#gaslighting myself about s2

[euphoricosmo]

The Last of Us, both show and games have become my comfort content. yes. comfort. i will watch and play both to my own free will.

i fear nothing not even god himself.

it’s not that i’m a masochist, i just wanna test the limits of my human emotions.

[highseas-swede]

Aziraphale and Trauma

[Just a note that I initially wrote this in response to this post: https://www.tumblr.com/theangelyouknew/732357015604756480?source=share&ref=_tumblr which is full of insightful info. I'm reposting my response here with some minor edits so it's easier to find in tags.]

This is something I actually find interesting within the fandom, because there seems to be this weird divide in fandom when it comes to Aziraphale.

See, I love Aziraphale. I think he's an amazing and well nuanced character, but a lot of the time fandom boils him down into this really simple version of himself. This happens both with people who dislike him and claim he's a bad person as well as with those who want to soften him up and make him more palatable. Aziraphale isn't the only one who has trouble with black and white thinking here!

Things like Coffee Theory remove Aziraphale's agency because the thought of Aziraphale doing something to hurt Crowley deliberately is something they can't stomach. If Aziraphale is acting under some kind of major magical influence, it means that it's possible to brush over the fact that he can - and has - hurt Crowley in the past and it certainly hasn't always been accidental.

There's a lot of Psychology I could touch on here, but it's honestly such a complicated topic that I don't really feel I can do it justice attached to a completely different topic.

But one thing I do want to touch on a bit is how Aziraphale asserts control in his own life via his connection with Crowley, and that touches on something equally complicated, which is something that's probably hard to understand.

Abuse victims are often manipulative.

I don't mean this at all as some kind of slight or insult. I've been an abuse victim myself and it's one reason I know it's true.

Fandom talks a lot about Crowley's trauma and he's got loads, to be sure. I think of that meme about "this bad boy can fit a lot of trauma" and it's very true. I've even seen people mention that Aziraphale has a different kind of Trauma than Crowley, which is also true.

What I haven't seen is someone addressing that the type of religious trauma is a form of CPTSD. CPTSD or "Complex PTSD" is a very specific form of PTSD. PTSD is characterized as being the result of a traumatic event - Crowley's fall, for example, is a good example of PTSD and I can go into that at some point. CPTSD is different because it's not a singular event, it's the result of being in a constant high stress situation. A lot of abuse victims - especially those abused by parental figures or significant others - have this form of PTSD.

A good way to see the difference is in comparing how they relate to their trauma. When Crowley thinks he's lost Aziraphale in S1, it sends him into a spiral. But importantly we see that this traumatic event is causing Crowley to go back to another traumatic event in time, triggering his memories of his fall. This emphasizes how much Crowley's fall defines his trauma. We rarely see him experiencing trauma at the hands of Hell, as he's mostly allowed freedom to handle his job on earth the way he wants.

https://cptsdfoundation.org/ defines CPTSD as "the results of ongoing, inescapable, relational trauma. Unlike Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Complex PTSD typically involves being hurt by another person. These hurts are ongoing, repeated, and often involving a betrayal and loss of safety."

In humans, this is caused by having no sense of safety in key moments of development. It strips away sense of self, sense of worth and really any agency. We even see the angels using direct gaslighting tactics on Aziraphale in S2, which I'm surprised doesn't get mentioned more often: When they come to the bookshop looking for Gabriel, they mention Gabriel and then almost immediately when Aziraphale asks "you were looking for Gabriel", Uriel outright says a line that goes something like "Did we say we were looking for Gabriel?", leading Aziraphale to fumble and try to remember if they did, in fact, say that at some point (they did).

So, one big thing to know about CPTSD and this kind of abuse related trauma is that learning to lie and be manipulative is often what people have to do to survive. Children with abusive parents will learn how to be manipulative in order to get what they need or avoid losing things they need.

We see this with Aziraphale, time and time again. He could just ASK Crowley for things he wants. A lot of people point out that he could ask and that Crowley would probably give in to him most of the time anyway. But that's not how it works in an abusive home. Instead, Aziraphale maneuvers Crowley into situations where Crowley is forced to give him what he needs or wants.

His lack of agency, as a result of his CPTSD, is also why he needs to be worked into making decisions that he already knows - or at least suspects - are right. That's why they have their little dance every time Crowley has to talk Aziraphale into something by finding the right way to frame it so it makes sense with Aziraphale's strict rule structure. These rules exist as a defensive mechanism too. Having rules makes it easier to figure out how to avoid being hurt and Aziraphale cannot simply step outside the rules because it's Not Safe. Not even with someone he trusts as much as Crowley.

The entire apology dance scene stands out for a few reasons. Everything Aziraphale does in the entire scene is an act that allows him to take control of the situation. He's already won, so to speak, because Crowley is back and Crowley is going to do what he wants. The apology is unnecessary on every level.

This post talks about how uncomfortable Crowley has to be sharing a space with Gabriel. Gabriel is with the abusive team, whether or not he was directly involved with Crowley's fall. Crowley also harbors a severe distress and mistrust of Gabriel because of Gabriel's attempts to destroy Aziraphale, the most important person to Crowley. But it's worth noting that Aziraphale is uncomfortable too.

Another good indicator of how stressed Aziraphale is with all this is that he doesn't eat ANYTHING when Gabriel is in the shop. The only food he consumes in modern era is when he's in the Bentley which is a "safe" space. Gabriel constantly hounded Aziraphale over eating and despite offering Gabriel hot chocolate, we don't see him partaking himself. He does briefly drink to demonstrate how "drinking tea" works for Muriel, but he doesn't seem to drink from his cup at all after demonstrating.

The bookshop is also Aziraphale's safe space, his ONLY safe space - Crowley still technically has the Bentley, and honestly I feel like Aziraphale wanting to borrow the Bentley is actually partially because he needs to get away from Gabriel and the Bentley is the only place that feels safe for him at the moment. Shax ruins any illusion of safety for him, but Aziraphale is much more enthused for his trip in ep3 and a fair amount of it is because he's not trapped with Gabriel.

