Letting go of the two greatest loves of his life had been a struggle for Gabriel. But like all mortals, they faded with time and died comfortably in the presence of the angel who had loved them above everything in Creation. Gabriel lingered in Rome, watching over the children they had raised, blessing them with fortune and health before he finally slipped away.

The years passed so quickly he barely paid them any mind. Moving through various pantheons, taking on the mantle of trickster or any other aspect that amused him, Gabriel never stayed in one place for long. Eventually he traveled north to the rich woods and cooler lands of Gaul and the lands of the Celts. With the disintegration of Rome's central authority, the local wealthy powers began building castles, calling themselves kings and rulers.

With power comes greed and eventually Gabriel takes to the roads. He may have left Heaven behind, but he could still deal out a bit of justice. Help himself to the wealth of the greedy and distribute it to the poor.

The villagers had dozens of names for him. Loki, Trickster, Hood, he'd started to lose count. But it felt right to be able to press a few coins into hands and know that the people he helped would live to see another spring. He'd even cultivated a following, a handful who lived in the woods with him and helped him waylay coaches.

Summer was beginning to give way to fall as Gabriel watches another coach rattle down the road. Hand resting lightly on his sword, Gabriel stepped into the path. "Gentlemen. Let's do this the smart way and everyone comes out of this alive."

Dean was doing well in school. Amazing, really and Gabriel couldn't be happier for him. They'd gone on vacation for spring break and more than once he'd caught him staring at the cell phone he'd given him. The cell phone with Sam's number programmed into it.

Stubborn kid.

So maybe he needed a little kick in the ass in this particular department.

Thursdays were fairly normal for them. Dean read, they talked and instead of Dean cooking, Gabriel insisted they order in.

.. he just wasn't going to mention the surprise delivery boy. Or the fact that Sam didn't realize he was delivering it.

"Get the door, willya Dean?"

Name: Methy
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E-Mail: wiccachick42@gmail.com (please screen)
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Character Name: Gabriel
Series: Supernatural
Timeline: towards the end of 5x19 – Hammer of the Gods, shortly before Gabriel is killed by his brother.
Canon Resource Link: Here

Character History: In the beginning, there was only their Father. Dad. God. Whatever. Names weren’t important in the beginning. The story began when He created four archangels who became brothers. Michael was the first, the most powerful and the one that the rest looked up to and admired, despite a startling lack of any sense of humor. Next came Lucifer. The Morningstar. Bright and powerful and clever and he loved his brothers fiercely, loving their Father even more. Raphael the healer followed, and last but certainly not least, Gabriel, the Messenger. Gabriel adored his family, and most of all he adored Lucifer. The big brother that sheltered him as a fledge and taught him everything he ever knew. Most of all, Lucifer taught him the value of a good joke and how to laugh. Gabriel looked up to him and loved him above all. Together they stood shoulder to shoulder against threats to Heaven, ancient evils that needed to be contained.

Then God created the rest of the Host. They were younger angels and Gabriel loved them as much as he loved his brothers. When Creation was called into being, that first crack of light across nothing, Gabriel had been as mesmerized as the rest of the Host, transfixed at the world below them. Bright blues, greens, and creatures they’d never dreamed of before. But like all good things, it didn’t last. God went and created humans and while Gabriel delighted in how wonderfully strange they were, his brothers? Well. Needless to say they didn’t. Unhappiness became arguing, arguing became outright fighting and every day he watched Michael and Lucifer tear at each other and divide Heaven between them. War was coming and while the angels dutifully took sides, Gabriel couldn’t. He loved his brothers more than anything and watching them fight broke his heart. He couldn’t watch them go to war and he couldn’t raise his weapon against them.

So he ran. Took wing and went back to Earth. After taking a vessel, which was important if he not only wanted to safely interact with humans and not melt their faces off, but if he wanted to stay off Heaven’s radar, Gabriel occupied himself with watching humans. He couldn’t ignore his nature as an archangel of Justice, so he went back to doing just that. Dispensing justice to those that deserved it.. but with his own special sense of flair. The pagans mistook him as a trickster and who was he to correct them? Best place to hide was in plain sight after all. Loki, Trickster, the name didn’t matter. Gabriel got to live free and clear of Heaven and enjoy all of the wonderful little luxuries Earth had to offer.

The first time he ran into the Winchesters was deliberate. (2x15 Tall Tales) Archangels could recognize a vessel on sight and the vessels destined for his brothers? Yeah, he saw those two meatheads a mile away. He’d been on a simple job of his own, dispensing a little creative justice to the humans who deserved it when the Winchesters crossed his path. Like everyone else, they mistook him first for a night janitor. It was a simple undercover job. Adulterous professor being taken out by the ghost of a jilted woman, the jock bully abducted and made to slow dance with aliens, all the classics. So he couldn’t resist screwing with the Winchesters a little along the way, pitting them against one another. They reminded him too much of Lucifer and Michael, so maybe he got a tiny bit vindictive before they figured out his game and in order to throw the Winchesters off, he had to fake his own death.

