anabsolutenightmare

[anabsolutenightmare]

FIRST EDIT LET'S GOOOO

Song used

[anabsolutenightmare]

chamomile blossoms for the angel

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I was thinking the other day about how funny it would be if Laurent had a really thick accent, then recalled one of my favorite "French is a language that hates you" posts of all time.

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The Chess Moves Theory Set -- Why Chess & Magic? (A Final 15 MetaTheory)

The Final Episode of Good Omens S2 is full of moments that caught our attention. We cried, we rewatched in disbelief, and some of us generated speculation and theories. Yet it remained difficult to find a solid "other" explanation for everything that occurred. Maybe it really was an incredibly painful breakup. The Ineffable Divorce.

Speculation about any one of the key moments, looked at individually, leave gaps and questions and uncertainties. But together, they might propose a different picture. I think it's a piece by piece jigsaw puzzle, or the sequences in a Regency Era dance, or --- A complex game of chess.

Over many months, I've put together a set of 8 scenes/theories, Eight Chess Moves that, together, might prove that what we saw wasn't all there was. Some might seem exciting, some might seem bonkers. Personally, I think there's reasons (or sometimes even proof) for each of them, or I wouldn't propose them to you. I've listed and linked each one below. I hope you'll at least enjoy them!

Now, I'm not a skilled chess player, not at all. But The Metatron is. He's a Chess Master (at manipulation), and Our Ineffables have had to quickly develop their skills, anticipating moves and creating counter moves. Hopefully they are skilled enough to shift the board and win this deadly game.

Like Fell the Marvelous Magician, flicking the envelope after the incriminating photo has been tucked away, magic and Misdirection are also used. Misdirection means that the magician is not "hiding" the trick -- they convince you to start looking for the trick after it's already happened. Magicians Penn and Teller are quoted as saying, "The strongest lie is the lie that the audience tells itself."

This Masterclass article on What Is Misdirection in Magic tells exactly how it's done:

Social Cues -- Look where they look, not where we should look

Multitasking/Split Focus -- Distractions

Patter -- Rapid talking & questions (Lookin' at you, Nina!)

Emotional Manipulation -- Yeah, that Crowley moment with Nina

Time Misdirection -- It already happens before we know to look

Convincers -- Someone validates that everything's normal

Repetition -- We get used to seeing something, and don't question it anymore

I'll be refering to most of these in the theory breakdowns, since they're a huge part of how a lot of this managed to sneak under our radar.

The Eight Chess Moves Theory Set:

1 - The Metatron Misdirection *see new note, below

2 - The Metatron's Second Coming

3 - Ineffables in Check

4 - A Hefty Jigger of Death

5 - Nothing Lasts Forever

6 - The Circle Kiss Theory

7 - The Nightingale DID Sing

8 - Aziraphale's Jubilant Smile (NOT the crazy elevator grin)

Also: The Metatron Misdirection New Note (Is it a Shell Game of White-Haired Men?)

No single chess move on the board wins a match. It is the series of moves, each decision, each part of the strategy, that leads to the victory. For nearly a year and a half, the fandom has been analyzing various scenes that raised questions in our minds. We get closest to figuring it out, I believe, if we look at all those mysterious moments together. None of my theories is convincing if it stands alone. However, as a SET, each leading to the next, they might make a more compelling case for the moves and countermoves that were happening in S2.

The opening credits sequence has a lot of clues about Magic in it (like rabbits Everywhere!!), letting us know that Magic is gonna be important in S2, as detailed in @sendarya 's YouTube video:

Good Omens Title Sequence, EASTER EGGS and hidden clues uncovered!

Interestingly, I think we've actually also been told to look for a chess metaphor, just as we were given clues to look for Magic Tricks. There are chess pieces and a chess board visible behind Crowley (next to the fateful grandfather clock!) in much of the end of E6. And earlier, in E3 when Jimbriel is swatting at the fly and demonstrating gravity, we are given a very clear shot of the book "My Best Games of Chess."

That same book is also featured several times in the 1946 Powell and Pressburger movie "Stairway to Heaven," as @sendarya noticed. (The multiple connections of chess and "Stairway to Heaaven" with S2 is wonderfully explained in another YouTube video by @sendarya ,

Good Omens Love or Law, which is stronger?

I highly recommend checking it out!) The movie poster on the left for "Stairway to Heaven" is seen twice in Good Omens S2, in the opening credit sequence (seen below) and in Maggie's record shop.

