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gotholdladywithadhd · 1 month

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Unpopular opinion, probably.

So I've read many metas, and thought a lot about it and have come to my own personal conclusion about the final 15.

I'm taking it at face value.

Because it was the most human Crowley and Aziraphale have probably ever been and I think that is at least part of the point. Love makes people stupid and they are navigating a very human thing in very unhuman circumstances, and it's hard enough to do as a human in human circumstances!

I think Aziraphale believed the Metatron about Crowley bc he was expecting the worst when TM mentioned Crowley but instead got the one thing he wanted most (him and Crowley together and safe, not Crowley being an angel. ) Crowley was absolutely the carrot here. (and no I do not think Crowley would have been safe or happy, but that's besides the point.) I can't tell you how many times I've believed patently ridiculous things because I wanted to believe them so badly even though if I was looking at the same situation objectively from an outside POV I would see how ridiculous it was, so I totally get it. This isn't to say I think Azi had a real choice to go to Heaven or not and I think he did understand that as well, but I get the temptation the Metatron threw out to him, I really do.

As for Aziraphale literally saying all the wrong things to try and get Crowley to come with him? Um yeah been there done that too, the nerves take over, the brain shuts off, the mouth goes into autopilot pulling stuff out its ass, and "WITAF did I just say?" happens.

Crowley not taking any of it well and only hearing what he expected to hear (I'm not good enough for you bc I'm a demon and you only really want me if I can be an angel) *and* also being more able to see through heavens bullshit bc he has lived it, and can see it from the outside, *and* all whilst being the most honest and vulnerable he has ever been with Aziraphale in 6,000 plus years (or in fact possibly to anyone, ever. the closest before this admitting he was lonely to Azi during the Job minisode,) *then* hearing what he took to be the same Heaven will save us line from Azi was enough to trigger a massive bout of RSD and a broken heart. Everything was supposed to "vavoom and sorted! " and instead the stupid awning broke and everything went wrong. I think I've said it before that at this point Crowley can't hear anything over the sound of his heart breaking into a million pieces.

That's a whole lot to pack into the brief moments before Azi has to leave with the Metatron (who let's be honest was rushing him before he could change his mind) esp when neither of them are used to discussing their relationship openly. They didn't have time to think, to ask questions, to share information, (like hey guess what really happened to Gabriel?) Crowley tried to communicate as much as he could about his feelings with the kiss but Azi didn't have the time to properly process all that and said the wrong thing again and Crowley was rejected (he thought) again and it all just went so very wrong. You can't fix a 6,000 year relationship in 15 minutes, you just can't no matter what the story books say.

It's about two people wanting the same thing but not being able to get it (yet) because of circumstances and personalities. All of S2 was about them seeming to be closer than ever (and in many ways they were) but really they were opposed at almost every turn. (in RL not the minisodes, those actually showed them working together and coming out okay mostly, if you don't count wee Morag or Crowley getting dragged to hell) The way they both handled the Gabriel situation, how they both worked to solve the mystery, even how they tried to make Nina and Maggie fall in love were all either done alone, or in opposite ways. I've said it before and I'll say it again, as it was pointed out right in ep1, their exactlies aren't the same and until they are, they aren't going to be able to be together. The one time they did work together in the season, they produced a 25 lazuri miracle. That is the point of the final 15, and the whole season 2 in my opinion.

They'll get there in the end though!

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weirdly-specific-but-ok · 3 months

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pt XVI good omens season 2 (still not traumatic) episode 3 EDINBURGH

HELLO IT'S ME IT'S THE OFFICIAL GOOD OMENS MASCOT WHY DO I STILL KEEP INTRODUCING MYSELF IDK. If you don't know who I am, thank God and Satan for their mercy and flee. Also, the day after I post this, I'll be watching the last three episodes on livestream for the first time so. You know. I'm hyped on the energy of this being my last day not enveloped in tears. Take the summary:

Before the episode starts, someone asks why Crowley said in the last episode that Aziraphale couldn't fall because look at him, all angelic when Crowley looked the same as starmaker. I reply that "Crowley thinks he deserved it, he sees Azi as something beautiful and untouched while he probably sees himself as idk marked in some way so god kicked him down."

I am told that I am learning too fast to weaponise the narrative to induce angst. So then I say oh, I go too fast for you. Tears ensue.

The episode begins! Everyone shrieks about Edinburgh, David Tennant, how it is their favourite episode, and SCOTTISH CROWLEY.

We open with lesbians being gay, and then Muriel enters as Inspector Constable! They are very sweet and very determined to do their job right, and they are adopted by Crowley and Aziraphale just like Jim.

Crowley sits on Aziraphale's chair's arm. The maggots all swoon.

Fine, I also swooned.

Aziraphale gaslight-gatekeep-girlboss-mansplain-manipulate-manwhores his way into getting Crowley to give him the Bentley keys (BOUNDARIES. BOUNDARIES.).

WHAT PLENTY OF USE DO BOTH OF YOU GET OUT OF THE BOOKSHOP?

The really ineffable plan is whatever the fuck was happening in Aziraphale's brain when he somehow went from London to Edinburgh via Loch Ness (check the map) and then proceeded to disguise himself as a detective who pretends to be a journalist.

Crowley slays in sleeve garters and a cardigan keeping house in the bookshop meanwhile, does not sell books, instead cleans with Jimbriel and periodically yeets book stacks into corners when distracted.

Aziraphale reads his old diary entries about Crowley, a (6000+) 13 year old with a crush.

MINISODE MINISODE. They are in Edinburgh during the mid 1800s. Victorian outfits, check. Scottish Crowley, check. Capitalist Karen Aziraphale, che-wait what.

Huh. Well. There's a wee bit of body snatchin' going on, to sell to doctors for medical research because there aren't enough murderers, and to make enough money to survive.

Aziraphale channels his inner capitalist judgemental Karen and ruins that plan, come on Aziraphale you have religious trauma but you're better than this, and long story short, Wee Morag dies after Aziraphale realises his error, her friend Elspeth has to sell her corpse for pennies, and is about to commit suicide with laudanum. Azi, oh god. I'm glad you underwent character development at least.

NOW CROWLEY HERE SLAYS. I KNOW THIS IS AZIRAPHALE'S PERSPECTIVE AND IS BIASED. BUT WITH THIS POV, CROWLEY SLAYS.

He calmly educates Aziraphale about how his whole "the poor have more opportunities and you shouldn't give them money or they'll lose the virtue of poverty" is absolute bullshit, and he does this understanding Aziraphale's situation and not losing his temper.

The framing. The framing of the shot when they see Wee Morag and Elspeth sitting down on a step and explaining their situation. Aziraphale stands above, bustling with righteousness, and judges them. Crowley sits down. He sits down next to them, rather than taking the high ground. He meets them where they are and empathises. It is the fact that he is fallen and damned that makes him behave really divine and sorry I wrote a whole hymn on him have it I'll stop rambling just know I love him.

I think his amusement is a facade so hell won't think he's genuinely being good. I think he's morally grey and incredibly brave and kind.

When Elspeth is bouta kill herself with the laudanum, Crowley grabs it and drinks it himself, and grows tiny and then huge, absolutely high off his head. David Tennant takes the opportunity to travel Scotland from east to west in terms of accent variety.

He gives us the good message of NO DYIN'. NO MORE DYIN'. IT'S NOT ON. And then forces Aziraphale (who doesn't want to ruin her virtuous poverty) to give the girl all the guineas he has in his pocket, and tells her to go off and start a farm or something. BUT NOT JUST PRETENDY GOOD, BE PROPERLY GOOD.

He then gets pulled into hell. To be punished for this. Aziraphale is frightened and heartbroken for him, looking around desperately, and we find out that Crowley didn't meet him for a while after. And later he wanted holy water. To protect himself? He got punished by hell. For how long? The whole month in between the incident and the diary entry? There can't be anyone better at punishment and cruelty than hell.

Sorry I'm just screaming here.

Never mind fuck I started this summary really happy and bouncy and listening to a dance playlist. Dionysus by BTS and Italian pop is still playing and now I'm crying.

Is this the natural progression. Fuck I'm crying. Sorry guys something else happens with Aziraphale politely talking to a phone and Crowley smiling really beautifully while unsuccessfully trying to manipulate two lesbians into a relationship and something about a visit I don't care everyone's being morally dubious as usual and then lovely Scottish music outro I CAN'T FUCKING ELABORATE I'M SITTING HERE CRYING OVER CROWLEY.

right summary done, time to go sob, lmao i thought i wouldn't cry today over good omens HAHAHAHA still not traumatic eh HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

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lenaellsi · 18 days

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it's honestly a bit odd to me that so many people have jumped on the 'aziraphale will be pulling all the strings and playing politics in heaven' train. like I think it's true that the metatron is underestimating aziraphale's intelligence and ability to disrupt the second coming even while separated from crowley, but I also think the idea that aziraphale is going up to heaven with a clear idea of how he's just been lied to, an understanding of how much danger he's in, and a plan to stop it is a huge reach.

frankly, aziraphale is very vulnerable to manipulation. I'm thinking now of neil’s post with the diary entry from before the edinburgh minisode where he was duped by two humans, the whole thing with the nazis in 1941, and his sponsorship of shadwell's various obviously fake agents (sergeant milkbottle, etc.). he's not nearly as savvy as fanon tends to portray him. he takes people at face value, especially people he thinks of as Good. (that's not a dunk, btw--I find these things endearing, and a sign of aziraphale's innate wish to see the best in people. I just think that sometimes the BAMF protective aziraphale of fanon overshadows the slightly more naive aziraphale of canon. and honestly, I also think TV aziraphale is just a bit softer than book aziraphale, though he is capable of stepping up when it counts.)

and he's a bad liar! I know it's a meme in the fandom that aziraphale lies all the time, but he doesn't like it, and he's bad at it. he gets nervous and comes up with terrible excuses and the only reason he ever gets away with it is because the people he's lying to are idiots (gabriel), have their own agendas (god, the other archangels), or trust him to be honest (crowley).

aziraphale's real strength is his ability to take sudden, completely unexpected action. that's one of the things that crowley admires most about him. "he's unpredictable," is what he says to nina, and it's true! aziraphale's greatest moments of rebellion have always come from spur of the moment decisions, not intricate plans. (if anything, crowley is the planner--the arrangement and the thwarting of the apocalypse, their two longest cons, were both his idea.)

aziraphale gives the sword away because when he is forced to make a decision under pressure, he tends to land on the side of rebellious kindness. shielding crowley from the rain in eden, lying to gabriel to protect job's family, defying the quartermaster and returning to earth via possession during the apocalypse, blowing up his halo--he does these things because he's following that same impulse. when aziraphale has time to over think, he frets and fusses and is paralyzed by indecision. (or worse, he falls back on what heaven has taught him.)

