#cosmic consequences

We're thrilled to reveal the fantastic cover for Cosmic Consequences, illustrated by the supremely talented Nicole Alessi!

The theme of this anthology is whump ... but in space! There are over 30 space-whump themed stories, covering everything from equipment malfunctions to hostile aliens. The table of contents includes:

Shield Fall by Kras Nebula @scrawlingmouse

Between Darkness and the Void by John M. Campbell

Subject 371 (Homo Sapien) by Scarlett Skyes

Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions, As Interpreted by An Ex-Space space station, by Yasmeen Ambro

The Specimen by Dr. Suvajeet Duttagupta

A Lesson in Cooperation by Marti @galaxywhump

Thunderstorm by Marti @galaxywhump

The Gamble by Nox Spacey @not-a-space-alien

In the Event of Total Annihilation, Please Take Some Calming Breaths by Scarlett Skyes

Flesh and Bone, Wires and Steel by LadyWallace @lady-wallace

Test Mission by Moss @mossteriouslydrawn

Shine Bright For Us by Scarlett Skyes

Courier by Nate Jaros

Adrift Among a Quiet Sea of Stars by Loralei Deasy

World Eaters’ Return by Booker G.A. Feniks @up-in-flames-writing

To Take an Order (to take a life) by Scarlett Skyes

Microbial High by Sarina Dorie

It Can Still Play Card Games by Nox Spacey @not-a-space-alien

Last Night by Zi Trone @whumpshaped

Sneezes and Space Pirates by E.J. LeRoy

Celestial by C.L. Urbana @pigeonwhumps

The Rediscovery of the Starship Aurora by Kay Hanifen

Martian Wallpaper by Wen Wen Yang

Echoes of the Lost by A. E. Pillow @nature-wants-you-dead

Insults from the Universe by Leanne Albillar

Ananke by T. Lane @t-lane-writes

Kenophobia by Booker G.A. Feniks @up-in-flames-writing

Specter by Aiden E. Messer @aidenemesser

The Great Red Frontier by Asidian Morris @asidian

The Cost of a Life is Measured in Blood by Lux Thorn @whump-me

Lost by Zi Trone @whumpshaped

Found by Mil Cohen @whumpsday

god bless, godspeed and god forbid, bestie <3

I’m pretty sure it’s something coming up, it’s not done and dusted yet! I thought this before anyway but now we know Billie is back... it feels like this is the point.

Well that is the question, isn’t it? I’ve been thinking about how to answer this all day and I’m really no closer to an answer. I mean there’s a difference between how I’d like to see it progress and how I imagine it will. In an ideal world, you see, I want Michael’s and Dean’s and Jack’s storylines not to smother Sam because I want to see some character growth, but essentially the problem is that Michael is a BIG Dean plot point, and something that we’ve put off for a very long time. Dean sidestepped becoming Michael’s vessel? He took his free will and gave the archangel a big middle finger. Basically: Dean disobeyed God’s ‘orders’, and because of that Sam ultimately had to jump into the Cage and Adam basically stepped in and took the blow for him. 

Dean is usually the parental figure. He takes the hard knocks so other people don’t have to, he even apologizes when things aren’t his fault. That’s why the year he spends with Lisa is miserable for him, because here’s the thing he should have had which he’s always wanted, always deserved, and his disobedience of prophecy gave it to him, but at the ultimate, ultimate price. No wonder he’s furious that Sam’s been back all this time, because how many nights must he have spent awake staring at a ceiling thinking about how his choices screwed everything up, how he could have done things differently?

So Michael is a reckoning Dean’s been due for a long time. I know it’s going to be a Dean centric storyline, of course, because we’ve been told that it will be. Dean will get Michael’s attention. So that much we can assume will happen. How would I like it to play out? Michael comes to Earth, presumably he knows where the gate to Heaven is because Lucifer did via mind reading. He goes up to Heaven and the angels fear him, obey him, maybe reflecting the way Asmodeus took up rule in Hell and drawing a strong parallel between the two sides. 

