#banana fish gorilla shoelace with a dash of nutmeg

[goodomensfanbase]

Good Omens Coffee Theory

Okay, so any Good Omens fan by now has probably read or at least heard about the coffee theory, where the coffee the Metatron gave Azi had something in it! After analysing the footage of the Metatron ordering, I realised it looks like he mumbles something under his breath, now as the actor was 83 and 84 at times of filming it may have just been small shaking HOWEVER... there may be more to it! Obviously there is no evidence but he may have said Azi's disapearing magic spell "Banana fish gorilla shoelace with a dash of nutmeg". I do not think that this is what happened. I think at the start of season 3 there will be a flashback to the moment Azi drinks it/ the Metatron tells him to, and there will be a detail we missed, perhaps a subtle hand movement, a miracle, maybe a flicker of light, maybe something else entirely! What are your ideas?

[sighed-the-snake]

Crack theory.

Banana fish gorilla shoelace with a dash of nutmeg.

Excerpts from the book, too lazy for page numbers

Banana = Warlock.

When Warlock was ten he liked baseball; he liked plastic toys that transformed into other plastic toys indistinguishable from the first set of plastic toys except to the trained eye; he liked his stamp collection; he liked banana-flavor bubble gum; he liked comics and cartoons and his B.M.X. bike.

Fish = Greasy Johnson.

But Greasy Johnson had never found a sport that suited him. He was instead secretly devoted to his collection of tropical fish, which won him prizes. Greasy Johnson was the same age as Adam Young, to within a few hours, and his parents had never told him he was adopted. See? You were right about the babies.

Gorilla = Second Coming.

“Whole sea bubbling, poor old dolphins so much seafood gumbo, no one giving a damn. Same with gorillas. Whoops, they say, sky gone all red, stars crashing to ground, what they putting in the bananas these days? And then—”

Shoelace = Adam.

Adam brightened. “Oh, tomorrow’ll be all right,” he pronounced. “They’ll have forgotten about it by then. You’ll see. They always do.” He looked up at them, a scruffy Napoleon with his laces trailing, exiled to a rose-trellissed Elba. “You all go,” he told them, with a brief, hollow laugh. “Don’t you worry about me. I’ll be all right. I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

and

And if you want to imagine the future, imagine a boot . . . no, imagine a sneaker, laces trailing, kicking a pebble; imagine a stick, to poke at interesting things, and throw for a dog that may or may not decide to retrieve it; imagine a tuneless whistle, pounding some luckless popular song into insensibility; imagine a figure, half angel, half devil, all human . . . Slouching hopefully towards Tadfield. . . . . . . forever.

Nutmeg = The events at Sodom and Gomorrah.

“Come off it. Your lot get ineffable mercy,” said Crowley sourly. “Yes? Did you ever visit Gomorrah?” “Sure,” said the demon. “There was this great little tavern where you could get these terrific fermented date-palm cocktails with nutmeg and crushed lemongrass—” “I meant afterwards.” “Oh.”

Aren't these things mentioned plenty of other times in the book?

Sort of.

Lots of mentions of fish, but only one connected to a character.**

A few interesting mentions of bananas, but again, only one personally attributed to a character.

But the only two mentions of shoelaces belong to Adam.

The sole mention of Nutmeg is associated with large swaths of humans getting murdered by Heaven.

Gorillas are only mentioned when Crowley and Aziraphale were discussing the end of the world.

(** There is one other character associated with fish, and that's Greaser, one of the bikers. He has FISH and CHIP tattooed across his knuckles. Greaser. Greasy Johnson. Both greasy and fishy. I'd say it still fits. Maybe Greaser is foreshadowing of Greasy Johnson's future as a bully; that's for another meta.)

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

Don't know. Maybe it foreshadows the events of S3, that the three boys are going to be heavily involved in the oncoming disaster, and (due to the phrase's connection to deception/magic tricks) they are going to pull a fast one on Heaven and Hell that no one expects.

Maybe the story begins with Warlock and Greasy, then the Second Coming business heats up, and Adam doesn't get involved until the end, when the world needs defending. After all, Adam has done this before.

[shipaholic]

AAHHH I won the quiz at Ineffable Con 5 :D :D :D :D :D

[vidavalor]

Good Omens has shown us, among other things...

-Crowley pointing the paintball gun at Aziraphale and giving the office workers miraculous escapes from death *before* it showed us The Blitz, Part 2's Bullet Catch that shows us what he was referencing to Aziraphale by doing so

-Aziraphale's love of human magic and his vanishing coins act and Crowley grumbling about all of it *before* it showed us "the farthing has vanished!" and The Marvelous Mr. Fell and his "volunteer assistant" on stage in 1941

-The 1862 breakup *before* the 1827 scene that gives context for their traumas that led to the breakup

-The sexy lunch in 2008 *before* the ox rib date that started it-- all the way back in 2500 B.C..

-Crowley telling Aziraphale about his night dealing with the antichrist baby: "Well, not, delivered-delivered, just... handed it over" *before* professional midwife/cobbler Bildad the Shuite "birthing" Job and Sitis some "new" kids

-Crowley, alone, forced into the start of Armageddon by delivering the antichrist in a picnic basket *before* 1967, in which Aziraphale dreams of a world they could get to before they run out of time in which they could go on a picnic together

-Aziraphale looking to the side Crowley always comes up on when he hears the miracle sound in the sushi restaurant in 1.01 *before* we even know that Crowley always comes up in the same way from various scenes teaching us this

-Aziraphale's tartan obsession *before* its origin story, which is the date in Edinburgh in 1827 wherein he became spirituality Scottish and thought he lost Crowley and after which he adopted the tartan as a thing related to the two of them and never stopped wearing it. See also: showed us 1967 and the tartan thermos *before* explaining to us that the tartan isn't just something Aziraphale likes but is something with meaning to the two of them together as a pair

-Crowley rambling drunkenly about bananas, fish and gorillas in the bookshop *before* his and Aziraphale's 'banana fish gorilla shoelace with a dash of nutmeg' conversation over wine in 1941, showing us that he was drunkenly remembering in a scene in S1 a romantic scene in their history that we didn't know then and wouldn't know until S2

-Crowley & Aziraphale dining at The Ritz in 2008 in 1.01 *before* we even know that was The Ritz or why it matters that it was, which they don't tell us until the final, romantic moments of S1

-Crowley obsessively growing a large, lush, overhanging canopy of plants in his apartment *before* telling us he's got a thing for vavoom-y erotic gazing and kissing under the shelter of canopies the likes of which have never been seen in a Richard Curtis film

So, my dear, dear loves... explain to me why I'm not going to be adding to this list next season:

-that heartbreaking 2.06 kiss *before* the first one they had a bazillion years ago?

