#The Metatron defends his son

[the-metatron]

@ineffabledeathtoallmetatrons

Stay away from my son @bildads-rib-shack or I shall have no choice but to use deadly force to protect him

[shininglamp]

A scene I hope to see in Good Omens 3

The hosts of Heaven lead by Aziraphale is facing off with humans. Crowley stands between them.

“Angel, please stop. This is wrong. The people don’t want this.”

Aziraphale has his doubts, everything about this plan felt thrust upon him. He wanted to make a difference in Heaven, and Metatron assured him this was the way. But still, the humans looked so scared, and Crowley was defending them.

Aziraphale knew how kind Crowley was. Perhaps Heaven was making a mistake…

Seeing Aziraphale’s hesitation, Metatron silently orders the soldiers of Heaven to blast the humans to speed along the plan to create the host for the Son of God.

Crowley lunges to save the humans.

“NO!!” Aziraphale rushes to Crowley and holds him in his arms as he lays dying.

“Angel…”

“No, no. You can’t die. We’ve always been together. Eons! You can’t die now. I’d be all alone…”

“The people, they need you. I can’t protect them anymore.”

“No. See, you’ll just pop down to hell and come right back! We don’t die.” he nervously smiles, knowing that the kind of celestial blast indeed can kill a demon.

Crowley smiles up at his angel. “You were always such a bad liar.”

Crowley touches the angel’s face briefly, then dies.

“Aziraphale. Heaven is waiting on your command. You are the supreme leader after all. You must do the right thing!” Metatron calls out.

The right thing? Nothing could be right anymore. His partner was gone.

“This isn’t right…” the angel whimpers, still holding the demon close to his chest.

“How disappointing.” Metatron tsks.

Aziraphale gasps, realizing that he wasn’t a supreme leader at all, but rather Metatron had been manipulating him the entire time! The people were not being saved by the second coming, this was about Heaven versus Hell and the people be damned!

Crowley had indeed understood the situation much better.

Anger starts to seethe within Aziraphale .

His features start to turn darker, his wings start turning crimson red, literal horns grow and curl from his forehead, and his eyes are demonic and red.

He turns to face the hosts of heaven.

“The right thing? Who gave you these orders Metatron? Was it really God all these years? We’ve done nothing but meddle in the lives of these precious humans. Crowley was punished for asking questions, but now I understand it was no punishment at all. He was freed from you!! You’re toxic! You who look down on the people, who look at earth as a plaything, who talk about good and righteousness at the cost of their lives!” The man is literally fuming now, standing and facing the confused angels. “This is not right!”

“We are trying to gift the world with the second coming!” Metatron tries to excuse their actions. “It’s not our fault that the humans are rising up against us!”

“They are defending themselves! Don’t you understand how precious each life is? How precious the life of someone you love can be?” Aziraphale looks down at the dead demon and makes a decision.

“What are you doing!?”  Metatron panics. “You can’t use that power to bring back a demon! It’s meant for us to make a proper vessel for the Son of God!”

In the background, you see a family protectively shielding their child, worried now that the demon is gone, heaven will take their son and turn him into someone else.

“What you are about to do is wrong!” Metatron tries, knowing that in the past the naïve angel was easily swayed by what was considered right by Heaven.

The demonic Aziraphale smiles, his dark features darkening further. “Then I’m done being right.” His voice is no longer sweet and meek, but nearly beastly. 

He takes the tiny clear box of celestial light from his breast pocket. He kneels down to Crowley and lets the light slip from the box into the demon’s lips. 

Nothing happens.

“You’ve wasted God’s grace on a dead demon…” Metatron mumbles incredulously.

“Wasted? I would waste 100 miracles to bring my partner back!” Demonic Aziraphale takes a threatening step towards the angels, who inch back in fear. “You talk of good and evil, right and wrong, but you don’t understand love.”

“Love?” A random confused Angel asked.

“Love!!” He growls, the red demonic eyes terrifyingly gleaming, his teeth sharpening. “Without love it’s all pointless! Existence is pointless!! Everything is wrong without love!!” He raises his arm to strike Metatron, but a strong hand stays him.

“Love makes the world go round.” Aziraphale whips around to see that Crowley has been restored by the grace of God. “Oh, look at you, Angel, you got righteously mad, didn’t you? It’s OK, shh, easy now. I’m here.”

Aziraphale starts to weep and leans into Crowley’s shoulder. As Crowley soothes his partner, the hosts of Heaven look on in shock as the crimson feathers turn pure white again, the horns recede, the teeth grow dull. “There, now look at me, Angel.” His red demonic eyes are not budging.

“I’m afraid I may have changed too much.”

“No Angel. You haven’t changed at all. Your heart of gold found what’s right in all this mess. You came back to me.” Crowley puts his forehead on Aziraphale’s. The Angel kisses him ever so timidly. Crowley smiles and doesn’t push for more. Aziraphale opens his eyes and they are completely restored to the angelic gaze that Crowley loves so much.

“A demon restored an angel?”

“Such a thing is possible?”

The angels murmur.

“Anything is possible with love.” Crowley responds, his cocky confidence back in full force. “These humans love their child. Of course they don’t want to just hand them over. What you consider an upgrade is the same as smiting the one they currently have. You lot never understood that. Demons, Angels, right, wrong. For God’s sake, try love!”

“Love?”

“Love. Not just in theory. Go experience it.”

Metatron is flabbergasted. “No! The plan was for Heaven to win!”

“So silly. Everybody wins with love.” Aziraphale now his meek and shy angelic self, looks upon Metatron with some pity. 

(… not sure how the rest of the story is going to go, but really this is what I want to see. The scene where an angel is so angry he turns demonic and fights the hosts of heaven for the love of a demon. )

(Also there could be an added scene later where Crowley makes a comment about how his angel got horny for him, and of course Aziraphale completely misses the double entendre, only thinking of the literal horns that he temporally had. )

[angelfishofthelord]

One of the most underrated Cas scenes to me is this one from 9x13 when he's with Bartholomew. There's so much to unpack from their entire interaction but I'm focusing on this part where Bartholomew wants him to kill another angel and Castiel not only refuses but he says "my only choice was to kill or be killed." And then:

I remember how shocked I was the first time I watched it, that Cas would decide that this was worth dying over.

Then I started to notice it happen again many more times, how he uses his life to be the ground on which he stakes his decisions and what he believes in. It's something so different from how Sam or Dean react; they're willing to sacrifice their lives to save people, not to back up a stand they're making.

And I'm starting to think that it's because Castiel is at heart and always will be a soldier. Soldiers put their missions above all, even and especially their own life. A soldier's life exists to be a testament to the stand they take, the side they choose, the mission they believe in.

You can see it throughout the seasons, starting with that famous scene with Uriel where instead of continuing to resist he just says "I still serve God." He can tell the odds are against him and instead of fighting in vain he makes sure Uriel knows that his death will be a witness to his belief.

Then again in s8 he tells Dean he knows the angels will want to kill him but he's going back to Heaven with them in order to save his home. He doesn't have to go back with them but he's acknowledging the possibility of his death as a worthy price to pay to fix his mistakes.

In early s10 with his fading grace he also makes a choice to not bargain for his grace with Metatron. He's not "there's another way"-ing like Sam and Dean would, he's making a choice not to kill another angel or make a deal with a rotten one and his life is the ground on which that choice stands.

Again in early s12 he mentions his life about the "cosmic consequences" and has no qualms about suggesting it as the price to pay for it. And at the end of s12 he tells Kelly he would die for her son. There's no danger present at the moment but he again defends his choice with his life.

And I know some of these moments have been discussed as showing how little self-worth Cas feels he has but to me the value he does or doesn't place on his life is also about who he is as a solider. He sees his life this way because of how he was trained; to him death is also a victory, and maybe because no one told him what it feels like to be left behind.

[mersuperwholocked-lowlife]

Let It Go

Word Count: 799

Characters: Dean Winchester, Fergus Crowley (brief), Reader

Pairings: Dean Winchester x Sister!Reader

Warnings: angst, small fluff, season 8 finale ending

A/N: based off of season 8, episode 23

Masterlist

You threw your phone aside, ignoring the calls you were receiving from Dean. The church was quiet, just you and Crowley. But it was deafening. You breathed heavily, leaning against the counter. It was hard to breathe, hard to walk, hard to see properly, hard to live.

But it would all be over soon. All the demons would be trapped in hell. You wouldn't have to worry about Crowley or any crossroad demons, they would all be gone.

Your head pounded as you exhaled shakily, clenching your fist as you scrunched your eyes, trying to manage your pain.

You cried out in pain softly, watching your arms glow a light orange, pain emitting throughout them.

“Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, hanc animam redintegra, lustra,” you used the demon blade to cut open your skin, limping to Crowley. The final task. They’re all gonna be gone.

“(Y/N), stop!” Dean yelled, running to you.

“Why? We're so close,” you struggled to stand up, falling over slightly.

“Just… stop. We have a slight change in plan, okay?” Dean walked near you cautiously, holding his arms up.

“What? Where’s Cas?” you asked.

“Metatron lied, he lied, (Y/N). You finish these trials and you’re dead,” Dean said softly.

You exhaled sharply, shaking your head.

“So?” you raised your voice.

“Look at him. Look at Crowley! We’re so close, Dean. Other people will die if I don’t do this!” you stumbled a few steps away from Crowley, yelling at Dean.

“I know. Just listen. These tasks, they’re more than enough knowledge to turn the tide here. But I can’t do it without you,” you blinked a few times, your eyes burning.

“You can barely do it with me!” you yelled.

“I screw up everything, remember? I-I need a chaperone. You said it yourself,” you breathed heavily, looking at Dean.

“C’mon, that’s not what I meant,” Dean started, trying to defend his words.

“That’s exactly what you meant,” your eyes watered as you looked at Dean.

“You wanna know what I confessed in there? W-What my greatest sin was? It was letting you down,” your voice wavered as Dean gave you a sorrowed look.

“I can't do it again. I can’t let you down,” you said.

“(Y/N),” Dean started.

“What happens when you think I can’t be trusted? Again? W-Who are you gonna turn to next time? Another angel? Another… Another vampire?” your tears fell as you let your emotions run freely.

“Do you know how much it hurts, to watch your brother,” your voice broke as you looked at Dean.

“Hold on. You seriously think that? None of that, and I mean none, is true. We’ve had our disagreements,” your breathing was shaky as you held back your cries.

“I know I’ve said some crap that hurt you, but (Y/N), come on. I killed Benny to save you. I’m willing to let this bastard and all other sons of bitches that killed Mom walk because of you. Don’t you ever think that there is anything past, present, or future that I would put in front of you!” Dean yelled at you as his eyes watered.

“It's never been like that! Ever! I need you to see that. I’m begging you,” he said.

You looked down at your hand, watching the blood drip from it.

“It hurts so much, Dean. Y-You don’t understand. I’m so tired,” you cried softly.

“Just let it go. We’ll find another way. Just like we always do,” Dean walked to you, putting his hands on your shoulders.

“How do I make it stop?” you cried.

“Just let it go, let it go, kiddo,” Dean pulled a bandana from his pocket, wrapping it around your cut.

“Just let it go,” he whispered softly, wrapping his arms around you tightly.

You winced, looking at your arms as you hugged Dean, watching as the light faded.

“D-Dean,” you said softly, pulling away from him as you looked at your arms, exhaling in relief.

You tried to look up at Dean before you felt your head begin aching painfully, feeling a strong sense of pain throughout your body as you cried out in pain.

