#destiel meta

[blueeyesblueties]

Affectionate chuckle (which is a whole thing to unpack itself)... or you know, a longing sigh, the biggest heart eyes for the cutest little guy you've ever seen and whatever that thing your mouth is doing...

Nailed it.

Bonus: Also be sure to maintain intense eye contact while you get right up in his personal space and go for the touch, as you suck/bite your lip like you're restraining yourself from taking him on the curb right then and there...

All totally platonic I'm sure.

[chevroletdean]

I WILL be back later but I just had to let you know, your spn playlist is killer.

I put it on shuffle and started with Wanted Dead Or Alive and knew it would be amazing.

Hayloft just played and I sat up like Dracula lol, love that song.

Anyways, been listening to it for like....2 hours?

AND I got a great new idea I started to write, so I credit it to thee, much thanks.

As I said, I'll be back! Tomorrow though since I have to sleep and it's midnight again lol, but I will be back!

MWAH, a big kiss to your forehead for this message! Very glad to hear that you like my Supernatural Playlist. 🩷 I keep adding stuff to it, so it’s a bit messy — there’s a little bit of everything. Music has that inspiring power, doesn’t it? Already can’t wait to see what you’re cooking up. Until then, sleep well, friend!

But, what I wanted to say/do: Let me just highlight a couple of songs from my playlists that really scream Dean Winchester and/or Destiel to me (and explain why). I have to be annoying about this, my apologies, LMAOAO!

Maniac — Phoebe Green

You play girls like a man, but your eyes are like a child Your face is cool and calm, but your hair is wrecked and wild You hide behind your metaphors and pray that no one sees The fare behind your poker face: your dark and twisted needs

Need I say more? Specifically earlier seasons Dean ‘Ladies’ Man’ Winchester, who prides himself on being a flirt and brags about the amount of hookups under his belt. Realistically speaking, most of them are a semi-fun way to kill time. But God forbid he thinks too hard about how sex doesn’t automatically mean intimacy and how these encounters are just a distraction from everything. He’s all bravado and sarcasm and so so scared underneath.

There’s this one post about Dean that lives in my head rent free. It makes me physically sick to think about. In the best way possible. I think it perfectly describes the vibes of the song, too.

Your fragile heart and your paper skin Such a beautiful boy filled with so much sin Your reflection is your very worst enemy Behind the glass is an angel, but the devil's beneath

I’ll let the gifs speak for themselves here.

But also: The religious trauma sprinkled in there??? How heaven expected him to be the perfect vessel, the holiest archangel’s sword, his body a weapon for the greater good, when he just sees the evil he’s capable of. I’m gonna scream.

You smile at the moon even though it's haunting you You wonder if it ever feels as lonely as you do Your nose is always bleeding but it's fine 'cause it looks pretty It doesn't scare you like it did before the angel city [...] Hell is in your hair dye and your head's between your knees

Think of how many nights Dean spent nursing a beer on Baby’s hood, staring into a starless sky. His knuckles are bruised, his ribs are cracked, but such is the life of a hunter. The dark hours are far from lonely, they’re full of monsters that go boo and then they get shot by him. There’s something heroic and glorious about it, he thinks. Until the job literally kills him, brings him back, and somehow nothing and everything changes at the same time. Like a hamster’s wheel he can’t escape, but one that gets increasingly worse.

That’s So True — Gracie Abrams

Specifically the bridge, which always makes my heart hurt:

Made it out alive, but I think I lost it

Again, Dean never being the same after the resurrection.

Said that I was fine, said it from my coffin Remember how I died when you started walking? That's my life, that's my life

Doomed by the narrative, much? Dean knows it’ll end ugly for him, that this job is going to kill him one day. That fate has been decided for him the moment John told him to take his baby brother and run outside. He’s always, and I mean always, walking around with one foot in the grave already.

Sun Bleached Flies — Ethel Cain

God loves you, but not enough to save you So, baby girl, good luck taking care of yourself So I said fine, 'cause that's how my daddy raised me If they strike once then you just hit 'em twice as hard But in the end, if I bend under the weight that they gave me Then this heart would break and fall as twice as far

Screaming, crying, throwing up. Do you ever think about how he’s supposed to be God’s/heaven’s favorite — like some OC, a main character created and made to suffer for pure entertainment? Yeah... Ouch.

Look to Windward — Sleep Token

The whole album reminds me of Destiel, I just can’t put my finger on it. It’s tense, it’s angry, it’s desperate for peace, even if it has to be achieved through drastic measures.