[queerfables]

A dash of nutmeg...

Look I feel a bit like I'm throwing soup at a dart board and calling it analysis, but I have some thoughts about Aziraphale's magic words in episode 4, and it's going to kill me if I don't share.

The thing is, these words have been nagging at me since I heard them. They sounded familiar, and I've been trying to figure out why. Today, it finally clicked.

Banana. Fish. Gorilla.

Those initial three words are all key words from Crowley and Aziraphale's drunken conversation about Armageddon. It's right at the start of things, when Crowley convinces Aziraphale to help him stop the world from ending.

We'll start with the fish, because they come up first.

"The point I'm trying to make," [Crowley] said, brightening, "is the dolphins. That's my point." "Kind of fish," said Aziraphale.

Their entire exchange here is hilarious and iconic but I'll try to keep this to the point. After some banter about the difference between fish and mammals, Crowley argues that dolphins don't deserve to be caught in the crossfire when the kraken rises and the seas boil. Which conveniently brings us to:

"Same with gorillas. Whoops, they say, sky gone all red, stars crashing to ground, what they putting in the bananas these days?"

Banana. Fish. Gorilla. It got me curious, so I searched for other places these words show up in the book. There's nothing I think is really significant: a couple of things are described as banana flavoured, fish show up in rains that herald the impending doomsday, gorillas aren't ever mentioned again. If I'm on the right track at all, I think this part is here to signpost a connection between this string of words from the show and the specific moments in the book.

If that's true, it must be pointing to something. What's left? Shoe lace and nutmeg.

Shoe lace.

The word "shoelace" isn't actually in Good Omens. Neither is "shoe lace" with a space in between. There's a couple of unremarkable descriptions involving shoes, and one miraculously conjured lace handkerchief, and then - and then. Right at the very end of the story, we have Adam, grounded by his parents, being described as "a scruffy Napoleon with his laces trailing, exiled to a rose-trellissed Elba". It's tenuous. I could dismiss that as nothing. Except Adam's laces show up again, and it's the very last passage of the book.

If you want to imagine the future, imagine a boy and his dog and his friends. And a summer that never ends. And if you want to imagine the future, imagine a boot . . . no, imagine a sneaker, laces trailing, kicking a pebble; imagine a stick, to poke at interesting things, and throw for a dog that may or may not decide to retrieve it; imagine a tuneless whistle, pounding some luckless popular song into insensibility; imagine a figure, half angel, half devil, all human . . . Slouching hopefully towards Tadfield . . . . . . forever.

I'm not ready to say much about what I think the significance of this passage might be. But an allusion to the book's ending does feel significant, doesn't it?

The one thing I will say, for people who may not know, is that this passage is riffing on a line from Orwell's 1984. The line it's playing on is a lot darker: "If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face – for ever." I think it's probably relevant that this is referencing a book about a totalitarian regime. I also think it's probably relevant that it's taking that reference and twisting it into something much sweeter, more optimistic and empowered.

I'm still thinking through all the connections and implications, though.

Nutmeg.

And that brings us to "nutmeg". I have to be honest, I wasn't hopeful. I didn't remember any references to it and if I were betting, I wouldn't have put money on it appearing in the book at all. But the word does show up, and it shows up exactly once. Crowley is reminiscing about a cocktail he had once, made out of fermented date-palms. It's part of a conversation with Aziraphale, where they discuss losing the Antichrist. And here's the really interesting part:

"You said it was him!" moaned Aziraphale, abstractedly picking the final lump of cream-cake from his lapel. He licked his fingers clean. "It was him," said Crowley. "I mean, I should know, shouldn't I?" "Then someone else must be interfering." "There isn't anyone else! There's just us, right? Good and Evil. One side or the other." He thumped the steering wheel. "You'll be amazed at the kind of things they can do to you, down there," he said. "I imagine they're very similar to the sort of things they can do to one up there," said Aziraphale. "Come off it. Your lot get ineffable mercy," said Crowley sourly. "Yes? Did you ever visit Gomorrah?" "Sure," said the demon. "There was this great little tavern where you could get these terrific fermented date-palm cocktails with nutmeg and crushed lemongrass-" "I meant afterwards." "Oh."

Book Aziraphale differs from his characterisation in the show in a few ways, and this is the big one. In the book, Aziraphale is much more cynical about his own side, and much more aware of heaven's flaws. Here, he's convincing Crowley that the threat heaven poses is just as serious as any threat from hell.

If I'm right about any of this, if these nonsense words mean anything at all, I think they are saying that heaven and hell are two sides of the same very nasty coin, and more to the point, that maybe Aziraphale is more aware of it than he seems.

I need to think about this more, still. I'm not sure if I really think this connection is something, and if it is, I'm still figuring out what sorts of conclusions we might draw from it. But if the script is trying to point us to these three sections of the book, maybe there's a deeper analysis to be had here.

I do think it's interesting that the last two words each only show up in one section of the book. It's not like I'm skipping around trying to decide which passage involving shoe laces is most relevant - it shows up twice, only in the last few pages of the book and only in relation to Adam (and in particular, humanising Adam. He's Napoleon in exile, but he's a kid with trailing laces. His future isn't a boot stamping on a human face, it's a sneaker with those same trailing laces - and a stick that his dog can choose whether or not to chase).

I could talk myself in circles on this point, so I guess I've got to open it up to the floor. Am I making something out of nothing with this? Or do you think there could be something here?

