#metatron true form

[biceratops7]

I’m gonna SCREAM-

We’ve already established as a fandom that Metatron could teach a masterclass on gas lighting, but I wanna talk about how he specifically validates the things Aziraphale cares for while simultaneously devaluing them under the surface.

First off, this moment?

Tells us everything we need to know. It sets the scene for exactly the games Metatron is playing. He makes Muriel feel important while openly insulting them (flat out calling them stupid), aka seamlessly reinforcing the idea that they’re less than to both them and anyone else in the room. He knows he can get away with this easily, he knows that Muriel, lonely, overlooked little Muriel, will be completely distracted by the fact that someone so important is taking an interest in them.

This is already horribly clever, but then later on you realize it’s doing even MORE heavy lifting when he appoints Muriel to run the bookshop. “See? What’s important to you is what’s important to me! I’ve graciously taken the time to ensure your beloved shop is looked after by Muriel. You know, the dim one!” …let’s suffice it to say he’s ensnared too birds with one net for this one, and that a pattern is already starting to arise.

So when Metatron says Gabriel came to Aziraphale because he’s a “natural leader” and “doesn’t just tell people what they wanna hear”? Yah he’s full of shit. Aziraphale struggles with his sense of purpose when he doesn’t have someone or something guiding him, and for thousands of years he’s been terrified of sharing his true feelings and opinions to 90% of people he’s known. Completely just trying to butter him up. Wanna know the real reason Gabriel seeks asylum with Aziraphale?

Exactly this. Gabriel just says so point blank. It’s not because Aziraphale is this person for him, it’s because despite knowing nothing, he has this instinct that Aziraphale is the only one who can possibly understand why Gabriel did what he did. He is, I mean as far as we know, the only other angel who has fallen in love. (In general, let alone with a demon.)

But nope, can’t have that. We can throw the promise of restoring Crowley in the mix to sweeten the pot, but we can’t acknowledge why he’d want that so badly in the first place. So now it’s cause they work so well together. We can praise the angel for the fallen archangel Gabriel himself coming to him protection and guidance, give him a gold star. But we couldn’t DARE imply that it was by virtue of Aziraphale’s courage to choose earthly love over heavenly. How Gabriel didn’t need a leader, but a friend who’s truly known the joys of adoring that “particular person” and the pain of needing to hide it.

Cause then Aziraphale would start getting crazy ideas, like that his silly little human feelings have a great deal of worth. That they have the power to inspire, form cracks in the institution, fundamentally weaken what has controlled and harmed him. We wouldn’t want him to know the true value of the cards he holds when he has the ace in a match against you, now would we? After all…

Metatron uses this ingeniously sinister tactic of taking away Aziraphale’s choice while giving the illusion that he’s actually opening up doors. Notice how he tells Aziraphale he would have the authority to do something as extraordinary as turn a demon into an angel, yet he never once puts the much simpler alternative of just working with a demon on the table? The sleight of hand here is that he’s being offered the opportunity to freely be with Crowley… but he’s already freely with him as is, no bargain to be made. In fact he fought to be. Metatron disappears this accomplishment right before our eyes, while seamlessly maintaining the illusion to Aziraphale that he (Zira) is in control.

He sets Aziraphale up for failure by only providing the option he knows Crowley will not only decline but be deeply hurt by. It’s all so cleverly planned. Once this plays out exactly how he wants, he delivers the finishing blow by diminishing Crowley and his “damned fool questions”. Suddenly doing a complete 180 and emphasizing how foolish and troublesome he is. Metatron was offering Crowley by Aziraphale’s side as The Carrot. Now he’s telling Aziraphale it was stupid of him to want The Carrot, un-heavenly.

Aziraphale’s life, love, happiness, it’s all not only a massive inconvenience for Metatron but a liability. He has successfully taken a weapon from Aziraphale’s hands he didn’t even know he had. Metatron sees the writing on the wall, and he wants it contained.

[vidavalor]

This is the face of an angel who just realized that his oppressors are afraid of him and his friends because, together, they are a force that threatens the regime.

This is the face of an angel that just realized all of this Metatron nonsense is to separate them and keep him-- the best strategist-- from starting a revolution. If they are split up, The Second Coming goes off without a hitch... but if Aziraphale unites them, then Heaven will fall. Crowley & Aziraphale alone are enough trouble together to stop Armageddon. Crowley & Aziraphale with the eons-long leaders and commanders of Heaven and Hell in Gabriel and Beezelbub, though? That is a coup.

How little would it take to overthrow it all at this point? How long until it's Crowley & Aziraphale & Gabriel & Beez... & Muriel & Eric & Furfur? How til they get Michael and Dagon on their side? How long until it's actually most of the demons and a sizable portion of the angels teaming up against what's left of Heaven?

Give Me Coffee or Give Me Death. Aziraphale took the coffee. The Metatron thinks it means subservience. He thinks it means he's tricked Aziraphale and that he's won and he was almost right, so is the level of trauma these beings have suffered. He didn't know, though, that coffee is already coded as liberty. He handed Aziraphale a cup of symbolic freedom and didn't realize how so very true that was going to be. Just like a certain empire once did when they gave some of their people the option to form some colonies, thinking that the empire would always remain in control, and now we call those colonies not part of Great Britain but The United States of America.

"Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks leap out"-- the Job quote on the matchbox. The matchbox containing the fly, containing Gabriel via Beez. Out of Gabriel's mouth goes burning lamps-- Gabriel lights the way. He's the path forward. He is first shots fired in the rebellion...

...and sparks leap out.

Some Boston Tea Party stuff afoot, you guys.

That is the face of an angel that just realized that he and Crowley were both wrong: the solution isn't running away but it's also not taking over a broken system that doesn't want to be fixed... it's fanning the spark that Gabriel lit into a flame and then into an inferno and burning this entire mother to the ground.

Aziraphale is no longer headed to Heaven to run it.

He's headed to Heaven to *overthrow* it.

He's headed to Heaven to *liberate* it.

No idea how much of a chance he will get to succeed alone but this is Aziraphale. He will give them hell if it's the last thing he ever does-- for Muriel and all the angels like them. For all the persecuted demons. For the humans Heaven wants to destroy. For Gabriel.

Most of all, for what they did to Crowley and the 6,000 years of fear and pain they've put them through.

That is the face of an angel who just realized that he had almost been drawn back into Heaven's web of darkness again, only to hear that Heaven wants him to oversee the destruction of 8 billion people and the Earth he calls home and the stars the love of his life built and he has reached his absolute last remaining straw.

