February Monthly Recap

I had a lot of fics this month. Every one of these deserves a dedicated post of its own but in the interest of efficiency this roundup will have to do!

BATMAN

Uptown Girl by orphan_account (Stephanie Brown/Cassandra Cain), 60k, Case Fic, Friends to Lovers Stephanie Brown has three problems: a supervillain father with a deadly scavenger hunt in the works, a mysterious rich girl who's way too interested in her life, and one really, really painful hobby. Alternatively: a different kind of Spoiler origin story.

The Lois Angle by cabezas_de_vaca (gen), 15k, Bruce & Lois Friendship, Case Fic What she had with Bruce was novel, exhilarating. She had fallen in love several times, and that was like a great swoop of a wing, a flash and flush and then long tumble, but this was like a warmth that welled up from within. This was Bruce grappling up to her thirtieth story Metropolis apartment, stowing the Batsuit in the bathroom, and watching StarTrek with her. This was her driving to the manor when she couldn't sleep, only to find she could do it there. This was having a friend. Or: Despite the long shadow Batman casts and the demands of being one of the youngest Pulitzer winners ever, Bruce and Lois manage to steady each other, in the way that only friends can. Also, there's a case they need to solve. 

the scientific method by orphan_account (gen), 20k, Sibling Bonding, Duke-centric 5 stupid ways Duke's siblings discovered how his powers worked, and 1 time he figured it out for himself. "You have no idea," Dick said. "I had to live through all of their teenage years. They were each independently obsessed with Mythbusters at separate points in their life. I'm pretty sure Cass and Tim have wanted a meta to experiment on since they were 14, but Bruce always said no."

Meet Me Where You're Going by Hinn_Raven (Stephanie Brown/Cassandra Cain), 68k, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining When things get complicated in Hong Kong, Cass requests help from Batman Inc. Unbeknownst to her, Bruce dispatches not one of her brothers, but Stephanie Brown, who Cass has not spoken to since she gave up the Batgirl mantle. Steph is eager to reunite with her best friend, but things between them are complicated. Not the least of the problems is the fact that Steph might be falling in love… but of course, Cass is straight, so Steph really shouldn’t dwell on that. Friendship and romance, conspiracy and adventure await the two of them as they try to unravel a complicated plot that seeks to stop Batman Incorporated before it can truly begin.

when you move, fall like a thunderbolt by orphan_account (Stephanie Brown/Cassandra Cain), 5k, Villain!Steph, Canon Divergence In another universe, Stephanie Brown's plans to kill her father aren't interrupted by Batman. Which means nobody stops her from tripping and falling headlong into running her own gang, and then a little more intentionally rising to the top of the underworld. Meanwhile, seeing as Bruce only has one kid who actually wants to carry on the good name, Cassandra Cain takes over as the Batman of Gotham's future. This would be a fine turn of events if it weren't for the fact that they've been dating on-and-off for ten years.

falling without caution by coffeecrowns (gen), 17k, Bad Parent!Bruce, PTSD Jason is twenty, decidedly less into murder, trying to avoid developing agoraphobia, and putting together some pieces into a life. Tim is sixteen, riding the edge of burnout, and in a show of his truly baffling survival instincts, decides Jason is friend shaped. 

MICE ON VENUS by NEOCULTUREDAUS (gen), 3k, Tim & Damian Bonding “Timothy, if this is revenge for me trying to kill you, I need you to know I’m not sorry.” Damian’s eyes were clamped shut, hands fisting Tim’s hoodie so tightly that if Tim tried moving, he simply wouldn't be able to. “I’m not trying to get revenge. And open your eyes, you can’t ride a skateboard with them closed.” Tim patronized, prying Damian’s hands off him, you know, like someone evil who didn’t care for the wellbeing of his younger brother. Or The one where skater Tim takes his artist younger brother graffiti painting

So Sweet Saluteth Me by Lishalalalalala (gen), 7k, Good Dad!Bruce Sleep deprived™ Jason hangs out with Dick then they surprise Bruce at work with early lunch and some love. This fic is inspired by farmers’ markets on those summery days and the belief that if I run fast enough the sad can never catch me. (I mean you are telling me that Bruce Thomas/Alan Wayne wouldn’t be absolutely BASKING in joy if his kids just decided to randomly show up at Wayne Enterprise and pay him a little midday visit? )

to count by miles or days or people (when will i stop missing you) by jcp_sob_rjl_lmep (gen), 22k, Angst, Hurt/Comfort When Duke is kidnapped off of the streets of Gotham on his way back to the Manor from visiting his parents, it sends the entire Batfamily into a panic. With very little evidence to go on and time slipping past them, there's no help coming as Duke is forced to make a grand escape and get himself home before his kidnappers find him once more.

birds and brothers and other assorted synonyms by Ao3time, hoebiwan, quandaries_and_contradictions (gen), 21k, Series, Found Family A Reverse Robin AU in which Damian is a tired older brother, Duke is a ray of sunshine, and Dick is a baby talon.

Emergency rooms and chicken nuggets by Lilac_hyacinth (Bernard Dowd/Tim Drake) 7k “So…” Duke drawled, sounding suspiciously wide-awake for the day shift kid at two-thirty in the morning. “If I said Damian and I are in a bit of trouble, on a scale of Jason to Cass, how likely are you to kill us?” Clearing his throat and rubbing his eyes to try to wake himself up, Tim grimaced. “What the fuck did you do?” “Nothing.” Or Tim and Bernard get out of bed at two in the morning to go across town and pick up Tim's reckless little brothers.

Pick a Pocket Full of Pennies by Trekkele (gen), 24k, Found Family, Fluff, AU-No Powers The life and times of Dick Grayson, unintentional ringleader to a gang of pickpockets, and how he learned to let go and get adopted. Or something. 

SPIDER-MAN

Death Before Inaction by hppjmxrgosg (gen), 37k, BAMF Peter Parker, WIP “Fuck off, Nicky.” “Hasn’t anyone ever told you spider-napping is illegal?” “You can’t hold me here, I know my spider-rights.” “God, you guys are so old. What are you? Like 27?” “Scale of 1 to 10, how upset would you be if I told you I banged your mom?” - Or, I got my grubby little hands on the spider-man time line and fucked around a little bit. Not much (everything) changes.

In my experience as a fandom veteran of [redacted] years, hyperfixating on fictional people is a lot more fun a) as a curated experience that maximizes enjoyment and minimizes 'hate-watching' and ship wars and harassing franchise creators and trolling; and b) when the end-goal of every interaction, fandom contribution, etc. isn't mining for ~problematic elements in a piece of media and/or amongst those who 'like' something the 'wrong' way. I spent last summer mired in health issues from mold poisoning and the house renovations that followed, during which consciously escaping into beloved fictional worlds via Tumblr and AO3 kept me sane(r than I probably would have been otherwise) - knowing that they're there when I need/want to visit is probably going to factor into my survival of the current summer as well ngl. Fandom! Come for the .GIF sets, fanart, meta, memes, (civil) discourse, and friendships; weed out unnecessary drama as much as possible.

Case-in-point, I've been working my way through the original Uncanny X-Men comic run from the 1960s, and Charles Xavier's moral ambiguity is on dazzling, four-color, two-dimensional display, as well as some rather ~dated representations of disability and the era's gender roles. Indeed, those who balk at the Rogue / Magneto ship likely have even more ire for Professor X's old-school skirt-chasing, pipe-smoking incarnation, especially when he struggles not to make his mentor-student relationship with Jean Grey even more inappropriate than it already appears to be. In my personal life, I try to avoid relationship drama, behave ethically, and communicate clearly because, like daydreaming about gay ships, doing so enhances my quality of life. On the other hand, I want to roll around in the stank of all of my favorite fictional hot messes and their bad decisions and 'unhealthy' relationship dynamics and weird sex preferences, essentially for the same reason. Below are clues for an in-post skeevy Charles scavenger hunt for your continued enjoyment:

Charles out-skeeving Mister Sinister;

Chillaxing at the Hellfire Club with Tony Stark;

Mystique remarking on Krakoa! Charles' "gross" notion to create / continue a mutant leg of the CIA;

Early 60s Wolverine isn't a fan of old-school Chuck either;

Charles scaring the crap out of Scott Summers(/other mutants);

The X-Men rough-housing and nearly harming Charles;

Odin Charles in a jaunty wizard disguise;

Jean practically climbing onto Charles' lap during a battle;

Jean taking up both nursing (!!!) and cooking (!!!) duties for Charles and like four gross teenage mutant dudes;

Charles and Jean icing out the other X-Men regarding Charles' impending death(/'death' - he gets revived almost as much as she does), much to Scott, Hank, Iceman, and Angel's discontent.

TL;DR: In the immortal words of the great philosopher, Thor Christopher Hemsworth, "Do stuff, be nice, have fun" aka don't be a dick. Have a great summer!

WIP Folder Game

I wasn't actually tagged, but I saw this on @beautyofsorrow's blog and just... couldn't resist.

