#with jack and amara as co-gods

[supernatant]

Rolling up to AO3 and browsing the Supernatural ending fix-it fics like I’m at the supermarket

[what-do-1000-swords-look-like]

So I was thinking about this scene:

I've always talked about it from Dean's perspective (and sometimes from the Destiel perspective) but never from Cas'. I think the GA (and antis who claim this is a fanservice scene and nothing more) underestimate just how powerful this scene was for Cas' own story. The ILY aside, I think it's important to note just how full circle the angel's storyline came and how impactful that decision to include the bloody handprint really was.

When Cas first enters the story of SPN that we see (physically I mean), this scene happens:

Cas: "I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition."

Dean: "And why would an angel rescue me from Hell?"

Cas: "Good things do happen, Dean."

Dean: "Not in my experience."

Cas: "What's the matter? You don't think you deserve to be saved."

Dean: "Why'd you do it?"

Cas: "Because God commanded it."

When Cas first rescues Dean from Hell, he has been commanded to do it. He's following orders. They have "work" for Dean to do aka an ulterior motive. And as we see here, Dean as always, believes he doesn't deserve to be saved (which we find out why in this particular instance later) and that good things don't just happen which momentarily confuses Castiel.

Dean: "Is it true? Did I break the first seal? Did I start all this?"

Cas: "Yes. When we discovered Lilith's plan for you, we laid siege to Hell. And we fought our way to get to you. Before you--"

Dean: "Jump started the apocalypse."

Cas: "We were too late."

Dean: "Why didn't you just leave me there then?"

Cas: "It's not blame that falls on you, Dean. It's fate. The righteous man who begins it is the only one who can finish it. You have to stop it."

Dean: "Lucifer, the apocalypse, what does that mean? Hey! Don't you go disappearing on me, you son of a bitch. What does that mean?"

Cas: "I don't know."

Dean: "Bull!"

Cas: "I don't. Dean, they don't tell me much. I know our fate rests with you."

Dean: "Then you guys are screwed. I can't do it, Cas. It's too big. Alistair was right. I'm not all here. I'm not--I'm not strong enough. I guess I'm not the man either of our dads wanted me to be. Find someone else. It's not me."

In this scene, it's after Alistair got out of the Devil's trap and attacked Dean, after telling Dean that he started the apocalypse by breaking the first seal. Cas reveals that the reason they went into Hell to rescue him was to prevent the first seal from being broken which would knock over apocalyptic dominoes. But they were too late. And Dean makes a good point: why didn't they just leave him there then? Considering what we know about how angels sometimes operate in this story, it would make sense if they chose to do something like that but Cas rescues Dean anyway. Which we know Cas was the one not only because he says it but also because when Dean is resurrected, we see this:

Which is further verified by what happens to Pamela when she touches it. She's able to communicate with Castiel directly (a la Amara with Casifer being able to connect to Dean but I won't digress) and we know her eyes burn when she attempts to spy on his true visage.

Now if we go back to the 15x18 scene above, we get:

Dean, Sam, Cas, and Jack are currently locked in a battle with Chuck and reclaiming their free will after they discover he's been the bad guy all along -> "Lucifer, the apocalypse" from 4x16

Dean and Cas are currently being chased down by Billie aka Death who is intent on killing Dean once and for all so he can go back to where she believes he belongs (and she had a plan in place to take care of Chuck and how Dean would play a part in it besides Jack and Sam) -> aka "Lilith's plan" & Alistair and Co getting Dean to break the first seal from 4x16

Cas is helping Dean to get away, rescuing him from what would have been a gruesome death -> Cas rescues Dean from Hell from 4x01 & 4x16

Dean feeling defeated when he and Cas are locked in the room (that has a Devil's trap in it btw) that Billie is trying to get into -> Dean telling Cas that they shouldn't rely on him to stop the Apocalypse & it's too big for him because he is suffering from guilt and self-doubt from 4x16

Dean: "Everybody's gonna die, Cas. Everybody. I can't stop it. She's gonna get through that door."

Cas: "I know."

Dean: "And she's gonna kill you. And then she's gonna kill me. I'm sorry."

If you take this dialogue and these two performances in this moment and compare it to the 4x16 hospital scene, you have a very similar event or theme happening here. The only differences are Cas' reaction (we see he is more greatly affected this time around which is due to their familiarity with one another and the development of their characters and relationship as well as the show evolving, season 4 was still considered to be the "horror show"), Dean while still hopeless is accepting of the inevitable & is not shutting Cas out. Instead he moves closer rather than looks away like he does in 4x16, letting out the one tear. Not that he wasn't vulnerable with Cas in 4x16, but the whole performance from Jensen while being different in its own ways is also quite similar to that scene.

While Cas saved Dean from Billie in the moment & warded the door to keep them alive that much longer (with his own blood but more on that in a moment), he comes up with a plan to stop Billie entirely that will save Dean but also cause his own death. Thus, he is going to rescue Dean while laying down his own life.

Cas: "When Jack was dying, I made a deal to save him."

Dean: "You what?"

Cas: "The price was my life. When I experienced a moment of true happiness, The Empty would be summoned and it would take me forever."

Dean: "Why are you telling me this now?"

Cas: "I always wondered when I took that burden, that curse, I wondered what it could be, what my true happiness could even look like. I never found an answer because the one thing I want, it's something I know I can't have. But I think I know...I think I know now. Happiness isn't in the having, it's in just being. It's in just saying it."

Dean: "What are you talking about, man?"

Cas: "I know...I know how you see yourself, Dean. You see yourself the same way our enemies see you. You're destructive and you're angry and you're broken, your'e Daddy's blunt instrument. And you think that hate and anger, that's...that's what drives you, that's who you are. It's not. And everyone who knows you sees it. Everything you have ever done, the good and the bad, you have done for love. You raised your little brother for love, you fought for this whole world for love. That is who you are. You're the most caring man on Earth. You are the most selfless, loving human being I will ever know. You know, ever since we met, ever since I pulled you out of Hell, knowing you has changed me. Because you cared, I cared. I cared about you, I cared about Sam, I cared about Jack, but I cared about the whole world because of you. You changed me, Dean."

Dean: "Why does this sound like a goodbye?"

Cas: "Because it is. I love you."

Dean: "Don't do this, Cas. Cas..."

Cas: "Goodbye, Dean."

Dean: "What?"

So not only does Cas address Dean's anger which has been a series-long issue that really was brought to the forefront the most it's ever been in season 15 (meaning the anger is fueling Dean's desperation which is now part of the main theme of the season), but he also saves him from his own personal Hell. While also setting Dean up to do what he does in the next episode when it comes to facing down Chuck and the decision he makes (along with Sam) not to kill him and give him what he wanted. What Alistair, Lilith, and Hell always thought he was. What their enemies (like Chuck) always thought about Dean. What he himself thought.

And the bloody handprint happens in the moment The Empty enters the room on one side and Billie breaks through the door on the other side (when the wards Cas put up in his own blood to protect Dean from Billie don't hold up anymore; yes, Cas used his own blood to protect Dean, the significance of that is just so...I don't even know how to put it into words):

Cas throws him against the wall, out of the way, so he can be physically safe from both supernatural forces. So he not only saves his soul so to speak, he also saves his life.

And what's important about this scene and the way it went down/was written is that while yes, it parallels how Cas rescued Dean from Hell, it also brings his story full circle in a very beautiful way (not just his relationship or profound bond with Dean). Cas chose to do this. He chose to speak those three little words to summon The Empty, ensuring his own death, but also confessing to Dean how he really feels with no expectations. All to save Dean.

So he did what he had entered the story to do in the beginning, but this time, Cas exercised his own free will to save the man he loved while also setting up said man to not only defeat Chuck but also to save the world. Something that Dean himself chooses to do while exercising his own free will (which is another reason why 15x20 makes no sense).

So that bloody handprint, whoever came up with it on the day or if it was in the script (I can't remember which), that was a moment of pure genius because physically it helps pull this whole scene and Cas' story together even more. Cas is commanded to save Dean from Hell, leaves a burned-in handprint on his shoulder. Cas chooses to save Dean from Death (and himself), leaves his own bloody handprint on his shoulder.

As much as I hated Cas dying for the longest time and I didn't understand why Misha was so happy with that ending for his character (despite the parallels), I now get it. Cas' story had come full circle. He exercised the free will that he had not only earned but was given when he changed thanks to knowing Dean, way before Jack entered the picture. That's development, folks. And it was exemplified in the most beautiful way possible. He got to choose when to summon The Empty and why. He got to choose to save Dean one more time but this time of his own volition (though I would argue he may have chosen to save Dean's soul pre-4x01 despite the latter having started the apocalypse). But this scene from beginning to end is HIS choice. The circumstances and time pressure may be present but he could have tried to find another way to get them out of there or he could have lived (because I don't see how Billie could have killed him, he's an angel and The Empty purposely wanted him to be happy and then collect him so even if Billie got all stabby stabby, The Empty would have probably sent him back because it wouldn't be satisfied), but no. He made the choice to utilize this deal that Dean knew nothing about in order to save Dean once again.

