#Beyond the Veil

[mmothmanners]

Sometimes you have to do a fun minimatic featuring your DND campaign's BBEG.

[drconstellation]

Lifting the Veil on the Bentley

Because I’ve been talking about the Bentley being Crowley’s black horse of late, I’ve had a nudge to talk about the number plate. I know it’s explained as an easter egg in relation to Monty Python, but I think we can explore it a bit further than that.

It’s worth having a quick look at this older post from @fuckyeahgoodomens where they explain the inspiration was from an animated scene from Monty Python's Meaning of Life .

The following is from the linked article.

As a nod to Terry Gilliam, who once tried to do a movie version of Good Omens, Gaiman and Mackinnon threw in a little reference to Gilliam’s origins doing animation for Monty Python. “The license plate of Crowley’s Bentley is ‘Curtain’ backwards,” Gaiman said, because of the writing on the mausoleum in the suicidal leaves section of Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life. “Curtain backwards, like it’s the final curtain,” Mackinnon explained.

Before I get into all the connotations of “curtains,” there should be two things you notice about the “CURTIN” written on the mausoleum. The first is the spelling itself. It’s shortened to look like the Irish surname Curtin, so the mausoleum appears to belong to a real person. Curtin is an anglicized version of Mac Curtain, which means Son of the Crooked, or Son of the Harp, as the ‘crooked’ refers the hunchback shape of the Irish harp. I wouldn’t read too much into that, its probably more just a way of getting an actual curtain reference into that scene.

The other thing is that is not just backwards, it is mirror-image, as if you are looking at it from the other side of the mirror. So we should ask ourselves – which side are we looking from? And why does this matter?

While director Mackinnon mentions it referring to the “final curtain,” we need to start even further back than that to understand what the final curtain is, because even that has two meanings, even if only in a general sense. But because this is the GOmens AU, you can guarantee we’re going to find out there is more to it than that.

We need to go beyond the veil.

To go “beyond the veil” has become a euphemism for passing into death, or that unknowable place people go once they die. It was originally a figurative reference to the area in a Jewish Temple that was separated from the main body of the Temple by decorative curtains, called veils. The veils were specially woven, often with the image of a Cherubim woven in by a skilled worker; it was not allowed to be sewed on or added later. Each panel of the veil would display a different face of the Cherubim, such as the lion on one side, an eagle on the other, and so on. Only the priests could go past the veil into the most holiest of places. The veil was symbolic of separating men and their sins from the glory of God.  

The word ‘veil’ can be translated into English as ‘curtain,’ so the two words are almost interchangeable in respect of this discussion. I was interested to see that the word veil comes from the Latin word velum, which also means ‘sail,’ as in “to move, to drive a vessel or vehicle forward.” I have previously commented that the Bentley should probably be a “she,” as traditionally all ships were female, and that’s a tradition we still see carried into the modern day, thousands of years after its origin. I’ve even seen modern day space probes – little ships sailing the solar system – referred to as she! But I’ll not be pedantic about it, don’t worry.

Keep your hands off my bitch, bitch.

So the curtain, or veil, is the boundary between life and death. Only – we are seeing it from the other side. And in the GOmens AU this “other side” is very real, and one Aziraphale and Crowley walk through with both ease and without much thought. They are agents of those on the other side of the veil, yet they walk with Humanity in a solid reality on the surface of the Earth. They know the other side is real. When wee Morag complains about Elspeth’s body-snatching activity that the ones she digs up and sell won’t be able to go to Heaven because they will be cut up, Aziraphale tries to tell her it’s not like that, but she's not listening:

WEE MORAG: Aye. Tell that to the poor souls who will not get into heaven 'cause their bodies are all chopped into wee pieces. AZIRAPHALE: Well, that isn't how it actually… CROWLEY: Heaven isn't all it's cracked up to be, you know. WEE MORAG: It's no right. I'm telling you. CROWLEY: Yeah.

For humans, though, there is supposed to be no return once you cross that threshold.

When we, the viewer, see the two worlds meet, it's usually signaled by the presence of fog, mist or smoke. When Lesley the delivery driver meets Death, the fog arrives, as he is no longer in the living world. When Aziraphale and Crowley leave Tadfield Manor, we have smoke telling us we are seeing two different times and places at once - the past and the present are overlaid on one another.

