One of the ways Dean is treated as the heart character is that it’s often his role alone to learn about the traumatic experiences of the found family, support them, grieve with them, and grow closer to them, while Sam is off doing some episodic plot related thing. It happens again here in 8.20, where Dean learns about Charlie’s parents accident and her mother being in a coma for 16 years, while Sam is busy researching. He then follows her into her dreams to rescue her and talks through her parents accident with her. Dean following Charlie into her dreams using African dream root is a nod to 3.10 Dream A Little Dream of Me where he and Sam took it to get into Bobby’s dreams when he was in a coma. Also in that episode, Dean found Bobby and helped him confront some of his traumatic memories, while Sam was off searching for the episodic villain.
shatter what you will not carry. smash what you won't bear. oh, daddy, i broke in a million pieces that makes you a millionaire
some blueberry pie life: chapter 26
He remembers what this used to feel like. And he doesn’t want to go back. Back to being that scrawny fourteen-year-old that the witch is salivating over. Back to feeling outmatched in nearly every fight. Back to being thrown around not by a demon or vampire or ghost but just by some guy. Any random guy on the wrong night might be able to…
So yeah, when Dean crushes Hansel’s hex bag to return to his body, it’s for Sam, dazed and crouched on the floor, trapped and waiting for the witch’s next move. But it’s also, well –
in the fic timeline (canon-complementary), we're in season 10. and i feel like this season is rife with hints and whispers of some of the harder parts of dean's childhood so that's what we're digging into here.
notes ↓
November, 2005
This is directly after 1.03
December, 1989
John teaching Dean and Sam to hustle pool is mentioned in 1.08 and 15.11
John being angry with Bobby for playing catch with Dean is mentioned in 7.10
June, 2010
Takes place between 5.22 and 6.01
July, 2013
Takes place during 9.06
Cas liking burritos is mentioned in 9.03
The credit card from Charlie is mentioned in 15.10 but I think given the timeline it makes sense for her to have gotten it for them before she goes to OZ in 9.04. And the time she sees them before that is 8.20
January, 2015
Takes place during 10.12
February, 2004
in 7.11, Dean mentions both that John had thought Vetala hunted along and that Dean went on a hunt while Sam was in college where he found out they did not.
The hunt with only one Vetala is mentioned in chapter 19
March, 2015
Takes place after 10.14
The CBGB story and interactions with Claire mentioned are from 10.09 and 10.10
April, 1998
Dean calls himself a high-school dropout in 5.13
May, 2015
Takes place during 10.20
March, 1995
Dean losing the pool money and getting arrested for trying to steal bread and peanut butter is mentioned in 9.07
April, 2013
Takes place during the tale end of 8.20
The parts about Adam are from 4.19
The quote that Charlie reads is from 5.22
June, 2015
takes place right after 10.21
Charlie mentions not wanting her arm broken again and not wanting to die in 8.11
title from Millionaire by Thao and the Get Down Stay Down
