#it was only good omens and this at this point so

[lavendermoonlitskies]

Fanfic Friday: fic recs!

Hiii everyone, happy Friday! I forgot that I made a post like this ages ago for fanfic Friday, but I’ve read a bunch since then so here are some recommendations of Good Omens fics I’ve enjoyed recently:

“Heaven isn't built to house a love like you and I” by ItsScottiesStark

Rating: T

Length: 37,291 (8 chapters)

Summary: They did it. They stopped Armageddon. They survived.

This was it, the first time they were actually free to finally figure out what their side entailed.

Aziraphale is a being of love. Always has been. And now, all the love he has for Crowley is free to flow from the edge of his fingertips to the demon's, in a gesture that could only mean one thing; I'm with you. I'm here.

As much as his hands itch to reach out for the love of his existence, his words seem to fail him, time and time again. He knows Crowley deserves more than gentle hand holding and forehead kisses in the dark. He aches to scream his love from the top of his lungs, for the whole world to hear. And the demon knows it.

And he waits. Because he'll wait forever for Aziraphale. Because he knows they are meant to be one.

This one is great at immediately grabbing your attention. It starts on the bus during that scene towards the end of season 1 where Aziraphale holds Crowley’s hand, which very smoothly leads in to this theme of physical contact and how although they’re both unfamiliar with it, it’s secretly something they both long for from the other. Without spoiling too much, they sort of subtly lean into this desire for physical affection in a way that’s incredibly sweet yet almost tragic with how hesitant they are at the start of it. You can tell that they want so desperately to let the other know how much they care, but they still don’t know if the other is on the same page (so “he waits. Because he’ll wait forever for Aziraphale.”). This writer is really great at conveying how much they really love each other, highly recommend!

“Twin Suns” by IneffableDoll

Rating: T

Length: 7,291 words (3 chapters)

Summary: “I thought you were gone,” Crowley mumbled, and it was almost cliché, it was almost the kind of sentimental rubbish he would’ve moaned at had he heard it from someone else. But they were the rawest words he could manage. He’d thought Aziraphale was gone. That was all, and it said everything.

***

Directly following their celebratory meal at the Ritz, Aziraphale and Crowley clash with the feelings that struggle to settle after everything they’ve been through. And, in so doing, learn to rely on and communicate with each other in new ways.

Similar in concept to the previous one I mentioned, this fic takes place after the events of season 1. They get into some real honest conversations (something I love reading in fics because the characters in canon are not at that point yet and I am HUNGRY for some emotional honesty from them), and something I really love about this one is how patient they are with each other. In chapter one Crowley says that he’s not ready for this conversation, and Aziraphale respects that. Without spoiling too much more, they’re both super careful with the other’s boundaries as they kind of start to think and talk more about the love they have for each other that they’ve never really gotten the chance to explore until now. I absolutely love how they take things nice and slow, attentive to how the other is feeling about all of this. This kind of love is a new concept for the both of them, but they wouldn’t want it with anyone else, and so they try. And I think that’s beautiful.

“Icebergs and Angels” by The_Bentley

Rating: T/M (two versions)

Length: 23,498/24,929 words (8 chapters each)

Summary: It's 1912 and Aziraphale, not wanting to be lonely during his mission aboard Titanic, invites Crowley along for a cruise. But he boards the ship before knowing exactly what his mission is. When he learns Heaven wants to teach humanity a lesson for the claim even God couldn't sink it, it could damage his relationship with Crowley, who has his own views on Heaven's need to punish innocents. Can he repair things with Crowley and can they work together to save as many lives as possible?

The concept of this one is so cool, and very much something I could see actually happening in the show as another historical flashback/mini-sode. Aziraphale is given a mission from Heaven that entails many humans losing their lives, he’s obviously not on-board with that, and Crowley is there to help him save as many human lives as possible because, as much as he’d hate to admit it, he really is a nice demon who very much disapproves of Heaven’s disregard for human life. Throughout this one you get to see how the two of them interact with the humans, all while Aziraphale is battling this inner conflict of wanting to just go along with Heaven’s orders without questioning it while simultaneously knowing that it’s wrong. The narration is great, beautifully written and I really felt like the writer understands these characters on a very deep level. There are two different versions of this one, both of which are fantastic. I personally felt that the more platonic/aroace approach to Aziraphale and Crowley’s relationship in the context of this particular story was more fitting, but if you’d like something a little spicier I thought that the Mature rated one was just as good! (I’m linking the non-spicy version here, but the link to the spicy one is in the summary!)

[sonkitty]

Crowley S2 Hair Post #19 Redone

(For reference: The Sideburns Scheme)

Crowley, Good Omens 2, Episode 2, The Clue, the pub

...

Introduction

This scene!!! Pay attention (if you like this kind of stuff). This one is important. This sideburns thing is a game, and this scene introduces us to one of the most difficult rules to grasp of that game (beyond "What is exactly is your point with all this, Crowley?").

...

Sideburns Check

The sideburns are longer than expected to be found in a human space. The pub is crowded with humans. If we've figured out the nature of the game by now, it has us on guard because the basic premise has been proximity to humans makes them shorter with time required from the car and distance required from the bookshop. No Gabriel is around to make them longer. We don't know how long Crowley drove before arriving, only assume that he did. We later learn he parked across the street from the pub instead of the coffee shop in this episode.

This length, as best I can tell, most closely resembles his sideburn length from being in Hell (which would then include before and after summoning but difficult to compare with much darker hair at night in the car). The left one is not as full in hair. The lighting of the scene favors Crowley's left side when he sits down at the table.

That sideburn length is a demon-space length, not a human-space length.

So, what happened?

This space's threshold is bigger than Crowley. There's more to it than being bigger, but we have to start there because of things that will happen later.

The pub's threshold starts with a door frame when entered. It has two wooden doors with windows. It also has a panel along the right door frame's right side. The panel does not end with a door. It ends with a post. Across from that post is yet another post on the wall.

The length between the door and this panel is the threshold. That's enough space to be bigger than Crowley. This bigger threshold has no roof.

Because the threshold has two doors and two different types of ends, it also has two lanes, one for each door. The right door has a lane from it to the end of the panel with a post. The left door has a lane from it to the post on the wall.

