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blue_bellsIt's been an age since I posted here, but after the six month marathon of my last (and first!) big bang, I really needed a break and I thought I'd spare you the spam of my recovery.
(Television. Food. Work. More food. Oh, and hey, I actually made it out to the cinema once or twice! Then there was food.)
So, of course I've been editing stories for a bunch of people instead. I don't seem to understand the meaning of breaks. ^^;
I still intend to get Somewhere to Begin on to A03, DW, and an ePub format, and I will get to that as soon as I can. If you've been waiting for any of those, I really appreciate your patience. If you're ever curious what I'm up to, you can peek into my twitter account and witness the madness; and say 'hi'! I don't bite!
In the meantime have a meme, borrowed from my entire flist:
Hope this finds you all doing well, my lovelies! ♥
(Television. Food. Work. More food. Oh, and hey, I actually made it out to the cinema once or twice! Then there was food.)
So, of course I've been editing stories for a bunch of people instead. I don't seem to understand the meaning of breaks. ^^;
I still intend to get Somewhere to Begin on to A03, DW, and an ePub format, and I will get to that as soon as I can. If you've been waiting for any of those, I really appreciate your patience. If you're ever curious what I'm up to, you can peek into my twitter account and witness the madness; and say 'hi'! I don't bite!
In the meantime have a meme, borrowed from my entire flist:
Pick one of my fics, and I'll give you three details that didn't make it into the fic. Background canon, deleted scenes, or a look into the future. My choice, but if you have a specific question you can ask it in your request.
And a plug for one of my favourite new shows that's doing exceptionally well for a baby fandom. Suits has a big bang and sign ups close September 10! I'm exercising control and advertising only, for a change:Hope this finds you all doing well, my lovelies! ♥
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Date: 2011-08-18 05:24 pm (UTC)Are you trying to tell me something? Haha, JK! Of course I pick the breathtaking roller-coaster ride that is Somewhere to Begin. ♥
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Date: 2011-08-21 11:29 am (UTC)The concept of your Suits Big Bang sounds exciting and I wish you all the best of luck with writing it!
So, on to this brainchild that was entirely your fault (and for that, I love you).
1) Everyone loved Gabriel, but he, Raphael, and Uriel were their own 'trinity' before Gabriel broke with Heaven. Raphael has never forgiven Gabriel for abandoning the Host, and them more personally. Raphael settled for the ceasefire out of love and deference to Michael, but she still hadn't reconciled with her brothers by the time of the events in Somewhere to Begin. She's on better terms with Castiel than any of them, which is mostly thanks to Balthazar and his refreshing irreverence. Balthazar, at first, reminded her of Gabriel before she started seeing him without the shadow of what she used to have.
2) Michael returned to the past when Gabriel confirmed their present Adam had gone back. Michael found Adam a wreck in the latest broken motel room. Michael almost convinced him to forget everything and run with him, but more than his own fear that the decision would unravel the timeline, them along with it, Adam was in too deep to abandon his brothers. Adam refuses the sword Michael tries to give him (because he didn't have it the first time, either), they swear to hold their silence of Michael's visit and, in the end, manage to say goodbye.
3) And guess what? You gave me the perfect excuse to write that schmoopy future moment in time. <3
The apartment is dark when Adam turns the key in the door. He’s been at the university library for the last ten hours without a break, he can barely see straight, and he’s too exhausted to eat, though he’s so hungry he considers chewing off the arm of the couch when he drops his books and collapses face down into its cushions.
Adam feels like he could sleep for weeks. Maybe he can after the final exam tomorrow.
There’s a series of missed calls on his phone from Sam and Dean and the exhausted tension in his chest winds tighter. He hopes nothing’s wrong because his medkit is low on supplies and he doesn’t trust that he could even stand at the moment.
But if he could face down Raphael with a broken leg, dislocated shoulder, and a concussion that had seriously messed with his aim, he could check his fucking voicemail.
The numbers and letters blur on the screen, but he manages to dial the right codes before hitting the ‘speaker’ button. He then makes the mistake of closing his eyes as he settles down to listen.
“Hey, it’s me!” Gabriel’s bright voice makes him chuckle into the cushion. He can hear Sam asking for the phone back and catches the tail of Lucifer’s quiet laughter. “Just calling to wish you luck for tomorrow, kid. When are you coming to visit us-?”
The voice in the next message surprises him: Raphael.
“Michael asked me to check your wards today and they were again weathered beyond usefulness. I don’t understand how you’re still alive. You owe me three pints of blood.”