TL;DR: I don't think aziraphale has any sort of grand plan other than a generalized "make things better," and I certainly don't think he is planning to betray heaven. he might try to come up with a plan once he figures out how bad things are going to get, but my bet is that what will actually disrupt the second coming is an absolutely bonkers off the wall decision that no one, crowley included, could ever predict. and I think it’ll happen, as it usually does with aziraphale, just after he accepts a difficult truth that fundamentally shifts his worldview—in this case, his final rejection of the idea of “good” and “bad” people, and of the entire morality system of heaven and hell.

#good omens #good omens 2 #good omens meta #final fifteen #aziraphale #long post #been in a meta mood lately sorry #to be clear people can write whatever they want. playing with characterization is fine and good in fanworks #but also I do wonder if the fanon built over four years between seasons is seriously impacting the way people read the final fifteen #and because I suspect it will come up: his smile in the elevator reads as Aziraphale’s denial smile #the one where he plasters it on as a ‘this is fine this is what I want I am a Good Angel’ reaction #‘I’m not trapped in here with you you’re trapped in here with me’ is not a thought aziraphale would ever have about himself #he doesn’t think about himself that way #crowley thinks of him as a force to be reckoned with for sure. but aziraphale is not that sure of himself

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vidavalor · 6 months

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Before the Beginning and Crowley's memory

You know how Aziraphale is visibly paranoid about Crowley being overheard during Before the Beginning and warns him against asking questions? This being before Hell and demons, really, but Aziraphale being concerned for Crowley's safety means that there had to be some repercussion to challenging Heaven's authority that was known to Aziraphale and that most likely meant the stolen memories, since we also learn about those in S2, right? Maybe Aziraphale knew in Before the Beginning of angels who had had their identities taken from them for talking out of turn and he was worried that it could happen to Crowley but... what if the scene is suggesting that it already had?

I always took Crowley not introducing himself to Aziraphale as written to convey that this was the first time they met to the audience but, at the same time, to not tie themselves to any one idea about who Crowley was pre-Fall because Crowley is Crowley and it's not vitally important to know what his name was then. I'm wondering now if it might also be that Crowley had a name at this point in time but it was kind of like Muriel and their name. It's their name in the present but we don't know what they were called before. The show is really careful about that-- we don't get a name for Muriel in the Job minisode so it could have been something else at that point, before they got memory-zapped. Maybe Crowley had a name in Before the Beginning that was what he'd just been given after having already lost a bit of himself and he knew he had. He'd worked out he was missing parts of himself. As a result, the name he was called then didn't really feel like his and so he avoided using it. He just says "nice to meet you" to Aziraphale so he doesn't have to give him a name he doesn't really feel like is him... not that he can totally remember what he used to be called or how he used to be, entirely.

This is still early days in them taking memories from him so he still retains a lot of who he was but maybe he'd already asked enough for them to start chipping away at him a bit.

This was the sauntering vaguely downward?

He keeps asking questions. Always asking those damn fool questions, as The Metatron put it. Always going his own way. They kept taking his memory to try to reboot him a couple of times until they eventually threw him to Hell once it existed and when they realized every version of him is basically uncontrollable.

By the time he's Crawly, he's had a half-dozen different names.

On Earth, he decides after Job to take control of the trauma of it, in a sense, and changes his name to one of his own choosing-- Crowley. Something that means something to him and to Aziraphale. Something he chose for himself, and something he'd like hearing Aziraphale say and that Aziraphale would like to say. S2 opens with him not giving himself a name to Aziraphale in Before the Beginning and then gives us the story showing us how the name he eventually chooses for himself is one he created for the meaning it has to him and to Aziraphale.

It also might mean that Before the Beginning actually might not even be the first time Crowley and Aziraphale first met. There is the scene later in S2 wherein Aziraphale has just been recollecting the Job story-- which is to say that he's just been remembering Muriel-- and then Muriel arrives at his door to verify the miracle but they are dressed as an "Inspector Constable" and acting like they're undercover, which signals to Aziraphale that Muriel has, at some point, been memory-zapped because they do not remember that they've actually met Aziraphale before. Aziraphale never actually indicates to Muriel that they've already met and while it might be to his advantage not to at that point, it's also an act of kindness at that stage. To do so would be to spark an existential crisis in Muriel and he does not know them that well, not to mention that it would cause waves in Heaven that Aziraphale is trying not to cause at that point. Still, he looks at them with sympathy and pain when they don't want to try their cupperty and seem less knowledgeable and aware than they were when they first met during Job.

How many times did Aziraphale meet Crowley "for the first time" and just not tell him at the time that they already had? Is Before the Beginning really the first time they ever met? It could be. It feels like it is but, then again, so too did Eden. How many times did Aziraphale meet Crowley before the last time in Eden and how many of them does Crowley actually remember?

In S1, Aziraphale explains how he and Crowley met to the others as a story beginning with Eden. While it might make sense and be easier to start the story with Adam & Eve when explaining it to humans, Crowley is standing right there and this is a choice on Aziraphale's part, maybe one to try to make him feel more comfortable. S2 automatically invalidated this as being technically true with Before the Beginning so who is to say how untrue it really is? Eden isn't the first time they met; it's the last first time they met.

Imagine watching this brilliant, funny, creative being fight to retain a sense of himself, holes in his memory, the light getting dimmer and the feathers more grey each time, and being helpless to stop it because the same wild, imaginative spark you love in him is why they're doing this to him. Imagine watching him start to forget more and more things. He can't remember the gravity he invented, the stars he made. He can't remember that he knows you. It takes a handful of times of this before they invent Hell and the idea of demons and call him one and toss him to Satan and before that, you had to go to him two, three, four, five times and say

#ineffable husbands #good omens #crowley #aziraphale #good omens meta #good omens 2 #aziracrow

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scottishmushroom · 6 months

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Bildad the Shuhite - Cobbler, Obstetrician, and Liar.

Bildaddy does more than craft footwear and assist birthing people. He’s also a weaver of untruths. Let’s explore them, shall we?

#1:

Of course as the audience, we know from watching Crowley throughout the last 6,000 years there’s some shame and self loathing when it comes to his identity as a demon. He is a fallen angel, therefore a demon unworthy of forgiveness. So to hear him phrase this as he does, comes off to me a little bitter. On the exterior his delivery may be one of stating a fact (he is technically a demon), but his inner conflict of being cast from Heaven but still wishing good in the world is a painful reminder of his loneliness.

But a step further, we also know as the audience that he is in fact lying to Aziraphale (and Hell) in this scene. Not about having permission to destroy everything Job owns, we know that’s true. But when he turns around and blows up the goats and sarcastically quips, “Seems legit to meeee” he is in fact lying. The goats are fine, and it wasn’t legit at all.

#2:

Crowley sets Job’s house on fire, and Aziraphale, just short of clutching her pearls says, “But… you said you wouldn’t.” This is followed by the very first time we hear Crowley say “I’m a demon. I lied.” We then get a very scrumptiously assertive Aziraphale standing his ground and insisting the children are safe, and Crowley is not going to harm them. Crowley is being challenged here by an angel, again. An angel. They’ve had limited encounters up to this point since his fall, and here he is being forced by the opposition to question where he truly stands. By backing down and saving the children, he’s not just going against Hell’s orders but also appeasing an angel. Crowley really cares what Aziraphale thinks of him. I’ve already written a meta that talks about this that you can find here: https://www.tumblr.com/scottishmushroom/730259715377020928/gif-credit-dancingcrowley-i-think-by-now-we-can

#3:

This one is like a stab to the heart. He says it so gently, so soft. On one hand, there’s that shame again. Regret and sadness at his identity as a demon, the inability to embrace who he is. The other aspect of it is about protecting Aziraphale. During the cellar scene, if you’re not too distracted with the sight of Aziraphale going absolutely rabid on that ox, Crowley denies that it is lonely going along with Hell as far as he can. By then, he is well aware that Aziraphale and him have that in common when it comes to their respective home offices. He doubts Hell’s decisions, and knows Aziraphale doubts Heaven’s/God’s. But he recognizes that Aziraphale is going to have a much more difficult time with coping with this realization. He lied about it not being lonely to protect him. To soften the blow he knew was eventually coming. To gently ease him into this new reality.

His soft delivery of “I’m a demon. I lied” here is a kindness. This is the true beginning of them on this path together of figuring out how to do their jobs even when it conflicts with their personal beliefs/morals. And also the beginning of neither one of them truly being alone. They may not recognize it just yet, but they have each other now. A group of the two of them.

My favorite thing about Crowley as a liar is when he does lie, it’s either a redirection to hide the truth (that he’s actually doing GOOD instead of evil), or to protect Aziraphale. Which makes it all the more heartbreaking that he always pairs his identity as a liar to his identity as a demon. True demons that lie, do so to cause harm. He lies to protect. He’s not a true demon. Just an angel that sauntered vaguely downwards.

