#( I wrote Gabriel on purpose )

[downs1de-has-moved]

THE MOST CLICHÉ LINES OF DIALOGUE

@fellandfeathers: "You say that like it's a bad thing."

Dean had joked about Aziraphale's apparent reluctance to get his hands dirty, saying something along the lines of 'You're an angel, right? Aren't you supposed to be all smiting and burning bushes? Instead, you're running a bookshop and sipping tea?'.

His tone had been half-mocking, half-exasperated, and he was met with a calm and ever-so-slightly condescending response, which made his lips curl into a slight, lopsided grin.

"Well, I guess I just ain't used to seeing an angel more concerned with tea 'n crumpets than kicking a demon's ass."

Dean's tone is dripping with sarcasm. He's seen all sorts of things in his life—demons, monsters, the works. But an angel who looks like she's straight out of a Jane Austen novel? That's new.

Dean pushes off the wall, his demeanor shifting from defensive to curious. 

"But hey, whatever floats your celestial boat. Just seems to me like y'might be missin' the whole point of bein' a warrior of God, y'know?"

He crosses his arms over his chest, his leather jacket creaking with the movement. 

"Or is that just another bedtime story, like the one 'bout Gabriel kicking Lucifer's ass outta Heaven?"

[wisteriasymphony]

i agree with emilie being a typical boy mom jocasta complex style shes been the centre of attention her entire life i dont think she would be okay with having a mini me daughter at all 😭 she definitely enabled gabriels rapunzelment and child modelling i hate headcanons where she is a good person fr 😔 also what does this say about nathalie and her being/wanting to be romantically involved with that couple 😭

i mean... it says bad things? even if she didn't encourage it or just did the bare minimum to scold emilie for being inappropriately close with her son... it says bad things, dude. why are you so invested in the worst couple of blondes to grace the planet?? were there no other options??

or, we could go the route that nathalie was also groomed/manipulated into it. we don't exactly know how old she was when she met the agrestes, she could've been just starting out as a plucky archeologist when these kind and wealthy benefactors introduced themselves into her life via tomoe. and emilie's cult of personality with gabriel's coolheadedness and determined nature might've just drawn her in.

^ of course, this works better for situations where Mayura was never a thing. and there's also arguments that both of these options can coexist. yikes all around regardless

[teamaerialcombo]

hi sorry i ranted in notes in response. Uh read those if ur curious. sorry if my points are Worded weirdly or Whatever it's like 9pm on a school night

urltaklil

Am I the only one who really hates V1. Minos, or even Gabriel deserve the win here, but instead its this horrible machine that does nothing but create death and suffering.

I have this horrible feeling about the game's ending and that it is going to fill me with so much hatred that it will mar my recollection of it.

I think part of it is that at a very fundamental level, I just don't share Hakita's apparent optimistic nihilism. I crave for something different and have built my world around that something. Maybe it is the threat to my (admittedly very fragile) worldview that the game presents that makes me so uneasy.

[ourshadowsmeanomens]

THE MEANING OF THE END OF GOOD OMENS SEASON 2 (SPOILERS UNDER CUT)

I binge-watched this entire new season and immediately unleashed every thought I had about the ending of the show alongside MANY others who were experiencing a lot of feelings. After we all calmed down, we started talking and analyzing- and I think we found something way bigger than we saw on screen at the end of this season. And what this might mean for Aziraphale and Crowley going forward into (FINGERS CROSSED) a wonderful 3rd season.

The biggest complaint many of us in our chat had about the choice Aziraphale made at the very end- to ascend to Heaven, leave behind Crowley and the bookshop, to take Gabriel's place. Everyone is saying that it's out of character, there was so much build up all for Aziraphale to throw it away, etc. But the theory- a miracled brainwash. By Metatron, on Aziraphale. Metatron has proven to be a very dismissive and rude character, especially in regards to Aziraphale, since we met him in season 1. During the literal end of the world he still only spoke as God's voice and never appeared in person. Suddenly, Metatron comes down- IN PERSON- to talk with Aziraphale about a promotion. Before we know who he is exactly, we see him buying a coffee and giving it to Aziraphale- KEEP NOTE OF THIS. When Metatron first talks to Aziraphale, Azi says something to the effect that he has "made his position quite clear." The Metatron insists, pointing out the coffee and insists they talk.

HERE'S THE IMPORTANT PART: Metatron says "are you going to take it?" and RIGHT BEFORE Aziraphale says "shall I?" you hear the FAINTEST GLIMMER of the sound effect for miracles. I'll be honest I had to turn my sound up and lean in once someone pointed it out, but it's there and you HAVE to listen for it. They both go for a walk.

Crowley clearly believes Metatron is up to something, and watches them leave and walk but doesn't follow- this isn't addressed again. Then Crowley, Nina, and Maggie have their talk, and this is the part where Crowley is meant to confront his feelings. We switch back to Aziraphale with Metatron. Clearly Metatron and Aziraphale have talked about a deal and Metatron asks him to "think it over." Aziraphale has presumed to finish his coffee at this point, because he heads directly back to the bookshop to talk to Crowley. They fight, they kiss, they give each other up because Aziraphale decides to go to Heaven and leave everything behind. Like I said earlier, this is the part that enraged a lot of people- why would Aziraphale do this? This is so out of character. Why would he leave Crowley behind? Why would he leave his BOOKSHOP behind?

The current persistent theory is this:

Metatron has proven to be dismissive and untrustworthy since we met him. It is odd that he suddenly shows a change of heart for Aziraphale and wants to promote him. We, as the audience and fans, know Aziraphale's desire to live a simple, humanlike life with the person he cares about the most (Crowley) with his most prized possession (the bookshop).

The subtle miracle sound effect when Aziraphale took the coffee was the moment the miracle took place, affecting the coffee to brainwash (or at least to make more easily persuaded) Aziraphale so he'd say yes to the offer Metatron was giving him.

Aside from this, they editors/director/writers purposely wrote in and left the entire part about Metatron getting coffee for Aziraphale (as what? Some sort of peace offering?). The entire ending could have done without bringing so much attention to the coffee that Metatron gave to Aziraphale. It was unnecessary.

Unless it wasn't, and we are meant to find that out in season 3. The coffee is Chekhov's gun. In filmmaking, nothing is ever just a coincidence or an accident. They made a point to give us the miracle sound effect without showing any visible changes, made Aziraphale act wildly out of character, and framed it as though it is not, let's say, an institutional issue that is being covered up 👀���

And let's not ignore that the episode 6 description specifically says "The Metatron brings an oatmilk latte, along with a final offer." Which would be an odd thing point out if the coffee was a mere prop.

All to say- I personally loved the season. I loved every minute, and I want to see what happens next. I think that people are going to be very angry with the ending, but that there's so much more we have yet to uncover and we shouldn't underestimate the wit of Neil Gaiman.

[jazeswhbhaven]

I have been save this request just for you...

Autistic MC! havd a meltdown first time in front of the kings (whether be angel raids or other reason that caused it) which causes them unable to communicate normally due to emotion overwhelming.

What will the kings do? (Honestly I think Levi will make things worse, Luci will be concerned, and Satan will like it, unfortunatly? anyways it is your decision...)

Thanks for sending this in, jennaquartz! I think this is interesting to write about as someone who is autistic and weirdly enough yesterday I had a meltdown myself....soooooo this is relevant.

Thank you for waiting as well ^^

Satan: MC couldn't stand it, the constant sounds of slashing and smell of blood consistently having to be on the run finally got to them. Everyone was a target for being screamed at or ignored as MC tries their best to ride out their intense overstimulation. Satan observes and finds it intriguing, he is not new to this but he doesn't make it better for MC at first. Once he realizes he can't really joke or enjoy it he gets mildly annoyed that MC is shutting down and shutting him out. He straight up leaves them alone but has his nobles at a distance checking up on them until the chaos is over and everything is quiet enough for MC to finally mellow out.