Rules: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

The problem, of course, is that my "WIP folder" is in fact four different Scrivener projects with a sum total of over 100k unpublished words, so this is gonna be LONG 😅🙈 But in the past, I have found great inspiration in looking through all my wild ideas and wip's that mostly consist of a couple paragraphs or a screenshhot of a discord conversation with friends. So I'm gonna do this anyway :D

WIPs that are only notes or snippets of conversations with friends where I tell them about My Great Fic Idea

Breathe

Field Medicine

5+1 holos

Moriarty

Bashir & Soji

All in a Day's Work

Kidfic

Merged

Sugar Rush

Circuit (Dark Academia)

S1 Agnes POV

CYOA/Scavenger Hunt

The Train Job

Regency AU

Holo-Admonition

He Never Gets Any Nicer (meta)

WIPs that are mostly notes (sometimes very long, elaborate notes) but do have a bit of actual writing attached

Conference Emails

Calluses

A Day at the Faire

Cosmic Detours (one unpublished chapter)

From the Mouths of Babes

Mittens on a String

Squad

Rescuing Dahj

Podcast

WIPs that are a single paragraph (or sentence) or two with not a lot of notes or context

ricepudding

Nostalgia/Nerdiness

The Quiet Spaces in Between (Raffi & Tuvok)

Kestra (Holoween)

All Aboard

Bed Rest (Seven)

Dino Hunt

Ready Room

Cosmic Detours (one unpublished chapter)

Valkriss Tales

Brainwashing

Choose Your Path

AI Malfunction

WIPs that are quite substantial already but still need a lot more work (or for me to sit down and JUST WRITE THE THREE MISSING SENTENCES ALREADY MY GOODNESS!)

Virus

Check-Up

Raffi Whump

Game Night II (Holoween)

Snapshots

Bed Rest (Rios)

Bed Rest (Picard)

Bed Rest (Agnes)

Homecoming

Dynamic Chaos

Meadow (two unpublished chapters)

Baby on Board

Space Shark

CMO's Log (some notes and a couple unpublished chapters)

Favouritism

Four Cakes

Sleep-Deprived

In the Shallows

In the Palm of his Hand (couple unpublished chapters)

Mittens on a String (5 + 1)

Institutional Knowledge

Kestra & Rios

The Cake Is A Lie (Findings and Conclusion)

And finally: WIP's so big they are their own Scrivener Project and will never be finished because they'd be the length of a novel. Or two. (Though I usually only have a few paragraphs/chapters written, the rest is wild ideas and notes)

Star Trek: La Sirena, Episode 2 (and notes for five or six more episodes)

Star Trek: Second Chances

Post-Rusker [semi-disqualified]

Synth Ban Thriller

Star Trek Holo Novel

And I'm not gonna tag as many people as I have WIPs, because that would require me to count them. And even though I rationally know the number of WIPs is morally neutral, I still have deep shame about Not Finishing Things. I'm working hard to dismantle that and have come a long way, but I'm not there yet 😅

(Also, I may not have enough mutuals for the number of WIPs 🙈😅)

So, if you, too, would like to stroll through your WIP folder and have people ask you about some of the stories that live in your head rent free, take this as permission to go for it! 😁🖖

Run BTS: 047 | Protect the BTS Village part 1

Original Air Date: 03 APR 2018 Episode Length: 29:49 Total Parts: 2 YouTube English Subtitles: No Title Song: Blood Sweat & Tears

Synopsis: The iconic debute of the Blue Village saga. Think scavenger hunt meets a social deduction game (think werewolf/mafia for some, Among Us for others). I am completely biased by this concept. The best birthday party ever has was when my mom set up a scavenger hunt. When escape rooms became popular, i was so excited. so it's impossible for me to be objective with this episode. When I started watching Run BTS for the first time, i honestly didn't think there would be an episode that topped these.

Production: They do a great job with the location and getting coverage. the map graphic is a great piece of storytelling as well, it's a shame that it comes out a little stagnant with how little movement it's actually conveying so a more dynamic version would have helped with the pacing. The explanation screens are pretty excessive. i get that this concept is a little more complex and they are trying to avoid staff just rambling the setup, but this is definitely a crutch in these kind of eps. The art dep does a good job with what they need to do, but overall I'm not a fan. The one before the meeting is even more superfluous. I think we'd all rather have had more footage in the time consumed by that 'summary'. We just watched the scenes that it summarizes and we're about to listen to the members share it all with each other. The one after the meeting is quotes of what we just heard the members say...

Endearment: Call me crazy but I think these episodes have some of the best glimpses into authentic personality traits for the guys. They're honestly so bad at these types of elaborate setups that they have to spend the whole time focusing on that and less on being entertaining. so it feels a little more genuine.

Winner/Loser: see final part

Best Cheater: Jin, for that fake hint

Member Moments:

RM: Mechanic RM, doing such a good job trying to unravel the hints and figure out a meta of who is on his team.

JN: Bank President Jin, first instinct: make up a clue to point to Yoongi.

YG: Flower Shop Owner.... wait you can hear the intro to give it to me during his introduction?? i never noticed that before. Yoongi is so great in these kind of episodes, i don't know how to describe it, he's just the most chill version of dedication to the role playing and strategy

JH: Supermarket owner! I'm loving the irony of his description, "a social person with all the villager's info'... uh, with happens later with Jimin, Hobi clearly did not keep up with that trait! lol Hobi actually is pretty good at the searching aspect of these games, but you can tell he thrives in a team mentality. he knows how to point out what may be important and then brings it to someone else to get it to the finish line.

JM: Delivery man... i adore Jimin but you can tell that he struggled with the act. they clearly cut away from him every time something points to him being guilty. y'all i wasn't expecting to have any feels during this episode. the Jm/jk salute in the police station... i just wanted to watch a silly run ep, not be reminded of the ms.

V: Patisserie V! We didn't get much V coverage this episode, but we find out more about what he was up to in the next one.

JK: The least observant Police Officer in history. He literally picks up the hint and doesn't see it. Now it's obvious the guys were not given any direction regarding what they should be looking for, but the edit kindly points it out to the audience. bless poor JK's heart

Bonus Content: Much shorter than expected for this episode, and it's mostly the same scenes we had. does anyone know when the bonus content was released? it makes sense if it was before the final part, and they were trying to keep the reveal secret.

CQ Rank: 5

(CQ Eval Date: 04 FEB 2024)

Check out this post for my Masterlist of all episodes and descriptions of how I'm evaluating these.

Previous Episode: 046

Next Episode: 048

Heyooo I'm very fresh in the Kirby fandom, could I ask for some pointers on what order to play the games to kiiiinda get caught up in the lore? ovo

The fun thing is that you don't really have to play in any sort of order! While the games may reference other titles and expand on lore that has been provided, they're for the most part pretty self-contained enough to where old and new players can both enjoy and understand.

But if you want some of my personal recommendations of some of the more lore-heavy games, I can suggest a few!

Dark Matter Trilogy This is the trio of games that revolve around the existence of Dark Matter, a mysterious evil energy. It consists of: -Kirby's Dreamland 2 (Gameboy) -Kirby's Dreamland 3 (SNES) -Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (Nintendo 64)

The Ancients Games that revolve around/contain the mystery of an ancient highly-advanced civilization and what they left behind. Some of the games that cover this are: -Kirby Planet Robobot (3DS) -Kirby's Return to Dreamland (Wii) -Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch) -Kirby Star Allies (Switch)

And since you're new, I'll also recommend Kirby Super Star (SNES) / Kirby Super Star Ultra (DS)! They're not SUPER lore heavy (for the most part) but it's a great place to start and a good introduction to some of the mainstay characters like Dedede and Meta Knight.

Also one last pro tip: the thing with Kirby lore is that it's not always directly in your face. A lot of the time it's in the subtext. In pause screen menus during bosses or hidden in dialogue. It's almost like a scavenger hunt xD Have fun!

hiya babes, do you know of any fics where ian is the one to make a grand gesture, not the other way around? or just some good fics about ian doing some good acts of service type stuff for mickey? preferably post s10 or s11!! i’m just super sick of the shameless writers making mickey do all of the heavy lifting when it comes to lovey stuff in the later seasons. thanks!!

We do love a grand gesture! With either Ian or Mickey making it — it’s all about the love! But sometimes it seems to us that people are quick to overlook all the ways Ian has been showing his love for Mickey in the show. To get our point across, we’ll link this meta about Ian’s love languages, a great meta about "Ian fell first but Mickey fell harder" phrase and another one about Ian’s ways of showing love.

And here are some fics with Ian pulling out the stops:

I didn't kill him...did you? - Now, they were married. For real. [..] Nobody could get between them now. Not even Terry fucking Milkovich. And he was trying pretty fucking hard, too.

My Evermore - After five years of marriage, Ian wants to do something extra special for their anniversary so with the help of his family, he sets Mickey on a scavenger hunt through the city where they fell in love.

sideways - Ian attempts to make amends. Mickey tries to stay strong.

i love you so (i’ll eat you whole)  - 5 times ian uses the love languages + 1 time mickey reveals his.