A small note here, as a thought occurs to me. Aziraphale asserting that the Bentley is "our car" is probably mostly for himself. He's trying to realign his thinking to make the Bentley an acceptable "safe space" for himself prior to the trip.

There is a very different relationship dynamic when it comes to Gabriel and Aziraphale because Gabriel is the constant source of Aziraphale's trauma. He's Aziraphale's superior, the one he has to report to, the one who passes down his missions and his punishments. When Aziraphale takes Gabriel in, he's just invited his former abuser of over 6000 years into his safe haven. This is a hugely uncomfortable thing for an abuse survivor.

Worst of all, because Jim is, for all intents and purposes, NOT Gabriel, Aziraphale can't bring himself to lash out at his former abuser the way he wants to.

That brings us back to this apology scene.

There are two major things going on here and both of them are bad and hurtful toward Crowley. They're also both intensely unfair. I love Aziraphale but this was definitely a dick move.

Firstly: Aziraphale is using Crowley to reassert a sense of control over the situation because he is spiraling. He can't assert control over his life and his shop, which is one thing that he falls back on heavily, and that leaves him scrambling to find somewhere where he can control his situation. He makes Crowley go through this whole unnecessary apology and dance routine because it makes him feel like he has control over SOMETHING in his life right now.

Secondly: Aziraphale is also enacting his own trauma on Crowley. He's treating Crowley the way Heaven treats him. This is a direct parallel to the way Crowley terrorizes his house plants because he can't do anything to the people who actually caused his trauma. This is, obviously, wildly unfair of Aziraphale to do - and I'm fairly sure there are other small moments where Aziraphale does this in a mild way, I'd have to rewatch again.

These are both behaviors common in CPTSD caused by environments that apply this constant state of stress.

I'm not going to say it's right, or that Aziraphale isn't being a bit of a bastard in this moment - he absolutely is - but this behavior does have some obvious triggers that might be easy to overlook. It's just important to understand that Aziraphale is falling into self-preservation habits that are actively detrimental to his relationship with Crowley. It's not just the manipulation, he's also hiding things and lying to Crowley when he really shouldn't be - both things often necessary in abusive environments - but he's doing it because that's the method that he's created that works with his abusive relationship in Heaven and he's falling back on it because he feels unsafe. The trouble is, this survival tactic does not work with Crowley and actively makes things worse because it shuts down open communication entirely.

[narujenreacts]

Will Murder Drones get a Season 2?

Alrighty. So, after GLITCH's post yesterday of Digital Circus that also mentioned "We're also working hard on Murder Drones & will be releasing final episodes soon!", which sent a lot of the fandom (including yours truly) into a panic that this meant these are the final episodes for the SERIES and not the 1st season. However, that felt off to me since GLITCH has been promoting MD as Season 1 and not a short series, which, if it had always intended to be only 8 episodes, it would've been. That's just how it goes in the industry for online series. And I believe GLITCH wouldn't make that kind of mistake in marketing. It'd be different too if it was only promoted as Season 1 for the teaser, but it's been that way up until that Digital Circus post. Hell, here are some of the things Kevin and Liam said during GlitchX:

"I remember when we were coming up with the, uh, this is like way before when, you know, Murder Drones was really, like we were really going for a smaller, smaller show-" - Kevin

"The whole oil thing that was getting set up in the pilot, that was gonna be like a MASSIVE sort of plot thread throughout the season." - Kevin

"Because in terms of importance to kind of where I want the story to go, it just ended up being less relevant." - Liam

"We, um, did the opposite of that. I think the series as it progressed, which I think is - it is intentional, I would say. We have gone from, I think, supremely silly to supremely kind of self-serious." - Liam

"There's so many dog easter eggs if you go and watch through the entire season." - Kevin

"We are announcing the finale of the season." - Kevin

With everything they said, none of it sounds like Murder Drones was intended to be a single season series. Now, this leaves two questions myself and I'm sure some of you have, "Why haven't they announced a S2 yet then and why are they barely posting MD?" I decided to enter analyzation mode and went digging through GLITCH's Twitter and YouTube. What I found was that this isn't GLITCH's first time handling their series like this.

Meta Runner Season 1 (Animated Movie Cut) was released on Aug 28, 2020 and in the description Season 2 was immediately announced since they already had it done.

Meta Runner Season 2 - EP 1: Hard Reset released Oct 16, 2020. The final episode for S2, "EP 10: Fatal Error" was released Dec 18, 2020 and there was no mention of the 3rd and final season.

Want to know when they announced it? Not until Nov 29, 2021. Over a YEAR later.

And before that they barely posted anything of MR. At first it was Sunset Paradise, and then once that series was about to conclude they started posting about MD. A lot. Way more than they have for DC. And when they announced S3 for MR they didn't even mention it was the series finale! That wasn't announced until May 6, 2022, 6 months after S3 was even announced.

However, once they did they made it VERY clear it was the final season. 99% of their posts of MR after that mentioned it was the final season.

So, to conclude my thoughts. I don't think we should be worried. I wouldn't suggest getting our hopes up TOO high, because despite GLITCH handling MD the same way they did MR, there's always the chance MD doesn't get a second season. That way we're not deeply disappointed if it doesn't, but after looking into it I personally feel a lot more confident MD will get a S2. Just be prepared that if GLITCH doesn't say anything, it could be up to a year before they do, but if MR fans could hold out for as long as they did, we can too. Don't forget either GLITCH isn't only working on the first season of DC. They're also working on the pilot for Gaslight District.

[thealogie]

i fear them actually kissing in s2 (plus the general horniness of the season) has broken my prediction radar for what can possibly happen in canon now. anything is possible. them fucking nasty? very probable. might as well happen. as if the ox-rib scene wasn't obscene enough.

