The big A/N for everything, acknowledgements, et cetera.
153 pages in word. 46,835 words. 258,676 characters. 2281 paragraphs. 4608 lines.
Wow.
The story is complete, BUT I may do a related story and I'll still update with answers to questions and such. Thank you for all of the readers and reviews!
Believe it or not, this was inspired originally by Archangel Dean, Castiel of Thursday, and Sam the Deciever all by theDURRRRIAN on Deviantart. Seriously check these out because they're awesome. (You might notice that somehow they managed to work in Castiel's trench coat and tie into his armor, which is both hilarious and awesome at the same time to me, because it shouldn't look so epic) The image of the heavenly warriors thing stuck and I'd wanted to add in my own spin on S11 once I saw O Brother Where Art Thou?.
It snowballed with the fact that I wanted Adam back, had an OC to add, and wanted Cas to be up there with the archangels. I wanted the angel!Winchesters, but didn't want to actually have them be vessels. So I had to kill off the archangels to supply the grace. But I wanted Luci and company back, so I figured Amara could take care of that—plus Deanmon needed more attention than given in S10, so I played him into it since Amara and Dean are "connected".
This story really wrote itself—100+ pages in less than three months is not something I normally do, EVER, much less this, but this happened. I may do a spinoff or a few oneshots in this particular universe depending on my inspiration.
Also, most of the quotes (though not all) I found on a lovely site called Quote Garden, where quotes are organized by topic. Practically everything possible is there.
A few details you may not have noticed—Kinda a behind the scenes tour. I didn't want to put any A/N's in the story if I could help it in the actual chapters. Here's partially my thought process and some ramblings for each chapter.
, , ,
Prologue: Not much to it. God and Eva talking. Setting up the story.
1 Out of the Fire: Kinda cutting and pasting ideas from Season 11 in addition to introducing Eva by having her resurrect Adam. I wanted the church scene with Amara to be interrupted by the Winchesters so they could see firsthand the destruction she caused. And I had Adam take his dad's name because I felt like it would be an important part of his choice, a defining factor—a concrete representation of what he did. Also a play on S11E1, Into the Fire for the title. And Edgar Allan Poe for the title quote, because why not.
2. The Family Business: And Adam getting into said business. I wasn't sure how to build on Destiel, so I went cliché. I love the pairing and kind of cringe now at the witch's spell route that I went, but it did its job to start it. And I paired my OC with Adam mostly because they're alike. When I started brainstorming I wasn't going to do it—I was going to pair Adam with Jo or something. But it kind of clicked. And it's a terrible stab at humor that I attempted—Eva wouldn't recognize Sam or Dean since she's never met them, so she gets Adam to grab a gun and, well, that's how it ended.
3. This is Right: Didn't mean to do two family quotes in a row, but this one fit well because Dean needed to see that having more family is a way to stay strong, not a weakness. And also by having Eva explain the Amara thing I avoided the awesome scene of Cas beating up Metatron. I didn't feel like I could do that guy justice in writing at the time, so I left it. Eva's conversation with God is kinda choppy, but I tried to mix the pride/disobedient rebel she gets from her dad and the faithful servant she's trying to be. And then Destiel happens, and Sam is just glad the UST is over.
4. Three Angels Return: I love the Aristotle quote I chose here because not only did I bring back my favorite dead angels (Sorry Anna, you didn't make the cut. You too, Uriel. Zachariah, you didn't have a chance.) but I gave them a little hope to figure out what's going on. And the Sam being an older brother bit made me smile as I wrote it because let's face it, it's adorable.
5. The Heavenly Trials: Kind of the inevitability of them jumping through Heaven's hoops again to do what they need to do. And the Crowley-Amara alliance thing was there for a whopping what, one, two episodes? I wish I could have done more with it myself because I thought the mechanics would be interesting, but in the end, I abandoned it pretty quickly, too. And I dunno, the quote was ominous and about angels.
