[verobatto]

Destiel Chronicles

Vol. CXXI

It was a love story from the very beginning.

Pain and Sadness

(15x01/15x02)

Hi! We reached the las season from Supernatural!

This is a summary of my metas from season 15, with some new additions after the end of the show.

You can find my metas from these two episode here: X, X , X, X, X , X, and X.

They Keep Fighting

We started season 15 with Destiel driving us to their big fight.

The bickering the sarcasm, is all over between Dean and Castiel.

Talking about frames and visual narrative, also symbolism in the dialogues, we have Sam and Dean in the same page about taking decisions, and Castiel in disagreement. This was deliberately written to show us how Dean and Castiel are walking away from each other.

This scene...

Gifset credit @agusvedder

It shows the mood. It also drives our attention to Castiel's intentions to separate humans from angels, he did it too when he explained Jack that Dean and Sam will die someday. And it will be linked to the very end of the show, in Wich Castiel and Jack are in another high level by rebuilding the Universe and Dean and Sam remain in Heaven.

Another scene was this one:

Gif set credit @wnterfalcon

Even when Dean is so mad At Castiel (in fact, he's mad with himself and he just put all that shit over the man he loves... Things that people used to do) even when he is mad at him, he can't stop checking on him. Because he knows Jack's death hit him strongly, and also, seeing his son being possessed by a filthy demon, it's breaking his heart. But Dean cuts his attempt of talking himself. And of course, Belphegor will mock Castiel about it.

About Belphegor, the Demon of the Divorce

At first I thought he was behaving sarcastically, as a very weird matchmaker between Castiel and Dean, but this was because he represents divorce.

He was enjoying Dean and Castiel fighting like a couple in a crisis for sure. He even will mock about Dean being handsome (indirectly Castiel being handsome). Two beautiful men in love.

Belphegor: Okay. Cool. So, people are, like, crazy good-looking now, eh?

Dean: What?

This observation is linked to season 13: "They're equally beautiful". Belpjegor is trying to mock Castiel and Dean's beauty.

Belphegor: I mean, the last time I was on Earth, I mean, I was human. Ah, it was a while ago. I mean, but, you know, we were all worshipping this giant rock that looked like a huge penis, and... Anyway, folks back then, you know? Had a lot of humps. I mean, a lot. Look at 'em now. I mean, look at you. I mean, you're, uh, you know, gorgeous.

Dean: What? Okay. When are you gonna get out of that body?

The mention of a phallic statue, and people worshipping it, is symbolically talking about Dean and Castiel being in love, passionately in love, with each other. The desire of being together. And then again, he turns to Dean's beauty. All of these comments made Dean very uncomfortable.

Another things about Belphegor enjoying the Destiel Quarrel...

First of all, let's pay attention to the spell and it's ingredients:

This spell is related to season 8 spell to close Heaven! And it's not the only reference to season 8.

And the explanation of why that heart belonged to Dean:

This has to do with the break up in episode 15x07 but also with Castiel dying in episode 15x18.

Closing this episode I want to mention two more things:

Nobody understood Castiel's silent pain, not even Dean. Castiel had to suffer seeing a demon possessing his son but also, he will have to see his body burn.

Another important reference to season 8 besides the spell was the Mausoleum with Carver's name on it.

It was a clear call back to Carver's era, to the crypt scene THE I LOVE THAT NEVER WAS because we will have ANOTHER NOT SAID ILY in this season from Dean.

And these so many call backs to season 8 not just in this season but the reminder of PURITY in season 14 with Michael are linked to the incoming Purgatory 2.0 and more Destiel.

We Are Real

Episode two, we had one couple as a Destiel mirror at the beginning, but it ended up in tragedy, just like our Destiel love story will en in 15x18.

We also had Ketch and Rowena, and Ketch dressed in pink (happiness) showing us that love can be real in wartime.

Another important scene after watching how Dean and Castiel kept working in separated teams ,was the one Castiel tried to give Dean his faith back.

CASTIEL: Ball, right. I didn't tell you about Jack, and then after what happened with your mother...

DEAN: Don't.

CASTIEL: You're angry.

DEAN: Yes, I am angry. At everything. All of it.

CASTIEL: All of it?

DEAN: This mess... all the messes. It turns out that we're just hamsters running in a wheel our whole lives. What do we have to show for it, huh? Tell me you don't feel conned. God's been lying to you, Cas, forever. You bought into the biggest scam in history.

Dean is angry for everything, but mostly, because he feels all his life has been a lie. Something written for Chuck. So he's afraid things he thought were real, are not. Like his love for Castiel. So he needs to know if Castiel is angry too. Aren't you angry that what we feel for each other is not real?

