#@ariaste

[musingsofmaisie]

The Magic Trick You Didn't See

@ariaste I just finished reading your analysis. Interesting. Not sure I'm completely on board with your primary hypothesis, but you raise some very interesting points. Kudos for doing it.

Link to @ariaste piece here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/193IXS11XN46lziHRb6eUpM17yK0BQkRqke1Wh64A_e0/edit

I do have a few places where my thinking diverges from yours though.

First, on Aziraphale and Angel now-Crowley's meeting in Before the Beginning: I think the primary purpose of this scene was to establish that Crowley still possesses a Tool of Creation (that in S1 we assumed was merely a part of his exploded Bentley) and that this will be important in the denouement. He KISSES it, for goodness' sake. That, and of course that Angel now-Crowley was a joyful and precious innocent who didn't deserve his fate.

Go back to S1E5 when he mentions Alpha Centauri and "I worked on that." We are also given the distinct impression that Crowley was an angel of considerable rank and power. Seeing Crowley in Heaven with Muriel and the way he was treated by the leadership-can I get a "deferentially" here?-is a setup for the reveal of his identity. There are files! Aziraphale can request them! Aziraphale finding out the truth is to me the macguffin that will 1) make him realize that heaven is not the place of "truth, light and good" and 2) catalyze whatever action that brings the tale to its conclusion.

When Crowley interrogates Jim-the "It hurts!" "I KNOW! Do it anyway!" and "Yeah, like the places where the furniture used to be" both strongly indicated to me that Crowley was speaking from experience-that he had had his memory wiped when he Fell-and has recovered some, but not all of it. Hence the offer of a hot chocolate. Empathy. (I think this what he meant by "Ask him properly.")

Later, when he tries to explain Gravity to Jim, I got the feeling that that was one of the places where the furniture used to be. (And also not remembering Saraquiel and Furfur).

Second, in the story of Job, it's being told directly from Aziraphale's point of view, that's why I assumed, in his recollection, that Crowley Bildad the Shuhite was wearing cool shades. And this is also where Aziraphale makes reference that he knew the angel Crowley used to be. Before the Garden of Eden. And Crowley says "the angel you knew is not me". Rather harshly, I thought.

Currently rereading "the Crow Road" and annotating it. There do seem to be some compelling parallels so far. Makes me wonder when Muriel will get to Aziraphale's journals. Like you, I suspect that's where we're going next. I can't figure out the timeline, though. It seems like the next scene has to take place many years from now.

This is getting too long so I'll wrap up by saying that I'm convinced that NG would not foist on us a plot device that wraps up S3 like Bobby "It was all a dream" Ewing from the last season of Dallas. It would be a violation of his own writing ethos and his commitment to doing something that would make Terry proud. The Metatron is literally a Deus ex Machina, but I don't think that NG would rely solely on him-or that technique-to conclude the story.

We all want our heroes to get their happy ending. But knowing Neil's knack for the twist in the storyline, I' don't think I'm not sure that it will look like what we think it will.

Cheers,

Maisie

[gargoyleandgremlinpress]

I'm declaring it the week of the pamphlet bind, because this is the second of three I've got in my backlogged queue of fanbinds to share.

Sometimes, a vaguely ridiculous idea gets ahold of you and won't let go.

When I discovered that there were not one, but TWO short MDZS modern AU fic with the incredibly specific meet-cute premise of "character A encounters a swarm of bees, and character B is the beekeeper who rescues them," I decided I needed to bind them. Together. And they were both short, so a quick pamphlet bind was the perfect solution.

I think I did this two summers ago, and would probably do a bit better with the text placement on the cover now, but I stand behind all the bee theming in the typeset unreservedly.

There must be something about the Twin Jades of Lan that not one, but TWO authors looked at them and said, you know what? Beekeeper.

So here we have, both with awesome titles, Save the Bees (Ride a Beekeeper) by @ariaste and Covered in Bees by @scarlettohairdye.

Public domain images, cardstock cover, sewn with some orange crochet cotton, because god knows I have enough random thread around. To make up for the disreputable cookie sheet used for an atmospheric industrial space background in my last post, this one is photographed on the orange and yellow stripes of a rainbow plain-weave tablerunner I wove out of the accumulated scrap basket at the weavers' guild.

And lovely authors, if either one of you would like a copy, I would be happy to make you one, or share the digital files with you.