“(Y/N)? (Y/N)?” you fell to the ground, Dean holding you.

“C’mon. I got you. You’ll be okay,” Dean comforted, throwing your arms around his shoulder as your legs went numb.

He held you up, quickly running out of the church before you collapsed next to the Impala, closing your eyes.

“(Y/N)! Don’t worry. Don’t worry babygirl, it’ll be okay,” Dean said, trying to help you.

You tried to speak, wheezing loudly as you felt your throat closing up, the air leaving your body.

“Cas! Castiel, get down here now!” Dean yelled.

Your body went limp, letting your last tears fall.

“(Y/N)? (Y/N)?”

[spiders-hth-is-an-outlier]

Possibly a big ask to get just out of the blue but: what are your Supernatural season opinions? Which one is your favorite? Least favorite? Did you watch long enough to have showrunner opinions? If yes, which showrunner is your favorite and which is your least favorite? If no, which season that you haven't seen most tempts you to get back in the Supernatural trenches? Answer exactly as many of these questions as you want to. Carry on.

You know, I am not sure how long this Ask has been sitting here, because my Tumblr notifications are borked -- I hope not long? If long, I apologize, I wasn't ignoring it on purpose!

Okay, so I have more than the average number of Supernatural opinions, probably, but I'll try to keep this to a dull roar! Inside Me There Are Two Wolves: one of them believes that only the original five seasons of Supernatural are worth defending in any way, the other really, really loves seasons 11 and 12. The Kripke Era had a lot of problems, particularly in its treatment of women as bodies without agency and its treatment of Black men as literal predators, but also for all its flaws, it had a kind of coherence and narrative drive that comes from being the product of a dude who obviously cared about it and had something to say. Taken on its own, seasons 1-5 are a brutal and compelling story about the traumas of being men in a universe that's been absolutely destroyed by its Fathers: on almost every level, it's about these abandoned and brutalized boys discovering that their entire reality is the product of an abandoning and brutalizing God, populated by authority figures who are universally demanding and arrogant, but also completely fucking useless. It's quite literally about Sam and Dean trying to hang onto their souls and their own agency when everyone around them wants them forced into shapes formed by conflicts that fell into place at the beginning of time. It's hard to remember, but back then even the Lucifer plotline was about that! It was about the damage fathers inflict on sons! Things were about things, in the Kripke era!

Then we get to the Gamble era, and. Woof. I actually -- don't hate 6 and 7? Like everything Sera Gamble touches, those two seasons are kinetic and memorable and funny and weird and hit some really, really great emotional beats. There are Some Problems, but Gamble was saddled with a pretty dire job, trying to find a way forward after everything about the series really had effectively wrapped up in Swan Song, and I think she did an okay job. People got mad at her for killing Castiel, but you know, damn, I give her this: that was a storyline. Like, this character who was fresh out of the cult he was raised in becoming disillusioned by how messy normal life is and deciding that maybe people need better authoritarianism instead -- the way he's driven to take too many risks by the fact that he's abandoned and desperate -- Crowley as a legitimately scary villain while still being charming af -- and the tragic resolution of Castiel being torn apart by both his hubris and his heroism. It's actually really good. I understand why people didn't want what Gamble was serving up -- and I'm able to like it because it was undone later, you know? -- but she really did commit to a full season of character arc and saw it all the way through to an earned ending, and I gotta respect that.

I genuinely hate seasons 8 and 9. I think everyone is a dick, particularly but not exclusively Dean, to the point where I just find it a bummer to watch. I mean, you get Benny, and I love Benny. You get, I dunno, bits and bobs of decent episodes, but overall they are very fucked up seasons in my opinion. So Carver era is on thin fucking ice with me, but I do think you start to get a rebound in season 10 with the Mark of Cain stuff, although I wish they'd managed to keep Cain around longer. All the really good Claire stuff starts happening, which is nice because Claire, but also because for once the show is really letting itself go back and deal with the mess these protagonists leave behind them constantly. Castiel and Claire have maybe the most interesting non-Winchester relationship on the show. Oh, and Rowena shows up around here too, right? Love her. So the back half of Carver, 10 and 11, are starting to really gain traction for me. The world is building outward, secondary characters are starting to be genuine characters in their own right, the politics of Heaven and Hell get a little richer and more interesting. The show is really starting to feel like it takes place in a universe, which is great because we love the Frigging Winchesters, but they shouldn't be the only thing going, right? We have 15 seasons to get through! Season 11 is basically bracketed by what are probably my two favorite Supernatural episodes: Baby and Don't Call Me Shurley. (I think I'm the world's only living Metatron fan; I fucking love that little dude.)

Dabb takes over in 12, and I really, really, genuinely love season 12. I fucking love Mary. There are so many episodes I adore -- Celebrating the Life of Asa Fox is a special favorite of mine, and I remain pissed off that the Banes twins never made it to recurring status, bluntly that feels wildly racist to me -- probably the best three-episode streak in the show is Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets to Regarding Dean to Stuck In the Middle (With You), three just almost perfect episodes. So I was poised to really love the Dabb era. I wanted to! My body was ready!

And I do really love the first chunk of season 13, the Widow Winchester arc. Obviously I'm a romantic, love that for me, but it's just also really good? The acting, the writing, the psychological complexity of Dean wanting Jack to be Bad so he has an outlet for his anger and Sam wanting Jack to be Good so he can retroactively parent himself and raise a Lucifer-tainted child who isn't crippled by self-loathing. Billie's great, and it looks like she's going to start being one of the major powers of the universe. Unfortunately -- with the occasional exception of this or that solid episode -- that's kind of the end of Pretty Good Supernatural. Season 13 kind of unravels; season 14 always feels like it's looking for itself (which is a bummer, because I wanted very much to care about Michael); season 15 is, idk. Idk about any of it, it's all pretty pointless. I feel bad complaining on some level, because the show's been on for like fourteen years at this point! It's kinda justified in feeling a little worn out. But the reality is that the later seasons systematically undo all the expansion that had excited me earlier -- the Wayward Sisters crew pretty much vanishes when the spinoff isn't picked up, Naomi and the angels stop doing anything, Crowley's gone, Mary's gone for much of it. We're just kind of futzing around with monsters who don't seem to matter (very much including Lucifer, who hasn't mattered in ages) and a lot of Jack, who. I try not to shit all over, because I know he's a popular character, but I find him just ungodly boring. Everything in the last two and a half season just feels like it's headed nowhere in particular, and also it bored me. The Empty deal is just sadness porn; it doesn't have any resonance or meaning in terms of Castiel's character, it's just him agreeing to die for his kid, which is okay, it means he's a loving dad, which he is, but there's no conflict there, ergo no real drama. It's just mean; it happens because it'll make us sad, and no other reason. Rowena is the only strong secondary character left, and her ending also doesn't feel particularly relevant to her, it's just a generic Sacrifice to Save the World. Everything just feels like they're autogenerating plotlines, rather than letting the actual needs and drives of the characters shape the narrative. So while I have this weird split personality with Carver where I either hate what he's doing or I love it, most of the Dabb era is just. There. It doesn't make me feel anything except kind of tired and embarrassed. Which is a bummer, because I have an inexplicable fondness for Dabb, probably just because of how much I love s12. I wanted to love his seasons! I did love his first season! I feel like maybe something happened when the CW rejected Wayward Sisters? I know that was kind of his darling, and it feels like maybe losing that kind of sucked the joy out of him, and he's kind of checked-out by the end. That's genuinely just my guess, however.

That's Professor Milo's Intro to Supernatural Studies, don't forget to fill out your course survey on the way out!

[mittensmorgul]

I've watched season 11 again, and I have a question if you're willing to answer. In season 5, Cas was very disappointed about learning God was basically a "dead beat dad," as Dean called it. But when Cas had an opportunity to talk to Chuck, he didn't seem all that interested in talking to him or even asking a question or two. Why do you think they never had Cas interact with Chuck as a son talking to his father when it was such a huge deal for Cas in season 5?

Hi there! I’m happy to talk about this, because honestly I was personally GLAD that Cas treated Chuck the way he did in s11.

(A/N: I was halfway through writing this when my power went out last night, so now that everything is back on I’m gonna see if I remember wtf I was even talking about... if this goes sideways halfway through, blame Potomac Edison)

Cas had already realized long before exactly who and what Chuck was. I mean, not that Chuck was actually God, but that God and “His Plan” was always a load of BS.

Chuck left the angels a lot of conflicting information, and not a lot in the Free Will and Critical Thinking arena. I was just thinking about season 6, and this sort of feeds into a lot of the same distinction between Cas and the rest of the angels. My personal line of thinking earlier this evening was this line in 6.20:

CASTIEL I'm doing this for you, Dean. I'm doing this because of you. DEAN Because of me. Yeah. You got to be kidding me. CASTIEL You're the one who taught me that freedom and free will -- DEAN You're a freakin' child, you know that? Just because you can do what you want doesn't mean that you get to do whatever you want!

Major Tangent Warning, because I gotta write out what I was thinking earlier in order to explain why I am So Pleased with Cas and his reaction to Chuck in s11, which I think of as abject disdain. This is key to everything Cas had learned, to all of his growth as a person up to that point.

What Dean tells Cas here is in direct contradiction to what Raphael’s self-stated motive in restarting the apocalypse was. Also from 6.20:

RAPHAEL You rebelled - against God, heaven, and me. Now you will atone. We'll start by freeing Lucifer and Michael from their cage. And then we'll get our show back on the road. CASTIEL Raphael...No. The Apocalypse doesn't have to be fought! RAPHAEL Of course it does. It's God's will. CASTIEL How can you say that?! RAPHAEL Because it's what I want. CASTIEL Well, the other angels won't let you. RAPHAEL Are you sure? You know better than anyone, Castiel. They're soldiers. They weren't built for freedom. They were built to follow.

Raphael is just doing “whatever he wants,” in the way Dean was trying to convince Cas NOT to. Because if Dean learns anything in s6, it is the cosmic cost of his own actions. Think 6.11, and the lessons he learns having to play Death for a day. As much as Dean tries to work around the Bigger Picture of the Universe, he does understand that there is a right and a wrong, and that some things are worth fighting or even dying for, but the cost might sometimes just be too great. And unleashing all the souls in purgatory on the planet seems like just a different sort of apocalyptic level of bad... like putting out a fire with a flamethrower.

Cas had to make a choice here. He’d chosen his path every step of the way, wrestled with each decision he’d had to make over the previous year leading up to that point, but he’d passed the point of no return, and his direct prayer to Chuck went unanswered, and he never got a sign whether he was doing the right thing or not.

I’ve argued in the past that he absolutely DID get a sign, in the form of Dean telling him to stop in 6.20. But Cas dismissed him, out of pride, out of hubris, out  of desperation to do the one thing he believed could give him the power to stop Apocalypse 2.0, save Heaven, and also save Dean in the process, since Dean would be back on the radar to be Michael’s vessel if Raphael succeeded in breaking him out of the Cage.

And here’s the really tangenty part of the tangent: it just made me think of all the nitwits who won’t wear a mask in public, or follow social distancing rules because MAH FREEDUMB, you’re impinging on MAH LIBERTY. BUT THE CONSTITUTION!

Because yes, we can do what we want, but we can’t do WHATEVER we want when our actions are harmful to others!

The framers of the Constitution could never have foreseen a pandemic like this. But any SOCIETY where people must coexist needs to put some constraints on liberty, and the framers absolutely DID understand this.

