#astielle spoilers

[unpretty]

HEY SO ASTIELLE

I'm rereading and. realized that we don't actually know what astielle *does* with their dead.

Leonas says the catacombs aren't used anymore. We know the moon cultists cut up the dead for aehkite, and we know there are are no moon cultists in astielle.

We know aimon was meat puppeting people with sun magic. We've heard the making of hollow monsters compared to this meat puppeting, but with moonlight. we know that leland has a giant stupid reserve of leonas's stolen sun magic.

I have?? concerns????

;3

[youdonothavetochoose]

had some free time, this is what i did with it. characters, of course, are from Astielle by @unpretty

W. H. Auden is the perfect vehicle for angst, i think. poem text and image description under the read more.

[Text:

Looking up at the stars, I know quite well That, for all they care, I can go to hell, But on earth indifference is the least We have to dread from man or beast.

How should we like it were stars to burn With a passion for us we could not return? If equal affection cannot be, Let the more loving one be me.

Admirer as I think I am Of stars that do not give a damn, I cannot, now I see them, say I missed one terribly all day.

Were all stars to disappear or die, I should learn to look at an empty sky And feel its total dark sublime, Though this might take me a little time.]

[Image: a digital comic wherein each panel corresponds with several lines from the poem “The More Loving One.” Panel one: a man sits at the edge of a crater lake, looking up at the man. Panel two: a woman in armor looks over her shoulder at the same man, who is looking away. Panel three: the man floats in the void of space, seeming star-struck. Panel four: the woman is staring at a small cat-like white monster. Panel five: the woman leans on a balustrade, looking into the distance. Panel six: the man and the monster, now in wolf form, sit together in a clearing. Panel seven: the woman lies dead on the floor, the man holding her, having just stabbed himself with his sword. the monster, in a satyr-like form, holds him. Panel eight: the monster sits on the roof of a building, looking out at a starry sky.] 

[drsilverfish]

DrSilverfish S14 Meta Masterpost

Well, what a wild ride S14 has been. An extremely rich season for meta, and one of the best seasons of the show, ever (in my view, YMMV). It’s been a blast sharing it with all of you, week by week, on the hoof. Thanks for all the discussion, shared sleuthing and musing, gifs, art, fic, meta and more. 

And thanks also to all the readers of, and commenters on, this blog. Reading the tags and replies on Tumblr is still one of the best things. 

High points? The writers’ room’s use of mythology (Greek, Biblical, folktale) this season has been rich and satisfying, but in particular their borrowing of Jung’s psychological drama of the encounter between the Self and the Shadow-self, and his interpretation of alchemical writing as representative of the journey of the psyche towards self-integration (for the alchemists, the journey of the soul to God) has been really beautifully crafted. 

Also, all the call-backs to previous seasons and episodes of the show, as part of Dabb’s Ouroboros narrative, used to shed light both on the past and the present; even down to matching the call backs numerologically for more snake-swallowing-its-own-tail symmetry. 

Stand out episode for me was 14x14 Ouroboros. Steve Yockey is a kick-ass writer and a master of subtext. Noah Ophis the Queer Gorgon was not only a fabulous queer villain but the call-back to Nick the Siren and 4x14 Sex and Violence really reflected on and demonstrated the show’s evolution, as we near the end of the spiral (it’s ages since any female characters have been called a “bitch” or a “whore” for one thing - phew).

Also a shout-out to Meredith Glynn’s 14x08 Byzantium for its lovely re-encounter re Castiel’s relationship to Heaven, his heart-crushing (and uber fairy-tale romantic) deal with The Shadow, as well as for revisiting the awesome Lily Sunder and adding Anubis to the SPN God-machine! 

And to Davy Perez 14x11 Damaged Goods for the most subtextually obvious but also tragically heart-breaking, reference to the Ma’lak box as the closet, thanks to Dean showering sparks all over Donna’s 1970s cowboy porn poster collection whilst building it. 

Andrew Dabb and Meredith Glynn’s 14x13 Lebanon was excellent too; lovely script, outstanding performances from the original Winchester family, a beautiful little side-meditation on who Castiel would have been, if he hadn’t raised Dean from perdition, and some more alchemical symbolism via the “pearl of great price” (AKA the Philosopher’s Stone). 

Meghan Fitzmartin and Yockey’s 14x15 Peace of Mind, was also stand-out, for its biting satire both of MAGA and Heaven, its hilarious whammied Sam (truly one of Jared’s great performances, up there with his Lucifer in The End) and its lashings of queer subtext (from Dean’s fascination with, and anxiety about,  the “snake”, to Castiel’s mirrored heavy improv involvement with Sunny’s dick-worshiping erotic epistles). 