. . .
6. The King and Princess of Hell: Figured a sassy Eva to both the angels in the cage and to Crowley would be fun. And I wanted to stir up a little friction between Dean and Eva, because after all she did spend a lot of time in Hell. And first trial, done. Admittedly the seven trials were twelve at first. Glad I cut it down? Also, her not liking hellhounds after this makes sense, right? Right.
7. Dog People: Let's be honest. Sam needs a dog. Desperately. And I figured Dean could turn a bad experience of being dragged to hell by them into a good one by having a loyal dog. And they all have to do the trials, so I added the bit of Adam owning dogs. And Gabriel too, because he just seems like the right kind of guy for it. But Eva? No thanks. And Cas? He seems plenty like a cat person to me. Also Sabriel bonding over dogs.
8. Distrust and Research: Yeah, the tension between Eva and Dean . . . she kinda represents everything that's caused him pain, not to mention almost was in Alistair's place. So. He has a right to be angry. And the secrecy isn't in her favor either, but it's not like she's her Dad and is going to disobey her grandfather.
9. A Hunt and Musings: A little conviction for Adam to keep hunting, and his research helping out a bit. Also if Zachariah can go timeline-hopping, why not Gabriel? I like to think that Supernatural pretty much allows for alternate universes and timelines, given The French Mistake and the Croatoan universe. So Gabriel tells them about their possible human, normal lives. The possibilities are there, and I figure it'd be nice for them to know that it was possible. The quote kind of goes with the fact that Gabriel can't see what's coming, though.
10. Salem Spell: Okay, so I had to be careful who I chose for what here. I knew I wanted the Weechesters to make an appearance. And College Sam and Demon Dean. Adam's versions were kind of up in the air-we don't know much about him besides his time with Sam and Dean, so I filled in some personal struggle for him. I figured I needed some apocalypse, some other stuff all mixed in. Obviously some tension with Demon Dean was necessary. The quote-I mean, come on, past versions, and J.K. Rowling. It needed to be done.
. . .
11. You're Gonna be a Hero: The quote first-after all, angels and demons have been pulling the strings on the Winchesters for a long time. But I like to think that they pushed past that. Some brotherly moments were necessary, and this provided a good opportunity. I could have had them confront themselves separately, but I didn't want to miss the chance to have some younger Winchester banter. Also, since I'm not exactly following S11 much, I loved the episode with Sully, but didn't want to just novelize it and insert Adam. So I did this bit, so at the very least someone got to hear that they're a hero, and I think Sam needed to hear it loud and clear. And I'll admit I kinda stole Gabriel conjuring up a bar from a fic I read a long time ago but can't remember . . . The thought of it was just too good to pass up, and I put my own spin on it, I promise. No actual plagiarism intended.
12. Have Faith: Doubting happens a lot here. Doubting Eva, trying to stop Amara, finding out she's sucking souls . . . and the next trial announced. I tried to explain Eva's relationship with God in this too, because I don't think I really did. Also, the quote . . . new beginnings and hope after Darkness.
13. Prayers: If Found, Send to the Winchesters: Ironically an unintentional foreshadowing happened with their types of prayers they answered. I didn't mean for it to happen, honestly, but their answering prayers parallels the types of angels they'll become-a warrior/hunter, a healer, and an advocate. Dean's part was awkward to write but I think I did okay. And I figured Adam could meet up with his buddy again for real, and then confuse him when he runs off. Sam dealing with a runaway? Just seemed right. The blessing quote seemed appropriate what with prayers, blessings, and soon-to-be angels.
14. Angel Wings: Okay, here's where she finally tells them that they're going to be archangels. Also, the detail about her eyes-she's part angel, so the grace would show, but also a demon, so black eyes. I liked the image of it. The Ezra Pound quote kinda goes along with the idea that they're changing the essence of who they are, but only if that's how they see it. Also, the Castiel wing thing? I've seen so many descriptions of Cas's wings, but felt like this was the best way to go about it. I definitely see him with black wings predominantly, with some blue, but I also wanted to give them a look of otherworldliness, hence the blue "shattered stained glass glowing in the ebony feathers".