And sure enough, in 15x19 we see:

Chuck is defeated. Dean had his free will all along (as did Sam). Jack is now the new God, which also brings another portion of Cas' story full circle and he helped to bring about. While Dean obviously misses Cas, he is able to stand on his own and make this decision himself without Heaven or Hell whispering into his ear or trying to affect the outcome. This is Dean Winchester exercising his free will (that he never really lost like he feared which is also important for the whole John/Chuck convo that we'll save for another time).

So for those who say Castiel wasn't an important character in the series or in relation to Dean (or Sam or Jack) or that the 15x18 scene was fanservice or pandering, you are incredibly wrong. Castiel proved to be instrumental in not only Dean's story line (as well as the other two) but also to the ending of the mythology altogether as well as the end of the series. The end of 15x19 looks like the exact way it's supposed to (minus them planning to break Cas out of The Empty & calling up Eileen & Jack still hanging with his fam = Winchesters 2.0 getting a better and more sensical ending that they had earned, especially in relation to Winchesters 1.0). The way Cas exited the story mirrored the way he entered, with a few slight differences. And like I said above, that's called development and it was illustrated in the most beautiful way possible while also giving one of the original members of Team Free Will the earned right to exercise theirs.

[lucasbarr]

Ok so I was thing about Sam and his blurry wife and I kinda got excited about Dean Jr? Im shocked myself…here are just some ramble-y thoughts about it!

Feat: History repeating itself, a bit of OOCness thanks to the after affect of Chuck’s control, and grizzled hunter Eileen!

I am dubbing this the Blurryverse!

The Story

At the end of the story, Sam closes up the bunker and tries to put hunting behind him. He settles down with Blurry WifeTM and lives in the suburbs (probably in like Palo Alto or Pleasanton? OH if he lives in Palo Alto he could be haunted by THEE ghost of one Jessica Lee Moore!)

Sam, Blurry WifeTM, and fam are not officially haunted by the ghost of Jessica Moore… Just because I’m a horrible person and I think it’s funny, Blurry WifeTM is killed by a demon when Dean Jr is four, his little sister Jody Charlie is two, and his youngest sister Mary Jessica is six months.

Sam makes an Azazel-type deal to resurrect Dean and Blurry WifeTM pays the price.

Dean Sr obviously thinks that Sam has lost his mind to make a demon deal to resurrect him. Especially if the price was a demon feeding his child demon blood. The fact that his wife died in the process makes Dean think Sam has gone off the deep end. Sam obviously doesn’t think so and is happy to have his brother back nonetheless.

Dean begins to worry that Sam is going to raise his children like their father, this is the last thing Dean wants for those kids. They’re so young and Dean is worried they’ll end up like him. He feels pity for his brother, now a widow, having to raise 4-year-old Dean, two-year-old Jody Charlie, and six-month-old Mary.

Though this pity fades the more Dean learns how his resurrection came to be.

While Sam was mooing about and living suburbia, he and Ash manage to crack the code for people to escape Heaven. Sam was making demon deals while Dean and Ash were helping people take the express path down to Earth. Dean helps Ash, knowing how to get down there, when suddenly he’s waking up in his own body somewhere in…the suburbs of California?

Things are a bit weird between Sam and Dean with Sam being a bit dogey about the details of his resurrection. He also doesn’t seem the least bit interested to hear about all the people that were resurrected — including Jo, Charlie, and Kevin! He is a bit disturbed and saddened to learn about Jess though. Especially when he learns that Sam hasn’t put her out of her misery yet…that he’s just been holding onto her ghost.

When Dean finds out that Sam allowed a demon to infect his six-month-old daughter Mary Jr, he leaves (with the keys to the Bunker). He’s disgusted with how far his little brother has fallen. He goes to find those friends of theirs that were resurrected and runs into Eileen, the Banes Twins (of whom, Alicia has been restored to a human by Jack) and Krissy and her friends).

Ellen reopens the roadhouse with the help of Bobby, Rufus, and Eileen. It’s a hit with hunters, as is the Bunker. With Bobby’s house in ruins, he takes up residence at the Bunker. Rufus, Charlie, Dean, Eileen, and a bunch of other hunters rotate through its numerous rooms. While there, the gang help Dean to rescue Cas and a few other angels from the Empty.

So yeah, history repeats itself with Sam raising his children the way he was raised.

Instead of staying in motels all the time, however, Sam’s kids spend a lot of time at their Uncle Dean and Castiel’s place, like how Sam and Dean spent time at Bobby’s. They also end up staying at Jody’s, Bobby’s, or Claire and Kaia’s places as well. Basically anyone who knows Sam will take these kids in while he goes on his never ending hunt for the thing that killed his wife.

Though it’s less about his wife and more about running from his responsibilities…

Sam’s kids have a much healthier relationship with their family and hunting than Sam and Dean did. They know they have a living family and they will never have to know the hardships (well some of them) that Sam and Dean did growing up. They have a semi-stable education (sans the moving), presents on birthdays, and all of them will end up graduating.

The only thing that’s different is that Sam gets back together with Eileen when DJ is 8, JC is 6, and MJ is 4. She didn’t marry anyone and eventually bought the reinvented Roadhouse from Ellen when she decided to retire. She is popular with the other hunters and is quite a fan of Ellen’s.

Eileen becomes a mother-figure to Sam’s kids. DJ is in-different to her at first, not really wanting a mother. Jody and Mary are much more receptive to her and she loved doting on them. They learn ASL from here and learn how to have some more stability in their lives. Sam eventually enters a relationship with Eileen again and they settle down.

Things are good until Sam and Eileen go missing when DJ is in his last year of college.

Dean Jr has left hunting in the rear view, just like his father before him. He’s cut all contact with his father, his uncles, and his step-mother. He barely talks to his you younger sisters and that’s only because he still loves them — despite the fact they’re both hunters. Everything seems to be going fine until Jody Jr shows up and delivers Dean’s namesake’s famous line.

History doesn’t repeat itself but it surely does rhyme…

Though unlike Sam, DJ’s hunt is truly one and done. He goes on the hunt and catches the bad guy but unlike his namesake, he puts himself first. He gets back to school, makes his own graduate school interview and graduates, leaving hunting in the rear view.

He leaves it up to Jody Jr and Mary Jr to find their parents and discover what’s truly going on.

Dean John “DJ” Winchester

I do like the name Dean John Winchester so that’s what I’m dubbing him. Except he hates his name! Dean Jr insists on going by DJ and only DJ. Because of Sam’s whole complex with Dean at the end of the story I’m thinking in this post-canon universe he projects hard into DJ, trying to rekindle what he had with his older brother. Despite this, he adores his Uncle Dean.

Dean Sr is the only that DJ let’s call him by his first name.

In this regard, I think Dean Jr is a lot like his father was as at his age, rebellious and snarky. Though his younger sisters would describe him more along the lines of being arrogant and stubborn. He is often the exasperated voice of reason when it comes to his relationship with his father and siblings.

DJ argues with his father constantly whenever they are together. His father became fixated on vengeance after his Uncle’s death but still held out hope he could get him back. When he did, things got better but Sam was never quite right. He always kept looking for the next monster to burry his troubles in. DJ just wanted a happy family, like he had in his childhood.

His problems with authority aren’t limited to his father. DJ is extremely smart and very knowledgeable about technology. Because this his intellect, DJ wants to go into cyber security. Although, he has a habit hacking websites to take down corrupt individuals and organizations for fun. That being said, DJ can be quite kind and empathetic, when it comes to anyone other than his father.

He values his family's safety over anything else. DJ and Jody Jr bond over their love of gaming and tv shows. DJ also has a taste for electro-pop and left politics. He and Eileen share a love of languages and knife collecting.

DJ is also agnostic despite his ‘older brother’ being God. He is skeptical with regard to the ‘good aspects of religion’, knowing how that worked out for his family. Unlike his namesake, DJ is not good with kids. While he knows how to handle his siblings, he doesn’t much care for other people’s kids. He is also quite intelligent and of Sam’s kids, prefers to research over actively hunting. He also dabbles in witchcraft and has learned a lot from his Aunt Rowena.

Jody Charlie “JC” Winchester

Jody is unapologetically and authentically herself. An out and proud lesbian, Jody is very outspoken about LGBTQ+ rights. She also quite brave and a self-confident young woman. She’s a practicing witch and the protégée of her Aunt Rowena.

Jody Jr is openly flirtatious yet she very often avoids emotional intimacy. In her relationships, JC seeks to conceal much about herself. She puts up a laid-back and well-disposed persona, playing off her want for affection and validation. She often covers for this with crude humor, pop culture references, and her use of Internet slang. She developed a light-hearted demeanor that belied how ruthless she could be.

Jody often feigns a warm and sweet disposition towards others in order to manipulate them and gain their trust. Growing up, many prior thought she was somewhat timid and could be easily intimidated. She used this image to her advantage to get what she wants. She takes great pride in her deceit and devious nature.

JC has witty, sarcastic sense of humor that she used to tease and banter with others. She tries to act nonchalant even under tense conditions, such as the threat of death. Despite this, she had a tendency to make light of tense situations.

She has a fondness for classic horror films and westerns. JC also enjoys uncomplicated things in life, such as good food and television. She also often relies on magic for basically everything, often to her detriment. Despite putting on a tough exterior, Jody Jr is barely keeping it together on a good day.