Finally, Dabb and Sgriccia delivered a gorgeously shot, and epic, finale in 14x20 Moriah, the culmination of Dean’s long and painful encounter with the internalised Ghost of John Winchester in his psyche, as he faced, Ouroboros style, a yellow-eyed “monster” who had (apparently) killed Mary Winchester (again) and THE Father, ordering him to continue his own father’s revenge cycle. Chuck Shurley, avatar of God, ultimate dead-beat Dad and author of the SPN multi-verse, is set up to be the meta villain for the final season, as his characters struggle for true free will. 

Here’s hoping MIRROR UNIVERSE and all those zombies busting out of their graves are indeed a giant neon metaphor for the culminating revenge of SPN’s eternal queer subtext.    

Low-point of the season; re-fridging Mary Winchester as part of the Ouroboros narrative, even though Glynn and Berens handled her “death” episodes (14x17 and 14x18) beautifully. Re-staging the drama of Azazel, fathers and sons, as part of the story spiral was, of course, irresistable, and profound for our male hero characters; I get it. But, as I am still convinced this is a fake-out, Mary is not really dead, and we will see her again (see my meta from 14x17 onwards) I’m willing to wait before I write my final meta on the show’s relationship to the feminine principle (spoiler alert, a load of suckage along the way, with the possiblity for a, somewhat contingent, writers’ room redemption arc!). I am hoping both Amara, as the feminine God-principle, and Mary (they are already fundamentally linked) will return in the culmination of the narrative. Symbolically, even given this is, indelibly, a narrative about men and the bonds between them, that return of/ integration with the feminine would be the alchemical and Jungian culmination of the journey, and I’m hoping that’s what Dabb is going deliver; via Jack (Hermes/ Mercury) as the mediating principle.  

As I’m sure you all are, I’m in equal measure gutted and excited that S15 is to be the final turn of the spiral. 

Look forward to sharing all the highs and the lows, as TFW go up against Chuck Almighty himself, with Death, The Empty and metaphysical key Jack Kline Novak Winchester in the mix.  

All my meta of the season (with thanks to many of you for enlightening and fun discussion) under the cut this time, because there’s a LOT!:

1) Stranger in a Strange Land (14x01)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/178991484844/stranger-in-a-strange-land-14x01

2) Queer Gods and Monsters (14x02) 

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/179226151009/queer-gods-and-monsters-14x02

3) Dramatic Irony and Castiel in 14x02

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/179277272094/dramatic-irony-and-castiel-in-14x02-gods-and

4) Jack and Killing Dean in 14x02 (parallels with Dean and Killing Jack in 13x02 The Rising Son)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/179430025509/spookyboysam-and-that-means-that-dean-dies-too

5) 14x03 The Scar - Dean Confronts Dark!Kaia (Dopplegangers, Mirrors and John Winchester’s Ghost)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/179463975289/shirtlesssammy-14x03the-scar-meta-writers 

6) Batman vs Superman: Connection and Conflict in Mint Condition (14x04) (Plus more John Winchester’s Ghost)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/179699654684/batman-vs-superman-connection-and-conflict-in

and some added discussion and further meta with @dimples-of-discontent

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/179735406854/batman-vs-superman-connection-and-conflict-in

7) Nightmare Logic (14x05) The Winchester Family Crypt

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/179938583519/nightmare-logic-14x05-the-winchester-family

8) Uhmmn... 14x05′s Text Reference Is...? (Nightmare Logic) 

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/179940786549/uhm-14x05s-text-reference-is 

and some added discussion and further meta (on Dean and the bi-dent) with @paperwhitenarcissus

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/179975186264/uhm-14x05s-text-reference-is 

9) 14x05 Nightmare Logic and 13x14 Good Intentions - Dean’s Wardrobe Parallels -  a discussion with @postmodernmulticoloredcloak

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/179943183099/postmodernmulticoloredcloak-do-you-think-its

10) Inside Dean’s Head - 14x03 The Scar and 14x05 Nightmare Logic

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/179944031049/inside-deans-head 

11) 14x06 Optimism - Cock Meta (end comment on a multi-authored discussion)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/180184985249/14x06-cock-a-doodle-doo

12) 14x06 Optimism - a discussion with @postmodernmulticoloredcloak

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/180201135789/postmodernmulticoloredcloak-drsilverfish

