This scene is so fucking pivotal for Dean’s sexuality, Destiel, and for accurate queer representation in the media. release-your-inhibitions said it best: That’s the moment when it clicked in his head that you can be gay and still be manly.
Dean has grown and changed so much since season one, where he was basically just a clone of his dad and all he cared about was making John happy, but it was obvious that he was still struggling with reconciling that Dean with who he his now. He’s trying to find a middle ground where he can express himself through clothes and LARPing and such but still feel like he’s “manly” and tough. I think he needed to see this. Needed to see that two men can be romantically involved and still be masculine. That your sexuality doesn’t have to dictate how you act or how you dress. It doesn’t have to be flamboyant and obvious. It can just be a part of who you are without changing your whole personality. I think he’s finally realized that. And that’s beautiful.
I also think it’s just amazing that Supernatural manged hit the nail on the head (again) with having gay characters whose whole personalities weren’t about being gay. Here you have these two very “masculine” men watching a show about hunting and drinking beer. And they’re gay. They’re not dressed head to toe in pride gear singing Broadway and shooting rainbows out of their asses. They’re just two regular guys who happen to be gay. That’s just really amazing to me.
7x20. The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo.
(Look at how confident Dean is in the first gif that this will work, though - and flirting your way through security, that’s not something you’re sure can actually be done unless you’ve done it before, because with the lives they’ve had, the Winchesters are painfully aware of the difference between movies and reality. So, no, Dean knows exactly how to make this technique work - because he’s used it before. And how many women work in this field? Police, security guards, bouncers? Mh.
So, again - the fact Dean can flirt with men doesn’t mean, in itself, that Dean actually likes men. Dean is a liar and a conman, and finding a way past security guards is simply a part of his job. But considering everything else we know about him, and - mostly - that TV narrative is very different from real life - yeah.)
Yeah - and in this episode Charlie is used to knowingly establish that false premise that you can only flirt with the gender(s) you’re interested in…
Yep. It wouldn’t actually mean anything that Dean routinely used flirting in order to get past security guards, because yes, he is a con man and it is part of his job. Except Charlie’s insistence that the lack of attraction to a particular gender makes said flirting inherently impossible, requiring the intervention of someone who does have an attraction to that particular gender. And Sam and Dean BOTH just roll with this rationale as if it’s a completely valid premise.
(and note, it’s not Sam who walks her through flirting with the dude, and it’s not Sam who we routinely see flirting his way past security guards, bouncers, and male police officers throughout the series, either… Sam prefers sneaking, bluffing, and assuming the guise of an authority figure in order to talk his way through these situations– or straight up lost-puppy innocent bumbling and apologies. Dean’s FIRST thought, his gut instinct, is flirting.)
(because again this is how Sam and Dean differ. Sam attempts to baffle obstacles by “selling himself” to them with puppydog eyes and logic, while Dean attempts to baffle obstacles by “selling them to themselves.” Aka, flattery and flirting.)
this is exactly how it sounds. 1.7k of dean being heterosexual as fuck
Dean Winchester is straight. Ask anyone.
He’s in his element around women. Whether he’s smooth
talking their numbers out of Starbucks patrons or buying them drinks at bars,
Dean Winchester is a woman’s man. He likes curves and softness and women.
Men… unsettle him, somehow. There’s something about how so
many of them are big enough to look him directly in the eyes when he’s talking
to them. Or how some of them are incredibly strong. Like this one
bartender — Dean spent about 45 minutes considering if his fingers would
even touch if he wrapped both his hands around his bicep.
He almost asked the guy if he could try, but that would be
ridiculous and could be misinterpreted. So he did what any normal personwould do and rationalized that the man’s
bicep was roughly as thick as his hotel alarm clock. So as soon as he and Sam
got back to the hotel, Dean beelined toward the nightstand and wrapped his
hands around it.
“Dean?” Sam deadpanned, watching Dean cradle the clock.
