#watching good omens while I write just makes me emotional

[heartbreak-sandwich]

hi so I know it hasn't been very long, but I am straight up feeling maybe a little hopeless as a writer perhaps, and what is a blog but an emotional diary, so here are my feelings. I love you all so very much. Thank you for putting up with me, and hopefully I can WRITE SOME FUCKIN WORDS and make them make sense enough to do my smut justice lmao

[weecherylita]

I wrote a version of this as a message to Neil Gaiman on New Year's Eve, but (unsurprisingly) it appears to have gotten lost in his ask box. But given that this message is not just meant for Neil Gaiman, but also to the Good Omens fandom at large, I have decided to recreate it here:

Dear Mr Gaiman (& Good Omens fandom people)

On New Year's Eve 2021 I started watching Good Omens for the first time. Now one year (and a bit) later, it feels very appropriate to me to write a message of thanks, because Good Omens became a constant source of joy and mental refuge throughout what turned out to be an incredibly difficult year.

Not exactly difficult in a bad way, as some very good things happened. I gave birth to my second child*, and we moved house. But owing to work, pregnancy issues, several childhood illnesses (including 2 hospital stays) and said house requiring a truly overwhelming amount of time to make it fit for human habitation, everything has been a bit frantic and strained. Our focus has very much been on trying to make the transition as smooth as possible for our daughter (now 4), and adult relationships have been pretty badly neglected as a result. I feel like we forgot how to be together, as a family unit and as partners. Looking back, I think that's what actually hit me the hardest; that absence of family communion and emotional support

But then there's been Good Omens, this wonderful story with this wonderful fandom and this wondrous, ineffable relationship between the central characters. These characters who are able to build that sense of communion over the course of millennia, and express their love in such a variety of ways and in such difficult circumstances (no wonder I'm a bit in love with them).

So, thank you for the love and care you put into adapting Good Omens. Thank you also for your continued engagement with fans keen for more details about the story (the thing about Aziraphale saving the movie theatre from destruction because he remembered Crowley saying he liked it once melted my heart in the nicest possible way)**.

Thank you also to the Good Omens fandom for embracing this story with so much joyful enthusiasm, and keeping that love alive in so many ways - the fanart, the meta analysis, random headcanons, humorous shitposts, fanfiction great and small. It has meant a lot to me to be able to shelter under the heartwarming little canopy of creativity and joy when things have gotten difficult and I've been in desperate need of stress relief.

I am glad to say that in the New Year my partners and I are starting to put more time and effort into repairing our relationships - and one of the ways we are doing that is by watching Good Omens together.

So... Happy New Year (belated)

* It is testament to how much Good Omens has permeated my brain that even whilst giving birth, in between screaming at my husband "WHY DOES IT HAVE TO HURT SO MUCH!!!" there was actually a small voice in the back of my head saying that in a roundabout way it was Crowley's fault (though I imagine he might dispute that? Or possibly debate the point in private while readily taking credit for it in memos to hell).

** I am now super paranoid that I hallucinated reading that, but perhaps that is just my anxiety talking.

[gingiekittycat]

I miss the narrator

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I miss the narrator from Good Omens season 1.

I will admit, when I first watched the show it threw me a bit. Sure, the narrator's jokes were funny, but I thought that as a story-telling device it was distracting. There was just so much of it all the time, and it often felt out of place. And when I went to look up reviews online, it seemed a lot of people agreed: if there ever was a season 2, the narrator had to go.

But THEN.

THEN.

Then I read the book.

And I realized: the narrator is the footnotes. It's the little jokes in between the plot. In descriptions, in metaphors, in transitions. The narrator is what makes the magic of the novel.

The narrator is the authors.

More specifically, the narrator is Terry.

Terry's influence on the novel, on the story; Terry's influence in the way he and Neil wrote the book. Neil has said before somewhere (I will find the source eventually and add it) that he was writing in Terry's style when he co-wrote the novel. And it shows; to me, when I read Good Omens, I was reading a Terry Pratchett novel. At the time, I had no previous experience with reading Terry's work, and the only novel I'd read of Neil's was American Gods. And in my opinion, Good Omens reads nothing like American Gods.

In subsequently reading more of Terry's work, it became even clearer to me that the narrator in the show was Neil's way of keeping Terry in the story. And maybe it WAS clunky in a visual medium, maybe it WAS distracting, jarring. But it was also hilarious, and whimsical, and playful, and fun. And I don't see how Neil could have done without it and still stayed so true to the novel. The jokes, the metaphors, the descriptions, the footnotes; this is what makes Good Omens what it is.

There was no narrator in season 2.

I will say up front that, overall, I enjoyed season 2. It had so many funny moments, and so many thought-provoking, poignant moments too. It used some dialog from the first book (looking at you Resurrectionists minisode) to remind us why Good Omens is not just a romp between an angel and demon, but also a philosophical, thought-provoking piece of media. It had a lot of Pratchett-esque moments; the Job minisode stood out to me here. The end was, of course, emotional and gutting, but I like emotional and gutting (anyone who has read my fics knows this). But... I found myself missing the narrator. 

I missed Terry.

And maybe that was a good thing. Maybe it was even on purpose. Maybe the lack of narrator really is illustrating the fact that, when Terry died, he left a hole in the world that can never be filled. You can't make the same show you would have made had Terry been alive. You can't even try. You can make your own thing, you can make it amazing in its own right, but you can't make it the same. And, all said and done, I think that's a very important commentary on grief. When you lose something, or someone, you're not the same as you were before; and it hurts, but you change, you adapt, you grow. Eventually, you make something new.

So... do I want there to be a narrator in season 3?

That's a good question. I think I would accept both outcomes. However, knowing that season 3 is supposed to be the sequel Neil and Terry plotted, I think it would be appropriate to have a narrator this time around. True, we have no novel to base it off of; we don't have any of Terry's footnotes, his metaphors, his jokes. But we have Neil, whom Terry influenced while writing the original novel; we have Neil writing in Terry's style, putting himself in Terry's shoes for a moment (his hat, his scarf). We have Neil, who loved Terry, who has in part made this show as a labor of love, because he promised Terry he would, and he's going to keep that promise. We have Neil to remind us why we love Good Omens in the first place.

And I think having a narrator in season 3 would be a wonderful way to illustrate that. 

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

pt XI good omens season 1 finale I'M SORRY THIS IS LATE, I WAS READING FANFIC.

How is this a title I'm now forced to write. Yes, I know it's been a week since I finished episode 6 with you maggots. And today is the day we start season 2. However, I, the Official Good Omens Mascot, procrastinated writing part XI, because I was reading too much good omens fanfiction. Yesterday I do believe I was reading till 3 in the morning. Thanks guys.

Season 1 finale, or whatever I can figure out with my records of the watch along chat, at least. WAHOO.

[EDIT: I'm back at the intro after finishing this post, and I realised this is a very long summary, because most of it is me yelling at you guys. As I typed it I started reliving my rage of last week. Read on if you dare, yes the post is long, and yes the second half is in all caps. THIS TOOK EMOTION. YOU GUYS BETTER REBLOG IT INSTEAD OF LIKING IT SILENTLY WHILE LAUGHING AT MY PAIN. I WANT MY RAGE EVERYWHERE ON TUMBLR.]

Someone puts a message about how Crowley can no longer sense Aziraphale's presence, and again for some reason covers it with black. My reaction is of course horrified, and then everyone tells me to STOP CLICKING THE SPOILERS, ASMI.

So that's what that was. I realise this out loud, and everyone is ready to cry with exasperation. I explain to them very reasonably that while I don't read every message on the watch-along chat, every time there is a black message I assume it's important and I click on all of them to reveal the text.

Realising the spoiler function has backfired, as most things do with me, the chat sighs and everyone goes for a break. Then someone puts another blacked out message about the bookshop, and I react to that, leading to another blacked out message which simply says STOP CLICKING THE BLACK.

Oops, I already forgot. THE SPOILERS ARE JUST TOO CLICKY. CLICK CLICK CLICK. I HAVE TO CLICK ALL OF THEM.

Someone says I forgive you, Asmi. I reply with Don't bother, which leads to tears and threats to stab me. The chat maggots give up and we start episode 6.

There is a random flashforward. I don't understand what is happening, but then again, I never do.

Back at the airfield. Crowley walks in, recognises their hubby instantly, and takes charge sexily. Then the Bentley bursts into flames.

Crowley is heartbroken. No one comforts them. When I point this out (read, YELL IT AT THE CHAT IN DEVASTATION) someone tells me that this is how it always is.

APPARENTLY DAVID WAS TOLD TO THINK ABOUT THE TARDIS EXPLODING IN THAT MOMENT. I HATE THAT I KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS.

Crowley needs all the therapy. Someone says kinder fanfic authors give it to him. LIES, I point out, FIRST THEY GIVE HIM EVEN MORE REASON FOR THERAPY. THEN GIVE HIM THERAPY.

Everyone is yelling about a fanfic called demonology while Adam the Antichrist feels so weird at Aziraphale being inside someone that's not Crowley that he separates them in the First Bigeneration style. Doctor Who is inspired.

Aziraphale like the babygirl he is, tries to girlboss his way through the situation by making Crowley murder the kid.

Pepper FUCKING STABS WAR IN THE NAME OF FEMINISM WITH THE SWORD OF EDEN AND THEN OTHER TWO KIDS END THE OTHER HORSEPERSONS IN THE NAME OF HOMECOOKED MEALS AND ECOFRIENDLINESS AND WHAT THE FUCK THESE KIDS ARE TWELVE WHAT PERCY JACKSON LEVEL OF BADASSERY-

Crowley and Aziraphale give a half-assed attempt at a father-son (gn) talk with the Antichrist as the world is ending. It is a terrible contribution to saving the world. The Antichrist thankfully has inherent common sense, because he wasn't raised by them.

Aziraphale tries to overshare his and Crowley's meetcute and has to be shushed by an embarrassed Crowley who is trying to keep them alive.

Satan is supposed to arrive. I mistakenly assume Gabriel is actually Satan. Which pleases a lot of people.

Gabriel and Beezlebub talk and blame Crowley and Aziraphale (who contributed exactly JACK SHIT to averting the apocalypse).

I kind of ship Gabriel and Beezlebub after seeing them interact for 30 seconds, which for some fucking reason leads to a lot of reactions and yelling. I want them to be together. Which leads to more yelling. PLEASE TELL ME THIS IS NOT ACTUALLY CANON?

Satan arrives. Antichrist disowns him. Through the power of Manifestation, Law of Attraction and Positive Thinking, Adam is now no longer the Antichrist, Satan leaves, none of this happened and the BENTLEY AND BOOKSHOP ARE SAVED.

