#the mystery deepens...

[son1c]

new snowpoint oc :)

marrow is as old as the mountain and she protects the secret chao garden at its peak. starline doesn't know she exists, and she doesn't know or care about what's going on in the town. she only cares about the mountain.

where did she come from? and why do her ears twitch whenever sun's twisted cries echo on the wind? could she have something to do with the artifact that turned that poor girl into a monster? one thing's for sure: all these questions are wearing on her patience!

[bookshelf-in-progress]

I love how a well-written romance is so often structured as a mystery. A person starts with a certain idea about another person, and over the course of the story, they uncover more evidence that gives them a fuller picture of who the other person truly is. They learn about layers to the personality and backstory that give the other person more depth. They learn how the other person's personality meshes with theirs. Even the third-act misunderstanding fits the mystery structure--it looks like they've uncovered the final secret to the other person's identity, which is that they're not the worthy person they seemed to be, but then discover that they misinterpreted that evidence, or the other person takes steps to apologize and repair the level of trust. When the mystery is resolved, they've reached a full understanding of each other and know they've found a partner they can trust their whole future to.

[superfluffychickens]

This kiddo has the cutest little face!

[embracing-the-ineffable]

Ineffable discontinuity and the Bentley's roadtrip transformation: new back doors and other changes (after it was yellow), and Crowley... didn't notice?!*

*Also, as a side observation, did he leave the Bentley window open during the ball and everything that happened after? Why?

Have you been longing to be even more perplexed by the ineffable discontinuity of Good Omens season 2? Do you love endless data in the form of screencaps? If so, then please join me on this wild ride! Here are some highlights:

Top photos: Season 1, episode 6, after Adam reboots reality; S2e2, before Aziraphale's e3 road trip. The Bentley is a gray and black 2-tone car with 2 doors (only 1 handle is visible on each side).

And on the bottom is s2e5, while Crowley is driving, it's a solid black car with 4 doors and smaller silver hubcaps.

(edit: For those of you thinking about the different Bentley models used in s1 vs s2 (discussed in detail below), or the difference between the full car and half car set, just those three full car pictures above demonstrate that the new s2 Bentley model is NOT the reason for this mid-season shift. For more details about the half car set plus other ways to tell the Bentleys apart - without talking about color - see my newer post with handy diagrams, here.)

And the s2 interior?

Here's e1, after Crowley talks to Shax, and e3, as Aziraphale arrives in Edinburgh (which is also when the Bentley debuts as a 4-door). And look at this blocking - how both characters are posed so similarly with their backs to us in these shots!! It's so deliberate! :

And look at the seats! In e2, Crowley is talking to Shax again, and in e5, Crowley just parked the Bentley before the ball:

When Crowley, who is so tuned in that he senses the car is yellow and driving too slow even from a distance, sees the "new" Bentley in e4, he doesn't act as though anything has changed, he just happily and purposefully walks up and opens the back door that was never there to put his plants inside.

THE BACK DOOR THAT WAS NEVER THERE

For that matter, Crowley and Aziraphale both seem to be unaware of the changes! This feels like both a metaphor and a functional plot device for season 3. There's more discussion at the end of this post!

Thanks to comments and observations awhile back from @bbbitchvibbbez , I did some careful searching for s2 scenes featuring the Bentley, and this post is the labor of love and irrational obsession result!

If you want to see lots more Bentley screencaps and discussion, including Crowley nonchalantly using the new back door, and possibly also leaving the Bentley window open during the ball and everything that followed, please keep reading:

Some background and context:

Ok, so there was a different Bentley "actor" for s2. The s1 actor was a 2-door, the s2 actor is a 4-door. If you look carefully, you'll see that in s1 the backseat side windows are smaller than the front side windows. In s2, they're the same size. I talk more about the windows - with handy diagrams! - in my newer Bentley post, here.

There's also been some controversy about the interior color of the s2 Bentley, black vs brown, and how that could relate to the s2 body swap theory; here are details about that from @lonicera-caprifolium and @picturesque-about-it. I don't think my findings support (or disprove) that theory, but take a look at what I found and see what you think!