They've taken his home and hurt his friends and they took *Crowley* and at this point, Aziraphale no longer gives one flying fuck what it might be that God wants because God can go fuck herself if this it is. The elevator scene is Aziraphale saying Crowley was right:

That angel is *untethered* with barely controlled rage. They nearly played him for a sucker. He might die doing this and they fooled him and he broke Crowley's heart and they've taken too. Fucking. Much. It's just utter destruction. There will be no system of Heaven and Hell done when Aziraphale is through with it.

Aziraphale is about to go from not sure if he should stop Armageddon in S1 to being the angel that destroys the system of Heaven and Hell in S3.

Yes, you can save everyone, Aziraphale, but not alone. You need Crowley's imagination and Gabriel's leadership and Beez's intelligence. That's what they're afraid of. You finally got it in that elevator, so get up there now, get your gang back together, and make some trouble.

[thesherrinfordfacility]

have any of the angels directly interacted with the metatron, even in heaven? ive seen a couple of posts asking how crowley and saraqael recognise the metatron, and why aziraphale and the others don't. seems like aziraphale recognises the metatron purely based on crowley's description-

-as opposed to his memory being jogged, and him suddenly recognising the metatron for himself. as it is, we know that michael and uriel also do not recognise him without being told by aziraphale, so we can reliably deduct that there is some disconnect between the floating head 'true form' the metatron takes in heaven, and the humanoid form he's taking in the bookshop. aziraphale doesn't make the link, and neither do the archangels.

so why is crowley - and saraqael, if their nervous disposition when michael is chatting shit is anything to go by - able to recognise him in this form? how are they able to make the link between the true from, and this one? what is there to recognise?

i think that's potentially more the question - not why the others didn't recognise him, but instead why these two did. what is possibly in common between them, but not the others?

it might be that crowley recognises him by something other than sight (re: he can sense when aziraphale is on earth and when he isn't) but that again wouldn't make sense to me; why do the archangels not recognise him in the same way, from gabriel's trial that ostensibly only occurred a few days ago? unless it's a demon trait... but then that doesn't explain saraqael.

is it voice? unknown, possibly... but raises the same question of why the archangels and aziraphale didnt recognise him.

so idk, but my only thought/theory at this time is that it's linked to memory. as in; the physical capability of it. there may perhaps be something inherent about the metatron that ensures that angels can't remember him, or more specifically can't store the memory of him? or, alternatively, it's mandatory that after each interaction, this part of their memory is manually removed?

something that they wouldn't be able to do to crowley - a demon - or to saraqael because... well, someone seems to be in charge of erasing memories, right?

[aziraphales-library]

Hi! Your account is so great and I really appreciate what you guys do here.

Im not sure if there are many of these out yet, but I’m looking for good fics of what season 3 could look like. Like the events of 1 and 2 are the same but then we get to see them dealing with that ending.

Thanks so much!

Hello! Here are some series three speculation fics...

Armageddon Part 2: The Second Coming by Halfling (M)

Takes place immediately following the end of season 2 of the show. Crowley just wants to be left alone but he keeps getting interrupted. Heaven is MIA, Hell is up in arms, and no one can get a moment's peace.

what we could have been (and what we one day shall be) by meetmeatthecoda (E)

The next time Crowley sees Aziraphale after the day he broke his heart, entered a blinding white lift, and left him behind, it’s in almost the exact same place. Three interminable months later. That awful day, driving aimless and slow in a silent Bentley, Crowley wasn’t sure if he would ever see Aziraphale again, let alone so soon, considering the way they left things. He tried to tell himself that he didn’t care if he ever clapped eyes on his white blonde curls, steel gray eyes, and ridiculous tartan bow tie ever again, but the tears threatening to spill out from behind his sunglasses betrayed his true feelings. (Not to mention the random but persistent spots of bright yellow paint on his car’s otherwise pure black sheen, ruthlessly rubbed out with an index finger the temperature of an open flame.)

Bad Omen by lavender_mo0n (T)

There is a common misconception that owls are a bad omen, a warning sign for death and destruction that is to come. On the contrary, a better way to describe it is to say that they are a symbol of change. That change may come in the form of death, but perhaps that is more in reference to the death of life as we know it. And perhaps a certain angel is about to experience a ~very~ big change.

On the Side of the World by profdanglais (M)

The demon Crowley has gone rogue. Precisely what “rogue” looks like on a demon who was never anyone’s idea of “manageable” is something neither Heaven nor Hell is currently equipped to deal with. Hell is rebuilding and Heaven, under the auspices of the Supreme Archangel Aziraphale, is focused on spreading the Word of their prophet, known as the Second Coming--of what, exactly, remains unspecified. Neither side seems to remember who Crowley used to be, nor have they bothered to change the passwords. The Metatron has no interest in demons, rogue or otherwise. His Plan is going swimmingly and he couldn't be more pleased. Now if only he could figure out who’s responsible for all these unauthorised miracles that just keep happening, far and wide, on planet Earth.

Of Gardens and the Second Coming by Serenity_Black (E)

Starting moments after S2E6... The new Supreme Archangel Aziraphale is in Heaven, juggling the Second Coming at The Metatron's behest. Crowley is wrestling with his romantic realizations, and losing. What is it going to take to get our lovestruck beings back on track so that they can save our favorite Libra and all its inhabitants? And where are God and Satan in all of this? There’s a lot of ground to cover before this ends, as it was always going to, in a garden.

The Better Book: A Brand New Testament for the End of Days by HollyGhostLightly (T)

The Second Coming is underway and it turns out there are competing plans to determine the fate of the world! An unofficial/unauthorized Season 3 of Good Omens… to stop the bleeding. 💔 Excerpt: Aziraphale frowned as his intelligence was insulted once again, “How can you expect us to put our faith in something that lacks any detail whatsoever?!” “Let’s try to remember the plan is still technically ineffable. I’m doing my best to make it effable for you guys but some things are obviously outside of my abilities.” The angel growled, “Oh, the plan is effable alright! If you ask me, it’s completely fucked!!” “Real nice language, coming from an angel! You’re putting money in that thwart jar!”

- Mod D

[moved-to-mettatonsbestie]

You know what. I DO wanna know about the religious imagery with Mettaton. Tell me all about it *laying on my chest kicking my feet up in the air*

@therowansweeps @mtt-brand-idiot

Let us start with his name. Remember that majority of the names in Undertale/Deltarune are very particular, whether it be for a funny joke or something with a dual meaning (ex: Toriel is just Tutorial, Undyne being Undying, etc). The etymology is rather important with characters, and Mettaton is certainly no exception. His name is most likely derived from the angel Metatron, found in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. He was one of the only two humans to attain Heaven in the form of an angel, he was originally a righteous man named Enoch who was gifted with the form of an angel by God once he died. Now, the names being similar could very well be a coincidence, but one must also take note of the fact that Metatron is transliterated as MTT in Greek; which is too much of a coincidence to not be intentional.

