Castiel

Castiel's History

Castiel is very pragmatic and logical on top of being protective. He will be interested in keeping his loved ones safe - which can be problematic, as he can be self-sacrificing to a fault, choosing to push ahead with the option that seems most direct and efficient in terms of achieving his goal, no matter how much harm comes to himself. At the same time, while he's willing to suffer a lot of mockery and verbal abuse from his so-called charges, he doesn't hesitate to retaliate in kind if he deems it necessary.

It's easy to ignore how old he is, how much he knows and how capable to is, and just dismiss him as weak, naive and peculiar because of his approach to the world around him, the mixture of a lack of understanding and a great deal of curiosity and fondness that unfolds the longer he's separated from Heaven's strict rank system and corrupt regime.

Once he's decided on a path, it's difficult to shake him from it. While he can experience regret and guilt, he often merely internalizes them while he 'soldiers on' - even when he knows he's risking barging down the wrong path at full speed, even if the end result leaves him guilt-ridden, depressed and suicidal. His choices can be crude and cruel to others, when in truth he's merely looking for the most direct and efficient way to solve a given problem.

During his early seasons, we largely see Castiel as a warrior of Heaven, a soldier set on a mission. But the more time we spend with him, the more we begin to see there's more to him than that. He later states "Much of the time, I'd rather be here.", as he does develop a fondness for his Father's Creation - the world, and the humans and animals that inhabit it. Despite still feeling an obligation to Heaven in general, he has come to appreciate his human friends and being among humans in general. He longs to be among friends, among the family he chose, instead of fighting, to the point where for a while, in part due to his shame and guilt, he almost becomes something of a pacifist. He has potential for great development or to regress back into being a foot soldier, depending on how he is influenced and pushed and what kind of choices he makes or tries to make. More than anything, he wants his friends to have the peace they fought so hard for, even if their idea of peace comes with the unbearable pain that all humans suffer from for being mortal, and he's willing to go to great lengths to ensure that.

There are quite a lot of aspects to Castiel's personality that unfold as the seasons progress, not so much traits he develops randomly as they are capacities he's always had but was never given a chance to explore under Heaven's strict regime and idea of what an angel should be like. Generally, he does strive to do right by people, even if his idea of it can at times come across of rough and even cruel - he'd rather kill the child antichrist than risk it running loose and causing trouble for people. He can be compassionate when he has the time and luxury to be, unburdened by higher purpose and pressing missions. He enjoys nature, animals, heals sick babies and tries to prevent the ruthless slaughter of innocents - while on the run from Heaven, he does not stop until they kill the workers and current customers of a diner he frequents, showing that his own self-preservation stops when those around him suffer for it. He's striving to do things for the higher good, even though he sometimes fails to understand when he's about to cross several kinds of lines.

Castiel canonically has a tendency to give his opinion, often blunt and 'rude', bordering on abrasive, featuring the clipped edge of a being too old to quickly adapt to humanity and its often strange ways, and lacking the patience for trying often. He also tends to be overly literal - and while this is something easily dismissed as him just being daft, sometimes he does it on purpose because he knows it grates on people. He'll be deliberately thick, and it's a way of finding humor, and maybe even of pulling people's legs just a little. It's a fine line with him that's not always too obvious to figure out, and definitely something his closer CR is more likely to learn to live with than actually appreciate.

A popular description of Castiel is him being "dangerously clever" - he is able to bend rules and toe the line of what he's supposed to do in order to help, and is often quick to adapt to new situations or use his surroundings especially if he's metaphorically cornered and has split seconds to think on. He's not prone to panic and getting flustered in combat situations or on other familiar ground, though he will definitely fumble and get utterly flustered if faced with unknown variables far away from his 'comfort zone' - mostly in social situations.

Castiel is socially awkward and can at times be brutally honest, but he does try to offer words of advice. To his friends, he has an open ear and offers emotional support to the best of his rather stunted ability (and sometimes, he considers literally knocking sense into them his best ability). Often enough, this at least allows for them to laugh a little, if it doesn't offer any practical use. He tries, but doesn't always succeed in being sympathetic to others enough to be more mindful of them.