Mammon: While nothing bad happens that often in Tartaros, the constant interaction of Mammon's subjects and asking them so many questions eventually leads to a meltdown and MC reacts by shutting themselves away and throwing their new gifts in a pile to lay in them or hide inside the massive pile as further protection. Mammon doesn't seem to understand, trying to speak to MC and even breaks the door down which causes them to further refuse to respond to any attempts made by Mammon to soothe them. He then sits in silence and waits, after having a few items tossed at him with MC being defensive. Eventually MC does come out and Mammon again tries his best to understand what happened with MC and even uses one of his Ai bots to explain MC's vitals and mental state. At least he's trying!

Beelzebub: Oh, he's the worst when it comes to MC having meltdowns. He often mistaken MC's meltdowns for tantrums and treats them like a child, thus doing nothing but disappearing hoping that whatever is happening "stops" when he returns. And funny enough it's his constant disappearing and reappearing that doesn't help in the slighest due to MC's anxiety. It's usually up to Bael to help create a safe space for MC to hunker down and he talks to them after to let them know he won't let anything or anyone hurt them. Bael later explains the process to Beel but isn't hopeful that he'd remember. Luckily MC has seen little notes Beel leaves behind for himself but let's hope he actually remembers he wrote them down...

Leviathan: If we thought Beel was bad, Leviathan is no better. He refuses to see MC's meltdowns as valid and simply instead refuses to interact with them until he feels like it. No safe spaces, no soothing talks, no reassurance. He feels that MC is doing this on purpose for attention despite Foras trying his best to explain what MC needs. It really takes his nobles to help MC, and oddly, being put in a soft cushioned coffin (Glas' because there's a good amount of space in it) helps MC cut out the stressors and usually it lulls them to sleep. Over time, Levi does attempt to try and understand, feeling left out but it's a long time process.

Lucifer: He knows the difference between meltdowns and tantrums. His brother Michael had tantrums, Raphael, meltdowns, Gabriel a mix of both given the situation. He uses his methods that he's used before with MC, and it proves to be fruitful. Lucifer's garden dome is a great safe space, and Lucifer usually is around or next to them to soothe them after they have calmed down to talk out what was the stressor and how they are feeling. Also with his nobles around if MC ends up hurting themselves during a meltdown, it's an easy fix.

Belphegor: Well, he finds the meltdowns being too much trouble to deal with so he simply ignores it. Beleth is the one that offers help instead to MC or Harumon who an excellent emotional support cat! MC is a bit upset that Belphie didn't even try, but it's to be expected for how he is. At least they have Beleth to lean on and if not Beleth the other nobles are pretty knowledgeable in helping/offering aid during a meltdown. Harumon though is winning in this department. He's so soothing and soft and running fingers through his whorls of fur is a great stimming activity.

[aziraphales-library]

Hi! Thanks for all the awesome work you do! I’m trying to find fics where Aziraphale is the jealous one or is shown how head over heels he is for Crowley instead of the usual way I see it portrayed in fics.

Hello! We have a #jealous aziraphale tag, so do check that out. Here are some fics with more of a focus on Aziraphale crushing on Crowley...

It seems that I'm in love by Fan_Joy (G)

So apparently Aziraphale was in love. He was in love and he couldn't do anything about it. Or: A lot pining by Aziraphale + an unexpected love confession

5 Times Aziraphale Quietly Fell in Love by Taravarsh (G)

...and the one time he did it out loud.

Six Thousand Years, And You're Still Too Fast For Me by iamanidhwal (G)

Aziraphale was the type of angel who wrote his thoughts and feelings down whenever it started to overwhelmed him. It's only happened around ten times in the course of six thousand years. All of them after meeting with a certain demon, Crowley, and their interesting interactions in between points of history. ---- OR: Aziraphale's thoughts and feelings about Crowley over the course of six thousand years.

What Aziraphale Wants by mozbee (G)

“You could shower at my place, if you like,” Aziraphale says. He’s a step out of the lift before he realizes what he said. He quickly laughs, turning to face Crowley, to dismiss it as fast as it had come out, and sees he’s being stared at. “You mean that?” Crowley asks, an arm out to keep the lift doors from closing. Aziraphale fights off the threatening blush. It won’t do to have Crowley know he’s practically foaming at the mouth to have him spend more time with him. Because Crowley is his friend, his confidante. He can tell him anything. Except Crowley is also devastatingly handsome. --- Aziraphale is just being neighbourly, inviting Crowley over to use his shower while his bathroom is being remodelled. It has nothing to do with the pounding lust that fills him when he thinks of Crowley nude in his home. He's just being nice. Now if these pesky feelings would leave him alone...

Balance by AppleSeeds (M)

Aziraphale is dreading the camping trip his boss Gabriel has arranged for their team for the purpose of "resilience building", but finds a pleasant distraction in the form of the incredibly handsome campsite manager, Crowley. He also looks forward to zipping himself away in his tent in the evenings to focus on the erotic story he's been writing, feeling particularly inspired to write after meeting Crowley, and there's no way this could result in anything embarrassing happening at all, everything's going to be fine.

Between Comfort And Chaos by anathxmadevice (T)

“And how long have you two been a couple?” “Oh, I—” Aziraphale panics. “Ha, well, that’s a funny… We’re not actually—” “We’re just friends.” Crowley says, their voice clear and calm and lightly amused, either because of or in spite of Aziraphale’s flailing attempts to divert the conversation. “Ah, yes, quite.” Aziraphale says, then takes a sip of his drink just for something to do, instead of focussing on the way Crowley said just friends, and how it causes a painful throb in his chest that he has never fully got used to. His memory can only scrabble at the edge of a time where being just friends with Crowley didn’t feel like a particular form of torture. * Or, Aziraphale has been desperately in love with his best friend and housemate Crowley since they were students, but is too scared to do anything about it.

- Mod D

[deppiet]

About the yassification of GO2.

Warning: the following text is highly critical of the second season of Good Omens. If you enjoyed it, I am happy for you, and a non-negligible amount of jealous as well. Please scroll past before I inevitably rain on your fandom parade.

So, I did the thing. I binged the entire second season of what was, up to now, my favorite show ever, in one sitting. And I have a great deal of things to say, but hardly any of them is positive.

Let me start by saying that I don't mind the cliffhanger or the melancholy ending, like at all. In our era of Marvel apologists and the instant gratification culture, it is necessary for media to persevere and add nuance to romantic relationships. That said, what transpired during the six hours leading up to this sort of unearned climax hardly contains anything remotely close to nuance.

Who are these people? I don't mean the new characters, all of them written as cardboard-cut anthropomorphic personifications of stereotypes, yassified to the point of representation losing its purpose and getting in the way of, you know, actual writing. I mean the protagonists themselves, Aziraphale and Crowley, up to now my favorite characters in the entire world and -up to now- tangled in a love story so beautiful I had, for better or for worse, devoted a large part of my creative output on it, making art, songs, and metas on why what those two entities had was as close to perfect as anyone can hope to find for themselves.

These are not the characters I knew. The characters I knew spent hundreds of human lifetimes revolving around each other in a treacherous yet familiar dance- they both knew the love was there, it was comfortable like an armchair that has taken the shape of the body using it for years. They argued the way old couples do, and of course, like all fictional beings that are counterparts of one another, had differences to settle, but what stood in their way wasn't misunderstanding or miscommunication, in was their fear of Heaven and Hell, and their fundamentally different approaches on how to keep each other safe.

What is all this teen angst? This will-they-won't-they silliness that lacks any nuance, thematic coherence, or literally even trace amounts of understanding of the source material? Where is the dark humor, the quotability, the chaotic overarching plot, the self conscious camp? The season is so cynically written to cater specifically to a certain part of fandom, that I am losing respect for the original work- because if Neil Gaiman doesn't care for these fictional beings, and he evidently doesn't, why should I?

The thematic core of what made Good Omens what it was, had always been the "Love in unexpected places" trope Sir Terry Pratchett knew how to write so well. It had never been about the fantasy, because Sir Terry wrote satire wrapped up in a supernatural package, it had never been about the romance, because when the ship becomes the end instead of the means, the love rings hollow, like artificial light trying to pass as sunshine. The beating heart of GO lies in its philosophy, in the beautiful notion that the agents of two oppressive systems at war have more in common with one another than with their respective oppressors. That being a nobody, a mere cog in a larger machine, says more about said machine than it does about you, and that you can try to break free and build a life for yourself, where a happy ending looks like a dinner at the Ritz with the one you love most.