So... his name is taken from an angel, which is already an allusion to the notion of deities and religion. Furthermore, this angel in particular is a rather interesting candidate to be compared with Mettaton... Both of these figures were something else entirely before they obtained their true forms, and changed their name along the way. They have even further parallels when you look at the name's meaning and Mettaton's actions. Metatron is most likely derived from the verb memater, which means to guard or protect; very striking when one considers the fact that Mettaton is very much a protector in Genocide/No Mercy Route; he quite literally gives his life to protect the Underground, as a guardian angel would do.

Furthermore, he is quite literally a celebrity, an idol. He even says it himself, he is the idol everyone craves. This is a double entendre, referring to him being a celebrity or figure to look up to, or a literal deity. Deities are all considered idols, they are to be worshipped; the very notion is entirely what his character is about. He loses his humanity, he is no longer a person. Hell, he is not even seen as alive, in his quest to be the true idol for humanity and monsterkind. He is worshipped and adored, yet is it genuine? Do the people know and love the real him? No. He is the heater, the Underground's sexiest rectangle, he is seen as just a robot. He is complacent in this, yet to hide his past and help Alphys he gave his humanity away.

It is a rather cruel twist on the story of Metatron actually... Metatron was given a wonderful gift by his creator, God gave him immortality and the blessing of being truly holy. This transformation into something else was divine, yet the same cannot be said about Mettaton. He was given the body of his dreams, yet it will never come without a terrible cost. His humanity and agency was given away, he even got used for functions he would be completely against; such as his creator giving him human eradication functions to "make him more useful", something the human loving ghost would never agree to until the last possible moments in a Pacifist run. Regardless, Mettaton falls into both the categories of being the idol and being God's pawn, which is rather interesting.

And of course... he is not without true fans either, take Spamton for example. Spamton supposedly spent all of his time praying to an artifact, the very machine that created NEO; which evidently has direct ties towards Mettaton NEO. I honestly never played the Spamton NEO fight yet, so I cannot comment too much on it, however Mettaton is quite literally an overworld being being unknowingly worshipped and prayed to by someone who resides below; this blind faith being found in every religion.

So yeah... Whether it was directly intentional or not, Mettaton as a whole has a decent amount of religious imagery and themes with his character that it becomes rather important to properly dissect him fully. I barely remember writing any of this, he probably possessed me and made me write this.

[talonabraxas]

Soul Body The soul body generates electromagnetic energy in the form of visible light, which is interconnected with our chakras. This energetic field, often referred as our “aura,” changes based on our emotional or physical well-being. The word aura comes from the Sanskrit words, aur and wer, meaning to “raise or hold suspended.” In yogic tradition, Kundalini energy or “serpent power” rises from the root chakra to the crown.

Serpents are ancient symbols of transformation and growth that represent the harmonious duality of life and death, light and dark, good and evil. In Hebrew, these “serpents of fire and light” were known as seraphim, the angelic beings who protected the “throne of god” in the Seventh Heaven.

In Judaic mysticism, Uriel is the archangel of wisdom, who gave the book of secrets to Metatron. In Kabbalistic thought, this wisdom is the way of the return through the “Tree of Life”.

In Greco-Roman tradition the two serpents on the Caduceus of the messenger gods Hermes and Mercury, were symbols of peaceful power and diplomacy. In alchemy, two serpents represented the balance of opposing forces. This is similar to the Taoist philosophy of yin-yang. Yin is the silvery moon energy (female/night) that receives light. Yang is the golden sun energy (male/day) that penetrates dark. They create life in a harmonious dance between chaos and peace.

By imagining these two serpents of light moving in harmony through the seven worlds of our chakras we can create balance within our self.

Message: This is a time to create balance in all areas of life. If we are feeling stuck or are in chaos, remember that this is temporary, for all things change. Imagine being at peace with change as an opportunity to create a new way of being. By connecting with our chakras, we can improve our internal flow of life force energy, and find the peace we need within us.

“It is not the body, nor the personality, that is the true self. The true Self is eternal. Even on the point of death we can say to ourselves. My true Self is free. I cannot be contained.” – Marcus Aurelius –

Chakra – Color – Seven Worlds Root – Red – Physical World Sacral – Orange – Emotional World Solar Plexus – Yellow – Mythic World Heart – Green – Energetic World Throat – Blue – Past World Third Eye – Violet – Present World Crown – White – Future World

[destieltropecollection]

DESTIEL TROPE COLLECTION 2023 | DAY 10 | Canon Divergent

Sleepy Angel Kisses | Destielshipper4Cas (AO3)

Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 1,255 Main Tags/Warnings: Canon Universe, First Kiss, Sharing a Bed, Affectionate Dean, Falling angel Castiel, Crack Treated Seriously, Prankster Dean, Fluff and Crack Summary: Cas keeps falling asleep when low on grace. Dean takes advantage of that. Just some harmless pranks… right?

An Account of Consequences | @moustiel

Rating: General Word Count: 1,530 Main Tags/Warnings: Angst, post season 12 finale, spn rewrite, canon divergence, whump, heavy corpse description Summary: Castiel is the once and former God. There are consequences for trying to be The Most High. Isaiah 14:16-14:20

No Peace Held In Death | @aaronthe8thdemon

Rating: Mature Word Count: 2,265 Main Tags/Warnings: Episode: s07e04 Defending Your Life, Angst, Sad Dean Winchester, Sad Castiel (Supernatural), canon compliant? more like canon complaint Summary: Sammy’s out doing his Sam-thing, trying to take down Osiris with Bobby on the other end of the phone. Dean’s hanging out in their motel room, waiting. He fucking hopes it’s Jo. Which means it’s gonna be Cas.

a corruption cleared | @demonmary

Rating: Mature Word Count: 2,774 Main Tags/Warnings: Demon Cure, Demon Dean Winchester, Demon True Forms, Angelic Grace, Blood Drinking, Canon-Typical Violence, Angst Summary: When Castiel had healed him in the past, it was from the outside in. HIs hands would come to rest on Dean’s injured flesh, his grace would pulse through them like electricity, and the connection would stop when Cas pulled away. But this - this was more pure. This wasn’t Castiel’s touch, this was Castiel. This was Castiel, healing him from the inside out. _____ demon cure but make it horny grace drinking.

thank god for bruce campbell's abs | @watchinghimrakeleaves

Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 3,408 Main Tags/Warnings: canon divergent, season 9, human castiel in the bunker, Summary: Dean decides to expose Cas to horror movies. In the process, he learns some startling things about his best friend.