[somehow-a-human]

The Bullet Catch and the Final 15

DO NOT ASK NEIL ABOUT FAN THEORY

Okay, this started as a completely different post. I was writing something else and I had to abandon it because I realized I needed to be writing this instead. It was like a lightbulb moment, or rather, a headlight moment (see what I did there?)

"Banana, Fish, Gorilla, Shoelace, with a dash of Nutmeg." Clearly adversarial forces are capable of seeing what Crowley and Aziraphale are talking about within the bookshop from across the street. It's confirmed the zombies have gotten The Marvellous Mr. Fell's strange magic words correct at the end of the 1941 minisode. Is this foreshadowing the clear observation of the final conversation Aziraphale and Crowley share directly in front of the bookshop window, by the Metatron?

"Aim for my mouth, shoot past my ear". Well if this isn't that damn kiss I don't know what is. And the bullet, the bullet hiding in his mouth. Magicians historically have had keys passed to them through their mouths via a kiss. Crowley sure did aim for that mouth...

"You have formed a de-facto partnership with the demon Crowley." It's a threat, plain and simple. It's the same thing as Furfur showing up in the dressing room with a photograph of the two of them. And what does Aziraphale do both times? He pulls the same fearful face, is terrified for Crowley, and immediately figures out something to quash the threat. Aziraphale is so smart and so fearful for Crowley's safety, he will do whatever it takes, above his own interests to keep him safe.

"Trust me". The bullet catch. God, the stress of this trick, this insane show of trust and love. "You said trust me", "and you did". I have watched season two an unknowable number of times now, and this is still difficult to see on screen, but it's there. Aziraphale mouths, "trust me" and Crowley catches it, and more importantly, trusts him.

This angel knows he's being watched, the love of his life has been threatened, he knows he has no options and he needs to perform a massive trick to save Crowley. Good thing, he always gets it right the time it matters.

Honorable mention: I am an "Aziraphale was trying to signal for a time stop/help to Crowley" truther, here, when it looks like maybe he mimes 'timeout' and "help". I think either Crowley was too blinded by his newfound plan to confess his undying love for Aziraphale to pick up on his "something's wrong voice" or clear non-verbal communication, which we've established this season they are very good at (see Aziraphale asking Crowley to freeze Dalrymple in Edinburgh). OR he did catch the signals and he is LISTENING.

If you haven't read this post by @noneorother about the parallels between The Tales of Hoffmann and GO season 2, you need to. But to snag a small quote of theirs to highlight this one specific point:

"Stella [Aziraphale] arrives in the tavern looking for Hoffmann [Crowley], ready to run away, but now accompanied by Lindoff [Metatron] (dressed as an angelic figure) who followed her. She looks to Hoffmann to save her, but he's too blinded by the fact that he doesn't think she loves him back to pick up on the signal. He gives up, and she goes back up the stairs guided by Lindoff." - @noneorother

Okay but seriously make sure you go read that whole post.

If that isn't what happens in the final 15, what is?

Then we have the end of 1941 pt.2, wine in the backroom, and the reveal of the photograph. Crowley realizes Aziraphale saved him, he realizes how much he can trust him, and if my observed light bulb headlight moment is anything, it happened after the final 15 too. He knows. It's still devastating, it's still heartbreaking, and it doesn't invalidate all the feelings and love they couldn't quite come out and communicate right then. They are living under an Orwellian regime, this isn't really a job they can quit or even run away from. They were angels created for a purpose. Sure gabriel and Beelzebub left, but how long until someone tries to hunt them down? Plus, what's the point if Crowley and Aziraphale abandon Earth and just let armageddon part two happen? That's a pretty shit thing of them to do. They want to live on Earth, they want to protect the humans, and they want to do it together.

They didn't eat the apple, the humans did. Maybe at the end of season 3, they'll get their chance.

[ashbunny2027]

I simply say the magic words "Banana fish gorilla shoelace with a dash of nutmeg"

[dragonfire42]

Pretty happy with how my zero hour Fell the Marvelous cape came out!

I used two yards of fabric and sewed one snap to make the cape, and a cricut to cut all the silver stars I ironed on:

I also said the magic words Banana Fish Gorilla Shoelace and a dash of Nutmeg to turn a pear into a turnip:

And here's me turning a turnip into an inkwell!

(I think I spent more time on the turnip than the cape lol)

I think Fell the Marvelous would approve!

[fellshish]

banana, fish, gorilla, shoelace with dash of nutmeg is what i as a non native speaker think my fics sound like to other people while i’m trying to write

[jotun-philosopher]

How Aziraphale did the trick

...or at least, how I *think* Aziraphale did the photo/leaflet switch, based on hazy recollections of the scene in question, reading Expert at the Card Table, quite a bit of thought and some practical experimentation.

With no DVD of s2 available at time of writing, and my Prime Video free trial having long expired (can't quite justify the cost of a subscription if I'd only be using it for one show), I'm basing this hypothesis on my recollections of the dressing room scene, bolstered by gifs I've seen around tumblr (which I have highly variable luck finding in the gif search thingy...) -- the possibility that I've misremembered something that renders my whole hypothesis null is therefore high, so I absolutely welcome and encourage commentary from folks who know a heck of a lot more about sleight-of-hand (and remember the dressing room scene better!) than I do.

With that out of the way... On with the motley!

We start with Crowley sprawling on the sofa while Azzy is bopping happily around to the left (as one faces the door) but on a diagonal such that Crowley can't see him from the side, a 'Ladies Of Camelot' leaflet tucked into his left sleeve or an inner pocket of his jacket as a souvenir of the evening. Enter Furfur and the Nazi Zombie Flesh-Eaters, bearing The Photograph!

Ineffable 'oh crap!' reaction!

Crowley holds on to the photo for a while (possibly imagining having it on display in a nice frame in the living room of a seaside cottage???), then hands photograph and envelope to Aziraphale, who cottons on to the danger immediately.

While Crowley (in his role as Glamorous Assistant, albeit in a snazzy suit rather than a spangly leotard) provides a distraction for Furfur and the Nazis (this bit's important -- I'm not 100% sure the trick would've worked otherwise) and vice versa, Aziraphale retrieves the Ladies Of Camelot leaflet from whichever part of his clothing he's stashed it in and slips it into the envelope, keeping it folded over so as to be less visible and using the envelope itself, as well as the photograph, as extra physical barriers.

