You are a demon, a creature of hellfire and ash and sin. You are not meant to have a heart, you are meant to fill the world with pain and discord and suffering. You do this for centuries, it isn’t pleasant but it’s your duty to your prince. One day, you infiltrate a home to plant discord, only to find the place is ravaged with it. A young child sees you, and you see the light in their eyes threatening to fade away. You remember you were once an angel before you fell, and you vow to protect that innocent light in whatever way you can. You can’t do good, but you can purposefully do evil to those who threaten the child. Months pass in this fashion and one day you find an ivory feather sprouting from your wings.
“son of a bitch,” keli said, plucking the feather from the tip of her wings. it licked up the sunlight, edges curling inward. she could feel its warmth through her hand, soft and inviting, as gentle a lull as the way BabyTodd’s eyelids drooped when he got sleepy.
“what’s wrong?” asked norma, poking her head into the nursery. she glanced at where BabyTodd was kicking idly at his mobile. “did he poop?”
keli held up the feather.
norma raised her eyebrows. “….very pretty?” she offered after a moment, voice pitching up in question at the end of the word. “i didn’t know they grew in colors other than black. i thought that was like, the whole vibe.” her brow furrowed suddenly. “oh–is that like–the demon version of a gray hair? are you getting old?”
keli is older than time itself. she was called into creation by the unexpected voice of the blackest heaven, pieced together by the inverse desire of the too-small things which would become men. she watched them grow from the very first pieces of matter, and waited in moonlight for them to evolve enough to hear her voice, and follow it.
she has explained this to norma many times.
“no, norma,” she says, somewhat patiently, but also somewhat like she is saying how many fucking times do we have to go over this, norma? “this is not a demon gray hair. it is an angel feather. here, listen.”
keli ran her fingertip along the edge of the wing and the feather sang out, a soft and lilting tune like a harp, but also like the sun filtering through the leaves of lush, green trees. the song that david wrote, that night so many years ago when he had sat on the floor and loved god the only way that he knew how.
“oooooo,” said norma. “neat. can i touch it?”
keli handed the feather over, and norma strummed it a few times. even keli had to admit the song was beautiful, although it wasn’t exactly pleasant for a demon to listen to. “this could make top 40 radio, easy,” norma mused. “like, throw in a baseline and some peppy lyrics about being single for the summer and you’d make bank. new music friday all the way, baby.” she frowned suddenly, then narrowed her eyes at keli. “did you kill an angel to get this?” she asked. “because we have talked about this. i am not bringing BabyTodd to visit you if you go to jail.”
“no prison can hold my dark power,” keli said. “norma. i need to know that you understand this, because we really have gone over it a lot and i’m starting to think that maybe you don’t listen to me when i talk to you.”
“well, i’m not bringing BabyTodd to visit you in hell, either,” norma answered placidly, “because hell is no more a place for baby than prison is.”
keli pinched the bridge of her nose. “i didn’t kill an angel for it,” she said on a sigh. “i grew it. by accident.”
“you grew it?” norma’s eyebrows rose. “like … on your body? yours? the demon one?”
“yes.”
“but you’re a demon.”
“i know.”
“but if you’re a demon, how can you grow an angel feather?”
keli waited a few seconds, until norma got it.
“holy shit,” norma said. “holy shit, you’re turning into an angel! holy shit!! your redemptive love for BabyTodd is making you a warrior for god!”
keli slumped into the rocking chair and covered her eyes with one hand. “not if i can help it,” she said grimly.
This is so gorgeous and perfect and funny. A great, great story with such rich emotion and tension and loveliness. I MUST FIND THE CREATOR AND SCREAM AT THEM IN TUMBLR FASHION
reblog to SCREAM YOUR LOVE AT THE CREATOR IN TRUE TUMBLR FASHION
Just wanna point out that this was a collaborative art and musical project between Xan Griffin and Peter Mohrbacher. You can listen to Xan Griffin’s full Zodiac album on his youtube page. It’s really good music.
Well, according to Ezekiel 1 they might look something like this…
According to Daniel 10 something like this…
According to Isaiah 6…
In Ezekiel 10…
Again in Ezekiel 10…
Basically, when the people writing Scripture tried to describe what they saw when they saw an angel… they run into the end of their imagination… they can never quite seem to fully explain it because they had trouble even comprehending what they saw, let alone being able to describe it to someone else.
Yeah, that’s usually how people responded to seeing them in the Bible…
There’s a good reason why angels’ standard greeting is ‘Do not be afraid’.
I used to listen to this radio show and one thing I remember because it was so funny was a Christmas special where an angel showed up to tell the shepherds about the birth of Christ. The conversations went:
Angel: “FEAR NOT.”
Shepherds: *screaming*
Angel: “I SAID FEAR NOT.”
Shepherds: *screaming LOUDER*
Angel: “WHAT PART OF FEAR NOT ARE YOU NOT UNDERSTANDING?”
So demons are fallen angels but they don’t look scary because they’re fallen, that’s just what all angels look like…
Maybe that’s why so many Christians see visions of Saints or the Virgin Mary instead…like Jesus is all…no, no see being human made me realize sending Angels might not be the best idea. I don’t know if humans can handle this. So I’m gonna just send mom
Jesus: It’s either Mom or the thousand eyed flaming wheel, Dad, do you really think the humans are gonna be chill with that when they’re terrified of spiders already?
God: Hey now, some of those spiders eat birds.
Jesus: …Dad…
God: …To be fair, Australian wildlife was my dark creation phase.
Reblogging for all of this, including the Australian hellbeasts callout.
Also, there is one passage where an angel just appears to be a fellow soldier/leader/human and the person looking at him can’t tell the difference. I’m totally goin with SPN’s ‘vessel’ concept on this one:
Joshua 5: 13-14
When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and demanded, “Are you friend or foe?”
“Neither one,” he replied. “I am the commander of the LORD’s army.”
I’m totally gonna assume that was Anna.
Okay but can we get back to a theological explanation of Australia?
Like, since Jews don’t believe in Hell and the Old Testament predates the New Testament, did God see Australia and think, “Hey, I can use that…”
Demon horns being broken halos from when they were angels.
Demons willingly grow their own halos, but never complete the circle to symbolize their rebellion against heaven’s strict order.
In addition to the second one, angels are GIVEN their halos rather than earning them. Demons like Lucifer rebelled for freedom and individuality, thus demon horns all look different compared to an angel’s boring halo.
Horns are useful tools, but if you join them into a circle they become useless badges of authority.
And the thing about wearing a badge is that you become a symbol of someone else. You’re not you, you’re an extension of the entity whose authority you’re borrowing. You can’t be yourself until you ditch it
Here’s a visual representation of angels and demons.
I figure that as angels, their “horns” would glow when connected to become traditional halos. However, this blinds the angel with heavenly light, making the angel rely on God’s guidance.
Angels who break their halos become demons, and willingly grow their horns in obscure shapes so it won’t connect back into a halo. Because the halo no longer blinds them, demons can finally see but can no longer communicate with God for guidance – the light they once gave to heaven now belongs to them, hence demons being proficient with fire allowing them to see in the dark.
Extra notes on horns & halos:
Circular horns (Halos) are smooth and easy for God to “grab” like a chain.
Jagged horns are sharp to the touch and can pierce God.
wupacing 