NO ONE IS FUCKING HUGGING CROWLEY. I'M GOING TO STAB A BITCH.

There is the bus stop scene Crowley asks Aziraphale to move in with him and they hold hands I DON'T FUCKING KNOW BY NOW THE CHAT HAS DESCENDED INTO CHAOS I'VE LOST MY BRAINCELLS.

ICE CREAM DATE AND SUDDEN INVASION AND I'M WATCHING THE ACTING AND I'M LIKE HANG ON A SECOND SOMETHING IS OFF AND I ASK SUDDENLY IF THEY SWITCHED.

THAT'S RIGHT, I ASK IF THEY SWITCHED. I KNEW THERE WAS A SWITCH AND I THOUGHT IT WAS MIDWAY THROUGH SEASON 2. BUT THE SIGNS ARE TOO MANY HERE. EVERYONE IS NOW YELLING AND PEOPLE KEEP IGNORING ME.

ALL THE ACTING IS FLIPPED I'M NOT BLIND YOU FUCKERS. AZIRAPHALE'S FACE IS DOING CROWLEY'S COULDNT-CARE-LESS EXPRESSION AND HE'S QUESTIONING HEAVEN AND CROWLEY'S TALKING HAS LESS CONSONANTS THAN USUAL AND NO CROWLEY SASS MORE AZIRAPHALE SASS IT'S THE SAME BACKGROUND AS THE NOSE-SCRUNCH SCENE AND SURELY THAT WAS AZIRAPHALE RIGHT.

EVERYONE KEEPS TELLING ME TO WAIT AND SEE. I KEEP YELLING THAT THEY MUST HAVE SWITCHED.

SOMEONE SAYS I'M EITHER A MADMAN OR A GENIUS. I TELL THEM I'M BOTH BUT THAT'S NOT THE POINT DID THEY FUCKING SWITCH.

I'M NOW QUESTIONING MYSELF BECAUSE EVERYONE ISN'T LYING BUT THEY'RE MAKING ME QUESTION MY REALITY SO THE CLASSIC GASLIGHT GATEKEEP GIRLBOSSING.

I'M YELLING ABOUT HOW ONLY AZIRAPHALE WOULD BE POLITE ABOUT JACKETS AND SURVIVE HOLY WATER. EVERYONE IS LAUGHING AT ME. I'M NOW 60% SURE I'M WRONG.

PEOPLE KEEP YELLING WAIT AND SEE AND TALKING ABOUT SADIE AND DOTTIE I HATE IT HERE.

CROWLEY IS IN HEAVEN THAT WAS HIS DISMISSIVE LOOK I'M NOW 90% SURE I'M RIGHT. I'M YELLING ABOUT IT.

ADAM LEAVES THE GARDEN IN A METAPHOR AND THEN AZIRAPHALE AND CROWLEY SWITCHED BACK. THEY SWITCHED BACK. I WAS FUCKING RIGHT. I AM LIVID. I AM YELLING.

IT'S VERY EMOTIONAL AND NIGHTINGALES AND THEY TOAST THE WORLD AND I'M VERY EMOTIONAL BUT I'M COPING BY THREATENING MURDER BECAUSE I WAS FUCKING RIGHT.

THE END.

SEE YOU GUYS TODAY AT SEASON 2 I GUESS GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.

[heartshapedbubble]

Hi can I request Andrew, Luca, William, Wu Chang and Antonio reacting to having an s/o that can crush a watermelon between her thighs.

this req made me shit bricks when i first received it in august LMFAOOOO this was so fun to write anon thank you so much for this/gen

andrew, luca, william, wu chang and antonio reacting to their s/o crushing a watermelon between their thighs🕸⚡🏈☂️🎻

andrew kreiss🕸

he is... confused to say the least

when you first did it he jumped out of fear thinking you hurt yourself by doing so

this man would probably burst into flames after one pretzel stick he has NO idea how to react

....he'd be lying if he said it doesn't interest him though

like. he is INCREDIBLY lost and maybe even disturbed but like. do it again

"is this something they do to sinners in hell? can you use it as self defense? does it hurt your thighs?" a bit gulity of asking these questions ngl but he can't help it

might start avoiding you after that... simply out of fear that it was a bad omen and that you might try crushing his skull instead when he messes up in the games LMAO

william ellis🏈

not shocked at all

he didnt even fucking flinch when it burst he just stood there with his usual 😃 face

"hehe. nice. now watch me" (proceeds to crush a watermelon with his own thighs)

tbh william can be competitive as hell and he would somehow make a competition out of this too

after that whenever y'all ate watermelon in the manor he always shouted "DID YOU GUYS KNOW ___ CAN CRUSH WATERMELONS WITH THEIR THIGHS¿¿¿¿¿ GO ON ___ SHOW THEM!!!!"

might ask you details on how you train/build your thighs just in case...there's always room for self-improvement

next time he sees you he's going to whip out two watermelons and ask you if you can crush both at the same time (cheeky bastard)

luca balsa⚡

mans is just losing his shit at it

"how do you do it??????? how long did you have to build your legs for this??? at what angle does it crush the fastest/easiest???? what technique did you use???" like andrew but with zero self control or fear

so intrigued he'll whip out the nerd glasses and the notepad to study it. bring a few extra watermelons cause once he begins you'll realize it's gonna be a looooong day

i kinda think that he'd be more interested in the physics aspect of it than the crushing itself tbh

after enough research he would try to crush one with his own thighs

...which didn't really go well🥲he's got chopstick legs but we still love him

that absolutely did not discourage him though. he'll find a way to do it himself. somehow. one day.

wu chang☂️

their reactions are quite different

at first they just kinda... side eye each other. not condescendigly tho they just have to clarify they're both seeing the same thing since they didn't expect this when you told them you have a suprise for them

xie is like ☺ "thats... very cute honey!! i'm very proud of you!!!! you've been working very hard!!!!"

no idea how to properly react or process it really but since you seem really happy about it he simply has to share your enthusiasm okay!!! xie the world

fan just smirks. "now crush a pumpkin."

this motherfucker is going to tease you and give you more and more impossible physical challenges just to make you all red in your face and see you angrily give up just crush his head instead at this point

would rather drown himself in that goddamn river again than admit out loud that it's absolutely badass but it becomes obvious after some time. he's not an emotional mastermind after all

antonio paganini🎻

not overwhelmed by it either! hes just chill like dat

he finds it so funny actually - he's grown tired of all the elegant plays and balls that he experienced while playing for royalty so this little peculiar performance of yours put a wide smile on his face

it gave him a good laugh too, not in a mocking way it's just so bizarre and unexpected that he couldn't help but laugh

would joke about it like "i love a partner that can just beat the shit out of me" after seeing it lmao

"you can kill people with that, but personally i wouldn't have an issue with it if it was your thighs in question~" what a fucking flirt GET HIM OUT

if you'd challenge him to do the same he'd just give up after the first two tries... his legs aren't his best asset

he CAN crush a watermelon with his hair though. maybe you should be more careful the next time you try to wriggle out from its grip...

[ingravinoveritas]

hey, if you watched comic relief, did you think david looked unbearably tired? he sounded near tears at times and idt it was just bcs of the charity videos

Hi there! I'm not in the UK, so I wasn't able to see Comic Relief while it aired, or any clips until now.

I didn't notice the tiredness at first, but it definitely seemed to become more visible later in the show, as did the sounding near tears. This moment (which I got from a fan on Twitter who compiled all of David's bits) in particular really got me, as it's so apparent here...

As to what could've been causing this, I think there are several things that could have been happening, possibly even all at once. Up until I got into Good Omens/David/Michael, I wasn't at all familiar with Comic Relief, but having watched the show for a few years now, there are some really striking things I've noticed about how it's structured and what it involves.

On the one hand, you have lots of famous actors and comedians and musicians putting on a show and telling jokes...and then on the other, you have emotional videos of people in dire situations, both in the UK and abroad. And because Comic Relief is live, it's much harder to build in transitions between these two things, so you end up dramatically shifting from lighthearted to serious and back, and it leaves you with a bit of whiplash as a result.

So if those abrupt tonal shifts are difficult for us an audience, they must be even more challenging for the host(s), including David. I think the live aspect of the show makes it very similar to theater and how David might have reacted in differing moments during Macbeth, because we're seeing emotional reactions in real time, without the benefit of editing. Tonight was also the last occasion of Comic Relief that Lenny Henry was hosting after nearly 40 years at the helm, so I feel like that probably made David emotional as well, given how much he has worked with and admires him.

As for the tiredness, it seems there were at least a few interviews that David did prior to the broadcast, so he was probably running around all day trying to get everything done. Then you add to that the chaos of multiple hosts on stage and everyone trying to find their marks (which seems to have been something David was stressing out about a bit in one of the interviews today), plus the charity videos, and it's no wonder that he looked so drained.

(Another thing I also wonder is if David's demeanor had anything to do with sharing the stage with Davina McCall, who was allegedly outed as a TERF last year. Given the attacks from the anti-trans loons that David and Georgia have endured over the last several months, I can imagine that he might not be comfortable co-hosting with someone who espouses such views. And for the record, there was something about Davina that inexplicably annoyed/seemed off to me long before any of the TERF stuff came to light. It seems like my instincts have been confirmed in that regard...)

So yes, those are pretty much all of the things that came to mind regarding David's demeanor at Comic Relief. He's probably been running himself ragged lately with new projects since Macbeth ended (the Genius Game hosting gig, for one, and an appearance on the SmartTV game show, plus multiple upcoming Comic Con appearances), so hopefully he can find some time to relax and breathe in between all of this, because he more than deserves a break.

I hope this helps to answer your question. Thanks for writing in! x

[bookscandlesnbts]

Jimin, Serendipity, and Me

I’ve been wanting to make this post for a while. I had to wait until all the dust settled from MS and I could type this without crying. It’s no secret that Jimin is very special to me, which sounds silly to say because I don’t actually know him in real life, but I feel connected to him. Hear me out.

Even after all of the amazing solo songs that Jimin has gifted us, Serendipity is still my favorite. Between the concept of serendipity itself, the sweet meaningful lyrics, Jimin’s delicate angelic vocals, the lofi production, and last but not least, the choreography, I can’t imagine Jimin releasing a song that I like more. Well, he’s Park Jimin so obviously he could, but I don’t think I’ll have the same emotional connection to it let’s just say.

Now the concept of Serendipity is also meaningful to me. The dictionary definition is as follows: the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.

So how do Jimin and Serendipity connect with me? Let me explain.