Furfur finishes bickering with Crowley and demands the photograph back. Aziraphale --

Banana fish gorilla shoelace with a dash of nutmeg

-- appears to slip the photograph back into the envelope, but actually slips it *between* himself and the envelope, holding it gently in place with his left thumb and buying a few extra seconds to adjust its position by pulling the envelope closer to himself. He makes a showy, elaborate gesture with his right hand (I am convinced that that was a misdirection intended at least as much for us as for his in-universe audience), neatly palming the photograph in his left hand as he takes the envelope in his right and hands it to Furfur, who smugly backstabs the Nazis and buggers off back to Hell. (Furfur doesn't strike me as having the intelligence or imagination to look for signs that Az might've pulled something; if he did, he'd've checked the envelope in the dressing room, and certainly before handing it to Dagon)

***

This is how I personally think Aziraphale did the trick -- a careful rewatch (yo ho ho!) of the scene in question at the very least does not contradict it, though it did highlight that I'd got Furfur's arguing with Crowley about the War In Heaven mixed up with the far briefer moment of distraction that lets Az make the switch, giving him less time than I'd thought. The basic physical procedure that I proposed above is plausible, if nothing else; I have made practical experiments in replicating it (props pictured below) and they've panned out well enough (though not at anything like the speed Az would've used).

Props: A5 envelope, RNLI thingy that seemed to be about the right size, hastily scribbled replica of The Photograph

The envelope and leaflet are somewhat larger than their in-show analogues, but they were the best I could find quickly.

Bonus: a closer look at the replica photo, feat. my left hand:

Cool, eh? XD

This highlights, to me, the plausibility of my idea that Aziraphale palmed the photograph -- the photo would'v'e been approximately 3.5in/side, while the replica is drawn on a piece of paper that's 3 7/8 in/side, and my hands are very likely smaller than Michael Sheen's, making a successful palm very feasible. Furthermore, given the fast-moving situation and his being under observation, I doubt he'd've had time to do anything else, and on rewatching there's no indication in his hand movements that he did anything other than palming.

***

And in case I have in fact messed something up and need correcting:

(OK, mostly including this gif 'cos I love the 'You were right' dance XD)

[pommedepersephone]

I feel like I'm the only one in the Good Omens fandom who doesn't get the subtext behind the "aim for my mouth but shoot past my ear" quote. Do you have thoughts to share on what it means to you?

Ooooh do I. This is probably one of my favorite lines in all of Good Omens. And that is saying something because I'm one of those with an old dog-eared copy of the book AND the S1 script book, both full of underlines (don't tell Aziraphale, he'd be horrified). So, here is my unhinged passionate explanation of what that line means to me, and how I think it actually applies to multiple moments through S2, specifically moments where there is some kind of performance/deception taking place. I will try to keep this only marginally long, so I will break down the three moments I think are MOST important, and then sum it all up at the end. Ready? Here we go!

What the line means in 1941

"Aim for my mouth but shoot past my ear" clearly applies to the mechanisms of the bullet catch in S2E4, so let's start there. What does the bullet catch tell us about their relationship? First, they are always being watched. By humans (the audience) but also by their respective sides (in this case Hell). Second, they have to pretend they don’t know each other but still have ways to communicate throughout their charade. Third, they HAVE to trust one another. Like, a LOT because - Fourth, their relationship puts them both in danger.

In this context, the line is really interesting because the idea of aiming for the mouth and shooting past the ear can also be interpreted as speaking and acting in ways that either pacify or confuse those watching, but that clearly communicate to one another. There is SOMETHING about the fact that in the presence of the Nazis Crowley speaks very plainly but in a way only Aziraphale would REALLY understand - “If the bomb does land here, it would take a real miracle for my friend and I to survive it” - yet when they are being watched unaware the line that the Nazis manage to get is “banana, fish, gorilla, shoelace with dash of nutmeg” because never, not even alone, do they speak in a completely straightforward manner. This does not mean they do not communicate, it means they communicate in their own language.

What the line means in Job

But wait! There is MORE! Because 1941 isn’t the first time we’ve seen these two perform for an audience! "Aim for my mouth but shoot past my ear" also applies in Job. There is one big difference - at the start of the story, Crawley is performing alone. He is saying all the right demonic things - "I want to. I long to destroy the blameless children of blameless Job, just as I destroyed his blameless goats." And at first, Aziraphale is in the audience, unaware of the sleight of hand taking place in front of him. But Crawley offers to read him in by showing him… the crows. And Aziraphale ends up stepping into the roll of magician’s assistant as Crawley works to save Job’s kids, human and otherwise.

What I find interesting is the way you can think about mouths and ears here - Crawley lets him hear the crows bleat (shoot past my ear) which lets Aziraphale understand who Crawley really is. Then Crawley offers him the ox rib (aim for my mouth) which in some ways makes Aziraphale begin to actually examine who HE is. Both are necessary if they are going to eventually become An Us, and it really starts here, with Job.

What the line means in the Final Fifteen

By the time we get to present-day S2 “Aim for my mouth but shoot past my ear” has taken on such a deep meaning for these two man-shaped beings. Their communication is so rich and layered, where they speak in metaphors and puns and have rituals like the I Was Wrong dance. I mean, just look at this silly little act of love -

I. Simply. Cannot. These two! They deeply enjoy one another. BUT this very complicated language they have developed together only works when they are ON THE SAME PAGE.

What happens in the Final Fifteen? They stop speaking the same language. For the sake of this analysis, we are assuming that Aziraphale is feeling threatened, and is aware that Metatron has ill intent, okay? Okay. In that context… just like 1941, they are AGAIN being watched (this time by Heaven), pretending they don’t know certain things about each other, need to trust each other and their relationship has put them in danger. But here is the kicker - they have slipped back into their roles from the start of Job, except reversed. They don’t have the same information and awareness. Fell the Marvelous is desperately putting on the performance of his life, and Crowley doesn’t even know they are on stage. There was no time for a backroom conversation to discuss the finer points of the trick. In the end, Crowley decides “fuck shooting past your ear, you aren’t hearing me."