One of a Kind - A couple of months after their wedding day, Mickey breaks his fingers on his left hand, and has to go to the hospital. The doctor who is treating Mickey is homophobic.

And a couple of AUs that include acts of service:

Paragraphs - Ian has an opportunity to be a reading tutor for ex-convicts. He meets one in particular that catches his eye.

You deserve good things - Mickey has been out on parole for a year and is finally feeling good about himself--feeling free. However, he soon discovers how easily everything can all come crashing down around him when a new parolee walks through the door.

Cubicle Wars - As a seasoned security expert, Mickey has protected all kinds of high-end merchandise, but he never thought his cubicle, or his heart, would need protecting too.

There are also a few on this list for you to check out as well.

July 24th is Villain Day

Whether we’re talking classic Bond or Craig Bond, it takes a great villain to make a great Bond movie. Let’s take today to celebrate all of the awesome baddies from Bond canon! 

Ways to participate:

Post villain headcanons

Draw villain fanart

Write villain ficlets

Make villain meta 

Rec villain-centric fics 

Create villain-inspired meals (don’t forget to tag with @mi6caferecipes) 

And any other villain-related activities! 

Also check out the Scavenger Hunt items #4, 22, 24, 31, 66, 73, and 79 for some more inspiration!

Tag with #007 Fest and we’ll reblog! 

🔥 Wildfires Rage as Canadian Officials Slam Facebook's News Ban! 😱

Facebook vs. Wildfires: A Comedy of Errors So there I was, sitting in my cozy Canadian igloo, sipping on my maple syrup-infused tea, when suddenly the whole city of Yellowknife decided it was time for a mass evacuation. Oh, sure, wildfires were closing in, but instead of just shouting out the window, "Hey, grab your moose slippers and let's get outta here!", they turned to their trusty pal, Facebook. Now, you'd think this would be a straightforward situation, right? I mean, how hard is it to post a link to some serious news about impending wildfires? Apparently, as hard as convincing a beaver to take up knitting. The city's brilliant idea? "Hey folks, instead of making things easy and posting the news directly, let's make everyone play a game of digital hide-and-seek! Step 1: Open Google. Step 2: Type in 'CPAC Canada' or visit www.cpac.ca (just remove those pesky spaces). Can you feel the excitement in the air? It's like an online scavenger hunt, wildfire edition! Oh, but wait, there's a plot twist! You see, Facebook, being the drama queen it is, decided to give news articles the cold shoulder in Canada. Why, you ask? Well, apparently, our friendly neighborhood lawmakers passed a law that's all like, "Hey, Meta, pay up for the news, will ya?" And Meta was like, "Nah, I'd rather eat poutine flavored with sorrow." So, they decided to just delete all the news from Canadian feeds. Meanwhile, the Online News Act is waiting backstage, ready to make its grand entrance in December. But Meta, oh no, they're waving their hands in surrender like a hockey player who just lost a tooth: "We can't do this, eh? We're shutting down the news, buddy." Now, I get it, it's a bit tough. But honestly, this is like your pet moose deciding to moonwalk when you're facing a stampede. Canadians love their Facebook and Instagram, you know? Especially the folks in the middle of nowhere who rely on them more than they do on their hockey sticks. And who better to add a dash of maple-flavored sarcasm to the mix than good ol' Prime Minister Justin Trudeau? He's like, "Hey, Facebook, we're drowning in wildfires up here, and all you care about is your Tim Hortons order." I might've added the Tim Hortons part, but you get the idea. So, what's a Canadian to do? Well, some have become internet ninjas, typing out full URLs, taking screenshots like it's a selfie spree, or just giving Facebook and Instagram the cold shoulder (like they haven't seen enough of that already, eh?). Then there's Ollie Williams, the news editor at Cabin Radio. He's like, "Facebook, you're about as useful as a screen door on a submarine." They've thrown in the towel and are doing the news tango somewhere else. But hey, there's a silver lining to this cloud of digital chaos. Cabin Radio's audience has stepped up like a beaver building an extra-strong dam. They're screenshotting news like it's the latest meme and spreading the word like hockey fans at a winning game. Turns out, in the battle of news vs. Facebook, the audience took the puck and scored. But not everyone's riding this comedy train. Melissa David, founder of Parachutes for Pets, is trying to save animals from the wildfires. She's all like, "We need Facebook for verified info," but Facebook's playing hard to get. Without a news article, her announcement got lost in the digital tundra. So, she's recruiting extra volunteers, because, you know, the more the merrier when dealing with flaming furballs. And let's not forget Trevor Moss, head honcho at the Central Okanagan Food Bank. He's like, "Come on, Facebook, we're in a food crisis, not a social media drama." But alas, Facebook's ghosting news, leaving them hungry for both bites and bytes. So there you have it, the great Facebook news blackout of Canada. It's like a sitcom where Facebook's the quirky neighbor who's decided to wear a paper bag over its head, just when we needed information the most. Will the Online News Act swoop in like a superhero to save the day? Will Canadians continue to outsmart Facebook's shenanigans? Stay tuned, eh? # Facebook vs. Wildfires: A Comedy of Errors So there I was, sitting in my cozy Canadian igloo, sipping on my maple syrup-infused tea, when suddenly the whole city of Yellowknife decided it was time for a mass evacuation. Oh, sure, wildfires were closing in, but instead of just shouting out the window, "Hey, grab your moose slippers and let's get outta here!", they turned to their trusty pal, Facebook. Now, you'd think this would be a straightforward situation, right? I mean, how hard is it to post a link to some serious news about impending wildfires? Apparently, as hard as convincing a beaver to take up knitting. The city's brilliant idea? "Hey folks, instead of making things easy and posting the news directly, let's make everyone play a game of digital hide-and-seek! Step 1: Open Google. Step 2: Type in 'CPAC Canada' or visit www.cpac.ca (just remove those pesky spaces). Can you feel the excitement in the air? It's like an online scavenger hunt, wildfire edition! Oh, but wait, there's a plot twist! You see, Facebook, being the drama queen it is, decided to give news articles the cold shoulder in Canada. Why, you ask? Well, apparently, our friendly neighborhood lawmakers passed a law that's all like, "Hey, Meta, pay up for the news, will ya?" And Meta was like, "Nah, I'd rather eat poutine flavored with sorrow." So, they decided to just delete all the news from Canadian feeds. Meanwhile, the Online News Act is waiting backstage, ready to make its grand entrance in December. But Meta, oh no, they're waving their hands in surrender like a hockey player who just lost a tooth: "We can't do this, eh? We're shutting down the news, buddy." Now, I get it, it's a bit tough. But honestly, this is like your pet moose deciding to moonwalk when you're facing a stampede. Canadians love their Facebook and Instagram, you know? Especially the folks in the middle of nowhere who rely on them more than they do on their hockey sticks. And who better to add a dash of maple-flavored sarcasm to the mix than good ol' Prime Minister Justin Trudeau? He's like, "Hey, Facebook, we're drowning in wildfires up here, and all you care about is your Tim Hortons order." I might've added the Tim Hortons part, but you get the idea. So, what's a Canadian to do? Well, some have become internet ninjas, typing out full URLs, taking screenshots like it's a selfie spree, or just giving Facebook and Instagram the cold shoulder (like they haven't seen enough of that already, eh?). Then there's Ollie Williams, the news editor at Cabin Radio. He's like, "Facebook, you're about as useful as a screen door on a submarine." They've thrown in the towel and are doing the news tango somewhere else. But hey, there's a silver lining to this cloud of digital chaos. Cabin Radio's audience has stepped up like a beaver building an extra-strong dam. They're screenshotting news like it's the latest meme and spreading the word like hockey fans at a winning game. Turns out, in the battle of news vs. Facebook, the audience took the puck and scored. But not everyone's riding this comedy train. Melissa David, founder of Parachutes for Pets, is trying to save animals from the wildfires. She's all like, "We need Facebook for verified info," but Facebook's playing hard to get. Without a news article, her announcement got lost in the digital tundra. So, she's recruiting extra volunteers, because, you know, the more the merrier when dealing with flaming furballs. And let's not forget Trevor Moss, head honcho at the Central Okanagan Food Bank. He's like, "Come on, Facebook, we're in a food crisis, not a social media drama." But alas, Facebook's ghosting news, leaving them hungry for both bites and bytes. So there you have it, the great Facebook news blackout of Canada. It's like a sitcom where Facebook's the quirky neighbor who's decided to wear a paper bag over its head, just when we needed information the most. Will the Online News Act swoop in like a superhero to save the day? Will Canadians continue to outsmart Facebook's shenanigans? Stay tuned, eh? Read the full article

For round seven: Math anon is back from the dead. When considering what the second most important item in the universe might be we must go straight 2 the numbers. Specifically, the number 2. Two 2s. In other words 02x02. What happens in that episode? Clowns. Scary death clowns. The next episode with clowns… 07x14. What’s 14 divided by 7? 2. There are no coincidences. That means in fact the second most important object is two objects. And both of them are in 2x02. Do you see it yet? (1/2)

I won’t keep you in suspense. The second most important objects in the universe is a tie between Ash’s mullet and Sam Winchester’s hair, the two most plot relevant elements of the episode. Remember, math doesn’t lie. (2/2)

Okay that was pretty suspenseful because I thought you were going to say that awful clown chair was one of the things and I couldn’t imagine what the other was :P

The Great Meta Scavenger Hunt: Round 5 - IT WAS ALL A DREAM?!