They also couldn’t have foreseen air travel, but we have established rules about this. They couldn’t have foreseen cars and traffic lights and interstate highways, and yet we have rules that govern our behavior there, as well. Air traffic controllers, stop signs, speed limits-- we don’t just have the right to drive 90 mph through a school zone and run through red lights. And yet nobody yells BUT MAH FREEDUMB! when they get a speeding ticket.

Polite society ALSO must include *MY* right not to be killed because someone else decided that traffic laws didn’t apply to them, see?

Basically, wear your mask and shut up about it, whiny pissbabies. This is what is required of you to live in a functioning society. You do NOT have the right to infect others with a potentially deadly illness. Full stop.

But back to Cas and the Leviathan infection he’s about to infest the entire planet with...

Dean was effectively giving him the “wear a mask, nitwit” speech, but on a cosmic level.

And Cas had to live with the consequences of his choice, with the GUILT and DEPRESSION that resulted. And he spent the next few seasons desperately trying to make up for what he’d done, to atone and do whatever he could to redeem himself-- to Dean. He’d tried to redeem himself to Heaven, but the more he eventually began to learn about Humanity, the less affinity he felt for his fellow angels, and for Chuck’s construct of Heaven.

Because back to another previous point, Chuck effectively left the angels two opposing sets of instructions: orders to watch over the earth and act as shepherds to humanity, and orders to bring on the apocalypse at any cost. Can’t do both, truly. Even Naomi will eventually say, right before Metatron stabs her in the head, that she (and the other angels) forgot that their true mission was to protect and defend humanity, and she didn’t know when or why that ever changed.

FINALLY back to the point! WHEEE!

Basically, Cas has, in the six years between s5 and s11, experienced “god-ness” from every angle, experienced his own guilt over what he now believes were misguided actions, that sometimes Humanity has a better answer, and there are some things that just aren’t worth it in the long run.

Mostly, he’s realized just HOW deadbeat Chuck has always been. And the revelation that Chuck had actually been God all along? Saw their pain and suffering at trying to STOP the apocalypse all those years before? KNEW FULL WELL that Sam, Dean and Cas were doing everything they could to try and save the world from basically the entirety of Heaven and Hell, who were plotting the destruction of humanity and most of creation with it. I mean... Cas spent s5 begging for God’s help, to save the world, to convince Michael and Lucifer that they did not have to destroy humanity, and Chuck... had done LESS than nothing. He’d sat there and ghoulishly watched the entire mess unfold like a bad tv show... oh wait... :’D

By s11, Lucifer had not reached that point that Cas had. Lucifer had many other issues, having been rejected and locked up for most of existence, and even HE had been the one in 5.22 to try and talk Michael out of enacting Chuck’s battle plan. Lucifer never had the experiences Cas did (and despite being given every opportunity to have them over the next few seasons after s11, he continues to reject those experienced at every turn anyway, only serving to highlight the difference between Cas and, honestly, most of the rest of the angels). Lucifer had a personal need for a direct apology from Chuck for everything he’d been put through-- starting with taking on the original Mark and ending with the cage.

Of course Lucifer didn’t get an honest apology, because in the end, it was all just a theoretical production to Chuck. He had never apologized, in any of his universes, to any of the beings he created. And he never would. And on some level, Cas-- via his experiences, what he himself had already come to understand about God and creation-- already understood this about Chuck.

Cas... didn’t care about him anymore. He cared about HUMANITY, about Chuck’s CREATION. The creator might be a worthless jerk, but what came out of his creation is a thing of ultimate beauty. Humanity, love, free will, and the beauty of the universe is what ends up saving the world in 11.23, so I’ve chosen to accept this read of Cas and his relationship and opinions of Chuck. Because it’s perfectly in line with the “moral” of season 11.

Plus it’s just so personally satisfying to me watching each individual character’s reactions to Chuck, and understanding how that aligns with all of their personal arcs.

Dean: brought the “how could your forsake your creation” of a broken-hearted son who has finally seen the truth. something he worked out YEARS ago between himself and his own father, so it didn’t come with that particular personal baggage and didn’t completely break him in the process (as it may have done with Cas had Chuck revealed himself, say, in 7.01...)

Sam: brought his life-long hope that God was real, his faith in God’s inherent “goodness,” did the Chuck Fanboy for a bit before seeing Chuck a lot more clearly. He was able to relinquish his idol worship of Chuck as the Savior of Humanity.

Cas: had brought his experience of Humanity and Godhood, the entire spectrum of Creation that he had experienced for himself and grown through. Cas, for all his mistakes, had never stopped TRYING to do the right thing, never stopped doing everything in his power to save humanity and creation from every cosmic threat, while Chuck himself had only hidden away and watched from the sidelines, when he’d ALWAYS had the power to make everything good and right and allow the Winchesters their peace. Honestly, what BETTER response than to treat Chuck like a bit of gum stuck to his shoe?

Metatron: who had basically spent s9 trying to turn himself into Chuck Lite, literally plagiarizing his Supernatural novels to create his own origin story as the new God, and failed miserably. What other angel could truly confront Chuck, writer to writer, and call him out for His Story? Even fallen as low as he could go, Metatron understood first-hand the responsibility of The Cosmic Author in ways even Cas couldn’t, because narrative symmetry. Metatron was always about the Word, as God’s Scribe. He was a bad copy of the original with the names scratched out. He basically wrote the worst self-insert fanfic of all time. And that gave him the narrative space to confront Chuck about everything that Cas no longer had. Cas had long since rejected that role, sided with Humanity, and smashed Chuck’s Word. The original tablet-breaker.

Crowley: carried on Crowley-ing. Doing the best he could with what he had, and somehow miraculously BS’ing his way through.

Rowena: recognized the Biggest Power in the room and ingratiated herself to it for comfort and protection, and hopefully for a bit of power and security.

Billie: gosh she just stepped in at the 11th hour to annoy Chuck. :’D

But yeah, I’ve always been incredibly pleased that Cas basically ignored Chuck in s11. Good for him.

[deans-haunted-baby]

Why I don’t think Michael will side with Chuck in the End

I know there’s theories floating around that Michael may have been deceiving the Winchesters in 15x08. Its true we have no idea what his agenda is or if he’s that interested in playing nice with TFW. They did trap him in Hell with their half brother for a long time so he’s not exactly warm & fuzzy about that. However this isn’t the psychotic, sinister version of Michael from the alternate universe nor is he the same steel cold obedient soldier back in 5x22. He’s changed massively. There’s more humanity in him now than he’d like to admit. In spite of what we’ve seen from Michael in the past, I don’t think he’s interested in harming Sam and Dean, at least not currently. And I just can’t see him running to Chuck, not after receiving all that alarming information. So I'm going to present the following reasons for why he probably won’t turn on the boys. Number 1 being the most important. Adam Milligan.

For however it happened the archangel bonded with a human. The formally resurrected 19 yr old illegitimate son of John Winchester. All those years spent in the cage these two managed to forge an understanding between one another; an unusual strong connection. They're friends and allies. Michael listens to and respects Adam’s opinions even if he doesn’t always agree. Allows him freedom to control his own body. And despite being the ruthless warrior that he still is, Michael’s been shown to be much more merciful, patient and compassionate compared to when the boys last faced him. Because of his relationship with Adam, Michael’s developed a newfound appreciation for humanity similar to his aunt Amara aka the Darkness. He truly cares about Adam and protects him. Like at the diner when he smote Lilith for posing a threat. Then instead of killing the witnesses in front of Adam, Michael chooses to spare their lives by erasing their memories. He even defended Adam to the Winchesters further demonstrating that he does consider his feelings. That’s beyond the person he was when he told Dean “Adam isn’t home right now” all those years ago.

So I have no doubt Michael will do what ever means necessary to keep Adam safe from Chuck, who is hell bent on destroying the world which Adam is part of. Even if that means siding with some old enemies to take him down so be it. As the old saying goes “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”. Of course that doesn’t mean Adam shares any love for Sam and Dean. Hell no. He made that pretty clear at the diner. He has every reason and right to hate them after ten years of failure to save him from Hell. Every reason to make them suffer. Adam deserves to be pissed at the Winchesters and the world for doing him dirty like that. But...for better or worse, Sam and Dean are still his brothers. Its for that reason and that reason alone that I don’t see Michael threatening to go after them later. He knows Adam wouldn’t want that unless (he really is a scheming crazy person deep inside) Michael’s friendship with him is just smoke & mirrors which I don’t believe for one second. 

And Adam’s been presented as being a very forgiving, kind soul despite all the pain he’s been through. Revenge wasn’t even on his mind the moment he got out of that cage. It was human food on top of wanting to go back to school or get a job. Meaning he cared more about getting back to some sense of normalcy. Then when Castiel and the Winchesters pulled him and Michael into their crisis, Adam was willing to hear their side and attempted to convince Michael to help them. Why go through that whole charade if Adam just wanted Sam and Dean hurt or dead? They had every opportunity to double-cross TFW while being held captive but instead Michael & Adam chose to put aside their grievances, at least for the moment, and give the Winchesters something useful. Now whether or not the spell actually works (I doubt it’ll be that simple) is the mystery. However this definitely not the last time we’ll see these two characters which brings me to point number 2. Jack Kline.

This is a big one. Why you ask? Well lets go over that scene in 15x08 where Castiel shares his memories with Michael and Adam. There was so much foreshadowing in this moment (from Michael/Adam’s return down the road, to Michael’s unavoidable confrontation with Chuck and finally his eventual encounter with the young Nephilim himself) based on how that scene was shot and edited. The primary objective was Michael watching Jack die at the snap of Chuck’s fingers and reacting to it along with all the other nasty business his dad’s been doing behind the scenes. Talking didn’t seem to be enough to get through to Michael and neither did antagonizing him. His stubbornness and arrogance wasn’t surprising being he is the Prince of Heaven and has a blind idealized devotion for his father as his loyal son. So in order to open Michael’s eyes and get him to see the truth, Castiel focuses his energy on the most ruthless, evil act Chuck has ever committed. Murdering his grandson and Michael’s nephew. 

Doing this Castiel shatters that righteous image Michael has had of his father forever because Chuck/God (father of all creation) is suppose to be the embodiment of light, love, hope, peace and benevolence. He created Michael to be his champion of humanity; the guardian protector of Heaven and Earth. Its Michael’s sworn destiny to defend good against evil. And Chuck crossed the line, several in fact. He represents everything Michael was born to oppose. Trying to mess with free will, attempting to destroy everything he created all out of spite because the Winchesters refused to play his games anymore. But above every horrible thing he’s ever done there’s no sin greater than taking the life of his own flesh and blood. A child born of a human (God’s greatest creation) and an archangel (Michael’s younger brother Lucifer whom, despite their conflict, he loved immensely). That is unforgivable. No matter how much he may still love him, Michael has absolutely no reason to trust his father; not after all those centuries of deception. And Chuck has shown he has no regard for human life let alone the lives of his own family which Jack’s death all represents. 

Now Michael chose to leave at the end of 15x08 after giving our heroes the spell to trap Chuck and showing them the door to Purgatory. But what’s interesting about that is his reference to the Darkness. It’s unclear if Michael even knows Amara has been released and neither Dean or Castiel ever mention it. I wonder if he can sense her energy. So the question is where is Michael going? Is he planning to seek her out or leaving to confront his father (which I doubt since Chuck is preoccupied with Sam and Eileen at the moment)? What we do know is Michael and Adam can’t avoid the inevitable. They’re as much apart of this fight as TFW whether they like it or not. It all depends on which side Michael ultimately chooses. Will he align himself with the Winchesters or is he going to be on his own side? It’ll be interesting to find out when the show returns in 2020!  And I’ve been thinking a lot about what Michael’s interaction with Jack will look like when they’re finally reunited because if its anything like what we saw with Gabriel (or better) that could be a good sign for Sam, Dean and Castiel. 

