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New art: It's happening.
Working diligently on this Dean/Castiel birthday challenge prompt due on Saturday. Season 6 has changed the dynamic of Dean/Cas so much that I really have no problems now of drawing Cas dominating the fuck out of Dean. Before, it just seemed to out of character, so ridiculous and cracky.
Castiel in seasons 4 and 5 stayed close to Dean and developed under his influence: he learns what it means to choose and consequences of choices (siding with the Winchesters, being cut off from the angelic host); the value and pride of being true to one's self and one's convictions; that what's "good" isn't necessarily what's "right"; and - finally - he learns to believe in something - someone - other than a distant, missing father. He becomes a renegade. He throws away Heaven, but doesn't run to Hell. He chooses what neither side can offer him: his own free will, which is to see the Winchester boys come through the Apocalypse alive. He chooses Dean, because he believes in Dean.
His experiences as a heavenly renegade only complicate his return to the status quo, and in season 6, we see him grapple with Heaven's politics from that renegade point of view, which grows increasingly cynical ("Free will is only a rope to hang yourself" - or something to that effect). At the same time, he distances himself from Dean, perhaps choosing to play the tragic figure instead of asking for Dean's help when he really needs it. Castiel grows outside of Dean's influence, which makes him stronger in his goal, but constantly compromises his convictions and places him in a more morally gray area.
The Dean/Cas dynamic is still there, and is commented on both by the show and its fans. One memorable moment is when Balthazar quips that Cas is in love with Dean. Some of the best jokes have truth to them. I think Castiel's feelings have gone from adoration to imitation to resentment. He threw everything away and followed Dean; it's easy to be a subordinate to Dean. Without Dean, he doesn't know how to act, so (in classic Winchester fashion), he decides to take on this whole heavenly civil war thing himself. He doesn't ask for Dean's help. Instead, it seems that he asks, "WWDD?" For all that's worth, his troubles only mount and multiply, forcing him to set aside all those lovely ideas of convictions and personal values so that he can achieve the means to an end. The Winchester way is NOT the way to win a civil war (much less the Apocalypse - that they came out the victors in that one was entirely a fluke thanks to some toy soldiers in the Impala).
Proving that Cas resents Dean is a little more difficult than proving his imitation of Dean. I think by the end of season 6, Cas has become so cynical that he assumes (in retrospect) that Dean would never have come if he called (which parallels in a way the Bobby-centric episode, where Bobby never asked for help before, because he viewed the Winchester boys as too self-interested and noncommittal). In this assumption, he develops a resentment for Dean, who is allowed to live a "normal" human life without disturbances from the supernatural, whereas Cas has been battling and losing moral ground everyday. Yet, he's still the fool for Dean, and comes around whenever Dean calls, though he'll hem and haw about having battles to fight.
In the very last episode, Cas makes himself into a new god - something Dean would have never donebut actually sorta kinda did when he broke down in Hell between season 3 and 4 and became a demon - which is nothing like a god, but has significantly more power than - say - an eternally damned soul. He throws away any bonds of friendship that may have still existed and demands that they (Dean, Bobby, and Sam) bow down and worship him. He's gone from adoring to wanting Adoration. He's gone from Dean's subordinate to trying to be Dean's equal (through imitation) to wanting to be Dean's superior, but this final wish will remain unrealized because he's betrayed Dean's trust by NOT adhering to an absolutist code of morality that holds Dean's ego together and shapes how he relates to the world around him which is actually complete bullshit because for all his absolutism, Dean allows a handful of exceptions to exist.
Anyhow, my thoughts on Cas are still a work in progress (obviously), but I think - as far as fanworks go - it's plausible for Cas to be actively dominant (in the "fun" angry sex way) because he resents Deanyet wants Dean's bad romance.
ETA: I probably shouldn't use "dominant" to describe my fannish expectations of Dean/Cas, because that implies BDSM. I've thought about it, and I can't really see Dean and/or Cas fitting into that lifestyle. I should clarify: I can see Cas topping Dean in a way that's less obedient, more frustrated, and full of power struggle.
ETA 2: But not dub/noncon. Oh, hells no.
Working diligently on this Dean/Castiel birthday challenge prompt due on Saturday. Season 6 has changed the dynamic of Dean/Cas so much that I really have no problems now of drawing Cas dominating the fuck out of Dean. Before, it just seemed to out of character, so ridiculous and cracky.
Castiel in seasons 4 and 5 stayed close to Dean and developed under his influence: he learns what it means to choose and consequences of choices (siding with the Winchesters, being cut off from the angelic host); the value and pride of being true to one's self and one's convictions; that what's "good" isn't necessarily what's "right"; and - finally - he learns to believe in something - someone - other than a distant, missing father. He becomes a renegade. He throws away Heaven, but doesn't run to Hell. He chooses what neither side can offer him: his own free will, which is to see the Winchester boys come through the Apocalypse alive. He chooses Dean, because he believes in Dean.
His experiences as a heavenly renegade only complicate his return to the status quo, and in season 6, we see him grapple with Heaven's politics from that renegade point of view, which grows increasingly cynical ("Free will is only a rope to hang yourself" - or something to that effect). At the same time, he distances himself from Dean, perhaps choosing to play the tragic figure instead of asking for Dean's help when he really needs it. Castiel grows outside of Dean's influence, which makes him stronger in his goal, but constantly compromises his convictions and places him in a more morally gray area.
The Dean/Cas dynamic is still there, and is commented on both by the show and its fans. One memorable moment is when Balthazar quips that Cas is in love with Dean. Some of the best jokes have truth to them. I think Castiel's feelings have gone from adoration to imitation to resentment. He threw everything away and followed Dean; it's easy to be a subordinate to Dean. Without Dean, he doesn't know how to act, so (in classic Winchester fashion), he decides to take on this whole heavenly civil war thing himself. He doesn't ask for Dean's help. Instead, it seems that he asks, "WWDD?" For all that's worth, his troubles only mount and multiply, forcing him to set aside all those lovely ideas of convictions and personal values so that he can achieve the means to an end. The Winchester way is NOT the way to win a civil war (much less the Apocalypse - that they came out the victors in that one was entirely a fluke thanks to some toy soldiers in the Impala).
Proving that Cas resents Dean is a little more difficult than proving his imitation of Dean. I think by the end of season 6, Cas has become so cynical that he assumes (in retrospect) that Dean would never have come if he called (which parallels in a way the Bobby-centric episode, where Bobby never asked for help before, because he viewed the Winchester boys as too self-interested and noncommittal). In this assumption, he develops a resentment for Dean, who is allowed to live a "normal" human life without disturbances from the supernatural, whereas Cas has been battling and losing moral ground everyday. Yet, he's still the fool for Dean, and comes around whenever Dean calls, though he'll hem and haw about having battles to fight.
In the very last episode, Cas makes himself into a new god - something Dean would have never done
Anyhow, my thoughts on Cas are still a work in progress (obviously), but I think - as far as fanworks go - it's plausible for Cas to be actively dominant (in the "fun" angry sex way) because he resents Dean
ETA: I probably shouldn't use "dominant" to describe my fannish expectations of Dean/Cas, because that implies BDSM. I've thought about it, and I can't really see Dean and/or Cas fitting into that lifestyle. I should clarify: I can see Cas topping Dean in a way that's less obedient, more frustrated, and full of power struggle.
ETA 2: But not dub/noncon. Oh, hells no.