While we do not see Crowley's sideburn length before he entered, the camera zoom onto the pub sign actually does show us, below the sign, that only the right door is open inward to the space itself. That will be re-confirmed on exit.

Eventually, I figured out, and had to make the assumption from the clues, Crowley switched lanes on entry in this threshold that is bigger than him. Later on, with the music shop the story will show short sideburns before entering another bigger threshold.

I figure that's enough of a clue that the sideburns would have been short before entry here. Given the clues from this episode itself, Crowley drove for some time, and he had the plants with him in the car.

When Crowley and Aziraphale are shown walking in, Aziraphale is closer to the panel and the post there. Meanwhile, Crowley is to Aziraphale's left and walking along a rug. That's the indication Crowley's in the left lane while Aziraphale is in the right lane.

That's the trick for this bigger threshold: "switched lanes".

When Crowley exits, he sticks to the lane by the panel and door that will make them short. If it makes any difference—and it probably does given how particular the game is—the door that is open, is open inward toward the space of the threshold instead of outward toward the street.

The blocking and framing of both Crowley and Aziraphale on exit may further contribute. Aziraphale's head is shown as being to Crowley's right, then blocks Crowley's face, then is shown to Crowley's left as Aziraphale himself is shown near and eventually in front of the doorknob. He then moves to Crowley's right again after Aziraphale himself has cleared the way out of the door frame.

A possible factor I don't understand is that Crowley parked his car near the pub instead of the coffee shop that particular episode.

I will go over this part of The Bigger Thresholds Trick a little more in the Earthly Objects section.

...

Brighter Red Streak Check

Crowley's hair is notably more saturated from the last scene in the car, so the streak can be hard to find just because of that. The streak starts a little further to his left of where we often see it starting above the center of his left eye. Now it starts more at his left end of his left eye. Instead of going upward from that center, it ventures to Crowley's right, then still managing to actually be above the center of his left eye.

...

Hairstyle Changes

Even through the sideburns, the left one has less hair than before, matching more like Crowley's being summoned to Hell.

The biggest difference at first glance is the saturation. The story has hinted that the Bentley, when isolated, may generally make the hair darker as it is, even if Crowley hasn't zapped red lightning out of himself.

Otherwise, the actual shape is quite similar from the last present day scene. Styles change even during scenes. One I am able to find and check swoops in on both sides, just like in the car, with possibly being a little more centered in how the sides curve out from the top. From the front, there is a slight tilt to the right. The curving hair also looks more smooth.

...

Earthly Objects

(For reference: Earthly Objects)

We have arrived at our third Threshold Trick!

Here are some GIFs to start us off:

This one is The Bigger Thresholds Trick. In addition to being the third to start overall, it's the second Complex Threshold Trick to start. It will be the first Threshold Trick to conclude in episode 6, making it the second to conclude overall.

This Threshold Trick is the second one I found though it is the one anyone studying the sideburns is likely to start to sense first. That's primarily because there are so many humans yet the sideburns are long.

The first one I really found was The Door Trick, and I do think the game is designed that way on purpose. That way, an audience player circles back after finding The Pocket Trick to play the intense Rainbow Connection portion—among other things—to solve The Door Trick further with its connection to The Door Catch.

All the same, with The Door Trick in mind, that meant I should take a good, long hard look at the thresholds and overall spaces throughout the story.

I kept looking at this pub's space. There had to be something special about the place. Was it with where Mr. Brown was when? Was it with how a car outside the pub moved as Crowley moved?

It was the threshold!

The threshold is bigger than Crowley. That explained this one but not the music shop since I hadn't figured out that one's threshold was bigger too. An audience player is unlikely to realize the Heaven elevator is one of the three until figuring out the music shop's threshold is also bigger than Crowley but has a different solution for the trick ("never let go of the door").

This pub visit is the Double of The Bigger Thresholds Trick. The visual marker for the Double is the two posts to mark the end of each lane for the bigger threshold.

How do pockets work with this one? Besides a certain pocket touch that will happen during the scene itself, probably something to do with the shadows. My play isn't good enough to determine more than that at this time. Crowley's leg shadows are making a pocket on the rug itself and a human's back of their jacket at some point. The pocket disappears over the course of the entry. Shadows and backs are really important later for The Door Trick and The Door Catch.

On exit, Aziraphale's head switch, switches the pockets Crowley is in. First, Crowley is pocketed between Aziraphale and a human wearing a hat. After the switch, Crowley is pocketed between the entry's left door and Aziraphale. Then, in turn, Aziraphale ends up pocketed between Crowley's actual head and the shadow of his own head that ends up on the entry's right door frame.

What does it all mean besides general trickery? You got me. Still, they're doing stuff. I've said I think Crowley is the top tier—the best—player of the game. I think Aziraphale is probably second best. As good as Crowley is, he can't do these more advanced moves for The Bigger Thresholds Trick without an assistant at the level of Aziraphale and later Muriel.

Crowley trusting Muriel is one of the special traits about this Threshold Trick. It starts with recognizing that Aziraphale is acting as the assistant the first two times, then really shines through once a player understands how important pockets are and what Muriel is doing for the third bigger threshold.

Anyway, let's set the threshold trickery aside and take a look at what actually happens during the visit to the pub. Then we still have to pay attention to the pockets a little more.

I'm not going to name each set as a set since I'm not sure. But there are multiple sets in this scene.

The walk on the rug is its own earthly object touch.

Crowley saying, "Ah, we're going to the pub," is like a "Hello".

Aziraphale is doing a self-touch with his hands.

Crowley asks a question, "What's wrong with the coffee shop?"

When Aziraphale touches Crowley's chest, I think that counts as an acceptable touch since Crowley makes no visible effort to deny it. Supernatural beings are allowed reciprocal touches between each other. As in, when Gabriel hugged Aziraphale in episode 1, Aziraphale didn't hug him back but also had an uneasy look on his face. That ensured no point for that touch. Crowley doesn't touch Aziraphale back here, but that's not what's expected from the nature of the touch. At the very least, he doesn't pull away. The scene establishes it is Aziraphale who removes the hand at some point with a human obscuring the removal of the touch when that happens.

