#stabfest2023

What is this event about?

The terminal brainworms contracted from when Dean stabbed Cas in 4x01 "Lazarus Rising." The mods noticed that every time we did an AU, there was a bulletpoint in the plot outline SOMEWHERE that was "Dean Stabs Cas." After a while, we decide to just lean into it.

The original concept of Dean Cas StabFest was simple: all participating works must contain Dean, Cas, and a stab.

Things have evolved just a skotch since then.

Can I have Cas stab Dean instead?

Of course! However, we will include a "Uno/NO U reverse" sticker on your work in the fest promo post and masterpost.

Does this have to be an AU?

Nope! Your work can be canonverse; it can even be based on Thee Originale Stab. Be aware that non-AU fic will be marked with the sticker of Cannon of Canon Compliance.

What counts as a stab?

Can Dean stab Cas with his. You know.

The work can be as smutty as your heart desires, but normal sexual penetration is not considered stabbing for the purposes of this fest, sorry. There needs to be a tool or weapon of some kind.

(Looking for loopholes is in the spirit of the fest, but c'mon, people, we want stabbing. NB: if your loophole makes the mods laugh then it will be allowed. However, your promo post and masterpost will be shamed with a Law Boy Sam sticker.)

What about biting?

The mods love biting. The mods are feral for biting. If your work includes biting, the mods shall giggle and kick their feet and annoint thee with a Bitey Sticker. But alas: teeth are not a separate implement, and therefore a bite will not count as a stab, no matter how gloriously sharp the tooth is and how smoothly it breaks skin. (Please give us some biting tho.)

Can I invoke the rebar impalement from 15x20 instead of the knife stabbing from 4x01?

Who hurt you.

No, really, I think that would bring just the right emotional tone to my work, and you are stifling my creativity.

Fine. As long as Dean and Cas are there and somebody's stabbing somebody else, FINE. But we will mark your post with the Rebar of Shame sticker. We may also break into your house and eat your furniture.

What's up with the stickers?

They're fun. Also one of the mods is an artist and the other mod likes to trick them into doing art.

Do you have to post stickers on the promo post and masterpost for my work?

Only if your work meets the criteria for sticker shaming.

What if I don't want stickers on my promo post or masterpost?

Then don't do anything that would warrant stickering.

Am I required to include the shame stickers on my AO3 post?

Heavens no. What are we, monsters?

If you are intent on this insane plan of killing the Devil stickering innocent StabFest participants, can we at least see a list of the available stickers?

Of course!* Here you go: [ https://deancas-stabfest.tumblr.com/post/760431072841449472/2-stab-2-fest-sticker-guide-2023 ]*

The mods reserve the right to create new stickers at any time.

Who can be involved in the stab?

Is it only Dean and Cas?

YES, geez, what is so difficult about "DeanCas StabFest" involving Dean, Cas, and a Stab?

but what about.... women 😏

zounds, you've discovered our weakness

Okay fine. FINE. Let's all take a look at the Curiously Familar scene from 5x13 The Song Remains the Same where Mary stabs Anna in the shoulder with a crOWBAR and Anna pulls it out, unharmed. hmm. HMM. WHAT COULD THAT HAVE POSSIBLY BEEN A CALLBACK TO.

Does the stab have to be between Mary and Anna, if not Dean and Cas?

There are too many women in SPN to restrict ourselves, and NONE of them get enough attention. Thus: the stab must EITHER include Dean and Cas, OR include two or more canonically female characters (sorry, hetshippers.)

Any entries focusing on a femslash stab will be marked with a 2 GIRLS 1 STAB sticker.

What do you mean by "canonically female?" SPN is kind of complicated in regards to that.

Canon here refers to what was presented on screen or referred to in dialogue. Characters which are exclusively played by dudes in canon don't count, even if you genderbend them.* Luckily, the average SPN character is portrayed by an actress three times a season. (females lucifer is an outlier adn should not have been counted.)

The moment of stab must involve the actress' portrayal, not the actor's.

* If you go the DeanCas route, feel free to genderbend either or both of them. (Hetshippers, this is your one chance!)

Can "canonically female characters" include characters from The Winchesters, even if they weren't also in Supernatural?

HELL YEAH. We're building a franchise, babey!

Bonus: as the actor Jojo Fleites identifies as nonbinary and has stated that Carlos Cervantez would also identify as NB in modern times, then yes, Carlos can be part of a femslash stab. You can quibble about canon vs actor statements but whatever; we like Carlos.

What Themes and Content are allowed/required?

Does the pairing have to be specifically romantic or sexual?

Nah. All we care about is the STAB. The exact nature of the relationship between stabber and stabbee is up to you.

Can I write RPF for the fest?

You can include RPF in your entry, but you'll need a couple of fictional SPN characters to do the stabbing in order to qualify for this event.

Not even Cockles?

Show us a moment as Iconique as the 4x01 Lazarus Rising scene where the actual human beings Jensen Ackles and Misha Collins stabbed each other and we'll talk.*

* the mods do acknowledge that the French Mistake 'verse is not technically RPF the way that fish is not meat on Fridays.

NB: French Mistake AUs will be marked with a Crying Misha sticker.

Are crossovers allowed?

Yep! Just remember that at least one stabber /stabbee pairing must be either Dean and Cas, or two or more canonically female SPN characters. Nothing's stopping you from including more than one stab, however....

Are there any themes or material which are not allowed?

Nope. Explicit or outre material needs to be appropriately tagged/warned for and may be hidden behind an extra step for claims. Additionally, participants under the age of 18 cannot produce or claim explicit work for the fest, nor can partners of participants under the age of 18 produce explicit work for the fest. This is a legal thing.

