#he is so awesome i love how he plays aziraphale

[ineffableaddiction]

Who could NOT fall in love with someone who looks at them like this 😍

[neil-gaiman]

dear mister gaiman,

every time i see crowley as nanny ashtoreth, he reminds me of a very amazing female impersonator who i grew up with and loved as a teenager and who just recently passed away as i had to unfortunately find out. his name was george logan and he played dr. evadne hinge of "hinge and bracket" with patrick fyffe back in the 80s and 90s.

i had completely forgotten about them until that particular scene with crowley. and upon googling how george was doing (since patrick died way too soon), i found out about george's death. i was (still am) very heartbroken, because they were AWESOME!!!!! especially their live shows / gala evenings. but it prompted me to re-watch their tv show again and i re-discovered my love for gilbert & sullivan operettas. (i could actually picture aziraphale listening to those every now and then).

in general i see a lot of crowley and aziraphale in evadne and hilda's personalities. one is dark, the other is blond. one is moody, the other is always cheerful and too pure for her own good. even the bit of naivity aziraphale has going on screams hilda to me. it's such a treat to find similar behavioral patterns like that and it makes me love good omens so much more now.

i just wanted to share this little thought with you without asking any other questions since i am sure you have a ton to answer.

i hope you are doing well. greetings from berlin.

That made me smile.

Here's a little moment of Hinge and Bracket for those people who have never experienced them:

[mommyashtoreth]

what are your most hated popular aziraphale and crowley mischaracterizations

GREAT question I fucking love complaining

Not to sound contradictory right off the bat but for Az it's both like. "Aziraphale is mean" and "Aziraphale is SO cartoonishly nice that he can't even fathom of anything that could be construed by anyone as being somehow 'bad'", because I think both are really fundamental misunderstandings of Aziraphale as a dramatic character for the former and as a comedic character for the latter. "Aziraphale is mean" seems to be based entirely on the ending of s2 and I've certainly said my piece about that already, but to summarize I think it's a bad reading of that scene and I find "actually Aziraphale is manipulative and mean and Crowley is 100000% always in the right and never did anything wrong ever" to make for a much more boring story than what we've actually got. On the other hand, boomeranging right into the other direction and making Aziraphale way too nice is ALSO something I find boring, but in a more standard "fandom flanderization" type of way. Like, I'm sure you've seen something where Aziraphale is so nice and good and pure and soft and sweet and smol cinnamon roll needs protection that he passes out whenever someone says the word "penis." And I find that boring! It's a bad way to engage with his joke. Aziraphale IS nice, genuinely, and he's good to people and helps people and loves humanity, but also like, he's smug and he lies and he says guns lend weight to a moral argument and is kind of a cunt in ways people don't give him credit for. And that's good! That's awesome. He's really really really funny and I obviously really really like him. Basically I wish people knew how to balance "Aziraphale is nice" and "Aziraphale is a bitch" bc both are true and it's a fine-tuned craft managing to depict both at once

Crowley is harder to pin down... idk I just Also find a lot of fandom Crowley very boring in very similar ways, either stripping him down (God I wish) to form one half of a very basic very boring Good Guy Vs. Bad Guy dynamic, or making him this like Sexy Domineering Alpha Male Daddy Dom type that I find very boring. Not that I think Crowley can never be sexy or domineering, my url is literally, yknow, that, but I think all his "evilness" has an almost playful nature to it where like you know he's having fun with it, OR I like when it feels like he's doing it as a job. like Oh, fuck, have to make the quota today. Gotta go cause a pileup. I think people generally tend to make Crowley either too serious or too nice, and he IS nice, there's a guarded softness in like both renditions of the character that IS very important, but he's still Also kind of a bitch! And that's fun! Idk people always make "sin" out to be some huge thing like "Crowley has to literally murder a child" which makes for good conflict, but there's also little stuff that he's a) good at and b) likes doing, like causing traffic jams and moving construction poles around and just like, generally annoying people and I think that's really really funny. I read a fic once where she would order pizza for delivery to other people's houses, and I'm still workshopping mine where she, like, convinces this rich guy to invest in a bad industry so when his stocks plummet he'll be insufferable to be around (also bc greed is a sin. There are sins besides lust! Animals), and that's fun! And honestly Crowley's fun even when he's down in the dumps, he's funny when he gets annoyed with Aziraphale or when he gets angry at Gabriel or whatever. I wish people tapped into that more! Idk I also clearly like Crowley a lot I think we could hang out I could grab a beer with him and play Bowie and Brian Eno on the jukebox, and a lot of fandom Crowley does not feel like somebody I could grab a beer with. Let him loosen up! Misery is fun to write but all work and no play makes Tony a dull boy

[leupagus]

Just in case anyone has high hopes that this will be like, art

More from whatever this is gonna end up being (pt 2)

gus: Mostly I want to lean into the idea that sex would be a lot like other appetites for them

gus: sleeping/eating/drinking/reading

gus: ie it literally has not occurred to them before now to even TRY it

kuwdora: love. it.

gus: basically the vibe I want is two kids working on a school project

gus: where aziraphale is the one who's making the diorama and doing all the research and getting really stoked about how to make volcanoes or w/e

gus: and crowley's the kid who's happy to coast on aziraphale's work but doesn't actually take an interest

gus: (at least until they're actually doing the deed and then he's like "woah wait WHAT" and basically comes immediately)

gus: like, it's extremely mid sex but because it's them, with each other, it's great

kuwdora: :chinhands:

kuwdora: that's like so great tho. like whatever the actual sex part but when you are having a genuinely good time with the person

gus: yes exactly

gus: most of the fics I've read either ignore the "angels are sexless unless they want to make an effort," or they have Crowley and Aziraphale be asexual

gus: which are both completley valid

gus: but not what I want

gus: what I want is them going to the Tate Modern to see the Great Wall of Vulva and arguing about how Crowley should best go down on Aziraphale

gus: with both of them playing Where's Waldo with the exhibit deciding which one's the most like Aziraphale's so he can like, point out the relevant bits

gus: I also really want to convey that Aziraphale's enthusiastic about this because it's what humans do, and they've both committed to living as humans even though they aren't, and it seems to make people very happy (although Crowley has fun pointing out how many times it's made people UNhappy), and he just wants to do something nice with his boyfriend basically

gus: meanwhile Crowley can't honestly see why they'd bother, but he's also happy to do what Aziraphale likes -- he's narrating the whole thing so it's gonna be clear that he's anticipating this like taking Aziraphale out to meals, where he gets most of his pleasure out of watching Aziraphale enjoy himself

gus: and he's totally fine with that

gus: and even when he turns out to be a two pump chump, it's not because he didn't know his dick could feel that nice or whatever

gus: it's because of the kind of gross sweat they're making and Aziraphale's heels pressing against hte back of his knees, urging him closer, and way they're still arguing even while they're fucking

gus: it's the love more than the sex

kuwdora: absolutely

gus: and then afterward aziraphale is like "that was AWESOME, ok do we want to try bondage next time or blindfolds, oooh did you hear about this thing called yiffing" and Crowley just laughs and pins him to the bed and kisses him

[salmonthestoryteller]

The 25 Lazarii Miracle

So, I haven’t written meta in a bit. But I finally got around to watching Good Omens Season 2. Of course I had to sob a bit first, before getting around to pondering over things. I know everyone is, understandably, hooked on the FF. But there’s already a lot of awesome meta out there about it, and I’m not even sure which theory to believe right now. More pondering required.

