#Also I’m manifesting long hair Crowley for season 3

[deboracabral]

it is my strongly held belief that the reason why beelzebub and gabriel worked out so fast is because they thought there was precedent. ah yes demon and angel fell in love it’s happened before no biggie…..unless

they gotta feel a little grateful in their own weird way

[wakanda-flocka-flame-blog]

The 15x08 episode Preview is the Reason I’m Drunk.

Firstly, I must mention that the episode that airs tonight was written by Bucklemming and directed by Speight, so... get ready for pain and cheap jokes. :)

Alright here’s where we’re starting out. The kitchen.

This scene being shot in the kitchen is so important. This kitchen is regarded as the emotional hub of the Winchester family. It’s been a common place of gathering for the boys and their closest of kin. It served as Castiel’s happy place when he was being used by Lucifer in season 11 episode 18 “Hell’s Angel”. This kitchen was where they mourned the passing of their son, celebrated his return, and fought about how to handle his downfall -- which led to the “break up” between Dean and Castiel. 

Even though the kitchen is just one of many rooms in the bunker, the conversations that happen in this room are usually about the boys’ relationship with each other, the people they love, and the struggles they have with their emotional bonds. From Sam telling Dean he would have let him die if Dean had been the one to undergo the Trials in season 9 episode 13 “The Purge” to Jack asking Castiel why he can’t tell Dean and Sam about Cas’s Empty deal in season 14 episode 8 “Byzantium”. Unlike the strategy-bound plot points they tackle in their war room, the sickeningly violent threats in their dungeon, and the deafeningly long silences in their respective bedrooms, the kitchen is for family. 

The kitchen is the room in the bunker in which Castiel feels the most comfortable. In there, he is pictured seated lethargically or leaning on a table or wall whereas in any other room in the SPN!verse, he stands or sits stiffly at attention for the most part. I

It is also the place where Dean feeds his family. Dean is known to see food as a type of love language; he cooks and eats emotionally. He has been known to consistently prepare meals for and feed Cas who has slowly stopped reminding Dean that angels don’t eat. Like at the end of “Byzantium” when Dean, Sam, Jack, and Cas all shared a burger and a beer after Jack’s rebirth. 

Now, that that’s out of the way, let’s jump into the meat and potatoes of this meta study on the 15x08 midseason finale preview scene.

We open with Castiel sitting on his usual side of the kitchen table brooding, pensive, and alone. Immediately after, Dean appears by the door, peeking in before walking tentatively into the kitchen.

Something intense just happened between Castiel and Michael!Adam.

Cas glances up and they lock eyes for a second. The only time they give each other eye contact for the duration of the scene. Dean immediately heads to the fridge for a beer and opens it. He grabs this beer for show. He doesn’t seem to take a sip from it.

Note: This scene has running for 14 seconds in complete silence. Not even music. Just footsteps and breathing and Dean opening the fridge and popping a beer, so clearly that’s what the show is trying to get us to focus on. ITS QUIET. It’s tense. It’s strange. It sticks out to you as uncomfortable. This is on purpose.

Dean leans in the frame as though he’s standing at the table where he usually sits. The angle is staged in a way where they are both in the shot, but cannot be in focus at the same time.

For most of s15 a table has been between them whenever they were in a scene alone. There is intentional space here. They’re usually standing so close, a Bible couldn’t get through them. Dean has openly told Castiel to back up. This is weird for them, and it speaks volumes. They’re not as close as they used to be.

Dean says the first line, “Maybe you went too far.”

We can safely assume Dean is talking about what just happened with Cas and Michael!Adam, but there’s another strong layer to consider here.

Cas broke it off five episodes ago in season 15 episode 3 “The Rupture”. After that episode, Cas hopped in his car, stopped answering calls, and basically disappeared. He made himself unreachable. 

Hmm. Speaking of going too far...

