#brainwasher jack

[soullessjack]

the thing about brainwasher-jack is that, post-birth, he just does not remember a lot of things from being in utero. call it inconsistent writing or not but he has a very clear disconnection from himself and the fleshy bundle of pure instinct/intent he used to be which means he objectively does not remember —or at the very least perceive — the fact that he brainwashed cas and kelly. as far as jack knows he “chose” cas to be his father but he doesn’t know what “choosing” cas really entailed, anymore than he knows what resurrecting kelly after she literally killed herself out of fear of him, and magically convincing her that he’s a miracle she should bring into the world actually, really entails. does he even remember that she killed herself? oh I sure hope not. poor guy already has a complex about being brought into the world by her death and all that fun stuff. you can tell him he was a parasite who infected his dear begotten mother and father but you should make sure he’s in the right headspace to receive information that could harm him beforehand is all I’m saying

[humandisorderincarnatedean]

SCREAM just saw someone say that castiel deciding to protect Kelly and her future angel baby in s12 was their favourite turn in his story, because it was 'the first time he made a choice out of himself, without being blinded by heaven or by the winchesters' morals' SCREAM

[shallowseeker]

Ficlet where Jack gets to witness the weirdness of Cas bringing the television into the kitchen and settling in to watch Weekly World News at 6 p.m. with a dreamy sigh.

Dean keeps flicking his eyes over to where Cas sits at the table fiddling with the TV's reception.

Before long, Dean starts in with obnoxious laughter, needling Cas about his crush and escalating the conversation until he's loudly encouraging Cas to "Go get 'er, tiger." Because, "You never know what your chances are, even with minor celebrities."

Then Cas reveals that he has, in fact, met her—and she was very nice.

Dean almost drops the head of lettuce he'd been stripping. "You what?"

"For a case, Dean. She told me where Metatron was."

Jack's eyes are bouncing back and forth like a ping-pong ball, because Dean's got the weird dents in his cheeks now, and a smile that looks about ready to crack his face in two.

"Oh-ho! So she, what, she just told you? How’d you manage that, you sly dog?"

"I just told her how brave she was to get on television in front of millions of viewers." Cas turns to look at the TV, where a pretty woman with long dark hair flashes a smile at the audience. "And that her coverage strikes the perfect balance—tough one moment, tender the next." “Wow. Maybe you should've gotten her number."

"Oh. She did give it to me, in case I needed more assistance in the future."

Dean's mouth works silently for a few seconds before he stretches on a fake smile—one of his patented Playboy specials that Jack recognizes instantly. (Dean uses it often when they're on cases.)

"'Assistance,' huh? Well, maybe you should, you know, try and tap that then. Go for it. I mean, you're not gettin' any younger."

"I'm sure she's busy, Dean. And it would be unnerving for a fan to approach her like that."

"A fan," Dean coughs. "Cause you're a—right. Well if ya ask me—"

"Dean, please. It's starting."

Dean's mouth snaps shut.

They fall silent after that, the rhythmic sound of Dean cutting lettuce the only interruption in the room. (Honestly, Jack thinks the news is pretty boring—even if the new lady is pretty and has a nice smile.)

//

After the broadcast ends, Sam shouts for help with a translation, and Cas gets to his feet, leaving the TV behind.

Jack cuts a look at Dean's grumpy face, then crosses the room to turn it off.

After that, Jack leans against the work table, watching as Dean chops up vegetables and sandwich ingredients for the week. Dean doesn't look up—just keeps working, jaw tight, hands moving with practiced rhythm.

Under his breath, not quite to Jack and not quite to himself, Dean mutters, 'Tough one moment, tender the next,' in a tone that’s definitely mocking and maybe just a little too soft.

After that, Jack picks up a Ziplock bag, needing something to do with his hands. He scoops a few jalapeños inside, uncaps the Sharpie, and dates the bag without really thinking about it, still watching Dean out of the corner of his eye.

"What’s your problem, kid?" Dean finally blurts, still not looking at him.

Jack takes a beat.

"Nothing. That was just... you were being kinda weird."

"You're the—the weird."

And that’s how Jack figures out that Dean has a crush on Cas.

[silver-stake-through-the-heart]

Possession

???