For many of us, Jimin is our comfort person. I personally do not have a partner (not a pity party I don’t want to date anyone) but I do have close friends. And I have Jimin. So, when Jimin went off to MS, I knew I would lose those moments of Serendipty where he would surprise me with his goregous presence and soothing voice when I needed him. I’m talking about Weverse Lives here and formerly Vlives. We know in Jimin’s case that lives are planned and not at all spontaneous like Jungkook. And, we know last year these were few and far between. He’s usually at Hybe or in the car coming to and from work, so when these lives lined up with big moments in my life, it was true serendipity.

1. My “big girl” job interview. When I interviewed for a faculty position (current place of employment), I was extremely nervous. I was still in graduate school, hadn’t defended by PhD yet and had no idea what to expect. I woke up really early and when I started doing my make up, I got the notification on my phone that Jimin went live. It was a much needed confidence boost and what timing.

2. My actual PhD defense. A few months later, the same thing happened again. Morning of my PhD defense I was awake super early and putting my make up on and Jimin went live and I watched and listened to him talk the entire time I got ready. It was the good omen that I needed and serendipitous that the random time Jimin was live again was on the morning of my PhD defense.

3. This example was in 2021, but it still counts. I was with a friend at Disney and it was 1:00 am and she randomly got sick and was throwing up in the bathroom. I am petrified of throwing up. No, I’m not the friend that is going to hold your hair back; I’m going to have a panic attack instead. While this was happening, Jimin went live (I remember he was in the car) and listening to him and focusing on him really calmed me down.

In conclusion, Jimin has unknowingly supported me through some huge moments in my life. And it was especially hard coming to terms with him not being here this year. Fortunately, no major milestones should be happening this year for me, but it was always interesting seeing when we would get to see him. This was more cathartic for me to write than anything. But given how special Jimin is, I wouldn’t be surprised if he has serendipitously been there for you too.

[postmodernmulticoloredcloak]

Good Omens 2 Episode 1: what’s in a name

So I have just watched the first episode of season 2 of Good Omens, and I am going to write this post instead of watching the next episode right away for two reasons: one, watching tv for too long gives me a headache, and second, I refuse to let the streaming companies’ obsession with dropping entire seasons at once stop me from enjoying the journey, and enjoying the journey for me means stopping to think and write about things.

So this is my reaction to episode 1 of Good Omens season 2. Spoilers, duh.

The fil rouge that runs through the episode is the theme of names. We have Aziraphale who introduces himself by name in the flashback to Crowley, who does not reciprocate that kind of introduction, which paints a picture of where they stand in relation to each other, i.e. not exactly on the same page.

And then we have Maggie, who makes a gift to Nina based on her name (the Nina Simone record), but Nina cannot play it, which represents how they cannot be on the same page at all due to circumstances.

Of course we have James long for Jim short for Gabriel. And then we have Muriel, who is asked her identity so she has to say her name but also insists she’s nobody. Also, in the first scene with Michael and Uriel, Michael states their names out loud, which emphasizes how their identity is tied to their name, which highlights how Gabriel not remembering his name and then being forbidden from using it is an encapsulation of his struggle with identity. (There’s also the clothes - being naked is as far as you can get from the normal condition of angels with their pristine outfits, but that’s quite an obvious imagery trope.)

So this is an episode that deals with identity and how it relates to interpersonal relationships.

The first scene is absolutely lovely. They are immediately comfortable with each other - Crowley feels free to act nerdy, Aziraphale, despite his fear of saying anything “inappropriate” at all, expresses his concerns regarding Crowley’s attitude. But they’re not quite on the same page, due to their differences in personality. Crowley is nerding out about the nebula and doesn’t quite get that Aziraphale is trying to connect in a different way (exchanging names). So Aziraphale feels that Crowley doesn’t care about him, but then Crowley shields Aziraphale with his wing. Crowley is not the kind of person who likes to use words to express emotional matters, Aziraphale is (thus how he makes Crowley speak his apology out loud, complete with dance). Crowley’s love language is actions, not words, more specifically actions to protect Aziraphale.

An additional difference between them that is highlighted in the scene is how Aziraphale cares primarily about people, while Crowley cares primarily about nature (stars, ducks). Crowley is interested in the universe as a whole, and doesn’t have much affection for people in general. Aziraphale loves people. And that’s why one stayed up and the other went down, of course.

And of course the difference between their priorities is the source of their conflict in this episode, as Aziraphale sees a vulnerable angel (something he can relate to very much) and automatically decides to help him, but Crowley’s priority is Aziraphale’s safety.

Nina and Maggie are wonderful mirrors for our main characters, although way behind on the relationship process than Crowley and Aziraphale are. Nina needs to keep Maggie at a distance, due to her being already involved with another person and thus being unable to let herself connect with Maggie. Nina is perfectly capable of being affable and sweet, as shown with Aziraphale, so her curtness with Maggie can only be explained by the fact that she finds Maggie cute, and that’s why she cannot let herself get close to her, so she does her best to put up a wall between them.

Basically, Nina doesn’t have the player to play the record on - she does not have the circumstances to metaphorically let herself listen to Maggie’s music.

On the other side, Aziraphale has a record player, and has started listening to his beloved music, but Gabriel’s arrival interrupts him, just like Gabriel’s arrival creates a conflict between him and Crowley.

(The records are gay love, yeah.)

Crowley’s anger, though, forces Maggie and Nina to connect a little more - I would say something about anger not being a primary emotion, but stemming from love, but we were all here for Supernatural meta first, so it’s way redundant.

Speaking of Crowley being, um, smoking, let’s change the topic to fire/heat and light.

At the beginning, Crowley is trying to make a nebula happen, but forgets the first step i.e. “let there be light”, and Aziraphale helps him remember to do it.

Then there’s the empty box of match sticks in heaven. Out of place, because there should not be any material object in heaven. I’d say it represents a source of light and heat, but it’s empty, so it is and is not at the same time.

Conversely, Gabriel is naked and cold but then Aziraphale gets him a blanket and hot chocolate and he stops being cold. Not quite fire/light, but still warmth. So, again, heaven is coldness (but not quite in the right conditions to change, thus the match stick box being empty) and earth is warmth. (Hell is coldness too, of course, with its damp, dark spaces and ineffective neon lights.)

Then we have Crowley’s lightning and smoke, which makes the electricity (light) go off in the coffee shop, but then Crowley comes back and fixes it.

(A note: the box with the arrows pointing up - clearly representing “up up” is empty. Boxes are empty, heaven is empty, Gabriel is naked. Something something metaphor.)

Cinematographically speaking, the episode all revolves around sources of light, like the sun (I love what they did with the lighting when Gabriel gets to the bookshop). In case you missed it, in the flashback scene Crowley protects Aziraphale from being hit by the sun, which bounces off Crowley’s wing:

And then, insert something about lamps here that traumatizes Destiel people.

In fact there’s the quote on the match stick box:

[ID: partial screenshot showing the quote “Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out - Job 41:19”.]

I’m sure the exploration of this theme is just the beginning.

I guess these are the things that stood out to me during my watch. I’ll conclude this post with a final consideration: this is it! Now we’re talking - it’s a queer comedy! It sets itself absolutely as a queer comedy. It goes straight to the point. It’s no longer a comedy with a queer overtone. It’s a queer comedy. I love it. I can’t wait to watch the rest. But still one episode at a time.

[kajaono]

How Fire Island proved Persuasion 2022 wrong

When Persuasion 2022 was released on Netflix there were a lot of statements from people involved in the production (Ron Bass and CC) saying that they love Austen but that they think her characters are outdated and not relatable to a modern audience anymore. That they need an update.

This already shows a big misunderstanding of the characters imo. The reason why Austen books are still so popular today is due to the fact that her characters are timeless. We all know a Mrs. Bennet, a Mary Musgrove, a Mary Crawford, a Mr. Collins... Austen was a sharp observer of the people around her. The setting might be outdated but not the characters. And the writers of Fire Island understood that

Fire Island literally starts with the main character saying that Austen is the queen, but that not every man might look for a woman to marry. This shows a deep respect for Austen and her work, but also points out that we need to diversify Austen stories. And that those two things can co-exists

The writers of Persuasion made such an effort promoting how diverse their story is and how modern, while it was still: white, straight and set in a regency era. Yeah there were people of color and i think Ben Bailey Smith did an amazing job, but that - imo as white person - where just people of color put into white narrative. Without addressing any issues black people had to face during that time. I am not saying Persuasion should have been about black trauma. But ignoring it completely was an odd choice.

Conrad Ricamora said something about that topic as well (when addressing the position of gay asian in our society today and especially in todays LGBTQ community):

“We need movies that focus on our trauma. Then, we need movies show us going to the grocery store, show us hanging out with friends, going to the beach, going on vacation. It’s not just about our minority identity,” says the star.

“We can’t just completely gloss over and say, ‘Oh everything is completely fine and the world’s great.’ So, we need those movies. But we also need to have fun too. I feel like Fire Island does a great job of showing us having fun. 

And Persuasion did say: “Oh, everything is completely fine.” and that was a huge mistake imo

Updating the setting vs Updating the characters

One reason why Fire Island is so beautiful is because they completly stayed true to the book characters. They changed the setting, the changed sexuality and ethnic but the characters are still 1:1 the original Austen characters.

We have Will (Fitzwilliam) having an emotional breakdown when he is forced to socialize by Charles Bingley:

Charlie (Charles) being still the softest, cutest, dumbest character in the whole story, laughing his ass off when he sees Darcy struggle but trying to be polite about it

Noah (Elizabeth) is the most judgy bitch who ever walked the planet but on the other hand he is the one who keeps the family together and takes care of everyone. And always challenges Darcy

And I mean, this is the whole Bennet family. Don’t dare to tell me you cannot spot Kitty and Lydia right away. You can see Mary in the back btw, with the hat.

Instead, Persuasion gave us lines and moments like those:

You wouldn’t know this is supposed to be Anne.

Appropriate language

While watching Fire Island I always found the language appropriate to the place the story was taking place in. And it also suited the characters. I really had the feeling a queer asian man in his 30s wrote the script reflecting on his experience of...well... being a gay asian man in his 30s. Everyone spoke and behaved appropriate. While still staying true to the book characters. Instead, Persuasion was written by Ron Bass, a 80 years old man who gave us lines like: 

Which gave of these vibes:

Voice overs

I know voice overs are always a complicated thing to do. Good Omens tried to solve it by making God the narrator. Persuasion 2007 had Anne writing her dairy with subtle 4th wall breaking... which worked okay-ish. Fire Island chose an approach I really liked (which was also used in Vampire Academy 2014). We hear the characters inner thoughts WHEN necessary (!), which are SOMETIMES (mostly at the beginning and at the end) directed at the viewer directly. But the golden rule still stands: “Don’t tell, show!”. And Fire Island understood that very well. Nevertheless, there are some inner thoughts that need to be spoken. Especially for comedy reasons. And it is also a blast for book fans because this is what we thought the whole time reading the book.