If anyone has “gone too far” in Dean’s mind, it’s Cas. Remember, y’all, Dean is the type of man to blow up Cas’s phone if he can’t find him. And, if he’s missing Castiel so much so often that he’s doing that, anywhere that isn’t right beside him is too damn far away. I don’t know what went on in the scene with Michael!Adam yet because this is just the preview scene we were given. 

This episode airs tonight. 

Cas does not look at him and eventually grumbles out, “………maybe.”

Cas noticed how loaded Dean’s opening line was. It had a double meaning for them. The only reason they are in the bunker together is because of Michael!Adam, Sam’s wound, and… well, because the plot demands it. They’re refusing to talk about why they’re so upset with each other, and that communication issue is manifesting through one long, continuous, never-ending fight. In past seasons, things get icy when Dean and Cas fight. They’re known to ignore each other, stare coldly in silence, bicker about how hurt they are, talk to each other through their family (Sam and Jack), and throw in a diss whenever they can slide it smoothly into the conversation. All that stuff your Grandma and Grandpa do at the Thanksgiving table after their 60 year anniversary. So, Cas clearly knows what Dean was getting at when he suggests Cas went too far. Because they’re fighting. And they’ve fought off and on for eleven years. Dean stabbed him the second he met him, this behavior is nothing new.  

So, when Dean accuses Castiel, the angel answers, “Maybe.” instead of “you’re right”, which means there’s a fundamental disagreement here. They disagree when it comes to the episode’s textual issue of dealing with Michael!Adam and the subtextual issue of these two refusing to confess something to each other.

All in all, Castiel doesn’t think that he went too far in either situation, especially when it comes to Dean. Dean treated Castiel like a verbal punching bag, so he left and he did some stuff that Dean didn’t like, yeah, but he didn’t go too far. Not from Cas’s perspective. And, so Castiel’s answer to both questions is a passive aggressive “maybe”. Oof.

Dean speaks again, refusing to meet Cas’s eye, “I mean he’s been on lock down for quite a while, you know? Maybe you just, uh…………….. went too fast.”

Being locked in Chuck’s narrative has been like a trap for Dean. This narrative is something he can’t seem to get out of, much like a prison. Not knowing what’s scripted and what isn’t is getting to him. Freedom and free will is the paramount of Dean’s moral compass. But, in this situation, he doesn’t know how to be free, so he’s going through an existential crisis. And when he lashed out, it came from that locked up mentality being forced to do whatever someone else wants for the rest of his life, confined into a box, fighting the same fight over and over again. Dean can’t even trust his own friends, because they’re in this trap too and may be used to hurt him, which they have been before. 

(i.e. Castiel being used by Heaven to hurt/betray him in s4, Castiel being used by Crowley to hurt/betray him in s6, Castiel being used by the Leviathan to hurt/betray him in s7, Castiel being used by Naomi to hurt/betray him in s8, Castiel being used by Metatron to hurt/betray him in s9, Castiel being used by Rowena to hurt/betray him in s10, Castiel being used by Lucifer to hurt/betray him in s11, Castiel being used by fetus!Jack to hurt/betray him in s12...... they need the best counseling money can buy.)

So, when Dean says that he’s been locked up for a while and Castiel went too fast, he means he needed Castiel to stay --  to put up with his attitude for just a little while longer, but Cas...

He went.

Too fast.

After hitting Cas with cruel words in the face of what seemed to be endless, brutal rounds of family tragedy after family tragedy, Cas peaced out. He’s done being treated this way. He wanted to leave, so he left. And when he left….

He left before Dean could figure out the right words to say to make him stay. He left before Dean could take it all back. He left before Dean could fix it.

He went.

Too fast.

That being said, what makes Castiel "Cas” is that he confidently writes his own stories. Dean was who he decided to follow while he lived this chapter of his own angelic life, but if Cas wants to stop following Dean, he can and he will. With barely a moment’s notice. Just like he did with Heaven. Castiel is his own singular being. He is self-sufficient, independent, and strong as a ox. Castiel is a creature of the sky, he can fly far away and it will feel natural to him. But because he is his own man, he will do so when he chooses. Chuck’s involvement in their lives bothers Cas, but not in a way that prohibits him from living his life and being himself.