Aziraphale has a miracle touch on the two humans he gets to leave. His vendetta against the backs of chairs is active here, so the story cuts away when he actually sits down. This vendetta is possibly related to how utterly important Aziraphale's back is during The Door Catch and using the shadows of the green leaves on his coat to maintain the Rainbow Connection at Green.

Crowley's arm on the counter while ordering the drinks is another touch for him. The human he speaks to is holding a rag or towel. Crowley uses the name, "Lady Bracknell" He makes a brief pocket with his left arm, and it's the most clear shot of his watch during the visit.

Mr. Brown is holding both a newspaper and a cup when he arrives. He says, "Mr. Fell!" so that's a name.

Aziraphale looks him over, sees the earthly object touches, and replies with, "Oh...Hello".

Mr. Brown introduces himself by name and is shown seating himself. We'll cover him more later in the story commentary.

There is a question from Aziraphale with, "I did?"

When Crowley arrives at the table, he sets Aziraphale's glass down on the table. He already has his own glass of whiskey. He uses a pocket touch and greets Mr. Brown with a "Hello". The pocket touch is the four fingers of his right hand going into the pocket while keeping the thumb outside the pocket. The result of this touch is the most familiar form of the pocket touches in The Pocket Trick. Only the Double doesn't use it. The Door Trick uses the result of this form too. Those touches never show the fingers going in.

Now something important here that happens—and I've never named it in my pocket posts because I've never figured it out—is that Crowley smiles during this pocket touch.

For every touch in The Pocket Trick, he is not smiling when the pocket touch is on screen. The same goes for The Door Trick, where he is standing extremely still. One of the reasons I think this smiling and lacking smiling is important is the ending credits. It stands out that Aziraphale visibly smiles before he and Crowley are blurred away from being seen in the credits.

It also stands out that Crowley doesn't smile. On its own, that gives me a sense of unease and discomfort.

With the game, I have to consider he might not be smiling because he is still following some advanced pocket trickery rules. Even though he doesn't smile, the lighting lights him up enough that if you take your eyes off Aziraphale long enough and look at Crowley instead, you can see that he has a self-made pocket of hair containing part of the edge of the roof briefly. There actually is a second even smaller self-made pocket of hair. Look for it about when "Health" is near Crowley's shoulder.

Crowley closes his eyes, re-opens his eyes, and then narrows his eyes with a look toward Aziraphale's side of the screen. He does these things before he is blurred and faded from view.

Are these good things or bad things? Well, if the credits scrolling over Crowley are any indication, they are good things because "Good Omens" appears over Crowley's shot twice.

Still, Season 3 isn't going to start off saying everything is fine, never mind, no problems, or whatever. The emotions during the argument were tense and presumably real.

Another reason I consider the smiling important is that my absolute favorite smile of Crowley's in the entirety of Good Omens 2 is when he is standing with his back to the edge of the elevator doors in Heaven. Those are different pocket circumstances compared to what's in The Pocket Trick and The Door Trick. He has the thumbs and thumb joints of the Tied Hands pocketed in his vest, his actual hands not pocketed, and his back to the edges of where two doors—pocket doors—meet. Pocket doors are sliding doors, and elevator doors slide. So, for some reason, that set of circumstances allows him a smile.

Alright, so back to the pub scene.

Mr. Brown uses Aziraphale's "Mr. Fell" name when talking to Crowley.

When Aziraphale drinks, he's shown from the back, shown from the front, and shown from the back. His fingers obscure much of the drink itself and are enough so that a touch would be more credited toward the cup itself. If he gets any credit for the drink, it's from the three different shots of him drinking, I would guess. He's shown finishing off the drink before leaving the table

Various names and questions continue during the conversation. Both do self-touches at times, and sometimes Crowley's touch on his glass of whiskey is seen.

Crowley is shown drinking the whiskey just before getting up to leave. He ensures the index fingertip and middle fingertip are shown on the glass but not the tips for the other digits. The thumb is obscured by the glass itself. Like the coffee in episode 1, that's probably Crowley's way of preferring credit for the drink than for the touch on the glass.

For paying attention to the pockets, there is of course the pocket touch Crowley did when talking to Mr. Brown. He actually moves the thumb tip on the pocket a bit after Mr. Brown talks to him and before sitting down.

It doesn't look like a big deal on its own, but it's happening in the first touch of The Bigger Thresholds Trick and in the episode where The Pocket Trick officially starts. So, it's probably some silly prerequisite to The Pocket Trick itself while ensuring a pocket touch of some of a hand is going into a pocket during this particular touch in The Bigger Thresholds Trick. The CMC right thumb joint touches the jacket's edge in the process. The metacarpophalangeal joint is touching the belt loop. Plus, there's that smile. The music shop will get The Pocket Trick's Double where thumbs go into pants pockets instead of fingers. Heaven will get the Tied Hands with their thumb joints and thumbs pocketed into the vest.

When Aziraphale sits down, there is a human to his right with their hand in a pocket. That pocket touch is still active when Crowley arrives and makes his pocket touch. The scene cuts to Mr. Brown, then back to Crowley. The nearby human no longer has their pocket touch active. That's also when Crowley's thumb tip does its little movement on the pants.

When Crowley brings up the idea of a sudden rainstorm, he makes a pocket between his right index finger and thumb. As he talks about realizing "they were made for each other," his elbow can be seen touching his jacket. From there, I can then notice a pocket exists between the jacket sleeve, jacket torso, and arm chair for what's not touching the jacket.

The Tied Hands are quite shiny and pretty in the scene overall. A tassel is touching the Belt Head before Crowley says, "We've got a real problem..." Once Crowley starts talking about the 1810 Clerkenwell Diamond robbery, the tie strands can be seen touching each other on the vest while they have a pocket formed between them on the shirt. They'll show up as touching each other in more cuts after that point.

Once Crowley is seated, the lighting favors his left. Sometimes to his right is a smaller light that can be found, and sometimes to his left a set of more lights from a chandelier can be found as a potential overhead light, or set of overhead lights. Aziraphale actually also gets a possible overhead light, or set overhead lights from a chandelier, to, to his right. These things don't strike as big of a deal is as the one I commented on for the miracle to hide Gabriel, but so long as I'm looking and found them, I'm passing it along.