The poster on the right also shows the movie's U.K. release name, "A Matter of Life and Death." As fun and fluffy as Good Omens S2 began, the reference to this other title becomes too fitting for our Ineffables by the final episode.

The Chess book and the repeated presence of the movie poster certainly seem to mean Something. The video by @sendarya is what inspired me to look at all the mysteriously odd moments of S2 as related parts of a Chess Game, "A Matter of Life and Death" between the Metatron and Our Ineffables. Each moment looked at alone just leads to more questions. Together, they might start to make sense.

I hope you enjoy all of the parts of my Chess Match Theory Set. (I've been neurotically pondering and examining and rewriting this stuff for months!) Hopefully, these ideas are still consistent with Terry Pratchett's ideas for where these two characters who began as one will end up. I'm hopeful that I'm onto something here, but I also hope (tentatively believe?) that the plot they suggest still fits with the Rescued 90, the Finale of our Ineffable Adventures. And, if I'm mistaken, at least it gives us something to talk about in the meantime!

Thanks for coming with me on this crazy ride!

To Our World!

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i dont care about validity i care about my civil rights

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Trying to wait patiently for more Good Omens 3/finale news:

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This is a friendly reminder that none disabled people often do benefit from the same accommodations disabled people benefit from.

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@aziraphales-library 👀

Random Good Omens fic question: Does anyone know if these are any Ineffable Husbands fics written from the pov of one of the waiters at the Ritz? They must be regulars and the staff must've overheard and seen a lot of both cute and silly moments, as well as quite nasty fights (i want to write on myself but I don't have the patience or energy or time to try and write and complete any fic of my own at the moment🫠) I'm craving Aziraphale X Crowley in restaurant environment!

(And when I'm at it, anyone know if there's any Ineffable Husbands! restaurantAU fics out there?)

[anabsolutenightmare]

Crowley coded

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Took Noel to the park today, she had a blast!

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Everything is Good Omens

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I know this is a fandom blog and I would not typically post something like this, but desperate times and all that. This fandom is full of the kindest and most compassionate people I can think of. Even if you don’t donate, every reblog helps 💚

And these two goobers look suspiciously like two ineffable beings we all know and love

So if I reach my goal, I will find a way to dress them up as Crowley and Aziraphale

Also if anyone can make dog costumes or knows someone drop their Etsy!

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I made another fanvid! With a Hozier song of course, because he seems to have Crowley and Aziraphale on speed dial. For those who have given me other (wonderful!) song suggestions, I will be working on those edits in the near future now that I’ve finished this one! Sending good vibes to all ✨

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Fan Fiction Recommendations - Pinned Post

Thought it might be helpful to save links to my weekly fan fic recommendations. Organized by theme, each post gives you the rating and enough information to give you an idea of whether it's a good choice for you to read. And you'll find more great suggestions in the comments and reblogs. Just one more option for a fan fic reference desk. Scroll down for links--oldest first. Recommended WIPs at the bottom.

2024

11/8/24 - Fics that Made Me LOL - These are the funniest fics; the ones that actually had me laughing out loud. I'll definitely need to revisit this theme. So many to add to the list.

11/15/24 - Current Best of the Best - Snapshot of my absolute favorite fics at this moment in time. Fics I loved and can't imagine ever forgetting.

11/22/24 - Human AUs - These are the fics that finally convinced me to read our ineffable pair depicted as humans. And I've never looked back.

11/28/24 - Banter - Who doesn't love saucy banter? Here are my fave stories with witty dialogue.

12/6/24 - Illustrated Stories - It's in the name. These include comics and traditional fics with illustrations.

12/13/24 - Smooth Criminals - Fics that involve criminal undertakings.

12/20/24 - Christmas - I limit myself to one, very special Christmas fic. Hard to imagine any story better than this one.

12/27/24 - Through the Ages - Do you really need an explanation? My fave fics that show our ineffable pair in different time periods.

2025

1/3/25 - The Bentley - Fics in which our favorite sentient car gets her due.

1/10/25 - "Mixed" AUs - Stories in which one of the ineffable pair is mortal and the other is supernatural.

1/17/25 - Animal Shenanigans, pt 1 - Fics in which animals play an important role.

1/24/25 - Animal Shenanigans, pt 2 - One week was not enough to contain so many charming, animal-centric fics.

1/31/25 - Resistance - My favorite fics centered around resistance against powerful forces and nasty people.

2/7/25 - Read the Footnotes, pt 1 - I highlight two writers who write particularly clever and fascinating footnotes for their fics, in the style of Terry Pratchett. More to come in a future post.