Mary Jessica “MJ” Winchester

Mary Jr, or MJ, is the baby of the group and the most unpredictable. Born a psychic, Mary possessed many of her father’s powers and mental fortitude. However, unlike her siblings, MJ is cheerful and energetic. She likes to look on the bright side and is a happy-go-lucky girl.

She strives to make friends with her fellow hunters and everyone she meets. MJ is kind-hearted girl who always supports her siblings endeavors. bonds. She is very carefree and tends to slack off on hunts.

MJ has a very strong sense of perseverance and is very determined. Though this leads to her being quite reckless and she is often getting herself into messes that her siblings have to fix. Despite this her positive, can-do attitude tends to rub off on those around her.

Due to her usual positive nature, however, she tends to hide her more sensitive side, and tries hard to not cry when she is frustrated, as she feels it would drag down others' morale if they were to see her sad. MJ is also an avid fan of podcasts, particularly those on cold cases and unsolved murders. She and her dad been me over their love of these.

[awfuckward]

do u think if jack wanted to/thought abt it he coulda yoinked gods powers at the end of s14?

would the villain of s15 then be amara like. idk for some reason trying to get some info/retribution? (big bad amara is just cool. id just like to see it.)

[casmick-consequences]

Keeping everything up to the end of 15x18 canon, what would you have liked in the last two episodes of SPN? How would you have ended it for Cas, Jack Dean and Sam?

Anything at all, your wildest dreams, go nuts!

this'll be a long one lmao

Well, Dean Sam and Jack get Cas out of the Empty, obviously. They defeat God the same way they did, only Jack gives all the power to Amara and she herself becomes "the Almighty Balance of the Universe between Light and Darkness (Dean refers to her as the A.B.U.L.D.)" or whatever. They bid her farewell and she's off to do her God duties. Then, for angst, Dean tries to avoid the fuck out of the confessional for angst purposes, and because he needs to deal with his own shit/sexuality/etc, which is fine by Cas because he never expected him to reciprocate anyway. Sam and Eileen get married and they're both the Best Man for either sides. (Yes Eileen gets a best man because she said so. And it's Dean, since Sam hogged Cas.). Since Dean is still up his own ass, and Cas decides he doesn't wanna wait for something that isn't coming, he tries online dating. He matches with one "HogwartsReject78" and they start texting. On their first date, Cas finds out that this was (insert magical resurrection by witch or whatever the fuck, it's spn, death never lasts) Mick Davies. So they date, it's all very cute, and Cas gets some loving that he deserves :) And Dean is PISSED the FUCK off over this. Not even because it's Mick, just because he's dating AT ALL. Like,,,, "how DARE he not wait for ME to get MY repressed head out of MY ass?" So he's all pissy like "well, so much for that love speech, guess it didn't matter, huh." And then they fight, it's nasty, Cas leaves the bunker and moves in with Mick. So then Dean calms down, he wants to apologize to Cas and he wants to be happy because Cas deserves to be happy even if it isn't with him. Then Dean goes on a self-discovery to find himself, he gets therapy, basically fixes all his bad repressed shit going on with him, because he wants to be better. Not just for Cas, but for himself. And also for Jack, because he treated them like garbage™ and he doesn't wanna be like that anymore. Somewhere around this time, Jack also had a selfdiscovery and they discovered that they were nonbinary. They went over to Cas and Mick's place first to tell Cas bc Cas is the most important alive person in their life right now, and they thought he deserved to know first. Cas OFCOURSE was incredibly supportive and gave them nothing but love and encouragement. Sam and Dean had a little trouble, but Dean went out of his way to make the kid feel more at home so he bought nb merchandise for them (shirts/flags/etc) and Jack was very touched that Dean would do this for them. They told Cas about this and this is where Cas wanted to talk to Dean to make up. Because if there's one way to get to Cas's heart, it's through his kid. They make up, it's very sweet, but Cas starts catching feelings for him again.

From here on I have two perfect universes, which co-exist because I said so <3

In one, Cas has a talk with Mick about these complicated feelings and Mick tells him that he's been sensing it for a while. He knows that Cas longs for Dean and to have Dean with him, and it's okay. He's just glad that he had a chance to show Cas what being loved and cared for feels like. They have a healthy breakup and stay in touch throughout their lives. But Cas and Dean reconcile, they get together, and basically happy family all that jazz. In the other, Cas decides that Mick is enough for him, and that all this time with Mick truly has shown Cas that he does not need Dean to be happy. They start their own family and adopt a little daughter together, a little sister for Jack (who is overjoyed, as they always wanted a little sibling) and they live happily ever after.

I just want Cas to be loved, damn it :')

[p0ssyum]

God!Jack Headcanons

jack isn't gone forever : there's No Fucking Way that he'll be able to stay away from his family for the rest of ever, the "i'll be around." line wasn't just for a metaphor, he's just a call (or prayer) away.

he still has a physical form : he's always had a body because he's still human. he's got a true form, sure, but he's neither fully angel nor fully human so he's got a body still.

that fade off was him walking into heaven : the gates have been opened since 14×08 (thanks to the empty), so he was able to just enter his "new job".

him and amara are in harmony but in a different way : once he entered heaven, they seperated into their own forms because they want to be their own people and he felt that it wasn't fair to just keep her "trapped" in his body. this way they get to co-exist, but they're not constantly together because they'd probably go fucking bonkers that way.

not hands on but not hands off : he's got a lot to clean up after chuck, personal and worldly things. plus, he's too empathetic to just see people in desperate need and refuse to help even when he has more than enough abilities to do so.

him and rowena have "ruler brunch" every other sunday because rowena misses her boy.

[postmodernmulticoloredcloak]

I would love for you to talk more indepth about the montage. To me it feels so off and weird. Almost like a parody? So many scenes in it are "funny" moments that just don't make sense in the context of an emotional overview of the road so far... (Like all the scenes where Dean is eating, Donna with donut dust on her face, Sam getting hit during the game show.) I don't know. Isn't the montage supposed to make me nostalgic, teary-eyed? This one definitely doesn't do it for me!

Here I am! Yes, I absolutely agree. The montage is Weird(TM). It’s kind of a tone rollercoaster. It’s very full of funny/silly moments, with some serious moments smacked in. And it definitely looks like... there’s something about it.

For an easier consultation I will reference the gifs I have made of the montage sequence here.

[Gif 1] It starts pretty much like I’d expect a Supernatural goodbye montage to start. The two brothers meeting for the first time in the pilot, a reminder of their childhood with John, their banter still from the pilot, a couple moments of them driving in the car in the first seasons, Dean saving Lucas in 1x03 which is the first Dean-heavy episode and also an extremely symbolic moment for Dean’s entire journey - just think at how Lucas as a mirror was still relevent during the “drowning” Michael possession arc. Everything feels normal so far. We’re starting from the beginning! Now--

[Gif 2] Interesting and weird choices start here. Them pretending to be high school teachers from After School Special 4x13 - actually a very iconic moment for the fandom, remember that post of Dean in shorts from that episode that you had to reblog when it came on your dash? (Actually I’m not sure if I ever reblogged it lol.) Dean celebrating getting young again from The Curious Case of Dean Winchester 5x07 (and Jensen showing off his agility). The two of them showing their FBI badges to Jesse Turner’s biological mother in 5x06. Dean mowing the lawn of Mary’s house in the Djinn dream and immediately after Jess and Sam kissing also in the Djinn dream, from What Is And What Should Never Be 2x20. Then Dean after killing the witch when he was under the memory loss spell, in Regarding Dean 12x11. Sam happy when they celebrate Christmas in A Very Supernatural Christmas 3x08. Them being “lucky” under the effect of the rabbit’s foot in Bad Day At Black Rock 3x03. Sam also happy in Baby 11x04.

Again the present, then the montage starts again with the water-related ghost from Red Sky At Morning 3x06, a Bela episode, and then Bela herself from her first episode, 3x03 again.

What do these moments have in common? Not all of them, but for many of them I’d say reality being manipulated. The Djinn dream, the rabbit foot, Dean’s aging, the Antichrist... and it’s not over yet. Also, them pretending to be teachers, agents etc - not “real”.

[Gif 3] The tone suddenly gets more serious and relevant to current events: Chuck in The Monster at the End of This Book 4x18 (eh). Death in Two Minutes to Midnight 5x21 (the first appearance of Death, while now we’ve had Billie’s last and a very short-lived new one), and then two major moments from Lazarus Rising - Dean emerging from the grave and finding the handprint on his shoulder. Crowley’s first episode, Abandon All Hope 5x10. Zachariah’s death in Point Of No Return 5x18. Anna from The Song Remains The Same 5x13, where she is the antagonist having been brainwashed successfully by heaven. Michael burning and Sam jumping in the cage with Michael in 5x22, then another moment from 4x01 (the brothers hugging after reuniting). A moment from The French Mistake 6x15 (reality fuckery again!). Sam in Frontierland 6x18.