That is not the case for Dean.

There is another long pause. Cas is waiting for Dean to keep talking. Castiel’s silence is loud, but not striking. Dean looks down at himself like he said too much. In a way he did. He starts again, “What’s he doing now?”

“No idea. He was very distraught.” Cas answers with curt and measured statements, hands folded on the table, hair... flawless.

Cas knows what it means to be imprisoned and trapped. He knows what it means to feel pain. But what he doesn’t understand is why Dean internalizes his pain, lets it boil into toxic emotions of self-hatred, and uses it as an excuse to hurt others -- even as an excuse to hurt Cas. Why Dean would do that… Cas has “no idea.” 

He knows how he wants to be treated by Dean and he now refuses to accept any less. Thing is... Cas hasn’t told Dean how he wants to be treated. He just takes it and frowns. That doesn’t in any way mean he deserves to put up with Dean’s sourpuss attitude, but he is also expecting Dean to read his mind. They’re both at fault for the rift between them.

Dean presses the task at hand, wanting to cut through their fighting and solve the problem, “Yeah, but what exactly did he say?”

Cas, not getting the memo (which is very on brand for him), replies with words Dean has said to him unapologetically, “Leave. Get out. I want you dead.”

Cas looks like he’s about to cry.

There’s a long pause where Dean takes in his answer, knowing Cas is shoving his words back in his face. Dean nods and looks even further away from Castiel. 

Somehow, this can also translate to the dramatic scene that will soon happen between Michael!Adam and Castiel. 

It is important to note that Michael!Adam was the archangel who ran Heaven alongside Chuck for most of existence. He was every angel’s boss, including Castiel’s. There is no doubt that everything in Castiel’s life happened because Michael gave an order, and “Cas of the past” did it without question. Fast forward to 2008, Michael gives the order to rescue his true vessel and Cas fucking falls in love with it. Then, Cas rejects Heaven, teams up with his true vessel to fight him, and tricks him into The Cage for a very. long. time. Mind you, this happened after millions of years of basically being the most powerful being in creation with no enemies that could possibly be a threat. 

I bet Michael hates Cas, and if those two were in a room together, he’d see Cas as a traitor against his own kind -- against him. Without Castiel, he wouldn’t have been locked away. Whatever words Michael!Adam had for Cas couldn’t have been kind. And when Cas said this, he was telling Dean that nothing Michael!Adam said to him cut worse than what Dean had said to him over the last few weeks.

Then, Castiel adds, “We didn’t bond.”

When Cas said the word “bond”, Dean Broke Down. It’s all over his face, his eyes go glassy, he looks up with an emotional blush. He’s clutching that beer like a lifeline. The words hanging here are:

               We [Michael!Adam and I] didn’t bond. But, Dean, you and I did.

The thing about Michael and Adam is that they’re both Dean mirrors. They’re both final results of the two paths that Chuck’s script offered Dean, and they’re both not AT ALL who he is.

In every known universe, Michael is shown as this war hungry, super strong, ultimately immortal sociopath with unfettered power and no regard for humankind or monsters. If the supernatural world and Chuck had gotten their way, Dean would have literally become Michael. A villian. Dean does not consider himself a villian. 

Adam on the other hand is a Dean mirror in a universe where John has little to no influence on his life. Adam is “pure!Dean without John and Sam”, raised by Mary as Mary wanted to be (not a hunter, living an apple pie life). Untouched by the supernatural, Adam’s happiest memories are of his prom and playing at the park with his mom. He liked sports, he dated girls, he planned for college and a career in his future. His life is what Dean missed out on when he was raised by John. Yet, what happened to Adam at the end of his life would have happened to Dean if he wasn’t trained and ready to fight the supernatural (which happened when he was raised by John). If the mortal world and Chuck had gotten another variation of his way, he would have ended up killed and possessed without the proper tools to defend himself from a tragic fate. A victim. Dean does not consider himself a victim.