However, Metatron’s insistence that Aziraphale take the Archangel position really struck me. Because, yes, Aziraphale and Crowley joined together to try and stop Apocalypse 1.0. But, the truth is, they only played a small part in Armegedon’t. It was one of my favorite things about season one, actually. That it wasn’t “The Main Characters save the World.” They played a part, but so many other characters and random incidents were involved in how it turned out the way it did.

And while I can believe the bureaucracy of Heaven and Hell dismisses the human contribution, and lays all the blame on their doorstep, Metatron seems smarter than that. Evil AF, but smarter.

I agree that the 25 Lazarii miracle ties into why Metatron felt it necessary to get personally involved. But I actually don’t think it's the reason. I think it’s a Clue to the reason. As much as I love a good “Love Saves the World” trope - wasn't his love for his friends the very reason Adam was able to fight back against his destiny? - Crowley and Aziraphale have worked too much together for this to have never come up before. If swapping bodies didn’t set off an alarm, why did a miracle they were trying to make discreet create such a big signal? Something else is going on. Something has to have changed since the last time they used their powers together.

Why is Metatron insisting that Aziraphale take the position of Supreme Archangel? You’re asking the angel that helped stop Armageddon to help start the Apocalypse? Isn’t that rather like shooting yourself in the foot?

Unless it wasn’t up to Metatron. Because somebody else had already made Aziraphale Supreme Archangel.

Gabriel.

Okay, so, let me explain my reasoning. This isn’t going in chronological order, because I feel like I have to line the facts up a certain way to make the most sense.

Let’s start with what Uriel and Michael say while discussing Gabriel’s disappearance, and with the subtext being about how Michael wants to take over. We’re treated to this set of lines between them:

Uriel: Right now, as of this moment, Heaven does not have a Supreme Archangel.

Michael: There is always a Supreme Archangel.

If there is always a Supreme Archangel, who at the time is the Supreme Archangel? Because Gabriel does not seem to have his usual level of power anymore. When Crowley and Aziraphale push him to remember, it causes him pain. He even tells them:

Gabriel: I can’t remember those things. My, my head isn’t big enough. Not anymore.

If this is a simple case of removed memories, shouldn’t his powers be intact? While the punishment was demoting him to a low level angel, which I assume would come with a deduction in his power, the actual punishment was never enacted. Gabriel superseded it. We know when he removed his memories and where he put them, but what about his power?

Gabriel tells Beezlebub he was coming to her. So the stop at Azirahrale’s bookshop was clearly not meant to be a permanent stay. Gabriel even tells him why he came there.

Gabriel: That so long as I came here something terrible might not happen to me.

We could assume the terrible thing is being found by the other angels. But the rest of the conversation doesn’t quite align.

Aziraphale: Please tell me about The Something Terrible

Gabriel: I just know it’s incredibly awful and that’s why I had to come here and give you the thing.

Aziraphale can’t help him regain his memories. Even if Gabriel still had the matchbox, and the fly was still in it, giving it to Aziraphale wouldn't accomplish anything. Only Beezlebub can control the fly, and the fly itself spends the whole time following Gabriel around anyway - it's never once given to anyone else. Plus, regaining his memories isn't going to stop Something Terrible from happening. Heaven will still be after him, and the Second Coming will still be on the plate.

Once we get all the information, we learn that Gabriel’s and Beezlebub’s relationship all started by planning to avoid Apocalypse 2.0. His refusal is what led to his trial, and proposed punishment. So it’s understandable that the two things are intertwined in the bits of information we glean from Jim. Consider the exchange with Crowely after the rainstorm fiasco:

Gabriel: There will come a tempest, and darkness, and great storms. And the dead will leave their graves and walk the earth once more. And there will be great lamentations.

Crowley: Go On

Gabriel Every day it’s getting closer

The first set of lines is a quote about Judgement Day. The song lyric is a reference to his and Beezlebub’s romance - though in this eerie context could be attributed to both.

And let’s not forget Metatron’s words to Aziraphale:

Metatron: You’re a leader, you’re honest, you don’t just tell people what they want to hear. It’s why Gabriel came to you in the first place, I imagine.

But Gabriel wanted to stop the Apocalypse. And Metatron knows this. If Gabriel sought out Aziraphale in regards to the Second Coming, it was with the intention of preventing it. If his powers and position are handed off to one of the other Archangels, it will do nothing in regards to that goal. But giving them to the angel he knows will do anything to protect the world and stop the Second Coming? That would throw quite a wrench in Heaven’s plans.

But this theory isn’t based just on conversation. So let’s consider two specific times Aziraphale uses his powers, after Gabriel shows up.

The first instance is, of course, hiding Gabriel. Before they do the miracle, they say that by working together it should balance things out so it’s untraceable. To quote:

Aziraphale: If we each did half a miracle. I could hide him from your former people, and you could hide him from mine. It would barely move the dials.

Of course, that isn’t what happens. Instead we get the 25 Lazarii plume of miraculous activity. If Aziraphale had recently been given a power boost by receiving a large chunk of Gabriel’s powers without his knowledge, possibly when he opened The Box, he would have no idea how far he now needed to scale down his miracles.

And the spell they cast is powerful. It doesn’t just exist inside the bookshop. It exists outside of it. Shax and the other demons can’t see Gabriel is Gabriel, even when he steps outside. The Archangels not only fail to realize who he is while inside the bookshop, when they start to discuss the disconnect of Aziraphale having an assistant while in Heaven, the miracle prevents them from realizing something is wrong even there. That is far beyond the original intent.

And there is one other time where Aziraphale’s powers seem to be doing things above and beyond the original intent.

The Ball.

There are a handful of previous times our Ineffable Duo controlled people in small ways. Consider the bus at the end of Season One. Crowley says it will drive them to London, the driver just won't know why. There's also Sister Mary, and Aziraphale telling her she just dreamt about whatever she likes best. Crowley said at The Globe that they have both done blessings and temptations for the Arrangement. But what is happening at The Ball is so far beyond all of that. Aziraphale seems to be controlling a whole room full of people. What they think; how they talk. Nina even admits it’s affecting her very ability to feel the emotions she knows she is feeling:

Nina: I know I’m really upset, why don’t I feel upset?

Something she says to Aziraphale the moment she enters the bookshop, even though he couldn’t have known she was upset yet. So why would he have been using his powers on her at that moment? And let's not forget that he was sharing Madame Tracy’s body and still wasn't able to fully control her. But now he can control multiple people at once?

And there’s one final note on why his powers shouldn’t be working this way. While he informs that Archangels that he performed a miracle for Nina and Maggie to fall in love, he admits to Crowlety it isn’t possible:

Crowley: Great. Do a little miracle, wiggle your fingers about. Nina falls for Maggie, problem solved.

Aziraphale: Ah, miracles don’t work like that.

If making people fall in love isn’t even in Aziraphale’s usual wheelhouse, then how is anything happening at The Ball? Unless most of what’s happening isn’t being done consciously, but rather subconsciously, using powers he didn’t originally have. But that Gabriel may have had. Y'know, “Be Not Afraid” Gabriel?

I suppose it could be argued Gabriel is the one who is subconsciously using his powers, both during the 25 Lazarii miracle, and The Ball. He is present both times. But he has no concept of what they're doing when they cast the protection, and what's happening at The Ball is meant to be based off of Jane Austen’s novels - which Gabriel has never read.

