#the bloody resurrectionist

[trevenbran]

Bury your gays.

Then dig them back up so they can haunt the night and get even weirder with it.

[tsilvy]

something about those little moments in s2ep3 with crowley alone in the bookshop while aziraphale is in scotland. I watched them all as a single sequence and it's just... SO MUCH.

look. the fact that crowley is cool as a cucumber when aziraphale is around, but when he isn't... well. there's the deep, deep breath he takes while he watches azi drive away, and i can't tell if he's more scared of being alone with gabriel or worried about azi going away alone. because as someone pointed out, aziraphale gets the car keys right after muriel arrives, and obviously it's safer for him to take the bentley which will hopefully keep him safe as it usually keeps crowley safe; but at the same time, crowley has to give up what's basically an extension of him, the one protection he has ready, to shield himself or to run away with, should anything happen while the guardian of the eastern gate aziraphale isn't there.

and then crowley is alone, without aziraphale, without his comfort car, stranded in his favorite place which has ceased being safe and has become instead somewhat inhospitable because his mortal enemy now lives here too. and the way he's wearing no jacket, no waistcoat, and he's just so thin, and snake-like, especially standing there near gabriel, who is built like a tank and you just know that if he's right, if by any chance gabriel became hostile, even in a non-magic fight crowley wouldn't stand a chance.

and yet, AND YET, he's quietly explaining gravity to him, then trying (and failing) to make Maggie and Nina vavoom and also explaining THAT to jim (azi didn't stop to hear his very romantic plan so at least maybe does jim? Can I hear a fucking wahoo?!), and you can't help but feel how badly he needs to talk to someone, anyone nonhuman around who isn't immediately outright hostile, without censoring himself, without complicated feelings in between.

and then, the exact moment later, the temporary peace is broken by gabriel himself remembering something ominous and ONE MOMENT LATER YET shax is outside, complete with background screaming chorus, and then crowley is desperately trying to convince her they don't know where the archangel is, still playing cool but swallowing like that, and then she says Hell will declare war and he's just thrown for a moment and says "to me?!" in THAT voice! but it's even worse than that, because they'll actually declare war not on him but on his friend, and he could maybe cope with hell wanting his scalp (again) but Aziraphale's?! And then STILL keeping that facade and telling her that anyway the angel is inside in the basement, because he knows that Aziraphale is safe while he's inside the bookshop, and therefore trying to keep her off Aziraphale's back while he's outside and alone? Which btw doesn't work because she somehow knows anyway and proceeds on harassing the angel in the bentley the very next time we see him?! AND at the same time he's trying to keep her from realizing he is all alone, here, in the bookshop?!?

And he's been flippant throughout, but the moment she leaves he's like, wreaked?! And his first instinct is of course to go back at being mad and threatening at Jim, but even that feels pointless, because the machine is already in motion, and it's always too late, it's "we're doomed" all over again, isn't it? and the fact that he's shaking all over as he comes to this conclusion?

and then we learn that he hasn't slept all night after this, and as soon as Aziraphale is finally back he's immediately out as if he'd been looking out the window all night waiting for him to be back home safe, and for his car to be available for him to finally feel safe into, and i've seen people wonder why he bolts the fuck out of there as soon as azi is back as if he didn't need a breather after all he's been through, AND THE FACT THAT LATER ON HE TELLS AZIRAPHALE CaN I WaTcH AS IF HE'S AT ALL INTERESTED IN HIM RUNNING ERRANDS ACROSS ALL OF SOHO AND NOT IN FACT UNABLE TO LEAVE AZIRAPHALE'S SIDE NOW THAT HE'S FINALLY BACK AFTER A FULL DAY AWAY DURING WHICH HELL IS APPARENTLY ABOUT TO DECLARE WAR TO HIM SPECIFICALLY WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE ABSOLUTE FUCK

anyway what i want to say is this sequence is the epitome of anxiety and claustrophoby for me, and it plays like a horror movie. It's just A Lot

[kimberleyjean]

Not *A* Resurrectionist Pub, *THE* Resurrectionist Pub! (or is it?)

We've all seen the Resurrectionist Pub many times, yeah? In Episode 3 we get a decent look at it. So, remind me again, what does The Resurrectionist's sign look like?

Is it the image on the left? Or the one on the right?

They look quite different, don't they? The version of Dalrymple on 'Sign A' has a massive, bloody cleaver, it's pretty hard to miss. In contrast, 'Sign B' is significantly less bloody.

Well, Sign A is a screenshot directly from the show, Episode 3, just before Aziraphale walks into the pub. Sign B is what you can see in the behind-the-scenes photography here.

So why the difference? Did they make two versions to compare? Maybe they decided on 'Sign A' as the one they wanted in the show?

Well, why then do we see both? As Aziraphale walks into the pub at 22:44, we see Sign A, but only seconds later, by 22:53, Sign B is visible through the window.

Here's Sign B, as Az walks into the Pub:

Compare this close-up of Sign B (left) with the pamphlet Az picks up as he leaves (right):

They're the same, less-bloody version of Dalrymple. They wanted us to see both versions in the show.

So, how does history remember Mr Dalrymple? A bloody butcher? A dedicated surgeon? Or somewhere in the middle, a complicated character, made from shades of grey?

Also, if you're curious about other discrepancies in Good Omens, please check out my previous post about the "Surrender the Angle" sign or any of the posts over at @ineffable-detective-agency. Thanks also to @embracing-the-ineffable for her help on this post.

[celestialholz]

The Resurrectionist (or 'Crowley's dying briefly because character-building, and here's why')

I should start off by saying, friends, that I have written exactly zero books. (Bloody lot of fanfiction, but no actual novels). And I like coffee, but not particularly with oat milk. (The poison's metaphorical, not physical), but... well, you guys can keep both of 'em, because they're just not relevant to this conversation. I am also, as you may have already guessed, not Neil Gaiman. A chick can only speculate, but she does like to back it up with actual evidence.