I've got eyelids heavy enough to break diamonds You pray for sound and I pray for silence Damn right faithless, I can't deny You'll find me with half a mind to get violent Oh, it isn't over 'til I say it's over And oh, my little angel sitting on my shoulder So give me the edge of a blade and a time and a place And I'll leave them cold and pushing up boulders Am I walking with gods or merely stumbling forth? Until there's fire at the gates, until I fall to the floor You know I live by the feather and die by the sword And I will sunder the earth, only to burn the rewards Even in this garden of gardens, I am the god of the gaps I am the demon of Sodom, I am the blood of an angel The fate of the fallen, nobody knows where I came from Even I have forgotten

The Fate of Ophelia — Taylor Swift

THE Destiel song of all time to me. Or one of them, at least. But it’s in my top 3 of Destiel songs, LOL. I swear, it’s actually just their entire story written out. Need proof? Here (the edit is a little slowed down, probably for copyright purposes):

Honorable mention of course to the other two iconic Destiel songs — and they need no further explanation. They’re the true ancient texts of 2010s Heller culture: No Light, No Light — Florence and the Machine, Angel with a Shotgun — The Cab.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk 🫡

dividers by @easytiger-xo

[blueeyesblueties]

The thing that really gets me about this line, is that Dean says, "not for nothing."

Not. For. Nothing.

Let's think about that for a second... Dean felt the need to preface his statement with "not for nothing" to accentuate the point for Cas' sake. Given the usage here, it leaves little room to think he was trying to make a joke either. He wants Cas to know there is a reason he is telling him this.

If Dean had good reason to be informing Cas that 'when people have looked at him like that before, he got laid'... Then he is pretty directly trying to ensure that Cas knows, getting laid is a possible outcome for him too.

He's telling Cas there is merit to the look Cas gave him (the many they share really) and justifies it with his reciprocal statement: he's giving Cas an open invitation. I see your interest, here is mine. Plus, all this happens shortly after Dean also told him, 'blow me', albeit snidely, BUT...

Cas doesn't understand. Look at those gears turning... he's trying to figure out either what Dean meant, or if Dean was serious. 'Blow me' was actually the last thing Dean said to Cas before they speak to each other again! And the 'not for nothing' line is literally the first thing Dean says to him next. This really adds to the possibility that Dean really was trying to follow up and make his intentions more clear.

Then Dean finalised the offer with a wink afterward, because they do have an audience of one he has to consider-Sam-so by adding the wink, he leaves himself an out where, if he needed to, he could claim he was joking... However, the wink still works as a confirmation too, should Cas ask about it.

It can also be said that 'not for nothing' is used to tone down, or soften an offensive statement... but again, (S5) Cas barely understands humanity or all the references and idioms Dean uses, and Dean knows this. So, it makes it less likely Dean would try to placate him and actually more likely that Dean was trying to make sure Cas would get the right message. Even if it was supposed to just be a snide comment, why would Dean placate him at all then? Dean is the king of idiom, he knew exactly what he was saying and he wanted to make sure that Cas knew that too.

Honestly, when you watch the actual scenes, with all these little nuances in mind, the body language between them really kinda reads like they've already done the deed before... Which could be interpreted as Cas just being literal and trying to sort out how and when he is supposed to blow him, why that context was appropriate at that time because he doesn't understand the usage of blow me as an insult, and then giving Dean that look when he sees him again to say, "Yes, I figured you out, just give me a time and a place."

[dotthings]

Always appreciated that the last image we see of Dean's family in S13 is the utterly defeated expression on Cas's face, like his inner light has gone out. He's lost the person he is closest to in the universe, in all of time. He loves Dean so much.

It's fitting that S13 ends on that note. Because, actually, Cas has been looking after Dean all season, and trying to save him. While he's also trying to help Jack. And it exposes raw how devastated Cas is about losing Dean.

I talk about Cas running from Dean, and it’s true, there is some of that. Cas comes back to life, and then right after Tombstone, runs off to try to help Jack, and blows off Dean’s offer to be his wingman. Which bothered me. But you know, I should also have pointed out that Cas gets kidnapped and thrown into a jail cell by Asmodeus, who then imitates Cas’s voice for a while to keep Sam and Dean from looking for Cas or worrying. Cas did not ditch Dean by choice. He was in a jail cell. And once he’s free, he comes home.

Cas going ballistic over soulless Donatello force-choking Dean. Racing to Dean’s side along with Sam and the look on Cas’s face. Then Cas does what he does to Donatello. “I’m not going to let you or anyone hurt the people I love. Not again.”

Cas going with Dean to fight Gog and Magog

Cas valuing Dean’s life in the tunnels in Beat the Devil in a moment when Dean wasn’t thinking clearly

Cas begging Dean not to make that deal with Michael.

There's a perception that Cas somehow stopped caring about Dean once he became an adoptive father to Jack but that's not at all what I've seen on screen. Even though I've talked about Cas being so consumed with protecting Jack, for various complex psychological and emotional reasons. But that doesn't mean he stopped loving Dean, or stopped trying to save Dean (and there are more examples in S14 and S15 of that). Despite the conflicts between them, despite their messed up emotional dynamics in those final seasons, Cas never stopped loving Dean. I am staying on that hill.

