blaxk4ker

[blaxk4ker]

[blaxk4ker]

Some of your books make it seems like you believe in actual literal magic, do you? ()

I can write down a few words and make people thousands of miles away, whom I have never met and will never meet, laugh tears of joy and cry tears of true sorrow for people who do not exist and have never existed and never will exist. If that isn't actual literal magic I don't know what is.

[blaxk4ker]

I read half way and realize that Crowley’s decision and ability to judge what’s right to do might… to some extent makes him “god”. He’s carrying out his own will, and not tasked by God or Satan. And his “evil” accomplishments are essentially the result human’s own decisions.

And that might be the ineffable plan. Leaving human beings and angels and demons to make their own decisions and lead their own lives, not by god’s will or demon’s nature or whatever side they happen to be in.

Everyone’s on their own to make their best judgement in this world. And they point out what seems inappropriate in others choices and help each other to make better decisions, or misled others for their own gains.

So, I feel like I’m losing my mind. I keep seeing metas about how Aziraphale wants Crowley to return to Heaven and be an angel again because he wants them to be on the same side/be good/change/etc., etc., etc. but I don’t see that at all. I actually see it as the very opposite.

Aziraphale loves Crowley just as he is. But there’s something more. Something huge.

Aziraphale loves Crowley and because he is an angel who is stuck in seeing things as black and white, he constantly praises Crowley for being nice. For being good. For being kind.

Aziraphale has watched Crowley on and off for 6,000 years. He watched him thwart the plans of Heaven and Hell because it was unjust. He spared the lives of innocents. He did small things that made Aziraphale happy just because (like making Hamlet successful and saving valuable books). And because Aziraphale sees things in black and white, he sees all the things Crowley has done as nice, as good, as kind.

Crowley vehemently attests he’s not nice or good or kind.

He’s not exactly wrong nor is he lying when he says this. When Crowley spares goats during a cruel bet over a righteous man and swallowing laudanum to prevent a suicide, when he prevents Armageddon by working with Aziraphale and stopping the Anti-Christ from being the Anti-Christ, he’s not doing the nice/good/kind thing.

He’s doing the right thing.

Crowley chooses to do the right thing without hesitation. He is better than all of Heaven and Hell who have callous and dispassionate view of all existence because he questions, because he makes choices. Crowley sees the world for all its messiness and he sees himself. He sees a place where he fits in. He sees the blurred edges.

And Aziraphale sees that, even if seeing the blurred edges is hard for him.

But here’s the thing that Aziraphale can’t voice.

It’s the reason why he told Crowley about being allowed to return to Heaven and become an angel again. He doesn’t want Crowley to change. He doesn’t think Crowley is flawed. Or not enough.

It’s something that is so monumental that it cannot be put into words. Because to put it into words would be more than blasphemy. It’s down right unthinkable for anyone in Heaven, Hell, or Earth to say what Aziraphale knows deep in his soul.

God was wrong to cast out Crowley.

Aziraphale believes Crowley can/should return to Heaven because he knows that Crowley should never have fallen in the first place. He wants him to be forgiven because when Crowley fell it was unjust. Aziraphale is trying to correct a mistake. He’s trying to do the right thing.

Yes, Crowley would never accept returning to Heaven. And Aziraphale was wrong to even suggest it (although that conversation is another can of worms to unpack).

Aziraphale loves Crowley. He loves him exactly as he is. He doesn’t want him to change. Aziraphale knows that Crowley the best of all of them. He wants to change Heaven because of it. Because God was wrong and Aziraphale knows it.

Aziraphale may have difficulty seeing beyond black and white, but when it comes to Crowley he sees everything crystal clear and in vivid color.

[blaxk4ker]

Me watching OG2: did Aziraphale or Angel Crowley received Gabriel’s treatment?

Aziraphale probably did not since he still remembers Angel Crowley and largely agrees with heaven, and there seems no reason for Heaven to remove Aziraphale’s memory during the creation

Crowley… there’s some discrepancies: he was able to create the nebula and “there shall be light” (almost like god himself), his angel clothing was different from Aziraphale’s, he has access to Heaven’s files… but also probably fought with lower ranked angels (the conversation with the Admission officer demon)… and… seem to be friends with Lucifer/Satan?

(I saw a gif with Crowley saying Satan just smiles? Need to find it again)

Could Crowley have stored his own memory in the nebula before the Heaven wiped him and somehow got his memory back afterwards? Would this be why Buzzbee gifted Gabriel the fly because she knew what Heaven would do to Gabriel? In that sense, was her intention always to “protect” Gabriel so she sends the chatty one to keep Crowley updated?

… was Satan and God the same one but in different image? (Now I’m imagining Cumberbatch/Sherlock smile as God 🤯)

[blaxk4ker]

I’ve seen a number of headcanons on why Hob doesn’t age, the most prominent, probably, being the one involving Father Time’s blessing of sorts.