And it still doesn't explain Gabriel’s claim that he has to give Aziraphale something to prevent Something Terrible.

Or Metatron’s bulldozing Aziraphale into taking the position of Supreme Archangel. The dude came prepared with counters for every objection Aziraphale makes. Down to having Muriel stick around to give the bookshop to. Something he tells them to do before even talking to Aziraphale. This was not someone who had any intention of accepting the answer No.

But if he was just afraid of Aziraphale and Crowley interfering with the Second Coming, if that's the reason, why not just erase them from the Book of Life like Michael suggested? Problem solved. He didn't step in to stop Aziraphale's original execution in Season One. So what's changed?

But, given Michael's insistence that there is always a Supreme Archangel, erasing the current said Supreme Archangel sounds like it could be a big issue for Heaven. After all, if that had always been an option, why bother to look for Gabriel at all? Why not just get rid of him the easy way? Nobody would think Heaven had an institutional problem if nobody remembered Gabriel period. But if they couldn't afford to lose Gabriel’s powers, that would explain why that wasn't an option. And if Gabriel had given them away to Aziraphale, that would explain why Metatron stepped in to prevent anything from happening to him.

Having a loose cannon running around with the powers of a Supreme Archangel? Doesn't sound like something that works well with The Great Plan Metatron and the Archangels are so determined to still follow.

But let's be real. If Metatron thinks being up in Heaven is going to prevent Aziraphale from being a loose cannon and running around to prevent Apocalypse 2.0, he really needs to reread the files from Apocalypse 1.0. Being forced up to Heaven didn't stop Aziraphale last time, there's no way it's stopping him this time.

[rubberchickenarmy123]

Good Omens shit. :3

What if Crowley doesn't hate himself as an Angel, but he hates what the other angels did to him.

Aziraphale says forgiving people. It's his favorite thing aka his way of saying "I love you". Plus, in most versions of Christianity they say that God forgives as a sign of love for humans.

Aziraphale and Crowley have been to pubs, and some guys will be like, "Eh, you see that game last night? It was awesome!" So Crowley likes to play with them and go."Yeah, it was awesome when *1920's NFL player* and *1967's NFL player* did *some football shit. Idk, dude, I don't watch football*. " And the other guy is so confused. Aziraphale will explain that Crowley hasn't seen it, but he was making fun of him. Aziraphale likes to just sit there confused and say something like "No, I couldn't, what happened?" And listen as he secretly reads a book.

OKAY, SO-

Aziraphale HATES glitter bcs Crowley put glitter in his books and he had to do HUNDREDS of miracles to get the glitter out.

When Aziraphale and Crowley visit France and they kiss each other on the cheek or whatever Crowley sometimes forgets that it's how the French would greet people and would get really flustered and accidentally try to kiss Aziraphale fr.

Bear for your troubles.

[chocolatepot]

Rewatching. Yes, already.

Detailed 2.01 thoughts:

I cannot get over Crowley's ridiculous angelic hair and I think it's mainly just because it's him, because I don't entirely hate it itself - it's basically Stede's hair in the anniversary scenes, but red.

Aziraphale giving Crowley Looks while Crowley is oblivious - so interesting. I need to rewatch s1 or at least just the Eden scene to recontextualize it.

"Crowley was important and had a major hand in the creation of the world" is a good fanon and I'm glad it was canonized. One bit that I can't get over is that this means that to some extent, Crowley is God in the Bible? He is the one who said "Let there be light."

I love that the questions that made him fall were so well-intentioned. He fell because of love for the world. Definitely recontextualizes his aversion of the apocalypse in s1.

Maggie's misspelling of "urgency" has to be relevant to something ... is it just supposed to be the fact that she's upset? But her handwriting is still very neat. I am perhaps overthinking this but that's what second watchings are for.

I want to cosplay as Shax. This dark red outfit would not be too hard to make. The biggest issue would be getting that pussy bow to stay nice and taut.

Love that Crowley cares about what to feed ducks. He loves the world so much.

Jon Hamm getting to be comedic is always awesome. You can tell that that's what he loves to do - so funny that he managed to be Don Draper for years with only occasional scenes of dry or incidental humor.

The Nina:Aziraphale parallel is so strong in these opening scenes - not picking up on Maggie's interest AT ALL.

And Aziraphale not being able to bring himself to say "I love you" to Gabriel, even though it's the polite thing to do and he knows it. Obviously funny in the moment because he has this history with Gabriel but in context with the end of the season it's like ... this man cannot let himself say he loves ANYONE, for any reason, can he.

Aziraphale's right - giving Maggie a break on her rent was a purely selfish action. I love that this season really pushes Aziraphale's selfishness in contrast with everything Crowley does out of love for the world, humanity, and Aziraphale. I mean, the thread's there in s1 but it's so foregrounded from the word "go" here.

"Not that sort of teenager." I feel you, Maggie. I wasn't either.

Yeah, yeah, you want Gabriel away from yourself and your existence, Crowley. You're not worried about Gabriel killing Aziraphale. Sure.

I feel like they could have done something a bit more creative re: Beelzebub's recasting, rather than just calling attention to it and then saying "this happened." Funny to rewatch this scene knowing that Bee is going on about how Crowley can have anything if he finds Gabriel and using Aziraphale helping him as a lever to get him to do it because they want Gabriel to be safe themself.

"Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" playing as Crowley races back to protect Aziraphale from "extreme sanctions". 😍😍😍

I love the conceit of representing Lindsay's texts to Nina as scrawled notes on crumpled paper. I don't know if there's a significance to that beyond artistic reasons?

Can't remember if they addressed this later - how is it that Crowley and Aziraphale feel like they only did a teeny tiny miracle when it was actually massive? Is it that a minor effort from the two of them together builds on their connection and has a major result, or is it just that what they were doing was so technically difficult that it actually took more miracle than they realized?

[mywingsareonwheels]

What I wanted characters to say to each other this year so far...

(Spoilers behind the cut for: "Endeavour" series 9; "Shadow and Bone" series 2; "Good Omens" series 2; "Heartstopper" series 2)

Fred Thursday, to E Morse: I love you, you're my best friend and like a son or brother to me. I don't want to leave you behind, or neglect you. But I'm burned out, and exhausted, and scared, and you seem to be doing a lot better and meanwhile my son is disintegrating and my daughter is getting married and I am *so tired* and so terrified, so you can't be as much my priority right now as I'd like. It's hard for me to confide in anyone or let you help me. But I will try, and I do love you, so so much.

E Morse to Fred Thursday: I love you, you're my best friend and like a father or brother to me. I find it so hard to believe that you care about me, and I'm scared that everyone is leaving me behind yet again, and I'm hurt that you are, and I don't know how to help you. Please confide in me and let me try. I do love you, so so much.

Kaz Brekker, to Inej Ghafa: I love you, but I'm in a bad way and I don't know how I can be with you in a way that works for us both. But I do love you, so so much. Please come back one day.

Inej Ghafa, to Kaz Brekker: [actually she pretty much said it all, bless her] [but another affirmation of love would have gone well I think]

Aziraphale, to Crowley: we aren't going to agree on this, but I'm not leaving you behind because I don't love you. I think I'm doing the right thing. I'm scared and broken and everything is hard right now. But I love you, I ache for you, I know that you are good and kind and worthy and you don't need to be an angel for me to love you, *I will be back*.