[asmolbirb]

I cannot explain the noise I made when I went to the ATOGAI tag on AO3 and sorted by kudos and saw a 10,000-word coda written by Ariaste themself

We are FED and WATERED my good friends!! No one is doing it like them!!

[oneringtorulethem]

Just got notice that my local library fulfilled my request, and now myself and the locals will get to enjoy "running close to the wind" by Alexandra Rowland!

I have a couple weeks of travel coming up, thrilled to have something to read on the plane

[fantasiavii]

I just reread A Taste of Gold and Iron and then cried my way through Tadek and the Princess for the first time so if you need me I will be on the floor

[mdzsao3]

basically my ongoing mission to demonstrate to fandom that Kink Can Be Unbearably Soft Actually

[ao3 link]

[ao3screenshotss]

[cows-and-crows]

Return to Delos

Sometime after his trials, Apollo returns to his birth place.

[this-cult-of-dionysus]

I’ve just read The Magic Trick You Didn’t See (Good Omens theory—highly suggest a read, it’s incredible)

Holy hell. A million thanks to @ariaste for that gorgeous discourse. It made me emotional! An *essay* made me *emotional* — I’m still in awe.

Anyway, it inspired me to do a (slightly conspiratorial) rewatch. I’ve hit pause so many times already, and I’m not even past the episode one intro 💀

However I happened to notice something in the intro that made me even more sure that The Magic Trick really is onto something. The whole idea is that Neil’s been 1) pulling a “disappearing trick” throughout season two—leading us away from the truth and ultimate “payoff” via distraction and 2) hiding things in plain sight. You know what that sounds like? A red herring. And what do I find in the intro? A whole bucket of ‘em. Quite literally.

I truly believe that everything in this show—especially the intro, as beautiful as it is—is done for a reason. The attention to detail thus far has been insane (much like myself, at present), and I don’t see why that wouldn’t continue into season two. If the Magic Trick—or a similar theory—turns out to be true, you’d best believe the crew’s left clues all over the place. And I’d call this a Clue with a capital C.

[chizukurowassan]

this is funny

[xserpx]

Just finished reading @ariaste 's Metatron Theory and it definitely is convincing! I'd also add the way Gabriel reorganises the books as evidence of order & records being messed with, and possibly might be one of the ways in which they foil Metatron's plans: e.g. if Gabriel rearranged Aziraphale's journals or other canon text. I think this also converges nicely with Season 1 and all the Agnes Nutter stuff.

Now I'm also wonder if there's any ties between Metatron and Jane Austen. On one hand, you could argue that Jane is about balls & love at first sight, but on the other hand so much of her stories are about misunderstandings and communication. Only someone who's never read her will think so shallowly of her insights. Perhaps S3 will have a Real Jane Austen solution to a Hack Romance Writer problem?

[seedsofwinter]

Bouncing off @ariaste's The Theory

I recently started rewatching The Good Place. In ep3, Michael tries out some new programs for Janet to try out as subroutines to act more human:

Casual Janet, Fun Fact Janet, Friendly (but turns out to be Seductive) Janet, Cruel Janet

Michael is the neighborhood's Architect, so He can just program her like that. And it's got me thinking about how much Maggie, especially during the ball and the demon attack, feels like a Janet personality just slipped on. "Okay, Maggie, run subroutine: distressed damsel! Run: ballroom dancing! Run: cheeky heroine! Run: lovestruck puppy!"

Each one dropping when it's not necessary any more. Like watching a Janet

We also never see her and Maggie have THEIR conversation post-demon attack and pre-Crowley, so like........ That's not how subplots work.

Bc it was never actually the subplot. And Maggie is not a real human, or at least is being used in a terrible game with significant reprogramming.

She doesn't seem to have anywhere else she goes. And she even just naps behind the counter, looking dead to the world (unplugged?) in our last shot of her.

[mellowmagpie]

lmao when your coworker is the most exciting person in your life, #tag please im incredibly curious

[parlerenfleurs]

I've made up my mind now that theories have no leg to stand on and the most likely explanation by far is that the season 2 of GO is what it is because it is what it is.

Which I find unsettling in its own right, because you never expect something that bad from someone whose work you enjoy, but less than battling with a second TJLC moment, and for what? I'll just reread the book and enjoy a superior form of the story.

[dahyechoi-artworks]

by Dahye Choi

Hereditary | Ari Aster | 2018

Acrylic on paper. 33x24cm. 2023

https://www.instagram.com/dahye_fromthemovie/

[mdzsao3]

lan wangji living his best life as a husband and father

[ao3 link]