ineffablynerdywitch

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The man has an internal cop to police himself. He knows.

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[Angua] knew her boss. He thought war was simply another crime, like murder. He didn’t much like people with titles, and regarded being a duke as a job description rather than a lever to greatness. He had an odd sense of humour. And he had a sense for what she thought of as harbingers, those little straws in the wind that said there was a storm coming.

Terry Pratchett, Monstrous Regiment

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Did this one a few years back, hence both authors being billed, but I’m still in love with it, and the second image is still my phone background <3

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a few pages from an old school project, always good when they let you pick your hyperfixation as topic :3

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Against my will, I've become quite fond of Rincewind and his desire to live and the fact that he's made that everyone's problem.

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Pride Month

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Truth! Justice! Freedom! Reasonably-Priced Love! And a Hard-Boiled Egg!

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“You'd like Freedom, Truth and Justice, wouldn't you, comrade sergeant?” said Reg encouragingly.

“I'd like a hard-boiled egg,” said Vimes, shaking the match out.

There was some nervous laughter, but Reg looked offended.

“In the circumstances, sergeant, I think we should set our sights a little higher—”

“Well, yes, we could,” said Vimes, coming down the steps. He glanced at the sheets of paper in front of Reg. The man cared. He really did. And he was serious. He really was.

“But…well, Reg, tomorrow the sun will come up again, and I'm pretty sure that whatever happens we won't have found Freedom, and there won't be a whole lot of Justice, and I'm damn sure we won't have found Truth. But it's just possible that I might get a hard-boiled egg.

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I found out that a good way of battling anxiety is to tell myself: "Is this what Granny Weatherwax would do? Would she be scared and fold like that? No! She'd be angry and do it out of spite! Be like her!"

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Good Omens is autistic—here’s why!

First off, there’s the angelic/demonic nature of the protagonists

They’re trying to blend in with humanity, but have to pick things up as they go along

Because of this, the way they interact with and view people is different from the expected norm

Which also means they're often confused by human customs and find it difficult to read social cues (think Aziraphale asking Maggie if she actually thinks she isn’t crying later on in this scene)

Crowley has to hide his eyes, a part of his identity, from everyone except Aziraphale and the other demons for fear of seeming different/threatening/not human (masking in the most literal sense of the word)

Muriel is concerned with acting and speaking “correctly” to be seen as human

Even though both main characters don’t fit in with humanity because of their angelic/demonic nature, they also don’t fit in with their respective sides, who view them both as strange and don’t understand them. The only place they find acceptance/belonging is with each other. If that isn’t a neurodivergent (and very queer) storyline, I don’t know what is.

Next up, there’s Aziraphale as a whole

The way he stims

Loves routine, dislikes change

Gets uncomfortable when he has to break rules/disrupt order

Taking things literally— “You can’t drive my Bentley.” “I can— I have a license!” (also, this scene is another example of his insistence on order and rules— he insisted on getting a license before they were even legally required)

Paces back and forth talking to himself, planning out what he’s going to say before a conversation (scripting)

The way he suppresses stimming around Heaven by clasping hands behind back, feels uncomfortable and overstimulated there

Bookshop is super cluttered, he has an organizational system that is comprehensible to basically exclusively him

Clumsy, often sucks at motor coordination

Easily startled

He loves alone time, especially when he’s in his own space— he does everything he can to keep customers away from his bookshop

Attaches a lot of sentimental value to inanimate objects (“I’ve kept this in tip-top condition for over 180 years!”)

Incredibly passionate about his interests, especially magic and books

Black and white thinking and rigid morality— He loves and trusts Crowley more than the other angels, but still has tendency to categorize Heaven, Hell, angels and demons as exclusively good or bad (“of course you didn’t go back to Hell— you’re the bad guys!”)