Fuck. It was so close. Dean’s fingers could just meet, but now
that he had it in his hands, was this the best proxy for the bicep? It was such
a close call that a centimeter would matter. Would he really never know?
Dean huffed. Now he’ll be thinking about it all night. And
Dean will invariably end up getting frustrated and having to go to the bathroom
to jerk off just to calm down.
Dean spun and gingerly held up the alarm clock for Sam’s
inspection.
“Hey, uh, would you say this is about how big the bartenders
arm was?” Dean asked casually, lowering his voice in a way that says I’m asking because I’m a man.
Sam’s face made a quick series of expressions that made it
clear he thought Dean was insane.
“I have no idea, Dean,” Sam said slowly. “I can’t say I
noticed his arm at all.”
Dean rolled his eyes. Considering Sam was the smart one, he
could be so obtuse sometimes.
Fact: A lot of people are confused about what bisexuality is or what it means to be bi. To clarify: “bi” is short for the word “bike” which in itself is actually short for “bichael”. We hope this clears things up.
my favorite argument for people anti-destiel is when they try to tell me that Dean isn’t gay or bisexual, and specifically isn’t in love with Cas.
like okay, first of all, it’s a completely logical reading that Dean is bisexual. if you don’t see it, you have your heteronormative goggles on. even those who don’t agree with that reading can admit that the potential for it is definitely there.
second of all, Cas is genderless. Cas is neither male nor female, he has occupied both male and female vessels and hasn’t textually stated whether he has a preference for one over the other. the show does textually state, however, that Cas has no definitive gender, gives no fucks about societal gender norms, and has, in fact, inhabited at least one female vessel before (and try to tell me Dean wouldn’t have been all over that if that hot piece had been the one to raise Dean from perdition, because heteronormativity. Go on. I dare you). However, before you try to say I’m contradicting myself here, let me explain: at that point in time (4x01), Dean did not know Castiel. To him, he’s just some dude in a trenchcoat. Had he shown up in a female vessel, Cas would’ve been a hot chick in a trenchcoat. And yes, Dean would’ve flirted. Not that he didn’t with Castiel anyway:
READ, Dean: Hello I have a big dick.
furthermore, the show has showed us over and over that Dean’s attraction/affection/love/however you want to see it to Cas has nothing to do with the vessel and everything to do with Cas himself.
exhibit A: Jimmy Novak
Go back and rewatch all the scenes with Dean and Jimmy Novak. The relationship is simply not the same. There’s no lingering stares, no heartfelt conversations (which to be fair, this was season 4), just simply not the same kind of chemistry (however you choose to see it) as there is between Dean and Cas. Dean is all but dismissive to the guy; instead only worried about Cas’s whereabouts and if his sudden disappearance is any indication that he’s in trouble. This is Dean and Jimmy. That’s it.
Exhibit B: Lucifer/Casifer/Lustiel
Point 1:
Wrong shoulder. Something’s not right here. *warning sirens*
Point B:
Lucifer is a smart cookie. Lucifer is now inside Cas, and, as the Empty says:
*shrugs indefinitely*
Lucifer now knows basically everything he wants/there is to know about Castiel. And he uses it against him, because you wouldn’t expect any less from Satan himself, right?
So Lucifer mocking the way Dean says Cas’s name? It’s meant as a jab. Right in the fucking feels. It’s mean and it’s spiteful and it’s meant to throw Dean off his game. But what’s even more interesting to me is Dean’s face when he’s talking to Lucifer v. when he’s talking to Cas in the scene where he summons Lucifer. Also, if you watch the clip itself, which I’ll link below, Dean seems to have somewhat of a difficult time looking at Cas when he’s Lucifer. It isn’t until Cas is “present” and speaking with him that he’s able to maintain eye contact.
andddd back to when Lucifer retakes control of Cas’s body, literally seconds later:
Okay, wayyy different. Dean reacts much differently to this vessel when it’s Cas versus when it’s Lucifer. His feelings have nothing to do with the vessel, and everything to do with Cas.