15. The Roadhouse: The quote, first of all, wasn't supposed to be funny, but I guess it kind of is, because Mary never got to see them grow up . . . shutting up now on that. Yeah, this little bit was brought to you by my love of Percy Jackson and how he had to get his mom's blessing for the river Styx thing. I figured Bobby ought to give his blessing too.
. . .
16. The King of Hell at Our Doorstep: Can't stand Rowena. But Crowley's fun. I wish I was better at writing his character-I desperately wanted to add him here as the priest like the show did, but it is what it is. Fun fact: I lived in Amboy when I was really, really little. So I'm basing it off of how I remember it. Also, the Blockbuster used to be my favorite place to walk to with my mom back then, so yeah. And dun dun DUN! Lucifer! Although Crowley is a little misinformed-Lucifer is second to her Knight.
17. Blades for Battle: So, who's read The Book Thief? Show of hands? Right. I love that book, seriously. Anyway. The whole interaction here was a little awkward again, because I can't write Crowley's character to save my life. I proceeded to have date night and Amara raising the archangels because the contrast was nice. Since the Book Thief is narrated by Death primarily in the book, I thought it'd be nice for the two of them to read a bit then watch the movie.
18. Familiar Faces, Friends and Foes: Really the quote only has to do with the title. And no way am I leaving these people dead. I was okay with leaving John and Mary dead because I like to think they've settled into it/ accepted it/ have kind of lived their lives. These four seemed to be the ones I ought to bring back. And now that Eva is Death, she can do it. And of course we get the reveal of Deanmon returning. And I figured Jo's contribution of fake ID's would serve a little humor, right? Just before the big, important, final trial.
19. The Seventh Trial of Heaven: Becky being the auntie type here instead of a raging superfan seemed cute. Dating Chuck has mellowed her out a bit to a fangirl with boundaries. Them being a little clueless worked too in this because it's not exactly been made known to them that God could have been on Earth. I tried incorporating what I thought was good reasoning and a little scripture to explain the whole 'leaving without a word' thing that God apparently has done. Then everyone swearing themselves to the plan-I vaguely made them each one of the three cardinal virtues of faith, hope, and love. It worked out nicely, and their job titles matched their earlier prayers without me meaning to do that. Their wings colors had to match their metallic feathers with their own personal touches too.
20. Midair Challenges and Mojo-School: Couldn't resist Gabriel getting duped a little bit. Also I nearly used this quote instead: There are only two emotions in a plane: boredom and terror. ~Orson Welles because of Dean, obviously. But I skipped it in favor of a nicer one. Mostly transitional filler here, though some flying stuff was fun to add in/write.
. . .
21. Heavenly and Hellish: The conflicts on both fronts are building here! Figured Raphael or Michael might pick up sorry old Metatron as a lackey. And having an excuse for the boys to show some impressive archangel badassery by breaking people out of jail? Sure! I also wasn't sure about Crowley-he couldn't have an affiliation with Lucifer, but also is interested in keeping himself alive and kicking, so the confrontation there was a little hard to write. The quote was like the looming mystery/ominous-ness of the fight to come and of Amara herself.
22. Armor and Allies: Oh, the irony of the quote. Most of the major players on our side have died and come back. The armor is loosely based off of the inspiration art I mentioned, but it has my own imagination woven in in every case, though the style of armor I like to think is the same. Sam pretending to be the Devil was an idea I'd been tossing around but wasn't planning on using till I wrote the chapter. Also about halfway through writing this chapter I watched 11x10, Devil in the Details, and asldkfjasdlk is all I have to say about that episode, besides that it gave me good ideas for imagery and little plot pieces. Like Rowena betraying them all. And a cute, likeable angel to stick in. I dunno, the little dorky secretary angel just . . . I kept her. And had her bring Amara's message instead.
