Cas puts the "sub" in "homoerotic subtext"

[brightly_lit]

Ohhhhkay, let's just bring up a little something here: Dean tells Cas to unbutton his shirt? Has Dean ever unbuttoned his own shirt to go on a date? (Maybe a gold chain in the chest hair would add to the look ....) Does Dean really care so much about the amount of chest Cas may be showing? And ladies, do you rate the quality of your dates on how far his shirt is hanging open? (I have to say, the closer to his navel my date's shirt hung open, the closer I would be to kicking him to curb before even stepping out the door.) Does Dean really think Cas will have better luck getting laid if he shows a little skin?

Nah. That was just Dean getting Cas a little more naked while they're still alone in the car, in yet another Destiel bone (pun intended) thrown to the fans.

I've been watching the interactions closely, trying to figure out where all the steamy homoerotic vibes are coming from, and I've come to these conclusions:

1) Jarpad can make any scene steamy, no matter who he's acting with or what that person's relationship to him is supposed to be. The Christmas Cottage was pretty devoid of anything titillating, trust me on that, but the scene where he and his brother are talking in the dark in their room? Mmm .... (And I am NOT a Sam/Dean shipper.)

2) Jackles acts "affection" in a way that always comes off flirtatious. Always.




3) Misha's a troll and adores the subversion of the status quo/gender roles, so any opportunity to make a scene more uncomfortable/homoerotic/inappropriate, etc., and he's SO THERE.

1 + 2 + 3 = the most semi-intentionally subtextually homoerotic show on t.v.




I will confess that Cas's vulnerable, baffled expression is EXACTLY what I picture in top!Dean Dean/Cas scenes, so thanks for that, guys! Thumbs up, nice shipping fodder, great subtext, all that jazz. May this show always be all the crazy things that make it unlike any other show ever in the history of the world.


Some of you have left me AMAZING comments and/or very nice posts that mentioned me, and I will respond soon! And THANK YOU!!!

Comments

[toratio.livejournal.com]

On a slightly different topic - I'm going through the quotes (this ep is on tonight! YAY!) and Dean is mentioning his dates finish when he "runs out of ones".

… I think Cas needs to learn about human relationships from Sam. Just sayin'.

[toratio.livejournal.com]

Also, that looks on Cas' face on the gif in the car - is Cas looking around like "right here? With people around?" ;-)

[kalliel]

BAHAHA. I am just here to say WHAT IS THAT LOOK EVEN IN #2, DEAN. XDDD

[cuddyclothes.livejournal.com]

Would it interest anyone to know that the writer of this episode is gay? If you look at his Twitter profile, he's out and proud. (Including a discussion of how hot Indiana Jones is.) Several of the writers are, and oh, do they know how to push our...uh...buttons.

[alexisjane.livejournal.com]

To me it was as simple as "Oh god, you can't go on a date wearing your work clothes, let's just try and make you look different" but that is the beauty of this show and the writers and the fandom!

There's something about it that's so open, that it can be transformed into something else and there's something for everyone!
I absolutely do not get all the shipping wars stuff...really...the thing about fictional space is there is enough for everyone, surely?
I'm a Dean/Sam girl but I'm more than happy to explore all the other ships and have definitely come to appreciate at little bit of angel once in a while (courtesy of sleepypercy : )

I think that making any of the ships canon will just take all the fun out of it. The writers do such a fab job of giving us all these little moments to fuel our fire. I don't know of any other show that does that. They wrote the frigging fandom into the show ffs!
Now you've pointed out the shirt thing, I'm totally happy to go with that, I think it's funny and makes sense, totally a Dean thing to do!
I'm definitely going to be looking out for any more Dean tries to undress Cas moments in the future : ) x

[morganlucas41.livejournal.com]

Awesome post, and I totally agree! I've often wondered what makes SPN such a hotbed of slashy subtext, and I think you hit the nail on the head. Ditto to your thoughts about why Dean asked Cas to disrobe - I thought the same thing. Though, just to play devil's advocate, unbuttoning the shirt might have also seemed more casual - but the 1st button only, probably not 2.

Cas certainly has subby tendencies and those come into play here. I think Dean does, too, which makes the idea of sex between them...interesting, to say the least ;)