#punisher season 2 spoilers

[miss-americanbi]

crowley’s demonic form being a snake is so devastating to me because not only do snakes have notoriously terrible eyesight, but also they’re cursed (in the biblical sense) to crawl flush to the ground forever. his fall wasn’t just painful from the, you know, falling of it all. it was the day crowley was damned to be blind to his own creations, to be forever banished as far away from his stars as heaven and hell could possibly force him.

[iheartbookbran]

lol imagine you’re Colin Bridgerton and you’ve spent the last three weeks pinning for your best friend who’s being courted by a vegetarian so now you have to jump through hoops and loops (and some finger tricks) to get her to marry you instead.

she accepts your proposal and as you’re still riding that high reality comes crashing down all around you as you realize marrying her means Portia Featherington will be your future mother-in-law…

[thaern]

Do you think that the thing that characterise a Loki is the fact that we always lose?

“Because without them who am I?”

[lenaellsi]

i've mentioned this before and it's a Hot Take maybe but. i don't think it's fair at all to characterize crowley's "you and me, what do you say?" speech from s2 as being equivalent to "fuck the earth run away with me to the stars right now" a la season 1

i guess i can see why it might come off that way, with gabriel and beelzebub having just left and crowley drawing the comparison to them, but a lot of people have sort of extrapolated from that this dichotomy where suddenly aziraphale is the one who cares about saving the world and crowley only cares about himself and aziraphale. and while i think crowley certainly prioritizes their mutual safety and is more likely to get spooked when faced with threats from heaven (i wonder why) crowley also loves earth?? he talks about it all the time.

the last time there was an apocalypse, crowley was the one who proposed saving the world, and he had to talk aziraphale into it. and like...he was planning breakfast at the ritz, wasn't he? he didn't want to leave. obviously "you can't leave this bookshop" meant "you can't leave me," but it also LITTLE bit meant the bookshop, and earth.

the circumstances of s1 were very different than the end of s2. crowley only wanted to run in s1 when 1) the end was about 4 hours away, 2) from his POV he and aziraphale had no idea where the antichrist was, so they wouldn't be able to stop anything even if they did stay to die with the humans, 3) aziraphale was about to Talk To Heaven the same way crowley tried to before the Fall, 4) demons were actively pursuing him for purposes of torture and annihilation. and in the end, he STILL stayed.

idk. if we're going to give aziraphale the benefit of the doubt for the Many Things he said in that convo, then i think we can afford to give crowley the benefit of the doubt that "we need to get away from them" and "go off together" might mean something more along the lines of "please don't go back to heaven, stay with me, it can be the two of us against them all." THAT was what crowley's emotional arc this season was leading to, with the flashbacks and his big revelation in ep 5, the same way aziraphale's was leading to leaving. every single one of the flashbacks had crowley choosing to help someone else at great personal risk--why would that lead to the conclusion that he actually wants to leave without trying to help? (of course, he did want to abandon gabriel. but I don't think that was even a little bit irrational after aziraphale's failed execution. walking away from the heavenly host who has done nothing but hurt both of them is not the same as walking away from earth. it's still a problem--ignoring heaven and hell will not, ultimately, fix anything--but again, it's not the same as abandoning humanity on a whim.)

TL;DR I don't think it's a fair reading to say that crowley's proposed solution to The Heaven And Hell Problem is "fuck humanity, let's give up." i think he was proposing working together against heaven and hell with the option of an exit strategy if everything went wrong, which is what he ALWAYS tries to do. (see: arrangement + holy water.) his need for an escape route and his tendency to prepare for the worst is something that is definitely hindering him in, for example, his relationship with aziraphale, but it also makes sense. because, you know. the last time he tried doing anything about heaven he got his wings lit on fire. so.

[thedailydescent]

Going back my post about the fight (you guys left so many good tags!)

I'm not completely sold on the idea that Armand purposefully and methodically planned to trigger Louis into a meltdown/suicide attempt (which the rescue of would be delayed) for the purpose of keeping him by his side in a weakened state, not because it would make what he said and did any less wrong, but because it goes against what we know about Armand as a character.

From what Assad Zaman said, Armand is a guy who actually has less control than he appears and wants, and is sometimes without a full/correct assessment of the people around him. Just because one has all the power, that doesn't mean one's own insecurities or overestimation of self can't get in the way of effective control. He did leave his partner and the "homewrecker" alone together this episode thinking everything would be fine, after all; that does not spell out someone with great calculation skills. He also has this pessimistic passivity to him. He will see trouble coming, but because of his past experiences, feel there's no use in stepping in to prevent the situation because it will only delay the inevitable. He then tries to convince you and himself afterwards that he could not have prevented any of it from it happening (as @rosesocietyy said, his commitment to deniability will choke him one day). He's not a man who can prevent an implosion, but he is a man who can commit to the clean-up afterwards (see how controlled he appears during his fight with Louis vs him playing 'nursemaid' afterwards).

I feel like when we talk about abusers, it's pretty easy and even dangerous to see them as ones who plan everything out from the beginning, who always know what's going on/what's going to happen, and are always in control (it goes back to the whole 'Armand planned Claudia's death from the beginning to trap Louis', 'Armand abracadabra-ed how Claudia died who Lestat really was from Louis's head', "Armand has been mind-controlling Louis to stay with him for 77 years" "Armand actually planned this interview because he wants to break up with Louis/get with Daniel' theories). Not only does it paint a portrait of abusers as one-dimensional villains even though anyone could be one, it also misses the point of why something or someone is abusive in the first place. It's not about whether you intended your actions to have consequences or not, whether your past trauma has compromised your skills to self-regulate or connect with others, or whether you have control all the time or not. It's about how your actions have hurt the other/made them feel helpless regardless, and whether they're (rightfully) afraid it's going to happen again.

