#complicated things

[shallowseeker]

The Exodus convo between Lucifer and Gabe was so good, really.

You see, I think the conversation between Gabriel and Lucifer in Exodus 13x22 was good because they were both right, and they were both wrong!

Gabriel is leaning too far into Chuck's POV, blaming the victim, blaming Lucifer for the things that happened TO him.

GABRIEL: (incredulous at Lucifer’s gall) Okay, you think Dad was the ‘bad guy,’ and you were a victim? You were not a victim. That was just your excuse. LUCIFER: My excuse for what? GABRIEL: For it all, Lucifer. For it all.

It's great because Gabriels is a little bit wrong here. We've seen the Mark up-close and we've seen how it takes away free will. The fact of the matter is that, even in Chuck's own words, Lucifer was a victim. Chuck's line about "Lucifer always casting a jaundiced eye" is a rationalization—Chuck sidestepping his own culpability.

Because even if Lucifer had those undercurrents, the Mark, as we saw, eradicates impulse control. Choosing not to act on ugly thoughts is an essential component of free well.

Lucifer was both a victim AND a perpetrator.

///

Responsibility, wants, and needs:

But Gabe's also right, that at some point Lucifer has to take responsibility for his own actions instead of blaming everything on "a bad childhood." (See Vince!Lucifer's words: "And because being Lucifer? So much Judeo-Christian baggage. But Vince? He's famous. Everybody loves him. And I need love. I had a really jacked childhood.")

(((Aside/// Ah, yes. The two SPN character archetypes: "I need/deserve love" and "I'm unworthy of love."))))

Anyway, It's a bit of a thematic warning that everything Sam and Dean do can't be laid at the feet of John Winchester. At some point, as an adult, you have to stand up and take responsibility for your actions.

GABRIEL: (amused at Lucifer’s frustration) It is really killing you, you’re not out there impressing your kid, huh? Lucifer, do you really see a version here where he sticks by you? LUCIFER: (shrugging) I think the kid is pretty blown away by his old man, so... Yeah. I do. GABRIEL: He’s a kid. He likes shiny objects and magic tricks. But he’s not like you. I can see it in his eyes. His mother’s bloodline, the Winchesters’ influence... LUCIFER: I can be an influence.

Lucifer wants.

But Jack's humanness, his human-centered locus of morality, separates the two of them utterly.

///

Redemption for thee but not for me?

It's interesting a little bit because we see all sorts of evil characters get redemption. Amara spends an entire season sucking out souls and bringing on immense destruction to earth (see: TVss filled with storms, fires, and destruction), and yet... characters like John Winchester, like Lucifer, when it comes to the faintest whiff of redemption, we balk.

I'm not saying they necessarily should get redemption, but our instinctive reaction to the idea is interesting to me. Certain characters' symbolism with respect to evil is so deeply embedded that we cling to our own revenge against them.

And when we care more about who they hurt, we tend to be less forgiving.

///

Too late for Lucifer // Too late for Chuck?

LUCIFER: I’ve changed. [Gabriel stands and walks over to Lucifer.] GABRIEL: Dude, it’s me. I’ve known you since the stars were made. You can’t change. You’re incapable of empathy or love. You live to be worshiped or feared. Or both. LUCIFER: Okay. I--I see that you’ve -- you’ve drunk the Kool-Aid. Fine. [Lucifer pouts, shooing Gabriel way as he turns back towards the truck.] GABRIEL (sarcastically): Oh, is this the part where you tell me that, uh, Dad made up all those so-called lies about you? Got it. LUCIFER (getting angry): Yeah! Yeah, Pop locked me up, okay? GABRIEL (also getting angry): Don’t you get it? Humans were innocent and beautiful. But you...you couldn’t stand that the old man loved them more than He loved you. So you tempted them and corrupted them just to prove how flawed they were. LUCIFER (threateningly) You better be careful, man. GABRIEL: Dad saw that your evil was like the first few cells of cancer...that it would spread like the disease unless He cut it out. That is why He locked you up, to stop the cancer. But it was too late then. And guess what? It’s too late for you now. [Gabriel turns away, leaning on the truck bed and looking back at the camp. Lucifer stares at Gabriel, a lone tear falling from his eye, before he too turns the other way and stares off into the darkness.]

Is it ever too late? I think that's the biggest question of all. And it sticks out to me too that while Gabriel blames Lucifer for his own corruption (the Mark), he gives humans a pass. In Gabe's mind, they're not responsible for their own corruption! Bit of a conundrum, isn't it? Because it's hypocritical to Gabe's overarching point about being responsible for your own actions...