And in the MOST devastating way possible, these two aimed for the mouth and shot right past each other's ears. Ouch. OUCH.

*Clears throat, dries eyes* in summary, this little line of poetry does a heavy lift for S2. It applies to scenes where a performance/sleight of hand is taking place, but it reads differently in each one. Importantly, "Aim for my mouth but shoot past my ear" only works out when they are properly partnering not pretendy partnering. If there is information withheld, or they aren't in agreement (this applies to Edinburgh toooooo) things just implode. They have to have TRUST for this to work.

Just in case I seem even remotely normal at this point, here is the little poem I wrote after watching S2 the first time, as the brainrot started to take real hold:

aim for my mouth and shoot past my ear

tell me the lines but show me your eyes

so i learn how hearts can hide truth in lies

here beside you

aim for my mouth and shoot past my ear

i promise to burn you if you hold the match

you walk through fire but i'll turn to ash

a shade grey for you

aim for my mouth and shoot past my ear

show me the words i can't seem to hear

give me something to hold as i go through my fear

and here return to you

[goodomensfanbase]

BANANA FISH GORILLA SHOELACE WITH A DASH OF NUTMEG AND...

...well. it worked the time that mattered.

[sonkitty]

The Pocket Chain Rainbow Connection - LINKS - Updates

I have finally gotten around to several updates on the Rainbow Connection. I had meant to focus on Part 4, but it made sense to update Parts 1-3 as well. Updating Part 4 took way more out of me than I thought it would so I didn't track my changes in the other parts well, sorry.

In Part 1, I mostly have some mild wording changes. The more I've played while working on the Crowley S2 Hair posts, the more sure I am that the Tied Hands untie and retie frequently, so I am more sure than ever that they retie during intermission with Nina.

In Part 2, I added more about the possible Black and White being used to trap the Green for later in Triple Part 2. I also added more details about how the switch from Blue to Purple does not happen in a specific cut because Crowley still needs to do more preparation for using two pockets in the Double.

In Part 3, I added some more info about the suspected Black and White trap because of a human wearing suspenders as a clue they work together to suspend something.

Okay, for Part 4, I updated A LOT. The big stuff is closer to the END.

-I added that I think Crowley's Pocket Frame for The Door Trick is Car Mirrors and that might be helping with how the mirror flips are managed.

-I added that I think the human with the skirt holding the orange bag could be the "FIsh" in Bullet Catch magic word references because the pattern on her skirt looks like scales. Other places I look, I can't find a strong enough visual clue for a fish. My instinct was to look at cars and a human on a scooter first, but the skirt still feels like the best option.

-I added info about the actual rainbow that exists and the potential over-the-rainbow touches allowing colors to switch as needed.

-I added more about the lacking Yellow on the red alert that is hopefully somehow still stalling the actual switch due to where certain colors and humans are.

-I added info about the human I most suspect is the "Gorilla" for the Bullet Catch reference and that I can't figure out if they contribute to this Rainbow Connection part. Also, I think every Bullet Catch magic word reference is supposed to be no later than the actual link from Crowley to Aziraphale with the Pocket Chain, intentionally ending at "dash of nutmeg". The other references are not in the exact order, but that one is last. With this particular update, I now have a guessed place for every magic word in "banana, fish, gorilla, shoelace with dash of nutmeg".

-I added that the tie strands are also shown to be still during The Door Trick, but each cut shows they moved a little off-camera.

-I added more details of my assessment on the Yellow when it is being connected to Aziraphale and the Metatron.

-I committed more to saying that Aziraphale and the Metatron are sharing the connection and hopefully more precise wording with things like "visually touching yellow behind them" instead of "touched by yellow".

-I added the following about reaching purple during The Door Catch:

In the previous iterations, there was a double purple in The Pocket Trick's Double and then a possible double red in The Pocket Trick's Single. Since a skip-to-purple and back already happened with The Door Trick, connected to The Door Catch, my guess then is that a double purple to start going back up is not required.

-I updated the wording in general to be less "we" and "us" in the wording though not completely. It's otherwise more third-person about the game or first-person with my own play.

-I updated more certainty about the two different Pocket Frames I believe are happening (Elevator Edges for Aziraphale and Doorknobs for the Metatron).

-I updated the wording about the window pane reflections. I state quite explicitly that I am lacking the words for what I sense to be a significant thing happening in that moment with the Metatron's reflection being caught where it is with Aziraphale by the end of the cut.

-The wording about the non-rainbow shades was actually decent enough to leave mostly as is, so then I mainly just added my far more detailed info below it.

That detailed info is significant enough that I will post it here too:

...

Well, it's been weeks and this bit is the best I've got, so here we go.

In the Heaven elevator with the Metatron, I do believe the following is supposed to apply:

Black blocks.

Brown borrows.

Gray shades.

White keeps.

I like "white keeps" in the rhythm better than "white holds," but that is the same general idea and why I've said I think Muriel's white helps hold things for assisting Crowley in other Threshold Tricks.

There are two huge problems I encounter with this idea, but I can't let it go. It still sticks with me.

The first one is that I can never, ever figure out what Black blocks outside the Heaven elevator. Inside the elevator, the Black is blocking out the elevator's Gray. I am as sure as I can be that's the intent.

The White is holding the Gold to keep it as Gold.

Together, that allows the Black and White to effectively trap the Gold, so that it cannot be switched to Yellow despite so much Gray outside the Black circle.

There actually is a little Gray in the White but it's not enough or inaccessible because the Metatron makes the mistake of using a zoomed touch and not showing either of the two types of thumb joints he has on the hand doing the touch. So, the dark Brown he wears can't use the Gray to qualify the Gold as Yellow.

However, if I go and look at The Pocket Trick for what Black might do, I can't figure out what it's blocking. In Triple Part 2, I think it's helping trap the Green for eventual use in The Door Trick. It's part of how I got the idea that Black and White together can act as a trap. What needs to be blocked to make the trap? If it's the switch to Blue until the Green is properly trapped, that's actually being accomplished by the timing and synchronization with the human puppet by making a pocket and stalling the switch with where that human's neck is. The Black is not blocking a color. It's not stalling. It's just there to trap the Green with the White through the method Crowley chooses.