[ridiculously belated entry d/t bad time management, and rl dystopianism. but mostly bad time management. I’d say ‘here, hold my tea’ but it’s gone cold and ugly and it’d be better to just dump it out. er. 

Here, dump my tea.]

Everything after Sam jumps into the cage in Swan Song is Sam dreaming in the cage.

The show starts with Sam trying very hard to escape his itinerant laborer roots, climbing the ladder, reaching to grasp the law-school rung... and Dean, like a crab in a bucket, grabbing Sam by the leg and dragging him back down into the scrum.

Over the first five seasons, though, the Winchesters discover that they are of the bloodlines of angelic vessels. Archangelic vessels. Specially prophesied archangelic vessels. Their very existence was specially ordained of God. And that re-casts the Winchester childhood from ordinary impoverishment into the preamble to a fairy tale. Gotta start off a poor man’s foster-child if you’re going to end up a prince.

(Dean was always onto that - far as he was concerned, the Winchesters were always special, superheroes, knights-errant defending the defenseless from peril. When John & Dean ‘protected’ tiny Sam from the supernatural, they prevented tiny Sam from developing the feeling that he was that kind of special.)

Sam dives into the cage and into this dream.

Almost the first thing his subconscious does is up the ante on this inherited nobility bit. His grandfather (and namesake) wasn’t just some hunter. His grandfather was hunting royalty. The Samuel Campbell Sam makes in his dream is a resurrected Warrior King. (And eligible for the Mayflower Society, which is super-hilarious.) But Sam never did like hunting. He can’t reconcile himself - his whole self - to the society of warrior kings. When he’s with the dreamed-up Campbells, Sam is a soulless robot going through the motions. The hunter clan, the family he’s supposed to want, proves weak and corrupt. They fall away one by one.

Sam re-integrates his dream-self into a tattered sort of whole.

Next Sam’s subconscious conjures up Henry Winchester. This newly-fabricated grandfather tells the boys that they are legacies of a secret knowledge-collecting society. Sam and Dean are the heirs to this time-traveling Philosopher King, and he sets them on the quest which leads them to their ancestral Bat Cave/ castle/ Hunter Barbie Dreamhouse. Sam finally gets a permanent room of his own with a lock on the door, plus an attached library, garage, dungeon, etc. Those philosopher kings had every material thing Sam and Dean could wish for. (Plus! a near-total lack of living MoL, so they can’t disappoint or betray the way the Campbells did.)

Class is complicated. It’s a tangled mess of money and status markers and (sometimes, some places) who your parents were.

Sam wanted a life better than homelessness and poverty, so he spent his childhood and youth working to make a leap to the bourgeoisie. On the cusp of adulthood, Sam is informed that he’s not meant for the bourgeoisie - not because he’s not good enough for the middle class, but because he’s too good. His blood has destined him for yet-higher things. As a pawn, but still. Higher things.

In his afterlife, he’s dreamed himself into a scion of three different strains of hereditary nobility. He and his brother unite in their persons warrior kings, philosopher kings, and divine right. They fight and win against gods, primordial monsters, forces of nature, all comers. They walk the earth helping people and have a secure home to return to. This dream of Sam’s has turned himself and Dean into kings under the hill. At the end of season 11, God himself gives the world into Sam and Dean’s keeping.

So it makes sense, Sam telling Mary he didn’t want out of the life. He and Dean are the princes of the damn universe. No further class-climbing is necessary, or even possible.

“The Invisible Enemy”: or how Castiel invited a ‘Clown’ into his life

When I first opened up my two superwiki pages I was horrified. I thought there was no way I would be able to connect the two. How on earth was I going to connect such a brilliant and painful season finale with such an obscure monster, one that I only remembered so much about because there was a trivia question about it at AHBL last year. But the more I read, the more I realized that this wasn’t the case and it all culminated in an exploration of the invisible enemy.

In 2x02 ‘Everybody Loves a Clown’ we are introduced to the Rakshasa, a monster that feeds on human flesh and can only be killed with a brass blade. In this episode, the Rakshasa, capable of shapeshifting, takes on the form of a clown. Some of the defining characterisations of the Rakshasa are that it can only enter a house if invited and that it can turn invisible.

In other words, the Rakshasa tricks naive children into trusting them and letting them in and then they proceed to reveal their true colours and destroys the child’s family.

Which brings me to my second superwiki page. 8.23 ‘Sacrifice’.

There were, arguably, a lot of invisible enemies in this episode from the dangerous levels of codependency shown between Sam and Dean to Crowley’s no longer hidden desire for love but only one that the Rakshasa reminded me of.

Metatron.

While not completely an invisible enemy to the audience he wasn’t revealed to be a villain to Castiel until the end when Cas had already let him in. Just like the children who trusted the Rakshasa, the true dangers were hidden from him until too late.

Metatron tricked Cas into trusting him, aka letting him in, which resulted in him getting into Castiel’s family home (heaven) and destroying it. Rather than killing them as the Rakshasa did, Metatron hit heavens eject button and caused all the angels to fall which to many of them was worse than death. And just like the Rakshasa, Metatron was kind to the one he’s tricked. Whilst the Rakshasa let the child live, Metatron gave Cas the best chance of all the angels to actually fit in by making him human and promised him a place in heaven when he died.

The child’s witnessed their family’s death at the hand of someone they had trusted and must have felt an extraordinary amount of guilt and horror, or at least our ‘child’ did.

Metatron and the Rakshasa both take on a humanoid form which hides their true power and deludes the everyday masses into thinking they have little power. Even something to laugh at.

So whilst one wears the face of a clown and murders the family’s of their ‘friends’ the other wears the face of a human and threw every single angel down to earth after betraying his ‘friends’ trust. 

Also, they both can only be killed by a special blade, in the Rakshasa’s case the blade is brass and in Metatron’s an angel blade. Of course, Amara ultimately kills Metatron though it is notable that he is human at the time.

So much for a confusing pair of wiki pages. 

Round 7: Less Important than Freedom.

For Round 7 of the Great Meta Scavenger Hunt  we’re writing about our pick for the second most important object in the SPN universe (after Baby, which is of course, the first).

Someday I’m gonna write a meta about something sweet and innocent and nonviolent. But since I’m me and SPN is SPN, this is not that day. As second most important object in the universe, I choose:

       Amara’s Prison (actual product may differ from image shown).      

Chuck picks the Impala as the most important object in the universe because it saves humanity from destruction, when Sam is able to take control back from Lucifer, as the presence of the Impala reminds him of his love for, and unwillingness to kill, Dean.

So initially I was going to say that Baby represents love, or maybe family. But in fact, SPN is largely about love and family not only as positive, but also as harmful, forces. Most (possibly all) of the major plot arcs are the result of family members and/or people who love each other being unable to resolve their conflicts in non-harmful ways.

And if Baby represents the solution to SPN’s recurring central problem (whatever that is), I’d say the prison Chuck and Lucifer locked Amara away in best represents the problem itself.

Let’s review the entire plot of the SPN universe, from the very beginning! The existence of the universe depends on a balance between creation and destruction, order and entropy. But Entropy/Amara was always breaking Chuck’s things (which is, after all, Entropy’s job), so Chuck enlisted Lucifer to help him lock Amara away somewhere in solitary confinement for all the remaining millennia, using the Mark of Cain as a combo lock/key. The MoC over time drove Lucifer into destructiveness, so Chuck locked him away in solitary confinement too. Lucifer, in his MoC-caused hatefulness had already created the first demon, and over the massive time of Lucifer’s imprisonment, his demon children hatched the plot to start the Apocalypse.

So, Chuck’s decision to imprison Amara, instead of using his words, resulted semi-directly in the entire S2-5 Apocalypse plot arc and the entire S9-11 MoC/Book of the Damned/Darkness plot arc.

But more than that I’d also say that symbolically, it also represents the entire karmic chain of using imprisonment to solve family conflict. Chuck imprisons Amara first, but then Michael and Chuck imprison Lucifer too. Chuck imprisons Eve and the monsters in Purgatory (S6-8 plot arcs accounted for). Dean imprisons Sam in the panic room. Zachariah imprisons Dean and Adam in the Green Room. Lucifer imprisons Sam and Dean in the church. Sam imprisons Lucifer, Adam, Michael, and himself in the cage.

Later, Sam and Dean try to imprison all of the demons in Hell, but fail. And I’d even argue that you can count nonconsensual possession as a kind of imprisonment too, in which the victim is imprisoned in their own body, which they no longer control. So the angels imprison Gadreel and then Gadreel imprisons Sam.

And there you go; basically all of SPN except Metatron’s Fall spell (which I guess is exile/isolation instead), and the MotWs. That’s a lot of a very specific kind of family violence.