I need to say something | @destiel-wings

Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 4,861 Main Tags/Warnings: Episode: s15e09 The Trap, Castiel/Dean Winchester in Purgatory, Love confessions, Angst, Romance, POV Castiel, Dean Winchester uses actual words, Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Summary: What if Dean had confessed in Purgatory, after his prayer? When Dean said "Cas, I need to say something," Castiel stopped him. But what if he hadn't?

Murder the World | @thisisapaige

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 10,162 Main Tags/Warnings: Angst, Canon Divergent after s10e22 The Prisoner, Demon Dean Winchester, the Castiel and Colette parallel, Switch Castiel/Switch Dean Winchester, Hopeful Ending, Porn With Plot Summary: Castiel said he would be the one to watch Dean murder the world. Now he has a chance to prove it.

This Isn't Where We Intended To Be | @porcupine-girl

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 14,094 Main Tags/Warnings: Castiel in the Bunker, Human Castiel, Fallen Castiel, Post-Episode: s10e14 The Executioner's Song, Pining Castiel, First Kiss, First Time, Bunker Fic, Light Masochism, Meddling Sam, Emotionally Repressed Dean, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Light Bondage Summary: This time, he wakes up to the aftermath: Metatron and Crowley both dead. Dean lying nearby, unconscious and a bit bloody but free of the Mark. Sam mother hen-ing back and forth between them, trying to make sure they're both alive, assessing them for injuries, shifting them into the recovery position. He is hungry, cold, and weak. But he is not alone, and that makes all the difference in the world. Fallen, Castiel struggles to figure out where he fits in the human world—and in Dean's life.

The Parts You Keep Hidden | @skybird87

Rating: Mature Word Count: 16,035 Main Tags/Warnings: Episode: s14e10 Nihilism, Homophobic Language, Internalized Homophobia, Bad Parent John Winchester, Dean Winchester is Loved, Angst with a Happy Ending Summary: In an attempt to free Dean from Michael, Cas and Sam journey deep into Dean's mind. Unfortunately, they find themselves stuck in an endless void of darkness, with only Dean's worst memories to guide their way.

Everything I Possess | @krexhatespushups-blog

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 19,023 Main Tags/Warnings: Archive Warning: Major Character Death Tags: Canon-Divergent AU, Pre-season one Canon divergent, Mentions of drug use and addiction, consequences of drug use, child neglect/child abuse, emotional manipulation, child abandonment, Mentions of PTSD, John Winchesters A+ Parenting, drug use by a minor, Dean/Cas established relationship, Blow jobs, car sex, public sex, references to physical abuse, praise kink, Temporary Death, VERY TEMPORARY MCD, grieving, dealing with grief, hunters funeral, non-con branding, non-con body modification, misuse of angelic grace as lube Summary: Dean had been fighting all kinds of supernatural beings from the time he could hold a gun, but he never expected angels to be real, So when he met Rhonda Hurley at nineteen in a tiny town in Colorado, the last thing he expected was that her sister had been miraculously saved by an angel. Nineteen years later, Dean and Cas are searching for God and their paths cross with a familiar angel who knows about Rhonda and reveals a secret - a pink satin-y panty shaped secret - that Dean has been hiding.

Mr&Mr Smith (WIP) | @malicmalic

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 55,512 Main Tags/Warnings: Cannon divergent, established relationship, angst, miscommunication, hurt, apocalypse is upon us, anal sex, oral sex, smut, loads of plot, happy ending. Summary: Castiel and Dean Smith are a regular married couple, living in a little suburban town and working ordinary, uninteresting jobs. However, each of them is concealing a secret: Castiel was once a mighty seraph, an angel of the Lord who decided to fall for human kind and walk among them as their equal. Dean on the other hand is a retired hunter of the supernatural, trying to let go of his past and find a better life after having ended the demon who killed his mother. When a nice, blond, cookie-selling girl scout knocks on their door and unleashes the entire hell on them, the life shattering secrets can no longer stay hidden. Exposed to each other’s worlds, Cas and Dean have to fight to save it from the appending apocalypse, but the insecurities and miscommunication might lead them to lose one another in the process.

I Will Be Your Message From God | @aaronthe8thdemon

Rating: Mature Word Count: 32,415 Main Tags/Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Episode: s08e17 Goodbye Stranger - The Crypt Scene, Winged Castiel (Supernatural), John Winchester's A+ Parenting, Angst and Feels, Non-Linear Narrative, Castiel-centric (Supernatural), Episode: s01e12 Faith, Episode: s02e13 Houses of the Holy, Episode: s04e16 On the Head of a Pin, Episode: s06e20 The Man Who Would Be King, Time Travel Summary: When Castiel touches the Angel Tablet and it frees him from Naomi's clutches at last, the only thing in his field of vision - both literally and psychologically - is Dean Winchester. He realizes none of this should've been necessary at all. And now, with Naomi chasing him in search of the Tablet, Castiel can only draw one conclusion. He must undo all of this, everything he's done wrong, on Dean's behalf. But his pitfalls are still there. He'll relentlessly pursue his goal at whatever cost, and left to face his own arrogance comes to understand that in reality he has no way to proceed. In addition to Naomi something else seems to be hunting him, something much more powerful and dangerous. And so Castiel can only land briefly before fleeing again, over and over, making an even bigger mess while trying to construct a solution to his past mistakes.

The Resting Place | @5x04dean

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 49,481 Main Tags/Warnings: Temporary Minor Character Death, Body Horror, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Horror, Pet Sematary AU Summary: When Sam, Dean, and Castiel head out to investigate a case, they assume nothing is out of the ordinary. But as Dean and Castiel continue to dance around one another's affections, they find that the small town holds deadly secrets—secrets that are far more sinister than any of them would have ever believed. Written for the 2021 DeanCas BigBang.

A Midwinter's Dream | @li-izumi

Rating: Mature Word Count: 53,245 Main Tags/Warnings: Canon Divergence Season/Series 09, Season/Series 10, Canon-Typical Violence, Post-Mark of Cain (Supernatural), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Dean Winchester works through his trauma, Minor Rowena MacLeod/Sam Winchester, Kevin Tran Lives (Supernatural), Charlie Bradbury Lives, Dreams and Nightmares, Christmas, Angst with a Happy Ending, Advent Calendar Challenge Summary: Christmas is fast approaching, but Dean doesn’t feel like celebrating--he’s too busy hunting for that sort of thing. Though he promises to get Cas back in time for the epic Christmas party Sam’s been planning, Dean has no intention of staying himself. That may be another promise Dean can’t keep when the hunt goes wrong, trapping Dean and Cas far from civilization. Worse, Dean is plagued by unrelenting nightmares of his time with the Mark of Cain and is gripped by a lingering anger that he can’t seem to escape. Back at the Bunker, Sam and the others are working a little Christmas magic they hope will show Dean the light in the dark—and prove to him that the holiday spirit isn’t something he needs to hunt.