Crowley and Aziraphale stall Blue switching to Purple for the Double, and the lighting is not setting Crowley's clothes to Black as obviously as it is in Triple Part 2. Maybe there is White helping that time but not Black.

The problems go on from there in similar ways. In Triple Part 3, that's where I got the idea because I was like "Okay, I guess the human wearing suspenders mean the Black and White suspend something". Well, they do in that part at least.

In The Door Trick, Crowley's illusionary touch is on a black bag between edges and it essentially acting as a cue for Aziraphale to Begin. So, then, it doesn't seem to actually block anything. There are three other words other words with "b" around though! Between. Bag. Begin.

So, the Black's meaning itself switches, depending on what one's imagination requires it to do or I'm just incapable of finding what is being blocked.

That imagination part is the second huge problem. So long as I can see pockets in the right places and a goal in mind for what Crowley might want to accomplish, it doesn't seem to really matter. I mean, it does because I'm supposed to find the logic. But in both Triple Part 1 and the Double, I can say that the color didn't switch until a given time because of how Crowley and whatever assistance he got managed the timing, framing, and pocketing. If non-rainbow shades happen to be there, that's fine. I still don't know what Black is blocking or White is holding a lot of the time, if anything. I don't really think Brown is necessary to borrow either. Is there someone on-screen using pockets while Crowley himself has something he wants from his play in the game? Then it's done!

So, this bit:

Black blocks.

Brown borrows.

Gray shades.

White keeps.

This bit is more like a default with a limited imagination or limited available pocket assistance.

It's not exactly that way though because Aziraphale gets someone with white and brown. What does that do? What does he need to borrow that needs a hold? The Green from the nearby humans in the preceding cut until the shadows on his coat can do the Trick?

I guess!

So, if my play improves, I'll update this part accordingly, but it just plain hasn't.

I do have guesses that the 1941 minisode actually gives clues on these shades as well.

For Black, the miracle blocker blocks the turnip from turning into an inkwell. Ink is black. Black blocks. In this case, black is blocked, but I still think that's the clue. There are other colors involved, including a white handkerchief, but, again, I still think that's the clue for the Black.

For Brown, the clue is gross—and I am not a fan of gross things, so you're really going to have to use your own imagination because I am not going to spell it out completely. The old man the zombies kill is singing about farting. They kill him and one of them ends up borrowing that guy's voice to sing some more. You figure it out from there. Okay, fine, I will give you one more hint: it is a crappy joke. Nonetheless, Brown borrows.

For Gray, the clue is much more pleasant and is found near the end of the minisode at a lovely candlelit table while Crowley and Aziraphale are drinking wine. The "shades of gray" are mentioned in conversation, including darker shades and lighter shades. Gray shades.

For White, Aziraphale waves a white handkerchief around with "prestidigitation" in his dialogue when offering to help Crowley to Mrs. H. before the trick is actually performed. With the miracles being blocked later in the minisode, the problem keeps happening while he uses the white handkerchief over the turnip. White keeps.

And that concludes this updated part about these shades.

...

Main link and all the part links can be found here:

The Pocket Chain Rainbow Connection (1, 2, 3, 4)

[vidavalor]

Banana. Fruit. Plant. Food. Sustains life for animals and humans alike. "And what are they putting in bananas these days?!" First of Aziraphale's magic words. Symbolic of plant life on Earth.

Fish. The ocean. Oysters. Sushi. "Why do you eat *that*?"/"It's what humans do." "Bouilla...bouilla...bouilla... baby... fish stew. Anyway!" Symbolic of marine life on Earth. Love. Sex. He probably wins prizes for his tropical fish.

Gorilla. Also: Go-RILL-a, if you're Mr. Harmony. Animals. Ancient ancestors of humanity. Big fans of bananas; do not typically eat fish. (Rill. A small stream. Carries fish. Represents water, necessary to all life on Earth.) Gorillas represent the animal kingdom, the connection between animals and humans, and the interdependency of Earth's ecosystem. Earth is a balance of banana (plant life), fish (marine life), gorilla (animal life) and...

Shoelace. Humanity. First word in the sequence of Aziraphale's magic words that isn't a type of living thing but is, instead, an invention of the living thing it represents. Humanity is defined in Aziraphale's magic words by its bipedalism and its innovation-- by its ability to create, develop and use tools to improve its existence... but then also by their ability to keep refining, to keep trying, to keep progressing. Humans walk on two legs and created tools and created shoes to support that endeavor and then the shoelace to make the shoes better. Have you found the missing antichrist's name, age and shoe size yet? Humans walk-- they go ever forward, even if they sometimes go backwards. They are defined by their creativity and imagination and the determination to keep progressing. They create art and so they get a word full of symbolism because of their ability to make art and seek meaning and ask questions. Aziraphale loves them so.

(with a) Dash of Nutmeg. Civilization and evolution. Nutmeg comes from the nutmeg tree, in a full circle back to plant life. Dash of nutmeg is then the world created by these creative shoelaces. An ever-growing and changing world, full of refinement of and appreciation for life on Earth. A dash of nutmeg is learning and experimentation. Figuring out the right amount. Just a dash of nutmeg can change the whole taste of a dish and bring it to the next level. No nutmeg in a dish that needs it-- or too much? Not the same. No almond syrup where it's needed-- or too much? Not the same, maybe even a bit dangerous. To know that is to learn it... and to learn it is to either experiment yourself and/or to learn from the experience of humans. Aziraphale's love of being a student of humanity through the ages. Reading their books, absorbing their music and theatre. Letting them teach him French and magic and about food and love. A dash of nutmeg is literally the spice of life. To eat the right dish with just a dash of nutmeg is to experience the joy of life on Earth-- to experience pleasure from consuming the fruits of the Earth. It's living. It's to eat life alive.