#good omens #good omens 2 #aziraphale #crowley #aziraphale x crowley #aziracrow #aziraphale good omens #go2 #ineffable husbands #crowley good omens #ineffable idiots #bildaddy #bildad the shuhite #good omens meta #good omens bildad

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ineffectualbookseller · 9 months

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there is something to be said for how much the Metatrons' offer of restoring Crowley to an angel changed things for Aziraphale, even beyond the face value of the offer

Azirphale eventually (and reluctantly) accepts the promotion under the presumption that he will be able to change heaven - "if I'm in charge, I can make a difference."

and obviously, Muriel and Jim/Gabriel are two key narrative players to show us why Aziraphale would think heaven can still be reformed - Muriel who was unbelievably lonely in heaven and, despite all their ineptitude, is so excited to experience earth for the first time (the fondness in Aziraphale's face during their scene together in the bookshop is so touching) - and Jim/Gabriel who Aziraphle once knew to be cold, unsympathetic, and remorseless but after having the memories and influences of heaven stripped away turns out to be helpful, curious, and self-sacrificing (we see Aziraphale come to terms with this change over the season, telling Jim in e2 that he's really not sure if he's still terrible but when Crowley is questioning Jim in e5, Aziraphale's sure he's just being silly)

but even after witnessing this, Azirphale isn't jumping at the offer to run heaven. He says so point blank, "I don't want to go back to heaven," but everything changes when he gets the offer to restore Crowley as an angel

and clearly, Aziraphale is so excited by the face-value offer, he and Crowley would be safe and they'd be together, and Crowley would never be punished for doing good again. Just look at his happy little hands when he's asking Crowley to pause his confession so he can share his own great news. He's beyond thrilled to be able to offer this to Crowley, to live this life with Crowley (before he realizes it's not a life that Crowley wants - those happy hands are devastating in hindsight)

so if bringing Crowley to heaven with him was the selling point, why is he still going after Crowley says no? Because in Aziraphale's eyes, the power to restore Crowley is the power to correct heaven's mistakes. So heaven can make mistakes - Aziraphale thinks the Metatron just admitted that heaven is fallible

that is HUGE

(this is also not what the Metatron was saying - but in this context what Metatron said doesn't matter, only what Aziraphale heard)

and this isn't just coming from some angel - the Metatron is the voice of God. The closest thing to speaking to God we have witnessed since 2500 BCE in the Job minisode (the most recent evidence of God speaking directly to a character). Regardless of where God actually is during this story, Azirphale would be taking the Metatron's word as the word of God

Aziraphale has been acting against what heaven says God wants since the beginning: giving away his sword in Eden to protect Adam and Eve from their punishment (which he then lies to God about but is still allowed to stay on Earth), lying to save Job's children and openly question God's role in the plan ("I… I don’t think… that is what God wants"), and of course stopping Armageddon with his Great Plan vs Ineffible Plan pedantry (and before this, his plan for most of s1 is to get in contact with someone higher than Gabriel because of course, God wouldn't actually want this) - and when he is finally found out, Gabriel and Michael cut his ties with heaven

but now might-as-well-be-God is walking into his bookshop and scolding the middle managers and saying they've been fucking up. And he tells Aziraphale that they were wrong about him and they were wrong about Crowley and Aziraphale's the one that's been in the right

(keep in mind that Aziraphale does not know that the Metatron has been on the same subcommittees as the archangels - after Michael and Uriel don't recognize him, he's probably assuming they have very little contact)

if Corwley falling was a mistake maybe everything else Aziraphale has been internally questioning is too. If heaven can make mistakes than something has been going wrong in heaven - a fault in operations not in design - there must something to fix

Aziraphale is a being of faith and he carries such guilt for questioning that faith. The idea that the Metraton is acknowledging a mistake must be such a balm to him

It's really no wonder he thinks he can change heaven after that offer

#good omens #good omens season 2 #good omens meta #gos2 spoilers #aziraphale meta #obviously there are other things influincing his decision (esp his tendency to still fall into that heaven/hell binary)#also this is all manipulation by metatron #who just needs A and C sepparated #but I dont think metatron realizes what hes done by lighting this fire under As ass #Aziraphale is now a man with nothing to loose and everything to prove #and the metatron is going to end up regretting this

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thatgaiagirl · 9 months

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I still like the interpretation that God favours Aziraphale and Crowley, and is sort-of preventing Aziraphale from Fallling properly for his little indulgences, because they both have Free Will.

God created Humans with Free Will - not Angels, and therefore, not Demons either.

Well. Except Aziraphale and Crowley - it can be seen as them ‘going native’ from exposure to Humans, being able to make their own choices now, but I think it goes deeper.

Crowley has clearly been comfortable with exerting his Free Will and defying Hell since the very Beginning - emphasised most, I think, in the Job minisode, where he’s already settled into the ‘I’m on my own side’ routine and it feels like he’s been disobeying Hell for a good while. And if i may tie this into the Crowley is Lucifer theory for a second, he’d be the first Angel to ever develop Free Will, which is what led to him falling in the first place. He has something no Angel or Demon has - imagination. He’s been unique in his ability to ask questions from the very start.

But Aziraphale also had it from the start. He gave away his sword. He acted on his own internal sense of Right, of Good, that was separate from Heaven’s wishes at the Beginning. People have already made observations about the ‘I gave it away’ moment from S1E1 as the moment Crowley fell in love, but it goes deeper than that. This is where Crowley realises that he’s NOT the only Angel to ever develop Free Will. This Angel, who’d previously warned him off asking questions like any other would’ve, had an Inkling of human choice in him (a choice that led to the birth of violence and the Sword becoming the symbol of war, unintentionally).

THAT is why Crowley became interested in Aziraphale. That’s why he sought him out at Noah’s arc, to talk to the only other Celestial Being capable of choosing like he could. It’s why he stuck to Aziraphale during the Job fiasco. He was nurturing that part of him, encouraging his Free Will to blossom. Introducing him to human food. Letting him see what he could do with it. It’s also why he doesn’t want Aziraphale to Fall - obviously, Crowley is heavily protective of his Angel, but at that early stage he also doesn’t want the only Angel with Free Will left in Heaven to suffer the same fate he did.

The part of Aziraphale Crowley fell in love with was his ability to choose. His free will. His silly little requests like asking him to miracle away a paint stain when he could do it himself, enjoying food so immensely, assisting Aziraphale in a dangerous magic trick because he CHOSE to do it, because he said ‘Trust Me’, all his little quirks and their arguments and the exceedingly HUMAN behaviours he’s picked up over the years. Crowley loves Aziraphale as Aziraphale, not the Angel.

And despite himself, its also what Aziraphale loves about Crowley. He loves Crowley for Crowley’s Goodness - what he doesn’t understand is that Crowley’s Goodness isn’t Heaven’s Goodness. Heaven’s Goodness is the Goodness that drowned the world. Heaven’s Goodness is the Goodness that wanted Job’s children dead. Heaven’s Goodness with leave the world just as destroyed as Hell’s Evil.

But he doesn’t realise that. Not yet, anyway. And, as an Angel with Free Will, why wouldn’t you want him for the Second Coming?

#crowley #good omens #good omens spoilers #good omens 2 #good omens 2 spoilers #aziraphale #ineffable husbands #hnnng brain go whirrrr #this also ties really well into the Crowley is Lucifer theory #so do with that what you will

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santacoppelia · 8 months

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An angelic meta.

Ok. I'm starting my 13th rewatch of season 2, and Episode 1 made me think about the nature of angels. Not in a theological way (well, maybe a little), but in the narrative.

Before this episode, we have only met angels as they are now. I mean, we have seen Aziraphale through the ages, but the other angels we saw during season 1 (Gabriel, Michael, Uriel, Sandalphon, Anderson [sherlockian joke, sorry]) we have mostly seen them in the present age. They are mostly jerks, rigid, uptight, righteous, full of themselves, they can be cruel and sometimes downright malicious (yup, Michael and Sandalphon, I'm talking about you, utter pieces of...)

But the first minutes of season 2 present us with not 1, not 2, but THREE angels in their "factory setting" status (yup, that's sort of a reference to the fanfic with the same title, if you haven't read it, go check it on AO3). In the first 30 minutes of the season, we would also get to know Muriel, the lesser angel we've met so far.

We find out that angels can be:

Full of joy and awe

Tender

Honestly, genuinely surprised

Full of curiosity and wonder

Openly loving (that "You are funny, I love you!" gets me every time)

Enthusiastic

Generous

Naïve (infinitely naïve, even when being jerks. That's what makes some of their misconceptions, misdirections and prejudices so much fun)

This, I would say (and this is where I bring Theology into the equation) is how Divine Grace looks like. For Catholics, "grace" depends on the intermediation of the Church (one of the bones I actually had with the lot before leaving), but when you talk about angels... Well, they are created to be in full contact and awe with Divine Grace in a natural way (because they are created immersed in that grace, perfect, and they get blessed by acting in order to follow that loving nature towards God... and if they resist that nature is when and why they fall). Thomas Aquinas explained this in extenso (and my best friend, who is a Medievalist, Philosopher and fan of Thomas Aquinas has explained this to me in a 15 minute long audio, so I'm more confident about what I'm writing now, ha)

Well, now let's leave the theological bit behind. What piqued my interest was, as a matter of fact, watching Jim/Gabriel enjoying hot cocoa. We can oppose his joyful discovery to a couple of moments:

Gabriel's reaction during season 1, episode 1, when he finds Aziraphale enjoying sushi. "Why do you eat that?" and his face of disgust when thinking about "ingesting things" vs. the happiness of his experience, at every level, when he feels and tastes the cocoa (the mouthfeel, the taste, the heat, finally arriving at his stomach). He grows so fond of cocoa that it is his comfort thing for the rest of the season.

Aziraphale's first experience with food in "A Companion to Owls" (the Job minisode). At first he has the same old attitude we have seen on angels about human food: it is somewhat disgusting... But after he tries it, he discovers the huge pleasure it gives him and he goes wild with it. The love of food and the pleasure of eating exquisite things is still one of his defining traits.

But I would also put out a little note about how Aziraphale was, since the beginning, somehow conscious about the possibility of "falling from grace". If Angel! Crowley had been immersed in the creation of galaxies and stars, Aziraphale had been involved in the creation of Earth and humans. If I understood most of what my personal theologian explained to me about how the notion of "grace" had to be questioned and reinterpreted around how humans can have free will but also achieve grace, and what did that mean for the angels... Well, it redefined everything (the one who started asking all those "silly questions" around the Theology of Grace was Augustine of Hippo, and Thomas Aquinas had to rework ALL of the ideas around angelic grace using Aristotle to justify many things... And that how they came to be known as Fathers of the Church for Catholicism).