So maybe in a way what the Impala actually represents is love as freedom. Cars in American folklore, and especially muscle cars, traditionally represent freedom, and Chuck even says in his monologue, in Swan Song, that “Up against good, evil, angels, devils, destiny, and God himself, they made their own choice. They chose family.” The “family” part I don’t find too convincing. But the love as respect for free choice, yeah, I like that, and I think SPN at it’s best is largely about that, and maybe the triumph of the Impala over the best laid plans of God and angels is too. When the characters in SPN are doing wrong, they’re largely taking away other’s freedom (Amara’s prison); when they’re doing right, they’re largely respecting it (Baby).

Soooo guys I’m doing this

Hold my beer honeybush nevermind my mom drank my honeybush. Hold my tap water. 

Alright. First click on the link

Mmm alright, interesting episode, deep themes, excellent for meta things.

Second click on the link

FUCK EVERYTHING

THE FUCKING FUCKITY FUCK

Mark Campbell

I didn’t even remember his name or face before opening the page

What the fuck

No WAIT

WAIT

THE FUCK

*smacks forehead*

OF COURSE

Guys this is an excellent combination. Keep holding my tap water.

Ready?

Metamorphosis. Sam is questioning a demon about Lilith’s whereabouts. He’s a man on a mission. Hero, the demon mockingly calls him, to deny he is, as he’s slutting around with some demon. But Sam doesn’t care. He wants to get the job done, finding Lilith in this case. In fact, he wants to get the job done as efficiently and cost-free as possible: he uses his demon powers to exorcise the demon from the possessed person, allowing the possessed person to survive. Ruby will get him to the ER, and he’ll be okay, we suppose. Still Sam doesn’t know where Lilith is; he doesn’t realize that that’s exactly the point, that Ruby wants him to exercise his powers, not to find Lilith at all. Lilith will show up when it’s time for her to make her move on the chessboard of the apocalypse-making.

But let’s get back to Dean’s reaction to discovering about Sam and Ruby going around hunting demons.

SAM: Dean, what are you doing? [Dean keeps packing his things] What, are you- are you leaving? DEAN: You don't need me. You and Ruby go fight demons. SAM: Hold on. Dean, come on, man. [Dean punches him] You satisfied? [Dean punches him again] I guess not. DEAN: Do you even know how far off the reservation you've gone? How far from normal? From human? SAM: I'm just exorcising demons. DEAN: With your mind! What else can you do? SAM: I can send them back to hell. It only works with demons, and that's it. DEAN: What else can you do?! SAM: I told you! DEAN: And I have every reason in the world to believe that. SAM: Look, I should have said something. I'm sorry, Dean. I am. But try to see the other side here. DEAN: The other side? SAM: I'm pulling demons out of innocent people. DEAN: Use the knife! SAM: The knife kills the victim! What I do, most of them survive! Look, I've saved more people in the last five months than we save in a year. DEAN: That what Ruby want you to think? Huh? Kind of like the way she tricked you into using your powers? Slippery slope, brother. Just wait and see. Because it's gonna get darker and darker, and God knows where it ends. SAM: I'm not gonna let it go too far. DEAN: It's already gone too far, Sam. If I didn't you know... I would wanna hunt you. And so would other hunters. SAM: You were gone. I was here. I had to keep on fighting without you. And what I'm doing... it works. DEAN: Well, tell me. If it's so terrific... then why'd you lie about it to me? Why did an angel tell me to stop you? SAM: What? DEAN: Cas said that if I don't stop you, he will. See what that means, Sam? That means that God doesn't want you doing this. So, are you just gonna stand there and tell me everything is all good?

Ooooh man. 

I’m not going to go further down the script of Metamorphosis; the MoTW is a clear mirror for the journey the Winchesters are going through and there surely are more analyses of the episode written by brilliant meta writers out there that we can count.

At the end of the episode, Sam decides to stop using his powers, scared that he might step over a critical point, like the monster of the week, and turn into a monster irreversibly; we know how the story goes, still there are very important lines (I can't keep explaining myself to you. I can't make you understand. [...] I can't. Because this thing, this blood, it's not in you the way it's in me. It's just something I got to deal with / I'm not doing it for you. Or for the angels or for anybody. This is my choice.) but this is not the place to discuss about that side of the story. Because in this post we’re talking about Metamorphosis and Mark Campbell - aka the situation we find at the beginning of season 6. Mark doesn’t say many words and dies pretty much right away, in the second episode of the season. His role in the narrative is to present us, the viewers, and the character we’re looking at the story through, Dean, what has been going on.

And guess what? In the months before the beginning of season 4, Sam was on his own (as in, completely separated from Dean, emotionally separated from Bobby) hunting demons with Ruby. In the months before the beginning of season 6, Sam was on his own (as in, completely separated from Dean, emotionally separated from Bobby) hunting things with the Campbells.

And in both Metamorphosis and the first episodes of season 6 we’re put in front of a similar situation regarding Sam and Dean: Sam defends his actions, adducing rational arguments - and yet deep down he feels a wrongness NOT in his actions but in himself - and Dean is disturbed at Sam’s actions and angry at Sam keeping things hidden from him.

Oh boy.

This is so classically Sam and Dean that it hurts. Sam feels something wrong in the depth of his self (his blood in season 4, “somewhere” in season 6 until Dean and Cas find out about the soul thing), but rationalizes his actions. Dean, on the other hand, has the idea of “normal” flashing in his mind like a pulsing neon sign (Do you even know how far off the reservation you've gone? How far from normal? From human?) WHAT’S WITH META THINGS THESE DAYS AND THE CONCEPT OF “NORMAL” FOR DEAN POPPING OUT EVERYWHERE??? Oh yes, it’s me bringing it out because I am like this. I have too many feels about it and I am a cry because it’s just too much for my little heart to handle. and is freaked out by what’s wrong with Sam but also doesn’t drink Sam’s rationalizations.

Sam’s explanation for what he does with Ruby make sense. He is saving people instead of killing the meatsuit together with the demon. The narrative plays with us, asking us the question: who’s right?. And in this moment we are supposed to tend towards Sam: Dean is stubborn and rigid in his judgement, he’s black and white. Demon=bad, human=good. Normal=human, using-demon-powers-and-working-with-Ruby=not-normal. We are supposed to be on Sam’s side here. Dean would just have let the poor possessed guy die, stabbed him with the knife... We are supposed to believe that Ruby is helping Sam, that Dean’s unbending and uncompromising attitude is overstrict and narrow-minded and wrong. But then the narrative pulls out the twist and we realize that Dean was right all along, that his unbending and uncompromising attitude is what brings them out of the apocalypse, it’s what rips the script of fate and saves humanity.

Sam has good intentions, but he’s a consequentialist, while Dean is a deontologist. I invite you to read what I wrote about it here and here because it would get too long to discuss about those themes here. In the first post linked I also discuss the apparent contradiction between Dean’s deontology and Sam’s consequentialism and what instead are their stances on good/evil.

Because despite Dean being black and white in his ‘what’s the right thing to do/what’s the wrong thing to do’ while Sam is more flexible, their attitudes towards discriminating between good and evil are different.

Dean sees matters in a scale of doing good and doing evil, which is a spectrum and is connected to actions and choices, not essential characteristics. Sam sees matters in terms of being right and being wrong - and pay attention, ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ here does not refer to opinions/knowledge (I say 2+2=4 and I’m right, I say 2+2=5 and I’m wrong) but to an essential quality of the self. We should probably use the terms ‘alright’ and ‘wrong’ - for Sam, you are either alright or there is something wrong with you. And by the generic you, he usually means himself. I mean, there’s always something wrong with Sam lol. Even in round 1 I talked about his fear of being ‘wrong’ in Dog Dean Afternoon...

Sam doesn’t feel conflicted about using demon powers because of the goodness/evilness of the action of using demon powers itself. He feels freaked out by the fact that he has demon blood in himself, that he is contaminated. He is not ‘right’, he is ‘wrong’, there is something wrong with his self in an essential way. Sam tells Dean that Dean can’t understand, and, well, he’s correct; Dean judges things on an entirely different scale, it’s not about Sam having demon blood or not, Sam being impure or not, Sam being ‘wrong’ or not. It’s a matter of Sam doing things. DEAN is the actual advocate for free will, because DEAN is all about the actions you choose to make. Sam is all about what you are, whether you are pure or not. Sam is delighted when he thinks the trials are purifying him, because he only thinks he can be saved if he’s pure. Dean doesn’t care about pure or impure, he cares about what a person does or not. When Dean has the Mark, when he feels the darkness inside of him, he is not bothered by being contaminated by something - he’s bothered because the Mark makes him lose control over his actions.

Speaking of Mark - let’s go back to another kind of Mark, i.e. Mark Campbell. (Totally unintentional connection, I swear. It just happened.)