Various light reflections appear in Crowley's sunglasses, sometimes with a greenish tent. Even the window frames here get a moment of reflection, before Crowley turns his head and says, "Why?" I'll repeat that I think these reflections are clues about The Window Trick as the last Threshold Trick of the season.

...

For my tangential reading in my desperate attempt to improve my play, I've actually been re-reading the Good Omens book since it was published in 1989, which is the same year Guards! Guards! was published.

The word "imagination" is used plenty of times, and using one's imagination is certainly a requirement of Earthly Objects, especially once you find The Pocket Trick.

I picked up The Sandman Volume 3 from the library so will start on it soon.

...

Story Commentary

The pub is one of two human-specific locations that make it quite difficult to develop theories like the one about the connection and the other about the existence of a supernatural zone. See the main Sideburns Scheme post if you don't know what I mean by either of those things.

The music shop is the other human-specific location.

Before figuring out the thresholds, the main common thread found between them that is not the longer sideburns or the pocket touches, is that both locations have an encounter with a human who remembers a meeting from some years ago and say as much to Aziraphale. Here, the wording is "several"; Mr. Arnold will specify "ten". The encounter also brings up lights. This one refers to "winter street lights". Mr. Arnold in the music shop will mention "Christmas lights".

The special encounter here is Mr. Brown.

He has memories that do not match Aziraphale's and leads into Mr. Brown setting Aziraphale up to host the upcoming Thursday night meeting (which will become the ball).

The general issues are as follows:

1. Mr. Brown expects Aziraphale to know him. Aziraphale does not recognize him. Mr. Brown gives his name.

2. Mr. Brown claims to have met Aziraphale at a shopkeepers and street traders meeting several years ago. Aziraphale politely says, "Of course," but looks like he is just trying to be polite.

3. Mr. Brown claims that Aziraphale said he would be delighted to host a meeting. By then, Aziraphale is truly caught off guard. "I did?"

4. Aziraphale is hesitant and does not say he's looking forward to hosting this meeting. He is preparing to say that he can't and is busy or something along those lines. When Crowley arrives with drinks, Mr. Brown disregards Aziraphale's manner entirely and tells Crowley that Aziraphale was saying how much he's looking forward to hosting the meeting. This remark could certainly be a presumptuous lie on Mr. Brown's part, to just get what he wants, but it is suspicious with everything else above.

My initial sense is that Mr. Brown has fake memories from the Metatron, but the encounter with Mr. Arnold in the music shop later seems far more deliberate on the part of Crowley and Aziraphale.

In this one, in the pub, Crowley is busy getting drinks and away for much of when Mr. Brown recounts his memory. However, Crowley is still being read as in the threshold space as a demon no matter where he is in the pub, so how much does this distance matter?

Anyway, longer sideburns and memory stuff happened in the same scene. This factor is noted but still not really understood by me.

...

One of the odd little clues from the story about a possible book with humans who have a fake dimension to them is how some of the names are, like so: Mr. Arnold, Mr. Brown, Mrs. Cheng.

These names are more clear if watching the show with the official subtitles.

My point is that the group goes A, B, C. It doesn't apply to all humans of course, but I noticed.

...

The pub and music shop have strong contrasts between each other, when it comes to the nature of the space. The pub is a large space compared to the smaller music shop. There are a lot more humans here in the pub and just the one human, Mr. Arnold, in the music shop.

...

Still, no one is shown paying with money for anything in the present day. If it were to happen anywhere, you'd think it would be here.

...

Aziraphale uses Gabriel's name in conversation here despite his caution of using the "Jim" name in the bookshop space. He'll say Gabriel's name again later this episode out on the street near the car.

...

Regarding the drinking of alcohol, The Magic Trick You Didn't See theory has a part that I think is worth considering, so please do look it over if you're interested. It's about suspecting the Metatron disapproves of alcohol, and that's one of the clues he's messing with Aziraphale's memories. You can find it under the header, The Devil's Drink.

...

I enjoy the conversation overall in the pub. I know they aren't supposed to be messing with humans in the way they end up doing, but I still find it really sweet how Crowley reacts to the idea of helping two people fall in love. He is quite likely referring to his own experience.

I also love his reaction to Jane Austen, both as he remembers her and the news to him that she wrote novels.

Basically, I love Crowley here. I love him so much.

...

That's it for this post. Sometimes I edit my posts, FYI.

...

Main post:

The Sideburns Scheme

...

Past version of this post:

Post #18 (the pub)

The numbering no longer matches because I went ahead and covered the first minisode scene with Crowley this time around. I'm almost caught up to where I left off before I put this project mostly on hold to study Earthly Objects. Only one more to go!

[wordy-little-witch]

I absolutely adore your thoughts on Buggy and Sea Shanties. So I'd like to share an inspiration and a thought, Tale of the Shadow by Sail North.

What if that's the treasure Buggy seaked when he was younger and just as the lyrics he found it but the crew he put together was not loyal like his cannon lot so they where killed but the Shadow took a liking to Buggy after he survived. I'm imagining him flirting with the ship helped in that regard. Buggy captain of the Shadow.

Okay but that would he SUCH a good take. ((I love Sail North honestly you are fueling my obsession yesss)).

Consider maybe instead of Buggy actively SEARCHING for it, he stumbled across it. And the Shadow being less of a Prize To Be Sought and more of a grim omen, a harbinger of sea stories, among the many Buggy knows by heart.

His first crew, the ones cobbled together so soon after his first abandoned him - I'm honestly thinking they were sort of thrown together and Buggy took charge as he tends to do. And the rest fall in line at a surface level but only insofar as completing their goals. Buggy knows, he can see it, but really the only people he's ever had in his life who took him and his wants semi-seriously are dead or dead-to-him at that point. He doesn't care. It's a means to an end, he tells himself. He's using them as much as they're using him - no, he's using them more! In the flashiest of ways!!