[pigfartsviatardis]

I see people comparing destiel to Orpheus and Eurydice a fair bit and I am in full support of this as a Greek mythology girlie and someone who is feral for Hadestown. Like absolutely they fit that kind of tragic poetic love vibe. But I almost never see people referencing what I think is THEE defining Orpheus and Eurydice moment for destiel:

Like yes in the obvious physical ‘trying to escape the underworld with your doomed love’ way, but also this whole scene ends up being about both the power and the complex pain of looking back. Dean HAS to get Cas out so of course he HAS to look back to make sure he’s coming too, just like Orpheus. And like Orpheus, it’s his undoing, but not because it’s what seals Eurydice’s fate. In this version, Cas chooses his own fate by choosing to stay. And because Dean looked back, he saw this and he knows the terrible truth: Cas left him.

But after it happens, Dean can’t STOP looking back on it, so much so that he can’t cope with the truth and has to construct a lie. He would rather be like poor tragically doomed Orpheus, who condemned his love to be trapped forever, than face the fact that HIS Eurydice chose to stay behind.

And when Cas comes back to him, he is the one who makes Dean look back one last time, but this time to face the truth.

[spnbeit-midrash]

I've been thinking lately that maybe dean knows he loves cas the whole time, maybe he's known since "we're making it up as we go" and it makes every betrayal and miscommunication and death hurt so so bad and it's cas who doesn't realize what his devotion to dean means till mid seasons!!! like maybe not till 10 or 12!!!!

[pigfartsviatardis]

Reached s11 on the spn rewatch… for me, s11 was peak destiel fever dream. This was when I came closest to actually genuinely believing they were gonna do it on the show, because they seemed to be setting it up so purposefully as the logical narrative conclusion.

I see a lot of people in the spn fandom referring to s11 as actually being quite light on destiel/Castiel content, and I sort of get why, but this is the season when dean’s romantic feelings for cas left the subtext and took centre stage in the narrative! Just reflect on this series of events from only a handful of episodes:

In 11x11, Sam and Dean are working a case where the monster is going after people with ‘vulnerable hearts’, shown to be both literal heart defects and metaphorical romance-related problems

In the middle of working this case, Dean has an interaction with ‘Cas’ (unbeknownst to him, it’s Lucifer wearing Cas as a vessel). ‘Cas’ is half-dressed and having an intimate conversation with Dean wherein he asks him if he feels ‘attraction’ to Amara, at which point Dean looks him furtively up and down; ‘Cas’ then places his hand on the opposite shoulder from the one he usually grabs, which appears to clue Dean in that something is off about him

Dean becomes the next target of the monster (the one who goes after those with heart-related illness or romantic heartache… spoiler alert, Dean does not have any heart-related illness…)

The character Mildred takes Dean aside to tell him (and the audience) that she can tell he’s ‘pining’ for someone, and his reaction indicates that he knows what’s she’s talking about; it’s clearly signalled to the audience that Mildred is talking about romantic love and longing

At this point, an audience that is geared towards heterosexual romance might reasonably assume that this is setting up a genuine romantic connection between Dean and Amara, but I would argue that even in isolation, the MORE logical reading of this episode is that Mildred has picked up on Dean’s conflicted romantic feelings for Cas, and his worry over him seeming ‘off’. But even if you were leaning towards the Amara thing…

Two episodes later, in 11x13, a monster that manifests as a person’s ’darkest desire’ shows itself to Dean as Amara; this creature then tells Dean that it can sense his love/desire and that it is ‘cloaked in shame’

At the end of the episode, Dean discusses his feelings about Amara with Sam in what appears to be a completely honest and genuine conversation; he states clearly that he is not in love with her, and that he ONLY feels drawn to her when he’s physically near her, but that otherwise he hates her and wants her dead

So within three episodes, the show has textually established that Dean is romantically in love with someone, PINING for them… and then completely shut down the possibility that the person he’s longing for could be Amara, because they’ve stated categorically that Dean feels nothing but disgust towards her when he’s not in her presence.

So who???? Could Dean???????? Be in love with??????????

Cue the rest of the season telling us loudly that Dean is DISTRAUGHT over Cas being possessed by Lucifer, desperate to get him back, and that his longing for Cas is so strong that it overpowers Amara’s hold on him even when she’s right in front of him. Oh, plus the fact that Cas’s own love for Dean provides a direct connection for Amara to reach Dean (because the ‘connection’ she claimed her and Dean already had was apparently not strong enough). She literally follows Cas’s heart. Where have we heard that phrase before…? Oh yes! Back in 11x11, when Mildred told Dean to follow HIS heart. Hmmm. HMMMMMMM.

[twesbian]

okay but can we talk about the way Dean is framed in this particular shot walking right by these BLUE iridescent hanging beads RIGHT AFTER the scene where Missouri expresses condolences for Dean's losses. One of them being Cas. ok