No, I'm simply here to ask you a question.

What's the single worst thing Heaven could ever do to Aziraphale?

What would drive our angel so far from the clutches of Heaven that he would never, ever wish to return? What would set him unequivocally free from six millenia of assumed responsibility; what would make him realise that God can never change? What would strip everything away from him?

Because of course, this is what we have to do next series. This is Aziraphale's whole arc. If he doesn't try and change things and fail, he will always wonder. Always have a 'what if.' Will never be able to truly move on, will never be free from the eternal abuse cycle.

And so the severing has to be monumental, and everlasting. Then we get our happy ending. Storytelling, loves, done flawlessly. (Again, not a novelist... just a girl who's been writing for over half of her lifetime.)

And so, I ask again:

What's the single worst thing Heaven could ever do to Aziraphale?

And, well, it's a manifold question isn't it, with lots of potential ans - no I'm just kidding. Very simple question, very simple answer.

So congratulations to the very likely hundreds of you who have just said 'murder Crowley,' because a. you're very much correct and b. we've all just predicted the end of series three.

(... I mean, probably not the very end. But the emotional crux, definitely.)

And naturally, I'm not talking discorporation. I'm talking 'wiped from the universe altogether, leaving our angel eternally alone' kinda murder. The real shit. The good shit. Never mind any of this 'editing the Book of Life leading to an ineffable paradox' kinda bullshit - this is Heaven, the natural source point of holy water. One miracled Supersoaker and our demon's ancient history, friends.

Because y'see guys, severing Aziraphale's connection isn't the only problem we face in terms of narrative romance. We've also got Crowley, who has spent six millennia being in love with a guy who just takes, takes, takes... him for granted.

And this is NOT to say that Aziraphale gives him nothing back - he so very clearly does. (I am a consummate Aziraphale apologist, Crowley's just as much of a fool post-series two as our angel is, and Aziraphale needs this, as I've mentioned.) But... Crowley is his teacher. His moral guide. His protector. It mostly goes one way, and despite all of that and him being happy to be that guy for all this time... right when it matters most, Aziraphale (to Crowley, at least) has abandoned him. He's told him he isn't good enough.

(... Which is bollocks. That's not what Aziraphale's said at all, they're both as overprotective as each other and have a desperate, painful longing to keep one another safe in their own best way. But it sure fucking looks like it to CROWLEY, which is what matters.)

And so, we have two issues in achieving our happy-ever-after.

Sundering Aziraphale from Heaven forever;

Ensuring Crowley trusts him fully and knows completely that he is Aziraphale's only choice.

(And also by GOD do they need to have a proper conversation, but that one kinda goes without saying. It'll happen.) We have to even up this relationship; we have to make it absolute narrative equilibrium, and I am absolutely sure Neil knows this probably far better than I do.

... And so, how do we achieve both these things in one hit, whilst also telling a Second Coming story and holding a celestial war?

Well, we kill Crowley. Obviously. Not until episode five or six and after an emotional, romantic reunion of mutual understanding, but... we kill Crowley.

... And then Aziraphale brings him back. Yes, from complete death.

I would like at this juncture to remind you that miracles, apparently (and this is a thing we've just learned guys, almost like it's suddenly going to be relevant ongoing) are measured in Lazarii.

(Great thanks to the Aziraphale to my Crowley, @porgthespacepenguin, for these few screenshots I'm showing off here today. You'd never leave me, not even for my own good. <3)

Lazarii is very obviously named after Jesus' apparently greatest miracle, of raising Lazarus from the dead in the book of John. They managed to achieve twenty-five times the necessary amount of energy it takes to bring someone back from death... without actually fucking trying.

Let's take a look at the book of John a sec. Or more specifically, its eleventh chapter and twenty-fifth verse.

Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The person who believes in me, even though he dies, will live."

My thanks to Neil once again for murdering me like Heaven's going to murder Crowley. Cold blood, point-blank.

'Who believes in me.' Huh. Only for the past six thousand years, Aziraphale dear...

Here's a little of what the internet has to say about the number 25 in numerology, by the way.

And may I also remind you at this stage that there is a pub in this series called The Resurrectionist, and only Aziraphale goes into it.

I mean sure, Crowley's booksitting and trying to make the ladies hilariously like him and Aziraphale fall in love in the same way he himself did, but the fact remains... one relevant pub name. One guy. (We all need a narrative excuse sometimes Neil, I get you.)

Considering all this, friends, let me ask you another question. This one's a little more wordy, that's on me.

What do you think would happen when a being capable of raising someone from the dead twelve and a half times over for the sake of his beloved's protection loses said beloved beyond all doubt?

... And this will be after he gains the ultimate celestial power-up, by the way. In case we'd forgotten that that alone is also about to boost Aziraphale to the fucking stratosphere, and finally put him on an equal footing with Crowley. (Who is clearly an ex-archangel, but not Lucifer, so Neil's since said.)

... And I think we know the answer, don't we? The kind of miracle that

(You can't see me, but I'm staring into the camera like I'm one of The Office main cast right now.)

This is the kind of power that fucks with reality - the kind of power that scares Heaven and Hell to absolute death, hence Metatron being in the DMs. And crucially, this miracle was boosted because of love. Because of a desire to keep the status quo, their 'own side'. You amplify both those conditions to the nth degree by destroying one of them? It's over, lads. Resurrection is the beginning.

Resurrection evens up a playing field. It destroys Aziraphale and renews him in one hit; it proves to Crowley once and for all that Aziraphale loves him exactly as he is.

... It's a no-brainer, pals.

And what do they do after this? Well, fuck up the celestial order, naturally. I have theories, the main one of them being that they're going to be God and Satan respectively and unite Heaven and Hell in eternal marriage, but... that's just a theory. A television theory.

The resurrection thing? Not so much.

... See, this is the thing, my friends. You don't need to have written a 16k essay to predict the future.

All you need is the ability to tell a story, an observant eye for that which is already present, and a simple question. (Followed by a mildly more complex one. It's a working allegory.)