Shoehorning an underdeveloped "romance" between Beelzebub and Gabriel not only feels like bad fanfic (disclaimer: I like the ship and feel like it could have worked if developed in any capacity, and presented in a more humorous and character-appropriate way. I hate with passion how much they watered down Beelzebub in order to make them stereotypically romanceable, adding the Ineffable Bureaucracy to the ever-expanding list of characters I don't care about anymore.) but also, it muddles and grossly undermines the thematic raison d'être of Ineffable Husbands. If the ramifications for defecting and fucking off with the enemy were a slap on the wrist for the respective leaders of both sides, well surely the system can't be that oppressive after all. And if fear of the oppressive system wasn't, after all, what kept these beings apart, surely these two entities don't like each other as much as we thought. Or rather, one is reduced to a lovesick puppy and the other to a brainless husk of a character, a plot device, a means to go from place A to place B without spending much brainpower on the logistics.

And if these two new people got to kiss I care not, for they are not the same people I rooted for (props, though, to the actors, who gave, somehow, an almost Shakespearean gravitas to their love affair, underwritten and dumbed down as it was. They both love the characters, and it shows in the minuscule yet brilliant ways in which they added nuance where the script had none.)

What was that thing with the lesbians about? Though straight passing, I have always known myself to be attracted to women as well as men, and I am always highly suspicious when an "ally" writer (see: straight, no shade to straight people among which I live because they are, like, the majority) decides to make all characters queer, in the face of real-world statistics and despite NOT being queer themselves. When a person like Nate Stevenson does it they get a pass because writers self-insert and because, when done well, it can carry a message of equality. But when the ally writer does it, unless it is pitch-perfect, I am forced to examine the possibility of them being calculating about it and trying to score representation points, often because they need the rep as a fig leaf to cry homophobia behind when people start complaining about the atrocious plot.

Nina and Maggie were boring. They had no personalities, no cohesive backstories, nothing to make us understand what they are to one another and to the overarching plot ("plot" is used loosely here, for there was no plot: the series ended where it should have started, with six hours of -progressively more offensive to my intelligence- fanfic tropes in a trenchcoat serving as the, well, "plot"). I didn't care whether or not they'd end up together, because I have no idea who they are. The blandness of the dialogue had the actresses, both very talented as evidenced in the first season, grasping at straws with what little characterization they were left to work with, and the "ball" was so unbelievably bad a plot device no amount of suspension of disbelief was ever going to make it right.

The minisodes, though at parts clever and philosophical, felt out of place. This was another narrative choice I had to raise my eyebrows at, because it felt like a bunch of executives sat around a table and watched Neil Gaiman's powerpoint presentation of what made Season 1 financially successful. They were shoehorned in, largely irrelevant to the, eh, "plot", and most of them lasted far more than I personally deemed welcome, or necessary.

What else is there to say? The wink-winks and nudge-nudges to the Tumblr nation? The in-your-face Doctor Who reference? The narratively myopic choice to make Crowley a former archangel? The cheese dialogue, not one bit of which was quotable?

I am distraught. I am grieving an old friend, and a part of my fandom life I cannot, in good faith, return back to after this gross betrayal. I am happy for those who don't see it, because I wish I could love this season past its flaws. However, the writing isn't simply mediocre, it is irrevocably, immeasurably, undescribably bad, so bad I am shocked to my very core, so bad I find it offensive to Sir Terry's memory and everything his own creative output was lovingly filled with.

I am passing all five stages of grief and very much doubt I will return to this fandom. I loved the original story and the characters with all my heart- now the aforementioned heart is broken, not by the breakup or anything as pedestrian as cheap romantic tropes. But because my old friends, my family of fictional beings, are no longer the ones I loved and could relate to.

Deppie out.

[indigovigilance]

Sovereignty, Citizenship, and the Bookshop

Credit to @flameraven for scripts

Read on Ao3 at: Sovereignty, Citizenship, and the Bookshop (1702 words) by indigovigilance Summary: The rules regarding who may enter the bookshop, and who may give others permission to enter the bookshop, are revealed by events rather than exposition. Parallel themes surround the Bentley. In this meta I generate a theory of sovereignty and citizenship as it pertains to the Bookshop, and what that implies about a statement Crowley makes and Aziraphale's final decision in S2E6.

What actually is the Bookshop?

First, Aziraphale explains to Crowley:

S2E5: AZIRAPHALE: We're perfectly safe in here. Technically, this bookshop still counts as an Embassy.

But then, speaking to Shax, Aziraphale further defines the bookshop:

AZIRAPHALE: Out of the question. Might I remind you, that this bookshop is technically an independent embassy. Being a former outpost of Heaven, and as such…

Which doesn't actually make any sense.

An embassy, by definition, is a satellite of another larger nation. It is usually the residence of an ambassador, and is considered the "soil" and jurisdiction of the home country, regardless of where it is in the world: "An embassy is considered “foreign soil,” meaning that it operates under the jurisdiction and laws of the home country, not the host country (the country where the embassy is physically located)." [ext source]

So an embassy, by its basic definition, cannot be independent. It's an oxymoron. I'll interpret this to mean that the Bookshop constitutes its own nationstate (and that Aziraphale just doesn't say it that way because he's a funky little guy).

Bookshop: A Sovereign Nation of Two

There has been extensive discussion about why Crowley seems never to have told Aziraphale that he was living in his car, and why, if/when Aziraphale figured it out, he didn't say anything about it. (I wrote a meta discussing how we know that Aziraphale knows by the beginning of S2E4 that Crowley is living in his car. Additionally, in S2E6, Aziraphale doesn't seem to look particularly surprised when Crowley announces to the room that he's tired of living in his car; you can interpret this as being distracted and phased out but I don't think Aziraphale is ever so dissociated that he would miss a statement like that and simply not react. So by then, he certainly knows.)

I posit that Crowley did not ask to move in and would have refused to do so even if offered for one very simple reason: moving in would have made him a citizen of Bookshop, and therefore a point of vulnerability for Aziraphale. Because as he explains to Shax in S2E3, he can't technically invite her in:

SHAX: if you won't let me in… CROWLEY: Not technically something I can do.

Of course, Crowley is a demon: he could be lying. But let's take the statement at face value, since Shax, also a demon, who seems reasonably familiar with the rules of entry, doesn't question it. So Crowley, by never establishing citizenship, ensures that he can never be coerced or tricked into letting anyone into the Bookshop. He maintains his foreign entity status on purpose to protect Aziraphale.

One more note, in passing: Crowley stays at the shop in S2E3 and S2E4, but he has been charged by Aziraphale to "mind the bookshop, and Gabriel." His role is more akin to a house-sitter than a houseguest. He's there on work visa, and it does not establish citizenship.

So Crowley isn't a citizen of Bookshop. But someone other than Aziraphale is.

S2E1: MAGGIE: I can be out of here in two weeks. AZIRAPHALE: Out of here? Why? Don't you like it anymore? MAGGIE: Oh, Mr. Fell, I love this shop! I've loved it since I was a baby. But I know how behind I am on rent. (…) MAGGIE: You can't just forgive me eight months' rent. AZIRAPHALE: Oh, I can. I'm very good at forgiveness. It's one of my favorite things. Now, you have paid your rent, I have my music, and I know exactly what I'll be doing for the next 21 minutes. [he giggles and leaves] (creepiest most disturbing giggle in all of cinematic history BUT ANYWAYS)

We've established that Maggie not only is a tenant of land owned by Aziraphale, but that her accounts are all paid up. Her citizenship (or at least, permanent residency) is secure. If simply renting out the space wasn't enough, we learn that she is a fourth-generation resident of the space owned by Aziraphale, which started inside the bookshop itself, and so Maggie may have been born into citizenship. Either way, the consequences of this arise in S2E6:

AZIRAPHALE: Maggie, what just happened? MAGGIE: I… I think I might have just told them they could come in.