Neither Michael nor Adam are versions of Dean that Cas could have bonded with, and these are the versions of Dean that Chuck kept pressing into his narrative throughout his life. 

So when Cas said “We [Michael!Adam and I] didn’t bond” he was telling Dean that he always came back to him because he likes Dean for who he is, not for the narrative Chuck forces on his life. He doesn’t follow Dean because he’s the Righteous Man or because he’s Mary Winchester’s son. He follows Dean because they bonded. They have a connection, they’ve fought for each other, they know each other, they have history, they’ve coparented, and it is unlikely anything can break that bond between them.

He doesn’t understand Dean’s self hatred and cruel words which is why he left. Cas has come to a point where he knows Dean is a lil butthead sometimes, but because Dean and Cas are who they are, that connection between them is still there. Their bond hasn’t been severed, and it likely never will be. And a bond like that means that they love each other and will make it through this. But, Dean better not get it TWISTED. Their bond may not be broken, but it’s been beat down and slapped around. He needs to say sorry. Give a hug. Talk it out. Be a grown up.

Dean felt that pain Castiel felt when he heard his words repeated back to him. 

He knows he hasn’t apologized. And everyone (Cas, Sam, Eileen, even the viewers) are waiting for an apology and Dean’s not doing it.

Why is Dean not apologizing?

Why won’t Dean say sorry for the things he said to Cas? Why can’t he find the words? Why is this so hard for him? What is he afraid he’ll accidentally say?

Dean doesn’t respond, so Cas sighs and asks where Sam is.

Relieved to have a break from being confronted with his previous actions, Dean struggles out his next line, but his voice wavers like he’s trying to sound casual even though he’s definitely about to cry. Sam has always been an easy topic for Dean to talk about, and while Cas isn’t done fighting, he still wants to be able talk to Dean while they’re together.

Dean says, “Eileen hit a snag on a case. So… he won’t be gone long.”

LET’S TALK ABOUT KITCHENS TWICE MORE AND WE’RE DONE I PROMISE LOL

Kitchen Point #1: Eileen and Sam are quickly becoming a package deal. Just last episode, they were cooking and flirting and smiling after a long night of having fun together. And, here, we see Dean and Castiel having the complete opposite of a good time in the exact same space. There is a notable mirror between the scenes of “Eileen and Sam in the kitchen” while Dean goes off to let them build up their bond, and “Dean and Cas in the kitchen” while Sam let's them repair their bond.

Kitchen Point #2: The kitchen shakes in a way reminiscent of when their son Jack escaped from the Malak box in season 14 episode 19 “Jack in The Box”. Then the first time kitchen shook, it was the final catalyst to break their family. Mary had just recently been killed, Jack was soulless, Dean and Sam went behind Castiel’s back to lock Jack in the Malak box, and Jack was soon to run away and get murdered. The end result of the previous shaken kitchen was Jack’s murder, Chuck’s reveal, and Dean and Castiel’s split.

Now the kitchen shakes again.

Cas looks at Dean for a second time as the scene closes and gets up pointing out the culprit as he says Michael’s name.

We don’t know if Dean looks back.

We get a harrowing shot of Michael!Adam.

The screen fades to black.

I can’t believe there was so much to read from that one small lil tiny preview scene. Safe to say I’m strapped in for the episode. Bring it on.

Just gotta say, I’ve loved all y’all work for a while :) I wanna be a meta-writer too and finally got to do one :) I will be doing more throughout the final season :) your meta work gives me life :) so glad you are writing too :) 

@amwritingmeta @drsilverfish @naruhearts @mittensmorgul @bluestar86 @tinkdw @legendary-destiel @elizabethrobertajones @dotthings @dimples-of-discontent​

[chvrchesrp]

Welcome to CHVRCHES’ tenth event! —Part 2!

This event is our third choice event, in which we set a scene and split your characters up into groups dependent on how many points you’ve acquired so far. Once in that setting, you can create threads as you see fit for your muse. The settings and information shared in this event are considered game canon, whether or not you explore it deeply.

