I’m still not over this “former demon” thing. I mean, what does it MEAN. Is demon a job description? Can he choose not to be a demon? What about Aziraphale? He seems to think he’s still an angel, right? Even if he doesn’t work for heaven. And Crowley still calls him angel (also for endearment purposes probably, but still).

Or does Crowley just say it for Shax’s benefit. Not a demon anymore as in holy water can’t hurt me. (“He isn’t one of us anymore”)

Crowley doesn’t want to be a demon right? He never wanted to be. Does he just choose not to be? Like the same way he chose a new name?

He isn’t one of the bad guys. He didn’t want to be before, but he had to pretend at least (“I go along with hell as far as I can”). Now he just is his own thing. Not a demon. Not an angel. Crowley.

I think it's interesting how aziraphale was technically the first one to acknowledge that him and crowley are on the same side. when aziraphale realized crowley didn't destroy job's goats, he was grinning, crowley straight up denied that they're on the same side, and aziraphale responded sarcastically.

of course, crowley quickly said "temporarily not on different sides" but aziraphale wasn't even having the "temporarily".

Season 2 of these two dorks is on the way so here we are now

Buck up, Hamlet!

***Trigger warning: Death and taking your own life in the context of Shakespeare***

Aziraphale likes Hamlet. Likes the play so much, that he bats his eyelashes at Crowley until the demon performs a miracle to make the mopey Prince of Denmark more popular. Well, good job, the both of you, because four hundred and some odd years later, you still can't get through repertory auditions without some bugger hoisting a skull and starting that monologue. Not that I don't appreciate Hamlet from a structural and analytical perspective. And the Prince of Denmark is a character most actors would sacrifice several toes to play. But it's dark. It's not a fun one.

So why does Aziraphale like it so much? Why's this fluffy little angel so Hell-bent on one of Shakespeare's tragedies? Join me, friendly Good Omens scholars, and let's suss some shit out.

Crowley adamantly dislikes Shakespeare's tragedies. "This isn't one of Shakespeare's gloomy ones, is it? Arghhhh. No wonder no one is here," he complains, wilting like a floppy noodle. Of course, it doesn't take much for Aziraphale to weasel the demon into miracling more people into the audience. But Crowley makes a point to say that he "still prefer(s) the funny ones" as he's leaving The Globe.

Crowley, I would argue, goes to the theatre to escape his real-life situation. He's a bloody demon who, when he's not stationed on Earth, literally goes to Hell. And it's not a nice place. Crowley's everyday life (particularly when he's not around Aziraphale) revolves around pain and suffering--whether its his or someone else's is insignificant. What matters is that regularly sees and experiences tangible, visceral representations of tragedy in his actual existence. Of course he prefers Shakespeare's funny ones! They're a reminder that the world and the human race that he's accidentally become so attached to is full of more than torment and affliction. Crowley doesn't appreciate Shakespeare's tragedies because they're an extension of his own suffering, with which he's already intimately familiar. For Crowley, attending a Shakespearean tragedy is like picking a scab. You already know you've been injured and fussing with the damned thing only makes it worse.

This is not the case for Azirapahle. As an angel, he's not allowed to have any scabs, much less pick at them. Like Crowley, he sees suffering in the world. He knows that humanity is constantly facing difficult odds, and even the most wonderful of human lives eventually ends in death. But unlike Crowley, Aziraphale works within a system in which there is no gray space--and therefore, no room for an angel, an agent of the side of righteousness, to experience doubt in the Ineffable Plan. The Heavenly model is to deal with problems by pretending they don't exist. Heaven has an image to maintain, after all. Like, the sheer amount of repression we see amongst the Heavenly Host is honestly terrifying. I'm thinking about the way in which The Metatron frames the Fall and damnation of a third of the angels. "For one Prince of Heaven to be cast into the outer darkness makes a good story. For it to happen twice, makes it look like there is some kind of institutional problem." It's so cold and removed because to process something so traumatic would not fit the image of Heaven. So it's neatly boxed up and packed away into a soundbite that better fits Heaven's corporate brand.

Aziraphale's suffering is certainly no less than Crowley's. The angel's trauma is repressed. It's cloaked in shining bright hallways of pure angelic light. It's hidden behind false words and tight smiles. It's communicated passive-aggressively by abusers who still have the angel caught in their web of control and manipulation. At least Crowley's trauma is visible. When he fell, the demon took on a new appearance that physically demonstrates his suffering. He has access to feelings of anger and frustration and he's allowed to express these things because he's a demon. He doesn't have to be good.

Since Aziraphale is not permitted to own his emotions and his trauma, he outsources them. He enjoys Shakespeare's tragedies because they give him the opportunity to achieve second-hand catharsis. He may not be able to admit that he's suffering, but he can experience Hamlet's pain vicariously.

