#i only ever asked questions

[katiefrog217]

[The One who Hung the Stars] . . .

[+ Bonus Simple Render]

[drconstellation]

Come Back When You Can Make A Whale

This is going to contain some speculation for S3, so you know what to do! Or not do!

SITIS: What did God say? JOB: Um... I'm not sure. I didn't understand much. Things too wonderful for me. Ostriches came into it. SITIS: Ostriches? JOB: And whales. God's very proud of the whale. Went into some detail about... how great whales are. SITIS: But did They explain? JOB: [shakes head] I think the point was, if you want answers, come back when you can make a whale.

Whales, huh?

If you aren't well read, this could be quite the misdirection. It should be reasonably obvious, given who is doing the talking - Job - what he is actually referring to, then we can join a couple of dots to make some speculative leaps.

You still with me?

No? Then let us start with how do you make a whale?

By giving it another name.

Leviathan.

Chapter 41 of the Book of Job is all about the Leviathan, a great sinuous sea serpent with impenetrable scales and breath like fire. It sleeps beneath the sea until the end of days. Over time it came to be associated with any sea monster, then anything large, and what is the largest animal ever known to have lived? The whale.

The top of the matchbox is also worth a look. We have a skull and crossbones, which is classic Memento mori symbolism, fitting in with the resurrection theme of the Second Coming - but look at the way the address of the pub is spelt! Now, this not the same way it is spelt on the record single Maggie gives to Aziraphale; Goatgate is spelt as one word, not two. A little bit of searching reveals the meaning behind this fictional address that backs up and reinforces the quote on the side of the matchbox.

Strong's Concordance for 66 gives us "wild, savage, fierce." Goatgate is an interesting one, because it turns out to be a relatively modern term from the urban dictionary, and I'm just going to refer to the polite version of it here - it's another word for "mouth." So 66 Goatgate is a "fierce and savage mouth." Yes, that does sound about right - in more ways than one, once you know who it is. (If you want to look up the impolite version, go ahead - I'm sure you will still find the connotations very amusing.)

Our metaphorical Leviathan is Crowley. He gave the game away at the end of S1 during the appearance-swap.

This also means Aziraphale is his counterpart, Behemoth. Why - well, I made a bit of joke in my post here that he was playing at being a "river horse" while he wallowed in the bath of holy water during his part of the appearance-swap scene. Modern day scholars think the description of Behemoth in the Bible may be that of a hippopotamus in real life history. If that is so, I'd still be betting this is what the "dark horse" comment from Nina in S2E1 is foreshadowing.

Maybe none of this new to you if you've been hanging around the the fandom for a while. That's fine, I'm just trying to establish the scene. And the next bit we need to talk about is this one, where Job gets a lecture from God.

During this sequence, we hear lines that come from Job 38 and 39.

GOD: Job, if you have questions for me, I have questions for you. Do you know how I created the earth? Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth, Job? Were you there when all the morning stars sang together and all the Angels shouted for joy?

These lines are paraphrasing some of the beginning of Job 38.

Then we have:

GOD: Do you know the rules of the heavens? Did you set the constellations in the sky? Can you send lightning bolts and get them to report back to you? Did you give wings to peacocks, Job, or teach the ostrich to run?

These lines are again, paraphrasing Job, half from 38 and half from 39.

So then, we need to ask, why highlight these lines in particular?

Job 38 is mainly about setting the boundaries of the universe around us. The Earth might seem impossibly huge to a human, but it started with a single stone at its foundation. Earth and the other planets obey certain laws as they move around the Sun. The patterns of the stars in the sky take so long to change that it seems like they are set and inconstant. Even the chaotic form of lightning respects its Creator and returns to its point of origin.

From the last part of Chapter 38 to the end of 39 God challenges Job with a list of animals. The theme here is about freedom and wildness. Whether it is a noble lion, a loathsome crow, a nimble mountain goat, the head-strong wild ox or the willing war horse, they all flourish upon the Earth under the sight of the Almighty. Even the mightiest and most fierce beasts of all, Behemoth and Leviathan, have a place, although only God has the means to control those two.