Bonus:
Amara, who supposedly has this hold over Dean out of his control, is standing in the room with him and Casifer, and Dean lets out one more desperate call for Cas…when the person who he’s supposed to be feeling overwhelming love and adoration for is standing right in front of him.
Amara is floored
but understands why immediately
Lucifer is really starting to get it
none of this is really relevant to my point, I’m just rambling now. Anyway.
To reiterate: Dean’s feelings for Castiel have nothing to do with the vessel that Cas inhabits, and everything to do with Cas himself. So the issue here is not Dean’s sexuality (he’s hella bi, but that’s not the point I’m making either) but rather that Dean does not need to be gay or bisexual to be in love with Castiel.
I repeat: DEAN. DOES. NOT. NEED. TO. BE. GAY. OR. BISEXUAL. TO. BE. IN. LOVE. WITH. CASTIEL.
So if you’re argument against Destiel is that Dean is straight, I’m sorry, but you have absolutely no argument. Here are the facts: Castiel isn’t a male. Being in love with Castiel absolutely does not make Dean gay or bisexual.
And his reactions to Cas v. the vessel/others possessing the vessel is the most telling of that fact.
Dean isn’t attracted to the vessel. Dean is attracted to what’s inside the vessel.
Paramour by Post is an 18k historical-aesthetic-but-not-strictly-historical Destiel AU where baker!Dean and beekeeper!Cas fall in love through writing each other letters, EXCEPT CAS THINKS DEAN’S A WOMAN AND DEAN’S LIKE ??? YOU ARE PROBABLY NOT A WOMAN EXCEPT FOR SOME REASON I’M REALLY INTO THAT
and it’s cute and sexy and would make a nice bedtime story !!
people tell me reading it feels like a) being wrapped in a soft blanket, and/or b) lying in sunbeams
I’m not sure if you got my ask or not, but I got impatient (which isn’t uncommon for me lmao) so I’m gonna send you a submission and let you know (again) just how amazing you are, because it never hurts to tell you shit like this twice.
I’d like to start out by saying: Thank you so much for following me even though I’m pretty sure it’s just because I reposted one of your Cockles rants. A+ on that btw! You are undoubtedly my favorite fanfic writer and seeing that notification pop up almost gave me a fucking heart attack because “almaasi just followed me. ME!” and it took me a good thirty minutes to get breathing again.
Your fics are absolutely amazing and always make me smile! Some of them have even helped me through really important stages of my life [“Dean’s List” helped me deal with figuring out I was bi and “Mostly in Silence” got me out of a really dark spot (I even downloaded the self-care checklist you made for it xD)], but I just cannot get over how perfectly you capture the characters, even in drastically different AUs.
Your writing is #goals and I honestly aspire to reach your level of awesomeness in my writing, because you are constantly wowing me with how clearly you describe everything and I just AHHH!
So thank you for blessing my eyes and the interwebs with your utterly adorable and perfect fics, and pls keep writing and Always Keep Fighting!
<3
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HI THERE i actually didn’t get your ask, but i got this, and AAAH THANK YOU?!!?!?!!! THANK YOU
i’m so PLEASED that my fics helped with some tricky stuff in your life?? that’s tHE DREAM for me as a writer, and i’m so proud of you for figuring yourself out and getting yourself through a tough time. glad i could give you a nudge in the right direction. *fist bump*
really though. thank you so much for this message. i really, truly appreciate that you’ve allowed something like my writing into your life and actually took my messages on board for yourself. it’s definitely WAY more to do with you being open to understanding and helping yourself, than my actual stories, but i’d like to think we somehow met in the middle and helped each other. c:
wishing you allllll the goodness and happy thoughts <3
Elmie x
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links for other people:
Dean’s List (3k, Dean writes a list of men he’d ~go gay for~ (spoilers: he’s bi))
Mostly in Silence (4k, Cas is intensely depressed, Dean attempts to help)