CASTIEL: You don't think I'm angry? After what Chuck did? After what he took from me? He killed Jack. But that doesn't mean it was all a lie.

DEAN: Really?

Dean needs to believe again. If not all was a lie, it could mean...?

CASTIEL: Chuck is all-knowing. He knew the truth, he... he just kept it to himself.

DEAN: Well, now that his cover's blown, everything that we've done is for what? Nothing?

Dean pushes again all his fears. He needs an answer that satisfy him.

CASTIEL: Even if we didn't know that all of the challenges that we face were born of Chuck's machinations, how would we describe it all? We'd call it "life". Because that's precisely what life is. It's an obstacle course, and maybe Chuck designed the obstacles, but we ran our own race. We made our own moves. And mostly, we did well with that.

DEAN: Did we? I'll tell you what we do know. Nothing about our lives is real. Everything that we've lost, everything that we are is because of Chuck. So maybe you can stick your head back in the sand, maybe you can pretend that we actually had a choice. I can't.

And because Dean keeps pushing, Castiel gives him the answer he needs, the answer about them, TFW, bus mostly, about Dean and Castiel:

CASTIEL: Dean. You asked, "What about all of this is real?" We are.

If this is not romantic, then what else can be?

To Conclude:

The beginning of season 15 started by deepening the incoming Destiel big fight.

All is unhoped, pain and Sadness. Despair.

But those three words said by Castiel "We are Real" gives the hopes we need.

Hope you liked this summary, 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.

Buenos Aires, July 11 2021 12:58 PM

[cloverhighfive]

Rowena looking at the man she wants to be with, leaving in an ambulance.

Dean, who is currently believing none of his life and who he is is real, looking at these two who want to be together but can’t (with all the feelings that entails).

...with the obvious KEEP OUT sign in the background - i.e., Dean wants to keep out of that situation (i.e. his relationship with/longing for Cas) that gives him the feels.

Sad Rowena.

Resigned Dean, with the KEEP OUT sign closer to him.

Or, you can say that Ketch is Dean, badly hurt, who retreats back inside himself, locked away from Cas, mirrorred by Rowena, looking at him slip away with sadness.

Your call.

It’s all very Destiel to me.

[cosmoseinfeld]

it's still sending me how they had DENNIS say "they weren't mistakes. they were violent sexual crimes." he knows right from wrong. he knows creepy behaviour and he doesn't condone it.

[babygirlwolverine]

Thinking about that scene in 15x02 where Dean says he doesn't know what's real and Cas says, "We are." It's not just Cas saying they're real or their complicated relationship is real. It's Cas saying his love for Dean is real. His love isn't defined by Chuck. It's all the little moments he fell for Dean and continues to fall every single millisecond of the day. The moments that he can't even begin to explain or unravel; soft touches, quiet whispers, longing looks, desire and need swirling through a profound bond. What he feels for Dean is real. Cas trying to tell Dean, trying to spell it out for him, that he is capable of love and what he feels for Dean is real. It's solid. It's the foundation and core of everything for Cas. Even when he has nothing, even when their world has been ripped apart to its very foundation by Chuck, the core of his love still stands. The only thing Cas knows, with every single ounce of his being, is that he loves Dean. And no one- not Chuck, not Dean, not anyone- is going to tell Cas that the love he feels isn't real. Because he knows it is. Solid. Resolute. Alive and thrumming in every wavelength of his being. He loves Dean, and that's the only thing he knows without a shadow of a doubt is real

[drsilverfish]

Amara and Castiel Parallels in 15x17

Castiel rebelled against Heaven and (through his connection with Dean) came to truly love humanity and the world. Look at this shot of him in 6x20 The Man Who Would be King, on a heart decorated bench surrounded, even in the winter of his doubt, by flowers.

Amara raged against her brother, Chuck, but (through her connection with Dean) she stopped being simply The DarknessTM and came to truly love and appreciate the beauty of the world Chuck had created (when he no longer could): 

We talked, at length, back in S11, about the contrast parallels drawn by the narrative between the forced bond between Amara and Dean in S11 and the profound (chosen) bond between Dean and Cas.

And we also talked, at the beginning of S15 about the new set of parallels being drawn between Cas and Amara.

Amara breaks up with Chuck in Reno in 15x02 Raising Hell (in front of a picture of the Taj Mahal, mausoleum to dead love) because he’s treating her poorly, and only wants to use/ control her, rather than respect her as an equal:

CHUCK: “Amara, we've been all through this. We belong together.”

AMARA: “Yes. Yes, yin, yang, balance of nature. I am willing to coexist with you, brother, in the universe. Just not, you know, anywhere near you.”

CHUCK: “Hey, don't test me. I front the group. You sing backup.”