This is the correct and logical reaction. Meanwhile I’m here with my brain broken from years of gaslighting going like “it’d probably be crazy to believe they even kiss in s3”…me @ myself: girl they already did that in s2 and implicitly promised a happy reprise of that kiss, what are you even talking about?

[ourfag]

finally going back over season 1 while giving myself permission to just follow my gut and let myself see abuse where i see it and . ugh. ffffuuuuuck. the very first thing we learn about izzy’s relationship with ed, before ed even appears onscreen, is that he’ll casually disparage ed’s judgment in front of the crew, and then an episode and a half later he turns around and tells ed he’s been the one defending ed’s judgment in the face of the crew’s doubts, right before hitting ed with a string of personal insults that ed calmly voices his agreement with to izzy the following morning. the way he’s willing to outright lie to ed in aid of furthering his own personal vendetta. the way he reacts any time ed shows signs of emotionally connecting with someone other than him by trying to sever those connections. the way ed is ready to part ways with him after the duel and he says, no, i’m not done with you, i’m taking you back by force. the speech he gives ed when stede’s in front of the firing squad is like a gaslight in a little bottle: you’ve lost your mind and no longer know what’s good for you, but don’t worry—i still do, so i’m going to look out for you by making this decision on your behalf against your will, and even though you think you don’t want this, i know you’ll come to agree with me eventually.

and while his motivations shift in s2 towards supporting ed’s actual wants, he never seems to completely lose that sense of entitlement to accessing every part of ed’s life. which i appreciate! partially because i dont think he’d be at all recognizable to me if he did, but also because it’s so evocative, like, to an alarming degree for me, of someone trying to enact genuinely good intentions through a dysfunctional deeply rooted mental framework that they remain unable to question or revise yet.

[canonizzyhours]

Similarly to one of the previous takes on here…

I wasn’t in fandom spaces between s1 and s2 so I wasn’t exposed to the Canyon takes at the time. Once the teaser and then the trailer dropped I was really excited. On the first day episodes 1-3 dropped, before I could even watch the episodes , I got spoiled that Ed was ‘’really unlikable this season’’.

It was gutting to read because he’s my absolute favorite and it put me on edge as I was scared watching the show would change my view on him. To hopefully help calm down the anxiety that comment brought on, I went looking for other comments. Maybe this was just one bad take, right? Wrong move, what was I thinking? So many negative comments about Ed! Takes after takes of how Ed was an abuser to Izzy, how he had gone way too far so they simply couldn’t root for him anymore and was now unredeemable in their eyes.

How could the writers make him this unlikable as a protagonist in a romantic comedy show?

It took me until the day before episodes 4-5 came out to to rip the bandage off and watch the episodes to see for myself what I thought and I was actually surprised at how much I disagreed with those people. I thought Ed dragging the crew down with him was not great (couldn’t care less about Izzy though, in my eyes he deserved it after season 1), but I could absolutely see the vulnerability and the deep depression that was plaguing him. It was such a nuanced performance that I empathized with him so much. Unlikable or unredeemable was far from words I would use for him.

It made me wonder if something was wrong with me because I didn’t feel the same as so many of the takes I’d seen. Was I missing something? And then after that, when I tried participating in conversations and express how I was feeling about Ed’s but also mostly Izzy’s storylines, I was often met with a lot of pushbacks and people being super defensive and demanding me to explain myself as if I owed them anything and it was sooo draining. I hate using the word gaslighting but some of the things those people do by basically establishing an alternate version of this show and bullying people who don’t play along, is truly something else. I think it’s then that I realize I was dealing with people that couldn’t handle opposing Povs, and I was over it. I ended up blocking Izzy’s tag and blocking users on every social media platforms because I just couldn’t deal with it anymore. It’s still blocked to this day.

I love season 2, flaws included, but the amount of discourse around Izzy is honestly ridiculous at this point and it really took away from my enjoyment when the show was airing. I wish he wasn’t such a talked about character, he takes too much space for someone who was actually pretty boring in season 2.

Anyways, RIP Izzy… I guess.

#35.

related posts: #31, #29

[genericpuff]

LO's plot is so jumbled with contradictory information that I can't even be bothered to remember or absorb what I'm reading anymore.

seriously, I'm actually starting to struggle to remember important plot points and information because nothing actually feels important. I can't be bothered to care about the information that's being presented in S3 because there's no guarantee it'll even matter by next week. Every piece of information that's been introduced is often either FORGOTTEN or BACKTRACKED on, not to mention the flashback content is never specified (seriously, RS will go from doing stuff in the present to stuff in the past with zero indication that we're in a flashback, it relies ENTIRELY on the reader to clue in with whatever little context clues Rachel gives) so with S3 progressing ENTIRELY on flashbacks, it's making the timeline feel so goddamn confusing and I can't even be bothered to keep track of it anymore because every time I try to remember what S1 or S2 established, I feel my brain rotting in the process. It's like the story is progressively gaslighting readers on a weekly basis.

Obviously it's time for a re-read but I gotta seriously ask myself if it's worth it. Obviously when it comes to comics like this that get put on hiatus n junk between seasons, re-reading might be nice to do, but it should never ever feel this necessary. The plot should feel clear and concise and the rules and plot threads established should never be contradicted on or blatantly forgotten to the point that you can't even remember what was established. I shouldn't have to re-read just to 'double check' if what RS is writing has any continuity - especially considering the present story is so jumbled, there's no way to TELL if there's continuity, because there's no clarification of when these events are happening (like Minthe getting turned back from plant form, Hades revealing he knew about the Thanatos/Minthe affair, Hades getting possessed by Kronos, etc.)

This isn't me saying that RS should have to stick to conventional linear storytelling, there are plenty of comics and stories with non-linear plotlines that pull it off well. But that's just it - they pull it off well, meanwhile Rachel feels more like she's just writing whatever pops into her head in the shower. A non-linear story wouldn't explain the Trojan War being referenced and then Achilles having just been born ten years later; it wouldn't explain the Hades/Thanatos father-son relationship addition that completely re-contextualizes so much in S1/S2 that we should have been aware of; and it DEFINITELY doesn't excuse a story being told so messily that it leaves your audience confused and wondering why it's even being told this way.