So... Angels in their "natural" state are joyous, cheerful, naïve, full of wonder and curiosity. Something (The Great War? Maybe... But maybe something before that) showed them distrust, made them rigid, self-righteous and simply... awful.

Where does this leaves my second favorite angel, Muriel? Well, they are still that sort of angel: that is one of the best things we found about them in this season, and why most of the fandom has already adopted them as our sweet child of divorce. So, she is still full of Divine Grace, and ingenuity.

This word, I believe, will become an interesting characteristic during season 3. Why? Because I'm not a native English speaker 😂. As such, it is more evident that ingenuity has a double meaning: both being an ingenue (naïf), but also being inventive, talented and witty (even wise). I offer a couple of contrasts too, to build up on this idea:

They had been called "dim" by The Metatron. I've already talked about how this is his "fatal flaw": he is underestimating his opponents and expecting everything to be predictable, but ingenuity usually beats predictability (Crowley is also a master of this)

Another character we saw during season 2 that was full of ingenuity: Shax. Yeah, she is not the sharpest tool in the shed, and she is cunning... But that's because she embodies those both sides of the idea! She is ingenuous and still asks Crowley for cues about how to work on Earth, but she is also ingenious and is always planning schemes for her own benefit (even when they blow up in her face). Also, she was the first one to determine that Gabriel had to be in the bookshop, even when she couldn't see him or detect him, and was so certain as to launch an attack.

I've rambled a lot, and I'm now a bit peckish. Do with this information what you like!

#good omens meta #good omens 2 #muriel good omens #shax good omens #crowley #aziraphale #jim short for gabriel #good omens theory #good omens and theology #not really sure if Thomas Aquinas would be happy with this #And Augustine of Hippo wouldn't be too proud of me #lord give me chastity and continence but not now

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thecassandraic · 8 months

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Aziraphale's memory, Jimbriel, the Metatron, and forgiveness

There's a bit of fanon that goes like, Crowley can't believe Aziraphale loves him even were Aziraphale to say so, because Aziraphale is an angel and angels love everyone.

S2 kind of explodes that one. (Which, I mean, continue to use it if you like; fanon is fanon and getting jossed happens to the best of us.)

Not long after his arrival in the bookshop, Jimbriel says to Aziraphale, "You're funny. I love you."

"Oh. Thank you," says Aziraphale, with just a tiny bit of gratification even. And then he says "I..." and can't finish the sentence. He can't return the sentiment with I love you too. He remembers too much, and isn't ready to forgive or forget, much less love.

His reticence gets followed up on during the Job minisode. "You were awful once," he tells Jimbriel flatly. "Really, really awful." Notably, he's not saying this because of Gabriel's treatment of him -- but because of Gabriel's role in Job's story.

I don't think Aziraphale's opinion of Jimbriel -- a lorge nuisance who used to be a horrible clueless purveyor of cruelty -- shifts until the demon attack on the bookshop. Before Jimbriel goes out to Shax, Aziraphale doesn't protest that Jimbriel is too -- too anything, too valuable or too angelic or too important -- to save. He falls back on his own guardian role, telling Jimbriel that he said he would protect him (did he? did he, actually? I'm not sure he did) so he will.

Jimbriel tells him there's no need, he's going out -- and we get quite a long shot of Aziraphale's face, which reads to me as both surprised and somewhat unwillingly impressed. Aziraphale can respect self-sacrifice.

I think this is why he gives Gabriel and Beez their way, deferring to their wishes. He's learned that with a little Jim and a dash of love for seasoning, Gabriel won't be awful, and he's willing to trust that... and forgive what he can of Gabriel's derelictions.

Now then.

In season 1, a desperate Aziraphale approaches the Metatron to beg him to save the world. The Metatron brushes him off in the cruelest way possible. He's Gabriel -- but worse, because he's not clueless, he seems to know exactly what a nuclear exchange is and the devastation it will cause, he just doesn't care. We can see Aziraphale's heart breaking, right there onscreen.

I'm on record multiple times thinking that Aziraphale is not taken in by the Metatron, or the Metatron's coffee, or the Metatron's job offer, or the Metatron's offer of re-angeling Crowley, or any of it. This is another reason I think that. Aziraphale can hold a grudge, at least subliminally, and he's got one tall leftover grudge against the Metatron.

There's no reason at all for Aziraphale to think the Metatron has changed since Armageddon't. There's been no Jimbriel phase to change Aziraphale's mind. There is no apology from the Metatron. Coffee and job offers are no kind of atonement!

Crowley's memories may have been tampered with. Aziraphale's haven't. He knows what the Metatron is, and he knows perfectly well not to trust him. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

#good omens #aziraphale #jimbriel the holy fool #the metatron #good omens meta #good omens s2

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sad-chaos-goblin · 3 months

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I'm rewatching s1e3 and just realised that the music during the bandstand breakup is practically the same as the music during the last scene in the Job minisode.

The same music framing both their first tentative approach to the concept of their own side and their falling out, with Aziraphale rejecting it with pain and fear in his eyes. "There is no 'our side' Crowley, not any more."

Not any more. Because until then he had still held onto hope. Not any more. Because he's seen the angels want their war, because he thinks all is lost. Gaaaaaah 💔

#good omens #ineffable husbands #aziracrow #good omens season 1 #aziraphale #crowley

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samd1o1 · 8 months

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Crowley's BPD Traits And Why They Are Important;

We all know our beloved ineffable husbands are neurodivergent icons. Despite not being human they both act like neurodivergent humans would (and do).

Today I thought we would take a look specifically at Crowley and his BPD traits and what they mean.

(Also before we start; a trigger warning for talks and mentions of suicide, depression, mood swings, drinking, and trauma).

First what is BPD? BPD stands for Borderline Personality Disorder.

"A mental disorder characterized by unstable moods, behavior, and relationships." -Mayo Clinic

BPD is a disorder caused by trauma. Trauma is of course different for every individual. So while some demons may seem perfectly content with the fall from Heaven, others may have been significantly traumatized. And I believe this is where Crowley falls (pun very intended).

So we covered how Crowley could have developed BPD, but let's talk about their traits.

The DSM-5 lists 9 Criteria for BPD, of which at least 5 are required for diagnosis. We will be covering each one and how (or how they don't) apply to Crowley.

1. Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment:

As we know BPD is caused by trauma, but more specifically it can be trauma that deals with abandonment. Say God casting you down to Hell for simply asking questions?

This can lead to the person with BPD going through frantic efforts to avoid abandonment happening ever again.

We can see this most in Crowley when she argues with Aziraphale. Can you count how many times Crowley tries to run away with Aziraphale so that he doesn't leave him during an argument? It's three. They have done this three times (and that's just the on screen ones, who knows whats happened in 6,000 years!).

2. A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation.

Now this one is harder to see in Crowley because this trait of BPD (and many others) comes out most in romantic partners. And Crowley has only ever had one apple in his eye, Aziraphale. But even just with their relationship with Aziraphale we can see this.

While Crowley never directs his anger at Aziraphale we can definitely see how much the angel affects him. Their arguments that can lead to them not talking for decades, Crowley literally exploding with lighting because of his anger.

An example I find most interesting is Crowley's entire perception of Aziraphale changing when he sees Aziraphale let the people in the flood die. And this perception is only fixed in the Job minisode when Aziraphale does the right thing again. All it takes is one incident for Crowley to change her mind.

3. Identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self.

I think this is most obvious in the opening to season 2 where Crowley is questioning the meaning of life and more importantly his role as a demon.

But this isn't the only demon related identity disturbance Crowley faces. A common identity disturbance for those with BPD is believing that they are evil. This is caused by trauma but is also not helped by the stigma Cluster B disorders face.

Crowley believes he must be evil because he is a demon. He lies because he is a demon. Just like someone with BPD may believe they are evil for their disorder or are manipulative because of it. But in reality that may not be the whole truth. You can still be a good person despite being a demon, despite having a disorder.

4. Impulsivity in at least 2 areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating).

Do... Do I need to explain this one?

Crowley is an alcoholic. He casually drinks but will also drink anytime a slight inconvenience pops up.

Crowley is also known for going "too fast". He is almost always speeding in the Bentley.

5. Recurrent suicidal behaviour, gestures or threats, or self-mutilating behaviour.

This is one of the ones that is harder to apply to Crowley simply because she is a demon, not a human. It is much harder for him to kill himself. And while this trait must be recurrent I still think it's important to bring up the Holy Water incident.

Crowley tells Aziraphale the holy water is just for insurance, but Aziraphale knows Crowley better than that and was right to assume it could probably be for a suicide pill. (Even if it did come in handy as insurance later). But the fact Aziraphale assumes that I believe is telling.

6. Affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days).

We see a few different times where Crowley's mood shifts into extremes.

We already discussed the lighting incident. I think another big show of their anger is how he treats his plants in season 1. While yes it is them recreating their trauma with God (Metatron?) and being thrown out of Heaven, that anger comes from somewhere.

Jim short for James, long for Gabriel also sparks this anger in Crowley to the point of threatening his life and telling him to jump out of a window.

Crowley's depression is seen on the biggest spotlight when talking about the fall. Their sentiments about not meaning to fall, that she only ever asked questions.

7. Chronic feelings of emptiness.

Unfortunately I can't speak on this one purely because I do not live in Crowley's head. I do not recall it ever being something mentioned or showed. That doesn't mean it can't happen to her of course, but let's stick with the facts.

8. Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights).

As you can see BPD deals with anger a lot. so I will once again bring up some points we've already made. With the lighting incident, and good old Jimmy-boy.

I also just wanted to mention we know Crowley appears a bit angry at most times as well as Muriel describes him as "the grumpy one". Just thought it was a fun, helpful detail.

9. Transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms.

This one is also a bit hard because again I am not in Crowley's head but also she does in fact have plenty to worry about that is real.