When Tomorrow Comes | @trenchcoatparadigm

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 78,994 Main Tags/Warnings: Fix-It, Season 15 rewrite, Canon-Typical Violence, Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, Angst, Family Loss, First Time, Love Confessions, Dean Winchester Saves Castiel from the Empty, Castiel's Loss of Angelic Grace, First Kiss, Happy Ending Summary: When hunting for the Leviathan blossom, Castiel gets taken. Tired, desperate and wanting to tell him all the things left unsaid before it’s too late, Dean prays to him. But he realises... standing there, in the grey hellish landscape, the portal home flickering just beside them with seconds left on the timer, they already were too late. Running himself ragged fuelled solely by caffeine, whisky, and that trademark Winchester determination, he will find a way to stop Chuck and to save Cas. However, this isn't the blaze of glory Dean had always envisioned going out in. But, deep down, he would go out swinging to save a loved one. Those bright shining penetrating tear-soaked eyes are the last thing he sees before his vision is marred, the desperate plea of his name dampened by the black ooze filling his eardrums as the essence of the Empty wraps around him and pulls him pulled from existence into the dark. All because of that simple prayer, the ending Chuck had always planned was rewritten. With a fallen angel purged of happiness, a brother in mourning and a Nephilim-shaped timebomb the only ones left to Carry On on this desolate planet… What happens when tomorrow comes?

Do You Know What That's Worth? | @norahastuff

Rating: Mature Word Count: 92,212 Main Tags/Warnings: Cas POV, Canon divergent from 9x06, Cas is pretty damn competent, Slow Burn, brief non-explicit Cas/OFC, brief non-explicit Cas/OMC Summary: After Dean leaves him at the Gas N' Sip in Rexford, Castiel realises that he needs to get back in the game. However, that's easier said than done, and instead he finds himself working in a Target-style superstore in Boulder as he tries to figure out his new human life. He makes friends, starts hunting, even has a couple of hook-ups, but when Dean unexpectedly returns, Castiel has to re-evaluate where Dean fits in to this new life he has built for himself, and what it is they need from each other. And while Castiel may have had his grace stripped from him, he still possesses certain angelic sensibilities that may be the key to fixing some of the damage Metatron has wrought. With some creativity, teamwork, and a dash of hope, maybe he can discover just how much he's really capable of. (An alternate season 9 from Cas' POV.)

Eighteen (I've Got to Get Away) | @motherofdragonflies

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 122,569 Main Tags/Warnings: Major Character Death, Series typical violence, pre-canon, abusive John Winchester, young Dean Winchester, Season One Re-Write, Season Two Re-Write Summary: "Dad always said that family was important. They didn’t have a lot of family, the Winchester men, so they had to stick together. That was part of the rules Dean lived his life by: shoot first, ask questions later. Watch out for Sammy. Winchesters had to stick together. But what about when the rules contradicted each other? Which rule was more important: family sticking together or watching out for Sam?" When Dean turns eighteen, he’s forced to make a decision that will change the course of Sam and Dean’s life.

an empty house is not a home | @hawkland

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 143,247 Main Tags/Warnings: alternative season 13, alternative season 14, time traveling Castiel, switching Dean/Cas, Godstiel Summary: Jack’s grace is gone, and so is Dean—lost to the Michael of the Apocalypse World, and Cas despairs there may be no way to get him back. Not with his limited powers and only Sam and the other hunters to help avert this next apocalypse. Cas can think of only one being who might be powerful enough to stop Michael. But to summon him means a trip back in time to recruit none other than himself, from when he believed he could become the new God. And if called into the future, how will “Godstiel” react to what Cas has become and the existence of Jack…and will he agree to eventually going back? This story reimagines the events from Jack’s birth up through Dean’s possession by Michael with one major change: What if Dean had expressed his true feelings as soon as Cas returned from the Empty? How might their bond, strengthened by love and a more open understanding of each other, have changed the course of all that followed?

[marchentraume]

I had trouble sleeping last night so I kept thinking about an Aziracrow Hercules inspired AU

Per usual I bulleted every though I have underneath:

Mostly taking beats from the disney version (with a dash of the TV series for anyone who remembers)

Angels are the Gods on Olympus, not really using the royal caste system but those like Gabriel and the Metatron are higher beings with larger titles

Demons live/work in Hades and go on Earth to make deals with humans to create servants they can use

Aziraphale is the first god "born" in eons and therefore the youngest, he is taken care of by his nanny Muriel

Lucifer meanwhile at the same time receives a vision from his advisor Beelzebub that the young god will grow to be strong enough to defeat him and bring balance to the gods, demons, and earth (spoiler: Luci doesn't want this lol)

Sends his minions Hastur and Ligur to kidnap and remove the god-essence from the little one before taking care of him (plot plot they fail to remove ALL the essence so he looks normal but has his super strength still)

Tiny vulnerable baby Azi is found by Nina and Maggie, a sweet childless couple who raise him as their own

Fast forward: Azi learns of his origins from nanny Muriel, trains for years to be a hero to prove himself, soon is ready to start his journey

Runs into seemingly human damsel Crowley (gender fluid in this version/doesn't mind any pronouns), rescues, and is immediately smitten by them

Crowley meanwhile is only a pawn, using a disguise provided by demons to hide their true Gorgon form

This was a curse put on them as a human servant to the temple of the Metatron, she was found in the arms of a favorite priest and, though it was against her will when it happened, was made to be a monster who's eyesight would turn anyone who sees them into stone

blah blah plot plot out of despair he signs a contract with Lucifer to be a lure on land and especially given the important job of watching out for/bringing down Aziraphale

Has a hard time trusting Gods, Azi is no different in Crowley's eyes at first

plot plot Azi is a hero but not a TRUE hero yet

Goes on a date with Crowley, who realizes he's in love but Hastur so rudely reminds her she's a servant, one who has proven to be useful now

Demons use Crowley to get Aziraphale to give up strength

Azi is heartbroken to learn he was lied to but still loves Crowley enough to save them (after the latter push them aside like in the movie)

Azi brings balance to the world through love/being a real hero (plot plot) and goes to save Crowley's soul in Hades

Azi is offered a place in Olympus as a god, but turns it down and asks to be with his Crowley

Also either 1) Crowley is turned human again either as a reward for being a hero or on Aziraphale's request they are given the form that makes them most happy or 2) Crowley is still a Gorgon and either we don't worry about it or Azi is just immune as a final gift from the Gods

HAPPILY EVER AFTER SMOOCHES

Oh and yes Nina and Maggie love their beautiful gay demi-god son and his beautiful Gorgon wife <3

[quiet-compassion]

See the thing is,

Aziraphale doesn’t see it as a rejection of Crowley. His desire or joy at the prospect of making Crowley an angel again is not coming from a place of wanting to “change” or “fix” him. He sees it as an official recognition of who he believes Crowley has always been.