 Out of all his paternal family members Jack’s so far met his biological dad (that didn’t go over so well), his grandfather (that didn’t go well either) and one of his archangel uncles. He’s yet to encounter his great aunt Amara the Darkness or his most powerful famous warrior uncle. The original Michael. Those are interactions I’d very much like to see happen before the show ends. But for arguments sake lets say Michael does consider turning on the Winchesters. Not that he would or might but what if he still has doubts. Jack could be TFW’s best chance at gaining Michael’s trust, cooperation and alliance. He could tell his uncle that Castiel and the Winchesters had been raising him as their own; protecting him since he was born. Things I’m sure Michael might appreciate. Or Jack could confide his biggest regret (accidently killing Mary Winchester) as a means to bond with Michael and help him understand the Winchester brothers a little better. Reminding Michael and Adam of redemption and forgiveness. That any pain the Winchesters might’ve caused them has no comparison to what Jack took from Sam and Dean and yet they’re still a family.

It’ll be fascinating to see how they go about the dynamic between these characters considering what happened with AU Michael in S13 and S14. Jack may be a little hesitant of his uncle at first and Michael may be hostile (since he probably knows Nephilim are forbidden) yet curious or a combination of both. Or maybe their first encounter may be a bit softer than expected what with Adam in the middle of things. Michael could become very taken with Jack and protective of him. He was very distraught after seeing those horrifying images of his father killing his nephew. And I could see Adam being their ice breaker (oh the comedic possibilities of this!) he’s a very laidback, likable chill dude not to mention Sam and Dean’s half brother. Yah that little detail is probably going to be the most shocking for Jack since Adam’s never been a blip on the Winchesters’ radar.

Moving onto point number 3. Heaven. It’s dying which is why Jack was manipulated into creating new angels to power it up. After all the damage done by Metatron, Lucifer and the Entity it’s left in ruin and without proper leadership. We know as of right now Michael has no intention of going back there. He’s severely withdrawn since learning his brothers are all deceased and probably feels like a failure and a fool. But none the less he’s got unfinished business back home. By the time Supernatural ends someone’s got to be left in charge of things up there, my moneys on either Amara or Michael since he’s the heir to the throne of Heaven. It would be a fitting ending for either of them. Maybe Michael will somehow restore Heaven’s power (with Amara and Jack) and reopen it for the all the earthbound souls. Or maybe in the aftermath of the final showdown against Chuck, Michael will just hang around with Adam and whoever else is left standing on Earth. And finally we reach my last point number 4. Amara.

What do we know about Michael’s complicated history with his aunt? Not much either than the fact that he and his brothers were ordered by Chuck to seal her away centuries ago; with no intention of ever releasing her. Something tells me Amara wouldn’t harbor any kind of affection for Michael, not after what we saw with Lucifer. And we have no idea if she still shares that same connection with Dean as she did in S11 (though rumor has it they got an upcoming storyline together in the back-half of S15) or if she’s even interested in lending a hand in the Winchesters’ business of saving the world. However Amara has been shown, like Michael, to have developed a love for humanity. She’s having the time of her life vacationing all over and taking advantage of her freedom. I don’t think she’d be too thrilled knowing her brother plans to destroy all he’s accomplished and he’s not exactly her favorite person to be around. She’s completely done with Chuck’s crap. He’s alienated her to the point where she wants to be as far from him as humanly possibly. 

And if she does still view Dean in a favorable light after what he’d done for her, that could be what persuades Amara into helping TFW. Michael would have to be an absolute moron to attempt an attack (if he decided to make them his enemies) if Sam and Dean manage to get the Darkness on their side. Its canon that she’s far more powerful than the archangels which is why it took all of them combined to lock her away. That said I don’t think Michael’s character is being set up as a villain. We already had AU Michael, been there done that. Nor do I see him and Amara at odds specifically because of their deteriorating ties to Chuck. Could their reunion be pretty heated and violent? Possibly. Its hard to say where they’ll stand with each other when they cross paths, there’s some bad blood between them for sure so they’ve got some family issues to sort through. But as of right now, what’s happening is bigger than both of them and their angst. Ironically Michael and Amara got more in common with each other than they realize. 

Both of them were abandoned, lied to and used by Chuck on top of being imprisoned for many years. And they actually care about the world they're currently inhabiting which Chuck wants to end. That’s got to be worth more to them than some old discrepancies in the past. Enough for them to want to put aside their differences and work together to stop Chuck. Imagine how awesome this storyline would be, former enemy family members coming together because of a common threat they’re all facing. Michael and Amara along side TFW, that’s a pretty badass team. I WANT THIS. I want to see Michael get to be a good guy. Become an ally and the honorable hero he was meant to be. Saving humanity whom he now cares about with his human best friend. We deserve to see this version of Michael come into fruition before the show ends. 

Anyway those are my thoughts on the Michael/Adam situation. I hope it comes true or most of it anyway. I know Supernatural is building up for a big finish. It would be nice if they didn’t waste two characters we haven't seen for ten years. I want to believe that they have plans for Michael and Adam that don’t include killing them off for shock value and/or villainizing them at the last second. They deserve better than that. 15x08 was a perfect example of how to utilize and develop these characters into the plot. They have so much potential and story left to tell. Lets hope the writers know what they’re doing.

[meli-productions]

This Love is Ineffable

I made it to the end! 

Thank you so much for those that stuck with me this #ineffablehusbandsauweek. I'm so glad you've enjoyed the work and I've had so much fun writing them. Thank you to @ineffablehusbandsweek​ for the prompts and opportunity.

This is it on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26680813.

The Almighty plays a game of her own making - but sometimes even the pieces get away from Her without Her noticing. After all, being omnipotent did not mean alway being omniscient - She needed Her rest sometimes.

When She planned the heavens and Her angels She created them in pairs - it made things easy that way. Archangels, both those she created for the position and those that ascended to that position, would have their Principalities to protect them - some of them would be mates and some would find their mate elsewhere. 

It didn’t always work out - Gabriel had found his mate elsewhere and Lucifer’s love of himself and his world made it difficult to have a mate for him - but there was one pair She had been happy about.

The angel that would’ve ascended to archangel, Rafael - Rafael the Elder to differentiate him from the one that would eventually replace him - was a starmaker and healer, and with his kindness, dedication, and stubbornness would’ve made a great addition to the ranks of Archangels.

As She prepared for her decision, She fashioned a principality worthy of a radiant being. She pulled starlight from the latest of Rafael’s nebulas and gave him sweetness - a bit of a bastard streak - and curiosity for life. When She’d finished the little cherubic looking fledgling, surprise ran through her incorporeal form - he was a perfect complement to Rafael - the most perfect pair of mates she’d created.

She named him Jophiel and sent him to Michael for training until the time was right for him to take his rightful place at Rafael’s side.

But the war came and the young angel was sent to battle, scolded for protecting fledglings younger than him in battle and her hypervigilant Archangels felled one of their own. The one of them that would’ve opened their eyes to the beauty of Earth and covered their tracks by making Raphael the Younger an Archangel in his stead.

The Almighty was upset, Her shining star had been extinguished - and Jophiel had lost his mate. So She built a reminder for Her overzealous children of what they’ve deprived the world of and renamed the principality to Aziraphale - of Rafael - so they’d always be reminded of the sibling they’d thrown into sulfur.

“Gabriel,” She asked, looking through the heavens for the being She felt absent, “where is Aziraphale?”

The overly-bright smile on Gabriel’s face didn’t match the dead look in his striking violet eyes, “He’s been reassigned - guarding the Eastern Gate though,” he paused, “last I heard he’s been making friends with the humans - not his job. We’ll get him back on track.”

A storminess started overhead as the Almighty processed. Did they know what they’d done? Put a Principality on Earth, with humans, when he had no one else to protect? 

“Why is he there? His job is to protect - but not without direction,” asked the Almighty, storminess rumbling and making Gabriel nervous.

“He can’t get into trouble down there. All he has to do is stand on the wall and protect it from the other side,” said Gabriel, smile now twitching. “He really didn’t have a - a purpose here without an archangel so - we repurposed him.”

The Almighty huffed, indignant, and disappeared to take a peek at Aziraphale in his new position. Just as Gabriel had said, Aziraphale wasn’t stiff-backed on the wall, instead he sat on a rock and talked to Adam and Eve, enraptured by the questions they were asking and their own discussion on the creatures and plants of Eden.

And just like that, the Angels have made their own enemy - a being that will defend Earth against them.

She shook, the equivalent of a head-shake and retreated once again. There would be a price to pay for that.

When She’d sent that first storm to Earth, She was curious as to what would be happening to the two humans - and to see what Azirpahale would do now that he was out of a job again.

To Her surprise, the angel had found someone to share this storm with. Black feathers and scaly patches on exposed skin marked this friend as a demon, one that he was sheltering from the storm under his wings. The demon, for their part huddled close, tucked in and comforted by the being that should be their enemy.

The Almighty took a closer look at the curling red hair and the eyes that were gold and snake-like but very close to its original color - a zap of shock ran through Her form. After everything, Her starlight and his mate had found each other and, by the sense of it, there was a connection already being made.

“Metatron,” She said upon arriving back to Her corner of the sky. “I want Aziraphale to be appointed to Earth. He is to stay there and keep an eye on the Serpent - he knows the humans more than any of the other guardians. I think he’ll be good down there.”

The Metatron raised an eyebrow, not a question but a silent judgement, and turned to give the order not daring to disobey the Almighty. For his part, he relayed the message to Aziraphale’s superior and Gabriel was surprised by the announcement.

“Really? Him?”

“Ours is not to question, young one,” said Metatron. “And She works in mysterious ways - maybe this is how you get rid of your Scarlet Letter.”

Gabriel didn’t say anything, but pouted about it to the rest of the archangels when the time came to officially give Aziraphale the job on Earth.

For centuries, the Almighty kept to Herself, peeking onto earth to see what was going on and tracking Aziraphale and Her starlight - Crawly as he was dubbed by Hell - curious as how falling affected their bond. The spark of joy when Crawly realized that Aziraphale was there at the loading of the Ark and then the consecutive forty days they spent together within - protecting the saved children.

“Don’t try and convince me to let them go,” hissed Crawly, back in the form of a snake and coiled around a clutch of eggs that were children in disguise. “They’re damned now - going againsssst the Almighty’ssss wishes and all.”

Aziraphale chuckled, pressing down between the snake’s eyes in a soothing circle, “I suppose there’s nothing I can do, you wily thing. But I think you’re much more comfortable in this cramped space. I should stick around and keep an eye on you.”

The Almighty, finding him very cute in his disobedience, allowed him to go ahead with what he was trying to do - which was shift into a snake to match Crawly. So she allowed him to turn into a white python, yellow markings woven into the scales, and cloudy eyes that honed in on the clutch and the demon protecting it. 

And the two, oblivious to the nest they’d created, curled there for the time that the ark stayed afloat - only uncurling to get comfortable or so to scent one another. Shifting back when land was sighted, they helped reestablish the children in their new home and parted ways without more than a ‘fare thee well’.  The Almighty felt the little zing of affection that encircled the pair and felt Her joy return, brightening the sun and Her rainbow.

The pair of them became Her favorite thing to observe on Earth - never letting them distract Her from the work that She was meant to do - including the birth of Her son on Earth.