A hefty jigger. Doesn't exist. A jigger is precise, is quantifiable; a dash is a flick of the wrist and is less precise, more improvisational, just enough. You cannot have a hefty jigger. You can, though, always have a dash. See: nutmeg. See: almond syrup, as Nina pours into Aziraphale's coffee usual coffee order, as ordered by The Metatron. If you say 'dash' when you order in the shop but 'hefty jigger' when you deliver to your mark, you're wanting to look like a savvy, old man to the barista to get the order right... but you're intentionally attempting to look clueless to Aziraphale, to make him think he'll be needed to help you navigate humanity. It means you do know how to order coffee but you are pretending you do not to the person you are trying to manipulate. It means you're a liar.

A jigger is measured by shots. By the shot is one way you can order coffee. Coffee is freedom. Give me coffee or give me death. Give me liberty or give me death. Does anybody ever ask for death? Some wise-cracking asshole has to ask Nina for it at least once a week but she says no when The Metatron asks because no one ever *really* asks for death. Not seriously. Not as anything but a joke. They all ask for their beverage of choice. They all ask for freedom or comfort or pleasure or all of the above. Wanting to live is predictable to our villain but it's understandable to the rest of us. Living on this magical Earth can be a lot at times but it also is the most amazing thing imaginable.

No one knows that better than Crowley, who spans the gamut of coffee orders (among other beverages). Dessert coffee-- espresso, cream, maybe some alcohol-- in a small, Irish-coffee-style mug in 1.01 during a lazy afternoon lunch but also, on a stressful morning, this...

Mr. Six Shots of Espresso in a Big Cup. Crowley. But only sometimes. And not really. Not when we know him better than Nina does. Not when we've seen him twice order his symbolic liberty at a slower pace and cut it with some sweetness along the way. Not when The Bentley in S2 showed us that he drives fast, he pounds espresso, and it's all anxiety. Mr. Six Shots of Espresso in a Big Cup really wants to drive 52 miles an hour, per The Bentley, and slowly sip half a fluffy dessert coffee at lunch at The Ritz with Aziraphale. Crowley wants everyone to see him as Mr. Six Shots of Espresso in a Big Cup but he's not. He's...

Crowley. Bildad the Shuite.

Bildad. Means, quite literally, "old friend," as Sitis' mind translated upon his request. Aziraphale's oldest friend. Humanity's oldest friend. Also means "loved by the Lord." He's And the Voice of Frances McDormand's favorite, if only They'd put him out of his misery and share that. the Shuite. Means, as Michael points out, "from the land of Shua" but Michael doesn't really fully get it. It is not where you are from; it is not what kind of species you are. It is not what you "are", whatever that even is. Heaven, Hell, angels, demons, it's all... pointless, as Crowley tells Shax in 2.01. Bildad does not define Shuite as a place-related name; he does not define humanity as tied to beings of a specific region or to a species, even, really. Humanity is not the exclusive domain of people of any one race or ethnicity or religion or species. Being a Shuite isn't where you're from or if you are human only or if you have a human corporation but others call you an angel or a demon... Bildad defines Shuite as what you do or what you are learning how to do. He defines being a Shuite as how you're interacting with the world on Earth and how you are spending your days. Being a Shuite is something you *do* and freedom is the choice of what that is, which some unfortunately have more than others. What does Bildad *do* then, as *the* Shuite?

Bildad the Shuite. Professional midwife/cobbler. The demon who delivered humanity from The Garden of Eden, and who now lives among them, working hard as a professional shoemaker, helping them forward and letting them teach him just as much.

A shoelace. A human.

And like the rest of us, he's making this shit up as he goes. Nothing more human than that, really.

Banana, fish, gorilla, shoelace, with a dash of nutmeg. Aziraphale's magic words. His mantra. The only full prayer we've ever really heard him say. His history of Earth as he's observed and lived it with Bildad the Shuite for thousands of years. The words mostly work when he needs them to but sometimes they fail and that's okay. As a certain angel excited to be on Earth once said while pretending to be a human in the bookshop, the error they made just then proved they were human. It did, indeed, even if Muriel doesn't quite yet understand just how human they are.

Nazis. Fascist motherfuckers who seek to suppress free thought and oppress others through dehumanizing violence. Can be expert lip readers. Can be multilingual. Can understand language on a technical, surface level that makes their inability to understand context very darkly funny. I am played for a sucker. You are played for a sucker. He, she, it are played for suckers... Dangerous as all hell in their willful ignorance, their lack of critical thinking and their complete lack of empathy.

Zombies. Those who are asleep to their surroundings. Those who do not seek to understand context and dive for deeper meaning. Those who do not engage with art (and, if they're Nazis, those who seek to suppress it.) Those who are full of apathy. Those who do not question. Those who think like how others tell them to think. Those who are content with surface understanding, not deeper meaning.

Flesheaters. Zombies-- in the horror movie sense. Those with a bloodlust for brains. Those who murder with impunity to satisfy a violent, dark hunger. Those with dark impulses that harm others; the polar opposites of hungering for pleasure from food, art, sex, love, companionship. The thematic opposites of Crowley and Aziraphale.

Nazi Zombie Flesheaters. Fraulein Greta Kleinschmidt, Mr. Harmony and Mr. Glozier. Multilingual members of the Nazi Party, one of whom is an expert lip reader. They are zombies, as shown by how they lack the imagination, intellectual curiosity, critical thinking skills, and creativity to be able to decode the deeper meaning of the surface words they read and recite correctly but do not actually comprehend. They do not seek to understand how a creative magic trick is being performed before their eyes because they fail to even notice that one is, even when presented with an abundance of contextual clues. They're also, in their cases, flesheaters. They roam around London eating innocent, free-thinking brains-- quite literally suppressing thought. In The Blitz, Part 1, they were already Nazi Zombies. In The Blitz, Part 2, they become the Nazi Zombie Flesheaters.