The next time he runs into the Winchesters is with a slightly different intent (3x11 Mystery Spot). Dean made a deal with a crossroads demon and the clock was ticking while his brother did everything he could to try and save him. Sam wasn’t going to let go, so to try and help him realize that no matter what he did, Dean was a dead man, Gabriel tossed him into a temporal loop. He lived the same day over and over and every day, no matter what he did – Dean wound up dead. Gabriel could appreciate the devotion, but he also figured the only way to get it through Sam’s head that The Winchester Way (dying for one another over and over) will only be used against them. When Sam figures out that the Trickster is at fault, he even shifts the illusion. This time Dean dies and time marches on. So does Sam. He hunts, he kills, and he does everything in his power to track down the Trickster. Finally Gabriel shows himself and lays it all out for Sam. What he’s doing? It’s not going to stop what’s coming. He could have kept on with the illusion, but Gabriel had to admit, at least to himself, a grudging respect for the hunter, although as far as he told Sam – the whole mess was beginning to bore him.

Gabriel stays out of sight until 5x08 – yet again stealing the brothers and tossing them into another illusion. Sure he’d set a pretty deliberate trap, letting them get wind of a Trickster on the loose, a few stray candy wrappers strategically left behind, but it was the best way to get their attention. Sam wanted to try and solicit his help in the Apocalypse, but Gabriel was having none of it. Nope, if they wanted to get out of TV Land (game shows, Dr Sexy, Cop Drama, sitcoms) they were going to have to play their part.
Dean, being Dean, manages to provoke him into an outburst when he accuses him of being on the side of Heaven or Hell and that winds up being Gabriel’s undoing. It’s just enough for Dean to figure out exactly who they’re dealing with. No Trickster has that much power. But an Archangel does. So with a carefully laid circle of holy fire, the Winchesters tricked a Trickster and finally force a confession out of him. The sarcasm and snark melt away and a very weary Gabriel fesses up. He’s an archangel – long fled from Heaven. His family’s fighting in heaven tore him apart, broke his heart, so instead of taking up arms against his brothers, he ran.

But if his brothers want to kill each other and end everything, fine. Hiding has become exhausting and while he’s not ready to join the fight, he simply wants it to be over. Done. Finito. Gabriel informs the brothers that they were chosen because of their similarities to Michael and Lucifer – it’s their destiny and they should simply suck up to it and get it over with. There’s no fighting the Plan that’s been in place for thousands of years.

Dean calls him out, accusing him of being a coward for not standing up to his family and those words hit Gabriel harder than any others. Because he knows that deep down, he’s right.

The next time they cross paths is 5x19 – when a handful of pagan gods lay a trap for the Winchesters in order to attempt to use them as some sort of bargaining chip. This time rather than run, Gabriel intervenes. The entire setup is suicide – there’s no bargaining with his brothers and he doesn’t want to see Kali or Sam and Dean caught in the crossfire. A blood spell keeps the Winchesters in the hotel, binding them until the pagans can offer them up, and Gabriel’s attempt to get them free outs him to the pagans as more than the Trickster that they know and are generally annoyed by – Loki.

He (again) stages his death, attempting to throw the pagans off the scent and get the Winchesters free and clear. But the Winchesters refuse to leave the hotel until they set the humans trapped inside free. Again Dean tries to reason with Gabriel and get him involved in the fight. And again, Gabriel refuses. He can’t raise his weapon against his brother, even if it is to save the pagans that had become his adopted family.
But his hand is forced when Lucifer is called to the scene and begins slaughtering his way through the pagans in order to get to his vessel. It’s enough for Gabriel to “quit riding the pine”. He shoves a DVD at Dean, telling him to guard it with his life and to promise to get Kali free and clear of the hotel. He’ll hold off Lucifer. He doesn’t want to raise a weapon against him, but he at least has to try.



Abilities/Special Powers: As an archangel, Gabriel is given plenty of impressive powers. As an angel, he’s given all of the standard powers and vulnerabilities of the Host.
Flight/teleportation : like all angels, Gabriel can fly, although to some mortals it seems almost instantaneous and a bit more like teleportation.

Resilience: Gabriel is largely invulnerable. While he can take damage, most of it is easily shaken off. Holy fire will keep him contained and an archangel blade is one of the few things that can kill him. When an angel takes a vessel, it renders them immune to typical mortal failings – old age, sleep, illness, even oxygen are no longer necessary. He also has enhanced strength, easily picking up Dean and pinning the larger hunter to the wall with no effort.