Crowley can't tell demons that they can come in. But Maggie can. My explanation for this is because she actually lives (and is up on her rent) in a territory of the nation of Bookshop. It could be posed that Maggie can invite demons in because she is a guest of the ball, and so this is a temporary power, but Crowley was a "guest"/house-sitter and didn't have this power, so I reject this explanation and affirm it as a citizenship/residency power.

The Metatron's Offer

At time of writing, the fandom has spent two months trying to figure out why Metatron offered Aziraphale the job of Supreme Archangel. Was it to get him back into Heaven where he can keep a closer eye on him? Was it to get him away from Crowley? Did Metatron realize that he is a wellspring of power and wants to tap into it for nefarious purpose?

I'm going to propose a different, much simpler reason: he needed to get Aziraphale out of the bookshop. To explain that, we look to a line that Crowley delivers during the Conversation:

CROWLEY: I mean, if Gabriel and Beelzebub can do it, go off together, then we can. Just the two of us. We don't need Heaven, we don't need Hell, they're toxic. We need to get away from them, just be an us. You and me, what do you say? AZIRAPHALE: Come with me… to Heaven. I'll run it, you can be my second in command. We can make a difference. CROWLEY: You can't leave this bookshop.

Hang on, didn't Crowley just say that they should run off together? Why is he now saying that he can't leave the bookshop? These statements seem contradictory, but through the lens of sovereignty, they're not. You see, if Aziraphale goes off to Alpha Centauri without rejoining Heaven, the Bookshop still belongs to him and constitutes the sovereign nation over which he rules. It is the anchor and touchstone of his independent status. What ever new residence they establish will, in turn, be an embassy of that "independent embassy." The Bookshop then (I hypothesize, and posit that Crowley does too) grants Aziraphale protection from Heaven and Hell no matter where he is in the universe.

A Brief Aside on the Mechanics of Satellites

We have some evidence that Bookshop rules extend to wherever Aziraphale happens to be "residing," in that when Aziraphale borrows Crowley's car, Shax must trick him into giving him permission to enter (S2E4):

HITCHHIKER: I'm so sorry, can you be an angel and give me a lift? Only m-my car's broken down and my phone's dead. Just to the next town, there's a garage there. AZIRAPHALE: Oh… yes, well… I suppose you better climb in, then.

Thus establishing that, theoretically, Crowley and Aziraphale could "go off together" and still have the protection of the Bookshop.

The Consequences of Aziraphale's Final Decision

Crowley tells Aziraphale that he cannot leave the bookshop, but then we know that Aziraphale takes the job and ascends to Heaven. Metatron looks extremely relieved. No sooner do they ascend than Muriel enters the bookshop, where we know Metatron has placed them. Let's take this point by point.

The Bookshop is no longer a sovereign nation

By rejoining Heaven, Aziraphale has reclaimed his citizenship as an angel of Heaven. I'm going to go ahead and say (for sake of argument and because it is thematically consistent) that Heaven does not honor duel citizenship. Therefore, Aziraphale has given up his citizenship of Bookshop, but as it still belongs to him, it is now territory subject to the jurisdiction of Heaven. Muriel has been placed there as a representative of Heaven. Having been (we can surmise) the only "independent embassy" in existence where both angels and demons had to ask permission to enter, it is once again a good and proper embassy of Heaven.

This is important because now, neither Aziraphale nor Crowley have any place to go that is protected from both Heaven and Hell.

Muriel has unfettered access to Aziraphale's collection of books

My very simplistic theory for why Metatron went to so much trouble to get Aziraphale to cede control of the Bookshop is that he needs access to his collection of books. Specifically, he needs a certain Scrivener who enjoys reading to set up camp there and peruse every single book. This is because he is looking for something.

Gabriel left Heaven with a large box; he arrived at the Bookshop with an empty box. We can punt around all sorts of possible reasons but let's say, for sake of conjecture, that Gabriel stole the Book of Life on his way out to protect himself and Beelzebub from erasure. We don't know where the Book is now, but Metatron (who doesn't know the box was empty) has good reason to believe that the Book of Life is somewhere in the bookshop. But it's too dangerous to admit that they've lost track of it, so the best way to find a Book in a bookshop is to get the owner out of there, install an avid reader as steward, and wait patiently.

Other consequences of this theory of citizenship

We are given to believe that Crowley and Aziraphale are both outcasts of Hell and Heaven, respectively, yet Aziraphale seems to be the only one of them that benefits from the protections of independence. We could say that it is because Aziraphale owns land, and so that allows him to establish a nationstate, whereas the Bentley does not, but since Aziraphale brings the protections of independence with him when he borrows the Bentley, that seems flimsy. I find it more likely that in S3 we're going to learn something about Crowley that explains why he lacks these protections, and if I dare to make conjecture, it will be the subject of another meta.

I didn't get around to a discussion of the consequences of Aziraphale throwing his halo and "declaring war," or that war declaration being maybe-cancelled by Crowley; suffice to say, that may again be it's own meta.

~~~

If you enjoyed this, you may enjoy: Honolulu Roast: the story of a coup

another meta on the topic of ownership re the Bentley by @ineffable-endearments can be found here.

~~~

edit: I was reminded by @rekishi-aka to note that in S1, Gabriel and Sandolphon walk right in, because at that time the bookshop is an embassy of Heaven. For all of S2 except the final 30 minutes, celestials all have to ask permission to enter, including Michael, Uriel, Saraqael, and Muriel, because the Bookshop is independent. After Aziraphale throws his halo, celestials just appear inside the Bookshop: by declaring war, Aziraphale has relinquished his protection. It's unclear whether it would have been reestablished by Crowley cancelling the war, but it's a moot point because then Aziraphale agrees to become the Supreme Archangel.

[raphaellight]

"Noone makes us do anything" SPN spoilers S1-5

This man got it before anyone else on the show. Out of all archangels, He understood freedom.

The essence of the Supernatural show is the conflict main characters, Sam and Dean Winchester, have with the destiny layed for them. The fate, written supposedly by God himself and the Apocalypse, The foretold End of the world. In the fight between Heaven, led by Micheal, and Hell, led by Lucifer. In this fight the two brothers are caught by a fate, as Supernatural Forces that shape the reality prepared them from the very beggining to be the perfect reflection of two angelic brothers and perfect vessels for two angels to obtain before going into the final Duel that marks the end of times. On the side however stands one of the Archangels, younger brother of both but equal (at least close) in power and nature to those two. Gabriel, Loki, The Trickster.

Gabriel is one of my favourites reocurring character of the show. As the characters meet him, he is described as the pagan god, Loki, who's hole shtick is to bend the reality for the hole purpose of messing with unsuspecting humans. He is quite powerfull and dangerous, but also his acions don't strike as those of a villanous per se. He aims for giving people what they deserve more than actually hurting them. But he still ends up hurting them quite often. Later in the show it's revealed that he is actually an angel, not a pagan god, an archangel at that. The highest of the ranks. As phew other, he grew tired of the family drama and what heaven had to offer. But he didn't rebel, neither he abandoned his angelic grace. He wanted to do his own thing. He found his entertainment, purpouse and suprisingly, love, between pagan gods. And by that, before he even realised it and was able to put into words, he acted out what any other angel lacked. He acted in Freedom.

I don't know if it was intentional writing choice or the artistic intuition bringing together things writers themselfs didn't realise their writing, but they wrote Gabriel as a third major Archangel in season 5 of SPN. Two others are Michael and Lucifer, mentioned before. His final scene, his stand off against Lucifer in order to protect brothers and Kali is widely regarder as one of the peaks of SPN. And for a good reason. In terms of dialog, it rivals the infamous scenes between Dean and Death and Dean with future Lucifer.

Gabriel calls out Lucifer on all his acions. How he is having a tantrum and should grow up. He tells Lucifer, his brother that rebeled because he didn't like how God put humans above him that God was right. And that he sides with us. But the line I feel people gloss over is the one I put in the title.

Angels are made with intention and power and they serve God's purposes. That's all they do. Despite having free will and sentient minds, Angels either follow God's will (whatever they understand as it), which hardly qualifies as freedom, or they devote themselfs to oppose it, which also isn't a creative use of freedom. It's constantly brought up. After season 5, there is a war in heaven, because most angels want to see the Apocalypse thru as they have no other idea what else they would be doing. The Angel that believes differently is Castiel, the one that spent some time with humans. But Gabriel got it first, before any other angel thought of it. As I wrote above, his path didn't revolve around God's will. He rebeled against it in a sense, but didn't put any effort against it. Just like Humans do. For the most part, we set our own paths, looking after love, passion and what's there for us in this world.