Looks like it was time to bribe Balthazar again, but Adam was going to worry about that after the final tomorrow when the world and its dramas could continue. Annoyance twists through the tension in his chest, because if Michael sent Raphael it mean he wasn’t coming, but then the next message begins and Dean’s smooth, familiar timbre settles a calm over him as sure as his brother’s hand on his shoulder.
“Hey. We still good for Friday? I’ll call you when we’re close, but me and Cas should get there in the afternoon….”
The next time Adam grows aware, he’s startled out of a heavy, dreamless sleep by a weight settling behind him over his hips. Reflex kicks in and he whips the gun out from under the cushions. The butt of his gun hits bone, the visitor grunts, and Adam deflates.
He twists around and Michael frowns down at him.
“That’s not the welcome I was hoping for.” Michael rubs his cheekbone, though Adam knows the archangel would have barely registered the blow.
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Date: 2011-08-21 11:31 am (UTC)“Sorry.” He yawns and turns onto his back, already reaching for the archangel.
Michael settles along his side and Adam tucks in against his shoulder with a sigh of relief he’s been holding back all day. He feels light-headed at the scents on Michael’s clothes of clouds, ozone, and the sharp cold of winds at terminal velocity. Adam slides a hand under his shirt to feel the warm, familiar lines of the muscles along his waist and stomach. Is it his imagination, or does Michael feel thinner than before?
On the pillow of Michael’s arm, Adam looks up into his face and he’s surprised that Michael’s expression has turned as weary as Adam feels.
“How was work?” Adam hazards to ask and Michael almost rolls his eyes. It makes him smile.
“Heaven is glorious.”
“That much fun, huh?”
“Are you ready for tomorrow?”
It’s Adam’s turn to roll his eyes. He’s had enough of studying. Come hell or high water, it will be over in twenty-four hours; he’s done everything he can. He tries to remind himself that he survived two apocalypses, but if he wasn’t so exhausted, his gut would still be churning.
He huffs out a breath and rolls onto his back, letting his eyes slide shut.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Adam says, pulling Michael’s arm across his waist. Just a few years ago Michael would have been the last person Adam sought for any comfort, but today is now, he hasn’t seen Michael in a week and it’s the best surprise.
Michael’s fingers curl against his side and Adam smiles at the kiss that nuzzles into his hair, then brushes his temple; the archangel’s wordless relief of Me, too. Adam turns his face up and catches Michael’s mouth, his entire body humming warm with pleasure because Michael is here, sprawled along Adam’s couch, and if Adam feels deliriously happy it’s not just that he’s faint with hunger. He doesn’t need anything else but this.
This and the brown paper bag that Michael suddenly lofts by his ear, wafting flavours that make Adam’s mouth water.
“I brought dinner. It’s closer to a midnight snack, but… here.”
“I already love you, you don’t have to buy me with dinner,” Adam jokes, but grabs the bag anyway, and Michael laughs as they sit up. The archangel wraps his arms around Adam’s waist from behind, propping his chin on Adam’s shoulder, and Adam attacks the burger with a groan of relish.
“I know,” Michael says, and Adam loves the sound of the smile in his voice.
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Date: 2011-08-22 12:59 am (UTC)I actually did see the bitterness that you mentioned Raphael feeling, toward both Gabriel and Lucifer. One aspect of your BB that I love so much is the devotion to every single character, to do justice to them all, and you definitely achieved that – plus more! Also, I initially thought of Bal as Gabriel and Crowley's lovechild. Is that weird? The point is, I can definitely see him reminding Raphael of Gabriel.
Agh, my heart breaks whenever I read about the warring past, but StB is all about fighting through the darkness to reach the light, after getting the barest glimpses of it, and I'm so happy the boys made it through.
I really, really, REALLY love you! This is such a sweet moment, a brief respite from the insanity in both of their lives. I have an unexplainable love for Adam going back to school and it's adorable that he has so many people to call him and worry. I think Raphael's message was my favorite, as blunt as she is, and it seems even she cares – at least about what makes Michael happy, if nothing else. AND IT HAS COUCHSNUGGLING! WHAT EVEN??? ARE YOU TRYING TO BREAK MY BRAIN???
*snuggles* You're the best.