2/14/25 - Be My Valentine - Recommending 3 Valentine's Day fics and 3 more that are about wooing, but not necessarily in February.

2/21/25 - Read the Footnotes, pt 2 - I share more favorite fics with clever footnotes.

2/28/25 - Alt Season 3 Speculations - These are my favorite post-season 2 fics that aren't what you might expect.

3/7/25 - Timey-Wimey - Some of the best fics that deal with time being weird. The first on the list is a unique treat.

3/14/2025 - Magic in the Air - My favorite fics featuring Fell the Marvelous (and yes, Crowley too) as magicians.

3/21/2025 - Ineffable Reality TV - Our ineffable pair end up on reality tv. Amazingly, three of them are not human AUs. Does not include any dating/marriage shows.

3/28/2025 - Spies in Disguise - Fics in which spying is a major part of the story. Lots of fun.

4/4/25 - Epistolary - Stories in which hand written letters are the centerpiece. Does not include texts, diaries, or emails.

4/11/25 - Top-Rated One-Shots - These are the single chapter works that get my highest ratings. Some will make you laugh. Some will make you cry. But they're all terrific.

4/18/25 - Texting - These fics center on texts. They range from the silly to the spicy with a sweet, tender love story in between.

4/25/25 - Sexy (but not explicit) - Focusing on moments in fics that are sexy but not explicit. Note: some of the fics themselves are explicit, even if the moment I highlight is not.

5/2/25 - Demon Summoning - These fics, both sweet and funny, center on Crowley being summoned by humans. See reblogs for even more recs.

❖❖❖

And finally, I've started recommending WIPs. Listing them here and marking them complete as they finish.

2/2/25 - Cayuga Blush (M) by asparkofgoodness/@thetunewillcome - Human AU with amazing link to canon in which Crowley and Aziraphale operate competing vineyards.

2/5/25 - Pages About You; Pages About Me (T) by D_Cocca/@dcocca - Aziraphale the bookstore owner and Crowley the comic shop owner become close while recommending reading material for each other.

2/19/25 - You Can Have It (E) by @voluptatiscausa - Aziraphale gets unwanted flowers from an ex. An empathetic delivery person helps him realize he's worth more than he's settled for in the past.

2/26/25 - Moonstruck (E) by @foolishlovers - Crowley is a single dad struggling with his responsibilities when the angelic bartender at his monthly stop shows him he deserves to take care of himself as well. COMPLETE

3/5/25 - Bonded (E) by AppleSeeds - Aziraphale travels to his grandfather's quarry to suggest how things can improve. He's entranced by the worker, Crowley, who has a mysterious secret. COMPLETE

3/12/25 - Chef's Kiss (E) by @joyandotherstories - Aziraphale is a positive, YouTube chef who appears on Crowley's food network show famous for nasty treatment of the guests. Human AU but well integrated into Good Omens canon.

3/19/25 - where the nodding violet grows (M) by @omens-for-ophelia- Crowley suspects there's a fairy living in his garden. But the fae creature only appears once Crowley offers a gift suitable for his standards. Lovely story and art.

3/26/25 - Dead Right (E) by @anatomic-girl. A cut above even the best fake marriage trope with loads of characters as charming as our ineffable pair (including two adorable cats).

4/2/25 - shoutout to @raxacoricofallapatoriusrulez, a prolific writer with several fics in progress.

4/9/25 - In Night Blooms by @gaiaseyes451, Aziraphale is drawn to a familiar but neglected garden where he picks some blooms to brew into a tea. Soon he starts having mysterious dreams.

4/16/25 - Wavelengths & Frequencies by @shadesofecclescakes and imposterssyndrome/@maaikeatthefullmoon is a hilarious romp through the friends to enemies to friends to (?) journeys of DJs Crowley and Aziraphale. LOL funny!

4/23/25 - Parliamentary Procedure. A rare, themed WIP rec of Honourable Members (E) COMPLETE by @groovynightstrawberry and Crossing the Floor (M) by AlwaysTuesday.

4/30/25 - A Smell Can't Be Ineffable (M) by @thinkinginscripts, in which Aziraphale tries to help Crowley recover his sense of smell and taste after Covid. But Crowley responds differently to the therapy than expected. COMPLETE

If you're seeing this as a reblog, you can find the original (most-up-to-date) version here.

And if my tastes match yours, check out my AO3 bookmarks highlighting the top 10% of all fics I've read.

[anabsolutenightmare]

⚠️GO S2 SPOILERS⚠️

“We could have been… us.”