I find the earlier seasons angel stuff so much more compelling than later seasons, for a few reasons probably. But one of the big things for me is the framing of Cas as somehow uniquely predisposed to rebellion in a way that other angels aren't.
For me this makes Cas less interesting (even while making him the specialist little princess which like yeah! he is special! because he's my baby!) and also really flattens out the complexity of Heaven's whole structure and undermines a lot of what we see of other angels early on.
I love Anna and Uriel so much, they're really fun characters and they both have their own different forms of rebellion going on before Cas defects. Uriel also apparently has a bunch of other angels who agree with him or who he has managed to convince to join him.
Cas' arc in season 4 is what made him such a compelling character to me to begin with and it's compelling (to me) because it's a process of decision making that makes sense to me in a 'this is how many people in a similar situation might behave' kinda way rather than. Cas is just like that so of course he does that.
Heaven is a religious organisation that is set up in such a way that professed beliefs (love of humanity, obedience to G-d) are not those that are actually upheld by the organisation. And as we all know from real world religious organisations, some people will accept this cognitive dissonance and have no problems, and for some being confronted with this conflict of ideas will cause them to lose faith in the organisation. Zachariah specifically says that the angels 'on the ground' were kept in the dark about Heaven wanting to bring on the apocalypse, because the higher up knew this would cause problems!
There are many factors contributing to Cas' evolving feelings and leading up to his decision in 4x22. Uriel's betrayal, talking to Anna, talking to Dean, these all gave him opportunities to reflect and question his loyalties. I also think that specifically 4x07 was a big one for him. He was told to do what Dean told him to, rather than given specific orders from Heaven. That situation, by it's nature, allows for speculation! It invites him to wonder what Dean might choose, what Heaven would want Dean to choose, and what Castiel himself thinks Dean should choose- and that already has him forming opinions!
I really like the idea which I felt was implied in these seasons that all angels have the capacity for independent thought/ opinion/ feelings and that exposure to the chaos of humanity and interacting with humans leads to the development of these (in Uriel's case it brings out his dislike and resentment of humanity, in Anna her desire for the full breadth of emotional experience, etc.)
All the lobotomy stuff still works as a plot line without presenting Cas as the one who is always rebelling and was just like. made wrong. while the other angels don't really cause problems.
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15 oc questions!
i was tagged by @stargazer-sims - thank you so much!! ❤️ i've never done one of these tags in a character's voice, so it's fun to get extra practice writing as them 😊
i'll tag:
@dandylion240 @bl-sims-anime @idyllicephemera @elderwisp @nectar-cellar @minty-plumbob @crazykissim @mangosimoothie & anyone else who wants to do it!
ANYWAY i'm doing this for grant! idc if y'all have heard enough about grant, the honor goes to him
are you named after anybody?
my actual legal first name is joseph, which is my grandfather's name! so, uh, somehow yes, i am named after somebody! but i'm 99.9% sure it was out of laziness and not out of love. well, no, i'm 100% sure of that. it's not like my mom has ever respected her parents...but that's a whole different thing, we're not going there.
when was the last time you cried?
i'm a crybaby, come on! i'm known for being very emotional. i mean, sad animal commercials make me weepy. externally weepy. like tears running down my cheeks weepy. but the actual last time i cried? hmm, maybe like a week ago? i don't know if i could tell you why, though. i probably blocked it out of my memory! i'm great at that.
do you have kids?
do, uh, do cats count? because i do have a cat who i love and put sweaters on. sweaters! and he loves it.
do you use sarcasm?
it depends? sarcasm usually feels mean-spirited to me, so i'm not super into it, but then again, that's half the conversations i have with my family. i know in that case, though, that it's all bullshit humor and not serious. anyway, i think what i'm saying in a roundabout way is it depends a lot on context and audience. i don't want to hurt anyone's feelings or be a dick. i like being nice.
what's the first thing you notice about people?
okay, listen, in the most normal and not at all weird way possible, people's hairlines are always what i see first. i've been the first witness to so, so many fake blondes accidentally showing their dark roots or to dudes going bald. i'm sorry! i'm just freakishly tall! i can't not look down at all your heads unless i'm kneeling down on the ground. i'm not trying to spy on or judge the state of your hair, i promise.
what's your eye color?