And then they happen across a fog. And Buggy can Feel something out there that's Looking and Searching and Calling. He is absolutely not about that, no sir. He gives the orders to sail westward, navigating by the stars and not the log pose which is wobbling steadily to that Other Presence. The crew, if they can even be called that, are not happy with the order.

Buggy by this point is young still, maybe sixteen thereabouts at most, and he is the youngest on the ship. And the smallest. And seems the weakest.

He is not, the group learns terrifyingly quickly. He is thin, fast, skilled with a blade and smarter than he pretends to be. He's got experience under his belt and on his side against opponents bigger, stronger, better than him - and he's used to being outnumbered too.

The fight takes time and Buggy soon gets hit with a lucky shot, sending him sprawling to the deck and nearly crushed beneath ratty boots and cruel laughter. He is panting against the wood, straining to get up, to move, to fight or flee-

And he freezes.

The Presence is back and it's stronger than ever, right on top of them. It's only his resistance to Conquerors Haki which keeps him from so much as fluttering an eyelid under the sudden pressure choking the men and women alike on his ship.

Not many have the nerve to approach my hull with so little awareness.

Buggy goes still at the soft voice while the other's scatter, scramble, search for the interloper. They shout demands for the person to show themselves. Buggy merely pushes himself up enough to bow properly. That is no person, he knows, not in the way these bozos think.

There's a sudden whirl of air, rigging springing into motion, ropes and sails unwinding to snatch bodies and cut voices into choked gargling frenzies.

Buggy does not move. His head aches, his body sore, but his mind is racing over contingency after contingency. He needs to think, needs to figure out a way to survive this unholy clusterfuck of a situation-

He freezes as he catches a black intangible hem from his periphery.

A hand touches his head, soft despite the carnage swaying above by their will.

So small you are, little star, and yet so brightly you shine in the gloom...

A hand takes his chin, tilts his head up. Buggy squeezes his eyes shut.

Look upon me, star child.

"N-No," he declares decisively, though not impolitely. "It is disrespectful for mortals to meet the gaze of Spirits."

Ohhh, how bright you are, little star. What say the waves to my hull, what say the winds to my sails, that by which you are known?

He thinks for a moment, carefully, then answers. "I am called Buggy."

Oh, my sweet, my darling, how interesting you are, how clever, how wise for your sweet short years. By what means have the Fates forged a mind and soul like this? Such a gift to my heart, so intriguing.

"... what..." He licks his lips. "What say the sea, the winds, to that which you are called?"

... I am called many things, my junebug. But now? This Era knows me as The Shadow... but you knew that, didn't you?

"..."

Hm~ Yes. You will do nicely.

"What- aAA-!!"

Shhh, sleep, my sweet, let my love fill your pores and lungs. Dream sweetly under my spells and carry the blackened blessing of my Self with you into the Beginning and End. You, sweet Buggy, are destined for great things. I will carry you there, so long as you carry me in turn...

Buggy screamed into the wooden planks as blackness swallowed his senses, burning and baptizing his cells. The only thing he was aware of was the soft hand in his hair, the whispered assurances like dripping ink, and the pain.

Buggy was swallowed whole on a ship in the fog, cradled by a faceless being and guarded by corpses.

He awakens some time later on his ship, battered and damaged, dirty but warm under the warm, blazing sun. The rigging is damaged, the bodies gone. Buggy is alone, but, he finds sometime later, not unscathed. Staring back from the backs of his hands are two inky stylized emblems. The eyes stare into the air and space, offset by his skin.

He shudders.

He takes to wearing gloves.

He doesn't notice until weeks later that sometimes his shadow will smile at him, warm, loving, intelligent.

He learns more in the ensuing time, but not a word of it is ever breathed to another person.

One does not speak of deals with the fae, after all.

[lazuliquetzal]

Whee Fight Scenes! (This Is A Seirei no Moribito Advertisement)

For the past couple of years I have been almost exclusively writing fanfiction for action-fantasy video games which has led to me developing opinions on writing fight scenes. I used to hate writing them because what even happen fight, really, like what the hell??? But now I’ve learned to tolerate them! Sometimes I even enjoy writing them! So now I will share my wisdom with you. 

(Disclaimer: This post was written so I could avoid writing a fight scene.)

My credentials: I occasionally write fight scenes in my action-fantasy video game fanfictions, and I have seen Seirei no Moribito the anime several times. I do not claim to be an expert on fight scenes, but I do claim to love Seirei no Moribito to bits.

Part 1. The Set Up

There’s this excellent anime about a mercenary on a life-long quest for redemption who ends up taking a cursed prince under her protection. It’s about unraveling propaganda and colonialism, and also about kicking ass. The first time I watched this anime, when I got to the episode 3 rice field fight, I thought, “holy shit, I see now that a good fight scene requires not only a kick-ass fight, but also narrative/emotional build up in order to give the scene weight and tension.”

Like, lots of anime have excellent and extremely iconic fights, but this was the show that really made the writing aspect of it stick in my brain. Seirei no Moribito is also an adaptation of a book, which might why this stood out to me: the way its fight scenes are constructed are not as reliant on the actual visuals so much as they are on everything else (the animation for the fight is gorgeous, too, like, just watch this show please it’s so good). That said, I haven’t actually read the book. But I have seen this show several times and the rice field fight gets me so hype.

(And also every other fight scene. I’m never over episode 13. If you have to watch only one (1) episode of Seirei no Moribito, watch episode 13. But also, don’t do that. Watch the entire thing you coward.)

Anyway. What’s going on in Seirei no Moribito episode 3?

Part 1a. The Narrative Stage

Ep3 is early on in the series. The rice field fight is not the first action scene, but it is the first fight scene. This is what we know going in:

Balsa, our main character, is a formidable mercenary with a practical mind and a strong sense of honor. She has sworn to protect Chagum, the prince of the Empire. Her goal is to keep Chagum alive at all costs, because saving his life is crucial to her personal goal of redemption.

The Emperor (Chagum’s father) has dispatched his elite warriors to kill the prince, as they believe that he is possessed by an evil water spirit. Their goal is to kill the prince because the evil water spirit is a bad omen for the empire, and they believe that killing the prince will save the kingdom.

Balsa’s spear is damaged, and she is outnumbered. She has the disadvantage.

