So like, on top of the whole "curl up in a corner and recover" thing I've had going, I've also had to (and still am/do/whatever) take some time to process the ending of this fic.
I mean - geez. On the one hand, I was thinking stuff like "to live up to the hints, Andrew is gonna have to be somebody/something big", but on the other I was thinking "most writers won't go there, to the really BIG names in cosmology/theology/whatever".
But you did. Arch-angels. The brothers are arch-angels. But are they ... avatars of Michael and Gabriel ... or incarnate manifestations ... or reflections ... or literally the two made human flesh...?
And the same question with Andrew. Is he literally "Arawn, Hades, Shiva, Set, Loki and more recently Lucifer, the Adversary, Lord of Lies, the patron saint of the left-hand son, the Prince of Darkness" and even if so, what does that mean? Where does Andrew, who was raised by Father Jim (did I get that name right?) and grew up with Dean and Sam, stop and "Arawn...etc" start? Is there a difference between the two identities at all, or....
And, questions of "individual" identity aside, what does it all mean cosmologically, culturally, philosophically, religiously, literally ... etc etc. I mean, what is the frame of reference/definition(s) of these entities?!
The arch-angels Michael and Gabriel are mentioned in a number of religions/religious texts, from a wide variety of traditions. The various Judeo-Christian and Islamic traditions ... various occult and new age traditions ... etc. And there are multiple traditions referenced in the "Arawn...etc" list describing Andrew.
I mean - Andrew doesn't seem evil (whatever that means within the context of this story's universe), per se, and nothing he says makes him irrevocably a traditional "fallen angel" and "enemy of God and His angels". There are a lot of other interpretations of what Satan, for example, is/could be.
And then I look at the Minnesota segment of the story. Non-Christian cosmologies mingling (Norse and Native American), I mean.
In other words ... I was uncertain, hesitant, about this latest development at first. But on further thought, it really is a grand development of already hinted at themes. Especially if I refuse to take anything at simple or face value, but instead wait for you to slowly unfurl/reveal the significance. It promises to be fascinating reading.
And ... that's not actually even my comment on the last couple chapters. It's just a moment of semi-incoherent rambling. So, more (I hope) soon....
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I mean - geez. On the one hand, I was thinking stuff like "to live up to the hints, Andrew is gonna have to be somebody/something big", but on the other I was thinking "most writers won't go there, to the really BIG names in cosmology/theology/whatever".
But you did. Arch-angels. The brothers are arch-angels. But are they ... avatars of Michael and Gabriel ... or incarnate manifestations ... or reflections ... or literally the two made human flesh...?
And the same question with Andrew. Is he literally "Arawn, Hades, Shiva, Set, Loki and more recently Lucifer, the Adversary, Lord of Lies, the patron saint of the left-hand son, the Prince of Darkness" and even if so, what does that mean? Where does Andrew, who was raised by Father Jim (did I get that name right?) and grew up with Dean and Sam, stop and "Arawn...etc" start? Is there a difference between the two identities at all, or....
And, questions of "individual" identity aside, what does it all mean cosmologically, culturally, philosophically, religiously, literally ... etc etc. I mean, what is the frame of reference/definition(s) of these entities?!
The arch-angels Michael and Gabriel are mentioned in a number of religions/religious texts, from a wide variety of traditions. The various Judeo-Christian and Islamic traditions ... various occult and new age traditions ... etc. And there are multiple traditions referenced in the "Arawn...etc" list describing Andrew.
I mean - Andrew doesn't seem evil (whatever that means within the context of this story's universe), per se, and nothing he says makes him irrevocably a traditional "fallen angel" and "enemy of God and His angels". There are a lot of other interpretations of what Satan, for example, is/could be.
And then I look at the Minnesota segment of the story. Non-Christian cosmologies mingling (Norse and Native American), I mean.
In other words ... I was uncertain, hesitant, about this latest development at first. But on further thought, it really is a grand development of already hinted at themes. Especially if I refuse to take anything at simple or face value, but instead wait for you to slowly unfurl/reveal the significance. It promises to be fascinating reading.
And ... that's not actually even my comment on the last couple chapters. It's just a moment of semi-incoherent rambling. So, more (I hope) soon....