I called it back when S2 returned from its mid-season hiatus - there never should have been a 10 year time skip. Rachel should have never attempted to make this story more complicated than she was capable of writing.

[fan-joy]

So you all know how Good Omens s2 is all about Aziraphale and Crowley getting married and living together in a bookshop and going on picnics and dinner dates? It is 'cos I said so.

(I'm just here gaslighting myself, don't mind me)

[nutria--oscura]

I have Henry (raccoon plush), Nick Jr (mouse plush), Lark, Sparrow and Birdie (3 plants of the same species [cannot remember the name]) and a Pick Up choco bar by my side and to quote Nerdy Prudes Must Die: "I'm scared-"

~spoilers for S2 Ep46 below~

"student of the blade, master of the blade pose" oh fun fun

I'm sorry Matt? What?

Also I just read the description - "a new PUPPET dictator"

ALSO THE EP NAME???? LINK WHAT DID YOU DO???

"Cassandra Swift has done nothing wrong" Hell yea Will

WILL

the energy in the room today- NOT AGAIN MATT PLEASE

the OTHER TIME he ran a country- oh? no, yeah, that adds up

BETH

GUYS- i am loving this energy (if i gaslight myself into positivity now, i won't be devastated later! <- lies)

MATT

scamster becoming a thing cause Scam thought it would be funny is so real actually

ah yes, the 2 genders: the blade pose and the Katherine Zeta Jones entrapment pose

third person to be king? HERMIE

Lincoln is going to get Lincoln

love this plan so far

HERMIEEEEEEEE! YAY THEY REMEMBERED HIM!

"deep within Taylor there's an impulse of 'can I bet on this fight?'" glad to see the Close blood is still strong-

Normal: speech about how they have to go liberate hell. Link and Scary: "but I wanna see if you die or not" "yea"

OHHHHHH is the ep title cause of Abraham Lincoln? oh ok!

NAT 20 ABE LINCOLN

NORMAL MY BOY NO-

"the whole lay on hands" "the whole hand" "all 10 fingies" such a goofy podcast y'all, what are we worried about?

Normal is NOT getting out of there

oh yEAH THE ADULTS ARE HERE

guys i'm half way through the ep and its only been goofy to far. I AM SCARED

JEZZ BALLLL FUCK YEAHHHH (i was telling my friends about it and they could not believe me that this game exists)

this is NOT the time to learn Jezzball

NORMAL NOOO-

oh? the kiddads being useful for once?

LINK NO

boop on the snoop!

"Link, a true narc, knows when someone is gonna narc"

YES LINK, THREATEN THE FBI!!!

RON!

glad to see Taylor hasn't changed <3

rip Abe (part 2)

NEW SATAN! the guy who's name i cannot remember!

Normal finally got to be spider boy! AND HE LOST THE MUSTACHE!

Will with the Hamilton reference

"Grant has the possibility to do the funniest thing" HAH YEA-

3/4 into the ep and: 1) nothing ouch so far + 2) not a single Anthony quote written here yet = i'm gonna be devastated soon aren't i?

Normal in death saves part 3

"Dood, it might be time to, y'know, be a bad girl" Dood proceeds to get a Nat 20. FUCK YEAHHHHHHH

9 MINUTES LEFT GUYS- WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN I AM TERRIFIED NOW- WHERE'S HERMIE???

"is 'no trick pony' a saying?" hAH-

HERMIE! YAY!

WQAIT WHY'RE THEY LIMPING?

7 MINUTES LEFT, HELP-

who?

HERMIE! NO!

"a sucking wound in his chest" "yea it does suck" OUCH

THAT'S WHY HE WAS LIMPINGH

NORMAL'S STIL IN DEATH SA- HERMIE CAN'T BE IN DEATH SAVES??? NO

HIS HEART????? NO

NO NO NO NON NO N O-

"and he says 'Normal, i like you too,' and then he slumps over" HEY ANTHONY FUCK YOU

HEY THE OUTRO SAYING "its just a matter of time till we make it out alive" HAH HA HA AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

NORMAL ROLLED A NATTY 1 ON SENSE MOTIVE OH SHIGT

"yea you'll never know if he was telling the truth or not" WHAT IF I DIE?

In conclusion: Anthony said Hermie was gonna suffer, that oakworthy wouldn't become canon. fuck me for not heeding the warning i guess oh geez oh fuck-

[sapphicrpc]

hows ur group the game going? i just finished alice in borderland season 2 👀

OH MY GOD i am so hyperfixated on how much i love my gay dad aguni .... this s2 just solidified the fact he was defo in love with the hatter and is 2000% girldad soft teddy bear in big tough guy body for me. i love this show so damn much

the ladies fucking DOMINATED this season but also chishiya ?!?!? CAN WE TALK ABOUT CHISHIYA?!? AND MIRA OH MY GOD SHES SO HOT I WANT HER TO GASLIGHT ME (REAL) and omfg.... my babies kuina and ann fuck they are just the cutest i CRIED at that scene anon... SOBBED. kuinann forever !!

my alice in borderland group is doing good! we had a break over the holidays as a lot of people were busy, myself included, but i'll be advertising new roles for people to join very soon! there will be maybe 2-3 open places so keep ur eyes peeled 👀

[glendover]

watch ghost files with me eps1 s2

what’s better than a new ghost files eps on my birthday?? literally nothing

the caption saying “boo, bitches, did you miss us?” YES OFC I DID

will we see blueprints again? you know I’m a sucker for them 😩

had to look up what a penitentiary is,,, Istg my English isn’t fancy enough for words like this just call it prison or something 😭

night in the penitentiary: locked in

old ass prison with dubious torturing methods always end up haunted it’s like the secret potions to get ghosts

THE 3D MODEL AND THE BLUEPRINT CAN I GET A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR THE BLUEPRINT??!!?

