Angels who have expressed (familial) love to other angels on screen: Michael and Lucifer, Gabriel, Castiel, Anna, Balthazar, Rachel, (Hester), Inias, Samandriel (9-10)
I class the archangels differently - they only show familial love to each other. I consider the archangels a family of 4. I don't believe any of them truly cared for angels below their rank.
I do not interpret what we see in canon of Anna, Rachel, Inias... or even, yet, Samandriel's interactions with other angels or comments about other angels as 'familial love.' Anna showed care for Cas, because being human had taught her about love and stuff, but it never felt much more than workplace affection to me (although it COULD have become more). And I think what the acts/words of the other angels show is a growing awareness of previously suppressed emotions and people starting to acknowledge and embrace their suppressed emotions, but I don't believe those angels truly had a handle on their feelings enough to say they had come to love each other and Cas as free beings who saw who each other and Cas as they really are and loved them for it. The love was a blend of hero worship and camaraderie from sharing a foxhole - not exactly the healthy 'I love you for who you are' love I believe Cas needs.
To be fair - I consider that the same unhealthy love Dean was showing Cas in S06. But I (or in my reading of canon, I) can see Dean improving. I'm not sure about the angels. I'd really really like to see how Heaven is NOW.
If more than half the angels we know qualifies as "individual angels" to you, and you choose to believe that they don't represent most of Heaven then - I guess you can do that. It doesn't sound very likely to me.
So with archangels as separate that leaves Cas, who I feel is unique. Anna, who is also unique to those left in Heaven because she fell, plus she didn't seem to care about angels other than Cas anyway. Balthazar, who I also consider a unique case, and who also didn't seem to care about angels who weren't Cas. Rachel, Inias, Samandriel and Hestor, whose love is problematic to me (well, maybe not Samandriel's - I think he's the first in the new wave of self-aware loving angels you describe). Plus those last are 4 out of hundreds... seems likely to me that they don't represent most of Heaven, yes. I feel like we are shown them BECAUSE they are individual and unique. I see most of Heaven as the faceless angels Cas fought through S05 and the single-minded angels who fought for Raphael.
So, I guess your interpretation is ignoring the last three years of canon to me.
I'm glad there are many people on tumblr with your opinion though. I'd say I promise not to reblog if you post there, but I can't, of course, speak for anyone else.
And I AM sorry I don't see the bond between all the angels you do. I DO care. I hate it when there's an interpretation of something I love that I don't 'get,' it makes me feel like I'm doing the story injustice. And the fact you find my understanding of the bond between Cas and the Winchesters disturbing... disturbs ME, because it makes me scared I'm blinding romanticising abuse and I REALLY don't want to do that. But I'm not doing anything blindly here, I promise, I've thought SO INCREDIBLY HARD about all this.
So when I say 'I'm sorry' it's not so much because I want you to see Cas and the Winchesters' relationship like I do - it's because I'm concerned you must think me a horrible person to like the relationship and... I'm apologising for appearing that person to you, and for how fandom is appearing that way and the show seems to be endorsing an abusive relationship.
IDK. This has got away from me. I'm just overall sad we are on different sides of a divide here and generally 'sorry' about that I suppose.
no subject
I class the archangels differently - they only show familial love to each other. I consider the archangels a family of 4. I don't believe any of them truly cared for angels below their rank.
I do not interpret what we see in canon of Anna, Rachel, Inias... or even, yet, Samandriel's interactions with other angels or comments about other angels as 'familial love.' Anna showed care for Cas, because being human had taught her about love and stuff, but it never felt much more than workplace affection to me (although it COULD have become more). And I think what the acts/words of the other angels show is a growing awareness of previously suppressed emotions and people starting to acknowledge and embrace their suppressed emotions, but I don't believe those angels truly had a handle on their feelings enough to say they had come to love each other and Cas as free beings who saw who each other and Cas as they really are and loved them for it. The love was a blend of hero worship and camaraderie from sharing a foxhole - not exactly the healthy 'I love you for who you are' love I believe Cas needs.
To be fair - I consider that the same unhealthy love Dean was showing Cas in S06. But I (or in my reading of canon, I) can see Dean improving. I'm not sure about the angels. I'd really really like to see how Heaven is NOW.
If more than half the angels we know qualifies as "individual angels" to you, and you choose to believe that they don't represent most of Heaven then - I guess you can do that. It doesn't sound very likely to me.
So with archangels as separate that leaves Cas, who I feel is unique. Anna, who is also unique to those left in Heaven because she fell, plus she didn't seem to care about angels other than Cas anyway. Balthazar, who I also consider a unique case, and who also didn't seem to care about angels who weren't Cas. Rachel, Inias, Samandriel and Hestor, whose love is problematic to me (well, maybe not Samandriel's - I think he's the first in the new wave of self-aware loving angels you describe). Plus those last are 4 out of hundreds... seems likely to me that they don't represent most of Heaven, yes. I feel like we are shown them BECAUSE they are individual and unique. I see most of Heaven as the faceless angels Cas fought through S05 and the single-minded angels who fought for Raphael.
So, I guess your interpretation is ignoring the last three years of canon to me.
I'm glad there are many people on tumblr with your opinion though. I'd say I promise not to reblog if you post there, but I can't, of course, speak for anyone else.
And I AM sorry I don't see the bond between all the angels you do. I DO care. I hate it when there's an interpretation of something I love that I don't 'get,' it makes me feel like I'm doing the story injustice. And the fact you find my understanding of the bond between Cas and the Winchesters disturbing... disturbs ME, because it makes me scared I'm blinding romanticising abuse and I REALLY don't want to do that. But I'm not doing anything blindly here, I promise, I've thought SO INCREDIBLY HARD about all this.
So when I say 'I'm sorry' it's not so much because I want you to see Cas and the Winchesters' relationship like I do - it's because I'm concerned you must think me a horrible person to like the relationship and... I'm apologising for appearing that person to you, and for how fandom is appearing that way and the show seems to be endorsing an abusive relationship.
IDK. This has got away from me. I'm just overall sad we are on different sides of a divide here and generally 'sorry' about that I suppose.
As long as you're happy? x