... I'm just going to leave you with this one shot of Aziraphale picking up his own destiny. Because poetic cinema.

[thelarksang]

Rule of 3

Three The Resurrectionist signage

Three visual filters

Three phone booths in promotional art

Three feathers in promotional art

Three bookshop deleted scene concept art

Three different takes for certain scenes

I'll add more as I go.

Case 1: The three Resurrectionist signage at the pub.

Jesus, Darymple with a bloody butcher knife and Darymple with a surgeon knife.

The last one is harder to see as it's cleverly obscured by the light glare and we only see it through the window from inside.

The image is the same one on the pamphlet.

Case 2: The three filters used for certain scenes

Bookshop, Hell and Crowley's Present-Day Timeline

Case 3: The three phonebooths on certain promotional posters

Case 4: The three feathers

Case 5: The three bookshop concept art that was cut out of S2.

I heard it was supposed to be some sort of nightmare scene, maybe some sort of premonition.

Case 6: Three different takes for certain scenes

I heard that they took three takes at different angles for Mr Brown's yeeting and for the kiss. I'll post sources here when I find them.

[ineffableigh]

Thinking a lot about some memory parallels in season two...

About how everyone in Soho is dressed VERY ANACHRONISTICALLY, but not at all coordinated with each other. Clothes look pristine, brand new, unsullied, unworn. Caricatures of humans from the 40s, 70s, 90s, 2000s. Like an oversimplified idea of what Normal Humans look like.

Like uhhh excuse you white fur coat, leopard print skirt and platform shoes? Weird BRIGHT FUCKING YELLOW shirt, a flowy vest and leather pants? 70s crochet sweater with brown pants, crimped hair and chunky heels?

Rosie the Riveter This lady (Rosie is a different extra!) over here is either wearing big flowy skirts or actual mechanic's overalls like the war posters. She's EVERYWHERE throughout the season:

Rainbow tie dye, big hat, overcoat with pinback buttons? Like the guys in the cemetery?

Lady why are you fully lurking behind a pillar and staring at the Hamm Hams

What's my point? Point is... point is...

Gabriel's memories are the same.

RUSSIA - big hammer and sickle neon sign outside, two guys in back playing chess, one with a big bushy beard and the other a flat cap. Background music sounds like traditional/folk Russian music played on a balalaika, but playback on a ratty old stereo.

USA - Route 66 sign, hubcaps, money wallpaper, budweiser neon sign, bar/pool table/pool cues, American flags fluttering in the wind outside, 50s style radio on the shelf, SAME TWO GUYS IN BACK but now playing cards, and the one on the right has a baseball cap instead. And I don't wanna be like "what modern bar would be playing Buddy Holly on the radio" but... after hearing the background music in the Russian cafe, that is a CHOICE.

Hell, check out Not-Billie-Piper back here and her GIANT 50s up-do:

SAME THING AT THE RESURRECTIONIST, YEAH? ALL THE SONGS ON THE JUKEBOX ARE SCOTTISH OR PERTAINING TO SCOTLAND. "Letter from america" by the PRoclaimers starts playing but it was released in fucking 1987

And of course we know this pub is COVERED in Pressburger references, which we know carry way more meaning than simple fun cameos or whatever. Barring that, this is the Scottishest-Pub-est-looking-pub I've ever fucking seen, and it's SO CLEAN.

A fly IN the movie playing on the screen while we watch Gabriel's memories being returned to him from the fly he receives in this memory? More likely than you think (I can't find the movie name! Not in the X-Ray apparently)...

Anyway all that to say I think the show is trying to tell us SOMETHING is wrong the entire season. There's evidence shit's out of order, everything is WEIRD and high saturation, even people's makeup (Crowley's bloody orange half the time), and it all feels Extremely Set up...

OR poorly remembered.

[dee-morris]

Some Random Thoughts on the Nature of Free Will

Thinking about that conversation from the book that got put into The Resurrectionists. Aziraphale is explaining how he and Crowley are good and wicked, respectively, but they have no choice while Elspeth does. Bc humans can't be truly good unless they have the choice to be wicked.

(This is where I usually end up arguing with someone on Twitter lol bc they think Aziraphale is being Mean to Crowley by calling him wicked. It's just a brand name darling, not a judgment call. He literally said in the same breath that he's not TRULY wicked bc he wasn't given a choice.)

So I'm sitting here thinking about free will and the choices the celestials are given, which are not many. And I wonder if one of the reasons they were drawn to the Arrangement was to give them each the choices that humans were born with. One can't be truly good without the opportunity to do wrong, so perhaps being able to work both sides of the equation helped them develop into truly moral beings and not just extensions of their offices. We see in Uz how they're able to work together and bounce off each other to save Job's family, even though the Arrangement didn't properly exist yet.

I've also seen lots of takes and metas that indicate that people view Heaven and Hell as a class system: Heaven is the upper-class privileged majority, while Hell is oppressed, kicked out, downtrodden. I think people forget that the primary difference between the two is aesthetic. Hell has all the same powers as Heaven, and they both intend to burn humanity to the ground in order to prove their gang is best.

No, if we're going to talk about who's got privilege, it's definitely humanity over heaven or hell. We have free will and imagination, which are more miraculous than anything. Sure they've got all these powers and can work miracles and so on, but where's that gotten them? We can actually change things. All they can do is try and influence us to change things, and their success rate isn't high. Two of the most powerful beings in the universe couldn't convince an eleven year old boy to blow things up. That's. Pathetic, actually.

Which brings me back around to the ineffables. Because they actually DO have free will, but I don't think they're used to realizing that they do, which might be why they act a little bone headed sometimes. The show implies and the book comes right out and says that they picked it up from being around humans. And like I said earlier, I think the Arrangement played a big part. They were actually able to choose to do good or evil, a luxury that normally only humans can enjoy.