***Reminding you of that trigger warning, folks!***

And this is where we get to the question, "To be, or not to be?" This is the moment in S1 E3 when Aziraphale interacts with Richard Burbage, and shouts out, "To be! Not to be! Come on, Hamlet, buck up!" He says this with this coy little smile, obviously trying to get a laugh out of Crowley. But it's indicative of a more serious dilemma that the angel, himself, must parse out. In Shakespeare's play, Hamlet's query is expressed as he wrestles with the choice between life and death. Essentially, it's a contemplation of suicide--a dark part of humanity that Heaven manages by eternally condemning those who would risk it. However there's another way to read this question, not as life and death, but as agency and the lack thereof. We think of "to be" as the choice for life and "not to be" as the option for suicide. But the only way in which Hamlet can express his agency is by taking control of the one thing that truly belongs to him: his own life. So when asking this question of an eternal being, what exactly does it mean, "To be?" What does it mean for Aziraphale to express agency in his immortal existence?

In Western thought, we tend to divide things into binaries: right and wrong, black and white, good and evil...to be or not to be. Back in the Garden if Eden, Crowley first introduced Adam and Eve to the idea that they had a choice. The serpent presented two options, obey or disobey God's authority. Though I think a better way of looking at it would be to say, passively accept your role or have agency in your fate. This is Crowley's method. He never pushes temptations upon you. He just wants to make sure you know all your options.

Like Hamlet, Aziraphale is presented with the choice of, "To be or not to be?" He can sign on the dotted line and follow Heaven's authority or he can be an angel with agency, an angel that goes along with Heaven as far as he can. And though Aziraphale still struggles with how exactly free will pertains to angels, Crowley shows him time and time again that he has options--he can make his own choices. From the very first interaction between the angel and the demon on the wall of Eden, Crowley (ever the optimist) knows there is hope for some meaningful connection with Aziraphale, because the angel makes a choice for himself: he gives away his sword. And from that moment, Crowley realizes that this angel might be just enough of a bastard to be worth knowing.

It's no wonder Aziraphale gets attached to the tragedy of Hamlet. It allows him to observe and process the darker and more difficult emotions that he, as an angel, struggles to manage. And perhaps more importantly, the Prince of Denmark's famous soliloquy mirrors of Crowley's method of temptation, wherein the demon simply reminds him that he has a choice and that, even as an angel, he can find ways to express his agency.

Let's go for a little bit of speculation on the ending of GO. Actually, let's make a tread, all of us, what do you say?

I think that maybe Aziraphale and Crowley will save the world from the Second Coming. Somehow the implications will end up restoring the balance and it will always be like that because the main focus will be to make the audience feel as if everything will be fine thanks to a certain demon and a certain angel taking care of the humanity together. Or maybe God will turn them into humans wich it might be a punishment in the eyes of heaven and hell but, maybe, what Aziraphale and Crowley want deep down, wich will let them explore fully the human experience and understand their feelings for each other (and the earthly pleasures) in a way that finally makes sense to them.

I'm just wild guessing without elaborating too much. Feel free to leash out your cheesiest, craziest, nonsensical, funny ideas on the comments or via reblog, I'd love to read them all in one place 🤍🖤

the inherent homoeroticism of the cold war spy

Good Omens || Opposite Sides || Theme Analysis

Exploring one of the main themes in Good Omens, opposites coming together to effect change. How it affected season 2, and what it might mean for season 3

New analysis by @sendarya

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman

oh but what if when Aziraphale said "come with me, you'll be my second in command"... what if that wasn't the first time Crowley had been promised that?

he's made the mistake of choosing sides in this bullshit war before. whatever promises Satan made, they were false. and the promises of heaven will be no different.

Hi! I was wondering, what are/were the digital-only zines you worked on? I'm still trying to fill holes in my zine library. Thanks!

Hey there! Digital-only zines I worked on in some capacity:

Our Side: Coming Out Day 2020

Our Side: Trans Day of Visibility 2021

Our Side: Pride 2021

Our Side: Ace Week 2021

Our Side: Queer Enough 2022

Dark Omens Vol 1 & 2

I know @flantasticclaude has done a ton of design work for Good Omens zines, so perhaps she can add to your list?

(For those curious about print, in Good Omens, I worked on Ineffable Eras vol 1-3 (Blitz 1941, Soho 1967, Bookshop 1800s); Of Feathers & Wings; Our Side: Love Wins 2021 [art book], Our Side Pride 2022 [art book]. Non-GO, I worked on Mischievous Scamp, a Lokius zine.)

Good luck!