Cas breaks up with Dean in 15x03 The Rupture because Dean is treating Cas poorly, blaming him for Mary’s (apparent) death (as Cas was the one who brought Jack into their lives etc.):

CASTIEL: “The plan changed, Dean. Something went wrong. You know this. Something always goes wrong.”

DEAN: “Yeah, why does that something always seem to be you?”

CASTIEL: “You used to trust me, give me the benefit of the doubt. Now you can barely look at me. My powers are failing, and -- and I've tried to talk to you, over and over, and you just don't want to hear it. You don't care. I'm... dead to you.”

Eventually, Cas returns to Dean and Dean apologises for his behaviour in Purgatory 2.0, in 15x09 The Trap. But, things are still not truly OK between them. Dean loses faith in Free Will and joins Team Fate, getting down with Billie’s plan to turn Jack into a suicide-bomb to kill God, thus denying that Jack is truly family, which breaks Cas’ heart all over again.

Just as Amara tries to get her brother to accept a true partnership in 15x17 Unity, but he won’t, and still wants to absorb/ control her.

And now, Cas has just had to watch Dean, in 15x17, intent on killing God, apparently dismiss Castiel as unimportant to him (although we know that’s not how Dean really feels). 

Dean has already, at this point, unilaterally, fed Cas’ beloved son, Jack, the final bomb ingredient (Adam’s rib) and, as Cas crouches against the wall shielding his dangerously unwell son, Dean yells at Sam that he is willing to sacrifice everyone to get free of Chuck, including, Castiel is bound to have surmised, himself. 

In 15x17 Amara tells Dean: “We will always help each other”:

but he betrays her. And after that, she agrees to be re-blended with her brother Chuck, apparently, a kind of “suicide” for her, as Chuck “absorbs”  her. Although, I feel certain, as I’ve said in other meta about the episode, that the feminine principle is not truly lost from the narrative, but will return, and Amara will change Chuck from the inside.

The persistent Amara/ Cas parallel in the narrative, however, at this point, gives us insight into what mind-state Castiel may be in, in 15x18 Despair (i.e., like 15x17 betrayed Amara, a self-sacrificial one). 

Castiel told Dean in 15x02 Raising Hell: 

“You asked, what about all of this is real? We are...”

But, Dean couldn’t hear it, couldn’t believe it, so sure that everything in his life had been written by Chuck. Now, although Chuck has confirmed in 15x17 that *this* Castiel was always a wild-card agent of Free Will, is it too late for Dean and Cas to get on the same page about how much they mean to each other? 

Remember when Cas committed the awful sin of breaking the wall in Sam’s mind (Dean’s brother-son) back in 6x22 The Man Who Knew Too Much? 

Now, Dean has committed a similarly awful sin, being willing to sacrifice the life of Castiel’s son, Jack. 

This is the moment of 15x18 Despair, BUT, take heart lovelies, it is not the last moment.  This is a penultimate story beat, not the final story beat. 

NB: Obviously, as far as Chuck is concerned, Sam and Dean mirror Amara and himself (which is why he wants one brother to kill the other, in his preferred ending - playing out his own fratricidal impulses). 

NB also: reading the evidently crafted Amara/ Castiel parallels does not automatically mean the narrative is going to break into a rainbow of obvious romantic/ erotic love, declared between Dean and Cas (although it’s all there in the subtext - and subtext IS part of narrative). Amara and Chuck are God-Twins, siblings and family in overt text. Their coding as lovers is subtextual (like the use of the Taj Mahal painting between them, above). 

[casmybelovedass]

"You know what every other version of you did after 'gripping him tight and raising him from perdition'? They did what they were told.

But not you." (15x17)

-

"Dean, you asked what about all of this is real.

We are." (15x02)

-

Dean's worst fear is his life not being his. Everything. His actions, decision, feelings...

Cas has canonically gone against God himself, all because he believed in himself, his feelings, and Dean.

There wasn't a no-homo "We all are" there.

Just them. Their feelings are real.

Shut up. Don't touch me.

[write-nerdy-to-me]

What does Amara represent in the Chuck-as-network scenario? And why did he find the Dean-and-Amara thing so gross? Does that have anything to do with her essentially disappearing after 15.17? Feel like that plot thread is just not quite clicking into place for me...

Chuck the Network Insert thought the dean-and-amara thing was gross to him because it’s really about dean and cas -- their story wasn’t written by chuck, it just... blossomed, arguably the most real thing in their universe because chuck didn’t write it. amara is a cas-coded deangirl, their stand-in, the goddess who knows who she is and speaks her truth, no longer willing to be forced to do someone else’s bidding. (so amara and chuck becoming one, their unity, is an alchemy thing, it’s Art.)

CHUCK: Going somewhere?

AMARA: Yes.