And the best part of this, for me anyway, is knowing that everything that they are to each other is a conscious choice. Aziraphale didn't want to be a fighter, so he gave his sword away and made the conscious choice to be soft and silly and get into scrapes. And Crowley chooses to come to his rescue because he likes it, not because he is obligated. It's a way for him to choose to do good without getting in trouble. They are each other's outlet to explore humanity in a way that would be impossible if they were on their own.

Aziraphale speaks French badly and flutters his eyelashes and plans elaborate Balls because he loves doing human things and he wants to do them with Crowley. Crowley drives a sleek classic sex machine with bullet hole stickers on the windows and goes on capers and performs daring moves because he loves doing things the human way and he wants to do them with Aziraphale. The way they interact and work together because they WANT to, and not because it's their Great Bloody Destiny or whatever, is so fucking beautiful to me.

[aziraphales-library]

Hello there! Trying to be a bit vague to avoid spoilers...

After watching Season 2, we see that there is a gap between the Cemetry scene in the 1800s and the scene in St. James park where Crowley asks for the Holy Water. I was wondering if you've come across any good fics that, um... Go into detail of what may have happened to Crowley during that time? Also, thank you for your time and effort. Your blog is the first I check when I'm looking for some lovely Good Omens fanfic content!

Hi! We recently recommended fics like that here. Here are some more for you...

After the Resurrectionist by azfell (T)

Crowley gets sucked down into Hell after he's caught doing good deeds for Elspeth.

My Lot Don’t Send Rude Notes by Ijustneed12percentofamoment (M)

The next time Crowley’s feet touched the ground, he was being spat back out into the cold night air into the same Edinburgh graveyard, still stripped bare, bloody and barely conscious. He wept into the damp grass, forcing his broken and bleeding hands into the mud just so that he could make sure it was real. His burning tears dripped past his dry cracked lips and into his mouth, blistering the tender flesh inside, but this time, Crowley was weeping with blessed relief. The Demon passed out at the foot of Gabriel’s statue, mourning his past, mourning his pain, but praying – yes, praying – for his Angel.

True Torture by Phantom531 (M)

After being dragged to Hell during the events of S2E3 I Know Where I'm Going/Resurrectionist, Crowley begins his punishment.

The Only Way Out Is Through by pwopaganda (E)

It was not Crowley’s first time being punished by his bosses.

A Need for Holy Water by davethefish (M)

Crowley has done something nice, saving Elsbeth from torture in Hell. Unfortunately, Hell was watching, and tortures Crowley in her place. When he's released, he goes to Aziraphale for holy water.

Stay by manta_rays_on_gallifrey (G)

It's been 35 years since Crowley's sudden disappearance from that Edinburgh graveyard and Aziraphale can't help but feel his absence. When he suddenly reappears back at the bookshop, Aziraphale is eager to reconnect, but something seems off. Set shortly before the events of the s1e3 1862 St. James Park scene.

- Mod D

[f0ul-f13nd]

Resurrectionists Minisode / Book of Life

If you’re following me, you know I’m a believer in the theory that Someone is editing memories or reality. I’ve got a post on how we can follow those changes through the length of Crowley’s sideburns in present day here and in the Job/Owls minisode here.

The changes are a lot more difficult to spot in the Resurrectionists minisode, mostly because it’s so bloody dark, but here’s what I have for you.

For the majority of the minisode, Crowley’s sideburns are well-defined in an almost “J” shape with the point coming towards his upper lip. The shape is obvious from the side, but the facial hair is also very visible even from a head-on view of his face.

But once he’s inside the mausoleum where Morag dies - or broken through the roof - his sideburns change shape. Much more of his face is visible. 

Then, after Elspeth leaves to buy her farm, Aziraphale and Crowley return to the graveyard. His sideburns have returned to their old shape. And he’s sucked into Hell, not to be seen again until (we assume) 1862.

Want to know what I think happened? 

Crowley and Aziraphale combined their powers to resurrect Morag (THEY’RE THE RESURRECTIONISTS!!!) and found out - way back then - exactly how strong they are when they combined their powers.  This would be a great motivation for Someone to be changing history and/or editing memories.  What if something similar may have happened w/ the miracle to save Job’s kids as well? And that’s why that episode also had to be changed? (joint credit to LeapOfFaith1489 for the theory!)

[vidavalor]

I feel like they showed us what The Metatron is up to...

How can we tell? Ok, imagine for a moment that The Metatron hadn't shown up in the final scenes in S2 because that's ultimately the point of why he did. What was happening when he arrived at the bookshop? Michael was about to erase Aziraphale from The Book of Life, right? We know that Michael's been after this end goal here since 2.01. Given another couple of minutes, Michael likely would have tried but why hadn't they *already* tried this? The answer is one word: Crowley.

Crowley is the real Resurrectionist of S2. The miracle he and Aziraphale performed with minimal effort registered in Heaven on a scale that Crowley said would bring 25 people back to life but that's not even the terrifying bit... he's powerful on his own, in his own right. What do we see happen while The Metatron is in line waiting for coffee? What does he see Crowley do? He sees him bring back Mr. Brown of Brown's World of Carpets, right? The human that the demons had apparently killed during the attack on the bookshop. The Metatron already knows Crowley can do this but this scene-- putting Mr. Brown's return here, with The Metatron secretly watching-- serves to show *us* what The Metatron is afraid of and foreshadow the plot for Aziraphale and Crowley. In this scene, Crowley *barely blinked*. He just snapped and Mr. Brown was back, alive, with no memory of what had happened to him. Just-- boom-- back into existence. So, knowing that, what would happen if Heaven erased Aziraphale from the Book of Life in front of Crowley in the middle of the bookshop, like what Michael was about to do? *Crowley would just bring him back*, right?

It wouldn't work and it's the only way they know to kill him. Crowley and Aziraphale would be aware of them trying to do it and the one attempt Heaven would have would fail. Make no mistake, though-- that's their end goal for Aziraphale.