My most favorite, though, is the notion that Hob doesn’t age since nobody ages past the point of their death.

(I don’t remember where I stumbled upon that one and cannot link the source, I’m sorry)

~ ~ ~

Death is a busy lady. There's no such thing as a vacation for her. Even days off are few and far between.

Sometimes, though, Death likes to indulge herself while on the clock. A little chat here, an apple there. A bit of good-natured teasing and a crooked smile. Dragging her baby brother off his throne and onto the muddy roads that mortals trudge is both a chore and a guilty pleasure of hers.

The appointments Death brings him to are never random. Some of them she chooses to teach a lesson, while others are meant to make him roll his eyes or even smile, bittersweet but content. There aren't many who can appreciate her gift for what it is, but the Prince of Stories is among them. After all, endings are his domain, too.

June 7th, 1389, was "bring your baby brother to work" day.

Dream had been rather apathetic as of late, so Death decided to shake him up a bit. Of course, making him actually enjoy himself would have been better, but that was too far-fetched for her liking. Unrealistic.

And what could shake her baby brother up better than a tavern full to the brim of smelly and merry crowds?

She made sure they arrived at the White Horse early. Her next appointment wasn't due for some time, enough to have a pint or two and mingle a bit. It wouldn't make any sense to arrive at the tavern just to leave a minute later, would it?

So when they got inside, Death shoved a mug of honestly horrible penny ale into Dream's hands, savored his grimace for a moment or two, and glanced around to look for something that could catch Dream's attention, if not interest.

He was never interested, these days, in anything really, and it worried her immensely.

The steady stream of conversations around them was nice, but unremarkable. She mulled about getting some food. If ale was any indication, local cuisine could get her another delightfully expressive grimace out of Dream.

She didn’t, though, as her mulling were interrupted by someone badmouthing her with gusto typical of almost-but-not-yet-drunk men snd loud enough for the whole tavern to hear.

Dream stopped at once and glanced at her, as if saying, "Hey, look what a fool."

Jackpot.

She couldn't help the smile taking over her face as he asked, "why would any sensible creature crave an eternity of this?"

However, it fell a bit when she looked, really looked at the man who caught her brother's attention.

Of course. It would be just Dream's luck that the first fucking soul who managed to drag him from his dreary apathy would be her next appointment.

Death knew what awaited Robert Gadling so soon: a messy and painful abdominal wound in a tavern brawl. Death from blood loss. For her baby brother to see and feed his cynicism with.

"I could grant him his wish," she said on a whim.

If she had any doubts, they were peeled away by Dream’s enthusiastic response, eyes crinkling maliciously. She hadn’t seen him so engaged in ages. So alive.

After Dream left, smug grin on his face, she lingered at the tavern a bit, but ultimately left before the brawl even started.

Death had no business in the White Horse on that day anymore.

[blaxk4ker]

Hello Mr. Gaiman! I saw this in a local bookshop and thought it was super cool. Nice drawing 👍

Thank you! You're in Tennessee!

[blaxk4ker]

hello! my hamster died last night. she was at peace, and in no pain. we were very close and i miss her as if she were a person. you have no obligation to answer this, and i don’t want to guilt trip you, but can you give me a reason to stay happy and move on? your words always have a good effect on me. thank you :)

Somebody you cared for died. It's okay to be sad.

Happiness will be there when you're ready, and moving on will happen anyway, because it does. You can be sad for now.

[blaxk4ker]

[blaxk4ker]

Dream left no footprints! (Details

page 22 from The Sandman (1989) #75 by Charles Vess, Daniel Vozzo, Neil Gaiman and Todd Klein

@neil-gaiman

[blaxk4ker]

Will we ever get blooper reels for good omens? Or even just you recounting some funny bloopers from when the first season was being filmed? I think that’d be really funny

They just didn't bloop.

Sandman, on the other hand, has blooped. But watching a bunch of well-fed pigeons refusing to take off and fly as a small child runs through them for take after take after take is something that probably you have to watch the dailies to really enjoy.

[blaxk4ker]

so I watched the sandman…

[blaxk4ker]

(Part ¼)

Like a lot of us, I’ve been going through Tom Sturridge’s filmography since watching Sandman on Netflix. I’ve watched a good amount of stuff so far, and I have Thoughts™ . Writing a few lines about him in each of the projects (because apparently this is a Tom Sturridge fan blog now??)