During that fight scene, I see Armand's facial expressions and behaviour change multiple times during that fight. I see the look of anger slowly turning to regret then worry when Louis runs out of the room. That didn't look like someone who planned any of that to happen or is plotting to delay Louis's rescue, but someone who was coming off the high end of their subconscious/released pent-up emotions. Armand to me is honestly scarier because of that unpredictability and lack of clear thought-process. With Armand it's never really about boiling his decisions down to one reason; it's about the effect someone as powerful as Armand has when he feels he has no control.

[delusion-with-mel]

I just watched the season 2 finale of Daredevil and

AAAAAAAHHHHHHH.

That was just so painfully beautiful

Frank helping Matt? Oh my god yes.

Matt wanting to run away with Elektra was irresponsible imo, but i mean, they were about to go fight a battle they didnt know if theyd survive from, so ill allow it

And then theres Hogarth employing Foggy??? That was such a shock

Anddd uhh *checks notes* ah yes Brett frickin Mahoney being an absolute icon

Stick going out of his way to properly kill Nobu was so badass and nobody can convince me otherwise

Also it seemed like they were gonna resurrect Elektra, so not a loss?

I ABSOLUTELY ADORE KAREN PAGE. SHE IS EVERYTHINGGG.

And finally, Matt revealing he's Daredevil to Karen 🤧🤧

[icyolive]

this isn't really meta meta, but can we appreciate this little journey?

Crowley tempting Aziraphale with carnal pleasures a tray of ox ribs. needless to say Aziraphale is a fan.

oh ho! Aziraphale is now a glutton foodie, pulls an uno reverso and tempts Crowley. does he balk and correct his word choice? yes. does he stop? NOPE.

Aziraphale hands Crowley a tray of carnal pleasures eccles cakes. I couldn't find a good clip, but Crowley stares at the plate a little longer, like he's noticed something strange and mildly irritating but can't quite put a finger on what.

in fact, the mildly confused look he gives the plate (and how much the camera lingers on this little scene) stood out so much that it led directly to this post. did I miss something? why is he staring at the plate?? of food? Aziraphale just handed him? ohhhhh???

and the party, where amongst the many ways that Aziraphale has apparently lost his mind all his inhibitions, he hands Crowley a whole tray of fancy carnal pleasures hors d'oeuvres. and then skedaddles. meanwhile Crowley is too busy with bigger issues to appreciate Aziraphale's carnal pleasures and balls.

Bonus from season 1, most likely before the whole tray of carnal pleasures temptation thing was conceived of. Perhaps Aziraphale testing the waters? or this is how he pictures Crowley—handing him food? alas, Crowley is again too distracted.

[queen-of-meows]

This is now a Victor Timely apologism blog. This little dude never did anything wrong in his life (except selling a pair of mechanical trousers to a congress man) and I won't tolerate any slender. So DNI if you wish any ill to Victor Timely !

[babsibabbles]

Am I the only one who things great satisfying character arc >>>>> happy endings??

Yes, Loki is now alone, which he explicitly didn’t want to be. Yes, he now sits on a throne which he didn’t want. Yes, he has a purpose now, but it’s a burden.

But the character development it took to get there? The sacrificial aspect of Loki‘s decision? But also the beauty of Loki tending to Yggdrasil/the Tree of Life, nurturing the life of the universe? Being the God of Stories now? That’s what gets me.

I do appreciate a happy ending. I would have loved to see Loki leading a happy life - be it with Sylvie or Mobius. I’m not going to deny that. But there is just this little extra something something in this type of tragic, Shakespearean ending that is going to stick with me. Because let’s be honest: perfect, happy romcom endings can be forgettable and boring. Raw and emotionally chaotic endings like Loki‘s just pull a much stronger response from me and it just shows me: I care and I get to work through all these emotions as complicated as they are. Happy perfect endings with a bow on top are just going to wash through me but this one? This one feels like a gut punch and just like a bruise it’s going to linger.

[stupidusernamepolicy]

Thinking again abt the dichotomy of religious trauma aziracrow have. Aziraphale having the threat of the fall, the fear of being fully ostracized from the one comfort he's known all your life which is the assurance that he's on the right side. Who wants to give Crowley back the protection of belonging to the "good" ideology.

And then there's Crowley, who has seen the cruelty of both sides. Who has been cast out by heaven into a pit of boiling sulphur and heard firsthand the words that would have sent his only friend off into the nevermore ("shut your stupid mouth and die already"), who was punished for saving a soul from eternal damnation so severely he asks for holy water next time the two meet.

[juliablasi-blog]

Headcanon idea

Post-season 2 story where everything ends the same way, but when Aziraphale enters the elevator to go to Heaven, it starts going down.

[edgarallennope]

crowley getting fucked up on laudanum doing the full mrs doubtfire whilst he fucks around with the laws of physics, demanding that wealth be distributed to the poor, serving cunt the ENTIRE time, he was the original party girls don't get hurt

[truly-grimm]

I was terrorizing my sister this morning and thought that Tumblr might appreciate it.

[purplemoonabove]

No spoilers.

Just that it killed me.

From the first to last.

…

…

…

I need a season 3.

[annabeth-my-beloved]

If I had a nickel for every time a character I like has threatened one I don’t with a gun in media I’ve consumed within the last 4 days I would have two nickels, which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice.

[pineapple-lover-boy]

Gabriel was present at the first birth.

I’ve always felt bad for Eve as I’ve felt she was given the low end of the stick but come on.

Talk about a real punishment. Agonizing pain literally no one has ever felt before and some pompous dumbass comes around to ogle, degrade, and probably heave at you because the next thing in Earth’s history that would be as bloody as this would be your own son killing your other son.

Like shit, give our girl a break.