“Dear, we need to go,” Aziraphale said, giving a gentle pull on Crowley’s wrist.

She shook her head, “Not yet. Not until they entomb him.”

Aziraphale nodded, though she couldn’t see it, and allowed her fingers to interlock with his as she followed the train of mourners carrying Yeshua’s body.

“This isn’t fair,” said Crowley, voice shaky. “These wankers think that they’re teaching is better so instead of teaching harder they put a man to death. What good holy men, I can’t wait to see them down in Hell.”

Aziraphale swept his thumb along her hand, “I’m not encouraging you, but if you happen to cross paths with them in Hell - give them a swift kick in the rear for me.”

Crowley, for once in their encounter, gave a little chuckle, “Course not, angel. And I don’t usually hang around the torture room - much too messy but…I’ll deliver this present just for you.” 

With a happy wiggle, Aziraphale gave a quiet noise that was almost a thanks and the Almighty, through mourning the death of Her son, let herself bask in the wave of affection that permeated the somber atmosphere. 

After Yeshua arrived and made his place at Her side, he looked down at where Aziraphale and Crowley were saying goodbyes and beamed.

“I knew two beings so sweet could only belong together.”

The Almighty let out a rumble of laughter that he matched with the brightness of his smile, “Yes - my two lovebirds - impossible and ineffable.”

It was the attraction, the lust that She felt in Rome as she watched Crowley turn as red as his hair while Aziraphale slurped oysters, oblivious to his friend’s plight. And the relief that melted into shy agreement to the - Arrangement. 

At that, She had given such a cry of despair that Metatron had come swooping in wondering what was wrong and finding Her zipping through her office muttering about ‘stupid mates’ and ‘ how can it be taking so long’.

The affection that melted into the real sweet, honeyed string of love as Aziraphale gave Crowley a sparkly-eyed look that the demon obsessed over, throwing himself into Hamlet’s success, until the sounds of an angelic steed echoed through London and announced Aziraphale’s return - and the matching little stutter of a heartbeat, the same honey-sweet string as Aziraphale basked in Crowley’s gift to him.

Paris was the first time that She’d felt her darling Principality feel something stronger than the lulling waves of affection, when that familiar sweetness became spiced with cinnamon-hot lust. Happiness that had started spreading sunlight in darkened corners of the world dimmed when Crowley, happy that Aziraphale was in one piece, shipped him back to London before he could get hurt. 

Aziraphale left, pouting, and left Crowley to his privacy as he - eased away the tension of their meeting. 

But it was after Aziraphale opened his bookshop that the Almighty was at her most excited - and most stunned by their stupidity.

“I’m so glad they didn’t send me back,” Aziraphale said over his glass of wine. “Not much for me up there anyway. ‘S not like there’s someone waiting - not like my old job is still available.”

“Y’re a principality - y’re job is to protect humans down here,” said Crowley, then processed his words and squinted his eyes at him. “And wha’d’ya mean ‘no one waiting’?”

Aziraphale sighed, putting his glass down to fiddle with his waistcoat, “I was supposed to be the principality to an archangel - ‘cept he - he fell. And y’know what I mean, you were an angel once - I - I don’t have a mate.”

Crowley paused mid-sip, “Wh-which one? And - honestly, angel, everyone has a mate - well except the king down,” he pointed towards the ground, “down there y’know.”

“I was supposed to be the protector of the angel Rafael. Well, Rafael the Elder, Raphael the Younger rejected me the minute I was introduced to him,” said Aziraphale, pouting. “And my - my mate also fell. The older angels, the ones who aren’t - aren’t rude, they tell me that my aura is just like Rafael’s. They think he was meant to be my mate. Maybe it’s why She changed my name, to remind me of what I will never have.”

From Her perch where She watched this scene played out, the Almighty rumbled, “No, no, little one. That wasn’t what I meant at all.”

Hands trembling, Crowley placed his glass on the table, drops of wine spilling on the dark wooden surface, “Your name?”

“Jophiel was my name before. I was given the name Aziraphale as a reminder of who I belonged to, who I’ll never have - ‘of Raphael’,” Aziraphale looked down sadly at his hands wringing on his stomach. “And - and you, dear, did you find your mate?”

The Almighty leaned forward on Her cloud perch, “Do it, starlight, tell him.”

“I - ngk - I,” stammered Crowley, red seeping into his face and offsetting the freckles. “N-no, angel. I did my little dance down into sulfur before I found my mate. And - and they’re not in Hell.”

Aziraphale made a little noise and a wave of affection and nervousness muddled the air between them, “Oh? Do you - do you have any hopes of - of finding them?”

Crowley, snake-like, swayed from side-to-side, unaware of what he was doing, “Maybe - maybe I - don’t need a mate, angel. Maybe, I like not being tied down…make my own decisssions this way. Besides, there’ssss no better company than the one I’ve found myself.”

The wine-pinked cheeks darkened as Aziraphale fought not to thank Crowley for the almost kind words he said and the intensity of the affection flooded the room until, had the feeling been tangible, it would’ve choked the two entities within.

Instead of mulling over the sweetness of the feeling, they turned to the less sweet wine until they had celebrated the opening of the bookshop until early morning.

It was the pang of fear that dragged Her attention to Crowley pacing along the edge of the duck pond at St. James. The swans were tracking him with pinprick eyes as they honed into his bread-empty hands and wondered why they hadn’t been fed.

Fear and desperation snapped away into hurt and fury when Aziraphale denied him the Holy Water he wanted and how the angel’s own worry melted into his own spark of anger forcing the two their separate ways - heart heavy and mourning the delicate nature of their Arrangement.

The Almighty couldn’t help but follow Aziraphale - Crowley having cocooned himself for a long nap - proud of Her principality that found his niche to protect but wishing that She could let him know that Crowley was his to love and keep.

After half a century, She had the pleasure of seeing them - even if it was at the loss of one of Her churches - getting back together. Even more - She let the rolling waves of affection and relief that - 

“Oh,” She said, feeling how the soft, silkiness of Aziraphale’s affection spiked and became something greater - when it became Love and twined around the Love of Crowley towards him. “Oh, my sweet angel, I knew you were capable of so much affection but this, this, is stunning. This is why I created life so that this affection - your affections for each other. This is the right plan - the Ineffable Plan.”

Feelings that only intensified and turned that lust of Soho into smooth melancholia when bombarded by the intense cloud of Love between Aziraphale and Crowley while they sat in the Bentley and admitted their feelings in the words they could say.

The Almighty sighed and at her side, Yeshua let out a quiet mumble that got louder. “Are you sure you can’t meddle a little? This is painful.”

“They have to figure it out on their own. They’re almost there.”

The years they spent at the Dowling household almost was the breaking point. If the Almighty ate, She would’ve been snacking on popcorn as She watched the shy flirting and courting of Brother Francis and Nanny Ashtoreth. Then leaned as far as She could to catch a glimpse of the burning intensity of Cortese and Harrison as they seduced each other almost to the brink and then swirling back down as they came back to their own - back to Aziraphale and Crowley.

Then the fight, and the discorporation, and the ping-ponging dizziness of the end of The End of the World, and finally the escape by the skin of their teeth from the unauthorized punishments until things settled back down and they caught their breath.

“Alright,” She said to Yeshua. “Now I get to meddle. The Ineffable Plan is in full affect.”

She dropped a feather - two feathers - one of black and one of white and let them lay in the bookshop’s back room where her favorite couple could see them. It was Crowley that saw it first, snapping a miracle to send them away with a blush dusting his cheeks - but they wouldn’t disappear. He stopped trying when even picking them up and tossing them didn’t stop them from reappearing in the backroom. 

When Aziraphale caught a glimpse of the book, face finally lifting from the book he was devouring, he went over and picked them up, stroking them with reverent fingers and waited until that night when Crowley was sprawled across the couch to bring it up.

“Crowley,” he said, fingers dancing over the rim of his glass, “do you remember when - when we talked about mates?”

Trembling fingers rested the now downed wine glass onto the table as Crowley turned his attention on his angel, “‘Ziraphale, that was a long time ago. Why? Did you happen to come across them?”

Aziraphale let out a shaky breath before meeting Crowley’s full-snake eyes, “Yes, I - I believe I have.”

The Almighty felt sunnier than ever, trying to keep her shine to the side of the world that was still seeing sun and not to the darkened London sky.

For his part, Crowley looked a little panicked as the color drained from his face, “I - I - wot? Did you - you find them while you were down in Hell pretending to be me?” 

“No, darling,” said Aziraphale, a little smile spreading on his face. “I’ve been obtuse for far too long. I think - I think that I always knew who was my mate - the only person that ever put up with me.”

“O - oh, yeah? Who?”

Aziraphale huffed and moved from his usual spot in the armchair to the couch, back against one of Crowley’s legs and sitting dangerously close to the apex. He reached out a hand and waited a breath away from his cheek, “Is it okay?”

Crowley nodded, swallowing through the thick, cottony feel of his mouth as Aziraphale cupped his cheek.

“My love,” he said, feeling the shiver that ran through Crowley’s body. “It’s always been you, hasn’t it? And you knew but - but you waited for me to realize. My dearest,” he thumbed across the sharp cheekbones under his grasp, “I’m done pretending - you can go a little faster.”

A little whine slipped through Crowley’s mouth as he leaned forward, forehead falling against Aziraphale’s, “You’re mine, Aziraphale. From creation. My principality, my mate, my love.”

“Yours, my love, as you are mine,” he said, upturned nose brushing Crowley’s. “May I kiss you, darling? I’d really like to - that is if you - ”

He didn’t get to finish as Crowley pushed forward and kissed him, sliding closer until his legs were bracketed around Aziraphale’s plush form and his hands wove around his middle to tug him impossibly close. 

Hands held on, gentle but demanding as their one kiss into one long kiss and the Almighty, pleased, pulled the curtain to give them their privacy. After 6000 years, She figured they could have as much time as they wanted to each other.

[mymusehatesme]

Castle of Glass

Chapter Six: Discovery

Words: 1448

Summary: A Hell Gate has opened on Earth, so you and your siblings decide to defend humanity, inadvertently locking yourselves out of Heaven.  Now you must wander the Earth doing good deeds until your penance has been served.   Unfortunately, your attempt goes a little awry and you find yourself a prisoner of the man they call the Hollow King….  [Female reader, angel reader.]

Warnings: None

Inspiration was this post: https://beka-tiddalik.tumblr.com/post/160726927715/a-tradition

MASTERLIST                      SERIES MASTERLIST

On the second day of Ruby’s stay at the palace, someone brought you new clothes.  Some black pants (thank Father), new boots, an embroidered white shirt, and a red sleeveless vest of some sort that fell down into a half-skirt… thing.  The front was slit for ease of movement, reaching to a few inches above your knees while the back was much longer and went to the middle of your calves.

It was designed in such a manner that if you strapped your blade to your thigh, the fabric would obstruct a person’s view of it.

You smiled and gladly accepted the anonymous gift.

The third day, Dean asked if you would like to explore the land that you had saved.  Enthusiastically, you agreed.  You two were joined by a firecracker of a redhead known as Charlie who seemed to open up a side of Dean you hadn’t seen before.

“She’s kind of like my little sister,” Dean explained as you three started out on your journey on horseback, “A little sister I never wanted.”  The teasing tone was unmistakable.  An inside joke between the two of them.

“Aw, c’mon Dean,” Charlie teased back easily, “Bobby always said that the bonds with your family you don’t choose are as strong as the ones you do!”