[Gif 4] Reality fuckery continues with Becky marrying Sam in 7x08. Funnily enough, this is the peak of Becky’s obsessive behavior which she went to therapy for and grew away of - it definitely emphasizes how far Becky has come. Donna’s first appeance in 9x13. That iconic shot of Dean in Bloodlust 2x03 because he’s pretty. Charlie’s first appearance in 7x20 while she dances to Walking On Sunshine (relevant?), Kevin’s first appearance in 7x21 when he becomes a prophet (lots of firsts). Abaddon’s first appearance in As Time Goes By 8x12. Then there’s the first appearance of the bunker, in the next episode, a couple shots in fact. Then more 4x01, Ruby pretending to mistake Dean for the pizza man (eh). Then more present...

This section seems to be mostly “first appearances” - including Ruby’s s4 meatsuit, i.e. Genevieve’s first appearance.

[Gif 5] We suddenly jump to more recent events with Kelly and Jack in heaven in Byzanthium 4x08. Jack’s iconic hello from 4x16 Don’t Go In The Woods. Dean teaching Jack how to drive in 14x07 Unhuman Nature. But then we suddenly go from Jack things to something completely different on the surface: two consecutive moments from Changing Channels 5x08, including the iconic Nutcracker scene, and Sully from Just My Imagination. We are actually back to the previous theme: reality fuckery. Gabriel’s episode was about placing them in “television shows”, Sully, while real, is literally a child’s “imaginary friend”. And then... a moment from the cartoon part of Scoobynatural! It doesn’t get more reality fuckery than that. Oh, wait! Charlie and Dorothy going to Oz in 9x04. That’s a pretty strong contender. Dean being hit in the face by a fairy in 6x09 - also about a realm Dean briefly went to. And, in case we felt like we hadn’t gotten enough 4x01 yet, Pamela’s first appearance (her last, albeit a hallucination, was about the whole “How come you only want what you can't have?” thing).

[Gif 6] We continue again with a mixture of firsts and weird things. Ellen’s first appearance in 2x02, Dean and Cas in 4x18 (we saw Chuck from that episode earlier), Jody’s first appearance in 5x15 Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid. Rufus in 6x04 Weekend At Bobby’s (not his first but a good episode...), Garth in 9x12 Sharp Teeth (not his first but the first in which he is a werewolf and is married... relevant to recent lamp events??), Missouri in 1x09 (her first appearance).

Then Gabriel from 13x21 Beat The Devil (an episode where he plays a trick on Lucifer) and Rowena from the same scene (in fact a scene where they’re flirting).  Then Eileen coming back to life in 15x06 and smiling at Sam. Jo flirting with Dean in 2x02 - her first appearance, again. Funnily enough, she had been introduced as a love interest, but ended up being repurposed as a sisterly figure. Tempted to say it’s relevant in an ironic way. Mary in 14x11 Damaged Goods, when Dean has a goodbye mother-son moment with her. Amara in 11x09 Oh Brother Where Art Thou when she was looking for her brother. Then Lucifer in two different vessels (12x07 Rock Never Dies and 12x21, when Lucifer regains control over the vessel).

Then Metatron doing the find a wife make babies speech to Cas in 8x23! Relevant??? Dun dun dun. Then Ketch for some reason (the first episode where we see his face, 12x08 LOTUS).

[Gif 7] Then Jo/Anael in 13x13, another first appearance. (I cropped these horribly I should have cut them when the present happens lol.)

Sandwiched between two shots from the present, Dean Sam Mary and John having dinner together in 14x13 Lebanon.

Then we start again with Dean riding Larry in 12x11, Dean and Cas dressed as cowboys in 13x06 (mini pattern here...), Asmodeus with the archangel blade in 13x13 (insert meta about Asmodeus in Christian lore here), and the really intriguing “Intermission” shot from the play in 10x05.

[Gif 8] To continue a certain pattern we might be tempted to see, Dean eating piecake from 14x06 Optimism (an episode about a distorted version of romantic love), then Dean eating noodles from 10x13 Halt & Catch Fire (the ghost is a husband that passes on thanks to his wife). Dean after his dentistry session with Garth in 15x10. Meg from 6x10 Caged Heat (the episode with the pizza man porn). Dean and Sam investigating in 4x12 Criss Angel Is a Douchebag (an episode about growing old poorly). Crowley in 10x16 Paint It Black (that episode). Dean playing that game in 14x17 Game Night (the episode Cas calls for God, and when Mary dies - the one playing the game was God...). Sam and Dean getting out of the car in 13x05 when they visit the traumatized kid (peak mourning Dean episode...). Then we go into reality fuckery territory again with 14x15 Peace of Mind, Sam under the psychic’s control and Cas disgruntled about it.

[Gif 9] Mick Davies from 12x16 Ladies Drink Free, when he learnt a lesson about monsters. Dean geeking out about the Hatchet Man - so heavy with mirror significances - in 14x04 Mint Condition. Belphegor - Jack’s dark mirror - in 15x03 The Rupture, the break-up episode. Donna’s first episode again, this time Dean and she eating donuts. Dean, Sam and Mary hugging in 12x22 after the confrontation in Mary’s head. Kaia in 13x09 The Bad Place, when Jack uses her to find the way to where Mary is (Mary pattern?). Claire&co rescuing Jody and Donna in 13x10 Wayward Sisters. Dean in 1944 dresses as a sailor in 11x14 The Vessel. Baby nyooming in 15x11 The Gamblers...

Aaand more Changing Channels, the genital herpes ad. It’s almost like reality fuckery is a theme. Followed by Sam drinking the anti-cold concoction at Garth’s in 15x10 and the two of them outside the monster fighting pit in the same episode. Then Cas, Dean, Sam and Jack on a video call with Ketch in 14x09 The Spear when they talk about the egg to trap Michael.

[Gif 10] We stay in the same episode with the four of them heading to Michael. Then the four of them celebrating Jack’s return to life (after Cas’ deal with the Empty). More present, and then the iconic “we’ve got work to do” [trunk closes] moment from the pilot.

So: some of these moments seem like genuine moments you’ll want to put in a montage, but there’s a weird predominance of characters smiling and looking happy or goofy. It’s kind of... not exactly representative of the show as a whole, you know? There are moments that fit as, you know, iconic steps in the story, but surprisingly few, and many moments you’d expect to be in a “final” montage are blatantly not there. Several moments with, let’s put it like this, suspicious meta connotations. Moments that, well, we don’t know what happens in the finale yet, but smell like they might be relevant to future developments. (Metatron’s speech to newly human Cas anyone?)

What really strikes me is the amount of moments connected to reality being manipulated or distorted in some way. Lots of Changing Channels, fantasy elements of various kinds (the Djinn dream, Scoobynatural, Oz, the imaginary friend Becky’s wedding to Sam, the fairy, ...), them acquiring luck (s3) or losing it (s15), and so on. It’s almost like the sequence is telling us something...

Thoughts?

[redlenai]

Imagine if we could have like.

Destiel lived on the last season and we had a cute story and ending like in Pretty Boy

Or imagine Saileen and Destiel starting their own lives with a montage like in The Sims 3 Generations Expansion Pack

Both are fricking wholesome and my fix-it headcanon works like that.

Sam and Eileen get the Bunker and create Hunter Co from this world. Castiel and Dean get their own little cabin near a lake, Dean is the one finishing college because he know he can do anything he want.

Depending, I either like the idea of Jack rejecting being God and leaving that to Amara but in order to do so, his human vessel is just "another Jack" that doesn't have the memories nor powers AlCal!Jack had. Or just Castiel and Dean enjoying a quiet Apple Pie life getting old together. Dean Jr is a spoiled kid, loved by all his family <3

[couragehopelovefaith]

I generally like to think that the last episode and some parts of the second last episode of SPN don’t exist, but mostly (besides Destiel/Deancas-reunion) I was hugely missing more content between Jack and Dean. Dean really was harsh and mean to Jack at the beginning (none of it was Jack’s fault and he deserved a proper apology and sincere amends, but I understand where Dean was coming from at that point), but their relationship started to grow into something beautiful and they really started to care and see each other as parts of their family. Then the whole Mary/losing soul/Chuck’s manipulation-thing happened and things crashed down (gently expressed). I really like the scenes between them in 15x14 and how worried and guilty Dean was about the state of Jack in 15x18 (I seriously can never even write the number of that episode without getting teary-eyed), but there was so much to unpack and to discuss between them, and it all was basically thrown away when they rushed things and made Jack embrace his God-powers so quickly after defeating Chuck. I would’ve liked the scenario where Jack gives his powers to Amara or co-works with her, but if he had to become God permanently, it should’ve happened slowly. He deserved his parking tickets, his McDonalds-experiences, his trip to Tahiti...to get the tan and see the hockey-game...get bored. Not the scenario where he takes the whole world on his shoulders again and disappears literally to God knows where to never been seen again.

I know that Dean isn’t the most open person, but he deserved to discuss some things with people. Especially with Jack. Sincere apology should’ve been the essential start and the least they should’ve done. I truly believe that Dean saw very much himself in Jack (the more I rewatch this show, the more parallels I see) and when he saw Jack admiring him and wanting to be like him, it scared him. Because it is canon, that he liked kids and was mostly great with them,  but he spend so much time thinking that his personality, past and his job made him “the person that should not be let in one’s dinner-table”. He struggled with the fight between wanting to please his father (or any other higher power than himself) and be like him, and also wanting to be different than him and being very scared of him and scarred of his actions. 