We are, of course, rooting for Balsa and Chagum at this point in the story. Balsa’s our main character, she’s super cool, and child assassination is a bad look. We know that Balsa is strong: we’ve seen her do athletic stunts, and it’s been alluded to that she is extremely skilled with the spear. This fight is the first time we get to see her use it, so it’s very exciting to the viewer. We want to see her in action.

Part 1b. The Emotional Stage

Chagum doesn’t have much of a personality at this point: we know he’s a child prince, and we know his dad wants to kill him. So we don’t know him well, but he’s already sympathetic due to circumstance.

When Balsa and Chagum get to the rice fields, they are almost home-free. They’ve spent a lot of effort trying to redirect the emperor’s warriors and the plan almost worked. We are extremely close to safety, so the fact that this is when the emperor’s elite catch up is very tense and frustrating.

All this puts the audience in the mindset of: oh man, they’re so close, I really need Balsa to win! I don’t want the kid die! You can taste the safety, you are almost there—it’s the type of tension that gets you invested in the outcome of the fight.

Part 1c. The Physical Stage

The first half, and the faster-paced portion of the fight takes place in a rice field at night (a classic). Wide open, with water to splash in, and nowhere to hide. It’s right on the edge of the thick forest, which gives Balsa and Chagum an immediate goal: get to the denser terrain so that they might break line of sight of their pursuers.

The second half of the fight is less of a fight and more of a close-up, emotional moment of action. It takes place in a clearing by the edge of the forest.

The physical location of the fight ties in with the short-term goals of the characters: the open field forces Balsa into direct confrontation even though she wants to run, and the clearing by the edge of the forest gives Jin (one of the emperor’s warriors) the illusion of privacy when he tries to kill Chagum, and it gives Balsa cover to hide until she can intervene.

Part 1 – TL;DR

Even before you get to the actual fight, the setup of the fight has inherent tension and intrigue. One can reasonably assume that Balsa and Chagum will survive, because this is episode 3 of a 26 episode anime. But you don’t know if her damaged spear will hold out. You don’t know why the emperor wants Chagum dead. You don’t know if Balsa will kill the emperor’s guards, or if she’ll be able to make a clean getaway with the prince. All these uncertainties create mystery, which creates tension. And tension is what makes the fight fun.

Part 2. The Purpose

I mentioned earlier that this is the first actual fight in the show.

It’s the payoff for a bunch of little questions that have cropped up so far. How strong is Balsa? Is she good enough to win, even when outnumbered? What does her fighting style look like?

A lot of action stories have big fight early on, and that’s because a well-done fight scene squeezes in a massive amount of characterization. In this fight, we learn a lot about Balsa, and we learn a lot about the Emperor and the difference between the Emperor and the people who work for him.

Some questions that get explored: How do they think under pressure? What kind of fighting do they do? Are they strategic? Reactive? Brute force or trickster? How do they solve problems? How far are these people willing to go to achieve their goals?

There’s a moment in this fight when Balsa is wounded, and the emperor’s warriors retrieve Prince Chagum. Balsa ends up retreating into the forest. Jin says something along the lines of: she’s a mercenary, she works for money and she’s already been paid; she won’t risk her life to come back and get the prince.

But she does. Even though she’s been wounded, and even though she had the perfect opportunity to walk away, she comes back and saves Prince Chagum at the expense of her own health. Balsa keeps her promises; Balsa’s personal quest for redemption is more important to her than her life. We know her, now!

Fight scenes are great for characterization because it’s a deviation from status quo. A person’s default state is not “battle,” and stories thrive on extraordinary circumstances. “How does this character change/act/perform under pressure?” is a really great characterization question, and a fight scene is the opportunity to show the answer rather than tell it.

Fight scenes are also great for thematic debate. You get the opportunity to literalize the conflict between different philosophies via characters fighting each other. EZ story moment. You know that one Howard Ashman quote about how, in musicals, the characters sing when they’re too emotional to speak? That’s what fight scenes are to me. The characters fight when they can’t talk to each other.

And then, of course, a fight scene is also moving the plot along. The conflict is happening, information is being exchanged/discovered/buried. Some characters life, some characters get hurt, some characters die. A fight scene is a way to physically bring characters to the state they need to be in for the story to progress (in the right emotional state, the right physical state, the right location, etc). Lots of things going on, which is good—you want all of your scenes to be purposeful.

Part 3. The Details

All of that had to do with the zoomed-out, overall story view of the fight (how the fight fits into the overall story). I am now going to continue to gush about the episode 3 rice field fight up close (how does the fight scene work in isolation). Because Seirei no Moribito rocks.

Part 3a. The Setting

I already mentioned the open rice field/dense forest dichotomy and how that affects the characters’ short-term goals. It’s also a great choice to establish Balsa’s superior technical ability with her spear. The rice field is wide open and relatively flat—no obstructions or distractions, with everyone on equal ground. There are no tricks to pull, no environmental quirks to exploit: this is a clean fight between Balsa and the emperor’s warriors. When she comes out on top, it’s because she’s better than them.

Depending on the character, it might be better to change the terrain. Have the stealthy warrior fight in a forest, where they can appear and reappear and use their sneakiness to their advantage. Put a trickster in a situation where they can improvise traps. There is an aspect of your character that you want to show off, so set the stage so that they can show off. It’ll be totally badass and fun.

Part 3b. The Short-Term Goals

When you read a story, you can reasonably assume that the protagonist will stay alive (especially if you are not near the end of the story). Knowing the outcome can make a story stale if you're not careful. You can lose tension if there’s no risk. Some stories try to create a world/tone/atmosphere so that anyone can die. A lot don’t because that’s a little depressing.

My friend @yellowocaballero has an excellent post on this regarding OP protagonists, but to summarize: if you know the protagonist is always going to win the physical fight, you have to make the win condition not about that. Balsa isn’t OP, but giving characters goals beyond “win the fight” can make a fight so much more interesting.