Knowledge: As an angel, Gabriel has been there since the very beginning. History, myth, legend, magic, he knows it all. The Messenger of God, Gabriel was also given the ability of languages. If it’s been spoken on Earth? He knows the language inside and out.
Telekenesis: like all angels, Gabriel can toss things around with his mind, including throwing around his younger brother Castiel and even knocking Lucifer off his feet.
Reality warping and manfestation: Unlike other angels, Gabriel is given the ability to create small reality bubbles and manipulate the world around him. From creating time loops to toss the Winchesters into, to simply pulling a fresh candy bar out of thin air, Gabriel can control the world around him based on his whims.

Third-Person Sample:

He doesn't know when it started, when his entire impression of the Winchesters changed. At first they were just a couple of hunters that he planned on screwing with, and boy did those two idiots rise to the bait easily. They were hunters, Vessels, but Lucifer was locked away downstairs and only a certified moron would think about cracking the seals and starting that whole shindig.

So naturally the brothers had to fall ass-first into actually cracking the seals and setting Lucifer loose on the earth again. Gabriel had been halfway across the planet, sunning himself in Bora Bora, but even he couldn't mistake the storm of power that was his brother.

Fine. It was starting again. But if it was starting again, then he was going to be done with it. Gabriel couldn't watch Michael and Lucifer tear one another apart, destroy themselves as well as the rest of the world.

Side with the humans, side with a brother or just sit back and watch the fireworks?

Fuck. He didn't know. Celestial radio was alight with chatter about the Winchesters and other things he didn't even want to know about. It got even worse when he tuned into Pagan Pandora and got an earful of what Kali and Baldur were up to. Morons. Picking up two Vessels like they were bargaining chips?

Gabriel swore under his breath, drumming his heels idly against the rooftop of the motel he was perched on. Elysian Fields. Cute name. Assholes.

The rumble of the Impala's engine snapped Gabriel out of his reverie and he swore under his breath. Welp. No more time to dither over which side he was on, and really, it hadn't been a question in the end, had it?


First-Person Sample: Well I've got to give this place props. It ain't exactly the Ritz, but then again, they don't have places that respond to thought. [Gabriel is comfortably sprawled on a bed large enough to accommodate several, balancing a heroic-sized milkshake on his chest. Somehow he can drink it while laying down and not spill a drop.] Now, while I wasn't looking forward to the ol Royal Rumble with big bro, I would like to at least get an idea of who nicked yours truly and why.

Yanno. Just because.

Gabriel hated prison.

Really, really hated prison.

He'd given Lucifer the slip, found a way to fool his older brother into believing that he was well and truly dead and took a back door into Heaven. The safest place to stay when you were hiding from the Apocalypse, heavenly politics and damn near everything? Home.

Well, until Dad's dickless little secretary cast the mother of all spells that threw absolutely everyone out and shattered the wings of every member of the Host. Brothers, sisters, all cast down, lost and broken. Naturally, that was when Metatron found him, stunned and broken and dragged him back into prison. He didn't even have long to wonder why.

Metatron liked to listen to himself talk, liked to mimic stories but he never really understood them. Like most of the angels he never really got humans. Or the angel that hung around them in a battered old trenchcoat.

So when the illusion started, when Metatron used his image to try and manipulate ol' Castiel? Gabriel did a little hijacking of his own.

I need your help. You can do this.

And with Metatron's attention focused elsewhere, Gabriel found that he could do it again. He didn't have the strength to speak at first. But he could appear. Standing with Castiel and his slowly growing flock. It took a few times, but he finally managed to speak nearly a week and a half later.

"Hey bro."

CHARACTER NAME: Gabriel
CHARACTER SERIES: Supernatural

[OOC]
This is the permissions list for OOC (out of character), activity.
Answer the following questions with "yes" or "no", as well as additional information if desired.

Backtagging: always
Threadhopping: sure
Fourthwalling: go for it
Offensive subjects (elaborate): Gabriel is okay with largely anything. Extreme stuff, pls inquire ahead of time

[IC]
This is the permissions list for IC (in-character), activity.
Answer the following questions with "yes" or "no", as well as additional information if desired. With IC permissions, it's a good idea to elaborate on what other players can expect from your character if they choose to do any of the following:

Hugging this character: oh yes
Kissing this character: yes please
Flirting with this character: if you do he'll flirt back
Fighting with this character: He's more a lover than a fighter but go for it
Injuring this character (include limits and severity): Ok to break him a bit.
Killing this character: Not without an okay
Using telepathy/mind reading abilities on this character: As long as you check with mun first, but otherwise it's ok.

Warnings:


Get your own copy of the IC/OOC Permissions meme!