The Bentley must exist in both the Human and subliminal worlds at the same time - how else can it drive like it does? It doesn't really need Crowley's hands on the wheel to guide it. It couldn't have started out like that - it was made by humans, but we all know the Bentley is more than just a car now.

It chooses the music to play on its radio, it refuses to speed when taking Aziraphale to Edinburgh until Crowley yells at it, it tries to follow the angel after he gets out at the end of the journey. How it got like this we will probably never find out, but we figure its become an extension of Crowley by close association, much like Aziraphale tends to influence the world around him without effort as well.

In terms of it being a black horse - well, now we get into some interesting stuff!

Horses have been companions to humans for longer than cars have been around, so there is lots of lore and symbology associated with them. Previous metas around S2 have focused on "dark horses," as they were specifically mentioned twice in the script. But a dark horse is not necessarily a black horse, and vice versa, so lets look at some of the aspects of black horse symbology in particular that could be relevant to the Bentley and it role in traveling between worlds.

Horses were the original vehicle of the ancient world. While Famine was supposed to ride a black horse (the others were white, red and pale green for pestilence,) the black horses could also be messengers of death, a demon bringing death or a guide to the afterlife. In the Illiad, Achilles sacrifices four horses on the funeral pyre to accompany Patroclus to Hades.

[Edit: I've just put myself through the pain of watching S2E6 again, for reasons, and realised why the ethereal lift is in the entrance to the Dirty Donkey - because a black horse is a guide between worlds! Of course!]

They became associated with the Devil during the Middle Ages as the church tried to break the link to old pagan rites. The broomsticks witches ride are supposed to represent horses. And then there is the sexual connection to horses...which leads in a round-about way to the practice of nailing horseshoes up for luck and protection. Although perhaps the burning horseshoe on Jasmine Cottage is more directly linked to the story of St Dunstan tricking the Devil and making him promise he would never cross the threshold of a house that had a horseshoe nailed to the door.

Our favourite Bentley has been beyond veil and returned. Though it was kept valiantly alive through the sheer will of Crowley to escape the unnatural flames of the Sigil of Odegra, it expired at the Tadfield airbase once Crowley arrived and finally released it. It was only appropriate that Crowley took a moment to acknowledge its service.

Then Adam restored it the next day. Resurrected it, one could say.

Time for the "final curtain" to wrap this meta up.

To "face the final curtain" is another euphemism for facing death, or at least an ending. It's the final curtain of a theatre show, after the encores are done. Its the final fall of the curtain at the end of a run. Sometimes we might say its just "curtains" for something or someone, meaning it will be ending, as a shortened form. But both Aziraphale and Crowley knows death isn't the end; its a beginning as well. Its just matter of perspective to them.

I've seen other writers associate this final curtain with the first Armagedon't, and now we appear to maybe be facing the "big one" in S3 - the Second Coming. I think that is too simplistic an association, especially for GO. The reversed side of the veil could be so many things: the final battle, the ability of our ethereal heroes to move between worlds, it could even be Crowley returning from the "death" of being one of the Fallen. As always, the meaning will be need to be considered within the context of the scene, and which side of the curtain we are looking from.

[wayti-blog]

Your dead are alive. You will see them again someday. Do not be afraid of death. How sad the parting may be. The soul continues its way and sooner or later you see each other back in the Spheres of Light.

o

[vintagenews]

Source and details.

[ashesandhackles]

Beyond the Veil (masterpost)

Co-written with @thedreamermusing

Sirius Black/Severus Snape. 97k.

A canon-divergent rewrite of Half Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows that follows the relationship between Sirius Black and Severus Snape. Think of it as mine and Dreamer's character study with romance.

Our list of chapters (and tiny previews where you can see we have experimented with multiple POVs) under the cut! Also a Snape and Lily prequel written by @thedreamermusing here: January 30th, 1975 (Happy Birthday Lily)

Chapter 1 - Prologue

Time was a standstill in these long hallways and empty rooms, full of memories that ticked under his skin like a pulse under a livid bruise.

Chapter 2 - changing perceptions

He was tempted to laugh, laugh like a maniac, at the absurdity, the injustice, out of grief--let out all his curled up emotions in a big hearty laugh. But then again, that hadn't worked out so well for him 15 years ago.