(*Please don't ask Neil about any of this, he's already given us the answers he wants to give, and he's not going to spoil the surprises in s3 now by telling us what's really going on!*)

Here's the episode/scene breakdown:

S2e1 on the street with Shax - gray, two toned, two doors (one visible door handle on a side), brown interior - both the seats and the inside panel of the door. Notice how the door is hinged at the back, and opens opposite the way most modern cars do (this is called a suicide door):

More s2e1 photos, the Bentley is in a lot of scenes this episode and as far as I can tell it stays the same gray 2-door for the whole episode, but it's frequently in dark lighting to make it harder to tell it isn't actually black (I've brightened most of these shots). It also has larger silver hubcaps, and I notice consistent brown seats (these interior pics are from three different scenes):

In s2e2, the Bentley is only in two scenes, and it's the same as s2e1. Now, you can see in the larger photo below that it's obviously not the SAME as s1 - the backseat side windows are too long - but the production team DID try to make the new Bentley "actor" look the same as in season 1. It's a gray 2-tone car with 2 doors (1 handle visible on each side) with larger silver hubcaps. As an aside, what's with the red lights on the car in this shot?? I mean, yes, it's a reflection of another car's brake lights, but why put that onscreen?

Also, in case it's relevant, Crowley is wearing his turtleneck throughout this episode, and still has the silver-sided glasses from e1:

Ok, now we have s2e3, and as Crowley meets Muriel and gives Aziraphale his car keys, we see he's no longer wearing the turtleneck, AND this is when his glasses change to black-sided ones:

Outside, we see the Bentley looks the same as the rest of s2 thus far, as Aziraphale sets off for Edinburgh. Gray 2-tone, brown interior (with window bullet hole decals very visible), with larger silver hubcaps. There's only one handle visible, so it's still meant to look like a 2-door:

Ok, here's where things start to change! Azi is driving and the Bentley is yellow. The seats might (?) be black, there's still only one door handle on the side, the silver hubcaps are still larger. But when he "changes it back", NOW it's black:

And by the time he pulls into Edinburgh, Transformation Complete. (Did Something Else Happen?? Or is this an effect of Aziraphale finally being welcome to take care of this extension of Crowley? More speculation at the end!) It's a black 4-door, two handles clearly visible on the side, with smaller silver hubcaps:

And the interior? The door panel, at least, is black now - and it has a texture that wasn't there when it was brown. Here's e1 next to e3 (and appreciate, again, this very intentional parallel blocking of the two actors!):

In s2e4, we see the Bentley in two scenes; at the beginning when Aziraphale meets Shax-as-hitchhiker, where we see the bullet holes and the black door lining, and at the end when the Bentley is reunited with Crowley:

When Aziraphale parks the Bentley back at the bookshop, we see the bullet hole decals and that it's still a black 4-door:

So he goes to meet Crowley, they come back with the plants. We can see that the camera is to the rear of the car, and the front of the car is to their left. They're standing on the left side of the car. If Crowley opens the door, we won't see the interior door panel, right? Because the Bentley doors are hinged on the back, instead of the front, so the door will open towards us:

WELL. Mx "I can feel when you drive below the speed limit" and "change it back!" Crowley very eagerly walks up to the BLACK car, greets it with some sweet baby talk, and then opens the suddenly-existing BACK door with a hinge on the front (so it opens away from us) as if this is All Perfectly Normal, and we can (barely) see the door lining and it's BLACK and textured:

A few more shots of Crowley, standing at the brand-new back door of the Bentley, still wearing those black-sided glasses:

And in case you're wondering, in s1e2 when Anathema gets a ride in the Bentley, she climbs into the backseat from the front driver door, and she climbs out through the front passenger door. There wasn't a back door on either side. Here she climbs into the Bentley, and you can see Crowley fold down the front seat, and there's clearly only one door on that side, and it's hinged at the back. (When she gets out on the passenger side, it's harder to see, but you can tell that door is also hinged at the back.) :

In s2e5, Crowley drives the Bentley to the bookshop, and then we only catch a few small glimpses of it while Aziraphale is recruiting shopkeepers to the meeting/ball. Here's Crowley driving the black 4-door Bentley with small silver hubcaps, and here he is getting out of the car with black seats. The front door is still hinged at the back, as it always has been. The window is open - his hand is reaching through to open the door - so we can't see the bullet hole decals:

The next time we see more than a hint of the Bentley, it's the end of s2e6 and Crowley is standing next to it, watching Azi leave with the Metatron. It's still black, with 4 doors and black seats and smaller hubcaps. We don't see the bullet hole decals, but perhaps the window is still open from when he parked it in e5? (And WHY would he leave the window open? Was someone supposed to come by after he parked it to deliver something to the Bentley, or take something out?) Emotional photos ahead:

I over exposed that last picture, to make the colors really easy to pick out. The seats are absolutely, definitely black.

So... what does it mean? Why did it happen, and why didn't Crowley notice or react?

I love the metaphor that Aziraphale subconsciously created a back door for - or into - Crowley, especially with all those references to the "back channels" of communication between heaven and hell. I'm thinking it could represent - or actually be - another way for them to communicate, or like another entrance to his heart; it's something that Aziraphale doesn't realize he changed or added and that Crowley hasn't noticed yet either, even if he's making use of those changes on some level. I'm sure other metaphors could also fit!