In S1, thanks to Agnes, Crowley and Aziraphale were able to fool Heaven and Hell but in S2, Heaven gets the upper hand. Heaven realizes is they actually can't permanently kill Crowley or Aziraphale. Crowley and Aziraphale don't know it yet but they're more powerful-- especially together-- than Heaven or Hell is. Heaven's goal is still absolutely to Book of Life Aziraphale. The Metatron kicked out Gabriel without a second thought the second Gabriel said no to Armageddon and you think he's going to make *Aziraphale* the new archangel? You think they're going to take the angel that halted Armageddon, housed and aided the disgraced former archangel, has spent 6 milennia running around with a demon, etc. and give him the big job? That's never going to happen. We already know they plan on the destruction of earth and the Second Coming. They don't need Aziraphale to oversee that-- they need Aziraphale *out of the damn way* so they can make Arma-bloody-geddon actually happen this time. And they know that the only way to get to Book of Life Aziraphale and get rid of him for that is to make sure that Crowley's not around to stop it.

They need Crowley to think Aziraphale's left him for Heaven so that he won't follow him-- won't try to protect him because it's Aziraphale's choice-- and that buys Heaven enough time to extreme sanctions Aziraphale.

The Metatron's actions are directly against Crowley. It's why the music goes all dun-dun-DUN when The Metatron looks at Crowley with loathing in the bookshop and leaves with Aziraphale. The Metatron basically tries to be a kind of Crowley-- let's get a drink, let's go for a walk in the park and sit at a restaurant and talk-- as a way to earn Aziraphale's trust and that's about as evil as they come. He lures Aziraphale away from Crowley up to Heaven because he knows that Crowley won't follow Aziraphale there and he's trying to get them to actively break up so that they can Book of Life Aziraphale basically the moment he gets into Heaven.

The reason The Metatron sends the other angels away is not because he disagrees with Michael's plan to extreme sanction Aziraphale but because he's trying to make sure it'll actually work by first getting Aziraphale physically away from the safety of Crowley.

The Metatron is betting that Crowley will be so heartbroken and angry with Aziraphale that even if he were to find out what happened when Aziraphale went up to Heaven, that he won't care enough to do anything about it. The Metatron thinks he's killing Crowley, too, effectively, by killing Aziraphale.

The Metatron is, um, very, very wrong about that last bit and that's S3, imo.

[thesherrinfordfacility]

A word vomit of GO consciousness that will make the barest scintilla of sense BUT hear me out

1.

Are we 100% convinced that Agnes Nutter and her freaky-deaky prophecies are not going to make an appearance in S2? I realise Anathema burnt them in an excellent moment of character self-revelation but the whole "Ye Saga Continues" seemed rather ominous, far too ominous that it would be forgotten about? Can we be sure that she did have a wee skim of any that would be majorly important, and make a note of them for future reference? Send it on to Aziraphale in his bookshop (because you must be JOKING if you think I don't believe those two are now firm penpals)

2.

Speaking of future reference, others have put it out there and something in me agrees and wishes to reiterate: the parallel of Nina/Maggie alongside Crowley/Aziraphale seems just as important as the specific presence of Nina/Maggie themselves... Does Agnes put out a prophecy that refers to a couple specifically in Soho? And C/A in their infinite and ancient wisdom think it refers to that cute lady couple across the road?

3.

OR, separate thought on Nina/Maggie, in the Crowley Summons Force Lightning Scene™, presuming it hasn't been cut especially different to the actual scene, we see Nina and Maggie in the coffeeshop when Crowley summons lightning... And that lightning hits the shop... So, not necessarily worrying about why had a meteorological temper tantrum, but what was the effect that that lightning had on the ladies in the shop? And is that actually the start of them becoming involved in the story?

4.

I'm 100% convinced that Amnesiac!Gabriel is not even one of, let alone the main storyline. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the Gabriel disappearance barely spans more than, say, two episodes. I feel somewhat (don't @ me) that the storyline is a little bit glib and a bit... shallow? Which, given NG has an Intellect We Shalt Never Comprehend, leads me to believe it is a vaguely rose-pink herring and that for the purpose of the trailer and not spoiling anything actually pertinent to the main story arc, they have deliberately centred the trailer on a pretty funny skit that, going by general continuity of the clips used in the trailer, only really lasts a short time and will provide the segue to the main story...? Imho, it's a bit of a downgrade for a story to originally focus on the contextual morality and mechanics of Despatching the Antichrist, to... well.

5.

RESURRECTIONIST PUB. This is the bit I'm really looking forward to, especially now we've had a sneak peak of the article that presumably gets Aziraphale's attention (the Jukebox Jeopardy). I've put it in another post half-jokingly, but this is the same kind of magic (unsure of the nomenclature regrettably) that presumably affects the Bentley. My understanding for the rationale behind the mystical haunting à la Bentley, and it's been a while since I read the book so might have this completely wrong, is that through exposure to Crowley, it is affected by Crowley's demonic influences... Nothing awful, but has absorbed enough to have adopted the Queen-obsessed IDGAF attitude.

It would therefore stand to reason that the jukebox is being effectively influenced by a demon in a similar way....? So, with that in mind, what if (and it's a leap, I grant you):

-Gabriel gets kidnapped by demons, God only knows why (and probably orchestrated the bloody hoohah)

-Gabriel escapes/demons forget to lock the door/cast a spell on him and send him off bollock-naked unto the misty London night

-Heaven eventually track down Gabriel at the shop, and possibly enlist Az and Crowley to help them find whoever did this to Gabe (for a good ole-fashioned Retribution)

-They track them down through various news articles (which, let's face it, is very Witchfinder Army of them, I'm proud), but especially one that leads them to the Resurrectionist pub and its Jukebox?

QED: Think it's a little coincidental that one perceives a Bentley and a jukebox with the exact same symptoms, potentially instigated by long-term exposure to a hell-raising demon, and not conclude as being tangentially related

6.

