I'm not sure what fascinates me more about how you did this: the metaphor of the souls being like a substance abuse addiction, including Cas hitting rock bottom before he finds the strength to let it go;
Or the way that Gabriel sitting there by Castiel's bedside through the coma is such a polar opposite of the way Dean couldn't even be bothered to go get Cas from that hospital in Louisiana in canon.
I adore this from top to bottom, BB. You dove straight into Castiel's mind in all the ways I wanted Show to go, in ways that they barely touched on in 6.20, and your Gabriel is so perfectly voiced, from his anger to his joy to his mischief, his attempts at indifference to the blaze of his passions.
Castiel looks at him, trying to control the bright joy in his heart — so clear, so unclouded by the weight of the universe, as the souls flee him and he’s left alone within himself. There’s an emptiness, to be sure, but he’s not lonely or hungry to own a replacement. It just makes him want to reach out and hold Gabriel closer, instead.
BRB SOBBING WITH HEARTBREAKY JOY FOR ETERNITY.
There's a part of me that would love to see a sequel where the Winchesters find out that Cas has given up the souls & Dean's all jealous of Gabriel & the two angels work together to fix Sam's Hell damage & there is eventual OT4 bliss.
But this is perfect just the way it is, because it fixes so much so beautifully, with the deft hand that is uniquely yours.
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Or the way that Gabriel sitting there by Castiel's bedside through the coma is such a polar opposite of the way Dean couldn't even be bothered to go get Cas from that hospital in Louisiana in canon.
I adore this from top to bottom, BB. You dove straight into Castiel's mind in all the ways I wanted Show to go, in ways that they barely touched on in 6.20, and your Gabriel is so perfectly voiced, from his anger to his joy to his mischief, his attempts at indifference to the blaze of his passions.
Castiel looks at him, trying to control the bright joy in his heart — so clear, so unclouded by the weight of the universe, as the souls flee him and he’s left alone within himself. There’s an emptiness, to be sure, but he’s not lonely or hungry to own a replacement. It just makes him want to reach out and hold Gabriel closer, instead.
BRB SOBBING WITH HEARTBREAKY JOY FOR ETERNITY.
There's a part of me that would love to see a sequel where the Winchesters find out that Cas has given up the souls & Dean's all jealous of Gabriel & the two angels work together to fix Sam's Hell damage & there is eventual OT4 bliss.
But this is perfect just the way it is, because it fixes so much so beautifully, with the deft hand that is uniquely yours.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