Humans don't serve any ultimate purpouse at the end. We are just here to enjoy the ride. And Gabriel aimed precisly at it in his life. And when he got the guts to stand against his brother, he saw clearly what free will ment, how humans were the ones to properly use it "to try, to do better, to forgive". In that short moment of clarity, he knew precisly what it was all about. "Noone makes us do anything". Because whether an Angel is following God's plan or opposes it, they still do it willingly. They aren't enslaved to God's plan. It's just, none of them actually use their freedom. Gabriel did. Just as Humanity, God's final creation, do their hole lifes. And pagan gods as well. That made us worth dying for.

Michael represented Heaven, self-righteus force of ultimate order, working hard for everything to fall into it's proper place. Lucifer represented Hell, vicious force of hatred and destruction, in pursuit of the corruption and breakdown of everything. Gabriel was placed among pagan gods, the one's created by humans (I don't know actual lore behind pagan gods in SPN, sry), because he didn't allow any of the above to bind his spirit. He was free, he didn't represented anything and he fought for what he believed in, not what someone imposed for him.

All that in the span of seasons 1 to 5. I don't really know what happened with him next, if he is really alive or stayed truly dead.

[theerurishipper]

Welcome to me watching the Paris special, this time with commentary! I watched the special and wrote down everything here as I watched it and forgot to post it cause I'm a dumbass. Also, this is long asf, in fact, it's so long that I had to make a Part 2.

Okay here goes!

Ah, the Gabriel version of the theme. This really took me by surprise. It's fire tho.

Straight into the action, I like it.

Max and Markov aren't different people in this?

That's some entrance from Shady and Claw, really ups the stakes. Makes you wonder why Nino tried to fight them with a nerf gun.

Ubiquity is so pretty.

I might be the only one who liked the Gabe scene we got.

Feeling some nostalgia for the candy cane cosplay ngl.

And we get a good scene with Adrien and Plagg. I liked the advice Plagg gave about how not all destruction is bad. Neat.

Some Alya and Marinette. Marinette is going through some tough times and is in need of support, and Tikki takes this opportunity to escape from her and steal macaroons. No hate tho, you do you Tikki.

Though she does react to the people of Paris cheering for Ladybug. That was sweet.

Alya turns into Ubiquity, and then we get... Betterfly.

Betterfly? Seriously? Coulda just gone with Hesperia.

"I'm not sure there's anything to hope for from Ladybug." My poor baby!

Love the look of absolute confusion on Alya's face.

Hesperia's confusion about his evil counterpart is really funny ngl.

SHADYBUG

"There, you can have your boyfriend back~" love the delivery on that line lmao.

But also, CLAW NOIR

Not her just stealing his belt immediately.

Marinette hates Adrien Agreste. This truly is the reverse world.

But also, I love Claw Noir pretending to be his own fan to impress Shadybug.

Claw Noir sure does love using that Cataclysm.

For someone who just woke up to see her friend gone and a hole in the wall, Alya collected herself pretty damn quick. I would be freaking the fuck out in her position. Just another reason she's the best.

RIP Alya's phone. Gabe really did a number on you.

Shadybug makes a butterfly tracker, proving that she ain't no Gabe.

Hesperia is befuddled by our world, Part 2.

It's always gotta be the Eiffel Tower, doesn't it.

Claw Noir's pulling a Chat Blanc?? Hello??

Hesperia (I'm not gonna call him Betterfly) is apparently a gentleman. It's almost disturbing after 5 seasons of Gabe being the worst piece of shit to grace our screens.

I guess no matter the universe and moral alignment, it's Gabriel's fate to get beaten up by teenagers.

Not Tikki loredumping about parallel universes right now lmao

Times like this remind me that Tikki is, for all intents and purposes, a god.

"You'd die before I could ever explain all this to you," is actually a pretty valid (and disturbingly hilarious) justification for not having bothered to bring any of this up before.

The Supreme is someone I'd like to learn more about. I've narrowed the suspects down to either Fu or Su-Han. Watch it be Lila instead if we ever get that info.

I feel like the info about the timers is something we should have gotten way, way earlier. Like, a few seasons ago.

Ladybug's triumphant entrance!

"Whatever, pest." Queen.

I love Claw Noir's staff.

Shadybug took no prisoners at all.

CHAT NOIR

Destruction vibes, and right after that incident too.

Claw Noir is unhinged.

Claw Noir just fucking cataclysmed himself??? Guess Adrien is always gonna be self-destructive in every universe huh?

Welp, looks like Chat Noir is officially re-traumatized.

I want y'all to remember that this boy went through the whole special with a cataclysm wound on his person and did not falter once. Mad respect.

Chat Noir got tossed. Chat Blanc call back number 2.

Obsessed with the way Bryce Papenbrook pronounces "cockroach."

Finally, a villain who actually gets rid of the Lucky Charm. Hawkie, take notes.

"Who the cat are you?"

So Shadybug can create whatever Lucky Charm she wants, huh?

Someone's been listening to the fandom.

Not the time freezing lmfao

I don't like that Gabe is turning Adrien into an angel, even if this is a good version. Anyway, Chat Blanc call back 3.

"Kitty catty" "Later loser!" I love her.

Of course, not all bugs can fly.

He moved out of the way.

I fucking love Claw Noir so much you guys, he's so funny.

Well, he tried. Shadybug's just better than him ig.

Hesperia stores his butterfly in his cane. So it's just our Gabe that tries to keep multiple butterflies, I guess.

I think they should kiss.

So they're doing this in hopes that The Supreme spares them? Interesting, and pretty sad.

They're so scared of the Akuma lmfao

If I was Alya, I'd have given myself away by now. Actually, I wouldn't have had the presence of mind to even hide.

Guess the counterparts are from some dystopian world ruled by The Supreme. It tracks with the look we got at it in the opening.

"In order to get something I wanted." We saw the Peacock Miraculous in the opening too, and also Emilie died. So I guess Adrien is a Sentimonster in the other reality too. Damn it.

I guess this Gabe realized his mistake instead of descending into madness like ours.

She just broke Marinette's box like it was nothing. So much for that.

Claw Noir lounges around playing with dolls and mocks Shadybug for being lazy while she does all the work and he lazes around. Have I mentioned yet that I love him?

Also I am glad they stayed true to Adrien's character and had him play with dolls.

The whole part about Chat Noir... be still my Ladynoir heart.

Love how they incorporated the webisodes into this. About time those had relevance.

Shadybug really "hates" Claw Noir.

Marinette's having doubts, my poor baby girl.

Shadybug and Claw Noir have power, but not their strength. That's a really good line.

She's reading the diary and crying... baby.

This is such a touching scene. I don't say that lightly, but it really is.

SHE FOUND THE WISH

Marinette really wrote down every single world ending secret in this one poorly protected diary huh.

She literally took him down in 2 seconds. Bruh.

IDENTITY REVEAL! THIS IS NOT A DRILL, I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL

Shadybug managed to achieve in 2 seconds what Marinette and Adrien have not achieved after 5 seasons of Love Square drama which I admittedly enjoy but that's not the point.

Those strange... marks? Cracks? Scars?

Blots off... I'm dying y'all.

Reverse Love Square? Hello??? HELLO???

She literally just beat his ass, tied him up and took his Miraculous and this is his reaction once he realizes who she is.

He's down so bad.

They should have played Careless Whisper here.

CUTIE PIE, MY SON

The Supreme is such a fucking asshole, he gagged the Kwamis.

Emonette wants our Marinette's life? She doesn't know the half of what she's getting into.

The Supreme got to the wish somehow? What the fuck?

"Reality is The Supreme." I don't know who this guy is, but he is DELULU.

This shot... masterfully done. My poor baby girl.

These kids are not okay. My poor sweet babies.

Daggers out. Seriously, stop it, you two.