Chapter 3 - 12 Grimmauld Place meets Spinner's End

What Pettigrew lacked in skill; he made up for in malice.  This seemingly pusillanimous creature hid within him a rusty sword whose efficiency lay not in the sharpness of the blade, but in the unnoticed poison of the rust.

Chapter 4- Enemy of my Enemy

"I brought him here because I finally see the advantages of being brawny rather than brainy," Snape smirked.

Chapter 5 - The Prince and Padfoot

"You disgust me.” rang over and over in his head like a church bell, a judgement in a confessional, a whisper that haunted his ears when he dreamed and lay awake, sometimes unable to tell the difference.

Chapter 6 - Monsters and Old School Friends

His wildness hung over him like an aura of a predator. Long-limbed, lax, but there was danger bubbling within him, an inexplicable ferocity that filled the air around him. How could anyone else not see that monster?

Chapter 7 - Circular Path

When Severus saw it for the first time, he was amazed. It was an answer to a question he had all his life, a representation of what could be built if he just reached out for the future and grabbed it with greedy hands. Now, as Narcissa opened the door with a stone face belied by the terror in her eyes, he was able to see the Manor for what it really was--a mouldering dump of pureblood affectations that concealed its decay as well as Grimmauld Place accentuated it.

Chapter 8 - Tale of Two Black Stars

Severus had known all along how to see who held the room. It was ingrained in him since he was a child. In Spinner's End, it was his father. A looming presence of overbearing violence that his mother, his magical mother, cowered against. He noticed it again in the playground - where Lily flew in air, in a burst of extraordinarily controlled magic. 

Chapter 9 - The Wounds of Men

He did not know where their sudden leap of faith for the ferret came from ( “C’mon mate, I know Malfoy is a git but Death Eater is serious business!” ), but it made him feel stupid and ridiculous--it was almost as if he was back at Aunt Petunia’s, listening to her sweet talk the neighbours about Harry’s delinquency. ( “He told you he sleeps under a cupboard? A nasty, nasty lie! But the poor dear has got no one else; his parents didn’t leave us any money as well. It’s been such a strain on our finances…” 

Chapter 10 - By The Light of The Full Moon

The first week at Azkaban was truly horrendous. Peter valued his mind - it was his best weapon and it helped him fade into the background. Losing the ability to think clearly, unable to tell dreams and memories apart; it was a sensation that terrified him. It felt like getting sucked into the quicksand of his resentment and anger and guilt that he kept at bay. He didn’t want to feel it. What use were those emotions, if they failed to help him survive?

Chapter 11 - Face Death in Hope

Death, Pain - all unavoidable things. Things he had to play with - in hope that one day, he would be able to expiate what he was carrying.  He would not live to see it, he was sure. But he could hope. The only relief he had is that he would not die by his - Gellert’s- hand. “I am the only one who should be allowed to kill you,” he had said, a declaration, a threat - he wasn’t sure. “It is me that keeps you alive.”

Chapter 12 - Who Are You?

He was a son of the House of Malfoy, a noble house, one of the sacred 28, whose line went back generations. Their legacy was set in stone, the purity of their blood unquestioned. It infuriated him that nobody recognised that--that Potter, with his filthy mixed blood and mudblood mother--didn’t recognise that. And now, it had become so much worse. His father was a laughingstock. His mother looked pale and frightened all the time. It was up to him to bring things back to normal.

Chapter 13 - The Last Enemy (Part 1)

There were so many things that he thought were forgotten, so many memories whose life and colour had been drained away by grief and Azkaban. But standing here in the square, it was clear that they had always been there. He had felt something similar after walking into the doors of Grimmauld Place for the first time, but the only memories rising to surface there were of misery long-replaced. Here, every bit of youthful joy and love rose and flickered through his mind like stained-glass colours through snow, and every unremarkable step they had ever made on the square seemed precious in a fragile kind of way. 

Chapter 14 - Shedding the Maker's Skin

“Lyall Lupin,” Fenrir said, smiling at the infinitesimal jerk Remus’ body gave. “I knew you came from money, boy. You’re his son, aren’t you?”

Remus went cold. 