13) 14x08 Byzantium (Castiel’s Relationship with Heaven)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/180903052874/byzantium-14x08

14) The Shadow 14x08 (first in a series of meta on the Jungian themes of S14)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/180906003584/the-shadow-14x08

15) 14x09 The Spear (wounds, penetrations, scars: Destiel)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/181057197034/guysjust-hold-hands-already-protective

16) 14x09 The Spear (Jungian Decoder Ring Edition) (second in a series of meta on the Jungian themes of S14)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/181122764984/14x09-the-spear-jungian-decoder-ring-edition

17) 14x09 The Spear: Ode to Joy

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/181170752319/14x09-the-spear-ode-to-joy

18) The Dean/ Cas Spiral Narrative - S13 and 14 Edition (so far)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/181231154654/the-dean-cas-spiral-narrative-s13-and-14-edition

19) Pamela Barnes in Nihilism (14x10)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182118505974/pamela-barnes-in-nihilism

20) AU!Michael and the Closet (14x10)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182120562849/aumichael-and-the-closet

21) Rocky’s Bar: A Closer Look in Dean’s Mind (14x10) 

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182142619479/rockys-bar-a-closer-look-in-deans-mind-14x10

22) Are You There, God? It’s Me, Dean Winchester (S11 Parallels - Jungian meta adjacent)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182150404304/are-you-there-god-its-me-dean-winchester

23) Pamela, The Guardian (this is actually @shirtlesssammy ‘s great meta, to which I added something on Pamela as Dean’s psychopomp and anima - Jungian meta adjacent) 

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182196788399/pamela-the-guardian-in-14x10

24) What the Light and Shadow Tells Us (some meta on the S14 promo poster and S13 and 14′s use of light and shadow - Jungian meta adjacent)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182257314199/what-the-light-and-shadow-tells-us

25) A Fridge-Locker, An Enochian Puzzle-Box, and the Closet (14x11 Damaged Goods) 

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182303909819/a-fridge-locker-an-enochian-puzzle-box-a-malak 

with some additional discussion with @magnificent-winged-beast and @verobatto-angelxhunter on subtext, canon and the show’s own closet:

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182375754379/a-fridge-locker-an-enochian-puzzle-box-a-malak

26) Jung and Dean’s Journey Towards Self-Integration in 14x11 Damaged Goods (third in a series of meta on the Jungian themes of S14) 

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182299438269/jung-and-deans-journey-towards-self-integration

27) Damaged Goods (14x11) 

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182307242539/damaged-goods-14x11

28) Cosmic Order and Entropy: What’s Death’s Game? (14x11) 

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182350642244/cosmic-order-and-entropy-whats-deaths-game

and some additional discussion with @emblue-sparks

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182380817269/cosmic-order-and-entropy-whats-deaths-game 

29) The Riddle of the Sphinx: 14z12 Prophet and Loss (a guest meta for @metafest ) (including more on the Ghost of John Winchester - Jungian meta adjacent)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182482293379/the-riddle-of-the-sphinx-14x12-prophet-and-loss

and some additional meta and discussion with @verobatto-angelxhunter

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182487467794/the-riddle-of-the-sphinx-14x12-prophet-and-loss

and some more with @emblue-sparks

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182501242824/the-riddle-of-the-sphinx-14x12-prophet-and-loss

30) Ouroboros in Prophet and Loss (14x12) (fourth in a series of meta on the Jungian themes of S14) 

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182486474324/ouroboros-in-prophet-and-loss-14x12

31) Dr. Sexy of the Lord in Prophet and Loss

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182501242824/the-riddle-of-the-sphinx-14x12-prophet-and-loss

plus self--reblog with more on the “Dr. Novak” alias

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182538453119/dr-sexy-of-the-lord-in-14x12-prophet-and-loss

32) A Pearl of Great Price - 14x13 Lebanon (fifth in a series of meta on the Jungian themes of S14) 

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182660472289/a-pearl-of-great-price-14x13-lebanon

with some additional discussion and meta with @mittensmorgul and @paperwhitenarcissus

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182667170284/a-pearl-of-great-price-14x13-lebanon

33) 14x13 Lebanon - Some Silent Storytelling Notes on the Pawn-Shop

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182666922119/14x13-lebanon-some-silent-storytelling-notes-on

34) The Bruise as a Kiss: Cinematic Queerness and the Violence Between Dean and Cas in 14x13

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182669190399/the-bruise-as-a-kiss-cinematic-queerness-and-the