Missouri is the ghost place

imagine getting chased by fast jack, man I wouldn’t even try to run

jack trying to communicate via the flashlight already????? season two really is insane

Shane scaring the ghosts by telling them they are dead 💀

ghosts already got to Ryan this is fine 🤡

shut up, Shane is so cute hyping Ryan up 🥹

If I were a ghost I purposefully wouldn’t show myself to Ryan and Shane but I would follow them everywhere they go just looking them over the shoulder and laughing

Shane is becoming some sort of ghost therapist this episode 😭💀

little dance monkey!!

romanticising the prison with the moonlight 🤩

bro shut up the glowing eyes???

Ryan is the grinning man, confirmed

the thievery ghost likes mr bean!!!!

no but the commercial break was actually funny

peekers didn’t want to peek to night

how bad can a ghost/devil dog truly be?? all dogs are the same, all they want are belly rubs and treats

not the ghost calling Shane daddy lmao

disturbing daddy

why is the seven people cell so small???

Shane having to remind Ryan to freak out when scary shit happens is so funny

She said mattress when you walked to the mattress, go do your thing and be scared Ryan how hard can it be??

“Are you in pain?” *light turns off immediately*

the ghost wants them as their friends forever and to never leave; cute

SOLO INVESTIGATION

Ryan should gaslight himself into thinking he’s not scared, I believe he can do it

Shane energy, like shenergy you know like kenergy 👀

Zen Ryan? Well I only believe that once I see it

Shane screaming while Ryan is talking about not being able to hear him even if he got stabbed 💀💀

this truly looks disturbing 😭😭

well idk about the punching but sure you got this Ryan

chill Ryan might be the scariest bit of this episode

the face of a chill man

Ryan truly isn’t his fear

disassociation bestie Ryan 👯

this didn’t even feel like an hour wtf???

I’m so happy the ghoul boys are back omg

this was so much fun!!!

[zahrowl]

A Critique of Good Omens Season 2 by 4 Random Girls (+ for fun, a rewrite of S2's outline)

Did you feel after watching GOmens S2 with your friends that this season could have been… better?

I was excited for S2 and I had some high expectations due to spoilers (yes, I am the kind of person to seek out spoilers to raise my personal excitement for the show). But after a watch party with some friends that had me gaslighting myself into denying the letdowns of this season (I was going through the first stage of grief okay), I’ve come around a few days later to bring a list of problems, gripes, and some suggestions for improvement for Season 2.

(EDIT: I reposted this bc I originally tagged Mr Gaiman according to my friend's suggestion. That was insensitive of me, I'm sorry. Thanks to the person who commented and knocked some sense into me, even if I did get a severe increase in heart rate and my hands were literally trembling after seeing your comment)

Mr. Gaiman, if you're reading this somehow, please don’t take any of this criticism as a personal attack. Like, you’re a prolific writer, we’re just 4 girls with opinions, so I don't think you'd really need to take much of these words to heart. I know I wouldn't.

And to the fandom, well, if you enjoyed S2, good for you! I enjoyed it too! If you enjoyed it in a way you understood but I didn't, that's fine too! This is just the perspective of like 4 girls on some writing decisions we found kinda weird. We all have opinions, we can express those opinions as long as we're not attacking anyone.

Also, spoilers for S2 of course.

Anyway, let’s get to it shall we, starting with the most controversial of decisions in episode 6!

Controversial reveals in episode 6:

Halo Ex Machina

Like for god’s sake if you wanna pull that out last-minute, at least show it being used in an earlier episode in a flashback from the war

Ineffable Bureaucracy

Aziraphale agreeing to be the Head Archangel to change heaven with Crowley

Ineffable Divorce

More annoying things in S2:

The purpose of the body swap in S1 feels undermined in S2. Like, that was to scare Heaven and Hell into thinking that they’ve grown so powerful that they’ve made their own side. Shouldn’t Heaven and Hell be like, a little more cautious with these two after agreeing to leave them alone?

The Divorce really feels like it’s written solely for the purpose of milking a certain reaction from the audience rather than a natural development for Azicrow’s relationship. Also, with the amount of times these two ‘break up’, it gets boring, okay

Nina and Maggie were just kinda,, there. I’m not quite sure what themes they’re here for, I was lowkey bored anytime they got on screen. Maybe Nina’s abusive relationship mirrors Aziraphale’s relationship with Heaven, but like, idk it’s really not the best mirror. I don’t care about them, okay, they didn’t need to be here and if they did, at least cut down a bit of their time please? The part at the end where they stayed to help was kinda ehhh, the part where they had to tell Crowley about his feelings was even more eh. I’m not sure why they cared so much to tell Crowley about it. I don't hate them, I just wish they could have been written better.

Crowley just waltzing into heaven. In S1 they were undercover and it’s so nervewracking. This time a bunch of demons just see him go up into heaven and don’t even question it. And then a bunch of archangels just come down the lift with him. Like what???

The miracle that hid Gabriel was kinda handwaved away? What was up with that

What was Bee’s plan with storming the bookshop. Wouldn’t that attract a lot of unnecessary attention from the demons and angels? Is discretion not a thing?

They never really explained what was up with Az’s bookshop and the vampire entering rules like???

Angels and demons really do feel like much less of a threat this season somehow

Guess who had “I’ll Follow You Into The Dark” on their playlist? Guess who didn’t follow someone into the dark.

So, I challenged myself to rewrite S2 to make the reveals a little less jarring than them all coming at you one after the other in episode 6 like Voltaire tormenting Candide.

Things we’re building up to:

Aziraphale’s desire to change the way Heaven is run, thus accepting Metatron’s offer

I know the Job episode was a thing, but again, that was only one scenario and not a consistent running theme throughout the season. The Victorian doctors do not count — that’s Aziraphale learning to become more flexible with his morality like Crowley. It doesn’t have anything to do with changing Heaven except maybe showing how much better Crowley is than everyone/j. The magic show definitely doesn’t count.