Crowley views himself as a definitively fundamentally different person than he was before the Fall. But throughout the show (both seasons really), Aziraphale keeps saying, “No! You are still that person!” Creative, curious, kind, protective. Crowley was and is all those things. So the Metatron’s offer in Aziraphale’s mind is not a chance to make Crowley “better” but an opportunity to formally acknowledge that he is and always has been what an angel should be. Aziraphale’s point is “the Fall didn’t change who you are; it changed how people treated/saw you.”

And that is true (imo)! The Crowley we meet pre-Fall is not vastly different than the Crowley we know. But, what Crowley learns from that experience is that the good opinion of people who would cast you out for being different, for not falling in line can never be earned through anything but compliance. Heaven’s good opinion is not worth chasing. It is fundamentally incompatible with his (and Aziraphale’s) happiness because it requires one to fully submit. To die to oneself, you might say.

And then (if I may reach into my own bag of religious trauma for a moment), there’s the notion that sacrificing one’s own well-being and wants is always always noble and virtuous. Crowley sees Heaven’s cruelty and hypocrisy and walks away thinking “What’s wrong with them?” Aziraphale sees it all and walks away asking “What’s wrong with me? I must be the one to need to change/do better” (Which, let me tell you, I’ve been there.) So in the end, giving up his life, his shop, giving up Crowley is not at all what Aziraphale wants to do. But the manipulation the Metatron has used to craft his offer just makes that fact more compelling. “See? You must be doing the right thing in coming with me. It’s a personal sacrifice for the Greater Good. How holy!”

“I forgive you” while eviscerating to both Crowley and the audience, makes perfect sense for Aziraphale in that moment. The culture of Heaven says that forgiveness is the highest form of love.

[codename-adler]

You mean like a sudden rainstorm forces them together beneath the canopy? They look into each other’s eyes… and realize they were made for each other?

He saw it in a Richard Curtis film.

Ineffable husbands have been there, done that. Twice, actually.

And we all know by now, or at least assume, that these are the two moments sealing Crowley’s and Aziraphale’s fates, and their love for each other. That was the parallel, the metaphorical wings as canopies and Heavenly rains as God’s Ineffable Plan nudging them towards each other. So. Been there, done that. First part, Crowley’s vision of what love looks like, is completed.

Aziraphale’s, though… Not yet!

Well, not fully. Aziraphale did the ball, Ineffable Husbands did a dance, but what did Aziraphale say next, about his version of human love, according to his understanding of Jane Austen?

People would gather and do some formal dancing, and then realize they had misunderstood each other and were actually deeply in love.

We also all know by now that s2 is nothing but a big Pride & Prejudice scheme buried under many, many layers of religious trauma allegories, Queen lyrics and biblical icons. It’s still up in the air who the demon and the angel are actually modelling after; who’s Elizabeth Bennet, and who’s Mr. Darcy? Each could be both, I believe. As for myself, I’m leaning more towards Crowley as Darcy (and Pride) and Aziraphale as Lizzy (and Prejudice). Crowley has actually confessed his love and his desire to spend his eternal life with Aziraphale, in a very angsty and last-ditch-effort to keep his Angel by his side and to convince him of his true, honest feelings and intentions; just like Darcy did. Aziraphale, just like Lizzy, has rejected him in the most painful way, without confessing nor admitting any of his thoughts to Crowley, and I believe not even to himself. And he left Crowley alone and empty-handed, à la Miss Bennet.

But it’s not over yet! That’s the beauty of it! The final climax has yet to come! P&P doesn’t end at the rejection and separation scene!

Aziraphale’s vision of love, his love language if you will, has not been fulfilled, and nor has he grown enough to access it. Crowley has. He’s shed his pride and bared himself and his heart to Aziraphale, the final step for him to be the person the angel wishes to love and be loved by. Has Aziraphale gotten rid of his many and unbecoming prejudices? Have the Ineffable Husbands resolved every bit and word of miscommunication that transpired between them? No. No, they have not. A true, long-lasting, loving, stable and equal pairing cannot survive with only one of its half having matured and sacrificed. It cannot survive without proper understanding of one another.

The Austen love scheme is not complete. As it was intended.

Yes, there is Metatron the diabolical (is he really though? Just thinking thoughts here…), there are Extreme Sanctions and Book-of-Life-erasure-level threats, there is the case of Maggie and Nina’s humanity vs character-ness, there’s the Second Coming, and yaddi yaddi yaddi. But that’s all background stuff, isn’t? Those are just totally normal and common tropes you put your pairing through, right?

So what to expect for s3, what to hold onto so as not to drown our sorrows and despair into Coffee Theories? A formal dance. A "proper apology," as one could say, from one particularly wrong, prejudiced but cherished angel. A whole lot of honest communication and the truest of feelings. A deep bond of love, fully formed, safe, and strong as Hellfire and Holy Water. Forged through adversity, Heaven & Hell, Armageddidn’t, misplaced pride and unfounded prejudices.

It ain’t over til Neil Gaiman says it’s over.

It ain’t over til Michael Sheen says it’s over.

It ain’t over til David Tennant says it’s over.

It ain’t over til Jane Austen says it’s over.

Oh, Aziraphale dear, won’t you do the little dance?

[vidavalor]

No Nightingales

What I think Crowley thinks he's saying here is that he's been using their coded language-- speaking in Nightingales-- for basically this whole scene and Aziraphale isn't hearing what he's saying and he really, really, really needs to hear it in Crowley's mind because Crowley thinks the (really non-existent) threat of The Book of Life is looming. He thinks if Aziraphale goes with The Metatron that Aziraphale will be erased into a state of non-existence and Crowley's proposal is actually a plan to stop that from happening.

Crowley, by the "no nightingales" portion of the scene, is desperate, and his last play is to, in his mind, directly refer to their secret language using what is obviously coded language by saying nightingales directly and just hope that The Metatron takes it as some sort of in-joke and not a coded message.

He asks if Aziraphale can "hear that" when no sound exists and points up as a way of making the point that Aziraphale isn't hearing the wordplay in what he's been saying. He is actually referencing two types of birds at once-- the nightingales of their hidden language and the crows from their first, fumbling attempts at forming what would become their nightingale speak back in Job's courtyard and from which Crowley took his name.

He's referring to this:

He's trying to directly reference the moment that he let Aziraphale hear the crows bleating like goats and Aziraphale realized the true meaning of what Crowley had just said the moment before. He's trying to say that something like that needs to happen again, even if the end result of this scene is, ultimately, that it does not.