None of this needs a human to be involved. We are so often the center of our own universe, and try so hard to control every aspect of the world around us that we lose sight of the bigger picture. Shit happens. Some things are out of our control. That doesn't mean its your fault and you're wicked and damned to go to Hell because of it. And that was the point God was trying to make to Job. The world is a far bigger, wilder and chaotic than you can imagine, but its also incredibly beautiful, and it runs itself within the rules and limits that seem to be set by invisible forces you can't see.

So back to the script from the show.

The first set of questions from God could apply to both of the duo. They were both around when Earth was created and were more than likely there when the "morning stars" (the highest angels, such as Lucifer, Gabriel, Michael and angel!Beelzebub) sang together.

The second set of questions are the ones that seem to have got the most attention so far, with ops cross-matching them to things Crowley does in S2.

Do you know the rules of the heavens?

Did you set the constellations in the sky?

Can you send lightning bolts and get them to report back to you?

Did you give wings to peacocks, Job...

(I make a suggestion this has something to do with Michael, but also see comments below)

...or teach the ostrich to run?

The first three of those questions are fairly straight forward, and I doubt many would dispute what they are referring to. But the reference to the peacock and the ostrich are more subtle and curious, and I would like to take a moment to look at the actual verse - because it is only one verse that is providing both questions - that is being paraphrased here.

Job 39:13 Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich?

Did you realize that the King James Version of the Bible is the only one that mentions peacocks in this particular verse? All the other versions mentions the first sentence of that verse in relation to the wings of ostriches: "The wings of the ostrich wave proudly." The ostrich is considered a cruel and witless bird in the Bible, pleased with the way it looks, and seemingly careless about its young.

Why does that sound familiar...

Shax thinks this ostrich feather-clad angel in disguise isn't too smart either.

So using the peacock line is a curious choice in the script. Other than the "eyes" in the tail of the peacock having a connection to Michael's many watchful eyes on the world, it's still not clear how Crowley helped them upwards. Unless both lines are supposed to refer to Gabriel, and how the vain peacock was helped to both fly and run to a distant location in the stars.

Edit: Since I first wrote this, @beebopboom pointed me to some more peacock lore, and this helped me delve a bit deeper into them. Peacocks were associated with wealth and royalty, but they were also associated with immortality in early Christian beliefs. There was a belief that the flesh of the peacock did not decay after its death. The bright colours in its tail came from its eating venomous snakes, which reminded people of Christ becoming sin for humanity's sake (think of Crowley downing the laudanum to save Elspeth from Hell in the crypt in 1827, its a similar action.) The "eyes" on the males tail also represented the all-seeing eye of God. So we have a connection with both royalty and resurrection here.

(Oh - just as an interesting connection here - a number of the newer versions of the Bible not only don't mention the peacock in this verse, they compare the ostrich to the stork! The meaning is meant to be that the stork cares more for their young than the ostrich, but if you read the words at face value, you could take a double meaning away...)

Let us return to questions, answers, and whales.

Questions. Always questions. It's like the proverbial toddler who's always asking a never-ending string of "but, why?" for funsies and you just want them to shut up for a moment and think about the last thing you said first. They, too, are a bit like Job. They are the center of their own universe at that age, having not had much experience of the world. They have no grasp of how far it extends beyond them, and how little even we as adults know.

If at this point you're going "oh, no, no, no, no, op, please don't tell me the point of this meta is it's all ineffable," relax. I'm not.

The point was to set you up for some nice, juicy, awesomely sweet S3 speculation.

Because I believe Crowley will finally get to ask his questions of God.

(oh lordy, I made the mistake of taking a break to have a shower before trying to finish this off, because I was having trouble seeing how to finish this in a tidy way, and that caused me to have "shower thoughts" and now the nice sweet simple speculation has turned into a slightly bat-shit crazy kind-of one, although still on the same track as what I was originally thinking. Here goes...)

We have this three card spread from waaay back at the beginning of S1. We all think its something to do with the three babies.

What if its not?

Because we need something like this to happen again - Aziraphale and Crowley either side of a third protagonist. What if it's the King of Kings, Love personified, Jesus, in the middle? (Or Adam again, I wouldn't discount that option either...)