Jiggery-pokery. Cutesy-sounding British phrase with a darker origin. Means 'trickery'. Means 'deceit'. Not in an innocent way, like the sleight of hand deception of a magic show... or the sleight-of-hand tricks played by writers and performers on a television show with recurring motifs around spies and magic and wordplay and hidden romance and a whole secret language imbedded in its dialogue. Origin of jiggery-pokery: British Army, mid-1800s. Used to refer to homosexual sex acts, then illegal, amongst soldiers in its ranks when targeting them. Evolved a bit in modern times to a lighter-sounding term meaning cute trickery but still equally refers in definition to gay sex, conducted in secret, and by those who are then threatened with exposure by other soldiers who feel homosexuality goes against the morals of the unit. Used onstage by The Marvelous Mr. Fell to describe his complicated relationship with human magic, which metaphorical for his own humanity, in contrast with his role as one of God's soldiers, a moment before his partner gets on stage to perform some of that humanity with him. It is not performative, though, because humanity is not exclusive to humans; humanity is to be a Shuite and love is love. In the audience: a soldier from Bildad's unit and the Nazi Zombie Flesheaters, working in tandem to out Crowley and Aziraphale for what is, to Furfur and the Nazis, supernatural and actual jiggery-pokery.

Three cowry shells and a lone caraway seed. A sleight of hand magic trick, used by writers to point out multiple layers of meaning and a request of the audience to engage with the story and find the seed beneath the layers. A sleight hand of magic trick, used by The Marvelous Mr. Fell thousands of years prior in his exploration of human magic. He fooled ancient Egyptian Queen Nefertiti with the trick. He masks the lone caraway seed successfully beneath a different cowry shell than the one the humans watching him think it is hidden beneath. He hides one meaning beneath another. He hides his self-deemed jiggery-pokery humanity beneath what Heaven suspects of him as an angel.

My Nefertiti-fooling fellow. What The Marvelous Mr. Fell's love, Bildad the Shuite, calls him to he remind him that his humanity is not jiggery-pokery. His magical man, who is also kind of terrible at the actual human magic part, but is so very good at the human magic part, and what could be more human than that?

Dummkopf. What Greta calls Harmony, after he successfully reads Aziraphale's magic words but she interprets them as nonsense words... despite them all seeing through the windows Aziraphale moving in such a way as to suggest he is performing a magic trick, suggesting a potential context for the words. None of these three have what the creative minds involved in Good Omens know their audience does have, which is the curiosity and love of story enough to look for context and meaning. 'Dummkopf': German for 'dumbass'.

[meatballlady]

Have you, like me, been wondering why S2 was so wonky?

"It's so simple! It explains everything!" - my partner

The Bentley changing all the time?

Aziraphale and Crowley spending so much romantic time together and yet never seeming to be in a relationship?

Crowley's hair and sideburns changing?

"Banana fish gorilla shoelace with a dash of nutmeg"

Disappearing Eccles cakes?

Weird clocks?

Maggie?!?

Extreme Sanctions has already been used! And I know who was erased:

THE INFAMOUS DOTTIE AND SADIE

Think about it. Neil Gaiman TOLD US the REAL STORY!! Remember when he's said that he's revealed too much?

Romance between the two protagonists? I don't think so. Where were their wives during all of this?

Banana Fish Gorilla Shoelace? GORILLA SUIT FACTORY, ANYONE? This is just a big Ol' Clue!

The two different Bentleys were just Dottie's and Sadie's respective cars!

Who ate the Eccles cakes????

I, for one, can't. wait. to see Aziraphale and Crowley reunited with their wives once more in s3. They deserve it.

[ineffable-endearments]

Animals in Good Omens (for potential symbolism reasons)

Direct, plot-relevant appearances:

Nightingales (Obvious)

Snakes (Crowley!)

Geckos (Children in disguise)

Lions (Adam and Eve’s first threat and first kill; also seems to appear on Aziraphale's ring)

Oxen (Devoured by Aziraphale; strong of constitution)

Goats (Blameless)

Crows (Disguised goats)

Hounds (Hellhound; transformed by loyalty)

Unicorns (the Great Flood; a precious thing lost to God's wrath)

Flies (Beelzebub's animal and the shape of the vessel that Gabriel puts his memory in)

Mentions that feel like they may or may not be plot-relevant:

Dinosaurs (Mentioned at the beginning of the series as fossils that God planted as a "joke")

Horses (Mentioned in the book and at the Globe; multiple statues in the shop, including the one where Crowley puts his glasses)

Ducks (Crowley and Aziraphale feed them, and Crowley in particular shows concern for their well-being; they're what water slides off)

Whales (God mentions them specifically and they also appear in Crowley's drunken ramble)

Gorillas (Mentioned in Crowley's drunken ramble and mentioned again with Banana Fish Gorilla Shoelace With A Dash of Nutmeg)

Fish (Banana Fish Gorilla Shoelace With A Dash of Nutmeg, plus the raining fish during Armageddon and Greasy Johnson's tropical fish in the book)

Rats (Crowley's little minions in the S1 outtakes; creatures Crowley is masquerading as an exterminator of, but with whom he is actually collaborating; this is a cool parallel to humanity even though the final footage wasn't in the main show)

Storks (Shax's animal, as seen on her armor)

Stag (Furfur's animal, as seen on his armor)

Frogs (Hastur's animal)

Lizards (Ligur's animal)

Owls (Referenced in the title of the minisode "A Companion to Owls")

Thanks to @kayleefansposts for adding the storks, stags, frogs, lizards, owls, and flies!

Animals that don't appear plot-relevant on the surface but I may be wrong:

Swans (Seen in the 1862 scene, but not referred to by the characters. Thanks @ao3cassandraic!)

Dolphins (Also mentioned in Crowley's ramble, but don't reappear anywhere, I don't think)

Rabbits (Aziraphale's magic show; also referred to obscurely in the beginning of S2 by Aziraphale saying the humans will "breed like...well, like humans")

Doves (Accidentally killed by Aziraphale, then resurrected in the show by Aziraphale and in the book by Crowley)

Ginger Cat (Dog likes to antagonize in a gentle way)

Ostriches ("Did you teach the ostrich to run, Job?")

The bird that sharpens its beak on the mountain (Crowley's drunken ramble)

Hedgehogs (The one Crowley doesn't manage to hit in the book)

Geese ("Big cross ducks")

Donkeys (The Dirty Donkey, right across from Aziraphale's bookshop)

Aardvarks ("What else would I be, an aardvark?!" Thanks @carbonarak!)