So did I

When I first watched S2 E1, I thought Crowley yelling the "So did I!" at Aziraphale during their argument over Gabriel was because he was really mad about Aziraphale wanting to help Gabriel. For one, because Gabriel had treated Aziraphale so horribly ("Shut your stupid mouth and die already", etc.) and because sheltering him posed a great risk to Aziraphale's safety. I thought, how unusual, we've never seen Crowley get mad at Aziraphale like this before, to the point of yelling at him. He must be REALLY upset by this. Now, having rewatched the season, I think that the reason for the intensity of his outburst in that moment isn't about the Gabriel situation at all. It's an expression of the pent-up frustration he feels at the stagnation of his relationship with Aziraphale, but is unable to put into words.

For millennia, their growing closer was always impeded by them being an angel and a demon and the threat of Heaven or Hell finding out. Then, in season 1, they openly break with their respective "sides" for the first time to thwart the apocalypse, successfully. After escaping their executions, they are technically "free". How free they really are is up for debate, because the danger is still there in the background, but they aren't forced to maintain appearances any longer. This was the biggest opportunity they had ever had to be able to live as they choose, be close and be happy together, to be on "their side". So then why is Crowley homeless, living in his car with his plants, instead of Aziraphale offering him a roof over his head? As Crowley did for him when his bookshop burned down? It's one of several signs that all is not well. They finally have an opportunity to become closer, but it's not happening how Crowley hoped it would. THAT is why Crowley remarks to Shax on the park bench: "What's the point of it all?" Not because he's bored without Hell duties, but because he fought with everything he had to save the Earth and be able to be with Aziraphale. Against all odds, he succeeded... for what?

The life we see in S2 is not what Crowley's idea of "our side" was. Let us remain hopeful that S3 will make some dreams come true.

Minor Speculation: I wouldn't be at all annoyed if GO3 culminated in an adaptation of this scene

“I'm sorry. For whatever I've done.”

Aziraphale sat at his side, trying to find his words. “Don't be. Just... I've never fraternized. Been accused of doing it by angels and demons, but... it's all too much. I need a moment. It wasn’t you that scared me.”

“And there I was, so jealous during the 19th century I slept during most of it.” It was a weak attempt at humor, and the demon’s chuckle sounded sour and tired.

“You were... you thought that I was hav... why would you think that?” The angel was suddenly outraged, his face red.

“Well, you were always frequenting all those gentlemen clubs! And they all loved you. Thought about jinxing some of them.”

-----------

After the angel leaves, Crowley is left hopeless and alone on Earth, finding solace in his developing friendship with Nina and Maggie. Aziraphale, instead, finds himself trying to stop a monstrous system that only cares about destruction in a one-man war. Yet, it's only when they're together that they can really fight it.

Unexpected allies, spy games and conspiracies, while Nina's shop gets an influx of occult forces in desperate need of coffee.

at some point it's just like. do they even fucking like the thing they're asking AI to make? "oh we'll just use AI for all the scripts" "we'll just use AI for art" "no worries AI can write this book" "oh, AI could easily design this"

like... it's so clear they've never stood in the middle of an art museum and felt like crying, looking at a piece that somehow cuts into your marrow even though the artist and you are separated by space and time. they've never looked at a poem - once, twice, three times - just because the words feel like a fired gun, something too-close, clanging behind your eyes. they've never gotten to the end of the movie and had to arrive, blinking, back into their body, laughing a little because they were holding their breath without realizing.

"oh AI can mimic style" "AI can mimic emotion" "AI can mimic you and your job is almost gone, kid."

... how do i explain to you - you can make AI that does a perfect job of imitating me. you could disseminate it through the entire world and make so much money, using my works and my ideas and my everything.

and i'd still keep writing.

i don't know there's a word for it. in high school, we become aware that the way we feel about our artform is a cliche - it's like breathing. over and over, artists all feel the same thing. "i write because i need to" and "my music is how i speak" and "i make art because it's either that or i stop existing." it is such a common experience, the violence and immediacy we mean behind it is like breathing to me - comes out like a useless understatement. it's a cliche because we all feel it, not because the experience isn't actually persistent. so many of us have this ... fluttering urgency behind our ribs.

i'm not doing it for the money. for a star on the ground in some city i've never visited. i am doing it because when i was seven i started taking notebooks with me on walks. i am doing it because in second grade i wrote a poem and stood up in front of my whole class to read it out while i shook with nerves. i am doing it because i spent high school scribbling all my feelings down. i am doing it for the 16 year old me and the 18 year old me and the today-me, how we can never put the pen down. you can take me down to a subatomic layer, eviscerate me - and never find the source of it; it is of me. when i was 19 i named this blog inkskinned because i was dramatic and lonely and it felt like the only thing that was actually permanently-true about me was that this is what is inside of me, that the words come up over everything, coat everything, bloom their little twilight arias into every nook and corner and alley