What about problematic content?

Look, fandom isn’t a workplace or a church picnic. It’s a subculture for freaks.

When engaging with your pitcher or catcher, your responsibility is to honor the restrictions stated during claims, and use care when bringing up subjects which may not have been explicitly listed but that are commonly considered to be upsetting.

When posting fanwork, your responsibility is to provide metadata–content warnings and tags–so people can curate their own experiences.

Once a work is posted, the audience is then free to observe and react. Just keep it civil, please, and approach your fellow participants in good faith.

What types of fanworks are allowed?

Is this a bang, or a reverse bang?

We used to say that it's both, but that just wasn't chaotic enough. Starting with StabFest III: Return of the Stab (2024), submissions are no longer limited to just fic and art! Cake decoration, interpretive dance, filk, cosplay, found art sculpture, cosplay--we want it all!

The primary constraint is displaying your work over the internet: cosplay and food will need to be photographed, interpretive dance will need to be filmed, and so on.

We do not currently have the technology to transmit smell, taste, or texture. Perhaps StabFest Five-0: Golden Jubilee will be so lucky.

There are three basic categories: Text (e.g. fic, meta, poetry), Visual Art (static images or short-loop gifs), and Audio/Video (podcasts, music, skits, dance.)

When you sign up, you will advise if you are going to be a pitcher (the person who creates their work first), or a catcher (the person who claims a pitch piece and creates a work in response to it.)

These are all sports terms, by the way. Don't be a pervert.*

* You can be a pervert if you want to.

How will claims work, then, since you're making it so complicated?

All the pitches will be presented in the same claims gallery, and pitchers will state their preferences (or lack thereof) as to what kinds of catch pieces they're open to. If you want to go the traditional route and write a fic and receive art for it, you can do that! If you want to go full Duchamp and want someone to match your freak, you can do that, too!

Catchers will review the gallery, taking into account the pitchers' type preferences just as they take into account the pitchers' do not wants/must haves.

If you're new to the world of bangs and have further questions about how claims work, check out our Claims Tutorial page here: [ https://deancas-stabfest.tumblr.com/post/694048699602632704 ]

Can I sign up as both a pitcher and a catcher?

Yes! The fest is purposely structured to provide an equal number of days (35) from sign up closing to rough draft due for both pitchers and catchers, to make it easier for people to participate both ways. Switches, if you will. :)

What is the minimum required work?

Text: 1,500 words

Visual Art: 1 or more images totaling minimum 750x750 pixels*

Video or Audio: 60 seconds

* Don't sweat the math on this too much. We want to be flexible so that you can create multiple smaller images instead of one big one--but not too small. Gifs can be less than 750x750px because they’re technically multiple images stacked in a trenchcoat.

What if I want to do a combination of two or more of those categories?

Go for it! The minimums will apply to the entire combination. For example, a poem of 300 words combined with a 750 x 750 px image would work. An original song or composition that only runs for 30 seconds combined with an image such as an album cover would be fine. Please note that the minimums apply to the pitch and catch separately, not combined.

Again, don't sweat the math--give us something roughly equivalent to the category minimums. Some forms of art are more labor intensive than others.

Is there a maximum word length or art size?

No! The minimums are calculated to be feasible for the average author or artist within the time allotted for the fest, but if you are endowed with the hubris of gods and a lot of free time, then go ahead and write that 150k epic or paint a full-resolution digital version of the Bayeaux Tapestry. We love to see the wild ambition. Just make sure it's done by your posting date, mmkay?

Can I submit multiple pitches?

Yes! The maximum number of pitches you can submit is three (3). However, any drafts you submit for claims must be FULLY COMPLETE before submitting an additional pitch. If you are submitting two pitches, one must be 100% done and the other at least 50%. If you are submitting three pitches, then two must be 100% done and one at least 50%.

Can I claim multiple works to catch for?

Yes, but only one per round of claims. Depending on what the numbers look like as we approach claims, there may be an option for your second available choice be assigned to you automatically once the first round of claims is done.

If my work has multiple parts, do I have to post the entire work on the same day?

This is another change for SF3--you are no longer constrained by a single posting date! If you have multiple chapters or segments and you would like to spread them out, then you are expected to post the first part on your assigned posting date, and post the remainder no later than the last day of posting. StabFest posts over the course of a week (December 15th to 22nd), so that gives you a maximum of seven days to spread things out.

Can I use a work I've already started?

We do ask that you create a new work specific to this fest. However, if you've already started on a work but haven't posted it or discussed it publicly anywhere, the mods aren't really going to know, are we?

Can I discuss my fanwork before it's submitted and posted?

Pitchers, we ask that you take precautions to prevent the catchers from being able to recognize your pitch piece at claims. This may mean not publicly discussing your piece at all, or keeping discussion to the event's pitchers channel or a private chat with your alpha/beta reader (or the artist equivalent,) or just being obnoxiously vague in shared spaces.

We know there will be slip-ups. Catchers, please pretend you Do Not See It and uphold the spirit of the fest: to be paired with someone based on their pitch, not their identity, and to make some new friends! This may mean deliberately not choosing a pitch because you've guessed who the creator is.

Can I create a work that's part of a series?

Yes, as long as the work meets the criteria of the fest (stabby) and the work (but not necessarily the series) is posted in its entirety during the posting period. Pieces that can stand on their own are strongly preferred. Be aware that your catcher may not have the time or inclination to brush up on the parts of the series other than the fest piece.

Catchers, if you're creating something that happens to fit into a series you've been working on, please make sure your pitcher is okay with that.

Fest pieces that are part of a series will be marked in the fest promo post and masterpost with a "BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!" sticker.

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