This is kinda related to the above but not really and I have no idea what I'm trying to get at, but one thing I noted in the Con panel audio clip of Muriel and Aziraphale is that Az... Doesn't really seem surprised by Muriel being there? Like, sure, she's not a Horrible Boss Archangel, but he almost seems immediately... affable, to this random angel just appearing at his shop, in full white Met Police kit, talking like they possessed an original Bow Street Runner...?

Cmon, he obviously knows straight away what they are and why they're there, but he just seems so... Calm, about it all? Not one bit anxious, not one bit worried that they're there to spy on him? Almost definitely on orders from Heaven? Who, whilst Az has broken away from them, could still very well destroy him or, worse (?), put him on the one way train to Falling? So what I'm trying to say I guess (honestly I'm not even sure) is that - have Az and Crowley actually been seeing more and more angels/demons coming to Earth for a lil vacation? Have taken a metaphorical leaf out of their book, and decided to find out if Earth truly does Slap?

I no doubt will continue to add to this but in the meantime I will proceed to scream into the abyss in the hope that an echo bounces back and metamorphoses into an Intelligent Thought™, such is my preferred form of meditation

Ciao for now~

[somebebop]

Yet another The Way/Good Omens parallel? The masons!

Sorry I'm kind of obsesses with the bloody masons! But hear me out and have a look at this. Am I misunderstanding something or is it actually a reference to a Freemason Lodge in these two scenes of ep.3?

I don't know if it's just my GO brainrot, but the mere though of the masons made me think instantly about the Resurrectionist pub, Beelzebub taken for a mason because of the crossbody ribbon and other masonic symbols in S2E3 of Good Omens. Posted about them before. It's my strong belief that the role of the freemasons as a secret religious society will be better revealed in season 3. Edinburgh IS crucial to understanding what actually happened in S2 (Book of Life, Aziraphale's weird trip, etc), and I think the masons may be a part of the picture here.

So. If we assume that this reference somehow echoes the Good Omens plot and even think of it as a clue (a Clue!) then what could be deducted here?

We have a place that is on war after bad management and needs fixing - sounds a lot like Heaven.

We have someone on the outside trying to do the impossible to get to the one they love - Crowley?

And we have the freemasons offering help to the said person. Here my brain just goes wild with suggestions that have no proofs whatsoever , so I would really appreciate cleverer people stepping in.

[danpuff-ao3]

Birthday Recs: BlueSundayCake

Happiest of birthdays Pahn! (aka @bluesundaycake)

Super creative. Hella fun. Most wise. Very compassionate. Pahn is a most wonderful human, who I have so much respect and admiration for! They are so, so supportive and understanding. They always have great advice.

But more than what Pahn gives to others, they are just plain interesting! Style? Outstanding. Tattoos? WOW. Taste? Excellent. Imagination? INCREDIBLE. Their mind?? I have no words.

But why should I give you words when I can make you read theirs? And in the spirit of celebrating all the wonderfulness that is Pahn, here are some fic recs!

The hand that beckons

Lily Luna/Narcissa. Rated T. 1k. Pagan festivals (Mabon.) Fae.

A young woman with hair like burning coals enters into gardens guarded by fire. 

Or, in which Lily Luna Potter is offered a feast and pomegranate seeds from one Narcissa Malfoy.

The Resurrectionist

Harry/Tom. Rated E. 11k. Vampire Tom. Coffee Shop AU. Urban Fantasy AU. Bloody Kisses Fest.

It started with a black coffee and squiggles in a notebook. A story of monsters and men, and how alike they really are.

Snarry Poetry

series. Harry/Snape. Rated T. 800 words (for now.) Poems.

Snarry poetry written for fandom friends on tumblr✨️

would it be a sin?

Harry/Voldemort. Harry/Horcruxes. Rated E. 2k. PWP. Non/dub-con. Mindbreak.

Harry wears Slytherin's locket and doesn't quite realise the effect it has on him. Even if he did, he's not sure he'd ever want to make it stop. It all feels too inevitable. 

Or the one where Voldemort and his hocruxes fuck Harry to win the war.

Woven By Hand

Harry/Snape. Rated E. WIP. Tropes. Snarry AUctober Fest. Tropes.

When Harry tries to figure out why he can't die, his life takes a most unexpected turn. 

Prompt 2022-29: Trope!Fic. Combine as many tropes as you can think of into your fic.

[fable-and-folly]

Favorite Fics for Favorite Ships

DRARRY

Draco Malfoy Absolutely Does Not Need to Be Loved by Harry Bloody Potter

@nv-md, Rated: E, Words: 18153

It’s not easy to be bonded to your childhood rival, turned fuckbuddy, who you also have extremely uncomfortable but repressed feelings for—just ask Draco Malfoy.

Nor All That Glisters

@sweet-s0rr0w, Rated: E, Words: 110625

Lonely and frustrated on house arrest, with no prospects for the future, Draco begins brewing Felix Felicis in an attempt to improve his lot. Just in the short term, of course. He isn’t a total idiot.

But before long he finds himself with a thriving business, a nice flat, some actual (albeit irritatingly Gryffindor) friends, and a very satisfying sex life. What’s more, no-one is hexing him in the street. And Harry Potter is single, and gorgeous, and giving Draco decidedly interested looks.

Stop taking the Felix? You must be joking…

My heart was far too glad

@maesterchill, Rated: E, words: 22700

Draco Malfoy is single, heavily pregnant and on his way to his first antenatal class. High time he bumped into Harry Potter, wouldn’t you say, who as it happens is in an awfully similar condition.

freely, as men strive for right

bixgirl1, Rated: E, Words: 17126

How can Harry love a man like Draco Malfoy?

If only Draco would let him count the ways.

(Sometimes, a happily-ever-after takes a bit longer than you expect.)

You open always (petal by petal)

birdsofashore, Rated: E, Words: 65214

Harry’s not the kind of person who pays for sex. He really isn’t. Until he is.

SNARRY

Contempt

@danpuff-ao3, Rated: E, Words: 20400

Harry hates Snape, and he always will. (He will, won’t he?)