CHUCK: Great. Where we headed?

AMARA: Alone. I'm going alone.

CHUCK: Amara, we've been all through this. We belong together.

AMARA: Yes. Yes, yin, yang, balance of nature. I am willing to coexist with you, brother, in the universe. Just not, you know, anywhere near you.

CHUCK: Hey, don't test me. I front the group. You sing backup.

AMARA: Oh, really? Because you're "God"?

CHUCK: Amara, just... [Chuck reaches out to grab her]

AMARA: Don't. Even on your best day, you couldn't force my hand. And this is not your best day. In fact, I don't think you can do much of anything. Ah, a few parlor tricks, perhaps, but you can't leave this world, not without my help. And me? I'm done, Chuck. I've changed. I've adapted. I've... I've become the better me. And you? You are still the same... petulant, narcissistic. So... I'm leaving you here. Once, long ago, you sealed me away. Now, in a way... I'm doing the same to you. You're trapped, diminished, abandoned. So I guess you got what you've always wanted. You're on your own.

but amara just disappearing, despite that we know she’s with jack, is how the network fridges its female characters. “they’re not dead, they’re just... away.” “no one even mentions cas eileen.”

CHUCK: You hear that?

AMARA: What?

CHUCK: Dean. Brought to the edge of doubt. His sense of duty, his rage winning out in the end. [...] And poor Sam. Always gotta know everything. Can't leave well enough alone.

--

AMARA: Balance.

CHUCK: Yes. Think of it. Us starting fresh. Creating something new, something beautiful... peaceful... together. And we can finally forget about all this pain. No baggage. Only balance.

she was tired of fighting for so long, and the promise of peace, of balance was an offer she couldn’t refuse. she was backed into a corner, lied to, and this was her only option.

[dimples-of-discontent]

^^Me @ all of Tumblr this season

What did "we are" mean to you? Some people say there was no romance in the sentence. I'm confused.

Hi, Nonnie! I would have liked to watch the infamous “we are�� and make my own interpretation without the influence of the fandom, but, unfortunately, the day the episode aired, the live stream stopped working a couples of times. As a result of that, I missed the DeanCas scene and saw it through gifs. By the time I finally watched the complete episode with no interruptions, I had already been bombarded with the reaction of the collective. Despite the massive fandom influence (I just remembered Misha and his connotation for that word; maybe I should change it, but I don’t wanna lol), I’m gonna try to put into words my opinion and see whether I make you more confused or not :D

I loved the scene between Dean and Cas because it showed us that whatever tension there is between them is not just about Mary or Jack. Thank goodness ‘cause I was starting to get annoyed at all the articles or even the people in the fandom saying/thinking that the conflict between Dean and Cas was because Dean still blamed Cas for Mary’s death *dramatic eye roll*. Dean is angry at Chuck, not at Cas! He’s been angry at Chuck before, but not like this time. He had been angry in the past because Chuck reminded him of John, a father figure who dumped his responsibilities on Dean’s shoulders.

Now he’s angry because he feels like a toy in Chuck’s world. He feels like Chuck has been playing with him, with all of them, all this time. Every time they saved the world, was it really their win? Every time they made terrible mistakes, did they even have a choice? Or were they always fated to do what Chuck wanted?

Dean is questioning EVERYTHING. Did he sell his soul for his brother because of love or because he was supposed to, according to Chuck? Did Sam remove the Mark of Cain from Dean’s arm out of love, or was Chuck playing with them again? Did they bring Jack back after he died because they loved the kid or did it happen that way so Chuck could keep playing with his toys? Did they lose so many people along their lives simply because Chuck was having fun writing angst? Did Cas rebel against Heaven because he chose that or was he just another toy in Chuck’s grand scheme?

The one being who gave Dean faith, who taught him since the beginning that he deserved to be saved, was Cas. An angel of the Lord who made his own choices and decided to stay with them, to fight for them, to be their family out of his own free will. Or was it all part of Chuck’s plan, too?

Dean doesn’t know what or who to trust anymore. He doesn’t feel like he can trust his own choices. Free will be damned! How can he be sure that his free will was real? How can he know that he wasn’t just following a script he did not know about? That’s basically what he tells Cas.

And what does Cas say? He reminds Dean that THEY ARE REAL. And he doesn’t elaborate. The fact that he doesn’t elaborate is beautiful, in my opinion, because it leaves it open for interpretation, and it encompasses many things at once.

The “we are” means: Our family is real. How much we love and care for one another is real. 

It’s the plural vs singular all over again.

What I’d like to point out is that Castiel’s line could have easily added a few words:

“Dean. You asked, ‘What about all of this is real?’ We are. Sam, you, and me. Our family. THAT is real”.