For that matter, what was the "cancer" Lucifer corrupted them with? Was it evil... or was it free will?

Aside/// It's also interesting to me... After Gabriel pronounces his judgment, he turns away so as not to be moved by Lucifer's tears, but note: he is moved by them—he doesn't leave Lucifer's side.

///

Anyway, Lucifer may have killed Gabe, but simultaneously, Gabe is one of the people Lucifer still loves and who still loves Lucifer. It's why the conversation actually hurts.

It's perhaps one of the reasons Lucifer steps up to face off again against AU Michael, even when he's already lost so badly to him, because we have to remember Cas's words: Lucifer’s deeply, deeply afraid of this Michael, too.

It's...hm. It's something. Lucifer has purpose when he's fighting, and however selfish his motivations were, Jack gave him something to fight for. He stepped in front of Gabe to fight Michael, at first.

That's. Hm.... it's something.

///

Cas and Gabe... the only people who seem to be able to put up with Lucifer somewhat effectively, lol.

///

Anyhoo, speaking of redemption...

This conversation reminds me just a little bit of the deleted conversation between Chuck and Metatron in 11x20. Metatron shows his humanity to Chuck, who chops it up and conceptualizes those emotions as "story." It's a bit of flagrant, writerly dehumanization, and Metatron's reaction to Chuck's lack of humanity is so interesting to me:

METATRON: I did. (gets up) But Cas-hat... he spared me. He showed mercy. (sits down opposite CHUCK) And do you know what was the first thing I heard when I woke up in my cold hospital bed? It was hands-down the sweetest, loveliest song I ever heard in my whole, long, sad bottom-feeder existence... My heartbeat. I was still alive. The joy of knowing that you're still alive, and the simultaneous panic of knowing that someday that heart is going to stop beating, that's humanity. It's frail and it's flawed, but damn it, it's worth fighting for. CHUCK: That's a really sweet story, Metatron. Good details, nice balance, and a healthy dose of truth. But it's a little late for a redemption arc, don't you think? METATRON: For me, or for you?

That's...hm. It's definitely something.

Maybe it's easier to get redemption when you haven't irrevocably hurt the people we love... When their victims are... more distant.

[mika5]

[seyaryminamoto]

Scenes of a Peaceful World: Sokkla Saturdays 2024

Day Three - Stability

Rated: T

On FF.net//On AO3

"Do have to?" Shun groaned, his posture slanted: his small boomerang failed to hold his interest.

"Of course!" Sokka exclaimed. "You can't sort out all hardships in life with bending, kid."

"And I can sort them out with a boomerang?" Shun asked, blinking blankly. His father huffed.

"You might! Oh, you'll see what it can do soon enough, you grump!" Sokka exclaimed, dismissing his skeptical son's glare. "Take up your positions!"

Shun sighed, though Yuuna seemed excited, instead. Hotaru smiled, raising her boomerang as well: unlike her siblings, she held it the right way, for Shun clasped it dismissively, whereas Yuuna was holding hers on the wrong end by accident, something Sokka was quick to correct upon noticing it.

Their training session in the garden was witnessed by a curious Azula from afar. She smiled from the garden's roofed corridor as Sokka instructed the children: Hotaru, unsurprisingly, was the only one who managed a decent first throw, but she failed to catch the boomerang on its way back. Yuuna and Shun had theirs bouncing on the ground – they scrambled after each of their assigned weapons at once, and it seemed that chasing down the boomerangs was more fun for them than learning how to throw them properly.

"Quite the spectacle they're putting on for you," a familiar, deep voice spoke near Azula. She smiled.

"It's serious, proper training. My entertainment is a secondary matter, Mom," Azula declared. Her mother laughed.

"No doubt," Ursa said. "You should join them. They'd listen to your instruction far more than to Sokka's…"

"Theoretically, yes, but… I don't know how to throw a boomerang," Azula said, simply.

"Truly? He never taught you?" Ursa asked. Azula shrugged and smiled.

"I suppose it was kind of… his thing? I never thought about… huh," Azula raised an eyebrow. Her mother's wrongful assumption had some merit…

"Well…" Ursa smiled, squeezing her shoulder gently: the kids had scattered, with Yuuna and Shun running off, arguing over something again while Hotaru promised her father that she'd reel them in. "If you'd like that to change, this is your chance."

Azula smiled too. She squeezed Ursa's hand gently before taking the plunge, stepping into the garden.

Sokka sighed in resignation as he picked up his children's dropped boomerangs when Azula stopped beside him.