It just fits Elizabeth perfectly! This is a 100% Lizzie.

In contrast we get that from Persuasion:

Like, if I am not able to see that you are two are past lovers by the way you behaving around each other, you are doing something terrible wrong. I don’t need you to turn around to me and point at Wentworth: “We are exes btw!”. Anne 2007 crying her eyes out only when we, the viewers, where around made much more sense. 2007!Anne also shared secrets just with us, but meaningful secrets. You know what I saw when she cried her eyes out and then shortly looked at us? A woman, nearly shattered to pieces, silently screaming for help.

When 2022 Anne cried while reading the letter to us is saw nothing because I cringed so hard I had to look away a drama queen. It didn’t had any meaning or impact

Sex jokes: body positive

I always thought I am not a fan of sex jokes, but while watching Fire Island I noticed my problem are actually not sex jokes but most of them being incredible toxic. The sex jokes in Fire Island were so amazing body positive. I just wanted to point that out. Next point!

The letter!

Both Persuasion and Fire Island have meaningful letter. Darcy writes Lizzie a letter, explaining his behavior and apologizing. Wentworth writes Anne a letter to confess his love.

Translating a letter to modern times where men and women can talk with each other freely without any boundaries and where phones are everywhere is really complicated but Joel Kim Booster created the perfect set up. By breaking Noahs phone and letting Will and Noah having a huge fight. So, it is really convincing why Will writes the letter. And the scene is so beautiful:

And the letter Wentworth sends Anne is equally important, maybe even more important. But even though Persuasion 2022 is still set in regency times and actually has the perfect set up for a letter, it still completely misses the mark. Why? Two reasons. 1) Anne and Wentworth are talking with each other the whole time. So there is actually no need for a letter:

2) Instead of quietly reading the letter and having a beautiful soft voice over (Persuasion 2007, Persuasion 1995, Pride and Prejudice 2005 etc.) we get Anne turning around to us and reading the letter to US. A letter meant only for HER and she turns around to us and cries her out to us. Ugh, it was so cringe.

Both Fire Island and Persuasion 2022 changed the letter, but why did it work for Fire Island and not for Persuasion? Because there was never a need for Persuasion 2022 to update the letter. None. Only of them thinking every love letter needs an explicit “I love you” so the viewer understands what the scene is about. Also, the Fire Island letter missed the mark here and there. Darcy could have told something along the lines: Dex hurt my brother deeply” but anyway. It worked nevertheless.

The captions

The captions are definitely not perfect in Fire Island:

but definitely a 100% times better what Persuasion gave us:

I mean look what effort Emma 2020 put into the title cards. Its not that hard:

Updates

I love Austen but I also think her stories need updates to suit the world were are living in today. As i already pointed out: The personality of the characters do NOT need updates.

I loved that Fire Island had Elizabeth (Noah) stand up for Lydia. Instead in the original PP story everyone drops Lydia like a hot potato and her family only saves her for their own sake. I know, why... it was regency era, but that wouldn’t work anymore if you set the story in a modern setting like Fire Island did.

Also, Noah was clearly ashamed of Lydia and Kitty from time to time but never rejected them as a family member. I also loved that in contrast to the original PP novel Jane (Howie) has a fight with Noah (Lizzie) telling him his place and telling him to stop try to change him.

I also would have loved to see changes like that in the Persuasion adaptation. Talking about the fact that the sailors were not heroes but serving a really expanding colonialist system. It also needed Gay characters and more female friendships. Because every Persuasion adaptation we got so far mostly ignored Mrs. smith and her friendship with Anne. And also the friendships between Harville and Wentworth is mostly only there for one or two scenes. Persuasion 2007 already dug deeper into it. But there is more to explore.

Instead, they changed the character of Anne and gave her a strong friendship with Louisa and Henrietta. I love these two but that was such an odd choice but, in the end, they only see Anne as a nice aunt who comes around from time to time. The point is that Anne has no real friends in this place. She finds friends in new places. And don’t get me started on all the other “updates” that made Persuasion 2022 into a completely different story.

I was not able anymore to tell who was supposed to be who and what was gonna happen next. And that’s the beauty of Fire Island.

Updating dating:

One major problem when translating Austen novels in modern times is the dating. Today you just do not marry a person right away just because you fall in love with them. So it was good that Fire Island gave Darcy and Elizabeth scenes where they were alone and scenes where they needed to work together (confronting Wickham) and where we saw them being casual around each other, having fun and flirting. But they waited with that until after the letter so it would make sense.

I think Persuasion wanted to take a similar approach when they wrote this line:

They didn’t want the have the main leads being quiet around eachother for two hours straight and then suddenly: “Btw, love you, wanna marry me?” But that’s the point. They fall in love BEFORE the movie starts (in the past, 8 years ago), they talked a lot with each other 8 years ago, all of that has already happened.  Making a good Persuasion adaptation means the viewer notices how both of them are grieving those happy times, wishing they could go back to the happy times but being also not able to talk to each other based on the circumstances. But still, always colliding into ecah other and being forced to work and talk with each other.

When you make a Persuasion adaptation set in modern times, it could also work with them not talking to each other. Silent pining of people who are in love with each other for 8 years. Because Persuasion is not about “falling in love”, this already happened. It is about finding a way back to each other and opening your hearts again, A story about forgiveness and this doesn’t always need to be screamed from the rooftops but can also happened quiet, really private.

Mistakes:

I also need to point some mistakes for Fire Island, I guess. Charlies reason to return to his ex was really staged. Darcy sadly lacked real character growth. It would have been more convincing if he also would have hated the whole Bennet family because he a) thought that the Bennet family is a bad influence on Charlie and b) that Howie feelings were not as deep as Charlies and that Howie wanted Charlie because of his money.

TL:DR: Fire Island showed how to do a modern Austen adaptation and that Austen is still worth being adapted today in many diverse ways. Persuasion completly failed because they only wanted to be edgy and ripped the heart out of the story and the characters

[ineffableaddiction]

Part 15: New Beginnings

A Good Omens Fan Fic

Crowley pulled into a vague spot by the curb near the bookshop, opened his door and looked around. He didn’t see Muriel. Aziraphale was almost at the door, when he suddenly stopped and turned towards Crowley. “I’m afraid I don’t have any keys.” He tried to smile, but Crowley could see the devastation of being locked out of his home, their home.

Approaching the entrance, Crowley took his set of keys and handed them to the angel. “Keep them.” It’s not that either one of them needed keys to enter the bookshop, but it was the lack of having them that saddened Aziraphale. He took the keys Crowley offered and unlocked the bookshop.

“Alright then, I should probably go find Muriel.” Crowley announced, walking into the bookshop and closing the door behind them.

“Yes, that would probably be best.” Aziraphale walked through the shop into the back room, where he stored some of his favorite books. Crowley followed.

Aziraphale was writing something. Crowley waited, and then read. “Little miracle? Allow us to talk freely?” Crowley shook his head. The last time they tried a little miracle it didn’t work out as expected.

“I really should find Muriel.” Crowley took off his shades and set them down on a random surface. He wasn’t sure if Aziraphale would be there when he returned, making the leaving part of that plan almost impossible to accomplish.

He took a step towards Aziraphale, not really knowing why. They stood in silence, quietly staring at one another, with the pending separation at the forefront of their minds. Aziraphale closed the gap between them. “I…”

After a moment, Crowley answered quietly. “Me too.”

Aziraphale initially meant to step away, but without thinking brought his hand up and touched Crowley’s cheek. “Oh, Crowley… I…”

His face betrayed every feeling he was having, and Crowley’s reciprocated. Neither knew how to express what they were to each other, but still they both knew.

Aziraphale felt the tears and tried to fight them. Slowly, gently Crowley leaned in and wrapped his arms around his angel. Aziraphale clung to him, and they held each other like it was the last time they’d be together, because it just might be. With the closeness, Crowley became more aware of the danger they might be in. He stepped back, and looked at Aziraphale. He mouthed “Ask me now.” and walked into the main room of the bookshop. Aziraphale followed.

“Crowley, I was rather hoping that you would reconsider my previous offer. It still stands.” Aziraphale looked at Crowley, who was already hiding behind his dark glasses. “Come back to heaven with me!” He begged as best as he could.

There was some back and forth, his plead was quickly rebuked, and Crowley left. Aziraphale sat down in his chair, waiting to see what would happen next.

What neither of them realized was the the intensity of their physical and emotional connection changed something around them. Even if someone was trying to watch them, it would have been impossible unless they were physically present. A cocoon of something flowed from them, surrounding the bookshop and expanding, encapsulating most of London and parts of an isolated road in the countryside.

This phenomenon, on a large scale, had only occurred three times previously. The first was in Rome, around the time an emperor had been killed. The second was during the revolution in France. The third, in London, had been protecting the bookshop for over eighty years.

But this was the most expansive. Both Crowley and Aziraphale’s main concern during their recent time together was protecting the other. The strength of their commitment to their group of two created its own miracle when they gave part of themselves to the other freely.

While both of them may not have noticed, others definitely did. And some of them were not happy.

After wandering around the neighborhood, when Crowley found Muriel they were sitting at a cafe, coffee and scones on the table in front of them, and an unknown human that Muriel appeared to be having an intense conversation with sitting at their side. He stood nearby, observing them for a brief time.

“Muriel, it’s time to go back to the bookshop.” Crowley said, drawing both of their attention. His head turned towards the human. “Who’s your friend?”

Muriel was beaming. Crowley briefly wondered what was wrong with them.

“This is Aimee. We’ve been talking for awhile now and she knows a lot of things.”

The human smiled at Crowley, and he felt that she through his glasses. She asked if he wanted to join them.

“I have to go back to the bookshop,” he declined the invitation, “But thank you.” Looking back at Muriel, “You should be coming back too.”

Muriel stopped smiling and looked a little sad. The human put an arm around Muriel saying, “Don’t be sad! We can meet up tomorrow if you’d like! What’s your mobile?” The human grabbed their mobile phone and got ready to enter a new number.

“I don’t have a mobile.” Muriel wasn’t sure if that was good or bad, but the human was asking for it and they didn’t have it, so maybe it was bad.

The human stood up and walked onto the sidewalk. Looking back at Muriel, she teased, “Well, why don’t you show me where this bookshop is so I know where to find you?”

Muriel nodded enthusiastically and joined Aimee on the street, walking towards the bookshop, both deep in conversation. Crowley trailed behind them, a bit confused and unsure of why Muriel was so interested in a specific human for no reason that was apparent.