35) An Angel, and Lucifer’s Kid? Queer-Coding and Dean’s “Found Family” in 14x13 Lebanon

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182794294534/an-angel-and-lucifers-kid-queer-coding-and

36) Movie Poster Meta for 14x13 (end note to a multi-authored discussion with @paintmeahero @mittensmorgul @shirtlesssammy @justanotheridijiton )

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182843848469/paintmeahero-shirtlesssammy-mittensmorgul

37) Old Timey SPN: A Fresh (Queer) Look at 4x06 Yellow Fever

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182874642184/old-timey-spn-a-fresh-queer-look-at-4x06

38) 14x14 Ouroboros Promo: Procrustes Greek Myth Meta-Spec (part of a discussion with @mittensmorgul @postmodernmulticoloredcloak - Jungian meta adjacent)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182991822784/mittensmorgul-postmodernmulticoloredcloak 

39) The Man Who Would Be King - Edlund’s Literary Allusion and 6x20

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183118270999/the-man-who-would-be-king-edlunds-literary

40) 14x14 Promo Meta Spec (a discussion with @elizabethrobertajones and @hum-bee - started Destiel, became @hum-bee ‘s meta on Castiel’s depression, then mine on the separate, but related, queer subtext narratives for Dean and Cas this season) 

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183246356449/dean-is-getting-better-at-communicating

41) The Kiss of the Queer Gorgon in 14x14 Ouroboros

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183323000224/the-kiss-of-the-queer-gorgon-in-14x14-ouroboros 

42) The Serpent and the Egg: Snake and Eye Symbology in 14x14 Ouroboros (sixth in a series of meta on the Jungian themes of S14)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183327000184/the-serpent-and-the-egg-snake-and-eye-symbology

43) Perseus, Jack and the Gorgon in 14x14

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183337497344/perseus-jack-and-the-gorgon-in-14x14

44) The Siren and the Gorgon 4x14 and 14x14

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183342830074/the-siren-and-the-gorgon-4x14-and-14x14

And with an addition:

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183368457514/the-siren-and-the-gorgon-4x14-and-14x14

45) Noah Ophis 14x14 (Meanings and the name of the Gorgon)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183363993019/noah-ophis-14x14

And some further discussion with @justanotheridijiton and @mittensmorgul

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183370426434/noah-ophis-14x14 

46) Another Alchemical Easter Egg in 14x14 (seventh in a series of meta on the Jungian themes of S14)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183388134889/another-alchemical-easter-egg-in-14x14

Plus additions and discussion with @mittensmorgul  and @trickster-archangel :

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183876036674/another-alchemical-easter-egg-in-14x14

47) The Justin Smith/ Dean Smith Ouroboros (14x15 and 4x17)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183497401344/the-justin-smith-dean-sm)ith-ouroboros 

with additional discussion with @mittensmorgul @a-bit-of-influence @verobatto-angelxhunter and @magnificent-winged-beast :

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183520934439/the-justin-smith-dean-smith-ouroboros

48) Yellow Fever Redux in 14x15 Peace of Mind

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183498528974/yellow-fever-redux-in-peace-of-mind-14x15

and with additional discussion with @magnificent-winged-beast and @verobatto-angelxhunter

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183507216399/yellow-fever-redux-in-peace-of-mind-14x15

49) Oranges are not the Only Fruit (part of a multi-authored discussion with @postmodernmulticoloredcloak and @verobatto-angelxhunter )

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183505777909/verobatto-angelxhunter-drsilverfish 

50) Do Snakes Like Bacon? (Queer-Coding) (14x15)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183505636319/celestialdean-do-snakes-like-bacon-bacon-and 

51) The Satire in Charming Acres (14x15)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183526003969/the-satire-in-charming-acres-14x15-peace-of-mind 

52) The Book of Life in Donatello’s Kitchen (14x15) with thanks to @postmodernmulticoloredcloak for the heads up!