If you would look at the GIF and the screenshot together again and go, well that makes, sense, white for the angel on the right, and green for the demon on the left, I would jump up and shout at you - NO!

Look at the cards again! In the Tarot, that's the Ace of Swords on the right - it belongs to Aziraphale. It's a very powerful card, about new beginnings and change.* Lets call the one of the left Knight of Wands, which also represents the element of Fire. Knights are all about movement and journeys. Who owns the Bentley? And look what Gabriel has instinctively done with his hands - he has held his screen-left hand out to Aziraphale, the Sword, the angel who wears green, and his right hand out to Crowley, the Knight of Fire. The yin and yang qualities are actually swapped. That was what I was trying to tell you in this post. They aren't as obvious as they seem at first glance.

And love is the answer, it turns out. Did you see my comment the other day on another post? In Strong's Concordance 25 = to love.

Anyway, we should get a third parallel scene somewhat like this, and like when Aziraphale and Crowley took Adam out of time to talk to him in S1.

Only this time the three of them (with who ever is in the middle) should be having a talk with God about what is or isn't supposed to happen.

JOB: I think the point was, if you want answers, come back when you can make a whale.

Crowley could be a literal serpent (though I would be very surprised if he did manifest that way) but it should be a metaphorical Leviathan that stands before the Almighty to ask his questions and get his answers. And it will be that he has earned the right to be there, because he finally understands the lessons of Job.

@makewayforbigcrossducks I hope this answers one of your questions

*The Ace of Swords speaks of new beginnings, but it is a two-edged sword that can cut both ways. It is strength in adversity, victory out of struggle, good out of evil, a change in the old order on the way.

[brainwormcity]

God really let Crowley down. He was made to Fall simply for asking questions and in a moment not unlike a toxic, strict parent who gets lazy and lets off the reins for some of their favorites, Her expectations changed. Within the first 6 minutes of 02x02, Aziraphale questions God's plans for Job no less than nine times and that's not even including the ones he asks of Crowley in their initial meeting.

Then, to add insult to injury, Crowley literally watches Job openly ask God questions without punishment or reprisal. All that and he still chooses to do what he sees as the right thing, not out of a desire for redemption or praise, (Job pretty well shows that doing the right thing in the name of God doesn't win you any prizes) but because that's just who he is. It's so damned unfair. I love Aziraphale so much, but compared to Crowley, he's been so lucky and given so many exceptions that it almost could be by design.

[crowleys-hips]

Rosary

tag list under the cut

@goodomensafterdark @wibbly-wobbly-blog @phantomram-b00 @crowleys-bentley-and-plants @charlotte-zophie @crowleys-curl @quoththemaiden @thewibblylever @genderqueer-hippie @lickthecowhappy @celestialcrowley @im-the-j-in-anthony-j-crowley @sabotage-on-mercury @ineffabildaddy @ineffable-rohese @rainbowcrowley @alwaysbemybae @fearandhatred @roof-of-trees @weasleywrinkles @brokewokebespoke @eybefioro @captainblou

if anyone wants to get added/removed lemme know

[ineffableaddiction]

Season 2, Before the Beginning and the Final 15

Comparing these two scenes, I have a question about Season 3 (or what happens the interim between seasons).

Both of these sections are focused on Crowley and Aziraphale. They start out with Crowley wanting to do something important (creating the nebula/star systems and wanting to talk about his relationship with Aziraphale).

Aziraphale then interrupts the conversation, providing information additional information that Crowley wasn’t aware of. Crowley listens intently in both scenes. (Crowley seriously has listening intently to Aziraphale down as a science.)

Both times, Crowley find out his hopes for the future may be crushed, whether it be the stars he wants to see grow out of his creation, or being with Aziraphale for eternity.

Aziraphale nervously tries to caution Crowley in both scenes. “Don’t question God” and “Please don’t talk now we’re being watched.” (Heaven is paying attention)

After “Before the Beginning” Crowley fell at some point. (Entirely offscreen) Due to a lot of the parallels in Good Omens in general, does this foreshadow Crowley returning to Hell?

[tartanbowtie]

I just want to draw your attention to this incredibly insightful analysis by Sendarya.