The two continued talking the entire stroll back. When they reached their destination, Muriel invited her new friend to come in, so the human followed Muriel into the bookshop.

Crowley stood outside of the door for awhile, incredulous. Now they were letting random people into their inner sanctuary? This wasn’t normal. He sighed, and walked in.

His eyes went to Aziraphale, who was being introduced to Muriel’s new pet. The human was excitedly discussing what wondrous things that books were, and the look on Aziraphale’s face let Crowley know the he would be losing this battle. Muriel and the human were sitting on the sofa, Aziraphale was at his desk and they were discussing A Consolation of Philosophy for reasons Crowley didn’t care to try to understand.

He was going to go to his room, but decided against it. If Aziraphale would only be on Earth temporarily, he would spend as much time as possible with him. He made sure all the blinds were closed, and found none open. That wasn’t surprising since the shop hadn’t been open, outside of fifteen minutes, for a long time. He walked over and stood behind Aziraphale’s chair, leaning on its back, and listened to the conversation.

They had just changed topics, discussing The Republic, and the human was actually able to decently converse on it, as far as Crowley could tell, especially based on Aziraphale’s responses. Muriel was sitting beside the human, still smiling but not able to join in the discussion because she’d not read much on philosophy.

The human seemed to realize Muriel’s silence, reached out and placed a hand on Muriel’s arm, asking, “What book is your favorite?”

Aziraphale seemed a bit shocked by the display of affection from a human, and a new human at that. Crowley moved to sit on the arm of the chair, and they exchanged a glance.

Muriel thought for a moment. “I read a book called They Both Die at the End. It was set in the future, and they had people that called humans and told them when they would die.”

Crowley looked at Muriel, and a very confused Aziraphale smiled and replied, “I don’t believe I’ve read that particular book.” Crowley turned towards Aziraphale as he spoke, and Aziraphale glanced towards him nervously.

The human didn’t seem to notice. She hadn’t read that book either, but was asking a happy Muriel more questions, which Muriel gladly responded to. Aziraphale watched them as they had their discussion, smiling contentedly at the scene before him. Crowley felt like he was missing something. The entire situation was just weird.

Aziraphale stood up and excused himself, and indicated that Crowley should follow him.

Crowley smiled at Muriel and the human, still confused but happy to be escaping the situation. He gave a little wave and followed Aziraphale.

When they got to the back room and closed the door, Crowley looked at Aziraphale. “What was that?”

Aziraphale laughed. “Apparently, Muriel has made a friend. Do you see how happy they are?” He was beaming, and Crowley relaxed a little. Aziraphale had always been better with humans, so if he didn’t find it odd for Muriel to bring one home, then it was probably okay. Aziraphale was smiling, which made Crowley happy.

Becoming a little nervous, Crowley asked, “So, what are the plans for tonight? Will you be here in the morning?”

Aziraphale nodded. “I should be able to stay tomorrow, but I do need to leave after that. I have a lot of work to do.”

Letting out a small sigh, Crowley asked if Aziraphale wanted to go to the pub, or possibly have some wine. Crowley could use a drink.

They left the room and let Muriel and their friend know they were departing, then walked to the pub. Crowley ordered drinks while Aziraphale secured seating. He glanced at his surroundings, and felt like he’d been here just yesterday, but knowing this was probably the last visit.

After setting their drinks on the table, Crowley sat across from Aziraphale. He poured himself a glass from the bottle he’d procured, and Aziraphale had a sherry. Raising his glass for a toast, Crowley thought for a moment before saying, “To God’s great plan,” his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Aziraphale stopped smiling and looked at Crowley nervously. “You know, I don’t mind a joke…”

“Alright, alright. So why don’t you start it then?”

After thinking about it, Aziraphale raised his glass. “To us.” Their glasses touched, and Crowley, clearly caught off guard, replied in a voice filled with several emotions. “To us.”

[never-forget-viva-la-pluto]

GOOD OMENS S2 SPOILERS!!!

This season of good omens is so good. List to follow:

"He's not allowed to stop the execution of 3 children bc the system that agreed to kill them has a permit" like that is the best satire I've heard since Shakespeare

Non stop foreshadowing of Beezlebub X Gabriel. Like it's so obvious so early on. Flies near him, him not wanting to kill them, it hurts to remember, you're perfect.

Aziraphel crying when he thinks he's a demon after lying is such a great first stake in the heart of solidifying that he thinks Crowley is still an angel and won't accept him as he is. More to that, it is so good at showing how that all stems from his own internalized fear. A very queer experience mirrored here...purity something something. Mr. Fell is afraid of falling.

Crowly is very cunty this season. The posts are right

AZ drives like crowley

AZ writing in his diary about his and crowleys dates like a teen girl. Bonus that it's a date to a graveyard to look at a picture of his old boss and they end up in a diseased alley and help a wee lesbian steal a corps. And still writing about it like it was a super cute date solely bc his crush got drunk and acted a fool. Same place for the Beezlebub Gabe date extra bonus

They let Tennant be scottish!

Crowley having a night rider moment

Aziraphel being genuinely in love with humanity and holding the jar close to himself in grief at the doctor's has me emotional. He really does have too much love for one tiny little angel.

Crowley having the time of his life making those two humans fall in love. He loves mischief but he hates harm. He loves to see humans happy and he only shows it when he's alone

Aziraphels debut as a Magician!

Aterik is gender envy. Don't argue with me

Mark Gatiss zombie. No I am not lying not even a little.

Crowley fell for AZ when he gave away the sword but he falls farther every time AZ does a little more good. The way he said " thank you for getting me off the hook back there" was so flirtatious and the smile when AZ knocks over shit in the Magic shop. Hats off the both actors

Old man crowley

Lmao crowley seeing the miracles don't work and deciding to speed read how not to kill his boyfriend XD

The shaky breathing as crowley aims the rifle. There is more tension in that scene than most horror I've seen.

AZIRAPALALALA

Lmao the car is a puppy

Shax being a bad bitch and not underestimating Aziraphels love for his bookshop. 10k demons is called for when sieging that place.

AZ getting things done while crowley fucks around in the back or vise versus is a common scene dynamic

AZ quoting DW trivia like tennant does.

This whole season is about how they realize how much they love each other and having a crisis about it while hell and heaven interrupt with issues regarding 1 John ham

The long running joke in the show is that all the angel's pretend they know a lot about humans as a show of power

Much more miracles and it's awesome.

Not even the seamstress is straight

Azs shop changing into a ball was so distracting to crowley that he momentarily forgot about the army of demons coming for them

John hamm fluffy coat

Crowley reading terms and agreements comes in handy several times

"Happy anniversary, love" I'm screaming and crying I am so full. This season said OK please make this queer friendly. "You're a good lad" "not either" my trans ass is so happy

Also this season is still so ace even though they kiss it still feels very ace energy to me. Maybe it's just the lack of sexualized anything, or maybe it's the variety of body's that so rarely get shown on TV.

Crowleys heaven sneak

"Stay back"

One demon popped like a bubble. There was a sound effect and everything

The bad guys always say things that fucking hurt. They always have the right thing that cut to the core of the characters soft spots

Halo removal should be in more of the fanfics actually that scene was baller

If you watch as all the heaven and hell fight AZ cannot stop staring at crowley

Crowley fixing the bookshop so it stays the same, while AZ changes it. Symbolism something parallels something

Sheen's delivery of the news to crowley was so well done. It's joyful, yet the second he has to tell crowley you can see the hesitation. He doesn't even believe what he's saying. It starts to hurt and he doesn't know why. But hes already agreed. He needed to hear the girls talk more than crowley did and it shows.no notes

ENDING THE SEASON W THE RADIO SINGING THE ENDING FROM S1 WAS PERFECT

Can't wait for S 3 !!!!!

[bryantspeed]

Season 2 Good Omens spoilers

Long rant incoming

Now that I’ve finished crying I wanna talk about the ending and some gut punch reactions I’ve already seen from other people. A repeated sentiment I’ve seen from Aziraphale and Crowley’s separation after the kiss is that “we don’t need more tragic queer endings” and that Our Flag Means Death and Good Omens suffer from straight writers writing queer love that fails in the end. And there are a few problems I have with those sentiments

The first being, BOTH GOOD OMENS AND OFMD AREN’T FINISHED? Like Neil Gaiman has stated in the past that he and Terry Pratchett envisioned 3 seasons in the TV adaptation of Good Omens, and we have definitely left off on a very interesting note for the third act to pick up from. This is the furthest thing from an ending as we can get.

Second, Season 2 of Good Omens very much shifted away from the idiot plot of Season 1 to truly make it a love story and emphasize that above all else. Hell, both Crowley and Aziraphale both point out romcom tropes that they find attractive and attempt to use them to make Maggie and Nina fall in love! Good Omens may be a self aware romcom, but it would be wrong to say it’s not still a romcom that subscribes to those tropes and utilizes them fully! We are ending the second act on a three act romantic story, and what typically happens then? The romantic leads, despite their mutual attraction and desire, split on ideological grounds and leave each other with regrets heavy on their lips (no matter how powerful a kiss is). Queer love stories do this too! Look at the movie “Bros”, they have this same 3 act structure, as does “But I’m a Cheerleader!” where we are screaming at Graham to please just run away with Megan but she is prioritizing her financial safety and family above her own desires.

Hell's sakes, look at the pinnacle of Romance, the brains behind the 1810 Clerkenwell diamond robbery, Jane Austen! Pride and Prejudice also follows this format where Elizabeth and Darcy are ideologically and emotionally split apart, and it is not until Darcy and Elizabeth grow and change for the better that they come back together in the most romantic scene to ever grace the world! "One word from you will silence me forever. [...] You have bewitched me body and soul". What I am trying to say is, Aziraphale going back to Heaven with Metatron is an extension of that common romance trope, splitting our star crossed demon and the too-trusting angel apart to prepare for the third and final act.

And ya know the funny thing that would have certainly happened even if they ended up together at the end of the second act? They would have been split apart very early into the third act. Stories are born of conflict, no story worth telling is one that culminates in "Nothing bad ever happened and we just watched our two lovebirds go on dates and explore each other's bodies for six hours!" Love stories thrive on setting up conflict, so that the romantic leads can fight and claw and work their way back to each other in a much more satisfying emotional climax than if the sloppy, rushed confession that Crowley gave Aziraphale had worked. Stories where the leads end up together in the middle of the story itself don't tend to end well for them (See Romeo and Juliet, "La La Land," "Titanic," et cetera). That is how you end up creating a romantic tragedy.