And I'm reminded of something @theeminentlyimpractical said, "Crowley, despite his whining, fully accepts the idea of "our car," which fundamentally transforms the Bentley". That post was liked by Neil, so there could definitely be something to this "our car" transformation line of thinking.

So, was the transformation a subconscious effect of Aziraphale finally being welcome by Crowley to drive the Bentley, and caring for and taking responsibility for this part of Crowley? Or did Aziraphale consciously do this, or did Crowley? Or maybe the Bentley is sentient, and it chose to be bigger/different now, to accommodate both of them. Or did the change happen in response to Something Else We Didn't See?

Is Crowley's (and Aziraphale's) apparent non-reaction another example of an unreliable narrator or some memory tampering? Is manipulation of the Book of Life involved? Are there multiple timelines? Is someone time traveling? Or is it just that Aziraphale and Crowley already discussed the changes off screen, before Aziraphale left Edinburgh?

If Crowley noticed the changes, I would have expected a comment about them. Either, "change it back!" or a reluctant, "those are changes I can live with", or... Something. But instead, the production team went to some trouble to make sure the hints are there, but hard to spot (you can review the similar, careful s1 hints about the appearance swap here, from @fuckyeahgoodomens); as opposed to, for one example, the way they very clearly pointed out Maggie's mysterious spelling mistake, both on screen and in the dialogue. So I feel reasonably certain the Bentley's transformation is a careful, subtle hint about a Secret Something Important That Will Be Revealed In Season 3. I think it's both a metaphor and a plot device*.

What are some of your favorite metaphors? Your most reasonable theories? What about some of your biggest, wildest, most improbable theories?

*And if you enjoy Good Omens metas, theories, clues, etc, I have a big pinned collection of those from the fandom, here!

[s30620]

Chapter 180: The Owner of the Kozuka Knives

The gang trying to act inconspicuous while Kouki goes undercover to find the culprit. Everybody looking away from her but Vamola just making persistent eye contact lol.

How many people is Count Saint-Germain recruiting?!?! Everybody is an enemy at this point. He gives powers to people with the white kozuka knife and has them steal powers using the black one. Plus, now we know the jiangshi and the iron ox are two separate people under Sanjome's control. So far we have: Kouki with the pygmies, the businessman as the ox, Miss Adachi with the jiangshi, and now Hase with, I'm assuming, the jumping crone.

He seems to be sending texts about targets to his "minions", we see Miss Adachi receives the same messages the businessman from last chapter got. Plus he can use telepathy now? He must be onto the kids since they're trying to find him now. He recruited Hase without even appearing in front of him.

I also think there was a translation error last chapter. On page 14, Murakami Sensei asks where Adachi Sensei is, the translation says Mr. Adachi, but I think it was supposed to be Miss Adachi. I don't believe the businessman is Mr. Adachi, since he's not a teacher, and Miss Adachi was gone to send her jiangshi after Seiko. The suspicious person walking away on page 4 is also wearing the same pants and shoes as Miss Adachi.

[sleeplesssmol]

More Loading Screens confirming humans "can't" use arcanum.

According to this Humans like Ezra and Schneider don't have Incantations and Arcane Skills per say, but they command scientific technology in place of real arcanum.

BUT While we know Schneider had a special gun, Sonetto explicitly explains that she was "a human who could use arcane skills". In my opinion the fact they emphasized this means Schneider was special.

Especially in hindsight. Arcanists and Humans are biologically different in many ways. Also, it seems like humans can't sense arcanists, but arcanists can sense other arcanists? Yet Schneider slipped under the radar. This is speculation of course but food for thought. So far, arcanists have no problem recognizing other arcanists when they're in the same room. At least, I think that's how it's gone so far?

[madharemuses]

@alchemistdetective

A cruel man. Drunkard, abusive husband, absentee father. A man who never works and steals from his family to fuel his alcohol addiction. Who has passed up chances to redeem himself time and time again. And when his family try to cast him off, he uses violence to keep them under his thumb.

Looking for a good time, still drunk of his afternoon whisky, he's easy prey for Rirune. The form he's taken, a different one from his last, appeals to the man, and they make an arrangement.

And it happened again.

Led down an alleyway towards an abandoned building, Rirune would hear the sobbing once more. The voice clearly that of a young girl, coming from... right behind him. There's no wall behind him, no physical barrier that could obscure the source, all he has to do... is turn his head.

Half a second's glance, there's no sign of the source, and the door the man he was about to to kill had gone through slams shut between them.

The sound of tearing flesh and cracking bone, fast and sickening... then silence. The door, a moment ago stuck tight, now opens on its own, slowly.

...