Also to all those ppl who say that Aziraphale has religious guilt or is going through religious trauma or smth along those lines… idk it feels more like they’re projecting than that being an actual thing shown by the show. If that was the intention, it doesn’t come across like it well enough

It might be believable that Az’s indoctrination by Heaven might cause him to think that being in charge would improve things, but like,, that needs to be actually shown in the show. Show us his doubts after the end of the world. Give us better foreshadowing of his concerns over the past 6000 years, how he’s seen Crowley struggle with being a demon/how he imagines being a demon is like/how heaven has indoctrinated him. Otherwise it’s like he’s learnt nothing over these past 6000 years!

Gabe and Bee’s relationship

This really suffers by being revealed only at the end because the way they act seems suddenly out of character of how we expect them to. We’re all left kinda unsure if they’re actually in love or even know what love is.

An earlier reveal of their relationship and maybe some Bee/Jim interactions in earlier episodes would help with a more gradual acceptance of expectations vs reality

Also, would it kill to have one close-up of the fly? Or even like, Aziraphale swatting the fly away as it flies into his face when he opens the box? That thing is so tiny it’s no wonder it’s so easily missed. Please, I’m myopic

Divorce

I want Crowley to snap so bad at Aziraphale. And with better dialogue than “no nightingales”. I know it’s a reference, but surely we can do better than this!

Aziraphale really caught the idiot ball this season in the most narratively unsatisfying way, and if it weren’t for Michael Sheen playing him it would be even more annoying.

What can we cut from S2?

A lot of the coffeeshop/recordshop AU

The whole storming the bookshop thing. What was Bee’s plan really

The angel-demon miracle. The damn thing was what attracted heaven’s attention anyway and in the end it was just handwaved away? Let’s toss it out, and by extension, we’ll have to toss out… (checks notes) the Archangels’ visit to the bookshop, lying about getting Nina and Maggie together and the further matchmaking attempts for them, Constable Muriel, Shax’s storming of the bookshop, and god knows what else.

[lynnbutlertron]

this is the anon from the other night and I just want to say that your headcanon about mr. b heating up when he’s feeling some type of way has me dead (in a good way) & I also agree that scud & mr b have been married as fuck for awhile but I feel that in the newest season mr b kinda seems 🙄 towards scud (but it’s probably cus of candice?? yea) also FUCK YOU for making me fall for that recent edit you made (I’m jk 😭) but also. Why in the original poster are the hearts only towards Mr b. Like isn’t the plot supposed to be that scud likes candice… but then wouldn’t there be… nvm

HAHA THERE ARE SO MANY EMOTIONS IN THIS ASK HOLD ON.

First of all, i’m gaslighting myself into believing scudlertron is real. What do you mean?? This is the original poster. It looks like that. Tara made it like that. they have been married for 30+ years i only took a screenshot of it…..

But no the moment i saw it i GASPED because the hearts going in lynns direction. I didn’t even need to edit it that much and it was already gay asf!!!!! sorry for tricking you though 😔

I feel like mr b being done as fuck with scudworth in s2 is pretty justified, i would be too if my husband started pulling some of the most abhorrent methods known to man to try and get a woman who is CLEARLY asexual or a lesbian (both so true) . Like i feel mr b is just annoyed he’s so fucking bad at a) his job and b) pulling women. That’s why he went for the robot instead /j

In regards to the mr b heating up when he’s feelin some kinda way. Literally canon to me idc. He is indeed just a little robot and has a big crush!! He can’t handle it!!!

i feel like the idea is quite synonymous with scudlertron fans, or at least it was. there is this absolutely WONDERFUL fanfiction about the same concept (i don’t know the person’s username on any other social medias, so if anyone knows.. tell me plz i need to tell this person this fanfic has been in my head for years)

literally owns space in my brain i think about it so much. Go read it!!!!!!!!!!! :)

[hiisheart]

( this is also like. a weird tangent to go on considering my last post but: )

( i think part of the reason why i relate so much to mike is that he doesn't seem to have a very cohesive support system that his other friends seem to have, especially at home. i'm always left to my own devices at home despite being a twin and technically the youngest, so potential middle child syndrome aside (and likely not a "cause") i always feel like i have to hide things or skirt the boundaries in order to make ends meet with the rest of my family. tbh the way i interpret mike's attitude in s2-3 and beyond is that he's super fucking repressed, and god if that's not a way to describe me then i don't know what is. i always feel like i have to hide things from my parents, and it's a habit of mine that's 10+ years old, something i started doing when i was around mike's age at the start of the show. and tbh i only feel as though it got worse when i came out as trans, and that part of my identity i'm so afraid to dive into with my family bc of bad past experiences in attempting to do so. the gaslighting and 'hearing but not listening' part of it all really stuck with me, and i think in terms of mike's character and the fact that he always feels the need to hide shows me a lot about his home environment and its effects on him. you can learn a lot about a person and their demeanor and habits from those of their parents, their siblings, and their home structure. those relationships will (sometimes fortunately, sometimes unfortunately) affect the way that person interacts with others, views themselves and others, and how they make decisions throughout their whole life. mike's repression and lack of willingness to interact with the people he lives with and has grown up with and how the effects of Not Getting Shit Off His Chest really weigh down on him and how he often selflessly ignores his own needs to look after his friends ... i see SO FUCKING MUCH of myself in that. i feel SO FUCKING SEEN in this fictional character that has been through so fucking much and yet feels so alone, like they don't have anyone to lean on or to genuinely share anything with, and i can feel that tension from the string i mentioned in my last post's tags building and building and motherfucking building up until that snapping point, which i bet we're gonna see this next season with mike.

so basically, to sum up this post, here's what i have in common with mike that i haven't seen in most other fictional characters and really connect with him:

no cohesive support system at home

very deeply repressed

Traumatized™ and needs Real Therapy

keeps going despite being obviously weighed down by his own problems (but still feels the weight of them - remember his fight with will at rink-o-mania and his attempts to shift the blame because he probably feels so fucking weighed down by everything he's had to hide and struggle with)

suffers privately and pushes others away when they try to help )

