004; video; l.morningstar

[dealwiththe]

[ Hey look, it's Lucifer on ~video~ today. He's looking and sounding as earnest as anything - there's no way to misconstrue what he's doing here as anything other than completely in good faith. It's not a joke, not a troll, not snide or cynical. ]

I know from long experience that ignoring and bottling up the painful things that happen isn't good for anyone. I'm available to talk to, if anyone needs it. If not me, then I hope you'll talk to someone.

I'm not just talking about inmates, either.

[ He says all this, knowing the kinds of responses (or lack of responses) he's likely to get. He thinks it's important to make the offer, regardless. ]

Comments

[rank1]

My twin brother, but only if you can see past the douchebag’s sense of style.

[dealwiththe]

I could say the same about mine. Turtlenecks, I'm not kidding.

[ Lucifer rolls his eyes at the very thought. ]

But which relative would you say is your role model? The person who's moral compass - or lack of one - is closest to yours?

[rank1]

[He knows what Lucifer is getting at, but he figures it better to skirt around it. He loathes lying, but their safety matters —— the people who make him wanna act better, even if he’ll never model himself on them.]

My brother’s the only relative alive. He’s not my role model, but I guess we’ve got a similar compass.

[dealwiththe]

[ Mostly, what Lucifer is getting at is all those killers Travis claims are in his family. ]

It's not terribly surprising, that you and your brother would have a similar way of looking at things.

[ He is, of course, assuming that Travis and his brother were - you know, raised together. ]

What about your father? What was he like? Anything in you attributable to him?

[rank1]

We’ve got different ends to the same shit, but yeah. We’re cut from the same cloth.

[But his father… Travis pauses.]

Talking to my dad, you’d think he was a real upstanding guy. Model husband and father and citizen, you know? A lot of people liked him, but the guy was twisted. Real sicko, no humanity in him. I don’t want to be anything like him.

[dealwiththe]

So, you're not like that. You're not a "twisted sicko" like him?

[rank1]

Nope. Says a lot about him, huh?

[dealwiththe]

What's it say, exactly? He's killed more people than you?

Lmk if you want to change conversation topics or handwave, it’s gnarly

[rank1]

I only fight other killers. That wouldn’t cut it for dear old Dad — the guy had a hard-on for the innocent. He’s probably swapping notes with Ted Bundy and the fucking Zodiac Killer in Hell right now.

[Something occurs to him:]

Have you met those guys? They’re in Hell, right?

no worries!

[dealwiththe]

[ Lucifer gets that sort of question a lot, honestly. Do you know Ted Bundy? What's Hitler's Hell loop like? It's par for the course. ]

I'm much more interested in this whole - difference, between you and your father. Is that why you only kill those you've decided are "worthy"? Because you're trying not to be him?

[rank1]

A bit of that, but I'm honest about it, too. I'm not pretending to be a hardworking family man or a respected member of society. I don't feel fuckin' entitled to kill people for my own sick pleasure.

[dealwiththe]

Honesty is something, I'll give you that. It's rare.

[ Speaking as one painfully honest man to another. But - ]

But you still feel entitled to kill.

[rank1]

I kill people who get the same thrill out of dying at the hands of a skilled warrior that I would. [His own moments, the ones where he's nearly lost, feel like outliers.] Some of 'em are even grateful.

[dealwiththe]

That's still entitlement, so I hope that wasn't you trying to explain to me otherwise. Perhaps you're more like your father than you think.

[rank1]

[Wound thoroughly salted. Clipped:]

How the fuck is it entitled to take what is being offered, with the same bet placed? My life's on the line same as theirs.

[dealwiththe]

You spend a lot of time trying to justify it, that's for sure. Who are you trying to convince, really?

[ Lucifer scoffs. ]

I'm sure your father would try to justify it, too. They all do. You all do. You asked if I've met any of them - I have, most of them. And yes, they are all in Hell, still trying to justify it.

[rank1]

[Travis crosses the room to where Lucifer is, getting right up in his face.]

Well hey, at least I know where I'm goin', huh? And I didn't even need therapy to learn that. But I asked you a fucking question: how is it entitled if we're both all-in?

[dealwiththe]

[ Lucifer just... sighs. ]

Because, Travis. Killing is wrong. It's as simple as that. I'd think, if nothing else, you being an inmate here should've impressed that upon you. But, the justifications continue.

[rank1]

That's not entitled, that's just saying something that's wrong, which is bullshit. Every other movie has the protagonist killing hundreds of guys. Half the video games out there uses killing as a mechanic. Hell, every year, guys get flown overseas to blow each other up, and people who kill innocents get a slap on the wrist. Some people hunt just to survive. You can't say that shit is simple.

[dealwiththe]

Yes, it is that simple. People do bad things to each other all the time. That doesn't make it not bad. It's a choice - a choice you've made, to take lives. That's always entitled.

[ There is nothing but steady, firm conviction behind what Lucifer says. ]

[rank1]

And you've never killed someone?

[dealwiththe]

Yes, I have. And it was wrong when I did it, too.

[ What, was Travis expecting more justifications???? No. Lucifer just looks... regretful. ]

[rank1]

So what? You went to therapy and decided to rub your own nose in it?

[dealwiththe]

No, actually. The therapy helped me deal with my guilt about it. But you do need to acknowledge your guilt, first.

[rank1]

I know what I did. Why do I have to feel guilty about it? I'm fucking retired, bro, I could go the rest of my life without killing as much as a fly and feeling guilty wouldn't change shit.