But Crowley does still show paranoid ideation. His distrust of others, disorganized thoughts (talking about ducks and the end of the world at the same time), feeling threatened, thinking he's being spied on (the ducks have ears).

Lots of ducks.

Now some may think diagnosing/headcanoning a character with specific mental illnesses is silly, and maybe it is! But I still believe it's important. Why?

Well for starters; representation is always important. Seeing someone similar to you on screen you can relate to and find joy and comfort in. Or maybe they're just raising awareness. Or just showing that hey, these people exist.

But I also wanted to touch on the stigma of BPD and other Cluster B disorders.

I touched on it briefly in an earlier point but BPD is heavily stigmatized. Many people treat the disorder as evil and manipulative. That the people with it don't deserve love or kindness. Which is of course simply not true.

Most of the characters coded with BPD today are antagonists and/or villains. Think Jinx from Arcane or Spinel from Steven Universe. These characters are amazingly written and performed and I do love them dearly. And there is nothing wrong with them, but it is nice to even the playing field. To have a character with traits of BPD who is fundamentally good and does the right thing. They are a protagonist of their story and even a hero!

And that is why I think Crowley is good representation of BPD (even if it was not intended that way).

And here's hoping to season 3 so our demon (and angel) get a happy ending!

#Anthony J Crowley #Crowley #Good Omens #Good Omens 2 #Gomens #Ineffable Husbands #Aziracrow #BPD #Borderline Personality Disorder #Neurodivergent

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courtneysartblog · 8 months

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An Angel's Duty to Forgive

Content Warnings for discussions of religion.

Like a lot of people, I have been mulling over the final scenes of Good Omens 2, particularly Aziraphale’s “I forgive you.” What is he forgiving? The kiss? The time and place of the kiss? Crowley refusing to go back to heaven? What does he mean?!?!?!? To get to the bottom of this let’s look back at the use of forgiveness in the show.

(And please let me know if I missed one somewhere).

S2E2

The first time Aziraphale forgives Crowley comes in season two during the Job minisode. In this episode Aziraphale is trying to stop Crowley from killing Job’s kids. Even though this is God’s plan, it’s a step too far for Aziraphale. The scene reads:

A: Surely the great thing about being a demon is that you can do whatever you want.

C: You sound jealous angel.

A: Certainly not. I get to do what God wants.

Then we have Aziraphale inciting he knows God does not want the kids killed and that he knows Crowley doesn’t want to kill the kids either. Aziraphale also incites that he knows who Crowley is because he knew him as an angel, which Crowley states, is not him. He then asks Crowley to prove he wants to kill the kids by looking him in the eye. Crowley complies and then Aziraphale says:

“May God forgive you.”

I mainly want to analyze text over performance, but I will say the kind of disgruntled look Crowley gives Aziraphale as he is forgiven is brilliant. Like “can you believe this guy?”

This forgiveness is interesting because it’s the least personal of all the “forgive yous.” Which makes sense for where the characters are at. It might be the first forgiveness from Aziraphale to Crowley and it in my mind this minisode is when they start to become closer, which is why it is such a distant forgiveness at the beginning of the episode. This forgiveness is Aziraphale is inciting God rather than his own personal forgiveness.

S1E3

Our next forgiveness comes from the infamous bandstand scene. At this point Crowley is at his wits end, he believes Armageddon is coming and that there is no way to stop it. This moment is interesting because Aziraphale is struggling with what he should do, much like he will at the end of season two. He’s wondering if he should tell Crowley where Adam is. He’s wondering if he should go off with Crowley and abandon the earth. It’s the beginning of his struggle of duty over self, and with the context of the job arc, it's a continuation of heaven’s goodness vs. his own. There’s a lot of conflict, doubt, and I think, a lot of guilt in this moment for Aziraphale. He lashes out, condemning the implication that he’s on a side with Crowley, that they are even friends. His own guilt turns him back to what he thinks heaven wants.

In the scene Crowley basically swears at God and the Great Plan, condemning ineffability. This is significant because even when Aziraphale toes the line against heaven, he still believes in God and the ineffable, that there is some higher power working for good. That’s what’s so vital about the ending of season two. Even when Aziraphale doubts heaven, there is still some belief in the ineffable, in God.

In scene, Crowley’s blasphemy earns a “May you be forgiven,” from Aziraphale.

Which in turn spurs, “I won’t be forgiven. Not ever. Unforgivable. That’s what I am.”

And like the Job minisode, Aziraphale calls back upon history, stating that Crowley was an angel once, which Crowley once again pushes aside.

Again this scene is the job minisode repeating itself, but this time it’s much more personal. Aziraphale’s forgiveness is still not personal, as he is still inciting God to forgive (although less directly), but unlike the job arc, they have a longer history working directly together and Crowley is taking this forgiveness to heart. There’s a lot of hurt on both sides here. Crowley is hurt that Aziraphale always turns to heaven, refusing the existence of what they share, while also feeling the pain from his Fall. He is a demon. He cannot be welcomed back to heaven or forgiven for what he has done. I don’t think Crowley necessarily thinks he has done something unforgiveable, as he always hedges his Fall saying he didn’t mean to, but he does believe he will never be forgiven and that he will never return to who he was as an angel, nor does he want to. Aziraphale meanwhile cannot let go of his idea of heaven, goodness and ineffability. And because of this, he always finds himself turning away from Crowley. He is conflicted. He sees Crowley as good. But Crowley refuses to be on heaven’s side, which for Aziraphale equates to sin.

But Crowley’s idea of goodness is separate from heaven’s idea of “goodness” unlike Aziraphale’s. Which coincidently is what Aziraphale struggles with all of season two, his free will, his idea of goodness and what heaven wants.

The next scene of forgiveness comes pretty swiftly after the bandstand scene.

S1E4

Now with the knowledge that hell knows what Crowley and Aziraphale are up, which puts them in immediate danger, Crowley once again tries to get Aziraphale to run off with him. Throughout the show Crowley is always the one to come back and apologize, and always trying to save Aziraphale. Which is so interesting because it means he’s the one putting aside his own feelings, always willing to forgiving Aziraphale. This is true forgiveness because it shows Crowley accepting Aziraphale for his flaws, unlike Aziraphale’s forgiveness, which asks for Crowley to change. I don't think it's intentional on Aziraphale's part, but that's what his forgiveness asks Crowley to do. And it leaves Crowley to run away and then come back to Aziraphale.

In the S1E4 scene Aziraphale does not listen to Crowley and states that he will speak with God and fix everything. He has a duty to fix things, to save human kind. In his mind Crowley is trying to get them to run away from the problem and Aziraphale refuses.

We get the lines:

A: I’ll have a word with the almighty and get this all sorted out.

C: That won’t happen. You are so clever. How can someone as clever as you be so stupid.

A: I forgive you.

I don’t like to use performance over text, but the forgiveness is played so serenely here. But what is Aziraphale forgiving here in the first place? Is he forgiving Crowley trying to leave and trying to get him to abandon his duties? For calling him stupid? For not believing in God? For not believing he can change things? I think on the surface it’s just forgiving the insult, but this scene is so interesting in the greater context of the show because it’s Aziraphale’s first direct forgiveness. He is not bringing God into this one. It’s him forgiving Crowley, nobody else. It’s a much more personal forgiveness. And yet, so distant. And yet we are still building towards that true, personal forgiveness.

Bonus S2E1

Our bonus forgiveness comes at the beginning of this new season where Aziraphale “forgives” Maggie her unpaid rent. This set up was criminal.

“Oh I’m very good at forgiveness. It’s one of my favorite things.”

Damn this came to bite us all in the ass.

S2E6

So much of this scene is similar to the bandstand scene of season one. We have Crowley telling Aziraphale to get away from the politics of heaven and hell, to “go off together.” We have Aziraphale trying to go to heaven to fix things and to get Crowley to join him in doing good. But a lot has changed between the two. Aziraphale does not try and say they are not on the same side. He does not try to deny his love of Crowley, in fact we get the line “we can be together,” which to me reads as his own invitation, much like Crowley’s. If Crowley is begging for Aziraphale to see the truth and turn heaven aside, Aziraphale is begging too with that “I need you.” They have come so far but they are not seeing eye to eye yet. And that’s why this scene hurts. Both think they are in the right and are trying to enact it.

C: You can’t leave this bookshop

Translation: You can’t leave Earth, you can’t leave me.

A: Oh Crowley nothing lasts forever.

Translation: Earth won’t last forever, things are going to change. Eventually Armageddon will come and we can’t be together if when that happens we are not on the same side because heaven will win.

What Crowley hears: We can’t last forever as we are.

Crowley closes himself off in this moment putting his sunglasses back on. He knows this is over.

Then we get "work with me, we can be together.” Followed by the inciting of nightingales, and “You idiot we could have been us.”

The kiss and what comes after, as painful as it is, is probably one of the best performed moments in the entire show. That’s why it hits so well. We see a million emotions run across Aziraphale as he struggles with what to say and we get…

“I forgive you.”

“Don’t bother.”

This don’t bother is so defeated. Crowley is so over Aziraphale’s form of forgiveness. Yes, this forgiveness is the most personal, the most emotional, and it feels like it comes from Aziraphale rather than God. But still there is a history of serene, God given forgive yous that the audience and Crowley is pulling from.

This is a forgiveness where Aziraphale calls on God to forgive Crowley for his sins, for his demonic being. Being a demon is not just a part of Crowley, it’s something he holds a lot of trauma around because he does not think he should have Fallen. He does not want to go back to heaven, he sees the system as broken, he sees God as unjust, but there is still hurt there. And because of this, Aziraphale’s forgiveness will always be pointed for him because he thinks it ignore who he is, what he stands for and what he believes. It’s God’s forgiveness which he will never get and maybe doesn’t even want anymore.