I deeply love that he was step by step starting to heal from his past, see by different people that things aren’t as black and white as his father taught him, and become his own person. But sometimes, especially in some kind of dejavu-situations, you take steps back and notice that you are repeating the same patterns because of your past and experiences. And they should’ve let Dean to deal with the fact that he notices that he has been acting like his father more than he would’ve ever wanted or intended to (”You try so hard not to be one thing, and then it is exactly what you turn out to be”).

 I just would’ve loved to see him discuss these things with Jack a little by little over time. I think it is also really sad that he never told Jack on screen about what happened with Emma, and Lisa and Ben, because those events give me so many association to their relationship as well. And in my head, Dean would say something like this: “I’m sorry. I was a total jerk and was seeing things too black and white. Those things I’ve done to you lately... Chuck’s manipulation and hurt involved or not... I never want to be that close to my father again. Even though I forgot it for a while, you were just a child and didn’t deserve any of this. You lost your soul for us, saving us. And you have kept saving us since the day you were born. You are our family, kid. I’m not gonna promise some miracle-speed-changes, but I’ll truly try and do better. You have every right to be upset, but if you ever wanna talk about anything, my ears are on.” I also would’ve adored to hear him say something about at first seeing Lucifer “When I first looked at you, I saw Lucifer. But over time I’ve gotten to learn that you have more Cas in you than I ever realized.” It would’ve been especially touching if at least that part of the discussion would’ve happened shortly after Cas’ death and before they started planning to bring him back (because in my scenario that happens, no questions asked). 

Okay, rant over. Just wanted to get this out of my system. 

[diminuel]

Okay, I live in a world of denial, so here is some vague theory about what is yet to come for Cas.

More under the cut because this is long and contains spoilers for 15x18!

I don’t think Castiel’s story is properly wrapped up. It could be an ending for him; he made a sacrifice to protect the man he love, in doing so revealing the underlying reason for all he did in all of Supernatural. (Confirming, what Metatron - who is much more aware of the story Chuck’s been writing and doesn’t have a Cas shaped blind spot - knew years ago. All Cas did, it was for one human.) I think the fact that Cas made a conscious choice to die protecting what he loves the most, was brave and beautiful.

And yet. I want him back, he can take an eternal nap later. Cas’ story still has some unfinished chapters. I’ll talk about three main issues:

First; Heaven dying. This has been showed to be an issue for Cas to address and for Jack to potentially fix. Which he might have partially done by making a couple of human angels (still interesting). However, the topic has been dropped a while ago now. And while I find that irritating, Cas doesn’t need to fix heaven’s problems even though he had no small part in causing them to be quite honest. On top of that, Michael has returned and Heaven seemed fine the last time we saw it. If that isn’t prettily wrapped up or Cas has no hand in it, then fine. I can live with that.

Second; Dean. I don’t believe for one moment that Dean wouldn’t try whatever he can to get Cas back. He gave up after Cas died at the end of S12, however, now Dean knows something he didn’t know back then: people can come back from the Empty and that the Empty can be summoned. There’s no way he’s just going to accept Cas’ death and move on with his life. Not even if people again came with the “it was his choice” topi, like Sam argued back when Cas was possessed by Lucifer. Dean didn’t let that deter him then and unless something monumental happens to make Dean not want Cas back (fat chance, even if Dean doesn’t love him back, Cas is still his best friend who died to save his ass), he will fight.

Third; the Empty. The Empty might have gotten its revenge on Cas by pulling him in. However, the Empty still is faced with a horrible problem: it’s so LOUD. Betrayed by Billie, there’s no way that the Empty is able to go back to sleep, not even with the satisaction of raining on Cas’ parade. It would be phenomenally bad writing if they didn’t address this issue and just forget that the Empty exists. I trust SPN too much to be so painfully lazy.

Now, let’s expand on this!

Initially, my theory was that Billie’s plan for how to take on God would parallel the end of S11, in which Billie also contributed one main ingredient. In order to destroy Amara, Billie gathered up all the souls in the veil (emptying it out completely) and with Rowena’s help they were transferred into Dean, who became a living bomb, powerful enough to destroy Amara. I assumed Billie would repeat that with Jack; first make sure his body is strong enough to house that massive amount of power (Cas couldn’t hold Purgatory, Dean wasn’t going to survive the souls for long). Instead of loading the bomb (Jack) up with souls form the veil, my assumption was that she would keep her deal with the Empty and have all the dead angels and demons transferred into Jack; that way Jack would be powered up immensely AND the Empty would have peace and quiet. I also thought the fact that we were introduced to Belphegor - inside Jack’s body - trying to suck up demons to power up to a god-like status, was foreshadowing it happening with Jack as well. Only that he’d succeed where Belphegor had failed. 

But Billie had another plan and whatever she had promised the Empty didn’t come to pass. On the contrary; Billie just made it worse by having Jack explode inside of it. Now it’s loud. And now Cas comes into the Emtpy when it’s already very agitated. And SPN wants me to believe that this won’t lead to some interesting things? The Empty can’t even enjoy its win when it’s so busy being overwhelmed by the noise.

On top of that, Ruby begged Cas to get her out. So far Cas hasn’t even tried to do anything with that. And maybe it won’t go anywhere, just like the Huntercorp Winchester and Anael characters seem to be going nowhere, but it was a BL episode and we have a BL episode coming up next. (Besides, BL might do something nasty like bringing Lucifer back and if that dude can come back out of the Empty then Cas can too.)

In any case, I still see a good chance in Cas, who is INSIDE the Empty now, helping fix the Empty and giving it back peace and quiet. Possibly by making sure all of its contents are tossed back into Heaven, Hell and Earth. Sure, there’d be major downsides of the Empty being emptied out (Lucifer, Azazel, Lilith and co ALL active on Earth and in Hell at the same time? No thanks). But all this is Cas we’re talking about; Cas who pressured an ancient cosmic being into returning him to earth. If Cas sees a chance to get back out, by striking up another deal (I help you, you get rid of me) then I don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t take it.

As you can see in my essay here, there’s no way Castiel’s story is done and it would be very, very disappointing if this truly was the end. 

What do you think?

[justjensenanddean]

Although Supernatural’s return date is unknown, when it does come back, there will be seven episodes left to air of its final season, and EW has a first look at a couple of the hours. 

 Not only will Supernatural’s final run of episodes feature the return of the Apocalypse World’s Charlie (Felicia Day), but co-showrunner Andrew Dabb promises that our world’s Charlie is coming back as well. 

Earlier this season, Dean posed a question: Will they need to kill Amara if they kill God? It looks like the Winchesters will be talking directly to God's sister when the show returns. 

“The episode when we come back is a really fun meta episode that allows you to see basically every holiday you want Sam and Dean to celebrate,” co-showrunner Andrew Dabb says. “Carving jack-o’-lanterns, carving the turkey, birthdays, it’s all there.” 

Co-showrunner Robert Singer adds, “The boys get a visitor in the bunker who is quite the character. She basically says to them, ‘You’ve been holed up in this bunker, you’ve missed all these holidays.’”    [x]

[petersthree]

I can’t stop thinking about Jesse Turner and Jack Kline after messaging @shortkinggabriel‘s blog so I would just like to say this out of left field thing I’d like to see - if Jack were to be God, that he could share the responsibility with Jesse: 

These two intrinsically understand each other better than anyone else. They are two half-humans who because of their other half (angel/Satan, demon) were told that they would bring about destruction and the end of the world. And then they...didn’t. They rejected that role and said that no, screw that, they were good and they weren’t doing this part. Seriously, if anything shows free will that is exemplified in those two. 

Honestly I’d rather Jack have not become God but like, still, if he did it’d be very neat to have him have a buddy who gets what it’s all about?They’re both (physically) the same age, at around 19/20ish at this point but they’re also two kids who didn’t get much of a childhood so even if they’re together and apart they still have company?? And they teach each other about the things they did have in their childhood (Jack proudly shows off his teddy bears) and they just explore life together. 

Instead of Amara being deceived by literally every man in her life by the end and then absorbed into God (which she’s seemingly? Okay with?) she gets to live her own life because there’s a new balance in the world - an angel and a demon, a different iteration of the “light and dark” balance. 

This would?? Probably also help with keeping Hell in line too tbh? Like Rowena is wonderful and amazing but not everyone seemed pleased and they could have coups all the time, not so much if one of the Co-Gods was also half demon. 