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183528415774/postmodernmulticoloredcloak-look-what-i-found-in

53) “AU” Past Episode References in 14x15 Peace of Mind (and the Theme of Fate vs Free Will)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183549410559/au-past-episode-references-in-14x15-peace-of

and with an addition thanks to @mittensmorgul

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183568337094/au-past-episode-references-in-14x15-peace-of 

54) A Call-Back to 4x01 in 14x15 (this is an addition to a meta by @poorreputation about Charming Acres as a Metaphor for Heaven)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183570660759/spn-14x15-peace-of-mind-heaven-and-charming

55) The Bird Represents God (14x15) (an addition/ discussion on bird poop to @verobatto-angelxhunter ‘s S14 meta-spec master-post)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183582551424/my-supernatural-season-14-specs-in-one 

56) Dean Made me Watch the Lost Boys Like 20 Times (14x16 Don’t Go in the Woods)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183635993619/dean-made-me-watch-the-lost-boys-like-20-times

57) The Ghostfacers in 14x16

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183638151784/the-ghostfacers-in-14x16

58) The Kohonta, The Wendigo and..... The Winchesters? Cannibalism in 14x16

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183640736269/the-kohonta-the-wendigo-and-the-winchesters 

59) More Musings on the Signifiance of Bird Poop in 14x16 with @elizabethrobertajones @mittensmorgul and @neven-ebrez

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183648898244/elizabethrobertajones-five-p-m

60) Lucifer Rides Again?.... Games Within Games in 14x17 Game Night

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183968888069/lucifer-rides-again-games-within-games

61) A Discussion on Alchemy and the Season’s End with @occamshipper

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183972692154/thoughts-for-absencemoriah

62) Sixteenth Century Burmese Blood Rubies (14x17)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183973554064/sixteenth-century-burmese-blood-rubies-14x17

63) Cindy’s Waffle House in 14x17

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183990322609/cindys-waffle-house-in-14x17

64) Nick’s Spell in 14x17 (A Bit of Body-Snatching Spec)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183991533929/nicks-spell-in-14x17-a-bit-of-body-snatching

65) Castiel and Food: A Discussion with @bluestar86 and @tinkdw (14x17)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183993473339/this-episode-again-reminding-us-that-angels-can

66) Is Anael in League with Satan?: A Discussion with @postmodernmulticoloredcloak  

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184019357044/postmodernmulticoloredcloak

67) The Scapegoat: Speculative Musings on S14′s End (Moriah) (Linked to the Season’s Jungian Themes - Scapegoating and the Unacknowledged Shadow)  (eighth in a series of meta on the Jungian themes of S14)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184045009309/the-scapegoat-speculative-musings-on-s14s-end

with an additional note:

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184068368304/the-scapegoat-speculative-musings-on-s14s-end

68) You Can Still Be a Cookie-Baking, Cardigan-Wearing Big Softie Without a Soul (14x17 Game Night)

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184063447919/you-can-still-be-a-cookie-baking-cardigan-wearing

69) Dutch Camera Angles in 14x17 - A Discussion with @mittensmorgul

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184117004089/mittensmorgul-i-was-just-thinking-of-all-the

70) 14x18 Absence: The Games Continue? (14x18)

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184131452324/14x18-absence-the-games-continue 

with additional discussion with @shirtlesssammy

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184140015899/14x18-absence-the-games-continue

71) Re-Fridging Mary Winchester: The Ouroboros Narrative Swallows its Origin Story (14x18 Absence)

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184188830889/re-fridging-mary-winchester-the-ouroboros

72) Dean Would Never Tell Cas He Was Dead To Him (14x18 - end comment on dramatic irony on a post by @superduperdestiel33 )

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184158399039/dean-would-never-tell-cas-that-he-was-dead-to-him

73) Jack, Godstiel and Jesus Parallels - A 14x19 Promo Discussion with @trickster-archangel (Jungian meta adjacent)

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184165716364/trickster-archangel-i-was-watching-the-promo

74) A Spec Discussion on the Snake, Chicken and Egg Story (14x14) in Relation to Jack and 14x19 Jack in the Box and 14x20 Moriah with @neven-ebrez and @mittensmorgul

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184234111884/neven-ebrez-neven-ebrez-mittensmorgul

75) A Pillar of Salt in 14x19 Jack in the Box

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184302344489/a-pillar-of-salt-in-14x19-jack-in-the-box

and with addition discussion with @postmodernmulticoloredcloak

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184305778829/a-pillar-of-salt-in-14x19-jack-in-the-box

76) Hallucifer or Lucifer? (14x19 Jack in the Box)

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184303628429/hallucifer-or-lucifer-14x19

77) The Wraith at Mary’s Funeral (14x19) (end comment on a discussion with @mittensmorgul and @postmodernmulticoloredcloak )

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184305430244/hi-mittens-im-not-understanding-what-the-point 

78) “So, Who’s Ready to Take on The Book of Samuel?” (14x19  Jack in the Box)

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184308630909/so-whos-ready-to-take-on-the-book-of-samuel 

79) A Discussion on Dean and Cas and Chuck and Faith (14x19) with @norahastuff

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184325713124/norahastuff-drsilverfish-norahastuff-you