“Soulless, evil and deserving of nothing but death,” Fenrir quoted. “That is what he believes.”

A rage Remus had never felt before was travelling up his spine, fossilising hatred into the marrow of his bones.

Chapter 15 - Ozymandias

Once upon a time, Voldemort had looked at Snape and seen a mirror, a broken mirror of course, because Severus did not have even a shadow of his charisma, charm, looks, or skill. But even so, when Severus had come to him, an angry, profoundly gifted young half-blood brewing with hatred over his Muggle heritage, he had been so hopeful at his promise. They had both seemed to view the world in the same way; they both understood that magic was where power lay. Magic had made Voldemort immortal and then mortal again. They both respected it in a way nobody else did, and Voldemort had thought he found someone who could equal Bellatrix’s esteem. 

But Severus’s weakness had been disgustingly banal. To think that it was lust of all things to claim him, and lust for a plain Mudblood at that. And now, it was the same, only for Lucius’s dullard of a wife.

Chapter 16 - In Noctem (Carry My Soul)

The idea of it makes me feel ill. He is no longer whole; his soul is distorted. He is no better than those vile creatures that guard Azkaban. He intended to murder Kreacher, who has been serving our family for generations. Our family, whose blood is pure and unbroken, has been used to destroy the soul of a magical being. It has become clear to me now. This monster will ruin us all more than any mudblood ever will. 

Chapter 17 - Wings to the Kingdom

Until the time Death claims me, let the moth sing to your bones: I loved you since I saw you. I loved you when I hated you. I loved you when you betrayed us. I loved you when you destroyed me. 

Yours, Gellert.

Chapter 18 - The Last Enemy (Part 2)

The window brought in a draft of salt as Remus cut up chicken for the Order lunch.  Tonks was just beside him, mashing the potatoes with zeal, her arm brushing up against his own on occasion. He felt embarrassed, it was ridiculous the degree to which any proximity to her affected him. It was the isolation of the cottage, he thought, that seemed to keep them away from the dark cloud hovering above them.  It was the rhythm of the sea, a comforting lullaby of a different world, a different life.

Chapter 19 - A Lament in the Ashes

Where is my golden palace? Where is my ivory bed? Where is the joy of my morning hour? Where the Sons of Eternity are singing, Draco thumbed through the book from the shelves in the bedroom. Years ago, he would have scoffed at the idea of perusing a book of poetry written by a Muggle.

Chapter 20 - Epilogue

“It must be nice,” he said. “To start again every time you die. You can make as many mistakes as you want and be reborn from them.” 

Fawkes trilled. The corner of Serverus’s mouth lifted. 

[cuddlebugsirius]

Warning: I cried writing this, so you might cry reading this, but oh well 🤷🏻‍♀️ this @wolfstarmicrofic is for the May 23rd prompt 'pool' and is a beyond the veil Wolfstar reunion scene, post-Second Wizarding War. Everyone's dead. But no one is alone!

Remus woke to a murmur that was slowly growing louder, his head pillowed on a strangely familiar surface. As the voice grew louder, he recognised it: Sirius.

“My Moony is here, my Moony is here, look Prongs, he's finally here!”

He coughed just once, blinking in the low light, and saw the radiant face of his love leant over his frame. It was then he realised why it was so familiar, this place.

“We’re in the clearing?”

“Moony,” Sirius breathed, toppling Remus off of his lap so that he could flop on top of him in a hug; “Gods, Moony, I've missed being able to touch you so much,”

Eyes watering, he caught James hovering a few feet away from them, Remus' arms full of the boy he loved and the clearing full of their long-gone friends and family. The sun was just rising, casting shadows of the lush fruit trees across the wide open space as everyone he'd been missing came closer and closer to them. Potter Manor was far in the distance, but he would recognise the grove of trees they'd lounged in every summer from fourth year on for eternity.

“Did he live?” He asked, watching Lily and James’ reactions closely, “did we manage it?”

“He lived,” Lily nodded, silent tears streaming down her face as they pooled in James' eyes; “I’m so sorry it cost you your life too, Remus, we never meant to-“

“Don't,” he cut her off, holding Sirius tightly as he sobbed to Remus’ chest; “don't ever apologise for letting me save your boy, or for bringing me back to my love, Lily Potter. If you do I'll, I’ll…”

She was smiling now, cheeks wet but eyes bright; “you’ll what?”