brown! justice for brown eyes, the best eye color. i love being able to go out in the sun and not have my eyeballs bleached by the light. also, there's really not that many brown eyes in my family, so that's kind of fun. i'm a special boy.
scary movies or happy endings?
why not both? i love a good blair witch project, final destination moment. i also love a nice mushy gushy romantic movie with a happy ending. hell, i'd watch both in the same evening. start off with a fucked up horror movie and end it with pride and prejudice. sounds like a perfect night to me.
any special talents?
probably not anything relevant? i mean, i've played skyrim on survival mode without dying before. oh, and i guess back when i was still playing hockey, uh, a decade ago, i could score with the michigan goal pretty easily, which isn't all that common. in high school, i got my school the state championship win with that skill. but meh, i don't know how many people in the world know enough about hockey to care about that.
where were you born?
michigan! the part everyone forgets about, aka the upper peninsula, aka diet canada.
what are your hobbies?
i like to think i'm a well rounded person. i enjoy the super basic stuff like listening to music, but i'm also into into video games and tabletop RPGs like d&d. cooking and baking are fun for me, too. i did get into art semi-recently as well. i kind of had to have something i could do while laying down, like, 24/7 after i had spinal surgery.
if you're ever bored, just go fuck up your spine. you'll have SO much time on your hands to get new hobbies. actually, don't. please don't. i've been suffering for years and will continue to. i'm dying. don't be me. pretty please. pinky promise.
oh, duh, i also forgot that i'm into astronomy and um, planes. look, i'm not a car guy, i'm a plane guy. that's more fun, right?
have you any pets?
he's a cat named turtle, so, like, you know, the best cat in the world. sometimes i think about getting him a cat friend to hang out with but then i worry he'd get jealous, so i haven't done it. who am i to say whether or not he wants to live with a friend? or a sibling? being alone is so valid. i respect that.
what sports do you play/have you played?
oh, well, like i said, i played hockey for a really long time, like from, hmm, i think kindergarten and on! i even got a scholarship in college to play hockey. i'm glad to be done, though. some things ruined it for me. long story. but these days, uhh, i don't play any real sports anymore. i like hiking, you know, and i do work out at least every other day because it makes me feel better in a lot of ways, but that's kind of it. my sports days are over. i don't even skateboard anymore and i used to do that all the time.
how tall are you?
like 6'7" - though, i am rounding down a little bit. yes, down. not up. also, don't ask me how i ended up that tall. i have exactly one relative who is also tall. hi, chelsea! anyway, i am an accident or one hell of a joke. i'm laughing, i swear. it's very funny.
favorite subject in school?
i was overall a good student because i studied pretty hard but i was for sure a science and math kid. i loved physics in high school. and then in college, i got some way more fun science and math classes. just so you know, i am really holding back right now from rambling like a total nerd loser about my college classes...
but i mean, if you wanna learn about, i don't know, quantum mechanics or flight control systems, hit me up.
dream job?
that's such an easy question! when i was really, really young, i wanted to be a weather man, but then i changed my mind and wanted to be a pilot because, i don't know, i hit that time in every child's life where they have to become obsessed with a form of transportation. but then i never let that obsession go. my parents wanted me to be a doctor the whole time, though, but eww, no, i'm good. anyway, the dream of flying planes never died and somehow it worked out. now if i could just, uh, you know, go back to that job soon, that'd be sick.
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but a tiny voice whispers in my mind: / ‘you are lost, hope is gone / but you must go on / and do the next right thing’
tim federle, high school musical: the musical: the series / frozen ii soundtrack, the next right thing
[image description: five stills from high school musical: the musical: the series, with lyrics from the frozen ii soundtrack edited over the top.
1. maddox looks at jet, whose back is to the camera, in disbelief. the text says ‘i follow you around’
2. maddox and jet as kids lie on their stomachs as they draw. maddox is looking at jet, smiling. the light is warm and yellow. the text says ‘i always have’
3. val stands in the doorway, with maddox sitting on an armchair to her left. maddox’s legs are resting over the chair’s arm and her arms are folded across her chest. she is staring at the distance, looking sombre. the text says ‘but you’ve gone to a place i cannot find’
4. maddox stands alone, in the dark, glancing to the right. her hair is in her face, and she looks panicked. the text says ‘this grief has a gravity’
5. maddox stands in the doorway, looking with curiosity at jet who is paying the piano, just out of focus. the text says ‘it pulls me down’.]
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