He is also loyal to those he considers his charges, often to a fault, and grows very protective of them. In a canon AU universe we see a post-apocalyptic future in which he still follows Dean despite being fully aware it will lead to failure and death. He will go against what his friends do if he deems that the better path, but it doesn't make him less loyal. He even ends up starting a civil war in Heaven in order to preserve the peace that he and the WInchesters fought so hard for.

It can be noted that Castiel tends to emulate those he likes or admires - at least to some extent. He sees his vessel, Jimmy Novak, sacrifice his own health, happiness in future to spare his daughter Claire from becoming Castiel's permanent vessel, therefore learning about self sacrifice without hesitation. Anna tries to teach him about doubt, choice and free will. Dean and Sam open the door for him to embrace humanity a little more than he could on his own devices. He allows them to share human experiences with him, and while he often disapproves or doesn't understand or see the point, he tends to at least try - to the point where by the current season, we see him be rather comfortable sharing a beer with Dean at a bar, or seek out diners to enjoy a coffee, as he's obviously grown more comfortable in his 'own' skin and in partaking in some human customs.

Castiel has a fondness for humanity, that he does express more openly in later seasons. While in earlier ones, he believes Heaven's plans just, as he only sees suffering in the World, he seems to embrace the good of humanity more and more, and be able to distinguish the beauty that comes from them. Before being taken under more direct mind control by the Host, Castiel tries to atone for his past mistakes by answering prayers around the world and healping/healing people.

Clairsentience
Castiel can see the true "face" of angels and demons, and see through the Veil, as in he can see creatures invisible to the human eye like ghosts and reapers. This in combination with his psychic abilities can lead him to detect the true nature of a creature. Will be nerfed via opt out, as it would be unreasonable to assume he can just understand the nature of any creature from other worlds.

Dreamwalking 
Castiel and other angels have been shown to be able to enter the dreams of humans to communicate with them. And see what they're dreaming of. Additionally, Castiel is able to manipulate sleeping humans to prevent them from experiencing nightmares, or even to sleep more deeply than they normally would.

Healing (others)
Castiel can heal any physical damage to a body, including his own. I'd tie this heavily into his lantern, so he can't just instantly magic away any wounds, and coordinate with other healers in game so I can match their power levels a bit more.

Knowledge:
Castiel knows/understands all languages of his home world, meaning human languages, as well as animals (he interrogates a cat at one point. No, really.), and of course the language of angels, Enochian. Furhtermore he has a vast amount of knowledge of occult lore, human history, arcane sigils and spells. The sigils he knows are mostly related to angels and demons, as well as generic protection/warding.

Mind Control 
Castiel has been shown to be able to manipulate and erase memories. Will receive and opt out and never be used proactively - he only ever does it in canon upon other people's request, and even though he can do it, doesn't use it on his friends even when doing so would clearly benefit him. Castiel respects free will too much for that. He has used it under specific circumstances at the behest of others, though.

Psychic
Castiel can skim surface thoughts without much effort to gain deeper insight into people, as well as read their minds with more effort, and perceive the state of their soul to an extent. Will be nerfed and featured in Permissions/Opt Out.

Prayer
Like all angels, Castiel can hear prayers, which allows him to locate a person. Listening to just any prayer requires him to tune in to what the show refers to as "angel radio", a frequency on wich angels communicate mentally with one another, and where hey can tap into prayers. However, prayers directed at Castiel he can pick out even without "angel radio". The prayer can take the form of a formal prayer, or a feeling of longing or need to talk.

Regeneration (self)
Angels can maintain the state of their vessel as they took it (meaning no shaving or hait cutting required), as well as regenerate damage to the body (physical wounds as well as damage to the clothing). I'd once again tie this to the grace in the lantern and slow it down, so he can't just put himself back together in the blink of an eye. Physical damage to the vessel is implied to hurt angels to varying degrees based on their power level - here I would take cues from the state of his lantern. The lower his own power supply is, the more physical wounds would hurt and affect him.

Resurrection
Removed, obviously

Sedation
With a touch, Castiel can make people and certain low-powered creatures fall unconscious. Will cost him a lot of power, will receive an opt out, and would not work on many non-human creatures.

Smiting
Castiel can smite demons and monsters, burning them out of existence with divine power. He usually does this via touch. Will sap his lantern.

Super strength and endurance
Angels are far stronger than humans and even most demons, and more resilient.