Crowley is trying to get Aziraphale to rewind mentally for a moment to everything that Crowley has said previously in this scene and, instead of taking it on a surface level, run it through the filter of it being wordplay in his mind so that he'll understand what Crowley was trying to say.

Seems like a smart move, right? How could there be more confusion if the word being referenced is the word they use to refer to the language in the first place?

What Crowley doesn't take into account is the fact that he's saying this while being about to walk out while they're both upset and that, because nightingales is the secret language shorthand word? It *also* means-- to both of them-- their love for one another.

So, what Aziraphale sees and hears here is not baby, please listen and realize that you didn't hear the real words I've been saying...

What Aziraphale sees and hears here is:

You don't love me. You and your Heaven bullshit-- there were never any nightingales. This was never love. It wasn't real. It's over.

And Aziraphale?

It would have been less painful if Crowley had physically ripped Aziraphale's heart straight out of his chest.

He's heartbroken and he's furious and every emotion along that spectrum because-- funny story-- Crowley hasn't heard a bloody word in nightingale speak that Aziraphale has been saying in this scene, either.

A series of unfortunate events fucked this conversation from the start because the beginnings of it involved things that made them both assume that the other wasn't using the language at all.

They each thought the other didn't see Coffee Dude watching them as a threat and started to try to convince one another there was trouble and what they each thought that trouble was and what their plans were to overcome it. They have been only taking one another's words on the surface level and so they don't really understand what one another has been saying.

So, Aziraphale hears "no nightingales" and he's thinking of all the human art into which he's put the word for their language and their love because, to them, that is the same thing... the centuries of mythology and stories and poems and the part of Romeo & Juliet about the secret nights spent together and their damn song... and how dare Crowley say this isn't love?

They've spent millennia loving each other with their secret birdsong language and now, to Aziraphale, Crowley's wielding the one word that means to them just that as the weapon to end them. How dare he use that of all words to say that this love isn't real and that whatever it was is done when it means thousands of years of singing that love to one another?

You could torture Aziraphale for a millennia and he would find it less painful than what he thinks Crowley just said.

So, ya know... when Aziraphale thinks what is happening is that Crowley just went from "marry me" to "you don't love me and it's over" in about four minutes flat with a waking nightmare of misunderstandings in between and is now about to leave him just when Aziraphale needs him most...

....maybe the reason why Aziraphale is taken aback by the kiss is not because it's the first but because he's just got emotional whiplash and this is an unexpected last kiss that is coming seconds after, in Aziraphale's mind, Crowley having just accused Aziraphale of not loving him.

[vavoomed-for-crowley]

Vavoom!

Probably not what you're expecting but here it is anyway.

Aziraphale watches them closely as a smile is on the corner of his lips but sadness in his eyes. The latter is surely not be noticed by anyone else because no one can read him so well as Crowley had always been able to.

Actually, Aziraphale should feel lonely, having no one to talk to or to see how he really feels. But for some reason, he finds comfort in knowing that there is only one living being who was ever able to truly understand him and now to be able to hide his true feelings.

That doesn't mean he isn't hurting or that the other angels wouldn't notice it. For heaven's sake, Aziraphale would not even deny it when being asked about it. But he knows that the true depth of his emotions would never really be noticed again.

Suddenly, Aziraphale feels a hand on his shoulder. As if they could read his mind but who knows, maybe they could do even that, Metatron stands behind the Archangel. "You did a good job" they said. "This surely was no easy choice." A short pause, a little breath. "I'm sorry". They mean it.

"It's okay" Aziraphale answers without lifting the gaze from the view in front of him. He doesn't want anyone to see the tear that has formed in his eyes. And it really is okay, even though it hurts.

"You're going to be okay without him?" Metatron asks.

"Have been so far, at least more or less. So I will be."

Metatron keeps their hand on Aziraphale's shoulder and watches the demon with him for just a moment longer. "He looks happy"

"He does, doesn't he?!" Aziraphale says happily and turns with a smile to look at Metatron. His eyes shining like stars. Seeing Crowley happy would always be his highlight.

Crowley would not know the sacrifice Aziraphale did out of his love for him. But when Aziraphale had seen that for the first time in months, Crowley let someone else get closer to him again, he just knew it was the right thing to do.

Aziraphale knew that there was no way of seeing Crowley happy again for as long as he could remember him. Aziraphale watched Crowley stopping by the bookshop every day and watching the night sky when being drunk, remembering how he used to create the stars. Aziraphale had shared his pain, not finding a proper way to do his duty as an Archangel and go back to the demon he loves so much. He had thought about different ways but he couldn't do good to humanity and earth if he went back to Crowley.

So Crowley would not know that one day, Aziraphale had erased all of their memories together. Now, Aziraphale is no more than a faded memory of someone Crowley used to know. Crowley now remembers Aziraphale just as someone who's been in his life, who's been meaning much to him but has also been hurting him, without ever truly getting the hang of the depth behind it. Like the feeling of a bad dream at night, somehow so real, yet not tangible.

"A wonder so strong can only work due the ultimate sacrifice, out of love. How did you know this would work?"

"I didn't" Aziraphale answers. "Well, for erasing his memories, I knew, of course. But for them, I mean for him to fall in love... I just hoped for the vavoom."

"Vavoom?" Metatron asked.

"Oh, it's nothing" Aziraphale says and shakes his head slightly. He turns back to the view of Crowley and his partner. Crowley looks happy and relaxed, comfortable in his surroundings. Done are his days partying through the night and getting drunk to forget the pain he had gone through. Somehow Crowley had managed to find someone who understood him, without knowing too much.

Metatron puts down their hand and leaves the angel alone. It is his time to say goodbye for good and they have interrupted the angel for long enough.

"Vavoom!" Aziraphale smiles at the memory of Crowley talking about his plan to make Nina and Maggie fall in love. For heaven's sake, they've both been so blind back then.

Vavoom. The moment that makes them fall in love.

Who would have known that one day, it was a rainy day that would bring Crowley his own vavoom, finding someone he could fall for again after being splashed wet by the Bentley.

Vavoom. Now that Aziraphale thinks about it, even the car seemed to make that noise that day.

"Goodbye Crowley, you deserve all the happiness in life, my dear" Aziraphale said and closed the view on Earth.

Actually, there was more but I decided this is perfect fanfiction material. I'm also gonna keep the name. So, see this as a teaser for the actual story if you like.

[skyefullofdaisies]

What I want for season 3?

Something that will likely not happen?