You didn’t know this Bobby and you didn’t think the statement earned as much laughter as it wrung from Dean, but still.  You watched as Charlie and Dean bantered back and forth and how her hair freely cascaded over her shoulders.

You smiled as you were reminded of Anna.  Anna and Charlie would get along swimmingly, you decided.

The fourth day, you sent a message to your siblings to catch them up on what had been occurring.

The fifth day, they sent a message back saying how concerned they were for your safety and lamented the ring of Holy Fire that blocked them from sensing your presence.  Later, you were called down to distract Ruby from whatever she had been doing in the throne room with Sam and the other officers.  Apparently, she didn’t want to leave when they were discussing how best to deal with your siblings after the Holy Fire had been put out.

The sixth and seventh days had Ruby with you constantly, wanting to know what you normally did during your day, which of the guards you knew best, how to write certain words in Enochian, how hard was English to learn, and so on.  But it was odd… no matter how much she seemed to bother and pester you about unimportant things, she would always slip away from you and find her way back to Sam.

Later that night, Sam not so subtly suggested you take Ruby out of the castle and take her on a tour of the towns.  For the eighth and ninth days, you did just that.  She kept complaining about random things (the sun, the rain, the mud, the horses, her clothes, the wall of fire around the kingdom, and so on), but you did your best to be hospitable.

On the tenth day, you told Dean it was his turn to entertain the demon.  He was not too pleased about that, but did as you asked regardless.  (“I can see her face and I don’t like it.  I mean, all demons have faces that are twisted and contorted, but hers… hers is something else.”)

He still didn’t trust Ruby as far as he could throw her, but at least he took her off your back for a while.

You put your newfound silence and solace to good use in the library - searching for anything that would help you with the history of this land.  What you found was depressing, to say the least.

Queen Mary had died less than a year after Sam was born; in a fire that had started mysteriously in the infant prince’s nursery.  Multiple books agreed that king John had sworn that a demon was to blame, and he became obsessed with finding the culprit - regardless of what his advisors suggested he do.

And thus ended the era in which the princes could have had a semblance of a normal life.  From then on, they were raised as hunters, as warriors, and as survivors.  Then, when Sam was twenty-two, John had gone missing… once again, under mysterious circumstances.  Dean left to find him and Sam stepped up to give the kingdom a ruler.

Two years later, Dean returned with John’s body; the court physicians ruled out poisoning as cause of death, but he wasn’t stabbed, either.  It was decided after a few days of deliberation that he died of natural causes.  (When asked for more details about his father’s death, Dean merely said, “He died to save me,” and would not elaborate further.)

You set the book down and leaned back in your chair to ponder.  John was convinced that a demon was responsible for his wife’s death, and almost thirty years later, a Hell Gate was opened in his son’s kingdom.  Dean had said his father had died to save him… and Dean truly had died for Sam to trade his soul for his brother.

You couldn’t imagine that Dean had purposefully allied with demons between his father’s death and his own, given the situation he had been growing up on (VERY anti-demon, possibly more anti-demon than your own).  And if Dean was supposed to grow up to be a conniving, evil man-demon thing, why did Metatron send you to save him when he was a child?

Was Dean at the root of an odd conspiracy?  It didn’t make any sense… the model son watching his father die and then dying himself to allow demons to overrun the Earth?

And if he was involved, why?  What did he have to gain?  He clearly didn’t like demons, so he wouldn’t have wanted to become a demon in the first place….  His brother was king, but he seemed content with that….

You had so many questions.

Questions to which you didn’t have answers for.  Questions to which there might not be any answers.

And if your siblings knew about this?  You didn’t dare to think of what information they had already gathered from the surrounding kingdoms.

As much as humanity hated your kind, your siblings could be very persuasive in attracting a few humans who would go where they could not.  And by persuasive, you meant absolutely terrifying.  To be on the receiving end of an angel’s wrath was not a pleasant thing to experience.

You carefully put the books back where you found them and left the library.

The steady fall of rain soothed your nerves somewhat and the cool air seeped in from the other side of the stained glass windows.  

This is a bad idea, you thought to yourself, A very bad idea.  Sam was not going to take your questions about Dean kindly at all.

You needed to find Charlie.  After a short one-sided game of hide-and-seek, you found her in the observatory working with a smaller black haired man.  They were bent over a desk and studying a large paper that fell over the front of the desk.  A rectangular piece of stone sat on the corner of the paper, holding it down.  At your entrance, they both looked up.

“I need to speak with S- his majesty, do you know where he is?”

Charlie blinked and then pointed behind you.  “He should be in his throne room.  I think he’s talking to the… diplomat.”

You nodded and took note of the distaste in Charlie’s voice.  Apparently, you weren’t the only one that felt off about the whole situation.  “Thank you,” you said, turning to go to the aforementioned room.

“Yeah, sure!”  And then, quieter, “Kevin, quit hogging the tablet, I’m trying to help you.”

“You can’t even read this!  I’m the only one that can!  Stop trying to help!”

“Aw, c’mon! I’m trying to learn.”

“Well, stop!  Char- Charlie!”

You smiled to yourself.  After a short walk, you approached the large double doors and pushed one open.

Taking a step inside, you opened your mouth to begin an explanation of what you feared your siblings would do.

That intention died on your tongue as you saw what was in the room.

Sam, on his throne.  Ruby, on Sam’s lap - her legs thrown over his.  And his crown on her head.

They both turned to look at you and as if on cue, thunder cracked loud enough to make you jump.

You felt like the castle could crumble on top of you in its entirety and it would hurt less that the scene before you.

[the-metatron]

hey just a warning i think @god-in-the-basement is about to melt your kid.....like, disintegrate him

If she harms my son, @god-in-the-basement will have to answer to me and @fandomaziraphale.

[altarsburning]

Samael (Hebrew: סַמָּאֵל Sammāʾēl, "Venom of God", "Poison of God", or "Blindness of God"; is an important archangel in Talmudicand post-Talmudic lore, a figure who is the accuser (Ha-Satan), seducer, and destroyer (Mashhit), and has been regarded as both good and evil. Rabbinical writings describe Samael as the guardian angel of Esau and a patron of Edom.

He is considered in Talmudic texts to be a member of the heavenly host (with often grim and destructive duties). One of Samael's greatest roles in Jewish lore is that of the main archangel of death. He remains one of God's servants even though he condones the sins of man. As an angel, Samael resides in the seventh heaven, although he is declared to be the chief angel of the fifth heaven, the reason for this being the presence of the throne of glory in the seventh heaven.

In Judaism, Samael is said to be the angel of death. While Michael defends Israel's actions, Samael tempts people to sin. He is also depicted as the angel of death and one of the seven archangels, the ruler over the Fifth Heaven and commander of two million angels such as the chief of other satans. Yalkut Shimoni (I, 110) presents Samael as Esau's guardian angel.

According to The Ascension of Moses, Samael is also mentioned as being in 7th Heaven:

In the last heaven Moses saw two angels, each five hundred parasangs in height, forged out of chains of black fire and red fire, the angels Af, "Anger," and Hemah, "Wrath," whom God created at the beginning of the world, to execute His will. Moses was disquieted when he looked upon them, but Metatron embraced him, and said, "Moses, Moses, thou favorite of God, fear not, and be not terrified," and Moses became calm. There was another angel in the seventh heaven, different in appearance from all the others, and of frightful mien. His height was so great, it would have taken five hundred years to cover a distance equal to it, and from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet he was studded with glaring eyes. "This one," said Metatron, addressing Moses, "is Samael, who takes the soul away from man." "Whither goes he now?" asked Moses, and Metatron replied, "To fetch the soul of Job the pious." Thereupon Moses prayed to God in these words, "O may it be Thy will, my God and the God of my fathers, not to let me fall into the hands of this angel."

In The Holy Kabbalah (Arthur Edward Waite, 255), Samael is described as the "severity of God", and is listed as fifth of the archangels of the world of Briah. Samael then became the consort of Adam's first wife, Lilith. Lilith is a demon created alongside Adam, originally created for the role Eve would fill. Samael created with her a host of demon children, including a son, the "Sword of Samael" (or Asmodai).

[shieldeus-moved]

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗥  𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗦  𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞 . please  repost  don’t  reblog !

    stats

full name:  castiel / cassiel / kafziel / kasfa’il

nickname(s) / aliases:  cas , clarence , emmanuel + others.

age:  billions and billions and billions and billions (semi-quote)

birthday:   n/a.

species:  angel , seraph.

nationality:  n/a.

gender:  genderless.

preferred pronoun(s):   he/him in accordance to his current vessel , they/them.

romantic orientation:  demiromantic.

sexual orientation:  asexual.

religion:  abrahamic.

occupation:  bluntly put , angel. kinda hunter on occasions.

status:  active , been dead several times though.

fandom:  supernatural , but very crossover friendly.

face claim(s):  misha collins for the time being.

    relationships

parents:  god / chuck shurley.

siblings:  all the other angels and archangels. gabriel is his favorite, but don’t tell him.

family:  jack kline is his biological nephew , and adopted son.  amara is....an aunt of sort , technically.

significant other(s):  romantically? no one :( kiss him you cowards.

children:  jack. he cares for claire as a daughter.

closest friends:  sam , dean , balthazar. ( ! )

rivals:  crowley , in a way.

enemies:  naomi , lucifer. metatron , but holds no more grudge for him.

    physical  traits

eye color(s):  blue.

hair color(s):  dark brown.

height:  180-ish cm / around 320 m in his true form  ( ... lord help me with american measures )

body build:  fit , broad-shouldered.

notable physical traits:  n/a.

    phobias  &  diseases

phobia(s):  naomi.

mental disorder(s):  ptsd , has been suicidal.

when and how was this diagnosed?  never , though he talked with dean of his suicidal ideation.

physical disease(s):  wings damaged as of s8

when was this diagnosed and/or how did it happen?  diagnosed , never , and castiel hasn’t shown his wings ever since. the damage was due to the fall from heaven to earth caused by metatron.

    personality

usual mood/expression:  quiet , expression often unreadable , appears melancholic.

moral alignment:  sways between neutral good / lawful neutral / chaotic good.

jung:  istj the logistician / isfj the defender.

enneagram:   lot of the individualist , bit of the loyalist.

four temperaments:  sanguine-melancholic.

hogwarts house:  huffleclaw. u cant take the ‘claw’ away from him.

top five tropes:   fish out of water ,  our angels are different ,  the comically serious ,  the world is just awesome ,  eldritch abomination ,  my god,  what have i done ? ,  heartbroken badass ,  brainwashed and crazy ,  now, let me carry you , martial pacifist ,  ain't too proud to beg ,  well-intentioned extremist ,  adorkable ,  the atoner ,  hero of another story ,  nerves of steel ,  back from the dead ,  beware the nice ones ,  broken angel ,  the captain ,  clothes make the legend ,  defends against their own kind ,  guilt complex ,  have you seen my god ? ,  nice job breaking it,  hero ! ,  kill the ones you love ,  martyr without a cause ,  knight in sour armour , rebellious spirit ,  torture technician ,  strong as they need to be ,  tragic hero ,  “well done, son !" guy , etc .

five prominent traits:   loyal , empathetic , thoughtful , stoic , remorseful , kind-hearted , curious , self-sacrificing , honest ,  devoted , selfless , blunt , melancholic , ruthless , independent , quiet , reliable , polite , impulsive.

    misc

skills:  good hand-to-hand and knife fighting skills , proficient torturer / mind reader.

hobbies:  netflix.................

element:  fire , earth. has a minor connection with air in form of rough winds.

animal:  associated to a dragon in extra-canonical scriptures. he’s really more of a friendly crow. 

plant: ash , cypress. 

anything else you want to add:  soft , approachable , gentle cas is not for everyone. most times , if not downright wary and sarcastic , he’s very much detached. 

    stats

compassion:  9/10.

empathy:  7/10.

creativity:  8/10.

mental flexibility:  7/10 .

passion / motivation:  6/10.

education:  9/10.

stamina:  7/10.

physical strength:  8/10 

battle skill:  8/10.

initiative:  8/10.

restraint:  6/10 no chill whatsoever.

agility:  8/10.

strategy:   10/10.

teamwork:  8/10.

musical-rhythmic intelligence:  6/10.

visual-spatial intelligence:  9/10.

verbal-linguistic intelligence:  7/10.

logical-mathematical intelligence:  10/10.

bodily-kinesthetic intelligence:  6/10.

interpersonal intelligence:  6/10.

intrapersonal intelligence:  7/10.

existential intelligence:  8/10.

naturalistic intelligence: 9/10.