It would be incredibly funny watching Cas watch these two become close when he was this close to killing Jesse back in season 5 

idk I just keep thinking about them and if they interacted. And if Jack is going to fuck off to some void somewhere as God, he deserves a buddy. Also I just still cannot believe they introduced the literal antichrist who could fight against Heaven, had him be good, and then never once thought to bring him back afterwards

[hermywolf]

ideally if spn knew how to keep some characters alive and stop killing everyone the cast would be like this. this is entirely self-indulging and isn’t really meant to be perceived but i wanted to put it somewhere

1) team free will that lives in the bunker, aka dean, sam, cas, jack, eileen. dean and cas are dating, sam and eileen are dating, they all co-parent jack, who is a nephilim and not god because he’s THREE YEARS OLD FFS, and he just uses his powers in the most random and fun ways but it’s a nightmare for his parents. they hunt sometimes but mostly parent jack and they turned the bunker into this welcoming place for lonely wayward hunters in which they can find a room, food, books about the supernatural, and a little family

2) reccurent characters, live in hell: rowena and crowley. they have family drama all the time and either show up when tfw needs their help because of demon/witch related stuff, or when they had a fight with the others and want to rant to them (crowley rants to deancas and wants to fuck both of them but is not succeeding at all, rowena rants to saileen and does fuck both of them once in a while). they’re jack’s cool uncle and auntie, rowena keeps bringing jack gifts so he loves her

3) less reccurent, also in hell: belphegor, meg and bela (all demons) all just kinda hang out in hell. they try to overthrow the mcleods once in a while, kinda out of principle because they don’t really know what they’d do if they won. crowley hates all of them with a passion, meanwhile rowena pretends she hates them not to upset crowley but she’s actually slept with all of them and is still fucking bela. bela and dean are friends but have a love/hate relationship, meg is cas’s friend who tries to make him break up with dean, and to cas’s great disappointment belphy and jack somehow became friends

4) recurrent angels on earth: anna, gabriel and balthazar, only angels still in touch with cas. whenever he has a fight with the winchesters over petty stuff like leaving the dishes in the sink he goes to see them and they alway try to get him drunk. tfw calls them when they need help with angelic stuff or just kinda wanna hang out. anna and dean ended up being friends and dean rants to anna about cas while she rants to him about jo. it’s funny because dean sees jo as a sister and anna sees cas as a brother so all their conversations about their love lives are laced with an awareness that the other WILL murder them if they hurt their sibling

5) less recurrent, in heaven: all the other angels. anael is leading heaven. cas doesn’t like heaven’s angels, and they don’t like him either, but he does talk to anael once in a while

6) henriksen. it’s very important to me that he’s fine and that he DOESN’T know about the supernatural so he’s just constantly trying to catch the winchesters and there’s at least a couple episodes per season of sam and dean’s shenagrians with the law and more specifically henriksen. dean and henriksen have that relationship in which they’re technically enemies but also like. actually really good friends. like they’re each other’s lawful nemesis but would never let the other die. and also they definitely fucked at some point. crowley Does Not like henriksen because he has what he wishes he had with dean

7) the wayward sisters, obviously. jody and donna (NO LONGER COPS THANK YOU VERY MUCH), claire, patience, kaia, alex. kaia and claire are dating, claire, alex and jack are basically siblings. we see claire and kaia often because they show up at the bunker, and we see the others because tfw often goes to their place to have lunch and hunt monsters

8) amara and chuck. in my version of spn chuck was never the villain and is just s11 chuck. they’re both still the darkness and god, so they’re like, super powerful, but they don’t really do much, they just show up once a season at the bunker to hang out and fix the winchester’s problems (amara) and cause more problems the winchesters have to fix (chuck). dean loves when amara comes over, they rant about their annoying little siblings they actually love, while just. painting each other’s nails or something. (yes i did make dean best friends with all his exes and that’s because his exes are all fun and sexy) sam doesn’t really care about amara. on the other hand when chuck shows up sam wants to ask him a ton of questions while dean HATES him because he eats all their food, leaves his socks everywhere, sings loudly in the shower and keeps watching dean’s porn in the middle of the fucking kitchen. they can’t really kick him out, since, well, he’s god, but dean does try every time

9) the hunting veterans: ellen and ash are still in the roadhouse, we see them once in a while. bobby, rufus and mary are alive and important in the hunting community. yes, rufus and bobby are dating. and you know what? mary and ellen too. mary deserves a gf. yes im a mary apologist fuck y’all

10) my personal favorites, charlie, cassie, garth, jo and kevin. cassie became a hunter and is amazing, she’s good friends with dean and charlie has a massive crush on her. jo is dating anna and they both hunt once in a while and often hang out with the wayward sisters and the roadhouse crew. garth basically has the same relationship with tfw that he has in the show, because honestly his character is one of the few fun cute things they didn’t screw up. charlie and kevin do have their own lives but they spend so much time at the bunker, they’re really close to all of tfw and are unofficial members of tfw too, they have movie nights and have time to be happy and chill as they fucking DESERVED, they’re basically dean and sam’s adopted little siblings and it’s amazing

[canonicallysoulmates]

Supernatural 15.17

I don’t have a lot to say about this because with the exception of one scene I didn’t really care for this episode so I’m just gonna go through this quickly so we can get to the point where I can talk about what I wanna talk about which is the amazing brother scene at the end.  

Also, I’m half asleep so if this comes off as rushed that’s because it was.

I’m gonna do this with the format that the epi had. It was like divided into three segments, Amara, Dean, and Sam, so I’m gonna just grab that format and run with it….

Amara 

After realizing that her brother was back on Earth and warning the boys about it, Amara is having a peaceful moment when Chuck appears. He tells her he wants to do a total reset but needs her help, she tells him she’s on no one’s side but someone needs to protect that world, he’s all ‘you don’t even care about it’ and she tells him to walk with her as they have a moment reminiscent of the one between Chuck and Metraton in Don’t Call Me Shurley with Amara acting as Chuck. Then she takes him to Heaven to meet his fan club, blah, blah, blah point is she wants true balance for them to co-exist side by side but he doesn’t so she traps him in the Bunker so the boys can do their thing. 

Moving on...

Dean 

While that’s going on, Dean and Jack are on their way to complete the final task so Jack can kill Chuck. They meet Adam, as in from Adam and Eve and I don’t mean the sex store, he’s the one to give Jack his final task which consists of him figuring out which rock has been touched by God and I will admit I did like the answer which was, all of them because God is in everything. Anyways, he passes his test, Adam has his girlfriend tear out one of his ribs and tells them when Jack absorbs it he’ll turn into a black hole for celestial beings like Chuck and Amara. They head back home but before they do, Dean has a little moment with Jack where he thanks him for what he’s about to do and tries to make up for being a total ass earlier in the episode because he told Sam Jack wasn’t family and Jack heard him. 

Quick note: When Dean said Jack wasn’t family, he also said that he wasn’t like Sam or like feathers but we all know that if it came down to it he’d throw C overboard without second thought; those two are not on the same level in Dean’s life something this episode itself shows us later on.

I’m not sure if this is Jack’s last episode, I think it is, if it is I hate that he got to have a moment with Dean but not Sam….

Anyways,

Sam

While Amara was doing her thing and Dean and Jack were off on their quest, Sam was back at the bunker with feathers trying to find another way to stop Chuck without Jack having to die. They do some research, Sam remembers there’s a key to Death’s library in the Bunker, they go look for it, find it, he reads some latin the key does its thing, he walks into the library to find a bunch of dead bodies and….The Empty who still looks like Meg sitting on Billie’s chair. Nice to see Rachel again. 

There Billie’s true plan is revealed she plans to take over as God when Chuck and Amara are destroyed and the show puts it as a horrible thing but honestly the things she wants to do sound a-okay to me like angel’s going back to heaven, AU! Bobby and Charlie going bye-bye, Eileen dying again but whatever to be honest I don’t care too much. 

And Billie’s not the only one with a secret plan because Amara didn’t trap Chuck, he planned it! He’s known about the boys plan all along. 

But who cares when we can talk about the shining moment of this episode, the best part of it, the moment when it became good!

So...Sam now knows Billie’s secret plan but Jack has already absorbed Adam’s rib and is ready to blow, Sam is insistent that they not go through with it but Dean refuses to listen and pulls his gun on Sam! Now, I’m gonna be honest, I’m not sure this season has explored Dean’s...let’s say, psychological status/emotional stability enough for him to be pulling a gun on Sam at this moment to feel natural like it doesn’t have the built up of anger like s4 or s10 did but whatever that’s a small pet peeve; anyways, Dean has Sam at gunpoint and punches him when Sam moves the gun away. 

Sam tried to tackle Dean when he continues leading Jack to Chuck and Dean elbows him off cause he doesn’t care if Billie takes over as God and that means the end of au!Bobby and Charlie, and Eileen he just wants Chuck dead, in his words he’d trade them all in a heartbeat for Chuck...so Sam asks “what about me? Would you trade me?”. 

My heart stopped, I literally gasped. 

Dean replies that Chuck has to die because he can’t live with him making them tapdance forever and Sam...Sam tells him he knows he feels that way but that he’s gotta trust him. And then…*choked up* he tells Dean the one thing in the whole world he could always count on, the only thing he’s ever known that was true was Dean protecting him. 

I am not doing that moment justice, y’all need to go look it up and watch it for yourselves and that’s not even a recommendation I am straight up telling you what to do. Gifs aren’t gonna do it justice, descriptions aren’t gonna do it justice you need to see it- Jared and Jensen’s acting in that scene 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

And then while Sam and Dean were having their moment, Chuck and Amara were also kinda having a moment where Chuck wanted to get her on his side sort of as a parallel to Sam and Dean, I liked that; truly, for me, the best scene in the whole entire episode was this one. 

And the whole thing ends with Chuck absorbing Amara (season 11 probs looking at this episode and thinking ‘am i a joke to you?’) and saying he’s done with the boys and co, and Jack collapsing to the ground. 