Telekinesis
Castiel isn't seen to use this too often, and I don't intend to make much use of this either. Mainly we sometimes see him turn knobs with this, because he's a lazy asshole.

Time Travel
Removed

Vessel/True Form
Castiel is possessing someone else's body. That someone else is Jimmy Novak, who died and passed on to Heaven after Castiel was killed for the first time. The body has since been destroyed a few more times, and been restored, sparing Castiel from having to possess a new vessel. Angels can only possess people if they consent to it (though manipulation is apparently totally allowed). The experience is typically not pleasant for the host as long as the angel is in control, but the angel can be dormant and leave the host in control. Theoretically, with consent, Castiel could possess the bodies of other characters. If allowed, will of course receive a Permission/Opt Out post.

Additionally of note is the fact that few humans are able to perceive an angel's true form. Despite his warnings, a psychic uses her abilities to see Castiel once, and it burns out her eyes. Longer exposure results in death. The true voice of an angel, similarly, can damage ear drums, shake buildings and break glass. Castiel once claims that his true form is "the size of the Chrysler Building." Suffice to say:  Beacon does not want to see him forced out of his vessel.

Wings
Angels have wings. However, in Supernatural, the wings aren't typically shown to be physical. They CAN be, because in a later season we know that an angel feather was used as a spell ingredient. However, it seems angels tend to keep their wings cloaked/invisible, though when an angel powers up, the shadows of those wings can be seen behind them. Their flight is much more akin to telportation, though the instantaneous moving through space is accompanied by the rustling of feathers, meaning wings are for sure being flapped. If teleportation is too powerful, I'm happy to have him have to materialize the wings and physically fly like our Good Omens characters. In theory, Castiel can teleport across vast distances, to people who pray to him, to places he's visited and places he doesn't know as long as he knows OF them (we see him fly into a basement after Dean gives him the adress, for instance). Castiel can also take along those he can touch on those flights. As the flying happens instantaneously, this is apparently not exactly comfortable for his passengers.

Dean Winchester - Castiel's first and best human friend. Castiel in later seasons reveals that he loves the Winchesters, considers them family and more, showing his strong feelings for the humans he's grown close to. For Dean in particular, Castiel has risked and given everything.

Sam Winchester - Castiel initially dismisses him as the boy with the demon blood, they become strong friends, and Castiel protects Sam with his life.

Balthazar - another angel, a close friend fo Castiel's who in trying to sway Castiel off a dark path worked with the Winchesters. Castiel at the time considered this a betrayal and killed Balthazar.

Samandriel - another angel, who looked up to Castiel, and whom Castiel wanted to save. Naomi used Castiel's brain washing/reprogramming to have him kill Samandriel instead

Meg - A demon Castiel was/is sweet on and intended to pursue... potentially a relationship or at the very least sex with, the show is really vague here okay, but he was absolutely sweet on her. She sacrificed herself to allow Castiel and the Winchesters a safe escape.

Few things can outright kill an angel in Supernatural, but here are a few:

Angel Blades
Every angel has a blade they can materialize and dematerialize at will. Being stabbed with one such blade kills an angel, even if the stab wound itself would not be lethal. Such a blade can also be used to cut a vessel open to the Grace, instead of just cutting into the physical body, exposing an angel's true form and essence.

Archangels
Archangels can kill lower powered angels with a snap of their fingers, literally.

Holy Fire
Holy Oil set aflame can be used to physically contain an angel, as they cannot cross the Holy Fire. They would be incinerated and die.

Divine Weapons
Weapons made by angels can typically kill other angels (such as the Lance of Michael).

Spells
Castiel is susceptible to some spells, though he's generally more resistant to them, or is affected in ways different from humans. When the demon Meg jokes that reading a book wouldn't kill him, he tells her that a book containing the right spells might.

Other Weaknesses
Angelic warding sigils and banishing sigils, very powerful supernatural entities like high tier angels and demons, powerful spellcasters/spells.

Personality Flaws
Castiel can be prideful and arrogant, painfully blunt, lack empathy, and be self-sacrificial. He no longer would consider sacrificing anything else withe the same sort of reckless abandon in the name of a cause, but will absolutely put himself in harm's way and certain death to ensure the safety of others. His self-preservation stops where others are affected - or where he's guilt ridden and considers the punishment fitting the crime, or considers himself just that expendable.

