#Bandstand

[worrynoodle]

○°•Do not send to Neil Gaiman•°○

I personally think that Aziraphale's way of saying 'I love you' is by saying, 'I forgive you.'

Looking back at the bandstand scene we have Crowley saying:

Crowley: "Great, pustulent, mangled bollocks to the great blasted plan!"

Aziraphale: "May you be forgiven."

Crowley: "I won't be forgiven. Not ever. That's part of a demon's job description. Unforgivable, that's what I am."

And from that point on, Aziraphale doesn't say 'may you be forgiven,' or 'God forgive you,' he says, 'I forgive you.'

It's as if he's saying, 'You're forgivable to me. If God, heaven, hell, all the angels and demons don't forgive you, I do. You are forgivable to me.'

To me, it's like this:

Crowley: "I won't be [loved]. Not ever. That's part of a demon's job description. [Unloveable] that's what I am.

Aziraphale: I [love] you.

[xdestinykey]

always been a big fan of the ✨fingertip touch✨

[cascadeoceanwave]

musical theatre challenge: 1/1 seasons | 2016-2017 (insp)

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

healthy disagreement tip by crowley

[Hello, it's the good omens mascot here, for legal purposes can I please state here that I do love Aziraphale as a character it's simply that this post is about Crowley so no one eat me, okay? It's been a week since I finished GO, I'm not stable enough for discourse]

I noticed that Crowley doesn't ever insult Aziraphale as a person. (Have I missed anything?) Even when they're fighting, Crowley is careful to disagree with decisions that Aziraphale is making, views that Aziraphale may have, but he never implies that Aziraphale is in any way lacking as a person.

The only instance when he ever seems to insult Aziraphale is when the angel refuses to come with him to Alpha Centauri after Crowley drives up to him and apologises. He asks how Aziraphale can be so stupid.

But he says it in such a way that it's very clear he isn't calling Aziraphale stupid, or that he even remotely thinks that about him. He's calling Aziraphale's decision stupid. And he makes sure there's no misunderstanding about this.

In the middle of this disagreement, before he says anything about stupidity, he first tells Aziraphale he's clever. With the endearment added. And he's being entirely sincere about it.

You're so clever, angel.

But he doesn't stop there. He says it again.

How can someone as clever as you--

and only then does he talk about the decision

--be so stupid?

And to me that's just. That's such healthy behaviour? Obviously both of these idiots are constantly shit at communication, but Crowley is very, very clear about this. His 'insults' to Aziraphale are always thinly veiled compliments about how he's all good and has the moral high ground, and during their fights, Crowley still never puts Aziraphale down.

The world is about to end, the timer is ticking, Crowley is scared and frustrated and they've had a massive fight where Aziraphale insisted that they're not friends and there was no our side, and Crowley is stretched to his limit with stress.

I'm sure a lot of us would say things we didn't mean in those circumstances. Even in casual situations, we say things like don't be stupid or why are you being an idiot, and that's mostly okay, if everyone knows that it's not meant seriously.

Aziraphale does that, he says things like you're the bad guys and we're not friends, banking on the knowledge that Crowley will not be hurt and will understand why.

But Crowley, even under that high stress situation, a fight with everything at stake, doesn't call Aziraphale stupid, even though no one would have thought twice about it. It's a manner of speaking, Aziraphale would know what he meant, etc. He still doesn't do it.

He takes the time to remind Aziraphale twice that he is clever, so clever, and then begs him to realise that the decision is stupid. He's so careful, so respectful, even in the literal apocalypse.

During the final fifteen, too. He never implies that Aziraphale is of the same material as Heaven, or even that he would make a bad leader. Even before he says that he, Crowley, doesn't need Heaven, he first says You don't need them.

It's just something that would make a lot of inevitable fights in any kind of relationship so much healthier. To know that even though you are fighting, you are loved. Even though the other person disagrees with you, they respect and admire you as a person.

Not judging the person, as Heaven loves to do, but judging the decision or the view.

[theonevoice]

InktOmens - 3. Path

A Good Omens + Inktober 2023 project

(A5 size, toned gray paper, black ballpoint pen, black micron 0.5 liner, white posca pen)

Meet me at the bandstand, 28 to go.

[the-river-rix]

Bandstand fandom talk to me

[mostlythemarsh]

We're Goin' Hoppin'

[miasmultifandomdump]

Just Like It Was Before from Bandstand is SO GOOD because so much art from that era romanticized the idea of a post war-life and Bandstand takes that and then contrasts it with the gut-wrenching reality that soldiers were coming home from a harrowing and traumatic experience with scars both visible and invisible and with the loss of so many others in the war. It shows how hard everyone's trying but they're just failing because the goal isn't attainable. You can't send boys to battle and expect them to come back the same. It's fair that people just wanted things to go back to normal, but that was never going to happen.

[beebopboom]

me:*knowing the bandstand and the final 15 are parallels*

me:*watching ep 3*

me:*tears in my eyes* fuck

[izloveshorses]

umm. baby face. the gals love him.

[baura-bear]

and if i said winnix date night but its actually nix taking dick into the city to see the tribute to the troops contest that takes place at the end of bandstand what then

[etherealyearning]

Nathan Frank Bandstand in Pagoda Lake, Forest Park

[rainbowpopeworld]

This song goes through my head every time I hear this line, but of course changed to be angsty. 😓

[courageisneverforgotten]

in discussions of Bandstand, I often see the argument that perhaps the narrative would have been better if Julia and Donny hadn't gotten into a romantic relationship. that this is expected, the easy way to wrap things up, the "boy and girl are protagonists so therefore must fall in love" schtick.

I am also a deep believer in narratives about platonic relationships and the beauty found in those. heck, before I watched the show and was only vaguely familiar with the soundtrack, I think I had some of the same thoughts. However.

I think Julia and Donny may be expected (to the audience), but they were not inevitable.

their romance is messy and beautiful and maybe a little weird to both of them. they are not drawn together immediately (not cheaply and obviously made romantic) except for the facts of Donny's promise to his best friend, Michael, and Julia losing Michael and becoming a gold star wife. it's awkward, they both feel like they're fumbling over words and actions, and yeah, to them, it is a little bit weird. especially when they start feeling more for each other.

I'd argue that the narrative of Bandstand is strengthened by their relationship with each other. the connecting reason for their circumstance is Michael, and it is devastating and ever-present. but they take that connection and carefully -- sometimes messily, usually imperfectly -- create something meaningful for both of them. they heal. they don't forget. they Live despite and because of it all.

there certainly could have been a deep platonic bond between Julia and Donny, but I feel that their romance adds truth to their characters, what they want and how they see the world. Julia's "love will come and find me again" is a beautiful display of longing and resilience, a statement that she does not know what's ahead for her (and Donny) but she will not be passive in her own narrative. and for Donny's part, when Julia tells him "I don't need to be rescued!" and he responds with "what if I do?", that simple statement is so emblematic of his character -- his longing to be seen wholly and wanted anyway.

the strength of platonic bonds throughout the show is arguably one of the biggest strengths of Bandstand. adding a romance between the two leads does not take away from this; it weaves through the narrative and adds another thread of strength. not inevitable, but wholly meaningful.

[the-river-rix]

Please please please send me some