Aw, that's sweet, Amy.

I have a very specific definition for it in my head, and it's probably not a usefully shared one. It's usually when one or both of the pair doesn't understand what they're feeling is non-platonic, and nothing is acted upon, although personal space may be invaded and possessiveness might be demonstrated.

Hee. That's pretty much how I define 'pre-slash' in my own mind. The feelings are there, but the understanding of/action on those feelings is not. I see it as being different from something that's laden with subtext, because in pre-slash (as opposed to gen), the text is more dom than sub.

I've seen people complain that it's not fair to have a term pre-slash and no het equivalent, and that that means pre-slash is homophobic or homo-fetishising or something, but seriously, I'd just want a het equivalent. Because if I'm reading for gen and I get the pre-cooties, ickie poo. Also, if I'm looking for shippy teasing, I want to know the distinction between that and a fic that has definite shippy payoff.

I think my sister owes me an hour of SPN.

She's predisposed to hate it, because I like it so much. She's crazy intelligent, tends to like British drama, Korean action, South American soaps. She likes sexual tension, but has my incest squick. She likes a good action rescue, but gets grossed out when things are too graphic. She has no interest in the guy getting the girl in the end.

WHAT EPISODE? Just one ep, continuity be damned. I think I may have sat her through most of Changing Channels already, so it would have to be something else.

Folsom Prison Blues. Good brotherly teamwork, daring scheme, some humor, decent source of backstory, nice touch of melodrama wrt John's legacy.

The jumpsuits are a plausible drawback.

Interesting choice. I'd not have come to that on my own. I don't think of it as a standout, although it's a favourite of the season.

Speaking of new people watching the show, bon is PISSED at Croatoan. She thinks they shouldn't have killed the mother. It wasn't clear that she was infected, bon said, and that it would have been better to send her outside if she presented a potential threat.

I cannot talk her down from this. It's how she views the episode, the one where they murder the woman. Not, the one where Dean gives up for the first time, like we all know it is. I can't fix her.

S. said Faith for themes, brothers working together, good stand-alone. Doesn't quite work for me, but I'm not sure why.

How do you send the mom outside if she's a threat? The whole point of killing her is because she is a threat if she's infected. God, Croatoan is so much more than that.

Because if she's infected then she meets up with other infected people outside and do we know infected is all that bad if they don't have an angle to try and kill you right there?

I have no idea how come she came down all Crote rights, but I try and talk her out of it every time.

Eliminate the threat before much damage is done. It's what the boys do. Exploring alternate means of existence for the slavering murderers is above their pay grade. Even Sammy's.

Did he mention that possibility in Heart? I got so used to the Oz caged monthly storyline on Buffy, I never know if I'm misremembering that it was obviously discussed in Heart. Completely impractical as it was.

Now I need to really think about what the perfect ep is. There has to be a right answer to this.

This is as far as they got with that:

DEAN: I mean, we could lock you up at night, but…when you bust out, and some night you will, someone else dies. I’m sorry. I am.

I think the difference is that Oz and Nina were stationary and had a big support network. Madison had two itinerants-- you stop moving to save her, and how many other people die for some other reason? How long will that be their impetus? That when they stop, people die? At least then, when they were young and crazy, it was strong.

Yeah, they're not bringing her with, and I doubt even Sam would have been willing to stay on the strength of one night of awesome sex.

I was thinking about the pre-slash discussion, and what strikes me the most about what Dean has learned about his relationship with Cas in *canon* is that he has a friend. And I think that's really important to him.

He's never really had a friend, that we've seen. Sam is not his friend, no matter how well they're getting along. He's SAM, for one, and that's tied up in love and obligation and guilt and all kinds of repressed Winchester crap. Even Bobby's not his friend, although Dean loves him -- he's a father figure and a resource, and Dean knows it. Jo and Ellen were never friends -- they were comrades, they were coworkers.

I think part of the reason Sam and Cas aren't as close (aside from "abomination") is because Sam has had friends before. He doesn't need to know that he can make a connection outside his family the same way Dean does.

In other words, as ever, DEEEEEEEAN.