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👀.

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I don’t think a cottage on the South Downs would work as a happy ending on its own. I feel like destruction or extremely substantial change of heaven and hell is a necessary part of a happy ending. It’s just not happy if all the rest of the angels and demons have to stay like that. Set them free and let them make choices and explore life in the world!

Also if that happens it will be so validating for Crowley because that’s the same freedom he’s been gradually coaxing Aziraphale into for millennia.

There is a recent surge of people scared good omens is going to have a poor ending due to david Tennant's comment at a con. I won't ask how good omens ends because I don't want to know yet, but can we confirm that it's how sir Terry Pratchett would have loved to see it?

I love that David says at a con that yes, it will have a Good Ending and that is immediately interpreted by a nervous subset of Fandom as It Is Going To Be A Terrible Ending That Terry Would Have Hated.

It's the same ending Terry and I came up with in 2005. And it's a Good Ending. Stop worrying.

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female presenting aziraphale where she changes absolutely nothing about her appearance except she wears a carabiner on her trousers

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this is torture

leaving muriel (or anyone) isolated for so long is evidence that heaven is just as harmful as hell

and worse in a way because they’re torturing insidiously instead of openly

if you don’t know what’s being done to you it’s more difficult to build and maintain defences against it

Good Omens | 2.06 Every Day

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Sovereignty, Citizenship, and the Bookshop

Credit to @flameraven for scripts

Read on Ao3 at: Sovereignty, Citizenship, and the Bookshop (1702 words) by indigovigilance Summary: The rules regarding who may enter the bookshop, and who may give others permission to enter the bookshop, are revealed by events rather than exposition. Parallel themes surround the Bentley. In this meta I generate a theory of sovereignty and citizenship as it pertains to the Bookshop, and what that implies about a statement Crowley makes and Aziraphale's final decision in S2E6.

What actually is the Bookshop?

First, Aziraphale explains to Crowley:

S2E5: AZIRAPHALE: We're perfectly safe in here. Technically, this bookshop still counts as an Embassy.

But then, speaking to Shax, Aziraphale further defines the bookshop:

AZIRAPHALE: Out of the question. Might I remind you, that this bookshop is technically an independent embassy. Being a former outpost of Heaven, and as such…

Which doesn't actually make any sense.

An embassy, by definition, is a satellite of another larger nation. It is usually the residence of an ambassador, and is considered the "soil" and jurisdiction of the home country, regardless of where it is in the world: "An embassy is considered “foreign soil,” meaning that it operates under the jurisdiction and laws of the home country, not the host country (the country where the embassy is physically located)." [ext source]

So an embassy, by its basic definition, cannot be independent. It's an oxymoron. I'll interpret this to mean that the Bookshop constitutes its own nationstate (and that Aziraphale just doesn't say it that way because he's a funky little guy).

Bookshop: A Sovereign Nation of Two

There has been extensive discussion about why Crowley seems never to have told Aziraphale that he was living in his car, and why, if/when Aziraphale figured it out, he didn't say anything about it. (I wrote a meta discussing how we know that Aziraphale knows by the beginning of S2E4 that Crowley is living in his car. Additionally, in S2E6, Aziraphale doesn't seem to look particularly surprised when Crowley announces to the room that he's tired of living in his car; you can interpret this as being distracted and phased out but I don't think Aziraphale is ever so dissociated that he would miss a statement like that and simply not react. So by then, he certainly knows.)

I posit that Crowley did not ask to move in and would have refused to do so even if offered for one very simple reason: moving in would have made him a citizen of Bookshop, and therefore a point of vulnerability for Aziraphale. Because as he explains to Shax in S2E3, he can't technically invite her in:

SHAX: if you won't let me in… CROWLEY: Not technically something I can do.

Of course, Crowley is a demon: he could be lying. But let's take the statement at face value, since Shax, also a demon, who seems reasonably familiar with the rules of entry, doesn't question it. So Crowley, by never establishing citizenship, ensures that he can never be coerced or tricked into letting anyone into the Bookshop. He maintains his foreign entity status on purpose to protect Aziraphale.