I’m hairy on the exact details of how I’d like it to go down because a) wild speculation and b) as I said I still can’t quite nail down what I want. I sort of want Jack to bring back the other angels from the Empty to fight him (because it would make Cas’ shudder when told that they all go there when they die into excellent foreshadowing). But archangels are hard to rebuild, right? So why not a ready made one out of the Cage, good as new and needing a new vessel. Dean can correct his mistake, claim the fate that was always his and has never been realized, and willingly accept Michael in in order to punt other!Michael’s ass back to the AU. I like the symbolism of this idea, just as I like the idea of Dean saying yes to AU Michael (who isn’t in his true vessel) and Luci pulling Michael!Dean into the Cage (we were reintroduced to Death’s ring too quite pointedly so I’m almost certain the Cage might come up again soon). Luci pulling any Michael into the cage would be fine with me, though, but aaaah symbolism is great.

I want to resolve the ‘Dean has a job to do’ thing just the same as I think we resolved the ‘cosmic consequences’ thing (Death is a cosmic force, Billie became Death). I don’t think it’s fair to keep that over his head forever, but I am so scared the retirement feels I’m getting are just Dean being season 2 tired of everything again, and ready to go out on his own terms. That said we’re also on the cusp, I think, of exploring some sad Sam perspective, and if anyone’s going to die at the end of this season then by rule of three it ought to be Sam, right? I don’t trust that boy not to take another swan dive either.

At this point I’m just throwing plot beanbags in the air, so imma stop, but I think it’s definitely fair to say that I’m excited to see where the AU!Michael plot is going to lead, and reasonable to guess that it’s not going to be anywhere that’s good for Sam, Dean and Cas.

It has been said before that Billie’s and Cas’s deaths were mirrored to almost the exact details:

(sadly I couldn’t find a gif of Cas stabbing Billie, so you’ll have to imagine it)

- the first thing we see, unexpectedly, is an angle blade piercing their chest, and an explosion of grace

- they drop to the ground, and only then we see who killed them: Cas killed Billie, Lucifer killed Cas, both much to the shock of the Winchesters, if different kinds of shock each time.

On the show, death-by-angel-blade has always been permanent (not anymore now) and that’s what Sam and Dean know. They watched both Billie and Cas die the same way and they have no reason to believe that either of them will come back. However, we, the audience, know that both of them will be back by next episode, and interestingly, the brothers will (most likely) know about Billie before they’ll know about Cas.

Since it is now Canon that all angels and demons go to the empty in death, I think it’s safe to assume that the same applies to reapers, and that Billie was in the empty too before she was resurrected (although we don’t know how that happened and it might have been something entirely different). Let’s just say it is true for one second: if Billie was resurrected from the empty, I would love that because

a) she would have been resurrected against her own major principle: “See, I’m a big believer in what dies, stays dead”. While this is probably in general a healthier concept than the constant death-resurrection we see happening on the show (natural order and such), it rarely works on Supernatural (people die and come back all the time, so you can too, Billie). 

b) it would be a great preparation for Cas’ coming back later in the episode: Sam and Dean would already have to re-evaluate their knowledge about death-by-angel-blade being permanent, so they maybe won’t be as shocked when Cas is back.

c) Bonus Points if Billie knows how and why she was resurrected (assuming it’s tied to Cas’ resurrection and cosmic consequences) and she tells the Winchesters. Double Bonus Points if she tells them Cas is alive and they (obviously) don’t buy it. Triple Bonus Points if she (textually) explains the cosmic consequences.

Of course this is just my speculation/wishlist for 13x05 and I have no idea how it’ll actually play out.

Aww man ya know for a short while after 12x09 I actually thought this might be a thing? You killed the head reaper you have to become the new head reaper. (I also did ponder Dean becoming death after killing Death in 10x23).

and LOL I kinda like this story idea. Cas meets Death in the empty, gets brought back to be the new Death. Ends up with Dean’s name on his list and in true Cas fashion, refuses to take Dean’s life and therefore everything just gets destroyed.

Isn’t the show angsty enough as it is! haven’t we seen ENOUGH of Cas making choices because of Dean that break the universe in some way or another? I don’t think my heart can take it!!