Crowley’s definitely got something neurodivergent going on too (leaning towards ADHD, but potentially AuDHD)

The way he sits in chairs

Hell, (…or Heaven, whatever…) even just the “ducks!” moment alone is enough to show that that his mind jumps around a lot to unexpected loose threads rather than focusing on the subject at hand

Impulsivity

Creative and has a vivid inner world. As pointed out by God Herself, he has what the other demons don’t— an imagination

Craves novelty, frequently changes appearance

Stimming starmaker

This one is from the book, but it’s too good not to point out: the way he idolizes characters like Bond and copies his behaviors off of what he thinks a cool human would do. He has a new computer because it’s “the sort of thing Crowley felt that the sort of human he tried to be would have” (pg 239)

His understanding of how humans fall in love is based on a Richard Curtis film he’s seen

His insistence on asking questions when things don’t make sense to him, knowing why things are the way they are rather than blindly accepting them

And of course, there’s the themes of the story

Black and white thinking vs shades of grey

Breaking away from a world that doesn’t accept you to find love, belonging, and safety

And, as demonstrated time and time again by our two protagonists: intelligence isn’t synonymous with interpersonal skills (…or common sense.)

Thanks for reading all of that! This isn’t the kind of post I normally make, but I have so many thoughts about this that have been on my mind for almost two years now, so I decided to share them.

While there are of course a lot of plot-related reasons for why they behave the way that they do and many of the traits I brushed on could be explained by other factors, I still find it interesting to explore it through a neurodivergent lens. I also think the existence of angels with physical disabilities (like Saraqueal) adds credibility to the idea that other types of disabilities or neurodivergence is at the very least possible for angels and demons in this universe.

Feel free to point out anything I forgot to include (which I have no doubt is a lot) and let me know your own thoughts in the comments or tags— I’d love to hear them!

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Good Omens fic recs #73

A Feather on the Scales by malachitegrey - A/C, 3k words.  A beautiful, poetic meditation on what it means to have a body and to change it, from Crowley's POV.  It's sad at points, meandering, with touches of humor, lots of honesty, as Crowley reflects on themself and the differences between them and the angel.  Utterly gorgeous.

A Street in a Strange World by @Giddygeek - A/C, 8k words.  During the Night at Crowley's Flat, Aziraphale talks to God in a dream, and She helps him figure out the prophecy.  This fic had a great voice for God; it felt very authentic to the tone of the show.  It's also a lovely get-together fic too.  Sometimes you really can have everything haha.

Becoming Eric: A Seminar by accidentaldemon- Eric & Muriel gen, 2k words.  This is a delightful story in which all of the Erics have a conference call about all of the things they're doing in their bodies.  Each of the Eric's is differentiated in a lovely way and I love the hint at the overarching plot underneath everything.

Change of aspect by FancyTrinkets - A/C, 6k words. Another Night at Crowley's Flat fic in which the two of them try to figure out how to do the bodyswap, by slipping out of their corporations and into their true selves.  So much of this fic is internal -- there's hardly any dialogue -- but it's all thoughtful scenes you can really sink your teeth into, as the two of them remember the War in Heaven, their individual parts in it, and have vividly described metaphysical sex.  Really lovely.

Date Night by jane_with_a_j - A/C, 1500 words.  This is a wonderful piece of fluff about Aziraphale and Crowley both going to the same tailor for... a special occasion.  I love the OCs and the whole thing just makes me smile.

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Bat Wing Bag; {Credit}

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A patron requested an April showers scene where:

☔ Aziraphale is serving Broadway main character vibes, belting “Singin’ in the Rain” like the stroll is his personal Glee audition.

☔ Crowley is mortified/simultaneously in love/soaked rat combo trapped under an umbrella.

They ask, I deliver and you all have to deal with it!

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Second chance FTH bind for @ashfae, who requested Strange Moons by @racketghost. I was really happy with the typeset I did for racket and @books-and-omens with books’ gorgeous art.

It’s an absolutely beautiful through the ages series, with just achingly lovely prose. I liked the blue and red both for their ties to Aziraphale and Crowley, but also a nod to blue moons and blood moons. Bonus pic including @mouseonamoose’s books.

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🕸

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the older i get, the harder this line hits.

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New Sherlock Holmes adaptation idea: Watsondoes a voiceover narration of the story and it frequently contradicts what’s happening onscreen. Sometimes it’s literally just blatant lies. Watson also frequently looks into the camera like he’s on the office. It’s set in the original Victorian era so this should not be possible. He’s the only character who does this.