Sam rationalizes his hunting life with Mark, Gwen, Christian and Samuel, just like he rationalized his life with Ruby. Dean was in hell back then, and he relied on Ruby. Now, Dean is with Lisa and Ben, and Sam chooses not to let him know he’s alive not to disrupt his apple pie life. His hunting methods in Metamorphosis saved lives; hunting with the Campbells makes sense, they’re efficient together and everything, Sam is somehow an even better hunter than usual, Dean is enjoying his quiet life with Lisa and Ben, everything’s good.

But the Campbells are an alarm bell, just like the whole demon powers thing was an alarm bell - an alarm bell Dean hears.

Dean, stubborn and rigid in his judgement... knows immediately and instinctively if something is a no-no. He knew the Ruby thing was a no-no. He understands immediately that Sam’s behavior at the beginning of season 6 is a red flag. Dean knows immediately the Campbells are not to be trusted, just like he didn’t trust Ruby. He warmed up to Ruby when he found out she saved Sam from his suicidal urges after Dean went to hell, just like he tried to warm up to the Campbells and work with them. But inside he always knew neither Ruby or the Campbells belonged in their space. (See how Dean immediately trusts Cas’ judgement instead - Why did an angel tell me to stop you? - and in season 6 he kept putting trust in Cas until it blew into his face, and yet he was still right in his judgement of Cas).

Sam isn’t bothered by actions, he’s bothered by the feeling that something is not right with him. The demon blood, rather than the act of exercising his powers in itself. When he’s soulless and doesn’t know it yet, he feels there is something wrong with him; even without his soul, his there’s-something-wrong-with-Sam-radar is fully functioning anyway. Dean, on the other hand, doesn’t judge Sam for what he is or the state he’s in. He’s “far from normal, from human” NOT because he has demon blood in him, but because he uses the powers that come with it. He’d hunt Sam because of his use of the demon powers, not because he has them in the first place, as he’s shown all along (see the entire Gordon Walker arc...).

Many people have criticized Dean for blaming Sam for things Sam wasn’t fully responsible for. See Southern Comfort: Mistakes? Well, let's go through some of Sammy's greatest hits. Drinking demon blood? Check. Being in cahoots with Ruby? Not telling me that you lost your soul? Or how about running around with Samuel for a whole year, letting me think that you were dead while you were doing all kinds of crazy? Those aren't mistakes, Sam. Those are choices!

But that’s the point. Dean believes so much in human agency that he tends to see everything as a choice. He exaggerates sometimes? Yes. But that’s what makes Dean Dean, what allows him to save the world so many times. What brings Cas to him. Of course we were in season 8 at the time of Southern Comfort, and Dean has gone through the Mark of Cain storyline which has made him experience a situation where his agency is endangered. But he never fails to have faith in the human ability to keep hold of their agency, to the point he kills Death instead of letting Death dictate his actions for him. But I would digress if I talked about that Mark...

This is how Metamorphosis ends:

SAM: These powers... it's playing with fire. I'm done with them. I'm done with everything. DEAN: Really? Well, that's a relief. Thank you. SAM: Don't thank me. I'm not doing it for you. Or for the angels or for anybody. This is my choice.

Oh, Sam. Here’s the word choice, the word Dean uses in Southern Comfort to describe Sam’s decisions to work with Ruby first and to hunt with the Campbells later. (And there we thought Metamorphosis and a random Campbell were such a random association. Southern Comfort makes that association explicit lmao.)

Dean blames him for Ruby and the Campbells because he calls them choices. And it’s Sam who uses the word choice first; a choice he doesn’t follow on. Sam ascribes the possibility of choice to himself regarding the Ruby situation.

Can we ascribe the possibility of choice to Sam while soulless? Maybe yes, maybe no. But Dean does because that’s what Dean believes in more than anything. That there is always a choice. In My Time Of Dying:

TESSA: Whatever's gonna happen's gonna happen. It's out of my control, it's fate. DEAN: Huh. Well, that's crap. You always have a choice. You can either roll over and die or you can keep fighting, no matter what...

If Dean didn’t believe that you always have a choice, what happens? Soul Survivor:

SAM: Look, if you come out of that room, I won’t have a choice!

DEAN: Sure you will! And I know which one you’ll make. Isn’t that right, Sammy? But see… Here’s the thing: I’m lucky. Oh, hell, I’m blessed! ‘Cause there’s just enough demon left in me that killing you? Ain’t no choice at all.

Well, this “ain’t no choice at all” is a figure of speech; it’s a choice Dean has just already made. But I find the wording Dean chooses interesting, because he’s saying that that choice has been made for him by the ‘demon left in him’ after all. Dean knows he would never choose to kill Sam otherwise, so now choosing to kill him isn’t exactly a choice. It’s a choice made by the instinct of self-preservation that the demon-ness has placed on top of everything else inside of him. I have been saying that Dean has always set his self-awareness aside for survival (his and his family’s); in fact, demon Dean decides to act on that self-awareness (that John was abusive, that Sam is sucking the life out of him) out of an instinct of self-preservation that the Mark of Cain heightens in him while he’s a demon. Dean always knew that John was abusive and that his role as Sam’s caretaker denied him a full life of his own; his demon-ness makes him prioritize his self-preservation over the choice to set that awareness aside for the sake of his family. Jeez, I digressed again.

In conclusion, a comparison of Metamorphosis and the role of Mark Campbell in the narrative tell us a lot about Sam’s and Dean’s attitudes towards morality and towards free will.

There are of course more things that can be said about these topics, for instance regarding to the concept of “normal” and “human”, mentioned by Dean in that speech at the beginning of Metamorphosis, and Sam’s demon blood situation and the situation of a human without a soul; but I think I have written enough in this post and I’ll just free you from this hellhole of meta.

Collaboration Week (July 17-23)

This fandom is nothing without the people in it. And here at the MI6 Cafe, we want to create a community of fans. So this week is all about collaborating with others!

Collaboration can take many forms. Maybe it is co-writing a story, or brainstorming together so that one person writes a story and the other creates artwork. Maybe it is helping research for a meta post. Or perhaps it is finally working on that collab table you’ve been ignoring.

However you do it, take this week to reach out to other people in the fandom and create something with someone else!

This would be a great week to attempt Scavenger Hunt items #2, 95, 98, 99, and 100!

We also have a few theme days coming up, including our very collaborative competitive team days:

July 17: Animals of Bond Day 

July 19: Polyamory Day 

July 22: Agent Day 

July 23: Q Branch Day 

July 24: Villain Day 

Post the result of your collaborations and tag them with #007 Fest so the Cafe can find and reblog them!

---

Additional events can also be found in the 007 Fest Calendar. 

If you organize events that you want included on this Calendar, talk to the captains of your team.

The Great Meta Scavenger Hunt - Round 3: Stanford vs Zeppelin

No, I didn’t participate in either of the first two weeks.  I might not participate ever again.  But I clicked the thing and a kernel of meta demanded to be written.

For this week’s great meta scavenger hunt, I ended up with Led Zeppelin and Stanford University.  Turning them over in my head, it became obvious that while Stanford was what Sam used to pretend to normality, Zeppelin (and the rest of Dean’s classic rock collection) shaped Dean’s personal image of normality.

Sam wanted to pretend he was a normal guy, so he did what he thought normal people do; he went to school to become someone else.  For several years he succeeded and was just another guy. Dean was content to be a hunter, but being bi gave him something about himself he felt he had to conceal.  Modelling himself after his icons (though he had to keep his hair short for hunting, and you’re now imagining a shaggy Dean) made him the very image of excess and debauchery and undeniably straight.

For both, they’ve had to discover for themselves that there is no such thing as normal, especially not for them, and no need for a facade.  Sam can be smart and a standup guy and a great hunter without Stanford, and Dean can be himself without the dudebro rock star mask.

I have no idea whether I’ve made sense or not.  Maybe I should’ve kept clicking and pretended it was my first click.

Round two of the “Hold My Beer” Great Meta Scavenger Hunt

For this, our honorary Misha Collins figure and Scavenger Hunt queen @elizabethrobertajones has asked us to rank all 12 season openers OR all 11 (12 if you are feeling super ambitious) season finales by a theme, character, concept etc of your choice.

I figured I might as well make this super difficult for myself and go with three D’s for my theme. Being Doom, Death and Destiel. I’m also picking finales over openers because, well finales usually have more of the three D’s in general. Doom is based on how bad the situation is for the world at the end of the episode, Death is based on the deaths in the episode and the emotional punch of those deaths, and destiel is based on how much destiel (or the ground work for destiel) there actually is in the episode. I’ll give each episode a ranking out of 10 for each ‘D’ and then average it out for my final scale… and try not to be intimidated at adding maths into a meta post. Ha. 

I should apologise for submitting this so late, but Lizzy did stress there was no real deadline and I have always been terrible at deadlines anyway.

Under the cut as this is loooonnngggg. Enjoy. :)

Season 1, episode 22.

DOOM – John is possessed by Azazel, but he gets over it, Azazel gets away, and the Winchester’s get pretty upset about this. Meg gets exorcised though so actually doom wise there is less of a threat by episode end than there has been all season. Azazel is on the loose but the Winchesters still have the colt. Very little doom. 1/10.