23. The War Begins: Yeah, if you've read any of my work, you know I don't do fight scenes very well. I do try, I swear. But I can't ever actually seem to put characters in peril or display chaos without being totally confusing. So this is the result. Trash talk to start, of course. I like writing Amara's character, even though I'm not a big fan of hers. Maybe it's because I'm writing it my own way.
24. War: Darkness: And battle. Like I said, fight scenes? Not my forte. But I had some people that needed to face some people, while war went on in the background. Dean VS Deanmon? Absolutely! Sam VS Lucifer? Heck yeah! The quote for these three war chapters is from one of my favorite poems, which I read in junior year high school English. This stanza fit perfectly and I've been dying to use it.
25. War: Light: Okay. So this is more aftermath than anything. The Eva twist wasn't planned at first, neither was the de-aged Amara, but it kind of wrote itself in. Surprise? I didn't want it to seem cheesy, but in the end I liked it better than her being the devil's daughter. And I didn't want to outright kill Amara, either.
. . .
26. Penance: Ta-daa! Human archangels! Obviously they're not happy with the predicament originally. This is where my related possible fic will come from. And I figured I wouldn't want to kill them off in the end, especially after seeing Luci back in 11x09 onward. And Michael being a human, well . . . couldn't pass up that little tidbit. Thought it would be much appreciated, especially if I never get around to writing that other fic or drop it at any point.
27. Pray for a Deal: Tying up a few loose ends with Mark and Emma, showing Raphael he has a God to believe in. And a little Samandriel/Ambriel (Sambriel? Samambriel?) cuteness because even though they haven't even interacted in the show it just. Seems. So. Adorable.
28. Victorious: Celebration all around! Resurrected angels! And Gabriel pops the question, and Eva and Adam have a bit of fun. And what better holiday to share lovely times with family than Thanksgiving? Not to mention fluffy Destiel proposal. Had to have it that way. Had to.
29. The Plan: Little bit of fangirl stuff. And of course after I publish, I notice a typo: "Will Crowley stir up trouble? *Will they have to face the end of the world again?" Marie was that girl from Fan Fiction, remember? I couldn't remember her name off the top of my head, so I looked it up. And had Chuck involved, because you know, what is the Plan after all? And a quote that was basically me writing this fic and also Chuck in general.
30. Carry On: Sappy happy romantic ending. I can't help it that I'm such an absolute sap, I swear. I can't stand sad endings when I'm seriously emotionally invested. I don't mind ultimately. The Book Thief? Tore my heart out. Loved it. But I can't do that in writing. I can't force characters to suffer like that, all heartache and gloom. So happy ending.
Epilogue: A basically mirror representation of the prologue, if you look closely. With a roll-credits kind of last line. I guess all this is the credits, in that case!
. . .
AND ALSO
I have ideas for a sequel/related fic, centered around the three angels' human lives, switching POVs from Raphael, Lucifer, Michael, and Gabriel. I would include the excerpts from this fic where appropriate, but I also have awesome ideas on how to play it. I'll have to diverge a little bit from canon in some respects, but it would be so worth it. Now that school is fully back in swing it'll be on the backburner, but definitely still happening if there's enough demand for it. Title ideas would be appreciated my benefit.
. . .
Next A/N will be a compilation of the quotes, in addition to answers, if people are interested.
. . .
VERY IMPORTANT
Thank you all for reading and keeping up with this story. It's the first non-oneshot that I've finished so quickly! I really appreciate all of you reading. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask in reviews on the chapters you're wondering about! Comment even on little things—I love to hear feedback! I'll answer in a PM or address it in a new A/N chapter if there's a lot. Also, I will update with an A/N if/when the other fic will be up.
Thank you again!
See you later—
Flute Chick