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Date: 2011-08-22 03:48 am (UTC)I'm glad they all made it through, too, it was selfish of me, but after all the trials I wasn't willing to leave everything in pieces for this story. /guilty indulgence
Aw, I get bold, underlined, and italicised love! (BB in-jokes, may you never grow old. ♥) Couch-snuggling! <3333 You've no idea how hard it was in the last two months before posting when this was all I wanted to write. Thank you for giving me the excuse to come back and close this chapter, I'm so happy you enjoyed it. All the love, sweetheart! ♥
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Date: 2011-08-22 06:58 pm (UTC)Also, I didn't even realize that! Adam has been living in my head way too long, but at least it's not grab-whatever-I-can-find-and-beat-you-with-it-ineffectually!love, although that has it's own merits, at times. XDD
♥♥♥
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Date: 2011-08-19 04:03 pm (UTC)EDIT: Also, I forgot to mention before I hit post. I will read your bigbang, I'm just waiting for the right mood. I don't want to force myself to enjoy it if my brain is all 'but there's your DS right there why are you not playing it' or such. ^^;;
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Date: 2011-08-21 12:34 pm (UTC)Ah, the Jimmy!Lucifer trilogy. One of the first of many ficlets that refused to stop building its own world and spawned an entire series (the Big Bang was one of these, too!). <3
This series was really vindicating because it gave me the excuse to disband the Greater Fate of Everything around the Winchesters alone and bring in the Novaks. No more Cain and Abel. So, three things:
1) In my headcanon, any vessel can be inhabited by any angel so long as they’re built to withstand an angel up to that potency. The true identity of Lucifer’s vessel was the best kept secret of the apocalypse because all eyes would have been on Sam thanks to rumours sown by Lilith and her brood once Lucifer was thrown into the cage. Jimmy could host Castiel because he was a lower angel than Lucifer. Dean could later contain Castiel for the same reason. If Jimmy continued to refuse, Lucifer would have moved on to Claire as his contingency.
2) Castiel and Jimmy had a platonic angel/vessel relationship until Lucifer entered the picture and Castiel grew possessive to protect him. Jimmy already knew Castiel was enthralled with Dean, even if the angel didn’t realise he was in love. Once they all learned who Jimmy was truly destined for, it was too late because Jimmy had disappeared off the map; Jimmy and Lucifer then made it their mission to make Castiel fall in love with them. It worked even better than Lucifer could have hoped for.
3) With Dean taken by Castiel, Michael would have needed another option to go to war and took Dean’s son, Ben. I know canon refutes this, though Lisa’s comments felt driven from a place of necessity to distance themselves from Dean than actual truth. For the purposes of this story, I went in favour of the original rumour and let Ben be his son.
If there were other specific questions you had in mind, let me know. I’m not sure if I’ve shed any additional light on what you would have already read. ^^;
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Date: 2011-08-21 12:54 pm (UTC)re 1) That makes sense, actually. Bloodlines can get messy really fast, and it makes SPN work a bit better - Dean and Sam aren't ALWAYS the center of attention. (And for the record? A cooler way to handle the Cain + Abel descendants idea exists in SMT: Devil Survivor. It'd be spoilers to tell you who, but IMHO I thought that was better handled. In SPN it was 'you're Cain, you're Abel, now here's more about angels', and in DS1 it's more...complicated.
re 2) That sends me on the path of Castiel/Jimmy ideas! :D Hmm...
re 3) Works for me? I have few opinions of Ben.
And I've got no more questions, this is excellent, thanks!
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Date: 2011-08-21 01:52 pm (UTC)2) Castiel/Jimmy, I didn't realise how much I liked it until I wrote this and was so happy fandom didn't lack for it.
3) Ben would have been a nice alternative. Not only does it mean I'd get to keep Adam far away from any Cage plans (I'm sorry, Ben, I have nothing against you), but a small part of me would have liked to learn Dean's reaction to the truth Ben was really his son. And if Lucifer had moved to The Claire Contingency, a larger part of me would have loved to see the final confrontation in Stull Cemetery go down between two pre-teens. Oh, the visuals. XD
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Date: 2011-08-21 02:02 pm (UTC)There's another problem on top of that: people with COMPs can suddenly see numbers above everyone's heads, and those numbers count down days until someone dies. If the number of days is 10+, then no number is displayed. The problem now? Everyone in the circle has a number that says 7...and to boot, you and your friends have 1.
Without info-dumping too hard...well, here. There's a contest going on between specific demons around the same time, too. Demons with 'Bel' in their names are in a fight to become the last Bel standing and become King of the Demons. Participants include Beldr, Belzebub, Belberith and others.
Now here's where the Cain and Abel bits come in. Naoya is Cain. On top of that, he's a reincarnation of Cain, and he remembers ALL of his reincarnations all the way back to the original one. He's very mad at God, among other things.
You, the main character, are Abel. Bel. Guess what you're eligible to participate in! 8D No, you don't remember any of your reincarnations. Yes, if you beat all the Bels you become King of Demons.
Naoya has maneuvered this, BTW, so that you received a COMP early on and has been feeding you extra info. He WANTS you to win the contest...and he wants you to help him out then. That would be the Chaos ending, which I haven't seen yet.