Blurb from the video:

Crowley is an incredibly complex character. This video discusses why he thinks it’s always too late, and how that relates to his innate desire to question everything, and his past trauma.

[thosesillylittlegayghosts]

David Tennant does questioning a higher power/the universe like no other

[gotholdladywithadhd]

Alright I'm going to have a thought (I'm sure I'm not the first and I've probably read a fan fic about it tbh but I can't remember where all my thoughts come from) that explains any possible memory loss of Crowley's (a thing I'm not convinced exists fully yet but setting that aside) and also why the Metatron hates him and said he was always asking damn fool questions, and why Crowley fell when it seems he really shouldn't have (by heavens standards at least, and setting aside he hasn't been a reliable narrator of his own fall as per Neil Gaiman for the moment)

He discovered the Metatron doing some questionable things, and started asking questions about these particular things. And the Metatron was like nope! And wiped his memory and got him kicked out of heaven.

[inconveniently-discorporated]

Your union fanfic for GO being longer than GO is and fleshing out the world so much and developing characters in new and interesting ways is beautiful and I’m so glad you took the time and effort to create something so wonderful and share it with the world

Sorry, I almost missed this in my notifications. 🥰

Thank you so, so much for taking the time to share this with me! ❤️ I really appreciate hearing from people who read that story, because honestly it holds such a special place in my heart. It's the longest story I've ever finished -- one of the very few I've been able to finish -- and I wasn't sure I would. But seeing people enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it has been amazing.

[im-the-j-in-anthony-j-crowley]

What happens if you evaporate holy water?

Is it still holy water?

How much unblessed water do you have to put in holy water before it is no longer blessed?

Is it a matter of belief?

Can I believe that the person who blessed the water did it wrong and that makes it unblessed water?

How do you bless water?

There are so many questions

I recently learned that Christians believe holy water can’t be diluted - is if you out holy water into a bigger cup of water, all of it is now holy. I feel like the chances are pretty high that at least a drop of holy water has ended up in the ocean. And then it would end up in the rain? How is Crowley alive?

Crowley is not a believer in Holy Water homeopathy.

[meatgrinder-0]

(INTERDIMENSIONAL CHESS ISN'T FUN WHEN YOU'RE A PAWN)

[jodoesnew]

On the other end

A small dcaXy/n idea I had

Premis: Y/N works part time in the daycare but doesn't really interact with the dca which doesn't mean the dca didn't notice them there.

Start of the story

Y/N gets messages from an unknown number and decides to answer

They start messaging thinking that they don't know each other at all

They notice that the tone and wording in the messages switches completely throughout the day but get used to it way too fast

Y/N's life is a complete mess right now so Unknown is a pleasant distraction

They never tell each other their real names but use nicknames instead

Both share how they feel often and text about life and just anything that they think of

Someday y/n just calls their unknown friend to share some great news because they have no one else they want to share it with

They don't pick up but call back later

A male voice they have never heard answers. A pleasant one. They talk for hours.

But the voice tells them to only call at night bc he can't talk on the phone while working. But texting is fine

Y/N falls in love over late night phone calls and long text convos

They ask if they could meet up and hang out

He doesn't answer

The connection goes silent

The last thing he sent is "I'm so sorry. But I can't" written only a few minutes after their question (in the middle of the day)

Hours go by and they get no answer from him anymore

Hurt and worried Y/N is in a daze of crying and starring at nothing for the rest of the week

This is when Y/N misses their break bc they stayed in the daycare closet to cry

As they step out the daycare is dark sth that Y/N was never there to see

Then they hear it. The voice of the person they love singing from where the kids are sleeping.

Y/N stumbles through the dark until they reach the kids and lock eyes with the daycare attendant

Moon goes quiet and his eyes betray him and show his shock

Y/N is stunned

"It's you?"

Awkward

P2, P3

[brainwormcity]

It must have hurt Crowley so badly to watch God speak to Job and see him allowed to do the very thing that he Fell for. He typically shows no reverence for Her at all but in this scene you can see and hear some heartbreaking mixture of awe and incredulousness in his voice and expressions. I wonder if he felt envy in that moment or if he was angry. I wonder if he questioned what made Job so much more special than him.