[shirtlesssammy]

10x10: The Hunter Games

Welcome to our last Wayward episode before Thursday’s Wayward Sisters! I can hardly wait. Until Thursday, enjoy the recap!

Crowley wanders confused -and frightened- down the halls of his domain. Suddenly other demons appear, ready to attack. He fights back, but ultimately is overcome with stabby-stabs, and he sparks out. (Agh, I forgot we’ve seen him spark out before!) But this was just a dream! Rowena wakes him from the nightmare. She’s really hamming up the nurturing mother bit, aye? She’s Rowena though, and after Crowley walks away from his throne, she removes a hex bag and smiles with disgust behind her son’s back. (Natasha: and can I just say? How fascinating it is that Crowley dreams. Even if it’s magic-induced, that’s surely some human-adjacent behavior. The fact that he takes this vision in stride makes me wonder if he’s dreaming regularly. Oh, Crowley.)

Dean continues to have flashbacks to his very murderous ways. Cas and Sam discuss Claire. Cas is clueless about how to help her. They touch on Randy’s less than deserved fate (but kinda deserved...in a “this is a tv show and he was an evil child predator” kind of way). Dean interrupts Sam’s reflections. “There was a time I was a hunter, not a stone cold killer.” He wants the Mark of Cain gone. They’re all just as clueless as ever about how to do that though. They’re dealing with a pre-biblical curse. Cas gets to utter the motto for Team Free Will: “There may be another way.”

Back at Casa Crowley, Rowena continues to be her lovely self, snooping through her son’s things. The demon Guthrie catches her, and she tries her wiles on him to no avail. Crowley interrupts them for advice from Guthrie. Crowley knows what Rowena is up to though, but it doesn’t stop her from trying to work her magic.

We get some background story for our favorite witch. Ah, Bucklemming, always ready and able for the info dumping.

Cas paces, restless and anxious, at the gates of Heaven. It seems that Cas asked for help with the angels --they brought him Metatron. He’s brought back to the bunker for a fun interrogation on how to remove the Mark of Cain. Metatron is surprised Dean is alive (OH YEAH, GRR, METATRON) and is kind of incredulous that he’s not even a demon. He’s pretty happy to piece together that Dean’s “gone nuclear” though. Sam stands over him, defiant and demanding answers. Dean makes his dramatic appearance.

At the Astoria hotel, Cas walks into a room where Claire is hurriedly packing. She was hoping to be gone by the time he returned. (HOLD. Where is this hotel? Why isn’t she at the bunker? Cas had to have been gone DAYS --why’d it take so long for her to pack? RESUME.)

Claire’s having a hard time reconciling Cas with the face of her father. Cas doesn’t feel guilty, but he’s responsible for Claire. Claire tells him that he took away her father, and Dean took away the only other person that’s cared about her in her life. “Dean Winchester is a monster.” Cas, forgiving as ever, responds, “It’s possible there is a little monster in all of us.” Claire can’t believe he would defend Dean, and walks out.

Back at the bunker, Metatron’s chained up, completely at the mercy of two brothers with anger management issues, and still manages to be his most irritating self.

He tells the brothers that they’re going to need the First Blade again. And then I paused my screen. I thought I’d take a screenshot for posterity:

Sam and Dean argue through the halls of the bunker about how dangerous or necessary the blade really is. Sam is anti-Blade while Dean is pro-Blade (or maybe it’s the Mark telling him he wants it.)

Crowley and Rowena continue to share barbs when Crowley gets a call from Dean. Dean: “Crowley, we need to meet ASAP.” Crowley, instantly: ”Where?” Rowena watches as her son gets a call from his ex and eagerly jumps off to be with him. With Crowley gone, Rowena continues with her nefarious schemes.

Underage Claire Novak shoots some pool and breaks down her messy domestic life to a couple bar friends. They tell her she can hang with them for a bit.

The Winchesters tell Crowley they need him to bring back the First Blade.

Rowena does a little arts and crafts and magically eavesdrops in on her son’s conversation (“I thought you’d wanna go for a beer, catch a film.”) She now seemingly knows the location of the Blade. She puts Guthrie to the task.  

Back at the bunker Cas bursts in and doesn’t even wait to head downstairs before complaining about the Winchester’s new buffoonery with their latest plan regarding the first blade. Dean protests that he has no choice.

Cas reveals that Claire has taken off on her own and - bless your sweet angel face Cas - he’s decided to convince Dean to talk to Claire as one extremely messed up human to another. “You can explain why you killed her only friend” and...ba-da-bing ba-da-boom best friends. Cas bby. Still not quite understanding basic human interaction, eh? Dean accedes to his request and Cas doofs off (that’s a phrase right?) about how fun texting is while Dean leaves the room. Once Dean is gone, Cas turns back to Sam. “He seems calm,” he observes, considering that Metatron is hanging around.

Down in a crypt in...Guam, perhaps...Crowley opens up a Macleod coffin revealing his skeleton and a wooden chest. He opens the chest to reveal….nothing. The first blade is gone. (I’m always troubled by this scene because even if his bones weren’t “in Guam” this still means that Guthrie knows where Crowley’s skeleton is located. Given what we know about burning a demon’s bones, that means that Crowley has given an awful lot of power to Guthrie. Maybe his bones are bespelled and can’t be removed? Maybe that’s a decoy skeleton in the Macleod coffin? UGH if he died poor then why does he even have a fancy crypt with a Macleod-emblazoned coffin? This makes no sense but….whatever. Fine. Moving on.)

In Hell’s throne room Rowena is trying out the throne when Guthrie returns with the blade. Rowena thanks him by knifing him with an angel bade. Crowley walks in on this scene and Rowena’s attitude does a 180, affecting a desperate and fearful air. She was only trying to defend Crowley’s kingdom from the likes of scheming Guthrie!

Claire’s hanging out with her new super best friends who are relaying stories of getting caught squatting in other people’s houses. Claire gets a voicemail from Dean and her new serial murdering friends grin at each other. They make an offer to Claire to “permanently” deal with Dean.

Dean, meanwhile, gets the news from Crowley that the first blade has been acquired so Dean abandons his sandwich (HIS SANDWICH) and heads down to talk to Metatron. Metatron taunts him, which is a very healthy instinct. In response, Dean closes and locks the interrogation room door so he and Metatron can have a nice civilized chat.

Well. Let the torture begin. Metatron riles Dean up, reminding him of all the people he’s gotten hurt or killed. When Dean throws the first punch Metatron tells him to go darker. Deeper. He pushes Dean into a dark Mark of Cain spiral.

Back upstairs, Cas announces that he’s going to try to find Claire. They head past the kitchen only to find it abandoned. Uh oh. They race down to the interrogation room. Cas busts down the door as Metatron chokes out that the “river shall end at the source.”

Excuse me while I fan myself a little bit…

Sam pulls Dean back from his attack before he has a chance to kill Metatron. Cas brings Metatron back to Heaven. Oops...he was supposed to return him intact.

After Cas and Metatron leave Dean puzzles over Metatron’s clue. They’ve got no idea what it means but Sam throws another idea at Dean. Cas said a powerful force can overcome the Mark. “The Mark is strong, but Dean… Maybe there’s a part of you that wants to give in to it. And maybe you have to fight that, you know? Maybe part of that powerful force has to be you.” With that moral imparted, Dean gets a phone call from Claire. She wants to meet.

The next morning Dean pulls up outside of that skeevy trailer. Her new friends approach with a bat and an ax while Claire hides in the trailer. Claire loses her nerve at the last minute and runs out of the trailer to warn Dean. Dean fights off the two attackers, hoists the ax in the air...and Claire begs him to stop. Thankfully, he does - he’s not that far gone yet. Dean takes off and hopefully Claire does quickly because DUDE those people are dangerous.

Cut to Claire who has not been murdered and is now walking along a two lane road. Cas pulls up alongside her. He reveals that he can track longing....fueling fanfiction like WHOA. His power to track prayer is so shaky in this show, guys.

Claire tells Cas she’s got to go on her own and Cas lets her go (after she tells him that she liked him better with a tie.) Aw, she cares! Cas leaves, because he cares too. The last scene is Claire walking on her own in Cas’s rearview mirror.

Serial Quoters:

Anyway, it was no environment for a child!

Lovely room. It’s where you bring the kinky chicks, am I right?

It’s possible there’s a little monster in all of us.

I like texting. Emoticons.

But I’m your dickwad.

[iamcmims]

Never Giving You Up - Chapter One (Castiel x Reader)

When Metatron decided to close the gate of Heaven, making all of the Angels fall and taking Castiel's grace for the spell, a lot of things changed. Most humans didn't know what was happening, that Angels were on Earth and that this was war. But this was happening, to the disarray of Sam, Dean and you.

When all of this happened, you promised to yourself you would hunt down Metatron and kill him, make him pay for every he did to the Angels, and to Castiel. But before going on a trip with revenge, you needed to find Castiel. When Metatron took his grace for the spell, he sent Castiel somewhere but you couldn't find him and Castiel didn't know how to find you. So you did what you had to, you took this like it was just another case and started to get to work. You were wearing the FBI outfit with a photo of Castiel, telling people that this man was missing and in big danger.

"Hi, Agent Parker, FBI" You show them your badge. "I am looking for that man. Have you seen him?"

"Yeah, he came here for a night. Two nights ago."

"The same night the man got stabbed?"

The guy nods.

"Where he went?"

"To a bus, two streets away."

"Thanks."

You give him five dollars and walk to where the bus was.

"Where are you, Cas'...Damn it."

You were taken out of your thoughts when your phone rang, showing Dean's name on it.

"Dean? What's up? How's Sam?

-Sam is out of the hospital, actually.

-What? How's that possible? He was dying last time I saw him, and this was two days ago! Tell me you didn't sell your soul once again!

-No, I didn't! He just...got better. Way better. I swear.

-I'm coming back at the bunker, and when I'll be there, I want the truth. All of it."

You hang up, leave the bus and walk to your car, driving to the bunker. When you arrive there, you see the Impala parked in the garage. You get out of your car and walk to the library, when you get there, you see Sam, sitting at the table reading a book. You walk to him.

"Sam! Hey!" You hug him. "It feels good to see you standing!"

"It's good to be able to stand up, and it's good to see you, y/n. Dean told me you were looking for Cas'?"

You sigh and sit down.

"Yeah, but he is always two steps ahead. He even took an alias, "Clarence." That's how Meg used to call him."

"We will find him, don't worry about it."