Angels on the Moon

@writcraft, Rated: E, Words: 26911

The aftermath of the war is almost as difficult as the war itself, Harry is a mess and Severus is a reluctant survivor forced back to Hogwarts to recuperate from his injuries. When a brick-bonding spell goes awry, Harry and Severus are forced to confront hatred, misunderstandings and a new and unexpected intimacy which takes them both by surprise.

Sudden Light

@liladiurne, Rated: E, Words: 48324

Seven years after the war, in the dead of winter, Severus Snape meets a beautiful stranger on a train. Inevitably, he falls in love.

The funny thing about grief and time

etalice, Rated: E, Words: 43600

Later, Harry will start telling people he fell in love with Severus after the war.

It will not quite be a lie.

The Boy Who Died a Lot

starcrossedgirl, Rated: E, Words: 71767

Harry’s always been known as The Boy Who Lived. Only Severus knows that this is a lie. (Or: a portrait of Severus Snape, in seven acts.)

TOMARRYMORT

Tom Riddle and the Quest for Vulnerability

lejf, Rated: E, Words: 15621

They found him in an old house, under the stairs. His face was pale and instantly recognisable.

aka

Auror Harry Potter has eighteen-year-old Tom Riddle bent over the table barely a day after he becomes his ward.

The Emperor and the Star

wynnebat, Rated: E, Words: 16496

NEWT-level Divination student Harry Potter bullshits his way through a major arcana reading, best friend of the year Tom Riddle offers a marriage of convenience with no ulterior motives at all, and the wizarding world's changing future is much less important than the seventh years' love lives.

The Resurrectionist 

@bluesundaycake, Rated: E, Words: 11653

It started with a black coffee and squiggles in a notebook. A story of monsters and men, and how alike they really are.

After the Fall

@crowcrowcrowthing, Rated: E, Words: 32800

Harry Potter was a perfect symbol of the Light. Cursed at birth by a spell that had affected so many of his generation, he overcame his inherent nature, depending on his faith to eventually save the world. He became a beacon of hope, evidence that anyone could be redeemed. Even ten years after the events that had tested the very limits of his willpower, he continued his work. He was determined to find proof of miracles—to see that the Light looked over the rest of the world as it looked over him.

And he eventually found what he was looking for.

In the Darkest of Times

@duplicitywrites, Rated: E, Words: 29191

Harry remembers this face projected on the screens, splattered with blood, handsome and unforgiving like so many Careers before him. Devoid of emotion as he cut down his opponents with distressing efficiency. Deadly.

“You’re Tom Riddle,” says Harry. He states this as a fact.

Tom’s gaze narrows in on him, raking over his face and body like Harry is a tiny moth pinned to a board. “That I am. District One. I will be your mentor for this year’s Games.”

[jlilycorbie]

Resurrectionists

Many years ago, I read Stiff by Mary Roach (highly recommended), and shortly after I discovered The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. And NaNoWriMo came up, so I dove in with an idea. And I quickly realized I couldn’t keep up the voice.

These days I don’t think I could recapture that voice no matter how hard I tried, and I don’t remember where I was planning to take the story, either. Honestly, I’d forgotten all about it until I was digging through some old files.

If anyone’s interested, here’s what I managed to write before I realized it would be wise to move on to a different idea. Content warnings for grave robbing, body horror, zombies, body fluids, desecration of bodies, and sexual assault.

---

It all started with the cull what had clawed up the inside of his coffin.

I'd done the first half of the job and more, digging through the fresh dirt to the goods waiting below. Brae took the tip-top, busting through the lid of the coffin. I didn't mind so much. I'd just as soon sit topside while he and Carey hauled out the goods. Soon as he'd broke through, Brae reeled back and scrambled at the dirt. He didn't make it topside by me, so he just doubled over and cast up his accounts right through the hole.

"Hey, there, you gotta shit through your teeth, don't you do it on the goods!" I shouted.

He dragged the back of his hand over his mouth and answered, "Shut it, you sparrow-mouthed bastard."

Carey grabbed my shoulder afore I could answer and asked, "You open up a ripe one, Brae?"

"Worse'n that," Brae said. He held up the glim shiner, opening it just enough for a beam of light through the hole. It weren't too bright, not enough to get the traps coming for us, but enough to see the hands up by its face, fingers curled up and raw. Its face was all bloodied up, and looked black even with the light. "Too fresh when it was put to bed."

I whipped my hat off, threw it on the ground, and said, "You'll have the traps breathing down our necks, you bottle-headed cake. Let us take it."

Brae didn't grumble or nothing on the way up. I slid over the edge of the ground and into the grave. The coffin echoed hollow when I hit, but stayed solid. "How's it looking, Blake?"

I picked up the glim shiner and held it over the goods. I didn't like it neither when they went and did something what made them look more like people than trade, but I didn't need to splatter the corpse. Not even with the gin-soaked reek of Brae's vomit over the shit and blood. "Torn up its nails something wicked," I said. "Broke up its fingers, the clump. The resurrectionist'll take it just the same."

"Truss it up." Carey dropped the rope down, and I bent over.

This cull was just like the rest. Maybe a little stiffer. I got the rope 'round its shoulders all the same. It would have been easier around its neck, but the resurrectionist had taken a strip out of my hide for the first broken neck I brought him.

This cull'd gone to eternity well equipt. On its way by, I pulled off one of the rings and slipped it down in my purse. It weren’t like the coves was looking.

Once the goods was dangling, I climbed back up topside and reclaimed my hat. Soon as they had it clear, I took up the shovel to fill her back in. It wouldn't do any good for the traps to walk by and see the hole. Brae knocked my shoulder and took the shovel.

"You load it up," he said.

"Keep up your leery," I said, and went to help Carey haul the goods onto our cart.

Carey mustn't have been feeling too solid, because he left me at the cart and went to help Brae. If neither of them could handle the goods just because it'd had a little fight in the ground, then I wasn't helping more than they asked. I got it swaddled up and hidden down in the cart, and kept my leery out for the constabulary.