"we're gonna replace you". that is okay. you think that i am writing to fill a space. that someone said JOB OPENING: Writer Needed, and i wrote to answer. you think one raindrop replaces another, and i think they're both just falling. you think art has a place, that is simply arrives on walls when it is needed, that is only ever on demand, perfect, easily requested. you see "audience spending" and "marketability" and "multi-line merch opportunity"

and i see a kid drowning. i am writing to make her a boat. i am writing because what used to be a river raft has long become a fully-rigged ship. i am writing because you can fucking rip this out of my cold dead clammy hands and i will still come back as a ghost and i will still be penning poems about it.

it isn't even love. the word we use the most i think is "passion". devotion, obsession, necessity. my favorite little fact about the magic of artists - "abracadabra" means i create as i speak. we make because it sluices out of us. because we look down and our hands are somehow already busy. because it was the first thing we knew and it is our backbone and heartbreak and everything. because we have given up well-paying jobs and a "real life" and the approval of our parents. we create because - the cliche again. it's like breathing. we create because we must.

you create because you're greedy.

This is a post in Spanish and English, I'll start in Spanish because is less what I have to say, but I'm making this disclaimer in english because I've seen there's a larger fandom base who speaks english and that is going to be the first target probably. So, yeah, I'll turn to Spanish and go back to English.

ESPAÑOL Muy bien. Arriba acabo de introducir a quienes hablan inglés a este post. Hice una lista de reproducción en YouTube con canciones con las que creo que Aziraphale y Crowley se identificarían. La mayoría están en inglés pero tienen subtítulos en español para quienes no entiendan el idioma. Realmente comenzó como algo que solo quería hacer para llorar a gusto luego de final de temporada, pero me dieron ganas de compartirlo con la comunidad porque creo que quienes hemos estado escuchando playlist hemos descubierto música nueva que nos ha gustado mucho y eso es lindo. Ahora, vuelvo al post en inglés. Voy a dejar la traducción de dos canciones en español que hay en la lista para ellos. Saludos y cuídense.

ENGLISH So, yeah. I made a playlist on YouTube with songs I think Aziraphale and Crowley would identify with after the sad, sad, divorce ;w; I just wanted to share it cuz I need to vent. Thanks. Most of the songs have subtitles because I wanted to considere the people who doesn't understand english and likes the show. There are two songs in spanish and I couldn't find videos with the translation, so I'l­l make my best effort to translate them correctly:

Lo bailado- Tiare Scanda It takes to people to dance Tango, I would have danced anything with you, but you wouldn't with me. What are we going to do about it? And I guess it's unnecesary trying to find why Who broke your heart? What left it so broken? That you can't love me? No one takes away from me what I danced, what I danced with you, Nobody tears from my arms, Everything we gave to each other. I'm very cold and I want to cry, But no one takes away how much I laughed with you No one else tears laughter like this from my splited lips. No one takes away the times I slept by you side, The times I awaken by you side. How much fun I had. Who broke your heart? What left it so broken? That you can't love me? That you can't love me?

Con las ganas- Zahara I remember that when we arrived,

You didn't even looked at me,

I was just one into hundreds, But the first flips came from you. How is it that I didn't noticed That there are forbbiden elevators, That there are shared sins, That you were so close. [Chorus] I disguise as you, You disguise as me, We play to be humans in this grey room, I bite the water for you, You slide into me, We play to be cats that cannot sleep. My anchors didn't stoped your instincst, And yours didn't stoped my whimpers, I let my nuts run, And the ants twist me, I want you to not stop squeezing me Without me telling you anything, And that your fingertips become crusting hooked into my vertices. [Chorus] I don't know what ended up happening, I just felt darts inside me Our uncomfortable posture Dilates in the space The pain sinks into my side and My corners are clouded I'm thirsty, I'm swallowing I don't want to not be by your side. [Chorus] I will die of wanting to tell you I'm going to miss you The words go away from me They empty my insides I pretend that I don't know, that I haven't known I pretend that I don't like being with you And when I get lost between my fingers I remember you effortlessly I will die of wanting to tell you I'm going to miss you

Enough feels for today. I hope you enjoy it/ Suficientes feels por hoy. Espero lo disfruten ^^

I'd love to see a dpxdc story where the Justice League knows about Amity Park and the Ghosts the whole time, and does think the ghosts are rogues to be addressed. Doesn't agree with the GIW, maybe doesn't even know about them? THE IMPORTANT PART.

The Red Huntress is the only active vigilante in Amity Park, according to the JL. Phantom is marked as one of her rogues. Maybe the Fentons even are marked as rogues from all the property damages and random shooting/sliming of citizens. Valarie is the only person successfully taking care of the ghosts, masking and suiting up in the classic vigilante way the whole time.