He's trying to comfort her. They're just... I'm in pain. I'm so sad for them y'all.

Gabe in his prototype Monarch outfit.

Good thing (for him at least) he had the Ox, or else this would be his second cataclysm of the day.

Ladybug and Chat Noir are back in action, baby.

I'm sorry, I would not be able to say Betterfly unironically without bursting into laughter.

AFTER 5 SEASONS, WE FINALLY GET TO SEE CHAT NOIR'S NIGHT VISION AGAIN

Not that they needed it lmao

Alya coming in clutch with the recording. Queen.

LADYNOIR LADYNOIR LADYNOIR

It's so so so nice to see Ladynoir on screen again after Season 5 killed it.

Hit the word limit, so continued here.

[whataboutsimple]

Jesse tiredly sights, rubbing his face. A deep night surely not the time he should work at, but after the whole Admin Drama he has no other choice, but to take extra hours for rebuilding his own town.

Door in the hall opens with a nasty creak, and he can't help, but wonder, who came by in such a late hour. Turning his head to the visitor, Young Hero inhales deeply, not expecting him from all people to be here.

«The place became nicer since last time I visited.» — the Warrior, Gabriel The Warrior, speaks bluntly, arms crossed on the chest as he waves his gaze all over the building.

«Gabriel? Uh.. hm, what brought you here in such an hour? Need a place to stay during adventures or-»

The Warroir shakes his head, interrupting Young Hero — «No, no. I'm here for a moment, just to give you this..» — he takes out a blue shulker box, handing it to Jesse.

With a puzzled look, young man takes the item, his eyes widening as he recognizes what's inside — «Gabriel, what?- It's.. your armour. And Thunder. Your sword! Why are you..»

«I don't need it. At least, not anymore.» — he simply shrugs — «Thought you can get a good use out of it. Maybe put it on an armour stand for people to see or, dunno, use it properly if it's not good enough for display.»

«No, no, no- it's actually beautiful. I just don't understand, aren't you doing the 'Wandering Warrior' thing?» — Young hero looks up at Gabriel, questioned.

«I've decided it's finally time to settle down.» — he smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes.

════════════════════════════

Soren tiredly looks at the paper in front of him, unable to bring himself to writing. It have been, what, five years after WitherStorm? Maybe seven? He can't quite remember, since all he has been doing this time is walking around, hopping from world to world in attempt to wash away the guilt he had in his guts since the very event.

Now he had settled down here, in his home world, so far away that no one will try to look for him here. It's been free month and he feels restless. Soren doesn't necessarily wants to go back to advantures, but sitting here brings him discomfort as well.

Architect jumps at the sudden knocking on the front door. Who could it be? In such a place?

Taking out his golden swords, Soren, as silent as possible, crawls to the windows. Strange. No one is out there. Still having a heavy grip on his sword, he opens the door, puzzled. What was the knocking ab- oh. A letter. A letter?!

He quickly picks it up with racing heart. A letter means someone knows he's here. Someone purposely send it here. Or brought.

Throwing last look around, Soren closed the door, digging his nails into the letter.

Okay, it was certainly Gabriel. His almost perfect handwriting Soren will never forget. After all, most of his ramblings were wrote down by the Warrior..

Shaking off the memories, Architect starts reading:

«Greetings, old friend. Hope you don't mind me discovering your little hide place, do you? Promise, I don't have any intentions to bring up old wounds or tell anybody you're here, do not put yourself into worry, please.

Ah, it's actually hard. Hope you're doing better, after what happened. Even though I wish you would come back to me, to talk, to figure it out, I respect your wish to stay alone at this. To tell the truth, I felt the same, when decided to become a 'Wandering Warrior', but it didn't brought me much joy, so I'm finally settling down.

However, I'm asking you not to look for me, okay? Even if others show at your doorstep, do me a favor and pretend we've never ever contacted. I'll be very grateful.

Just for you to know: I'm not holding anything against you, old friend. What happened wasn't your fault alone, we all participated. Don't be afraid to ask Ivor or Magnus for help, when you'll feel like it, please.

With love,

— Gabriel.»

Soren gripped the paper in his hands. The further in letter, the worst handwriting became. Architect couldn't shake off the feeling something was wrong. Why would he even ask not to tell about the letter? Ah, he's probably not the one to judge, living in the middle of Notch knows where.

With tired rub if his face, the Architect carefully put the letter near group photo. He missed them.

════════════════════════════

Magnus angrily opened the door, cursing under his nose. It was too fucking early in the morning, too bright, too loud and he will blow up the ass of who just interrupted his sweet slee- oh. It's Gabriel.

The Warroir almost jumped at the splash of the door, snapping out of his thoughts. He nervously chuckled, griping on the leash, when he saw annoyed Magnus.

«For Hero's sakes, princess, you could've come a bit later, it what- six in the morning?!» — The Rogue let out a tired groan.

Gabriel shifted uncomfortably on the spot, his eyes darting away — «My apologize, Magnus, but it's urgent. I need someone to look after Lucky for a while.»

Rouge looked like a deer in the headlights, looking between the dog and the owner — «What?» — Gabriel never let any of them even feed little wolf, not talking about the whole takecare.

«I'm going to be off the town. I left Flesh at my sister's, but she'd allergic to dogs, and I'm.. uh, would it be bad to say I'm too worried to leave him at Ivor's?»

Magnus shook his head, taking the leash from Warrior's hands — «No, old hag is bad with animals, we all know that. So.. just for how long you'll be out?» — he narrowed his eyes in suspicion, knowing for sure Gabriel had never left his lil bud before.

«I don't know.. yet. It won't be too long though, I promise.» — The Warrior smiled, but it was weak, as he took his turn to leave.

════════════════════════════

Ivor was furious. Gabriel was here and no one told him?! They all knew he wanted, needed to talk to him and yet no one bothered to tell him? Nonsense!

Ivor pushed the doors of the hallway, looking surprised for a moment, to see the whole New Order there. Nowadays it was a rare event. He cleared his throat — «Hello, friends. Mind me asking what is going on here?»

Petra put away her swords, waving head at the new armour stand — «Were discussing some stuff, you know.. like how Gabriel gave his armour and sword to Jesse. Or donated hell a lot of money to Redstonia's bank. Or how he claimed to 'finally settle down', but no one can tell where he actually settled down. Random stuff.» — she shrugged.

«..what?» — Ivor quickly got up to the stage, observing the armour. It was, indeed, Gabriel's. The original. Puzzled, he looked at Jesse — «When did he..?»

«About, uh.. three weeks ago, I think?»

«He brought his dog to Magnus a week ago.» — Axel claimed — «If it matters.»

The confusion grew stronger. Gabriel could've leave his armour, but not Lucky. Ivor bit his lower lip, disliking the feeling he started to get in his guts. Something was off here.

════════════════════════════

Heavy footsteps were echoing in memorial building, as the Warroir kneeled down near a tombstone.

He looked tired — «Long time no see, huh, Ellie? I'm sorry for the lack of visiting, I've been kept with, uhm.. things, let's say.» — he looked down at his left arm, grimacing at the purple veins — «And I'm not at my best state of health. But, uh, not about me. I hope- no- I know you're at a better place now, but it can't keep me from missing you..»

He rubbed his face tiredly — «A lot has been going on lately and, honestly, it all feels so messed up without you. We may be frauds, liars, cheaters and other not pleasant words I've heard, but hey, you actually were doing something good, something awesome, like running the Redstonia.. economy system.. unlike me, hah..»

He pressed his head against the cold wall — «Olivia doing great, by the way. Don't know if she visits you, but she really makes a good job looking after Redstonia. Smart girl. I bet you two would've get along just perfectly, if you only head time. If I was a bit faster, not so selfish, maybe..-»

The Warroir shook his head, getting up from the floor — «I'm sorry, Ellegaard. I need to go now. Hope after that I'll see you once again, old friend.»

He left memorial, cold wind accompanying him in last adventure.