One more note, in passing: Crowley stays at the shop in S2E3 and S2E4, but he has been charged by Aziraphale to "mind the bookshop, and Gabriel." His role is more akin to a house-sitter than a houseguest. He's there on work visa, and it does not establish citizenship.

So Crowley isn't a citizen of Bookshop. But someone other than Aziraphale is.

S2E1: MAGGIE: I can be out of here in two weeks. AZIRAPHALE: Out of here? Why? Don't you like it anymore? MAGGIE: Oh, Mr. Fell, I love this shop! I've loved it since I was a baby. But I know how behind I am on rent. (…) MAGGIE: You can't just forgive me eight months' rent. AZIRAPHALE: Oh, I can. I'm very good at forgiveness. It's one of my favorite things. Now, you have paid your rent, I have my music, and I know exactly what I'll be doing for the next 21 minutes. [he giggles and leaves] (creepiest most disturbing giggle in all of cinematic history BUT ANYWAYS)

We've established that Maggie not only is a tenant of land owned by Aziraphale, but that her accounts are all paid up. Her citizenship (or at least, permanent residency) is secure. If simply renting out the space wasn't enough, we learn that she is a fourth-generation resident of the space owned by Aziraphale, which started inside the bookshop itself, and so Maggie may have been born into citizenship. Either way, the consequences of this arise in S2E6:

AZIRAPHALE: Maggie, what just happened? MAGGIE: I… I think I might have just told them they could come in.

Crowley can't tell demons that they can come in. But Maggie can. My explanation for this is because she actually lives (and is up on her rent) in a territory of the nation of Bookshop. It could be posed that Maggie can invite demons in because she is a guest of the ball, and so this is a temporary power, but Crowley was a "guest"/house-sitter and didn't have this power, so I reject this explanation and affirm it as a citizenship/residency power.

The Metatron's Offer

At time of writing, the fandom has spent two months trying to figure out why Metatron offered Aziraphale the job of Supreme Archangel. Was it to get him back into Heaven where he can keep a closer eye on him? Was it to get him away from Crowley? Did Metatron realize that he is a wellspring of power and wants to tap into it for nefarious purpose?

I'm going to propose a different, much simpler reason: he needed to get Aziraphale out of the bookshop. To explain that, we look to a line that Crowley delivers during the Conversation:

CROWLEY: I mean, if Gabriel and Beelzebub can do it, go off together, then we can. Just the two of us. We don't need Heaven, we don't need Hell, they're toxic. We need to get away from them, just be an us. You and me, what do you say? AZIRAPHALE: Come with me… to Heaven. I'll run it, you can be my second in command. We can make a difference. CROWLEY: You can't leave this bookshop.

Hang on, didn't Crowley just say that they should run off together? Why is he now saying that he can't leave the bookshop? These statements seem contradictory, but through the lens of sovereignty, they're not. You see, if Aziraphale goes off to Alpha Centauri without rejoining Heaven, the Bookshop still belongs to him and constitutes the sovereign nation over which he rules. It is the anchor and touchstone of his independent status. What ever new residence they establish will, in turn, be an embassy of that "independent embassy." The Bookshop then (I hypothesize, and posit that Crowley does too) grants Aziraphale protection from Heaven and Hell no matter where he is in the universe.

A Brief Aside on the Mechanics of Satellites

We have some evidence that Bookshop rules extend to wherever Aziraphale happens to be "residing," in that when Aziraphale borrows Crowley's car, Shax must trick him into giving him permission to enter (S2E4):

HITCHHIKER: I'm so sorry, can you be an angel and give me a lift? Only m-my car's broken down and my phone's dead. Just to the next town, there's a garage there. AZIRAPHALE: Oh… yes, well… I suppose you better climb in, then.

Thus establishing that, theoretically, Crowley and Aziraphale could "go off together" and still have the protection of the Bookshop.

The Consequences of Aziraphale's Final Decision

Crowley tells Aziraphale that he cannot leave the bookshop, but then we know that Aziraphale takes the job and ascends to Heaven. Metatron looks extremely relieved. No sooner do they ascend than Muriel enters the bookshop, where we know Metatron has placed them. Let's take this point by point.