If he had said that, the interpretation would have been much more platonic than romantic, and most of us retired or non-retired meta writers would have seen the intention of a platonic endgame with such an early-on expression of where the season is going.

BUT THERE WAS NO ELABORATION! Cas said nothing. He said “we are” and that was it. If this had been episode 18 instead of 2, that would have been the moment when the person saying “we are” walks toward their love interest and surprisingly kisses the hell out of them just to further prove a point.

The only reason I didn’t expect Cas to move toward Dean was because the season has just started. There was something missing after Cas said “we are”. The empty space there is what I love the most; there was no huge gesture that made it undeniably romantic, but there was no elaboration that made it undeniably platonic either. We’re right there, in the middle. And that, in my opinion, is a lot more positive than negative because that moment between Dean and Cas, with no one else present, was set like something that can (and hopefully will) be resolved by the end of the series.

*looks around trying to find clown mask* Ahhhh there it is!

[cuddlemonsterdean]

i’ve seen several people, especially @dotthings, very accurately point out why dean is the one most devastated by the reveal of how far chuck’s manipulations went, but there’s one thing i haven’t seen talked about yet, and that’s the parallels between what dean went through with au michael and what he’s going through with chuck now

dean hasn’t really had any chance yet to heal from what he went through with michael, and i can imagine that to him, it’s like it’s repeating all over again, just on an even bigger and more all-encompassing scale:

- dean couldn’t force michael out, he couldn’t get away from him at all. he only got away temporarily because michael decided to leave him. and even when dean thought he was gone, michael was actually watching them, spying on them through him. just like he now knows chuck has been watching them the entire time, and though sam may think he’s left for real, dean didn’t seem so sure

- there was no escape for dean from michael at all. unlike when sam or cas were possessed by lucifer, who couldn’t get back in after being forced out, michael had left “the door open a crack” - he would always be able to possess dean again. they knew no way to kill him, and dean was only just so managing to keep him trapped for a while, knowing that ultimately he would be helpless to stop him. chuck killed jack in front of dean and opened the hell gates and there was nothing he could do to stop him either

- even when dean thought he’d found a way to kill michael, it turned out to just be another manipulation and that he was doing exactly what michael wanted him to do. michael’s plan back then is essentially what chuck’s punishment is doing to dean right now: “To break him, to crush and disappoint him so completely that, this time, he'll be nice and quiet for a change -- buried. And he is. He's gone.” ‘gone’ in the sense that dean now doesn’t believe free will is real, doesnt’ believe that he himself - his life - is real

- rocky’s bar also beautifully ilustrates the horror of this imo. michael not only made dean believe the bar and his life there were real, he made him believe the bar was dean’s choice. that dean picked the spot, the decor; that when someone came to take the bar from him he got to say no, and got to keep it. and then it turned out that the bar was fake. that he was manipulated into believing that it was real and his own choice, manipulated into believing he was free - as long as he was there, he couldn’t remember that he was actually possessed by michael at the very moment. and, michael had him trapped there. much like michael had him trapped and drowning before, and much like he now feels like he’s been trapped by chuck in chuck’s maze his entire life

- even death is no escape. with no way to kill michael, dean decided to trap himself with him, but the prospect of it scared him extremely. as sam put it: “what you're talking about is far worse than death. Michael's an archangel. He could literally keep you buried, in a coffin, alive forever.” chuck could be bringing them back and make them run through his maze for all eternity if he wanted. even if they died, they’ve just learned that chuck can force souls that were bound for heaven to go to hell. heaven as they know is falling apart, the empty has been described as even worse than hell, and their life on earth seems to have been an endless manipulation

[deanwasalwaysbi]

Going a bit nuts because

Cas: You used to trust me, give me the benefit of the doubt. Now you can barely look at me. My powers are failing, and – and I've tried to talk to you, over and over, and you just don't want to hear it. You don't care. I'm... dead to you. ... You still blame me for Mary.

But the only reference we got before this was:

Cas: I tried to heal him, but it didn't work. I don't know why. Sam: You're probably just tired, Cas. We all are.

One of two things happened here.

Either they had these conversations off screen - which, tbf, is classic Bobo Berens - or - there were scenes where Cas tried to talk to Dean about his fading grace and they were cut.

Either way, Cas has trouble healing the kid in Golden Hour, either way it makes it a big deal that Cas healed Dean's cut hand in The Trap, either way they never show other angels losing their powers, never explain it, and never resolve it.

Chuck easily could have said he was cutting Cas off, but he didn't. The empty could have spit Cas back out bc he was too human now, he could have ended up in heaven on his own. Whatever it was, they cut it.

This story line was going somewhere, and I'm convinced that it was going somewhere gay.

[naruhearts]

Silent storytelling returns!!