Third, while “We want queer stories that don’t end tragically” did have a place in film criticism at one time, and a time fairly recently, I feel that sticking to that now when there are a lot more stories that express queer joy and love (especially if you look beyond just major studios, support indie filmmakers, and support the SAG AFTRA and WGA strikes!!!) limits the kinds of stories we can tell. A genuine benefit of today is that there are a lot of queer stories that we can tell, and I’ve been lucky to read a lot of them. The freedom with which we can create stories about us is breathtaking. I've had the privilege to read many well written queer stories, but I've also had the strange privilege to read poorly written queer stories that I can't fathom how they made it past editing. There’s a fierce joy I carry knowing that there are a plethora of queer stories that I can read now, and that more are being created, good and bad.

My point is, there are so many queer stories to be told, and that are being told, so limiting queer media to “must end happily” is exactly that! Limiting! If we go in to every story with the foreknowledge of a happy ending, well frankly that’d be so boring! I want tragedies! I want fucked up characters not fully resolving their problems and being left in situations arguably worse than where they began!

And while I doubt that's the direction Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett wanted to take their supernatural love story, if Aziraphale and Crowley, despite all their struggles, are tragically separated because of metaphysical forces beyond our wildest imaginings, then that would be something new! It'd be interesting if done right! As painful it would be to not see Aziraphale and Crowley together gallivanting off to Alpha Centauri, I'd much rather see a story that has these sorts of stakes for both the characters and the audience!

Anyway, the reason for this rant is just to say that I'm excited for where Crowley and the new Supreme Archangel Aziraphale go in their final act, and by god will I impatiently wait and see.

PS: to those that I saw dismissing Good Omens' and OFMD's cliffhangers for coming from straight writers, Taika Waititi literally came out as queer, and Neil Gaiman had boycotts on Sandman in the 90's because of his queer characters, and his loving portrayal of Wanda, a trans woman that I will protect will all of my heart.

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

The Cishet 1990s American Father-Son Movie, Good Omens triggered.

For those who are confused, @howmanyholesinswisscheese made a heartbreaking Good Omens post. Read it and weep.

The reblogs however degenerated into a Cishet Father-Son saga, since you maggots are all my adoptive parents. Here is a more polished version of my latest contribution to the hellsite.

[Opening credits play over highly saturated, sundrenched midwest farmland. Bob Dylan's Sara plays and the title appears as the camera slows to a halt in front of a sprawling house.]

[TITLE: Farewell, Iowa, We'll Meet Again, a Gus Van Sant film]

Art 'Greeny' Matthews, a man who does an honest day's work in the farm and is pretty darn proud of it, wanders through his house. His wife Darlene just left him (hence the opening song), and he is faced with the prospect of raising his only son, a ten year old lad Asmond 'Mond' Matthews, on his own.

Greeny takes Mond along with him as he works in the farm on holidays, riding in the tractor. Mond cries about Darlene, who didn't even leave a note, the hussy, and Greeny comforts him as much as he can. "It'll be alright, son," Greeny says on Mond's eleventh birthday, as they sit in the stable with a badly made cake on the wobbly stool. "Just you and me, eh? Not bad!"

"I hate chocolate," Mond whispers miserably, and the birthday party ends in more tears.

When Mond is thirteen, he starts to grow more closed with his emotions, just helping his dad around the farm. They're making a huge profit, and Greeny has business deals and free time, and makes an effort to bring Mond along to golf games and such. Mond is being bullied in school for being caught writing poetry, but he refuses to tell his dad why he comes home with a black eye every other week.

"I'm always here if you want to talk over a game of catch, son," Greeny tries one day. "No thanks, dad," Mond says, and wanders away into the stable. At fourteen, Greeny tries to bring him on fishing trips to discuss his feelings, as they used to do back when Darlene lived with them. Mond swallows, but shakes his head.

Finally, Mond can't keep it from him anymore, and when Greeny finds out, he goes into a rare fit of temper. "Just like your mother, boy!" he says, hand rattling his mug of ale. "A wanderer and a careless fool, that's what you'll turn out to be! There ain't no place in this world for people livin' in their heads."

Mond doesn't write poetry anymore.

As Mond grows, though, he helps out more with the farm, and they bond over hopes for future profit, and joking about golf, which they both find pretentious. "C'mon, champ, let's go play golf," Greeny says while they watch suited businessmen make their way to the house, out of place amidst the yellow-green farmland. "What's your favourite golf club?"

"That a literal club, or the thing they whack the ball with, dad?" Mond responds, and Greeny chortles. "I taught you better than that, son."

He has high hopes for Mond, he will take over the farm. Greeny is growing weary of his duties, he married late and had Mond even later.

[Montages of sunlight days ensue, intercut with shots of Mond, who always has a melancholic air about him. His mother was a dancer, and that rebellious spirit, so long dormant, is beginning to stir as he enters his twenties.]

On his twenty-first birthday, Greeny has baked him a cake, not chocolate. Mond barely sees it. His father doesn't know him. Not really. Not at all. When Greeny says he is handing over the farm to him, and starts to give him instructions about the responsibilities, Mond has had it.

He picks up the rucksack he's been storing by the umbrella stand for weeks, and shoulders it as Greeny pauses mid-lecture. "I'm sorry, dad," Mond says. "I'm going away to be my own man. This was your dream. Not mine."

Greeny is too frozen to stop him.

[Knockin' on Heaven's Door by Bob Dylan plays with another montage]

Mond travels the States, far from home and Iowa, and after a year of struggle finally publishes his first anthology of poetry. Hoping to make his dad proud, he sends a letter home asking if it imperative he return, since he's too ashamed to say he wants to. The reply is a brief but polite no from the housekeeper, saying his father wishes him well but does not require that he return. Assuming Greeny wants nothing to do with him, Mond stays away, bitter and homesick.

He is called home a few months later, and when he arrives, he is met not with Greeny, but with the housemaids and farmhands in black, and the housekeeper teary-eyed as she guides him to the back garden and a lonely gravestone. Greeny, heartbroken by his son leaving the same way Darlene his wife did all those years ago, declined in health, but he kept up the farm till the end, all ready for Mond should he want it after all, and for the head farmer if he didn't.

Mond, still carrying his book hoping to have shown his dad at last, stares in shock at the gravestone. He thinks even at the end Greeny did not know him, thought he would want the farm. Until he reads the inscription. Art 'Greeny' Matthews, friend to all, loyal husband, and most of all, proud father of a poet.

His father knew, Mond realised. His father knew what he'd been doing.

"Are ya proud, dad?" Mond whispers, dropping the book and kneeling down before the stone. "Are ya proud? It was all for you."

[The camera pulls back to show the farmland, scattered with people in black going about their work because business stops for no one, and a solitary figure by the gravestone. Bob Dylan's Blowin' in the Wind plays as the end credits roll.]

"How many roads must a man walk down, before you call him a man?

How many seas must a white dove sail, before she sleeps in the sand?"

The end.

@howmanyholesinswisscheese The challenge has been issued.

[applestorms]

GOOD OMENS.

CLENCH UP BITCHES WE'RE DOING THIS. SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS READ WITH CAUTION my hands are still shaking from finishing season 2 approximately 13.420 minutes ago so everybody clam the fuigk up/down. we're getting IN to this one. 10 sections.

okay, before i get into anything specific, i just wanna say: this series has had some of the best writing i've seen in a tv show & it's really fucking gratifying to watch. this season in particular had some really clear, distinct themes that were evolved upon and executed pretty much perfectly imo, to the point that i almost feel like i can guess what a good deal of season 3 is probably gonna look like (see section 12). this is great!! it means the writers are really paying attention to what the story is doing & what the characters are feeling/going through at any given moment in the story, & it just makes the series that much stronger on a rewatch. this season in particular really hits that sweet spot for me of being overt & clear w/ its themes w/o treating its audiences like idiots, it just. works.

i'm not going to touch on season 1 as much here since it's not as fresh as s2 for me rn, but hopefully this post can help bring some additional analysis/reflection to the new season. not sure how much of this will be totally crazy wild & new, but perhaps some interesting points will come outta the process. hope you enjoy the read!! there's 13 sections so feel free to skip around.

1. aziraphale as the beautiful execution of a flawed protagonist (ft. crowley's pining)

one of the best parts of this season by far comes from the character writing, particularly for the main two & especially for aziraphale. aziraphale was my personal favorite to watch for this entire season actually, he & crowley are both such a fucking mess but aziraphale in particular hides it in such a fascinating way to me. it's not just like watching a car crash, it's like sitting on a park bench watching a man drive a bus into a stoplight, like full on crunch the vehicle in half squish, and then just get out & carry on walking like nothing is wrong & he isn't dripping blood & scraping broken bones across the concrete.

on a broader scale, there is something incredibly appealing about how aziraphale & crowley are presented, even at a very base level. even w/o the fantastic acting of michael sheen & david tennant specifically, it's a pretty common thing that fandom will default to shipping Narrative Foils, & these two are the epitome of that. a demon who can't stop being a nice guy & an angel who keeps cutely being an asshole- this is a great base to work off of, & again the execution thus far has been excellent.

what i like about aziraphale in particular is how complex his character ends up being while still fitting into a very particular role. while crowley to some degree fits into an already pretty popular & well-loved character model (that of the grumpy nice guy), aziraphale has to hit a couple of very important & precise traits, being both outwardly very likeable & endearing while simultaneously constantly fucking up & doing increasingly egregious shit. i really can't commend michael sheen enough for his acting in helping to get the balance right- it would be STUPIDLY easy to make aziraphale the most obnoxious character to ever grace the screen if performed or written incorrectly, the kind of outwardly-kind asshole that does horrific shit w/o reflecting since the show runners seem incapable of seeing the character for what they are & it all just ends up driving viewers up the wall (e.g. emily in paris).

what i think makes aziraphale work is the fact that he is just genuine enough in his actions that when he does something legitimately horrible, it's both so subtle you almost don't even pick up on it, too distracted by the emotions you feel in following his perspective, & just motivated enough that it's easy to write him off w/o thinking any deeper. as much as crowley calls aziraphale out for being a bad magician, i think it's spot on that the one thing he is quite skilled at is misdirection. you spend a lot of time in this show following very closely with either aziraphale or crowley's POV, but in s2 especially the contrast between those two views is quite overt. while crowley's perspective is often a lot quieter, more reflective & also overtly anxious as he throws himself into stressful situations purely for the sake of supporting az, aziraphale's POV is always very loud & chaotic as he runs around, finding pubs & fighting demons & doing whatever the fuck else he wants to at any given moment.

the main flaw of aziraphale in this season is, imo, selfishness, a direct contrast to crowley's continual self-sacrifice when it comes to aziraphale. in both cases though, this is (pushed to become) a flaw that i think ultimately leads to their inability to connect at the end of the season. but in order to understand that more, we're going to have to take a closer look into the circumstances that have thus far shaped both aziraphale & crowley's characters.