[dentwy]

number 1: adventure time

don’t quite remember how old i was when i first watched adventure time, but i sure remember watching it a lot. back then you’d just hop on tv whenever you could and watch whatever was on at the time. thank grob for streaming sites! i say half ironically since HBO's release of adventure time is quite pathetic in fact, but i digress.

obviously with fionna and cake airing this year there’s been a big resurgence in adventure time online that i’m pretty fond of. although i don’t draw myself, i follow around 10k accounts on twitter that are mostly just artists because i love looking at nice pictures. there’s one caveat though, i’ve never actually seen the entirety of the show. who the hell is this grass finn? princess bubblegum and marceline ended up together? holy glob. and so, i felt it was time for me to get on my two ass cheeks and actually watch the show.

here is a brief (?) off the shelf summary on what that was like:

as it turns out as a younger-ish boy i had only seen up to season 4, with a few extra episodes here and there. this means the lich was definitely a thing, but that’s kinda where it ended. re-experiencing the episodes i knew so well was definitely more fun than i was expecting. most i know by memory already, others lowkey tried gaslighting me into thinking they were different from how i remembered. so that HBO thing? you can look it up on reddit and go into detail but in general terms, some of them are kind of a mess with how they’ve been edited and censored. i believe a bunch might just be from the tv versions in some countries? but i clearly remember watching them so...

usually there’s a couple of things they want to avoid: butt stuff (so some fart jokes and grabbing-things-with-butt scenes), stuff that’s kind of gross, things like ripping off the lich's face off, deaths (?) and other extremely specific stuff. at times you will get scenes cut off that you don’t realize (ill mention one in a minute) and others that simply cut off in the middle of dialogue or battle to jump into something else. in 2023 i don’t even think this is that excusable.

two episodes stood out as a sore thumb to me. "storytelling" the 5th episode of s2, and "princess cookie" on s4 episode 13. ill refrain from explaining the entire episodes but first one has this scene where our titular "mrs cow" makes her first appearance. as she is instructed to do, she removes the bag since she also is beautiful as everyone else, only to turn out she should put it back on. pretty funny stuff, especially for a 13 year old. this little gag is completely removed. poof. gone. i almost shit myself i thought i was going crazy. i’ve been a fan of calling random shit i’m lying about part of the mandela effect now but it genuinely felt like that.

second episode is one of a tragic story, of a tragic cookie. putting aside the fact i think a he/him cookie wanting to become a princess is fucking awesome, this one just sucks. at the literal climax of the episode (spoilers!!) as they are in the middle of the exchange the episode just randomly cuts off to the following scene with princess cookie in the floor, shattered. extremely jarring. and you don’t even get to see the most important part of the episode! goddammit.

either way i could go on details like this forever but it’s mostly just a gripe i had as i watched with HBO than the show itself, as i was actually having a lot of fun as, in the end, it’s the characters that make adventure time what it is.

finn and jake are characters that are very easy to endear yourself to. i feel they’re generally the simplest ones from the cast, but that’s what makes them most malleable. they’re likable dudes, bros for life. do you not wish to have someone that will follow you to the end of the world? in life and even death? nothing can break these two. distant lands' "together again" is probably one of my favorite episodes. it was 200 episodes ago that jake established their special signal to find each other again once they’re dead, and real bros don’t forget. it’s a beautiful episode that completely wraps up these two in the best way they could’ve done.

ice king is someone i would have never been able to appreciate when i was younger. maybe for the first couple of seasons yeah okay he’s an unlikeable prick, but man. simon petrikov is such a tragedy of a man. forced to live in his delusions for the rest of his life, unable to remember his loved ones, or to be loved. forever obsessed with finding those who are important to him, without the means to do so. i gotta say, i never put two and two together before getting around watching the entire thing - but fucking tom kenny? what a legend.

alongside ice king comes marceline, and what is there not to love about marceline. she carries such a teenage angst with her that feels so passionate. every song with her is a blast to listen. "woke up" from obsidian in distant lands has to be my favorite. "i'm just your problem" is up there in the classics and how to forget the fries song. living for 1000 years has to fuck you up so bad man. she carries such weight after so long. saving people, losing them, making friends, losing them. "i remember you" from season 4 is such an emotional episode i’m pretty sure i cried watching it. every single marcie / simon flashback holds so much importance to both characters, as well as the world itself. i’m always a sucker for father & daughter stories and these episodes hit a really special spot.

with marceline, comes princess bubblegum, which i have to say is probably my favorite character in the show. your honor, she’s silly. bubblegum (fucking bonnibel? really?) shares this aspect of essentially living for 1000 years, eventually needing to put things behind. main difference with her is the fact, you know, she’s made out of candy, and candy people don’t exactly die of old age as far as i know. however, being in the spot she is, she holds great responsibilities she sometimes feels she needs to deal all on her own. she is actually such a fucked up individual, messing with people emotionally (and specially finn) just for the sake of it, and sometimes showing her apathy for people. she’s dedicated to a fault, often ignoring other's feelings or beliefs. sometimes for the better, but also for the worse. one thing that remains with me for sure is the simple fact that she’s just adorable, and i’m a big fan of them giving her different outfits and hairstyles as much as possible, which is exactly why i present my tier list of bubblegum outfits & hairstyles:

the ones that didn’t make it in are either irrelevant, spoilers or forgot about. why not marceline? because everything she puts on is a banger. extra special mention to "the star". what a fucking queen.

the last tier list will be for every character in the show in no particular order, because i need to make my opinions permanent:

except i lied obviously it’s not every character. the ones that didn’t make it in i either don’t care about enough or are so minor i don’t even have an opinion on them (or i forgot).

s tier is the people i couldn’t have put anywhere else, they just go there by default. prismo is awesome too so he goes in.