The scene ends with Aziraphale continuing to struggle. He knows he’s crossed a line. He’s trying not to cry he’s looking out the bookshop window to where Crowley is. And when the Metatron asks him to go, he almost stays back. He tries to find any reason to stay, calling out about the bookshop, which he just stated he didn’t care about if it meant he could be with Crowley. Aziraphale is so close to giving up his ideas and running back to Crowley, picking Crowley over all else. But he puts a smile on his face and leaves the shop. He picks duty, he picks what he thinks will protect humanity, setting heaven straight. And in that final moment before he gets on that elevator he looks towards Crowley who is once again, waiting for him. This scene is shot so brilliantly because even though Aziraphale looks towards Crowley, it’s shot in a way that makes it look like their eyes are not meeting. It looks like Aziraphale turns to Crowley but they are not locking gazes. Once again, like this entire season, they are not seeing eye to eye. They are saying similar things to each other, that they want to be together, but they are not on the same page and have reached a breaking point because of it.

I don’t know exactly what Aziraphale is forgiving in the moment, but I understand the history here. Aziraphale is feeling his own guilt for wanting Crowley, for wanting to not be a part of heaven, for seeing the evil of heaven. He’s feeling the conflict about heaven and goodness. But this is all just a pattern that him and Crowley have. Crowley wants to escape heaven and hell, Aziraphale cannot give up his duty and his ideas of God. Crowley comes back offering true forgiveness for Aziraphale’s actions, Aziraphale thinks he’s doing the right thing for forgiving Crowley. It’s so personal but it’s so muddled up with God as well.

So what exactly is Forgiveness?

Google’s dictionary states that it is “the action or process of forgiving.” Or “to stop feeling angry or resentful towards someone for an offense flaw or mistake.”

What is Grace?

In the Christian sense Grace is the gift God gives everyone freely. It's Their favor towards the unworthy. I have always thought of it as something similar to compassion or forgiveness. It’s to give people the benefit of the doubt and to “forgive them their trespasses.” And for a Christian, it’s something that God gives to you and that you are supposed to carry in your heart and give to others. Grace, is a sticky word, hard to define and hard to translate, but it’s basically seeing the good and forgiving their sins or faults.

Grace and forgiveness go hand in hand. But in modern Christianity it is a double-edged sword and a lot of times, forgiveness and grace are given in place of acceptance.

Forgiveness in Christianity can be a little weird. When you ask for God’s forgiveness in pray you are basically using pray as a healing tool to forgive yourself. Even though I have stepped away from religion a long time ago I can admit there is something rapturous about handing forgiveness off to a greater force, about finding a way to forgive your own transgressions and remind yourself to have space in your heart for others. But it can also be letting God do the hard part for you. And when you ask yourself if you actually need forgiveness, when you begin to ask yourself if you have actually sinned or only sinned in the eyes of the church, that’s when it gets tricky.

If you’ve grown up religious or grew up around friends or family who are, particularly the Christian variety, forgiveness gets muddy. From the Christian side, giving forgiveness is the ultimate form of grace. It’s accepting a person beyond their failings and asking a higher power to give them the same grace you have shown that person. But when you are the one being forgiven, it just doesn’t feel like true forgiveness. Hearing “may God forgive you,” is like a slap in the face. It feels like a platitude, it feels like someone refusing to accept who you are. And it reminds you that the devote person thinks of you as a sinner. Crowley sees Aziraphale for who he truly is. He sees his goodness, his indulgences, sees his bastard streak and is fascinated and accepting of every part of it. There’s a reason why the head canon exists that Crowley started to fall for Aziraphale when he gave away the flaming sword. He saw true goodness in Aziraphale when he went behind heaven’s back and did the “right” thing. Aziraphale isn’t at this point yet because he hasn’t given himself true forgiveness. He sees Crowley for who he is, but he cannot see anything other than a black and white way of being. And when he sees goodness in Crowley he cannot separate it from heaven.

For Aziraphale, his forgiveness is God’s grace, it’s a beautiful act. To him Heaven is unwilling to see the good in Crowley. Aziraphale sees the goodness, he sees Crowley should be forgiven, and he thinks himself better than other angel’s because he can show grace to anyone. An angel’s duty is to show grace, and what greater strength is there than seeing the good in all, even a demon. For Crowley Aziraphale’s forgiveness is reminder that he will not be taken back by heaven. And even worse it must feel like Aziraphale is not accepting of his whole self.

Aziraphale’s problem is that he equates goodness with heaven despite seeing the awful things they have done. But because he sees the goodness in Crowley, he thinks that Crowley should be in heaven. Crowley is past the idea of sides, of heaven and hell, Aziraphale is not. Throughout the flashbacks and first season we see this. He thinks of Crowley as good one moment and then calls his side the bad guys the next. Aziraphale’s duty to forgive, his ideas of heaven and goodness, they are all getting mixed up inside him.

But there is also so much guilt attached to Aziraphale. He believes he has transgressed and done the wrong thing and he’s holding onto that guilt. He carries so much guilt for going against God, for indulging in food and human pleasure (there’s a reason why the Metatron brings this up and tells Aziraphale it’s okay). Aziraphale is caught in the crossroads between his duty to heaven and his idea of goodness and his own freewill, and the guilt he feels when he allows himself freewill.

Crowley is the outsider. He has Fallen from grace; he understands true forgiveness and gives it freely to Aziraphale. H knows the difference between true goodness and heaven’s goodness. Crowley trusts Aziraphale, he even trusts that Aziraphale will try to change heaven. The problem is Crowley understands heaven and hell better than anyone. He knows the system is bad and ridiculous and has taken himself out of the equation. He doesn’t want vengeance against heaven for what it’s done to the other demons. He doesn’t want to be considered good and go back to heaven. He wants to live as a free agent on earth and appreciate the wonder and beauty there. And he wants the same for Aziraphale. He doesn’t want Aziraphale to Fall necessarily, but he wants him to have free will and to live a life away from the machinations of heaven and hell. This is the next step for Aziraphale.

This is where the kiss scene gets messy because I want Aziraphale to get away from heaven, but I also understand Aziraphale. For Aziraphale, Crowley's big plan to get away and be safe must sound like running away from the problem. There’s a reason he always rejects it. He wants to be with Crowley, but there is something holding him back, holding him to earth specifically. Both Crowley and Aziraphale want to be safe and free for all eternity, but while Crowley loves the earth and humanity, Aziraphale is still holding onto the idea of protecting humanity and he knows that the final judgement will come eventually, sooner rather than later.

Even if Aziraphale is morally gray, he wants to be good so badly. And his struggle between true goodness and heaven’s goodness feels so human and relatable. It's hard for me personally to watch Aziraphale’s journey because I don’t want him to not be an angel. It’s a part of him. But I don’t know what other journey he could go on at this point to accepting himself. I don’t think he will Fall, but something must change. He has to choose to be human or to be erased from the book of life or to be something else outside of heaven to truly choose goodness. He will not abandon his duty to humanity, but he will abandon his duty to heaven. He needs to show himself forgiveness and to show Crowley acceptance. He needs to go against heaven once and for all and abandon his duties as an angel to truly protect humanity.

At the end of season two we get the kiss, and we see Aziraphale offer forgiveness. A forgiveness that without context sounds strange. But after his forgiveness we see Aziraphale struggle with what to do. He’s choosing heaven, but this is just the start of his journey. He has truly taken a bite of the forbidden apple, and he’s about to gain the knowledge which will forever change him and his path forward. But a snake can’t lead an angel out of the garden, he has to choose to leave.

#good omens #ineffable husbands #goodomensseason2 #aziracrow #crowley #crowly x aziraphale #good omens 2 #aziraphale #long post #essay #good omens essay #good omens theory #good omens thoughts

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thesherrinfordfacility · 3 months

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still not a forensic lip-reader but-

previously looked at what aziraphale was mouthing in the final fifteen, and whilst im not 100% certain on it, it gave me the hubris to look at the mouthing in 1941. because don't get me wrong, i know that crowley refers to "trust me" later on in the minisode, despite it not being voiced earlier on, and neil confirmed that that is indeed what aziraphale mouthed, but i... do not buy it.

full disclaimer, once again: not an expert in phonetics by any stretch, but was really into it when i was younger, and i have used it occasionally in my job. actual phonetics experts' input is most welcome!!!

so yeah, let's again begin with a capture of that moment, and slowed down to 0.9x, 0.8x, and 0.7x:

because whilst im not certain on exactly what aziraphale's saying, im really not convinced that his initial mouth movements bear much, if any, resemblance to what i would expect from "trust".

"trust" /tɹʌst/ is broken down into multiple movements, which i'll explain in four distinct stages: /tɹ/, /ʌ/, /s/ and /t/.

the first is the trickiest to explain, insomuch that broadly speaking, the /tɹ/ consonant cluster isn't spoken like one might think at first glance - instead of the 'tuh' and 'ruh' consonants merging exactly as they sound individually, it often evolves into a "ch" or "jj" cluster, and instead it sounds like 'chr' /tʃɹ/ (by the by, it happens often with the 'dr' cluster too!). so, in terms of what the mouth is actually doing during this, the tip of the tongue is placed up and resting behind the top teeth on the alveolar ridge (AvR), the teeth are closed, and the lips tense, or tighten, and become rounded. /ʃ/ is a voiceless fricative, and so there is some aspiration as the sound rolls into the /ɹ/. as this happens, the teeth/mouth opens, the lips relax/pull back, and the tongue falls from the AvR and pulls back to prepare voicing the vowel.

'uh' /ʌ/ is technically the open-mid back unrounded vowel; the tongue pulls towards the back of the mouth, it is not-quite-but-biased-towards the bottom of the mouth, and the lips are relaxed (ie. not rounded). so you expect to see a rather relaxed, open mouth with this vowel, just before it closes for the next consonant.