"Oh, what can you do? Kids are too unruly to learn useful skills in life," Sokka said, dramatically. Azula smiled.

"Kids might be, yes. But… have you considered changing your target audience?" she asked. Sokka raised his eyebrows.

"Have I?"

He understood her intent right away. He smiled in grateful surprise, and Azula shrugged.

"My mom's idea. Frankly, I'm not sure why it never crossed our minds sooner," Azula laughed. "But, if you want an obedient pupil…"

"You? An obedient pupil?" Sokka smirked. Azula laughed again.

"Now, now! I can be, until I feel bold enough to challenge you at whatever skill you're teaching me," she said. "At least I can promise to take this more seriously than our kids. How about it?"

Sokka smiled: he stretched his hand towards Azula. Once she clasped it, he pulled her towards himself, making her twirl until she wound up with her back against his chest.

"No takebacks now. I will be… a ruthless, relentless teacher," he teased her. Azula laughed and nodded. "How does that sound?"

"Fascinating, clearly," Azula smiled. "I've always admired your most ruthless sides, love. Now, then, should I use one of theirs, or…?"

Sokka shook his head: he raised a hand to his shoulder, unsheathing his own boomerang. Azula hummed in surprise.

"For you, the very best," Sokka smirked. "I'm sure you can handle it."

She clasped it firmly with her left hand: Sokka nodded approvingly, placing his right over hers.

"Better grip than the kids. You're a natural," he teased her.

"I've had years of… well, seeing you hold it. You pick up a thing or two, if unintentionally," Azula reasoned. Sokka chuckled.

"Well, that's a good start. But now… flex your legs slightly, yes. You need stability, to stay grounded in order to do this…"

"Right, right…"

Their training, naturally, was more of a flirting session. Ursa smiled as she watched them from afar, ever relieved to see her daughter's face brightening whenever she was with her husband.

The older woman was of half a mind to leave when an unsurprising scream reached her ears.

"Yuuna! Stop! Mom, she's trying to stick a squirrel-toad down my shirt! Moooom!"

Ursa froze on the spot: Sokka sighed and dropped his head on Azula's shoulder. The kids chased each other – Yuuna, indeed, had a squirrel-toad perched at the end of a long stick, and she ran after her terrified brother, a delighted grin across her face. Hotaru chased after them, too, calling their names, failing to stop them.

"Oh, these kids…" Sokka groaned, glancing back towards them… only to glimpse, instead, as Ursa stepped into the garden, raising her hand, urging him to stay put.

"I'll handle them this time. You two… carry on. Boomerang training is very important," Ursa said. Sokka smirked.

"You know it. Thanks, Ursa!"

Azula bit her lip and smiled: Sokka wrapped his arms tighter around her, swaying in place briefly as Ursa took to calling the children, who knew better than to be too reckless around their grandmother.

"Sokka! This… is not stability. Nor do I feel grounded," Azula laughed: Sokka kissed her cheek, hugging her tightly before taking her hand in his once more. He ensured that she'd stand firmly, the boomerang gripped properly between their hands.

"Okay, okay… let's get serious. Aim, and…!"

Azula smiled as, for the first time, she threw Sokka's boomerang: he smiled at her as he caught it when it spun back towards them.

"My best student," he smiled.

"The best teacher," Azula decided, leaning in to kiss him fully, disregarding the noise behind them: her hand met his over the boomerang, once more.

[fangirl-nadir]

I'd forgotten how much I adore Garnet. She is everything I want in my future: I want to love someone so dearly and so harmoniously that we create something beautiful, something new, something perfect when we're together. And even beyond love, I long to be as comfortable in my body as she is in hers. She doesn't let others tell her who she is or isn't. She knows herself, and she loves herself. And someday, I will too.

[carnage-cathedral]

sproingus interrupted my switch :(

[malicemismanager]

Floor Jansen: *sings a single note*

Me: welp I'm gay 🤷

[localghhost]

a self love spell jar and reflective reading from the last new moon, thinking of all the things still there to discover, all the tiny ways i had kept myself small, the ways i am unfolding and finding more and more and more, how i am learning to trust myself and others after so long, how i am learning to let my love for myself wash over me, i am grateful for my body, i am free from self doubt, i trust my feelings above anyone else, i am glowing in love

[roses-field]

:sparkles emoji: -Tobi, sending one as anon, to see if this one goes through

it went through!!!

✨ - who i kin? a lot of characters but oddly enough its been benrey or doug rattman recently other then chell, i mean i still find joy to kinning her n stuff too!!