#and they were on a big Lucifer post liking spree and I saw some old post from last year that claimed the finale regressed his character

[amtrak12]

I don't have the energy to write about this very deeply (probably because I've written well over 100k of fanfic in the last 6 months), but I don't understand the criticism that the series finale undid all of Lucifer's character growth. I understand not being happy about the time loop and that Lucifer didn't get to stay on Earth to be with Chloe and their daughter. It makes total sense to me if you want to be angry about that. But I don't understand how that decision regresses Lucifer's character????

The show clearly wanted a neatly tied up ending with no loose ends and that's what they got with the time loop. The show also has revolved around parallels since the very first episode -- both in the visuals and in the plots/character arcs. A time loop where Lucifer "abandons" his daughter the way God abandoned him fits that structure perfectly. So, it makes sense why the writers went with the time loop. Is it what I would've done? No. I think with Amenadiel already changing what it means to be God and what an angel's role on Earth is, breaking the time loop would've fit right into that and it still would've been thematically cohesive. But literally everything in this show is so far out of my wheelhouse as a writer so who the fuck am I to tell the show what they should've done differently?

And also it does feel a little off balance if you break the time loop so Lucifer stays on Earth but Dan is still dead. So, Trixie has to lose her dad the way Chloe lost hers but Rory and Lucifer get a happy ending? No. If you're choosing the breaking cycles theme, then you gotta break all the cycles. For Lucifer to stay, Dan has to live. But the show already killed off Dan... do you see the problem?

Now, back to my original point about Lucifer's character arc -- I don't see how any possible ending is out of character??? Breaking the time loop, upholding the time loop, like what's the difference in regards to Lucifer's character arc? Is it that he's returning to Hell? But it's by his choice this time. How is that a regression? Is it that he's agreeing to do what his daughter asked of him when he's always been the rebellious/independent one? Well, first of all, it's his daughter asking and not his father. That's a big fucking difference. And second of all, putting his desires aside for someone else's is character growth???? And actually the whole point of his character arc through every season of the show?? Now, if you want to call it a negative character arc because you think he's worse off now than he was at the start of the show, fine. But it's not a backslide for his character in any way, because he never would've made that choice at any previous point in the show. It's definitely forward growth, and it's up to the viewer's interpretation to decide if that growth is negative or positive (personally I see it as positive).

IDK maybe I'm missing something. I fully admit I've only watched the entire series once all the way through, though I'm (slowly) working on a second full rewatch now. But complaints that the series finale "regressed" Lucifer's character feels to me like looking for a way to blame the writers for why you didn't like the ending. Fun fact: There doesn't actually have to be anything wrong with the writing for you to not like it. You can simply just not like it! It disappointed you. It wasn't what you were hoping for. It hit all your pet peeves. -- Literally, you can hate it for any reason at all, but I do not understand trying to justify that disappointment by claiming it undid all of Lucifer's character growth. I just don't think the text supports that claim.

#Lucifer TV #Lucifer Morningstar #Lucifer #my meta #look someone liked one of my posts earlier and then I was scrolling through their other likes to see who they were #and they were on a big Lucifer post liking spree and I saw some old post from last year that claimed the finale regressed his character #and that wasn't actually the first time I've seen that complaint so it got my brain whirling again #and here we are #instead of writing the 800 words I'm supposed to be writing on my fic :P #oops

[thing-you-do-with-that-thing]

What I’ve Done

Characters: Y/N Winchester (sister!reader), Castiel, Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Bobby Singer

Pairing: Castiel x Reader

Warnings: Self doubt, self loathing, making wrong decisions. Canon typical.    

Word Count: 2200ish

A/N: This is 1 out of my 13 entries for @mamapeterson / @mrs-squirrel-chester’s Album Fanfiction Challenge where I chose the album “Smoke and Mirrors” by Imagine Dragons. The song prompt for this fic is: Hopeless Opus

This is kinda a rewrite of the ep The Man That Would Be King. I changed and took out a few things to fit in my reader but it is very much based on the ep. I stole and rephrased some of Castiel’s monologue from that ep as well. I do not claim to own any of that writing.

Thanks so much to the amazingly sweet @bkwrm523 for betaing this for me. I love you Sara!

***My fics are not to be saved nor posted on any other sites without my express written permission.***

The expression on her face, when she realized he had been lying to them for almost a year was burned into his mind. It was all he saw, no matter where he went or what he did. The hurt, pained expression on her face. His betrayal had hurt them all. His betrayal had angered them all.