2. denial as a defense mechanism: heaven & hell as life threatening danger

if there's one thing s2 has not forgotten when it comes to a&c, it's the circumstances of s1 that led them to their current emotional/mental states.

slight tangent to lead back into this point: in my work as a librarian, i end up dealing w/ a very particular set of clientele when it comes to the kinds of people that regularly use a public library. parents w/ young children, older gentlemen & ladies looking to escape the more extreme weather, and (for my city, at least) lots and lots of people who no longer have stable housing. since an often forgotten about goal of a public library (well, to the general population) is social services, as a part of my training i've recently been working through a book on what is essentially trauma-informed customer service, which has led to a lot of insight.

one point in particular that i want to highlight here is the idea that traumatic instances are both common & intensely significant in how they can change a person's behavior. defense mechanisms that may make sense in the context of a traumatic event will often stick w/ people even as the context they're in changes & the instincts are no longer useful, instead making the individuals' life even more difficult.

if there is one trauma that defines a lot of the current problems that a&c are going through, it's the fear that originates from the constant surveillance and, in turn, threat of complete eradication that comes from both heaven & hell.

significantly, crowley & aziraphale both respond to this threat in distinctly different ways: where crowley clings to the idea of escape, of creating a place where it's him and aziraphale against the world (alpha centauri), in part idealizing aziraphale as both his only friend ("friend") & the only person he could ever truly trust (crowley also likely has some trauma from the fall but we'll get to that), aziraphale viciously denies that they even have a relationship, all the while simultaneously relying on crowley heavily to do a lot of his dirty work for him. (see this post for the endgame twist on that idea.) it's significant to me that a good chunk of aziraphale's earliest morally dubious actions involve lying- since he's been doing it for so long, it's probably one of the easiest things for him to write off as not that bad, so it's natural that he would default to it as a defense mechanism here too.

to clarify, crowley does engage in denial too, though it's obvious from the emotional climaxes of both season 1 & 2 that he is much less committed to it, likely doing it for the sake of easing aziraphale's mind and/or giving himself something to fall back on so he doesn't attract too much attention from the people that can really hurt them. overall though, these are both basically just fight/flight responses- crowley ultimately wants to run away from or fight everyone that can hurt them (& betrayed him by letting him down in the past) and aziraphale ultimately just wants to deny that the problem even exists.

if we see aziraphale's later stated goal of, "Let's change heaven for the better," as an evolution off of his earlier mindset, this is also basically what their final argument in ep6 comes down to: crowley wanting to run away and aziraphale wanting to go & fight for change. what's so aggravating about this conversation is that they also want the exact same thing: EACH OTHER. (idiots.) (maggie & nina were spot on, of course. it's not just nightingales missing in that silence.) this is not even to mention the fact that they are utilizing these defense mechanisms not just in an attempt to protect themselves, but ultimately to protect one another. think about that one late at night if you wanna get up the motivation to key mr. gaiman's car.

it's also interesting to note that in s1 crowley basically wins this argument, getting the chance to settle down (albeit, still under pretty questionable circumstances) as he & aziraphale (supposedly) create their own little corner of the world away from everyone else. it still doesn't work though as neither of their solutions really get at the core of the problem, which is 1. the horrific bureaucratic systems of heaven & hell that Don't Give a Shit about People at all, and 2. their own unspoken fears & feelings (romantic & otherwise).

3. good, evil, & narrative foils: crowley edition

since i extrapolated on aziraphale's character in section 1 and a&c's relationship in 2, i think it's only right that i look into crowley more for 3.

for all the pain & agony & tears that it brings, i really do think that ep6 is the best ep of s2. specifically, i think that ep6 is the one that shows the primary issues of a&c that have been plaguing them throughout the season (& even previously in s1) the most overtly, and this is especially true of crowley.

there are two things that aziraphale gets wrong about heaven in their final argument: 1st, the idea that heaven is necessarily better than hell, & 2nd the idea that crowley would ever want anything to do w/ it again.

i've seen some people talking about crowley like he's the voice of reason this season, but i don't necessarily agree, or at least not entirely. he's completely right when he says that heaven & hell is toxic in their final argument, yes, but i don't think his motivation in saying that is purely from observation either. remember that point i mentioned earlier, about crowley also having trauma from his initial fall? where aziraphale naturally trusts people to a fault (see: gabriel, but also picking up shax, the graveyard, etc.), crowley is plagued by a complete inability to trust anyone around him, & it's my opinion that a lot of this comes from the trauma of his initial fall.

the one exception to this is, of course, aziraphale, who we can see attempting to be a friend to crowley both before & long after his fall, but aside from him crowley Does Not trust anyone else around him & honestly for good reason. while we can write off hell as just being Like That, even if crowley didn't initially want to fall (as is heavily implied in a few flashback scenes), he certainly doesn't want to be dragged back into a supposedly great position that he knows he could lose again at any wrong comment. this is also (in part) why i think crowley reacts so strongly to aziraphale's "Nothing lasts forever," comment- after going through the horror of losing his divinity & all the stress of the last few seasons, the one thing crowley probably wants is stability, & he's been relying on aziraphale as the source of that. you're both doing the dance for this one, boys.

to reiterate: don't forget the graveyard scene when it comes to crowley doing absolutely anything for aziraphale to the point that it hurts him, both in terms of the supposed punishment he got from hell (that az skips over real fast in his narration) & how aziraphale continues to deny both the reality of their relationship & how much his denial hurts crowley.

4. beelz & gabe the weirdest couple imaginable. good for them. good for them. also: heaven & hell as two equally controlling/toxic sides of a bureaucracy

the Big Bads of the last few seasons took more of a backseat for this one which makes sense considering the focus on a&c and all of the parallel couples, but i do think the one point that was emphasized for them is very important, and that's the ways in which both heaven & hell parallel each other as shitty bureaucratic pyramids of power.

if we consider this meme to be true, i think crowley really is right when it comes to his analysis of heaven & hell, though we're probably just gonna have to wait until s3 to see the exact route the show decides to take.

a big running thread w/in either of these two groups is the fight for promotions, both in terms of people clawing their way up to get more power & in terms of people being replaceable. crowley & gabriel getting kicked out of their positions is just a vacancy of power to the companies that are Good Omens Heaven & Hell, and there is a very clear parallel between shax & michael & their desire for control. what's notable is how that parallel might also now extend to aziraphale what w/ his new promotion. all very fitting concepts to cover in a post-covid, writers-strike context, which i have seen our resident mr. gaiman posting about.

5. yuri on ice, hannibal, & the beauty of acknowledged romantic tension

if there is ONE thing i am disgustingly grateful for in this show it's the fact that we finally have some concrete follow-through on the romantic tension between a&c that permeated through s1. there's only so many times a man can call his best bud "Angel" completely unironically before it gets fucking stupid (cough cough dean winchester cough). but also, to put it in the words of another text post around here: I love how the kiss was awful.

even if there wasn't a kiss, the fact that this fucking entire season fucking revolved around love & featured all kinds of parallel couples should be enough to clue you in on the romantic tension between a&c, if you somehow were blind enough to miss it before. that being said, i'm really glad that the kiss was executed the way that it was, essentially summarizing all of the tension & anguish that had been built up over the last few seasons in an explosion. the state of aziraphale & crowley's relationship hurts more because they kissed, because the tension finally overflowed & it still wasn't enough to stop him from getting in the stupid elevator & running away again.

sorry had to take a break to aggressively listen to the better call saul theme song again. anyways, while i know there are some other shows that have set precedent for this in acknowledging the romantic development between their leads, i can't stop thinking about two in particular in comparison to good omens: yuri on ice, for the literal cinematic parallels between the kiss, and nbc hannibal, for the creator acknowledgement & slow lead up to the climax.

what i am desperately hoping & praying for w/ good omens is season 3, since it feels like all too often when we finally get a good, Gay:tm: show it's always this big, flashy thing right at the end that everyone freaks out about & adores (around these parts, at least) but is never evolved upon. i think gomens has a good chance since we've got more precedent now, the creators/actors/etc are more open about it, & the season is clearly unfinished w/ a ravenous fanbase, but something something supernatural trauma i'll trust it when i see it. can't always believe these corporate fuckers. at the very least though they probably wouldn't write this kind of ending if they didn't think they had a good case for another season, so.

ok, a couple shorter sections cause i'm undoubtedly gonna run out of space if i keep at this pace:

6. the resurrectionists was a really good arc that i enjoyed a lot

exactly what it says tbh, the writing for this arc in particular really stood out to me.

i mentioned earlier that s2 has some really good character writing & i think that's in part because it's necessary as a kind of transition season, reflecting on the chaos that happened w/ the first go at armageddon & setting up for the next apocalyptic event that is likely planned for s3. it's for this reason that i think the resurrectionists arc is really strong, establishing in particular all the flaws of aziraphale's character that i went over previously in a very interesting way that still manages to weave into the previously established, albeit quite sparse flashback timeline established in s1. the morally dubious nature of grave robbing for the sake of science & medicine is the perfect context to put characters like a&c in, and the more overt look into class w/ a character like elspeth works really well in helping to ground the more abstract social commentary associated w/ heaven & hell.

7. ramblings about sequels & whatnot

it can be really difficult to write a sequel, especially when the first go at the story cleaned up its plot so well by the end, but where s2 is strongest imo is in establishing the ways that crowley & aziraphale still need to grow.

i almost think that this season had to end horrifically tragic, in a similar way that i think book 2 of the simon snow series wayward son had to end on a pretty dour note. in order for 1 & 3 to have decently high notes, 2 just often has to be pretty miserable to balance it all out.

this is also why i think the maggie/nina storyline is so important overall. not only do those two establish the most overt romantic parallel to a&c, helping to transition the story from s1 & set up for ep6, but they also end on a distinctly hopeful note that's in direct contrast to the scene that comes immediately after they leave. the parallel plants at least the tiniest seed of hope that a&c can sort their shit out if given some time & communication, similar to maggie & nina. it also makes a lot more sense in establishing why crowley chooses that moment of all times to bother w/ a love confession- i genuinely don't think the kiss would work if m&n didn't have a little sit-down intervention w/ him beforehand.