Crowley, to Aziraphale: we aren't going to agree on this, but I'm not staying behind because I don't love you. I'm desperately worried about you and I wish I could change your mind. I'm scared and broken and everything is hard right now. I'm worried that you can't love me as I am. But I love you, I ache for you, I will try to trust you, *I will wait*.

Pretty much everyone in Heartstopper: ACTUALLY USED THEIR WORDS even if it took them a while, excellent, well played good gentlebeings. If Stephane Nelson can get his act together by s3 that'd be great (hey, Thibault has form for redeeming himself as a dad ;-) ), but Nick will cope if he doesn't. 9/10 at least for all the characters who aren't shits.

Disclaimer: this is not in any way a criticism of the writers of any of them except I think Endeavour, for I have... complicated feelings about that final episode, and whether doing That was actually really, totally necessary to set up Inspector Morse (I don't think it was, for at least two reasons, so it feels to me like gratuitous pain and the fucking up of a precious character arc tbh). But wrt Shadow and Bone and Good Omens? Fair play, that's brilliant storytelling, some things need to take their time, and romantic cliffhangers are awesome actually (provided they then get resolved at some point!). And Shadow and Bone has multiple awesome relationships, in some of which communication does actually happen. <3

But that doesn't stop me yearning for those characters to say those things, even though I think it's artistically better that the ones in S&B and GO didn't just yet. <3 Heartstopper is a different kind of show, where that would be less appropriate. But in S&B and GO it is actually brilliant. Just... ow. ;-)

Watching Heartstopper after the other three was rather a particular blessing tbh. :)

[drconstellation]

Hello! The level of detail in your metas is awesome. I was wondering if you have come across the name of the china pattern of Aziraphale’s blue & white teacup. I collect China & am familiar with many patterns & how to find them, but I have found nothing that identifies this pattern. Any chance you know it or know who to ask to find it?

Thanks and keep up the excellent analysis work please!

Ramblin’nan

Hello! Thanks for the kind words.

I had a closer look at the pattern, but found it difficult to see in detail. At the moment I don't think it has any specific meaning itself, but rather that he has a vintage blue and white set - which, as a collector, I'm sure you know is a common but popular colour combination - and that in itself reflects his angelic nature and his love of old things.

I put my limited Antique Roadshow hat on for bit, and it doesn't look like it comes from the far East at all, as it is quite a delicate pattern, so I get the feeling it was made either in Britain or western Europe somewhere, so its probably just some foliage and or flowers. But now you've got me to look at it, you never know where this might appear! Stranger things have happened, so if anything else comes my way, I'll update this and let you know.

Edit: I've done a reblog answer on the original ops blog where they post a better image of the teacup - I believe its a clematis, and there are wings with halos around the rim.

The real significance of tea scene itself is about the sharing of a ritual, as there have always been rituals around tea. Whether it be a formal East Asian tea ceremony, where one is meditating on life and its imperfections, or more modern traditions where the pot is warmed first, how many scoops of tea leaves are counted, if the pot is turned before pouring, how long the pot is left to steep and the act of pouring itself - well, the variations are almost endless. But they are rituals for the participants, and horror if you don't abide by them! They are what bind us together socially, and give us succour in times of need. When someone is distressed, or have been crying, you never offer them coffee, its always a soothing cup of fresh tea.

Aziraphale is shocked to find Muriel at the door of the bookshop, because he recognizes them (but they don't) and immediately sees something is not right. Muriel has to wait to be invited inside the Garden, the first step of the tea ceremony. Aziraphale then makes the tea and offers it politely with cups on saucers (not poured at the table) to his past acquaintance, and we see he is clearly pained and troubled by the state he finds Muriel in, and tries to guide them gently along -

when Crowley suddenly bursts in with his plants (he's bought his part of the Garden inside, thanks, Crowley!) and then he gleefully interrupts the quiet peace on discovering Muriel there, like a cat discovering a mouse to play with. While the ritual ends prematurely, Aziraphale has at least tried to do his best with a fellow angel that had clearly been...damaged. And to be honest, Muriel is too distracted by everything around them to appreciate what Aziraphale is trying to do. Tea gardens are not supposed to offer distractions.

Oh dear. That didn't go to well. Lets hope Aziraphale and Muriel can finish that cup of tea together another day.

[feraltuxedo]

WIP Wednesday Friday: revisiting an old fic.

There are several WIPs I'm working on at the moment, but the one that's been demanding all my attention is something I never thought I'd write: a sequel for my very first fic Never Have I Ever (Been Myself).

Like I'm sure many fic writers' first work, this story has a special place in my heart. It's the thing that motivated me to write, and the story that probably spent the longest time in my head before I actually made the effort to put it into words.

But it's also so clearly a first story. The pacing is clumsy, the plotting very simple, and the prose... actually, I quite like the prose. But were I to write the same fic today, it would likely read very differently.

Never Have I Ever features many of the themes and tropes I return to over and over again in later fics: it's a human rock musician/actor AU playing with age gap and wealth gap dynamics. It's deeply mired in British culture and British pop culture. It's a bit of fluff, a bit of angst, and a guaranteed happy ending.

And, weirdly, I wanted to return to it. So what I've been working on is a long-ish one shot that has BAFTA-winning actor Aziraphale Fell attend his very first rock music festival in order to surprise guitarist Crowley.

Anyway, here's a snippet of pure fluff:

‘Can’t believe you’re actually sleeping in a tent,’ Crowley said, as he lowered himself onto the fleece blanket he’d spread out to cover the crinkly polyester lining. ‘I’ve been reliably informed that’s the thing to do at events such as this.’ Crowley threw his head back in laughter and lifted himself up on his elbows, stretched out like a mermaid on a rock. ‘Have you ever been to a festival before?’ ‘Of course I have!’ ‘Glyndebourne doesn’t count. Nor do the Proms.’ ‘Ah. No, in that case.’ ‘Couldn’t you have booked a hotel room in Shrewsbury or something?’ ‘I could have.’ Crowley didn’t ask why he hadn’t. Ever since they’d met, Aziraphale had been desperate for new experiences. And oh, how he’d indulged him, with an enthusiasm and passion Aziraphale had never possessed, not even when he’d been in his thirties himself. He slipped his wellies off his feet and crouched down next to Crowley. The ground was hard underneath his knees and elbows, despite the fleece blanket, and he let himself be wrapped up in the pointy angles of Crowley’s body instead, which, paradoxically were all the more soothing. ‘You were marvellous on stage, you know that?’ ‘You’ve mentioned it a few times, but it never hurts to hear again.’ ‘You were. Even the people who had no idea who you were were singing along by the end.’ ‘And you?’ ‘I always sing along, you know that.’ ‘Wish I’d seen you.’ ‘I’m glad you didn’t. I meant to surprise you, and I managed, despite the best efforts of your villainous security person.’ ‘Torben’s awesome. D’you know he can open a beer bottle with his eye socket?’ ‘I’m not at all surprised to hear that.’ ‘This is by far the biggest festival we’ve played, like, ever. The last one had us sleeping in tents.’ ‘You’re not sleeping in tents here?’ ‘Oh no, we’re staying in this caravan thing, which is pretty nice. Comfortable. Got to share a bed with Ana but that’s fine. They call it a trailer, though.’ Aziraphale laughed softly into the scintillating warmth of Crowley’s neckline. ‘I’m aware of trailers, my dear. Quite familiar with them, in fact.’ ‘Alright, Mr Hollywood Big Name Film Star.’ Aziraphale sighed and snuggled deeper into Crowley’s arms. He smelled lovely, like herbal shampoo and the cigarette he’d surreptitiously smoked on the walk to the tent. The chatter of people outside merged with the deep rumble of Crowley’s breathing, and the quiet beating of his heart against his chest. And as if this symphony of comfort couldn’t get more perfect, it began to rain. Gentle drops, irregular and insistent, drumming down on the tent above. It was frightfully romantic.