The Bookshop is no longer a sovereign nation

By rejoining Heaven, Aziraphale has reclaimed his citizenship as an angel of Heaven. I'm going to go ahead and say (for sake of argument and because it is thematically consistent) that Heaven does not honor duel citizenship. Therefore, Aziraphale has given up his citizenship of Bookshop, but as it still belongs to him, it is now territory subject to the jurisdiction of Heaven. Muriel has been placed there as a representative of Heaven. Having been (we can surmise) the only "independent embassy" in existence where both angels and demons had to ask permission to enter, it is once again a good and proper embassy of Heaven.

This is important because now, neither Aziraphale nor Crowley have any place to go that is protected from both Heaven and Hell.

Muriel has unfettered access to Aziraphale's collection of books

My very simplistic theory for why Metatron went to so much trouble to get Aziraphale to cede control of the Bookshop is that he needs access to his collection of books. Specifically, he needs a certain Scrivener who enjoys reading to set up camp there and peruse every single book. This is because he is looking for something.

Gabriel left Heaven with a large box; he arrived at the Bookshop with an empty box. We can punt around all sorts of possible reasons but let's say, for sake of conjecture, that Gabriel stole the Book of Life on his way out to protect himself and Beelzebub from erasure. We don't know where the Book is now, but Metatron (who doesn't know the box was empty) has good reason to believe that the Book of Life is somewhere in the bookshop. But it's too dangerous to admit that they've lost track of it, so the best way to find a Book in a bookshop is to get the owner out of there, install an avid reader as steward, and wait patiently.

Other consequences of this theory of citizenship

We are given to believe that Crowley and Aziraphale are both outcasts of Hell and Heaven, respectively, yet Aziraphale seems to be the only one of them that benefits from the protections of independence. We could say that it is because Aziraphale owns land, and so that allows him to establish a nationstate, whereas the Bentley does not, but since Aziraphale brings the protections of independence with him when he borrows the Bentley, that seems flimsy. I find it more likely that in S3 we're going to learn something about Crowley that explains why he lacks these protections, and if I dare to make conjecture, it will be the subject of another meta.

I didn't get around to a discussion of the consequences of Aziraphale throwing his halo and "declaring war," or that war declaration being maybe-cancelled by Crowley; suffice to say, that may again be it's own meta.

~~~

If you enjoyed this, you may enjoy: Honolulu Roast: the story of a coup

another meta on the topic of ownership re the Bentley by @ineffable-endearments can be found here.

~~~

edit: I was reminded by @rekishi-aka to note that in S1, Gabriel and Sandolphon walk right in, because at that time the bookshop is an embassy of Heaven. For all of S2 except the final 30 minutes, celestials all have to ask permission to enter, including Michael, Uriel, Saraqael, and Muriel, because the Bookshop is independent. After Aziraphale throws his halo, celestials just appear inside the Bookshop: by declaring war, Aziraphale has relinquished his protection. It's unclear whether it would have been reestablished by Crowley cancelling the war, but it's a moot point because then Aziraphale agrees to become the Supreme Archangel.

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I thought you said we’d be inconspicuous here.

#nothing inconspicuous about Aziraphale's face journey

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unhinged that gabriel had such a heartbreaking reaction to beelzebub giving him something because noone had given him anything before, because now it's got me thinking about angels existing in an environment and under a regime where you don't really have anything to call your own - all your own. so what potentially did crowley first give to aziraphale to call his own and what book do you think it was

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C: "-not to mention snexism."

A: "Sorry what was that?"

C: "Snake sexism. Snexism. Women don't have it easy in the snake world either."

That didn't sound like a real thing, Aziraphale thought, but he did not voice his concern. Claiming that snexism wasn't real sounded exactly like something a snexist would say.

