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

[neotoma]

I'm really tempted to do something similar for the gabriel-bigbang -- something in the 'angels are physical beings' line, I mean. Of course, I also want to do a sedoretu marriage fic as well, so who know what I'll do. Maybe combine the two?

[hannahrorlove]

Is that the one where they lay eggs in giant nests, megapode and crocodillian-style?

If you want help working on the anthropological details, I'd be happy to pitch in.

[neotoma]

haha! the angel-=megapode fic is going up Wednesday (if I can get it finished -- you wouldn't want to do a last minute beta, would you?)

This one is more of the idea that maybe angels are an endangered species, they're not breeding well because it's hard for a sedoretu to get set up with such a small and widely scattered population, and Gabriel is a captive-reared angel that Jess and Sam are trying to set up with a female from the opposite moiety, except that they're also have to stand in as surrogates for the other heterosexual pair in the sedoretu, because they're just aren't enough angels left for Gabriel and Kali to find two other angels of the appropriate genders and moieties to marry... or something like that.

[hannahrorlove]

I want to, but I don't know how helpful I'd be, or if I had the time. How long is it, and what would you need me to do?

So there's what, barely a three-digit population? Was it hunting that drove the population down, habitat encroachment, disease? How intelligent are they?

This also makes me think of this one turkey vulture at the raptor rehabilitation center I worked at, actually - he was hand-raised by people and imprinted on them, and couldn't live in the wild. Is Gabriel in a similar position? I ask because otherwise I don't think he'd acknowledge Jess and Sam as proper sedoretu participants.

And please tell me Dean is working with Cas somewhere.

[neotoma]

Starting a new thread because the old one was getting ridiculous...

I still need some sort of external conflict hang the plot on, something that parallels things that happened in canon somehow, so that it feels like it's an actual SUPERNATURAL story...

Maybe something about demons? Maybe angels can also sell their souls, and the demons that they become are ... more dangerous? more plotting and good at the long game? Or maybe angels can't sell their souls and can always see demons, so the plot revolves around hunters trying to recruit angels to the cause, except that angels don't even last as long as most hunters because they are violent the ways humans are?

[hannahrorlove]

That's assuming angels have a soul, which might be a characteristic unique to the human species.

If the plot isn't mostly focused on the exploration of Gabriel and Kali trying to form a sedoretu with Sam and Jess, and you want some external conflict that draws from the canon story, demons wouldn't be a bad way to go. It doesn't necessarily have to be a one-for-one parallel - I don't think exploring the impact Dean and Sam have on Castiel and, by extension, all other angels needs to have an apocalypse attached to it if the characters were written strongly enough. Drawing angels into a human conflict while they have related-but-not-identical concerns could be developed into something close enough to the lines canon drew to be worth looking into.

[neotoma]

Hmmm... I dislike the idea of angels not having souls, at least if they are physical near-human beings.

I obviously need to think on this. Because I don't usually write stories that are just romances, even if they have romance as a subplot.

[hannahrorlove]

Maybe they do, and the translation from Enochian is better rendered as "grace."

Seconded. The romance has to come from the characters and not be the sole reason for the story existing. Otherwise, we're only one step removed from the likes of Nicholas Sparks, and then only because we can write better sex scenes.

[neotoma]

Restarting the threaded again, because it was getting too bunched up again.

The language barrier didn't help much. Him trying to explain that he likes how it feels, that it's warm like feathers, and - being a little kid at the time - crying when he doesn't have the words.

ooo, and Gabriel wondering if this was how humans fledged... and possibly getting the genders mixed up, because the differences between human males and females isn't obvious if you don't understand the cultural markers...

I am so NOT a linear writer. You may need an outline and a cheat sheet to keep up.

[hannahrorlove]

It takes at least a year of near-total immersion for him to get fluency in English, possibly longer, and even at the center, there are so few humans who can speak Enochian. He only spoke Enochian to Cas, no matter what language humans used, to teach him this was their language, their words.

Depending on the characteristics of angel males and females, yeah, I can see Gabriel getting the genders of humans mixed up before he learned them well.

I can work with an outline.

[neotoma]

Maybe angels have a harder time learning languages than humans, at least after childhood -- maybe their brains lose plasticity more completely? Gabriel is unusual in how fluent he is? Cas might actually have a harder time with Enochian than English, if that's the case.

Gabriel eventually learned to recognize clothes as a clue, but when he was little it was too confusing. Angels have moeity and gender colored into their feathers, so the idea that clothes signified gender was bizarre.

Okay then -- I'll work up an outline.

[hannahrorlove]

I was thinking something closer to Gabriel having trouble adjusting to his new life, language and all - if he hadn't been in such a state when he'd arrived, it'd have been easier for him to learn English. I'd think adult angels that come through that are used to only speaking Enochian that also want to learn English would be able to manage fairly well, plasticity or not, simply because they're more willing to do so.

So possibly it was Lomax and the rest that was the tipping point to help him out with figuring out how to talk with humans. As for sexual dimorphism, at a place like the center with dress codes and uniforms, yes, it'd be much harder.

I look forward to it.

[neotoma]

Just thinking today

[hannahrorlove]

Sam comments that angels have way too many words and phrases in Enochian to describe relationships and courtship situations. And Dean has a canon fear of flying...oh dear.

Awkward sex isn't written nearly enough. Go for it.

[neotoma]

Angels have the words they need to describe their social situation -- just because English is depauperate in kinship terms is Sam's problem, not Gabriel or Kali's.

yeah, gettting Dean into a courtship flight is going to be a trick. He's going to resist like hell.

Awkward sex is one of my favorite things to have in a story -- because noone has perfect sex all the time, or the first time, and having a sense of humor about is very charming.

PS Do you want to move this to DW? Is the display here giving you trouble

[hannahrorlove]

I was thinking e-mail, but DW works too. Just let me know where we're going when we get there.