[ladyprocrasinator]

Good Omens FINALE

THE NICE AND ACCURATE PROPHECIES OF AGNES NUTTER, WITCH

Rating ★★★★☆

When I say this book was a rollercoaster I mean it. I was almost completely blind going into this book. The most I knew about it was that Crowley and Aziraphale existed and that they were not yet 'played' by David Tennant and Michael Sheen (who I look forward to seeing in the series). To be honest I was very thrown off guard by the writing style, like I mentioned in my last Good Omens post it felt like a combination of a British Comedy and a philosophical book. Which I'm very sure was purposeful. However this change in style made it harder for me to read. For the first third of the book I was highly considering giving the book three out of five stars, but I persevered. Now I sit here being glad I did so. The book really became interesting to me when the apocalypse really started and we started to learn more about Agnes Nutter Witch. I became fascinated with how Gaiman and Pratchett portrayed Agnes's visions and how all the point of views the reader has seen was coming together. On the other hand I continued to enjoy how the two authors portrayed Adam (He had awesome development as well). Overall I really liked how the book came together in the end and gave the reader (at least me) a sense of contentment. Like if everything does go to hell (no pun intended) it's our friends and willingness to take hold of one's own destiny that makes a difference.

Favorite Character

As promised since this is technically a part of my reading challenge (TO READ OR NOT TO READ) I must pick out a favorite character. Except I'm torn between two. Those two being Adam Young and Agnes Nutter. So I've decided I'll make an argument for both.

Agnes is one of the characters that play a vital role in the book. She is described as a handsome woman (or once was), and with her magic (knowledge of herbs and other things) she was able to heal and help people. I love her because she is such a witty and well thought character. Because of certain things she did in the book I consider her such an icon. One of them being how she prophesizes modern things (although it is also funny how she sees some of her descendant's futures). Unfortunately I cannot say much beyond this without spoiling so just keep an eye out for whenever Agnes is mentioned.

Where do I even begin with Adam? Well he is the son of the devil but he manages to still be a normal kid (There are also so many biblical references that I want to point out around him but won't for the sake of not spoiling). As mentioned in my last good omens post he and his group actually act like kids. They aren't prodigies and they aren't complete idiots either. All of them have a good balance between innocence and being complete rascals. Adam is a charming kid for being the son of the devil and simply wants the best for his friends and dog. Overall I enjoy the simplicity of his child mind.

Almost forgot but dog is an honorable mention and I love him.

Favorite Line/Lines

"Here's to next time," he said, "And ... Aziraphale?"

"Yes."

"Just remember I'll know that, deep down inside, you were just enough of a bastard to be worth liking."

SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT

What is under the cut

Other things I liked about the book

Funny moments or things I laughed at

Something I found very interesting about the book was it's take on religion. I grew up in a religious household and I'm still torn. My view on it is that I feel that there is a god I'm just not sure if anyone is completely correct. Going back to the book it tickled my brain how they handled religion. Like Armageddon was supposed to come around but because Adam was raised as a human his roots became unimportant and he denied his roots. He saw the value in life where heaven and hell just wanted to defeat one another. It's quite strange seeing heaven and angelic beings represented more as lawful neutral instead of true goodness.

Things I found amusing

"I saw a program. It had David Attenborough, so it's true. (154)"

"What a nice person," said Newt. "You could almost overlook her blowing up an entire village." (talking about Agnes Nutter, 199)

Crowley meeting Leonardo Da Vinci and having the original sketch was cool but 'knowing' he met the artist and Vinci liked the drawing more was hilarious.

All in all there is quite a lot I appreciate when reading Good Omens but that is for another post! Thank you all and I'll be posting my next To Be Read book soon!

[ravencp86]

Right, finally weighing into the public sector with my opinions for Good Omens 3. Not seen any posts that say these things, but if there are, then awesome!

On the reunion:

1) one day, whilst Crowley is in the bookshop with Murial, Nina and Maggie, Aziraphale walks through the door. They just stare at each other and Crowley gets up, takes one step forward and folds his hands the way Aziraphale did in Se2ep1 and just ever so slightly cocks his head. Without blinking or sighing, Aziraphale does the apology dance and the corner of Crowley's lip gives the tiniest twitch and then before he realises what's happening, his arms are full of angel and Aziraphale kisses him. Crowley doesn't even hesitate to kiss him back. They just cling to each other. Meanwhile, Maggie, Nina and Murial all roll their eyes and carry on with their book club meeting.

2) The camera starts in the bookshop and the tinkling on a bell pans the camera to the door opening and it's Aziraphale. He calls for Crowley, as he walks around to look for him and gets no answer/can't see him, looking sad, he steps into the street and looks over to Nina's coffee shop and he stops in his tracks as Crowley walks out of Nina's (his usual 6 shots of espresso in a big reusable cup, in his hand) and as Crowley spots him, it starts to rain. They all but run to each other, crashing into each others arms, just hanging on for dear life. Then Azi pulls away a little so he can cup Crowley's face in his hands and he very gently says, "I'm sorry, I never should have left," and he kisses him. Crowley grabs on to Azi's coat and returns the kiss. Then they slowly break apart (traffic be damned), smiling at each other, then Crowley clears his throat, takes a step back and says, "not good enough, I want a proper apology," and a tiny smile lifts the corner of his mouth as Azi sighs, rolls his eyes and does the apology dance in the middle of the street.

3) The idea that Azi just turns up being like, "Babe, I need you to help me raise our kid, cause quite frankly, I'm exhausted and it's your turn." Crowley looks on, dumbstruck, as Azi picks up Junior and hands him to Crowley (who takes him on instinct) and says, "This is your Papa. Daddy needs a break, so behave yourself." Then he walks across to Nina's for an Eccles cake and then to Maggie's to listen to something that isn't a nursery rhyme/shit kids version of good pop songs.

I just feel like Azi would be all like, "Right, you can do this, Aziraphale. Tell him you love him and you're sorry and would he please help you raise Christ 2.0." Then when Crowley actually answers the door, he forgets that plan, panics and a louder part of his brain just screams, "FUCK I LOVE HIM SO MUCH BUT I'M SO DARN TIRED RAISING THIS CHILD I NEED A BREAK!!!"

It's Maggie and Nina that drag him back to the bookshop to sort it out, but as they walk in, they find Crowley sitting cross legged on the floor staring at the child, as said child is pulling books off the shelves, looking for a picture book probably, and telling Crowley all about how he "didn't really like Heaven, but Daddy is very nice and plays games with him and tells him lots of stories. His favourite is the story about a magician who decides to play a scary game called 'bullet catch', but it's OK because his best friend is the one who holds the gun and he knows that his friend would never let anything bad happen to him. He also really likes the story of how a bookseller and his best friend danced together at a party and how it felt like real magic when they held hands."