[docnukes]

Ok hi I post something finally

Davesport + body headcanons for them (otherwise hairy asf it's just for better viewing) + fat Jack sprite edit.. yay

[soullessjack]

We talk about Cas and Kelly a lot when talking about brainwasher Jack but I feel like we could potentially add Kaia (my shayla) to that list

Kaia's experience with Jack generally follows the same structure as Kelly and Cas' experience

She's wary and afraid of Jack / the entire situation at first (like Kelly and Cas were) and so Jack fills her with euphoric, awe-inducing things which creates a special bond between Jack and Kaia (like he did with and Kelly and Cas)

But, the interesting difference with Kaia is that Jack (if we're still going with the interpretation that the car scene was Jack pretty much brainwashing Kaia) was that he fully conscious while doing what he did this time - whereas with Cas and Kelly he was still in the womb

Is brainwashing just an instinct for Jack? I mean god forbid a man have hobbies 🗣 like yeah don't worry that's just how he makes friends

i wouldn’t call it instinct per se, but i like the idea that he straight up does not know he can even do this to begin with — at least by this specific point in the show he doesn’t. as far as jack is concerned, every vague vision he sees is 100% legit and fact checked and he truly thinks he’s providing some sort of comfort … although now that I think about it, it does remind me of when chuck says he “plants a view visions” in 15x18…. Which could mean nothing…..

im gonna disappoint you so hard but i tend to avoid kaia’s character altogether bc it’s like. a heap of racist things (not a dig at you i promise) sooo ill leave off here

[silver-stake-through-the-heart]

Season 8 conversion therapy: *tries to make you kill your boyfriend repeatedly*

Season 12 conversion therapy: *brainwash you so you'll take care of that woman who was convinced by several pro-life activists to bear her child until her death and then raise said child*

[shallowseeker]

hey what if jack got Really mad at castiel using him as an excuse to stick around. it feels SIMILAR but not quite the same as sam using him to open up a portal. like legitimately i think jack would feel a bit gutted at the idea that someone who made him feel safe enough that he promised cas anything so he'd stick around, only cared about him (AT FIRST. I Can't Stress This Enough.) because it gave cas an excuse to stay on earth. the whole "jack made us a family but he's gone now"

Yeah, that’s one of the reasons I love this view that Cas’s initial reaction to Jack… was tangled up w/ his own identity crisis.

The fodder for potential family baggage is just… Nnnngh!!!!

(Aside// love the idea of this fight: that Jack himself wasn’t what made Cas stay: it was what Jack signified at the time.)

///

Faith in the future:

In 12x19, it reads to me like Jack’s existence validated Castiel’s faith in something bigger than himself, which, after so much doubt/crisis/vulnerability, made him feel strong again.

To Cas, Jack became a symbol of the Future. But at his lowest point, instead of hoping for a better future, Cas clung to Jack as proof that everything was unfolding as it was meant to—as a symbol of Fate.

Looking positively towards the future ISN'T necessarily a bad thing, so long as it doesn't swing too far into positive nihilism, and like I’ve said before... hoping for Big Things(TM) from your child is a common metaphor for parental struggle.

But it does mean that in those early days, Castiel’s devotion to Jack was wrapped up in what Jack represented as much as who Jack actually was.

///

Strong again:

And that vision of Cas’s in the 12x19 script—man. Cas doesn’t just see a world where Jack brings peace to the Winchesters. He sees himself transformed. Jack gives Sam freedom, gives Dean peace, and gives Cas a sense of power and purpose again. Cas is standing there shirtless and imposing, protective as an angel should be, while Dean is in extreme close-up, saying thank you.

Whether you interpret it as explicitly sexual or not, there’s an undeniable intimacy in how it's framed.

The through-line of Cas’s strength runs all the way from not being able to find the boys in prison (First Blood) to Ishim (Lily Sunder…) to Ramiel (Stuck in the Middle with You). He doesn’t want them to protect him. That’s anathema to Cas.

He wants a win for Dean… and for himself. This one of the few chunks of time that focuses not on what Cas does, but on how he is seen… and he’s seen by Dean. That’s significant to me.

///

That pesky brainwashing:

And Jack’s brainwashing capacity, whether you think it was Jack’s subconscious or Chuck’s interference, adds even more stuff to why Cas was so immediately, fervently devoted.

I think that if Jack ever came to realize the truth of THAT, even partially, it would hurt like mofo, don’t you?

omfg he didn't really love me he doesn't really love me etc (Note/edit: It's implied here that Jack had no idea.)

///

We do actually get a glimpse of Cas and Jack fighting in 14x02:

JACK: It wasn’t a risk. CAS: To—to go out there alone? Jack, you have been on the radar of every angel and demon and power broker in creation since the day you were born and I’m sorry, but you’re not exactly yourself. JACK: Weak and defenseless, you mean. CAS (teeth gritting): I mean that the possibility of capture is real, yes.

It nice, because usually what we see is Cas being stern with Jack, and Jack listening silently, eyes downcast.

Respectful.

But here, when Cas berates him—Jack chafes, stepping up into Castiel’s space, eyes flashing.