For such a long time it had been so clear to Castiel he was doing the right thing. Working with Crowley had been a necessary evil. It had been the only way and Castiel knew the Winchesters would never have understood that. Nor should they have too. They stopped one apocalypse and now the angels or a portion of them anyway, was trying to start another. Castiel had never been more ashamed in his life. Y/N and Dean had lost a brother to this war. A brother Castiel unsuccessfully had tried to bring back. Y/N had gone to school and Dean had found love. They moved on. They deserved to have lives. Castiel hadn’t wanted to disrupt them but he had watched. He had thought about asking for their help so many times. He knew it was his best option, but he couldn’t. Dean looked peaceful and Y/N looked happy. Castiel knew they missed Sam, but it was his choice to not contact them and to keep hunting on his own. Or so Castiel had thought back then. He hadn’t realized it wasn’t all of Sam he had pulled out of the cage. He hadn’t realized until it was too late. As soon as Dean learned about Sam’s missing piece, he had called his sister back in. Castiel had not shown himself but she has watched the anger and pain on her face as she faced her oldest brother. The same pain he had watched on Dean’s face when he had realized Bobby had known about Sam being back, had been written all over Y/N’s face as she confronted Dean.

That had been when Castiel knew he had changed. He felt as if someone plunged a dagger through his vessels heart, when he saw her pain. He had wanted to take it away. Take her away from all the ugliness in the world. He had felt responsible for that pain, because had he done the job right in the first place, had he brought all of Sam back like he had tried too, she would not have been standing before Dean right then with tears streaming her face.

Castiel knew watching her then that he loved her. Angels weren’t supposed to fall in love, but he did. He loved her more than he loved anything, still he pushed it down. He couldn’t afford to feel anything or let it cloud his judgement. He needed to save earth. Save her from having to revert another apocalypse along with her brothers. Her brothers that for a time had been like brothers to him as well. Brothers he had lied to every day for almost a year until he had slipped up and Dean had caught him in one.

Castiel remembered the pain on all their faces as they confronted him. He was so sure he’d been right as he spoke to them but now sitting here, his conviction was faltering. He had been trying so hard not to face all the things he had done. All the bad things. Unspeakable things. Castiel looked down at his hands as he began speaking to himself.

“You know, I’ve…I’ve been here for a very long time. And I remember many things. I remember being at a shoreline, watching a little grey fish heave itself up on the beach and an older brother saying, “don’t step on that fish, Castiel. Big plans for that fish.” I remember the Tower of Babel…All 37 feet of it, which I suppose was impressive at the time. And when it fell, they howled ‘divine wrath’. But come on - dried dung can only be stacked so high. I remember Cain and Abel…David and Goliath…Sodom and Gomorrah. And, of course, I remember the most remarkable event - remarkable because it never came to pass. It was averted by two boys, a girl, an old drunk and a fallen angel. The grand story. And we ripped up the ending and the rules…And destiny…leaving nothing but freedom and choice. Which is all well and good, except… Well, what if I’ve made the wrong choice? How am I supposed to know?”

Castiel thought back to his arrangement with Crowley as he kept speaking. Telling his story to anyone that was willing to listen, hoping that his father was one of those. Castiel thought about how he in spite of reason, in spite of what Crowley had told him, still weren’t willing to turn the backs on the Winchesters.

“Crowley had a point, of course. My interest was conflicted. I still considered myself the Winchesters’ guardian. After all…they taught me how to stand up…What to stand for…And what generally happens to you when you do. I was…done. It was over. And then the most extraordinary thing happened. I was put back. And we had won. We stopped Armageddon. But at a terrible cost. And so I knew what I had to do next. Once again, I went to Harrow Hell, to free Sam from Lucifer’s cage. It was nearly impossible, but I was so full of confidence, of mission. I see now that was arrogance…Hubris…Because, of course, I hadn’t truly raised Sam – not all of him. Sometimes we’re lucky enough to be given a warning.This should have been mine.”

Castiel thought about how he had asked him to kill the Winchesters and how he had refused. They were his family. The weren’t angels. They were vessels but it was illogical for him to feel like this and he knew it. Still Sam and Dean were his brothers and Y/N… Castiel bowed his head in shame, knowing angels weren’t supposed to feel like this for humans. He knew nothing good would ever come of feelings like that, but he also couldn’t stop them. He couldn’t hurt her, nor could he let anyone else do so. She was the most important thing so with Crowley’s threats against her and her brothers Castiel went on a murder spree, to keep them all safe. To keep her safe. Killing every demon he thought Castiel would send their way. He protected them even if he knew they had begun to suspect him and he knew even with every word spoken between them, even with everything that had since come to pass he would do so again.

“Hiding…Lying…Sweeping away evidence. And my motives used to be so pure and for a long time I was still sure I was doing the right thing. When I returned to heaven I wanted the same freedom the Winchesters had taught me to all the angels. I didn’t want there to be any leaders. I wanted there to be choice and free will to all. Had I understood then what I understand now I would have answered the other angels that freedom is a length of rope and God wants us to hang ourselves with it. The first weeks in Heaven were more difficult than I had imagined. Teaching freedom to angels is a bit like teaching poetry to fish. And then there was Raphael.”

Castiel hung his head again as he remembered where all the choices that had now led to this had started. He remembered how Raphael wanted him to kneel to him and restart the apocalypse. No matter what Castiel said Raphael couldn’t or didn’t want to understand that the apocalypse didn’t have to be. Castiel hadn’t wanted to fight. He hadn’t wanted a civil war. He had never wanted to lead, but that was the role he had been given. A role that had lead to a string of choices he had felt were all right at the time, but now he was doubting every single one of them. Because of the pain on their faces. Because of the pain on her face. Y/N. The one human he had wanted to protect the most, had been the one human he had caused the most pain by his lying and hiding. She no longer trusted him and he couldn’t blame her. Still it hurt, more than anything he had ever felt in his very long, long life. Her pain caused him pain.