While this event will be dropped in 3 parts, during this second part, it’s the real “Choice” part of the event... you will be split into groups and then divided further for those personalized experiences we’ve all been talking about! This part is the reason we’ve been so hard at work, and the reason we asked you to do Challenge 21 for us—it’s a heavy character-development piece.

Part 1: June 24th: The Welcoming

Part 2: July 01st: The Encounter

Part 3: July 15th: The Escape

The date stamp for the event is still Saturday, June 24th, but now around 10pm. Be sure to include that in your posts for timeline purposes. Please do not make timeline threads after July 22nd yet; from now until then, your muse will be at the hotel… where they checked in as they liked, but might never leave… ♥ You can write Hotel California threads for as long as you like.

Alright, first thing’s first: some Out of Character stuff—

This is a really intense, ambitious kind of event, and we’re hoping it goes off well and is challenging and fun. We want to say, up-front, that the experiences are meant to be difficult for your muses based on what you provided to us, but not triggering for you as players. Our intention is only for a game-style experience you can enjoy. All experiences have trigger warnings listed at the top. If your muse’s experience is triggering for you, just let us know and we will be happy to edit or alter the experience to suit your needs!

The basic gist is that in a muse’s given room, that room becomes an alternate reality. The things in that room are real, but can be left behind by leaving the room. After the muse leaves the room, we recommend locking it with their room key so no one else can wander into their personal hellscape after they’ve escaped it! The key word is after. Some experiences begin as self-paras (and some experiences are very self-driven, like Noah and Renee’s, as only they can unlock their rooms), while others will become assisted experiences.

Which is to say, on the other hand, some experiences require the help of other muses to escape! Cassiel’s, for example, is one that cannot be escaped alone. If you agree to help another person’s muse escape their room, your muse will be able to see and experience everything in that room. The room will only actively attack the muse it was designed for, but if your muse attacks whatever is in the room, it will defend itself (so you know, when you write stuff out). For example, Crowley’s nurses won’t pay attention to your muse, but will try to keep her in the room; if your muse punches one of the nurses, the nurse will defend.

Other general notes:

Don’t try to break windows or kick through walls to escape the hotel. The structure of the hotel will heal itself. Only damages done to the hotel, it does to itself.

In most of the rooms, there are “divider doors” that connect, say, room 307 and 308, for example. Those are locked. In order to move between conjoined rooms, that door must be unlocked by a muse. Rooms with 01/02 do not have this ability. (For visual aid, see here.)

What affects your muse directly did happen. So Grace’s hair loss? Totally real. Crowley having to wander the hotel in hospital scrubs after she escapes her room? Real. However, the people you meet in the AU aren’t “real”—they’re Famine’s manifestations and manipulations, though they’re still physically present.

The goal here is for muses to Face Their Fears (alone or supported) and come out stronger. To leave those old ‘realities’ behind as we move into Season 3. You have to leave the room before it kills you or traps you in it. Then perhaps help others do the same.

When you read your experience, it’s probably best if you decide if you want help or want to conquer the fear solo, if both options are available in your scenario. If you want help, ask for someone to write it with you in the OOC or reach out if you have a partner in mind; these experiences don’t work well as “open threads.” Only 2 experiences have partners assigned.

However, open threads totally work once you’ve escaped your room and are in the hallways! Room 10s are specifically left “un-alternate-realitied” if muses want a neutral gathering space on their floor. Yes, for now, you’re restricted to the floor you’re assigned to. 

On to the In Character piece of the event!

The party is in full swing till about midnight, when a man dressed like concierge approaches the velvet ropes, an old, ’20s era microphone in hand amplifying his voice: “The hostess is allowing entry to your rooms now! Feel free to settle in and then return to the fun, but by all means, allow us to show you the way.” He looks into the crowd, as if searching for someone, and then shrugs in a charming sort of way, playing to the crowd: “I hear there are some VIPs in the audience this evening!” he gloats.