Crowley is just staring in disbelief at this tiny, blue eyed, black haired child rattling off "stories", whilst his heart is still trying to catchup.

..........................

On the ending:

The only ending that I think any of us will accept will be Aziraphale and Crowley retiring to a little cottage on the south downs where Crowley can keep bees and a beautiful garden and Aziraphale makes honey and sits in the sun reading, watching Crowley tend their garden.

[aucoba]

Rewtaching Good omens S2 here we go :

Ep 1 :

Aziraphale saying he forgives Maggie for not paying rent 'cause he is "very good at forgiving things, and it' s his favorite thing" - yes that's me dying in the background of foreshadowing

I already saw it the first time but crowley's paper has an article on taddfield being a wonderful place to live in

Crowley wondering what the point is into creating the universe only to stop it Vs after armagedon't, Crowley wondering what's the point of heaven and hell's existence

John ham's ass

Extreme sanction aka book of life... [suspicious]

Aziraphale becoming defensive the second gab's talks about how it feels to be in love

"the something terrible" that might not happen to you in A. Z. FELL bookshop

Why do Crowley not like it when you call and appear mysteriously at the same time? What's wrong with that?

Soon to be 'named Jim saying "you' re funny I love you", sends me to heaven

And the little fly (I did see and hear it the first time, just love the detail)

WHAT THE HECK IS UP WITH THE QUOTE ON THE MATCH BOX oh and it's "Job"!

Aziraphale turning on his left when Crowley enters the coffeshop and then saying how nice it is to tell someone about his good deeds now that he isn't reporting to upstairs... Missing heaven??

bohemian rhapsody in the background in the coffeshp ❤️ (I didn't notice the first time)

Crowley calming down, not by eating the eaglecakes but by going outside, tryong to do a human technique before casting lightning - I wish I could do that

Muriel my love

Archangel in front of a material object will never not be funny to me

Beelzebub going out of their way to get their boyfriend back

The book of life again and how things might have never existed... Sending Crowley on a "lover boy" driving to his angel

The teeny-tiny miracle bit is still brilliant

Ep 2

Aziraphale and Crowley being workers from ennemies company, just chatting, trying to both do their job. So mundane.

THERE ARE BIRDS FLYING AWAY AFTER CROWLEY DESTROYED THE GOATS

Aziraphale not asking questions, simply saying "killing kids! That can't be right", acting like... Almost has if he is acting as the devil's advocate when interacting with his boss ("job liked his old children... What we could is..." so powerful)

Miracles to make places accessible is such an awesome idea

Gabriel being unnoticeable although he shoves a Terry prachett book into the archangel's faces

Jim using "the wicked bible" to try and kill the fly, what the heck is up with that! Gab the fly must be so chocked by how dumb he is ("the beauty part is that it never works)

Poor aziraphale, that's too much stress for him

"we're never going to the pub" flirt

Mister Brown holds a metro paper saying "Nebraska woman taught duck to play accordeon" and I hope Crowley is the Nebraska woman

"Maggie has a... Pash. And doesn't know how to conduct a courtship" YOU DON'T SAY, AZIRAPHALE

Wait, aziraphale can lie to the archangel's about miracling people falling in love, and knows it wouldn't actually work, but the archangels don't know it wouldn't work??

Invoke fiction properly - Jane austen being cooler than I thought she could ever be - SHE HAD BALLS - "people would gather and then realise they had misunderstood each other and that they were actually deeply in love" I need s3 to have a ball with this happening for our happy ending

Aziraphale being si excited about the clue and doing the same little dance Everytime he sings it

Hearing god's voice when Jim remembers Gabriel and Crowley knowing Jim can do better

The schuhite visiting to check up on the kids

Aziraphale "thinking" about what god's want while Crowley questions it

"may god forgive you" after Crowley does the bad guy act... And then putting his faith in crowley's words that he will not kill the kids

Aziraphale eating for the first time in the middle of a storm, as if he had been starving for ever

God answering job's questions by asking him if he ever paid any attention to everything god ever created, if he realises how insignificant and powerless he is

Crowley stopping job's wife to curse god 'cause "that never ends well"

Aziraphale and Crowley doing an improv scene magic trick to bring back the children and it working 'cause the archangels are too ignorant

Aziraphale feeling like he is failing as an angel when he lies to save humans... Him trying to cope with grey morales for the first time VS now owning the fact that the heavenly hierarchy was awful

Nina saying her partner was "not impressed" for not meeting her insane expectations... Makes me think of heaven's style of monitoring

"what car" "our car" "we don't share a car"

Gabriel rearranging the books, reading the first line of the book Muriel read at the end... And the bible is on the same shelf - and then pride and prejudice incipit-- and then good omens book incipit

Cut to depressed aziraphale in the past with depressed music

This scene... I will have to watch it again and again... It's the first and only time I think we've ever seen aziraphale feel so guilty : he feels guilty for lying, but not for the lie in itself. And Crowley offers him acceptation (rather than forgiveness) : if there's nothing to forgive then there's never been anything wrong. So we can just be, next to one another. And still the scene ends with Crowley referring to his demonic nature, as if they can't escape what the world made them to be

[no-punintended]

good omens season 2 review (spoilers!!!)

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

okay so this is gonna be a shitshow of a review and mostly word vomit, but here we go:

to no one's surprise, i fucking loved this. adored it. i love how it confirmed so many fan theories (at least…that’s how i saw things) and just...it had so much heart. all the characters were woven together so beautifully and i feel like the writers really have a way with characters in this story. like, for me, good omens has always been about the characters because i'm not a huge fantasy fan. so for a basically all new cast of character's to be introduced and to have that feeling is just...an incredible amount of skill that i can only aspire to have some day.

speaking of characters, let's talk about them! i want to start with muriel. they were just...so charming. like, the actress (Quelin Sepulveda) literally embodied that character and it shone through. every minor movement made muriel so much more of a character, and i hope, if there is a season three, we see some shenanigans with muriel running the bookshop because i want to see more of them.

maggie and nina. i just. i just. to say that i had a minor freakout is an understatement. for starters, i live for broody/sunshine (obviously, i'm writing this post about good fucking omens), and they were just...great. i loved how they started to work together and were mature enough to recognize and respect the fact that nina wasn't quite ready for maggie romantically yet. and i loved the parallels between aziraphale and maggie and crowley and nina that were brought up in the last episode. it was like a "duh!" moment for me, though, can't say i recognized it while watching. also, give me coffee or give me death is the greatest name for a business, like, ever, so shoutout to nina for that one. also also, shoutout to maggie and nina for talking to crowley about his feelings because you know no one's done that for him before. and they were spot on, too, about crowley and aziraphale never talking talking, and it was another "oh!" moment.

gabriel/james/jim was just hilarious. Jon Hamm, similarly to Quelin Sepulveda completely embodied this role. i mean, he did in good omens season one, but that's the thing: it was a massive shift in character and he just...did it. awesomely. amazingly. i think the thing about good omens is that everyone is a little stupid, and you would think the archangel gabriel would be exempt from that, but the fact that he's not is what allows him to fall so seamlessly in with this group (again, character relationships!!!). and the whole thing with beelzebub? just want to say that i called it from season one. like, there was a little too much chemistry between them for me to think "this is going nowhere". and it was very adorable. i loved that they had a song and i loved how it was woven into the story. also beelzebub gave him a fly!!! peak romance right there.