80) Mary is Watching Over You.... From a Mirror Universe? (14x20 Moriah)

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184458723054/mary-is-watching-over-you-from-a-mirror

81) Fate vs Free Will - “Welcome to the End” (14x20 Moriah)

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184462086934/fate-vs-free-will-welcome-to-the-end-14x20

with additional discussion with @emblue-sparks

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184465647879/fate-vs-free-will-welcome-to-the-end-14x20

82) More Bird-Poop Meta: A Discussion with @trickster-archangel

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184501155254/trickster-archangel-it-just-occurred-to-me

83) “MIrror Universe” Meanings (14x20)

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184491569414/mirror-universe-14x20

with additional discussion with @trickster-archangel and @occamshipper 

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184508555094/mirror-universe-14x20

84) Dean’s Jungian Shadow Arc in S14: Confronting the Internal Father (2x22 to 14x20 Moriah) (ninth in a series of meta on the Jungian themes of S14)

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184507150574/deans-jungian-shadow-arc-in-s14-confronting-the

85) Jack Kline Novak Winchester: Son, TFW Mirror, Trinity and Key; Quaternity, Ouroboros, Caduceus and Harbinger of The End (14x20) (tenth in a series of meta on the Jungian themes of S14)

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184542079054/jack-kline-novak-winchester-son-tfw-mirror

86) So Who Has Been Resurrecting Castiel? (Post 14x20 Musings)

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184558105759/so-who-has-been-resurrecting-castiel-post-14x20

and with added discussion with @mittensmorgul

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184570379724/so-who-has-been-resurrecting-castiel-post-14x20

87) Chuck and Reno (14x20 plus S15 Spec on Chuck and Amara - end comment on a discussion by @tarend and @hi-im-dazey

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184580452909/chuck-and-reno

POST-SCRIPT!!!

All My Meta on the Jungian Themes of S14 Collected Together in a 10 Part Series:

1) The Shadow 14x08 

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/180906003584/the-shadow-14x08

2) 14x09 The Spear (Jungian Decoder Ring Edition) 

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/181122764984/14x09-the-spear-jungian-decoder-ring-edition

3) Jung and Dean’s Journey Towards Self-Integration in 14x11 Damaged Goods 

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182299438269/jung-and-deans-journey-towards-self-integration

4) Ouroboros in Prophet and Loss (14x12) 

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182486474324/ouroboros-in-prophet-and-loss-14x12

5) A Pearl of Great Price - 14x13 Lebanon 

 http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182660472289/a-pearl-of-great-price-14x13-lebanon

6) The Serpent and the Egg: Snake and Eye Symbology in 14x14 Ouroboros 

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183327000184/the-serpent-and-the-egg-snake-and-eye-symbology

7) Another Alchemical Easter Egg in 14x14 

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/183388134889/another-alchemical-easter-egg-in-14x14 

8) The Scapegoat: Speculative Musings on S14′s End (Moriah) (Linked to the Season’s Jungian Themes - Scapegoating and the Unacknowledged Shadow) 

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184045009309/the-scapegoat-speculative-musings-on-s14s-end

9) Dean’s Jungian Shadow Arc in S14: Confronting the Internal Father (2x22 to 14x20 Moriah)

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184507150574/deans-jungian-shadow-arc-in-s14-confronting-the

10) Jack Kline Novak Winchester: Son, TFW Mirror, Trinity and Key; Quaternity, Ouroboros, Caduceus and Harbinger of The End (14x20) 

https://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/184542079054/jack-kline-novak-winchester-son-tfw-mirror

[unpretty]

Doing a reread of Astielle, and had a sudden jolt when I read

"He appreciated that her ceilings were high enough to accommodate his horns"

The house that Elias built. After killing Karzarul. Is built large enough to comfortably accommodate an Impyr.

The house that Elias had built while he was in the process of traveling the world and finding lost dreams others had of Karzarul was built to be able to let Karzarul exist within it.

It's a single line from early on, and I don't know how much plot you had mapped out by then, and even in-universe this fact might just be a coincidence, but I can't help but mull it over repeatedly in my mind.

Elias killed Karzarul. Then built a retirement house where an Impyr could walk around freely, bells ringing gently and head held high. And then he went and hunted for dreams.