Cas is visually “perched” on Dean’s left shoulder, looking on despite the raw marital discord they’re experiencing...despite Dean’s hopeless thoughts of their absent free will.

In the face of everything God exploited, Cas is BEYOND adamant to tell his spouse, with conviction, that what they have — who they are together — is real. They’ll find a way. *clutches chest in PRIDE at Cas’ extremely humanized self-awareness*

As in all good, complex storytelling, the storm must pass first. These two still aren’t on the same page *rips hair out* (but there was significant progress—hell, the D/C school scene in itself was something I was looking forward to!! Dean FINALLY used his words, verbalizing that he was mad at Chuck, at all of it. They were guinea pigs. The very scene itself enforced nothing else except their powerful friendship, which, after a nearly-decade long amalgamation of rich romance tropes, runs much deeper than platonic relations...encapsulates hot domestic, angsty, classically archetypal spousal tension, plus the ambient swell of orchestral music as per usual. GAH.)

Dean and Cas haven’t mended their differences, friends. Their conjoined arc is coming to the narrative forefront again. In other words, pretty important things are on the horizon, and again I do expect the tension to keep mounting from this point onwards—it’s quite incredible how Dean and Cas’ interpersonal relationship continues to stretch and stretch, then snap back into place!! We’re coming full circle. *swims in cyclism*

Basically, this episode was an INTERESTING visual goldmine/visual narrative in terms of character pairings:

Rowena and Cas positioned in the frame behind their respective partners (platonic or potentially non-platonic Sam/Rowena continuing to mirror Dean/Cas as a separate unit again, carrying over from S14). Then next week’s BERENS-TRADEMARK EMOTIVE promo just punched me in the gut because we shall see if Sam is really “willing to let the world die so [Rowena] can live”.

I have to say, I got a bit emotional at the sight of this: heartbroken Sam refusing to accept whatever Rowena chooses to do (for the good of humanity). She integrated herself into the Winchesters’ found family, forging meaningful bonds, humanized and freely autonomous, after living out a lonely, unfulfilled life of lost purpose and misguided self-concept. At the end of it all, Rowena chose allyship. She chose to embody human bravery. She did it all for the Winchesters. Sound (at least) familiar?

Over and over again, canon reconsolidates the suffering (and the intimate, romantic, sweet joy) of Human/Supernatural dynamics and the obstacle of duality, especially when it comes to Cas’ ever-dualistic nature as angel and Found human. What is the last straw (alongside long-standing fatherly issues) that causes Cas to break it off? To walk away from the Winchesters (Dean) in the upcoming weeks, dissolve his headspace, and mentally deconstruct/reconcile what he currently thinks (his ideals are) with what he used to think?

My lord. I can’t wait to watch the extent of Berens & Co’s narrative progress for TFW/Destiel’s endgames.

Gird y’alls loins.

[verobatto]

We are real

Destiel meta. 15x02 "Raising Hell"

Hello my dears! I'm very pleased with the huge Destiel dialogue we had in this episode. Full of feelings.

So let's began...

An Alarming Destiel Mirror

When the episode started, we saw a woman dressed in green with a pink t-shirt, and a man in blue that came out from nowhere. The woman in green and pink was representing Dean and happiness, and the man in blue is Cas. But what we saw was kind of alarming, because the guy stabbed the woman and killed her. But he was possesed by a ghost. So we can say he wasn't him... But some evil entity taking his body... Well we can play with speculation here saying OH NO! CASTIEL WILL BE POSSESED BY THE EMPTY AND HE WILL KILL DEAN! But I guess is mostly Castiel rejecting happiness and rejecting Dean.

Love in war time

During the whole episode, Dean and Cas didn't work together, and when they did, there were always the others, Roweena, Ketch and Sam.

So this is another clue for our Lovers Separation spec.

But let's talk about Ketch and Roweena.

Ketch was wearing a pink shirt (emulating happiness) and Roweena and him were flirting the whole episode. Why? I want to think that was LOVE IN WAR TIME. There's time for love? When you are fighting a ghost Apocalypse? There's time to allowed yourself to be happy?

And the thing was, Dean was in the middle of it. Trying to make them think IS NOT CONVENIENT. Because his head is in war now. And there's not time to think on it. But it was funny, when Roweena and Ketch were enjoying themselves in that sexual tension, it was Dean who called and interrupted them. And very, very interesting, Roweena's words right there...

"Is almost, but you can't rush this things..."

Oh gosh... Everything means something, and we had just watched the Destiel scene and Roweena same out with that, like... Okay... We have to be patients... With Dean and Cas talk, we know. We can't rush these things (but already had been 11 years!!!!!) Okay okay, I'm cool **breathing heavily**

Dean and Cas

Okay, we're here...