[musingsofmaisie]

@friendlyneighbourhoodanon writes (brilliantly):

they’re both just pretending that they’re not exactly that: an Angel who doubts and a Demon who believes

This is such a fundamental premise of the show and the moral arc of these two. It grounds really all of their morality and their behaviour. It's the root of Crowley's suffering/anomie/weariness and Aziraphale's need to try to fix things.

wild how Aziraphale is the one warning Crowley not to question God in the beginning of season 2

yeah yeah Crowley’s asking questions whatever, oh no, but he wholeheartedly believes it’s fine, he won’t get into trouble

Aziraphale is the one who doubts God’s goodwill, you can see it in his hesitancy of Crowley asking any questions, he’s such a baby and so painfully afraid already

so sure yeah Crowley’s an optimist underneath it all and whatever, but Aziraphale’s a fucking cynic, and they’re both just pretending that they’re not exactly that: an Angel who doubts and a Demon who believes

[deerspherestudios]

Sorry, this is a silly question but-

Does Mychael know how to whistle? I think he would be the kind of person who whistles songs or tries to imitate birds!

Just because I think it'd be pathetically funny,,, I wanna say he desperately wishes he can whistle but ends up blowing raspberries instead when he tries.

Why? Because:

Yeahhh sure, admittedly he can be charming and cool if he can whistle like a bird just because he's a nature guy. But listen, the scenarios that pop up from him not knowing how to whistle are a lot more endearing to me.

Imagine you and him are out on a nature walk. You praise some birds singing in the treetops nearby and you ask him that question, fully expecting him to know how to. He'd embarrass himself going for it trying to impress you (because he thinks you'd find it neat or something) only to fail miserably.

This guy has it too good with knitting and cooking and woodworking he must suck at something. /lh

But then,,, maybe you can teach him instead! Maybe you can gift him a bird whistle the next time you meet him! Maybe you can show him how to do it with your hands!! You can tell him you're just as bad at it as he is or impress him instead.

[starry-bi-sky]

watch me end up making a superdad au coz of WTNS

because!!! because i was thinking about how funny it is that Bruce's first two kids (Dick and Danny) would be superman fans, and how funny it would be if that influenced his opinion on Superman when they first met. And then I got to picking that apart, and how Danny's opinion and feelings on Superman would have the bigger impact on Bruce than Dick, since Dick's admiration for Superman (presumably) comes from the standard little kid "he's an alien and he can FLY" (and flying graysons) stuff. Which, while very very cute, is easy to ignore and disallow swaying feelings on.

But DANNY? It's not the same. While part of Danny's admiration comes from the same "holy shit he's an alien and can fly thats so COOL" vein, it also comes from a place of feeling deeply relatable to him. Both he and Superman were/are perceived as incredibly powerful, deeply dangerous creatures that are nigh impossible to stop, they have a handful of powers that are similar to one another, and they are (one of) the only ones of their kind. Superman is (one of) the last Kryptonian, Danny is (one of) the only Liminal in existence, and they might not be the same species but the principle remains the same and they're in the same boat.

As a result, Danny would just, god, he'd find so much relation in that. And yeah they're not the same but Superman would make him feel just a little less alone, a little more seen, and he'd find so much comfort in that.

And Bruce, by the time he meets Superman, would know by then about Danny's powers and his experiences and his time as Phantom and as a Liminal. And it's easy to ignore your kid's admiration for another Superhero when it stems from a place of plain hero worship or simple appreciation. It's harder to ignore it when your kid admires a Superhero because they make them feel seen and relate to them on a level you can't reach them on.

When that's the reason, how could he not think differently about Superman? When, by then, he's seen the scars left on Danny's body from all of his fights; when he's seen him cry and break down over never being able to fly again thanks to the blood blossom poison; when he's heard all about the struggles he faced with his powers, the fear he had about being found out, the fear he had when he was first developing them; and how he was ostracized by his city for his efforts just because he wasn't human, despite how much he was just trying to help.

How could he not look at Superman when they first meet, mask-to-mask, and have a little voice in the back of his mind go: 'my kid is a lot like you'

its making me emotional. if these feeligns persist im going to end up making a superdad au