Now, you watch Tom in interviews and he is the DEFINITION of a cinnamon roll, so you would never think this- but this man has been absolutely wildin for over a decade. The projects he chooses? The roles he takes on? Half the time it’s as if he’s like ’if it’s not excruciatingly dramatic, absolutely insane, and/or heart-poundingly, breath-chokingly sexy, don’t even bother’. Also something else I think I figured out from watching these and Tom’s interviews- it’s possible that in his mind, wild/dangerous = seductive. So, anytime he’s playing a character of that sort, he turns it on and immediately has intense sexual tension with everyone in sight. It’s mind-blowing.

This is what I’ve watched so far:

Like Minds/Murderous Intent (2006)- Eddie Redmayne’s first movie. Tom plays Ed’s boarding school classmate, a psycho. He was 20/21 in this, unbelievably pretty, and nailed the ‘devil with an angel’s face’ character to a tee. The chemistry with Ed is, predictably, insane. He says and does some seriously disturbing things in the movie. This was so early in his career too! It’s possible that Tom’s always been a 'choose the interesting project’ person vs 'choose something that might make me a popular sweetheart’ person.

Waiting for Forever (2010)- I have to say this first, I legit loved this movie so much. It strikes just the right balance between soulful and real, and the whole effect is incredibly sweet and touching. They don’t make movies like this anymore. Tom’s character is a very innocent type: naive and clueless to the extent of disturbing, but full of hope and belief. Tom is SO good in this. He plays it a bit slow and spacey, and captures the wide-eyed wonder and confusion of the character perfectly. *chef’s kiss*

The Hollow Crown s2 (2012)- This was a series of BBC adaptations of Shakespeare’s historical plays based on English kings. Tom was Henry VI, and I was fkn depres*ed for a week after watching this, no lie. Henry VI on screen is spineless, pathetic, and being manipulated left and right by every single person in his vicinity. The politics is nasty, the murders are brutal, and King Henry, 17, doesn’t want any of it (but is still too much of a wuss to give up his crown so he clutches on religion instead). Tom, with his young face, long hair, gray cloak and his rosary that he desperately hangs onto, speaking of hope and heartbreak in Shakespearean lingo, just made me feel lots of emotions - terribly angry and frustrated with the king, then sad and horrified for him. It was draining. (The series overall is fantastic tbh.)

On The Road (2012)- Based on Jack Kerouac’s novel, this movie is all sorts of nasty- drugs upon drugs, lurid sex, people treating other people terribly. Tom in this is sensitive writer boi in unrequited love with a fuckboy, and his personality is “we can take sexuality out of it, just hold me, man”. I pray for the gays who will see this movie now because they won’t survive Tom in this. (I mean I’m straight and I barely survived). The messy hair? Thick black-framed glasses? The hurt glances? Manic-pixie smiles? Teary-eyed, swollen-lipped monologue? (Edit: Scene) I’m f*cking deceased. (No kidding tho, I can’t take movies that are so on-the-nose seriously and I skipped through it, and still Tom with his limited screen time managed to make me genuinely feel for his character. He was amazing.) Fun fact: The scene of him being bodily carried away for a threesome and proceeding to break the bed (literally) lives rent free in my head. No, I am not all right.

Far From the Madding Crowd (2015)- Adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s classic novel. Tom plays Sgt. Francis Troy (opposite Carey Mulligan) and is a regular no-good rake. Listen, you’d think Tom with his sweet mouth and wispy facial hair couldn’t pull off a moustache. You’d be wrong. He looks great. And he has that charisma that makes you wanna drive off a cliff for him even though you know he’s an asshole. They made his character halfway decent tho, Troy is worse in the book. (EDIT: No they did NOT! I was skipping thru the movie and missed a scene lol. But I’ve watched the whole thing now and, yeah). And Tom switches vibes from sinister to emotional without missing a beat. What a goddamned treat watching this man is.

I’ll stop now, and do the next installment on another 5 Tom projects (I guess Remainder, Mary Shelley, Sweetbitter, Irma Vep, Sea Wall/A Life? We’ll see.)

(Edit: Part 2 , Part 3, Part 4, Part 5/ Bonus)

[blaxk4ker]

Death does not get to play favorites among those that die.

Though many have begged for her favor. Many have prayed. Many have done things both saintly and sickening in attempts to please her.

There is nothing special about Hob Gadling.

She knows him well. Better than Many. Less than some.

She stands beside him often, when he is a boy.

He is the fifth of nine children.

He is the only one to survive into adulthood.

He is there underfoot when the tenth-child-that-almost-was takes his first, last, and only breath. He is old enough to be sad, but not old enough to understand why.

He is in the grass there at the roots of an old oak tree, when the second born slips from the branches and snaps her neck on the way down, her pockets full of birds eggs.