The thing is, Cas tried to talk with Dean, but Dean is locked in anger, and fears. But why?

Because his mother is dead? Because Jack killed her? Because he still blame Cas? Yes... But that's not the whole thing.

He's angry, and scared. Because everything he did... And everything he feels... He's terrified thinking isn't real. Isn't real to love Castiel? That was something written by Chuck? He did this? Everything they lived together? Everything Cas did and gave up for him? Is a lie? That scares him to death.

So... Cas first wanted to talk, and day again maybe "I'm sorry because your mom died for my cause... Or Jack...or because I lied to you..." But... Not... Dean cut him off... He didn't need that... He needed to know if things are real.

And he lost faith. He's mad at Cas because he thinks he doesn't see the whole situation, or because CAS isn't mad enough with his father.

But he's. And the difference between him and Dean, is Cas still believes. Still believes in Jack and in all of them. And still believes in what he did and in what he feels for Dean.

So... He ventured himself to say this.

Gif set credit @samxdean

He had to say it, because he saw what Dean was struggling with there. The doubt about the feelings, the doubt about himself and everyone else.

We took our choices, and we did good things

Castiel is saying I GAVE EVERYTHING FOR YOU BECAUSE I CHOOSE TO DO IT. IT WAS MY DECISION. CHUCK DIDN'T WROTE IT. REMEMBER. YOU SHOWED ME WHAT FREE WILL IS.

Gif from my beautiful friend @agusvedder

So Dean has to see these things... His love is real. His choices are real. They're real.

And why when he was talking with Sam he had another tone? Another kind of tiny hopes? And not with CAS?

Because what terrifies him the most, is knowing his feeling for his angel and the feelings Cas has for him, are lies... Just a manipulative joke.

Miscellaneous: another interesting Destiel Mirror

Amara and Chuck, by the end of the episode...

Amara abandoned Chuck, saying him: You dropped me first, now I'm dropping you.

And also, marking Chuck didn't change and he is still the selfish narcissist god he always was.

And I saw this and maybe could be played as another clue for the lovers separation spec ...

You know and because Dean is still so mad and treating Castiel so badly... This could be something that could happen in the incomings episodes.

To Conclude:

There were interesting Destiel Mirrors, but the most captivating was Ketch and Roweena interaction. Ketch emulating the happiness and both of them trying to live a romance in times of war.

The Destiel dialogue was full of feelings and emotions, fears and anger. And Castiel had to clarify to Dean they are real. Everything is real, their feelings and their choices...

I hope you like this meta, c-u in the next one.

Tagging @metafest @gneisscastiel @magnificent-winged-beast @emblue-sparks @agusvedder @weirddorkylittlediana @michyribeiro @whyjm @koshisekisen @legendary-destiel @a-bit-of-influence @thatwitchydestielfan @misha-moose-dean-burger-lover @lykanyouko @evvvissticante @savannadarkbaby @angelneedshunter @trickster-archangel @dea-stiel @mybonsai1976 @anarchiana @angelwithashotgunandtrenchcoat @trashblackrainbow @destielshipper221b @mishtho @dancingtuesdaymorning @feathered-castiel @bre95611 @zoerayne2426 @justmeand-myinsight @proccastinate

Buenos Aires October 17th 2019 19:58 PM

[norahastuff]

What about all of this is real?: 4x22 and 15x02

So at some point over the summer, someone asked me why “Free Will’s an Illusion” was the title of my blog, and whether I believed it. Here’s the link to my full answer if you’re interested, but the short version is that Cas and I pretty much have the same point of view on this topic.

I’m not in the least bit surprised at Cas’ attitude towards Chuck and free will. The grand plans, divine orders and celestial machinations, they’ve never caused anything but immense suffering for Cas. Anytime he’s tried to play big in order to try save the world: think opening purgatory or trying to close the gates of heaven with Metatron, things have always gone catastrophically bad for him.

It absolutely makes sense that the more personal choices matter more to him than overall grand plan. Let’s not forget, for the majority of his existence, Cas belonged to an organisation that sought to strip away any hint of free will from him at every opportunity. Remember Cas’ harrowing words when he discovered how his repeated defiance of orders had been punished 

“How— how many times have you torn into my head and washed it clean?”

Cas would always resist and heaven would always force him to bend to their will nonetheless. Nothing he did mattered. Until one day it did. One day he resisted, was sent back to “bible camp” as Dean calls it and yet still chose to fight back again anyway. He still allowed himself to listen to Dean, to understand what was truly right and to choose. And he chose to fall. 