"I hope... Hey, you know where's Dean? I need to talk to him."

"Yeah, he is in his room."

"Thanks."

You take off your heels and walk to Dean's room. You knock and come in and close the door behind you. you look at Dean with your arms crossed.

"So, for the sake of my sanity, what have you done, this time?"

Dean sighs, knowing very well he couldn't lie to you. You raise your eyebrow, waiting for him to give you a proper answer.

"When I was at the hospital's church...I--I prayed to all of the angels and I--"

"Come again? Dean, I better heard that one wrong. For God's sake, what did you have in mind?!"

"I know! I know! But you gotta understand, Sam was dying!"

"Keep going."

"So I prayed and an Angel actually came but he tried to kill me, he wanted to know where Cas' was and then another angel came and defended me and--"

"Dean, cut to the part where you made a fucking deal with an Angel! You know like me, if not better, that those sons of bitches are no better than demons!"

"I know! But, he will leave Sam's body when Sam will be healed!"

"Wait? Hold on, rewind. What? Are you, are you telling me, that, an actual Angel is possessing Sam, right now? It's a joke right? It's a terrible and cruel joke!"

"He said he would leave when Sam will be healed. I had to save my brother..."

"Oh and now you trust angels? And of course, Sam doesn't know about it, because if he did, he would've never said yes and that would cast the angel out."

"If this goes too far, I'll tell Sam about all of it.

"This co-dependence that you have will be the death of the two of you, if not this world. When will you realize that you're doing more harm than good? You're playing with fire, Winchester. And we seriously don't need this right now."

[siderealxmelody]

Radueriel finally took a step backward his eyes hadn't left Castiel's face.

"Uncle Cassiel? Are - are the rumors true? Are these humans your new family?"

He took another step backward looking at Sam and Dean with wide eyes.

"Why do you want to hurt us? We didn't do anything to you."

"I did, they're here for me Rad, not you."

Metatron moved to sidestep his son to give himself to them.

At least they weren't bound anymore. At least Jophiel wouldn't feel him die...he hoped.

Khamael's voice filtered into the familial bond. Wether Castiel was still tuned to it was anyone's guess.

*"Jo you alright? Where did you go?"*

Dean finally stepped backward and looked fully at Castiel. He opened his mouth to say something before he shook his head and walked out of the bar.

He turned to Sam.

"Let's go Sammy. We have a long ride back."

Radueriel growled as Metatron moved to follow Dean. He grabbed his father's sleeve.

"You're not leaving."

Metatron gave him a pleading look.

"Rad I'll be back go with your -"

"You're not leaving!"

The bar shook, Dean ran for cover.

Radueriel's eyes blazed and he glared at the Winchesters at Castiel.

"You won't take my father from me. In fact you're going to give his grace back."

"Now why would -"

"Because I said so!"

Radueriel's voice rose again cutting Dean off. The temperature kept dropping.

"Give it back or I make you both freeze to death."

Radueriel squealed as he was pulled backward. Metatron shoved him at Jophiel.

"This isn't your fault Radueriel, don't waste your power defending -"

"I know what you did!"

Radueriel snapped pulling away from his mother, he was shaking.

"I know what you did to Ma, to Uncle Gadreel to everyone! But I know why you did it! I remember Uncle Sandalphon. And if I had lost a sibling like that -"

He cut himself off panting.

"I know I wouldn't stop till they were avenged no matter who got in my way."

Metatron shared a worried glance with Jophiel. He didn't want his son to turn into him, he should be loyal - good.

"Well this family reunion looks fun."

Dean turned the angel blade pointed at the angel. Teme moved faster, twisting his wrist till the blade was forced from his hand and kept going.

He let go when Dean screamed and his hand lay limp at his side.

Teme looked at Radueriel.

"You okay? Kham wanted me to check."

He glared at Castiel.

"Jophiel, why did you allow a rat into the bar? You know those aren't hygienic."

liesxlossxlove‌:

Dean ignored Sam instead pressing closer to Radueriel.

Radueriel’s confusion gave way to fear. Why wasn’t his uncle coming to his aid? Why wasn’t he looking at him?

“Uncle Cassie?”

His voice wavered.

Metatron forced a grin, to pretend he wasn’t utterly terrified for his son. He noticed the way Jophiel moved between the Winchesters and him.

He hated the hope that shot through him. How could - there had been too much bad blood.

He wasn’t right for her.

He shifted his eyes to Castiel and finally on Sam.

“Why don’t you ask little Asstiel over there? Ask why he hasn’t raised his blade. Ask why he hasn’t come to my son’s aid.”

He pressed his hand against the underside of the bar.

Points of jagged ice grew from the ground. Moving waist high and forcing Dean backward to avoid being skewered.

Metatron sighed and hid his bleeding hand behind his back.

“Fine, since I’m such a good person I’ll tell you. Last chance little Bluejay.”

He sneered the name before he looked at the hunters. He was debating which reaction he wanted to see more.

He settled on Sam’s.

“This is Jophiel and Radueriel they like Cassiel over there are Lucifer’s family. Jophiel and Cassiel specifically are two of his five children.”

He chuckled.

“Well six I guess if we count the abomination.”

He turned to Jophiel.

“Do you and your brothers count Jack by the way?”

𝐉𝐎𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐄𝐋 𝐃𝐈𝐃𝐍'𝐓 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐃𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘, 𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐈𝐓 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐒. She narrowed her gaze at her brother, but as far as she was concerned, he’d stopped being that YEARS ago. Jophiel almost wanted to strangle him with her BARE HANDS at this point, even as she called for her son to get back to her right then. ❝Radueriel! Now!❞ 

The fear wasn’t something she was used to feeling. Not in a very long time, not since she’d squashed it down, buried it deep… 

But she still stayed between Metatron and those who MIGHT seek to harm him. Like there was some force that wouldn’t let her do otherwise, something telling her NOT to abandon him. She couldn’t, despite everything, despite a part of her saying he might deserve it, that part of her that STILL loved him would not let Jophiel do so. Be it for her son’s sake–or something else. 

Maybe it really was for her own– 

Best not to think on that for now. 

She scoffed at Metatron’s mention of the Nephilim, her wings bristling behind her in the other plane. ❝You mean the MISTAKE?❞ At least he was as far as Jophiel was concerned. Her father never would have– Not without a reason– And he wouldn’t have– She refused to believe it. ❝No. He’s not one of us.❞

Sam couldn’t–wouldn’t–believe it. He turned to face Cas, but the angel wasn’t meeting either his or Dean’s gazes. It seemed Dean was in his own state of shock, too, staring at the angel who he’d thought to have known so well. ❝Cas?❞ Dean was simply waiting for Cas to deny it. 

But he couldn’t. And Sam knew, looking at the angel, that he couldn’t. Wouldn’t. 

❝It’s the truth, Dean.❞ Sam knew it, like he inherently knew every word from Metatron in this instance was FACT. Not a single lie on his lips. 

❝Of course it’s the truth!❞ Jophiel nearly rolled her eyes. ❝Just because my COWARD of a brother never told you a thing doesn’t make it any less TRUE!❞ Her eyes blazed with the fires of Heaven, essence twisting. ❝Now–LEAVE us alone and get away from my SON!❞

[mittensmorgul]

Hey Mittens! Just wondering if you could help me understand something... I get that Stuart was supposed to be Cas bc of the coat and the fact that Dirk was his bff but all I got of Stuart was he was a walking internet troll... Girl Sam and Dirk said he had good qualities but we never saw them so he just left a bad taste in my mouth. Did I miss something? He wasn't very Cas-like to me :( but maybe your meta magic will help me see what was going on

And from another anon:

Dude the Cas! Mirror. How is that a good thing???? dude was basically a dick, how is that supposed to paint Castiel in a good light???? The overall episode was good but that bit's putting me off.

I don’t know if you remember what Cas was like when he first showed up, but... he was kinda a dick. He basically picked up Dean on behalf of heaven (like Stuart shoved the Thundercats toy in his bag). Even up through 4.22, he was still complicit in holding Dean, you know? And heck, season six? The first time he shows up, complaining about his people skills being rusty, he grabs Dean’s hand and cuts him for his blood without even asking. Cas has a long history of being kind of a dick.

But once Stuart takes off that coat (in Cas parallel metaphors language-- the Flag of Heaven... thanks Metatron), things change. He dismissed Sam and Dean’s help when they were trying to give it, but they stuck around (Just like Stuart’s friends stuck by him). And when he called for help, they gave it. I mean... 

Stuart clearly needs some lessons in How To People, but his friends who knew him best clearly cared for him. Sam helped make things right by docking his paychecks for the things he took (hey, at least he wasn’t secretly living in the back room of the shop...), while Dirk stood vigil in his hospital room, clearly worried for his friend.

This wasn’t a statement that “this character is meant to represent Castiel as he is now.” Mirrors can be broken, shadowed, dark. They can remind us of how things were in the past to contrast with how much a character has grown and changed, too. And I think that’s how they used Stuart in this particular case.

(not to mention in a VERY meta way, I see this as a direct jab at the fans who “hate” Cas, despite his two closes friends repeatedly stating they like him, you know? Like... they admit he’s not a perfect human being, and lacks people skills, and yet the both do what they can to help him-- including getting him his job back twice when someone who hated him tried to have him fired. So...)

This wasn’t a 1:1 parallel, the way they used Samantha to parallel Sam, or Dirk to parallel Dean. Or even Hatchet Man to parallel John. I mean, Stuart spent the majority of the episode unconscious in bed, leaving his friends to speak on his behalf. He was still central to the plot, and when he was in trouble, his friends circled the wagons to protect him.

Mirrors aren’t always accurate reflections, but they are informed by what we know about a character, and can remind us of just how much the character we know has really grown, you know? Because the show has been hammering on just how much Cas has grown over the last few episodes where he’s been proving that fact via his interactions with Jack (and to a lesser extent, with Nick, but mostly with Jack).

I mean, the dude’s name was “Stuart Blake,” literally translated as “hall guardian,” and Blake can either mean “someone with dark hair” or “son of Lake,” so considering the water imagery pinned to Cas, this feels... extremely appropriate. Stuart reminded me of Cas from the end of 4.20, the one who had been all righteously reprogrammed to serve Heaven, before being exiled (to his mom’s basement, where he was attacked... kinda like s9 Cas, as I said above). 

Mirrors-- especially of characters whose mirror-character is driving the plot instead of reacting to it-- are often shades of the past painted in these sorts of broad strokes. And then they literally had him unconscious for the rest of the episode while his friends defended him both as their friend, and defended him from immediate physical danger while he lay in a hospital bed recovering.

In an episode where we didn’t see Cas, this is how they built the mirror, literally informed without the actual character to reflect him onto...

(holy CRIPES Davy goes deep meta. And don’t come at me with “but the GA can’t know all that! They can’t see it that way! because you are RIGHT. But what they DO see is the surface level stuff-- i.e. a guy they probably thought was kind of a dick at first, who got himself into trouble because of that lack of interpersonal skills, but who is legitimately A PERSON under all that who was just passionate about his hobbies even when incredibly awkward at dealing with people, but whose friends care for him and will defend him even with their own lives. It’s not the GA that will find issue with this. It’s people who feel very strongly for Cas, who will have the Big Blinking Lights of the Cas Defense System activated, and will then be upset by anything that is a less than glowing parallel, you know? But there is this deeper layer of paralleling going on as well, which matches up to the surface-level read in heartbreaking but ultimately uplifting ways.)

The whole POINT of it is that no, Cas isn’t that guy anymore. And aren’t we all glad of that?