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Crowley's "oh" moment wasn't him realizing that he's in love

Okay so we've all talked about the scene where Nina asks Crowley if Aziraphale is his "bit on the side" or whatever and Crowley has that visable fanfiction "oh" moment on his face afterwards. And I know a lot of people think it must have been Crowley realizing that he was in love with Aziraphale, but that's never sat right with me. Crowley is emotionally repressed and oblivious, sure, but he's been down bad for that angel since the beginning. I just can't believe he didn't know it the whole time. That can't have been what he was reacting to. Hell, just the nervous swallow he does at the beginning of that conversation implies that he knows exactly what Nina is about to ask him, meaning he at least already has that idea in his head.

I think what he was reacting to was Nina's last comment, "other people's love lives always seem so much more straightforward than our own" (I'm quoting from memory but I got the gist of it).

Crowley has been in love for a long time by this point. He's also, for that entire time, understood that nothing can be done about it. Up until Armageddon failed, there was no universe where Crowley and Aziraphale could safely be together, and Crowley cares too much about Aziraphale to truly risk his safety (although he does have his selfish moments--that need to know that Aziraphale cares for him too, that he's not completely alone in this partnership). Nothing could change, so there was no point in doing anything about it.

In the few years post Armageddon, though, it seems like QUITE a bit has changed for the two of them. Remember, these are two immortal beings...a few years is milliseconds to them. But in those milliseconds, it seems like Crowley has become a regular establishment in the bookshop, glasses off and all. Aziraphale felt comfortable enough with him to ask to borrow the Bentley, Crowley's prized possession and his literal home. They've gotten COMFY in a very short amount of time, objectively, and I'm sure it felt like big change to Crowley, who knows better than to ask for things he doesn't think he can have.

But Nina's comment. "Other people's love lives always seem so much more straightforward than our own". A direct parallel to exactly how Crowley has been thinking about her and Maggie this whole time--two people who just need a push (romantic awning, anyone?) and everything else would fall into place. Easy. Uncomplicated.

Crowley's "oh" moment isn't that he's in love with Aziraphale. It's that maybe being in love with Aziraphale doesn't have to be complicated.

Other people's love lives DO seem more straightforward than Crowley's own. But if Nina feels that way about him, as sure as he is about her and Maggie...could it be that easy? Could he have that with his angel? I don't think at this point that Crowley has any doubt about whether or not Aziraphale feels something for him (whatever that something may be in Crowley's mind), but after all...Aziraphale asked him to slow down. So he's been taking it slow. Hanging around more. Leaning into his space. Soaking up every second of Az's smiles like a dying man, content with whatever he's given.

But Nina. She thinks they're together already. No doubt in her mind. She thinks it's so straightforward, that of COURSE they're together, two people who look at each other with that much love in their eyes must be, right? And I think that "oh" is Crowley's realization that maybe it IS straightforward. After all, they're them, right? No more Heaven, no more Hell, no actual reason they couldn't just...be together. In that moment, Crowley isn't realizing that he's in love with Aziraphale. He's known he's in love for a very long time. No, that moment was him realizing that, maybe, he can stop pretending not to be, that maybe all they have to do is stop pretending they aren't everything to each other. Does he need to slow down if there's no danger to avoid?

When Nina and Maggie confront him at the end, encourage him to confess...objectively, I don't think Crowley as a character would agree to anything nearly that vulnerable without a LOT more convincing. But he does agree. And you could argue that it's because of Gabe and Beez, sure, but when has Crowley ever used other angels and demons as reasoning behind his choices? No, consistently, Crowley has followed humans every time. Gabe and Beez are nothing but conveniently timed examples. I think that even without G and B running off together, Nina and Maggie could've convinced him after nothing but this "oh" conversation with Nina.

When Crowley is choking out his confession in the final 15 of episode 6, so desperate to make Aziraphale understand...he says "we're a pair, a group, a group of the two of us, and we've spent our existence pretending that we aren't". That's the point he's trying to get across. They can stop pretending, they can stop pretending, please, god, stay here Aziraphale and don't make him keep pretending.

Please, Aziraphale, he's saying. Don't go back. I only just realized that it doesn't have to be complicated. He realized that, maybe, finally, he was allowed.