DEATH – Ah to remember the days when the Winchesters actually cared about the meat suits the demons possessed… Oh how things change. Meg is exorcised and the actual human Meg dies of her injuries (did the demon just keep using the name of the girl it possessed? That one always confused me) John almost kills Dean but doesn’t and marks the first in a long line of people in this season who overcome possession to save Dean thanks to their undying love for him (and yet the boy still thinks he is worthless). Big car crash at the end leaves us with a cliff hanger wondering if the Winchester’s are dead but its such a normal way to try to kill them that we all know it aint gonna stick. 3/10 for attempting to scare the audience into thinking the Winchesters can be killed by a TRUCK. Pfft.

DESTIEL - I miss Cas. Did I mention I’m a Cas girl and think his presence makes this series infinitely better?! Still, what we do get in this episode is a Dean who admits that he lies and Azazel mocking Dean’s personality as always hiding the truth, the pain… etc… So we start to get some good insight into Dean’s character, we know by this episode that Dean hides A LOT and puts on a performance all the time. We know that the tough guy macho image he tries to portray is in no way near the real him. But I’m scraping the barrel so it still only gets 1/10 for the barest glimpses into Dean’s true self and the hint that he is hiding a lot more.

Season 2, episode 22.

DOOM – One dead yellowed eyed demon, one demon deal for Dean and a whole lot of evil unleashed upon the world. We got some good levels of doom here, even if Azazel is gone. At least John Winchester managed to crawl out of hell and disappear off… somewhere… do we ever find out what happened to John Winchester’s soul? Maybe he decided to hang around on earth haunting some poor unsuspecting bystander. For that reason and all other reasons above, I’m ranking this a 4/10. They were still just ordinary demons that were unleashed after all… and that was a weird sentence to write.

DEATH – Well, that was emotional. We get some pretty stirring speeches from Dean over poor Sam’s corpse, but he comes back. Of course. So it doesn’t really count unless we are counting deaths for emotional impact rather than if they STAY dead. Dean shoots Azazel in a very therapeutic moment for him, and also threw his own life away to save his brother. Also this made me chuckle: “Dad brought me back, Bobby. I'm not even supposed to be here.” Oh Dean. You’ll get used to it. Happens all the time. I’m also adding a point for the death of Ash last episode because damn. I liked Ash. Besides, technically this was a two parter. 6/10 for emotional impact and because they finally killed the bad guy.

DESTIEL – Well, there isn’t much I can really say as one half of this love pairing isn’t even here yet. But, on Dean’s side we are getting more and more hints into his now glaringly obvious bisexuality. I’m using 2x21 here because as said above, this is a two parter. Dean identifies Ash by his watch which tells an interesting story (I’m not gonna get into the Dean x Ash stuff here and instead direct you here for that glorious analysis) and also we got Lily who was a Dean mirror who lost everything thanks to Azazels influence (like Dean at episode end) and lost her life because of her inability to accept the situation she was in (like Dean at the end of this episode). So, for that reason I’m rating this a 2/10.

Season 3, episode 16

DOOM – Not so much in terms of doom this episode, Lilith was already out and doing her thing, We all still think Ruby is a good guy, the world is no more broken than it has been all season. 3/10

DEATH – Oh Dean. As Dickens would say he is as dead as a door-nail, and then go on about why a door-nail was considered a good simile for death. Perhaps the Horseman Death could answer that question, but I digress. Dean is dead, and Sam is very sad, and there is seemingly no hope now that Dean is strung up in hell. Sad times. This was probably my favourite death of the entire series, simply because it was still early enough for us to actually believe it. How on earth was Dean supposed to come back from this? His soul is literally strung up in hell. Therefore, 9/10 for an epic death scene.

DESTIEL – Still no Cas, and very little in terms of bi-dean analysis unfortunately. I’m giving it half a point for the eager anticipation of Dean’s hell rescue though and the wealth of fanfiction that came from that… 0.5/10.

Season 4, episode 22

DOOM – So much doom! (for the time – nowadays Lucifer just leaves us feeling kinda meh) The release of Lucifer! The breaking of the 66 Seals! The angels are up to no good! It’s the apocalypse! AHHHHHH DOOM ALL THE DOOM! END OF THE WORLD DOOM!!! For that reason I am marking it 10/10 doom wise.

DEATH – Bye bye Ruby. You were a manipulative bitch and I loved you. Hated the way you died though. Never like the idea of having a woman held back by a man whilst another man stabs her… it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth regardless of whether she was demonic or not. Also bye bye Lilith. Your death was actually pretty cool. You went out laughing. BUT NO! Not CAS! Cue Castiel’s first death scene and let me tell you it was explosive. Heh. Sorry. Basically 4 seasons in and this was my FAVOURITE season finale so far. Yeah so no Winchester brother died, but Castiel stole her hearts from his very first scene and having to watch him die after getting our hopes up like that was just cruel. It was emotional, especially the way he died for DEAN. Because of DEAN and… well I’ll get on to that. 8/10 on the Death rating.

DESTIEL – HERE WE GO FINALLY. So who started shipping destiel at THIS point? I was a late bloomer (a 6x20 shipper) but I was picking up on things here and on my many many re--watches of this episode I find it impossible not to see the whole scene in the green room as overly romantic. We had major heart eyes from our star crossed lovers, we had epic speeches about choice and freedom and humanity, we had one fallen angel statue and one soon to be fallen very real hunky angel man, we had Dean getting bodily pressed into a wall by said hunky angel man in a very erotic display of power and disobedience. Basically every DeanCas scene in this entire episode had me drooling. It ended with Cas giving everything for the man he lo- liked a lot, I mean pfft… its not like giving up everything you’ve ever believed in and fought for and known your entire long existence for one guy is a big deal or anything… right? Totally platonic right? I’m rating this one as an 9/10 on the destiel scale… I’m not quite sure another season finale can come close… top marks are reserves for an actual canon love confession.

Season 5, episode 22

DOOM – Well. What can I say about Swan Song? The apocalypse was stopped, Lucifer defeated, the horseman put in their place, Death off eating pizza in another galaxy… it all turned out okay doom-wise. The episode packs a big punch, but its an emotional punch rather than a “WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE” punch, so actually, this finale is quite understated when you rank it against the rest. Low doom score. 5/10 doom.

DEATH – Death is rampant in this episode, but he’s getting sloppy because it doesn’t stick. Sam sacrifices himself for the world. It’s emotional. Bobby dies, Castiel dies, Dean nearly dies, Adam dies, Michael and Lucifer get thrown in the cage, lots of death but none of it stays dead! Come episode end all the folks that matter are alive and walking around topside like it’s no big deal. But it still gets points for ending on a mystery and for Dean still believing his brother is dead and being all sad about it and for the audience being all worried because WHAT IS WRONG WITH SAM? But he still isn’t dead. 7/10 for Death.

DESTIEL – I’ll be honest with you all. I think Swan Song is totally overrated. I prefer Lucifer Rising. Like waaaay prefer it. I’m biased of course because of Destiel. In this episode there were a few moments. Dean saying “Aww, Ain’t he a little angel” when Cas is asleep in the back seat is one of them, The car ride at the end. Dean’s pain is evident at everything he has lost but his need for Cas right then, to me at least, is obvious. He just couldn’t bring him to ask Cas to stay, so Cas left. It is a sad ending that leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. 5/10 for destiel.

Season 6, episode 22

DOOM – Well, this is what happens when you bottle up your feelings rather than confessing your undying love for someone. Oh Cas. Why couldn’t you just TELL HIM THE TRUTH! The absorbed purgatory souls turn Castiel into a crazy power hungry God and it is very very bad. Well, if you are homophobic, or republican, or a member of the KKK… or basically Donald Trump and therefore all of the above…otherwise honestly, Godstiel really wasn’t all that bad. We could probably do with a Godstiel in our world about now… *Oh gosh shhh now that’s a terrible thought I totally don’t wish that on anyone…ahem.* So I’m giving it a low doom score. Bring Godstiel to our universe 2k17. He will sort shit out. 5/10

DEATH – I am still mourning Balthazar. This one hurts hard because he doesn’t ever come back. L Also Raphael but really I didn’t care. He needed to remove the stick from up his ass anyway. 8/10 because Balthazar won’t be forgotten.

DESTIEL – In the afterglow of 6x20, we suddenly have our destiel goggles glued to our faces and it only makes this episode so much worse. They are actually in post break up hell here and Castiel has completely lost his way. Dean’s heart break is clear to see, and his line “I know there's a lot of bad water under the bridge, but we were family once. I'd have died for you. I almost did a few times. So if that means anything to you... Please. I've lost Lisa, I've lost Ben, and now I've lost Sam. Don't make me lose you too.” Makes me shed a tear. For all the break up trauma 7/10.

Season 7, episode 23

DOOM – Season 7, the world went to hell, Leviathans wanted to eat us (well mostly America but I assume some of them travelled overseas to annoy the Europeans…) But in the end Cas stepped up and helped save the day. Dick was vanquished and although leviathans still roamed the earth they are apparently useless without their leader. So doom levels are fairly standard. Kevin was abducted by Crowley and his minions though and Dean and Cas zapped to purgatory where they will have to face all kinds of DOOM. So on a worldwide scale not a lot of doom, on a personal level for our characters? Lots of doom. 7/10 to average it out.