'ss' /s/ is another fricative, and so is aspirated. with this, the tongue tip instead moves forward from the back (where it sounded the /ʌ/ vowel), to behind the bottom row of teeth. the teeth are closed, and the lips are still relaxed/not rounded, resulting in the sibilant sound being made by passing air through the teeth.

to round off the word, we then move the tongue back up to the AvR, and a flick off the ridge/behind the teeth completes the hard /t/ sound. this abrupt movement stems the airflow from the /s/ sibilance (ie. a plosive). the teeth remain closed up until the flick, where they then quickly open for the plosive, and the lips remain relaxed.

and then (very quickly glossing over this for completeness) we have "me" /mi:/, which is formed by contact of the lips together, and the push of the 'ee' vowel behind it (being the close, frontal non-rounded vowel) which opens up the lips as it vocalises.

again... i personally dont see any of this movement in aziraphale's mouth during this scene:

okay yeah, the lips come together and purse slightly, but that's honestly as far as i can see any resemblance between whatever he's saying, and "trust"? so what could he be saying instead?

it's difficult to say, especially towards the end of the above gif. his mouth moves so quickly, and i think it's a realistic possibility there's more than two words - maybe three, even four? i also think that just before the shot changes, he's not actually done speaking - it looks like he's cut off mid-sentence. and overall, aziraphale is obviously mouthing very 'sotto voce' (literally) - ie. to presumably avoid detection from the audience, his mouth movements are not as exaggerated as they would be in normal, overt speech... which affects how his mouth would normally move to form these words, and therefore how accurately we can read them.

to this end, like a madman, ive a) split the clip into three, and b) slowed them down ever further to 0.3x. first one:

aziraphale is really slow in forming this first word: its initially hesitant but then very deliberate. but the first thing we see is his jaw drop minutely (i think his jaw even pushes forward slightly?), and his neck tenses.

id also hazard that whilst obviously the quality is pants, and we can't see the placement of the front of his tongue, it's set behind his bottom teeth, and the rest is high and back in the mouth (ie. not behind the top teeth, on the AvR, where the 'tr' /tʃɹ/ cluster is formed).

after this, his lips then purse/round slightly, before relaxing again (again, not what would be indicated by the /ʌ/ vowel).

so all this to me suggests that a) it begins with a voiced sound (the neck tensing implies engagement of the vocal chords), and b) it transitions into a closed, rounded vowel, set in the back. the most logical construction that fits this, for me, is 'you' - /ju:/.

the rest of what he's mouthing? honestly god only knows what's going on here, but im gonna take a stab at it. i think it can be broken down into another two words at least, maybe even three with the middle one being a very short vowel. the issue is that the clip cuts off sharply when the shot changes, which makes it difficult to see how aziraphale's mouth results at the end of the whole thing*.

but let's start from where we left off with the /u:/ sound - where the lips are pursed:

two thoughts here:

1) after aziraphale says 'you', his mouth just simply relaxes, and doesn't say anything. it's a very quick rest, and the movements that follow it are even quicker, making it (for me) difficult to read.

alternatively, 2) he is saying something. so breaking this movement down, as his mouth relaxes from 'oo' /u:/, and his lips pull back from that rounded position, i think two things happen: his lips pull back, opening the mouth a fraction, and his tongue pulls down and slightly back. both of which could possibly suggest an /h/ sound, which is breathy and voiceless, transitioning into a vowel which in this case is most likely in this case to be open, or near-open, and unrounded - in which case, /æ/ would make sense.

for the next sound, this is where it's not very clear at all - im tentatively saying it's a /v/, which is a labiodental fricative phoneme, meaning that it is primarily formed when the top teeth make contact with the bottom lip. aziraphale's mouth certainly closes back up from the open position, but it's not entirely clear whether his teeth do contact his lip. that being said, if aziraphale is saying anything here, completing the word with the /v/ is logical - 'have', /hæv/.

okay deep breath, we're onto the last couple of movements now-

im going to scream, this last bit is so difficult-

one thing is that i do think, is that aziraphale is saying two words here: watching closely, his lips part so, so minutely before coming together again, and forming the start* of the next word. most likely? that tiny little word he's forming in that small, minute gap is 'a', which aziraphale has previously pronounced in the show (and i think he is here, too) as 'uh', /ʌ/.

after this, his lips return to contact, before parting again into the last movement that we see - the shot changes, and the word is cut off (so far as i can tell)*. but if you return to the 0.6x gif up above, you can see that all of this movement is so quick that im definitely having trouble being certain on what the last one is. because all of the lip-presses are in quick succession to each other, i think he might be forming a 'ww' consonant - /w/, but can't be sure.

so, possibly: "you have a w-", /ju: hæv ʌ w/

so look - altogether, this is a massive amount of unhinged speculation and, as ive said previously, i am nowhere near a professional at this (fancy terminology is all well and good, but i was just really into linguistics and phonetics when i was younger). im sure i will be eating humble pie at some point over this but... i really don't think, regardless of what he is actually saying, that he is saying 'trust me'.

and in a way - it's the implications of it that are more interesting to me: because if aziraphale doesn't say 'trust me' in this bit, but both he and crowley acknowledge that he says it at some point, when does he say it?

#good omens #1941 spec #flashback meta #this is probably the most unhinged meta/spec ive written to date. and thats saying A Lot #aziraphale meta

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midnights-dragon · 4 months

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My Good Omens Masterlist (midnightdragons on ao3)

I have a LOT, and if you just want the list on ao3, the full series is here. This list will be periodically updated, but feel free to reblog!

One-Shots:

Delicate (4,068 words) — Aziraphale attempts to calm and comfort Crowley after a nightmare about his Fall. Takes place sometime during the 11 years before the Not-Apocalypse. POV Aziraphale.

Your Beauty Never, Ever Scared Me (1,763 words) — Very short and sweet, also takes place sometime during the 11 years before the Not-Apocalypse; Aziraphale asks why Crowley keeps his sunglasses on around him. POV Aziraphale.

Ouroboros (7,796 words) — Takes place after season 2. In short, it's the obligatory 'Crowley coping terribly and Aziraphale coming to his senses and returning' fic that I wrote, of course, to cope after The Kiss. Lots of symbolism to a snake eating its tail, as well as the universe, as well as a spinning coin, as well as Crowley's dynamics with Muriel, Nina, and Maggie. POV Crowley.

Smokey Eyes (3,686 words) — Jimbriel lights a candle in the bookshop without knowing the rules, and Crowley is spooked at the scent of smoke in the shop. Aziraphale offers comfort. POV Crowley.

From Eden (11,085 words) — Another fic that takes place after season 2. Aziraphale returns to London after realizing the corruption in Heaven cannot be fixed, and seeks out Crowley in an attempt at reconciliation. Crowley doesn't believe him, thinking he's only there to trick him and then leave again, and Aziraphale finds himself expressing his apology in a less-than-conventional way. POV Aziraphale.

But The Smoke Clears When You're Around (4,967 words) — After the Armageddon that wasn't, Crowley can't rid himself of the trauma caused by a certain event, and shields himself with defensive anger and a mask of irritation. Aziraphale convinces him that it's okay to rest and recover. Pure sleepy fluff comfort and domestic intimacy. One of my personal favorites. POV Alternating.

lay my curses out to rest (make a mercy out of me) (8,438 words) — Greek Mythology AU; gorgon Crowley (like Medusa), and Greek warrior Aziraphale, who has been tasked to kill the monster. POV Aziraphale.

but i might be hopin' about this (oh, what a sin) (1,362 words) — After Aziraphale leaves, Crowley grieves, and listens to Hozier, and grieves some more. Mostly a songfic of From Eden. POV Crowley.

you fell asleep in my car, I drove the whole time (but that's okay, I'll just avoid the holes so you sleep fine) (3,376 words) — Aziraphale falls asleep in the Bentley, and Crowley begrudgingly gives up his favorite pastime of violating traffic laws and breaking the sound barrier with Queen music to allow him to rest. Probably one of the fluffiest things I've ever written, because I just love sleepy intimacy. POV Crowley.

Great Divide (3,595 words) — The missing scene from s2ep6 of Crowley's full discussion with Maggie and Nina, where he tells someone, for the first time, the things he's felt that have gone unsaid for six thousand years. POV Crowley.

Penance That Comes With the Lack of Proper Closure (5,928 words) — Inspired by an ask (my asks are open for writing ideas/requests!) by @ineffableserpentsss. After the averted Apocalypse, Aziraphale forgets himself and sends a report to Heaven. This does not go over well, and Crowley is there to help Aziraphale process through the grief of being unwanted by his God. POV Aziraphale.

in the low lamplight i was free (heaven and hell were words to me) (2,017 words) — My own rendition of the infamous bus fics based on the newfound revelation that Crowley and Aziraphale canonically held hands on the bus. Casual intimacy, and cuddling, and the new beginning of 'their side'. POV Aziraphale.

Temporarily Not On Different Sides (or, the Beginning of Our Side) (3,757 words) — Set directly after the Job minisode; Aziraphale is grappling with the weight of his decisions against God's Will, and Crawley very awkwardly attempts to be a semblance of emotional support. Their (friendship? relationship? arrangement?) begins to develop in earnest. Ft. Crawley wiping away Holy Water tears. POV Aziraphale.

Snowflakes and Starshine (1,428 words) — Crowley and Aziraphale have holiday traditions, just like humans do. One of them: a silly competition to see if there's more star or angel decorations, respectively. Plotless Christmas/Holiday fluff. POV Aziraphale.

Nightingales Not Yet Sung (1,757 words) — Extended scene of Soho, 1967. Aziraphale expresses his worry for Crowley, and the tartan thermos of the Holiest Water. POV Crowley.

angel, just put your sweet lips on my lips (2,617 words) — Short and sweet season 3 speculation that I wrote to celebrate when it was confirmed, and borne in Neil's statement of 'they aren't talking'. It's very self-indulgent, with lots of kisses and a happy ending despite the angst. POV Aziraphale.

Nightingale's Lament (1,886 words) — Season 3 speculation fic. Crowley has to drive Aziraphale somewhere in the Bentley. They aren't talking. The Bentley is not going to stand for that. POV Crowley.

The Opposite of Eternal Damnation (2,349 words) — Fully inspired by Demonology and the Tri-Phasic Model of Trauma: An Integrative Approach (or, the Crowley Therapy Fic) by Nnm — it's a missing scene of Aubrey, Crowley, and Aziraphale in the bookshop. Ft. Sleepy Intimacy and a therapist having many revelations about a client's rough exterior but soft interior. POV Aubrey Thyme/Outsider.