8. SPECULATION: aziraphale vs. crowley apocalyptic fight, dissolving of the current organization of heaven & hell, affirmation of the beauty of humanity & morality?

a list of my speculation about what may or may not happen in s3:

apocalypse part 2 only this time aziraphale & crowley are actually gonna be fighting each other & it's going to be fucking agonizing to watch especially in direct contrast to s1

there's probably going to be some sort of attempt to get crowley into an equal/parallel position to aziraphale in hell. whether or not he actually decides to take this position is kinda up in the air, but either way he's going to fight it at first out of a hatred of both sides. if he does eventually agree it'll be under some sort of condition to save aziraphale, and/or a fake out trick that also is to save aziraphale.

i just don't think i can see a happy ending where heaven & hell stay in their same structure. w/ such big characters as gabriel & beelzebub just fucking gone into the middle of nowhere there's gotta be some kind of re-establishment of the two sides & their relations. the only way it might not change is if the Religion Lore gets in the way, but w/ the established politics of this show & mr. gaiman i can't see an ending that just allows the status quo to continue on exactly as horrible as it's been.

crowley back in his apartment? (plsplspls.) also something really heart-wrenching & emotional related to the car & the bookstore after a&c have been separated from them because of course. personally requesting additional exploration of the car as a symbol of crowley himself/able to be influenced by aziraphale e.g. scooting towards az, yellow is so pretty, etc. etc.

more flashbacks, maybe more from crowley's pov this time? like something to do w/ that period where he was supposedly being punished for helping aziraphale, more about his experiences w/ hell & the fall, etc.

something something affirmation of the beauty of humanity & the world, ft. a&c bonding over their mutual love of it again. they were each others only real friend for how many thousands of years, if they're gonna be fighting OR attempting a romantic bond that's going to be significant.

when the actual romantic reconciliation happens is kinda up in the air, but it depends on what the Big Bad ends up being, an external force of heaven & hell or a&c themselves. personally, i think that heaven & hell are just gonna keep getting weaker but w/ aziraphale in charge maybe that'll change (or maybe it'll be the catalyst lolol). if it's external they'll probably get together earlier in the season, if it's more internal probably not til the end, though there might be a momentary reconciliation for the sake of fighting something else.

i'm a bit more up in the air about this one, but maybe something more w/ satan & god as the top of the pyramid when it comes to heaven & hell? good omens is all about that kind of contrast so it might make sense. this also assumes that s3 is the presumed end of the series, which may or may not be the case.

if this does end up being the end of the series: i really, really, really, would not be surprised if crowley & aziraphale end up fully human. it's quite the obvious answer but it just makes so much sense for their characters, w/ their love of the world & whatnot. then again a lot of their relationship has also been related to immortality, but also then again there's a lot of stories out there about immortals hating their long lives & wanting to just settle down like normal people so. ehh. oh speaking of settling down,

9. they're NOT married, that's the PROBLEM: thirteen seconds.

thirteen. full. seconds. of the Most Awful Kiss. known to contemporary tv.

they're not married that's th eentire fuckigngggng proble m.,,..,,..,.

10. "I forgive you."

this is such a nonsensical line it makes me so absurdly angry. what the fuck are you doing aziraphale. well, presumably the exact same thing crowley was trying to do by kissing you, but i digress.

bonus edit, i thought of this literal seconds before falling asleep & now i can’t get it out of my mind: crowley needs aziraphale for stability, aziraphale needs stability to have crowley. mic drop

[kingpippthe2nd]

This is going to be a Neil Gaiman appreciation post. Not because I think, the internet needs another person babbling on about how good an author Neil is. There is enough of those. This one is purely egotistical, because I have too many words rattling in my head, and they want out. So, settle in and let me tell you a story. I promise, it will make sense in the end. Or go read something interesting. I’m not your parent. 

I used to read a lot as a kid. The library in my town was open on two afternoons each week: Tuesday and Thursday. So, every Tuesday I would go there with my stack of read books, swap them for a smaller stack of books, which I would devour in the next two days, return them on Thursday, leave with a bigger stack and so on and so on. I couldn’t read enough. I loved disappearing into all the different worlds, all the different adventures. I was the kind of kid, that would read until the middle of the night, illuminated by a flashlight, be exhausted all day in school, just to go home and do it all again.  

I don’t know when this changed, exactly. Only that it did. Something about growing up took away the wonder of printed words. Or wonder in general.  

I remember telling my therapist a year or so ago how I remember being able to see so much beauty in the world. How the tiniest thing could spark so much joy in me. Make me imagine entire worlds. And how I couldn’t find this kind of joy anymore. How I felt that something in me was irrevocably broken. She reassured me, that this was normal. All part of growing up. Childlike wonder at the world is not for adults to have. Never have the words a therapist felt so fundamentally wrong. I was heartbroken leaving that session. My worst fears had become true: I’d never find that joy again. 

Over the years, I never lost my love of stories. I started listening to audiobooks, a form of media which I used to despise. Why listen to a book when you can read it? Hold it? Smell it?  I watched movies and series and listened to podcasts. But I didn’t really read. I had lost the patience for them. Don’t get me wrong: I still loved my books. I have some beautiful editions of my favourite books that I loved showing off to people. I bought new books as well. New stories. And I told myself I’d get around to reading them soon. But I never did. 

I used to write a lot, too as a kid. I wrote diaries, though I never kept up with them for long. I wrote short stories and even started writing a book, which was not very good and is now lost forever. I wrote loads of poems. One of them I wrote sitting on a roof in a night gown while the full moon shone behind the church tower. I still have that one. It isn’t half bad. But I stopped writing years ago. It left me, when I left the books. 

Some years ago, my partner at the time introduced me to a new book. Theyread it aloud to me in the evenings. It was called “Neverwhere” by a man I had never heard of: Neil Gaiman. I fell immediately in love with the story and the writing and the characters. Soon enough I owned all the Neil Gaiman audiobooks I could find and listened to them ravenously.  

Within the last year I have tried to read four books. I finished one of them. Not a big one. And it took me multiple months. I had to force myself to finish it, even though I loved the story and the writing. The other three I abandoned halfway through, feeling terribly about myself and my apparent inability to read. 

And then Amazon Prime released season two of Good Omens and I found myself swept up in a maelstrom of emotions and hype and fan theories. I started reading fan fictions for the first time in my life. Long ones too. I started telling anyone and everyone about how much I loved and missed the show. About how genius a writer Neil Gaiman was. How I had loved his way with words and worlds for such a long time and that he was my favourite author. 

A week ago, I had a realisation: I had never actually read a Neil Gaiman book. I’ve had them read to me. I’ve listened to hours and hours of audiobooks. But I had never ever actually sat myself down and read a book by my favourite author with my own eyes. Held it. Smelt it.  

So, I picked up one of the “I’ll get around to it books” from a stack on my hallway book shelf and started reading. A little thing called “The Ocean at the End of the Lane”. I finished it within three days. I read it on my way to and from work. One night, I walked all the way from the tram stop to my flat whilst continuing to read, phone flashlight in hand, so the darkness wouldn't steal the story away from me.  

And as I finally looked up from on the pages again and looked around, something else happened. It was as if the words had given my mind a little nudge. The world was spinning slightly differently. And all over sudden I could see the world as I had as a kid. There are more colours now. Everything is a bit more sparkly, more magical. I can taste stories on the wind, see them in the early morning sunshine. I have ideas rattling in my head that need writing down for the first time in what feels like forever. Ideas for short stories, for poems. Maybe even for a book.

I can’t even begin to express how thankful I am to Neil for giving me back something, I knew I had lost forever. Because childlike wonder at the world is not for adults to have. With nothing but his words printed on paper he remade the way I see the world. If that isn’t some kind of magic, then I don’t know what could be. And who wants to be an adult anyway.

[adverbian]

How does music affect/influence your writing? (more specific questions if that's too broad! Are you inspired by particular types of music? Or, do you like to write while listening to music and if so, what kind? OR EVEN feel free to just go off about something that inspires you if music isn't a big one for you!) ❤️

Ooh fun question!

Sometimes it’s lyrics. See, my brain has a built-in lookup feature for song lyrics. If I read or write a word or phrase that appeared in the lyrics of a song I know… I will start humming that song. This often happens while writing fic. A lot of the time, the song will wind up resonating with the story, and I’ll use it for the work or chapter titles. “What We Think About When We Think About Each Other” is probably the fic I did that the most.

Sometimes the fic comes first, and I want to reference a piece of music with particular emotions at a particular point within the fic. Then I go down a research rabbit hole to find the right thing. For example, I did that for the opening to my first Good Omens fic ever, “one more river (and that’s the river of jordan).” Had to find something romantic but not too cheesy (and not be-bop). After a long research journey, I ended up with Liszt’s Consolation No. 3, and it now holds a very special place in my heart forever.

(I do not have any sort of music education, so my music appreciation comes fully from the University of Googling It.)

And sometimes a piece of music is the prompt. This happened most directly with “Exsultet,” my fic for the Good Omens Song and Poetry Exchange, in which the whole game was “get a song prompt, write a fic.” I got incredibly cool prompts from @grimboigio (“The Bomb” by Florence + The Machine, and “Stripped” by Depeche Mode) and worked until the vibes coalesced into a fic.

It also happened indirectly with “Confiteor.” (I rambled on at length, so this goes under a cut.)

See, way back last fall, there was a discussion on Good Omens After Dark on Reddit about what music Aziraphale would play during sex. One suggestion was Stravinsky’s 1919 Firebird Suite.

So I put a reference to it in the beginning of “Set Me As a Seal Upon Your Heart.” Then I decided I wanted to write the sex scene that happens offscreen between the end of “That the One Ought To Have of the Other” and the beginning of “Set Me As a Seal.” And I wanted to set it to the Firebird Suite.

So I looked it up and found a neat Khan Academy music appreciation video about it. The suite is an adaptation/condensation of music from the ballet, so I watched three different stagings of the ballet to get the mythic vibes. I realized the vibes are actually pretty dark.

At the same time, I was having lots of thoughts and feelings about Aziraphale and guilt. This all cross-pollinated with the music, and I started drafting a makeup-sex fic about guilt and forgiveness, that I was going to try and pace with the movements of the Firebird Suite.

I ran into problems.

First, the angsty vibe didn’t really fit between the two sweet, romantic, happy fics I’d already written.

Second, the pacing of the Firebird Suite is really hard to use for a sex scene, it turns out. The crescendoing action is interrupted by a lullaby, which is beautiful but meant I had to slow the action to a crawl just when it was getting good. I couldn’t make it work.

I struggled with it. I got beta feedback. I struggled with it some more. I wrote a non-smutty, dialogue-only version which felt way too therapy-speaky. I eventually threw up my hands and shelved the whole thing.

Then, well… eventually…months later, it came back around. I figured out how to approach it. The smut was gone, and it was a standalone piece instead of part of an existing series, and the music references were gone. But the vibes of the first and last movements of the 1919 Firebird Suite can still be felt in the intro and outro of Confiteor — which are the only pieces of the original draft that made it through.