In the rice field fight, Balsa does not have to defeat the emperor's warriors: she has to get Chagum and herself away alive. Her goal is to make a clean getaway. When the warriors show up, she makes the decision to confront them, and her goal is not just to win, but to win so decisively that they won’t be able to follow her. When Chagum gets caught, she changes her goal to ‘keep him safe at all costs, no matter the harm done to myself’, and she gets seriously wounded. She can succeed in some goals, but fail in others, and the story reacts and keeps changing. It’s the same principle behind why rolling a nat 1 is so entertaining in D&D. The more you fail, the more creative you have to get. 

Part 3c. Monkey Brain

There is just something so cool and so satisfying and so fun about seeing a character kick ass. There is also something very cool and very satisfying about seeing a character get beat up. The rice field fight has it all: Balsa kicking ass, and also getting beat up. It’s fun! Fight scenes that know exactly why they are cool are just so good. Hell yeah, overindulge and use every single weapon despite how impractical they are. Yes please show someone pulling off an unrealistic move for the coolness factor. Absolutely include the explosion-that-would-definitely-kill-but-doesn’t. 

Part 3 — TL;DR 

If you want the fight to be cool, make it cool! Set it in a cool place! Give your characters opportunities to show off! Make it interesting by changing the win conditions! Conflicting goals forces characters to prioritize and it makes scenes fun!

Part 4. Words???

Unfortunately, as mentioned, Seirei no Moribito is an anime and I haven’t read the book so I cannot analyze and gush about its prose in this section. Otherwise, the advertisement would continue. You’re safe for the moment.

Re: prose, there’s probably a post out there that goes over the language of fight scenes better than I ever could. I write with the diction of a middle-grade author because I read PJatO too much as a child and it rewrote my DNA. This is not a bad thing, this is just a fact. So I’m just gonna fire off fight scene writing advice I heard from around:

Filter words — if you want a more immersive reading experience, you want to avoid filtering the action through the narration. So use sentences like: “Her arm hurt” as opposed to “she felt her arm hurt”. But if you’re trying to distance the reader, like recreating the feeling of shock/dissociation, then filter words would help achieve that effect.

Make the rhythm of your prose match the energy of the fight. Short and choppy feels fast in the brain. Long and wordy feels overwhelming. Fragmented sentences and run-ons are chaotic. Customize the vibes.

Establish the important details of the setting beforehand so that you don’t have to stop the action to describe the specific placement of a relevant tree stump. I think I heard this one from Brandon Sanderson on a podcast somewhere, but I think about it a lot when I write because blocking is hard enough and it's even harder when you have to stop and attempt to translate the movie in your head into words. I can’t tell you how to block a fight scene. We need to find someone else who is smarter that can tell us.

Part 5. The Point

Fight Scenes are Fun, actually. They can be really effective if you set them up properly! If you know what you want to do with them, you can arrange it to be as cool as possible! You don’t have to be in a visual medium to make fights fun. You just have to figure out how to translate the cool bits into prose, which I think is mostly done through giving your fight cool shit on both the macro story level scale and the micro scene level scale. 

Also, watch Seirei no Moribito.

[thjslove]

I was waiting out there for hours!

[phantom-of-the-501st]

Remember that this is not the proof that they love each other

That was a last-ditch attempt from Crowley to get Aziraphale to stay

This is the proof that they love each other

Their love wasn't just made real because they kissed

It always existed

[idliketobeatree]

you wear guilt like shackles on your feet like a halo in reverse depeche mode | halo

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

i broke so here's from crowley to his angel

I danced through all the fires, and I was so free

I was so unfettered, I was so unheld

Angel, I only stumble when you look at me

Why won't you touch me with more than eyes

Do more with your lips than just smile

It's only for you that I would ever plead

Angel, don't ask me to follow you to heaven

I don't need your forgiveness, I need your love

I don't need them to save me from damnation

Because when I fell from heaven I fell for you

And if you'll just for once try to understand

You've tempted the tempter and stolen the thief

So when after thousands of years I find the courage

To reach for you, to hold you to my dark heart

Forget the world that came between you and me

Don't choose to save it, choose to save us

The world will end in fire or ice, heaven or hell

But all that will matter is that we could have been us

So when they ask you to leave for heaven

Don't walk away, promise you're staying with me

Angel, tell me you said no

-Asmi

@neil-gaiman expecting that therapy money any day now, sir.

[glassiskies]

no bc im thinking about it and I don't see any season 3 where aziraphale and crowley are separated for more than an episode at most.

I was listening to David Tennant's podcast episode with Neil Gaiman (released Oct 2020) and Neil started talking about something secret he is working on that is, in hindsight, so obviously about good omens.

The exact quote:

"There's a project that I can't talk about right now that I'm writing with somebody I can't identify right now- this is a terrible way of going into a thing- where we'd been working on it for months and months, and we've been building everything up, but we didn't know how it ended. And, finally, we were in the same physical space, actually having a conversation that wasn't on the phone, and all of the sudden we had the ending. And having the ending, knowing beat by beat just what the emotional ending of the thing was, opened up the entire thing like a door. Because we had the plot, and we'd had the plot for a while, and we just weren't sure why we should care. Everything turned, and I immediately knew what the opening scene had to be. And what's lovely is nothing sort of really changes in the plot, but it now allows us to go, okay, that's important, that thing that we didn't know was gonna be important, that's important. It gives us a feeling of, or at least it gives me a feeling of bubbly excitement. Which means that anybody I can take on this journey is going to get to that place and be just as excited as I was."

(And then he immediately cites an example where he was writing Good Omens LOL. The signs were all there!)

ANYWAY, I think it's so interesting that the emotional beat of Aziraphale and Crowley being separated was not figured out until well into the writing process. It leads me to think that Aziraphale was never promoted in the unwritten sequel, right? So if they're following the plot of this unwritten sequel closely, I don't see how Aziraphale and Crowley could be separated for longer than an episode. We only have six episodes, and Season 3 has more plot beats to hit than Season 2 did.

It also makes me think about how Aziraphale leaving for Heaven really is just meant to be more of an emotional moment to plant the seeds for development in him and Crowley's relationship. I mean, obviously it is, but I don't know much significance it'll actually have in the plot of Season 3? If that makes sense? This is just me throwing out thoughts here, feel free to add anything!!