Cas is so adamant that their choices are their own because of he has fought so hard for that particular right. I don’t think Cas sees his choice to fall (in 4x22) as anything other than a decision made completely of his own volition. He was making it up as he went along, and I don’t think it’s any coincidence that Dean and Cas are once again having a heated discussion about the concept of free will and the inevitability of fate. It’s just that their positions are a little different now.

4x22

First we have Cas acknowledging how he and Dean “have been through much together” and how he’s sorry it ended like this. Dean’s angry. Yes at Cas somewhat, but mostly about the horrible situation they’ve been forced into. He dismisses Cas’ apology “you’re going to need a bigger word than sorry” and tries to punch him, but ultimately that’s not the point of this conversation.  The point is to try to get Cas to see he’s been manipulated by his higher ups. The point is to try to get Cas to think and decide for himself what’s right or wrong.

Dean: Destiny? Don't give me that "holy" crap. Destiny, God's plan... It's all a bunch of lies, you poor, stupid son of a bitch! It's just a way for your bosses to keep me and keep you in line! You know what's real? People, families -- that's real. And you're gonna watch them all burn?

Cas: What is so worth saving? I see nothing but pain here. I see inside you. I see your guilt, your anger, confusion

Now compare that to 15x02

We start with Cas trying to apologise to Dean for any mistakes he may have made with Jack and Mary’s death. Once again, Dean dismisses his apology, and once again we learn that Cas is not the main reason for his anger. It’s mostly the horrible situation they’ve been forced into.

And yet this time it’s Dean who’s feeling completely nihilistic. He doesn’t believe there’s any hope or free will left to fight for. 

Dean: I'll tell you what we do know. Nothing about our lives is real. So maybe you can stick your head back in the sand, maybe you can pretend that we actually had a choice. I can't. Cas: Dean. You asked, "What about all of this is real?" We are. It’s a powerful statement from Cas, because Dean’s the one who taught him the answer to that question. God’s plan? Destiny? That’s not real. But they are. And in the end isn’t that what truly matters?

[orionsangel86]

When Cas said "we are real", do you think he was just talking about him and Dean, or about all of them, team free will 2.0?

Arguably it was meant to be purposely ambiguous. BUT the facts are that it was only Dean and Cas in the room and it was Dean and Cas who were in the middle of probably the most strained period of their entire relationship. This conversation took place in 15x02, which in the show timeline was only a few days at most after Dean told Cas he was dead to him, blaming him for Mary’s death.

The way Cas delivers the line, imo, seems like a desperate last attempt to reach out to Dean and save their crumbling relationship. It didn’t seem to me like he was referring to anyone other than the two of them because of the emotional weight put behind every word.

It wasn’t just “You asked, what about all this is real? We are.”

It was also “Don’t give up on us.”

It was “I still believe in us.”

It was “Don’t lose hope in us.”

This was a Cas who knew he was losing Dean, and was trying to hold on as best he could. That’s why the line comes across as so deeply personal and intimate between the two of them (and was later mirrored between Sam and Eileen to be emphasised with a bloody kiss).

The emotional weight of this line is then emphasised further in 15x03 by the emotionally devastating moment where Cas eventually gives up on them himself:

“You used to trust me, give me the benefit of the doubt. Now you can barely look at me. My powers are failing, and -- and I've tried to talk to you, over and over, and you just don't want to hear it. You don't care. I'm... dead to you. You still blame me for Mary...  “I don't think there's anything left to say...” “...Jack's dead. Chuck's gone. You and Sam have each other. I think it's time for me to move on.”

The “we are real” line in 15x02 was a prelude to this even more dramatic and heartbreaking speech. Cas tried. It is the 15x03 break up scene which proves that the “we are real” line was about the two of them and no one else. Because this was something Cas was weighing up in his mind, probably in utter turmoil at having to watch the love of his life push him further and further away.

(Can I also just talk about what an awesome dig it is of Cas to tell Dean that “you and Sam have each other” because this is such an epic blow to those that romantice the brothers codependency on its own. This is framed as a huge negative here and is proof that Cas is well aware of how toxic the brothers relationship is. This is Cas telling Dean “goodbye. At least you still have Sam” knowing that Sam alone is not enough for Dean. It was a nice little spiteful dig from Cas and I applaud him for that.)

It’s something I don’t think I will ever quite get over (among many other things at this point when it comes to the canonical relationship between Cas and Dean). Their relationship, and their emotional journey, was a focal point for the entire first half of the final season. Pretty much all the emotional drama of the first 9 episodes was caused by Dean and Castiel canonically breaking up. Like, if I could go back in time to Summer 2014 and try to explain this to my past self, the version of me still living off of the scraps of season 8 and season 9, blissfully unaware of the torment the writers will put us through in seasons 12 and 13... and then tell myself that DESPITE all that, it still wasn’t considered “canon” on a general level... Gosh. I’d laugh in my own face.