And that's about 40% of the main plot in DS. I'm leaving out the angels' side of things, why the SDF had such perfect timing with the lockdown, and a bunch of other stuff.
Thoughts?
3) XD I can see it now! Creepy and yet kind of adorable in a way.
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Date: 2011-08-21 03:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-21 03:15 pm (UTC)I want to note that SMT usually has awesome premises and plots, which is part of why I love that series so much. I'd give an example but I'm afraid I'd go on for too long again.
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Date: 2011-08-19 09:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-21 03:05 pm (UTC)I hope you enjoy the Big Bang when you read it, I had a lot of fun writing it for you guys! Gabriel's role was quite similar for both the Big Bang and This Thing You'll Never Doubt: he's the intermediary voice of reason that calls people on their BS and gets them to take ownership of what they need to do.
1) In the beginning, all four of the archangels were together in Heaven. After Lucifer's rise, Michael touched down on Earth, but actually found Gabriel first. Observing Gabriel was a shock to see how much he had changed, but rather than confront him, it made him think. Michael returned to Heaven and recognised that Raphael had also transformed in response to an impossible situation. He realises they have all changed except him, but he doesn't know if its for better or worse. Rather than seek Raphael's counsel as he had for thousand of years, he decides to fulfill their Father's prophecy and end this by himself. However, not long after he and Lucifer are reunited, he's devastated to learn this one thing hasn't changed between them and he can't do it by himself.
2) After this story, Lucifer, Michael, and Gabriel go on to drag Raphael off the battlefield and into the backseat of the Cadillac. He's the hardest to convince because Raphael was the one who picked up the pieces after Lucifer and Gabriel left home. He spends a lot of time in the backseat behind a stony wall of silence, but once Raphael relents to try some of candy on the road down memory lane, things start to get better. He only tries to kill Lucifer and Gabriel every other day. Eventually, there is another confrontation, Raphael reveals how much he's also suffered as a result of the Fall when Lucifer and Gabriel left, and the four begin to reconcile.
3) Gabriel delivers on his promise and introduces Michael to caramel, but it's Raphael who ends up loving it the most.
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Date: 2011-08-22 01:49 am (UTC)And how on earth did you get Michael to be introspective?
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Date: 2011-08-23 10:12 am (UTC)Michael delegated all the field work to Raphael and trusted him to report back with the outcome. His memory of the Earth, the Host, and his brothers is a moment stuck in time, so it's a shock the first time he sees Gabriel and how far he's come. Michael plans to discuss it with Raphael, but observes him at work and is again surprised how much Raphael has also changed. Raphael acts differently when he doesn't think Michael's around, but Michael can't fault the effectiveness of his methods.
Without God or any of his brothers to consult, Michael has to turn inwards with his questions. He can't trust anyone else. It's the first time he's had to do it, so he was bound to come up with some shaky answers.
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Date: 2011-08-22 10:33 am (UTC)Oh but the treasure your BB is...all about Adam (he's adorable) and yet not, not to mention the other pairings Sam,Gabriel, Lucifer now that is something to be seen.I don't know who I should feel sorry for-Sam because of those two archangels or Gabriel or even Lucifer, I think he'd find both Sam and Gabriel very frustrating at times. It be very interesting to see them make it work.
It is a little sad I find Raphael better explored and thus more likeable in fiction rather than the show itself.Reading about angels he's always depicted as the most gentle of the four, Raphael is the healer after all and yet Spn made him out to be a simple minded asshole without a good reason.While Dean won't have a problem accepting all angels as "dicks" I need something better to write a character off as unsaveable.
Michael sticks with his rainbows in a bag,huh?That's just too cute.What does Lucifer like best?
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Date: 2011-08-23 10:40 am (UTC)I personally feel sorry for Sam. Being stuck between Gabriel and Lucifer is both a blessing and a curse, but Gabriel is the glue that initially brings them together and holds them there. I do hope you enjoy the BB when university lightens up on you: Adam spends a lot of the beginning doing his angry, confused goldfish impression, but I promise there are answers.
It was a surprise the way Supernatural characterised Raphael. It bemused a lot of us in fandom, because many of us had the similar preconception that a healer might have been more peaceable or compassionate. Instead, he was this arrogant, unforgiving overlord who steamrolled over anyone who got in his way. Common thinking to explain this is that Raphael was a) always that way, or b) transformed into something darker and meaner in response to the pressures of picking up the slack of both Lucifer and Gabriel. I tend to write to the second possibility the most.
Gabriel likes chocolate. Michael likes his rainbows. Lucifer likes his mints or black liquorice.