New Year's Resolutions (1,355 words) — This one's pretty self-explanatory, I wrote it for the New Year. Aziraphale and Crowley share New Year's Eve together in the bookshop, along with some extraordinary amounts of alcohol. Takes place before the Not-Apocalypse, sometime during the 11 years. POV Aziraphale.

it would feel like this (984 words) — Crowley has a migraine; Aziraphale takes care of him. Purely self-indulgent. POV Crowley.

Of Rosaries and Burnt Palms (1,516 words) — Aziraphale wears a rosary round the bookshop, and does not think of the consequences. Whumpy hurt/comfort. POV Aziraphale.

fell in love with the fire long ago (11,186 words) — Crowley is a firefighter; Aziraphale is an EMT. A First Responders Human AU one-shot of their 'first' (whumpy but fluffy) meeting, inspired by artwork by @tanpopomugishu. POV Crowley.

The Rules of Chess (977 words) — Crowley & Aziraphale enjoy playing chess in the bookshop. Plotless fluff, ambiguous POV but mostly Aziraphale-thoughts-centered. <3

Cast Thou Send Lightnings? (2,747 words) — Inspired by an ask from @moriarty4life; A brief argument between angel and demon spirals a bit out of control when Crowley's tendency to become struck by lightning when caught up in the throes of his smoking anger makes itself known. Basically; Crowley's lightning thing explained, but in an angsty way. POV Aziraphale.

Interlaced (896 words) — More plotless fluff! In a shared moment of peaceful intimacy in the South Downs, Aziraphale braids Crowley's hair. Inspired by an anonymous ask/request. POV Crowley.

soothe the burns on your palms (2,875 words) — Another work inspired by the art of @tanpopomugishu! Aziraphale has lost an emergency patient in his care, and Crowley comforts him. POV Crowley.

Early Mornings, Gentle Hands (694 words) — Also a work inspired by tanpopomugishu! An early morning of domestic love and peace for Aziraphale & Crowley in their South Downs cottage. POV Aziraphale.

nothing can get a look in on my baby (1,261 words) — An alternate scene of sorts. Aziraphale is the one to rescue Crowley from someone at the bar, with just a touch of angelic possessiveness; after all, no one hurts his demon. POV Aziraphale.

Multi-Chapters:

brought by the sunlight of the spirit (to pour into rain) (38,964 words, 7 chapters) — Please heed the tags with this one. Crowley is punished by Hell in the worst way imaginable, and is left in a state that leaves him, in his own words, broken. Aziraphale tries to pick up the pieces. POV Crowley.

Pull Up the Ladder When the Flood Comes (16,796 words, 3 chapters) — Crawley saves children during the Flood in Mesopotamia, and finds himself in an even more jeopardizing situation as he seeks out shelter. Aziraphale struggles with his own internal conflict, but attempts to help all the same. I wrote this for religious catharsis. POV Alternating.

you will crawl on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life (14,790 words, 5 chapters) — One of my personal favorites. Crowley sheds his skin; it's painful, and uncomfortable, and luckily for him only happens every few centuries. Unfortunately, he no longer has the luxury of a safe place to crawl away to and sleep thanks to Shax and Hell, as he is homeless, living in his Bentley; until the Bentley brings him to Aziraphale, who cares for a rather begrudging snake. POV Crowley.

Aim For My Heart (6,793 words, 2 chapters) — The second chapter is an NSFW/Smut ending. Missing scene from directly after the Bullet Catch scene, to the scene in the dressing room. Aziraphale didn't realize how genuinely scared Crowley was at the prospect of hurting him, and in fear, a lot of things are said, and a lot of things are revealed. POV Aziraphale.

i wanna grab both your shoulders and shake, baby (snap out of it) (24,075 words, 6 chapters) — Aziraphale comes back to Crowley after leaving for Heaven, but he is not Aziraphale; someone else has taken him over, with the intention of teaching him a lesson through Crowley's blood on his hands. I've been told that this one sends people into cardiac arrest, especially going in blind without reading the tags. POV Crowley.

Strays on the Street (54,252 words, 13 chapters) — This is the longest fic I have ever written, and it's a goddamn cat AU. I've made fanart of this. Crowley is a hardened, long-abandoned street cat, and Aziraphale has been recently kicked to the streets, sure that it must be some mistake and that his good owners are coming back at any moment. POV Alternating.

Coffee Breath (28,680 words, 6 chapters) — A rather cliche but cute human AU story with bookshop owner!Aziraphale, plant shop owner!Crowley, and a meet-cute involving spilt coffee, with angst but also lots of fluff because we all need a cute little story sometimes. Featuring a bonus chapter with their "first time." I have done multiple fan arts of this. POV Alternating.

screaming birds sound an awful lot like singing (10,324 words, 3 chapters) — Aziraphale comes to Crowley's aid when the latter is attacked and left beaten by demons, and the angel takes care of him while he's too weak to do it himself. Very unapologetic whump and BAMF Aziraphale. POV Aziraphale.

Serpent's Requiem (6,520 words, 2 chapters) — Supreme Archangel Aziraphale recognizes a certain demon's signature when approving a contract for the new Duke of Hell. POV Aziraphale.

by his breath the skies became fair; his hand pierced the gliding serpent (12,639 words, 4 chapters) — Sequel fic to the shed fic! Crowley sheds again a century later, in the South Downs cottage, only this time he has Aziraphale at his side to help him through it. Contains vomiting, heed the tags! POV Crowley.

The Man In The Dark Glasses Pays Us Now (5,663 words, 2 chapters) — Wrecked with grief after the awful kiss and Aziraphale's departure for Heaven, Crowley finds himself months later standing at the doorstep to Soho's local brothel. But not for the reasons you might think. ANGST ENDING. POV Crowley.

Appendange (15,115 words, 4 chapters) — When coming back from a meeting in Hell, Crowley runs into Aziraphale, who is returning from a respective meeting with Heaven. However, the demon soon realizes that something is very, very wrong. Mostly an exploration of religious trauma. POV Alternating.

I'll follow you down 'til the sound of my voice will haunt you (TBD words, 7 chapters) — A WIP fic, 2 chapters posted (as of April 6th); the brainchild of @moriarty4life who requested it and it grew into way more than either of us imagined. Supreme Archangel Aziraphale finds himself sitting across the table from Crowley, Duke of Hell; but all is not as it seems, and is that the sigil of Lucifer branded around Crowley's neck like a collar? POV Alternating.

Happy reading! Thank you to everyone who's ever recommended one of my fics; it's always an astonishment.

#good omens masterlist #good omens #fic list #fic masterlist #masterlist #personal #fanfic #ao3 #my fanfic stuff #crowley x aziraphale #good omens fic #good omens fanfic #good omens fandom #gomens fic #archive of our own

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vidavalor · 8 months

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Here's a thought... the protective wing moments aren't actually totally what Crowley is describing in the scene in the pub, from what we have seen of them, but it is pretty obvious that Crowley's talking about when he fell in love with Aziraphale, soooo... what if the wing moment in Eden wasn't the vavoom moment? What if S2 is trying to tell us that it was during The Flood? And... maybe what if it's a S3 flashback scene?

Crowley says this about this moment we all know was about him lol and not just from films...

They *look into each other's eyes* being the key thing here, right? And also *both* of them, ideally. It is a *shared* moment. The thing about the wing protecting scenes is that, in both of them, both Crowley and Aziraphale look straight ahead at the first celestial and, later, rain, storms. There is a storm and there is, for *one* of them, a sudden canopy, each time, but it's not the both of them *together* forced under a canopy from a sudden storm and then looking at *one another*, right? But when else could this have happened that is mentioned in S2? The Flood. Mentioned in the Job minisode.

Aziraphale shows up and says "It's you. Oh, dear me, haven't seen you since what... The Flood?" and Crowley agrees but also the scene we've seen so far circa The Flood is the "you can't kill kids" bit of it, which thematically ties to the Job episode. We didn't see The Flood itself (yet).

Aziraphale is *sure* by the Job era that Crowley won't kill Job's kids-- children or goats alike. Crowley makes an effort to fake it but it's the events of The Flood that led them to team up in the Job story. Yeah, running into Crowley before the start of it would maybe count but also if Crowley had then just left after that conversation, how would Aziraphale be so sure by the Job era that Crowley wouldn't kill the kids or animals? He wouldn't be, right? Crowley had to have stayed during The Flood. He then would have been there with Aziraphale, with both of them trying to save as many as they could, when the sudden storm forced them at one point to take shelter under a canopy, probably with some they were trying to rescue and, unlike during the celestial storm or in Eden, they weren't looking out at the storm but, finally, into one another's eyes and... vavoom.

They knew they were made for each other.

(Adding to this theory is that when Crowley tries his Awning of a New Age to make Maggie and Nina fall in love, it's a steadily increasing storm until he *accidentally weathers too much and turns it into a flood*, almost as if he's thinking about him and Aziraphale and it causes him to mess up his miracled weather... however? It also *still worked*, since even if Maggie and Nina didn't get together exactly yet, this is the still their vavoom moment.)

Crowley and Aziraphale both had moments of attraction and shielding one another with a canopy in scenes before this-- Before the Beginning and Eden-- but they both actually fell in love during The Flood and Crowley knows it. He knew it then and he knows Aziraphale knows. Maybe it took forever for them to admit it to themselves, especially Aziraphale, but they both know now in the present in S2.

So Crowley is all ok, so you want a romantic scenario for us to make Nina and Maggie realize they're in love? Let me describe the moment *we* did. Work with me, Angel, I'm trying to be romantic here...

Aziraphale: But they're humans, not us, dear, doesn't seem very likely. Jane Austen!

Crowley: We are way more like the humans than you think and we are on a date in the pub and I'm trying to talk about when we fell in love and was hoping for the sparkly eyes and the melting sigh and an "oh, Crowley" and what I got was "not likely". Brb throwing myself off the roof.

Vavoom. Sorted.

#ineffable husbands #crowley #aziraphale #good omens #good omens meta #good omens 2 #good omens theory

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