Jack is frustrated by being viewed as “stupid."

So, Jack throws a barb: that he wanted to see his real family. The way he spits those words echoes Dean in 5x21—when he looks Bobby in the eye and says "You’re not my father."

If Jack REALLY wanted to hit Cas where it hurts, though:

CAS: You’ve been on the radar of every angel and demon and power broker since you were born!

All Jack REALLY has to do and turn around and say that maybe Cas was one of those power brokers.

This would be fertile ground for a fight that reveals too much: Jack charging Cas with being a power broker, and Cas accidentally revealing that acting to protect Jack wasn’t 100% of his own free will at first.

The devastation on Jack’s face is immediate, and Cas scrambles to reassure him—"It’s my choice now." 

But the damage is done.

I think this could create a deep fracture in their relationship—one that’s not easily mended.

Now that I think about it, this might be a more realistic way for the Big Fight(TM) to begin between the two of them.

[brw]

Being a comic John Walker blogger is insane because what do you mean I want the actively worse person and not the slightly less worse person he is in the MCU. What.

[soullessjack]

ok i have to be at work soon but my last brainwashing jack thing before i go is :

(1) i think it’s funny that this is/was an argument for jack being evil or a bad person. look at your favorite characters dawg you’re judging a speck with more logs in your eye than the water around a sawmill. god forbid a fetus have fun?

(2) I think it’s even funnier to approach it with the idea that he does not consciously do it. doesn’t even know he can — up until the points in the show where he explicitly does it (ie forcing Lucifer to tell the truth & then the whole world). i already wrote my thing about jack having that slight disconnection from himself (ie not remembering certain things or, upon birth, not being aware that he even has the powers he’s already used)

(3) one must consider the Leucocochloridium of it all

[antleredweirdo]

DPxDC Writing prompt: A new circus is in town appeared seemingly overnight, a circus of meta humans with red eyes and equally terrifying and wondrous acts. It’s suspicious as all hell and even more suspicious when Jason suddenly feels overwhelmingly compelled to join it when he sees the commercial for it on the TV. Seriously, where the hell did this ‘Circus Gothica’ even come from?

Ok hear me out; y’know in that one episode where we’re introduced to Freakshow and he brainwashes Danny but then it’s ok because he’s saved by his friends?

What if Sam and Tucker and been too late? If Danny had been successful taken?

What if no one believed Sam and Tucker when they said Danny had been kidnapped and he’s not a runaway?

And what if he’s been brainwashed for over 3 years while travelling in the Circus, the only people caring enough to find him being unable to do anything about it?

And what if Freakshow made the mistake of preforming in Gotham where the Bats dwelled? And where they’ll take a deeper look into the circus’s suspicious behaviour…

[silver-stake-through-the-heart]

Baby!Jack being a win for Destiel in s12? No. He brainwashed Cas into abandoning his boyfriend to play house with his Republican mom.

Actually, the s12-13 Destiel win was Destiel finding each other again despite: brainwashing (fetus!Jack), Lucifer, Hell (Dagon), US governement, Republican (Kelly), Pro-Life activist (fetus!Jack), white-picket fence life and traditional family.

Then Cas died.

[angelsdean]

thinking again abt fetus jack possibly / probably brainwashing cas to some extent as a defense mechanism and specifically showing cas visions that appeal to his own personal wants and desires. and i'm imagining cas eventually finding out that's what happened and how that plays into his previous experiences with brainwashing and manipulation via heaven / naomi. how in both instances the brainwashing served to get cas on side and to fulfill a certain goal / mission. for heaven / naomi that goal was to keep cas serving heaven and going against the winchesters (and ultimately to kill dean, specifically). for fetus jack, the goal was to have cas become his protector and ensure his survival, basically to serve him and kelly (for the duration of her pregnancy), and again turn against the winchesters, whom he previously was in agreement with re: the jack situation. i imagine he'd feel some complicated emotions about it. because he's come to care for jack, obviously, but i think he'd start to wonder if he's still being influenced by jack, whether consciously or not on jack's part, especially after seeing how powerful jack truly is, how easily he can make the world bend to his will (like how he stopped the whole world from lying)

[sharp-silver4795]

Deep in the woods, disguised as a mountain, lies here. Shielded behind a false wall of rock at the edge of a highway in Michigan. This is a place for those who wander. They can come here for… Did you think I was gonna say refuge or some cheesy shit? HA! You’re wrong. Here, psychopaths and criminals roam free and kill anyone who dares to wander in.