[estravenlover]

HATER NATION!!! what’s the most annoying fan interpretation of aziraphale and crowley

[lunarharp]

hi

[do-not-lick-the-walls]

Hi! i love your writing, i was wondering if you could do a beelzebub head cannon list?

love like yours | beelzebub headcanons

masterlist

a/n: ahhh hi nonnie! Thank you so much for my first request!! <3 ive never done a headcanon list before, so I hope this is good/what you meant! I went with some falling in love stuff since you didn't specify any theme or anything. Happy Valentines!

ineffable taglist: @sarcastic-sourwolf , @angelofthenight <3

---

• They fall without realizing it.

• Centuries of shoving down every positive emotion has them so, so horribly out of touch with their feelings. They don't believe they're actually capable of love. Or anything else that... soft.

• But you make something bubble up in their chest. A kind of fluttering that's refusing to stay down, no matter how many times they stuff it back under the bed.

• It's infuriating.

• It's fascinating.

• You're fascinating.

• Every habit, every mannerism, every little oddity of yours they discover is pinned to the map of you that keeps popping up in their head.

• They don't mean to study you so intensely, it just... keeps happening.

• How can they not?? You're just sitting there being so damn interesting, what else are they supposed to do? Confront their own feelings? Hahahahahahaha

• No.

• They're falling harder every day and desperately trying to ignore the shit out of it.

• Eventually the council gets fed up and stages an intervention. All this emotional repression is piled on so thick its becoming a workplace hazard.

• "You need to get it together, Beez. This is physically painful to watch."

• "I am not in love!"

• "Stop lying. I found this poem in your room. Its horrible."

• "Give that back!!!"

• (The poem is bad. Like really, really bad. It never sees the light of day again, for everyone's benefit.)

• Even after they're done repeatedly going through all 5 stages of grief and finally accept that they love you, it still takes a while longer for them to fess up.

• They chicken out like 4 different times before finally going for it.

• They try to be suave and cool, but you kind of turn them into a puddle of lovestruck goop.

• They dont know how to express their feelings normally, let alone while you're standing right there in front of them, and looking at them with your gorgeous eyes and smiling your little smile and oh god oh fuck---

• It comes out as mostly a string of incoherent words and noises that sound like they might be having some kind of celestial stroke.

• When its clear they're not getting the point across, they just kiss you.

• ...?

• ...!

• !!!!!

• That does the trick.

• <3

[pherre]

people making all those body-switching drink spiking memory altering theories when its so much easier to admit you felt like the writing wasn't that good this season. knowing a thing is mid and still enjoying it is so freeing try it sometime

[aithusarosekiller]

Mainly aimed towards marauders fans bc I see a lot of people being really aggressive about it there but:

💫 Not liking fanon characterisation doesn't make you better than the people who do 💫

Someone changing a character to fit how they enjoy seeing them isn't a crime bc it's a fictional character

Making a character queer in canon content isn't ruining them and it doesn't make the writing cheap or stupid

You can address harmful stereotypes without being a bitch and shutting down entire perceptions of the character because it isn't usually the older writers and artists creating flawed presentations and it's certainly not all of them, you're just being dramatic and trying to demonise an exploration of a character that you don't agree with.

Reminder that a lot of fandom creators especially in the marauders and ofmd fandoms are minors. Young teenagers writing in their school break don't need to be screamed at and called homophobes or racists for making accidentally including a stereotype into the character, they may appreciate being warned about the misconceptions so they can correct them...but berating creators and saying they're all fucking everything up and destroying everything is not helpful; it's mean and they aren't going to take your advice, they're just never going to write again. If you don't like the characterisation just fucking ignore it like the rest of us.

You're a dick 🥰

[karuuhnia]

Even after writing a huge essay, I still can't stop thinking about Good Omens. I had to draw things to cope with my emotions. :')

I hope you enjoy this sketch dump. Thoughts and explanations under the cut if you're interested.

__________________ Please do not alter, repost/reupload or redistribute my artwork anywhere! (Reblogging is perfectly fine, of course.)

Angel Crowley has been such a blessing, I just had to draw him. David Tennant is really great at staring in awe at a greenscreen the vast universe, isn't he?

By contrast I also drew warrior Aziraphale in the uniform we see in Season 1. Maybe this could have taken place during the often alluded Great War? I just wanted to draw Aziraphale wielding the flaming sword.

Bildad the Shuhite, my beloved! ❤️ Such a great and meaningful minisode!

Okay, I hope this is not what Season 3 will turn out to be, but I couldn't help but draw Supreme Archangel Aziraphale in the cold, grey suit with a stern and unsympathetic face, just like the rest of the archangels.

Next are just some face studies. :) Aziraphale is so soft and round, he's a pain to draw lmao. Crowley on the other hand is such a scrawny lad, you can see every bone! I love drawing his face!

Here, have some fluff. This is how I want to see them at the end of Season 3. Happy, together, no more barriers between them. I don't really care what (if any) label they give each other (a team of the two of them, lovers, soul mates, partners, a couple) in the end as long as they finally start opening up to each other, talk and work their issues out, so they can spend the rest of their existence together.

(The last picture is just a sweet scene I wanted to draw, think nothing of it. Of course Crowley has a ring too (hidden in the Bentley), but he couldn't summon up the courage to propose until Aziraphale beat him to it.)

[fandomsmeantheworldtome]

Expose Your Fictional Crushes (x)

Share 9 of your fictional crushes and let everyone guess your type!

Tagged by the lovely @feralgodmothers thank you hun❤️

Tagging @stedescozynook @eames-with-a-rose @neverswungonswingingstars @sherlockig @blakbonnet @merryandrewsworld @slutaciouslestat @mandycantdecide @quinninthenorth @funforahermit @vonlipwig @its-all-ineffable @stedetheestallion @stelijahsalvatore @bayoubodycount @ailendolin @nicoleanell @dracfields @hesawifebeaterdanusethegun @ninjathrowingstork @fangirl-saya @renfieldxz @snailsokay @coiled-dragon @pinkiepiebones @knightinpinkunderwear @misschangeable @warmbrainsalad @ramblingsofachristiannerd @starleska @ineffable-user-name and everyone else who is interested