Imaginary storytelling, Supernatural edition: Places to come from, places to go.

[hannahrorlove]

This is for neotoma and tiny_antares. And everyone who likes fictional anthropology.

I had a moment of great jubilation when I got to the fourth season of Supernatural - not just because the plot was kicking into high gear, not just because of Misha Collins, not just because the effects budget had been increased to about $72 per episode up from $65. A lot of it was

Comments

[hannahrorlove]

They're different in how they're considered by those that possess them, in what those possessing them can do with theim present within themselves, and and the cultural connotations of that ownership. Angels might see soul ownership as something less personal - though it's something that is unique to each angel, it can't be fully realized or made true without other angels to be there to establish the fact. Something like that, I think, might also tie in the sedoretu. Four angels, one complete soul.

The first thing that came to mind was actually poaching. But John wouldn't ever be a poacher; he's an asshole but not evil like that. Hunting poachers, maybe. Since the supernatural is known that's a lot of stress off the family, but it's not fully diminished. If Sam winds up working with angels, either because he fell into it with Jess or decided to do it himself, he wouldn't be running from something as far as he can, as it allows the supernatural as an active part of his life. Possibly he wanted a more modern method of saving people and hunting things that instead involved helping things and hunting people, working with angels and the center and pressing through with lobbyists for more control over poachers and protected grounds?

[neotoma]

Hmmm.... angels could definitely consider souls more as group property, or family property, especially if it comes out of their flocking instincts...

No, John wouldn't be a poacher, though he'd probably deal with people who were, at least occasionally. Especially if angel feathers/blood/what-have-you make for extremely useful magical items/spell components. Maybe the first time Sam meets an angel he's still a kid and John's just rescued one from a witch?

I do think Jess was the one to get involved in angels, and Sam just happened to specialize in something that made him useful to the center in an non-angel capacity, like property law or something.

[hannahrorlove]

It was one of the things that made initial angel-human relations difficult, this extremely different way of looking at the same thing - how can one human own something like that all on their own? And how can something be seen as something close to human when by their own admission they don't have their own soul?

All of an angel is useful, down to the gallbladder. Yes to that scenario, of Sam seeing an angel in his father's arms, shivering and weak. This witch was using renewable resources of feathers and blood, and had gotten desperate enough to make a power grab with bones. The angel had lost three fingers by the time John rescued her.

In the show, he seemed to be focusing on criminal law and procedural, according to the book in What Is And What Should Never Be. That could easily tie into something they needed help with that'd morph into a permanent position.

[neotoma]

Selling your soul if you're an angel not only dooms you, but ruins your family.

Of course all of an angel is useful. All of a human is useful, if you know what you're doing and are willing to do black magic.

Hmmm... Sam specialized in criminial law and it becomes important because he gets hired to advocate for angels who are victims of crimes -- made arguing for them to have the status of 'people' under the law?

[hannahrorlove]

And to a demon, buying one soul and getting four bodies is quite the bargain.

I can see that working - it's something that, very sadly, took a long time to be argued in Australia, for the legal status of Aborigines.

[neotoma]

otoh, buying one soul and getting three souls that will sear the demon into ash is kind of a disaster. The demon has to work to convince the other members of the sedoretu that they are contaminated, or to sell their souls too...

Oh, yeah. I think I'm going to be reading a surprising amount of Australian history for this one.

[hannahrorlove]

Demons are very good at collective bargaining agreements.

We're going to need to trade reading lists, I just know it.

[neotoma]

heee. A demon trying to make a deal with all of a sedoretu all at once would be in real trouble, because they'd unite against it.

Probably. I read "The Future Eaters" a few months ago, and it was interesting when it came to Australian native culture as it adapted to the Australian climate's unreliability.

[hannahrorlove]

A demon going after all four one at a time, using different strategies, just subtle enough to get all of them to agree for their own reasons - would still try to be at least ten paces away when the deal itself goes down.

I remember the post on that. Anything about the fauna of Australia is automatically worth knowing about, as far as I'm concerned.

[neotoma]

Yeah, that might work -- sort of a "Gift of the Magi" scenario. Deals with demons would tear a sedoretu apart, even if they didn't get all four angels. Maybe even permenantly scar the survivors/non-deal-makers

Not just fauna of Australia -- there was a lot about the climate and soil too -- I hadn't realized that Australia's soils were so depleted. It's ridiculous that Australia is a food exporter when you think of it

[hannahrorlove]

It was poachers who found Gabriel, but they're not why he was in that position to be found.

Australia's surprisingly delicate, as continents go. Although I find it a little reasonable they export certain things - after all, it's where my Vegemite comes from.

[neotoma]

I think, if anyone sold their soul, it would have been Gabriel's older brother Lucifer, who managed to get his entire family killed in the process, except for his baby (7ish) brother who ran away in terror.

I'm not sure if Lucifer becomes a demon or not -- I have the idea that he wasn't married, or even half-married. Maybe he just got taken over.

Australia is ridiculously fragile -- because they don't have volcanoes or glaciers, and thus have nothing to make soil.

[hannahrorlove]

The climax of Gabriel's story is, as always, him throwing off his fears and learning courage, standing up to what made him run so long ago.

Yeah - the oldest exposed soil and rock formations on the planet. Hence all the specialization.

[neotoma]

I don't know -- I always found Dean calling Gabriel a coward for not wanting to kill his brothers really hypocritical. *Dean* never seriously entertained the idea of killing Sam, but told Cas and Gabriel that they should kill their brothers.

But yeah, Gabriel's story climax with him facing his past.

The oldest and some of the most nutrient poor.

[hannahrorlove]

Dean is a master of the blind spot.

Here, Gabriel wasn't scared of his parents or his brother - he was scared of the creatures that did those things to them. Even as an adult, with decades to grow and mature and find himself secure in his power, he still becomes that little child when he think back on what he saw. Fighting through that fear, that's where his courage comes from.

[neotoma]

Dean is, and since hypocrisy is one of my bugaboos, I sometimes have a hard time writing him sympathetically.

I think he was scared of this brother at the end. Admittedly, he was so young he wasn't gendered yet, so being completely freaked out was understandable.

So, if I do sign up for the GBB, would you be willng to be my alpha-reader?