“I’ll- I will never braid your hair for you again!”

A broken laugh escaped Sirius, Remus slowly sitting the pair of them up and nudging him back so that he could see his face more clearly. To take his face in his hands again near knocked the wind from him, but he gathered all the strength he had to say: “hi, Pads,”

[thedreamermusing]

Aaand it’s a wrap!

 The final chapter of ‘Beyond the Veil’ is up. @ashesandhackles and I wrote this fic out of shit posts we’d sent to each other during the pandemic, and we’ve gone through so many life changes since then. I couldn’t have asked for a better writing partner than you! Fun fact, chapters 17- 19 were written exclusively by her when I was caught up with my master’s degree. It’s because of her that it’s finished and as great as it is. Thanks so much for sticking with us this long. We hope you enjoy the final chapter! 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31267934/chapters/122203897

[hogwartscastle]

'There’s nothing you can do, Harry -’ 'Get him, save him, he's only just gone through!' '- it's too late, Harry.' 'We can still reach him -' Harry struggled hard and viciously, but Lupin would not let go ... 'There's nothing you can do, Harry ... nothing ... he's gone.'

[killiansprincss]

Head empty just ✨ Darius Acrux Vega ✨

[mmothmanners]

For the five year anniversary I drew my players' characters for our finale arc. We're in the home stretch and so I made them tarot themed cards as a lil gift to show my love for them and the stories they weave.

[sleeplessdreamer123]

Harry: My father didn't strut.

Meanwhile, beyond the veil

James: You're right, Harry. I didn't strut.

Lily: 🤨

James: I trotted, I trotted like the majestic beast that I am!

Lily: James-

James: I trotted through the halls, through every classroom, I trotted in the Gryffindor common room, hells, I trotted into your mother's heart! And I will trot back to life if you ever say otherwise!

[ihsnamih]

[ivedonemywaiting]

A quick Saturday shout-out and Wolfstar fic rec for an absolutely STUNNING fic written by Sierra_Sitruc, Let Me Get What I Want (This Time)

A marauders era alternate universe where Sirius begins having startling visions of what the future could hold, and gets the chance to make some different choices this time around. 

A gorgeous, unique take on a fix-it fic, really interesting Unspeakable magic / incorporation of the mystery and mystical with The Veil, The Deathly Hallows, etc. Feat. aching Wolfstar and a wonderful portrayal of demisexuality as well. Read immediately!

[dd-dailybarks]

I forget this blog is a thing and then I get spam notifications and

🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

[ashesandhackles]

Beyond the Veil - Chapter 18

In which everything that can go wrong does go wrong. <3 All our love. (on another note, we hit 84k words :O)

[vsslxo]

Asymmetry

One of the benefits of channeling art on a daily basis is the opportunity to recognize patterns and recurring symbols, imagery, or themes over a span. Sometimes these are things we don't expect or understand at first, but over time or upon questioning, layers of meaning emerge.

For example, I channeled a set of images with Hadit yesterday. The resulting images were conceptual and forced me to expand my ways of thinking and seeing in order to engage with them. This morning, while working on something else, my attention was drawn to three collages from a series I had channeled a little over a year ago.

The first image was of Hadit, as we had learned after it was created. It is relatively minimal in appearance, but took many layers to create. When I zoomed in on the image, I noted that some of the geometric shapes were not perfectly symmetrically aligned. As someone who is generally obsessed with details like this, it irked me. I had spent many hours creating each of these collages in deep trance and each tiny nudge and digital placement was guided and confirmed. Knowing this, I mentally took a step back and realized that it was intentional.

When channeling the most recent images with Hadit, I received some imagery related to portals, wormholes, and interdimensionality. Often these initially rub me the wrong way because they do not exhibit the symmetry that I've been trained to desire. But they speak to something more, a way through. The way the geometric shapes in the collage were offset echoed this. Once I was able to grasp this, this reframing of my mindset helped me to better understand the collages as well as the newly channeled images and subsequently identify more symbolism and meaning that I had previously overlooked.

—IYNX

Images in post: 1 - "A," digital collage, Oct 2022 2 - Untitled, channeled AI art, Feb 2024