for a tier i feel the only two i need to specify about are doctor princess, which i just find really funny, and huntress wizard, which i actually like a lot. i feel she was definitely the one that would’ve been best to end up together with finn.

b tier are cool characters, i like them enough that i think about them often or have something about them that really stood out to me. james baxter actually being a mispronunciation of "games bookstore" is really fucking funny.

c has all the pups because i like them :), abraham lincoln is also really funny. martin i think i could put lower, but simply because he’s relevant to the plot he goes here. i never liked finn insisting to call him his dad when he’s such a shit person.

d is filled with weirdos that have something about them that may make them stand out a little bit more or maybe had a scene or episode that was cool. i don’t like LSP at all, but she’s the like third most important princess so yeah that’s fine, i guess.

f is filled with people i don’t give a shit about. a bit crazy how most of the princesses end up being completely irrelevant. you lost to a fire dog slime princess, how does that feel.

with that out of the way, what i want to finish off is the general plot progression of the show. there’s something really special about adventure time that i’m not too sure other cartoons do the same way. it manages to hold such a consistency throughout its run time that’s almost impressive. besides the first season where tree trunks dies on episode 4 only to reappear later on and only bring up the fact she’s "gone" on season 2, the show always makes sure to reuse characters, keep them around and stay true to its own timeline. there’s a context in this world, stuff has happened already, and things will continue to change. it might take some time to get the answers to your questions, but you will get them eventually. the past is already set in stone and the future is already on its way to happen.

most characters will make at least a second appearance at some point, and a lot of them even become more relevant for that episode, which i find really cool. no stone is left unturned and it shows that this world is fully lived in.

it was a bit hard for me to nail down what i believe the theme of adventure time is, what it all means in the end really. because no, "going on adventures is fun" is not it. it definitely is fun don’t get me wrong, its episodic in nature and most episodes end up working on their own, but is there more to it than just bros having fun? my take on it (i haven’t looked it up so no clue what other people think or even the creators) is the passage of time, and growing up.

the most relevant characters are the ones that have been around for centuries, the ones that have seen the world change and that have changed it themselves. generations move by and time keeps going. jake has a family, a new generation that will follow him. finn doesn’t have anything because he died a virgin but still, the humans are and will be around after so many years.

it’s important to live in the moment, appreciate the people dear to us and have our own "adventure" while we can, and i think that’s really nice to get across. as it stands, adventure time has moved through generations and i hope it will continue to do so.

[deathon1leg]

i can sympathize with mike hate and i honestly used to be a bit of a mike hater myself but pls remember that:

this is an actual 14 year old. like... this is a freshman in high school. i’m not sure anyone would consider their 14 year old self to be a good person tbh

this kid is probably going through HEAVY comphet and internalized homophobia all the while juggling having a girlfriend he doesn’t love the way he’s supposed to, AND a male lifelong best friend he’s in love with who he’a afraid he’s losing

both of these are combined with being retraumatized year after year and having the literal weight of the world on his shoulders

and i know most of us are hating on him affectionately but this is aimed toward those who are like... actually villianing him. yes i know mike’s not real but i’ll defend him anyway because he deserves to have someone stick up for him

in my opinion (if they do right by him in s5) this isn’t character assassination—these are the effects of a person having gone through hell and back, then back into hell again, then rinse and repeat. he’s trying to act as normal as possible through this and in the middle of experiencing life-changing realizations about himself. he is so young and he is GOING THROUGH IT!!

it’s not okay for mike to treat el the way he’s been treating her, or blame others for his problems, or lie and gaslight people—that’s obviously not okay and i’m not defending those things. i’m pointing out that he’s not just doing these things for the hell of it. he hasn’t just suddenly and mysteriously turned into an asshole, this is the build up of so many things happening to him over the span of a few years during a crucial time period of growing up.

you could argue that all the other main characters have been through almost the same things and haven’t had anything like the personality changes mike had between s2-s3, but everyone’s different! no single person in group of people is gonna handle one situation the same way. also, and i know this is a bit of a reach, you’d kinda be indirectly implying that mike’s particular reaction to his trauma is wrong and he should act more like the other traumatized ones. that they’re doing the whole “having trauma” thing “correctly” and he’s not. /nm

i know that sounds dramatic but that’s the main takeaway i get when people compare his behavior to the others to show that they’re better than him. i think we should cut him some slack. he’s not an entirely different person than he was before, he’s the same person (teenager!) who just so happens to have gone through, and is currently going through, a lot of shit.

i would be defending any of the other characters the same way if they suddenly seemed to have a negative shift in personality because they’re all going through a lot of shit, but even then (as far as we’re aware) none of the others are coming to terms with being queer and in love with their best friend while having a girlfriend. of course, will is queer and in love with mike, but he doesn’t have the added stress and conflict of also having a long term gf and he seems a lot further down the path of accepting himself than mike is/seems to have been aware of it for a lot longer.

if the suffer bros end up not making mike queer then a lot of his behavior could very well be simple assholery. it could very well be that they fumbled the ball on his character, but that still doesn’t take away from everything else that’s happened to him. if they DO make him queer and do him justice in s5 he could be a really good example of a multifaceted (a.k.a realistic) character whose morality isn’t black and white. he’s complicated and he makes bad decisions but that doesn’t mean he’s a villain or the product of bad writing, it means he’s a regular human being.

i hope for everyone’s sake that he can figure out and accept himself, go see a therapist regularly, and get the guy of his dreams once he’s emotionally/mentally ready for it!!

tl;dr: mike hasn’t just randomly turned into a piece of shit—he’s just pubescent, queer, in love, and really going through it.

maybe it’s because i, too, was once pubescent, queer, and going through it, but i feel for him.

it might seem weird to some that i’m defending a fake guy so hard, and i get it, but i love my fake guy and have a special interest in analyzing my various fake guys. and a lot of this is about the principles of what people are criticizing, not just the character.

i apologize if this sounds rude or preachy, i struggle with using the right tone both irl and in text. i just want to stick up for my relatable queer fictional teenager. hope u had a good read <3