There’s something wrong with all of us…

My kind of folks, most of us have lost our autonomy. We lost everything. Some lost it willingly without even realizing it. Many of the things here are insane. But some of them, my favourite person in this damn world, shares one thing with a few of them…

Most of them can’t speak. They’ve lost their ability to communicate. There’s another I know. She didn’t ask for this. She just wanted to live a little bit more… that was her mistake.

No one truly lives here.

We’re broken down into a state where we are scared to try to remember anything from the past. He’ll break us if we try.

Cody- yeah I said his name, the hell are you gonna do about it?!- had only a shred left of his humanity… He didn’t want to forget, but he didn’t want to remember. So, he put himself to sleep. He used an injection to knock himself out for a little while… then, he wouldn’t even think about remembering nor forgetting.

Rogue is… the worst of us. Not because she suffers, no no no, but because she gives in so easily. She doesn’t try to get away. She just… lets it happen.

There’s not just the ones like me, though. There’s the bitch that’s in charge. I call him the big man.

He has a giant ass ego. He thinks he’s the one who put up that guard…. He’s wrong.

The border shifted more recently… the dead men had to trade places.

I remember seeing a friend of mine wrap himself around the rock in the centre of it. His name is EJ. He told me the story once… I forgot it. I don’t try to remember in fear of the big dude. I remember that, inside that rock, a corpse lays inside. Whoever it was, it was important to the demon. He was in pain, I don’t remember why, when he ran off to hug that statue. He repeated the same words over and over: “Ava, hurry…” and some other word I didn’t understand. I don’t know who he was talking to. He lived on the edge of the border. That south end is barely covered by the border…. That guy’s death is where the border came from. EJ acted like he needed to be wrapped around it. No one could have ripped him off.

That reminds me of them. Those at the edge of the border, where that “magic” was the weakest.

They weren’t like anyone else. They didn’t give in. That’s why they’re called the Rebellion. They refused to be complacent.

I still admire them for that.

They’re a complicated bunch.

The trio of death is fascinating to say the least. The only way I can explain it quickly is Jeff went crazy, killed Jane’s family, and set her on fire. Jeff, still crazy, killed Nina’s family, tried to killer her by failed and set her on fire. At that point, Jane already wanted to kill Jeff for revenge but then Nina joined the hunt. So, Jane and Nina both want to kill Jeff and Jeff wants to kill them so they don’t kill him first, Jane and Nina wanna kill each other so that they can kill Jeff first, who still does not want to die.

The reason they haven’t killed each other by this point is… shocking.

The thing that keeps these bitches stable is the most unstable person I know of: Liu. fucking. Woods.

He had an insane temper. And it seemed like his temper- and his morals- deteriorated day. by. day.

I’ve seen him do things that I’ll never share. I’ve learned from others, Clockwork and a Traitor (I’m not allowed to say their name), if you see Liu do something entirely wrong… you don’t say shit if you want to keep your head.

Everyone here is nuts.

I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t miss them.

Liu was a good kid.

I remember when I got in that old beat up truck with him. He was crying, sobbing, a medicine bottle in his hand and a half empty bottle of whiskey in the cup holder. He wanted to change that part of him.

Though, I think there were other things that plagued him.

I remember watching him whither away. I still can’t forgive myself for when he died… call it vengeance, self preservation, or whatever you want… but I’m still the one who shot him.

As disagreeable as Jeff was, he gave a good laugh occasionally. He had an… interesting sense of humour. But he knew how to break tension in a good way.

His sass definitely kept certain idiots Rogue at bay.

I remember the look in Liu’s eyes why I told him he was gone… I hated to be the be the one to tell him. How the hell do you tell someone that they lost their only family remaining and their husband all at once?

He bled out in the snow… he took a sword for his brother. I guess it’s even, though. I remember hearing him talk to my friend- the one who can’t speak- about all the shit Liu did and took for him.

I swear, though, Liu’s sanity shattered in front of me…

I lost a lot of friends that day. So many lives that could have been better. I remember a lot of them well.

I can still see their stiff faces… I can see all of them.

Kate’s head pushed to the side with claws dug into her chest.

Kat’s gun to his own chin, pulling the trigger rather than being discovered.

Jeff’s blood on the snow and Liu’s body returning to his ashes.

Jack’s ribs and intestines exposed with a blast of heat and toxic gas… it burned like hell to be caught in the radius of it.

I never told anyone what happened to Cody. I’d rather the big guy think Liu did it out of rage. I’d never admit out loud that Cody asked Liu to shoot him.

Natalie’s mangled limbs.

I found out three days later that… he died. That kid. That wonderful kid. He left us. He served his time. But he couldn’t be the same… The Operator broke him too far.

I hate it here.

But I move forward.

I do it for them. All of them. They didn’t have the choice.

~ The Masked Man’s Lament