DEATH – We say goodbye to the Leviathan King and with him goes all the dick jokes of season 7. It’s probably a good thing to be honest. That many dick jokes should not be allowed in one season. We also say goodbye to Bobby’s ghost. It was emotional. I still wish Bobby had never died. L Technically not a death so much as a ‘moving into the light’ moment, it still struck a chord. Other than that we also have a sort of death for Dean and Cas getting sent to purgatory though since they are still together we shouldn’t really be counting it. Death rating is 6/10 and that’s all mainly for Bobby.

DESTIEL – Ah 7x23 was good on the destiel front. ‘Tis the episode where Castiel turned up naked, covered in bees… kinky. It’s the episode where Cas was Dean’s “Boyfriend first” and of course, the episode of “I’d rather have you, cursed or not.” We got longing looks and confessions of forgiveness and basically it was great. 8/10

Season 8, episode 23

DOOM – The Angels are falling! Hell is still open for business! Metatron is a massive dick and I am in tears by the end of the episode every. Single. Time. I’m not even getting into it more than that. This is my favourite season finale. I love every second of it. Doom wise it’s pretty epic 8/10 doom score

DEATH – OH NO SAM DON’T YOU SPEAK LIKE THAT! L Poor Sammy. Seriously though this was HEARTBREAKING and even though Sam doesn’t die he is in a pretty awful state by episode end and it was so fucking emotional I can’t even deal with it. Hence a death score of 6/10 because SAaaaaaaaammmmmmmmm.

DESTIEL – “This is it? E.T. goes home?” The cupids bow, the two gruff men falling in love right in front of a confused and amazed Dean, the cupids bow on the TV shooting at both Dean and Cas? The arrows in the back of the Impala. The climax of the angel fall spell and the one of these is not the same as the others ingredients theory. Us meta writers screaming at our TV screens because it ALL adds up to destiel. It ALL points to Cas being in love with Dean. I love this episode. 8/10 for all the symbolism and Dean’s utterly romantic and longing looks at Cas in the bar.

Season 9, episode 23

DOOM – Does Dean being a demon count as death or doom here? Both? Both is good. Dean Winchester unleashed as a freshly born knight of hell. That doesn’t sound good for the fate of the world in all honesty. However, heaven is basically sorted and Metatron has been put behind bars so this episode doesn’t leave us in such an apocalyptic state as previous season finales have. Therefore it gets a doom score of 5/10.

DEATH – Oh Dean. Why did you follow Crowley. Why did you take that mark? Why did you think you could face Metatron when he was all powered up on tablet? Simply put “I’m proud of us” and Cas’ face when Metatron shows him the angel blade covered in Dean’s blood. Those two moments alone give this a high score in the emotional stakes that mean a Winchester has once again dramatically died in a season finale. It loses two marks for the black eyes since once again right out of the Princess Bride Dean was only mostly dead. 8/10

DESTIEL – I have one thing and one thing only to say right here “He’s in love… with humanity”. Cue a million fangirls all over the world screaming at their TV/Computer screens at that very dramatic pause. Thanks Metatron. I didn’t know Dean had a new nickname. 7/10.

Season 10, episode 23

DOOM – Thanks to Winchester toxic co-dependency we have a primordial chaos goddess on the loose, intent on nothing but absolute universal destruction according to Death. So yeah, pretty much the ultimate DOOM. Since this episode was just a whole barrel of WTF I’m marking it down 2 points. Because I’m bitter. So sue me. Otherwise 8/10.

DEATH – Again with the whatthefuckery. YOU CAN’T KILL DEATH DEAN THAT IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. This was NOT a Death I was willing to accept and I still am not willing to accept it a season and a half later. Death is fucking with you Winchesters so he can jump out at you both and give you a fucking heart attack later on. You would probably both deserve it. 5/10. Not happy.

DESTIEL – So after the horrifying end to 10x22 with the brutal reverse crypt scene, Dean is haunted with guilt over what he did to Cas, but it is no homo’d to the max thanks to Rudy or whatever the fuck his name was I didn’t even bother to look it up or re-watch (did I mention I really didn’t like this episode – except for Death) I suppose I’ll give it a point for Dean’s dream in the deleted scene and a point for the flash of Dean in the mirror (fuck you Rudy I’ll pretend you weren’t there) and a point for Cas’ “Everyone loves something” about Rowena because yes Cas we know you are in love with Dean that was practically established canon in 9x23. It gets a 3/10. I hated this episode.

Season 11, episode 23

DOOM – In a Supernatural first, we get a relatively happy, healthy ending to the big bad story. Dean gives Amara and Chuck some sibling counselling and they go off to spend some quality time together. In a big twist, Amara thanks Dean by giving him “what he needs” which turns out to be Mary Winchester. Human. Alive. Still in the white nightgown she burned in. At the same time, Sam gets taken out by a posh British lady from the men of letters. There is, amazingly, no real doom for the world and only a slight threat for Sam. 3/10 because I care about our beautiful moose baby and his doom matters to me.

DEATH – None. Zilch. Not a single character dies in this finale and this is a shocker. It’s also really satisfying. One formally dead person actually comes BACK. This is probably the most hopeful positive season finale we have ever had on the show. Impressive really. Sam’s unknown threat at the end gives it 1 point. Even though we all know that Sam isn’t dead. He may be in somewhat doom, but he definitely isn’t dead. 1/10

DESTIEL – My heart breaks for Cas all throughout this season and it wasn’t quite the satisfying resolution we were hoping for. Still, the beer run car scene was therapeutic in a way. Though Dean calling Cas a brother got mixed reviews. Some calling it “the end of destiel” which I think is incredibly over dramatic. I prefer to linger on Cas’ utter disappointment at being called a brother. Since, as I have previously mentioned, Season 9 pretty much canonically established Cas’ romantic love for Dean. However, the hug at the graveyard and the “I could go with you” bump up the points for this episode. Cas’ whole demeanour throughout screams of heartbreak and no one can possibly deny his devotion and love right now. I just wanna see more return from Dean on this. 6/10 for the mixed reviews.

Season 12, episode 23

Hasn’t aired yet, so I am totally making this up based on season themes and the mid season finale. Following Season 11’s breaking the spell of DEATH OR DOOM in the season finales, I reckon Season 12 will follow this trend and will not unleash a new bad evil or apocalyptic event OR kill anyone off in a tragic Death scene. Instead, Season 12 looks to be heading down the route of addressing the past, resolving the issues and dealing with smaller conflicts in general. Where Death is concerned, other than ‘bad guys’ I do not think we will get a major death in this finale. So far I do not see that foreshadowing for either brother… or for Castiel or Crowley at this point. Times change but I’m keeping optimistic. So to continue our theme:

DOOM – I doubt it. I don’t think the show will go ‘big’ again before they decide to end and therefore the themes and disaster storylines will be kept more subtle. Perhaps we could get some larger threat from the Grand Coven, or from the British Men of Letters… But lets just say I doubt that we will be unleashing Cthulhu any time soon! 5/10 for potential threats from human/witch groups but no apocalyptic disasters that I can see.

DEATH – Again I doubt it, Dabb broke the constant pattern spn had in place of an alternation between death and doom over season finales with season 11. I am expecting something completely different for the season 12 ending that will be unexpected in a different way (the way Mary was unexpected in season 11). The four main characters won’t get killed off and the supporting cast is unlikely to die in a finale. Perhaps a couple of BMOL will perish… I’m predicting a 4/10 on the Death scale.

DESTIEL – I’m gonna be super hopeful here. We have two episodes (possibly three) in the second half devoted to exploring Castiel as a character. Dabb has always been a Cas fan and we KNOW as I have mentioned before, that one of Cas’ defining characteristics at this point is his utter devotion and love for Dean. I am also hopeful that Dean’s pining story arc that started with the confessional scene in 10x16 will continue and reach a sort of climax in season 12. Therefore, I am gonna give this a rating of 8/10. I expect progress. I don’t expect a straight up confessional, I don’t expect a kiss. I would LIKE textual confirmation that Dean is bisexual at some point this season. I would also like textual confirmation of Castiel’s love for Dean. Something like another angel or Crowley or Sam maybe just straight up saying “You’re in love with him aren’t you?” and Cas just sighing and nodding. Yeah. That’s all I want. I don’t think its asking for much.

Okay so the final averaged scores for DOOM, DEATH and DESTIEL are:

1x22 – 2/10

2x22 – 4/10

3x16 – 4/10

4x22 – 9/10

5x22 – 6/10

6x22 – 7/10

7x22 – 7/10

8x23 – 7/10

9x23 – 7/10

10x23 – 5/10

11x23 – 3/10

12x23 – 5/10

Which according to my own odd analysis, makes season 4 the best all around season finale of the show.

*Goes and lies down for days because that took far too much brain power*

*Eagerly anticipates next challenge*