I want at some point in the back half of S3 Crowley & Aziraphale to finally be properly together, they’ve both acknowledged that they’re in love with each other, after one (fabulous) kiss, they’re fighting The Metatron/Heaven and they’ve won so they stop and smile at each other just to have The, injured, Metatron run Crowley through with a holy blade. I wanna see Supreme Archangel Aziraphale absolutely lose it. I want him to go completely feral. Put the complete smack down on Metatron. Obliterate him from existence. Maybe even Az in his true form. We’ve seen Crowley lose it to some degree here or there but not Aziraphale. I think Micheal Sheen could act the shit out of that. If anyone understands how much Az loves Crowley (besides Neil Gaiman) it’s that man.

Then something happens where Crowley doesn’t actually permanently die, of course. I like me some angst but not that much angst lol.

[astral-cowboy]

Both aziraphale and crowley have religious trauma but they both have different versions.

Aziraphale stays with heaven because he believes in what it should be, not what it is. Unfortunately for him, the toll of what heaven really is weighs down on him to the point where he feels obligated to help because he's dedicated so much time and effort to it already. It's the reason he became the archangel at the end of season 2.

Crowley, however, was kicked out of heaven for questioning why the project he had worked tirelessly on was so worthless in the grand scheme of things that it was only going to exist for 6000 years, a small amount of time for immortals. After getting kicked out of heaven, he realised how corrupt the system is and gives up on trying to fix it (something that is self admitted by the metatron when demoting Gabriel)

Aziraphale represents the Christians who believe in true Christianity (love thy neighbour, thou shalt not judge, ect.) despite what the Church has changed it into.

Crowley represents Christians who left the faith after being excommunicated or something of that nature for simply not having blind devotion.

Both are valid forms of religious trauma and both can exist without cancelling out the other. This isn't like double negatives

[queermania]

I think part of the problem with the bodily autonomy question is that so many people have wildly varying definitions of what counts as a violation of bodily autonomy. like I think we can generally agree that the demon blood (at least, the demon blood he was involuntarily forced to drink as a baby— the adult stuff was his choice) and possession-by-Meg stuff was a violation of bodily autonomy... but was possession by Lucifer a violation of his autonomy? that was something he consented to with full knowledge of what it would mean for him, so some people would say that ISN'T a violation of his autonomy, while other people might argue that because the circumstances (impending end-of-the-world if he DOESN'T do it, etc.) are coercive and therefore his consent isn't really all that freely-given and therefore it IS a violation of his autonomy... these questions are nuanced, and people may be operating on different definitions. I think what a lot of the "Sam has his bodily autonomy violated!!!1! most oppressed!!!1!1!" logic ignores is the fact that.... that's true of all the major characters of SPN? because, in fact, freedom/free will/autonomy is like. a major theme of the show? if we wanna talk about violation of bodily autonomy, we gotta also talk about Metatron stealing Cas's grace (literally mutilating his celestial form against his will), we gotta talk about Alastair, we gotta talk about Dean's heavily implied history of having been sexually assaulted as a minor, we gotta talk about Michael repossessing Dean's body WITHOUT his consent in mid-S14, we gotta talk about Crowley's involuntary addiction to human blood, we gotta talk about all of that... because this is not just a Sam-specific issue, it's a major theme of the show as a whole.

yeah basically whatever you apply to one character you also have to apply to the other characters

[santoschristos]

“Holy, holy, holy.”

The Beauty of the Seraphim

“The Seraphim are all eyes — they can perceive true beauty.”

I believe this is a quote from Kathleen Norris; however, don’t quote me on that. In any event, it is a curious and fascinating statement.

The seraphim are the highest order of angels in the pseudo-Dionysian hierarchic scheme, and in the Jewish tradition, also. They surround the throne of Glory and utter the Trisagion incessantly: “Holy, holy, holy.”

According to one tradition, they are the angels of love, and light, and of fire. III Enoch states that their number is limited to 4: “corresponding to the 4 winds of the world.” And in Enoch II they are described as having four faces and six wings, as in Isaiah chapter 6.

Some scholars maintain that the only Old Testament reference to the seraphim is in Isaiah 6. Although others assert that Numbers 21:6, the “fiery serpents,” could refer to the seraphim. And ostensibly, they are not even directly referred to in the New Testament autograph, except perhaps obliquely in Rev. 4:8.

Their prince has been named variously as Seraphiel, Jehoel, Metatron, Michael, and Satan himself, before he fell, of course. However, that cannot be, as Satan is described as a mere cherub, that is, having only four wings.

By some, the seraphim are equated with the ophanim, which may be rendered either ‘wheels,’ or ‘many-eyed ones.’ And since they are all eyes, they can perceive true beauty. At least, that’s what is implied. Is this true? And to what do the “eyes” refer?

The reference to the “eyes” of the seraphim is found in Revelation 4:8, which reads: “And the four Zoa had each of them respectively, six wings; around and within they are full of eyes.”

And there is another oblique reference to the “eyes” in Ezekiel 1:18: “Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around.” And it must be noted, that the “eyes” in this passage appear to be within the wheels of the Chariot of Adonai; so this may not refer to the seraphim at all.

Very few commentators will discuss the “eyes” of Revelation 4:8. So let’s look at the angelic hierarchy: the First, and the foremost, is Adonai eloheinu as the commander in chief of all the angelic armies. The next level down in the hierarchy is composed of the archangels who command individual armies. And from there, to the General Staff, who make the angelic army function. And they worship, too.

Ah, worship! To know and understand how to worship.

The KJV puts it this way: “And round about the throne were four and twenty seats; and upon the seats, I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment, and they had on their heads crowns of gold.” Rev. 4:6

‘And’ is the conjunctive use of the conjunction kai, which means ’also.’ And with it, is the adverb of place, kuklothen; and it is used as an improper preposition with the noun thronos: “also around the throne.” The ellipsis demands the repetition of the verb ‘I saw,’ be inserted; and the direct object is composed of three words, all of which are the objects of the verb. “And around the throne I saw….” Eikosai, twenty; and with it the accusative of tessares: twenty-four additional thrones. And these thrones are reserved for the angelic general staff.

These angels have authority in the heavens during the periods of the Church Age, the Tribulation and the Millennium. These angels have achieved great status — wisdom of a spiritual type.

From this, perhaps, another form of beauty is organization. For organization allows the efficient use of many elements: time, space, money, materiel, etc. Organization relieves pressure and stress. And these twenty-four angelic staff officers are well organized. Their job is to apply correct information and data to any situation.

“And upon the thrones…” then the present passive participle of kathemai: they were sitting. And people who sit, think. Correct action must be supported by thought. Thus, these twenty-four angels are thinking, not doing. Indeed, they are just being. They know they are loved. They realize and acknowledge Who and What God is. They acknowledge pure, radical Love as beauty nonpareil. --Randall Radic Aug 21, 2023