In spite of what I said in my blog post "Why I Ship Dean/Castiel--After Swearing to God I Wouldn't," fics like this make me truly believe Kripke wouldn't have had to wait until Season 5 to establish a true friendship between Dean and Castiel. Fics like this also make me realize how much vital character development the SPN writers missed out on. Castiel praying for Dean to spare a town despite the high risk of a Seal breaking certainly separates him from the other angels, but willing to be the only vigil his dead, traitorous brother will ever have really hits home. And considering how disturbed he was at seeing Sam use his powers to kill Alastair, you can't imagine that he wouldn't warn Dean.
But the biggest one has to be the climax when Castiel fully realizes the terrible price Dean could have paid for his arrogance. The SPN writers never established one vital fact about Castiel: he lied to Dean and himself when he told Dean he wasn't a hammer. Castiel's regret for his actions may separate him from his brethren, but, as he realized in this fic, all the regret in the world doesn't mean jackshit if he's still following orders he knows damn well are wrong.
"You were trying to save people, Cas. Save your family. You thought you were doing the right thing."
Castiel's lip curled. "No. I thought I was doing the necessary thing. I knew the entire time there was nothing right about it."
As Batman would say, "It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me."
But after his realization, not only does he beg for forgiveness that he knows very well he doesn't deserve, he decides that he's through with being a hammer. From now on, he's going to follow his heart.
Dean wrapped one arm around Cas, kissing his forehead. "This is gonna wind up on your performance reviews."
Castiel's arms tightened around him. "I don't care."
Castiel resolving to do what's right rather than what's easy because of the consequences his personal actions could have cost someone he cared for would have a HUGE impact on his character development. The writer didn't have to wait—shouldn't have waited—for him to learn that the angels wanted the Apocalypse to occur.
All right. Now for the fic by itself.
I loved the war stories, Abdiel's past with Castiel (which made me actually care about the murdered angels. They weren't just random winged Nazis that were killed), and the build-up to the romance. Castiel's insecurity was also a very nice touch because to me it makes perfect sense. From canon, misachan!canon and personal head!canon, by angel standards he's a very plain, low-ranking foot soldier, and thought a human possessing a soul brighter than all of Heaven couldn't possibly want him.
Constructive criticism wise, Dean's reaction to Castiel's "punishing" kiss was completely out of character. While canon heavily hints he's straight but open-minded about his sexuality (and may even be a tad bisexual), I don't believe he would take kindly at all to a man (or an angel in a man's body) manhandling and jumping him like that. Especially after what he went through in Hell. It's another reason I requested a scene change for this fic. I believe it would make far more sense for Dean to leave in anger/disgust, stew for a few days, and then forgive/accept Castiel.
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But the biggest one has to be the climax when Castiel fully realizes the terrible price Dean could have paid for his arrogance. The SPN writers never established one vital fact about Castiel: he lied to Dean and himself when he told Dean he wasn't a hammer. Castiel's regret for his actions may separate him from his brethren, but, as he realized in this fic, all the regret in the world doesn't mean jackshit if he's still following orders he knows damn well are wrong.
"You were trying to save people, Cas. Save your family. You thought you were doing the right thing."
Castiel's lip curled. "No. I thought I was doing the necessary thing. I knew the entire time there was nothing right about it."
As Batman would say, "It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me."
But after his realization, not only does he beg for forgiveness that he knows very well he doesn't deserve, he decides that he's through with being a hammer. From now on, he's going to follow his heart.
Dean wrapped one arm around Cas, kissing his forehead. "This is gonna wind up on your performance reviews."
Castiel's arms tightened around him. "I don't care."
Castiel resolving to do what's right rather than what's easy because of the consequences his personal actions could have cost someone he cared for would have a HUGE impact on his character development. The writer didn't have to wait—shouldn't have waited—for him to learn that the angels wanted the Apocalypse to occur.
All right. Now for the fic by itself.
I loved the war stories, Abdiel's past with Castiel (which made me actually care about the murdered angels. They weren't just random winged Nazis that were killed), and the build-up to the romance. Castiel's insecurity was also a very nice touch because to me it makes perfect sense. From canon, misachan!canon and personal head!canon, by angel standards he's a very plain, low-ranking foot soldier, and thought a human possessing a soul brighter than all of Heaven couldn't possibly want him.
Constructive criticism wise, Dean's reaction to Castiel's "punishing" kiss was completely out of character. While canon heavily hints he's straight but open-minded about his sexuality (and may even be a tad bisexual), I don't believe he would take kindly at all to a man (or an angel in a man's body) manhandling and jumping him like that. Especially after what he went through in Hell. It's another reason I requested a scene change for this fic. I believe it would make far more sense for Dean to leave in anger/disgust, stew for a few days, and then forgive/accept Castiel.