and, of course, aziraphale and crowley. i had this experience once, while watching the musical six for the first time. during "all you wanna do", i got this massive feeling of discomfort while the actress was singing (i had seen nothing of six at the time so i didn't know what the song was about at first). and mentally, i was like "oh, fuck, she's just not selling it. i feel bad for her." BUT! THAT WAS THE POINT! IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE UNCOMFORTABLE! and it was like...wow, that's a damn good actress right there. and that's kind of how i felt about this. especially with crowley. because the whole time, i felt like something was a little...off about crowley. he was crowley, but he wasn't...crowley. he seemed to be a little more wild, a little more loose, but in a serious way? but when it came to episode five and nina started asking him about his relationship (serious questions, too. not like the ongoing assumptions and ribbing from everyone of "ooo you're boyfriends) with aziraphale, i was like oh. he's just confused. and i think trauma kinda played a major role in their characters this season. aziraphale talking about keeping extra fire extinguishers because of the fire in the bookshop. crowley saying to gabriel "you told my only friend to shut his stupid mouth and die...i didn't much care for that". like this shit affected them, and you think it wouldn't after so long, but it does.

and i love that they were together when they were both angels, too. just that entire scene (bonus points for crowley calling the stars beautiful or gorgeous or something and aziraphale thinking he was talking ab him) was amazing because it was like !!! we knew it !!! i loved all the past scenes of them together, really. it just showed how they've really been there for each other all along. all along. and when the callback to the "saving books" scene came up in ep 4 i was like "oh! i know this one!" so that was a pleasant moment.

i love crowley by the way. i don't really have much elaboration on that. i just love him.

AND THE DANCING!!! it was adorable. the apology dance and the like, dancing.

okay i've been avoiding the kiss but let's talk about the kiss. first off, can i just say: most beautiful love confession scene ever. like, crowley. David Tennant. you fucking ate that up. someone give this man an award (he might have awards...i have no clue). the frustration, but the love. the pining. and his faith in aziraphale. the comments about pretending. the parallels to the scene in season one where they fight about sides and aziraphales "i forgive you". fucking just rip my heart straight out of my chest and stomp on it, why don't you? "no nightingales." literally have my brain. just take it. the kiss itself is like...damn. he went for it. the music during that moment??? and Michael Sheen's expressions...i could watch that man act for ages. every minute detail just shows through his face and during and after the kiss just broke my heart. the way he touches his lips when crowley leaves? i feel like that is the moment where he's, for a second, like, "maybe this is better than heaven". (Michael Sheen deserves an award as well, not just for this scene, but for his acting as a whole. (David Tennant also deserves one for his acting as a whole) no one else could be aziraphale. no one. there's just something about that man's face that looks like aziraphale.) weird comment, but his hands, too. crowley kisses him, and his hands hover over his back. after a moment, he relaxes and places his hands on his back, before immediately removing them again and growing frantic. the way they shake afterwards. like, fuck, man, that's how you embody a character.

i would kill for a snapshot into aziraphale's head during that moment because, honestly? i have zero clue what he was thinking. was he like "wow...i missed something vital all this time?". was he like "this doesn't make sense at all?" was he just like "oh?" was he scared of liking it, or scared that it happened in the first place? also...what did he mean when he said he forgave crowley??? for not going to heaven??? for the love??? the kiss??? if i had to put money on it, i would say that it flipped his world upside down. for an angel who can feel love, it's honestly surprising that he didn't notice the giant hole in the ozone layer crowley was burning up. but i honestly think he had zero clue it was like that for crowley. in all fairness, i also think crowley had zero clue it was like that for him until, like, episode five. shoutout to nina!!!

I THINK! IM HAVING A THOUGHT! okay so like...was the kiss kind of a last resort??? so like...crowley says "you idiot. we could've been...us" and i wonder if he read aziraphale as confused in that moment and was like "you know what, fuck it" and kissed him. "let me tell him in the only way i can. let me tell him like this because words aren't enough. nothing is enough, it's too big, but this will put it in a way he'll understand. let me help him understand".

edit: i'm already back for more and i already changed my mind. watched the scene again and realized that aziraphale turns his head away at that moment. and if i had to guess, it looks like he's starting to cry. so. what if...he's booting up his "there is no us crowley" argument and crowley knows it and he's like "i can't fucking take that again" so he just...goes for it. he's like "let me show you us. let me make you hear those damn nightingales. let me show you what we could be."

and then, you know, they separate. honestly, i get it. i'm not angry because it wasn't some bullshit ass bullshit like some movies and shows try to pull. i've always seen crowley as more "human" than aziraphale, so the fact that he confesses makes sense. while, on the other hand, aziraphale still wants to do good, and his good is still in heaven. he's more connected to the divine than he is anything else, and, unfortunately, that includes crowley at this point in time. crowley never would've accepted that position, and it's funny to me how aziraphale didn't seem to realize that. i think there's a chance that he felt like crowley would follow him anywhere. he didn't seem to realize that crowley had limitations, too. in the end, they just...didn't want the same thing. "nothing lasts forever". i don't think it's the end of things. i think the parallels between nina and maggie and aziraphale and crowley were made clear, especially as they are referenced when they split: nina and maggie's relationship is on the fence, and so is aziraphale and crowleys. if there is a season three, it won't exist without those two. they are the heart and soul of the show.

anyway obviously i loved it and i will keep loving it and probably cry about it tonight. i would love a good omens 2 book, though, i don't think that's even been considered. i just like to read lmao. it was handled so magnificently and maturely and i do hope there is a season three but, if not, there's always fanfiction :)

i may add to this post because i focused a lot on ep 6 so if i have more thoughts i'll share. but it's also 100am teehee

[scatterghosts]

Good Omens season 2 episode 2 spoilers

Man, this just keeps getting better!!

THEY HAVE TO MAKE NINA AND MAGGIE FALL IN LOVE WITHOUT DOING MIRACLES AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH

My guess is that Aziraphale will use that get-together that he said he'd host to throw a "ball" for matchmaking purposes and I am SO excited

Also, the Jane Austen thing with her being a spy and jewel thief!!!!! That had me and my friend HOWLING

I love how on board Crowley is to play matchmaker....and how the first way he thinks of to make people fall in love is to put them in a rainstorm so they have to shelter together. Maybe I'm completely oblivious but I didn't even catch that this is a mirror of how they met until my friend pointed it out. Very sweet.

I'm so excited to see their shenanigans as matchmakers. I expect it will go as well as their plan to be godfathers.

I love how the same things that bother me about the Job story are the things that bother Aziraphale and Crowley! Also, Crowley giving a dramatic angst-filled speech to a goat before its impending death (then not actually killing it) is hilarious. This demon needs a therapist so he can talk about his Fall to people who aren't Goats.

That final scene was so well written. All the dialogue was so perfectly foreshadowed and tied things up so neatly and made me feel all kinds of things.

I can't believe Crowley introduced Aziraphale to food!!! I mean, it makes total sense with their characters — Aziraphale doesn't try new things nearly as often as Crowley — but I hadn't thought of it.

I'm so glad the children were okay.

I loved, loved, loved how smug Aziraphale was about Crowley not killing the goats. His expression was perfect!! And honestly up to that point I was convinced the goats were dead and half convinced the kids were going to die too. But of course not, Crowley is awesome. And Aziraphale was so determined to believe that Crowley was a good person......💜💜💜

I love Muriel so, so much and she's really barely been onscreen yet. I'm so excited to see more of her, she's awesome

Watching Crowley and Nina sass each other was so fun

Maggie always has the cutest outfits and I just want to give her a hug

I'm so curious what the jukebox in Scotland has to do with everything else....