He is there at the bed-sides, when pneumonia takes the third child, in spite of all pleading. When pox takes the fourth, and almost himself. When cancer takes the seventh, the girl sobs and pleads for the pain to be over. She knows Death is coming for her and when Death does, she hears Hob Gadling say this;

"Aye, they are coming. They'll be here soon, little dove, and they'll take your hand just so," he declares, as if by stating it none can deny him this truth as he dreams it to be, " and there won't be any more pain, little dove. It'll be gentle. Death will be gentle for you."

She is, and she finds herself returning, just for a moment, once her duty is done, to find the gangly teen weeping quietly, still holding his little sisters hand.

He lifts his head, almost as if he knew he wasn't alone.

But he didn't.

He was just a mortal boy. There was nothing so special about him.

"Bring her somewhere nice," he demands of the empty air. "Bring her to a garden where it's always warm, and nothin' ever hurts."

Hob isn't there when the sixth Gadling sibling takes his own life, rather than starve in a house that can't quite feed all its hungry mouths. Hob has been taken in by a lord in need of soldiers by now, sturdy lad that he is. But when the youth greats her he says this; " Hob said you'd take us somewhere better. Hob said you'd be kind."

He is there when plague takes his mother, and his last little sister who had almost, almost made it to womanhood. Not in the house, the hut, really, but curled up against the outside of the door, defeated by an enemy no man of this age can fight. He sings to them, sings long after Death has come and gone.

When he surrenders to the truth of their passing hours into the morning, Death hears his voice with all the intent of a prayer, though she is well away.

"Death be good to you."

She finds herself a step away from him, over and over again as sickness ravages the continent, as the young soldier becomes a good one and comrades die at his side while opponents die on his blade.

He is just a mortal man.

There is nothing special about him.

His name is Hob Gadling, and Death does not get to play favorites among mortals. Destiny says he was due to die on the night of July 7th, in the year 1389.

(Death asked. Dates aren't really her thing. She knows the moment they will need her, but not as the second to the hour of the day)

It'll be quick, when it happens. A true accident. He'll be drunk and in a merry mood and when he rises from the table his head will rush and his injured knee will give way and he'll trip over the boots of his friend. He'll crack his head on the corner of the table and he'll never get up again.

She'll finally get to say hello.

And perhaps it means something to her, that she can show him that she is that gentle hand he promised his loved ones long ago.

It does mean something to her.

This one moment at the end of every life, it is all she gets. It is everything, so of course, of course it means something to her.

She doesn't want to do it.

The moment she says hello is also the moment she says goodbye.

He has been there, just on the other side of her, so many times, and so many times he is the last hand they held before hers.

He has done that for them, for her, so many times, for scared children and desperate soldiers alike.

She can't not do it.

"Dream," she insists, the day it has to happen, " come with me."

She does not tell him why. Insists he needs to get out more, to get involved. ( He does. He's been so distant since Orpheus died that it worries her at times. )

But this is for her too.

He drags his feet and makes his complaints known, but he comes. He's sweet and biddable that way, her little brother.

Death almost laughs when Hob insults her. Doesn't know whether she ought to laugh or cry when he declares he'll never die.

Bit of poor timing for that declaration, really. He's about to drop dead and then everyone here will think she went and smited him for the affront!

Dream scoffs his disdain and disbelief at how any mortal could wish for so much as a century of life, let alone eternity and Death...

Oh.

Death is not allowed to play favorites among mortals.

But.

That wasn't to say there wasn't a trick to it, sometimes. That just the right circumstances with just enough sway can't... make an allowance.

"You could find out," Death murmurs, quite pleased not only that she might spend a little more time with Hob Gadling in this world, just a step on the other side, but that she might make her little brother take an interest in an actual independent living person who knew how to live an actual life all in the same fell swoop.

"How?" Dream prompts her, quite full of himself.

Oh.

Yes.

This will certainly, Death thinks, work out quite well.

"I could grant him his wish."

[blaxk4ker]

I can’t get over the fact that Dream conveniently left out / forgot to inform Hob that the gift of immortality was granted by his sister, not himself.

The man really spent centuries playing sugar daddy while using his sister’s credit card

[blaxk4ker]

Death, who’s aware that her brother had been trapped in a basement since the start of the 20th century and only managed to got out several days earlier: Have you seen Mary Poppins (1964)?

Dream, who’s been trapped in a basement since the start of the 20th century and only managed to get out only several days earlier: No.

[blaxk4ker]

I think the extraordinary thing that Death shows [Dream] is the complexity of humanity. She asks him to bear witness to people in the last moment of their lives and that something happens when you look closely at something. You begin to understand it. And I think that understanding are the first steps towards love. And I think when [Dream] has that pivotal transition, he thinks to himself “If I can feel this about these people after such a short space of time, how do I feel about a man who I’ve spent 600 years with?” And so he returns to him.

— Tom Sturridge about Dream’s relationship with Death, humanity and Hob Gadling [video]

[blaxk4ker]