Oh, he thought, out there on the sidewalk with Nina, there's nothing left but me stopping me from being happy.

Oh, he thought, while Nina and Maggie urged him to communicate, the couple that so perfectly mirrored his own wants, I could tell him how I feel.

Oh, he thought, as Aziraphale looked at him with excited eyes and explained that he wanted them both to go back to Heaven, that Crowley could become an angel again, that they could go right back to working for the very thing that had been keeping them apart for thousands of years. Oh, oh god. I thought it was over. I thought we were free. I thought that, finally, maybe, it could be easy. Maybe we can stop pretending.

And he kissed him. Because fuck, just like with Nina and Maggie, he thought it could finally be easy, but then communicating didn't work and nothing was easy and all he had left was one fabulous kiss and vavoom and he was desperate and off script and so, so scared and then he was alone in the Bentley, driving away from the bookshop, completely alone.

Maybe Crowley should've kept pretending. It would've hurt less.

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people think crowley not knowing noah needed two unicorns is proof he doesnt know what sex is but i think its way funnier if he knew about sex he just didnt know that was where babies come from

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(if someone has these screencaps please add them to this post - i'm technologically challenged)

I simply cannot get over the look that passes between Aziraphale and Crowley in s2ep2 when they restore Job's children and all of the angels turn to Aziraphale and ask if they're his new children, and we can see him squirm a little and dodge the question with "they certainly seem to be!" and then a few lines later the angels turn to him with an "Aziraphale, who are they?" an inescapable question, time is limited, he can't hesitate, but he LOCKS eyes with Crowley who is leaning against a post with his eyebrows raised in a whose side are you on stare.

And then it pans back to Aziraphale who hesitates, "They . . . are . . ."

and then he has this LOOK on his face, of acceptance, of resignation, and he makes eye contact with Crowley again, and says "They are . . . his new children."

He was ready to risk it all. Fully believing that he would fall for this. That look is a surrender. And he was ready to do it too.

He holds eye contact with Gabriel, blinking a lot, but not looking away. His smile doesn't reach his eyes. There's a brief moment of relief on his face when Gabriel claps him on the shoulder and believes his lie, but he knows that God will know what he's done. He fully believes he's going to fall for this.

And he looks to Crowley again, who applauds him. Aziraphale looks like he's going to be sick.

He's had several earth-shattering revelations in the last 24-ish hours.

Crowley (the demon) is good, and he believes it with his full chest.

God plays games for fun at the expense of others, and it's wrong.

Gluttony (he ate that entire ox)

Aziraphale believes that Crowley believes that blurring the lines between Good and Evil by questioning God and thwarting the will of heaven are exactly what caused Crowley's fall. (see you in hell)

Crowley and Aziraphale are on the same side, if temporarily, holding onto each other like a rock in a storm, with Aziraphale constantly looking to Crowley for reassurance, trusting him to have his back.

he's going to fall

I just feel like its overlooked that this was the FIRST TIME EVER that they teamed up (as angel and demon) and Aziraphale was fully ready to accept the consequences of that. He found something more important than choosing sides.

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im acutally going crazy over any time crowely's voice goes soft. specifically the "it burned down... remember?"

he doesnt want to say it again. not only because of the shiny new trauma he has with the memory, but because he doesnt want to remind aziraphale that its gone. he doesnt want to watch aziraphale's face to fall as he remembers the bookshop—his shop, his home for over two centuries—is gone. its burned down; the building, his chairs, his books, his memories, all of it.

but he has to. so he says it gently. it cant take away the pain, but he can lessen the blow, if a fractional amount at least. he reminds him softly, but doesnt give aziraphale time to spiral.

"you can stay at my place? if you like?"

he says it just as gently, just as soft. its an offer he's never given, a line theyd never crossed before. its new and its scary, but hey, it was almost the end of the world and they might die tomororw. what did they have to lose?

so he offers with a kindness to his tone only ever reserved for aziraphale alone, and even then only shown on rare occurrences. only when he knows the angel is close to breaking. he reminds aziraphale whats been lost, but also reminds him that hes not alone. he still has crowley.