I love the way that Good Omens handles God and morality and all that stuff. The whole "an angel who goes along with heaven as far as you're able to" thing really hit home, as someone who is part of a church I mostly but not always agree with. I love that following your own conscience regardless of what you're being told by religious authorities is the choice that the narrative rewards. I also loved seeing Aziraphale's crisis after that (though it was heartbreaking seeing him break down) because he's so realistic. Really hits me.

Also, the AUDACITY of Aziraphale to suggest that the Bentley is "our car." Nah man, Crowley's right on this one, that is not your car. I anticipate (and hope) that they'll pack Gabriel into the backseat with the plants and go on a road trip.

Also, does Aziraphale not know that Crowley's living in his car?? Or did Crowley prefer his car to living in the bookshop? It is nice to have one's own space, but sleeping in the Bentley does not look comfortable.

I love that Aziraphale remembers Crowley as an angel..... so tender. (I'm curious if Crowley remembers it all too.)

I just realized we never got Crowley's name when he was an angel. The Crowley-is-Raphael rumors can persist.

My friend's theory, which I think is really good, is that after the not-pocalypse, Gabriel went to God demanding answers about the Ineffable Plan— after all, he was there when the morning stars were created, and that was one of the conditions God gave Job! In response, I think God made Gabriel human and sent him to earth to figure out the purpose of life himself.

However, as my friend pointed out (her attention to detail is quite good), there are also quite a few flies that have shown up in this season. Perhaps Beelzebub has had something to do with it?

I'm so excited to see what happens next!! I love watching Crowley and Aziraphale interact. Truly a joy.

I love this so much. It's so wonderful to have new story to watch. It is sad to me that eventually we will be done with new story (with luck, not until after the third season). Of course everything has to end. But I wish it didn't. I'm glad that this show takes so long to get new seasons, so if we get a third season (please please please) it won't be over too fast.

I love this show so much. It's emotional and theologically interesting and sad and hilarious and wonderful and INEFFABLE!!

[jotun-philosopher]

Good Omens S3 speculation playlist

These pieces have sort of drifted into becoming the soundtrack for all my wild speculations about what Season 3 might bring, acting as placeholder music until David Arnold works his Euterpean magic -- see what you think! :D

Dies Irae (Karl Jenkins Requiem (link goes to youtube playlist of the full album, 'cos it's awesome and seriously worth listening to)) -- this is far and away my favourite version of the Dies Irae; it feels particularly appropriate for GO because it's borderline bebop and sounds like something Crowley'd have playing loudly in the Bentley while driving like fury to save the world (or possibly invading Heaven to rescue his True Love) if he felt Queen wouldn't quite cut it. Plus, per this post, the four-note Dies Irae motif appears a few times in the score to S1 (appropriately enough!) -- why not try listening to the OST again and finding them all? ;D

Dancing Mad (Nobuo Uematsu FF6) -- bit of an oddball association, I know; I happened to be reading a post making jokes about Kakfa (as in Franz Kakfa) shortly after the release of S2, only I mis-parsed 'Kafka' as 'Kefka' (as in Kefka Palazzo) and was promptly deluged with mental images of the Ineffables being badass adorable together to the tune of Dancing Mad! XD Plus, I like the image of Heaven suddenly hearing the organ notes at 11:32 crescendoing in the background, and the elevator doors slamming open right when the vocal-ish bit kicks in at 11:51 to reveal a certain VERY cheesed-off serpent who's in a rescuing mood :D (He does love to be dramatic, after all ^^)

Adiemus (Karl Jenkins Symphonic Adiemus) -- I just really like this track, and it feels kind of appropriate for a moment of renewed hope and building optimism after a moment of what Tolkien called 'eucatastrophe' and TVTropes calls 'Near Villain Victory' -- something we're almost certain to get in S3

In Caelum Fero (Karl Jenkins Symphonic Adiemus) -- from the same album as Adiemus above (In Caelum Fero is the first track, actually, so I've make the link one that takes you to the start of the playlist). It sounds threatening and dramatic and hopeful by turns -- appropriate for the Apocalyptic situation that's brewing for S3 -- and the title translates from the Latin as 'I will bear you to Heaven', which matches up to The Final Fifteen in two or three different ways! ;_; (#FuckTheMetatronWithACactus)

Sanctus (Karl Jenkins The Armed Man: A Mass For Peace) -- ever since I first heard this track waay back in 2001, I've associated it with the image of hordes of angels marching to war; it certainly sounds ominous enough!

I'll Be Your Mirror (Velvet Underground) -- I got into Velvet Underground entirely because of Good Omens! I love this track in particular because it sounds so utterly perfect for one of the Ineffables trying to bolster the other's confidence (in my imagination, it's usually Crowley trying to boost Aziraphale, 'cos that poor angel's self-esteem is atrocious :( *hugs*)

Pale Blue Eyes (Velvet Underground) -- Crowley's fave VU song, I gather :D Plus, despite the title, this particular love song was apparently written for someone with hazel eyes (just like our angel!) :D

I Found A Reason (Velvet Underground) -- I can't offhand remember seeing this song mentioned in fandom discussions of VU, which seems a bit of a shame; it feels just so darn PERFECT as a summary of how the Ineffables feel about each other! <3

Edit/addition 18/02/2024:

The Dark Morris Song (Steeleye Span, Wintersmith album) -- this one's an absolute bop, is connected to Discworld (so Aziraphale would probably approve!) and is very thematically appropriate for the Ineffable Husbands; Pterry thought up the Dark Morris (danced in secrecy and silence, in black costumes, deep in the forest, to welcome the winter -- first mentioned in Reaper Man, becomes a plot point in Wintersmith) as a counterpart and counterbalance to the traditional Morris dance to welcome the summer. The whole 'balance of light and dark' thing is a big part of the Ineffables' story <3

The Good Witch (Steeleye Span, Wintersmith album) -- also a very good match for the Ineffable Husbands' vibe; the first half of the song is about a witch being good and loving and caring even if she is 'ugly' or gets tagged as 'wicked' for whatever reason (A. J. Crowley, anyone???), and the second half is the actual Terry Pratchett doing a spoken-word reading of his passage about what 'cackling' means for Discworld witches -- which matches up uncomfortably well with what the impossibly high standards Heaven imposes on Aziraphale have already done to his psyche in terms of c-PTSD and compassion fatigue, and what they might still do in the worst-case scenario...

Stranger In Paradise (Alexander Armstrong version) -- I just feel like this coincidentally matches the Vibes (tm) of bits and pieces of the Ineffable Husbands' story! "Won't you answer the fervent prayer/Of this stranger in Paradise/Don't send me in dark despair/From all that I hunger for!" -- The Final Fifteen/Ineffable Breakup, anyone? "If I stand starry-eyed/That's a danger in Paradise" -- danger of angel/demon relationships being discovered. "I saw your face/And I ascended" [...] "Somewhere in space/I am suspended/Until I know/ There's a chance that you care" -- bits of 'Before the Beginning' and The Final Fifteen! Plus, the title alone feels perfect for Azzy's feelings/situation at the end of S2... Brb, crying!