Castiel felt the tears that angels don’t cry press against his eyes as he recalled hiding in the shadows, watching how the oldest and youngest Winchester stood up for him. Still believing in him beyond reason when Bobby and Sam no longer were sure of the angels’ allegiance. He remembered the pain their argument had cost him, but he also didn’t doubt breaking into the light when Crowley’s demons attacked. He didn’t hesitate in killing every last one of them to save his brothers, the old man and Y/N. For a brief moment he had just allowed himself to react and he was himself again. There were no doubt in his mind what was right. There was no hesitance in his defense of his friends.  

Castiel knew that the moment that came after had been when he had made the choice that had sealed his faith and ended his friendship with the Winchesters and Bobby. It had been the decision that had put an end to whatever could have been between him and the youngest Winchester Y/N, who he cared for so deeply, before it even began. When they apologised for their doubt in him, he lied. He could have told them the truth and he was no longer sure that choice had been the right one. He mind was clouded by his emotions. Emotions no angel was supposed to feel. Or maybe his mind was clouded by his own hubris and mission. He was no longer sure so he was praying.

“Every decision I made was carved by good intentions. So is most long roads and this road brought me to a circle of holy fire.”

A tear fell down Castiel’s face, surprising himself as he thought about the look on her face as Bobby lit the circle around him. She was fighting herself, like she was still desperately holding onto hope that he hadn’t lied to them, or even if he had it wouldn’t be for the reason they all thought. Castiel remembered his best friend, the best friend he had ever had, pleading with him. Asking the angel to look him in the eye and tell him he weren’t working with Crowley. When he couldn’t lie to Dean any longer, her tears fell and Castiel’s heart broke into pieces. He had tried to explain himself, but his efforts had been too late. His lies had destroyed whatever trust the Winchesters and Bobby had once placed in him. He had tried regaining it by letting them know he had been the one breaking into the cage to pull Sam out, but the only response he had gotten was more anger and silence from her. She wouldn’t even look at him and still Castiel could feel her pain. Even know, a day later and miles from her he felt it. Tearing him to shreds.

He remembered look she had send him as Dean pulled her through the door with him. He remembered how he had wished he had stopped them. Pledge his allegiance to them once again and told them he would do whatever he could to fix everything he had broken between them, but he hadn’t. He had lied again. He had send them running moments before Crowley had broken in to save him. And now he was here sitting on a park bench with her pain mirrored in his own heart as Crowley’s words rang over and over in his head.

“You know the difference between you and me? I know what I am. What are you, Castiel? What exactly are you willing to do?”

Castiel wiped his tears from his eyes and looked straight into the winter air as he started speaking again.

“So that is everything I guess. My story. I believe it’s what you would call a…Tragedy from the human perspective. But maybe the human perspective is…Limited. I don’t know.” Castiel’s eyes turned to the sky as he pleaded. “That’s why I’m asking you, Father. One last time. Am I doing the right thing? Am I on the right path? You have to tell me. You have to give me…A sign. Give me a sign…”

Castiel pictured her smile. He remembered the feel of her embrace and the feelings she had stirred in him, before he for once and all pushed them aside. His voice almost broke as he made his decision.

“Because if you don’t…I’m gonna ju– I’m gonna do whatever I… Whatever I must…”

Castiel Tag Team

@mysupernaturalfics @blacktithe7 @blacktithe7 @bkwrm523 @percywinchester27 @jpadjackles @supernaturalyobessed @purgatoan @revwinchester @starswirlblitz @skathan-omaha @feelmyroarrrr @sinceriouslyamellpadalecki @winchesterprincessbride @curliesallovertheplace @docharleythegeekqueen @faith-in-dean @ellen-reincarnated1967 @enaishungry @adriellej @moonstar86 @alexafromthefandom @tia58 @nikolanna @lycangirl44 @brooke-supernatural16 @melonberri @thatonehaspanicchick @roxy-davenport @your-average-distracted-waffle @phoenixia67   @chaos-and-the-calm67 @jasminwild @mrswhozeewhatsis @smoothdogsgirl @angelkurenai @splendidcas @chelseypaigeake @gecko9596 @mouselovesmusic @lucifer-ismy-bae @tanithlowisabamf @jayankles @deansleather @ashleymalfoy @for-the-love-of-dean @mamapeterson @zeneko1987 @zeneko1987 @gemini75eeyore @just-a-touch-of-crowley @itsummertime22 @itsummertime22 @riversong-sam @dontbeamenacetotheforce @love-kittykat21 @love-kittykat21@iamflanneltrash @haleyhay96 @you-know-whodoesthat-crazypeople @girl-next-door-writes @amarettokeks @heyitssilverwolf @castielsbecky @castielsbecky @fuckyeahfeysand @thisthelilith

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