The man inside was sitting in a chair, facing the door. He'd been... opened up, so to speak. From his pelvis to the base of his throat, his body had been cut open in a single line. His rib cage pried apart like the doors on a cupboard. His terrified eyes lock with Rirune's, his last breath slipping from his lungs, his heart, open to the cool air, still beating.

One.

Two.

Three...

It beats no more.

There's no sign of the killer, any number of possible entries and exits to the room.

And from the cool night air, from seemingly nowhere... laughter. With a voice like that on a young boy...

[e-rated-beardo]

Scorn and the Saint-Maker, chapter 16 Intermezzo: Been enragin’ the folks on the lower floor

Scorn and the Saint-Maker is a murder mystery/ineffable husbands romance/who-turned-them-human Good Omens fanfic, set at a university in Scotland, with lots of (as-yet skippable) level-5 smut, ✨sexy maths✨ (reportedly), and one trans angel

Chapter 16 summary: A woman in red meets with a very tall man (?) in a trenchcoat.

Rating: Chapter rated T; fic E. Please check tags.

Excerpt:

“Do you think he’d leave it like this?” He (?) jerked his head in the direction of a vintage Bentley, wedged between a minivan and a sparkling silver Lexus. The Bentley was black, and quite elegant, and had dents on the wings, a spatter of mud on the street-facing side, and bird droppings on the roof. In contrast to the other unoccupied cars along the street, this one gave the rather distinct impression of being abandoned.

Read chapter 16 on AO3 ➡️ or start from the beginning ↩️ (~66k words, WIP)

@goodomensafterdark

Hey, fine folks, would you like to be tagged in these updates? I'm too polite (although you wouldn't think it) to dare make tag lists without asking, but if you would like to be notified, hit me up, yeah?

[rat-detector-24]

Is this fine specimen a rat?

The muskrat, is in fact not a rat. Rat not detected.

[iobartach]

That screenshot scene is so misinterpreted because people think that Miguel's evil for replacing his alternate self. The guy only wanted to help raise, Gabby just so she wouldn't go on with the rest of her life without a father

tell me about it, anon-mon, i could go on for ages about how some folks still to this day claim he was a villain rather than an antagonist , when, y'know ... the spot also existed 🥲

that said, i continue to be on the fence about it myself? like it feels we're getting the cliffnotes version of what miguel did -- what's the full story? was there more to his decision than what he revealed to miles?

and whilst on the one hand, it is sweet that he wished to be there for Gabriella, even if it meant pretending to be someone else (like, how did nobody cop the red eyes?!) it's also ... skating on some reaaaaal rocky ground here. inserting himself into another reality, leaving his own... unprotected? presumably?

like there's so much to unpack here the more you dig into it. and i love checking out posts that explore this in detail. it's very interesting.

[ansatsu-sha]

Chisato's Alan Institute pendant / Lycoris Recoil S1E4

[every-kadowus]

[alphawave-writes]

It Will Come to Pass Chapter 2: Ghost, Guardian, Angels, Shadow | Casper Darling x Tom Zane

Darling and Zane learn more about the TZEs and get a clue as to who might be the cause. A stranger confronts Zane about a terrible deal he made 30 years ago

[embracing-the-ineffable]

The ineffable discontinuity of time in ALL of Good Omens season 2?

There's Something Strange About Time, and it's not ONLY the end of the last episode, where the clocks are mysteriously jumping ahead faster than what's playing out onscreen... Look at this scene from season 2, episode 1:

The time is visible on Crowley's phone AND watch, as he stands in a very similar way as he did at the end of the season. We've seen parallel blocking like this used in other scenes to highlight common themes, Clues, etc.

Let's look closer at the times, and enjoy the way Shax's contact icon blinks at Crowley:

My technology could be fancier, but I adjusted the exposure and sharpened the pic of his watch to make it easier to read. If someone can get a better shot, that would be great! I'm pretty sure, though, that the watch says 11:35; the phone says 10:35. Why are they out of sync??! Are there time discrepancies woven throughout the entire season? WHAT DOES IT MEAN??!

The season 2 bookshop clock - which is not the same as the season 1 clock - is frowning for a reason...

And here's what I mean about the parallel blocking, or the way Crowley is positioned and filmed in a very similar way in both scenes. It seems meaningful that the season started and ended like this, with the time on his watch (barely) visible in each scene and offering evidence of Something Strange About Time:

Is Crowley manipulating time somehow? Something is definitely UP.

Want more Clues and metas? I have a huge collection!

[saintdollanganger]

my stepdad sent a pic to the family gc because someone lost a butt toy in the turkey pen but no ones claiming it

[ukdailymail]

Two new 'alien mummies' and an 'alien skull' documented in Peru