"So that's how you end this Sam." Lucifer has never looked quite so smug as he laid out his proposal. "Have sex with my brother and I'll make all of this go away."

"Lu, don't do this."

"He can do this my way Gabriel, or he can watch you die."

Gabriel turned away from the ruined face of his brother's vessel. He was willing to give up ending the world for the sake of breaking his heart, of destroying any chance Gabriel might have had with Sam. Tainting every future interaction with this.

"Sam.. just go. You don't have to do this."

 Returning home was the last thing Gabriel expected, really. 

But it was nice in the Garden. Letting his grace rest in the warmth of Heaven for the first time since he'd fled. There were no fighting brothers, no sniping, no .. no nothing. Joshua kept him safely hidden while he rested in the warmth of Heaven. Letting himself drift in peace and contentment for the first time since humans had been created.

Sam and Dean were still out there, but they were safe. Alive. That's all that mattered to the dreaming archangel.

At least until the spell roiled over Heaven. Tearing the grace out of his brothers and sisters, burning their wings away as they fell to earth and Gabriel could hear every startled cry, every scream, every sound of alarm. The magic surged and swirled around him until it finally shoved and dislodged the archangel, casting him back to earth with all the speed of a planetoid.

--

"Oh my god.." Dean's choked voice as he barely threw himself and Sam clear of the fireball racing towards the Impala.

A terrible crash as Gabriel barely missed the hood of the car, landing in a giant crater in the asphalt. Groaning, Gabriel slowly clawed his way out of the crater. Mortal. Lacking his grace and his wings.

<i>Fuck</i>.

"Dean. Sammy... Sam you look like shit."

It’s been three weeks since a shooting star split the sky above Enigma. Three weeks since Gabriel had disappeared. He learned a lot of tricks since he’d left Heaven. How to stay hidden, how to keep out of sight. Even as a mortal, those tricks still served him well. He kept to out of the way bars, lived in abandoned houses for a few days at a time before moving on. Living as a mortal wasn’t that hard; he knew about eating and sleeping. It was the nightmares he forgot about. Nightmares that woke him every night, leaving him aching and hollowed out.

After a particularly bad one, exhausted and heartsick, he staggered onto the dilapidated porch, resting his head against a ragged beam and gulping in huge draughts of cool air. Lucifer. His brother. Hanging from the cathedral, bloody and broken. His brother. He …

Shit.

The air stirred around him. It wasn’t a prayer, but it had been loud enough to get his attention.

Lucifer was used to hearing his name in prayers. Prayers for protection against him; guard us, o' Heavenly Father, from the temptations of Lucifer, your fallen son. He wasn't used to being referred to as brother in those prayers, though.

He didn't recognize the mind praying - it wasn't quite the whispered tendril of communication his siblings usually used - but there was something familiar about it.

He took wing, and when he landed the air shifted and rippled around him. His eyes sought out the mortal who'd prayed to him, and his brow furrowed. The soul was strange - one he felt like he'd seen, but at the same time knew he hadn't - and the body was... familiar.

It took him longer than he'd ever admit to before he recognized his brother. His brother who he had thought was dead; back in their universe, murdered at his hand. He let out a surprised noise, something like a cry around which his true voice slipped, and didn't hesitate to step forward and pull Gabriel into a tight, relieved, heartbroken hug.

"What have you done?" whispered into his hair, voice cracking.

Gabriel’s not sure what’s taking Lucifer so long. Maybe he’s just staring because of what he’d done. Cutting out one's grace isn't exactly a clean job. The slip of his brother’s true voice makes him cringe, the high, tight sound a bit too much even for what was left of his vessel.

He wants to fight; he wants to pull away when Lucifer hugs him. He can’t. Slowly, his arms come around the solid form of his brother. Lucifer, who is alive and no longer trapped in his own mind. Lucifer, who belonged with Sam. Happy.

There might be a flip response somewhere, but he’s too damned tired, too damned heartsick to even attempt one. “It's better this way.”

Voices were heard in the Sorting Room well in advance of their arrival.
“.. c’mon. I’m alive again, we should celebrate. You, me, a bottle of tequila, white sandy beaches..”

The woman laughed lightly, “Sorry sweetie. I’m spoken for.”

Gabriel, renegade archangel and Trickster extraordinaire touched down in the Sorting Room. He looked marginally impressed. “Really? Now you’ve gotta spill. Who’s the guy that managed to sweep you off your feet?”

“Bye Gabriel. I’d say behave, but you and I both know better. See ya around.”

He examined his pocket, pulling out what looked suspiciously like a can of diet orange soda. Relieved that the illusion was still in place, Gabriel tucked it away again. With a snap of his fingers, he summoned up a candy bar before sauntering over to the table where the dictaquill hovered expectantly.

( Okay, kids. I can play along )