Guilt, Self Loathing, Depression
Additionally, Castiel has massive guilt over his role in Heaven's civil war, in which he went to increasingly great and dark lengths to fight against his brother Raphael's forces, which included killing angels working against him, making deals with demons, lying to his friends, hurting his friends, and ingesting monster souls to power himself up, which corrupted him so much he declared himself God and laid waste to Heaven, killing everyone who supported Raphael in the civil war or otherwise stood against him. This is the core of Castiel's suicidal ideations and depression, his need to find penance, and why he considers himself breaking everything he touches.

To top that off, he has recently learned that Heaven has brainwashed him several times throughout history, and considers him to have "come off the line with a crack in his chassis", as he's apparently never functioned according to programming, and always ended up rebelling and having to be reprogrammed. It calls into questions which of the memories from his billions of years of living are even accurate, which are entirely fabricated, and how much he doesn't remember. He will never know this. Additionally, he's recently been made to kill an angel in need when he'd sworn never to hurt another angel again, as they are his kin and he loves his brothers and sisters (he's always regretted angel on angel violence, and did so in self-defence in earlier seasons, but always with great regret, begging them not to force his hand). He also was forced under brainwashing to train killing Dean Winchester hundreds of times. The show never shows him coping with that, I hope to delve into those issues a little more.

Death:

Episode: "8.21 The Great Escapist" - Castiel is on the run with the angel tablet, but gets hunted down by the angels. The demon Crowley 'saves' him, by shooting the angels with bullets forged from melted down angel blades. He shoots one such bullet into Castiel to incapacitate and abduct him. He figures out Castiel has hidden the angel tablet literally inside of him, and digs it out of Castiel's stomach. Canonically, Castiel later digs the angel blade bullet out of his own stomach and uses it to kill the traitor angel standing guard over him before flying to the Winchesters for help. I would place his death here, assuming the bullet did more damage than he anticipated, the wound proving lethal upon his escape.

Mental State upon entering the game:

Castiel still hasn't fully worked through his guilt and self-loathing from what he did in past seasons. As he told Dean Winchester: "I'm afraid I might kill myself" in regards to how he feels about what he did - namely, wiping out half of Heaven. He chose to stay behind in Purgatory, alone and hunted by monsters, as penance, and would have stayed there had he not been pulled out against his will by Heaven. Since the, he's struggled with finding a way to redeem himself, tried to become a Hunter as a way to avoid facing his own mistakes, and then travelled the world answering prayers as a way of doing good in order to balance out the bad he did. At his core though, Castiel is plagued with guilt, self-loathing and the thought that he's broken, that he keeps breaking things, and that his repeated resurrections are nothing short of punishments that make him worse every time.

Additionally, he's recently gained further insight into Heaven's "re-educations". He's gone through this once to his own knowledge, when his superiors punished him for "growing too close to the humans in his charge". Now, it's been confirmed to him that Heaven has reprogrammed him countless times, as he keeps rebelling, keeps deviating from his default programming. He doesn't know of what his memory has been wiped clean in the past, just that it happened. Under Heaven's brainwashing, he does know he killed an angel he intended to save, and was made to killed hundreds of copies of his best friend until he could do it without flinching. It took attempting to do the same thing in real life with the real Dean to break Castiel out of his brainwashing. Castiel strongly believes that this does not represent what God had in mind for angels, as he considers them to be meant to protect humanity.

Past his canonical death, we see him grow more and more despondent, as his choices keep leading him down wrong paths, until he feels useless, and we see him actually struggle to move past his own self-loathing, guilt and at times crippling depression.

Power Nerf:

Castiel is a very powerful character. I'd personally opt to remove some of his powers from the game entirely (they are implied to require so much power that it leaves him weak and drained afterwards anyway). In addition I'd like to cap his powers by putting his grace - his equivalent of a soul and the source of an angel's powers into the lantern. Angelic grace is a white blue light, and essentially what they look like without their vessels. By putting it in the lantern, I would have his use of powers deplete the Grace in the lantern, meaning if he over-uses his powers, especially the bigger stuff, he drains his own light and life source in Beacon and risks killing himself, if he doesn't let it recharge/recover over time.