“Now, now, I know you are all VIPs here, otherwise you wouldn’t have been invited, but I’m specifically looking for those with room keys marked with an S! If you have room keys with an S in the front, please follow this bellhop right here,” the concierge gestured to the nearest bellhop, “who will take your things and escort you into the secret wing, on this very floor!” A scant few people move toward the front of the house—so few, in fact, that in this swarm of revellers, only two people step forward: Kiara and Belial, who follow the bellhop.

S1A: Pestilence

S1B: War

After they enter their suite, which is past a set of grand double-doors, the bellhop leaves them. Back at the front of the house, the concierge is still continuing the arrangements; he removes the velvet rope, opening the staircase with flair and finesse, then going on to say, “Now, if you would be so kind, if all those with room keys numbering in the 300s would step right this way, you will be escorted to the exquisite top floor!” And so, all of you assigned to the 300s head toward the stairwell, a bellhop showing the way and assisting with bags.

301: Kezia Isles

302: Isaiah Faust

303: Renee Thornton

304: Raziel

305: Crowley

306: Maria Sinclair

307: Donato

308: Zoe Etsuko

309: Adele Davis

After the 300s have gone up to the third floor, they will find that the stairs that connect the second floor to the third have collapsed; what was stairs is now smooth floor. The service elevator is still there—somewhat. The casing for the elevator is there, but there’s no elevator inside of it. You open the door to enter the elevator and instead there is only the blackness of a chasm with an endless bottom, far deeper than is possible for the once-was warehouse.

Those waiting their turn below for the other floors have no idea. Back on the main floor, the concierge is speaking in that same charismatic, ephemeral voice: “And now, we’d like to accept anyone with room keys numbering in the 200s! Step right this way, come on down and we will escort you to the second floor! Thank you so much for coming!” he says warmly, and so all those with room keys marked in the 200s go over to the area, and are assisted with their bags and escorted by a bellhop to the second floor.

201: Satan *

202: Grace Lowery

203: Isadora Garcia

204: Ethan Pierce

205: Magda Wilder

206: Naomi Vance

207: Noah Jackson

208: Cassiel

209: Lazarus * Satan will be saved by Magda.

After the 200s have gone up to the second floor, they will find that the stairs that connect the main floor to the second also have collapsed; what was stairs is now smooth floor. The service elevator is still there—somewhat. The casing for the elevator is there, but there’s no elevator inside of it. You open the door to enter the elevator and instead there is only the blackness of a chasm with an endless bottom, far deeper than is possible for the once-was warehouse.

Those waiting their turn below, still on the main floor, have no idea. If you’re still on the main floor, though, you’ll be quite perplexed, as the concierge then says, “Thank you all for attending, your presence is magnificent!” and then offers a quick bow before putting the red rope back up and leaving the immediate premises. Those of you left, still, look to one another, confused: what room key do you have? You ask one another. You all have “B” in the front. What floor does that stand for? Where are you supposed to go?

And then,

quite suddenly,

the entire floor where the staircase should have led down and an elevator could have been, that whole area that should have been how reasonable people might get to a lower level—it collapses. The floor just gives out, splinters into shambles, splits and send all of you careening downward, too far down to climb back out. From below, the mess of once-was-floor and now-ceiling seems impossibly far away, the kind of distance that echoes. After you make your way out of the debris and pull bits of wood and dust from your person, you find that the bottom floor is, well, relatively nice, but there’s no way out. You’ll need to wait to get rescued. So what else is there to do?

You go to your room.

B01: Abaddon *

B02: Leviathan

B03: Olivia Cross

B04: Babylon

B05: Shibah

B06: Zack Kapoor

B07: Elijah Nolan

B08: Gabriel

B09: Paul Howell * Abaddon will be ‘saved’ by Gabriel—who will, in turn, rip her wings off.

The doors to the Hotel disappear; entry and exit are now impossible. Enjoy, darlings! Welcome to the Hotel.