I’m gonna be honest other than the emotional moment between the brothers I don’t really care for this episode, it’s not bad per say,  it does have a tone of finality which I appreciate and a massive highlight I just don’t care for the majority of it and found it mostly boring but I guess it’s okay, at least it doesn’t seem to have any unforgivable sins 🤷‍♀️ 

Honestly, i’s an eh episode, watch it if you want to, don’t watch it if you don’t, as long as you see the brother moment which is like in the last 10mins, in my opinion, you don’t lose anything by not watching the entire thing. 

[drsilverfish]

The Rupture/ The Rapture - Subtextual Grammar and Castiel’s Relationship to Dean in 15x03

Hey everyone,

Catching up British time and just seen the ep, so looking forward to seeing all your posts and gifs shortly! Firstly, some musings of my own.

Has Berens’ ripped everyone’s hearts out already? That’s some pretty potent symbolism right there for heartbreak huh? (Sorry Ketch):

The Rupture recalls, in subtext, through visual symbolism, Castiel’s long narrative journey in relation to Dean. So that Dean and Cas’ break-up, already foreshadowed by Chuck and Amara’s “divorce” in Reno last week, at the end of the episode (for those following the symbolism) is given extra punch. 

Firstly, the title, The Rupture 15x03 deliberately recalls, following Dabb’s ouroboros (circular/ spiral) narrative structure, The Rapture 4x20. That episode was critical for Dean and Castiel’s relationship. Castiel rebelled against Heaven and entered Dean’s dreams (his intimate space) in order to try to warn him about the angels’ plans by passing him a love note:

In the subtextual grammar of the show, that pier incident, has become a symbol of Dean and Castiel’s intimate connection. For example in 14x10 Nihilism, you can see a pier at sunset with a figure standing on it in the background on the wall, behind Dean’s mind-Pamela:

And remember, mind-Pamela profoundly represents Dean’s feelings for Castiel in that episode. Recall her costume, with the winged necklace and the T-shirt symbolising Dean’s salvation from Hell by Cas? And mind-Pamela, in Rocky’s Bar, is someone Dean wants, but thinks he can’t have.

Of course, Castiel was dragged back to Heaven and punished for his disobedience in 4x20 The Rapture, yet, eventually, as we know, he rebelled again and chose to help Dean over Heaven. So, when Berens recalls The Rapture in his episode title, The Rupture, it is to remind us just how much Castiel has sacrificed for Dean. 

“I rebelled, and I did it, all of it.... for you” (5x02 Good God Y’All).

As Cas said to Dean last week, in 15x02 Raising Hell, what’s “real”, despite Chuck’s machinations?: “We are.”  

Cas can see (at that point) that his connection to Dean has profound meaning, at least for him (a profound bond, indeed) because Dean helped Cas finally break free of Heaven’s control. Something (we learn in 8x21 The Great Escapist) that Cas had been trying over and over to do for aeons, only to be mind-wiped and re-programmed again and again. Naomi tries to torture re-programme Cas, yet again, in 8x17 Goodbye Stranger, by getting him to murder endless Dean clones in Heaven (making it very clear that the source of Castiel’s free will and resistance is his connection to Dean specifically). BUT Cas’ bond with Dean is too strong, and he breaks free of Naomi’s conditioning when faced with the real Dean, bloodied and on his knees, telling him: “I need you.”

If anything in Chuck’s multiverse symbolises free will it is Castiel’s rebellion against Heaven for Dean. 

What Cas isn’t clear on, by 15x03, is that the “profound bond” continues to have any meaning for Dean himself. As he says, bitterly to Belphegor:

Cas: “Sam and Dean are just using you. Don’t mistake that for caring about you, because I an assure you, they don’t.”

Bel: “Wow, you learn that the hard way?”

The symbolism, of Castiel’s journey in relation to Dean, continues in 15x03 in the visual grammar, as we see Cas, literally, jumping into Hell:

which of course recalls what we all know so well - that Cas fought his way into Hell and rescued Dean from Alastair’s clutches and resurrected him:

Castiel (to Dean): “When we discovered Lilith’s plan for you, we laid siege to Hell, and we fought our way to get to you...” (4x16 On the Head of a Pin). 

This shot of Dean and Cas together in 15x03, literally at Hell’s mouth, with a gravestone between them, likewise symbolises that event (Castiel’s resurrection of Dean from Hell) as well as the present “death” of their relationship:

So, it’s no accident that the magical object Castiel is tricked by Belphegor into retrieving from Hell in 15x03 is Lilith’s crook. Because (as in the 4x16 quote above) Lilith was the demon who worked to ensure Dean was dragged to Hell, to be broken by Alastair (whom Belphegor re-mentioned, also not by accident, in 15x01 Back and to the Future) thus breaking the first seal to jumpstart Lucifer’s return and the apocalypse.

All these reminders of Castiel’s significance to Dean, of Castiel’s salvation of Dean, of how they averted Chuck’s apocalpyse before (in S5), together, at the very moment of their break-up.... 

So, when we see Castiel on his knees in Hell, reluctantly singing a praise hymn in Enochian to Lucifer in order to achieve access to Lilith’s crook, aka magic horn? (Belphegor explicitly refers to the crook as a “horn”).  

Well, in subtext, the magic horn (Lilith’s crook) can be read as a sexual metaphor. 

This symbolism is the juxtaposition of the sacred and the profane - an angel at prayer in Hell. 

And following the shot of Cas kneeling in Hell, we get this shot of Dean, looking down into the Hell-mouth...

A visual reversal of Castiel’s rescue of Dean from Hell in S4.

Castiel passes the “magic horn” to the demon wearing the body of his beloved son, Jack:

 Jack who always, in subtext, symbolised the (forbidden) love between Dean and Castiel (his adoptive parents) because, as a Nephilim, he was the product of (forbidden) human-angel congress. 

Here at the start of S15, we know Castiel is losing his angelic powers after trying to heal Sam’s God-wound, and the show has previously been quite clear that becoming human entangles Cas in the world of human sexuality. We’ve seen that in 5x04 The End  with Castiel and the orgies he shares with Future!Dean:

And we also saw it (crudely drawn by Bucklemming) in 9x03 I’m No Angel, when newly fallen Human!Cas has survival sex with the Reaper possessing April (yes, ugh - consent issues all round):

Belphegor pleading with Cas in Jack’s voice reminds us of everything Jack meant to Cas. Cas, after all, once towed Heaven’s party line and regarded Nephilim as “abominations”. We saw that in 8x22 Clip Show, when Metatron  inveigled Cas into killing a Nephilim, in order to obtain her heart, for his (subtext-heavy) angel-fall spell, and we also saw it in the flash-back sequences in 12x10 Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets when Cas believed Akobel deserved to die for (supposedly) fathering a Nephilim child with Lily.  

What was once profane to Cas has become sacred. 

Jack, and loving Jack, represented (among other things) for Castiel, some kind of accommodation with his own secret heart. If the child of an angel (Lucifer, no less) and a human could NOT be a monster, then maybe an angel loving a human might not be monstrous either, despite Heaven’s edicts. 

But then Jack (apparently) killed Mary, and the Winchester family, whose always previously shaky membership (for Cas), Jack’s co-adoption with Sam and Dean had cemented for him, was blown apart. 

In 15x03 Cas is forced to kill Belphegor wearing the body of Jack:

And the death of Jack’s Nephilim (human-angel union) image, becomes, in the visual grammar, a metaphor for the death of Castiel’s hope of any continuing union between him and Dean - the death, on Dean’s part, Cas believes, of the profound bond. Hence we get a corpse-shot:

And Castiel’s tears:

Castiel echoes (having absorbed them) Dean’s unkind (grief-stricken) words to him from 14x18 Absence, “You’re dead to me!”

Cas (to Dean): “I’m dead to you.” (15x03).

After everything they’ve been through together (to Hell and back, as carefully illustrated in the visual grammar of 15x03) Castiel has utterly lost hope that he has any remaining emotional meaning for Dean; without Jack, without Mary, without his powers.  

Walking away (as the Winchester family signature music plays poignantly in the background) is a huge (and ultimately positive) step for Cas, who has, over the years, more and more built his identity and his meaning around his connection to the Winchesters, following his long rebellion against (and rejection by) Heaven. After everything Cas has been through (the narrative suggests) he deserves to be his own person, to be loved for himself (not his powers) and not to be taken for granted. 

And so we are left with the LOUD narrative negative space of Dean’s silence at the end.

 We can see Dean’s tense body language, in the final shot, half poised as if to spring forward, half frozen to the spot, as Cas leaves:

That silence in the narrative structure, which is mirrored in the symbolism of the ghosts/ demons being temporarily re-bottled up in Hell (like Dean’s feelings) as well as in the re-death of the feminine in the form of Rowena (because the feminine in the grammar of SPN = feelings) DEMANDS words, at some point down the road. 

Last time Cas was human, Dean kicked him out of the Bunker (thanks to Dean’s coercive pact with Gadreel) and we saw Cas’ broken-hearted suffering over that break-up in 9x06 Heaven Can’t Wait (Berens’ very first episode for SPN):

This time, Cas has more agency. He decides to initiate the break-up, because his heart (and how very human of you, Cas) can’t bear being treated to Dean’s silence, Dean’s anger and Dean’s (apparent) indifference any longer. 