The coves made quick work of it. I went to pet our wheezy little pony while they was working, and Brae must've been feeling right by the time they was done. While pretending he was steadying me while I climbed up to steer, he tried to get his hand up my shirt, and managed to get a good feel of my arse. I warmed his ear for it, even if he didn't mean too much by it. He'd been trying to get a good feel since he'd found out I was a girl. At least he'd stopped trying to make me a man and buy me a whore when he was feeling flush.

I drove and they both beat the hoof aside me, Carey holding the glim shiner out to give our pony enough light. The resurrectionist's house was just outside of the city, hidden back by a brace of trees.

At the door, Brae and Carey knocked each other about. No one wanted to go rap on the resurrectionist's door, but sure as we was breathing, we wanted our blunt. I rolled my eyes and made to drop the reins, but I'd already bested Brae once. He'd carry the goods over his shoulder before he'd let a mort have him again.

There was a bell pull, but Brae ignored it, and same for the swell brass knocker on the wood. He beat out a tattoo with his knuckles, and stood right back before the door could open.

It was a corpse answered the door. I knew her: we'd fetched her up not a week past, and I'd fenced her gold locket. Her eyes had dried out and weren't shiny no more. The resurrectionist never said why they always dried out instead of going ripe, but I didn't mind. The smell from his house was dry and dusty, like the closed crypts under the city. Old books and parchment flesh.

"Fetch out your master," Carey said. He stood well back, pressed up against the cart, and talked loud, like death made her deaf.

"There is no need." One of the doors in the hallway opened and the resurrectionist came rolling out. He weren't so old as I'd always expected, and with a thin beard combed out neat. He wore a right swell suit of a brown what suited him, and polished up shoes with buckles on. "Let me see what you've brought me."

I twisted round to pull up the swaddling on the goods. The resurrectionist lifted a lamp off of his table. I squinted up when he brought it too close. It made our little glim shiner look like a star. He wrinkled up his nose when the smell got to him, and lifted his eyebrows at the splintered fingers. "What did you do to him? A damaged body is worth less."

"We ain't done a thing," I said, "but reaped it for you. It's our first what put up a fight after it was laid a-bed."

That plucked up his interest right well. "Buried alive?"

"Too right," I said. "And worth a little extra blunt, on account of being special."

He lifted up the hand, took a careful look at the splinters. "I suppose this means the plague has come to the city."

"Red Maiden's come about, right enough, and the starlings with her," I admitted. "But this trade, it ain't come down with the cannikin afore it was laid a-bed."

He considered the fingers a moment longer, then laid the hand right gentle beside it again. "Wait here."

The resurrectionist left us blinking in the dark, and Brae got the fidgets almost as soon he was out of sight. His corpse stayed to watch us.

"I spied it, I swear I did," he said, leaning up close to me to whisper. "I know I have, I spied a cloven foot. We'd best scramble while we can. I hear there's a chirurgen what'll pay almost as much for a fresh corpse, and it ain't going to answer the door later, neither."

"That's the bastard what's got Molly Meg in a bottle, so's he can abuse hisself while he looks at her floating," I hissed back. "This ain't a bleeding cull, and it'll get you beverage and darby to spare. Now cheese it. The cove's got ears."

Brae had figured the cull didn't hardly ken a word when the cant got thick. He got to looking right touched when he spied the corpse again, waiting in the open door. Carey sent him a look what shut his bone box right enough, and it weren't long before the resurrectionist had come back.

"Now," he said, considering the purse he carried. "I value our little arrangement a great deal, and it would be a shame if it were cut short. I'm willing to offer you a chance for extra pay."

Brae backed up, but Carey nodded. "We'll hear," he said.

The resurrectionist shook open the purse and out came three baubles. "When you return, bring me news. I'm interested to know more of the war, and how the plague is progressing in the city."

Carey had his eyes hooded, and he leaned back against the cart. "And earnest?"

His eyes narrowed. "We've already an arrangement," he said.

"Asking for more, you need to make earnest," Carey said. Brae was going to botch the deal. The bottle-head would've given the crows a pudding years ago if it weren't for us.

He fingered his baubles and said, "I'll guarantee you'll be untouched by the plague. Drink of poisoned wells, eat of food contaminated by the ill, lie abed with the stricken, and you will remain whole and untouched."

"And at tables?"

"I will increase your pay by the worth of the news you bring to me," he said. "If you've something good enough, you may even come without…trade." He said the last like it coated his tongue on the way out.

Carey ignored Brae, but he cast his eye back at me. "Two more safe from the starlings," I said. Both his eyebrows went bolt up. "Or no deal." Carey stayed against the cart, and the pony coughed.

The corpse went arse around, walking like a marionette. The resurrectionist waited, keeping his eyes locked on us. Brae'd have botched it right there, but he wouldn't go crosswise to Carey. It came back carrying two more of the baubles, and he took them and held them out.

"Have we an accord?"

Carey took them and offered a hand. The resurrectionist shook his hand and gave him the purse. Two more dead came out from the house and gathered up the goods. One had seen so many days it rustled like parchment. The dead woman pulled the door shut, and we was alone under the stars again.

"Bowsing ken?" Brae asked.

"All aboard," I said.

"Only right, I reckon," Carey decided, hopping up into the cart. Brae climbed in aside him, "what with you casting up all your blue ruin."

[tgadanparish1]

grave robbers and murderers

The story of Burke and Hare, infamous grave-robbers and murderers in 19th century Edinburgh.

in contrast to the increase in numbers of executions in the wake of the Bloody Code, the Judgement of Death Act 1823 saw the number of crimes punishable by death in Britain drop dramatically.

However, the financial compensation offered by medical schools meant that some unscrupulous types soon found a way around this shortage of bodies, leading to a rash of grave-robbing by those known as resurrectionists.

the story of burke and hare is about the 19th century and its issues as the finical situation was not great which led to lots of grave robbing's from a group that called themselves the ressurectionists.