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Fact 1: we know heavenly fashions change over time, so the angels will look different in s3

Fact 2: a bunch of high-status archangels saw Crowley’s heaven disguise

Fact 3 (unrelated): @ other folks who grew up in megachurches, remember how they would grab musical stylings from secular rock music to try to make christian rock sound cool™️? like you weren’t supposed to listen to the source music but they’d still try to copy it (badly)

anyway, all I’m saying is, the s3 costuming department has an opportunity to make the funniest choice imaginable

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Jane Austin History Coincidence?

Okay this is so crack pot so i apologize in advance but I cannot stop thinking about this so enjoy a bit of Jane Austin history that might relate to our angel and demon!

So on the second rewatch of GO2 me and my roommate decided to google a bunch of the niche references and such, just to make sure we caught on to all of the jokes or jabs that were being thrown around (Crowley ordering a drink for lady bracknell basically calling Azi a lot of work/needy is amazing but besides the point) and so when they are in the bar scene and talk about Jane Austin I wanted to understand why Crowley and Azi remembered her very differently. I then discovered the obvious ties that are Pride and Prejudice and the story Neil is trying to tell us about Crowley and Azi's relationship. But I'm not really here to elaborate on Pride and Prejudice.

When you google Jane Austin and click on her wiki page it talks about her work in summary, her family life, and then her education. It's in the education section when I noticed something crazy.

The sentence reads, "In 1783, Austen and her sister Cassandra were sent to Oxford to be educated by Mrs Ann Cawley who took them to Southampton later that the year.

...

im sorry???

educated by a MRS ANN CAWLEY

MRS ANTHONY CROWLEY

it gets better...

When you look up Ann Cawley

"Mrs. Ann Cawley (1736-1787) was the widow of Ralph Cawley who was Principal of Brasenose 1770-1777; they had no children.  [...] When Ralph Cawley died in 1777 his widow would have had to vacate this house. Under the terms of her husband's will she received his chariot and three horses, and all his household furniture and goods, excepting his books, bookcases and manuscripts. "

RALPH... aziraphale...

aziRAPHale

HELLO?

SHE INHERITED HIS BOOKS AND MANUSCRIPTS??

one more layer now you still here?...

still holding on?

...

google ralph cowley

"Ralph Cawley (1720 – 31 August 1777) was an English clergyman and Oxford academic. [...] He was ordained deacon on 20 May 1744 and priest on 8 June 1745."

Ralph here was a hoLY MAN

HE WAS LITERALLY ORDAINED AND A PRIEST

You CANNOT TELL ME this is not a real life example of Aziraphale and Crowley watching history from the sidelines like WHAT IS THAT???

AM I JUST ON SOMETHING

HELP

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Aziraphale always opening the bookshop door for Crowley

I am so. very. weak. for how every single time Crowley & Aziraphale go back to the bookshop together, Aziraphale unlocks the door, holds it open for Crowley and lets him go in first.

Is it the being so gentlemanly and respectful towards a being that has been treated terribly and not known a lot of kindness? Yes. Is it mostly just though that I love how Aziraphale made his home this place for Crowley and it's the only place in the universe where Crowley can go and be free of Hell for as long as he needs? Where he can breathe a bit and rest? Yes.

Aziraphale doesn't even need to unlock the door with physical keys the way he does. He's magic. He can snap it open if he wanted to-- Crowley does this when he goes in and out of it, alone, when it's on fire in S1. Aziraphale, though, uses the human keys to the shop so he can unlock the door by hand so he can physically hold it open for Crowley, who likes it so much that he never just snaps the door open when they're together.

Aziraphale *loves* inviting Crowley in. Crowley has been coming to the bookshop for 223 years and practically lives there now and it doesn't matter. Aziraphale invited Crowley in that first time and then just never stopped. He just keeps inviting him in, every time, ever since... like he's silently saying It's alright now. I know you're tired. Come in and I'll take care of you. You're safe now...

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aziraphale | everybody loves me

i completely forgot to upload this here, have an aziraphale edit