[fearandhatred]

okay so i don't usually write final fifteen metas (anymore, at least) but i feel like i have to say this. wrote this really quick so it might not be all that coherent

with the final fifteen, the problem really isn't as much about miscommunication as it is a complete difference in beliefs. yes, there is and has been miscommunication for 6000 years, but some people focus on this way too much -- even if there hadn't been any, it would likely have ended the same way, with aziraphale going back to heaven and crowley staying. their miscommunication is a longstanding problem that they have to fix, but this difference in beliefs is the main problem of the final fifteen in particular. i don't think i really have to explain this, so i'll focus on the miscommunication aspect.

sure, i have my own gripes about the whole "hold that thought" situation. but when we look at just the miscommunication ('miscommunication'), the words themselves that were said, i don't think it's right to blame one of them more than the other for it.

i saw someone say that crowley didn't say things in a way that aziraphale would understand. personally, i don't see how "when heaven ends all life on earth, it would be just as dead as if hell ended it" and "we don't need heaven, we don't need hell, they're toxic" could have been said any clearer. sure, an elaboration could have gotten it into aziraphale's head maybe, but both of them had been through the same thing. crowley's statements were based on their shared experiences of armageddon and then gabriel. they were objectively clear, and i don't think the onus is necessarily on him to formulate them in a way that one specific person would understand. effective communication means meeting in the middle.

aziraphale is slightly less clear with this main purpose of going back to heaven here imo, and i have written a meta about all the different reasonings he goes through (i don't necessarily agree with the overall point of that meta anymore but the main idea is there). but at the same time, "i can make a difference" "i'll run it, you can be my second in command"... it's very obvious what he's trying to say. even the things that aren't objectively true or not what crowley wants to hear -- "[heaven is] the side of truth, of light, of good" etc. -- this isn't miscommunication. it's a very clear expression of his beliefs.

honestly the only true miscommunication that happened in this exchange was the "you can't leave this bookshop" "nothing lasts forever" shit. and even that is secondary to everything else that was said.

yeah their conversation could have been laid out, explained, elaborated, et cetera. the ideal scenario would be that this happens and they figure out a compromise, a better plan to work together to take heaven down or whatever. but this is an ideal that they have not reached (which is why i think this is good for them, honestly. the best way to change a mindset is through experience). and at the same time, you can't blame them for not being this ideal, especially in this moment, when both of them had just received big revelations after going through yet another insane experience.

tldr: final fifteen is much less about miscommunication than it is about a fundamental difference in beliefs

[lukaslosteyelashes]

My Review of the Miraculous London Special, Part 1

I've watched the London special and I really wanted to write out my thought on it sooner but I got so caught up in reading and reblogging others’s posts that my thoughts got jumbled up.

Anyway, I really wanted to reflect on my theories that I wrote before the release of the episode and share my further speculations, thoughts and questions.

What this part contains:

The opening scene - I'm pondering some of my previous thoughts about Lila and how she utilizes the power of the Butterfly Miraculous.

The wish - A theory about what wish could have wiped out their future.

Let’s get to it!

Spoilers ahead ->

The opening scene

was quite impactful. We see a miserable Nooroo at Lila’s lair in an invisible force field or something of that sort, which is very interesting. I wonder how Lila was able to make it, maybe every Miraculous holder has that power over their Kwaims.

Then Timestalker appears and it reveals that it’s Lila herself which made me question some things about her.

Not gonna lie, I always thought that Lila could remember every instance she was akumatized, maybe except for the first one. So the fact that she needed the notebook to write everything down as a Timestalker so that she could get the information after she breaks from the Akuma’s effect, surprised me. That’s why the theories about Timestalker being a different person, precisely either Adrien or future Lila, were born in the first place. Also Gabriel, Nathalie and everyone who was able to break from the akumatization remembered what happened (if I remember correctly) so it's baffling why she can't. I want to think that she actually upgraded her Akumas, that it's different from the Akumas Gabriel were using and it's also different from the Mega Akumas. Someone pointed out that she wears the brooch upside down, different from how Gabriel wore it which might have some effect on the powers.

To be honest, I didn't understand Timestalker’s ability at first so I needed to rack my brain a little bit 😅, But after I understood it one thing become clearer: which is, how was Lila able to get the Butterfly Miraculous in her Edna disguise and find out Ladybug’s identity as Timestalker at the same time.

These two moments take place very close in time. But it still doesn't answer the question of how Lila knew that the Butterfly Miraculous will be lost in the rubble. Did she just guess or was she there for something else and found it by chance?

Anyway, my future Lila theory (that I briefly touched at the end of this post) wasn’t that far fetched, but instead of a couple years older Lila we got a couple hours older one and instead of having two of them from a completely different timeline, it’s the same Lila being both villains. Also the boxes had a different purpose than I originally thought.

So, after she de-akumatized herself, she read the notes then quickly akumatized herself again, using her bag this time and became Spectral Looter then disappeared to pay a heartwarming visit to Marinette to steal the Miraculouses. Then she made a wish?

The wish

I expected we would find out what she wished for and what she sacrificed for it, if she even sacrificed anything, but we didn’t. It kinda makes sense, we can’t discover Lilamoth's objective too soon.

At first I thought her wish might be Ladybug to never exist and I will continue to believe that until it is proven otherwise but with a little bit of a modification: she wished for either Marinette or Ladybug or both to not exist. Lila hates both of them with a burning passion and after she found out that the two of them are the same person, it kind of made things easier for her, it's enough to deal with one of them to get rid of both of them.

Like I said, we don't know what she's after so her wish could be literally anything but whatever was it, it was powerful enough to wipe out the future where Alix Kubdel is bunnyx completely and quite fast.

part 2 | part 3 | part 4

[alexfierroaf]

Yea, I’m convinced that the Miraculous season finale was unsatisfying on purpose.

The “happy ending” scene at the end had this surrealist lighting and slightly off-putting music in the background. It gives off major false utopia vibes. It actually makes me feel relieved, because there were two things I was worried about for this finale but the way they wrote it resolves those issues a bit.

First, I was worried that they were going to try to wrap up everything perfectly within the span of this two episode special. There was no way they were going to be able to give all the different plot points and character arcs the closure they needed within that time frame. by leaving us with an open ending, It gives itself room to properly develop and deal with the fallout from this mess slowly over time.

And then, arguably the bigger issue, was Miraculous’ future after season 5. I kept thinking to myself, what are they going to have to do to keep Miraculous interesting after this? Sure we’ve got Lila, or Cerise, or whatever her name is, but everything we’ve been following this series for since the beginning was about to be resolved. Monarch gone. The Agreste arc over. Adrienette canon. What is Miraculous’ sense of identity after this? Do they hit the reset button and retell the story Disney sequel style? Do they force a breakup between Adrienette to keep the romance plot alive? What’s the point of this still VERY fresh reveal of senti-Adrien if Gabriel and his influence is nothing but a distant memory?

But because of the way things went down, none of those things we thought would be resolved actually are. Monarch fucking won. He got what he wanted, and now everyone is living in a world of his image. He’s remembered as a goddamn hero, which is fucking infuriating! And Adrien doesn’t know! Doesn’t know that his dad was a supervillain and terrorist, doesn’t know that he’s a sentimonster, doesn’t fully accept that he’s been abused. And Marinette is keeping all that from him! Probably because she doesn’t want to inflict unnecessary pain on him, but when he finds out he’s going to be an absolute MESS.

Which means the Agreste plot, the family drama, the relationship antics that we’ve been following for all these years will continue as a throughline in the show. It means that there are natural reasons to continue existing conflicts and keep the show running without it feeling contrived. Because none of this is ok, and it’s going to take a lot of time to resolve. A lot of pain, a lot of drama, and a lot of conflict. I wouldn’t be surprised if Adrien and Marinette have major relationship problems over the secrets that she’s keeping from him. The Ladynoir angst from season 4 is back at full force. And you KNOW Cerise is going to zero in on that shit like a moth to a flame. Before this I was fearing a ultra-contrived break up to keep the audience invested in their story, but now I would be totally satisfied with a temporary break up as Marinette’s secrets become too much to keep hidden.