Every fact about Elias that I learn gives me that same stab in the heart I get over every historical figure who was obviously deeply closeted and tormented as hell about it.

just a regular devout old man, doing regular devout old man things, like building a very large house full of secret rooms and hidden vaults even though he's both alone and actively hostile toward other people

as one does

[unpretty]

so I caught up on Astielle yesterday and. oh my god. my brain is spinning so fast it could power a small city. the way I literally sat bolt upright in the moon cultist cavern. black drakonis as a happy giant mother hen. my beloved dumbass trio. Violet's existential crisis. holy fuck I am vibrating through walls connecting the dots (you haven't connected shit! IM CONNECTING THEM) and with the way you're lining up the dominoes I know I am going to lose my entire mind when you knock them down

15/10 would lose my shit about again

[unpretty]

kitty. another one bites the dust. i was scanning through astielle for the smut (as i have done several times -- i have no idea what's going on in the plot) and on the second to last chapter (or thereabouts) i started wondering why were getting all these flashbacks of karzarul helping random people and then i saw the part where elias was keeping a map of places he dreamed about karzarul and... now i've gone back to the beginning and am reading astielle for the plot. i'm on like chapter 8 now. the kicker is that, since i've already read the smut several times, i'm now scanning through THAT for PLOT-RELEVANT INFORMATION. look at what you've done to me!!

[unpretty]

okay so it was only on my last reread of Astielle that I realized the symmetry/symbolism of Vaelon taking Karzarul to the first safe place that springs into his mind - Mirror Lake, his favorite place in the world - when he's having his breakdown because Lynette is attempting to genocide the abysscales (not exactly correct, maybe, because I don't know if she knows they can't permanently die?)... but that when Leonas is having HIS breakdown centuries later, Karzarul says "I know a place" and takes him to the same safe place where he first Became.

anyway, it's great and perfect.

but for a question, though maybe you don't remember: Karzarul finds a spongy thing floating in a jar of brown liquid among Minnow's supplies. Is she pickling something? I wondered because of all the reality-parallel stuff (which, by the way, thank you for Karzarul/Leonas's chocolate scene because I'd been trying to figure out good drinking chocolate without looking it up and that was how i figured out the CORN FLOUR part and started making it much better).

it was minnow's jar of homemade kombucha, with the scoby still in it

it was probably not fermented safely and if a normal person tried to drink any they would die

one thing that did not make it into that chapter because i never know if it's just me is that masa harina gives champurrado weird heat transference properties. i'll take a sip and think "oh it's not that hot" and suddenly i'm getting burns in the roof of my mouth. it's like there's a delay. a mysterious insulating layer, of corn. every time i give anyone champurrado i'm like. take smaller sips than you would think. leonas getting burns inside his mouth because karzarul could theoretically drink lava and therefore never noticed the problem WOULD be very funny. but it is probably for the best that i left that out. leonas just takes dainty sips by default. he's fine.

[unpretty]

So when can we expect an Astielle AU spinoff where [TotK spoilers] [TotK spoilers] [TotK spoilers]? ;)

minnow already ate a rock

[unpretty]

Hi, did you read all of omniscient reader's viewpoint? I've hit the transphobia bs (with the pink kids) and i can't tell whether it's gonna keep going (the fact they keep misgendering the character and the whole "he can be rehabilitated" bs is not a good sign), and I'm sorry for asking you but idk anyone else who might have read all of it 😅

Btw i am SO intrigued by astielle, those quotes you asked for were extremely effective. Also i would die for your excel fic. I show it to all my friends. I have romantic feelings for it.

there is a lot of weird gender stuff happening in orv but the final layer of gender weirdness through which all else must be filtered is that, if you are reading a translation from korean into english, the translator picked gendered pronouns based on vibes. even when it made no sense to use gendered pronouns. it often seems like they default to 'he' unless something happens that would make that gay. sometimes they would go back and change the pronouns based on what happened later. i think one time they gave an angel 'she' pronouns just long enough to no-homo before going back to 'he' for what i must assume are also no-homo reasons. their determination to use 'he' pronouns for gods, eldritch horrors, little girls, and anyone kim dokja happened to find confusing was. well. it was something. spoilers after the cut

the stuff with the pink kids is cringe as hell BUT. iirc by the end of that little mini side arc it becomes pretty clear that while the pink kids are basically a video game catfishing gang, kim yongpal wasn't there to catfish or do crimes, she just wanted to fit in and they were the only ones she could fit in with. by her last appearance she's referred to as a woman and the translator gets their shit together wrt pronouns. kim yongpal's last appearance is in chapter 161 out of 551 so my memory isn't GREAT, and i'm pretty sure hsy and kdj continue to call her 'ahjussi'. which sucks but so do they. regardless of whether i'm giving that segment too much leeway due to translator issues, it's thankfully relatively brief.