Now, we need not only to see Dean come to his own broken-hearted realisation over this (reverse) break-up (after all, we’ve seen Dean broken-hearted over losing Cas, to death, before now) but for Cas to see that realisation, in Dean. 

In The Rapture (4x20) we are told the story of how Castiel the angel came to take Jimmy Novak as a vessel - how the angel we know became conjoined to the human-form we best know him in:

 In The Rupture (15x03) Castiel is losing his angelic powers again, moving once more towards inhabiting Jimmy Novak’s vessel, which is now his own body (Jimmy’s soul long-gone, and indeed that body destroyed and yet resurrected AS Cas, several times), as a human. 

Last time Cas was human, Dean missed his shot. How about this time?

The Ouroboros narrative is taking its final turn.     

My usual disclaimer: subtextual readings do not inevitably indicate or imply that textual romantic declarations will be forthcoming between Dean and Cas. That element of the story has been told in subtext for 10 years (and that’s where it quite likely will remain, in the terrain of ambiguity). Subtext IS however, part of narrative.

Nevertheless, an emotional reconcilliation of some sort, however readable as “brotherly”, comrades-in-armsy, nebulously “familial” etc. is, by story-logic, absolutely inevitable. 

That which is parted will be re-joined - Chuck to Amara, Cas to Dean. 

[amwritingmeta]

hey! i was just wondering if you think spn will actually make destiel canon by the finale? it seems like in interviews they're trying to let us down gently w/a cas death (which possibly makes it seem like cas's ending might be related to his empty deal?) + all the parallels between saileen and deancas, and it looks like dabb and co (while not rly bringing arcs into conclusion and generally making a mess of spn) are fighting to make it canon, i was wondering what ur take on it was, esp after ep09

Oh, my dear, my heart is swelling with love for those two right now. I just watched the show through from 12x19-15x13 and I swear, that moment they share in 15x12, clinking those glasses and sharing all those smiles was like balm. It’s not even five minutes of screen time, and still it was like, okay, yes, good, thank you for the room to breathe. :D

It seems to be that Cas hearing Dean’s prayer has ushered in some much earned peace between them. They’re shown to be on the same page and taking each other’s side unquestionably. Dean trusting Cas’ judgment regarding Jack without pause. And that’s a good word for it: there’s trust between them, mutual respect, understanding. It’s so lovely, isn’t it?

So, there’s this line that’s sort of stuck with me. Actually, there are two things that have stuck with me (apart from all the gorgeous symbology baked into every episode) and it’s that the word “complete” has been mentioned twice.

Once in reference to Mary in Heaven, and once by Amara in reference to God.

Then we have a line that’s recurred twice: I had to die to get what I want.

The fact that its spoken verbatim twice made my antennas perk up a bit. It may mean nothing, as some things in this narrative sometimes do mean nothing, but it’s still interesting to take these things into account: that we’re searching for completion and that sometimes, in order to get what you want, you have to die.

So. Will Cas die?

I don’t think so. I don’t think so for many reasons that I’ve laid out here (I just posted this) (it was like you read my mind that this was coming today), but foremost because I cannot see how him dying does anything for his character arc, or for his joint journey with Dean.

You know, dark!Kaia (Kaia’s Shadow) going back to the Bad Place (Kaia’s unconscious) and accepting the ending waiting there, releasing our!Kaia back to the world where she belongs, makes me think, more than ever, that the integration of the main character’s Shadows are a necessity. 

The Empty, way I see it, is representative of Cas’ Shadow, his unconscious, all the repressed and suppressed emotions of guilt, shame and doubt that has kept his self-worth down until Jack came on the scene. 

And this is just my reading of this situation, but I’m not sure I can see Cas defeating the Empty in the Empty, if you know what I mean? The last time Cas intruded, the Empty made him suffer greatly. I don’t think Cas holds any sway there, nor should he. 

To me, the weapon our conscious has against our unconscious ruling our decisions, is our ability to grow aware of our own impulses, our own thought patterns, and making choices to break away from them.

I think Cas can only beat the Empty through making a choice and, well, for a long time I’ve felt that choice should be to become human, because by making a final choice of who he is and who he wants to be, he brings himself into awareness, integrating his Shadow in the process, and narratively nullifying the Empty’s hold on him, since humans don’t go to the Empty when they die: they go to Heaven. 

But that’s wishing and hoping and speculation, of course.

Here’s where the Destiel question comes in though.

Do I believe they’ll make it canon?

Personally, I can’t think of anything more a part of our story than the love story between those two, but I know what you mean. You mean a representative, tangible, clear, statement type of making it canon. Textualising it, so that there’s no room for doubt whatsoever. No more arguments, no more queer baiting complaints, just Destiel in plain sight. Undeniable. 

I do and I don’t.

Watching these last few seasons through again made me realise what a different feel to them this last season has, because the emotional stakes for Dean and Cas have everything to do with what they mean to each other. Yeah?

Dean taking his anger out on Cas and it pushing Cas into a turning point where he chose to leave, to move on, which was a moment of clear independence a statement of his sense of self-worth, and it in turn pushing Dean into a turning point where he faced a side to himself that he’s needed to name since forever, admitting to not having any control of himself, which is something he has to acknowledge if he’s to move into trusting himself fully, all of this has been gosh darn breathtaking to get to witness.

And having them land back in this ease, where they work together seamlessly as a team, being kept together more than not, the framing of them, all of this makes me feel like they could give us canon Destiel. I’m not going to say they absolutely won’t. 

I believe the writers want it. I believe the actors want it. But, again, that’s just what I take from the narrative itself, because the subtext is stronger than ever this final season. 

Especially with Sam and Eileen being reunited.

Because it’s been that clear parallel you mentioned, but it’s been that clear parallel to those of us who see it. The echoes of the Saileen romance that trace through the Destiel progression won’t be as resounding to those that don’t.

And because of that, at this point, I also feel quite reserved with my belief that Destiel could become canon. Because there’s so much, but there’s also nothing. There’s so much for us to enjoy, there’s so much evidence they keep throwing at us that the writers support this reading of their story, but still, there’s nothing, really, to let on that they’re building towards these two men, at some point, declaring their love for each other.

There has been zero textual foreshadowing of that.

There have been throw away moments, like the cop flirting with Dean, for example, but he frowned at that, and then got sincerely flirted with by a woman, so that deescalated that very quickly. 

There was Dean at first rejecting Garth’s compliment of “You smell SO good”, becoming uncomfortable, to then, by the end of the ep, tell Garth he didn’t smell half-bad either.

And there was that amazing moment with Cas calling out Sam being “sexually intimate” with Ruby and Dean repeating the words as if he can’t believe Cas even knows how to pronounce them.

So, there’s... you know, stuff?

But it’s not foreshadowing if it can be overlooked by the wider audience.

That said.

This show isn’t about this love story of ours. The fact that it’s so downplayed could mean that what we’ll get is something textual, but extremely subtle. I mean, for me, lingering eye-contact and a shared smile in a context that makes us understand they’re choosing each other would be enough.

If, by canon, you mean do I think we’ll get them kissing, then the answer is I want to believe that we might get that, because they could build towards that on the foundation of ease and trust that they’ve put down over the last few episodes and they could build it effectively, but I just don’t know if the studio (who own the characters) is onboard. 

My hope is that they are, because the topic of healthy representation is so hot right now, and the question of the longevity of Supernatural to the younger generations (you know, you young ones who are proving exceedingly more open-minded and looking for something beyond the superficial brothers-hunting-monsters aspect of the show) would bank on the show opening itself up to the possibilities of solid representation already seeded throughout its run.

But Dean has flirted with more women than men this season. You know? I mean, he hasn’t flirted with any men. So. 

Look, I’m not going to say I don’t think we’ll get it, because I don’t know. 

I watched S15 yesterday and finished it today and suddenly I feel this wave of hope that it actually might happen, because they’ve already changed how Dean and Cas interact, they’ve given them so many scenes with just the two of them, and we have Sam clearly meant to end up with Eileen, and doesn’t Dean and Cas deserve that same happiness? That same sense of completion? That internal peace of loving unconditionally and being loved in return?

Sam and Eileen could be foreshadowing. These writers are subtle and they could be gleefully rubbing their hands together at the thought of springing textual Destiel on the GA, you know? The green light from the studio might make them diabolical. *sadism* And I love that thought.

Because that’s been the point of the love story for me, this slow, slow build to the moment when Dean and Cas have reached a point in their progression when what they’ll have together is a healthy, balanced, loving relationship because they’ve both let go of the past and are looking to the future.

But I won’t expect textual Destiel. If we do get it, I’m going to treasure it as a big cherry on top of an already perfectly inviting and exquisite pie.

What I do believe, more than ever, that we’re getting, though, is closure. Even if it’s only at the subtextual level, I believe that those of us who read the subtext will have Destiel verified beyond a shadow of a doubt. And yes, I will be quite surprised and disappointed if we don’t get that. Because of how these first 13 episodes have been shaped and how strong the subtext is in them.

I believe we’ll end on a hopeful note.

And wouldn’t that just be gratifyingly phenomenal?

(it really would) (honestly I just need to know that they are happy and alive and together and well and finding peace and carrying on) (you know?) (thank you and amen) :)

xx