So yea, I was angry at the season 5 finale. The Gabriel statue made me gag. And I REALLY wanted to see Adrien stick it to his father. But then again, he did in his own way. He pulled one over his father by tricking him into muting his mics, which gave him a chance to strategize with Plagg. He’s the one who decided to play the long game and wait patiently while Plagg found a new holder to defeat Monarch with -- as opposed to rushing in with brute force, which shows significant character growth for him, by the way. I’m proud of him. And I can’t wait to see where his arc goes from here as he continues to explore his own agency and his relationships with people around him.

As for Marinette, I was very satisfied with her face-off against Monarch/Gabriel. The moment he realized his archnemesis was her was priceless. And that piano? God. That was glorious. She was a total badass. And she demonstrated her growth, too. She acted with a lot more maturity than we’ve seen at other points in her story by putting aside her personal vendetta towards Gabriel and Monarch to focus on creating a peaceful solution -- even if it did come back to bite her in the ass hard.

So the manipulator won. Fitting, because I feel kind of manipulated too. I would’ve never guessed in a million years that Gabriel would actually be able to make his wish in the permanent timeline, or that Miraculous would go down such an unsettling and unsatisfying route (at least in the short term). I’ve gotta respect them for that. All these years we thought we knew how this conflict was going to resolve -- all those dramatic reveals in the Agreste basement, the final battle between Adrien and his piece of shit dad, Adrien breaking out of his control in one decisive and cathartic swoop. Instead, we got something much more sinister, something much more insidious. Whatever is lurking around the corner is bound to have MAJOR repercussions going forward.

So I’m content to wait and see what happens next. There’s no point in complaining about how a story went when it isn’t even resolved yet. Was it perfect? Nope. Will it be done perfectly in the future? Also no. And that’s ok. Because it never will be perfect, and what we saw here made sense. It was impactful. It creates new opportunities for the characters and their story arcs that didn’t exist before this finale. We are in a new era of Miraculous, and I will be waiting on the edge of my seat to find out what the hell this beautifully unpredictable series is going to evolve into next.

[daily-singularity]

Hello. I am here to ask you about their paralells and how insane they make you. Pretty please... you're the only one feeding us the good food...

Going insane. white knuckling my pen and paper. I will do my best to make this coherent, apologies in advance if its a mess!!

In the simplest terms both Gabriel and Hux are carbon copy assembly line units created by Huxlee industries for the purpose of colonizing planets and prolonging the human race.

Gabriel is a tool just as much as the Huxlee units are.

"Each individual was manufactured for a different societal function... The idea was to create a functional society that would operate flawlessly." - Gabriel Soma BIO

"Unlike human clones, the HUX-A7 required no food, no water, no sleep, and no life support system. It was created specifically for outer space exploration and the construction of colonization hubs." - HUX-A7-13 BIO

Gabriel was specifically designed by Huxlee for planet colonization. Outside of his time on Dvarka, I gather that Gabriel was in a permanent deep sleep/cryostatis. All of his memories of his family and childhood are fabrications- he has no real life or directives or experiences outside of his work on Dvarka.

---

Both were under the threat of termination, or reprogramming should they fall out of line.

"Dmitri’s not trying to help… he’s trying to get me to stop asking questions. What does he know? What’s he hiding?" - Tome 16, Memory 2998 (Gabriel Soma)

"It remembers its objective. It must assist the crew in terraforming Dvarka. Failure to do so will result in termination."- Tome 16, Memory 2665 (Hux-a7-13)

When Gabriel first starts noticing discrepancies in his memories, his crew's medic writes off his issues as "problems that dont exist", and gives him a drug that fogs up his senses. Its a clear attempt to force him back into subservience, a message of "Stop digging or else".

We're never able to find out what would happen to Gabriel if it became known that he found out about the fact hes a clone, but I gather he would be removed from the project. Terminated so he wouldn't spread panic.

--

After Gabriel finds out about the fact he's a clone, it's a lot harder to get more direct info on his mentality, since thats where his Memory archives end.

Neither of them have much experience with free will.

Due to the fact that both Gabriel and Hux were taken by the entity near immediately after learning they were a clone/gained sentience, it isnt much of a stretch to say that neither of them have experience with a sense of individuality.

Gabriel learns that his entire life has been a fabricated lie and then is immeidately shoved into a killing game. He doesn't really get that chance to come to terms with who and what he is before having to fight for his life.

Hux on the other hand, had more time to digest his new worldview. He was able to start forming his own desires and wants even if they were as simple as "Kill the inferior human worms who created me", or abstract as wanting to "the remake the universe in my image over infinate lifetimes"- whatever the fuck that means Hux. Its really unfortunate that he barely begins to form these desires before theyre all stripped away from him and he is once again forced into subservience.

---

I was gonna put like idk an insightful little footnote here, but i spent absolutely way to long writing this post. Anyways. Gabriel and hux are both tools struggling with a sense of self while being forced to kill or be killed.

Also. can Behavior please fucking explain to me why Gabriel was waxing poetic about the beauty and godliness of the machine that he watched slowly kill his entire crew, like goddamn ogling that machine, then he exploded it. and then like. went "ok damn still godlike."

I just wanna talk with whoever wrote this please. what was. what does this mean. i need to know.

"It had fabricated a new body for itself. Part flesh. Part silicon. Part human. Part machine. Massive. Powerful. Beautiful and majestic like—

An ancient God."

"Gabe raced across the meadow and into the forest. When he looked back, he saw the HUX emerge from the flames and smoke. Burning. Melting. Shrieking. Deformed. Terrible and wrathful like—

An ancient God"

[facewithoutheart]

Thanks for the tags @monbons & @rimeswithpurple ❤️

I’ve finally finished the first draft of my COBB which feels super good. For once, I’m not doing a multi-chapter fic but I’m pleased with how it turned out. It needs a bit of finessing at the end so I’m going to let it sit for awhile. Come back when it’s closer to posting time for last minute tweaks.

Have some cute goat content:

Simon shrugged one shoulder. “Who can say? But he’s been loved. That’s what counts.” He placed the goat gently on the ground and the little thing scrambled away, bleating like a banshee at the kids who had yet to take flight. “Of course he’s also been a right bastard. Maybe that counts more.”

Cute/deranged, same thing.

Song vibes if you need them:

Tags & original fiction thoughts below the break.

I also spent some time making piccrews of my OCs. I only like to write original fiction about love triangles with two men and a woman so here, meet Hawk, Gabriel & Zoe:

Shout out to my brown eye peeps although I forgot Hawk actually has hazel eyes. WHOOPS. We’re just gonna pretend he has flecks of green sprinkles in there that only Gabriel can see. And yes Zoe is that hot on purpose. She’s a messy bitch and I love her.

One thing I’ve been thinking about lately is the theory that words written are not words wasted. As in, don’t regret the things you wrote that aren’t published or make it into the final piece. And I’ve had to adopt that for fanfic to original writing because sometimes it’s hard looking at my, frankly ridiculous, back catalog and wonder if it wasn’t all worthless. Because in the end I spent all that time and energy writing someone else’s stories.

But this is a fruitless and, frankly, untrue line of thinking. I’ve spent years honing my ability to write plot and setting and dialogue and action and messy situations. Sure, I’ve been using someone else’s characters and outline to do so, but the skills transfer even if they do also require new ones. I would never have had the courage to take on messy characters for a romance novel if I hadn’t written Boulders or This Charming Man. These two fics directly inspired my original idea.

So I’m kind of sitting around feeling really … grateful? I guess? That I’ve taken this time, I’ve written these words, and I’ve stretched these muscles. Writing an original novel is something I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid and it feels really good to be working on one again, especially after my rather demoralizing attempt at NaNoWriMo in 2022.

Which is all just to say I’m having a good time, and all your efforts are not wasted, and does this make any sense? Maybe not entirely. And maybe you’ve skimmed it but maybe this is also something that will resonate with one of you all.

Okay now. Tagging @martsonmars, @sillyunicorn, @bookish-bogwitch, @thewholelemon, @raenestee, @cutestkilla, @skeedelvee, @artsyunderstudy, @palimpsessed, @aristocratic-otter, @you-remind-me-of-the-babe, @stitchyqueer, @run-for-chamo-miles, @larkral, @whogaveyoupermission, @moodandmist, @mooncello, @creepyspice, @ivelovedhimthroughworse & @shrekgogurt