anyway. this is not the last time gender fuckery is going to come up, but the character who is introduced later on is MUCH more obviously trans. in that case it's sort of a plot point that kdj, despite literally everything that has happened up to that point, cannot stop himself from thinking that he knows what people are really like because he read the novel.

there are other things on account of the constellation who likes to change gender exists, but i don't recall anything else being as egregious as the pink kids

[unpretty]

I liked reading along with Astielle without knowing if Leonas was *really* the Heir, if Leonas was a dick through and through, if Karzarul and Leonas would kill each other upon meeting, etc. The quotes kind of give the game away (though not too much with the rock eating one. that's entirely consistent with what we know as of the first few chapters)

oh yeah, that early energy of not knowing quite what was up with leonas was VERY fun and i still always kind of want to tag later leonas interactions for spoilers, but then i feel like i'm being precious about it when so much of that gets clarified relatively early. or maybe it only feels early because of how long its been calendar wise??? i genuinely can't tell because i'm a fast reader and my sense of how long it takes to get to things is warped.

[youdonothavetochoose]

me, like a month ago, remembering my favorite Ogden Nash poem: but what if,,, i add some trauma

i had a lot of fun with this silly little comic but i absolutely can’t work on it anymore, so we’re calling it done. characters are of course from Astielle by @unpretty

[text: This is my dream / It is my own dream / I dreamt it / I dreamt that my hair was kept / Then I dreamt that my true love unkempt it.]

[image: a digital comic. a man lies face-down in featureless darkness, silver arrows sticking from his back and throat. a claw-tipped hand rests on his head; the arrows disappear. he looks up as a hand cups his face, golden wave-like patterns under his eyes glowing.]

[unpretty]

sorry to meme my own story i've just been thinking about this since yesterday

[unpretty]

Ari is like that bee orchid. Vaelon is gone. Like two people remember him. But every time someone looks at Ari's face they see a picture.

(source)

[unpretty]

I've been following you with the plan to read your writing for.. maybe years now. Finally got around to it today, just want to thank you personally for this dialogue. You're doing a great job.

[unpretty]

I gotta ask whether the moonlight monsters' propensity for reusing trash was at all inspired by tumblr user theveryworstthing's lore about (goblins? can't remember if it was them or another species, having trouble refinding the post) being very very good at making beautiful and useful things out of what others throw away

i don't know if i've ever seen that post! i don't know if this loredump will ever be explicit in the text or just implied because of what i'm like so

okay watsonian first, which is that monsters are all pretty influenced by where karzarul was at when he first created them, and because of that brutelings are the most impulsive, most creative, least bogged down by norms, and have the biggest fascination with anything they've decided is pretty (usually anything that reflects moonlight well, but also cool rocks). i mean the only memories of karzarul's that they really share are of being moonlight in a lake that wanted so bad to be helpful it grew legs.

they like to make things, but they don't always know where to start, so they find it easier to start with something that already exists and jump off from there. and because humans are always getting rid of perfectly good things--sometimes by throwing them in lakes--brutelings are like. it's functional! it's free! it's trash! this is going to save so much time! to say nothing of how often they get ideas just by looking at what materials are available.

doylist second, which is Video Games, and how often humanoid monsters live in weird trash camps if they have any kind of camp at all. i guess usually to imply that monsters killed and robbed people? and to avoid making new art assets. i mean the monsters in astielle have a lot of metajokes going on about reusing assets in general. they're all the same model with palette swaps.

anyway the platonic ideal of a video game monster exists only to be killed, and if they're going to look even a little bit like people, that only gets comfortable if you imply that they're stupid and lack a creative spark or inner life and they are instead only capable of murder and theft. *gestures at hollow monsters* but it's more fun if the reality is that remixing is a form of creativity, finding new uses for old things is great, and humans can be kind of wasteful and not great at thinking up ways to deal with trash. they were born of the goddess of transformative works! i don't know what the moon cultist equivalent of ao3 would be.

[unpretty]

I keep trying to figure out what is was about the king that made him feel so creepy somehow. Cuz technically, he was just speaking nicely? But you just Know. And I think it's because of how Leonas responds to him and that's where the disquiet comes from. There's something there that's subtle but chilling.

sometimes i wanna just be like, FULLY self-indulgent and insufferable and write a fucking, play-by-play of why it takes so long to write leland's dialogue and get it exactly right to throw up red flags that only some people can see